Credit: Steve KerosPearl Jam's show in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Wednesday was extra spicy thanks to members of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Drummer Chad Smith and guitarist Josh Klinghoffer joined Eddie Vedder and company onstage during the concert to perform a cover of Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World." You can watch fan-shot footage of the performance now on YouTube. Pearl Jam also brought out Smith to play on their new song "Can't Deny Me," the first single from the band's forthcoming 11th studio album. Fan footage of that collaboration is streaming on YouTube, as well. There'll be another chance for Pearl Jam and Red Hot Chili Peppers to collaborate when both bands play Lollapalooza Brazil in Sao Paulo this weekend. While PJ will return to the U.S. this summer for a brief stadium tour, the Chili Peppers don't have any more tour dates currently scheduled. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trumps surprise announcement Thursday to replace his national security adviser H.R. McMaster with John Bolton is not only part of a broader shakeup but represents a shift toward an increasingly hawkish foreign policy posture as he faces major decisions within weeks on North Korea and Iran. Bolton has a well-established reputation as a hard-liner, often advocating military action over diplomacy including most recently as a high-profile contributor on conservative-leaning FOX News, a Trump favorite. Bolton served in both previous Bush administrations, as UN ambassador and Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security - and during that time strongly supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Robert Malley, who served on the National Security Council during the Obama and Clinton administrations, says Trump's choice of Bolton amounts to nails in the coffin for the President Barack Obamas landmark foreign policy achievement, the Iran nuclear deal. Bolton has been vocal in advocating for tearing up the deal, an idea that President Trump has also expressed support for even as he has stopped short of withdrawing from the deal thus far. Bolton is joined in opposing the Iran deal by CIA director Mike Pompeo, the president's nominee to replace Rex Tillerson, an Iran deal supporter, as secretary of state. All signs have been pointing toward a likely decision by President Trump to withdraw from an agreement that was working, Malley said. I think the dismissal of Secretary Tillerson with Mike Pompeo was a sign that the deal was probably dead and I think the replacement of H.R. McMaster by John Bolton is a sign that the deal is not just dead, but dead and buried. Malley remains hopeful that European nations who are partners in the Iran nuclear deal may be able to prop up the agreement with Iran, even without U.S. participation. But if not, Malley worries that the alternative options hold dangerous implications for global security. If were tearing up this deal we will be in a situation where either Iran will continue its nuclear program because theyll no longer be constrained by the deal or the U.S. will decide, along with some of our allies, that were going to stop it militarily, Malley predicts. And at a time when Trump is staking out a softer path for diplomacy with North Korea by accepting an invitation to sit down for direct talks with Kim Jong Un, Bolton has struck a very different tone in arguing that there is a legal case for a pre-emptive strike against North Korea. It is perfectly legitimate for the United States to respond to the current necessity posed by North Koreas nuclear weapons by striking first, Bolton wrote in a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed in February. Malley says the entrance of Bolton to the presidents foreign policy team now means the president will be torn between his instincts as a deal-maker and the voice of Bolton, who has staked out his support for military action. Hes going to have two voices in his head, so it will be interesting to see which deal prevails, said Malley. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. WASHINGTON, March 22, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, tonight condemned President Trump's move to replace White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster with John Bolton, a notorious Islamophobe who as a history of ties to anti-Muslim extremists and organizations. "We urge Americans across the political spectrum to speak out against the appointment of John Bolton as White House National Security Adviser because of his ties to anti-Muslim bigots and his promotion of extremist views that will inevitably harm our nation and that could lead to unnecessary and counterproductive international conflicts," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. "Bolton is the last person who should be entrusted with this critically-important position, which requires sound judgment and a fact-based approach to national security matters." Awad said CAIR is concerned about the safety of American Muslims and other minority communities with Bolton advising an already Islamophobic and white supremacist administration. John Bolton Backgrounder: Bolton has long been associated with anti-Muslim extremists Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller. He even wrote the forward for Spencer and Geller's book "The Obama Administration's War on America." Geller endorsed Bolton as a presidential candidate. SEE: John Bolton's Pamela Geller And Robert Spencer Problem https://thinkprogress.org/john-boltons-pamela-geller-and-robert-spencer-problem-8219c2906319/ John Bolton's Cozy Relationship with Anti-Muslim Hate Groups Should Disqualify Him from Public Service https://www.thenation.com/article/john-boltons-cozy-relationship-with-anti-muslim-hate-groups-should-disqualify-him-from-public-service/ CAIR Islamophobia Monitor: Robert Spencer http://www.islamophobia.org/islamophobic-individuals/78-robert-spencer.html CAIR Islamophobia Monitor: Pamela Geller http://www.islamophobia.org/islamophobic-individuals/77-pamela-geller.html Bolton advocated for the Iraq War and promoted the false justification for the conflict. He has promoted anti-Muslim conspiracy theories and called for bombing Iran and North Korea. In 2016, Bolton spoke at a conference of the American Freedom Alliance hate group. His speech at the conference, which had the overall theme, "Can Islam and the West Coexist?" contained a "joke" the punchline of which was that President Obama was a Muslim. SEE: John Bolton, Trump's Ultra-Hawkish New National Security Adviser, Explained https://www.vox.com/world/2018/3/22/17153338/john-bolton-national-security-adviser-trump-hr-mcmaster Trump's Next National Security Adviser, John Bolton, Is as Dangerous as You Remembered https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/john-bolton-foreign-policy-history_us_5aaa8f31e4b045cd0a6f7926 Trump's Reported Finalist for Deputy Secretary of State Stoked a Muslim Conspiracy Theory https://www.buzzfeed.com/talalansari/john-bolton-stoked-muslim-conspiracy-theory Bolton is also the chairman of the New York City-based anti-Muslim organization the Gatestone Institute. The organization produces a steady stream of false and fear-mongering Islamophobic articles. It published the myth that certain cities with Muslim majority neighborhoods were off limits to those who did not practice the faith. An article in "The Intercept" also noted that the Gatestone Institute claimed that the Obama administration refugee policy "exposes Americans to the jihad." In its posts, the institute consistently depicts refugees as rapists and hosts of "highly infectious diseases" that threaten the health of the German people. SEE: Her Father Championed Jewish Refugees. She Finances the Anti-Muslim Refugee Movement. https://theintercept.com/2017/02/17/muslim-refugee-rosenwald/ CAIR said it has witnessed an unprecedented spike in bigotry targeting American Muslims and members of other minority groups since the election of Donald Trump as president. The Washington-based civil rights organization has also repeatedly expressed concern about Islamophobic and racist Trump administration policies and appointments. SEE: CAIR Opposes Nominations of 'Islamophobe' Pompeo for Secretary of State, 'Torturer' Haspel for CIA Director https://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/15027-cair-opposes-nominations-of-islamophobe-pompeo-for-secretary-of-state-torturer-haspel-for-cia-director.html Community members are being urged to report any bias incidents to police and to CAIR's Civil Rights Department at 202-742-6420 or by filing a report at: http://www.cair.com/report CAIR launched an app to share critical "know your rights" information and to simplify the process to report hate crimes and bias incidents. CAIR is urging American Muslims and members of other minority groups to download the app and utilize this resource to stay informed and empowered. For a quick download of CAIR's civil rights app, click here: http://www.cair.com/app CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims. CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected] SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Related Links http://www.cair.com ALPHARETTA, Ga., March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Tech Alpharetta announces that applications are now being accepted for the first annual AgTech Conference of the South Pitch Off. The startup competition is sponsored by the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) and is open to all companies with a minimum of two employees that have developed an innovative technology product or service that is designed to add value to the agriculture industry and market. The deadline to apply is May 4, 2018, at 5 p.m. The Pitch Off will take place at the AgTech Conference of the South on July 24, 2018, at the Alpharetta Conference Center. Four finalists will be selected to pitch to a panel of judges from leading companies such as Climate Corp., Cox Enterprises Clean Tech division and Florikan; in addition to executives from TechStars, ATDC and the UGA College of Agriculture's Innovation Gateway. Applications will be reviewed based on the competency of the management team and knowledge of product and markets, validation of value proposition of product or service, viability of revenue model and scalability. "There's a rich pool of talent coming from the startup community and we're excited to showcase those leading the booming agtech space," shares Julie Bryant Fisher, chief experience officer for TAG and chair of the Pitch Off planning committee. "This competition is designed to connect these innovators with established companies seeking potential agtech partners." The AgTech Conference of the South is Georgia's first event dedicated to innovation, entrepreneurship and investment that is shaping the future of agriculture. Hosted by Tech Alpharetta, in partnership with the City of Alpharetta, the three-day conference will address the explosive growth in agtech that has resulted from the intersection of agriculture and technology. It is taking place July 2325, 2018, in Alpharetta, Georgia, at the new Alpharetta Conference Center at The Hotel at Avalon. "We have an incredible lineup of corporate, academic and civic industry leaders slated to participate in the conference and we're thrilled to be able to incorporate the agtech startup scene into the event as well," says Karen Cashion, CEO of Tech Alpharetta and host of the AgTech Conference of the South. "We appreciate TAG and the entire Pitch Off committee's work to bring this event to life and build an impressive group of judges." Interested startups can learn more and apply to present at the Pitch Off by visiting the conference website at www.agtechsouth.com, or apply directly at https://tagonline.wufoo.com/forms/agtech-pitch-off/. For additional information on the AgTech Conference of the South and sponsorship opportunities, visit www.agtechsouth.com. About AgTech Conference of the South The AgTech Conference of the South, Georgia's first event dedicated to innovation, entrepreneurship and investment that is shaping the future of agriculture, will be held in Alpharetta, Georgia the region's epicenter of technology-fueled entrepreneurship and investment. The conference is taking place July 2325, 2018, at the new Alpharetta Conference Center. Led by Tech Alpharetta, with the support of the City of Alpharetta, the conference exemplifies Alpharetta's ongoing commitment to building a strong, vibrant and resilient economy throughout the region. For more information about the AgTech Conference of the South, visit www.agtechsouth.com. About Tech Alpharetta Tech Alpharetta (previously the Alpharetta Technology Commission), the first organization of its kind in Georgia, was established in 2012 by the City of Alpharetta and is an independent, 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization today. The organization includes a strategic advisory board of Alpharetta's leading technology companies, a technology events pillar, and the Tech Alpharetta Innovation Center, a flourishing incubator that is home to more than 45 local tech startups. About The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) TAG is the leading technology industry association in the state, serving more than 35,000 members through regional chapters in Metro Atlanta, Athens, Augusta, Columbus, Macon/Middle Georgia and Savannah. TAG's mission is to educate, promote, influence and unite Georgia's technology community to foster an innovative and connected marketplace that stimulates and enhances a tech-based economy. Additionally, the TAG Education Collaborative (TAG's charitable arm) focuses on helping science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education initiatives thrive. For more information, visit the TAG website at www.tagonline.org or TAG's community website at http://www.hubga.com. To learn about the TAG-Ed Collaborative, visit http://www.tagedonline.org/. MEDIA CONTACT Colleen Murphy Trevelino/Keller (404) 214-0722 Ext. 109 [email protected] SOURCE AgTech Conference of the South Related Links http://www.agtechsouth.com The new latch and spring assembly is designed for exceptional durability. The heavy-gauge, high-strength steel latch with reinforcing rib provides ultimate rigidity and bending resistance and has a yellow chromate finish for corrosion resistance. The double-strength spring ensures the latch is held against the hook to securely retain slings and other components. For added durability, the hooks are designed with dual forged support bosses, providing lateral support for precise latch/hook alignment and engagement. "These U.S.-made Swivel Hoist Hooks are the toughest Campbell has ever offered," said Lyn Bethea, Campbell product manager. "Users need equipment that is strong, long-lasting, and easy to use. These new Swivel Hoist Hooks live up to the rigorous demands of rigging and lifting on the jobsite." With a 5:1 design factor, the new Swivel Hoist Hooks meet or exceed the requirements of ASME B30.10. The working load limit ranges from 3/4 ton to 22 tons, with hooks available in carbon steel (blue) or alloy steel (orange). Along with Rated Capacity and Made in USA markings, two new hallmarks are forged into each hook: A Latch Code for easy, accurate replacement ordering and 45-degree Guide Markings on both sides of the hook. For more information about Campbell Swivel Hoist Hooks, visit www.campbellchainandfittings.com. About Campbell Campbell, a premier brand from Apex Tool Group, is a leading brand of chain and fittings. The brand is recognized the world over for its product quality and outstanding customer service programs. Campbell has strategically located distribution and service centers throughout the U.S. and Canada. Campbell pioneered the development of Grade 100 chain and fittings, providing chain users with lighter, more ergonomic, and less expensive chain assemblies. For more information, visit www.campbellchainandfittings.com. About Apex Tool Group Apex Tool Group, LLC, based in Sparks, MD, is one of the largest worldwide producers of industrial hand and power tools, tool storage, drill chucks, chain, and electronic soldering products. Apex serves a multitude of global markets, including automotive, aerospace, electronics, energy, hardware, industrial, and consumer retail. For more information, visit www.apextoolgroup.com. SOURCE Apex Tool Group Related Links http://www.apextoolgroup.com DOVER, N.J., March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Casio America, Inc. is excited to announce their new application, CHAPP (Casio Hospitality Application), which was previously released on the V-R7000 15.6" Android terminal. Casio's original application was designed for the quick service and retail industries, but the CHAPP application, which is now available on the V-R200, (Casio's All-In-One 10.4" Android terminal), expands the functionality of the V-R200 into table service operations. "Innovation is a pillar of our core values at Casio and we are excited that the already popular V-R200 is now more powerful and feature-rich, with the new CHAPP software," said Lawrence W. Sampey, General Manager of Casio's Systems Products Division. "CHAPP will open up more avenues for our dealers and give them the functionality to meet their business demands." The V-R200 POS terminal operates on flash ROM technology and provides the flexibility and security of the Android platform, without the hassle of expensive and unreliable hard drives or noisy cooling fans. The V-R200's hardware configuration offers a 10.4" adjustable color touch screen, a built-in thermal printer (80mm/58mm sized paper), RS232C ports and an Ethernet port along with a swivel 2 X 20 customer display. The CHAPP application functionality on the V-R200 includes drive-thru operation, the ability to store phone orders by name or number, graphical table maps, splitting, adding, transferring of checks, comprehensive modifier management, time and attendance and a new graphical looking keyboard design among many other features. The V-R200 is a professionally sold product that is a viable solution to offset the many tablet solutions currently available in the marketplace. Additionally, the CHAPP application gives the V-R200 the ability to use the CMO (Casio Mobile Order) interface, so businesses can use Android tablets for table ordering. The CHAPP application also offers a new functionality on the V-R200 allowing it interface to the Casio Cloud giving business owners the ability to see sales activities at their locations in real-time and control program changes from a central source. The V-R200's sleek and compact design lends itself to small and medium-sized businesses in quick service, cafeterias, concessions, cafes, table service and retail operations. The CHAPP software running on both the V-R200's and V-R7000's (Casio's 15.6" Android terminal) allows the different hardware platforms to be intermixed in the same network for applications at locations that have smaller menus and don't require large screens. For additional information on Casio's full portfolio of POS and electronic cash registers, please visit www.Casio4business.com or www.VRCPOS.com. About Casio America, Inc. Casio America, Inc., Dover, N.J., is the U.S. subsidiary of Casio Computer Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, one of the world's leading manufacturers of consumer electronics and business equipment solutions. Established in 1957, Casio America, Inc. markets calculators, keyboards, digital cameras, mobile presentation devices, disc title and label printers, watches, cash registers and other consumer electronic products. Casio has strived to fulfill its corporate creed of "creativity and contribution" through the introduction of innovative and imaginative products. For more information, visit casio.com/home. SOURCE Casio America, Inc. Related Links http://www.casiousa.com Clover's Managing Partner, Lyle Fogarty, remarked, "We look forward to becoming the first new owner in 35 years of this extremely well positioned asset. It's our goal to impact positive change in any new development or asset we acquire. It's especially fulfilling to do so in our hometown with Palms Plaza, a property visited by our friends and neighbors on a daily basis." The new ownership group, led by Clover Investment Properties, has hired Commonwealth Commercial Partners (CCP), a Richmond, Virginia-based comprehensive property solutions firm, as property manager and will look to CCP to manage the general maintenance and tenant relations of the 33,000-square foot retail center. CCP will work closely with Clover to thoughtfully explore future renovations to modernize the center to improve tenant and customer experiences. "The South Dale Mabry corridor has seen a significant amount of new investment and project renovations during this cycle," said Scott Holman, Managing Director at Commonwealth Commercial in Tampa, "and we are very excited to be working with Clover on their acquisition of Palms Plaza. This project has been a mainstay in the South Tampa market and we look forward to bringing our pro-active property management approach to this project." About Clover Investment Properties Clover Investment Properties pursues and executes on innovative value-add real estate opportunities. Clover develops and invests in real estate properties in markets we know and understand, particularly the larger markets in the Southeastern United States. With experience in various product types, we mine value from new development or from properties that are overlooked or underperforming relative to their potential. About Commonwealth Commercial Partners, LLC Founded in 1996, Commonwealth Commercial is a leading full-service commercial real estate firm headquartered in Richmond, VA, with offices in Hampton Roads VA, Nashville TN, Jacksonville FL, Tampa FL, Greensboro NC, Charlotte NC, Raleigh/Durham NC, Greenville SC, Houston TX and Reading PA. The company provides demonstrated expertise in the areas of leasing, purchasing, selling, developing, consulting, property management and asset management services. To learn more, visit www.commonwealthcommercial.com. SOURCE Commonwealth Commercial Partners, LLC Related Links http://www.commonwealthcommercial.com LOS ANGELES, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- FN Media Group Presents USA News Group News Commentary USA News Group - Not all strains of cannabis are created equal-And with the care of expert growers, the value of what's known as "craft cannabis" has skyrocketed as of late, commanding acquisition price tags into the hundreds of millions. The effect of the boom of craft cannabis operations is going to greatly affect the values of producers large and small, including Aphria Inc. (TSX: APH) (OTC: APHQF), Aurora Cannabis (TSX: ACB) (OTC: ACBFF), Canopy Growth Inc. (TSX: WEED) (OTC: TWMJF), Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc. (TSX-V: EMH) (OTC: EMHTF), and Lifestyle Delivery Systems Inc (CSE: LDS) (OTC: LDSYF). The recent acquisition by Aphria Inc. (TSX: APH) (OTC: APHQF) of cannabis grower Broken Coast sent shockwaves among the craft cannabis industry-through a mega-deal worth $230 million in cash and shares. "The sale itself wasn't much of a surprise but the amount the local grower was bought for was a shock," said Travis Lane, the director of B.C.'s Independent Cannabis Association to the CBC. "They were actually relatively small, so for them to get such a huge windfall as private owners is indicative of where the cannabis market is at." High-quality products and strains are becoming very hot commodities on a market driven by a handful of multi-billion-dollar cannabis giants positioning themselves for dominance in the coming legalized environment. CRAFTY ACQUISITIONS Before Canopy Growth Inc. (TSX: WEED) (OTC: TWMJF) truly became the monolith that it is today, the company took on the popular Tweed brand, which is still the company's leading product line. It's in that business model that likely led to Aphria's generous offer to buy out the popular Broken Coast line. In fact, Broken Coast wasn't the only product positioning that Aphria has been up to as of late-Just recently, the Ontario-based company also played matchmaker in the pairing up of DOJA Cannabis Company Limited with popular brand "Tokyo Smoke" owned by private TS Brandco Holdings Inc. to the tune of a conservative $10 million equity investment on the sidelines. But by far, the largest acquisition of the year so far was that of Aurora Cannabis (TSX: ACB) (OTC: ACBFF) taking over CanniMed Therapeutics Inc. for a cool $1.1 billion at a value of $43 per share. The deal left another craft cannabis firm, Newstrike Resources Ltd. open to make a deal another day-As it had been in talks with CanniMed prior to the takeover, getting left with a $9.5 million break free for its troubles. Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc. (TSXV: EMH) (OTC: EMHTF) went outside of the cannabis sector, by enlisting one of the market's best overall vegetable growers, in a deal with Village Farms International, Inc. The hope is to employ the best botanists, with a world-class greenhouse facility to create craft cannabis strains of their own. Each of these deals were built off the bought companies' stellar reputations for quality products. It's through this high-quality craft cannabis strategy that Lifestyle Delivery Systems Inc (CSE: LDS) (OTC: LDSYF) has built its own portfolio up, since the company was founded in 2010. Utilizing an intense level of scrutiny, and a method of seed selection called isogenics, Lifestyle Delivery Systems is poised to make its own impact on the market, with its high levels of quality through high-level cultivation. QUALITY CONTROL THROUGH ISOGENICS The term "isogenic" refers to using seeds with identical genes-Therefore the breeding method employed by Lifestyle Delivery Systems Inc (CSE: LDS) (OTC: LDSYF) starts with pure, organic, unaltered isogenic seeds. By taking extreme care in their pollination (never cloning), LDS uses pollen seeds that are carefully planted in their scientifically-created negative vacuum sealed rooms, which prevents any contamination or compromise. It may seem like overkill, but in a business where the purity of plant genes can mean the difference between being in the middle of the pack, or commanding a deal like that of Broken Coast with Aphria, the precautionary measures taken by LDS are absolutely called for. LDS breeders then grow their groomed crops systematically until the mature seedling stage, after which the seedling harvest is meticulously transported to their fully-equipped indoor growing facility in Adelanto, California. The facility itself is a feather in the cap of the Lifestyle Delivery Systems management team. After jumping through the hoops of California's regulatory structure over a period of more than 18 months, LDS obtained both the necessary state and local permits to get their facility built. "LDS is one of the very few companies and in fact one of the only companies in California that has gone through all the processes necessary to adhere to both the municipal and the state-level licensing," said LDS President, Jim Pakulis in an interview with Inside Resources. Pakulis reiterated that while medical marijuana has been allowed in California for years, it has only begun recently to develop and enforce regulations on cultivation and sale. The methods used by LDS have afforded the company to extract THC at intense purity levels for their proprietary CannaStrips[TM] product-a breath-strip like sub-lingual oral product that administers a controlled dosage of a variety of concoctions, including a product with 99% pure THC. The brain trust at Lifestyle Delivery Systems is so skilled in the art of cultivation, that the company offers a full spectrum of consulting services related to cannabis growing-including facility identification, nursery preparation, design and layout, equipment acquisition, and implementation. While the company is built to grow out, through its unique positioning as a fully vertically integrated firm from grower to commercial products-LDS could also be a very enticing target for a major cannabis company like Aphria, Aurora, or Canopy looking to add a premium product line of craft cannabis to their own lines. CRAFT CANNABIS PLAYERS Aphria Inc. (TSX: APH) (OTC: APHQF) Aphria is one of Canada's lowest cost licensed cannabis producers, specializing in the production, suppy, and sale of medical cannabis. The company offers sativa, indica, and hybrid medical marijuana products, as well as cannabis oils. It also provides support services in the form of medical consultations, group therapies, and rehabilitation to veteran and first responders. The company sells its products through its online store or phones, as well as engages in the wholesale shipping of medical marijuana plant cuttings and dried buds to other licensed producers. Aphria Inc. is headquartered in Leamington, Canada. Aurora Cannabis (TSX: ACB) (OTC: ACBFF) Aurora Cannabis boasts the second highest square footage approved for cannabis production in Canada. Together with its subsidiaries, Aurora produces and distributes medical marijuana products in Canada. The company's products consist of dried cannabis and cannabis oil. Aurora is the only cannabis producer located in the province of Alberta, giving the company a cost advantage through its free use of fresh mountain-fed water used on site, and housed under the lowest corporate tax rates and power rates in Canada. Capitalizing on numerous farm credit programs provided by the province, Aurora has positioned itself as arguably the lowest cost-per-gram licensed producer in Canada. Aurora became a licensed producer in 2015, and is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Canopy Growth Inc. (TSX: WEED) (OTC: TWMJF) Formerly known as Tweed Marijuana Inc., Canopy Growth is a multi-licensed, geographically diverse marijuana producer, described as "one of the world's - and Canada's first - premier exporters of marijuana" by the Financial Post in 2016. Canopy is the parent company of licensed cannabis producers, Tweed Inc., Tweed Farms Inc., Bedrocan Canada Inc., as well as newly acquired Mettrum Health Corp. Canopy currently has a combined growing platform of over 665,000 sq. ft. of production space. It was also the first federally regulated, publicly traded cannabis producer in North America, and the first billion-dollar cannabis corporation. Canopy Growth was founded in 2014, and is based in Smith Falls, Ontario. Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc. (TSXV: EMH) (OTC: EMHTF) Emerald Health, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells medical marihuana and cannabis oils in Canada. The company has a joint venture partnership with Village Farms for greenhouse space, and with Abattis Resources for their jointly-owned subsidiary, Northern Vine Labs. Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc. is headquartered in Victoria, Canada and is a subsidiary of Emerald Health Sciences Inc. For a more in-depth look into Lifestyle Delivery Systems, Inc and to receive updates on the company you can view the company's website at: http://usanewsgroup.com/2018/01/19/seeking-the-next-big-winners-in-the-thriving-us-pot-market/ Article Source: USA News Group http://usanewsgroup.com [email protected] Legal Disclaimer/Disclosure This piece is an advertorial and has been paid for. This document is not and should not be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for any investment. No information in this Report should be construed as individualized investment advice. A licensed financial advisor should be consulted prior to making any investment decision. We make no guarantee, representation or warranty and accept no responsibility or liability as to its accuracy or completeness. Expressions of opinion are those of USA News Group only and are subject to change without notice. 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Media Contact Information: FN Media Group, LLC e-mail: [email protected] U.S. Phone: +1(954)345-0611 SOURCE USA News Group SAN DIEGO, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Dthera Sciences (OTCQB:DTHR), a digital therapeutics company developing quality-of-life therapies to address dementia from Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions, today commended the Alzheimer's Association report released earlier this week for highlighting the serious state of the disease, and particularly the high cost it exacts on the healthcare system and the patient caregivers. The "2018 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures" report stated that the overall costs to care for the estimated 5.7 million Americans with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias will reach a total of more than $277 billion in 2018 for the second year in a row. The cost is expected to increase significantly, as the number of Americans over the age of 65 increases from 53 million today, to 88 million by 2050. The report also points out the strain on caregivers, with one study citing that 48% of all caregivers for the elderly are caring for patients with some form of dementia. The report also highlighted the long duration and intensity of this type of care. Fifty seven percent of familial caregivers, according to another study cited in the report, have provided care for more than four years. The average time a caregiver spends caring for a patient with dementia is 92 hours per month, which is 27 more hours per month than care for patients without dementia. Dementia-patient caregivers also experience higher levels of emotional stress and financial burden than those who care for other types of patients. Poignantly, the report goes on to say that the "intimacy, shared experiences, and memories that are often part of the relationship between a caregiver and care recipient may also be threatened...[as the dementia advances]." "This important report from the Alzheimer's Association points out the devastating effect of Alzheimer's dementia on the US healthcare system, especially the toll it takes on caregivers, both familial and professional," said Edward Cox, Dthera Sciences CEO. "Dthera is focused on creating and delivering digital therapeutics that bring medically-validated treatments, such as reminiscence therapy, to patients suffering from dementia and severe forms of social isolation, to ease symptoms and create a better quality-of-life for them and their caregivers. Dthera expects to launch its first digital therapeutic product, ReminX, a tablet that delivers personalized reminiscence therapy, in the second quarter or 2018. We hope that ReminX will have a meaningful impact on this terrible disease, that has few viable treatment options." About Digital Therapeutics Digital therapeutics, a new and emerging subsection of digital health, is a technology that delivers a therapy directly to a patient via a digital interface. The sector offers the promise of scaling effective individual therapies to larger patient populations, thereby amplifying care, changing patient behavior, and reducing the cost-of-care. About Dthera Sciences Dthera Sciences, based in San Diego, is a publicly-traded digital therapeutics company developing and commercializing innovative quality-of-life therapies addressing dementia, and other social isolation issues, associated with the elderly and neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease. The company's lead product, ReminX, digitally delivers a clinically-supported therapy, reminiscence therapy (RT), to patients suffering from dementia, and extreme social isolation, to reduce anxiety and improve quality-of-life. An open-label study in patients with dementia, conducted at the University of California San Diego, showed a significant reduction in anxiety, depression and overall emotional distress after the patients viewed their story over ReminX. The company plans to launch ReminX commercially in the second quarter of 2018. For more information, please visit www.dthera.com and www.reminx.com Contact: Company Geno Kostikov Director, Corporate Development [email protected] (858) 215-6360 Media Deanne Eagle Planet Communications [email protected] (917) 837-5866 SOURCE Dthera Sciences Inc. Related Links https://dthera.com/ BROOKLYN, N.Y., March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The murky ecosystem of ransomware payments comes into focus in new research led by Damon McCoy, an assistant professor of computer science and engineering at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering. Ransomware attacks, which encrypt and hold a computer user's files hostage in exchange for payment, extort millions of dollars from individuals each month, and comprise one of the fastest-growing forms of cyber attack. In a paper slated for presentation at the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy in May, McCoy and a team including researchers from the University of California, San Diego; Princeton University; Google; and the blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis provide the first detailed account of the ransomware payment ecosystem, from initial attack to cash-out. Key findings include the discovery that South Koreans are disproportionately impacted by ransomware campaigns, with analysis revealing that $2.5 million of the $16 million in ransomware payments tracked by the researchers was paid in South Korea. The paper's authors call for additional research to determine the reason that so many South Koreans are victimized and how they can be protected. The team also found that most ransomware operators used a Russian bitcoin exchange, BTC-E, to convert bitcoin to fiat currencies. (BTC-E has since been seized by the FBI.) The researchers estimate that at least 20,000 individuals made ransomware payments over the past two years, at a confirmed cost of $16 million, although the actual payment total is likely far higher. McCoy and his collaborators took advantage of the public nature of the bitcoin blockchain technology to trace ransom payments over a two-year period. Bitcoins are the most common currency of ransomware payments, and because most victims do not own them, the initial bitcoin purchase provides a starting point for tracking payments. Each ransomware victim is often given a unique payment address that directs to a bitcoin wallet where the ransom is collected. The research team tapped public reports of ransomware attacks to identify these addresses and correlate them with blockchain transactions. To boost the number of transactions available for analysis, the team also executed real ransomware binaries in a controlled experimental environment, essentially becoming victims themselves and making micropayments to real ransom wallets in order to follow the bitcoin trail. "Ransomware operators ultimately direct bitcoin to a central account that they cash out periodically, and by injecting a little bit of our own money into the larger flow we could identify those central accounts, see the other payments flowing in, and begin to understand the number of victims and the amount of money being collected," McCoy said. The research team acknowledged that ethical issues prevent exploration of certain aspects of the ransomware ecosystem, including determining the percentage of victims who actually pay to recover their files. McCoy explained that despite having the ability to check for activity connected to a specific payment address, doing so would effectively "start the clock" and potentially cause victims to either pay a double ransom or lose the opportunity to recover their files altogether. Criminal use of cryptocurrencies is one of McCoy's research focuses. He and fellow researchers previously tracked human traffickers through their use of Bitcoin advertising. The most recent research was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, Google, and Comcast. About the New York University Tandon School of Engineering The NYU Tandon School of Engineering dates to 1854, the founding date for both the New York University School of Civil Engineering and Architecture and the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute (widely known as Brooklyn Poly). A January 2014 merger created a comprehensive school of education and research in engineering and applied sciences, rooted in a tradition of invention and entrepreneurship and dedicated to furthering technology in service to society. In addition to its main location in Brooklyn, NYU Tandon collaborates with other schools within NYU, the country's largest private research university, and is closely connected to engineering programs at NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Shanghai. It operates Future Labs focused on start-up businesses in downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn and an award-winning online graduate program. For more information, visit http://engineering.nyu.edu. www.facebook.com/nyutandon @NYUTandon SOURCE NYU Tandon School of Engineering Related Links http://engineering.nyu.edu TEL AVIV, Israel, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The bio-med company Alpha Tau Medical, which developed a highly effective and conformal treatment for cancer, successfully held its first international conference last week with over 200 oncologists from leading medical centers around the world. Alpha Tau Medical uses a breakthrough technology invented and developed by Prof. Itzhak Kelson and Prof. Yona Keisari from Tel Aviv University. At the summit, international participants from leading cancer centers discussed the application of Alpha DaRT to various cancer types. This image shows the participants at the conference trip to Jerusalem, Israel. "I expect that this meeting will expand the horizons of our invention, Alpha DaRT, and promote the implementation of the treatment for the benefit of millions of cancer patients worldwide," said Prof. Keisari, who currently serves as the Chief Biomedical Officer of Alpha Tau Medical. Alpha Tau Medical is led by CEO and Chairman Mr. Uzi Sofer who previously led the med-tech company Brainsway to its IPO in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. In 2015, Sofer left Brainsway and founded Alpha Tau Medical Ltd. At the end of the Summit, Sofer stated: "It was a great pleasure to host over 200 clinicians, researchers, and medical specialists from the best cancer centers in the world. 55 hospitals from 23 countries sent their representatives to discuss how the Alpha DaRT technology can be applied to various cancer indications." Since its foundation, the company has achieved highly promising preliminary results on over 17 patients in clinical trials in Israel and Europe. Further clinical trials will soon be launched across America and Asia for different cancer indications. For instance, the first clinical protocol that applies the Alpha DaRT technology to treat pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest indications, was presented at the summit by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. The technology, Alpha DaRT (Diffusing Alpha-Emitters Radiation Therapy), enables the use of alpha particles for the treatment of cancerous tumors by insertion of radioactive seeds into the tumor. The Alpha DaRT technology expands the physical scope of alpha radiation to kill solid tumors while sparing the surrounding healthy tissue. Furthermore, tumor destruction by DaRT stimulates systemic anti-tumor immunity which is responsible for the elimination of distant metastases. Media Contact: [email protected] Related Files Alpha DaRT - Technology Brochure.pdf Related Links Alpha Tau Medical Website Related Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ4KWdKLA34 SOURCE Alpha Tau Medical Ltd. Related Links http://www.alphataumedical.com HOUSTON, March 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Flotek Industries, Inc. (NYSE: FTK) announces changes among its executive leadership team to further optimize the Company as an asset-light, specialty chemistry technology organization. Matthew Marietta has been promoted to Executive Vice President of Finance & Corporate Development and will serve as the Company's principal financial officer. His responsibilities include overseeing the Company's financial strategy, mergers & acquisitions and general corporate development functions, including ongoing cost initiatives. Additionally, his role will assist the sales organization in business development and the accounting department in enhancing accounting functions and financial reporting. Matt joined Flotek in March 2017 and previously served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Investor Relations. Prior to joining Flotek, Mr. Marietta was a publishing sell-side analyst for Stephens, Inc. for, where he covered Flotek and oilfield services companies, as well as played a key role in the Investment Banks' successful relaunching of its public energy coverage. His experience includes finance, accounting and strategic planning roles at Exterran, Forestar Group and XTO Energy. Mr. Marietta graduated from Texas Christian University and holds a degree in Finance. "Matt has brought tremendous value to Flotek since joining approximately a year ago, contributing positively to the organization in his role and well beyond. He, along with the reshaped leadership team, has been critical to the significant transformation Flotek embarked on and completed in the past year," said John Chisholm, Flotek's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "He has initiated new financial and SG&A cost reduction strategies that continue to improve our fixed cost structure and benefit our organization and shareholders going forward. He is an innovative leader, and in his expanded role, he will continue to influence the Company's strategic and financial decisions, our employees, shareholders and clients." H. Richard Walton will assume the responsibilities of Chief Accounting Officer, overseeing the Company's financial reporting, tax compliance, internal controls and compliance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), as well as working with external auditors. Mr. Walton has been with the Company since 2013, serving as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Flotek, Rich spent his entire 30-year career in public accounting, including 20 years as an audit partner at KPMG LLP. His experience includes financial statement audits and registration of securities with the SEC. Following his retirement from KPMG in 2003, Rich served as a consultant to public companies, including Flotek since 2010. Rich is a certified public accountant and has served as an officer in the United States Army. He holds a Bachelor's degree from Westminster College in Economics and Business Administration. "For more than five years, Rich has been a steady and consistent accounting-focused leader at Flotek, providing enhanced discipline of the Company's accounting and financial functions," said Chisholm. "The Company and our shareholders will continue to benefit from his multi-decade experience in public accounting to maintain ongoing excellence in our financial reporting and accounting operations." Sally Cheadle will continue to serve as Vice President and Corporate Controller where she is directly responsible for external and internal financial reporting, as well as ensuring compliance with internal controls. Ms. Cheadle joined Flotek in 2017, following a nearly 25-year career at Baker Hughes, where she was a senior accounting and controls executive. A certified public accountant, her experience in finance spans financial reporting, analysis and budgeting, international accounting, internal controls and governance and external and internal auditing. Board Transitions Flotek also announced that Board of Directors Carla Schulz Hardy and John S. Reiland will complete their terms as of the Company's 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders on April 27, 2018. With these two transitions, Flotek's board will temporarily decrease in size to six returning directors as it continues a search process to identify candidates who will add long-term value to Flotek's strategic plan. During the second quarter of 2017, following the divestiture of the Flotek's non-core business units and in conjunction with the realignment of the Company's leadership team, the board initiated a corporate governance refreshment process. As such, the board engaged a third party to conduct a thorough process to identify new board member skills. About Flotek Industries, Inc. Flotek develops and delivers prescriptive chemistry-based technology, including specialty chemicals, to clients in the energy, consumer industrials and food & beverage industries. Flotek's inspired chemists draw from the power of bio-derived solvents to deliver solutions that enhance energy production, cleaning products, foods & beverages and fragrances. In the oil and gas sector, Flotek serves major and independent energy producers and oilfield service companies, both domestic and international. Flotek Industries, Inc. is a publicly traded company headquartered in Houston, Texas, and its common shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "FTK." For additional information, please visit Flotek's web site at www.flotekind.com. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements set forth in this Press Release constitute forward-looking statements (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) regarding Flotek Industries, Inc.'s business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Words such as expects, anticipates, intends, plans, believes, seeks, estimates and similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying forward-looking statements in this Press Release. Although forward-looking statements in this Press Release reflect the good faith judgment of management, such statements can only be based on facts and factors currently known to management. Consequently, forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results and outcomes may differ materially from the results and outcomes discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences in results and outcomes include, but are not limited to, demand for oil and natural gas drilling services in the areas and markets in which the Company operates, competition, obsolescence of products and services, the Company's ability to obtain financing to support its operations, environmental and other casualty risks, and the impact of government regulation. Further information about the risks and uncertainties that may impact the Company are set forth in the Company's most recent filings on Form 10-K (including without limitation in the "Risk Factors" Section), and in the Company's other SEC filings and publicly available documents. Readers are urged not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this Press Release. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect any event or circumstance that may arise after the date of this Press Release. SOURCE Flotek Industries, Inc. Related Links http://www.flotekind.com HELSINKI, Sweden, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Trade of softwood lumber reached an all-time-high in 2017 as demand for wood was strong in most key markets around the world, as reported in the latest issue of the Wood Resource Quarterly. Lumber prices from Canada, the Nordic countries and Russia moved up to the highest levels in over two years in the 4Q/17. This is an excerpt from the newly released market report Wood Resource Quarterly. To read the full 56-page quarterly report, please visit www.woodprices.com to initiate an annual subscription. WRQ - 30 Years of Global Wood Price Reporting Global Lumber Trade Trade of softwood lumber reached an all-time-high in 2017 as demand for wood was strong in most key markets around the world. An estimated 126 million m3 of softwood lumber was shipped from forest-rich countries such as Canada, Russia, Sweden and Finland to markets with high consumption of lumber, including China, the US, the United Kingdom, Japan and Germany. Since the global recession in 2008, international trade of lumber has gone up by as much as 50%. With the economy forecasted to stay healthy in the US and Europe in 2018, this might be another good year for lumber exporters. Lumber markets North America US softwood lumber production in 2017 reached the highest level seen in ten years. The biggest increase came in the southern states, but other regions of the country also had healthy production gains year-over-year. The higher domestic production levels resulted in decreased demand for imported lumber as US lumber consumption was up by only one percent from 2016. The strong market for lumber in the US led to record high lumber prices in both the US and Canada in late 2017 and early 2018. Lumber markets Northern Europe Softwood lumber production in Finland reached a ten-year high of 11.9 million m3 in 2017. The higher production was driven by expanding lumber exports, particularly to China. High demand for lumber from Europe, Asia and the US in late 2017 pushed export prices in the Nordic countries to their highest levels in almost three years. Lumber markets China Over the past two years, prices for imported softwood lumber to China have been steadily rising and in January 2018 reached their highest levels since March 2015. Lumber supply from Russia and North America has generally been the lowest cost lumber imported to China, while lumber from Chile, Sweden and Finland typically is at the higher end of the price spectrum. Russia and Canada continue to be the major suppliers, but their total market share has shrunk from 81% in 2015 to 76% in 2017, with particularly Nordic mills increasing their presence in this fast-growing market. Lumber market Japan Although lumber imports to Japan fell in the 4Q/17, the total volume for the year was up slightly for the second consecutive year. The biggest changes in supply over the past few years have been reduced shipments from Canada and increased imports from Finland and Sweden. Compared to most other major markets of the world, domestic and import prices for lumber have been surprisingly stable. Lumber market Middle East/North Africa The Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) lumber markets grew fast from 2007 to 2015, reaching a peak of imported lumber of about 11.5 million m3 in 2015. Since then, import volumes have fallen by over 20% to an estimated nine million m3 in 2017. This decline came as the result of financial and political uncertainties in many countries in the region. Additionally, Finland and Sweden began redirect their sales to meet growing wood demand in China and other European nations. Global lumber, sawlog and pulpwood market reporting is included in the 56-page quarterly publication Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ). The report, which was established in 1988 and has subscribers in over 30 countries, tracks sawlog, pulpwood, wood chip, lumber and pellet prices, trade and market developments in most key regions around the world. To subscribe to the WRQ, please go to www.woodprices.com Contact Information Wood Resources International LLC Hakan Ekstrom Seattle, USA [email protected] www.woodprices.com CONTACT: Wood Resources International LLC Hakan Ekstrom [email protected] www.woodprices.com This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/wood-resources-international-llc/r/global-trade-of-softwood-lumber-reached-a-record-high-in-2017-as-demand-for-wood-continued-to-increa,c2479586 The following files are available for download: http://mb.cision.com/Main/1902/2479586/810488.pdf Global trade of softwood lumber reached a record-high in 2017 as demand for wood continued to increase in the US, China and Europe, reports the WRQ SOURCE Wood Resources International LLC SAVANNAH, Ga., March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. has announced it is extending its Student Leadership Program to Dallas-Fort Worth, home of the company's mid-cabin completions facility and a service center. The multicity student program leverages community and business partnerships to introduce high school students to careers in aviation, manufacturing, science, technology, engineering and math. More than 300 local students each year are expected to attend and benefit from the program, which will include a curriculum focused on developing work readiness, instilling leadership skills, providing in-depth information related to career pathways in aviation and other STEM-related fields, and providing hands-on tours of Gulfstream Dallas and the Frontiers of Flight Museum. "We hope students participating in the program will learn more about the opportunities that exist for them, whether it's building or maintaining the next generation of aircraft or developing the next breakthrough technology," said Robby Harless, vice president and general manager, Gulfstream Dallas. "We are grateful for the support from the community and our partners the Dallas Independent School District, the State Fair of Texas and the Frontiers of Flight Museum for making this program a reality for the Dallas area." Launched in Savannah in 2008, the Student Leadership Program is designed to equip students with tangible skills to explore options beyond the classroom. Since its inception, more than 1,000 students have participated in the program, and more than four dozen businesses and community partners provide support. In addition to Savannah and Dallas, the program is offered in Appleton, Wisconsin, and Brunswick, Georgia. To learn more about the program, visit: www.discoverslp.com. NOTE TO EDITORS Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), designs, develops, manufactures, markets, services and supports the world's most technologically advanced business-jet aircraft. Gulfstream has produced more than 2,800 aircraft for customers around the world since 1958. To meet the diverse transportation needs of the future, Gulfstream offers a comprehensive fleet of aircraft, comprising the Gulfstream G280TM, the Gulfstream G550TM, the Gulfstream G500TM, the Gulfstream G600TM, the Gulfstream G650TM and the Gulfstream G650ERTM. Gulfstream also offers aircraft ownership services via Gulfstream Pre-Owned Aircraft SalesTM. We invite you to visit our website for more information and photos at www.gulfstreamnews.com. More information about General Dynamics is available at www.generaldynamics.com. SOURCE Gulfstream Related Links http://www.generaldynamics.com DAYTON, Ohio, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Reynolds and Reynolds Company and Hendrick Automotive Group today announced that the Reynolds docuPAD system will be installed in all dealership F&I departments throughout the company by mid-July. Overall, Reynolds will install more than 350 docuPAD system workstations in the 96 Hendrick Automotive Group dealerships, with a large portion of those installations already having occurred. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Hendrick Automotive Group will be the largest single user of the docuPAD system in the United States. "The docuPAD system has proven itself everywhere it's been installed," said Bob Brockman, chairman and CEO of Reynolds. "I've always admired Hendrick Automotive Group as disciplined and well run. Adding the docuPAD system to their F&I functions will help them take another step forward in the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations and in generating better financial returns in F&I." Installing the docuPAD system also enables Hendrick Automotive Group stores to adopt Reynolds eWorkflow, an end-to-end digital solution for creating and processing a deal and securing funding using eContracting. Hendrick Automotive Group dealerships are already using electronic deal jackets and eliminating the stacks of paper that go to the accounting office, the lender, and the consumer. Reynolds eWorkflow also improves dealership cash flow by cutting contracts-in-transit time and facilitating faster funding of deals. Additionally, it reduces document storage costs. "The people at Reynolds are true partners who share many of our company's core values," said Rick Hendrick, chairman of Hendrick Automotive Group. "Continuous improvement has been a long-standing focus for our company. The combination of Reynolds' leading technologies and close working relationship with our team members is helping our dealerships take care of a whole new generation of customers." The Reynolds docuPAD system is well established in dealerships across the automotive industry as an effective way to increase financial returns in F&I offices, while also reducing errors in the F&I process and safeguarding a dealer's compliance efforts. At that same time, the docuPAD system completely changes the consumer experience in F&I. "Reynolds is working with our dealerships on becoming more efficient, helping reduce storage costs, and simplifying compliance needs," said Robert Taylor, vice president of Hendrick Automotive Group Information Technology. "These new technology platforms are also fully interactive and allow our team members and customers to go seamlessly through an interactive F&I process. They are interchangeable, giving our individual F&I departments the ability to customize the process, fit the needs of their customers, and improve the overall dealership experience." Dealerships across the industry last year closed approximately 1.6 million vehicle sales using the Reynolds docuPAD system, an increase of more than 30 percent over 2016. On average, those dealerships also realized increased gross profit in F&I operations. Looking ahead, Reynolds projects that 2 million vehicle sales will be closed through the docuPAD system in 2018. "All of us at Reynolds are extremely proud to work with the people across Hendrick Automotive Group," Brockman said. "We recognize that their customers expect a rewarding, convenient, and efficient experience. We believe the new solutions we're providing will help every Hendrick Automotive Group store deliver that experience more effectively and profitably." For the past 10 years, Reynolds has invested steadily in developing the products and services that will help dealers become better retailers and meet head-on the retailing challenges in the rapidly changing automotive industry. All Reynolds products are built on a shared platform to enable them to function as a complete Retail Management System. About Reynolds and Reynolds Reynolds and Reynolds is a leading provider of automobile dealership software, services, and forms to help dealerships deliver better business results and transform the customer experience. The privately held company is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, with major U.S. operations in Houston and College Station, Texas, and Celina, Ohio, as well as operations in Canada, in the U.K., and Europe. (www.reyrey.com) About Hendrick Automotive Group Encompassing 96 dealerships from the Carolinas to California, Hendrick Automotive Group is the largest privately held automotive retail organization in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the company employs more than 10,000 people in its dealerships, collision centers and accessories distributor installers in 14 states. For more information, please visit www.HendrickAuto.com. SOURCE The Reynolds and Reynolds Company Related Links http://www.reyrey.com ALBANY, New York, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the latest market report published by Transparency Market Research titled "Canned Tuna Market': Global Industry Analysis and Forecast 2017-2025," the revenue generated from canned tuna has been estimated to be valued over US$ 10,496.1 Mn in 2017, which is projected to increase at a CAGR of 3.8% during the forecast period (2017-2025). Market Taxonomy: By Species, Distribution Channel, and Region By species type, the global canned tuna market is segmented as albacore, skipjack tuna, yellowfin tuna, Bluefin tuna, bigeye tuna and longtail tuna. By distribution channel the market is segmented as direct and indirect. Furthermore, by indirect channel, the market is segmented as hypermarkets/supermarkets, specialty stores, online channels, convenience stores and others. By end use, the market is segmented as foodservice and households. Request A Sample Of Canned Tuna Market: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=18581 On the basis of region, the market in Europe is anticipated to dominate the global canned tuna market both in terms of value and volume in 2017. North America is expected to gain significant market share in revenue terms by 2025 end. This trend is attributed to the consumer dependence on canned tuna as demand for processed and ready-to-eat food is growing in this region. Moreover, BENELUX is projected to exhibit significant CAGR in terms of value during the forecast period. While the consumer demand for canned tuna witnesses a downward trend, the increasing demand from the Middle East is leveling off this decline, and emerging as an attractive market for ASEAN canned tuna exporters. The exemption from import duties in the Middle East has led to higher exports in this region. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Israel are the largest importers of tuna in the Middle East, accounting for 21%, 19%, and 11% import share, respectively. The import tariff in most of the countries in this region is only 5%, which is very low as compared to the U.S. and the EU. In spite of the large scope for fishing, the Middle Eastern region is poorly developed in fishing, and hence, is heavily dependent on imports from ASEAN countries, especially Vietnam. High demand from non-traditional markets is the only rescuer of the canned tuna market from declining in the near future. View in-depth table of contents for this report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/18581 US Canned Seafood Market to Face a Downward Trend Overfishing has led governments to ban commercial fishing in parts of the Pacific Ocean. The ban on fishing has led to the overall lower supply of tuna, consequently leading to higher prices of canned tuna. Higher prices have, in turn, led to lower demand for canned tuna from regions such as Europe. Tuna species such as yellowfin are overfished and are categorized as an endangered species. Concerns against overfishing are growing and are leading to the fluctuating supply and demand of canned seafood, globally. In the U.S., the canned seafood market is also indicating a clear downward trend due to the lack of sustainable and regular supply of its main product. Consumers in the U.S. and Europe are highly concerned about dolphin deaths caused due to tuna fishing. A vast number of dolphins have been killed during tuna fishing, and consumers are averse to buying products that have resulted in the deaths of this large by catch. Consumer sensitivity towards the sustainability of canned tuna dictates the growth of the market. The dolphin safety issue has been trending in the canned tuna market over the past many years and is still a major obstacle being blamed for the decline of the canned tuna market. Ask for Discount on Premium Research Report (US$ 5795) With Complete TOC: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=D&rep_id=18581 Key Market Players Some of the major companies operating in the global Canned Tuna market are Thai Union Group, Alliance Select Foods International, Inc., Ocean Brands GP, Bumble Bee Foods, LLC, StarKist Co., Raincoast Trading Company, Princes Group, Golden Prize Canning Co., Ltd., PT. Aneka Tuna Indonesia., Wild Planet Foods Inc.., Hi-Q Food Products Co., Ltd., American Tuna Inc., Safcol Australia Pty. Ltd., Conga Foods Pty Ltd, Millaton Fishery Co. Ltd., Sadr Darya Co., Dorj Group Companies, Tohfe Food Product Company, C-Food International LLC and Pegasusfood Co., Ltd. The market has been segmented as below: Global Canned Tuna market - By Species Type Albacore Skipjack Tuna Yellowfin Tuna Bigeye Tuna Longtail Tuna Bluefin Tuna Global Canned Tuna market - Distribution Channel Direct Indirect Hypermarkets/Supermarkets Specialty Stores Online Channels Convenience Stores Others Global Canned Tuna market - By End Use Foodservice Households Popular Research Reports of TMR: Guava Puree Market: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/guava-puree-market.html Functional Flour Market: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/functional-flours-market.html About Us Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMR's experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information. Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports. Contact Transparency Market Research State Tower, 90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany NY - 12207 United States Tel: +1-518-618-1030 USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Research Blog: http://www.editiontruth.com/ SOURCE Transparency Market Research NOVI, Mich., March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Hino Trucks announced several organizational changes today as part of its overall growth plans in the U.S. Earlier this month, Hino Trucks unveiled its first ever class 8 truck for the North American market by launching its Hino XL Series. In late 2017, Hino announced the purchase of a new manufacturing facility in Mineral Wells, West Virginia to accommodate the production of the new XL Series, and to meet the growing demand for its current class 6 and 7 line-up of conventional trucks. Additionally, Hino broke ground on a new state-of-the-art U.S. corporate headquarters in Novi, Michigan back in August 2017. "As we execute our plan to expand our product line up, increase our sales, and provide the Hino advantage to a growing number of dealers and customers in the U.S., we also need to strengthen our team to support the growth," noted Yoshinori Noguchi, President and CEO of Hino Trucks. The first organizational change to note is that Yoshinori Noguchi, in addition to his role of CEO of North America, is promoted to Executive Vice President of Hino Motors, Ltd. Mr. Noguchi's 18 years of international experience will serve Hino well as they continue to expand globally. George Daniels is appointed to a newly created role of Executive Advisor. In his new role, George will support senior management through the completion of the new building and ensure a successful launch of the Hino XL Series, while stepping away from some of the day-to-day responsibilities of his current role. Glenn Ellis is promoted to Senior Vice President, Customer Experience. Glenn will lead the Marketing and Dealer Operations, Product Planning and Service Operations organizations. Bob Petz is promoted to Senior Vice President, Vehicle and Parts Sales. Bob will lead the Sales, Logistics and Parts Operations organizations. Both Glenn and Bob have been with Hino Trucks for over 13 years and will report to Mr. Noguchi. John Donato is promoted to Vice President, Parts Operations. John will have responsibility for all parts related activities including the Parts Sales organization and Parts Distribution Centers (PDCs) and report to Bob Petz. Lastly, John Musial is promoted to Vice President, Service Operations. John will head up Hino's Service, Warranty and Training organizations and will report to Glenn Ellis. "I feel very strongly that the team we have put in place will guide the Hino Team and dealer network to provide our customers with the Ultimate Ownership Experience," added Noguchi. ABOUT HINO TRUCKS: Hino Trucks, a Toyota Group Company, assembles, sells, and services a lineup of Class 4-8 diesel commercial trucks in the United States. Hino Trucks is the premier heavy & medium duty nameplate in the United States with a product lineup that offers fully connected vehicles with low total cost of ownership, superior fuel economy, unmatched reliability and maneuverability and the most comprehensive bundle of standard features in the market. Headquartered in Novi, Michigan, Hino has a network of over 230 dealers nationwide committed to achieving excellence in customer service and support. Learn more about Hino Trucks at http://www.hino.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. SOURCE Hino Trucks Related Links http://www.hino.com New trade show brings the leading pro-AV and integrated experience technologies to one of the world's most exciting emerging markets FAIRFAX, Va., March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AVIXA, the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association, in partnership with InfoCommAsia Pte Ltd, is pleased to announce it will debut its InfoComm Southeast Asia show May 15-17, 2019, at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC). "Southeast Asia is one of the largest and most exciting emerging economic blocs in the world," said Richard Tan, Executive Director of InfoCommAsia. "It has always been our mission to help our partners open doors to new and emerging markets. In addition to our more established shows in China and India, which have seen great success year after year, we are confident that our new platform in Southeast Asia will achieve that same success. We see a lot of market potential in the region." Comprising Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, the Southeast Asia region is currently the seventh-largest economy in the world and is projected to be the fourth largest by 2050, according to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It is united politically and economically via ASEAN, which has pushed hard collectively in recent years to accelerate economic development and break down trade barriers. To that end, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) was formed with the goal of developing a single market. According to a study by the Asian Development Bank and International Labour Organisation, up to 14 million jobs could be generated within ASEAN by 2025. With the addition of InfoComm Southeast Asia, AVIXA now hosts four shows in Asia-Pacific, including Beijing InfoComm China, Chengdu InfoComm China, and InfoComm India. The Bangkok show will feature an exhibition showcasing world-class pro-AV and experiential communications technologies, as well as an education summit with extensive learning opportunities. According to AVIXA's 2017 AV Industry Outlook and Trends Analysis Asia-Pacific, the East Asian pro-AV market's value will increase by about 35 percent between 2016 and 2022. The industry was projected at $17.7 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $23.3 billion in 2022. China's One Belt, One Road initiative, a massive investment in development of infrastructure and trade routes across Europe and Asia-Pacific, is prompting economic growth in Asia-Pacific. Between 2013 and 2016, roughly $60 billion was spent under the initiative, and the Chinese government plans to spend up to $150 billion per year for the next five years. "AVIXA is continually evaluating burgeoning pro-AV markets where support and resources can help spur growth," said AVIXA Chief Executive Officer David Labuskes, CTS, CAE, RCDD. "A show in Southeast Asia represents a big step in that direction by providing a platform for the latest in transformative pro-AV technology, industry best practices, and thought leadership. We're excited to see this region grow so dramatically and impact the overall progression of the AV industry globally." The inaugural InfoComm Southeast Asia will run May 15-17, 2019, at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC). For more information, visit www.infocomm-sea.com. About AVIXA AVIXA is the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association, producer of InfoComm trade shows around the world, co-owner of Integrated Systems Europe, and the international trade association representing the audiovisual industry. Established in 1939, AVIXA has more than 5,400 members, including manufacturers, systems integrators, dealers and distributors, consultants, programmers, live events companies, technology managers, content producers, and multimedia professionals from more than 80 countries. AVIXA members create integrated AV experiences that deliver outcomes for end users. AVIXA is a hub for professional collaboration, information, and community, and the leading resource for AV standards, certification, training, market intelligence and thought leadership. Additional information is available at avixa.org. About InfoCommAsia InfoCommAsia Pte Ltd extends its influence through three marquee shows: Beijing InfoComm China, Chengdu InfoComm China, InfoComm India, and InfoComm Southeast Asia. Each show comprises an exhibition that showcases the world's most cutting-edge and in-demand inventions, and a summit that presents learning opportunities. Bringing together industry players and top-level decision-makers from across all industries, the shows enable industry players to tap into the vast potential presented by the pro-AV and integrated experience technology markets of each country and region. Additional information is available at: PRESS CONTACTS: Krystle Murphy, Communications Manager, AVIXA Email: [email protected] Phone: +1.703.279-6366 David Lim, Senior Director, InfoCommAsia Pte Ltd Email: [email protected] Phone: +65 9683 5275 SOURCE AVIXA CHICAGO, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- This Saturday, March 24th, renowned fathers' rights attorney Jeffery M. Leving will interview Illinois State Representative LaShawn K. Ford supporting landmark Illinois legislation that will provide both parents with equal parenting time with their children. This major new legislation, House Bill 4113, is sponsored by Representative Ford and strongly supported by Jeffery M. Leving, a passionate advocate of fathers' rights for over three decades. The interview is scheduled to take place at 9 a.m. CDT as a part of the weekly Dads' Rights Legal Hour Show on Power 92.3 FM. "I support this new law because it puts the interests of children first and helps to rectify the current state of inequality where dads spend significantly less time with their children than mothers," said Leving. This increase in so-called "shared responsibility" legislation reflects recent studies that unequivocally prove the critical importance of a father's presence in the lives of his children and the corresponding detriment of father absence. According to a March 15, 2016 article by Jen Fifield on the Pew Foundation Stateline blog, a "10-year study funded by the National Institutes of Health, found that children who felt they mattered to their fathers were less likely to later have mental health problems such as depression or anxiety." In addition to providing that spending equal time with both parents is in the "presumptive" best interest of the child, House Bill 4113 provides that both parents are presumed to be "fit" unless there is "clear and convincing evidence that a parent's exercise of parenting time would seriously endanger the child's physical, mental, moral, or emotional health." The current law holds that only a "preponderance of the evidence" is necessary to deem a parent unfit. This change would provide a disincentive to parents from making unsubstantiated allegations against each other to avoid shared parenting time. Should House Bill 4113 pass, Illinois will join several states, including Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, South Dakota and Utah, that the National Parents Organization lists as having laws most supportive of shared parenting, while Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts and Missouri are considering similar legislation. Any father seeking resources in fighting for parental rights should follow Jeffery Leving on Twitter @fathersmatter and on Facebook @FathersRightsMovement. Contact: Jennifer Whiteside [email protected] 312.296-3666 SOURCE Law Offices of Jeffery Leving, Ltd. Related Links http://dadsrights.com BENTON HARBOR, Mich., March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- JennAir today unveiled its new brand campaign, Bound By Nothing, a creative mission rooted in deep consumer luxury category insights. According to Ipsos1, 81 percent of modern ultra affluent luxury consumers believe the definition of luxury is rapidly changing. That change is underscored by a recent Deloitte2 luxury consumer goods research study, suggesting that 45 percent of luxury consumers are asking for personalized products and services, rather than carbon copies of conventional luxury. Thus, JennAir, a brand rooted in progress, has set forth a limitless new vision of luxury under the Bound By Nothing creative platform. Bound By Nothing signals a complete brand overhaul, and serves as a mission to reinvigorate luxury audiences, tear down stale conventions, slash through conformity and usher in a new era of luxury standards. With significant new product offerings across two new design expressions, three exclusive statement pieces and a notably elevated brand identity, JennAir is breathing new life into the very meaning of luxury. "JennAir is driving both the luxury appliance category and Whirlpool Corporation forward with provocative design, masterful execution and exceptional performance that unapologetically challenges convention," said Joe Liotine, president, Whirlpool North America Region. "This is evident in the unmistakable edge found in every detail of JennAir's disruptive design, distinct craftsmanship, impeccable performance, and frictionless connectivity." Tapping modern luxury consumer research, the brand saw a white space in the premium appliance category. Data across segmentation, behavioral studies and macro trend analyses revealed the luxury audience is actually an emerging growth consumer a new audience within a seemingly established category drawn to strong leadership behaviors such as courage, distinctiveness, calculated risk taking and most importantly, the idea of progress. Leaving the one-size-fits-all notion of luxury symbols behind, Bound By Nothing speaks directly to this elevated mindset, leveraging the insight that common experiences are simply not good enough. "The luxury category has been resting on its laurels with specific features and dated symbols as predetermined markers of success for the wealthy consumer," said Jon Hall, marketing director, JennAir. "We know the modern luxury consumer recognizes that their wealth gives them freedom to choose what they really want based on primal desires and what makes them truly happy: unique design, experiences, personalization, customization and digital progress." Integrated Marketing Campaign: Bound By Nothing Whirlpool Corporation's deep commitment to the JennAir brand comes to life through both brand and product leadership as JennAir unleashes the power of its Bound By Nothing brand campaign. The multi-million dollar Bound By Nothing campaign and unveil of more than 70 new products marks the most significant investment in the JennAir brand since its acquisition by Whirlpool Corporation in 2006 as its super-premium offering within the portfolio. Product leadership is evident through the new products across two new design expressions that target the super premium segment, driving progress for the luxury kitchen appliance category. The brand transformation represents freedom from conformity and more importantly, progress across inspiration, personal expression and confidence. This will come to life across national print, digital and out-of-home advertising, an emboldened new brand wordmark and brand website, influencer engagement, online video, social channels and earned media efforts, customer relations management (CRM), and showroom transformations, elevated immersions and training, disruptive activations and events that push past expectations and of course, in every design and performance detail of the JennAir product offerings. As the Bound By Nothing revolution takes place in kitchens in late 2018, JennAir will give designers and urban tastemakers the power to transform kitchen design, encouraging them to break from common experiences and parity. Across the RISE and NOIR design expressions, consumers and designers will find the aesthetic edge they prefer. A digital platform cuts across the suite of products and design expressions to deliver distinctive, uncompromised performance and service. Finally, three statement pieces were revealed to a select group of designers and tastemakers at UNBOUND, the exclusive invite-only JennAir event in New York City, showcasing hand-curated artistry that heralds the brand's rise from the ashes of convention to deliver what the new modern luxury audience craves. "This campaign represents the grit and hard work of today's modern luxury. The revived JennAir brand and the Bound By Nothing campaign reflect what the research showed us the luxury market is a fresh segment that continues to evolve in an otherwise stagnant category," continued Hall. "Rooted in our founder's spirit, and forge a new vision of luxury with provocative design, masterful execution and exceptional performance." The brand's new wordmark purposefully encapsulates its emboldened spirit, as "Jenn" harkens back to the progressive spirit of Lou Jenn, while "Air" represents the endless possibilities that lie ahead. Together these are the tenets of the brand in its every action from product performance and design to ownership connectivity and service and each touchpoint in between. Embodying the ethos of the Bound By Nothing campaign, the JennAir brand is limitless, paving a path of progress in the luxury category. Unveiled at the Architectural Digest Design Show (ADDS) in New York City, the Bound By Nothing campaign champions a new day as JennAir boldly issues a siren call to join a luxury appliance revolution. Learn more at JennAir.com, @JennAir on Instagram and Twitter, Facebook.com/JennAir, and YouTube.com/JennAir. About JennAir Defying physics with the invention of downdraft ventilation, Lou Jenn forged the path to an open concept and changed the kitchen forever. Founded in that progress, JennAir fearlessly carries his torch hell-bent on burning down the tired conventions of luxury. JennAir crafts distinctive luxury kitchen appliances that push form and function to transform spaces. With exceptional performance, masterful execution and provocative design, JennAir offerings are powerful, yet bespoke to individual tastes, shattering norms to deliver the progress that today's luxury consumer deserves. To speak with a concierge at the JennAir Epicenter or learn more about the new offerings from JennAir, please visit JennAir.com or join us on instagram.com/JennAir, facebook.com/JennAir, twitter.com/JennAir and youtube.com/JennAir. 1 Ipsos's The Affluent Outlook 2016 2 Deloitte's Global Powers of Luxury Goods 2017: The new luxury consumer Media contact: [email protected] SOURCE JennAir Related Links http://JennAir.com WASHINGTON, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A white paper published today by leaders in clinical research for lupus provides actionable proposals for improving lupus treatment trials and advances persuasive evidence for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to consider in support of new approaches. The white paper "Lupus Community Panel Proposals for Optimizing Clinical Trials: 2018," was developed to address critical issues that have stymied the lupus drug development process for decades. Lupus is a misunderstood autoimmune disease that can ravage different parts of the body in an unpredictable manner. It is difficult to diagnose, hard to live with and challenging to treat. There is only one treatment approved by the FDA created specifically for lupus Belimumab. No treatment works for all patients during a lifelong chronic illness, and the white paper establishes that the current standard of disease control is unacceptable, identifying specific problems with the design of lupus clinical trials that are getting in the way of developing effective treatments. The recommendations in the white paper highlight five key solutions for optimizing lupus clinical trials, which include making trials available to people with all types of lupus, decreasing the size of trials, using recent scientific breakthroughs to select patients most likely to benefit from a given treatment, improving choices in the background medications used, and improving the methods by which the symptoms of people with lupus are tracked and graded. "I've been involved with more than thirty failed clinical trials for lupus since the 1990's," said Joan T. Merrill, M.D., Chief Advisor of Clinical Development at the Lupus Foundation of America and member of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, and the lead author of the paper. "The heroes of our field are those who patiently re-evaluated the data from each disappointing study. Now, finally we can apply those lessons learned to give promising new treatments for lupus a fair test." The white paper builds upon the Lupus Foundation of America's 2009 Lewin Report, which issued recommendations on ways to overcome the barriers that have obstructed lupus drug development. The white paper is also an outgrowth of the Foundation's ongoing leadership in working with the FDA to advance clinical trials in lupus. Dr. Merrill along with Susan Manzi, M.D., M.P.H., Chair of the Medicine Institute at Allegheny Health Network and Medical Director of the Lupus Foundation of America, and Victoria P. Werth, M.D., Professor of Dermatology & Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine drafted the paper. As part of the research for composing the paper, they received input and guidance from nearly three dozen opinion leaders in the field of lupus including lengthy consultations with key clinical scientists from a number of biopharmaceutical companies. This represents the first time the lupus research community has come together to submit recommendations to the FDA for improving clinical trials. "The breadth of input in this white paper clearly demonstrates that a community of leaders in the field has agreed upon a plan for improving lupus clinical trial design," said Sandra C. Raymond, CEO of the Lupus Foundation of America. "This is a first of its kind collaboration among lupus experts that may shift the paradigm for how lupus clinical trials are conducted so that more effective treatments for this devastating disease can be developed." To view the "Lupus Community Panel Proposals for Optimizing Clinical Trials: 2018" white paper, visit: http://lupus.bmj.com/content/lupusscimed/5/1/e000258.full.pdf. About the Lupus Foundation of America's Research Program Research is the key to solving the cruel mystery of lupus and ending its brutal impact. The Lupus Foundation of America focuses on smart research that will lead to faster progress, and has supported more than 400 lupus research studies conducted at more than 100 medical institutions throughout the United States. Data generated by the Foundation's early research investments have provided important pathways toward identifying people at highest risk for lupus and stopping the disease before it starts. For more information on Foundation research priorities, visit lupus.org/research. About the Lupus Foundation of America The Lupus Foundation of America is the only national force devoted to solving the mystery of lupus, one of the world's cruelest, most unpredictable and devastating diseases, while giving caring support to those who suffer from its brutal impact. Through a comprehensive program of research, education, and advocacy, we lead the fight to improve the quality of life for all people affected by lupus. Learn more about the Lupus Foundation of America at lupus.org. CONTACT: Mike Donnelly [email protected] 202.349.1162 SOURCE Lupus Foundation of America Related Links http://www.lupus.org LAS VEGAS, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- After one day at ZorkFest 2018 in Las Vegas, attendees will travel smarter for less money by learning about insights and tools from experienced speakers. One good tip can literally save hundreds of dollars. ZorkFest 2017 attendee Phil from Pennsylvania commented that "Prior to the first ZorkFest, I used my debit card everywhere and paid for my flights; but in several short months, I've learned which cards yield the most benefits in each category and earned enough points to fly with my wife in first class to ZorkFest 2018 (saving well over $1,000 and traveling in style). I look forward to reconnecting with this group and seeing what else I can learn." Tony S. from Vice Lounge Online concurred. "ZorkFest is, without a doubt, the quintessential event for smart travelers. Whether it's maximizing your loyalty points or your gambling dollar, the presentations offer insight for newbies and pros alike! I walked out of ZorkFest 2017 with a blueprint for discounted travel and a strategy to get the most freebies from the casinos. Thanks to the knowledgeable speakers at ZorkFest, I learned that paying full price to travel, stay or gamble is for suckers!" Many topics of the expanded agenda for 2018 include: * Flight deals for beginners * Tools for booking and getting the best hotel rates, airfare and car rentals * How to attack casino marketing offers * "Sweet Spot Award Redemptions" Best Uses of Miles & Points * Everything you ever wanted to know about cruise promotions and family travel to destinations such as Disney theme parks * Leveraging your everyday spending into first-class flights and five-star hotel redemptions with a few key credit cards Attendees can choose to mix and match as many sessions as they like from different tracks which will run simultaneously throughout the day. Speakers with vast experience from the frequent travel, travel loyalty and gambling communities will host the interactive sessions. A uniquely intensive Award Travel Bootcamp program is also offered this year. "I want to help people optimize the miles and points they earn from travel loyalty programs and casino comps they accumulate from gambling by using all the available tools for maximum results," said Michael Trager, who founded ZorkFest. "ZorkFest 2017 exceeded everyone's expectations including mine. I am excited about ZorkFest 2018 and can't wait for more people to learn how to maximize their travel budget and travel better." Register here EVENT: ZorkFest 2018 When: May 26, 2018 Where: Treasure Island Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada Contact Author BRIAN COHEN TravelZork USA +1 201.402.6555 Email > [email protected] MICHAEL TRAGER TravelZork Email > [email protected] Website > www.zorkfest.com Twitter and Instagram> @travelzork Facebook> https://www.facebook.com/TravelZork/ SOURCE TravelZork Related Links http://www.zorkfest.com VANCOUVER, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - LITE ACCESS TECHNOLOGIES INC. (the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: LTE) (OTC PINK: LTCCF) is pleased to announce that Gigaclear plc ("Gigaclear") has awarded the Company a rural fibre optic deployment contract to bring ultrafast, full fibre broadband to up to 10,000 homes in West Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. The total expected value of this award is upwards of $29,000,000 with completion of the works anticipated by the end of 2019. Carlo Shimoon, CEO of Lite Access, stated, "This is a watershed moment for our Company and validates the premium quality of our work and ramp up in the UK over the past year. Our cutting-edge fibre deployment technologies are ideally suited for this rural environment and we expect to expand our strategic relationship with Gigaclear in support of their growing rural fibre coverage. We could not be more excited about this first, of what we expect will be many, opportunities. We are pleased with the direction the Company is heading, our growth potential, and ensuring that we remain a world leader in this industry to unlock the full fibre future in the UK and elsewhere." About Gigaclear Gigaclear is dedicated to building and operating ultrafast, pure Fibre-to-the-Premises broadband networks in rural Britain. It offers Gigabit services to over 60,000 homes and businesses to date across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Gloucestershire, Kent, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Rutland and Worcestershire. Gigaclear builds networks using commercial investment but it has also been awarded contracts in 2017 as part of the Government subsidised BDUK rural broadband programme in Devon, Essex, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Northamptonshire, Somerset and Wiltshire. For more information, refer to Gigaclear's website: https://www.gigaclear.com/ About Lite Access Lite Access Technologies Inc. is a world leader in the use of innovative and proven micro/narrow trenching technologies, alternate methods of deployment and specialist products which transform the cost the network deployment for telecommunications operators. Lite Access has successfully deployed or enabled deployment of thousands of kilometres of broadband networks throughout North America and the United Kingdom as well as South America, Africa, Australia and Asia. As part of its suite of services Lite Access provides clients with integrated solutions or select components for the design and implementation of fibre optic networks. Lite Access' products have been deployed in many high-profile communication networks including Olympic facilities, military and government, numerous communities throughout the United Kingdom, the USA and Canada as well as global telecommunications companies that have adopted Lite Access as the "solution of choice" for the least invasive, most cost effective and future-proof fibre optic connectivity available. Lite Access' installation technology and proprietary products extend a network provider's ability to deliver true broadband connectivity directly to end-users, such as homes, businesses, government and educational institutions, and emergency response facilities. Lite Access remains flexible and innovative in its commitment to provide global clients and partners with the most cost effective and proven fibre connectivity solutions available. Forward Looking Information This news release contains statements that, to the extent they are not recitations of historical fact, may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Lite Access uses words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "likely", "expect", "believe", "intend" and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Any such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by Lite Access in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to Lite Access' expectations and predictions is subject to any number of risks, assumptions and uncertainties. Many factors could cause Lite Access' actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Such factors include, among other things: the projected value of the contract award from Gigaclear, and risks and uncertainties described in Lite Access's most recent Management Discussion & Analysis (MD&A) for the period ended December 31, 2017 which can be accessed at www.sedar.com . The "forward-looking statements" contained herein speak only as of the date of this press release and, unless required by applicable law, Lite Access undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise such information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE Lite Access Technologies Inc Related Links http://www.liteaccess.com PALM BAY, Fla., March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Parsifal Corporation: OMNI (Overseas Moving Network International) held its annual conference this week at the Four Seasons Hotel, Palm Beach, Florida from the 19th through the 22nd. OMNI invited Parsifal CEO, Mark Olsen, to an informative interview session as a pioneer and market leader in relocation technology and audits. Interviewer Nigel Saunders (Nuss Relocations) provided Mr. Olsen with a wide range of questions to learn more about Parsifal, its services and most current technologies to explore how OMNI members can operate to facilitate their processes more efficiently. Palm Bay, FL, (March 23, 2018) - Parsifal Corporation: OMNI (Overseas Moving Network International) held its annual conference this week at the Four Seasons Hotel, Palm Beach, Florida from the 19th through the 22nd. OMNI invited Parsifal CEO, Mark Olsen, to an informative interview session as a pioneer and market leader in relocation technology and audits. Interviewer Nigel Saunders (Nuss Relocations) provided Mr. Olsen with a wide range of questions to learn more about Parsifal. OMNI is a network of the world's finest corporate moving and relocation companies operating on every continent, based in 160 locations spanning 113 cities and 57 Countries. OMNI has worked to focus its member companies to have close working relationships with organizations such as Parsifal Corporation to ensure that the relocation process is managed as smoothly and professionally as possible for the end client. Mr Saunders stated that, "The whole audit process would run more efficiently through a better understanding of what needs to be done, as this would help our members prevent unnecessary issues from arising in the first place. We also value Parsifal's insights into the future trends and technologies developing within the moving and relocation industry." Mark Olsen explained that Parsifal maintains a historic commitment to excellence in quality results for clients, and differentiates itself in the industry by an ongoing drive to keep positive relations between all parties, including movers. Mr. Olsen stated that, "Achieving our brand promise of exceptional accuracy, protection and fairness is possible through the use of our innovative PAS Technology which is further augmented by proprietary features such as AccuScan." There was continued discussion about procurement software products such as MyReloWorks and its new mobile app platform. In addition, ReloSnap which has recently begun a pilot program is a newly developed technology applying decades of auditing experience using Geolocation technology. Features include Time-stamping and GeoTagging through a mobile, multi-platform application, as well as, a new technology that remotely focuses on shipment volumes through a Parsifal feature known as VeriCube. Parsifal is the world's leading firm providing relocation auditing services and procurement technology, touching moves in over 120 countries around the globe. Our services and products are in constant worldwide operation with corporations, carriers and move managers in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia and Europe. Parsifal Corporation assists our clients to obtain best in class household goods pricing and quality of service. And, we offer to protect that pricing and quality with expert global auditing. Mission: At Parsifal Corporation we are dedicated to our passion and craft, focused on ensuring outstanding accuracy and sound fairness through quality-driven and innovative technology to all our clients, partners and stakeholders in the global relocation experience. To find out how our expert services and relocation procurement technologies can assist your company, please visit us at www.parsifalcorp.com for more information. For Immediate Release / Contact: Cliff Cannon at (321) 574-8906 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Parsifal Corporation Related Links http://www.parsifalcorp.com LONDON, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Martin-Baker has been awarded a contract to provide the escape system for the Republic of Koreas Air Force's new fighter, KF-X. Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) competitively selected Martin-Baker's Mk18 ejection seat for its latest aircraft development programme. The selection of the Mk18 seat continues a long history of partnership between Martin-Baker and KAI, that started with their KT-1, followed by the T/A-50 and is now is set to continue with the KF-X. "We are extremely honoured to have been chosen as the ejection seat supplier for the KF-X. The Mk18 ejection seat is the most advanced ejection seat ever produced for fighter and trainer aircraft and another in a long line of successes for our company," said Andrew Martin, Vice President of Business Development and Marketing. "This selection is a testament to the competitive and high-quality products our team are proud to produce." "From our first life saved nearly 70 years ago we have built upon our legacy of success," Martin said. "Our products have saved the lives of 7,563 aircrew from around the world." The Martin-Baker Mk18 for KF-X is a similar seat to the one currently in competition for the US Air Force new trainer jet, the T-X. Martin-Baker, headquartered in Denham, England, is the world's leading supplier of ejection seats and crashworthy seats, with more than 17,000 seats in service, in 90 countries and 56 different airframes. The company employs more than 1,000 people worldwide. http://martin-baker.com/2018/03/23/martin-baker-wins-kf-x-ejection-seat-competition/ SOURCE Martin-Baker Related Links www.martin-baker.com NEW YORK, March 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Infor, a leading provider of industry-specific cloud applications, today announced Mayumi Hiramatsu, SVP of Cloud Operations Engineering and Security at Infor, was named "Woman of the Year" during the inaugural Women in IT Awards USA held in New York on March 22nd.The awards, organized by Information Age, serve to showcase the achievements and innovation of women in technology and identify new role models in the sector. The "Woman of the Year" award recognizes a woman who has demonstrated the highest degree of IT excellence, innovation and leadership in the last year, and shone a light on the great things women in IT can achieve. In addition to her professional accolades, Hiramatsu was recognized as a positive mentor in her community and for her work to actively recruit and encourage more diversity to the technology industry. "It is important to recognize the hard work and dedication of women in leadership across the technology industry," said Charles Philips, CEO of Infor. "Infor would not be the company it is today without our many female leaders. Mayumi is a perfect example of a leader who believes in our mission and is willing to continuously learn, share, and help others succeed while having the courage to take calculated risks to keep moving Infor forward." As SVP of Cloud Operations, Hiramatsu is responsible for providing direction and leadership for automation, scalability, security, and self-service capabilities for Infor's cloud organization. She has previously held leadership roles at Cisco Systems, Autodesk, and Microsoft. Hiramatsu also works as a mentor both at Infor and in her community as a board member of GirlsInTech, a nonprofit focused on the engagement, education and empowerment of girls and women who are passionate about technology. "Women are at a pivotal moment in the technology industry and we need to help each other succeed," said Hiramatsu. "Diversity is not just women, race, color or experience, it is all of these things. We need to work to grow the number and influence of women in technology, and the Women in IT Awards helps to put the spotlight on this mission. It is an honor to be recognized for the small part I have had in encouraging this movement." The Women in IT Awards USA is the first international event in an ongoing Information Age campaign to tackle technology's diversity problems. Woman of the Year was one of 16 awards presented at the event. About Infor Infor builds business software for specific industries in the cloud. With 16,500 employees and over 90,000 customers in more than 170 countries, Infor software is designed for progress. To learn more about Infor, please visit www.infor.com. For more information: Dan Barnhardt Infor 646-336-1731 [email protected] SOURCE Infor Related Links http://infor.com MIAMI, March 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Mi9 Retail, a leading provider of omni-channel retail solutions, announced today that it plans to double the size of its Miami-based product development organization by the end of the year, and will continue to hire aggressively in its Irvine, California center as well. Earlier this year, Mi9 announced the acquisition of JustEnough Software which added best-of-breed demand management and planning to the Mi9 Retail suite. To support the company's continued expansion and growth, Mi9 will be actively hiring in all business areas, including software and business development, sales, customer support, and project management. According to the Kauffman Foundation's 2017 Index of Startup Activity, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area ranked No. 1 among the 40 largest areas in the U.S. "Miami is a vibrant city whose business-friendly environment and abundance of top caliber technical talent is particularly appealing for a fast-growing business like ours," said Neil Moses, CEO of Mi9 Retail. "Furthermore, the recent changes to corporate tax rates make it very attractive for us to hire in the U.S." The Tampa Bay Times found that Florida's economic performance was better in 2017 than 2016 on almost all fronts, and economists expect the favorable economic climate to continue well into 2018. Over the past four years, Mi9 Retail has increased its employee base tenfold and aims to rapidly grow its employee headcount in the United States, which will help further strengthen the company's position as an industry leader. "Our growing customer base knows the importance of optimizing the changing customer journey, and we're thrilled to provide them the tools they need to succeed," added Moses. "Now is an exciting time to be in the technology space, and we look forward to bringing new talented people on board." About Mi9 Retail Mi9 Retail is passionate about helping retailers create great experiences for their customers online, in-store, and on any device. We know that great retail experiences happen when optimized inventory management intersects perfectly with well-executed customer engagement strategies to deliver higher customer loyalty, better margins, and a more engaged workforce. Our solutions for merchandise management, digital commerce, and store operations are used by leading retailers across the globe. The company is headquartered in Miami, FL, with operations in North America, Europe, and Asia. Visit www.mi9retail.com to learn more. SOURCE Mi9 Retail Related Links http://www.mi9retail.com WASHINGTON, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Investment Program Association (IPA) commends the U.S. Congress and the president on the inclusion of the Small Business Credit Availability Act, which was part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, the omnibus government funding measure signed into law today. The bipartisan and commonsense Small Business Credit Availability Act modernizes the regulatory framework for Business Development Companies (BDCs), improving access to capital for growing small and mid-size American businesses. As a result, BDCs will be brought in line with the same prudent and safe rules already established by Congress and regulators for other 1934 Act public reporting companies. "We are pleased to see policymakers modernize the regulatory framework for business development companies. The IPA, our members in the portfolio diversifying investments (PDI) industry and small and mid-size American businesses have been advocating for these long overdue common sense bipartisan updates for years," said Tony Chereso, president and CEO of the Investment Program Association. He went on to add, "The real winners here are America's small and mid-size businesses that will have access to additional growth capital resulting in meaningful domestic investments and job creation. Further, individual investors will have more investment choices." BDCs play an important role in funding small and mid-sized U.S. companies that may not have access to traditional sources of capital. They also provide individuals with investment opportunities in private companies historically available only to institutional and wealthy investors, through a highly transparent structure subject to oversight by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, states and other regulators. Individual investors will see important benefits from these reforms, including having more of their dollars put to work in their desired investments. The result is increased potential for investment returns critical to people's long-term financial goals and retirements savings. "Congress created BDCs in 1980 to encourage the establishment of public vehicles to increase the flow of capital to small, growing U.S. businesses. Now the industry is better positioned to continue delivering on that mandate," said Mr. Chereso. About Investment Program Association The IPA supports individual investor access to a variety of Portfolio Diversifying Investment (PDI) products with low correlation to the traded markets and historically available only to institutional investors, including: lifecycle real estate investment trusts (REITs), NAV and perpetual life REITs, business development companies (BDCs), interval and closed-end funds, energy and equipment leasing programs and real estate private equity offerings. PDI products have been held in the accounts of more than 3 million individual investors. They remain a critical component of an effectively balanced investment portfolio and serve an essential capital formation function for the U.S. economy. The mission of the IPA is to advocate for PDIs through education and public awareness. Media Contact: Chris Donahoe 202.551.9855 [email protected]| SOURCE Investment Program Association (IPA) Related Links http://www.ipa.com ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- National PTA announced today the launch of the Center for Family Engagement, a new initiative to embed transformative family engagement practices, programs and policies across the educational system. "We know families are essential to children's success and school improvement efforts. However, traditional family engagement policies and practices do not always meet the needs of each and every family, nor empower them as partners in their child's success," said Leslie Boggs, president-elect of National PTA. "As the needs of families change, we must shift the way we think about family engagement. Through our new Center for Family Engagement, we want to move the educational system to the next generation of family engagement by modeling and advocating for more transformative approaches." Over the next three years, the Center for Family Engagement will: Raise awareness about transformative family engagement by acting as a clearinghouse of innovative approaches, cutting-edge research and best practices that can be put into action. Influence transformative family engagement decisions and resources by contributing to a national research agenda on how parent voice shapes family engagement practices, programs and policies. Empower PTAs across the country to be leaders in transformative family engagement efforts through grant and recognition opportunities as well as connections to other leading family engagement organizations. As part of the launch of the Center for Family Engagement, National PTA also announced today that Ohio PTA, New York State PTA, Minnesota PTA, Tennessee PTA and Oklahoma PTA have been selected to receive a grant through its State PTA Family Engagement Innovation Challenge. With the grant, the state PTAs will identify examples of innovative family engagement practices in their local PTAs and school communities and develop plans to integrate these best practices into statewide efforts and advocacy for family engagement. Among the five PTAs, one will be selected to receive additional funding to implement their plan. "When it comes to school success, family engagement is just as important as having a great principal and teachers, a strong curriculum and a positive school climate. Transformative family engagement is a key strategy to ensure every child receives a high-quality education and has every opportunity for success," added President-Elect Boggs. "Family engagement is the foundation of PTA and we are investing in our mission with the Center for Family Engagement." For more information about the Center for Family Engagement, visit PTA.org/FamilyEngagement. About National PTA National PTA comprises millions of families, students, teachers, administrators, and business and community leaders devoted to the educational success of children and the promotion of family engagement in schools. PTA is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit association that prides itself on being a powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for families and communities, and a strong advocate for public education. Membership in PTA is open to anyone who wants to be involved and make a difference for the education, health, and welfare of children and youth. For more information, visit PTA.org. SOURCE National PTA Related Links http://www.pta.org VANCOUVER, March 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (TSX: NDM; NYSE MKT: NAK) ("Northern Dynasty" or the "Company") today announced that the US Army Corps of Engineers ("USACE" or the "Corps") has posted on its website a 'Scoping Package' for the Environmental Impact Statement ("EIS") permitting review of the Pebble Project, as required under the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA"). The USACE Scoping Package indicates the EIS scoping period will begin on April 1, 2018 and conclude on April 30, 2018. Public meetings will be hosted by the Corps during the scoping period in Alaska regional centers Anchorage, Homer, King Salmon and Dillingham, as well as in villages in close proximity to the Pebble Project, including Iliamna, Igiugig, Nondalton and Kokhanok. In addition to seeking public and stakeholder input during scoping, the US Army Corps of Engineers will facilitate a formal consultation and public comment process following publication of the Pebble Draft EIS expected sometime in 2019. The Corps' current timeline projects the Final EIS for the Pebble Project to be complete within 24 months. Information regarding the Pebble EIS process, including the Scoping Package that describes this phase of the process, can be found on the USACE website under Pebble Project EIS. About Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. Northern Dynasty is a mineral exploration and development company based in Vancouver, Canada. Northern Dynasty's principal asset, owned through its wholly-owned Alaska-based US subsidiary Pebble Limited Partnership and other wholly-owned subsidiaries, is a 100% interest in a contiguous block of 2,402 mineral claims in southwest Alaska, including the Pebble deposit. The Pebble Partnership is the proponent of the Pebble Project, an initiative to develop one of the world's most important mineral resources. For further details on Northern Dynasty and the Pebble Project, please visit the Company's website at www.northerndynastyminerals.com or contact Investor services at (604) 684-6365 or within North America at 1-800-667-2114. Review Canadian public filings at www.sedar.com and US public filings at www.sec.gov. Ronald W. Thiessen President & CEO Forward Looking Information and other Cautionary Factors This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address future events that the Company expects are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in its forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements should not be in any way construed as guarantees of the ultimate size, quality or commercial feasibility of the Pebble Project or of the Company's future performance or the outcome of litigation. Assumptions used by the Company to develop forward-looking statements are that the Pebble project will be evaluated based on technical and scientific criteria free from undue political or legal interference. The likelihood of future mining at the Pebble Project is subject to a large number of risks and will require achievement of a number of technical, economic and legal objectives, including obtaining necessary mining and construction permits, approvals, licenses and title on a timely basis and delays due to third party opposition, changes in government policies regarding mining and natural resource exploration and exploitation, the final outcome of any litigation, completion of pre-feasibility and final feasibility studies, preparation of all necessary engineering for surface or underground mining and processing facilities as well as receipt of significant additional financing to fund these objectives as well as funding mine construction. Such funding may not be available to the Company on acceptable terms or on any terms at all. There is no known ore at the Pebble Project and there is no assurance that the mineralization at the Pebble Project will ever be classified as ore. The need for compliance with extensive environmental and socio-economic rules and practices and the requirement for the Company to obtain government permitting can cause a delay or even abandonment of a mineral project. The Company is also subject to the specific risks inherent in the mining business as well as general economic and business conditions. For more information on the Company, Investors should review the Company's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and its home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com . Northern Dynasty does not have control over the contents of the USACE website and therefore Northern Dynasty cannot either endorse the contents or assume responsibility for the website's contents other than for submissions thereon actually made by Northern Dynasty. SOURCE Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. Related Links www.northerndynastyminerals.com HAMILTON, Bermuda, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- OIL held its 2018 Shareholder's Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday, March 22nd at the Fairmont Southampton Bermuda. During the meeting, it conducted the review and approval of the 2017 annual financial statements as well as the election of directors. For 2017, OIL recorded a $71.3 million underwriting loss. After factoring in net investment income and administrative expenses, OIL's net income for the year was $587.7 million. For additional information about OIL's 2017 financial results, please visit http://www.oil.bm to view our audited financial statements. After the review of the year-end financials, shareholders approved the financial statements and the re-appointment of KPMG as auditors for the fiscal 2018 year. In addition, the Company reported at the AGM that the Board of Directors had declared a dividend in an aggregate amount of $450 million to all shareholders on record as of January 1, 2018 payable on or before June 30, 2018 in recognition of OIL's continued financial success and solid financial condition. Lastly, the shareholders approved a minor change to the Shareholders Agreement that focused on the application of the company's eligibility rules. Bertil C. Olsson, President & CEO, commented that "OIL's strong performance in 2017 allowed the company to return value to our shareholders through a substantial dividend for the 5th straight year. Providing long term value to its membership in the form of significant policy limits with broad terms and conditions, returning excess capital when appropriate as well as adapting as our members' needs defines OIL's unique value proposition." George Hutchings, Senior Vice President & COO, stated that "I am very pleased with the progress the company has made executing the strategic plan during the year. It undoubtedly will help position us for the future. As an example and during 2017, the Board approved the introduction of the Renewables Sector, which will allow the company to adapt to and embrace the significant investments its members are making in this segment of the energy industry." Roberto Benzan, OIL's outgoing Chairman, commented, "The $450 million dividend demonstrates the Board's commitment to return value to OIL's shareholders when it is prudent to do so." He further added, "OIL is firmly footed on a tremendously strong foundation established over its 46 year history. Over that time frame, the company has steadfastly focused on shareholder value and will continue to do so in the years ahead." After the AGM adjourned, the Board of Directors met and elected Theodore Guidry II as Chairman of the Board and Fabrizio Mastrantonio as Deputy Chairman for 2018. For more information about OIL's property coverages and related value go to http://www.oil.bm Oil Insurance Limited (OIL) insures over $3.0 trillion of global energy assets for more than fifty members with property limits up to $400 million totaling more than $19 billion in total A- rated property capacity. Members are medium to large sized public and private energy companies with at least $1 billion in physical property assets and an investment grade rating or equivalent. Products/coverage offered include Property (Physical Damage), Windstorm (excluding Offshore GOM), Non Gradual Pollution, Control of Well, Removal of Wreck, Terrorism, Cyber, Construction and Cargo. The industry sectors that OIL protects include Offshore and Onshore Exploration & Production, Refining and Marketing, Petrochemicals, Mining, Pipelines, Electric Utilities, Renewables and other related energy business sectors. SOURCE Oil Insurance Limited (OIL) Created to serve as a platform for the promotion of global trade, more than 1,300 companies from over 120 countries and regions, including dozens of Fortune 500 companies and leading companies from all industries, have already registered for the event. So far, companies from Asia represent 35 percent of exhibitors, followed by Europe with 32 percent, the Americas with 16 percent, Oceania with 11 percent and Africa with 6 percent. "The early registration numbers for the first CIIE are outstanding; we're incredibly pleased with the intense interest that we've received from the international community so far," said Sun Chenghai, Deputy Director General of the CIIE Bureau. "With the growing enthusiasm from buyers, many exhibitors have repeatedly applied to increase their booth size and upped their budgets. We are looking forward to welcoming so many outstanding foreign enterprises and working together to enhance the development of international trade." Some of the high-profile companies already conformed to attend include: Information technology giant Dell will showcase its world-leading innovations and solutions in the area of high-end, smart equipment. Microsoft will display its latest R&D result - HoloLens, which will project 3D effects with a first-person view. Global food company DANONE will introduce its infant formula milk powder, high-end mineral water, medical nutrition products and organic products to Chinese consumers to satisfy people's increasing demand for high-quality products. Official figures show that imports into China in 2017 totaled almost RMB 12.5tn (USD 1.95tn), an 18.7% increase compared to 2016. This figure is expected to rise to USD 8tn over the next five years as China, the world's second largest economy and second largest importer, continues its progression into new stages of development. Supporting the development of international trade is a top priority for the Chinese government, and CIIE is seen an important part of this strategy, with Wang Yang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, highlighting the coming event during his remarks at this year's first annual session of the 13th National People's Congress. Zhong Shan, Minister of Commerce, used an often-used musical metaphor to stress that CIIE is not a Chinese "solo" but an international "chorus". Other governments and major international trading organizations also recognize the importance of CIIE. Japan external trade organization has reserved 10,000 square meters for exhibition, the U.S.-China Business Council has booked more than 2,500 square meters for exhibition, while Brazilian organizer FIESP will bring over 70 companies. 4 exhibition organizers from Australia have booked a total area of over 1,000 square meters. The Singapore Business Federation, the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand and the Indonesian Chinese Chamber of Commerce have all reserved an area of more than 1,000 square meters. In addition, nearly 100 companies from 25 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) have registered. The French government will send senior officials and a large corporate delegation; the Russian government has accorded great importance on CIIE and set up a special coordination committee; and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy said that Germany will actively use CIIE's platform to showcase their products and services. The first China International Import Expo is hosted by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China and the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, and is supported by the World Trade Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. For more information, please visit: http://www.ciie.org/ SOURCE China International Import Expo Related Links http://www.ciie.org HOUSTON, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: PARR) ("Par Pacific") today announced that it has successfully completed its acquisition of 33 Cenex Zip Trip convenience stores from CHS Inc. for total consideration of $70 million plus the agreed value of inventory. Par Pacific anticipates Adjusted EBITDA from the acquired stores to be approximately $7.0 to $7.5 million in the first full year of operations. As part of the transaction, the parties have entered into a multi-year branded petroleum marketing agreement for the continued supply of Cenex-branded refined products to the Cenex Zip Trip stores. In addition, the parties have entered into a multi-year supply agreement pursuant to which an affiliate of Par Pacific will supply refined products to CHS within the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Northwest markets. "We are pleased to close this acquisition, which extends our Rocky Mountain activities and provides an alternative outlet for our Wyoming refining production. We would like to welcome our new colleagues to the Par Pacific organization," said William Pate, Par Pacific's President and Chief Executive Officer. About Par Pacific Holdings Par Pacific Holdings, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, owns, manages and maintains interests in energy, related retailing and infrastructure businesses. Par Pacific's strategy is to identify, acquire and operate energy, related retailing and infrastructure businesses with attractive competitive positions. Par Pacific owns and operates one of the largest energy infrastructure networks in Hawaii with a 94,000-bpd refinery, a logistics network supplying the major islands of the state and 91 retail locations. In Wyoming, Par Pacific owns a refinery and associated logistics network in a niche market. In Idaho and Washington, Par Pacific owns and operates a total of 33 retail locations. Par Pacific also owns 39.1% of Laramie Energy, LLC, which has natural gas operations and assets concentrated in the Piceance Basin in Western Colorado. Non-GAAP Financial Measures Management uses certain financial measures to evaluate our operating performance that are considered non-GAAP financial measures. These measures should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP and our calculations thereof may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. Our estimate of Adjusted EBITDA cannot be reconciled to our projected Net Income, the closest GAAP measure, without unreasonable efforts. This reconciliation would require estimating amounts that will ultimately be determined in the purchase price allocation, which has not yet been completed, such as depreciation and amortization expense and interest expense and other financing costs, net. A purchase price allocation requires allocating the purchase price to the acquired assets, including property, fixed assets and intangibles, based on their estimated fair value as of the acquisition date. Our estimate of Adjusted EBITDA is based upon the internal financial statements of CHS Inc. for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 related to the assets and assumes the operation of the 33 stores with forecasted Adjusted Gross Margin of approximately $25 to $27 million during a twelve month period. Adjusted Gross Margin is defined as (i) operating income (loss) plus operating expense (excluding depreciation), DD&A, impairment expense, inventory valuation adjustments (which adjusts for timing differences to reflect the economics of our inventory financing agreements, including lower of cost or net realizable value adjustments, the impact of the embedded derivative repurchase obligation, and purchase price allocation adjustments), and unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives or (ii) revenues less cost of revenues (excluding depreciation) less inventory valuation adjustments and unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives. We define cost of revenues (excluding depreciation) as the hydrocarbon-related costs of inventory sold, transportation costs of delivering product to customers, crude oil consumed in the refining process, costs to satisfy our RINS obligations and certain hydrocarbon fees, and taxes. Cost of revenues (excluding depreciation) also includes the unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives and inventory valuation adjustments that we exclude from Adjusted Gross Margin. Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to qualify for the "safe harbor" from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements with respect to the CHS Inc. retail asset acquisition (the "Acquisition"), the anticipated synergies and other benefits of the Acquisition, the anticipated financial and operating results of the Acquisition and the effect on Par Pacific's cash flows and profitability (including Adjusted EBITDA) are forward-looking statements. Additionally, forward looking statements are subject to certain risks, trends, and uncertainties. Par Pacific cannot provide assurances that the assumptions upon which these forward-looking statements are based will prove to have been correct. Should one of these risks materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements, and investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are current only as of this date. Par Pacific does not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or any other forward looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Par Pacific further expressly disclaims any written or oral statements made by a third party regarding the subject matter of this news release. Contact: Suneel Mandava Senior Vice President - Finance (713) 969-2136 [email protected] SOURCE Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. EAST HANOVER, N.J., March 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Novartis today announced that the full results from the Phase III EXPAND study of oral, once-daily siponimod (BAF312) in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) were published in the peer-reviewed journal The Lancet. These pivotal results show siponimod significantly reduced the risk of three-month confirmed disability progression versus placebo (primary endpoint)1. Siponimod also meaningfully delayed the risk of six-month confirmed disability progression and demonstrated favorable outcomes in other relevant measures of multiple sclerosis (MS) disease activity1. If approved, siponimod would be the first disease-modifying therapy to delay disability progression in a large trial of typical SPMS patients, including many who had reached a non-relapsing stage and high level of disability1. SPMS is a form of MS that is associated with progressive, irreversible physical and cognitive disability, largely independent of relapses2. Patients transition to SPMS after an initial phase of relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), the most commonly diagnosed type of MS3,4. There is a high unmet medical need for new treatments that are safe and effective for patients with SPMS5. "Today's published full EXPAND results show that siponimod can delay disability progression in typical established SPMS patients, where other approaches tested so far have been unsuccessful," said Professor Ludwig Kappos, University Hospital Basel and Principal Investigator of EXPAND. "These data are all the more impressive when considering that the majority of patients had already advanced disability when starting treatment in EXPAND." Siponimod is an investigational selective modulator of specific subtypes of the sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptor6. Full data from EXPAND show that siponimod reduced the risk of three-month confirmed disability progression by a statistically significant 21% versus placebo (p=0.013); efficacy was overall consistent across pre-defined patient subgroups1. Other clinically relevant endpoint data show that siponimod, when compared to placebo: Did not show a significant difference in the Timed 25-Foot Walk test, the first key secondary endpoint, and the MS Walking Scale 1 Limited the increase of T2 lesion volume by approximately 80%, measured by volume change from baseline (mean over 12 and 24 months, p<0.0001), the second key secondary endpoint 1 Reduced the risk of six-month confirmed disability progression by 26% (p=0.0058) 1 Reduced annualized relapse rate (ARR) by 55% (p<0.0001) 1 Slowed the rate of brain volume loss by 23% (relative difference; mean across 12 and 24 months, p=0.0002) 1 Demonstrated a safety profile which was overall consistent with the known effects of S1P receptor modulation1 "Novartis is dedicated to advancing MS research and pioneering solutions for people living with SPMS - a complex, debilitating disease," said Danny Bar-Zohar, Global Head Neuroscience Development, for Novartis. "The pivotal EXPAND data provide patients, and the medical community alike, with hope that a much needed, safe and effective treatment option is on the horizon for SPMS, for which treatment options are scarce. We look forward to continuing to work with regulatory agencies to make siponimod available for these patients as fast as possible." Novartis plans to file for regulatory approval of siponimod for SPMS with the US Food and Drug Administration in early 2018. The EXPAND results have previously been presented at scientific congresses. About the EXPAND Study The EXPAND study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase III study, comparing the efficacy and safety of siponimod versus placebo in people with SPMS1,7. It is the largest randomized, controlled study in SPMS to date, and included 1,651 people with SPMS from 31 countries1,8. At the time of the study, individuals enrolled in EXPAND had a mean age of 48 years and the mean times since first MS symptoms and conversion to SPMS were 17.1 (8.4) and 3.9 (3.6) years for siponimod and 16.2 (8.2) and 3.6 (3.3) years for placebo, respectively1. They also had an Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score between 3.0 and 6.5 inclusive, with a median score of 6.0, which corresponds to the use of a unilateral walking aid (e.g., a cane or a crutch)1,7. Patients were randomized to receive either 2mg siponimod once-daily or placebo, in a 2:1 ratio1,7. Patients continued on siponimod treatment in the open-label long-term extension part of the study1. About Siponimod (BAF312) Siponimod is an investigational selective modulator of specific subtypes of the sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptor6. The S1P receptor is commonly found on the surface of specific cells residing in the central nervous system (CNS), that are responsible for causing CNS damage that drives loss of function in SPMS. About Multiple Sclerosis MS is a chronic disorder of the CNS that disrupts the normal functioning of the brain, optic nerves and spinal cord through inflammation and tissue loss9. The evolution of MS results in an increasing loss of both physical (e.g., walking) and cognitive (e.g., memory) function. There are three main types of MS: relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), SPMS and primary progressive MS (PPMS)4. SPMS is characterized by gradual worsening of neurological function over time2. This leads to a progressive accumulation of disability, largely independent of relapses, which can severely affect patients' abilities to carry out everyday activities2. It follows an initial phase of RRMS, which accounts for approximately 85% of all MS diagnoses; a quarter of people with RRMS will eventually go on to develop SPMS within 10 years of their initial RRMS diagnosis, rising to more than three-quarters after 30 years3,10. There remains a high unmet need for effective and safe treatments to help delay disability progression in SPMS5. MS affects around 400,000 people in the US11. Disclaimer This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "potential," "can," "will," "plan," "expect," "anticipate," "look forward," "believe," "committed," "investigational," "pipeline," "launch," or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for the investigational or approved products described in this press release, or regarding potential future revenues from such products. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the investigational or approved products described in this press release will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that such products will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, our expectations regarding such products could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; general political and economic conditions; safety, quality or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. About Novartis Novartis provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, cost-saving generic and biosimilar pharmaceuticals and eye care. Novartis has leading positions globally in each of these areas. In 2017, the Group achieved net sales of USD 49.1 billion, while R&D throughout the Group amounted to approximately USD 9.0 billion. Novartis Group companies employ approximately 122,000 full-time-equivalent associates. Novartis products are sold in approximately 155 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com. Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @Novartis at http://twitter.com/novartis For Novartis multimedia content, please visit www.novartis.com/news/media-library For questions about the site or required registration, please contact [email protected] References 1. Kappos L, Cree B, Fox R, et al. Siponimod versus placebo in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (EXPAND): a double-blind, randomized, phase 3 study. Lancet. Published online March 22, 2018. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30475-6. 2. MS Society. Secondary Progressive MS (SPMS). https://www.mssociety.org.uk/what-is-ms/types-of-ms/secondary-progressive-spms. Accessed March 19, 2019. 3. Multiple Sclerosis International Federation. Atlas of MS 2013. http://www.msif.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Atlas-of-MS.pdf. Accessed March 19, 2018. 4. Multiple Sclerosis Society. Types of MS. https://www.mssociety.org.uk/what-is-ms/types-of-ms. Accessed March 19, 2018. 5. Mehr S.R. and Zimmerman M.P. Reviewing the unmet needs of patients with multiple sclerosis. Am Health Drug Benefits. 2015; 8(6);426-431. 6. Gergely P et al. The selective sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor modulator BAF312 redirects lymphocyte distribution and has species-specific effects on heart rate. Br J Pharmacol 2012; 167(5): 1035-47. 7. ClinicalTrials.gov. Exploring the Efficacy and Safety of Siponimod in Patients With Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (EXPAND). https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01665144?term=BAF312+expand&rank=1. Accessed March 19, 2018. 8. Kappos L et al. Baseline Subgroup Characteristics of EXPAND: A Phase 3 Study of Siponimod (BAF312) for the Treatment of Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (P3.084). Neurology. 2016; 86(16):suppl. P3.084. 9. PubMed Health. Multiple Sclerosis (MS). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMHT0024311/. Accessed March 19, 2018. 10. Tremlett H, et al. The natural history of secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis. Mult Scler. 2008:14:314-324. 11. Tullman M. Overview of the epidemiology, diagnosis and disease progression associated with multiple sclerosis. Am J Managed Care. 2013 Feb;19(2 Suppl):S15-20. SOURCE Novartis SEATTLE, NEW YORK, SAN FRANCISCO and LONDON, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- PitchBook, the premier data provider for the private and public equity markets, today released the latest analyst note in a series focused on impact investing. Impact investing is a strategy that seeks to create financial returns, in addition to positive social or environmental externalities. These investments are most commonly made through the familiar structure of closed-end private equity and venture capital funds. Impact fund managers are differentiated in two camps: funds that target market-rate returns, and those that accept concessionary returns in exchange for greater social impact. 2017 saw over $3.4 billion committed across PE and VC impact funds globally. Historically, development finance institutions (DFIs) have been the leading contributors of capital to impact funds. However, there is growing interest from LPs beyond government agencies such as high net worth individuals (HNWI), foundations and pension funds. While more than half of capital raised by impact funds in 2017 is accounted for by TPG Growth's $2 billion Rise Fund, this niche strategy is expected to become more mainstream as major players like KKR and Bain enter the space. "So far, we've seen impact fund managers raise predominately smaller vehicles focused on emerging markets investments, with some larger funds targeting sustainability sectors in the US and Europe," said Joelle Sostheim, PitchBook analyst. "It is difficult to forecast what future fundraising will look like, but with commitments from notable LPs like the Ford Foundation, in addition to a piqued interest from industry leaders like TPG, Bain, and KKR, we expect to see increased fund sizes and activity." The PitchBook Platform currently tracks data on more than 390 VC and PE impact funds that are managed by both impact-focused firms and mainstream firms overseeing discrete, dedicated impact funds. This analyst series starts with a holistic overview of impact investing that answers the following questions: What Constitutes an "Impactful" Investment? Unlike socially responsible investing, which is predominately used with public market securities, impact investing is a private market investment strategy that targets investment in social enterprises or impact funds. Social enterprises are companies that are both financially stable and create positive externalities through the goods and services they offer, the populations they serve, the jobs they create, or a combination of these factors. Because of the subjectivity of "impact," investors actively track outcomes with unique metrics that correspond to their specific goals, and often require their portfolio companies to do the same. Unlike socially responsible investing, which is predominately used with public market securities, impact investing is a private market investment strategy that targets investment in social enterprises or impact funds. Social enterprises are companies that are both financially stable and create positive externalities through the goods and services they offer, the populations they serve, the jobs they create, or a combination of these factors. Because of the subjectivity of "impact," investors actively track outcomes with unique metrics that correspond to their specific goals, and often require their portfolio companies to do the same. What Strategies Are Employed by Impact Funds? The ecosystem consists of two dominant strategies: those targeting market-rate returns, and those who accept concessionary returns. Impact funds are typically structured as closed-end VC or PE funds with traditional LP agreements and fixed investment periods. The investment instruments utilized by market-rate impact fund managers include equity stakes, leverage, and hybrid instruments, such as revenue-based financing or convertible notes. Conversely, impact fund managers who accept concessionary returns predominantly use fixed income instruments to achieve returns, focusing on debt investments in riskier but highly impactful businesses. The ecosystem consists of two dominant strategies: those targeting market-rate returns, and those who accept concessionary returns. Impact funds are typically structured as closed-end VC or PE funds with traditional LP agreements and fixed investment periods. The investment instruments utilized by market-rate impact fund managers include equity stakes, leverage, and hybrid instruments, such as revenue-based financing or convertible notes. Conversely, impact fund managers who accept concessionary returns predominantly use fixed income instruments to achieve returns, focusing on debt investments in riskier but highly impactful businesses. What Differentiates PE and VC Impact Investment Funds? Impact funds are usually smaller vehicles than generalist PE or VC funds 59% and 86% of PE and VC funds, respectively, are smaller than $100 million . Additionally, many of these vehicles target companies in emerging markets. Our data finds that PE fund managers concentrate on investments in Africa , while VCs focus more on South Asian countries. Impact funds are usually smaller vehicles than generalist PE or VC funds 59% and 86% of PE and VC funds, respectively, are smaller than . Additionally, many of these vehicles target companies in emerging markets. Our data finds that PE fund managers concentrate on investments in , while VCs focus more on South Asian countries. Which LPs Are Contributing to This Alternative Asset Strategy? Sources of capital for impact funds are a mix of for-profit and not-for-profit LPs, including DFIs, foundations, HNWIs, family offices, and pensions and insurance companies. DFIs are uniquely positioned to commit capital to impact funds, and are the greatest contributors, because of their long-term financial positions and social/environmental development goals. They show the strongest aggregate commitment, as nearly 9% of all their VC and PE fund commitments since 2002 have gone to impact funds. Sources of capital for impact funds are a mix of for-profit and not-for-profit LPs, including DFIs, foundations, HNWIs, family offices, and pensions and insurance companies. DFIs are uniquely positioned to commit capital to impact funds, and are the greatest contributors, because of their long-term financial positions and social/environmental development goals. They show the strongest aggregate commitment, as nearly 9% of all their VC and PE fund commitments since 2002 have gone to impact funds. What's Next for Impact Investing? At a base level, impact investing is an innovation on philanthropic capital that socially-oriented investors can utilize to scale the reach of their allocation, while still enjoying financial returns. As this investment strategy matures, the performance of pioneering impact funds will be crucial for establishing credibility, solidifying best practices, and setting the stage for future managers. While the entrance of mainstream firms will help attract a larger base of capital, uniformity around impact metrics is crucial so that investors can compare and benchmark investment opportunities. Download the latest installment here. About PitchBook PitchBook is a financial data and software company that provides transparency into the capital markets to help professionals discover and execute opportunities with confidence and efficiency. PitchBook collects and analyzes detailed data on the entire venture capital, private equity and M&A landscapeincluding public and private companies, investors, funds, investments, exits and people. The company's data and analysis are available through the PitchBook Platform, industry news and in-depth reports. Founded in 2007, PitchBook has offices in Seattle, San Francisco, New York and London and serves more than 14,500 professionals around the world. In 2016, Morningstar acquired PitchBook, which now operates as an independent subsidiary. Press Contacts Bailey Fox PR Manager [email protected] +1 206.823.3022 SOURCE PitchBook Related Links http://www.pitchbook.com ROCKVILLE, Md., March 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SAMBA Federal Employee Benefit Association ("SAMBA") recently learned of an incident that may affect information related to eligible family members of subscribers ("family members") covered by the SAMBA Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan in 2017. "We take this incident, and member privacy, very seriously," Walter E. Wilson, SAMBA's Executive Director stated. "We are taking steps to prevent any future data incident, and as always will continue to review and improve our processes, policies, and procedures that address data privacy," he said. What Happened The Internal Revenue Service requires SAMBA to send its plan subscribers a notice known as a Form 1095-B that will support the subscribers' and his or her covered family members' compliance with the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate, which remains in effect through 2018. On February 19, 2018, SAMBA began the process of mailing out Form 1095-B notices to plan subscribers for the 2017 tax year. During the mailing preparation process, a programming error occurred whereby some subscribers received a Form 1095-B containing the name and Social Security number for one or more family members of another plan subscriber. All subscribers received a Form 1095-B that was erroneously dated 2016. SAMBA became aware of the issue on or around February 22, 2018. SAMBA corrected the programming error and mailed corrected 2017 Form 1095-B notices to all subscribers. The incorrect 2016 Form 1095-B notices were not submitted to the Internal Revenue Service. This incident did not disclose any subscriber's Social Security number. Information Affected While SAMBA currently has no evidence that the impacted family members' information was subject to any actual or attempted misuse, SAMBA confirmed that in some cases Form 1095-Bs containing family members' names, Social Security numbers, and periods of health insurance coverage during the 2017 tax year were mailed to the incorrect subscriber. SAMBA has written to the subscribers who received erroneous family member data. Those letters ask the subscriber to destroy the erroneous 2016 Form 1095-B. Notification SAMBA is mailing letters to impacted family members and is providing those family members with free credit monitoring and identity restoration services through AllClear ID. SAMBA also informed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, certain state regulators and news media outlets about this incident, as required. Fraud Prevention Tips While SAMBA currently has no evidence that the impacted family members' information was subject to any actual or attempted misuse, they encourage affected individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, and to seek to protect against possible identity theft or other financial loss by regularly reviewing their financial account statements, credit reports, and explanations of benefits for suspicious activity. Anyone with questions regarding how to best protect themselves from potential harm resulting from this incident, including how to receive a free copy of one's credit report, and place a fraud alert or security freeze on one's credit file, is encouraged to call our member support line at 1-855-220-9668 Monday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. E.T. SOURCE SAMBA Federal Employee Benefit Association NEW YORK, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorneys at Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP today announced that U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan granted conditional certification of a nationwide class for unpaid overtime brought against MetLife. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York on behalf of hundreds of workers and seeks in excess of $50,000,000 for lost wages and liquidated damages. The ruling came down last night in the form of a succinct Order and concurrently filed Memorandum Opinion under temporary seal. The parties have been given ten (10) days to propose and justify any redactions to the Memorandum Opinion, after which it will be available on the public docket. The lawsuit alleges that Metropolitan Life Insurance Company ("MetLife") knowingly failed to pay claim specialists who worked on long term disability insurance claims ("LTD Claim Specialists") earned overtime for over four years. The nationwide action is brought by Plaintiffs Debra Julian, a former LTD Claim Specialist in New York, and Stephanie McKinney, a former LTD Claim Specialist in Connecticut. The Plaintiffs are represented in the matter by Sanford Heisler Sharp and Krakower DiChiara LLC. MetLife formerly paid its LTD Claim Specialists hourly wages and overtime pay, but stopped doing so in November 2013, after "reclassifying" them without any change in their job duties. The Complaint asserts MetLife made the classification change as a "cost-cutting measure." "Judge Nathan's conditional certification is a welcome first step in addressing MetLife's flagrant compensation practices," said Michael Palmer, Co-Chair of Sanford Heisler Sharp's Wage & Hour Practice. "Despite consistently having to work more than 40 hours per week, LTD Claim Specialists are denied overtime pay. With this ruling, the class action can now proceed on behalf of hundreds of workers." The Plaintiffs allege that MetLife's LTD Claim Specialists' job principally involves gathering information about disability claimants, entering the information into MetLife's computer systems, and consulting with supervisors and specialized staff. According to the Complaint, LTD Claim Specialists at the company regularly work between 45 and 60 hours weekly, without the appropriate compensation for their overtime hours. "MetLife has underpaid and overworked their employees through a 'reclassification' scheme," said David Sanford, chair of Sanford Heisler Sharp. "There are significant public interest issues at stake in this class action. All too often, companies use 'reclassifications' to wrongfully deny their employees overtime compensation." The lawsuit seeks to recover damages, including unpaid wages, on behalf of the Plaintiffs and the class of LTD Claim Specialists. It also seeks an injunction against MetLife requiring the Company to change its wage practices going forward. About Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP is a public interest class-action litigation law firm with offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Nashville, San Francisco, San Diego and Baltimore. Our attorneys have graduated from the nation's top law schools, clerked for judges throughout the United States, and amassed extensive experience litigating and trying cases that have earned over one billion dollars for our clients. The Firm specializes in civil rights and general public interest cases, representing plaintiffs with claims of employment discrimination, labor and wage violations, predatory lending, consumer fraud, and whistleblowing, among other claims. Along with a focus on class actions, the Firm also represents individuals and has achieved extraordinary success in the representation of executives and attorneys in employment disputes. For more information go to www.sanfordheisler.com or call (646) 402-5650 or email [email protected]. For the latest news, visit our newsroom or follow us on Twitter at @sanfordheisler. SOURCE Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP 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. STOCKHOLM, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today's Annual General Meeting of SCA was held at Hotel Sodra Berget, Sundsvall. The Meeting approved the income statement and balance sheet for the Parent Company and the consolidated income statement and consolidated balance sheet for 2017. The Annual General Meeting decided on a dividend of SEK 1.50 per share for the 2017 fiscal year. The record date for the dividend is Tuesday, March 27, 2018. Payment through Euroclear Sweden AB is planned for Tuesday April 3, 2018. The Board of Directors and the CEO were granted discharge from liability for the 2017 fiscal year. The Annual General Meeting decided that the number of board members should be 10. Board members Charlotte Bengtsson, Par Boman, Lennart Evrell, Annemarie Gardshol, Ulf Larsson, Martin Lindqvist, Lotta Lyra, Bert Nordberg and Barbara Milian Thoralfsson were re-elected. Anders Sundstrom was elected. Par Boman was re-elected Chairman of the Board. The registered accounting firm EY AB was appointed the companys auditor for a mandate period until the end of the Annual General Meeting 2019. Minutes from the Annual General Meeting will be available on the company website, www.sca.com, within two weeks. The speech held by President and CEO Ulf Larsson at the Meeting is available on the company website, www.sca.com. For further information, please contact: Bjorn Lyngfelt, Vice President Group Communication tel +46-60-19-34-98 Jan Svedjebrant, Legal Counsel and Board Secretary tel +46-60-19-31-23 The core of SCA's business is the forest, 2.6 million hectares in northern Sweden. Around this unique resource, we have built a well-developed value chain based on renewable raw material from our own and others' forests. We offer paper for packaging and print, pulp, wood products, renewable energy, services for forest owners and efficient transport solutions. 2017 the forest products company SCA had approximately 4,000 employees and sales amounted to approximately SEK 16.7 bn (EUR 1,6 bn). SCA was founded in 1929 and has its headquarters in Sundsvall, Sweden. More information at www.sca.com. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/sca/r/sca-s-annual-general-meeting-2018,c2479252 The following files are available for download: http://mb.cision.com/Main/600/2479252/810265.pdf Press release (PDF) SOURCE SCA Related Links http://www.sca.com MERRIAM, Kan., March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Seaboard Corporation (NYSE American: SEB) announced today that Darwin "Duke" Sand has been named the next President and Chief Executive Officer of Seaboard Foods LLC. Sand, with more than 30 years of pork industry experience, is a 22year veteran of Seaboard Foods and has been instrumental in leading the company from a startup operation in the mid1990s to a leading connected food system company, producing and selling premium pork products throughout the United States and internationally. Sand assumes his new role immediately. Steven J. Bresky, President and Chief Executive Officer of Seaboard Corporation, stated: "As a pork industry veteran with vast experience and knowledge, Duke's leadership will advance our uniquely connected food system to help achieve our vision to create the most soughtafter pork in the industry. I'm confident that with Duke's energy, expertise and dedication, he will continue to lead us on a path that showcases our commitment to produce wholesome and delicious pork products to customers around the world." Sand joined Seaboard Foods in 1996 and was instrumental in building Seaboard Foods' reputation as a leading U.S. pork exporter. Prior to becoming Seaboard Foods' Senior Vice President of Sales with responsibilities for all sales and marketing in 2011, he was in charge of the Seaboard Foods' pork export business as Vice President of International Sales. Sand started his career at IBP, Inc. in 1987 and held a variety of sales leadership roles until 1996. The Altoona, Iowa native received his Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Iowa State University. Sand will succeed Terry J. Holton, who recently announced his retirement. Holton stated: "I've had the honor to work with Duke for the past 20plus years and have admired his commitment and passion to Seaboard Foods, and providing our customers with quality pork products and exceptional customer service. Under his leadership, I expect for Seaboard Foods and the connected food system to continue making its positive mark in the food industry." Sand stated: "I'm honored to assume this new leadership role with Seaboard Foods. With Terry as my mentor, I've learned the business and have a great example of leadership to follow. I commit to Seaboard Foods' employees, strategic partners and customers to remain focused on our commitment to pursuing pork perfection that will bring value to our connected food system and our customers throughout the world." About Seaboard Corporation: Seaboard Corporation is a diversified international agribusiness and transportation company, primarily engaged in domestic pork production and processing and cargo shipping. Overseas, Seaboard is primarily engaged in commodity merchandising, flour and feed milling, produce farming, sugar production and electric power generation. About Seaboard Foods: Seaboard Foods LLC, with headquarters in Merriam, Kansas, is a whollyowned subsidiary of Seaboard Corporation and a leading food company connecting every step between farms and family tables around the world. Seaboard Foods employs more than 5,000 people working at farm operations in five states and a pork processing plant in Guymon, Oklahoma. Seaboard Foods also owns High Plains Bioenergy, which has biodiesel and compressed natural gas (CNG) operations. As part of a uniquely connected food system, Seaboard Foods and its strategic partner, Triumph Foods, jointly own Seaboard Triumph Foods, with a pork processing plant in Sioux City, Iowa, and Daily's Premium Meats, which produces and markets raw and precooked bacon, ham and sausage, with plants in Salt Lake City; Missoula, Montana and St. Joseph., Missouri. Seaboard Foods markets and sells fresh pork products produced by the Guymon, Oklahoma, St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sioux City, Iowa fresh pork processing plants under the Prairie Fresh and Seaboard Farms brands. SOURCE Seaboard Corporation Related Links http://www.seaboardcorp.com RYE, N.Y., March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Serendipity Labs Coworking, a national shared workplace operator, today stunned Hollywood insiders by assuming the lease for Broad Green Pictures' 36,000 square foot headquarters in the heart of Hollywood's Media District. The announcement comes days after the private equity group that was to acquire the assets of The Weinstein Co. announced it was taking the space as part of a female-led restructuring. There are three levels of membership for maximum flexibility: offices and team rooms, dedicated desks and coworking. Shown here is one of the coworking areas at Serendipity Labs Hollywood. Photo credit: Gensler Members receive preferred pricing for the soundproofed screening room, which is available for rental. Editing rooms, a commercial kitchen, and the signature Serendipity Labs hospitality make hosting events seamless and memorable. Photo credit: Gensler The Gensler design with emphasis on ambient light and high-end furniture are the centerpiece of every Serendipity Labs. Featured here, a work lounge with courtyard view at Serendipity Labs Hollywood. Photo credit: Gensler. "We were attracted to this opportunity because the world-class Gensler design meets our high standards. We have always believed that the most creative, innovative and empowering ideas emanate from an environment that is safe, secure and respectful," says Paula Gomprecht, vice president of Marketing at Serendipity Labs. "Forty percent of our members are women, and we work to ensure that a strict Duty of Care is followed in all of our Labs. Companies of all sizes and industries can trust sending employees and clients to any Serendipity Labs across the country." Located at 959 Seward Street, the Hollywood Lab boasts a soundproofed, 25-seat screening room, editing rooms, commercial kitchen and event space. The LEED Gold certified building amenities include an outdoor lounge, secure parking, and car charging stations, while the design maximizes natural light. Dedicated offices and desks, team rooms, meeting rooms, private focus and wellness rooms, a work lounge, visual studios with full A/V capabilities, and retreats are available as standard at all Serendipity Labs. With a national network of locations and 125 under development, members can use any Serendipity Lab across the U.S. The IT infrastructure enables corporate customers to meet organizational security and compliance standards including PCI-DSS, HIPAA, SOX, GLBA and others. Corporate memberships with centralized billing and detailed reporting, swing space and long-term offices are available. Contract portability allows for easy reassignment of memberships from employee to employee and location to location. "We are not just another pretty space. The Serendipity Labs' philosophy is grounded in hospitality and trust," adds Chairman and CEO John Arenas. "For our first Los Angeles location, we are thrilled to be premiering at this spectacular site, and look forward to welcoming the Hollywood community to our growing network of workplaces across the country." For more information, visit www.serendipitylabs.com/hollywood SOURCE Serendipity Labs Coworking Related Links http://serendipitylabs.com Sales of industry-leading translation device exceed RMB 10 million Top-selling translation device in China BEIJING, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Sogou Inc. (NYSE: SOGO) ("Sogou" or the "Company"), an innovator in search and a leader in China's Internet industry, today announced that its AI-powered, portable translation device, the Sogou Travel Translator, sold out on March 19, 2018, the first day of the product's official launch. Exclusively available through JD.com, all available units of the Sogou Travel Translator have been sold with total sales exceeding RMB 10 million (approximately US$1.6 million). The Sogou Travel Translator is the top-selling translation device in China, driven by strong consumer demand for intuitive, accurate and smart translation. On March 22, 2018, JD.com began a second round of pre-orders for the Sogou Travel Translator. "We are confident that the Sogou Travel Translator is the most accurate and powerful machine translation solution on the market," said Xiaochuan Wang, Chief Executive Officer of Sogou. "The significance of AI cannot be overstated, and I believe that AI has the potential to be as meaningful for humankind as the invention of electricity. At Sogou we have always worked to advance cross-border communication, and our AI-powered natural language processing and machine translation technology has been developed through the research and analysis of billions of user interactions on our flagship platforms. Ultimately, we believe that users will turn to the most accurate and reliable translation device and software available, and that means using Sogou." The Sogou Travel Translator has a wide range of features that are designed to cater to the needs of China's rapidly growing tourism market. These include: Offline translation mode allows users to translate real-time dialogue and text-embedded in images without being connected to the Internet; Powerful Optical Character Recognition technology enables translation of image-embedded text so users can read street signs and menus; Translates dialogue to and from 18 different languages, including Chinese, English, German, Arabic and Russian; Built-in dual microphone array effectively filters out and suppresses background noise, while improving voice recognition; Highly portable, lightweight device with 3.1-inch high-resolution touch screen; Long-lasting battery life that can power the translation device for up to 7 days without recharging; Voice recognition accuracy rate of over 97%. Sogou's AI-powered translation technology was developed through analysis of a significant volume of natural language interactions on Sogou's core platforms. With a Big Data advantage afforded by up to 300 million voice requests and more than 2 million Optical Character Recognition requests every day in Sogou Search and Sogou Input Method, Sogou has developed an unrivalled understanding of the Chinese language that has accelerated the development of its AI capabilities. Sogou's leadership in natural language processing and machine translation has been widely recognized on the global stage. Sogou's machine translation technology debuted at the World Internet Conference in 2016 the first time that simultaneous machine translation technology had been used in a commercial event. Sogou was ranked first in the highly regarded 2017 WMT Chinese-to-English machine translation competition and similarly received first place in the 2016-2017 13th NTCIR Chinese short text conversation competition that evaluates the ability of a machine to generate human-like responses to text queries. In addition to the Travel Translator, Sogou's industry-leading machine translation technology has also been effectively integrated into its search, Chinese input method and browser services, as well as its translation app. Safe Harbor Statement This announcement may contain forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Sogou's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current plans, estimates, and projections, and therefore you should not place undue reliance on them. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. We caution you that a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Information regarding risks affecting Sogou's business and prospects is included in Sogou's annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2017 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 28, 2018. About Sogou Sogou Inc. (NYSE: SOGO) is an innovator in search and a leader in China's internet industry. With a mission to make it easy to communicate and get information, Sogou has grown to become the second largest search engine by mobile queries and the fourth largest internet company by MAU in China. Sogou has a wide range of innovative products and services, including the Sogou Input Method, which is the largest Chinese language input software for both mobile and PC. Sogou is also at the forefront of AI development and has made significant breakthroughs in voice and image technologies, machine translation, and Q&A, which have been successfully integrated into our products and services. For media enquiries, please contact: Rachael Layfield Brunswick Group Tel: +86 10 5960-8600 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Sogou Inc. HARRISBURG, Pa., March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As work continues to replace sewer lines in Hollidaysburg, the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST) reminds homeowners that it offers a low-interest loan to help with the expense of connecting to the municipal sewer system. The loan program is made available by PENNVEST working in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency and the state Department of Environmental Protection. "We're encouraging homeowners in Hollidaysburg to consider the PENNVEST loan as an affordable option available for area residents who will be connecting to the new sewer lines in the months ahead," said PENNVEST Executive Director Brion Johnson. "The cost of these connections can be burdensome, so we hope this funding can help mitigate the impact on family budgets." The PENNVEST loan offers several features of benefit to homeowners, including: 1.75 percent interest rate (maximum annual percentage rate of 2.9 percent) Loan terms up to 20 years (15 years for manufactured homes), regardless of loan amount Loan amounts up to $25,000 are available are available There are no restrictions on household income for homeowners who want to apply Two unit dwellings deeded as one property are eligible unless the residence is a manufactured home, and There is no repayment penalty for homeowners who pay off their loans early The loan is available only to Pennsylvania residents. PHFA Executive Director and CEO Brian Hudson Sr. added, "It can be hard to budget for a sizable expense like this, even if you know it's coming. So the fact that we offer an affordable loan to help soften the financial impact should be welcome news for homeowners." Homeowners who want more information or want to start the PENNVEST application process should contact Debbie Gilmour with Liberty Mortgage Corporation at 814-868-8564, or contact Stacy Martin with 1st Summit Bank at 814-262-4060. They can also call PHFA at 1-855-U-Are-Home (827-3466), and then press "0" to be connected with the agency's Customer Solutions Center. More details are available at: https://www.phfa.org/programs/repairs.aspx; see the bottom bullet for information about the PENNVEST homeowner septic program. About PHFA The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency works to provide affordable homeownership and rental housing options for older adults, low- and moderate-income families, and people with special housing needs. Through its carefully managed mortgage programs and investments in multifamily housing developments, PHFA also promotes economic development across the state. Since its creation by the legislature in 1972, it has generated more than $13.5 billion of funding for more than 170,935 single-family home mortgage loans, helped fund the construction of 132,531 rental units, and saved the homes of more than 49,200 families from foreclosure. PHFA programs and operations are funded primarily by the sale of securities and from fees paid by program users, not by public tax dollars. The agency is governed by a 14-member board. Contact: Scott Elliott (717) 649-6522 (cell) [email protected] SOURCE Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency Related Links http://www.PHFA.org NEW YORK, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Hilco Streambank has been retained by Styles for Less, Inc. to market and sell the intellectual property of Styles for Less, including trademarks, domain names, and customer database. A bid deadline has been set by Hilco Streambank for Tuesday, April 17, 2018 at 5:00 PM (ET). The sale of the assets and sale process are subject to approval of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, where the Style for Less chapter 11 bankruptcy case is pending. The company, known by its fans as Styles, was founded in 1992 and provided women in their late teens and early 20s with chic, low-cost, high-quality apparel. At its peak, Styles for Less operated over 150 retail stores throughout California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas and Florida. In addition, Styles operated its e-commerce website at StylesForLess.com which attracted approximately 2MM unique visitors in 2017. The company was able to grow its social media presence to over 230K followers across various social media platforms and more than 1MM opt-in email subscribers. Hilco Streambank SVP Richelle Kalnit explains, "The Styles for Less retail platform is a victim of industry discounting, online penetration and shifts in consumer spending." It is a casualty of the large number of retail store closings in 2017. The struggle for retailers continues, with more than 1,500 store closures announced in the first few months of 2018, including the likes of longstanding brands such as Toys "R" Us and Abercrombie & Fitch. In regard to the Styles for Less assets, Kalnit added, "The value in this opportunity comes from a loyal customer following and years of building brand loyalty amongst women in their late teens and early 20s. The Styles for Less intellectual property provides a great opportunity for an up-and-coming retailer to expand its customer base or a well-established retailer to acquire a house brand." Parties interested in learning more about the Styles for Less intellectual property assets should contact Hilco Streambank directly using the contact information provided below. Visit the Hilco Streambank website for more information regarding the Styles for Less intellectual property assets. About Hilco Streambank Hilco Streambank is a market leading advisory firm specializing in intellectual property disposition and valuation. Having completed numerous transactions including sales in publicly reported Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, private transactions, and online sales through HilcoDomains.com and IPv4Auctions.com, Hilco Streambank has established itself as the premier intermediary in the consumer brand, internet and telecom communities. Hilco Streambank is part of Northbrook, Illinois-based Hilco Global a worldwide financial services company and leader in helping companies maximize the value of their assets. SOURCE Hilco Streambank Related Links http://www.hilcostreambank.com SUNRISE, Fla., March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Sunshine Health is once again teaming up with the March of Dimes to support March for Babies events throughout Florida to raise awareness of the importance of preventing premature births. March for Babies raises money to treat infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), to fund programs that support mothers and families and to pay for research to prevent premature births. "Approximately one out of every 10 babies born in Florida is born too soon a rate that isn't improving," said Debra Smyers, Sunshine Health's Plan Product President and a board member of the Broward March of Dimes. "At the walks each year, our employees meet former March of Dimes babies who are growing and thriving and we know we are making a difference, but we've got to do more." Sunshine Health is the presenting sponsor of the Broward March for Babies and also supports walks in Jacksonville, Orlando, Pensacola and Tampa. "Sunshine Health employees flood our streets with smiles and passion on march days," said Guillermo Formoso, March of Dimes Broward Board Chair. "We can't thank them enough for their support." Diana Loubeau understands the importance of the March of Dimes' work. Her daughter Jaden was born at 28 weeks and weighed just 13.5 ounces. She spent nearly eight months in the NICU at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital. Now she's an 11-year-old sixth-grader and will be proudly marching with her mom on May 5 to help give preterm babies the chance to beat the odds like she did. Sunshine Health hopes to top the 785 employees, families and friends who marched in 2017. Employees are also collecting pledges and hosting office fundraisers, like the "March of Pies" fundraiser where employees bid to throw a pie at or spare company executives. "This may sound strange, but I'm looking forward to taking a pie in the face for this great cause," said Chris Paterson, Sunshine Health's CEO. "Our employees really come through, whether they're marching with a team or competing to see which department can raise the most money." Join the cause by creating or joining a team at one of these events: About Sunshine Health Headquartered in Sunrise, Fla., Sunshine Health is among the largest healthcare plans in Florida. Offering coordinated care and a network of support for its more than 900,000 members, Sunshine Health is transforming the health of the community, one person at a time. Sunshine Health is a wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation, a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise focusing on under-insured and uninsured individuals. Sunshine Health offers government-sponsored managed care through Medicaid, Long Term Care, Medicare and Florida's Health Insurance Marketplace. Additionally, we offer a specialty Medicaid health plan for children in or adopted from Florida's Child Welfare system and a full pay Healthy Kids plan statewide. For more information about Sunshine Health, please visit www.SunshineHealth.com. SOURCE Sunshine Health Related Links http://www.sunshinehealth.com STOCKHOLM, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Swedish Match acquires House of Oliver Twist A/S, a privately held Danish smokeless tobacco company, headquartered in Odense, Denmark. House of Oliver Twist A/S has over 200 years of history and is Denmark's oldest independent tobacco manufacturer. The company develops, produces and sells chewing tobacco bits made of processed tobacco strands under the brand Oliver Twist. The company's main markets are in Scandinavia and certain other EU countries. The company has 33 employees and annual revenues amount to approximately 60 MDKK. The closing date of the transaction is expected to be April 3. Lars Dahlgren, President and CEO of Swedish Match says: "Oliver Twist is a good complement to our smokeless portfolio and will provide increased depth to our chewing tobacco offerings, especially in Europe." In commenting about the transaction, Michael Drest Nielsen, present owner of House of Oliver Twist A/S says: "It was important to us to find a buyer who shares the same vision for smokeless tobacco as us. With their resources, competence and knowledge within smokeless tobacco, Swedish Match will give Oliver Twist better opportunities to develop and grow." Details of the purchase price have not been disclosed. Contacts: Lars Dahlgren, President and Chief Executive Officer Office +46-8-658-0441 Thomas Hayes, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Office +1-8047-87-5139 Emmett Harrison, Senior Vice President Investor Relations and Corporate Sustainability Office +46-8-658-0173 This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/swedish-match/r/swedish-match-acquires-oliver-twist,c2479409 The following files are available for download: SOURCE Swedish Match Present at the summit, among other distinguished guests, were Chen Yuehua, deputy director general of the Guangdong Province Department of Commerce, Liu Daping, deputy director of the Shenzhen Municipal Government Financial Services Office, Xiao Hui, deputy head of Nanshan District, and Sheng Bin, former deputy secretary general of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government (and advisor to Shenzhen Internet Finance Association). Wang Qiang, secretary of the Nanshan District Party Committee, and Zeng Pai, the head of Shenzhen's Nanshan District, met with the guests and congratulated them on the success of the summit. The summit was also attended by the Nobel laureate for Economics Mr. Eric Maskin, as well as deans from the world's top colleges, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University and the International School of Brandeis, along with the director of the Fentech Laboratory, and representatives from world-renowned enterprises such as Google and Morgan Stanley. In all, there were more than 30 international finance experts, academics and high-tech representatives, all gathered to discuss the future of financial technology. Xiao Hui, the deputy head of Nanshan District, addressed the summit. He said that Nanshan is located at the golden estuary of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and thus uniquely positioned to develop financial technology. In the future, Nanshan District will play an important part in the global fintech revolution, and seize the opportunity of wider-ranging financial freedom to create a first-class business environment. This financial technology center will help to grow Shenzhen into an international center for financial innovation, and Guangdong province into a strong financial region. Mr. Chen Yuehua, deputy director general of the Guangdong Province Department of Commerce, started by welcoming the guests who had travelled from far and wide. In order to build a successful fintech service platform and connect scientific and technical resources with financial capital, the Guangdong Provincial Government recently issued An Opinion on promoting the Integrated Development of Technology and Finance and A Few Opinions on promoting the Development of Financial Services through Innovation. Guangdong province also hopes that entrepreneurs and talented individuals from all industries represented at the conference will take the opportunity to fully connect scientific resources with financial capital, and thus jointly promote future fintech cooperation between Guangdong and the USA. During the summit, the attendees discussed the world's most advanced financial technology, and tried to devise ways that fintech can better serve human development, while promoting technical and academic exchanges in the global financial field. This would help speed up the cultivation of emerging financial industries, and promote the transformation and upgrading of the financial and banking industries, thus enhancing the core competitiveness of the city of Shenzhen so that it can gradually develop into a world-class financial center. After the summit, Wang Qiang, secretary of the Nanshan District Party committee, and Zeng Pai, head of Shenzhen's Nanshan District, held in-depth talks with the distinguished guests. Wang Qiang congratulated those present on the outcome of the summit and expressed his thanks to Eric Maskin for coming to Shenzhen to share his wisdom and experiences. Fintech is a systematic, innovative arrangement of a variety of financial instruments, systems, policies and services. Nanshan District thus hopes to have more frequent dealings with experts, scholars and enterprises from the international world of fintech. Zeng Pai also agreed that the development of fintech in Nanshan District is an important part of the current innovation-driven development strategy. It will be a driving force behind accelerated industrial growth and upgrading, and an important engine for Shenzhen's transformation into an international center of innovation for science and technology. In the future, Nanshan District will continue to create new fintech demonstration sites, offer policy support for the development of fintech-related industries, and strive to publicize its experiences throughout China and the rest of the world. The summit was climaxed when a ceremony was held for global promotion of "Nanshan Fintech City". As an industry-city integration demonstration project operated by Nanshan District People's Government and China Resources in the core area of Shenzhen High-tech Industrial Park, Nanshan Fintech City will establish an industry chain-wide system with "industries, universities, investors and start-ups at the core", to build a professional training base with support from Peking University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, set up a large number of financial laboratories to attract medium and large-sized financial institutions, and develop fintech by offering it traditional financial investment and loan services. Shenzhen Internet Finance Association, one of the summit's principal organizers, is committed to fully integrating and utilizing the resources of all parties concerned, in order to bring in a significant number of talented individuals from the fintech world, thus forming teams and guiding policy planning. It will also continue to lead the industry and make contributions to the development of fintech in Shenzhen. SOURCE Shenzhen Internet Finance Association NEW YORK, March 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Jaguar Growth Partners (Jaguar) is pleased to announce today that Corporacion Inmobiliaria Vesta, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV: VESTA) ("Vesta") has appointed Thomas McDonald to its Board of Directors. Mr. McDonald, Managing Partner of Jaguar, will also serve on the company's Investment Committee. Vesta, a Jaguar portfolio company, is a leading real estate owner, developer and asset administrator of industrial buildings and distribution centers in Mexico. In May 2017, Jaguar acquired a 5% strategic minority stake in Vesta. "We look forward to benefitting from Thomas' 20 years of industry experience across Latin America and his contribution to Vesta's 20/20 plan, and beyond," said Lorenzo Berho Corona, Chairman and CEO of Vesta." "Vesta's founders and their seasoned management team have built a leading, institutional industrial property platform. We appreciate the invitation to join the board and look forward to contributing our experience in Mexico and in the sector, and assist Vesta in continuing to be recognized as a leader in terms of their multi-faceted growth strategy and corporate governance," said Mr. McDonald. Mr. McDonald has over 20 years of emerging markets investing experience and is currently a Managing Partner of Jaguar Growth Partners, an investment management firm specializing in real estate private equity in growth markets globally. Mr. McDonald is a member of the boards of Aliansce Shopping Centers, Latam Logistics Properties, and Hoteles City Express, the portfolio companies in Jaguar's inaugural fund. Mr. McDonald graduated from the University of Notre Dame and received his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. About Jaguar Growth Partners Headquartered in New York with an office in Sao Paulo, Jaguar Growth Partners is a privately-held investment management firm specializing in real estate private equity in growth markets globally. Founded in 2013 by Gary Garrabrant and Thomas McDonald, Jaguar invests in and develops scalable real estate operating platforms and companies poised to grow in emerging economies characterized by an expanding middle-class and attendant consumerism, aspirational youth, urbanization and inefficient access to capital. Jaguar invests through managed funds, exclusively focused on Latin America. Jaguar plans to commence activities in Asia in 2018, initially focusing on high-yield debt investment in India. Jaguar is distinguished by an active investment style working in close collaboration with local operating partners. Jaguar is a member of the Pension Real Estate Association, Emerging Markets Private Equity Association, Latin American Private Equity & Venture Capital Association and the Institutional Limited Partners Association. Please see www.jaguargrowth.com or @JaguarGrowth for additional information. About Vesta Vesta is a real estate owner, developer and asset administrator of industrial buildings and distribution centers in Mexico. As of September 30, 2017, Vesta owned 147 properties located in modern industrial parks in 13 states of Mexico totaling a GLA of 24.6mm sf. The Company has multinational clients, which are focused in industries such as aerospace, automotive, food and beverage, logistics, medical devices, and plastics, among others. SOURCE Jaguar Growth Partners Related Links http://www.jaguargrowth.com LAS VEGAS, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Jack Salzman, owner of Lake Norman Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Cornelius, N.C., was named the 2018 TIME Dealer of the Year today during the 101st annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show 2018 in Las Vegas. Salzman was selected for the prestigious award from a field of 47 dealer nominees from across the country in recognition of his many business accomplishments and community contributions, which focus on helping women, children and animals. "Jack Salzman has made giving back a central part of his personal and business philosophy," said Tim Russi, president of auto finance for Ally, which has been the exclusive sponsor of the program for seven years. "It is an honor to recognize him as the 2018 TIME Dealer of the Year for all he has done to invest in his community and his dealership team. We're proud of the hard work and generosity shown by each of the nominees and finalists, they inspire us with their dedication to this business and to giving back to their communities." The other regional finalists for this year's award were: Brent Brown, president of Brent Brown Toyota in Orem, Utah; William Fenton, president of Toyota of Keene in East Swanzey, N.H.; and Wally Sommer, president of Sommer's Subaru in Mequon, Wis. Ally will provide $10,000 dollars to the nonprofit organization of Salzman's choice. In addition, $5,000 will be donated to the charitable organization selected by each of the three finalists and the state Automotive Trade Association Executive (ATAE) who nominated Salzman. In recognition of all the dealers nominated for the award, Ally gave $1,000 to the charity of choice for each of the 47 nominees. For more information about the nominated auto dealers, including their philanthropic contributions and achievements, visit AllyDealerHeroes.com. TIME Dealer of the Year, which is presented by TIME magazine's owner, Meredith Corporation, is a coveted award in the auto industry, with recipients among the most successful auto dealers in the country who have also shown enduring dedication to community service. Salzman, 55, was chosen to represent the North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association in the 49th annual TIME Dealer of the Year competition. Only a fraction of the 16,500 franchise dealers nationwide are nominated for the award each year. "The most rewarding part of my retail automotive career has been hiring great people and investing in their future," said Salzman. "We pride ourselves on searching out quality employees and providing them with the tools and support they need to grow from entry-level jobs up to top management positions within the company." Salzman graduated from Riverview High School in Riverview, Fla., and went on to earn a degree in business administration from Auburn University and a J.D. from the Shepard Broad College of Law at Nova University, now Nova Southeastern University, in 1989. Rather than working at a law firm after graduation, Salzman decided he wanted to own his own business and started a cellular phone agency. After partnering with a local car dealership on a promotion for the agency, the dealer hired Salzman as a sales manager and he has been in the auto industry ever since. Today, he owns two Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram dealerships in N.C., located in Cornelius and Gastonia. Salzman's hiring practices earned Lake Norman Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram the 2012 Champions of Diversity award from the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce. "We have always sought out great employees regardless of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, etc.," he said. "As a result of this philosophy, we have been rewarded with extremely low turnover and incredibly caring employees, whom we are able to continually promote to new positions that further their careers." In his community, Salzman is committed to giving back. He is a contributor to the Humane Society of Charlotte, as well as a founding board member of Lake Norman Humane. He also supports Lake Norman Lucky Cats, which provides trap-neuter-return services, as well as Holly'z Hope, an organization that helps unchain dogs by building fences for homeowners in need. "When I purchased the dealership in 2003, my wife and I decided that we wanted to focus our philanthropic time and attention on three areas: animals in need, children in need and women in need," he said. Salzman is a longtime supporter of The Dove House Children's Advocacy Center in Statesville, N.C., and Pat's Place Child Advocacy Center in Charlotte, as well as Amy's House in Lincolnton, N.C., and The Shelter of Gaston County in Gastonia, which both serve battered women and children. Salzman also supports Make-A-Wish; Big Brothers Big Sisters; Habitat for Humanity; Susan G. Komen; American Cancer Society; and many other local groups. Salzman was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year award by Robert Glaser, president of the North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association. He and his wife, Robin Smith-Salzman, have three children and six grandchildren. The finalists from each of the four NADA regions and the national Dealer of the Year were chosen by a faculty member panel from the Tauber Institute for Global Operations at the University of Michigan. The award is sponsored by TIME in association with Ally Financial, and in cooperation with NADA. About Ally Financial Inc. Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) is a leading digital financial services company with assets of $167.1 billion as of December 31, 2017. As a client-centric company with passionate customer service and innovative financial solutions, Ally is relentlessly focused on "Doing it Right" and being a trusted financial partner for its consumer, commercial, and corporate customers. Ally's award-winning online bank (Ally Bank, Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender) offers mortgage-lending services and a variety of deposit and other banking products, including CDs, online savings, money market and checking accounts, and IRA products. Ally also promotes the Ally CashBack Credit Card. Additionally, Ally offers securities brokerage and investment advisory services through Ally Invest. Ally remains one of the largest full-service auto finance operations in the country with a complementary auto-focused insurance business, which together serve more than 18,000 dealer customers and millions of auto consumers. Ally's robust corporate finance business offers capital for equity sponsors and middle-market companies. For more information and disclosures about Ally, visit https://www.ally.com/#disclosures. About Meredith Corporation Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP; meredith.com) has been committed to service journalism for 115 years. Today, Meredith uses multiple distribution platforms including broadcast television, print, digital, mobile and video to provide consumers with content they desire and to deliver the messages of its advertising and marketing partners. Meredith's National Media Group reaches nearly 200 million unduplicated American consumers every month, including 85 percent of U.S. Millennial women. Meredith is a leader in creating content across media platforms and life stages in key consumer interest areas such as celebrity, food, lifestyle, home, parenting, beauty, fashion, news and sports. Meredith also features robust brand licensing activities including more than 3,000 SKUs of branded products at 5,000 Walmart stores across the U.S. and at walmart.com, as well as innovative business-to-business marketing solutions provided by Meredith Xcelerated Marketing. Contact: Brenda Rios [email protected] 313-656-6809 SOURCE Ally Financial WAYNE, N.J., March 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Toys"R"Us, Inc. today issued the following statement: There have been many sad moments for Toys"R"Us in recent weeks, and none more heartbreaking than today's news about the passing of our beloved founder, Charles Lazarus, after a period of declining health. He visited us in New Jersey just last year and we will forever be grateful for his positive energy, passion for the customer and love for children everywhere. Our thoughts and prayers are with Charles' family and loved ones. For more information please contact: Media: Amy von Walter, Executive Vice President, Global Communications & Customer Care at 201-815-9512 or [email protected] [email protected] 973-617-5900 Michael Freitag / Aaron Palash Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher Tel: (212) 355-4449 SOURCE ToysRUs, Inc. COLLEGE PARK, Md., March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Michael Faulkender, professor of finance and associate dean of masters programs at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, was selected by President Trump on March 19, 2018, to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy. In this role, Faulkender will advise the Secretary of the Treasury and the administration on economic developments in the U.S. and world economies and assist in the determination of appropriate economic policies. The office participates in the preparation of the administration's budget and supports the secretary in his roles as Chairman and Managing Trustee of the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees. The position requires Senate confirmation. Faulkender joined the Smith School 10 years ago as an assistant professor of finance. His research, which focuses on issues at the intersection of finance and public policy, has been recognized with numerous awards and been cited regularly in the financial press. Faulkender has taught corporate finance in the full-time, part-time and executive MBA programs, as well as the master of finance program. He has received numerous awards from graduating MBA students for his engagement in the full-time MBA program and two years ago won the school's Krowe Teaching Excellence Award. His service to the school has included director of the master of finance program, chair of the masters oversight committee and service on numerous task forces and committees, culminating in his appointment as associate dean of masters programs a little more than a year ago. In that role, he has overseen curricular updates to the full-time, part-time, and online MBA programs, as well as the launching of three new specialty masters programs. About the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and part-time MBA, executive MBA, online MBA, specialty masters, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia. Additional contact: Greg Muraski at [email protected] or 301-892-0973. SOURCE University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business DALLAS, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Unlock Insights has today announced a strategic partnership with Enate, the pioneering Robotic Service Orchestration (RSO) provider. The partnership will look to drive the adoption of intelligent automation across Unlock Insights and Enate's mutual clients. Together, Unlock Insights and Enate will allow customers to go further and faster with their automation programmes, deploying Enate RSO as the governance platform for the human and digital workforce. Through this partnership, customers will be able to access best of breed RPA and RSO. "We are extremely pleased to have attained the Partnership with Enate. Enate's Robotic Service Orchestration (RSO) platform now helps us to provide the best solution to our customers," said Rama Krishna, VP at Unlock Insights. "We're glad to be working along with Unlock Insights in helping their customers drive more value from their automation & RPA programmes. Enate RSO will help Unlock Insights customers go deeper and wider across the business far sooner than it would otherwise be possible with standalone RPA," said Uday Jose, COO APAC at Enate. About Unlock Insights Unlock Insights offers RPA and Cognitive Automation solutions for mid-market customers across the world. Our vertical expertise spans across a multitude of industry verticals such as BFSI, Manufacturing, Retail and so on. Customers who engaged us were able to save up to 70% equivalent FTE effort while improving customer experience and performance. Our areas of automation include AP, AR, Inventory, Reporting, Compliance and HR. We work with companies to offer services such as Installation, Training, Establishment of CoE, Bot Development & Customization, BoT Support & Maintenance and help them realize an assured ROI within 9 months. About Enate Enate offers a Robotic Service Orchestration (RSO) platform to orchestrate the delivery and management of services across a digital and human workforce. It creates a strong foundation for transformation to digital services, regardless of the maturity of automation within the business or what RPA, AI or Cognitive technology is in play. The system enables delivery of services from multiple locations to local standards whilst maintaining visibility and control, including the automation of KPIs and SLAs, aligned to a detailed cost and productivity reporting capability. Enate's Robotic Service Orchestration platform deploys within weeks, reducing time to automate by 75%, and providing cost savings upwards of 25%. Headquartered in the UK with an office in India, and founded by automation industry expert Kit Cox, Enate customers include Sopra Steria, Capgemini, Generali, Capita and Serco. SOURCE Unlock Insights Related Links https://www.unlockinsights.com The proposal, based on the bipartisan Caring for Our Veterans Act would also enhance telemedicine, improve oversight on prescribing opioids, and allow better access to walk-in care. "Congress missed an opportunity to provide better care for all generations of veterans," said Rene Bardorf, WWP Senior Vice President of Government and Community Relations. "Despite this, we are proud to see a groundswell of community support for these efforts." That support is in the form of more than 8,500 signatures to an online petition (https://wwp.news/2pwNT07) launched this week. The petition allows the public to echo WWP's stance that more can be done for veterans. "The more signatures we receive to share with Congress, the more we can show the importance of passing a bill now, not after the next election season," Bardorf said. Since 2003 WWP has been a tireless advocate for our nation's finest, improving the lives of over half a million warriors and their families. WWP legislative efforts have created more than $3 billion in economic impact through funding for veterans and families, training for caregivers, and health care coverage. Learn more about WWP Government and Community Relations at https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/programs/policy-government-affairs. About Wounded Warrior Project Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) connects, serves, and empowers wounded warriors. Read more at http://newsroom.woundedwarriorproject.org/about-us. SOURCE Wounded Warrior Project Related Links https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org Working with law enforcement agencies and other animal welfare groups within the United States and around the world, the organization had reached capacity at its 789-acre Sanctuary located just thirty miles northeast of Denver, CO. Already considered the largest carnivore sanctuary in the world, the organization chose to purchase the large contiguous parcel near Springfield due to its size and abundant natural amenities. Consisting primarily of hills, canyons and rocky bluffs blanketed in various species of pine trees, as well as valleys and pastures flowing with native grasses, Sanctuary management says the property is well suited for hosting wildlife. The additional land will allow The Wild Animal Sanctuary to continue rescuing and rehabilitating captive wildlife for many years to come. The organization says it has no plans to close its Keenesburg facility, since it continues to educate more than 150,000 visitors annually. The site also features a unique 1.5-mile long elevated walkway that holds the Guinness World Records award for Longest Footbridge. According to The Humane Society of The United States (1), tigers, lions, and other big cat species have exploded in popularity in the exotic pet trade. There are an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 tigers in the United States, but fewer than 400 of them are in zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The Foreign Policy Group (2), and World Wildlife Fund (3), also recognize the Captive Wildlife problems within the United States that lead to so many tigers and other exotic animals needing sanctuary. Last year marked the 38th year of rescuing exotic and endangered animals for the wildlife sanctuary. The 789-acre facility outside of Denver, Colorado had functioned as the primary facility for the organization, but now the larger and more natural tract near Springfield will become the main receiving facility for new rescues. The Sanctuary specializes in rehabilitating captive wildlife and releasing them to live and roam freely within large natural habitats. To learn more about The Wild Animal Sanctuary, visit http://www.wildanimalsanctuary.org (1) http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/exotic_pets/facts/dangerous-exotic-pets-big-cats.html (2) http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/04/11/there-are-more-domestic-tigers-in-the-u-s-than-wild-ones-in-the-jungle/ (3) https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/more-tigers-in-american-backyards-than-in-the-wild SOURCE The Wild Animal Sanctuary (Rocky Mountain Wildlife Conservation Center) Related Links http://www.wildanimalsanctuary.org NEW YORK, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- For a large number of travelers who were impacted by this week's late season severe winter weather, which resulted in more than 5,000 flight cancellations, the experience was substantially eased through the assistance of a travel agent. With flight disruptions spanning multiple states, a number of Travel Leaders Network agents shared stories from recent travel challenges, along with some advice. Philip Overton, a Travel Leaders travel agent based in Dallas, shared the story of a client who was traveling from Tel Aviv to Jacksonville, Fla., by way of JFK airport in New York. Courtesy of Winter Storm Toby, the JFK to Jacksonville leg was canceled. "He was already on the plane from Tel Aviv, set to land in New York at 5 a.m. when we realized his next flight was canceled," said Overton. "While he was still in the air, we found him a non-stop flight leaving the next day. We booked it and then called his son who contacted a family member in New York City who could put his father up for the night. When our client started receiving text messages while still on the plane from Tel Aviv, we explained the situation to him." Overton's team also stayed in contact with the airline. In the end, the airline was able to get his client on a same-day flight to Orlando. "His wife picked him up by car, and they drove from there to Jacksonville. The next morning, he contacted us to express his tremendous appreciation," said Overton. Anne Jasper with Travel Leaders Destinations Unlimited in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, relayed the story of a long-standing corporate client who had booked flight arrangements on his own using mileage, but requested assistance from the agency once the weather affected his plans. "He is a very good customer and called us for help as he was trying to find a way to get to White Plains, N.Y. We determined that flights were operating into Stewart International Airport, which is about an hour away from where he needed to be and rebooked him. He made it and arrived into the alternate airport without issue." Jasper added that she advises her clients to feel free to check with them at any time to see if the airlines have issued a special waiver code that allows them to process refunds or rebook flights without penalty. "We understand that many travelers were impacted by this storm and availability can be very limited during the rebooking process. If they have to travel, flexibility is key, as we will check alternate airports and incorporate train travel for East Coast clients, when necessary." Dana Young, a Travel Leaders agent in Dundee, Ill., said that when Chicago was hit recently with about eight inches of snow, it was during the Chicago Auto Show. The agency had booked travel arrangements for a number of individuals to attend. One particular client's return flight was canceled and Young needed to get him an extra hotel night. The hotel was officially sold out but Young, who always stays on site during the Auto Show, was able to use her well-established relationship with the property to get the extra room night for her client. Lee McCarthy with MAD Travel / Travel Leaders in Naples, Fla., described how his agency proactively reviews travel plans among his clients when severe weather is approaching. "As soon as we receive notifications of impending weather or other types of issues, we have our systems check for all affected or possibly affected travelers and then notify each of them of their options and rebook them to other dates or times and stand ready to assist if they decide to go with their original plans." David Fishman, of Travel Leaders Cadillac Travel in the Detroit area, advises that whether it is a weather delay or some other unforeseen circumstance affecting a traveler's plans, it is easier and more convenient to let your travel advisor take care of changing your itinerary. "If you reach out directly to an airline during times like one of the Nor'easters, you are going to be on hold for two or three hours trying to get your flight changed. And if you booked online, some of those places you can't even call, you can only email. If you work with a travel professional, however, you leave that work to us and we will get it done quickly." "Our travel agents are trained to monitor weather conditions, and other types of potential disruptions, and they proactively determine solutions to minimize the impact on their clients' travel plans," said Travel Leaders Network President Roger E. Block, CTC. "As result, their clients can rely on them to reroute or reschedule them, as needed, when there is an unpredictable Nor'easter winter storm or other type of event that impacts travel. The value of our travel agents is recognized even more clearly when they have rebooked you through to your final destination without you feeling the impact, while others who booked on their own are still scrambling for that last seat on the next flight out." Travel Leaders Network, the largest seller of luxury travel, cruises, river cruises and tours in the travel agency industry, has more than 40,000 travel agents across North America waiting to assist customers. Travelers can find an agent on TravelLeaders.com and also learn more about destinations and travel tips at iTravelBetter.com. About Travel Leaders Network Travel Leaders Network (www.TravelLeaders.com) assists millions of leisure and business travelers annually, and is one of the largest sellers of luxury travel, cruises and tours in the travel agency industry, representing approximately 6,800 travel agency locations across the United States and Canada. Travel Leaders Network's award-winning Agent Profiler agent locator, marketing, technology, supplier partnerships and educational programs empower member agencies to differentiate themselves in the marketplace, grow their business and lead the industry. Travel Leaders Network is a Travel Leaders Group LLC company. 2018: Year of the Travel Agent Travel Leaders Group has named 2018 Year of the Travel Agent. Over the last decade, the travel agency industry has flourished through technology, the growth of travel options and personalized service. Travel Leaders Group represents approximately 40,000 travel agents with unmatched expertise in 135,000 destinations and 53,000 areas of interest. Travelers and suppliers have rediscovered the value a professional travel advisor delivers to the travel experience. Travel agents help to move people around the world, and keep our economy growing. SOURCE Travel Leaders Network Related Links http://www.travelleaders.com HARRISBURG, Pa., March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Education and outreach staff from the Department of Banking and Securities will be meeting with senior citizens, members of the military and veterans, professionals, students, and members of the public across Pennsylvania during the month of April to promote financial capability as part of Governor Tom Wolf's Consumer Financial Protection Initiative. For Senior Citizens The presentation "Avoiding Scams and ID Theft" which helps consumers protect themselves from financial scams as well as informs victims of scams on how to get help will be offered at Klein Life Center in Philadelphia on April 4. (Open to members of the Center's Travel Club ONLY) The presentation "Consumer Fraud Bingo" an interactive presentation to help participants learn ways to protect themselves from investment fraud and other financial scams will be offered at Ambler SAAC at 45 Forest Avenue in Ambler (Montgomery County) on April 16 from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM. Non-members wishing to eat lunch must pre-register by April 13 and are requested to provide a donation of $2.00. Please contact (215) 619-8863. Department staff will offer "Creating a Spending Plan" which outlines the differences between wants and needs; setting "SMART" goals; creating a spending plan; and putting the plan into action at Riverview Manor in Sharon (Mercer County) on April 19. (Open to residents and their guests ONLY) Department staff will host an informative discussion on avoiding scams and identity theft, reverse mortgages, banking basics, and budgeting during a senior breakfast with Rep. Ted Nesbit at Mercer County Career Center, 776 Greenville Road in Mercer (Mercer County) on April 20 from 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM. For Students Department staff will be participating in the FBLA State Leadership Conference in Hershey (Dauphin County) on April 9 and April 10. (Open to conference attendees ONLY) A presentation combining "Understanding Credit Reports and Scores," "Banking Basics," and "Creating a Spending Plan" will be offered as a Financial Literacy Seminar hosted by Rep. Tedd Nesbit for young adults and their parents at Grove City High School, 511 Highland Avenue in Grove City (Mercer County) on April 19 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. For Military The department will participate in the fourth annual York County Veterans' Expo and Job Fair at the Wyndham Hotel York, 2000 Loucks Road in York (York County) on April 9 from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. (Open to active military personnel, veterans of all ages, and military families ONLY) For General Audiences Department staff will be participating in the Community Awareness Expo during National Crime Victims' Rights Week at the Berkshire Mall, 1665 State Hill Road in Wyomissing (Berks County) on April 14 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The presentation "Avoiding Scams and Identity Theft" will be presented to the Rotary Club of Jenkintown at Grace Presbyterian Church, 444 York Road in Jenkintown (Montgomery County) on April 24 from 12:15 PM to 1:30 PM. The STaRT Program (Start Today and Retire Tomorrow) which focuses on retirement planning, setting goals, and how to achieve those goals will be offered at the following locations: Edinboro University of Pennsylvania at 219 Meadville Street, Learning Commons Classroom, 2 nd Floor of the Baron-Forness Library in Edinboro ( Erie County ) on April 24 from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM at 219 Meadville Street, Learning Commons Classroom, 2 Floor of the Baron-Forness Library in ( ) on from PA CareerLink Montgomery County at 1855 New Hope Street in Norristown ( Montgomery County ) on April 25 from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM ( ) on from West Lawn-Wyomissing Hills Library at 101 Woodside Avenue in West Lawn ( Berks County ) on April 26 from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM For Professionals Department staff will participate in the Annual Retirement Financial Literacy Education and Wellness Fair hosted by the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office and Insurance Center (VAROIC) in Philadelphia on April 19. (Open to VAROIC employees ONLY) Department staff will host a session entitled, "Preventing Elder Financial Abuse: It Takes a Village," during the Pennsylvania Homecare Association's 2018 Annual Conference in Pittsburgh (Allegheny County) on April 24. (Open to conference attendees ONLY) The department's Financial Services for Consumers and Business staff works with state and local government agencies, service providers, community and trade organizations, the General Assembly, the military community, schools, and other partners to help Pennsylvanians across the commonwealth become well-informed about the financial marketplace. There are a variety of free, non-commercial programs [PDF] and presentations [PDF] available, or a program can be tailored to a specific group's needs. The department's Calendar of Events can be found online: http://bit.ly/1KIscBZ. Consumers and community groups can call 1-800-PA-BANKS or email [email protected] for more information. To learn more about the Consumer Financial Protection Initiative, search #GovWolfCFPI on Twitter. MEDIA CONTACT: Ed Novak, 717-783-4721 SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities Related Links http://www.state.pa.us Australasias biggest property group, Ray White , is preparing itself for what is tracking to be the industrys busiest weekend of auctions so far in 2018. A total 3,689 auctions are scheduled to take place this week across the capital cities, according to CoreLogic, a traditional rise in auctions occurring in the week prior to Easter. Melbourne will host the highest number of auctions out of all capital cities with 1,934 homes going under the hammer, which will make it the second busiest week on record for the city. The Sydney unit market continues to be in decline, according to the valuation firm Herron Todd White. Their starting to decline category sees Canberra, South East NSW and Bendigo join the major capital. Brisbane and Perth remain in the declining market where they were in February's apartment clock. South East New South Wales were at the peak of the market last month, but are now seeing declines. Click here to enlarge. The dominant regions at the peak of the market again are north of Sydney, the likes of Newcastle and the Central Coast performing strongly. Herron Todd White suggest Melbourne and Gold Coast units are still at the peak of the market, while rural areas in Queensland dominate the bottom of the market. There are some areas on the Queensland coast that are still in the market recovery, such as Townsville and Hervey Bay. Tasmanian suburbs are apparent in the still rising market. If you are new to iQ you can schedule a demo and learn more about this opportunity. PSFK iQ - Where Innovators Turn for Research. Our professional-grade research platform is designed specifically for Retail and CX leaders who want to know whats next. Whether youre staying current on trends or need a real-time research partner to help you get ahead, count on PSFK iQ to deliver the info you need to make your next move. British author Rebecca Bradley, who writes the Det. Insp. Hannah Robbins mystery series set in Nottingham, England, knows her way around a police procedural. In fact, she draws from personal experience. Bradley worked as a police officer for seven years, and then for a special criminal investigation department that dealt with sexual exploitation. It was there I realized how dark and warped our world really is, she says. The reverse is also true: in that dark world are people who battle to make it right with everything they have. Bradley didnt plan on becoming a writer. Instead, she cultivated an interest in law enforcement from a young age. I have always been a reader of crime and always wanted to join the police, she says. Because of the height requirement for police recruits in the U.K., however, Bradleywho stands just five feet tallthought she might never get a chance to join the force. But this isnt the story of an author who lives vicariously through her characters. After Bradleys first child was born, the height restriction was lifted and she began training. I already felt fairly settled as a wife and mother, she says. And moving into a job that was a career at this late stage, and to do something I had always wanted to do... It was thrilling and scary all at the same time. But, after a successful career as a police detective, Bradley was forced to retire because of a genetic condition. Though she felt gutted to leave the police force, there was a silver lining: in the final years of her police career, she had discovered a passion for writingand now she had the time to focus on honing her craft. As a writer, [working as a police officer] has provided me the basis in which to ground my work, Bradley says. Though, I do have to be careful and remind myself that Im writing a story and not a practical how-to book. There is a fine line between making it factually correct and boring a reader with too much detail. Police work isnt at all exciting most of the time. Bradley initially looked into publishing her work traditionally and even acquired an agent. But after submitting her work to publishing houses, she parted ways with the agent and made the decision to self-publish the book that would become Shallow Waters, the first in the Robbins series. And Bradley has found self-publishing success by cultivating a community of invested readers via social media channels. After publishing Shallow Waters, Bradley was approached by Audible and signed a book contract. Following the publication of the series second volume, Fighting Monsters, she signed again with Audible for two more audiobook adaptations. Her books are also now sold through major retailers such as Barnes & Noble, and the former law enforcement officer is able to make a living from her writing. Bradley describes her protagonist as a pretty average woman who works hard and struggles to balance a social life with a demanding career. Shes dedicated and wants to do the best she can for the people she comes into contact with. Shes also loyal to her team and expects the same loyalty from them. Bradley has written a third book in series, Made to Be Broken, as well as a novella, Three Weeks Dead. In addition to the books, Bradley is using her knowledge of law enforcement to help other crime authors write authentically and offers a Police Fact Service for writers basing their work in England or Wales. Bradley also offers some practical advice for aspiring self-published authors: Make sure you are aware of the amount of work involved before you jump in. Because unlike traditional publishing where a lot of the process is done by the publisher, you are responsible for every single step. Including knowing when those steps need completing, where to go for the help, and all the extras that come with releasing the book. After all the hard work, Bradley defines her success in terms of how readers feel about her story, characters, and voice: With each email or reader review on Amazon, be it a positive or negative review, I always feel that one step closer. Once you release the book its no longer yours. When they tell me they felt as though they were there, within the scenes, or the ending made them cry, thats when I feel it. Its all about the readers. Despite Weather Delays, An Upbeat PLA Conference in Philadelphia Attendance figures have yet to be released, but judging from a fairly busy exhibits hall, and a jam-packed opening keynote with former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, the Public Library Association conference in Philadelphia this week was an upbeat, well-attended affair, despite some inclement weather. Is it me, or is it beginning to feel like ALA cant catch a break? After a poorly attended ALA Midwinter in Denver in February, PLA was set up to be a much needed bounce backPLA is popular meeting, and Philadelphia conferences are always well-attended. And then came the fourth noreaster in three weeks on the east coast, which snarled travel plans for many. By Tuesday night, many librarians learned that their trains or flights were canceled. But luckily, the opening day speakers arrived in Philadelphia before the storm hit, and despite a few scattered session cancellations, the conference has not disappointed. And, to accommodate those librarians whose travel was canceled, PLA live-streamed the opening session online. Among the highlights so far, Sally Yatess delivered a powerful opening keynote and chatted with PLA president Pam Sandlian Smith. And Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the bestselling Eat, Pray, Love offered librarians three new words to help relieve their anxieties: Priorities, boundaries, mysticism." And of course, the conference is still going, and with author and Net Neutrality pioneer Tim Wu set to speak Saturday morning. And Hasan Minaj will deliver the closing keynote. New Law Raises Online Censorship Concerns Despite good intentions, critics say Congress has made a bad law that threatens free speech online. The "Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act" known as FOSTA (H.R. 1865), was approved by a vote of 97-2 margin in the Senate this week, and is now headed to President Trump. The law removes safe harbor liability protections from hosting sites that foster or facilitate prostitution or sex trafficking (for example the kind of classified ads on Backpage.com). But the law is so broadly, badly written, critics say, that it will force tech companies to police, and ultimately censor their networks. Facing the risk of ruinous litigation, online platforms will have little choice but to become much more restrictive in what sorts of discussionsand what sorts of usersthey allow, censoring innocent people in the process, explains the Electronic Frontier Foundations Elliot Harmon. Already, Craigslist has reportedly removed its personals section. About That Whole Stealing of the Data Thing, Mark Zuckerberg is Sorry... By now youve surely gotten word of the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica debacle making headlines this week. Last week Facebook posted a statement acknowledging the misuse of private user data by Cambridge Analytica, the data analytic firm behind Brexit and the Trump Campaigns. Also Zuckerberg apologized. The move by Facebook to go public with this information came the day before the publication of an investigation by the New York Times and the Observer of London revealed the extent in which the Cambridge Analytica relied on private user data.The firm, which is backed by wealthy conservative investors, worked with researcher Aleksandr Kogan to build a personality quiz app to harvest the user data. Kogan got his app approved by Facebook citing academic purposes for the data collection and failing to disclose the connect with Cambridge Analytica. Some 270,000 people installed the quiz app but Facebooks API allowed access to 50 million people in the app users' friend network. Data and privacy protection has been a hot topic in the library world for years. And surely libraries can do more to help, especially in terms of educating citizens about about how their data is vulnerable. Friday One-Liners Regina Anderson, the librarian at the center of the Harlem Renaissance, finally gets her due. Bill Gates reads a lot. This is his new favorite book. An illustrator turned to Twitter to help ID mystery woman in old photo and pretty soon the Smithsonian archivists got involved. LibraryThing acquired Litsy, you know, the Instagram for books. Uh oh, Canada: Canadian Publishing revenues dip. Whats the first step to protecting your privacy on Facebook? Use the kill switch in the app settings. From the content of its books to the paper it prints on, Chelsea Green Publishing is known for its focus on sustainability. But if that word suggests that operations at the Vermont-based publishing house move at a modest pace, president and publisher Margo Baldwin quickly dispels it when she says, with no small amount of pleasure, Theres just one more thing. Just one more thing includes a number of new projects that touch nearly every facet of the 34-year-old indie publisher. Sales are up 7% since 2016, and in one week in early March, Chelsea Green launched a redesigned website, completed moving 500,000 books to a new warehouse, and opened its first overseas office, in the U.K. The U.K. venture is evidence of a content-driven focus that shapes Baldwins overall approach as a publisher. In 2014, Chelsea Greens U.K. distributor, Green Books, was sold, leaving a void in the market for books on sustainability and the environment. To fill that gap, Baldwin found a new distribution partner, Publishers Group UK, and published a handful of titles with authors and topics geared specifically for the U.K. market. Among them was Adam Federmans Fasting and Feasting, a biography of English food writer Patience Gray, who was a contemporary of Julia Child. The book got a lot of coverage in pretty much every major newspaper, Baldwin said. Nobody had ever done a biography of her. When Baldwin decided to release the book in the U.S. late last year, it received good reviews. Fasting and Feasting was Chelsea Greens first New York Times Notable Book of the Year and was shortlisted for the Los Angeles Times book award. To date, Baldwin said, the book has sold 2,000 copies in the U.K. and 8,000 in the U.S., affirming her belief that we can creatively publish into the U.K. market and support our books with marketing and publicity. With sales in the U.K. were up 167% in 2017 compared to 2015, Baldwin decided it was time to up Chelsea Greens overseas investment with the opening of the U.K. office, which will be staffed by a part-time publicist, a commissioning editor, and managing director Matt Haslum, who previously served as marketing director at Faber & Faber and has extensive digital-marketing experience. The office will produce one to two books in the U.K. this year, and two to three in 2019. Improved digital reach is part of Baldwins overall strategy for the house, which has long relied on direct consumer sales through its website. Originally content driven, Chelsea Greens site was repurposed three years ago to place a greater emphasis on e-commerce. It ended up downplaying creative content too much, according to Baldwin, who was dissatisfied with the results. It didnt really work in terms of being creative, Baldwin said. That led to the newly designed site, which marks a return to the publishers earlier content-driven approach. Just as the web redesign was nearing completion, the last trucks carrying Chelsea Greens inventory to a new warehouse in Virginia were departing from its Claremont, N.H., warehouse. The move signals the publishers new warehousing and distribution agreement with Books International, based in Sterling, Va. After warehousing its own books for most of its history, Baldwin said that the manufacturer of their inventory system is discontinuing its support for the software, which prompted the change. Books International met Chelsea Greens standards for sustainability, including its print-on-demand options. It was a good solution all the way around, Baldwin said. They can do color print-on-demand, hardcovers, and our galleys, and they can set inventory levels for slow-moving titles. Having outsourced fulfillment, Baldwin is freed up to focus on additional author and content-focused initiatives. They include a growing number of audiobooks released each yearroughly 10 in 2018and expanding a relatively new line of health and wellness titles. The first of the titles, The Heal Your Gut Cookbook, was published in 2014. With 10 health-related books slated for this year, and no increase in the publishers overall annual output of 2025 books, the focus on health marks a substantial shift. Baldwin sees it as a natural progression... a lot of the health books are based on nutrition. Nutrition was so well linked to our food and farming books, she explained. Backlist titles still form the foundation of the house, accounting for 75% of revenue. Of the five highest-selling books at the press last year, The Art of Fermentation (2012), was #1, and two others were updates of books from the aughts. Given the strong long-term sales numbers on backlist, Baldwin looks for ways to continue working with her authors, partly through a two year-old partnership with sustainability-focused Sterling College. Via a cosponsored program, Chelsea Green authors teach classes at the college that are open to the general public. Its a way for our authors to become teachers, Baldwin said. It gets them out. And, she added, the authors are paid by the college to do it. Ensuring that authors and employees are properly remunerated is important to Baldwin. Later this year, the company will finalize its transition to complete employee ownership through its employee stock-ownership plan. With so many projects coming to fruition, Baldwin could be forgiven for taking a moment to pause. Instead, she said, the Sterling College partnership already has her thinking of something else new. What wed like to do is create some online courses that are built out of this content, she said, and so, for Chelsea Green, its on to just one more thing. The era of Donald Trump has shaken the country and revived activism on the left on a scale not seen since the 1960s. America has unfinished businessBlack Lives Matter demands that the promises of the civil rights movement be kept, and #MeToo lays claim to the autonomy and equality the womens movement fought for. The countrys shift to the right in the 2016 election has reinvigorated social activism around these and other causes, including gun control, immigration, and protecting the environment. Religions can be the cause of oppression and injustice, but they also will be part of the solution. Many authors have diagnosed religions ills and offered cures, in books from religion publishers on topics such as the conflicts over Trumps agenda, urgent social problems, the fragmenting of American churches, and the continuing decline of commitment to traditional faiths. The Meaning of Trump Much has been made of the purported 80% of evangelical Christians who voted for Trump and continue to support him. But evangelicals are a varied bunch, and many did not support Trump and reject any association with his victory. Evangelicals can do better than Donald Trump, writes evangelical historian John Fea in Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump (Eerdmans, June). His campaign and presidency have drawn on a troubling pattern of American evangelicalism that is willing to yield to old habits grounded in fear, nostalgia, and the search for power... [they have] traded their Christian witness for a mess of political pottage and a few federal judges. German pastor Detrich Bonhoeffer, martyred during WWII for standing up to the Nazis, has become an evangelical icon, and in The Battle for Bonhoeffer (Eerdmans, Sept.), Stephen R. Haynes holds him up for Christians to emulate, writing, Those who have come to regard Bonhoeffer as a model of resistance in Trumps America have looked to him not to justify anti-tyrannical violence, but to help discern how citizens of a civilized nation should behave when established cultural norms seem no longer to apply. Evangelicals have failed their first Bonhoeffer moment, Haynes writes, but there will be other chances to repudiate a man who did not deserve the support of a serious Christian. Many Catholics voted for Trump and still support his agenda. In Good Intentions: A History of Catholic Voters Road from Roe to Trump (Liturgical, May), Steven P. Millies asks why Trumps rhetoric on immigration and attempts to close the borders did not trouble American Catholics who are descended from immigrants. Like evangelicals, conservative Catholics see the Church as besieged by the forces of liberalism and threatened by different points of view, Millies writes. That tendency is found chiefly among the descendants of 19th-century Catholic immigrants who have a memory of the long struggle for acceptance. Trumps appeal to Catholics is that he promised an unquestioning view of American power, the return to a rigid and simple patriotism, and a clear sense of American identity against new groups of immigrants who sought to enter the United States. Ever heard of political magic? No, its not charisma, and its not new, according to Michael M. Hughes, author of Magic for the Resistance: Rituals and Spells for Change (Llewellyn, Oct.). Hughes writes that English magicians used weather curses against the Spanish Armada, occultists and witches cast spells against the Nazis, and in the 1960s feminist collective WITCH hexed the patriarchy and Yippies levitated the Pentagon. Hughes proposes that kind of magical activism to oppose the Trump regime; in February 2017 he led thousands of people around the world in casting the Spell to Bind Donald Trump and All Those Who Abet Him. One of Trumps promises was immigration reform, and he turned up the heat by barring travelers from certain predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S. and by accusing American Muslim communities of harboring terrorists. But in Presumed Guilty: Why We Shouldnt Ask Muslims to Condemn Terrorism (Fortress, Sept.), Todd H. Green argues that asking Muslims to condemn terrorism assumes that Islam is the driving force behind terrorism and ignores the ways in which Muslims already condemn terrorism, such as working with the authorities to help track down suspected terrorists. Green is a former U.S. State Department adviser on Islamophobia. Getting to know the so-called other is a time-tested way to dispel prejudicea story that is told in Once We Were Strangers: What Friendship with a Syrian Refugee Taught Me About Loving My Neighbor (Revell, Oct.). Author Shawn Smucker befriended Mohammad, a Syrian refugee, and his family, and learned lessons about shared humanity across cultural, religious, and political divides. Smucker writes, There are days when I wonder if this world can continue to exist under the current load of hate and misunderstanding and evil, when I wonder if the hearts of all people can somehow find a vaccination from racism and virulent nationalism and a concern only for ourselves. My friendship with Mohammad has been both the diagnosis and the beginning of a cure in me. The Sins of the Church Theres a stain on American Christianity, Jemar Tisby writes in The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Churchs Complicity in Racism (Zondervan, Dec.). Church policies designed to discriminate against people of color were not passively absorbed from the surrounding society, Tisby writes. Rather they were intentionally crafted by Christians to create the inequality and separation we see in congregations today. Slaves were taught a different kind of Christianity than white people: European missionaries tried to calm the fears of slave owners who feared rebellion by spreading a version of Christianity that emphasized spiritual deliverance but not immediate liberation. Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, author of Reconstructing the Gospel: Finding Freedom from Slaveholder Religion (IVP, out now), came to recognize that truththat the Christianity he experienced growing up a churchgoing white Christian in the South was not good news for everyone, but had been corrupted to serve the purposes of slaveholders. I am a man torn in two, Wilson-Hartgrove writes, and the Gospel I inherited is divided. In a starred review, PW called the book a must-read for Christians interested in how race-infused politics and religion undermine the American democratic dream. Plantation Jesus: Race, Faith, and a New Way Forward by Skot Welch and Rick Wilson, with Andi Cumbo-Floyd (Herald, May), also urges Christians to learn this troubling history and confront the churchs racism. IVP senior editor Al Hsu says, For us, Christianity is not just an abstract faith of private devotion, but is embedded and embodied in society with real social consequences. Publisher Jeff Crosby adds that beyond the calling, it also makes good business sense to publish these books. As the demographics of North America shift radically in the decades to come, religion publishers need to be on the forefront of addressing issues of concern to the new neighbors we are called to welcome. The damage caused by racism must be repaired, Jodie Geddes and Thomas Norman DeWolf write in The Little Book of Restorative Justice and Racial Healing (Skyhorse, Dec.). Their prescription for reconciliation is relationships and dialogue. Through Coming to the Table, an organization they founded, Geddes and DeWolf bring together descendants of slaves and of slaveholders to realize a vision of racial harmony. Other books on racism take the form of memoirs. In 13 Days in Ferguson (Tyndale Momentum, Aug.), Ron Johnsonan African-American captain in the Missouri Highway Patrol, and a 30-year law enforcement veteranwrites (with Alan Eisenstock) of being charged with restoring peace in Ferguson, Mo., after Michael Brown was killed by police. Johnson took off his bulletproof vest and walked into a crowd of protesters, inspired by his Christian faith and belief that reconciliation between African-Americans and the police is possible. A Sojourners Truth: Choosing Freedom and Courage in a Divided World (IVP, Nov.) is Natasha Sistrunk Robinsons memoir of growing up a young African-American girl from South Carolina and entering the United States Naval Academy. There I was immediately exposed to privilege and noticed the difference in access and opportunity between me and many of my white classmates, she writes. After graduation, Robinson served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps and then as a civilian at the Department of Homeland Security. In Im Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness (Convergent, May), Austin Channing Brown describes her alienation as a female African-American in majority-white schools, organizations, and churches. She had to figure out where she fit, and writes, I had to learn what it means to love blackness and to be a black person living in a white world. Brown is a writer and speaker who helps schools, nonprofits, and religious organizations learn to practice inclusion. Amy Julia Becker grew up in a South still trying to find its footing after the civil rights movement, and in White Picket Fences (NavPress, Oct.) she encourages anxious white Christians to come out from behind their white picket bunkers and get to know their neighbors across racial, religious, and economic divides. One of the most powerful tools to combat racism is preaching, according to Carolyn B. Helsel, a Presbyterian pastor and professor of preaching at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Anxious to Preach About Racism: A Guide for White Pastors (Chalice, Nov.) offers guidance for ministers who want to preach about racism to primarily to white congregations. The book follows her Anxious to Talk About It: Helping White Christians Talk Faithfully about Racism (Chalice, out now), which PW called a powerful book [that] will be of most use to white readers looking for a way to have honest conversations about race. Two elder statesmen of the civil rights movement have new books this year. Revive Us Again: Vision and Action in Moral Organizing by William Barber II, with Liz Theoharis and Rick Lowery (Beacon, Dec.), collects Barbers sermons and speeches, along with response essays by prominent public intellectuals, activists, and faith leaders that address such issues as the activism of Black Lives Matter, the struggle to protect voting rights, and the push for womens rights. Another civil rights pioneer, John Perkins, also is a preacher; he grew up in a Mississippi sharecropping family and has dedicated his life to achieving racial equality. He calls One Blood: Parting Words to the Church on Race (Moody, Apr.) his crowning book; in it, Perkins charges the church with advancing racial reconciliation and justice. Rabbi Evan Moffic reminds readers of the centuries-long suffering of the Jewish people in First the Jews: Combatting the Worlds Longest-Running Hate Campaign (Abingdon, Dec.). With anti-Semitism again on the rise, Moffic reviews its history and calls on people of all faiths to fight it. He speaks frequently in churches, teaching Christians about Jewish heritage and history. Raise Your Voice: Why We Stay Silent and How to Speak Up by Kathy Khang (IVP, July) encourages readers to speak up when they see injustice, instead of being silenced by fear and power dynamics. Khang teaches Christians they have a responsibility to speak truth to power and to denounce injustice wherever they see it. Times Up for Patriarchy The #MeToo movement is a reminder that womens bodies often are a battleground in the struggle for power, and that women cannot be free without physical autonomy. That autonomy is threatened in various ways, including violence: In Scars Across Humanity: Understanding and Overcoming Violence Against Women (IVP, out now), Elaine Storkey offers a shocking fact: acts of violence against women around the world cause more death, disability, and mutilation than cancer, malaria, and traffic accidents combined. Storkey provides an overview of this global pandemic and calls on Christians to be part of the solution. With Republicans back in power and conservative Christian values dominating the conversation about abortion, womens reproductive rights are once again threatened. One book is sure to be controversial, even with some progressives: Trust Women: A Progressive Christian Argument for Reproductive Justice by Rebecca Todd Peters (Beacon, Apr.), which argues that unplanned pregnancy and abortion are a normal part of many womens reproductive lives, and that shaming women who have abortions is another way to control womens bodies and curtail their choices. (Peters cites statistics showing that about a third of women in the U.S. will have an abortion by age 45, and 50%60% of the women who have abortions were using birth control when they got pregnant.) Beacon publisher Amy Caldwell notes that in 1983 Beacon published Our Right to Choose: Toward a New Ethic of Abortion by Beverly Wildung Harrison, the first feminist book on abortion to make a moral rather than a legal argument, based on the assertion that women are rational moral agents. Caldwell adds, Trust Women is in many ways the heir to Harrisons work, and it highlights Beacons strong commitment to justice, to womens voices and concerns, to moral and political thinking based on who is actually helped and who is hurt. Religions also have dictated how women should dress. In The Beauty Suit: How My Year of Religious Modesty Made Me a Better Feminist (Beacon, May), Lauren Shields looks at the modesty practices of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity and what they show about attitudes toward women. Inspired by American Muslimahs who wear the hijab for feminist reasons, Shields decided to try a modesty practice of her own, giving up her stylish hair, makeup, and clothes for nine months. Her experience led her to wonder, who is truly liberated or oppressed? Is being attractive to men still the closest to power women can get? Finally, in Resist and Persist: Faith and the Fight for Equality (WJK, Apr.), Erin Wathen warns the worst could be yet to come. In many ways, sexism has only gotten more brash and repulsive as women have gained power and voice in the mainstream culture, she contends. Because the patriarchy dies hard, it has to find new and artful ways to function in the civilized world, and those new ways are often even uglier than the old ones. Women and their male allies must resist the sexism of the Trump agenda, Wathen writes, not only in politics and government but also in the church. All Together Now Along with issue-focused books, there are sweeping critiques of American culture. Michael Gecans Peoples Institutions in Decline: Causes, Consequences, Cures (Acta, out now) sounds the alarm about the decline of social institutionsincluding churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples, as well as unions, ethnic and neighborhood organizations, small businesses, schools, and healthcare facilitiesand how that decline has led to isolation and indifference. He urges people of faith to use the relational power of communities, where people know and trust one another, to work for change. Gecans publisher, Greg Pierce, president of Acta, notes, Religion is not an escape or flight from the world as it is. What people want to know is not, Dont bother me about what is going on in the world, but rather, How do my religious and spiritual beliefs and practices inform and determine how I act in the world? America is a Christian nation, a melting pot; all men are created equal; American is exceptionalright? Twelve Lies That Hold America Captive: And the Truth That Sets Us Free by Jonathan Walton (IVP, Dec.) debunks the myths many tell about the United States. And Bruce Ashford asks in Letters to an American Christian (B&H, June), what does it mean to be an American and a Christian? Ashford explores the relationship between Christianity and politics and urges readers to take seriously both their heavenly and earthly citizenships. A too-close alignment of Christianity and politics has created disunity, Allen Hilton argues in A House United: How the Church Can Save the World (Fortress, Apr.). By marrying stances on politics and issues, like tax reform and the size of government, to moral ones, like abortion rights and homosexuality, the church has deepened the rift between left and right and created even more polarization. That contentious atmosphere is the subject of Christians in the Age of Outrage (Tyndale Momentum, Oct.), in which author Ed Stetzer decries the conflict and argues that Christians are not defined by the crazy and caustic representatives we see on cable news. All over the world, the majority of Christians are already bringing their best in building the Kingdom of God. Books that address the divisions in the church and society at large and call for unity include Designed for More: Unleashing Christs Vision for Unity in a Deeply Divided World by Lucas Ramirez, with Mike DeVito (FaithWords, June), which promotes increased collective action to tackle social problems. Soul Force: Seven Pivots Toward Courage, Community, and Change by Reesheda Graham-Washington and Shawn Casselberry (Herald, June) also stresses collective action by Christians to create change in a hostile world. And in God of Tomorrow: How to Overcome the Fears of Today and Renew Your Hope for the Future (WaterBrook, May), Caleb Kaltenbach points to Jesus, Paul, and Peter as models for following the Bibles directive to be in the world, but not of itto make peace with those who have different beliefs, not to shut themselves away from the wider culture, but not to fully embrace its values either. Ana Levy Lyons proposes a back-to-basics approach in No Other Gods: The Politics of the Ten Commandments (FaithWords, out now), arguing that the Commandments are as relevant today as they were in Old Testament times and can serve as guideposts for navigating such current issues as school shootings, immigration, and #MeToo. The Ten Commandments are a resource for resistance, Levy-Lyons writes. They are a politically and spiritually brazen prescriptionone which, if actually followed, would turn our world upside down. That Old Testament approach aligns with Path of the Prophets: The Ethics-Driven Life by Barry L. Schwartz (Jewish Publication Society, out now), a rabbi and activist who endorses civil disobedience and applies ancient wisdom to the advancement of freedom, equality, and compassion, as well as to spiritual disciplines such as faith, prayer, and humility. The spiritual leaders of the future will look very different from the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament disciples, according to Alison Sher, author of The Millennials Guide to Changing the World (Skyhorse, Nov.). Sher interviewed 150 millennials about their attitudes toward sex, racism, protecting the environment, and religion. She concludes, Millennials care so deeply about finding meaning and purpose, but they are also rejecting religion. Were a create-your-own-way generation. Do traditional religions have a future in this DIY era? Will they be replaced by individual searches for spiritual transformation? Writers like Sher might say yes, but despite the sins of religion, faiths that have survived for thousands of years cant be counted out. Scandinavian crime fiction has been an international phenomenon for more than a decade. Now, genre novels from other countries are coming out of the shadows, with the Guardian recently asking whether South Korean thrillers are the new Scandi Noir. You-Jeong Jeongs The Good Son (Penguin, June) is among the books that prompted the question. The first of the authors novels to be translated into English, it tells of a young man who wakes up covered in blood, with little memory of the night before. Penguin senior editor Lindsey Schwoeri says she was drawn to the novel in part because of its unreliable male narrator, in contrast with the unreliable female narrators of many thrillers, and that it focused on a twisted relationship between a mother and son, a dynamic explored less often in the genre. The Good Son has sold over a million copies in South Korea, according to Jeongs agent, Barbara Zitwer. She also reps South Korean authors Hye-young Pyun, author of City of Ash and Red (Arcade, Nov.), and Un-su Kim, whose The Plotters was acquired by Doubleday editor Rob Bloom in February. The Plotters was only Blooms second acquisition in translation. His first, a police procedural by Chinese novelist Zhou Haohui called Death Notice, will pub in June. Bloom says that a Chinese web series based on Zhous books has garnered 2.4 billion views, and that exposure, of course, factored into the acquisition. The book also appealed to him because of the way it conveys unfamiliar scenarios to American readers. For instance, he says he was fascinated by the way Chinese police officers live in dormitories while their families live in housing thats separated entirely. A lot of my editorial comments were that I wanted to know more. The absence of familiar genre conventions drew Sean McDonald, publisher at FSG imprint MCD, to Hideo Yokoyamas police procedural Six Four (2017). McDonald says that the book was successful in reaching a readership that prefers offbeat literary thrillers, a group that the imprint continues to court. In November, MCD will publish Yokoyamas Seventeen. Seventeen, which follows the aftermath of a plane crash in remote Japanese mountains, offers a glimpse of the country that Westerners rarely see, McDonald says. Its not written with the intent of explicating a place, but its a work thats so much of its place and of its culture that it plunges you in. Keith Kahla, executive editor at St. Martins Press, says that, for a U.S. readership, the unfamiliar needs to be balanced by mystery elements that American readers will recognize. In November, St. Martins imprint Minotaur will release Newcomer, Japanese author Keigo Higashinos sixth mystery with the publisher. He writes a very traditional, old-school mystery, says Kahla, who compares Higashino with Ellery Queen or Agatha Christie. The 2011 translation of Higashinos The Devotion of Suspect X was nominated for an Edgar Award. Trafficking in Noir In many countries, mysteries and thrillers are not defined as separate genres from general fiction; when looking abroad for acquisitions, many American publishers say, they can spot them by looking for titles that are billed as noir. Grove Atlantic imprint Black Cat will publish Mexican author Martin Solaress Dont Send Flowers in August. Black Cat also published his 2010 debut, The Black Minutes, which PWs starred review said treads a risky tightrope between police procedural and surreal fantasy. Amy Hundley, senior editor at Grove Atlantic, says that noir is a form thats particularly suited to the Mexican context, where the genre has longstanding roots with deep cultural ties. At Akashic Books, 2010s Mexico City Noir is one of more than 90 regional noir anthologies; forthcoming locales include Sao Paulo (June), Marrakech, and Baghdad (both Aug.). Editorial director Ibrahim Ahmad says the anthology series has introduced Akashic to writers whose longer works the publisher has subsequently acquired. For instance, Brazilian author Tony Bellotto, who edited Sao Paulo Noir and 2016s Rio Noir, will publish the first of his four Bellini novels, Bellini and the Sphinx, with Akashic in February 2019. The publishers noir series, meanwhile, continues to grow, with yet-to-be-scheduled volumes planned for cities including Addis Ababa and Nairobi. Europa Editions, which has its own international noir line, is releasing Karin Brynards Weeping Waters, originally written in Afrikaans, the first of the publishers World Noir titles to come from Africa. Soho Press has built a relationship with Japanese author Fuminori Nakamura, and it will release his next psychological thriller, Cult X, in May. Soho associate publisher Juliet Grames notes that the press has already released six of his books, but because Japanese authors typically publish with multiple houses in their home country, acquiring the rights to different titles often means working with a different Japanese publisher each time. She cites translation costs as a limiting factor. Sohos first Nakamura translation, 2012s The Thief, was supported by a $10,000 Japanese grant. Without it, Soho would have been less likely to forge the relationship. The margins are difficult. You can end up paying more for translation than all of the production costs [combined], Grames says. Seven Stories publisher Dan Simon says that curiosity drives him to continue publishing works in translation, even though the time and financial investment can be higher than for books written in English. He says that readers in the U.S. are opening up, too. Theres less resistance than there used to be for commercial works in translation. The next translation project Seven Stories will publish is a Brazilian work, Klester Cavalcantis true crime tale The Name of Death (May). Cavalcanti is a widely recognized investigative reporter in Brazil, and the book is being adapted for film by Fernando Meirelles, who directed 2002s City of God. Simons past collaborations with Cavalcantis subagent led him to purchase the book without reading a sample translation: he relied solely on the subagents description and the opinion of British translator Nick Caistor. Because theres typically less competition for works in translation than for English-originating titles, Simon notes, theres an opportunity for a small publisher to acquire a caliber of book they might otherwise lose to bigger houses: Youre choosing from writers who are the equivalent of the very top American writers. Return to the main feature. Algerian authorities have deported more than 27,000 Sub-Saharan migrants since 2015, in a move that is praised by the interior ministry and denounced by rights groups that see in Algerias crackdown on migrants and asylum seekers a violation of elementary rights. We have already repatriated 27,000 illegal African migrants to their countries since 2015, Algerian Interior Minister Noureddine Bedoui told the parliament in Algiers. The black-man-hunt has been clearly endorsed by authorities in Algeria at a time the country was hard-hit by the slump in oil prices. As the country braces for austerity measures, further threatening the fragile social peace, authorities have surfed on xenophobia blaming Sub-Saharans fleeing wars and hardships for the structural illness of the Algerian economy. In a wave of anti-migrant drive, last year, authorities in Algiers imposed a segregationist move banning migrants from using taxis and buses in a blatant disregard for human dignity and in total violation of basic human rights. The transportation authority had indeed threatened last October to impose fines on drivers who venture to transport migrants, pro-regime media reported. In the face of Algerias unrelenting crackdown on migrants and asylum seekers who are denied the right to apply for refugee status, international rights watchdogs have lambasted Algerias shameful practices. In its annual report, Amnesty International deplored that Algeria failed to improve on human rights at all levels, registering degrading treatment of migrants by Algerian authorities. Human Rights Watch, for its part, drew attention to the summary deportation by Algerian authorities of hundreds of Sub-Saharans who are often abandoned in the desert border with Mali in harsh conditions. Earlier in February, the International Organization for Migration (IMO) confirmed that it has saved 1000 Sub-Saharan migrants rounded up by Algerian authorities and bussed in harsh conditions to Algerias southern borders. These migrants are usually taken from Zeralda prison and sent to the southern city of Tamanrasset. Afterwards, authorities take them to the border with Niger where they are abandoned to their fate. Niger has repeatedly protested the inhumane treatment suffered by its nationals in Algeria. Also, the anti-migrant discrimination and xenophobic rhetoric were behind the recall of the Guinean Ambassador to Algiers late last year. The decision by Guinean President, Alpha Conde, who was then AU chairman, drew attention to the double speak of Algeria, which aspires to have a voice in Africa while mistreating Africans on its soil. Civil society associations in Guinea, Gabon and Niger have urged the African Union to put the issue of the human rights violations by Algerian authorities against Sub-Saharan migrants on the agenda. The State Department announced today that Joe Asperman, a French national, has been added to the US governments list of designated terrorists. State says that Asperman works as a senior chemical weapons expert for ISIS and oversaw chemical operations production within Syria for ISIS and the deployment of these chemical weapons at the battlefront. The US government has designated Islamic State chemical weapons engineers as terrorists in the past. As part of its targeted air campaign, the US-led coalition has also destroyed related facilities and killed jihadists working in the program. In June 2017, the State and Treasury Departments designated two Iraqis as terrorists for their work on chemical weapons. One of the two, Attallah Salman Abd Kafi al-Jaburi, has served as an ISIS chemical weapons and explosives manager and worked on a chemical weapons project that would be used against Peshmerga fighters. The Kurdish Peshmerga have fought ISIS jihadists throughout northern Iraq. The second Iraqi, Marwan Ibrahim Hussayn Tah al-Azawi, is an ISIS leader connected to ISISs development of chemical weapons for use in ongoing combat against Iraqi Security Forces. [See FDDs Long War Journal report, US designates 2 Islamic State leaders tied to chemical weapons.] To date, the Islamic States chemical arsenal has been fairly basic, relying on chlorine and mustard agent. The Islamic State of Iraq, the predecessor organization to the current Islamic State, used chlorine gas in a series of suicide bomb attacks in 2007. In Apr. 2017, Colonel John Dorrian, then spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, was asked about the Islamic States chemical capabilities. As far as the types of materials that the enemy used they have low grade capabilitiesrepresentative of chlorine and mustard agent, Dorrian explained. Sometimes I see that reported as mustard gas, thats not correct. Its mustard agent. Dorrian explained that the agent is dispersed into a very small area whenever these munitions go off and they are not especially effective about anything except creating a public narrative. While they are not as effective even as explosive roundsthey do get some attention. Nevertheless, the US military has repeatedly highlighted the Islamic States use of low-grade chemical weapons. In Jan. 2015, for instance, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that Abu Malik, an Islamic State chemical weapons engineer, had been killed in an airstrike near Mosul, Iraq. Malik had worked at Saddam Husseins Muthana chemical weapon production facility before affiliating with al Qaeda in Iraq in 2005. Then, in July 2016, the Defense Department announced the killing of Basim Muhammad Ahmad Sultan al-Bajari, who served as the Islamic States deputy minister of war. Al-Bajari originally joined al Qaeda in Iraq and continued to work his way up through the ranks of Abu Bakr al Baghdadis enterprise. He oversaw the June 2014 offensive to capture Mosul and also led the Islamic States Jaysh al-Dabiq battalion, which was known for using vehicle-borne IEDs, suicide bombers and mustard gas in its attacks, according to DOD. In Dec. 2016, CENTCOM announced that Abu Jandal al-Kuwaiti, an Islamic State leader, was killed by a coalition airstrike near Tabqa Dam, Syria. Abu Jandal had been a member of the groups war committee and also helped retake Palmyra, Syria from Bashar al Assads forces. He was then redeployed to Tabqa, which fell to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) earlier this year. Abu Jandal was involved in the use of suicide vehicles, IEDs and chemical weapons against the SDF, CENTCOM stated. For more on the US military targeting the Islamic States chemical weapons program, see FDDs Long War Journal report: US military hits another Islamic State chemical weapons facility in Iraq. *Note: Parts of this article were adapted from previous reports published at FDDs Long War Journal. Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal. This article appeared originally at FDD's Long War Journal. Will he, or won't he? The question of whether Donald Trump will fire the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election hovers over both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, as the president recently lashed out at Robert Mueller by name and added a new and aggressive attorney to his personal legal team. But even if he doesn't decide to shut down the probe -- action that Sen. Lindsey Graham and others have said would amount to a "constitutional crisis" -- Trump could still be getting some of what he wants in terms of public perception. For starters, voter sentiment about the Mueller investigation, which includes scrutiny of possible collusion with the Russians by Trump associates and potential obstruction of justice by the president, has become increasingly partisan. A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey finds that 33 percent of Republicans hold a negative view of Mueller, constituting a new high for the poll. And just 11 percent held positive feelings. Meanwhile, 47 percent of Democrats held positive feelings about Mueller, also a new high for the poll. A Pew survey released late last week found similar divisions, with 46 percent of Republicans confident in Mueller's ability to conduct a fair investigation, while 75 percent of Democrats were confident. Moreover, the survey found 75 percent of Republicans say Russian meddling didn't benefit either campaign, while an equal number of Democrats say it benefited Trump. "This is a campaign, just like a candidate's campaign or initiative. ... Trump is engaged in a long-term persuasion campaign among the American people to undermine the credibility of those conducting the investigation," says Republican strategist Rick Tyler. While it's unclear whether negative perceptions of Mueller among the GOP electorate will continue to increase over the coming months, Trump has been testing the waters to how far he might be able to go with his partys lawmakers, who still hold the majority in Congress. Most have been urging him to simply let the investigation play out, but they are also reluctant to move legislation to protect the special counsel. "Obviously, legislation requires a presidential signature," Texas Sen. John Cornyn told reporters this week. "I don't see the necessity of picking that fight right now." And some GOP strategists say they don't see much evidence of the probe having an impact on Republican voters at this point."Once Mueller is finished with his work, voters will judge the full findings and the circumstances of them and make their decision," says party operative Brad Todd. "Until then I think voters are worried about their paychecks and their retirement accounts." GOP leaders on Capitol Hill insisted Tuesday they are confident Trump won't end the probe. House Speaker Paul Ryan has said he wants Mueller to complete his work undeterred and told reporters he has received "assurances" that the president isn't going to fire the special counsel. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell finally weighed in on Tuesday, expressing similar sentiments. "Bob Mueller should be allowed to finish his job. I think it was an excellent appointment. I think he will go wherever the facts lead him and I think he will have great credibility with the American people when he reaches the conclusion of this investigation," McConnell said. "This is a thoroughly credible individual, I think it was an appropriate appointment, and we all anticipate his finishing the job and telling the American people what they need to know about this episode." But Trump doesn't show any signs of letting up on his campaign against Mueller. This week, he hired attorney Joseph diGenova, who has been outspoken in promoting conspiracy theories about the Russia investigation. The hiring signals the president is ready to take a more combative approach going forward. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders suggested that Trump will continue to air his frustrations. "The president has been very clear about the fact that there was no collusion between his campaign and any other entity. However, to pretend like going through this absurd process for over a year would not bring frustration seems a little bit ridiculous," Sanders told reporters Tuesday. Sanders then asked whether members of Congress "would like it if they had been accused of taking their seat in Congress by doing something nefarious when they hadn't, particularly if it went on for more than a year into their time in office? My guess is they would be more than anxious to push back." Though Republican lawmakers may sympathize with the president, there is also frustration over the way Trump continues to make the probe a story. "When you're innocent, act like it!" South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy, a former prosecutor and chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said during an interview with Fox News. "If youve done nothing wrong, you should want the investigation to be as fulsome and thorough as possible." Gowdy's South Carolina colleague, Graham, warned Trump that firing Mueller would likely be an impeachable offense. "Probably so, if he did it without cause, yeah," he said on Hugh Hewitt's radio program. "What the president will have done is stopped an investigation into whether or not his campaign colluded with the Russians, what effect the Russians had on the 2016 campaign. I cant see it being anything other than a corrupt purpose." Retiring Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, a frequent critic of the president who has spurred talk of him challenging Trump in 2020, said Republicans want Mueller left alone. "Congress cannot preempt such a firing. Our only constitutional remedy is after the fact, through impeachment. No one wants that outcome," Flake tweeted. "Mr. President, please don't go there." Even though Flake is seen as an outlier within the party, there has long been frustration among Republicans up for re-election this year that the president continues to step on the GOP's campaign message, particularly its economic accomplishments. "The success of the Republican Party isn't the foremost thing on the president's mind. It's How do I fare and look in all of this? " Tyler says. Michael Steel, a GOP strategist and Capitol Hill veteran, says Republicans aren't under any illusions that the president will change course. "Most Republicans would be happier if the president would spend every day talking about the benefits of the tax cuts ... but I don't think anyone has a realistic expectation he's going to do that, so it's then incumbent on candidates" to make that case, he says. "However Republicans feel about the president and the investigation, it's critically important for Republican voters to turn out to vote for Republicans. ... A Democratic majority in either chamber would block any further efforts to improve our economy and be completely obsessed and bogged down with investigations of the administration and ultimately, most likely, impeachment proceedings." "The heart and soul of the Republican Party belongs to Donald Trump," writes Lloyd Green. If so, the GOP has an odd way of showing affection. Green cites a lack of Republican criticism of Trump, the president's continued popularity within the party, and Trump's rescue of incumbent Nevada senator Dean Heller from a primary challenge. All true. But when it comes to the president's priorities and the nationalist populist style of politics he represents, Trump and the Republican Congress could not be farther apart. Trump Lashes Out: Mueller Probe Should Never Have Been Started WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump on Sunday took out his frustrations over the intensifying Russia investigation by lashing out at special counsel Robert Mueller, signaling a possible shift away from a strategy of cooperating with a probe he believes is biased against him. In a series of weekend tweets naming Mueller for the first time, Trump criticized the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and raised fresh concerns about the objectivity and political leanings of the members of Muellers team. Trump also challenged the honesty of Andrew McCabe, the newly fired FBI deputy director, and James Comey, the bureaus former director whom Trump fired last year over the Russia probe. The presidents aggressive stance followed a call Saturday by his personal lawyer for Rod Rosenstein, whom Trump appointed as deputy attorney general and who now oversees Muellers inquiry, to bring an end to that investigation. Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee, which spent the past year conducting a parallel investigation, recently said they had drafted a report concluding no collusion or coordination between Trumps presidential campaign and Russia. Committee Democrats vehemently disagreed. The Mueller probe should never have been started in that there was no collusion and there was no crime, Trump tweeted Saturday. It was based on fraudulent activities and a Fake Dossier paid for by Crooked Hillary and the DNC, and improperly used in FISA COURT for surveillance of my campaign. WITCH HUNT! Trump was referring to a dossier of anti-Trump research funded by the Democratic Party and Hillary Clintons campaign. Likely adding to Trumps growing frustration, The New York Times reported last week that Mueller had subpoenaed the Trump Organization and requested Russia-related documents. Trump had said Mueller would cross a red line with such a step. Why does the Mueller team have 13 hardened Democrats, some big Crooked Hillary supporters, and Zero Republicans? Trump tweeted Sunday. Some of Muellers investigators indeed have contributed to Democratic political candidates, but Justice Department policy and federal service law bar discrimination in the hiring of career positions on the basis of political affiliation. Mueller is a Republican. A deeply frustrated Trump has fumed to confidants that the Mueller probe is going to choke the life out of his presidency if allowed to continue unabated indefinitely, according to an outside adviser who insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations with the president. Trump has long believed that the entrenched bureaucracy, particularly at the Justice Department and FBI, is out to thwart him, and has pointed to McCabes wifes associations with Democrats, including longtime Clinton ally Terry McAuliffe, as an example. He also fumed to one confidant after seeing a promotion for Comeys forthcoming book, and believes the former FBI director will seek to enrich himself by besmirching Trumps reputation. Comeys book, A Higher Loyalty, topped Amazon.coms best-seller list on Sunday. The president has long been torn over how to approach the Mueller probe. Trump insists that his campaign did not collude with Russia, and his legal team, namely attorney Ty Cobb, has counseled the president to cooperate with Mueller. But some former campaign advisers have urged Trump to be combative, warning him that that the investigation poses an existential threat to his presidency. Cobb said late Sunday that Trump is not thinking about or talking about firing Mueller. In response to media speculation and related questions being posed to the Administration, the White House yet again confirms that the President is not considering or discussing the firing of the Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, Cobb said in a written statement. Trumps attacks raised new concerns among members of Congress that he could be seeking to orchestrate Muellers firing. Republican and Democratic lawmakers warned Trump to not even think about it. If he tried to do that, that would be the beginning of the end of his presidency, said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a Trump ally. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., called for the passage of bipartisan bills designed to protect Mueller that have stalled in Congress. This president is engaged in desperate and reckless conduct to intimidate his law enforcement agencies of this country and to try and stop the special counsel. That is unacceptable in a democracy, Durbin said. Trump cannot directly fire Mueller, who can only be dismissed for cause. Any dismissal of Mueller would have to be carried out by Rosenstein, who has publicly expressed his support for Mueller. Aides and friends say they understand Trumps frustration with an investigation that hangs over his presidency. When he says its a political witch hunt, I think hes right, said Christopher Ruddy, CEO of the conservative news website Newsmax and a longtime Trump friend. Marc Short, Trumps congressional liaison, said the presidents frustration is well-warranted because there has been no evidence whatsoever of collusion. Trump may have felt emboldened after Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired McCabe on Friday. A great day for Democracy, Trump tweeted afterward. Trump asserted without elaboration that McCabe, whose firing he had publicly called for, knew all about the lies and corruption going on at the highest levels of the FBI! The Associated Press later reported that McCabe kept personal memos detailing interactions with Trump that have been provided to Muellers office and are similar to notes compiled by Comey. Trump sought to cast doubt on their veracity. Spent very little time with Andrew McCabe, but he never took notes when he was with me, Trump tweeted Sunday. I dont believe he made memos except to help his own agenda, probably at a later date. Same with lying James Comey. Can we call them Fake Memos? It wouldnt be unusual for a senior official to make notes soon after meeting with the president. Trump also claimed Comey lied under oath at a Senate hearing by saying he had never been an anonymous source. Comey, who is releasing a book next month, tweeted Saturday after McCabes firing: Mr. President, the American people will hear my story very soon. And they can judge for themselves who is honorable and who is not. The contents of McCabes memos are unknown, but they could help substantiate McCabes assertion that he was unfairly maligned by a White House he says had declared war on the FBI and Muellers investigation. Sessions said he dismissed McCabe on the recommendation of FBI disciplinary officials who said McCabe had not been candid with a watchdog office investigation. An upcoming inspector generals report is expected to conclude that McCabe had authorized the release of information to the media and was not forthcoming with the watchdog office as it examined the bureaus handling of an investigation into Clintons emails. McCabe has vigorously disputed the allegations and said his credibility had been attacked as part of a larger effort not just to slander me personally but also the FBI and law enforcement. Also over the weekend, Trumps personal lawyer, John Dowd, cited the brilliant and courageous example by Sessions and the FBIs Office of Professional Responsibility and said Rosenstein should bring an end to the Russia investigation manufactured by Comey. In response, Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said: If you have an innocent client, Mr. Dowd, act like it. Dowd told the AP that he wasnt calling on Rosenstein to fire the special counsel immediately and hadnt discussed with him the idea of dismissing Mueller or ending the probe. Dowd also said he was speaking for himself and not the president. Mueller is investigating whether Trumps actions, including Comeys ouster, constitute obstruction of justice. Graham spoke on CNNs State of the Union. Durbin appeared on Fox News Sunday and Short was interviewed on CBS Face the Nation. ___ Associated Press writers Chad Day and Eric Tucker in Washington and Jonathan Lemire in New York contributed to this report. Washington is waiting to see when action on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals again will be slipped into some must-pass piece of legislation, where it ultimately has little chance of prevailing on its own. This, despite the fact that Democrats amnesty jujitsu moves have many Americans, including DACA recipients, scratching their heads. The most recent bout of chase your tail that weve all watched since the election of President Trump is just a snapshot of years of amnesty promises made and broken by Democratic leaders, starting with the Obama campaign in 2008. Remember, Obama promised to deliver amnesty in his first year in office, and despite having a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate (and a comfortable majority in the House), he never found the time to push a measure that seems to enjoy universal support from rank-and-file party members. The idea that President Obama didnt have the time to pass a blanket amnesty for the nations 12 million illegal aliens in his first 24 months of office is absurd. Democrats should have been able to pass that bill in 10 minutes. Yet they passed nothing while promising everything. More recently, Sen. Chuck Schumer demanded that Trump agree to an amnesty for at least 700,000 DACA recipients. That was no small request, given that Trump campaigned to end DACA on day one. But the president responded by one-upping the Senate minority leader, offering amnesty for 1.8 million, covering the entire population of illegal aliens who could have ever qualified for DACA even those who never bothered to apply. (Only in America, folks.) All Trump wanted in return for that generous offer was a partial list of border security and legal immigration reforms that he was elected on. Still nothing. So what gives? There are three popular theories that offer plausible explanations as to why an amnesty, which has been promised for more than a decade by the Democratic leadership, has yet to happen: Theory No. 1: Trump Cant Be Allowed to Own This. Current leaders of the Democratic Party desperately want this amnesty, but they definitely dont want Trump to get a scintilla of credit for it. In order for Democrats to remain politically relevant, they must hold onto a large portion of the Hispanic vote. A recent Harvard-Harris poll shows Hispanics are politically supportive of many of the measures being pushed by the president: ending chain migration, strong border enforcement, and ending the visa lottery. If Trump can deliver an amnesty on top of that a measure that will overwhelmingly benefit Latinos he could make great strides in forging a new Hispanic loyalty to the Republican Party. (How do you like the sound of Trumps Dreamers?) Consider the letter from Roger Rocha Jr., the president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, praising Trump for his offer and supporting the contents of his proposal. Of course Rochas hand was slapped by authoritarians within the Democratic Party, but it nevertheless revealed that leaders within the Hispanic community are willing to consider border enforcement as a fair trade for DACA. Theory No. 2: Democrats Need DACA Energy for the 2018 Midterms. Democratic aspirations of winning back the House and/or Senate will rely on driving motivated voters to the polls in November. If DACA is solved and key candidates no longer have a finger to point at their GOP rivals, how will they motivate their base to get out and vote? Remember, Hispanics are benefiting from the same booming economy as the rest of us, so if they cant be angry with Republicans about immigration, can Democrats count on them to show up and pull a lever for their candidates? Theory No. 3: The Fault Lines of Amnesty. Obama never sought a vote on amnesty, even during the four months that Democrats had the magic filibuster-proof 60 votes in the Senate and a huge majority in the House, because it would expose fault lines in the party that everyone would rather pretend dont exist. There are still Rust Belt Democrats who need blue-collar union votes to keep their seats, and some sectors of the American labor movement that dont take kindly to amnesty. Instead of exposing those fault lines, Democrats can keep pushing the amnesty issue to paint Republicans as mean and unreasonable. Think of it this way: If Obama had been able to legalize the nations illegal immigrants, they would be beholden to him and the Democratic Party. So why didnt he -- a keen political strategist -- extend the vote to these would-be loyal Democrats-the-making? He couldnt, because it would have annihilated the mirage of Democratic Party unity on the immigration issue. And who are the losers of this political gamesmanship? The American public, who still cant get border and interior enforcement after decades of promises. And the DACA recipients, who cant get a straight answer as to whether they can plan on a life in the U.S. or need to start packing their bags. "It is becoming more obvious with each passing day that the men and the movement that broke Lyndon Johnson's authority in 1968 are out to break Richard Nixon," wrote David Broder on Oct. 8, 1969. "The likelihood is great that they will succeed again." A columnist for The Washington Post, Broder was no fan of Nixon. His prediction, however, proved wrong. Nixon, with his "Silent Majority" address rallied the nation and rocked the establishment. He went on to win a 49-state victory in 1972, after which his stumbles opened the door to the establishment's revenge. Yet, Broder's analysis was spot on. And, today, another deep state conspiracy, to break another presidency, is underway. Consider. To cut through the Russophobia rampant here, Trump decided to make a direct phone call to Vladimir Putin. And in that call, Trump, like Angela Merkel, congratulated Putin on his re-election victory. Instantly, the briefing paper for the president's call was leaked to the Post. In bold letters it read, "DO NOT CONGRATULATE." Whereupon, the Beltway went ballistic. How could Trump congratulate Putin, whose election was a sham? Why did he not charge Putin with the Salisbury poisoning? Why did Trump not denounce Putin for interfering with "our democracy"? Amazing. A disloyal White House staffer betrays his trust and leaks a confidential paper to sabotage the foreign policy of a duly elected president, and he is celebrated in this capital city. If you wish to see the deep state at work, this is it: anti-Trump journalists using First Amendment immunities to collude with and cover up the identities of bureaucratic snakes out to damage or destroy a president they despise. No wonder democracy is a declining stock worldwide. And, yes, they give out Pulitzers for criminal collusion like this. The New York Times got a Pulitzer and the Post got a Hollywood movie starring Meryl Streep, for publishing stolen secret papers from the Pentagon of JFK and LBJ -- to sabotage the Vietnam War policy of Richard Nixon. Why? Because the hated Nixon was succeeding in extricating us with honor from a war that the presidents for whom the Times and Post hauled water could not win or end. Not only have journalists given up any pretense of neutrality in this campaign to bring down the president, ex-national security officers of the highest rank are starting to sound like resisters. Ex-CIA Director John Brennan openly speculated Tuesday that the president may have been compromised by Moscow and become an asset of the Kremlin. "I think he's afraid of the president of Russia," Brennan said of Trump and Putin. "The Russians, I think, have had long experience with Mr. Trump and may have things they could expose." If Brennan has evidence Trump is compromised, he should relay it to Robert Mueller. If he does not, this is speculation of an especially ugly variety for someone once entrusted with America's highest secrets. What is going on in this city is an American version of the "color revolutions" we have employed to dump over governments in places like Georgia and Ukraine. Goal: Break Trump's presidency, remove him, discredit his election as contaminated by Kremlin collusion, upend the democratic verdict of 2016, and ash-can Trump's agenda of populist conservatism. Then, return America to the open borders, free trade, democracy-crusading Bushite globalism beloved by our Beltway elites. Trump, in a way, is the indispensable man of the populist right. In the 2016 primaries, no other Republican candidate shared his determination to secure the border, bring back manufacturing or end the endless wars in the Middle East that have so bled and bankrupted our nation. Whether the Assads rule in Damascus, the Chinese fortify Scarborough Shoal, or the Taliban return to Kabul are not existential threats. But if the borders of our country are not secured, as Reagan warned, in a generation, America will not even be a country. Trump seems now to recognize that the special counsel's office of Robert Mueller, which this city sees as the instrument of its deliverance, is a mortal threat to his presidency. Mueller's team wishes to do to Trump what Archibald Cox's team sought to do to Nixon: Drive him out of office or set him up for the kill by a Democratic Congress in 2019. Trump appears to recognize that the struggle with Mueller is now a political struggle -- to the death. Hence Trump's hiring of Joe diGenova and the departure of John Dowd from his legal team. In the elegant phrase of Michael Corleone, diGenova is a wartime consigliere. He believes that Trump is the target of a conspiracy, where Jim Comey's FBI put in the fix to prevent Hillary's prosecution, and then fabricated a crime of collusion with Russia to take down the new president the American people had elected. The Trump White House is behaving as if it were the prospective target of a coup d'etat. And it is not wrong to think so. COPYRIGHT 2018 CREATORS.COM Measured in terms of Chinese rhetoric, the temperature of cross-strait relations has risen sharply this week. Addressing Chinas National Peoples Congress, President Xi Jinping warned Taiwan that it would be punished by history if it declares independence. This comes amid an intensifying pressure campaign by Beijing to isolate Taiwan since President Tsai Ing-wens pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party administration was elected in late 2016. Beijings ire has been aggravated by a recent step-up in US governmental engagement with Taiwan under the Trump administration. This is codified in the Taiwan Travel Act, which passed Congress last week and encourages visits between officials of the United States and Taiwan at all levels. As a pointed manifestation of US engagement, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Alex Wong delivered a speech at the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei yesterday, with President Tsai in attendance. Never to be outdone on nationalistic jingoism, the Global Times has chimed in: The mainland must also prepare itself for a direct military clash in the Taiwan Straits. It needs to make clear that escalation of USTaiwan official exchanges will bring serious consequences to Taiwan. The newspaper suggested that China can send military planes and warships across the Taiwan Straits middle line, referring to the de facto maritime border. In this increasingly febrile context, it is tempting to see the transit of Chinas sole aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, though the Taiwan Strait this week as a show of force intended to intimidate Taipei. Sending the Liaoning through the Taiwan Strait may certainly be a calculated signal of displeasure from Chinas military and political leadership. But in military terms, it is an irrelevance. According to the Chinese-language Lead Story on Military Affairs, at approximately 8 pm on Wednesday, the Liaoning entered the north-eastern part of Taiwans Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ). It sailed close to the middle of the Taiwan Strait, but stayed on the western side of the median line. By midday on Thursday, the Liaoning reportedly left the south-western part of the ADIZ and continued south-west, in what was deemed to be a training drill by Taiwans Ministry of National Defence. The Liaoning has reportedly entered Taiwans ADIZ to conduct drills on three separate occasions (in 2013, 2016, and 2017), when it also stayed on the western side of the median line. Although Taiwans military has closely monitored the Liaonings progress, the Ministry of National Defence noted there were no unusual developments, describing the ships presence as routine. None of the reports indicated that the Liaoning undertook flight operations during its transit of the strait, which would have indicated an active and provocative attempt to probe Taiwans air defences. Chinas first aircraft carrier is best regarded as a training ship for carrier operations. It is certainly not a strike carrier, as the J-15 aircraft that constitute its air wing are not capable of being launched from the ships deck with more than a light load of air-to-air missiles. The ships military function is predominantly for training, with some air defence capability. With barely 180 kilometres separating Taiwan from the mainland, the island is already well within the reach of Chinas land-based offensive and defensive capabilities, many of which are deployed in deliberate proximity. There are concerns that if in future the Peoples Liberation Army fields the Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile system on the Chinese side of the strait, this will cover the length and breadth of the island. Sending a fledgling aircraft carrier without strike capabilities through the Taiwan Strait contributes nothing of significance in military terms, except exposing Liaoning to additional scrutiny from Taiwans military surveillance. In wartime, Chinese aircraft carriers would be dangerously exposed. Arguably of much greater significance for future confrontations at sea was news reported by the South China Morning Post on Thursday that Chinas coastguard, previously under the control of the now-defunct State Oceanic Administration, has been placed under military command, via the Peoples Armed Police. This represents a retrograde step from the viewpoint of civilian control over Chinas maritime law enforcement. More ominously, it suggests China is prioritising organisational changes designed to streamline PLA command and control for war-fighting purposes. According to a Chinese expert quoted by the South China Morning Post, this measure could remove some of the diplomatic leeway China had in handling conflicts, by removing the buffer of a non-military authority. Nevertheless, the confirmation of the partys absolute control over the military and the consolidation of all armed forces is a higher priority. How easy a task that would be remains to be seen. The Liaonings transit through the Taiwan Strait this week is a military irrelevance. But make no mistake; Chinas president has set his sights on achieving reunification with Taiwan, by force if necessary, before he leaves office. Rhetoric aside, analysts should take greater heed of Chinas organisational war preparations in this context. On March 12th, the Christian Democrats, Bavarias Christian Social Union, and the Social Democrats signed a Grand Coalition agreement, forming Germanys next government. On March 14, the Bundestag elected Chancellor Angela Merkel to a fourth consecutive term, set to run through 2021. The highly anticipated coalition will take on a new look. Only five ministers from the departing Cabinet have taken up posts in the new government. The new administration is much younger, and women hold almost half of the available posts. The CDU and SPD hold six ministries each, and the CSU holds three. The flurry of moves ends a prolonged period of uncertainty, as Germany once again has formed a stable government with a 57 percent majority in the Bundestag. Merkels re-election illustrates she still retains the trust of a large number of voters, yet a shrinking support base shows that a growing number of citizens is disillusioned with her policies, particularly with regards to security and migration. The new coalition is a welcome opportunity for Germany to show that it can shoulder more responsibility on the European and global stages. Reactions Near and Abroad In Germany, many observers see the coalition agreement as a positive and overdue signal of progress. A stable German government is viewed as essential to strengthening the European Unions vision and capacity, especially given the growing commercial and political influence of China, Russias continued belligerence, and the ongoing Brexit negotiations. However, disgruntled members of Merkels own party have criticized the agreement for seemingly sacrificing important ministries to the SPD and CSU to secure re-election. The Christian Democrats relinquished control of the ministries of foreign affairs, finance, interior, justice, social welfare, environment, and economic development. Others were left disappointed with what they considered a failure to depart from the general formation of the outgoing Cabinet. Opposition groups have been quick to express their skepticism. The right-wing Alternative for Germany is focused on undoing Germanys migration policy and has raised concerns over the government investing more funds into a lagging European Union. The Greens argue that the incoming government has no real agenda for climate change reform, while the liberals contend the coalition agreement further neglects Germanys middle and lower-income classes and that the agreement offers vague commitments regarding education and digital infrastructure -- two areas impinging on the countrys progress. Effectively, these groups believe the government is kicking the can down the road on serious national issues. Internationally, France enthusiastically welcomed the signing as a positive step for Europe, since the agreement signifies renewed momentum in the eurozone. Over the coming weeks, the two neighbors will cooperate on joint initiatives to further develop and cement the European Project, including the formation of a European banking union and measures to encourage tax cohesion among member states. Paris and Berlin also hope to transform the European Stability Mechanism into a European Monetary Fund and to establish a more effective, long-term European migration policy. Of course, all of these initiatives will face their own challenges from other EU member states. Grand Coalition: Grand Plan The coalition agreement, which was finalized more than five months after the September 2017 elections, features a 177-page paper that lays out new government policies for the next four years. Key aspects on the foreign policy front include a chapter titled New Awakening signaling Berlins readiness to push for further European integration. Proposals include a host of economic and commercial measures centered around tax policy, combatting trade protectionism, and the minimum wage. Europes foreign and security policy is also prioritized, with Berlin pushing for measures such as PESCO that strengthen European defense cooperation. Importantly, the agreement expresses an intention to strengthen waning Transatlantic ties. The government will also aim to re-establish Ukraines territorial integrity, as well as strengthen relations with Russia and Turkey both key players in Europes future. The sensitive issue of immigration is also targeted, with a proposal to reform Europes much-maligned Dublin procedure and change the treatment of third-country asylum seekers. Proposed actions to combat the causes of immigration include furthering humanitarian and development aid to Syria and Iraq in an effort to support regional development. Looking Forward Many observers estimate that Merkels fourth term will be her last one as chancellor. She faces criticism from her own base due to her open-door policy during the refugee crisis, which paved the way for the rise of the AfD and similar populist movements. At its core, the coalition agreement scarcely departs from the tenets of its predecessor. There are some cosmetic changes, but continuity prevails -- and this is Merkels trademark. To regain lost votes, though, Merkel will have to deal more intensely with domestic issues. Parliament will become a more vibrant yet highly contentious domain as four opposition parties now contest for influence, given Merkels reduced power base. The principle of unanimity in the European Council concerning crucial matters may block some of Germanys more ambitious initiatives, but a rekindling of the Franco-German engine is a realistic and necessary development, since any changes to the EU structure will heavily depend on the two countries seeing eye-to-eye on a number of initiatives. As for Transatlantic ties, the coalition agreement spells out plenty of good intentions. But disagreements concerning the JCPOA and the Paris Treaty on climate change, as well as U.S. President Donald Trumps recent announcement of punitive tariffs on European steel and aluminum, further complicate a critical relationship. Ultimately, for those seeking a complete overhaul of the status quo in Germany, this agreement is not it, and it is highly doubtful that Merkel is the figurehead to lead such a reform agenda. It simply is not in her political DNA. Merkels no-thrills, strong and steady approach to politics may be sound during times of stability, but given the overriding sense of unpredictability in global affairs today, it remains to be seen whether this approach remains viable. What remains certain, however, is that Germany will have a part to play. Dr. Wolfgang Klapper is Vice President, Director of the Regional Security Program and head of Brussels Center of the EastWest Institute. The views expressed are the author's own. When Pyongyang was able to cooperate freely with Middle Eastern regimes in the past, it built a clandestine nuclear reactor in Syria, so Washington cannot afford to turn a blind eye to such activity again. As President Trump prepares for direct negotiations with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un in the coming months, one of the administration's goals for this historic dialogue should be to permanently halt Pyongyang's arms sales to the Middle East. Since the 1990s, successive U.S. administrations have held exhaustive talks with the regime aimed at ending its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, with very limited success. But Washington has never placed a high priority on shutting down North Korea's foreign proliferation networks, according to current and former U.S. officials. The result is that Pyongyang continues to export dangerous military technologies to countries such as Iran, Syria, and Egypt, despite facing draconian international sanctions. SYRIAN PROLIFERATION, THEN AND NOW Evidence of North Korea's clandestine role in building a plutonium-producing reactor in Syria emerged in 2007, just as the Bush administration was negotiating a disarmament deal with Pyongyang. At the time, construction of the reactor at al-Kibar was viewed as one of the worst cases of nuclear proliferation in history. Yet Washington nevertheless refrained from punishing North Korea severely in the hope of securing a diplomatic victory on the disarmament issue, according to former U.S. officials involved in the talks; the administration never demanded a full accounting of Pyongyang's activities in Syria either. That round of negotiations collapsed, however, and North Korea's nuclear arsenal grew dramatically in the ensuing years. Although Israeli jets ultimately destroyed Syria's reactor in September 2007, killing a number of North Koreans working at the site, the United States cannot afford to turn a blind eye to the regional proliferation threat in the next round of talks. "Syria set a terrible precedent for the cause of nonproliferation," said Elliott Abrams, who served as a senior National Security Council official in the Bush administration. "North Korea basically got away scot-free with the sale." Experts are also concerned that Pyongyang may have helped Syria develop other nuclear assets. On March 21, the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security released a report calling for UN inspectors to visit a site near the western Syrian town of al-Qusayr, noting that the Assad regime may have built a uranium-enrichment facility there with Pyongyang's assistance. Whatever the case, both Washington and South Korea say they will retain sanctions on the North during the next talks, despite Kim Jong-un's reported pledge to freeze all ballistic missile tests. "At this point, we have offered them nothing," South Korean foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha told Face the Nation on March 18. "There will be no reward for dialogue." This approach seems prudent given that Pyongyang's willingness to export sensitive technologies to Syria has once again been laid bare. In a confidential report, UN inspectors describe how North Korean trade companies smuggled tons of industrial equipment into Syria in recent years for what appeared to be the construction of a new chemical weapons production facility. The shipments, which were tracked by several UN member states, included acid-resistant tiles, stainless steel pipes, and other materials associated with such facilities. The UN also identified forty previously undisclosed North Korean shipments to Syria's Scientific Studies and Research Center, the body that oversees chemical weapons production, between 2012 and 2017. In addition, the UN found that Pyongyang has been deploying engineers to Syrian chemical weapons and missile plants in recent months. According to one member state, North Korean personnel were found at such facilities in Hama, Adra, and Barzah. The presumed purpose of their presence was to aid the Syrian military in its operations against rebels. Yet U.S. defense officials are also worried that the North Koreans are learning from the Syrian regime's use of chemical weapons, perhaps in case they need to resort to chemical attacks if conflict breaks out on the Korean peninsula. Washington believes that Pyongyang is more than willing to use such weapons, claiming that VX nerve agent was the instrument of choice when Kim Jong-un ordered the assassination of his half-brother last year in Malaysia. MISSILE COOPERATION WITH IRAN, AND NUCLEAR TOO? UN, U.S., and Middle Eastern officials continue to express concerns about North Korea's suspected missile cooperation with Iran. Last September, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps displayed a new ballistic missile called the Khoramshahr at an annual parade in Tehran. Technical analysts say the weapon bears a sharp resemblance to North Korea's BM-25, which has a range of 3,500 kilometersa capability that would allow Tehran to hit European capitals and Israel. North Korea and Iran have been cooperating on missile development since the 1980s, according to U.S. and Israeli officials. Earlier versions of Iran's Shahab missiles were almost exact replicas of North Korea's Nodong series, and Western intelligence agencies tracked regular bilateral exchanges of scientists and engineers. Today, officials are trying to determine whether this cooperation remains closeand if it has extended to the nuclear field. North Korea's second-ranked political official, Kim Yong-nam, visited Tehran for ten days last August, setting off alarm bells in Western capitals. He had previously inked a scientific cooperation agreement with Iran in 2012, similar to the one he signed with Syria a decade earlier. At the time, Washington worried that the Iran agreement could presage nuclear cooperation, and such concerns persist. To date, however, U.S., European, and UN officials say there is no smoking-gun evidence of nuclear cooperation between the two countries. And on missile development, North Korea and Iran appear to have grown largely self-sufficient, though the technical ties remain. "It doesn't seem like they need each other as much anymore," stated Uzi Rubin, an expert at Israel's Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. "The North Koreans are forging ahead of the Iranians in many ways." Moreover, even U.S. allies in the Middle East have made arms deals with North Korea, say U.S. officials. Last year, the Trump administration withheld military aid from Egypt due in part to concerns that it was purchasing weapons from Pyongyang. These included 30,000 rocket-propelled grenades seized in Egyptian waters in 2016, a transaction that may have netted North Korea more than $20 million. POLICY IMPLICATIONS The Trump administration has stated that negotiations with Kim Jong-un will focus on dismantling the regime's nuclear arsenal and shuttering its proliferation networksno surprise given that North Korea's recent advances on these fronts have caused growing unease in Washington. According to current and former U.S. officials, however, it is unclear what the administration could offer Pyongyang in return for cutting off one of the country's primary revenue sources. To be sure, North Korea is eager to roll back the punishing international sanctions, particularly those targeting its mineral and agricultural exports. But much like his father and grandfather before him, Kim Jon-un has no shown inclination to seriously modernize the country's economy or allow significant foreign investment, since any such steps could threaten his hold on the isolated state. Instead, the suspected depths of North Korea's economic ills mean that he will likely continue marketing his wares to bad actors in the Middle East, unless President Trump proves willing or able to offer him a sufficiently enticing alternative. Reprinted with permission from The Washington Institute. Jay Solomon is the Segal Distinguished Visiting Fellow at The Washington Institute. The US Congress has approved the 2018 Appropriations Bill which- like its 2017 predecessor- allows Morocco to use US aid everywhere in the country, including in the Sahara. In doing so, US lawmakers renew their strong bipartisan support for a negotiated solution to the Sahara dispute, based on autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty, and encourage US private sector to invest in the Sahara. Last year, the provisions on the Sahara and the report accompanying the US appropriation bill reflected the Congresss unambiguous support for Moroccos autonomy initiative. Morocco had welcomed in particular the encouragement of the US administration of a more engagement of the private sector in the Sahara. Last years report hinted at the corruption and embezzlement by the Polisario and its mentor Algeria of humanitarian aid sent to Tindouf camps by stressing the need for more control of the aid sent to the refugees across North Africa. Students are under more and more pressure to figure out their entire career path at a young age, and devoting more time to funding their education can aid in students choosing the right path and having enough time to learn. If there is one thing worse than realizing that your spring break is coming to a close, its the gradual realization that you will never have Students often receive backlash when they decide to spend large sums of money on service trips to physically go to developing nations due to t Litchfield County is continuing to lose population, according to figures released by the U.S. Census this week. In one year, it lost 920 residents, bringing its population down to 182,177. Since 2010, Litchfield County has lost 4.1 percent of its population. With deaths far outrunning births, and with fewer and fewer jobs available to keep young people from leaving, Litchfield County is on a trajectory to become a region of economically struggling communities and of public school systems so small theyre no longer viable, experts said. Two main factors contribute to Litchfields steep population decline, according to Census data released. First, annual deaths regularly exceed births. In fact, Litchfield is the only county in Connecticut where that has been the case for six years running. Last year, there were 349 more deaths than births in the county. As a result, the median age is climbing, which is having a dramatic effect on demand for schools and social services. Statewide, however, the population is climbing slightly. The Census figures show Connecticut gained 499 new residents between July 1, 2016, and July 1, 2017. Fairfield Countys population gained 730 people for a total of 949,921. Since 2010, Fairfield County had a 3.6 percent population increase with 33,075 new residents. Hartford is the only other county that has seen a population growth in that seven-year period with a 0.2 percent increase. Since 2016, New Haven County was had a 462 person gain for a total population of 860,435. Tolland and Windham counties each gained 317 people in 2017. Other population declines include 274 in New London County, 109 in Hartford County and 23 in Middlesex County. The states population numbers are puny compared to the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area that gained nearly 74,000 new residents in a one-year-period. Historically, the Dallas metro area attracts large numbers from both international and domestic migration. Many of the other largest metro areas in the country rely mostly on international migration and natural increase for growth, said Molly Cromwell, a demographer at the Census Bureau. Among the nations counties, the top 10 with the largest numeric growth are all located in the South and the West. The 10 largest counties in the country all maintained their rank compared to last year. The census said six of the top 10 largest-gaining counties were in Texas Bexar, Collin, Dallas, Denton, Harris and Tarrant. The remaining four counties on the list were Maricopa County, Ariz.; Clark County, Nev.; Riverside County, Calif.; and King County, Wash. Most of the nations 3,142 counties grew, with 57 percent gaining in the last year. The Torrington Police Department reported the following arrests: BREACH OF PEACE: Arthuer Currier, 35, of 137 Mountain Road, Winchester, was arrested March 15 and charged with second-degree breach of peace. He was given $0 bond and scheduled to appear in court March 26. POSSESSION OF NARCOTICS: Jill K. Richards, 40, of 29 Eastwood Road, Torrington, was arrested March 19 and charged with possession of narcotics, use/possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of a controlled substance or more than a half-ounce of marijuana. She was released on a $1,500 non-surety bond and scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Torrington March 26. FAILURE TO APPEAR: Aaron Kempton, 40, of no certain address, Torrington, was arrested March 22 and charged with two counts of second-degree failure to appear. He was held in lieu of a $10,000 combined surety bond and scheduled to appear in court March 23. BREACH OF PEACE: Sabine Cote, 47, of 20 Granite Drive, Bethel, was arrested March 22 and charged with second-degree breach of peace. She was released on a $1,000 non-surety bond and scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Torrington March 23. BREACH OF PEACE: Michael Neglio, 51, of 20 Granite Drive, Bethel, was arrested March 22 and charged with second-degree breach of peace. He was released on a $1,000 non-surety bond and scheduled to appear in court March 23. SHOPLIFTING DEVICE: Michael Refalo, 55, of 413 South Main St., Apartment 3, was arrested March 21 and charged with sixth-degree larceny and illegal possession of shoplifting device. He was released on a $500 non-surety bond and scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Torrington April 2. EVADING RESPONSIBILITY: Jaysen P. Holley, 33, of 23 Linden St., Torrington, was arrested March 22 and charged with improper turn/stop - no signal, illegally operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol/drugs, and evading responsibility. He was released on a $1,000 surety bond and scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Torrington April 2. BREACH OF PEACE: Erica L. Chapman, 35, of 28 Blue Bonnet Knoll, New Milford, was arrested March 20 and charged with second-degree breach of peace. She was given a $1,500 bond and scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Torrington March 28. DUI: David M. Kidney, 63, of no certain address, Torrington, was arrested March 18 and charged with illegally operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol/drugs. He was released on a $1,500 non-surety bond and scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Torrington March 26. FAILURE TO APPEAR: Jesus Chimbo, 46, of 286 Park Ave., first-floor apartment, Torrington, was arrested March 20 and charged with second-degree failure to appear. He was scheduled to appear in court April 2. Phase two has begun. Photo: AFP Contributor/AFP/Getty Images Every now and again, when I find myself buried in the latest blizzard of invariably disturbing news emanating from the Trump White House, I go back and remind myself of the core narrative. I read Platos Republic again, the prism through which I first raised the alarm about Donald Trumps emergence. The prism is essentially how a late-stage democracy, dripping with decadence and corruption, with elites dedicated primarily to enriching themselves, and a people well past any kind of civic virtue, morphs so easily into tyranny. When Platos tyrant first comes to power on a wave of populist hatred of the existing elites there is a period of relative calm when he just gives away stuff: at first he promises much in private and public, and grant[s] freedom from debts and distribute[s] land to the people and those around himself (or, say, a trillion-dollar unfunded tax cut). He aims to please. But then, as he accustoms himself to power, and feels more comfortable, he suspects certain men of having free thoughts and not putting up with his ruling Some of those who helped in setting him up and are in power the manliest among them speak frankly to him and to one another, criticizing what is happening Then the tyrant must gradually do away with all of them, if hes going to rule, until he has left neither friend nor enemy of any worth whatsoever. This is the second phase of tyranny, after the more benign settling-in: the purge. Any constraints that had been in place to moderate the tyrants whims are set aside; no advice that counters his own gut impulses can be tolerated. And so, over the last couple of weeks, we have seen the president fire Rex Tillerson and Andrew McCabe, two individuals who simply couldnt capitulate to the demand that they obey only Trump, rather than the country as well. And because of this small gesture of defiance, they deserved especial public humiliation. Tillerson was warned of his impending doom while on the toilet a nice, sadistic touch. McCabe was fired hours before his retirement, a public execution also fraught with venom. What kind of man is this? We have become numb to it, but we should never forget how our president is a man who revels in his own cruelty. Revenge is not a dish best served cold for him. Its the reddest and rawest of meats. No one with these instincts for total domination over others is likely to moderate the longer he is in power. Au contraire. It always gets worse. And so Tillerson has been replaced by a fawning toady, Mike Pompeo, a man whose hatred of Islam is only matched by his sympathy for waterboarders. Pompeo has been replaced in turn by a war criminal, who authorized brutal torture and illegally destroyed the evidence, Gina Haspel. Whatever else we know about Haspel, we know she follows orders. Gary Cohn has been replaced by Larry Kudlow a sane person followed by a delusional maniac Trump sees on Fox, who instantly thought up ways for the president to cut taxes further without congressional approval. And the State Department, indeed the entire diplomatic apparatus, has, it seems, been replaced by Jared Kushner, a corrupt enthusiast for West Bank settlements who no longer has a security clearance. Then the presidents legal team was shaken up in order to purge those few who retain some appreciation for the rule of law in a constitutional republic and to replace them with conspiracy theorists, thugs, and the kind of combative, asshole lawyers Trump has always employed in his private capacity. Trump is self-evidently obviously preparing to fire Mueller, and the GOPs complete acquiescence to the firing of McCabe is just a taste of the surrender to come. Now Im fucking doing it my own way! was how he allegedly expressed his satisfaction at the purge, as his approval ratings from Republicans increase, and as the GOPs evolution into a full-fledged cult gathers pace. And then last night, we saw McMaster fall on his sword, replaced by John Bolton, an unrepentant architect of the most disastrous war since Vietnam, a fanatical advocate for regime change in Iran, an anti-Muslim extremist, and a believer in the use of military force as if it were a religion. And this, of course, is also part of the second phase for Platos tyrant: war. As his first step, he is always setting some war in motion, so that people will be in need of a leader, Plato explains. In fact, its necessary for a tyrant always to be stirring up war. Trump somewhat confused us on this score at first, because of his contempt for the Bushes and the Iraq War and his use of the term America First. For many excited (but utterly conned) conservative realists, he seemed to be returning to an older Republican non-interventionism. But of course, we now realize that his campaign screeds against the Iraq War were just his strategy to take out Jeb Bush and appeal to middle America; and that America First can also mean pure nationalist aggression overseas. And everything we know about Trumps character tells us that war is probably the only aspect of foreign relations he intuitively understands. He cannot exist as an equal party in an international system. He has to dominate other countries the way he does other human beings. And, when you look back, you see this has been obvious all along. On trade, he has long been rhetorically at war with our closest neighbors and trading partners, and now he has unveiled the contours of a major trade war with China; we already have a renewed and deeper presence in Afghanistan; and we have long been supporting the Saudi monarchys proxy and inhumane war with Iran in Yemen. The real possibility of a nuclear conflict with North Korea is getting more real by the day (can you imagine Boltons counsel for the Kim Jong-un meeting?); and with Bolton in place, the groundwork for ending the Iran nuclear deal is also finally complete. And whats noticeable in all this is the irrelevance of the Senate. They refuse to reclaim their treaty-making powers with respect to trade (they could end Trumps China shenanigans overnight); they have abdicated any influence on foreign policy and war just as they have done nothing to protect the special counsel. They are just like the Roman Senate as the republic collapsed. The forms survive; there is nothing of substance behind them. When the U.S. detonates the Iran Nuclear Accord, the European alliance, in so far as it still staggers onward, will reach crisis point; and the Iranian regime will likely accelerate its nuclear weapons program. Theyd be crazy not to. At which point, the path to war starts (or rather is very hard to stop). Kushner is the key figure here, I suspect. His support for the Israeli hard right (he doesnt just support the West Bank settlements, he funds them) and his very cozy relationship with the new Saudi prince/dictator both point in one direction: war with Iran. Getting the Americans to launch such a war is Jerusalems and Riyadhs wet dream which is why the reports of the Crown Princes boasting about Kushner being in his pocket are far from implausible. All of these developments, I bet, have reached a new intensity because of Robert Muellers cumulative legal cornering of Trump, especially the special counsels recent crossing the line into the finances of the Trump Organization. At that point, I suspect Trump realized he was more vulnerable than he previously believed, and went on full offense everywhere. I was long a skeptic of Trumps alleged conspiracy with Russia in 2016, but every single development in the last few months keeps pointing in the same direction and it isnt Trumps exoneration. Yesterday, we discovered that Guccifer 2.0, Roger Stones online pen pal, is actually a Russian agent. Trumps initial refusal to say even through his spokeswoman that Russia is clearly responsible for the release of a nerve agent in a country which is one of our closest allies was simply staggering. As is his continued refusal to confront seriously the threat Putin clearly poses to democratic elections in the West. The extraordinary leak of the warning from his national security team not to congratulate Putin during the recent call is yet another sign, it seems to me, that even those working closest to the president want to alert the world about the threat to our national security that is coming from the Oval Office itself. Part of me, of course, has long worried and hoped that my assessment of Trump as truly the tyrant of Platos imagination is melodramatic overkill. Im given to excitability, even catastrophism. Ive been wrong before. And there are many ways in which American life still seems the same. Political tribalism didnt begin with Trump; neither did the appeal of populist authoritarianism, or the celebrification of politics. We still hold elections even if the president asserts that they are all rigged against him. In November, we have a chance to use the ballot box to save this country, and there are some signs that a wave is building. The courts still have some independence and feistiness; the media is still free, if now accompanied by a full-bore state propaganda channel. But I worry that the more Trump is opposed and even cornered especially if he loses the House this fall the more dangerous he will become. If Mueller really does have the goods, and if the Democrats storm back into congressional power, then Trump may well lash out to protect himself at all costs. We know he has no concern for the collateral damage his self-advancement has long caused in his private and public life. We know he has contempt for and boundless ignorance of liberal democracy. We know he is capable of anything of immense cruelty and callousness, of petty revenge and reckless rhetoric, of sudden impulses and a quick temper. We also know he is commander-in-chief, who may soon need the greatest distraction of all. War is coming. And there will be nothing and no one to stop him. Born Trans Is being transgender a biological reality in the brain? Its a fascinating question that were just beginning to answer. A recently published study of transgender women (both untreated with hormones and treated for one year with hormones) found structural differences between cisgender and transgender brains: [B]oth groups of transgender women had variations in the volume of the insula in both hemispheres. The insula is a region of the brain that reads the physiological state of the body, thus being responsible for body image and self-awareness Giancarlo Spizzirri, the first author of the study, highlights the fact that transgender people do display structural variations and characteristics that bring them closer to the gender with which they identify. Evidence of particularities in their brain also suggests the differences may begin to occur during gestation. Born that way, perhaps. Heres another study: Scientists have uncovered 20 genes linked to being transgender supporting claims that the condition has a physical basis. Researchers believe the gene variations may contribute to people identifying with the opposite sex. Presenting their research at the Society for Reproductive Investigation conference, the researchers said: We identified genetic variants in 20 genes that may play a role in transgender identity. The most promising of these include variants of genes involved in neurologic development and sex hormones. Dr Ricki Lewis, a geneticist, said: These are highly reputable folks going about this exactly the right way, searching the genomes of transgender people to highlight which genes they have variants in. It lends legitimacy, if that needs to be added, that transgender is not a choice but a way of being. Note the provisionality of the results. We currently have some clues, and not an answer. The debate is ongoing. My view, and it is also provisional, is that being transgender is probably mixture of genetics, hormones, and very early environment which is roughly what Ive come to believe about being gay as well (see my extended discussion of the roots of homosexual orientation in the second essay in my book, Love Undetectable). This recourse to science was very helpful in the long campaign for marriage equality, and is a line of argument that can appeal to the sane right and left, which is why it is so bizarre that it should be playing almost no role in the current discussion. The reason for this is that the right, by and large, wants to insist that being transgender is some kind of mental illness, and the left is committed to the notion that everything is a social construction and nothing else. (Science itself is a social construction as well, and for many postmodernists, it is a function of white male supremacy and therefore inherently suspect.) And so an insight that would help clarify the dignity of trans people is left on the table. There are, mercifully, some transgender activists who have taken up the biological argument. One of them is a friend of mine, Dana Beyer. Shes blunt as well as scientifically trained: Trans men and women know full well who they are, and there is no flexibility involved, she argues. We are of one brain sex and the opposite genital sex. We identify as our brain sex, because our minds are functions of our brains, and our brains determine our gender identity. Its not something we make up, or choose on a whim its who we are. That formulation strikes me as a brilliant one. It doesnt overturn the vast majoritys sense of their own sex and gender; it bases its compassion in a scientific discourse, not an ideological one; and it may even have the virtue of being true. Heres hoping it will play a greater role in deepening our understanding, even though so many transgender people (not ideologues) have been telling this story about themselves forever. In Praise of Charlotte Pence After Stormy Daniels, Charlotte Pence, daughter of Vice-President Mike Pence, deserves some kind of award for her response to controversy. She penned a childrens book, as we all now know, about her familys pet rabbit, called Marlon Bundos Day in the Life of the Vice President. John Oliver decided to spoof it by creating another book about Marlon, wherein said bunny is a sodomite in a bow tie, and has a different kind of story to tell. Spoiler alert: In Olivers version, Marlon gets married! Both Pences book and Olivers are donating their revenues to charity, Pences to A21, a charity to stop human trafficking, and Tracys Kids, which funds art programs for kids with cancer, and Olivers to AIDS United and the Trevor Project, a charity to help bullied gay youngsters. But Olivers is aimed at Mike Pence, and his alleged homophobia. (Pence is definitely opposed to marriage equality, is embedded in the anti-gay religious right, but has not, to my knowledge, ever smeared or slurred gay people as such. Hes an orthodox Evangelical, in other words. And there are aspects of the ad hominem hate campaign against him personally that I find distasteful and cheap.) You might imagine his daughter would bridle at the trolling. But no. Heres what she said to Fox Business Network: I mean, I think, you know, imitation is the most sincere form of flattery in a way. But also, in all seriousness, his book is contributing to charities that I think we can all get behind. We have two books giving to charities that are about bunnies, so Im all for it really. I have to say Im impressed. Both books, because of the publicity, have rocketed up the sales charts, producing a bonanza for the charities they help. Im pretty sure Olivers is funnier, and he could have left off his fuck off to the vice-president. But this was a public spat, which did not degenerate into culture war, and which was defused by a 24-year-olds good humor. Youd almost think weve retained some measure of civilization in this sewer of a culture, wouldnt you? See you next Friday. On top of everything else, Bolton doesnt have the temperament you look for in a national security adviser. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images John Bolton has been one of liberals top bogeymen on national security for more than a decade now. He seems to relish the role, going out of his way to argue that the Iraq War wasnt really a failure, calling for U.S.-led regime change in Iran and preventive war against North Korea, and writing the foreword for a book that proclaimed President Obama to be a secret Muslim. He is a profoundly partisan creature, having started a super-PAC whose largest donor was leading Trump benefactor Rebekah Mercer and whose provider of analytics was Cambridge Analytica, the firm alleged to have improperly used Facebook data to make voter profiles, which it sold to the Trump and Brexit campaigns, among others. Recently Boltons statements have grown more extreme, alarming centrist and conservative national-security professionals along with his longtime liberal foes. He seemed to say that the United States could attack North Korea without the agreement of our South Korean allies, who would face the highest risk of retaliation and casualties; just two months ago he called for a regime change effort in Iran that would allow the U.S. to open a new embassy there by 2019, the 40th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution and the taking of Americans hostage in Tehran. His hostility toward Islam points toward a set of extreme policies that could easily have the effect of abridging American Muslims rights at home and alienating Americas Muslim allies abroad. As worrying as these policies are, its worth taking a step back and thinking not about Bolton, but about his new boss, Donald Trump. Trump reportedly considered Bolton for a Cabinet post early on, but then soured on him, finding his mustache unprofessional. His choice of Bolton to lead the National Security Council reinforces several trends: right now, this administration is all about making Trumps opponents uncomfortable and angry. Internal coherence and policy effectiveness are not a primary or even secondary consideration. And anyone would be a fool to imagine that, because Bolton pleases Trump today, he will continue to do so tomorrow. Yes, Bolton has taken strong stances against the policies of Russian president Vladimir Putin (though he has also been quoted praising Russian democracy as recently as 2013). Thats nothing new: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, incoming Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and outgoing National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster have called for greater pushback on Russia as well. But theres every reason to think that, rather than a well-oiled war machine, what well get from Boltons National Security Council is scheming and discord which could be even more dangerous. President Trump was said to complain that Tillerson disagreed with him and McMaster talked too much. Bolton seems likely to combine both of those traits in one pugnacious, mustachioed package. Their disagreements are real Bolton has famously pooh-poohed the kind of summit diplomacy with North Korea that Trump is now committed to. While Trump famously backed away from his support for the 2002 invasion of Iraq, courting the GOP isolationist base, Bolton continues to argue that the invasion worked, and seldom hears of a war he would not participate in. Trump attempted to block transgender people from serving in the military, but Bolton has declined to take part in the rights LGBT-bashing, famously hiring gay staff and calling for the end of Dont Ask, Dont Tell. Thats all substance. What really seems likely to take Bolton down is his style, which is legendary and not in a good way. His colleagues from the George W. Bush administration responded to Trumps announcement with comments like the obvious question is whether John Bolton has the temperament and the judgment for the job not exactly a ringing endorsement. One former co-worker described Bolton as a kiss up, kick down kind of guy, and he was notorious in past administrations for conniving and sneaking around officials who disagreed with him, both traits that Trump seems likely to enjoy until he doesnt. This is a man who cant refrain from telling Tucker Carlson that his analysis is simpleminded while hes a guest on Carlsons show. Turns out its not true that he threw a stapler at a contractor it was a tape dispenser. When Bolton was caught attempting to cook intelligence to suggest that Cuba had a biological-weapons program, he bullied the analyst who had dared push back, calling him a mid-level munchkin. How long until Trump tires of the drama or of being eclipsed? Bolton may find that in this job, hes the mid-level munchkin. Remember, the national security adviser is supposed to be the coordinator, conciliator, and honest broker among Cabinet officials, managing a process by which all get a fair say and the president makes well-informed decisions. Outgoing National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster reportedly lost favor with Defense Secretary Mattis and Chief of Staff John Kelly for failing to defer to them, and for being too emotional. Love Bolton or hate him, no one imagines he will be a self-effacing figure, and no one hires him to run a no-drama process. Its also hard to imagine that many of the high-quality professionals McMaster brought into the National Security Council staff will choose to stay. McMaster repeatedly had to fight for his team within the Trump administration, but Bolton seems unlikely to follow that pattern, or to inspire the kind of loyalty that drew well-regarded policy wonks to work for McMaster, regardless their views of Trump. So even if you like the policies Bolton espouses, its hard to imagine a smooth process implementing them. That seems likely to leave us with Muslim banlevel incompetence, extreme bellicosity, and several very loud, competing voices with Twitter feeds on the most sensitive issues of war and weapons of mass destruction. An appeals court in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang has cut a prison sentence handed down to a former billionaire businesswoman for fraud for a second time, but her family say they are still trying to recover assets that were confiscated "outside the law" and pursue an appeal against her guilty verdict. Wu Ying, a former hair-salon boss who made her billions through off-the-books lending schemes, was sentenced to death in 2009 by the Intermediate People's Court in Zhejiang's Jinhua city, which found her guilty of raising 770 million yuan (U.S. $122 million) through illegal lending networks. Wu also stood accused of promising her investors huge returns on their investments through the then-booming property market, but she was widely seen as a scapegoat in a system in which a corrupt political elite routinely get away with far-worse excesses at taxpayers' expense. The death sentence was later suspended for two years pending a judicial review, and a high-profile public campaign in her support. In a sentence review at the Zhejiang Women's Prison, judges cut her life imprisonment sentence to a fixed term of 25 years after delaying the hearing since May last year, her father Wu Yongzheng told RFA on. "They have used delaying tactics all along," Wu said. He said a promised appeal against her sentence by the Higher People's Court in Zhejiang had yet to materialize. "If the Higher People's Court believes that the original verdict was correct, then they should quash the appeal using formal legal documents," he said. "Then we could take the appeal to the Supreme People's Court." He said the appeals process has been stalled since 2013, and an appeal to return assets confiscated from Wu Ying had also been refused. "We have been trying to do this since 2013, but the Zhejiang Higher People's Court will neither take on the appeal, nor quash it. All they do is drag their feet," he said. Unofficial money markets He said the family is also appealing against the manner in which Wu Ying's assets were seized. "The people in charge of the case against Wu Ying have been acting outside the law, but they have never been held to account," he said. "The judiciary in Zhejiang is very corrupt; it's really hard to put into a few words." "They are still monitoring my cell phone, even now," he said. Wu Ying, the former president of Bense Holding Group, was accused of "squandering" around half the amount she raised between 2005 and 2007 on luxury cars, jewellery, and real estate. Her case sparked widespread calls for the legalization and regulation of China's unofficial money markets, which have sprung up as a way around the state monopoly on bank loans. The campaign to revoke Wu's death sentence spread rapidly via China's hugely popular microblogging service and included some high-profile figures, including Zhang Sizhi, the 85-year-old lawyer who defended Mao Zedong's wife Jiang Qing during the trial of the Gang of Four in 1976. Zhang, who argued that Jiang was following Mao's orders at all times, said that Wu invested in hotels, advertising, wedding planning, and transport companies with money from friends and family, not the general public. Reported by Wong Siu-san and Yeung Mak for RFA's Cantonese service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Wang Zang, an artist and poet from Beijing, in an undated photo. Following a huge restructuring that has brought all forms of state media under direct management by the ruling Chinese Communist Party, the country's media regulator has taken a swipe at a time-honored tradition of its internet usersthe egao, or spoof. "No websites are to produce or disseminate programs that distort, spoof, or vilify classic literary and artistic works," state news agency Xinhua cited the new rules as saying. "Neither must they re-edit, re-mix, re-dub, or re-subtitle classic literary and artistic works, radio and television programs, or internet-based original audio-visual programs," it said. According to the directive, which is attributed to "state departments for press, publication, radio, film and television," governments at provincial, municipal and district level must engage in strict management of broadcasters, including mashups and remixes uploaded by internet users. Websites must not provide a channel for the distribution of audiovisual content that has copyright issues and "content issues," it said. "Undocumented original online programming, unlicensed film and television dramas and unlicensed broadcasts" are banned, Xinhua said, adding that anyone producing online audiovisual content must have a programming permit from the government. "No clickbait headlines using vulgar creativity" will be allowed, the Mar. 22 directive said. An employee who answered the phone at the State Administration for Press and Publications on Friday declined to comment. "We have no remit to give explanations [to the media]. I can't answer your questions," the employee said. Guangdong rights activist Wang Aizhong said the ban on altering programming seems to be aimed at ensuring that no versions are published that deviate from the official one. "The reforms at this year's National People's Congress (NPC) mean that film, publishing and news are now all under the management of the central propaganda department," Wang said. "It is clear that cultural productions will in future be treated as state propaganda." "The directive banning adaptations of classic works ... will mean that there can only be one interpretation in the country," Wang said. A step back into feudalism Online comments slammed the move as a "step back into feudalism," and as a chilling effect on cultural confidence and creativity in China. Others called on the authorities to publish a list of the "classic literary works" covered by the ban. Beijing artist and poet Wang Zang said the directive was trying to ban huge amounts of content all at once, however. "This stuff they are trying to ban; there is so, so much of it," he said. "This document means that they don't just want to make sure we have no freedom to express ourselves; they want to make sure we have no freedom to think, either." Wang said he expects the new rules would force people to become more creative, however. "We will have to diversify our language, so that it doesn't rely on the whim of the authorities," Wang said. "We will have to find many different ways to express ourselves." An internet user also surnamed Wang told RFA that the tradition of egao on the Chinese internet clearly has the authorities very worried. "There are a lot of short videos online, that are voiced and edited by ordinary people. It's a form of satire," he said. "[The authorities] aren't confident in themselves, so they fear online ridicule." Last month, China's culture ministry launched a crackdown on the spoofing of communist revolutionary culture and its heroes, ordering the deletion of thousands of online videos for parodying popular "red classics and heroes." It launched the crackdown after a spoof of the communist-era choral classic Yellow River Cantata, with lyrics changed to reflect the woes of contemporary life, went viral. Reported by Yang Fan for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Wong Lok-to for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Shanghai has become the first city in mainland China to crack down on residents who hold permanent residency, or a "Green Card," in another country. From May 1, the city will revoke the household registration, or "hukou," of anyone known to hold permanent residency overseas. A hukou is essential for access to fundamental social services, including education and healthcare, and is usually linked to a person's place of birth. Transfers of one's hukou to another place are theoretically possible, but highly sought-after cities like Beijing and Shanghai have in place labyrinthine and expensive bureaucratic barriers, as well as population caps and a quota system for migrants, which make them very hard to regain. A notice posted to the Shanghai city police department's official website called on any residents "settling abroad or acquiring other nationalities," must report to police, who will revoke their hukou. China initially made these requirements nationwide in 2003, but they were rarely implemented. Now, Shanghai residents who acquire permanent residency in another country, but do not report to police, will have their hukou revoked forcibly from May 1, the notice said. A Shanghai resident surnamed Zhao, who also holds permanent residency in Australia, said the authorities apparently want to stop people from enjoying the benefits of residency in two different countries. "It seems that in the future, they won't use your nationality to determine [your residency rights]," Zhao said. "There are large numbers of people who have green cards in the United States and Australia, who don't have citizenship in those countries." "Now, this section of the Chinese population are having to make a fast choice," she said. "They don't want us to enjoy the benefits of residency in two countries, but China always allowed this to happen before ... It's totally unreasonable." Beijing-based rights lawyer Mo Shaoping said the move may also be in breach of the Nationality Law of the People's Republic of China. "Actually, there are calls now to amend the Nationality Law, so as to prevent people holding dual nationality," Mo said. He said anyone who believes the Shanghai authorities are breaking relevant legislation with the new requirement has the right to request an interpretation of the rules from the National People's Congress (NPC), China's parliament. "[The NPC] would then carry out an investigation into the legality of this measure," Mo said. Repeated calls to the Shanghai municipal police department rang unanswered during office hours on Friday. Emigration Nearly half of China's wealthiest families are planning to emigrate or are in the process of emigrating, according to a recent survey of the wealthiest private individuals by the Hurun report. And a total of 44.5 percent said they were either in the process of emigrating, or were planning to do so in 2017. While the majority gave better educational opportunities and a cheaper cost of living as their main motivation for leaving China, nearly one-third said they were mainly emigrating in order "to better effect the transfer of family wealth." The United States is still the top destination for investment emigration and property purchasing, Hurun said in a statement issued with the report, with Los Angeles remains the most popular city in North America among Chinese high net-worth individuals with average wealth of 20 million yuan (U.S. $3.17 million). "Education and living environment continue to be the main reasons for emigrating overseas," it said, accounting for 76 percent and 64 percent, respectively. More recently, the ruling Chinese Communist Party's removal of term limits from the posts of president and vice president, allowing incumbent Xi Jinping to rule indefinitely, have provoked a surge in the number of people wanting to leave the country. Overseas-linked realtors and immigration advisers reported a sudden boost in interest after the move was announced, while search engine Baidu reported a huge surge in queries relating to emigration recorded soon afterwards. Baidu said queries relating to emigration and visas for other countries had risen tenfold in the wake of the announcement. Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. John Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the UN, spoke to Jung Min Noh of RFAs Korean Service on March 19, just 3 days before the blunt-speaking lawyer was named by President Donald Trump to serve as his new national security adviser, in a telephone interview that focused on the North Korean nuclear weapons issue. RFA: What do you think of President Trumps decision to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un? Bolton: Well it's obviously an unprecedented development and a very daring move, I think, on the part of President Trump. The real issue is whether the regime in North Korea, after talking for 25 years about its nuclear weapons program and committing on numerous occasions to give up that program, really is prepared to have a serious conversation or whether they're simply buying time to perfect the last stages of the nuclear weapons program and their ballistic missile program. So my hope is that President Trump can have a serious conversation with them about what the real objective should be which is denuclearizing North Korea, and if they're not prepared to have that kind of serious discussion, it could actually be a very short meeting. RFA: You sound still skeptical about North Koreas intentions in talking with President Trump. Do you expect the summit to be successful? Bolton: I don't know that the North Koreans ever really expected that President Trump would accept the offer of a summit meeting and it's been some time now since the president's decision was announced. We've heard nothing publicly from North Korea. Now, maybe it's just an anomaly and perhaps the talks will go forward, but I think the positive aspect that we could see here is it's a way to cut through six months twelve months of preliminary negotiations. Let's have this conversation by May or even before that and let's see how serious North Korea really is. They've made commitments theyve violated repeatedly in the past 25 years. I am skeptical that they're serious. I think they were trying to buy time but they've made the offer, the president has accepted, let's get on with it. RFA: It is reported that you had a meeting with President Trump in early March. What sort of opinions did you share on North Korea? Bolton: I don't comment publicly on my meetings with the president but I have written and spoken extensively on the North Korean threat. I think it's very dangerous, not just in Asia and the Pacific, but I think worldwide. I believe if North Korea really did have nuclear warheads and ballistic missile capabilities, they would sell them to anybody with enough hard currency. They'd sell it to the Ayatollahs in Iran, they'd sell it to terrorist groups like ISIS and al Qaeda, they'd sell it to any aspiring nuclear weapons states. I think North Korea it really is a global threat and I think it has to be treated with great concern and great caution. RFA: That meeting (with Trump) was a day before the agreement to hold a U.S.-North Korea summit was announced. Has there been any change in your views since then? Bolton: The fact of North Korean interest in negotiations was made clear when they accepted South Korea's invitation to show up for the Winter Olympics. I think it was a mistake to understand that as anything other than North Korean propaganda, but it was clear then they were seeking an opportunity to distract attention from just how close they were to a capability to hit targets in North America with thermo-nuclear weapons. I think the pattern that North Korea has followed for decades the same pattern that Iran followed is that it used negotiations to camouflage their on-going nuclear and ballistic missile efforts. I think we should not fall for that ploy again. I think we should insist that if this meeting is going to take place, it will be similar to discussions we had with Libya 13 or 14 years ago: how to pack up their nuclear weapons program and take it to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which is where the Libyan nuclear program. If it's anything other than a conversation about how to do that, then I think it shows it's just camouflage for North Korea to continue working toward its long-sought objective of deliverable nuclear weapons. RFA: What is your evaluation of CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who holds hawkish views on North Korea, becoming the next secretary of state? Bolton: I think he's a realist about North Korea. You know, North Korea has made many commitments over the years to give up its nuclear weapons program and it's lied about them every single time. They violated every commitment they've made on nuclear weapons for the last 25 years. There's no reason to think that their behavior has changed. So I hope the Senate confirms Mike Pompeo as soon as possible. I think it's important to have a new secretary of state in place and I look forward to his leadership at the State Department. RFA: What is your advice to President Trump ahead of the talks with North Korea? Bolton: I think he's very familiar with the history of North Korea's duplicity on this subject. I don't think he has any illusions about this regime. I don't think he wants to waste a lot of time talking to them without the prospect of success. You know there a lot of considerations here but I believe that it could become very clear very early in this meeting whether North Korea is serious or not or whether they're just playing games, and so I think it's important if the president sees that they're just looking for a way to waste time, that he make the point that he's not there to waste time and that we expect real denuclearization, not talks about talks about denuclearization, but concretely how we're going to eliminate their program as quickly as possible. So if the meeting takes place, we'll see if that's the path that they follow. RFA: What should the U.S. be prepared to offer North Korea in exchange for denuclearization? Economic aid? A peace treaty? Bolton: I don't think we should offer them economic aid. That happened in the context of the Agreed Framework, where they took the heavy oil shipments and yet did not dismantle their nuclear program. There's no way we should give North Korea a peace treaty. They're lucky to have a meeting with the president of the United States. I think if they want economic progress for the people of North Korea, they should the end the charade of a divided peninsula. They should ask for reunification with South Korea. That's the best way to aid the people of North Korea. RFA: If negotiations are not successful, there are concerns that the U.S. will turn to the option of military action. As one who has argued for military action, what is your proposed course of action in the event of failed talks? Bolton: Let me be very clear. I don't favor military action to eliminate the North Korean nuclear program. Nobody wants to see that happen, but I also believe that it's a mistake to leave North Korea with nuclear weapons. And yet they are very close to achieving that objective. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dunford said last summer that he thought it was unimaginable to leave North Korea with nuclear weapons. That's the way I feel, too. We we've had 25 years of efforts at carrots and sticks with North Korea. They have played the West and the United States like a violin, and they've used that time to make considerable progress toward the objective of deliverable nuclear weapons. So President Trump has unattractive options in front of him, because he's inherited 25 years of failure, so that he doesn't have much time. Somebody said, you know, we can't kick the can down the road any further because there isn't any road left. RFA: Experts who talk with North Korea say there is not enough time to prepare for summit talks with North Korea. What do you think? Bolton: We have plenty of experts. The kind of expert we need really is less about North Korea, and more about nuclear weapons. I think we've got plenty of time. I think it's a mistake to treat this like a normal summit meeting, with months and months of preparation by lower-level people. We know what the subject is here, at least from the US point of view: It's North Korea eliminating, dismantling its nuclear weapons program and, as I say, we'd be happy to store the program in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. That's what the conversation ought to be about. If it's about anything else, it's a waste of time. RFA: What are your thoughts about the inter-Korea summit talks scheduled for April and do you have any advice for South Korea ahead of this meeting? I think the people of South Korea are very divided about how to treat North Korea. Many obviously support the current government in South Korea, but many others are deeply distrustful of anything the government of North Korea says. So I think everybody in South Korea, for their own peace and security, has to be very dubious about North Korea's commitment to anything that it says. And so that that is a word of caution to the government of South Korea before they agree to anything with North Korea. Using military action to solve the North Korean nuclear issue is on the table but it presents many problems and the South Korean government is against this. Do you see military action as part of the solution to the North Korean problem? Nobody wants to use military force, but I think sensible people don't want to see this bizarre regime in North Korea with nuclear weapons, not only because of the threat they pose but the threat that those weapons would be sold to others all around the world. So military action is very dangerous, but I think it's more dangerous if North Korea has a nuclear capability. Win Myint, speaker of Myanmar's lower house of parliament, attends the last day of parliament's regular session in Naypyidaw, Jan. 29, 2016. Myanmars parliament on Friday elected a former political prisoner and lower house speaker from the ruling party as one of three vice presidents, pivoting him into a position to become the second president of the country's nearly two-year-old civilian government. Win Myint, a trusted member of Myanmars de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyis inner circle and a member of the National League for Democracys (NLD) central executive committee, won 273 of lawmakers' 304 votes. Win Myint, who represents Yangon regions Tamwe township in parliament, has been tipped to replace former President Htin Kyaw, 71, who stepped down from the largely ceremonial position on Wednesday to take a rest from politics. Vice President Myint Swe is serving as acting president until parliament chooses a replacement. Lower house lawmakers also nominated Thaung Aye, an opposition, pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) legislator as a vice presidential candidate, but he received only 27 votes. The vote did not include military members of parliament, who are appointed to their seats, because only elected lawmakers can vote on appointments. Next week parliament will elect a new president from among Myanmars three vice presidents Win Myint, Myint Swe, and Henry Van Thio. Many of Win Myints fellow lawmakers voiced support for him. We would welcome it if the president has full power and Win Myint stands by the people [if elected president], said Thaung Aye, the USDP candidate for vice president, who represents Pyawbye township in central Myanmars Mandalay region. Former political prisoner and current lawmaker Khin San Hlaing, who represents Pale township in northwestern Myanmars Sagaing region, contemplated what the extent of Win Myints power as president would be. We have to wait and see how much authority he can have as a president, she said. Because Win Myint is a politician, he can control the countrys politics very well. Khin Saw Wai, an MP from the Arakan National Party who represents Rathedaung township in Rakhine state, said she voted for Win Myint because she expects that he will work more on behalf of ethnic Rakhine people in the undeveloped state plagued by violence and ethnic and religious divisions. Rathedaung was one of three townships in northern Rakhine where a brutal crackdown by the Myanmar military that began last August drove nearly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims across the border to Bangladesh in what the United Nations has called a campaign of ethnic cleansing, if not genocide. More dominant Thein Tun, a USDP lawmaker who represents Kyaunggon township in southwestern Myanmars Ayeyarwady region, predicted a notable change in Myanmars ministries if Win Myint becomes president. There will be a change if Win Myint becomes president because he got to know the ministries very well, especially when he was lower house speaker, he said. I think some ministers who don't perform well in their jobs will be reshuffled if he becomes president. Some observers said the politician would become a more dominant force as president. U Win Myint could handle the lower house very well, said activist and political analyst Mya Aye, the only Muslim leader of the pro-democracy 88 Generation Students Group now known as the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society Group. If he becomes president, he will become more dominant in politics. Htin Kyaw, one of Aung San Suu Kyis closest advisers, served as a proxy president for the Nobel laureate who is barred from the nations highest office by a constitutional provision prohibiting anyone with foreign relatives from becoming president. Aung San Suu Kyis late husband was a British national, as are her two sons. Myanmar's new president Htin Kyaw (L), Aung San Suu Kyi (C), and lower house speaker Win Myint (R), arrive for the swearing-in ceremony at the parliament in Naypyidaw, March 30, 2016. Credit: AFP No puppet president Given Aung San Suu Kyis power as de facto national leader as Myanmars state counselor a position she once described as above the president others doubted whether a Win Myint presidency would bring any real change. Saw Than Myint, chairman of the Federal Union Party, said he does not want Win Myint to be a puppet president. If he is, there will not be any change, though the presidential position has changed, he said. I hope he can work as the president as much as he can and as much as the constitution allows. Sai Nyunt Lwin, general secretary of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, said: A president has his own authority, but the new president will be the same as the previous one if the NLD controls him with its policies and attitudes. It seems as though there were some restrictions by the NLD on the previous president. Aung Thein, a lawyer and Muslim community leader from Meiktila in Mandalay region, said he believes that whoever becomes the new president will have greater power. Daw [honorific] Aung San Suu Kyi will transfer some of her duties, he said. Win Myint will work effectively on corruption, the judicial system, and the rule of law. Meiktila was the scene of violent riots between Buddhists and Muslims in early 2013 that led to the displacement of thousands of people mainly Muslims who were forced indefinitely into camps. Win Myint, 66, was born in in Nyaung Chaung village in Ayeyarwady regions Danubyu township. He was educated as a lawyer and served as an advocate in Myanmars High Court. He was briefly imprisoned by the military junta during the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, but went on to win a parliamentary seat in the 1990 elections, though the results were nullified by the military regime. Win Myint won a seat in by-elections in 2012 and was appointed speaker of the lower house after the NLD won a landslide victory in general elections in November 2015. Reported by Win Ko Ko Latt and Wai Mar Tun for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. A court in Myanmars Mandalay district sentenced a child rapist and murderer to death on Friday in one of the latest in a growing number of sexual assault cases reported in the Southeast Asian country, media sources said. Phyo Htet Aung, 23, was sentenced in the district court in Pyin Oo Lwin township after being convicted of raping and murdering a two-year-old girl from Mway Kadoseik village in Madaya township on Feb. 13. The girl was found unconscious in a banana plantation after going missing from her grandparents home and died later in a local hospital, and her attacker was later apprehended and handed over to the police, a report by The Irrawaddy said on Friday. Speaking to reporters after the trial, deputy township judge Htay Htay Maw said that Phyo Htet Aung had been sentenced according to law. The court gave Phyo Htet Aung the death penalty under the provisions of Criminal Code 302/1(C). We were under no pressure from any persons or organization to give him this sentence, Htay Htay Maw said. He received a 20-year sentence for the child rape, but he also committed murder, and that is why we sentenced him to death, she said. The death penalty has not been carried out in Myanmar for decades, and Phyo Htet Aungs fate may ultimately be decided on appeal, if one is filed, and by prison regulations, The Irrawaddy said. Assaults on the rise Sexual abuse and assaults are on the rise in Myanmar with just over 1,400 cases reported in 2017, including roughly 500 adult women victims and 900 children, according to a report issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs in February. The total figure was 300 more than the number of cases recorded in 2016, including about 430 involving adult victims and 670 involving child victims. The increase in the overall number of rape case in the country has sparked campaigns calling for the death penalty for rapists, especially following recent attacks on several children, including a 12-year-old girl who was raped and brutally murdered in Kachin states Mogaung township. On March 18, an angry mob of about 500 stormed a police station in Mandalays Aungmyaythazan township demanding that authorities turn over a suspect in the rape of a seven-year-old girl. And on March 17, about 100 activists, lawyers, and members of political parties and civil society organizations staged a demonstration in Taungoo township in south-central Myanmars Bago region, calling for capital punishment for child rapists, the Eleven Myanmar news service reported on March 19. A Protection and Prevention of Violence Against Women bill has been submitted to Myanmars parliament. If passed, it would become the countrys first law to combat violence against women, including domestic and sexual violence, marital rape, and workplace and public harassment and assaults, and harassment by stalking. The draft bill carries a life sentence for the rape of girls under the age of 18 anddisabled women, and a two-to-five-year jail term for those found guilty of marital rape, according to The Irrawaddy. Reported by Khaymani Win for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Richard Finney. French security and police outside the Super U supermarket in Trebes. Photo: Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty Images A gunman in Trebes, France, who pledged allegiance to ISIS, killed at least two people and injured a dozen more at a supermarket Friday before he was shot dead by police. He is believed to have killed one other person prior to the attack on the market. The man entered the supermarket just after 11 a.m., according to local media reports. Holding grenades, knives, and a gun, he shouted his allegiance to the Islamic State, and yelled Vengeance for Syria! before he began shooting. The stores butcher and a customer were reportedly killed, but a local police chief said the death toll is expected to rise. After the killings, the gunman took several customers hostage. Others escaped or hid from him. I saw a door into a freezer room and I told other people around me to come and take refuge there. There were ten of us and we stayed there for an hour, one hostage told France Info radio. There were more shots and we eventually got out through an emergency exit at the back. French prime minister Edouard Philippe called the incident a terrorist attack. In addition to shouting his allegiance for ISIS, the gunman also demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam, the main suspect in the 2015 Paris terror attack that killed 130. Speaking at an EU summit in Brussels, French president Emmanuel Macron said, We believe that it is indeed a terror attack. French president Emmanuel Macron is informed by his security adviser about the hostage situation in Trebes. Photo: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images Prior to the attack on the supermarket, the suspect, identified as 26-year-old Redouane Lakdima, is believed to have killed a motorist before stealing their car. He then shot a police officer who was jogging with colleagues in the nearby town of Carcassonne. Police say that they were aware of Lakdima, who was described as a petty criminal. We had monitored him and thought there was no radicalization, French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told reporters. KABUL -- Jahantab Ahmadi had never heard of Facebook before this week, when an image of the Afghan mother of three nursing her baby during a university entrance exam took social media by storm. Good news quickly followed. She passed the exam, bringing her closer to her dream of an education. Then came news of a crowd-funding campaign to help assuage her fears that she would be unable to afford fees at the Nasirkhosraw Higher Education Institute in central Afghanistan's Daykundi Province. Speaking to RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan during a trip to Kabul on March 23, the 25-year-old student appeared largely oblivious to her global exposure. But she expressed a desire to help bring positive change to the Afghan people, "especially women" in her home province. "Many women in Afghanistan, especially in the provinces, are illiterate," Ahmadi said. The photos that brought her fame were taken by a lecturer who was monitoring the entrance exam for the institute's social-sciences program. Yahya Erfan was struck by the sight of the young woman, clad in a blue head scarf and a long overcoat, continuing to write out her exam answers even as she tried to calm her 2-month-old daughter. Erfan recalled to RFE/RL that when the child began fussing, Ahmadi moved from her desk in the open-air classroom to the ground, where she could more comfortably nurse her baby. Erfan said that he couldnt resist taking a few photos of the scene, and later posted the images on Facebook. The images have since been shared on Facebook and Twitter, with some social-media users starting the hashtag #JahanTaab and urging support for a GoFundMe campaign to help pay Ahmadis fees at the private university. In an earlier interview with the Etilatrooz Daily newspaper, she had expressed concerns about being able to afford her tuition. When RFE/RL spoke to her, she said she was unaware of the efforts to help her financially. The baby, Khezran, is the youngest of Ahmadi's three children, all of whom are under the age of 5. Ahmadi, her husband, Musa Muhammadi, and Khezran all made the trip from their home village to Nilli, the capital of Daykundi Province, so she could take the entrance exam. "I have always wanted to go to university, but we couldnt afford it before," Ahmadi says. "I want to continue my studies. I want to send my children to school so they can get an education and build comfortable lives for themselves." "My wife has to study," Muhammadi, a farmer from an impoverished family, tells RFE/RL. Saying he believes in women's rights, he says, "I will support her as much as I can, to the best of my abilities." In a conservative society where many men oppose womens education and career ambitions, Muhammadi says, "It doesnt matter if its a man or woman when it comes to getting an education." Written by Farangis Najibullah based on an interview conducted by RFE/RL Radio Free Afghanistan correspondent Sabawoon Kakar in Kabul. Earlier this week, Vladimir Putin instructed his diplomats to seek changes to international doping regulations to make the rules "fair" and "transparent." Putin wasn't specific about what this would mean. It's unclear what exactly the Kremlin thinks unfair or nontransparent about current international doping regulations and what he thinks needs to be changed. And until he decides to make this clear, we won't know. But what we do know is that Putin didn't seem to have any problem with the rules as they are -- until, of course, Russia got caught red-handed breaking them again, and again, and again. And this is pretty much emblematic of the Putin regime's approach, not just to doping rules, but to all rules -- but only as they apply to Russia. Putin's Kremlin wants the rest of the world to follow international law -- but it effectively seeks an exemption from rules that forbid Russia from invading its neighbors and forcefully annexing their territory. It insists on the absolute sanctity of Russia's sovereignty -- while reserving the right to violate the sovereignty of Russia's neighbors. It warns the West against interfering in Russia's elections -- while flagrantly interfering in the elections in Western countries. It doesn't obey rules that prohibit corruption and money laundering and doesn't obey rules against hacking. By its words and deeds, the Putin regime has demonstrated over and over that it wants the rest of the world to follow the rules -- while Russia gets an exception. And just as this gives Russia's chemically enhanced athletes an unfair advantage in sports, it also gives Moscow an asymmetrical advantage in foreign affairs and advances the Kremlin's revanchist ambitions. Keep telling me what you think on The Power Vertical's Twitter feed and on our Facebook page. French authorities say that a policeman who swapped himself for a hostage and was seriously wounded during a terror attack in southern France has died of his injuries. Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said in a tweet on March 24 that Colonel Arnaud Beltrame "died for his country." Three other people were killed and 16 wounded by a gunman involved in the shooting and hostage-taking incident on March 23 that the authorities said was a terrorist attack, national police said. Authorities said the 25-year-old attacker was also killed as police stormed a supermarket where hostages were being held in a four-hour standoff in the town of Trebes, 100 kilometers southeast of Toulouse. "Our country has suffered an Islamist terrorist attack," President Emmanuel Macron said in a televised address following a claim by the Islamic State militant group that it was responsibility for the violence. News agencies quoted security personnel as identifying the gunman as Redouane Lakdim, a French citizen born in Morocco, calling him a small-time drug dealer with a history of minor crimes. France's top counterterrorism prosecutor said the man yelled "Allahu akbar" and claimed he was a "soldier of the Islamic State" as he stormed the market. On March 24, the Paris prosecutor's office said that police had detained a 17-year-old in connection with the investigation. The unidentified teenager was arrested overnight over alleged criminal association in relation with a terrorist enterprise. He is a friend of Ladkim, the prosecutor's office said. Another person, a woman close to Lakdim, was taken into custody on the same grounds on March 23. Officers said there were about 50 people in the market at the time. Before the rampage in the supermarket, the suspect attacked police in the nearby city of Carcassonne, according to Yves Lefebvre, head of SGP Police-FO police union. Bruno Bartocetti, the regional representative of the police union, said the suspect shot dead a person in Carcassonne. Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa, and AP Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias says he and his Macedonian counterpart made progress toward reaching a settlement in the decades-old dispute over the name of the former Yugoslav republic. "Today, we made steps to solve the problems we inherited," Kotzias told a joint news conference in Skopje on March 23 after with meeting with Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov. We are committed to resolve them and contribute to the friendship between the two peoples, to stability and security, the development of both countries and the whole region," he said. "We have agreed in great degree what we want for the future," he added. Dimitrov told the news conference that "we have to overcome the current difference [over the name]...which is not easy." He said he was seeking a "common solution" that would be "worthy...without humiliation." Kotzias' flight to the Macedonian capital was the first direct one from Athens to Skopje in more than 10 years. It was made possible after Macedonian authorities renamed Skopjes airport from Alexander the Great -- the famed ruler of the ancient Kingdom of Macedonia, who is also celebrated in Greece -- to Skopje International Airport in a goodwill gesture to Athens. Greece objects to the former Yugoslav republic's use of the name Macedonia, which Athens says could imply territorial claims over its own northern region of the same name. Negotiations between the two neighbors have been inconclusive since 1991, when Macedonia gained independence from the former Yugoslavia. The row has hampered Macedonia's efforts to join NATO and the EU. Greece is a member of both entities. Media have reported that compromise solutions include adding extra elements to Macedonia's name, such as Upper Macedonia, New Macedonia, or Northern Macedonia. However, mass protests in both countries are an indication of popular resistance to any compromise. On March 4, about 10,000 people took to the streets of the Macedonian capital to protest a possible change to the name of the country. A demonstration in Athens drew tens of thousands of people a month earlier. The Greek and Macedonian foreign ministers are to meet again in Vienna on March 30 at talks hosted by UN special envoy Matthew Nimetz. With reporting by RFE/RL's Balkan Service, AP, AFP, and dpa ASTANA -- Police in Kazakhstan's capital hunted for people holding blue balloons during Norouz new year celebrations on March 22, following fugitive opposition politician Mukhtar Ablyazov's Facebook call for Kazakhs to express support for his banned movement by displaying blue balloons. RFE/RL correspondents witnessed several incidents in Astana's central square in which people holding blue balloons were stopped and forced to go to police buses where their identities were checked and the balloons confiscated. The individuals were then released. Police officers were not able to explain why they were confiscating the balloons. Many of those holding blue balloons say they bought them because they were of the same color as the Kazakh national flag and had designs from the flag printed on them. RFE/RL correspondent Erzhan Amirzhanov was also briefly detained when he was recording exchanges between police and people with balloons. In some cases, police confiscated blue balloons from toddlers or asked their parents to blow them up in their presence. On March 21, Ablyazov, who is a former banker and a vocal critic of President Nursultan Nazarbaev, called on his supporters via Facebook to hold blue balloons when celebrating Norouz, as a symbol of call for changes and reforms and support for his Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement. He later posted several videos showing how police were hunting for blue balloons in Kazakhstan. On March 13, a court in Kazakhstan branded Ablyazov's DVK movement an extremist organization and banned its operations in the country. Ablyazov and several other Kazakh opposition figures living abroad announced the creation of the DVK movement in April 2017, saying its goal would be "democratic reforms in Kazakhstan." Wanted by Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine on suspicion of embezzling some $5 billion, Ablyazov has been living abroad since 2009. He denies any wrongdoing and contends that the case against him is politically motivated. In June, a court in Kazakhstan sentenced Ablyazov to 20 years in prison in absentia after convicting him of organizing and leading a criminal group, abuse of office, embezzlement, and financial mismanagement. Opponents and rights groups say that Nazarbaev, who has held power in the Central Asian nation since before the 1991 Soviet breakup, has taken systematic steps to suppress dissent and sideline potential opponents. On March 15, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Moscow that Kazakhstans provision of visa-free entry to U.S. citizens would require the approval of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), comprising Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Belarus, and Kyrgyzstan. Lavrovs comment surprised many, particularly authorities in Kazakhstan. But it was another reminder that the balancing of relations that Kazakhstan and its president, Nursultan Nazarbaev, have so deftly managed with the countrys neighbors for more than two decades has become more complicated lately and is likely to continue to be so at a time when the aging Kazakh leader is arguably less vigorous. It is unclear what prompted Lavrov to bring the matter up. But the timing was interesting, as Kazakhstan was that same day hosting the first summit of Central Asian leaders since 1999. Kazakhstans Foreign Ministry waited to respond until March 16, when Lavrov was in the Kazakh capital, Astana, for talks on Syria. Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman Anuar Zhaynakov said the introduction or cancellation of the visa regime for citizens of foreign countries is the right of any sovereign country. Zhaynakov also pointed out that the EEU is not a political union and is concerned exclusively with economic cooperation, and several media outlets noted Kazakhstans visa-free regime for U.S. citizens has existed since January 1, 2017, and other EEU member states also allow U.S. and EU citizens for short stays that do not require a visa. It was an unusually sharp response to a close ally and trade partner, one with which Kazakhstan shares a 7,600-kilometer border. But since Russias involvement in eastern Ukraine, Kazakh authorities have been wary of their own situation with a large Russian population living in northern areas along the Russian border. When Turkey shot down a Russian warplane in November 2016 and Moscow imposed an embargo on trade with Turkey, it also inconvenienced Kazakhstan, and other Central Asians, who have good ties with Ankara. The Kazakh Foreign Ministrys response to Lavrovs remark may also have indicated a bit of frustration with the course of events in neighboring countries lately. Kazakhstan also shares a 1,765-kilometer border with China. Ties between those two countries have been good since the late 1990s and appear to be growing stronger, since Kazakhstan plays a major role in Beijings One Belt One Road (OBOR) project. Railway traffic between China and Europe, and China and the Persian Gulf, crosses Kazakhstans territory, and in the case of the one of the western routes, involves maritime shipping across the Caspian Sea, through the Caucasus, and then across the Black Sea, to Ukraine. Relations with China have not only been good financially for Kazakhstan, and Central Asia in general, but the relationship has been relatively free of complications. But in the second half of 2017, Beijings campaign against the Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang, just over the border from Kazakhstan, started to include other ancient Turkic Muslim peoples of the region, one being the ethnic Kazakhs of Xinjiang. Some of those ethnic Kazakhs of Xinjiang are now citizens of Kazakhstan as part of the Kazakh governments oralman program to bring ethnic Kazakhs from other countries to the vast but sparsely populated territory of Kazakhstan. Kazakh authorities have been extremely careful not to get involved in Beijings decades-long treatment of the Uyghurs, who are cultural cousins of the Kazakhs. Astana would likely have tried to stay out of the campaign toward ethnic Kazakhs in Xinjiang, but some of the Kazakhs who emigrated from Xinjiang and had citizenship or residency in Kazakhstan were picked up when visiting or doing business in Xinjiang. Beijing has been reluctant to provide many details about what has happened to many of these people whom Astana now regards as citizens of Kazakhstan. The issue has been discussed in Kazakhstans government, and a delegation was recently sent to Xinjiang to discuss the problem with Chinese officials. But the Chinese governments crackdown on Muslims in the western Xinjiang region is intensifying as Beijing grows more concerned about the possible effect of several hundred Uyghurs who are thought to have fled China, joined Islamic extremist groups in the Middle East and Afghanistan, and occasionally release videos threatening violence in China. The ethnic Kazakhs and Kyrgyz of Xinjiang are caught up in this, and it is starting to provoke some anger among the ethnic Kazakhs in Kazakhstan. Rumors in early 2016 that some of Kazakhstans land could be sold to Chinese led to the biggest protests Kazakhstan has seen since the mid-1990s. Besides the problems Kazakhstan has with its two giant neighbors, there are complications starting to emerge concerning Kazakhstans role in Central Asia that will likely become more pronounced in the coming years. In October 2017, a feud broke out between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It started because Nazarbaev met in Almaty with a leading contender in Kyrgyzstans presidential election, who also happened to be the main challenger to then-Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaevs choice for Kyrgyzstans next president. Atambaev hurled criticisms at Nazarbaev, members of Kazakhstans government, and Kazakhstans policies and, as a result, Kazakhstan slowed border crossings from Kyrgyzstan to a crawl for several weeks, purportedly costing Kyrgyzstan tens of millions of dollars in lost trade. On October 18, Atambaev accused Kazakhstan of cutting us off from Russia, but he mentioned there were other options: Now, we have excellent ties with Uzbekistan... President Islam Karimov had ruled Uzbekistan, home to nearly half the population of Central Asia, during all the countrys years as an independent state until his death in the late summer of 2016. During those years, Karimov had largely shunned regional cooperation, at least any regional cooperation that came on terms other than those Uzbekistan dictated. Karimov was often dismissive of his neighbors policies and at times aggressive on issues such as borders and water use. Naturally, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and even Turkmenistan turned to the other big Central Asian state, Kazakhstan, and the more prosperous Kazakhstan grew, as its revenues from its increasing oil exports increased, the more the three other Central Asian states looked to Astana, not Tashkent, for help. And Kazakhstan did help. Kazakhstans TuranAlem bank opened an office in Kyrgyzstans capital, Bishkek, in August 2004, and one in Tajikistans capital, Dushanbe, in June 2005. Kazakhstan exports oil to its Central Asian neighbors. And Kazakhstan has supplied humanitarian aid to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan during times of crisis. If help was needed from a Central Asian neighbor, Kazakhstan was really the only place to go. Under new President Shavkat Mirziyoev, Uzbekistans regional policies have changed dramatically. Mirziyoev wants Uzbekistan to be involved in regional projects, and he is even offering money for projects Uzbekistan opposed under Karimov, such as the Kambar-Ata hydropower project in Kyrgyzstan and Roghun hydropower project in Tajikistan. Mirziyoev wants more trade with Uzbekistans Central Asian neighbors and generally more regional cooperation all around. The summit of Central Asian leaders in Astana was largely the work of Mirziyoev. Kazakh authorities, and Nazarbaev, are as pleased as the other Central Asian states that Uzbekistan wants to be a partner after all these years. But it means Kazakhstan is no longer the only show in town, so to speak. If Uzbekistan continues on its current path, and prospers, it will evolve as a competitor for regional influence with Kazakhstan. And Mirziyoev is 60, whereas Nazarbaev will turn 78 in July. Nazarbaev can rightfully take some credit for guiding his country through often complicated regional relations for nearly three decades, but the situation in neighboring countries is now changing significantly with the Kazakh leader is in his twilight years. As gloomy as that might sound for some in Kazakhstan, there are areas -- one in particular -- where Uzbekistan can never compete with, or replace, Kazakhstan. Russia has been called the policeman for Central Asia -- the ultimate source of security if any of the Central Asian states is seriously threatened. China has already sunk billions of dollars into Central Asia and is considered the banker of Central Asia. But Kazakhstan is the baker of Central Asia. Kazakhstan is one of the largest grain exporters in the world and is actually by some counts the worlds second-largest exporter of flour. All of the Central Asian states are reliant on imports of Kazakhstans flour (especially Turkmenistan these days), and having to replace Kazakh flour would be time-consuming and expensive. The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect the views of RFE/RL. In selecting former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton as his new national-security adviser, U.S. President Donald Trump has tapped a man whose foreign policy record stands at odds with central elements of Trump's stated vision of America's role in the world. While Trump has previously denounced "regime change" and "nation-building," the 69-year-old Bolton is a vocal proponent of U.S. intervention abroad and has advocated overthrowing governments hostile to the United States. Bolton is also a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government, with whom Trump has voiced a desire to mend bilateral ties that have been battered over the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, as well as alleged Russian meddling in U.S. elections. Bolton's hard-line views on Iran and North Korea align more closely with Trump's. But shortly after Bolton argued in February that it would be "perfectly legitimate" for Washington to carry out a preemptive strike against Pyongyang, the White House said Trump had accepted an invitation to meet with North Korea's leader to discuss its nuclear program. Bolton said in an interview with Fox News following Trump's March 22 announcement of his appointment that his earlier statements on a range of issues are now "behind me." "The important thing is what the president says and the advice I give him," he said. Here's a look at what Bolton has said on these and other major foreign policy issues. Russia And Vladimir Putin Bolton is a hawk when it comes to Russia and its president, citing the need for strong "deterrence" to counter what he calls Putin's aggressive projection of power abroad reminiscent of the Soviet Union's. "Vladimir Putin's Russia is on the prowl in Eastern Europe and the Middle East in ways unprecedented since the Cold War," Bolton told The Washington Post shortly after Trump's November 2016 election. "Unchecked by [outgoing U.S. President Barack] Obama's weak and feckless policies, Putin has had every reason to believe that persistence will achieve any objective Russia has the capacity to seek." Bolton has also advocated strong-arming Putin in bilateral and national-security matters. Discussing fugitive National Security Agency (NSA) leaker Edward Snowden, whom Moscow has granted asylum, he said in a 2013 interview with Fox News that "in order to focus Putin's thinking, we need to do things that cause him pain as well." It's unclear whether Bolton will temper his positions or rhetoric about Russia as Trump's new national-security adviser. Public tensions between Trump and the man Bolton is replacing -- H.R. McMaster -- emerged in February after McMaster said evidence of Russian meddling in U.S. was "really incontrovertible." "General McMaster forgot to say that the results of the 2016 election were not impacted or changed by the Russians," Trump tweeted. In July 2017, Bolton called Putin's denial of Russian interference in U.S. elections during a meeting with Trump "insulting" and said that "attempting to undermine America's constitution is far more than just a quotidian covert operation." "It is in fact a casus belli, a true act of war, and one Washington will never tolerate," Bolton wrote. During his presidential campaign, Trump triggered concerns among alliance members by suggesting he might jettison a protection guarantee for other NATO members if they did not boost their defense spending. That suggestion particularly alarmed Eastern European members that were under Moscow's domain during the Soviet era. "The ayatollahs [in Iran] are the principal threat to international peace and security and the Middle East. Now, their ouster won't bring sweetness and light to the region, that's for sure, but it will eliminate the principal threat." Bolton sharply criticized Trump's comments, telling the conservative news site Breitbart News in July that the remarks were "encouraging Russian aggression" and calling them "a dagger at the heart of the most successful political/military alliance in human history. He needs to retract it, and change his position." Bolton views NATO as a bulwark against what he calls a "belligerent Russia," and he said in an interview in October 2016 that "protecting Europe -- Eastern and Central Europe, the former states of the Soviet Union -- is extremely significant for the United States." He added that he fears a potential "provocation" by Moscow against the three NATO members in the Baltics -- Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia -- that would possibly involve Russian-speaking populations there. If such a Russian effort were successful, Bolton added, it would be a "shattering blow" to NATO. Iran Trump pledged during his campaign that if he were elected, "the era of nation-building will be brought to a very swift and decisive end." Bolton, however, has been a prominent advocate of U.S. intervention abroad to oust hostile governments, including the 2003 invasion of Iraq that Trump has called a "disaster." And he told Breitbart News in November 2016 that the only long-term solution to dealing with Iran is "regime change." "The ayatollahs are the principal threat to international peace and security and the Middle East," he said. "Now, their ouster won't bring sweetness and light to the region, that's for sure, but it will eliminate the principal threat." Bolton is an outspoken opponent of the deal between world powers and Iran to curb the latter's nuclear capabilities in exchange for lifting some sanctions. In the run-up to the signing of the 2015 deal, he advocated a bombing campaign targeting some of Tehran's nuclear facilities, saying that "only military action...can accomplish what is required" to prevent Iran from developing atomic weapons. Trump made his opposition to the deal a central part of his presidential campaign and pledged to end it, though McMaster had advocated for delaying such a move. Trump has since threatened to withdraw from the accord unless European allies and the U.S. Congress agree by May 12 to fix what he called its "disastrous flaws" and impose tough new restrictions aimed at curbing Iran's ballistic-missile development and its involvement in regional conflicts. Bolton has said that since the deal was signed in Vienna between the so-called P5+1 (China, France, Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom, plus Germany) and Tehran, "Iran's belligerent behavior worldwide has only increased." "Tehran clearly saw the Vienna accords as a mere rest stop on the way to extracting more concessions from the United States," he wrote in August. Syria Bolton has blamed the ongoing war in Syria in part on the U.S. commitment to the Iran deal under Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama. He has said that Obama did not want to anger Tehran with a strong intervention against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whom Iran and Russia back in the conflict. Early on in the Syria war, Bolton wrote that Washington should approach the conflict "on the basis of strategy, not emotion" and avoid "knee-jerk reactions instead of careful analysis." In a 2012 essay, he said that "regime change in Syria is prima facie in America's interest," but warned of the dangers of not knowing what a successor government might look like. He recommended backing "Syrian rebel leaders who are truly secular and who oppose radical Islam" and who would "reject Russian and Iranian hegemony over their country." Bolton wrote in December 2015 that "Syria and Assad are a strategic sideshow" and that the "real issue is the regime in Tehran." Assad, he wrote, is a secondary issue compared to scrapping the Iran nuclear deal and destroying Islamic State (IS) group militants. "Assad simply is secondary to these larger objectives. A realistic 2017 American foreign policy should focus more on eliminating the actual threats we face, not merely on their symptoms," Bolton wrote. Islamic State, Iraq Bolton accused Obama of employing a "whac-a-mole strategy" to defeat IS militants and incorrectly viewing the effort against that extremist group as a "law enforcement matter" rather than a "war" on terrorists. In order to combat IS extremists, he advocates "a robust policy based on U.S. leadership and full participation, including ground forces, to destroy ISIS" -- another acronym for IS. Bolton has also called for carving territory out of Syria and Iraq to create "a new Sunni state." "The government of this state could either be democratic or led, to paraphrase Franklin Roosevelt, by one of our SOBs," he wrote, borrowing a comment on working with "sons of bitches" that is often attributed to the late U.S. president. Expanding on this proposal in November 2015, Bolton laid out an anti-IS vision that diverged from Trump's call for joining forces with the Kremlin in this effort. The Russian and Iranian goal of "restoring Iraqi and Syrian governments to their former borders is a goal fundamentally contrary to American, Israeli, and friendly Arab state interests," he wrote. "Notions, therefore, of an American-Russian coalition against the Islamic State are as undesirable as they are glib," he wrote in The New York Times. In a June 2017 op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Bolton wrote that the United States "ought to abandon or substantially reduce its military support for Iraq's current government." "Despite retaining a tripartite veneer of Kurds, Sunni Arabs, and Shiite Arabs, the capital is dominated by Shi'ites loyal to Iran," he wrote. We witnessed something last weekend. It may not have been an election, at least in the way we understand that word. But we seem to have witnessed a watershed moment. Because March 18 appears to have been about more than going through the motions of securing a fourth term for Vladimir Putin. It appears to mark the end of an era in which Russia went through the tedious motions of pretending it is a democracy -- managed, sovereign, or otherwise -- and the dawn of something else. So, what happens next? On this week's Power Vertical Podcast, we look at the fallout from Putin's reelection in Russia and beyond. Joining from Moscow will be co-host Mark Galeotti, a senior research fellow at the Institute of International Relations in Prague and author of the book Vory: Russia's Super Mafia. Listen or subscribe to The Power Vertical Podcast on iTunes. NIZHNEKAMSK, Russia -- Authorities in Russia's Tatarstan region have rejected a complaint from a local man who says regional tax officials and a state-owned bank are providing services in Russian only, not in the Tatar language. Almaz Imamov, an ethnic Tatar, complained that his rights have been violated because he is unable to receive services in his native language, which is an official language in Tatarstan according to the region's constitution. The prosecutor's office in the city of Nizhnekamsk, in a written response to Imamov's complaint dated March 21, says that although both Russian and Tatar are official languages in Tatarstan, state bodies are not obliged to have their websites in Tatar. "If citizens do not [understand] Russian, they have a right to [communicate with] official bodies in Tatar," the city prosecutors answer says. But Imamov says his complaint was about general services provided by Sberbank and the tax authorities -- not special cases. In recent months, the language issue has been a subject of controversy in Russia's so-called "ethnic" regions, where indigenous, non-Russian ethnic groups are well represented. President Vladimir Putin said in July that children in these regions must not be forced to learn languages that are not their mother tongues, and ordered prosecutors to determine whether that was taking place. That led to abolishing mandatory indigenous language classes in the regions. The move caused an outcry in Tatarstan and other regions where local languages have official status alongside Russian. The governor of the Moscow Oblast has sacked a district chief two days after dozens of local children were brought to hospitals after apparently breathing gas that leaked from a garbage dump in the town of Volokolamsk. Governor Andrei Vorobyov's office said on March 23 that he had replaced the chief of Volokolamsk district, Yevgeny Gavrilov, with another regional official. On March 21, some 150 schoolchildren sought medical assistance after they felt extremely sick following a suspected leak of noxious gas from the Yadrovo landfill. Angry residents scuffled with government officials in Volokolamsk, demanding explanations and closure of the dump. Vorobyov was pelted with snowballs and confronted by irate residents. The incident came weeks after Volokolamsk authorities declared a temporary state of emergency on March 7, saying the level of hydrogen sulphide in the air was recorded as 2.5 times higher and the level of nitric oxide was double usual levels because of a gas leak at the landfill. The Yadrovo landfill was opened in 2008 and is a dumping site for garbage from Moscow and nearby regions. Local residents have been staging protests, demanding the closure of the landfill for some time. The Moscow regional authorities said earlier on March 23 that the landfill will suspend its operations until April 14, after which the old section of the dump will be closed. In the past, local authorities had promised to "modernize" the landfill but refused to consider closing it. With reporting on TASS, Interfax, and RIA Roy Moore. Photo: Nicole Craine/Bloomberg via Getty Images The Washington Post reported on Friday that two supporters of Roy Moore, the erstwhile Republican Alabama Senate candidate who was accused of sexually assaulting teenage girls, tried to convince one of his accusers attorneys to drop the case and publicly disavow his client in exchange for money, favors, and exposure to Steve Bannon. The brazen strategy went as follows: They asked lawyer Eddie Sexton to drop the woman as a client and say publicly that he did not believe her. The damaging statement would be given to Breitbart News, then run by former White House strategist Stephen K. Bannon. In exchange, Sexton said in recent interviews, the men offered to pay him $10,000 and promised to introduce him to Bannon and others in the nations capital. Sexton represented Leigh Corfman, whose allegation that Moore initiated a sexual encounter with her when she was 14 and he was 32 upended the Senate race. Moore ended up losing to Democrat Doug Jones in December. Strangely, the two men, Bert Davi and Gary Lantrip, business partners in a construction firm, are clients of Sextons in another, unrelated case. Davi had also known Bannon for years, though its not clear how. Davi and Lantrip approached Sexton with their offer, and later arranged a meeting between Sexton and two Breitbart reporters, Washington bureau chief Matt Boyle and Jerusalem bureau chief Aaron Klein. The reporters presented him with a written statement disavowing his own client, which Sexton refused to sign. Instead, he told multiple people about the shady goings-on, including a federal prosecutor. The lawyer said it did not constitute a federal crime. Davi and Lantrip acknowledged playing a role in the scheme, but deflected questions about paying Sexton off. Our effort was really to let the truth come out, Davi said. Roy Moore claims that he knew nothing of the plan. I nor anyone else in the campaign offered anyone money to say something untrue, nor did I or anyone else authorize someone else to do such a thing, he wrote to the Post. A spokesperson for Breitbart said that the reporters didnt know anything about paying Sexton, nor who wrote the statement Sexton was meant to sign. These claims are hard to square with Sextons contemporaneous accounts of the events. At the time, Breitbart was still run by Bannon, who pushed Moore relentlessly on the site as the kind of populist, Trump-like insurgent who could reshape Washington. The election had huge implications for Bannon, who at the time was pushing a slew of insurgent candidates to challenge established Republicans around the country. Since Moores defeat, Bannons role in domestic politics has greatly diminished, and his plans for national domination have fizzled. His role as a source in Michael Wolffs book Fire and Fury, in which he leveled harsh criticisms against President Trumps children, prompted the president to excoriate him and his benefactors to jettison him from Breitbart. Recently, he undertook a European tour, meeting representatives of various extreme right-wing factions and telling members of Frances National Front not to apologize for their racism. Doug Jones, meanwhile, gave his first speech to the Senate floor on Wednesday. Syrian rebels have withdrawn in busloads from a town in eastern Ghouta and handed it over to the Syrian Army under a Russian-brokered evacuation deal. The Ahrar al-Sham group's decision to accept the army's terms and abandon the town of Harasta on March 22 puts the government on course for its biggest victory over rebels since the battle of Aleppo in 2016. Around 30 buses carrying rebel fighters and their families left Harasta. Syrian state media said the buses carried 1,580 people, including 413 rebel fighters given safe passage to northwestern Syria. A military media unit run by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's ally Hizballah said 1,500 fighters and 6,000 family members had agreed to leave. The army's assault on eastern Ghouta, the last major rebel bastion near the capital, has been one of the most intense in Syria's seven-year war, killing more than 1,500 people in a relentless bombardment that has drawn condemnation from around the world. In the Ghouta campaign, Syria and Russia have used tactics that proved successful in Aleppo and elsewhere: lay siege to an area, bombard it, launch a ground assault, and finally offer safe passage out to rebels who agree to leave with their families. The government's control of Harasta leaves eastern Ghouta's rebels in control only of the town of Douma -- under the control of Jaish al-Islam -- and another pocket that includes the towns of Jobar, Ein Terma, Arbin, and Zamalka -- under the control of Failaq al-Rahman. The Russian Defense Ministry claims that since Russia began imposing "humanitarian pauses" almost a month ago, some 95,000 people had left eastern Ghouta for government territory. The Harasta rebels will be taken to Idlib Province in the northwest, which has become the main sanctuary for insurgents who agree to quit territory under deals with the government. Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters Human Rights Watch Central Asia researcher Steve Swerdlow says Turkey has detained two Tajik opposition politicians wanted in Tajikistan but will not extradite them at this point. Swerdlow told RFE/RL on March 23 that Turkey's Constitutional Court had ruled to suspend the men's extradition amid concerns that they might face torture while in custody in Tajikistan. A spokesman for the Group 24 opposition movement, Saidali Ashurov, who also lives abroad, told RFE/RL that Group 24 leader Suhrobi Zafar and another member, Nasim Sharipov, were arrested in their homes in Istanbul on March 19. Ashurov said members were informed by Turkish authorities that the possible extradition of Zafar and Sharipov has been suspended for three months. The Tajik Embassy in Ankara and Tajik Interior Ministry officials told RFE/RL that they had no information about the two politicians. Tajik authorities banned Group 24 in 2014 after labeling it an extremist group. Group 24 was founded by fugitive tycoon Umarali Quvatov, who was shot dead in Turkey in March 2015. Opponents of President Emomali Rahmon who live abroad say they believe Quvatov's killing was orchestrated by Tajik authorities. Several members of the group were jailed in Tajikistan after he was killed. U.S. President Donald Trump is replacing national security adviser H.R. McMaster with former UN Ambassador John Bolton, an outspoken hawk who has advocated using military force against Iran and North Korea. Trump tweeted late on March 22 that McMaster, 55, had done "an outstanding job and will always remain my friend," but he said Bolton will take over on April 9. An advocate of "regime change" in Iran who served in the administrations of former Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, Bolton, 69, has been an especially strong critic of Iran's 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers. Bolton recently tweeted that the deal "needs to be abrogated." Trump campaigned against the deal and vowed to end it, but during his first year in office he heeded McMaster's advice to delay the move -- a cautious stance also take by ousted U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Since dismissing Tillerson last week and announcing his intent to replace him with more hawkish CIA Director Mike Pompeo, Trump has signaled he is eager to make good on his promises on Iran. "You're gonna see what I do," Trump said on March 21, when asked about his plans on Iran. Trump had originally considered choosing Bolton, a Fox News commentator, as his secretary of state. But many congressional Democrats object to Bolton and he might have had difficulty getting confirmed by the Senate. "This is not a wise choice. Mr. Bolton does not have the temperament or judgment to be an effective national security adviser," Democratic Senator Jack Reed said after Trump announced his pick of Bolton. The post of national security adviser is not a cabinet-level position, so Bolton will not need Senate approval to assume the job. Bolton called his appointment "an honor" and said he looked "forward to working with President Trump and his leadership team" to "make our country safer at home and stronger abroad." Bolton was a leading advocate for the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq during George W. Bush's administration, and as a commentator he has advocated taking preemptive military action against both Iran and North Korea. AP reported that Bolton has met regularly with Trump at the White House, including having a meeting earlier this month with Trump and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly to discuss North Korea and Iran. In replacing both McMaster and Tillerson, Trump has said he was seeking more like-minded aides. He had increasingly clashed publicly with McMaster, a respected three-star general who said he planned to retire from public life this summer. Last month, Trump took issue with McMaster's characterization of alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election after the national security adviser told the Munich Security Conference that interference was beyond dispute. "General McMaster forgot to say that the results of the 2016 election were not impacted or changed by the Russians," Trump tweeted. Asked about Bolton's appointnent by reporeters on March 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said it was "not a question for us, it is for the U.S. administration." Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin hoped there will be more people in the White House who "can see beyond the wave of Russophobia" that Russian authorities claim is sweeping Western countries. Russia-U.S. ties have been severely strained by issues including Moscow's interference in Ukraine, its role in the war in Syria, and its alleged attempts to influence the U.S. election. Last summer, McMaster was the target of an attack-ad campaign by conservative groups, which accused him of not being tough enough on Iran. While Bolton's views on Iran are close to Trump's, he appears to have advocated a more hawkish stance toward Russia than Trump, who has said he wants to improve ties with Moscow. Among other tweets, Bolton has called for "effective countermeasures to the cyberwar that Russia is engaging." Bolton said in an interview with Fox News on March 22 that as Trump's security adviser, he will be an "honest broker" who presents multiple views for the president to consider. "The important thing is what the president says and the advice I give him," he told Fox. The human rights group Amnesty International on March 22 called Bolton's appointment "reckless." "Bolton's influence over national security policy could result in even more civilian deaths and potentially unlawful killings given his disdain for international law and international institutions," said Zeke Johnson, senior director of programs at Amnesty International USA. With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters U.S. authorities have charged nine Iranians* and an Iranian company in what they say was a hacking scheme that stole "massive amounts" of data from hundreds of universities, dozens of companies, the United Nations, and parts of the U.S. government on behalf of the Iranian government. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and other law enforcement officials announced the charges on March 23. "For many of these intrusions, the defendants acted at the behest of the Iranian government and, specifically, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)," Rosenstein said. U.S. officials said the defendants were affiliated with the Mabna Institute, an Iranian company they said has conducted hacking on behalf of the Iranian government for several years. U.S. prosecutors say the firm was designed to help Iranian research organizations steal information. "These defendants are now fugitives of justice," Rosenstein said, warning that they could face extradition in more than 100 countries if they travel outside of Iran. The U.S. Treasury department said on its website that it was imposing sanctions against the Mabna Institute, all nine Iranians charged in the case, and a suspect from Iran in another hacking case -- Behzad Mesri, who also is known as Skote Vahshat. Mesri was charged in 2017 with hacking into computers of the cable TV network HBO, stealing episodes and plot summaries for unaired programs -- including Games of Thrones -- and threatening to release the information unless he was paid $6 million. The U.S Justice Department said in a March 23 statement that the hackers in the Mabna Institute case had pilfered more than 31 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property from 144 U.S. universities and 176 universities in 21 other countries. It said the campaign targeted the e-mail accounts of more than 100,000 professors around the world and managed to break into the accounts of about 8,000 of them. Prosecutors said the hackers also targeted the U.S. Labor Department, the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the United Nations. The Justice Department described the case as one of the largest state-sponsored hacking sprees to be prosecuted. Rosenstein told a news conference that the defendants hacked into government computers and other networks in an "attempt to steal as much as possible." He said the indictment publicly identifies alleged hackers in an attempt to deter further intellectual-property theft. The case is part of the U.S. government's strategy of "naming and shaming" -- or publicly identifying alleged foreign hackers and letting them and their governments know that U.S. authorities are onto them. However, the defendants are unlikely to be prosecuted in the United States, which has no extradition with Iran and deeply tense relations with the government in Tehran. The case marks the fourth time in recent months that U.S. President Donald Trumps administration has blamed a foreign government for major cyberattacks. With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP *CORRECTION: This article has been amended to indicate that U.S. authorities have charged nine Iranians, not 10 as originally reported. KYIV -- A Ukrainian court has authorized the detention in pretrial custody of lawmaker Nadia Savchenko, a celebrated former military pilot accused of plotting a terrorist attack on parliament with grenades and automatic weapons. The Shevchenko District Court on March 23 ordered that Savchenko be held for two months pending an official investigation into the case. Savchenko told the court she was innocent, that the charges against her were politically motivated, and that her detainment on March 22 at Ukraine's parliament was "illegal." She also announced that she was starting a hunger strike. The courts ruling to keep Savchenko in custody until May 23 came a day after fellow lawmakers voted to strip her of her immunity from prosecution and authorized her arrest. Prosecutor-General Yuriy Lutsenko has accused Savchenko and alleged accomplice Volodymyr Ruban of plotting to overthrow the government and carry out a "large-scale terrorist attack" in central Kyiv as well as kill senior officials. Ruban was detained earlier in March while crossing into government-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine, allegedly with large amounts of weapons and ammunition hidden in a shipment of furniture. Savchenko said at the hearing on March 23 that "the weapons were being transported from the enemy" -- a reference to Russia-backed separatists who hold parts of two eastern provinces -- in order "to [forensically] study them." Prosecutor Oleksandr Bannyk, who called for Savchenko to be remanded in custody for the two-month pretrial detention period, said she could be sentenced to life in prison if found guilty. The ruling marks a dramatic new turn for the former military aviator. For a time, Savchenko was seen in Ukraine as a hero in a war that has killed more than 10,300 people since Russia fomented unrest and backed separatists in eastern Ukraine -- moves that followed pro-European protests which drove Ukraine's Moscow-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych from power in 2014. Savchenko says she was abducted in the combat zone later that year and taken to Russia. She spent two years in prison there -- stretches of which she spent on hunger strikes -- before being released and returned to Ukraine as part of a prisoner swap in May 2016. Elected to parliament on an opposition party ticket while still held in Russia, Savchenko became a vehement critic of President Petro Poroshenko's government after her return. She swiftly drew criticism from several political camps. She has faced criticism for holding talks with the Russia-backed separatists without consent from the government in Kyiv. She's also been criticized for comments which, Ukrainian nationalists claim, indicate she advocates accepting Moscow's seizure and annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula. With reporting by Merhat Sharipzhan A senior U.S. diplomat is due to visit Uzbekistan in the coming days, the State Department says. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon will travel to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on March 25-27, it said in a statement on March 22. Shannon is scheduled to meet with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev and Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov. Shannon will discuss with the two Uzbek leaders "the progress made under President Mirziyoev's reform agenda, reaffirm support for Uzbekistan's initiative and valuable contributions to leadership in the region, and underscore the United States' commitment to stability in Uzbekistan and throughout the region," the statement said. Mirziyoev has taken steps to improve Uzbekistan's ties with its neighbors since he became president after authoritarian President Islam Karimov died in September 2016. During Karimov's 27-year rule of Central Asia's most populous country, its relations with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan were strained by disputes over transit routes, border security, water resources, and other issues. Shannon will also lead the U.S. delegation to the Tashkent Conference on Afghanistan. The 21 delegations at the conference, hosted by the Uzbek government, "will build on progress made at the February 28 Kabul Process Conference in a continued demonstration of international support for a peaceful political settlement in Afghanistan," the statement said. PRAGUE -- A journalist with RFE/RL says he was groped and accosted more than a decade ago by Russian lawmaker and perennial presidential candidate Vladimir Zhirinovsky, an allegation that could add fuel to scattered calls among Russians for a serious examination of abuse allegations against lawmakers and other officials. Renat Davletgildeyev's accusation comes after a parliamentary ethics commission exonerated another senior Russian Duma deputy within Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) of sexual-harassment allegations from at least three journalists. In a Facebook post and a later interview with Current Time TV on March 22, Davletgildeyev described the alleged incident in 2006 involving the ultranationalist firebrand, saying Zhirinovsky "pawed at my [buttocks] so much that my hands were trembling as they held the recorder." Davletgildeyev, now 31, said he was working for the news site Gazeta.ru and reporting on the Miss Russia beauty contest at the time. He said Zhirinovsky, a six-time presidential candidate who placed third in Russia's March 18 voting, had left the award ceremony early and Davletgildeyev followed him, seeking comment. "As he was giving me a comment, he began to behave in an indecent way, touching my hands, shoulders, and my neck -- sorry, not neck, I'll give him that," he told Current Time. "He also touched my lower body parts, and then he left," he said, before adding that Zhirinovsky had touched his buttocks. After, he said, men who he presumed were Zhirinovskys aides or security guards approached him and tried to persuade him to go to a sauna belonging to Zhirinovskys LDPR party. "It seemed like a normal course of events for them. One of them even said, 'Thats what everyone does. Dont be scared,'" Davletgildeyev said. Current Time TV is a Russian-language TV channel produced by RFE/RL in collaboration with Voice of America. Contacted by Current Time, Igor Lebedev, who is Zhirinovsky's son as well as deputy chairman of the party, declined to comment. "I don't want to talk to you. What, Im supposed to discuss your gay colleague with you? Have I fallen that low?" Lebedev said. "There is no problem of harassment in Russian society." Yelena Afanasyeva, a lawmaker in Russia's upper chamber of parliament from Zhirinovsky's LDPR, suggested to Current Time on March 23 that the allegations were the result of "some foreign special services working in Russia" who are "trying to discredit some Russian politicians and trying to create hysteria in our country." Afanasyeva also dismissed the growing number of sexual harassment allegations against Russian politicians as acts of self-promotion by journalists and "some gay activists," saying "there is no other way for these people to gain prominence." A spokeswoman for the party also declined to comment. Sexual-harassment complaints in the West sparked the #MeToo protest movement last year and have felled powerful men in the United States and other Western countries. But the movement has failed to shake Russias male-dominated halls of power, and the recent accusations by journalists have spurred a rare public debate and a smattering of protest against sexism in the country. Russian women often say they are routinely the targets of harassment in the workplace but can do little to prevent it, with their protests often falling on deaf ears. On March 7, the speaker of the Russian State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, suggested that female journalists who report from the legislature should change their jobs if they can't cope with the behavior of lawmakers. Davletgildeyev told Current Time TV he didn't regard posting his account of the incident on Facebook as an "outing" of Zhirinovsky, 71, because he had told acquaintances about the encounter and, in any event, "there is a group of people for whom this wasn't an outing but a piece of some well-known story." Zhirinovsky, the longtime LDPR leader who has been in the Duma since 1993 and once spoke onstage at an event while embracing two topless models, has a long history of outlandish statements and actions. In 2013, he told a classroom of teenagers in Moscow that suppressing the sex instinct can lead to sexual perversions, including homosexuality, and to mental diseases, according to The Moscow Times. "Boys must like girls, and girls must like boys, and in the future you must create a family," the newspaper quoted him as saying. One of the more memorable moments from the presidential campaign came during a debate among candidates on February 28 when Ksenia Sobchak doused Zhirinovsky with a glass of water for interrupting another candidate and using foul language. He called Sobchak a whore and a mad fool during the incident. Davletgildeyevs allegations also come after some of Russian medias best-known outlets said they were withdrawing their reporters from parliament's lower chamber, the State Duma, after lawmaker Leonid Slutsky, 50, was cleared by a legislative ethics commission. Commission Chairman Otari Arshba said the accusations against Slutsky were "selective, targeted, and planned, and asserted they were timed to create controversy ahead of the election that handed President Vladimir Putin a new six-year term. Slutsky, also an LDPR member and chairman of the chambers Foreign Affairs Committee, had been accused of making crude, unwanted advances toward the reporters, including trying to kiss them and touching them inappropriately. The reporters included Yekaterina Kotrikadze, a deputy editor with New York-based RTVI television; Darya Zhuk, a producer with independent Dozhd TV; and BBC Russian correspondent Farida Rustamova. On March 21, the Duma Ethics Commission found that Slutsky had violated no "behavioral norms," prompting Aleksei Venediktov, the chief editor of the radio station Ekho Moskvy, to say the station was disappointed with the commission's decision and "considers the State Duma an unsafe place for journalists to work." During the hearings, Zhirinovsky tried to deflect criticism of Slutsky and the LDPR party by accusing the female journalists of "receiving orders from the West." Oksana Pushkina, a Duma deputy from the ruling United Russia party and a former journalist, expressed support for the outlets. "The problem [of sexual harassment] exists in this country and it must be tackled through legislation," she told state-run news agency RIA Novosti. "I will do everything in my power." But discussion during the commissions hearings shows just how hard the battle may be. Anton Morozov, a member of the Duma, turned the allegations against Slutsky into a punchline, saying, Mr. Slutsky, this is outrageous! Share some of this with the other members of the international affairs committee. "I'm prepared to take a couple of journalist girls myself," he added. Downtown noise levels creating negative online reviews for Playa del Carmen Playa del Carmen, Q.R. Local entrepreneurs say tourists are being kept awake at night due to some downtown businesses not complying with the citys noise regulations. More than a dozen business owners have approached municipal authorities to voice their concern about the negative online reviews they have seen beginning to surface regarding the level of nighttime noise in downtown Playa del Carmen. Felipe Menendez, manager of Bosque Caribe Hotel, expressed his concern about the growing number of negative comments on social networks. There is a lot of noise in the area. Out of the last 79 guest comments, 14 people complained about the noise. Normally in the hotel, clients who experience some level of dissatisfaction do not say so, maybe one out of every 10 will say something. But having 14 negative comments out of 79 tells us that many did not complain, they endured. Thats a very high percentage. In the last week we had two cancellations, that is, the person arrived for 10 days, but only spent the first night and left. We lost nine nights of lodging, he said. The meeting held between the local businessmen and municipal authorities was closed-door, however, other business leaders noted that they have lost reservations because guests cannot sleep in the downtown hotels. According to the Official Mexican Standard, commercial zones are permitted a maximum limit of 68 decibels during the hours between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. The Standard also sets nighttime noise levels for commercial areas to 65 decibels between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Orquidea Trejo Buendia, director of Environment and Climate Change, said that they will begin verifying the noise levels being emitted from establishments with sound equipment. Will the president blow up months of negotiations and humiliate his staff and allies? Could be. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images After turning the world upside down on Thursday by launching a potential trade war with China and replacing National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster with John Bolton, the president lobbed a grenade down Pennsylvania Avenue with an early Friday morning tweet: I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2018 It turned out to be just a smoke grenade, since Trump dialed it all back and signed the bill today. But his behavior during the hours leading up to this event would shock the political world if it involved any other president at any other time. Let us count the ways it was all just weird: 1) The veto threat contradicted a presidential tweet from Wednesday night in which Trump conveyed his grudging support for the bill. Got $1.6 Billion to start Wall on Southern Border, rest will be forthcoming. Most importantly, got $700 Billion to rebuild our Military, $716 Billion next year...most ever. Had to waste money on Dem giveaways in order to take care of military pay increase and new equipment. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2018 This big-picture assessment of the giant bill is notably missing from the Friday morning tweet, which focused strictly on the immigration stuff. 2) The threat directly contradicted Trumps own personal assurances to Republican congressional leaders, and the White Houses public assurances to the whole world soon after. Before the resigned-sounding Wednesday night tweet, Trump had let it be known privately he was considering a veto of the omnibus (just as it was being finalized for release), which caused Paul Ryan to scurry over to the White House and talk POTUS off the ledge. He reportedly told Ryan (and Mitch McConnell, who was on the phone) hed sign the bill. Then on Thursday, as the House prepared to vote on it, the White House confirmed the decision in a public briefing: The president supports the bill, looks forward to signing it, Mulvaney said, alongside White House Director of Legislative Affairs Marc Short. Again, that was less than 24 hours ago. Nothing in the bill changed between now and then. 3) Trump himself caused the DACA problem that hes complaining about Congress not fixing. Lest we forget, before any Democrats were in a position to abandon 800,000 plus DACA recipients Trump abandoned them by rescinding the executive order that created DACA in the first place. And as a matter of fact, DACA recipients are not in any imminent danger purely and simply because two federal judges struck down Trumps action (its now pending before the Supreme Court). 4) Negotiations leading to the omnibus including the immigration provisions and the lack thereof have been going on for more than six months. Trumps back-and-forth on the 2,232-page omnibus at the last minute might create the impression that Congress the Congress controlled by his own party has blindsided him with this huge bill and its unsatisfying immigration provisions. In fact, its the product of negotiations that have been going on since last summer, when it became obvious that the regular appropriations process would, as has become customary, fail to get the job done. Congress has passed, and Trump has signed, five stopgap spending bills during these negotiations, in which the White House has been involved at every single step. Acting surprised about the omnibuss content or process now is very weird if not blatantly dishonest. 5) Trump has moved the goalposts on immigration policy, making a deal all but impossible. Some sort of simple border-wall-for-DACA deal was very much on the table until quite recently. Chuck Schumer famously offered such a deal to Trump over cheeseburgers in mid-January during earlier negotiations to head off a government shutdown. But soon thereafter the White House announced a new proposal making a path to citizenship for Dreamers contingent on major changes in (and restrictions of) legal immigration, which was very much a nonstarter for Democrats. During the very latest negotiations, every time a renewed DACA-for-border-wall deal seemed imminent, the White Houses position kept blurring; at any given moment, it wasnt clear whether Trumps most pressing demand was border-wall funding, or legal immigration changes, or even punishment of sanctuary cities. Support for a true path to citizenship for Dreamers among Republicans receded as well, in favor of short-term DACA protections for a limited population. In the end, as Dara Lind explains: Congressional Republicans wrote the omnibus bill the way they did because they didnt seem that interested in trying to guess what the president will actually sign. 6) Trump waited until Congress was heading out of town before his latest veto threat. It was not exactly a secret that Congress was embarking on a two-week Easter recess the minute the omnibus was cleared from its dockets. And members were leaving Washington for all sorts of reasons: Many were attending Representative Louise Slaughters funeral; some were on a long-planned trip to Africa; still others were going back home to campaign for reelection. Now they are stuck in transit, waiting to see if Trumps veto threat was just a temper tantrum or a real problem. Its entirely possible that Trump did what he did, consciously or subconsciously, to remind Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell and every other member of Congress that he is the one in charge, their travel plans be damned. 7) Trump may have issued his veto threat because of a Fox and Friends segment. The weirdest possibility of all is that the president of the United States went back on his word, made his own staff and his congressional allies look like fools, and threatened a government shutdown because he woke up and saw people trashing the omnibus on Fox and Friends. On Fox & Friends this morning, Pete Hegseth said of the omnibus, "this is a swamp budget, this is a Mitch McConnell special," savaged it because "no wall." pic.twitter.com/tTAIWj5til Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) March 23, 2018 And its weirder yet that this theory is so plausible. 8) In signing the bill, Trump said it would never happen again. After calming down, and apparently hearing the pleas of military brass that vetoing the Omnibus would kill the abundant new Pentagon spending in the bill, Trump signed it, complaining the whole time about the ridiculous situation that led up to this development, which would sound like an admission of error coming from a more self-aware POTUS. He also whined for the hundredth time about the need to get rid of the Senate filibuster so that Republicans could rule without Democratic input (a demand that ignores intra-Republican and House-Senate differences), and in a strange twist, asked for line-item veto powers, which the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional twenty years ago. Trump emphatically said: I will never sign another bill like this again. After this amazing series of events, whos going to take that promise to the bank? Proteins do not function in isolation and their interactions with other proteins define their cellular functions. Therefore, detailed understanding of protein-protein interactions (PPIs) is the key for deciphering regulation of cellular networks and pathways. These complex networks of stable and transient associations can be studied by affinity purification mass spectrometry (AP-MS) and complementary proximity-based labeling methods such as BioID. In a study published in the 22th of March issue of Nature Communications, a research team led by Dr. Markku Varjosalo (HiLIFE / Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki) introduce an optimized and integrated approach combining AP-MS and BioID in a single workflow. In addition to just exploiting the advantages of both strategies, the authors show that their approach allows identification and quantification of protein-protein interactions and protein complex stoichiometries; identification of transient or close-proximity interactions with BioID; visualization of the bait protein and the proximal interactors with immunofluorescence microscopy; and defining the molecular context with MS microscopy utilizing the reference dataset obtained by identifying proximal interactors for bona fide subcellular localization markers. The authors show that using the MS microscopy, it is possible to assign the studied protein to its correct cellular or even subcellular location in even higher resolution than with confocal microscopy. "This study is a continuum of our rigorous efforts in developing new systems biology tools for studying the molecular interactions formed by proteins. We have previously proven that AP-MS is highly reproducible method, which is also suitable for large-scale and inter-laboratory studies," Dr. Varjosalo states. He continues: "Our newly developed integrated workflow and the reference molecular context proteome map, allows an easy way to probe the molecular localization of (m)any protein(s). The developed MAC-tag and the integrated approach should empower, not only the interaction proteomics community, but also cell, molecular and structural biologists, with an experimentally proven integrated workflow for mapping in detail the physical and functional interactions and the molecular context of proteins in human cells." The study was financially supported by the Academy of Finland, University of Helsinki, the Sigrid Juselius Foundation and Instrumentarium Science Foundation. The ability to robustly and predictably regenerate dental, oral and craniofacial (DOC) tissues through tissue engineering and/or regenerative medicine strategies is a major goal for clinicians. While many technologies have shown proof of principle in small animals, few have made it into the clinic. Many factors contribute the limited translation including technology development without a clinical context, use of animal models lacking clinical relevance, inability to demonstrate a superior lack of functional outcome against a standard of care and lack of a large dental and craniofacial presence in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. To overcome these limitations and develop resources and strategies to advance translation of innovative tissue engineering and regenerative medicine technologies in the DOC space, the National Institutes of Health (NIDCR) established the DOCTRC Program. The DOCTRC Program involves clinicians from the beginning of technology development and is aimed at developing resources and strategies for regenerating DOC tissues. In 2017, stage II of this program was launched and two national resource centers were established: The Michigan-Pittsburgh-Wyss Resource Center and the Center for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Tissue and Organ Regeneration (C-DOCTOR), a consortium of California universities. This symposium features talks from Martha Somerman, Director of the NIDCR, Bethesda, Md.; Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Dental Research William Giannobile, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Yang Chai, Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles and Charles Sfeir, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. The event organizers and co-chairs are David Kohn, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and Jeff Lotz, University of California, San Francisco. The 47th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR), held in conjunction with the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research (CADR), featured a symposium titled "Dental Oral Craniofacial Tissue Regeneration Consortia: A New Paradigm." The AADR/CADR Annual Meeting is in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., USA from March 21-24, 2018. Sea ice in the Arctic grew to its annual maximum extent last week, and joined 2015, 2016 and 2017 as the four lowest maximum extents on record, according to scientists at the NASA-supported National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and NASA. On March 17, the Arctic sea ice cover peaked at 5.59 million square miles (14.48 million square kilometers), making it the second lowest maximum on record, at about 23,200 square miles (60,000 square kilometers) larger than the record low maximum reached on March 7, 2017. More significantly from a scientific perspective, the last four years reached nearly equally low maximum extents and continued the decades-long trend of diminishing sea ice in the Arctic. This year's maximum extent was 448,000 square miles (1.16 million square kilometers) -- an area larger than Texas and California combined -- below the 1981 to 2010 average maximum extent. Every year, the sea ice cover blanketing the Arctic Ocean and surrounding seas thickens and expands during the fall and winter, reaching its maximum yearly extent sometime between late February and early April. The ice then thins and shrinks during the spring and summer until it reaches its annual minimum extent in September. Arctic sea ice has been declining both during the growing and melting seasons in recent decades. The decline of the Arctic sea ice cover has myriad effects, from changes in climate and weather patterns to impacts on the plants and animals dependent on the ice, and to the indigenous human communities that rely on them. The disappearing ice is also altering shipping routes, increasing coastal erosion and affecting ocean circulation. "The Arctic sea ice cover continues to be in a decreasing trend and this is connected to the ongoing warming of the Arctic," said Claire Parkinson, senior climate scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "It's a two-way street: the warming means less ice is going to form and more ice is going to melt, but also, because there's less ice, less of the sun's incident solar radiation is reflected off, and this contributes to the warming." The Arctic has gone through repeated warm episodes this winter, with temperatures climbing more than 40 degrees above average in some regions. The North Pole even experienced temperatures above the freezing point for a few days in February. advertisement In mid-March, cooler temperatures and winds pushed out the edge of the sea ice pack and caused a late surge in ice growth that brought the maximum extent closer in line with the past few years. In February, a large area of open water appeared in the sea ice cover north of Greenland, within the multiyear ice pack -- the Arctic's oldest and thickest ice. Most of the opening has refrozen but the new ice is expected to be thinner and more fragile, and a new opening might appear during the melt season. This could make the ice in this region more mobile and prone to exiting the Arctic this summer through either the Fram or Nares straits, ultimately melting in the warmer waters of the Atlantic Ocean. "This old, thicker ice is what we expect to provide stability to the Arctic sea ice system, since we expect that ice not to be as vulnerable to melting out as thinner, younger ice," said Alek Petty, a sea ice researcher at Goddard. "As ice in the Arctic becomes thinner and more mobile, it increases the likelihood for rapid ice loss in the summer." Despite the fact that this year's melt season will begin with a low winter sea ice extent, this doesn't necessarily mean that we will see another record low summertime extent. "A lot will depend on what the wind and temperature conditions will be in the spring and summer," Parkinson said. Starting March 22, Operation IceBridge, NASA's aerial survey of polar ice, is flying over the Arctic Ocean to map the distribution and thickness of sea ice. In the fall, NASA will launch a new satellite mission, the Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2), which will continuously monitor how sea ice thickness is changing across the Arctic. For NSIDC's analysis: http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2018/03/arctic-sea-ice-maximum-second-lowest/ Former governor and senator Zell Miller, famously attacking John Kerry at a GOP convention. Photo: Andrew Savulich/NY Daily News via Getty Images Most people who hear about the death of former Georgia governor and senator Zell Miller will remember him, if at all, for his abrasive attacks on John Kerry the presidential nominee of the party to which Miller had belonged for his entire, long life at the 2004 Republican National Convention. Older readers may remember his keynote address at the 1992 Democratic Convention that nominated his close friend Bill Clinton. People in his home state of Georgia are probably aware of additional aspects of Millers career, including his many years in elected office (he was lieutenant governor from 1975 until 1991, and governor from 1991 to 1999, before an appointed stint in the Senate from 2000 until 2005). They also know about his legacy initiative, the much-praised and imitated lottery-supported HOPE Scholarship program, which made college affordable for many hundreds of thousands of young Georgians while boosting academic standards at the states public colleges and universities by getting talented kids to stay in-state. The length of Millers time in the public spotlight, and the wildly varying directions it took him, have often been encapsulated by the nickname he acquired from critics early on: Zig-Zag Zell. And the taunt goes back a lot further than his bookend Democratic and Republican convention addresses. Early on Miller ran twice for Congress in his native North Georgia mountains as an opponent of civil-rights legislation (a posture for which he later apologized), and then served as chief of staff for the states infamous segregationist governor Lester Maddox. But by 1974, Miller had managed to reframe himself as a relatively progressive Democrat in running for lieutenant governor, and by 1980 was most definitely the liberal candidate challenging the old reformed segregationist Herman Talmadge (losing in a Democratic runoff). Elected governor in 1990 by running to the left of former ambassador and Atlanta mayor Andrew Young and future governor Roy Barnes, Miller had a reasonably progressive record centered on HOPE and unprecedented appointments of women and minorities to executive and judicial offices. After his association with Clinton very nearly earned him defeat in 1994 (his Republican opponent ran hundreds of ads featuring Millers Democratic Convention speech, particularly the line, delivered in Zells mountain twang: BILL CLINTON FEELS YORE PAIN), he lost his zest for national Democratic politics. He was settling into multiple university teaching gigs and political retirement until he shocked most people he knew by accepting a Senate appointment when Paul Coverdell died in 2000. No one was more shocked than I was, as his former (from 1992 through 1994) federal-state relations director, who had accompanied him to Washington often enough to understand his intense antipathy to the city and its culture. It surprised me less when he hated the Senate, and began lashing out at his Senate Democratic colleagues and the party to which he nominally owed allegiance. In 2003, he published a strange memoir (titled, for maximum book sales to conservatives, A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat), which enveloped a proud account of his own progressive record in brief but quote-worthy attacks on Democrats. Soon afterwards, he completed his apostasy with his RNC speech embracing George W. Bush and savaging his former colleague John Kerry. For a while there, Miller was like fellow arch-Appalachian Andrew Johnson reincarnated, turning on former friends and embracing former enemies with equal passion. It seemed there was no GOP candidate he wasnt willing to support, the nadir probably being his establishment of a group called Democrats for Santorum, just as the right-wing senator was going down the tubes in the 2006 elections in Pennsylvania. But in the last few years, as his health declined and he became more distant from politics, the fiery mountaineer seemed to mellow. He mended fences with old Democratic friends and advisers James Carville and Paul Begala (whom he first introduced to Bill Clinton). And in his last major political endorsement, in 2014, he supported Democrat Michelle Nunns Senate campaign. You can think of that as a final zig-zag, or as a bit of a homecoming. I personally think it reflected a complicated and conflicted man who often regretted his own political impulses, and had more of a sense of humor about it all than most people realized. I had some evidence for that suspicion. Back when it appeared, I wrote a review of A National Party No More that basically suggested Miller had lost his bearings after going to the Senate. The title was Zell Bent. A few months later a friend who had visited his Senate office brought me a handwritten note from my former boss (who was normally proper but not affectionate towards staff) that read: Your review was fair and honest, and I remain your friend and admirer. And he signed it Zell Bent. He was one of a kind, and should be remembered for more than his zig-zags. This item is available in full to subscribers. Attention subscribers We have recently launched a new and improved website. To continue reading, you will need to either log into your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription. If you are a digital subscriber with an active subscription, then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you've not yet logged in to your account on this new site. If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free website account by clicking here. Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing. People walk past a TV showing President Trump at a railway station in Seoul on August 9, 2017. Photo: JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images If President Donald Trump wants to resolve the nuclear standoff with North Korea by diplomatic means, he sure has a funny way of showing it. If the upcoming meeting between Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un actually results in a deal to denuclearize the isolated rogue state and restore it as a member of the international community in relatively good standing, it will be perhaps the greatest diplomatic breakthrough in American diplomacy since the end of the Cold War. For all his many shortcomings, Trump would deserve praise for this, in a Nixon-in-China sort of way. Unfortunately, since agreeing to meet with Kim earlier this month (likely without realizing what he was agreeing to), Trump has steadily undermined this goal with every foreign-policy-related word and deed. Hopes were already dim for such a breakthrough, but his two headline decisions announced on Thursday $50 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports and the appointment of John Bolton as his new national security adviser may have been the final nails in its coffin. To start with the obvious, Boltons reputation as a neoconservative war hawk precedes him. An architect and unrepentant champion of the Iraq War, Bolton consistently prefers the use of force as the primary means of solving Americas problems around the world. In Boltons dictionary, cooperation, international law, and multilateralism are all dirty words. Hardly anyone who has carried the title of diplomat shares his utter contempt for diplomacy as a means of solving problems in the world. From his last government perch in the George W. Bush administration, as ambassador to the United Nations (an institution he openly despises), Bolton could damage little beyond what remained of the United States reputation and international standing. As national security adviser to Trump, however, Bolton may be substantially more dangerous, as he is likely to encourage rather than temper Trumps worst impulses. Bolton is due to take office April 9, meaning he will have plenty of time at the presidents side to shape his thoughts and actions before the two consequential diplomatic events coming up in May: the meeting with Kim and Trumps next opportunity to tear up the nuclear agreement with Iran. Bolton, of course, is a long-standing advocate of war with Iran, so the odds that Trump decides to pull out of that deal are even slimmer than they already were. As for North Korea, Bolton was recently seen on television cheering for diplomacy to fail, so that the U.S. can proceed with the war he sees as inevitable and desirable. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed published last month, Bolton laid out his view of the legal case for a preventive strike on North Korea. A month of Bolton whispering in Trumps ear that the North Koreans and the Chinese (and the Russians, and the Iranians, and the Arabs, etc.) are congenital liars who cant be trusted outside the range of a Patriot missile, and these talks become less likely to actually happen and more likely to fail by design if they do. Of course, Trump should not take Kim at his word, but neither should he pass up the opportunity this diplomatic opening presents to avoid war and put North Korea on a path toward denuclearization. If Boltons appointment pushes us one step closer to war with North Korea, so too does Trumps decision to slap China with punitive tariffs. China is a key player in Northeast Asia and the only country that appears to hold any kind of sway over Pyongyangs behavior. Enforcing any hypothetical agreement with North Korea to slow down, scale down, or dismantle its nuclear-weapons program is inconceivable without Chinese help. China has a strong and sincere interest in resolving the Korean crisis peacefully. No country welcomes the prospect of a war next door, least of all one with a nuclear dimension. A war would devastate North Korea and send refugees pouring across the Chinese border by the thousands if not the millions, particularly if the North Korean state collapses (an outcome Bolton, incidentally, appears to favor). In comments earlier this month, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi expressed enthusiasm about the potential breakthrough between North and South Korea and encouraged the parties to pursue parallel dialogues on denuclearization and security normalization, addressing North Koreas legitimate security concerns as well as those of South Korea, the rest of the region, and the U.S. Chinas strategic interests in the Korean peninsula are unchanged by the Trump administrations trade policy, but its hard to see Beijing being eager to help shepherd the best possible outcome for the U.S. and its allies when we are actively engaged in a trade war. Whether we like it or not, China is a major global power just like the U.S. and has lots of options for making things difficult for Washington if it so chooses, from blocking our initiatives in the U.N. Security Council to building new frameworks for international trade in which the U.S. is not a leader or even a participant. An administration less fixated on zero-sum fantasies of foreign trade and international relations might take the opposite tack and make a deal whereby China quietly ends some of its unfair trade practices in exchange for the U.S. agreeing to put all parties security concerns on the table in the Korea talks, not just those of our side. At the very least, a government with a less one-sided worldview might have the sensibility to treat China like a formidable rival and potential partner worthy of respect, rather than a misbehaving child that can be easily pushed around. Instead, the Trump administration is antagonizing China at a moment when we could really use its cooperation in solving the worlds most pressing security problem, while welcoming an adviser who sees a catastrophic war as the only viable solution to that problem. Just as Trump was beginning to steer the U.S. away from its collision course with North Korea, he has taken a violent turn back toward it. Chinese officials on Friday announced a list of U.S. imports they will target if their tariff dispute with President Trump erupts into a trade war. Its a list that places California on the front line. Chinas Ministry of Commerce singled out 128 products imported from the United States, worth about $3 billion annually, that could face higher tariffs if the two countries dont defuse rising tensions. The tariffs would be imposed in steps, and some of Californias prime exports to China including nuts, fruits and wine would be among the first hit. Each would face a new 15 percent tariff. When you look at the list of targeted goods and you see how it overlaps with the list of Californias leading crops and commodities, its hard not to be alarmed, California Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross said in a statement. If the dispute continued to escalate, China said it would impose a 25 percent tariff on American pork and recycled aluminum, a potential blow to Midwestern states considered part of Trumps base. But no state exports more products to China than California, or receives as much Chinese investment. The two economies are closely linked, even though Chinas restrictions on direct foreign investment and American Internet companies remain constant sources of friction. So do charges that Chinas government tolerates, encourages or may even engage in intellectual property theft. Its a complex and deep business relationship fraught with challenges, only exacerbated by a trade war, said Carl Guardino, CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a business association. Tariffs are like a boomerang that you throw at someone else without always realizing its going to circle back to hit you in the head. When trade with Hong Kong is included, California exported $28.5 billion in products to China in 2017, according to the U.S. Commerce Departments International Trade Administration. Electronic equipment tops the list, although agricultural products rank high as well. At the same time, the states imports from China about $160.5 billion per year dwarf its exports. But, as is often the case with international trade, the picture is complex. Many California companies such as Apple, with its iPhones manufacture products in China and bring them here for sale. China is Californias third-largest destination for agricultural exports, where more than $2 billion in exports went in 2016, up 18 percent from 2015, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture. In 2016, 46 percent of the states exported pistachios, 35 percent of its exported plums, 20 percent of exported oranges and 12 percent of exported almonds went to China. We know from experience that agriculture often becomes the victim when it comes to tariffs and retaliation, Ross said. Chinese officials released their list of targeted imports a day after Trump announced that his administration plans to slap tariffs on about $50 billion in Chinese imports, both to address the U.S. trade deficit with China and respond to the alleged theft of intellectual property from American companies. While China is a major customer for California products, Chinese companies and individuals have also increasingly poured investments into the state. A report last fall from the Rhodium Group, an economic consulting firm, found that California received more Chinese investment in 2016 $16 billion than any other state. Much of the money went into real estate and technology companies. For example, Chinese investors have backed California companies developing self-driving vehicles, while Chinese companies pursuing the same technology have opened their own labs in Silicon Valley. They employ people here, they certainly are spending a lot of R&D dollars in the state, and theres the prospect of more to come, said Thilo Hanemann, who heads Rhodiums research on global trade and investment. But that investment in cutting-edge technology under development in the United States has caused concern for the U.S. government, particularly under Trump. This month he blocked Broadcoms $117 million bid to purchase San Diegos Qualcomm due to concerns about how the deal could affect Americas technology competition with China, even though Broadcom is based in Singapore. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes While the possible tariffs unveiled Friday would not have a major effect on the state, a widening trade war could, according to Hanemann. A lot of Chinese companies are going to think twice about investing here, he said. With trade tensions between the two countries rising, Chinas consul general in San Francisco, Luo Linquan, hosted a dinner for local business leaders Wednesday. He told them that China planned to further open its economy to foreign products and investment, said Susanne Stirling, vice president of international affairs for the California Chamber of Commerce, who attended the dinner. She, in turn, pressed him on the need for more openness and transparency from his government, she said. The chamber, she said, would file comments with the Trump administration arguing against tariffs, hoping to avert a full-blown trade dispute. We really do recognize that there are issues with some of Chinas policies, Stirling said. So its a delicate balancing act of calling their attention to that without causing disruption to international trade. Chronicle staff writer Tara Duggan contributed to this report. Scends is back. After closing last year following a high-profile ownership change that involved Oakland Raider Marshawn Lynch, the beloved soul food spot is seeing new life this time in San Leandro. The new location, named Scends II, is a more streamlined version of the former flagship on San Pablo Avenue, good news for folks who missed the kitchens fried seafood dishes over the last few months. According to an employee at the restaurant on Friday, the new Scends quietly opened on March 14. The original restaurant, located on the border of Oakland and Emeryville, gained national attention last year when word spread Lynch was interested in taking the space over once its 80-year-old chef-owner, Cassie Nickelson, retired. A liquor license transfer from Nickelson to Lynch was filed in February and is still pending. About two decades ago, Nickelson was running a catering business out of her apartment in Oakland. Lynch lived nearby and would visit her home to buy her 75-cent hamburgers and 25-cent fries. During the ownership change last year, Nickelson said she was comfortable handing the business over to Lynch because of their relationship. In August, word came Lynch was going to reopen Scends as Rob Bens, a restaurant and lounge named after his friend Robert Benjamin who was gunned down on Oaklands 14th Street in December 2007. Lynch was looking to hire staff for the restaurant and lounge in August 2017. Rob Bens, at the time, also had an active Facebook page. The job ads and Rob Bens social media pages have since been taken down. Maybe with the new Scends up and running, this could be a sign Lynch is making progress with his own venture. As has been the case with the project, only time will tell. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. Welcome back Scends. Scends II: 635 E. 14th St., San Leandro; 510-567-3955; Open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday from noon to 7 p.m.; Closed on Monday MOCCASIN, Tuolumne County San Francisco officials on Friday were still trying to figure out why one of their dams in the Sierra foothills was driven to the edge of failure a day earlier, but engineering experts were quick to suspect errors in management. The relatively small Moccasin Reservoir, which was built in 1930 and is used primarily to regulate stream flows between larger reservoirs, was overwhelmed with water and debris during Thursdays storms, and the dam began to leak. Though water levels eventually receded, it wasnt before evacuations were ordered downstream out of concern that the earthen structure wouldnt be able to hold back Moccasin Creek in the rural area west of Yosemite. With improved weather Friday, officials with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission drained the reservoir so inspectors could better assess what went wrong. They said their preliminary examination had not yet revealed any major problems, saying only that heavy rain and high water had triggered the scare. Engineering experts, though, said dams like this one should be able to handle a surge of storm water. The dam has worked for a very long time with no serious problem, yet they get this challenge and they dont have the knowledge to deal with it, said Robert Bea, a professor emeritus and engineering expert at UC Berkeley who has consulted on dozens of infrastructure failures. It goes back to what I call the tragedy of neglect. Dam experts who had not been to the site would not speculate on a specific cause. But they said problems like the one at 60-foot-tall Moccasin Dam generally occur when operators fail to anticipate high water and dont adjust reservoir levels accordingly or result from a structural problem that has gone unaddressed or was unknown. In the case of Moccasin Reservoir, the threat emerged when water came in more quickly than it could be released, suggesting an issue with one of the outlets, experts said, possibly a compromised outflow chute or a blockage. Sometimes, typically, floating debris will clog up a spillway. That might have caused the water level to rise up, said Jay Lund, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Davis and an expert on dams. Once you start to see that, especially if you have debris clogging a spillway or an outlet structure, you want to get people out of there pretty quickly. Another possibility, experts said, was that the surging creek water was causing erosion to the base or sides of the reservoir, spawning the leaks and weakening the dam. In controlling flows on Moccasin Creek, the reservoirs water is generally released through a main spillway, essentially a concrete channel through the dam to the creek below. Theres also an unpaved, rock-lined backup spillway that carries water around the dam that was put to use Thursday. While threats of dam failures are rare, the age of Californias water structures was one of the problems behind a similar scare last year at 50-year-old Oroville Dam. Federal inspectors concluded that outdated construction and design of the reservoir, on top of failures to maintain the facility, led to the partial collapse of two spillways. Fears that water would spill out of the dam uncontrollably prompted the temporary evacuation of nearly 200,000 people. State inspection reports on the Moccasin Reservoir over the past five years did not cite any major problems. The SFPUC, which manages the city-owned Hetch Hetchy water system, declined to provide requested records. A preliminary examination of the dam after the near failure by state regulators, SFPUC officials said, found that the foundation of the dam didnt shift during Thursdays deluge, a sign that suggested the toll on the reservoir and dam was relatively light. Worst-case scenario, we have this event, it pushes the dam, said Chris Graham, water and power planning manager for the SFPUC, as he pointed toward one of the surveyors, who were working on land and by boat. Hes looking for even a millimeter in movement. Cleanup is going to be a mess, Graham added, but structural damage seems low to me. A fish hatchery remained under evacuation Friday, but site manager Justin Kroeze said there were likely big losses because of the high outflow from the dam. As far as the fish, it doesnt look too good, he said. But there might be some that are still swimming and could possibly be rescued. Im hoping they can be rescued. The power of the creek flows this week was evident Friday morning, where water had lapped onto the road leading to the dam, flattening road markers and leaving a thin coat of slick mud. Piles of washed-up dirt and tree litter had amassed on the shores. Inmate fire crews were brought in to clear debris. This was really a big (weather) event, said Steve Ritchie, the agencys assistant general manager for water. Between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Thursday, when the rush of water filled the reservoir, 2 to 4 inches of rain fell in the region, according to the National Weather Service. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Thats pretty uncommon for that area, said Cory Mueller, a meteorologist with the weather service in Sacramento. But as for the storm total, its not completely uncommon. Ritchie maintained that his staff handled the situation as best it could. Operationally, everyone did the right thing here and did it the right way, he said. Its just that when you get a lot of extra water, things happen. As a precaution, downstream evacuations remained in place Friday for a nearby campground and a handful of homes. A section of Highway 49, a major thoroughfare in Californias Gold Country, was still closed where creek water had flowed around the dam and scoured out the foundation beneath the road. Even if the dam had failed, officials said, the damage would have been limited. The reservoir is one of the agencys smallest, with a capacity of less than 1,000 acre-feet of water, and the floodwaters would have been caught a mile downstream in the much larger Don Pedro Reservoir. Also, the area is sparsely populated. The small community of Moccasin, which is home to offices and employees of the SFPUC, sits above the dam and was never in danger. Signs posted throughout the company town Friday warned residents to avoid drinking tap water, which comes from the reservoir, without first boiling it. The added turbidity, officials said, posed a health risk. The situation is not expected to improve for at least a week. Moccasin Reservoir is one of many water facilities that helps move water from San Franciscos Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and other lakes in the high Sierra to the Bay Area. It also provides a small amount of power. The SFPUC supplies water to about 2.7 million customers. Service was not interrupted by the scare and is not expected to be affected by the cleanup. For Jane Kim, nows the time to talk about cleaner streets The progressive supervisor, whose successes include generating affordable housing, takes pragmatic approach to run for mayor For Jane Kim, nows the time to talk about cleaner streets The progressive supervisor, whose successes include generating affordable housing, takes pragmatic approach to run for mayor When youre a city supervisor, a candidate for mayor and a progressive crafting big, bold ideas, its sometimes hard to find time for lunch. So when The Chronicle asked Supervisor Jane Kim to take us to her favorite place in San Francisco, she selected a spot where she could also squeeze in a meal: Turtle Tower, a Vietnamese restaurant in the Tenderloin that shes been frequenting for more than a decade. While answering questions, she drank a Thai iced tea and ate beef pho, Vietnamese noodle soup. Im a little OCD about how I eat pho, she explained between careful twirls of the noodles around her bright green chopsticks. I put the beef in the fish sauce, and then I make every spoonful individually. Its a little embarrassing. We asked Kim and the other three main contenders for mayor to take us to their favorite San Francisco location to get a sense of who they are off the campaign trail. Last week, we told you about former state Sen. Mark Lenos relaxed, thoughtful visit to the AIDS Memorial Grove, where his late partners name is etched in stone. Kim doesnt do relaxed. In the hour we were at Turtle Tower, the 40-year-old found time to hand out Lunar New Years greeting cards with her photo and campaign website to her fellow diners. She endorsed a candidate for Superior Court judge who brought paperwork to her table for her signature at the appointed meeting time. And she toured the kitchen with owner Stephen Pham, peering into the huge pots of broth he had simmering on the stove. Busy. Quick. Determined. To the point. Thats Kim, who on June 5 hopes to be elected San Franciscos first female Asian American mayor and the first progressive to sit in Room 200 in more than a quarter-century. Kim has been representing District Six, which includes the Tenderloin, South of Market and Mission Bay, on the Board of Supervisors since 2011. Before that, she was a civil rights attorney who served on the school board. Initially dismissed as a second-tier candidate behind Supervisor London Breed and former state Sen. Mark Leno in the mayors race, Kim has posted a surprisingly strong showing in recent polls and at debates. While Breed and Lenos backers squabble over everything from taking super PAC money to whether it was fair that Breed was ousted as acting mayor by the supervisors in January, Kim has stayed quietly above the fray, picking up key progressive endorsements like the Service Employees International Union, the San Francisco League of Pissed Off Voters and the San Francisco Berniecrats, fans of Bernie Sanders, the senator from Vermont who endorsed Kim in her failed bid against Scott Wiener for the state Senate. Kim is a pavement pounder and is spending a lot of time in neighborhoods all over the city, astutely or disingenuously, depending on your point of view telling voters what they want to hear. For example, her main policy platform, San Francisco Loves Clean Streets, is a new one for her, and she tells voters constantly about how shes disgusted by the citys grime. She wants to employ homeless people to clean the streets, double the number of pit stop public bathrooms and double the number of street cleaners. Asked in our podcast, On San Francisco, what she would do immediately after being inaugurated, Kim said, Clean our streets. ... I want this to be a city that were all proud to live in, and I dont think anyone should have to step over feces or needles on their way to work or to school with their children. Sounds great. But plenty of residents of District Six wonder why she didnt push this issue until running for mayor. Theyve been stepping over feces and needles for years. She doesnt respond to any emails, said Aman Jabbi, a 52-year-old entrepreneur who has lived in SoMa since 1999 and says the conditions on the streets have gotten slum-like during Kims tenure. The sidewalks are filled with junkies, with homeless people, with drug dealers, he continued. Shes only in it for her political career. Shes not there to fully serve the people. Rebecca Peacock, a 24-year-old receptionist who has lived in SoMa for a year, said shes seen piles of syringes and bloody napkins outside her apartment building and constantly looks at the ground when shes walking to avoid stepping in human waste. Peacock, co-organizer for the New SOMA Coalition, which pushes for more housing and transit, said Kim will not get her vote. I feel like she is kind of willing to follow whatever political winds are blowing, Peacock said. With her as mayor, theres no telling what well get. But former Supervisor John Avalos, who has endorsed Kim, said these assessments arent fair. Kim was a champion of expanding the pit stop program and looks at the issue of homelessness holistically, rather than pushing the easy but ineffective clearing of tent encampments, he said. Kim has called on the campaign trail to move homeless shelters under the control of the Department of Public Health to emphasize treatment and to expand medical respite centers neither of which is a quick fix, but could help homeless people and improve the quality of life for everybody in the long term. No elected official wants to see tent encampments in San Francisco, but we also think people should be treated humanely, and that is Janes main point, Avalos said. The issue of dirty streets is more nuts-and-bolts than some of Kims previous big ideas. Shes proposed taxes on robots, taxes on CEO pay and city-funded, free birth control, none of which came to fruition. San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim poses for a portrait inside City Hall in San Francisco., on Fri. January 5, 2018. San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim poses for a portrait inside City Hall in San Francisco., on Fri. January 5, 2018. Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close For Jane Kim, nows the time to talk about cleaner streets 1 / 14 Back to Gallery But other big ideas, like free City College and strong-arming the San Francisco Giants into including an eyepopping 40 percent affordable housing in their Mission Rock development, have become reality. She was also a key player in passing the Twitter tax break to lure the social media company and other tech firms to Mid-Market. Shes also pushing a June ballot measure to raise the citys commercial gross receipts tax to pay for subsidized child care and raise the pay of child care workers. I have introduced a ton of ideas, and I have been able to win on a number of them, she said. The question that is often asked is, Can progressives lead? They have great ideas, they have great vision, and people are generally on board with a more equitable society ... but can they actually run a city? And to answer her own question? I dont want to just have platitudes and a vision, she said. I want to accomplish things. Its issues like free City College and subsidized child care that seem to inspire progressives to back Kim. Nina Turner, president of Our Revolution, a national group of Sanders supporters San Francisco Berniecrats is its local chapter said Kim earned the groups endorsement because shes been fighting for the rights of people who live on the margins of society for her entire life. Kim grew up in Manhattan, the daughter of immigrants from Seoul. Her father worked as an accountant before becoming an attorney, and her mother ran a boutique selling womens clothing. Kim said she practically grew up in the back room of her moms shop. I read on a pile of sweaters, she said. I always joke that was my after-school program and summer school. Curiously, she couldnt remember the name of the boutique. Or, during our podcasts fun lightning-round questions, the name of her favorite burrito joint in the city. (Oh, gosh. I dont actually know the name of it. Its on 24th Street, she said.) Or her favorite movie based in San Francisco. (I see one movie every year, she said. This is a terrible question for me.) Or, when I did some fact-checking a few weeks after our interview, the name of the judge she endorsed while we were at Turtle Tower. After I described what he looked like and scoured the ballot, we pieced together that it was Andrew Cheng, who is being challenged by a public defender in June. But get her started on big policy matters, and the graduate of Stanford (double major in political science and Asian American studies) and UC Berkeley School of Law is clearly wonky and whip-smart. Her former legislative aide, Sunny Angulo, said Kim has an attorneys brain. Shes very analytical, extremely organized, Angulo said, noting Kim can get excited about environmental impact reports or sole-source contracting. Shes an introvert, Angulo continued. Its hard for people to see sometimes the soul that she has, but she has a lot of soul. That soul pours out when Kim talks about the importance of a rich, liberal city like San Francisco standing strong against the conservative tide that has swept parts of the country. One of the reasons Im running for mayor is I believe we can take care of everybody in San Francisco, she said. San Francisco has to be that beacon. We have to be the foil to whats happening in Washington, D.C., and state capitols throughout the country. We have to invest in our citizens again. Like paying for their City College. Like paying for their child care. Like providing far more affordable housing. These kinds of progressive beliefs have shaped Kim for decades. As a high school student, she refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance because she didnt believe there was truly liberty and justice for all. She resumed saying the pledge in 2013 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act, which denied federal recognition of same-sex marriage, was unconstitutional. She worked at New York Citys Coalition on Homelessness as a teenager and got a job as a community organizer at the Chinatown Community Development Center in San Francisco after graduating from Stanford. But Kim has struggled to spin her personal story into campaign gold, as Breed has done by talking about how she was raised by her grandmother in public housing and as Leno has done by talking about losing his partner to AIDS. Kim said she fared better in her failed state Senate race against Wiener when it was a hyper-wonky, policy-oriented debate. Its more narrative-oriented, she said of the mayors race. I dont think Ive successfully pivoted in that way. That struggle might also be because shes less gregarious and chatty than her competitors. She is very shy at times, said Avalos, a longtime friend. Shes a little guarded. But theres another side to Kim: the downright cool side. She took up tae kwon do as a teenager and earned her black belt but stopped because of lack of time. She said she tried some jujitsu classes last year, but dropped those because of time constraints, too. She also plays electric bass and used to be a member of a female indie-rock band called Strangely. In short, Kim is a badass. An overscheduled badass, but a badass nonetheless. She said shes been inspired by Asian American girls coming up to her on the campaign trail saying, My mom has told me I can become an elected official like you. That makes me really excited, but also I dont want to be a source of pressure, like my parents were to me about becoming a doctor or lawyer, Kim said, noting her mom and dad werent initially supportive of her entering politics. It took a while, but now theyre fully on board. Her dad even has her name on Google Alerts and reads every word written about his impressive daughter. Whether the alert after June 5 means good news for her or bad, hell be one of the first to know. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight appears Sundays and Tuesdays. Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hknightsf Online extras To see a video of Jane Kim: bit.ly/jane-kim-video To hear an On San Francisco podcast interview: bit.ly/jane-kim-podcast Bear Grylls: Face the Wild premieres today on Facebook Watch. The survival expert will surprise 10 of his most ardent fans with an invitation to join him facing the wild. Go to www.facebook.com/watch. The X-Files wraps season 11 at 8 p.m on Fox. Other season finales: Speechless at 8:30 p.m. on ABC, Alone Together at 8:31 on Freeform, 9-1-1 at 9 on Fox, American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace at 10 on FX. MOCCASIN, Tuolumne County Heavy rain in the Sierra foothills pushed a small dam within San Franciscos Hetch Hetchy water system to the brink of failure Thursday, sending a brief scare through the rural region where roads were closed and a few dozen residents were forced to evacuate. Officials at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission said the danger in the area, west of Yosemite National Park, had diminished by nightfall as the storm gave way. There was no interruption to water service for the agencys 2.7 million Bay Area customers. But questions remained about why the nearly 90-year-old Moccasin Reservoir, which is used primarily to regulate stream flows and had not experienced any major problems in recent years, suddenly threatened to shoot a blast of water uncontrollably downstream. The intensity of the precipitation was really quite high here, said Steve Ritchie, assistant general manager for water for the Public Utilities Commission. He said more would be known later this week, once the agency lowered the reservoirs water level and thoroughly inspected the facility. Only minor damage was reported. Water officials say the problem began when Thursdays storm swelled Moccasin Creek with an unusual amount of water and pushed the surging stream and all its debris into the reservoir just below the community of Moccasin. Dam operators were unable to let water out of the reservoirs two spillways as fast as water was coming in. The face of the dam began to leak, officials said. The flow overwhelmed the emergency spillway system of the dam and the water rose to levels that concerned us, said Todd Elmer, spokesman for the Public Utilities Commission. Shortly after 1 p.m., water officials activated the reservoirs emergency plan. Evacuations were ordered for a fish hatchery beneath the dam, a few dozen residents near the creek and a campground and marina about a mile downstream at Don Pedro Reservoir. Roads in the sparsely populated area were closed, including Highway 49, which runs near the reservoir and where surging flows from the lake began pouring onto the hillside beneath the road. There was so much water and so much debris coming at such a quick pace that the water tried to find a path around the dam and started eating away at the road, said Rich Estrada, a Caltrans spokesman. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning, reporting that the dam was at risk of imminent failure. By 6 p.m., though, stream levels had dropped, and the Public Utilities Commission said the reservoir was stable. Evacuations remained in effect overnight as a precaution. Even if the dam did fail, officials said the impact would be limited. The reservoir is one of the water agencys smallest, with a capacity of less than 1,000 acre-feet of water, and floodwaters would be caught downriver in the much larger Don Pedro Reservoir. Threats of dam failure in California are extremely rare. However, the last major reservoir scare was just over a year ago. Two spillways at the state-run Oroville Dam partially gave out, prompting authorities to order nearly 200,000 people to evacuate out of fear that a wall of water would gush out of the facility. State and federal officials have since boosted dam safety inspections. Moccasin Reservoir was last inspected in May, according to state officials. The safety evaluation was not immediately available. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Ritchie, with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, said near-record rainfall in winter 2016-17 similarly pushed a lot of water into Moccasin Creek, but the dam has not had any major problems as long as he can remember. Moccasin D am was built in 1930. Its an earthen structure 60 feet high and 720 feet long . Water can be released from the reservoir through a main spillway, where it pours over a concrete lip into the creek, and a backup, rock-lined spillway that carries flows around the dam. The dam is used to generate a small amount of power and to control flows on Moccasin Creek between the High Sierra and Don Pedro. Its not a major water storage site. The community of Moccasin, above the dam, is home to offices and employees of the Public Utilities Commission and serves as a hub in San Franciscos sprawling water-delivery network from the mountains. Chronicle staff writer Dominic Fracassa contributed to this report. I am truly obsessed with Oprah, and once she put in her favorite-things list this gratitude jar, and it was only $45, so I immediately thought, My price range! Its a glass jar with the word gratitude on it, and it comes with little notes. Every night before bed, I write one thing Im grateful for, and it can be something that happened that day, like I paid my bills on time or Im so grateful for my fans, and at the end of the year, you look at all the things that happened in your life, and it reminds you that whatever your stresses are or whatever didnt go your way, a lot of things did go your way. I loved it so much, I got one for my parents, and theyre nuts about it. I didnt get them two. They have one to share. Theyre married! President Donald Trump's choice of John Bolton as his new national security adviser - and his ongoing escalation of trade hostilities and reshuffling of his legal team - have all been widely interpreted as evidence that Trump is finally governing and conducting himself as he wanted to all along. He's tired of advisers who are steering him away from his true agenda and persona, goes this narrative; instead, he's finally getting back to the basics that make Trump who he really is. But this framing is built on a distortion that underplays just how dangerous Trump's evolution really threatens to become. What's really happening is that Trump is increasingly surrounding himself with advisers who are better than the "adults in the room" at manipulating his erratic and shifting impulses and whims, by giving a shape to them that he can accept and act upon. Axios reports Friday morning that sources close to Trump say he "feels" that Bolton "will finally deliver the foreign policy the president wants" on Iran and North Korea. What makes this account almost certainly dead on is the word "feels." As Michael Warren of the Weekly Standard points out, Bolton has skillfully used his conservative media perches to send messages to Trump that nudge him towards "more hawkish stances," by "casting them as fulfillments of Trump's own pledges and true beliefs." Bolton wants to bomb Iran. There is no particular reason to believe that Trump either favors or opposes that stance. Trump knows that the Iran nuclear deal is bad because Barack Obama negotiated it; Trump knows Trump is strong and Obama is weak; and Trump knows his supporters cheered when he vowed to rip the agreement to shreds. But Trump has not meaningfully articulated why we should pull out of it, because he can't. And so, when Trump was debating whether to certify the Iran deal last summer, and was unhappy with advisers urging him to do so on substantive grounds, then-adviser Stephen K. Bannon handed him a piece by Bolton urging him to decertify. Bolton's piece cast that as the only course consistent with Trump's "view that the Iran deal was a diplomatic debacle," because Obama had given Iran "unimaginably favorable terms." Trump has no idea whether this is true or not - it isn't - but it persuaded Trump to come close to decertifying, though ultimately the adults prevailed that time. The point is that Trump doesn't grasp the details, but Bolton skillfully gave shape to his impulses. Now Bolton will be in an even better position to persuade Trump to kill the Iran deal, and if and when that happens, to push Trump more in the direction of his own bellicose designs, which Bolton will almost certainly cast as in keeping with Trump's vow to be tougher than Obama. Or take North Korea. Everyone knows that when Trump agreed to meet with Kim Jong-Un, he did so on an impulse, with no thought through rationale or sense of the risks and complexities involved. Bolton wants to go to war with North Korea and has dismissed talks. But he cleverly greeted Trump's announcement by describing it as "shock and awe" and an opportunity for Trump to give North Korea an ultimatum if it does not immediately begin "total denuclearization." This, too, gave a shape to Trump's impulse that he will very likely find flattering, but also one that might move Trump towards Bolton's position. If Trump now "feels" that Bolton will give him the policies he wants on Iran and North Korea, it's because Bolton is skilled at making Trump feel that way. And that's ominous, because it means Bolton may be able to push Trump towards believing that Bolton's goals are a realization of his own foreign policy vision, such as it is. And that foreign policy vision is formless. During the campaign, Trump opposed the Iraq War, sending the message that he won't get drawn into the misguidedly idealistic or stupidly conceived military adventurism so typical of our clueless, corrupt elites. But Trump has never been either antiwar or an isolationist. His posture was rather that he will magically smash our enemies and aggressively represent our interests abroad effortlessly, without any serious cost, because he's tougher, stronger, and smarter than those elites. How hard will it be for Bolton to shape those impulses into something more in line with his own vision? On trade, the process leading up to Trump's decision to impose tariffs was a joke with no regard for specifics. But it did showcase the rising star of trade adviser Alex Navarro, who unabashedly stated that he had provided the "analytics" to "confirm his intuition," which is "always right." Trump just pushed out legal adviser John Dowd, who advised careful cooperation with Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, and has added Joe diGenova, who has fed Trump's fantasies of a deep state plot against him, signaling the much more aggressive confrontation with Mueller that Trump clearly craves, without having the foggiest strategic rationale. In both cases, these people are successfully giving shape to Trump's impulses. As New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg recently observed, one after another, the people who are supposed to be "checking Donald Trump's worst instincts and most erratic whims" have departed. But this doesn't mean Trump is getting back to being who he always wanted to be. It means he is increasingly listening to people who are good at exploiting and shaping those instincts and whims. Donald Trump is moving into a new and more dangerous phase. Before, he was constrained by a few adults Rex Tillerson, Gary Cohn, H.R. McMaster and John Kelly whom he appointed because he thought they had some expertise he lacked. Now, Trump has either fired or is in the process of removing the adults. Hes replacing them with a Star Wars cantina of toadies and sycophants who will reflect back at him his own glorious view of himself and help sell it on TV. Narcissists are dangerous because they think only about themselves. Megalomaniacs are dangerous because they think only about their power and invincibility. A narcissistic megalomaniac whos unconstrained and whos also president of the United States is about as dangerous as they come. The man who once said he could shoot someone dead on Fifth Avenue and still be elected president now openly boasts of lying to the Canadian prime minister, decides on his own to negotiate mano a mano with North Koreas Kim Jong Un, unilaterally slaps tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, and demands the death penalty for drug dealers. For weeks, Trump has been pulling big policy pronouncements out of his derriere and then leaving it up to the White House to improvise explanations and implementation plans. Trump is increasingly flying solo, Catherine Lucey and Jonathan Lemire of the Associated Press reported earlier this month. Trump has told confidants recently that he wants to be less reliant on his staff, believing they often give bad advice, and that he plans to follow his own instincts, which he credits with his stunning election. Trump has always had faith in his instincts. Im speaking with myself, No. 1, because I have a very good brain and Ive said a lot of things, Trump said on the campaign trail. Im a very instinctual person, but my instinct turns out to be right, he told Time magazine last year. But instincts arent facts, logic or analysis. Its one thing for a business tycoon or even a presidential candidate to rely on instincts, quite another for the leader of the free world to rely solely on his gut. Worse yet, the new Trump believes no one can lay a glove on him. Hes survived this far into his presidency despite lapses that would have done in most other presidents. So what if he paid off a porn star to keep quiet about their affair? So what if hes raking in money off his presidency? So what if theres no evidence for his claims that 3 million to 5 million fraudulent votes were cast for Hillary Clinton, or that Obama wiretapped him? There are no consequences. The new Trump doesnt worry that his approval ratings continue to be in the cellar. By his measure, hes come out on top: His cable-TV ratings are huge. Fox News loves him. He dominates every news cycle. The pre-selected crowds at his rallies roar their approval. Hes become the Mad King who says or does anything his gut tells him to, while his courtiers genuflect. How will this end? One possible outcome is that Trump becomes irrelevant to the practical business of governing America. He gets all the attention he craves while decision-makers in Washington and around the world mainly roll their eyes and ignore him. Theres some evidence this is already happening. Trumps big infrastructure plan was dead on arrival in Congress. His surprise spending deal with Democrats Chuck and Nancy went nowhere. His momentary embrace of gun-control measures in the wake of a Florida school shooting quickly evaporated. Meanwhile, world leaders are now taking Trumps braggadocio and ignorance for granted, acting as if America has no president. But another possible outcome could be far worse. Trump could become so enraged at anyone who seriously takes him on that he lashes out, with terrible consequences. Furious that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has expanded his investigation, an unbridled Trump could fire him precipitating a constitutional crisis and, in effect, a civil war between Trump supporters and the rest of America. Feeling insulted and defied by Kim Jong Un, an unconstrained Trump could order an attack on North Korea precipitating a nuclear war. The mind boggles. Who knows what a mad king will do when no adults remain to supervise him? 2018 Robert Reich For a lesson in by-the-book romantic comedy, itd be hard to get more formulaic than ACTs Heisenberg. Simon Stephens play, which opened Wednesday, March 21, at ACTs Geary Theater, has all your favorite tropes. In Georgie (Sarah Grace Wilson), an American woman who claims to be a waitress, theres yet another quirky, adorable, slightly profane, compulsively chatty iteration of the genres long line of manic pixie dream girls. Im really weird! she pronounces. In Alex (James Carpenter), an Irish-born butcher, theres another taciturn man who can absorb her torrent of prattle, whom she can draw out and perhaps save from his humdrum life. And when he does talk, he gets to teach her how to listen to music it exists in the spaces between the notes and give monologues about going for long walks. Of course, the woman instantly falls for a man whos surly or shy toward her. To that setup, playwright Stephens adds still more retrograde male fantasies. What if Georgies not really in love with Alex, but just using him all along, a la a femme fatale? But perhaps also like a femme fatale, she can be tamed, and then, like a damsel in distress, rescued, thanks to Alexs resources and his apparently unlimited forgiveness and generosity. It must be exhausting to be so perfect, to have to try to bring the errant, childlike women around you up to your level by setting a good example. Despite all these glaring flaws, the two actors, directed by Hal Brooks, often make for charming company, bringing to a mediocre script more craft, commitment and thoughtfulness than it deserves. Carpenter can have a storm cloud darken his countenance seemingly without stirring a single facial muscle. In rare moments when Alex gets to speak at length, Carpenter, a renowned classical actor, makes each thought into a springboard to the next, giving his speech a kind of capering inner locomotion. Wilson has the more improbable character, but her unwavering dedication to whats happening in the present moment helps justify lines that should merit only an eye roll. Georgie has to leapfrog from divulgence to divulgence shes the kind of person for whom having a thought means she must voice it but Wilson makes a home in each of Georgies spastic non sequiturs, as if she might spend the whole play in each passing fancy. Kevin Berne/American Conservatory Theater But some eye rolls even she cant stave off. Do we really have to listen to come-ons like I bet youre really good at tickling people, arent you? or Would you like to sleep with me?? Would any real human being ever actually say out loud that having sex with somebody whos not had sex for a long time is one of my favorite things? They wouldnt, yet the play requires her to because it couldnt exist without her shamelessly prodding it along, one outlandish outburst at a time. (Without that construct, both characters would just go home.) Brooks design team doesnt do much in the helping-the-play-actually-exist department either. The script calls for a spare aesthetic, yet scenic designer Alexander V. Nichols inexplicably makes a set like the dais of a college lecture hall, complete with light wood and bland blue curtains. Blocky rectangles of light slide across the curtains during transitions, evoking the standby screen of a censored TV station, the very definition of default. Heisenberg gets its title from a brief metaphoric reference to its namesakes uncertainty principle. Here its supposedly humans positions and paths that are impossible to predict, but Stephens characters, if anything, would seem to disprove that law of physics. Lily Janiak is The San Francisco Chronicles theater critic. Email: ljaniak@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LilyJaniak Heisenberg: Written by Simon Stephens. Directed by Hal Brooks. Through April 8. 85 minutes. $15-$110, subject to change. ACTs Geary Theater, 415 Geary St., S.F. (415) 749-2228. www.act-sf.org To see a trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kwMjwZx3Ek In a city where puffer jackets and hoodies are the fog-fighting outerwear of choice, fur has suddenly become the talk of the town. San Francisco became the largest city in the country to ban the sale of new fur, following West Hollywood in 2011 and Berkeley in 2017, when the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in support of a measure on March 20. It would go into effect in January 2019. The reaction from the citys social and fashion crowd has been mixed. I am thrilled that San Francisco is joining the fur-free movement and taking such a progressive stance, said Vanessa Getty, a longtime animal-rights advocate who founded San Francisco Bay Humane Friends, and is a member of the Peninsula Humane Society and a board member of Orangutan Foundation International. San Francisco is setting a tone of compassion that reflects the strong social conscience of our city, she said. Others were less pleased. Its a storm in a teacup, said former fashion model and Harpers Bazaar contributor Tatiana Sorokko. With so many real issues to focus on like homelessness, sanitation issues on the streets, the drop in tourism instead they focus on this? David Nash The ban was authored by Supervisor Katy Tang and does not affect the sale of previously owned fur or leather products. It will take effect next year, but merchants will have an additional year to sell off their fur inventory. The ban defines fur products as any article of clothing or accessory, including fur key chains, made in whole or in part of fur. Some women who choose to wear fur in the city were not surprised by the bans passage. I knew it was coming, said fashion blogger Sobia Shaikh of San Francisco. She no longer plans to wear her real fur pieces in the city. Do I own fur? Yes. Do I support the ban? To a degree. I wont lie and call my real fur eco (faux) fur. Im not giving it up entirely, but Ill be more conscious. San Francisco has had a mixed relationship with fur in fashion. Fur historically has been a status symbol and staple of affluent womens wardrobes in the United States. But animal-rights activism in the 1970s and 80s led to it being less desirable by depicting the plight of animals in fur farms in graphic public campaigns and protests. Meanwhile, the image of blood-red paint being thrown on fur coats is a cultural touchstone of radical anti-fur activism. For many who lived in San Francisco in the 1990s, memories of protests against Union Square stores that sold fur by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) remain vivid. Whether its due to eco consciousness or tepid weather, many agree that fur is worn less frequently in the Bay Area than in cold-weather fashion capitals like New York and Paris. Juanito Garza / San Antonio Express-News Nevertheless, attendees at boutique events and gala celebrations regularly wear fur coats and wraps when the temperature dips, or just when they decide the occasion calls for it. Designer department stores Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, which have dedicated fur salons, did not respond to The Chronicles request for comment. A representative of Barneys New York said: We dont have any comment to make at this time. Nordstrom said it will need to review the final language in the ordinance to understand the impacts it may have on our business moving forward. But its not just luxury department stores that are targeted: Boutiques, specialty shops and discount retailers ranging from high-end Wilkes Bashford (which also did not respond to requests for comment) to Macys will also be affected by the ban. San Francisco social figure and fashion blogger Sonya Molodetskaya, who estimates she owns probably 20 fur pieces, mostly coats and jackets, does not support the ban. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. I honestly think 11 people cannot make a decision like that, she said of the Board of Supervisors. Those people I guarantee never had fur in their lives. Ive been wearing real fur since I was 2 months old in Russia. We wore it to survive! My mother put me in a rabbit blanket as a baby, but I ended up in sable. Molodetskaya doesnt use high-end fur like mink or sable in her fashion line, Major Obsessions, opting for less expensive Mongolian lamb fur and feathers. She believes the decision to sell fur should be up to businesses, not the city. It would be a great idea to open up a fur shop outside the city to sell to the women in San Francisco, she joked. Ill still buy fur in other cities. Itll be interesting to see how much fur the Palo Alto Neiman Marcus will now carry. Camille Bently, the executive director of the Bently Foundation, said that even before she knew about the potential ban she was disheartened by the amount of fur we were seeing at the social events in San Francisco. I would cringe every time I got an invite to a fur salon. Bently said that the foundation, whose funding emphasis includes environmental and animal welfare giving, is proud to support projects in a city that views the banning of new fur as a priority and believes that it will also open the door to innovation and creativity in the faux fur market. Getty pointed out that its not just San Francisco where the tide is turning against new fur. Major fashion houses such as Gucci, Versace, Michael Kors and Furla are no longer using fur in their designs, she said. There are so many incredible faux fur options these days. San Francisco retailer Chris Ospital of the Modern Appealing Clothing (MAC) boutiques said that she and her brother Ben have never sold real fur in their 37 years in business. Fake furs, with their bright colors and interesting textures, are more interesting. As people who have pets, its hard to see an animal used that way, Ospital said. I think theres no contest. I feel prettier in a fake fur. Chinas announcement on Friday that it would impose new tariffs on U.S. goods came as unwelcome news to California vintners, who anticipate that the extra 15 percent charge on wine that China is planning could have disastrous effects on an increasingly important segment of their businesses. As the fastest-growing wine market in the world, China is a crucial target for California wineries. The value of U.S. wine exports to China has increased 450 percent in the past decade, according to the Wine Institute, reaching $197 million in 2017. Chinas threat to levy tariffs on a host of U.S. goods came in response to President Trumps move Thursday to impose duties on $60 billion worth of Chinese products. Although the full implications of the tariff were still unclear Friday and Chinas statement did not say when any new tariff would take effect many in the California wine industry speculated there would be a significant impact. Theres nothing positive about this, said Michael Havens, an export broker with the firm California American Terroirs. For brands that export to the Peoples Republic, I cant imagine the response wont be damaging. The Wine Institute issued a statement Friday morning urging all parties involved to resolve this dispute in a way that does not harm consumers or the hundreds of thousands of workers who rely on the wine industry for their livelihoods. California wineries have fought hard to gain a foothold in the burgeoning Chinese wine market. China began to discover imported wines about 20 years ago, said David Amadia, president of Ridge Vineyards in Cupertino. However, consumers interest was initially confined to French wines, particularly from Bordeaux. But over the last decade, Amadia and others in the industry have spent considerable time in China trying to educate consumers and create demand for California wine. It was a slow start, he said, but in the last five years Ridge has seen consistent sales growth in China, and its wine is now in Michelin-star restaurants in Shanghai and Beijing. Mid-tier wines may be the most vulnerable. The demand in China is for the entry level, and then the high end, said Havens. Will a 15 percent cost increase stop Chinese collectors from buying wines like Harlan, whose U.S. release price is $850? Maybe not. But 15 percent could make a big difference for wines at the $20 or $30 range. Meanwhile, as Chinas domestic wine industry continues to rise the country is now the seventh-largest producer of wine in the world another concern is that Chinese consumers could turn away from imported wines, especially those subject to high taxes, in favor of their domestic product. Or maybe theyll turn to wine from nations that have more favorable trade agreements with China. Without question, these new tariffs imposed on our industry will affect our ability to be competitive against countries like Australia and Chile, which dont have such tariffs, said Corey Beck, CEO of Francis Ford Coppola Winery. The tariff might not affect all California wineries equally. In fact, one of the most successful wineries exporting to China Napa Valleys Opus One may be one of the least affected. Although Opus One sells a full 15 percent of its wine sold internationally in China and Hong Kong, all of its wine sold outside of the U.S. originates in the European Union, since the winery is jointly owned by a French company. Trade policy between the U.S. and China, therefore, may not have a direct impact. Exporting wine to China is already a difficult and expensive proposition for American wine producers. Under Chinas existing regulations, wines are subject to an import custom duty, excise tax and value-added tax, which can increase the bottle price by 41 percent. But even that underestimates the true cost, said Paul Roberts, chief operating officer of Colgin in Napa Valley. Whatever our price is in the U.S., it ends up being about 100 percent more in China, Roberts said. (The 2014 vintage of Colgins flagship wine costs $550 in the U.S.) The prospect of passing along an additional 15 percent to the Chinese consumer would make Colgins wine accessible to even fewer drinkers, he said. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. Hong Kong was a larger market for U.S. wine in 2017 than was mainland China, according to the Wine Institute report, and many vintners report that Hong Kongs compliance requirements are considerably easier to meet. In fact, Roberts suspects that much of the Colgin wine thats sold in mainland China has arrived there via Hong Kong, transferred in the so-called gray market. Could the new tariffs force even more high-end wine sales underground? Havens, the California American Terroirs export broker, for now has stopped working in the Chinese market. The payback is not worth those duties and an onerous compliance burden, he said. China is in the top tier of difficulty among all countries we export to. But many U.S. wineries feel that they cant afford to ignore a wine market whose consumption habits are growing so rapidly. And for those who have worked hard to establish a presence in China, the tariff announcement felt like a low blow. There arent a lot of categories in which U.S. products have been this successful in China, particularly on the consumer side, said Ridges Amadia. A lot of people have put in a lot of hard work to find this success. The tariff threat, he continued, makes me feel like weve really been hung out to dry in this whole process. It's a rock star twist on an all-too-common San Francisco story. Last week, after performing with Steve Aoki at an annual gala for the Red Cross, electric violinist Dave Kim of Sausalito thought nothing of putting his two violins in a case in the trunk of his Jeep parked on Hayes and Pierce streets in Alamo Square. When he returned in the morning, he was greeted with an unpleasant sight familiar to those who park in the touristy area around the Painted Ladies: shattered glass, belongings that had been rifled through, and valuables nowhere to be found. In Kim's case, that meant the two violins, both of which he has owned for more than a decade, the first a unique, five-string one that he described as "irreplaceable" and valued at $4,000, and the second a clear light-up model worth $2,000. "To have my violins stolen, I mean they're like my babies," he said. "I have kids, but I had them before I had kids." The Red Cross gig was one of many high-profile shows Kim has played over the course of his 40-year relationship with the violin. He's opened for Third Eye Blind, and Hootie and the Blowfish, and performed on Richard Branson's private island on three separate occasions. But the violins carried more than just professional memories; They also bore an added sentimental weight, because 19 months ago, Kim had a stroke and was temporarily paralyzed, and Saturday's show was the culmination of a lot of hard-earned progress toward recovery. "Not being able to play was traumatic for me," he said. "And I worked my ass off to be able to get back to walking and playing again." Kim is far from alone in his painful experience. Car break-ins occur at an average rate of three per hour in San Francisco. People have had everything from ashes of loved ones and wedding pictures to family photos salvaged from their burned-down homes stolen from their cars in the past year. What does make the story rarer is that he actually got his stuff back, an experience he credits to Tile, a bluetooth tracking device that connects to an app and can help people track down lost items such as keys and wallets. He first bought a Tile for his violin and downloaded the app when he performed at Burning Man last year, he said. When he first checked the app, it said his violins were in the Outer Mission, but when he went to the area, it wasn't able to locate exactly where the items were, only a rough radius that was too densely packed with buildings for him to search. But on Monday morning, he noticed the violins had moved south to a less dense area in Daly City and went to go look. He noticed the signal seemed to be coming from the apartments above a convenience store. "I talked to the lady at the register and asked who lived upstairs. She did, with her husband," said Kim. He learned the woman's husband had recently purchased violins from a friend of a friend. "He was surprised like a deer caught in the headlights," Kim said. "He was very cooperative." Overwhelmed by the reunion, Kim cried. Filipa Ioannou and Alix Martichoux are SFGATE staff writers. Email: fioannou@sfchronicle.com, amartichoux@sfchronicle.com Citigroup is setting restrictions on the sale of firearms by its business customers, making it the first Wall Street bank to take a stance in the nationwide gun control debate. The policy, announced Thursday, prohibits the sale of firearms to customers who have not passed a background check or who are younger than 21. It also bars the sale of bump stocks and high-capacity magazines. It would apply to clients who offer credit cards backed by Citigroup or borrow money, use banking services or raise capital through the company. The rules, which the company described as common-sense measures, echo similar restrictions established by some major retailers, such as Walmart. But they also represent the boldest such move from the banking sector. Since last months deadly school shooting in Parkland, Fla., renewed calls for remedies to firearms violence have led to sweeping consumer boycotts and unprecedented moves by corporate America to distance itself from the powerful gun lobby. But federal lawmakers have taken limited action, and President Trump quickly abandoned a promise to pursue gun control measures, instead promoting proposals backed by the National Rifle Association to arm teachers. The financial services and investment community was even less engaged, staying mostly quiet on suggestions that it wield its considerable influence over gun merchants to encourage firearms-related changes. Citigroups gun policy has been a while coming, CEO Michael Corbat said in an interview Thursday. Corbat, who called himself an avid outdoorsman and responsible gun owner, acknowledged that some will find our policy too strict while others will find it too lenient. We dont pretend that these answers are perfect, but as we looked at the things we thought we could influence, we felt that, working with our clients, we could make a difference, he said. Banks serve a societal purpose we believe our investors want us to do this and be responsible corporate citizens. Citigroup said it had begun to inform existing small business and credit card clients and commercial and institutional partners of its plan and would screen future partners using the new requirements. The bank said it has few gun manufacturing companies as clients, but those it does work with will be asked to provide details about their product and distribution networks. If business customers decline Citigroups restrictions, the bank said it would work with them to transition their business away. The company declined to name clients or describe the extent of affected partnerships but said that real revenue is at risk if relationships fall through and customers protest. Some of Citigroups clients, such as Walmart, already adhere to the new policies. Edward Skyler, an executive vice president at Citi, wrote in a blog post that the companys announcement will invite passion on both sides. But he stressed that the policies are not centered on an ideological mission to rid the world of firearms. After various mass shootings, we have waited for our grief to turn into action and see our nation adopt common-sense measures that would help prevent firearms from getting into the wrong hands, he wrote. That action has sadly never come and as the weeks pass from the most recent mass shooting, it appears we remain in the same cycle of tragedy and inaction. Wall Street is deeply tied to the sprawling, opaque gun industry through pension funds that buy into public gun companies, private equity firms with firearms holdings and financial institutions that back sizable loans to handgun and rifle manufacturers. In recent weeks, both Bank of America and asset manager BlackRock said they had reached out to firearms manufacturers and distributors to ask about their responses to mass shootings, and strategies to stop them. American Outdoor Brands, the parent company of the Smith & Wesson gun brand, replied to BlackRock in a public letter this month, saying that it respects the national debate about gun safety and shares the nations grief over the Parkland killings and the desire to make our communities safer. But American Outdoor, whose stock price has been more than halved since the 2016 election, stressed that the solution is not to take a politically motivated action that results in no increase in public safety. Last month, the First National Bank of Omaha, which said it would not renew a contract with the National Rifle Association to issue an NRA-branded Visa card, led a quick succession of companies to cut ties with the trade group. YouTube said this week that it would start removing videos next month that promote the sale or manufacture of firearms and accessories, especially those that allow simulated automatic firing, such as bump stocks. On March 12, gun manufacturer Sturm Ruger addressed shareholder concerns in a letter that promised to continue manufacturing and selling semiautomatic firearms, or what the industry refers to as modern sporting rifles. In the letter, the company said that succumbing to political pressure to do what is expedient would fly in the face of our fiduciary responsibility as stewards of the company for the benefit of shareholders. Giving protesters a Lyft San Franciscos Lyft will spend up to $1.5 million to give free rides to people in 50 cities including San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose who are participating in Saturdays March for Our Lives demonstration. Lyft said in a blog post that it strongly encourages people to RSVP as soon as possible, because ride codes will be distributed Friday to those who have responded through www.marchforourlives.com/events. The post says more ride codes could be distributed after that, but there is a limit of $1.5 million. Number of the day $756 million Thats how much San Franciscos Dropbox raised Thursday in its initial public offering increasing the price of shares to $21 a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. Based on the shares outstanding after the offering, Dropbox would make its public debut at a market value of about $8.2 billion. Originally the shares were going to be priced at $16 to $18. A colorful strategy Starbucks, thirsty for some social media magic, is releasing its latest sugary concoction: the fortune-telling Crystal Ball Frappuccino. Buyers of the cream drink, infused with peach flavor and available only five days, can learn their fortunes based on the color of the candy sprinkles atop their whipped cream: blue stands for adventure, green for luck and purple for magic, wonder and enchantment. Red presumably tells you that youre about to consume a lot of calories. Few white-collar defendants have been more reviled than Pharma Bro Martin Shkreli, even before he was convicted of securities fraud and conspiracy. The Atlantic called him the perfect and very hateable combination of arrogance, youth, and avarice, after he gained notoriety for acquiring the rights to generic drugs for rare diseases and then jacking up the prices. Ben Brafman, Shkrelis defense lawyer, said in an interview this week that in his four decades of representing high-profile clients, hed never encountered so many potential jurors who asked to be excused because they didnt think they could give his client a fair hearing. Ive represented people charged with murder and dismemberment, and jurors didnt bat an eye, he said. In Martins case, they asked to be excused because they hated him. Shkreli was convicted of fraud for his activities at two hedge funds he ran, not for anything related to drug pricing. Brafman argued that Shkreli eventually repaid all of his investors, and some realized large gains. Still, a jury ultimately found Shkreli guilty on three counts acquitting him on five others and this month he was sentenced to seven years in prison. In stark contrast, Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Palo Alto blood-testing startup Theranos, was one of the most lauded members of her young generation. By the time she turned 30, shed been the subject of glowing magazine profiles and flattering cover photos, the recipient of an honorary degree from Pepperdine University, and a member of the board of fellows of Harvard Medical School. She was the youngest recipient of the Horatio Alger award in recognition of remarkable achievements accomplished through honesty, hard work, self-reliance and perseverance over adversity. Forbes put her on the cover of its 2015 survey of the 400 richest Americans and estimated her net worth at $4.5 billion. This month, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Holmes and the companys former president of masterminding a massive fraud at Theranos. The complaint describes an elaborate edifice of false statements through which the two deceived investors into believing Theranos unique technology could perform comprehensive tests on a single drop of blood. Among the more brazen falsehoods peddled to potential investors: that Theranos technology was used by the Defense Department in Afghanistan and on medevac helicopters, and that the companys revenue in 2014 was $108 million and was on track to generate $1 billion in 2015. In fact, Theranos technology was never deployed on the battlefield in Afghanistan, or on medevac helicopters, the SEC said. Theranos revenue in 2014 was barely $100,000, nowhere near $100 million, the agency said, and the $1 billion projection was a fantasy that had no basis in reality. Holmes settled the SECs charges without admitting or denying them. She is barred from being an officer or director of any public company for 10 years and agreed to pay a fine of $500,000. Though she lost voting control of Theranos, a private company, she remains chairwoman and chief executive. She could still face criminal charges. Its unusual, though not unprecedented, for the SEC to settle a case while a criminal investigation is under way. (The U.S. attorneys office in San Francisco has declined to comment on whether it is investigating potential criminal charges; in a note to outside partners in 2016, the company said the Justice Department had requested documents and that an investigation was active.) Still, the relatively lenient treatment shes gotten so far, compared with Shkrelis seven-year prison term, provokes the question: Is this fair? I dont have any connection to the case, but from reading the SECs complaint, the allegations are of a nature that prosecutors would typically pursue to determine if criminal charges can be brought, said Antonia Apps, a former federal prosecutor and partner at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy who teaches a course on white-collar crime at Harvard Law School. Its outright fraud. John Coffee Jr., a professor at Columbia Law School who teaches classes on white-collar crime, agreed that it appears a lot of people were defrauded. But he said he would not be surprised to see a plea bargain or even a deferred prosecution agreement, in which Holmes could avoid a prison term, especially if she cooperates with prosecutors. Typically, you get more sympathy from the criminal justice system if youre an attractive young woman than a brash, arrogant young male, he said. Coffee and other lawyers interviewed cautioned that, because she settled the SECs charges, the public hasnt heard her defense. When more facts emerge, her case may be more complex than it now appears. But on the face of the SECs complaint, Shkrelis crimes pale in comparison. At the heart of both cases are lies: At Shkrelis sentencing, federal Judge Kiyo Matsumoto referred to Shkrelis egregious multitude of lies, and the same might be said of Holmes. But the financial consequences of her deceptions were far greater. Matsumoto said it didnt matter that Shkreli later repaid the investors he defrauded, or that some of his investors made millions. Still, the magnitude of the fraud was just over $10 million. Theranos was far greater. According to the SEC complaint, from 2013 to 2015 Theranos used false claims to raise more than $700 million from investors. By late last year, Theranos was on the verge of bankruptcy, the SEC said. Shkrelis victims were mostly wealthy individuals, presumably sophisticated investors. Many of Holmes victims were, too; they included media magnate Rupert Murdoch and Larry Ellison, the billionaire co-founder of Oracle. But she also attracted venture capital funds whose investors included pension funds and endowments, affecting thousands of ordinary Americans. In comparison with Shkrelis fraud, the Holmes allegations are really a different order of magnitude, Apps said. But the reactions of Holmes and Shkreli to the charges are also wildly divergent a factor that may ultimately determine whether Holmes is charged, and, if convicted, whether she ends up in prison. Both Holmes and Shkreli courted celebrity and seemed to revel in media attention. But in Shkrelis case, that impulse seemed only to intensify once he was charged. Shkreli repeatedly defied Brafmans admonitions to keep quiet and avoid the limelight. He smirked through his trial, taunted prosecutors as the junior varsity, called the case a witch hunt and was suspended by Twitter after he threatened to have sex with a freelance journalist who covered him. His bail was revoked and he was imprisoned after he offered a $5,000 bounty in a Facebook post for a strand of Hillary Clintons hair a solicitation to assault, Matsumoto ruled. In theory, Shkrelis well-publicized bizarre antics, both in and out of court, should have had no bearing on his guilt or sentence. As Brafman put it in his opening statement, Shkreli shouldnt be found guilty for being odd, weird or having a dysfunctional personality. But prosecutors cited his behavior to assert in closing arguments that he had no respect for the law. At his sentencing, Matsumoto suggested his actions called into question whether his purported remorse was genuine. Ive never had a client who did more to hurt his own standing with the court than Martin Shkreli, Brafman said. His behavior and comments probably added several years to his sentence. So far, Holmes has followed the traditional route of the contrite potential defendant: She has maintained a low profile and said nothing to provoke the government or prosecutors. After the SEC settlement, Holmes made no comment. In keeping with that strategy, John Dwyer, the Palo Alto lawyer representing her, declined to comment for this story. Theranos issued a statement stressing that she had cooperated with the SEC throughout its investigation and said its independent directors are pleased to be bringing this matter to a close. Uganda Breweries Limited (UBL), through its Water of Life initiative, has signed a partnership with Rotary Uganda to jointly restore 200 hectares of forest reserves within Lake Victoria water catchment areas. Over time, forest reserves serving as water catchments for Lake Victoria have been under massive deforestation because the indigenous trees were cut down by residents for timber, firewood, charcoal, and land for agriculture. A recent report on Ugandas forest cover released by the Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (Acode) indicates that the countrys total forest cover reduced by 27 per cent between 1990 and 2005 and in that period, total coverage reduced from 4.9 million hectares to just 1.8 million hectares. This represents an average decline of 1.8 per cent every year. The report further notes that 600 hectares of forest cover are lost every year and predicts that in 50 years, Uganda will not have any forest cover left. On that background, this poses climate change risks for the country. So, the partnership to restore 200 hectares of forest reserves offers some hope. Mark Ocitti, the UBL managing director, and Rebecca Mutawe, the Rotary Uganda country chairperson, signed the partnership at the UBL head office in Luzira on March 19. The project is worth Shs 245 million and will see the two entities continuously plant trees in different forest reserves in partnership with National Forestry Authority (NFA) to ensure that the trees are well-maintained, monitored and protected against illegal activities. Planting will be done annually for the next five years. We are proud to partner Rotary on this project that will contribute towards reforestation and also support the communities around Lake Victoria catchment areas. UBL largely depends on Lake Victoria as the water we use in our production processes comes from the lake. We, therefore, need to ensure that the water levels and quality are maintained and improved, said Ocitti. When companies set policy guidelines for their business travelers, many of them have traditionally required employees to book "the lowest available air fare." But now that is changing. Why? Because major airlines have deployed highly restrictive Basic Economy fares on many domestic routes in recent months, and are now spreading them to international routes as well. Those are now the "lowest fares available" in many markets, but they are hardly the most business travel-friendly. As a result, a number of corporations are now telling their company travel departments and travel agencies to block Basic Economy prices from their air fare searches for business trips, according to a report from CNBC. The new bare bones fares are aimed at the most price-sensitive travelers, and typically do not permit the kinds of things that business travelers expect like frequent flyer miles, early boarding, access to the overhead bin, refunds for canceled flights, and so on. CNBC said it found out that 75 percent of American Express Global Business Travel's corporate clients now block Basic Economy fares, and so do all the companies that use Expedia's Egencia corporate travel division. It said that 42 percent of SAP Concur's 38,000 client companies have also blocked Basic Economy fares, which means they won't even show up in fare searches on company travel sites or apps. That's actually good news for the airlines, since they have sometimes admitted at various conferences that they don't really want to sell Basic Economy tickets. They offer the fares in order to remain price competitive with fast-growing low-cost carriers (like Frontier, Spirit or Allegiant), but they really hope that all the restrictions on the fares will convince travelers to buy a higher-priced ticket that comes with more inclusions. What do you think about basic economy fares? Do they mix well with business travel? Read all recent TravelSkills posts here Get twice-per-week updates from TravelSkills via email! Sign up here Chris McGinnis is the founder of TravelSkills.com. The author is solely responsible for the content above, and it is used here by permission. You can reach Chris at chris@travelskills.com or on Twitter @cjmcginnis. Allison Preiss's airport ordeal started out with a tweet from the gate at Dulles International Airport at around 8 a.m. on March 21, She was on her way to Austin, Texas for a bachelorette party. "United is offering $1K in travel credit for an oversold flight. If nobody bites, they will kick off the lowest fare passenger by pulling them out of the boarding line. For a flight that THEY oversold. Unreal." Sounds like some pretty bad news, but it gets better. It gets $9,000 better. (A number confirmed to me by United.) UPDATE: See below for a quick Q&A with Preiss added after publication of this post) So in the meantime, let's follow the story through the subsequent tweets that led to a juicy $10,000 flight voucher from United: "I AM THE LOWEST FARE PASSENGER." "They are kicking me off this flight." "They can't board me on this plane because there is a broken seat." "UNITED IS THE WORST." "United tried to get me to sign a document that says I volunteered my seat on this plane when I was involuntarily denied boarding. Sketchy." "On the upside, I wasn't physically dragged off the plane and my dog wasn't killed on board, so I've got that going for me...which is nice." "They really do not want to give me cash. They just offered me $10,000 in travel credit. TEN THOUSAND." Then she posted evidence of the big payout: "I also got two $10 meal vouchers. I am going to go INSANE at Pizza Hut" When the airlines raised the maximum pay out for voluntary bumping last year to $10,000, I doubted any airline would ever have to pay that much. I figured at least one person per oversold plane would take the money and run for a much lower number. But in this case, it appears United has kept its word, and a lucky passenger is walking away with a pretty nice prize. You can follow Preiss's tweets here...don't miss the comments from her followers and even United. UPDATE 3/24: I contacted Preiss after this story originally ran for a quick Q&A-- here 'tis: What type of plane was it (if you recall). Not sure. I never boarded. They scanned my ticket and I was pulled out of the boarding line because I was the lowest fare passenger. Were you traveling alone? Yes, though I was supposed to travel with a friend. Our original flight was cancelled so I was rebooked on this flight and she was on another. (East Coast snow storm = high demand, I assume). What was your alternate flight? When did you finally get to your destination.... about how long were you delayed? I got on a flight four hours later off standby. Otherwise I would have been on a flight five hours later (so about nine hours after the original). Did United reach out to anyone else and try to bargain with them? They went on the plane (I think) to offer a $2k voucher for a volunteer and nobody bit. Has United contacted you since this story broke? What did they say? No. Are you a regular United flyer? Or do you use another airline more often? What's your preferred airline? No. My favorite is JetBlue but I usually just go for whatever's reasonably priced and out of Washington-DCA. Any significant restrictions on your voucher? Not that I can tell but it has to be used within a year. Where do you plan to use it? One big trip, or a bunch of small ones? Probably some combination of the both. Hawaii is at the top of the list. Anything else about the experience you'd like to add? I think it's a positive that United is empowering their agents to make their customers happy and to make a situation right. Obviously that doesn't necessarily mean a $10k voucher - I honestly just think I got lucky - but I walked away from the situation feeling pretty good. Also: I'm very frequently delayed when I travel! Thanks, Allison! And Aloha! Have you ever heard of a payment this large for a bumped passenger? What would YOU do with a $10,000 voucher from United? Please leave your comments and experiences below. Read all recent TravelSkills posts here Get twice-per-week updates from TravelSkills via email! Sign up here Chris McGinnis is the founder of TravelSkills.com. The author is solely responsible for the content above, and it is used here by permission. You can reach Chris at chris@travelskills.com or on Twitter @cjmcginnis. Though Grubstakes days are numbered, the diners owners Nick Pigott and Jimmy Consos are saying its premature for folks to starting saying goodbye to it. At the same time, they also acknowledge that changes are in store for the beloved greasy spoon, and they say that redevelopment of the restaurant will ensure its vitality for years to come. The comments come a little less than a week after The Chronicle reported paperwork had been filed with the city in February to demolish the restaurant, one step in a process to construct a seven-story, mixed-use building at its Pine Street address. The plan, according to the owners, is to rebuild Grubstake in some form on the ground floor of the building. Still, its hard to imagine the spirit of a divey, railcar-turned-diner known for hosting its fair share of late-night rabble-rousers somehow fitting into a multi-story building of pristine condos, homes which are badly-needed in their Lower Polk neighborhood, they said. In a new statement, Pigott and Consos said the filing was made so the team could secure a place in line with the city to address the potential project. It was not necessarily indicative of potential construction activity. Pigott, when interviewed in 2016, said Grubstake 2.0 will be similar to the original in regard to its menu, which is currently an eclectic mix of traditional diner food and Portuguese fare. The building has roots stretching back to the late 1930s when it was called the Orient Express. It became Grubstake in 1967. Pigott and Consos bought Grubstake from longtime owners Fernando and Linda Santos in 2015, The duo said they recently commissioned an independent historical preservation planning study, and theyre also working with a historical preservation planner to determine how best to incorporate the history of the diner and neighborhood into the proposed project. Were taking great care to maintain the diners charm while providing needed infrastructure and accessibility upgrades, Pigott and Consos said. Weve also been working tirelessly with the Lower Polk business community to foster a more vibrant neighborhood for everyone and are active participants in the Lower Polk Alleyway Plan. Grubstake: 1525 Pine St. More on Grubstake Demolition plans move forward for renowned greasy spoon Grubstake BOB GALBRAITH/Associated Press A car unauthorized to enter Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield burst into flames after crashing through the main gate, officials said. The driver, who has been identified as Hafiz Kazi, 51, of Sausalito, broke through the main gate around 7 p.m. on Wednesday. He was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. No other injuries were reported. Oakland police identified the man killed in a shooting outside an elementary school Wednesday night. Jerry Richardson, 27, of Oakland died from a gunshot wound, and two other men were injured in the incident, according to the Oakland Police Department. Officers responded to a shooting reported at 8:40 p.m. on the 1600 block of Eighth Street. The incident occurred near the intersection of Eighth and Peralta streets, police said, just outside PLACE @ Prescott Elementary School. Responding officers found one man suffering from a gunshot wound, police said, and he was taken to a hospital, where he was in stable condition. Two other men, including Richardson, came into the hospital shortly after the shooting with gunshot wounds, police said. The other man was listed in stable condition. Anyone with information on the shooting can contact the Oakland Police Department Homicide Section at (510) 238-3821. Last week, Total E&P, launched a scheme to train welders ahead of the heightened activity that will define the development stage of key oil infrastructure, writes Jeff Mbanga. Its a scheme that all welders should be interested in. For this year alone, Total intends to drill at least 30 well pads in its Tilenga project, where the oil wells EA-1 and EA-2N are located. Also, it is expected that the final investment decision for the construction of a crude oil pipeline between Hoima and the Chongoleani peninsula in Tanzania will be signed by the third quarter of this year. At 1,445km, this will be the longest heated underground pipeline in the world. By any measure, work for the welders should be available. Or so we think. Total E&P, and its other key partner in the development of the Lake Albert oil basin Cnooc Uganda, has agreed to give Ugandans first priority during the tendering process. There is need for caution, though. Overall, getting Ugandas oil industry through the development stage, right up to production, should rack up a bill of between $12bn and $15bn in expenditure. Aside from staff salaries and paying up consultants, among other smaller bills, a huge chunk of this money will go into construction works. For all that to happen, Uganda needs to put up laws to enforce it. Across the region - from Kenya to the Democratic Republic of Congo - countries are tweaking their policies governing mineral wealth to ensure the local public reaps substantial benefits. While Ugandas oil industry is somewhat different, there are some lessons to pick from whats happening with its neighbours mining sectors. In June 2017, Tanzania, rattled by allegations of Acacia Mining Limited under-declaring mineral concentrates it had exported, introduced a new mining policy that gave government sweeping powers. The government gave itself powers to renegotiate the mining development agreements already in existence; a free-carried interest of no less than 16 per cent in all mining projects; and an increase in the rate of revenue royalties; and, if it so wished, a shareholding of up to 50 per cent of any mining asset. In December 2017, Kenya published the draft Mining (Local Equity Participation) Regulations, 2017 Act, which required a holder of a mining license to list at least 20 per cent of their stake on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, offering an avenue for Kenyans to buy into the company. This is a smart move because the company would be exposed to the intense scrutiny of the securities market and its regulators. In January, DR Congo passed a mining code that mainly raised royalties and called for local involvement. Uganda, in trying to create opportunities for its public to milk the billion-dollar oil industry, has placed local content at the forefront, although expectations need to be managed. First of all, it is important to pay attention to the wave of local content hype, which is akin to nationalizing resource wealth, spreading throughout East Africa. Countries, which are in a race to attract the limited investment capital, face the pressure of ensuring that the local population benefits from the mineral wealth while massaging the egos of impatient investors. Its a delicate balancing act in the sense that across East Africa, there is no uniform code of conduct for the extractives industry. And yet, it will not be the laws that will define whether Ugandans get enough contracts from the oil industry. It will all come down to two main things: price and the standard. If Ugandan products and services are priced fairly, and also have the right standards, then oil companies are required to consider them first. Still, there are some challenges that local companies will encounter. In some tenders, oil companies are bound to call for services with experience of at least five years. Ugandas oil industry being fairly new, few companies have that experience. Also, the organizations, such as the Uganda Bureau of Standards, which are supposed to determine the standards in the oil sector are understaffed and underfunded. When it comes to price, a number of imported products, such as steel and cement from China, are cheaper than those manufactured locally. While it is easier to overlook the issue of price, the challenge comes if the difference with that of the imported product is huge. Remember, the costs that the oil companies incur have an impact on the profit that the country generates from its oil. Under the current set-up, oil companies will first recover their costs before any profit can be shared out with government. So, as the government calls on Ugandans to exploit the opportunities in the oil industry, there is a need to fix the capacity gaps that the country faces. There is need for an environment where there is access to cheaper credit; available and cheaper power is a must; and a broadening of the tax base to limit the burden on the few that pay. Otherwise, for as long as we do not fix the key structural issues that Ugandas economy faces, it is going to be hard for local players to be able to exploit the opportunities that the oil industry offers. In the end, all the benefits will fall in the hands of foreign companies. jeff@observer.ug Amy Poehler is headed to the rolling, vinous hills of Napa, Calif. And she won't be alone. The actress and producer will direct her first feature movie, called "Wine Country." She'll star alongside frequent collaborators and fellow "Saturday Night Live" alums Rachel Dratch, Maya Rudolph, Paula Pell, Ana Gasteyer, and scriptwriter Emily Spivey. RELATED: '13 Reasons Why,' 'Transformers' prequel are filming in same Marin neighborhood right now Tina Fey, Poehler's "Baby Mama" and "Sisters" co-star, will also be involved in some capacity. As the Hollywood Reporter writes, the film, which is headed for Netflix, will center around "longtime friends who go to Napa for a weekend getaway to celebrate a 50th birthday." RELATED: 'Ant-Man and the Wasp' trailer showcases action in San Francisco Filming is expected to begin later this month, in both Los Angeles and Napa. Netflix announced the project in a video tweet, featuring Poehler and the rest of the main cast singing along to Kenny Loggins' "Whenever I Call You Friend." "It's happening Amy Poehler's directorial debut, Wine Country, is coming soon to Netflix!" the tweet read. "Get excited. Get real excited." Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira. 1 School shooting: A teenage girl who was shot when a classmate opened fire inside their Maryland high school is brain dead and is being removed from life support, her mother said Thursday. Melissa Willey said Thursday night that her daughter, 16-year-old Jaelynn Willey, has no life left in her. She said Jaelynn would be removed from life support during the evening, by the familys decision. The mother, holding a young baby, said, On Tuesday ... our lives changed completely and totally forever. My daughter was hurt by a boy who shot her in the head and took everything from our lives. The teen was shot Tuesday by 17-year-old Austin Rollins at Great Mills High School in St. Marys County. The St. Marys County Sheriffs Office said Wednesday Rollins and the girl had been in a relationship that recently ended. All indications suggest the shooting was not a random act of violence, police said in a statement. A 14-year-old boy who was shot in the thigh during the encounter was released Wednesday from a hospital. 2 Police shooting: A white police officer fired after he fatally shot a black unarmed motorist will get about $344,000 in back pay and legal fees from the University of Cincinnati, the school said Thursday. The university is paying Ray Tensing to settle a union grievance brought on his behalf for his 2015 firing, following his indictment on murder charges. The charges were dropped last year after two juries deadlocked. The Fraternal Order of Police had challenged Tensings firing, saying he shouldnt have been removed from the universitys police force before the case was resolved. As part of the settlement, the union said, Tensing has resigned and will not pursue any other claims against the university. This case has caused a lot of strife in the community, and I believe the settlement will allow for healing to continue, said Tensing. Tensing, 28, shot Sam DuBose, 43, in the head after pulling him over for a missing front license plate in 2015. He testified that he believed his life was in in danger when DuBose tried to drive away. Zell Miller, a cantankerously independent politician from the mountains of northern Georgia who disdained backslapping and baby-kissing as he snarled at journalists and battled fellow Democrats in his four years as a U.S. senator, died Friday morning at his home in Young Harris, Ga. He was 86. Lori Geary, a family spokeswoman, confirmed the death. Miller had Parkinsons disease, she said. Miller had seemingly retired from public life by 2000, having served as governor, lieutenant governor, state senator and, in the beginning of his political career, small-town mayor of Young Harris, near the North Carolina border. Then, on July 18, 2000, Sen. Paul Coverdell, a Republican, died unexpectedly. Gov. Roy Barnes, a Democrat, appointed Miller to Coverdells seat. Miller was easily elected in November 2000 to serve the remaining four years of Coverdells term. Bristling at attempts to make him follow a party goose step, as he put it later, Miller co-sponsored President George W. Bushs $1.6 billion tax-cut measure in early 2001. I agree with President Bush that the taxpayers are better judges of how to spend their own money than we are, Miller said. He was also one of only eight Democratic senators to support the confirmation of John Ashcroft, Bushs choice for attorney general. Soon, he stopped going to weekly lunches with Democratic senators. Miller most famously demonstrated his independence at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City, where he delivered a blistering attack on the Democratic nominee, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, a man he had called an American hero only a few years before in tribute to Kerrys service in Vietnam. The 2004 speech was all the more remarkable in that Miller had delivered a keynote speech at the 1992 Democratic National Convention in which he excoriated President George H.W. Bush and praised the partys nominee, Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas, who would go on to defeat Bush. Zell Bryan Miller was born in Young Harris on Feb. 24, 1932. His father, Stephen Grady Miller, a teacher, died 17 days later. The widowed mother, Birdie, built a home with rocks that she had hauled from a nearby stream, Zell Miller recounted later, and raised the boy and his sister, Jane. Miller attended Young Harris College before transferring to Emory University in Atlanta. Finding his life lacking in direction or purpose, he enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1953 and enrolled at the University of Georgia three years later, earning a bachelors degree and a masters in history. In 1954, he married Shirley Carver, who survives him, as do two sons, Murphy and Matthew; four grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. He taught history and political science at Young Harris College and was elected mayor of Young Harris, serving in 1959 and 1960. He was then elected to two two-year terms in the state Senate. Next, he was executive secretary for Gov. Lester Maddox of Georgia from 1968 to 1971. Beginning in 1975, Miller spent 16 years as lieutenant governor under George Busbee and Joe Frank Harris, serving in that post longer than anyone else in Georgia history. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate seat in 1980, was elected governor in 1990 and re-elected in 1994. Rahumah, an HIV-negative baby under Mildmay Uganda Baby Rahumah, now seven months old, is among hundreds of babies born by HIV-positive mothers in the country but are declared HIV-negative at their second birthday. Her mother, 28-year-old Sarah has been under Mildmay Ugandas care since 2016. It is at this hospital that she was recruited into a version of the ongoing national Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission (EMTCT) programme also being administered here. As in public hospitals around the country, Mildmay is helping save lives through EMTCT. She says when she learnt of her pregnancy yet she was HIV-positive, she expected her baby to contract the virus. But after several counselling sessions at Mildmay, she gained hope. I had a boy but I also wanted a girl, to have at least two children. When I got pregnant, the doctors and counsellors assured me of giving birth to an HIV-free baby when I follow their instructions of caring for myself and the baby, especially during the first six months of breastfeeding, Sarah said. The doctors told her to attend antenatal care monthly, remain on her antiretroviral therapy and also gave her folic acid tablets to prevent maternal anaemia. At seven months of pregnancy, they gave me the nevirapine syrup to keep it at home as an emergency and be able to give it to my child immediately after birth at any hospital that I can easily access before I breastfeed her, Sarah said. According to Dr Violet Nabatte, the pediatrician at Mildmay, nevirapine syrup is safe for a baby from birth to the age of six months, but if the child is not progressing, administration can continue for one year. Sarah gave birth normally at Kawempe General hospital in August last year. Immediately after giving birth, I told the doctors and nurses that I was under Mildmay-Uganda care and I gave them the nevirapine syrup which they gave my child instantly. They also told me to exclusively breastfeed my child up to six months, without giving her anything else, not even a drop of water or any prescribed drugs by non-professional doctors, she said. Even when Rahumah was sick, and doctors gave me tablets, I could crush them into powder and give her with breast milk. They prevent the baby from taking anything like food, water because she might get infections yet her intestines are still young, she says. A doctor runs blood samples through an HIV viral load machine At seven months now, Rahumah is now on septrin tablets, which she takes daily and is allowed to consume food, water and juice. They told me septrin prevents the baby from contracting any virus that might be in the breast milk, Sarah says. Sarah says when Rahumah is one year and a half, they will do her final test. If confirmed HIV-negative, she will stop taking septrin and graduate at two years as an HIV-free baby. How they do it She said the successful results are due to following all their pregnant mothers and making sure they are virally suppressed by monitoring their adherence to ART. When they follow our advice, and have safe deliveries, their babies are not exposed to risks of acquiring HIV/Aids. However, we also follow up these mothers after giving birth and advise them on exclusive breastfeeding, avoiding mixed feeding and giving babies medicine that is prescribed by any health practitioner, she said. This helps us to do away with herbal medications that can be given to these babies or any liquids such as water and juice which might cause infections to them when they are below six months of age. Mildmay says they operate a 24-hour open phone policy through which mothers can contact them whenever the need arises. When they call in the morning, we advise them to come to hospital and give the child to a specialist to examine her and also provide a suitable recommendation. We also have a peer- led team of mothers and fathers who speak to them and also sometimes do home visits to make sure mothers are adhering to the programme, she said. Spouses are encouraged to come. When they dont come, we write an invitation letter to the spouses and they come. However, some of the challenges we are still facing is that some others dont want to disclose. Issues of adherence and coming to the antenatal for several times, bringing children for checkup and transport finances are still a big problem, she said. zurah@observer.ug In his typical take-no-prisoners fashion, Dan Muliika, the former prime minister of Buganda kingdom, who was relieved of his duties only two years into the job, tells The Observers Baker Batte Lule that he isnt surprised at the turn of events in Uganda. Muliika was allegedly sacrificed for being belligerent towards the central government an untenable position given the political delicateness of the times. Today, Muliika declares that those communities which formed Uganda at independence must regroup and write a new Constitution which mirrors their aspirations Dan Muliika As a member of the Buganda Lukiiko (Parliament) you rejected the 1995 Uganda Constitution. Why? First; we used a language that we were not supposed to use: English, which is [spoken] by about 20 per cent of Ugandans. Second, we were deceived that there was a Constituent Assembly. That meant that we were constituents, but we ended up having a Constituency Assembly with representatives like you see these parliamentarians. That was ridiculous because it was the indigenous people who formed Uganda in 1962 who should have come together and written their constitution. Before 1962, what the colonialists were calling Uganda was actually Buganda. Therefore, the Constituent Assembly (CA) wasnt properly constituted. Because of our poor English, instead of sending delegates, we sent representatives. Here in Bukoto, I sent Jaberi Bidandi Ssali; now the constitution has gone wrong, I dont even know where to find Bidandi. What should have happened was for the 15 regions that made up Uganda; Buganda, Kigezi, Ankole, Bukedi, Busoga, among others, to send delegates and resolve a new constitution. Each one would have had to ratify what the CA had passed. Before my delegate commits me to a constitution, he should come back and say this is what you told me and this is what we resolved; do you agree or not? So, that 1995 constitution is in the same category as the 1966, and 1967 constitutions; they are all regime constitutions. When you say we should have sent delegates; how would these have been elected or selected? Why would you say that? How did we select ourselves to go to Mengo Lukiiko? That is immaterial. I dont think there is any area in Uganda that can fail to elect its representatives. I agree, these days there have been divisions and its hard for you young people to know the boundaries of, say; Kigezi, or Ankole. These divisions were brought intentionally for you young people not to know where we are coming from. You find something floating; you dont know where you are, where you are going You only think of today; thats why these days all of you are becoming thieves. Everything that comes up, you want to first be paid because you dont own what you have. You are not part of the inner part of it. But for us, we own it; we feel it. Therefore, you cannot tell me that I can fail to elect my delegates. These people who are exploiting us are saying no, no, you cant do this you have no constitution. But Buganda has got a constitution older than any other constitution in this country. The written history of Buganda goes back as a far as AD 400. Just like Buganda, other regions can also do it. But how would those delegates be selected? It depends on the number of people in those areas. Like for Buganda, if you say we are going to send 30 delegates, we demarcate our constituencies. That is why you see Buganda was the first region to carry out direct elections. We know our constituencies. We can use the ssaza (county), gombolola (sub-county), miluka (parishes) which are part of the subdivisions. I dont see the difficulty in electing. There is no theory about it. When we had direct elections in Buganda, we said each county had to bring three representatives; wasnt that carried out? Isnt that democracy thicker than what you are advocating? It is difficult for Ugandans to see it because they have grown up with this cheating attitude. You cant think of any other alternative. People are jittery about giving powers to these traditional institutions. They say they are not representative enough We are here because of people like [President] MuseveniWe were directly electing our people. It is a forced situation. How do you even compare it? In fact, if we remove Museveni and his dirty politics, we are capable of showing you how a country can develop fast. Buganda as we knew it then had ceased to exist and so did other regions; who then should have organised the people? It would be a question of announcing that we have formed a CA, send delegates. We would do it. If you announce it today, I will lead it. If the president [gives] way, I will mobilise the entire Uganda and they will send their delegates. But its wrong to have non-indigenous people determining the fate of your country and this is why we are suffering today. Looking at the 1995 constitution, what would you point at and say, this was good? When Museveni came, it was thought that he had come to remove the disorder created by [former presidents] Apollo Milton Obote and Idi Amin. One thing was that power should be shifted to the people through a constitution where they accept to work together. The [Justice Benjamin] Odoki commission report was very good; compiled after real scientific research where he would come and explain to people what a constitution means before soliciting their views. Now, look at the recent debate on Kogikwatako. I felt embarrassed when I heard some people say people were sensitized! One, the constitution has never been translated into our local language; so, majority of the people dont know even what [Article 102(b) on presidential age limits] meant. When the MPs went to the villages, they didnt explain what the clause meant, not even why it was put there in the first place. Odokis was real research but when the report was out, technical mistakes were made. The first was instead of being given to parliament, it was sent to the president who stayed with it for six months and altered it. His minister, the late Sam Njuba, told the public that some clauses had been tampered with. But because in Uganda we are so ignorant about these things, we went ahead and passed it; we didnt think that was a very big mistake. Notwithstanding your misgivings about how the CA members were chosen and the said alteration of articles, is there anything worth fighting for in the 1995 constitution? Some of us were part of pressure groups that pushed members of CA to see that land belongs to the people, not the central government. It can only get land from the people to render a service to those people, and there must be a very clear procedure on how government acquires land. The regime thinks they lost on that one, thats why immediately after the constitution was passed, Museveni complained that everything had gone well apart from land. For us, land has never been an issue. We didnt conflict with Obote or Amin because of land. Our conflict was about making a constitution allowing us to form a country called Uganda with each one knowing what his/her rights are. We hated the 1966 and 1967 constitutions because they were for individuals and its the same constitution we are having now. How do we extricate ourselves out of this? That is a good question but because of this English and lack of a common language, we might not understand each other. Thats why they have used this to exploit all of us. You find someone in the centre saying Buganda is an enemy of Bunyoro and Bunyoro thinks its also an enemy of Buganda. The same with other regions; this divide and rule has helped them to perpetuate injustices against all of us. When I talk about it, they say, Muliika is a tribalist. But what is a tribe? Nobody bothers to find out that its a group of people with the same culture, with the same language in a certain location. Then whats wrong with that? Why dont you allow Muliika to be a proud Muganda and work with a proud Acholi? In Buganda, we have over 50 clans, each with its own constitution but we are brought together by the Kabaka. Therefore, even in Uganda we can be as many tribes as we are, but still work together. But the top man wants us to fight each other so that he can exploit us. Recently I asked some Banyoro that do you now own land in Buliisa? They said no no, they brought Bafuruki. They say they are Bakiga but when you keenly follow them, you realise that they come from a particular area. The Banyoro dont own the land, neither the natural resources. Today in Buganda our land has been taken and the other day, the president confirmed that our gold in Mubende; one of the best the president told you that it is him who stopped people from mining it. The gold is in Buganda. I cannot go and claim oil in Bunyoro. It should be us to work our resources. Karamoja is a very rich region. Two and a half feet below ground you get a sheet of marble, four feet you have gold but they are the poorest on the streets in Kampala. Thats why you have kifeesi (thugs). They have no respect for life. There is no rule of law because we dont have anyone in charge. These are all the hazards of this constitution. The constitution was recently amended to allow the president contest as many times as he wants. What do you make of it? That constitution is not yours; its someones. You are being hoodwinked that there is a constitution. Someone told me that we are like a wild animal picked from the bush by force but when you confine it in a place and give it food, eventually it yields, thinking that its the best thing and it will never think of going back to the bush. These regimes are not very clever but are cunning; from [Milton] Obote they abolished civics from schools. They knew that if you come out without civics, you are easily converted into what they want. Thats why you see things like [the so-called National Leadership Institute] Kyankwanzi; you go there to be indoctrinated, never to think using your brains. Thats why their own constitution says in the preamble that it was made to avoid changing power by force like in the past. But somebody in parliament, doesnt need to go to school to know that, that clause on term or age limits was a contribution to curtail anyone who wants to impose himself on Ugandans. Then you say there is a clause that says majority can change [amend the clause]. Then you are like somebody who has no brains at all. The first thing in any constitution is its spirit and if you do anything against the spirit of that constitution, then you dont respect it. These 317 MPs who have no brains forgot that even Article 1 of their constitution told them that power is with the people. So, who told them that Ugandans wanted a change of those clauses? Anybody who tells me that this is our constitution, I wonder whether he/she was born with common sense. They are clever, yes. They went to school, others even have PhDs, but they dont have wisdom. You hear them say, my party, DP, NRM, etc has told me to do so. In Uganda today an MP doesnt understand the role of a party and the role of being a representative. If its the party that is important why then do we waste so many billions on elections? The party should just send representatives and we keep quiet. The president the other day was applauding these 317 MPs for a job well-done, that they know the destiny of Africa I cry for my country I dont know where we are going. Thats why [US president] Donald Trump will call us whatever he called us because we dont know what we want. A member of parliament went there to represent me instead of asking what I want. He went to his political party and did its bidding well knowing its me who votes for him. I wonder why they even bother us with voting for them. They should just come and say, Im your MP or whatever they want. But they hide behind good things yet their motives are dangerous. These are satans who deceive people. What we need is an intensive education to alert people about their rights. We should tell these voters that when they accept money from a candidate, its them who have sold the country. They will never find medicine in the hospital, their children will go to UPE schools. Some people just want to be polite but Uganda is now a totally failed state. To understand a failed state, you look at three things. You dont have an executive, you have above. You dont have a parliament, but a caucus that sits where the legislature should sit and does what its told. The judiciary you know very well its full of cadres. Thats why when electoral petitions are taken there, the judges will say there were some malpractices but all the same he has won. Once those three issues are present, it means there wont be anything constitutional working under that arrangement. When you hear of corruption, embezzlement, infighting in security organs, among others, just know we lost direction; no one is in charge. Your thoughts on the Justice Catherine Bamugemeire commission on land? That is playing on peoples intelligence because people had started thinking that there was a problem. If they did realise that there was a problem, then they would wake up and nobody would stop them. When they know its Muliika making noise, its easy to silence him but when everybody wakes up, nobody can stop them. Thats why they continue deceiving us that it is us who vote for them but in Uganda we have no elections. Anything that is short of being free and fair, is no election. Even the courts, bad as they are, have said that indeed there are always problems with our elections. Thats why in 2015 I was against moves to push for electoral reforms in a parliament where the majority are NRM robots that are told to do what their boss wants. My position was to push Museveni to finish his term and hand over power to an interim government, which we would give two responsibilities; work with the civil servants and run the day-to-day activities of the state, and; convene a grand national convention of all stakeholders. But for as long as we are using someone elses constitution, who uses people who only think of money and not the country, you will never get out of these problems, because we dont have proper leadership. Have you seen us fighting over kabakaship? No, because we know what the Kabaka does and what other leaders do. It is acceptable to us. Somebody was telling me that but why do you people kneel for the Kabaka, I told him we do it by choice. How would you put in place an interim government? We are 40 million people in Uganda; you think he will kill all of us? He might kill 10,000. Do you think people like Trump who have nuclear and sophisticated weapons would still be talking to people? They know that however powerful they are, they need people. In fact the president should have liked people like me because I tell him whats wrong. He doesnt like you? His spies are doing the job that is supposed to be done by intelligent people. They do it unintelligently. All they were telling him is that Muliika is opposing you. Yes, I have got that right. But they think that you are an enemy because youre saying things that do not rhyme with his; Im not a robot. I would appreciate when he is doing a good job. When he was in the bush, I loved him because I thought we were going to end this nonsense, only to find that people surrounding him were making him make more mistakes. You come here and do away with cooperatives and tomorrow you turn around and reinstate them. Why do they mislead him like that? Look at how they chased people from their homes in Naguru and Nakawa, saying they had got an investor. Investor?! I would rather be poor than have that kind of investor who deprives me. What does it say of a person who is always misled? He cant even realise it. Thats why the Bazungu say too much power corrupts. The constitution concentrated a lot of power in the hands of the president and he lost focus. Personally, I told him that what will make Ugandans happy is a constitution that reflected their views. This should have turned him into the father of the nation. There are suggestions of abolishing mailo land as one of the land tenure systems in Uganda We need to educate them of the dangers of this proposal. What is Bugandas role in the greater scheme of things moving forward? Do you think Buganda still exists? Somebody takes your land; you have no power to decide what even to eat tonight. You have no control over the economy, your minerals are being sold by somebody else and you are not allowed to say anything. Are you satisfied with the way the Katikkiro Charles Peter Mayiga is running things at Mengo? Im not going to say this or that because Mengo is in captivity. There is some invisible power ordering Mengo on what they should and shouldnt say or do. Go and ask Museveni, I told him I cannot ask him for federalism because he has no power to give it to us, neither to deny it. I told him I will first sensitise Baganda about federalism and then talk to other states that made Uganda and agree to come to a round table and then tell him what we want. For me, I was lucky I would tell him what was on my mind. There are those who say confrontational politics that you played cant help advance Bugandas cause Those are lies. In fact I practiced dialogue more than any other katikkiro but I didnt want under-the-table dialogue. Go and ask Gilbert Bukenya [former vice president]. I told him if they wanted dialogue, I should leave Mengo and meet the vice president with a known agenda. Whether we agree or not, we should be able to tell the media what we discussed. That is genuine dialogue, not this underground dialogue. I dont need to go to State House. If there is anything official, it should be in the presidential officeThese are matters of state and we should treat them as such. Anything done in secret is funny. bakerbatte@observer.ug Its one down and a whole bunch to go for Democrats working to trim back the number of candidates for a targeted Republican seat in Orange County. Laura Oatman, who had dubbed herself THE progressive fighter in the race and the only one who can defeat (Orange County GOP Rep.) Dana Rohrabacher, ended her campaign Thursday and endorsed her Democratic rival, Harley Rouda. Rouda represents the best choice to flip the 48th District from red to blue, Oatman said in a statement. She also called on the six other Democratic candidates in the race to pull out in favor of Rouda. This is not about any one of us. This is about all of us. Those words come as a relief to Democratic leaders, who worry that the flood of enthusiastic and well-funded candidates looking to defeat Republicans could split the Democratic vote and enable not only Rohrabacher but GOP challenger Scott Baugh to finish in the top two in the June 5 primary and advance to the November election. But the Democrats arent likely to clear the field of their partys challengers to Rohrabacher, a veteran congressman whose pro-Russia reputation has made him a top target in 2018. While Rouda leads the Democratic fundraising battle with $833,000 in the bank at the end of 2017, biologist Hans Keirstead had just under $500,000 on hand at the same date and attorney Omar Siddiqui had $540,000. Neither has given any sign that he plans on leaving the race. Even Oatmans decision isnt as helpful as it might have been, because it comes after the March 9 ballot deadline. That means that even though Oatman wont be campaigning, her name remains on the ballot. Still, with at least seven of Californias 14 GOP seats at risk and Democrats needing to flip 24 seats nationally to take control of the House, expect Democrats, both in D.C. and Sacramento, to work all the way up to election day to winnow the number of blue candidates in contests across the state. John Wildermuth Point of view: When it comes to political polls, how you view them depends on where you finish. For Democrat Gavin Newsom and Republican John Cox, who were on top of the Public Policy Institute of Californias latest poll for governor, the results just affirmed what they already knew. The new poll is consistent with nearly every other public and private poll in the race, Addisu Demissie, Newsoms campaign manager, said in a memo released Thursday. With less than seven weeks before voting begins, as voters focus on the race more intently, the poll shows Newsom consolidating his advantage. Cox, a San Diego-area businessman, was even more upbeat, especially since the statewide poll was one of the first to show him moving ahead of former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. For a little-known Republican making his first try for office in California, a solid poll showing him in the running for a top-two finish in the June 5 primary is gold for the campaign. People are finally paying attention, and Im getting a great reaction from the Republican base, he said. This lets people know Ive got a real chance. The candidates on the other end of the survey, though, were far less impressed. Villaraigosa, who was quick to tout a January PPIC poll that showed him running neck and neck with Newsom, at 21 percent to the lieutenant governors 23 percent, was dismissive of the latest numbers, which showed him at 12 percent, behind Coxs 14 percent and just ahead of GOP Assemblyman Travis Allens 10 percent. While polls go up and down, we remain focused on our vision of greater economic opportunity and equality for all, Luis Vizcaino, a campaign spokesman, said in a statement. In the next 75 days voters will hear more from all the candidates, and were confident Californians share Mayor Villaraigosas vision. State Treasurer John Chiang, whose 6 percent standing in the new PPIC poll was down from 9 percent in the January survey, generally ignored the poll, saying in a campaign memo that his support was growing across California and that our campaign is in a strong position. No matter the poll, it should be viewed with a large dose of skepticism and only as a limited snapshot in time, the memo stated. Thats actually not bad advice. But even so, its always more comfortable to be the candidate at the top. John Wildermuth WASHINGTON President Trump announced Thursday that he was replacing his national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, with John Bolton, a tough conservative with a sometimes irascible manner, in the latest move suggesting the presidents shift to a more hard-line foreign policy team. The decision to name his third national security adviser, which Trump characteristically first disclosed in a tweet, follows months of speculation about McMasters potential ouster. Administration officials, speaking anonymously, have been saying for weeks that the president had tired of McMasters methodical approach to the job and wanted a more aggressive leader who would compel Cabinet secretaries to more quickly implement the presidents policies. Coupled with Trumps decision last week to replace Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with Mike Pompeo, currently the CIA director, the moves suggest that the administration will shed even more of the approaches favored by the Republican foreign policy establishment in favor of confrontational policies on subjects such as Iran and North Korea. During roughly a year as the White House national security chief, McMaster never developed a tight bond with Trump. But the president developed a grudging respect for McMasters willingness to present him with advice that contradicted his impulses, aides have said. Still, the constant friction was clearly wearing on both men. As recently as several days ago, White House aides had said Trump might keep McMaster at his side until after the planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which is scheduled for May. The timeline was expedited as they both felt it was important to have the new team in place, instead of constant speculation, a White House official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official acknowledged that Trump and McMaster had been discussing the national security advisers departure for some time. McMaster, a three-star general, will leave the White House in mid-April and plans to retire from the Army this summer, he said in a statement released by the White House. On Twitter, Trump referred to Bolton, former ambassador to the United Nations, before McMaster, saying he was pleased to announce that Bolton would become national security adviser April 9. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend, Trump added. In a subsequent statement, Trump paid tribute to McMasters three decades of military service. McMasters departure comes at a fraught time for the White House as Trump prepares for the meeting with Kim. McMaster, who has been deeply involved in Korea policy, spent the previous weekend in San Francisco meeting with Japanese and South Korean security officials about how to orchestrate the meeting and maintain economic pressure on North Korea. Trump also faces crucial decisions on the deal with Iran that the Obama administration negotiated to restrain that countrys nuclear program. He seems increasingly likely to abandon the pact, officials say. Decrease Font Size Font Size Increase Font Size Article body Two Medal of Honor recipients, including an Auburn University alumnus, will share their reflections on service in the Vietnam War at the East Alabama Vietnam Veterans Welcome Home Ceremony at 6 p.m., Thursday, March 29. Auburn High School, in conjunction with National Vietnam Veterans Day, is hosting the event in the schools performing arts building. The two Medal of Honor recipients, retired U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. James Livingston, an Auburn University alumnus, and retired U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie Adkins, an Opelika resident, will be joined by keynote speaker Joe Galloway, a Vietnam War correspondent and co-author of We Were Soldiers Onceand Young. The evening will offer an opportunity for reflection, remembrance and celebration, in addition to providing a chance to right the bitter or dismissive reactions so many veterans experienced upon returning to the United States after their tours of duty. This event allows the greater East Alabama-West Georgia region to demonstrate our gratitude for the devotion and sacrifice of those who served during this period, said Blake Busbin, Auburn High history teacher. The Vietnam War was one of the most consequential events of the 20th century for America, yet we have not taken the time to honor our veterans who accepted the call for duty and, in many cases, were greeted with hostility or ignored when returning. In partnership with the Twin Cities Chapter of the Disabled American Veterans, participating veterans who served during Vietnam who have not already been so recognized will be presented with the official 50th anniversary commemoration lapel pin provided by the Department of Defense. The Auburn High School choir will perform and Vietnam-era military vehicles will be on display. A reception with light refreshments will follow. Veterans who served during Vietnam and their families are invited to attend this event. Gold Star families are also encouraged to participate in memory of their fallen family members. For more information or to RSVP, please email Busbin at wbbusbin@auburnschools.org or call Auburn High School at 334-887-2120. Auburn High is located at 1701 E. Samford Ave. Upset over the Modi government's decision not to grant Special Category status to Andhra Pradesh, its former ally, the Telugu Desam Party, led by Andhra chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has given a call for rail and rasta roko, along with other political parties, on Thursday, March 22nd. The agitation, as is apparent, has moved from the Parliament to national highways and some of the industry leaders Business Today spoke to felt it may be time to brace up for temporary disruptions considering that there are less than 12 months left for the elections. Special Category status after all is also an emotive issue. At the time of Andhra Pradesh bifurcation in 2014, few economists argued against the economic rationale for a special treatment for the new state of Andhra. Primarily because when the state divided, Andhra not only lost a capital but also an important industry hub and ended up becoming a state that had a higher contribution of agriculture in its state GDP and along with it a lower per capita income. It badly needed industrialisation and therefore the tax sops and other incentives that come with a special category could play a big part in attracting investments to the new state. But look back at the past four years and it is not as if the industry was waiting for special category status to invest in Andhra and therefore, in a sense, the current demand and the issue four years since bifurcation, coming into focus seems to suggest that realpolitik is starting to colour the debate over the economic woes of Andhra. Consider this: Last year South Korean auto major Kia Motors announced plans to set up a major manufacturing unit in the state's Anantapur district. This came a year after Indian auto giant Hero announced its plans to set up a unit in the Chittoor district of the state. In fact, this was considered a big win for Andhra and the acumen of Naidu as there wee news reports that the project was originally to come up in Dharwad in Karnataka. Sri City in the Nellore district with its strategic location, just over 50 kms from Chennai, has been attracting huge investment with the who's who of Indian, Japanese and other global companies. The state has got a range of companies putting up ceramics/ vitrified tiles units in the Nellore and Chittoor disctrict, rich in feldspar, a key mineral for this industry. One entrepreneur, who did not wish to be identified said, "the industry is okay with whatever incentives the state government is providing and the main reason why the investments are happening is because they are looking at the source for raw material and for markets in south India." Others talk of how tourism is picking up in Andhra, especially in Vizag and number of small tourism projects being taken up in coastal districts, including those to develop the Bhavani island in Krishna river in Vijayawada. For the industry, the connectivity in the state also seems to have improved. The state today has five airports - Vizag, Vijaywada, Rajahmundry, Tirupati and Cuddapah. And, two more set to come up - in Nellore and Kurnool. If that also happens, then it would be a good seven airports! This is not to talk of talent with a new Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) at Tirupati and an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at Vizag. All of these not withstanding the big numbers in terms of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) that the state claimed to have signed during the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) partnership summit in Vizag early this year. While the state still has a long way to go and faces the huge task of transforming the and building the social infrastructure, especially around the capital that can attract the IT services sector, there is clear need to work on getting the financial challenges sorted out by sitting across the table with the centre to sort out the transfer of funds but it is not as if the special status or the lack of it has kept the industry back in the state. For the moment, it is wait and watch for the industry. SACRAMENTO The police killing of an unarmed African American man in Sacramento has ignited protests around the state capital and energized members of the Black Lives Matter movement, who are demanding accountability from law enforcement. Protesters planned to continue their demonstrations after police released body-camera footage earlier this week of Sundays shooting of Stephon Clark, a 22-year-old father of two, who was holding a cell phone in his grandmothers backyard when he was killed. National attention continued to build Friday, as more than 100 protesters again shut down traffic in downtown Sacramento. Around noon, they began walking from the citys iconic yellow Tower Bridge to the state Capitol a mile and a half away. What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now! the group chanted in a call-and-response. Two hours later, the crowd neared downtown freeways. California Highway Patrol officers closed many of the ramps and stood guard, preventing anyone from getting onto the freeway. This is who we need to be mad at, said Nicole Miller, of Oakland, as she held a sign that read Stop Killing Us and pointed at the state Capitol. The system is broken and we want justice now! Rev. Brian Levingston, a Sacramento resident, was also among the group protesting Clarks killing. We shouldnt have to be here, not in Sacramento, not in 2018, he said. Were peaceful. We will remain peaceful. I know there are a lot of great leaders in this city, and I wish they were with me now. The days action came less than 24 hours after hundreds of people took to the streets and disrupted traffic on Interstate 5 during the evening commute before blocking entry to the Golden 1 Center, where they delayed a Sacramento Kings game. Tensions boiled over after police on Wednesday released body-camera and helicopter footage of the shooting. Clark was suspected of breaking into vehicles in a neighborhood in the southern part of the city and was being pursued by officers and a sheriffs helicopter. A thermal camera on the helicopter shows a man scaling a fence in a backyard in the neighborhood, and deputies told police the suspect had picked up a toolbar and broken a window of a home. Two officers then encountered the suspect in a backyard on the 7500 block of 29th Street, where Clarks grandmother, Sequita Thompson, lives. Police said they believed Clark was armed with a gun. The videos show the officers following Clark into the unlit and overgrown yard. They take cover at the back corner of the home and, seconds after arriving at the scene, one of them yells Gun, gun, gun! The officers then fire 20 rounds. Clark was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators did not find a gun but recovered a cell phone near his body. Along with the videos, police released a statement after the shooting acknowledging the seriousness of this incident and the impact it has on our community. Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said he was horrified by the videos of the shooting while addressing a crowd at City Hall on Thursday. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Twitter Thursday, Its time to acknowledge some hard truths a suspect that looks like me would still be alive. Stephon isnt. That must change. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., tweeted that Clarks was death tragic and painfully familiar. She also called for a thorough and transparent investigation and swift accountability. The Sacramento Police Department has not released the names of the officers who shot Clark, but Melissa Nold, a Bay Area attorney who works with civil rights attorney John Burris, told The Chronicle on Friday that officers Terrence Mercadal and Jared Robinet were involved in the shooting. The officers have two and four years of experience with the department, respectively. Neither officer was injured. Nold said she watched the body camera footage with Clarks family members before the videos were released, and she saw the officers names on the digital files. Shortly after the officers shot Clark, they muted the sound on their body-worn cameras, raising more questions for the family. The Sacramento Police Department has not responded to questions about the officers muting their cameras. This is an impossible situation for the family. Theyre devastated, Nold said. From the community perspective, it gives us the opportunity to ask questions. Burris firm was not hired by the Clark family, but Nold nevertheless said they will be involved in ongoing community actions. Florida-based civil rights attorney Ben Crump will represent the Clark family, Burris told The Chronicle. Crump has represented the families of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, two black teenagers who were also shot and killed under controversial circumstances. In a statement, Crump called Clarks death an all-too-common tragedy. It is yet another troubling example of a young, unarmed black man being shot by police under highly questionable circumstances, he said. A GoFundMe page was set up to help Clarks family cover his funeral costs. The page had far exceeded its goal of $50,000 by Friday afternoon. MOCCASIN, Tuolumne County Heavy rain in the Sierra foothills pushed a small dam within San Franciscos Hetch Hetchy water system to the brink of failure Thursday, sending a brief scare through the rural region where roads were closed and a few dozen residents were forced to evacuate. Officials at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission said the danger in the area, west of Yosemite National Park, had diminished by nightfall as the storm gave way. There was no interruption to water service for the agencys 2.7 million Bay Area customers. But questions remained about why the nearly 90-year-old Moccasin Reservoir, which is used primarily to regulate stream flows and had not experienced any major problems in recent years, suddenly threatened to shoot a blast of water uncontrollably downstream. The intensity of the precipitation was really quite high here, said Steve Ritchie, assistant general manager for water for the Public Utilities Commission. He said more would be known later this week, once the agency lowered the reservoirs water level and thoroughly inspected the facility. Only minor damage was reported. Water officials say the problem began when Thursdays storm swelled Moccasin Creek with an unusual amount of water and pushed the surging stream and all its debris into the reservoir just below the community of Moccasin. Dam operators were unable to let water out of the reservoirs two spillways as fast as water was coming in. The face of the dam began to leak, officials said. The flow overwhelmed the emergency spillway system of the dam and the water rose to levels that concerned us, said Todd Elmer, spokesman for the Public Utilities Commission. Shortly after 1 p.m., water officials activated the reservoirs emergency plan. Evacuations were ordered for a fish hatchery beneath the dam, a few dozen residents near the creek and a campground and marina about a mile downstream at Don Pedro Reservoir. Roads in the sparsely populated area were closed, including Highway 49, which runs near the reservoir and where surging flows from the lake began pouring onto the hillside beneath the road. There was so much water and so much debris coming at such a quick pace that the water tried to find a path around the dam and started eating away at the road, said Rich Estrada, a Caltrans spokesman. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning, reporting that the dam was at risk of imminent failure. By 6 p.m., though, stream levels had dropped, and the Public Utilities Commission said the reservoir was stable. Evacuations remained in effect overnight as a precaution. Even if the dam did fail, officials said the impact would be limited. The reservoir is one of the water agencys smallest, with a capacity of less than 1,000 acre-feet of water, and floodwaters would be caught downriver in the much larger Don Pedro Reservoir. Threats of dam failure in California are extremely rare. However, the last major reservoir scare was just over a year ago. Two spillways at the state-run Oroville Dam partially gave out, prompting authorities to order nearly 200,000 people to evacuate out of fear that a wall of water would gush out of the facility. State and federal officials have since boosted dam safety inspections. Moccasin Reservoir was last inspected in May, according to state officials. The safety evaluation was not immediately available. Ritchie, with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, said near-record rainfall in winter 2016-17 similarly pushed a lot of water into Moccasin Creek, but the dam has not had any major problems as long as he can remember. Moccasin D am was built in 1930. Its an earthen structure 60 feet high and 720 feet long . Water can be released from the reservoir through a main spillway, where it pours over a concrete lip into the creek, and a backup, rock-lined spillway that carries flows around the dam. The dam is used to generate a small amount of power and to control flows on Moccasin Creek between the High Sierra and Don Pedro. Its not a major water storage site. The community of Moccasin, above the dam, is home to offices and employees of the Public Utilities Commission and serves as a hub in San Franciscos sprawling water-delivery network from the mountains. Chronicle staff writer Dominic Fracassa contributed to this report. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) An inspector with the San Francisco District Attorney's Office testified today in court that he thought that two former Alameda County sheriff's deputies failed to recognize that a suspect who they were striking with batons was, in fact, surrendering. During the third day of a preliminary hearing for former deputies Luis Santamaria and Paul Wieber, Inspector Eric Tejada gave lengthy testimony about aspects of the initial investigation by the district attorney's office into the alleged beating of Stanislav Petrov in a San Francisco alley on Nov. 12, 2015. Santamaria, a 14-year veteran of the sheriff's office, and Wieber, a three-year veteran, have both been charged with assault under the color of authority, battery with serious bodily injury and assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the alleged beating, in which Alameda County deputies were seen on camera striking Petrov after an alleged early morning high-speed chase that began near San Leandro. Prior to the chase, Petrov allegedly used a stolen car to ram two marked sheriff's patrol cars, causing minor injuries to one deputy, before fleeing in a stolen car. The pursuit ended at Stevenson and 14th streets in San Francisco's Mission District, where Petrov ran out of gas and crashed the car. The alleged beating occurred a short distance away on Clinton Park. Tejada today explained that during the apprehension of suspects, Alameda County sheriff's deputies are taught to apply force in order to get compliance. However, once the force is applied, the deputy must give the suspect an opportunity to comply. Furthermore, too much force would cause a suspect to react, or attempt to get away from the force, which could be misinterpreted by the deputy as incompliance. Santamaria's attorney Michael Rains argued, however, that Petrov tried to get up at least twice during the confrontation with deputies in the alley, which, Rains said, shows he was not complying. Rains said Tuesday if the case goes to trial, he plans to use forensic video analysis experts to explain how use of force is viewed and determined. Prosecutors allege Santamaria and Wieber struck Petrov at least 30 times over the course of 40 seconds in the head and hands with their batons. Petrov suffered injuries including a concussion, broken bones in both hands, a mild traumatic brain injury and deep cuts to his head. The case against Santamaria and Wieber surfaced after the San Francisco Public Defender's Office obtained video surveillance footage of the alleged beating. In April 2017, Alameda County agreed to pay $5.5 million to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Petrov. Petrov's suit had alleged that while he lay in the alley with multiple fractures in both hands, suffering from a concussion and bleeding from multiple head lacerations, deputies stood around and exchanged "high fives" and took trophy photos of him. The suit also alleged that a deputy at the scene, identified as former Deputy Shawn Osborne, stole a gold chain and cash from Petrov after he was beaten and gave the chain to witnesses in order to buy their silence. Although the sheriff's office recommended that Petrov be charged with 12 offenses for allegedly stealing the car and ramming the patrol cars, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office declined to charge him with any offense. However, Petrov remains in custody, facing gun and drug charges in a federal case following a March 8, 2016, search of his apartment by the FBI. Since the alleged beating, sheriff's officials said that they have increased training around use of force, examined the department's hiring practices and revised its body camera procedures to make it mandatory that deputies always turn them on when they're interacting with the public. Santamaria and Wieber are free on bail. The preliminary hearing is set to continue Friday. ### 341-9341 Defense attorney William Rapaport for Wieber (650) 340-7107 An ex-convict has been charged with four counts of assault on a peace officer for allegedly ramming Fremont police officers' patrol cars when the officers were trying to arrest him in San Leandro last week, authorities said today. Fremont officers who were investigating a series of East Bay auto burglaries that started in their city tracked Shacory Daniels, 30, and fellow suspect Frederick Harris, 24, to the Bayfair Center in San Leandro last Thursday night and watched the men as they drove though the parking lot near Starbucks Coffee and 24-Hour Fitness, according to police. The Fremont officers called San Leandro police for assistance at 9 p.m. last Thursday, when they believed the men were getting ready to steal another auto, police said. As San Leandro officers were responding to assist the Fremont detectives, Daniels and Harris allegedly used their car and intentionally rammed some of the cars driven by Fremont police detectives, according to police. Daniels and Harris allegedly fled the parking lot and were pursued into the nearby neighborhood on Ruth Court near Hesperian Boulevard, police said. Fremont detectives tried to arrest the suspects when they stopped running, but the detectives were confronted by one suspect who raised a handgun, according to police. Authorities didn't specify which suspect that was. Daniels and Harris eventually were arrested and both were transported to a hospital to be treated for gunshot wounds. San Leandro police Cmdr. Isaac Benabou said Daniels and Harris have both been released from the hospital and are now in custody at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. Daniels, who has prior convictions for pimping and false imprisonment, is charged with four counts of assault on a peace officer and one count of second-degree burglary. Benabou said Harris isn't charged in connection with the alleged assaults last week but is being held in connection with a burglary in Pleasanton. Fremont police didn't respond today to a request for comment on the status of their investigation into the string of auto burglaries. ### 577-3272 Alameda County DA spokeswoman Rebecca Richardson (510) 272-6231 Fremont police spokeswoman Geneva Bosques (510) 790-6957 or (510) 520-1876 SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) Former Oakland Raider Aldon Smith, released from the team following an alleged domestic violence incident in San Francisco earlier this month, has been arrested this morning. Smith allegedly violated a domestic violence restraining order connected to an incident that occurred on March 3 at a Nob Hill apartment, according to police. After investigators with the police's Special Victims Unit learned of the violation, they obtained a warrant for his arrest, police said. Investigators worked with Smith's lawyers and arranged for him to turn himself in this morning for the warrant and on suspicion of three counts of misdemeanor violation of a protective order. Last week Smith pleaded not guilty in San Francisco Superior Court to domestic violence, assault, false imprisonment and vandalism in connection with the initial incident. At the time a protective order was issued, prohibiting him from contacting the victim. On March 3, officers responded to the 600 block of Bush Street after someone reported to police around 8:30 p.m. that Smith was involved in a domestic violence incident. When officers arrived, Smith had already left, according to police. The victim in the incident suffered injuries not considered life-threatening. Smith turned himself in three days later when a warrant was issued for his arrest. Two days after the incident, the Raiders released Smith from his contract with them. He previously played for the San Francisco 49ers starting in 2011 but was released by the team in August 2015 following an arrest for a DUI hit-and-run in Santa Clara. Smith signed with the Raiders the next month, but was suspended for a year in November 2015 for violating the NFL's substance abuse policies. ### A solo-crash turned fatal early this morning on El Camino Real in Santa Clara, according to city officials. The crash occurred between Harrison and Lafayette streets, near Larry J. Marsalli Park, around 4:45 a.m. The driver was declared dead at the scene, and the roadway will be closed for an estimated two to four hours while police investigate the crash. A two-alarm fire at 699 Virginia St. in Berkeley, near Second Street, that was reported at 9:41 a.m. today was controlled by 10:30 a.m., a fire official said. Berkeley Assistant Fire Chief Keith May said no one was injured in the fire at the Hanson Aggregates Berkeley Asphalt and Ready Mix Building. May said authorities temporarily shut down railroad tracks near the building for safety reasons. May said authorities also have closed some nearby streets but the nearby busy Fourth Street shopping area wasn't affected by the fire. He said authorities are still advising people to avoid the area bounded by Cedar Street, Fourth Street, Virginia Street and the Eastshore Highway. The cause of the fire hasn't yet been determined, May said. A Tesla going south on U.S. Highway 101 at the state Highway 85 carpool flyover collided with a median barrier, causing the car to catch fire, according to the California Highway Patrol. A Sig-Alert was issued after an initial report came in at 9:29 a.m. that a vehicle accident had caused a car to go up in flames on Highway 101, according to the CHP. After the Tesla hit the median, it landed in the second left-most lane of Highway 101 and was hit by a Mazda traveling in that lane. An Audi traveling in the left-most lane crashed as well, bringing the number of total vehicles involved to three, CHP officers said. The driver of the Tesla was transported to Stanford University Medical Center for major injuries, but no other injuries were reported, according to the CHP. As of approximately 10 a.m., the right two lanes of southbound Highway 101 were the only ones open, but the two middle lanes have since been opened as of approximately 10:45 a.m., CHP Redwood City tweeted. The roadway is estimated to reopen around 11:45 a.m. or noon. Meanwhile, investigators continue to canvas and clear the scene, the highway patrol said. Mountain View fire spokespeople confirmed that firefighters had reported to the scene once they were notified the car was ablaze. A man who was fatally shot in West Oakland on Wednesday night was identified by police today as 27-year-old Jerry Richardson of Oakland. Richardson and two other men were shot in the 1600 block of Eighth Street, a few blocks from the West Oakland BART station, at about 8:41 p.m. on Wednesday, police said. Richardson succumbed to his injuries a short time after he was taken to a local hospital with a gunshot wound, according to police. The other two victims are expected to recover from their injuries, police said. Police haven't released any information about a possible suspect or suspects in the shooting. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Oakland Police Department's homicide section at (510) 238-3821. Former Oakland Raider Aldon Smith, released from the team following an alleged domestic violence incident in San Francisco earlier this month, has been arrested this morning. Smith allegedly violated a domestic violence restraining order connected to an incident that occurred on March 3 at a Nob Hill apartment, according to police. After investigators with the police's Special Victims Unit learned of the violation, they obtained a warrant for his arrest, police said. Investigators worked with Smith's lawyers and arranged for him to turn himself in this morning for the warrant and on suspicion of three counts of misdemeanor violation of a protective order. Last week Smith pleaded not guilty in San Francisco Superior Court to domestic violence, assault, false imprisonment and vandalism in connection with the initial incident. At the time a protective order was issued, prohibiting him from contacting the victim. On March 3, officers responded to the 600 block of Bush Street after someone reported to police around 8:30 p.m. that Smith was involved in a domestic violence incident. When officers arrived, Smith had already left, according to police. The victim in the incident suffered injuries not considered life-threatening. Smith turned himself in three days later when a warrant was issued for his arrest. Two days after the incident, the Raiders released Smith from his contract with them. He previously played for the San Francisco 49ers starting in 2011 but was released by the team in August 2015 following an arrest for a DUI hit-and-run in Santa Clara. Smith signed with the Raiders the next month, but was suspended for a year in November 2015 for violating the NFL's substance abuse policies. The Santa Clara County Office of Education will hold their annual teacher recruitment fair to offset the impacts of decreasing student enrollment and fewer teachers entering the workforce. The county's Office of Education hopes that the recruitment fair, which will take place on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1290 Ridder Park Dr. in San Jose, will draw credentialed teachers to local school districts to fulfill the needs of the students who remain enrolled through the area's public school system. "While local schools are dealing with declining enrollment, and many experienced teachers are being laid off, school districts are still hiring based on the needs of their student population," spokesman Peter Daniels said in a statement. "Many teachers are nearing retirement age... it is a constant struggle to deal with the rate of attrition." The county's Office of Education has been issuing releases each week as a part of a short series of public service announcements called "Why I Teach." Each episode features an award-winning county teacher in order to "help inspire the next generation of great teachers." The recruitment fair's pre-registration period, which allows teachers who sign up early to arrive at the event at 9 a.m., has already closed. However, those who wish to attend still can by registering at https://www.sccoe.org/newsandfacts/TRF/Pages/default.aspx. ### It appears that the fugitive jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi weren't the only ones who got LoUs from fraud-hit Punjab National Bank. State-run PNB had issued a total 41,178 Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) since 2011. Out of these, as many as 1,590 were given to Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and their associates, the finance ministry has said. In the aftermath of PNB scam, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had decided to discontinue the practice of issuance of LoUs/ LoCs (letters of comfort) for trade credits. Both these instruments were a form of credit guarantee, often used by importers to fund their overseas purchases. In a written reply to the House on March 20, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that PNB has apprised that 7,672 LoUs were issued with validity of 90 days, 20,078 LoUs were issued with validity of 180 days, 11,224 LoUs were issued with validity of 365 days, and 2,204 LoUs were issued with validity of more than 365 days. Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said that as per PNB, the total number of LoUs issued to the companies of Nirav Modi, his relatives and the Nirav Modi Group are 1,213, and to Mehul Choksi, his relatives and the Gitanjali Group are 377. However, PNB has said that the details regarding money withdrawn from the foreign branch of the other banks against each LoU is presently not available as the matter is 'under investigation'. Jaitley also said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has informed that it does not have "complete/granular" details of LoUs issued by PNB since 2011 till May 2014 and thereafter. Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government had assumed office in May 2014. After the PNB scam was unearthed, the regulator had also asked all banks to provide it with details of the letters of undertaking (LoUs) issued by them to business entities in recent years. However, the RBI statement added that banks may continue to issue letters of credit (LCs) and bank guarantees for trade financing, subject to compliance with RBI guidelines. Bank Guarantees and LCs are considered less risky because receiving banks have to conduct their own credit appraisal on companies before accepting them. "LCs are more secure because they have details of the purchase by the importer, the date of issue, expiry date, the material purchase and other transaction details," explained an executive at a state-run lender. In the case of the now-banned LoUs and LoCs, the receiving banks were entirely dependent on the bank issuing them at the behest of the importers. The PNB officials - who fraudulently issued the LoUs - had bypassed the CBS (Core Banking Solutions) system and used the international messaging service SWIFT which was not integrated with CBS. An inspector with the San Francisco District Attorney's Office testified Thursday in court that he thought that two former Alameda County sheriff's deputies failed to recognize that a suspect who they were striking with batons was, in fact, surrendering. During the third day of a preliminary hearing for former deputies Luis Santamaria and Paul Wieber, Inspector Eric Tejada gave lengthy testimony about aspects of the initial investigation by the district attorney's office into the alleged beating of Stanislav Petrov in a San Francisco alley on Nov. 12, 2015. Santamaria, a 14-year veteran of the sheriff's office, and Wieber, a three-year veteran, have both been charged with assault under the color of authority, battery with serious bodily injury and assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the alleged beating, in which Alameda County deputies were seen on camera striking Petrov after an alleged early morning high-speed chase that began near San Leandro. Prior to the chase, Petrov allegedly used a stolen car to ram two marked sheriff's patrol cars, causing minor injuries to one deputy, before fleeing in a stolen car. The pursuit ended at Stevenson and 14th streets in San Francisco's Mission District, where Petrov ran out of gas and crashed the car. The alleged beating occurred a short distance away on Clinton Park. Tejada Thursday explained that during the apprehension of suspects, Alameda County sheriff's deputies are taught to apply force in order to get compliance. However, once the force is applied, the deputy must give the suspect an opportunity to comply. Furthermore, too much force would cause a suspect to react, or attempt to get away from the force, which could be misinterpreted by the deputy as incompliance. Santamaria's attorney Michael Rains argued, however, that Petrov tried to get up at least twice during the confrontation with deputies in the alley, which, Rains said, shows he was not complying. Rains said Tuesday if the case goes to trial, he plans to use forensic video analysis experts to explain how use of force is viewed and determined. Prosecutors allege Santamaria and Wieber struck Petrov at least 30 times over the course of 40 seconds in the head and hands with their batons. Petrov suffered injuries including a concussion, broken bones in both hands, a mild traumatic brain injury and deep cuts to his head. The case against Santamaria and Wieber surfaced after the San Francisco Public Defender's Office obtained video surveillance footage of the alleged beating. In April 2017, Alameda County agreed to pay $5.5 million to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Petrov. Petrov's suit had alleged that while he lay in the alley with multiple fractures in both hands, suffering from a concussion and bleeding from multiple head lacerations, deputies stood around and exchanged "high fives" and took trophy photos of him. The suit also alleged that a deputy at the scene, identified as former Deputy Shawn Osborne, stole a gold chain and cash from Petrov after he was beaten and gave the chain to witnesses in order to buy their silence. Although the sheriff's office recommended that Petrov be charged with 12 offenses for allegedly stealing the car and ramming the patrol cars, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office declined to charge him with any offense. However, Petrov remains in custody, facing gun and drug charges in a federal case following a March 8, 2016, search of his apartment by the FBI. Since the alleged beating, sheriff's officials said that they have increased training around use of force, examined the department's hiring practices and revised its body camera procedures to make it mandatory that deputies always turn them on when they're interacting with the public. Santamaria and Wieber are free on bail. The preliminary hearing is set to continue today. The FBI and the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations are looking into a security breach Wednesday evening at Travis Air Force Base where a car gained unauthorized access to the base through the main gate, crashed and caught fire killing the driver. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene and there were no additional fatalities or injuries, according to the base's public affairs office. The breach occurred shortly before 7 p.m. The base's security officers, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team, the Office of Special Investigations and other first responders responded to the scene. The main gate of the base reopened and all other facilities are were operating as normal Thursday afternoon, air force officials said. Col. John Klein, 60th Air Mobility Wing commander said, "I am extremely proud of how our first responders quickly addressed the situation to keep Travis and the surrounding area out of harm's way. "We are fortunate to have enduring relationships with federal and local law enforcement and will continue to work hand-in-hand with them through this investigative process," Klein said. Four young men have been charged with sexually assaulting two juvenile girls at an apartment in Berkeley late Sunday night and early Monday morning, prosecutors said. Berkeley police said five girls between the ages of 14 and 16 were involved in the incident in the 1800 block of Shattuck Avenue at Delaware Street, but the Alameda County District Attorney's Office only alleged that two of the girls were victims. Berkeley police Officer Darren Kacalek wrote in a probable cause statement that Marquis Joyce, 25, of Oakland, had his male friends over for "a get-together" on Sunday night at the apartment on Shattuck Avenue. The five female juveniles participated and the group drank alcohol that was provided by Joyce and his friends and also smoked marijuana and listened to music, Kacalek wrote. At some point, Joyce produced a semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine and told the girls that they had to give up their cellphones and that they weren't free to leave, the officer wrote. The five men then allegedly engaged in sexual acts with four of the minors. Kacalek wrote that early Monday morning, two of the girls were able to leave and called police. Officers responded to the apartment and arrested Joyce and fellow suspects Chad Williams, 20, of Berkeley, Drevon Clemon, 23, of Mather in Sacramento County, Jakari Williams-Compton, 20, of Oakland, and Maureece Simpkins, 19, of Berkeley. Officers recovered a loaded Colt 1911 semi-automatic handgun that was reported stolen out of Rocklin, as well as bedding, clothing and four cellphones. Prosecutors charged Joyce with three counts of oral copulation by acting in concert with force, two counts of attempted oral copulation by acting in concert with force and one count of forcible sexual penetration of a minor. Williams-Compton and Williams are both charged with two counts of oral copulation by acting in concert with force and Clemons is charged with two counts of attempted oral copulation and one count of forcible sexual penetration of a minor. Some of the charges also carry a kidnapping enhancement that could substantially increase the prison terms of the suspects if they're convicted. Simpkins wasn't charged with any sexual assault crimes but he's being held at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin in lieu of $320,000 bail for allegedly violating his probation for a previous conviction for receiving stolen property and unlawfully taking a vehicle. Kacalek wrote that a 15-year-old victim told police that Joyce punched her in the face, choked her, pointed a gun at her and threatened to kill her if she tried to leave or called the police. The girl said Joyce slapped her when she tried to leave but then pushed her out of the apartment, according to Kacalek. A 14-year-old victim said at one point the five men "were taking pictures with a gun that was passed around amongst them," Kacelek wrote. Another 14-year-old victim said Joyce and Clemon beat her with what she thought was a belt. Kacalek wrote that a 16-year-old victim complained that the other girls "wanted dick" and always dated older men and that they were "twerking" on the five men and "looking for attention." The 16-year-old also told police that she got upset with one of the victims because she tried to kiss Williams, according to Kacalek. Simpkins told police that the party "was basically a party to drink, smoke and have sex," Kacalek wrote. Simpkins said his expectation for the girls who came to the party was that they shouldn't come into the apartment unless they were going to have sex, according to Kacalek. The suspects were arraigned on Wednesday and Thursday. A Napa County Grand Jury has accused County Assessor John Tuteur with "willful and corrupt misconduct" in office regarding property tax assessments. The accusations of malfeasance, misfeasance and conflict of interest dated March 14 include failure to obtain necessary information to make accurate assessments of Williamson Act farmland, conflict of interest regarding assessments on his property, and participating in government decisions in which he has a financial interest. The Napa County District Attorney's Office recused itself from prosecuting the accusations, and Tuteur was ordered to appear before the Attorney General's Office to respond to the accusations on April 24. "I plan to put on a vigorous defense," Tuteur said in a written statement Wednesday. "I believe my reputation for integrity and my 40 years of public service will stand me in good stead in this matter. The accusation is just that and it is not necessarily accurate." The Grand Jury on March 8 also requested that the Attorney General's Office sue Tuteur and his sister for allegedly not paying $20,000 in property taxes on the family's ranchland they leased out for a cellular tower. Tuteur said he and his sister, co-trustees of a family trust, will cooperate in determining the correct assessment of the income from leasing land for the tower. An ex-convict has been charged with four counts of assault on a peace officer for allegedly ramming Fremont police officers' patrol cars when the officers were trying to arrest him in San Leandro last week, authorities said Thursday. Fremont officers who were investigating a series of East Bay auto burglaries that started in their city tracked Shacory Daniels, 30, and fellow suspect Frederick Harris, 24, to the Bayfair Center in San Leandro last Thursday night and watched the men as they drove though the parking lot near Starbucks Coffee and 24-Hour Fitness, according to police. The Fremont officers called San Leandro police for assistance at 9 p.m. last Thursday, when they believed the men were getting ready to steal another auto, police said. As San Leandro officers were responding to assist the Fremont detectives, Daniels and Harris allegedly used their car and intentionally rammed some of the cars driven by Fremont police detectives, according to police. Daniels and Harris allegedly fled the parking lot and were pursued into the nearby neighborhood on Ruth Court near Hesperian Boulevard, police said. Fremont detectives tried to arrest the suspects when they stopped running, but the detectives were confronted by one suspect who raised a handgun, according to police. Authorities didn't specify which suspect that was. Daniels and Harris eventually were arrested and both were transported to a hospital to be treated for gunshot wounds. San Leandro police Cmdr. Isaac Benabou said Daniels and Harris have both been released from the hospital and are now in custody at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. Daniels, who has prior convictions for pimping and false imprisonment, is charged with four counts of assault on a peace officer and one count of second-degree burglary. Benabou said Harris isn't charged in connection with the alleged assaults last week but is being held in connection with a burglary in Pleasanton. Fremont police didn't respond Thursday to a request for comment on the status of their investigation into the string of auto burglaries. A terminal at San Francisco International Airport will likely soon be named after the late Harvey Milk, San Francisco's first openly gay politician elected to the Board of Supervisors in 1977. The city's Board of Supervisors budget and finance committee Thursday recommended approving legislation to name SFO's Terminal 1 after Milk. The name change proposal will now go to the full board for approval. Milk was assassinated in 1978 along with Mayor George Moscone at City Hall by former Supervisor Dan White. Milk was known as a pioneer for gay rights and also fought for migrant farm workers, low-income tenants, laborers and homeless youth among others. The renaming of the terminal has been a long time in the making. The first attempt was by former Supervisor David Campos in 2013 but that idea was abandoned in the face of opposition. Instead, Campos reached a compromise agreement to form a committee to recommend which of SFO's terminals or other facilities should be renamed. Then in 2017, following a vote by the Airport Facilities Naming Advisory Committee in support of the renaming, Supervisor Hillary Ronen introduced new legislation to begin the process of renaming the terminal. "Thank you for daring to declare SF a city of acceptance, of celebrated diversity and of hope no matter one's background," former state Sen. Mark Leno said on social media Thursday regarding the legislation. Leno, a current San Francisco mayoral candidate, is also openly gay. On Twitter, Campos, also openly gay, thanked Ronen and Supervisor Jeff Sheehy, among others, for supporting the effort, saying, "In the age of Trump it is critical to remember Harvey's legacy." Diablo Valley College officials will reopen the college's main Pleasant Hill campus today after graffiti was found threatening gun violence on campus caused it to close Thursday, according to the Contra Costa Community College District. Diablo Valley College police Lt. Ryan Huddleston said the department investigated the threat, but district officials said that investigation found no evidence to suggest a greater-than-usual risk to students or staff. College officials said on the college's website that the campus was closed as a precaution and that the "safety of our students, faculty and staff is our top priority." Police will have a greater presence on campus today and counseling will be available for members of the college community. Counseling also will be available on a limited basis during spring break, college officials said. The college's San Ramon campus was not affected and classes were in session Thursday. The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District is designing a new toll collection system that involves installing a gantry south of the current toll booth for the Golden Gate Bridge. The gantry will stretch over U.S. Highway 101 and drivers will pass underneath it. The current toll booths are not being removed as part of the gantry project and will remain in place to provide redundancy in the system as the toll operation shifts to the gantry, according to the district. Construction of the gantry is expected to start at the end of 2019 and operations are expected to start in 2020. The current all-electronic tolling system uses equipment installed in 2005 and must be replaced. The replacement equipment, which meets state standards and reflects improved technology, cannot be accommodated in the current tool booths, so bridge district engineers are designing a new structure to house the new equipment. Regardless of the changes, the iconic, art deco clock at the toll plaza will have a place of honor at the bridge, district officials said. The Golden Gate Bridge's board of directors this morning will discuss the three gantry styles that are under consideration: 'Cable', 'Tollbooth' and 'Bridge Light.' Photos of the three styles can be seen on the bridge district's website at http://goldengatebridge.org/projects/toll-gantry/index.php. A separate, more complex planning process may be implemented for a future toll plaza modernization project, and the removal of the toll booths could be part of that process, district officials said. The bridge district is accepting public comment by email at bridgecomments@goldengate.org and by calling (415) 455-2000. Facebook Inc. has been hit with four lawsuits in federal court in San Francisco and San Jose thus far this week in the wake of revelations that a political data firm obtained information about 50 million Facebook users. One lawsuit was filed by a Facebook user who claims the Menlo Park company acted with "absolute disregard" for her personal information after allegedly representing that it wouldn't disclose the data without permission or notice. That lawsuit, filed by Lauren Price of Maryland in San Jose on Tuesday, seeks to be a class action on behalf of up to 50 million people whose data was allegedly collected from Facebook by London-based Cambridge Analytica. The lawsuit says that during the 2016 election, Price was "frequently targeted with political ads while using Facebook." It seeks financial restitution for claims of unfair business practices and negligence. Both Facebook and Cambridge Analytica are named as defendants. Two other lawsuits were filed in San Francisco Tuesday and San Jose on Thursday by individual shareholders Fan Yuan and Robert Casey against Facebook, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and Chief Financial Officer David Wehner. Yuan and Casey also each seek make their cases class actions. They claim the company and the officers are responsible for the financial losses they incurred when the stock price dropped this week following news reports of the data harvesting. The price drop caused Facebook to lose $50 billion of its market value, or nearly 10 percent of its total market value, in two days. The fourth lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Jose Thursday by San Francisco attorney Jeremiah Hallisey, is a shareholder derivative suit filed on behalf of the company against Zuckerberg, Chief Operating Office Sheryl Sandberg and board members. Hallisey claims the officers and directors violated their fiduciary duty and also unjustly profited from previous sales of their own shares by failing to prevent, remedy or disclose the exploitation of Facebook users' personal profiles. The lawsuit asks for financial restitution to the company as well as a court order requiring Facebook to improve its corporate governance and internal procedures. The data disclosure allegedly came about when a researcher invited Facebook users to sign up for a psychological survey in 2014, was able to collect data from the friends of 270,000 participants and then provided the data on 50 million people to Cambridge Analytica. Facebook, which has more than 2 billion users worldwide, had no immediate comment on the lawsuits. But in a statement posted in its online newsroom on Wednesday, the company said, "Protecting people's information is the most important thing we do at Facebook. "What happened with Cambridge Analytica was a breach of Facebook's trust. More importantly, it was a breach of the trust people place in Facebook to protect their data when they share it," the company said. Facebook said it is "taking action on potential past abuse and putting stronger protections in place to prevent future abuse." Mark Molumphy, a lawyer for Hallisey, said in a statement, "Facebook's apology doesn't do much for the millions of Americans impacted by this conduct. "It also doesn't explain why Facebook executives waited three years to inform their loyal users and shareholders of the massive breach," Molumphy said. ### SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) Two people suffered life-threatening injuries in two separate vehicle collisions in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood Thursday evening, according to police. The first incident occurred around 6:20 p.m. near the corner of Folsom and 12th streets where a vehicle struck a bicyclist, police said. The driver reportedly exited his vehicle and checked on the bicyclist. The driver, however, then got back into his vehicle and fled, according to police. The bicyclist, a 58-year-old man, suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken to a hospital. The second incident occurred near Sixth and Jessie Streets at about 7:45 p.m., according to police. A 59-year-old man had fallen onto the ground, with his body protruding into the street, police said. A vehicle making a turn then struck the victim's body before fleeing the scene. The victim suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken to a hospital. No arrests have made in either case and descriptions for the suspect vehicles were not immediately available. ### FAIRFIELD (BCN) A traffic stop Thursday night in Fairfield led to the arrests of two people in connection with narcotics and weapons and a third person on an outstanding warrant. Jordan Castor, 19, of Rocklin, and Joe Allison, 18, of Woodland, were arrested on suspicion of multiple narcotics and firearms crimes, and Jose Perez, 32, of Fairfield, was arrested on an outstanding warrant, according to the Fairfield Police Department. Officers were patrolling the area of E. Travis Boulevard and Eisenhower Street Thursday night when they conducted a traffic stop for a vehicle code violation. While the officers mere talking with the occupants of the vehicle, they noticed what appeared to be illegal narcotics in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, police said. The officers detained the occupants of the vehicle, and during a search of the vehicle, they found two handguns with high capacity magazines, ammunition and more than one pound of marijuana divided into more than 150 individually packaged containers, police said. The three subjects were subsequently arrested. ### FAIRFIELD (BCN) The FBI and the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations are looking into a security breach Wednesday evening at Travis Air Force Base where a car gained unauthorized access to the base through the main gate, crashed and caught fire killing the driver. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene and there were no additional fatalities or injuries, according to the base's public affairs office. The breach occurred shortly before 7 p.m. The base's security officers, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team, the Office of Special Investigations and other first responders responded to the scene. The main gate of the base reopened and all other facilities are now operating as normal, air force officials said this afternoon. Col. John Klein, 60th Air Mobility Wing commander said, "I am extremely proud of how our first responders quickly addressed the situation to keep Travis and the surrounding area out of harm's way. "We are fortunate to have enduring relationships with federal and local law enforcement and will continue to work hand-in-hand with them through this investigative process," Klein said. ### A dam is stable tonight following a warning this afternoon that it was ready to fail and flood properties downstream of a reservoir that helps regulate the San Francisco Bay Area's water supply, officials with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission said. As of about 7:30 p.m., the dam on the Moccasin Reservoir in Tuolumne County was stable. It was in imminent danger of failing after heavy rain earlier in the day sent a surge of water and debris toward it. Officials with the commission said the dam functioned properly. The officials said the San Francisco Bay Area's water supply was never at risk. The Moccasin Reservoir is one of the utility's smallest reservoirs. It's used to regulate the Hetchy Hetch water system, which provides water to about 2.7 million customers in the Bay Area. The dam never overtopped but this afternoon crews saw water leaking on the downstream face of the dam. According to the commission, water in the reservoir is now down and water from it is being drained into the larger Don Pedro Reservoir. Crews are inspecting the Moccasin Reservoir dam for damage to it and its spillways. Significant flooding had been reported. The Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office dispatched a swift water rescue team to assist a couple who were caught on top of a chicken coop after their home and vehicles were submerged in water. Sheriff's officials said the couple's neighbors were able to get the couple to safety. ### BERKELEY (BCN) A two-alarm fire at 699 Virginia St. in Berkeley, near Second Street, that was reported at 9:41 a.m. today was controlled by 10:30 a.m., a fire official said. Berkeley Assistant Fire Chief Keith May said no one was injured in the fire at the Hanson Aggregates Berkeley Asphalt and Ready Mix Building. May said authorities temporarily shut down railroad tracks near the building for safety reasons. May said authorities also have closed some nearby streets but the nearby busy Fourth Street shopping area wasn't affected by the fire. He said authorities are still advising people to avoid the area bounded by Cedar Street, Fourth Street, Virginia Street and the Eastshore Highway. The cause of the fire hasn't yet been determined, May said. ### OAKLAND (BCN) An Oakley woman has been sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $300,000 in restitution for conspiring to file false federal tax returns, Acting United States Attorney Alex G. Tse announced Thursday. Yvonne Palmore, 53, was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty in October to one count of conspiracy to file false claims, prosecutors said. Palmore admitted she was involved in filing 131 false federal income tax returns using the names and identities of individuals without their knowledge or consent, prosecutors said. She also inserted account depository numbers on the returns that directed the IRS to pay refunds into bank accounts she controlled. In total, the IRS paid out $366,269.50 to the accounts. In addition to the prison term, Palmore must repay the $366,269.50 and serve three years of supervised release following her prison term. ### A Petaluma woman accused of electronically transferring roughly $350,000 out of her grandmother's bank account pleaded no contest Wednesday to felony elder abuse, according to San Mateo County prosecutors. Between April 2014 and January 2017, 38-year-old Kristen Deann Capella allegedly took thousands of dollars out of her grandmother's account every month. Shares of state-run Union Bank of India plunged to 11-year low a day after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case against the Hyderabad-based Totem Infrastructure and its promoters and directors - Tottempudi Salalith and his wife Tottempudi Kavita - for allegedly defrauding a consortium of eight banks for close to Rs 1,400 crore. The Union Bank of India stock fell 8.76 per cent or 8.30 points to 86.40 level on the BSE. Over the past two months, the CBI has reportedly filed at least seven FIRs related to loan defaults and frauds. A Mint report claimed that it was Union Bank of India's industrial finance branch in Hyderabad that filed the complaint against Totem for cheating the public sector bank to the tune of Rs 313.84 crore. The total outstanding dues of the company reportedly stand at Rs 1,394.43 crore. According to the report, Union Bank's complaint not only alleges that "the company had diverted funds by opening accounts outside the consortium", but that it also showed excess expenditure, inflated stocks and magnified wages. "The entire sale proceeds were not allegedly routed through the dealing branches of consortium banks," added the complaint. Incidentally, Totem - involved in road projects, waterworks and construction and was a subcontractor for L&T, RITES and IRCON International - also figured in the 2015 list of the biggest tax defaulters released by the Income Tax Department, with pending dues of over Rs 400 crore. So, the taxman had reportedly announced a reward of up to Rs 15 lakh for information on the "untraceable" company and other defaulters on the list. Though the construction and infrastructure company's account had slid into the non-performing asset category way back in June 30, 2012, the state-owned lender filed the complaint just a day ago. This development follows SBI filing a case of loan fraud against Chennai-based Kanishk Gold Pvt. Ltd for allegedly defrauding 14 banks of Rs 824.15 crore. It's worth mentioning here that Uday Kotak, the head of the country's fourth largest private bank, Kotak Bank, had recently pointed out that the "sensitive underbelly of the SMEs business" was yet to reveal its hand fully. Perhaps this is just the beginning of more such bad news in the days ahead. Meanwhile, sources in CBI told India Today that the accused have been located in Hyderabad and probe is being carried out in connection with the case. The bureau has also issued a Look Out Circular against the promoters to prevent them from leaving the country and are reportedly tracking their movements. (With PTI inputs) Facebook Inc came under further pressure from lawmakers, investors, advertisers and users on Thursday, the day after Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg admitted the social media network made mistakes in letting 50 million users' data get into the hands of political consultancy Cambridge Analytica. U.S. lawmakers demanded Zuckerberg personally testify in Washington to explain his company's actions. Meanwhile, advertisers Mozilla and Commerzbank suspended ads on the service and the hashtag #DeleteFacebook remained popular online, although it was hard to tell how many users are abandoning Facebook. In light of those concerns, investors continued to sell off Facebook shares, although not at the pace of earlier in the week. They closed on Thursday at $164.89, down 2.7 percent. The S&P 500 Index was down 2.5 percent on the day. Facebook shares closed at $185.09 on Friday. The company has lost more than $50 billion in market value since allegations this week that Cambridge Analytica improperly accessed data to build profiles on American voters and influence the 2016 presidential election. Five days after the scandal broke, Zuckerberg apologised on Wednesday for mistakes his company made and promised to restrict developers' access to user information as part of a plan to protect privacy. On Thursday, Facebook executives were still saying sorry. "We know this is an issue of trust. We know this is a critical moment for our company, for the service we provide," Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said in an interview broadcast on CNBC. Zuckerberg's apology and promises were not enough to ease political pressure on the world's largest social media company. "It shouldn't be for a company to decide what is the appropriate balance between privacy and innovation and use of data. Those rules should be set by society as a whole and so by parliament," British minister for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Matt Hancock, told BBC Radio. Zuckerberg's media rounds did little to satisfy Washington lawmakers in either political party who have demanded this week that the 33-year-old billionaire testify before Congress. The Republican chairman and top Democrat of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee said they will in coming days formally ask Zuckerberg to testify. The request came a day after company executives briefed committee aides for nearly two hours and left with a list of at least 60 questions they were unable to answer, two aides said. Zuckerberg said in media interviews on Thursday he would be willing to testify if he is the right person at the company to speak to lawmakers. "My message to Mark Zuckerberg is you are right person. There's no question you are the right person," Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, told reporters after Facebook executives briefed Senate staff on Thursday. Facebook said it had no comment beyond what Zuckerberg had already said. Executives also briefed another House committee on Thursday, and while they answered questions about Cambridge Analytica they were unprepared to address broader questions about Facebook's privacy policies, according to a staffer who was present. REPUTATIONAL COSTS Wall Street analysts expressed relief that there were no signs so far of a fundamental shift in the company's advertising-driven revenue model, but some said there would be costs to shore up its reputation. Facebook, with more than 2 billion monthly active users, made almost all its $40.6 billion in revenue last year from advertising. Sandberg said Facebook's priority was restoring users' trust, even if that meant accepting regulation of the data that is central to its ad business, and she said the company was "massively ramping hiring." Several analysts cut price targets. Technology stocks have fallen along with Facebook this week as investors worried about tighter scrutiny of global platforms like Alphabet's Google, Twitter and Snapchat. Analysts said Zuckerberg's promises to investigate thousands of apps, and to give members a tool that lets them turn off access, would not substantially reduce advertisers' ability to use Facebook data - the company's lifeblood. Nevertheless, open-source browser and app developer Mozilla said it was "pressing pause" on its Facebook advertising after the revelations prompted it to take a closer look at the site's default privacy settings. The founder and leader of the All Peoples Congress (APC) Hassan Ayariga has said he would shut down Parliament should it approve the controversial military pact between Ghana and United States. Addressing a news conference in Accra, Thursday, March 22, 2018 Mr. Ayariga described the agreement as senseless and bogus. So I am calling on the Parliamentand our parliamentarians that if they make a mistake and adopt this [the military pact] we will cancel Parliament House. We will go back to another election because they are not qualified to represent us, he warned stressing: And I am very serious about this. His warning comes after the government through the Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul stated that it cannot back out of the controversial military agreement despite massive public outcry and protests from the minority and Ghanaians. We have already signed a 1998 agreement, we have signed the 2015 agreement and we have already caught ourselves in this net and we cannot back out because this is just a combination of the two agreements, the Defence Minister told a press conference Wednesdaya position Mr. Ayariga lampooned as reckless. And [Ghanaians] you have to stand side by side with me for us to do the right thing once and for all. We cannot allow our greedy politicians to take us for granted anymore. Not on this matter. It can be any other thing but not on this matter, he said. Meanwhile, the Minority in Parliament said it will proceed to the Supreme Court if the majority uses its numbers in Parliament to pass the controversial military pact. The Government of Ghana, according to a leaked document, has approved the agreement with the US to set up a military base in Ghana and also allow unrestricted access to a host of facilities and wide-ranging tax exemptions to the United States Militarya claim the government of Ghana and the US denied. We have sent notice that if the NPP uses their numbers to see this get a pass, we will head to the Supreme Court. We are clear in our mind that what is going on now is not in our interest as a nation. It is illegal. The Minority is going to oppose this. A lot of laws are being breached by this agreement, warned the Minority spokesperson on Foreign Affair Samuel Okudze Ablakwa on Morning Starr Thursday. Source: starrfmonline.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 Atik Mohammed has appealed to the Government of Ghana to review their agreement with the US government to set up a Military base in the country. The Defence Ministry has submitted to Parliament for approval a memorandum on the agreement. To the Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul, the agreement will contribute to enhanced security cooperation between Ghana and the US. Speaking to Peacefmonline.com, Atik Mohammed told host Kwami Sefa Kayi that the agreement has several clauses that need a review. He raised red flag over certain immunities granted to the US Military Force as they come to set up their base in Ghana. If we did it in the past, I think it was wrong and we shouldnt repeat it. Atik Mohammed however called on the Defence Ministry to maintain the country's Military cooperation with the US government but added the cooperation shouldn't coerce the Ministry and Parliamentarians to make any decisions that will become a burden to Ghanaians. He dreaded the possibility of the US Military establishment making Ghana a target for terrorism since neighbouring countries have been attacked by terrorists for similar reasons. He therefore advised the government officials saying youre our last hope. Help Ghana. And I am speaking to NPP MPs and the NDC MPs alike. This is a matter of national interest. Were going to sign this and we all know the obligations that will become a burden on us. Ensure that you review the parts that are unnecessary Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Akufo-Addo government should be applauded by Ghanaians for not hiding the security deal between Ghana and the government of the United States of America (USA) contrary to what the Mahama administration did in a similar 2015 agreement, Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul has said. The Bimbilla lawmaker told journalists in Accra yesterday[Wednesday, March 21, 2018] that unlike the 1998 and 2015 agreements that were hidden by the previous governments, one of which, he said, was signed by Hanna Tetteh, Foreign Affairs Minister in the Mahama administration about three years ago, the Akufo-Addo government was elected to be transparent with Ghanaians as far as the updated security deal is concerned. In Mr Nitiwuls view, there were virtually no differences between the two previous agreements and the current one, and, so, wondered why the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and its Minority Caucus were accusing the current government of selling off Ghanas sovereignty for $20 million when it was the Mahama administration that signed one of the precedent agreements, which, according to him, had merely been upgraded. He said all the things the NDC and the Minority were shouting about were already in the two previous agreements which were secretly signed by the previous governments. Two years ago, Hanna Tetteh sold us, not us. In 1998, they sold us, Mr Nitiwul said. Per the defence agreement between the two countries, Ghana would, among others, provide unimpeded access to and use of agreed facilities and areas to United State forces, United States contractors, and others as mutually agreed. Such agreed facilities and area: or portions thereof, provided by Ghana shall be designated as either for exclusive use by Unite States forces or to be jointly used by United States forces and Ghana. Ghana shall also provide access to and use of a runway that meets the requirements of United States forces. Mr Nitiwul, however, denied the U.S. will be building a military base per the agreement. The U.S. Embassy in Ghana had also denied same. In a statement, the Embassy said on Tuesday, March 20, 2018 that: The United States Embassy wishes to underscore that the United States has not requested, nor does it plan to establish a military base or bases in Ghana. The current Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the United States of America and the Republic of Ghana, is approximately 20 years old. It does not cover the current range and volume of bilateral exercises and assistance. This year, the United States of America is investing over $20million in training and equipment for the Ghanaian armed forces. Ghana is also once again preparing to train U.S Forces as it did in 2017. Source: Today Newspaper 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 Kennebunk Post Extensive work on the steeple, the Aaron Willard Jr. clock and the weathervane of the 1824 building is complete. Democratic state Treasurer John Chiang has a little over 10 weeks before the June 5 primary to convince voters that the state needs a numbers guy as Californias next governor. Fiscal policy is social policy, he told a crowd at the University of San Francisco Thursday evening. People care about money. We dont want people homeless. We dont want people starving. Theres little doubt that Chiang, 55, knows the day-to-day financial workings of government better than anyone else running for governor. After getting his law degree from Georgetown University, he moved to California to work for the Internal Revenue Service and later for then-state Controller Gray Davis. In 1997, the Torrance (Los Angeles County) resident was appointed to the state Board of Equalization, where he served two full terms. He was elected to his first of two terms as state controller in 2006 and became state treasurer in 2014. Converting that expertise into political support in his race for governor has been a problem, he admitted. People care about whos fighting for them, he said during his onstage conversation with David Siders of Politico. People have to understand and we have to do a better job at getting it out that they have a roof over their head because of John Chiang, and the way he has managed Californias money. But a Public Policy Institute of California poll released this week found Chiang running fifth at 6 percent in the race to replace termed-out Gov. Jerry Brown, well behind front-running Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom at 28 percent. Those numbers dont accurately show how his campaign is doing, Chiang said. Were making very healthy progress, he said, citing a variety of endorsements from politicians, labor unions and other groups. We have other polls that show us ticking upward. We just have to get our name out there. Chiang has a story to tell and, as of the end of 2017, more than $9 million in the bank to get that message out to voters via TV, radio and political mailers. His parents were immigrants from Taiwan, and an online ad shown at the start of Thursdays program talked about how rocks were thrown at his home when his family moved into an Illinois neighborhood and how, as the first Asians there, we were taunted, ridiculed. Those early years gave him a feeling for the underdogs of society, Chiang said, and a realization that education is the key to moving California forward. Absolutely the state should be spending more on education, he said, especially on preschool education, which he called his first priority. Billions more are needed. But it will take a financial expert like himself to find those needed dollars, he said. That includes possible revisions to Prop. 13, to eliminate tax dodges that have allowed businesses to get around the requirement that property must be reappraised when its ownership changes. It also means that existing state funds must be used more efficiently and that California must collect the money its owed, whether by cracking down on questionable tax shelters or collecting taxes on the underground economy. Chiang also didnt rule out tax increases. I dont ever want to say never. I dont want to break a promise, he said. But if the economy goes sour or the states finances take a dive, I will do everything thats in the best interest of California. But Chiang sometimes struggles with his message, avoiding the typical politicians willingness to make bold statements in favor of admitting that he doesnt have all the answers. Asked whether he supports the North American Free Trade Agreement, which President Trump wants to see renegotiated, Chiang could only answer, Yes, but ... The agreement has hurt California groups like flower growers in Salinas and was passed too quickly, without enough study by Congress, he said. But he is unwilling to go along with the dramatic revisions Trump wants, calling instead for studying what changes are needed. Then theres Chiangs tendency to sometimes slip into fiscal-speak, such as calling for California to become a state that supports the vertical integration of business, a phrase that doesnt lend itself to catchy bumper stickers. Its all part of Chiangs green-eyeshade background, which he doesnt believe is a bad thing when hes trying to talk about how hes the best candidate to keep California on firm financial footing. I am fun, he protested at one point during the hour-long event. I just try not to let it be seen in public. Heather Brookfield never worried about 221 Pacific Ave. in Piedmont, her familys home for the past 10 years. The Brookfields moved in shortly after a thorough renovation left the residence in turnkey condition. The former owners did a money-is-no-object remodel. The place had new windows and wiring and a remodeled kitchen. They intended to be their forever home, Brookfield said. But the owner was transferred to East Coast and put the home up for sale. For the past decade, Brookfield has raised her two children in the brown-shingle five-bedroom with wraparound decks and views of the Golden Gate, Bay and Richmond bridges. The family held large gatherings there. On summer nights, the boys sometimes slept outside on the covered terraces. The home dates to 1908. Its architect, Charles W. Dickey, designed a variety of buildings around the East Bay, including the Claremont Resort Hotel and Oaklands Rotunda building in Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. Original finishes like the quarter-sawn oak floors await within the home that boasts nearly 5,000 square feet of living space. The home includes a front terrace lined with antique French terra cotta tile and a hardscaped backyard with multiple levels. A rumpus room with a coved ceiling, brick fireplace and built-in shelving outfits the lower level. The main level holds all the public rooms, including an expansive living room wrapped in millwork. Two pairs of glass doors in the living room step out to a view terrace. A glass chandelier illuminates a formal dining room with Venetian plaster walls and a ceiling fresco. Soapstone and limestone counters complement custom cabinetry and a Wolf range in the French country kitchen. Four bedrooms, including the owners suite, occupy the third floor. A pair of walk-in closets, bay views, and a marble bathroom with Baccarat crystal sconces accent the suite that served as Brookfields sanctuary. Its calm and peaceful in that room, she said. Youre up high and you look out at the city. It has this magical, very private feel to it. You feel like you are in your nest looking at the city. A floor with a bedroom, bathroom, and unfinished attic space crowns the residence. Brookfield complimented the homes versatility, saying its indoor/outdoor functionality provides a backdrop for both entertaining and everyday living. The house has formality to it, but at same time, it feels cozy and homey, she said. Listing agent: Anian Tunney, the Grubb Co., (510) 928-7447, tunney@grubbco.com; Adrienne Krumins, the Grubb Co., (510) 928-4521, atk@grubbco.com. Details Address: 221 Pacific Ave., Piedmont. Price: $3.85 million. Features: Designed by architect Charles W. Dickey and completed in 1908, this brown-shingle five-bedroom offers nearly 5,000 square feet of living space along with views of Lake Merritt, the bay, and the Golden Gate and Bay bridges. Multiple wraparound decks and a front terrace afford ample indoor/outdoor living opportunities to the home in the heart of Piedmont. Spring break is almost here and Bay Area locals are getting ready to book it out of this less-than-ideal weather. But where is everyone headed to? The folks at Expedia were game to look at the data to figure out where Bay Area customers are flying in the next couple of weeks. Breaking down the data by weekend and by airport, the travel booking site gives us a glimpse into where your friends, co-workers and classmates will be posting their FOMO-inducing photos. There were some trends among the San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose airports. Given the relatively short break time, West Coast destinations reigned supreme. Many were flocking to Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles and San Diego not to mention Las Vegas as their quick trip of choice. Another popular destination for locals: Hawaii. The Instagram-friendly state with its sandy beaches were especially popular for those flying out of Oakland International Airport (OAK) four of the top 10 destinations were in the Hawaii islands. Travel writer Chris McGinnis with TravelSkills.com attributed the popularity of the destination to a decline in fares, which included a price war that erupted just this week. Those willing to risk the possibility of jetlag upon return were headed to Asia. Tokyo, Taipei, Manila and Hong Kong all ranked within the top 10 for San Francisco International Airport (SFO) although Paris and London also appear on the list. Alexis Tiacoh, PR specialist for Expedia, affirmed the popularity of Asia among travelers saying that Bangkok in particular was a frequent search for the company's customers. "Bangkok was one of the most searched international destinations last year, and our data also shows Bay Area travelers are still very interested in the rich culture and history Thailand's capital has to offer," Tiacoh said. Take a look at the most popularspring break destinations broken down by airport (and by spring break dates), according to Expedia. A cold front from the Northwest delivered a chilly blast of air into the San Francisco Bay Area on Thursday, sending temperatures plummeting and spurring locals to turn on their heaters. Temperatures dropped more than 20 degrees in a 24-hour period in some places. Healdsburg, Sebastopol, Morgan Hill, and Sunnyvale all saw 23-degree changes when the temperatures dipped into the low 30s Friday morning. Downtown San Francisco went from a low of 57 on Thursday morning to a low of 47 on Friday morning, with a 10-degree change, while Oakland dropped to 43 degrees, with a 15-degree change. "We're recommending that people bring their coats with them today, not their umbrellas," says Scott Rowe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey. But the umbrellas will soon come out again, as a wet system will pass over the Bay Area, Friday night bringing rain. "It will first impact the North Bay in the evening hours," says Rowe. "As this front goes south, precipitation chances will decrease. The front isn't nearly as strong as the one that went through yesterday. Amounts will be less than the last several days." GALLERY: Earlier in the week, an atmospheric river delivered heavy rain, causing widespread flooding Temperatures are forecast to drop into the 30s and 40s overnight Friday and showers will likely continue. There's a 30 percent chance of rain in San Francisco on Saturday morning and that will increase to a 50 percent chance later in the day. On Sunday, the chances of rain will be lower, and Rowe says then the Bay Area will be moving into a dry spell with a warming trend. "By Tuesday, we could see some 70s around the Bay Area," he says. "Overnight lows by mid-week will be in the 50s." PARIS A gunman killed three people in southwestern France on Friday in a burst of violence that included hijacking a car, shooting at police officers and opening fire and taking hostages in a supermarket. The gunman, who witnesses said claimed to be acting on behalf of the Islamic State, was later killed by police officers who stormed the market. An officer wounded after exchanging places with some hostages was fighting against death in the hospital Friday night, President Emmanuel Macron said. The attack rattled nerves in a country that has been hit hard by terrorism in recent years, and it underscored the threat posed by individuals inspired by terrorist propaganda but who act outside of any structured networks. The level of the terrorist threat on our territory has not waned, said Francois Molins, the Paris prosecutor, who handles terrorism investigations nationwide. It is the result of radicalized individuals who are on our national territory. Whether the attacker had any direct contact with the Islamic State remained unclear. Authorities identified the gunman as Radouane Lakdim, 25, who was born in Morocco but who lived in Carcassonne, about 60 miles southeast of Toulouse, and was known to police as a petty criminal and drug dealer. He had previous convictions for illegally carrying a firearm and possessing drugs. Molins said that Lakdim had been flagged by French intelligence services in 2014 because of his radicalization and of his ties to the Salafist movement, and that he had been under surveillance in 2016 and 2017. But Molins said the surveillance had not uncovered any precursory sign that could have foretold a terrorist act. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, describing the assailant as a soldier of the Islamic State. The wording suggested that the attacker was inspired by the Islamic State, rather than directed by it. Molins said that Lakdim first hijacked a car in Carcassonne on Friday morning, killing the passenger and wounding the driver. He then targeted a group of police officers returning to their barracks after a jog, shooting at them and wounding one. Finally, Lakdim drove to the market, the Super U in nearby Trebes, where he killed two more people and took several hostages. MOGADISHU, Somalia At least 14 people were killed and 10 others wounded in a car bomb blast near a hotel in Somalias capital, Mogadishu, Somali officials said Thursday. Capt. Mohamed Hussein said the explosion occurred near the Weheliye hotel on the busy Makka Almukarramah road. The road has been a target of attacks in the past by the Somalia-based extremist group al-Shabab, the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa. Most of the casualties were passers-by and traders, Hussein said. The toll of dead and wounded was announced by security ministry spokesman Abdulaziz Hildhiban. Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the blast. The group frequently attacks Mogadishus high-profile areas such as hotels and military checkpoints. A truck bombing in October killed 512 people in the countrys deadliest attack. Only a few attacks since 9/11 have killed more people. Al-Shabab was blamed. Thursdays blast comes almost exactly a month after two car-bomb explosions in Mogadishu shattered a months-long period of calm in the city, killing at least 21 people. The Horn of Africa nation continues to struggle to counter the Islamic extremist group. Concerns have been high over plans to hand over the countrys security to Somalias own forces as a 21,000-strong African Union force begins a withdrawal that is expected to be complete in 2020. Last month, the head of the AU force, Francisco Madeira, said ending the pullout before 2021 could bring about a serious risk of reversals that could derail the gains already made. Somali forces, he said, are not yet ready. The U.S. military, which has stepped up efforts against al-Shabab in the past year with dozens of drone strikes, has said Somali forces are not yet ready. BEIRUT An agreement was reached Friday to evacuate the second of three pockets held by opposition fighters east of the capital Damascus hours after the main rebel group in the area declared a cease-fire to give negotiations with the Russians and the Syrian government a chance, state media and the armed opposition group said. Shortly before the cease-fire went into effect at midnight Thursday, intense government attacks killed at least 37 people in an underground shelter, prompting the truce and later the agreement between Faylaq al-Rahman rebel group and the government to evacuate the area. Fridays agreement will mean the surrender of the second of three pockets in eastern Ghouta, where rebels have been holding up over the past years. On Thursday, hundreds streamed out of Harasta, the first pocket after a similar negotiated cease-fire and evacuation of armed fighters and civilians. The rebel group Faylaq al-Rahman, which controls the second pocket, asked for the latest cease-fire after the intensified assault on territories it controls. Faylaq al-Rahman, the second most powerful group in eastern Ghouta, said in a statement that it reached an agreement with the Russians over areas it controls in eastern Ghouta. It added that the deal will lead to the immediate evacuation of sick and wounded people for treatment and to allow aid to enter the besieged area. The group added that opposition fighters and their relatives who decide to leave eastern Ghouta will head to rebel-held parts of northern Syria while civilians who decide to stay will be guaranteed safety. It said that Russian military police will deploy in Faylaq al-Rahman-controlled areas including the suburbs of Arbeen, Zamalka, Ein Tarma and Jobar. A prisoner exchange will take place between the group and the government, the group added. Rabieh Dibeh, correspondent for state-affiliated al-Ikhbariya TV said 7,000 civilians and Faylaq al-Rahman fighters will begin leaving the four suburbs as early as Saturday. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it is not clear whether Faylaq al-Rahman members will head to the rebel-held northwestern province of Idlib or to northern regions controlled by Turkish troops and Turkey-backed opposition fighters. In the worst violence Thursday, a single air strike hit the shelter in the town of Arbeen, where dozens of residents were taking refuge. Rescue teams, known as the White Helmets, said 37 people were killed. Another medical group that supports health facilities operating in the area, the Syrian American Medical Society, put the toll at 47, saying many of them were burned to death and that number was likely to rise. LIMA, Peru New President Martin Vizcarra promised to fight Perus corruption head-on as he assumed the office Friday pledging to heal the wounds left by a vote-buying scandal that abruptly forced his predecessor from office. In his first address as president, the relatively unknown former governor of Perus second-smallest state appealed for national unity and urged young Peruvians not to succumb to cynicism. Dont lose faith in our institutions, Vizcarra, who had been vice president, said in remarks to congress shortly after being draped in the red and white presidential sash. Let us show you that Peru is bigger than its problems. Vizcarras 15-minute speech was short on specifics. Other than pledging to form a completely new Cabinet, he gave little insight into how he would attack endemic corruption. But he received warm applause from lawmakers weary of the months-long effort to oust Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, whose resignation from the presidency was approved overwhelmingly just a few hours earlier. Even the leader of that campaign, Keiko Fujimori, whose opposition party dominates congress, wished the soft-spoken engineer success in his new job and echoed his call for unity and optimism. Vizcarra received something of a heros welcome shortly after midnight when he flew in from Canada, where he had been serving as ambassador amid one of the most politically turbulent periods in Perus recent history. Supporters greeted him at the airport with a large birthday cake in the red and white colors of Perus flag. A marching band was on hand and some people carried signs reading Peru is with Vizcarra. A last-minute hitch Friday had threatened to delay the transition of power. Kuczynski said in a tweet that the proposed language of a congressional resolution approving his resignation was unacceptable, and if lawmakers pressed forward with the wording he would reverse his decision to quit, forcing congress to go forward with plans to try for a second time to impeach him. In the end, the language was removed. But congress nonetheless rebuked the 79-year-old Kuczynski in its final resolution, scolding him for a political crisis that is the result of wrongful acts that the president himself has committed. Efforts to oust the unpopular Kuczynski led by Fujimori, the daughter of former strongman Alberto Fujimori, had been building for months. But the campaign went into overdrive this week after the emergence of secretly shot videos that showed allies of Kuczynski, including a son of Alberto Fujimori, allegedly attempting to buy the support of an opposition lawmaker to block the presidents impeachment. Kuczynski delivered a resignation letter to congress Wednesday, saying relentless attacks by his opponents had made it impossible to govern. Four employees from a reputed company lose a sum of over 40, 000 in an ATM fraud that happened on Tuesday in Murugeshpalya, Bangalore. The case highlights on the growing digital hacking ecosystem, where in despite of card holder being in one place and the hacker at the other part of the country shows how advanced hackers are at this. Moreover, it shows the vulnerable side of the digital transactions, which in fact requires a whole new level of security systems for the safer world. Apoorva, one of the victims says, Tuesday evening returning from work, I entered into a nearby ATM to change my pin just because of a fraud rumour in my company. After changing the pin, I checked my balance and I was shocked to see that 30,000 was gone from my account in three different transactions. I right away contacted the Customer Care and explained them. In the next morning, I filed a complaint submitting the documents at the Axis Bank and since it was over 25,000, I had to complain at the Cybercrime cell as well. Hearing me out, bank told me that Ill be reimbursed the amount within 2-3 months, depending on the case genuinity. With more people transacting online and technology becoming increasingly sophisticated, ATM hacking and fraud business has become an organized crime that can be unleashed upon you from across the world. A recent report shows that a total of 1,785 cases, each amounting to 1 lakh or more related to credit/debit cards and net banking frauds in India were reported last year. The number of transactions that took place at ATM and POS terminal amounted to approx. 3469.97 billion (Rs 3,46,997 crore). While people are moving towards digital payment methods, such instances are a blow to the governments digital initiative dream. Monisha, who works in the same company, had a similar experience. She says, Tuesday morning while working in my office, I received two notifications within a span of 30 seconds that 3,000 and 2,500 has been debited from my account. I checked my purse and was relieved to see that card is with me. But in no time, I received the third notification saying insufficient funds. I headed to the Axis Bank and lodged a complaint submitting the documents, and they promised that amount will be reimbursed within 2-3 months if its a genuine case. Digital payment systems are pivotal in any economy and payments are a daily activity carried out by people. Some people transact 2-5 times a day while some other more than 20 times making them heavy users of this system. PM Ramdas, VP & Head Security at Reliance Group, says, With millions of identity fraud victims in India, anyone with a bank account must take the proper precautions. Fortunately, guarding yourself from fraudsters requires a minimal time investment and a little common sense. Some easy ways to secure your bank accounts and avoid identity theft is to make sure your passwords contain both small letters and capital letters, never give your usernames, passwords or PIN to anyone, never give username or password on any link you receive via email, dont use public computers for banking. Incidents like these have put a dark spot on the Indian Banking organizations as common mans financial freedom is being compromised. Reports from a study by IIM-B suggest that banks should establish a special fraud monitoring department with experts trained in fraud detection. Hence, the government and RBI should improvise and strengthen the current banking system to make sure that digital transactions are safer than before. Or else a reverse trend is not so far!! Given below are the transaction details of the victims and the highlighted portion shows the hacked part: a) transaction details of Apoorva b) transaction details of Monisha Read more news: Google commits $300mn to empower media houses Constructed during Melbournes gold rush era, the historic Elizabeth Chambers building near Flinders Street station sparked a mini gold rush of its own, selling before a large auction crowd on Friday for $9.62 million. The six-level rendered brick office - its pigeon-infested upper floors abandoned and its lower floors leased to a tattoo parlour and the marijuana-themed High Voltage City store - initially attracted slow bidding from a 150-strong lunchtime crowd on bustling Elizabeth Street. The price bidders were willing to pay for 21-23 Elizabeth Street rose from an opening bid of $7 million to $7.9 million before it was declared on the market at $8 million and the auctioned fired up. Elizabeth Street Credit:Evelyn Suk Yi Looi Two prospective purchasers, one from mainland China and the other from Hong Kong, battled it out with $50,000 and $20,000 bids before auctioneer Paul Tzamalis eventually knocked the property down for $9.62 million. When Ken McLeod was defamed in a Facebook comment, he went straight to Facebook Australia to have it removed. The response he got from the social media behemoth left him shocked - not only did Facebook Australia say it did not have authorisation to access his user records or take action about content on Facebook.com, it also claimed to not "control or operate the website". Ken McLeod was shocked by the response he received when he wrote to Facebook Australia. Credit:Sean Davey Instead of deleting the comment as hed asked, an official letter from Facebook Australia said he didnt have a contractual relationship with the company and needed to redirect his query to Facebook Ireland. This is the same for every Australian Facebook user. The Senate economics legislation committee handed down its report examining the Turnbull government's draft whistleblower bill on Thursday, recommending the new laws be passed with "an explicit requirement for review". The Greens, meanwhile, continue to push for a reward scheme for corporate whistleblowers - saying such a move would encourage disclosure and help the government claw back ill-gotten gains. And Labor members of the committee say the draft bill falls "far short" of the whistleblower reforms called for by a landmark parliamentary inquiry last year, noting what they described as "widespread and varied" concerns flagged by experts about the legislation. A Coalition-chaired Senate committee wants the Turnbull government to "explicitly" promise to review its draft corporate whistleblower protection laws if they clear parliament, after hearing concerns that the current draft bill is "inadequate" and an "opportunity lost". The report has landed amid intense focus on corporate misconduct, after two weeks of explosive revelations out of the banking and financial services royal commission and the privacy scandal embroiling Facebook which was brought to light by a whistleblower in the US. It also follows a study that highlighted the poor state of whistleblowing policies in corporate Australia. As noted in the committee report, the Turnbull government is yet to respond to some key recommendations of last year's Parliamentary Joint Committee (PJC) inquiry into whistleblower protections - including a reward scheme for corporate whistleblowers, a single "Whistleblower Act" and a dedicated whistleblower protection agency, none of which are provided for in the current draft laws. "Most stakeholders noted that the bills fall short of implementing all the recommendations of the PJC inquiry," the committee said. While many contributors had concluded that "that the bill strikes a good balance", the committee said, it acknowledged that "a minority of contributors continue to believe that the bill is inadequate, suggesting that passing the bill as it stands would mean that nothing more would be done and that it would be an opportunity lost". Loading Some - including the Law Council - "seemed to suggest that it would be better to withdraw the bill altogether and 'get it right'," the committee noted. But it said that "most" of those who had contributed felt the bill improved on the current laws and "is at the very least a good step towards reform". Franchising is under the spotlight again with the competition watchdog turning its attention to the beleagured sector after recieving 600 franchising related complaints last year. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commissions focus on the franchising comes as parliament prepares for a wide ranging inquiry into the $170 billion franchising industry. There have been a run of scandals in the franchising sector embroiling some of its biggest players including the Retail Food Group, Domino's Pizza, 7-Eleven and Caltex. Small Business snapshot Former Caltex franchise owners took to the streets of Sydney on Friday to protest against what they claim is unfair treatment by the company in terminating their businesses. The outrage followed Caltexs announcement it will scrap petrol station franchises by 2020 and acquire 433 franchise stories run by 237 franchisees. Former franchisees say the franchise model is broken, and they are being punished for it. Credit:Wolter Peeters Franchisees said their contracts are being rapidly terminated, with little warning as to when they will lose their stores. One of them, with five stores in Newcastle, said he was only notified of the change in ownership on the morning it happened. "They just took us over," he said. "The termination email came through at six in the morning and they had security and management there taking over the store at the same time as we got the email." Education special report They are a favourite marsupial almost too cute to bear. However, experts warn their numbers are under severe threat. A Santa Sabina College students' app, Anigram Trakka, is capable of collecting vital data on koalas. So keeping track of koalas needs all the help there is. Enter a team of students who in year 8 applied their digital smarts to koala tracking and came up with an award-winning app. The proportion of students doing high-level maths and science subjects in the HSC has steadily declined over the past 10 years along with Australia's performance in international tests, which experts say is linked to the country's attitudes towards STEM. Only 4.18 per cent of HSC students did Maths Extension 2, the highest level maths subject available, last year. This was down from 4.58 per cent of the cohort in 2007. Only 11.54 per cent of year 12 students did Maths Extension 1 in 2017, down from 13.18 per cent in 2007, and 22.36 per cent studied Mathematics, down from 26.99 per cent. The proportion of HSC students doing maths, science and technology subjects has steadily declined in the past 10 years. Credit:Nic Walker Maths General 2, which is a non-calculus course, remains the most popular maths elective, with 41.29 per cent of HSC students taking it last year. However, this also represents a decline from 44.27 per cent in 2007. Australia's ISEF team has students from independent and public schools. Jade and Macinley met as Young Scientist finalists in 2015 and are ISEF veterans. Macinley won its top medicine prize, the first Australian to do so, for her invention of Smart Armour, a shield to protect breast cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. Macinley is 17, in year 12 at TIGS, and is the 2018 NSW Young Australian of the Year. Jade won BHP Billiton's investigations award last year and was awarded fourth place in the world at ISEF in 2015. After those massive individual successes, the pair joined forces. "What bigger issue could we tackle than poor water quality in developing countries?" says Jade. "The potential impact of such a device would be world changing. "Once we started researching, the information we discovered was so alarming, we realised how important this really is." Their invention first filters water to remove chemical contaminants, then biologically disinfects the water using UV light. The water is then drinkable and can be safely stored in a copper unit, further reducing biological presence. "Our device then uses a solar panel to run an induction unit that's capable of pressurising the water to the recognised standards for medical grade sterile water," says Jade. They've named it SAS Sanitation and Sterilisation. The only other equipment they've heard of that is capable of off-grid water sterilisation was developed by the United States' Rice University, but its invention is the size of a shipping container and must be transported in a semitrailer, Jade says. The SAS flat pack solution is itself another leap forward. "Our solar panel uses reflectors to increase the surface area of light reaching the solar panel and tracks the path of the sun over the days, so it doesn't need to be so large," says Jade. Young Scientists are on a roll Students who enter the Young Scientist awards can undertake an investigation based on an original idea (and which produces measurements, tables and graphs and an interesting finding), or they can develop a working model of an innovative device or application. Their device should be easy to use and solve a need or problem. The awards began in 1992, are a major project of the Science Teachers' Association of NSW (STANSW), and are run by primary and secondary teachers from both independent and public schools. Students entering the Competitors enter their project in a local or regional science fair, with winning projects chosen to move on to bigger contests. "Students are so passionate about their projects and that carries over into a passion for science," says Anjali Rao, a Sydney teacher and STANSW Young Scientist co-ordinator. Winning projects are displayed on the Young Scientist website. Since 1998, 51 Young Scientist award-winning projects have represented Australia at ISEF and a further 63 projects selected as finalists in the BHP Billiton national awards. The incredible shrinking surfboard Sydney's Redeemer Baptist College student Lachlan Bolton came up with his Young Scientist project to solve a family problem. "Each weekend I travel to Manly with my brothers and a friend to surf," he says. "Four of us had to drive for 40 minutes sharing a car with all our surfboards, so you can imagine how cramped it got." The 2017 year 12 graduate designed an extendable modular surfboard, called Future Board, that could fit in any car. It's a terrific idea and won Lachlan a place on Australia's ISEF Pittsburgh team. Future Board is ultraportable, has the ability to break down to half its original size and fit into a regular body board bag. The unique functionality allowing it to be extended in length creates more flexibility for surfers when choosing the right board for the conditions. And it is made from 100 per cent recycled materials, so it is a sustainable winner. "The most important part of my project was making all the surfaces seamless, so I've put the joining system completely within the board, using a wooden stringer that runs inside the board and two cross-strings that spread the tensioning load across the board," Lachlan says. He admits to breaking 15 surfboards in his quest to make the ideal miniaturising model. "Shaping the end product was the easy part," he says. Research and prototyping took the most time, he says, adding that the project took about 12 weeks all up. "The trickiest part was finding a joining system that could withstand the enormous forces associated with large waves crashing onto a soft surfboard." Because the Young Scientists awards can be curriculum-linked, Lachlan says his project was submitted as his HSC major work. "The project counted for 60 per cent of my HSC design and technology mark. I got Band 6 results, and was a Distinguished Achiever in the subject," he says. ''If the state is more ambitious about the contribution the arts community is making, we need a greater level of core funding to realise those ambitions,'' he said. ''If the minister was able to get another $100 million of core funding per annum that would make a big difference to the sector. Prominent arts philanthropist Simon Mordant said the government's unprecedented spending splurge on upgrading the Sydney Opera House, Walsh Bay arts precinct and venues in western Sydney and regional NSW needed to be matched by increased levels of core annual funding. The chairman of the board of the Museum of Contemporary Art has pitched for an extra $100 million in annual arts funding to support the state's artists, writers, television and film producers as government figures show Victoria and Queensland spend far more on the arts on a per capita basis than NSW. ''Part of the issue is the cultural infrastructure plan is seeing some great big sums of capital spend with specific projects that are overdue, but they will have a consequential impact on recurring funding because if you build bigger institutions they need more staff. ''If you have a fixed pot of money that is going to be taken from existing players to the new, it's just going to cause a real issue for the rest of the sector.'' Leading players in the NSW arts community gathered at Carriageworks on Friday at the behest of Arts Minister Don Harwin to shape the strategic blueprint Arts 2025. The ability of artists to make a living wage was high on the list of priorities for attendees, while Create NSW was keen for ideas on how to convert arts investment into tourism dollars and support initiatives in western Sydney and regional NSW, where one in six professional Australian artists live. More than 212,000 artists, writers and creatives are employed in the sector and there are 19,000 businesses in the market, a background paper prepared for the summit said. The growth in arts and culture employment was greater than for agriculture and retail, the report said, while pointing out that government funding of the sector lagged that of Queensland and Victoria. How do you shoot a comedian? Photographically speaking. Props are so passe. The exploding cigars. Cream pies in the face. Groucho nose glasses. Kidding, right? The candid, sad clown cliches? Seen it, heard it. Trot out shtick expect a merciless heckle. Instead Matt Hofmann keeps it real. In his portrait series of 100 comedians, there's not even a mic for the likes of Tony Martin, Cal Wilson and Arj Barker to hide behind. ''I didn't want Lehmo, I wanted Anthony Lehmann,'' says Matt Hofmann of his Face of Comedy portrait. Credit:Matt Hofmann "I wanted to keep it really simple," Hofmann says of his Face of Comedy exhibition, on display at ACMI during Melbourne International Comedy Festival. "I wanted to put these comedians in situations that made their personalities shine." So it's back to Hofmann's place for a cuppa and a snap. Just a chair and a black background and a blazing light above. This winter, instead of sitting in a cafe in Barcelona scrabbling through my Spanish For Beginners for a phrase that might stop my waitress, in her flamenco frock, from delivering the episodic avalanche of tapas with which she is impoverishing me, I will stand in a fish and chips shop in Benalla and watch a single mum named Cheryl with burn-speckled forearms squirt soy sauce on four steamed dim sims in a brown paper bag. I will not eat my dimmies in a square populated by idling Spaniards and clots of Chinese bristling with selfie-sticks. I will eat them on a bench in the main street watching tradies in hi-vis vests, the portly oranges and lemons of lunchtime downtown Victoria. And I'll be comforted by knowing almost everything about almost everyone who passes, even if I don't. Illustration: Robin Cowcher This winter, I won't puzzle over encrypted timetables on train platforms as locos come and go, any one of which might have been the Barcelona-to-Lisbon, which I absolutely had to be on. This winter, after my dimmies, I will get in my car and drive to Mansfield, laughing at the dingbats of rural talkback, stopping on the way to leak behind a tree. This winter, I will not hump luggage up dollhouse staircases to dogbox rooms. I will stay in a country pub and shower in its communal bathroom where truckies shave in dull mirrors. Nor will I, this winter, be frantically goose-stepping across cobblestone, staring in terror at my wristwatch, hounded by schedules. This winter I will glance at the sun. Counter lunches are available from 12-til-two. I read the sun well enough not to miss a counter lunch. And for dinner in whatever country town I'm in I will dine at the Thai, which was Chinese, and will soon be Korean. This winter, I will not wander agog through towering cathedrals, nor will I visit the dock from which Columbus set sail. I will not barhop around a piazza. I will sit in the striated moonlight under a sheoak by a fire listening to a boobook. This winter, instead of being among the greenhorns guided in synched awe around Gaudi's gaudy game-changer, I will cut myself some slack and be local, pleased to know what the marble digger on his cenotaph is thinking, and happy to have a chin wag with the woman who sells flatty tails at the farmers' market. This winter I will not drop a banknote adorned with a bearded revolutionary in the collection plate of a solemn-eyed abbess hoping it is sufficient payment to view her ruin. Instead I'll watch Euroa play Tatura through my windscreen, honking my horn at speccies, noting that the full forward is a chip off the old block. This autumn I wish I'd thought of the idea for this column, but it's a steal from a Billy Collins poem called Consolation. Billy, a mighty American poet, saw the comforts of staying home. "How much better to command the simple precinct of home than be dwarfed by pillar, arch, and basilica. Why hide my head in phrase books and wrinkled maps? Why feed scenery into a hungry, one-eyed camera Eager to eat the world one monument at a time?" You might come to Bar Patron by Rockpool for the millionaire's margarita, made tableside with top-shelf tequila and nitro'd pearls of finger lime for just $100 a glass. Or you might drop by to try the highly rare Patron Serie 2 tequila bottled in $10,000 decanters of Lalique crystal, for $990 a shot. But you should stay for the $12 bowl of soup. Pozole is one of Mexico's most-loved dishes. The recipes change across the regions, but basically it's made with pork, onion, garlic, hominy (soft, puffy maize kernels), bay, oregano and chilli, and served at special celebrations and big family get-togethers. Go-to dish: Pozole rojo braised pork soup. Credit:Wolter Peeters For me, it's the star of this new Mexican restaurant down by Circular Quay; a collaboration between Neil Perry, the Rockpool Dining Group and Patron Tequila that has been lively and late-night (late-night!) since day one. Chef Pamela Valdes, who comes from Xalapa in Vera Cruz, cooks up a whole pig's head to give the base soup a silky, fatty, porky richness, while hominy adds a cushioned softness. I love the way it comes with a plateful of shredded lettuce, sliced radish, dried chilli, dried Mexican oregano and corn chips to crumble over the top. And $12? It's a rare win for the cash-poor. An Australian Defence Force Academy cadet has been acquitted of raping a Canberra university student. However, Sebastian Crago Ellis, 22, is still on trial on charges of committing an act of indecency and unlawful assault. An ACT Supreme Court jury on Friday handed down verdicts of not guilty to charges of committing an act of indecency without consent, two counts of attempted rape, and sexual intercourse without consent. Mr Ellis has this week been on trial before Justice John Burns for six alleged sexual offences. He pleaded not guilty. More than 180 works by some 160 artists are on display in Celebration: 20 years of collecting visual art at CMAG. The exhibition - which has taken over a large part of the gallery space - provides a small sample of the more than 6500 paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, photographs, glassworks and other objects Canberra Museum and Gallery has acquired over the past two decades. For many of the works, it's the first time they've been shown in many years, if at all. CMAG's senior curator of visual arts Deborah Clark, who has curated the exhibition as her final act before leaving the gallery after 10 years, says, "The idea of it is really a showcase of some of the best and brightest" with works both by artists from the Canberra region and art works about the Canberra region. CMAG Collection Luna Ryan, A broken performance, 2013. CMAG, purchased with funds from the Meredith Hinchliffe Fund 2013. Credit:Rob Little RLDI She decided, in order to be as representative as possible, to include no more than one work by any particular artist except in a few cases where there was a series of works. The oldest work in the exhibition - and the collection - is Joseph Lycett's hand-coloured aquatint View of Lake George, New South Wales, from the north east, rendered in 1825. Police have appealed for help to identify two men who threatened a woman with a knife in an attempted robbery in Canberra's Glebe Park on March 12. ACT Policing said one of the men requested money when they approached the woman about 7.45pm. Police have appealed for help identifying these two men after an attempted robbery in Canberra's Glebe Park on March 12. Credit:ACT Policing When the woman refused, the other man pulled out a 40cm knife and demanded the woman hand over her mobile phone. She again refused and one of the men attempted to grab it from her, but failed. In the other notable breach of trust, the personal information of some 50 million Facebook users was misused by a political consultancy to help Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign target voters. The consultancy, now notorious, is called Cambridge Analytica. Facebook shrugged off the scandal and stonewalled the public and the US Congress for the first five days. It responded not to its angry customers or concerned Congress members but only to its falling share price. Facebook founder and major shareholder Mark Zuckerberg decided that it was serious only after he had lost $US9 billion in personal wealth. "So this was a major breach of trust and I'm really sorry that this happened," were Zuckerberg's first words in a CNN interview this week. "So our responsibility now is to make sure that this doesn't happen again." A self-driving Uber. Uber has suspended its trials of self-drive cars. Credit:Gene J. Puskar Which sounds good until you recall that it has already happened again, and again. One of the reasons that this is a problem for Facebook is that the company gave a formal undertaking to the US Federal Trade Commission in 2011 that it would not. "Users had no idea that Cambridge Analytica was accessing this data. It's a clear violation of the 2011 consent order," Sam Lester of the Electronic Privacy Information Centre told CBS News. A former mentor of Zuckerberg's and one of his earliest investors, Roger McNamee, pointed out: "Potentially it could cost them $US40,000 for every offence, times 50 million." That comes out at a possible maximum $US2 trillion, a bankrupting bill even for a company the size of Facebook. McNamee says he's been trying to persuade Zuckerberg to tend to the ethics of his business for years, in vain. Zuckerberg eventually cut off contact. Facebook users are "finally starting to recognise that this is not the fun and games, innocent place they thought it was," says McNamee, still a shareholder in the business. "There's been an increasing understanding that when you're using Facebook, a lot of bad things are going to happen to you, as a user." A tech writer for Slate, Will Oremus, says that it was inevitable: "The real scandal is that this wasnt a data breach or some egregious isolated error on Facebooks part. What Cambridge Analytica did was, in many ways, what Facebook was optimised for - collating personal information about vast numbers of people in handy packets that could then be used to try to sell them something." Facebook CEO has said the company will make changes. Yet it took a long time and multiple scandals for the political and regulatory system to turn serious attention to the firm. The firm has shown indifference to systematic abuse when Daesh, or Islamic State, terrorists were having a field day recruiting and propagandising on Facebook, and when Russian operatives used it to manipulate the US presidential election. The US Congress is investigating the Facebook data breach and has called Zuckerberg to appear. The US Fair Trade Commission is investigating. The European Parliament has passed new laws effective in May to require companies to protect users' personal data online under pain of a penalty of up to 4 per cent of a company's global revenue. If applied to Facebook last year, for instance, that would equate to a $US1.6 billion fine. And the frustrated tax authorities of the European Union are getting serious about Big Tech's record of tax avoidance. This week the European Commission proposed a tax of 3 per cent on all payments to digital companies, even where they have no physical presence. That would raise some 5 billion euros ($8 billion) a year. The commission says this would be only an interim measure till it can get a proper grip on the slipperiness of Big Tech's tax doings. Italy and India already apply a similar transaction tax on the ad revenues collected from their countries by companies like Facebook and Google. By abusing initial trust and exploiting its wow factor to the hilt, Big Tech's cool image has finally started to fade. Its soft power is now yielding to the hard power of the state as parliaments and regulators start to apply normal standards to the sector. Australia is a world leader in some of its approaches to the so-called digital economy, and is still finding its way on others. Canberra has pioneered taxing the industry, and it has led on protecting citizens from some of the most harmful effects of its reach. The Tax Office under former policeman Chris Jordan has taken a tough line on multinational tax avoidance, with a special interest in Big Tech. His tax avoidance taskforce collected $5 billion in extra revenue in back taxes from digital multinationals last year. A permanent extra $7 billion a year has been added to Australia's tax base through a more rigorous approach to the affairs of multinationals including Big Tech. Other countries are studying the Australian experience. Australia created the Office of the eSafety Commissioner three years ago, another world first. Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, formerly with Twitter and Microsoft, is now empowered to protect against serious cases of cyber bullying and revenge porn. The office has helped remove harmful online bullying material in 720 cases under threat of a fine of up to $18,000 a day. It has a success rate of about 80 per cent in removing revenge porn used against Australian citizens. But the core of the Big Tech challenge to societies is a kind of extreme libertarianism. It's in the water in the Silicon Valley tech ecosystem. If unchallenged, the firms that spring from this culture will not just disrupt industries. They will strip nations of their tax bases and societies of their labour markets. The Amazon founder and chief Jeff Bezos routinely demands that governments start paying universal basic incomes to all citizens, enough to keep people above the poverty line. A professor at New York University's Stern School of Business, Scott Galloway, argues that this is simply a tech sector preparing to renounce all social responsibility, lumping governments with responsibility to make up for the deficiency at the centre of its vision: "What's clear," Galloway writes in his book The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google, "is that we need business leaders who envision and enact a future with more jobs - not billionaires who want the government to fund, with taxes they avoid, social programs for people to sit on their couches and watch Netflix all day." "Jeff," he chides the Amazon founder, "show some real f---ing visions." The ACTU's Sally McManus employed a lot of hyperbole this week in her demands for a new labour market regulation, but one of her agenda items is highly relevant - governments need to address the rise of the "gig economy" where work is done not by employees but as piecework by contractors without adequate pay or conditions. Like Uber drivers. Much of this agenda will be addressed through Australia's Fair Work Commission, which has a number of cases before it brought by Uber drivers unhappy with Uber. Fair Work, a creation of the previous Labor government, will rule on these, making, through case law, a new set of standards for the gig economy. This will happen without the need for legislation. But more will be needed. The digital economy need not be jobless and abusive. A landmark Australian agreement struck last year by one new tech firm in the digital economy, Airtasker, is a showcase. Airtasker posts jobs online and workers can bid to do them. The company was attacked for allowing these "gigs" to be paid at exploitative pay rates. Rather than shut out the critics and claim a special exemption for being "cool", the company sat down with Unions NSW and worked out a deal to protect workers' pay and conditions. Unions NSW secretary Mark Morey praised the firm for establishing "an important beachhead for regulating the gig economy. Others should follow Airtasker's example and consider the ethical dimension of their impact". Inevitably, further intelligent policy responses will be needed and the political winner will not be the party that dismisses it all as fun, cool, tech, nor the party that responds with a regulatory sledgehammer, but thoughtfully and creatively balances economic creativity with worker rights. Thoughtful and creative are not adjectives often applied to Australian political parties. But this is a whole new agenda. Opportunity awaits. We live in hope. Education special report OPINION The custom-designed foil-lined cardboard box doesn't look anything special at first glance. However, talk to the 13 and 14-year-old students from an Adventist school in north-west Sydney who made it, and they'll excitedly recount how this solar stove was designed and created and how, with considerable testing and refinement, it will now cook food to specific temperatures. Mira and Skye, both 11, conceived a sustainable house, built a 3D model, designed sketches and undertook the project's digital modelling. On another table, Max and James, two 8-year-olds from a rural Christian school are putting a small robot through its paces on a large handmade map of their school. They show their design sketches of their "rescue robot", their idea being to solve the problem of how to transport an ill or injured student to sick bay or to an ambulance quickly. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton this week told 2GB host Ray Hadley, with whom he shares a passionate bromance, that his critics, identified as the crazy lefties in the media, were dead to him. The most recent round of crazy-lefty criticism endured by Dutton occurred after he asserted last week that persecuted white South African farmers needed special attention from a civilised country like Australia, as potential refugees. The Immigration Minister said he had been moved by the farmers plight after watching television footage and reading articles about their persecution and murder, and he asked his department to look into how they might be brought to Australia as special case refugees. Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton thrives on controversy. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Many of Duttons critics questioned the source of his information on the farmers persecution. They pointed out that two News Corporation columnists had coincidentally opined on this very subject in the days preceding his announcement, and they noted that South Africa is a violent and sometimes lawless country that is dangerous for all its citizens, not just the white farmers. Caroline Chojecki, who has died aged 96, was a leading naval intelligence analyst at Bletchley Park during the Second World War; her encyclopaedic knowledge of German U-boats helped the code breakers to read the enemy's messages and allowed the Admiralty to reroute allied supply convoys away from attack. The detailed analysis of U-boat operations carried out by the team of seven young women led by Chojecki who had just turned 23 when she took charge played an unsung but important role in the allied victory in the Battle of the Atlantic. The supply convoys were vital to Britain's survival and the eventual liberation of Europe, but were extremely vulnerable to attack from the German submarines. When U-boats attacked a convoy, they would surround it in so-called Wolf Packs, torpedoing the merchant ships and their Royal Navy escorts, often with impunity. "I had arrived at an appalling time in the Battle of the Atlantic, she said. "Vast numbers of enemy submarines were prowling the convoy routes. Ships were under constant attack. The gloom in Hut 4 was indescribable." The Telegraph, London. Barbara Wersba, whose candid books for young adults were among the first to explore topics like alcoholism and same-sex relationships, died on February 18 in Englewood, N.J. She was 85. Her death was confirmed by an administrator at the Actors Fund Home, where she had been living. Wersba began writing in the 1960s, and her work reflected the era's new realism in literature for younger readers with stories no longer confined to intact nuclear families and sanitised goings-on like prom nights. Some of her frank themes generated criticism; others generated praise. The New York Times In Passing Credit:Fairfax Robert Grossman, a prodigious illustrator and caricaturist who created a surreal movie poster for Airplane! and used the airbrush as an artistic lance, lampooning presidents from Richard M. Nixon to Donald Trump in gorgeous magazine covers and acerbic comic strips, died March 15 at his home in Manhattan. He was 78. A painter, cartoonist, sculptor and artist of the airbrush, Grossman designed book and record covers and contributed illustrations to a ream of publications, including Rolling Stone, Time, and New York magazine. He received an Academy Award nomination in 1978 for "Jimmy the C," a claymation short in which President Jimmy Carter sang Ray Charles's version of Georgia on my Mind. He devised the promotional poster for the 1980 satirical disaster film Airplane!, painting a jetliner whose fuselage had somehow twisted itself into a knot. The Washington Post All I want to hear from Howard is: I was wrong in accepting that Iraq had WMD. I am sorry. I should have listened to the thousands of Australians who marched against this war. Pamela Hazelwood, Balgownie Dark side of Facebook fiasco I joined Facebook to communicate with family members who live around the world, which was something my mother regretted being unable to do. The website has brought me much happiness and it saddens me to realise that there is often darkness lurking behind acts of praxiology ("f...for failure: Zuckerberg's not in control", March 23). Louise Luscombe, St Ives It has been an interesting journey for these social media platforms and it has become apparent it is too late for many of the younger generation regarding privacy issues as well as the addiction to this form of communication. I gave a warning at Speech Day in 1984 for "the need to understand and educate for the new technologies and their impact for change in society". So be it. Bruce Clydsdale, Bathurst This Facebook fiasco has finally got to me and I have to out myself. Except, is it myself? I have never done any form of social networking; yet my daughters and granddaughters tell me that there is an account in my name on Facebook with nasty comments. They ask me why? Wish I knew. My literary agent has tried to have it shut down. No success. I can only guess that the person doing it is a mischief maker and gains pleasure from upsetting people. How long do you think such a fraud would last if he/she claimed to be Mark Zuckerberg? Even though I know the answer, I have to ask: Is it too late to become a Luddite and return to quills and Quink ink? Peter Skrzynecki, Eastwood I wish Cambridge Analytica great joy with my Facebook page. Anticipating such a leakage of data I invented the lot, except for my name. And I've got a pretty vivid imagination. David Oakenfull, Asquith It now appears that Cambridge Analytica, and indirectly Facebook strongly influenced the US presidential election and the Brexit vote. You have to feel sorry for Rupert Murdoch. There was once a time when he could have claimed to be the greatest influencer of elections in the free world. It appears that time has marched on. Malcolm Freak, Armidale Flaws in Duttons overseas parcel tax Impose a $5 levy on small parcel imports? All this levy will do is push up the minimum price people charge for those goods in Australia. Bob Liddelow, Avalon Not all packages are online shopping. Many packages are in fact gifts from family or friends overseas. This tax on packages exists in the UK. Last Christmas my daughter had to pay 17 to claim the Christmas package I sent her. The tax is calculated by the value of the contents. My daughter was able to reclaim the 17 only after I submitted a statement to say the package was a Christmas gift. Robyn Lewis, Raglan I am not against security for parcel check, but I question its implementation with a flat $5 parcel tax. A commercial importer with a 20 kilogram parcel would pay the same flat rate as the private buyer with a 250 gram parcel, and this has an unintentional burden placed on the low-income people who shop for a bargain overseas. This parcel tax is an indirect tariff on overseas goods, and taking eBay as an example, the majority of the gadgets come from China. Would this implementation unnecessarily invite a trade battle with China? There must be a better way do it. Anthony Pun, Kingsgrove Trump's revolving door a worry Washington's revolving doors look set to spin out of control under Trump's rule ("Trump dumps McMaster, picks super-hawk Bolton as security advisor," smh.com.au, March 23). It seems almost every week one of his advisers is replaced. Surely it would have been simpler and more efficient for Mr Trump to replace himself, instead of everyone else. Graham Lum, North Rocks Has the time finally come for Australia to choose between China and the US? A perfect storm for Australia has come to be. Storm 1 A US trade war against Australia's biggest trading partner, China, means our alignment with the US may become a liability (a quite startling development). Storm 2 The increased likelihood Europe will move further away from aligning with the US, especially if Trump tears up the Iran nuclear deal, for which John Bolton, the new US National Security Adviser, advocates. Storm 3 Trump's actions of appointing a radical like Bolton who is on the record as wanting war against countries with nuclear capability, mean we are on a road to war propaganda hitting our shores. These three storms mean Australia's alliances will be tested like never before. Throw into the mix that we know Malcolm Turnbull already knows he cannot trust a word coming out of the US President's mouth (as per the experience of Justin Trudeau), and the US State Department is depleted of its experienced staff ... who are we to trust? Australia has to seriously have the conversation about how we respond to Trump, especially considering we cannot bite the hand that feeds us, China, that Europe may no longer be aligned with the US and there is no reassurance that we are dealing with facts when aligning with the US government. Elise Coroneos, Willoughby Is there any chance that Trump might replace himself with someone else? Kevin Farrell, Beelbangera Shining lamp on humanities Rob Stokes has shown that he is a mindful minister ("Minister schooled in STEM 'fad' debate", March 23). His comments on the need for humanities as well as science to be well taught in all our schools are welcome. The acronym STEM has proved to be an excellent advertising factor to highlight science teaching and this I fully support. However, the humanities need an acronym too. LAMP could be such an acronym. Language (which encompasses literature), arts, music, philosophy (which includes religion and ethics). LAMP can balance STEM. Lamps can shine lights on any shadows cast by stems. Balance is the key to healthy minds and healthy lives which lead to healthy populations. All schools should have the facilities and staff needed to teach both LAMP and STEM subjects well. Phyl Lobl, Kiama Every English teacher knows the word "stem" is less impressive than trunk. To read: the ultimate nub of knowledge. Peter Farmer, Northbridge Dual citizen query Following Michael Kirby's suggestion, maybe the joint standing committee chaired by Linda Reynolds should publish the exact proportion of Australian citizens who are ineligible to sit in Federal Parliament under section 44, either because they are dual citizens, or because they are (loosely) employed by the Crown ("Dual citizens should be allowed in Parliament: Kirby", March 23). That way, we will all know how big a problem it is, contrary to what Malcolm Turnbull may assert. David Rush, Killara No window gazing The last paragraph of Our Glad's announcement of new trains is both unsurprising and alarming. ("Premier stays silent on line closure", March 23). It says: "Several large screens in each carriage will also allow advertising to be broadcast." It's hard enough to find a bus in Sydney through whose windows one can have an unpixillated view of the outside, and this trend is now spreading to regional trains, despite the fine scenery through which they often pass. Well, after baffling our views, it's only logical to assault our ears as well. With the windows obscured, one screen or another will have a captive audience. It certainly can't be to save money on window cleaning, as that seems to be a rare event anyway; perhaps it's a Potemkin Village plot in reverse, to distract us from seeing too closely the chaos which is today's Sydney. Frank McGrath, Bulli 'Sweat-seats' of the 'S-Set' trains, infinitely better than the 'freeze-seats' of the current 'Waratah' trains that are often endured on very hot days. Hopefully the 'improved airconditioning', means just that. But this pales into insignificance at the idea that we will be a captive audience 'advertised to' on a train journey. Please not that. Marie Del Monte, Ashfield In favour of bridge stairs I ride my bike from Lane Cove to Surry Hills and back every weekday. Doing this I've shortened my commute and lost weight. The one impediment to my otherwise smooth trip is the stairs at the Harbour Bridge north end, a disconnect in an otherwise decent route of cycling infrastructure. The stairs are long and steep, causing cyclists to dismount and walk up or down. Last December I slipped on the way down the stairs, fell, and dislocated my shoulder requiring a trip to Royal North Shore and 6 weeks of recovery time. Now Milsons Point residents want to compromise plans for ease of use and safety because of a perceived change to their views of the bridge and a small easement on the park ("Cyclists face uphill battle over Harbour Bridge ramp, March 22)? This is the ultimate in NIMBYism. I hope the Roads Minister looks at the bigger cycling infrastructure, safety, and public benefit of the ramp project and not the entitled complaints of residents of the faceless apartment towers around Milsons Point. Joel Hynoski, Lane Cove North Powerhouse ploy is death by design Fashion balls, leasing exhibition spaces for students, it certainly seems as if the Powerhouse Museum is destined for the scrap-heap by stealth ("Gallery's new life paints a mixed picture for museum", March 23). I recently visited the Museum's Discovery Centre at Castle Hill where 95 per cent of the collections are stored. On the basis of the small amount of material on public display there (the balance is in five huge storage buildings) there is more than enough significant material to fill a second museum at Parramatta. But is this what the residents of Parramatta actually want, or is it just a thought bubble from a couple of politicians? Any so-called business case that supports the move of the Powerhouse Museum has to be flawed. Marina Garlick, Balmain Eddie Obeid has lost his last-ditch bid to be freed from prison, after the High Court knocked back the former NSW Labor minister's application for leave to appeal against his conviction and sentence for misconduct in public office. The 74-year-old was jailed in December 2016 for a maximum of five years after a Supreme Court jury found him guilty of misconduct for lobbying a senior bureaucrat over his family's secret business interests at Circular Quay. He will be eligible for parole on December 15, 2019. Eddie Obeid outside the Darlinghurst Supreme Court on December 15, 2016, shortly before he was sent to prison for a maximum of five years. Credit:Daniel Munoz Obeid's defence team had mounted the novel legal argument that the NSW Parliament, rather than the courts, had exclusive jurisdiction to hear cases involving allegations of misconduct in public office. His barrister, Bret Walker, SC, told the High Court in Sydney on Friday members of the NSW Parliament could not be "sanctioned by the criminal law" for failing to act in the public interest. He said such conduct was instead "sanctioned politically". Former US president Barack Obama has warned against complacency in taking the benefits of liberal democracies for granted, saying rights like freedom of speech, freedom of association, protection of minorities and the rule of law have to be fought for and defended, sources say. In a speech that drew a standing ovation from guests at a private dinner at the Art Gallery of New South Wales on Friday night, Mr Obama said he was by nature a congenital optimist, not an alarmist. But the world was at a fork in the road, a time when the international order established after World War 2, and the core values rooted in the enlightenment pluralism, science and reason were being tested. He said social and political structures had not yet worked out how to deal with rapidly changing communications technology, a world in which people no longer watched the same TV channels or read the same newspapers. The rapid pace of change was having a flow-on effect across the globe, and was likely to get faster still. Discourse was becoming increasingly fragmented, with people becoming hermetically sealed off from each other inside very different information universes. If I watched Fox News, I wouldnt vote for me he joked. Convicted rapist Simon Monteiro is back in prison after he breached his parole conditions less than two months after his release. The "playboy rapist" of Sydney's eastern suburbs was returned to custody on Thursday afternoon over breaches related to his general compliance with conditions. In a statement the State Parole Authority said, though he failed to comply with his conditions, "he did not commit an offence". Simon Monteiro is back in custody. The conditions, which were set in February this year, required Monteiro to live at an approved address and included electronic monitoring, alcohol testing and psychological counselling. The beautiful people at the Tathra bakery are offering free breakfast on Saturday to local residents still reeling from Sunday's fires. Joe and Quyen Nguyen were busy on Friday prepping for the next morning when they hoped locals might come down and enjoy a free pie or hot cross bun and find a peaceful corner to just be for a while. The community spirit in Tathra is evidence in the Tathra Bakery's generous offer.Joe and Quyen Nguyenwere busy prepping on Friday for a big day on Saturday. Credit:Facebook "Just a place where they might want to talk about it," Joe said. "I feel I am very lucky. I have a home and a shop here and they are both still standing and I feel sorry for those who lost theirs. Up to 10 stations will be built along a new metro rail line between Sydney's central business district and Westmead near Parramatta as part of a project expected to cost up to $15 billion. An artist's impression of an underground metro station planned for Westmead. A year out from the state election, the Berejiklian government has committed to building a new underground station at Concord West or North Strathfield, which will be linked by pedestrian walkways to either of those suburbs' existing stations on the T1 Northern Line. It has also promised to build an underground station at Westmead, near the suburb's sprawling hospital, research and education precinct, and identified Pyrmont, Kings Bay, North Burwood or Five Dock, and Camellia or Rydalmere, as potential sites for intermediate stations. A Russian refugee who used bogus credentials to pose as a psychologist in Queensland hospitals has been found guilty of fraud. Vincent Victor Berg convinced administrators at Gold Coast Health in 1999 he could act as an observer and later worked at four north Queensland hospitals using faked qualifications from Russia but was charged with seven offences including three counts of fraud after his scam was uncovered. He was on trial for two weeks at Southport District Court, where a jury on Friday convicted him. He will remain in custody until a sentence date is set. AAP Josiah was 13 when he was diagnosed with narcolepsy. Now 22, the rare sleep condition continues to confront the Brisbane man with a battle between sleep and wakefulness. I was in grade seven and getting tired, people would tell me I was falling asleep and I originally wouldnt believe them, but its a lot different now because I know whats happening, Josiah said. Josiah has narcolepsy. Narcolepsy impacts many aspects of his waking and sleeping life as a university student hoping to get into software development. Memory is a big one, I have less memory now because of lack of sleep. Medication keeps you awake but it doesnt fix your lack of sleep, he said. The Australian Tax Office has conceded that website outages that dogged the agency in December 2016 and February 2017 were due to the failure of fibre-optic cables in its system hardware. The hardware that failed was also supposed to provide a "resilience factor" for the website, which would prevent problems in the system from bringing down the whole website. The Australian Tax Office has revealed the specific hardware that brought down its website in 2016 and 2017. Credit:Michel OSullivan Tax Office officials fronted up to a Senate hearing on Friday morning investigating the digital delivery of government services, with failures of the ATO website in late 2016 and throughout 2017 on the agenda. "The events of December 2016 were very much attributable to a particular piece of hardware that failed and created a pervasive impact across all of our systems," ATO chief information officer Ramez Katf told the committee. The hardware was less than a year old and from a "reputable provider," he said. The committee also heard that it was still unclear whether the problem was with the hardware itself, or how it was installed. Two Geraldton men are dead after a sequence of events that seems to have stemmed from a family dispute between three brothers over their father's will. WAtoday understands Geraldton gunman Rodney Vlahov, who was found dead on Friday morning at his farm in Chapman Valley, had on Thursday attended a meeting with his two brothers at the firm of their accountant, Philip Chamberlain. Mr Vlahov, 48, is understood to have brought a gun to the meeting, where Mr Chamberlain, 49, was shot, although it's unclear if he was the intended victim. Police found Mr Vlahov's body when they arrived at his Chapman Valley farm on Friday morning and said that, while his death was not suspicious, it would be the subject of a coronial investigation, as he was on the run. Facebook approached Australia's major political parties during the 2016 election with a new and powerful data matching tool, but Liberal strategists rejected the offer out of fear it could breach the law by sending voters' personal details to the social media giant's offshore servers. The opportunity for "advanced matching" in Facebook's so-called Custom Audience feature could be used by campaigns as a way to target specific people - including undecided voters in marginal seats - with highly targeted online advertising. Fairfax Media understands Labor has used the tool, however the party declined to say for how long and or reveal what information it may have allowed Facebook to access. The tool would allow parties to match data they had collected about voters - such as ages, emails, phone numbers, postcodes, names and birth dates against similar information listed by users on their Facebook profiles. The combination of the two data sets would allow parties to target Australians identified as swinging voters with tailored ads when they use Facebook. Its very hard for kids to go into a house and to not know what youre going to walk into every day of your life," she says of her father. "And to dread Sundays. On Sundays, Dad was home and he didn't have anything to do. Its awful to wake up thinking oh no, its Sunday. Most kids wake up thinking Sunday!. Mum would try to make these things funny, but you look back on it now and it wasnt funny. My parents had a terrible relationship, they were full of conflict." Westacott endured a relentless bullying campaign during her school years. One morning, two weeks before Westacott sat her year 12 exams, her father walked out the front door and never came back. "I think everyone was happy, to be honest, that he left, because the conflict and the appalling environment was over, but then the poverty that my mother had to endure began." The experience gave her a mission to change the conditions she witnessed as a child. "Id think Id be one of the unique people in the world who grew up in public housing and ended up running the Department of Housing," Westacott says. "My mother felt humiliated to live in public housing. [She] was terrified of the guy who collected the rent, who was a bully. I remember a few times when he was thumping on the door. I remember Mum sort of hiding in the room and being terrified to make a noise in case he knew we were there." Encouraged by her grandmother and uncle, Westacott studied hard and received the marks to do an arts degree at the University of NSW, where she was mentored by academic and Lucky Country author Donald Horne. She got her start in the public service under the legendary Gerry Gleeson. Westacott shook things up in public housing once she had the chance to lead. Security at the Waterloo flats in Sydney was improved to stop residents being beaten up in the lobbies, while fences were installed to prevent children being hit by cars. At Housing Victoria, she decided that public housing residents shouldn't live in fear like her mother, so she axed 400 staff who weren't willing to be part a culture shift that treated tenants as customers. Most of it was a moral conviction, but most of it was my memory of humiliation," she says. Craig Knowles, a Carr government cabinet minister who worked with Westacott, says his former departmental secretary shared little about her personal background but worked hard. And made enemies. "She had a great strategic mind," says Knowles. "The problem I think for Jennifer was she probably bruised a few people along the way. She had a job to do and prosecuted it with excellence and that maybe affected the status quo." He thinks this is why she made a "strategic withdrawal" to work in Victoria under Labor premier Steve Bracks. FRIENDS BROUGHT Westacott and Shannon together knowing they would hit it off. Westacott's attraction to the pioneer HIV nurse was instant and the couple have been together for 33 years. "Weve never stopped being together," says Westacott. "I ring her in the morning when Im away, I ring her before I go to bed." Shannon now runs an adult literacy centre in inner Sydney, helping women and refugees read and write. The centre was funded by Westacott. Until her intervention in the same-sex marriage debate last year, Westacott was reluctant to make an issue of her sexuality. She is still burdened by painful 'coming out' encounters from her youth. It still hurts. "I wasnt interested in boys, right? I wasnt entirely sure I was interested in girls, I just knew I wasnt interested in boys. And I knew there was something very different about my friends at school who read Dolly magazine or Cosmopolitan and talked about pop stars and had photos of Sherbert on their wall. And I was reading a biography of one of the popes. When I told people who I went to university with, people who were great friends of mine, people who you thought were going to be your lifelong friends, they would say things to you like you need to get some help or this will go away as if its some sort of virus. And those friendships just ended. "People who go to university, who are meant to be enlightened - they werent." Tess Shannon and Jennifer Westacott. Climbing the ranks of the public service, Westacott encountered hostility or outright homophobia. It may have been the passage of time, but she found things easier in the world of business. Australia has certainly changed: when she joined the board of Wesfarmers in 2013, then-chairman Bob Every introduced her at a company dinner and welcomed Shannon to the group. The room clapped and cheered. "I think people forget, when people say this is a lifestyle choice ... boy you wouldnt pick this lifestyle," Westacott says. "I would have picked Tess a million times, but you wouldn't pick a lifestyle where every time you meet a new person you have to come out to them, and you have to take the risk theyre going to have an out-of-body reaction to that." As Australia debated marriage equality in recent years, she felt compelled to speak up in favour of change. In a deeply personal speech in Canberra, Westacott defended the right of chief executives to push for social reform and slammed the "deeply hurtful and deeply wrong" claims that the children of LGBTI families would suffer. Shannon was in the audience at the National Press Club. "I was really proud, I couldn't believe it because in the past shes been reluctant to discuss it," she says. "She really stood up and took it on and I believe it did make a big difference." WESTACOTT CREDITS big business as the "unsung hero" of the same-sex marriage debate but her position makes her a target for all sides. When she and other business leaders signed a letter calling for marriage equality, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton complained they should talk more about the economy. When she spoke up for company tax cuts, former Labor treasurer Wayne Swan dismissed her as a front for the Liberal Party. "Im not a Liberal Party member. But Ive also had Liberal Party people say youre a Labor Party person. You cant win," she says. Westacott's uncle was a staunch union member who survived the Changi prison camp in Singapore during World War II. He was one of the family members who rescued her from those miserable Sundays, taking her to Avoca Beach. "I know how much his involvement in the unions was about people working safely, because he was doing back-breaking work, working in very difficult conditions," she says. "So I have always supported the kind of things he was doing that were about lifting people out of poverty and making sure people had safe working environments. I still hold those principles to be true. But I guess where I differ is that I just feel that private enterprise is the best way for people to get ahead. The BCA has not been blind to social equity issues under her leadership. In an alliance that would have been unthinkable in the past, Westacott joined Cassandra Goldie, the head of the Australian Council of Social Service, to call for an increase in the Newstart allowance for the unemployed. That was five years ago. When Tony Abbott took office, Westacott rejected the "wait for the dole" proposal in 2014 that would have force the unemployed to go without help for six months before getting Newstart. "I still get along with Tony very, very well. But I think they were irritated I said it." The complaints intensified as Malcolm Turnbull retreated from tax reform in early 2016 and then faced a federal election that almost drove him from power. The president of the Victorian division, Michael Kroger, called for Westacott to be sacked. "These people have got no idea how to influence public opinion," he said. Jennifer Westacott in her Sydney office on Friday. Credit:Peter Braig The Liberals wanted something the BCA could not deliver. Labor went to the 2016 election with an army of volunteers from the union movement, as well as supporters from activist groups like GetUp!, ready to turn up at polling booths to hand out how-to-vote cards. Westacott points out that this is no job for the BCA. Her colleagues backed her up in behind-the-scenes arguments with Kroger. "The BCA is never going to be a fundraiser for a political party and nor should it be, because thats not its goal and its not what its members want it to do," she says. A former president of the BCA, company director Tony Shepherd, says Westacott's critics have "no idea" about the difficulty of balancing the competing views within the business community and the conflicting demands from each side of politics. "I've known quite a few chief executives in my career and she is one of the best I've ever worked with," he says. THE NATIONAL interest matters more to Westacott than complaints from political parties. Part of her is still the policy wonk who read books on the bus home and found a career in the world of social services. But she is steadfast in her belief that helping private enterprise is the best way to help the country. She worries about the constant criticism of business. "Were resentful of companies that are profitable. Well, live in a country where theyre not. Live in a country where the banks are broke see what that societys like," she says. "That is the counter-narrative what would it look like to live in a society where most people worked for the government or got paid by the government, where there was no real private enterprise, where the banks were failures, where the companies were making huge losses, where unemployment was in double digits. Is that what were aspiring to as a country?" This is anathema to an entire class of politicians and policy advisers who do not think corporate Australia deserves $65 billion in help over a decade, courtesy of taxpayers. Yet Westacott is earnest in her belief a lower tax rate will produce more jobs and higher wages. "When I grew up in Springfield, everyone worked. Not very good jobs, but they worked. When I left, nobody worked. And the only thing that can get people back to work is making companies more successful, making them more competitive." It is an argument her critics will hate, but it is an argument she will not stop making. Westacott left Springfield a long time ago but her early life there is fundamental to the way she sees the world today. Jakarta: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has "destroyed everything that we have built" and brushed aside the rule of law, according to the country's longest-serving prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad. And in an interview with Fairfax Media the 92-year-old Mahathir, who for years stymied attempts by successive Australian prime ministers to move closer to the ASEAN bloc, cited the long-abandoned and racist White Australia policy and suggested Australia was still "an outpost of Europe". Dr Mahathir Mohamad, 92, former prime minister of Malaysia, is on the comeback trail. Credit:Fadza Ishak However, in an apparent softening of his long held anti-European stance, Mahathir also suggested that Australia could one day join the ASEAN group of nations, as suggested recently by Indonesian president Joko Widodo. Malaysia's national elections must be held by August 24 but most commentators expect they will be called by the end of April, once an electoral boundary realignment that is expected to heavily favour Najib is completed. Paris: Travel was upended, schools were closed and tens of thousands of people took to the streets across France on Thursday as railway workers, teachers, students and air traffic controllers went on strike in protest at President Emmanuel Macron's economic and social policies. The protests are a new challenge for Macron's government as it gears up to overhaul France's rail system and promises changes to unemployment benefits and the pension system. Railway workers are already planning strikes in April and May. "This is a wake-up call for the government," said Laurent Berger, the secretary-general of the second-largest railway union. He said the government needed to have real discussions with the unions before "everything falls apart." More than 200,000 workers and students joined in protests around the country, about 48,000 of them in Paris, according to a consortium of journalism organisations that hired a company to estimate crowd sizes to avoid relying on police estimates. About 20 officials, wearing black jackets with "ICO Enforcement" on them, arrived at the firm's central London offices soon after a High Court judge granted a search warrant sought by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). London: Investigators from Britain's data watchdog on Friday searched the London offices of Cambridge Analytica, the data analytics firm at the centre of a storm over allegations it improperly harvested Facebook data to target American voters. The officials, who were let into the building by security guards, could be seen checking books and papers through the windows of the second-floor offices on Londons busy New Oxford Street, a Reuters witness said. Elizabeth Denham, head of the ICO, sought the warrant after a whistleblower said Cambridge Analytica had gathered private information of 50 million Facebook users to support Donald Trump's 2016 US presidential campaign. Britain is investigating whether Facebook, the world's largest social media network, did enough to protect data. U.S. lawmakers on Friday asked Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg to come to Congress to explain to explain how the data got into Cambridge Analytica's hands, adding to pressure on the firm, which is under fire from investors and advertisers. The wedding invitations have barely landed on their guests' doormats, but Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are wasting no time in settling into married life, it seems. Ms Markle has signalled their hopes to have a family in the future, gesturing towards an array of baby equipment during an official visit and remarking: "I am sure at one point we will need the whole thing." Her light-hearted comment, made in Belfast during the couple's first trip to Northern Ireland, bears striking similarities to a joke from the Duchess of Cambridge just before she fell pregnant with her third baby, after she told her husband they would "just have to have more babies". Toulouse: A gunman killed three people in southwestern France on Friday in a burst of violence that included hijacking a car, shooting at police officers, and opening fire and taking a hostage in a supermarket an attack that rattled nerves in a country that has been hit hard by terrorism in recent year. The gunman was later killed by police officers when they stormed the supermarket, according to Gerard Collomb, the interior minister. The armed man entered the Super U market in Trebes, about 80km southeast of Toulouse, claiming to be acting on behalf of the Islamic State, although his connection to the militant group was unclear. Collomb, speaking to reporters from Trebes, identified the gunman as Redouane Lakdim, a 26-year-old who lived in the neighboring city of Carcassonne and who was known to police as a petty criminal and drug dealer. Former Playboy model Karen McDougal gave her first televised interview on Thursday about the affair she says she had with Donald Trump, speaking emotionally about a romantic relationship she says lasted for 10 months shortly after the birth of Trump's youngest child. The interview marked a remarkable moment both for the US President, whose romantic past has begun to draw more scrutiny as McDougal and adult-film star Stormy Daniels have sought to free themselves from confidentiality agreements signed before the election, and the media, for whom the intensely personal interview was a prime-time event on CNN. In the more than hour-long interview with host Anderson Cooper, McDougal spoke about a relationship she says she had with Trump in 2006 and 2007, choking up as she recounted the guilt she felt for being a party to the affair, reflecting about the connection she developed in hotel rooms and restaurants with the "sweet" man she said she fell in love with and unflinchingly recounting the affair's most intimate details. Both officers open fire. Sparks from the bullets light up the helicopter's infrared camera in sharp white pops. Stephan Clark was shot dead by Sacramento police. The sequence, from the first glimpse of Clark on the patio to the first gunshot, unfolds in about six seconds. The officers are never heard identifying themselves as police before fatally shooting Clark. The gun officers thought Clark had in his hand was actually a white iPhone. "He was at the wrong place at the wrong time in his own back yard?" his grandmother, Sequita Thompson, told the Sacramento Bee. "C'mon, now, they didn't have to do that." Sequita Thompson recounts the horror of seeing her grandson Stephan Clark dead in her backyard Credit:The Sacramento Bee The Reverend Al Sharpton, who has spoken with Clark's mother and plans to travel to California to meet with the family, said in a statement: "It is an atrocity that an unarmed young man was shot at 20 times in his own backyard and shows the urgent need in these times for intervention against police misconduct." Sharpton added: "We will call for a complete and thorough investigation into this young man's death." The Sacramento Police Department said the man they believed was breaking windows was the same man the officers killed in a hail of gunfire, identified by the 911 caller as a thin, 1.84-metre male wearing a black hoodie and dark pants. Police have yet to identify Clark as the suspect or victim. But Thompson and other relatives identified him to media using variations of his name, Stephon and Stephan. (Public records list him as Stephon Clark, 22.) Sequita Thompson points to the white area on the patio where she said her grandson Stephan Clark lay dead after being shot by police . Credit:The Sacramento Bee Thompson disputes the police department's version of events. Her grandson was short she said in a video produced by the Bee. She believes another suspect was smashing windows, and that Clark was in the back yard at the wrong time. Their doorbell is broken, and relatives often tap on the back window for someone to open the garage door, the family told the newspaper. Clark was staying at his grandmother's home at the time he was killed. The gunfire startled her that night, she told the Bee. "The only thing that I heard was pow, pow, pow, pow, and I got to the ground," she said in the Bee's video. Lashunda Britt, a cousin of Stephan Clark stands near where he was shot. Credit:The Sacramento Bee She said she began to suspect the police description of a dead person in her yard was a member of the family. "I told the officers, 'You guys are murderers. Murderers,' " Thompson cried out. "You took him away from his kids." The family said Clark had two young sons, Cairo and Aiden, and a fiancee, Salena Manni, the Associated Press reported. Thompson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The narrative of the Sunday night shooting released by authorities tells a short, grim story. The helicopter observed a suspect picking up a "toolbar" and breaking a window to a house after 9 pm. The Bee reported it was the sliding glass door belonging to a neighbour. Authorities said the suspect then ran and looked into a car. Police in the helicopter guided officers on the ground to the front yard of Thompson's house as Clark was coming from the back. Police helicopter footage of the night Stephan Clark was shot. They met in the middle, and soon Clark was dead. "Prior to the shooting, the involved officers saw the suspect facing them, advance forward with his arms extended, and holding an object in his hands," police said in a statement. "At the time of the shooting, the officers believed the suspect was pointing a firearm at them. After an exhaustive search, scene investigators did not locate any firearms. The only items found near the suspect was a cell phone." An analysis by The Washington Post found that 987 people were killed by police last year - 68 of them unarmed. Of those unarmed victims, 30 were white, 20 were black and 13 were Hispanic, showing an overrepresentation of African Americans among the total population. Five of the remaining fatalities were of unknown or other race. At least 230 people have been killed by police this year, according to The Post's database on fatal force. "I know there could have been another way; he didn't have to die," Clark's brother Stevante told CBS News. "You're going to know his name forever," he added before reciting the names of several black men who were killed by police: "You're going to remember it, like, how you know . . . Mike Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice. You're going to know him. You're going to remember this." Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg offered his condolences to Clark's family and said in a statement that he was "heartbroken" for the city. "The questions raised by the community and council members are appropriate and must be answered during the investigation," Steinberg said, though he noted that he had reviewed the police videos carefully and said: "Based on the videos alone, I cannot second-guess the split-second decisions of our officers and I'm not going to do that." Clark is at least the sixth person shot and killed by the Sacramento Police Department since the beginning of 2015, according to a Post analysis: Five of them were black men; the other, a white man. The October 2015 shooting of Adriene Ludd and the September 2017 shooting of Eric Arnold were the only two of the six fatal Sacramento police shootings in which the person killed was armed with a gun. Police say Ludd fled after a traffic stop and fired at officers before he was killed. Arnold, a suspect in a double homicide, shot two police officers before he was shot and killed. Matt Coates was holding a plastic BB gun when he was shot and killed in May 2015; his girlfriend would later tell reporters that she had told the officers that the gun wasn't real. In two of the cases the fatal shootings of Dazion Flenaugh and Joseph Mann Sacramento police killed people alleged to have been armed with a knife. Clark, it appears, was unarmed. How many times Clark was shot is unknown, authorities said, pending the investigation. The officers are on paid administrative leave as the probe unfolds, officials said. Detective Eddie Macauley of the Sacramento Police said on Wednesday that he was unsure what model of weapon the officers used, or if the 10 rounds each of them fired was the entire capacity of their magazines. The police said five minutes passed before responding officers arrived to cuff Clark and render first aid, which ultimately proved futile: He died at the scene. That timeline is not precise, according to the footage. Five minutes and 16 seconds pass between the radio call of shots fired and when officers snap on the cuffs. Several more seconds pass before someone on scene begins chest compressions. A single sentence of department guidance on providing medical attention to suspects reads: "Officers shall provide first aid to injured parties if it can be done safely." Some factors may affect how and if police render aid to someone they shoot, such as if they are resisting or if police think a weapon is present, said Macauley, the police detective. In the video, the officers did not appear to be fearful of an attack once Clark was down. He wasn't moving, an officer notes. One officer, showing no clear urgency to replenish his ammunition, waits a minute and a half before he reloads. "Sir, can you move?" an arriving officer calls into the night at Clark, minutes after the shooting, telling him they cannot help unless they know he does not have a weapon. Police allowed Clark's family to review the body camera video before it was publicly released part of a departmental policy change, according to the Bee: "Allowing family to see such videos before they are released to the public is part of a city policy adopted in late 2016 by the city of Sacramento after the fatal shooting by police of Joseph Mann, a mentally ill black man. Mann's shooting led to major changes in the department, including a requirement that all patrol officers wear body cameras. "The changes also require police to release videos in "critical incidents" such as officer-involved shootings and deaths in custody within 30 days of the event. Sacramento police Chief Daniel Hahn, the city's first African-American chief, has been releasing videos more quickly than the requirement and for a broader range of events than covered by the new law since taking over the department last summer." "As soon as they did the command, they started shooting," Clark's aunt Saquois Durham told the Bee. "They said 'Put your hands up, gun,' and then they just let loose on my nephew." Said Les Simmons, a pastor and community activist: "Even if he did what they say was done, at the end of the day it does not justify his life being taken." Helen Clark was a strong female leader before it was cool to be a strong female leader. As Prime Minister of New Zealand for nine years, she used to go to global summits and often find herself the only woman in the room. The ladies bathroom was a lonely place. I did talk to [Bangaldeshi Prime Minister] Sheikh Hasina in the bathroom once, says Clark, referring to a United Nations summit in 2000. Former New Zealand Prime Minister and former head of UNDP Helen Clark visiting NSW State Parliament, Sydney. Credit:Kate Geraghty I asked her how things were at home. She said people kept trying to kill her. I thought, everything is relative. Clark, who on Friday was guest of honour at the annual lunch of the Jessie Street Trust, is counter-cultural not just because she has so often been the only woman in the room. Gaming enthusiasts of all ages gathered at the Waccamaw Neck Branch Library last year for ShushCon. A skyscape by astrophotographer Miguel Claro shows the Milky Way galaxy glowing in nautical twilight above Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in La Palma, Spain. This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. About once a week, I receive an email like this (note that any identifying details have been removed): I was wondering if you could help me. We are coming to Canberra for 2 nights with our friends whose little girl passed away (a few) months ago from (some) syndrome. We purchased a star in her name () and need help locating this star. We have the coordinates. Would somebody be able to help us it would mean the world to us and to her mum and dad as well. And about once a week, I'm the one to gently explain that the star name they bought is not officially recognized; that the star they want to look at in someone else's honor is not actually named in that person's honor. I don't want to be that person anymore. Read more: The stories behind Aboriginal star names now recognized by the world's astronomical body Billions and billions of stars The great thing about our galaxy, the Milky Way, is that it is home to about 300 billion stars. All of those stars mean a nearly endless supply of merchandise for companies to sell. (Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA) There are several companies offering to sell you a star name, and at many different prices. One company says it has "named two million stars" since 1979, and its current package for a single star name starts at A$110. It does say that any name purchased is "not scientific but symbolic." If you read the fine print of many other companies they usually say that astronomers do not officially recognize the name of the star you just purchased. But that's not the only issue I've encountered. Remember, there are many companies selling star names. In the span of one month, two entirely unrelated people contacted us to look at a star that they purchased. It was the same star. These two people had each paid to name the same star. The official way to name objects in space The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is the official international body of astronomy, and is the only official authority to name objects in space. Recently, the IAU approved new names for 86 stars used by other cultures besides the traditional Arabic, Greek, or Latin names, including four stars that now officially bear names based on their Aboriginal Australian names. Besides naming, the IAU serves a number of other roles such as science and classification of various objects. The IAU is potentially most recently famous for its 2006 determination that Pluto is not a planet, but a dwarf planet Every type of object has a different set of rules for naming. For example, asteroids have a set of different rules to comets. For some objects, the discoverer can name it something they'd like. Asteroid 5691 Fredwatson is named after the famous Australian astronomer Fred Watson, and discovered by his friend, the Scottish-born Australian astronomer Robert McNaught. An object like a comet can be named after the person who discovered it, as is the case of Comet McNaught this time named after McNaught himself. If that person finds multiple comets, all must have that name so there are more than 50 Comet McNaughts! Comet McNaught shines in 2007 over the Chiro Observatory in Western Australia. Image uploaded on July 25, 2013. (Image credit: Akira Fujii/David Malin Images) Sometimes, an object is important enough that the public are given their say. Discoverers can open up the name to a vote, such as 2014 MU 69 in Kuiper Belt, the next target for the New Horizon's probe. Official star names Even stars have a way of officially being named or designated. Some bright stars ones that have been visible to humans through history have proper names such as the new ones mentioned above. Other names that have been around for some time include Betelgeuse in Orion, or Sirius, "the Dog Star" in Canis Major. But most have alphanumeric names or designations. These numbers, while sounding boring, belong to one of two naming schemes. Some follow an alphabetic order based on brightness and the constellation they are in. For instance, Betelgeuse is also designated Alpha Orionis, and Sirius is Alpha Canis Majoris. Alpha is always the brightest star in the constellation followed by the constellation name. So there is a Beta Orionis, Delta Orioinis and so on, and also an Alpha Crux, Beta Crux, etc. in the Southern Cross. The four main stars of the Southern Cross (Crux) are Acrux (Alpha Crucis), bottom; Becrux (Beta Crucis), left; Gacrux (Gamma Crucis), top; and Delta Crucis, right. (Image credit: European Southern Observatory.) The other method is actually the star's coordinates in space, their space latitude and longitude, or an officially recognized catalogue number. For instance, the oldest known star, SMSS J031300.36-670839.3, has a name based on the initials of the SkyMapper Southern Survey (SMSS), followed by the right ascension (or space longitude) and declination (or space latitude). This means it is easy for another astronomer to look up and locate an object, without having to look up a database of the object's name, and then find its position via a telescope. You may not agree with this naming convention. Various astronomers may or may not agree with this. But that's the way it works. The IAU has this advice for anyone looking to buy a star name: As an international scientific organization, the IAU dissociates itself entirely from the commercial practice of "selling" fictitious star names, surface feature names, or real estate on other planets or moons in the Solar System. Remembering your loved ones I appreciate your desire to remember your loved ones. (I have my own ways that I do it.) If you are happy to buy a star from one of these companies, and know it won't be recognized but it means something to you, then please go ahead. I completely respect that. But you can also choose your own star, perhaps one that you looked at together, to think of a person. Then you can go out and observe the beauty of the night sky for free, and remember them. You can even use one of our large telescopes, SkyMapper, and get an image of that star for free. Read more: Curious Kids: Why do stars twinkle? A few years ago, we saw in the newspaper the wishes of a young child with a life-threatening illness. One of them was to have a star named after them. Realising the issues with this, we contacted the family and instead named one of the asteroids that the Siding Spring Survey had discovered. Their name was accepted by the IAU as an official asteroid name in recognition of their achievements despite their young age. I realize that these options may not be open to everyone, but there are many ways to remember someone, to cherish someone, to love someone. Brad E Tucker, Astrophysicist and Outreach Astronomer, Australian National University This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Follow all of the Expert Voices issues and debates and become part of the discussion on Facebook, Twitter and Google +. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. This version of the article was originally published on Space.com. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: NASA will allow scientists proposing spacecraft for the next Discovery-class planetary science mission to use radioisotope thermoelectric generators for power, citing progress in production of plutonium-238 and projected demands from other missions. WASHINGTON Citing progress in producing plutonium-238, NASA will allow scientists proposing missions for an upcoming planetary science competition to use nuclear power sources. In a statement issued March 17, Jim Green, director of NASA's planetary science division, said the agency was reversing an earlier decision prohibiting the use of radioisotope power systems for spacecraft proposed for the next mission in the agency's Discovery program. A "long-range planning information" announcement about plans for the competition, issued Dec. 12, said that the use of such power systems would not be allowed, although missions could use radioisotope heater units, which use a very small amount of plutonium to keep spacecraft elements warm. [Related: NASA Pushes Nuclear Power for Deep-Space Missions] NASA made that decision based on projected use of existing stocks of plutonium-238 for upcoming missions, such as the Mars 2020 rover. Dragonfly, one of the two finalists for the next New Frontiers medium-class planetary science mission, also plans to use a radioisotope power system, as well as potential future missions the moon that require nuclear power to operate through the two-week lunar night. For more than 50 years, NASA's robotic deep space probes have carried nuclear batteries. See how they work here (Image credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.com Contributor) "We have some liens against the radioisotope power," Green said at a Feb. 21 meeting of NASA's Planetary Science Advisory Group, citing those upcoming missions. The agency, he said, needed to balance mission demands against existing stocks of plutonium and efforts currently ramping up to produce new supplies of the isotope, which should reach a goal of 1.5 kilograms a year by around 2022. "The last thing we want to do is to select a mission and then not be ready to fly it." At the time of the meeting last month, though, Green said the agency was reviewing the prohibition against using nuclear power for the Discovery competition at the request of the scientific community, but didn't offer a schedule for completing that review. Green, speaking March 19 at a town hall meeting during the 49th Lunar and Planetary Sciences Conference at The Woodlands, Texas, said NASA went back to the Department of Energy to review current and projected supplies of plutonium-238. The status of production of the isotope, as well as projected demands, led him to conclude that it would be feasible to allow the use of radioisotope power systems on the next Discovery mission, in the form of two multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generators, or MMRTGs. [How Nuclear Generators for Deep-Space Probes Work (Infographic)] "The confluence of when that would happen, and when these two programs would really move out, just seemed to come together a little bit for us and would enable us to move in this direction," he said, referring to demands from Discovery and any future, but undefined, lunar missions. Aiding that decision, he said, was the progress being made by the Department of Energy of restarting plutonium-238 production. "That's gone well," he said, in spite of concerns expressed by the Government Accountability Office in October 2017about scaling up production to meet that goal of 1.5 kilograms a year. Planning for the next Discovery mission is still in its earliest stages. NASA plans to release a draft announcement of opportunity in September for comment, followed by the final announcement in February 2019. NASA will select finalists for further study in December 2019, with a winner chosen in June 2021 for launch no later than the end of 2026. The decision to allow the use of radioisotope power systems on Discovery was just one piece of good news at a rather upbeat town hall meeting about NASA's planetary science program. "Overall, planetary science is doing incredibly well," Green said, citing the progress on a number of missions as well as the agency's proposed 2019 budget, which offers $2.2 billion for planetary science. "This is spectacular. Planetary science has never had this high a budget." While attendees at the meeting, the largest in the planetary science field, welcomed the news about budgets and the use of radioisotope power systems, some wondered during a question-and-answer session if that success was coming at the expense of other science programs at NASA or elsewhere in the federal government. Green noted that, in past years, planetary science has suffered significant budget cuts at the expense of other parts of NASA. "Many of us lived through some really austere times," he said. "It's now our time in the sun to shine." This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry. Visitors to the McDonald Observatory, run by the University of Texas at Austin, gaze at dark skies and the Milky Way. The U.S. National Park Service (NPS) has partnered with the McDonald Observatoryto create training programs for park rangers and improve skywatching events. The observatory, which is run by the University of Texas at Austin, will offer two workshops for national park rangers. One of the workshops will be offered in the spring at McDonald Observatory, while the second will be offered on-site at a U.S. national park, according to a statement from the observatory. "We are extremely pleased to join forces with the McDonald Observatory to bring this training to NPS park and regional office staff," Ray Sauvajot, NPS associate director of natural resource stewardship and science, said in the statement. "The observatory's experience with hands-on training combined with the expertise of our Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division will provide new opportunities for career development, capacity building for the field, and leveraging our efforts toward enhancing visitor experience and the preservation of our national park night skies." [U.S. National Parks from Space: Amazing Nature Photos] The McDonald Observatory is an internationally known leader in astronomy education and outreach, according to the statement. The observatory is home to some of the world's largest telescopes, including the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, and is also a founding partner of the Giant Magellan Telescope, which is under construction in Chile. Each year, the McDonald Observatory also hosts public star parties featuring views of a wide range of objects in the night sky. The observatory helps skywatchers view the spectacular celestial events using ground-based telescopes, as well as through naked-eye tours of the constellations; McDonald also provides daily programs for visitors to safely view the sun, according to the statement. For the new outreach and ranger program, the observatory and NPS will work together to develop fun activities for daytime and nighttime visitors to the national parks and create a curriculum for the park service rangers. The project resembles another partnership established between the McDonald Observatory and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, according to the statement. "This is a really fantastic partnership," Marc Wetzel, senior outreach program coordinator of the McDonald Observatory, said in the statement. "The National Park Service shares similar goals for interpreting the night skies for visitors as we do." A star party at the Frank N. Bash Visitors Center at McDonald Observatory. (Image credit: Frank Cianciolo/McDonald Observatory) In fact, to preserve natural night-skywatching opportunities, the NPS has worked with the International Dark-Sky Association to designate several U.S. national parks as International Dark Sky Parks. This designation can be given to legally protected parks that are accessible to the public and that offer spectacular starry night views. [Stargazing This Summer? Try a National or State Park] "Dark skies are one of the parks' natural resources, in addition to water, mountains and wildlife," Wetzel said in the statement. For the Aug. 21, 2017, total solar eclipse, the NPS partnered with Bill Nye the Science Guy and The Planetary Society to create a special Eclipse Explorer booklet and Totality Junior Ranger badge. The educational activity booklet featured Bill Nye and provided kid-friendly resources about the total solar eclipse. After participating in the eclipse and completing the activity booklet, kids were sworn in as new junior rangers. The NPS also offers a number of other Junior Ranger programs for kids and the public to complete when visiting a U.S. national park. To earn the Night Explorer badge, for example, kids write their own creative mythology about the constellations, learn how to find the North Star, track the phases of the moon, and learn about stars and galaxies. The Night Explorer program also encourages kids to use all of their senses to explore the nighttime environment at a national park. You can learn more about the Junior Ranger Night Explorer program online. Follow Samantha Mathewson @Sam_Ashley13. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. Russia's Kinzhal hypersonic missile flies during a test in southern Russia on March 11, 2018, shown in this image made from footage taken from the Russian Defense Ministry. The Russian military says it has run a successful test of the Kinzhal missile. Missiles that spit out warheads traveling up to 20 times the speed of sound and with the ability to perform elusive acrobatics may be too much for U.S. defenses to block. That's according to the head of the U.S. Strategic Command, Air Force Gen. John Hyten, who testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday (March 20). When asked by Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., what kind of defenses the U.S. has against hypersonic weapons, Hyten replied: "We have a very difficult well, our defense is our deterrent capability. We don't have any defense that could deny the employment of such a weapon against us, so our response would be our deterrent force, which would be the triad and the nuclear capabilities that we have to respond to such a threat," Military.com reported. [7 Technologies That Transformed Warfare] Hyten is referring to the triad of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles and strategic bombers, which are bomber aircraft designed to fly into enemy territory and destroy strategic targets. Ballistic missiles, both hidden underground and in secret submarines, can travel huge distances at whirring speeds. But weapons that can travel well above the speed of sound seem to be a real threat, as both Russia and China are "aggressively pursuing" such hypersonic weapons, Hyten also said, as reported by CNBC. On March 1, during an annual address, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced a new class of weapon delivery systems designed to evade NATO's ballistic missile defenses. Speaking on Russian television, Putin indicated the country was building a new hypersonic missile and a cruise missile with "unlimited range" that could avoid adversaries' detection technologies. This nuclear-powered cruise missile could travel unlimited distances, and, unlike ballistic missiles, it could cruise low to the ground where it would be obscured by other objects meaning it would evade radar detection, Live Science previously reported. "In theory, a cruise missile carrying a nuclear bomb could slip under American defenses and detection systems, and detonate before Americans could mobilize a response," Live Science reported. [Could the US Stop Nuclear Weapons?] Modern technology available today wouldn't be able to stop such an attack, nor could it defend against missile-deploying warheads at hypersonic speeds, Philip Coyle, a nuclear weapons expert, previously told Live Science's Rafi Letzter. Even so, Gen. Hyten assured the Senate Committee that U.S. defenses are prepared for such a battle. "The first, most important message I want to deliver today is that the forces under my command are fully ready to deter our adversaries and respond decisively, should deterrence ever fail. We are ready for all threats," Hyten said in his opening remarks, according to a Department of Defense statement. Other generals have suggested supplementing the U.S. defense arsenal with low-yield nukes, or those that pack less power. In addition, space-based detection systems could theoretically detect and track hypersonic missile threats, Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, director of the Missile Defense Agency, said on March 6, according to Military.com. "To maintain military superiority in this multipolar, all-domain world, we must out-think, out-maneuver, out-partner and out-innovate our adversaries," Hyten said. "Deterrence in the 21st century requires the integration of all our capabilities, across all domains, enabling us to respond to adversary aggression anytime, anywhere." Just this week, President Donald Trump said the U.S. needs a "space force," Live Science's sister site Space.com reported. Originally published on Live Science. Fourier transforms are a mainstay in a branch of mathematics known as harmonic analysis. Robert Langlands recently won the prestigious Abel Prize for discovering hidden connections between harmonic analysis and number theory. A mathematician who developed what some consider the "grand unified theory of mathematics" has won one of the most prestigious prizes in mathematics. Robert Langlands, an emeritus professor at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University, has won the Abel Prize, a prestigious mathematics prize that honors a lifetime of groundbreaking work, organizers of the prize announced yesterday (March 20). Langlands, 81, won the prize for work in which he found deep connections between two seemingly disparate areas of mathematics: number theory and harmonic analysis, according to a statement from the organizers of the prize. [Images: The World's Most Beautiful Equations] Early life In his younger years, Langlands didn't seem destined for a life of the mind. Born in 1936 outside Vancouver, Canada, he grew up in a family that ran a building-supply store, and he wasn't particularly academic. "School, except that it was a place frequented by girls and my friends, meant little to me," Langlands said in a 2010 interview with University of British Columbia graduate student Farzin Barekat. "I was probably the despair of the teachers, who, perhaps from the results of IQ tests, were aware that I had considerable untapped academic potential, from which I refused to profit." He didn't even plan to go to a university until a teacher told him it would be a "betrayal of his God-given talents" if he didn't go, according to a biography of Langlands on the Abel Prize website. But once he made it to college, his academic career took off. He earned a bachelor's degree and master's degree in mathematics from the University of British Columbia, and then a Ph.D. from Yale University. He then went on to become an instructor at Princeton University. Breakthrough idea It was at Princeton, on a school break, that the 30-year-old instructor had the insight that would shape the course of his mathematical life. When he returned to school, he mentioned his idea to the legendary mathematician Andre Weil when they bumped into each other in a hallway, and Weil told Langlands to write up his thoughts in a letter. "If you are willing to read it as pure speculation, I would appreciate that," Langlands wrote to Weil. "If not I am sure you have a wastebasket handy." What followed was a 17-page letter that revealed secret connections between very different areas of mathematics. In the letter, Langlands described a way to extend some of Carl Friedrich Gauss' pioneering work on prime numbers. Number theorists before Gauss had noticed a hidden relationship among primes: that all the primes that can be formulated as the sum of two squares (for instance, 2^2 + 1^2 = 5 or 3^2+2^2 = 13) have a remainder of 1 when divided by 4, but didn't know if it held true in all cases Quanta magazine reported. Gauss proved this idea in what's now known as the quadratic reciprocity law. Langlands took Gauss' work and showed that the prime numbers that can be expressed as the sum of numbers raised to the third or fourth power (such as 1^3+2^3+4^3=73) can be tied to the distant mathematical realm of harmonic analysis. (This kind of analysis includes Fourier transforms, a mainstay tool used by scientists and engineers to analyze signals that have a periodic nature, such as sound waves or electromagnetic radiation spectra.) Langlands showed that these two separate branches of mathematics can be directly related by using a special mathematical approach, a decoder ring of sorts, that became known as functoriality. Langlands' work became so critical to math that his findings lured hundreds of other mathematicians into a new field of study that eventually became known as the Langlands program. And in 1995, when Andrew Wiles, a British mathematician, finally proved Fermat's last theorem, one of the most famous mathematical conjectures in history, he relied on Langlands' theory for a critical piece of the proof. (That theorem posits that there is no solution to the equation a^n+b^n=c^n for any n greater than 2 if a, b and c are all different numbers.) Langlands will receive 6 million Norwegian krone (approximately $775,000) from Norway's King Harald V in a ceremony in Oslo, Norway, on May 22, according to the Abel Prize organizers. Originally published on Live Science. SpaceX is negotiating with the Port of Los Angeles to build a facility there for manufacturing "large commercial transportation vehicles," according to documents on the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners website. SpaceX currently builds all of its rockets and spaceships at the company's headquarters, in the Los Angeles suburb of Hawthorne. So speculation is swirling that the new Port of LA facility will focus on the BFR (Big Falcon Rocket, or Big F***ing Rocket), which SpaceX is developing to get people to Mars and other destinations throughout the solar system. What we know about SpaceX's plans is laid out in a March 15 agenda for a special meeting of the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners. SpaceX requests a 10-year lease, with up to two renewals of 10 years each. The goal is to construct and operate a facility "to manufacture large commercial transportation vessels," the documents state. The project would encompass 18 acres (7.3 hectares) on Terminal Island (an artificial island near San Pedro and Long Beach) on the former site of Southwest Marine, which manufactures components for powerboats. [The BFR: SpaceX's Mars-Colonization Architecture in Images] "The site is entirely disturbed with abandoned industrial buildings, unused compacted dirt area, and paved areas," read the agenda. "Operation would involve research and development of transportation vessels, and would likely include general manufacturing procedures such as welding, composite curing, cleaning, painting, and assembly operations. The majority of operations would take place inside the facility, with exterior operations limited to transit of vehicles, forklift traffic, and mobilization of manufactured products onto a barge at the dockside for testing and delivery." The agenda further states that completed vehicles "would need to be transported via water due to their size; thus there is the need to locate the facility immediately adjacent to the water." That would seem to describe the BFR, a rocket-spaceship combo that will be 348 feet (106 meters) tall by 30 feet (9 m) wide, if present designs hold. (SpaceX's current flying rockets, the workhorse Falcon 9 and the newly debuted Falcon Heavy, can travel overland.) Last week, the board voted to approve California Environmental Quality Act regulations that are needed before greenlighting the project, the Los Angeles Times reported. The board will later vote on a lease to approve the project, but the date of that vote has not yet been released. The board further states that the project "would not have a significant effect on the environment," but adds it will implement standard oversight measures to ensure SpaceX is compliant with environmental regulations. SpaceX uses the Falcon 9 rocket for satellite launches, and the booster also regularly launches the company's robotic Dragon cargo capsule to the International Space Station for NASA. (SpaceX is also prepping to take astronauts to and from the orbiting lab with a crewed version of Dragon; the first crewed test flight is expected late this year, SpaceX representatives have said.) Falcon Heavy's maiden voyage on Feb. 6 saw the 230-foot-tall (70 m) rocket heft a Tesla Roadster into space. The flight met almost all major objectives, SpaceX representatives said, and the company plans two more launches of the booster in 2018 alone. But the Heavy may not fly for long. In September 2017, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said the plan is to replace both the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy with the BFR system in the 2020s. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com. The Omega Speedmaster "Dark Side of the Moon" Apollo 8 chronograph celebrates the 50th anniversary of the first mission to fly astronauts to the moon. The 50th anniversary of the first mission to fly humans to the moon has inspired the design of a new timepiece from the watchmaker that made the chronographs worn by the crew. NASA's Apollo 8 astronauts, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders, were the first to view the far side, or colloquially, "dark side" of Earth's natural satellite while orbiting the moon in December 1968. Half a century later, Omega has brought into view the Speedmaster "Dark Side of the Moon" Apollo 8 chronograph. "Omega has released a Speedmaster that truly brings the lunar surface to life," the watchmaker wrote. "The Apollo 8 crew became the first humans to ever see the dark side of the moon. Omega has produced this incredible chronograph in tribute to that mission." [The First Christmas in Space: An Apollo 8 Holiday History] Omega debuted the Apollo 8 commemorative watch on Wednesday (March 21), a day ahead of the start of the Baselworld watch show in Basel, Switzerland. The $9,750 watch will be available from Omega's boutiques beginning in August. 'Dark Side' As the Apollo 8 crew could attest, the moon does not have a literal "dark side." Both the near and far sides of the moon the sides that face towards and away from Earth, respectively see equal amounts of sunlight. Figuratively though, the far side is sometimes referred to as the "dark side," referencing it being unseen at least to everyone but the astronauts who traveled there. In 2013, Omega introduced the first "Dark Side of the Moon" Speedmaster, which drew inspiration from the Apollo 8 mission by reimagining the watch first worn by moon-bound astronauts with a black ceramic dial. The new 2018 "Dark Side of the Moon" Apollo 8 model continues the all ceramic construction while integrating the look of the moon itself. "The dial has been expertly skeletonized to reveal a blackened movement inside," writes Omega on its website. "Most impressively, the movement has been laser-ablated to produce realistic imagery of the lunar surface." The finely "cratered" face is offset by varnished yellow chronograph hands and a white tachymeter scale and crown. "Speedmaster" and "Tachymetre" also appear in yellow. The Omega Speedmaster "Dark Side of the Moon" Apollo 8 chronograph features a skeletonized dial that reveals a blackened, laser-ablated movement, replicating the lunar surface. (Image credit: Omega) 'Other Side' On Christmas Eve 1968, just before the Apollo 8 command module passed behind the moon cutting off all contact with Earth, Lovell radioed down to Mission Control. "We'll see you on the other side." The same words are inscribed on the other side of Omega's timepiece, wrapping around the edge of the caseback, along with "Dark Side of the Moon" and "Apollo 8, Dec 1968." The caseback, itself, is transparent, revealing the Caliber 1869 movement inside, inspired by how the first trip around the moon revealed the far side to human eyes. "Look through its skeletonized dial and you'll discover the near and far sides of the moon decorated on the laser-ablated movement," writes Omega. The Moonwatch chronograph is presented on a perforated black leather strap with yellow rubber through the middle. Watch a video preview and see more photos of Omega's Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 chronograph at collectSPACE. Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2018 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved. Update for March 24: NASA has delayed the launch of the University Student Instrument Project on a small Terrier Improved Malemute sounding rocket to no earlier than Sunday, March 25, due to rough seas in the payload recovery zone. NASA's live webcast will begin at 6 a.m. EDT on Sunday. Student spaceflight projects will launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on Sunday morning (March 25), and the rocket carrying them might be visible along parts of the U.S. East Coast. The University Student Instrument Project (USIP) payload is the work of teams at the Florida Institute of Technology, the University of Kentucky, Utah State University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In 2016, these schools were picked to explore projects "that may impact future spaceflight," Joyce Winterton, the senior adviser for education and leadership development at the Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia, said in a statement about the upcoming launch. The launch window for the 43-foot-tall (13 meters) Terrier Improved Malemute sounding rocket is set from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. EDT (1030 to 1430 GMT). You can watch the launch live on Space.com, courtesy of NASA Wallops, beginning at 6 a.m. EDT (1000 GMT). [NASA Sounding Rocket Lights Up the Sky: Photos] The NASA Visitor Center at Wallops will open at 5:30 a.m. EDT for public viewing. A sounding rocket is a spacecraft designed to take measurements and conduct experiments, and it spends a relatively short time in space. Launch viewing visibility map for the Undergraduate Student Instrument Program launch. (Image credit: NASA/Mission Planning Lab) Wallops is located in eastern Virginia, and people along the coast of the state and those as far north as Maryland are expected to be able to see the USIP launch. If you live farther away but want to catch this student project payload flying up into the sky, you can watch it online. In addition to the live webcast from Wallops, a Facebook Live broadcast will show the launch starting at 6:15 a.m. EDT (1015 GMT). Smartphone users can also download the "What's Up at Wallops" app, which features a compass that shows the direction you should face for launch viewing. According to NASA, the rocket will reach an altitude of about 100 miles (160 kilometers). The experiments will later descend by parachute and land in the Atlantic Ocean about 70 miles (110 km) from Wallops Island after the flight. The projects will then be recovered and returned to the students later that day. Students participating in the Undergraduate Student Instrument Project observe vibration testing of the payload. (Image credit: NASA/Berit Bland) The ocean recovery plan caused a series of launch delays. The USIP flight was originally scheduled for Thursday morning (March 22) and was delayed to Friday, but officials postponed it to Saturday because of bad weather, and rough seas were expected to interfere with recovery efforts. Rough seas were also expected on Saturday, forcing a delay to Sunday. During the flight, students at the Florida Institute of Technology will test an insulation repair material in a near-vacuum environment, while students at the University of Kentucky will deploy a small entry spacecraft during the flight to test a communications-and-thermal-protection system design. Utah State University students will test a thruster system with green propellant while looking for any harmful effects of plume contamination, and students at the University of Nebraska will test a retractable boom and solar blanket for applications on small satellites as well as sounding rockets. Editor's note: If you capture an amazing image of the sounding rocket launch that you would like to share with Space.com and its news partners for a story or photo gallery, send photos and comments to spacephotos@space.com. Follow Doris Elin Salazar on Twitter @salazar_elin. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. Press Release BULL HELPS A DOCTOR WHO IS ARRESTED BY THE DEA AFTER ILLEGALLY PURCHASING A MARIJUANA-DERIVED OIL TO TREAT HER PATIENTS, ON BULL, TUESDAY, MARCH 27Dana Delany Guest Stars as Assistant US Attorney Sylvia BannerBad Medicine Bull helps a doctor who crossed state lines to purchase a marijuana-derived oil to treat her patients in Virginia, where the oil is illegal. But the case is complicated when Assistant U.S. Attorney Sylvia Banner (Dana Delany) has the DEA arrest her for possession with intent to distribute, on BULL, Tuesday, March 27 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.CHEAT TWEET: Was a doctor just trying to find the best way to treat her patients, or is she a drug dealer in disguise? New @BullCBS 3/27 9pm http://bit.ly/2H7Jh82REGULAR CAST:Michael Weatherly (Dr. Jason Bull)Freddy Rodriguez (Benny Colon)Geneva Carr (Marissa Morgan)Jaime Lee Kirchner (Danny James)Annabelle Attanasio (Cable McCrory)Christopher Jackson (Chunk Palmer)GUEST CAST:Dana Delany (Sylvia Banner)Emily Tremaine (Laura Anthony)Lizbeth Mackay (Teresa Anthony)Joey Rippo (Nicholas Allen)Brian Hotaling (Dr. Yates)Mehdi Barakchian (Kevin)Jordan Dean (State Trooper Stevens)Lenny Delgado (Priest)Jordan Carey (State Trooper)Patrick Cooley (Martin)Vinny Anand (Police Officer)Bill Raymond (Judge Jessup)Stephanie Weppler (Potential Juror 1)Vickie Warehime (Potential Juror 2)Christine Renee Miller (Lynn)Mary Theresa Archbold (NYCCS Worker)Geoffrey Cantor (Dr. Kulkarni)WRITTEN BY: Erica PetersonDIRECTED BY: Bethany Rooney It's now day 422 of the Trump presidency and for the first time this season the Trump stuff was taken out of the opening credits. I guess we're breaking away from that, at least for now. Also, for the first time this season we start with a case of the week. In this week's episode, Christine Lahti returns as attorney Andrea Stevens who is defending a reality show against a former contestant who is suing them for allowing her to be sexually violated on the show. Sounds like this week's case is a takeoff of The Bachelor controversy, if anyone knows about that. Two contestants got drunk and he allegedly violated her while the show didn't not just stop it but may have encouraged it. Yikes. Diane and Adrian are defending the young woman, Melanie. Now, this one is interesting and complicated because both Melanie and the other contestants were drinking and she doesn't even remember what happened. The lines of consent are going to be muddled, it sounds like. She says she wants four and a half million from the show, and not the guy, Blake, who actually did the violating. She believes that Blake is a victim too and the show is the real villain. However, she has a problem in that the contract states that the show is not responsible for anything that happens on the show. Bit weird. During this meeting, Diane sees a young man hanging around the office. Her guard immediately goes up and she wants to know who this guy is. She tells Marissa to get Jay to look into it, but Marissa says she can. Marissa talks to the guy herself and finds out he's a delivery guy who was just on the wrong floor, apparently. But Diane is suspicious because the guy didn't have any food on him. Marissa says she thinks he left it at reception, but Diane is not satisfied with that. Marissa says she'll make sure.Adrian and Andrea (Yeah, say that five times fast) discuss settlement. Andrea lowballs them at 80 grand, Adrian laughs at her because the contract is ridiculous and they will fight it. Not only that, but they want the footage of the attack itself. Andrea says it's proprietary, Adrian says it's not. Let's see what the judge says, shall we?The judge, played by Rob Reiner (the blessed man who brought us The Princess Bride), doesn't say anything. Rather, he literally throws a book on the ground to make a noise loud enough to make them stop their incessant arguing. The loud bang sounds like a gunshot, so everybody scrambles for cover before realizing they are running from a book, not a bullet. The judge has no sympathy for the lawyers who think they have a target on their back because of the recent string of lawyer murders. He even gets the book back in case he needs to use it again. Cold. Anyways, they get on with their arguments. Diane and Adrian's request for the footage is granted almost immediately, as the judge finds it open and shut that they should be allowed to view material evidence. He bangs his gravel to make it official, making everybody jump again. Dude, chill out Rob Reiner. Blah blah blah All in the Family joke blah blah blah.So, the show, Chicago Penthouse, sends them not just that footage but all of the footage of the entire season, uncut, and with no timestamps. Yep, it's a dirty game, but one that Marissa is willing to play. She volunteers to watch the footage until she finds what they need. Marissa and Jay find the footage, and it's almost a shot for shot remake of The Bachelor's incident. She's drunk, he's drunk, she takes her top off, and they make out in the hot tub. It's drunken consent, but it seems consensual enough that it hurts their case. Their only question is why the show would want to hide this footage, unless there is something else on it.Later, Maia saunters over to Marissa, complaining of boredom. Yeah, that stuff that happened with her father last week is heavily glossed over this episode. She nor Lucca are even in the episode very much. I guess their storyline is taking a break to focus on Diane and Marissa this week, which I will not complain about because it's, you know, Diane and Marissa. Anyway, her boredom doesn't last for long because Marissa opens an envelope addressed to Diane and finds a threatening "Kill all lawyers" note with some mysterious powder that falls out immediately and onto both Marissa and Maia. Not good. They freeze, of course, and grab the attention of Diane, Jay, and Adrian who move right into action. Adrian calls 911, Jay gets everyone out of the building (except for Lucca, who stays with them to help like the awesome person she is), and Diane freaks out about being the next victim of the kill all lawyers initiative.Hazmat guys come in to help Maia and Marissa, and Marissa spends it not fretting about her situation but just flirting with one of the guys. But fret she didn't need to do because the hazmat guys discover the power is just baking powder. False alarm. Later, Maia and Marissa talk to hazmat guy again and Maya cures her boredom by acting as wingwoman to Marissa by inviting him out for drinks.Also, it turns out that Liz is married to a police officer, Ian, who is one of the responders on the scene. Ian discusses the letter with Liz, Adrian, and Diane. He wants a list of their clients so he can investigate them, but they can't because of attorney/client privilege. This gets personal for Ian because he's now worried about something happening to his wife. Jay says he'll investigate Diane's clients while Diane goes home to shake off what happened. Somehow, I don't think Diane will be able to shake it off very easily. In his investigating, Jay finds out the envelope wasn't mailed to the office, it was brought in by hand. That delivery guy is looking more and more suspicious.Back to the case of the hour. Andrea shows up and expresses sympathy for the ricin scare. She suggests that they settle the case right now so they don't have to go to trial. Adrian is not on board. He and Liz are going to push forward. So they have a deposition with a producer on the show. Luckily, Marissa has found something incriminating on the tapes. The producer is coercing Melanie into stripping, threatening that she will not get to stay on the show if she doesn't. He doesn't even let her eat, encouraging her to drink from the tequila buffet instead. Needless to say, Adrian and Liz have Andrea and the producer under a barrel.Maia and Marissa are having drinks at a bar. Quite a few drinks, actually. Drew, hazmat guy, shows up. But he's not there for Marissa, he's there for Maia, or so Marissa believes. But Maia solves that problem by telling him she's gay. A bartender ... Is that the same one from the first episode? I can't remember. I'll look it up and let you know at the end of this review. Anyway, he offers them something stronger than those drinks. I thought this was going to lead somewhere, but it actually gets dropped for the rest of the episode. Weird. However, we do discover Drew is interested in Marissa because they end up hooking up at the end of the episode.Now Adrian and Liz are depoing Blake. Diane shows up late, having spent her time at home doing something called micro-dosing on mushrooms and hallucinating Donald Trump adopting a pot-bellied pig. Blake stresses his innocence and lambasts Melanie for accusing him of something he didn't do. But she comes back at him with the fact that even though she initiated it, at some point she was so intoxicated that she was no longer sober enough to consciously consent to sex, which he ignored. Jerk.Jay talks to Diane's client. He doesn't seem to have any ill will toward Diane, only his ex-wife. He definitely seems off, but is he off enough to have done this?Next, the lawyers depo the former production manager of Chicago Penthouse. She was fired after raising an objection to what happened between Blake and Melanie. However, Andrea turns it around to say that this production manager wanted Blake off the show because she didn't approve of interracial relationships. Her objections had nothing to do with unconsensual sex. It helps her case, but not by much.Jay joins Marissa at the office while she's going through the tapes. He's got printed papers from multiple clients' offices so he can do this actually cool thing which is to check to see if these printed papers match the letter. Apparently, printers always leave a unique pattern of hidden dots, so if the dots on these papers match the ones on the letter, they've most likely got their guy. However, neither paper matches. Marissa gives him an idea to check the printers from their own office. He does, and it's a match. The letter was printed out from their very own office.Marissa finds out there's a third camera on the tapes, of which the footage was not given as part of the evidence. The judge tells her to hand it over. You'd think it was over, but the judge makes a sexist remark about Diane not smiling. She laughs in response. Then she keeps laughing all the way out of court, disturbing everyone. Marissa figures out she's micro-dosing. Diane denies it, but then outs herself by asking about Donald Trump adopting the pig. It didn't happen, so Marissa doesn't know what to say other than it didn't happen. Diane can't believe it.Jay has found the culprit. Turns out it was an associate who was feeling overworked and wanted a day to get caught up. He was afraid he'd be fired if he didn't. Welp, apparently he wasn't afraid of going to prison, because that's exactly what happens.Adrian shows Andrea the footage from the third camera. It shows Blake and Melanie hooking up in the hot tub, but she gets out of the tub and passes out on a couch. Then, the producer picks her up from the couch and guides her right back into the tub, and Blake continues hooking up with her even though she was barely even conscious. It's terrible, and Andrea knows it. She offers them 3.2 million, and Adrian and Diane celebrate. He tells her about the associate sending the letter, and she blurts out laughing again. Adrian knows something is up. He asks her about her leaving law after all the deaths going on. She assures him she's not going anywhere. Even though she's been haunted by seeing death everywhere, now she no longer cares. It's not a healthy reaction, but Adrian lets it go. Diane realizes it was Liz who must have told him about leaving, so, sans shoes, walks over to Liz's office and lets her know how she feels about that with just two words. If you haven't seen the episode, I won't tell you what they were, but I'll give you a hint; The second one is 'you,' and the first one is NOT 'thank.'That's it for episode 3. I liked seeing more Marissa, but I'm kind of disappointed in Diane's storyline. It's basically just her freaking out about death and then getting drugged up. It's not something I'm all that interested in and wished she and Christine Baranski had more to do. Brussels (Belgium), March 22, 2018 (SPS) - The Frente POLISARIO has condemned the European Commission's attempts to amend the EU-Morocco fisheries agreement, in order to include the waters of Western Sahara, despite the decision of the European Court of Justice, that the waters of Western Sahara cannot be part of agreements with Morocco, in statement issued by Polisarios representative at EU. Mohamed Sidati, in this regard, has noted that the European Commission, demonstrated that it does not consider the legality and that it is an accomplice of the illegal occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco. POLISARIO, argues that the Commission's attempts coincide with the presentation, before the Security Council, of the briefing of the envoy of the UN SG for Western Sahara, Horst Kohler, which calls into question the EU's involvement in the search of a political solution to the conflict. The statement has also urged the Commission to enter into direct and constructive talks with the Frente POLISARIO, as well as urging the EU countries to reject the Commission's proposals. SPS 125/090/TRA The University of Connecticut has signed a three-year research agreement with a Fairfield County company that is developing high-capacity lithium-ion batteries for such uses as giving electric vehicles greater range between charges and energy storage for use at a later time. The value of the research agreement with Wilton-based Cadenza Innovation is $700,000, according to UConn officials. The work UConn scientists will be doing for Cadenza involves highly specialized materials analysis and synthesis for use in lithium-ion-based energy storage. Cadenza has developed a way of packaging lithium-ion batteries that increases the amount of energy the batteries can produce. The work UConn will be doing is being conducted at UConns Center for Clean Energy Engineering in the lab of Dr. Radenka Maric, the schools vice president for research and Connecticut Clean Energy Fund Professor of Sustainable Energy, who is the principal investigator on the project. Additional work will take place at the recently opened Innovation Partnership Building at the UConn Tech Park by professors Sina Shahbazmohamadi and Steven Suib. Cadenza has the technical capability and holds key patents to develop game-changing battery technologies, Maric said in a statement. UConn has the expertise and unmatched research facilities to conduct rigorous, reproducible, accurate specialty materials analysis to help their technology advance. Cadenza was founded in 2012 by Christina Lampe-Onnerud, a leading entrepreneur in the field of energy storage. The company, which currently employs 25 people, had been located in Oxford before moving about a year ago into a space in Bethel that also houses the research laboratories of commercial battery maker Duracell. The companys corporate offices are in Wilton. Cadenzas investors include Connecticut Innovations, the states quasi-public technology investment arm. Lampe-Onnerud said the work UConns scientists are doing is vital research for energy storage and a range of other critical technologies. They have developed some really important analytical capabilities over years, she said of the UConn researchers The UConn research is designed to build upon Cadenzas partnership with Syrah Resources, the only major, fully funded, natural graphite development project in construction globally. Syrah is projected to be the worlds largest individual graphite producer by 2020 with approximately 40 percent market share from its operation in Mozambique. The work UConns scientists are doing involves the characterization and fundamental study of Cadenza Innovations technology to synthesize low cost, natural graphite collected from the Syrah mines into an ideal base material for lithium-ion batteries. As the research proceeds, studies focused on improving battery performance will be done. Cadenza already had several research projects going on with other UConn programs. NORWALK The earliest it became clear that Chris Marrero would become some kind of mechanic was when he was just 2 years old. His father found him in the garage with every single one of his tools trying to get the training wheels off his bike. And to his fathers surprise, the then 2-year-old Marrero figured how do it by himself and rode his bike in the cul-de-sac without training wheels on afterward. And here I am today, Marrero said, sitting inside J.M. Wright Technical High School in Stamford on a recent morning. I love what I do. I love working on cars. Marrero, who lives in Norwalk, is now a senior at the technical school, where he studies automotive technology and has earned more certifications than some of the professionals hes worked with at car dealerships and motorsports shops. While many high-schoolers decide to go to college or a university upon graduating, Marrero knew early on he wanted to go to trade school instead. In the fall, hes headed to the University of Northwestern Ohio to study diesel and high performance, and automotive business and administration. After trade school, he hopes to fix cars for a living and to eventually start his own business, just as his father started his own electrical business after he went to trade school. Though his father closed the business and now works for the Bridgeport Fire Department, he still keeps himself busy with electrical projects on the side. You always find something to fall back on, no matter what happens, Marrero said, of life after trade school. People always need their cars fixed. People always need nurses. Youre always going to need electricians. Youre always going to need plumbers. Youre always going to have skills that no one can take away from you. Phyllis Bartoli, principal of J.M. Wright Technical High School, said the need for trade- school workers is booming in Fairfield County. Statewide, trade-school jobs such as electricians, barbers, plumbers, roofers and cooks are among the fastest-growing occupations, according to data from the state Department of Labor. J.M. Wright trains students in 10 different trades and is connected to local associations in related industries, including the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Connecticut. In those construction trades, they need our kids to continue to make Fairfield County successful and to continue to help it grow, Bartoli said. The Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk area alone saw a near 11 percent drop in construction jobs from 2017-18, with 9,900 construction workers employed, according to data from the state Department of Labor. More students at Norwalk High School are looking to trade school for their higher education plans, according to Daniel Sullivan, chairman of the schools guidance program. And so, the school and district have initiated different ways to support those who arent pursuing a four-year college degree. Earlier in the school year, students at Norwalk High learned about different post-secondary options during college week: four-year colleges, two-year colleges, trade schools and military options. More of these career pathways will be embedded in the districts upcoming high school curriculum redesign, Sullivan said. With the cost of college, I think it forced people to be better consumers and look at options more holistically and not just do whats socially expected of you, Sullivan said. Senior Nicolas Monteleone agrees, and believes theres a stereotype about trade school being a last resort. But to him, going to trade school is a quicker track to his career destination. Both of his parents graduated from J.M. Wright Technical School and are supportive of him attending vocational school instead of college, as long as he is committed to it. He has been accepted into the New England Institute of Technology and will study civil engineering in the fall. You sort of just go right into the craft and get to work on it, Monteleone said. Thats why I thought of trade school as a cool option. Similarly, senior Janessa Martinez is applying to a hairdressing academy in Newtown after hearing about it from a hair salon co-worker. At first, Martinez said her parents, both graduates of technical high school, werent fond of the idea. But their minds changed once they saw how determined she was to become a hairdresser. With college, I didnt know what I wanted to do. But with trade school, I know exactly what I want, Martinez said. I learn better hands-on, not from somebody teaching from the white board. So if youre that type of person who needs to see something get done to learn, trade school would be a better option for you, too. In this series, Open Every Door, Entrepreneur staff writer Nina Zipkin shares her conversations with leaders about understanding what you have to offer, navigating the obstacles that will block your path, identifying opportunity and creating it for yourself and for others. In 1993, Lisa Price had an idea. She wanted to create natural skin-care and hair-care products that would be used and loved by everyone, no matter their skin type or hair texture. With $100 and encouragement from her mom, Carol, Price started experimenting with formulas in her Brooklyn kitchen. It wasnt long before her products were selling out at local markets and festivals. She opened her first storefront in Brooklyn in 1999 and with the launch of CarolsDaughter.com the following year, she built a devoted following in the early days of ecommerce. In 2002, Price found a fan in Oprah Winfrey and made an appearance on her show, gaining a whole new group of fans across the country. Prices dedication to making inclusive products with new and interesting ingredients has attracted big name investors including Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith and Jay-Z and partnerships with celebrities including Mary J. Blige. She has also been a fixture on HSN since 2008, a leap that was no small feat for the self-described introvert. In 2014, Price sold her company to L'Oreal and today, Carols Daughter products can be purchased at retailers including Dillards, Macys, Sephora, Target and ULTA. Price shared her insights about what it takes to stay in business for more than two decades, planting seeds for future successes and how to move past fear and find your voice. Tell me about a time you needed to create an opportunity for yourself or others? The business has been around for 25 years this coming May. So we've had to do many new things to stay relevant. One of those was being on HSN. I'm basically a shy person and an introvert. If you had said to me 10 to 20 years ago that I would be selling products on television, I would have told you that you were crazy. The first time that I had to do it, I was totally terrified. I said a little little prayer asking my mom to help me out. But it's a great thing. It's the perfect example of when you step outside of your comfort zone and you do something that makes you more comfortable. In the end it turned out to be great. What was at stake for you? How did you overcome the fear? I was nervous about messing up. I was nervous because it was live and you can't start over again. I was nervous that people wouldn't relate to me. The people that I saw doing this have been doing it for a really long time. I thought, how do you practice? But usually when I'm in situations like that I have to think about why I'm there. Most of the time I'm there because I'm supposed to be there. I didn't get there because I forced my way in or pushed my way in. I could see the stars align, if you will. And the door opened and even though I was afraid, all that I actually had to do was walk through the door. In the grand scheme of things that's not terribly difficult to do. It would be much more difficult to bang on the door, convince someone to open the door, pave the way, build the door. I just had to walk. Related: You Need to Meet Your Challenges With Pathological Optimism at Every Turn What personal traits or strategies do you depend on to create opportunity for yourself and for others? When you're in a difficult moment, you can get lost in that moment and that moment can feel like forever. It can feel like there's no way out. I always have to remind myself this too shall pass because I've been through this more than once. I sometimes hear my mother's voice in my head because my mother was diagnosed at the age of 22 with an illness called polymyositis. It's a neurovascular disease, but the way that it manifested in my mom was she had difficulty with her legs. They would cramp up, they weren't very strong. If she sat down and crossed her legs, she actually lifted one leg over the other. She couldn't pick it up off the floor and just cross it. But if you didn't know her and you didn't know that that was part of her reality, you didn't know. Because she didn't focus on it. She didn't complain about it. She didn't talk about it and she lived her life to the best of her ability with it. She was like this constant example. You can have something wrong with you. But you can still function, you can still live, you can still be strong, you can still be powerful. It's not that you're ignoring that there is something wrong with you, you're just not letting it be the primary focus. So when I'm in difficult situations I remember that I came from her and I might not feel it right there in that moment but I'm stronger than I think I am. When you experience a setback, what do you do to keep going? How do you get unstuck? I allow myself time to mourn or grieve. Sometimes you don't have that luxury. I know it sounds weird but you kind of have to postpone that mourning and grieving. When appropriate I allow myself the release of crying. I used to think that crying meant that you were weak and that there was something wrong with it. But energy manifests in different ways. Some people cry or laugh or yell, but you can't keep them bottled up. You have to release it, you have to let it go. When appropriate I let it go so that it doesn't hurt me by keeping it inside. Once I've done those two things then I'm able to look at the situation. What could I have done differently if anything? Did I do anything to contribute to what occurred and what is a lesson that I need to learn from this? Most of the time it just is what it is and it's the cycle of life. It has ups and downs. The goal is to learn as much you can but not let it consume you and not let it defeat you the next time. Related: Why You Have the Wrong Idea About Who Is a Great Mentor People who want to advocate for themselves dont know always know how. What are actionable steps they can take to make themselves heard? What steps do you take? I've been in situations where I needed to negotiate but I didn't know how to negotiate. I was afraid of negotiating and I was afraid that negotiating [would make] the deal go away. So I didn't negotiate. The next time I needed to negotiate, I was able to talk to a lawyer, talk to a banker who is a friend of mine, and say OK, I don't want to accept this as it is. I feel like there is room to negotiate. What's the best way for me to do it because I really don't want to piss anyone off? I really don't want to come across as being a difficult person. The advice that was given to me at that time was really pretty brilliant. They said, it's a good deal but if you feel that you need those two extra points, they're not egregious. You're within your right to ask for them. I would present it in such a way that they understand that this is what makes you happier, able to function on the task at hand better, and not that it's a deal breaker. It was a good perspective for me because then I said OK I'm not being cheated. That fear you have of, are they low-balling me because I'm a woman or because I'm African American. To hear that it was fair took that emotion right off the table. It's gone, it's not in my way. I was able to go into that negotiation very calmly, feeling confident and feeling fair and I actually got what I asked for and now because of that positive experience, if I have to negotiate I understand how to go about it and how to navigate it. Related: You Must Ask Yourself This Question Before You Pitch Your Idea Has there been a counterintuitive or surprising way you've opened doors for yourself? I've opened doors for myself by being somewhere and not knowing that six months or a year down the road that it was going to lead to this other thing. In the moment being there was difficult and being there didn't make a whole bunch of sense. But there was something in my gut that said you've got to do this. Then you realize later the chain of events that led you to that point. You trace it back to that moment two years ago. When you went to that dumb party when it was raining and you had a cold and shouldn't have been out. But because you were there, you met that person, you had a great conversation. You connected and then a year and a half later she remembered you and whispered your name to the person who needed to hear it and you ended up on The Oprah Winfrey Show. That is honest to God a true story. Was there a blind spot that you had about leadership and opportunity you worked to change within yourself? When we started to have a chief financial officer, an operating person and a packaging person -- people that had five to 15 years in the beauty business, I said to myself, I need to be collaborative because these people know a lot more than I do. I don't want to be the leader in the room who really doesn't know what she's talking about. What I discovered after years of doing that was I had lost my voice in my own brand. I learned that I needed to be OK with sitting at the head of the table and be OK with leading even though I didn't have all the answers. I had to be OK with being uncomfortable but that I knew the answers to the most important questions. Everything else I could learn. But the DNA of the brand, that wasn't something that somebody could learn, that was something that was really within me. Related: This Introverted Entrepreneur With an Oprah-Approved Brand Shares How to Rise Above Fear to Embrace Every Opportunity 10 of the Richest Women in History Eight Surefire Ways To Tackle The Office Mansplainer Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com 3 1 of 3 Stamford police / Contributed Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Stamford police / Contributed Show More Show Less 3 of 3 STAMFORD Police say they arrested a man convicted of multiple felonies allegedly carrying two guns with him on a walk while smoking a marijuana joint. Capt. Richcard Conklin said officers in the Narcotics and Organized Crime squad had heard on the street that a convicted felon named Dontralle Reese was in possession of two guns and he enjoyed taking them with him while on walks. Police were told that he liked keeping one gun in his waistband and the other in a backpack. B loody hell, mutters Stephen Haddrill under his breath when I ask the head of the UKs accounting watchdog about his recent appearance before MPs baying for blood over the collapse of Carillion. It feels like intruding on private grief although, as the former civil servant adds drily, actually it wasnt very private, was it? Not really: the shells rained down on the Financial Reporting Council chief executive. Rachel Reeves said he was the head of the horse has bolted regulator, and Heidi Allen accused him of having a non-job. Peter Kyle just asked bluntly: What is the point of your organisation? It was painful to watch. The FRC chief told them there was enormous cause for concern about the way the company was governed, but what really frustrated the MPs was how little Haddrills body appeared to be able to do about it. KPMG signed off on Carillions accounts last March, saying they gave a true and fair picture of the company: four months later, there was a shocking profit warning at which late point the FRC started secretly monitoring the company before it finally blew up in January. Haddrill is a keen sailor in his spare time but its doubtful hes faced much choppier waters than these. Besides Carillion, Haddrill is also under fire for the FRCs lengthy probe and eventual failure to bring sanctions against the auditors of bailed-out HBOS (another KPMG client), and accusations that the body is too close to the Big Four, which also includes PwC, EY and Deloitte. But, for an apparently toothless watchdog, the 62-year-olds salary packs an outsized punch. The FRCs most recent annual report shows he picked up 486,481 almost as much as the salary of Financial Conduct Authority boss Andrew Bailey, heading an organisation many times the size. The problem as he sees it is that although the FRC has the powers to review audits and tell the auditors where they have gone wrong, it is after the fact. It can also sanction auditors and actuaries, but against company directors it has the much higher bar of having to prove misconduct against them. Its also the guardian of the UK corporate governance code, and has just consulted on changes to it but doesnt have powers to enforce it. Business Secretary Greg Clark begs to differ, arguing this week that the FRC doesnt use the powers it has, and calling for a review into the watchdogs effectiveness. On Carillion involved in everything from prisons to catering at Sandhurst he can say little because an investigation is under way. But the probe will focus on KPMGs going-concern assessment of the firm, the handling of its vast pension deficit and the assessment of the loss-making contracts that torpedoed the builder. Former Carillion finance directors Richard Adam and Zafar Khan will also come under the spotlight. What he will say is that there should be higher audit standards for firms deeply entwined in the public sector. Youve got companies who are maybe involved heavily in providing public services like Carillion was, so you have a very high level of public interest. In those circumstances, I think we need to think about whether we as a regulator, and other regulators as well, should be doing more, so we could review their audit every year. For the FTSE 350, we do it on average every five years. Some we do more frequently but we dont do them every year. Theres the intensity of the scrutiny. Thats all very well but you can still hear the sound of hooves galloping into the distance; it rather brings us back to Kyles question on the point of the organisation. To cover the spectrum of corporate Britain, it currently has just 32 enforcement staff of legal experts and forensic accountants (although it is recruiting for more). And in the past, it has been such a soft touch that Sir Christopher Clarkes review into its enforcement capabilities last November damningly concluded there was a real danger that fines at this level would be regarded as no more than a cost of doing business and have little deterrent effect. It recommended fines above 10 million for poor work from the Big Four but thats a drop in the ocean against revenues stretching into billions. PwC, the recipient of the FRCs biggest-ever fine of 5.1 million, had UK revenues of 3.6 billion last year. Are the global giants taking the mickey out of him? I think they are quite worried about the impact of a successful tribunal case. They do really fear the impact on their reputation and since [audit] rotation has come in, they fear it even more... I dont think they are laughing at us at all. That said, hes changed his tune on competition amongst the Big Four, and now reckons a shake-up is required. In his view, the recent obligation on major companies to rotate their auditors hasnt had the desired effect because the audit work is likely to head to a major rival, freeing up the company whos lost the audit gig to pitch for potentially more lucrative consultancy work. He thinks the Competition and Markets Authority should consider options such as limits on market share. We havent got to where we want to be so we are now starting to feel that we must do some things differently, he says. But without a break-up, insiders are sceptical that well see a Big Five any time soon. As one senior industry figure put it: Where does this competition come from? You would need 2 billion to 3 billion to build it. Metro Bank can grow organically but it will take 100 years to become Barclays. Then theres the glacial speed of its deliberations. In November, Haddrill wrote to Treasury Select Committee chair Nicky Morgan that it should have adopted a more proactive approach to our early enquiries over the auditing of HBOS in 2007 given a clean bill of health months before it was rescued. Last September, it dropped the long-running probe, saying there was not a realistic prospect of a finding against KPMG. As MP Antoinette Sandbach put it, justice delayed is justice denied. The FRC has always pushed to move from investigation to tribunal within two years but firms have always had an interest in finding ways to delay the case coming to a conclusion, says Haddrill. The older it gets, the easier it is to say Oh well, we recognise this wasnt a very good piece of work but it was a long time ago. More serious are concerns over the perceived influence of the Big Four in the FRC, with former senior staff dotted throughout the board. Many have pension entitlements from the major accountants, as revealed in an register of interests published for the first time last year. Haddrill denies regulatory capture, insisting: We have quite strict rules about conflicts of interest. If there is a potential conflict, they are declared and a person wouldnt take part in that discussion. He himself is in the register, as hes married to Kate Marshall, a senior civil servant at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy who manages the departments relationship with partner organisations, including the FRC. His wife is completely cut out of FRC issues and has nothing to do with decisions relating to it, he says. He feels hard done by over the treatment of the story in the media. Grey-suited, grey-haired and cautiously spoken, Haddrill is every inch the Yes, Minister-style mandarin. After independent school in South London and Oxford, he joined the Department for Energy, working under ministers including Cecil Parkinson on the privatisation of the electricity industry. After leaving the DTI in 2005, he arrived at the FRC in 2009 via four years running the Association of British Insurers. One industry figure who has dealt with him says, rather uncharitably, that if you gave him a magic wand and asked him to make three wishes, one of them would be a review of something. But the many brickbats being thrown Haddrills way he puts down to particular cases where people dont understand what we can and cant do so its our fault, not his. And he insists that the FRCs international reputation is very strong. After the last few months, its probably never been lower at home as the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum has called for it to be scrapped. T he City on Friday cheered drugmaker GlaxoSmithKlines decision to ditch a deal with rival Pfizer, which appears to leave the $20 billion (14 billion) auction dead in the water. Offers were due this week for New York-based Pfizers consumer healthcare business comprising brands such as painkiller Advil. GSK looked to be the last remaining bidder yesterday after Nurofen-maker Reckitt Benckiser became the latest suitor to drop out of the race. However, GSK boss Emma Walmsley, who took the top job a year ago, revealed her company has also withdrawn. She said: While we will continue to review opportunities that may accelerate our strategy, they must meet our criteria for returns and not compromise our priorities for capital allocation. Separately, GSK said its shingles vaccine, Shingrix, has been approved in Europe and Japan. Shares in the FTSE 100 firm leapt 37.8p to 1311.6p. It is unclear if any bids were lodged. Pfizer said it expects to make a decision on the consumer business this year. P harmaceutical investors have had a busy week and today provided no let-up as Indivior set itself up for a costly scrap in the courts. The FTSE 250 firm plunged 21.8p at 386.5p after a US court found rival Alvogen had not infringed its patents. Indivior was trying to defend its best-selling Suboxone Film, a drug used to treat opioid addiction, but a Delaware court found in favour of Alvogen in a battle over intellectual property. Shaun Thaxter, Indiviors chief executive, vowed to fight the decision. He said: We believe we have strong intellectual property for Suboxone Film. We will appeal this ruling and continue to vigorously defend our intellectual property, including asserting the two new Orange-Book listed patents that have been granted for Suboxone Film. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, added: Todays fall shows the risks of being too reliant on a single blockbuster drug. In its response to the ruling, Indivior says it could see a rapid and material loss of market share for the drug in the US if the decision stands. Although it reckons it has grounds for appeal, many investors appear unwilling to wait to find out. Among the blue-chips, the usually reliable Smiths Group lost 176p at 1360p after it posted a 12% drop in interim profits. Revenue was down 4% to 1.5 billion at the airport security scanners and bomb detectors maker as it took a hit from adverse foreign exchange translation. The FTSE 100 was off 66.8 points at 6885.63, tracking global markets lower as President Donald Trump ramps up his trade war with China. The increasingly hostile rhetoric has made the markets jittery, with nervy investors snapping up gold miners Fresnillo and Randgold. They were two of only a handful of risers on the index, up 16.5p at 1175.5p and 50.1p at 5813p. Among the small-cap stocks City stockbroker Cenkos lost 8.5p at 109p, despite doubling its profits off the back of some large fundraisers, including the float of haulage firm Eddie Stobart last April. Mifid II regulation has already taken its toll on the broker, putting pressure on revenues from research, which fell by more than a third to 2.9 million from 5 million in 2016. The firm said: Our relatively small team of analysts is well placed to continue to provide consistent high research levels in an area where there is some uncertainty. The biggest faller was Crawshaw Group, 1.7p at 3.9p. The butcher said its chief executive officer Noel Collett and chief financial officer Alan Richardson have stepped aside after a poor start to the year. A three-cornered fight between BBC presenters, the Corporation, and the tax authorities is under way. It is miserable for all concerned. The testimony of presenters who suddenly find themselves with huge, unexpected tax bills has been wrenching these are not tax dodgers but good, long-hours journalists whove had to work through cancer treatment; some driven to the edge of suicide; others who face losing their homes. For the BBC itself, this is a nightmare: morally there is a strong case for the Corporation stepping in to cover the extra tax costs of employees among them 6Music DJ Liz Kershaw who were persuaded by managers to set up personal service companies. But is that a proper use of the licence fee? Managers feel the Inland Revenue has changed its position and left them dangling. But of course this is bad for the tax system as well: relying on last-minute and punitive-seeming clawbacks is no advertisement for a system that depends on widespread public acceptance and predictability. Tax is something most of us feel strongly about. We want it to be fair. We deeply resent tax dodgers. We depend upon the services it pays for. Somehow, it binds us together as one society. But what this sad affair really shows is that the British tax system has become much too complex. Taxes should be three things: unavoidable, fair and dull. An interesting tax system is a complicated, sinuous, intellectually challenging tax system; one that can be wrestled with, talked back to and avoided. Simplicity brings a brutal clarity. Hong Kong, whose tax system is widely admired, has a tax code that runs at fewer than 300 pages. Britains is around 17,000 pages long. That so few BBC people were absolutely clear about the use of personal service companies isnt exactly surprising. The complexity of the British tax system came about by accident: it was the side effect of decades of well-meaning, clever ideas. The tax system became the alternative to stand-alone, independent legislation. Andrew Marr Governments wanting to promote something useful re-foresting, persuading more US companies to make their films in Britain, growing tech companies found it easy to tilt the tax system with incentives to encourage it. Similarly, ministers wanting to stop things sugar in childrens drinks, diesel engines, second homes for rent found the tax system a softer alternative to banning it. So, launched on a sea of good headlines, the tax system grew into an interesting, complex reef of tempting coves and hidden dangers. Budget by budget, year by year, it grew. Every exemption brought more work for accountants and lawyers. And collectively, they have made fools of many of us. When I first left newspaper journalism the result of a very sound sacking I had a complicated scheme for a tech company of my own. It was back at the time of the first dot-com boom when investment money was sloshing around, and I excitedly set up my very own company. It was called Aslan Computing. I cant remember why. It proved to be a pointless exercise but I can vividly remember being told by an eager financial advisor that I should employ my wife and children, paying them as consultants, thereby saving tax and keeping the firm in the family. Since my youngest child was about seven or eight at the time, and my wife was busy working in a real job, I thought this looked dodgy and declined. But having rebadged myself as a company drew me deeper and deeper into the thickets of tax law. What are genuinely allowable expenses? Computers, heating and lighting for an office, paper for the fax machine? Yes but what about a smart suit for meetings, and an impressive-looking car to get there? What about, um, birthday presents for clients? Its a mad world. Since I like to spend as much of my life as possible writing things, talking about things and making things, I quickly realised that being a company with its bureaucracy, its endless paperwork and its annual reports, was a horrible waste of time and human spirit. I avoided being caught up in the BBC personal company row, mainly through laziness. Companies can be fine and wonderful institutions. Most of us work in, or for, them. But as a way of avoiding paying your fair share of tax, they are a grim and humiliating experience. Anyway, I believe in paying tax. I cant say I actively enjoy the process that would be a little weird but to almost every complaint about public life, from not enough police to filthy air, part of the answer is, tax. Follow that logic to its extreme and everybody would be paying 100 per cent in taxes, and dependent on the state for everything. Thats a horrible thought. But fair taxes are unavoidable to civilisation and nobody, but nobody, should duck out. We need a really radical clearing-out of the whole tax system, a major conflagration of allowances, exemptions, codes and sundry other temptations. That includes the incredibly sophisticated and fast-changing taxation of savings. Future chancellors should pride themselves on shredding more pages of the tax code that they add. T he labyrinthine streets of Old Town Sarajevo have for centuries been a focal point for shopping. Today you can see carpet-weavers and coppersmiths practising their trade, and artisans selling coffee pots, woodwork and geometric jewellery and boldly cut hoodies. I didnt like what I saw being sold on the streets of Sarajevo, especially in the Old Town, says Zana Karkin, founder of Bazerdzan Concept Store (bazerdzan.ba). I felt that I had an obligation to present the beauty of our tradition from a new angle. I thought that a lot of traditional products are no longer in use, so if we use the old skills to produce something fresh, maybe we could gain interest. Karkin is part of a new generation of entrepreneurs and designers seeking to create a fresh take on the usual tourist offerings, creating a fusion between traditional Bosnian artisan techniques and a contemporary aesthetic. The new Bosnia People. Fashion. Power. Delivered weekly. Email Sign up Sign up I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice {{message}} {{permutiveUid}} {{message}} Bazerdzan sits behind the Latin Bridge where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in 1914, triggering World War One among shisha bars and burek (pastry) sellers. Since its 2016 opening it has become a focal point for fashion-conscious Sarajevans. The shop sells only products from the countrys independent designers. Sarajevo duo Werkstatt (instagram.com/werkstatt_studio) produce striking jewellery engraved with lyrics from Bosnian Sevdalinka love songs, while NNENN, another jewellery line, uses motifs from medieval tombstones. Karkin is committed to sustaining traditional crafts, collaborating with makers of traditional rugs and sheets and with women from one Bosnian village to produce traditionally embroidered dresses and trousers. Getty Images/Lonely Planet Image Bazerdzan also stocks up-and-coming clothes designers such as Molimao, which takes inspiration from Sarajevos buildings and bridges, and Irma Kohel (instagram.com/irmakohel), who produces a line of streetwear sold without size or gender labels. Bosnian-born but Belgrade-trained, Kohel channels the minimalist forms she was drawn to in her previous life as a graphic designer into boldly printed urban clothing. Then theres the Angelina link. A few streets away is the studio of the Sofic brothers, Senad and Sead (sofic.ba). Goldsmiths who base their pieces on designs from Bosnias Historical Museum (some of which date from the 4th century BC), they design the awards for Sarajevos August film festival. Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman are fans, and in 2012, La Jolie famously wore a pair of gold earrings and oversized gold ring based on 14th-century designs. Past scars shaping the future In the years between the 1984 Winter Olympics and the beginning of the Siege in 1992, Sarajevo morphed from a proud, prosperous host city to one of the most hellish places on earth. And while the war finished more than 20 years ago, the reluctance of multinationals to invest in the city has created a burgeoning underground scene of shops, bars and clubs. Bar Zara and Benetton, the high street is as devoid of chains as it is of stag parties and Starbucks. And thats giving designers the chance to return to their native city. Bosnia and Herzegovina - in pictures 1 /18 Bosnia and Herzegovina - in pictures 1. You can go bridge-jumping in Mostar Forget skydives, dare-devils looking for an adrenaline rush throw themselves off the parapet of the Stari Most (Old Bridge), hurtling more than 20m into the waters of the River Neretva in front of gathered crowds. The bridge was destroyed in the 1990s, but has since been rebuilt, recreating the arch of the 1567 original. Each July theres a bridge-diving competition, but non-professionals can also try it for themselves, paying 25 for advice and a practice jump from a lower platform on the river bank. But be warned: travellers have died in their attempts. Alamy Mostar Alamy 2. Its cheap Incredibly so. Sarajevo is one of Europes cheapest capitals, and outside of the city the prices fall even lower. Unlike Croatia, which has prices rising towards Western Europe, you can expect to eat out for as little as 3-5 Bosnian Marks (less than 1.50). Alamy A colourful marketplace Alamy 3. The food Food in Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost entirely organic, and there are plenty of options for inquisitive foodies who want a taste of Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian and Balkan flavours. In the capital, Sarajevo, theres Dveri - a traditional restaurant that serves up Balkan favourites like polenta, goulash and stuffed veal. The country is a meat-lover's paradise, but there are hidden vegetarian gems to be uncovered in the capital. too. Karuzo is the only meat-free and smoke-free place in the city. So popular is it, in fact, that its nearly impossible to get a seat without booking in advance. Alamy A street stall selling fruit and veg Alamy 4. Its not touristy Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the last undiscovered regions of the southern Alps, but tourism is a growing sector in the area. See it, and its undisturbed beauty, before everyone else does. Alamy Alamy 5. Adventure There are few places in the world where you can enjoy hiking, beautiful countryside, rafting and swimming in wild waterfalls, and skiing all within one country - but adventure-lovers will find plenty to do in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Perucica is one of Europes last genuinely primeval native forests with spruce, fir and beech trees sometimes exceeding 50m high, surrounding a 70m waterfall. But if getting on the slopes is your thing, you can be out of the plane on the piste in an hour in Bjelasnica. Alamy Rafting Alamy 6. The architecture Despite much of the old cities being destroyed in the civil unrest, Bosnias architectural heritage is a delightful interplay of Ottoman and later European styles. In Mostar and Sarajevo, the old city centres are peppered with old clock towers, fortresses and stone buildings alongside Moorish muqarnas (ornamental vaulting), courtyards and arches. Alamy 7. Dozens of castles In the 15th century the Ottomans arrived and added their own castles, or built upon existing ones, as did the Austro-Hungarians later on. For this reason, Bosnia is a haven for castle-lovers and history buffs alike. Theres Jajce castle in the fortress town of Jahce, which was once home to local kings and sits on top of a hill overlooking the city; and Tesanj Castle - another remarkably well preserved pile on the top of a hill overlooking the city. Youll feel like Cersei Lannister in no time. Alamy Alamy 8. You can explore the Balkans The Balkan Peninsula is one of the last relatively unexplored corners of Europe, but as tourists flock to this up-and-coming land, it wont be long before the region becomes the next travel hotspot. Sarajevo provides the perfect base for road-tripping the entirety of the peninsula, with the cultural and culinary treasures of Montenegro, Croatia, Macedonia and Albania right on its doorstep. Alamy The Balkan peninsula Alamy 9. Visit 'The Worlds Biggest Pyramid' Is Visoko's 250m-high Visocica Hill the World's Greatest Pyramid? That's the theory of Semir Osmanagic, an American-Bosnian researcher who claims it was built approximately 12,000 years ago by a long-disappeared superculture. Scientific investigations of the site show there is, in fact, no pyramid, but its still a fascinating to see this natural geological formation. Alamy Visocica Hill Alamy 10. Take in the Una River's rapids and waterfalls If getting a perfect Instagram picture is your thing, then youll want to make a pit stop at the Una River. There are areas that are as calm and tranquil as turquoise paint, and areas that flow briskly with widely fanned rapids. Locals advise taking a trip to Kostelski Buk, a natural waterfall that can be admired with a glass of wine from one of the areas brilliant riverside restaurants. Alamy Aida Korman left London where she worked with Alexander McQueen in 2014, mainly because she wanted to introduce a new aesthetic to her hometown. At her shop in the heart of the city, Aida Kormans Ideas Store (aidakorman.com), she creates handmade pieces of womenswear and menswear, jewellery and homeware. Her mission, she says, is to combine cutting-edge fashion with the richness of Bosnian tradition. I felt a need to introduce a new way of dressing and thinking to Sarajevo, she says. I wanted to appeal to an urban audience which was not ashamed of tradition. Bosnian weirdness If someone wants something unusual, they call me, says Omar Krasnic in his studio in the hills above the city (omarkrasnic.blogger.ba). Sitting in front of his work in progress a Game of Thrones-style metal dress he explains how he learned his craft in the Old Town but got bored of making coffee pots to old designs, and became an independent metalworker and cult figure for tourists. I make modern things the traditional way and traditional things the modern way, he says. Getty Images/AWL Images RM He now collaborates with leading fashion designers to create metal dresses, jewellery and even underwear, while his latest line is Viking-inspired jewellery for women. The pieces are beautiful and very sharp. I realised how many women carried their keys between their fingers. I wanted to make rings and bracelets which were also a form of self-defence, he says. Sarajevo has always been said to be a city which straddles East and West. And now, as a new generation draws on the countrys history, it is offering visitors a uniquely Bosnian take on contemporary design. Details: Sarajevo A s a travel writer I get to travel to some pretty fantastic locales but Ireland is a place that keeps drawing me back in. Having travelled extensively through the east coast including Dublin and Wexford, and parts of the north and south (Belfast and Cork), I decided it was time to visit the west coast and what a treat it was. Visiting over St. Patricks Day weekend a couple of friends and I rented a car and set off on our travels. We drove from Dublin to Galway which takes just over two hours and spent the afternoon wandering the cobbled streets before dancing the night away at Irish pubs. The great thing about Ireland is its accessibility to the UK. From London you can fly to Dublin, Shannon and Cork, sometimes for just 40 return. This means its easy enough to visit for a weekend and cheap enough for an extended visit. Whatever you do, make sure you dedicate part of your visit to the west coast to see the rugged beauty for yourself. People. Fashion. Power. Delivered weekly. Email Sign up Sign up I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice {{message}} {{permutiveUid}} {{message}} 1. The Cliffs of Moher Theres certainly a reason why these cliffs are Irelands most-visited natural attraction. The stunning, jagged coastline is best seen with moody skies that offset the emerald waters below. Whether youre popping in for a quick snap or you decide to do one of the walks to see more of the coastline, these cliffs are a must-see. Beautiful Ireland - In pictures 1 /18 Beautiful Ireland - In pictures Sundown at giants causeway, northern ireland Shutterstock A Sea Stack on the South Coast of Ireland Shutterstock Wild horses make their way through the snow across Black mountain in Belfast, Northern Ireland Getty Images Cliff of Moher weareawayPixabey Waterford, Ireland Shutterstock Achill Island Shutterstock Poulnabrone Dolmen tomb, the Burren, Ireland Shutterstock Old stones bridge over the River Shannon Shutterstock Maghera Beach Shutterstock Ballintoy, Antrim, Northern Ireland. The harbour and beach have featured in several episodes of the Game of Thrones Shutterstock Dublin Docklands Dog's Bay Beach Shutterstock Dingle Bay EMersinger/Pixabay Downhill Strand, County Derry Dublin Spire rises about O'Connell Street Getty Images Castle Ward, County Down Shutterstock Tollymore Forest Park, County Down Kinbane Castle Pexels/Pixabay 2. Have a dance in Galway From the moment you drive into Galway you will not be able to get Galway Girl out of your head whether it be the original version or Ed Sheerans new hit. While the cobbled streets are a delight during the daytime, for the best dancing spot in town head to OConnors in Salthill with stunning interiors and live music. Its also where Sheerans music video for Galway Girl was filmed. 3. Drive the Wild Atlantic Way The best way to see the west coast is to drive along the Wild Atlantic Way. It takes you from the wind-whipped tip of Malin Head in Norther Ireland to the stunning harbour town of Kinsale in Co. Cork. If youre short on time, start in Limerick and follow it past the Cliffs of Moher, to Galway and up around to Westport before crossing back to Dublin. But if you can, try and do the whole thing for secret, secluded beaches and charming Irish towns. 4. Have a tipple in Limerick Not exactly a tourist hot-spot, Limerick is coming into its own and is certainly worth the visit. A few years ago it was Irelands first City of Culture and now it boasts hosts of street food and art, luxury stays and an electric nightlife. 5. Visit some stunning castles Following the Wild Atlantic Way, you will find the Dunguaire Castle which has stood on its site since the 7th century. Other castles that will take your breath away are Ashford Castle in Co. Mayo which has played host to a number of celebrities in recent years - and Ballynahinch Castle in Co. Galway, which has been transformed into a four-star hotel. 6. Get lost in the Connemara Hills Galway Tourism describes visiting Connemara as experiencing the real beauty of Ireland. The rugged, windswept landscape makes way to majestic and towering mountains that shelter the Loughs below. One of the friendly Irish people we met along the way was Noel Joyce who runs Connemara Hikes and offers tailored guided hikes around the Connemara area and Joyce Country. You will probably never meet a nicer guide. 7. Take a trip to the Aran Islands A British man has reportedly been arrested in Peru after allegedly being caught with more than 32kg of cocaine. The man was arrested in a shopping mall in Lima, according to reports. Police officers found 31 brick-type packages containing around 32kg of cocaine hydrochloride inside a suitcase, Peru's Ministerio Publico said in a Facebook post. It said the man was detained while the case was being investigated by the country's drug trafficking division. An FCO spokeswoman said: "We are providing consular assistance to a British national arrested in Peru and are in contact with the local authorities." In 2013, Michaella McCollum and Melissa Reid were caught trying to smuggle 24lb (11kg) of cocaine worth 1.5 million out of Peru. The pair were jailed for six years and eight months after admitting the crime but were freed in 2016 after striking a deal with Peruvian authorities. A man was left fighting for his life after he was stabbed in south London, police said. Believed to be in his early 30s, the man was found suffering from "life-threatening" chest injuries on Kennington Road. Officers are treating the incident as attempted murder. Emergency services rushed to the scene near the junction with Black Prince Road at 11.38am on Friday. A man, believed to be in his 30s, was left with 'life-threatening' injuries after he was stabbed (Bob Prabhu ) / Bob Prabhu He was then taken to a south London hospital by London Ambulance Service. No arrests have been made and enquiries are ongoing, a spokeswoman for the Met Police said. Road closures are in place at the scene. In a statement, Scotland Yard said: "Police were called by London Ambulance Service at 11.38pm on Friday, March 23 to Kennington Road, near the junction with Black Prince Road to a report of a man stabbed. "Officers attended. The man, believed to be in his early 30s, was at the scene suffering serious chest injuries. "He was taken to a south London hospital. His injuries are described as life threatening. "Officers are currently treating this incident as an attempted murder." T oby Young has quit his taxpayer-funded education role after a sexism row saw him stand down from a government-backed universities regulator. The controversial journalist, 54, resigned as director of the New Schools Network in the wake of a row over misogynistic comments. The New Schools Network said in a statement: "The Trustees of New Schools Network today announce that Toby Young has resigned. "Toby has concluded that the media attention his continuing presence at the helm of NSN is attracting has become a distraction from the vital work it is doing and, for that reason, he has decided to step down." The charity said it would announce Young's successor "in due course". The organisation, of which Young was chief executive, was reappointed by ministers to a 3 million government contract advising on the opening of new free schools. Young, who founded the West London Free School in Hammersmith in 2011, had held his position at the charity since January 2017. He was paid 90,000 to do the job after taking over from Theresa May's former adviser, Nick Timothy. Young said: "NSN is a wonderful charity and it has been a great honour to serve as its Director. "It has been a privilege to work alongside [...] all NSN's dedicated employees, who are doing so much to raise educational standards in some of the most disadvantaged parts of the country." Young's roles in the education sector came under increased scrutiny when he was appointed as one of 15 members of the government-approved universities watchdog Office for Students, tasked with ensuring students get value for money. The journalist, who writes for the Spectator, faced criticism for crude and sexist writings in the past. He admitted being a pornography "addict", as well as casting doubt on an actress's claims she was coerced into sex acts. His social media posts included remarks about the "serious cleavage" of a woman MP, and a comment on a photo of him with a woman that he "had my dick up her arse". In a 2001 article for The Spectator magazine, called Confessions of a Porn Addict, Mr Young admitted he had seen several thousand pornographic films in his lifetime and mocked the idea that they were degrading to women. On the contrary, the women in porn films are nearly always completely liberated beings, he claimed. In other pieces for The Spectator he boasted of his fiancees tiny waist and huge knockers, and complained about theatres that cast dumpy, middle-aged actresses to play beautiful young women. T he Evcening Standards opioids investigation was today hailed for sounding a warning that could be a major life-saver. MPs praised our series of articles, including heartbreaking stories of individuals whose lives were torn apart by the drugs. Paul Flynn, chairman of the all-party parliamentary group for prescribed drug dependence, said: The Standard has sounded a warning that could be a major life-saver. "It has given a great boost to realising the deadly danger in the medicine cupboard. These things are as dangerous as addictive, illegal drugs. The MP urged doctors to be more reluctant to prescribe opioids. He added: Its a very great temptation for doctors to empty their waiting rooms by giving patients the stronger drugs that they crave. Addictions and deaths from opioids are the greatest drug threat to the UK. Unfortunately, we tend to follow the American trends. Many opioids are legal drugs but they still have a deadly impact in some cases, creating addiction leading to overdoses. The parliamentary group is campaigning for a national 24-hour helpline to support patients suffering from prescribed drug dependence. Jonathan Ashworth MP, Labours shadow health secretary, said: Congratulations to the Evening Standard for shining a light on this crucial issue. "Tackling substance addiction in all its forms is a personal priority of mine as shadow health secretary, and I welcome this important campaign to raise public awareness around the responsible use of prescription painkillers. The former Liberal Democrat health minister Norman Lamb also massively applauded our campaign. He said: This is a public health scandal. It needs to be given top priority by Government. The loss of life is intolerable. Obviously its imperative that people have full access to a range of medication to help them manage pain but we should look at a review of what alternative therapies are available. Lord Luce, the former lord chamberlain and governor of Gibraltar who is now a crossbench peer, said the Standards investigation was a highly significant, pioneering piece of work. He asked if the Government would request GPs to carry out an annual check on all patients who have been prescribed opioids for chronic pain. He also queried if it would consider, with the NHS, introducing a helpline for patients prescribed opioids to seek advice. A ddiction warnings are set to appear on the packaging of prescription opioids for the first time after the Standards groundbreaking investigation. In the past week the Standard has reported on Britains rising dependency on the drugs, which in 90 per cent of cases do not relieve chronic pain. Despite this, prescriptions in England have risen 80 per cent in 10 years. The Standard also highlighted the fact that none of the five strongest opioids fentanyl, morphine sulfate, buprenorphine, oxycodone or tramadol had an explicit addiction warning on its packaging. In the US, these drugs are required by law to contain boxed warnings in bold capital letters stating their risk of addiction. We exposed the contrasting approach of Britains Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, which did not even require drug firms to warn explicitly of the risk in the information leaflet inside the packet. It is now looking at putting prominent warnings on the outside of oral opioid painkiller packets, with clearer wording on the leaflet. Roger Knaggs, associate professor in clinical pharmacy practice at Nottingham University, said: This is a very big change in the stance of the MHRA and I dont think it would have happened without the Evening Standard. We in the industry have been trying to get the MHRA to listen to us about the harms of prescription opioids for a very, very long time but with no success and you have managed to achieve this in five days. Your investigation made a compelling argument and I am thrilled they have listened to it. June Raine, the MHRAs director of vigilance and risk management of medicines, said: We are actively reviewing how we can make sure the strong warnings on opioid medicines are consistent, clear and represent the known risks of tolerance and dependence/addiction. "We will be looking at including a prominent addiction warning on the outside of opioid packaging as well as stronger, clearer wording on the patient information leaflet. Patient safety is our highest priority and we assess all patient information leaflets to make sure they are clear, concise, and accurately convey all warnings on a medicine and we are always looking to do better. The MHRA said the Evening Standard investigation has played a part in further strengthening concerns about the issue. It said its review is likely to take some months. Cathy Stannard, a top opioid expert, said: This constructive and flexible response from the regulator is welcome. We need to share everything we know about harms and benefits of medicines to support patients in making informed choices about their treatment. The Standard also exposed how opioid packaging and patient information leaflets do not warn patients about the limited effectiveness of the drugs in tackling chronic pain. The MHRA had said it was a matter for GPs to discuss with patients. Asked if the new warnings would include effectiveness, it said: We will be looking specifically at warnings concerning addiction and all oral opioid medicines will be in scope. Loading.... After we revealed that almost no inpatient drug addiction treatment centres were left in London other than private clinics, several written questions were put down in Parliament. P olice were investigating a suspicious vehicle in the car park of Westfield shopping centre in west London. Scotland Yard said officers were called to reports of a suspicious vehicle at about 10.30am on Friday. Specialist officers were sent to the scene in Shepherd's Bush and the vehicle was being assessed. The incident was stood down at shortly after 12.30pm. Cordons were in place and there was no exit from London Underground stations close to the car park. The shopping centre remained open. Police cordons have been put in place in Shepherd's Bush / @nevtam White City and Wood Lane Tube stations were closed, TfL said. One witness posted on social media: "So I go to visit the new wing of @westfieldlondon and theres a #suspectvehicle in the car park so theyre pulling police tape in front of me. "Whole place evacuated on lockdown. The new @johnlewisretail will have to wait! #westfield... policemen everywhere." A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Police are currently dealing with a suspicious vehicle in the car park at Westfield London Shopping Centre in White City. "Specialist officers on scene, and the vehicle is being assessed. Cordons in place with road closures. Updates to follow." A later statement said: "The incident at @westfieldlondon Shopping Centre in #WhiteCity has been stood down. Cordons are being lifted. We thank you for your patience." Police officers cordon off the roads surrounding Westfield shopping centra amid a security scare British Transport Police said it was assisting the Met with the security scare. T heresa May has told EU leaders they must show "energy and ambition" in negotiating a post-Brexit trade relationship which will be good for both Britain and Europe. The Prime Minister made her appeal on the eve of a crunch meeting of leaders of the remaining 27 member states on Friday, when they are expected to approve a draft deal on Britain's transition to Brexit, opening the door for talks on trade. European Council president Donald Tusk raised doubts earlier this week over whether a deal reached by Brexit Secretary David Davis and chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier would be acceptable to all 27 - with Spain reported to be holding out to improve its hand over Gibraltar. But a senior UK official said on Thursday evening that "all the indications are positive" that the transition deal will get the thumbs-up. Mrs May was expected to return to the UK after dinner on the first day of the European Council summit, leaving the other 27 leaders to discuss Brexit in her absence. However she is staying on in Brussels to join council talks on trade and steel tariffs on Friday. Addressing fellow leaders over dinner on Thursday she said that "compromise on both sides" had been required to reach a mutually acceptable legal text on the transition, which will see the UK continue to observe EU rules until the end of 2020 while winning the freedom to negotiate and ratify trade deals with outside countries. Britain believes that moving on to trade talks with the EU will help unblock the logjam over the Irish border and prevent the need to implement a "backstop" solution proposed by Brussels which would keep Northern Ireland in the Customs Union. London is hopeful that a solution to keep Northern Ireland's border with the Republic open will emerge in the context of a deal allowing trade between Britain and the rest of the EU to be as frictionless as possible. Nick Clegg on Brexit: Irish border question cannot be ducked any longer Mrs May told the EU27 leaders: "We have the chance now to create a new dynamic in the talks, to work together to explore workable solutions on Northern Ireland, on our future security co-operation and in order to ensure the future prosperity of all our people. "This is an opportunity it is our duty to take and to enter into with energy and ambition." Irish Taioseach Leo Varadkar played down suggestions that he wanted the border issue settled by the summer. "Would I like to have it done by June? Yes, absolutely," he said. "But I would rather have the right deal in October rather than any deal in June." Mr Varadkar said he envisaged a trading relationship between the UK and the EU, "so close that many of the measures in the backstop may become unnecessary". European Council President Donald Tusk has recommended EU27 endorsement of the transition deal, which he said would put off "the negative consequences of Brexit" for another 21 months after the formal date for the UK's withdrawal in March 2019. Under the terms of the joint legal text agreed by Mr Davis and Mr Barnier, trade deals negotiated by the UK with outside countries during the transition period will be allowed to enter into effect on January 1 2021. Mrs May told the House of Commons on Wednesday that for the first time in 40 years, Britain would be able to "forge our own way by negotiating our own trade agreements". However, the PM faces warnings that the deal could be scuppered by her own MPs unless she tears up "unacceptable" proposals for fishing. Mr Smith, himself a one-time challenger to Mr Corbyn's leadership, was asked to "stand down" for breaking ranks with official party policy. He has been replaced by Tony Lloyd, who Mr Corbyn said "is a highly experienced former Government minister who is committed to ensuring that peace in Northern Ireland is maintained and helping to steer the devolution deal back on track." Mr Smith said he had been sacked for his "long held views" on the ramifications of Brexit. He wrote on Twitter: "Just been sacked by [Jeremy Corbyn] for my long held views on the damage Brexit will do to the Good Friday Agreement [and] the economy of the entire UK. "Those views are shared by Labour members [and] supporters and I will continue to speak up for them, and in the interest of our country." Tensions between the two appeared to have settled since the former's appointment to the shadow cabinet in 2017. Mr Smith stood as the only opposition candidate to Mr Corbyn's leadership in the 2016 Labour leadership election. Mr Smith was defeated with 38.2 per cent of the vote to Mr Corbyn's 61.8 per cent. Colum Eastwood, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party in Northern Ireland, wrote on Twitter: "Very sorry to hear that we're losing [Owen Smith] as shadow secretary of state. "Owen has a great grasp of the issues affecting us here. He particularly understood the challenges of Brexit and was very supportive of sensible solutions to held us avoid a hard border." Outspoken Labour MP and Remainer Chuka Umunna sharply criticised the decision, saying it was "extraordinary" that a shadow cabinet member "doing an excellent job" should be sacked. He said: "Sacking [Owen Smith] does not alter the truth of what he says: staying in the Customs Unions *and* the Single Market is the only way to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland. "It's extraordinary that a shadow cabinet member - doing an excellent job in their brief - should be sacked for standing up for our principles and advocating a Brexit policy that commands the overwhelming support of our members, supporters and voters. "What has happened to our party?" While Sir Vince Cable, leader of the Liberal Democrats, wrote: "Shame to see [Owen Smith] sacked for simply repeating the view of the majority of Labour members and, I suspect, MPs." Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said: "Owen Smith was a valued colleague, he wanted to make a contribution to the debate and he will be able to continue to do so. "What he can't do is sit on our front bench and advance a position which is simply not Labour Party policy." Ms Abbott herself wrote to constituents in November saying she would "argue for the right of the electorate to vote" on the Brexit deal. But she told BBC Radio 4's Any Questions: "We have debated this in the Labour Party, debated it seriously because we take the referendum result seriously. "But we are not calling for a second referendum." The feud comes as a number of Labour MPs criticised Mr Corbyn's role in a scandal over the removal of "anti-Semitic" mural in London. Mr Corbyn suggested artist Mear One was "in good company" because the Rockefeller family had covered over a mural featuring Lenin in their New York development. It is understood that at the time of the post in 2012, Mr Corbyn did not condone the artwork but was expressing concerns about free speech. E U leaders have backed Theresa May by saying it is highly likely Russia is to blame for the poisoning of a former spy on British soil. Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, said that the 28 leaders agreed there is no other plausible explanation. His statement echoed the language used by the Prime Minister earlier this month when she said it was highly likely Russia was responsible for the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury. Mrs May has been striving to persuade her EU colleagues to unite in condemning Moscow over the incident. Theresa May has been striving to persuade her EU colleagues to unite in condemning Moscow over the spy poisoning / AP The foreign ministers of EU member countries had already expressed their "unqualified solidarity" with Britain, but European leaders varied in how far they were willing to go in blaming Vladimir Putin's Kremlin. The president of Lithuania said she was considering following Britains lead and expelling Russian diplomats in the wake of the March 4 attack. But the Greek prime minister said more investigating needed to be done before drawing conclusions. Russia has denied responsibility and slammed Britain's investigation of the nerve-agent attack. The Skripals remain unconscious in critical but stable condition from the attack which has sparked an east-west diplomatic crisis reminiscent of the Cold War. Russian Spy Sergei Skripal: Salisbury Nerve Agent Incident 1 /14 Russian Spy Sergei Skripal: Salisbury Nerve Agent Incident Investigators in protective gear pursue the probe into the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal Getty Russian spy 'poisoning': Sergei Skripal and Yulia Skripal are fighting for life in hospital PA Personnel in hazmat suits work to secure a tent covering a bench in the Maltings shopping centre in Salisbury, where former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found critically ill by exposure to a nerve agent Andrew Matthews/PA ilitary personnel are deployed to help remove vehicles from the scene after former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter were found critically ill after exposure to a nerve agent in Salisbury Getty Images Military in protective clothing remove vehicles from a car park in Salisbury EPA Police cordon: Military personnel in Salisbury PA Traces of the nerve agent used to poison Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found at Zizzi in Salisbury PA Amber Rudd: she visited the scene where Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found after having been poisoned by a nerve agent REUTERS Personnel are helped from their hazmat suits (right), after securing a tent covering a bench in the Maltings shopping centre in Salisbury, where former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found critically ill by exposure to a nerve agent Andrew Matthews/PA Personnel in hazmat suits walk away after securing a tent covering a bench in the Maltings shopping centre in Salisbury, where former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found critically ill by exposure to a nerve agent Andrew Matthews/PA Police put a red bag inside a police evidence bag immediately after the nerve agent attack on a Russian spy. Officers previously issued CCTV of a woman clutching a red bag Solent news Snap Fitness 24/7 Police activity in the cul-de-sac in Salisbury that contains the home of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal who was poisoned along with daughter Yulia with a nerve agent PA Sergei Skripal shops at Bargain Stop in a CCTV image from five days before his apparent poisoning Health officials said that Detective Sgt. Nick Bailey, a police officer who became seriously ill after responding to the nerve agent attack, has been released from a Salisbury hospital. Britain blames Moscow for the attack, which it says used a military-grade, Soviet-developed nerve agent, and has called Russia a growing threat to Western democracies. Russia has fiercely denied allegations it poisoned the Skripals. On Thursday, May accused Russia of staging "a brazen and reckless attack" and said "it is clear that the Russian threat doesn't respect borders." She said: "The incident in Salisbury was part of a pattern of Russian aggression against Europe and its near neighbours, from the western Balkans to the Middle East." Theresa May, Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron speak in Brussels / EPA Britain and Russia have expelled 23 of each other's diplomats in a feud that shows no signs of cooling. Russia's ambassador to the UK, Alexander Yakovenko, said Thursday that his country "can't take British words for granted." He accused the UK of having a "bad record of violating international law and misleading the international community." "History shows that British statements must be verified," he told reporters in London, demanding "full transparency of the investigation and full cooperation with Russia" and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Britain says it is complying with the international chemical-weapons watchdog. Experts from the OPCW have come to Britain to take samples of the nerve agent and examine blood from the unconscious Skripals. Mrs May urged the 27 other leaders over dinner at an EU summit in Brussels to make a strong statement against Russian President Vladimir Putin and to bolster European defences against Kremlin cyber-meddling and other aggression. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave strong backing after meeting Mrs May on the sidelines of the EU summit. The British prime minister's office said they agreed "there is no plausible explanation other than that the Russian state was responsible." German politician Manfred Weber, leader of the biggest group in the European Parliament, said Putin "wants to destabilize the European idea" and Europe must be strong in its response. T heresa May was given a surprise kiss on the hand by the EUs lead Brexit negotiator today after securing a transition period and a tougher approach by the bloc towards Russia. The Prime Minister had just finished boasting to the media of a new dynamic in her negotiations when French politician Michel Barnier beckoned her over and bowed low to plant a Gallic kiss on her hand. Shortly afterwards, European Council president Donald Tusk tweeted from the summit centre the news that negotiations could now begin on a future trade and secrity deal. Decision: EU27 has adopted guidelines for the future EU-UK relations after #Brexit, he tweeted. The breakthrough came after leaders arrived this morning for talks on US steel tariffs followed a night of progress on the diplomatic front for the UK. Donald Tusk tweeted: "Decision: EU27 has adopted guidelines for the future EU-UK relations after #Brexit" / EPA The European Union announced it will recall its ambassador from Moscow after an appeal from the Prime Minister to unite over the Salisbury nerve gas attack. Jacob Rees-Mogg protests Brexit fishing proposals It was believed that several EU member states were poised to announce their own expulsions of Russian diplomats in a co-ordinated move to disable Vladimir Putins spy network. Mrs May privately briefed Germanys Angela Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron on findings by police and intelligence investigating the attempted murders. Speaking in the early hours after talks over a formal dinner in Brussels, a pleased Mrs May said the 28 EU leaders - soon to be reduced to 27 after Britain leaves in March next year - were standing together. Key Brexit Players - In pictures 1 /6 Key Brexit Players - In pictures David Davis Reuters Michel Barnier AP Tim Barrow AFP/Getty Images Oliver Robbins Sabine Weyand Didier Seeuws AFP/Getty Images She said: I welcome the fact that the EU Council has agreed with the United Kingdom Governments assessment that it is highly likely that Russia is responsible for the attempted murder that took place on the streets of Salisbury and that there is no plausible alternative explanation. The threat that Russia poses respects no borders and it is a threat to our values and it is right that here in the EU Council we are standing together to uphold those values. Earlier, EU leaders agreed the only plausible explanation for the attack was Moscow involvement. Todays big news for UK exporters was the transition period which effectively staves off the full impact of Brexit until the end of 2020. Ireland agreed to postpone final decisions on the thorny Irish border issue until summer to enable the deal to go through. That means it could be overtaken if MPs vote to join a customs union in a vote expected in May. Speaking ahead of Mr Tusks announcement, Mrs May told media at the summit entrance: I am looking for a new dynamic in the next stage of negotiations, so that we can ensure that we work together to negotiate and develop that strong future economic and security partnership which I believe is in the interests of the UK and the EU. T he company at the heart of the Facebook scandal boasted of having vast amounts of data that could sway the 2016 referendum on membership of the European Union. A 10-page document written by Cambridge Analytica, headed Big Data Solutions for the EU Referendum, claimed it could single out Brexiteers among voters, donors, politicians and even journalists. MPs today called for a wider investigation into the firm, which has been accused of obtaining 50 million peoples private details harvested from Facebook, amid questions over the role it may have played in the referendum. The vote was won by Leave by a four-point margin. Cambridge Analytica has denied wrongdoing. Facebook data row: What is Cambridge Analytica? The document was made for Leave.EU, one of the two main Brexit campaign groups, in a pitch for business. It bragged: We use vast amounts of data, including consumer histories, lifestyle information... and state-of-the-art psychological analysis. Cambridge Analytica said it could pick out likely Leave supporters by identifying their top-line issues and voters personality traits using its own data. It said Leave.EU would have to pass over its own Facebook data to get the full benefit. Alexander Nix, who has been suspended as CAs chief executive Explaining the power of its analysis, Cambridge Analytica (CA) said: Voters and businesses alike see the coming referendum as an opportunity to voice their concerns over issues caused by Britains membership of the EU. "Whether it is regulation, border controls or Britains international profile, British people have real worries. Dominic Grieve, the Tory ex-attorney general, said there was a case for a wide-ranging investigation into CAs activities. The more one hears about this case, the more public disquiet there must be about these allegations, he told the Standard. They need to be seriously investigated. Three official investigations involving Cambridge Analytica (CA) are under way. The Information Commissioner, Elizabeth Denham, is seeking a warrant to see if its computers contain data that was allegedly obtained without proper consent. This follows the 2014 Facebook incident, when people were paid to take a personality test which unlocked their own details and those of their friends. Mark Zuckerberg: 'sorry' for Cambridge Analytica Facebook 'breach of trust' In addition, the Electoral Commission is probing whether Leave.EU correctly declared that it received no services, paid or unpaid, from CA. Meanwhile, the House of Commons culture committee, chaired by Damian Collins, has recalled CAs suspended chief executive, Alexander Nix, for an inquiry into fake news. CAs 2015 document, written a year after the Facebook data harvesting, was placed on the committees page of the Parliament website as part of its evidence-gathering. Contradictory statements appear to have been made by CA and senior figures in Leave.EU about whether or not the pitch was accepted. Mr Nix was quoted in 2016 in Campaign magazine saying: We have already helped supercharge Leave.EUs social media campaign. However, in evidence to the select committee, he assured Mr Collins: We did not work with them. Mr Nix, an Old Etonian, was suspended by CA on Wednesday after he was secretly recorded by Channel 4 allegedly discussing potential bribery and entrapment. He denies any wrongdoing. The founder of Leave.EU, Arron Banks, referred in his book The Bad Boys Of Brexit to CA being hired in October 2015. But he told the committee this simply referred to an early meeting and an intention to work together if Leave.EU won lead status, entitling it to spend up to 7 million, get a free mailshot, TV broadcasts and 600,000 public funds, in the referendum campaign. He insisted the group devised and implemented its own social media strategy ... without any input from Cambridge Analytica. Confusingly, a CA staffer, Brittany Kaiser, appeared on the platform of a Leave.EU press conference in November 2015 alongside Mr Banks, seemingly to present their campaign plans. She has since left the data company. Whatever the role played in the referendum, some MPs believe the introduction of micro-targeting, in which millions of voters may be sent individual private messages, raises serious questions for a healthy democracy. For example, some believe that voters identified as being worried about borders were sent the notorious false claims that Turkey would join the EU in 2020, flooding the UK with millions of migrants. The Tory former business minister Anna Soubry said micro-targeting meant voters could be bombarded with claims that sidestepped normal scrutiny, challenges and fact-checking by the Press. This really is dabbling in the dark arts, she said. If this takes place under the radar then there is no way for people to complain or question what they are seeing in the privacy of reading their phone in their living room. One Conservative believes a form of micro-targeting triggered death threats sent to her and fellow MPs. Vicky Ford told the Commons in a debate about CA this week: I have been the victim of false news stories being micro-targeted at Facebook accounts in my constituency to deliberately undermine me and cause hate. The Chelmsford MP was one of 15 Conservatives branded mutineers by sections of the media last year for considering rebelling against Theresa Mays attempt to fix a Brexit date in law. Afterwards, a Facebook advert was sent to Conservatives in her constituency accusing her of trying to sabotage Brexit and, above an unflattering photograph, urged the recipients: We need you to hold this woman to account. Soon after this Ms Ford says she received an anonymous message warning: We think you should all be hanged. The adverts bore the name Voter Consultancy Ltd, a firm run by Thomas Borwick, the son of the former Tory MP for Kensington, Victoria Borwick. Mr Borwick was chief technology officer at the Vote Leave campaign group in the referendum, responsible for planning a central database system for 43 million voters. He told the Standard that CA had used a doorstep canvassing app that he developed. He confirmed that at Vote Leave he worked with Aggregate IQ, a Canadian data firm that has been linked in the media with CA and which earned 3.5 million working on the referendum. Asked about the ads, Mr Borwick defended them as entirely factual, merely highlighting the way that Vicky Ford voted on a particular issue. He said: This advertisement was sent to Facebook users who self-declared as Conservatives in her constituency. Voter Consultancy spent 0.67p and the advertisement was viewed by 87 people. It is noted that Vicky and the Conservative party spent about 2,000 on advertising in the constituency and perhaps much more in the most recent elections. E U member countries have been given a last-minute exemption from US steel and aluminium tariffs announced by Donald Trump. As well as the EU nations, six other countries - Canada, Mexico, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, South Korea - will also be free from the tariffs of 25 per cent on imported steel and 10 per cent on aluminium. The White House said the levies have been suspended until May 1 this year, pending further discussions, as tariffs on other countries came into effect on Friday. Mr Trump authorised the "pause" for the EU and other countries as Theresa May and European leaders were due to discuss the import duties on Friday. European Council president Donald Tusk had said it was "time for politicians on both sides of the Atlantic to act responsibly", while Mrs May had told Mr Trump of her "deep concern" over the plans. US trade representative Robert Lighthizer had earlier signalled that the EU along with a number of other countries would receive temporary exemptions. The disclosure came as Mr Trump signed an order paving the way for the imposition of wide-ranging tariffs on imports from China worth 60 billion dollars (43 billion) in response to an "assault" on the US from cheap overseas metal. A firefighter was killed after a large blaze broke out on the set of a new film starring Bruce Willis in New York City. Michael Davidson, 37, of Harlems Engine Company 69, became separated from his unit as more than 100 firefighters battled a fire that broke out at a Harlem building, where film crews were shooting Edward Nortons Motherless Brooklyn. Mr Davidson, a father-of-four, was briefly reported missing when the team was forced to leave the five-story building due to the strength of the flames. He was found unconscious having suffered severe smoke inhalation and rushed to hospital where he later died, officials said. The site of the fire, which was being used as a filming location for a new movie directed by Edward Norton / REUTERS The blaze broke out in the buildings cellar at around 11pm on Thursday. No one was in the building at the time, but filming was underway just outside for the movie set to be released next year. According to the New York Post, Mr Norton spotted smoke coming from the basement and alerted the authorities. New York Fire Department Commissioner Daniel Nigro said Mr Davidson led the unit downstairs holding the nozzle of a hose to fight the fire, but they were forced to back out. The blaze broke out in the cellar of a building in Harlem / REUTERS He told reporters on Friday: They went down the stairs to fight the fire with Davidson as nozzleman. The fire was too heavy. They were forced to retreat and as they backed out, he (Davidson) got separated from the rest of the unit. He was found unconscious on the floor and despite the best efforts of the FDNY and EMTs, they were unable to revive him. According to local media, the film's director Edward Norton spotted smoke coming from the building / REUTERS Mr Nigro added: Our entire city mourns his loss. Two other firefighters suffered burns and were in serious condition, and three others were injured, he said. Eyewitnesses described thick black smoke billowing out of the building. The blaze broke out as Bruce Willis was filming for his new movie set to be released next year (Getty Images) / Getty Images f Neighbour Joan Adams said when she looked outside after smelling smoke, trucks were already on scene. "You could see smoke billowing out of what would've been the basement," she said. "It was white smoke, then after a while, thick black smoke was billowing out of here." Neighbourhood resident Daquan Evans, 28, told the New York Post he saw Mr Norton at the scene, and he looked shaken. "That actor Ed Norton walked right by. He looked pretty upset," Mr Evans said. "This is crazy, this fire. You think a movie comes up here and it is good for the neighborhood. Not a fire . . . damn." The building, built in 1920, is a landmark and was home to the former St. Nick's Jazz Pub, a venerable bar that was closed in 2011. It was being used to film the adaptation of the Jonathan Lethem novel of the same name. Mr Norton was directing and starring, along with Bruce Willis, Willem Dafoe and Alec Baldwin. Mr Davidson had been a firefighter about 15 years and had been cited four times for his bravery on the job. He leaves behind a wife, Eileen, and four children, three daughters aged 7, 3, and 1, along with a 6-year-old son. He was the son of retired firefighter Robert Davidson. T he first sex doll brothel in Paris has been given the green light to continue operating following calls for its closure. Left-wing councillors and feminist groups had called on the Council of Paris to investigate closing or censuring Xdolls. They argued it was a degrading place that should be classed as a brothel which are illegal to own or operate in France. But police visited the establishment, based in an anonymous-looking flat, and decided no laws were being broken. Communist councillors Nicolas Bonnet Ouladj and Herve Begue expressed deep regret over the councils decision. "This establishment, with hyper-realistic humanoid dolls, is the latest invention to bring brothels back into the landscape," they said. At Xdolls, customers are charged 89 (78) to spend an hour alone with one of three silicone sex dolls in a private room. They are only given the address after booking the session and paying for it online. Owner Joachim Lousquy told Le Parisien newspaper that clients are mainly men, although they do sometime get couples. T he man who carried out the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history is seen today in new CCTV in the moments leading up him killing 58 people and wounding more than 500. Stephen Paddock is seen in the hotel's footage nonchalantly interacting with other guests and hotel workers at the Mandalay Bay resort before the massacre. He is seen at one point with a bellboy who wheels several large black suitcases through the halls of the hotel on a luggage trolley. Paddock carried out the atrocity on October 1st, killing 58 people and injuring hundreds at an outdoor concert on the Las Vegas Strip. He opened fire from a window at the Mandalay Bay hotel, killing indiscriminately. Paddock killed 58 innocent people "Paddock gave no indication of what he planned to do and his interactions with staff and overall behavior were all normal," company spokeswoman Debra DeShong said in a statement. "MGM and Mandalay Bay could not reasonably foresee that a long-time guest with no known history of threats or violence and behaving in a manner that appeared outwardly normal, would carry out such an inexplicably evil, violent and deadly act," she said. He opened fire indiscriminately on a crowd at a concert in Las Vegas Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo and Las Vegas police did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the CCTV. Paddock's deadly arsenal / AP The 32 video clips, first obtained by The New York Times , offer no motive for the 64-year-old Paddock opening fire with assault-style rifles from a 32nd-floor suite into a concert audience of 22,000 people. They show Paddock checking in at the Mandalay Bay on Sept. 25, gambling at high-limit video poker several times, buying snacks, stepping into elevators, driving into the valet area and accompanying hotel employees wheeling carts with his suitcases. He is seen interacting with hotel guests and staff in the chilling new footage Videos suggest that employees had no indication what was in the suitcases. Records show that over the course of several days traveling between the hotel and his home in Mesquite, Nevada, Paddock amassed an arsenal of 23 assault-style rifles and one handgun in his suite. Lombardo released a preliminary report in January saying police and the FBI believe Paddock acted alone. However, an Arizona man, Douglas Haig, is facing federal charges that he also illegally provided armour-piercing ammunition to Paddock. Haig maintains he legally sold tracer ammunition to Paddock weeks before the carnage. Authorities have characterised Paddock as a gambler on a losing streak who was obsessed with cleanliness. They said he may have been bipolar and having difficulties with his live-in girlfriend, who was in the Philippines when the shooting occurred. Paddock pictured with his suitcases in the Mandalay Bay hotel Paddock was a retired accountant who amassed a millionaire's fortune, owned homes in Reno and Mesquite, Nevada, and earned casino perks wagering thousands of dollars on high-stakes video poker. A former Playboy model who claims she had an affair with Donald Trump has publicly apologised to First Lady Melania Trump. Karen McDougal, 46, said the president tried to offer her money after the first time they had sex in 2006. In her first television interview, she told CNN she refused to accept the money adding: Im not that kind of girl. The White House has denied that the president, who married Melania in 2005, had an affair with Ms McDougal. Accusations from 3 women boost Trump legal woes But in the interview on Thursday, she detailed the alleged 10-month relationship and said she travelled to Trump properties in New York, California and New Jersey. In the interview with Anderson Cooper she described the moment he tried to offer her money: I had this look on my face. It must have been so sad because I have never been offered money like that before. "I thought does he think that Im in this for money or why Im here tonight or is this a normal thing, I didnt know. Thats not me. Im not that kind of girl. And then he said oh, youre realty special. "So I left and I got into the car and started crying and it really hurt me but I went back." McDougal said it left her feeling terrible about herself. However she said that they got along well with each other. "We got along great, we had respect for each other, we had fun, we were funny together, we had a good time, we would talk about anything and everything from what kind of food do you like to hows your family he asked me how my family was to politics, to anything. "Hes very charming, hes very sweet, his personality to me was like wow, I loved it, it was great." She recalled walking into the then reality TV stars apartment after Melania had recently given birth to their son Barron. 'Doing something, doing something wrong is bad enough, and when you're doing something wrong, and you're in the middle of somebody else's home or bed or whatever, that just puts it a little old stab in your heart, and I just couldn't wait to get out of the apartment, she said. I wanted to go back to my hotel room. Ms McDougal added that Trump rarely talked about his son. She said: the only thing he said about his son was isnt the name Barron a nice name? She went on to say they would have sex at least five times a month and admitted it was often unprotected. Ms McDougal admitted she did feel guilty over the affair. Asked what she would say to Melania Trump, a tearful Ms McDougal said: "What can you say except, I'm sorry?" She added: But back in those days, I was a different girl, you know, I had fun. I was in the Playboy scene. I was just enjoying life as much as I could. And when I got with him there were real feelings between the two of us. Not just myself, not just him. There was a real relationship there, and I kind of out of sight, out of mind with everything else. And deep inside, I did have a lot of guilt. But I still continued. She said that when she would travel to meet Trump, he would reimburse her for the flights. Ms McDougal added that she thought this was a precaution to eliminate a paper trail. Ms McDougal filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to be released from a nondisclosure agreement with the publisher of the National Enquirer. She was reportedly paid $150,000 (107,000) to keep quiet during the presidential campaign but the National Enquirer never ran the story. However American Media Inc, owner of the National Enquirer contacted CNN this week denying that there had been any attempts made to silence Ms McDougal. The company claimed: "She has been free to respond to press enquiries about her relationship with President Trump since 2016." Ms McDougal is the second woman this month to challenge arrangements to bury alleged extramarital relationships with Mr Trump. S everal European Union countries have vowed to take measures against Russia over the poisoning of a former spy on UK spoil and could follow the UKs lead in expelling Moscow diplomats. At a summit in Brussels, the 28 EU leaders agreed with Britain that it is "highly likely Russia is responsible" for the nerve-agent attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia. The bloc is recalling its ambassador from Moscow for consultations over an incident it called "a grave challenge to our shared security." The president of Lithuania said on Friday that individual EU countries plan to take their own actions against Russia within days. Dalia Grybauskaite said that "from the beginning of next week, a lot of countries, we will go for our national measures." Group of Russian diplomats leave the UK Mr Grybauskaite has said Lithuania may expel Russian diplomats over the attack on the former double agent and his daughter in Salisbury, Wiltshire, earlier this month. Britain and Russia have expelled 23 of each other's diplomats since the attack, which has sparked an east-west diplomatic crisis reminiscent of the Cold War. Britain said the 23 expelled Russians were undeclared intelligence agents. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said his country would conduct a security assessment of Russian diplomats with a view to possibly expelling those who are not legitimate. Russian spy 'poisoning': Sergei and Yulia Skripal are fighting for life in hospital / PA "We will make that decision, I would say, in the early part of next week," he said. Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said his country would also consider "whether we should take unilateral steps." The EU leaders' statements came after a summit dinner where Theresa May shared information about why Britain is convinced Moscow was behind the attack, including the type of poison used - a Soviet-developed nerve agent known as Novichok - and intelligence that Russia has produced it within the past decade. Mr Grybauskaite said: "We got more detailed information from the prime minister May and it was very good information." On Thursday, Mrs May called the Salisbury attack "part of a pattern of Russian aggression against Europe and its near neighbours, from the western Balkans to the Middle East." Mr Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter remain unconscious in critical but stable condition in hospital. O ver the past month, Lewis Mizen, a 17-year-old student at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, has talked a lot about Valentines Day. He has been asked about it often but still theres a catch in his voice as he speaks. I remember walking on the campus, he says. There was such a feeling of optimism. There was pink and red everywhere. There was a great feeling. It was a really good day. Early in the mo rning there was a fire drill. Towards the end of the afternoon the alarm rang again. We all began walking out and administrators began screaming at us: Code Red! which means active shooter. We all thought it was a drill. So we ran back in the classroom. After about half an hour of hiding under the desk we got an update from the police department that this wasnt a drill. Thats when we moved to the closet. We were in the closet for maybe an hour and a half. While we were in there we were getting updates from all sorts of news agencies telling us different things. Finally, about two hours after the Code Red was announced, the army reserves and the SWAT came in to get us out. We had to run across campus with these people carrying assault rifles guarding us, then we had to put our backpacks in a pile to make sure that there werent any bombs. Once we had done that we were able to walk towards our families. Most of the parents were a mile away but they began walking towards the school, and they didnt know where their kids were. They didnt know if they got out. So when we got maybe half a mile away there was just this surge of all these parents looking for their kids. But they werent allowed to get too close the FBI were there, there were so many people it was like a movie set. In the aftermath, Mizen found his own way of dealing with the event. It all happens so fast, you dont consider how real it is he says. I guess everyone has their coping mechanism but for me, I didnt think it was real. It wasnt until that night that it hit, that this was real. That people had died, and life has changed forever. It wasnt until that night it hit me that this was real. People had died and life has changed forever It wasnt a drill. It wasnt a movie. The horror was real. In a nightmare which has grown all too familiar on American school campuses, 17 students and teachers were massacred on February 14, allegedly by former school student Nikolas Cruz, who has been charged with firing an AR-15 rifle (legally acquired, according to his lawyer) into four classrooms. Since Columbine in 1999 (13 innocents murdered), through Virginia Tech in 2007 (32 dead) to Sandy Hook in 2012 (26 students and teachers killed), school shootings have developed their own numb grammar. Generally, this amounts to expressions of sympathy, a call for action, thoughts and prayers, and then nothing, until the next mass shooting, when the process is rinsed and repeated. Florida school shooting: Rally - In pictures 1 /10 Florida school shooting: Rally - In pictures Arrival: the students were welcomed by fellow teens in the state capital Reuters The group plan to hold a demonstration on Wednesday Reuters A high school student places a candle representing one of the victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School outside the North Carolina State Capitol building during a demonstration calling for safer gun laws, in Raleigh, North Carolina Reuters Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School survivor Ryan Deitsch arrives with fellow students at Leon High School in Tallahassee AP Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are welcomed as they arrive at Leon High School, prior to their meetings the next day with Florida state legislators, following last week's mass shooting on their campus in Tallahassee, Florida Reuters Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School survivors arrive at Leon High School in Tallahassee AP Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School survivors Tanzil Philip (left) is comforted by fellow student Diego Pfeiffer as Philip speaks to Leon High School students after arriving in Tallahassee AP Proitest: Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School hold signs while waiting to board buses in Parkland, Florida EPA Trip: the grieving students travelled 400 miles to the Capitol in Florida EPA High school students observe a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, during a demonstration calling for safer gun laws outside the North Carolina State Capitol building in Raleigh Reuters This time, things may be different. The students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High have seized the political initiative. Five of the Parkland survivors are on the cover of this weeks TIME magazine, and this weekend they have organised the March For Our Lives in Washington DC, with supporting events around the world. Mizen, who is originally from Coventry and moved to the US three years ago, will be flying from Florida to Washington to cover the event for his student newspaper. He says the mood in Parkland was bleak in the immediate aftermath of the shootings but turned quickly. The day after, there was a feeling of hopelessness. Especially around the vigils there was a sense of: Where do we go from here? But a day after that, everyone mobilised the media and people they knew who they thought could have the power to make change. The student body has moved fantastically we really do feel like this is different than any other movement. We feel like weve hit breaking point because were not going to let things stay the way they are. Something is going to change. The stumbling block in arguments about US gun control is the lobbying power of the National Rifle Association (NRA), which manages to distort the broad (and rising) support within the populace for tougher legislation. The Parkland students dont all agree on tactics, though they share a common understanding of where they want to go. The Second Amendment [the right to bear arms] is a constitutional right, Mizen concedes. Some of my classmates have been very radical in stating what they want. The problem with that is it pushes people away. Instead of trying to build bridges theyre insulting the opposition, and thats not how anything is going to change. One thing I and some of my classmates who are more moderate are trying to get across is that we dont want to attack anyone. We dont want to place the emphasis on gun control, we want to put it on keeping kids safe. If we change the conversation to keeping kids safe then it makes it more difficult for the people who love guns to argue with us, because to come out against us would be to come out against keeping kids safe. When they do argue, it makes them look evil. On the one-month anniversary [of the shooting] the NRA posted a video saying how much they love guns kind of a threatening video. They did exactly the opposite of what they should have done. Its made it easier for us as students to mobilise against them and to try and push for change, because theyre appearing like the bad guys. There have been some signs of political change. The tactic of targeting companies which offered benefits to NRA members or support to the organisation has resulted in several of them cutting their ties, including Delta and United Airlines, and car rental firms Enterprise and Hertz. American government is mobilised by money, says Mizen. If you weaken the bargaining power of interest groups by pulling their funds away then it weakens them and it makes it easier to move forward. Thats real, thats hard-hitting, and thats something we can do to damage the people who dont want change. Florida high school shooting - February 2018 1 /20 Florida high school shooting - February 2018 Emergency personnel at the scene of a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School EPA Parents wait for news after a reports of a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School AP Students are evacuated by police from Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School AP The suspect is arrested and put in the back of a police car Reuters Students hold their hands in the air as they are evacuated by police AP People wait for loved ones Getty Images Law enforcement personel work the scene Getty Images AP The suspect is escorted into Broward Jail after being checked at hospital Reuters Students are reunited with parents and family EPA A law enforcement officer rushes toward Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School AP Fire Rescue personnel work the scene Getty Images Students released from lockdown AP People are brought out of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after the shooting Getty Images Police and rescue workers attend the scene REUTERS A family reunites following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School AP Florida Gov. Rick Scott (right) walks with Sheriff Scott Israel of Broward County to a news conference near Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School AP Students released from lockdown AP Students are released from lockdown AP Students are comforted by parents and family after a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High Schoo EPA Florida governor Rick Scott once an ardent NRA supporter was one of the first politicians to switch sides, signing into law a gun control measure which requires the buyers of rifles and shotguns to be 21 (Cruz was 18 when he bought his weapon). This modest change promoted an immediate NRA lawsuit. Some of my classmates went on 60 Minutes and they said theyd give Rick Scotts bill a C minus. I think its an A plus. Its a great start. More has happened in a month than happened in the past 20 years. Its not the end of the line and were going to keep pushing. The fact that the NRA is now suing proves we are moving in the right direction. Im really proud of the state of Florida and I hope other states follow suit. Then, eventually, the Federal government can issue a mandate and laws that help make sure that every kid in every school across the United States is safe. Mizen says the activism and the excitement of campaigning has given him and the other Parkland students something positive to focus on but it is a process. Every day its getting easier. But every day its also becoming that little more real. Its kind of setting in that this is the new normal. This has actually happened. Its no longer a nightmare. But having other people around, having friends, having family, makes it easier; to learn to live with this new normal, to learn to move past it, to always keep it in your heart and your mind, but to be able to live your life. In the longer term, the students are focused on the US midterm elections in November. We dont care whether Republicans win or Democrats win, we just want the people who win to be focusing on gun control. We dont care what party youre in. We want serious change. Voter registration has spiked since this happened. Thats fantastic, and we really could make a change. But we need to keep the momentum going. First, there is this weekend, and Mizen has a message for Londoners. Theres a rally in London on Saturday and if theres a message I can give its just that as many people as possible should go. As much as this is a specifically American issue, the support from around the world helps keep up the pressure. Even if youre just sending messages of support to the families it is huge, because it helps us get through it. It helps us move forward, and to know that people are standing behind you even if theyre thousands of miles away is a massive help. T he French police officer who volunteered to swap places with a hostage in the Trebes supermarket siege is in a "life-threatening condition", according to President Emmanuel Macron. An alleged Islamic State fanatic murdered three people in Trebes, near the the South West town of Carcassonne, on Friday before being gunned down by special forces police. French interior minister Gerard Collomb praised the "heroism" of a French police officer who offered himself up as a hostage swap during the attack. Mr Collomb said the policeman "volunteered to swap his place with a hostage" and stayed with the armed suspect. French counterterrorism police at the scene of the hostage standoff / AP He reportedly managed to leave his mobile phone switched on after the swap, establishing a contact with officers outside the supermarket in the hours-long standoff. Mr Collomb said elite French forces stormed the market and killed the gunman after hearing gunshots inside. He did not say how or when the police officer was injured. French President Macron reiterated the minister's sentiments, praising the unnamed officer's "heroism" and saying his actions "saved many lives". French gendarmes block an access to Trebes / AFP One witness, described by her first name of Carole, said she was shopping at the supermarket, and ran to hide in a freezer. A man shouted and fired several times, she said. I saw a cold room door, I asked people to come and take shelter. There were ten of us, and we stayed an hour. There were more gunshots and we went out the back door. France has been hit by a string of jihadist attacks since 2015, starting in January that year with the assault on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in which 12 people were gunned down. Four Jewish shoppers were killed during an attack on a kosher supermarket carried out by an Islamic State terrorist in Paris two days later. In response to such bloodbaths, a State of Emergency was initially declared by the French government, but it has since been lifted. Despite this, France remains on a high state of alert, with armed soldiers patrolling the street along with police. L isa Armstrong has hinted that she is in pain following her split from Ant McPartlin. The make-up artist, who recently split from the TV star after 11 years of marriage, has liked a handful of supportive tweets from fans following the presenter's drink-driving arrest. One user reached out, saying they would love to take all this pain away. The post read: I see the hurt & pain on your face today sorry your hounded & not given a moments peace your such a beautiful gracious lady I wish I could take all this pain away & wrap it up & throw it away so that we could see a smile once more upon your face & peace in your heart. Armstrong also hinted at a reconciliation with McPartlin after liking an A. J. Lawless quote that read: I know the rain is cold my dear, but dance in it a little while you wait for the sun. She liked other posts from fans encouraging her to straighten your crown and move forward like the queen you are and those criticising the constant media intrusion of her day-to-day life." Armstrong, who has yet to publicly address the couple's split, recently hinted at loneliness after she liked a tweet from Simon Thomas. The presenter, who lost his wife Gemma to cancer last year, posted: You never realise how lonely you are until its the end of the day and you got a bunch of things to talk about and no one to talk to. McPartlin and Armstrongs marriage troubles came to light last year when he was admitted to rehab to tackle an addiction to painkillers following a botched knee operation. Ant McPartlin charged with drink driving In his first interview about his treatment he claimed he had put Armstrong through hell. McPartlin announced this week that he will be returning to rehab for treatment after he was charged with drink-driving. The Saturday Night Takeaway star was arrested in Richmond, south west London on Sunday after he crashed his vehicle into two cars, leaving a four-year-old girl in hospital. He has cancelled his upcoming work commitments for the foreseeable future with ITV confirming Declan Donnelly will front the remaining two episodes of Saturday Night Takeaway alone. A ctor Chris Evans and actress Jenny Slate have reportedly split up for a second time. The pair are thought to have recently called time on their on/off relationship yet again, according to an interview Evans did with the New York Times. They had reunited towards the end of last year and were spotted house-hunting and spending the holidays together. But the NYT profile claims: Their on-again, off-again relationship, beloved by the Internet, recently ended. Gifted: The pair met on the set of the film in 2016 / Theo Wargo/Getty Images The new piece doesnt have any other information about the former couples relationship such as when exactly they broke up and why. Captain America star Evans, 36, met Slate on the set of Gifted back in 2016, dating for a year before they broke up. They rekindled their romance a couple of months later but it appears to have ended for the second time. Standard Online have contacted representatives for Slate and Evans for comment. In the past, Evans has dated Jessica Biel, Christina Ricci and Minka Kelly while Slate was married to Dean Fleischer-Camp until 2016. A pple is holding an education-focused event next week and a new product release is on the cards. It will be the iPhone makers first public event of the year and promises it is going to focus on creative new ideas for teachers and students. As part of this, the company is reportedly going to be introducing a new low-cost iPad, alongside more affordable education software, including a new version of the iBooks app, according to Bloomberg. This is part of a mission by the company to win back students and teachers who have taken a liking to offerings from Google and Microsoft. In terms of software, Google is the one Apple is competing with. According to a report from US publication Education Week, more than half of teachers would choose Google for Education (52 per cent), with Apple Education coming in second at 13 per cent. In the UK, there has been a big push to get Microsoft into schools, with the Department of Education even encouraging its staff to use the Surface Book or Surface Pro 4 laptops. As a result, Apple needs to step up its education game. Its been six years since Apple first held an education-focused product launch, when it unveiled a tool for designing e-books for iPads in 2012. Thats not the only change on the books. The event is also going to be held outside Apples brand new Californian campus. Instead, it will take place in a high school in Chicago, the Lane Technical College Prep High School, offering a chance for those attending to witness the new products being used in their educational environment. A cheaper iPad isnt the only option Apple is exploring this year. According to the well-respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities has predicted that it will be releasing a new, cheaper MacBook Air in 2018. The Air hasnt really had a product update since 2010, making it the perfect device to revamp. 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 The Saudi king has just begun his two-week visit to the US but the first important achievement was seen even before the top-level talks kicked off on March 20. He and President Trump agreed to assemble a Supreme Committee to counter Iran. The UAE is the third member of this action team. Their activities will be coordinated by their national security advisers, with final decisions to be made by the heads of state. The forum will convene monthly to discuss issues of special importance. This move is widely seen as a sign that President Trump is soon going to recertify the Iran nuclear deal, even if such a decision will mean defying some of his top military leaders. The deadline for recertification is mid-May but the president may make an announcement much earlier. CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who has been nominated to replace Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, favors a tough approach to Iran. The nominee is the right man to improve cooperation with Saudi Arabia and the UAE aimed at forcing a rollback of Iran. Once he takes over the US is expected to move further into Saudi Arabias corner. Congress has approved $54 billion in arms sales to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) over the past nine months. Multibillion-dollar commercial deals are being discussed as part of Crown Prince Mohammeds US visit. On March 20, the Senate supported President Trump and rejected a measure aimed at ending support for Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen. The idea of an alliance of Muslim countries against Iran is not anything new, but until now nothing had ever come to fruition. Riyadh officially heads the alliance established in December 2015. But today that project seems to have been forgotten. A previous attempt to form an anti-Iran alliance on the basis of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was frustrated when Qatar and Oman refused to follow the policy dictated by Riyadh. The KSA-UAE alliance was set up last December. Now the US has joined to expand it. The two Arab nations are increasing a foothold in the region. The KSA is building a military base in Djibouti. A military agreement between the two countries was signed in November 2017. In April, the self-declared Republic of Somaliland allowed the UAE to build a military base in Berbera. Abu Dhabi uses the Eritrean port of Assab to support its war effort in Yemen. Last May, it signed a new defense agreement with Washington allowing the US to expand its military presence in the country. Bahrain is likely to join the bloc. Egypt and Jordan are also being considered as potential members. The newly formed alliance views Syria as a bulwark against Iran. According to the Washington Post, Donald Trump asked Saudi Arabia for up to $4 billion to rebuild and stabilize the eastern part of Syria in order to keep Iran and Russia at bay. This means the US will be there for the long haul to promote the establishment of a separate entity that already has local councils being formed. This will jeopardize Syrias territorial integrity. No doubt Israel will unofficially support the plan. The US may not be leaving Syria now but it cannot stay forever. Sending Saudi forces into Syria is one option. The soldiers from that kingdom may enjoy broader support from Syrias Sunni population. After all, the Kurds are also Sunni Muslims. Religion may be a unifying factor. The main goal is to prevent Irans geopolitical expansion through Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon to reach the Mediterranean Sea. This is an alliance that was created for joint operations, but that does not mean immediate war with Iran. In Syria this action team may become part of a broader diplomatic effort to find a settlement without the leading actors plunging into a large-scale conflict. Syria, Russia, Turkey, Iran, the Kurds, and the US-led SDF dont see eye to eye on many issues and pursue different goals, but conflict has been avoided mainly due to the Russian-brokered Astana peace process and the coordination of efforts to implement the concept of the de-escalation zones. Moscow is the only actor that is in communication with all the parties involved. It has a superb relationship with the KSA and the UAE. After all, when President Trump congratulated President Putin on his election victory, he definitely was not seeking a confrontation with Russia in Syria or elsewhere. The Saudi king was looking for cooperation when he visited Russia last October. The UAE crown prince and the Russian leader held a friendly meeting just a few days ago. The newly created coalition can play a role in Syria with Russia acting as a mediator. In this scenario, its leaders will need a lot of patience in order to hang in there through some long hard talks to find a compromise. The alternative would be confrontation with Iran with an uncertain outcome. If the choice is made to try to talk it over instead, then Russia could make a contribution to finding a settlement to end the war in Yemen, which the US-backed alliance of Saudi Arabia and the UAE is evidently losing. Moscow could help that partnership save face when confronted by an impending defeat. Now, at last, a real election influence scandal and, laughably, its got nothing to do with Russia. The protagonists are none other than the all-American US social media giant Facebook and a British data consultancy firm with the academic-sounding name Cambridge Analytica. Facebooks chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is being called upon by British and European parliamentarians to explain his companys role in a data-mining scandal in which up to 50 million users of the social media platform appear to have had their private information exploited for electioneering purposes. Exploited, that is, without their consent or knowledge. Facebook is being investigated by US federal authorities for alleged breach of privacy and, possibly, electoral laws. Meanwhile, Cambridge Analytica looks less an academic outfit and more like a cheap marketing scam. Zuckerberg has professed shock that his company may have unwittingly been involved in betraying the privacy of its users. Some two billion people worldwide are estimated to use the social media networking site to share personal data, photos, family news and so on, with friends. Now it transpires that at least one firm, London-based Cambridge Analytica, ran a profitable business by harvesting the publicly available data on Facebook for electioneering purposes for which it was contracted to do. The harvested information was then used to help target election campaigning. Cambridge Analytica was reportedly contracted by the Trump campaign for the 2016 presidential election. It was also used during the Brexit referendum campaign in 2016 when Britons voted to leave the European Union. This week the British news outlet Channel 4 broadcast a stunning investigation in which chief executives at Cambridge Analytica were filmed secretly boasting about how their firm helped win the US presidential election for Donald Trump. More criminally, the data company boss, Alexander Nix, also revealed that they were prepared to gather information which could be used for blackmailing and bribing politicians, including with the use of online sex traps. The repercussions from the scandal have been torrid. Following the Channel 4 broadcast, Cambridge Analytica has suspended its chief executive pending further investigation. British authorities have sought a warrant to search the companys computer servers. Moreover, Zuckerbergs Facebook has seen $50 billion wiped of its stock value in a matter of days. What is at issue is the loss of confidence among its ordinary citizen-users about how their personal data is vulnerable to third party exploitation without their consent. Cambridge Analytica is just the tip of an iceberg. The issue has raised concerns that other third parties, including criminal identity-theft gangs, are also mining Facebook as a mammoth marketing resource. A resource that is free to exploit because of the way that ordinary users willingly publish their personal profiles. The open, seemingly innocent nature of Facebook connecting millions of people a place where friends meet as its advertising jingle goes could turn out to be an ethical nightmare over privacy abuse. Other social media companies like Amazon, Google, WhatsApp and Twitter are reportedly apprehensive about the consequences of widespread loss of confidence among consumers in privacy security. One of the biggest economic growth areas over the past decade social media could turn out to be another digital bubble that bursts spectacularly due to the latest Facebook scandal. But one other, perhaps more, significant fallout from the scandal is the realistic perspective it provides on the so-called Russiagate debacle. For well over a year now, the US and European corporate news media have been peddling claims about how Russian state agents allegedly interfered in several national elections. The Russian authorities have consistently rejected the alleged influence campaigns as nothing but a fabrication to slander Russia. Moscow has repeatedly asked for evidence to verify the relentless claims and none has been presented. The US congress has carried out two probes into Russiagate without much to show for their laborious endeavors. A special counsel headed up by former FBI chief Robert Mueller has spent millions of taxpayer dollars to produce a flimsy indictment list of 19 Russian individuals who are said to have run influence campaigns out of a nondescript troll farm in St Petersburg. It still remains unclear and unconvincing how, or if, the supposed Russian hackers were linked to the Russian state, and how they had any impact on the voting intentions of millions of Americans. Alternatively, there is plausible reason to believe that the so-called Russian troll farm in St Petersburg, the Internet Research Agency, may have been nothing other than a dingy marketing vehicle, trying to use the internet like thousands of other firms around the world hustling for advertising business. Firms like Cambridge Analytica. The whole Russiagate affair has been a storm in a teacup, and Mueller seems to be desperate to produce some, indeed any, result for his inquisitorial extravaganza. The amazing thing to behold is how the alleged Russian influence campaign narrative has become an accepted truth, propagated and repeated by Western governments and media without question. Pentagon defense strategy papers, European Union policy documents, NATO military planning, among others, have all cited alleged Russian interference in American and European elections as evidence of Moscows malign geopolitical agenda. The purported Russiagate allegations have led to a grave deepening of Cold War tensions between Western states and Russia to the point where an all-out war is at risk of breaking out. Last week, the Trump administration slapped more sanctions on Russian individuals and state security services for election meddling. No proof or plausible explanation has ever been provided to substantiate the allegations of a Russian state influence campaign. The concept largely revolves around innuendo and a deplorable prejudice against Russia based on irrational Cold War-style Russophobia. However, one possible beneficial outcome from the latest revelations of an actual worldwide Facebook election-influence campaign, driven by an ever-so British data consultancy, is that the scandal puts the claims against Russia into stark, corrective perspective. A perspective which shows that the heap of official Western claims against Russia of influencing elections is in actual fact negligible if not wholly ridiculous. Its a mountain versus a hill of beans. A tornado versus a storm in a teacup. Time to get real on how Western citizens are being really manipulated by their own consumer-capitalist cultures. It is to be welcomed that US President Donald Trump got on the phone this week to congratulate Russian leader Vladimir Putin over the latters presidential election victory last weekend. Trump said it was a good call and that both leaders discussed cooperation on a range of international issues, including avoiding an arms race, North Korea, and Syria. They have reportedly agreed to hold a bilateral meeting soon. It is deplorable that the leaders of the two most powerful nuclear states have not yet held a full bilateral meeting either in Washington DC or in Moscow. The inertia stems from the American side, despite Trumps avowed desire to restore friendly relations with Russia. Trump and Putin have met only briefly on two occasions over the past 14 months since Trumps inauguration in January 2017. But those meetings were rather passing encounters while both were attending multilateral forums. A summit-style meeting held over several days between the two leaders is long overdue. But of course, the anti-Russia politics holding sway in the US and among certain American NATO allies have made any such proper meeting a toxic prospect. Trump is accused of being somehow beholden to Putin due to far-fetched allegations of Russian electoral collusion or interference. Russia on the other hand is assailed for all sorts of imagined transgressions, including alleged aggression in Ukraine. The polarized geopolitical situation is lamentable. Especially given the apparent willingness on the part of Trump and Putin to make progress towards normalizing relations. The leaders are being held hostage by an agenda of Russophobia pushed by certain political circles in Washington and other Western capitals. Trump was immediately attacked this week by Republicans and Democrats following his phone call to Putin. He was rebuked for not challenging Putin over allegations of Russian meddling in US elections and over the apparent poisoning of a former British double agent in England earlier this month. These charges against Russia, like so many others, are ridiculously overblown. Unsubstantiated and unproven, the charges are repeated and multiplied in a climate of hysteria. The British alleged poison case is but the latest classic example from the mold of presumption of Russian guilt without evidence. Trump was right to make the call to Putin. It is customary diplomatic protocol for world leaders to exchange good wishes over elections. It is only the hyped-up anti-Russia claims over the past few years and in particular the latest episode regarding Britain that have instilled an unwarranted toxicity into what should be normal international relations. But it is disturbing that the American president was obliged to defend himself from his political detractors over what should have been a normal courtesy call. The furore over Trumps call to Putin demonstrates how destructive the bilateral relation between the US and Russia has become. Trump deserves credit for not caving into the irrational hostility towards Russia shown by too many in Washington and among the US news media. Nevertheless one phone call and vague pledges of cooperation are far from satisfactory given the ominous geopolitical climate. President Trump may have a reasonable personal view towards Russia, but he appears to be surrounded by a milieu of inveterate hostility towards Moscow. There are several ominous scenarios for potential catastrophic conflict. American threats to militarily strike Syria over contrived pretexts concerning chemical weapons; the US supplying lethal weapons to the fascistic Kiev regime in Ukraine; and Washingtons threats of sanctions disrupting Russias gas exports to Europe via the Nord Stream pipeline are all urgent risks to global peace. Fears of a world war breaking out are not at all misplaced. American animosity towards Russia, as well as towards China, is strategic and structural in nature. It has to do with American loss of hegemonic power in the context of an emerging multipolar world order. The epochal problem can hardly be resolved through the aegis of individual political leaders working in isolation from systemic causes. Given the climate of tensions and ominous dangers of confrontation, the American and Russian leaderships must at the very least engage in earnest dialogue to try to transcend systemic contradictions. The occasional cordial phone call from an American president to the Russian leader is far from satisfactory in the face of global challenges to world peace. The Russian leadership under President Vladimir Putin has grasped the vital importance of an earnest engagement for world peace. Lamentably, there appears to be no reciprocal American leadership under Donald Trump. That is a foreboding failure of American politics. On 9 August 2017 President Trump tweeted My first order as President was to renovate and modernize our nuclear arsenal. It is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before. This statement of US achievement and nuclear policy was apparently intended to intimidate the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, who tested a nuclear-capable ballistic missile three months later, following which the US president issued an insulting tweet that referred to him as Little Rocket Man. The level of international dialogue and diplomacy sank to yet a new low which was enthusiastically reciprocated by Kim, but Trump gave a rare exhibition of common sense on 11 November 2017 by asking When will all the haters and fools out there realize that having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing. There [meaning theyre] always playing politics bad for our country . . . How very true, and how much better for the world had such a positive attitude been allowed to flourish along with dialogue. But then everything went screaming downhill. Along came Washingtons aggressive Nuclear Posture Review which emphasised enlargement of nuclear weapons capabilities and followed from the US National Defence Strategy which strongly advocates massive military expansion, naming Russia specifically no less than 127 times, compared with 62 references to North Korea, 47 to China and 39 to Iran. The antagonistic muscle of the US military-industrial complex has been nourished by the circus of the Russiagate investigations in Washington which attempted to prove that Moscow had organised the 2016 election results by persuading countless millions of people on social media sites that red was blue and Democratic donkeys were really Republican elephants. Or the other way round. It was all rubbish, but the US-European anti-Russia campaign was then given enormous impetus by the collapse in England from apparent poisoning of a retired, BMW-driving British spy, a former Russian citizen. The poisoning was effected by a chemical agent, and blame for the event was immediately laid at Russias door. The British foreign minister Boris Johnson is a sad joke, but hes politically powerful and a threat to the prime minister, Theresa May, so he continues in his post and makes statements such as Russia is the only country known to have developed this type of agent. Im afraid the evidence is overwhelming that it is Russia. The fact that there is no evidence whatever that Russia was involved is ignored, because the western world has been convinced that Russia is guilty of this poisoning and of countless other things. The heightened anti-Russia feeling is most welcome to the US-NATO military alliance, which has been energetic in developing its Enhanced Forward Presence along Russias borders. Its belligerent posture has been hardening since NATO began to expand in 1997, which was entirely contrary to what had been agreed seven years previously. As recorded by the Los Angeles Times, In early February 1990, US leaders made the Soviets an offer. According to transcripts of meetings in Moscow on February 9, then-Secretary of State James Baker suggested that in exchange for cooperation on Germany, US could make "iron-clad guarantees" that NATO would not expand "one inch eastward." Less than a week later, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev agreed to begin reunification talks. No formal deal was struck, but from all the evidence, the quid pro quo was clear: Gorbachev acceded to Germany's western alignment and the US would limit NATO's expansion. Nevertheless, great powers rarely tie their own hands. In internal memorandums and notes, US policymakers soon realized that ruling out NATO's expansion might not be in the best interests of the United States. By late February, Bush and his advisers had decided to leave the door open. The doors towards Russias borders were not only open: they had on the other side a welcoming galaxy of nations anxious to enjoy all the financial benefits that would descend upon them from the deep and generous pockets of the Washington-Brussels military machine. The US and other NATO members pitched forward with missile-armed ships in the Baltic and the Black Sea, with electronic surveillance and command aircraft flying as close as they could to Russian airspace, along with deployment of nuclear-capable combat aircraft and more ground troops in expansion of the Enhanced Forward Presence. The recent surge in anti-Russia news and comment in almost all US and UK media is a boon and a blessing for the rickety and incompetent NATO alliance, but in responsible circles there is concern about its nuclear posture and especially that of the United States. The nuclear threat from Washington is growing, and in spite of the fact that analysts such as Bruno Tertrais of the Fondation pour la Recherche Strategique note that Russias stance has been misinterpreted, the tide of anti-Russian western opinion cannot now be stopped or even reduced. The requirement for provision of evidence is disregarded and in no sphere is this more marked than in western pronouncements about Russian nuclear policy. As Dr Tertrais points out, The dominant narrative about Russias nuclear weapons in Western strategic literature since the beginning of the century has been something like this: Russias doctrine of escalate-to-de-escalate and its large-scale military exercises show that Moscow is getting ready to use low-yield, theatre nuclear weapons to stop NATO from defeating Russias forces, or to coerce the Atlantic Alliance and end a conflict on terms favourable to Russia. All the elements of this narrative, however, rely on weak evidence and there is strong evidence to counter most of them. One of the most disturbing things is the attitude to the Nuclear Posture Review of many nuclear experts in the West. But some of these nuclear war enthusiasts might strike people as bizarre in their approach. As reported by Defence News Rebeccah Heinrichs, a nuclear analyst with the Hudson Institute, thinks the Pentagon is on the right path, noting that if the Russians have a weapon delivery option, theyre putting a nuke on it at the moment. Clearly the Russians believe that they could possibly pop off a low yield nuke and we would not have an appropriate response, and our only option would essentially be to end the war rather than go all-in with strategic nuclear weapons. . . It may be because I have had some association with nuclear delivery systems and their hideous effects that I take offence at clever little analysts referring to despatch and detonation of nuclear weapons as popping off. The weapon that would be popped off whatever it might be would kill hundreds, perhaps thousands of people, and would contaminate vast areas of land. A low yield nuke as it is so lightly dismissed, is not an inconsequential weapon. A long time ago in Germany I commanded a troop of rocket launchers that were tasked to fire low yield Honest John missiles in the event of war in Europe. We knew that these things would cause immense damage because the W7 warhead had a variable yield of up to 20 kilotonnes just about that of the Nagasaki bomb that killed about 75,000 human beings. Sure, our warheads might only have been a fraction of that (well never know), but even then I object to intellectuals saying they might have been popped off like modern-day low-yield nukes, because we would have died within a few minutes of firing these things, not long after we had killed our thousands of victims, most likely from retaliation but also because the maximum range of our rockets was about 25 kilometres and the fall-out effects would have been pretty swift. Then you read the pronouncements of such important people as Air Force General John Hyten, the senior US nuclear deliveryman, commanding US Strategic Command, who said on February 28 that Russia is the most significant threat just because they pose the only existential threat to the country right now. So we have to look at that from that perspective. He should get together with Rebeccah Heinrichs. They could discuss where and how to pop off a weapon that would lead to world destruction. The nuclear threat looms large. For the new U.S. Army budget (for the fiscal year starting in October 2018) there is money for upgrading 261 M1 tanks with the Israeli Trophy APS (Active Protection System). Trophy has already been tested on the M1 and Trophy has been around for a decade and has considerable combat experience. The U.S. has noted that Western tanks, like the M1 and Leopard 2 are vulnerable to these weapons. This was demonstrated recently in northwest Syria where Turkey lost at least ten Leopard 2s and older American M60s to Kornet ATGMs (Anti-Tank Guided Missile). Israel has been a pioneer in APS development and there are several Israeli firms developing and selling APS gear. One of those firms created the Iron Fist APS, which lost out to Trophy, and all the money to be made equipping Israeli tanks with APS. In response the Iron Fist manufacturer (IMI), despite losing out in 2010 to Trophy (from Rafael), continued development without government funding. As a result Iron Fist developed into an APS that is lighter, more compact, easier to install and, on paper at least, has more features. Thus Iron Fist will be equipping lighter American armored vehicles like the M2. Iron Fist contains heat sensing as well as radar to detect threats and that includes rifle and machine-gun fire. These weapons cannot damage armored vehicles but it is useful for the crew to know where the fire is coming from. A full size Iron Fist can also jam guidance systems on some missiles and has a lower false-alarm rate. There is also a lightweight version with fewer of the extras but that can be put on much lighter vehicles like trucks. While Iron Fist has not been proven in combat like Trophy the manufacturer says it has worked well in tests and that was enough to encourage the American and Dutch armies to evaluate it on some of their armored vehicles. The Israeli army also selected Iron Fist for its Nemer heavy IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle). The U.S. is also installing the Iron Curtain APS on Stryker armored vehicles. This APS comes from an American firm (Artis) which began development in 2005 and was part of a Department of Defense effort to catch up in APS development. Until now Trophy was the only APS most people heard about. In 2010 the first battalion of Merkavas was equipped with Trophy. Then in 2011 Trophy defeated incoming missiles and rockets in combat for the first time. This included ATGMs. This included modern Russian systems like the Kornet E. This is a laser guided missile with a range of 5,000 meters. The launcher has a thermal sight for use at night or in fog. The missile's warhead can penetrate enough modern tank armor to render the side armor of the Israeli Merkava tank vulnerable. The Kornet E missile weighs 8.2 kg (18 pounds) and the launcher 19 kg (42 pounds). A few weeks before the ATGM intercept Trophy defeated an RPG warhead (an unguided rocket propelled grenade fired from a metal tube balanced on the shoulder). As it was designed to do, Trophy operated automatically and the crew didn't realize the incoming RPG warhead or missile had been stopped until after it was over. That is how APS is supposed to work and Trophy has proved to be the most reliable and effective APS out there. By 2012 Israel was convinced sufficiently to equip all the Merkava tanks in an armor brigade with the Trophy APS. Now the U.S. army is equipping three brigades with Trophy. This first combat use is a big deal because APS has been around for nearly three decades but demand and sales had been slow until then. The main purpose of APS is to stop ATGMs but on less heavily armored vehicles, stopping RPG type warheads is important as well. The Israeli Trophy APS uses better, more reliable, and more expensive technology than the original Russian Drozd (or its successors, like Arena) APS. This includes an electronic jammer that will defeat some types of ATGMs. For about $300,000 per system, Trophy will protect a vehicle from ATGMs as well as RPGs (which are much more common in combat zones). Israel is the first Western nation to have a lot of their tanks shot up by modern ATGMs and apparently fears the situation will only get worse. Trophy protected several Israeli tanks from ATGM and RPG attacks during the 50 Day War with Hamas in mid-2014. In 2015 a lightweight (200 kg/440 pound) version of its Trophy APS called Trophy LV was introduced. This is intended for MRAPs (heavily armored trucks), IFVs (Infantry Fighting Vehicles) and other heavy vehicles that are lighter than tanks. The regular Trophy weighs about a ton and is one of several APS models on the market but it is also the one with the most impressive combat record. The Israeli manufacturer of Trophy also partners with American firms to manufacture Trophy and Trophy LV for the U.S. market. But in this case another Israeli firm entered the American market with the similar and more capable Iron First. Israel first encountered ATGMs, on a large scale, in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. But these were the clumsy, first generation missiles that turned out to be more smoke than fire. More recent ATGM designs have proved more reliable and effective but no nation, except Israel, has yet made a major commitment to APS. That may now change, simply because effective APS like Trophy are available and RPG and ATGM losses are growing. Most APS consist of a radar to detect incoming missiles and small rockets to rush out and disable the incoming threat. A complete system weighs about a ton. There is also a Trophy Light (weighing half a ton) for lighter, often unarmored, vehicles and now the even lighter Trophy LV for vehicles as small as a hummer. Russia pioneered the development of these anti-missile systems. The first one, the Drozd, entered active service in 1983, mainly for defense against American ATGMs. These the Russians feared a great deal, as American troops had a lot of them, and the Russians knew these missiles (like TOW) worked. Russia went on to improve their anti-missile systems but was never able to export many of them. This was largely because these systems were expensive (over $100,000 per vehicle), no one trusted Russian hi-tech that much and new tanks, like the American M-1, were seen as a bigger threat than ATGMs. The consensus is that the Assad government has won the civil war, after a fashion. With the fall of rebel enclaves outside Damascus (80 percent of the Ghouta suburbs), the defeat of ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) in eastern Syria and Kurdish losses in the northeast (Afrin) the only active rebel areas are some ISIL pockets in the east and various rebels along the Israel and Jordan borders. The Kurds and their American allies (over 2,000 U.S. troops) hold the northwest while Turkey has made it clear they are keeping much of the Syrian side of the Turkish border west of the Euphrates River. Most of the lost territory is in Eastern Syria. In part this is because it was the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces, predominately Kurdish rebels) that took Raqqa city from ISIL but SDF and Assad forces share control of Raqqa province. East of Raqqa province is Hasakeh province, which borders Turkey and Iraq and is now mostly controlled by SDF. South of Hasakeh is Deir Zor province, which only borders Iraq and is where most of the remaining ISIL forces in Syria are hiding out. All three of these eastern provinces are largely desert and thinly populated. Most of the people are in the Euphrates River Valley, which stretches from the Persian Gulf into Turkey. Along the way this river valley passes next to or through major Iraqi cities like Baghdad, Fallujah, Ramadi and, once in Syria Raqqa (and several smaller cities). The Assads have deliberately driven millions of anti-Assad civilians out of the country and apparently is fine if that exile is permanent. But the Assads have lost control of a third of Syrian territory and are not likely to regain that land any time soon. In addition to about eight million Syrians who fled the country at least half a million have been killed. About 20 percent of the dead have been civilians and nearly all those were pro-rebel civilians. Some 85 percent of the civilian dead were victims of Assad forces, which deliberately bombed and shelled residential neighborhoods to encourage civilians to flee rebel territory and, preferably, the country. Despite that loss of population and territory the pro-Assad coalition of Russia, Turkey and Iran continue meeting with the Assads for peace talks in the Central Asian city of Astana (the capital of Kazakhstan). The U.S. and rebels have been invited in the past but now the only rebels invited are the neutral or pro-Assad ones (like FSA). These Astana Peace Talks began in January 2017 and are now seeking UN approval for some of their decisions, like a new constitution for Syria. There are tensions among Russia, Turley and Iran about what peace should look like. Iran has been the biggest contributor to the Assad cause, spending over $14 billion in Syria since 2012. Russia only got involved in 2015 and has spent about a third of what Iran has. Turkey has been involved since 2011, but until 2016 that was mainly in dealing with the growing number of Syrian refugees seeking refuge. Israel has also been involved dealing with refugees but only to the extent of providing emergency medical aid to Syrians (usually pro-rebel civilians, family members). Israel also regularly fired back at anyone who deliberately, or even accidentally, fired into Israel. In addition Israel airstrikes regularly destroyed Iranian weapons intended for Hezbollah in Lebanon. Euphrates River Valley Blues In the northwest American and SDF forces expand and improve their fortifications in southeastern Deir Zor province, specifically the new U.S. base at the al Omar oilfield. The Assads want this but the Americans are backing Kurdish efforts to hold on to al Omar and the valuable oil it can produce. Currently Assad, Russian and Iranian forces are gathering five kilometers from the new American base. This was the same areas where the February 7th battle took place. The advance by Russian and Syrian forces was quickly repulsed by American firepower. The Russian force had no air support or anti-aircraft weapons and no backup plan other than for the survivors to retreat as quickly as possible. The Russians were hoping to push American troops out of al Omar, which is east of the Euphrates. The Russian force suffered heavy losses (over 300 dead) most of them Russian military contractors. The American did not publicize this but the Russians did because it was a great embarrassment for the Russians. The Russian government continues to play down the casualties and the obvious defeat but it is big news back in Russia where there are more ads for experienced combat veterans to work as contractors in Syria. Internet chatter in Russia is mostly about getting revenge against the Americans rather than questioning government policy in Syria. There is criticism inside Russia but the government has always discouraged it and stressed that so few Russian military personnel (about fifty so far) were being killed in Syria. It was an open secret that the losses were much higher if you counted the Russian military contractors. Now that fiction is shredded even though the Russian government does not seem to have a plan to deal with the public anger and the reality that open war between Russian military personnel (as in air support) would be extremely risky because the Americans have far more air power in the area as well as more ground forces in addition to powerful allies like Israel. The February battle led to more veterans of the contractor forces speaking out and making public details that were long known to many in Syria as well as foreign intel agencies. It now appears that over 400 contractors have died since 2015, most of them in the recent battle. The Russian contractors are not often used as assault troops but as trusted and capable security forces for Russian bases and key locations controlled by the Assads as well as senior Assad government officials. The contractor units often have some Russian soldiers attached, to deal with calling in artillery or air strikes and maintaining communications with the Russian military headquarters in Syria. In light of all this the February battle appears to have been based on someone assuming that the American and SDF forces based around the nearby oil field would fall back with the approach of the largely Russian contractor force. This was a major mistake and it is unclear who on the Russian side allowed it to happen. Meanwhile the Americans are building smaller bases in the nearby Koniko and al Jafreh oilfields. These three oil fields produced over 300,000 barrels a day before the civil war began in 2011 and was a major source of foreign currency for buying foreign goods. Syrian oil is known as light crude and can be burned for heating or cooking as it comes out of the ground. These oilfields were operated (before 2011) by Alawites (the minority the Assads belong to). The Assads want the oil fields back. So do the Russians, who have the contract (from the Assads) to rehabilitate the oil fields and operate them. That translates to over $30 billion and a large chunk of that goes back to Russia. After seven years of fighting the oil fields only produce about 20,000 barrels a day and control of these oil fields puts the Syrian Kurds in a strong bargaining position. Turkey Keeps Afrin In the northwest Turkish forces have taken the Kurdish held town of Afrin and despite efforts of Syrian forces to interfere Turkey announced that it will retain control of Afrin. Now the Turks are preparing to move 100 kilometers to the east and take Manbij (northeast of Aleppo city, 40 kilometers south of the Turkish border and near the west bank of the Euphrates River). SDF controls Manbij despite the fact that it is west of the Euphrates. According to the senior U.S. general in the region the American troops with SDF in Manbij are staying, mainly because most of the SDF fighters in Manbij are Arabs, not Kurds. SDF is mainly Kurdish but also contained large numbers of Arabs (Moslem and Christian) and other minorities. Moreover the SDF is composed of militias that were among the first to rebel against the Assads and remained focused on the rebellion and did not get involved with Islamic terrorism (which many Syrian rebels did). The Turks insist that they are going to control the Syrian side of the border from the Euphrates River west to the Mediterranean but have apparently made a deal (an understanding not an agreement) with the Americans that will allow the SDF and U.S. forces to remain in Manbij as long as all the SDF fighters in Manbij (and west of the Euphrates) are non-Kurds. This is apparently acceptable to the Kurds because it appears to reinforce their position in the northwest Syria. The Turks also made it clear that they intend to clear PKK and Islamic terrorist bases from all areas on the other side of their borders. That would include all of Syria and Iraq as well. The Assads and Iran supported the Syrian Kurds defending Afrin and agreed the town is part of Syria. While most Kurds see the loss of Afrin as another case of Western betrayal their blame is mostly on Russia which had established six checkpoints around Afrin to enforce its promise to assist the Kurds in remaining in Afrin. But just before the Turkish offensive began Russia removed those checkpoints. The Assads, Iran and the Syrian Kurds can all agree that keeping the Turks out is a good thing. The Turkish offensive began with FSA (non-sectarian Free Syrian Army) and Turkish forces attacking in at least five different columns. Most of the ground forces were FSA (about 10,000 fighters). The Turks had air support and larger numbers, or did until Kurdish and Syrian reinforcements showed up in late February. The Turks claim they killed, captured or chased away about 4,000 Kurdish fighters in and around Afrin during the effort to take the town. This included several prominent PKK (Turkish Kurd separatists) leaders and their associates. The presence of PKK and YPG (Syrian Kurd separatists) personnel in Afrin justifies the effort for the Turks, who consider the YPG allies of the PKK. The Turks have been at war with the PKK since the 1980s. The Kurds east of the Euphrates have less to worry about because the presence of American troops there (to supply air strikes, training and advice) keeps the Turks out, as well as the Assads, Russians and Iranians. The Syrians have always been practical when it came to forming needed alliances and this is especially true with the Kurds. But there are different groups of Kurds. Thus the Kurds west of the Euphrates are not American supported and vulnerable while those east of the river definitely are. The Kurds on both sides of the river share the same goal of Kurdish autonomy in northern Syria but the Turks have insisted that there be no Kurdish forces west of the river and are willing to go to war over that and they are doing so with the help of thousands of FSA rebels who have become Turkish allies in return for future support. SDF considers the Turkish capture of Afrin as another Turk move to help ISIL and other Islamic terrorists in Syria. Much of the fighting for the Turks is being done by Syrian FSA rebels who had once been allies of the SDF. But the FSA and SDF were also rivals and many FSA rebels accepted Turkish offers to work with Turkish troops to clear Kurdish forces from the Syrian side of the border and then run this neutral zone under Turkish protection. The Assads are willing to have an autonomous Kurdish northeast but want Syrian troops to have at least a token presence in the northeast and want the Americans gone. That last condition will be difficult to achieve. The Americans have made it clear they are in Syria to deal with ISIL and other Islamic terrorist threats. Syria has long been a sanctuary for Islamic terror groups and the United States plans to stay in Syria until convinced that the traditional Syrian policy of offering sanctuary to all manner of terrorists is a thing of the past. That may be difficult because the Assads have long depended on that policy for all sorts of reasons. Measuring the Misery It came as no surprise that the UN sponsored World Happiness Index put Syria at 150th place (out of 156 countries). What was more interesting was how the neighbors did in this survey. Israel came in at number 11. The top ten are all the usual suspects (Finland, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden and Australia) and then comes Israel, the happiest country in the Middle East as well as being the most powerful militarily and one of the least corrupt. The other Syrian neighbors had rankings similar to the corruption survey. Turkey is at 74th, Jordan at 90, Iraq at 117, Lebanon at 88, Iran at 106, Palestinian Territories at 104, Egypt at 122, UAE at 2o, Saudi Arabia at 33, Kuwait at 45, Russia at 59, the U.S. at 18, Japan at 54, South Korea at 57, Libya at 70, China at 86, Pakistan at 75, Venezuela at 102, Somalia at 98, Bangladesh at 115, Burma at 130, India at 133, Afghanistan at 145, Yemen at 152, and at 156 (last place) Burundi. Communist dictatorships like North Korea and Cuba block access to data needed for the survey and were not rated. March 22, 2018: In the south (15 kilometers east of Damascus) Syrian troops continued advancing into the rebel held Ghouta suburbs. At this point the rebels have lost 80 percent of their Ghouta territory since the February 18th offensive began. Worse the remaining rebels are surrounded in three pockets and are being offered terms that allow them and civilians to leave or face continued air and ground attack. March 21, 2018: Israel admitted that it was responsible for the 2007 airstrike on a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor in northern Syria. There was never much doubt that Israel was responsible but it wasnt until early 2011 that the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) announced that it believed the Syrian structure destroyed by an Israelis in 2007 was a nuclear reactor under construction. This was nothing new, as details of the IAEA have been leaked, but now the conclusion is official and shortly thereafter the UN released the official report on the Syrian nuclear facility. Israel apparently made this admission to send a message to Iran, which is building a lot of military facilities in Syria and still proclaims that Israel must be destroyed. March 19, 2018: The United States, France, Germany and Britain have openly accused Iran of violating the 2015 treaty (that lifted economic sanctions) with continued Iranian covert support of Shia rebels in Yemen. Iran responds to this criticism of Iranian actions in Yemen (as well as Syria, Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon) by insisting that it had an obligation to aid these nations in their fight against American and Israeli threats. This justification is unpopular with most Iranians who want their government to pay more attention to real problems inside Iran rather than imaginary ones overseas. Leaders of Iran backed groups in Syria, Iraq, Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hamas in Gaza and Shia rebels in Yemen openly boast of their financial and other support from Iran and continue to receive it. March 18, 2018: In the northwest (Aleppo province) Turkish troops and their Syrian FSA allies declared the town of Afrin (northwest of Aleppo city) captured. Thus ends an offensive that began on January 20th. This campaign left about fifty Turkish soldiers dead and several times as many FSA fighters. Turkey declared that it will now advance on Manbij, which is 100 kilometers east of Afrin and held by some American troops as well as a large SDF force. March 17, 2018: In the south (15 kilometers east of Damascus) Syrian troops supervised the evacuation of 30,000 civilians from formerly rebel-controlled towns in the Ghouta suburbs. These civilians are screened for known rebels and sent to refugee camps elsewhere outside the city. So far the fighting in Ghouta has killed over a thousand civilians because of the airstrikes and artillery fire on residential areas. March 13, 2018: Turkey is offering Turkish citizenship to the families of FSA rebels killed while supporting Turkish operations in Syria. Families also receive a free apartment and a $7,600 payment. FSA rebels who are disabled in combat now have the option to become a Turkish citizen. The disabled also receive a $3,800 payment. FSA fighters already receive pay and other support from Turkey as well as medical treatment in Turkish medical hospitals. Most of the Turkish forces fighting in Syria are actually FSA and most of these have families living as refugees in Turkey. TICKERS: AUAU; AUXXF, CGT; CGTFF Source: Jeb Handwerger for Streetwise Reports (3/23/18) Jeb Handwerger of Gold Stock Trades profiles a company that he believes is in the right place at the right time. I recently heard an interview with Van Eck Gold Fund Manager Joe Foster, one of the smartest minds in the industry, who expects a major economic slowdown over the near term and a stock market decline that will increase risk, volatility and cause a huge move in gold. That is exactly what I've been preaching for several months expecting a breakout at $1,400 in gold. Maybe this could come after the Fed meeting this month or next which will eventually be the final straw that breaks the camel's back and cause a stumble in stocks. Just looking at the GDX we see a potential break of the downtrend in gold stocks over the past six weeks. This could be exactly the sell the rumor of a rate hike and buy the news for gold. Meanwhile, immediate attention must be paid to Allegiant Gold Ltd. (AUAU:TSX.V; AZLLF:OTCBB) before gold breaks out for the following reasons: 1) Ground Floor Opportunity! Earlier this year Columbus Gold Corp. (CGT:TSX; CGTFF:OTCQX) spun out all of its U.S. assets into Allegiant which just started trading in the U.S. under AUXXF less than a month ago. Its an American-focused gold explorer. 2) Run by the #1 gold explorer in Nevada. Allegiant is run by Andy Wallace a protege of the legendary John Livermore who discovered the Carlin Mine in Nevada transforming gold mining in the U.S. and starting the development on the Carlin Trend, which hosts more than 120 million ounces, and built Newmont, Barrick and others into the giants they are today. In the last Nevada gold rush in the 1970s Andy Wallace found nine gold mines, including the 5-million-ounce Marigold Mine, the 12 million-ounce Stonehouse/Lone Tree Mine, and the Daisy Mine. Mr. Wallace was also involved in the discovery of the Sterling Mine and of the Dee Mine. He knows what he is doing and in the next Nevada gold rush he may have a few more discoveries up his sleeve as the team has been working hard for over 40 years. 3) Drilling is happening right now on what is known as Allegiant's Eastside property that I visited recently located right outside Tonopah Nevada. The company recently released nine holes, which all hit gold mineralization. One drill hole returned 42.7 metres of 2.49 g/t gold, including 9.1 metres of 9.03 g/t gold. A second drill rig has been added. "These results confirm our geological model and validate our objectives to double the in-pit ounces and significantly reduce the strip ratio at the Original Zone," said Robert Giustra, Chairman of ALLEGIANT. "The Original Zone has the hallmarks of a very large gold system and is just one of many exploration targets that exist at Eastside." Drilling is in progress and I hope to hear good news with regard to hitting some new high grade zones. There are numerous undrilled exploration targets. An updated resource is expected by the end of this year. 4) In addition to Eastside, Allegiant has 14 drill-ready gold projects in U.S. with 11 in Nevada. It plans to drill 10. Five are already permitted and bonded. 5) There are less than 60 million shares outstanding fully diluted with around 60% in institutional hands. Some of the reps on the board have experience with majors such as Goldcorp, Newmont and Eldorado. In conclusion, Allegiant's portfolio of high-priority gold exploration projects are in the right place, Nevada, with the top team led by Andy Wallace at the right time as we could be on the verge of the next big gold rush which happens every 40 years. In the last gold rush Andy Wallace found the top mines and I think in the next one, which could start any day now, Andy's Allegiant will be the #1 explorer in Nevada. Jeb Handwerger is an author, speaker and founder of Gold Stock Trades. He studied engineering and mathematics at University of Buffalo and earned a master's degree at Nova Southeastern University. In 2014, Jeb was the first to highlight the top two performers of the Best OTCQX 50. Handwerger began investing in junior mining equities in the late 90s, avoiding the dot-com crash. In early 2009, at the depth of the credit crisis, Handwerger began the Gold Stock Trades website for investors to become more aware of exciting developments in the mining and natural resource sector. Disclosure: 1) Jeb Handwerger's disclosures: I own shares in Allegiant participating in the private placement and in the open market and the company is a website sponsor. This means I could benefit from increased price gains in stock and I have been compensated, which is a conflict of interest. Please do your own due diligence. 2) The following companies mentioned are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: Columbus Gold. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. 3) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of the author and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The author is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. The author was not paid by Streetwise Reports for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this article. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports requires contributing authors to disclose any shareholdings in, or economic relationships with, companies that they write about. Streetwise Reports relies upon the authors to accurately provide this information and Streetwise Reports has no means of verifying its accuracy. 4) The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports. 5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article, until one week after the publication of the interview or article. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Allegiant Gold, a company mentioned in this article. A joint military parade to mark Pakistan Day is being held at Parade Ground near the Shakarparian hills in Islamabad, as the nation celebrates the day with zeal and fervour on Friday. Pakistan Day commemorates the passing of the Lahore Resolution on March 23, 1940, when the All-India Muslim League demanded a separate nation for the Muslims of the British Indian Empire. Mobile phone services have been suspended in the capital, where a military parade is being held. The ceremony commenced with the recitation of Holy Quran, followed by the singing of the national anthem, after which President Mamnoon Hussain president observed the parade from a jeep. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Defence Minister Khurrum Dastagir, Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan, Naval Chief Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi and Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee Zubair Mehmood Hayat are also witnessing the parade. A large number of diplomats from several countries also attended the ceremony. Guest of honour at the ceremony, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, has arrived at the venue. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi receives Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena at the parade ground President Mamnoon Hussain, in his speech, welcomed Sri Lankan president, and troops from Turkey, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates to the parade. He said that cooperation for international peace is the base of the country's foreign policy. Islamabad also extends a hand of cooperation to the regional countries but taking the gesture as a weakness will be a dangerous mistake, the president added. He paid tribute to the founders of the country who made the creation of Pakistan possible and emphasised the importance of peace and stability for the country's progress. He also paid a rich tribute to the martyrs of the Pakistan movement. President Hussain strongly condemned India for its irresponsible behaviour and attacks from across the Line of Control and Working Boundary. "The only solution to the dispute of Kashmir is providing the right of self-determination to Kashmiri people, and Pakistan will continue to play its role in this regard," he said. The president lauded the armed forces as well as the nation for eliminating terrorism from the country under operations Raddul Fasad and Zarb-i-Azb and announced a medal "Tamga-i-Azam" for those who rendered sacrifices for restoration of peace. Contingents of Pakistan Army, Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan Navy, Frontier Corps and Pakistan Rangers held a march-past and a salute to the president of Pakistan. Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan led a fly-past as a salute to the president. Troops of the parade also included Frontier Force Regiment, Northern Light Infantry Regiment, Mujahid Battalion, Tri Services Lady Officers, Tri Services Armed Forces Nursing Services, Special Services Group, and President Bodyguards. The UAE forces participated in the parade for the first time. The parade also featured troops from Jordan. Contingents of Armoured and Mechanised Infantry also held a march past. Pakistan Army tanks, including the Al Khalid and Al Zarrar, presented gun salutes to the president. Radar systems and other weapons equipped with military technology were also rolled out. The NASR missile, the Shaheen missile, the Ghauri missile system, and the Babur cruise missile were also featured in the parade. Various aeroplanes belonging to Army Aviation and Pakistan Air Force also demonstrated aerobatic feats for the audience present. Combat and attack helicopters also demonstrated their skills. Skydivers of airborne units from the three armed forces demonstrated their ability to jump, with the national flag and the flags of the three services. Subsequently, the parade showcased local cultures of the four provinces. Cultural delegates and floats from Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir were featured during the ceremony. The Pakistan Day parade had resumed in 2015 after a gap of seven years and was seen as a manifestation of the military's show of strength in the wake of a shocking attack in 2014 on the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar, which left 150 dead, including 132 schoolchildren. The day dawned with a 31-gun salute in Islamabad while provincial capitals welcomed the day with 21-gun salutes. Special prayers were offered in mosques after Fajr prayers for the progress, prosperity and solidarity of the country and national flag was hoisted at all major government buildings. Change of guard ceremonies were held at the mausoleums of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah in Karachi and Dr Allama Iqbal in Lahore. Air Commodore Syed Sabahat Hasan was the chief guest at the ceremony held at Iqbal's mausoleum in Lahore where Pakistan Airforce troops took over guard duty. Surface flooding is being reported around Tauranga this morning. Heavy rain has been pummelling the region for about 30 minutes. A SunLive reader emailed in with photos of huge flood puddles at Otumoetai Intermediate. "My son Will got soaked to the skin dropping lunch it to the office for our Japanese student who left it at home this morning," says Trudi Waters. The MetService is forecasting a risk of Friday afternoon thunderstorms with heavy rain from Northland down to northern Waikato, and in Taranaki, while most of the rest of the country has rain or showers to close out the week. Saturday is looking unsettled for most of the country, but Sunday could be a nice day for many, with the forecast for the east of the South Island particularly sunny. Some of the roughest weather on Thursday was in the centre of the country, with Nelson Airport getting 79mm of rain, Wainuiomata 48mm, Lower Hutt 42mm and Farewell Spit 41mm. Cooptown on Banks Peninsula was also wet, with nearly 62mm of rain. MetService expects the top of the South Island to stay wet on Friday, with rain for Buller, Nelson and Marlborough, Some falls could be heavy, and in Buller and western Nelson thundery from afternoon. Gisborne and Hawkes Bay look to have the best chance of staying dry on Friday, although even those areas have a chance of showers. In Auckland, a few showers are forecast to develop during the morning, and theres a chance they could be heavy and thundery from afternoon. The temperature is expected to get to 22 degrees Celsius. Saturday in the countrys largest city is expected to have a few showers, some of which could be heavy with thunderstorms. Sunday is expected to start with rain but its hoped those will ease. Southerlies will keep Wellington cool on Friday, with a high of just 16C expected. Morning rain is expected to clear. Some rain is forecast for the capital on Saturday, but hopefully not too much, while northerlies should warm things up a bit. After early showers, Sunday is forecast to be mainly fine. Friday will be even cooler in Christchurch, where the top temperature is forecast to be just 13C, and there could be some rain. Saturday in the South Islands main centre is expected to warm up to 19C, and rain is forecast to clear to showers in the morning. A sunny 22C is forecast for Sunday. - Stuff Rubbish bags dumped at the end of roads in the Western Bay will be on dob-in-a-dumper watch. There is a particular problem in the District where people dump pre-paid rubbish bags on rural roads. Western Bay of Plenty District Council is urging residents to dob in dumpers by taking car registration numbers and photos of the culprits. Council has had enough and is aiming to identify and fine those partaking in this particularly nasty habit up to $500 under the Litter Act. Environmental Solid Waste Team Leader Ilze Kruis says people are leaving bags throughout the week, which become unsightly, smelly and are often ripped apart and spread around by dogs. Often these dumping hot spots are by school bus stops and other well used intersections. It creates a huge mess, can be a danger to road users, and is unsafe and unsanitary. Hot spots around the District include the corner of Rocky Cutting and Welcome Bay roads; at the school bus shelter at the end of Waitao Road in Welcome Bay; Neewood Road Ohauiti, Mountain Road in Oropi and Work Roads near Katikati. Signs will be erected at hot spots warning against illegally dumping and where possible surveillance cameras will be used. Were unsure if people are just unaware that they cant place pre-paid bags here or are deliberately dumping their rubbish because its easier than waiting for their pick-up day or driving to a transfer station. For this reason were looking for help to identify recidivist rubbish dumpers. Pre-paid rubbish bags can only be placed directly outside the gate of the property where the rubbish is generated. If your home does not have kerbside collection please make arrangements with a door-to-door contractor or take your rubbish to a transfer station in Te Maunga, Tauranga or Waihi. To dob in a dumper email Customer Service Customer.Service@westernbay.govt.nz or phone 0800 Trashy. Bay of Plenty Do you want the opportunity to work on one of the busiest ports in New Zealand? Then read on! We have an exciting role for... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz Grace Hospital continued its 20 year support of Life Education Trust Western Bay of Plenty Region when it presented a new vehicle to educator Michael Chemis. The Life Education lessons are presented in two mobile classrooms, which are transported to schools between Katikati and Otamarakau, by local transport companies. The two educators and the programmes lovable mascot Harold the Giraffe need transport to get from school to school, and Grace Hospital provides one vehicle and covers the running costs, as its contribution to Life Education in the Western Bay of Plenty. Life Education WBOP Region chairperson Sue Boyne is grateful for the ongoing support of Grace Hospital. We receive no government funding, and must raise over $120,000 each year through grant funding, donations, sponsorship and fund raising, to keep the programme running, she says. The support of our major sponsors such as Grace Hospital makes a huge difference to our organisation it means we can continue to provide the Life Education programme to over 12,000 children at primary and intermediate schools throughout the Western Bay of Plenty. Grace Hospital General Manager Janet Keys says the hospital is delighted to assist the Life Education Trust with the donation of a new vehicle. We look forward to the continued success of the programme which provides valuable support to the development of healthy children in our community. Bermuda To Regulate Initial Coin Offerings by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington 23 March 2018 Bermuda's Premier and Minister of Finance, David Burt, told the island's parliament last week that his government will shortly release a draft Bill to regulate initial coin offerings (ICOs) in Bermuda. ICOs are a new and innovative method of crowdfunding businesses, providing an alternative funding model to traditional financing such as commercial lending, venture capital investment, and initial public offerings. Under the proposed bill, an ICO will be treated as a restricted business activity requiring consent from the Minister of Finance. To secure consent, certain information will need to be provided, including specific details of the ICO operator, information on the key features of the underlying digital assets being offered through the ICO, the target amount to be raised, information on how purchaser data will be collected and stored, and information on how ICO transactions will be monitored and audited. The draft Bill will also include minimum public disclosure standards applicable to all ICOs. These include mandatory disclosure of certain information related to the issuing company, and the digital asset being offered for sale. Burt said other regulatory laws will continue to apply and be enforceable to ICOs, including Bermuda's securities laws. While acknowledging there is concern within Bermuda about digital assets such as Bitcoin, and that governments around the world are wrestling with ever-growing threats related to these new products, Burt said the island cannot remain in its "comfort zone" and miss out on an opportunity to be a world leader in an emerging industry. He said embracing this new technology with carefully measured regulation could lead to significant benefits for Bermuda, including attracting new companies and capital investment, additional government revenue, and new career, employment, and training opportunities for Bermudians. British Columbia Announces Tax Breaks For Gas Investors by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington 23 March 2018 British Columbia is to offer a provincial sales tax (PST) exemption to a proposed new liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. The Government is in discussions with LNG Canada on a project that, if approved, would be the largest private-sector investment in the province's history. It would see the construction of a natural gas pipeline from northeast British Columbia to Kitimat, where a new terminal would process and ship LNG to Asian markets. The Government has announced a new fiscal framework for LNG that is designed to put natural gas development on a level playing field with other industrial sectors. Under the new framework, the Government will exempt LNG Canada from the PST on the construction of its initial proposed facility. This will be conditional on LNG Canada entering into a separate agreement with the province, whereby LNG Canada will pay annual operating performance payments over 20 years, with the total amount to be equivalent to what LNG Canada would have otherwise paid in PST during the initial facility construction period. This framework will be available to all proponents constructing significant manufacturing facilities in the province. The Government will abolish the existing LNG income tax regime, which it said is not the most efficient or effective tool for generating investment in the province and is cumbersome to administer. The Government intends to instead utilize a number of other tax and royalty measures under the new fiscal framework, to ensure that the province gets a fair return from its natural gas resources. British Columbia Premier John Horgan said: "No premier or government can dismiss this kind of critical economic opportunity for the people of British Columbia." "The LNG Canada proposal has the potential to earn tens of billions of dollars and create thousands of jobs for British Columbians over the life of the project." The Government expects the project to fit within the goals of the province's climate change plan and its legislated greenhouse gas reduction targets. LNG Canada is a joint venture company comprised of four global energy companies Shell, PetroChina, KOGAS, and Mitsubishi Corporation. The company was formed in 2011. A Final Investment Decision was planned for late 2016, but LNG Canada said that the global energy market and the affordability of the project in that context prevented that decision being taken. The company's website said that the project has been delayed but has not been cancelled. IMF Proposes Growth-Friendly Tax Reforms For Italy by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels 23 March 2018 Italy should shift the tax burden from labor towards consumption and property, in particular by lowering social security contributions and broadening the value-added tax base, a new International Monetary Fund working paper says. The report suggests that Italy's economic potential is being hampered by a high tax burden on labor, a relatively narrow tax base, and poor tax collection mechanisms for tax debts. It proposed that Italy should reduce the value-added tax gap the amount that goes uncollected due to policy choices, avoidance, errors, and evasion by limiting reduced rates and tackling non-compliance. The headline VAT rate should also be hiked, it said. More broadly, the report recommended that Italy should rein in tax breaks, including by reintroducing the property tax on primary residences. It said Italy should legislate to ensure that it can tax capital gains from offshore indirect transfers of assets. Finally, to improve Italy's competitiveness, the country should enhance the Allowance for Corporate Equity (ACE) regime and make the relief more attractive for start-ups, the paper said, adding that Italy should abolish the intellectual property box regime and make the research and development tax credit permanent. Norway Proposes Sharing Economy Tax Reporting by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels 23 March 2018 The Norwegian Government has begun a consultation on proposed new reporting requirements for online platforms in the sharing economy. The proposal, which follows up the publication of recommendations by the Government's sharing economy committee in 2017, would require online platforms enabling the provision of sharing economy services and the rental of property to provide "tax relevant" information about the service provider or landlord to the tax administration. According to the Finance Ministry, the measures would apply across the entire sharing economy, and not just to platforms that provide short-term property rentals as was originally envisaged. According to Minister of Finance Siv Jensen, the proposal "will make it easier for service providers and landlords in the sharing economy to pay the right tax, and will contribute to a level playing field for business." The consultation exercise is due to close on June 1, 2018. 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. With so many auto manufacturers moving toward electric and hybrid vehicles, the question of what to do with older batteries that have reduced storage levels has become more pressing. Nissan, together with its affiliate 4R Energy Corporation, has come up with a use for these second-life batteries: powering streetlamps. The 13.7-foot-tall Reborn Light contains an old battery in its base repurposed from EVs such as the Nissan Leaf and features solar panels on top. As they run off-grid, theres no need for cables or outlets, and they can continue working in areas where natural disasters might have knocked out the regions power supply. A trial of a prototype Reborn Light is set to take place this weekend in Namie, a town that was heavily affected by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that led to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Should everything go to plan, a full-scale rollout is expected sometime in 2018. The Japanese company said other locations, including those that have never been lit before, could receive the lights. Still today, 17 percent of the worlds population live without electricity, it explains on its website. Reused EV battery and lighting have the potential to change the lives of people in Japan and the world. Even when batteries no longer serve to power cars, they can be reborn to keep serving humans. The batteries potential isnt limited to lighting; they could also be used to generate electricity in homes and buildings, instead of relying on a power plant. Other ideas from Nissan see them used in portable booths where people can charge their phones, and in parks where the movements of children playing on swings and slides is transferred into energy for the batteries, which are then used to light the area at night. Other car makers, including BMW, GM, and Renault have launched projects that use old EV batteries for energy storage purposes. In 2016, BMW used 2,600 EV battery modules from 100 vehicles to build a 2.8-MWh storage system in Hamburg. The Cuban President recalled that the July 11 destabilization attempts were preceded by an anti-revolutionary campaign led by the United States through social media. | Read More Thailands largest solar energy company, Superblock Pcl, plans to invest 56 billion baht ($1.76 billion) to install 700 megawatts (MW) of wind farms in Vietnam, the companys Chairman Jormsup Lochaya told Reuters. The first phase of the investment will cost 20.7 billion baht and consist of three near-shore farms with 142 MW of capacity in Bac Lieu province, 98 MW in Soc Trang province and 100 MW in Ca Mau province, all in southern Vietnam, said Jormsup. Construction has already begun and Jormsup expects the sites to be operating by 2020. The second phase of 360 MW of capacity will also be built in those three provinces and construction will begin when the first phase concludes, he said. Vietnams young population, growing economy and industries will increase power consumption in the country by 10 percent annually, making it an important market, Jormsup said. Vietnam wants to meet that demand with less air pollution, he said, citing Thailands own problems with pollution. This week Bangkok had an air pollution problem, Jormsup said, referring to a spike in pollutants in the city. Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi have similar problems and the Vietnamese want clean and cheap energy this is driving renewable energy growth, he said, adding that costs are much lower and that Vietnamese government policy on renewables is clear. Vietnam currently has wind power capacity of 140 MW, with a goal to reach 6,000 MW by 2030, according to government data. Financing for the Vietnam projects will come from its turnkey partner, a state-owned Chinese construction company, and the sites will be built on land leased for 49 years. The area is near existing transmission lines, the remnants of a cancelled coal-fired power project, he said. Jormsup said Superblock was considering additional investment in a 50 MW solar farm in Vietnam and would make a full decision by the second quarter of this year. Next to Vietnam, Jormsup said Superblock plans to expand wind and solar capacity, in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. It is targeting revenue growth of 25 percent each year and to have overseas revenue contributions climb to 20 percent to 30 percent. We want to be a regional player, he said, adding the company was considering acquisitions in renewable companies in Southeast Asia and Source link The Bank of Thailand (BOT) asked financial institutions not to get involved in cryptocurrency transactions for fear of possible problems from the unregulated trading, Reuters translated. Mr. Wisit Santiprabop, the central banks governor, signed the circular which outlines five key cryptocurrency activities banks are banned from: Investing or trading in cryptocurrency, exchanging cryptocurrencies, creating platforms for cryptocurrency trading, allowing clients to use credit cards to buy cryptocurrencies, and from advising customers on cryptocurrency investing or trading. According to Thai Central Bank, BoT is not an appropriate organization to regulate virtual currencies as they do not recognize them as a legal tender. The securities watchdog Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seen as the most appropriate authority to oversee cryptocurrencies in Thailand. The central bank said cryptocurrencies were not legal tender in Thailand and it was worried that they may be used in illegal activities such as money laundering or supporting terrorism. Bitcoin thief Sergey Sergeyevich Medvedev, a Russian national and co-founder of Infraud, has been arrested in Bangkok on Feb. 13 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). At his time of arrest, the cybercrime expert had in his possession more than 100,000 Bitcoins. Infraud; a dark-web marketplace, was seized and taken offline by U.S authorities. The website was a one-stop-shop for cybercriminals. Medvedev fled the country to Thailand six years ago but was arrested with the help of Thai authorities on Feb 2nd. Thailands Crime Suppression Division (CSD) raided Mr. Medvedevs apartment with 30 officers and seized various documents and a laptop. The Bangkok Post reported, judging by the evidence obtained during the Feb 2 raid, he had more than 100,000 Bitcoin. At the time of the arrest, the stolen Bitcoin would be worth around $900 million USD. Ms. Prasanee Auiyamaphan, a Bangkok Bank Executive Assistant, was quoted by Voice TV saying that the bank has no policy to provide [crypto] exchange services, emphasizing that cryptocurrencies cannot be exchanged for cash at her bank. Mr. Thana Thienachariya, Senior Executive VP and Chief Marketing Officer at Siam Commercial Bank said that its subsidiary, Digital Ventures Co. Ltd., has previously formed a strategic alliance with Ripple to offer a payment service between Japan and Thailand. He added that his bank will be discussing this issue with the central bank. Mr. Thakorn Piyapan, Head of Krungsri Consumer Group and an executive of Digital Banking and Innovation at Bank of Ayudhya said, although the bank will use the transfer service across the country through Ripple, it is cooperating with the BOT and does not provide any [cryptocurrency] services at all. Last week, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) published data showing a surge in the use of mobile and internet banking in Thailand. Thai consumers rising preference for digital transactions is credit positive and demonstrates the initial success of Thai banks digital strategies, which eventually will allow banks to rationalize their branch networks and improve cost efficiency. Mobile banking transactions is increasing rapidly Over time, the widespread use of digital banking channels also will allow banks to increase revenue by expanding their product offerings via digital banking channels beyond current transactional products. The volume of internet and mobile banking transactions continues to expand at a rapid pace (see Exhibit 1) as both internet and mobile penetration improve in Thailand. Mobile and internet banking accounted for 33% of total payment transaction volume for the first nine months of 2017, a marked increase from 8% in 2010. In value terms, mobile and internet banking accounted for THB23.4 trillion in the first nine months of 2017, a 22% compounded annual increase in value since 2010. Thailands banks increasing focus on digital strategies Thailands increased usage of digital banking channels since 2015 reflects banks increasing focus on digital strategies. Kasikornbank Public Company Limited (KBank, Baa1 stable, baa21 ) in 2014 began investing around THB480 million annually to enhance its digital banking services. As of year-end 2017, KBank had 7.3 million users on its mobile banking channel, recording around 3 billion transactions during the year, a tenfold increase from 2014. This year, Bank of Ayudhya (BAY, Baa1 stable, ba1) said that it would invest THB20 billion to develop its technology infrastructure and digital banking platform. Siam Commercial Bank Public Company Limited (SCB, Baa1 stable, baa2) last year planned to invest THB40 billion to enhance its digital banking capability. We expect the volume of digital banking channel transactions to continue increasing. The shift to online transactions provides Thai banks an opportunity to rationalize their branch networks, thereby extracting operational cost efficiencies. Exhibit 3 shows the number of commercial bank branches decreasing to 6,826 as of 30 September 2017 from a peak of 7,061 branches as of 30 December 2015. Concomitantly, the banks annualized cost-to-income ratios declined to less than 52% as of the end of September 2017 from 54% in 2015. In January, SCB announced plans to reduce its traditional branches to 400 from 1,153 by 2020, while BAY said it will transform half of its traditional branches into digital or hybrid-digital platforms. BAY expects its investment in IT to result in a 10%-15% decline in operating costs over the next three years. Rebaca Tan, Analyst, Financial Institutions Group, Moodys Investors Service Swiss private banking group Julius Baer and Thailands Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) signed agreement to establish a wealth management joint venture (JV) focused on bringing relevant and impactful advice and solutions to the growing Thai private banking market. At inception, Julius Baer will hold 40 per cent in the joint venture, with an option to increase to 49 per cent over time, it said in an announcement. The cooperation complements SCBs existing private banking capabilities whilst opening access for Julius Baer to the fast-growing Thai wealth management market, it said. The JV will operate via domestic and international companies in Thailand and Singapore, respectively. Thailands overall wealth market is estimated to be around $300 billion, with a rapidly growing population of high net worth individuals of approximately 30,000, according to the BCG Global Wealth Report 2017. Not only is wealth growing in Thailand, the demand for sophisticated wealth management services and global investment strategies is also expanding quickly. SCB has been serving wealthy clients since 1907 with over $23 billion of assets under management. The bank has more than 13 million clients across Thailand and is listed on the stock exchange of Thailand, with a current market capitalization of around $15 billion. This partnership is our first international move under the new Going Upside Down strategy where a new banking platform is developed and introduced. With a long-term strategic partnership structure with SCB, Julius Baer is committed to dedicating their resources to Thai clients, allowing us to deploy their full international wealth management capabilities into Thai market like never before, said Arthid Nanthawithaya, President and Chief Executive Officer, Siam Commercial Bank. Julius Baer is the principal operating company of Julius Baer Group Ltd., whose shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, with assets under management amounting to CHF388 billion as of end of 2017. Headquartered in Zurich, the bank is present in over 25 countries and more than 50 locations. Source link DEALSTREETASIA Pte. Ltd. is a news and intelligence platform providing reports on investments, mergers, acquisitions, private equity, venture capital, investment banking and the business of startups across the Asian region. On March 9th 2018, Mrs. Chantavarn Sucharitakul, Assistant Governor, Corporate Strategy and Relations Group, Bank of Thailand announced that The Ministry of Finance of Japan and the Bank of Thailand signed the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) for the Establishment of a Framework for Cooperation to Promote the Use of Local Currencies. This MoC aims to promote the use of local currencies for trade and investment settlement of both countries, which includes, among others, promotion of the direct exchange rate quotation and interbank trading between the Japanese Yen and the Thai Baht. This cooperation will be enhanced through information sharing and periodical discussions between Japanese and Thai authorities. This collaboration marks a key milestone in strengthening bilateral financial cooperation between Japan and Thailand. The authorities believe that it will positively contribute to closer trade and investment ties between the two countries. Under the scope of this MoC, the following 9 commercial banks will cooperate with the Bank of Thailand by providing the direct exchange rate quotation and promoting foreign exchange transactions in Japanese Yen and Thai Baht in the inter-bank markets as well as trade with their customers. Bangkok Bank Public Company Ltd. Krung Thai Bank Public Company Ltd. Bank of Ayudhya Public Company Ltd. Kasikornbank Public Company Ltd. Siam Commercial Bank Public Company Ltd. CIMB Thai Bank Public Company Ltd. Mizuho Bank, Ltd. Bangkok Branch Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Standard Chartered Bank (Thai) Public Company Ltd. Bank of Thailand 9 March 2018 Joint Press Release https://www.bot.or.th/Thai/PressandSpeeches/Press/News2561/JointPressE_MOFJ_BOT.pdf Vietnams largest brewer, Sabeco, will aim to grow its share of the home market from around 40% to 50% on the strength of new owner Thai Beverages retail network, executives from the Thai company said Friday. Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage Corp. held its first corporate meeting here following the $4.8 billion acquisition by its Thai rival, known for Chang beer, in December. Executives at the Thai group addressed Sabeco employees for the first time as the majority shareholder. ThaiBev is the flagship business of TCC Group, led by Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, the self-made billionaire widely regarded as Thailands king of mergers and acquisitions. Koh Poh Tiong, chairman of board executive committee of Singapore-based Fraser and Neave, another beverage maker under TCC Group, told the gathering that Sabeco products will be delivered all across Vietnam, leveraging the Thai groups existing retail network of supermarkets and convenience stores. Koh also said the groups backing will help Sabeco expand beyond beer into such markets as soft drinks and spirits. He also stated his ambition to tap regional markets such as Thailand and Singapore on the back of the groups hotel network. At the meeting in Ho Chi Minh City, a source from Sabeco told the Nikkei Asian Review that the company will hold its annual general meeting within the next four months to appoint new board members. As ThaiBev now has more than 53% ownership, TCC Group intends to raise its number of board members from four to around 10. New management will be decided. Sabeco Chairman Vo Thanh Ha set out the brewers targets for 2018. The company aims to lift its domestic market share to 42% and boost output to 1.84 billion liters, up from 1.78 billion liters in 2017. It targets revenue of 39.3 trillion dong ($1.73 billion) and net profit of 4.9 Source link The Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) has set an investment application target of 720,000 million baht for 2018 after closing the year 2017 with a total investment application value of 641,978 million 22 per cent increase from 2016, according to Ms. Duangjai Asawachintachit, BOIs Secretary General. The new target number was announced after a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Somkid Jatusripitak, who shared the governments investment promotion policy with BOIs executives. We want BOI to continue to give more weight to agriculture, food, digital, logistics, education, tourism, and services industries in 2018 because they are vital to economic growth, Deputy Prime Minister said. This will cover all value chains related to agricultural activities and tourism services. Sounding a similar note, Dr. Kobsak Pootrakul, Minister Attached to the Office of Prime Minister, explained that last year the government completed several tasks aimed at facilitating increased investments, including the amendment of major laws. Infrastructural foundations were also laid out to support EEC, which is designed to be the future economic hub of the region. Investment incentives were revised to become more attractive in response to the global economic recovery trend that began late last year. Looking ahead into 2018, Mr. Pootrakul said that markets in the United States and Europe were likely to become more active this year. He noted that the Prime Ministers visit to the US late last year helped strengthen the relations between the two countries and generated new opportunities for bilateral investments and trade. In line with such recommendations, BOI plans to organize international roadshows to targeted countries and territories such as Japan, China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Europe with the aim of familiarizing investors in those markets with the governments investment policy. The Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) is warning auto parts supply chain players to prepare for the transition to next-generation cars, saying some components will no longer be necessary for electric vehicles (EVs). Exhaust pipes and engines; for example, are installed in cars with internal combustion engines but are not needed in EVs. Research director Kirida Bhaopichitr said manufacturers need to adjust going forward. In particular, Tier 2 and Tier 3 manufacturers are expected to be affected. The industry will gradually change 10 years from now and some companies will not survive, Ms Kirida said. But the supply chain for automakers or the Tier 1 level can withstand the transition because they will develop new technology in line with the industry. She said Toyotas suppliers in Thailand are preparing new components for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). Toyota was granted Board of Investment privileges for the EV scheme last year, with total investment hitting 19 billion baht. Toyota plans to assemble 7,000 HEVs a year and make 70,000 batteries for EVs, as well as other parts such as doors, bumpers and axles, totalling 9.1 million units. The governments drive towards nextgeneration cars will also affect the automotive industry, Ms Kirida said. The EV project was approved last March, covering the new production of HEVs, plugin hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Honda and Mazda also announced a joint effort to make HEVs, while MercedesBenz and BMW plan to increase PHEV assembly capacity in Thailand. A source from the automotive research house said two Japanese firms Nissan and Suzuki are expected to join the HEV scheme. Ms Kirida said EVs fall under the 10 targeted S-curve industries in the governments Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project. She said the EEC is expected to be one of the main economic engines driving Thailands economy over the next 7-10 years. After the Eastern Seaboard Development Program was kicked off in 1982, Thailand did not initiate any new [megaprojects], Ms Kirida said. That led to a decline in private sector investment in subsequent years. Private sector investment accounted for roughly 15% of the countrys GDP, but the Thai economy is relying mainly on exports (60-65% of GDP) and tourism (20%). She said Thailands EEC project will see competition from China, which is upgrading its production capacity through the Made in China 2025 programme. Chinas policy is focused on building domestic firms in high-tech industries that are globally competitive and similar to the EECs targeted industries. China was the top car producer with 28.1 million units in 2016, while Thailand ranked 12th with 1.94 million cars. This article is written by Piyachart Maikaew and first published in Bangkok Post on Wednesday, January 31, 2018. Source link The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a loan equivalent of up to $235 million with Thailands B.Grimm Power to develop renewable energy capacity in a number of Southeast Asian countries. According to an official ADB release, the financing will support B.Grimm Power in its implementation of the ASEAN Distributed Power Project, which looks to expand its renewable power generation and distribution to new regional markets, including Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The development of renewable energy in Southeast Asia is critical to meet its energy needs and B.Grimm Power is at the forefront of the regions fast growing alternative energy sector, said Michael Barrow, Director General of ADBs Private Sector Operations Department. The financing comes after ADB picked up a $57.7-million equity stake in B.Grimm Power in July 2017 as part of the latters initial public offering. (IPO). The proceeds were earmarked to fund the power firms 114MW of solar projects and 16MW of wind power in Thailand as well as renewable energy projects in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. B.Grimm Power, which is a subsidiary of the 140-year old conglomerate B.Grimm Group, currently has a total capacity of 1,779 MW. It operates 13 gas-fired plants, with four more under development or construction. The companys capacity is expected to increase by over 50 per cent to 2,500 megawatts (MW) by 2022, while the renewable energy share in its portfolio will rise from 10 per cent to 30 per cent. Southeast Asia is a huge market for power generators given the projected surge in the regions energy demand of more than 8 per cent annually between 2009 to 2030. According to The International Renewable Energy Agency, Thailand is currently the regions leader in solar power use, having broken into the top 15 globally in 2016, with a capacity of more than 3,000 MW. The intergovernmental organization says it expects Southeast Asian countries to meet the target 23 per cent share in the regions primary energy mix by 2025. ADB has been active in Southeast Asia of late, announcing a partnership with Cambodian state-run energy utility Electricite Du Cambodge (EDC) last year to set up a 100MW national solar park programme. It has also provided financial assistance to Source link DEALSTREETASIA Pte. Ltd. is a news and intelligence platform providing reports on investments, mergers, acquisitions, private equity, venture capital, investment banking and the business of startups across the Asian region. Since 2017, the Thai government has explored plans to connect the EEC to OBOR Initiative. which aims to create trade connections between Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe. Thailand said a US$44 billion plan to add infrastructure and upgrade industry on its eastern seaboard can link up with Chinas Belt and Road Initiative, as part of a push to encourage economic growth. The US$44 billion EEC is expected to turn Thailands Eastern provinces into a trade and industry hub creating as much as 100,000 jobs a year by 2020. The majority jobs will be in the manufacturing and service industry. Investors will also receive favourable conditions under the EEC. The EEC plan covers Rayong, Chachoengsao and Chonburi provinces. Under the project, Thailand will aim to take on Singapores dominance in aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul as part of a US$5.7 billion upgrade of U-Tapao International Airport. The Thai government has given approval for a 220-kilometre high speed train project worth 200-billion baht to link three airports as part of the development of its eastern economic corridor (EEC). The approval was passed by the Eastern Economic Corridor Policy Committee chaired by Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday (Feb 26). The high speed rail network project will connect three main airports, Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi and U-Tapao Rayong-Pattaya International Airport, spanning a distance of 220 kilometres. The project gained impetus after U-tapao airport in Ban Chang district of Rayong was upgraded to become the 3rd international airport in the country. Connectivity is essential for both plans Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha delivered his national address on 12 May 2017 and said that Thailand needs to develop infrastructure with China to facilitate connectivity. A high-speed China-Thailand railway under OBOR is under construction and will be the first high-speed railway in Thailand. The railway will connect Thailand to Laos and Kunming in China. Submarine cables will connect Bangkok with Hong Kong and mainland China. This extensive connectivity will boost tourism and attract investment. The US$125 billion OBOR is a mega infrastructure project. It involves 70 countries and international organisations. It will strengthen bilateral trading ties between China and Thailand. It will also help boost cultural exchanges. Since 2013 when President Xi Jinping first outlined the One Belt One Road initiative, it has attracted a huge amount of attention in the business community. But little is known about what it means in concrete, commercial terms, whether within or beyond China. One Belt One Road (OBOR) is an initiative which aims to improve and create new trade routes, links and business opportunities with China, passing through more than 60 countries along the way, across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It is also described as a sort of upgraded version of the original Silk Road, established more than 2,000 years ago : a vast network of trade routes that promoted exchange between Asia, Africa, and Europe. One Belt, or One Road ? Just to be clear : the Belt is actually designed to be a road, but the Road is actually a sea route In short, the One Belt component t is a land route designed to connect China with Central Asia, Eastern and Western Europe. It will link China with the Mediterranean Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Middle East, South Asia and South-East Asia The oddly named One Road component is a sort of 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road that runs from China east coast to Europe passing through the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. Thailand to integrate the Eastern Economic Corridor with Chinas One Belt One Road Initiative For some, its the bottom line wealth. Money isnt everything, but company leaders who have built businesses with soaring share prices have created something that everyone wants to buy into, so it makes sense that they command respect. But we also live in fast-changing times where new technologies are disrupting established businesses, so many of us look to the leaders of high-tech companies to see where the future is heading. Social change, too, is reflected in the changing nature of business leadership, as a new generation of female entrepreneurs break glass ceilings and shake up boardrooms. Here are some of the most influential people in business right now. Drawn from the ranks of the wealthy, the tech-savvy and female rising stars, they represent the pinnacle of company leadership and offer a few signs of where its future may lie. The rich list There are many ways of measuring business success, but money can never be ignored. Just one decision from billionaire business leaders can transform the course of entire industries. Their influence is undeniable. So who is topping the rich list for 2017? In recent months the crown has been passed back and forth between Microsoft founder and global philanthropist Bill Gates and the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, as the share prices of their respective companies fluctuated. Bezos now has an estimated net worth of more than $90 billion. Not bad for a man whose first job was spending summers repairing tractors. After studying at Princeton, Bezos worked on Wall Street on finance software before quitting to sell books online from a Seattle garage in 1994. It was a risky move, but with Amazon now dominating the online retail market and capturing 53 per cent of its growth, he said at the recent Summit Series tech conference: If it failed, I would be very proud when I was 80 that I tried. Bezos also has interests in media, buying The Washington Post in 2013 for $250 million. With a passion for space, he is developing a reusable rocket capable of carrying passengers, through his aerospace company Blue Origin. Self-made retail billionaire Amancio Ortega, who founded the renowned fast-fashion brand Zara, has also graced the top spot momentarily in recent years. Born in 1936 in the town of Busdongo de Arbas in Spain, the entrepreneur quit school at the age of 14 to work as an errand boy for a clothing shop. He later founded Inditex, which is now the worlds largest clothing retailer. As well as Zara, the company owns eight other retail brands and operates more than 7,000 stores across the world, with an annual revenue of $25.7 billion as of January 2017. Not content with owning 59 per cent of Inditex, Ortega also owns premium office and retail properties worldwide, including one of the tallest skyscrapers in Spain. Despite his wealth and influence in the retail market, he is known for being immensely private and understated, eating lunch with his employees in the company cafeteria every day. Serial investor Warren Buffett and Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg complete the top five for 2017. After the death of Liliane Bettencourt, the heiress of LOreal, in September, Alice Walton, the daughter of Wal Marts founder Sam Walton, is now the richest woman in the world, with an estimated net worth of $33.8bn. Disruptive techpreneurs Since technology is driving business growth, its not surprising that some of the worlds richest are also those behind the worlds biggest tech companies, including Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook. But perhaps no one is more able to capture the imagination with his ambition and showmanship than Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla. The South African-born entrepreneur started his first tech company in 1995, before starting the company that would become PayPal in 1999. The payoff from that investment has helped him to spearhead new business ventures in space and automotive technology ever since. Worth an estimated $20.8 billion, he states his goals as reaching beyond business success to achieving global sustainability and making human life on other planets possible. A far more low-key figure, yet no less influential, is Googles current CEO, Sundar Pichai. Born in Chennai, southeast India, he spent the early years of his life without mod cons like a refrigerator. After studying engineering, a scholarship at Stanford, supported by a years worth of family savings, launched him into Silicon Valley. He started a job at Google in 2004, playing a crucial role in the creation of the Chrome browser. After the companys founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, moved across to Googles parent company Alphabet, Pichai picked up the top job. Having already overseen seven products in his tenure as CEO and announced a shift in approach from mobile first to artificial intelligence first, his leadership will set the course of one the worlds biggest tech giants. Speaking with The Guardian recently, he said: We want to democratise technology. Once everybody has access to a computer and connectivity, then search works the same, whether you are a Nobel laureate or just a kid with a computer. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who is forging new directions beyond Windows in cool devices and cloud services, and Reed Hastings, Netflix co-founder and CEO, are also key influencers in the tech sphere. And the next generation of rising stars are hot on their heels, such as Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel, who became the youngest leader of a public company in early 2017. Women of the business world The last 20 years has seen significant progress in womens rights and in the developed world. But that success hasnt yet closed the gap in boardroom positions. That means those who succeed naturally become figureheads for a wider movement of social change, not just for their industries. Among them is Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, one of the most influential women in the world. After serving as Chief of Staff to the Treasury Secretary in Bill Clintons government and working at Google, she became COO of Facebook in 2008, overseeing the social networks business operations. In 2012 Sandberg became the eighth member of the Facebook board of directors, and the first woman. Her bestselling book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead sparked a movement in gender equality and womens empowerment in the workplace. She is now worth over $1 billion. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki is also a force to be reckoned with and a powerful advocate for gender equality. She was hired as Googles 16th employee in 1999, starting out as the search engines first marketing manager, and later led all marketing and commerce. Under her guidance, Google acquired the video platform YouTube in 2006 for $1.65 billion. She has been CEO since February 2014, and the company is now worth an estimated $90 billion. With Silicon Valley coming under scrutiny for its boys club atmosphere, she wrote: Tech CEOs need to make gender diversity a personal priority. In 2004, Mary Barra shook up another male-dominated industry when she rose to the position of CEO of General Motors, where she has impressed with decisive action and a clear strategic vision. Last year, the company posted its biggest sales increase in years and the stock has grown by 25 per cent in 12 months. In a world where a new idea concocted in a basement can disrupt whole industries, there is no room for complacency for those who want to stay relevant in business. These company leaders may be at the forefront of wealth, innovation and social change now, but who knows who will be leading the charge tomorrow? The post Todays most influential people in business appeared first on Work Hong Kong. Source link Consumers confidence Index (CCI) for the month of January increased to 80.0 from 79.2 a month earlier, representing the highest for the past 36 months. Mr Thanawat Pholvichai, director of the economic and business forecast centre of University of Chamber of Commerce, said Monday that CCI increased steadily for the last six months to 80.0 in January the highest for the past 36 months. He attributed the steady rise of CCI to anticipation that the GDP for this year would be 4.2 percent and exports to grow by about 5 percent,with tourist arrivals for this year estimated at 37 million. However, Mr Thanawat warned about the negative factors from cost of living and baht appreciation which could hinder export growth. Driven by tourism and export growth, Thai economy for the month of December continued to expand from a month earlier, said Mr Don Nakorntap, senior director of macro-economics of the Bank of Thailand, said on Wednesday. For the month of December, he said that export grew 9.3 percent while the number of incoming tourists for the same month increased 15.5 percent from Novembers figure, especially tourists from China and Malaysia whereas more tourists from Russia were also reported. Mr Don said export and tourism would be the key players to further drive the economy this year which is in line with the trend of economic recovery abroad. However, he added that the role of the two players would decline somewhat this year and replaced by domestic consumption which is expected to pick up while government spending Source link Already a significant player in the real estate space, sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are set to further increase their allocation to real estate. Preferred sectors include core office and retail assets as well as open-ended funds and listed REITs (real estate investment trusts) with allocations to steadily increase over the foreseeable future. According to PwC, sovereign investors held US$11.3 trillion in 2015, a figure thats predicted to grow to US$15.3 trillion by 2020. In 2015, 59 percent of sovereign wealth funds invested in real estate. By 2017, this share has reached 63 percent. SWFs allocations to alternatives which includes real estate and infrastructure have increased significantly across most portfolios, according to Nick Wilson, from JLLs Asia Pacific Capital Markets Research team, noting that drivers include low correlation to traditional asset classes, such as equities and fixed income, and the potential for high risk-adjusted returns Based on Preqin data, 74 percent of global sovereign wealth funds now invest in at least one alternative asset class with real estate and infrastructure the most favoured asset class. In an August 2017 report, the firm cited alternative assets such as real estate as long-term investments and hence suitably aligned with sovereign wealth funds investment horizons. These funds are also able to afford the illiquidity associated with these types of investments, it said. The shift towards direct investment The report also noted that, while these funds have traditionally relied on external fund managers to help with real estate investments, many are beginning to lead their own direct deals in an effort to boost yields and cut costs. The Government Pension Investment Fund of Japan (GPIF)the worlds largest pool of retirement savings and a relatively new investor in alternative assetsmay follow the same path. In December last year, GPIF picked Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking to manage its holdings in real estate. According to the Nikkei Asian Review, the pension giant will adopt a fund of funds strategy managing funds that invest in other funds for the first time. GPIF is expected to invest up to five percent of its 156 trillion yen (US$1.37 trillion) holdings in alternative assets such as infrastructure projects, private equity and real estate. Among the most recent investments in real estate by a sovereign wealth fund is Norways joint purchase, with Tokyu Fudosan Holdings, of five commercial buildings in Tokyo for around US$1.2 billion. Norges Bank Real Estate Management will pay 92.75 billion yen for its 70 percent interest in the assets while Tokyu Land will acquire the remaining 30 percent interest and manage the properties on behalf of the joint venture, according to a company statement. It is the funds first real estate investment in Asia. While the fund has been active in Asia for some time, it has had difficulties finding suitable real estate assets that meet the strict investment criteria in which the fund operates, according to Wilson. As sovereign wealth funds grow, its likely that their investment in real estate will rise steadily. According to PwC, sovereign investors held US$11.3 trillion in 2015, a figure thats predicted to grow to US$15.3 trillion by 2020. In 2015, 59 percent of sovereign wealth funds invested in real estate. By 2017, this share has reached 63 percent. Sovereign wealth funds get comfortable with real estate investment | The Investor Bangkoks real estate market has witnessed tremendous growth over the last five years. Since 2013, more than 300,000 new condo units have been launched, 1.3 million square metres of new retail space has opened and nearly 800,000 sqm of new office space has completed, not to mention healthy growth in the hospitality and logistics sectors. In 2018, the underlying drivers of the recent growth cycle are changing and creating new challenges for the markets leading players. Property consultancy JLL reveals some of the trends that are shaping the Bangkok real estate market this year. Andrew Gulbrandson, Head of Research at JLL, says Rapidly rising land costs continue to represent a significant challenge for the market today. The recent annual increases around the market of 10-15% per year are pushing developers in new directions. With only a handful of exceptions, it is no longer financially feasible to acquire new freehold land in the city centre for office, hospitality or retail uses. As a result, many investors are seeking opportunities to secure long-term leases for new commercial and hospitality development. Asides from rising land costs, there are numerous other challenges facing investors in certain market sectors, one of which is intensifying competition. To ensure success, and indeed the happiness of shareholders in many cases, market leaders are taking a variety of steps as they pursue growth objectives, says Mr. Gulbrandson. He explains that while the trend of residential developers moving to higher priced products that target both local and foreign buyers with higher liquidity exemplifies the case well, the most prolific growth strategy being adopted by local players is entering into joint venture (JV) partnerships, in many cases with foreign investors. According to JLLs Thailand Property Intelligence Centre, the total value of JV investment has exceeded THB 570 billion since 2013. Entering into such partnerships allows both parties to mutually benefit by diversifying risk and by sharing knowledge and technical resources. Similarly, there has been a substantial wave of new merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in recent years, a total of THB 170 billion since 2013, according to JLL data. Aside from JV and M&A activity, many leading domestic residential developers are actively sourcing new opportunities in non-core market sectors. Examples include Ananda Development launching several new hospitality projects, Origin Property looking to enter both the serviced apartment and office markets, Major Development and Raimon Land announcing noteworthy investments in the office market. A few bold market leaders including Ananda, Sansiri and Central Pattana (CPN) are making strategic inroads in technology and lifestyles brands. Initiatives include establishing supportive ecosystems and corporate venture capital (CVC) teams such as Ananda UrbanTech and SiriVentures aimed largely at growing proptech start-ups and investment in complementary lifestyle products including magazines and hotel operators. At the same time, CPN and Central Group are bolstering their digital capabilities by entering into strategic partnerships with heavyweights like JD.com from China to maintain a competitive edge. As Thai investors seek to diversify, a handful are looking for opportunities outside of Thailand. Investors with strong hospitality experience such as Minor Group, Central Plaza Hotel (Centara) and Singha Estate are likely to continue overseas expansion efforts as are industrial leaders like Amata and Frasers Property. That said we expect that most local players will continue to deploy all of their capital in Thailand, says Mr. Gulbrandson. A snapshot of Bangkoks real estate market outlook for 2018 The Condominium market in Bangkok Bangkoks condominium market will continue to face challenges amid intensifying competition and dwindling mass market domestic investor liquidity. Developers will need to exercise extreme caution when securing new development sites to ensure that the location, product and positioning of each new project is tailored to specific target demographics long gone are the days of selling out within a few days of launch when singular factors such as proximity to BTS or developer brand reputation could propel sales. JLL expects to see residential developers continue to ramp up overseas sales and marketing efforts to buoy new project sales as well as continued investment in other asset classes to diversify risk. The Office market in Bangkok The office market should remain very healthy. At present, vacancy rates are near all-time lows and average rents are at all-time highs. While there are 240,000 sqm of new for-lease space scheduled for delivery in 2018, more than one-third of the space has already been pre-leased and we expect leasing efforts to continue to be successful as most projects are well located and of good quality. While vacancy rates will fluctuate as new supply completes, levels should remain near historic lows. Furthermore, JLL expects that rents will continue increasing at a moderate pace. There has been a handful of new office project announcements in the pipeline for 2018, however the firm does not expect any new large-scale plans to be put forward. The Hospitality market in Thailand Thailand welcomed more than 35 million international tourists in 2017 with official forecasts suggesting an increase to 37-38 million in 2018. With about half of these visitors making their way through Bangkok, record tourism arrivals are supporting all-time high occupancy and average room rates across hotel segments. While nearly 4,000 keys of new supply are scheduled for completion in 2018, the largest number since 2012, we expect continued strong performance in every segment. The Retail market in Thailand The retail market is showing signs of life but challenges remain, particularly burdensome household debt levels. Bright spots include recent healthy rental growth across CPNs shopping centre portfolio, and more broadly, robust same-store sales growth at Big C and 7-Eleven the latter two being key bellwethers of domestic consumer spending. We expect a handful of new greenfield shopping centre announcements in Greater Bangkok in 2018 from leading players like CPN and Siam Future, leveraging opportunities in both fast-growing suburban areas and in underserved urban areas, however we expect a significant portion of investment to continue targeting asset enhancement initiatives. In terms of new supply in 2018, all eyes are on ICONSIAM, the only large-scale retail destination scheduled to open this year. ICONSIAM will not only bring Thailands first Apple Store to market, a destination in its own right, but more importantly, a wide range of cultural destinations equally attractive to Thais and foreign visitors, leaving its performance to be closely watched. Minor Hotels is launching a selection of river cruises replete with the colonial romance of river travel but with a modern twist and bespoke itineraries. Mekong Kingdoms cruises recreates and elevates the concept of river travel with their fleet of five vessels where guests can enjoy first-class services from gourmet meals to plush cabins with unique, curated experiences both aboard and ashore along the way. Cruising along the mighty Mekong River from Thailands Golden Triangle to the ancient Lao capital and now UNESCO World Heritage city of Luang Prabang, conjures up images of old Indochina, of languorous days gone by, teeming with river adventure, mystical temples and stunning untouched scenery. Mekong Kingdoms boats offers a new way of river travel with a sense of playfulness and discovery that leaves guests with a truly unique and unforgettable travel experience Travellers can join Mekong Kingdoms flagship Boheme, a 42-metre, 13 cabin luxury barge at Luang Prabang or Chiang Khong located near Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort. Decorated with intricate Indochinese-inspired artwork and fitted with sumptuously comfortable furnishings from bow to stern, Boheme spoils with phenomenal facilities including an expansive sun deck, wine cellar, and spa. The journey from Chiang Rai/Chiang Khong to Luang Prabang is two nights as it heads downstream. The upstream cruise takes three nights. Voyagers will be captivated by the languid river lifestyle, soaking in natures wonders along the Mekong River Valley, marvelling at encounters with fascinating local cultures. Itineraries include guided jungle treks, a visit to the Pak Ou caves with its awesome limestone karst formations, these two caves have been gifted thousands of Buddha images, left by pilgrims over the centuries. Guests can make a friend in the Hmong Village at Pak Beng or be taught traditional weaving at Ban Baw and further discover rural Laos by mountain biking in the stunning village of Ban Houy Phalam. Even while cruising along the placid waters, guests have a range of diversions onboard. Sunrise yoga, Buddhist meditation, sunset cocktails, cooking demonstrations, jewellery making classes, fishing for giant catfish there is a wide range of activities to while away the time. Then theres always gazing at the lush scenery as the boat glides by. Mekong Kingdoms Gypsy For those desiring a more intimate private cruise, personalised to their tastes, there is Gypsy an ultra-exclusive two-cabin cruiser perfect for one or more nights along the Mekong for up to four passengers, Mekong Kingdoms can customise almost every aspect of the itinerary and journey to suit guests travel needs. For shorter day trips in complete privacy, Nomad provides couples with an exclusive romantic getaway for sunset cruises in Luang Prabang. Play is a floating lounge ideal of private events or family adventure; suitable for up to 15 passengers with sundeck, private room, and a sound system. Monsoon is a scheduled touring shuttle to the Pak Ou caves with canapes, coffee, tea and soft drinks, offering a lavish option to visit the sacred site. Mekong Kingdoms cruises joins Minor Hotels existing fleet of Manohra Dining Cruises in Bangkok and Anantara Overnight Cruises that sail from Bangkok to Thailands ancient capital of Ayutthaya. Read More here The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) today kicked-off nationwide celebrations to usher in the Chinese New Year of the Dog, in collaboration with long-standing partners, the Ministry of Culture of the Peoples Republic of China and the Embassy of the Peoples Republic of China in Thailand. The lunar New Year celebrations will be held from 13-23 February, 2018, with an exciting lineup of events for both locals and visitors to enjoy. Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT Governor said, With millions of Thais of Chinese descent, Chinese New Year has always been a time to celebrate with the family and togetherness across Thailand. This year, locals and international visitors are invited to join in 13 major official celebrations nationwide, each of which is home to large, established Chinese communities,with spectacular food and cultural performances taking centre stage. The Peoples Republic of China and the Kingdom of Thailand have long enjoyed deep relations, with 2018 marking the 43rd anniversary of diplomatic ties, and Chinese New Year celebrations being held by TAT, the Ministry of Culture of the Peoples Republic of China, and the Embassy of the Peoples Republic of China in Thailand since 2003. Highlights of the celebrations include a New Year greeting ceremony held with high-level ministers on 15 February, to further strengthen the strong relationship between Thailand and China. The ceremony will take place at the China Cultural Centre, and will be led by H.E. Mr. Weerasak Kowsurat, Minister of Tourism and Sports, and H.E. Mr. Yang Zhijin, Deputy Minister of Culture from the Peoples Republic of China. An official opening ceremony of the Chinese New Year celebrations in Yaowarat the historic home to Bangkoks Chinese community on 16 February, will be presided over by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, and will feature Thailand-China cultural exchange performances by 135 performers from nine provinces in China, including Fujian, Hainan, Inner Mongolia, Shandong, Heilongjiang, Zhejiang, Hunan, Shanxi and Hubei. Highlights include traditional Chinese dances and music, martial arts, acrobatic performances and Chinese opera puppets. The cultural exchange performances will then tour to Chiang Mai, Udon Thani, Songkhla (Hat Yai) and Phuket. Locals and international visitors can also enjoy a celebration of food culture. Fresh from cooking at the recent G20 Summit in Hangzhou, a renowned Zhejiang province chef from the World Federation of China Catering Industry will be on hand to create Southern Chinese delicacies that are fused with flavours familiar to Thai palates. A cooking demonstration will also be held to mark the beginning of the Chinese New Year, when families traditionally gather to enjoy food and being together. Official Chinese New Year celebrations supported by TAT will be held in the following destinations: Photharam Chinatown Chinese New Year, Ratchaburi, on 5-14 February Pak Nam Pho Chinese New Year, Nakhon Sawan, on 9-20 February Chinese New Year, Phetchaburi, on 15-17 February 16th Chiang Mai Chinatown Chinese New Year, on 16-17 February Yaowarat Chinatown Chinese New Year, on 16-17 February Suphan Buri Chinese New Year, on 16-17 February Chinese New Year, Trang, on 16-18 February Chinese New Year, Nakhon Ratchasima, on 16-18 February Udon Thani Chinese New Year, on 16-18 February Chinese New Year, Songkhla (Hat Yai), on 16-19 February Chinese New Year, Chon Buri (Pattaya), on 16-25 February Ancient Capital Miracle Chinese New Year, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, on 17-22 February Phuket Chinese New Year and Old Town Festival, on 21-23 February *TAT showcased some of the many activities planned for the Chinese New Year 2018 celebrations at todays press conference Read More here AVANI Hotels & Resorts has announced that its third Bangkok property, the newly-built 382-room AVANI Sukhumvit Bangkok, is scheduled to open end of 2018. AVANI Sukhumvit Bangkok Hotel addresses every detail that matter for guests, starting with the AVANI designed Living Spaces, to an all-day dining restaurant, modern event spaces, or spacious meeting rooms, to an inviting AVANISPA, as well as flexible AVANIFIT gym. This new upscale Bangkok hotel will offer stylishly designed rooms and suites with sweeping views of the city. Each room and suite will be fitted with the latest amenities for guest comfort an ease. The hotel will be part of the Century The Movie Plaza 2 retail complex, located on Sukhumvit Road near the BTS On Nut Station. The neighbourhoods in which AVANI Sukhumvit Bangkok Hotel will call home also has much to offer. The nearby W District been growing in popularity since its recent opening. It has some of the hottest bars and restaurants in the city. Nearby, avant-garde galleries show imaginative works from local artists. Guests with a sense of adventure can take a short walk to a boat ride along the Phra Khanong Canal, discovering local Buddhist temples, Chinese shrines, and Muslim mosques rarely visited by outsiders. Read More here Thai exports rose steadily with export value in January fetching over US$ 20 billion, or 17.6%, the highest in five years, according to the Thai National Shippers Council (TNSC). The value of Thai exports in January stood at US$20.1 billion, an increase of 17.6% year on year, TNSC reported. The TNSC said motor vehicles and parts, computer components, and food contributed to the record growth. It said it would maintain the 2018 export growth target at 5.5% year on year on average, due to the global economic recovery, higher fuel prices, and the increasing prices of crops. The value of merchandise exports surged with a growth of 16.7 percent compared to the same period last year, the highest growth seen in 62 months, according to a BOT statement. The expansion was on the back of : (1 ) continued increase in crude oil price which contributed to the increase in export of petroleum related and chemical products; (2) increase in exports of automotive and parts, particularly tires; (3) increase in exports from industries which recently expanded their production capacity such as hard disk drives (HDD); and (4 ) continued improvement in external demand for agro manufacturing products such as rice, rubber products , sugar, and cassava. However, fluctuations in the US currency, trade barriers, and the nationwide minimum wage hike have been noted as risk factors. TNSC president Ghayapad Tantipipatpong said US restrictions on trade under the America First policy, and countermeasures of its trade partners, which are currently intensifying, must be monitored closely. Four types of Thai products have so far been affected by the US measures, including a hike in import duties on washing machines, solar panels, steel and aluminum and rubber bands. Thailand is now watching closely possible impact on its exports after President Donald Trump announced he would impose steep tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO) director-general Pimchanok Vonkorpon said she still could not anticipate how much impact Thai exporters would suffer or whether it would affect the countrys competitiveness. She said Thailand needed to monitor closely the development of the US trade barriers under what was called the presidents safeguard policy. The presidents announced steep increase in import tariffs on steel and aluminum was meant for all exporting countries at same rates that would affect all countries equally, the TPSO chief explained. But she said affected countries could seek negotiations if it was found that the US safeguard measures do not follow the regulations of the World Trade Organisation, are too high, unfair, and not transparent. Ms Pimchanok added that the announced tariffs on steel and aluminum came after the US has recently slapped quota system on solar panels and residential large washing machines on all exporting countries, including Thailand. She said the TPSO would closely monitor the US safeguard policy to look into which of Thai exports would risk facing the high tariff so that it could notify Thai manufacturers in time to cope with it. Mr Trump said he plans to impose next week the toughest of the three remedies proposed by the Commerce Department, a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum. Source link In a White House signing ceremony on Thursday, March 8, President Donald Trump announced he was imposing import tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum. After invoking a rarely-used Cold War-era law last year, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross had spent nine months investigating whether imports of steel and aluminum posed a threat to American national security. Thailand is now watching closely possible impact on its exports after President Donald Trump announced he would impose steep tariffs on imported steel and aluminum that has sparked outraged threats of reprisals from countries around the world. Ross concluded imports were a threat, and he recommended Trump impose new restrictions covering an estimated $46.1 billion of imports, or about 2% of total U.S. goods imports in 2017. Just a week earlier, Trump had issued the surprise announcement that he was going to impose these tariffs on all trading partners. A long-standing ally of the US, Thailand has seen its steel industry rattled by a looming trade war as President Donald Trumps rhetoric on slapping hefty tariffs on steel imports has morphed into reality, wrote the Bangkok Post The Thai Auto Parts Manufacturers Association (Tapma) is also concerned about a global trade war sparked by tariffs from US President Donald Trump, as the US has imposed tariffs of 25% for steel and 10% for aluminum, and those two products are raw materials for auto parts. Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO) director-general Pimchanok Vonkorpon said she still could not anticipate how much impact Thai exporters would suffer or whether it would affect the countrys competitiveness. She said Thailand needed to monitor closely the development of the US trade barriers under what was called the presidents safeguard policy. The tariffs would have eliminated an estimated $14.2 billion of foreign steel and aluminum from the American market. Tariffs would increase metal prices, thereby raising costs for downstream industries like auto and appliance manufacturers and making them less competitive. Indeed, the European appliance maker Electrolux reportedly shelved a $250 million investment in Tennessee because of the tariffs. These would be President Trumps largest trade restrictions to date, swamping the imports covered by the levies he had slapped on solar panels and washing machines in January. Except Trump did not announce that he was imposing new tariffs on everyone after all. His announcement was full of not only exceptions, but threats, incentives, and uncertainty. In short, it was characteristic of his administrations departure from a consistent rules-based approach to global affairs. The irony is that Trumps linking of trade and national security has thus far has ended up targeting more allies than foes. Trumps tariffs will ultimately affect very few imports from China. That is because a legacy of earlier U.S. special tariffs under antidumping and anti-subsidy trade laws rather than national security exemptions implies that the U.S. currently imports very little steel and aluminum from China directly. China is the source of only about 6% of U.S. imports of those products. His March 8 proclamations began with the news that Canada and Mexico were being excluded from the tariffs, at least at this time. And then, during his remarks, he left open the possibility of reversing course and imposing tariffs if the hemispheric partners did not renegotiate the terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement to his liking. As a result, there is no end in sight to the extraordinarily contentious NAFTA talks that Trump instigated last summer. Thus, whether Canada and Mexico are eventually hit remains a very important unknown they are Americas first and fourth largest foreign suppliers of the metals, respectively. The law under which Trump has invoked the tariffs provides the President tremendous authority to make these sorts of changes quite arbitrarily, which means the President could change his mind and include Canada and Mexico in the tariffs. But this is not all. Trumps two proclamations do not go into effect until March 23. And, in his remarks on Thursday, the President invited other trading partners security allies in particular to begin negotiating with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer if they also wished to be excluded from the tariffs. Partners have every incentive to try; not only do Trumps tariffs disadvantage them relative to U.S. companies, but the Canadian and Mexican exclusions mean allies are less competitive relative to steel and aluminum from all North America. Lighthizer heads next to Brussels to meet with European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom. The European Union was the second largest foreign source of U.S. steel and aluminum after Canada with imports at $7.3 billion in 2017. The EU has already lined up its retaliatory tariff response if hit with Trumps tariffs including taxes on U.S. exports of cranberries, blue jeans, and bourbon. Also scheduled to attend the Brussels meeting is Hiroshige Seko, the trade minister from Japan, another military ally of the U.S. With Canada and Mexico exempted, Japan becomes the six largest U.S. source of steel and aluminum that could face Trumps tariffs, at $1.8 billion in exports in 2017. South Korea elevates to the second biggest target at $2.9 billion. Trump may well use these tariffs to exert leverage and somehow adjust the terms of the six-year-old South Korea U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS). This is all despite the fact that the well-acknowledged source of concern for the steel and aluminum industries is excess global capacity. And much of that has been pinned on China, which increased its share from less than a third in 2005 to roughly half of world global steel capacity today. After only a year in office, Trump has introduced major changes to the course of American trade policy. The imposition of U.S. tariffs under this national security law is among the most controversial trade policy moves in decades. But Thursdays tariff announcement is far from the end of this story. Trump has now made an even larger statement by tying these tariffs to the NAFTA talks, security alliances, and existing trade relations with traditional American partners. The revelations at Thursdays announcement were just the latest Trump movement away from a predictable, rules-based approach to American trade policy. Source link U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer today announced the conclusion and results of the Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review (OCR) of Thailand, including moving Thailand from the Priority Watch List to the Watch List. A key objective of the Trump Administrations trade policy is ensuring that U.S. owners of intellectual property (IP) have a full and fair opportunity to use and profit from their IP around the globe, said Ambassador Lighthizer. The key to promoting innovation is protecting intellectual property. We welcome the corrective actions that Thailand has taken and look forward to continuing to work with Thailand to resolve our remaining IP concerns. The Trump Administration has been closely engaging with Thailand on improving IP protection and enforcement as part of the bilateral U.S.-Thailand Trade and Investment Framework Agreement. This engagement has yielded results on resolving U.S. IP concerns across a range of issues, including on enforcement, patents and pharmaceuticals, trademarks, and copyright. For example, Thailand established an interagency National Committee on Intellectual Property Policy and a subcommittee on enforcement against intellectual property infringement, led by the Prime Minister and a Deputy Prime Minister, respectively. This strong level of interest from the highest levels of the government led to improved coordination among government entities, as well as enhanced and sustained enforcement efforts to combat counterfeit and pirated goods throughout the country. Thailand also has been taking steps to address backlogs for patent and trademark applications, including significantly increasing the number of examiners and streamlining regulations. In addition, Thailand joined the Madrid Protocol, making it easier for U.S. companies to apply for trademarks, and took steps to address concerns regarding online piracy affecting the U.S. content industry. Other results include a commitment from Thailand to improve transparency related to pharmaceutical issues, such as taking stakeholder input into account as it considers amendments to its Drug Act and providing interested stakeholders with regular consultation opportunities with the Thai Food and Drug Administration. After 10 years in the company of a dozen countries deemed to have the worlds worst IP protection, the country has been upgraded to the Watch List. In light of Thailands progress, USTR is closing the OCR that was initiated on September 15, 2017, and is moving Thailand from the Special 301 Priority Watch List to the Watch List. The United States will continue to engage bilaterally with Thailand to address other remaining IP concerns, which are highlighted in the 2017 Special 301 Report. Upgrading Thailands IP watch list status a boost to the countrys image The upgrading of Thailands intellectual property watch list status by the United States Trade Representative will boost the countrys image, trade and investment, Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong said today (Dec 16). The removal of Thailand from the priority watch list of intellectual property violation by the USTR will also contribute to the governments Thailand 4.0 policy, which focuses on innovation- and technology-driven economy, Mr Sontirat said. He was responding to the USTRs announcement on Dec 15 that the agency is removing Thailand from the Special 301 Priority Watch List to the Watch List due to the countrys improving intellectual property (IP) protection and enforcement. The minister said Thailand was among the 11 countries under the US priority watch list on intellectual property violation in the latest round of the Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review. The upgrade of the countrys status from Priority Watch List to Watch List reflected the progress of the countrys efforts in intellectual property protection, he said. Four high-profile British politicians have called for Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox to be blocked from buying Sky, saying the mogul will be able to influence its news output despite promises to the contrary. Buying control of Sky is proving a tough, protracted battle for Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch is locked in a battle with US cable giant Comcast Corp to buy Europe's biggest pay-TV group, with the octogenarian tycoon hampered by his ownership of other assets in Britain including two leading national newspapers. In order to gain regulatory approval Fox has offered to guarantee the independence of the Sky News operation by funding it for 10 years and creating a fully independent board to oversee it, a move that led analysts and competition lawyers to say the deal would likely be cleared. But four politicians who have previously criticised Murdoch's influence in Britain, including the former leader of the opposition Labour party Ed Miliband, said in a letter to the regulator that the offers did not go far enough. Industrial property is one of the hottest sectors in the market and values are rocketing up the charts, according to experts. With the rise in demand for online goods, distribution centres are at the top of mind for retailers, importers and exporters and the transport groups that deliver the items, known as third party logistics. As a result, land values have risen by as much as 37 per cent and rents grew at the fastest annual pace in over 12 years, according to the latest JLL report, an Assessment of Sydneys Industrial Land Supply. 29 Bay Road, Taren Point is a new 13-unit industrial estate, in the Sutherland Shire JLLs head of industrial NSW, Michael Wall said, average land values in Sydney rose by 37 per cent over 2017 due to positive tenant activity, the rise in demand-led construction and a reduction in land. This rate of land value growth has never been seen in the Sydney market. A leading academic says NSW's selective school system is harming both low and high-achieving students, as a new study finds that grouping pupils by "ability" can be especially detrimental to those at the bottom. "From a social and cognitive point of view, students generally do better if they have a range of abilities and social groups that they're mixing with for their schooling," said Chris Davison, head of UNSW's school of education and deputy director of the Gonski Institute for Education. "One could argue that some of the reason the top 20 per cent is not performing as well as it used to in international assessments is that they're not being stretched. "They're going into an environment where there are too many people just like them and they think that's normal. You need a flexible system so you're not branded as a star forever and told that you're a high achiever so you stop pushing yourself and get complacent, and you're not branded as a struggler and told you're never going to do well." Marni Reti, 22, is the only Indigenous architecture student in her year at the University of Technology, Sydney, making her a minority within a minority. Only 28 of the 12,000 registered architects in Australia are Indigenous. That "startling statistic" shocked fund manager and cultural philanthropist Daniel Droga into action. This week his family's philanthropic fund launched a $1 million scholarship to increase the number of Indigenous architecture students. Indigenous architects account for 0.2 per cent of the profession, the latest census shows. That's about 475 short of parity considering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders comprise 3 per cent of the population. Marni Reti, an Indigenous undergraduate at the University of Technology, Sydney, is interested in changing the way architecture is taught. Credit:Louise Kennerley Ms Reti, now in fourth year at UTS, said she grew up in the "urban Indigenous environment" of The Block in Eveleigh Street, Redfern, surrounded by "aunties and uncles". When she graduates, she hopes to work there, ideally bringing an Indigenous perspective and giving local communities a voice. Controversial Married At First Sight star Tracey Jewel is being sued by a former client, who claims the reality contestant owes her more than $2000. Court documents obtained by Fairfax Media show Jewel is being sued by Monique Davis, a former party planner based in Perth. It is understood the dispute concerns a series of "Women's Night Out" parties Jewel had planned for February 2015. We told you about Canberra's heroic rottweiler, Basil, who noticed a young girl had fallen into the dark waters of Lake Burley Griffin at the Kingston Foreshore one Friday evening in February. The then 10-month-old dog has insisted his owner Jarrad Houghton turn back and investigate. Jarrad then spotted the hand of an eight-year-old fully-clothed girl who was struggling in the water after falling off the boardwalk. Jarrad Houghton with his dog Basil. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos She was then safely returned to her parents at a nearby restaurant. The tale (tail?) of Canberra's canny canine attracted the attention of the Rottweiler Club of NSW which will use its latest show in Sydney on Saturday to present Basil with a hero's award. A Family Court judge has rebuked the federal government for its "inordinate delay" in replacing retiring judges in an extraordinary speech calling for an urgent injection of funds to deal with a growing caseload. Justice Stephen Thackray, who resigned as a judge of the Family Court's appeals division amid a controversial shakeup of court administration, said judges worked "very much harder" than was reasonable and court staff had not received a pay rise in "four years and eight months". Family Court Chief Justice John Pascoe (pictured) sacked Justice Stephen Thackray as administrative head of the court's appeal division after his appointment to the top job in October. Credit:Rob Homer "I'm not getting any younger and I've been burning to say these things for years," the Perth-based Justice Thackray said at a ceremonial farewell in Sydney. The popular judge resigned from the Full Court of the Family Court after a controversial decision by new Chief Justice John Pascoe to remove him from an administrative role as head of the appeal division and install Federal Circuit Court chief judge Will Alstergren in his place. Extra police are on their way to remote Cape York communities as forecasters warn Cyclone Nora could hit the western coast as a severe category three storm. Nora is rapidly intensifying off the Northern Territory and could make landfall as early as Saturday or Sunday. A cyclone formed off Queensland's north west coast on Friday. Credit:EarthWindMap It's about 600km west, northwest of Weipa and is expected to make a beeline for the peninsula's western coastline. By midday on Saturday Nora is expected to be a category three, and off the coast of Weipa and Aurukun. Smoke from burning peat in south-west Victoria Credit:Aisha Dow People have been forced to leave their homes to avoid dangerous smoke as a peat fire continues to smoulder in the state's south-west. Many residents of the small town of Cobrico between Terang and Cobden took shelter at the reopened relief centre in Terang on Thursday night after health authorities warned of the potential hazards from smoke inhalation. Loading Although the bushfires that raged across the region last weekend have been contained, peat fires can smoulder for a longer time. EDITOR'S NOTE: The High Court overturned Cardinal George Pell's conviction for historic child sex offences in a judgment handed down April 7, 2020. In a unanimous decision all seven High Court judges found Victoria's Court of Appeal should not have upheld Pell's conviction It found the evidence could not support a guilty verdict. The sister of one George Pells accusers has said her brother broke down as he told her hed been sexually assaulted by the cardinal. The woman told the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday she was sitting with her brother in the backseat of a car driving home from her grandmother's 80th when he turned to her and said, You dont know whats happened to me. He said The bishop exposed himself to me, the woman told the court. And then when I asked who he said F---ing George Pell. A former principal of a primary school in Perth has been charged over allegations of child sexual abuse. Police will allege 56-year-old Chidlow man was the principal of a primary school in the central metropolitan district when the alleged incidents occurred in 2008 involving an eight-year-old boy. Police urge anyone who may have been a victim of child sexual abuse, of if they have information about someone being abused, to contact them on 131 444. Credit:Georgia Matts He has been charged with Indecent Dealing with a Child Under 13 years and Sexual Penetration of a Child Under 13. One of the state's most highly respected barristers says the case of a WA man who has spent the past decade in jail for a murder he claims he did not commit must be dealt with "swiftly". Scott Austic was jailed for life over the 2007 stabbing murder of Stacey Thorne in the town of Boddington, 120 kilometres south-east of Perth. Scott Austic, in 2016, in a picture supplied by his family. Credit:Austic Family He was ordered to serve a minimum of 25 years before being eligible for parole. Austic, his lawyers and his family have always maintained he did not commit the crime. That genie has long been out of the bottle. We are at the point where anyone who expressed surprise could only be described as naive, or of having been asleep for a long time. Some might not vehemently object to the cunning of internet advertisers in pushing travel products, intimate apparel or soap. But they suddenly become uneasy when they realise that it is being used to shape political opinions, or to surveil and categorise people by their beliefs, instincts and prejudices. Somehow, it is alright to do this in commerce, or, perhaps, to detect any terrorists. But, they fear, it is wrong or unsporting to be collecting such information about civilians in general, or to be using it to shape opinions or votes. Or, if it must occur, it should be subject to greater controls, and far greater accountability. Certainly everyone has been tut-tutting about the boasting of Cambridge Analytica executives that their analysis helped elect Donald Trump, by delivering critical votes in critical places through advertisements carefully designed to cater for particular emotions, beliefs and feelings. Advertisements they were able to devise by some sort of Facebook data-mining which, according to the reportage and commentaries, has been somewhat improper, illicit or beyond whatever Facebook had licensed. It has been said that Cambridge Analytica has been looking for Australian customers willing to pay for access to its algorithms. These might not, of course, be from a political party. They could be iron ore miners seeking to kill off a proposed resource rent tax, a business group seeking lower company tax rates, or a pensioner lobby seeking greater benefits. They might even be academics wondering about what factors combined to set opinions, beliefs and emotions on a particular issue, and how "hot" it was in determining political allegiances. Cambridge was able to parlay its information from an initially small group of people extensively studied into much wider conclusions from drawing in their networks and "friends," into an ultimate 50 million Facebook users. Perhaps an academic might want to study, via Facebook analysis, how opinions were formed or altered by discussions with family, friends, neighbours, and informal and formal sources of information, including mainstream media and social media. [Security officers monitoring subversive ideas, and cops investigating criminal conspiracies, have much the same sorts of interest, if about different motivators.] The truth is, of course, that major political parties have been doing close surveillance of individual Australian voters for quite some time. Cambridge is probably exaggerating its role and its success, but such surveillance works. The big parties use proprietary software to add to basic information provided by electoral rolls. They get extra demographic information, broken into small zones, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Other information about education, employment status, employment sector, approximate income, household assets, and the make-up of the family, are fairly readily obtainable in this day and age. This can be supplemented with information, and contact details, gathered by members and party officials, tame telephone polling at which guileless people (thinking themselves to be responding anonymously) answer questions about their previous and future voting intentions, the issues they care about, and their feelings about political leaders. More is garnered from participation in public events, from party door-knocking, and responses to invitations for participation in different types of event. They probably amalgamate with it information and intelligence gathered from associated entities, such as trade unions, and from their own campaigns. There is also some readily accessible information (obtainable, inter alia from politicians' electoral offices without misusing access to the data files of government agencies) about the receipt of benefits, grants and subsidies. No good or bad turn done to a voter goes unrecorded. To this is added very sophisticated polling data gathered by experienced and very professional pollsters employed by the various parties. These have long been practised at shaping messages, and road-testing the forms they take, as well as in devising different forms of the message for particular audiences. The messages sent out, even in conventional media or in mail outs, robo-phonecalls, or blitzes in particular areas, are strategised for what is known about the audience for particular messages, and for the capacity of particular messages to settle or unsettle voting intentions. Sometimes the messages come in stages, by which voters are gently detached from previously firmly held opinions to a more neutral position, than lured into a new view more favourable to a particularly party. The end-up point is that the average MP knows more about you than ASIO, the cops, or Woolworths. And any piece of knowledge she or he can exploit, will be exploited. Not necessarily successfully, of course, just as we don't buy all of the goodies on offer to us. Many of us are so inured to a barrage of messages that nothing penetrates. We do not know how much the parties are using data gleaned from Facebook or other social media, in major part because the parties simply will not say. They have already exempted themselves from any disclosure obligations under the Privacy Act. They are under no general duty as others in government or commerce are to use information only for the purposes for which it was obtained and for which permission was given. Although almost all of the work of political parties is funded by the taxpayer whether through general grants or pooled allowances paid to parliamentarians the parties are not public bodies. Nor are they subject to the scrutiny or inspection of the privacy commissioner, or anyone else with a function or duty to investigate abuse. The law of Australia is advancing to the point where one can expect the discovery of some sort of constitutional "right" to privacy almost any day now. But we are not there yet. And when we do get close, one can expect that the big political machines will yet again exempt themselves from its operation, with much the same bipartisan spirit with which they agree on political salary increases. I should be very surprised, frankly, if much of the data obtained from Cambridge algorithms, or the type of data mining being used on social media, was much more sophisticated than that already in use here. Australia has compulsory voting; many of the democracies with which we compare ourselves have voluntary voting, and struggle to get 50 or 60 per cent participating in an election. Overseas, as much, or more, energy is focused on motivating people to bestir themselves to vote as in urging them to vote for a particular party or candidate. Here, most people will vote, and messages are tailored accordingly. There is still an intensive focus on getting messages that work, and on neutralising messages from the other side. But, I suspect, the operatives here are generally surer about the motivators which will win best, or lose worst. That is not to say that political messages are more sophisticated, or less focused on the emotional or the visceral. Indeed I think that the quality of the sloganising, dumbed down monolithic messages, and appeals to the heart and head of voters deteriorates by the election. And mass communications and perhaps the much-dreaded "mainstream media" is in any event alert for nuance, different statements to different audiences, and different stresses and priorities in different regions, to blunt some of the efforts to press each individual's vote in an individual way. Is it all too late? Do Australians care that Facebook has helped make them an open book? Did its utility, or vanity, blind us to the risks? Did panic mongering about the threats of terrorism, or refugees, drug syndicates or paedophiles soften us up for routine invasion of our most intimate secrets, relationships, and thoughts? In any event, would it be impossible now to impose controls and limits, or to hold potential abusers to account, because of the way that globalisation and communications have rendered irrelevant the national borders supposedly being protected by Peter Dutton? These have been questions canvassed last year by Professor Genevieve Bell, of the ANU, in her Boyer lectures, and by many other observers. Two new projects will shed light on how to improve water quality in Lake Tuggeranong and the ACT's urban ponds and wetlands, with the research behind them described as "world-leading". Up to 5000 water samples from across Canberra will be analysed at the University of Canberra over the next 18 months as part of the projects, which are jointly funded by the Australian and ACT governments as part of the $93.5 million ACT Healthy Waterways Project. ACT Senator Zed Seselja and ACT Minister for the Environment and Heritage Mick Gentleman test water samples at the University of Canberra. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos The results will be used to determine where the nutrients that cause poor water quality, including blue-green algae, come from, and how they behave once they are in the waterways. Dr Fiona Dyer, a senior research fellow at the university's Institute for Applied Ecology, said the projects had local, national and worldwide implications. The Turnbull government is drafting new powers that could block Chinese companies from building Australia's next mobile phone networks amid growing concern about foreign influence over the services. The move is fuelling claims that consumers will pay a higher cost for the 5G services if Australian companies are forced to turn away Chinese equipment suppliers such as Huawei, given estimates the company is a step ahead of its US and European rivals on price and performance. Fairfax Media can reveal that US President Donald Trump raised the US concerns about Huawei directly with Mr Turnbull and other officials, but those aware of the talks said this did not mean Australia had decided to ban the company. The Turnbull governments message to the US was that the Trump administration must do more to prevent Chinese companies leapfrogging their American competitors and offering cheaper and better technology. At stake is the rollout of 5G networks that offer faster speeds for consumers but represent mammoth investments for Telstra, SingTel Optus and Vodafone using equipment from a shrinking list of Chinese, European and US suppliers. Some of the neediest Catholic schools in Victoria are still being short-changed by administrators who are shuffling millions of taxpayers dollars to schools in wealthier areas, documents reveal. While the federal government nominally allocates funding for each Catholic school, this is distributed to Catholic education authorities as a lump sum. They then use their own funding model to distribute the money as they see fit. Money was diverted away from St Stephens in Reservoir. Credit:Paul Jeffers Previously secret records taking in 14 Victorian schools show that in 2016, several needy schools had up to 37 per cent of their allocated government funding diverted elsewhere. St Thomas Aquinas School in Norlane, which has a low socio-economic status score of 73, received $600,000 less from head office than the $2.4 million allocated by the government. That worked out to a loss of about $4000 per student. A structural engineer and his company have been convicted and fined a combined $480,000 for work failings that contributed to a dangerous land collapse at a Mount Waverley building site. The 15-metre deep hole on Mount Waverley's Highbury Road, being dug for a medical and childcare centre with a double-storey basement car park, collapsed in 2015 following heavy rain. Townhouses on the edge of the excavation collapse in Mount Waverley. Credit:Simon O'Dwyer Residents in neighbouring townhouses were told to get out, amid fears the rock and earth at the edge of the building site would collapse further. Engineer Aldo DiTonto was fined $100,000 on Friday over the collapse. Victoria could become the first Australian state to sign a treaty, or treaties, with its Aboriginal residents, and nationally many eyes are on the process. There are hopes it could complement - or offer a potent alternative to - stalled attempts to recognise Indigenous Australians in the Constitution. The Uluru Statement from the Heart - the substance of which was swiftly rejected by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull - demanded a commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments, widely understood as a reference to treaties. Put simply, a treaty is a formal agreement between Indigenous peoples and those who have colonised their land. Its not a new concept; since colonisation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians have asserted their sovereignty and demanded self-determination. And theyve been promised action before. During the Bicentennial in 1988, prime minister Bob Hawke visited the Northern Territory and was presented with the Barunga statement of Aboriginal political objectives by elders Galarrwuy Yunupingu and Wenten Rubuntja. June 1988: Then prime minister Bob Hawke receives the Barunga statement from Galarrwuy Yunupingu in Arnhem Land. Hawke said a treaty would be made within two years. But nothing eventuated, prompting Indigenous band Yothu Yindi to release the hit Treaty, propelling the term into the public consciousness: Well I heard it on the radio/ And I saw it on the television/ Back in 1988 all those talking politicians/ Words are easy, words are cheap/ Much cheaper than our priceless land/ But promises can disappear/ Just like writing in the sand/ Treaty yeh, treaty now. Thirty years on, and two states are now in treaty negotiations, with the Northern Territory also considering the concept. In South Australia about $4 million was pledged by the former Labor government to develop a treaty, but with the incoming Liberal government this process is expected to falter. Newly-elected Premier Steven Marshall described treaties as a cruel hoax during his election campaign, and said symbolism would be scrapped in favour of practical outcomes. Incoming South Australian Premier Steven Marshall has called treaties "a cruel hoax". Credit:Alex Ellinghausen In Victoria, $28.5 million was set aside in last years budget to develop a treaty - or treaties - over the next five years. On Wednesday, legislation will be tabled in parliament that will commit to advancing the treaty process between Aboriginal Victorians and the state, and traditional owners will speak on the floor of parliament. One of these is Mick Harding, a Taungurung elder and chair of the Treaty working group, wholl acknowledge the traditional owners, their ancestors and everyone in the chamber in his language: woiwurrung gi, boonwurring gi, liwik nugal-dhan gaaguk yumaagu gi. We are nearly 200 years into this state and no one has been honest enough or bold enough to strike a treaty with us as first people, says Harding. It would go a long way to our maturity as a country. When the Native Title Act was passed, a reactionary media howled about backyards and houses being up for grabs, says Harding. Mick Harding has been integral to getting the Victorian treaty process started, and will speak in parliament when the first piece of legislation is tabled. Credit:Justin McManus And he remembers when the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags flew over Parliament House in Canberra and some said the sky would fall in. But it hasnt. The most important thing is to be calm, and lay the facts on the table when the naysayers get started." Treaty: The great Australian absence In 1835, on the banks of a a lovely stream of water (most likely the Merri Creek in Northcote), English colonists and graziers John Batman and Joseph Gellibrand made an agreement, later called Batmans Treaty, with a group of Wurundjeri elders. About 240,000 hectares of the area later known as Melbourne was exchanged for blankets, tomahawks, knives and other domestic items. This treaty was quickly ruled void by the colonial administration, and its validity has since been widely disputed, given the European approach to property ownership was antithetical to Indigenous relationships to land. Theres also a growing momentum for Batmans legacy in Melbourne to be recontextualised, to recognise his brutal role in killing Aboriginal Tasmanians and abducting Indigenous children. A non-contemporary engraving of John Batman meeting Aborigines on the banks of the Merri Creek. Aside from this problematic example, Australia has no history of treaty-making. In fact were the only postcolonial Commonwealth country that doesnt have a treaty with its Indigenous peoples. In Canada, the United States and New Zealand, colonial governments made historic treaties, and have also negotiated contemporary "nation-to-nation" agreements with Indigenous tribes and clans. Each treaty is particular to its location, but there are common themes. Symbolic recognition might include acknowledgement of historic wrongs, official apologies, recognising Indigenous sovereignty and introducing Indigenous place names. It can also clarify how the relationship between government and Indigenous peoples should proceed. Marcia Brown Martel sings outside Canada's parliament in October following the announcement of compensation for victims of the "Sixties Scoop", during which Indigenous Canadians were taken from their homes and adopted into non-Indigenous families. Credit:AP Practically, treaties may include the right to self-government, land rights, language and resource rights, lawmaking powers and financial compensation. A treaty doesnt have to be singular. Its not unusual for an overarching treaty to be negotiated with Indigenous people and then smaller, regional treaties to be reached with clans or family groups. But its not a quick process: a successful treaty needs long-term political commitment over a period of years, sometimes decades. The Victorian process began in earnest in 2016, after a long grassroots campaign. In Melbourne, more than 500 Indigenous leaders from across the state met to discuss the national push for recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Constitution. Gunditjmara elder Richard Frankland addresses a forum on self-determination and treaties at the Melbourne Convention Centre in May 2016. Credit:Justin McManus It was the first major consultation with Aboriginal Victorians for many years, and after two days of vocal and passionate discussion the meeting unanimously opposed Constitutional recognition. Instead, they called for treaty. Richard Frankland - musician, filmmaker and associate professor of the Wilin Centre at Melbourne University - found himself jumping on stage to make an impromptu speech, rousing the audience to show support. Thirty-eight nations are here and its up to them to decide if they want a treaty lets take it to the people, Mr Frankland implored the crowd. I want my children to have a voice." The first thing a treaty can do is instigate hope in a people who have been battered about in a nation where there is a lot of confusion about the place of Indigenous Australians, he says now. A treaty can hold powerful symbolic and substantive force, says Professor Kirsty Glover of Melbournes Universitys Law School. In New Zealand the principles contained in the Treaty of Waitangi, a three-paragraph document signed in 1840, must be referred to when a new policy or laws are developed. The Waitangi Sheet of the Treaty of Waitangi, signed between the British Crown and various Maori chiefs in 1840. The treaty guarantees Maori chiefs their powers of chieftainship (rangatiratanga) and protects their rights to their lands, fisheries, forests and treasures (taonga). Each time a minister presents new legislation in the New Zealand parliament they are obliged to describe how it interacts with the Treaty of Waitangi. A treaty could establish a good working relationship between Aboriginal Victorians and the state, says Glover. These groups have been governing their traditional territories for thousands of years, they just havent been able to have proper government-to-government relationships. With the Victorian government on board, a treaty working group formed to seek guidance from Aboriginal people about how they wanted to be represented. There are about 52,000 Aboriginal people living in Victoria, equally spread between the regional and metropolitan areas. This consultation took place in community meetings and through online feedback, and the working group estimates about 7500 people have engaged in the process so far. To date, much of the focus has been on establishing a structure for the treaty process. Only once the groundwork is prepared can the negotiations begin. Creating this structure, and establishing an elected Aboriginal representative body, is the job of Jill Gallagher, the newly appointed Victorian Treaty Advancement Commissioner. This representative body will design the framework that outlines who can negotiate a treaty, or treaties, what can be negotiated and how these negotiations will be carried out. A Gunditjmara woman, Gallagher has witnessed the legacy of colonisation throughout her life. Jill Gallagher, Victoria's Aboriginal treaty advancement commissioner. Credit:Jason South She has worked at Museums Victoria on the return of skeletal remains and cultural property, she lived in Fitzroy when it was a crucible for Aboriginal activism rather than real estate gentrification, and for almost two decades she was head of the Aboriginal health organisation VACCHO. Shes known as a no-nonsense, warm and pragmatic negotiator. My ancestors walked this country when there was a land bridge between Victoria and Tasmania, says Gallagher. A treaty will acknowledge we were the first people of this country, and we never ceded sovereignty. Thats fundamental. And there needs to be both symbolic and substantive outcomes. Gallagher is careful to point out the treaty negotiations have not yet begun and no decisions have been made about what may be ruled in - or out - of any agreement. But from the outset she wants to address the issue that could stalk the treaty process: land ownership. Treaty wont have any effect on private land ownership or native title, she says. But its likely to consider land in the context of Aboriginal dispossession. For example, a fund could be established to buy back land, so that if a block of private land was for sale and a local clan wanted to buy it, there would be money available. Speaking personally, Gallagher would like to see Victorian Aboriginal languages and culture given greater prominence, and points to language nests in New Zealand; an immersion-based approach to language revitalisation. We sit in this beautiful city and the only way you know Aboriginal people live here is our flag flying at Parliament House. Settlement was rapid, and brutal ... we have to have a cultural renaissance." When Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Minister Natalie Hutchins took on the portfolio in 2014, she launched into the role with a listening tour around the state. Aboriginal Affairs Minister Natalie Hutchins. Credit:Justin McManus I got yelled at constantly, Hutchins recalls with a wry smile. And when she asked Indigenous Victorians about their aspirations the response at every board meeting, every informal cuppa, was the same: treaty. The Aboriginal community expects to gain better recognition and rights from the treaty process, Hutchins says. They also want the intergenerational legacy of colonisation acknowledged. Nothing sharpens my mind more than dealing with people who are Stolen Generations and seeing how all their indicators can be traced back to being removed from their families, Hutchins says. Talk of a treaty has prompted some interesting questions from non-Aboriginal Victorians, including will I have to give my art back?. Well, says Hutchins in a droll voice, I ask them did you steal the art, or did you pay for it? Joking aside, the answer is no (unless you stole it). Any detailed arrangements struck in a treaty would ideally be delivered by Aboriginal organisations. Hutchins points to the Budja Budja Neighbourhood House in Halls Gap as an example that could be replicated. The centre encourages the community in with free cultural workshops and elder and child care groups, and the adjoining medical centre has achieved some of the best diabetes and immunisation outcomes in the state. Victoria's opposition has yet to declare its policy on a treaty, but a few Liberal and Nationals MPs attended this month's launch of the Treaty Advancement Commission, inside the Queen's Hall in Parliament House. Among them was Roma Britnell, Liberal MP for South-West Victoria, who spent 15 years managing a health service at the Framlingham Aboriginal community near Warrnambool. Britnell says she is optimistic that a treaty will help to unite Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Victorians rather than stir up division like the native title issue did. "I cant see that it will do anything but help people to go forward and embrace the future," she says. But the treaty process already has one notable sceptic in parliament: Lidia Thorpe, Greens Aboriginal Affairs spokeswoman and Victorias first female Aboriginal MP. Lidia Thorpe speaks to protesters before an "invasion day" march on January 26. Credit:Chris Hopkins Thorpe supports a clan-based treaty, or series of treaties with each clan, but says she fears the process is being rushed to suit the Andrews governments agenda, leaving many Aboriginal people sidelined. A clan-based treaty is really about ensuring that every family, clan, grassroots group across this state has a right to participate and understands what a treaty could mean for that family, Thorpe said. I dont think that the process so far has provided that opportunity. Thorpe wont commit to supporting the governments treaty legislation before she sees it. The most important thing a treaty must do, she says, is draw a line underneath the suffering that has been wrought by European colonisation. A true and equal agreement would bring relief to the symptoms of that dispossession, such as high incarceration rates and continuing removal of Aboriginal children from their families, she says. There has never been an agreement between the first people of this country and the occupiers, Thorpe says. So to have that settled would bring peace to this country between black and white and allow healing. Gary Murray, a member of the executive of the Victorian Traditional Owner Land Justice Group, also has misgivings about the process, saying members of the working group and community assembly were hand-picked by government. As social networking giant Facebook and "big data" firm Cambridge Analytica find themselves at the centre of a privacy scandal involving the election of US President Donald Trump, the question must be asked: is time up for companies that bury important privacy info in long and baffling terms of service, and then claim that users are agreeing to give their lives away by clicking yes? If you haven't caught up on the whole kerfuffle, this is what transpired: approximately 270,000 people installed a Facebook "personality quiz" app that connected to their account and sucked up not only their detailed personal information, such as Facebook likes, but also the personal information of their Facebook friends. Cambridge Analytica collected the personal Facebook information of more than 50 million users; way more than the number of people who installed the quiz. Facebook CEO has said the company will make changes, but do they go far enough? The "techlash" appears to be in full-swing, with #deletefacebook trending and even the founder of WhatsApp, which was acquired by Facebook for $US19 billion, suggesting that users delete their Facebook profiles. The answer to "at what cost?" has finally been provided; the cost of your personal information being divulged by Facebook to a third-party without you truly consensenting to it and it then being used by firms such as Cambridge Analytica and their various clients to perform so-called data-driven behavioural change, or manipulation of your beliefs through data mining. LAS VEGAS, March 19, 2018 -- Leading Chinese automaker GAC Motor will attend the National Automobile Dealers Association Show (NADA Show) for the first time at the Las Vegas Convention Center from March 23-25.GAC Motor will be at booth number 274N and bring a star lineup of best-selling vehicles including the GS8, GS4, GM8 and GA4.The trip officially kicks off the company's development of a dealership network in North America. One key event during the show is the 2018 GAC Motor dealer gathering, which is scheduled on March 23 in the Four Seasons Hotel exclusively for dealers. As a premier marketplace of auto products, services and technologies, the NADA Show provides a platform for automakers to connect with dealers. "In light of our announcement to enter the U.S. market in 2019 at the 2018 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), coming to the NADA Show is a perfect start for GAC Motor to build partnerships and develop our dealership network in the North American market," said Yu Jun, President of GAC Motor. "We hope to enhance GAC Motor's reputation, lay a solid foundation for a future sales network and further demonstrate our determination to enter the U.S. market at the NADA Show. We've been negotiating with a lot of local dealers, and we welcome more to join us in Las Vegas." For the first appearance on NADA show, GAC Motor is well prepared to bring four premium vehicle models, all of which have showed solid performance in the international market. The GS8 SUV has become hugely popular both in the domestic and global market. Since its release in October 2016, the Vehicle has ranked No.1 in the domestic 7-seat SUV market segment, which made a historic breakthrough for Chinese brand high-end SUVs. The GM8, the brand's first minivan released only two months ago, has highlighted GAC Motor's latest achievements in independent research and development (R&D) and cutting-edge technologies. At the 2018 NAIAS, GAC Motor released its latest sedan, the GA4, which was developed on the company's G-CPMA platform, a model that has enabled the automaker to enter the A-level market. GAC Motor's best-selling SUV model, the GS4, has ranked among the top three in the SUV market with 841,410 cars sold since April 2015. GAC Motor, China's fastest-growing automaker, has established a world-class manufacturing system, as well as a global R&D network and supply chain. The company sold 508,600 vehicles in 2017, a 37 percent year-on-year growth rate. In the first two months of 2018, GAC Motor made history again with 95,136 cars sold, a 20.3 percent year-on-year increase that got the brand off to a flying start. "By participating in NADA, we hope to speed up the building of our global dealership network. GAC Motor has always insisted on building high-end, world-class products with a craftsman's spirit," Yu said. About GAC Motor Founded in 2008, Guangzhou Automobile Group Motor CO., LTD (GAC Motor) is a subsidiary of GAC Group which ranks the 238th among the Fortune Global 500 companies. The company develops and manufactures premium quality vehicles, engines, components and auto accessories. GAC Motor has now ranked the first among all Chinese brands for five consecutive years in J.D. Power Asia Pacific's China Initial Quality Study SM (IQS), demonstrating the company's quality-centric strategy from innovative research and development (R&D), manufacturing to supply chain and sales & services. Laurie Dhue, the fourth woman to sue OReilly for defamation. Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images On Thursday, former Fox News anchor Laurie Dhue filed a defamation suit against Bill OReilly, claiming the disgraced exFox News star damaged her reputation when he denied the sexual-harassment allegations she made against him. Dhue, who worked at Fox News from 2000 to 2008, reached a $1 million settlement with 21st Century Fox in the summer of 2016, after her lawyers approached the company with sexual-harassment claims against OReilly and now-deceased Fox News chief Roger Ailes. After an April 2017 New York Times report on the network and OReillys settlements with Dhue and four other women, the former OReilly Factor host vehemently denied the allegations against him, claiming he had only agreed to settlements to protect his kids. In an excerpt from Dhues lawsuit published in the Times on Thursday, her lawyer writes: As part of his desperate campaign to clear his name, OReilly published false statements about Dhue as well as the other women calling her a liar, swearing that her allegations were fabricated in an effort to obtain a settlement, falsely asserting that her purported claims against OReilly were politically motivated and lying by saying that he only paid settlements to avoid having his family go through litigation, not because he had engaged in the claimed sexual misconduct. The suit goes on to say that OReillys comments damage Dhues reputation as a credible journalist. Dhue is the fourth woman to sue OReilly for defamation following his denial. In December, former Fox News producer Rachel Witlieb Bernstein filed suit against OReilly and Fox News, arguing that OReilly had violated the terms of their settlement when he claimed her harassment allegations were false and politically motived. Later that month, two more women joined Witlieb Bernsteins suit. Former OReilly producer Andrea Mackris and former Fox Business Network host Rebecca Gomez Diamond both reached settlements with OReilly after accusing him of sexual harassment (Mackris in 2004, and Gomez Diamond in 2011). Earlier this week, OReilly filed a motion to dismiss the December lawsuit, calling the claims frivolous and wholly unsupported in law or fact, and saying none of his statements would cause the women public shame or ridicule. In response to Dhues lawsuit, OReillys lawyer Fredric Newman said in a statement: Dhues filing has absolutely no merit. Mr. OReilly has never mentioned Dhue, and any attention she has received has been the result of her own actions. Mr. OReilly will defend himself in court fully and aggressively against all unfounded, opportunistic claims, and he will seek all appropriate legal remedies as well. Dhues lawsuit comes as many industries reckon with the use of nondisclosure agreements in sexual-harassment cases. On Monday, the Weinstein Company said it was ending all nondisclosure agreements that may have silenced women, and on Thursday, Washington governor Jay Inslee signed legislation that would prohibit employers from requiring employees who report sexual harassment or assault to sign nondisclosure agreements. At the signing ceremony in Olympia, Inslee told the crowd: The national Me Too movement has sparked conversations in every corner of our country and is bringing to light how inadequate our laws, rules, and culture are when it comes to sexual harassment and assault. Karen McDougal. Photo: CNN Shortly after former Playboy model Karen McDougal filed a lawsuit to be able to speak out about her alleged affair with now-president Donald Trump, she sat down with CNNs Anderson Cooper on Thursday to discuss the relationship and revealed that Trump tried to pay her the first time they had sex. After we had been intimate, he tried to pay me, and I actually didnt know how to take that, McDougal told Cooper. When asked whether Trump actually tried to hand her money, she replied, He did, and continued, I dont even know how to describe the look on my face. It must have been so sad. The former Playmate told Cooper it hurt that he saw her in that light. McDougal claims that she turned down the money and told Trump, Thats not me. Im not that kind of girl. She told Cooper, And he said, Oh, and he said, Youre really special. The affair, which allegedly started in 2006, then continued for nine months. The interview was McDougals first since she filed her lawsuit against American Media Inc., the parent company of National Enquirer. In her lawsuit, McDougal alleges she was paid $150,000 in 2016 by the company to not discuss her alleged affair with Trump (who is friends with the chief executive of AMI). She also alleges she was warned by AMI not to speak out after a recent bombshell report by The New Yorker detailed the affair. Former Playboy model Karen McDougal is alleging an affair more than a decade ago with Donald Trump. Fighting back tears, she says, "I'm really sorry for that. I know it's a wrong thing to do." https://t.co/qeAjICn2xD pic.twitter.com/49iCJl7TTW CNN (@CNN) March 23, 2018 McDougal also tearfully apologized to Trumps wife Melania, whom she once met an an event for the Apprentice, for the affair. What can you say except Im sorry? McDougal told Cooper. Im sorry. I wouldnt want it done to me. Clockwise from top left: Amal and George Clooney, Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, Common. Photo: Getty Images On Saturday, people will be taking to the streets of Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, New York City, and more than 800 other cities around the world for the March for Our Lives. Organized by student survivors of the horrific shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the event seeks to protest gun violence, demand stricter gun-control laws, and stand up for school safety. The Parkland teens leading the #NeverAgain movement will be attending the protests, as well many high-profile celebrities each of whom are attempting to use their fame to prevent such senseless massacres from occurring again. Why They March: Four Best Friends From Parkland Explain Why The March Matters to Them Here, the celebrities, speakers, and performers set to attend the March for Our Lives events. At the protest in Washington, D.C.: Amal and George Clooney. Photo: Gregg DeGuire/WireImage The main March for Our Lives event will be taking place on Saturday at noon in Washington, D.C., just a few blocks away from the Capitol. Major celebrities, including George and Amal Clooney, Jimmy Fallon, and Cher, are planning on marching during the demonstration, while a number of others are scheduled to take the stage at the event. The marchs musical performers include Lin-Manuel Miranda, Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Common, Ben Platt, Vic Mensa, Andra Day, and Demi Lovato. Grandes performance will likely be powerful and one not to miss, as a bombing at her Manchester concert last year killed a number of her young fans. Ariana Grande. Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic At the protest in Los Angeles: The March for Our Lives in Los Angeles will be packed with celebrity speakers and performers. Amy Schumer who has been an outspoken anti-gun violence advocate since a shooting at a Louisiana screening of her film Trainwreck in 2013 is set to speak at the West Coast event. Joining her will be Olivia Wilde, Yara Shahidi, Connie Britton, Skai Jackson, Meg Donnelly, TaRhonda Jones, Cappie Pondexter, Jacob Sartorius, Trevor Hall, Mason Cook, Bret Lockett, and more. We will update this post as we learn of more speakers and performers at other events around the world. A teen reportedly crashed into the exam building while she was taking her driver's test, according to police. (Buffalo Police Department) 17-Year-Old Crashes Car Into Exam Building While Taking Her Drivers Test, Police Say A 17-year-old girl who was taking her road test crashed her car into the building that housed the exam station office on Wednesday afternoon, March 21, according to police. The teen from Monticello, Minnesota, was parked at the drivers license exam station located at 10th block of 1st Ave South when she inadvertently put the vehicle in drive instead of reverse, police said in a statement released on the same day. When she accelerated, the vehicle lurched forward over the curb and crashed into the building in front of her. The impact of the crash caused significant damage to the vehicle and the building. The 60-year-old license examiner was transported to Buffalo Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Neither the teen or anyone else in the building were injured in the crash, police said. Buffalo Police Department shared a photo of the vehicle crashed almost halfway through the building wall. Many social media users were quite understanding about the accident and expressed support for the teen saying that it was a mistake that anyone could have made. Police said no charges are pending. From NTD.tv Recommended Video: Kayaker Rescues Iguana Swimming Miles From Shore Chinese Catholic worshippers wait to take communion at the Palm Sunday Mass during the Easter Holy Week at an "underground" or "unofficial" church near Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China, on April 9, 2017. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) Persecuted Chinese Christians Receive Asylum in Central Europe The Czech Republic, the smaller of the economically prosperous countries of Central Europe, has accepted eight applicants for asylum from ChinaChristians who arrived in the Czech Republic from February to May 2016. Although the Czech Republic and China have been pursuing very close political and business relations since 2014, the Ministry of the Interior officially confirmed the acceptance of eight Christians, citing the Chinese regimes violation of human rights. This is the second significant blow to Czech-China relations after the Chinese counselor to Czech President Milos Zeman recently made controversial headlines. Jie Jieming, the head of Chinese energy conglomerate CEFC who became the official advisor to the president in 2015, is now facing charges for economic crimes in China. Chinese state media has dismissed the fugitive believers from China as illegal migrants who only impersonated Christians. Associate Professor Zdenek Vojtisek, from Charles University, said that the Peoples Republic of China, as an atheist state, is going after religions and religious movements, including Christianity. It is generally known that devotees of various churches are subjected to fierce persecution, including imprisonment, torture, and even killing. The case attracts attention precisely because the Czech Republic, through the admission of Christians from China in the asylum procedure, has openly declared that the Chinese regime is violating human rights and persecuting believers, which is a well-known fact and an open secret under the political and economic pressures of the Chinese regime. The Communist Party perceives Christianity as a competitive ideology and sees threats to its power monopoly, sinologist Olga Lomova of Charles University told Aktualne.cz regarding the situation in China. The unusually long period of time the authorities took to examine the applicants, along with the number of rejected asylum applications, indicates that the Czech Republics decision to grant asylum was not easy. The decision took two years. The Czech authorities received a total of 90 applications, of which only eight were heard. Due to growing cooperation between the Czech Republic and China, tourism between the two countries has started to rise. If we accept this group, we will point out that China is not respecting human rights and religious freedom. This would have allowed the Czech-Chinese relations to cool a lot, and thats what our government fears, Katerina Prochazkova, Czech Radio and Czech Broadcaster, commented at the beginning of the process. The 82 unsuccessful applicants appealed against the rejection by administrative action. They are currently still in the Czech Republic and lawyers protect their anonymity. Revealing their identity would jeopardize their relatives in China who, according to the lawyers, were exposed to the regimes persecution. As a reason for rejecting most of the applications, the Czech authorities stated that the applicants had not sufficiently demonstrated that they were genuinely persecuted in China. Furthermore, some of them were considered by authorities to be merely economic migrants seeking better lives. The last reason was the alleged suspicion by the Czech secret service, BIS, that some of the applicants may be hacking agents of Chinese intelligence. We have been watched, as the Chinese government is against religion, so our activities have been reported to the authorities. I grew up in such an environment. They arrested me twice. I was left to leave, one of the unsuccessful asylum seekers told Czech Television. In China, oppression against believers is steadily rising, and recently they have even blown up one church, even though it was among the legal ones [authorized by the regime]. So if I returned to China, they would definitely arrest, torture, and condemn me. I would not survive, she added. Among the accepted refugees are members of the Christian Church, The Lightning of the East, which is mentioned in the book The Slaughter by investigative journalist Ethan Gutmann. According to Gutmann, the detainees of the Lightning of the East are one of the groups subjected to the forced removal of their organs at Chinese military hospitals, known as forced organ harvesting. Similar accusations have been repeatedly denied by the Chinese regime. The Czech Republic is a post-Communist country that overthrew the Communist regime in 1989 with peaceful protests against police shields and batons, gaining the moniker Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution in Slovak. Now a member of the European Union, the Czech Republic is paradoxically combining a strong historical struggle for human rights with growing economic and political cooperation with China. Translated by Miroslav Schlehr Recommended Video: How Doctors in China Turn into Murderers Bodies Found During Search for Missing Minnesota Couple The bodies of two elderly people were found late Thursday in Minnesota, and authorities believe they are the bodies of a couple reported missing by family members. The Paynesville Police Department received a missing person report on Wednesday, March 21, for Wilbert Scheel, 93, and Gloria Scheel, 80. Family members said the couple failed to attend a dinner engagement. The Scheels were last seen at Teals Market that day with their grandson Gregory Scheel, 34, who lived with them. Officers found a 2011 Toyota Prius connected to the couple on a rural road in Kandiyohi County with the bodies of two elderly adults inside on Thursday, reported KARE. Authorities said that the bodies were being sent to the medical examiner but they believe the bodies are Wilbert and Gloria Scheel. One squad car, and one @MnDPS_BCA car outside the Paynesville home of Willie and Gloria Scheel, grandparents who are missing, along with their 34 year old adult grandson, Gregory Scheel. @kare11 pic.twitter.com/dsrWKhNjbp Lindsey Seavert (@LindseySeavert) March 23, 2018 BREAKING: Sad update to the missing Paynesville couple case. Stearns County Sheriffs investigators found the bodies of an elderly couple in a Prius earlier tonight, identities to be confirmed by ME. Their grandson is now in Kandiyohi County jail on unrelated charge. @kare11 pic.twitter.com/Yc5tpsh4lq Lindsey Seavert (@LindseySeavert) March 23, 2018 Authorities were also looking for Gregory Scheel. Just after 9 p.m., they found him and arrested him on prior warrants. He is not facing any charges related to his grandparents at this time. Its not clear what the warrants were for, but the Stearns County Sheriffs Department said the investigation into the Scheels is ongoing, reported SC Times. However, officers said theyre not looking for any other individuals. Wilbur Scheel was featured in a story by CBS last year, which lauded him as the towns King of Ping Pong. Wilbur, or Willie, had started playing ping pong when he was in the Navy in 1945 and was known for carrying around a special paddle and refusing to use any other. Its good exercise, Willie said. Your eyes, your brain, your arms, your legsyour whole body gets exercise. The article noted that Wilbur had survived seven bouts with cancer. Along with playing ping pong four nights a week, the 93-year-old enjoyed delivering Meals on Wheels to senior citizens, many of who were younger than him. From NTD.tv Recommended Video: Wranglers Wrestle With Alligator to Remove Eggs From Nest Indigenous teen Jaylen Garlett, 16, was looking for a shirt at a department store in Perth, Western Australia when staff and security were called to the fitting room the teen was in. (Screenshot via Google Maps) Department Store Accused of Racially Profiling Indigenous Teen Shopping for Clothes A father in Western Australia has accused a Perth department store of racial profiling after the store called security on his 16-year-old son who was shopping for clothes for a school formal. Jaylen Garlett, 16, and his father, Shem Garlett, were looking for a shirt and accessories for the teens school formal on Thursday, March 8, at the Forrest Chase Myer in Perths central business district. The teens father left his son alone briefly in the change rooms in order to make a phone call when he heard a call over the stores intercom for security to attend the mens formal wear fitting room. Shem said since his son was still in that fitting room he became worried and returned to see whether his son was alright. When he got there, he saw about 10 staff including security congregated at his sons fitting room. I asked the lady at the service desk if everything was ok. She told me that there was a boy unaccompanied in the change rooms that didnt have anything to try on so she called security, Shem wrote in his formal letter of complaint to the department store that he posted on Facebook on March 13. I advised the lady that she had called a security alert for my son and explained he was alone in the change room because was waiting for [the shop assistant] to get another shirt for him to try on. She seemed stunned so I asked her why she called security for my son. She told me that last week a purse was taken from the service area, expecting me to understand. I asked what this had to do with my son, but no response. Shem said he suggested to her that she was racially profiling his son because the only thing she would have noticed was a young Aboriginal man, in her mind, appearing to be in the wrong place. The concerned father said the shop assistant had no grounds for making the call for security over the intercom because she did not witness at any crime being committed. Everyone looked confused and embarrassed when they saw [the other shop assistant] accompanying us to the other service desk to finalise our purchases, he said. We spent more than $200 on a shirt and accessories but I was tempted to just walk away, he added. Shem said what happened to his son was not an isolated incident. This is not an isolated incident as many of my Aboriginal friends and family have shared similar experiences of being racially profiled and harassed by security when shopping, he said. He suggested to the department store that their staff could benefit from Aboriginal cultural competency training or consider employing more indigenous people to allow their staff more opportunities to interact positively with indigenous people. Myer told the ABC that they have met with the family and apologised for the incident. Myer has looked into this matter, which came about due to a misunderstanding between team members when the customer entered the change rooms without any clothing items. There were no other factors involved. The father said he was overwhelmed by the support he received from people online, reported 9News. Its encouraging, he told the news station. It means the conversation is open. Its an opportunity to see how this actually affects Aboriginal people. Many social media users have commented on Shems post and expressed support for his family. In a similar case last month, former NRL South Sydney player Joe Williams accused security staff at a Sydney David Jones store for racially profiling his children, reported ABC. He said his 13-year-old son Brodi, 12-year-old niece Deminika, and his daughter Phoenix were shopping with their grandmother when they were stalked by security at the high-end department store. Today, my own children aged 11 & 13, along with my 12 yr old niece; followed continuously around @DavidJonesStore Syd city by security; all this witnessed by my mother.. A blatant case of racial profiling!!! Shame on you #DavidJones followed for having dark skin!! @IndigenousX Joe Williams TEW (@joewilliams_tew) February 10, 2018 David Jones has since apologised for the incident, reported the news broadcaster. From NTD.tv Recommended Video: Kangaroo Attacks Cyclist FBI Seeking Help Finding Fugitive With Dork Tattoo on His Neck The FBI is asking for the publics help in finding a fugitive with a distinct tattoo on his neck. Shawn Frederick Weatherhead has the word dork plastered across his neck, along with several other tattoos. The law enforcement agency said that Weatherhead has called the FBI 1,000 times since December 2015. In several calls, he made threats to kill people, reported KPTV. Weatherhead is described by agents as a transient with ties to the areas of Springfield and Eugene in Oregon; Eureka, California; and Reno, Nevada. The calls were made from phones in Oregon, California, and Nevada to the agencys public access line, which is based in West Virginia, as well as offices around the country. A federal judge in California issued an arrest warrant for Weatherhead on charges of interstate communication of a threat to injure the person of another. Weatherhead is described as a white man with hazel eyes and brown hair, standing 5 feet 6 inches, and weighing 140 pounds. Along with the dork tattoo, he has other tattoos, including wings on his forehead and some on his arm, wrist, hand, right leg, and back. His aliases have included: Shawn Frederick Aubuchon, Shawn Fredrick Aubuchon, Shawn Auhuchon, Shawn Weatherhead, Shawn F. Weatherhead, Shawn Frederic Weatherhead, and Shawn Fredrick Weatherhead. Weatherhead was originally born in Nevada and has worked as a tattoo artist. The FBI said hes known to carry a switchblade knife and is believed to be a user of illegal drugs. Anyone with information should contact the local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or consulate. From NTD.tv Recommended Video: Supermarket Clerk has Sensational Voice Former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson testifies before the House Intelligence Committee in an open hearing in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center June 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Johnson answered questions about Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential elections and his department's response to the threat. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) House Intelligence Committee Concludes Russia Probe, Finds No Evidence of Collusion The House Intelligence Committee voted to officially complete its Russia investigation on Thursday and concluded that there is no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. The committee began investigating allegations of Russian meddling in the U.S. elections more than 14 months ago. Since then, the members have interviewed 73 witnesses and obtained more than 300,000 documents. A final report on the findings is due to be reviewed by intelligence agencies so sensitive information can be redacted before it is made available to the public. Meanwhile, members released a preliminary summary of the findings. The summary shows that in addition to the key finding that there is no evidence of collusion, the committee found that Trumps business dealings before the campaign did not form the basis for collusion during the campaign. The committee also found that the intelligence communitys assessment that Putin favored Trump in the election did not employ proper analytic tradecraft. While finding no issues with Trump, the committee instead uncovered alarming issues regarding the FBIs surveillance of the Trump campaign and leaks from the intelligence community. The FBI obtained a warrant to spy on Trump associate Carter Page using an unverified dossier funded by the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee. That dossier was compiled by British ex-spy Christopher Steele using second- and third-hand sources with ties to the Kremlin, according to the summary of findings. The committee also discovered an alarming and dramatic increase in leaks from the intelligence community immediately after Trump was elected. The leaks contained the same language as the intelligence communitys assessment. The report singled out former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. Continued leaks of classified information have damaged national security and potentially endangered lives, the summary says. Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, now a CNN national security analyst, provided inconsistent testimony to the Committee about his contacts with the media, including CNN. In response to the leaks, the committee recommended that Congress pass legislation to increase penalties for unauthorized leaks and that the Executive Branch should consider giving mandatory lie-detector tests to non-confirmed political appointees with top-secret clearances. From NTD.tv Recommended Video: President Donald Trumps Weekly AddressMarch 10, 2018 Texas blast suspect Mark Anthony Conditt is seen in this undated handout photo released by Austin Community College in Austin, Texas, U.S. March 21, 2018. (Austin Community College/Handout via Reuters) I Wish I Were Sorry But I Am Not: Austin Bomber Suspect On Confession Recording Austin bombing suspect Mark Conditt left a haunting message for police in his confession audio recording where he described himself as a psychopath, according to a source familiar with his statements. I wish I were sorry but I am not, Conditt said in the cell phone recording, reported the American-Statesman. Conditt, 23, has been identified by authorities as the suspect who is responsible for making six explosive devices five of which detonated killing two people and injuring five others over a period of three weeks this month in Austin and surrounding areas. Police said that the 23-year-old killed himself by detonating a bomb after law enforcement confronted him at around 3 a.m. on Wednesday, March 21. During the 25-minute audio recording, he described himself as a psychopath and said he feels as though he has been disturbed since childhood, according to the news website, who obtained the statements from the unidentified law-enforcement sources. The 23-year-old bombing suspect also promised that he would go inside a crowded McDonalds to blow himself up if he thought authorities were closing in on him. According to the American-Statesman, Conditt recorded the 25-minute statement after 9 p.m. on Tuesday starting the statement with: Its me again. He then blamed himself for helping investigators find him by going to a FedEx store in Sunset Valley to mail two explosive devices, allowing himself to be videotaped by store cameras and for outside cameras to capture his license plate. Conditt also had a laptop computer with him but it was destroyed when he detonated himself with a bomb in his car, reported the news station. Officials said the laptop could have contained other recordings. Austin Police Chief Brian Manley confirmed in a press conference on Wednesday, March 21, that they had discovered an audio recording on the suspects cell phone and classified it as a confession. However, limited details of what was in the recording were provided. APD, local, state and federal partners provide update on Austin package bomb murder investigation. https://t.co/5w8F6lmijS Austin Police Dept (@Austin_Police) March 21, 2018 On this recording, the suspect describes the six bombs that he constructed with a level of specificity that he identified the differences among those six bombs. Weve told you all along that they all had similarities, which they did as far as specific components, but there were also differences between them. And on this recording, he identified what those differences were, Manley said at the press conference on Wednesday. Police said Conditt did not at all mention anything about terrorism nor anything about hate in the recording. Instead, it was the outcry of a very challenged young man, talking about challenges in his personal life which led him to this point, Manley said. However, police added the recording did not clarify a motive for the package bombings. Were never going to put a ration behind these acts, Manley said. Authorities also revealed the suspect had identified seven explosive devices five of which detonated, one which was found unexploded at a FedEx facility and another which he detonated in his vehicle. Manley confirmed all seven devices have been identified. The sources also told the American-Statesman that Conditt acknowledged how his actions left family members without loved ones, and caused permanent injuries to other victims, including an elderly woman. Police investigations are still ongoing. On Thursday, March 22, police said a second roommate who was detained for questioning has been released. The second roommate that was questioned has been released. Their names will not be released because they are not under arrest at this time. APD PIO https://t.co/6zhGrI0G51 Austin Police Dept (@Austin_Police) March 22, 2018 Austin Police Department continues to urge people to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious. APD is asking the public to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious. If you come across ANYTHING that looks suspicious, DO NOT touch, handle or disturb it. Keep a safe distance and call 9-1-1 immediately. pic.twitter.com/bl9cTAGAoI Austin Police Dept (@Austin_Police) March 22, 2018 H. R. McMaster, national security advisor to the president, at a joint press conference with President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Stefan Lofven of Sweden in the East Room of the White House in Washington on March 6, 2018. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) John Bolton to Replace McMaster as National Security Adviser Switch comes as Trump focuses on Iran nuclear deal President Donald Trump announced on Thursday, March 22, that former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, will replace H.R. McMaster as National Security Adviser in early April. I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9, Trump wrote on Twitter. I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2018 The move to replace McMaster as national security adviser follows a number of leaks from within the White House national security team. I am thankful to President Donald J. Trump for the opportunity to serve him and our nation as national security advisor. I am grateful for the friendship and support of the members of the National Security Council who worked together to provide the President with the best options to protect and advance our national interests, McMaster said in a statement. Former Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton speaks to guests at the Iowa Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 24, 2015. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) Bolton served under former President George W. Bush as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security (2001-2005) and as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. (2005-2006). Bolton has been a fierce critic of the Iran nuclear deal reached between the Obama administration and the Iranian regime in 2015. President Trump is currently evaluating which steps to take next when it comes to the deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which would allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons in 2026 after key provisions of the deal expire. In January this year, Trump said he would issue his last waiver keeping the deal in place, providing a 120-day window for key improvements to be made to the deal. Trump has demanded for the so-called sunset clauses to be removed and for Irans ballistic missile program to be included in the deal. The President has left open the possibility for the United States to pull out of the agreement if no such improvements are made. Earlier this week Trump met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a key ally in the region who has a vested interest in preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. On Wednesday, Israel took the unusual step to release footage and images of a 2007 air raid it conducted against a nuclear power plant in Syria. Israels intelligence minister, Israel Katz, said on Twitter: The (2007) operation and its success made clear that Israel will never allow nuclear weaponry to be in the hands of those who threaten its existence Syria then, and Iran today. Recommended Video: President Donald Trumps Weekly AddressMarch 10, 2018 When their health takes a turn for the worse, however, older people without strong social relationships may be more likely to have long hospital stays and repeat hospitalizations, researchers report in the American Journal of Public Health. It is evident that strong social relationships (i.e., large social network, close interpersonal connection, and adequate social support) are beneficial to health and well-being, said Dr. Guohua Li, a researcher at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York. It is less clear about the mechanisms through which social relationships affect health outcomes such as (medical complications) and mortality, Li, who wasnt involved in the study, said by email. It is evident that strong social relationships are beneficial to health and well-being. Dr. Guohua Li , researcher at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York. There are, however, many possible explanations, said Ben Lennox Kail, a sociology and gerontology researcher at Georgia State University in Atlanta who wasnt involved in the study. For starters, people with few close relationships with friends or relatives may be more likely to suffer from depression or other mental health issues than individuals with expansive social networks, Kail said by email. People who are not particularly well socially integrated may have poorer mental health or well-being, which may lead to poorer physical health, which may make longer hospital stays and more repeat visits more necessary, Kail said. That said, if this were the primary explanation, we might expect to see more regular doctors visitand we dont, Kail added. Instead, its possible that people without friends and family to rely on might benefit more from longer hospital stays where they can get extra support from nurses, Kail said. With strong social networks, people might also have healthier habits, more reasons to leave the house and keep active, and people in their life to remind them to eat right, exercise, and take any prescribed medicine. Instead, its possible that people without friends and family to rely on might benefit more from longer hospital stays where they can get extra support from nurses. Ben Lennox Kail , sociology and gerontology researcher at Georgia State University in Atlanta For the study, Nicole Valtorta of Newcastle University in the UK and colleagues examined data from 126 studies involving a total of more than 226,000 people in 19 countries. Most were from the United States and Canada. Only one study was a controlled experiment designed to test whether social relationships directly impacted health utilization. Most of the studies examined data collected over time on outcomes like emergency room visits, doctor checkups, and hospital admissions. Valtorta declined to comment on the study, citing an ongoing strike over pensions at the university. The evidence is not quite there yet to indicate that increasing the quantity and/or quality of older adults social ties will reduce health care utilization, said Christina Matz-Costa of the Boston College School of Social Work. That is not to say that individual or population-based interventions to strengthen social relationships and reduce loneliness do not represent important public health strategies, Matz-Costa, who wasnt involved in the study, said by email. People experiencing health problems often seek out close friends or family for help, she said. When health issues arise, informal networks are often used to obtain advice, guidance, and support, she said. That help can allow them to understand their symptoms before seeking out formal care services. Those who lack informal social supports for vetting their health issues or complaints may be more likely to seek out formal services, she said. By Reuters A photograph of slain journalist Leobardo Vazquez hangs from a wire at his house in the municipality of Gutierrez Zamora, in Veracruz state, Mexico March 22, 2018. (Reuters/Yahir Ceballos) Mexican Journalist Gunned Down in Violent State of Veracruz MEXICO CITYA Mexican journalist was killed in the southeastern Mexican state of Veracruz, the government said on Thursday the latest victim in a wave of violence in one of the worlds most dangerous countries for reporters. Leobardo Vazquez, who worked for the newspaper Enlace, was shot dead Wednesday night in the municipality of Gutierrez Zamora at his home, where he also had sold tacos, state prosecutors said in a statement. Vazquez is the third journalist killed in Mexico so far this year after 12 were murdered in 2017. The number of murder cases rose in 2017 to more than 25,000, the highest in records going back to 1997, as rival drug gangs splintered into smaller, more blood-thirsty groups following more than a decade of a military-led campaign to battle the cartels. Four of the 12 journalists killed last year were murdered in Veracruz, one of Mexicos most violent states. Free speech advocacy group Article 19 said in a recent report that Mexico is the most dangerous country to practice journalism in Latin America, with violence against reporters comparable to countries at war, such as Syria. Recommended Video: Texas Sheriff Talks About Why Sanctuaries Dont Help Public Safety New Details Emerge in Possible Attempted Attack at Travis Air Force Base in California New details have been revealed in the possible attempted attack at an Air Force base in California. Law enforcement sources told CBS that a car loaded with propane tanks was driven through the main gate at Travis Air Force Base on Wednesday night, March 21, before exploding into flames. A video posted on an Air Force forum on Facebook showed military personnel fighting to put out the fire. The bases Explosive Ordinance Disposal team also responded, along with the Office of Special Investigation. The sources said the driver deliberately ignited the fire, before dying inside the car. Law enforcement officials have identified the driver but not released his name publicly. Investigators are treating the incident as an act of terrorism, prompting FBI agents to join the Air Force in the investigation. The drive gained unauthorized access to the main gate, authorities told the Los Angeles Times. #TeamTravis, Please advise the latest update on the incident at the Main Gate. #TravisStrong pic.twitter.com/yo8xWJUSQI Travis AFB Official (@Travis60AMW) March 22, 2018 Air Force officials said there was no threat to the base, which houses some 7,000 active military members and 3,700 civilians. Its the largest military aerial port in the United States. The safety and welfare of our airmen, their families, and our local community is our top priority, Col. John Klein, commander of the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis, in a statement. I am extremely proud of how our first responders quickly addressed the situation to keep Travis and the surrounding area out of harms way, he said. He added, We are fortunate to have enduring relationships with federal and local law enforcement, and will continue to work hand-in-hand with them through the investigative process. #TeamTravis Security Forces personnel have begun implementing additional security measures at the main and hospital gates. Be prepared for longer than usual commute times. #TravisStrong Travis AFB Official (@Travis60AMW) March 23, 2018 On Friday morning, the bases official Twitter account released another statement. Security Forces personnel have begun implementing additional security measures at the main and hospital gates. Be prepared for longer than usual commute times, it stated. From NTD.tv Recommended Video: First Lady Makes a Plea to Promote Compassion to Children A U.S. Marines MV-22 Osprey Aircraft flies over a jet before landing on the deck of the USS Bonhomme Richard amphibious assault ship off the coast of Sydney, Australia June 29, 2017. (Reuters/Jason Reed/File Photo) Record Number of US Marines to Train in Australia in Symbolic Challenge to China SYDNEYThe United States will deploy a record number of Marines to train in Australia, the Australian defence minister said on Friday, as Washington seeks to counter what it describes as Chinese government aggression in the region. Payne said 1,587 U.S. Marines will spend six months training in Australias remote north, an increase of nearly 27 percent on its 2017 rotation for the program known as the Force Posture Initiatives. The U.S. military plays a vital role in underwriting security and stability across the Indo-Pacific, and the Force Posture Initiatives will be an essential component in preserving stability and security over the coming decades, Defence Minister Marise Payne said in a statement. The deployment, first introduced in 2011 as part of a U.S. pivot to Asia, has emerged as a key indicator of Washingtons commitment to the region under President Donald Trump and his willingness to counter the Chinese communist regimes influence in a region where tensions have spiked amid disputes over the South China Sea. The U.S. Marines will train with personnel from Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailandseveral nations that also have claims in the South China Sea. China will monitor whatever the U.S. does and it would prefer that the United States not work with the Asian countries included in these exercises, said Euan Graham, director of the international security program at Australian think tank the Lowy Institute. Beijing would like to deal one-on-one with Southeast Asia nations that have counter claims, he said. Australia, a staunch U.S. ally with no claim to the South China Sea, has so far maintained a neutral position in the dispute to protect its economic relationship with China. But bilateral relations have soured in recent months after Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said China was improperly interfering in Canberras affairs, an accusation that triggered a rare protest from Beijing. By Colin Packham Recommended Video: What You Need to Know About Earths Poles Shift 2018 [/eet_video] US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, speaks during a press conference at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, March 22, 2018.(SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images) Schumer: President Trump is Exactly Right Senate Minority Leader applauded Trump on China crackdown, while criticizing Obama and Bush for doing nothing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the most prominent critic of President Donald Trump in the Senate, praised the presidents efforts to address Chinas unfair trade practices. I dont agree with President Trump on a whole lot, but today I want to give him a big pat on the back. He is doing the right thing when it comes to China, he said on the Senate floor on Thursday. China is ruthless in how they go after the United States. They do it quietly. They do it with a smile. Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum on Thursday directing the U.S. Trade Representative and the Department of Treasury to propose plans to impose new tariffs and investment restrictions to retaliate against Chinas unfair trade practices. The new tariffs on Chinese imports could be about $60 billion annually, according to Trump. Unfortunately previous presidentsDemocrat and Republicanjust stood by as China did what it did to us. President Trump is exactly right, Schumer said. I have called for such action for years and been disappointed by the inactions of both President Bush and Obama. Im very pleased that this administration is taking strong action to get a better deal on China. Recommended Video: President Donald Trumps Weekly AddressMarch 10, 2018 A girl looks at the camera during evacuations from the besieged town of Douma, Eastern Ghouta, in Damascus, Syria March 22, 2018. (Reuters/Bassam Khabieh) Syria Rebels Depart Eastern Ghouta Town on Government Buses in First Surrender BEIRUT/DAMASCUSSyrian rebels withdrew in busloads from a town in eastern Ghouta on Thursday and handed it over to the army, the first such surrender since one of the fiercest campaigns of the seven-year war began more than a month ago. The Ahrar al-Sham groups decision to accept the armys terms and abandon the town of Harasta puts the government on course for its biggest victory over rebels since the battle of Aleppo in 2016. And in another part of the same region, the controlling rebel group, Failaq al-Rahman, said a ceasefire had been agreed, to start within hours at midnight local time, to allow a final negotiating session to take place. After dark fell on Thursday, around 30 buses carrying rebel fighters and their families left Harasta. Syrian state media said the buses carried 1,580 people, including 413 rebel fighters given safe passage to northwestern Syria. A military media unit run by Syrian President Bashar al-Assads ally Hezbollah said 1,500 fighters and 6,000 family members had agreed to leave. An army officer interviewed on state television said rebels who had not yet negotiated similar deals to evacuate from other towns in eastern Ghouta must quit or die. Death is coming for you if you do not surrender, he said. The armys assault on eastern Ghouta, the last major rebel bastion near the capital, has been one of the most intense in Syrias seven-year-old war, killing more than 1,500 people in a relentless bombardment with warplanes, rockets and shells. Before boarding the buses out of Harasta, a small group were shown on television in the fading light kneeling in a line for Islams sunset prayer perhaps the last they would perform in their hometown. Children ran among the adults waiting to board. Between 18,000 and 20,000 people were expected to stay in Harasta under government rule, a military source said. Proven Tactics The eastern Ghouta campaign has seen Syria and its Russian allies use the tactics that proved successful in other parts of the country since Moscow joined the war in 2015: lay siege to an area, bombard it, launch a ground assault and finally offer safe passage out to rebels who agree to leave with their families. The governments control of Harasta leaves eastern Ghoutas rebels in control only of the town of Douma under the control of Jaish al-Islam and another pocket that includes the towns of Jobar, Ein Terma, Arbin and Zamalka under the control of Failaq al-Rahman. State television reported that more than 6,000 people had fled Douma since Wednesday, crossing over into government-held territory. Government airstrikes pummelled parts of the region on Thursday morning, striking Arbin and Zamalka and killing 19 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitoring group. Failaq al-Rahmans Istanbul-based spokesman Wael Alwan said it had contacted the United Nations to mediate a ceasefire with Russian forces in order to negotiate with the Russian side about finding a solution to guarantee the safety of civilians and to guarantee that their suffering stops. State media said rebels fired rockets from eastern Ghouta into Damascus on Thursday, killing two people. Television showed burning projectile parts on streets and in parks. Surrender On Sunday, Assad drove himself to a newly captured battlefront in eastern Ghouta, a demonstration of his seemingly unassailable position in a war that has been going his way since Russia sent its air force to help him in 2015. The deal to surrender Harasta began on Thursday with a prisoner swap. In an interview with state television, a Syrian soldier freed by rebels wept and thanked God and the army for his release. The Russian Defence Ministry website showed what it said was live footage from the al-Wafideen crossing point from Douma into government areas. Over a period of several minutes, it showed dozens of people in small groups coming around a corner and trekking along the dirt road past armed soldiers. Some bore bundles of possessions, others carried small children or pushed prams. Douma is the most populous area in eastern Ghouta, and for more than a week it has been entirely surrounded by the government. Jaish al-Islam has said it is determined to fight on. However, the Observatory said people leaving the area were doing so under an agreement between the group and Russia. Ferocity The Syrian government and Russia accuse rebels in eastern Ghouta of preventing civilians from leaving to use them as human shields, which the rebels deny. Moscow and Damascus say their campaign is needed to end rebel shelling of the capital and other nearby areas. On Tuesday, a rocket struck a marketplace in a government-held town, killing dozens. However, the ferocity of the Syrian armys offensive in eastern Ghouta has prompted Western condemnation and urgent pleas from United Nations humanitarian agencies for a ceasefire. Russias Defence Ministry said that, since Russia began imposing humanitarian pauses almost a month ago, some 95,000 people had left eastern Ghouta for government territory. The Harasta rebels will be taken to Idlib province in the northwest, which has become the main sanctuary for insurgents who agree to quit territory under deals with the government. The northwestern province is the biggest remaining area under rebel control in Syria and its population has been doubled by refugees fleeing other areas. But it too is a target for forces loyal to Assad, who vows he will reassert control over the entire country. The Observatory said that, over the previous 48 hours, air strikes on Idlib had killed at least 63 people. A teacher uses a fingerprint and facial recognition machine to check a student before a simulated college entrance exam in China's northern Hebei Province on June 6, 2017. The Chinese Regimes Social Credit Dystopia The threat of artificial intelligence meeting political correctness The Chinese regime is pushing a new form of order under its big data social credit system, a system based on extreme surveillance and documentation that assigns each citizen a rating, and either rewards or punishes them. The social credit system being implemented in China represents the coming dystopian nightmare of authoritarian state control combined with networked databases that allow every meaningful social and economic activity a citizen engages in to be monitored for compliance purposes, said Dr. Robert J. Bunker, adjunct research professor at the Strategic Studies Institute at U.S. Army War College. In June 2014, the Chinese regime published its plans for the social credit system, which publicly scores citizens on a wide range of metrics, including their online purchases, their daily behavior, and the people they associate with. The system was set to become mandatory in China by 2020, but the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) recently announced that starting on May 1, Chinese citizens with poor social credit scores will lose the ability to travel by airline or train for up to a year. Social crimes that could render Chinese citizens unable to use the travel systems include causing trouble on a plane, spreading alleged false information about terrorism, using expired tickets, giving an insincere apology, or even parking a bicycle in a walkway. Bunker said the social credit system resembles something that could be found in George Orwells dystopian novel 1984, but noted this real system is far more insidious, as it represents a massive social engineering programone that will increasingly be [driven by] facial recognition technology and artificial intelligence and that will be used to control close to 1.4 billion people in a totalitarian, communist system. Some groups have compared the CCPs social credit system to credit scores in the West, but there are major differences between the two. The Western system can limit financial loans based on a persons poor handling of money, but the CCPs new system can limit nearly every aspect of a persons life, based on nearly any choice they make. This system goes so far beyond the neoliberal capitalist financial credit rating in its intrusiveness as to not even be comparable, Bunker said. He said, This would be like being an Uber or Lyft driver 24/7 for the rest of your life and having to keep getting continuous favorable reviews from your clients, or else increasingly lose your basic societal rights. Totalitarian AI The social credit system is an extreme continuation of social controls that are fundamental to all communist systems. There are two fundamental forms of order: moral order and outer order. A persons moral order is their personal restraint, based in their religion, traditions, and personal values. Outer order comes from the laws of government or a collective, and may not always align with a persons inner values. When a communist system takes power, the first thing it does is destroy each persons moral order. This directive comes straight from Karl Marx, who wrote in his Communist Manifesto that communism abolishes eternal truths, it abolishes all religion, and all morality. With moral order destroyed, power is then shifted solely to the heads of state, and the state is then charged with creating not only a system of laws for outer order, but to also create its own system of morals based on social policy. This is where the political-moral system of political correctness comes into playthe ideas of which were laid out in 1967 in the Little Red Book by Mao Zedong, the former CCP leader who by some estimates is responsible for 50 million to 70 million unnatural deaths. Maos idea of political correctness was simple: If you supported political initiatives, you were correct, and if you did not support these movements, you could be persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, or killed. In most communist societies, when moral order is destroyed, social stability depends on the threats and punishments of the state, and these threats and punishments are only applicable within the boundaries of what the communist regime can monitor. With its social credit system, however, the CCP is trying to work around this, but not by restoring moral order. Instead, the state is extending its eyes into every detail of a persons life and manufacturing a state-run pseudo karma system in which it rewards or punishes people, based on the AI-driven collective score of their minute decisions. And as the CCP promotes its China model for global governance, this extremely totalitarian system of social stability may soon find its way into other countries. Bunker said, The concern, of course, is that as China escalates its great power challenge to the United States and her democratic allies globally, it will offer its social credit rating system to its authoritarian allies as part of its internal security aid packages. He said, This suggests that we may very well be on the brink of a new type of high-tech Cold War with expansive Chinese political and economic authoritarianism fully supported by networks, databases, and AI. Recommended Video: How Doctors in China Turn into Murderers Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) (L) greets Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivor David Hogg ahead of a news conference in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center in Washington on March 22, 2018. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Time Magazine Leaves Students Who Support Second Amendment Off of Parkland Cover Time Magazines latest cover features five survivors of the February school shooting, but all five support gun control, leading to criticism that the magazine is supporting only one viewpoint. As a group of students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida advocate for laws further restricting citizens ownership of guns, including banning AR-15s, other students have expressed that other aspects of the national conversation should be focused on, such as mental health care and holes in law enforcement investigations. Nikolas Cruz entered the school on Feb. 14 and opened fire, killing 17 people and wounding 16 others, he allegedly admitted to authorities. Multiple people recommended that Cruz be committed to a mental health institution, including the school resource officer at Marjory Stoneman. Documents obtained by CNN indicated that Scot Peterson, the schools resource officer, wanted to use the Baker Act on Sept. 28, 2016, after Cruz allegedly made threats against other students. However, mental health professionals ultimately decided that there wasnt enough evidence for Cruz to be committed. NBC reported that Petersons recommendation came after Cruz published a Snapchat video in which he cut his arms and said he wanted to buy a gun. He also made a racist comment in the video. Another potential gap highlighted was FBI agents failing to act on tips after Cruz published threats on YouTube under his own name. Watch the latest video at &amp;amp;amp;lt;a href=http://www.foxnews.com&amp;amp;amp;gt;foxnews.com&amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;gt; Dozens of calls to the Broward County Sheriffs Department resulted in responses to the Cruz home, and none of those resulted in Cruzs arrest. The department was criticized further for their response to the shooting, which included Peterson waiting outside instead of entering the building to try to confront the gunman, as a school resource officer did in Maryland this week Among the Parkland students, Kyle Kashuv has emerged as a staunch defender of the Second Amendment, and he has also noted the failures by law enforcement and health officials in stopping Cruz before the mass shooting. Kashuv was credited by multiple officials in helping craft and include the Stop School Violence Act in the omnibus that is currently being considered by President Donald Trump. Kashuvs meetings included visits with Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and First Lady Melania Trump. I spent a week with the #NeverAgain kids. Heres an inside look at how theyre reframing the gun debate as a generational divide and why theyre not going anywhere https://t.co/syBO4hGNhY pic.twitter.com/haEyvNGSul Charlotte Alter (@CharlotteAlter) March 22, 2018 But Kashuv was not featured in the Time magazine cover story, nor were any other students who have similar views. All five students featured on the cover have aligned with the Womens March and Evertown for Gun Safety groups and have been advocating for stricter gun control laws, including the outright banning of certain guns. They include David Hogg, whose father is a retired FBI agent, and who infamously hung up on the president when he called and tried to talk with him. After the magazine cover was published online, critics accused the magazine of outright bias, noting the fact that Kashuv was not even quoted in the article, which features no information about other students or viewpoints. Wheres @KyleKashuv?! Hes the one whos actually been getting something DONE in Washington! wondered one user. Once upon a @TIME they did real journalism in this country. pic.twitter.com/ZhECVpOHvM The Reagan Battalion (@ReaganBattalion) March 23, 2018 Funny, I grew up in the same city these kids did and they DO NOT reflect the views of all the students and adults. In fact, Emma is trying to protect Sheriff Israel and BSO, whos terrible response caused MORE PEOPLE TO DIE! This is just sick, your bias is showing, said another. Criticism included designers making alternative covers that sought to highlight Kashuv and Patrick Petty, whose sister died in the attack and who has been working on legislation in Washington. Time has not responded to the criticism. From NTD.tv Recommended Video: GoPro Dropped Down Deep Well to Check Out Reports of Limestone Caves The launching of an Iranian ballistic missile at an undisclosed location in Iran on Oct. 11, 2015. President Trump wants Iran's ballistic missile program to become part of the nuclear agreement. (Iranian Defense Ministry) Trump Appointing Bolton Has Everything to Do With Iran News Analysis The appointment of John Bolton as National Security Adviser is a key indicator that President Donald Trump is preparing to take the next step in countering the Iran nuclear weapons threat. Contrary to his predecessor, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, Bolton is a longtime fierce opponent to the 2015 nuclear deal the Obama administration reached with Iran. Trump announced in January this year that he would sign one more waiver allowing the deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, giving 120 days for improvements to the deal to be made. The president has demanded the so-called sunset clauses that would enable Iran to develop a nuclear weapon by 2026 to be removed, as well as for its ballistic missile program to be included in the deal. Absent of those two improvements, Trump has said he will pull the United States out of the deal between Iran and the United States, France, Russia, China, United Kingdom, Germany, and the European Union. Prior to the passing of the deadline, Trump has started to take key steps to increase pressure on Iran. Last week he replaced Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with CIA chief Mike Pompeo. Tillerson and Trump had divergent views on how to handle the Iranian nuclear crisis. Earlier this week he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a key strategic ally in the region and a fierce opponent to Irans nuclear weapons program. Salman told CBSs 60 Minutes that if Iran would obtain a nuclear weapon, Saudi Arabia would immediately do the same. On Wednesday, Israel took the unusual step to release images and footage of a covert 2007 air raid it conducted on a nuclear plant in Syria. Israels intelligence minister, Yisrael Katz, said that his country intended to make clear that Israel will never allow nuclear weaponry to be in the hands of those who threaten its existenceSyria then, and Iran today. The Israeli military described in detail events leading up to the night of Sept 56, 2007, in which, it said, eight warplanes, F-16s and F-15s, carried out the mission after taking off from the Ramon and Hatzerim air bases. For Trump, leverage is key in any negotiation, and Israel sending a message that it has the ability to destroy Irans nuclear plants is providing him with that. In a January op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, Bolton writes that: Mr. Trump correctly sees Mr. Obamas deal as a massive strategic blunder, but his advisers have inexplicably persuaded him not to withdraw. The Iran agreement rests on inadequate knowledge and fundamentally flawed premises. Mr. Obama threw away any prospect of learning basic facts about Irans capabilities. Bolton also said that Putting lipstick on this deal will not fix it. With his new team soon in place, Trump now has the puzzle-pieces in place to make his next move against Iran. President Donald Trump speaks at The Generation Next event, a White House Forum featuring millennial voters and administration officials on March 22, 2018, in the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington on March 22, 2018. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) With Deadline Looming, Trump Threatens to Veto Spending Bill With the deadline for a government shutdown looming, President Donald Trump said that he is considering a veto of the $1.3 trillion budget bill which was just approved by the House and Senate. The president explained in a Twitter message that the measure does not fund a wall on the southern border and does nothing for the 800,000 aliens who entered the country illegally as minors. The presidents budget chief, Mick Mulvaney, had indicated on Thursday that Trump would sign the budget bill, according to the Wall Street Journal. I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2018 I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded, the president wrote on Twitter. With assurances from Mulvaney and Republican leaders that Trump would sign the bill, most lawmakers had already left Washington for a two-week recess. If Trump doesnt sign the bill by midnight on Friday, the governments funding will expire. The bill passed by the House on Thursday and the Senate early on Friday includes only $1.6 billion in funding for a border wall with Mexico, a signature promise that Trump campaigned on. The entire project is estimated to cost $33 billion. The provision also prohibits construction of the kind of structure that Trump demanded. Trump has long reached out to Democrats to make a deal which would fund the wall in exchange for a concession for the 800,000 participants of the Obama-era DACA program, which granted a temporary legal status to aliens who entered the country illegally as minors. Trump ended the program in September but has offered to revive it if the Democrats agree to fund the wall and other immigration enforcement priorities. In the most recent negotiation, the White House offered to resume the DACA program in exchange for $25 billion in wall funding, Fox News reported, citing a congressional GOP source. The deal broke down after Democrats demanded a path to citizenship to an expanded pool of 1.8 million illegal aliens. DACA was abandoned by the Democrats. Very unfair to them! Would have been tied to desperately needed Wall. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2018 DACA was abandoned by the Democrats. Very unfair to them! Would have been tied to desperately needed Wall, Trump wrote on Twitter on Friday, one hour prior to announcing that he is considering a veto. If Trump vetoes the bill, Congress could choose to override the veto. The House and Senate would require two-thirds of lawmakers to do so. The bill passed with less than two-thirds in both the House and Senate. Some conservative lawmakers applauded the presidents intention to veto. Please do, Mr. President. I am just down the street and will bring you a pen, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tennessee) wrote on Twitter. The spending levels without any offsets are grotesque, throwing all of our children under the bus. Totally irresponsible. From NTD.tv Recommended Video: Texas Sheriff Talks About Why Sanctuaries Dont Help Public Safety WASHINGTON For Sen. Chris Murphy, the inclusion of Fix NICS in the Omnibus spending bill working its way through Congress is more symbolic than substantive. Its a victory, but its a small victory, Murphy said in an interview Thursday. What it stands for is the changed politics on the issue of guns. If you had told me 2016 there would be two provisions on guns (in the spending bill), Id have told you youre crazy. Fix NICS, which Murphy co-authored with Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, offers a carrot-and-stick approach to states and federal agencies to encourage addition of names to the existing FBI database of individuals unqualified to own guns. It won not only bipartisan support on Capitol Hill but a nod from the National Rifle Association. In addition to Fix NICS, the Omnibus also includes clarifying language that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can study gun violence. CDC had steered clear of such research since the so-called Dickey amendment in 1996 said agency could not use research to promote gun control. The Omnibus steers a narrow path through the ideological divide over gun rights in America, stipulating CDC can conduct research in an apolitical manner. The National Rifle Association, which supported Fix NICS, claimed the CDC language was no victory for the gun-control side. The clarifying language added to the Omnibus spending bill simply states that research into firearms and violence is permissible and always has been, said NRA spokeswoman Catherine Mortensen. Murphy, a leader on guns on Capitol Hill since the 2012 mass-shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, said he felt as though the advances were palpable but ultimately limited. With the gun-violence prevention side winning new-found strength from teen-agers in the wake of the Feb. 14 mass-shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, Republicans are on defense, Murphy said. By including Fix NICS in the Omnibus, Murphy said, Republicans effectively staved off debate on wider, more controversial gun issues such as universal background checks which would extend the background check requirement to private sales at gun shows and elsewhere. Overall, though, theres a lot of good stuff in this bill for Connecticut, Murphy said. Among the items are: _ Defense-spending boosts, especially for Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford. The bill includes an additional $62 million for UH-60M helicopter production line modifications, and an extra $250 million for two additional CH-53K heavy-lift helicopters for the Marine Corps. _ Long Island Sound. The Omnibus gives $5.7 million extra to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administrations fisheries aquaculture program, and avoids cuts to its lab in Milford. It also adds $2 million to the NOAA marine aquaculture program. _ Opioid addiction and prevention. The compromise has a $3.3 billion increase from last year for all government departments and agencies to combat opioid addiction and extend services for mental illness. Opioids have plagued wide swaths of Connecticut, especially more rural areas. _ Railroad infrastructure and safety. Positive Train Control, a GPS-like system mandated by Congress to prevent wrecks of out-of-control trains, gets an extra $250 million to help governments pay for the share the railroads themselves arent shouldering. Connecticut lawmakers have pushed for PTC in the wake of Metro North crashes. Murphys Honor Our Commitment Act also made its way into the Omnibus. The bill would open up VA mental health services to veterans with other-than-honorable discharges. The House passed the $1.3 trillion spending package Thursday on a vote of 256-167. The Senate has yet to schedule a vote. All eyes in Washington are now on Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who refused to offer consent on a spending bill last month, effectively shutting the government down for a number of hours. The Senate has until midnight Friday to pass the Omnibus and avoid a shutdown. For his part, President Trump hailed the bills inclusion of $1.6 billion for his long-promised U.S.-Mexico border wall even though it fell far short of the $25 billion he initially sought. HARTFORD An overflow crowd on Friday sent a legislative committee a mixed message over banning devices that allow a rifle to fire nine bullets a second, and kits that allow purchasers to build untraceable guns. Several bills before the General Assemblys Judiciary Committee seek to ban bump stocks devices that increase the rate of fire and ghost guns, weapons assembled from parts that do not contain a serial number and can be purchased without a background check. Daniela Snow, a Norwalk mother of three, said ghost guns and bump stocks are not needed. "Ghost guns and bump stocks are a clear example of how technology evolves and the laws around it dont," Snow said. "We have to be better as a society and be ahead of the curve. It seems like a common sense solution to ban both." But Ralph Russo of Stamford said there is no reason to prevent law abiding citizens from owning ghost guns or bump stocks, noting the device and weapons are used for competition, hunting and self-defense. "[The bill] includes broad and overreaching provisions that could criminalize firearm modifications commonly done by law abiding gun owners to make their firearms more suitable for self-defense, competition, hunting or even overcoming disability," Russo said. The daylong public hearing offered little guidance for lawmakers. Between remarks offered in person and the hundreds of pieces of written testimony submitted to the committee, there was little consensus. National polls have shown voters want more gun control and easily support banning bump stocks and ghost guns, especially considering the 2017 Las Vegas massacre in which 58 concert goers were killed and 851 were injured. The shooter, firing above the crowd from a hotel room, attached bump stocks to his various rifles to increase the rate of fire. He discharged 1,100 rounds in less than 15 minutes of firing. Ghost guns have also raised eyebrows. The guns can be purchased in parts without a background check and are relatively easy to assemble. They do not contain serial numbers that allow law enforcement to track weapons. So far, five states have banned bump stocks: California, Massachusetts, New Jersey , Washington and Florida. Maryland has passed a ban in the House and its under consideration in the Senate. President Donald Trump recently ordered the Justice Department to issue regulations banning bump stocks. Action demanded State Senate President Martin Looney, D-New Haven, said bump stocks and ghost guns are not needed. Clearly these sites are meant to exploit loopholes in gun control regulation, Martin said, referring ghost gun web sites. Connecticut should close this loophole and make our state safer. There is no legitimate reason why bump stocks should be owned or sold in our state. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said the state must take action considering the inability to pass gun controls in Washington, D.C. We cannot sit back while Congress continues to capitulate to the demands of the NRA over the demands of the American people, Malloy told lawmakers. Let us do what Congress cannot and will not do let us work together to close dangerous loopholes and ban bump stocks in Connecticut. Scott Wilson, president of the Connecticut Citizens Defense League, said the bills will accomplish little other than trample on legal gun rights. "Someone that is bent on committing the most unconscionable of acts will not be swayed by any law," Wilson said. "This law will simply trap innocent people who competitively shoot, or simply want to improve the accuracy of their firearms by limiting common gunsmithing techniques." Philip Davis, a Torrington resident and retired police officer, noted "These unregulated firearms and dangerous accessories do not belong in the hands of civilians." But Alan Blaschik of East Haddam said Connecticut has enough gun laws. There are already laws in Connecticut that address the AR type rifles," Blaschik said, referring to a ban on assault weapons. "There are existing laws that prohibit magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition, Blaschik said. Banning bump stocks is a feel good law that will do nothing except turn law abiding citizens into felons. A little shocking Melissa Kane, a Westport selectwoman, told the committee about a recent lockdown at Staples High School caused by a student who threatened a mass shooting. Kane urged the committee to ban bump stocks and ghost guns. "As a parent of a child at Staples, there were many emotions, not the least of which is surprise," Kane said. "To think this is happening right here is a little shocking." Lilly Kane, Melissas Kanes 15-year-old daughter and a Staples student, said she needs to feel safe at school. "After having to shelter in place in my school, I can tell you these bills are not about politics," Lilly Kane said. "Its about the chance for my class to be able to live through high school. Please protect Connecticut and allow me the right to live." But State Rep. Doug Dubitsky, R- Chaplin, and a farmer, took issue with the ghost gun bill, saying it makes law abiding citizens a felon. "A person with a machine shop in his garage and possesses many blocks of steel and he pulls up directions to turn one of those into a firearm, it appears under this bill he would be a felon," Dubitsky said. "Is it the persons intent?" Dubitsky said. "Where is that line drawn." Bridgeport Mayor Joseph Ganim, a Democrat running for governor, said bump stocks and ghost guns must be banned. "Our 2nd Amendment is an important foundational piece of American freedom," Ganim said. "But there is simply no reason for any person outside of the military or law enforcement to possess a weapon of war." Wilson said the proposed laws will not help reduce violence. "This committee is seeking to pass feel good legislation by banning an object that is not even needed to bump-fire a gun," Wilson said. "The action can be accomplished with the use of belt loops, shoestrings, rubber bands, or the devices themselves can be made with wood, sheet metal or plastic." Washington, D.C. Noon. Pennsylvania Avenue NW, between 3rd NW and 12th NW New York City: 10 a.m. Central Park West and 72nd Street Hartford: 12:30 p.m. State Capitol, 210 Capitol Ave. Stamford: Noon. Mill River Park, 1055 Washington Blvd. Westport: 6:30 p.m. at 20 Wilton Road Shelton: 12:30 p.m. Veterans Memorial Park, 38 Canal St. Kent: 10 a.m. Kent Town Hall, 41 Kent Green Blvd. Roxbury: 10 a.m. Rally on the Green on Routes 67 and 317. Guilford: 12:30 p.m. Town Green, 43 Park St. West Hartford: 10 a.m., Fernridge Park, 567 Fern St. For details on all events across the nation and world, click here Getty Images 1. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg finally broke her silence on Cambridge Analytica, stating that she regrets taking too much time to publicly address the scandal. And speaking on the possibility of future regulation, she said, "It's not a question of if regulation, it's a question of what type." 2. Working too hard? South Korean officials think so. The government announced an initiative to curb a "culture of working overtime" by turning off government employees computers at 8 p.m. on Fridays. A performance by classical violinist Igor Pikayzen at Wilton Library on Saturday is all the more special because of the guest pianist he has chosen to accompany him. Pikayzen is an award-winning Russian-American violinist and Staples High School graduate who will be joined by his mother, the famed Russian pianist Tatyana Pikayzen, in a concert featuring sonatas and preludes by the likes of Mozart, Prokofiev and others, at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 24. In his young career the violinist just turned 30 this year Igor Pikayzen has performed as a soloist with major orchestras all over the world. And, in the last two seasons alone, hes appeared at famed concert halls in Moscow, Brussels, Montreal, and London, and at Carnegie and Alice Tully Halls in New York City. Hes also won international violin competitions in Chile and Poland. After graduating from Staples, he received his bachelors degree from Juilliard and a masters degree and artist diploma from the Yale School of Music. He is currently completing his doctorate at the CUNY Graduate Center and is on the violin faculty of Brooklyn Conservatory. Originally from Moscow, Pikayzen grew up in Westport and currently lives in Manhattan. His family still lives in Westport, and whenever hes free he tries to spend time locally, with visits that include returns to his high school alma mater. My mother moved here for my music education, said Pikayzen, who made his concerto debut at the age of 8, during a recent interview. Our first teacher ended up living in Connecticut, and the reason we ended up in Westport was because my Mom heard that the public schools were excellent here. At Staples, the music program is very strong. Ive kept in touch with my teachers through the years, and even though Im not back often, when I am back they often ask me to do an outreach concert or talk to the students, and I am more than happy to do that. And of course, classical music needs younger audiences, so any chance we have to play for high school kids, college kids, middle school kids and try to get them to come to concerts, is a huge part of what we should be doing. Pikayzen also appreciates any opportunity he has to perform with his mother, who lives in Westport. Its something I try to do whenever its possible, he said. My mom is a terrific solo and chamber music player in her own right. For 25 years, she had a really famous duo with my grandfather, Igor Pikayzen. They traveled the world, and she knows the entire violin piano repertoire really better than anyone, better then any violinist, certainly better than me. When I was growing up in high school and even in college I played mainly with her. However, she teaches a lot and is very busy. Her schedule is more grounded than mine, but I try to program every concert that I can with her, if she is free. Despite all hes achieved in his career thus far, the violinist says there are still goals for him to reach. There are always things to accomplish, he said. For every artist, there is the career aspect, then theres the aspect of what you really accomplish for yourself in terms of playing. And in terms of playing and interpretation, its really limitless. Playing better is the easy answer, but I think as one gets older, some of the masterpieces that we have, the more you play into them, the more you realize how many more things they open up for you. From an interpretive aspect, there are never really end goals. Every time you play, you always find yourself searching for more. From a career aspect, its great that every year I get to collaborate with wonderful artists, better, more established orchestras, legendary conductors, many great halls and musicians. Hopefully, there are many more that lie ahead. Also lying ahead are plans to bring a classical music festival to Westport in August called Edelio, which means Eternally Young in Greek. I think Westport was almost created to have a music festival, said the violinist. It has such a rich artistic tradition. It would be a perfect place to bring some really fantastic younger artists, not only from New York but from the area, that would focus on the better known works of concert ensemble and some lesser know works, and of course a concert that would appeal to younger audiences. Last year was our first year, and the reception was very positive. This year, we certainly hope to expand and provide three of four more concerts that would be of interest. Saturdays program in Wilton features Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 454 for Violin & Piano, by A. Mozart; Four Preludes for Violin & Piano, op. 34, by D. Shostakovich and D. Tzyganov; Sonata No.1 for Violin & Piano, Op. 80, by S. Prokofiev; and Carmen Fantasy by F. Waxman. There is no admission charge, but registration is strongly recommended. The concert is being made possible by the support of artist Ann Chernow; Price Financial Group, Lori Price, President; and, Dr. Mark and Linda Rubinstein. Register online, or call 203-762-6334. Wilton Library is located at 137 Old Ridgefield Road in Wilton. Visit: www.wiltonlibrary.org. WILTON It seemed a match made in heaven when Beverly Weed first came across the newly opened congregate housing in Wilton Commons in 2016. The 77-year-old had been living alone in her Norwalk home since her sister had moved to Wilton Meadows for help with her dementia, and she figured it was about time to downsize. The new units were close to her sister, whom she visited each day, and there was no waiting list a rarity in Fairfield County, where some assisted-living facilities have waiting lists up to six years. Most importantly, the units were affordable. It was almost too good to be true, Weed said. Last week, Weed and other residents of the 23-unit facility learned the low prices that lured them to Wilton Commons were indeed too good to be true. Residents said they were blindsided when they learned state subsidies would be recalculated and prices could go up by as much as $700 at the beginning of July. The unexpected announcement has some residents worrying that rising costs will force them out of their new homes. I feel like theyre just putting us out to pasture, said 82-year-old Philomena Ferraro, who moved into the complex in October 2016. They hoodwinked us into coming here with low prices and now theyre forcing these increases on us, all the while knowing we wont be able to find another place on six months notice, said 80-year-old Silvia Sartow. Mike Santoro, the director of policy and research for the state Department of Housing, said the state had been over-subsidizing occupants of the congregate housing for the first year-and-a-half it was open, due to an error in calculation by the Wilton Commons management company, Connecticut Housing Partners. On July 1, the state will implement the standard statewide calculation for congregate subsidies to Wilton Commons residents, which in turn could result in price hikes for some residents. There isnt any good way to share this news, said Renee Dobos, the CEO of Connecticut Housing Partners, formerly known as the Mutual Housing Association of Southwestern Connecticut. Some residents will be paying less, some will be paying the same, and some will be paying more, as its dependent on their income and ability to pay. I want to stress that not every resident will experience an increase. Our preliminary calculations are suggesting approximately one-third of the residents will experience an increase, she said. While rents would likely dip for most residents under new calculations, the congregate fees for weekly housekeeping services, such as a one daily hot meal, 24-hour emergency staffing, on-site health and nutritional services, is another matter. According to preliminary projections, Weeds congregate costs will jump from $78 to $1,271 per month a 1,529-percent increase. And at least seven other residents are facing a similar jump in costs. While Connecticut Housing Partners stated that these estimates are based off 2016 figures and are due to be updated by May, many residents are worried adjustments wont be enough. Like losing a second family When Weed first learned of the potential price hikes, she said she was broken-hearted. Weed had moved to Wilton Commons from her Norwalk home of more than 40 years in order to be closer to her sister, Dorothy. But in October, Dorothy passed away after a long battle with dementia. The loss was particularly hard on her, Weed said. Both sisters had been unmarried and had lived together their whole lives. In their later years, the two took to traveling around the world, visiting places from the Grand Canyon to Alaska, and Bermuda. But Dorothys sudden death left Weed with an unmistakable void in her life a hole she had only recently begun trying to fill with her new friends in Wilton Commons. But just as she was beginning to open that new chapter in her life, Weed fears it may be coming to an abrupt end because of circumstances that are outside her hands. Its like theyre taking away my second family. All of these people dont know if theyll be able to afford living here anymore, and it just breaks my heart, Weed said. Some residents have already begun looking for other housing options in the area, but they said the options are slim. Waiting lists at affordable assisted-living facilities in the area, such as the Marvin Home in Norwalk, are up to two-and-a-half to three years long. Every place weve looked at has a waiting list six years long, and they are only giving us six months to try and find a new place. Its just unfair, said 88-year-old Anne Planinsek, who moved to the Wilton Commons from Maryland along with her 77-year-old husband, Louis. How can they do this to us seniors? Weed said. Southern Illinois University Edwardsvilles College of Arts and Sciences works diligently to promote high-quality scholarly and creative activities, public services, and cultural and arts programming for the University and its surrounding community. On this weeks episode of Segue, SIUEs premier radio show that discusses ideas and issues on campus and beyond, Greg Budzban, PhD, CAS dean, interviews Jeff Thomas, an internationally renowned photographer, about his visit to SIUEs campus and his photography exhibit at the Edwardsville Art Center. The episode will air at 9 a.m. Sunday, March 25 on WSIE 88.7 FM The Sound. On Wednesday, March 21, the Departments of Anthropology, Historical Studies and Philosophy welcomed Thomas to campus for a screening of a documentary about his work. After the film, Thomas presented a lecture, titled A Necessary Fiction: An Urban Indian in the Archives. Thomass exhibit, Birdman Rising: Conversations beyond Colonialism, has its opening reception at the Edwardsville Art Center at 6165 Center Grove Road this Friday, March 23rd from 6:00-8:00 PM. The exhibition runs at the Arts Center from Friday, March 23 through Friday, April 20 and will be open to the public from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturdays. Birdman Rising showcases Thomass photographic works along with Native American artifacts from the SIUE University Museum collection juxtaposing the contemporary and prehistoric local environments, and the peoples who interacted within them. It looks into and beyond colonialism to the pre-colonial glory of the Mississippians in order to create a dialogue about living in a world beyond colonialism today. Can you talk about your work in photography and how it emerged in your life? Budzban inquires. In 1979, I had a serious car accident, and I was left with a permanent disability, a spinal cord injury, which left me unable to work again, Thomas explains. I was only 24 years old at the time, and my wife and I had a young son. I had to find a way to reinvent my life, and so I chose my prior interest in photography. One year later, I had my first solo exhibition in Buffalo (New York). From there, it emerged from looking at the history of photography, and what it did or didnt say about Native American or North American indigenous people. With Thomas own experience as an urban-based Iroquois, he wanted to express the complications involved with much of the young, native populations moving into cities and living their lives with an invisible cultural existence. Photography was a way that I could place myself within that conversation to say, this is here, and this is what I see; it might not look native to you, but its native in terms of what I am familiar with, Thomas says. Im fascinated with this notion of the urban Iroquois, Budzban says. Early Native American photography showed native culture as more of a curiosity, and Ive looked at your work and its clear that youre trying to expand that idea of what it means to be a Native American and being an indigenous person in this culture. How does one stay true to ones self and culture in a completely different environment? Budzban inquires. That was my fear, as well, Thomas says. There was no framework for native people to address urbanization, and I had to experiment and find my way. I looked at early street photographers and documentary photographers at the time, and I wondered how I could bring together some kind of image that was consistent with my own culture. As a teenager, Thomas spent a lot of time travelling with his grandmother back and forth from Buffalo to the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve in Ontario, Canada. His relatives instilled foundational ideals of cultural and environmental preservation, activism and traditional values in the young mans mind, which translates into his work to this day. While researching the contemporary pow-wows, Thomas came across the Mississippians, particularly the Birdman. Theres a lineage that stretches from the presence to that, and I was looking for the earliest occurrences of the Birdman, or the feathered headdresses used in those pow-wows, and I found it in the Mississippian, Thomas says. I found the urban culture of the Cahokia so interesting, and they broke the perceptions that Indians were supposed to live on some sort of specific reservation. Cory Willmott, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology, had actually met Thomas in the 1980s in Ottawa, and invited him to come to the University for a screening of his documentary and to discuss his research. This point of contact allowed a relationship with the University Museum and the Edwardsville Art Center, as well as the wider community. His work photographing Mississippian culture from the Cahokia region now coexists in harmony with some of the University Museums prized artifacts in his exhibit. To hear more of the conversation between Budzban and Thomas, tune in at 9 a.m. Sunday, March 25 to WSIE 88.7 FM The Sound. By Madelaine Gerard, SIUE Marketing & Communications WASHINGTON - Rejecting the Trump administration's call to eliminate federal cultural agencies, Congress instead increased funding to three of the four agencies in the $1.3 trillion spending plan it approved early Friday. The National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities will receive $152.8 million each, an increase of $3 million. The Institute of Museum and Library Services will get $240 million, up from $231 million, while the Corporation for Public Broadcasting will remain at $465 million. The giant bill now goes to the president for his signature. Americans for the Arts President and CEO Robert L. Lynch called it a win for arts and culture and a stark contrast to the position taken by the administration, which sought to ax the agencies that support performing arts groups, museums, arts centers, public television and libraries. "I am very pleased that members of Congress have decided to invest more funding into the arts - this support from both parties is a testament that the arts are bipartisan," Lynch said in a statement. "The work of the NEA provides greater access to the arts for all, and makes positive impacts on citizens, families, communities, schools, and organizations across the country." Lynch praised the "unified, tireless, persistent work of the arts community and grass-roots advocates" across the country for their efforts. The bill also provides critical support to the Smithsonian Institution and other federally funded arts groups in Washington. The Smithsonian will receive just over $1 billion, including $198 million for the first phase of the renovation of the National Air and Space Museum, a seven-year project expected to begin this year, and $10 million to finish a new storage facility required for the project. The bill provides $2 million for the Smithsonian's recently announced Women's History Initiative. The National Gallery of Art will receive $165.9 million, a $1 million increase, and the Kennedy Center will receive $40.5 million, a $4 million hike. The $9 million increase to the IMLS will help individual libraries and museums, explained IMLS Director Kathryn K. Matthew. "We're honored to have additional funding for state libraries for America's libraries and for our programs helping individual museums, including African-American history and culture museums. We are also pleased to be able to increase support for libraries and museums serving Native American, Hawaiian and Alaskan tribal communities," Matthew said. In a statement, CBP President and Chief Executive Patricia Harrison expressed her gratitude. "The legislation reaffirms that federal funding for public media is an investment that continues to deliver proven value and service to the American people. On behalf of the millions of Americans who benefit from public media's services everyday, CPB thanks Congress for its longstanding support," she said. (((Semitism))): Being Jewish in America in the Age of Trump By Jonanthan Weisman St. Martin's. 238 pp. $25.99 --- Jonathan Weisman grew up a secular Jew in 1970s Atlanta, generally untouched by anti-Semitism and disconnected from serious engagement with Jewish faith and tradition. That gulf widened as he became an adult and married a non-Jew, choosing to raise his two daughters with, as he put it, "nothing." Being Jewish bore no cost for him, other than seasonal guilt when Christmas sparkled or when he felt duty-bound to drag his children to High Holiday services that they did not understand or appreciate. In this, Weisman resembles many contemporary American Jews, who have been able to comfortably coast to social acceptance and professional accomplishment by wearing their Judaism as lightly as they want, with ethnic pride, little sacrifice, occasional embarrassment and a heavy dose of political liberalism. Weisman's awakening from this complacency came in the form of a tweet. As the deputy editor in the New York Times' Washington bureau, Weisman was active on Twitter and often shared content on the social platform with his many thousands of followers. That's what he did one morning in May 2016, grabbing a quote from a provocative column in The Washington Post by the neoconservative Robert Kagan, who warned of the rise of fascism in America. Suddenly, Weisman was subjected to a noxious swarm of cyberbullying hatred from the emerging alt-right, white-nationalist extremists who unleashed a torrent of social media messages and harassing phone calls that trafficked in Holocaust imagery and often evoked Donald Trump, who was on his way to becoming the Republican nominee for president. Unwittingly, Weisman joined a growing number of Jewish journalists - mostly but not exclusively conservative-leaning - who were harassed and targeted to an unprecedented degree as the presidential campaign accelerated toward Trump's unlikely win. The assaults became so intense that the Anti-Defamation League convened a task force to research the trend, and Jewish news organizations like my own were forced to increase security against a new and unexpected threat. What happened here? And what should American Jews do about it? Those two questions animate Weisman's new book, "(((Semitism))): Being Jewish in America in the Age of Trump." The title's triple parentheses - known as an echo - are an anti-Semitic symbol used to highlight Jewish names, adopted by the alt-right to hunt down potential targets on Twitter and subsequently appropriated by many Jewish users as a defiant response. That defiance propels Weisman's urgent, timely narration of how a few fringe leaders galvanized a Twitter army that, despite its insignificant number, broke wide open an ugly strain of anti-Semitism whose tentacles have reached even into the White House. Disappointingly, Weisman is on far shakier ground when attempting to answer the second question: "What are we going to do about it?" He resorts to broad criticism and unsupported assertions about American Jewish life that sidestep a more complex reality. With the passion of a convert to a cause, he exhorts his readers to an activism based on religious morality as if it's a new idea, when there are rabbis, lay leaders and communities across the country already doing exactly what he advocates. He places this Jewish moment in a larger historical frame that is simplistic but useful. "The Jew flourishes when borders come down," he writes, "when boundaries blur, when walls are destroyed, not erected." The dynamic between the particular and the universal, what Weisman terms the tribalists and the internationalists, has tugged at Jews for centuries. It coursed through Weisman's childhood. He affectingly recounts a teenage summer at a multiracial camp when he experienced his African-American friends' raw fear at the segregation that still lingered in the South. There was mild anti-Semitism then, too, but, as he acknowledges, "open hate was someone else's problem. I'm not proud of that." Most American Jews probably were too complacent in the decades that followed, but I daresay that few except the serious students of hate groups would have predicted the kind of explosion that rocked Weisman's world. In the most interesting and novel section of his book, Weisman describes how the nascent intellectual ferment of the racist right harnessed the newfound power of social media to essentially invent Twitter trolling. The first targets were a few women in the overwhelmingly male world of video games, who were viciously abused online and personally threatened to a frightening degree. One of those women, Zoe Quinn, had a boyfriend at the time. And that boyfriend, Weisman writes, "was Jewish. Very Jewish. Yeshiva educated. Anti-Semitism was part of the attack from the very beginning." Once harnessed, the "proto-storm troopers of the alt-right" used their own websites and the larger Internet to produce a growing stream of misogynist, racist, anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant hate, with its own codes and vocabulary. Weisman offers so many disgusting examples of these attacks that the mind almost numbs, but by cataloguing this movement in this fashion, he performs a great public service. It may be fringe. But it is damn real. And then along came Trump. The dog whistles heard throughout his campaign turned into an unmistakable bullhorn of intolerance once he arrived in the White House, emboldening the likes of Richard Spencer, Andrew Anglin and David Duke. Not only was the new administration ham-handed in dealing with Jewish issues - releasing a message on Holocaust Remembrance Day that failed to mention Jews at all, for instance - it winked enough at the alt-right to make them feel legitimated and loved. By the time of the Unite the Right march in Charlottesville, Weisman writes, "the alt-right's aims were clear and articulate: leap from the internet to the world of flesh, blood, and tears." And even though this movement's ugliness has not resulted in a wave of violence against Jews, Weisman rightly ponders when and how a minority's hateful views can infiltrate the mainstream. The question is how to stop that from happening, and here Weisman disappoints. He is correct that too many established Jewish organizations have been so focused on supporting the current Israeli government that they have overlooked or minimized the rising threat from the alt-right. But if the leaders of those organizations are blinded by their conservative politics, Weisman suffers from his own myopia. He airily dismisses the growing threats from the extreme left, where too often anti-Zionism is, in fact, bleeding into anti-Semitism. He harshly criticizes American Jewry for not being grounded in morality and argues that Jews must create multi-faith alliances and take the fight against hate into the public square. As if that's not happening already! Perhaps Weisman is unfamiliar with spiritual leaders like Rabbi Sharon Brous, co-founder of IKAR in Los Angeles, whose stirring sermons about the new anti-Semitism (they are available online) have galvanized her congregation. Or Rabbi Susan Talve in St. Louis, who led Jewish support for African-American protests in nearby Ferguson. Or Nancy Kaufman, CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women, who ensured that a progressive Jewish voice was integral to the Women's March on Washington. Or the firebrand Stosh Cotler, who is steering Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice in just the direction Weisman advocates. There are plenty of Jewish male leaders doing similarly courageous things, but I mention these women - and there are so many more - because unfortunately the only Jewish women quoted at length in Weisman's book are the victims of harassment and hate, not those who are speaking out against it every day. American Jews face an enormous challenge in overcoming our civic complacency and internal fractiousness, and Weisman's searing study of the rise of the alt-right reminds us that our privileged role in this society can never be taken for granted. I only wish that his passionate call to arms was based on a deeper understanding of what actually is being done by Jews in the age of Trump, especially because there is still so much more left to do. --- Eisner is editor in chief of the Forward. The Heart is a Shifting Sea: Love and Marriage in Mumbai By Elizabeth Flock Harper. 358 pp. $27.99 --- Writing in a Chicago magazine in 1917, Basanta Koomar Roy, an American journalist of Indian origin, demystified marriages in the old country for readers in his new homeland. If "a girl gets to be sixteen years of age," he wrote, "her parents feel humiliated for having a such an 'old maid' in the family." In India in those days, matchmakers introduced potential spouses, and parents made the selection. "The boy and the girl themselves have little or nothing to say in the matter," Roy explained. The entire business was governed by the laws and customs of Hinduism. For betrothed couples, the wise course was to be stoical and to reconcile themselves to their fate. Men and women, in matters of marriage and other life journeys, typically gave in to "Hindu fatalism." Elizabeth Flock landed nine years ago in an India unrecognizably different from the one Roy inhabited. A 22-year-old American, she came to Mumbai in search of a career. Her choice suggests that India had indeed undergone a dramatic transformation in recent decades from a stalwart of socialism into a land of progress and opportunity. In "The Heart Is a Shifting Sea," Flock seeks to understand the evolution of Indian marriages. She follows three couples - Veer and Maya, Marwari Hindus; Shahzad and Sabeena, Sunni Muslims; and Ashok and Parvati, Tamil Brahmins - in Mumbai, "India's most frenetic city." What unfolds is a book that truly is impossible to put down. Veer and Maya, Hindus from the Marwari caste, eloped to marry for love. But they were ill-equipped to survive the backlash provoked by their transgression against tradition. Sabeena and Shahzad saw each other only once before being paired off in a marriage arranged by their Sunni Muslim families. No matter. Sabeena grows to care deeply for her infertile husband. Parvati and Ashok are married after Parvati, unsure of her love for a Christian student at her university, ultimately yields to her Brahmin father and finds a fellow Brahmin on a matrimonial website. On one level, there is nothing unique about these marriages: The couples cope with infidelity and infertility, and struggle to balance the demands of work and home life. What distinguishes them is their backdrop: the ferment of modern India. And it is here that Flock falters. A book that would have merited wide readership as a narrative of three marriages struggles to capture the nuances of a country in transition. Flock strives to meet the challenge by layering in historical detail. But facts sometimes get the better of her. She notes that the British "abruptly [withdrew] from India after three hundred years," which adds a full century to British dominion over the subcontinent. Flock discusses India's political change largely in terms of Muslim-Hindu antagonism, neglecting the seemingly innocuous attitudes of the majority Hindus that have permeated the country's nominally secular political space. For instance, Parvati, the youngest of the book's characters, who briefly dated and considered marrying a Christian in college, morphs by the end into a rigidly orthodox Hindu much like her father. Educated at the most advanced Indian schools of science and living in the most cosmopolitan Indian city, she has decided that she will not allow her children to marry non-Hindus. Parvati's resistance to the change Flock sees everywhere is emblematic of the resistance of old India to genuine reform. Superficially, India has changed. People have bigger apartments; they have cars, mobile phones and disposable incomes. Substantively, how different are these marriages from the ones Roy discussed a century ago? None of the six characters has really outgrown his or her inherited identity; all of these men and women, meant to epitomize India's energetic departure from the past, have married people like themselves, down to their caste and sect. The matchmaker has been supplanted by matrimonial websites, choice remains an illusion, and traditions and customs are still paramount. Men and women continue to fall back on the fatalism of old India. Flock doesn't claim to speak for all marriages; yet her book functions as a stealthy argument for the wisdom of arranged marriage, even if not all end in harmony. Veer and Maya's union, forged in defiance of tradition, culminates in adultery, withdrawal and ennui; Shahzad and Sabeena's arranged marriage matures into an amicable partnership; Ashok and his atavistic young wife, Parvati, find love. Flock closes the book in 2015, with Parvati, who is pregnant with her first child in her happy arranged marriage, singing a lullaby to her unborn baby. This sweet scene should not lessen readers' wariness of arranged marriage, a practice that, for all its outward refinements, remains rooted in the denial of choice and autonomy, especially for women. In the same year of Parvati's pregnancy, 7,634 Indian women were killed by their husbands or their husbands' families for not bringing enough dowry, according to the country's National Crime Records Bureau. An overwhelming majority of those homicides occurred within arranged marriages. --- Komireddi, an Indian journalist, has written from South Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. HSBC Holdings plc provides banking and financial products and services worldwide. The company operates through Wealth and Personal Banking, Commercial Banking, and Global Banking and Markets segments. 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Our Accessibility Statement | Terms of Service | Do Not Sell My Information 2021 Market data provided is at least 10-minutes delayed and hosted by Barchart Solutions. Information is provided 'as-is' and solely for informational purposes, not for trading purposes or advice, and is delayed. To see all exchange delays and terms of use please see disclaimer. Fundamental company data provided by Zacks Investment Research. Kinder Morgan, Inc. operates as an energy infrastructure company. The firm engages in the operation of pipelines and terminals that transport natural gas, gasoline, crude oil, carbon dioxide (CO2) and other products and stores petroleum products chemicals and handles bulk materials like ethanol, coal, petroleum coke and steel. It operates through the following segments: Natural Gas Pipelines, CO2, Terminals, Product Pipelines and Kinder Morgan Canada. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment engages in the ownership and operation of major interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline and storage systems, natural gas and crude oil gathering systems and natural gas processing and treating facilities. The CO2 segment focuses on the production, transportation and marketing of CO2 to oil fields that use CO2 as a flooding medium for recovering crude oil from mature oil fields to increase production. The Terminals segment consists of the ownership and operation of liquids and bulk terminal facilities located throughout the U.S. and portions of Canada that trans load and store refined petroleum products, crude oil, chemicals, ethanol and bulk products, including coal, petroleum coke, fertilizer, Read More Ormat Technologies, Inc. operates as a holding company. The firm engages in the provision of geothermal and recovered energy power business. It operates through the following segments: Electricity, Product and Energy Storage. The Electricity segment focuses in the sale of electricity from the company's power plants pursuant to PPAs. The Product segment involves in the manufacture, including design and development, of turbines and power units for the supply of electrical energy and in the associated construction of power plants utilizing the power units manufactured by the company to supply energy from geothermal fields and other alternative energy sources. The Energy Storage segment consists of battery energy storage systems as a service and management of curtailable customer loads under contracts with U.S. retail energy providers and directly with large commercial and industrial customers. The company was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Reno, NV. Read More In the spring of 2009, Kohls Corp. executives gathered six apparel vendors into a hotel near Los Angeles and threw down the gauntlet. Their request: Make 12,000 apparel items in six weeks or less from two samples. For context, similar-sized orders at the time generally took four times longer. Of the six, only fashion designer Jackie Wilson was able to deliver the goods on time, taking five weeks and four days to produce the white, rayon shirts with an attached purple vest. Upon winning, she recalls her staff erupted in celebration. Almost a decade later, the quest by big retail chains to offer fast fashion on-trend apparel delivered before it goes out of style remains a challenge. Though Kohls has helped show that traditional department-store chains can adapt, it continues to struggle to maintain consistent growth in a moribund industry. And other chains are even farther behind. Read more: Can a $1 billion GoFundMe campaign save Toys R Us? Nordstrom Rack: Discount outlet for brand-name shopping Documents detail allegations in Competition Bureau media investigation The stakes are high to make fast fashion work. A rapidly changing assortment of trendy clothes helps drive customers into stores, and potentially stave off the encroachment of Amazon.com Inc. In the last couple of years, people started realizing they have to speed up. And one of the reasons is the consumer has really sped up, Spencer Fung, chief executive officer of apparel supplier Li & Fung, said in an interview. And its now so noticeable that if you dont speed up, youre dead. For now, few U.S. retailers can match the fast-fashion prowess of European competitors such as Inditex SA and Hennes & Mauritz AB. These companies pioneered the model by taking flexibility to the extreme, via airlifted merchandise, small order sizes and an accelerated design process. But an evolution is apparent at Kohls. Wilsons firm now a supplier of the department store for eight years gets new designs from factory to the store in eight weeks. Thats significantly faster than the industry standard of six to nine months for basic items and 16 weeks for seasonal fashion. Kohls merchandising head Michelle Gass, who is poised to become CEO, says the push is literally taking months out of the process. The Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based company intensified the transition three years ago, with an ambitiously titled plan called the Greatness Agenda. As consumers jump from one trend (and brand) to the next faster than ever, U.S. retailers are collectively being forced to pivot away from the traditional model, which values low costs above all else. The methods theyve adopted vary widely. Gap Inc., for example, uses a technique called fabric platforming, in which it holds a large amount of material and designs specifically for those textiles. This has allowed it to slash lead times on about a third of its products to 11 weeks or less. American Eagle Outfitters Inc. has sped delivery times by moving some production into the Western Hemisphere, despite wages that are generally higher than those in Asia. Kohls, meanwhile, uses all of the above and also runs smaller test orders, which can be ramped up quickly if demand is brisk. But Kohls, which has a much broader target audience than a chain such as Inditexs Zara, can only go so far in implementing some of the newest production techniques. The mark of our industry was the Zara model its a wonderful and fabulous story but when youre in a midtier market, its not apples to apples, Wilson said. We were able to cherry-pick and apply the best of that model to Kohls. Many retailers have spent years cutting costs by moving production to Asia and placing massive orders for merchandise. Now, they arent in the best position to enact broad changes to their supply chain as foot traffic at physical stores declines and U.S. consumers spend less of their income on apparel. So Kohls is being watched closely as companies ponder whether the extra investment will actually pay off. Kohls believes it has indeed unlocked the secret. Last quarter, brands that are part of the companys so-called speed initiative outperformed comparable products by about 2.5 percentage points. While the fast-turnaround products represented 40 per cent of orders in 2017, Gass sees them rising to 50 per cent by the end of this year, with 60 per cent or more being the long-term goal. Our people have really embraced it because weve seen the results, said Gass, who will take over as CEO in May, in an interview. Theres nothing that can help accelerate change like results. Wilson, whose company is located in Syracuse, N.Y., also makes clothing for retailers such as American Eagle and J.C. Penney Co. She says the typical Kohls order is now for 80,000 shirts, instead of 500,000. This helps prevent buildup of unpopular merchandise and markdowns if a particular product fails to resonate with shoppers. Everyone tests a lot now, and thats really helped, she said. Youre not going to make a mistake on half a million items youll make a mistake on 80,000. Kohls comes out ahead in spite of paying more for shipping because the items sell faster and at full price, Wilson said. A transition to fast fashion is also complicated by the fact that most U.S. retailers depend on suppliers, while a company like Zara is vertically integrated allowing more control from start to finish. That means, for U.S. apparel vendors, the acceleration has to occur across multiple companies. Li & Fung, a 20-year partner of Kohls, is in the midst of a three-year plan to cut lead times by half and digitize its global supply chain for apparel. Whether our customer wants speed or not, we had to move faster as a company because we see the whole world is moving faster, Fung said. He described a lengthy process in which designers typically wait for samples to arrive from Asia before being refined. Then, a final run is shipped by sea. Li & Fung, which began implementing its quick-turnaround strategy in 2017, has for now trimmed 20 per cent off of the supply chain timeline. The first place Fung has sped things up is in pre-production: With three-dimensional digital designs replacing physical samples, a process that can take six months is carried out in a few days. Kohls, which is seeking to sustain a sales rebound after a lengthy slump, sees significant upside to making the change. The retailers proprietary brands, like Lauren Conrad or Simply Vera Vera Wang, make up 70 per cent of its womens business. This in turn accounts for nearly a third of Kohls sales, which were $19.1 billion (U.S.) in the last fiscal year. The big-box department store, located mainly in strip centres, has avoided widespread investor pessimism that has pummeled competitors stock. Kohls shares have gained about 70 per cent in the last 12 months. Li & Fung is soldiering ahead with the transition even though some legacy brands arent enthused by the new system. Like any change, there was resistance everywhere our customers, our suppliers, even internally, he said. Were not creating anything new here, its just not a lot of companies in our industry have done it. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Home Regional News East Michael Cooke, the longest-serving Editor in the Toronto Stars recent history, announced Friday that he will retire in June, after a lifetime in newspapers. Its been 49 years and its time to see whats left to do in the rest of the world, he said in a message to staff at One Yonge St., where the Toronto Star is headquartered. Cooke, 65, has been Editor for nine years. He plans to retire from the Star on June 1 and travel to the Middle East to work with an NGO. Michael will go down as one of the great editors of the Toronto Star. His passion for investigative journalism, his flair on front pages and his editorial smarts are simply the finest. He is one of the greats, said John Honderich, chair of Torstar, the Toronto Stars parent company. Under Cookes editorial stewardship, the Toronto Star drew widespread acclaim for its investigative journalism, for holding governments and agencies accountable, and for its passionate pursuit of the principles established by founder Joseph E. Atkinson, including social justice and the protection of individual and civil liberties. Cooke said Friday that he regards the Stars investigation of former mayor Rob Ford as one of the news highlights of his career at the Star. He cited as a personal highlight the Stars successful effort to bring Afghani schoolgirl Roya Shams to Canada to continue her studies after her father was killed by the Taliban. Managing Editor Irene Gentle said Cooke was unflagging in his efforts to bring women up through the ranks of the organization into positions of power. Something Michael never talks about, but has been a central theme of his leadership, is his promotion of women in the newsroom, said Gentle. We have a terrific management team in part because of Michaels willingness to see beyond gender to the skill of those in the room, women and men. This has been really encouraging and has had a long-lasting impact on the newsroom and the industry. Cooke began his career at 17 when he was hired as a cub reporter at a local weekly newspaper in the English seaside town of Morecambe, near the village where he grew up, eventually graduating to Fleet Street in London. A visit to Toronto in 1975 landed him his first job at the Star, working on the copy desk. He became assistant national editor before joining The Gazette in Montreal, where he served as assistant city editor, city editor and co-managing editor. He later served as managing editor of the Edmonton Journal, as editor-in-chief of the Vancouver Province, and helped launch the National Post in 1998. In 2000, he was named Editor-in-Chief of the Chicago Sun-Times. He became Editor-in-Chief of the New York Daily News in 2005, returning to Chicago in 2006 as Vice-President of Editorial for the Chicago Sun-Times News Group and later as Editor-in-Chief of the Sun-Times. News hasnt changed, but the way it is delivered has changed fundamentally, Cooke said. Newspapers no longer have the luxury of working on a story over the course of a long day before it goes to print. Social media has democratized the news, but it also means that those first, confusing, and often inaccurate accounts are quickly and widely disseminated. Its democratized information, and thats fabulous, but what that, of course, leads to is distortion and untruths and that is one of the reasons that I always wait. You should always wait for legacy media to give you the true stories, and I dont mean just newspapers, but also television, radio established news organizations, Cooke said. The industry has been in upheaval for much of the time that Cooke has been editor, as it struggles to find purchase in an economy upended by online competition. We are going through a very dark time. We are in a dark tunnel in every major city and small city across this country and I dont know when we are going to come out into the sunlight again, but it will happen, Cooke said. The Star has long been a great institution in this city, the province and this country, and, with investigations and social justice at the core of its values, I believe it will flourish in its digital form, even while print remains a powerful part of its newsroom. MONTREALU.S. President Donald Trumps plan to impose tariffs on up to $60 billion (U.S.) of Chinese imports could help Canadian retailers by further easing cross-border shopping, even though a full-fledged trade war between the worlds two economic superpowers would damage Canadas economy, experts say. The Retail Council of Canada said Friday that U.S. tariffs that would raise the prices of Chinese consumer goods, such as electronics, sold in the United States could prompt more Canadians to shop at home. The United States buys half a trillion dollars worth of goods from China every year, from toys to shoes to cellphones, and prices of those products could surge due to a tariff plan announced Thursday. Specifics about which sectors will be targeted remain sparse and a detailed list of products is expected to be developed in two weeks. Read more: China targets $3 billion of U.S. goods in tariff dispute with Trump North American markets plunge as Trumps China tariffs stoke fears of trade war Trump plans to slap China with $50 billion in new tariffs and investment restrictions U.S. officials say they will try to minimize the impact for American shoppers by mostly targeting products that business buys like computers, IT products, industrial machinery and aircraft parts. But even if tariffs attempt to avoid consumer sectors, businesses could still pass on any higher costs to consumers. Obviously if U.S. prices increase youre going to see an impact, said council vice president Karl Littler. Littler added that lower U.S. demand for Chinese-made goods could help Canadian retailers to drive better bargains from Chinese factories looking to replace lost sales. And transnational retailers such as Costco, Best Buy and Walmart may ship directly from Canada instead of transporting goods from the U.S. to avoid tariffs, he said. Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters president Joy Nott also thinks higher prices for goods could encourage more Americans to shop in Canada. Not in waves or anything but I think it will level the cross-border type activity, she said in an interview. Canadian products that are similar to Chinese goods could also be substituted by American buyers, helping to boost Canadas export sector. China announced a $3 billion list of U.S. goods for possible retaliation including higher duties on pork, apples and steel pipe a day after Trump outlined $60 billion worth of tariffs on Chinese goods. Further retaliation by China could open the door for more Canadian exports to replace higher-priced American goods, particularly in agriculture. That could be of assistance to Canadas own pork exporters, said CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfeld. We could end up replacing the U.S. as a supplier to China if China imposes restrictions on U.S. products. However, theres still the looming and much bigger problem of an escalation of the battle into a full blown trade war that causes a slowdown in global economic growth, he added. Because Canada is a nation that depends on exports of commodities, a weaker Chinese economy would also hurt the Canadian economy by reducing sales and prices of raw materials, added Conference Board of Canada chief economist Craig Alexander. The tariffs as theyre currently announced is a negative but youre really worried about is how this can escalate. If that happens, there is a risk that the worlds trading system collapses, added Yves Tiberghien, distinguished fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. If the trading regime really collapses then we suffer massively, he said from Washington. Tiberghien said the Chinese will make the fight long and painful. The result will be a U.S. government that is distracted by China which could ultimately be good news for NAFTA, he said. The U.S. has recently softened up on Canada, by exempting it and Mexico from steel and aluminum duties and making concessions in NAFTA concerning automobiles. So the ground is completely different from last week. Read more about: I recently watched the trailer for Wont You Be My Neighbor?, a documentary coming this summer about the late, legendary Fred Rogers, the cardigan-wearing host of one of Americas longest-running childrens television shows, Mister Rogers Neighborhood. I found myself moved to tears. Rogers stated goal when his show began in 1968 was to make children feel loved and capable of loving. Read more: Mister Rogers 50th anniversary marked with documentary, biopic, stamp Hundreds of thousands expected to attend March For Our Lives rally Student walkouts protesting gun violence range from sombre tributes to angry rallies His gentle tone and insistence on kindness, on a being a good neighbour, which once felt a little cloying and corny to me, now seems like the Holy Grail in todays brutish era of online toxicity and coarsened political dialogue. Tom Hanks will also star in a future feature film about Rogers. I predict audiences will gobble up the ethos of Mr. Rogers. How could they not, when a sitting U.S. president publicly revels on Twitter in firing people, demeaning and bullying anyone who gets in his way, when bigotry is on the rise and when news broadcasts The President and the Porn Star! can make any watcher despair they are living in the worlds largest dysfunctional family? And please tell me, if we adults feel that way, how on earth is it affecting our children? We get snippets of concern about this. Recent American studies from the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding and Council on American-Islamic Relations show faith-based bigotry is increasing among school-age children, with Muslim children particularly affected. And there was collective global outrage last January after Trumps remark about immigrants from sthole countries. How could kids, especially those of colour, deal with this obscene trashing of Black populations? But we dont seem to keep our eye on this ball. We somehow continue to dissociate political tone from the tone we hope to instill in children respect for others, kindness, and civility. The latest this week was U.S. former vice-president Joe Biden saying during a speech that if they were in high school he would have beat the hell out of Trump for his misogyny. Trump tweeting back that crazy Biden would go down fast and hard, crying all the way. Please. In Ontario were in the middle of a Ford renaissance, as Doug Ford, new leader of the Ontario PC party, fires up his followers and ascends in the polls. The former one-term city councillor has mostly kept his previous Rob Ford wingman persona, complete with a sneering and dismissive tone of voice, in check. Maybe he has moved on. But we heard the nastiness creep back in a radio interview with CBC radio host Robyn Bresnahan last week. (In contrast, Premier Kathleen Wynne, dealing with even tougher questions by the same host, never once lost her civil demeanour.) It was shocking to realize that Ford, a blustering political leader who obviously could not handle being challenged by a female host, stands a very good chance of being Ontarios next premier. We have to go back to dealing with this tone? As writer Tabatha Southey observed in Macleans, Fords are like a language we studied in high school that we never imagined wed need again. Its also a language that, unless he tempers it, we dont want our kids in elementary or high school learning at all. Kids are porous, and they are also excellent mimics. In our own lives they pick up on and parrot back not only the good stuff, but everything you wished youd had the self-discipline not to say while you were parenting them. American child psychiatrist Dr. Gene Beresin, a Harvard professor and executive director of Massachusetts General Hospitals Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds, warned last year in the Huffington Post that parents should be worried as their kids watch Trump day after day modelling quite the opposite behaviour they hope for in their kids. He advised them to try to turn off the TV and divert our kids from watching. But the TV screen is the least of our worries as kids become cyber literate before they hit puberty. U.S. first lady Melania Trump is falling embarrassingly flat in her public campaign against cyber bullying. Has she read her husbands tweets recently? She cannot have it both ways tacitly supporting one of the coarsest and most verbally aggressive presidents on record and online, while begging in a soft voice for cyber bullying to stop because it hurts children. This should be a week of triumph for high school kids in particular, as multitudes of American teens, led by the survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting last month in Florida, converge on the streets of Washington and elsewhere to demand gun control in this Saturdays March For Our Lives. The Florida teen activists, who went straight from sheltering in school closets as their friends were killed by a lone shooter to appearing at rallies and on cable news shows commanding huge social media presences, are rightfully being hailed as heroes. They represent the first swell of activism that really has a chance of overpowering the NRAs cynically lethal message of a gun in every American hand. But I worry about their psychological well-being, too. They are burning with their mission but burdened not only with post-traumatic effects, but also by death threats and politically driven accusations that they are phoney in some way. Have a care too for their younger siblings, who will no doubt be joining them on this inspiring march. Have a care for younger children everywhere. Is this the toxic political world we want them to grow up in? Its not that I want Mr. Rogers to come back and save us. He was of a specific time and place. Diversity and progress call for new ways to promote love and kindness, even in the political sphere. We need it fast. Anyone who can argue that children today observing, hearing and emulating the political discourse currently feel reassured and protected, is tone deaf. Judith Timson is a Toronto-based writer and a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @judithtimson Read more about: VALLE D'ITRIA, ItalyThere are no famous historical figures to discover in the Valle d'Itria in Italy's central Puglia, no city of note with theatres and great cathedrals. Instead, it's a quiet place of rolling green hills, meandering country roads, endless stone walls, earthy food and wine. But there is one magical, must-see attraction: stone cottages with conical roofs called trulli, grouped together in the town of Alberobello, a UNESCO World Heritage site. At its heart, a trullo is a simple farm building, a heap of field stones piled on top of each other, topped with a stone cone roof, called the candela. The structures have a fairy tale quality to them, often enhanced by mystical symbols painted on the candelas that scholars trace to Jewish, Christian and pagan origins. Decorative pinnacles cap the roofs, shaped like spheres, disks, stars and crosses. Nicola Loperfido, a 36-year-old craftsman, was making replicas of trulli in his workshop as he tried to explain their appeal. The circular shape evokes the cycles of life and seasons for a farmer. This circularity is expressed in other ways too: Old trulli villages had a circular central piazza called iazzile. The trullo, he said, symbolizes the integration humans had with their land. LAND AND STONE The pleasure of the Valle d'Itria lies in timeless things: seasonal changes, the play of light on paddocks and olive orchards, the cascade of brilliantly pink almond blossoms in the spring, the mist and fog of winter, bird song, the solitary farmer working a field. A visitor can go for hours, days even, just observing fields of durum wheat, legumes, olives, almonds, patches of chicory, tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, spinach, broccoli rabe; walking long stretches of stone walls girding red-coloured fields; stopping at altars on the sides of roads in an endless maze of old sheep tracks called i tratturelli. There's a strange geology afoot here too. The Valle d'Itria is one of the world's rare karst zones, consisting of layers of limestone a foot beneath the surface. To reach water, wells must be dug 350 metres (1,150 feet) or more. As an alternative, water has been collected in cisterns and ditches since ancient times. Despite the rocky ground, farming is not just doable, it thrives. The limestone acts as a sponge, farmers say. The valley also enjoys, and suffers, from high humidity. It's good for agriculture, but can make daily life unpleasant, with water dripping down the inside walls of homes and a feeling of dampness for much of the year. FOOD AND LODGING People settled here centuries ago, fleeing the coasts, conflict and incursions by Saracens, Goths and others. Beginning in Roman times, the valley was divided into large estates given to Roman soldiers for their service. This system helped turn the area into one of Italy's most valued agricultural regions with distinctive olive oil, red and white wines and other products. Some of the region's foods are world-famous, like burrata cheese, capo collo meat sausage, fava bean dishes, almond biscuits, digestive liqueurs called rosoli and dry breads called frise and taralli. The vegetables and fruit have a better taste than anywhere else because of the goodness of the land, said Gennaro Santoro, a 75-year-old winemaker. Agriturismos and masserias farms that offer lodging have sprouted up. Restaurants and roadside inns serve delicious country fare. And strolls through town centres are perfumed with the smell of food wafting out from kitchens. ARCHITECTURE WITHOUT ARCHITECTS The Valle d'Itria is a stupendous example of Mediterranean architecture with whitewashed buildings and curvaceous lines. But it's the genius of the stonework and trulli that's truly distinctive here. Limestone structures are ubiquitous: castles, town walls, government edifices, churches. They were mostly built without mortar and often without lumber. Home walls are commonly 2 metres (6.5 feet) thick. A great masterpiece of architecture without architects, commented the Japanese architectural historian Hidenobu Jinnai in describing Cisternino, one of the valley's more picturesque hilltop towns. From the Adriatic to Ireland you find these kinds of structures, explained Leonardo Antonio Palmisano, an architect who specializes in trulli, as he oversaw work to incorporate an abandoned trullo into a new modern home near Locorotondo, home to the region's master trullo builders. The most famous trullo is in Alberobello, the Trullo Sovrano. Today it is a museum. Traditionally, trulli were simple homes for farmers and served agricultural purposes: a place to make wine, store tools and animals. They eventually were largely abandoned, considered too cold and damp to live in. But these days many have been bought and turned into modern homes. Others lie in ruins throughout the valley, falling down and overrun by weeds and trees. Even in a dilapidated state, their carefully laid walls and pinnacles seem magical. VANCOUVERAn investigation by United Kingdom authorities into data hacking allegations dominating world headlines is headed by British Columbias incoming privacy commissioner, Metro News has learned. Since September, Michael McEvoy, currently the deputy information and privacy commissioner for the province, has been conducting the investigation for Britains top privacy watchdog, Elizabeth Denham. According to an online statement from Denham, the investigation includes Victoria, B.C.-based AggregateIQ Data Services and Cambridge Analytica a U.K. political consulting firm with ties to U.S. President Donald Trumps election campaign and the Brexit referendum. Cambridge Analytica has been accused of using personal information syphoned from 50 million Facebook users in North America. McEvoy has been seconded to her office for the last six months working on the Brexit-Leave campaign (probe), Drew McArthur, B.C.s acting privacy commissioner, told Metro in a phone interview Thursday. This is kind of a culmination I see of the situation around Cambridge Analytica and Facebook Weve been linked in with the work theyre doing, obviously because our deputy is there leading their investigation. Another Victoria, B.C. native, Christopher Wylie, has been cast as a whistleblower, assisting the New York Times and the Observer to uncover the story of Cambridge Analyticas role in the Trump and Brexit campaigns. Wylie did not respond to multiple interview requests sent to him through his U.K.-based lawyer. In Ottawa on Thursday, MPs on the House of Commons ethics committee unanimously approved a motion to summon Wylie to testify about his role at Cambridge Analytica. The request comes a day after the Liberals research office confirmed Wylie was paid $100,000 for a pilot project, which included national and regional polling, as well as social media monitoring. The Liberals say they ultimately did not proceed with Wylies project, despite paying him. Multiple calls to AggregateIQs Victoria offices were not returned Thursday afternoon. AggregateIQ co-founders Zack Massingham and Jeff Silvester did not respond to interview requests, but Silvester emailed a statement. There has been some speculation in the media about AggregateIQ and its services, Silvester wrote in an email. AggregateIQ works in full compliance within all legal and regulatory requirements in all jurisdictions where we operate ... AggregateIQ has never managed, nor did we have access to, any Facebook data or database allegedly obtained improperly by Cambridge Analytica. McArthur, B.C.s privacy chief, said his office continues to pursue its own active investigation of AggregateIQ under provincial laws, and hopes to complete his probe in a short number of months. Weve reached out to AggregateIQ asking them a number of questions about British Columbians personal information they may have collected or used, McArthur said. Were focused on what information AggregateIQ may have collected. Our privacy legislation (states) that you can only collect information thats reasonable in the circumstances, and you need consent to use the information for the purpose. Read more about: OTTAWAThe Liberal plan to legalize marijuana by midsummer was rescued Thursday when senators including Independents who were appointed but not controlled by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau voted for the Trudeau governments proposed bill. In a 44-29 vote, the Senate nudged forward Bill C-45, one of two key bills that would enact a new legal framework for cannabis production and distribution. It was a second reading or vote on the bill in principle, and a late-hour victory that had appeared far from certain for a key Liberal promise, coming only after a memo went out late Wednesday to travelling independent senators to return for the crucial vote. Hours before, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had warned senators that his government was elected with a mandate to make the controversial change to Canadas drug laws. We expect a more independent Senate will do its work, to look at legislation sent by the House of Commons, that they evaluate the positive impacts on the community, that they bring ameliorations, if needed. But it is very clear that this bill responds first to an electoral promise that we made very clearly during the election campaign and for which Canadians voted, and also that is something that we will continue to work on with different levels of government. The bill now moves on for more detailed study in Senate committees (in fact five committees will study different aspects of the legal pot scheme) with a final vote on the legislation expected in June. The Liberals proposed legislation and its rush to get it passed into law before the end of the parliamentary sitting in June had run into strong objections in the upper chamber from Conservatives and some Independents who feared the government was moving too fast. The vote capped several days of nail-biting in Senate hallways for the bills backers who figured they had just a six-vote margin to get the bill passed. They expected 33 Conservative senators would vote against the legislation, and were seeking support from the ranks of 43 Independent senators, 11 Liberals and six who have no affiliation. Yet there was a question mark over how several of those would vote, and the outcome was thrown into doubt with up to 20 senators mostly Independent members out of town because of Senate committee travel, and others absent due to illness. The Independent senators group circulated an email late Wednesday alerting them to the importance of Thursdays vote and several returned to Ottawa. Sen. Peter Harder, the government representative in the red chamber, said voting against the bill before weve even gone to committee and exercised our sober second thought would be very much undermining the independent, less partisan, more reflective Senate. He said the Senate had never before killed a government bill on second reading. Have Your Say In the end it was the vote of fiercely Independent senators, who did not want blame for killing the bill prematurely, who determined the outcome. Sen. Marie-Francoise Megie, an Independent named by Trudeau in 2016, who is a physician, supported the bills progress through to the next stage of study, even as she expressed concerns about the impact of cannabis use on the adolescent brain, and the risks of addiction and impaired driving. She called for greater public education and awareness around the risks of cannabis use and for more research into its effects on health. She pointed to promising research on the benefits of cannabis for chronic pain management and palliative care it has been shown to decrease opioid use by up to 64 per cent according to a 2016 study, but she said a number of alarming facts cannot be ignored. It can cause hallucination and paranoia and changes in cognition in youth up to age 25, said Megie. She urged Senate colleagues to take advantage of the opportunity to shape a better law. Legalization will occur but it must not occur at any cost. Lets take advantage of this moment to engage in deep and meaningful discussion in committee. In New Brunswick, Trudeau offered his oft-repeated justification for the bill, saying the current system does not work because Canadian youth are the highest users of marijuana in the world even though recreational use is banned by law. However, Conservative senator and medical researcher Judith Seidman challenged Trudeau to provide proof, citing the UN Office on Drugs and Crime that suggests cannabis use in at least eight other countries exceeds the use among Canadian teenagers aged 15-16. Seidman slammed the government for failing to mount an aggressive public education campaign for young people, its failure to regulate cannabis marketing and advertising as tightly as tobacco, saying the Liberal approach has more in common with how we regulate alcohol, which failed to protect underage users. Were kidding ourselves if we dont think the same thing wont happen with cannabis. Independent Sen. Tony Dean, who sponsored the governments bill in the Senate, urged Conservatives against relying on statistical disputes about youth use of cannabis, whether that places Canada first, second or third in the world, we should be worried about it. He said the government launched its digital marijuana awareness campaign on March 16, and Canadians expect senators to deal with the issues, not sweep these questions under the rug for another 20 years. But Sen. Larry Smith, leader of the Conservative opposition in the Senate, said the bill fails in its overall stated goal: to protect youth. He warned young people exposed to second-hand smoke in homes where adults may legally smoke or grow pot are at risk. He blasted the government for ignoring the Canadian Medical Associations recommendation to set the legal age for consumption at 25, opting instead for 18, and for dragging its feet on launching a public awareness campaign, and for failing to provide Indigenous communities with the necessary supports for addiction and mental health treatment in northern communities where substance abuse and suicide rates exceed the national average. Read more about: LINDSAY, Ont.An Indigenous youth with severe mental health challenges has received the maximum three-year sentence for setting a fire that killed two people in a Lindsay-area foster home. The sentence was handed down Thursday after the court heard heart-rending statements from friends and family members of the victims 14-year-old Kassy Finbow, a resident of the home, and her caregiver, Andrea Reid. These crimes have caused devastating, life-altering and immeasurable impacts to the surviving victims and to the family and others connected with the victims, Justice J.A. Payne said during the sentencing. The girl, who cant be named because she was a minor when she set the fire, will remain in youth custody for almost another 26 months because of time already served. Most of the sentence will be served at the Syl Apps treatment centre in Oakville, where she will receive intensive rehabilitation. She had pled guilty last December to manslaughter and arson causing bodily harm. The sentencing came at the end of an emotionally charged day. At one point, the court was cleared after Reids 17-year-old son stood, swore loudly, and shouted, Im leaving. Ive heard enough. He then punched the door and stormed out. The outburst came as the girls defence lawyer, David Hodson, explained the historical and systemic issues including 50 years of mercury poisoning by a nearby industry that have plagued Indigenous people in Grassy Narrows, her northern Ontario reserve. The victim impact statements left many in the court wiping away tears. READ MORE: Kids are going through trauma. Staff are getting assaulted. We are all in the trenches together A door screwed shut, a tiny window, an ignored smoke alarm and two lost lives Victoria Fowler, Reids mother, described how she felt on Feb. 24, 2017, the day of the fire that took her daughters life. Our lives were shattered. It was as if we had been kicked in the gut and all the life sucked out of us, she said, speaking from a wheelchair as family members sobbed. I never got to hold her to kiss her or say goodbye. Our family is split into pieces, our hearts are ripped open, she added, referring to the impact on Reids husband, Rob, and their three children. Our beautiful, friendly daughter is never coming back. Fowler said her 43-yer-old daughter was ecstatic when she landed the group home job. She brought the foster kids to her rural lakeside home for fishing, swimming and toasting marshmallows over the campfire. If there was ever a person who thought of others it was Andrea, her mother said, adding that Reid was also a Scout leader, helped with the local school breakfast program and sat on the schools parent council. Kassys mother, Chantal Finbow, said her daughter should not have died this way. Kassy was supposed to be in a safe place, said Finbow, whose statement was read in court by an uncle, Andre Richer. During the fire, Kassy was trapped with Reid and another caregiver in her second floor bedroom at an Oakwood foster home run by a company called Connor Homes. The girl, who set the fire when she was 17, was also a resident of the home. She lashed out after learning that she would not be going home to Grassy Narrows when she turned 18. She used a lighter to set alight books, cardboard and a couch. It was a senseless and impulsive act on the part of a young person that resulted in the death of two beautiful people, Crown attorney Ron Davidson told the court. The upstairs bedroom quickly filled with smoke. The only window was too small to squeeze out of. A sliding-glass door in the room was bolted shut. The deaths have sparked multiple investigations by police, government officials, the coroner office, childrens aid societies and the Star. They reveal a child protection system that doesnt know if minimal standards of care are being met, has no qualifications for caregivers, and is governed by a childrens ministry scrambling to perform its oversight role. Kassy died at the scene. Reid was declared brain-dead in hospital the next day, and was kept on life-support as a candidate for organ donation. A third resident of the home at the time of fire described returning from meeting her childrens aid society worker to see smoke billowing from the Quaker Rd. foster home. In her victim statement, she told the court she cant forgive herself for not being in the home to help Kassy, her best friend, and Andrea, who was like a second mother. She said she struggles with anxiety and depression, has been hospitalized, and has tried to kill herself several times. I feel so lost without her, she said of Kassy. Her only comfort is a tattoo she got in Kassys memory, which reads, Youll be with me wherever I go. The court heard the girl, now 18, who set the fire suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome, schizophrenia, alcohol and drug abuse and a severe developmental delay. Payne noted the girl stopped going to school regularly after Grade 2. She cant read or count and has an overall intellectual functioning lower than the 0.1 percentile. She was raised by adoptive parents and once tried to kill her adoptive father, who died of cancer last June. Her adoptive mother died when she was 13. Payne described her challenging history as a mitigating factor. She has expressed sorrow and regret for her actions and for the victims of the fire, he added. However, the court heard the girl has six previous convictions for violent outburst, including twice assaulting police officers. She continues to pose a serious risk to the community, Davidson told the court. The last six months of her sentence will be served under supervision at the home of her biological grandfather in Grassy Narrows. This article has been updated to correct the spelling of Connor Homes. Watching MPs rise to vote in the House of Commons at 2 a.m. is surely a port of call on any voyage of the damned. The parade of the yays and nays. Up. Down. The rhythm of the cadence from the clerk. Mr. ORegan, Mr. Sajjan, Madame Petitpas Taylor, Mr. Goodale, Madame Joly, Miss Freeland . . . It was March 23 everywhere else, but in the Commons, time had stopped and it was frozen in March 22, a parliamentary Ground Hogs day that goes all night long. By hour 12, the clerk might as well be calling Bueller. Bueller. Bueller. Overnight, deputy speaker Carol Hughes asked MPs to delete their social media photos posted by some who got a little too giddy at the sleepover. And she issued an order rarely if ever heard in the Commons. Could they please turn down their music? Its tough to pull an all-nighter in Ottawa, but sometimes youve got to make a point. The Conservatives did just that as Thursday night turned into Friday morning. The vast majority of Canadians would have had no idea and those who tuned in would no doubt find this spectacle downright silly. Such filibusters are always called by the government of the day as a stunt or they accuse the opposition of playing games. Theyll point to the cost and all the important meetings with constituents they are missing. But this is in praise of the (occasional) filibuster. Filibusters can be used to register principled opposition, draw attention to a perceived injustice, or force the government of the day to back down or take action on a particular file. The third outcome never happens. But the filibuster has its place in our parliamentary system. In June 2012, New Democrats and Liberals filibustered over an omnibus budget bill, a protest over the Conservative tactic of larding such bills with non-budgetary measures and forcing votes on one unwieldy piece of legislation. It was the night we were introduced to the slow vote as then-NDP leader Tom Mulcair and his caucus rose to vote as if pianos were strapped to their backs. That bill was 425 pages long and the opposition forced the House to sit for 24 consecutive hours. Then Liberal MP Justin Trudeau tweeted an invitation for the public to come over and watch after the pubs closed. The bill passed, but it shed light on the Conservative legislative tactics. A year earlier, Jack Layton and his newly minted opposition NDP caucus forced 58 straight hours of debate, holding up the summer break, over Conservative legislation forcing Canada Post employees back to work. It was a quick coming-of-age moment for his rookie MPs, but the legislation passed and it turned out to be Laytons last great parliamentary fight. As far back as 1999, Reform leader Preston Manning tabled 471 amendments requiring 43 consecutive hours of voting registering his partys opposition to the treaty that gave the Nisaga more than 200,000 square kilometres of territory in British Columbia. The legislation passed, but Manning claimed victory, saying he had drawn national attention to what he considered a flawed treaty. The theatre which ended Friday afternoon is a little off-centre because the Conservatives forced votes on 250 budgetary motions that had nothing to do with the issue at hand. The Conservatives launched this filibuster after the Liberal majority voted down a proposal to have Trudeaus national security adviser, Daniel Jean, appear before the national security committee to give MPs the same briefing he gave journalists during Trudeaus ill-fated Indian trip. Jean had suggested rogue elements within the Indian government may have facilitated the attendance at Trudeau events of Jaspal Atwal, who was convicted of attempting to murder an Indian cabinet minister on Vancouver Island in 1986. As bad as the trip was, the damage control back home may have been worse as Trudeau offered up two explanations for the presence of Atwal at official Canadian events. The Conservatives know Trudeau did the near-impossible, taking a hit in the polls for a disastrous foreign trip. New Democrats were only too happy to jump on board, if only to deflect some of the heat from their leader, Jagmeet Singh, who has been tripped up by appearances at Indian separatist rallies, and put the focus back on Trudeau. Conservatives can accuse Trudeau of hiding something. They can cry cover up. But mainly they got what they wanted they kept what they call the Atwal Affair in the news for another day. Tim Harper is a former Star reporter who is a current freelance columnist based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @nutgraf1 Read more about: A proposed and widely contested 28-acre residential development around a Thornhill Woods mosque will be the subject of an Ontario Municipal Board hearing next week, over four years after it was initially proposed to the community. The Islamic Shia Ithna Asheri Jamaat (ISIJ) wants permission to rezone and develop the property around the Jaffari Community Centre mosque at 9000 Bathurst St.land they have owned for 20 years. Dubbed the Jaffari Village, the initial 2014 plan proposed two 17-storey residential towers, a retail space and 61 townhouses in the low-density neighbourhood. Then, both religious tensions and concerns about density surfaced in community discussions, with more than 3,250 people signing a petition against it at the time. Today, after 28 meetings with city staff and the Preserve Thornhill Woods Association, the final proposal now sees 60 three-storey townhouses, a six-storey seniors residence, an eight-storey residential building, a new secondary school, and a new park and nature trail along the East Don River. We just dont want density in the neighbourhood, said Rom Koubi, chairman of the Association. We have addressed each and every concern that has been on this application, said Shafiq Ebrahim, ISIJ vice-president, who read out 14-pages of contentious items the ISIJ had received from the community and city staff. These included everything from traffic to the shape and heights of the buildings, to accessible education facilities. Its gotten to a point where we think we are not making any headway with the residents association or local citizens, he said. With OMB rules set to change next month, ISIJ appealed in mid-November to ensure their proposal was considered under the same rules they initially applied within. Ebrahim said they had no other choice but to appeal to see their property become the mixed-use, inclusive development theyve dreamed of for two decades. This is our property, said Ebrahim. We have the right to build, and we will build in accordance with the law...we are at the point where we say heres where were at. Despite the changes made, Ebrahim says the same old issue keeps coming up. Its too much, said Koubi. Its way too big. Its way outside the look, the feel, the height, and density of the neighbourhood...Its way too outside the character of the neighbourhood. As the chairman of the Preserve Thornhill Woods Association and a 15-year-long resident in the neighbourhood, Koubi has been actively involved in conversations with the ISIJ to help their proposal come to life. The development is fence to fence with his house, and one he thinks is too dense for a very relaxed neighbourhood. He admits that ISIJ has addressed some of the concerns the Association brought up, but still believes the neighbourhood cant support the development. Koubi says there are not enough parking spots to accommodate what he expects to be the increased traffic flow to the mosque. Hes also concerned about the developments impact on the Don River and the potential stress on public schools. His main issue is not with the mosque, he says, which has been around longer than the neighbourhood itself. The major issue is you need to be considerate with your neighbours and your neighbourhood, said Koubi. You dont want to have a tower next to your house because it doesnt look right...Theres no where in the neighbourhood that looks like that. The City of Vaughan has yet to take a position on the development. In an email, local councillor Sandra Yeung Racco wrote the City has listened and worked with residents, the developers as well as York Region and the Toronto Region Conservation Authority to review the proposed development plans to address the concerns of the community. Yeung Racco added that both she and City staff had provided all correspondence sent through e-mail and social media to the Citys Planning Department, and that a City staff report evaluating the development is expected in the next few weeks. It certainly is unusual for a council to take four years and more to make a decision in the issue when the proponent of the proposal has so significantly altered their initial plans, said Myer Siemiatycki, a professor of politics at Ryerson University. Siemiatycki has conducted many studies on the planning issues surrounding mosques. It seems longer and more drawn out than it should be. Siemiatycki said he cant think of any historical parallels to a faith community wanting to develop the adjacent area to its place of worship, or for a development proposal being actively edited for five years and not receiving a verdict from the municipal government in that time. The timing of the ISIJs appeal is significant to him because it validates the changes to the OMBs authority to move the onus to the municipality to make decisions. Local councils are responsible for zoning and planning and land use...and of course city councils are elected and the OMB isnt, he said, adding that the ISIJs proposal seems beneficial to the community at large and the resistance perhaps rooted in the idea of the potential expansion of the Muslim presence in the area. It does look like theres an awful lot of vacant land, kind of unsightly vacant land surrounding the mosque that is already there....The irony is, having a lot of residents be walking distance to the mosque might reduce the amount of driving and traffic to the mosque, he added. This could be the solution. Mark Flowers, ISIJs legal counsel, told the Star that the appeal is one way to prompt a council position, adding that Vaughan city council is expecting a large turn out on March 27 and has moved the meeting to council chambers with planned overflow rooms. There will be no decision at this meeting; it is purely administrative. Obviously wed like to see some finality to the project, said Flowers, who says that the development has been proposed in a sensitive way, with the townhouses being proposed adjacent to residential buildings, and the mid-rise buildings furthest away at Bathurst street. That finality, said Flowers, would be when the OMB hearing is completed and a decision is rendered, which he doesnt see happening till 2019. It has been a rather contentious application, he added. This is despite the fact the density being proposed, said Flowers, is less than that permitted in low-density neighbourhood. In 2016, the Ontario government created new requirements for suburban development, one of which included ensuring at least 60 per cent of all new residential developments be created in already developed areas. Ebrahim remains cautiously optimistic. The project is inclusive...I dont understand how it cannot benefit the community, he said. We have the right to develop. Read more about: A GTA optometrist faces the possibility of having his license suspended for four months after a panel found him guilty Thursday of sexually abusing three patients who were also his employees. Dr. Jon Barnes, who has a practice in Beaverton and Stouffville, admitted to drawing obscene images on his office whiteboard, making sexually crude remarks in the office and writing sexual comments in his patients medical files. His admissions were in an agreed statement of facts to a College of Optometrists of Ontario panel. Read more: Toronto doctor's sex abuse case hinges on whether woman was actually his patient The facts of this case are shocking, Bonnie Ellis, lawyer for the college, told the hearing. The nature of the conduct is shocking. Barnes also admitted to having angry outbursts where he would raise his voice, bang the walls, use profanities and break furniture. The complaint that prompted the hearing was made in November 2016, and a college investigation began that same month. The allegations relate to behaviour from Barnes that began in 2002. Each employee submitted victim impact statements, one of which was read by the victim herself. I would see his perverted sexual notes in his patients files, she said. The whole experience has made me not trust people, especially doctors. Two of the three employees have resigned from their jobs with Barnes. One employee said that she was not a victim of Barnes, and was not negatively affected by his comments. Barnes also admitted to using white out to cover the sexual comments on patient files, both before and after the investigation began. The statement also said Barnes didnt initially believe his words and images were hurtful, but humorous. After the investigation began, Barnes voluntarily attended courses in an attempt to reform his behaviour. A counsellor he saw wrote that he was at low risk for reoffending. In a joint submission, counsel for Barnes and the college recommended that he have his license be suspended for four months; take an ethics course; pay the college $30,000 for investigation and legal costs; and pay $43,000 for the therapy and counselling for the employees he abused. The panel will make a decision at a future date. Ellis said that the recommendations were not meant to punish Barnes, but to protect the public. She added that the original complainant approved of the joint submissions recommendations. The employees who Barnes abused were present at the tribunal hearing. During a recess, Barnes spoke to the employees about lottery tickets, but they did not reply. Barnes became in optometrist in 1990, and started his practice in Beaverton that year. What should the panel in the discipline case of Dr. Suganthan Kayilasanathan rely on more in coming to their decision: the documents filed as exhibits, or the testimony of the reluctant main witness? That question will now form part of the deliberations for the five-member panel, which heard closing submissions Thursday in the case of the Toronto doctor who is accused of sexual abuse and of disgraceful, dishonourable and unprofessional misconduct. He denies the allegations. The panel must decide whether the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario has proven its case, namely that Kayilasanathan and the woman and main witness, known only as Patient A due to a publication ban, were engaged in a doctor-patient relationship when the two had sex in December 2010. Under Ontario law, its mandatory that doctors who have sex with a patient lose their licence. Read more: Optometrist found guilty of sexually abusing three patients We are all familiar with the expression The documents dont lie, said college lawyer Carolyn Silver in her closing submissions. In this case, I submit that the college has proved its case through the physicians own documents. As the basis of her argument that Kayilasanathan and Patient A were indeed in a doctor-patient relationship, Silver pointed out that the exhibits include detailed medical charts written by Kayilasanathan from two dates in December 2010 when the woman saw the physician for the purposes of getting doctors notes to avoid taking exams, along with the physicians OHIP billings for those two visits. A receipt from a Mississauga hotel was also entered as an exhibit at the discipline hearing, showing a room charged to Kayilasanathans credit card for one night during the week between those two visits to the doctors clinic the same night the college argues the doctor and Patient A had sex. This is a very simple a case, a straightforward case, Silver said, echoing what she had said in her opening statement when the discipline hearing began last November. The case proved to be complex, however. Patient A did not show up to testify in November, and hired a lawyer in an effort to quash the summons compelling her to testify. The medical regulator countered that if she refused to attend, it would enforce the summons and have her arrested and brought to the college to testify. (The woman never complained about Kayilasanathan to the college; the regulator found out after the woman told another doctor that she and Kayilasanathan had had sex. The other doctor was required by law to report it to the college.) Patient A did eventually testify, last month, after her bid to quash the summons was dismissed by the discipline panel. She testified that she and Kayilasanathan had been partying with a friend on a weekend in December 2010, and that Kayilasanathan had offered to write her a doctors note so she could get out of her exam the following Monday. She testified he wrote her a second note a week later to get out of yet another exam. I essentially used him to get a note, she testified. She also testified that the two had sex, but as defence lawyer Andrew Parley highlighted Thursday, she was unclear about the sequence of events, namely what came first, the doctors visit or the sexual encounter. Contrary to Silver on the college side, Parley urged the panel to rely primarily on the testimony of the main witness, Patient A, to show that the woman and Kayilasanathan were not in fact engaged in a doctor-patient relationship. The important point is (Patient A) could not remember, he said. She remembered going to the clinic, remembered having sex, but couldnt remember how they all fit together. Patient A did testify that she had sex with Kayilasanathan on the night in December 2010 put forward by the college, but Parley argued it was after she was shown a calendar by the college. Parley also argued that although Patient A went to the clinic to get a doctors note, no medical care was actually provided. Patient A had actually testified that although the doctor made notes in the chart about her having a cough and chills and should continue taking medication, none of that was actually discussed during the visit. She emphasized the visit was solely for the purpose of getting the note to get out of her exam. Our position is that does not rise to the level of a physician-patient relationship, he said. And going back to Patient As testimony that she had used Kayilasanathan to get a note, Parley said: If anyone is abusing the relationship here, it is Patient A, asking her friend to do her a favour, putting her friend in jeopardy. The panel will render its decision at a later date. Toronto Mayor John Tory, who is pushing for tighter federal gun controls, found some common ground in a meeting with federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer whose party has long championed gun owners rights. We actually agreed on the need for the federal government to do more to stop the flow of illegal firearms coming over the border and for the illegal trafficking of domestic firearms, Scheer told reporters at city hall after the pair had, in private, their first formal meeting. Tory said they also talked about the possibility of using technology to trace guns sold to criminals. Right now it is as simple as a file being used to take the serial number off and then those guns become untraceable and get sold to criminals who use them to kill people, the mayor said. Tory is pushing the federal Liberal government to impose controls beyond new proposals including gun sellers keeping records of inventories and sales for at least 20 years, and hunting rifle and shotgun buyers being required to present a firearms licence the vendor would have to check. The mayor, alarmed by gun crime in Canadas biggest city, wants other measures including some kind of red flag when people legally buy large numbers of guns that could be sold to criminals. Scheer, whose party in 2012 killed the long-gun registry to the applause of many in its rural power base, said if elected prime minister he would consider Torys idea. We've always been on the side of robust licensing so this is an interesting proposal we'll take back and see how it looks, said the Saskatchewan MP who won the Conservative leadership last year. Under the Justin Trudeau Liberals, cities including Toronto got what they long sought billions of dollars in ongoing funding for transit, housing and other infrastructure needs. Asked if he would keep that money flowing as prime minister, Scheer noted the Liberals made permanent a transit fund started by the previous Conservative government. However, he would only commit now to his party listening to cities to find practical positive solutions to their challenges. The Conservatives in 2015 lost Toronto seats to the Liberals, who swept all 25 ridings in the city. Read more about: The crackdown on city pot dispensaries in May 2016 was on solid constitutional ground, based on a Toronto judges decision released Friday. The decision means the case of a compassion club owner charged with marijuana trafficking will be heading back to court this fall, when the drug will be legal across the country. Justice Heather McArthur was asked to decide whether the laws were valid in May 2016 when Toronto police conducted raids as part of Project Claudia. Lawyers representing Marek Stupak, one of more than 90 people charged, argued his charges should be dismissed because Sect. 5(2) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the law under which he was charged, breached his charter rights because a valid program making medicinal pot readily available did not exist in 2016. He was charged with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking and possession of the proceeds of crime. The judge summarized numerous legal decisions relating to medical pot dating back to 2000, including a February 2016 court ruling that found the federal marijuana regime violated the charter and was therefore of no force or effect. However, the judge suspended the declaration of invalidity for six months. New medicinal pot regulations came into force on Aug. 24, 2016, before the suspension period expired. The suspension had the effect of extending the life of Ottawas medicinal marijuana program, McArthur wrote. So, individuals charged with marijuana offences during this time frame can be ... prosecuted and convicted. That finding is sufficient to dispose of this application, she said Friday reading from her eight-page ruling. Osgoode Hall law professor Alan Young, who argued the application with co-counsel Kendra Stanyon, said there is no avenue for appeal so the next stage will be for the court to hear whether the accused, and others, were legitimate medical providers and exempt from the law. I would much prefer not to use the administration of criminal justice for that purpose, but thats probably where were headed, Young said outside the courtroom. A silver lining is that the ruling gives us an opportunity to show Canada what some of these people were doing to help sick people in the absence of a government program that was working efficiently. Some of these people should be proud of what theyve done, not criminalized. The strange times in which we live means the case is scheduled to return to court in October when marijuana will be legal. This whole thing can be seen as a supreme waste of time, I would have said the raids were a supreme waste of time, Young said. Theres a real disconnect between government policy and whats actually happening in terms of enforcement of criminal law. Stupak, who operates Social Collective (So Co), said Friday while hes disappointed by the decision he will continue his legal battle. He said he has been catering to the medical marijuana market for more than 20 years, selling pot to patients at an affordable price. Autopsy results following a triple murder last week in Ajax indicate two victims were stabbed while a third died of asphyxiation, Durham police said Friday. Police also explained visible injuries to the man accused in the killings were the result of a struggle he had with officers upon his arrest. Investigators have also put out an appeal for information from anyone who had contact with the victims or the accused prior to the slayings, which occurred at a home on Hilling Dr. last Wednesday. Krassimira Pejcinovski, 39 and her 15-year-old son Roy Pejcinovski, were found dead by police responding to a 911 call at the home at about 11 a.m. March 14. Pejcinovskis 13-year-old daughter Venallia, who was found in the home with serious injuries, died later that night in a Toronto hospital. Read more: Our hearts are broken, father of children killed in Ajax triple homicide says Funeral set for Saturday for slain Ajax woman and her two children Employer claims accused killer of three was violent towards Ajax mother Cory Fenn, 29, of Ajax, has been charged with three counts of second-degree murder. Fenn and Krassimira Pejcinovski had been in a relationship, police confirmed. Durham police said Friday they were responding to media requests for information in releasing the autopsy results. Two of the victims died of sharp force trauma while a third was asphyxiated, police confirmed. Police didnt offer any more details. Police also addressed reports that Fenn, who appeared in bail court in Oshawa the day after the killings, had visible injuries. Fenn had numerous cuts to his face and one eye was significantly swollen during the appearance. The accused appeared in court March 15 with facial injuries. These injuries occurred when he was arrested, as there was an altercation with members of the tactical support unit, Durham police said in a statement Friday. The injuries were reported to the Special Investigations Unit, which examines incidents of serious injury or death involving police, but they did not meet their threshold for investigation, police said. One tactical unit officer was also injured during the arrest, police said. Fenn was arrested in Oshawa later in the afternoon on the day of the killings. In Fridays statement police said their priority is ensuring the integrity of the investigation. Work continues on this complex investigation and our priority is to support a successful prosecution of these very serious charges now before the court, police said. As this matter moves forward through the public court process, more information will become available. Fenn is to appear in court in Oshawa via video link next Thursday, March 29. A funeral for the victims is scheduled to take place Saturday in Toronto. Homicide investigators want to speak to anyone who had contact with Fenn or any of the three victims prior to the incident. Call 905-579-1520, extension 5418, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. Read more about: SickKids is getting a $2.4-billion booster shot from Premier Kathleen Wynnes Liberals. Wynne announced Friday that the Hospital for Sick Children will receive the new capital funding in next weeks provincial budget. The money will go toward the design and construction of a new patient care centre that will add to the downtown Toronto hospitals capacity. As any parent knows, when a child is sick nothing else matters, said Wynne, a mother of three adult children and grandmother of three. The incredible physicians, nurses and staff members at Sick Kids understand that, she said. Thats what this historic investment in Sick Kids is all about and its why were building new and improved hospitals around the province. Wynnes announcement, the day after she said hospitals operating funding will jump by 4.6 per cent, or $822 million, next year, comes against the backdrop of a June 7 election. Its part of $19 billion in hospital capital expenditures across the province over the next decade. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne says her government will increase hospital funding by $822 million in 2018-2019, the third major funding promise the Liberals have made in as many days ahead of the provinces June election. (The Canadian Press) Further details will be announced by Finance Minister Charles Sousa in next Wednesdays budget. Sick Kids president and CEO Michael Apkon said the investment would ensure that we are able to deliver safe, cutting-edge care to the most critically ill children in Ontario for generations to come. This remarkable investment will take us one very large step closer to our goal of building a reimagined SickKids of the future, poised to provide the most modern, innovative and safe care to help bring hope and comfort to families who face serious illness and injury, said Apkon, Thank you, Premier Wynne, for putting your faith in us, in SickKids, and recognizing the real need. We wont let you down and we wont let Ontarios children down. Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford, who is ahead of Wynne in public opinion polls, the funding was just a last-ditch effort by Kathleen Wynne to buy votes with taxpayer money. She cant be trusted. The Liberals had 15 years to fix this and now that were only 75 days from an election, they think its time to act. Voters see through their political games, said Ford, who has vowed to make $5.6 billion in unspecified cuts if he wins the election. We need to make sure there is support for front-line services. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said the Liberals have starved hospitals for years as they have strived to contain costs. Every month, for the past year, Sick Kids has been running above 100 per cent occupancy. It never should have come to this point. The Liberals have had 15 years to fix overcrowding, and to invest in hospitals. Instead, they let patients down, said Horwath. New infrastructure at Sick Kids Hospital is long overdue. It should never have taken the premier this long to promise help for SickKids. Read more: Ontario government to boost hospital funding by $822M to ease overcrowding, wait times Kathleen Wynne announces $2.1 billion in new mental health funding over four years Liberals and Tories fling accusations at each other as the 2018 election campaign heats up at Queens Park Read more about: BARCELONA, SpainThe separatist majority of Catalonias parliament failed to elect a regional president during a vote held Thursday, starting a two-month countdown to would end with another election being called in the restive corner of Spain. Candidate Jordi Turull, a former minister in the previous Catalan government, fell short of the absolute majority needed due to a division within the three parties who seek independence for the northeastern region. An abstention by lawmakers from the anti-capitalist CUP party left Turull with 64 votes when he needed 68. Read more: Catalonias fugitive ex-leader Puigdemont withdraws his bid to regain power Puigdemont must return to Spain to form government, court rules Catalonia separatist parties winning majority does little to clarify future with Spain Parliament rules say he could have a second chance to be elected on Saturday, when only a simple majority of more Yes than No votes would be required to make him Catalonias next president. But Turull and five other separatist leaders have a date at the Madrid-based Supreme Court on Friday, when a judge could indict them on rebellion charges and sent to preventative jail. The regional parliament now has two months to elect a president and form a government before a new election is triggered. Other candidates may be put up during that time. Turull earned the votes of his Together For Catalonia group and the Republican Left, while the CUPs four members abstained. The 65 members of parties who want Catalonia to remain part of Spain voted against him. Turull already spent a month in preventative jail as part of the judicial investigation into the regional parliaments unsuccessful declaration of independence in October, which led Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to remove Catalonias government. Turull is the third candidate proposed by separatist lawmakers since they maintained a slim majority in a December election called by Rajoy. His candidacy brought political tensions in Spain to a head once more. I prefer to accept the risk of being a victim of injustice than to back away from what is happening, Turull told the Catalan assembly with his court date looming less than 24 hours away. But Turull didnt mention independence or republic during the hour-long speech to fellow lawmakers outlining the policies he would pursue if elected. Instead, he said he wanted to foster dialogue with Spains central authorities, though he didnt specify what the dialogue should cover. The absence of a clearly articulated position in favour of secession from the rest of Spain cost Turull the support of the left-wing CUP. CUP parliament spokesperson Carles Riera said his party could not accept any candidate besides former president Carles Puigdemont, who is a fugitive from Spanish law since he fled to Belgium in October. Riera then deepened the divide within the separatist bloc by announcing that the CUP was breaking its alliance with the other two parties. We at the CUP consider that this phase of the independence movement is over, Riera said. We are joining the opposition to continue our struggle with the state and to fight those who want to sustain the current regional model. Opposition leader Ines Arrimadas of the Citizens party chided the separatists for not presenting a candidate free of legal problems, which the Spanish government has said is a prerequisite for it ending its takeover of Catalonias regional affairs. Arrimadas accused them of worsening the political showdown with Spain. You dont want.to start governing, because if you did, you would have come here with a candidate that didnt have to see a judge tomorrow, Arrimadas said. You just want the conflict and problems to continue. Following the vote, Republic Left announced that three of its members who are also summoned to the Supreme Court on Friday are renouncing their seats in the Catalan parliament. They will be replaced by party members. Also Thursday, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal to release two other high-profile separatists from pre-trial detention while a judge investigates Catalonias attempt to secede. The top court ruled that there was still a risk that Joaquim Forn, the ousted Catalan Interior Minister, and Jordi Sanchez, the former president of the pro-independence civil rights group ANC, to repeat the offences that landed them in jail. Read more about: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Thursday it would be really insane for him to trade classified information with presidential son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner, or try to use Kushner to promote Saudi aims within the Trump administration. Having that kind of relationship will not help us and does not exist, he said. Speaking in a meeting with Washington Post editors and reporters, Mohammed denied U.S. media reports that he had claimed Kushner was in his pocket, or that he had sought or received a green light from Kushner, when the two met in Riyadh in October, for massive arrests of allegedly corrupt royal family members and Saudi businessmen that took place in the kingdom shortly afterward. The detentions were solely a domestic issue and had been in the works for years, he said. Read more: Saudi Arabia crown prince hails opportunities for closer economic ties with U.S. during Trump meeting Jared Kushners financial ties to Israel deepen even with Mideast diplomatic role While we work together as friends, more than partners, Mohammed said, his relationship with Kushner was within the normal context of government-to-government contacts. He noted that he also had good relations with Vice President Mike Pence and others in the White House. In the 75-minute meeting at The Post on the last day of his four-day stay in Washington, Mohammed was animated and engaged, fielding questions on a range of topics from the war in Yemen to the Middle East peace process, Iran, his domestic reform agenda, human rights and Saudi Arabias nuclear plans. Although the meeting, conducted in English, was held off the record, the Saudi Embassy later agreed that specified portions could be used in an article about the session. The son of King Salman and heir to the Saudi throne, Mohammed, 32, met with U.S. President Donald Trump Tuesday in the Oval Office and over lunch. He also spoke with a number of congressional leaders many of whom have been critical of the U.S.-aided Saudi war in Yemen. On Thursday, he visited Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at the Pentagon. The crown prince also serves as Saudi Arabias defense minister. But the centerpiece of his nearly three-week tour of the United States will come in subsequent stops in Boston, New York, Seattle, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles and Houston. Even as Trump has said he is seeking increased investment and purchases of U.S. military and other products from Saudi Arabia, Mohammed has made clear that his primary mission here is to win U.S. investor confidence in his own country, along with technological and education assistance in his efforts to reform the ultra-conservative kingdom. China and Russia are vying with the United States to build components of new nuclear power plants in the kingdom, amid concerns here over a Saudi desire for uranium enrichment capability. In an interview with CBS 60 Minutes broadcast last Sunday, Mohammed said that his country would build a nuclear weapon if Iran did. At The Post, he said his primary concern was being able to enrich and use Saudi Arabias own uranium for use in power reactors, rather than buying it abroad. His country has more than 5 percent of world uranium reserves and if we dont use it, its like telling us dont use oil. The United States, he said, would be invited to put in place all laws and structures to make sure it is not misused. Mohammed spoke at length about the prospects for economic growth in the Middle East, saying it could be the next Europe, if a series of problems could be resolved. One of those is the decades-long Israel-Palestinian dispute.Trump has designated Kushner to come up with a peace plan, and he met here with Mohammed this week, along with Jason Greenblatt, a Trump Organization lawyer brought into the White House to help with the effort. Once the U.S. plan is ready, Kushner is said to want the Saudis and other leading Arab countries to help persuade the Palestinians to accept it. The official Saudi position is that any peace agreement must recognize a Palestinian state within specified borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Arab leaders have said that Trumps recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital a move that Mohammed called painful has made a deal under U.S. auspices far more difficult. On the Yemen war, Mohammed said that Saudi Arabia had not passed up any opportunity to improve the humanitarian situation, although human rights organizations and U.S. lawmakers have said Saudi bombing has caused many of the more than 5,000 estimated civilian deaths in the war. There are not good options and bad options. The options are between bad and worse, he said of the Yemen conflict with Iran-backed Houthi rebels that overthrew the Saudi-recognized government. Discussing his reform efforts at home, including giving women the right to drive and have more rights outside the home, Mohammed said he has worked hard to convince conservative religious leaders such restrictions are not part of Islamic doctrine. I believe Islam is sensible, Islam is simple, and people are trying to hijack it, he said. Lengthy discussions with clerics, he said, have been positive and are why we have more allies in the religious establishment, day by day. Asked about the Saudi-funded spread of Wahhabism, the austere, dominant faith in the kingdom that some have accused of being a source of global terrorism, Mohammed said that investments in mosques and madrassas overseas were rooted in the Cold War, when allies asked Saudi Arabia to use its resources to prevent inroads in Muslim countries by the Soviet Union. Successive Saudi governments lost track of the effort, he said, and now we have to get it all back. Funding now comes largely from Saudi-based foundations, he said, rather than from the government. Read more about: STROUDSBURG, Pa. Punxsutawney Phil is a wanted ... groundhog. A Pennsylvania sheriffs officer has put up a wanted poster for Phil. The handlers of the groundhog last month said the furry rodent called for six more weeks of winter after seeing his shadow. The Monroe County Sheriffs Office says that expired last week, yet a spring storm brought more snow to the Northeast on Wednesday and Thursday. Cpl. Scott Martin tells WBRE-TV he created the poster and placed it on the wanted wall because he is sick of snow in the spring. The poster claims Phil is wanted for deception. Phil is described as having brown and grey hair, brown eyes, sharp teeth. Records dating to 1887 show Phil has predicted more winter 103 times while forecasting an early spring just 18 times. TREBES, FranceA gun-wielding extremist unleashed bloodshed in a quiet corner of southern France on Friday, killing three people as he hijacked a car, opened fire on police and took hostages in a supermarket, where panicked shoppers hid in a meat freezer or ran through the aisles. The 25-year-old attacker was slain as police stormed the market with the help of a heroic officer who had switched places with a captive and suffered life-threatening wounds one of 16 people injured in the days violence. Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL, claimed responsibility for the rampage near Carcassonne, a medieval city beloved by tourists, and the town of Trebes. It was the deadliest attack in France since Emmanuel Macron became president last year. The officer who offered to be swapped for a female hostage was identified as Col. Arnaud Beltrame. He managed to surreptitiously leave his phone on so that police outside could hear what was going on inside the supermarket and crucially, decide when to storm it. A police official who was not authorized to be publicly identified confirmed the officers identity to The Associated Press. He saved lives, Macron said. Macron said investigators will focus on establishing how the gunman, identified by prosecutors as Moroccan-born Redouane Lakdim, got his weapon, and how he became radicalized. He was known to police for petty crime and drug-dealing. But he was also under surveillance and since 2014 was on the so-called Fiche S list, a government register of individuals suspected of being radicalized but who have yet to perform acts of terrorism. Despite this, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins there was no warning sign that Lakdim would carry out an extremist attack. A woman who was close to Lakdim was arrested, Molins said. He did not identify her. The four-hour drama began at 10:13 a.m. when Lakdim hijacked a car near Carcassonne, killing one person in the car and wounding the other, he said. Lakdim then fired six shots at police officers who were on their way back from jogging near Carcassonne, said Yves Lefebvre, secretary general of SGP Police-FO police union. The police were wearing athletic clothes with police insignia. One officer was hit in the shoulder, but the injury was not serious, Lefebvre said. Lakdim then went to a Super U supermarket in nearby Trebes, 100 kilometres southeast of Toulouse, shooting and killing two people in the market and taking an unknown number of hostages. He shouted Allahu akbar, or God is great, and said he was a soldier of the (Daesh) as he entered the Super U, where about 50 people were inside, Molins said. We heard an explosion well, several explosions, shopper Christian Guibbert told reporters. So I went to see what was happening and I saw a man lying on the floor and another person, very agitated, who had a gun in one hand and a knife in the other. He described the assailant as a very agitated man shouting several times Allahu akbar. Guibbert said he led his wife and sister-in-law and nearby customers into the meat freezer. Then he went back to see where the assailant was and called police to describe the situation. At that moment, he (the gunman) ran after me. Of course I left, I lost him and when I turned around he wasnt there anymore. I took an emergency door and saw the police arrive, he said. Special police units converged on the scene while authorities blocked roads and urged residents to stay away. Another witness, an employee of the supermarkets butchery identified only by his first name Jacky, told Europe 1 radio he heard people shouting and big boom. It was a gunshot, he said. Then a second gunshot. After that, my colleagues came toward me saying: Come on Jacky, we need to leave, theres someone whos firing shots, hes shouting Allahu akbar, and hes shot people and hes shooting at everything. We have an emergency exit behind the butchers stall and we ran away across the courtyard. We also helped people get out. During the standoff, Lakdim requested the release of Salah Abdeslam, the sole surviving assailant of the Nov. 13, 2015, attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead. The interior minister suggested, however, that Abdeslams release wasnt a key motive for the attack. The Daesh-linked Aamaq news agency said the attacker was responding to the groups calls to target countries in the U.S.-led coalition carrying out airstrikes against Daesh militants in Syria and Iraq since 2014. France has been repeatedly targeted because of its participation. After Beltrame exchanged places with a hostage, he left his phone on a table with an open line, so that officers outside could hear, according to Interior Minister Gerard Collomb. Molins, the Paris prosecutor, also praised Beltrame, who at the risk of his life took the choice to take the place of the hostages. The gunman shot Beltrame several times after threatening to blow up the supermarket if police entered, Molins added. BFM television said Beltrame recently took part in a training simulating a terrorist attack. As the supermarket standoff reached a crescendo about 2:20 p.m., police heard gunshots inside the building and decided that elite forces had to storm it. Lakdim was killed and two other officers were wounded during the assault, Collomb said, speaking from Trebes. He acted alone, there was no one else but him, he added. Macron rushed back from an EU summit in Brussels to Paris, where counterterrorism investigators took over the investigation. France has been on high alert since a series of extremist attacks in 2015 and 2016 that killed more than 200 people. While France hasnt had an attack in several months, the threat remains high, Macron said, describing ongoing risks from several individuals who radicalized themselves. Fridays attack occurred in a normally quiet part of France, where the main tourist attraction is the treasured walled city of Carcassonne. Macron pushed through a tough counterterrorism law last year that gives police extra powers to conduct searches and hold people under house arrest. In Brussels, German Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared with Macron and said, When it comes to terrorist threats, we stand by France. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said the Eiffel Tower was to turn its lights off at midnight in tribute to the victims. Read more about: MADRIDA Spanish Supreme Court judge charged 13 Catalan separatist politicians with rebellion Friday for their attempts to make the region independent of Spain, dealing a heavy blow to the secessionist movement with an indictment that could put its political elite behind bars for decades. Judge Pablo Llarena ordered five of the Catalan politicians who answered a court summons Friday to be held without bail. Another of the summoned politicians, the ERC partys Marta Rovira, did not heed the order and announced in a letter that she was fleeing the country to live in exile. Spanish media reported that she went to Switzerland. The judge also ordered that European and international arrest warrants be issued for six fugitive Catalan politicians, including former regional president Carles Puigdemont and Rovira. Read more: Catalan separatists fail to elect regional president Puigdemont must return to Spain to form government, court rules Emmanuel Macron has set his sights on remaking Europe The charges of rebellion stem from an illegal independence declaration by the Catalan parliament last October. Rebellion is punishable with up to 30 years in prison. Spanish courts sought Puigdemonts extradition from Brussels last year but cancelled that petition amid concerns that Belgium might send him back but restrict the crimes with which he could be charged. The jailings Friday are likely to cause outrage in Catalonia, where many supporters describe the Catalan officials in custody as political prisoners. The pro-independence civil society group ANC called for marches late Friday in towns across the region. The separatist movement in Catalonia, a wealthy region of 7.5 million in northeast Spain, has ignited Spains biggest constitutional crisis in decades. The indictment Friday appeared to scotch hopes of breaking the political deadlock and installing a new Catalan government any time soon. Pro-independence political parties and civic groups in Catalonia have defied the Spanish government for the past six months with efforts to secede from Spain and create a new republic. They have repeatedly fallen foul of the courts and the Constitution, however. Polls show Catalans are equally divided on the secession issue, although a vast majority support holding a legal referendum on the issue. Legal and political constraints have prevented the slim separatist majority in Catalonias parliament from electing a regional president and government since a December election. The latest failure, on Thursday, started a two-month countdown for either a government to be formed or for another ballot in the restive region. One of those jailed Friday was former Catalan government minister Jordi Turull, the third candidate since the December election to become Catalan president. Turull failed to gain enough votes from regional lawmakers on Thursday, but in theory had a second chance to be voted in Saturday by a simple majority. It was immediately unclear if Saturdays parliamentary vote could go ahead without Turulls physical presence. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy declined to comment on the legal issues, but said he is not enthusiastic about calling another regional election in Catalonia. Rajoy said he doesnt like repeat elections, explaining that people vote and politicians have a duty to resolve problems and not create others. In his ruling, Llarena said 25 Catalan separatists in all will be tried for rebellion, embezzlement or disobedience. Others charged with rebellion were former Catalan vice-president Oriol Junqueras, who is already in detention; seven other members of the ousted Catalan government; former Catalan parliament speaker Carme Forcadell and jailed separatist activists Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart. Puigdemont appeared unshaken by the charges. Lets see what happens tomorrow, what happens today. Every day things change, Puigdemont said in Helsinki, where he was on a visit. He also criticized the judges decision, suggesting Llarena was influenced by the political climate. It is not right for a judge to do politics, Puigdemont said. In explaining his decision to bring charges, Llarena said Catalan separatist politicians and groups had plotted ways of achieving Catalonias independence for the past six years. Llarena described the case as an attack on the constitutional State ... of unusual gravity and persistence. His ruling also warned that the strategy to secede is dormant and awaiting resumption once separatists regain control of the regional Catalan government. The semiautonomous region has been without a leader for nearly five months after central authorities in Madrid took control following Octobers independence declaration. Read more about: By selecting Doug Ford as its new leader, the Ontario PC party has jumped on the populist bandwagon that has swept the United States and is likely to sweep Ontario. All four of the PC leadership hopefuls were big on political slogans, but short on policy details. During the leadership campaign, not once did the candidates highlight the issues that are impacting First Nations people in Ontario. Coming from the isolated community of Beausoleil First Nation on the southern tip of Georgian Bay, which is reliant on a 68-year-old vessel on the verge of sinking, I see first-hand the issues that plague First Nations communities. It is deeply concerning that Ford, the probable next premier of Ontario, hasnt brought our issues to the forefront. We know that if elected premier, Ford plans to roll back progress made on womens reproductive rights, turn back the clock on the curriculum, and end a carbon tax that would have paid for his partys platform. For First Nations people, we dont know what he will do to combat racism and the deaths of students in Thunder Bay, help end the suicide epidemic sweeping Ontarios northern First Nations communities, and better the lives of First Nations people living on-reserve. During the leadership race, I contacted Tanya Granic Allen via email to inquire about her plans for First Nations people. Instead of laying out her vision, she responded by adding me to her mailing list. I believe this is a big indicator of how serious the PC party takes the everyday realities First Nations people face every day. When asked how he will develop infrastructure in the James Bay lowlands, Ford said: If I have to hop on that bulldozer myself with Vic [Fedeli] on the other one, were going to start building the roads to get to the mining. There is no mention of him planning to consult with First Nations in the region or to respect their wishes. What we can deduce from that comment is that we will soon have a premier who will gladly choose to run roughshod over the rights of First Nations, instead of taking the time to consult and accommodate. First Nations people in Ontario need to be especially wary of a Ford government. It is easy to overlook the progress Kathleen Wynne and her government have made regarding First Nations people. However, in the grand scheme of things, this Liberal government has achieved far more than Ford can ever hope to. In 2015, the Ontario government and the Chiefs of Ontario signed a political accord, which guides their relationship. The Ontario Hydro First Nations Delivery Credit took effect in August 2017, which eliminated delivery charges to consumers living on-reserve. Both Premier Wynne and Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation David Zimmer have been consistent in meeting with First Nations leadership. Under Premier Ford, progress would stall. First Nations leadership will lose out on the opportunity to move important files forward, such as child welfare, climate change, criminal justice, social services, truth and reconciliation, and many other critical issues. For many years, First Nation leadership have fought to have a seat at the table. We cannot risk losing out on the many opportunities being presented to us. Instead of Ford focusing on Wynne, he needs to focus on bringing hope back to young people in First Nations communities, such as Attawapiskat First Nation, which is one of many reserves plagued by intergenerational trauma, suicide, and addictions. First Nations people need a provincial government that cares, not one that plays to the heart of populism. If First Nations people are to protect the progress that has been made, we need to prepare to dig in our heels. Ford cannot forget that all governments within the nation of Canada have a responsibility to adequately consult with and accommodate First Nations communities. Should Ford fail to do this, then he will be failing as a leader and letting down the next generation of Indigenous youth. Time will tell how this relationship will play out. Lance Copegog is the former deputy youth chief of Beausoleil First Nation and a current Indigenous youth leader in Ontario. Read more about: Tuberculosis (TB) is the worlds leading cause of death by infectious disease, claiming over 4,500 lives each day. TB is considered a social disease because societal and economic factors like poverty, malnutrition, and substandard or overcrowded housing contribute to its transmission. The spread of TB in most parts of Canada and other developed countries has been contained for decades. This is in sharp contrast to Inuit Nunangat the Inuit homeland where the rate of TB among Inuit in 2016 was more than 300 times higher than in the Canadian-born, non-Indigenous population, and is trending upwards. It is unacceptable that Inuit continue to be threatened by TB. Not only can Canada eliminate TB in Inuit communities, we have a moral imperative to do so. On this occasion of World TB Day, we commit to working with all partners to eliminate TB in every Inuit community by 2030 and to reduce the incidence of active TB by at least 50% by 2025. Among our first priorities is to prevent deaths related to delays in TB diagnosis and eliminate TB disease in young children. A framework for TB elimination across Inuit Nunangat is being finalized and TB elimination action plans for each of the four Inuit land claim regions (Nunatsiavut, Nunavik, Nunavut, and the Inuvialuit region) will be developed this year. The regional plans will enhance public health programs; build capacity for earlier diagnosis and treatment of active and latent TB; increase awareness; reduce stigma; and improve the social determinants of health linked to TB, such as housing, food security and nutrition, access to health services and mental wellness. The recent federal budget includes significant resources to work with Inuit and other partners to strengthen public health programs, to collect data through an Inuit Health Survey, to invest in housing to address the overcrowding challenges in Inuit communities, and to support employment and job training. It also includes specific funding for the elimination of TB across Inuit Nunangat. Sustained financial investments will be needed if we are to reach and maintain TB elimination by the target date of 2030. Canadas neglect in TB prevention and care for Inuit, both past and present, is part of the story of colonization in this country and contributes to the continued propagation of this disease. Most Inuit rapidly transitioned from living on the land in seasonal camps to living in sedentary communities during the 1940s and 1950s. Many families were coerced into moving while some were forcibly relocated. After relocation, Inuit had less access to traditional food sources, resulting in nutritional deficiencies and increased susceptibility to illnesses. Housing was often promised to Inuit as an incentive to live in sedentary communities. Instead, scarce and inadequate housing was provided which created ideal conditions for the spread of TB and other illnesses, as well as social challenges related to overcrowding. In the mid-1940s, the government began sending medical teams by ship to screen Inuit for TB. Those found to be ill were taken thousands of kilometres from home, and admitted, sometimes for years, to TB hospitals. Taking Inuit south for treatment tore families apart and created a deep fear of the medical system as many people died and families were never notified. The government has a responsibility to rectify the societal conditions created by colonization that made Inuit vulnerable to a disease like TB. For example, 52% of Inuit in Inuit Nunangat still live in crowded homes. This is almost six times the rate for non-Indigenous people in Inuit Nunangat. Almost one-third of Inuit live in homes in need of major repair. This indifference towards Inuit communities is unconscionable. Canadas response to TB must be community-owned, community-driven and adequately resourced. Ending TB across Inuit Nunangat will require the commitment of federal, provincial and territorial governments, health care providers, community members, researchers and many other partners. Drawing on the strength and resilience of communities, together with Inuit leadership and many other partners, we can eliminate TB across Inuit Nunangat by 2030. It should never have taken us so long to get to this day. Natan Obed is president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. Jane Philpott is the federal minister of Indigenous Services. Media literacy the ability to analyze, evaluate and understand the news and information you consume is a complex undertaking these days. To be literate about media in 2018, you must, as always, be able to determine who has created your news and information, assess sources, and discern whether what you are reading or viewing is news or opinion. Now, however, you must also understand the overall media ecosystem the network of digital platforms on which news and information is distributed and be able to discern whether the information on that platform is true or false. Figuring out the difference between real news and so-called fake news the misinformation and disinformation that pollutes the digital information ecosystem demands a new kind of literacy: digital media literacy. This new literacy is based on a clear understanding of the immense power and pitfalls of platforms such as Facebook and Google, and their impact on the news and information you receive and share. Indeed, these powerful platforms, on which the majority of people now consume their news, have fundamentally affected news, information and all else they have disrupted over the past decade. As Emily Bell, director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia Journalism School, said in a groundbreaking and prescient 2016 speech, entitled Facebook is eating the world, news publishers have largely lost control over distribution of the news they create. Now the news is filtered through algorithms and platforms which are opaque and unpredictable, Bell said. One of the criticisms thus far levelled against these companies is that they have cherry-picked the profitable parts of the publishing process and sidestepped the more expensive business of actually creating good journalism. With Facebook making global bad news headlines this week with revelations of the data-harvesting of the personal information of 50 million users, some relatively good news from search platform, Google, that is intended to elevate and strengthen quality journalism was unfortunately somewhat overshadowed. Built on the reality that People come to Google looking for information they can trust, and that information often comes from the reporting of journalists and news organizations around the world, Google announced Tuesday that it is committing $300 million over the next three years to help journalism thrive in the digital age. As well as creating tools to help publishers with digital subscriptions, the Google News Initiative puts strong focus on battling misinformation and building media literacy. On the critical media literacy front, Google will partner with the Poynter Institute, Stanford University, and the Local Media Association to launch MediaWise, a U.S.-based project designed to improve digital information literacy for teens. That initiative is based on a Canadian pilot project called NewsWise, set to roll out in Ontario and then throughout Canada in coming months. NewsWise was developed by the Canadian Journalism Foundation (disclosure: I am a CJF board member) in partnership with CIVIX, a non-profit organization that seeks to encourage the citizenship skills that serves democracy in young Canadians. Certainly I applaud these significant efforts to help young people understand the importance of real news in our democracy and to also come to terms with the ease with which false information can go viral these days. But, we should not overlook the fact that digital media literacy matters not just to high school students but to anyone with a smart phone in their hand. This weeks Facebook debacle is evidence of the fact that we all must understand the great power of the platforms that control information, including our personal information. Think about this: Do you believe you truly understand the complexities of all those platforms and apps that bring you news and information and connect you to others? I am teaching a course I have developed in digital media literacy at Westerns Universitys Faculty of Information and Media Studies this term and its clear to me that even university grad students have just as great a need to develop deeper understanding of digital technology, the power and perils of platforms, their impact on news and information, and the spread of misinformation. And so too, do their parents and grandparents, whove signed on to Facebook and now, too, get their news on their smart phones. Indeed, digital media literacy the understanding of how news and information is created, consumed and shared through powerful platforms matters across generations and it matters to democracy. kenglish@thestar.ca Read more about: A lot of people went looking this week for help on how to delete Facebook from their lives. Funnily enough, many of them spread the word of their intentions on Facebook. That contradiction, in a nutshell, sums up why the international furor over Facebook will probably turn out to be a setback for the social-media giant, but not the end of it. Facebook, maybe especially in Canada, is already too entwined with politics and the media. Its fitting, in fact, that a Canadian, Chris Wylie, sits at the centre of the storm over how Facebook data was misused by the Cambridge Analytica firm. Wylie, who worked on and off with the federal Liberal party over the past decade, has rocked the world of big-data politics with his revelations, and kicked off the backlash prompting people to consider shutting down their Facebook accounts. Some Canadians may be looking at Facebook with new eyes this week, but the larger reality is that Canadians really like Facebook and Facebook likes them back. According to Facebooks figures released last year, about 23 million Canadians are using the medium at least once a month. Of course, many Facebook skeptics are saying that the backlash is overdue that anyone paying attention to the research should have been hearing loud warning bells about what was happening with all the data being poured into Facebook over the past decade. All political parties in Canada, not just Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus Liberals, have been making use of Facebook as a two-way channel with voters: a medium that spreads the message and gathers information at the same time. That duality is its strength and its big downside, too. Most people think theyre using Facebook to communicate with friends, British sociologist Bev Skeggs warned in a podcast last year, discussing her research findings on the social medium. Basically theyre using it to reveal how much they can be sold for, now and in the future, and how much their friends can be sold for. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted a message Wednesday admitting mistakes in a privacy scandal involving a data mining firm with Trump connections. He says Facebook is taking steps to better protect user data. (The Associated Press) Jennifer Robson, a professor at Carleton Universitys school of political management in Ottawa, says that Skeggss research really jolted her thinking about Facebooks use in political organizing in Canada. She encourages people to tune in to a public discussion held at the London School of Economics last fall, long before the Cambridge Analytica uproar, in which Skeggs and other academics gave talks on the rather disturbing premise: You Are Being Tracked, Evaluated and Sold. Robson, who worked in Liberal political offices (including the Prime Ministers Office) before her life in academia, says she is still teaching her students about the value of using Facebook and other data-rich tools but with a huge dose of caution heaped on top. Robson used a multiple-message thread on Twitter this week, for instance, to warn about how political data mining is not the same as rigorous political-psychology research. She worries about politicos, and would-be politicos, making inaccurate or overgeneralized conclusions about voter behaviour from data they get from Facebook and other social media. My main message to them this year was that yes, Facebook is really good at microtargeting and has lots of tools and services, Robson says in an email interview. And I walk them through a real case study on how to use geo-located data to improve campaign voter-ID efforts on top of whats already in Liberalist, she says a reference to the federal Liberals voter data bank. But Robson is also showing them Skeggss research, she says, to scare the poop out of them, and encouraging individual students to find out what Facebook knows about them. Does it get through? I really hope so, Robson says. But every time I get a student who writes something like: Facebook is too valuable to campaigns to worry much about ethics, a small part of my soul dies. Theres that love-hate issue again. It isnt just would-be political organizers who love what Facebook can do for them; its Canadian news consumers, too: the very people that organizers want to reach. People who read the news are pretty likely to vote, and, more importantly, to change their mind based on what theyre reading. Facebooks latest privacy scandal involves Trump campaign consultants who allegedly stole data on millions of users in order to influence elections. (The Associated Press) A large Pew Research report earlier this year showed that Canadians were second in the world behind only South Korea in using social media to obtain news. A full 42 per cent of Canadians said they consulted social media such as Facebook at least once a day. Thats slightly ahead of the 39 per cent of Americans who reported the same reliance on social media for news consumption. We are addicted to Facebook, said yet another report on Canadians use of social media for news, which was carried out a year ago by Abacus Data and the digital public affairs firm Full Duplex. It showed that while 29 per cent of Canadians still used TV to get up to date on breaking news, another 21 per cent reported finding out things first from Facebook. That was double the rate recorded just two years ago. If you want to get a story or opinion in front of a Canadian audience, you need to make sure youre making it available to consumers in an attention-getting and engaging way on Facebook, the Abacus/Full Duplex report said. If we had told you in 2005 (the year Facebook was launched in Canada) that about six in ten would check the site at least once every day only a decade later, you wouldnt have believed us. David Coletto, the chief pollster at Abacus and also a teacher at Carleton, says he is headed into the field in the coming weeks to see how Canadians are feeling these days about Facebook. We might expect to see a cooling in Canadians ardour for Facebook maybe even some of that news addiction broken. Then again, if that happens, we might go looking on Facebook to find out why. sdelacourt@bell.net Read more about: Step aside Bermuda Triangle, Toronto would like to introduce the world to the Queens Quay streetcar tunnel. Its a void that magnetically attracts automobiles, sucking them into the subterranean depths of the city. Drivers, ever attentive and alert at the helm of their cars, seem to be powerless and disappear with alarming frequency into it. Once down in the tunnel the cars become stuck like giant lobsters in a cage, unable to reverse out. Police report one man still had his foot on the accelerator when they found him in his car. Alas, if only supernatural forces could be blamed. Its all made for a perfect internet meme that shows the foibles of the idiotic, or drunken human condition. According to Brad Ross, the TTCs director of corporate and customer communications, about 25 cars have made their way into the tunnel since 2014 despite bollards, signs, rumble strips, flashing lights and raised track. Each time this happens, the TTC has to extract the car from the tunnel, which means the streetcars dont run, which further means thousands of people cant get to where theyre going. As this often happens overnight, morning rush hours are compromised. Read more: Opinion | Christopher Hume: Pedestrian deaths are the price we're willing to pay to keep traffic moving Opinion | Torontos tunnel of no return TTC vice-chair wants review of Queens Quay The tunnel is not disguised in any way, and the speed limit on Queens Quay is 40 km/h, so, theoretically, drivers are going slow enough to notice the world around them. Lets look again at the measures warning drivers not to go into the tunnel. There are bollards (a.k.a. posts), signs (things we were taught to obey in drivers ed), rumble strips (actual bumps in the road that shake the car), flashing lights (casinos use them to get our attention for a reason), and a raised train track (around for more than a century and a half and something all children are told to beware of.) None of this stopped drivers from entering the tunnel. The TTC says theyre going to install a gate now. If I were a gambling person I wouldnt put money on the gate remaining intact forever. The tunnel follies, as amusing as they are, are a reflection of the state of Torontos streets today, with reports of pedestrians and cyclists hit by drivers a near-everyday occurrence. Contrast all the measures put in place to prevent cars from going into the tunnel to Mayor John Torys Slow Down Toronto initiative announced earlier this week. To improve safety in school zones, the initiative includes a police enforcement blitz for two weeks, in-road traffic calming signs that will be placed in the middle of roadways and hopefully slow down traffic with mere words, and photo radar to catch speeders. Its in response to the epidemic of collisions, but also the death of 11-year-old Duncan Xu who was killed in his residential neighbourhood in February on the way home from school. That event prompted the mayor to say theres a crisis in Toronto, that the carnage cannot continue and that drivers need to take responsibility for their actions. Strong words, but followed by very weak action: lives are at stake but the measures in Slow Down Toronto are less formidable than what currently protects the Queens Quay tunnel. The mayors strong words also conflict with his opposition to the Re-Imagine Yonge project in North York, a $51.1-million plan to remake the street with bike lanes, wider boulevards, a landscaped centre median and better pedestrian crossings through a neighbourhood of 80,000 people. Though the plan has broad support from community groups and the local councillor John Filion, and is exactly the kind of redesign our streets need to make them safer, the mayor has opposed it, insisting on keeping the six lanes of highwaylike traffic through the neighbourhood and routing the bike lanes on the surrounding roads. Have Your Say Words and actions are in opposition across the city. After the tragic collision that killed young Xu, the area councillor for Ward 39 Scarborough-Agincourt, Jim Karygiannis, had the pedestrian passageway that many children used to get to school closed. Perhaps in response to the backlash he received from this boneheaded, counterintuitive move, this week Karygiannis issued a statement calling for an accelerated Vision Zero Plan in school zones. Vision Zero is a Swedish model that aims to reduce traffic-related injuries and fatalities and the mayor and his allies have been criticized for boldly talking it up while underfunding it and lowering the reduction targets. Votes and actions are what count here, not words. Lets see how Karygiannis votes on Re-Imagine Yonge when it returns for a final debate at City Council next week. This vote will be a test for the mayor and every city councillor who claims to care about the carnage on Toronto streets to see if all of the blustery words and hand wringing over deaths and injuries caused by cars in the city, as well as notions of responsibility, is just performative politics. The votes count and saying one thing while doing another is the worst kind of hypocritical doublespeak. Its a test to see if all that doublespeak is simply just lies. Shawn Micallef is a Toronto-based writer and a freelance contributor for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @shawnmicallef Weve long known that young people are voting less and less. Now we may know a little more about what they want to know. In the age of information overload, young people admit to feeling surprisingly uninformed about their electoral options. Especially compared to older voters. Thats the key finding in the latest survey conducted by Campaign Research for the Toronto Star on election engagement: The democratic deficit flows from a knowledge deficit. Not since women fought for the franchise, and young people won the right to vote at age 18, have electoral turnouts been so dismal. In Ontario, roughly half of all registered voters didnt bother casting ballots in our last two provincial elections, the worst showings ever in Canada. We are more interconnected than ever, yet our democratic disconnect has never been more profound. How then do we re-engineer engagement for the coming June 7 provincial vote? To answer that question, you first have to figure out how to re-engage with young voters. And thats a challenge at a time when their latest political intelligence comes from smart phones, often playing short videos on mute. Roughly half of young people aged 18 to 24 feel they dont have enough information to make an informed decision when its time to vote in a provincial election 47 per cent, compared to 41 per cent who do the Campaign Research poll revealed. Among voters aged 25 to 34, the numbers are evenly split 44 to 43 per cent, according to the poll of more than 1,637 Ontarians (margin of error 2.4 per cent 19 times out of 20) conducted March 12 to 14. Compare that political literacy gap to the knowledge advantage enjoyed by older age groups, whose turnouts are historically higher. A majority of older voters believe they have the requisite information for election decisions rising to two-thirds of seniors 65 and over who have what they need. How to explain the link between the knowledge gap and generation gap? Turns out that older voters with higher turnouts get the vast majority of their news from the traditional mass media (TV, newspapers, radio), with only a small fraction getting up to date from social media (such as Twitter and Facebook) 5 per cent for people aged 55 to 64, and even less for seniors. Interestingly, all voters feel strongly that the media must do more to foster the democratic process well above 80 per cent for all age groups. Campaign Research CEO Eli Yufest says its hardly surprising that people have higher expectations in the era of Facebook fake news and data manipulation. How could the media help most? By providing straightforward comparisons of candidates, platforms and proposals from rival parties at campaign time top of the list for most voters. A close second is less biased or partisan reporting. Interestingly, there is a generational split, with roughly one-third of voters over age 55 looking for less bias, while only one in 10 millenials (aged 18-24) worried about partisanship clearly less of a deterrent. The clue to probe deeper into voter knowledge by age group came from polls in preceding months that revealed a lack of information about the parties and candidates was cited by eligible voters as a major reason for not turning out (second only to people believing that they werent registered to vote). The results are an important reminder for the media to do more, but also pose a daunting challenge for political parties as they try to get attention amid growing apathy and alienation. Reaching out to raise turnout isnt as simple as it sounds. Young people are increasingly alienated from all institutions, not just democratic institutions, Liberal campaign director David Herle told a Ryerson Democracy Forum that I moderated last month for the Faculty of Arts: Heres my challenge as a campaigner talking to young people Ive got a complicated story to tell about a lot of issues. Its a government thats been in office for 15 years, theres nothing simple about explaining what its done. Its a challenge made even more complicated by the way storytelling is done today. Young people consume all their information on this device, Herle continued, pulling out his smartphone. Im told that they only watch seven seconds of video, and Im told that they do that with the sound off. Herle and other panelists from the Progressive Conservatives, NDP and Greens asked the student audience for advice on how political parties can communicate with young people today. Longtime Tory strategist Alykhan Velshi, answering a question from the Ryerson Campus Conservatives, conceded that the role of traditional university political clubs is being disrupted by the connectivity and inconstancy of social media. How can political parties energize the vote, and how can the media enlighten voters? A popular suggestion from the four major party leaders onstage at the Ryerson event was to lower the voting age to 16, as a natural outgrowth of students taking civics in high school (learning by doing being the best way to make a lesson stick). Other ideas? Keep the feedback coming Ill provide a selection of the best advice from readers, young and old, in an upcoming column. Martin Regg Cohn is a columnist based in Toronto covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @reggcohn With few specifics on the tariffs on Chinese imports, trade war fears loom. But aerospace but get a reprieve. President Donald Trump's announcement to impose tariffs on as much as $60 billion worth of Chinese goods came with few details, similar to the recently announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, leaving most industrial companies waiting to assess the effects of this move, even as trade war fears persist. After the Trump administration concluded that China unfairly acquired U.S. intellectual property for decades, the president unveiled tariffs of up to 25% on as much as $60 billion of imports from China. The tariffs will be targeting high-tech sectors, "including aerospace, information, communication technology and machinery, all sectors where China is looking to take the global lead," said Mitual Kotecha, a senior emerging markets strategist for TD Securities. During Trump's announcement, executives from the aerospace and defense industry stood beside the president, praising the tariffs. "This is a very important moment for our country, in that we are addressing what is a very critical area for the aerospace and defense industry, and that is protecting our intellectual property," said Marillyn Hewson, the chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) - Get Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) Report . Hewson described intellectual property as the "lifeblood of our companies." Still, following the China tariff announcement Thursday, Lockheed Martin and rival Boeing Co. (BA) - Get Boeing Company Report stock came under pressure. The Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) - Get Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund Report , which holds Boeing, Honeywell, Caterpillar, Lockheed and GE among other industrial companies, fell 0.9% to $73.14 around 3:30 p.m. New York time. "Boeing's decline clearly reflects concerns that it may be a target for Chinese retaliation against Trump's recent raft of tariffs," Credit Suisse analysts, including Robert Spingarn, wrote in a March 23 research note. Boeing hasn't commented about the Chinese tariffs, but the Chicago-based aerospace company does have a long-standing relationship with China and a healthy backlog of orders. "Approximately 25% of Boeing's 2017 deliveries went to China, and 5% of Boeing's identified backlog are directly attributable to Chinese operators, with an additional 18% (>1,000 aircraft) coming from unidentified customers, many of which are thought to be Chinese. This brings total China backlog exposure closer to 20%," the Credit Suisse analysts said. But if China were to retaliate against the defense and aerospace, "such a move would be damaging to China's national airlines and leasing companies, which due to strong domestic traffic growth (+13.3% in '17) are desperately in need of Boeing's aircraft," the analyst team at Credit Suisse said. "Additionally, we continue to take the view that Chinese airlines will have only a limited ability to cancel orders, as they have just one alternative to turn toward -- Airbus -- and that alternative has a backlog that stretches well into the next decade." Meanwhile, beleaguered industrial conglomerate General Electric Co. (GE) - Get General Electric Company (GE) Report did not take a firm stance on the Chinese tariffs. A GE spokesperson told TheStreet that "with valued customers and employees in both the United States and China, we hope that the two governments can address the important issues raised by the Administration's order [Thursday], without ultimately resorting to the imposition of tariffs or other barriers to trade, investment or travel." Fellow industrial giants, Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) - Get Caterpillar Inc. Report and Honeywell International Inc. (HON) - Get Honeywell International Inc. (HON) Report , do not have a statement on the Chinese tariffs at this time. Deere & Co. (DE) - Get Deere & Company Report did not immediately respond to TheStreet's request for comment. While the administration is expected to release more details about the Chinese tariffs over the next two weeks, China has already responded to the trade tariffs. China's commerce ministry proposed a list of seven categories and 128 tax products as potential retaliation targets, without providing further details. Earlier this month, however, Trump brushed off concerns of a trade war, tweeting that "trade wars are good, and easy to win." EDWARDSVILLE Southern Illinois University Edwardsvilles Native American Studies program, the University Museum, and the Edwardsville Arts Center (EAC) welcome internationally renowned Urban Iroquois photographer Jeff Thomas to Edwardsville for a series of events, including an exhibit entitled Birdman Rising: Conversations beyond Colonialism. An opening reception for Birdman Rising was held from 6-8 p.m. Friday, March 23 at the EAC. The show runs through April 20. It is free and open to the public. The exhibit will feature photographs Thomas took during his last visit to the area, including photographs of Native American artifacts from the University Museum collections and landscapes at local Native sites such as Cahokia Mounds. It is curated by Thomas, and Cory Willmott, associate professor in the SIUE College of Arts and Sciences Department of Anthropology. We are extremely fortunate to have this opportunity to collaborate with Jeff Thomas, Willmott said. As an urban Indian today, he identifies strongly with the urban nature of Mississippian society. The exhibit represents one step in Mr. Thomass journey to find the Mississippian Birdman and bring the significance of this indigenous icon to the public. Here in the shadow of Cahokia Mounds, the center of the Mississippian urban complex and trade network, Mr. Thomas brings fresh and different vision to precolonial North America. The dual voices in this exhibit, the indigenous artist and the anthropologist, raise questions and open up space for viewers to explore their own ideas. As SIUE is located adjacent to one of the largest sites of ancient Mound culture, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with a Native artist who is engaged with our collection, added University Museum Collections Manager Erin Vigneau-Dimick. The exhibit juxtaposes the contemporary and prehistoric local environments, and the peoples who interacted with them, she explained. It looks into and beyond colonialism to the pre-colonial glory of the Mississippians in order to create a dialogue about living in a world beyond colonialism through Thomass focus on portraiture in Amerindian stone carvings, colonial photography, and his own original photographic works. Thomass visit is exemplary of the strong collaborations forged between SIUEs University Museum and the EAC. While here, Thomas will meet with students from Edwardsville High School to discuss his work. Additionally, he will meet with SIUE students in the museum studies and Native American studies programs, providing an invaluable opportunity for students to gain first-hand experience with indigenous art and curation practice. The production of the exhibit and associated series of events is supported by the College of Arts and Sciences Targeted Funding Initiative. BELLEVILLE If youre looking for a new job or just want to explore your employment possibilities, its time for you to attend the Spring Job Fair at Southwestern Illinois College. The fair runs from 9 a.m. to noon, Tuesday, April 17 in the Belleville Campus Varsity Gym, 2500 Carlyle Ave. All job seekers are welcome and should arrive dressed to impress with plenty of copies of their resumes. The job fair is open to the public. Democratic candidate for Illinois governor, Bob Daiber, center, shares a laugh with well-wishers after the polls closed Tuesday night at Donzos Bar on East Ferguson Avenue in downtown Wood River. Daiber was one of six Democrats running for Illinois governor, and garnished one percent of the statewide vote. A heavily armed Wood River police officer returns to his car after helping to raid a house Friday morning in the 300 block of Bowman in East Alton. One man was arrested on drug charges in the raid, and another on an unrelated outstanding warrant. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Eikon Centre and attend an event to mark the second year of the youth-led peace-building initiative 'Amazing the Space' on March 23, 2018 in Lisburn, Nothern Ireland. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a visit to Catalyst Inc science park in Belfast Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire Britain's Prince Harry and US actress and fiancee of Britain's Prince Harry Meghan Markle arrive at the Eikon Centre in Lisburn, on March 23, 2018, to attend an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / ARTHUR EDWARDSARTHUR EDWARDS/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Eikon Centre and attend an event to mark the second year of the youth-led peace-building initiative 'Amazing the Space' on March 23, 2018 in Lisburn, Nothern Ireland. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley introduces school children to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle upon their arrival for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space Meghan Markle and Prince Harry arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they are attending an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are presented with a posey by Lleyton Jackson 6 and Rosie Jackson 4 Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a visit to the Crown Bar in Belfast City Centre where they learnt from National Trust representatives about the pub's heritage, and met bar staff, local comedians and musicians Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a visit to the Crown Bar in Belfast City Centre where they learnt from National Trust representatives about the pub's heritage, and met bar staff, local comedians and musicians Britain's Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle visit the Crown Bar in Belfast Photo: Gareth Fuller/Pool via Reuters Meghan Markle has been recommended New Zealand as a destination for her honeymoon - and Prince Harry's bride-to-be has said she will consider it. The advice came when the American actress and her fiance went on a walkabout to meet the people of Belfast during their one-day visit to Northern Ireland. Hundreds of well-wishers waited patiently outside the city's most famous pub the Crown for the couple to begin their meet and greet, and were not put off when they were caught in a heavy shower soon after the event started. When they emerged from the ornate gin palace after having lunch Harry made the first group of well-wishers laugh when he said: "Are you all trying to get into the pub?" Ellen Hawthorne, 38, who married husband Nathan last August said: "I suggested New Zealand as a honeymoon destination because I went their last year for a month after my wedding." Mrs Hawthorne from Ballyclare, north of Belfast said: "I told her it was lovely and she said she'd keep it in mind." Expand Close Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave after a visit to the Crown Bar in Belfast City Centre Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave after a visit to the Crown Bar in Belfast City Centre Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire The royal wedding was also the conversation topic for Alex McConkey, 52, when she chatted to the couple: "I told them congratulations and that I was really, really happy for them. "And I told Meghan I'd miss her terribly in Suits, because I'm a big fan and she said the next series is coming out soon." Ms Markle could not contain her joy about her May 19 wedding when she spoke to Shirley Begley, 51 from Larne, who said: "She said she was really excited about the wedding and was looking forward to it." Three women from a Gondi-speaking community are huddled around a computer monitor in a small room of a government-run arts organisation in central Delhi. Chudur, Phada, Aada, Niwa (small, big, ginger, your)...one of them, who hails from Madhya Pradesh, recites into a cell phone recorder. The Gondi words read out from an Excel sheet will power a digital dictionary of sorts, storing audio records of different dialects of this tribal language. The goal is to build a standardised dictionary of the Gondi language, without sidelining its regional variations spread across Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and adjoining areas. "Where I come from, Gadricholi in Maharashtra, the kids are scared to go to school. The teachers who are appointed in local schools know only Marathi. Having a standardised dictionary for the Gondi language will go a long way in addressing literacy issues in Adivasi belts," says Shatali, who has been involved in creating this dictionary for the last four years. CGNet Swara, a citizen journalism venture for local residents in central Gondwana, Chhattisgarh, in collaboration with Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in New Delhi, organised a five-day Gondi standardisation workshop which ended on March 23. The workshop saw 60 Gond Adivasis participating from six Gondi-speaking states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Orissa, striving to collate a standard Gondi dictionary to help simplify education, journalism, and administration work in the Gondi language. An extension of the dictionary into an oral Android Application is also on the cards. Similar workshops held in the last three years have yielded a thesaurus of Gondi words assembled from dialects of the many Gondi-speaking states. It was was published in August last year. In this eighth iteration of the workshop, 3,000 words (from Hindi to Gondi) have achieved a final standardised form, so far, and will be compiled into a proper dictionary soon. Strategies to formulate a coherent proposal to include Gondi in the 8th schedule of the constitution were also taken up for discussions in the workshop. Commenting on the long-term benefits of creating a standardised dictionary for Gondi, Shubhranshu Choudhary, founder of CGNet Swara, says, "The community will be able to talk to each other. Before they became a part of this workshop process, the participants from different regions could barely communicate with each other. We hope there will be genuine cooperation with this initiative. People from Chhattisgarh also need to know how Adilabad, which was once a Naxal hotbed, abjured violence and embarked on a path of peace and reconciliation." Choudhary grew up in the Adivasi areas of Chhattisgarh and went to a tribal school. In 2004, he quit his job at the BBC as South Asia producer and started CGNet Swara."Many of my classmates had become Maoists. So I understood that the kind of communication we have has a lot to do with the violence there. So I thought, can I do something?" says Choudhary. Gonds are considered to be one of the largest tribal groups in the world, numbering around 12 million according to some estimates. Believed to be from the Dravidian stock, they are notified as scheduled tribes in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and West Bengal. But they are largely concentrated around central India, which is also referred to as Gondwana among tribal groups. The standardisation initiative is a major drive towards a long-overdue inclusion as a scheduled language in the Indian constitution. The dynamics of north versus south debate in India is taking new dimensions as the southern states come together against the Centre on the distribution of tax funds among states. The new developments suggest that the friction between the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre and the south Indian states is getting worse. Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Issac has called for a meeting of finance ministers of southern states on April 10 to discuss the "skewed" Terms of Reference (ToR) of the 15th Finance Commission (FC). The major bone of contention for southern states is that the 15th FC has used 2011 Census data as its ToR instead of 1971 Census data, which had been used until the 14th FC, for making recommendations. The new ToR may leave southern states with a smaller portion of funds due to its shrinking population. Issac said that the southern states are being "penalised" for the successful implementation of family planning policies from 1971, which had led to the decrease in population. He raised the concern that "the quantum of devolution of funds to the states will be affected if 2011 census is taken as the basis point". Sources said that Isaac has personally contacted the southern finance ministers over phone and they have agreed to attend the meeting. Other leaders from southern states have also flagged the new ToR which may affect equitable distribution of the central tax revenues to states, particularly in the new GST regime. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had also raised concern on federalism and tax devolution in the country. In his Facebook post on March 14, 2017, he had stated, "Historically, the South has been subsidizing the north. Six states south of the Vindhyas contribute more taxes and get less. For example, for every one rupee of tax contributed by Uttar Pradesh that state receives rupee 1.79. For every one rupee of tax contributed by Karnataka, the state receives 0.47 rupee. While I recognize the need for correcting regional imbalances, where is the reward for development? The states of the South have nearly reached replacement levels of population growth. Yet, population is a prominent criteria for devolution of central taxes. For how long can we keep incentivizing population growth?" In a tweet, Siddaramaiah has also reached out to the state leaders of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry to "resist" the Centre's move to use 2011 Census data. Center asks 15th FC to use 2011 census data instead of 1971 census used so far to determine devolution of taxes. This will further affect the interests of the south:we need to resist. @CMOKerala @CMOTamilNadu @ncbn @TelanganaCMO @Dev_Fadnavis @CMPuducherry https://t.co/6EoDp0xClh Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) March 23, 2018 Another cause of worry, as per the ToR, is that the ability of states to borrow from open markets to meet its expenditure may also get reduced drastically. The new FC has, in fact, moved towards a new format by using performance of states in implementation of Union government's flagship schemes, as a parameter for recieving the share of central funds. With inputs from PTI On March 22, the Supreme Court gave Ajay Bhushan Pandey, the chief executive officer of the Unique Identification Authority of India, a rather unique opportunityto make a PowerPoint presentation before a five-judge Constitution bench hearing a batch of petitions challenging the legal validity of Aadhaar. Pandeys hour-long presentation was high on rhetoric, but surprisingly low on substance. At one point, he said, It would take more than the age of the universe for the fastest computer on earth, or any super computer, to break one key of Aadhaars encryption. It was a shocking exaggeration, because Pandey was grossly underestimating the computing capabilities that exist now. The duration he mentioned would be apt in the case of a standard desktop computersay, one with 4GB RAM and a 2GHz multicore processor. As the Aadhaar data is protected by a 2048-bit encryption, such a machine would take, as per estimates by the internet security firm DigiCert.com, more than six quadrillion years to crack the code. The age of the universe is just 14 billion years. READ: The complete PowerPoint presentation made before the Supreme Court, as accessed by livelaw.in But, as Pandey surely knows, no hacker will ever try to access Aadhaar data using such a laggardly machine. In fact, it will not be hackers, or even teams of hackers, who are likely to try and break into the UIDAI vault. The attack is likely to come from large organisations with massive resources in the form of money, labour and computing powergovernments, for instance. The National Security Agency of the US, for one, would find the job of hacking into Aadhaar difficult, but far from impossible. The length of the key used to encrypt and decrypt information, measured in bits, is one of many aspects of what determines how hard an encryption scheme is to crack, said a 2013 story in The New Yorker, titled How the NSA cracked the web. The 128-bit encryption is now relatively easy; 2048-bit is much harder. Bruce Schneier, security technologist and contributor to Wired, wrote the same year: We are already trying to phase out 1,024-bit keys in favour of 2,048-bit keys. Perhaps, we need to jump even further ahead and consider 3,072-bit keys. And, maybe, we should be even more paranoid and use key lengths above 5,000 bits. All this discussion happened five years ago, which means that Aadhaars 2,048-bit encryption that Pandey is so proud of is clearly not the best available now. Also, his presentation also contained information that do not appear to be true. Slide 28 of his PowerPoint presentation, for instance, claimed that UIDAIs data centres are Tier 3 certified by Uptime. Uptime Institute is an American professional services organisation that evaluates critical infrastructure built and maintained by organisations, mainly businesses. For a behemoth like UIDAI, which sits on a data goldmine comprising personal information about more than 1.2 billion people, a Tier 3 certification by Uptime is not worth bragging aboutthere are better and much safer levels of certification available. The bigger problem, however, is that UIDAIs Tier 3 certification seems to have expired, as per information in the Uptime website. UIDAI got the certification for its facility in November 2015, and Uptime says that certifications issued after January 2014 are valid only for two years. In the case of a constructed facility, the certification awarded is valid only until the facility is modified. By UIDAIs own admission, its data centres were in the process of continuous expansion and modification throughout these past four years. UPDATE: After this story was published, N.K. Singh, Uptime's senior director (business development, south Asia), got in touch with THE WEEK. He clarified that the construction certificate awarded to UIDAI's Bengaluru and Manesar facilities were still valid. "Normally, the certification happens in stages," he said. "There are three stages to it. The first stage: Whenever you are designing the data centre, the design gets reviewed and certified. The validity of the design certification is two years... Second: Once you build [the data centre], and once you get the construction certificate, then that certificate overrides the design certificate, and has lifetime validity." Singh, however, said UIDAI's data centres did not have the third-stage certification. "Whatever great infrastructure you build, if you don't manage it well, then your reliability gets compromised," he said. "So the third stage of certificationwe call it operation and management certificationlooks at whether [the data centre] is in line with the required standards, and whether it can maintain a certain level of reliability and performance across its lifetime. That third-stage certification is not done [for UIDAI's data centres]." Singh added that Uptime's certificate was not about ensuring safety. "The certification is directly proportional to reliability, because reliability of data centres is the key." UIDAI has been operating its data centres in Bengaluru and Manesar for the past five years. As of now, it remains unclear whether the authority has plans to apply for Uptime's third-stage certification for the two facilities. Even if one chooses to ignore the troubling security aspects in his presentation, there are graver issues still. Like a magician conjuring a hare from his hat, Pandey pulls out authentic-looking statistics from thin air. Take, for instance, slide number 40headlined Savings on account of Aadhaar based DBT. It has a chart showing the breakup of money saved by the government, thanks to the Aadhaar-enabled direct benefit transfer of subsidies. According to that chart, the PAHAL scheme of the petroleum and natural gas ministry saved Rs 29,769 crore, till 2016-17; Food and Public Distribution saved Rs 14,000 crore; Rural Development saved Rs 12,140; Others saved Rs 1,120 crore. In total, the government appears to have saved Rs 57,029 crore, all thanks to Aadhaar. The figures are questionable, at best. They have been sourced from dbtbharat.gov.in, a government website that gives estimated benefits/gains from DBT and other governance reforms. The site does not give any information about how the figures were arrived at, and neither does it attribute all the savings to Aadhaar alone. The savings in the PAHAL scheme, for instance, are attributed, among others, to the elimination of inactive LPG connections and consumers stopping claims for subsidy. The savings for Food and Public Distribution are attributed to deletion of 2.75 crore duplicated and fake/non-existent ration cards (including some due to migration death, etc). The estimated savings for Rural Development, says the website, is based on field studies. There is no footnote or link to the unnamed study by the unnamed ministry. Slide number 48 shows what appears to be clippings of media reports. Headlined World View of Aadhaar, the slide features, on top, a news item saying, India saved 1 billion USD by using Aadhaar, reports World Bank. A box in the bottom, which is apparently not part of the report's headline, says, As per Digital Dividends Report of World Bank 2016, once Aadhaar is applied to all social programmes and welfare distribution, it is estimated that it will save USD 11 billion per annum. But, that is not what the World Bank said. The relevant passage in the report reads: Indias fuel subsidy program, implementing cash transfers to Aadhaar-linked bank accounts to buy liquefied petroleum gas cylinders, saved about US$1 billion per year when applied throughout the country. This is just one of many subsidy programs in India that are being converted to direct transfers using digital ID, potentially saving over US$11 billion per year in government expenditures through reduced leakage and efficiency gains. Even if one left the matter of potential savings aside, the World Banks is a deeply problematic conclusion, as pointed out by economists Jean Dreze and Reetika Khera in February this year. Dreze and Khera wrote that the figures pertaining to Aadhaar in the report were poorly sourcedthey were from a brief prepared by a US-based, Indian-origin economist, and it was not based on any empirical study. The World Bank, they said, even misrepresented the data. The $11 billion figure cited in the brief is not a savings figure at all. It is just an estimate of the government of Indias total annual expenditure on major cash transfers, Dreze and Khera wrote. The figure, according to them, was arrived at by wrongly extrapolating another problematic figurea study in Andhra Pradesh had found that the government had reduced leakages in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme by 10.8 per cent. That number from Andhrawhich, to be sure, is not substantiatedwas applied by the US-based economist to the whole range of welfare schemes run by state and Central governments. That is not only poor economics, but astoundingly bad mathematics as well. Dreze and Khera pointed out that the World Bank dished up that figure with a warning: It should be noted that realising this potential savings [of $11 billion] for all government transfers is conditional on accountable institutions to complement the investment in digital technology, the bank had said in its report. Pandeys presentation was drained of all such nuances and nuggets. And he was not as careful and conscientious as he should have been while testifying before the Constitution bench of the Supreme Court in a case that has far-reaching consequences. By granting him the chance to make the PowerPoint presentation, the court had given him a great opportunity to make a strong argument in favour of the governments claims, and thereby allay the fears and doubts regarding the privacy, security and economic aspects of Aadhaar. The errors make it evident that he not only blew that opportunity, but has exposed himself to charges of perjury. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday urged the people to be on their guard against attempts to whip up communal passion ahead of Ram Navami on Sunday. The chief minister's concern comes close on the heels of alleged inflammatory remarks by several leaders in the state, which led to disruption of Assembly proceedings more than once this week. "It has been nearly three decades since Bihar has witnessed any large-scale communal violence. Our government has been committed to maintaining communal harmony. Yet there are elements who are always up to some mischief. I would request you all to be on your guard," he said at the inaugural programme of the three-day Bihar Diwas celebrations. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, Governor Satya Pal Mallik and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi were also present. "To remain vigilant is very important with Ram Navami just around the corner. Last year, the Navaratri festivities had coincided with Moharram and the people of the state took part in both, while ensuring that peace was not disturbed. Please ensure the same this time," Kumar said. Recently, the state had witnessed communal clashes in Bhagalpur, where Union Minister Ashwini Choubey's son was booked for taking out a procession without permission. Also, Union Minister Giriraj Singh and state BJP president Nityanand Rai drew flak for alleged incendiary statements in the aftermath of the killing of a BJP worker's father, which the police said was over a land dispute. Highlighting the achievements of his tenure, Kumar said, "A pall of gloom had engulfed Bihar when its mineral-rich part was carved out for the creation of Jharkhand." "But the state turned the corner and scripted an incredible success story that has changed its image world over," he said. "Our economy has expanded exponentially. The state's budget was Rs 26,300 crore in 2005 when we had assumed power. Today, it is 1.8 lakh crore. The expenditure on development has risen from Rs 6,000 crore to Rs 80,000 crore", Kumar said. The most striking part of the state's success story is that no section of the societydalits, OBCs, minorities and the poor among the upper casteshas been neglected or ignored, he said. "A lot has been done for the women too by way of quotas in panchayats and urban local bodies and measures like prohibition and campaigns against dowry and child marriage", the chief minister said. Pest control has become the latest issue confronting the government of Devendra Fadnavis. However, it is not an invasion of pests worrying the government but controversy over a contract awarded for pest control. On Thursday, former minister and BJP MLA Eknath Khadse demanded an inquiry into a contract given to a pest control company to eliminate rodents in the state Secretariat. A survey had found that there were nearly 3,19,400 rats in the complex and a company was awarded a contract to complete pest control in six months. The company claimed to have killed all the rats in just seven days. Khadse alleged that the company's claimswhich effectively meant that nearly 32 rats were culled every minutemerited suspicion. He asked how the company could finish the task in one week, when the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation took two years to kill around 6 lakh rats in Mumbai. Khadse joked that the government could have employed 10 cats for the same task, evoking laughter in the Assembly! Khadse, a senior BJP leader in the state, has been upset ever since he was forced to resign as revenue minister over bribery allegations in 2016. Khadse has not been reinstated to the cabinet even though the charges against him have not be proven yet. In January, Khadse claimed he would remain in the BJP even though he warned his patience had limits. Congress leader Ashok Chavan had invited Khadse to join the opposition party. (With agency inputs) The Delhi High Court on Friday granted bail to Karti Chidambaram, son of former Union finance minister P. Chidambaram, in the INX Media corruption case. The court had reserved its verdict on March 16 after hearing arguments on behalf of Karti and the Central Bureau of Investigation which had opposed grant of the relief to him. The agency had contended that he should not be granted bail as he has already destroyed evidence in the case and was an "influential" person. Karti's counsel had argued that no case under the Prevention of Corruption Act was made out against him since the CBI had neither questioned any public servant, nor made them an accused in the matter. Karti's lawyers had denied allegations of tampering with evidence and added that when the CBI had not sought his further custodial interrogation, why should he be kept in judicial custody. They had also said that no one else has been arrested in the case and what the CBI has done is to put Karti behind bars. Karti's lawyers had further claimed that CBI was trying to connect him with a private company, Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt Ltd, which had received an alleged bribe amount of Rs 10 lakh, when he was in no way related to it. Karti was arrested from Chennai on February 28 by the CBI on his return from the United Kingdom in connection with an FIR lodged on May 15 last year, alleging irregularities in a Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance given to INX Media for receiving funds of about Rs 305 crore from overseas in 2007 when his father was the Union finance minister. The CBI had initially alleged that Karti received Rs 10 lakh as a bribe for facilitating the FIPB clearance to INX Media. It had later revised the figure to USD 1 million (about Rs 6.50 crore at the current exchange rate and Rs 4.5 crore in 2007). The fresh evidence in the case, which triggered Karti's arrest, was based on a statement of Indrani Mukerjea, former director of INX Media (P) Ltd, who recorded it under Section 164 of the CrPC before a magistrate on February 17. Indrani is currently lodged in a Mumbai prison in connection with the case of murder of her daughter Sheena Bora. A few 'birds' in a paddy field in the red bastion of Kannur district are giving sleepless nights to the ruling CPI(M). While some say these birds in Keezhattoor village are harbingers of Kerala's 'Nandigram'the village that launched massive protests that ensured the CPI(M) was almost eliminated from West Bengalthe Left is struggling to find ways to deal with its own ghosts from the past. Vayalkilikal, meaning birds in a paddy field is the name by which a group of farmers protesting against land acquisition for a NH bypass call themselves. Though few in numbers, the protesting groupcomprising farmers and farm labourersare determined to go to any length to stop their paddy fields from being reclaimed. Till we are alive, we will not let the road pass through our paddy fields. It will destroy the entire area,'' asserted Janaki, one of the leading faces of the agitation. And she means what she says. She had drenched herself in petrol and had held up cigarette lighters in their hands as NHAI officers had visited the village to survey the land. Keezhattoor, a scenic village surrounded by hills on three sides, is one of the most productive paddy areas in the district. The family of Janaki is one of the few who are opposing the NH. Most families in this red bastion, however, have agreed to part with the land. But what has put the CPI(M) in a fix is the fact that it is their own party cadre in the locality who are at the forefront of the agitation. Also, the fact that the agitation has caught the imagination of environmentalists across the state is creating a headache for the party. And the CPI(M), despite having a brute majority in the village, is finding it hard to navigate through this muddle. The reality is that all families in the village, except four, has agreed to hand over the land for development. Very few people, who are being egged on by outsiders, are at the forefront of the agitation. These people are being used as pawns by the media and the agents of BJP,'' said Rajesh V.S., a native of Keezhattoor, who has agreed to hand over the land. Rajesh, who is a member of the CPI(M), says that he also had opposed the earlier alignment of the NH as it meant destruction of many houses in the village. Now, the new alignment destroys minimum land while providing a solution to traffic issues in the entire district,'' he said. But leaders of the Vayalkilikal protest insist that the proposed bypass would sound a death knell for paddy cultivation and wetlands in the region. Our paddy fields are narrow in size. If a 45 metre road passes through it, then the entire paddy cultivation will be destroyed. We will not allow that,'' said Divakaran, one of the leaders. He also added that the government has not done any environmental impact study before going ahead with the plan. The protesters, however, insist that they are not against development. All that we demand is that development should not be at the cost of environment,'' he said, adding that they have suggested alternatives including an overbridge. The protesters have succeeded in roping in activists including Medha Patkar and Daya Bhai in support of their struggle Environmentalists and activists are planning to take out a march to Keezhattoor on March 25, pledging solidarity with the protesters. The CPI(M) leadership, however, looks determined. The current protest is part of a conspiracy to taint the LDF government. The opponents of the CPI(M) are scared that if CPI(M) brings in development, they will lose the only weapon they have against it. We will find a solution,'' said party state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, reiterating his focus on 'development', said that the protest is unnecessary. We will provide financial compensation to those affected by projects and will also rehabilitate those who lose their land. If protests continue, we have no option but to go ahead with development works. Development is our main agenda, he said. The CPI(M) argues that the real issue behind the protest is not loss of paddy field. After this government has come to power, 49,000 hectares of paddy field, which were lying barren till then, have been brought back to cultivation. Nobody talks about that and they go on harping about the 11 acres of paddy land, which will be lost,'' said an official at the CMO. According to him, the protesters are playing into the hands of the BJP. This allegation has some truth, in a way, as it is the BJP, which is making the most out of the protest. Many senior BJP leaders pay regular visits to the area. BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan, a known environmentalist, is at the forefront of supporting the protesters. Criticising the 'anti-farmer policies of the LDF', Rajasekharan has announced that BJP will actively participate in the protest march to be taken out on March 25. While the CPI(M) maintains that the issue has been blown out of proportion by parties with vested interests'', political observers feel that the CPI(M) is indeed paying for its own past sins. The CPI(M) had always been at the forefront of opposing many development initiativeswhether it was computers or the Kochi Airport. And now, when it has become an active proponent of development all of a sudden, the cadre may not be able to digest it immediately. Keezhattoor agitation is one such example,'' said Jayaprakash K., a political observer. According to him, it may be easier for the leadership to speak a different language but for the ordinary cadre, fed on a certain kind of ideology for years, it will take a longer time. Till then, Nandigram-like episodes are bound to haunt the CPI(M). In a shocking incident, an 18-year-old man was brutally killed in Mumbai by his friend in the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. If reports are to be believed, the motive of the murder is that the victim used to belittle the accused by speaking to him only in English. According to reports, Mohammed Amir Abdul Wahid Rahin (21) slit his friend Mohammed Afroz Alam Shaikh's throat and stabbed him 54 times before walking into the Shahu Nagar police station around 1 am to confess his crime. Shaikhs body was found later at an isolated place near Raheja bridge in Mahim. Rahin reportedly told police that he killed Shaikh out of anger as the latter used to tease him always by speaking in English. According to police, Rahin had been planning the murder for a week. On Wednesday, the accused took Shaikh to Bandra on the pretext of treating him to a drink. Both of them bought beer. After a while, Rahin followed Shaikh into the toilet at the place there were drinking in and slit his throat with a knife, reads a report in the Hindustan Times. Facebook Inc came under further pressure from lawmakers, investors, advertisers and users on Thursday, the day after Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg admitted the social media network made mistakes in letting 50 million users data get into the hands of political consultancy Cambridge Analytica. US lawmakers demanded Zuckerberg personally testify in Washington to explain his companys actions. Meanwhile, advertisers Mozilla and Commerzbank suspended ads on the service and the hashtag #DeleteFacebook remained popular online, although it was hard to tell how many users are abandoning Facebook. In light of those concerns, investors continued to sell off Facebook shares, although not at the pace of earlier in the week. They closed on Thursday at $164.89, down 2.7 percent. The S&P 500 Index was down 2.5 percent on the day. Facebook shares closed at $185.09 on Friday. The company has lost more than $50 billion in market value since allegations this week that Cambridge Analytica improperly accessed data to build profiles on American voters and influence the 2016 presidential election. Five days after the scandal broke, Zuckerberg apologized on Wednesday for mistakes his company made and promised to restrict developers access to user information as part of a plan to protect privacy. On Thursday, Facebook executives were still saying sorry. We know this is an issue of trust. We know this is a critical moment for our company, for the service we provide, Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said in an interview broadcast on CNBC. Zuckerbergs apology and promises were not enough to ease political pressure on the worlds largest social media company. It shouldnt be for a company to decide what is the appropriate balance between privacy and innovation and use of data. Those rules should be set by society as a whole and so by parliament, British minister for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Matt Hancock, told BBC Radio. Zuckerbergs media rounds did little to satisfy Washington lawmakers in either political party who have demanded this week that the 33-year-old billionaire testify before Congress. The Republican chairman and top Democrat of the US House Energy and Commerce Committee said they will in coming days formally ask Zuckerberg to testify. The request came a day after company executives briefed committee aides for nearly two hours and left with a list of at least 60 questions they were unable to answer, two aides said. Zuckerberg said in media interviews on Thursday he would be willing to testify if he is the right person at the company to speak to lawmakers. My message to Mark Zuckerberg is you are right person. Theres no question you are the right person, Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, told reporters after Facebook executives briefed Senate staff on Thursday. Facebook said it had no comment beyond what Zuckerberg had already said. Executives also briefed another House committee on Thursday, and while they answered questions about Cambridge Analytica they were unprepared to address broader questions about Facebooks privacy policies, according to a staffer who was present. REPUTATIONAL COSTS Wall Street analysts expressed relief that there were no signs so far of a fundamental shift in the companys advertising-driven revenue model, but some said there would be costs to shore up its reputation. Facebook, with more than 2 billion monthly active users, made almost all its $40.6 billion in revenue last year from advertising. Sandberg said Facebooks priority was restoring users trust, even if that meant accepting regulation of the data that is central to its ad business, and she said the company was massively ramping hiring. Several analysts cut price targets. Technology stocks have fallen along with Facebook this week as investors worried about tighter scrutiny of global platforms like Alphabets Google, Twitter and Snapchat. Analysts said Zuckerbergs promises to investigate thousands of apps, and to give members a tool that lets them turn off access, would not substantially reduce advertisers ability to use Facebook data - the companys lifeblood. Nevertheless, open-source browser and app developer Mozilla said it was pressing pause on its Facebook advertising after the revelations prompted it to take a closer look at the sites default privacy settings. In this age of smartphones it is a fact that majority of us start panicking when we run out of battery charge in our phones. An Indian startup now offers a solution to this problem. PowerSquare, a Bengaluru-based boot strapped hardware startup founded by Pavan Pudipeddi, Anand Katragadda and Naveen Chava is aiming to make wireless charging popular in India with a set of wireless chargers, which they are planning to market in the country. The company feels that charging with wires is cumbersome, causes dependency on the charger and is restrictive, requiring the user to be near the device. This company is making it possible to charge any device without wires, anytime and anywhere, and states that phone type, Operating System are soon going to be irrelevant with their chargers and any type of phone can be charged using their chargers. Though the United States is still one of the largest markets for the wireless charging technology, India and China are not far behind though. The potential is huge and the global wireless power market is expected to be $28 billion by 2022. We are seeing an evolving digital habit with the rise in youth population and also an increasing demand for smartphone devices and the consequent need for wireless charging. Today, there are more than 350 million smartphone users in India and this is projected to increase to a 500 million in the coming year. We expect that 10 per cent of these smartphones will be compatible to wireless charging in the next 18-24 months. Major handset manufacturers will soon start offering wireless charging across their phone models. This will help the technology reach the masses and give them the opportunity to enjoy the convenience of wireless charging at varied price points, Pavan Pudipeddi, the founder and CEO of PowerSquare told THE WEEK. Interestingly, Pudipeddi who has now relocated to India from the United States has developed technologies in power management, battery management, system design and product development for various companies including Texas Instruments in the US. He was one of the founding members of the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), a multinational technology consortium that was formed to create and promote wide market adoption of the Qi standard, used for wireless charging in many products. PowerSquare's wireless charging module embedded in an office conference room We have identified three key places where a consumer charges their device at home, while traveling and at work. We are focusing on bringing wireless charging solutions to all three sectors B2C (Businesse to Consumer), automotive and infrastructure. Our direct customer offerings will primarily focus on wireless charging products that target charging at home and on the go. Our automotive solutions will offer 'Made-in-India solution for in-car wireless charging that will target the automotive manufacturers and in the infrastructure sector, we are aiming to integrate this technology in cafe's, large offices, airport lounges, hotels and also offer the underlying technology behind smart homes, smart offices and smart mobility systems, explained Pudipeddi. With complete R&D in Bengaluru and manufacturing in China, the company is ready with its wireless charging products and is planning to adopt a US-first strategy in the the next one month or so with its B2C products as it is a bigger and more evolved market. We will be introducing the products to India within a few months of the US launch. Our strategy in India will not be just about selling products through e-commerce or retail stores like other brands, but providing a good user experience. We want to ensure that the consumers understand the technology and experience the convenience of using wireless charging in their life, remarked Pudipeddi. The company is also talking to many global automobile manufacturers who have a presence in India to bring this technology to automotive sector. At the same time, the company is also planning to roll its solutions to public places such as cafe's, restaurants and offices in India in the long run where consumers can experience the convenience of wireless charging and is in the process of talks with many of them. Air strikes hit a rebel-held enclave of Syrias eastern Ghouta region on Friday despite a ceasefire that the rebel group who controlled the area had said would take effect at midnight, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The air strikes hit Ein Terma and Zamalka on Friday morning and pro-government forces had advanced into a large part of the town of Hezzeh after the midnight ceasefire deadline, according to the Britain-based Observatory, a war monitoring group. On Thursday, a spokesman for rebel group Failaq al-Rahman said the ceasefire had been agreed in principle. The armys assault on eastern Ghouta, the last major rebel bastion near the capital, has been one of the most intense in Syrias seven-year-old war. The Syrian government and its Russian allies used tactics that had proved successful elsewhere in Syria since Moscow joined the war in 2015: lay siege to an area, bombard it, launch a ground assault and finally offer safe passage out to rebels who agree to leave with their families. Eastern Ghoutas rebels still hold only the town of Douma, under the control of Jaish al-Islam, and another pocket that includes Ein Terma, Arbin and Zamalka, under the control of Failaq al-Rahman. On Thursday, Ahrar al-Sham rebel fighters withdrew from what had been a third rebel-held enclave in eastern Ghouta, the town of Harasta. They were put on government buses and driven to an opposition-held area of northern Syria. A second group of fighters is expected to leave Harasta on Friday. The Observatory said air strikes also hit the Jaish al-Islam-controlled town of Douma on Friday and there were clashes on the ground between the rebels and pro-government forces. Once rejected by North Korea as human scum, US President Donald Trumps latest pick for national security adviser has called for regime change in North Korea, prompting worries in Asia ahead of a historic summit between Washington and Pyongyang. Trump announced in a tweet he was replacing H.R. McMaster with John Bolton, a former US ambassador to the United Nations who has advocated the use of military force against North Korea and Iran and has previously been rejected as a negotiating partner by Pyongyang. This is worrisome news, said Kim Hack-yong, conservative lawmaker and head of the national defence committee of South Koreas parliament. North Korea and the United States need to have dialogue but this only fuels worries over whether the talks will ever happen. At Seouls presidential Blue House, which has been forced to navigate between the unpredictable personalities of leaders in both Pyongyang and Washington, officials were circumspect. Our stance is that if a new road opens, we have to go that path, a senior Blue House official told reporters. Bolton has much knowledge on the issues regarding the Korean peninsula and most of all, we know him to be one of the US presidents aides who is trusted. He said Chung Eui-yong, South Koreas National Security Office head, had not yet spoken with Bolton and that Chungs reaction to McMasters dismissal was not bad. Another administrative official in Seoul expressed regret over the loss of camaraderie McMaster had built with his South Korean counterpart as they had tackled North Koreas nuclear issue together. Both officials requested not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue. A rocky path Bolton had described Trumps plan to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as diplomatic shock and awe and said it would be an opportunity to deliver a threat of military action. I think this session between the two leaders could well be a fairly brief session where Trump says, Tell me you have begun total denuclearisation, because were not going to have protracted negotiations. You can tell me right now or well start thinking of something else, he told Washingtons WMAL radio station. Former South Korean intelligence official Nam Sung-wook said Trump may not even get the opportunity to deliver that message. Bolton being tapped for this position makes for a very difficult situation where the US-North Korea summit may not even happen, he said. Its going to be a rocky path even before the summit. The meeting is supposed to happen by the end of May, but an exact time and place have yet to be settled on. Pyongyang had no immediate comment about Bolton, whose criticism of then-North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and Pyongyangs human rights record in 2003 spurred state media to call him human scum and bloodsucker. North Korean officials would not recognise him as a representative of the US government or talk with him because of his political vulgarity and psychopathological condition, state media said at the time. Hopes and worries in Asia Boltons appointment came 10 days after Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, another moderating influence, replacing him with CIA director Mike Pompeo. His appointment will further diminish hope for China and the United States to see eye-to-eye on security issues, according to Shi Yinhong, an expert on China-US relations at Renmin University in Beijing. What security cooperation with China can there be? Nuclear weapons, North Korea, Taiwan, South China Sea, cyberspace Where is there hope for cooperation? Shi said. Trump and Xi Jinping have spoken in public of the logic of cooperation, but with the negative direction of trade and security cooperation, these words seem more and more empty. Zhao Tong, an expert on North Korea and nuclear disarmament at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center in Beijing, said Boltons previous calls for China to pursue regime change in North Korea, as well as for a reunification of the peninsula under the South Korean government, was very unrealistic. His views on strategic security issues will reinforce the Chinese convictions that it needs to build up its hard power, Zhao said. Tokyo expressed hopes communication with Washington would go on as normal, with one Japanese government official saying he was very optimistic Japan would be able to get along with Bolton as he has many friends inside the Japanese government. Narushige Michishita, a professor at Tokyos Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, said Boltons toughness could present a hurdle in dealing with Pyongyang. The problem is that he doesnt have any flexibility. Thats a negative concern that I have, Michishita said. -Reuters If anything happens to me, please tell my story. This was... US President Donald Trump shook up his foreign policy team again on Thursday, replacing H.R. McMaster as national security adviser with John Bolton, a hawk who has advocated using military force against North Korea and Iran. The move, announced in a tweet and a White House statement, came little more than a week after Trump fired Rex Tillerson as secretary of state and nominated Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo to replace him. The shake-up shows Trump, in office for 14 months, surrounding himself with advisers more likely to agree with his views and taking his foreign policy in a more hawkish direction. What it means for a prospective summit meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is unclear. The meeting is supposed to happen by the end of May, but an exact time and place have yet to be settled on. Boltons appointment could doom the already endangered Iran nuclear deal. It could also lead to friction with Trump on how tough to be on Russia, with the president still holding out hope for improved ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The news of Boltons appointment followed a meeting he had with Trump in the Oval Office. Even Bolton was caught by surprise. I didnt really expect an announcement this afternoon, but its obviously a great honour, he told Fox News after the announcement. Im still getting used to it. Bolton, 69, is a Fox News analyst who contemplated a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. He is a familiar figure in Washington, with a walrus-like moustache and hard-charging views on many global challenges. Some members of Congress immediately questioned his selection for the critical position in the White House. This is not a wise choice. Mr Bolton does not have the temperament or judgment to be an effective national security adviser, Democratic Senator Jack Reed said in a statement. Bolton tweeted on January 11 that time was running out on stopping North Koreas nuclear weapons programme. He said: Weve got to look at the very unattractive choice of using military force to deny them that capability. At a time when Trump has threatened to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, unless Europe agrees to change it, Bolton has tweeted that the deal needs to be abrogated. He has also called for effective countermeasures to the cyber war that Russia is engaging. Strong signal Elliott Abrams, a senior foreign policy aide to former Republican President George W. Bush, praised Trumps choice, saying Bolton proved when we were both in the Bush administration that he is an excellent and forceful bureaucrat. Whether Bolton, who was US ambassador to the United Nations for Bush, will be able to swallow his own views has been debated by foreign policy experts since he appeared on Trumps radar. His hiring does not require US Senate confirmation. Bolton said in the Fox News interview that his past statements on various issues were behind him and he would be an honest broker ensuring the president sees all the options available to him. The important thing is what the president says and the advice I give him, he said. Still, analysts said Boltons views would be influential. Bolton has long been an advocate for pre-emptive military action against North Korea, and his appointment as National Security Adviser is a strong signal that President Trump remains open to these options, said Abraham Denmark, deputy assistant secretary of defence for East Asia under former President Barack Obama. We should also expect an even more confrontational approach to Chinaa trade war may just be the beginning of a broader geopolitical competition, he said. Bonnie Glaser, Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington, said: Bolton has long supported regime change in North Korea and closer ties with Taiwan. Fasten your seat belts. As the State Departments top arms control official under Bush, Bolton was a leading advocate of the 2003 invasion of Iraqwhich was later found to have been based on bogus and exaggerated intelligence about President Saddam Husseins weapons of mass destruction and ties to terrorism. Mutually agreed McMaster, hired early in Trumps presidency to replace scandal-tarred Michael Flynn as national security adviser, had widely been expected to leave soon. Trump found McMasters style grating. The two had frequently clashed in meetings and Trump had been looking for a replacement, advisers said. The White House said Trump and McMaster had mutually agreed that he would leave. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend, Trumps tweet said. The two have been discussing this for some time. The timeline was expedited as they both felt it was important to have the new team in place, instead of constant speculation. This was not related to any one moment or incident, rather it was the result of ongoing conversations between the two, a senior White House official said. The announcement came a day after Trump was angered by a leak of information from his presidential briefing papers that said he was advised specifically not to congratulate Putin on his disputed election victory. Trump told reporters he had congratulated Putin. McMaster, 55, is to stay on until mid-April. He said in a statement he was also requesting retirement from the US Army, in which he holds the rank of three-star general. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly had been hoping to entice McMaster into another military assignment in order to qualify as a four-star general. Reuters Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. provides technical, professional, and construction services. The company's Aerospace, Technology, Environmental and Nuclear segment offers scientific, engineering, construction, nuclear, environmental, and technical support services to the aerospace, defense, technical, and automotive industries. Its Buildings, Infrastructure and Advanced Facilities segment develops/rehabilitates plans for highways, bridges, transit, tunnels, airports, railroads, intermodal facilities, and maritime or port projects; develops or rehabilitates critical water resource systems, water/wastewater conveyance systems, and flood defense projects; and provides engineering design, construction management, design build, and operations and maintenance. This segment also designs and constructs buildings; offers consulting, engineering, procurement, construction management, and delivery services for life sciences clients; and provides services relating to modular construction and other consulting and strategic planning services, as well as offers services in containment, barrier technology, locally controlled environments, building systems automation, off-the-site design, and fabrication of facility modules. The company's Energy, Chemicals and Resources segment offers services relating to onshore and offshore oil and gas production facilities, processing facilities, gathering systems, and transmission pipelines and terminals; feasibility/economic studies, technology evaluation, conceptual engineering, front end loading, detailed engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance, and commissioning services; and engineering, procurement, and construction solutions. This segment also provides services, such as manufacturing complex, expansions, modifications, and management of plant relocations; construction management and field construction services; and services to operate and maintain facilities. The company was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Read More Aviva plc provides various insurance, retirement, and savings products in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, France, Italy, Poland, and internationally. The company offers life insurance, long-term health and accident insurance, savings, pension, and annuity products, as well as pension fund business and lifetime mortgage products. It also provides insurance cover to individuals, small and medium-sized businesses for risks associated with motor vehicles and medical expenses, as well as property and liability, such as employers' and professional indemnity liabilities, and medical expenses. In addition, the company offers personal and commercial lines insurance products; long-term insurance and savings products, primarily for individuals. Further, it provides investment management services for institutional pension fund mandates; and manages various retail investment products, including investment funds, unit trusts, open-ended investment companies, and individual savings accounts for third-party financial institutions, pension funds, public sector organizations, investment professionals, and private investors. Additionally, the company offers asset management and protection insurance products. Aviva plc markets its products through a network of insurance brokers, as well as MyAviva platform. The company was formerly known as CGNU plc and changed its name to Aviva plc in July 2002. Aviva plc was founded in 1696 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Read More Magna International Inc. designs, engineers, and manufactures components, assemblies, systems, subsystems, and modules for original equipment manufacturers of vehicles and light trucks worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Body Exteriors & Structures, Power & Vision, Seating Systems, and Complete Vehicles. Its Body Exteriors & Structures segment provides body and chassis systems, as well as engineering and testing services; exterior systems, including fascia and trims, front end modules, front integration panels, liftgate modules, active aerodynamics, engineered glass, running boards, truck bed access products, and side doors; and roof systems, such as modular and textile folding roofs, and hard and soft tops. The company's Power & Vision segment offers dedicated hybrid, dual and e-clutch, and manual transmissions; engine drive plates and accessories; AWD/4WD products, rear drive modules, and hybrid and battery electric drive systems; transmission, engine, and driveline components; advanced driver assistance systems, camera systems, ultrasonic sensors, and electronic controllers; interior and exterior mirrors, actuators, door handles, overhead consoles, and camera monitoring systems; head, tail, and fog lamps; signal and other lighting products; and latching systems, door modules, window systems, power closure systems, hinges and wire forming, and handle assemblies. Its Seating Systems segment provides seat structures, mechanism and hardware solutions, and foam and trim products. The company's Complete Vehicles segment offers vehicle manufacturing and engineering services. It also designs, engineers, and manufactures tooling products. Magna International Inc. was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Aurora, Canada. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Eli Lilly and: 1096401 B.C. Unlimited Liability Company, ARMO BioSciences Inc, ARMO Bioscience, Advanced Cardiovascular Systems, Alnara Pharmaceuticals, Alnara Pharmaceuticals Inc., Andean Technical Operations Center, Applied Molecular Evolution Inc., AurKa Pharma, Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Avid Radiopharmaceuticals Inc., ChemGen, CoLucid Pharmaceuticals, CoLucid Pharmaceuticals Inc., Dermira, Devices for Vascular Intervention(DVI), Disarm Therapeutics, Dista Ilac Ticaret Ltd. Sti., Dista S.A., Dista-Produtos Quimicos & Farmaceuticos LDA, ELCO Dominicana SRL, ELCO Insurance Company Limited, ELCO Management Inc., ELCO for Trade and Marketing S.A.E., ELGO Insurance Company Limited, Elanco Animal Health Ireland Limited, Elanco Switzerland Holding Sarl, Eli Lilly (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Eli Lilly (Philippines) Incorporated, Eli Lilly (S.A.) (Proprietary) Limited, Eli Lilly (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Eli Lilly (Suisse) S.A., Eli Lilly Asia Inc., Eli Lilly Asia Pacific SSC Sdn Bhd, Eli Lilly Australia Pty. Limited, Eli Lilly B-H d.o.o., Eli Lilly Benelux S.A., Eli Lilly Bienes y Servicios S de RL de CV, Eli Lilly CR s.r.o., Eli Lilly Canada Inc., Eli Lilly Cork Limited, Eli Lilly Danmark A/S, Eli Lilly Egypt for Trading, Eli Lilly European Clinical Trial Services SA, Eli Lilly Export S.A., Eli Lilly Finance S.A., Eli Lilly Ges.m.b.H., Eli Lilly Group Limited, Eli Lilly Holdings Ltd., Eli Lilly Hrvatska d.o.o., Eli Lilly Interamerica Inc., Eli Lilly Interamerica Inc. y Compania Limitada, Eli Lilly International Corporation, Eli Lilly Ireland Holdings Limited, Eli Lilly Israel Ltd., Eli Lilly Italia S.p.A., Eli Lilly Japan K.K., Eli Lilly Kinsale Limited, Eli Lilly Nederland B.V., Eli Lilly Nigeria Ltd., Eli Lilly Norge A.S., Eli Lilly Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd., Eli Lilly Polska Sp.z.o.o. (Ltd.), Eli Lilly Regional Operations GmbH, Eli Lilly Romania SRL, Eli Lilly S.A., Eli Lilly Saudi Arabia Limited, Eli Lilly Services Inc, Eli Lilly Services India Private Limited, Eli Lilly Slovakia s.r.o., Eli Lilly Sweden AB, Eli Lilly Vostok S.A. Geneva, Eli Lilly and Company, Eli Lilly and Company (India) Pvt. Ltd., Eli Lilly and Company (Ireland) Limited, Eli Lilly and Company (N.Z.) Limited, Eli Lilly and Company (Taiwan) Inc., Eli Lilly and Company Limited, Eli Lilly de Centro America S.A., Eli Lilly do Brasil Limitada, Eli Lilly farmacevtska druzba d.o.o., Eli Lilly y Compania de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Eli Lilly y Compania de Venezuela S.A., Glycostasis Inc, Greenfield-Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Heart Rhythm Technologies Inc, Hybritech, Hypnion, ICOS Corporation, ImClone GmbH, ImClone LLC, ImClone Systems Holdings Inc., ImClone Systems LLC, Imclone Systems, Irisfarma S.A., Ivy Animal Health, Kinsale Financial Services Unlimited Company, Lilly (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd, Lilly Asia Ventures Fund I L.P., Lilly Asia Ventures Fund II L.P., Lilly Asian Ventures Fund III L.P., Lilly Cayman Holdings, Lilly China Research and Development Co. Ltd., Lilly Deutschland GmbH, Lilly France S.A.S., Lilly Global Nederland Holdings B.V., Lilly Global Services Inc., Lilly Holding GmbH, Lilly Holdings B.V., Lilly Hungaria KFT, Lilly Japan Financing G.K., Lilly Korea Ltd., Lilly Nederland Finance B.V., Lilly Nederland Finance B.V. - GCC, Lilly Nederland Holding B.V., Lilly Pharma Ltd., Lilly Portugal - Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Lilly S.A., Lilly Suzhou Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Lilly Trading Co. LTD, Lilly USA LLC, Lilly Ventures Fund I LLC, Lilly del Caribe Inc., Lilly ilac ticaret limited sirketi, Lohmann Animal Health, Loxo Oncology, Lylly Centre for Clinical Pharmacology PTE. LTD., Novartis Animal Health, OY Eli Lilly Finland AB, Origin Medsystems, PT. Eli Lilly Indonesia, Pacific Biotech, Pharmaserve-Lilly S.A.C.I., Physio-Control, SGX Pharmaceuticals, SGX Pharmaceuticals Inc, Spaly Bioquimica S.A., UAB Eli Lilly Lietuva, Valquifarma S.A., and Vital Pharma Productos Farmaceuticos. Rensselaer A nearly two-mile stretch of Hudson River shoreline in Rensselaer, including an historic 19th century mill now vacant and tax-delinquent, could become apartments, shops, a recreational center and hiking trails under an ambitious plan to remake the city's waterfront. The mostly undeveloped land for what city officials call Kiliaen's Landing stretches along the shore from the Livington Avenue railroad bridge, past the Patroon Island Bridge for Interstate 90, and to the border with the Rensselaer Technology Park in North Greenbush. "We are pretty excited about what this could mean," said city Planning and Development Director Charles Moore on Friday. The property would be accessed through Forbes Avenue and Tracy Street. The plan occupies about 75 acres, and calls for a mix of apartments, a recreation center and the rebuilding of the former Barnet-Shoddy mill on Forbes Street, which is now named the Hilton Center. About half the land at the northern section of the property is owned by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, with the rest held by several private owners, the state of New York, the Rensselaer County Sewer District, and the city of Rensselaer. A draft environmental impact statement prepared for the city by the engineering consulting firm of Clough Harbour Associates said the land is the "most significant asset and opportunity for long-term revitalization within Rensselaer." The property is just north of the 25-acre DeLaet's Landing property, where a 96-unit apartment complex is being built on the site of the former Rensselaer High School. The Kiliaen's Landing plan calls for: Constuction of 356 apartments in five buildings, between five and six stories tall, at the south end of the property near the Livingston bridge. Rebuilding of the former mill, which is located next to a public boat launch, to include 60 apartments, along with more than 16,000 square feet of retail and cultural arts space. The property is currently owned by Hilton Management LLC, which owes delinquent property taxes for 2015, 2016 and 2017. Creation of a two-story, 31,200-square-foot recreation center near the Patroon Island bridge, along with recreational fields. Building of a hiking and biking path that would connect with a trail network at the Tech Park to the north, and to a planned city bike path to the south. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. The area has proved a challenge for past development ideas, which now date back more than two decades, and include Chateau Rensselaer (1995), Patriot's Landing (1999), and Kiliaen's Landing at Capital Harbor (2002). The land is located within a 100-year floodplain for the Hudson, and to reduce the risk from floods, some areas would have to be raised significantly with fill between nine and 15 feet. In 2014, the state provided Rensselaer with a $187,500 grant to assist in environmental planning for the Kiliaen project. Rensselaer officials will hold a public hearing on the plant 6:30 p.m. April 9 at City Hall, 62 Washington St. Copies of the proposal are available at the Rensselaer Public Library, 676 East St. ALBANY - Three years after severing ties with a company that would fine-tune its DNA-matching capabilities, the New York State Police forensic lab is again in the market for state-of-the-art DNA screening software. The agency will put out a request for proposals for a computerized DNA processing system known as "probabilistic genotyping" -- which eliminates the potential for subjective findings -- some time in May, Ray A. Wickenheiser, director of the State Police crime laboratories, told the New York State Forensic Science Commission on Wednesday. Wickenheiser, who has run the agency since 2013, told the commission that increasingly stringent forensic science guidelines have made it more difficult for lab analysts to determine whether there is a genetic match in DNA mixtures of two or more individuals. When questioned by members of the commission about the growing body of DNA mixtures that were being classified as having "insufficient data," Wickenheiser said that many of the samples could potentially be matched with the more sophisticated technologies. "Using our tools -- older statistical techniques that we acknowledge have limitations -- we can only use those tools within the limits of what they can be used for. We recognize that another lab, or a lab with a better tool like probabilistic genotyping, might be able to make a determination," he said. Traditional DNA analysis -- long seen as a fool-proof method for determining whether a suspect was present at the scene of a crime -- allows scientists to use knowledge of the suspect to manipulate their findings. Since most DNA samples are a mixture of two or more people, an exact genetic type cannot be determined with certainty, even with computer software, but experts say the technology removes the inevitable human bias. Previous attempts at implementing the probabilistic genotyping at the State Police labs have failed, something critics say has contributed to the state's growing backlog in forensic cases. In 2014, after the State Police contracted with a company called Cybergenetics to implement a program called TrueAllele, 15 scientists were accused of cheating on TrueAllele training exams, and the State Police subsequently terminated its contract with the company. Wickenheiser's predecessor, Barry Duceman, who previously ran the lab for 26 years, told the Times Union that State Police officials, wary of the potential liability of retroactively examining DNA data used to solve crimes, may have used the cheating scandal to derail the agency's use of the program. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Dr. Mark W. Perlin, the creator of TrueAllele and founder of Cybergenetics, told the Times Union in 2015 that the scientists' exams contained questions with unique data sets, making it nearly impossible to cheat. "The students did their own work," Perlin said then. "Everybody gets their own data. It's a laboratory. The numbers you get are different from everybody else's numbers." Perlin said the State Police did not seek input from him or anyone at his company during the investigation. Three of the accused scientists later filed a federal civil rights suit against the agency saying they were wrongly implicated in the cheating scandal after they questioned the validity of the lab's traditional DNA testing program. Of eight forensic labs in the New York State that process DNA, three currently use a probabilistic genotyping software called STRmix, according to a spokesperson for New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services. While STRmix is widely accepted by forensic scientists, questions have been raised about its use on "extreme mixtures." Of about 400 crime labs in the United States, 10 percent have implemented the software. Bethlehem The Delmar Farmers Market, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, said it will ban the use of plastic bags by vendors. The market begins its 10th season on May 5. "As we celebrate a decade in Delmar, the time is now to show leadership on this issue and reduce the increasingly destructive impact plastic bags have on our ecosystem," said Mark Warford, the market's board chair. The market is held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays beginning May 5 at the Bethlehem Central Middle School, 332 Kenwood Ave. Amtrak has begun grading the performance of the major freight railroads, and two that host trains traveling through the Capital Region didn't do very well. In fact, they flunked. Amtrak based its grades on the minutes of delay its trains faced per 10,000 train miles. Norfolk Southern and Canadian National both received failing grades. Norfolk Southern hosts the Lake Shore Limited, the daily train from Chicago to New York and Boston via Albany, on its tracks between Cleveland Chicago. Canadian National hosts the Adirondack service between Rouses Point and Montreal. Virtually all of the CN trackage is in Canada. "We continuously work with Amtrak to provide reliable passenger service," CN spokesman Patrick Waldron said Friday. CSX, which hosts the Lake Shore Limited from the Capital Region to Cleveland, as well as the Maple Leaf and Niagara Falls services, received a C. "CSX hosts more passenger trains on its network than any other Class I railroad in the eastern United States, and we have a long history of working well with our passenger rail partners," a spokeswoman said. "CSX takes Amtrak's performance very seriously and provides Amtrak trains preference over freight trains in accordance with federal law. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. "While the issue of on-time performance is more complex than a simple letter grade implies, we are committed to working with Amtrak to meet our contractual obligations to them, and to support passenger rail as a safe, efficient transportation alternative in the U.S.," she said. The best grade, an A, went to Canadian Pacific, which owns the former Delaware & Hudson and hosts portions of the Ethan Allen Express and Adirondack services north of the Capital Region. To get an A, freight railroads had to keep total delays per 10,000 miles traveled below 600 minutes. Railroads that had delays above 1500 minutes per 10,000 miles received an F. A grade of C represents delays between 1250 and 1300 minutes. Norfolk Southern didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. An Indiana state trooper found his police cruiser seriously challenged when he tried to pull over a speeding Dodge Challenger Hellcat on the Indiana Toll Road. Trooper Dustin Eggert was merging back into traffic near Bremen on Tuesday after helping a broken-down motorist when the reddish-orange Hellcat passed him at a high rate of speed, according to a police statement obtained by Jalopnik. Police said Eggert witnessed the 707-horsepower muscle car weaving in and out of traffic without using turn signals as it passed slower vehicles. Jim Parsons cherished the opportunity to work with Stephen Hawking, but admitted he was a bit intimidated to meet the celebrated theoretical physicist. Hawking or his voice appeared in seven episodes of Parsons' hit series "The Big Bang Theory." "So much of our show is related, based on, adjacent to everything that Stephen Hawking did, strove to do, thought about, was passionate about through his entire life and career. The fact that he knew of our show, was interested in being on it, was willing to come play with us group of monkeys for a couple days was really moving," said Parson. "It was just, it was an amazing experience. It was an intimidating one. I'd be lying if I said I was comfortable. ... To get to finally meet him was, it was just overwhelming," he continued. "And it's one of the things that's kind of bittersweet in a way because once he's passed now and now we're talking about him, it really hammers home how fortunate I was to get to be with him," Parsons said. Hawking, who died March 14 at age 76, became the public face of science genius. "His willingness to be part of our world, to come and be part of our show, was an extraordinary acknowledgement ... it felt like maybe we were doing something worthwhile that he would agree to participate, you know?... How fortunate can you get?" said "Big Bang" executive producer Chuck Lorre. Associated Press Taylor's 'Reputation' album sets record Taylor Swift's latest album sure struck a chord with a lot of fans. "Reputation," which Swift released in November, is the first album to sell more than two million copies in more than two years, Billboard reported, citing Nielsen. The album crossed that threshold in mid-March. "Reputation" follows in the footsteps of Adele's critically acclaimed "25," which was the last album to reach two million sales. Adele's "25" only needed three days to hit the milestone. Swift, 27, took on an edgier approach than she had in the past for "Reputation," which featured major hits including "Look What You Made Me Do" and "End Game." New York Daily News Cosby wants trial judge to step aside Bill Cosby's lawyers are asking the judge in his upcoming sexual assault retrial to step aside, arguing he could be seen as biased because his wife is a social worker who's described herself as an "advocate for assault victims." Cosby's lawyers said Thursday that some of Judge Steven O'Neill's rulings, including his decision to let five additional accusers testify, could give the appearance he's influenced by his wife's work. Deborah O'Neill is the coordinator of a University of Pennsylvania sexual trauma outreach team. She wrote her dissertation on acquaintance rape. The O'Neills did not respond to messages. Cosby has pleaded not guilty to charges he assaulted a woman at his Philadelphia-area home in 2004. His retrial is scheduled for April 2. Associated Press Time to check mail for royal invitation Kensington Palace said Thursday that invitations for the wedding between Prince Harry and his American fiancee Meghan Markle have been dispatched. Some 600 people have been invited to the May 19 nuptials at noon at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. All 600 have also been invited to a lunchtime reception given by Queen Elizabeth II at St George's Hall. Harry and Markle will also celebrate with some 200 guests at a private evening reception given by Prince Charles at Frogmore House, a royal mansion near Windsor Castle. The invitations revealed the dress code for guests: Uniform, morning coat or lounge suit for men, or day dress with a hat for ladies. Associated Press COLONIE A robbery took place at the NBT Bank in Colonie on Friday morning, police say. At around 11:39 a.m., a male entered NBT Bank on 703 Troy-Schenectady Road and passed a note to a teller, with which the teller complied. There was no weapon displayed. The suspect exited the bank with an amount of cash, walking Southwest through the parking lot. BETHLEHEM A 14-year-old accused of making threats of school violence Wednesday has been charged with a felony, town police said. Multiple students at Bethlehem Central Middle School reported the threats to school administrators and the school resource officer. The ongoing investigation determined there is no imminent threat, officers said Friday. The teen, who was not identified given their age, faces one count of felony making a terroristic threat and one count of misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child. The teen was arrested Thursday and taken to Albany County Family Court, which will handle the case. "The Bethlehem Police Department will continue to investigate and initiate the prosecution of any individuals for threats of school violence," Deputy Chief Thomas M. Heffernan, Jr. said in a statement. Jody Monroe, superintendent of Bethlehem Central School District, send an email to parents on Friday providing them with a summary of the situation, and reminding parents that students need to grasp the toll of making such a threat. "Administrators at the middle school will continue to reinforce the consequences that can occur if a student makes a threat against the school," Monroe wrote. "However, it is important that this message be reinforced at home. Students need to know that these matters are serious and will be pursued as such." Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. "We will do all that we can to work with you to ensure that a safe environment in our schools is, and always will be, our first priority," Monroe wrote. Anyone who hears or sees threats of school violence is asked to call the Bethlehem police at 518-439-9973 or use the Confidential Tip line at 518-439-1503. ALBANY An appellate justice released John W. Cole on $50,000 bail after his attorney argued that Saratoga County Judge James A. Murphy III improperly told her to "stop talking about reasonable doubt" during her closing argument at the auto repair businessman's trial. In court papers, the attorney, Cheryl Coleman, made the case to Appellate Justice Eugene "Gus" Devine that Murphy wrongly barred portions of her Power Point presentation during the closing argument. "The court was unduly intrusive and restrictive during defense counsel's summation, barring portions of counsel's power point presentation and most unbelievable ... ordering counsel to 'stop talking about reasonable doubt,'" Coleman stated. "When counsel inquired, 'Is the court directing me to stop talking to the jury about reasonable doubt?' the court answered, 'Talk about something else.'" Coleman, among other points, contended Murphy was overly harsh in a pretrial ruling that allowed prosecutors to potentially grill Cole, if he testified, about his violent felony convictions in 1991. "This had a chilling effect upon defendant taking the stand, which he did not do," Coleman said. "This was reversible error insofar as it basically barred defendant from testifying in his own defense." She said Cole has lived an "exemplary life" in the 23 years since he was released from state prison following convictions for burglary, felony assault, possession of stolen property and possessing a weapon in Rensselaer County. On March 16, a jury convicted Cole, 53, of second-degree assault and alcohol-impaired driving in the March 11, 2017 crash on Sitterly Road that left a passenger Deanna Shapiro a quadriplegic. Prosecutors said Cole floored the gas pedal of his 2015 turbocharged BMW, lost control and slammed into a tree, causing the catastrophic injuries to Shapiro, who was in the back seat with her husband, Scott. Cole's wife, Regina, was in the front seat. They were returning from seeing a band at a local bar. Cole faces two to seven years in prison at his sentencing on April 27 by Murphy, the county's former district attorney. On Wednesday, Devine released Cole on $50,000 bail, which allows the businessman, who owns the Cole's Collision chain, to remain free as he appeals his conviction. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Before the trial, Cole hired the Albany-based Baker Public Relations firm headed by onetime local television reporter Megan Baker to publicize his company's philanthropic efforts with some of the area's better-known charities. Calling it an "orchestrated, conspiratorial, PR-firm-manipulated, shopped-out method," Murphy scolded Cole and at one point threatened to revoke his bail if he ignored a court order to curtail his media outreach. "During the trial, the court over a period of several days lambasted the defendant on the record, out of the presence of the jury, due to certain favorable public relations efforts which had been generated by a public relations firm," Coleman stated. When jurors asked Murphy if they could convict Cole of second-degree assault without finding he was intoxicated, the judge, over objections from Coleman, replied "yes" and read the law. Coleman argued that Murphy made an "incorrect oversimplification of the law." District Attorney Karen Eddy's office opposed the release of Cole from the the county jail. ALBANY A top official at the state Division of Criminal Justice Services was fired Thursday, four days after the Times Union reported that he was never punished by the agency after an inspector general's investigation found that he had threatened female employees with physical violence and engaged in years of sexual harassment. A spokeswoman for DCJS issued a statement Thursday evening claiming the termination of Brian J. Gestring, the director of the the agency's Office of Forensic Science since 2012, was unrelated to the inspector general's findings, which she said their agency could not substantiate. The spokeswoman, Janine Kava, said Gestring was fired for an inappropriate remark he made "at an offsite work meeting in June of 2017." She did not provide details about that case. Sources familiar with the matter told the Times Union the June 2017 incident took place during a DNA-training session at the State Police crime laboratory, where Gestring allegedly had made a vulgar remark as the group examined a rape case involving young children. A female State Police scientist filed a complaint about his remark, but the agency took no action. On Tuesday, the State Police revived the complaint and forwarded the information to DCJS. Kava said they asked the Governor's Office of Employee Relations to conduct an "independent investigation," although that agency is not empowered to conduct investigations. The case was then assigned to a human resources official at the Office of General Services, who conducted interviews in the short span of time before DCJS made the decision to fire Gestring. "DCJS takes issues of workplace environment seriously and is committed to providing a workplace for our employees that is free from threats, bullying or intimidation," Kava said. "Any reports of inappropriate workplace conduct are fully investigated and appropriate action is taken." The Times Union's story on Sunday noted that DCJS punished two women who provided testimony about Gestring as part of a state inspector generals investigation that began last May. One of the women, Gina L. Bianchi, an attorney who has worked at DCJS for 24 years, was terminated by DCJS's top official, Deputy Commissioner Michael C. Green, on Dec. 5 after he interrogated her for more than two hours about her testimony to the inspector general's office. Bianchi was interviewed as a witness but had not filed complaints against Gestring. She believed that her testimony was confidential and would not be shared with DCJS, said her attorney John W. Bailey. The second female employee, Kimberly Schiavone, a manager in the Forensic Services Office who had reported directly to Gestring since 2012, was notified that same day by three top DCJS officials, including Green, that she was being transferred to a different department because of their concern that she would not be able to work with Gestring anymore. Schiavone filed a workplace violence complaint against Gestring last August but the agency did not follow up and never interviewed her about the complaint, said Bailey, who is also Schiavone's attorney. In its statement Thursday, DCJS described its decision last December to terminate Bianchi and transfer Schiavone as "appropriate actions ... to maintain the appropriate work environment at DCJS." Although she was terminated from her special counsel position, Bianchi was able under state employment rules to fall back to a junior-level attorney's position and remains employed at DCJS, although she took a $40,000-a-year pay cut. Last Friday, a day after the Times Union posed questions about the case to DCJS and the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Bianchi was told she was being moved into a smaller office. Cuomo and Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott were both notified in writing about the treatment of the female DCJS employees in late January. The governor's office claims it referred the matter to its employee relations office, known as GOER, in December, although that information could not be independently verified. According to Bianchi's attorney, the director of GOER told Bianchi that he had received a referral from the inspector general's office. He did not mention any contact with the governor's office on the case. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Gestring, 48, a former New York Police Department scientist, is also a member of the states Commission on Forensic Science, which oversees crime laboratories across New York. He will be required to step down from that post due to his termination. The examination of Gestrings alleged workplace misconduct began last May when investigators with the inspector generals office stumbled onto the charges during an unrelated probe of negligence by a DCJS employee involving DNA evidence in a Suffolk County criminal case. The investigation of Gestring revealed a history of offensive and inappropriate behavior that began shortly after he began working for DCJS in July 2012. Records indicate that about four months after Gestring was hired, he received two counseling memos for misbehavior. Gestring signed the memos to certify he had read them, but added handwritten notes claiming he disagreed with the findings, had been forced to sign them, and that staff at DCJS had agendas, according to details of the inspector generals investigation shared with the Times Union. Significantly, no action was taken to address this defiant response and mitigate further misconduct in the future, the inspector generals office concluded in a confidential summary of their investigation. The inspector general's office, which obtained sworn testimony from multiple DCJS employees, said investigators were also told that Gestring had once encouraged a female manager to file fraudulent sexual harassment charges against a male colleague in an apparent effort to have him terminated. The female employee refused. In late October, Leahy Scott and her deputy inspector general, Spencer Freedman, met with DCJSs top legal counsel, John Czajka, and Executive Deputy Commissioner Green to outline the findings of the inspector generals investigation. After that meeting, Czajka and Green asked the inspector generals office for copies of the testimony including tape-recorded sworn interviews that had been obtained during the investigation. Leahy Scott, who was appointed inspector general by Cuomo in 2013, followed up the October meeting with a five-page letter to DCJS on Dec. 6 outlining the findings of her offices investigation. The letter recommended the agency take action against Gestring and two other officials accused of mishandling the allegations: First Deputy Commissioner Mark Bonacquist and Karen Davis, the human resources director. The agency did not take any action against those employees. It's unclear why the inspector general waited six weeks to issue it's findings in writing to DCJS. On Thursday, DCJS said that it conducted its own investigation of the inspector general's findings but was not able to substantiate the information, despite interviewing 18 employees. Bianchi and Schiavone recently filed notices of claim against the state. The governor's office and DCJS both said they have asked yet another entity, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, to investigate the case. ALBANY - The citys historic building preservation group has found itself at a crossroads with the resignation of its new leader and several of its board members. Due to a difference of opinions regarding the direction of Historic Albany Foundation, Richard Lundgren who succeeded longtime leader Susan Holland just three months ago and six of the groups board members resigned this week, the foundations acting board president Kim Alvarez confirmed on Friday. I think he was feeling there was some opposition for the direction he was pushing us in, Alvarez said. Weve been in a bit of transition period since Susan Holland left in November, and unfortunately, board members (who were in agreement with Lundgren) also resigned. Among those board members who resigned was former board president Susan Kirchheimer, who had announced Lundgrens hiring in mid-December. Lundgren came with an extensive background in planning and real estate, first coming to Historic Albany from Peirson Properties, where he was president of the real estate and city planning consulting practice. He also served as urban renewal project director and district planner with Boston Redevelopment Authority, director of planning for Boston-based consulting firms, president of NAI Hunneman Commercial Company in Boston and a Schenectady County planner. Kirchheimer declined to comment on the specifics of what transpired, except to say, "I strongly support the mission of Historic Albany Foundation, and I wish the organization well." She declined to provide a contact for Lundgren, but told a Times Union reporter she would reach out to him. As of late Friday afternoon no word had come from Lundgren. The disagreement centered around next steps for the foundations 48 Hudson Ave. the 1728 Van Ostrande-Radliff House, the oldest home in Albany, Alvarez said. The building was at risk after the collapse of neighboring 50 Hudson Ave. last year. Historic Albany worked diligently to secure and stabilize the building in the days following the collapse and subsequent demolition of 50 Hudson owned by the Albany Convention Center Authority. Alvarez stressed that many board members wanted to focus on stabilizing 48 Hudson, but that had been put on hold under Lundgren. She said hed publicly stated that Historic Albany should sell the building to a developer considering the costs associated with stabilizing and maintaining the historic home. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. It was premature to get into those discussions, Alvarez said. The focus and project at hand is the stabilization. He was kind of jumping ahead. The downtown area once slated for a convention center is in flux as Capitalize Albany moves to take charge of redeveloping the eight-acre Liberty Park parcel. The land, sandwiched between Broadway and Hudson Street and the South Mall Artery, was once eyed as a site for a convention center. The Albany Capital Center was later built on Eagle Street. Remaining board members want to see what the future of the area will be and have a seat at the table during discussion, Alvarez said. The acting board president remains hopeful despite the upheaval in the groups leadership, seeing it as an opportunity to further fine-tune Historic Albanys vision and future. Some things have been distracting and pulling us in different directions, Alvarez said. Sometimes its kind of nice to have all that stuff pulled away, and you can focus and see whats ahead of you. Historic Albany will be selecting someone to serve as acting executive director, or interim, during its board meeting Monday, but is focused on its big fundraiser, A Movable Feast, to be held April 14 at the Opalka Gallery in Albany. GLOVERSVILLE City police are investigating a home invasion robbery and said they had a suspect in custody Thursday evening. The robbery occurred on Yale Street, between Third and Fourth avenues. The area is currently closed to traffic. RAVENA - The first medical marijuana growing company to set up shop in Albany County is slated to open this summer in the Coeymans Industrial Park. PalliaTech NY, LLC is looking to retrofit a building in the industrial park to start manufacturing medical marijuana, clearing its last hurdle Wednesday with the Albany County Industrial Development Agencys approval of roughly $450,000 in sales tax exemptions for equipment purchases to get the facility set for production. Were making a very large investment in this manufacturing facility, and were hiring a lot of people, and there are costs associated with that, said Michelle Bodner, president and CEO of PalliaTech NY. Were looking forward to joining the business community and becoming an active member and participating in any way we can. PalliaTech NY a subsidiary of Massachusetts-based PalliaTech, Inc. was slated to open a manufacturing location in Ulster County when it first received licensing last year, but the space the company planned to use didnt pan out. Bodner said they couldnt find another suitable location in the Mid-Hudson Valley county, and so gravitated to the Coeymans space. The company aims to open this summer and employ up to 25 people in the first year, growing to about 30 within two years, according to its county IDA application. PalliaTech was one of five new companies given licenses last year to join five existing firms in growing and selling medical marijuana products in New York. The other new companies are New York Canna, Fiorello Pharmaceuticals, Valley Agriceuticals and Citiva Medical. The additions were considered a dramatic expansion of the program's physical footprint. Under state law, each company can operate up to four product dispensaries, which would bring the statewide total to 40 if all companies fully build out over time. Fiorello is poised to open its own manufacturing location in Glenville Business and Technology Park in Schenectady County. A spokesperson for Fiorello said the company signed a lease at the business park and is working to get the facility operational. No timeline was provided. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. When New York first licensed companies to grow and dispense medical marijuana, Albany County saw dispensaries pop up in the capital city, but manufacturing operations remained on the outskirts of the Capital Region. The additions will join two other marijuana cultivation centers Vireo Health of NY and Etain located in Fulton and Warren counties, respectively. George McHugh, general counsel to Carver Laraway, which owns the industrial park, said PalliaTech's 10-year lease on a building in the park started in November. He said the park just happened to be situated for this type of business, considering the requirements that must be met, including appropriate zoning and a location that is at least 1,000 feet away from places of worship and schools. There was a lot of criteria that had to be satisfied before they made the decision to come to Coeymans, he said. Certainly Carver Companies is excited to have PalliaTech, and it certainly diversifies our tenant base. We only see a very positive relationship coming from this. As federal lawmakers debate the efficacy of a $200 billion infusion in federal funds to address the nations crumbling infrastructure, the Capital Region must face that nearly 30 percent of its bridges need some type of repair. Many of the bridges that carry us on our way to and from work or school are riddled with issues whether a rusty beam or cracking concrete but continue to be used daily. Not all rise to the need for immediate closure or repair, and thus localities must prioritize maintenance and replacement with the money available in their budget and on the federal level. Rensselaer County has the biggest hill to climb, with roughly 38 percent of its 266 bridges given a state condition rating of less than 5.00 New York Department of Transportations threshold for a deficient bridge, a Times Union analysis of state bridge ratings shows. The bridges are owned by various entities, from local municipalities to the state and railroads, with each responsible for maintenance and rehab. The Federal Highway Administration has its own rating system, which differs from New York's. State Department of Transportation officials say the federal system doesnt meet contemporary standards. The federal system marks fewer bridges as structurally deficient for all four counties compared to New Yorks standards. We compete with (other) municipalities and counties for federal funds. Its been difficult for Rensselaer County because were more of a rural county, said county deputy engineer Joseph Teliska. We dont have the high-volume traffic, the pedestrian networks and the bus routes that tend to provide those municipalities with an edge in terms of competing for those funds. Whether President Donald Trumps promised funding for infrastructure could help localities tackle crumbling infrastructure, however, is unclear. The funding seeks to stimulate at least $1.5 trillion in state, local and private investment, with about half of the $200 billion going toward an incentives program, which critics fear may wind up costing local governments more money. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer has called the plan a sham and is urging that recent federal tax cuts for corporations and the richest Americans be rolled back to help pay for long-overdue repairs. Schumer expressed concern over the plan possibly putting project control into private hands. State DOT officials support Schumers proposal, while also pointing to the efforts in New York that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has pushed, including $550 million to local governments for bridge projects through Bridge NY. For far too long, direct federal investment in infrastructure has not been a priority in Washington, said regional DOT spokesman Bryan Viggiani in an emailed statement. As a result, states are losing ground on the renewal and modernization of the transportation system. Congress needs to provide increased support for infrastructure to preserve New Yorks and the nations economic competitiveness. A recent analysis by the University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School anticipates that how funding is being administered through grants that are providing less money and are capped wont encourage states to spend more on infrastructure. Even if states are making that a priority, the type of grants the federal government is offering wouldnt cause them to increase more than they already wanted, said Kimberly Burham, managing director of legislation and special projects for the Penn Wharton Budget Model. If the grants were different and didnt have caps, that could induce states to spend more money. Some local governments try to stay on top of bridge repairs and replacements by being proactive and prioritizing projects. Albany County, where 27.7 percent of the bridges in the county are considered deficient by the states standard, doesnt own any bridges rated below 4. The majority are above 5, the Times Union analysis shows. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Albany County tends to program two to four bridge replacements, or superstructure replacements, every year in our capital plan, said Lisa Ramundo, the countys Department of Public Works commissioner. What we try to do is maintain our structures wishing we could do many more at a time. In neighboring Schenectady County, county officials are fortunate to have fewer bridges to maintain only 17, with just three rated below a 5. Local municipal leaders point to the Bridge NY grant program as a lifeline for funding culvert and bridge replacements and repairs. Federal funds also help communities fund infrastructure projects. Ramundo said they use a combination of a structures rating and how frequently its traveled to prioritize projects, with the lowest rated bridges typically rising to the top of the maintenance list. The county is slated to replace a culvert over Squirmer Creek in Rensselaerville, a structure that rates the lowest for the county at 4. It also will rehabilitate a bridge that crosses Black Creek on Weaver Road in Guilderland this year, which currently rates at 4.18. Albany County also invests money in maintenance work like regular sealing on newer roads to help prolong the life of the structure, Ramundo said. Were trying to get ahead of the curve so that we dont have to do full-depth replacements, she said. Smaller investments upfront can have longer term payoff. David Sweat, the convicted cop-killer who spent more than three weeks on the run following a 2015 prison break, was punished for breaking prison disciplinary rules during a visit from his girlfriend, The New York Post reported. Citing sources, the Post reported the incident occurred March 8 during a visit by Frances Malanik, 45, with Sweat, 37, who is serving a life sentence at the maximum-security prison in Attica. ALBANY Six former legislative staffers who have accused state lawmakers of misconduct are calling for the Legislature to postpone addressing workplace harassment until after the budget negotiation is completed. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has included in his executive budget proposal the creation of a uniform sexual harassment policy for government employees, and the Senate and Assembly have released their own versions of the legislation. The group of women which includes accusers of current Sen. Jeff Klein and ex-Assemblymen Vito Lopez and Micah Kellner are calling for the issue to be addressed during the legislative session rather than through the state's notoriously opaque budget process in order to ensure an open dialogue that includes the voices of stakeholders and experts. "Some of the bills currently under consideration by the Legislature cut back on the rights of workers, instead of increasing protections," they said in a statement, emailed Thursday to a select group of mostly female reporters. "Lawmakers should not rush through bills as part of the budget supposedly in the name of standing up for survivors thats not progress, its a pat on the back." The statement is signed by former Lopez aides Leah Hebert, Rita Pasarell and Tori Burhans Kelly; Kellner's former chief of staff, Eliyanna Kaiser, and his ex-administrative assistant, Danielle Bennett; and Erica Vladimer, who worked as an education policy analyst and counsel for the Independent Democratic Conference, which Klein leads. Lopez was forced out of office in 2013, when the probe by the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics found that he had harassed multiple female staffers with unwanted groping and sexual advances. (Lopez died the following year.) Kellner did not seek reelection in 2014 following his own sexual harassment scandal. Klein has asked JCOPE to investigate allegations he a forcible kissed incident that Vladimer alleges occurred in 2015. The Cuomo administration is also facing scrutiny for its handling of sexual harassment. A Times Union story last Sunday detailed how the governor's office failed to intervene on behalf of two female employees at state's Department of Criminal Justice Services who faced professional repercussions after testifying as witnesses in a sexual harassment case last year. An investigation by the state inspector general's office found that Brian J. Gestring, director of DCJS's Office of Forensic Science, threatened employees with violence and engaged in persistent sexual harassment, racism and ageism. A spokesman for Cuomo claimed they referred the matter to the Governor's Office of Employee Relations in December, but that agency lacks investigative authority and has done little to probe the DCJS case. The final budget negotiations occur during secretive, closed-door meetings between the governor and legislative leaders in this case, Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (R-Long Island) and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx), and Klein, leader of the breakaway Democrats. This year, Cuomo's office has signaled that Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Westchester), will be involved in some of the talks. Employment law experts say they have found significant problems with the executive and Senate sexual harassment bills; the New York arm of the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), a bar association comprised of employment attorneys, has asked its members to oppose the measures. "NELA NY is against the current Senate and Governor's bill in their present form and we urge them to pass meaningful legislation that advances protections for employees who are victims of unlawful discrimination," said Miriam Clark, president of NELA NY, in a statement. For example, the proposals seek to limit the definition of sexual harassment to "conduct of a sexual nature," excluding forms of gender-based harassment that often impact blue-collar women, such as stealing and ruining uniforms, according to employment attorney Kevin Mintzer. "By limiting sexual harassment to simply conduct that is sexually based, you are cutting out a whole lot of gender-related conduct that is presently illegal," said Mintzer, who represented Burhan Kelly and another aide, Chloe Rivera, in their lawsuit against Lopez, then-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and the Assembly. The case was settled in 2015, with the state shelling out $545,000, and Lopez agreeing to pay the women an additional $35,000. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. The Assembly proposal only contains the limiting definition in a section of their bill that seeks to extend protections to independent contractors and subcontractors. The governor's and Senate's bills also bar the state from paying for sexual harassment judgments and settlements, which Mitzer said means the victim will be without financial recourse if a state employee is found guilty but does not have the means to pay. The Assembly bill enables the state to pay the victim, and then recoup reimbursement from the harasser. Additionally, none of the proposed bills address the "severe or pervasive" standard, which allows substantial amounts of sexual harassment to go unremedied. Also, the bills do not take action deal with other types of workplace harassment, such as harassment based on race or national origin, according to Mintzer. The Senate legislation, sponsored by Senator Cathy Young (R-Chautauqua), overwhelmingly passed the Senate last week, 56-2. Young defended the Senate's proposal in an interview Wednesday with WCNY's Susan Arbetter in which the lawmaker noted that the package does ban secret settlements, something which is not included in the Assembly proposal. Regarding the definition, Young acknowledged that they do "need a little bit of work. I am very, very open to going back to the (federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) definition," which includes gender-based conduct. Cuomo's office said that none of the women who signed the statement have reached out to the administration, and that the governor's staff have dedicated five months to soliciting feedback from a wide variety of stakeholders, including NELA. The Assembly's proposal also recommends an independent arbitrator, and the Senate proposal does not. Rather, it recommends that JCOPE be empowered to investigate charges of misconduct. Six out of JCOPE's 14 members and the board's chairman are appointed by the governor, while the others are chosen by leaders of the Legislature's majority and minority conferences. The group of ex-staffers say they will issue their own set of recommendations in the coming weeks. ALBANY Following a union vote against him, the president of the State University of New York school that trains forest rangers and environmental conservation officers as well as scientists and researchers has said hell be stepping down at the end of June. Quentin Wheeler, who has a background in entomology and species research, has been at the helm of SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry since 2014. But he had been clashing with the schools faculty over a variety of issues for some time. Things came to a head in an unusually public fashion this week, with the union representing professors and others at the school saying they welcome Wheelers departure. UUP welcomes the decision by SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry President Quentin D. Wheeler to resign, effective June 30, Frederick Kowal, president of United University Professions, said in a prepared statement. As the union that represents SUNY ESF faculty and staff, we believe Dr. Wheelers departure is an important step toward improving morale and restoring calm at this fine school. Kowal added that 85 percent of those who voted in a recent UUP ballot said they didnt believe Wheeler should stay. Wheeler, in a statement, though, said he had been trying to put new initiatives in place. Because I am the face of the change represented by those initiatives, too much attention is being diverted from the necessary work of the College by my continued presence, he said in a statement. Battles between university presidents and their faculties arent uncommon, especially as schools face continuing financial challenges. At the College of St. Rose in Albany, for instance, faculty members in 2016 cast a vote of no confidence over restructuring that President Carolyn J. Stefanco has done to reduce their deficit. And at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, students in late 2017 marched in protest against President Shirley Ann Jacksons move to take control of the schools student union, which coordinates a variety of clubs and activities. But the majority of boards in those schools have stood behind their leaders. SUNY schools operate under a different dynamic, though. The unionized faculty is affiliated with the politically powerful New York State United Teachers, which has a lot of sway in the state Legislature through its campaign giving and get-out-the-vote capabilities. And SUNY has a central administration to which people can direct complaints, essentially bypassing their local boards. They have other places to go, one longtime, unaffiliated college expert said of the SUNY faculty. The unions are powerful. And youve got upper management, in the form of SUNYs central office and ultimately the lawmakers and governors office. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Tensions at SUNY-ESF, which is on the Syracuse University campus, peaked in January when Wheeler said he removed three department chairs although their terms were supposed to run into August, said Donald Leopold, a biology professor who had chaired the Department of Environmental & Forestry Biology. More and more things just kept coming to a head, said Leopold, who said faculty had also grown dismayed at the growth of the schools highly-paid administrative staff under Quinn. Even some of those administrators were disenchanted after they were told they needed to sing loyalty oaths, said Leopold. Amid that background were plans to double the schools 2,100 enrollment. Faculty had little reassurance that the school would hire more tenure-track people to keep up with that growth, rather than hiring low-cost adjuncts who often are graduate students. If youre going to double enrollment to make the finances of the campuses more solid you have to change the faculty-to-student ratio, said chemistry professor Kelley Donaghy. SUNY ESF enjoys a low faculty-to-student ratio, which Donaghy believes is a selling point for the school. Getting more paying students while bringing in more adjuncts rather than full-time professors has been a trend for some time in higher education, noted Donaghy. Doubling is huge for us, she said. The schools website says they have a 13:1 student-to-faculty ratio and nearly half the classes have fewer than 20 students. Wheeler was previously a top administrator at Arizona State University. rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU Charles P. Lazarus, who founded Toys R Us, the toy store chain that for three decades captured the hearts of American consumers but that eventually faded and succumbed to bankruptcy, has died at 94. The company confirmed his death in a statement on Thursday afternoon but gave no other details. Lazarus' death comes one week after Toys R Us announced that it would start liquidating its stores in the United States. Loaded down by debt and unable to attract new investment, the chain could no longer compete with more nimble toy sellers like Amazon and Walmart, and in September it filed for bankruptcy. In the months since, company executives were unable to convince lenders that they had a viable plan to turn around the flagging business, and a dismal holiday sales season signaled that Toys R Us was nearing the end. The closings announced last week could result in more than 30,000 employees' losing their jobs. It was a painful denouement for a company that Lazarus founded 70 years ago in Washington, D.C., and that grew into a global toy seller with thousands of stores in locations stretching from the United Kingdom to Asia. An aggressive entrepreneur, Lazarus steered his company through decades of growth and several years of financial turmoil, including a previous bankruptcy. The company's ultimate success came down to Lazarus' ability to master a basic question: What do children want to play with? "When you look at what the creativity of the toy market is, you have to have imagination, you have to think like a child," he told a documentary filmmaker in a 2016 interview. Lazarus opened his first store, Children's Bargain Town, which sold furniture, in 1948, seeking to cash in on the post-World War II baby boom. Within a few years, he began selling toys along with cribs and strollers. In toys, Lazarus discovered a more lucrative business: Because toys and stuffed animals quickly fell out of favor with children, parents had to make frequent trips to the store to keep up with the latest fads. He opened his first store dedicated exclusively to toys in 1957 and called it Toys R Us (though he turned the R around to face the other way to make it look like a child had written it). The company went on to open up cavernous big-box stores across the American suburbs, dominating toys sales with deep discounts and a huge selection, and squeezing out smaller toy shops. Along the way Lazarus' company endeared itself to generations of children, with a lovable mascot in Geoffrey the Giraffe and a hummable jingle "I don't want to grow up, I'm a Toys R Us kid." Toys R Us became a retailing powerhouse internationally with stores in Spain, Canada and Singapore. President George H.W. Bush joined Lazarus for the opening of the company's first store in Japan in 1992. "He was a pioneer in big box movement," said Gerald Storch, who was chief executive of Toys R Us from 2006 to 2013. "His business concept was as innovative as e-commerce is today." Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Storch said he regularly reminded his staff of the founder's key business principles: "Having more toys than anyone else, having great prices and being in stock when no one else is in stock." Born on Oct. 4, 1923, in Washington and raised there, Lazarus was inspired to open his own retail business after helping his father run a bicycle shop. He decided to go into baby furniture after watching servicemen return from World War II, get married and start having children. Toys, he learned, can be a more fickle business. "If you come to us to buy a toy, nobody makes you buy a toy," he told the documentary filmmaker. "Although over the years, I have taught children to say 'I need, rather than I want it.'" His understanding of a child's mindset helped him amass a considerable fortune; he owned a Fifth Avenue duplex in Manhattan that he sold for $21 million in 2013. Lazarus stepped down as chief executive and chairman in March 1994. But he remained involved in the company as chairman emeritus, making a visit to the Toys R Us headquarters in Wayne, New Jersey, as recently as last year. His family provided no immediate information on survivors. By the early 2000s, Toys R Us' business model was under pressure, and the company was purchased by a group of private equity investors in a leveraged buyout in 2005. The new owners loaded the company with $5 billion in debt, a burden it was never able to overcome. "There have been many sad moments for Toys R Us in recent weeks, and none more heartbreaking than today's news about the passing of our beloved founder, Charles Lazarus," Toys R Us said in its statement Thursday afternoon. "We will forever be grateful for his positive energy, passion for the customer and love for children everywhere." While Cynthia Nixon's announcement that she was launching a Democratic primary against Gov. Andrew Cuomo gained worldwide attention this week, she's not the only insurgent taking on his administration this year. Last month, New York City Councilman Jumaane Williams launched his own candidacy for lieutenant governor the position second in line to the governorship that's currently held by Kathy Hochul, a former Western New York congresswoman who was Cuomo's 2014 running mate. In light of Nixon's announcement this week, some political insiders are raising a question: Would it make sense for Nixon, the "Sex and the City" actress and long-time activist, and Williams, himself a highly outspoken liberal, to team up against Cuomo and Hochul? Unlike presidential elections where a president and vice-president are on the same ticket, in New York, the governor and lieutenant governor run for office separately. So Nixon's under no obligation to run any race but her own. Nor is Williams. But some political observers say Williams, who is black, could help Nixon, who is white, reach voters in minority communities in New York City communities and elsewhere that have been electoral bulwarks for Cuomo. One possible complication is that Wiliams has had evolving views on social issues that have hurt political ambitions in the past, although Williams said in an interview this week that they are now entirely in-line with Nixon's. "She knows my stances on those issues and I don't know why there would be any problem," Williams said. "I support marriage equality and safe and legal abortion." Williams said that his campaign staff has had contact with Nixon's operation, but that he had not had a discussion with her about joining forces. "I'm still focused on my candidacy for lieutenant governor," Williams said, noting that it was still early in the election season. When Nixon declared her candidacy, Williams tweeted that Cuomo had "earned a primary" and called Nixon another "great" candidate in the race. Williams said that he would not be voting for Cuomo, who has only paid "lip service" on issues from housing to education, he told the Times Union, but he has not endorsed anyone else. Asked about the possibility of teaming up with Williams, a spokeswoman for Nixon said she was focusing on "introducing herself to voters first" and not yet on other races. When Cuomo first ran for re-election in 2014, he faced Zephyr Teachout, a little-known academic who nonetheless managed to win 34 percent of the Democratic primary vote. Teachout did well upstate, but Cuomo won convincingly among minority voters in New York City. Political observers note that in Democratic primaries, white progressives in the mold of Nixon do not always do best among minority voters a prime example being the 2016 Democratic primary between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. If the usually little-noticed lieutenant governor race gets any attention, Williams has a record that could appeal to minority voters. During his more than eight years on the New York City Council, Williams has built a significant legislative record on issues such as stop-and-frisk, racial profiling, combatting gun violence and tenant protections. An affordable housing advocate before his election, Williams has an activist reputation and has been arrested numerous times during peaceful demonstrations, including a recent protest against the detention of an immigrant rights activist. "Jumaane is a wild and crazy guy, and I think that's what makes him real," said Michael McKee, the treasurer of Tenants PAC, a housing rights group. "How many elected officials put themselves on the line? How many times during his eight years on the City Council has he been arrested? Not many elected officials have the guts to do that." Tenants PAC endorsed Williams earlier this week and gave him a $1,000 campaign contribution. Williams also has the backing of the activist group People for Bernie and several Brooklyn and upstate elected officials. Asked if the liberal Working Families Party might back Williams, who the party has supported in past elections, state director Bill Lipton said only, "Our 232 members of the state committee have an important decision to make. Stay tuned!" In 2013 and again in 2017, Williams launched bids for New York City Council speaker. Each time, questions about whether he personally held socially conservative views hurt his bids. A Politico New York article last year stated that while he supported socially liberal positions as a matter of public policy, Williams personally believed marriage should be between a man and a woman, and that he felt expectant fathers were too often left out of the conversation when it comes to the issue of abortion. His positions were described as rooted in religious beliefs and his own personal experience with a pregnancy that was terminated without his consultation. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. In a subsequent letter last year to his City Council colleagues, Williams wrote that his positions had been mischaracterized, and that he unequivocally supports gay marriage and abortion rights. "Like many of us, I'm sure, I have views and beliefs which have developed and progressed throughout a lifetime of experiences, conversations and engagement with people all across our city," he wrote. "Constant among them is the promotion of equality, equity, and access to healthcare for all New Yorkers, a fundamental principle for which I've long worked and on which I would never relent or compromise." Williams also abstained from voting on a bill in 2014 that allowed transgender people to change their sex on their birth certificate, saying he had not sufficiently researched the bill. Some in the LGBTQ community are newly open to supporting Williams. Earlier this week, Allen Roskoff, a prominent gay rights activist who is president of the Jim Owles Liberal DemocraticClub, met with Williams and came away convinced that Williams truly had evolved. Roskoff said Williams stands a good chance of getting his club's endorsement when it picks candidates in June, despite the fact that Cuomo in 2011 pushed through the nation's first same-sex marriage law. "Because he's so far left on every other issue, he has a very good shot of being embraced by the left," Roskoff said. Some political observers question the degree to which Williams could help Nixon make inroads in minority communities, including among African-Americans, whose political leadership in New York City is likely to largely side with Cuomo in 2018. Williams will face challenges fundraising. And his record pushing police accountability issues could prove to be a liability among some of the electorate. There's also the outside chance that Williams could win his primary for lieutenant governor, while Cuomo wins reelection. That would put two lawmakers in opposition at the top of state government a situation that Gov. Mario Cuomo faced when Cuomo won the Democratic primary for governor in 1982, but his running mate Carl McCall lost the lieutenant governor nomination to Alfred DelBello. Williams said he wanted to redefine the job of lieutenant governor. Instead of spending his days at ribbon-cuttings and providing unwavering promotion of the governor's agenda in the model of Hochul, Williams said he would make it similar to New York City public advocate, a role that has often brought its officials into conflict with the New York City mayor. Williams describes himself as someone who would be the "peoples' lieutenant governor, not the governor's lieutenant governor." He noted the scandals that had emerged from the recently-finished trial of former top Cuomo aide Joe Percoco as an instance where independent oversight had been needed. "If I was there if the office was used differently how much of his behavior would have been caught earlier?" Williams said. March 5th 2018 proved to be a very important day for Cashel Community School TY French students as we welcomed back past pupil Sinead Magner to facilitate a workshop on Franglais the rising trend of the use of English within the French language. It was a great honour for the school to have Sinead to facilitate this workshop as she has excelled in her study of French since leaving the school in 2013. Her accomplishments began in her undergraduate studies in Maynooth when she was awarded several prizes for her studies in French namely Maynooth University Prize for Best final year dissertation, French government Medal and NUI prize for Proficiency in French for her final year work and the Dr. H.H. Stewart Literary Prize in French. Her studies of English and French included a year attending university in France. At present Sinead is completing an LLM in Gender, Conflict and Human Rights in Ulster University. Whilst in Cashel Community School Sinead was taught by Ms Lisa Williams. Her workshop focused on the use of Franglais and how the French are now borrowing words from social media and fashion in English and integrating them into modern day French. The TY students from Ms Barry and Ms Tierneys classes were thrilled to guess what these words meant and to discover how to use them correctly and in context. Throughout her workshop Sinead actively promoted the study of and the importance of language learning in secondary school and at third level. The general consensus at the end of the presentation was Je Like! The Society of St Vincent de Paul Mid-West hosted their second Young SVP Day in Thomond Park last Wednesday. Young SVP is a youth development programme which aims to provide opportunities for young people to engage in social action in their own communities, encouraging personal and social development. It allows students to learn new skills, develop their understanding of social justice, give back to their community and gain experience of youth-led social action. The programmed was first introduced in the Region last school year, and it has already doubled in size with more than 800 students across Limerick, Clare, Tipperary and Offaly taking part. This was a fantastic opportunity to acknowledge all the young people in our communities who selflessly give of their time and talents to help others through the Young SVP programme. During the day, the young volunteers not only inspired each other, but also learned and shared advice on how to plan their activities and ensure they have impact. Each group had a stand where they interacted with others, and some groups were also asked to present one of their projects on stage, to share tips & tricks with others who might never have done such a project. We have much to be proud of in Co.Tipperary, as we had six groups representing all parts of our county. The group from Nenagh College organised a clothes drive in aid of SVP charity shop, Vincents. They have also been running a paired reading programme with the local primary school where they meet students and read together every Friday afternoon. Colaiste Mhuire Co-Ed from Thurles had a fantastic combination of an educational and direct-aid project. They also decided to support Vincents, and to raise awareness in the school and encourage their fellow students to support their cause, they prepared and delivered classes on SVP and social justice. Presentation Secondary School from Ballingarry have been hard at work all year, organising the Giving Tree to provide Christmas presents to their community. They also wanted to reach out to the elderly and organised a tea and coffee morning in their school which was a huge success. St Annes Secondary School from Tipperary Town started their conference a few months ago and have been hard at work since. In a short space of time they organised a bake sale and are now very busy working on their campaign and donation. They are focusing on the cost of education, wishing to raise awareness of the costs parents have when sending children to school, and also to support someone in their pursuit of education by donating to SVP. Presentation Secondary School from Clonmel has been running a food appeal and supporting SVP for many years. Last year they started a conference which continued strong this year working on an education project about Womens rights. They did research on the topic and prepared a lecture and workshop for students in their school. During the Young SVP Day, they were asked to present this project on stage and give advice to others who might want to do something similar. CBS Highschool Clonmel continued with their traditional Christmas food appeal, and also had a project focused on education. Their project was around addiction and support services that exist in their community. After doing their research they delivered classes for students in their school. This year the Loreto Secondary School Clonmel continued strong with their conference. During the year theyve been raising awareness of SVP and they organised a bake-sale the proceeds of which will be donated to SVP. During the Youth Day they engaged with other students encouraging them to take part in karaoke organised at their display stand. During the day the students were also joined by SVP members who were impressed and inspired by all the work that has been done already. As the event was organised mid-year, there is still plenty of time for all groups to build on existing or work on new projects, as well as for other groups to come on board if they are interested. For more information on the Young SVP Programme, please contact our Youth Development Officer Ivana Kolic on 085 253 9696 or ivana.kolic@svp.ie. Independent TD Mattie McGrath has appealed to the Minister for Health, Simon Harris, and the HSE to definitively commit to funding the remainder of the works that are required at St Theresas Hospital, Clogheen. Deputy McGrath was speaking after he raised the matter during the Order of Business in the Dail on Thursday: Last September Minister Harris visited St Theresas where he saw for himself the amazing work that is being done and the potential the facility has to expand its services to the community. He promised then that he would go back to the HSE and make the case for final funding for the extension works, new bedrooms, staff accommodation etc. To date, however, we have had no definitive commitment that the urgent funding that is required will be provided. It is being entirely left to massive fundraising efforts such as those organised by the Friends of St Theresas Hospital, Clogheen Hospice Suite Construction Fund (CHSCF) and Boston Scientific. While these efforts are truly heroic, it is way past time that the HSE sanctioned the additional funding that will draw the project to a successful conclusion. It is absolutely staggering to me, that the government of which minister Harris is a key member, can find 5 million to fund a spin unit for the Taoiseach, but it cannot find the resources necessary for an amazing hospital like St Theresas that has dedicated staff who work tirelessly for the community they serve. The HSE, the Minister, and indeed the government itself must get its priorities in line and work to fund extensions like those at Clogheen and stop the foot-dragging. At present, all we are seeing is a penny wise, but pound foolish approach from the HSE given the savings this facility could ultimately provide by becoming a vital link in our community healthcare infrastructure, concluded Deputy McGrath. A Garda convicted of two assaults outside Nenagh in 2016 has had his appeal against his conviction adjourned to next July by Nenagh Circuit Court. Brian Hanrahan of Ballintotty, Nenagh, was convicted earlier in early 2017 of two offences of assault causing harm to Aisling King and Emer Kelly at Lisboney on March 5 / 6, 2016. The father-of-two had denied the charges, which involved punching and kicking one woman and hitting the other victim following a row over a 15 fee agreed between the parties to bring Mr Hanrahan home after a night out socialising. Judge Elizabeth MacGrath had sentenced Mr Hanrahan to six months in prison, suspended for two years, for the assault on Ms Kelly and a concurrent three-month sentence, suspended for a year, for the assault on Ms King. The court had heard that Mr Hanrahan had punched Ms Kelly in the face, leaving her in need of dental treatment, and that he had struck Ms King in the face when she came to her friend's aid. Judge MacGrath had set recognizance in Mr Hanrahan's own bond of 1,000 in the event of an appeal. That appeal was listed before Judge Thomas Teehan at Nenagh Circuit Court for this Thursday, but was adjourned to July 26, 2018. The death occurred on 1st February, after a short illness, of Betty Wolahan (nee Bourke) at her residence, Richmond, Templemore. Betty was born in Kilmullen, a townland near Newtownmountkennedy, Co Wicklow on 5 December 1919. Betty grew up on a mixed farm which was typical of its time. She and her sister and three brothers helped on the farm which gave her a great love of nature and country life which she retained throughout her life. She attended the local national school in the village of Newcastle about two miles from her home taking a short cut through the fields whenever possible. She attended secondary school at Loreto Convent, Bray and subsequently trained as a nurse in the Mater Hospital, Dublin. At a later stage she was appointed as a public health nurse in Co Wicklow. She took great pride and enjoyment in her work and was very dedicated to the nursing profession. When Betty was born the First World War had just ended the previous year. At that time the post boxes were painted red and Ireland was a totally different country. It was a turbulent time but after the War of Independence and the tragedy of the Civil War the institutions of the new state eventually bedded down. Betty often related to her family and friends many stories from her youth. She recalled milking cows on the family farm along with her sister and making butter for use in their home and for sale in the local village. She recalled life without electricity; an era when cars were the privilege of the very wealthy and when farming fields were ploughed with horse-drawn ploughs and steam-powered threshing engines harvested the oats and barley. She remembered the Economic War when the prices for farm products declined steeply causing hardship but a spirit of self-reliance was fostered amongst the people with her own father being innovative by generating electricity and receiving radio signals and her brother rigging up an early version of a radio powered by batteries. She recalled vividly the depressing years of World War 2 and the scarcity of essential foodstuff, clothes and fuel; the ration books supplied to each family and the fear prevailing among the people along the east coast in particular of further German bombings. In 1952 she married her husband Jack Wolahan, a native of nearby Wicklow town. Jack was a veterinary surgeon and shortly after their marriage he took up a position managing the newly- established South Eastern Cattle Breeding station at Dovea, Thurles which necessitated them moving to Tipperary. Initially they lived in rented accommodation in Whitefield, Loughmore and later they moved to their new home in Richmond, Templemore where she lived until the day she died. Over the years she made many friends in Templemore. She was a founder member of the local ICA and Bridge Club. She had wonderful bridge partners who in her later years were very good to her in accompanying her to and from the Monday night bridge sessions. On Sunday nights she enjoyed her games of whist in the McCauley Centre. She followed the sport of kings namely horse racing and was never afraid to make a small wager. She remembered and could recite verses of poetry she had learned at school right up to her passing, with Shakespeare a particular favourite. She had great love and admiration for literature and was quoting extracts from Charles Dickens 'A Christmas Carol' shortly before her death. She lived a long, healthy and fulfilled life and could be seen driving around the roads of Templemore and Thurles in her car until her mid-nineties. Betty was reputed to be the oldest person in Templemore at the time of her death. She was predeceased by her husband Jack, who died in 1989, and by her brother Larry and sister Kathleen. Since her passing her brother Jimmy has also passed away. She is survived by three sons Larry, Kevin and Eoin and three daughters Carmel Ruigrok, Elizabeth and Lorraine Cartwright, her brother Vestie, sisters in-law, sons in-law, daughters in-law, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, relatives and many friends. Bettys funeral Mass was celebrated in the church of the Sacred Heart, Templemore on the 5th February. The chief celebrant was Very Rev Conor Hayes PP. Betty was laid to rest alongside her husband Jack in Rathnew Cemetery in her native Wicklow. May her gentle soul Rest in Peace. Talented talkers from the Ursuline Secondary School, Thurles took the junior trophy at the All-Ireland Final of Comortas an Phiarsaigh 2018, held in the Lucan Spa Hotel, Dublin on Wednesday last. The event started with the junior final, with plenty of debate on the timely topic Bheadh naire ar Naomh Padraig faoin tsli ina ndeantar 17 Marta a cheiliuradh! (St. Patrick would be ashamed at the way the 17th March is celebrated). Teams from Sandford Park School, Ranelagh, Dublin and Scoil Mhuire, Trim, Co. Meath, spoke in favour of the motion, while teams from St. Geralds College, Castlebar Co. Mayo along with the Ursuline Secondary School, Thurles, Co. Tipperary opposed it. The large audience in attendance were won over by the persuasive arguments of the Thurles team, Zoe Ni Bhracain, Rachel Ni Mhaidin and Jennifer Ni Mhurchu, who jumped for joy when they were declared the winners. Regular participants in the competition of the years, this was the first time a team from the school has gone all the way to the top. Teachers Aine de Barra and Beartla O Dochartaigh, who helped and guided the team on their journey through the preliminary rounds all the way to their final victory, were justifiably delighted with their students great achievement. PIC: The Ursuline Secondary School, Thurles, team - Zoe Ni Bhracain, Rachel Ni Mhaidin and Jennifer Ni Mhurchu celebrate their win at the All-Ireland Final of the Gael Linn national debating competition, Comortas an Phiarsaigh 2018, with teacher Aine de Barra (second from right), and guest speaker at the event, author Anna Heusaff. Later on in the day, another team from Tipp, St. Annes Secondary School, Tipperary Town, contested the senior debate with teams once more from Sandford Park School and St. Geralds College, Castlebar, along with De La Salle College, Dundalk. The motion up for discussion was Ta morchuiseanna gearain ag mna na tire seo (26 contae)! (The women of this country 26 counties have good reason to complain ! The standard was excellent,with plenty of point-scoring and rebuttal throughout. The adjudicators, Mairin Ui Mhuiri, Antoin Delap, Aine Ni Ghlinn, Feilim Mac Donnchadha and Colm O Neill, therefore, took some time before choosing the winners of the highest award for Irish debating! In the end, the St. Annes girls were pipped at the post by the Castlebar team but as the saying goes, Beidh la eile ag an bPaorach. PIC: The senior team from St. Annes Secondary School, Tipperary Town, Eve Ni Dhonnabhain, Ciara de Burca, Ellie Ni Dhonnchu, along with teachers Maire Ni Aodha and Niamh Ni Riain ( on right ), were presented with special merit awards at the All-Ireland Final of the Gael Linn national debating competition, Comortas an Phiarsaigh 2018, by Sean O Ceallaigh, Gael Linn, and guest speaker at the event, author Anna Heusaff ( on left ) Guest chairperson for the event, author Anna Heusaff, recalled her own debating days and praised the skills displayed by the young orators. She expressed great interest in the views and opinions of all the participants on the topics deliberated on. The winning teams, in both the junior and senior sections of the competition, were presented with a perpetual trophy and a cheque for 1,000, and all the other participating teams received consolation prizes of 250 each. Each speaker who took part in the debating final also received a part Gaeltacht scholarship to a Gael Linn Summer College of their choice. Antoine O Coileain, CEO, Gael Linn, thanked the teachers who inspire their students to take part in the competition year on year and said: The Gael Linn debates are very popular with schools because they give students the opportunity to research topics and to present their case in public. The competition cultivates a growing network of young Irish speakers. We are delighted that, in Gael Linns 65th anniversary year, Comortas an Phiarsaigh is going from strength to strength. This year is also Bliain na Gaeilge and the debate participants show that we can look forward to the future with hope and confidence. Past participants in Gael Linn debating competitions down through the years include a host of high profile journalists and broadcasters such as Claire Byrne, Marian Finucane, Mary Kennedy, Evanne Ni Chuilinn and Harry McGee. Many have credited the Gael Linn debates with fostering their love of Irish and with giving them confidence in public speaking. Apple may be working on an iPhone that's dramatically different from what we're used to today. Wamsi Mohan, an analyst for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, told investors that a foldable device is in the works, CNBC reports. "We expect the iPhones this fall to be largely unchanged for the OLED versions, although size changes have proved to be a catalyst in the past," Mohan wrote. "Our checks also suggest that Apple is working with suppliers on a foldable phone (that potentially could double up as a tablet) for launch in 2020." Mohan reportedly wrote the note following meetings with several of Apple's suppliers in Asia. This isn't the first we've heard of a rumored folding iPhone, either. Back in October, a report pegging the same 2020 release came from a South Korean publication. It claimed that Apple was working with LG on the foldable screen technology. MORE: The Galaxy S9 and iPhone X Battle to a Bloody TKO There are also rumors that other companies are trying to do something similar. Samsung has been public about its ambitions, and says that we'll see a folding Galaxy X this year. That would beat the folding iPhone to market by two years. However, a recent report from Tech Radar says that the Galaxy X could see a delay. Qualcomm's product manager of display technology told the publication that display durability is a key obstable and that today's components "are not flexible enough." The Russian-American psychologist at the center of the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal had a much closer relationship with the social network than recent Facebook statements would imply, including working with Facebook researchers on a study that involved 57 billion friendships formed on Facebook in 2011. (Image credit: Twinsterphoto/Shutterstock) "In 2015, we learned that a psychology professor at the University of Cambridge named Dr. Aleksandr Kogan lied to us," Facebook said in its first statement regarding the breaking scandal a week ago (March 16). "By passing information on to a third party ... he violated our platform policies." But Kogan was no stranger to Facebook, and some of its own research scientists worked with him, the Washington Post discovered. MORE: The Quick and Dirty Facts About Facebook and Cambridge Analytica In 2015, Kogan using his married surname of "Spectre" co-authored a research paper on the correlation between social class and friendships across international borders. Two of Kogan's co-authors were Facebook staffers; the others were affiliated with U.C. Berkeley, Harvard and Cambridge, where Kogan holds a position as a research associate. "Facebook provided data on every friendship formed in 2011 in every country in the world at the national aggregate level," the paper stated. "These data set included a total of 57,457,192,520 friendships." Facebook didn't grant Kogan and his associates full access to all the accounts involved, but rather "only the macro-level, national sums." The research and the resulting paper, entitled "On wealth and the diversity of friendships: High social class people around the world have fewer international friends," were funded by Britain's Economic and Social Research Council and Saint Petersburg State University in Russia. Kogan reportedly holds an academic position in Saint Petersburg, although that affiliation is not listed on his biographical page on the University of Cambridge website. Chrisopher Wylie, the former Cambridge Analytica contractor who told The New York Times and The Observer about Cambridge Analytica's use of Facebook data, said Kogan frequently traveled to Russia. The study is not believed to be directly connected to the survey app that Kogan created in 2013 or 2014 for his company, Global Science Research. Data scraped by that app from Facebook was allegedly later sold to Cambridge Analytica, the American company set up to work on U.S. political campaigns. But some of the methods used to collect the data were the same. Both GSR and the friendship study used Amazon's Mechanical Turk piecemeal-work program to pay Facebook users $1 or $2 to take a short survey that then gathered data about their Facebook friends. That kind of research was the first phase of the friendship study; the data provided by Facebook about the 57 billion friendships was part of the second phase. The Washington Post noted that the inclusion of Facebook researchers in the study may have been mandatory. In order to get access to huge amounts of Facebook data, a social psychologist told the newspaper, researchers are required to partner with Facebook directly. It's not clear why Kogan's data-scraping app that resulted in the Cambridge Analytica data set was not subject to similar scrutiny. For his part, Kogan says that everything he did concerning Facebook was above board, and that other parties in the scandal are using him to deflect blame away from themselves. "My view is that I'm being basically used as a scapegoat by both Facebook and Cambridge Analytica," he told BBC Radio 4 earlier this week. "We thought we were doing something that was really normal. We were assured by Cambridge Analytica that everything was perfectly legal and within the terms of service." According to Bloomberg News, Kogan, aka Spectre, is in his early 30s, was born in the former Soviet republic of Moldova, immigrated to the United States as a child, and holds dual Russian and American citizenship. He apparently now lives in the San Francisco area, and at one point he and his wife made up their own surname of "Spectre," which he still sometimes uses. Kogan has quite a few international friendships himself: His Cambridge biography says he attended U.C. Berkeley as an undergraduate, got his doctorate at the University of Hong Kong, did post-doctoral work at the University of Toronto and now is at Cambridge. Another day, another piece of news about a new crossover. This time, Jeep takes its turn in the spotlight with plans to launch a new model that would sit below the Renegade, making it Jeeps new entry-level offering. Word of this development comes from Jeep CEO Mike Manley, who admitted that the prospect of an even smaller car than the Renegade is an appealing proposition, especially in markets like Europe and Latin America. If a new baby Jeep were to arrive, it would only be sold in specific markets, specifically Europe and Latin America. Jeep CEO Mike Manley wasnt coy or evasive about it. When asked about Jeeps plans, Manley gave as direct an answer as he could give. A smaller car than the Renegade is very interesting to us, and we are actively looking at the project now, he said. If youre concerned about Jeep flooding the market with SUVs, dont be. Manley explained that if a new baby Jeep were to arrive, it would only be sold in specific markets, specifically Europe and Latin America. Weve seen the general move in Europe towards smaller SUVs, and there could also be a market in Latin America, he noted. The observation has weight to it because crossovers have become the rage in those two markets. Having an entry-level Jeep in those places could help bolster Jeeps brand in places where it doesnt hold as big of a market sway as it does in the U.S. and China. Speaking of which, if Jeep decides to give the thumbs-up on the project, dont expect it to be sold in China, regardless of how big the crossover and SUV market is there. Apparently, a baby Jeep would hold a distinct disadvantage because the demand for crossovers and small SUVs in the country are focused more on local brands and manufacturers that offer strong value and cheaper costs. Previous reports also indicated that a baby Jeep to sit below the Wrangler is out of the question in the U.S. The new entry-level Jeep will more than likely use the same architecture that is used in the next-generation Fiat Panda Regardless of where it ends up, the new entry-level Jeep will more than likely use the same architecture that is used in the next-generation Fiat Panda. Should that be the case, the most likely scenario would see Jeep develop its own body and interior and place on top of the same running gear that the Panda has. As little as we know now, everything will come to light on June 1, 2018. Thats when FCA chief Sergio Marchionne will announce the five-year plans for each of FCAs brands, including Jeep. Who knows, we might even hear the man talk about the next-generation Patriot. References Read our full speculative review on the 2019 Jeep C-Segment CUV. Read our full review on the 2019 Jeep Renegade. Read more Jeep news. Treehugger and our third-party partners use cookies and process personal data like unique identifiers based on your consent to store and/or access information on a device, display personalized ads and for content measurement, audience insight, and product development. To change or withdraw your consent choices for Treehugger.com, including your right to object where legitimate interest is used, click below. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. List of Partners (vendors) The Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago will not be going to court to try to set aside the results of an arbitration with A&V Oil and Gas. Do you have a news tip? Want to share good news story, or do you have information that should see the light of day? Then we want to hear from you. More here Is Gary Griffith the local version of Donald Trump? I get that impression since his ramblings are so similar to Donald Trump where, in this case, he seems to feel he owns the position of Commissioner of Police ... YES! Yes you should and not just the cleaning staff but anyone who helps make your life easier while you're enjoying the beaches, relaxing poolside and having a great time drinking. First, I'm half Dominican and half Puerto Rican and spent many Summers as a kid running around the island. Man, you don't know what poor is, until you've been to some shanty little towns around DR. Remember those Sally Struthers commercials? Yeah, like that! I've seen poor by walking around in what is basically a Sally commercial, looking for monthly donations/ sponsoring a child. Poor, without shoes, ripped shirts and pants that are falling off. That's how a vast amount of the island is. That being said, due to my own personal experience, I sort of go above and beyond while vacationing back on the motherland. First, if you go to an all inclusive and think that tips are included, you're not going to have a great time. You'll get the bare minimum service that is provided BUT when you start to tip, you'll be SHOCKED at how incredible your experience will actually turn out. I've been blessed with having a successful business throughout the years and while on vacation, I share that blessing with those I come across. You don't know how amazing it feels to walk into the breakfast area where staffers are virtually fighting for you to sit at their area, so they can serve you like the King and Queen you'd like to be and feel. Just so you know, I show up and immediately convert $1,000 USD into Dominican Pesos, JUST for tipping. That ranges from 43,000 to 49,000DRPeso. The average annual salary on the island is 32,000 so I'm basically giving away 40% over the annual salary just in tips, in seven days. Keep that in mind, when you wonder how your buying power can make someone's month or next three months. At my last visit, there were two guys that took to my liking. Meeting those two were worth their weight in gold. They gave me their numbers and if I ever needed anything, at any time of day, for absolutely anything, they were their OR they had a relative or close friend at the hotel tend to my requests. DON'T take advantage and don't tip at the end of your vacation, that's not right to do and you might as well be like others. Someone works for you, you tip them on the spot. Word will get around and you'll have more staff tending to you, while other guests complain about how the service isn't that great. Yeah, it's because they'd rather work with those who constantly give tips! In one instance, I recall someone complaining about their service, so I asked if they're tipping. She said no and I was shocked because she was Hispanic as well, but Puerto Rican, it's totally different, since PR uses USD and isn't as poor of an island. If you want to have an absolutely INCREDIBLE time, where you'll never want to ever leave, YOU MAKE SURE YOU TIP!! I've always tipped everyone!! I tip people if all they're doing is cutting down some palm trees or cutting the grass! I'm just that guy, I'm like the mayor after two days! Haha! I love that and if you go into your vacation to the Dominican Republic with that mindset, you'll be thrilled! Don't be cheap! I'm sorry, but if you're going on vacation to relax and enjoy the fruits of your hard work, then understand that in order for you to have a great experience, you HAVE TO tip throughout the day. I've even tipped staffers when I see that someone else didn't give them a tip!! "Hey, come here. Here's 300 peso for you. I noticed that you worked really hard for that family and they didn't leave you anything. I'll be here tomorrow, I'll look for you and I'll take care of you again." With a HUGE smile on their faces, I just made their day! And when they see me, they feel like things will be okay. This is how I look at life. If someone makes your life easier and they worked hard, so you can have a good time or they just made your life easier, then you tip them. Even in New York, I tip everyone!! EVERYONE! They deserve it! And not just 18% for you cheap Americans who don't understand that people in service work just as hard as you do!! Tip and tip big while you're in the Dominican Republic! I promise you that if you do, you'll have a completely different experience and you'll be shocked when others say the service isn't that great! Meanwhile, because you're known for tipping, the lines to certain restaurants all of a sudden don't exist. They DO NOT exist! You basically have full reign to the resort, like having a backstage pass to a huge concert! You're the CEO but only if you tip! It's the same in Jamaica too! OMG, Jamaica, I miss you and I'll be back! Look for Mike, "everyday is your birthday!" That guy literally goes around and saying, "Hey! I'm Mike, Everyday is your Birthday!! That guy, I tipped him $20 right out of the gate and that dude catered to me like I just gave him $10,000USD! He's at the RIU in Ocho Rios!! TIP, TIP, TIP! You deserve the service!! You're on vacation!! Just do it! And for those who don't eve tip, stop going on vacation. Keep your cheapskate self and family home!! Vacations are for ballers! Be a baller!!!! You'll thank me!! Ya tu sabes!! We will be travelling to New York from 5-15th of August. Out kids aged sixteen and eighteen will be travelling with is. Any suggestions om hotels or apartments? We would like a room that is not to small and are open to stay wherever on Manhattan. Where is the most fun to stay for teens? We would also like 2 queen beds. Preferably not more than 250$ pr night, if that is possible. Any suggestions? Thank you for your response. I live rather close to an LIRR station, but would have to pay for parking since there is no all-day parking for free. I would also have to pay for an LIRR ticket in addition to the subway fare since where I am going to is rather far from Penn Station. My time is not all that precious to spend an extra $25 a day to save 30 mins on my commute especially since I am already covering the cost of insurance, maintenance, etc. of my car and not getting paid all that much for the internship. I would prefer to drive to Queens (Forest Hills is definitely more reliable than Jamaica based on the posts above) and try to find parking there. It will add to my commute-time, which I expect to be the same as your dad's commute time if I find parking in a timely manner. As a backup, I need to find where there is paid parking close to the Forest Hills 71st station in case I cannot find a spot in ample time. This will be the second visit for my family of 5 - all adult children. Our last trip included Samara, Arenal and Manuel Antonio. We would like to experience different areas, but do want to include a few nights at the end at Samara and stay in the Tree Houses (we have them reserved). Flying in and out of Liberia, but could fly in or out of San Jose. Was looking at Tamarindo area to rent a villa for 7 nights as a base. Are there plenty of places we can do one day trips? We love relaxing on the beach but also like adventures. Last trip included canyoneering the waterfalls in Arenal and ziplining. Would consider that again if there is anything close enough. Any other beach type towns we should consider as home base that would be easier to get to activities other than the beach? Thanks for your help! Sansa flight? Check out online. Good value. They don't fly to Managua but do to Costa Esmerelda. The Costa Esmerelda airport is remote so you need to arrange onward transport before you arrive. If you are really on a budget there will be buses from Rivas- but you will need to get to Rivas. Why not stop off in Granada- nice colonial town and stuff to do. Accommodation in Granada would collect you from Costa Esmerelda for $60-100. On the other hand we hired a car from avis for six days 115 from Tola Rivas (not Rivas). Help!! Planning a last minute trip to Japan Help!! Planning a last minute trip to Japan I am joining my husband who is going to Japan on a business trip. Arrival 30 March Tokyo Exchange vouchers for JRpass. make reservation 31 March Tokyo 1 April Travel to Hakodate. Will we get seats as it is a busy season 2 April Hakodate get a tram pass and see the city. Husband has a business meeting. 3 April Travel to Tokyo 4 April Tokyo. Business Meeting 5 April Travel to Osaka 6 April Travel early morning to Kyoto (need to know what is feasible to see before catching the train for Takayama at 3pm) 7 April Spend the morning at Takayama before catching the train back to Tokyo via Toyama. Do I need to make changes to the second half of the trip. How does one travel within Kyoto. Prefer nature but open to an itinerary that can done for half a day. Thankyou It costs @14,000 yen between Tokyo and Kyoto oneway by Shinkansen by a Standard JR ticket, while the 7 day and the 14 day JR Pass cost 29,110 yen and 46,390 yen, respectively. Thus, even the 7 day JR Pass pays off if you round trip Kyoto from Tokyo and make a short day trip to somewhere using the JR train in addition. So, at least you don't need the 14 day JR Pass. Also, you should visit Kyoto for at least 2-3 nights to enjoy the city. In addition, it's the crazy New Year Holidays from Dec. 29 to Jan. 3 for most Japanese, when many people return to their home town to celebrate the New Year with their parents, relatives, or old friends. Therefore, long distance JR trains are very crowded during the holidays. We Japanese can book the seats of any JR trains from exactly 10am Japan Time one month before, but you foreign visitors are only allowed to book the seats of the trains run by JR East from 10am Japan Time one month before online. It was a problem until last October for every foreign visitors that JR Tokai (JR Center in English) and JR West had not allowed foreigners to book their seats online. Last October, JR Tokai and JR West released a new Tokaido Sanyo Shinkansen Reservation App. which allow booking of the Shinkansen from one month before online, but this App. is only released in the U.S.A., Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia now, and also can not be combined with any JR Pass. Every year on Dec. 29, we see the pictures on TV of non-reserved seats of Tokaido Shinkansen leaving Tokyo to the West (to Kyoto/Shin-Osaka): many people are not only standing, but also PACKED in the train like sardines, and cannot even move to the toilets in the train FOR HOURS. Thus, you should avoid taking these crazy trains during these crazy Holidays. Maybe it's better to take an air flight from Haneda Airport to Osaka Airport, if you cannot use the above App. -:- Message from Tripadvisor staff -:- This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one. To review the Tripadvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason. Head out to the sabeto mudpools on the other side of Nadi (towards Lautoka). You will need a driver to get you there, we negotiated with the travel lady at out hotel for prices - they will often drop their prices of you say you got a cheaper offer. The pools itself cost $30 Fijian each but is a fun activity where you cover yourselves head to toe in mud from natural springs and then wash it off by soaking in natural hot spring pools. All a bit of fun really. We had a laugh and was really popular with all the other tourists who were there at the same time as us! Also for a bit of fun we fully reccomened trying out the local buses (you will need a bus card as they cannot accept cash) but it is a really cheap way to get around - $1 per trip per person if going from nadi to denarau etc rather than maybe a $20 taxi trip. Some of them are open air buses with no glass in the Windows and our driver had island beats playing the whole time so felt like a party! Also try eat at some of the local restaurants and away from the resorts. For one meal we got a starter, 2 mains and 3 drinks for nz$32 and it was delicious. Best places to look for are ones full of locals. We also did island hopping. South Sea was our fave. Plenty to do and good spots to sit in the shade. Beachcomber was nice but you had to pay to hire seats! Avoid mana island as they are filming survivor on there so most of island shut. Weather permitting, you could view the Easter Parade in the morning. What time does your flight get in? It goes from 48th St. and Fifth Avenue past St. Patrick's Cathedral. It's become almost an "Easter-ish" Hallowe'en-like parade to celebrate spring. It's very bright, festive, creative -- incredible bonnets, costumes. I think it's a great way to start the day. Hope you can get there by 11 or so. Well, if you're over there anyway, you could have breakfast/brunch at the Rock Center Cafe in Rockefeller Center. Maybe take a ride up to the Top of the Rock and take it all in? Of course, if it's raining--and it could be! We had a noreaster for the first day of Spring -- you might want to plan more indoor activities. Yes to dinner in Hell's Kitchen -- Why not? Have you seen our local foodie, Ziggy's blog? He has an entire section devoted to Hell's Kitchen. Day 3 has too much on the roster. Getting to where the ferry takes you to SOL takes about a half hour. Then there are at least three ferry rides in addition -- to get to SOL, to get to Ellis (stay on the boat to get back to Manhattah), then get to Manhattan. All of this takes up time. 9/11 Museum/Memorial. First, I don't know how old your teen is, but the Museum is graphic and a very emotional experience for most people. I definitely would NOT do it on a day you're planning to go to the theater. I would not take a teen there. Some people disagree with me, but there are adults who really cannot bear to go. Some people lose their appetite after being there. The pictures and victims' belongings are devastating to see. I just wouldn't take a young person there at all. (There are a lot of adults I know who can't go either.) Second, the 9/11 Museum takes about 3 hours. The SOL will be about 2-3 hours, then a walking tour, then the 9/11 Museum is a lot. It would be different if you were starting at 8:30 or 9:00 a.m., but the security lines will be very long by the time you get there--like probably over 200 people. Don't have lunch at the Statue -- bring snacks and have lunch at a restaurant on Manhattan -- the restaurant there is really not good. You might want to try a place like Fraunces Tavern, where General Washington bade his troops farewell. When I was there years ago it had a bit of the feel of a colonial tavern. And the food was really good. I would make time in your schedule for the Metropolitan Museum. It is the premier museum on the Eastern seaboard of the U.S. and one of the finest in the world. Any trip there is bound to be unforgettable. There is something there for everyone. And the gift shop is great. Hi, Dan! Park Slope resident here . . . albeit one who didn't know that Powerhouse had opened up a store in the neighborhood, which has me super-excited - so thanks for the info! I'm afraid I can't help with driving routes from Connecticut, but I can at least offer a bit of reassurance in the parking department. Even though street parking in the neighborhood is generally a pain, there are *always* spots available. You may need to circle a few blocks, growing increasingly frustrated, but one will turn up eventually. The good news for you is that parking is generally easier on weekends, when residents are more likely to be using their cars, than during the week, when they tend to cling jealously to their spots. As for kid-friendly things to do, here's a short list off the top of my head: - Community Bookstore (on 7th Av) has a nice children's section. You may also want to stick your heads inside the beautiful branch library on 6th Av between 8th/9th streets. - The Super Hero Supply Company on 5th Av between 5th/6th streets is sure to be a hit. It's just a block and a half from the 5th Avenue Sunday Farmer's Market - a fun scene, with lots of samples and food vendors for a snack or light lunch - which in turn is right next to a totally delightful playground in Washington Park. For sweet treats (including kid-pleasers like little cookie mustaches on sticks), the Du Jour Bakery between 5th/6th (more or less across from the SHSC) is hard to beat. - I haven't really checked out the toy stores in the neighborhood - my daughter was grown when I moved here - but there are several on 7th Av. that look nice. - The best bagels in the entire city (IMHO, confirmed by blind taste tests) are at the Bagel Hole, 7th Av between 12th/13th, conveniently close to your bookstore destination. It's a tiny place, takeout only, but the bagels are the chewy, old-fashioned kind that's hard to find anymore. - And, of course, Prospect Park is right there. If you enter from the west (Park Slope) side, you'll be close to the Long Meadow, which is generally full of kids playing on the weekends (the last few days, it's been full of kids sledding). If you're ambitious and want to walk through to the east side of the park, the small zoo is great for kids. (There's also an old-fashioned carousel, but according to the website it's closed until the weekend after this.) Have a great trip! Edited: 3 years ago Amazon is a top leader when it comes to online shopping globally. That is because Amazon has over time given its client's security when doing online shopping as one does not have to worry about the status of their goods. As such Amazon is highly regarded and widely respected as one of the best online stores. What is even great about Amazon is that the online shop offers a wide array of products many of which cannot be found in Kenya. Also, these goods are normally cheaper than similar goods available in our country. Source: Amazon READ ALSO: Top Shipping Companies in Kenya this 2018 While in Kenya, shipping of goods from Amazon is somewhat complicated as one requires a credit card and a postal address for successful purchase. Furthermore, the logistics of having your goods shipped to Kenya is harder and more expensive due to the high Amazon shipping rates to Kenya. Nevertheless, do not despair as shipping to Kenya from Amazon is now simpler thanks to third-party freight forwarding companies. There are several third-party companies that can handle freight forwarding and logistics services making shipping of goods from Amazon easier, safer and super affordable than before. One of such companies that will handle Amazon shipping to Kenya on your behalf is Kentex Cargo. Below is a case study of how to buy goods from Amazon while in Kenya and have it delivered to your doorstep in a matter of How to Shop from Amazon in Kenya Whether you are a retailer who would want to buy goods in bulk from Amazon for reselling in Kenya or just for personal usage, Kentex Cargo got you covered. Even better, you wont need a credit card or a PayPal account as you can comfortably pay for your good via Mpesa. Moreover, Kentex Cargo is affordable as it charges $15 per kg to ship from the USA to Kenya. The price includes transportation to your doorstep as well as takes, duty, and fees. Here is the procedure. Step One: Visit Amazon Site and Select your Preferred Item(s) In this step, all that is required is to visit Amazon and select all the items you would like to purchase. Alternatively, you can log on to Amazon site and create a wish list of all the items you want to buy. Then share that wish list with Kentex Cargo via email so that they can purchase the items from Amazon and deliver in Kenya. Step Two: Copy all the Amazon Links After deciding on which products you want, click on the link address at the top of the Amazon page copy and paste it into your email. Step Three: Send Email to Kentex Cargo After copying all the links and indicating the number of items for each item, send the email to sales@kentexcargo.com. In one hour or less, a customer care agent will reply to your email giving you a cost estimate quote. Remember to include your full official names and mobile phone number in the email. Source: Kentex Step Four: Review the Quote and Accept Review the cost estimate and also create a client portal where you can access your invoices, mode of payments, your statement and purchase history amongst other things. Step Five: Pay for your Goods The next step is to pay for the purchase cost of your items so that Kentex Cargo can purchase on your behalf. The shipping charges can be paid on delivery. Payments can be made via the bank or use Lipa na Mpesa. Please note that Kentex Cargo does not accept cash payments so after you pay via the bank, you can send the bank slip to one of their offices. Kentex Cargo has an office at Corner House, M3, Room 1 along Kimathi Street Nairobi. READ ALSO: Kentexx Cargo Kenya - reviews and FAQ Step Six: Receive Purchase Confirmation with Amazon Receipt Attached After making full payments for the purchase, Kentex Cargo will buy the good on your behalf then send you a confirmation receipt to your email. You should keep that receipt as a reference. Finally, Kentex Cargo will handle the shipment of your items and notify you through email or Whatsapp once they receive the goods in Kenya. Kentex Cargo agents will take care of your items and will have them delivered to your residence in just 7 days. Source: Tuko.co.ke - Majority of Kenyans think KNH board has failed to perform its function and should be dissolved - An opinion poll conducted by TUKO.co.ke showed 80% of Kenyans were not happy with the board - Many claimed the board was part of the problem at the country's largest referral hospital - The poll supported the position taken earlier by some MPs who also called for disbandment of the KNH board - The hospital has recently been rocked with mega scandals which have led to loss of public trust in the giant health facility A random poll conducted by TUKO.co.ke on Thursday, March 22, has shown majority of Kenyans want Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) board disbanded. TUKO.co.ke asked Kenyans on social media whether or not the board should be dissolved in the wake of the numerous scandals at the hospital. The response was an emphatic yes from a majority of the more than 800 respondents. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens READ ALSO: Jamaa anaswa akijifanya mwanamke ndani ya baa, avuliwa nguo (picha) From left is Health CS Sicily Kariuki, KNH board chair Mark Bor and KNH acting CEO Dr Thomas Mutie appearing before the Senate Committee on Health on March 15, 2018. Photo: Nation READ ALSO: Woman left in excruciating pain after operation gone wrong at Kenyatta National Hospital According to the poll, more than 80 % of Kenyans were unhappy with the KNH board and therefore recommended for its disbandment citing recent incidents at the referral hospital. About 20% of those who participated in the survey however felt dissolving the the board will not solve the problems at the hospital. READ ALSO: Public outrage after Kenyatta National Hospital surgeons performed brain surgery on wrong patient In one of the cases reported recently, doctors operated on brain of wrong patient. Photo:The Star. The poll appeared to support a position taken earlier by MPs who also called for immediate dissolution of the team arguing it had failed to perform its functions as expected. The hospital has in the recent past been embroiled in mega medical scandals which have led to loss of public trust in the country's biggest referral health institution. READ ALSO: Relief as 3-week-old baby stolen from KNH is found and TUKO.co.ke has the details The once efficient and highly respected public health facility has been reduced into a shadow of its former self. The poll by TUKO.co.ke showed a few Kenyans still have faith in KNH after a spate of disturbing incidents at the health facility, ranging from theft of babies under the watch of CCTV cameras to life-threatening and costly surgery blunders, the latest being a botched cesarean section that left a woman badly scarred after delivering twins. The botched C-section surgery came hot in the heels of a brain surgery mix-up in which doctors unknowingly cut open the skull of the wrong patient. The poll below suggests Kenyans cannot take it anymore and would like to see some radical changes taking place at KNH. Right brain surgery - wrong patient: Shocking Medical Mistake in Kenya - On Tuko TV Source: Breaking News - Kiraitu said it doesn't make sense for government to invest in health, only for people not to reap benefits - He urged residents to register with NHIF and county will intensify sensitisation campaigns - Kiraitu sensationally claimed he will never attend a funds drive to raise money for hospital bills Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi caused a stir after he reprimanded Meru residents over NHIF registration. Speaking during the induction of hospital management boards in Makutano on Friday, March 23, Kiraitu asked residents to register with NHIF, saying he will not help pay hospital bills. The governor sensationally claimed he will never attend a funds drive to raise money for hospital bills. READ ALSO: Donald Trump fires another top official through social media Governor Kiraitu urged Meru residents to register with NHIF. Photo: Kiraitu Murungi/ Facebook READ ALSO: I used to perform for rice and beans - celebrated musician, Buula I will not attend any harambee for someone who needs funds to pay medical bills. Dont invite me because I wont attend, he said. The National Hospital Insurance Fund covers all illnesses. The governor urged residents to take advantage of the national governments universal coverage by enlisting with NHIF to reduce financial burdens of families with patients in hospitals. The governor further said it is senseless for the government to invest in health, only for people to refuse to benefit. READ ALSO: Singer Rayvanny begs lover not to cheat on him after he cheated on her with mzungu Kiraitu said he will never attend harambees to raise medical bills. Photo: Kiraitu Murungi/ Facebook READ ALSO: Lady accused of sleeping with Diamond Platinumz on the spot for stealing another man He said the elderly, aged 70 and above, are covered for free by NHIF. Meru Level Five Hospital and 14 Level four hospitals across the county are amongst the boards that were undergoing the induction process. Kiraitu urged NHIF service providers to work together with the management of health facilities to enlist more members. Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news. Source: Tuko.co.ke 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. Chief Secretary Ancil Dennis says it is not fair to say that hoteliers have not been assiste Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), Ertugrul Apakan, has welcomed the extension of the SMMs mandate for another year. His statement has been posted on the organizations website. I thank our host country Ukraine and the other participating States for their continued support and confidence in the OSCE SMM, the Chief Monitor said. He noted that this support gives an opportunity, in particular for more than 700 SMM monitoring officers, to continue, with strengthened security mitigation measures, to work for peace, stability and security in Ukraine. Apakan also stressed that the consensus decision of the OSCEs 57 participating States constitutes both a continued commitment to the people of Ukraine and an endorsement of the Mission. As Ukrinform earlier reported, on March 22, a mandate of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine was extended until March 31, 2019. iy The truce in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) area in Donbas was fully observed over the past day. No attacks on Ukrainian positions were recorded. As the ATO Headquarters press center reports, the Ukrainian servicemen continue to adhere unswervingly to the Minsk agreements and the comprehensive truce declared on March 5. The situation along the entire contact line is reliably controlled by Ukrainian troops. The last attacks on strongholds of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were recorded on March 20. ol The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union intend to allocate 1.15 billion euros in financial assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The EBRD stated this in a press release issued on March 22. The EBRD and the EU are extending their support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine to a total of almost 1.1 billion in credit lines and trade finance and 58.3 million in EU grants, reads the press release. According to the EBRD, over 100 Georgian companies have already received 60 million in financing so far, within the EU4Business-EBRD Credit line a joint EBRD-EU programme supported by the EU4Business. The EU4Business-EBRD Credit Line is also available in Moldova and will soon be launched in Ukraine. It will assist local SMEs in reaping the benefits associated with their countries free trade agreements with the EU, the worlds largest trading block, reads the press release. iy The House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress has approved the Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2018, which provides for $620.7 million in aid to Ukraine. The Ukrainian Embassy in the United States informed this on its Facebook page. "The House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress has approved the Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2018," the report reads. According to the diplomatic mission, the total amount of aid to Ukraine is estimated at $620.700 million, which exceeds the last year's finance plan. "The Pentagon allocates $200 million in military and technical assistance to Ukraine, which is by $50 million more than in 2017. These funds will be used to finance U.S projects for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in particular, such as training of soldiers, provision of military equipment, lethal defensive weapons, other military equipment and services, and logistic support. The assistance also includes intelligence support for Ukraine's armed and security forces," the report reads. The aid to Ukraine from the U.S. Department of State and related agencies is estimated at $420.7 million, which is $10 million more than the corresponding expenses of the previous year. Before coming into force, the Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2018 has to be approved by the Senate and signed by the U.S. president. ish Irish low-cost airline Ryanair will perform first flights in Ukraine in October this year. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said this at a press conference on the launch of Ryanair services in Ukraine, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "It takes some time, about half a year, to launch the first flight. We expect the first flights tentatively in October," he said. According to Poroshenko, this is due to the fact that it is necessary to buy airplanes for Ukraine and create all necessary infrastructure and services. At the same time, the president said that he had asked Ryanair to analyze and create competitive opportunities for passenger transportation within the country and assured that he had received "positive and encouraging feedback." The head of state also emphasized that cargo transportation was not the only thing discussed in cooperation with Ryanair. In particular, he said that negotiations were underway on the possibility of creating Ryanair's IT center in Ukraine and the placement of the company's maintenance center. op The price for natural gas in Ukraine may be lowered, if the country stops importing gas. Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman said this during a Government Question Hour meeting on Friday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "We need to stop importing gas. Weve focused on the program on increasing the Ukrainian gas production. Ukrgazvydobuvannya last year increased the production by 700 million cubic meters. The gas price is formed in accordance with market conditions," said Groysman. He stressed that Ukraine could independently form the gas price within the country, if it starts exporting the resource, which is expected to take place in 2020. "The government has no powers to regulate the price of commercial gas in the country. Thus, NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine is an absolutely independent state-owned company and makes decisions at its own discretion," Groysman added. iy Extension of the gas pipeline between Ukraine and Poland will enhance security of both countries and promote creation of a competitive gas market in Central Europe. Polish Government's Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure Piotr Naimski said this in an interview with Ukrinform. "Both sides will benefit from this investment [gas interconnector]: when Ukraine will need gas or when Poland, at some security crisis moments, will need supplies from the Ukrainian side. In addition, the interconnector will promote creation of a competitive gas market in Central Europe," Naimski said. As Polish government's plenipotentiary noted, Poland is doing its best to become independent of Russian energy supplies owing to commissioning of the LNG terminal in Swinoujscie as well as future gas supplies from the Norwegian Sea through the Baltic Pipe. "We are talking about the civilized market vendors, and this will allow us to create a real market in Poland. Therefore, we will be able to offer gas to our neighbors, for example, Ukraine, which also needs a real and normal gas market," Naimski said. He added that the gas interconnector from Ukraine to Poland or Slovakia would help create such a market. As reported, the gas interconnector between Ukraine and Poland is expected to be constructed until early 2021. ol France is an important political and economic partner of Ukraine and the mutual trade turnover can be increased up to $3 billion a year. Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said this during a meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, the Governmental portal reported. "France is a reliable strategic partner of Ukraine. A leading position of Paris on the territorial integrity of Ukraine is important for us. We sincerely appreciate France's support for the sovereignty of Ukraine. The trade turnover between our countries was about $2 billion in 2017. I'm sure that we can increase it by a third - up to $3-3.5 billion," Groysman said. In turn, Jean-Yves Le Drian stresses that France retains strong support for Ukraine and is determined to continue to maintain Ukraine's integrity and sovereignty. "France is also ready for economic cooperation, it can be useful for both sides," the minister said. In this context, the parties agreed to intensify their work within the framework of joint commissions and committees on key issues - agrarian sector, energy, civil service reform, etc. ish Ukraine has signed two protocols amending the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which give the state the right to receive advisory opinions from the ECHR on fundamental questions concerning the interpretation or application of rights and freedoms. The ceremony with the participation of Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe Dmytro Kuleba and Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni was held in Strasbourg on Thursday, March 22, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "Protocols Nos. 15 and No. 16, among other provisions, supplement the reference to the principle of subsidiarity and the doctrine of freedom of judgment to the preamble to the Convention and allow the highest courts and tribunals of the High Contracting Party to demand that the European Court of Human Rights provide advisory opinions on fundamental questions concerning the interpretation or application of the rights and freedoms as defined by the Convention or its protocols," the Council of Europe reported. To enter into force, Protocol No. 15 should be ratified by all 47 member states of the Council of Europe. Ukraine will be the 42nd country to do so. To date, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Italy and Spain have not yet ratified the Protocol. To enter into force, Protocol No. 16 should be ratified by ten countries, and Ukraine became 9th among those that did it. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has invited President of France Emmanuel Macron to visit Ukraine in the near future. The invitation was made during the meeting of President Poroshenko with Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Yves Le Drian, the press service of the Head of State reports. The President of Ukraine expressed gratitude for the continued support of France for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, as well as for its clear position regarding the non-recognition of the Russian presidential election in the territory of the Ukrainian Crimea. As noted, the parties discussed the situation in Donbas, in particular, the prospects for the deployment of a UN peacekeeping mission that would cover the entire occupied territory, including the Ukrainian-Russian border area. The parties agreed with the importance of implementing the security conditions of the Minsk agreements and continuing the work in the Normandy format. The interlocutors also supported the necessity of extending the regime of sanctions against Russia until the full restoration of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Particular attention was paid to the issues of bilateral cooperation, implementation of projects in the field of military-technical and economic cooperation with the financial support of France. Special attention was also paid to further conduct of reforms in Ukraine with the support of the EU, including France. ol Ukraine intends to launch a range of large-scale projects with France. Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin stated this at a meeting with France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. We are talking about very large-scale projects. Soon Jean-Yves will sign a protocol of intentions with Arsen Avakov regarding the purchase of French helicopters," Klimkin said. In addition, there are other major projects, in particular in the energy sector. According to Klimkin, one of these projects will be the construction of large solar power plants. According to Klimkin, there is "a real dynamic in bilateral economic interaction between Ukraine and France. At the same time, he noted that these projects are not just a new stage of the bilateral economic cooperation between the countries, but a gradual transition of Ukraine to the EU and NATO standards in all spheres. iy Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko and the German company atene KOM GmbH signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to expand Smart City projects in Kyiv. The signing ceremony took place in Berlin, the mayors press service reported on March 22. The document envisages the cooperation in the field of digitalization and further implementation of city projects in the Kyiv Smart City system for the comfort and safety of Kyiv residents. "Kyiv successfully introduces the latest Smart City technologies into all core city spheres. The first project we have launched is the Open Budget. Also we have already incorporated the application system of online petitions to the City Council and the Safe City Project. Besides, Administrative Services Centers operate as part of Kyiv Smart City. And we work further to make Kyiv smarter, said Klitschko. According to him, the document on consulting services provides for targeted activities and projects aimed at accelerating further steps in the implementation of digital solutions in Kyiv. "This month the first group of experts from the company atene KOM GmbH will visit Kyiv and begin work on the project," Klitschko noted after the signing ceremony. tene KOM GmbH is a Berlin-based company with offices all over Germany and in Brussels. The company has over 10 years of experience in providing a broad range of services and solutions in regional development, digital infrastructure, energy efficiency and education. Moreover, Atene KOM coordinates and implements EU projects, guides federal funding, deals with project and financial management and training. iy People's deputies and political observers call the former war pilot a Russian FSB agent and protege of Vladimir Putin's political operative in Ukraine, Viktor Medvedchuk. Notorious Nadiia Savchenko's team consists of people who choose to remain out of the spotlight and who have been working with her closely, creating her political and public image and, perhaps, pushing her to certain steps, the TSN news service reports. Ukrainian people's deputies and political observers say the former war pilot has in fact been recruited by the Russian FSB. She is also called a protege of Vladimir Putin's political operative in Ukraine Viktor Medvedchuk. Alongside Nadiia Savchenko there is always her sister, Vira, who attended all court hearings in Russia where Savchenko was being tried on trumped up charges, and on Thursday, March 22, she also accompanied the now-detained MP from Parliament to the SBU security service premises. Journalists noted that en route to the SBU, Vira was constantly on her cellphone, telling her interlocutors what was going on, and, perhaps, receiving advice on what to do next, and then passed instructions to Nadiia. Read alsoRada strips MP Savchenko of parliamentary immunity, allows arrestMP Savchenko's colleagues from the deputy corps have long noticed the fact that deputy Savchenko has been taking instructions from actual professionals. All of her speeches are always clearly designed for the protest audience, they say. After Savchenko was publicly accused of plotting to set the parliament building on air, blowing up grenades and mortaring the dome, she released a 12-second intimidating and dark-humored video titled "Boom!" where she is shown standing at an empty Rada hall saying "Boom!" on camera, then asking a question: "What? You sh*t your pants?". This move some have called a real political breakthrough. People's deputies say that the former air force officer released from captivity turned into a skilled and eloquent public speaker too quickly and received considerable funding for her political activities. Read alsoSavchenko to Ruban discussing terror plot: "I propose a coup. They need to be removed physically - all at once""Obviously, someone has worked with her very seriously. I talked with her in the Rada hall more than once, and I know the way she talks normally. She speaks in sentences that are difficult to pull together. She struggles to shape her thoughts," says MP Viktoria Syumar. "I saw Nadiia's first addresses after her return from [Russian] prison and all videos with her during the Maidan, In such a short period, no one can change their behavior model so quickly by themselves," MP Serhiy Rudyk says, hinting at professional assistance having been provided to Savchenko. Chief of the Rada's national security and defense committee Serhiy Pashynsky believes that it is the Russian intelligence that stands behind Savchenko and that she was recruited while in the Kremlin captivity. "Unfortunately, she was recruited and, unfortunately, she is now clearly working for the aggressor state. It's the details As soon as she got out of captivity, the first thing she did was travel across Western Europe and the U.S. with a single message: No weapons should be provided to Ukraine," he said. Many other politicians in Ukraine share this view while some believe it's not the FSB but Putin's crony Viktor Medvedchuk who fund Savchenko's political campaign. "There's Medvedchuk's funding there, there's targeted financial support," says Zoryan Shkiryak, an adviser to the head of the Interior Ministry "I think she definitely contacted people who imposed upon her the opinion that she should 'save Ukraine', even if she needs to take unpopular and very risky steps. As for the financing, it's no secret that Medvedchuk was involved," MP Volodymyr Parasiuk is convinced. Journalists suggest that this money is used to rent a spacious office downtown Kyiv for at least $3,000 a month. Incidentally, the landlord is the same person who rented out an office for Mikheil Saakashvili in the neighboring building. MPs have another version, claiming that Savchenko is actually assisted by the owner of the NewsOne TV channel, Yevhen Murayev. In a telephone conversation with TSN, he did not refute contacts with Nadiia Savchenko. "I shared with her my vision of the general picture and actions in private conversations," he said. Now Murayev is paying for professional lawyers in the Savchenko case. The parties agreed with the importance of implementing the security provisions of Minsk agreements and continued efforts in the Normandy format. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko on Thursday had a meeting with Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Yves Le Drian. Poroshenko expressed gratitude for France's continued support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, as well as for its clear position regarding the non-recognition of the Russian presidential elections in the territory of the Ukrainian Crimea, according to the presidential press service. Read alsoFrance does not recognize Russian presidential election in annexed CrimeaThe parties discussed the situation in Donbas, in particular, the prospects for the deployment of a UN peacekeeping mission throughout the entire occupied territory, including the Ukrainian-Russian border. The parties also agreed with the importance of implementing the security provisions of Minsk agreements and continued efforts in the Normandy format. The interlocutors also supported the necessity of extending the regime of sanctions against Russia until the full restoration of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Particular attention was paid to the issues of bilateral cooperation, implementation of projects in the field of military-technical and economic cooperation with the financial support of France. This decision may be appealed within five days since the date of its announcement. Member of Parliament Nadiia Savchenko, a former Ukrainian pilot released from a Russian prison as part of an exchange of prisoners of war, has been arrested by a Ukrainian court for 59 days without bail on charges of plotting a coup and an act of terror in Ukraine. The ruling was read out by judge of Kyiv's Shevchenkivsky district court Yevhen Sidorov, an UNIAN correspondent said. "The motion filed by the Prosecutor General's Office for a preventive measure in the form of arrest of the suspect, Savchenko, shall be satisfied. The preventive measure in the form of custody without bail shall be applicable to Savchenko, who should be arrested in the courtroom," the ruling said. The ruling determines that the arrest shall last 59 days, until May 20, 2018, and this decision may be appealed in a court of appeals within five days since the date of its announcement. When reading out the ruling, the judge noted that life imprisonment is foreseen for one of the crimes Savchenko is charged with. Besides, the judge warned that Savchenko's status of a people's deputy allows her to freely move through the contact line in Donbas and she has personal relations with the leaders of terrorist organizations there, thus, she might escape from pretrial investigation. The judge also said that the investigators had not yet completed investigative actions: not all circumstances, including the place where instruments of crime are being stored, had been established and not all persons involved in the crimes had been identified. Read alsoSavchenko may face life imprisonment The fact that Savchenko possesses a firearm was another reason to keep her behind bars, the judge said. As UNIAN reported, the Verkhovna Rada on March 22 gave the greenlight to Savchenko's arrest. Savchenko is charged with committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 109 (actions aimed at the forcible change or overthrow of the constitutional order or seizure of state power); Part 1 of Article 14 (preparations for a crime), Part 2 of Article 28 (committing a crime by a group of persons, a group of persons by prior agreement, an organized group or a criminal organization), Article 112 (an attempted attack on the life of a public figure), Part 3 of Article 258 (an act of terror); Part 1 of Article 258-3 (creation of a terrorist group or organization) and Part 1 of Article 263 (illegal possession of weapons, ammunition or explosives) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Savchenko announced in the courtroom she would go on hunger strike. She assured she did not plan to flee Ukraine. Two French NGOs will be given EUR 500,000. France has decided to finance some humanitarian projects in Donbas, eastern Ukraine. This was announced by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian at a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Pavlo Klimkin in Kyiv on March 23, an UNIAN correspondent said. Read alsoUN calls for protection of civilians after attacks on water facility workers in Ukraine "We are determined to continue our assistance, our activity to support them [the civilian population in Donbas] ... Taking this into consideration, I'd like to mention that France has decided to provide financial assistance to non-governmental humanitarian organizations that work there," he said. According to him, these are two French NGOs, which will be given EUR 500,000 under projects related to food security in the region. "In addition, France will finance two projects implemented by the International Committee of the Red Cross in Donbas. The first of them concerns rebuilding a school in the town of Krasnohorivka [in Donetsk region], and the other involves rebuilding a reservoir at a water station in the town of Popasna [in Luhansk region]," he said. Under the act, the Pentagon will be given $200 million for extending military and technical assistance to Ukraine. U.S. President Donald Trump has signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act for the financial year 2018, which foresees $620.7 million in disbursements to Ukraine. "President of the United States Donald Trump has signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives for the fiscal year 2018. The total volume of assistance to Ukraine stipulated in the document is determined at US$620.7 million, which exceeds last year's corresponding estimate," Ukraine's Embassy in the United States wrote on Facebook. Read alsoPoltorak: Javelin supply heralds new era of cooperation with U.S. Under the act, the Pentagon will be given $200 million for extending military and technical assistance to Ukraine, which is $50 million more than in 2017. In respect of Ukraine, the U.S. Department of State and related agencies are assigned $420.7 million, which is $10 million more than the corresponding expenses last year. In addition, the document also allocates $250 million for countering Russian propaganda, corruption and other measures of influence. Crews of Ukrainian Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters took part in a number of operations of the UN mission. Some 75 Ukrainian peacekeepers from the 18th separate helicopter unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces returned to Ukraine from Congo. "The first plane has arrived in Lviv with 75 Ukrainian peacekeepers from the 18th separate helicopter unit of the Armed Forces who carried out a peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for a year," the Ukrainian Land Forces reported on Facebook. "Over this period, the military carried out about 3,000 combat sorties and transported over 13,000 passengers and over 520 tonnes of various cargoes. The crews of Ukrainian Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters took part in several operations of the UN mission, in particular, provided air support for ground troops, medical evacuation of victims, and air reconnaissance at hostile areas," reads the report. That marked a breakthrough for Britain, which had been seeking to persuade EU leaders to condemn Russia for the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal. European Union leaders backed Britain on Thursday in blaming Moscow over a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in England and recalled their envoy to Moscow in a symbolic protest. In a joint summit statement, the leaders said the EU agrees with the United Kingdom governments assessment that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible and that there is no plausible alternative explanation, according to Reuters. That marked a breakthrough for Britain, which had been seeking to persuade EU leaders to condemn Russia for the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent, and his daughter on March 4. It was the first known offensive use of a nerve toxin in Europe since World War 2. Read alsoRussian denials of spy poisoning "increasingly absurd" - JohnsonAfter talks that ran into the early hours of Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised the prospect of further punitive measures in response to the attack in the southwestern city of Salisbury, saying the European Union would strive to act together on the matter. We are determined to react together, with the language we used here, but also possibly through additional measures, Merkel said at the end of the first day of the summit. Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said she was ready to expel Russian spies. Other Baltic states and Poland could do so too. The European Union will recall their envoy to Moscow, German diplomat Markus Ederer, for one month for consultations. EU leaders discussed their response to the Salisbury poisoning over a European council summit dinner in Brussels. Five EU member states are considering the expulsion of Russian diplomats as a response to the Salisbury nerve agent attack. "France, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are understood to be considering expelling Russian diplomats, as requested by the UK government, in a coordinated strike against Moscow," The Guardian reported. EU leaders discussed their response to the Salisbury poisoning over a European council summit dinner in Brussels. The UK prime minister told her fellow leaders the attack formed part of a long-term pattern of behavior by Russia, and urged them to present a united front. As UNIAN reported earlier, European Union leaders backed Britain on Thursday in blaming Moscow over a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in England and recalled their envoy to Moscow in a symbolic protest. LCI TV said the second victim was also dead and that 12 people were injured. At least one person was killed when a man took hostages in a supermarket in the southwestern French town of Trebes on Friday, the mayor told BFM TV. The station reported that the hostage-taker has claimed allegiance to Islamic State, Reuters reported. Mayor Eric Menassi also told LCI TV that the man had entered the shop screaming "Allahu Akbar (God is greatest), I'll kill you all". Another person was hurt but their condition was not known, Menassi said. The hostage-taker was now alone with one police officer in the supermarket and all other hostages had been freed, he added. Read alsoUK imposes set of sanctions on Russia over spy poisoningLCI TV said the second victim was also dead and that 12 people were injured. "All the information we have as I speak lead us to think that this would be a terrorist act," Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said. A police source had said earlier that eight people were being held hostage and that the hostage-taker had shot at a police officer. The Paris prosecutor's office said counter-terrorism prosecutors were investigating the incident but did not comment on the possible Islamic State allegiance. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned an act of terror in the French town of Trebes, as a result of which three persons were killed and sixteen were injured. "We strongly condemn the terrorist attack in Trebes. Sincere condolences to the families and loved ones. We stand with France," spokesperson for Ukraine's Foreign Ministry Mariana Betsa wrote on Twitter on Friday, March 23. According to The Globe and Mail, a gunman killed three people in southwestern France on Friday as he held up a car, fired on police and seized hostages in a supermarket, screaming "Allahu Akbar" before security forces stormed the building and he was killed, authorities said. Sixteen other people were wounded, including two seriously hurt, in what President Emmanuel Macron called an act of "Islamist terrorism." The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. Macron said security services were checking that claim. Trebes is a town in Aude, southern France, it lies around 100km outside of Toulouse and is about 8km and a 15-minute drive from the city of Carcassonne. UNICEF is committed to addressing the needs of mothers, newborns and children, and ensuring they have access to affordable, quality health care, good nutrition and clean water. We work closely with Governments, partners and communities to combat common infectious childhood diseases and end preventable maternal, newborn and child deaths. And we help countries reach more children and women especially the most vulnerable with essential health services. UNICEF and partners help save the lives of mothers, newborns and children and address preventable stillbirths by supporting high-quality, evidence-based, equitable and low-cost care and services before, during and after birth at health facilities and at home. We also work towards the final elimination of maternal and newborn tetanus across the globe. Despite being entirely preventable and treatable, common infectious diseases still kill children in large numbers. UNICEF supports countries to provide preventative and curative services for pneumonia, diarrhoea, malaria and other health conditions. UNICEF and partners support immunization programmes in over 100 countries to help children survive and lead healthy lives. Our efforts include engaging communities to create vaccine demand, procuring and distributing vaccines, and keeping vaccines safe and effective. Nepal will hand over the portfolio of President, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Chamber of Commerce and Industry, an apex body in the region, to Sri Lanka for a next term of two year on March 26 at Colombo. LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Mar, 2018 ) :Nepal will hand over the portfolio of President, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Chamber of Commerce and Industry, an apex body in the region, to Sri Lanka for a next term of two year on March 26 at Colombo.Vice President SAARC Chamber Pakistan Chapter Iftikhar Ali Malik told newsmen here Friday that Ruwan Edirisinghe, newly elected President SAARC Chamber will take over the portfolio from outgoing President Suraj Vadiya.He said, in rotation, all SAARC members countries hold this portfolio along with one seat of vice president for a term of two year.He said SAARC chamber office Colombo, is organizing a ceremony in this regard and Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickramasinghe will be chief guest on the occasion and senior vice president and all vice presidents along with executive committee and general assembly members grace the occasion on March 26. He said newly inducted president later will chair a high level special meeting of the executive committee and general assembly on March 27 in addition to other meeting of working groups to chalk out future strategy for the greater economic integration in the region.He said he will represent Pakistan in this ceremony and attending the meetings. (@rukhshanmir) The Pakistan Mercantile Exchange Limited (PMEX)'s Commodity Index on Wednesday closed at 3,360 points, with the traded value of metals, energy and COTS/FX recorded at Rs 14.569 billion. KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Mar, 2018 ) :The Pakistan Mercantile Exchange Limited (PMEX)'s Commodity Index on Wednesday closed at 3,360 points, with the traded value of metals, energy and COTS/FX recorded at Rs 14.569 billion. The number of lots traded was 20,955, said a PMEX statement. (The data is compiled and released after 24 hours). Major business was contributed by gold amounting to Rs 7.879 billion followed by WTI crude oil Rs 2.592billion, silver Rs 1.267 billion, currencies through COTS Rs 1.292billion, DJ Rs 622.222 million, NSDQ100 Rs 428.608 million, platinum Rs 348.043 million, copper Rs 60.335 million, natural gas Rs 37.721 million, SP500 Rs 25.372 million and brent crude oil Rs 15.318 million. In agricultural commodities, 24 lots of cotton amounting to Rs 15.797 million were traded. (@FahadShabbir) Pakistan and Sri Lanka Friday agreed to diversify and deepen the bilateral relations hoping that the ties would continue to grow in future. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Mar, 2018 ) :Pakistan and Sri Lanka Friday agreed to diversify and deepen the bilateral relations hoping that the ties would continue to grow in future. The matter was discussed during one-on-one meeting between Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi here at the PM House, said a PM office statement. On his arrival at PM House, the prime minister received Sri Lankan president who is here on three days visit. Both the leaders held one-on-one meeting which followed the delegation level talks in a very warm environment. During the meetings, issues of mutual importance were discussed. Both sides expressed the hope that bilateral ties will continue to grow in the future also. The Sri Lankan President extended support for holding of SAARC Summit in Pakistan. Both the countries also signed three MoUs to enhance cooperation in the fields of youth development and training of civil and diplomatic personnel. Besides the MoUs, the presentation ceremony of corneas also took place, which were presented by the Sri Lankan President to the prime minister for treatment of visually impaired persons in Pakistan. Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Tariq Bajwa has said that adequate efforts were being made for the promotion of SME sector of the country. SIALKOT, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Mar, 2018 ) ::Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Tariq Bajwa has said that adequate efforts were being made for the promotion of SME sector of the country. Addressing a seminar on "SME Banking Products and Projects", jointly arranged by Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and the Institute of Bankers Pakistan (IBP) held here Thursday evening at SCCI, he said that SME sector was playing an instrumental role in strengthening the national economy not only but also providing employment opportunities to a large number of workers. Tariq further said that three point SBP initiatives would support SME financing including improving regulatory framework through revising prudential regulations, strengthening secured transactions framework and introduction of SME targets, market development through SME supportive subsidized refinance schemes, risk coverage scheme, Islamic SME financing, cluster survey and non financial advisory service and improving capacity building and awareness creation of bankers and SMEs. The SBP Governor said that under National Financial Inclusion (NFIS) and strategic direction of SBP, SME sector had been identified as one of the key priority areas. In line with the strategic direction of SBP key benchmarks to be achieved by 2020, like increase SME share from existing 8 per cent of private sector credit to 17 per cent and to increase number of borrowers from existing 174,000 to 500,000, he said In order to achieve these objectives a policy had been prepared for the promotion of SME finance (Conventional and Islamic in Pakistan he disclosed. He added that there were nine pillars of the policy which include improving regulatory framework, up-scaling of micro fiance banks, risk mitigation strategy, simplified procedures for SMEs, programme base lending and value chain financing, capacity building and awareness creation, hand-holding of SMEs and leverage technology and simplification of taxation regime. Earlier, President Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Zahid Latif Malik presented the address of welcome and highlighted the problems of the business community. (@rukhshanmir) Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has said that tuberclosis (TB) is a curable disease; but for that purpose, use of medicines, good food and healthy environment are required. LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Mar, 2018 ) :Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has said that tuberclosis (TB) is a curable disease; but for that purpose, use of medicines, good food and healthy environment are required. If TB were not timely diagnosed and got treated, then it could prove dangerous for health, he added. The chief minister, in his message on World TB Day issued here Friday, said the purpose of celebrating the day was to raise public awareness about treatment and safety from this disease. He said complete elimination of TB, along with best facilities of treatment, was included in governmental priorities. The TB patients were provided free facilities including diagnostic, treatment and medicines in government hospitals so that they could be fully cured. Shehbaz said vaccination was necessary for remaining safe from this contagious disease. Health experts should adopt effective steps to overcome this disease. He said patients had been provided free facilities in all the public sector hospitals of the province. The chief minister said members of civil society, as well as the health professionals, should adopt a consensus strategy against TB because the objective of making the country stronger could not be achieved without ensuring a healthy society. "Today, we should reiterate this commitment that all the resources will be utilized to control the infectious diseases and to improve the quality of life of the people," he said. Federal Minister for National Health Services Saira Afzal Tarar was conferred Sitara-i-Imtiaz by President Mamnoon Hussain on Pakistan Day in recognition of her leadership that led to the turnaround in polio situation. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Mar, 2018 ) :Federal Minister for National Health Services Saira Afzal Tarar was conferred Sitara-i-Imtiaz by President Mamnoon Hussain on Pakistan Day in recognition of her leadership that led to the turnaround in polio situation. In 2013 Pakistan was facing a raging outbreak of polio, a disease that causes permanent irreversible disability. Hundreds of children across the country were falling prey to the polio virus and the country was facing international embarrassment being held responsible for export of the virus to countries in the region and beyond, said a press release issued here Friday. Terrorists and miscreants in some parts of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas had imposed ban on the polio campaign, polio teams were unable to operate with rampant threats and attacks in different parts of the country. The Polio Eradication Program was being driven by international agencies with no national ownership. As soon as Saira Afzal Tarar took office in June 2013, she accepted the challenge and led from the front with utmost dedication and commitment to save Pakistani children from the crippling disease and restored the country's image internationally as Pakistan was being considered the stumbling block in achieving the goal of a polio free world. Mrs. Saira Afzal Tarar was instrumental in having Polio Eradication declared a National Health Emergency, in establishment of the National Task Force on Polio Eradication led by the Prime Minister. She established the National Emergency Operation Centers and its corresponding Provincial Emergency Operation Centers in Provincial Capitals and FATA to create nerve centers for coordination of all stakeholders in the fight against polio. With her efforts Cabinet Committee on Polio Eradication and Immunization was established which allowed for involvement of security apparatus in collaboration with Interior Ministry and Pakistan Army, in combating and eliminating challenge posed by the militancy to the Polio Program. She ventured out into the provinces and areas of serious concern making road trips to affected regions in the heart of Balochistan. She helped form Provincial Task Forces and met Provincial Chief Ministers convincing them to lead the campaigns and accord it top priority. She made an all-out effort to mobilize resources for the program committing sufficient funds nationally and garnering support from international partners to launch a major offensive against the Polio virus across the country. She took the floor at the major international forums including the UN, World Health Assembly and International Monitoring board for Polio Eradication effectively presenting Pakistan's case and sharing the Pakistan's epic fight back under her leadership to turnaround the Polio situation. Realizing that an efficient vaccine management system was critical to success of the polio campaigns, she led a major reform process in establishing a world class vaccine management and tracking system which won ISO certification and was presented as a model globally for developing world to adopt. She led the development of the most effective communication and advocacy strategy which resulted in support for the program by key segments of the society including ulema and top religious scholars besides successfully meeting the challenge of refusals and misconceptions. Cognizant of the proliferation of Polio virus in the federal capital Islamabad, Mrs. Saira Afzal Tarar brought all stakeholders together, visited the katchi abadis in the outskirts of the city and personally monitored polio campaigns to arrest the spread of virus. Mrs. Saira Afzal Tarar brought transparency and good governance to the program ensuring that the resources are optimally utilized for our children and that the most competent and dedicated team is tasked to implement the policies and strategies under her leadership. It is a result of her continued advocacy and leadership that there is the highest level of political commitment across Pakistan to the cause of polio eradication. Pakistan today has the lowest ever cases of Polio and its performance in stopping Polio virus transmission has won highest appreciation at international fora. As Federal Health Minister, she is credited with major achievements and reforms including the launch of Pakistan's largest ever health insurance Program, the Prime Minister's National Health Program, introducing the country's first-ever drug pricing policy, revamping Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, giving the first National Health Vision among others. In recognition of her outstanding services to Pakistan in protecting and safeguarding the health of our children from Poliomyelitis, the President has been pleased to confer upon Mrs. Saira Afzal Tarar the award of Sitara-i-Imtiaz. Vice Chancellor the University of Azad Jammu Kashmir Dr Kaleem Abbasi and founder chairman of All Kashmir Forum Safeer Ahmed Khan were awarded Quaid-e-Azam gold medals by Tehreek-e-Istehkam-e-Pakistan Council Pakistan for their meritorious voluntarily work for the Kashmir cause through their high intellect, and academic and political works respectively. MIRPUR (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Mar, 2018 ) , :Vice Chancellor the University of Azad Jammu Kashmir Dr Kaleem Abbasi and founder chairman of All Kashmir Forum Safeer Ahmed Khan were awarded Quaid-e-Azam gold medals by Tehreek-e-Istehkam-e-Pakistan Council Pakistan for their meritorious voluntarily work for the Kashmir cause through their high intellect, and academic and political works respectively. Safeer Khan, through his forum, highlighted the brutalities by the Indian forces unleashed against the innocent Kashmiris and raised voice to stop the human rights violations in occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The award ceremony was held at Majid Nizami Auditorium on the eve of Pakistan Day in the Punjab province capital. Veteran political, academic, social, journalist and religious personalities from across the country participated. VC AJK Varsity Dr Kaleem Abbasi has served a lot in the education sector being a seasoned academician. He served as Vice Chancellor to many universities. He worked a lot for the promotion of higher education on the soil of Azad Jammu Kashmir. Similarly, Safeer Ahmed Khan is one of the younger, energetic and dedicated Kashmiri activist who launched campaigns to demand from the Govt. of India to fulfill their promise with Kashmiris and United Nations to implement their resolutions of self-determination for Kashmiris. All Kashmir Forum is working for human rights and non-violent solutions to resolve the prevailing Jammu Kashmir issue. Safeer Khan presented the Jammu Kashmir issue an issue of "Humanity" rather than a geographical issue. Human rights activists, Kashmiris leaders and all political, religious and journalist's parties congratulated them for securing great honor which is acknowledgement of their meritorious services to higher education and national Kashmir cause respectively. Advisor to Prime Minister Engineer Ameer Muqam has stressed the National Transmission & Dispatch Company to complete different projects in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) on urgent basis so that people could enjoy the fruits of these projects. LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Mar, 2018 ) :Advisor to Prime Minister Engineer Ameer Muqam has stressed the National Transmission & Dispatch Company to complete different projects in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) on urgent basis so that people could enjoy the fruits of these projects. Presiding over a meeting at Wapda House here on Thursday, he gave targets to the NTDC for completion of several projects. He said that KVA-220 Grid Station at Mansehra should be completed till March 30, KVA-220 Grid Station at Chakdara till April 30, KVA 15-220 Grid station at Dera Ismail Khan till June while KVA-220 Grid Station at Noshehra should be completed till July of the current year at any cost. He ordered for issuing rest of the tenders of Tajikistan- Afghanistan and Pakistan Transmission Line as soon as possible. He also ordered for starting work on KVA-500 Convertor at Nowshehra immediately. Giving directions for completion of augmentation of Sheikh Muhammadi Peshawar and Mardan grid stations till April 15, he said that KVA-220 Jamrood and KVA-220 Kohat should be included in PSDP during this year by focusing on the needs of KPK citizens. He said that completion of grid stations and transmission lines ensured the relief to people. Ameer Muqam said that people have to face 15-hour load shedding daily and, therefore, work on the projects should be expedited. He appreciated the MD NTDC Zafar Abbas and his team for their performance. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Clean Energy Wire (CLEW) is hosting a media study tour April 22 to 24 in Germany. Journalists who cover energy, environmental or climate policy can apply to attend this free program. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Mar, 2018 ) :Clean Energy Wire (CLEW) is hosting a media study tour April 22 to 24 in Germany. Journalists who cover energy, environmental or climate policy can apply to attend this free program. Journalists will visit Mainz, W'rrstadt and Hunsr'ck to focus on "Investors, troublemakers: citizens & local powers of the Energiewende," a bottom-up, decentralized and citizen-owned energy system. The organizer will provide food, accommodations and local transportation. Participants can apply for 60 percent reimbursement for land-based travel or 40 percent reimbursement for air travel.The program will be held in German and English.The deadline is March 23, said a press release on Thursday. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Media Affairs Senator Dr Musadik Malik has said that continuity of democratic system had always contributed to economic stability, development and prosperity of the country. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Mar, 2018 ) :Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Media Affairs Senator Dr Musadik Malik has said that continuity of democratic system had always contributed to economic stability, development and prosperity of the country. Democracy should continue in the country as Pakistan had already faced martial laws, he said talking to a private news channel. He said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government was following one-point agenda of continuity of democracy. Former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was ready to hold talks for supremacy of law and constitution which was demand of every person, he added. He urged leaders of political parties to talk within the limits of constitution and refrain from using un-parliamentary language. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Burj Al Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper in the world, lit up with green and white spectacular LED illumination of the Pakistani national flag on Friday to celebrate the country's 78th Pakistan Day. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Mar, 2018 ) :Burj Al Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper in the world, lit up with green and white spectacular LED illumination of the Pakistani national flag on Friday to celebrate the country's 78th Pakistan Day. While flag hoisting ceremonies was also be held at the Pakistan Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Pakistan Consulate General in Dubai. The Pakistani nation marks March 23 as the Pakistan Day commemorating the passage of Lahore Resolution in 1940, when the Muslims of the Subcontinent demanded a separate homeland, Private news channel reported. The light shows attracted large crowds from Pakistani community based in Dubai and elsewhere in UAE, who were seen humming the Pakistan's national anthem outside the Dubai Mall. Pakistan's Ambassador to UAE Moazzam Ahmad Khan inaugurated the event titled 'Shukriya Pakistan' in UAE that will delight the expatriates with a four-day celebration of the Pakistan Day with a number of shows and activities.Last year, a spectacular LED illumination of Pakistan National flag on Burj Al Khalifa mesmerized people when they gathered there to watch it in the night. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday issued the schedule of district Nazim elections which will be held on April 5. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Mar, 2018 ) :Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday issued the schedule of district Nazim elections which will be held on April 5. PTI has declared Ali Khan as candidate for District Nazmi whereas PML-N candidate is yet to be announced. Former district Nazim Sardar Sher Bahadur who was elected as an independent candidate and then joined PTI while Naib Nazim Shaukat Ali Tanoli was elected as member of District Council on the ticket of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI). Both Nazim, Naib Nazim along with other district council members were de-seated by the Supreme Court (SC)of Pakistan after three years on the issue of floor crossing. For district Nazim Abbottabad 39 votes are required whereas PTI claims to have 45 members. After winning two more seats in LG by-polls and notification of special seats by ECP Pakistan Tehri-e-Insaf's position has been strengthened. An impressive flag lowering ceremony was held at Wagah Border here on Friday, which was witnessed by a sizeable number of people. LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Mar, 2018 ) :An impressive flag lowering ceremony was held at Wagah Border here on Friday, which was witnessed by a sizeable number of people. The flag lowering ceremony is a routine practice. People from all walks of life visited the Wagah border to attend the ceremony and express love with their motherland. The air echoed with the slogans of 'Allahu Akbar' 'Ya Rasool Allah (PBUH)' 'Pakistan Zindabad' and 'Jevay Jevay Pakistan'. Most of the people especially children were dressed in green and white coloured clothes in accordance with the celebrations of the 78th Resolution Day of Pakistan. They were also carrying national flags and placards inscribed with slogans in favour of Pakistan. Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on Friday arrested four alleged terrorists belonging to a banned outfit and recovered explosive materials from their possession. MULTAN, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Mar, 2018 ) :Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on Friday arrested four alleged terrorists belonging to a banned outfit and recovered explosive materials from their possession. According to police, the CTD raided near Babar chowk and arrested four terrorists identified as Ahmed Noor, Muhammad Shehbaz, Muhammad Asim and Zaheer Ahmed and recovered hand grenade, weapons and explosives from them. They were planning to target the sensitive areas. The outlaws have been shifted to undisclosed location for interrogation. There is need for collective efforts for realizing Father of the nation's dream of a strong, stable and prosperous Pakistan. This was stated by Governor Sindh Muhammad Zubair while talking to the journalists at the Mazar of Quaid-e- Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, a statement said on Friday. KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Mar, 2018 ) :There is need for collective efforts for realizing Father of the nation's dream of a strong, stable and prosperous Pakistan. This was stated by Governor Sindh Muhammad Zubair while talking to the journalists at the Mazar of Quaid-e- Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, a statement said on Friday. Earlier, Governor Sindh Muhammad Zubair along with Chief Minister Sindh and members of the provincial cabinet visited mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam and laid floral wreath and offered fateha at the mazar on the occasion of Pakistan Day. The Governor Sindh congratulating the nation on the occasion of Pakistan Day, said that today is an important day of the history of Pakistan. He said that Pakistan was created after the great struggle and sacrifices, the prevailing situation of the country demand for the solidarity and unity of the whole nation. He said "we all should work for promoting democracy, stability, unity and complete eradication of terrorism from the country". Annual election of Karachi Union of Journalists-Dastoor (KUJ-D) for the year 2018-19 will be held on April 14. KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Mar, 2018 ) :Annual election of Karachi Union of Journalists-Dastoor (KUJ-D) for the year 2018-19 will be held on April 14. The decision was made in the KUJ general council meeting held at Karachi Press Club under the chairmanship of its president Afazal Mohsin, said a statement issued here on Friday. The meeting also approved election committee headed by senior journalist Aata Muhammad Tabbsum. The committee will issue the election scheduled very soon. The general council meeting of KUJ will held on April 7, at 2.30 pm at its office. The annual performance and finance reports will be presented in the general council meeting. The people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federal Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Friday celebrated the 78th Pak-Day like other parts of the country with traditional zeal and fervor and renewed pledge to work with unison and harmony for sovereignty and solidarity of their motherland by arranging score of event to mark the day in a befitting manner. PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Mar, 2018 ) :The people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federal Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Friday celebrated the 78th Pak-Day like other parts of the country with traditional zeal and fervor and renewed pledge to work with unison and harmony for sovereignty and solidarity of their motherland by arranging score of event to mark the day in a befitting manner. Pakistan Day commemorates the passing of the Lahore Resolution on March 23, 1940, when the All-India Muslim League demanded a separate nation for the Muslims of the British Indian Empire. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Eng. Iqbal Zafar Jhagra decorated a number of personalities with Sitara-I-Imtiaz and Tamgha-I-Imtiaz in recognition of their illustrious achievements in their respective disciplines at the Investiture ceremony held at the Governor's House, Peshawar on Friday. The police officials of the province were decorated with Quaid e Azam Police Medals and President's Police Medals in the said function. Besides, Inspector General of Police Salahuddin Mehsud, members of the provincial cabinet, Parliamentarians both from the Province and FATA, Senior Civil and Military officials, relatives and well-wisher of the recipients of the award attended the ceremony. Commissioner Peshawar Shahab Ali Shah chaired a special function at Al-Asar High School Nauthia Jadeed to mark the Pakistan Day. Commissioner in his address said that future of the young generation solely was in the hand of the teachers. He underscored the need for character building in the educational institutes. A flag hoisting ceremony to mark the 78th Pakistan Day was held at provincial headquarters of Rescue 1122 here on Friday. Media Coordinator for the Rescue 1122 Muhammad Shafique said, District Emergency Officer Hasan Dad performed the flag hoisting ceremony. The event was attended by the Emergency Officers and officials of the department. The contingent of Rescue 1122 presented salute to the national flag. In his address Hasan Dad said that March 23 was a day of Pakistan becoming reality and creation of a separate Islamic State in the sub continent. He said that we make a pledge today that we will not hesitate to offer any sacrifice for the country's solidarity and survival. Every citizen has to make a solemn pledge we will leave no stone unturned in making Pakistan a citadel of peace, harmony and a developed country among comity of nations. In Lower Dir, Pakistan Day was also celebrated across the district as various organizations took out rallies with the support of the District administration to mark the day which were largely participated by the cross section of the society. Deputy Commissioner Sarmad Saleem Akram led the solidarity rally attended by thousands of people. The DC said that anti-states design of the conspirator would be foiled with the iron hands. Meanwhile, Anjuman-e-Tajraan Dir Lower also took out a rally from Balambat to Timergara Bazar. Similarly, a two days festival was also arranged in connection with the day wherein traditional games were played. In Shangla, Pakistan Day was celebrated in government and private schools with great pomp and show. Main function of the day was held at Centennial Model High School attended by students, parents, journalists and people from cross section of society. In Nowshera, March 23 function was held at Govt. Girls Degree College which was addressed by students who threw light on the importance of the day. College Principal Madam Rozina Rehman was guest of honor in the function. In another function held at Post Graduate College Nowshera under chair of Deputy Commissioner Nowhsera Kh. Muhammad Sikandar Zeeshan. Speaking on the occasion, DC said that we have to shun the policies of dependence on others and make progress and development as our target for young generation. On the occasion, flag hoisting ceremony was also held and district police present salute to the national flag. In Abbottabad, Additional Deputy Commissioner performed the flag hoisting ceremony and congratulated the nation over the celebration of 78th Pakistan Day. It's a day of renewing the pledge as our forefathers had laid the foundation of Islamic Republic of Pakistan on this day on 1940. In Hangu, Assistant Commissioner Hangu Yusaf Kareem performed the flag hoisting ceremony at a graceful ceremony to mark the 78th Pakistan Day here at DC Office here on Friday. A smart contingent of the district Police presented salute to the national flag followed by a Dua for the solidarity and prosperity of the country. The AC on this occasion stated that March 23 reminded us of the sacrifices the Muslims of the sub continent offered for the creation of Pakistan. Our forefathers achieved this country after lot of sacrifices. It's our moral duty to get united and play our role for the development and prosperity of our beloved country. We have to make a pledge to day that we will not hesitate to offer any sacrifice for the defence of our motherland, the AC maintained. In Skardu, the 78th Pakistan Day was celebrated in Gilgit Baltisitan with renewed pledge and commitment to make Pakistan an Ideal Islamic welfare state according to the dream of the father of the Nation and poet of East. In this connection functions were held under auspices of different literary, educational, social, political and cultural organizations in Skardu and other Districts. Main event of the day was held at Aiwan-e-Iqbal Skardu under auspices of Bazme-Ilm-o-Fun. In Parachinar, Kurram Agency a colorful function was held on the eve of 78th Pakistan Day which also included Youm-e-Pakistan Rally attended by school children, tribal elders, personnel of the security forces and political administration. A solidarity rally was also taken out from Edhi Park in Parachinar led by Brig. Akhtar Aleem which was also attended by Political Agent Basir Khan and tribal elders. The participants of the rally shouted Pakistan Zindabaad slogans. In Kohat district, Pakistan Day function was also held at Police Lines where special parade was arranged to mark the day. The function was attended by RPO Awal Khan, DPO Abass Majeed Marwat, SP Investigation Jehanzeb Khan and SP Operation Jameel Akhtar. In Khyber Agency, the political administration arranged special function at Jamrud in connection with Pakistan Day attended by APA Zahid Usman Kakakhel and tribal elders. On the occasion, national flag was also hoisted while the smart contingent of Khasadar force presented salute. APA Zahid Usman presented awards among heirs of Shuhadas. The National Day of Pakistan was celebrated with national spirit and great fervor to mark the passing of Pakistan Resolution on March 23, 1940, at Embassy of Pakistan here on Friday. The flag hoisting ceremony began with the recitation from the Holy Quran BEIJING, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Mar, 2018 ) :The National Day of Pakistan was celebrated with national spirit and great fervor to mark the passing of Pakistan Resolution on March 23, 1940, at Embassy of Pakistan here on Friday. The flag hoisting ceremony began with the recitation from the Holy Quran. As Pakistan Ambassador to China, Masood Khalid hoisted the green and white flag, the national anthem was played. He read out the messages of President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on the occasion. Ambassador Khalid urged the Pakistani community to unite in order to achieve the national milestones. He also asked the Pakistani community to bring honour to the country and realize the dreams of the founding fathers to attain glory for Pakistan. He highlighted the importance of Pakistan-China friendship and said that both countries share the dream of development, peace, and security in the region. Ambassador Khalid said that the bond of friendship between Pakistan and China has withstood the test of time through mutual trust and support. The students of Pakistan Embassy College Beijing attired in colourful Pakistani dresses presented national songs with enthusiasm and national spirit. The Ambassador also distributed sweets among the children. All officers and staff of the mission along with their families, teachers, students and a large number of Pakistanis living in the Chinese capital attended the ceremony. Meanwhile, similar flag hoisting ceremonies were also held at Pakistani Consulates in Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shanghai. In order to celebrate the occasion, a Grand National Day Reception will also be held by the Embassy later in the evening at a local hotel. APP/asg (@ChaudhryMAli88) Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that the spirit and unity of March 23, 1940 was unprecedented and now the time has come again to demonstrate same kind of spirit and unity to steer the country out of different challenges. KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Mar, 2018 ) :Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that the spirit and unity of March 23, 1940 was unprecedented and now the time has come again to demonstrate same kind of spirit and unity to steer the country out of different challenges. This he said while talking to media just after laying floral wreath at the Mazar of Father of the Nation, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah along with his cabinet members on the occasion of Pakistan Day on Friday. He said that March 23, 1940 was a historic day as Pakistan Resolution was passed. The resolution set a direction for creation of Pakistan and ultimately the goal was achieved with an organized struggle led by Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Murad Ali Shah said that since independence the nation has seen various ups and downs but the worst episode and challenge was of emergence of terrorism. The nation stood against terrorists bravely and demonstrated unprecedented spirit of unity and finally defeated them, he said and added this unity was revival of the spirit that was inculcated on March 23, 1940. The chief minister said that this year, 2018 is the year of general election and the future of Pakistan lies in democracy. He said that in the struggle of Pakistan our youth had played a vital role and now they have to play their due role to strengthen democracy. Replying to a question, the chief minister said that the revival of MMA is a good omen. At the time of general elections such kind of political alliances of like-minded parties are made, this is their democratic right, he said. Earlier, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah along with Governor Sindh Mohammad Zubair and his cabinet members, Manzoor Wassan, Sohail Anwar Siyal, Mumtaz Jakhrani laid floral wreath on Mazar-e-Quaid and offered fateh. The chief minister also recorded his expression for the historic struggle of father of nation in the visitors book. (@FahadShabbir) The High Commission of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Pakistani community based in Sri Lanka celebrated the 78th National Day of Pakistan with traditional fervour, zeal at High commission of Sri Lanka on Friday. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Mar, 2018 ) :The High Commission of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Pakistani community based in Sri Lanka celebrated the 78th National Day of Pakistan with traditional fervour, zeal at High commission of Sri Lanka on Friday. The National Day of Pakistan is celebrated every year on the 23rd March to commemorate the outstanding achievement of the Muslims of Sub-Continent who passed the historic "Pakistan Resolution" on this day at Lahore in 1940 which culminated in creation of Pakistan after 7 years, said a message received here from High commission Sri Lanka. The Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan hoisted the national flag of Pakistan in a colourful ceremony, held at the Pakistan High Commission Sri Lanka. Later, the messages of the President and the Prime Minister of Pakistan were read out to the audience. He said that Pakistan greatly values its relations with Sri Lanka which are based on mutual trust and understanding. It is a matter of great satisfaction that these mutually beneficial relations, rooted in history, have become truly multi-dimensional, covering fields of politics, economy, defence and security, culture, education and people-to-people contacts, he added. The Acting High Commissioner also extended sincere greetings and best wishes on behalf of the Government and people of Pakistan to the Government and people of Sri Lanka for the continued progress, peace, national unity, reconciliation and harmony in the years ahead. The ceremony was attended by a large number of participants from various walks of life including members of the Sri Lanka Pakistan Friendship, Trade and Investment Association, business Council and the Pakistani community based in Sri Lanka. (@rukhshanmir) Pakistan Muslim League -Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Javed Abbasi Friday said his party did not use any unparlimentary language against national institutions. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Mar, 2018 ) :Pakistan Muslim League -Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Javed Abbasi Friday said his party did not use any unparlimentary language against national institutions. Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) was habitual to use derogatory language against national institutors and it had attacked parliament and Pakistan Television buildings during sit-ins at D-Chowk, he said talking to a private news channel. He said all institutions should sit-together and talk on national issues and it was on record that the PML-N government had always called an All Parties Conference (APC) on different matters. The senator said all political parties were agreed to negotiate to tackle issues under the limits of constitution. Replying to a question, he said former Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was disqualified on having an Iqama but not corruption charges. Such decisions against PML-N leaders will not damage the credibility of party, he added. Javed Abbasi said former Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan was loyal party leader. Commenting on Pakistan Day, he said Pakistan was created after a lot of sacrifices and struggles of father of the nation Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He urged all political parties to effectively work for development and prosperity of the country. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Adviser to Prime Minister and PMLN Provincial President Engr. Ameer Muqam has said that Pakistan Muslim League is a founder political party and today on the 78th Pak Day we are renewing our pledge for sovereignty and solidarity of the motherland. PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Mar, 2018 ) :Adviser to Prime Minister and PMLN Provincial President Engr. Ameer Muqam has said that Pakistan Muslim League is a founder political party and today on the 78th Pak Day we are renewing our pledge for sovereignty and solidarity of the motherland. He expressed these views while addressing a function in connection with celebration of 78th Pakistan Day held here by PMLN on Friday. The function among other was attended by large number of party workers. Ameer Muqam said that few so-called political leaders are trying to sabotage the development process for accomplishing their personal interest, and we could no more afford experiments in the province. He said that PMLN could not be weaken by so-called dharnas and during next general elections, people of Khyber Pakhunkhwa would reject politics of those entities who converted Peshawar into city of ruins. Engr. Muqam said that PMLN would win the next general elections. He said that Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif is the only leader who had strong relations between masses and no one can remove his love from the hearts of people. He said that party workers are real assets and I am always there to solve their problems. (@ChaudhryMAli88) In celebration of the vibrant season, the spring festival kicked off at Pearl Continental (PC) Hotel Peshawar on Wednesday. PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Mar, 2018 ) :In celebration of the vibrant season, the spring festival kicked off at Pearl Continental (PC) Hotel Peshawar on Wednesday. The five-day festival features food stalls, live music and fun activities for children, among other attractions for families. Decorated thematically, the lush green lawn of the hotel hosts stalls from all provinces of Pakistan, representing their indigenous food and culture that reflects the diversity of the country. The event was inaugurated by Commandant, Frontier Constabulary (FC) Mr. Liaquat Ali Khan alongside General Manager Pearl-Continental Hotel Peshawar Mr. Rashid Rauf Banday. During the inauguration ceremony, Mr.Liaquat Ali Khan lauded the efforts of PC Peshawar for arranging such an event for the people of Peshawar, saying that such initiatives will go a long way in promoting harmony among the provinces. Speaking on occasion, Mr. Banday thanked the locals for expressing interest in the festival, adding that the hotel will keep on arranging these kinds of family-centric eventsfor the community. He further went on to say that such activities promote a softer image of the province in general and Peshawar in particular. Dr. Rabia, a resident of Peshawar, appreciated the festival's arrangements, saying she thoroughly enjoyed the delicious food from all the provinces. In the present era, such events provide a breath of fresh air to the locals, she added. The festival will conclude on March 25, 2018. The 78th National Day of Pakistan was celebrated with traditional zeal and patriotic spirit by Pakistanis living in the UAE at the premises of the Embassy of Pakistan in Abu Dhabi and Consulate General of Pakistan, Dubai. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Mar, 2018 ) :The 78th National Day of Pakistan was celebrated with traditional zeal and patriotic spirit by Pakistanis living in the UAE at the premises of the Embassy of Pakistan in Abu Dhabi and Consulate General of Pakistan, Dubai. According to a message recieved here, the ceremony was inaugurated with flag hoisting by Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the UAE, Mr. Moazzam Ahmad Khan and playing of national anthem. National Day messages of the President and the Prime Minister of Pakistan were read out. Students from Pakistani schools sang national songs with national zeal and enthusiasm. The event was well attended by a large number of Pakistani community. Ambassador Moazzam Ahmad Khan, in his message on this occasion, congratulated the Pakistani community living in the UAE. He said on this very day, the Muslims of the subcontinent resolved to achieve a separate homeland in order to lead their lives with dignity, honor and freedom. Ambassador Khan recalled the challenges confronted by Pakistan since its inception but were addressed through national resolve, resilience and commitment by the Pakistani nation. Ambassador also thanked the friends of Pakistan in particular the UAE who always stood by it in difficult times and contributed to its development. He paid special tribute to the founder of the UAE His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (Alarehma) who used to call Pakistan his second home. Ambassador underlined that the sapling of friendship planted by Sheik Zayed and Pakistani leadership has grown into a tall tree. As a special gesture, UAE's military contingent participated in the Pakistan National Day parade held in Islamabad. Performance of the UAE military contingent in the Parade was appreciated by all present in the parade ground. It is the first time that a military contingent of the UAE has attended the National Day parade. It is manifestation of the close and brotherly relations between Pakistan and the UAE. Another ceremony in UAE was held at Pakistan Consulate, Dubai. Consul General Brig. (Rtd) Syed Javed Hassan hoisted the National Flag. The ceremony began with recitation of verses from the Holy Qur'an. The messages of the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan were read out to the audience. Consul General paid tributes to the peerless leadership of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah that in a short span of seven years, the dream of separate homeland translated into a reality and the independent sovereign state of Pakistan emerged on the map of the world. Consul General stressed upon forging unity among the rank and file of the Pakistani community. He also extended his warmest felicitations to the Pakistani community residing in the Emirates. He urged the Pakistani community to work tirelessly for the progress and development of Pakistan and UAE. Earlier, on 21st March, the "Pakistan Day" reception was hosted by the Embassy at the local hotel which was attended by a large number of Ambassadors and their representatives, officials of the UAE Government, media and members of Pakistan community. His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Cabinet Member and Minister of Tolerance and Her Excellency Dr. Maitha bint Salem Al Shamsi, Minister of State were the Chief Guests on the occasion. (@ChaudhryMAli88) The Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, in cooperation with China's Hunan Jinye Zhongwang Technology Co Ltd and Xuanye (Lao) Co Ltd, will establish a model organic and bio-fertilizer processing factory for clean agriculture (CA) development in Laos. VIENTIANE, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Mar, 2018 ) :The Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, in cooperation with China's Hunan Jinye Zhongwang Technology Co Ltd and Xuanye (Lao) Co Ltd, will establish a model organic and bio-fertilizer processing factory for clean agriculture (CA) development in Laos. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed here the other day by Director-General of the Agriculture Department of Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Vilaysouk Khennavong, Hunan Jinye Zhongwang Vice President Huang Jian and Xuanye (Lao) President Xu Guowu, Xinhua news agency said. The ceremony was attended by Lao Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Bounkhouang Khambounheuang and Economic and Commercial Counselor of Chinese Embassy to Laos Wang Qihui along with the government officials from relevant sectors and representatives of the companies. "The ministry through the Department of Agriculture is currently encouraging Lao farmers to produce CA in two standards, Organic Agriculture (OA) and Good Agriculture Practice (GAP) to supply food safety in the domestic market," Vilaysouk said. Maldives President Abdulla Yameen lifted a 45-day state of emergency on Thursday, a day after senior political opponents were locked up indefinitely for allegedly trying to topple him last month. Mal, Maldives, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Mar, 2018 ) :Maldives President Abdulla Yameen lifted a 45-day state of emergency on Thursday, a day after senior political opponents were locked up indefinitely for allegedly trying to topple him last month. Yameen chose not to extend the draconian laws he had invoked on February 5 following a Supreme Court ruling that threatened to lead to his impeachment. "Though there still exists a diminished threat to national security... in an effort to promote normalcy, the president has decided to lift the state of emergency," Yameen's office said in a statement. The country's united opposition said lifting the emergency made no practical difference because "Yameen no longer abides by laws and the constitution". The opposition urged foreign intervention in the Muslim Indian Ocean archipelago of 340,000. "The opposition calls on the international community for swift action on the Maldives, including the imposition of targeted sanctions against regime officials," they said in a statement. Yameen initially declared the state of emergency for 15 days after the country's top court ordered him to free high-profile dissidents from jail. (@ChaudhryMAli88) The United Nations Friday successfully closed its mission in Liberia after nearly 15 years of supporting the West African nation in the transition to peace and democracy, a process in which Pakistani troops and civilian personnel played a crucial role. UNITED NATIONS, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Mar, 2018 ) :The United Nations Friday successfully closed its mission in Liberia after nearly 15 years of supporting the West African nation in the transition to peace and democracy, a process in which Pakistani troops and civilian personnel played a crucial role. The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) was deployed in 2003 to monitor a ceasefire agreement in Liberia following the conclusion of a brutal civil war. At its peak it consisted of up to 15,000 United Nations military personnel from and 1,115 police officers, along with a civilian component, from at least 10 troop contributing countries. Over the years, Pakistan, as UNMIL's backbone, provided infantry battalions, a signal company, engineering companies, military observers, police officers as well as the Level-II hospital . From 2005 to 2013, Pakistan contributed more than 2,000 peacekeepers to UNMIL per annum, with a high of 3,400 in 2007 and 2008. The bulk of the Pakistani troops returned home in 2015. The medical unit was wound up today. The Assistant Secretary-General for UN Peacekeeping Operations, Bintou Keita , visited the Pakistani Hospital in Starbase which will be repatriated on March 31. "At the occasion of closure of UNMIL, I am proud to acknowledge the excellent work done by PAKMED and all the men and women who have served peace for Liberia," he said. Celebrating the completion of UNMIL's work at an event in the capital, Monrovia, Amina Mohammed, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, said that Liberia had made enormous progress in the past 15 years, while acknowledging its support for Liberians in restoring their country and building sustainable peace. "In 2003, when UNMIL was created, Liberia was torn apart by conflict, with a traumatized population and no hope for its young people, especially our women and girls," she continued. She noted that 14 years of civil war left more than a quarter of a million Liberians dead, nearly one-third of the population displaced, and an estimated 80 per cent of women and girls injured by sexual violence. Highlighting the important role of Liberian women, Ms Mohammed commend their "leadership, courage and integrity" in pursuing peace. She thanked the Special Representatives, civilian and military personnel and troop-contributing countries and paid special tribute to the 200 peacekeepers who lost their lives in pursuit of peace in Liberia. "Today, we remember their sacrifice, we remember their families," she stressed. At an "important turning point," she noted Liberia's progress and acknowledged that challenges lie ahead. "Peace will not last without sustainable development; and development gains will be at risk without sustained peace and respect for human rights," she warned. "We need to give Liberians back their dignity, dreams and faith in a better future," Ms Mohammed cited the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union's Agenda 2063 as the best roadmaps to achieve this. She noted that a generation ago, Liberia and Sierra Leone were in freefall, and Ivory Coast was embroiled in crisis. Yet, 20 years later, "the closure of UNMIL marks the transition of all three countries to peace and democracy." "This sub-region has a bright future," she stated. Speaking to the press afterwards, she referred to UNMIL as another successful peacekeeping mission in West Africa. It was deployed in 2003 when State institutions in ruins, a non-existent economy and a disintegrated national police and army. Today, the State has been rebuilt and more than 100,000 former combatants disarmed, demobilized and reintegrated. Justice and security institutions were restored. Ms. Mohammed said that today Liberians enjoy peace and UNMIL leaves behind a country that has great potential to achieve lasting stability, democracy and prosperity. To President George Manneh Weah, she underlined the UN's support to him in sustaining peace and advancing sustainable development assuring him that the UN would remain committed beyond UNMIL's 30 March mandate. Although the mission is leaving, 17 UN funds and agencies will remain in Liberia to focus on development and improving the lives of Liberian people. On behalf of the Liberian authorities, President Weah said: "UN has positively impacted the lives of Liberians as well as every fabric of the Liberian Society since its arrival in 2003." He acknowledged the hope the United Nations has given Liberians adding, "Liberia has to protect and sustain the peace." He expressed his commitment towards ensuring it happens. Copenhagen, Denmark (UroToday.com) Dr. Kerstin Junker from Germany discussed the molecular heterogeneity between primary tumors and metastases. According to Dr. Junker there are three types of tumor heterogeneity, including (i) intertumor heterogeneity, (ii) intratumor heterogeneity, and (iii) heterogeneity between primary tumors and metastases. Understanding the heterogeneity of metastatic disease allows selection of therapy targets and prediction of therapy responses.A landmarkpaper from 2012 [1] discovered intratumor heterogeneity and branched evolution by multiregion sequencing of a primary renal tumor and metastatic site. Subsequently, a study published last year assessed paired samples (primary and metastatic site) among 60 patients with RCC and found several different classes of mutations, including missense, nonsense, promoter, and splicing mutations. These were most commonly in VHL, PBRM1, SETD2 and BAP1. Among these 60 patients, 22% of pairs had identical mutations.Recent interest has been directed toward BAP1 and PBRM1. In a study specifically assessing immunohistochemistry of BAP1 and PBRM1 among 41 paired samples, there was (i) concordance for BAP1 in 83% of cases compare to 63% for PBRM1, (ii) intratumor heterogeneity among primary tumors in 10% of cases for BAP1 and 24% of PBRM1, (iii) intratumor heterogeneity among metastases in 2% of cases for BAP1 and 7% of cases for PBRM1 [2]. Eckel-Passow et al. also specifically assessed BAP1 and PBRM1 among 111 patients with paired samples who underwent immunohistochemistry [3]. There were 12 patients that had intrametastatic heterogeneity assessed of which there was concordance in 100% of BAP1 specimens and 92% of PBRM1 samples. Thirty-two patients had intermetastatic heterogeneity assessed between 2-4 metastases, with BAP1 concordance in 97% of cases and 97% of PBRM1 cases.Additional targets for assessing molecular heterogeneity between primary tumors and metastatic sites includes the MET copy number (with potential clinical implications for cabozantinib) and differential expression of PD-L1. Dr. Junker concluded by noting that (i) molecular heterogeneity between primary tumors and metastatic lesions exists, but depends on targets and related biomarkers, (ii) this is important for targeted selection and development of predictive biomarkers, and (iii) intrametastatic heterogeneity was lower compared to primary tumors.References:1. Gerlinger M, Rowan AJ, Horswell S, et al. Intratumor heterogeneity and branched evolution revealed by multiregion sequencing.2012;366(10):883-892.2. Miura Y, Inoshita N, Ikeda M, et al. Loss of BAP1 protein expression in the first metastatic site predicts prognosis in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma.2017;35(6):386-391.3. Eckel-Passow E, Serie DJ, Cheville JC, et al. BAP1 and PBRM1 in metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma: Tumor heterogeneity and concordance with paired primary tumor.2017;17(1):19.Presented by: Kerstin Junker, Saarland University, Homburg, GermanyWritten by: Zachary Klaassen, MD, Urologic Oncology Fellow, University of Toronto, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, twitter: @zklaassen_md at the 2018 European Association of Urology Meeting EAU18, 16-20 March, 2018 Copenhagen, Denmark RCC has heterogeneous histologic, molecular and genetic features Research of genetic and molecular biomarkers is a clinical priority to assist clinical decision making in several clinical settings of localized and advanced disease, and to predict responses to systematic targeted therapy/immunotherapy in the adjuvant/metastatic setting Percutaneous biopsy should be increasingly used to support clinical decision making in the precision medicine era Clinicians must consider RCC heterogeneity when they use information from renal tumor biopsy to guide treatment decisions Further studies are needed to define the ideal pattern of biopsy and to optimize the accuracy of biopsies by better sampling potentially heterogeneous renal tumors Copenhagen, Denmark (UroToday.com) Dr. Alessandro Volpe provided a discussion on precision medicine for patients with renal cell cancer. Precision medicine is a medical model that proposes the customization of healthcare with medical decisions, treatment and practices tailored to the individual patient. Precision medicine, specifically in patients with high risk/advanced/metastatic RCC, includes (i) selection of the optimal targeted/immunotherapy, (ii) indications for adjuvant therapy after radical nephrectomy, and (iii) indications for cytoreductive nephrectomy in the setting of metastatic RCC. Precision medicine, specifically in patients with localized RCC, includes (i) indications for nephron-sparing surgery in larger tumors (T1b-T2), (ii) indications for lymph node dissection in high-risk disease, and (iii) indications for non-surgical management in select patients.For patients with small renal masses, active surveillance is a viable option. Data from Canada assessing progression patterns among 209 incidental small renal masses (<4 cm) showed that over a median follow-up of 28 months (range 1-60) the mean growth rate was 0.13 cm/year [1]. There were 27 patients that experienced progression (34 lesions), including local progression for 25 patients and metastasis for 2 patients. For the patients experiencing local progression, nine patients were treated (7 nephrectomy, 2 probe ablation), 15 continued surveillance and 1 patients was lost to follow-up. This lead Dr. Volpe to quote the age-old Whitmore Aphorism for prostate cancer, but to insert renal cancer Is it possible to cure renal cancer when it is necessary, and is it necessary to cure renal cancer when it is possible?So how do we select patients for active surveillance? Patient features and tumor features. Unfortunately, imaging has no significant ability to assess tumor aggressiveness, and as such we need to better characterize lesions by percutaneous needle biopsy in order to obtain further information regarding malignancy, histotype, grade, and genetic and molecular characteristics. A systematic review assessed the accuracy of percutaneous renal tumor biopsy found that the pooled estimate for sensitivity was 99.1% and 99.7% for specificity [2]. Furthermore, median concordance rates between percutaneous biopsy and final pathology is more than 90% and nearly 96% for small renal masses. When assessing concordance rates for grade between biopsy and final pathology, using a 4-tiered grading system the rate is 62.5%, and 87% when using a 2-tiered grading system.Dr. Volpe then outlined the proposed European Active Surveillance of Renal Cell Carcinoma (EASE) study, which is a multi-center prospective study of active surveillance of small, histologically confirmed RCC. This trial will have standardized indications, follow-up, criteria for progression and to indicated delayed intervention. Biopsy tissue and blood/urine specimens will be collected at baseline and at different time points in order to allow the identification of predictors of fast growth/progression of small renal masses.Dr. Volpe then commenced a discussion of adjuvant therapy for high-risk patients after radical nephrectomy. The current status of clinical trials of adjuvant therapy is as follows:The currently used prognostic tools for selecting patients for adjuvant therapy do not capture well the biology of the tumor and do not adequately discriminate recurrence risk. Grade, necrosis and performance status are subject to substantial interobserver variability, and the addition of prognostic molecular and genetic biomarkers may improve the identification of the very high-risk population. When looking specifically at the S-TRAC study analysis by immunohistochemistry, among 191 of the 615 patients analyzed 101 received sunitinib and 90 received placebo [3]. There was no DFS difference between PD-L1 positive and negative subgroups in both arms, and no statistically significant association between tumor infiltrating CD4 or CD68 levels and DFS or OS in either group. However, increased density of CD8+ T-cells in tumor tissue was associated with longer DFS/OS in sunitinib treated patients, but not placebo patients, suggesting a potential predictive role.Many studies have suggested that poor risk mRCC patients have no survival benefit with cytoreductive nephrectomy. The ongoing SURTIME study is an EORTC-GU 30073 phase III study investigating the sequence of nephrectomy and sunitinib. Patients with mRCC and primary tumor in suite are being randomized (expected n=458) to nephrectomy or sunitinib followed by crossover. The primary endpoint is PFS and secondary endpoints include OS and association with prognostic gene and protein expression profiles. The CARMENA phase III study is assessing sunitinib only vs nephrectomy followed by sunitinib; the primary objective is whether sunitinib alone is non-inferior to nephrectomy plus sunitinib in terms of OS.Dr. Volpe concluded with several key messages:References:1. Jewett MAS, Mattar K, Basiuk J, et al. Active surveillance of small renal masses: Progression patterns of early stage kidney cancer.2011;60(1):39-44.2. Marconi L, Dabestani S, Lam TB, et al. Systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic accuracy of percuteanous renal tumor biopsy.2016;69(4):660-673.3. Ravaud A, Motzer RJ, Pandha HS, et al. Adjuvant Sunitinib in High-Risk Renal-Cell Carcinoma after Nephrectomy.2016;375(23):2246-2254.Presented by: Alessandro Volpe, Universita Del Piemonte Orientale Ospedale Maggiore Della Carita, Novara, ItalyWritten by: Zachary Klaassen, MD, Urologic Oncology Fellow, University of Toronto, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, twitter: @zklaassen_md at the 2018 European Association of Urology Meeting EAU18, 16-20 March, 2018 Copenhagen, Denmark Copenhagen, Denmark (UroToday.com) The mechanism for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is suggested to be due to constriction of the prostatic urethra and bladder neck. Recently, a temporary implantable nitinol device (TIND) has been suggested to be efficacious in reshaping the prostatic urethra and reducing the urinary flow obstruction caused by prostatic tissue. Previous reports from this group have presented promising 1-year results, but the durability of symptom relief has not been assessed in long-term follow-up.Dr. Porpiglia from San Luigi Gonzaga Hospital Department of Urology in Orbassano, Italy presented a prospective cohort study of 32 patients undergoing TIND implantation via cystoscopy for the treatment of LUTS. Patient outcomes were measured at 12, 24, and 36 months post-procedure, primarily via complications on the Clavien-Dindo system, functional results, and quality of life.Of the 32 patients included in this study, all implantations were successfully performed with no intraoperative complications. The mean age of the cohort was 69.4 years and patients had a mean prostate volume of 29.5 mL, a median IPSS score of 19, and median quality of life of 3. Improvements in IPSS score and quality of life were durable through the 24 month and 36 month follow-up (24 month: 10 IPSS and 2 QoL vs. 12 IPSS and 2 QoL). After three years, the mean increase in qmax remained +71% and the small differences in IPSS and quality of life were not statistically different between the follow-up time periods, showing a durability of response.Overall, only one patient required TURP as a secondary intervention (as previously reported at 1 year follow-up). As such, the authors recommend the TIND implant as a safe and feasible option for the treatment of BPH-related LUTS. In addition to the groups promising one-year follow-up results, this study and update has confirmed the durability and efficacy of this procedure with 3 years follow-up. While future studies with a larger patient cohort are recommended, the TIND appears to be a promising intervention for patients with LUTS and a worthy alternative to the TURP.Authors: Porpiglia F., Amparore D., Bertolo R., Mele F., Garrou D., Checcucci E., Giordano A., Cossu M., Poggio M., Toso S., Scarpa R.M., Fiori C.Written by: Linda M. Huynh, B.S., University of California-Irvine, at the 2018 European Association of Urology Meeting EAU18, 16-20 March, 2018 Copenhagen, Denmark Copenhagen, Denmark (UroToday.com) In addition to medical treatments of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), there are several endoscopic or surgical approaches for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and benign prostatic obstructions (BPO). For patients affected by BPH but are subsequently ineligible for surgery, there are few therapeutic options other than intermittent catheterization of indwelling catheters. As an alternative for this subset of patients, prostatic artery embolization (PAE) has been suggested as a minimally invasive procedure for the treatment of LUTS inpatients with BPH or BPO.Dr. Secco of the ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda Department of Urology in Milan, Italy presents a prospective cohort study to assess the efficacy and safety of PAE in relieving LUTS in patients with BPH and BPO.186 PAE patients were prospectively enrolled from November 2013 through April 2017. All patients had a MRI or CT study, a diagnosis of LUTS assumed to be due to BPO or BPH, and had attempted prior treatment via intermittent catheterization or pharmaceutical management to no effect. All patients were also considered unfit for surgical interventions, due to other comorbidities, as assessed by a third party anesthesiologist.Among the 186 PAE performed, the median age of patients was 72.4 years, with a median Charlson Comorbidity Index was 5.27 (range 2-14). While PAE was technically successful in 151 (81.2%) patients, 99 complained of urethral burning in the first 48 hours after the procedure and the catheter was not removed until 15 days after the procedure.In this cohort, over half of the patients (96 or 51.6%) did not have an indwelling catheter (IC). Of the non-IC patients, 27 had urgency and frequency for 10 days post-catheter removal. Uroflowmetry demonstrated a significant improvement in mean Qmax (p<0.01) and visual scale confirmed an improvement in quality of life (p<0.01).Overall, the present study confirmed both the feasibility and safety in addition to the technical success of PAE in the management of patients otherwise unsuitable for surgical intervention of BPH or BPO. Of note, the surgical procedure was most beneficial for patients (in terms of quality of life and uroflowmetry) who were previously treated via intermittent catheterization or indwelling catheters. As such, should be considered and discussed as an option for patients who have significant medical histories that prevent other surgical treatments.Authors: Secco S. 1 , Barbosa F. 2 , Di Trapani D. 1 , Brambillasca P.M. 2 , Barbieri M. 1 , Migliorisi C. 2 , Napoli G. 1 , Vercelli R. 2 , Solcia M. 2 , Petralia G. 1 , Strada E. 1 , Bocciardi A. 1 , Rampoldi A. 2 , Galfano A. 1Written by: Linda M. Huynh, B.S., University of California-Irvine, at the 2018 European Association of Urology Meeting EAU18, 16-20 March, 2018 Copenhagen, Denmark People dressed in colorful Norwegian folk costumes, games, a disc jockey, a bounce house for children, a full-size Viking ship that folks can climb into, a traditional peoples parade with flags, and plenty of food including a Taste of Norway table featuring Norwegian delicacies will take center stage at a Norwegian Constitution Day celebration in Boulder City on Thursday, May 17. Local Norwegian-Americans, Scandinavians and others from as far away as Norway will come together to celebrate Norways national day at the free event, to which everyone is welcome. Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavski, who is Norwegian-American, will be providing welcoming remarks. The Syttende Mai (17th of May) celebrations are sponsored by the Desert Troll and Vegas Viking lodges of the Sons of Norway. While the event is free, donations will be accepted for food. Norwegian beer also will be available for purchase. The event takes place at Bicentennial Park at 999 Colorado St. in Boulder City. At 7 p.m., the parade begins, which will feature the Viking ship, classic cars, pedestrians including some in Norwegian folk costumes and more. The parade will start at the grill on Colorado Street by California Avenue, circle Wilbur Square clockwise, go down Nevada Way, turn left to traverse Arizona Street, turn left at Avenue G and circle left, returning to the starting point. Were excited about this years event and we invite all local Norwegians and others to join us in a fun and wonderful celebration, said Desert Troll President Vikki Renneckar. This is the first time the two local Sons of Norway lodges have joined together in support of a single Syttende Mai event so we expect this to be our best ever. Those interested in celebrating and learning more about their Norwegian heritage should join us. Japan is moving to bolster its footprint in the Mekong subregion by linking the Southeast Asian mainland into a broader Indo-Pacific Strategy allied with India, the United States and Australia. In what observers say is a move to counter Chinas growing regional influence, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abes national security advisor Kentaro Sonoura said ASEAN would be central to the Indo-Pacific Strategy at a conference on the Mekong subregion in Phnom Penh on Friday. It is to realize quality growth of the region to promote the development of the Mekong region as well as ASEAN, and thereby assist the whole of Asia, including Japan, to enjoy prosperity and stability together, Mr. Sonoura said. And this is what the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy is attempting to accomplish. The strategy aims to prioritize freedom of navigation and rule-based maritime governance which in the context of ongoing disputes China has both with Japan and at least four Southeast Asian countries over the South China Sea, could be seen as an affront to Beijing. Sonoura said that while certain people take the position that this strategy is aimed at containing some countries, that perception was completely wrong. However the Indo-Pacific strategy - first announced by President Donald Trump during his visit to Vietnam in November - came on the heels of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative and bears considerable resemblances to Beijings blueprint for regional expansion. Like the Belt and Road Initiative, it is primarily focused on infrastructure financing. Jane Bocklage, charge daffaires of the U.S. Mission to ASEAN, told VOA Khmer earlier this month that Indo-Pacific strategy was simply about recognising the importance of Asias growing need for infrastructure. There is sufficient work to do on infrastructure, and connectivity, in Southeast Asia that we dont have to be an alternative to China, Bocklage said. We can share the region with China and others who are interested. Japan began expanding its engagement in the subregion in 2007 when it launched the Japan-Mekong Region Partnership with the five ASEAN riparian countries of the more than 4,000 kilometre river. In 2015 Japan renewed a pact to expand industrial and human resource capacity in the Mekong region called The New Tokyo Strategy, which was rolled at roughly the same time China establish the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation. Cambodia has proved a reliably pliant regional ally for China, toeing its line at ASEAN on the issue of the South China Sea while enthusiastically supporting Beijings programs such as the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation and the Belt and Road initiative. However it remains a member of the Mekong River Commission - the creation of which was heavily influenced by the United States and a body to which China is only a dialogue partner, not a member. Cambodian government advisor Sok Siphana urged China and Japan to find common ground in developing regional programs that benefited countries such as Cambodia. Synergies between Japan, Mekong countries and other sub-regional arrangements, like the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation and the Mekong River Commission (MRC), should be encouraged for further enhancement of regional connectivity, Siphana said. Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Thailands Chulalongkorn University, said Japans attempts to expand it engagement in Mainland Southeast Asia could be challenged by a trend of growing authoritarianism in the region. Governments and regimes in the Mekong mainland are becoming more authoritarian that tends to get along better with China and China tends to embrace authoritarian governments, Pongsudhirak told the conference. A cease-fire went into effect Friday after intense government attacks killed at least 37 people in an underground shelter, prompting a rebel group to call for negotiations to evacuate a new section of the besieged eastern Ghouta region near the capital Damascus, rescuers and a rebel spokesman said. The cease-fire will mean the surrender of the second of three pockets in eastern Ghouta, where rebels have been holding up over the past years. On Thursday, hundreds streamed out of Harasta, the first pocket after a similar negotiated cease-fire and evacuation of armed fighters and civilians. The rebel group Faylaq al-Rahman, which controls the second pocket, asked for the latest cease-fire after the intensified assault on territories it controls. In the worst violence Thursday, a single airstrike hit the shelter in the town of Arbeen, where dozens of residents were taking refuge. Rescue teams, known as the White Helmets, said 37 people were killed. Another medical group that supports health facilities operating in the area, the Syrian American Medical Society, put the toll at 47, saying many of them were burned to death and that number was likely to rise as rescuers search through the rubble. The strike came as government ground forces advanced into the town of Hazeh, south of Arbeen, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. The cease-fire went into effect after midnight Thursday, the group's spokesman Waiel Olwan said. "We expect these negotiations to find a solution and a way out in the face of widespread suffering in eastern Ghouta," he said. A similar deal with another rebel group, Ahrar al-Sham, led to the evacuation of hundreds of fighters and civilians from Harasta, an eastern Ghouta town in the north. The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Friday that 1,895 rebels and their family members left the town of Harasta on Thursday. They headed to the northwestern Idlib province, one of a few remaining areas in the hands of the opposition. Syrian state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV broadcast from the Harasta crossing area Friday, saying 10 buses have arrived to continue the evacuation. The evacuation deal was an effective surrender after a long siege and bombing campaign of the enclave just miles outside of Damascus. Rebels had controlled eastern Ghouta since 2012, keeping the farming area a thorn in the government's side during the years of conflict. The government imposed a siege on the area shortly after rebels controlled it, but failed to recapture eastern Ghouta. The deal with Ahrar al-Sham in Harasta is likely to serve as a blueprint for the talks with Faylaq al-Rahman rebels. In February, a concerted military offensive, backed by Russian airstrikes, squeezed the rebels and civilians in the area under an intense bombing campaign and tightened the siege. The U.N. estimated that nearly 400,000 people remained in the enclave before the latest offensive began. The government assault triggered a mass movement of people trying to escape the violence in the Damascus suburbs. Some have moved deeper into the rebel-held enclave, while about 50,000 others have crossed the front lines toward government-controlled areas. Over the last weeks, ground troops have cut the enclave into three areas, isolating them and keeping up the bombing. On Friday, Syrian state media said more residents have left from Douma, one of the three pockets isolated by the offensive and where the bombing continues, through a crossing linking it to the capital Damascus. No cease-fire has been reached in Douma, the largest town in eastern Ghouta. Douma is controlled by the Army of Islam, the largest and most powerful rebel group in the region. Al-Ikhbariya TV broadcast images Friday of hundreds of men, women and children streaming out on foot from the Wafideen crossing that links the rebel-controlled town of Douma to Damascus. Syrian state news agency SANA says over 4,000 left on Friday. State media said more than 6,000 left the day before. Syrian rescuer workers said Douma had come under intense airstrikes, counting at least 30 since late Thursday. Activists claimed incendiary bombs were used, as videos showed dark skies light up with white smoke and multiple fires raging on the ground. She was active in the Afghan army for more than three decades; a commando and a paratrooper with nearly 600 parachute jumps, earning awards, certificates, and medals. She has trained hundreds of Ministry of Defense personnel. But she never made general. It took the U.S.-led military coalition's defeat of the Taliban 2001 to make that possible. Why? Because Khatol Mohammadzai is a woman -- the first woman in Afghanistan to attain the rank of general. For years, the Afghan National Army has been considered solely a man's domain. "When I move around in the city with my uniform, people show great affection. Many young people in the city tell me that they want to become a commando like me. I have motivated many young people to join the army. People from the provinces say they love me and my profession, said General Khatol. In Afghanistan, joining the military is not an easy choice for women as they face opposition from families and male colleagues. They lack promotions, assignment opportunities, training, and security. But the 103 female cadets at the Marshal Fahim Military Academy in Kabul are working to change social taboos. "My goal from the beginning is to promote myself to the level of General Khatol or even higher than her, and I move ahead in order to ensure security in my country, said Gulalay, an army cadet. Women and men train separately at the base, but Afghan officers say their programs are similar. Both receive physical education, firearms, tactics and medical care training. Cadet Sima Amiri says that she is one of the few women who had her father's support to join the army. "My message to the families is to encourage their daughters and help them in their decision to join the National Army," said Amiri. General Khatol urges her countrymen to expand opportunities for women. "It was my education and hard work that enabled me to raise the Afghan flag in the world. I request my heroic brothers and sons to strive for the education of their daughters, said General Khatol. The Ministry of Defense says 1,700 women serve in the Afghan National Army, about 1 percent of the total. Top Afghan officials see a genuine chance for peace with elements of the Taliban and the Haqqani network but worry the latest effort at reconciliation could be undermined, both by internal rivals and by Pakistan and other foreign influences. Afghan officials believe those insurgent leaders who seek to make a deal are being threatened, and that some have already been forced to back away following threats to their families. "It's not a theoretical threat. It is real," Afghan National Security Adviser Mohammad Haneef Atmar said Thursday during a visit to Washington for meetings with U.S. officials. "There are brave leaders who would run the risk," Atmar said. "They're asking for a process by which they and their families are protected to engage in peace." Atmar described efforts to accommodate these Taliban and Haqqani leaders as sensitive, explaining it has long been standard practice for the families of influential officials to be held in other locations as a sort of collateral. "That is the way they are to be trusted," he said. Possible solution One possible solution could involve Saudi Arabia, which has indicated it is interested in supporting both Afghanistan and the larger U.S. strategy in South Asia. "They want to be better aligned with us," Chief Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said Thursday, following meetings between U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The extent to which the Saudis are willing to go is not clear, though White said there seemed to be a willingness to at least host talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, if not do more to ensure the safety of Taliban families. "Not necessarily specifically safe haven," White said of what was discussed. "But talking about [how] we will look at ways to help facilitate a political reconciliation with those Taliban members who are willing to talk." But some of the challenges that could stand in the way of reconciliation may be even trickier. One of those is Pakistan, which has come under repeated criticism from both Kabul and Washington for failing to take decisive action against terrorist elements aiming to destabilize the region, including the Taliban and Haqqani network. Back in January, the U.S. suspended $1.9 billion in assistance to Islamabad for what senior administration officials described as a lack of commitment. Pakistan action Now, Afghan officials say they have yet to see any improvement, indicating the action Pakistan has taken against terrorists is often less than helpful. "We haven't had any positive response from Pakistan as yet, not any change in the policy they are pursuing," Afghan National Security Adviser Atmar said during a speech Thursday at the U.S. Institute for Peace. Instead, Atmar accused Pakistan of pressuring, and even attacking, elements of the Afghan Taliban who are willing to negotiate in good faith. "We do have Taliban leaders who are working for peace now who are wounded, who were attacked in Pakistan," Atmar said. VOA sought comment from Pakistani officials, who have yet to respond. Further complicating matters, top Afghan officials contend outside powers like Russia have been willing to play some terrorist groups off against one another, for example arming the Taliban under the guise of having the Taliban take on terrorists from the Islamic State group. U.S. military officials have raised similar concerns. But Atmar said that despite Moscow's assurances that it is not providing weapons to the Taliban, "we would like to see that in practice." The announced appointment of John Bolton, who has advocated for preventive military strikes against North Korea, to become the U.S. national security adviser has drawn muted reaction from key American allies in Asia. South Korean President Moon Jae-in strongly opposes any use of force on the Korean Peninsula and been actively involved in facilitating diplomatic talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to peacefully resolve tensions over the Norths threatening nuclear program. When asked about the Moon administrations reaction to the appointment of Bolton, a senior presidential official on Friday said, Our stance is that if a new road opens, we have to go that path. The unnamed official who spoke to the local media on background also noted that Bolton is knowledgeable about the issues regarding the Korean Peninsula and seems to have the trust of President Trump. Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe is seen to be more closely aligned with Trumps maximum pressure campaign to force North Korea to give up its nuclear arsenal using economic sanctions and the threat of military force. The Japanese Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, declined to make any substantial comment on Bolton replacing H.R. McMaster as the U.S. presidents security adviser. I would like to refrain from commenting as it is a matter of a foreign governments personnel movements, but we have a close exchange of opinions with the United States government, both between Prime Minister Abe and President Trump and at an official level, so I dont think any particular bad influence will emerge, Suga said Friday. Interventionist Bolton, who was Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security from 2001-2005, is regarded as a hard-liner and interventionist on matters of foreign policy and defense. He supported the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2002 and has called for military action against Iran and North Korea. The Trump administration has vowed to stop North Koreas efforts to develop a nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that can target the U.S. After a November missile test, Pyongyang said it had achieved ICBM capability but independent analysts say North Korea still requires further tests to work out missile re-entry. Writing in the Wall Street Journal in February, Bolton argued in favor of the U.S. taking pre-emptive military measures to eliminate the imminent ICBM nuclear threat. We should not wait until the very last minute. That would risk striking after the North has deliverable nuclear weapons, a much more dangerous situation, he wrote. Impact on diplomacy This year the Kim government pivoted to a more cooperative posture by participating in the recent winter Olympics in the South, by agreeing to engage with Washington and Seoul, and by suspending further provocative tests, at least while talks are under way. Trump too took a surprising turn by agreeing to meet with Kim in May to try to work out a complete, verifiable and irreversible agreement to dismantle North Koreas nuclear weapons program. Some regional political and security analysts worry Bolton will be an undermining force in the summit who will push for uncompromising concessions from Pyongyang. Robert Kelly, a professor of political science at Pusan National University in South Korea, said on Twitter that Boltons appointment is, All the more reason to cancel the Trump-Kim summit. If it goes badly, which is a distinct possibility with only nine weeks prep and Bolton now in the White House, Bolton will press for air strikes on North Korea, as he has in the past. This is bad. Pyongyang has not commented on the Bolton appointment, but in 2003 North Korean state media called him human scum and bloodsucker for criticism he made of then leader Kim Jong Ils human rights record. North Korean officials would not recognize him as a representative of the U.S. government or talk with him because of his political vulgarity and psychopathological condition, state media said at the time. But Grant Newsham, with the Forum for Strategic Studies in Tokyo said the change to Bolton from McMaster, who also viewed North Korea nuclear advancement as an existential threat, will not be that drastic. However, he said, Bolton will, perhaps more strongly than McMaster, clearly oppose giving away any concessions or reductions in sanctions in exchange for meaningless promises, as was done before. You will find the United States is not, as it has been in the past, going to be willing to be played off by the North Koreans, Newsham said. There had been speculation for some time that Trump was looking to replace McMaster, who will retire after serving 34 years in the military, with Bolton, who the president reportedly feels more comfortable with. Bolton was also mentioned as a possible secretary of state after Trumps surprise election victory in 2016. The replacement of McMaster with Bolton follows the recent firing of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who is being succeeded by Mike Pompeo, currently the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Lee Yoon-jee in Seoul contributed to this report. Australian rescuers were racing against time to save 15 short-finned pilot whales Friday after more than 150 of the migrating mammals beached on the countrys west coast. Most of the whales had died, said Jeremy Chick, incident controller at Western Australias conservation department, after becoming stranded on dry land overnight. Authorities and trained volunteers were trying to save 15 in shallow waters. The whales beached at Hamelin Bay, 315 km (198 miles) south of the states capital, Perth. While whales regularly get stranded on the coastal strip migrating between Antarctic feeding grounds in the south and warmer northern waters where they raise their young, the large number this time is unusual. Melissa Lay, manager at the Hamelin Bay Holiday Park, told Reuters by phone that it was the second mass stranding she had witnessed during her 15 years in the area. There are some that are still alive but barely, Lay said. The last time it happened, none survived. Locals and tourists were being warned to stay out of the water because of a likely increase in sharks attracted by the dead whales. People there for the peak salmon fishing season were also advised to stay out of the shallows. It is possible the dead and dying animals will act as an attractant, which could lead to sharks coming close into shore along this stretch of coast, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development said in a statement. The largest mass stranding of whales in the state occurred in 1996 when 320 long-finned pilot whales stranded themselves just north of Hamelin Bay. Short-finned pilot whales are dark-colored with pinkish-grey undersides, travel in large numbers and often get stranded en masse, the department said. The British police officer who was poisoned by a nerve agent when he tried to help an ex-Russian spy and his daughter was released from the hospital Thursday. "There are really no words to explain how I feel right now," Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey said in a statement. "Surreal is the word that keeps coming up. ... I'm just a normal person with a normal life." Bailey was hospitalized for three weeks in the southwestern English city of Salisbury. The apparent intended target of the poisoning former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia are still unconscious and in critical condition. Bailey rushed to their aid after finding them passed out on a bench near a shopping center on March 4. Samples of their blood will be tested by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to try to determine exactly what kind of nerve agent was released. Britain blames Russia for the poisoning. Prime Minsiter Teresa May accused the Kremlin on Thursday of staging a "brazen and reckless attack ... the incident in Salisbury was part of a pattern of Russian aggression against Europe and its near neighbors, from the western Balkans to the Middle East." Britain has expelled 23 Russian diplomats. Russia denies any involvement and expelled an equal number of British officials from Moscow. The ongoing wave of ethnic violence sweeping through northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo has forced tens of thousands of people from their homes. The U.N. Refugee Agency says nearly 50,000 have crossed into Uganda. For VOA, Halima Athumani reports from the Sebagoro landing site in western Uganda. John Bolton, chosen by President Donald Trump late Thursday to replace H.R. McMaster as national security adviser, is a career lawyer and diplomat who has long been on the president's short list to join the administration. The lifelong conservative has taken hawkish public stances on such issues as North Korea's nuclear program. In February, he told VOA's Korean service that Pyongyang's recent overtures aimed at renewing talks on the issue were "simply a continuation of their propaganda strategy. I mean, we've been down that road several times before, and it's failed every time." Bolton has also been critical of South Korea's "sunshine policy" regarding the North. "I think we've run out of time" in the effort to prevent Pyongyang from developing nuclear weapons that could hit the United States, he told VOA. But rather than the U.S. taking defensive action, he said, he hoped the U.S. could persuade China "to do something that might eliminate the need for it." When questioned about a possible role in the Trump administration, however, Bolton kept mum. "I never comment on those kinds of questions," he said. At present, Bolton is a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, a senior adviser for a capital management firm, and a Fox News commentator. He is involved with several conservative policy institutes and lobbying groups, including the National Rifle Association, and he serves on the board of directors for EMS Technologies, a Georgia wireless company that has been a subcontractor on Department of Defense projects. Bolton served in the presidential administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, and held roles in the Justice and State departments, making use of his legal and security expertise. Most recently, he served as the 25th U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under the George W. Bush administration. Critical of U.N. Although he was a U.N. ambassador, Bolton has openly criticized the international organization as ineffective. His tenure at the United Nations lasted from August 2005 to December 2006. His was a recess appointment, meaning he did not have to undergo a Senate confirmation process. Bolton left his position when the appointment ended; he was seen as unlikely to win confirmation by the Democratic-majority Senate that took office in January 2007. A public figure since the 1980s, Bolton is known for arguing against enforcement of a U.N. biological weapons convention in 2001, saying the agreement would put U.S. national security at risk by opening suspected U.S. weapons sites to inspections. In a 2003 speech while serving in an arms control and international security post in the State Department, Bolton described North Korean leader Kim Jong Il as a "tyrannical dictator" and added that for North Koreans under Kim's leadership, "life is a hellish nightmare." Bolton has said in a memoir that his "happiest moment" at the State Department was removing U.S. support from the Rome Statute that set up the International Criminal Court. In 2009, Bolton proposed a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in which Gaza would be placed under Egyptian control and the West Bank would become part of Jordan. Bolton has publicly considered running for president but has never actively campaigned. He has long been a Trump favorite and was considered for the position of national security adviser before it went to H.R. McMaster in February 2017. The national security adviser's position does not require Senate confirmation. VOA's Korean service contributed to this report. Across Nigeria, people are praying for the return of Leah Sharibu. The 15-year-old was one of more than 100 schoolgirls who were abducted by a faction of the jihadist sect Boko Haram last month in the northeastern town of Dapchi. On Wednesday, the militants released nearly all of the girls, except for five who died on the way to Dapchi and Leah. She was the sole Christian among the group, and her family believes that was the reason she was held back. They told her to convert to Muslim and she told them that she would not convert to Muslim, Nathan Sharibu, Leahs father, told VOA. I dont want my daughter to be converted to any religion than Christianity. The residents of Dapchi, whom are predominantly Muslim, have been visiting the Sharibu house and voicing support for the Sharibu family. Local Christians are doing the same. People in both groups are demanding the Nigerian government to do something to secure her release. But some of those demands have taken an angry, political tone. The Christian Lawyers Fellowship of Nigeria accused the federal government of allowing Leah to remain in captivity on account of her religious faith. Heightened tensions Those types of comments have sparked concern that this weeks events could heighten tensions in a country that has seen periodic, deadly bouts of sectarian violence between Christians and Muslims or various ethnic groups. Sadly, this particular incident has basically twisted the knife of division in Nigeria a little more, said Emmanuel Ogebe, a U.S.-based Nigerian lawyer and rights activist. The terrorists just really ruined things by keeping Leah back. That wasnt necessary. Boko Haram is divided into several factions, but two have emerged as the most prominent. The original group, led by Abubakar Shekau, is still believed to be the larger one. In 2015, Shekau pledged allegiance to the Islamic State militant organization. However, IS recognized Abu Musab al-Barnawi, the alleged son of Boko Haram founder Mohamed Yusuf, as the new leader of Boko Haram. Al-Barnawi broke away from Shekau and his group is believed to be the relatively less violent one. Moses Ochonu, a history professor at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, has conducted extensive research on the Boko Haram insurgency. He says both factions want to trigger a war between Muslims and Christians, do away with the Nigerian government and set up an Islamic caliphate. Where they diverge, he says, is in tactics. (Al-)Barnawi has always been focused on winning the hearts and minds of people in the northeast, Ochonu said. The major issue of disagreement between the two camps has been that al-Barnawi accuses Shekau of alienating people in the northeast of Nigeria, alienating them with his indiscriminate killings and violence. Ochonu and others believe that al-Barnawi is conducting a public relations campaign to win support and distinguish his group from Shekaus. His group is believed to avoid using Muslim girls to carry out suicide attacks, while Shekaus sect has become notorious for doing so. During the abduction of the Dapchi schoolgirls, reportedly carried out by al-Barnawis faction, no Dapchi residents were killed. Witnesses said the insurgents also told the schoolgirls they would not execute them. The return of nearly all of the Dapchi girls was met with jubilation among the townspeople. VOA confirmed the source of a video published by the Premium Times newspaper, which showed young men in Dapchi clapping and smiling on the street in front of Boko Haram insurgents who are riding in their vehicles while waving their flag. The Dapchi residents are seen thanking the militants for returning their daughters as well as praying for them in the Hausa language. Growing support for faction The video has gone viral in Nigeria. Some worry it shows growing support for al-Barnawis faction. VOA spoke with the reporter who obtained the video. People are misinterpreting the video, Mohammed Lere said. They were celebrating the return of their children. That is it. Everybody who has his loved ones taken away will definitely celebrate his return. They are saying thank you for our daughters, now go. Some analysts doubt that the local communities can distinguish between the Boko Haram factions and feel that al-Barnawis PR campaign may not be effective at the grassroots. Boko Haram is Boko Haram, said Kyari Mohammed, a professor at a university in northeastern Nigerias Adamawa State. Yes, its not unusual for one faction to present themselves as the more humane face of Boko Haram, but the main crux of the matter is that they are all terrorists and none of them can be said to be friendly to any community. However, he admits that he is concerned that the religious divide in Nigeria could get deeper. The parents of the girls kidnapped in April 2014 from a school in the remote town of Chibok are still waiting for their daughters. The whereabouts of more than 100 of them are still unknown. I presume that the reason why the president didnt [undertake] serious action concerning our daughters is because most of them are Christians, says Enoch Mark, whose daughter is among the missing Chibok Girls. He is a Christian pastor. In a statement, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed to rescue Leah Sharibu and said he is fully aware of his duty to protect all Nigerians irrespective of their religious affiliation. European Union leaders have given their unqualified backing to Britain over its accusation that Russia used a nerve agent to try to kill former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in southern England earlier this month. The two victims remain hospitalized in critical condition. A policeman first on the scene, who also was infected with the nerve agent, was discharged from the hospital Thursday. WATCH: EU Backs Britain in Russian Spy Standoff; Europe Demands Full US Tariff Exemptions Speaking Friday at the EU summit in Brussels, British Prime Minister Theresa May offered gratitude for the bloc's solidarity against Russia. "The threat that Russia poses respects no borders and it is a threat to our values," she told reporters. The EU ambassador to Moscow has been recalled as a symbolic protest. Several European governments including Lithuania, Poland and Denmark are looking to expel Russian diplomats. Germany and France have raised the prospect of further measures. "We have said very clearly that we view this as a serious challenge for our common security," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Moscow has repeatedly denied involvement and accused the European Union of following an "anti-Russian campaign launched by London." "Unfortunately, the Russian side does not have a chance to receive any firsthand information on the so-called Skripal case," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press conference Friday. Future EU solidarity? In little more than a year, Britain will officially leave the EU. Some question whether it can rely on the same level of EU solidarity in the future. Professor Anand Menon, with the "UK in a Changing Europe" program at Kings College London, said, "No one has an interest in unpicking our security cooperation. What I do worry about is the medium term. That is to say, if these negotiations go badly, if the trade deal isn't very good, what might well happen is that each side engages in blaming the other. "And if you imagine a situation where Britain leaves without a trade deal, our economy gets badly hit, one possible side effect of that will be growing anti-Europeanism here. And then I wonder whether our solidarity with our European partners will be easy to maintain." Talks can now begin about what that future relationship will look like, after EU leaders rubber-stamped a post-Brexit transition period until December 2020. "The prospect of a cliff-edge at the end of December 2020 looms large, because most people who know anything about international trade think it is unlikely, if not impossible, that we see a trade deal negotiated and ratified between now and the end of December 2020," Menon said. Trump tariffs Britain will be looking to strike new trade deals outside the EU just as signs of a new global trade war emerge. U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans Thursday for tariffs on $60 billion of Chinese imports in retaliation for alleged intellectual property theft. Europe was given a temporary exemption on Washington's proposed tariffs on steel imports, pending negotiations. EU leaders voiced anger that the exemptions aren't permanent. "It gives the impression that there is in the head of the United States a will to negotiate with the European Union by putting a gun to our head. It is not a loyal way to negotiate when we are such historically solid partners," warned Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel. European leaders also discussed relations with Turkey amid concern over its military operations against Kurdish forces in the Syrian city of Afrin. In a further sign of worsening relations, the EU also condemned what it called Turkey's continued illegal actions after clashes over gas and oil exploration rights off Cyprus. Ankara and Brussels are due to hold a summit Monday in Bulgaria. While President Donald Trump's new National Security Adviser John Bolton has said he would set aside his personal policy preferences and implement Trump's policies, the new appointment sparks speculations that a review on the United States' current one-China stance may be underway. Bolton has long argued that Washington can play a "Taiwan card" to compel Beijing's attention for its potentially destabilizing actions in East Asia and the South China Sea. In a commentary published by the Wall Street Journal in 2016, Bolton said it was time to shake up U.S.-China relations. "This may involve modifying or even jettisoning the ambiguous 'one-China' mantra, along with even more far-reaching initiatives to counter Beijing's rapidly accelerating political and military aggressiveness in the South and East China seas," wrote Bolton. The Taiwanese government's response to a potential change in U.S. policy has been low-key, while Beijing has brushed off speculation Washington is reviewing its one-China policy. China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Friday the Chinese position on the policy "is very clear and the United States is very clear about this." "No matter who holds the position, the importance of Sino-U.S. relations is self-evident and there will be no change," she added. "China and the United States respect each other, focus on cooperation, properly handle their differences to achieve a mutual beneficial and win-win result. This is consistent with the common interests of China and the United States, and is also the common expectation of the international community." A senior Taiwanese official said his government "is not doing anything or saying anything yet" on Bolton's appointment to avoid unnecessary diplomatic repercussions. Experts say Bolton, whose appointment does not require Senate confirmation, is likely to sharpen the Trump administration's hawkish stance of "a position from strength" towards China, and "a real geopolitical competition with China." "Bolton claimed he would set aside his personal policy preferences and implement Trump's policy, but I'd be surprised if he doesn't push for some of his long-standing priorities. Among those are regime change in North Korea and closer ties with Taiwan," said Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at Center for International and Strategic Studies. Harry Kazianis, director of Defense Studies at the Center for the National Interest, told VOA "Bolton will not only back the administration's efforts to hit China with tariffs, but also support crucial allies and partners in their disputes with Beijing in the East and South China Seas as well as making sure Taiwan's democracy is never tampered with." Kazianis added he expected the new National Security Adviser to "press for Taiwan to get a much more full-throated relationship with the U.S. and very likely a full-up review of our ties with Taipei." Now that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has spoken publicly about the firm's data controversy, the chief question remains whether the changes he outlined will be enough to restore the public's trust in the social media giant. In a series of media interviews this week, Zuckerberg went into full damage control mode about how the company handled user data when it discovered in 2015 that 50 million users' data had been shared with Cambridge Analytica, a consultancy that advises political campaigns, thus breaking the company's rules. He apologized. He called the recent controversy "a major breach of trust." What now? Congressional leaders have already called on Zuckerberg to testify in Congress something that Zuckerberg appeared willing to do, according to the interviews, if he was "the right person." Some Facebook critics argue the firm, which relies on advertising revenue, isn't able or willing to curtail practices that may improve users' privacy but potentially hurt its bottom line. The company needs some sort of regulatory oversight, they say, or new laws about users' personal data. But for now, Zuckerberg outlined a series of measures that would limit the amount of data collected on users, something that many privacy advocates have argued for. The firm's revenue model, he said, is here to stay. "I don't think the ad model is going to go away because I think fundamentally, it's important to have a service like this that everyone in the world can use, and the only way to do that is to have it be very cheap or free," Zuckerberg told the New York Times. Going back to 2014 Facebook plans to turn the clock back to 2014, before it changed its rules stopping a developers' ability to tap into users' friends' data. With the help of forensic auditors, the company plans to investigate all "large apps" "thousands," by Zuckerberg's estimate, that scooped up data then. This includes users whose data was gathered by a researcher and given to Cambridge Analytica. Facebook plans to inform affected users. Cambridge Analytica has denied that it improperly used user data. If a developer doesn't want to comply with Facebook's audit, Facebook will ban it from the social network, Zuckerberg said. "Even if you solve the problem going forward, there's still this issue of: Are there other Cambridge Analyticas out there," Zuckerberg told the Times. "We also need to make sure we get that under control." Remove access to data In addition, the company plans to remove a developer's access to a person's data if someone hasn't used the developer's app in three months. And the company plans to reduce the amount of information collected when users sign in. Finally, the company says it plans to make it easier to see who has access to their data and to revoke permissions. The moves are intended to curtail what critics have long complained about Facebook's role in enabling the ongoing collection of more data on users than is needed. Feeling 'uncomfortable' Zuckerberg told Recode that Facebook, with more than two billion users, has become so big and important in the lives of many around the world that he doesn't always feel comfortable making blanket decisions. "I feel fundamentally uncomfortable sitting here in California at an office, making content policy decisions for people around the world," he said. "Things like where is the line on hate speech?" He has to make the decisions he said, because he runs Facebook. "But I'd rather not." U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a memo paving the way for major tariffs on Chinese imports. It's part of Trump's plan to crack down on China's theft of intellectual property. But many U.S. farmers are worried the tariffs will prompt China to retaliate against their products. VOA's Kane Farabaugh and Bill Gallo report on what some fear could be just the start of significant trade friction between Washington and Beijing. Randy Poskin, a soybean farmer in rural Illinois, voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. But ask him now he feels about that decision, and you get a tepid response. "I'm not sure," Poskin said. Like many farmers in the Midwest, Poskin is concerned about getting caught in the middle of a trade war, as Trump ramps up economic pressure on China. Those fears were heightened after Trump announced plans Thursday to impose tariffs on as much as $60 billion worth of Chinese imports. "I'm fearful they will retaliate on those tariffs," Poskin said. "Soybean exports, wheat, poultry, chicken, beef [there are] any number of products that we export to their country that they could retaliate with." The announcement has unnerved many in Trump's base of supporters in U.S. agriculture. The trade tensions have also rattled global markets, which until recently had performed strongly. Intellectual property theft Trump's tariff decision was meant to punish Chinese companies that benefit from unfair access to U.S. technology. U.S. businesses have long bristled at Beijing's requirement that they transfer technology to Chinese companies as a condition of entering the Chinese market. U.S. businesses have also had their technology stolen through cyberattacks. "We have a tremendous intellectual property theft situation going on," Trump said during the signing ceremony Thursday. Some U.S. companies in China cheered the move and suggested that concerns about a trade war were overblown. William Zarit, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, dismissed the "hair on fire" concern that Trump's proposed moves would hurt the global economy. "That the U.S. is willing to risk these disruptions indicates how serious the U.S. administration finds China's forced technology transfer, cybertheft and discriminatory industrial policies," he said in a statement to VOA. Zarit pointed to a recent survey suggesting members of his organization wanted the White House to "advocate more strongly for a level playing field and for reciprocal treatment to improve market access" in China. But it's not yet clear whether Trump's words will translate into that kind of action. That's in part because the president's move on Thursday did not actually implement tariffs. Delayed move Instead, Trump gave the U.S. trade representative 15 days to identify specific Chinese goods that will be subject to the penalties. There will then be a 30-day window for public comment. That means any move is at least 45 days away. Trump took a similar approach to steel and aluminum tariffs earlier this month. Although the White House initially leaked news that there would be a universal tax on all steel and aluminum imports, at least six countries and the European Union have since received exemptions. "You have announcements with a lot of big, very aggressive, very dramatic rhetoric, but when it comes time to actually implement the policy, it's much more toned down, much more in line with historical U.S. trade enforcement policy," said Geoffrey Gertz of the Brookings Institution. Such a negotiating tactic often gets Trump the "tough on trade" headlines that he desires, even while reducing the immediate risk of starting a trade war. But there are still uncertainties. For instance, it still isn't clear how China will respond to Trump's protectionist measures. China's response On Friday, China blasted Trump's move but did little in the way of countermeasures. "If somebody imposes a trade war on China, we'll fight to the end," Cui Tiankai, the Chinese ambassador to Washington, said on state TV. China also released a list of potential tariffs on $3 billion worth of U.S. goods, including pork, fruit, wine, steel pipes and other products. "China responded strong verbally but soft in actual countermeasures," said Allan Von Mehren, a China analyst at the Copenhagen-based Danske Bank. "This is a very measured reaction, as $3 billion is a drop in the ocean out of the $131 billion the U.S. exports to China every year," he said. However, China has signaled it may impose more significant measures should Trump follow through with his tariffs. Should China retaliate further, a prime target is soybean farmers like Poskin, who are uniquely vulnerable to Chinese retaliation. One in every three rows of U.S. soybeans is exported to China, according to the American Soybean Association. That vulnerability is leaving Poskin to wonder whether he did the right thing in supporting Trump. "I mean, I do like the regulation side of things, the way he's backing things off," Poskin said. "But just the same, these areas of trade are very important to agriculture. We can't interrupt this." A former Minneapolis police officer charged in the fatal shooting of an unarmed Australian woman has been released from jail. Mohamed Noor, a Somali-American, posted a $400,000 bail late Wednesday. He is charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, 40, in July after she called 911 to report a possible sexual assault in the alley behind her home. As conditions of his bail, Noor must have no contact with his former partner, Matthew Harrity; he must surrender his passport; and he cannot possess weapons. Charges called 'baseless' The Somali-American Police Association is defending the fired Minneapolis police officer. In a statement Wednesday, the association said the charges against Noor were "baseless and politically motivated, if not racially motivated as well.'' The group said it believed Noor "acted in good faith and in accordance with his department's policy.'' The shooting created a furor in the United States and Australia. The victim was a meditation instructor who was engaged to be married in a month. Damond called 911 at 11:27 p.m. on July 15 when she heard a woman's screams. When Noor and his partner arrived in their squad car, Damond, dressed in her pajamas, approached and startled the officers, prosecutors said. Noor, from his passenger seat, shot across his partner and struck Damond with a single bullet in her chest. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman has admitted there is a low success rate in the U.S. of convicting police who have shot members of the public. He cited a study that found of the estimated 12,000 police-involved shootings between 2005 and 2017 in the U.S., just 80 officers were charged with murder or manslaughter and only 35 percent of them were convicted. Noor's next court appearance is scheduled for May 8. President Donald Trumps latest pick for national security adviser, John Bolton, says the United States cannot walk away from the war in Afghanistan because of the larger threat from the Taliban, the Islamic State terror group and al-Qaida. Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who is widely known for his hardline views, is set to become Trumps new national security adviser, after his predecessor, H.R. McMaster resigned following reports of irreparable differences with the president and other key White House officials. WATCH: Experts: Trump's Bolton Pick Signals Shift Toward More Aggressive US Foreign Policy Bolton told an audience in Washington in late February that Americans are frustrated that the U.S. is still in Afghanistan. We didnt start this war, we dont want this war. But one side doesnt get to say, 'OK, were tired of it, I think its over, he said while speaking at the Daniel Morgan Graduate School of National Security in Washington. A case for U.S. involvement in Afghanistan Boltons views on ensuring the Taliban are degraded square with Trumps Afghan strategy announced last August. Trump committed to sustaining the U.S. military campaign for as long as necessary and empowered American field commanders in Afghanistan to make tactical decisions as they deemed necessary. But the Trump administration has since faced criticism about the lack of a complementary political and diplomatic strategy to achieve reconciliation in a country replete with ethnic fault lines, government corruption and a resilient Taliban. In an interview with VOA, former U.S. Ambassador Robin Raphel praised Boltons recognition that the U.S. cannot walk away from the Afghan war. Buts she noted Bolton must also recognize the need to energize the political track, as has been affirmed by [Defense] Secretary [Jim] Mattis and General [John] Nicholson, who recognize theres no military solution to Afghan conflict. Nicholson is commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan and the Resolute Support Mission. Radicals in Pakistan Conceding that the Taliban insurgency is gaining momentum, Bolton has argued that a more compelling reason for the U.S. staying the course in the Afghan war is to prevent radicals in neighboring Pakistan from being emboldened. During his talk last month, Bolton said radicals inside Pakistan already controlled the militarys intelligence wing and are [an] increasing threat across the officer corps. He went on to say that if Pakistans nuclear arsenal were to fall into the hands of the radicals, you would have Iran on steroids right now. Pakistani officials have long rejected the notion that the countrys nuclear arsenal is at risk, even though the founder of the countrys nuclear weapons program, A.Q. Khan, once sold the technology to Iran and other countries. The former U.N. ambassador cautioned that the risk of Pakistan selling or transferring nuclear devices to terrorist groups would be a danger not only to India but also to the rest of the world. This view is likely to stir the long-standing view held by a section of Pakistans security establishment that the U.S. wants a permanent foothold in Afghanistan to secure Pakistans nuclear weapons in case of emergency. Bolton has called on Americans to be patient about the Afghan conflict, despite the war being costly in terms of American lives. Theres a lot of dissatisfaction with the Afghan performance over the years. Were obviously in a difficulty in our relationship with Pakistan. Its been a difficult relationship for a long time, Bolton said in his speech at the Morgan school. Taliban talks Bolton is assuming the post of Trumps national security adviser at a time when U.S. officials are attempting to persuade the Taliban to engage with the recent peace overtures by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. Ghani has pledged the Talibans reintegration in Afghanistans political and administrative structures, if they lay down the arms and willingly morph into a political party. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells recently told VOA she believed the Taliban were taking time to weigh the Afghan presidents peace offer. Wells expressed hope the Taliban would indicate their willingness to engage in negotiations over what she described as Ghani's forward-leaning approach ahead of the Tashkent Peace Conference that opens Monday in Uzbekistans capital. Delegates from the U.S., European Union, Turkey, China, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other regional partners will participate in a two-day huddle in support of Ghanis peace initiative. According to the latest reports, Taliban leaders have not contacted Uzbek authorities or other parties signaling their willingness to participate in the Tashkent conference. Saudi Arabia opened its airspace for the first time to a commercial flight to Israel with the inauguration Thursday of an Air India route between New Delhi and Tel Aviv. Air India 139 landed at Tel Avivs Ben Gurion Airport after a flight of about 7 hours, marking a diplomatic shift for Riyadh that Israel says was fueled by shared concern over Iranian influence in the region. This is a really historic day that follows two years of very, very intensive work, Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said in a radio interview, adding that using Saudi airspace cut travel time to India by around two hours and would reduce ticket prices. Israel not recognized Saudi Arabia, birthplace of Islam and home to its holiest shrines, does not recognize Israel. Riyadh has not formally confirmed granting the Air India plane overflight rights. While the move ended a 70-year-old ban on planes flying to or from Israel through Saudi airspace, there is as yet no indication that it will be applied for any Israeli airline. The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner entered Saudi airspace around 1645 GMT (12:45 p.m. EDT) and overflew the kingdom at 40,000 feet for about three hours, coming within 60 km (37 miles) of the capital Riyadh, according to the Flightradar monitoring app. It then crossed over Jordan and the occupied West Bank into Israel. The airliner had earlier flown over Oman, according to Flightradar. Officials from Oman, which also does not recognize Israel, could not be reached for comment. El Al sees unfair advantage Israels flag carrier El Al, excluded from the Saudi route, says its Indian competitor now has an unfair advantage. El Al currently flies four times a week to the Indian city of Mumbai. Those flights take around 7 hours and 40 minutes, following a Red Sea route that swings toward Ethiopia to avoid Saudi airspace. If El Al planes were to fly on to New Delhi, a destination El Al has said it might be interested in, they would require another two hours, and significantly more fuel. Interviewed on Israels Army Radio, Levin voiced confidence that El Al would eventually be allowed to use Saudi airspace. You know, they said the Saudis wouldnt let any flight pass. So here, the Saudis are permitting it. It is a process, I think. Ultimately this (El Al overflights) will happen too, he said. Asked if any other foreign airlines might follow Air India by opening routes to Tel Aviv over Saudi Arabia, Levin said he has been in negotiations with Singapore Airlines and a carrier from the Philippines, which he did not name. They are certainly showing readiness and desire to fly to Israel, and I dont know if they will also receive permission like the Indian airline, he said. Singapore Airlines did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Saudi officials could not immediately be reached. At a time when the norms of American political discourse are being rewritten and some democratic institutions are undergoing a stress test, Republican Senator John McCain's absence is keenly felt on Capitol Hill and beyond, fellow senators across the political spectrum told VOA. "We miss him terribly," independent Angus King of Maine said. "His voice is so clear and so well-grounded. He's the conscience of the nation right now." "We miss his leadership," North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis said. "If you think about Senator McCain his independence, his historic maverick stance he stretches everybody's thinking." "He is a force of conviction and conscience," Democrat Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said, adding that McCain is particularly needed on matters pertaining to Russia. "The president's [Donald Trump's] abject failure to defend our national security interests against the Russians John McCain's voice would carry such weight. He is just a force of nature when it comes to our national defense and security," Blumenthal said. Longtime senator McCain, who has represented Arizona in the Senate since 1987, has been absent since December while receiving treatment for brain cancer. His office is not predicting when or whether he might return. Known for fiery floor speeches, McCain's public communication in recent months has come via Twitter. He recently defended Robert Mueller, the special counsel in the Russia probe, and blasted Trump's outreach to his Russian counterpart. "An American president does not lead the Free World by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections. And by doing so with [Russian President] Vladimir Putin, President Trump insulted every Russian citizen who was denied the right to vote in a free and fair election," McCain tweeted. Such statements earn particular praise from Senate Democrats. "We're grappling with whether we cozy up to a foreign adversary," Virginia Democrat Tim Kaine said. "He has a gravitas that is in short supply. The Senate could use more John McCains, not fewer." Republicans are more apt to laud McCain's leadership on national defense as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "During Senate debates, like earlier this week on our role in Yemen, he ordinarily would be in the thick of that," the Senate's No. 2 Republican, John Cornyn of Texas, said. "These days it seems like the loudest voice is the one people listen to. John McCain has credibility because of his experience and his passion for national security that very few people can compete with." Oklahoma Republican James Inhofe has led the Armed Services Committee in McCain's absence and is the first to acknowledge he has big shoes to fill, taking over from a man who fought in the Vietnam War, endured more than five years as a prisoner of war, and rose to become his party's presidential nominee in 2008. "There is no one [currently serving in the Senate] who has a background like he has," Inhofe said. "There is something about the sacrifices he has made that sets him apart and beyond the rest of us. I know the things he went through that I didn't go through." Senate votes Without McCain, the Republican Party's 51-seat Senate majority has effectively been reduced to 50 in the 100-member chamber. But sources close to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky noted that missing a member has not altered the outcome of any major vote so far this year. "One senator's absence on our side is not affecting our workload on any of the issues," a McConnell aide said. McCain's votes have been but one element of his impact on Capitol Hill, according to senators of both parties. "It goes beyond his vote," Tillis said. "If you listen to him, sometimes you change your mind. Every once in a while, you try to change his, but I think he's got a higher score [in changing minds]." "John McCain calls it the way he sees it. He has a strong moral compass and a real love for this country," Maryland Democrat Ben Cardin said. "We disagree on a lot of issues, and we agree on a lot of issues. Great leader and a person you could always rely upon to stand by what's right for our country. Not what's popular, but what's right." Medical experts say the prognosis is grim for the aggressive form of brain cancer McCain is battling something many of his colleagues in the Senate find difficult to acknowledge. "I just wish he were here. I'm still counting on seeing him again here," Blumenthal said. "He's a fighter. I hold out hope that he'll be back strong as ever," Cardin said. On March 18, McCain's daughter, Meghan McCain, tweeted what appears to be the most recent photo of her father. H.R. McMaster, on his way out as White House national security adviser, was once described as possibly the 21st-century Army's pre-eminent warrior-thinker. President Donald Trump announced Thursday that McMaster would be replaced by former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton and shortly after that, McMaster made an announcement of his own: "After 34 years of service to our nation, the lieutenant general said, I am requesting retirement from the U.S. Army effective this summer, after which I will leave public service." He said he was thankful to Trump and "especially proud to have served alongside the men and women of the National Security Council staff, who established a strong foundation for protecting the American people, promoting American prosperity, achieving peace through strength and advancing American influence." A White House official told VOA that the president and McMaster had mutually agreed upon McMaster's resignation, after discussing it for some time. The official said the president asked McMaster to stay on until mid-April to ensure a smooth transition, and McMaster agreed. 'True soldier-scholar' Trump's statement Thursday said McMaster "helped develop our America First national security strategy, revitalize our alliance with the Middle East, smash ISIS [Islamic State militants], bring North Korea to the table and strengthen our nation's prosperity." The president thanked McMaster for his service and wished him and his family "the very best." White House Chief of Staff John Kelly also released a statement calling McMaster "a fine American and military officer. ... A true soldier-scholar, his impact on his country and this government will be felt for years to come." McMaster, one of several Trump advisers with military backgrounds, became the country's 26th national security adviser and Trump's second. He assumed the role about a month after Trump took office in January 2017, replacing Michael Flynn, who was ousted after misleading White House officials about contacts with Russians. McMaster sat alongside Trump and the two shook hands as the appointment was announced at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. In making the announcement, Trump described McMaster as "a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience," and one who is "highly respected" by everyone in the military. "You're going to do a great job," Trump said at the time. The Senate later confirmed McMaster to continue to serve in the Army, at the rank of lieutenant general, while also serving as national security adviser. But news reports say that in his White House role, McMaster has disagreed with the president on a number of issues and clashed with other senior officials, including Kelly and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. He has been described as an iconoclast. In 2014, Time magazine named McMaster as one of its "100 Most Influential People" and said he might be the 21st-century Army's pre-eminent warrior-thinker. Time described McMaster as the rarest of soldiers, one who "has repeatedly bucked the system and survived to join its senior ranks." The magazine called him "the architect of the future U.S. Army." Silver Star in Gulf War A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, known as West Point, McMaster earned a Silver Star for leadership during the Persian Gulf War when, as a cavalry commander, he led a small contingent of U.S. tanks to destroy 80 Iraqi tanks and other vehicles. Years later, during the Iraq War, McMaster commanded the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in its mission to remove insurgent fighters from Tal Afar. The tactics McMaster employed in securing the city were seen as pioneering at the time. McMaster's other credits include authoring the book Dereliction of Duty, which looked at U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. In the book, McMaster castigates the Joint Chiefs of Staff for failing in their duty to provide President Lyndon Johnson with adequate military advice during the war. The book was born from his dissertation. McMaster has a doctorate in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The book has since become recommended reading for all Army officers. Amid worry about the impact hydropower dams are having on the economically and environmentally critical Mekong River, leaders of four Southeast Asian nations dependent on its waters are scheduled to convene a summit early next month to reaffirm their "political commitment" to a 1995 cooperative agreement. The Mekong River Commission (MRC), gathering in Cambodia's Siem Reap province, will include a vote on adopting the next four-year plan for the riverine nations of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Representatives of China and Myanmar, both "upstream nations," will attend as "dialog partners" without voting rights. The livelihoods of 60 million people depend directly on the 2,700-mile-long Mekong River, which originates in China and empties into the South China Sea. Its fisheries alone were valued at $17 billion, or about 13 percent of the international trade value of fish as measured by the latest export forecasts of $130 billion for 2015. As a food source, the river "touches the lives of more than 300 million," according to the World Wildlife Fund. Any measure to regulate the river's flow, such as dams, has the potential to affect the member nation's economies and millions of lives. When the MRC was formed in 1995, China and Myanmar opted out, which meant they could skirt the rule requiring commission members to present dam proposals for discussion. Partly because of this, and partly because it lacks enforceable governing powers, the MRC has been criticized by some as an institution that has failed to safeguard the river from harmful projects. Maureen Harris, Southeast Asia director at International Rivers, an NGO, said communities in Thailand and Laos had reported impacts from some of these dams for years, without any formal acknowledgement or redress. "During the past two decades, the dams upstream have drastically altered the river's natural flood-drought cycle and blocked the transport of sediment, affecting ecosystems and fisheries downstream," she told VOA Khmer in an email. Focus on joint efforts Convened every four years, the summit brings "together political leaders to address the prevailing challenges and opportunities facing the Mekong Basin," according to an MRC release. The summit will focus on the theme "Joint Efforts and Partnerships to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in the Mekong River Basin." The leaders' summit on April 5 will follow a preparatory ministerial meeting on April 4 and a stakeholders conference on April 2-3. The summit comes after the second Lancang-Mekong Cooperative (LMC), when leaders met in Phnom Penh in January with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. China and the five member LMC countries Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand and Laos adopted a broad five-year plan on Mekong development that sidestepped setting forth measurable means for countering threats to the river from projects such as dams. Te Navuth, secretary-general of the Cambodia National Mekong Committee, said that the MRC summit is to reaffirm "political commitment" of the member nations to the 1995 Mekong Agreement. He added that they will review what has been done in the four years since the last summit and sort out what will be undertaken in the coming four years. "There will be a statement from Siem Reap," he said, adding that the leaders will continue to develop the Mekong River based on "solidarity, friendship and cooperation." Worrisome dams But Te Navuth also raised concerns about the ongoing hydropower dams from other countries, such as Laos. "As the population increases, there are more demands for water," said Te Navuth, adding there is also more demand for energy. "There are big hydropower dams in other countries like Laos and China in the upper river. We're concerned. Therefore the head of governments will meet and discuss the opinions on Mekong management." China has already built eight dams on the river, while more than 20 others are under construction or being planned in Yunnan, Tibet and Qinghai, according to International Rivers. Cambodia has just completed another dam on a Mekong tributary, the Lower Sesan II, with a large mainstream dam on the Mekong River itself, the Sambor, in the planning stages. Laos is determined to become the "battery of Southeast Asia" and is building two highly controversial dams, Don Sahong and Xayaburi, while preparing the site for a third, the $2.3 billion Pak Beng project. With more dams planned, it has rebuffed complaints from downstream nations. Tek Vannara, executive director of the NGO Forum on Cambodia, said that prior to the summit, dozens of Cambodian NGOs, plus some NGOs from countries working on environmental and water issues, plan to make recommendations for the Mekong to the Cambodian government. This report originated on VOA Khmer. Montenegro's top diplomat has recognized a trio of current and former U.S. legislators for their work strengthening the partnership between the United States and the Balkan nation, which is NATO's newest member. Calling Podgorica's June 2017 accession to the transatlantic military alliance his nation's top foreign policy objective, Montenegro Foreign Minister Srdjan Darmanovic personally presented medals to former U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden, Ohio Representative Mike Turner and Arizona Senator John McCain, who was unable to attend the event. Their support for Montenegro's 2017 accession to NATO, along with efforts to further integrate Podgorica with the Euro-Atlantic community, Darmanovic said, has proven critical to bolstering the country's international status. Presented with the Order of the Montenegrin Great Star, Biden, who also spoke on behalf of McCain, who is undergoing treatment for brain cancer, called it "a genuine honor to receive the highest award that the country has to give." "I got engaged in the Balkans very early on, as a senator on the Foreign Relations Committee, when [Josep Broz] Tito was still the president of Yugoslavia. I've always believed that until southeastern Europe is fully integrated in Europe, there will never be full peace and security in Europe," he said. "Our ability to conduct foreign policy in the world rests upon a stable, growing and democratic Europe." Formerly part of communist Yugoslavia, a stronghold of Moscow, Montenegro became an independent republic in 2006, when its 650,000 citizens voted in a referendum to split from Serbia. With a military of only 2,000, the country is strategically positioned along the Adriatic Coast, whose deep-water ports can support naval operations in the Mediterranean. Amid claims of Russian meddling in the country, where officials accuse Russian spies of orchestrating an attempted coup to derail the NATO accession process in 2016 a charge the Kremlin resolutely denies both McCain and Biden have called for greater U.S. and E.U. engagement. "Today, just 12 years after declaring independence, Montenegro is a full member of NATO, bound and protected by and I emphasize this Article 5 of the NATO treaty," Biden said. "It is a sacred commitment that the U.S. has made to any member, large or small, of NATO, and it does not go unnoticed in other parts of the world. Particular among our Russian brethren, it is critically important." By undertaking comprehensive defense and intelligence sector reforms to meet NATO standards, Biden said, Montenegro has also ensured a better life for its ethnically diverse population. "You lose elections in United States, you still get a pension. When you lose in Montenegro, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, you lose so much more," he said. "It took enormous courage for Montenegrins to say, 'I want freedom, I want the right to choose whatever destiny I want.' And this is a multiethnic country small, but large in significance." Turner, chairman of the U.S. delegation to NATO's parliamentary assembly, said his work to build congressional support for Montenegro's NATO accession wouldn't have been possible without McCain's and Biden's leadership. The Norwegian government proposed on Friday a nationwide ban on the wearing of full-face veils, such as the burqa and the niqab, in universities, schools, and kindergartens. France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Bulgaria and the German state of Bavaria have all imposed restrictions on wearing full-face veils in public places. If passes by parliament, Norway could become the first Nordic country to introduce such ban in the education sector, Finance Minister Siv Jensen said in a statement. Denmark plans to fine people who cover their face in public. Jensen, who is also the leader of the anti-immigrant right-wing Progress Party, said the ban would send a strong signal that Norway is "an open society where we are going to see the face of each other." The government amended an initial proposal, first presented in June, to allow the wearing of full-face veils during breaks and staff meetings in schools and universities, but it would have to apply throughout working hours at kindergartens. "A ban on face-covering garments will ensure open communication with children, students and newly arrived immigrants in educational situations," Jan Tore Sanner, minister of knowledge and integration said in the statement. Sanner belongs to the center-right Conservatives. Full and partial face veils such as burqas and niqabs divide opinion across Europe, setting advocates of religious freedom against secularists and those who argue that such garments are culturally alien or a symbol of the oppression of women. The niqab covers everything but the eyes, while the burqa also covers the eyes with a transparent veil. Under the Norwegian proposal, employees who broke the rule several times would risk losing their jobs, and students would face expulsion, the government said. The ban would not apply to headgear like the hijab or hats. Local bans on wearing burqa and niqab have been already introduced in some upper secondary schools in Norway. Norway's minority government, a coalition of the Conservatives, the Progress Party and the centrist Liberals, said in June it was confident it would find enough support for the move in parliament. If it does, the ban would start in August. Separately, Oslo police said in a report that the capital had seen the highest reported number of hate crimes last year, with 198 incidents considered, against 175 in 2016. "The biggest increase we see among are women insulted in the category of religion, and more specifically Islam," said the police in a statement. Perus congress is expected to vote Friday to accept President Pedro Pablo Kuczynskis resignation and swear in vice president Martin Vizcarra as his replacement. Vizcarra, 55, a relatively unknown politician who has been serving as the Andean countrys ambassador to Canada, flew back to Lima on Thursday, which coincidentally was his birthday. He would hold the post until July 2021, when Kuczynskis term was to end. Pressure on Kuczynski increased this week after the emergence of secretly recorded videos showing allies of Kuczynski allegedly attempting to buy the support of an opposition lawmaker to block the presidents impeachment. To avoid impeachment, Kuczynski delivered a resignation letter to congress Wednesday, blaming relentless attacks by his opponents for making it impossible to govern. Keiko Fujimori, daughter of former Peruvian strongman Alberto Fujimori has a relentless campaign to oust Kuczynski amid a bribery scandal related to his association with the Brazilian construction giant, Odebrecht. Kuczynski has vehemently denied having any business or political ties to the company. But documents presented by Keikos Popular Force party showed his consulting firm had received $782,000 in payments from Odebrecht a decade ago, some of them when he was a government minister. In a plea agreement with the U.S. Justice Department in December 2016, Odebrecht admitted to spreading some $800 million in bribes to officials across Latin America, including $29 million in Peru. With the results of Russias presidential elections now nearly a week old, Russias domestic political analysts and foreign observers alike have largely arrived at the same conclusion: The March 18 contest brought few surprises for Russians and Westerners alike. While the Kremlin insists the elections were fair and transparent, a number of Russias leading political analysts are voicing concerns and predicting a succession crisis in the country in 2024, when Russian constitutional terms limits say Putin, now 65, will be ineligible to seek another consecutive term. The Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which sent hundreds of election observers to monitor polling, said the election was conducted in an orderly fashion but lacked real choice. Putin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, however, said the results were highly significant and that they speak for themselves. Elections that took place on March 18 demonstrated that our society is fully consolidated, Peskov said in a statement to the press. And it is not consolidated because of someones attacks, but, rather, thanks to the plans of further development of the country, which the election results demonstrated. Compared to Soviet elections However, a number of Russian political scientists disagree with this assessment. Among them is Dmitry Oreshkin, a political scientist, journalist and the 2001 Person of the Year, according to the Rambler web portal Russias largest. [Putin] won. What am I unhappy about? The elections resemble Soviet elections, Oreshkin said in an interview with VOAs Russian Service on Thursday. Firstly, there was no alternative to Putin, he added, referring to the fact that although Putin won his fourth term, with 77 percent of the vote from a field of eight candidates, numerous news outlets have reported that his campaign was exempt from most election laws and restrictions. Similarly, Soviet ballots only had one name on them, Oreshkin added. Secondly, the electorate was [coerced into going] to the polls. People cant risk taking a political stance. Their bosses tell them they need to go, so they go. No real transparency Ekaterina Schulmann, senior lecturer in public policy at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, said polling results reported by Kremlin officials lack any real transparency. One of the post-elections scandals [in Russia] is the statement of Russias internal affairs minister [Sergey Shoigu] that 99 percent of the military and their family members have voted, and 89 percent of those supported Russias commander-in-chief, said Schulmann, who is also a host for Echo of Moscow radio. That is crazy, because the military personnel vote at the same polls as everyone else with the exception of military communities and military bases abroad and theres absolutely no way to know who they voted for. This makes this statement either deeply speculative or proof of fraud. Succession crisis? As for Russias future, Kirill Rogov, a political expert and journalist who has championed Russian independent media, believes that the country will face an intractable succession crisis. Everything will be focused on what happens in 2024, he told VOA. The elites are going to find the succession issue unacceptable, because whoever Putins successor is, [this successor] would have to despite staying loyal to Putin reshuffle the elites in order to maintain power. Oreshkin challenged the notion of any succession within Putins lifetime, saying the former KGB spy will continue to lead the country in whatever capacity he sees fit, for as long as he sees fit. Who is going to be Putins successor? Putin himself. We dont know yet in what capacity, whether hell be prime minister or the leader of a new state, but hell find it hard to leave, Oreshkin said. And each year itll only become harder. This story originated in VOAs Russian Service. A chemist who helped develop the nerve agent that Britain says was used to poison former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter was investigated in the late 1990s for selling capsules of the toxin to Chechen mobsters. Leonid Rink, who worked in a Soviet-era chemical weapons facility near the Russian town of Saratov, admitted to investigators after the killing of a Russian banker in 1995 that he sold capsules of the deadly Novichok toxin to Chechen criminals based in Moscow. Chechen mobsters with ties to Chechnyas pro-Moscow leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, have been prosecuted in recent years for a string of high-profile killings of opponents of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, including the 2015 slaying of leading opposition figure Boris Nemtsov. Yes, I understood these people planned to use the substance against people, Rink told investigators after the 1995 poisoning of Russian banker Ivan Kivelidi, according to classified testimony published by Novaya Gazeta, an investigative newspaper. Rink is credited with being one of the Soviet-era creators of the deadly military-grade nerve agent, and he has appeared on Russian state television commenting on the Skripal poisoning. In one interview he said Novichok was the basis for my doctoral dissertation. He has accused the British themselves of having poisoned Skripal, who was a Russian military intelligence officer recruited as a double agent by Britains MI6. The British government blames the Kremlin for the poisoning of Skripal. But when British Prime Minister Theresa May formally leveled the accusation in a statement in the House of Commons on March 12, she offered a way out for the Kremlin, raising the possibility that Putins government might have lost control of this potentially catastrophically damaging nerve agent and allowed it to get into the hands of others. May gave Russia 24 hours to explain, but the Kremlin so far has refused to offer one. It has maintained its innocence and denies any involvement in the poisoning of Skripal and his daughter in the sleepy cathedral city of Salisbury. Kremlin officials have demanded Britain hand over a sample of the nerve agent used and has accused British ministers of insulting accusations. The Russian Foreign ministry said it regrets" the EU28 statement issued Saturday blaming Russia for the Salisbury attack. It said the EU was "heading toward an anti-Russia campaign, instigated by London and Washington. Another Russian scientist who worked on the Novichok program, Vil Mirzayanov, who fled to the U.S. two decades ago, has raised doubts about the possibility of Russian authorities losing control of any stockpiles of Novichok. He has told reporters that Soviet and later Russian authorities maintained tight control of the toxin, questioning whether any Novichok could have fallen into the hands of anyone the Kremlin did not want to have it. But the 1995 slaying of Russian banking magnate Ivan Kivelidi and his secretary, who both died from organ failure after being contaminated, suggests otherwise. In a secret trial, Kivelidis business partner was convicted of his killing. Prosecutors said he had obtained the poison via intermediaries, from Rink, then an employee at the state chemical research institute known as GosNIIOKhT. Rink admitted he had supplemented his state salary by selling capsules of the nerve agent amounting to hundreds of lethal doses to various criminals, including Chechen mobsters but he maintained he had done so a month after Kivelidis poisoning. He got off lightly and wasnt seriously punished, though, serving just a year in jail for misuse of state property. Rinks admission to investigators of having smuggled Novichok out of the Saratov facility adds a fresh quirk to the unfolding Skripal story. But some analysts warn that the re-surfacing of the case now serves the Kremlin, worrying that it is a diversion and designed to muddy the waters. Isnt the point that Novichok needs to be precisely and expertly mixed an hour before its administration to be effective, says Edward Lucas, author of the book, The New Cold War: Putin's Russia and the Threat to the West. I think this is a diversion, he told VOA. Vil Mirzayanov suggested in an interview with VOAs Russian Service that anyone could cook up Novichok because he posted the formula online. Chechen assassins have been involved in a string of high-profile slayings of political and media critics of Putin in recent years, including leading opposition politician Nemtsov, who was shot dead in February 2015 near the Kremlin. But in all the cases prosecutors have failed to pursue the chain of command for the actions of the assassins, complain rights campaigners. Five ethnic Chechens were found guilty of Nemtsovs slaying and the gunman Zaur Dadayev, was a former member of an elite military under the command of Chechnyas pro-Moscow president Ramzan Kadyrov. Chechens also were convicted for the 2006 shooting of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, a thorn in the side of the Kremlin. The investigation of the sale of toxins lasted several years, and Rink was questioned many times between 1999 to 2006, according to court documents. He detailed how he sold toxins to people connected with crime. He worked as head of the laboratory in a branch of the State Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology (GOSNIIOHT) in the closed city of Shihany, near Saratov. Colleagues consider him to be a professional of the highest qualification in the field of highly toxic compounds, noting that specialists of this level can be counted on the fingers, according to Novaya Gazeta. In 1994 chemical weapons scientists warned the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) state security officials that Novichok was synthesized and sold in an unauthorized manner. Rink told FSB interrogators: When I handed over [an ampule], I naturally instructed a person about the safety measures when handling this substance. I said that the substance acts when applied to the skin of a person and when the substance gets into the body with food. I said that the signs of death would be like a heart disease. The Novichok chemist wasnt alone among Russian scientists and workers in state facilities to sell dangerous substances and military hardware. In the chaos of the collapse of the Soviet Union scientists and government workers were left unpaid for weeks and months at a time. Stockpiles were not well secured fissile material was sold on the black market, there were were thefts of radioactive material, propelled by the deteriorating economic and security conditions in military facilities. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has announced that the Department of Justice is publishing for comment a proposal to change federal regulations to classify devices with bump stocks as machine guns. Bump stocks, devices that enable a semiautomatic weapon to function as a fully automatic one, have been the object of controversy since a mass shooting in Las Vegas last year where 58 people died and hundreds more were injured. In a news release late Friday, Sessions said, President [Donald] Trump has had no higher priority than the safety of each and every American. Sessions said that focus on safety was the reason behind Fridays move, the publishing of a proposed rule change. U.S. citizens will have 90 days to comment on the proposal, which would define machinegun to include bump stock-type devices under federal law effectively banning them, the statement said. Public comments do not necessarily have an impact on whether the proposal is implemented; federal officials will still have the final say on how and whether the classification of bump stock devices is changed. Thousands of Slovaks rallied in Bratislava and other towns for a fourth consecutive Friday over the slaying of an investigative journalist, although numbers were sharply lower after veteran prime minister Robert Fico was forced to quit. Some protesters repeated demands for new elections despite Fico's departure following the fatal shootings last month of Jan Kuciak, 27, who probed fraud cases involving businessmen with political ties, and his fiancee. Fico resigned last week but the existing three-party coalition has been reformed under a new prime minister, meaning no new elections are being held. On Friday, the crowd in Bratislava staged a largely silent vigil for Kuciak rather than a noisy protest as before, and the newspaper Dennik N estimated its size at 25,000, half the figure for last week's demonstration. Some protesters said they respected the constitution after President Andrej Kiska appointed a new government under Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini on Thursday to keep the coalition afloat midway through its term. But Fico remains leader of Pellegrini's Smer party, the biggest group in the government. Other Slovaks are disappointed that no early elections have been held. They see the reshuffle, which saw former Health Minister Tomas Drucker replace unpopular Interior Minister Robert Kalinak, as insufficient to safeguard a fair investigation of Kuciak's killing while Smer, often a target of the reporter's investigative journalism, remains in power. 'Ripping off our country' "There are serious allegations that government officials not only had ties with organized crime but were directly involved in it, systematically ripping off our country," human rights activist Zuzana Kriskova said at the Bratislava vigil. The crowd occasionally erupted into chants demanding early elections and, after singing the national anthem, several thousand marched toward the parliament. They demanded the resignation of Slovakia's police chief, also a subject of Kuciak's reporting, over his perceived conflict of interest. No clashes were reported. Kiska said Thursday that he had agreed with Drucker that the leadership of the Slovak police force must be replaced to help win back public trust. The new government is likely to sail through a confidence vote next week in the 150-member parliament, where the coalition has a majority with 79 lawmakers. Kuciak, who was found with fiancee Martina Kusnirova in their home outside Bratislava, had been looking into suspected mafia links of Italians with businesses in Slovakia. In his final report, published posthumously, he said one of the Italians, currently in custody for suspected drug trafficking, had past business links with two Slovaks who later worked in Fico's office. Both have resigned but deny any connection with the killing. Their Italian former business partner has denied having connections with the mafia. No one has been charged in the slaying so far. Fico was prime minister for 10 of the last 12 years. He positioned the eurozone country as a pro-European bastion in a euroskeptic region, avoiding the clashes Hungary and Poland have had with the EU over media freedom and the rule of law. Pellegrini vowed to maintain his pro-European course. The second-largest rebel group in Syria's Ghouta province says it has agreed with the Russian military to evacuate sick and wounded people and allow humanitarian aid to enter rebel-held areas of eastern Ghouta. The rebel group, Failaq al-Rahman, said in a statement Friday that civilians who decide to stay in eastern Ghouta will be guaranteed safety. Russian police are expected to deploy in areas controlled by Failaq al-Rahman, including the suburbs of Arbeen, Zamalka, Ein Tarma and Jobar. The two groups have also agreed on a prisoner exchange, swapping 3,500 people held by the rebels for allowing 3,000 "humanitarian cases" to be evacuated. Syrian Central Military Media said a tentative agreement has been reached between the Syrian government and armed groups in the Ghouta towns of Arbeen, Zamalka, Hazeh and Jobar. There, the rebels will evacuate and head for the northwestern province of Idlib. The Syrian state news agency, SANA, reported that over 4,000 people left Ghouta on Friday. State media said more than 6,000 left the day before. Rebel officials say they expect the evacuation to last several days. The evacuation deal was brokered by Russia and worked out between Syrian rebels and the government. It includes a prisoner swap and is similar to other agreements that let opposition fighters and their families leave besieged areas peacefully. Syrian forces, backed by Russia, launched air and rocket attacks and regained control of most of eastern Ghouta last month. The operation split the region into three nonadjacent, rebel-held pockets, which are now down to two with the evacuation of Harasta. The fighting has killed more than 1,500 people and left civilians who were unable or unwilling to leave their homes to deal with severe food shortages and scant medical care. Allegations of illicit Libyan campaign financing now grabbing French headlines are also revisiting and potentially revising the tangled, roller-coaster relationship between Paris and Tripoli. Once centered on arms and oil sales, France's strategic interests toward the North African country have since morphed to concerns about security and migration flows to Europe, following the chaotic aftermath of Libya's 2011 uprising. From welcoming former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to Paris, to leading a NATO campaign that helped to unseat him, Paris has taken a more proactive policy toward Libya and other parts of the Middle East in recent years, some analysts say starting under the centre-right presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy. Today, Sarkozy is under formal investigation over allegations he received more than $60 million in illegal campaign financing from late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to fund his successful 2007 run for president. Now 63, the ex-leader forcefully denies the accusations, saying they have made his life "hell" and cost him re-election five years later. Behind the claims are a raft of shady characters, a twisting narrative and hazy facts. Sarkozy's accusers include French-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine, who allegedly delivered the Libyan funds to Sarkozy and his chief of staff in briefcases stuffed with big bills. A turning point They also include a number of top former Gadhafi officials, including the Libyan leader's son, Saif Al-Islam Gadhafi. To be sure, the Libyan probe is not the first judicial investigation involving a former French president Sarkozy himself has faced two others. But it is particularly striking given the source of the financing and its broader fallout. "It's a very important turning point," said geopolitical analyst Philippe Moreau Defarges and author of a new book on globalization. "In France a president of the Republic is untouchable. And now, he can be indicted like anybody else." Sarkozy lost his re-election bid to Socialist Francois Hollande in 2012. His subsequent run for president in 2016 died in the center-right primaries. But his five years in office were marked by a frenetic governing style and a dramatic shift in France's Libyan policy reflecting some say, the start of a more assertive French foreign policy in the Middle East and elsewhere. "When it comes to Africa and the Middle East, Paris has come a long way from the freedom fries' dovishness of the mid-2000s," Foreign Affairs magazine wrote last year, referring to France's refusal to support the US-led intervention in Iraq in 2003, under Sarkozy's predecessor, Jacques Chirac. A controversial visit Shortly after taking office, Sarkozy's dispatched his then-wife Cecilia to Libya, on a mission to rescue five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor, accused of deliberately infecting Libyan children with HIV. In December 2007, Sarkozy invited Gadhafi to Paris, a visit marked by the Libyan leader pitching an enormous Bedouin tent in the French capital and blocking traffic as his motorcade tooled around the city. The visit translated into billions of dollars of contracts and French jobs. But opposition politicians and rights activists were outraged. So was Sarkozy's then-secretary of state for human rights, Rama Yade. France was "not a doormat for a leader terrorist or no terrorist to wipe his feet of the blood of his crimes," Rama Yade said. Then came the Libyan uprising in March 2011. Sarkozy became the first Western leader to support the rebel opposition. France and Britain headed a NATO military campaign that ultimately helped to bring about Gadhafi's death. Shortly after Sarkozy switched alliances, just days after the uprising began, Seif al-Islam Gadhafi first came out with allegations about the campaign financing. In an interview with Africanews channel this week, the younger Gadhafi reportedly said he and other key witnesses were willing to testify against Sarkozy. He said the former director of Libya's intelligence services had a recording of the first meeting between Gadhafi and Sarkozy, before Sarkozy's election bid. In Le Figaro's report of Sarkozy's statements to investigating magistrates, the former president argues Gadhafi had plenty of time to deliver proof of any alleged wrongdoing. During the seven months in 2011 when the Libyan leader was still alive, "nothing prevented him to hand over the documents, photos, recordings, bank withdrawals," that he and his aides claimed to possess, Sarkozy reportedly said. Meanwhile, Libya tipped into chaos. A 2014 British parliament report partly faulted both Sarkozy and former UK Prime Minister David Cameron for being overly hasty and using faulty intelligence to push for the 2011 military intervention that helped to seed the subsequent turmoil. It cited claims by a US official that Sarkozy pushed for the campaign to get a bigger share of Libyan oil, increase France's position in the Middle East and for his own political interests. "Sarkozy is a showman, he likes to be seen, he likes to be talked about," analyst Moreau Defarges said. Caution toward Libya To be sure, French-Libyan relations have been marked by plenty of other rocky moments. Ties fed on French weapons deals in the 1970s frayed in the 1980s as France and Libya backed opposing sides in Chad's civil war. In 1989, French operated UTA Flight 772 was blown up over the Sahara desert, killing all 170 people on board. Paris blamed the Libyan government. Only in 2004 did Libya agree to pay compensation to families of the victims, as part of Gadhafi's bid to end Libya's international isolation. Sarkozy's successors, Socialist Francois Hollande and now Emmanuel Macron, have since wrestled with a fractured and turmoil-torn Libya that has become a magnet for both Islamic State militants as well as Europe-bound African migrants. Last July, Macron hosted a summit in Paris gathering both the UN-backed government in Tripoli and the eastern commander Khalifa Haftar in a bid to reach peace. But critics claim the initiative only made the situation worse by giving Haftar legitimacy. Macron also announced a plan to rescue African migrants in Libya, following reports some were being sold as slaves. But he and other European governments have been faulted for also supporting the Libyan coastguard in turning back migrants at sea. Sarkozy's presidency also casts a long shadow, analyst Moreau Defarges believes. "The problem with Sarkozy is he wanted to be so high profile, so important," he said. "And I think Hollande and Macron did not forget that lesson; that with Libya, one must be very, very cautious. "Libya can be a trap," Moreau Defarges added. "And there's a chance that Sarkozy can be destroyed by this trap." The mother of a 16-year-old girl shot by a fellow student at her southern Maryland high school says her daughter is brain dead and will be taken off life support. Jaelynn Willey and another student were wounded when 17-year-old Austin Rollins opened fire Tuesday at Great Mills High School in the town of Great Mills. Rollins was confronted by a school resource officer. But police say it is still unclear whether Rollins took his own life or was shot to death by the officer. Investigators say Rollins and Jaelynn had dated and that he apparently targeted her. Tuesdays tragedy came a month after a former student killed 17 people at a Parkland, Florida, high school, setting off a nationwide debate about gun control that appears to show no signs of slowing down. Nikolas Cruz has been charged with multiple counts in that shooting. Thousands of students are expected to gather in Washington Saturday as part of the nationwide March for Our Lives demonstration demanding more restrictions on gun sales and safer schools. President Donald Trump has called for arming some teachers after they receive extensive training, but has stopped short of pushing for an increase in the 18-year-old minimum age for many gun purchases. Lawmakers have also balked at banning the sale of assault weapons like the one used in the Florida shooting rampage. A Spanish Supreme Court judge charged 13 Catalan separatist leaders Friday with rebellion and other crimes for their attempt to declare independence from Spain last year. Issuing the indictment, Judge Pablo Llarena said he would try the Catalan politicians, including fugitive president Carles Puigdemont. The court did not give a date for the trial. In total, 25 separatist politicians will be tried for rebellion, embezzlement or disobedience, the judge said in the ruling. Rebellion charges are punishable with up to 25 years in prison under Spanish laws. Llarena also requested that 14 members of the previous Catalan regional administration deposit $2.59 million in a bank account to reimburse the money used to hold the October 1 referendum, which courts ruled as illegal, and cover judicial costs. Among those charged with rebellion are Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras, former Catalan parliament speaker Carme Forcadell, separatist activists Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart and ERC party leader Marta Rovira, who on Friday announced that she was fleeing Spain. Puigdemont fled to Belgium last autumn after an arrest warrant was issued against him. On Friday he spoke at an event at the University of Helsinki, criticizing the European Union's silence on "the violation of the European charter of fundamental rights." Puigdemont said the EU said "nothing when the Spanish authorities started violent repression," in the wake of the Catalan independence referendum. U.S. President Donald Trump has been issued a summons by the attorneys general of the District of Columbia and the neighboring state of Maryland, alleging his business activities are violating a clause of the U.S. Constitution. The summons issued earlier this week is addressed to Trump in both "his official capacity and his individual capacity." The lawsuit alleges that representatives from foreign governments who stay at Trump's hotels constitute a violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution because the money they pay for lodging constitutes a gift to the president from a foreign government. Such gifts to the president are prohibited unless they are approved by Congress. It also alleges that local businesses suffer because important foreign visitors may opt to stay at a Trump property as a means of currying favor with the president. The president's legal representatives have three weeks to respond. A New York court dismissed a similar case in December, saying the issue brought by the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics was something Congress ought to address, rather than the courts. That case was appealed in February. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh told the Associated Press in February that this is the first time anyone has tried to sue a president as an individual for violating the Constitution's Emoluments Clause. When Trump took office, he failed to divest himself completely from his business interests, but handed over control of the businesses to his adult children. The White House announced late Thursday which countries will be temporarily exempt from the tariffs on steel and aluminum that go into effect Friday. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump announced 25 percent tariffs on steel coming into the country and 10 percent tariffs on imported aluminum. The countries winning the temporary exemptions are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, South Korea and the member countries of the European Union. Exemptions to be monitored The White House says it is in ongoing discussions with all the exempted countries and will closely monitor their steel and aluminum imports. The president will decide by May 1 if he will continue the exemptions, based on the status of discussions with the countries. The EU will negotiate for its member countries. European Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said Friday he welcomed Trump's decision to suspend the EU from the tariffs. He added, however, that while the decision represents progress, talks with the U.S. still need to go forward. Trump said in proclamations issued Thursday night that steel and aluminum articles are being imported into the United States in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security of the United States ... The administration has said that retaining a domestic steel and aluminum manufacturing capacity is a matter of national security in order to build everything from tanks to rockets, as well as critical infrastructure such as water treatment plants. Japan said it should also be exempt from the metals tariffs since its steel and aluminum exports do not pose a threat to the national security of the U.S. We have repeatedly told the U.S. side that steel and aluminum imports from its ally Japan will not adversely affect Americas national security and that Japan should be excluded, Yoshihide Suga, Japans chief Cabinet secretary said Friday. Japan is the closest ally of the U.S. in Asia. Opponents of Trumps action see the tariffs as undermining the rules-based global trading system and using national security disguised as protectionism that will encourage other countries to resort to the same premise to protect their domestic markets. The White House has rejected that argument, contending that the U.S. is the freest-trading nation in the world and arguing that the rules-based trading system, under the 23-year-old World Trade Organization with 164 member states, is not working very well for the American people. TPP replacement signed Trump announced his plans for the tariffs earlier this month, just hours after 11 other countries formalized, in Chile, a revised agreement that reduces tariffs and cut trade barriers among the member countries. Known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement (CPTPP), it replaces the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) from which Trump withdrew the United States. The countries that joined the TPP successor are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, Japan, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. Trump boasted that trade wars are good and easy to win after his surprise announcement to levy the tariffs on the two metals. U.S. President Donald Trump grudgingly signed a $1.3 trillion spending bill into law Friday, hours after threatening to veto the measure because it didn't protect undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children or fully fund his proposed border wall. At a hastily arranged White House event Friday afternoon, Trump told a group of reporters he signed the sweeping funding package "for the purpose of national security" even though he was "unhappy about a lot of things" in the massive funding package. "I will never sign another bill like this again. I'm not going to do it again," he said. "Nobody read it. It's only hours old. Some people don't even know $1.3 trillion, it's the second-largest ever." His signing of the bill averted a federal government shutdown at midnight Friday. Trump told a group of reporters he looked "very seriously at the veto" but decided to sign the bill given "the incredible gains" for the military. He said the measure will keep the military funded and provide the largest pay increase for U.S. troops in over a decade. It also increases defense spending by more than $60 billion from 2017. As part of the bill, overall defense spending will jump to $700 billion, the largest increase in 15 years. At the event that was televised live from the Diplomatic Room at the White House, the Republican president blamed Democrats for the lack of protections for DACA recipients in the bill. "DACA recipients have been treated extremely badly by the Democrats. We wanted to include DACA, we wanted to have them in this bill, 800,000 people and actually it could even be more. And we wanted to include DACA in this bill. The Democrats would not do it," the president said. DACA recipients are undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. They were protected from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that began in 2012. Trump, however, rescinded the program late last year while giving Congress six months to come up with a permanent plan for the program recipients. Despite Democrats' efforts, the bill makes no mention of protections for these so-called Dreamers. Democrats had called on Republican leaders to bring to a vote on the House floor a range of proposals to fix DACA. Meanwhile, federal judges have ordered the Trump administration to keep in place certain parts of DACA while legal challenges make their way through the court system. Border wall Trump had insisted that any DACA legislation include funding for building an expansive border wall along the nation's southern border with Mexico. Ultimately, the spending bill provides $1.6 billion for the border wall, well short of the $25 billion Trump requested for the project. While disappointed that the border wall was not fully funded, Trump told reporters he will put the money to work immediately. "We funded the initial down payment of $1.6 billion. We're going to be starting work literally on Monday on not only some new wall not enough but we're working on that very quickly but also fixing existing walls," he said. Trump also urged Congress to give him a "line-item veto for all government spending bills" in the future. In 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled such a power legislation giving the president a line-item veto involving tax and spending provisions was unconstitutional. Earlier Friday, Trump tweeted he may veto the bill because "the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded." The Senate passed the spending bill by a 65-32 vote early Friday after the House of Representatives approved the measure Thursday. Lawmakers had just hours to read the nearly 2,200-page bill released Wednesday night. Turkey and the European Union are seeking to reset relations following months of acrimony. Despite fears that Turkey is sliding into authoritarianism, EU leaders will host the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the Bulgarian resort of Varna on Monday. The meeting comes as the EU is looking to Turkey to maintain its role as gatekeeper for migrants wanting to enter Europe. Ankara has a long list of its own demands. But ahead of the Varna meeting, EU-Turkish tensions erupted again Thursday. "The European Council strongly condemns Turkey's continued illegal actions in the eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea and underlines its full solidarity with Cyprus and Greece," read an EU statement. Turkey has deployed warships in a series of territorial disputes with EU members Greece and Cyprus. "We cannot accept the statement on Turkey," tweeted Omer Celik, Turkey's minister for EU membership. But others see Turkey moderating its stance in person. Analysts say Ankara is eager for the Varna meeting to take place. "It will be a photo op, an occasion, an opportunity for the Turkish regime to send a message home that everything is all right with the European Union, which is important as the regime is more and more isolated," said political scientist Cengiz Aktar. Erdogan is expected to press Brussels to introduce visa-free travel for Turkish citizens, as well as call for the expansion of its Customs Union agreement with the EU. Both demands remain stalled because of Brussels' concerns about Turkey's human rights record. "Closer relations between the European Union and Turkey can only be conditioned on the lifting of the state of emergency, returning to rule of law," declared 75 members of the European Parliament in a joint letter ahead of Monday's meeting. Tens of thousands of people have been detained in an ongoing crackdown following Turkey's 2015 failed coup, including many journalists and human rights defenders. Ankara strongly defends the crackdown, insisting its democracy remains under threat. With Ankara failing to heed EU calls to rein in its crackdown, analysts warn that Erdogan is set to face disappointment in Bulgaria. "The visa waiver won't happen because, despite several promises, Turkey has refused to moderate its draconian anti-terror laws as far as an expanded Customs Union goes," said analyst Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners. "[German Chancellor] Angela Merkel has said it's not possible until Turkey shows respect to human rights under the [EU] Copenhagen criteria. "So, the most we can expect [is that] the current cease-fire and truce continues [between EU and Turkey] and mutual screaming doesn't start again." Migration leverage But Erdogan does have leverage over the EU. As spring approaches, the numbers of migrants from the Middle East and Africa seeking to enter Europe from Turkey through Greece and Bulgaria traditionally rise. Ankara is enforcing a two-year-old agreement with the EU to control migrants entering Europe. The continuation of the deal is a priority for the EU and is expected to be discussed at Monday's meeting. Earlier this month, the European Commission announced $3.7 billion would be sent to Turkey as part of the migrant deal. That could give the Turkish president some leverage to ease visa restrictions for Turks. "It's absolutely inconceivable for the European countries to open their borders to 80 million Turks. The majority of them are looking desperately to emigrate," said political scientist Aktar. "The only feasible, reasonable option on the table is a limited visa waiver for those groups like businessmen or academics and still this relies on the good will of the nations ready to do this. It's not automatic. It's not in the pocket." But with Ankara threatening to turn its back on its traditional Western allies and orientate itself toward Moscow and Tehran, observers point out there is also a strategic awareness in the EU of the importance of maintaining ties with Turkey. "There is this realization by the EU, like in the United States, Turkey occupies a very strategically important geography," said analyst Yesilada. "If you lose Turkey to Russia and authoritarianism, it would jeopardize a region much broader than Turkey, the Balkans, the Caucasus and Middle East. So, there is a visible reluctance to cut off economic as well as political ties." The sale of one Turkeys largest media conglomerates to a pro-government businessman is being seen as the ruling AKP party strengthening its control of the media. The sale came as parliament on Thursday passed legislation widening government control of the internet, one of the last remaining platforms for critical and independent reporting. Dogan Media Company, owns a chain of prominent newspapers and TV channels. The company was reportedly sold to Demiroren Holding, whose owner, Erdogan Demiroren, has close ties to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Demiroren will probably do to Dogan media what he did when he bought independent newspapers Milliyet and Vatan, and turn it into a government mouthpiece, analyst Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners predicted. With this sale, there is nothing left in the mainstream media for a guy or girl out there who is seeking independent information, that period is now over in Turkish media. The process of gathering the Turkish media industry in one hand according to the Putin model is completed, Kadri Gursel, a leading Turkish journalist, tweeted. Bitter struggle ends The sale of Dogan Media ends a prolonged bitter struggle between owner Aydin Dogan and Erdogan. For decades, Dogan was Turkeys most powerful media tycoon. With most of Turkeys media gradually coming under the direct or indirect control of the ruling AKP party, Dogan media remained one of last sources mainstream independent reporting, observers said. In 2009, Dogans Hurriyet newspaper provoked Erdogan with a report on a German court linking prominent AKP party officials to a charity fraud. Shortly afterward, tax authorities placed a multibillion-dollar fine on the media company, nearly bankrupting it. A series of court cases have also been launched against the media tycoon and other family members, with prosecutors demanding heavy prison sentences for the alleged crimes. The prospect of spending rest of his life in jail is what I think finally forced his decision to sell, analyst Yesilada said. Its symbolic because AKP has this mentality of conquest of its enemies. In the end, Dogan surrendered and this should serve as a lesson as to whatever enemies Erdogan has left, if he has a grudge against you, you should run. The government denied such allegations, insisting the judiciary is independent. Internet gains There are still a number of critical newspapers and satirical magazines, but Dogan media is the only newspaper distributor outside government control. Observers suggest publications critical of the government could face distribution problems in the future. In Turkey, the internet is increasingly becoming a platform for independent journalism. Many journalists whove been fired for reporting critical of Erdogan have continued working on the growing numbers of web publications. Some news stations have also begun broadcasting on the internet to maintain independence. New controls on internet, broadcasting But Thursdays action by the Turkish parliament put sweeping new legislation in place to control broadcasting on the internet. Now considering Dogan Media is being sold, there is not much of the mainstream media let alone independent media, the only area is left is the internet, law professor Yaman Akdeniz, an expert on cyber freedom at Istanbuls Bilgi University, said. People follow not only local produced news media on (the) internet, but also Turkish broadcasts by the BBC, VOA and DW, as news sources. So the government is trying to take action to control these before the elections, which might be early this summer. Among the new reforms: the powers of the state regulator for radio and television have been extended to internet broadcasting. The regulator is controlled by representatives of the ruling AKP party. Under the new legislation, internet broadcasters will have to apply for a license from the regulator. Hypothetically, they (the regulators) could declare these programs incite terrorism, so they could close down the programs or revoke their licenses. They could ask (for) the blocking of the website, professor Akdeniz said. Observers point out that a growing number of Turkish reporters working overseas are broadcasting internet programs, particularly Germany. The ability of Turkish authorities to impose controls on these is likely limited, observers said. Well-informed public Recent surveys found more than 70 percent of Turks have access to the internet, and 70 percent of Turkish youth rely solely on the internet for news. The underlying truth (is) these media takeovers and current internet censorship will be completely ineffective, analyst Yesilada said. The Turkish public intends to remain well-informed, and despite these shocks within a few years, different networks and ways will develop for them to remain informed. Turkish authorities have already banned more than 170,000 websites, but observers point out that Turks have become increasingly savvy on the internet, using various means to circumvent restrictions, such as by using virtual private networks (VPN). But authorities are quickly becoming adept, too. Fifteen VPN providers are currently blocked by Turkey, cyber rights expert Akdeniz said. Its becoming really, really difficult for standard internet users to access banned content. Its not a simple but a complex government machinery now seeking to control the internet. U.N. agencies are stepping up desperately needed aid for tens of thousands of civilians who have managed to escape from Syrian areas under fire. They say many of the people have been without humanitarian assistance for months, if not years. In Idlib, a province in northwest Syria, about one million children are living amid escalating violence and attacks, according to the U.N. children's fund. Earlier this week, it said 17 children were killed when a building in which they sought shelter came under attack. UNICEF is calling on fighters in Idlib to spare children so they do not meet the same fate as children in eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus, and Afrin, a Kurdish enclave in northern Syria. After five years under siege, UNICEF and other aid agencies gained access to children in some parts of eastern Ghouta. Aid workers were shocked at the scale of suffering and trauma, according to UNICEF spokeswoman Marixie Mercado. "UNICEF staff described children and families in desperate condition, stunned from years of violence and deprivation," Mercado said. "Hygiene and sanitation conditions in the overcrowded shelters pose the most urgent risks to children. UNICEF is working to provide the children who have lived through years of siege with the services and protection they have been without for so long, and to make up for the years of lost learning. But even as we are able to reach children in more places, the violence continues just kilometers away." The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says 167,000 people in Afrin have fled to nearby villages, and between 50,000 and 70,000 civilians are believed to be trapped in the city. While it is difficult to reach those inside the city, aid agencies are able to assist those who have left. The World Health Organization reports it has deployed mobile medical clinics and critical health supplies to areas hosting the 167,000 people newly displaced from Afrin. The State Department approved nearly $1 billion in new arms sales for Saudi Arabia as the kingdom's crown prince continued his American tour. Congress was notified Thursday of the deal, which includes a $670 million sale of more than 6,600 TOW anti-tank missiles and a $300 million sale of spare vehicle parts for the Royal Saudi Land Forces Ordnance Corps. "This proposed sale will support U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives by improving the security of a friendly country which has been, and continues to be, an important force for political stability and economic growth in the Middle East," the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which oversees foreign military sales, said. Saudi Arabia is the largest buyer of American-made weapons, and the United States sees the country as an ally in the fight against al-Qaida and Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. Some critics of the kingdom have raised concerns about arms sales to Riyadh as its forces remain involved in Yemen's three-year civil war against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. Critics have condemned Saudi Arabia for airstrikes that have killed thousands of civilians in Yemen. But during a meeting Thursday with the Saudi crown prince at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis gave Riyadh a vote of confidence. "We believe that Saudi Arabia is part of the solution,'' Mattis said. "They have stood by the United Nations-recognized government, and we are going to end this war. That is the bottom line. And we are going to end it on positive terms for the people of Yemen but also security for the nations in the peninsula.'' U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Alex Wong traveled to Taiwan this week on an official visit under the recently approved Taiwan Travel Act. The visit took place without strong condemnation from China. The Taiwan Travel Act was approved March 16 to encourage more official visits between Taiwan and the United States despite lack of formal diplomatic relations. Democratic, self-ruled Taiwan for its part wants to expand relations with other countries. China sees Taiwan as part of its territory, not a state entitled to foreign diplomacy. It protested the act Wednesday. Wongs most publicized event during the three-day visit that ended Thursday was a speech to the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei alongside Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen. Analysts say Wong ranks too low to stir more than a pro-forma protest from Beijing. The gentleman who came to Taiwan this time, (his) level is not very high, relatively young, said Liu Yih-jiun, public affairs professor at Fo Guang University in Taiwan. I think for this young gentleman, its more symbolic than a substantive contact. Test of the travel act? Before the bills passage, senior U.S. officials had visited Taiwan six times since 1979. That year formal relations broke off, and Washington formed diplomatic ties with China. The U.S. government still sees Taiwan as a staunch informal ally. In 2014, Washington sent its highest-level visitor, then-Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy. Wong would have visited Taiwan this week even if not for the Taiwan Travel Act, a publicist for the islands foreign ministry said Thursday. But the timing of a visit days after passage of the travel act will put China on alert for more such exchanges, analysts believe. China passed an aircraft carrier through the Taiwan Strait Wednesday but did not say whether U.S.-Taiwan relations had sparked the move. It remains unclear to the Chinese as to whether (U.S. President Donald) Trump is using the issue to push China to make concessions on other fronts, such as trade, said Yun Sun, East Asia Program senior associate at the Stimson Center think tank in the United States. Mainland (China) will protest against Wongs travel, and will likely punish Taiwan for it, Sun said. If U.S. Marines were sent to guard the de facto U.S. embassy in Taipei or if a U.S. warship visited the island, China would get angrier, Liu said. When the U.S. Congress approved a bill last year allowing naval exchanges, a Chinese official said any naval ports of call in Taiwan would spark a military response. China-Taiwan divide Chinas foreign ministry protested Wednesday over the Taiwan Travel Act, but at a media briefing Thursday it declined to comment directly on Wongs visit. We urge the U.S. side to stop official exchanges and contacts in any form with Taiwan (and) prudently and properly handle issues associated with Taiwan, so as not to cause serious damage to China-U.S. relations and to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said Wednesday. Taiwan and China have been separately ruled since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s, but China insists on eventual unification. Taiwan democratized in the 1980s, and government surveys show most Taiwanese oppose unification with Communist China. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, backed by a party that advocates further distance between the two sides, disputes the Beijing view that both belong to a single China. The two sides have not spoken formally since she took office in 2016. U.S. official asks for stronger Taiwan ties Wong told the chamber Wednesday he wanted stronger Taiwan-U.S. relations. Tonight should be about looking forward, he said in the speech. Yes, weve done much to deepen U.S.-Taiwan relations. But my message tonight is this: Lets. Do. More. Taiwan should no longer be excluded unjustly from international forums, he said, a possible reference to Chinas pressure against Taiwanese participation in the United Nations and other multi-country organizations. The U.S. government will do its part to ensure Taiwans stellar international example shines brightly, Wong added. Taiwan can also work with the United States to strengthen the free and open order of the Indo-Pacific, Wong said. Chinas island building and military activity in the contested South China Sea have prompted Washington to send naval ships and show it considers the sea an international waterway. China is likely to see Taiwan-U.S. exchanges of official visits as a card played by the U.S. government, said Lin Chong-pin, a retired strategic studies professor in Taiwan. China would play its cards in return, he said. Apart from officially protesting pro forma almost, I dont think Beijing will make a big fuss, Lin said. Beijing probably mostly will work behind the scene putting pressure or talking to Washington quietly for exchange of whatever. A high-level U.S. delegation, including diplomats and members of the U.S.-led coalition, visited Manbij on Thursday in the wake of a disagreement with Turkey over the fate of the town in northern Syria. U.S. Maj. Gen. Jamie Jarrard, American Special Operations commander in Syria and Iraq, and former U.S. Ambassador to Bahrain William Roebuck met with residents and local officials of the town, which has been under control of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) since the removal of the Islamic State in 2016. VOA footage of the visit shows the delegation with leaders of the SDF touring the local market and talking to residents. A VOA reporter in northern Syria who was present during the tour said the delegation reassured the local population of U.S. support before meeting with city officials. Ibrahim Qaftan, co-chair of Manbij Executive Council and an attendee at the meeting, told VOA that American officials said the U.S. has no intention of withdrawing from the town. "They wanted to tell the people of this area that we are with you and do not be worried for Manbij," Qaftan said. "This is what the people and the administration of this town wants to hear." WATCH: U.S. Troops, Delegates Tour Manbij Point of contention The town has recently become a major point of contention between the U.S. and its NATO ally, Turkey, over the presence of Kurdish militants. Turkey has threatened to expand its military operation in the northwestern region around Afrin to Manbij, in pursuit of the Kurdish groups. Officials in Ankara say they view as an unacceptable threat to their national security that the town is controlled by the Kurdish armed force known as the People's Protection Units (YPG). Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist organization, alleging the group is linked to Kurdish separatists inside Turkey, known as the PKK, which is designated a terror organization by both the U.S. and the EU. But the U.S. denies the connections between the PKK and the YPG, and considers the YPG to be a key ally in the ongoing campaign against the Islamic State terror group. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday spoke by phone to discuss regional issues. A statement from the White House said the two leaders reaffirmed "the importance of strong relations between the United States and Turkey, as NATO allies and strategic partners." Erdogan on U.S., Russia According to the Turkish president's office, Erdogan said he told Trump that Turkey was not willing to back down from expanding its operation in northern Syria, including in Manbij. "Last night, I spoke with U.S. President Trump on these issues. I discussed the same things with [Russia President Vladimir] Putin two days ago. I told them: 'We won't take steps backward from here. We are on the side of the suffering and the oppressed,' " he said in an address at a meeting of his Justice and Development Party in Istanbul on Friday. Turkish officials have said that Ankara and Washington had reached an "agreement" or "understanding" over the town and the U.S. has agreed to pull out Kurdish fighters, a claim dismissed by U.S. officials. Asked to comment on a statement by Ibrahim Kalin, a spokesperson for Erdogan, regarding the alleged deal, U.S. Department of State spokesperson Heather Nauert on Tuesday said, "Well, that's funny, because no agreement has been reached." "U.S. forces are located in Manbij," Nauert told reporters in another statement Thursday. "We have made it very clear with the Turkish government that we have a right to defend ourselves, the U.S., along with its coalition partners on the ground." A U.S. military and diplomatic delegation visited Manbij, Syria, and met Thursday with its residents. The visit comes as Turkey is threatening to enter the town in northern Syria to go after U.S.-backed Kurdish militants that Turkey views as terrorists linked to the outlawed PKK terror group. VOA's Zana Omar reports from the region. Martin Vizcarra was sworn in as Perus new president Friday, after Congress voted to accept the resignation of President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski following a corruption scandal. Vizcarra promised on Friday that his government would fight corruption head on after he took the oath of office before Perus Congress. Transparency will be a pillar of our administration, Vizcarra said, adding that better times will come. Vizcarra, 55, a relatively unknown politician who had been serving both as the vice president and as the Andean country's ambassador to Canada, flew back to Lima from Ottawa on Thursday, which coincidentally was his birthday. Supporters welcomed him at the airport with a large cake. Vizcarra is expected to hold the post of president until July 2021, when Kuczynski's term was due to end. However, early elections are also a possibility. U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said the United States looks forward to working with Vizcarra and praised Peru for its constitutional transfer of power. Pressure on Kuczynski increased this week after the emergence of secretly shot videos showing allies of Kuczynski allegedly attempting to buy the support of an opposition lawmaker to block the presidents impeachment. To avoid impeachment, Kuczynski delivered a resignation letter to Congress Wednesday, blaming relentless attacks by his opponents for making it impossible to govern. Congress voted 105-12 on Friday to grant Kuczynskis request to step down, but rejected his written arguments that he was doing so as a result of his opponents attacks. Efforts to oust Kuczynski have been led by Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of former Peruvian strongman Alberto Fujimori. Kuczynski has been accused of involvement in a bribery scandal related to his association with the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. Kuczynski has vehemently denied having any business or political ties to the company. But documents presented by Keiko Fujimori's Popular Force party showed his consulting firm had received $782,000 in payments from Odebrecht a decade ago, some of them when he was a government minister. In a plea agreement with the U.S. Justice Department in December 2016, Odebrecht admitted to spreading $800 million in bribes to officials across Latin America, including $29 million in Peru. A snow-covered Washington prepared for a protest against gun violence that is predicted to draw hundreds of thousands of marchers this weekend. Washington officials estimate that as many as 500,000 people will march Saturday in a demonstration to urge politicians to prevent further school shootings. In the tragic wake of the 17 lives brutally cut short in Florida, politicians are telling us that now is not the time to talk about guns. March For Our Lives believes the time is now, says that organizations mission statement on its official website. On March 24, the kids and families of March For Our Lives will take to the streets of Washington, D.C., to demand that their lives and safety become a priority, the website says. The collective voices of the March For Our Lives movement will be heard. Even in the month since the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, claimed 17 lives, other high schools have been the scene of shootings. Most recently, a female student was critically injured by a shooter at a Maryland high school who was later killed in a confrontation with police. Survivors of the Parkland shooting, including Emma Gonzalez, who, with several of her classmates, has taken the anti-gun violence debate national, supported the students at Great Mills High School. March For Our Lives was largely organized by Parkland students, who have used social media widely and publicly to insist politicians stop taking political donations from the National Rifle Association and pass legislation to make gun access more difficult. Cameron Kasky is one of the many Parkland students traveling from Florida to the nations capital this weekend to stand together on the right side of history -- the side of life over money. In a letter to the organizers of the march, ride-hailing service Lyft said that it will offer free rides to students from Parkland traveling to and from the march. Many Washington-area households have opened their doors to students and protesters from out of town seeking a place to stay. Your bravery and intelligence have provided a renewed and much needed hope for our future. We are incredibly grateful for the example you are setting, Lyft co-founders John Zimmer and Logan Green wrote in a letter to the students. AirBnb, an online lodging reservation service, told VOA that 8,400 arrivals are scheduled in D.C. for the night of the march - making it AirBnbs second highest booked night in the city, only behind the Womens March in January 2017. Musicians Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Demi Lovato, and Common are among the celebrities who are scheduled to perform at the Washington march, according to organizers. Washingtons Metro subway system said that it will operate at rush-hour levels of service throughout Saturday, starting at 7 a.m., to accommodate anticipated crowds. As the young men and women have been preparing for Saturdays event, the district has been preparing to keep them safe, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser told a press conference. Of course, First Amendment-protected events are not new to Washington, D.C., Bowser said. ...We are looking forward to these teenagers and everybody who believes that we must do more to have sensible gun regulation in our nation and to keep children safe in their schools, in their neighborhoods in cities across America. D.C.s Metropolitan Police Department will be fully staffed on Saturday. We will ensure that we have plenty of officers on hand to facilitate a peaceful and safe day for the rally, Chief of Police Peter Newsham told a press conference. THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 22, 2018 ADJUSTING IMPORTS OF ALUMINUM INTO THE UNITED STATES - - - - - - - BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION 1. On January 19, 2018, the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) transmitted to me a report on his investigation into the effect of imports of aluminum articles on the national security of the United States under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1862). 2. In Proclamation 9704 of March 8, 2018 (Adjusting Imports of Aluminum Into the United States), I concurred in the Secretary's finding that aluminum articles are being imported into the United States in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security of the United States, and decided to adjust the imports of aluminum articles, as defined in clause 1 of Proclamation 9704 (aluminum articles), by imposing a 10 percent ad valorem tariff on such articles imported from all countries except Canada and Mexico. 3. In proclaiming this tariff, I recognized that our Nation has important security relationships with some countries whose exports of aluminum articles to the United States weaken our internal economy and thereby threaten to impair the national security. I also recognized our shared concern about global excess capacity, a circumstance that is contributing to the threatened impairment of the national security. I further determined that any country with which we have a security relationship is welcome to discuss with the United States alternative ways to address the threatened impairment of the national security caused by imports from that country, and noted that, should the United States and any such country arrive at a satisfactory alternative means to address the threat to the national security such that I determine that imports from that country no longer threaten to impair the national security, I may remove or modify the restriction on aluminum articles imports from that country and, if necessary, adjust the tariff as it applies to other countries as the national security interests of the United States require. 4. The United States is continuing discussions with Canada and Mexico, as well as the following countries, on satisfactory alternative means to address the threatened impairment to the national security by imports of aluminum articles from those countries: the Commonwealth of Australia (Australia), the Argentine Republic (Argentina), the Republic of Korea (South Korea), the Federative Republic of Brazil (Brazil), and the European Union (EU) on behalf of its member countries. Each of these countries has an important security relationship with the United States and I have determined that the necessary and appropriate means to address the threat to the national security posed by imports from aluminum articles from these countries is to continue these discussions and to exempt aluminum articles imports from these countries from the tariff, at least at this time. Any country not listed in this proclamation with which we have a security relationship remains welcome to discuss with the United States alternative ways to address the threatened impairment of the national security caused by imports of aluminum articles from that country. 5. The United States has an important security relationship with Australia, including our shared commitment to supporting each other in addressing national security concerns, particularly through our security, defense, and intelligence partnership; the strong economic and strategic partnership between our countries; our shared commitment to addressing global excess capacity in aluminum production; and the integration of Australian persons and organizations into the national technology and industrial base of the United States. 6. The United States has an important security relationship with Argentina, including our shared commitment to supporting each other in addressing national security concerns in Latin America, particularly the threat posed by instability in Venezuela; our shared commitment to addressing global excess capacity in aluminum production; the reciprocal investment in our respective industrial bases; and the strong economic integration between our countries. 7. The United States has an important security relationship with South Korea, including our shared commitment to eliminating the North Korean nuclear threat; our decades-old military alliance; our shared commitment to addressing global excess capacity in aluminum production; and our strong economic and strategic partnership. 8. The United States has an important security relationship with Brazil, including our shared commitment to supporting each other in addressing national security concerns in Latin America; our shared commitment to addressing global excess capacity in aluminum production; the reciprocal investment in our respective industrial bases; and the strong economic integration between our countries. 9. The United States has an important security relationship with the EU and its constituent member countries, including our shared commitment to supporting each other in national security concerns; the strong economic and strategic partnership between the United States and the EU, and between the United States and EU member countries; and our shared commitment to addressing global excess capacity in aluminum production. 10. In light of the foregoing, I have determined that the necessary and appropriate means to address the threat to the national security posed by imports of aluminum articles from these countries is to continue ongoing discussions and to increase strategic partnerships, including those with respect to reducing global excess capacity in aluminum production by addressing its root causes. In my judgment, discussions regarding measures to reduce excess aluminum production and excess aluminum capacity, measures that will increase domestic capacity utilization, and other satisfactory alternative means will be most productive if the tariff proclaimed in Proclamation 9704 on aluminum articles imports from these countries is removed at this time. 11. However, the tariff imposed by Proclamation 9704 remains an important first step in ensuring the economic viability of our domestic aluminum industry and removing the threatened impairment of the national security. Without this tariff and the adoption of satisfactory alternative means addressing long-term solutions in ongoing discussions with the countries listed as excepted in clause 1 of this proclamation, the industry will continue to decline, leaving the United States at risk of becoming reliant on foreign producers of aluminum to meet our national security needs -- a situation that is fundamentally inconsistent with the safety and security of the American people. As a result, unless I determine by further proclamation that the United States has reached a satisfactory alternative means to remove the threatened impairment to the national security by imports of aluminum articles from a particular country listed as excepted in clause 1 of this proclamation, the tariff set forth in clause 2 of Proclamation 9704 shall be effective May 1, 2018, for the countries listed as excepted in clause 1 of this proclamation. In the event that a satisfactory alternative means is reached such that I decide to exclude on a long-term basis a particular country from the tariff proclaimed in Proclamation 9704, I will also consider whether it is necessary and appropriate in light of our national security interests to make any corresponding adjustments to the tariff set forth in clause 2 of Proclamation 9704 as it applies to other countries. Because the current tariff exemptions are temporary, however, I have determined that it is necessary and appropriate to maintain the current tariff level at this time. 12. In the meantime, to prevent transshipment, excess production, or other actions that would lead to increased exports of aluminum articles to the United States, the United States Trade Representative, in consultation with the Secretary and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, shall advise me on the appropriate means to ensure that imports from countries exempt from the tariff imposed in Proclamation 9704 do not undermine the national security objectives of such tariff. If necessary and appropriate, I will consider directing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of the Department of Homeland Security to implement a quota as soon as practicable, and will take into account all aluminum articles imports since January 1, 2018, in setting the amount of such quota. 13. Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended, authorizes the President to adjust the imports of an article and its derivatives that are being imported into the United States in such quantities or under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security. 14. Section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2483), authorizes the President to embody in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) the substance of statutes affecting import treatment, and actions thereunder, including the removal, modification, continuance, or imposition of any rate of duty or other import restriction. NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended, section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, do hereby proclaim as follows: (1) Imports of all aluminum articles, as defined in clause 1 of Proclamation 9704, from the countries listed in this clause shall be exempt from the duty established in clause 2 of Proclamation 9704 until 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on May 1, 2018. Further, clause 2 of Proclamation 9704 is amended by striking the last two sentences and inserting the following two sentences: "Except as otherwise provided in this proclamation, or in notices published pursuant to clause 3 of this proclamation, all aluminum articles imports specified in the Annex shall be subject to an additional 10 percent ad valorem rate of duty with respect to goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, as follows: (a) on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on March 23, 2018, from all countries except Canada, Mexico, Australia, Argentina, South Korea, Brazil, and the member countries of the European Union, and (b) on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on May 1, 2018, from all countries. This rate of duty, which is in addition to any other duties, fees, exactions, and charges applicable to such imported aluminum articles, shall apply to imports of aluminum articles from each country as specified in the preceding sentence.". (2) Paragraph (a) of U.S. note 19, added to subchapter III of chapter 99 of the HTSUS by the Annex to Proclamation 9704, is amended by replacing "Canada and of Mexico" with "Canada, of Mexico, of Australia, of Argentina, of South Korea, of Brazil, and of the member countries of the European Union". (3) The "Article description" for heading 9903.85.01 of the HTSUS is amended by replacing "Canada or of Mexico" with "Canada, of Mexico, of Australia, of Argentina, of South Korea, of Brazil, or of the member countries of the European Union". (4) The exemption afforded to aluminum articles from Canada, Mexico, Australia, Argentina, South Korea, Brazil, and the member countries of the EU shall apply only to aluminum articles of such countries entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, through the close of April 30, 2018, at which time Canada, Mexico, Australia, Argentina, South Korea, Brazil, and the member countries of the EU shall be deleted from paragraph (a) of U.S. note 19 to subchapter III of chapter 99 of the HTSUS and from the article description of heading 9903.85.01 of the HTSUS. (5) Any aluminum article that is admitted into a U.S. foreign trade zone on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on March 23, 2018, may only be admitted as "privileged foreign status" as defined in 19 CFR 146.41, and will be subject upon entry for consumption to any ad valorem rates of duty related to the classification under the applicable HTSUS subheading. Any aluminum article that was admitted into a U.S. foreign trade zone under "privileged foreign status" as defined in 19 CFR 146.41, prior to 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on March 23, 2018, will likewise be subject upon entry for consumption to any ad valorem rates of duty related to the classification under applicable HTSUS subheadings imposed by Proclamation 9704, as amended by this proclamation. (6) Clause 3 of Proclamation 9704 is amended by inserting a new third sentence reading as follows: "Such relief may be provided to directly affected parties on a party-by-party basis taking into account the regional availability of particular articles, the ability to transport articles within the United States, and any other factors as the Secretary deems appropriate.". (7) Clause 3 of Proclamation 9704, as amended by clause 6 of this proclamation, is further amended by inserting a new fifth sentence as follows: "For merchandise entered on or after the date the directly affected party submitted a request for exclusion, such relief shall be retroactive to the date the request for exclusion was posted for public comment.". (8) The Secretary, in consultation with CBP and other relevant executive departments and agencies, shall revise the HTSUS so that it conforms to the amendments and effective dates directed in this proclamation. The Secretary shall publish any such modification to the HTSUS in the Federal Register. (9) Any provision of previous proclamations and Executive Orders that is inconsistent with the actions taken in this proclamation is superseded to the extent of such inconsistency. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-second day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand eighteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-second. DONALD J. TRUMP THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 22, 2018 ADJUSTING IMPORTS OF STEEL INTO THE UNITED STATES - - - - - - - BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION 1. On January 11, 2018, the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) transmitted to me a report on his investigation into the effect of imports of steel mill articles on the national security of the United States under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1862). 2. In Proclamation 9705 of March 8, 2018 (Adjusting Imports of Steel Into the United States), I concurred in the Secretary's finding that steel mill articles are being imported into the United States in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security of the United States, and decided to adjust the imports of steel mill articles, as defined in clause 1 of Proclamation 9705, as amended by clause 8 of this proclamation (steel articles), by imposing a 25 percent ad valorem tariff on such articles imported from all countries except Canada and Mexico. 3. In proclaiming this tariff, I recognized that our Nation has important security relationships with some countries whose exports of steel articles to the United States weaken our internal economy and thereby threaten to impair the national security. I also recognized our shared concern about global excess capacity, a circumstance that is contributing to the threatened impairment of the national security. I further determined that any country with which we have a security relationship is welcome to discuss with the United States alternative ways to address the threatened impairment of the national security caused by imports from that country, and noted that, should the United States and any such country arrive at a satisfactory alternative means to address the threat to the national security such that I determine that imports from that country no longer threaten to impair the national security, I may remove or modify the restriction on steel articles imports from that country and, if necessary, adjust the tariff as it applies to other countries as the national security interests of the United States require. 4. The United States is continuing discussions with Canada and Mexico, as well as the following countries, on satisfactory alternative means to address the threatened impairment to the national security by imports of steel articles from those countries: the Commonwealth of Australia (Australia), the Argentine Republic (Argentina), the Republic of Korea (South Korea), the Federative Republic of Brazil (Brazil), and the European Union (EU) on behalf of its member countries. Each of these countries has an important security relationship with the United States and I have determined that the necessary and appropriate means to address the threat to the national security posed by imports from steel articles from these countries is to continue these discussions and to exempt steel articles imports from these countries from the tariff, at least at this time. Any country not listed in this proclamation with which we have a security relationship remains welcome to discuss with the United States alternative ways to address the threatened impairment of the national security caused by imports of steel articles from that country. 5. The United States has an important security relationship with Australia, including our shared commitment to supporting each other in addressing national security concerns, particularly through our security, defense, and intelligence partnership; the strong economic and strategic partnership between our countries; our shared commitment to addressing global excess capacity in steel production; and the integration of Australian persons and organizations into the national technology and industrial base of the United States. 6. The United States has an important security relationship with Argentina, including our shared commitment to supporting each other in addressing national security concerns in Latin America, particularly the threat posed by instability in Venezuela; our shared commitment to addressing global excess capacity in steel production; the reciprocal investment in our respective industrial bases; and the strong economic integration between our countries. 7. The United States has an important security relationship with South Korea, including our shared commitment to eliminating the North Korean nuclear threat; our decades-old military alliance; our shared commitment to addressing global excess capacity in steel production; and our strong economic and strategic partnership. 8. The United States has an important security relationship with Brazil, including our shared commitment to supporting each other in addressing national security concerns in Latin America; our shared commitment to addressing global excess capacity in steel production; the reciprocal investment in our respective industrial bases; and the strong economic integration between our countries. 9. The United States has an important security relationship with the EU and its constituent member countries, including our shared commitment to supporting each other in national security concerns; the strong economic and strategic partnership between the United States and the EU, and between the United States and EU member countries; and our shared commitment to addressing global excess capacity in steel production. 10. In light of the foregoing, I have determined that the necessary and appropriate means to address the threat to the national security posed by imports of steel articles from these countries is to continue ongoing discussions and to increase strategic partnerships, including those with respect to reducing global excess capacity in steel production by addressing its root causes. In my judgment, discussions regarding measures to reduce excess steel production and excess steel capacity, measures that will increase domestic capacity utilization, and other satisfactory alternative means will be most productive if the tariff proclaimed in Proclamation 9705 on steel articles imports from these countries is removed at this time. 11. However, the tariff imposed by Proclamation 9705 remains an important first step in ensuring the economic viability of our domestic steel industry and removing the threatened impairment of the national security. Without this tariff and the adoption of satisfactory alternative means addressing long-term solutions in ongoing discussions with the countries listed as excepted in clause 1 of this proclamation, the industry will continue to decline, leaving the United States at risk of becoming reliant on foreign producers of steel to meet our national security needs -- a situation that is fundamentally inconsistent with the safety and security of the American people. As a result, unless I determine by further proclamation that the United States has reached a satisfactory alternative means to remove the threatened impairment to the national security by imports of steel articles from a particular country listed as excepted in clause 1 of this proclamation, the tariff set forth in clause 2 of Proclamation 9705 shall be effective May 1, 2018, for the countries listed as excepted in clause 1 of this proclamation. In the event that a satisfactory alternative means is reached such that I decide to exclude on a long-term basis a particular country from the tariff proclaimed in Proclamation 9705, I will also consider whether it is necessary and appropriate in light of our national security interests to make any corresponding adjustments to the tariff set forth in clause 2 of Proclamation 9705 as it applies to other countries. Because the current tariff exemptions are temporary, however, I have determined that it is necessary and appropriate to maintain the current tariff level at this time. 12. In the meantime, to prevent transshipment, excess production, or other actions that would lead to increased exports of steel articles to the United States, the United States Trade Representative, in consultation with the Secretary and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, shall advise me on the appropriate means to ensure that imports from countries exempt from the tariff imposed in Proclamation 9705 do not undermine the national security objectives of such tariff. If necessary and appropriate, I will consider directing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of the Department of Homeland Security to implement a quota as soon as practicable, and will take into account all steel articles imports since January 1, 2018, in setting the amount of such quota. 13. Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended, authorizes the President to adjust the imports of an article and its derivatives that are being imported into the United States in such quantities or under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security. 14. Section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2483), authorizes the President to embody in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) the substance of statutes affecting import treatment, and actions thereunder, including the removal, modification, continuance, or imposition of any rate of duty or other import restriction. NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended, section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, do hereby proclaim as follows: (1) Imports of all steel articles, as defined in clause 1 of Proclamation 9705, as amended by clause 8 of this proclamation, from the countries listed in this clause shall be exempt from the duty established in clause 2 of Proclamation 9705 until 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on May 1, 2018. Further, clause 2 of Proclamation 9705 is amended by striking the last two sentences and inserting the following two sentences: "Except as otherwise provided in this proclamation, or in notices published pursuant to clause 3 of this proclamation, all steel articles imports specified in the Annex shall be subject to an additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty with respect to goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, as follows: (a) on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on March 23, 2018, from all countries except Canada, Mexico, Australia, Argentina, South Korea, Brazil, and the member countries of the European Union, and (b) on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on May 1, 2018, from all countries. This rate of duty, which is in addition to any other duties, fees, exactions, and charges applicable to such imported steel articles, shall apply to imports of steel articles from each country as specified in the preceding sentence.". (2) Paragraph (a) of U.S. note 16, added to subchapter III of chapter 99 of the HTSUS by the Annex to Proclamation 9705, is amended by replacing "Canada and of Mexico" with "Canada, of Mexico, of Australia, of Argentina, of South Korea, of Brazil, and of the member countries of the European Union". (3) The "Article description" for heading 9903.80.01 of the HTSUS is amended by replacing "Canada or of Mexico" with "Canada, of Mexico, of Australia, of Argentina, of South Korea, of Brazil, or of the member countries of the European Union". (4) The exemption afforded to steel articles from Canada, Mexico, Australia, Argentina, South Korea, Brazil, and the member countries of the EU shall apply only to steel articles of such countries entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, through the close of April 30, 2018, at which time Canada, Mexico, Australia, Argentina, South Korea, Brazil, and the member countries of the EU shall be deleted from paragraph (a) of U.S. note 16 to subchapter III of chapter 99 of the HTSUS and from the article description of heading 9903.80.01 of the HTSUS. (5) Any steel article that is admitted into a U.S. foreign trade zone on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on March 23, 2018, may only be admitted as "privileged foreign status" as defined in 19 CFR 146.41, and will be subject upon entry for consumption to any ad valorem rates of duty related to the classification under the applicable HTSUS subheading. Any steel article that was admitted into a U.S. foreign trade zone under "privileged foreign status" as defined in 19 CFR 146.41, prior to 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on March 23, 2018, will likewise be subject upon entry for consumption to any ad valorem rates of duty related to the classification under applicable HTSUS subheadings imposed by Proclamation 9705, as amended by this proclamation. (6) Clause 3 of Proclamation 9705 is amended by inserting a new third sentence reading as follows: "Such relief may be provided to directly affected parties on a party-by-party basis taking into account the regional availability of particular articles, the ability to transport articles within the United States, and any other factors as the Secretary deems appropriate.". (7) Clause 3 of Proclamation 9705, as amended by clause 6 of this proclamation, is further amended by inserting a new fifth sentence as follows: "For merchandise entered on or after the date the directly affected party submitted a request for exclusion, such relief shall be retroactive to the date the request for exclusion was posted for public comment.". (8) The reference to "7304.10" in clause 1 of Proclamation 9705, is amended to read "7304.11". (9) The Secretary, in consultation with CBP and other relevant executive departments and agencies, shall revise the HTSUS so that it conforms to the amendments and effective dates directed in this proclamation. The Secretary shall publish any such modification to the HTSUS in the Federal Register. (10) Any provision of previous proclamations and Executive Orders that is inconsistent with the actions taken in this proclamation is superseded to the extent of such inconsistency. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-second day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand eighteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-second. DONALD J. TRUMP In hopes of reviving the ailing economy, Zimbabwe's government has set out to repatriate as much as $1.4 billion it says was transferred abroad illegally in recent years. President Emmerson Mnangagwa released a list of companies this week that have not cooperated with his campaign. He said more than $820 million has yet be returned, despite an extension of a three-month amnesty period that began in December. Tendai Biti, an opposition leader and Zimbabwe's former minister of finance, says the issue of externalizing funds ended in 2009 when Zimbabwe abandoned its worthless dollar and adopted a multi-currency system which is largely dominated by the U.S. dollar. "The U.S. dollar is legal tender in this country," Biti said. "When you talk of externalization, you are talking of getting foreign currency money which is not legal tender of that country outside Zimbabwe. The key problem to our economy is not the money which has been externalized it's because we are not producing. [We] are not exporting, and when you are exporting we cannot earn foreign currency receipts." But Terence Mukupe, Zimbabwe's deputy minister of finance and economic development, says repatriating money is key to revitalizing Zimbabwe's long-struggling economy. "That $800 million on the list is real," Mukupe said. "Imagine $800 million coming into the country's nostro accounts? It makes a huge difference. We are talking of a quarter of our import bill. If we are able to bring back a billion dollars, guess what it does for the ordinary person? It changes lives of people." Agency Gumbo, a lawyer, said the government must find a way to encourage companies to return their funds besides threatening them with lawsuits. "I agree that externalization is part of the problem we are having in this country, but let's look at the legal regime we have set up and see whatever we are putting on the table, is it going to be enforceable in the future?" he said. He agreed with Biti that since Zimbabwe adopted the U.S. dollar as part of its currency, externalization charges might not stick in court, should Mnangagwa's government decide to prosecute. Gumbo also noted that some of the companies listed as having externalized money were struggling to have their customers pay them. U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday indicated willingness to testify before the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and other matters. "I would like to," Trump replied when asked by a reporter whether he was willing to be interviewed by investigators. The president made the remark as he exited the White House Diplomatic Room after signing a document directing his administration to pursue trade actions against China. WATCH: Trump Lawyer Resigns as Democrats Issue New Warning on Russia Probe Trump's response came after one of his personal attorneys, John Dowd, confirmed he was stepping down. Dowd is known to have counseled Trump against sitting for an interview with those working for the special counsel, Robert Mueller, a former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Less than a week ago, Dowd called on the Justice Department which oversees the FBI and the special counsel to end the Russia investigation. Initially, Dowd said he was speaking for the president, but he then clarified his remarks were not being made on behalf of the president. DiGenova added Dowd's departure came days after the president added to his team of lawyers Joseph diGenova, a former U.S. attorney known for pushing a more aggressive legal strategy. There also is speculation at the White House that the president is seeking to replace another member of his legal team, Ty Cobb. On social media this week, Trump has assailed the special counsel, which is also seeking to determine the extent of contact between Russians and Trump associates during the election, as well as whether the president has obstructed the criminal investigation. Trump contends the team conducting the inquiry, which he calls a "witch hunt," is stacked with opposition Democrats. Trump this week also alleged "tremendous leaking, lying and corruption" at the highest levels of the FBI, Justice Department and State Department. The FBI is headed by lawyer and Trump appointee Christopher Wray, who last year replaced James Comey, whom the president fired in May. Comey's firing reportedly is a subject of interest to the special counsel's team. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a former U.S. senator also chosen by Trump, heads the Justice Department and has recused himself from matters involving Mueller's investigation. Trump this month fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, whom he appointed at the beginning of his presidency in 2017, and he has nominated Mike Pompeo, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, to succeed Tillerson. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) has resolved to remove vice president Thokozani Khupe and organizing secretary Abednico Bhebhe from their positions and expelled party spokesman Obert Gutu. In a statement, the party said the National Council, which is the supreme decision-making body in between Congresses, met today and resolved to take such drastic action against Khupe, Bhebhe and Gutu, who have opposed the endorsement of Nelson Chamisa as the new MDC-T president. Chamisa took over the post soon after the death of party leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who succumbed to cancer of the colon last month. The National Council said it was unhappy over what it called the unconstitutional behavior and illegal meetings held by the partys senior leaders which threw the party into disrepute. It said, On VP Khupe, the National Council noted the efforts for engagement made by the party president and the fact that VP Khupe remained stubborn, obdurate, intransigent and spurned all party efforts to address her grievances as she continued to hold illegal meetings and partake in unconstitutional activities, putting the party into disrepute and undermining the constitutional organs of the party. The National Council therefore resolved, by more than the mandatory two thirds of the vote that VP Khupe be removed from the party in terms of the party constitution. On organizing secretary Hon. Abednigo Bhebhe, the National Council by the more than the mandatory two thirds of the vote resolved to remove him from the party on allegations of his unconstitutional behavior and for continuously putting the party into disrepute. The MDC-T also resolved to expel suspended spokesperson Gutu and recall Bhebhe and Khupe from parliament. The National Council further resolved that those leaders that have ceased to be members of the party but who are in Parliament, in particular VP Khupe and Organizing Secretary Abednigo Bhebhe, be recalled with immediate effect. The fate of others who were aligned to Khupe is unknown as the MDC-T did not even mention their names in taking stern measures against the top party officials claiming that they have been targeted on tribal grounds. On National Chairperson Lovemore Moyo, the National Council formally accepted the resignation from the party by the national chairman Lovemore Ndodana Moyo. Khupe, Bhebhe and Gutu were not available for comment. * Cyprus-based firm signs first major post-Mugabe deal * Company promises 15,000 long-term jobs * First PGM production expected in 2020 By MacDonald Dzirutwe HARARE (Reuters) - A Cypriot investor signed a $4.2 billion deal on Thursday to develop a platinum mine and refinery in Zimbabwe, an investment that President Emmerson Mnangagwa said showed the country was open for business. Signing the agreement with Cyprus-based Karo Resources, Mines Minister Winston Chitando said work would start in July, with the first output of platinum group metals expected in 2020, aiming to reach 1.4 million ounces annually within three years. It was unclear, however, where all the funding would come from and analysts said the project start date of July looked very ambitious. Located in the Mhondoro-Ngezi platinum belt, west of Harare, where Impala Platinum Holdings has operations, the project will include a coal mine and power station to produce electricity for the smelter, and should employ 15,000 people when fully implemented, Karo head Loucas Pouroulis said. Keen to revive the mining sector after years of reticence by foreign investors during Robert Mugabes rule, President Mnangagwa said the deal showed things had changed since his ascendancy after Mugabes ousting in November. Zimbabwe is open for business and whoever stands in the way, hurting business in this country, will fall. It is not business as usual anymore, things have to change, Mnangagwa said at the signing ceremony. The project was first mooted six years ago but had been held back by government red tape and other unnamed vested interests, which are corrupt interests, he said. Mines Minister Chitando added: This is the largest investment structure in the countrys mining industry in Zimbabwe. The landscape of Zimbabwes mining industry will never be the same. Zimbabwes government did not give details of the source of funding for such a big investment. Industry sources, who asked not to be named, said there was no obligation to provide any cash until firmer plans for the development were in place. Cyprus-born Pouroulis spent his early career with industry giant Anglo American in South Africa, branching out on his own to establish more niche operators such as Petra Diamonds, Eland Platinum and Tharisa Minerals, according to his profile on Tharisas website. As well as heading Karo, Pouroulis is chairman and founder of Tharisa, in which his family has a 45 percent stake. Tharisa, which has chrome and platinum operations in South Africas Bushveld, has made clear its interest in the potential of Zimbabwe, which holds the worlds second-largest platinum deposits after neighbouring South Africa. The company, however, has a market capitalisation of only 5.5 billion rand ($464 million), although it is well regarded by many city analysts and its share price has rallied 15 percent this year. HSBC initiated covered of the stock on Thursday, rating it a buy. It predicted it would have a net cash position of $185 million by the end of 2022 and said platinum prices should benefit from continued supply curtailment in South Africa because of regulatory and funding uncertainty. Foreign investment stalled in Zimbabwe during the later years of Mugabes reign. Analysts say the outlook is still uncertain, but interest is strong in a country that has rich, underexplored resources. An investment conference on Zimbabwe in London last week was heavily oversubscribed. On Monday, Mnangagwas government amended the Mugabe-era Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, which aimed to increase black Zimbabweans ownership of mines by preventing foreign entities holding majority stakes. The revised law removed that stipulation for most types of mining, but not diamond and platinum mines. Chitando said Karo Resources was expected to comply with the empowerment law by giving up majority ownership in the project. He did not elaborate. ($1 = 11.8491 rand) (additional reporting by Barbara Lewis in London Editing by Ed Cropley/Robin Pomeroy/Susan Fenton) A public apology by Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg failed Thursday to quell outrage over the hijacking of personal data from millions of people, as critics demanded that the social media giant go much further to protect user privacy. Speaking out for the first time about the harvesting of Facebook user data by a British firm linked to Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, Zuckerberg admitted Wednesday to betraying the trust of its 2 billion users and promised to "step up." Vowing to stop data leaking to outside developers and to give users more control over their information, Zuckerberg also said he was ready to testify before US lawmakers which a powerful congressional committee promptly asked him to do. With pressure ratcheting up on the 33-year-old CEO over a scandal that has wiped $60 billion off Facebook's value, the initial response suggested his promise of self-regulation had failed to convince critics he was serious about change. "Frankly I don't think those changes go far enough," Matt Hancock, Britain's culture and digital minister, told the BBC. "It shouldn't be for a company to decide what is the appropriate balance between privacy and innovation and use of data," he said. "The big tech companies need to abide by the law, and we are strengthening the law." In Brussels, European leaders were sending the same message as they prepared to push for tougher safeguards on personal data online, while Israel became the latest country to launch an investigation into Facebook. The data scandal erupted at the weekend when a whistle-blower revealed that British consultant Cambridge Analytica had created psychological profiles on 50 million Facebook users via a personality prediction app, developed by a researcher named Aleksandr Kogan. The app, downloaded by 270,000 people, scooped up their friends' data without consent as was possible under Facebook's rules at the time. 'Breach of trust' Facebook said it discovered last week that Cambridge Analytica might not have deleted the data as it certified, although the British firm denied wrongdoing. "This was a major breach of trust and I'm really sorry that this happened," Zuckerberg said in an interview with CNN, after publishing a blog post outlining his response to the scandal. "Our responsibility now is to make sure this doesn't happen again." With Facebook already under fire for allowing fake news to proliferate during the U.S. election, Zuckerberg also said "we need to make sure that we up our game" ahead of midterm congressional elections in November, in which American officials have warned Russia can be expected to meddle as it did two years ago. Cambridge Analytica has maintained it did not use Facebook data in the Trump campaign, but its now-suspended CEO boasted in secret recordings that his company was deeply involved in the race. WATCH: Facebook Under Fire for Data Misuse And U.S. special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential race, is reportedly looking into the consultant's role in the Trump effort. 'Abused and misused' Zuckerberg's apology followed a dayslong stream of damaging accusations against the world's biggest social network, which now faces probes on both sides of the Atlantic. In Washington on Thursday, leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee urged Zuckerberg to testify without delay, saying a briefing a day earlier by Facebook officials had left "many questions" unanswered. "We believe, as CEO of Facebook, he is the right witness to provide answers to the American people," said a statement from the panel, calling for a hearing "in the near future." America's Federal Trade Commission is reportedly investigating Facebook over the scandal, while Britain's information commissioner is seeking to determine whether it did enough to secure its data. On Thursday, Israel's privacy protection agency said it had informed Facebook of a probe into the Cambridge Analytica revelations, and was looking into "the possibility of other infringements of the privacy law regarding Israelis." Meanwhile, European Union leaders were due to press digital giants "to guarantee transparent practices and full protection of citizens' privacy and personal data," according to a draft summit statement obtained by AFP. A movement to quit the social network has already gathered momentum with the co-founder of the WhatsApp messaging service among those vowing to #deletefacebook while a handful of lawsuits risk turning into class actions in a costly distraction for the company. World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee described it as a "serious moment for the web's future." "I can imagine Mark Zuckerberg is devastated that his creation has been abused and misused," tweeted the British scientist. "I would say to him: You can fix it. It won't be easy but if companies work with governments, activists, academics and web users, we can make sure platforms serve humanity." Santorini is one of the most beautiful islands in the world, famous for its breathtaking sea-filled caldera and picturesque villages. Discover its fascinating natural and cultural history on a relaxed walking study tour with us. Canaletto 1697-1768 exhibition in Rome from 11 April-19 August. The Museo di Roma at Palazzo Braschi honours the Italian master Canaletto with a major retrospective, the largest exhibition of Canaletto works ever held in Italy. Canaletto 1697-1768 celebrates the 250th anniversary of the death of the great Venetian painter who revolutionised the genre of landscape painting, raising it to the same importance as historical and figurative painting. Canaletto (1697-1768). Il ponte di Rialto da Nord, Venezia. 1725. Torino, Pinacoteca del Lingotto Giovanni e Marella Agnelli. Pinacoteca del Lingotto Giovanni e Marella Agnelli, Torino. The show features 68 works including Canaletto paintings, drawings and archive documents on loan from some of the world's most important collections. Canaletto (1697-1768). Capriccio con rovine. 1723. Svizzera, Collezione privata. The exhibition includes several Canaletto masterpieces such as The Grand Canal from the north, towards the Rialto bridge, and The Grand Canal with S. Maria della Carita, exhibited together for the first time, along with the manuscripts detailing their commission. Cover image: Canaletto (1697-1768). S. Giorgio Maggiore dal Bacino di S. Marco, Venezia 1730-1732. Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Bequest of William A. Coolidge, 1993.34. 2018. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Second, because investment choices offered in 401(k) plans are a big deal. Along with Social Security, they are almost certain to be the major retirement vehicles of the future, given the vast shrinkage of traditional pensions. About 63 million people have access to 401(k) plans. Some 87 percent of the retirement plans that serve them now offer at least one index fund, according to the Plan Sponsor Council of America. But the biggest portion of employees retirement investments still consists of actively managed domestic stock funds, according to the PSCA. At the crucial center of all this is Hader, who, as Barry, gives a performance that is more about bottled-up rage and restraint than goofball antics. A sadness runs through everything he says. Coming uncorked at his most desperate moment, the skilled assassin in Barry finds proper motivation as an amateur actor. None of it would be believable if Hader had not also taken a big leap to this other side of his considerable talent. Whether you think its a comedy or drama, its a sublime bit of acting. The incident started around 10 p.m. in the 3200 block of Buena Vista Terrace SE, when a man with a handgun forced his way into the back seat of the womans car, according to a report from D.C. police. The man ordered the victim to drive to the rear of the block, where he sexually assaulted her, police said. Horton said he spent the first portion of his first year setting up his one-person office and its procedures. As one of just four employees who report directly to the board, he also needed to learn what the members wanted from him, he said. He started the audit of the emergency center in September and also worked on an ongoing review of the countys fleet management. In exchange, the community groups agreed to end their legal challenge to the power lines. The standoff began in 2014, when Dominion first pursued the new route, in part to accommodate plans by a subsidiary of Amazon Inc. to build two warehouse-size data center buildings. (Amazon founder Jeffrey P. Bezos also owns The Washington Post.) Dominion says it also wants to better serve a growing section of western Prince William that includes several recently built housing developments and shopping plazas. The nominee is Brian Benczkowski, who served as head of the Trump transition team at Justice and was staff director of the Senate Judiciary Committee when Sessions was the ranking Republican. Supporters praise his performance in the George W. Bush administration. Ive never seen Brian do anything unethical, nor do I think that he ever would, says Michael Mukasey, who made Benczkowski his chief of staff when he was Bushs attorney general. The second direction is even more intriguing and comes from the East. Until recently, as Indian entrepreneur Nandan Nilekani pointed out to me, there were just a handful of digital platforms with more than 1 billion users, all run by companies in the United States or China, such as Google, Facebook and Tencent. But now India has its own billion-person digital platform: the extraordinary Aadhaar biometric ID system, which includes almost all of the nations 1.3 billion residents (and whose creation Nilekani oversaw). It is the only one of these massive platforms that is publicly owned. That means it does not need to make money off user data. Its possible to imagine that in India, it will become normal to think of data as personal property that individuals can keep or rent or sell as they wish in a very open and democratic free market. India might well become the global innovator for individuals data rights. Todays Headlines The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning. 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It is not enough to say, as he did in a recent tweet, Getting along with Russia (and others) is a good thing, not a bad thing....... Ronald Reagans diplomatic engagement of the Soviet Union did not translate into fawning subservience toward a dictator. Such self-abasement actually emboldens dictators. And it is rich for Trump to accuse other presidents of lacking smarts about U.S.-Russian relations in the course of a foreign policy explanation at the length and level of a fortune-cookie saying. Back in our region, one of the biggest problem with SHA roads, and fences, is that bus stops are usually right on major state highways, often with little or no space for the bus to stop. They often are not even at the intersection. For instance, Ben Ross observed that it took more than eight minutes to legally cross the street when he got off at the bus stop at Route 355 and Shady Grove Road in Montgomery County. People getting off the bus have to choose between long walks and interminable waits to cross or trying their luck at a game of Frogger. Guwahati : Opposing the Assam governments move to downgrade the Assam Womens University (AWU) to a technical institute, the student community of the state has come out to the streets staging dharnas and protested against the government move. The stand-off between the student community and the state government over the issue intensified with the students from various colleges and Universities have been come out to the streets. On Thursday, students of several colleges and several organizations including Students Federation of India (SFI) had staged protest against the state governments move. The Assam Womens University (AWU), first Women University in the state was established after an Act was passed in the Assam Legislative Assembly in 2013 and the University started in a makeshift renovated grain storage facility of Assam Agriculture University in Jorhat. While the student community wants that the Assam Womens University to be declared a full-fledged university, the state government has taken decision to downgrade the university to a technical institute. The students of various colleges demanded that the state government should maintain the university status of AWU and appoint a vice-chancellor. Meanwhile, Assam Education minister Hinanta Biswa Sarma tweeted, I am not sure why the girls are on strike. We have not taken any decision so far. My only view is that one should not have a university and confer degree without even creating the post of vice-chancellor. On the other hand, former Chief Minister of Assam Tarun Gogoi had criticized the BJP-led Assam government and said that, the government is playing dual stand. While the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led union government campaigned Beti Bachao Beti Padhao vision across the country, the Assam government has planned to convert the lone Womens University in the state to a technical institute, Gogoi said. Recently, over hundreds of AWU students went on a hunger strike in front of the Jorhat district Deputy Commissioner's office in protest against the government's decision to convert the university into a technical institute. Part of the work the firm performed for Boltons super PAC was psychographic voter targeting that it claimed could profile voters based on certain characteristics. The companys analysis was based in part on data about tens of millions of Americans gleaned from Facebook and other sources, according to documents and former Cambridge Analytica employees. The upshot was that Trump stood to win just $1.6 billion in the spending bill that the White House said would go toward 110 miles of border wall. But Democrats disputed that interpretation, saying the funding would mostly be dedicated to upgrading and replacing existing fencing and building some levees, not for construction of parts of the wall the president has promoted. Trumps stated goal is to build 700 miles of border barriers. Guwahati : Uncertainty looms over panchayat elections in Assam after Deputy Commissioners of 11 districts had sent letter to the state election commission and said that it is impossible to hold the panchayat polls as maximum government officials are engaged with the updating process of National Register of Citizens (NRC). The Deputy Commissioners of the 11 districts said in their letters sent to the state election commission that, the Supreme court had directed that, the work of holding the elections will not be at the cost of upgradation, preparation of the NRC and NRC updation works will continue as before with full deployment of manpower as on date. "The apex court has directed to maintain the level of manpower already deployed for NRC works and ensure that they are not disturbed from NRC update works till publication of complete Draft NRC within stipulated timelines. The officers who have been already engaged for the updation process of the NRC cannot be engaged for the conduct of any election till completion of the NRC works," said in a letter sent by the Nalbari district Deputy Commissioner. On the other hand, a top official of Barpeta district said that, the State Coordinator of NRC had reiterated that contempt proceeding will be initiated against the officers, who have already been engaged for the updation of NRC also perform election duties, as it will slow down the progress of the work of updation of NRC. The government official further said that, NRC updation work is a time bound programme and it is being monitored by the Supreme court. The Deputy Commissioners of Nalbari, Barpeta, South Salmara, Bongaigaon, Kamrup, Morigaon, Darrang, Sonitpur, Biswanath, Karimganj, Hailakandi districts had also sent letter to the Chief Secretary of Assam government and sought an intervention over the issue. Over 90 per cent government officials are engaged in the NRC updation process going on across the state. After publishing the first partial draft of NRC on December 31 midnight by including 1.90 crore people, the Supreme court has directed the NRC authority to publish the full draft by June 30 next. Meanwhile, state election commissioner H N Bora said that, the state election commission has taken the issue very seriously and will file a petition before the Supreme court shortly for seeking intervention from the apex court. Assam state election commission has prepared to hold the panchayat polls in the state between April last and first part of the month of May. The state government has also sanctioned Rs 145 crore to conduct the panchayat elections. Under indictment for felony invasion of privacy related to an extramarital affair, Greitens is seeking to discredit the Democratic prosecutor who went after him and battling back Republicans calling on him to step down. He has been abandoned or ignored by much of his party, including President Trump, who didnt mention him on a recent visit to this state. Militant groups in this area, including some backed by Pakistan in Kashmir, have been fighting for independence from India since 1989, and since then a crackdown by the Indian army has led to almost 70,000 deaths, according to some estimates. The strife in Kashmir has been mostly over territorial control, but Islamist groups such as al-Qaeda have long sought to establish a presence here, although their influence in the region is disputed by experts. Guwahati: The city based Ayursundra Hospital will conduct tomorrows OPD clinic at Guwahati Press Club, where Dr Ankur Boruah (medicine) will be available for free consultations to media persons. Organized under the series of Evening with a Doctor programs for the benefit of press club members along with their close relatives, the weekly camp on 24 March (from 3 pm to 5pm) will also facilitate the participants to check their weight and blood pressure. According to French media reports, the attacker, whom Collomb named as Redouane Lakdim, claimed to be connected to the Islamic State as he entered the store. After Lakdim was killed by French authorities, the Islamic State through its Amaq news arm identified him as a soldier and asserted responsibility for the shooting in Carcassonne and the assault on the Trebes supermarket. The group has made similar claims even when attackers may have been only loosely inspired by the Islamic State or had no verifiable connections to the group. At The Post, he said his primary concern was being able to enrich and use Saudi Arabias own uranium for use in power reactors, rather than buying it abroad. His country has more than 5 percent of the worlds uranium reserves, and if we dont use it, its like telling us dont use oil. The United States, he said, would be invited to put in place laws and structures to make sure enriched uranium is not misused. The defendants allegedly compromised accounts belonging to thousands of university professors through spear-phishing campaigns designed to trick a target into unwittingly providing his or her credentials, officials said. In some cases, they sold the stolen data through two Iranian websites, Megapaper and Gigapaper, officials said. Megapaper was operated by Falinoos Co., controlled by one of the defendants, Abdollah Karima, and Gigapaper was affiliated with Karima, officials said. Gigapaper sold a service to customers in Iran allowing them to use compromised university professor accounts to access the online library systems of some U.S.-based and foreign universities, they said. The US Congress adopted on Thursday (March 22), the 2018 draft appropriation bill, which stipulates, as did the 2017 bill, that the US aid funds made available to Morocco can be used everywhere in the country, including in the Moroccan Sahara. Following suit to the European Union Commission, which has decided to include Western Sahara in the EU-Morocco fisheries agreement to be renewed soon, the United States confirms that their assistance to Morocco includes all the national territory including the Sahara. As a reminder, in the report accompanying the 2017 appropriation bill, the Recommendation Committee (US Congress) had advocated a negotiated solution (to the Sahara conflict) based on the principle of autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty. Reacting to this provision, the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs had welcomed the provisions relating to the Moroccan Sahara in the 2017 appropriation bill that support Moroccos position and claims in the territorial dispute over the southern part of its Sahara, imposed on it by its Algerian neighbor. The clear and unambiguous stands of the Congress and of the European Commission confirm, to the frustration of the Polisario and its Algerian mentors and European lobbyists, that the ongoing development process in the Kingdom encompasses the entire national territory including its Sahara. However, the Polisario will have as a consolation, a US humanitarian assistance for the populations forcibly held in Tindouf, in the arid desert of Algeria. On the occasion of the adoption of the 2018 appropriation bill, the US Congress asks the Secretary of State to submit, within 45 days, a report describing the measures taken to strengthen the control of the delivery of the humanitarian assistance to refugees in North Africa, in a barely veiled reference to the embezzlement by the Polisario and some Algerian officials of the humanitarian aid sent to the Tindouf camps. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. GREENWICH At 8 a.m. on Saturday morning, members of a Greenwich church will board a train to Grand Central Terminal. One of their seatmates will be a banner in black, white and red, with teenage bodies made of fine print filling what was once negative space. The banners words come together to form people or corpses depending on the interpretation. They are the names of those who have been struck by bullets, and the places where tragedy has hit hardest. There are other words at the top and bottom of the banner Be the change and Never again. Words that signal anger over the unrelenting bloodshed. But words that also express hope and promise action. For weeks, the banner has been hanging outside First Congregational Church of Greenwich, after young parishioners and youth pastor Patrick Collins decided to design a symbol to show solidarity with the victims of the mass shooting last month in Parkland, Fla. When they heard about the March For Our Lives taking place this weekend, their next step was obvious, as was their banners next destination. It just seemed like something we should do, said Collins. On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of Americans will come together to demand that lawmakers adopt effective measures to end gun violence. Much like the Womens March in January 2017, rallies will take place across the country with the closest in Stamford. But also like the Womens March, the New York iteration promises to be one of the largest. Among its crowds will be five students and eight adults from First Congregational who feel it is time to take a stand. Its a lot harder at our age to make our voice heard because were not the ones voting, said Sarah Mickley, a 14-year-old student at Sacred Heart Greenwich. But, she countered, its a lot easier to make your voice heard when everyone is forming together. At her middle school, Sarah participated in a gun violence prevention club. She said she feels the need to bring attention to mass shootings because there are so many of them, and that at this point, before Parkland ... we were just kind of ignoring them. Her sister, Lauren, 16, remembers Sandy Hook how close to home it was, and how it happened to elementary school children who didnt have a voice. What she finds remarkable about the survivors from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida is how they have organized to say they will not allow the kind of tragedy they experienced to happen again. Much like the student activists from Florida, Greenwich church members have strong views on gun control. We should have higher age restrictions, said Mariel Laffan, 15, who attends Greenwich High School. Also, I think that there should be stricter background checks, and mental health should be surveyed a lot more. For Laffan, its important that her church is getting involved; the movement can and should extend beyond school campuses, she said. Collins has watched his young congregants as they have come together over the gun issue during the last month. This time, it feels different, he said. And for me its the energy coming from the youth, that theyre really taking the lead on this and theyre not going to wait for us adults to come around. Its a hopeful message, and its a hopeful sign of the future thats in front of us, as a society as a whole. Collins sees the protest as an opportunity for the kids from First Congregational to learn about their own power. I really think theyll look back and say, Look what we were able to do when we saw something that we didnt think was right, he said. But the teens wont have to do it all by themselves. Many of their parents are tagging along on the New York trip in support and solidarity. And outside of First Congregational, a number of Greenwich residents, adults and teens have said they plan to attend marches in the area. Its good to see that its not just our generation thats concerned about this, Sarah Mickley said. To see them walking with us is really nice because we feel like were not alone in this, agreed Lauren Mickley. For Laffan, the reason for speaking up was straightforward. I don't think its fair for students to constantly live in fear of being shot or being hurt when were just here to get an education, she said. Sarah Mickley explained that she and her colleagues are raising our voices for those who are no longer able to. Its easier to stand with a group than stand alone, her sister added. So every voice matters. BRIDGEPORT Leaders of four local communities say there is a lot they can do together to make schools safe but arming teachers is not one of them. We did talk about whats smart and what is not smart, Bridgeport Mayor Joseph Ganim said after a group of politicians, public safety experts and school administrators met Thursday. Guns in the hands of teachers is not a smart move. Others in the room called arming teachers a recipe for disaster. Hosted by Ganims office, the forum brought together chief elected officials, police chiefs, lawmakers and school superintendents from Bridgeport, Trumbull, Fairfield and Stratford. The event ended with a press conference. Fairfield First Selectman Mike Tereau said it was important to join forces because school safety doesnt stop at town borders. One of the struggles in Connecticut is that we have 169 towns. We shouldnt have 169 different approaches to school security, he said. This is not the first time the group has met to share best practices. Fairfield Police Chief Gary MacNamara said it is important to have law enforcement, educators and mayors all at the same table because they all bring different perspectives. Yet we all have one goal, to ensure that our children, when they leave their houses, come home the same way they left, MacNamera said. We dont want to give away all that we are doing but we ... want to make schools as safe as they possibly can be, Ganim said. One way, the group said, is through the support of pending legislation to ban bump stocks which essentially turn firearms into machine gun and so called ghost guns, which are sold through the mail without background checks, require assembly and are unregistered. The legislatures Judiciary Committee will hear testimony on both bills Friday. Ganim said he plans to testify. State Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, who was also at the forum, said he believes both measures have bipartisan support and will build on strong gun laws passed by the state legislature following the Newtown school massacre in 2012 that killed 20 first-graders and six educators. Hwang said he is mindful that the right balance needs to be struck between schools that are fortified yet conducive to learning. We want schools to be as safe as they can be, Hwang said, encouraging students and staff to say something if they see or hear something that doesnt seem right. Hwang said the apprehension of a student at Staples High School in Westport who reportedly threatened to shoot a teacher was the result of courageous young people saying something. In Parkland there was over 30 instances of reports that were ignored, Hwang said. Jeremy Stein, executive director of Connecticut Against Gun Violence, said he visited Douglas High School in Parkland shortly after it was reopened after the Feb. 14 shooting that left 17 dead, and was able to walk in without being stopped or questioned. In most Connecticut schools, visitors need to be buzzed in. At some, identification is checked. Many have security guards, but not all. In Bridgeport, the city school district has more than 80 security guards. The high schools have metal detectors. And the police department has five School Resource Officers to patrol around schools. Soon there will be nine more who will also remain outside schools for the most part, A.J. Perez, Bridgeports Acting Police Chief said. In Bridgeport, there is an ongoing debate about stationing school resource officers inside schools or outside in the neighborhood. Perez said he favors the outside model. I dont like the idea of armed police inside schools, Perez said. WESTPORT Lisa Parrelli Gray decided to go back to school and reinvent herself over lunch one day a few years back. One day at lunch my mother said to me, If you could do anything you wanted, what would it be? I said to her, Id run for president of the United States, because I think I could do a better job than whats out there right now, Parrelli Gray said. What else do you have? her mother asked. In response, Parrelli Gray said shed do anything with food because shes cooked for 40 years, starting when she discovered baking as a teenager. Its sort of like my breath. Its what gives me joy. Its how I show my love, Parrelli Gray said of cooking. At the time of the lunch, Parrelli Gray was coming off a difficult period in her career. She ran the Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce from 2012 to 2014 and said she brought credibility to the organization, revamped its event programming and promoted women business owners, but left the position after two years, planning to work as a consultant for local businesses. Unfortunately, the businesses in town didnt have a lot of extra income for consulting services, Parrelli Gray said. Faced with a crossroads, Parrelli Gray decided, in 2016, to return to school for a certificate in culinary arts from Norwalk Community College with the idea she would become a high school culinary instructor. In the year-and-a- half since she began culinary school, her plans have developed. What Ive discovered is I have a real passion for sustainability and food security, Parelli Gray said. The 55-year-old hopes to teach basic cooking skills to children and adults in the inner city, often a food desert where she said knowledge of cooking is a rarity. Im looking for a way to incorporate my passion and my love for cooking and instill that in a community or families that missed that step, she said. I think its empowering. I think when you can come home and cook a meal for yourself, and you enjoy it, and then you can share it with other people, to me, I think theres nothing better. The decline in cooking is not confined to inner cities, the New Jersey native said. Its happening here in Westport, she said. Theres a lot of takeout going on and not a lot of meals being prepared and because theyre not being prepared, theyre not being prepared with the children in the kitchen. Parrelli Gray moved to Westport 17 years ago. While her two daughters now 18 and 20 were growing up, Parrelli Gray said she would have them help in the kitchen, preparing the salad for dinner, and they would wait until 7 or 7:30 p.m. for her husband to get home for the family to eat. I just really like that family dynamic where everybodys home sharing about their day and catching up. I call it the kitchen catch-up, Parrelli Gray said. In an effort to extend her kitchen catch-up to the larger community, Parrelli Gray said she often has friends come to her home to connect over food. I pull out my china a few times a week just because I like using it and because its nice to have people over, said Parrelli Gray, who is a member of the Representative Town Meeting from District 4. Although Parrelli Gray said dinner-party food can be simple, she mentioned several scrumptious dishes she likes to make, including chicken pot pie with a large salad, pork roast rolled and stuffed with dried fruits, and vanilla Genoa cake sliced and filled with Bavarian cream and fresh strawberries and topped with Italian buttercream frosting. (You can eat anything, even chocolate cake, as long as you eat in moderation, Parrelli Gray said.) Going back to school as an adult has been a challenge, Parrelli Gray said, but said she has a 4.0 grade-point average, something she did not have as an undergraduate studying communications at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. She was inducted into the Norwalk Community College chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society for two-year college students. Perspective, commitment, grace is what I feel I have now that I didnt have when I was an undergrad, she said. The cooking industry is hierarchical and difficult to break into, so Parrelli Gray has built experience teaching culinary classes at Wakeman Town Farm, the local Williams-Sonoma, and Christ and Holy Trinity Church, where she is a member. Despite the challenges of a midcareer change, Parrelli Gray said she promised herself when she graduated college the first time around that if she ever wasnt having fun in what she was doing, shed do something different. By her early 30s, Parrelli Gray had made her way up working in sales in the cosmetics industry, but wasnt happy with the direction of the company, so, in 1995, she moved to Spain for five months, living and studying Spanish in Granada and Salamanca before returning to the U.S. to drive cross-country. I dont want to look back and have regrets, so Im very mindful of my choices. Sometimes I dont make good ones, but do I regret them? No, because I always learn from them. It can be a long life if you live with regrets, Parrelli Gray said. WESTPORT Local women haunted for years by a man they say would aggressively approach them at local stores and cafes are speaking out after his arrest earlier this month. Westporter Wendy Chambers said after reading reports of the arrest of James Lawrence in the media last week, she wanted to come forward with her story. Since 2002 Lawrence was logged by Westport police in 10 incidents where women felt harassed by him, but in each case, they felt afraid to pursue charges against him for fear of retaliation, according to court documents. Lawrence has a record of arrests outside of Connecticut, including resisting arrest and fleeing/eluding police in Florida and, in California, he was charged with petty theft, theft of personal property, stalking, inflicting corporal injury to spouse and battery of a spouse. Recounting her encounter, Chambers said a man introduced himself to Chambers at Westport Stop and Shop around 7:30 p.m. in January as James Laurentis and gave her a card with his alleged name and a link to an obscure website, she told the Westport News. After leaving the Stop and Shop, Chambers said the man followed her to her car. He showed up in front of my car and scared the crap out of me. He said he wanted to go out with me and I said I didnt want to go out with him, Chambers said, adding, Hes a creep. On Feb. 15 Chambers said she saw the man again at the Westport Stop and Shop in the evening and the following day at the Whole Foods Market in Norwalk around lunchtime. On both occasions, Chamber says she avoided the man. Around the same time, Chambers said her trainer told her a man tried to pick her up at the Whole Foods Market in Darien. Chambers showed her trainer the LinkedIn photo associated with the business card of the man who followed her at Stop and Shop and the trainer confirmed it was the same man who followed her, Chambers said. Chambers recognized the man in another photo, one published on the Westport News website on March 12 in conjunction with the arrest report for town resident James Lawrence. Hes got a different name than on the card he gave me, Chambers concluded. Lawrence, 52, was arrested on charges of breach of peace after he allegedly followed a woman around the Fresh Market on Post Road East and then out to her car on Nov. 5, police said. Police issued an arrest warrant for Lawrence and on March 5 he turned himself in to police and was released after posting a $5,000 court set bond. He is next scheduled to appear in Norwalk Superior Court on May, 4. In court documents, Officer James Sullivan, who was charged with investigating the case, writes Lawrence is cited in 10 other incidents logged in the Westport case history from 2002 until present. In all of these complaints, Lawrence was seen following the complainants around a store or coffee shop and then following them out to their cars where he would either stare at them or get right into their personal space. In most of these cases, Lawrence was told his actions scared the complainants to the point of them calling the police, Sullivan wrote. A criminal history search of Lawrence turned up no criminal history in Connecticut, but revealed Lawrences arrests in Florida and California. In the Nov. 5 case, the complainant would not provide a sworn statement for fear that Lawrence would find her and retaliate, Sullivan wrote. I also learned that in all the nine other cases that the complainants all felt the same way. That they all feared for their safety and because of this were reluctant to provide statements, Sullivan wrote. The number of cases involving Lawrence isnt surprising, Chambers said. After the March 12 article about Lawrences arrest was published she dropped the article off at the Whole Foods in Norwalk and said all the employees knew him. A woman who saw me show the article to the manager said hes tried to pick her up twice at Darien Whole Foods, Chambers said. EASTERVILLE / CHEMAWAWIN CREE NATION Standing on the harbour between Easterville and Chemawawin Cree Nation, it feels like you could be alone in the world. This article was published 23/3/2018 (1280 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. EASTERVILLE / CHEMAWAWIN CREE NATION Standing on the harbour between Easterville and Chemawawin Cree Nation, it feels like you could be alone in the world. Blankets of snow and ice stretch as far as the eye can see, freckled with trails from disappeared snowmobiles. All thats audible is the sound of your own breathing. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Then you hear the barking. Located about 475 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, Chemawawin is one of 63 First Nations in Manitoba. Many grapple with an overpopulation of stray dogs. Driving into and walking around the community in February, it often seems there are more dogs than people. Dogs howling. Dogs strutting down the street. Dogs eating garbage. Dogs following in your tracks, wanting to play. In reality, Chemawawin is home to about 1,400 people and there are about 30 more in Easterville, its neighbouring town. Its near-impossible to count just how many dogs there are; the population fluctuates constantly. This far north its difficult to access health services for people, never mind dogs, says Chief Clarence Easter. The nearest medical centres are in The Pas (about 200 kilometres northwest) and in Winnipeg. Thats partly why Chemawawins council invited Manitoba Underdogs Rescue into the fray for Project Amber, a mobile spay and neuter clinic at Chemawawin School. It was MURs second time there. The clinic was orchestrated with help from Asherns Hudson Reykdal Veterinary Services, and the relationship between the community and the rescue organization is ongoing. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Chief Clarence Easter says the spay and neuter clinic is a positive way of dealing with the dog overpopulation and hopes to continue bringing vet care into the community. "Its more of a health drive for us. Were trying to provide access to services in the community, not just (for) dogs, but for people as well," says Easter, the leader here since 1994. He points to recently paved roads, new playgrounds and an anti-smoking policy as other parts of the health plan. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Vet tech Laura Vanderveen vaccinates dogs on the Chemawawin First Nation Reserve. The council wants to "create an environment where people can be able to move around the community, without being afraid of dogs." "After 50 years now, weve relocated and the devastation happened," Easter says in an interview at the band office. Hes referring to Chemawawins forced move to the southeast shore of Cedar Lake in 1964. Across the frozen harbour is where residents used to live, before the Manitoba government flooded their land to build the Grand Rapids Hydro station. Hydro built new homes for those who were displaced, but couldnt recreate Chemawawins livelihood. "We cant change that. But we can change the way we live today and we can change the way were going to live next week, next year, 10 years or 20 years from now," the chief says. He was six years old at the time of the move. His community never quite rebounded, unable to live off the land as it previously had. But hes hopeful for the future. "Were in a new location now. Lets start over and whatever happened years ago happened," Easter says. "Now, Im telling people, Lets turn a new leaf." The 18 volunteers from MUR start arriving Friday evening, most embarking from Winnipeg after working day jobs at offices, stores, schools, a dog-therapy centre, a chocolate shop. They make the five-hour commute and fight the urge to fall asleep, starting by setting up dozens of kennels on one side of the school gymnasium floor. Air mattresses, cots and sleeping bags occupy the other half. A beige curtain is pulled down the middle to divide barks and snores. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Kennels are set up in the school gym. Its about 11:30 p.m. and anticipation is building for the weekend ahead. This is MURs 14th mobile spay and neuter clinic since 2011. The volunteers have already visited Long Plain, Brokenhead, Sagkeeng, Ebb and Flow, Sandy Bay, Easterville and Westman First Nations and their last visit here was in November. So, for the most part, volunteers know the drill. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS A dog named Curly on the Chemawawin Reserve. There are a few rookies this time though, including Orah Moss. The high school English teacher has fostered pups through MUR in the past, but wanted to do more. "To be in a group of people who just donate three days, plus exhaustion time, just to do something for a bunch of animals they might not ever see again... I think thats really cool to be a part of that," she says. On Saturday morning, Desiree Klippenstein starts by warning everyone to be prepared for "an emotionally charged day." Theres no telling whats in store or what kind of animal neglect may be seen. Besides their work in the gym, volunteers take turns driving around the community looking for strays to bring in. Differentiating strays from owned dogs can be difficult; few of the pups wear collars and not many are leashed. Volunteers do their best to figure out whos who with help from the community. As one of the leaders in the crew, Klippenstein will deal with any rambunctious dogs and act as a liaison with the groups go-to vet, Dr. Keri Hudson Reykdal. "If anyone says anything that offends you, just let it slide," she cautions before the clinic begins. The volunteers huddle in the foyer for the initial debrief beside a mountain of handmade dog beds donated by a sewing circle. There are also nearly 200 bags about 4,500 kilograms of dog food piled opposite. Visitors will get to go home with a bag and a bed, plus a toy and blanket for their pet. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Dogs on the Chemawawin First Nation Reserve. Easterville resident Jeff Thomas is one of the first community members to arrive with Cotton, his fluffy white Pyrenees, to be spayed. She has already birthed three litters. Thomas says theres still lots of trust to build between MUR and the community, although hes already a fan of their work. "A lot of people were a little hesitant (to bring their dogs in) because some people were like, Well, am I going to get my dog back?" he says. "If we assure them and bring them in and show them, this is what we do and how it works, people will be more receptive to the neutering program." A bit later, a man comes in to get his dog vaccinated but refuses to have him neutered. MURs executive director Jessica Hansen tries to persuade him, but he wont budge. She has heard every excuse in the proverbial book against spay and neuter. Many people say they want their dog to have just one litter. "Every time a dog gets pregnant, thats six to eight puppies, and a dog can get pregnant a few times per year," Hansen says. "We try to explain to them that their dogs will stay healthier if they are fixed and we try to focus on them bettering their community. Its not just about them and what they want." MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Jeff Thomas visits with his dog, Cotton, as she recovers after being spayed at a dog spay and neuter clinic run by the Manitoba Underdogs Association on the Chemawawin First Nation Reserve. Cotton, Afro, Bro, Becky, Chop, Twinkle, Chuncho, Bongo and Miskegees 1 and 2 are just a few of the 50 dogs getting spayed or neutered by Hudson Reykdal this weekend. Her team will also vaccinate even more animals. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Dr. Keri Hudson Reykdal spays a dog on the Chemawawin First Nation Reserve. Ashern is nearly 300 kilometres south, but the vets custom-built trailer, made in Ohio, enables her to set up almost anywhere. Increasingly, thats meant helping in remote First Nations communities where the work can make a real difference toward public health and safety. Hence their current setup in the Chemawawin School parking lot. Once Hudson Reykdal gets going in her mobile clinic she doesnt like to stop, performing surgery on as many dogs as she can with military-like precision. Her trailer walls are covered in whiteboards which, in turn, are covered with scribbled to-do lists: check breakers, drain tap, clean kennels, mop, charge X-ray, furnace on. Reykdals surgery table is tucked in back, where a master bedroom might be in a typical RV. Its still a comfort zone, as she snips, stitches and fields questions. Interviews are nothing new for the star of Dr. Keri: Prairie Vet, her 10-part TV series, which finished airing its first season on Animal Planet last month. "Were trying to help them curb their dog population in a positive manner," she says. "So by spaying and neutering, instead of the alternatives we sometimes hear about." MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Manitoba Underdogs Association executive director Jessica Hansen plays with a dog while going out into the community to convince people to bring their animals into the dog spay and neuter clinic on the Chemawawin First Nation Reserve. The "alternatives" are dog culls, an option few here seem to want to mention by name. Little Grand Rapids shaken by tragedy Donnelly Rose Eaglestick, a petite, 24-year-old mom to one daughter, was killed by a pack of dogs in Little Grand Rapids First Nation last May. click to read more Little Grand Rapids shaken by tragedy Donnelly Rose Eaglestick, a petite, 24-year-old mom to one daughter, was killed by a pack of dogs in Little Grand Rapids First Nation last May. The remote reserve is located 265 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. Adults and children have been known to walk in the community with sticks as protection against wild dogs. Eaglestick was returning home from a friends place early on a Saturday morning when she was attacked. Her body was found after daybreak by people on their way to work. About 30 dogs were spotted in the vicinity. Judy Klassen, Liberal MLA for Kewatinook, said her husband was one of the people who discovered Eaglestick. Klassen visited the community again last week as part of a northern tour before winter roads melt. She said families are still reeling over Eaglestick's death. "I heard theres still some families who believe that the dogs responsible have not been put down. And then I hear that somebody was hired to go and kill roaming dogs," she said. Little Grand Rapids Chief Raymond Keeper said there have been three more dog-bite incidents since Eaglestick's death. It seems there are fewer strays roaming in the community than there were last year, Klassen said. But she is still annoyed with the way police dealt or didn't with the situation. The thing that still irritates me is when the RCMP, who had the resources, could have gone out right away and hunted the dogs down," she said. At a local band office meeting, an RCMP officer told community members that police take care of animal-control issues only in extreme circumstances, she said. "I was just shocked," she said. "What do you qualify as an extreme circumstance? A young mother was torn apart." The province did not send conservation officers to help deal with the dog problem after the mauling, either. A spokesman for Manitoba's Office of the Chief Veterinarian, which enforces the Animal Care Act, acknowledged the risks feral dogs pose from carrying diseases that can infect humans and other animals, to being aggressive towards people. But the office would not commit to additional funding or animal-control action up north, although the office "strongly support(s) the efforts of communities to mitigate these risks." "However, it is important to note that animal-control issues are under the jurisdiction of the municipality or community, and it would be their decision as to whether an animal-control bylaw is required in their community and how to enforce that," the spokesman said. "We try to support municipalities and communities when appropriate and will respond to animal welfare concerns brought to the attention of the Animal Care Line (204-945-8000) by first-hand eyewitnesses." Though First Nations have final say over their animal-control bylaws, Klassen said there needs to be a balance struck between community autonomy and getting resource help from police and government. Jessica Botelho-Urbanski Close RCMP and bylaw enforcement officers will kill strays when the population is getting violent or out of control. It typically occurred once a year, during the winter melt in March or April, says Easter. Thats when the council starts to get "a lot of calls with dogs being all over the place, following the kids to school and things like that, roaming in gangs." But the chief doesnt want to see culls ever happen again in Chemawawin. The last one occurred four or five years back. "We want to stop doing that. We want to be able to catch the dogs and take them (away)," he says. Strays gathering in packs and attacking people have long been concerns, but the problem took on new urgency last May when 24-year-old Donnelly Rose Eaglestick was mauled to death in Little Grand Rapids First Nation. Construction crews found her body near a water treatment plant; there were more than 30 dogs nearby. That event was "always our biggest fear," Easter says. The chief says a video that went viral on social media two years ago also contributed to a change in thinking about the situation. An 18-year-old man from Easterville went to jail for throwing a puppy in the air. The dog suffered significant soft-tissue damage when it hit the pavement, and was nearly paralyzed. About a dozen dog bites have also been reported on the reserve in the last year, according to Ann Catt, the local bylaw enforcement officer. The bites were quickly treated at nursing stations. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Dogs roam the Chemawawin Reserve. By Saturday afternoon, the MUR team encounters its first major surprise. A shy wiener dog named Kirby, previously thought to be pregnant, was just stuffed with wait for it wieners. She had four undigested hotdogs in her stomach. Amusing, perhaps but expensive. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS This dog was so bloated they had assumed she was pregnant, but once Dr. Keri Hudson Reykdal opened her up to be spayed it became apparent that it was a large quantity of hot dogs that had caused the distended stomach. "Theres like, a $1,000 surgery right there. So thats great," Hansen says, sounding exasperated. "And were obviously paying for that." Kirby will be fine, but gets close attention (namely coos and cuddles) from volunteers for the rest of the day. Sarcoptic mange has so far been the biggest health concern for dogs in Chemawawin. At their last clinic, MUR found about 90 per cent of dogs here showed symptoms of the skin disease, usually rashes and hair loss. The prevalence is lower this time around. The disease is contagious for humans, though its treatable with antibiotics. No human cases have been reported in Chemawawin yet. "We want to make the dogs lives better, but we also want to make the peoples lives better," Klippenstein says. Its all part of the public health puzzle. Expenses are another major factor. This clinic alone cost about $12,000 to stage, money MUR raised through fundraising along with $20,000 donated by retail chain PetSmart. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Many Northern Manitoban communities have problems with stray dog overpopulation, and initiatives like these aim to reduce their numbers in a humane way while increasing the quality of life for dogs and humans. There havent been any contributions from government at any level to MURs efforts yet, Klippenstein says, adding they are looking into grant possibilities. The Chemawawin band office is offering to cover members spay/neuter and vaccination fees, about $20 for each dog. The council also set up a raffle box and there are door prizes two flat-screen TVs and Winnipeg Jets tickets just to encourage residents to, at least, visit the clinic for consultations. By Sundays end, MUR has picked up 60 adult dogs and puppies. Some are surrenders, others strays. A few dozen dogs will be driven to rescues in Alberta and Ontario. The rest are dispersed among local rescues, including Manitoba Mutts, Manitoba Pug Rescue and DArcys ARC, to be adopted. MUR hopes to come back to Chemawawin in another six months or so for a third clinic, where theyll likely pick up just as many dogs. Theyll also be back by the end of March, to pick up more animals and drop off more than 240 donated collars. If they dont come back regularly, the situation might never improve. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Chemawawin First Nation Reserve. One Chemawawin resident is extra grateful for MURs support. Catt, the primary person in charge of bylaw enforcement, usually deals with stray or unruly dogs on her own. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Manitoba Underdogs volunteer Jasmyn Monkan pets a dog recovering from surgery at a dog spay and neuter clinic on the Chemawawin First Nation Reserve. Catt is responsible for ensuring residents follow five bylaws about curfews, smoking, fire burning, peacekeeping and dog control but the dogs take up much of her time. "Its almost like one person could be (just) a dog person," she says. She feeds strays near her home to prevent them from digging in other peoples trash cans for scraps. And she tries "to put the food not too close together, because they fight each other." Since Catt started in the role about a year ago, only two dogs have been registered, despite a request from council for all dogs to be licensed. "We had it announced on the radio, but nobodys come. Nobodys taking it really seriously about that part," Catt says, sounding defiant, her voice raising an octave. "But that will be another task to focus on and tackle." Catt used to be afraid of rez dogs, not letting her own pup out of sight when she visited Chemawawin decades ago. "We didnt want them ripping up my little poodle," she says. Now that she lives here, her goal is to open an animal shelter in the community. A dogs purpose in Chemawawin has evolved significantly over the last few decades, Easter says. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS "It used to be that dogs played a major role in taking you around to places before. Youd have dog sleds. Dogs were a way of transportation 40 years ago," he says. "Now the traditional way is they become your companions. Theyre part of your family, as family goes." That closeness makes surrendering some of the animals even more difficult. Coun. Russell Chartier makes the tough call to give up one of his furry family members, three-year-old Cedrick, described as "100 per cent rez dog." "Hes not very friendly and Im scared for the neighbours and their kids, and all the rest of the people walking through my yard," Chartier says. "Its very hard. Ill probably get emotional." Elizabeth Umpherville surrenders one of her four dogs; this one doesnt have a name. She found him eating trash at the garbage dump last summer. "I think he would be better off with another family that would give him the proper care that he needs," she says before waving goodbye. In total, MUR has rescued 1,100 animals since it assembled seven years ago. But the group realizes theres much more to do. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Chemawawin First Nation Reserve. "Taking dogs in and out of communities is great and it helps, but its a temporary solution," Hansen says. "We really need to help the communities establish better bylaws and help them get their populations under control." The chief agrees and says vets who provide spay and neuter services should be mandatory, though hes not sure how theyd be paid. "Were here to stay and we need to be healthy," Easter says. "And the dogs are here to stay and they need to stay healthy along with us. Weve got to come to grips with that and weve got to deal with it in a positive way." At the school throughout the weekend, a few volunteers relay how they would rather be doing dog rescue and clinics like this as their full-time jobs, but they dont want their names published out of fear theyll lose their jobs. Its also taboo to get paid in the rescue community, says volunteer Kayla Simpson, because some people could get into it for "the wrong reasons." "But if they did get paid, they could do so much more," she says. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Hudson Reykdal acknowledges having to actively avoid burnout. A lot of vets develop "compassion fatigue," she says, adding she tries not to get too emotionally bogged down. Before her shift begins at 7:45 Sunday morning shes out driving around the reserve to see if the clinic has made a dent yet. Are there fewer dogs wandering around? Probably not. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. As everyone else snoozes and snowflakes dangle mid-air, Reykdal spots a few strays. She heads back to the school to start again. Her work MURs work, Catts work, the chiefs work goes on, with no end in sight. "You cant help the world, but you can try to help one community at a time hopefully," she says back in the trailer. "Part of the job is knowing that you cant help every single animal out there. You help the ones that you can." jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @_jessbu At First Peoples Development Inc. (FPDI), which helps administer about $18 million worth of career training initiatives and projects for 34 Manitoba First Nations every year, they know only too well the impact technology is having on the workforce. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/3/2018 (1280 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. At First Peoples Development Inc. (FPDI), which helps administer about $18 million worth of career training initiatives and projects for 34 Manitoba First Nations every year, they know only too well the impact technology is having on the workforce. FPDIs Winnipeg office administers training programs in First Nations communities using federal government funds provided for careers such as licensed practical nurses, health-care aids, early childhood educators, and pre-apprenticeship training for carpentry, welding and electrical trades. But Joan Harris-Warren, FPDIs executive director, has been aware for some time that while those traditional workplace skills are great, technology is taking over the workplace. And regardless of where they are, Indigenous kids need to have more exposure. "Artificial intelligence may not fit in with the cultural norms of First Nations," she said. "But its something we need to embrace. The revolution is coming. It is going to happen." Harris-Warren had a chance meeting with the founder of a Winnipeg robotics company called Cogmation at the Centrallia international business event a few years ago. After trying to break into the industrial robotics market, Cogmation was pivoting into the training business, and both agreed a partnership made sense. The idea was to recruit young Indigenous mentors to deliver two-week long workshops using the popular Lego Mindstorm robotics kits. The workshops culminate with the students robots competing in a sumo wrestling challenge. "It went very quickly," Harris-Warren said. "We had two meetings. We invited our federal government funders to the second one, and after, we got a call from them saying they wanted to give us money." The response from the communities has been very enthusiastic. Over the course of the past three years, 445 young people from Nelson House to Sagkeeng have done the workshop, including 250 participants in the past eight months. Six First Nations youth were recruited from universities and colleges in the province to run the workshops. One of them, Jared Bone from Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation, said, "Every time we go to communities, especially the more isolated ones, there are always some students who are shy and hold back and maybe dont seem to want to take part. But when its over, they all come up right away and ask when we are coming back." One student at the Nelson House workshop programmed the little robot to speak Cree words. Another made the robot, which is typically oriented as a vehicle, into a dog and taught it to bark. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS First Peoples Development Inc. has teamed up with Winnipeg robotics company Cogmation to deliver two-week-long robotics workshops at Manitoba First Nations. The workshops culminate in a Lego robot sumo wrestling competition. This week, Bone and the other five youth mentors who have been delivering the workshop in the communities will be helping out in a two-day workshop in Winnipeg for inner-city students who have not had the chance to take part in the program. Stephen Traynor, regional director general for Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, is a big fan of the program. He said on top of urgent issues like housing and social services, the department is always looking for partnerships like this one with Cogmation. "There are so many good, positive aspect coming out of this," Traynor said. "In everything else we do, trying to provide basic support in housing and infrastructure, finding something like this that gives some hope in the community for youth to get them excited about things is wonderful." He said the $450,000 per year funding for the program will continue for at least another year and maybe more. Chris Schulz, Cogmations general manager and head of special projects, said the idea of learning through games is a strategy thats known to be effective. "What we have been doing is trying to drive adoption of coding through games," he said. "If I go up to any student and try to get them to learn how to program using Excel Macro or something from their dads business, they are not interested. If I say fighting robots, that gets their attention." The Lego Mindstorm kits at $500 each are popular around the world, but obviously not cheap. The participants in the First Nations Robotics Youth workshops dont get to keep the kits. But a computer simulation program stays behind, allowing those interested to stay engaged after the workshop ends. "What we found is children are children all over the world," Schulz said. "They may be just victims of geography. Kids in Norway House are just as smart and capable as someone in downtown Toronto. What they lack is mentorship and hardware and all the hurdles they have to overcome." The tech sector is notorious for being very white and very male. There is less than a one per cent participation rate among Indigenous people in the tech sector. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. This robotics youth workshop has plenty of support. The Information and Communications Technology Association of Manitoba (ICTAM) was instrumental in connecting all the parties, and provided laptops for the mentors/trainers to use. Kathy Knight, executive director of ICTAM, knows how important it is for Indigenous youth to have these workshops led by other Indigenous youth. "We want to be able to create more capacity within the Indigenous community to access career opportunities in tech," she said. "And, really, the best way to do that is to start developing Indigenous youth and having Indigenous students as the role models. Its perfect. "There is a saying you cannot be what you cannot see." martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca Lompoc resident Clay Murray was sentenced to life in prison without parole in the murder of Rebecca Yap during an emotional sentencing hearing Two-and-a-half years after the body of Crystal Andrews was found beneath a canopy of birch and spruce trees, near the edge of the garbage dump in God's Lake Narrows First Nation, Manitoba RCMP have charged a man from the community with her slaying. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/3/2018 (1280 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Two-and-a-half years after the body of Crystal Andrews was found beneath a canopy of birch and spruce trees, near the edge of the garbage dump in God's Lake Narrows First Nation, Manitoba RCMP have charged a man from the community with her slaying. In the early morning hours of Nov. 8, 2015, Andrews left a party and began walking home. She called her boyfriend of nine years (and the father of her two children) to say she was on her way. That was the last time anyone heard from the 22-year-old woman. Crystal Andrews Her body was found by some trappers the following day. RCMP initially ruled the death "suspicious," and later determined she was the victim of homicide. On Tuesday, Manitoba RCMP arrested Michael William Okemow, 37, in Winnipeg, and charged the God's Lake man with second-degree murder. On Thursday, police held a press conference -- attended by Andrews' longtime partner, their children (who were five and three, respectively, at the time of her death) and other family members -- to announce the arrest. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS RCMP Chief Superintendent Mark Fisher announces that they have charged a man with second-degree murder in the death of Crystal Andrews. Her children held colouring books in their hands as they sat beside their father in a row of seating before the podium. Her daughter's legs dangled from the edge of her seat, unable to touch the floor, swinging back and forth above a box of tissues on hand for her and her brother. News of the arrest was a bittersweet for many in the fly-in Cree community, located 550 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, with a population of roughly 1,500. God's Lake Chief Gilbert Andrews (no immediate relation to the victim) said the community has been pointing its collective finger at Okemow from Day 1, insisting to RCMP investigators he was responsible for the death. It has left many in the northern community, who already have admittedly strained relationships with police, frustrated with the perceived shortcomings of the RCMP investigation, he said. In addition to allegedly being the last person seen with Andrews, Okemow was also picked up by police the day she died. Court records show he was taken into custody Nov. 8, 2015, ultimately being charged with 19 offences, including forcible confinement and three counts of assault with a weapon. "The suspect was arrested immediately, on some other charges. The community had made up their mind that the person who did this was already in custody, so what's taking so long to charge him? That's the sense -- the feeling I got from my membership, from my First Nation," the chief said. "It's hard to describe, you know? There's a lot of feelings that come up. People say, 'They don't care about us. Just another dead Indian. What do they care?'" MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Chief Gilbert Andrews speaks with media. When asked for his thoughts on how the investigation was handled by police, the God's Lake chief said: "I think it could have gone a lot quicker. I don't think it started off properly. That's all I'll say." On Thursday, an RCMP spokeswoman said Okemow was charged Nov. 8, 2015, for crimes "unrelated" to Andrews' death. However, RCMP Chief Supt. Mark Fisher said Okemow's name also came up quickly in the homicide investigation. Officers worked hard in the subsequent years building a case capable of justifying laying a charge, he said. Fisher wouldn't reveal details from the investigation, but said DNA evidence "formed a very significant part of our case." The Mounties did not release Andrews' official cause of death, only saying the 22-year-old "died as a result of injuries sustained from a serious assault." Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Grand Chief Sheila North also attended Thursday's news conference in Winnipeg. She said Andrews' death highlights issues pervasive throughout the country related to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and the state of First Nations generally. "Our communities are in a state of trauma. They need a lot of healing, and a lot of that stems from colonization and all the impacts our people have gone through. Hurt people hurt people. That's the main thing I've learned lately. These things are avoidable. When you give proper resources to communities, they'll be able to take care of themselves and their families," North said. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Andrews' death was the second homicide to shake the remote community in the past five years. Leah Anderson, 15, was found dead Jan. 6, 2013, two days after she went missing. RCMP originally ruled the teenager had likely been mauled by animals, but it was later determined she had been beaten to death. Her slaying remains unsolved. Okemow remains in custody. The allegations have not been proven in court. Police said he is not a suspect in Anderson's death. ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @rk_thorpe Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman said today he plans to run for re-election on Oct. 24. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/3/2018 (1280 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman said today he plans to run for re-election on Oct. 24. "I do intend to be a candidate," Bowman told reporters after a council meeting. "Serving as mayor over the last number of years has been an incredible honour and it's been invigorating to lead the positive change that we're seeing in our community," said Winnipeg's 43rd mayor, who was elected Oct. 22, 2014. "For that reason I do intend to be a candidate in the upcoming election," Bowman said the day before Friday's annual state of the city address, the final one before the fall election. He said he doesn't plan to officially announce his mayoral run on Friday when he speaks to the more than 1,200 business and community leaders, high school students, and elected officials expected at the lunchtime event hosted by the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce at the RBC Convention Centre. "I'll have more to say about the campaign at the appropriate time," Bowman said. He said he didn't make the decision alone to throw his hat in the ring again. "We've been having discussions as a family," said Bowman. "It's a tremendous sacrifice for anyone's family to be involved in modern-day politics," said the privacy lawyer who set aside a partnership at a Winnipeg law firm to be mayor. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "We've been having a good, healthy dialogue around the kitchen table," said the incumbent mayor who up until Thursday wasn't ready to commit to running again. "I really just wanted to have those discussions as a family," he said. And to make sure he had each member's backing. "I gave my kids and, of course, (my wife) Tracy the full veto," said Bowman, who has two children, Hayden and Austin. "If anybody disagreed then we'd say 'thank you very much that's been my 15 minutes (of fame), time to get back into my career'," said Bowman. He left his career in 2014, got elected and was declared the city's first aboriginal mayor. The following year, Maclean's magazine declared Winnipeg to be Canada's most racist city. In 2015, Bowman hosted the Mayor's National Summit on Racial Inclusion and set up his own indigenous advisory council. He declared 2016 the year of reconciliation and challenged Winnipeggers to find ways to respond individually to the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In 2017, he used his annual state of the city speech to express support for ride-sharing services like Uber, promised to reduce the red tape associated with permits and to say he made progress on reopening Portage and Main to pedestrians. carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca Starting next month, people who get caught lighting up, vaping or toking on public patios in Winnipeg will have to pay up. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/3/2018 (1280 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Starting next month, people who get caught lighting up, vaping or toking on public patios in Winnipeg will have to pay up. Winnipeg city council passed amendments to the outdoor smoking bylaw Thursday to ban smoking tobacco, cannabis and devices such as e-cigarettes on outdoor patios of bars, restaurants and craft breweries. Beginning April 1, an owner or operator who fails to ensure that no one smokes on an outdoor patio faces a fine of $400. The person caught breaking the new rule will be fined $200. "It's good for Winnipeg," said Coun. Mike Pagtakhan, chairman of the protection, community services and parks committee. He said 72 per cent of Winnipeggers support the outdoor smoking bylaw. One councillor who opposed the outdoor smoking ban from the start said smoking shouldn't be prohibited on bar patios that were set up specifically for smokers. "No one is going out there to enjoy the fresh air," said Ross Eadie. But the city's current longest-serving councillor said it's about time Winnipeg banned smoking on outdoor patios of bars and restaurants. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "To me, the simple thing is no employee should be exposed to second-hand smoke within a patio or restaurant," Coun. Jenny Gerbasi, who was first elected in 1998, said at Thursday's council meeting. In 2002, the city banned smoking in public places frequented by children, which effectively eliminated smoking in restaurants and community centres. In 2003, Winnipeg became one of the first cities in Canada to ban smoking in indoor public places. In 2004, Manitoba became the first province to ban smoking in all indoor public places. In 2011, Winnipeg extended the public smoking ban to include some outdoor areas but stopped short of making it illegal for restaurant and bar patios. On April 1, smoking will be banned on outdoor patios of Winnipeg bars, restaurants and craft breweries - several of which are located in the Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry ward where Gerbasi will not be seeking re-election. "Smoking is not acceptable where people are served drinks and food," she said as the outdoor smoking bylaw was about to be passed. "This has been a long time coming." carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca During Friday's final state of the city address of his first term as mayor, Brian Bowman summed up the accomplishments of his administration over the past three-and-a-half years with the slogan, "This is the new Winnipeg." Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/3/2018 (1279 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. During Friday's final state of the city address of his first term as mayor, Brian Bowman summed up the accomplishments of his administration over the past three-and-a-half years with the slogan, "This is the new Winnipeg." At the beginning of his keynote speech, Bowman reflected on his time at the helm of the city's highest elected office, saying that when he first took over, "City hall was a mess, it was a complete and utter mess." "The days of feeling like you have to whisper about your pride in Winnipeg are over," Bowman said, speaking to the crowd packed into the annual event held at the RBC Convention Centre. His address focused on four pillars of his vision for the city moving forward: planning for the future; protecting the city's economic competitiveness; building a strong, transparent government; and keeping the city a safe place to raise a family. In laying out his plan for Winnipeg, Bowman made a number of election promises for a future administration should he be re-elected for a second-term as mayor. On Thursday, Bowman announced his intention to run for mayor again in the coming civic election in November. A number of the election promises the mayor made from the podium Friday had to do with measures he'd like to see the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) focus on. In particular, Bowman said he'd like to see the WPS help address what he called an "aggressive panhandling" problem on the streets and intersections of Winnipeg. While he admitted the issue was complex and multi-faceted, Bowman believes police could rely on increased use of surveillance cameras to help crack down on the problem. "Is there appropriate, lawful ways that are consistent with the privacy expectations that Winnipeggers have, to be able to leverage (surveillance camera technology) for public safety purposes?," said Bowman, a former privacy lawyer. "I'm concerned about (the panhandlers') safety. I think there's more we can do to help. I've certainly heard from many Winnipeggers who feel there's been an uptick." In addition to addressing the city's panhandling problem, Bowman also pledged to have the WPS establish an illicit drug strategy to tackle Winnipeg's growing meth epidemic and to increase foot patrols downtown so residents can feel safe. However, Maurice Sabourin, president of the Winnipeg Police Association, the union that represents city cops, called out the mayor's comments as "totally inappropriate" during a media scrum following the event. Sabourin said the Winnipeg Police Board (WPB) was established to provide civilian oversight of the WPS and to serve as a buffer between city council and city police. By directly giving dictates to the WPS in his State of the City Address, Bowman effectively attempted to bypass the WPB, he said. "The board is supposed to be the buffer and for the mayor to be imposing his will upon the police board, which it sounds like he is, is completely inappropriate. For city council to be influencing the police board, that really isn't their place. We don't have enough resources. The mayor is asking us to do twice as much with the same number of resources and that is unreasonable," Sabourin said. The union leader went on to say that in his opinion panhandling is no more of a problem in the city than it was when Bowman took office in 2014, so he's confused why it's suddenly now become a pressing issue for the mayor. Regardless, while he would support the increased use of surveillance to address panhandling, Sabourin said he doesn't see how a strategy like that would actually be implemented. "There's not a lot of meat and potatoes behind a lot of these initiatives," he said. Bowman also went on the record Friday with a pledge to move towards electrifying the entirety of Winnipeg Transit's bus fleet. As it currently stands, the vast majority of the fleet runs on diesel fuel. The provincial government's newly-minted carbon tax is expected to cost the city up to $1.8 million in additional operating costs annually. But Bowman said he's hopeful revenue collected from the tax could potentially be used to make the transition to electric buses a reality. Nonetheless, he admitted that would be a long term project contingent on financial cooperation and partnership from both the federal and provincial governments. "It's really going to depend on how strong that partnership is with the province and the federal government. But I want to be clear about what direction I'd like to take," Bowman said, when asked about a timeline on electrifying the city's fleet. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "How can new revenue tools, like the carbon tax, be used to electrify the fleet? I've heard comments (Sustainable Development) Minister (Rochelle) Squires has made and I'm encouraged by those. I do believe there is a desire to move towards more sustainable practices to combat climate change." That pledge comes on the heels of news that the provincial government has been sitting on a report, which looked into a pilot project that saw four electric buses introduced into Winnipeg Transit's fleet, for the past 20 months. However, Bowman remains hopeful the city will be able to begin meaningful dialogue with the province on this issue soon. Rounding out his speech on a well worn message that's served as one of his rallying cries since running for mayor in the 2014 civic election, Bowman promised further efforts to increase transparency at city hall. In the near future, he pledged the city would begin electronically tracking how each member of council -- including the mayor -- vote on community and standing policy committees, as well as during city council meetings. ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @rk_thorpe OTTAWA Manitoba MPs expressed concern Thursday about the Hydro board resignations, with some asking Premier Brian Pallister to apologize for his comments about Metis people. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/3/2018 (1280 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA Manitoba MPs expressed concern Thursday about the Hydro board resignations, with some asking Premier Brian Pallister to apologize for his comments about Metis people. Nine of 10 board members all Tory appointees resigned Wednesday, largely over the premiers reluctance to sign a $67-million deal with the Manitoba Metis Federation so an electrical transmission line to Minnesota wouldnt be subject to intense land claims and environmental assessments. The premier decried it as "persuasion money" for a "special-interest group." Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr said the federal government wouldnt comment on how Pallister has handled the issue. He instead said Manitoba Hydro could help generate clean energy for places such as Saskatchewan and the United States. "Its a vital Crown corporation, and we want it to be functioning and at full steam as soon as it can be," said Carr, who represents Winnipeg South Centre. Carr wouldnt say whether Pallisters comments about the federation were appropriate. He instead said: "Our constitutional and moral obligations, when it comes to developing major energy projects" dictate "Indigenous peoples must be meaningfully consulted." Fellow Liberal MP Dan Vandal, who is Metis, claimed Wednesdays resignations fit into a pattern in which the Pallister government clashes with other levels of government, and now its own Crown corporations. "I feel insulted, that my Metis family are called a special-interest group in the province that we founded," the MP for Saint Boniface-Saint Vital said. "I think all Metis people feel that way, and I think the premier and the province should apologize," Vandal said, calling it "an insult that they should be ashamed about." Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. NDP MP Niki Ashton, who represents Manitobas north, said shes concerned the drama could derail Manitoba Hydros budding partnerships with local communities. "When we hear a premier speak like that, it certainly flies in the face of progress thats been made," she said. Ashton said the Crowns corporations projects, which have flooded traditional Aboriginal land and forced people to relocate, happened in her riding. She said there are lasting effects from "the dark history when it comes to Manitoba Hydro impacts on Indigenous communities." She wants a guarantee the new board includes Indigenous people, but feared it would instead be privatized. Manitoba Tory MP Candice Bergen, who is close to Pallister, said shed need to know more before weighing in. "I was disappointed to see it, but Ive only read media reports," she said. dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca A private $10-million donation to three Winnipeg high schools aims to give hundreds of underprivileged students a leg up toward graduation and advancing to college and university. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/3/2018 (1279 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A private $10-million donation to three Winnipeg high schools aims to give hundreds of underprivileged students a leg up toward graduation and advancing to college and university. The bulk of the funds will be paid out over four years in the form of scholarships and bursaries for Indigenous and gifted students, mostly at St. Johns High School. Smaller portions are also designated for Daniel McIntyre and Sisler high schools. St. Johns is located in the heart of one of the citys poorest neighbourhoods, and the financial gift overwhelmed educators Friday. "It is over the moon. Ive been an educator for 40 years and Ive never encountered anything like this. We are creating a reality for hope, for the success of our students and this is unheard of," St. Johns principal Doug Taylor said. Toronto philanthropist Walter Schroeder made the commitment earlier this week during a visit to Winnipeg, where he and his wife grew up in poverty as children of immigrants following the Second World War. Now retired, Schroeder made a fortune through a global credit-rating agency he founded 40 years ago, with a $1,000 stake in a Toronto storefront. DBRS is Canadas only independent agency of its kind, and by the time Schroeder sold it for an estimated $500 million in 2014, it had grown to be the fourth largest in the world, compared to larger rivals such as Moodys, Standard & Poors and Fitch Ratings. Schroeder is well-known for philanthropic efforts, which include a $20-million donation to the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute in 2017. WAYNE GLOWACKI/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Philanthropist Walter Schroeder in front of his childhood home on Alexander Ave. in Winnipeg's North End in 2002. His memories of Winnipeg inspired him to look for a way to give back to his hometown, and to see high school students graduate and go on to the post-secondary level. This winter, a heartbreaking video made by a Grade 11 student at St. Johns was brought to the attention of the philanthropist. Within two months, he put the multimillion-dollar donation in place. The five-minute video was created by Freedom Smith-Myran, 17, as part of a class assignment. In it, Freedom opened up about her life, describing the struggle to stay in school against a backdrop of crime and gang life in her neighbourhood. "I was speaking about what its like to grow up in poverty and to see gang life in the people I knew, and how it took a toll on education for me and other students," the First Nations student said in an interview at her school, adding she briefly dropped out because of it. Like about half the students at her school, Freedom comes from a single-parent home where the median income is less than $40,000 a year. Nearly 10 per cent are foster children. That her video would play an instrumental role in the single-largest private donation in her schools history is still sinking in, she said. "I was surprised because, like, it was an English assignment. I didnt expect it to get this big," Freedom said. The student and the philanthropist met this week for the first time, when Schroeder flew to Winnipeg to finalize details of the donation. PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Freedom Smith-Myron, a St John's High School Grade 11 student. "Walter told me he sees the same kind of talent, the intelligence, the creativity, in Freedom that hes seen in people from universities like Harvard, Yale and Princeton, and he was telling her all these accolades," Taylor said, beaming. Freedom ducked her head, and said shed never heard such praise before. "It was kinda of weird. Im glad he wants to help kids like me do better in life." Schroeder grew up in Winnipeg, attending Dufferin Elementary School and Daniel McIntyre, where he met his future wife, Maria, when they were teenagers. It was his wifes struggle to get a high school education that inspired the philanthropist, the St. Johns principal said. Her family escaped the former East Germany in 1948, chased by police dogs and dodging bullets as they fled. In Winnipeg, Maria and her sisters were so poor they took turns working and going to school. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The year she was to drop out and go to work, the high school principal at Daniel McIntyre paid a visit to the family home. Telling her father Maria was one of the schools most promising students, he convinced the family to allow her to stay in school. "Were lucky (Schroeder) was looking back to his roots in Winnipeg, and thats why hes giving back now," Taylor said. Schroeder has already made a down payment on the donation, giving $215,000 to the three schools for bursaries to "in-need" students from Grades 9 to 12. "The details of Mr. Schroeders $10-million pledge are yet to be completed but, once received, will represent the largest donation ever given to the Winnipeg School Division Childrens Heritage Fund, and a huge boost for inner-city and North End schools," the Winnipeg School Division said in a statement. "Mr. Schroeders compassion and philanthropy is being directed where it can make a real difference in our students lives." alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca A day after the stunning mass resignation of the Manitoba Hydro board, the war of words between the premier and the former board chairman ratcheted up Thursday. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/3/2018 (1280 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A day after the stunning mass resignation of the Manitoba Hydro board, the war of words between the premier and the former board chairman ratcheted up Thursday. Premier Brian Pallister accused the former board of offering the Manitoba Metis Federation "hush money." BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister reacts to questions from the opposition in question period at the Manitoba Legislative Building. Sandy Riley, who quit as Hydros chairman, said he found the characterization to be "offensive" and driven by the governments "desperation" over the resignations. "I am just so disappointed in the way this government has decided to play this," Riley said. "Although I guess I should not be surprised... Im just so disappointed that weve come to this stage." Riley said Pallister has spun "untruths" about the events that led up to the boards resignation Wednesday, in a blatant attempt to cover up his own mismanagement of pressing issues facing the provinces electrical utility. The dispute between the Tory-appointed board and the premier has not only rocked Manitobas largest Crown corporation, but it threatens to divide the Progressive Conservative party, just two years after it steamrolled into office with a massive majority. Riley, a strong PC supporter and generous party donor, and several of his former Hydro board colleagues have strong Tory ties. Pallister had appointed the nine directors who left their posts Wednesday, shortly after his party took power in May 2016. Reached Thursday in California, where he is vacationing with his family, Riley said he and fellow ex-board members had no choice to resign en masse after the premier repeatedly refused to meet with them on a variety of issues, and Riley had been informed he and others were about to be shuffled out the door. He said the board had been frustrated by the premiers stance that he couldnt meet with the board while Hydros request for a 7.9 per cent rate increase was being deliberated by the Public Utilities Board. Riley, who is president and chief executive officer of Richardson Financial Group Ltd., called the explanation "nonsense." "Basically, hes used that as an excuse not to talk to us about anything," said Riley, adding he has been unable to meet face-to-face with Pallister since October 2016. Riley confirmed Crown Services Minister Cliff Cullen wrote a letter to the Hydro board last Friday, saying the premier would meet with the chairman immediately following the release of the PUB decision, expected in April. Riley said the board, which had already discussed a plan to resign, agreed to hold off until that time. Then Monday, Riley said a government official called, acting on behalf of the premier -- and offered him an opportunity to chair the board of a different Crown corporation. Riley refused. "I told them, no, that was not what I signed on for," he said. "I was stunned... It was obvious that they were trying to move me out of Hydro. I didnt take this job on because I wanted to head a Crown corporation. I took it on because I felt I could help with the Hydro file. "If I have one major complaint about the nature of the relationship I have with the premier right now is that hes unwilling to take responsibility for what he knows or should know is a significant problem," Riley said. "There was a complete lack of communication and a lack of leadership by the government. "There was no good faith." Following that call Monday, Riley talked with other members of the board, and the decision was made to resign. On Thursday, for the first time, the outgoing boards resignation letter was released to media outlets. Signed by all nine departing members, it details repeated attempts to meet with Pallister and his cabinet to discuss the corporations financial problems and the governments refusal to authorize it to enter into any agreements with Indigenous communities. "We believe this is irresponsible," the board members said of the lack of access to cabinet. Riley said the last thing he and his former board colleagues wanted to do was to interfere in the PUBs independent rate-setting process. However, they did want to discuss how Hydro would proceed, depending on whether the corporation received all or some of the rate increase it was seeking. "We respect the PUB rate-setting process. The suggestion that we would somehow want to lobby him (Pallister) to get him to try and lobby the Public Utilities Board (on Hydros behalf) is just absolute nonsense." Riley said the $67.5-million tentative agreement Hydro had reached with the Manitoba Metis Federation pending government approval, which was refused by cabinet Wednesday was a "good deal for Manitoba." "It covered all current discussions (on Hydro projects) we have with Manitoba Metis, but also future discussions we would have with the Metis," he said. The agreement didnt just cover one project the proposed Manitoba-Minnesota transmission line, as the premier suggested Wednesday but multiple developments, Riley said. For Pallister to call the payments to Metis hush money suggests the board members the government spoke so highly of two years ago, when they were appointed, would stoop to such a dubious arrangement, he said. I am just so disappointed in the way this government has decided to play this. Although I guess I should not be surprised... Im just so disappointed that weve come to this stage" Former Manitoba Hydro board chairman, Sandy Riley "It shows you the level of desperation that this government seems to be descending to in response to our resignations," the prominent Winnipeg businessman said. "Its wrong and its cynical." Speaking with reporters Thursday, Pallister said his officials have been in continuous communication with Manitoba Hydro. He also played down the importance of the premier or cabinet members meeting with the corporations board. Pallister said he got a call Thursday morning from a former Hydro chairman, who said he only had three meetings with the premier while serving in the role for more than a decade. "Its not impossible that we can communicate without having physical face-to-face meetings. And we have been," Pallister said. "Im sorry that Mr. Riley feels that way. Im sorry that he has chosen to do what hes chosen to do, but that being said, well have a new board by (Friday) at noon," the premier added. "And we will move forward and Manitoba Hydro will be stronger in the future than it has in a long, long time." Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The Hydro board resignations dominated question period for a second consecutive day Thursday. NDP Leader Wab Kinew called Hydro the provinces crown jewel. "It is without a board, as we speak, because of the premiers inability to meet with his hand-picked appointees for the past year. I dont always agree with the ideology of this hand-picked board, but I would say they represent the brain trust of the business community here in Manitoba." with files from Dan Lett larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca For the third time in the past two years, Lompoc voters will be tasked with deciding the fate of a bond measure that could spur significant up 7 hours ago Beleagured Lordstown Motors May Be Showing Green Shoots, But Use Caution I'm not usually interested in beaten-down companies, especially those whose injuries are largely self-inflicted, but Lordstown Motors (NASDAQ: RIDE), which caused its own stumbles, may be showing signs of life. The electric vehicle maker went public via a SPAC in August, 2020. Read Article The following companies are subsidiares of Abbott Laboratories: 3A Nutrition (Vietnam) Company Limited, ABON Biopharm (Hangzhou) Co. 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KG, Abbott Health Products LLC, Abbott Healthcare (Puerto Rico) Ltd., Abbott Healthcare B.V., Abbott Healthcare Costa Rica S.A., Abbott Healthcare LLC, Abbott Healthcare Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Healthcare Private Limited, Abbott Healthcare Products B.V., Abbott Healthcare Products Ltd, Abbott Holding (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Holding GmbH, Abbott Holding Subsidiary (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Holding Subsidiary (Gibraltar) Limited Luxembourg S.C.S., Abbott Holdings B.V., Abbott Holdings LLC, Abbott Holdings Limited, Abbott Holdings Poland Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Hungary Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Abbott Iberian Investments (2) Limited, Abbott Iberian Investments Limited, Abbott India Limited, Abbott Informatics Asia Pacific Limited, Abbott Informatics Canada Inc, Abbott Informatics Corporation, Abbott Informatics Europe Limited, Abbott Informatics France, Abbott Informatics Germany GmbH, Abbott Informatics Netherlands B.V., Abbott Informatics Singapore Pte. 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Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Trustee Company Limited, Abbott Laboratories Uruguay S.A., Abbott Laboratories Vascular Enterprises, Abbott Laboratories d.o.o., Abbott Laboratories de Chile Limitada, Abbott Laboratories de Colombia S.A., Abbott Laboratories de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Abbott Laboratories druzba za farmacijo in diagnostiko d.o.o., Abbott Laboratories s.r.o., Abbott Laboratories(Hellas) Societe Anonyme, Abbott Laboratorios S.A., Abbott Laboratorios S.A., Abbott Laboratorios del Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Abbott Laboratuarlari Ithalat Ihracat ve Ticaret Ltd.Sti, Abbott Laboratorios Lda, Abbott Laboratorios do Brasil Ltda., Abbott Limited Egypt LLC, Abbott Logistics B.V., Abbott Management GmbH, Abbott Management LLC, Abbott Manufacturing Singapore Private Limited, Abbott Mature Products International Unlimited Company, Abbott Mature Products Management Limited, Abbott Medical (Hong Kong) Limited, Abbott Medical (Malaysia) Sdn. 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Ltd., Abbott Medical Korea Limited, Abbott Medical Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Abbott Medical Laboratories LTD, Abbott Medical Nederland B.V., Abbott Medical New Zealand Limited, Abbott Medical Norway AS, Abbott Medical Overseas Cyprus Limited, Abbott Medical Sweden AB, Abbott Medical Taiwan Co., Abbott Medical U.K. Limited, Abbott Medical spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Middle East S.A.R.L., Abbott Molecular Inc., Abbott Morocco SARL, Abbott Nederland C.V., Abbott Nederland Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Netherlands Investments B.V., Abbott Norge AS, Abbott Nutrition Limited, Abbott Nutrition Manufacturing Inc., Abbott Operations Singapore Pte. Ltd., Abbott Operations Uruguay S.R.L., Abbott Overseas Cyprus Limited, Abbott Overseas Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Overseas S.A., Abbott Oy, Abbott Point of Care Canada Limited, Abbott Point of Care Inc., Abbott Poland Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Procurement LLC, Abbott Products (Philippines) Inc., Abbott Products (Spain) S.L., Abbott Products Algerie EURL, Abbott Products B.V., Abbott Products Distribution SAS, Abbott Products Egypt LLC, Abbott Products Limited, Abbott Products Limited Liability Company, Abbott Products Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Products Operations AG, Abbott Products Operations LLC, Abbott Products Romania S.R.L., Abbott Products Tunisie S.A.R.L., Abbott Products Unlimited Company, Abbott Resources Inc., Abbott Resources International Inc., Abbott S.r.l., Abbott Saudi Arabia Trading Company, Abbott Scandinavia Aktiebolag, Abbott Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, Abbott South Africa Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Strategic Opportunities Limited, Abbott Trading Company Inc., Abbott Universal LLC, Abbott Vascular Devices (2) Limited, Abbott Vascular Devices Limited, Abbott Vascular Inc., Abbott Vascular Instruments Deutschland GmbH, Abbott Vascular International, Abbott Vascular Japan Co. Ltd, Abbott Vascular Limitada, Abbott Vascular Netherlands B.V., Abbott Vascular Solutions Inc., Abbott Ventures Inc., Abbott West Indies Limited, Abbott drustvo sa ogranicenom odgovornoscu za trgovinu i usluge, Advanced Neuromodulation Systems Inc., Alere, Alere (Shanghai) Diagnostics Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Healthcare Management Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Medical Sales Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Technology Co. Ltd., Alere A/S, Alere AB, Alere AS, Alere AS Holdings Limited, Alere BBI Holdings Limited, Alere Bangladesh Limited, Alere China Co. Ltd., Alere Colombia S.A., Alere Connect LLC, Alere Connected Health Limited, Alere Connected Health Ltd., Alere Diagnostics GmbH, Alere DoA Holding GmbH, Alere GmbH, Alere GmbH (Austria), Alere GmbH (Germany), Alere HK Holdings Ltd., Alere Health B.V., Alere Health BVBA, Alere Health Corp., Alere Health Sdn Bhd, Alere Health Services B.V., Alere Healthcare (Pty) Limited, Alere Healthcare Connections Limited, Alere Healthcare Inc., Alere Healthcare Nigeria Limited, Alere Healthcare S.L., Alere Holdco Inc., Alere Holding GmbH, Alere Holdings Bermuda Limited, Alere Holdings Pty Limited, Alere Home Monitoring Inc., Alere Inc., Alere Informatics Inc., Alere International Holding Corp., Alere International Limited, Alere Lda, Alere Limited, Alere Limited (New Zealand), Alere Medical BVBA, Alere Medical Co. Ltd., Alere Medical Pakistan (Private) Limited, Alere Medical Private Limited, Alere North America LLC, Alere Oy Ab, Alere Philippines Inc., Alere Phoenix ACQ Inc., Alere Pte Ltd, Alere S.A., Alere S.r.l., Alere S/A, Alere SAS, Alere San Diego Inc., Alere Scarborough Inc., Alere Spain S.L., Alere Switzerland GmbH, Alere Technologies GmbH, Alere Technologies Holdings Limited, Alere Technologies Limited, Alere Toxicology AB, Alere Toxicology Inc., Alere Toxicology S.r.l., Alere Toxicology Services Inc., Alere Toxicology plc, Alere UK Holdings Limited, Alere UK Subco Limited, Alere ULC, Alere US Holdings LLC, Alere s.r.o., Alisoc Investment & Co, Amedica Biotech Inc., Ameditech Inc., American Generics S.A.S., American Medical Supplies Inc., American Pharmacist Inc., Antares S.A., Apica Cardiovascular Limited, Aquagestion Capacitacion S.A., Aquagestion S.A., Arriva Medical LLC, Arriva Medical Philippines Inc., Arvis Investments Limited, Atlas Farmaceutica S.A., Avee Laboratories Inc., Axis-Shield AD III AS, Axis-Shield AD IV AS, Axis-Shield AS, Axis-Shield Diagnostics Limited, Axis-Shield Ltd., BBI Animal Health Limited, BBI Diagnostics Group 2 Public Limited Company, Banco de Vida S.A., Bioabsorbable Vascular Solutions Inc., Bioalgae S.A., Biohealth LLC, Biosite Incorporated, Bosque Bonito S.A., Branan Medical Corporation, Brandex Europe C.V., British Colloids Limited, CFR Chile S.A., CFR Interamericas EL Salvador Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, CFR Interamericas Nicaragua Sociedad Anonima, CFR Interamericas Panama S.A., CFR Pharmaceuticals, California Property Holdings III LLC, CardioMEMS LLC, Caripharm Inc., Cephea Valve Technologies, Cephea Valve Technologies Inc., Colibri Medical Aktiebolag, Comercializadora y Distribuidora CFR Interamericas Honduras S.A., Concateno South Limited, Concateno UK Limited, Consorcio Tecnologico en Biomedicina Clinico-Molecular S.A., Continuum Services LLC, Cozart Limited, Dextech S.A., Diagnostik Nord GmbH, Distribuciones Uquifa S.A.S., Domesco Medical Import-Export Joint-Stock Corporation, Duphar International Research B.V., Endocardial Solutions, Epocal (US) Inc, Esprit de Vie S.A., European Chemicals & Co, European Drug Testing Service EDTS AB, European Services S.A., Evalve Inc., Evalve International Inc., FARMINDUSTRIA S.A., Fada Pharma Paraguay Sociedad Anonima, Fadapharma del Ecuador S.A., Farmaceutica Mont Blanc S.L., Farmacologia Em Aquicultura Veterinaria Ltda., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV Ecuador S.A., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV S.A., Fernwood Investment S.A., First Check Diagnostics LLC, Focus Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Forensics Limited, Forestcreek Overseas S.A., Fournier Pharma Corp., Fournier Pharma GmbH, Fournier Pharmaceuticals Limited, Framed B.V., Gabmed GmbH, Garden Hills LLC, Global Analytical Development LLC, Globapharm & CO LP, Glomed Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Golnorth Investments S.A., Gynocare Limited, Gynopharm Sociedad Anonima, Gynopharm de Centroamerica S.A., Gynopharm de Venezuela C.A., Hi-Tronics Designs Inc., IDEV Technologies Inc., IG Innovations Limited, IMTC Finance B.V., IMTC Holdings B.V., IMTC Technologies Inc., Ibis Biosciences LLC, Igloo Zone Chile S.A., Igloo Zone S.L., Inmobiliaria Naknek S.A.C., Innovacon Inc., Instant Tech Subsidiary Acquisition Inc., Instant Technologies Inc., Instituto de Criopreservacion de Chile S.A., Integrated Vascular Systems Inc., Inverness Canadian Acquisition Corporation, Inverness Medical (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Australia Pty Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Hong Kong Limited, Inverness Medical Innovations SK LLC, Inverness Medical Investments LLC, Inverness Medical LLC, Inverness Medical Shimla Private Limited, Inversiones K2 SpA, Inversiones Komodo S.R.L., Ionian Technologies LLC, Irvine Biomedical Inc., Kalila Medical, Kangshenyunga S.A., Knoll UK Investments Unlimited, LLC VeroInPharm, Laboratoires Fournier S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano Lafrancol S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano del Ecuador S.A., Laboratorio Internacional Argentino S.A., Laboratorio Synthesis S.A.S., Laboratorios Lafi Limitada, Laboratorios Naturmedik S.A.S., Laboratorios Pauly Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Laboratorios Recalcine S.A., Laboratorios Transpharm S.A., Laboratory Specialists of America Inc., Lafrancol Dominicana S.A.S., Lafrancol Guatemala S.A. Sociedad Anonima, Lafrancol Internacional S.A.S, Lafrancol Peru S.R.L, Lake Forest Investments LLC, Lightlab Imaging Inc., Limited Liability Company Abbott Laboratories, Limited Liability Company Abbott Ukraine, Limited Liability Company VEROPHARM, Lung Fung Hong (China) Limited, Mansbridge Pharmaceuticals Limited, MediGuide LLC, MediGuide Ltd., Medscreen Holdings Limited, Metropolitana Farmaceutica S.A., Midwest Properties LLC, Murex Argentina S.A., Murex Biotech Limited, Murex Biotech South Africa, Murex Diagnostics Inc., Murex Diagnostics International Inc., Natural Supplement Association LLC, Negocios Denia Sociedad Anonima, Neosalud S.A.C., Nether Pharma N.P. C.V., NeuroTherm LLC, Normann Pharma-Handels GmbH, North Shore Properties Inc., Novamedi S.A., Novasalud.com S.A., Nutravida S.A., OJSC Voronezhkhimpharm, Omnilab Iberia Sociedad Limitada, OptiMedica, Orgenics France SAS, Orgenics International Holdings B.V., Orgenics Ltd., PBM-Selfcare LLC, PDD II LLC, PDD LLC, PT Alere Health, PT. Abbott Indonesia, PT. Abbott Products Indonesia, Pacesetter Inc., Pantech (RF) (PTY) LTD, Pembrooke Occupational Health Inc., Penagos S.A., Pharma International Sociedad Anonima, Pharmaceutical Technologies (Pharmatech) S.A., Pharmatech Boliviana S.A., Polygon Labs S.A., Quality Assured Services Inc., RF Medical Holdings LLC, RTL Holdings Inc., Ramses Business Corp., Recben Xenerics Farmaceutica Limitada, Redwood Toxicology Laboratory Inc., Rich Horizons International Limited, SC VEROPHARM, SJ Medical Mexico S de R.L. de C.V., SJM International Inc., SJM Thunder Holding Company, SPDH Inc., Saboya Enterprises Corporation, Salviac Limited, Scanax AS, Sealing Solutions Inc., Selfcare Technology Inc., Shandong Abbott Dairy Product Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Medical Devices Science and Technology Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Shanghai Si Fa Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Sinensix & Co., Spinal Modulation LLC, St. Jude Medical, St. Jude Medical AB, St. Jude Medical ATG Inc., St. Jude Medical Argentina S.A., St. Jude Medical Asia Pacific Holdings GK, St. Jude Medical Atrial Fibrillation Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Brasil Ltda., St. Jude Medical Business Services Inc., St. Jude Medical Cardiology Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Colombia Ltda., St. Jude Medical Coordination Center, St. Jude Medical Costa Rica Limitada, St. Jude Medical Europe Inc., St. Jude Medical Export Ges.m.b.H., St. Jude Medical GVA Sarl, St. Jude Medical Holdings B.V., St. Jude Medical India Private Limited, St. Jude Medical International Holding, St. Jude Medical LLC, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings II, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings NT, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings SMI S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings TC S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Mexico Business Services S. de R.L. de C.V., St. Jude Medical Middle East DMCC, St. Jude Medical Operations (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., St. Jude Medical Puerto Rico LLC, St. Jude Medical S.C. Inc., St. Jude Medical Systems AB, St. Jude Medical Turkey Medikal Urunler Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Standard Diagnostics Inc., Standing Stone LLC, Swan-Myers Incorporated, TC1 LLC, Tendyne Holdings Inc., Tendyne Medical Inc., Thoratec Delaware LLC, Thoratec Europe Limited, Thoratec LLC, Thoratec Switzerland GmbH, Tobal Products Incorporated, Topera GmbH in Liquidation, Topera Inc., Tremora S.A., Tuenir S.A., TwistDx, UAB Abbott Laboratories, UAB Abbott Medical Lithuania, Union-Madison Realty Company Inc., Unipath Limited (dba Alere International/aka Cranfield), Unipath Management Limited, Unipath Pension Trustee Limited, Veropharm, Veropharm Limited Liability Partnership, Vida Cell Inversiones S.A., Vida Cell S.A., Vivalsol, W&R Pharma Handels GmbH, Western Pharmaceuticals S.A., X Technologies Inc., Yissum Holding Limited, ZonePerfect Nutrition Company, eScreen Canada ULC, eScreen Inc., ( ), and Abbott Laboratories Baltics. The following companies are subsidiares of Ashland Global: 565 Corporation, ASH GP INC., ASHLAND SPECIALTY CHEMICAL (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD., ASHLAND SPECIALTY CHEMICALS (MALAYSIA) SDN.BHD, Adams Drive Totowa L.L.C., Alera Property Holdings LLC, Alera Technologies Inc., Alix Technologies LLC, Aloe Vemera S.P.R de R.L. de C.V., Ash (Gibraltar) One Limited, Ash B CIS 1 Limited, Ash B CIS 2 Limited, Ash B1 Limited, Ash B2 Limited, Ash B3 Limited, Ash B4 Limited, Ash B5 Limited, Ash CIS Canada Corp., Ash CIS Canada Holdings B.V., Ash CIS GmbH, Ash Global Holding Three GmbH, Ash Global Holdings Two B.V., Ash Junior Global Holding One LLC, Ash Junior Global Holding Two LLC, Ash Swiss Holding Two GmbH, AshLux Three S.a r.l., AshOne C. V., Ashland (Australasia) Pty. Limited, Ashland (Changzhou) Advanced Chemical Co. Ltd., Ashland (Changzhou) Specialty Chemical Co. Ltd, Ashland (China) Holdings Co. Ltd., Ashland (Gibraltar) One Holding Inc., Ashland (Thailand) Co. Ltd, Ashland Argentina S.R.L., Ashland CZ s.r.o., Ashland Canada Corp./Corporation Ashland Canada, Ashland Canada Holdings B. V., Ashland Chemco Inc., Ashland Chemical De Mexico S.A. De C.V., Ashland Chemical Hispania S. L., Ashland Chemical Trading (Shanghai) Company Limited, Ashland Chemicals (Nanjing) Company Limited, Ashland Colombia S.A.S., Ashland Comercio de Especialidades Quimicas do Brasil Ltda., Ashland Danmark ApS, Ashland Eastern Markets LLC, Ashland Ethanol Inc., Ashland Finance Limited, Ashland Finland Oy, Ashland France SAS, Ashland Global Holdings One C.V., Ashland India Private Limited, Ashland Industria de Ingredientes do Brasil Ltda., Ashland Industries Deutschland GmbH, Ashland Industries Europe GmbH, Ashland Industries France SAS, Ashland Industries Italia S.r.l., Ashland Industries Nederland B.V., Ashland Industries UK Limited, Ashland International Holdings LLC, Ashland Italia S.r.l., Ashland Japan Ltd., Ashland Korea Limited, Ashland LLC, Ashland Licensing and Intellectual Property LLC, Ashland ME Holdings Inc., Ashland Mexico Holdings One LLC, Ashland Mexico Holdings Two LLC, Ashland Nigeria Exploration Unlimited, Ashland Oil (Nigeria) Company Unlimited, Ashland Oil Inc., Ashland Pacific Pty. Ltd., Ashland Participacoes Ltda., Ashland Pharmachem International Holdings LLC, Ashland Polimeros do Brasil S.A., Ashland Services B. V., Ashland Services Mexico S.A. de C.V., Ashland Singapore Pte. Ltd., Ashland Specialties Austria GmbH, Ashland Specialties Belgium BVBA, Ashland Specialties France S.a.r.l., Ashland Specialties Hispania S.L., Ashland Specialties Holding C.V., Ashland Specialties Ireland Limited, Ashland Specialties Poland Sp. z o.o., Ashland Specialties Sverige AB, Ashland Specialties UK Limited, Ashland Specialty Chemical Korea Co. Ltd., Ashland Specialty Ingredients G.P., Ashland Technologies GmbH, Ashland-Alaskan Limited, Ashland-Plasticos De Portugal Lda., Ashmont Insurance Company Inc., Ashprop Two LLC, Avoca LLC, Avoele S.A. de C.V., Belleville Realty Corp., Bluegrass Insurance Company Limited, CLTA LLC, CVG Capital III LLC, Carol Clifton Inc., Clevedon Sp. z o.o., Curtis Bay Insurance Co. Ltd, East Bay Realty Services Inc., Ever Success Overseas Limited, FRJ Inc., Fospur, Hercofina, Hercules, Hercules Holding BV BVBA, Hercules Holding II Limited, Hercules Hydrocarbon Holdings Inc., Hercules International Limited LLC, Hercules Investment ApS, Hercules Investments Netherlands B.V., Hercules Islands Corporation, Hercules LLC, Hercules Paper Holdings Inc., Hercules Trading (Shanghai) Company Limited, ISP (Belgium) International N. V., ISP Alginates Inc., ISP Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd, ISP Biochema Schwaben GmbH, ISP Canada Corp., ISP Capital LLC, ISP Chemco LLC, ISP Chemical Products LLC, ISP Chemicals LLC, ISP Environmental Services Inc., ISP France Holding SARL, ISP France Marketing SARL, ISP Freetown Fine Chemicals Inc., ISP Freight Services N. V., ISP Global Operations (Barbados) Inc., ISP Global Technologies Deutschland Unterstutzungskasse GmbH, ISP Global Technologies Inc., ISP Global Technologies LLC, ISP HC Limited, ISP Holdings (U.K.) Ltd., ISP Hungary Holdings Limited Liability Company, ISP International Corp., ISP Investments LLC, ISP Lima LLC, ISP Luxembourg Canada S.a.r.l., ISP Management Company Inc., ISP Marl GmbH, ISP Marl Holdings GmbH, ISP Microcaps (U.K.) Limited, ISP Pharma Systems LLC, ISP Real Estate Company Inc., ISP Singapore Holding LLC, ISP Technologies Inc., ISP Technologies LLC, International Specialty Holdings LLC, International Specialty Products, International Specialty Products (India) Private Limited, International Specialty Products Funding Corporation, International Specialty Products Inc., Jiangmen Ashland Chemicals Company Limited, Nanjing Clear Environment Protection, Northwest Coatings, Oil Can Henrys, PT Ashland Asia, PT ISP Chemicals Indonesia, Pakistan Gum Industries (Private) Limited, Pharmachem Laboratories, Pharmachem Laboratories LLC, Pharmachem Laboratories Utah LLC, Prince Street Paterson LLC, Progiven S.A.S., Proprietary Nutritionals LLC, Ralop S. de R.L. de C.V., Saudi Industrial Resins Co. Ltd. (Polyester), Shanghai Ashland Industrial Trading Co. Ltd., St Croix Petrochemical Corp, Taiwan Ashland Co. Ltd., Techwax Limited, Vemera S. de R.L. de C.V., and WSP LLC. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA engages in the traditional banking businesses of retail banking, asset management, private banking, and wholesale banking. It operates through the following segments: Spain, the United States, Mexico, Turkey, South America, and Rest of Eurasia. The Spain segment includes mainly the banking and insurance business that the group carries out in Spain. The United States segment consists of the financial business activity of BBVA USA in the country and the activity of the branch of BBVA SA in New York. The Mexico segment refers to banking and insurance businesses in this country as well as the activity of its branch in Houston. The Turkey segment reports the activity of Garanti BBVA group that is mainly carried out in this country and, to a lesser extent, in Romania and the Netherlands. The South America segment comprises of operations in n Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The Rest of Eurasia segment includes the banking business activity carried out by the group in Europe and Asia, excluding Spain. The company was founded in 1857 and is headquartered in Madrid, Spain. Read More BioSyent Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, sources, acquires or in-licenses, develops, and sells pharmaceutical and other healthcare products in Canada and internationally. Its products include FeraMAX 150, an oral hematinic; FeraMAX Powder, a water soluble oral iron supplement, which helps the body form red blood cells; and FeraMAX Pd Therapeutic 150 for the prevention and treatment of iron deficiency anemia. It also offers Cathejell, a product indicated for surface anesthesia and lubrication during various procedures, including cystoscopy, catheterization, endourethral operation, endoscopy, proctoscopy, rectoscopy, and tracheal intubation, as well as used for the symptomatic treatment of pain in connection with cystitis and urethritis; Aguettant System for pre-filled syringes that are used for various injectable medications in hospital and acute care settings; RepaGyn, a vaginal suppository for the healing of the vaginal mucosa, as well as for the treatment of vaginal dryness caused by menopause, stress, and chemotherapy; Proktis-M, a rectal suppository for the healing of the anus and rectum; and Cysview, an adjunct to white-light cystoscopy for the detection and management of non-muscle invasive papillary bladder cancer. In addition, it provides Combogesic for moderate acute pain and reduction of fever in adults; Protect-It, a non-chemical food-safe grain insecticide product used as a preventative treatment against insect infestations in stored grains; and Tibella, a hormone replacement therapy to treat vasomotor symptoms due to estrogen deficiency. The company sells its products through wholesalers and retail pharmacy chains. The company was formerly known as Hedley Technologies Inc. and changed its name to BioSyent Inc. in June 2006 to reflect its forward focus on the pharmaceutical market. BioSyent Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Mississauga, Canada. Read More 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. Edgewell Personal Care Company is a manufacturer and marketer of personal care products in the wet shave, sun and skin care, feminine care and infant care categories. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had a portfolio of over 25 brands. It manages its business in four segments: Wet Shave, Sun and Skin Care, Feminine Care and All Other. Its Wet shave products are sold under the Schick, Wilkinson Sword, Edge, Skintimate, Shave Guard and Personna brand names. Its Sun and Skin Care products are sold under the Banana Boat, Hawaiian Tropic, Wet Ones and Playtex brand names and offers Wet Ones, portable hand wipes category, and Playtex household gloves, the branded household glove in the United States. Its Feminine Care segment markets its products under the Playtex, Stayfree, Carefree and o.b. brands and markets pads and liners. Its All Other segment includes infant care, pet care and miscellaneous other products. Read More President Trump signed a memorandum Thursday directing the U.S. Trade Representative to impose an estimated $50 billion in tariffs on China, which will go into effect in at least 45 days. "We have spoken to China and we are in the midst of a very large negotiation," Mr. Trump said. "We will see where it takes us. In the meantime, we are sending a Section 301 action." Mr. Trump said he has asked Chinese officials to immediately reduce the U.S. trade deficit with China by $100 billion. Mr. Trump also made news at the end of the event, when he told reporters he still wants to testify before special counsel Robert Mueller. "Yes," Mr. Trump said, according to the White House press pool. "I would like to." The tariffs will target what White House trade adviser Peter Navarro described on a conference call with reporters as China's market distorting and "discriminatory practices" to steal American intellectual property and unfair technology transfers. Deputy director of the National Economic Council Everett Eissenstat, who was also on the call, said that USTR will publish a "long list" of proposed Chinese imports within 15 days. A notice and comment period will then open up for stakeholder input. The Treasury department has until 60 days from memorandum's signing to submit recommendations for a final list of tariffs. - Read More Wall Street analysts have given Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. The following companies are subsidiares of Dover: ALMATEC Maschinenbau GmbH, Accelerated Production Systems, Advansor A/S, Advansor Dover International (Poland) sp. z o.o, Alfred Fueling Systems Holdco Ltd., Alfred Fueling Systems Inc., Alfred Fueling Systems Intermediate Holdco Ltd., All-Flo Pump Company Limited business, Anman LLC, Anthony Equity Holdings Inc., Anthony Holdings Inc., Anthony Inc., Anthony International Foreign Sales Corp., Anthony International Holding Company, Anthony Mexico Holdings LLC, Anthony North Holdco Inc., Anthony Specialty Glass LLC, Anthony TemperBent GP LLC, Automatik Grundstucksverwaltung GmbH & Co. KG, Automatik Plastics Machinery (Taiwan) Ltd., Automatik Plastics Machinery Sdn. Bhd., BSC Filters Limited, Background2 Limited, Belanger Inc., Belvac Middle East FZE, Belvac Production Machinery Inc., BlitzRotary GmbH, Butler Engineering and Marketing S.P.A., CEP Liquidation LLC, CP Formation LLC, CPC, CPC Europe Inc., CPI Products Inc., Caldera, Caldera Inc., Canada Organization & Development LLC, Chief Automotive Technologies (Shanghai) Trading Company Ltd., Chippewa Square Captive Insurance Company, Colder Products Company GmbH, Colder Products Company LTD, Cook Compression BV, Cook Compression LLC, Cook Compression Limited, Cook-MFS Inc., DD1 Inc., DDI Properties Inc., DE-STA-CO Benelux B.V., DE-STA-CO FRANCE, DE-STA-CO Shanghai Co. Ltd., DFH Corporation, DSR BZ Holdings LLC, De Sta Co (Asia) Company Limited, De-Sta-Co Cylinders Inc., DeStaCo Europe GmbH, Delaware Capital Formation Inc., Delaware Capital Holdings Inc., Destaco Ema Industria e Comercio Ltda., Dover (China) Investment Co. Ltd. , Dover (Schweiz) Holding GmbH, Dover (Shanghai) Industrial Co. Ltd., Dover (Shenzhen) Industrial Equipment Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Dover (Suzhou) Industrial Equipment Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Dover Asia Trading Private Ltd., Dover Australia Holdings Pty Limited, Dover Business Services EMEA Limited, Dover Business Services LLC, Dover Business Services Philippines Corporation, Dover CLP Formation Limited Partnership, Dover CR spol s r.o., Dover Canada Finance LP, Dover Canada Holdings ULC, Dover Canada Operations ULC, Dover Corporation Regional Headquarters, Dover DEI Services Inc., Dover Denmark Holdings ApS, Dover EMEA FZCO, Dover Energy, Dover Energy UK Ltd, Dover Engineered Systems Inc., Dover Engineered Systems UK Ltd, Dover Europe Inc., Dover Europe Sarl, Dover Fluids Inc., Dover Fluids UK Ltd, Dover France Holdings S.A.S., Dover France Participations SAS, Dover France Technologies, Dover Fueling Solutions UK Limited, Dover Germany GmbH, Dover Global Holdings LLC, Dover Global Trading Pte. Ltd., Dover Holdings de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Dover India Pvt. Ltd., Dover Intercompany Services UK Limited, Dover International B.V., Dover International Operations Inc., Dover International Ventures Inc., Dover International Ventures Tunisia S.a.r.l., Dover International ithalat ihracat ve Pazarlama Limited Sirketi, Dover Italy Holdings S.r.l., Dover Luxembourg Finance Sarl, Dover Luxembourg Participations Sarl, Dover Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Dover Luxembourg Services Sarl, Dover Operations South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Dover Overseas Ventures Inc., Dover Refrigeration & Food Equipment Inc., Dover Refrigeration & Food Equipment UK Ltd, Dover Resources International de Mexico S. de R.L. C.V., Dover Solutions Colombia SAS, Dover Southeast Asia (Thailand) Ltd., Dover Spain Holdings S.L., Dover UK Pensions Limited, Dover WSCR Holding LLC, Dover WSCR LLC, Dover do Brasil Ltda., Dow-Key Microwave Corporation, Dressor Wayne Data Technology (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Dressor Wayne Fuel Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, EOA Systems Inc., Ebs-Ray Holdings Pty Ltd, Ebs-Ray Industries Pty. Ltd., Ebs-Ray Pumps Pty. Ltd., Em-tec GmbH, Ettlinger Kunststoffmaschinen GmbH, Ettlinger Management Inc., Ettlinger North America LP, Ettlinger Vertrieb und Service GmbH & Co. KG, Ettlinger Verwaltungs-GmbH, Fairbanks Environmental Limited, Ferguson CO. S.A., Fibrelite Composites Limited, Fibresec Holdings Limited, Fibresec Limited, Finder, Finder Oriental (Beijing) Trading Co. Ltd, Finder Pompe S.R.L., Finder United Saudi Arabia Company, GAL LLC, GIIER LLC, Gala Industries Asia Limited, Gala Industries Incorporated, Gala Kunststoff-und Kautschukmaschinen GmbH, Guangdong Tokheim LIYUAN Oil Industry Technology Limited Company, Highland Park Insurance Company, Hill PHOENIX Inc., Hill PHOENIX WIC LLC, Hill Phoenix Costa Rica Sociedad De Responsabilidad Limitada, Hill Phoenix El Salvador Limitada de Capital Variable, Hill Phoenix Guatemala Sociedad Anonima, Hill Phoenix Honduras Sociedad Anonima, Hill Phoenix Nicaragua Sociedad Anonima, Hill Phoenix de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Hiltap Fittings Ltd., Hydro Systems, Hydro Systems Europe Ltd., Hydronova Australia-NZ Pty Ltd, Industrial Motion Control LLC, Inpro/Seal LLC, International Trade and Equipment B.V., JK Group SPA, JK Group USA Inc., K&L Microwave DR Inc., K&L Microwave Inc., K. S. Boca Inc., KPS (Beijing) Petroleum Equipment Trading Co Ltd., KPS Asia Sdn. Bhd., KPS Fueling Solutions Sdn. Bhd., KPS Hong Kong Holding Limited, KPS UK Limited, KS Formation Inc., KS Liquidation Inc., KSLP Liquidation L.P., Kiian Digital (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Knappco LLC, Lianyngang Jump Petroleum and Chemical Machinery Co. Ltd., Liquip, Liquip International Pty Limited, MARKEM FZ SA, MARKEM Holdings Inc., MARKEM International Inc., MARKEM S.A. de C.V., MARKEM Tag Inc., MARKEM UK Holdings 1 Unlimited, MARKEM UK Holdings 2 Limited, MIP Holdings Inc., MS Printing Solutions S.R.L., Maag Automatik GmbH, Maag Automatik Inc., Maag Automatik Plastics Machinery (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Maag Automatik Srl, Maag Pump Systems (US) Inc., Maag Pump Systems AG, Maag Pump Systems SAS, Marathon Equipment Company (Delaware), Markem Imaje Center of Competencies Spain S.L.U., Markem-Imaje, Markem-Imaje (China) Co. Limited, Markem-Imaje A/S, Markem-Imaje AB, Markem-Imaje AG, Markem-Imaje AS, Markem-Imaje Application Innovation Center Sarl, Markem-Imaje B.V., Markem-Imaje CSAT GmbH, Markem-Imaje Co. Ltd., Markem-Imaje GmbH, Markem-Imaje Holding, Markem-Imaje Identificacao de Produtos Ltda., Markem-Imaje Inc., Markem-Imaje India Private Limited, Markem-Imaje Industries, Markem-Imaje Industries Limited, Markem-Imaje KK, Markem-Imaje LLC, Markem-Imaje Limited, Markem-Imaje Ltd., Markem-Imaje N.V., Markem-Imaje Oy, Markem-Imaje Pty Ltd, Markem-Imaje S.A., Markem-Imaje S.A. de C.V., Markem-Imaje S.r.l. a socio unico, Markem-Imaje SAS, Markem-Imaje Sdn Bhd, Markem-Imaje Software Development Centre Pvt. Ltd., Markem-Imaje Spain S.A.U, Markem-Imaje Unipessoal Lda (Portugal), Markpoint Holding AB, Midland Manufacturing LLC, Mouvex, Neptune Chemical Pump Company, Northern Lights (Nevada) Inc., Northern Lights Funding LP, Northern Lights Investments LLC, Nova Controls Inc., OK International (UK) Ltd., OK International Holdings Inc., OK International Inc., OPW Engineered Systems Inc., OPW Fluid Transfer Group Europe B.V., OPW Fluids Group Inc., OPW France, OPW Fuel Management Systems Inc., OPW Fueling Components (SuZhou) Co. Ltd., OPW Fueling Components LLC, OPW Iberia Sociedad Limitada, OPW Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., OPW Slovakia s.r.o., OPW Sweden AB, Officine Meccaniche Sirio S.R.L., PDQ Manufacturing Inc., PISCES by OPW Inc., PSG (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, PSG (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., PSG Worldwide Inc., Petro Vend Sp. z o.o., Pike Machine Products Inc., Piston OPW Inc., Pole/Zero Acquisition Inc., Precision Brasil Equipamentos E Servicos Para Postos De Combustiveis Ltda., Precision Service - Servicos De Manutencao E Instalacao De Postos De Abastecimento De Combustivel Ltda., Pump Management Services Co. LLC, RAV Equipment U.S.A. Inc., RAV Equipos Espana S.L., RAV France, Rav Equipment UK Limited, Ravaglioli Deutschland GmbH, Ravaglioli S.P.A., Reduction Engineering GmbH, Revod Corporation, Revod Finance Ireland Limited, Revod Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Revod SAS, Revod Sweden AB, Robohand Inc., Rosario Handel B.V., Rotary Lift Consolidated (Haimen) Co. Ltd, SE Liquidation LLC, SWEP A.G., SWEP Germany GmbH, SWEP Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., SWEP North America Inc., SWEP Slovakia s.r.o., SWEP Technology (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Scheer Pelletizing Systems & Machinery (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Scheer Taiwan Machinery Co. Ltd., Seabiscuit Motorsports Inc., Simmons Sirvey Corporation, So. Cal. Soft-Pak Incorporated, Solaris Laser S.A., Space S.R.L., Start Italiana Petrol Cihazlari Sanayi Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, Start Italiana S.R.L., Swep Energy Oy, Swep International A.B., Swep Japan K.K., Sys-Tech Solutions Inc., TQC Quantium Quality S.A. de C.V., TTSI III Inc., TWG Canada Consolidated Inc., TXHI LLC, Tartan Textile Services Inc., The Curotto-Can LLC, The Heil Co., Tokheim Belgium, Tokheim China Company Limited, Tokheim GmbH, Tokheim Group, Tokheim Guardian Venture Sdn. Bhd, Tokheim Hengshan Technologies (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd., Tokheim Holding, Tokheim Holding B.V., Tokheim India Private Limited, Tokheim Netherlands B.V., Tokheim Sofitam Applications, Trans - Logistic Group S.R.L., Tulsa Winch Inc., Unified Brands Inc., Val TemperBent Glass L.P., Vectron Frequency Devices (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Vehicle Service Group LLC, Vos Food Store Equipment Ltd., Warn Automotive LLC, Waukesha Bearings, Waukesha Bearings Limited, Waukesha Bearings Russia LLC, Wayne Fuel Management UK Ltd., Wayne Fueling Systems (Rus) Limited Liability Company, Wayne Fueling Systems Australia Pty Ltd, Wayne Fueling Systems Canada ULC, Wayne Fueling Systems Deutschland GmbH, Wayne Fueling Systems Italia S.R.L., Wayne Fueling Systems LLC, Wayne Fueling Systems Ltd., Wayne Fueling Systems Pte. Ltd., Wayne Fueling Systems Sweden AB, Wayne Fueling Systems UK Holdco Ltd., Wayne Industria e Comercio Ltda., Wei Li Pump Shanghai Co. LTD., WellMark, and Wilden Pump and Engineering LLC. Ellie Mae, Inc. provides cloud-based platform for the mortgage finance industry in the United States. It provides Encompass, an enterprise solution that engages in running the business of originating mortgages, including marketing and lead management; loan origination and processing; underwriting; preparation of mortgage applications, disclosure agreements, and closing documents; loan funding and closing; compliance with regulatory and investor requirements; and enterprise management. The company's Encompass Digital Lending Platform helps lenders and investors across their workflow from the prospective customers to the point of loan delivery. In addition, the company provides education and training services; professional and technical support services; and loan product, policy, and guideline data and analytics services. Ellie Mae, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Pleasanton, California. Read More Royal Bank of Canada operates as a diversified financial service company worldwide. The company's Personal & Commercial Banking segment offers checking and savings accounts, home equity financing, personal lending, private banking, indirect lending, mutual funds and self-directed brokerage accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, credit cards, and payment products and solutions; and lending, leasing, deposit, investment, foreign exchange, cash management, auto dealer financing, trade products, and services to small and medium-sized commercial businesses. This segment offers financial products and services through branches, automated teller machines, and mobile sales network. Its Wealth Management segment provides a suite of advice-based solutions and strategies to high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals, and institutional clients. The company's Insurance segment offers life, health, home, auto, travel, wealth, annuities, and reinsurance advice and solutions; and creditor and business insurance services to individual, business, and group clients through its field sales force, advice centers, and online, as well as through independent insurance advisors and affinity relationships. Its Investor & Treasury Services segment provides asset, cash management, transaction banking, and treasury services to institutional clients; correspondent banking and trade finance services for financial institutions; and short-term funding and liquidity management services. The company's Capital Markets segment offers corporate and investment banking, as well as equity and debt origination, distribution, sale, and trading services for corporations, institutional investors, asset managers, governments, and central banks. Royal Bank of Canada has a strategic partnership with Royal College Of Physicians & Surgeons Of Canada to support the needs of Canada's medical specialists. The company was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Read More Fortis Inc. operates as an electric and gas utility company in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean countries. It generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 433,000 retail customers in southeastern Arizona; and 98,000 retail customers in Arizona's Mohave and Santa Cruz counties with an aggregate capacity of 3,233 megawatts (MW), including 59 MW of solar capacity. The company also sells wholesale electricity to other entities in the western United States; owns gas-fired and hydroelectric generating capacity totaling 65 MW; and distributes natural gas to approximately 1,048,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in British Columbia, Canada. In addition, it owns and operates the electricity distribution system that serves approximately 572,000 customers in southern and central Alberta; owns 4 hydroelectric generating facilities with a combined capacity of 225 MW; and provides operation, maintenance, and management services to five hydroelectric generating facilities. Further, the company distributes electricity in the island portion of Newfoundland and Labrador with an installed generating capacity of 143 MW; and on Prince Edward Island with a generating capacity of 130 MW. Additionally, it provides integrated electric utility service to approximately 67,000 customers in Ontario; approximately 270,000 customers in Newfoundland and Labrador; approximately 31,000 customers on Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; and approximately 15,000 customers on certain islands in Turks and Caicos. The company also holds long-term contracted generation assets in Belize consisting of 3 hydroelectric generating facilities with a combined capacity of 51 MW; and the Aitken Creek natural gas storage facility. It also owns and operates approximately 91,000 circuit Kilometers (km) of distribution lines; and approximately 49,500 km of natural gas pipelines. Fortis Inc. was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in St. John's, Canada. Read More Cosan Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in fuel and natural gas distribution, logistics, lubricant, sugar, and ethanol businesses in Brazil, Europe, Latin America, North America, Asia, and internationally. It operates through RaAzen Energia, RaAzen CombustAveis, ComgAs, Cosan LogAstica, and Moove segments. The company's RaAzen Energia segment produces and markets products derived from sugar cane, including raw sugar, anhydrous, and hydrated ethanol, as well as activities related to energy cogeneration from sugarcane bagasse. Its RaAzen CombustAveis segment engages in the distribution and marketing of fuels, primarily through a franchised network of service stations under the Shell brand in Brazil; petroleum refining; operation of fuel resellers, and convenience store businesses; and production and sale of liquefied petroleum gas, and automotive and industrial lubricants. The company's ComgAs segment distributes piped natural gas to customers in the industrial, residential, commercial, automotive, and cogeneration sectors in SAo Paulo. Its Cosan LogAstica segment provides logistics services for transport, storage, and port loading of commodities, primarily for sugar products; and leases locomotives, wagons, and other railway equipment. The company's Moove segment produces and distributes lubricants under the Mobil brand. It operates a network of approximately 7,270 service stations and 1,726 convenience stores, as well as 68 distribution terminals and 68 airports supplying jet fuel. The company was founded in 1936 and is based in SAo Paulo, Brazil. Read More Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited provides various banking products and services in China and internationally. It operates through Corporate Banking, Personal Banking, and Treasury Operations segments. The Corporate Banking segment offers financial products and services to corporations, government agencies, and financial institutions. This segment's products and services include corporate loans, trade financing, deposit-taking activities, corporate wealth management services, custody activities, various corporate intermediary services, etc. The Personal Banking segment provides personal loans and cards, deposits, personal wealth management, and personal intermediary services to individual customers. The Treasury Operations segment is involved in the money market transactions, investment securities, and foreign exchange transactions, as well as holding of derivative positions. The company also offers e-banking services, including Internet, telephone, and mobile banking services; and investment banking, fund and asset management, trust, financial leasing, broker dealer, insurance, and other financial services. It operates approximately 16,197 domestic institutions and 426 overseas institutions. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China. Read More FedEx Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of a portfolio of transportation, e-commerce, and business services. It operates through the following segments: FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, FedEx Services, and Corporate, Other & Eliminations. The FedEx Express segment consists of domestic and international shipping services for delivery of packages and freight. The FedEx Ground segment focuses on small-package ground delivery services. The FedEx Freight segment offers less-than-truckload freight services across all lengths of haul. The FedEx Services segment provides sales, marketing, information technology, communications, customer service, technical support, billing and collection services, and certain back-office functions. The Corporate, Other & Eliminations segment includes corporate headquarters costs for executive officers and certain legal and finance functions, as well as certain other costs and credits not attributed to the firm's core business. The company was founded by Frederick Wallace Smith on June 18, 1971 and is headquartered in Memphis, TN. Read More Manx Telecom plc provides a range of telecommunications services to consumers, businesses, and the public sector in the Isle of Man and internationally. It operates through five segments: Fixed Line, Broadband and Data; Mobile; Global Solutions; Data Centre; and Other. The Fixed Line, Broadband and Data segment offers fixed line, broadband, and connectivity services to approximately 37,000 homes and 4,000 businesses. It provides ADSL and VDSL, fixed line, and private circuit rental and connection services. The Mobile segment offers pre-paid and post-paid tariffs to various market segments; supports inbound roaming traffic; and sells mobile handsets, laptops, and accessories. It provides mobile calls, SMS, data, and mobile rental services. The Global Solutions segment offers wholesale SMS and voice, international traveler market, machine to machine, and signal mobile services, as well as mobile termination products, such as Chameleon. The Data Centre segment offers co-location, managed hosting, cloud, storage, disaster recovery, and business continuity services to corporate clients through three data centers. The Other segment provides phone book and business directory services; and operates MTTV, an online news channel, as well as manx.net portal. It also sells hardware equipment; and offers managed and interconnection services. The company was formerly known as Trafford Equityco Limited and changed its name to Manx Telecom plc in February 2014. Manx Telecom plc is headquartered in Braddan, the Isle of Man. Read More Wall Street analysts have given Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. TransMontaigne Partners L.P. provides integrated terminaling, storage, transportation, and related services. The company operates through Gulf Coast terminals, Midwest terminals and pipeline system, Brownsville terminals, River terminals, Southeast terminals, and West Coast terminals segments. It offers its services for companies engaged in the trading, distribution, and marketing of light and heavy refined petroleum products, crude oil, chemicals, fertilizers, and other liquid products. The company operates 8 refined product terminals in Florida with approximately 7.0 million barrels of aggregate active storage capacity; a 67 mile interstate refined products pipeline; 2 refined product terminals with approximately 5 million barrels of active storage capacity; and 5.4 million barrels of aggregate storage capacity. It operates 1 crude oil terminal in Cushing with an aggregate active storage capacity of approximately 1.0 million barrels; 1 refined product terminal located in Oklahoma City with aggregate active storage capacity of approximately 0.2 million barrels; 1 refined product terminal located in Brownsville with an aggregate active storage capacity of approximately 0.9 million barrels; and a 16 mile LPG pipeline from its Brownsville facility to the U.S. border. In addition, the company operates a 174 mile bi-directional refined products; 7.1 million barrel terminal facility on Houston Ship Channel; 12 refined product terminals with approximately 2.7 million barrels of aggregate active storage capacity, as well as operates a dock facility; 22 refined product terminals located along Colonial and Plantation pipelines with an aggregate active storage capacity of approximately 11.9 million barrels; and 2 refined product terminals with active storage capacity of approximately 5.0 million barrels. TransMontaigne Partners L.P. was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Read More Black Diamond Group Limited rents and sells modular space and workforce accommodation solutions. It operates through two segments, Modular Space Solutions and Workforce Solutions. The Modular Space Solutions segment provides modular space rentals to customers in the construction, real estate development, manufacturing, education, financial, and resource industries, as well as government agencies in North America. Its products include office units, lavatories, storage units, large multi-unit office complexes, classroom facilities, banking and health care facilities, custom manufactured modular facilities, and blast resistant structures. This segment also sells new and used space rentals units; and provides delivery, installation, project management, and ancillary products and services. The Workforce Solutions segment provides workforce housing solutions, including rental of accommodations and surface equipment, and provision of turnkey lodging and travel management services in Canada, the United States, and Australia. This segment also provides associated services, such as installation, transportation, demobilization, and sale of used fleet assets. This segment primarily serves the resource, infrastructure, construction, disaster recovery, and education sectors. The company also provides specialized field rentals to oil and gas industries. Black Diamond Group Limited markets its rental assets, custom sales, and ancillary products and services through in-house sales personnel, its website, social media, web campaigns, and its digital marketplace. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. Read More Last month marked the fifth anniversary of the betrayal of the one-month-long strike by nearly 9,000 New York City school bus drivers, attendants, and mechanics against the private companies that contract with the city to provide transportation for over 150,000 students. The strike was provoked by billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose ripping up of the Employee Protection Provision (EPP) threatened workers with devastating economic losses. EPP, in place for over four decades and successfully defended in a 16-week strike in 1979, guaranteed these workers continuity in seniority, wages and benefits, regardless of which private contractor employed them. The attack on the school bus workers was directed against public education itself. Bloombergs effort to substantially cut costs was part of an ongoing nationwide strategy of the financial and corporate elites to make the working class pay for the 2008 financial crash and the multi-trillion-dollar bailout of Wall Street. The strike, coming after the unions had long been transformed into a labor police force to suppress the class struggle on behalf of the ruling class, expressed the determination of the whole working class to oppose austerity and defend their living standards. The strike generated popular support from millions of workers struggling each day to pay their bills in one of the most socially polarized cities in the world. This is why the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181, and the rest of the city employee unions, including the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), did everything they could to isolate and defeat the strike before it could become the catalyst for a far greater movement of the working class. The World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) was the only news source telling the truth about the struggle, in print or online. The WSWS and the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) warned workers about the treachery of the ATU and other unions, and exposed the role of all factions of the capitalist political establishment, especially the dominant Democratic Party politicians in New York City. Our reporters and supporters became well known on the picket lines. We spoke with hundreds of strikers and posted dozens of articles that allowed workers to express their views and communicate with one another, while the union and the capitalist media shut them out. Of central importance was the call by the WSWS and the SEP for workers to break from the ATU and form a rank-and-file committee to take the leadership of the struggle and reach out for support from all sections of the working class. Five years later, in the context of the recent West Virginia teachers struggle and unmistakable signs of growing class struggle internationally, the record of the school bus strike is a crucial one. On January 16, 2013, as the strike was about to begin, the WSWS posted a statement by the SEP entitled Mobilize the working class to support New Yorks school bus drivers! In it, the SEP warned about the role of the ATU and AFL-CIO as a whole, and advanced a clear policy: Bus drivers must be conscious that the Amalgamated Transit Union has its own interests, which are distinct from those of the workers. To secure its dues base, the union would be perfectly willing to sell out the workers. And the unions reject any effort to mobilize the working class in a united struggle. If it is to be successful, the bus drivers strike must become the starting point for a broader industrial and political offensive of the working class. This requires that the conduct of the strike be taken out of the hands of the union through the formation of independent rank-and-file committees. This assessment was confirmed at every stage of the struggle. In the face of threats of scabs, court injunctions, loss of medical coverage, and repeated offers of major concessions by the union, the workers refused to give in. There was an unbridgeable gulf between their determination and the rotten role of the ATU. The call for the formation of an independent rank-and-file committee, in opposition to the ATU bureaucracy, met with a response from a group of school bus workers who turned to the SEP for assistance and political insight. The WSWS fought for an alternative socialist strategy, based on reaching out to other sections of the working class, such as teachers and transit workers, but also immigrant workers, the lowest-paid, the unemployed and the youth. A common struggle against the corporate and political establishment, the SEP insisted, had to be waged as a conscious political battle, based on a break with the parties of the ruling class and the fight for a socialist program to defend jobs, education and all basic rights. The full force of the ruling class, including a smear campaign in the capitalist press (Why the New York Times backs Bloombergs assault on school bus drivers), was brought to bear against the workers. Mayor Bloomberg repeatedly rejected the unions groveling offers of major concessions, insisting that only total capitulation, i.e., elimination of the EPP, would be accepted. At the same time, the ATU and other unions did everything in their power to isolate and wear down the workers, despite growing support among broad sections of the citys working class, including among parents. The WSWS wrote at the time, The school bus workers and all sections of the working class must draw the lessons of the last four weeks of struggle. Right now the ATU, working in the closest collaboration with other unions, is doing everything possible to keep the strike isolated, to starve the workers back to work as they dole out a pitiful $150 a week in strike benefits, and to plead with Bloomberg for a deal that will send the strikers back without winning their demands, while they negotiate cost savings that will make the workers pay for the citys fiscal crisis. If workers wait for the unions to conduct a struggle they will wait until they have been defeated, we warned. It is necessary for the school bus strikers to act independently of the union hierarchy, to reach out to transit workers, teachers and other city workers. It is necessary for transit workers, teachers and others to likewise take independent action in opposition to the treachery of the pro-capitalist and pro-Democratic Party organizations whose main task is to prevent strikes or to strangle them if they cannot be prevented. The rank-and-file committee initiated by the SEP held several meetings where school bus drivers discussed and debated the most crucial political and strategic issues, including the objective causes for the transformation of the unions into direct tools of the corporations and the government, and why they couldnt be reformed simply by changing the leadership. Also discussed was why appeals to the Democrats, whether it was Obama, Governor Cuomo or the candidates in the upcoming mayoral election, were fruitless and self-defeating. Instead the committee issued calls to other city workers being forced by the unions to work years without new contracts, including sanitation workers, firefighters and teachers, to join in a common struggle. The betrayal by the ATU was based on an empty promise from the Democratic mayoral candidates that whoever won in that years election would seek to revisit the EPP. The Democrats statement, echoing Bloomberg, emphasized the need for fiscal responsibility (i.e., driving down labor costs). In the subsequent five years, under Mayor de Blasio and Cuomo, the EPP has not been reinstated. Among the concessions in the deal that ended the strike, instead of a blanket agreement applicable to all school bus companies with city contracts, was an agreement by the union to separate contracts with the individual firms, thereby opening up the opportunity to divide and weaken workers ability to resist cost cutting and attrition. The rank-and-file committee issued a leaflet calling on drivers to reject the blackmail deal. Having isolated the strikers for a month, however, the ATU was able to get the sellout through. During the intervening years, conditions have substantially worsened. Thousands lost their jobs. Some were rehired at much lower pay. Others were simply replaced by inexperienced newcomers at wages half of what had been standard, and with few or no benefits. Competition between companies, based on low-bid contracting by the city, has resulted in significant consolidation, as companies closed, merged, or merely changed their names. This process has been associated with repeated attacks on workers pay and benefits. For its part, the ATU has continued to peddle the lie that the EPP can be won back by pressuring the big business politicians, especially de Blasio. Far from winning workers basic demands, the ATU is seeking a deal that would amount to additional concessions on working conditions and living standards. De Blasio, seeking to provide a fig leaf for his union backers, first announced a subsidy to the companies from city funds, which partly compensated for the precipitous decline in pay suffered by some veteran workers. This boosted corporate profits but has done nothing to address the losses experienced by workers, not only in wages, but in job security, benefits, and speedup. This charade has continued for years. The latest attempt to deceive the school bus workers and cover up the 2013 betrayal is the announcement of so-called Experienced School Bus Worker Provisions, advertised as a restoration of the EPP. In actuality this applies primarily to drivers and attendants who were employed prior to the 2013 strike, amounting to only about 23 percent and 18 percent, respectively, of the currently active workforce, according to the Department of Education. Furthermore, only those workers employed as of June 30, 2018 or thereafter and those laid off in the course of the contracts expiring on that date will be included in pick lists. All those who lost their jobs under earlier contracts are excluded. Workers will be eligible for the highest rate of pay that they have earned since June 30, 2010. All those who were hired at significantly lower rates following the 2013 strike are stuck at the lower wages. This deal, in effect, codifies the two-tier pay structure that has become widespread in many industries and areas of the economy since the 2008 crisis. The latest proposals, far from winning back the workers basic rights, are a blatant attempt to divide older from younger workers. The defeat of the 2013 strike was painful but it contains critical lesson for school bus workers and the working class as a whole. The example of the rank-and-file committee established by a group of workers was an initial but significant step pointing the way forward. Five years later, the rebellion of the West Virginia teachers, which temporarily broke free from the grip of the anti-working-class unions, once again confirmed the necessity of building new organizations, controlled by and answerable to rank-and-file workers. These committees, elected in every workplace, must fight to overcome the divisions used to weaken the working class and unite every battle into a common struggle to assert the social rights of workers to secure and good-paying jobs, health care and pensions, and fully funded social services. To attain these social rights the working class must be politically organized in opposition to both corporate-controlled parties and the capitalist profit system they defend, and guided by a socialist perspective aimed at reorganizing society to meet human needs, not the profits of the corporations and Wall Street banks. 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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 NDP congratulates Gaston Browne on election victory Social Share The New Democratic Party (NDP) has extended wholehearted congratulations to Prime Minister Gaston Browne and the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) on their electoral victory on 21 March 2018. The Gaston Browne led ABLP was reelected after winning 15 of the 17 seats, picking up one seat more than it held before.a President of the NDP Dr Godwin Friday called Prime Minister Browne on March 22 and congratulated him on the ABLPas decisive victory and wished him and his Government well on their renewed mandate to govern Antigua and Barbuda. According to Friday, the decision by Prime Minister Browne to call early elections took a lot of courage and demonstrated confidence in the performance of his Government in meeting their promises to the people of Antigua and Barbuda. This, he said, is another victory for democracy in the Caribbean. The NDP wished Prime Minister Browne and his Government continued success in delivering for the people of Antigua and Barbuda. Fortnite Operation: Sky Fire Will Bring Chapter 2 Season 7 to an End Later This Month Bill Murray is taking a stand against gun violence, lending his support to the student movement sparked by the survivors of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. In an as-told-to piece for NBC News THINK, the actor compared the Parkland kids who have rallied to advocate for stricter gun laws to the young protesters who began the end of the Vietnam war. It was the students who made all the news, and that noise started, and then the movement wouldnt stop, he said of the protests surrounding the war in Vietnam during the 1960s and 70s. I think, maybe, this noise that those students in Florida are making here, today will do something of the same nature. After a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School took the lives of 17 of their classmates and teachers in February, surviving students founded the Never Again movement and organized the March for Our Lives, which will take place on Saturday, to demand gun control legislation. In his op-ed, Murray acknowledged that some may fear the outcome of the demonstrations, comparing those who are against gun control to people who believed it was going to be the end of the world if we lost Vietnam. But working for peace will yield a positive outcome, he said. People will survive, he said. If you can just stop shooting at them, they really do pretty well. Its the right idea for a human to live in peace, and a peaceful nature is a proper thing. For children to be concerned about going to school, worried about what could happen to them at school, that makes for a horrible moment. Murray went on to praise the young people at the forefront of the movement. The thing thats so powerful about students is that, when you havent had your idealism broken yet, youre able to speak from a place that has no confusion, where there is a clear set of values. But there are idealists left over the age of 18, Im sure of it. Idealism is a voice thats inside of you; its your conscience. Sometimes its just a whisper, but, in some people, its a shout. March for Our Lives demonstrations are scheduled for Saturday in cities across the world. Murray can be seen next in Isle of Dogs, which premieres Saturday. Read his full op-ed over at NBC. By Desire Thompson Since the identity of the Austin bomber was revealed Wednesday (March 21), several stories have surfaced about Mark Anthony Conditt. Family members were in shock about about the 23-year-olds connection to the bombings, while friends noticed his strange behavior. Austin police Chief Brian Manley shared similar words while discussing the man who killed two people and injured several others with homemade devices. Having listened to that recording, he does not at all mention anything about terrorism nor did he mention anything about hate, Manley said about Conditts 25-minute confession. But instead, it is the outcry of a very challenged young man, talking about challenges in his personal life that led him to this point. Except all signs point to the obvious: Mark Anthony Conditt was a terrorist. The definition of terrorism has changed over time, leaving many to suspect that only political factors can be the only influence behind a terrorist attack. Merriam-Webster defines the noun as the following: relating to, or characteristic of terrorists or terrorism : practicing or involving violent acts of terror Meanwhile, the US government has several layouts for terrorism and suspected terrorists. The State Department claim military practices used outside of militant areas constitute as terrorism. The Department of Homeland Security says terrorism occurs within mass destruction. The Defense Department leans on the notion that incidents have become terrorist-inspired, while the FBI has two separate definitions for international and domestic terrorism. International terrorism: Perpetrated by individuals and/or groups inspired by or associated with designated foreign terrorist organizations or nations (state-sponsored). Domestic terrorism: Perpetrated by individuals and/or groups inspired by or associated with primarily U.S.-based movements that espouse extremist ideologies of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature. Story continues All things considered, Conditts actions are kin to domestic terrorism. No motive was blatant, allowing everyone to give Conditt the benefit of the doubt. But its clear his actions were meant to strike fear and kill, and we dont need to vet definitions to know this came from a place of hate. With gleaming photos of the Pflugerville native (like the one above) connected to headlines, its easy to build a story around a non-black/brown person being lost, and whose tortured soul lead them down a path of murder and frenzied satisfaction. It does wonders for non-black and brown folks, since it continues to push the narrative about mental health while keeping hate-based crimes under a comfy blanket. But what lies beneath are traits of a homegrown terrorist. austin-bomber Credit: ABC News Before the Conditt committed suicide by detonating his own bomb, clues were in plain sight. Shipping labels used at a FedEx facility Tuesday (March 20) carried the ironic name, Kelly Killmore. Conditt was home-schooled and later attended Austin Community College from 2010 to 2012. He penned several takes on abortion, religion and terrorism for Defining My Stance, a defunct site which linked to students blogs for a US government class project. Conditt compared gay marriage to beastiality and shamed women in favor of preventative medicine. Friends of Conditt told reporters his views changed once he finished home-schooling. When I met Mark, he was really rough around the edges, Jeremiah Jensen told the Austin American-Statesman. He and Conditt became friends during their home-school days and would attend Bible study together. He was a very assertive person and would end up being kind of dominant and intimidating in conversation. A lot of people didnt understand him and where he was coming from. He really just wanted to tell the truth. What I remember about him [] he would push back on you if you said something without thinking about it. Tim Lambert, president of the Texas Home School Coalition, subtly shared the same sentiments in statement to the public Wednesday (Mar. 21). Raised by both parents in a Christian home, Conditt reportedly walked away from his faith several years ago, he said. Todays revelations about the Austin bombings provide a stark reminder that we live in a fallen world. Unfortunately, no form of education, public or private, can ensure a tragedy like this will never happen. Conditt held his last job at a manufacturing company, but was unemployed as of recently. His Google searches uncovered by authorities found how-tos for making homemade bombs with tools from hardware or sporting goods stores. If these factors fit anyone else of activated melanin, would we not rush to call him a terrorist? Certainly not a challenged, young person. Then there are the victims of the Austin bombings. Stephen House and Draylen Mason were reportedly members of prominent African-American families who knew each other. Mason, 17, was a musician expected to attend the University of Texas Butler School of Music while House, 39, had a finance degree from Texas State University and previously worked as a project manager for Texas Quarries. Faith connected the two as Houses stepfather was a pastor at Wesley United Methodist Church. Pastor Dixon was close to Masons grandparents, Austin NAACP president Nelson Linder told reporters. Linder says the third package picked up by Esperanza Herrera mightve been for someone else. The intended target was another person who might be connected to the House and Mason families, said Linder. House_Mason_Austin_Bombings A 25-minute confession was found on Conditts phone, breaking down his actions. A target list was also found with plans to plant package bombs in Cedar Park, a suburb north of Austin with a heavy Latino and Asian population. As authorities continue to scratch their heads about Conditts message, two lives were lost with little memorial or odes from big media. Here we have a soul who decided to take life into his own hands by implanting fear across the nation. At the end of the day, is that not what terrorism is all about? This post Call A Spade A Spade: Austin Bomber Wasnt Challenged, He Was A Terrorist first appeared on Vibe. There has been a lot of attention on the data Facebook is collecting from its users following this weekends revelations that Trump campaign-linked Cambridge Analytica siphoned private data from 50 million Facebook users to target them for political campaigns. So what data did Cambridge Analytica actually get its hands on, who else has access to this data, and what can Facebook users do to protect themselves? Check out our primer to find out. Whats the deal with the Cambridge Analytica data? Cambridge Analytica is a data mining and targeting company that at one point counted Steve Bannon among its board members. It has done work for Ted Cruzs and Donald Trumps presidential campaigns, and struck a partnership with an outside researcher in 2014 to get its hands on Facebook user data. To to so, the researcher built a simple survey app, and then paid users small amounts of money to install the app on Facebook and answer the survey. 270,000 users did so, and in turn allowed the app to not only download their own Facebook likes and profile information, but also similar data from users they were connected to. Altogether, Cambridge Analytica and its partner were able to gather data on 50 million U.S.-based Facebook users this way. Combined with data from other public sources, the company was able to assemble what it calls psychographic profiles, designed to determine what kind of political messaging users were susceptible to. Facebook learned of this all the way back in 2015, and at the time demanded that the researcher and Cambridge Analytica delete the data. Cambridge Analytica said it did, but the New York Times reported that the data still exists on the companys servers. Isnt that illegal? Thats still to be determined. Facebook says that Cambridge Analytica violated its policies. Several U.S. attorney generals and federal regulators have also begun to look into whether Facebook has violated any laws or regulations, including a 2011 federal consent decree governing privacy protections for Facebook user data. Story continues Does Cambridge Analytica have my data? Did you download and use a personality test called thisisyourdigitallife on Facebook back in 2014? Then yes, Cambridge Analytica had your data at one point, and may very well still have it. Its much harder to determine if one of your friends did so, and that way gave the company a chance to access your data as well. Facebook did at one point release a tool to let users test whether they interacted with Russian propaganda on its platform leading up to the 2016 election, but there is no word on whether the company will do the same this time around. Could this happen again? Not in this exact way. Cambridge Analyticas research partner made use of Facebook policies that allowed apps to access huge amounts of data from users friends who hadnt consented to share this type of data with third parties. These policies were changed in 2015. However, apps can still coax users to give up lots of their own data. What can I do keep my data safe on Facebook? One easy first step to prevent similar data exposures is to review the apps you have accessed on Facebook, which can be done on the services third-party app settings page. There, youll find the apps that you have granted access to your Facebook data, most likely when you signed up for their services and didnt want to bother with manually entering all kinds of personal information. A good rule of thumb is to delete all the apps that you dont recognize, or dont feel comfortable with having access to your Facebook data. Just be aware that this may result in having to reset your password or edit your account settings the next time you use those apps on your phone, or visit their website. Alternatively, you can edit the permissions for individual apps, and for example decide that a certain app shouldnt have access to your friends list, even if you have granted this in the past. And in the future, consider signing up for a third-party service just with your email address instead of giving it access to your Facebook account, or review app permissions closely at sign-up. Also pay attention to the apps others use category on the same page. Here, you can decide which of your data third-party apps installed by your Facebook friends can access. And finally, you can even disable all third-party app access under the Apps, Websites and Plug-ins section by turning platform use off. However, chances are that a bunch of apps you may be using on your phone wont work anymore until you find an alternative login method. Some apps may even refuse to work at all. Ive reviewed my app settings. Now Im fine, right? If it only was that easy. Cambridge Analytica promised its clients very specific pshychological targeting for their campaigns, which included information on whether theyd be susceptible to fear-based messaging. There are some doubts about whether this actually worked. However, more traditional targeting is a key component of online advertising, and Facebook is really good at it, collecting tons of data on its users to help its advertisers fine-tune their messaging. The company is even tracking users when they are visiting other websites, which is why youll see ads on Facebook that match your latest online shopping binge. To control which information Facebook collects on you for ad targeting purposes, go to Facebooks ad preferences page. There, youll be able to review the things Facebook thinks you are interested in, as well as the categories that Facebook uses for broad targeting. Tweaking these may make ads more or less relevant, but wont change the information Facebook collects on you. To rein in Facebooks data collection on third-party websites, select Ads based on your use of websites and apps and turn the switch to off. You can also opt out of using the things it knows about you to display targeted ads on third-party websites and apps under Ads on apps and websites off of the Facebook Companies. What if I want to delete Facebook altogether? Thats certainly possible as well. Facebook gives users two options for this: deactivating the account, which comes with the possibility to reactivate it at a later point, or permanently deleting it. Links to both options, and an explanation of the differences, can be found here. Related stories Facebook Launches Movie-Ticketing Discounts Through Fandango, Atom Tickets Facebook Stock Inches Up After Steep Declines, #DeleteFacebook Gains Momentum Pressure on Facebook Continues After Cambridge Analytica Revelations Subscribe to Variety Newsletters and Email Alerts! Updated with more details: Another TV personality has been added to President Donald Trumps entourage. Exactly six days after White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders ordered reporters not to look at H.R. McMaster in the Trump Tumbril, the president tweeted Thursday afternoon that McMaster, Trumps National Security Adviser No. 2, is out and will be replaced by Fox News analyst John Bolton. Hopefully, you had your money on FNC getting the first crack at a Bolton sit down to discuss his appointment: Tune in to The Story tonight as @AmbJohnBolton sits down with @marthamaccallum at 7pm ET pic.twitter.com/1xg1Axt8Oi Fox News (@FoxNews) March 22, 2018 TV News pundits had expected McMaster to be canned and Bolton to replace him, and yet, outside FNC they were taken by surprise, what with it not being Friday aka Donald Trumps Take Out The Trash Day. Bolton, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, is a bit of an unusual pick, having advocated long and loud for the Iraq War, which Trump savaged during his campaign. On the other hand, Bolton is a Fox News regular and Trump obviously liked what he saw. McMaster was Trumps second National Security Adviser; Michael Flynn lasted only a few weeks before being fired. Announcement came hours after Rex Tillerson gave his farewell address as Secretary of State, taking shots at Trump as he exited the stage. Tillerson, whod also been fired by Twitter, told his staff/Trump that personal integrity was their most valuable commodity and once lost never regained. He also noted Washington is a really mean-spirited place. Story continues Trump sacked McMaster six days after Sanders told reporters not to pay any mind to McMaster in the tumbril. We dont have any personnel changes at this time, she insisted during her White House briefing, just days after Trump gave Tillerson the hook. You guys would like us to be focused on the White House cabinet chaos, she had sniffed, but National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, who had beeen reported by WaPo to be next on the chopping block, is focused on big issues, she insisted. McMaster was considered a goner since February, when he suicidally cited incontrovertable proof Russia meddled in the presidential election Trump vented via Twitter the second Station of the Cross in the road to getting the hook in Trumpland saying: General McMaster forgot to say that the results of the 2016 election were not impacted or changed by the Russians and that the only Collusion was between Russia and Crooked H, the DNC, and the Dems. Remember the Dirty Dossier, Uranium, Speeches, Emails and the Podesta Company! Here is Trumps Thursday tweet announcing hes dumped McMaster and swapped him out for Bolton: I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2018 Related stories Donald Trump Counterprograms Playmate Interview Chatter With Spending Bill Veto Threat Tweet Former Playboy Playmate Says Donald Trump Made Her Cry Offering Her Cash After Sex Rex Tillerson's "Very Mean-Spirited Town" Exit Speech Goes Over Big In D.C. Surprise! Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kicked off an unannounced visit to Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Friday. For nearly 40 years, the area was rocked by shootings and bombings as the Irish Republican Army demanded an end to British rule there. The royal family endured its own heartbreak through the troubled history, with Prince Charles beloved uncle, Louis Mountbatten, assassinated in 1979 by an IRA bomb. So it was fitting that Meghan and Harry whose May 19 wedding invitations were revealed on Thursday began their day celebrating a youth-led peace-building initiative called Amazing the Space. Harry launched the program when he visited Northern Ireland for the first time last September. Both Meghan, 36, and Harry, 33, are championing youth in their public work, and Amazing the Space encourages young people to become ambassadors for peace within their communities. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry They arrived at about 10:30 a.m. local time to hear from youngsters who shared their aspirations for a peaceful future and showcased the reconciliation work being done by young people across Northern Ireland. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Meghan looked stylish in a cream sweater by Victoria Beckham and a forest green skirt from Greta Constantine. She topped off the look with a coat by Mackage, red velvet Jimmy Choo pumps and Charlotte Elizabeth purse. Their second stop was at one of Belfasts most historic buildings, The Crown Liquor Saloon. The former gin palace is now owned by the National Trust, which cares for heritage buildings, and inside the couple heard about the pubs colorful history, met bar staff and local comedians and musicians. After seeing the campus of Northern Irelands next-generation science park, the couple are then set to visit an icon of the city Titanic Belfast, a tourist attraction that tells the story of the doomed Titanic, which was built in the famous shipyards of Belfast. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Todays trip completes the list of four nations that make up the United Kingdom. After turning out in Nottingham, England on their first joint outing in December (and following that at Brixton, London, too), they visited Cardiff, Wales in January and then Edinburgh, Scotland a day before Valentines Day in February. When Prince William and Kate Middleton headed across the water to Belfast just before their wedding in 2011, they took part in some pancake flipping as their visit coincided with the festivities of Shrove Tuesday. Jimmy Kimmel on Trumps New National Security Adviser: Michael Bolton Would Have Been a Better Choice Than John Bolton Jimmy Kimmel has been fortunate lately to tape his show a bit later in the day than most of his competitors because its allowed his writers to slip in jokes about happenings in the Trump White House that other late-night hosts tend to have to wait a day to tackle. Today, said happening was H.R. McMaster quitting his job as Donald Trumps national security adviser and being replaced by former U.N. ambassador and current Fox News host John Bolton. Whereas the McMaster/Bolton situation only got a brief mention during Late Night with Seth Meyers because Meyers actually heard the news during the taping, Kimmel got to address the whole during his monologue on Thursdays Jimmy Kimmel Live!. About an hour ago, Trump tweeted that he fired his National Security Adviser, H.R. McMaster, and is replacing him with a real wingnut named John Bolton, Kimmel said, not mincing his words. Now John Bolton was one of the architects of the war in Iraq this was a war Trump said pretty much every day on the campaign he was against, he thought was a terrible idea. Now he has hired this guy as his national security adviser. Also Read: Seth Meyers Finds Out About Trump Advisor Switch During Taping, Jokes 'Nobody's Gonna F--ing Care' By Next Episode Kimmel continued with a dig a Boltons famously thick mustache, which doubled as a dig against Bolton as a human being. This is John Bolton, by the way, Kimmel said as this image of Bolton appeared on screen. Mustaches dont always tell you everything you need to know about a person, but this one does, Kimmel joked. Michael Bolton would have been a better choice than John Bolton. Hell be gone soon enough Im sure. But McMaster was only one of the major Trump-related resignation on Thursday, and Kimmel also went after the other one John Dowd, Trumps lawyer who had been leading the legal team handling the response to special counsel Robert Muellers investigation. Also Read: Jimmy Kimmel on Trump Typos: 'He Won't Be Swayed by a Bunch of Left-Wing Liberal Dictionaries' (Video) Story continues When I saw the story this morning, I was like, who the hell is this now? There are more characters than Game of Thrones on his legal team, Kimmel quipped before listing off a bunch of other lawyers who have had to handle Trumps many, many legal problems. Its a lot to keep straight, but the guy who quit today was John Dowd, who was Trumps lawyer for the special counsel investigation, Kimmel said. He is not to be confused with Michael Cohen, Trumps lawyer who paid off Stormy Daniels. Or Marc Kasowitz, who paid the Trump University plaintiffs. Or Jay Goldberg who did his two divorces. Or Ty Cobb, his other lawyer for the Russia investigation. Or David Freidman who handled Trumps bankruptcies. Or Irwin Durben who paid off the illegal immigrants Trump stiffed when he hired them to build Trump Tower. He might be running out of lawyers, I think those are all the lawyers there are. Eventually, hes gonna have to hire one of those Spanish-speaking lawyers off a bus bench. Also Read: Jimmy Kimmel: 'Trump Goes Through Cabinet Members Like He Goes Through Cheeseburgers and Aqua Net' (Video) Kimmel then joked about the real reason Dowd quit on Thursday. Trump reportedly kept ignoring John Dowds advice advice like, Dont put your fingers in there, and You probably shouldnt finish the whole bucket. So John Dowd quit, Kimmel said. Who are these people who think Trump is going to listen to their advice? Dont they understand the only way to get Donald Trump to do something is to tell him hes not allowed to do it? Hes four years old. He doesnt need a lawyer he needs a Governess, is what he needs. Kimmel wrapped up the thread by reminding everyone that even though Trump is constantly parting ways with people close to him, theres still at least one person who doesnt seem to be going anywhere. So, to recap: Trumps top lawyer is out, his top national security adviser is out, and poor Melania, still in for the duration. Related stories from TheWrap: Seth Meyers Finds Out About Trump Advisor Switch During Taping, Jokes 'Nobody's Gonna Fing Care' By Next Episode Stephen Colbert Marvels At Multiple Donald Trumps Being Caught up in Simultaneous Sex Scandals (Video) Jimmy Kimmel on Trump Typos: 'He Won't Be Swayed by a Bunch of Left-Wing Liberal Dictionaries' (Video) Many people took notice of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerbergs lack of an apology in his first public address Wednesday morning after news of the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke. In an interview with Laurie Segall on Anderson Cooper 360, Zuckerberg not only apologized, but said he regretted not being more forthcoming about the information breach. So this was a major breach of trust, and I'm really sorry that this happened. You know, we have a basic responsibility to protect people's data. And if we can't do that, then we don't deserve to have the opportunity to serve people, Zuckerberg said. Zuckerberg also gave some surprising answers. He said whomever at Facebook is the most qualified to do so, they would be the ones testifying in front of Congress on any given issue. But he also said hed do it himself, saying, So the short answer is, is I'm happy to if it's the right thing to do. More surprising was what he said in regard to Facebook being regulated. I actually am not sure we shouldn't be regulated, Zuckerberg said. You know, I think in general, technology is an increasingly important trend in the world, and I actually think the question is more what is the right regulation rather than yes or no, should it be regulated? Zuckerberg also admitted that Facebook was not prepared for the challenges the 2016 U.S. presidential election would bring. I think what's clear is that in 2016, we were not as on top of a number of issues as we should have, whether it was Russian interference or fake news, Zuckerberg said. Zuckerberg went on to talk about the 2017 French presidential election, and the special election in Alabama during which Facebook deployed A.I. tools to detect and weed out bad actors. But hes aware there will be more to deal with going forward. I'm sure that there's, you know, V2, version two of whatever the Russian effort was in 2016. I'm sure they're working on that, and there are going to be some new tactics we make sure we observe and get in front of, Zuckerberg said. Zuckerberg is also aware of the responsibility that Facebook bears and will continue to do whatever is necessary to ensure the integrity of elections going forward. Zuckerberg said,we have a responsibility to do this not only for the 2018 midterms in the U.S., which are going to be a huge deal this year, and that's just a huge focus of us, but there's a big election in India this year. There's a big election in Brazil. There are big elections around the world, and you can bet we are really committed to doing everything that we need to to make sure that the integrity of those elections on Facebook is secured. Authorities believe a missing 38-year-old womans skeletal remains were found Monday in Suffolk County on Long Island, New York, PEOPLE confirms. They were wrapped in burlap and buried beneath the former residence of her then-boyfriend, a married policeman. Southold detectives say it was the work of a local newspaper that prompted them to reopen the case of Louise Pietrewicz, who was raising an 11-year-old girl when she vanished without a trace in late 1966. Investigators are now probing the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the remains and medical examiners will determine a cause of death. DNA testing is pending to confirm they are, in fact, Pietrewiczs bones. According to sources, detectives began digging up the soil basement of a home in Southold last week but found no evidence of human remains. However, the Suffolk Times reports investigators spoke with some people involved and then dug deeper. After going down some seven feet, they unearthed a full female skeleton on Monday. The case is now being treated as a homicide. Authorities tell PEOPLE the home was sold years ago and its current owner consented to the search. The occupants have no involvement in the case, according to police. The home was sold during the late 1970s, according to the Times several years before the 1982 death of William Boken, with whom Pietrewicz was romantically involved at the time she disappeared. 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. Bokens wife at the time, who was interviewed as part of the papers investigative report on Pietrewicz going missing, is listed as the seller of the house. Many hours of research and scores of interviews conducted in recent months show that Louises disappearance was hidden away behind a wall of indifference, her plight reduced to small-town gossip and whispered rumors, reads the newspapers special report, which was published in October. It was as if people knew something horrible had happened after all, she vanished without explanation but agreed not to speak about it openly for fear of offending someone or rocking the boat. Story continues Boken, the Times notes, was a Southold police officer during his extramarital affair with Pietrewicz. Sometimes later in life, witnesses do come forward to give us information that maybe, at one point, they felt compelled not to release, felt threatened or just out of their conscience come forward, Suffolk County Police Chief Detective Gerard Gigante told reporters during a news conference Tuesday. Gigante noted the victims daughter, Sandy Blampied, is alive so it is nice to be able to bring closure to the family. However, he said, No murder case or missing persons case is resolved until we find the body and the murderer. For more compelling true crime coverage, follow our Crime magazine on Flipboard. The Times reports that Bokens now ex-wife, Judith Terry, told police a burlap-wrapped body had been buried in her familys basement not long after Pietrewicz disappeared. According to a 2013 supplemental police report obtained by the Times, a state investigator recalled Terry telling him in 1967 that her husband had threatened her: If you keep it up you will end up in the basement with the other bitch. (Terry could not be reached for comment by PEOPLE.) I was in shock, Blampied told the Times of learning her mothers body had likely been found. Its hard to believe. It hit home after 51 years. Blampied added: I said from the beginning Judy Boken Terry was the key. I said, She knows. And she did. By Shenequa Golding Students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School will be required to wear clear backpacks as a new safety measure. According to a letter sent out by Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert W. Runcie, the school will provide the backpacks. The new precaution comes after Nikolas Cruz entered the Parkland, Florida school on Feb. 14 and killed 17 people, and injured 17 more in one of the nations deadliest school shootings. Along with the clear backpacks, students and faculty will also be required to wear badges at all times. Installing metal detectors in the building are being considered, along with expanding of mental health personnel and security. News of the initial precautions didnt sit right with many who believed the book bags and badges were a feeble attempt at a solving a larger issue. Clear backpacks dont do anything except make us look stupid. We want to be safe, not uncomfortable. The only thing that can really have an impact on our safety is gun control Carly Novell (@car_nove) March 21, 2018 Spending money on giving us clear backpacks is a joke. Lex Michael (@lexforchange) March 22, 2018 Zachary Cruz, Nikolas younger brother, was caught skateboarding through the school and arrested for trespassing about a month after the shooting. Per a police report, Zachary said he wanted to reflect on the school shooting [let it] soak it in. You can read the full letter from Superintendent Robert W. Runice here. This post Parkland Florida Students Are Now Required To Wear Clear Back Packs first appeared on Vibe. Passengers laud CALs direct flights from NY to SVG Social Share Ever since entertainer Shertz aProblem Childa James was a secondary school student, he wished that this country could have an international airport. He also wished that if we were blessed with one, that he could be one of the first persons to travel on one of the historic flights. And, on Wednesday, March 14, National Heroas Day, when Problem Child woke up in his adopted homeland of New York, he had no idea that he was going to be part of history. On Wednesday, Problem Child, and over 100 other persons, arrived in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) at the Argyle International Airport (AIA), sometime after 1 p.m. on board Caribbean Airline (CAL) flight BBW3. The flight marked the historic first, regularly scheduled non-stop flight between the John F Kennedy International Airport in New York and the AIA in SVG. aThis is euphoriaavery, very happy, very, very pleased, euphoric. This is progress,a Problem Child told SEARCHLIGHT on Wednesday, while standing outside the AIA arrival lounge.a The entertainer said that the option of travelling direct is a great one and persons must think about how far we have come and be happy about the AIA. He said the pricing ais what it is,a but no one is forcing persons to take the option, but having the option is definitely a plus. Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves was on hand to greet passengers and crew on Wednesday, before the flight moved on to Trinidad and Tobago (T&T). aI am on cloud nine and itas a beautiful feeling,a Gonsalves told SEARCHLIGHT. aWhen you see the vision of the leadership in communion with the people, when its actualized, it is wonderfula, said Gonsalves, who added that it is important to note that it took the AIA only a year to get regular flights from places like New York and Canada. He said that before the end of the year the AIA will have flights from Miami, while the government is working to get the Buccament Bay Resort up and running, which will mean announcements in the not too distant future about flights from London. Minister of Tourism Cecil McKie, who was on the historic flight from New York, said the scheduled flights are expected to see many people coming to this country. He said from all indications, the flights coming in for the Easter celebrations are fully booked and there is also a very good response for Vincy Mas, with added flights by CAL on Saturdays. He noted also that a number of travel agents will soon visit the destination and will be taken on familiarization tours to better understand and appreciate the value of the destination. McKie also noted that while on the flight, he went to every passenger and had them sign two table mats and those will be placed at the AIA and at the Ministry of Tourism, so that Vincentians can reflect on the first scheduled flight from JFK. Also on the flight was Jules Williams, owner of WE FM radio station. aI smiled all the way down. It was great; the price was very reasonable, and it took me back to 35 years ago when I was flying on PAN AM for that same price,a said Williams, who noted that the landing was perfect, and he will use the service again once it is available. Barbadian Lisa Regisford was also on the flight. She said she lives in New York and it is not her first time coming to St Vincent, so she was very happy that she was able to fly straight from New York. aIt was good. It was reasonable priced for starters and hopefully it will continue to be that way. I was very comfortable.a South Rivers resident Yvonne Nickie, who also took advantage of the non-stop flight, said that she travels back and forth between New York and SVG in three-month intervals. aI feel excellent, two thumbs up. I would have been in Barbados sitting on a bench waiting on a flight, but I make my breakfast in New York and now I am making lunch in St Vincent on a Wednesday, the same day,a said Nickie. Panist Rodney Small was also part of the historic travelling. aIt was good, great. I left about 8:15, after a slight delay and it was really a good feeling flying straight. I would have been in Barbados waiting and I travel regularly, because Iam a performer,a said Small. Chair of the Carnival Development Corporation Ricky Adams told SEARCHLIGHT that it was exciting coming out of New York and being able to fill out an immigration card that said destination St Vincent and the Grenadines. aIt is an excellent opportunity for you to be able to come home. Sometimes you leave, it takes you a day to get here, a day to go back, so even if you coming on a five-day trip, you only getting three days in SVG; so, I would really encourage persons; it is an awesome opportunity,a Adams said. Traveller Alicia Grant said that she comes back to her homeland at least once a year, but direct flights will see her coming more often. aWe have been waiting a long time for it and this is a great improvement for the country as far as tourism and import and export; so it is a good addition to our economy.The pricing was perfect, and this is less hassle, especially for people who travel with kids,a said Grant. Karen McDougal, the former Playboy model who said she had an affair with Donald Trump just over a decade ago, told CNN Thursday that at the time she was in love with Trump and Trump was in love with her. He always told me he loved me, she told Anderson Cooper. McDougal said she met Trump during an event at the Playboy Mansion. He said hello and then throughout the night it was clear there was an attraction from him to me, she said. Also Read:Former Playboy Model Karen McDougal Sues to Break Silence on Relationship With Trump McDougal said that Trump had given her her number and the two met soon after for a date at the Beverly Hills Hotel in June of that year, where they became intimate. McDougal told Cooper that Trump tried to offer her money after they had sex, a snippet CNN released earlier in the day to tease its exclusive. After we had been intimate, he tried to pay me, and I actually didnt know how to take that, Cooper asked if Trump tried to hand her money, to which Mcdougall answered: He did. I dont even know how to describe the look on my face, she said. It must have been so sad. Also Read:Why Trump Can't Stay at His 'Favorite' L.A. Hotel Like Stormy Daniels, McDougal said that during their relationship Trump once compared her to his daughter, Ivanka. Hes very proud of Ivanka, as he should be, she said. He said I was beautiful like her. Asked if she found it strange that Trump compared someone he was sleeping with to his daughter, McDougal said no sort of. You know, I know a lot of people think its odd, she told Cooper. Theres been some comments Ive heard in the news hes said about her, I think those comments are wrong, but do I think its strange that a father would love his daughter so much that he brags about her? No, I brag about my dog that much. Story continues Asked what she would say to Trumps wife Melania who had just given birth to their son Barron when the alleged affair happened McDougal said: What can you say except Im sorry. Im sorry. I wouldnt want it done to me. Im sorry. McDougal said she was extremely uncomfortable when, during a visit to his apartment, he showed her Melanias room. She said she later met the future first lady during a party for The Apprentice. Cooper held up a photograph showing Melania Trump, Ivanka and several other women, including McDougal. I tried to keep my distance, McDougal said of the photograph. I felt guilty. Do you think she knew? Cooper asked. Maybe, she said. I dont know. It was told to me that they were arguing that night and I said, Why? and somebody had said: Probably because of you.' McDougal said she eventually ended the relationship after 10 months because she was ridden with guilt and needed to get out it. It was tearing her apart, she said. Also Read:7 Biggest Shockers in Ronan Farrow's New Yorker Story About Trump and Karen McDougal Thursdays interview with CNN was the first time McDougal has spoken out about her relationship with the president since filing a lawsuit Tuesday to get out of her 2016 non-disclosure agreement. McDougal is the second woman in two weeks to accuse the president or his allies of trying to bury news about a Trump extramarital affair. McDougal is suing American Media Inc., The National Enquirers parent company, which, according to the Wall Street Journal, paid her $150,000 to buy her story but never ran it. The Enquirers chief executive, David Pecker, is a friend of Trumps. Porn star Stephanie Clifford, known as Stormy Daniels, said in a lawsuit filed March 6 that her hush agreement with Trump is invalid. Trump attorney Michael Cohen agreed in October 2016 to pay her $130,000 to keep her from talking about an extramarital affair she said she had with Trump just over a decade ago. Trump has repeatedly denied both affairs. Also Read:Ronan Farrow on Enquirer's Ties to Trump: 'They Can Hold This Story Over the President' In her lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, McDougal claims that Michael Cohen, the presidents personal lawyer, was in talks with American Media behind her back and that both AMI and her lawyer at the time misled her about the deal. Speaking to The New Yorker last month, McDougal said that A.M.I. warned that her breach of the non-disclosure agreement could result in considerable monetary damages. McDougals lawyer, Peter K. Stris, told the Times, A.M.I. was engaging in a multifaceted effort to silence his client. McDougal filed her suit just as Clifford is about to make her 60 Minutes debut, also conducted by Cooper, on Sunday. Trumps team is seeking $20 million from Clifford, arguing she violated her non-disclosure. Also Read:Ex-Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal Says She Had 9-Month Affair With Trump - And Deal to Keep Quiet The Wall Street Journal has reported that A.M.I., one of the countrys largest tabloid news providers, is known to buy damaging stories about allies for the sole purpose of burying them, a practice known as catch and kill. Watch Part 1 of the interview above and Part 2 below. Related stories from TheWrap: Stormy Daniels Says She 'Technically' Didn't Sleep With Donald Trump Stormy Daniels Passes Lie Detector Test on 'Unprotected Sex' With Trump, Lawyer Says Porn Industry Beams With Pride Over Stormy Daniels Coup: 'We've Never Had Anything Like This' Trump is striking back at former vice president and potential 2020 election opponent Joe Biden after the latter reportedly said he would "beat the hell out of Trump" if they were in high school. By Cierra Williams President Donald Trump is striking back at former vice president and potential 2020 election opponent Joe Biden after the latter reportedly said he would beat the hell out of Trump if they were in high school. On Tuesday (Mar. 20), a video posted to Facebook by the University of Miami College Democrats featured Biden saying that he would not like to debate Trump, but instead confront him over his comments about women. They asked me would I like to debate this gentleman, and I said no. I said, If we were in high school, Id take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him,' Biden said. Trump later took to Twitter Thursday morning (Mar. 22) to call the former VP weak both mentally and physically for threatening him with assault. However, the 71-year-old didnt stop there as he made it apparent that although Biden doesnt know him, he would still go down hard and fast, crying all the way in a fight. He ended the tweet by telling Biden to not threaten people. This was not Bidens first time making statements like these as he made similar comments in 2016 while campaigning for Hilary Clinton. Crazy Joe Biden is trying to act like a tough guy. Actually, he is weak, both mentally and physically, and yet he threatens me, for the second time, with physical assault. He doesnt know me, but he would go down fast and hard, crying all the way. Dont threaten people Joe! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2018 This post President Trump Says Joe Biden Would Go Down Hard And Fast In A Fight first appeared on Vibe. Many people dont like Facebook at the moment. The social media giant faced backlash following reports of an alleged data breach involving a data analytics firm allegedly misusing millions of users information to target election ads for Donald Trumps presidential campaign. The firm reportedly gained access to users data and that of their friends through third-party apps. The controversy has understandably upset many people, particularly daily Facebook users who are now asking themselves, Should I delete my Facebook? amid privacy concerns. There is hope, however, for those who cant see themselves ever disconnecting from the platform. Below, a guide on how to better your user experience on Facebook while keeping a low profile. Why are people deleting Facebook? Last Friday, former Cambridge Analytics employee Christopher Wylie, who worked for the data firm up until 2014, spelled out the companys exploitative tactics to garner information from as many as 50 million users via its affiliated behavior research firm Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL), according to a bombshell report by the New York Times. This was done after then-presidential candidate Donald Trump hired the firm to target election ads during his campaign. After the report went live, Facebook dropped the third-party service, which reportedly violated the social networks privacy terms after reportedly lying about deleting users information. On Monday, Facebook announced they hired a digital forensics team to investigate Cambridge Analytics and the alleged data breach. It was recently learned on Wednesday that investors are suing Facebook because of the scandal and subsequent market plunge. Whats the easiest way to protect my data and stay on? Refrain from using Facebook to log into other apps on your phone (for instance, by using your Facebook login to access AirBnb or Instagram). If you do decide to log into, say, Candy Crush, using Facebook, youre giving permission to said app and Facebook to exchange information about you. As for how you can stop Facebook from accessing these important details, all you have to do is click on the hamburger menu on the bottom right of the Facebook app, click Settings, then Account Settings, then Apps and Websites which list all the apps youve connected to via Facebook then click Platform, hit Edit and choose Turn Off Platform to disable this feature. Story continues How about my basic profile information (i.e. hometown, education, etc.)? Its preferred to keep details under wraps, or at least available for you and your Facebook friends (not the public, which is also an option on Facebook). To do so, head over to Settings, then Privacy Shortcuts then Privacy Checkup, which gives you the chance to edit any of your profile information, in terms of privacy. This also gives you an opportunity to delete all those third-party apps you have on Facebook. Is there anything I can do outside the Facebook app? Yes! Be sure to turn off your location services when its not necessary. Because these third-party apps most likely can access your location due to its syncing up with Facebook, its best to keep the two separate, thus allowing for added security measures. If youre using an iPhone, go to Settings, click Privacy, and choose Location Services. Android users can do the same by heading to Account Settings, followed by Location. Whats the difference between deleting and deactivating? Deleting is just like it sounds, while deactivating is temporary. You can deactivate (and reactivate) at any time. Think of deactivation as a test run of what it would really be like if you were to permanently delete your account. Once your account is deactivated, your profile wont be able to be viewed by Facebook friends. You can easily reactivate your account by signing back on. In order to deactivate your account, select Settings, choose General, click Manage Your Account, and scroll down to click Deactivate Your Account. So, how do I delete Facebook? Hey, we dont blame you. If you do decide to take the plunge and leave Facebook for good, Todays Jeff Rossen recommends clicking on this link. Just remember it takes about a month for your account to get deleted and up to three months for your all your information to be wiped off the platform. The Best Gun Control Protest Posters to Inspire Your March for Our Lives Signs On Saturday, March 24, students, parents, and gun control supporters will take to the streets in support of laws and legislation to prevent school shootings. The survivors of the tragic shooting that killed 17 students and faculty members at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. on Feb. 14 organized the event called March for Our Lives. While the main event is happening in Washington D.C., satellite marches have popped up across the country. This isnt the first protest that has popped up in support of gun control since the school shooting: On March 14, students staged a national school walkout, where they left their classrooms for a nationwide demonstration against gun violence. VIDEO: Thousands of Students Walked Out of School Today in Nationwide Protests Students brought more than their anger and hurt to the event: They also protested with signs. Their posters and creative slogans made for extremely powerful images from the walkout, and theyll also serve as perfect inspiration for future March for Our Lives signs. Keep scrolling for our favorite signs and get plenty of March for Our Lives poster ideas. change is coming . @nfaschool , thank you for allowing us and encouraging us to use our voices. this is not the end. we're just getting started. #EnoughisEnough #NeverAgain #NationalWalkoutDay pic.twitter.com/xmrrj6Ngki libby (@libbypellerin1) March 14, 2018 A sign created by one of our students. I think that pretty much says it all. #RMSproud #nationalwalkoutday pic.twitter.com/C7zfQXhAop Amanda Funk (@Techieteach11) March 14, 2018 RIGHT NOW: Hundreds of students protest gun violence in front of the White House, as part of nationwide walkout. pic.twitter.com/vhKGxcjiq8 Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) March 14, 2018 Albany High senior Ashma Thapa said she was not allowed to march with this sign, which the school deemed too political. Can you get a photo of me with it anyway? she asked. #nationalschoolwalkout #enough #NationalWalkoutDay pic.twitter.com/VxRifSy8AF Bethany Bump (@bethanybump) March 14, 2018 my little sister's sign for tomorrow's walk out in seattle #MarchForOurLives pic.twitter.com/RzRHbVcqMC katharine rubin (@krubinpwrha) March 14, 2018 With signs, messages, and for some- first steps into activism... students are walking out for school safety. #NationalWalkoutDay @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/00RBh1t15i Linda Stouffer (@LindaWSB) March 14, 2018 Seguin, TX (78155) Today Sunny. High 88F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low around 55F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Abortion rights advocates and antiabortion supporters stand in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016 after the court, in a 5-3 ruling in the case Whole Womans Health v. Hellerstedt, struck down a Texas abortion access law. (Photo: Getty Images) As thousands of students participated in the March 14 national walkout against gun violence, a history teacher at Rocklin High School in California was busy posing a politically charged question to her class one that would ultimately get her in trouble. If students [wanted] to walk out of school for 17 minutes and protest abortion, would that be allowed by our administration? Julianne Benzel asked her class. According to Benzel, the discussion that followed was fruitful touching on where to draw the line when it comes to which topics can be protested. But when the news that she was questioning the politics of the walkout made it home to parents, the school reportedly decided to place Benzel on paid administrative leave. In a statement to a local CBS affiliate KOVR, Rocklin Unified School District spokesperson said Benzel wasnt being penalized based on her viewpoints, but that the actions were being taken due to complaints from parents and students. Although shes now back in the classroom, and the event is behind her, Benzels words seem to have galvanized a new movement. Inspired by her words, one student is now planning a march around the very topic that she raised: abortion. Brandon Gillespie, the main student from Rocklin High School behind the abortion march, told KOVR that its more than just a reaction to Benzels treatment. [Its] to honor all the lives of aborted babies pretty much, Gillespie said. All the millions of aborted babies every year. Gillespie told the news station that he plans to use the hashtag #life. Although an exact day for the abortion protest has not been chosen, Gillespie is reportedly meeting with the principal on Friday to discuss plans for the march. Whether other students will join remains to be seen, but Gillespie isnt alone in his admiration for Benzels words. Nick Wade, another student, told KOVR that it was the discussion in Benzels class that convinced him not to participate in the walkout. I feel like if we were to go to school and say something like I want to walk out maybe for abortion rights, then you know they probably wouldnt let us because thats more of a conservative push, said Wade. But someone wants to say lets walk out for gun control then the schools going to go with it because its more of a popular view. Story continues As issues among teens go, a protest against legal abortions in America is radical. According to a 2003 Gallup Poll, 66 percent of kids ages 13-17 believe that abortion should be legal in some circumstances (and 21 percent of those believe it should be legal under any circumstances). Not everyone agrees with Gillespie. One detractor, according to KOVR, is Naeirika Neev, a student who also edits the school paper. Neev stressed that everyone has First Amendment rights, but suggests that a protest surrounding abortion is missing the point. Abortions arent really anything that has to do with school or students here, she told KOVR. In an opinion piece penned by Neev on her schools website, the Flash, she elaborates on her views about the abortion protest. The comparison of a protest against gun violence and that of an abortion is a logical fallacy a false equivalence, Neev writes. When we, as the student body, have to step foot in school worried for our lives it becomes an issue concerning the school. Neev goes on to discuss Benzels administrative leave, as well as the walkout on March 14 (which two-thirds of the school participated in), before ending with a call to action. As the future of this nation, students across the country are making their voices heard, she writes. [We] will not back down until the lives of students holds more value than profits made off of weapons and outdated laws held together by lies and bribes. As for Gillespie and the march hes planning, he told KOVR that he hopes the event will give students an opportunity to put the debate Benzel raised to the test. I would like to see if there really is a double standard and what will come of that, he said. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Candidate for New York governor Cynthia Nixon speaks with reporters at her first campaign stop, in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, in New York. Nixon will challenge New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for the Democratic nomination. (Photo: Shutterstock) It only took four hours for T-shirt artists to reclaim Christine Quinns insult directed at Cynthia Nixon. The day after the Sex and the City star announced her candidacy for New York governor on Monday, Quinn, a former New York City mayoral candidate, called her an unqualified lesbian. Speaking to the New York Post, the openly gay politician said, Cynthia Nixon was opposed to having a qualified lesbian become mayor of New York City. Now she wants an unqualified lesbian to be the governor of New York. Just a few hours later, comedian Marie Connor (also openly gay) created a T-shirt emblazoned with the phrase unqualified lesbian in what we can only guess is an effort to reclaim this insult. If Miranda is an unqualified lesbian, then I guess I am too, the description of the tee reads. The $20 T-shirt comes in all the colors of the rainbow and will be available for purchase through Monday. As everyone is calling this move a stunt that Nixons SATC character Miranda Hobbes would pull, another T-shirt has surfaced that reads, We Should All Be Mirandas. The $32 tee is already on backorder. Its hard being a Miranda in the age of Trump and $700 feminist slogan tees, the caption reads. But if Mirandas ruled the world, the world would be a considerably less f***ed up place. We should all be Mirandas: smart, pragmatic, ambitious and unafraid to eat cake out of the garbage. And now you can pay homage to the sanest member of the squad with our We Should All Be Mirandas tee. At $32 its a full $678 cheaper than a certain ubiquitous designer tee, plus all of the hottest celebs are wearing it! And were donating 15 percent of the proceeds to the Cynthia Nixons gubernatorial campaign, because its the Miranda thing to do. We Should All Be Mirandas T-shirt, $32. (Photo: Mirandasociety.com) We think its safe to say Miranda would love the idea of reclaiming these insults thrown against her. This T-shirt trend has helped find the fun in many obnoxious comments. In fact, Connor, the comedian, has been behind many of them, like the tee she created after a Christian bakery refused to make a cake for a gay wedding. That one reads, Wheres my gay cake that a Christian baked? She also sells a T-shirt that reads, I am the gay agenda the Republicans warned you about. Story continues After Donald Trump called Hillary Clinton a nasty woman during the third presidential debate, the phrase trended nationwide, and the label found its way onto key chains, posters, and, of course, T-shirts. One, in particular, a plain white tee with NASTY WOMAN written over a heart, raised over $100,000 for Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, the Houston Food Bank, Unidos Por Puerto Rico, and She Should Run. Samantha Bee also designed Nasty Woman T-shirt that raises money for Planned Parenthood, and her Spanish version of that shirt raises money for Puerto Rico. After Trump called African nations s***hole countries, the term was reclaimed on T-shirts featuring the presidents face. And then when the world heard the recording of Trump saying he could grab women by the p***y, merch emerged with the phrase This p***y grabs back, the ultimate example of insult reclaiming. When Sen. Elizabeth Warren was attempting to argue against the confirmation of Sen. Jeff Sessions as U.S. attorney general, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell attempted to silence her. She kept speaking. He described her actions using the now-famous phrase, Nevertheless, she persisted. Its become the slogan for many women, and a go-to for empowering apparel, one of which raised over $500,000 for Planned Parenthood. Finally, in one of the most mature moves: When people started making fun of Kim Kardashians ugly cry, she turned that exact face into an emoji, a backpack, and stickers. Kim Kardashian sells her own ugly cry backpack. (Photo: Kimoji.com ) Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Photo credit: Getty From House Beautiful Tiaras, while not a requirement, tend to adorn the heads of most royal brides - and those walking down the aisle to exchange vows with a royal. As luck for modern brides would have it, these sparkling headpieces have risen in popularity in recent years. Petite tiaras have often appeared on recent runways (see: endless crowns paired with Haute Couture, Saint Laurent Spring 2016 and Alexander Wang's Spring 2018 party crowns) and royal family members and royal-adjacent socialites often lean toward donning regal headwear for their big day. Case in point: Pippa Middleton's custom tiara by Robinson Pelham for her wedding to James Matthews. But what about the real-deal royals? We're talking about the women who have access to the heirlooms in the crown jewels for their weddings. Princess Diana famously wore an heirloom from her family (the Spencer Tiara) rather than a royal heirloom atop her head for her wedding to Prince Charles. Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, wore the Cartier Halo Scroll tiara down the aisle to wed Prince William, which George VI commissioned from Cartier for his wife in 1936. Sarah Ferguson was gifted a Garrard crown by the Queen for her wedding to Prince Andrew, The York Diamond Tiara, which hasn't been seen in the crowned jewels or in public since. Our gut instincts on royal dressing tell us we'll likely see this paired with Princess Eugenie's veil as she walks down the aisle to wed her beau, Jack Brooksbank, on October 12th. More Royal Family News: But what about Meghan Markle? With endless amounts of speculation on all things she'll wear down the aisle on May 19th, we looked into all the possibilities of what could top her head at St. George's Chapel for her wedding to Prince Harry. The Spencer Tiara Photo credit: Getty Images Markle's engagement ring is flanked by two round diamonds from a brooch that once belonged to Princess Diana. Donning the late Princess of Wales' wedding tiara for her nuptials to Prince Harry would be yet another way the couple chooses to honor Diana's legacy. Story continues Most royal wedding tiaras are from the royal vault, but Diana's actually belonged to her family, who can trace their lineage back to the Tudor period, People reports. The headpiece, which is actually made up of many pieces of family jewelry (a common occurrence with heirloom tiaras), is now in the possession of Diana's brother, Earl. Town & Country reports that Meghan will have the opportunity to borrow the piece for her wedding day, should she so choose. With that said, given that the wedding will incite countless comparisons to Harry's mother tiara aside many experts doubt that Markle will go in this direction for her big day, despite how sentimental donning it would be. Additionally, since Meghan is marrying into the Windsor family, and not the Spencers, it seems more likely that she will choose jewelry from the royal vault. (But, given that Diana was not a royal until marriage either, and that Markle tends to think outside the box when it comes to abiding by traditions, this could be an argument for Markle choosing this historic piece.) The Strathmore Rose Tiara Photo credit: Alamy Floral motifs aren't essential for wedding day jewelry, but most royal brides tend to style their looks with them. Luckily, they're on trend as well, and Marie Claire reports that royal experts seem to think this tiara is the front runner for Meghan's wedding day. Made in the 19th century, this tiara was given to the Queen Mother by her parents as a wedding present, before she gifted it to Queen Elizabeth II. Unlike most royal tiaras, this one has yet to make a modern-day appearance, giving Meghan Markle the chance to be the first to wear it publicly since Harry's great grandmother did. While the Spencer tiara would be the type of piece Meghan would loan for the day of and then have to immediately return to the Spencer family, the Strathmore Rose would likely be on a long-term loan to Markle, and could be a piece she would be able to wear for appearances as a Duchess, as the Duchess of Cambridge has with her heirloom loans. The Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara Photo credit: Getty If you love the royals, you undoubtedly recognize this piece. Princess Diana loved this tiara, dubbed the Cambridge Lover's Knot, and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, has worn it most recently. Originally made for Queen Mary by Garrard, it was passed down to Queen Elizabeth before making its way to Diana; but, reports Marie Claire, it's a replica of a much older tiara, one made for Queen Mary's grandmother, Princess Augusta of Hesse, the Duchess of Cambridge. The original was sold at auction in Geneva, but given Diana's affinity for this piece and that the Lover's Knot history correlates with Kate's formal title, it seems appropriate that the piece be reserved for her. But, we're not ruling this out completely; Harry and Meghan's desire to incorporate family and sentimentality into their day could lead Meghan to ask her future sister-in-law and the Queen's permission to wear it down the aisle. The Cartier Halo Tiara Photo credit: Getty This tiara was originally created in 1936 by George VI, who commissioned it from Cartier. Since then, reports Tatler, the Queen received it for her 18th birthday as a gift from her mother, and she has since let it to Princess Margaret, Anne and more recently, to the Duchess of Cambridge for her wedding day. An unlikely choice, this could be a sign of unity between the sisters-in-law. However, it seems more likely that Markle will opt for another heirloom should she choose to wear a tiara. Kate played by the rules from start to finish during her engagement and subsequent wedding to Prince William, and Meghan will likely look to retain a sense of her personal style amidst royal expectations and requirements for her wedding day. The Lotus Flower Tiara Photo credit: Shutterstock; Getty Images This tiara, which originally belonged to the Queen Mother and was made from a necklace gifted to her by her husband, now sits in the Duchess of Cambridge's wardrobe. While it's a trendier choice, notes Marie Claire, and would likely pair best with Markle's modern style choices, it lacks the sentimentality of the Lover's Knot, the Spencer and even the Cartier Halo. Should Meghan opt to wear the Lotus Flower, it would likely be more of a stylistic decision in pairing her gown with the right accessories than anything else. The Cartier Bandeau Tiara Photo credit: Alamy While this tiara isn't floral, nor does it sit raised on the head, it's an undoubtedly modern choice for Meghan Markle. Made from three gem-set bracelets on a bandeau frame, this tiara lays flat, and originally belonged to the Queen Mother, reports Town & Country. This headpiece has a decidedly deco feel, but Markle may feel that it suits her style more than the classic or romantic options in the royal vault. A Custom Tiara Photo credit: Getty While royal experts have weighed in on what they think Meghan could choose to wear from the crowned jewels and the other tiaras available to her, many seem to feel that creating a custom piece is most Markle's style. While Pippa Middleton was the latest quasi-royal bride to create her own bridal headpiece, it seems that one can be an actual royal and choose to opt out of an heirloom. Harry worked with a jeweler to create Meghan's custom engagement ring, Hello Magazine reported, and the couple could very well turn to the same jeweler, David Thomas of Cleave and Company, to create a tiara for Markle's walk down the aisle. This, after all, could be her opportunity to create a headpiece that she can eventually pass down to future generations-as well as her chance to stray from tradition and make a style statement. No Tiara Shock. Awe. This would, without question, be the ballsiest of choices for Markle, but many It-Brits don't see a reason for Meghan to wear a royal headpiece for her wedding day, despite tradition or expectation. "I dont think she should wear a tiara," says British wedding planner, Bruce Russell. "I just don't think its her...Yes, she's marrying Prince Harry, but Harry is different, and they are a very different type of royal couple. I think they're going to be very personal in what they do." Meghan and Harry have been known to bend the rules-they won't be wedding at Westminster, nor did Harry propose with an exact heirloom, instead opting to borrow two petite diamonds from one of his mother's brooches-and this could be yet another, subtle moment in this royal bride-to-be decides to do something differently. "There will definitely be something in her hair," says Russell, "But whether it's an heirloom, I'm not sure it should be. Wearing a tiara puts her in a box. And, everyone expects her to wear one. They'll follow tradition, but I think there will be quite a few surprises, and they will definitely put their own stamp on things." You Might Also Like The bodies of an Iowa family-of-four have been found in the Mexican condo where they traveled for vacation last week, PEOPLE confirms. There is no evidence of foul play at this time, authorities say. Autopsy results are pending. Kevin and Amy Sharp, of Creston, were reportedly bound for Tulum on Mexicos Caribbean coast when they headed out of the country with their children, Adrianna and Sterling. Just after midnight Friday, the family was reported missing by relatives in Creston, according to a news release from local police. The Sharps had arrived in Mexico, according to a Creston police official, but were not heard from again. Police on Friday quickly contacted the U.S. State Department, according to the news release. In an ensuing welfare check, authorities discovered all four Sharps dead in their Akumal condo: Kevin, 41, Amy, 38, 12-year-old son Sterling and 7-year-old daughter Adrianna. Akumal is 13 miles north of Tulum. Amys sister told the Creston News Advertiser that the last that relatives had heard from the Sharps was not long after they arrived in Mexico. On Wednesday [March 14] at 7 p.m., Amy sent a text to our mom that said, We made it to our condo, Renee Hoyt said. That is the last communication she made. Hoyt said she had been told that Kevin texted someone else about 5 p.m. on March 15 but did not respond to a subsequent message, according to the paper. The family was scheduled to return to the U.S. on Wednesday, the News Advertiser reports. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. The Sharp family, of Creston, Iowa, who was reported missing after traveling to Mexico last week for vacation Mark Williams, the chief dispatcher for Creston police, tells PEOPLE he does not have any information about where the bodies were found in the condo or for how long it appears they were dead before being discovered. A cousin of Amys told ABC News, To my knowledge, they went to sleep and never woke up. Story continues According to the Yucatan Times, the kids bodies were in the living room and their parents were in a bedroom. The four were found in [an] advanced state of decomposition. The Sharps relatives are requesting their privacy, according to the news release. A State Department official tells PEOPLE the American consulate in Merida, Mexico, is supporting the Sharps relatives and we extend our sincere condolences to friends and family. The official declined additional comment out of respect for the family during this difficult time. Authorities in Tulum did not immediately return requests for comment. Late Thursday, someone who appears to know the Sharps posted about the case on Facebook before their bodies were found. They have not been in contact with family or friends since LAST Thursday night after reporting that they made it to their condo safely, Ashli Peterson wrote. In a follow-up post Friday, Peterson wrote, There was no foul play! At this time that is all the information we have. Please respect the family at this time as they go through the grieving process. Thank you for all the posts, shares, and kind words. With reporting by JASON DUAINE HAHN Spring has officially sprung (March 20 marked the first day of the new season) and pregnant Kate Middleton has dressed for the occasion in a mint green ensemble. The 36-year-old royal co-hosted an event with The Royal Foundation Wednesday morning at the Royal Society of Medicine in London. The symposium championed early intervention into the lives of children. Her Royal Highness is bringing together academics, researchers, practitioners, educators, and charities to discuss perinatal, maternal, and infant mental health; parenting support; and resources for schools, the KensingtonPalace Twitter account tweeted. Kate Middleton traded her go-to blue for a bold green. (Photo: Getty) The Duchess wore a bespoke Jenny Packham coat, with a bow necktie, and accessorized with earrings shes worn before. (Photo: Getty) For the event, the Duchess of Cambridge dressed in a brand-new maternity outfit, not to mention a brand-new color scheme. While Kate usually sticks to a fairly neutral palette of navy, cream, and florals (with the odd pop of hot pink), she opted for a bold and fresh green look for her latest appearance. The royal paired a knee-length dress with a bespoke matching coat by one of her go-to labels, Jenny Packham. The beautiful design boasts a bow as the necktie and gold-trimmed buttons on the sleeve. Middleton finished the look with a pair of Kiki McDonough earrings (which shes worn before) and her praline Gianvito Rossi pumps, which she debuted in Belgium last year. The Duchess is currently in her third trimester of her third pregnancy, with her baby due to arrive next month ahead of the royal wedding on May 19. Its not yet been revealed when the Duchess will go on maternity leave. The royal took around a month off before her children Prince George and Princess Charlotte were born, so this could well be her last moment in the spotlight before her third child with Prince William arrives. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Meghan Markles beret has a sweet Princess Diana connection People think the new Bachelorette is Kate Middletons lookalike Kate Middleton cant get enough of this blue maternity dress Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Photo credit: Getty From Harper's BAZAAR Meghan Markle and Prince Harry made a surprise visit to Belfast today, marking thier first joint trip to Northern Ireland. Although Kensington Palace has usually announces the couple's engagements days in advance, today's outing was only announced about an hour before they landed. The couple's first stop was at Eikon Center, where they joined in celebrating the second anniversary of Amazing the Space, a youth-led initiative that encourages young people to build peace in their communities. Prince Harry actually helped launch the organization in 2017. He and Meghan were greeted by their hosts upon arrival. (She even got a bouquet of flowers.) Photo credit: Getty Depsite the short notice of the trip, plenty of royal fans still gathered outside to see the couple. Funded by the Northern Ireland Executive Office and organised by @cooperationirl, Amazing the Space was launched by Prince Harry in September 2017 to encourage young people to become ambassadors for peace within their communities. pic.twitter.com/yc7KBdqARi - Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) March 23, 2018 Inside, they watched performances by local schools to get familiar with the community's arts programs. Prince Harry and Ms. Markle watch performances by local schools to celebrate how the Arts can unite different communities. #AmazingtheSpace. pic.twitter.com/cmUxJFc37P - Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) March 23, 2018 For the event, Markle wore a Mackage wool coat over a cream cashmere sweater (which is already sold out) by Victoria Beckham, whom she's reportedly become friends with since acclimating to her new royal life. Story continues Photo credit: Getty The Suits star accessorized with Jimmy Choo pumps. For her purse, she chose a chestnut mini bag by Charlotte Elizabeth, a small brand supported by the fittingly-named Prince's Trust, which helps youth struggling with issues such as homelessness, mental health issues, or trouble with the law. Photo credit: Getty Her standout piece was her forest green midi skirt by Toronto-based brand Greta Constantine (perhaps a nod to her former home base). Photo credit: Getty Its rich hue is reminiscent of Kate Middleton's Catherine Walker coat dress, which she wore for St. Patrick's Day celebrations just last weekend. Photo credit: Getty After coordinating in navy and white for their joint appearance on Commonwealth Day, Meghan and Kate still somehow found a way to match, days apart. We likely won't see any public twinning moments between the two for a while, now that Middleton is going to take some time out of the spotlight, as she's due to welcome her third child with Prince William next month. You Might Also Like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made a surprise visit to Belfast this morning [Photo: Getty] Prince Harry and Meghan Markles post-engagement tour is not over just yet, as the soon-to-be newlyweds arrived in Belfast this morning. On the surprise visit, the couple were greeted by flag-bearing crowds, as they headed off to see some of the citys famous landmarks. Their debut stop was the Eikon Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to honour the second anniversary of peace-building initiative, Amazing the Space. Later, the couple enjoyed a pub lunch at The Crown Liquor Saloon followed by a tour of the Belfast campus of Northern Irelands science park, Catalyst Inc. Public Service Announcement Just after a pop into @crownbarbelfast, this was the moment Meghan Markle had the privilege of shaking my hand. Im obviously great craic #RoyalVisit #Belfast #FridayFeeling pic.twitter.com/BMAGyxiogE Laura-Anne (@lalalalanne) March 23, 2018 Laura-Anne from Belfast was particularly pleased to have met the royal-to-be, as she told Yahoo Style: As they were coming out of the Crown Saloon, Harry asked if we were just heading to the pub! Meghan was so kind, stopping and talking to everyone with a smile and saying thank you for the welcome. Prince Harry also took the opportunity to crack a joke, as he asked a group of male students from RBAI (Royal Belfast Academical Institution) if they should actually be in school. For her debut trip to Northern Ireland, Meghan Markle donned a bottle green midi skirt by Greta Constantine and recycled her Victoria Beckham engagement knit [Photo: Getty] For Meghans first visit to Ireland, the 36-year-old paid sartorial tribute to the Emerald Isle in a bottle green skirt by Toronto-based designer, Greta Constantine. Story continues The royal-to-be accessorised the look with a sand-hued coat by go-to label, Mackage, which weighs in at 530. It was also an opportunity for the former actress to whip out one of her favourite looks to date, the 690 Victoria Beckham cashmere knit she donned in her engagement portraits. Prince Harry and Ms. Markle watch performances by local schools to celebrate how the Arts can unite different communities. #AmazingtheSpace. pic.twitter.com/cmUxJFc37P Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) March 23, 2018 The bride-to-be also seemingly referenced her royal future with a 175 Bloomsbury bag by British designer Charlotte Elizabeth. The accessory is supported by The Princes Trust, a charity founded in 1976 by Prince Charles. She finished the regal aesthetic with a pair of 495 copper-hued heels by Manolo Blahnik. The couple will conclude their Irish tour with a visit to the Titanic Belfast where the now-legendary RMS Titanic was built between 1909 and 1912. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Read more from Yahoo Style UK: Who foots the bill for Meghan Markles royal wardrobe? Prince Harry and Meghan Markles relationship in pictures: Their most adorable public moments Meghan Markle style file: Inside the wardrobe of the royal-to-be harry meghan Now that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have made the biggest decisions regarding their wedding (the date, the venue, the guest list, the cake, reportedly the dress, the officiant, and more), the couple is likely currently mulling over the endless honeymoon options worldwide. However, the two will have to work first. Following the royal wedding, the bride and groom will then reportedly swing by Dublin for a brief two-day stay after their wedding on May 19, meaning they will presumably opt for a minimoon. It will possibly be the first foreign trip after their wedding, a source told the Irish Independent. The same insider suggested, though, that the visit to Dublin will be for official engagements in the capital city. By definition (according to The Knot), a minimoon is a shorter version of a honeymoon, typically lasting less than a week, that newlyweds enjoy after their wedding and long before their actual honeymoon. According to our 2016 Romance Travel Study, roughly 82 percent of newlyweds opt for a minimoon before enjoying an extended honeymoon. Due to their demanding royal engagement schedule, the couple will also take a break leading up to the wedding for an earlymoon. The getaway will be comprised of island-hopping in Greece right before they exchange vows at Windsor Castle. With their longer honeymoon, Harry and Meghan are speculated to jet to a romantic destination, many believe it could be Botswana where they fell in love while dating. In fact, Markles center stone is from the country. The ring is obviously yellow gold, thats her favorite, Harry told BBC News last year. The main stone itself is from Botswana. And the little diamonds on the side are from my mothers jewelry box collection to make sure she stays with us. Its beautiful and he designed it, Markle chimed in. I think everything about Harrys thoughtfulness and the inclusion of that to not be able to meet his mom, to know that shes a part of this with us. Story continues Watch the video above. For a complete review of the different types of honeymoons, refer to our comprehensive definition guide here. Related Articles If you are currently a print subscriber but don't have an online account, select this option. You will need to use your 7 digit subscriber account number (with leading zeros) and your last name (in UPPERCASE). [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [INAUDIBLE] [INAUDIBLE] It has been more than a month since a deadly school shooting killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and the school district is taking controversial action to prevent future violence with a new rule. Survivors of the shooting will be leading a worldwide march calling for gun control Saturday, but on Wednesday, Broward County Public School Superintendent Robert Runcie made an announcement about changing policy within the school itself. "Robert W. Runcie, the superintendent of Broward County Public Schools, announces that only clear backpacks will be allowed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after Spring Break, which is next week," reported The New York Times. "The school will provide each student with a backpack at no cost." The procedure is part of a new safety measure by the school. It isn't the only safety measure, though. Classroom doors will remain locked at all times, gates will be secured often, and there will be "emergency preparedness and response training for faculty, staff and students on a regular basis," according to Fox News. RELATED: How I Got Through My First Day Back at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, After the Shooting Immediately after the news broke about the backpacks, students who survived the shooting took to Twitter to criticize it, calling for gun control instead. Great. Because clear backpacks are gonna fix everything. I appreciate the attempt, but Id rather have common since gun laws than a clear backpack. #NeverAgain #EnoughIsEnough https://t.co/1HRudeSOib Lauren Hogg (@lauren_hoggs) March 21, 2018 Clear backpacks don't do anything except make us look stupid. We want to be safe, not uncomfortable. The only thing that can really have an impact on our safety is gun control Carly Novell (@car_nove) March 21, 2018 Enforcing students to wear clear backpacks is simply like putting a band-aid on a broken bone natasha #NeverAgain (@sighnatasha) March 22, 2018 s/o to America for making my school seem like jail now because legislators dont have common sense gun reform on their agendas https://t.co/MJZFeaeiSa Kyra Parrow (@longlivekcx) March 21, 2018 While the district is implementing these policies, the focus of many of the student survivors remains on gun legislation and protection. The March for Our Lives, which will take place Saturday, is being lead by Stoneman Douglas survivors, and it has already expanded to include more than 250 events around the world. The hope of the march is to spur legislative action in favor of gun control so that mass shootings will not happen in the future. For weeks, Donald Trump and administrations officials have dismissed reports that the ouster of National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster was imminent. But on Thursdayone week after the president fired his secretary of statethe White House announced that the three-star general was in fact on his way out, to be replaced by John Bolton, a notoriously hawkish former United States ambassador to the United Nations. The change will take effect on April 9, making Bolton Trumps third national security adviser in 15 months. Unlike his predecessor Mike Flynn, who resigned amid scandal less than a month after Trumps inauguration, McMaster never managed to cultivate a close relationship with the president. According to sources familiar with the dynamic between the two men, McMasters pointed temperament and self-serious style has long irritated Trump. The Trump-McMaster tensions spilled into the open last month when the president publicly rebuked his national security adviser on Twitter after he declared that the Justice Departments evidence against 13 Russians indicted for election-meddling was incontrovertible. McMaster, like Rex Tillerson, was also at odds with the president over the Iran nuclear accord, positioning himself as an advocate of remaining in the Obama-era agreement. Bolton, on the other hand, is a fierce critic of the deal and has argued for years for the U.S. to pre-emptively strike Tehran. In 2015, the former official in the George W. Bush administration penned an op-ed titled To Stop Irans Bomb, Bomb Iran. Last month, Bolton made a similar case for launching an attack, known as a Bloody Nose strike, against North Korea. As Trump built out his original Cabinet, Bolton was under consideration for a post in the administration. But the presidentwho at the time was reportedly selecting team members who looked like they were straight out of central castingwas said to have disliked Boltons mustache enough to pass over him. But as Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with his Cabinet, Bolton has become a more frequent guest in the West Wing. As my colleague Gabriel Sherman reported earlier this month, Trump told the former ambassador he wanted him to join the administration. We need you in here, John, the president said, according to sources that spoke with Sherman. McMasters departure marks the third high-profile exit from the Trump White House in recent weeks. Shortly before Tillersons abrupt, albeit expected firing last week, Gary Cohn resigned as an economic adviser after Trump decided to impose tariffs on steel and aluminuma policy decision Cohn strongly opposed. As news of McMasters ouster broke Thursday, Trump praised his service. H.R. McMaster has served his country with distinction for more than 30 years. He has won many battles and his bravery and toughness are legendary, Trump said in a statement. General McMasters leadership of the National Security Council staff has helped my administration accomplish great things to bolster Americas national security. Kampala (AFP) - Ugandan police said Friday they had arrested 10 officials working at a camp housing refugees, mainly from neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, for stealing food aid. Benon Byamukama, police chief for the region in western Uganda where the Kyaka II refugee camp is located, said they had been caught stealing maize meal and cooking oil meant for refugees at night. "Acting on a tip-off, we have arrested 10 officials from Kyaka II refugee camp including two staff of Danish Refugee Council, an implementing agency for the World Food Programme, for selling on the black market food meant for refugees," he said. "We have recovered the food and it will be used as exhibit in court," said Byamukama. Kyaka II began as a camp for Rwandan refugees in 2005, but violence in DRC has seen citizens from that country take over as the main residents. According to the United Nations refugee agency, a fresh outbreak of fighting in DRC saw an estimated 17,000 new refugees arrive in December 2017, with the camp's population now standing at about 45,000. The WFP could not be immediately reached for comment. Abidjan (AFP) - The World Bank will provide Ivory Coast $1 billion for development, in particular to help it get more value out of its agricultural exports, a top official for the bank's Africa region has said. Of that figure, $300 million would be set aside for the cocoa industry while another $200 million would be ploughed into cashew nut production, said Makhtar Diop, vice president of the World Bank's Africa region. Ivory Coast is the world's top cocoa-producing nation and the second largest producer of raw cashews. It currently exports most of these products raw, meaning it forgoes the jobs and revenue from processing them into products consumers eat. The funds, loans with advantageous terms, will be transferred in the first half of 2018, Diop pledged on Thursday after holding talks with Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara. Speaking to AFP, Diop hailed the country's strong economic growth and its progress since 2011, when Ivory Coast finally emerged from nearly a decade of political and military crisis which saw its economy stagnate. But he said the government needed "to do more to encourage youth employment and social inclusion" -- in other words, to push for a better distribution of the fruits of economic growth. And he stressed the need to invest more in "basic services" like education, health and drinking water, particularly in rural areas "to reduce poverty and inequality". He also urged the authorities to continue their crackdown on bureaucracy and corruption. Last month, the World Bank in published a report pointing out the high level of poverty in Ivory Coast -- currently at 45 percent -- and the fact it was lagging behind technologically which was impacting productivity. Concerning Ivory Coast's ambition to become an emerging economy by 2020, Diop said it was more of a "direction" being taken rather than a precise calendar. Over the half a century that the Toyota Corolla has been sold in the United States, weve called it lots of things, generally using termsreliable, respectable, sensible, decent, unassumingthat you might apply to your neighbor. But rarely have we characterized a Corolla in more emotional terms, even if the odd modelthe Corolla iM, for exampleoffered slightly zestier handling and looks. In the case of the iM, any enthusiasm was tempered by a killjoy powertrain, a droning CVT, and a glaring lack of modern amenities such as Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, or factory satellite radio. Enter the all-new 2019 Corolla hatchback, which rides on a new platform, has a new engine and transmissions, and benefits from fresh styling inside and out. The new car effectively replaces the previous iM model; a redesigned Corolla sedan will bow later. Its too early to know if well actually feel much love for it from a driving standpoint, but it seems promising and, to our surprise, it actually looks really good. Like the outgoing Corolla iMwhich was a Scion until that brand was axedthe 2019 Corolla hatchback is more closely related to the Europe-market Auris hatchback than the staid Corolla sedan that Americans gobble up by the hundreds of thousands every year. The redesigned 2019 Auris hatchback gave us our first hint of what the new Corolla hatchback might be like when it made its debut at the Geneva auto show a few weeks ago. Built on Toyotas New Global Architecture (TNGA), the Corolla hatchback grows in every key dimension except heightup 1.5 inches in length, 1.2 inches in width, with a 1.5-inch-greater wheelbase and wider front and rear tracks, but a 1.0-inch-lower roof. Like the Auris, the Corolla wears Toyotas gaping-maw grille perhaps better than any recent model. The front overhang is 0.8 inch shorter, while the rear overhang is longer by the same amount. The liftgate is rendered in composite plastic and is raked 14 degrees steeper. Reflecting its ostensibly sporty positioning, the Corolla hatchback will be offered only in SE and XSE trims, both featuring dramatic horizontal LED headlamps and taillamps and chrome exhaust tips. The XSE adds chrome front grille trim, a chunky rear spoiler, deeper lower-body moldings, and 18-inch wheels versus the 16s on the SE. Story continues If youve ever been inside a current-generation Corolla sedan, you may be relieved to know that the hatch interior has moved decidedly forward. The dash and door panels have been completely rethought and are better organized visually. Toyota touts its attempt to unify materials and elements in terms of shapes, color, graining, and gloss levels while ridding the switchgear of unnecessary lettering. Instruments are tucked down deep in their binnacle, and an 8.0-inch display screen rises prominently from the dashboard above the digital climate controls. Toyota said its new front seats feature revised cushions with, interestingly, a lower hip point that is said to provide a more natural body posture, and the seats are separated by a wider console for better elbow room. They are separated by a 1.7-inch-wider console for better elbow room, while the rear-seat cushions are said to fend off fatigue (since its so exhausting sitting in the back seat of a car). All models get a leather shift knob, an electronic parking brake, keyless ignition, and two USB ports. The XSE adds dual-zone climate control, leather and fabric upholstery, heated front seats, a power drivers seat, dashboard stitching, and a 7.0-inch TFT information display in the instrument cluster. Apple CarPlay compatibility, Amazon Alexa, Wi-Fi, Siri Eyes Free, and voice recognition are all standard. Springing for the XSE also gives you SiriusXM satellite radio, Toyotas Entune telematics services, and HD radio. A range-topping 800-watt JBL sound system with eight speakers is available on XSE models with the CVT and is bundled with navigation. As nice as that all sounds, the Corollas most substantive changes lie beneath the skin, starting with the aluminum- and high-strength-steel-intensive TNGA architecture, which contributes to lighter-weight body and chassis components, an 0.8-inch-lower center of gravity, and the huge claim of a 60 percent improvement in torsional stiffness. Friction in the suspension has been reduced by 40 percent, Toyota says, contributing to more direct steering. Meanwhile, powertrain drone and road noise have been addressed by numerous new sound-deadening and cabin-insulating measures. When the Corolla hatchback hits dealerships this summer, it will be powered by Toyotas new Dynamic Force 2.0-liter inline-four paired with either a new six-speed manual transmission or the innovative Direct Shift CVT with its separate launch gear. Weve already reported in depth on the new four-cylinder engine, with its 13.0:1 compression ratio and direct- and port-injection capability. We also knew about the trick new CVT, but only now have we gotten confirmation from Toyota that the Corolla hatchback also will be offered with the six-speed manual, which will sport rev-matching capability. What we still dont know is how much power the engine will make or its EPA estimates. All Toyota will say right now is that the 2.0-liter engine has achieved gains in power, fuel efficiency, and cleaner emissions. We should have those details, as well as news on the sedan, in the near future. Has Toyota actually created a Corolla with charisma? Well know soon. But if the surprisingly satisfying 2018 Camry is any indication of what Toyota is capable of, our Corolla-associated vocabulary may include a lot more accolades. Authorities say a Texas woman is dead and her suspected killer is behind bars after the womans body was found in a large garbage bin in Texas earlier this week, PEOPLE confirms. Andres Rios Ramirez, 30, is charged with murder in the slaying of 24-year-old Camille Garcia, described as a young mother according to two Tom Green County Sheriffs Office news releases and online jail records reviewed by PEOPLE. The relationship between Ramirez and Garcia, if any, was not immediately clear. Tom Green County deputies discovered Garcia dead from a single gunshot wound on Tuesday after responding to call about a body in a dumpster in San Angelo. 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. Andres Ramirez According to the sheriffs office, Ramirez was identified on Wednesday afternoon as a person of interest in the homicide. That same day he was stopped by authorities after being seen driving without a valid license, deputies claim. During that stop, a loaded pistol was allegedly found in Ramirezs vehicle, the sheriffs office said. Ramirez was taken for questioning and allegedly confessed, according to the sheriffs office. He was charged on Wednesday. Investigators believe a local home that was searched on Wednesday was the site of Garcias murder. Ramirez remains in custody in lieu of $250,000 bond. Attorney information was not available Thursday. He has not yet entered a plea. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un talks to South Korean President Moon Jae-in during their meeting at the Peace House at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 27, 2018. Harry J. Kazianis Security, Asia Can Pompeo strike a deal with Kim? Kazianis on Fox and Friends: Pompeo Should Set a Deadline for North Korea Harry J. Kazianis, Executive Editor of the National Interest and Director of Defense Studies at the Center for the National Interest, was interviewed on on Fox and Friends this morning to discuss Secertary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to North Korea. You can see the clip below: Read full article Nearly one million people are expected in Washington, D.C., on Saturday to participate in the March for Our Lives rally to demand an end to gun violence part of a nationwide protest organized by Parkland, Fla., students in the wake of last months massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. But just a few miles away, in southeast Washington, students at Thurgood Marshall Academy have been living with the reality of gun violence all of their young lives. Students face a lot of challenges getting to and from school, Zion Kelly, a 17-year-old senior at the school, told Yahoo News. Especially if youre using public transportation, like the bus, or the train or even just walking. Because, just like, you never know whats going to happen. Last September, Kellys twin brother, Zaire, was shot and killed in a robbery attempt while walking home from school. I guess I dont try to go out much because I see what could happen, said Armando Martinez, a senior at Capital City Public Charter School. I lost six friends in the past five years. I would say seven or eight kids I knew from 8th grade are dead, estimated Myles Nelson, a sophomore at the Edmund Burke School. According to the Washington Post, there were 116 homicides in the district in 2017, down from 135 the year before. But the year was marked by a disturbing number of teenagers killed, the Post noted, including seven youths who were only 16 or 17. The reality of gun violence in D.C. is that we lose too many of our young people to gun violence every year, said Robyn Lingo, executive director of Mikva Challenge, a D.C.-based youth empowerment organization. Thats sort of the simplest way I can state it. One would be too many, and we lose way too many. For Okera Adams-Walker, another sophomore at Edmund Burke, a gun escalates what in another era mightve been dismissed as schoolyard scuffles. If Im in a fight with you, were fighting with our hand, OK, he said. But then when I pull out a gun, Im basically saying Im about to kill you. And its like, pull the trigger, youre dead. So, it just, it shouldnt be like that. Story continues In these D.C. communities, young people say they havent been silent about gun violence its just taken the spark of Parkland to get some people to notice. Im sure it was heard, but I dont think it was really acknowledged, said Rukiyah Mack, an 18-year-old senior at Thurgood Marshall. Like, Im sure people hear us protesting, they see the hashtags on social media, they see the signs, the shirts, the pins, the badges, but until today it didnt really get the acknowledgement that it deserved. Young people in urban areas know the pain of gun violence, said Lingo. I think the big difference is, we havent paid attention in the same way. On Thursday, students at Thurgood Marshall met with four survivors of the Parkland massacre ahead of Saturdays march. And about 130 of them are planning to join the protests across the river. The new leaders of the world will be us, Nelson said. Right now its just a spark, but someday well be the real deal. Marchings good, Adams-Walker added. But we need change. Read more from Yahoo News: Paris (AFP) - Air France crew went on strike Friday, forcing the cancellation of about a quarter of the airline's flights as unions discussed further protests against reformist President Emmanuel Macron. Pilots, cabin crew and ground staff joined the strike at Air France to push for a 6.0-percent rise in salaries after the group posted profits for 2017 following years of restructuring. That tussle is separate to the larger and politically more significant standoff between Macron's centrist, business-friendly government and public sector trade unions fighting its reform plans. Around 300,000 train drivers, teachers and civil servants joined nationwide protests and strikes on Thursday, according to interior ministry figures, in the first of what promises to be a series of major disturbances. The hard-left CGT union, the biggest in the public sector, called for another national day of protests on April 19 and announced a rolling strike for rubbish collectors from April 3. Opinions varied over whether Thursday's strike had sent a message to Macron, with some commentators viewing turnout as low, while others hailing its strength. "The street returns," left-leaning Liberation newspaper headlined on its front-page on Friday, whereas Le Parisien concluded: "It's not taking off." Rail workers have announced stoppages on two days out of every five between April and June in what threatens to be the biggest test of Macron's resolve since his election in May last year. Public opinion is largely behind his bid to remove job privileges for new hires at debt-laden state railway operator SNCF where workers have job-for-life guarantees and pension benefits that see many retire in their 50s. Macron has also pledged to cut 120,000 of more than 5 million public sector jobs, wants to make greater use of merit-based pay and has raised the spectre of greater outsourcing. Mexican presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has been a frontrunner in the July 1 election for months, but the latest polls show an increasing number of Mexicans are ready to vote for him. Lopez Obrador, a two-time runner-up in the previous presidential elections and a former mayor of Mexico City, enjoys support among 42 percent of the electorate, according to a poll published on Thursday in the business newspaper El Financiero and reported by Reutersfour points higher than a month ago. The leader of the left-wing National Regeneration Movement (Morena) party has now doubled his lead over rival Jose Antonio Meade, a former finance minister and the candidate of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party. Trending: Four in 10 Teachers Think Their Schools Aren't Safe From Active Shooters, Poll Finds 03_21_Obrador_Mexico Henry Romero/Reuters Obrador's growing popularity is in no small part a response to President Enrique Pena Nieto's inability to fight corruption, a slowing economy and an increase in drug cartel-related violence. The 64-year-old politicianalso known by his initials AMLOhas denounced the country's corrupt establishment as well as supporting a set of policies that include raising the minimum wage to fight income inequality, expand public spending and ending the drug war in three years' time. His marked left-wing approach and positioning against the country's elite won him a "populist" label and has raised political risk fears among analysts who, as Forbes reported, worry he may rescind some of Pena Nieto's reforms, such as the liberalization of the country's oil and gas industry. Don't miss: Man Who Allegedly Stacked Dead Cows 10 Feet High Charged With Animal Cruelty Story continues 03_21_Obrador_Selfie Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images His embrace of the anti-gay, anti-abortion Social Encounter Party (PES) as a coalition partner also concerned the country's progressive forces who fear a sidelining of civil rights during his presidency, Reuters reported. "Lopez Obrador is at heart a populist authoritarian," Richard Miles, director of the U.S.-Mexico Futures Initiative and deputy director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies wrote in his assessment of the Mexican politician in August. Miles, however, also pointed to Lopez Obrador's economic adviser being a "mainstream economist who fully supports the North American Free Trade Agreement" as a sign that fears of the left-wing leader becoming Mexico's Hugo Chavez may be misplaced. Most popular: Us Conference of Catholic Bishops Backs Anti-gay Marriage Religious Freedom Bill Without strong enough rivals to oppose him within the country, Lopez Obrador has looked abroad to find his nemesis. He reserved the fieriest rhetoric against Mexico's number one persona non grata, U.S. President Donald Trump, and his border wall project. Shortly after the president's inauguration, Lopez Obrador traveled to Los Angeles in February last year, where he gave a rousing speech comparing Trump's America to Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany. A month later, he filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights against the border wall. Without being disrespectful, were going to put him in his place, Lopez Obrador said in January. He plans to take the fight against the wall to the highest levels of international diplomacy. If he insists on building the wall, were going to turn to the United Nations to defend the rights of Mexicans, he said last month. Im conscious of my historic responsibility. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Berlin (AFP) - Anti-Islam protesters placed funeral candles outside German Chancellor Angela Merkel's electoral office together with photos of young women who have been stabbed to death, some by asylum seekers, police said Friday. The protest -- with the message "Islam is part of Germany?" written in yellow chalk on the pavement -- bore the logo of the far-right Identitarian Movement, which is under surveillance by Germany's domestic security service. The pictures, candles and red roses were put there Thursday, hours after a German court jailed for life Hussein Khavari, an asylum seeker claiming to be from Afghanistan, for the 2016 rape and murder of a medical student. An image of his victim, Maria Ladenburger, 19, was among those of four young women placed in picture frames on the pavement, together with 14 candles and the flowers, outside Merkel's office in the Baltic Sea town of Stralsund. Merkel has faced a harsh backlash against her decision in 2015 to open German borders to a mass influx of mostly Muslim asylum seekers. It has sparked the rise of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, the anti-Islam Pegida street movement, and the white pride Identitarian Movement. Merkel this week further angered the extreme right by reiterating that, although Germany is historically mainly shaped by its Christian-Judaic tradition, today, with four million Muslims in the country, "Islam has become part of Germany". Police told AFP they had removed the objects and were investigating whether a criminal offence had been committed. The other photos were marked with the names Mia, Mireille and Keira. A girl publicly identified only as Mia, 15, from the town of Kandel was stabbed to death in December in a supermarket by her former boyfriend, a refugee from Afghanistan believed to be around 20 years old. Mireille, 17, was stabbed to death in March in Flensburg, and police have arrested as the chief suspect an 18-year-old Afghan asylum seeker. And Keira, 14, was killed in a knife attack in early March in Berlin. Initially false reports spread online pointing to an Afghan attacker, before a 15-year-old German fellow student confessed to the killing, police said. Despite President Trump's reassurances that his White House is not in chaos, the departures of top aides and key members of his administration paint a very different picture. As of March 7, there was turnover in 43% of the Trump White House's top-level positions in just 13 months, according to the research of Dr. Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, from the Brookings Institution and the White House Transition Project. Those figures don't include people who have left posts outside of the executive branch during Trump's first year in office. Needless to say, these numbers are not normal. Tenpas' research shows that the turnover during Trump's first year is more than triple than that of President Barack Obama and double of that of President Ronald Reagan. And according to NPR, in Trump's first 14 months there's been more turnover in his Cabinet than 16 previous presidents had in their first two years in office. Ahead, the full list of everyone who has either resigned or been fired from the Trump administration sine January 20, 2017. David Shulkin, U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Days in the administration: 431 (though he was appointed by President Obama in 2013) Forced to resign by President Trump. Days in the administration: 395 Resigned and decided to retire from the military. Rex Tillerson, U.S. Secretary of State Days in the administration: 416 Fired by President Trump, allegedly over differences on how to manage key areas of the U.S. foreign policy. Hope Hicks, White House Communications Director Days in the administration: 403 Resigned over her dislike for the D.C. scene and to pursue new opportunities. Sally Yates, Acting Attorney General Days in the administration: 11 Fired over her refusal to enforce President Trump's first travel ban. James Comey, FBI Director Days in the administration: 110 Fired reportedly because of his refusal to scale down the agency's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election. Story continues Tom Price, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Days in the administration: 232 Resigned in the aftermath of a scandal for repeatedly traveling on private charter for official trips at taxpayers' expense. Anthony Scaramucci, White House Communications Director Days in the administration: 11 Fired by the then newly appointed Chief of Staff John Kelly, just days after going on an expletive-filled rant during an on-the-record interview with The New Yorker. Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney Days in the administration: 51 Fired as part of the purging of the leftover U.S. attorneys who served under the Obama administration. Steve Bannon, White House Chief Strategist Days in the administration: 209 Resigned after a controversial interview with the American Prospect and amid a lot of internal fighting. Reince Priebus, White House Chief of Staff Days in the administration: 188 Forced to resign so President Trump could replace him with John Kelly. Former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks Photo: Olivier DoulieryPool/Getty Images. Tera Dahl, National Security Council Deputy Chief of Staff Days in the administration: 166 Reassigned to a position outside of the White House, following a power shift in the NSC. Katie Walsh, Deputy White House Chief of Staff Days in the administration: 68 Resigned after the failure of the first House effort to repeal Obamacare in order to work at a pro-Trump PAC. Elizabeth "Betsy" Southerland, Environmental Protection Agency's Director of Science and Technology at the Office of Water Days in the administration: 193 Resigned in protest of how the EPA was being managed under the Trump administration. Rich Higgins, National Security Council Director for Strategic Planning Days in the administration: 176 Fired after writing a memo full of conspiracy theories, which argued the president was under attack domestically and internationally by "globalists," the "Deep State," and "Islamists." Carl Icahn, Special Adviser to the President Days in the administration: 211 Resigned before the publishing of an article detailing his conflicts of interest. Derek Harvey, National Security Council Senior Director for the Middle East Days in the administration: 182 Fired following a power shift in the NSC. Sean Spicer, White House Press Secretary Days in the administration: 181 Resigned in protest after the hiring of Anthony Scaramucci as White House Communications Director. Michael Flynn, National Security Advisor Days in the administration: 23 Forced to resign after it was revealed he lied to Vice President Mike Pence and the public about his conversations with the Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. K.T. McFarland, Deputy National Security Advisor Days in the administration: 118 Forced to resign following a power shift in the NSC. Sebastian Gorka, Deputy Assistant to the President Days in the administration: 211 Forced to resign following John Kelly's efforts to reshape the West Wing staff. Rob Porter, White House Staff Secretary Days in the administration: 385 Forced to resign after his two ex-wives went public with domestic violence allegations against him. Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer Photo: Olivier Douliery/Bloomberg/Getty Images. Jamie Johnson, Director of the Department of Homeland Securitys Center for Faith-Based & Neighborhood Partnership Days in the administration: 230 Forced to resign after audio of his past derogatory remarks about Black people and Muslims surfaced. Carl Higbie, Chief of External Affairs at the Corporation for National and Community Service Days in the administration: 153 Forced to resign after audio of his past racist, sexist, anti-Muslim, anti-veterans, and anti-LGBTQ comments surfaced. Omarosa Manigault, Director of Communications at the White House's Office of Public Liaison Days in the administration: 340 Resigned in order to "pursue other opportunities." Taylor Weyeneth, Deputy Chief of Staff at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Days in the administration: 364 Forced to resign after questions were raised about his resume and experience, since he was only 24-years-old. William Bradford, Director of the Energy Department's Office of Indian Energy Days in the administration: 120 Forced to resign after evidence surfaced of his past inflammatory comments about President Obama's mother. Mike Dubke, White House Communications Director Days in the administration: 89 Resigned for personal reasons. Michael Short, White House Assistant Press Secretary Days in the administration: 185 Resigned after Anthony Scaramucci told the press of his plans to fire him. Walter Shaub, Director of the Office of Government Ethics Days in the administration: 185 Resigned over concerns with the White House's approach to ethics rules. Mark Corallo, Spokesman for the President's Legal Team Days in the administration: 59 Resigned reportedly over concerns with how the White House managed the response to reports that Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner met with a Kremlin-connected lawyer at Trump Tower in the summer of 2016. Omarosa Manigault, Former Director of Communications at the White House's Office of Public Liaison Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post/Getty Images. John McEntee, Personal Assistant to the President Days in the administration: 415 Fired because the Secret Service was investigating him for serious financial crimes. Gary Cohn, National Economic Council Director Days in the administration: 410 Resigned after internal disagreements over the administration's economic agenda. Josh Raffel, White House Deputy Communications Director Days in the administration: 402 Resigned for family reasons. John Thompson, Director of the Census Bureau Days in the administration: 110 Resigned to pursue new opportunities in the private sector. Angella Reid, White House Chief Usher Days in the administration: 106 Fired over unspecified reasons. Dina Powell, Deputy National Security Advisor Days in the administration: 304 Resigned for personal reasons. Rick Dearborn, Deputy White House Chief of Staff Days in the administration: 383 Resigned to pursue new opportunities in the private sector. George Sifakis, Director of the White House's Office of Public Liaison Days in the administration: 204 Resigned following John Kelly's efforts to reshape the West Wing staff. Ezra Cohen-Watnick, National Security Council's Senior Director for Intelligence Days in the administration: 188 Forced to resign following a power shift in the NSC. Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General Days in the administration: 92 Forced to resign after assisting the President Trump's transition. Steve Bannon, Former White House Chief Strategist Photo: Sylvain Lefevre/Getty Images. Maliz Beams, Counselor at the U.S. Department of State Days in the administration: 97 Resigned reportedly over differences with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Paul Winfree, Deputy Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council and Director of Budget Policy Days in the administration: 330 Resigned to return to the Heritage Foundation. Jeremy Katz, White House National Economic Council Deputy Director Days in the administration: 340 Resigned for personal reasons. Thomas Shannon, U ndersecretary for Political Affairs at the U.S. Department of State Days in the administration: 385 Resigned for personal reasons. John Feeley, U.S. Ambassador to Panama Days in the administration: 385 Resigned over disagreements with the Trump administration. Andrew McCabe, FBI Deputy Director Days in the administration: 374 Resigned from his post after reportedly feeling pressure from FBI Director Christopher Wray. Fired by Attorney General Jeff Sessions just before he left the agency. Richard Cordray, Director of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Days in the administration: 308 Resigned in order to run for governor of Ohio. Craig Deare, Senior Adviser at the National Security Council's Western Hemisphere Division Days in the administration: 396 Reassigned to a position outside of the White House after criticizing the administration's Latin American policies. Read these stories next: Rex Tillerson Found Out He Was Fired From A Tweet Why The FBI Is Investigating Ivanka Trump's Business Deals Trump Thinks The U.S. Should Try Getting Rid Of Presidential Term Limits Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here? Laura Ingraham Apologizes For Tweet Mocking A Parkland Survivor Parkland Survivor Calls For Boycott Of Laura Ingraham's Advertisers After She Mocks Him The Parkland Students Arent Just Clapping Back At Critics, They Are Setting An Example Thursdays Google Doodle celebrates pioneering geochemist Katsuko Saruhashi on what would have been her 98th birthday. Saruhashis groundbreaking research focused on acid rain, radioactivity spread through oceans, and CO2 levels in seawater. 1. Saruhashi broke many glass ceilings She was the first woman to earn a PhD in chemistry from the University of Tokyo in 1957, the first woman elected to the Science Council of Japan in 1980, and the first woman to win the Miyake Prize for geochemistry in 1985, an award named after her mentor, Miyake Yasuo. 2. To promote more women in the science, Saruhashi also started the Society of Japanese Women Scientists The mission of the society, established in 1958, is to have more women contributing to sciences and world peace. There are many women who have the ability to become great scientists. I would like to see the day when women can contribute to science and technology on an equal footing with men, she once said. Geochemist Katsuko Saruhashi speaks during an interview on August 23, 1999 in Japan. 3. Saruhashis first major contribution to the field involved a methodology to determine CO2 levels in seawater She was the first to determine carbonic acid levels based on temperature, pH Level, and chlorinity. Today, oceanographers call this Saruhashis Table. 4. Saruhashis second major area of research was to quantify nuclear pollution caused by testing in the 1950s She measured the amount of radioactivity in seawater and found that fallout from U.S. atomic tests in the Marshall Islands in the 1950s reached Japan after about a year and a half. Her findings on how radioactivity spreads helped led to restrictions on oceanic nuclear experimentation in 1963. 5. In 1981, Saruhashi founded the Saruhashi Prize The Saruhashi Prize is an annual award to recognize the research contributions of female scientists. She died in 2007 of pneumonia. Googles Doodle remembers Saruhashi with an illustration that depicts her with a clipboard in front of a turbulent blue sea. While Axalta is staying with Hendrick Motorsports, Lowes is leaving after 2018. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) Axalta is sticking with Hendrick Motorsports through 2022. The company will sponsor 25 races per season over the next four seasons between the No. 24 car currently driven by William Byron and the No. 88 car driven by Alex Bowman. Axalta is on Byrons car for 15 races in 2018 and Bowmans for 10. Next season, those numbers will be 13 and 12. Axalta first joined forces with Hendrick Motorsports when the company was known as DuPont, the iconic sponsor of Jeff Gordons No. 24 car. After Gordons retirement following the 2015 season, Axalta served as a co-primary sponsor for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2016 and 2017. The announcement of Axaltas contract extension comes a week after Lowes said it would be ending its sponsorship of seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson at Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson has been sponsored by Lowes in every race since he entered the Cup Series in 2002. But the coatings company has what Lowes doesnt a business-to-business relationship with team owner Rick Hendricks car dealerships. B2B deals have become fruitful enterprises for top teams and companies over the last few years in NASCAR. Pennzoil is used in Roger Penskes automotive empire. Valvoline has a similar deal with Hendrick. Smithfield cited the presence of Jimmy Johns as Kevin Harvicks sponsor as a reason why it moved to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2018. Not every team has a luxury of those business-to-business offerings, however. While its undoubtedly a good thing for Hendrick Motorsports that Axalta is sticking around, its a deal thats fairly unique in the motorsports world and shouldnt be seen as a counterweight to Lowes decision to leave Johnson. The circumstances are far different. Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports. More from Yahoo Sports: Golfer calls out airline after finding missing clubs for sale Book reveals ugly history between Tiger, Bill Clinton Engineering students come to rescue of hurt Purdue star Spurs players hold tense meeting with Kawhi Barack and Michelle Obama 10 Mark Lyons / Stringer / Getty Images Barack and Michelle Obama sent a letter to survivors of the Parkland, Florida school shooting, which left 17 people dead in February. The Obamas called the students' "resilience, resolve, and solidarity" shown "in the wake of unspeakable tragedy" inspiring. In the weeks since the tragedy, Parkland students have been outspoken in the media on the need for gun reform and school safety. Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama sent a letter earlier this month to survivors of a school shooting that occurred in Parkland, Florida in February. The letter, addressed to the students of Parkland and dated March 10, details how the Obamas have been inspired by "the resilience, resolve, and solidarity" shown "in the wake of unspeakable tragedy." In the wake of the Valentine's Day shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which claimed the lives of 17 people, student survivors have been outspoken. Parkland shooting Joe Raedle/Getty Images In particular, 17-year-old survivor and student journalist David Hogg has become a national figure for his repeated calls for gun-control measures and characterizations of the response of politicians and specifically President Donald Trump as "disgusting." He has also criticized the National Rifle Association for its stance on gun-control issues and been the target of numerous conspiracy theories. The response of Parkland students sparked nationwide student protests in the form of a walkout across the country last week. A "March for our Lives" rally on March 24 is expected to draw hundreds of thousands to Washington D.C., according to the AP. More school walkouts are planned for the anniversary of the Columbine High School Shooting in Colorado on April 20. Here's the full text of the Obamas' letter, first obtained by Mic: ObamaLetter ParklandSchoolShootingSurvivors Screenshot/Mic Story continues NOW WATCH: YouTube and Facebook have a serious problem with 'promoted' conspiracies about the Parkland shooting See Also: SEE ALSO: Something historic is happening with how Americans see the NRA By Nandita Bose and Sijia Jiang LAS VEGAS/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Best Buy Co Inc, the largest U.S. consumer electronics retailer, will cut ties with China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, a person familiar with the matter said, amid heightened scrutiny on Chinese tech firms in the United States. Best Buy will stop selling Huawei's devices over the next few weeks, according to the person with knowledge of the matter, a setback for the Chinese telecommunications giant as it looks to expand in the U.S. market. The move, after similar actions from U.S. carriers including AT&T Inc, comes as U.S. scrutiny of Chinese tech firms grows amid simmering tensions over U.S.-China trade and concerns of security. A Best Buy spokesman told Reuters the firm could not comment on specific contracts with vendors. "We make decisions to change what we sell for a variety of reasons," he said. Huawei said in emailed comments on Thursday that it valued its relationship with Best Buy but could not discuss details of its partnership with the U.S. firm. "Huawei currently sells its products through a range of leading consumer electronics retailers in the U.S.," the firm said, adding its products met the "highest security, privacy and engineering standards in the industry". Earlier this year, AT&T was forced to scrap a plan to offer Huawei handsets after some members of Congress lobbied against the idea with federal regulators, sources told Reuters. Verizon Communications Inc also ended its plans to sell Huawei phones last year, according to media reports. Last month two Republican Senators introduced legislation that would block the U.S. government from buying or leasing telecommunications equipment from Huawei or Chinese peer ZTE Corp, citing concern the firms would use their access to spy on U.S. officials. The tougher climate in the United States has forced Huawei to sell its flagship smartphone Mate 10 Pro - its challenger to the iPhone - in the United States only through open channels. U.S tech and electronics website CNET.com first reported the termination of the agreement on Wednesday. (Reporting by Nandita Bose in LAS VEGAS and Sijia Jiang in HONG KONG; additional reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Writing by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Sunil Nair & Shri Navaratnam) In the latest chilling confluence of Russia and the U.S. government, a startling 2013 Russian video has emerged featuring Donald Trumps pick to become national security adviser, John Bolton, promoting Russian gun rights for a Kremlin-connected banker who is reportedly being investigated by the FBI. The Bolton video was distributed by a gun rights group co-founded by Russian citizen Alexander Torshin, according to National Public Radio, which unearthed the video. Torshin is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the deputy governor of the Bank of Russia. Torshin, who also served in the Russian government, is the focus of an investigation by the FBI to determine if he illegally funneled Russian funds to Trumps campaign through the NRA, McClatchy has reported. Its illegal to use foreign funds to influence federal elections. The U.S. Federal Election Commission launched a similar probe to determine if the NRA was acting as a conduit for illegal Trump campaign funds, Politico reported. Torshin, who served as the deputy speaker of Russias Parliament for more than a decade and was on Russias National Anti-Terrorism Committee, reached out to members of the Trump campaign through the NRA, according to McClatchy. He also hosted dinners for NRA executives during their trip to Moscow in 2015. The NRA spent a record amount on 2016 elections, including $21 million to back Trump and $14 million to attack his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. Torshin helped create the NRAs Russian equivalent, The Right to Bear Arms, which sponsored the Bolton video. The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations urged the Russian government to change its constitution to allow gun rights similar to those in America. A source close to Bolton told NPR that he was originally asked to record the video by then-NRA President David Keene. At the time, Bolton was a member of the NRAs international affairs subcommittee, according to NPR. Story continues On the video, Bolton praises a new era of freedom in Russia on the 20th anniversary of the adoption of its constitution. Were the Russian national government to grant a broader right to bear arms to its people, it would be creating a partnership with its citizens that would better allow for the protection of mothers, children and families without in any way compromising the integrity of the Russian state, Bolton says on the video. That is my wish and my advice to your great people. Bolton appeared in the video shortly after a Right to Bear Arms conference was held in Moscow. Alan Gottlieb, the founder of the U.S.-based Second Amendment Foundation, who attended the conference, told NPR that he assumed the event was supported by the Russian government otherwise it would not have taken place. Keene spoke at the conference of his close ties with Torshin, who regularly tweeted about his visits with Keene over the years, according to NPR. The NRA recently revealed that it has been responding to questions from the FEC about campaign contributions as part of the FEC investigation but has denied any wrongdoing. In response to a letter from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) concerning his fears of illegal campaign contributions being funneled through the NRA, the gun lobbying organization responded that, as a longstanding policy to conform with federal election law, the NRA [does] not accept funds from foreign persons or entities in connection with United States elections. Wyden followed up with several specific questions, including requesting the identities of NRA members who are Russian nationals, and information about how donors and donations are vetted. Also on HuffPost Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Oxon Hill, Md., in 2017. (Photo: Joshua Roberts/Reuters) WASHINGTON A fearsome array of challenges await John Bolton when he takes over next month as President Trumps national security adviser and the hawkish, blunt-speaking former diplomat is expected to shake up the White House team confronting them, insiders told Yahoo News on Friday. Bolton championed the March 2003 invasion of Iraq and earlier this month dismissed the diagnosis that Saddam Husseins removal was a mistake as simplistic. In February, the Yale-trained international law expert publicly called for military action against North Korea. A month earlier, he condemned diplomatic efforts to toughen the Iran nuclear deal, criticized Trumps advisers for inexplicably advising him to stay in the agreement, and called for fostering regime change in Tehran, notably by supporting opposition to the regime. In 2015, he was even blunter, saying that only military action would work on Iran. Boltons comrades and critics in the loosely knit U.S. national security community underline his inclination to use military force, as well as his belief that the United States is in the grips of a decades-old clash between Americanists like himself who value U.S. sovereignty above all and globalists who would see it tempered by international law and agreements. Americanists find themselves surrounded by small armies of Globalists, each tightly clutching a favorite new treaty or multilateralist proposal, he wrote in a 2000 essay, Should We Take Global Governance Seriously? Boltons hawkish instincts and hostility to so-called globalists an echo of Trumps America First principles will likely lead him to purge the National Security Council, though some council officials uncomfortable with his April 9 arrival may opt to leave beforehand. I think hes likely to see career civil servants, civilian and military, as adversaries rather than professionals and want to bring in a team whose views he knows and has confidence in, Kori Schake, who has held positions at the Pentagon and the State Department, and has served as director for Defense Strategy and Requirements on former President George W. Bushs National Security Council, told Yahoo news. Story continues Asked whether Bolton would shake up the Security Council staff, a source close to him replied: I suspect absolutely. He has hangers-on who want jobs. Even in an administration not quite so defined by constant personnel chaos, it would hardly be unusual for a new national security adviser to make changes. Gen. H.R. McMaster, whom Bolton will replace, purged many of disgraced predecessor Mike Flynns hand-picked Security Council aides, called Flynnstones by some West Wing officials. A national security expert frequently consulted by the White House told Yahoo News that some of those might be eyeing a return to an administration less constrained by McMaster and fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton speaks during a meeting of the U.N. Security Council about the situation in Iraq, at the U.N. headquarters in New York on March 15, 2006. (Photo: Chip East/Reuters) People on the outside who think POTUS has given in too much to [Defense Secretary Jim] Mattis and Tillerson and that, you know, its time to let Trump be Trump, are probably already lobbying the walrus, one administration official told Yahoo News, using a nickname derived from Boltons mustache. The job of national security adviser formally known as assistant to the president for national security affairs grew out of a wholesale restructuring of American military and intelligence in 1947. The role changes from administration to administration, depending on the character and priorities of the individual holding the title and the president the person serves. But the duties are generally understood to center on providing the president with foreign policy advice that reflects the balance of U.S. interests in the executive branch. That means soliciting input from the Pentagon, the intelligence community, the State Department, the Treasury Department and other parts of what is known as the interagency process. McMaster had faced criticism from administration officials that he too often presented Trump with his own views rather than the results of that kind of attempted consensus-building, putting him at odds with Mattis and Tillerson and worried foreign diplomats whose lines into the administration ran through Foggy Bottom and the Pentagon. For Security Council staff changes, Bolton did not tip his hand. The United States faces a wide array of issues, he said in a statement late Thursday. I look forward to working with President Trump and his leadership team in addressing these complex challenges in an effort to make our country safer at home and stronger abroad. Boltons approach will be tested immediately. The month of May promises to be heavy on national security: Mid-month, Trump faces a decision about whether or not to effectively remove the United States from the Iran nuclear deal. The White House has also said May is when it hopes for a possible summit between the president and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. In an interview on Fox News shortly after Trump announced the shakeup, Bolton declined to lay out his views on major foreign policy questions, including whether or not the Trump-Kim summit should go forward. I have my views, he said. Im sure Ill have a chance to articulate them to the president. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: Activist and author Pamela Geller and John Bolton. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Mike Stone/Reuters, Amazon, Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images) As national security adviser, John Bolton will be responsible for advising President Trump on relations with other countries, but especially Americas rivals and enemies a category he defines broadly, including much of the Muslim world. Within hours of the announcement that Bolton would be replacing Gen. H.R. McMaster in the West Wing, the Council on American-Islamic Relations was out with a fact sheet on his background, including his cozy relationship with anti-Muslim hate groups. It singled out in particular his relationship with Pamela Geller, the author and anti-Muslim activist described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as probably the best known and the most unhinged anti-Muslim ideologue in the United States, known for her efforts to post anti-Muslim ads on New York City buses and for speculating (in a blog post thats no longer online) that Barack Obama was actually the illegitimate love child of Malcolm X. Anders Breivik, the right-wing Norwegian terrorist who went on a shooting rampage at a youth camp in 2011, killing scores of youngsters, was a fan of Gellers writings. In turn, she wrote that the victims were enrolled in an anti-Israel indoctrination training center, and would have grown up to become future leaders of the party responsible for flooding Norway with Muslims who refuse to assimilate, who commit major violence against Norwegian natives including violent gang rapes, with impunity, and who live on the dole. Geller disputes authorship of the quote, which was attributed to her at the time and subsequently in books. It no longer appears on her blog. (Earlier this year, Oath Inc., the parent company of Yahoo News, canceled a social-media show hosted by two of Gellers daughters, who go by the surname of Gellers late husband, Michael Oshry. After the daughters past inflammatory tweets emerged, Oath said in a statement: The Morning Breath, an Oath social media show, is being canceled immediately and we have launched an internal investigation and will take other appropriate steps based on the results of the investigation.) Story continues Geller is also a longtime fan of Bolton, endorsing him for president in 2011 as the antidote to the sick, debilitated state of the country which Obama has inflicted upon us. And Bolton is a fan of hers. He wrote the foreword to her 2010 book (with Robert Spencer, director of the anti-Muslim group Jihad Watch), The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administrations War on America. They wrote: Barack Hussein Obama [Geller took pains to use Obamas middle name whenever possible] hid the fact that he was a hard-line, doctrinaire socialist and statist, who believed in central planning and government control of the economy as fervently as Stalin or Mao or Kim Jong Il ever did. In his foreword, Bolton denounced Obama for the sins of globalism, defeatism and weakness in pursuing the war on terror. This position left him with some explaining to do when Obama authorized the successful attack that killed Osama bin Laden, but Bolton was up to it, telling a Republican campaign event that in 1969, when Americans landed on the moon, it is like Richard Nixon taking credit for that. It happened to occur during his presidency. In its statement, the Council on American-Islamic Relations said, We urge Americans across the political spectrum to speak out against the appointment of John Bolton as White House National Security Adviser because of his ties to anti-Muslim bigots and his promotion of extremist views that will inevitably harm our nation and that could lead to unnecessary and counterproductive international conflicts. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: Roseanne, a No. 1 hit series that ran on ABC, revolutionized comedy television. The saga of the Conners, a blue-collar family struggling to make ends meet in the fictional Illinois town of Lanford, was at turns crazy, loving and smart-mouthed while dealing with sticky social issues including coming out as gay long before such TV routinely offered gay characters. The show originally ran from 1988 to 1997, and next week, a revival of the beloved comedy will debut on ABC with the original cast resuming their roles as the Conners. Here is a look back at what those actors have been doing since the show went off the air. Roseanne Barr during a 2010 appearance on 'Conan.' IMDb Roseanne Barr, who played matriarch Roseanne Conner, hosted a talk show "The Roseanne Show," before returning to stand-up comedy. She was a judge on "Last Comic Standing" and did an HBO special. The outspoken comic and political activist even ran for president in 2012 as a Green Party candidate, but lost the nomination to Jill Stein. John Goodman, right, in a scene from the 1998 film 'The Big Lebowski.' Jeff Bridges, Steve Buscemi and John Goodman in 'The Big Lebowski.' IMDb John Goodman, aka Dan Conner, went on to have an impressive film career, appearing in cult classic The Big Lebowski and providing the voice of Sully in Monsters Inc. He also had recurring roles in TV series, including The West Wing. Laurie Metcalf in last year's 'Lady Bird.' Laurie Metcalf in 2017's 'Lady Bird.' IMDb Laurie Metcalf, who played Roseanne's sister, Jackie Harris, was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar this year for her portrayal of mother Marion McPherson in Lady Bird. Also an accomplished stage actress, she won a Tony last year for her role in "A Doll's House, Part 2." Sara Gilbert, left, with Roseanne Barr in a 1988 'Roseanne' episode. Sara Gilbert, left, with Roseanne Barr in a 1988 'Roseanne' episode. IMDb Sara Gilbert, who portrayed Roseanne's acerbic daughter Darlene, is a panelist on the CBS daytime show The Talk, which she created in 2010 and is listed as executive producer. Alicia Goranson with Roseanne Barr in 1988 'Roseanne' episode. Alicia Goranson with Roseanne Barr in 1988 'Roseanne' episode. IMDb Story continues Alicia Goranson was the original actress to play Roseanne's eldest daughter Becky. She left the show at one point to attend Vassar College, and returned to the role upon her graduation in 1995. Since the Roseanne days, she has had several guest roles in such TV series as Sex and the City and Inside Amy Schumer. She also appeared in the film Boys Don't Cry. Sarah Chalke in a 2001 episode of 'Scrubs.' Sarah Chalke in a 2001 'Scrubs' episode. IMDb Sarah Chalke played Becky while Goranson was away at college. She went on to play Dr. Elliot Reid on NBC's Scrubs for nine years. She also had a guest arc on 10 episodes of How I Met Your Mother. RELATED STORIES Betty White, 95, Honored for 60 Years in Television: 'Thank You for Spoiling Me Rotten' Woman With Down Syndrome Makes Television Debut as Meteorologist 'Master Chef Junior,' 'Little Big Shots' Leading Television's Hottest Trend: Kid TV Related Articles: By Angus Berwick MADRID (Reuters) - Twenty-five Catalan leaders will be tried for rebellion, embezzlement or disobeying the state, Spains Supreme Court ruled on Friday, in a sharp escalation of legal action against separatists in the northeastern region. One of the leaders facing up to 25 years in prison if convicted, Marta Rovira, earlier said she had already fled Spain, joining five others in exile. On Friday evening, Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena ordered an international arrest warrant for all six. The ruling raised the stakes in Madrids efforts to contain separatists in Catalonia, where a banned referendum backed independence last year. The case will be closely watched by separatist groups across Europe and beyond. Rights groups have already criticised the extent of Madrids crackdown - though the European Union, wary of any splintering of its member states, has firmly supported the Spanish governments response. Catalonia has been in political limbo since Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy took over its regional government after it unilaterally declared independence following the October plebiscite. Llarena said on Friday 13 leaders, including Rovira and former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont who is already in exile in Brussels, will be tried for rebellion. Another 12 will be tried for embezzlement or disobeying the state through their role in holding the referendum or declaring independence. Puigdemont and fellow separatists have all denied any wrongdoing, saying the plebiscite gave them the authority to break away from Spain. 'A DIFFICULT ROAD' The vote was boycotted by Catalans opposed to the region splitting from Spain. Public support for the independence of Catalonia, which has its own language, extensive devolved powers and an economy as large as Portugals, fluctuates either side of 40 percent in polls. Judge Llarena ordered jail for five of the leaders pending their trial as he considered there was enough evidence that they committed a crime. He did not set a date for the trial. The five appeared before the court on Friday to be notified they would face trial and were detained immediately. Among them was Jordi Turull, a close ally of Puigdemont who was put forward on Thursday to become the next regional president, although he failed to obtain enough votes after a small far-left secessionist group broke ranks and abstained. The court's decision means a second leadership vote for Turull which was due to take place on Saturday will not happen because his presence is compulsory. However, late on Friday, Catalan parliament speaker Roger Torrent said he would go ahead with the session and read a statement in support of those jailed earlier in the day. Rovira, the head of the separatist Esquerra Republicana party, said before the judges announcement on Friday she had fled to avoid prosecution. "Exile will be a difficult road, but it is the only way I have to recover my political voice, Rovira said in a letter. Long live a Catalan Republic for all!" The court, in a written ruling, requested that 14 members of the previous Catalan regional administration deposit 2.1 million euros ($2.59 million) in a bank account to pay back the money used to hold the referendum and cover judicial costs. Several separatist leaders, including former Catalan vice president Oriol Junqueras, have been in custody since last year. (Additional reporting by Julien Toyer and Blanca Rodriguez; editing by Andrew Heavens and Gareth Jones) BEIJING (Reuters) - China believes the Visegrad group in the European Union - Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic and Poland - is the bloc's most dynamic force, China's top diplomat said, praising a grouping which has had strained ties with Western Europe. The four countries have been at odds with Brussels over issues including immigration and fundamental rights, with the Slovak prime minister complaining in January they should not be treated as "black sheep" in the EU. China has courted central and eastern European states, including with annual summits, which has fed concern in Western European capitals that Beijing is seeking to divide the continent. Reuters earlier this month reported that China was considering paring back the summits, although China says preparatory talks for this year's summit in Bulgaria are continuing. Meeting vice foreign ministers from the four countries in Beijing on Thursday, Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi said China appreciated the Visegrad countries' efforts to achieve win-win cooperation and common development with China and supports their participation in the Belt and Road Initiative. "Visegrad countries are representatives of European emerging market countries and the most dynamic force within the EU," Wang told them, according to a statement from China's foreign ministry on Friday. China believes the Visegrad countries can inject new impetus into the integration process in Europe, Wang added. China stands ready to work with central and eastern European countries to maintain and develop the "16+1 cooperation", he said, referring to China's cooperation mechanism with those countries. The ministry cited the four visiting vice foreign ministers as telling Wang they were ready to enhance exchanges with China and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, referring to President Xi Jinping's grand plan to build a new Silk Road. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; editing by Richard Pullin) President Donald Trumps decision to hit China with billions of dollars of tariffs has angered Beijing, with Chinese officials pledging to retaliate when the U.S. moves forward with the policy. Trump announced a new set of tariffs on Thursday, saying that there is a tremendous intellectual property theft problem and an excessively large trade deficit with China. Chinas foreign and commerce ministries both slammed the decision, saying they will take all necessary measures to protect Chinas interests. Among the ideas floated are the imposition of tariffs on U.S. exports like soybeans and livestock. Trending: Instagram Chronological Order: App's Algorithm Updated to Help Sort Feed Despite developing a friendly relationship with President Xi Jinping, Trump has opted to follow through on the tough rhetoric he used against China on the campaign trail, when he called Chinese trade policy aggressive. His team has spent months preparing new tariffs in response to a report that claimed Chinese trade policies are costing the U.S. money. 871570898 Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images The investigation was launched in August by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Don't miss: Best Battle Royale Games: Surviv.io, ZombsRoyale.io, Bruh.io Are Worth A Look The Trump administration has accused China of violating U.S. intellectual property rights by forcing American companies to transfer technology to Beijing, claiming that this practice has caused the U.S. to lose tens of billions of dollars. Beijing has denied the Trump administrations accusations, saying such claims are "irresponsible." Trump already announced earlier this month new tariffs, aimed at China, of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum. These will go into effect on Friday. Story continues The tariffs will target Chinas technology sector and Chinese investments, imposing at least $50 billion in retaliatory tariffs. A list of targeted products will be published in the next two weeks, and there will be a month for public comment. Most popular: Astronaut Andrew Feustel Says He Has a Fear of Heights, Despite Working 250 Miles above the Earth Also on Thursday, officials from the European Union expressed optimism that U.S. trade partners in Europe would not be subjected to Trumps steel and aluminum tariffs. The EU has been critical of Trumps tough talk on trade. At the European Council summit, which began Thursday, officials awaited a tweet from President Trump confirming whether the EU would be exempt. Beijings response to the steel tariffs was tepid as the levies are so inconsequential for Chinas booming steel industry. In general, officials on both sides have called for restraint so that a full-scale trade war will not break out between China and the U.S. Trump, however, has claimed that trade wars are good and easy to win. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek BEIJING (Reuters) - China's navy will carry out combat drills in the South China Sea, the military's official newspaper said on Friday, describing the move as part of regular annual exercises. Taiwan's defense ministry said this week it had shadowed a Chinese aircraft carrier group traversing the Taiwan Strait in a southwesterly direction - meaning into the disputed South China Sea - in what Taiwan judged to be a drill. In a brief report on its WeChat account, the People's Liberation Army Daily said the combat exercises would take place shortly, though it gave no details of timing, location or what ships would participate. "This is a routine annual planned arrangement for the navy, the aim of which is to test and improve the military's training level and to fully raise the ability to win. It is not aimed at any specific country or target," the newspaper added, without elaborating. China's navy and air force frequently carry out drills in the South China Sea, where the government has been building man-made islands and constructing airstrips and other facilities, unnerving the region. China claims most of the South China Sea, a key trade route and home to areas that are believed to hold large quantities of oil and natural gas. Along with China, parts of the South China Sea are subject to competing claims from Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines. China routinely rejects criticism of its activities in the South China Sea, saying as it is Chinese territory it can do what it wants. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie) Curt Mills Security, The National Interest was the first to report, in January, that Bolton was the leading candidate to replace H.R. McMaster. Now its official. The Comeback Is Complete: John Bolton Ascends To National Security Advisor As first reported by The National Interest on January 26, John Bolton has long been the leading candidate to replace H.R. McMaster as national security advisor. On Thursday evening, the president made it official, tweeting: I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9. For Bolton, it marks the official comeback from ignominy and, at 69, career salvation. Bolton has been out of government since 2006, when he resigned the administration of then-President George W. Bush at the end of the year after the Democrats had stormed to power in Congress in November. He had been a controversial pick for U.N. ambassador even under the neoconservative Bush and a Republican-controlled Congress: 43 was forced to appoint him in recess in 2005 and his continued service was untenable once the GOP lost the Senate. Since his departure, hes become a Fox News star and seriously weighed presidential bids in 2012 and 2016. In January, I reported that the Pentagon was looking around for a four star slot for McMaster, an active lieutenant general, to fill. My sources indicated that Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis was skeptical of McMaster taking on a four star role-- and I later learned he was deeply suspicious of Bolton. McMaster will go home empty handed and retire. Says a White House official: The president and General H.R. McMaster mutually agreed that General McMaster will resign as the National Security Advisor. McMaster will retire from the U.S. Army after 34 years of distinguished service. The official noted: The two have been discussing this for some time. The timeline was expedited as they both felt it was important to have the new team in place, instead of constant speculation. Story continues McMaster or an ally, principally National Security Council spokesman Michael Anton, have been widely suspected in the media as behind an embarrassing leak against the president related to his recent call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, when Trump ignored instructions in front of him not to congratulate Putin on his recent reelection. This was not related to any one moment or incident, assured the official. A source close to Anton says the NSC spokesman has been telling all interested parties that Bolton would never get the job. Anton publicly denied my report on Hugh Hewitts radio show when it was published. The truth is Bolton has been angling to enter Trumps inner circle for some time. Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon favored Bolton for a senior role during the presidential transition. Bolton was considered for secretary of state, deputy secretary of state (which Rex Tillerson quashed) and NSA, but was passed on in the first round. And he was passed over again when Michael Flynn was replaced for McMaster. But Bolton has been persistent, and has waged a clever campaign for the job hes long desired. He has often taken to the air and radio waves, and the op-ed pages, when hes been outside Trumps attention for too long. Even Thursday, Bolton had just appeared on the midday Fox News show OutNumbered. Shortly thereafter, Bolton was seen walking to the Oval. After getting the nod, Bolton said on Fox Thursday night that he hadnt expected the news this afternoon. Similarly, I reported in August that, at the behest of Bannon, Bolton published his plan for exiting the Iran Deal in conservative mainstay National Review; at the time, Bolton was publically complaining he couldnt get a meeting with President Trump. That plan was later endorsed by hardliner Frank Gaffney and his outfit, the Center for Security Policy. Personnel-wise, alums of Gaffneyworld seem to float in and out of Boltonworld. Trump, of course has been stridently critical of the Bush administration, as has Bannon. Bannon told me in August that Bolton has converted from being a Bush guy to being a Trump guy. Bolton defeated other candidates for the job, including the NSC chief of staff, General Keith Kellogg, and Stephen Biegun, a former NSC official under Bush favored by neocons and allies of Sen. John McCain. Though unquestionably an interventionist -- and far more interventionist than Bannon -- Bolton is not a neoconservative, but rather, a conservative hawk, like Hewitt. For instance, Bolton opposed the overthrow of Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak earlier this decade: hes ambivalent on democratization, though hes consistently defended the Iraq excursion, including most recently in a tense interview on the show of intervention skeptic Tucker Carlson. Carlson seemed almost trying to sabotage Bolton with a president who closely monitors cable television. Bolton reportedly promised President Trump he wouldnt start a war if he accepted this position. Bolton is a smart, highly-competent, nice guy, a former State Department official from the Bush administration told me in January. According to the official, apparently approvingly: His worldview is utterly lacking in empathy. Curt Mills is a foreign-affairs reporter at the National Interest. Follow him on Twitter: @CurtMills. Read full article En banc Sixth Circuit rejects, with some dubitante, effort to extend Sixth Amendment right to counsel to preindictment plea negotiations | Main | New spending bill includes a lot more money for Justice Department to fight drug war even harder March 23, 2018 Brennen Center releases new report: "Criminal Justice: An Election Agenda for Candidates, Activists, and Legislators" The Brennan Center today released this notable new report titled, "Criminal Justice: An Election Agenda for Candidates, Activists, and Legislators." Here is its executive summary reprinted here: This report sets forth an affirmative agenda to end mass incarceration in America. The task requires efforts from both federal and state lawmakers. Today, criminal justice reform stands on a knifes edge. After decades of rising incarceration and ever more obvious consequences, a powerful bipartisan movement has emerged. It recognizes that harsh prison policies are not needed to keep our country safe. Now that extraordinary bipartisan consensus is challenged by the Trump administration, through inflammatory rhetoric and unwise action. Only an affirmative move to continue reform can keep the progress going. The United States has less than five percent of the worlds population, but nearly one quarter of its prisoners. About 2.1 million people are incarcerated in this country, the vast majority in state and local facilities. Mass incarceration contributes significantly to the poverty rate. It is inequitable, placing a disproportionate burden on communities of color. It is wildly expensive, in some cases costing more to keep an 18-year-old in prison than it would to send him to Harvard. Our criminal justice system costs $270 billion annually, yet does not produce commensurate public safety benefits. Research conclusively shows that high levels of imprisonment are simply not necessary to protect communities. About four out of every ten prisoners are incarcerated with little public safety justification. In fact, 27 states have reduced both imprisonment and crime in the last decade. A group of over 200 police chiefs, prosecutors, and sheriffs has formed, whose founding principles state: We do not believe that public safety is served by a return to tactics that are overly punitive without strong purpose . . . we cannot incarcerate our way to safety. In cities, states, and at the federal level, Republicans and Democrats have joined this effort. They recognize that todays public safety challenges demand new and innovative politics rooted in science and based on what works. The opioid epidemic, mass shootings, and cyber-crime all require modern responses that do not repeat mistakes of the past. Crime is no longer a wedge issue, and voters desire reform. A 2017 poll from the Charles Koch Institute reveals that 81 percent of Trump voters consider criminal justice reform important. Another, from Republican pollster Robert Blizzard, finds that 87 percent of Americans agree that nonviolent offenders should be sanctioned with alternatives to incarceration. And according to a 2017 ACLU poll, 71 percent of Americans support reducing the prison population including 50 percent of Trump voters. But the politician with the loudest megaphone has chosen a different, destructive approach. Donald Trump, and his Attorney General Jeff Sessions, falsely insist there is a national crime wave, portraying a country besieged by crime, drugs, and terrorism American carnage, as he called it in his inaugural address. But, crime in the United States remains at historic lows. While violent crime and murder did increase in 2015 and 2016, new data show crime and violence declining again in 2017. The national murder rate is approximately half of what it was at its 1991 peak. Those who seek to use fear of crime for electoral gain are not just wrong on the statistics; they are also wrong on the politics. Now, to continue the progress that has been made, it is up to candidates running for office to boldly advance policy solutions backed by facts, not fear. This report offers reforms that would keep crime low, while significantly reducing incarceration. Most solutions can be enacted through federal or state legislation. While most of the prison population is under control of state officials, federal policy matters too. The federal governments prison population is larger than that of any state. Further, Washington defines the national political conversation on criminal justice reform. And although states vary somewhat in their approach to criminal justice, they struggle with similar challenges. The state solutions in this report are broadly written as models that can be adapted. Steps to take include: Eliminating Financial Incentives for Incarceration Enacting Sentencing Reform Passing Sensible Marijuana Reform Improving Law Enforcement Responding to the Opioid Crisis Reducing Female Incarceration March 23, 2018 at 04:31 PM | Permalink Comments This is an insult to the intelligence, with billions of internet crimes taking $billions. Posted by: David Behar | Mar 25, 2018 1:41:26 AM At the top of the list should have been Gun Control. The only times we hear that a gun HAS been used to deter crime or protect life in private hands, too often there is controversy or clear evidence that the situation did NOT justify it. When a life is lost in error or unnecessarily in private revenge, there is no recompense. In situations of mass threat, like the school shootings, the damage and loss of life happens before any realistic response with firearms can be made from anyone present. Guns belong under lock and key at shooting ranges and for use as sport. Leave the police to protect life. Those eligble to own guns for hunting should be subject to the stringent tests for ownership. Those living in urban areas should not be permitted to participate in sport hunting. Accompany all that with an amnesty applicable for just 3 months and demand that all guns must be turned over at local enforcement locations or for lock-up at shooting ranges, or in the case of hunting claims, renew registration checks over the next 6 months and thereafter annually. Wow, what a revolutionary idea. Do your children and grandchildren not deserve this? To live without the fear of being shot? Posted by: peter | Mar 25, 2018 6:45:11 AM Peter. That is the Democratic platform, depend on worthless government workers who run from the scene of the ongoing mass killing. That is the policy of the lawyer, to crush public self help. They are betraying our country for a few lousy, low paying jobs. With billions of crimes a year, only public self help can attenuate massive criminality, in the billions each year, caused by your big government dependency. I support the killing of unauthorized hackers by victims. I support the killing of repeat violent offenders, on the spot, by the public. Beyond immunizing such homicide, the government should pay the public $10,000 each, because of adding $millions in value to the economy by the killing. Peter is falling for the hysterical news coverage by biased, and unethical journalists. These Democratic Party operatives did not say, as they should have, "65 million owners of 270 million guns did nothing wrong today." These biased, hate speech, propaganda spewers are violating their own Code of Ethics. They are lower in morality than the avowed hater, David Duke. He avows his hate honestly. Do not be like a journalist. There are people lower in morality than lawyers. Serial child rapists and murderers, and journalists. Posted by: David Behar | Mar 25, 2018 9:35:36 AM What powerful powerful bipartisan movement? Posted by: John Neff | Mar 25, 2018 2:04:51 PM peter's proposals at least in part (lock and key at sporting ranges ... a trigger lock wasn't even allowed) by the Supreme Court in two gun rights cases. "Those living in urban areas should not be permitted to participate in sport hunting." What if the guns used were under lock in key at the hunting areas? I'm inclined to think that in theory at least certain types of guns should be limited to target ranges, select storage areas & hunting zones. Likewise, if a simple shotgun is used, hunting in at least certain urban areas (that have some wildlife) might be warranted. I'm not a big fan of hunting generally, to be clear, but in theory. Posted by: Joe | Mar 25, 2018 10:51:37 PM Also, I just put it out there. I'm not assuming this would be a major aspect of crime policy. Guns would be an aspect of it though. Posted by: Joe | Mar 25, 2018 10:53:18 PM Post a comment President Trump is considering a big fine or tariffs to punish China for unsavory business practices, like stealing the intellectual property of U.S. businesses. But history shows that tariffs are futile, and pursuing fines requires more leverage than American businesses or the president has. Since this administration is bent on making China change its ways, Trump and his economic team should instead unite with like-minded countries and reshape key trade rules. When theft of U.S. intellectual property occurs on our soil, the U.S. court system can provide recourse. When it happens outside of the United States, there are fewer options for American firms. Those that choose to do business abroad must abide by the rules in those countries, or by the rules in existing international trade and investment agreements. In principle, thats none of Uncle Sams businessAmericans should determine for themselves which pieces of their property wind up on the bargaining table when seeking to do business abroad. For U.S. firms doing business in China, many find that handing over the crown jewelsor risking theftis a price worth paying if it means access to the worlds fastest-growing and second-largest economy. Yet this administration is determined to take unilateral action against China by invoking Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which gives the U.S. Trade Representative broad authority to respond to a foreign countrys unfair trade practices. This action is usually reserved for intellectual property matters. Trump and his trade teams knee jerk reaction appears to be a tariff. But President Trumps earlier desire for a big fine would be the better of those two options. It has a lighter touch in the marketplace and does not distort the prices consumers pay or healthy competition among businesses. But there are practical matters to consider. How do you compel a sovereign nation to pay a fine? In short, you dont. Both parties need to come to the table to negotiate a settlement for it to work. And there is no indication that China is ready or willing to change its ways. Chinas government will reform its intellectual property right regime when it believes it is in its interest. And not a day sooner. Story continues We have been through this before with the legendary Texas Instruments vs. Japan fight over the semiconductor industry in the 1980s. Japanese firms had been stealing intellectual property from U.S. firms for decades. But, in the end, getting Japan to come to the table had more to do with its own self-interest than with U.S. pressure. With American ingenuity at work, Texas Instruments TXN engineer Jack St. Clair Kilbys U.S. patent for the integrated circuit revolutionized the semiconductor industry beginning in the 1960s. As his Japanese patent application languishedfor 30 yearsJapanese businesses, by some accounts, built their own semiconductor industry off of his idea. Decades of U.S. pressure and trade tensions had little effect. But over time, a critical mass of Japanese firms had reached the technological forefront of industry. Once those leading firms found themselves suffering at the hands of local copycats, they were keen to protect their own position. They were the ones to exert the pressure on the Japanese government that ultimately tipped the scales for patent reform and set in motion the significant strengthening of Japans intellectual property rights. In other words, China may someday change its ways, but dont count on that happening until it is good and ready. If President Trump is determined to take on China, then all roads lead to the United States working with like-minded countries to strengthen and rewrite the trade rules. Our Trans-Pacific and Trans-Atlantic allies are just as eager to pen in market-oriented rules on state-owned enterprises, cross border data flows, technology transfer requirements, and intellectual property rights. Shaping the rules of the global economy remains the more practical and, indeed powerful, response to China. Christine McDaniel, a former senior economist with the White House Council of Economic Advisers and deputy assistant Treasury secretary, is a senior research fellow with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Congress is racing to pass a budget bill: AP Congress is racing to pass a $1.3 trillion spending bill to fund the federal government for the next six months and avoid a government shutdown, a move that would significantly increase military and non-defence funding. In many ways, the bill could be seen as a loss for Donald Trump, whose proposals for severe cuts to funding for the Environmental Protection Agency, State Department and other federal agencies were largely ignored. The bill also excludes some of Trumps immigration-related funding requests. While the President at one point wanted the bill to allocate $25bn to fully fund construction of his long-promised border wall, negotiations to make that happen fell apart. Instead, under the budget deal revealed on Wednesday, Mr Trump would get nearly $1.6bn for border security this year. More border patrol agents could be hired, but there would not be a significant increase in immigration agents working in the rest of the US. When coupled with recently enacted tax cuts, the legislation is projected to lead to budget deficits of more than $800bn for this year, potentially creating problems for Republicans up for re-election in November. In a 256-167 vote, the House of Representatives passed the measure, with majorites of both Democrats and Republicans backing the spending package. Ninety Republicans and 77 Democrats voted against it. The bill now has to be approved by the Senate before it can head to the Presidents desk to be signed by Mr Trump, who appears grudgingly willing to support the measure. Got $1.6 Billion to start Wall on Southern Border, rest will be forthcoming, he wrote on Twitter. Had to waste money on Dem giveaways in order to take care of military pay increase and new equipment. Mr Trump must sign the bill by midnight on Friday night. If he doesnt, the government will close. The measure has faced opposition from both Democrats and Republicans. Some Democrats have asserted that they will not pay for a wall that Mr Trump originally said would be paid for by Mexico. They also complained that in the rush to pass the measure, few if any legislators have had time to read through the 2,232-page bill to see what it actually contained. Story continues Meanwhile, conservative Republicans have big problems with the deficit-spending. The Houses Freedom Caucus, a group of about three dozen conservative hardliners, said they would not support the bill because it massively increases spending while not defunding Obamacare, Planned Parenthood and so-called sanctuary cities. Youre going to see lots of conservatives vote against it, Republican Representative Jim Jordan, a caucus member, told Fox News in an interview. Along with a $80bn increase in military spending, the largest in 15 years, the measure allocates money toward infrastructure improvements and fighting Russian election hacking. In response to public outrage over mass shootings, including a massacre last month at a Florida high school that left 17 people dead, the bill contains modest improvements to background checks for gun sales and grants to help schools prevent gun violence. However, these provisions still far short of the broader measures that Democrats say are needed to end the crisis. A senior minister vowed Thursday to press on with a plan to bring white South African farmers to Australia, hitting out at criticism from "crazy lefties" who he said were "dead to me". Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton sparked uproar last week by singling out the farmers' need to flee "horrific circumstances" for a "civilised country". He is examining whether they deserve "special attention" for acceptance on refugee or humanitarian grounds, which led to South Africa hauling in Australia's envoy to Pretoria for a dressing down and a demand that he retract the comments. It also set off claims at home that Dutton was a racist amid fears that it signalled a return to the "White Australia" policy, referring to laws in place for seven decades from 1901 that prevented non-white immigrants settling Down Under. Dutton, who has drawn criticism in the past for cracking down on asylum-seekers from Asia and the Middle East, is unfazed. He insisted he was blind to skin colour and would bring in migrants based on national interest. "It concerns me that people are being persecuted at the moment -- that's the reality -- the numbers of people dying or being savagely attacked in South Africa is a reality," he told 2GB commercial radio. "We're looking at ways we can help people to migrate to Australia if they're finding themselves in that situation." He said the backlash "meant nothing to me", while attacking several media outlets for their coverage. "Some of the crazy lefties at the ABC, and on The Guardian, Huffington Post, can express concern and draw mean cartoons about me and all the rest of it," he said. "They don't realise how completely dead they are to me." According to police, 74 farmers were murdered between 2016 and 2017 in South Africa, which has one of the world's highest crime rates. Dutton made his initial offer in response to Pretoria's vow to enact land "expropriation without compensation" to redress land confiscations of the colonial and apartheid era. Story continues He said he had been inundated with messages of support since. "If people think I'm going to cower or take a backward step because of their nonsense, fabricated, fake news criticism, then they've got another thing coming," he added. Up to 500,000 white South Africans have left the country in the past 30 years, according to official statistics, with Australia ranking as the top destination. Zagreb (AFP) - Croatia's former prime minister Ivo Sanader pleaded not guilty Friday to accepting a bribe from an Austrian bank during the country's 1990s conflict, at the start of his war profiteering retrial. Sanader, who confidently steered the Balkans country into NATO and to the European Union doorstep, was charged for accepting almost 500,000 euros ($617,000) in bribes from Austrian Hypo Group Alpe Adria. The bribes were allegedly taken in the mid-1990s, during the country's independence war, when he was deputy foreign minister and the bank gave Croatia a loan to buy diplomatic premisses. Sanader was originally sentenced to 10 years in jail in 2012 for taking the bribes from the bank as well as millions of euros from Hungary's energy giant MOL. The verdict was later cut to eight-and-half years in jail before the countrys top court quashed it in 2014 concluding that Sanader's right to a fair trial had been violated. A retrial was ordered and the two cases were separated. "I was not a negotiator (with the bank), and I never talked to anyone about the commission nor did I get one," Sanader, 64, told a Zagreb court. The prosecutors, quoted by state-run HINA news agency, argued that the high-level corruption during the 1991-1995 war was "jeopardising the basis of Croatia's statehood." Sanader, who led the government from 2003-2009, has also been indicted in several other abuse of power and graft cases. He became the top Croatian official to be charged with corruption since the country proclaimed independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991. The fight against corruption was key for Croatia's bid to join the EU. Zagreb joined the bloc in 2013. PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Czech Republic may expel some Russian diplomats after Britain took similar steps in retaliation for an attack on a former Russian spy in England, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Friday. European Union leaders backed Britain at a summit on Thursday, blaming Moscow over the nerve agent attack and recalling their envoy to Moscow. Speaking after the summit, Babis told reporters he would discuss expulsions with the foreign minister and others in his cabinet on Monday, adding "we are likely heading in this direction". "Certainly we are considering it," Babis said when asked about the chance of expelling Russian diplomats, according to a transcript of the comments to reporters made after late-night meetings in Brussels. He said the number of diplomats would be in the single digits, not dozens, and would not include the ambassador. The Czech Republic has been dragged into the dispute after a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said last Saturday that the most likely source of the Novichok nerve agent was Britain itself or the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sweden or the United States. The Czech Republic strongly denied that, and Foreign Minister Martin Stropnicky summoned Russia's ambassador over the claim this week. (Reporting by Jason Hovet, editing by Larry King) By David Schwartz PHOENIX, Ariz (Reuters) - The daughter of the woman killed by an Uber [UBER.UL] self-driving vehicle in Arizona has retained a personal injury lawyer, underlying the potential high stakes of the first fatality caused by an autonomous vehicle. The law firm of Bellah Perez in Glendale, Arizona, said in a statement on Thursday it was representing the daughter of Elaine Herzberg, who died on Sunday night after being hit by the Uber self-driving SUV in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe. "As the first pedestrian death involving an Uber autonomous vehicle, the incident has sparked a national debate about the safety of self-driving cars, exposing the technology's blind spots and raising questions of liability," the law firm said. The firm did not immediately return phone calls seeking more information. Fall-out from the accident could stall the development and testing of self-driving vehicles, which are designed to perform far better than human drivers and sharply reduce the number of motor vehicle fatalities that occur each year. The fatality also presents an unprecedented liability challenge because self-driving vehicles, which are still in the development stage, involve a complex system of hardware and software often made by outside suppliers. The specifics of how Uber's technology operates are not known. On Thursday a group of 10 Democratic senators cited the fatality in Tempe in a letter sent to Uber and 59 other companies including Ford Motor Co and Tesla Inc highlighting how the use of forced arbitration clauses to settle customer disputes would prevent victims of accidents involving self-driving vehicles from exercising their legal rights. The senators, led by Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, noted that Uber includes forced arbitration in its standard terms of service with users. "Had the victim been a passenger ... the victim's family could have been denied recourse through the courts," the letter read. The senators asked the companies to commit to not using the arbitration clauses in contracts related to self-driving cars. Story continues "When injury or death does occur, a forced arbitration clause would prevent consumers from exercising their fundamental legal rights as Americans," the senators wrote. Many companies include forced arbitration clauses in contracts with customers, requiring that any disputes be settled in binding arbitration and barring customers from suing in a court of law. Arbitration rulings, generally, cannot be appealed. ACCIDENT LIABILITY? Herzberg, 49, who was homeless, was jay-walking across a divided four-lane road with her bicycle when she was struck while in the far right-hand lane. A video taken from a dash-mounted camera inside the vehicle that was released by Tempe police on Wednesday showed the SUV traveling along a dark street when suddenly the headlights illuminate Herzberg in front of the SUV. She later died from her injuries. Other footage showed the human driver who was behind the wheel mostly looking down and not at the road in the seconds before the accident. Uber, like many other companies testing self-driving vehicles, has a human driver in each vehicle as a monitor and to act as a backup if necessary. Few details of the incident have emerged amid the investigations by police and federal safety regulators. Police have said the vehicle, a Volvo XC90 which was operating in autonomous mode, was traveling at about 40 mile per hour (65 km per hour) at the time of the collision and did not appear to brake. Police have said that following their probe, they will submit the case to the Maricopa County Attorney's office, which will determine if there is any basis for a case for potential criminal prosecution. One key question for investigators will be how the vehicle's technology failed to notice the pedestrian crossing the street in front of it, despite the darkness. Self-driving cars typically use a combination of sensors, including radar and light-sensing Lidar, to identify objects, including potential obstacles coming into range. In company presentations, Uber has stated its self-driving technology includes sensors that provide a 360-degree view around the vehicle. (Writing by Alexandria Sage; Additional reporting by David Shepardson in Washington, D.C.; Editing by Leslie Adler) Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Egypt opened its largely sealed border with the Gaza Strip on Friday for two days, Palestinian authorities said. In just the third such opening this year, the crossing between the Palestinian enclave and Egypt's Sinai region will be open Friday and Saturday for humanitarian cases, the Palestinian embassy in Cairo said. The Rafah crossing is the only exit for Gaza residents except into Israel, but Egypt has largely sealed it in recent years, citing security threats. Egyptian authorities have a poor relationship with Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas, whom they have accused of supporting attacks inside Egypt. Both of the two previous border openings this year were cut short due to the security situation in Sinai. The Egyptian army and police forces are engaged in a fierce conflict with armed Islamists, especially in the North Sinai governorate where an Egyptian affiliate of the Islamic State is active. Hundreds have been killed on both sides. For more than a decade, Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza that critics say amounts to collective punishment of the coastal territory's two million Palestinian residents. Israel says the blockade is necessary to isolate Hamas, with which it has fought three wars since 2008. Egypt has also kept the Rafah crossing largely closed for several years. In October, Egypt brokered a reconciliation agreement between Hamas and Fatah, the party of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, that was supposed to see the Islamists give up power in Gaza. But the deal has collapsed, with the two Palestinian groups trading blame. Brussels (AFP) - European Union leaders approved guidelines Friday for the next phase of Brexit talks with Britain, but set a June deadline for progress on the key issue of Northern Ireland. At a summit in Brussels, 27 leaders without Britain backed the red lines for talks on the future relationship including trade, and approved a deal for a 21-month transition period. Prime Minister Theresa May said the move by the remaining leaders created a "new dynamic" for what promises to be tough negotiations ahead of Britain's departure in a year's time. EU President Donald Tusk said the bloc would now use the "positive momentum" to tackle "outstanding issues", including how to avoid border checks between the British province of Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland. These would take place "in parallel" with talks on the future trading relationship, he told a summit press conference. "Leaders will assess in June if the Irish question has been resolved and how to go about a common declaration on our future," he told reporters. Britain has said it is leaving the EU's single market and customs union, but the prospect of a "hard" border in Ireland has sparked concerns about the fragile peace on the island. - 'Decisive step' - The EU and Britain have agreed a "backstop" that Northern Ireland would remain part of the EU's customs union if there is no better idea -- but London is deeply opposed to this. May said on Friday: "We will now be sitting down and determining those workable solutions for Northern Ireland but also for our future security partnership and economic partnership." The adoption of the EU guidelines, and approval of the post-Brexit transition deal, marks a "decisive step in these difficult and extraordinary negotiations", the bloc's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said. But the imposition of a new deadline for progress on the Irish issue steps up the pressure on Britain to find a solution to one of the thorniest problems of Brexit. Story continues The transition deal agreed this week by negotiators effectively maintains Britain's ties with the EU until December 2020, although it will have no voting rights, to allow time for a deal on future relations. However, the EU guidelines say that "negotiations can only progress as long as all commitments undertaken so far are respected in full". They call for "intensified efforts" on the outstanding parts of the divorce, adding: "Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed." Irish premier Leo Varadkar, who met May on the sidelines of the summit on Thursday, said he envisaged a trading relationship that was "so close that many of measures in the backstop may become unnecessary". May secured a diplomatic victory on Thursday after securing unanimous EU backing for Britain's assessment that Russia was "highly likely" responsible for a nerve agent attack on an ex-spy in the English city of Salisbury. "In these difficult circumstances I am especially pleased that despite tough Brexit negotiations the EU had demonstrated unanimous and unequivocal unity with the UK," Tusk added. - Financial services - Britain is pressing for its powerful financial services sector to retain easy access to European markets after Brexit, and the issue is not mentioned in the formal EU guidelines. However, ministers from the other 27 EU countries agreed earlier this week to propose to Britain that it accept a version of the "equivalence" system currently used by companies from non-EU states to operate in the bloc. This would mean mutual recognition of each other's rules in certain areas, but would give Brussels the ultimate power to decide. British finance minister Philip Hammond has said he is open to the idea of equivalence if based on "mutual agreement, underpinned by objective analysis and proper procedures". burs-ar/dk/je Noting how Ohio judges and prison officials are sparring over law seeking to reduce prison readmissions | Main | En banc Sixth Circuit rejects, with some dubitante, effort to extend Sixth Amendment right to counsel to preindictment plea negotiations March 23, 2018 Interesting (and important?) new polling data on the death penalty Yesterday the results of a new Quinnipiac University Poll were released here, and the press release about the results start with this account of the results of questions about the death penalty (with my emphasis added): In a simple question, American voters support the death penalty 58 - 33 percent for persons convicted of murder, according to a Quinnipiac University National Poll released today. But when offered a choice between the death penalty or life in prison with no chance of parole, American voters choose the life option 51 - 37 percent, the first time a majority of voters backed the life without parole option since the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University Poll first asked this question in 2004. There are deep party and gender divisions as Republicans back the death penalty 59 - 29 percent. Backing the life option are Democrats 73 - 19 percent and independent voters 49 - 37 percent. Women back the life option 56 - 33 percent. Men are divided as 45 percent back the life option and 42 percent support the death penalty. American voters are more united as they oppose 71 - 21 percent, including 57 - 35 percent opposition among Republicans, imposing the death penalty for persons convicted of selling drugs that cause a lethal overdose. Voters say 75 - 20 percent that this use of the death penalty would not help stop the opioid crisis. But voters say 64 - 31 percent that the death penalty should not be abolished nationwide. Democrats are divided as 47 percent say abolish the death penalty and 46 percent say don't abolish it. Every other listed party, gender, education, age and racial group is opposed to abolishing the death penalty. "It's a mixed message on a question that has moral and religious implications. Voters are perhaps saying, 'Keep the death penalty, but just don't use it," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. "Despite what President Donald Trump says, neither Democrats nor Republicans have the stomach for executing drug dealers," Malloy added. The "mixed message" take away is obviously the right one, and it also means that both supporters and opponents of the death penalty can spin these results in any number of ways. But the result that only half of self-identified Democrats call for abolishing the death penalty strikes me as perhaps the most critical single finding and one that likely entails that the death penalty will not be abolished legislatively even in blue states in near future. March 23, 2018 at 11:56 AM | Permalink Comments Looks like those Right on Crime Republicans, preaching limited govt and respect for life, still like the show of force in an execution, regardless of how questionable the method. Posted by: Paul | Mar 23, 2018 1:45:43 PM "entails that the death penalty will not be abolished legislatively even in blue states in near future" Other than CA (which barely passed a measure that somewhat streamlined the appeals process & has a significant death row population so not surprised they don't want to TOTALLY abolish it), and even there, what blue states actually execute anyone these days & still has the death penalty? https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2011/sep/21/death-penalty-statistics-us The raw numbers aren't that helpful in this regard since we also need to break down the numbers by state. If some state has only a few people on death row and executed single digits in the last few decades, they might very well end the death penalty especially if some controversy arises because of a wrongful or botched case. I'm not surprised in the least by the breakdown here -- Obama, e.g., supports the death penalty for a few crimes. Like other things, people can always find a personal case, at least in theory, where an absolute abolition comes off as wrong. We are talking national numbers here, after all, including in more conservative areas. As with other bad things, completely ending it is an ideal, but the best thing to push for immediately (likely to pass) is addressing various problems. Posted by: Joe | Mar 23, 2018 2:28:59 PM You are right, Joe, that other than the bluest state (CA), there is no real ACTIVE death penalty in any deep blue state. That said, PA is "bluish" and it has well over 150 on death row. And "sometimes blue" states like Florida and Virginia have pretty active capital histories. Posted by: Doug B. | Mar 23, 2018 4:21:48 PM The state level analysis does not really work here as certain counties contribute disproportionately to death row and the pool of condemned. It's not the 'blue' parts of California, Virginia or Florida that are responsible for the condemned the state may eventually execute. Posted by: Paul | Mar 23, 2018 4:55:06 PM The point about death penalty friendly districts is noted -- it's a question of subdividing then at the right level. The sizable death row population (though only three were actually executed post-Gregg, all in a brief span in the late 1990s & w/o checking Wikipedia, all apparently "volunteers") of PA is noted too. Nonetheless, in 2015, the governor declared a moratorium. I guess it being a "Trump State" (if narrowly) this might change. I wasn't thinking of "sometime blue" states but VA and FL is in the death belt, yes. Posted by: Joe | Mar 23, 2018 6:46:52 PM The point about death penalty friendly districts is noted -- it's a question of subdividing then at the right level. The sizable death row population (though only three were actually executed post-Gregg, all in a brief span in the late 1990s & w/o checking Wikipedia, all apparently "volunteers") of PA is noted too. Nonetheless, in 2015, the governor declared a moratorium. I guess it being a "Trump State" (if narrowly) this might change. I wasn't thinking of "sometime blue" states but VA and FL is in the death belt, yes. Posted by: Joe | Mar 23, 2018 6:46:53 PM Legislators represent public opinion. They must begin to impeach appellate court judges for stymying the public consensus. The impeachments should be immediate, fast tracked, and numerous. To deter. These judges are nothing more than thieves of taxpayer money. They are criminals themselves. Posted by: David Behar | Mar 24, 2018 7:03:57 AM The survey is a blunt instrument lumping all murders together. I suspect a subtler instrument would reveal that most people would not want the death penalty for all murderers, but would reserve it for those especially heinous murders as most states already do to some degree. A survey asking if mass school murderers should be executed would likely score very high support, as would a question about whether terrorist attacks resulting in many deaths or a number of other situations. Posted by: rsteinmetz | Mar 29, 2018 12:57:54 PM Post a comment By Julia Fioretti BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU leaders on Thursday urged social networks to guarantee transparent practices and fully protect personal information as pressure piled on Facebook after allegations that data from 50 million of its users was mishandled. More than $50 billion has been wiped off Facebook's market value on reports that British political consultancy Cambridge Analytica improperly accessed data to build profiles on American voters and influence the 2016 presidential election. "Social networks and digital platforms need to guarantee transparent practices and full protection of citizens' privacy and personal data," the European Union heads of state said in after meeting in Brussels. "EU and national legislation must be respected and enforced." The harvesting of user data happened before a new EU data protection law comes into force under which companies could be fined up to 4 percent of global turnover for violating. "We cannot apply the sanctions which are coming with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) from May onwards," EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova told reporters on Thursday. In Britain, which is leading the investigation from the European side, the maximum sanction is 500,000 pounds ($705,000), Jourova said, an insignificant amount compared to Facebook's $40.65 billion in revenue for 2017. European Parliament head Antonio Tajani invited Facebook's Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg to come to the legislature to explain "how Cambridge Analytica came to use the personal data of millions of people to influence the... U.S. presidential elections and the Brexit referendum." On Wednesday Zuckerberg apologised for mistakes his company made and promised to restrict developers' access to user information as part of a plan to improve privacy protection. Jourova said more than one announcement would be needed to renew people's trust in Facebook. "This is much more serious because here we witness the threat to democracy, to democratic plurality. It is endangering the free electoral choices of the people in Europe," she said. ($1 = 0.7095 pounds) (Reporting by Julia Fioretti) Brussels (AFP) - The leaders of several EU countries said Friday they are mulling whether to expel Russian diplomats or take other steps to support Britain following a nerve agent attack on a former spy. European Union leaders returned to summit talks on Friday after uniting behind British Prime Minister Theresa May in blaming Russia for the attack in England, and agreeing to recall the bloc's ambassador to Moscow for consultations. Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats they said were spies, and has been pressing EU allies to follow suit despite Moscow's warning against confrontational steps. The leaders of former Soviet bloc EU states the Czech Republic and Lithuania, as well as Denmark and Ireland, said they were considering further unilateral steps, including expelling diplomats. "I think national measures will be applied already starting from next week... from a lot of countries," Lithuania's outspoken President Dalia Grybauskaite said returning to the summit on Friday. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis told the CTK news agency that Prague may expel several Russian diplomats over the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. "Yes, we will probably move in this direction," Babis said, adding he will consult with cabinet members on Monday. Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said his government would decide early next week whether to expel diplomats following a security assessment. "We are not going to randomly expel people who are genuine diplomats," Varadkar told reporters. Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said his government heard the "strong signal" from the bloc's leaders. He said he would hold consultations with members of his government. "My government will then in the next coming days very seriously consider to take further steps," Rasmussen said. - Concern about Russian meddling - A French presidency source said Thursday that Paris was also ready to act. Story continues The poisoning has heightened worries across Europe about Russian meddling -- from repeated cyber attacks to what the EU has called an "orchestrated strategy" of disinformation aimed at destabilising the bloc. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has close ties with Moscow and has clashed with Brussels on democracy issues, was behind the plan to recall the EU ambassador in solidarity with Britain, a diplomatic source said. "At yesterday's meeting it was PM Orban who proposed the recall of the EU ambassador to Moscow for consultations in Brussels," the diplomatic source told AFP on condition of anonymity. "Greece and Italy were the most reluctant to take further common actions against Russia." During a visit to Hanoi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that British officials "are feverishly trying to force allies to take confrontational steps". By Idrees Ali and Ben Blanchard WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy destroyer carried out a "freedom of navigation" operation on Friday, coming within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built by China in the South China Sea, U.S. officials told Reuters. The operation, which infuriated Beijing, was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Chinas efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the destroyer Mustin traveled close to Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands and carried out maneuvering operations. China has territorial disputes with its neighbors over the area. Twelve nautical miles is an internationally recognized territorial limit. The United States has criticized China's construction of islands and buildup of military facilities in the area, and is concerned they could be used to restrict free nautical movement. The latest operation, the first since January, occurred just a day after U.S. President Donald Trump lit a slow-burning fuse by signing a presidential memorandum that will target up to $60 billion in Chinese goods with tariffs, following a 30-day consultation period that starts once a list is published. When asked about the operation, the U.S. military said its activities are carried out under international law and American forces operate in the region on a daily bases. "We conduct routine and regular freedom of navigation operations, as we have done in the past and will continue to do in the future," said Lieutenant Commander Nicole Schwegman, a spokeswoman for U.S. Pacific Fleet. China's Defense Ministry said two Chinese naval ships had been sent to identify the U.S. ship and warn it to leave. It described the actions of the American ship as seriously harming China's sovereignty and security, which threatens regional peace and stability. Such actions cause forces from both countries to come into close proximity and could easily cause a misjudgment or accident, and create serious political and military provocation for China, the ministry said. China has always dedicated itself to protecting freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, but opposes "illegal and provocative" moves in the name of freedom of navigation, it added. "The provocative behavior by the U.S. side will only cause the Chinese military to further strengthen building up defense abilities in all areas." In January, another U.S. Navy destroyer sailed near Scarborough Shoal, a disputed lagoon claimed by China in the South China Sea. "MANUFACTURING TENSIONS" In a separate statement, China's Foreign Ministry said the country would continue to take all necessary steps to protect its sovereignty and peace and stability in the South China Sea, where it said the situation was developing for the better with the hard work of China and Southeast Asian nations. The U.S. determination to "manufacture tensions" flies in the face of the wishes of countries in the region to seek cooperation and development and will not enjoy popular support, the foreign ministry said. The U.S. military has a longstanding position that its operations are carried out throughout the world, including in areas claimed by allies, and they are separate from political considerations. China's claims in the South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes each year, are contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. The U.S. military put countering China and Russia at the center of a new national defense strategy unveiled in January. China's navy will carry out combat drills in the South China Sea, the military's official newspaper said on Friday, calling the move part of regular annual exercises. Taiwan's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday it had shadowed a Chinese aircraft carrier group traversing the Taiwan Strait in a southwesterly direction - meaning into the disputed South China Sea - in what Taiwan judged to be a drill. The United States has been pushing allies to carry out freedom of navigation operations as well. Britain last month said one of its warships would pass through the South China Sea to assert freedom-of-navigation rights. (Reporting by Idrees Ali and Ben Blanchard; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Tom Brown) This article originally appeared on The Conversation. After revelations that political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica allegedly appropriated Facebook user data to advise Donald Trumps 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, many are calling for greater regulation of social media networks, saying a massive data breach has occurred. The idea that governments can regulate their way into protecting citizen privacy is appealing, but I believe it misses the mark. Trending: March Madness: More Busted Brackets in Elite Eight After Kentucky Blows It? Mark Zuckerberg REUTERS/Robert Galbraith What happened with Cambridge Analytica wasnt a breach or a leak. It was a wild violation of academic research ethics. The story is still developing, but a college researcher has now acknowledged that he harvested Facebook users data and gave it to another company. A scholar and his company failed to protect sensitive research data. A university did not do enough to stop him. Regulating Facebook wont solve these problems. What Kogan did wrong I am a professor of media and information policy at the Quello Center at Michigan State University, and I was one of the first academics to study the internet. The quality and integrity of digital research is of great concern to me. I think the Cambridge Analytica-Facebook incident is a total disaster. I just dont think its a government regulatory failure. Heres the story, at least what the media has confirmed so far. Aleksandr Kogan is a Cambridge University data scientist and psychology department lecturer. Outside of the university, Kogan also collected and analyzed Facebook user datapresumably with the knowledge of Facebookfor his company Global Science Research. Through online surveys, he was reportedly able to gather sensitive personal information on tens of millions of American Facebook users, including demographic data, private messages, information about their friends and possibly even information about the friends of their friends. Story continues Kogan then provided this data to a political consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica. According to the New York Times, the company analyzed that information, aiming to help shape the 2016 Trump campaigns messages and identify potential Trump voters. Don't miss: Trade War: Which U.S. Goods Will China Target as it Hits Back at Trumps Tariffs? That was never his intent, Kogan said in a March 21 BBC radio interview. He reports being stunned that his perfectly legal research on the happiness and well-being of Facebook users was deployed as a political tool. What Facebook did wrong So did Facebook do something wrong, then? In my opinion, not really. Facebook already has strict guidelines outlining what can and cant be done with user data, which the researcher appears to have violated by passing the personal data he collected to Cambridge Analytica. When Facebook launched in 2004, it quickly became a goldmine for social researchers. Suddenly, studies that previously relied only on survey data to gather information about individuals could directly observe how people connected to one another, what they liked, and what bound groups together. In the early years, the company took an open and experimental attitude toward this kind of data mining, even teaming up with researchers to study how tweaking certain features of individuals Facebook pages affected voter turnout, say, or impacted their moods. Those studies, conducted without the informed consent of its participantsFacebook userswere widely criticized by social science researchers. In 2014, Facebook strengthened its existing guidelines on how user data can be gathered, analyzed and used. Today, the company requires an extensive internal review of every request to extract personal data from users for research purposes. In other words, Facebook self-regulated. It may have been lax in enforcing its guidelines, though. The company says that once it learned that Cambridge Analytica had used Kogans data set for unauthorized purposes, it insisted that the data be deleted. Most popular: How Vanguard 1, the Oldest Human Object in Space, Changed the Way We Look at the Universe According to current press reports, Cambridge Analytica did not comply. For a while, it seems, Facebook did nothing to punish the company. I believe this fallout from this scandalincluding a Federal Trade Commission investigationwill push Facebook to take enforcement much more seriously. After all, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a March 21 Facebook post, the company made mistakes and it has a responsibility to protect its users. Cambridge Analyticas Facebook account has now been suspended. And under both U.S. and U.K. law, individuals or firms accused of unauthorized disclosure of personal information can face prosecution. facebook demographic age old zuckerberg DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images What academia does wrong For me, what the Cambridge Analytica fiasco exposes is that university ethical review processes are not yet equipped for the digital age. University researchers are bound by strict ethical guidelines. Across the worldparticularly in the U.K., with its strong social research traditionsacademics who want to study the attitudes or behavior of private individuals must first pass a stringent review process. They must also obtain explicit, informed consent from those who participate in their research. It is impossible for me to imagine that an ethics board at the University of Cambridge would have ever approved of Kogan sharing his data with Cambridge Analytica. Universities around the globe actually encourage faculty to develop entrepreneurial companies, as Kogan did. That helps their research reach beyond campus to foster innovation in business, industry and government. But the norms and rules that protect participants in academic researchsuch as not sharing identifiable personal datado not stop at the door of the university. Kogans exploits show that professors outside jobs may raise conflicts of interest and may have escaped the reach of institutional review. This is an area of academic work-for-hire that universities need to review with an eye toward updating how they enforce research ethics. Ive briefed institutional review boards at a number of universities, and I can attest that members often dont understand how the internet has been transforming the way data is created, gathered, analyzed and shared on the internet and social media networks. Frequently, the authorities who grant professors and students permission to conduct their studies are anchored in the standards of medical research, not modern social science. Many schools also generally fail to understand how cutting-edge some academic fields have become. Big data and computational analytics is one of the most innovative scientific fields today. Legitimate, company-approved access to social media user data allows researchers to study some of the most urgent issues of the 21st century, including fake news, political echo chambers and technological trends. So it is not surprising that political campaigns would want to appropriate these research practices. Until they come up with new rules, I fear universities lack of digital savvy will remain a threat to online privacy. William H. Dutton, Professor of Media and Information Policy, Michigan State University. The Conversation This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek By Lisa Barrington BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels left one besieged enclave on Friday and agreed to abandon another, leaving only the city of Douma still in insurgent hands in eastern Ghouta after a month-long army assault to drive them from the stronghold near Damascus. It brings President Bashar al-Assad to the cusp of his biggest victory over the rebels since driving them from Aleppo in December 2016, though they remain entrenched in areas of northwestern and southwestern Syria. The offensive to capture the towns and villages on the outskirts of the capital, which began on Feb. 18 with a massive bombardment, has brought 90 percent of eastern Ghouta back under government control. More than 1,600 people have been killed, a war monitor said. Syrian army soldiers fired tracer bullets into the night air in celebration on Friday as the last groups of rebels in the town of Harasta boarded buses for opposition territory in the northwest along with family members. They had agreed to surrender the town in return for safe passage out and a pardon for civilians who chose to remain there as the government took back control. The government's assault, backed by Russia, was one of the fiercest of the seven-year-old war and was carried out in defiance of international pleas to halt and honour a ceasefire. At the start of the offensive, the United Nations estimated 400,000 people were trapped inside the besieged area without access to food or medicine. Syrian state television broadcast the departure of rebels and their families. From behind a half-drawn curtain, a woman in a headscarf could be seen gazing out through a spiderweb of bullet holes and cracks in the window of a bus as it prepared to carry her to exile. A Reuters witness near where the buses were gathering said some men had disembarked to pray while women and children walked nearby. Meanwhile, rebels in a second pocket around the towns of Arbin, Jobar, Zamalka and Ein Terma said they had also agreed to leave for the northwest with their families and any other civilians who did not wish to come back under Assad's rule. People who wished to stay on would not face prosecution, said Wael Alwan, spokesman for the Failaq al-Rahman group there, adding that the group would also release captured government soldiers. About 7,000 people would depart in the deal starting on Saturday morning, including fighters carrying light weapons, state TV reported. But bombs still fell on Friday on the besieged city of Douma, from which thousands of people have fled into government territory in recent days. Once insurgents complete their agreed withdrawals from the other areas, it will stand as the last battered and besieged rebel zone in eastern Ghouta, itself the opposition's last major bastion near the capital. ASSAULT The Syrian army's assault to recapture the area has been marked by tactics the army has used to crush resistance since Russia joined the war on Assad's side in 2015 - lay siege to an area, bombard it, launch a ground assault and finally offer the rebels and their families safe passage to the northwest. After helping turn the tide of the war in Assad's favour with air power and military support, Russia has increasingly cast itself as a peace-broker. Russian representatives have played a role in negotiating local ceasefires and evacuations. Assad and his allies say their offensive in eastern Ghouta is necessary to end the rule of Islamist militants over the area's people, and to stop them shelling government areas. Rebel rocket fire has killed scores of people during the army offensive on eastern Ghouta, state television has reported including in a strike that hit a market place on Tuesday. A source in the Syrian Arab Red Crescent agency said four of its members, as well as other civilians, were injured on Friday by an explosion in Harasta. The war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the blast was caused by rebels detonating their arsenal before departing. By the time the last convoy departed Harasta on Friday evening, state media reported that scores of buses had left, carrying thousands of people including well over a thousand fighters. Shortly afterwards, the army retook the town, the state media said. State television broadcast footage of what it said was about 3,400 people leaving Douma on foot on Friday morning, carrying small children and belongings. Thousands of civilians have made the same journey over the past week, making their way to reception centres in government-held territory. They were leaving behind them a blast-wrecked landscape of smashed concrete and twisted metal, where for weeks people have cowered in basements from the unrelenting bombardment. Already besieged for years, people in eastern Ghouta have suffered acute shortages of food and medicine, and during the weeks-long battle they were often unable to leave their homes even to bury the dead. The United Nations estimates more than 50,000 people have fled besieged areas of eastern Ghouta in the past two weeks. (Reporting by Lisa Barrington and Angus McDowall in Beirut and Firas Makdesi in Damascus; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Gareth Jones and Peter Graff) The University of Cincinnati on Thursday awarded the officer who shot and killed unarmed black motorist Sam DuBose with a settlement worth nearly $350,000, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. The settlement comes after the Ohio police union filed a grievance for University of Cincinnati Officer Raymond Tensing, who was fired following DuBoses 2015 death. Tensing agreed to officially resign in exchange for $244,230 in back pay and benefits and $100,000 for legal fees. Tensing fatally shot DuBose during a routine traffic stop in July 2015. He said he stopped DuBose for a missing front license plate and discovered the motorist was driving with a suspended license. Tensing claimed that DuBose tried to drive away during the interaction, saying DuBose dragged him with his car and forced him to open fire. However, body cam footage later revealed that this claim was false and that he actually shot DuBose while the vehicle was still. Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said that the former officer will never be convicted of the charges filed against him, including murder and voluntary manslaughter. Earlier this year, Deters decided not to try for a third trial citing two mistrials in which jurors said they could not come to a unanimous decision. This agreement will be difficult for our community, UC president Neville Pinto wrote in an email to the schools student body and faculty. He also hoped that the community could focus on supporting each other as members of the same Bearcat familyeven, perhaps especially, if we dont agree. DaShonda Reid, who was engaged to DuBose before his death and is mother to four of his children, views the settlement as unjust. Im very upset with UC paying that murderer Tensing, she told The Cincinnati Enquirer via text. Hes officially a paid assassin who has not shown one ounce of remorse for killing an innocent man. The university also reached a $4.85 million civil settlement with DuBoses family, but have only paid about $100,000 of that sum out-of-pocket, reports the Enquirer. The settlement also included tuition for DuBoses children, an on-campus memorial, and an apology from the university. However, some also view awarding Tensing a settlement for his alleged suffering during the trial as a slight and yet another case of courts seemingly condoning police brutality toward black people. Story continues In 2014, a grand jury in Staten Island declined to indict the NYPD officer responsible for Eric Garners death. In 2016, all charges were dropped against the officers involved in the killing of Freddie Gray in Baltimore. And since Michael Browns fatal 2014 shooting in Ferguson, only 19 cases of police officers charged with murder or manslaughter have gone before a jury. Of those, only six led to convictions. For many, Reids pain is part of a long history in the fight against police brutality. To even want compensation (after) murdering an innocent man shows how soulless and callous he is, Reid told The Enquirer. UC has now reversed any of the rights they attempted to do by Sam. His blood is not only on Tensings hands (and) the justice system, its now on UCs hands. Also on HuffPost A California Highway Patrol officer is confronted by a Black Lives Matter protester during a demonstration Thursday in Sacramento, California. Protesters chanted outside of City Hall. A young girl wears a shirt with an image of Stephon Clark. Veronica Curry, front with hoop earrings, raises her fist with other Black Lives Matter supporters. A protester holds a photo of Stephon Clark during a Black Lives Matter demonstration outside of Sacramento City Hall. A protester carries an umbrella as he marches during a protest of the police shooting of Stephon Clark. Black Lives Matter protesters stage a demonstration outside of Sacramento City Hall. A Black Lives Matter protesters run onto Interstate 5. A Black Lives Matter protester holds a sign as he marches on Interstate 5. Protesters stand on a California Highway Patrol car on Interstate 5. A young girl holds a Black Lives Matter sign in front of Sacramento police officers on horseback. Black Lives Matter protesters block Interstate 5 during a demonstration. Protesters hold signs as they march on Interstate 5. Protesters chant as they block the entrance to the Golden 1 Center. Black Live Matter protesters hold their fists in the air as they block the entrance to the Golden 1 Center. Black Live Matter protesters chant as they block the entrance to the Golden 1 Center. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. A woman has accused a former Mormon missionary training center president of sexually assaulting her in 1984. (Photo: 1MoreCreative via Getty Images) Years-old sexual abuse allegations against a former Mormon missionary leader were published on a whistleblowing website this week, prompting a public pledge from the Utah-based church that it would discipline the alleged perpetrator if the claims were found to be true. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in a statement Tuesday that it is looking into deeply disturbing allegations against Joseph Bishop, who served as president of a Mormon missionary training center in Provo, Utah, in the 1980s. A 55-year-old woman has accused Bishop of sexually assaulting her in 1984 while she was training to be a missionary. The woman claims Bishop raped her at the center, according to a Brigham Young University police report obtained by HuffPost. The womans name has not been disclosed in the press or in the police report. Bishop was the president at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo from 1983 to 1986. An MTC is where the LDS church trains thousands of young men and women before they are sent out as missionaries to countries across the world. If the allegations of sexual assault are true, it would be a tragic betrayal of our standards and would result in action by the Church to formally discipline any member who was guilty of such behavior, especially someone in a position of trust, the church said in its statement. The churchs statement came days after a taped conversation between Bishop and the woman was posted to MormonLeaks, a website started by ex-Mormons seeking to increase transparency within the LDS church. Last December, the woman posed as a reporter and secretly recorded an interview she had with Bishop in Arizona. During the wide-ranging conversation, she asked Bishop questions about the alleged assault and about other women he may have harassed. The Mormon leader, who is now 85 years old, can be heard saying he doesnt remember assaulting the woman and muses that maybe its because my mind doesnt want me to remember that. Story continues At one point in the interview, the woman asked if Bishop molested another Mormon woman at the MTC. He admits that he gave one woman a back rub that got too frisky. He apologizes repeatedly in the recording and says that for years he has struggled with a sexual addiction. I am very, very sorry and I am so sorry. I dont know if I can even be forgiven on your side, Bishop tells the woman in the recording. The woman reported her alleged assault to Brigham Young University police last November. (Photo: Bloomberg via Getty Images) The woman also contacted Brigham Young University police in November to report her alleged assault. According to that police report, Bishop denied the rape allegations but told detectives that hed gone with the woman to a small preparation room and while talking with her asked her to show him her breasts, which she did. BYU police relayed the facts of the case to the Utah County attorneys office. Deputy attorney David Sturgill replied that he could not pursue criminal charges against Bishop because the statute of limitations had expired four years after the alleged assault. I have no reason to doubt the victims disclosure, and would have likely prosecuted Mr. Bishop, but for the expiration of the statute of limitations, Sturgill informed BYU police, according to the police report. BYU police closed their investigation into the assault on Dec. 23. The woman told the LDS church-owned Deseret News that she first reported the assault to church officials around 1988. The churchs official statement on Tuesday claimed officials became aware of the alleged assault in 2010, when the woman informed leaders of a Mormon congregation in Pleasant Grove, Utah, where she was living. The LDS church claims the leaders listened carefully to the claims being made and then relayed them to the Pleasant Grove Police Department. The church claims it received no further communication from the police about the matter. Church leaders also contacted Bishop, who denied the allegations. Unable to verify the womans claims, the church said it decided not to discipline Bishop at the time. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, the woman made a threat about killing Bishop in 2010. Pleasant Grove police interviewed the woman and decided not to make an arrest. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo: George Frey via Getty Images) In January, the womans lawyer forwarded the recorded conversation to the LDS church. The church claims both the woman and Bishop were then interviewed about the allegations. Both parties reaffirmed their positions and appeared to have dramatically different recollections of what happened in 1984. Bishops family claims that the woman who made the accusations is untrustworthy and has falsely accused other men of sexual assault. His son, Greg Bishop, said his father was confused during the womans interview, since he was recovering from a heart surgery that took place two days earlier. The son added that when his father admitted to having a sexual addiction, he was referring to a lifelong battle with controlling his sexual thoughts. Those people who know dad dont put much credence in these allegations, Greg Bishop told the AP. The church cautioned in its statement that it does not have the investigative tools available to law enforcement agencies to conduct a thorough review of the matter, but pledged to keep Bishop accountable for any misconduct. The Church is continuing its investigation of this individuals claims and will act consistent with its long-standing policy of no tolerance for abuse. Also on HuffPost Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. From Afar The exterior of the Kansas City Temple, as seen from a distance. At Night The exterior of the Kansas City Missouri Temple at night. Celestial Room The celestial room in the Kansas City Missouri Temple. Sealing Room A sealing room in the Kansas City Missouri Temple. Ordinance Room An ordinance room in the Kansas City Missouri Temple. Ordinance Room An ordinance room in the Kansas City Missouri Temple. Baptismal Font The baptismal font in the Kansas City Missouri Temple. Oxen Oxen under the baptismal font in the Kansas City Missouri Temple. All Latter-day Saint baptismal fonts are supported on the backs of 12 oxen statues that symbolize the twelve tribes of Israel. Front Desk The front desk area of the Kansas City Missouri Temple. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. The house where the shooting happened is now at the centre of a police investigation: Google Maps A four-year-old child has accidentally shot a baby at a home in Texas, police say. The seven-month-old was rushed to hospital but its condition has not been revealed. A nearby resident in the city of Temple said he saw a police officer carrying a lifeless-looking baby out to an ambulance. One adult was home when the shooting happened, and a woman called police at 2.31pm yesterday, officials said. Police rushed to the house, which was later cordoned off. The police officer carried [the infant] out, witness Bradley Martin said. [The baby] just looked lifeless in his hands. You know what I mean. There was blood all over [the infant]. They put [the baby] in the back of an ambulance and took off down the road. Temple Police Department's criminal investigations division is working on the case. TPD is in scene where a 4 year old has accidentally shot a 7 month old. The 7 month old is in an unknown condition at the Childrens Hospital. #onscene #temple Temple Police Dept (@TempleTX_Police) March 22, 2018 Police tweeted: TPD is in scene where a 4 year old has accidentally shot a 7 month old. The 7 month old is in an unknown condition at the Childrens Hospital. #onscene #temple The child was taken to McLane Children's hospital in Temple. On Friday, as policemen returned from jogging near the southern French city of Carcassonne, a man identified as 26-year-old Redouane Lakdim opened fire. Six shots rang out, leaving one officer injured. But the shooter, acting alone, appeared to have an even more sinister plan. The gunman then made his way to the Super U supermarket in the southern town of Trebes, located 60 miles southeast of Toulouse. Trending: George Clooney Says He's 'Proud' in Open Letter to Parkland Students There, he took hostages at around 12:05 p.m. local time, shooting three people dead and leaving around a dozen injured, according to French national police. The two incidents were connected, Yves Lefebvre, secretary general of SGP Police-FO police union, confirmed to the Associated Press. He would meet his grizzly end in the aisles of the shopping mart when police stormed the supermarket, shooting him dead. Police had earlier surrounded the shopping mart, announcing a security operation and warning citizens to avoid the area. By 1:35 p.m. local time, the man had remained holed up in the supermarket, before he was killed. The motive of the attack appeared to be of a radical Islamist nature. Mayor of Trebes Eric Menassi said the gunman had entered the supermarket shouting "Allahu Akbar!" ("God is great!" in Arabic), before shouting "I'll kill you all." Don't miss: In Pictures: Tallest U.S. Presidents in History Local media reported that he had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) during the attack. French authorities have yet to officially confirm the ISIS link, but the interior ministry confirmed that 26-year-old Lakdim was a petty criminal who had been radicalized and was under police surveillance. It is unknown how his pledge, if any, was conveyed, but previous attackers in Europe and the U.S. have done so in phone calls with authorities, with the possession of ISIS's black flag or by merely shouting an allegiance at the scene of their attack. Story continues By mid-afternoon, ISIS had claimed the attack on its Amaq news agency, calling Lakdim a "soldier of the caliphate." It provided no evidence of a link between the group and him. 03_23_France_Attack Eric Cabanis/AFP/Getty French news channel LCI reported that the attacker was a Moroccan national known to French security services and had made a demand for the release of Salah Abdeslam, the last surviving member of the Paris attacks cell. He remains in prison and has so far refused to cooperate with French authorities after his extradition from Belgium. That demand remains unconfirmed. Most popular: Kenya Bans Forced Anal Examinations of Suspected Gay Men in Landmark Decision The French government was treating the incident as an extremist attack, which would make it the first since the election of Emmanuel Macron in May last year, and the first since a two-year state of emergency was lifted in October. France has remained on high alert ever since. "All the information we have as I speak leads us to think that this would be a terrorist act," French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said. "There is an ongoing situation...in the town of Trebes, where shots have been heard and a man entrenched himself in a supermarket," Philippe said. "It's a serious situation." Macron sent Interior Minister Gerard Collomb to the scene of the attack. The Paris prosecutor's office said that counterterrorism officers had taken over the case. It did not elaborate on why it was presiding over the case. The incident revived memories of the January 2015 Hypercacher kosher supermarket siege in Paris, in which an ISIS sympathizer killed at least four hostages. More than a dozen managed to escape. ISIS has inspired or directed more than half a dozen attacks shooting and vehicle-ramming attacks on French soil since January 2015, killing more than 240 people. The deadliest was the November 2015 shooting and suicide bomb assault on different locations in Paris by an ISIS-cell that had planned their attack in Belgium. That assault left 130 people dead. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Kiev (AFP) - French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on a visit to Kiev Friday accused Russia of being directly responsible for the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine as the "aggressor country." Le Drian said he had discussed "the conflict with Russia" with the Ukrainian authorities, referring to Kiev's struggle with Kremlin-backed separatists in the country's east. "On this point, I will be very clear. In this crisis, there is for us an aggressor country and an attacked country, and there is no ambiguity," Le Drian told journalists at a joint news conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Pavlo Klimkin. The remarks came as relations between Paris and Moscow have been strained by disputes over the conflict in Syria and the poisoning of a former Russian double agent in Britain. "Russia must organise a comprehensive and sustainable ceasefire (and) organise on the ground, and once security conditions are met, we also count on Ukraine to continue implementing measures that fall under its responsibility," said Le Drian, who was paying his first visit to Ukraine. Under peace agreements signed in Minsk in February 2015, Ukraine is expected to grant greater autonomy to the Russian-backed separatist areas as a key condition for them to return under Kiev's authority. The armed conflict between the Ukrainian army and Russian-backed rebels has claimed more than 10,000 lives since its outbreak in 2014. Kiev and the West accuse Russia of supporting the separatists by deploying troops and arms, which Moscow denies despite overwhelming evidence. A string of ceasefire deals have helped to reduce the violence but nevertheless sporadic clashes still erupt between the warring sides. By Johanna Decorse TREBES, France (Reuters) - A gunman killed three people in southwestern France on Friday as he held up a car, fired on police and seized hostages in a supermarket, screaming "Allahu Akbar" before security forces stormed the building and killed him, authorities said. Sixteen other people were wounded, including two who were seriously hurt, in what President Emmanuel Macron called an act of "Islamist terrorism". The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. Macron said security services were checking that claim. "I want to tell the nation tonight of my absolute determination in leading this fight," said Macron, who returned to Paris from Brussels to chair a crisis meeting with ministers and security officials. More than 240 people have been killed in France in attacks since 2015 by assailants who pledged allegiance to Islamic State or were inspired by the group. Friday's attacker was identified by authorities as Redouane Lakdim, 25, from the city of Carcassonne. Two people were killed when he attacked the supermarket in the nearby small town of Trebes. Witnesses said about 20 people in the supermarket found refuge in its cold storage room. A lieutenant-colonel of the gendarmes who swapped himself in exchange for one of the hostages was fighting for his life in hospital, Macron said. Moroccan-born Lakdim was known to authorities for petty crimes, but had been under surveillance by security services in 2016-2017 for links to the radical Salafist movement, said Paris prosecutor Francois Molins, who is leading the investigation. "The monitoring ... did not reveal any apparent signs that could lead (us) to foresee he would act," Molins said. He said one woman connected to Lakdim had been arrested. Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told reporters at the scene that he believed Lakdim had acted alone. "Every day we detect facts and foil new attacks. Alas, this one struck without us being able to counter it," Collomb said. Lakdim first killed one person with a bullet in the head while stealing a car in Carcassonne, a walled city with a medieval citadel that is one of France's top tourist attractions. He pulled up in the car to four police officers who were jogging in the city and opened fire, hitting one in the shoulder, then sped off to Trebes, about 8 km (5 miles) to the east, where he took the hostages in the supermarket. "The perpetrator entered the store shouting 'Allahu Akbar' and indicated that he was an Islamic State soldier who was ready to die for Syria, seeking the release of brothers, before shooting at a client and a store employee who died on the spot," Molins said. Police were carrying out searches at Lakdim's family home. ESCAPE One supermarket worker said some shoppers had escaped from the building after the gunman burst in. "I was in my department when I heard gunshots. I went to the area of the gunshots and came face to face with the person," said the employee, who gave his name only as Francois. "He raised his gun and fired, I ran away, he shouted 'Allahu Akbar' and spoke about the Islamic State. I then evacuated the clients, about 20, who were in my area and we went quietly out of the back," said Francois, who has been employed at the supermarket since November. Collomb said the gunman had demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam - the prime surviving suspect in Islamic State suicide bombing and mass shooting attacks on a sports stadium, concert hall and restaurants that killed 130 people in Paris in 2015. Abdeslam, a French citizen born and raised in Brussels, went on trial in Belgium last month. He is accused of "attempted murder in a terrorist context" over a Brussels shootout in March 2016, four months after he fled Paris on the night of the carnage during which his brother was among the suicide bombers. "THE THREAT IS EVERYWHERE" France is part of a U.S.-led coalition fighting against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq and also has thousands of soldiers in West Africa fighting al Qaeda-linked militants. In February, Collomb said French security forces had foiled two planned attacks so far this year as Islamic State militants set their sights on domestic targets in response to the group's military setbacks in Iraq and Syria. "This is a small, quiet town. Unfortunately the threat is everywhere," Collomb told reporters in Trebes. Carcassonne, a UNESCO heritage site, lies in the Languedoc region, known for its wine and picturesque countryside but also one of the poorest areas in France, with unemployment about 3 percentage points above the national average. Nearby Beziers is one of the biggest cities controlled by the far-right, while the smaller town of Lunel further east became a breeding ground for many French jihadists who travelled to Syria to fight. Almost six years ago to the day, Islamist gunman Mohammed Merah killed seven people in the Toulouse region, about 90 km from Carcassonne. He was killed by security forces after a more than 30-hour stand-off. The last lethal Islamist attack in France was in October 2017 when a Tunisian-born man stabbed two young women to death in Marseille before he was shot dead by soldiers. Islamic State also claimed responsibility for that attack. For other stories on the attack, click on: French gendarme fighting for his life after trading places with hostage France supermarket attacker pledged to "die for Syria" French supermarket hostages dodge attacker, hide in cold store (Reporting by Emmanuel Jarry, Sophie Louet, John Irish, Michel Rose, Leigh Thomas, Brian Love and Bate Felix in Paris; Writing by Ingrid Melander and David Stamp; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Catherine Evans) BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday Turkey's military offensive in Syria's northern town of Afrin was unacceptable and she criticized Russia for "just watching" the continuing attacks by Syrian forces on eastern Ghouta. Speaking in the lower house of parliament, Merkel said the government also condemned the air strikes on the rebel enclave of eastern Ghouta "in the strongest terms", pointing to the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad but also blaming Russia for letting the events unfold. Merkel said Turkey's actions in Afrin were unacceptable despite its own security interests. "I'm also condemning this in the strongest terms," she added. The United Nations called on Tuesday for full access to civilians inside and outside of eastern Ghouta to meet their urgent needs, after the flight of 50,000 people in recent days, and in Afrin, where fighting has uprooted some 104,000 people. Turkey on Sunday stormed Afrin after a two-month offensive against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia. UNICEF estimates that about 100,000 people are still inside Afrin district, half of them children. The German government has come under fire from opposition lawmakers and Kurdish migrants for not speaking out more clearly against the Turkish offensive, particularly given Turkey's use of German-made tanks in the operation. Merkel cited concerns about the high civilian death toll and the flight of many thousands of people from the city. Turkey's Foreign Ministry said Merkel's comments were "unacceptable" and were made based on "disinformation not even remotely linked to the truths" of its operation in Syria. "We call on our allies to work towards lasting peace, security and stability in Syria by remaining in close coordination and contact with our country," the ministry said in a statement late on Wednesday. Separately, a source in Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's office said he and German counterpart Frank Walter Steinmeier had discussed by phone on Wednesday the importance of a joint fight against terrorism. Erdogan and Steinmeier did not address Merkel's latest comments, the source said, adding that the two leaders had voiced determination to give bilateral relations a new impetus. Merkel's comments could reignite tensions with Ankara, which says its military operations are defensive in nature and has criticized Berlin for not doing more to crack down on supporters of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Germany. Merkel said relations with Turkey would remain difficult, and that Berlin would continue to fight for the release of Germans who it says Ankara is holding for political reasons. She said the European Union would provide an additional 3 billion euros to help mainly Syrian refugees housed in refugee centers in Turkey. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara; editing by Michelle Martin and Mark Heinrich) Beirut (AFP) - Hundreds of fighters evacuated by the Syrian regime from their bastion near Damascus arrived in rebel-held Idlib province on Friday, a monitor said. Buses carrying the fighters and their families entered the northwestern province after their evacuation from the rebel-held town of Harasta in Eastern Ghouta on Thursday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. An AFP reporter at a camp for the displaced in the Maaret al-Ikhwan area in the north of Idlib province saw some of the evacuees arrive. Families entered the camp but the fighters were not allowed in, he said. Abu Zayd, a man who had just arrived from Harasta, said he was grateful to be alive. In Harasta, "we were already dead, buried underground," he said. The camp's manager said volunteer teams had devised an emergency response for around 2,000 people, with a field kitchen, mobile clinics and a round-the-clock volunteer team. Buses arrived outside the camp, one with small children peering out the window. Men -- some carrying guns -- women and children stepped off the buses and collected bags from the hold. A woman held a new-born child in warm clothes, wrapped in a mint-coloured paper sheet. Before dawn, some 400 fighters and hundreds of civilians on buses and ambulances had stopped in the town of Qalat al-Madiq in Hama province to the south, the Observatory said. Among them was a man who had died of his injuries on the way, said the monitor, which relies on a wide network sources inside Syria for its information. The AFP reporter saw hundreds of people arrive on buses in Qalat al-Madiq, where rebel fighters and members of the Red Crescent and the White Helmets civil defence organisation were waiting. The evacuation from Harasta comes after pro-regime forces launched a blistering air and ground offensive on Eastern Ghouta, the last rebel bastion near Damascus, on February 18. The assault has retaken 80 percent of the enclave, the Observatory says, and divided what remains into three shrinking pockets, each controlled by a different rebel group. Story continues The evacuation of rebels from Harasta could empty the smallest of these pockets and rack up the pressure on those controlling the two other to accept similar deals. Eastern Ghouta is within mortar range of central Damascus, and the evacuation deal could be a major step in the regime's efforts towards securing the capital. The one-month offensive on Eastern Ghouta has killed more than 1,500 civilians, the Observatory says. It has prompted tens of thousands to flee into government-held areas. More than 350,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict since it broke out in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests. Emissions of the primary pollutant that causes climate change increased to a record high in 2017 after three years of flatlining, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency. Renewable deployment grew faster than other fuel, but the rapid investment in generation from clean energy sources like wind and solar was not enough to meet the massive demand that resulted from rapid global economic growth. Instead, energy users turned to fossil fuels to meet 70% of new demand. Fatih Birol, who heads the IEA, said in a press release that the findings signal that current measure to fight climate change remain far from sufficient. The IEA projected earlier this month that oil demand will continue to grow in the coming years even as countries continue to push emissions reductions and energy efficiency policies. Not all countries contributed equally to the rise in emissions. China and India alone contributed more than 40% of the increase in emissions while the United Kingdom, Mexico and Japan all experienced a decline in emissions. The U.S. saw the biggest decline with emissions dropping by 0.5% as renewables continue to grow. Developed countries such as the U.S. have proven in recent years that economic growth can continue without increasing carbon emissions refuting a critique long floated by opponents of renewable energy. But developing countries such as India have yet to round the same corner even as they commit to clean energy investments. Past analysis has suggested that the world will need to peak its emissions by around 2020 to maintain any hope of meeting the Paris Agreements goal of keeping temperatures from rising more than 2C (3.6F) by 2100 with an ideal target of keeping temperature rise below 1.5C (2.7F). The chances of meeting that goal have dimmed significantly since countries agreed to the global deal in 2015. President Trump has vowed to remove the U.S. from the Paris Agreement while other countries have lagged on their efforts to meet their commitments under the deal. We are far from the 1.5 degrees if we look at the commitments that have been put on the table, Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), told TIME earlier this month. But there is a lot happening, a lot more than anticipated. Chris Stewart, Donald Trump (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images, Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) A top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee chastised President Trump for congratulating Russian President Vladimir Putin on his reelection but then refused to distance himself from Trump. You cant have your head explode every time somebody does something you disagree with, Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, said during an interview on the latest episode of the Yahoo News podcast Skullduggery. Stewarts comments came just as the GOP majority on the Intelligence Committee was preparing to release its report saying it had found no evidence of collusion between Trump and the Kremlin relating to the 2016 presidential campaign. Stewart said Trump was just wrong to call Putin and congratulate him on his reelection over the objections of his own national security aides, who wrote talking points for him with the words DO NOT CONGRATULATE. I dont think there is any chance in the world this was a free and fair election, Stewart said about the voting in Russia. They were stuffing ballots in every location. Vladimir Putin intends to be there for a long, long time. But Stewart, a former Air Force pilot and novelist before being elected to Congress, was extremely reluctant to openly criticize the president for his phone call or his dealings with Russia. Stewart noted that Trump has taken other steps that could deter Putin, such as increasing the Pentagon budget and pushing NATO countries to live up to their commitment to spend 2 percent of their gross national product on defense. And Stewart vigorously defended the majority committee report approved for release by the panel on Thursday upon a declassification review that said the panel had found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow. Im surprised you want to talk about this, Stewart said during the interview. I dont know anyone else who is thinking about collusion. And if your audience is, they are going to be terribly disappointed. If you have people who are lying awake at night, going, I cant wait until Donald Trump is impeached for collusion, those dudes are going to be waiting a long, long time. Story continues He added: We can ride this horse as long as you want. But the evidence is pretty clear that its not going to take people to the impeachment of Donald Trump, nor other people around him. Download or subscribe on iTunes: Skullduggery by Yahoo News Stewart dismissed suggestions from Democrats on the panel and others that the investigation by the committees Republican majority was incomplete. The panel never interviewed key witnesses such as former foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos or former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn. The Utah Republican said that because such witnesses have pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about their contacts with Russians and are now cooperating in the probe being conducted by special counsel Robert Mueller, the Intelligence Committee has not had access to them. We cant talk to these people, he said. Similarly, Stewart said, he saw no need to subpoena documents from other witnesses, such as longtime Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who has denied allegations made by former British spy Christopher Steele that Cohen had met with Russians in Prague during the 2016 election. Of Cohen, Stewart said, I have no reason to doubt his credibility. More Skullduggery from Yahoo News: Yaounde (Cameroon) (AFP) - A government official was killed and a district administrator wounded Thursday in an ambush blamed on anglophone separatists in western Cameroon, a human rights activist said. The attack hit a convoy carrying a government official responsible for land ownership issues in part of the Southwest, who was killed. The area's prefect survived the attack but was injured, the activist said. The report was confirmed by sources in the security services, but the government in Yaounde would neither confirm nor deny it. Unrest blamed on armed separatists has increased in recent weeks in the Northwest and the Southwest, two English-speaking territories that became part of the mainly French-speaking country after independence in 1960. The attack took place ahead of elections to the Senate which are to be held on Sunday, with authorities banning certain types of vehicle on roads in the Southwest and urging people to "remain calm and vigilant". Senate elections do not take place by universal suffrage in Cameroon. Municipal councillors across the country vote for 70 members of the upper house, while appointees to the 30 remaining seats are named by President Paul Biya. On Tuesday, a Tunisian was killed in the Southwest during an operation aimed at freeing four hostages -- two Tunisians and two Cameroonians -- who were kidnapped by an armed group on March 15, state television reported. The government said the Tunisian was "killed by his abductors" and that "four terrorists" also died in the operation. A deputy district administrator and a regional employee of the social affairs ministry were both kidnapped in the Northwest in February. Both are still missing. Hardline anglophone separatists committed to winning independence for their self-proclaimed republic of "Ambazonia" have described security and defence personnel as "occupation forces". In the past three months, the conflict between separatists and the army has become increasingly serious, as separatists urge the armed forces and government officials to leave the territory. New separatist groups are emerging, while the Yaounde authorities have reduced their communcations about the conflict to a minimum. ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece will continue its bilateral efforts to secure the release of two Greek soldiers detained in Turkey but is also counting on the support of its European allies, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Friday. The soldiers' case has heightened tension between Greece and Turkey, NATO allies which came close to war as recently as 1996. They have seen renewed diplomatic strain over natural resources in the eastern Mediterranean and the fate of eight Turkish soldiers who fled to Greece after a failed 2016 coup in Turkey. The two soldiers were arrested this month after crossing the border into Turkey in bad weather. Greece says the incident was the result of "a mistake" and has asked for their quick return. Tsipras, speaking at an EU summit in Brussels, said he had assurances from the heads of the EU Commission and EU Council that the issue would be raised with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan during talks in Bulgaria next week. "We will continue our efforts through bilateral channels, but at the same time, we count on the official and open mobilization of our partners, our allies," Tsipras said. "We will remain focused on our effort to extend a hand of dialogue, a hand of friendship towards our neighboring country. We want cooperation, dialogue, peace," Tsipras said. EU member states expressed their concern over the continued detention of EU citizens in Turkey, including the two Greek soldiers, and called for a "swift and positive" resolution of these issues. (Reporting by Karolina Tagaris and George Georgiopoulos; Editing by Gareth Jones) In one sense, President Donald Trumps decision to negotiate directly with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is unprecedented: The heads of state of their respective countries have never previously met in any forum. But Trump isnt the first U.S. president to meet one-on-one with a foreign adversary in a high-stakes summit. History offers plenty of examples Trump would do well to study. Presidents, it turns out, rarely achieve very much in such negotiations. Most often, these meetings unsettle traditional allies and disappoint eager citizens. They rarely produce breakthroughs. And the biggest risk is that an acrimonious and ill-prepared meeting can push the two sides closer to war. That is what happened in June 1961, when a tough-talking and impatient new American president, John F. Kennedy, traveled to Vienna to meet with a wily and well-rehearsed Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev. In Kennedys own words, the summit was the roughest thing in my life. Khrushchev just beat [the] hell out of me. Kennedy was, in fact, quite tough at Vienna, refusing to back down from American resistance to communist advances in Europe and Asia. Kennedy also refused to concede to Soviet demands for disarmament. The president arrived in Vienna with a firm grasp of U.S. strategic priorities, and he stuck to them. Kennedys problems arose because he did not have a constructive strategic proposal to offer at the meeting. He arrived in Vienna prepared to charm and cajole his adversary as he often did in encounters with constituents and allies. He was not prepared to address the Soviet leaders needs or create new mutually beneficial realities in areas of Cold War tension, particularly in Berlin, Cuba, and Indochina. The leader of the free world always looks weak when he cannot promise a path to improved circumstances for citizens on both sides of the negotiating table. The presumption for progress rests on the shoulders of the president because he is so powerful, and he suffers a major defeat when he fails to deliver in a one-on-one setting. Kennedy learned this lesson in Vienna, and the near-nuclear apocalypse during the Cuban missile crisis was a sobering consequence. Story continues When they met, Khrushchev subjected Kennedy to a barrage of accusations regarding U.S. support for anti-Soviet forces in Europe and intervention in the developing world. Khrushchev also condemned the United States for building a massive nuclear arsenal, many times larger than the Soviet arsenal at the time. The United States and its allies had far more wealth, nuclear weapons, and global reach than the Soviet Union, and U.S. military bases surrounded Moscows territory. Khrushchev put Kennedy on the defensive throughout their discussions, demanding that a stronger United States curtail its military activities and address Soviet insecurity before the two countries could form a peaceful relationship. The U.S. president was not prepared to shift the conversation away from these powerful arguments. Although the Soviet Union was expanding its influence across the globe and rapidly increasing the size of its nuclear arsenal, it remained much weaker than the United States. Kennedy rebutted Khrushchevs accusations of aggressive intentions, but he could not deny the reality of U.S. economic and military superiority. From such a position, how could the president refute Soviet claims of insecurity? Kennedy found it difficult to divert the conversation away from Khrushchevs contentions that a more powerful United States had to make concessions to a cornered Soviet Union if it wanted peace. U.S. economic and military superiority is indeed a liability when the president enters one-on-one negotiations with an adversary powerful enough to resist Washington and also weak enough to claim victimhood. In Vienna, Khrushchev challenged U.S. calls for open access to Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe while simultaneously condemning the United States for encircling his society. Kennedy looked recalcitrant because he could not chart a strategic alternative that did not involve more American strength and more Soviet weakness. Khrushchev could never accept such a one-sided U.S. position, and he used it to justify his own aggression in response, especially when he decided, a year later, to place nuclear missiles in Cuba. President Ronald Reagan learned a similar lesson when he first met with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Geneva in 1985. During this summit, the two leaders talked past one another. Reagan extolled American benevolence and defended work on a new Strategic Defense Initiative. Gorbachev pushed back against what he described as Reagans efforts to escalate the nuclear arms race. He blamed the United States for trying to exploit its technological advantages to bully Moscow. This was a self-serving claim for the leader of a society that had invaded Afghanistan, but it put Reagan, like Kennedy, on the defensive. The Geneva Summit ended without progress a second example where the first presidential meeting with a foreign adversary failed to match expectations. Kennedy and Reagan eventually made progress with their adversaries when they moved beyond defending existing U.S. positions and offered strategic alternatives. During the Cuban missile crisis, Kennedy agreed to curtail U.S. efforts to overthrow the communist regime in Cuba, and he removed Americas nuclear missiles from Turkey both steps designed to reduce Soviet insecurities and build a cooperative relationship with Moscow. Reagan followed the disappointing summit in Geneva with more personal outreach to Gorbachev one year later in Reykjavik, Iceland. The president pulled his adversary away from their handlers, and he made an emotional case for eliminating all nuclear weapons. Gorbachev was surprised and persuaded. As he recounts in his memoirs, Gorbachev recognized that Reagan was committed to more than just American superiority. The U.S. and Soviet leaders began negotiations about eliminating the nuclear threats at the core of Cold War conflict, and this process produced the first agreements to cut the arsenals of both superpowers, reduce tensions in Europe, and even consider the reunification of Germany. Meetings between presidents and foreign adversaries were crucial for reducing Cold War tensions in the 1960s and 1980s, but the initial summits did not produce immediate results. They created disappointments and, in Kennedys case, increased conflict. Progress came only when the adversaries saw their summits as the beginnings of relationships that, over time, can reduce suspicions and build trust. Both sides must believe the other wants peace. Both sides must see strategic benefits for themselves. And both sides must come to feel more invested in negotiated progress, rather than propaganda victories. This process takes time. It requires deep study of the issues and the players. It also demands a willingness to offer new strategic ideas that address the deeper sources of conflict, not just immediate provocations. Kennedy and Reagan only made progress when they started to empathize with how Khrushchev and Gorbachev saw the world and offered real shifts in U.S. strategic behavior to address legitimate Soviet security needs. That brings us to Trumps planned meeting with Kim. The North Korean leader will surely come ready to condemn American bullying of his small, poor, and insecure state. He will point to the presence of U.S. forces on his borders, the pressure of sanctions on his economy, and the continual threats to his regime. He will also expose the hypocrisy of U.S. calls for nuclear disarmament in North Korea as America maintains its own large nuclear arsenal. Like Kennedy, Trump will not succeed if he simply responds to these arguments with the legitimate U.S. defenses of containment on the Korean Peninsula. The United States is much stronger, and the expectation in any meeting will be that Washington must offer some concessions for the weaker negotiator to feel more secure and therefore capable of a change in behavior. The task for the Trump administration is to plan carefully for a set of strategic proposals that will reshape the region and the Korean Peninsula, including perhaps reintegrating Pyongyang into the global trade system in return for major disarmament measures. If Trump wants to make this meeting a success, he must become the strategic agenda-setter, with pragmatic and creative new ideas, and he must invest in an evolving relationship with his adversary. History tells us there will be no world-changing deal when Trump and Kim meet. The leaders can begin to chart a path to compromise and stability. Poor preparation and inflated expectations pose the greatest risk of pushing both sides even closer to war. The Trump-Kim meeting must replace threats and bluster with patience and mutual understanding a lesson Kennedy and Reagan learned after early disappointments. By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House Intelligence Committee voted along party lines on Thursday to adopt a Republican report on the panel's investigation of Russia and the 2016 U.S. election, formally ending a probe marred for months by bitter partisan conflict. The Republican report found no evidence of collusion between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russian interference. It also disagreed with intelligence agencies' findings that Moscow sought to boost Trump's chances of being elected. Committee Democrats strongly disputed that finding and said they will continue to investigate and, eventually, release their own dissenting report. Representative Adam Schiff, the panel's top Democrat, said Republicans had declined every Democratic motion during their business meeting, including requests to subpoena witnesses who refused to answer questions, and hold an open hearing with chief executives from technology companies, including Facebook Inc's Mark Zuckerberg. "The (Republican) majority was not interested in conducting any further investigation, even when the flaws in what we have done so far have become so apparent in the course of the last week," Schiff told reporters. There are 13 Republicans and nine Democrats on the House Intelligence panel. Schiff called the decision to end the investigation "a rather sad chapter in our Committees long history." The committee's Republican chairman, Devin Nunes, said the report was based on more than 70 witness interviews and the collection of more than 300,000 documents. It "will include minority views if the minority submits them," Nunes said in a statement. Reports have emerged from whistleblower Christopher Wylie this week that British political consultancy Cambridge Analytica improperly accessed Facebook users' information to build profiles on American voters later used to help elect Trump. Story continues Hidden camera footage on British television showed a company official criticizing the House committee's interview. Wylie has agreed to talk to committee Democrats. PARTISANSHIP A summary of report findings concluded Russia conducted cyber attacks on U.S. institutions, using social media to undermine the electoral process. It acknowledged contacts between Trump associates and Russians, including Russian efforts to set up a "back channel" to communicate after Trump's election, but said it had not found evidence of collusion. Russia denies meddling in the U.S. campaign. The Republican summary recommended steps to crack down on intelligence agency leaks, and raised questions about charges facing Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Several congressional Republicans have been harshly critical of the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Also on Thursday, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Representative Bob Goodlatte, subpoenaed the Justice Department for documents related to the investigation of an email server used by Trump's 2016 Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, and the recommendation to fire Andrew McCabe, the FBI deputy director let go last week. A Justice spokesman said the department takes the committee's inquiry seriously and is committed to accommodating its request in a manner consistent with its responsibilities. The House panel's investigation of how Russia might have sought to influence the 2016 U.S. election, and whether Trump associates colluded with Moscow has been marked by partisan disagreements since it began more than a year ago. Earlier this year, Republicans and Democrats released duelling memos about the probe. Nunes was recused for months after a late-night visit to the White House raised questions about improper communications with Trump associates. In contrast, the Senate Intelligence Committee released bipartisan recommendations on how to improve election security this week and is continuing its investigation, as is Department of Justice Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The probes have shadowed Trump's presidency, and the president has repeatedly denounced them, and Mueller, leading to concerns he might fire the special counsel. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; editing by Tom Brown and James Dalgleish) The pursuit started fast, and ended after the driver slowed down quite a bit: Houston TranStar The suspect in a Texas car chase has been arrested after more than an hour of pursuit. The chase, which started out at high speeds, ended in Houston just before 9.30am after the driver repeatedly stopped in rush hour traffic, and then ultimately slowed down. Police say that the driver is a suspect in a domestic disturbance case that was reported early Thursday morning, according to the Houston Chronicle. Lt Steve Dorris of the Baytown Police Department told that newspaper that they had received a 911 call in the morning from someone who claimed a husband was assaulting his wife. The chase then began after police arrived at the scene to discover that the suspect had fled in his vehicle. After identifying the vehicle, police pursued the suspect as he made several U-turns to avoid capture. After entering the rush hour traffic after 8 am, the suspect avoided other vehicles by swerving in and out of traffic, passing other vehicles on the shoulder of the road, and even driving through sidewalks and grassy areas. Police at one point rammed the car, and the suspect ultimately pulled off of the interstate before being boxed in by police. At one point, as many as 10 police cars were reportedly flanking the vehicle as it made its attempted getaway Thursday. Washington (AFP) - Lieutenant General HR McMaster gained fame for a landmark book blaming politicians for the US debacle in Vietnam. After one year at the White House as President Donald Trump's national security adviser, he likely doesn't have a higher opinion of Washington's political elites. On Thursday McMaster announced he would be stepping down to make way for Bush-era defense hawk John Bolton -- and became the latest victim of the never ending bedlam, infighting and capriciousness that has characterized decision-making under Trump. The serving officer had been widely expected to leave the White House later this year and return to the army with a promotion as a four-star general. But his decision to retire from public life entirely came as a surprise. "After thirty-four years of service to our nation, I am requesting retirement from the US Army effective this summer after which I will leave public service," he said in a statement. "Throughout my career it has been my greatest privilege to serve alongside extraordinary service members and dedicated civilians." - Tank commander, author - Herbert Raymond McMaster made the move from the Pentagon to the White House as a proven battlefield hero -- he led a now-legendary tank battle in the first Gulf war -- and a respected military intellectual. His pointedly titled book "Dereliction of Duty" earned him huge respect throughout the services as it savaged the politicking and careerism that he argued sank the military's battle plan in Vietnam in the 1960s. When the three-star army general replaced Michael Flynn, Trump's first national security advisor who stepped down after 22 days over his murky contacts with Russians, there was a surge in hope that foreign policy neophyte Trump would be in safe hands. He would form a triumvirate with Defense Department chief James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to keep a steady hand on the tiller. Story continues He was enough in the "us versus the world" school of thought to work with Trump. "Geopolitics are back and are back with a vengeance after this holiday from history we took in the so-called post-Cold War period," he said in a speech late last year. He took a harder line than his colleagues on North Korea, mulling a pre-emptive strike against its nuclear threat, saying "traditional deterrence" might not work with Pyongyang. But, like Mattis and Tillerson, he resisted Trump's instinctual rejection of multilateralism. McMaster is credited with blocking Trump's push to end the Iran nuclear deal, and bending Trump's attacks against NATO into just niggling criticisms over money. - 'Cage match' - He partly restored the mess of the NSC that Flynn left, regularizing a policy process and coordinating with other agencies, while driving out acolytes of Flynn and Steve Bannon, the president's arch strategist. For that he had to endure a withering campaign from the hard right to force him out, one which labelled him a liberal, an enemy of Israel and pro-Iran, among other things. But his efforts to systematize the policy process weren't enough, said Heather Hurlburt, a national security and government policy expert at the New America thinktank. "The hope was that McMaster would form a smoothly functioning triumvirate with Mattis and Tillerson and he hasn't been able to do that." "What is different here is you have a president who doesn't trust process and loves to pit his senior people against each other. You know, they were placed in a cage match," she said. Trump's approach to foreign policy "has moved a lot of us out of our comfort zone, me included," McMaster told the New York Times. And over time balding, gruff 55-year-old lost the ability to shift Trump's thinking. He never really clicked with Trump, who bristled at McMaster's lecturing on policy, preferring the more deferential hands of Mattis and CIA chief Mike Pompeo. Perhaps the final straw was when McMaster, echoing the consensus of the entire US intelligence establishment, told a conference in Munich that the evidence was "incontrovertible" that Russia meddled in the 2016 election. Trump, hyper-sensitive to the implication that Moscow aided his victory, publicly rebuked him. "General McMaster forgot to say that the results of the 2016 election were not impacted or changed by the Russians," Trump tweeted. Beirut (AFP) - The northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, dominated by jihadists, is the last to remain mostly out of regime control after seven years of civil war. It is to Idlib that the government of President Bashar al-Assad sends rebels or civilians evacuated from other opposition strongholds, retaken after devastating sieges. - The Idlib battleground - The province is strategically important, sharing a border with rebel backer Turkey. It is also adjacent to the coastal Syrian province of Latakia, a regime stronghold that is home to President Bashar al-Assad's clan. Idlib city, the province's capital, lies near the road linking Syria's second city Aleppo to the capital Damascus. The province counts 2.5 million inhabitants, including more than one million people displaced by fighting between the regime and rebels, or evacuated from areas recaptured by pro-government forces. Before fighting broke out, the majority of Idlib's inhabitants worked in agriculture, mainly growing cotton and cereals, or commuted to the neighbouring province of Aleppo. In March 2015, a coalition of Islamist rebel groups including Ahrar al-Sham and jihadists from the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front, now known as the Fatah al-Sham Front, seized the Sunni-majority city. Syrian warplanes, and later Russian jets, have repeatedly targeted cities and towns across the province. - Chemical attacks - Idlib province has been hit by several suspected chemical attacks. On April 4, 2017, a sarin gas attack hit the town of Khan Sheikhun, killing at least 83 people according to the United Nations. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 87 died, including 30 children. In October, the UN accused the regime of responsibility, a charge denied by Damascus. In 2016, a UN commission found helicopters from two regime-controlled air bases had dropped chlorine-filled barrel bombs on at least two Idlib villages, Talmenes and Sarmin, in 2014 and 2015. In October, a report from the commission concluded that the army carried out a chemical attack, probably with chlorine, at Qmenas in 2015. Story continues On February 4, 2018, at least 11 cases of suffocation were reported at Saraqeb, the Observatory said, quoting inhabitants and medical sources who spoke of a "toxic gas". - Controlled by jihadists - Idlib province is largely controlled by the jihadist alliance Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate. Major Islamist rebel groups are also present in the area. On February 18, 2018, hardline rebel Islamist groups Ahrar al-Sham and Nureddine al-Zinki, present at the border of the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib, announced they were merging as the Syrian Liberation Front to counter the growing power of HTS in northern Syria. The two coalitions engaged in deadly clashes in late February. - Regime operation - Idlib province is in theory one of the four "de-escalation" zones agreed by Turkey and regime supporters Iran and Russia in a bid to reduce violence. However, since November pro-regime forces have been advancing from the neighbouring provinces of Hama and Aleppo. In December, government forces, backed by Russian airpower, launched an offensive to retake the southeast of the governorate. Several weeks of deadly fighting allowed the regime to take control of some 400 villages and towns, as well as the military airport of Abu Duhur on the edge of the province. The intensified offensive in Idlib coincides with a deadly regime push to retake the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus. On Friday, more rebel fighters evacuated one of the enclave's three remaining pockets and a deal was reached for a pullout of militants and their families to Idlib from another. Rome (AFP) - Italy's parliament was left in limbo on Friday with no victor yet in the battle for speaker in both houses of parliament, a move that would lay the ground for the next fight over who will lead a new government. As expected the newly-elected lower house Chamber of Deputies and upper house Senate failed to elect their new speakers on the first day of voting, leaving the country guessing who will take up the roles. At the end of two rounds of voting, tensions also began to emerge within the leading right-wing coalition, after its leader was accused of "hostility" by putting forward a surprise candidate. The vote is important because until both speakers are chosen consultations between Italian President Sergio Mattarella and those competing to form a new government cannot begin. The right-wing alliance which gained the most votes in the March 4 election with 37 percent and the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5s) which garnered 33 percent are vying for the chance to lead the country. The two sides had been working on a deal that would let the right have the Senate speaker and see M5S take the Chamber, a prelude to potential power-sharing talks between the two. The right-wing coalition had been fielding Paolo Romani, the economy minister in Silvio Berlusconi's last government and a member of the media mogul's Forza Italia party, for the post of Senate speaker. However, Luigi Di Maio's M5S, Italy's largest single party, said it could not vote for Romani due to his 2014 conviction for embezzlement for which he was given a suspended 16-month sentence that was confirmed on appeal in October. - Blank ballots - The centre-left Democratic Party (PD), whose coalition came third i with 23 percent, has refused to form an alliance with either of the two top groups in the polls. In total 592 blank ballots were returned in the Chamber's first round of voting by 630 MPs, while 312 of the 317 ballots cast in the Senate's first round were left blank. Story continues The M5S's rejection of Romani has infuriated Berlusconi, who has demanded a meeting with Di Maio. But in the second round of voting on Friday night cracks began to emerge within the right-wing coalition, when Matteo Salvini's League made the surprise move of backing a Forzia Italia candidate in the Senate -- without consulting ally Berlusconi. Save for the League's 57 votes for Anna Maria Bernini, the rest of the ballots were returned blank. Berlusconi labelled the move an "act of hostility" designed to fracture the coalition and push the League closer to M5S. - Warm up - The negotiations over speakers are a warm up for talks to form a government, with the M5S and the right saying they are ready to work with any party that would be willing to adopt their programme. The selection of the Senate speaker is relatively straightforward, with the winning candidate being chosen after a maximum of four rounds of voting over the weekend. If no-one achieves an absolute majority by the third round, the two most popular candidates of the third ballot will face a run-off. The vote for the Chamber speaker is more complicated with no limit to the number of ballots that can be held before a candidate is elected and no one group close to a majority. If the aspiring speaker fails to earn a two-thirds majority vote from 630 MPs, the quorum will progressively lower until the fourth round, when a simple majority of voting MPs is needed. You may have noticed Jim Carreys paintings getting some media attention this week both good and bad publicity. Conservatives ripped the actor a new one after he released a portrait of a so-called Christian. Though the actor never revealed who inspired the painting, many thought it bared a striking resemblance to White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Then there was Carreys portrayal of the green-skinned, wicked witch of the west who happens to be wearing a suit similar to President Donald Trumps personal style. The portrait even included Putins flying monkeys. Carreys latest painting, however, has grabbed attention far beyond the White House and into the depth of Hell. The actors portrait contains 666, the devils number, leaving some to believe Carrey is associated with The Church of Satan. Hes not. The organization made that very clear: Turns out, the portrait was not meant to worship the devil, but rather portrays an actual street address in New York City. 666 Fifth Avenue is a 41-story office building in Manhattan owned by Jared Kushner. Twitter was quick to pick up on the reference and, unlike with his other paintings, critics largely appreciated Carreys latest piece of art. For the record, Carrey did not respond to The Church of Satan denouncing him as their high priest. You may have noticed Jim Carreys paintings getting some media attention this week both good and bad publicity. Conservatives ripped the actor after he released a portrait of a so-called Christian. Though the actor never revealed who inspired the painting, many thought it bore a striking resemblance to White House press secretary Sarah Sanders. This is the portrait of a so-called Christian whose only purpose in life is to lie for the wicked. Monstrous! pic.twitter.com/MeYLTy1pqb Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) March 17, 2018 Then there was Carreys satirical portrait of the green-skinned WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST WING, who happens to be wearing a suit similar to those worn by President Trump. The cartoon even included PUTINS FLYING MONKEYS. If you liked my last cartoon you may also enjoy "THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST WING AND PUTINS FLYING MONKEYS pic.twitter.com/slBG7j1s8d Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) March 19, 2018 Carreys latest painting, however, has grabbed attention far beyond the White House and into the depth of Hell. The actors artwork contains 666, the devils number, which made some wonder whether Carrey was referencing the Church of Satan. Hes not. The organization made that very clear: Attention everyone: 1. Yes weve seen this. 2. No, it has nothing to do with us. 3. 666 is a real and specific street address being reference in the artwork. 4. Jim Carrey is not now, nor has he ever been our high priest. Thank you, that is all. https://t.co/RwevXURSBL The Church Of Satan (@ChurchofSatan) March 23, 2018 It turns out the portrait was not referring to the devil, but rather portrays an actual street address in New York City: 666 Fifth Avenue is a 41-story office building in Manhattan owned by Jared Kushner. Twitter was quick to pick up on the reference and, unlike with his other paintings, critics largely appreciated Carreys latest piece of art. Story continues For the record, Carrey did not respond to the Church of Satan denouncing him as their high priest. Watch: Donald Trump says he could beat up Joe Biden, and the internet really wants it to happen: Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will appoint John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, as his new national security adviser. Trump said Boltons appointment will be effective on April 9. I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2018 In an interview with Fox News shortly after Trump tweeted, Bolton said his appointment wasnt finalized until Thursday afternoon. I didnt expect an announcement this afternoon, but its obviously a great honor. Bolton replaces Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, who replaced Michael Flynn in February 2017 following revelations about conversations Flynn had had with then-Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Bolton, once rumored to be Trumps pick for secretary of state or top choice to run day-to-day operations at the State Department, is considered one of the worlds most disliked foreign policy operators. During his less than two years serving as the U.N. ambassador under former President George W. Bush, there was a severe uptick in anti-American sentiment among diplomats. Bolton also served in the State Department under presidents George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan. The new national security adviser may push for aggressive stances toward Russia, the self-described Islamic State group and North Korea, experts familiar with his track record say. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed published last month, Bolton argued there is a legal case for a U.S. strike against Pyongyang. He has stood by the 2003 decision to invade Iraq, even as bipartisan consensus has moved toward agreeing that the invasion was a mistake. While acting as undersecretary of state for arms control for George W. Bush, Bolton was emphatic that there was proof Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. He reportedly created a dynamic in the department that led to intelligence officials being afraid of defying his unverified claims. Story continues He has also been a member of several conservative think tanks, contributed to Fox News as a talking head and wrote the foreword for a 2010 book by two well-known anti-Islam figures. This article has been updated with Boltons comments on Fox News. Also on HuffPost US President Donald Trump waits ahead a working session on the first day of the G20 summit in Hamburg, northern Germany, on July 7, 2017 Tourists walk past a graffiti by street artist Lushsux, depicting US President Donald Trump kissing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drawn on the controversial Israeli separation barrier separating the West Bank town of Bethlehem from Jerusalem, on October 29, 2017. A man takes a picture of a mural by English street artist Bambi depicting British Prime Minister Theresa May dancing with US President Donald Trump in London on February 22, 2017. A man takes pictures of a graffiti of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Barcelona on June 7, 2016. A mural of U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin 'shotgunning' a marijuana joint is seen on March 17, 2017 in Vilnius, Lithuania. A visitor looks at a painting representing US President Donald Trump (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin made by Nepalese artist Sunil Sidgel at the India Art Fair in New Delhi on January 2, 2017. A collage shows Pope Francis kissing US President Donald Trump with a caption by Italian artist TvBoy reading in English and Italian 'The Good forgives the Evil' in tiny letters along Francis belt, on May 11, 2017 near Castel Sant'Angelo in central Rome. Mural depicting US President Donald Trump is seen on a wall as part of Mural Festival in the village of Staro Zhelezare, Bulgaria, Wednesday 26 July 2017. View of a graffiti painted against US President Donald Trump in Mexico City on June 27, 2017. This photo taken on December 24, 2016 shows a giant chicken sculpture outside a shopping mall in Taiyuan, north China's Shanxi province. A Chinese shopping mall is ringing in the year of the cock with a giant sculpture of a chicken that looks like US president-elect Donald Trump. Picture of a graffiti against US Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump painted by an unknown artist on the embankment of the Bravo River on the border with the United States, in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua State, Mexico, on June 28, 2016. Detail of the mural paint made by Mexican artist Luis Sotelo called 'We are migrants not criminals' (Somos migrantes no delincuentes) in Tonatico, Mexico, on 25 June 2016. The mural is part of the cultural movement 'Stop Trump'. A man cycles past graffiti condemning US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, on a street in Surabaya, Indonesia's east Java on October 17, 2016. A man photographs a mural on a restaurant wall depicting US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting each other with a kiss in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on May 13, 2016. A mural lampooning US President Donald Trump in Dublin's Temple Bar by artist ADW. A mural of Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump is painted on April 14, 2017 in Belgrade, Serbia. The text reads 'Kosovo is Serbia'. A woman runs along a towpath near graffiti depicting U.S. President Donald Trump on a canal bridge in east London, Britain, February 18, 2017. A Donald Trump mural covers a building in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami, Florida, on October 27, 2016. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. The former UN ambassador under George W Bush and a notorious hawk, Bolton has called for bombing Iran and North Korea John Bolton. Trump has replaced HR McMaster, seen as a moderating force, with one of the most aggressive thinkers in US foreign policy. Photograph: Joshua Roberts/Reuters John Bolton, the incoming national security adviser, will have the ear of Donald Trump at a perilously fraught moment in world affairs. A notorious hawk who advocates the unilateral wielding of US might, Bolton is dismissive of international diplomacy, and has called for the bombing of both Iran and North Korea. The departure of HR McMaster, who was credited by some as being a moderating force on the president, and his replacement by one of the most aggressive thinkers in the world of US foreign policy, will spread fear in diplomatic circles that the Trump administration could be poised to take a dramatic hawkish turn. The shuffle comes as Washington is already bracing itself for the potential of imminent face-to-face talks between Trump and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un over the regimes development of nuclear weapons. Bolton, who will leave his post as a senior fellow at the rightwing American Enterprise Institute to join the White House on 9 April, has made clear his preference for how to deal with North Korea bomb it. Last month he wrote an opinion column for the Wall Street Journal in which he made a legal case for a pre-emptive strike. It is perfectly legitimate for the United States to respond to the current necessity posed by North Koreas nuclear weapons by striking first, he wrote. The former ambassador, whose basic approach to diplomacy is summed up in the title of his book Surrender is Not an Option, has made a similarly combative case for Iran. He was scathing of Barack Obamas attempt to deal with Tehrans nuclear program through negotiation, writing in the New York Times in 2015 that only bombing by the US and Israel would take out Irans uranium enrichment installations and prevent disaster. The mustachioed Bolton has had a long, frequently controversial career in government. He held senior positions in the administrations of Ronald Reagan and the elder George Bush, where he led successful US opposition to joining the international criminal court and made a strident attempt to block the introduction of stronger global controls on biological weapons. Story continues He came to prominence as a household name under George W Bush, who appointed him to be the US ambassador to the UN in 2005, when the Iraq war was still blazing. To put Bolton at the heart of the US relationship with the community of nations was contentious, to say the least, as he made little attempt to disguise his deep-seated contempt for the world body. George W Bush at the United Nations with John Bolton and secretary of state Condoleezza Rice in 2005. Photograph: Susan Walsh/AP He once noted if that if the 38-floor UN building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldnt make a bit of difference. His other famous remark was that there is no United Nations. There is an international community that occasionally can be led by the only real power left in the world, and thats the United States, when it suits our interests. Boltons arrival in the inner sanctum of the Trump presidency has been a long time coming. Michael Wolff revealed in his inside account of the White House, Fire and Fury, that Trumps former senior counselor Steve Bannon had urged the president to hire Bolton. So too did the late Fox News executive, Roger Ailes. Hes a bomb thrower, Ailes said last year, according to Wolff. And a strange little fucker. But you need him. Trump seems now to have come round to that way of thinking. WASHINGTON President Trumps new national security adviser, John Bolton, is known as one of Washingtons biggest war hawks. While liberals quickly suggested Boltons ascendance to the West Wing could lead the U.S. into armed conflict, a source familiar with the presidents thinking told Yahoo News that Trump might simply be bringing on an aggressive voice to play bad cop to his good cop with Americas rivals. Its not like Bolton and DJT agree on a lot. Bolton is a hawk, but Boltons style works, the source said using the presidents initials. The source also noted that Trump, an avid cable news watcher, enjoyed Boltons appearances on Fox News. Bolton was in the West Wing on Thursday afternoon within an hour of appearing on the conservative channel. He has regularly advised Trump since the president took office last year. Boltons appointment was announced shortly after he arrived at the White House. He will be replacing Gen. H.R. McMaster, who is resigning. The move is the latest in a series of high level personnel changes at the White House. McMasters exit comes on the heels of a spate of departures including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the presidents top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, and White House Communications Director Hope Hicks. Bolton has previously served in the presidential administrations of Ronald Reagan and both Bushes. He is currently a Fox News analyst and has held positions at multiple conservative think tanks. Bolton, who did not respond to requests for comment for this story, earned his hawkish reputation by, among other things, advocating for the war in Iraq long after it largely fell out of favor, and calling for Iran to be bombed as that country entered nuclear negotiations with the U.S. In 2005, when President George W. Bush nominated Bolton to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, liberals quickly called attention to comments Bolton made a decade earlier suggesting multiple floors should be lopped off U.N. headquarters in New York City. Story continues (L-R) U.S. President George W. Bush listens to John Bolton speak after being appointed to be ambassador to the United Nations during an event at the White House August 1, 2005 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images) That disdain for diplomacy could seem to be at odds with Trump, who has claimed he can be a uniquely qualified dealmaker on the world stage. Boltons arrival comes as Trump is negotiating a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by May. According to the Trump ally who spoke to Yahoo News, this historic meeting played a role in Trumps decision to bring on Bolton, as the president sought to have his team in place as he deals with Pyongyang. The White House has attributed North Koreas willingness to sit at the negotiating table to a maximum pressure campaign that included Trumps threat to rain down fire and fury like the world has never seen on North Korea if it put Americans in danger. Boltons presence on Trumps national security team could be designed to keep up that pressure as the president engages in talks. Democrats and liberal groups are clearly unconvinced Boltons impact on Americas foreign policy posture will be limited to rhetoric. Sen. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, took to Twitter to suggest Trump is assembling a war Cabinet with Bolton and, if confirmed, former CIA Director Mike Pompeo as secretary of state. Bolton played a key role in politicizing the intel that misled us into the Iraq War. We cannot let this extreme war hawk blunder us into another terrible conflict, Markey wrote. Activists gather on the west side of the US Capitol Building on Capitol Hill on June 7, 2005 in Washington, DC, to protest the nomination of John Bolton as US ambassador to the United Nations. (Photo: Brendan SmialowskiAFP/Getty Images) Jon Rainwater, executive director of the antiwar organization Peace Action, released a statement claiming Boltons appointment suggests there is an increased likelihood of military action on the Korean Peninsula. Whether or not Trump follows through with his plan to meet with Kim Jong Un, Boltons appointment to this central role at the national security council strongly suggests Trump intends to sabotage the budding diplomatic opening, declare that diplomacy failed and pivot back to war, Rainwater said. Bolton will be Trumps third national security adviser in a little over 14 months, following the departures of McMaster and Mike Flynn, who was fired after misleading the vice president about his contacts with Russian officials. Flynn has since pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and is now cooperating with special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into the Kremlins role in the 2016 election. The news that Bolton would replace McMaster was first reported by the New York Times, but there have been indications for some time that McMasters departure was imminent amid tensions between him and the president. Senior White House officials had openly discussed moving McMaster to a high-ranking Army post. McMaster had faced criticism that he was not presenting Trump with the results of interagency consultations and was instead giving the president his own views. That put him at odds with the secretaries of state and defense and worried foreign diplomats whose lines into the administration ran through Foggy Bottom and the Pentagon. Shortly after the news broke on Thursday evening, the White House released a series of statements, including one from an unnamed administration official that framed McMasters departure as a mutual decision between the general and the president. The official said the two have been discussing this for some time, but the timeline was expedited as they both felt it was important to have the new team in place, instead of constant speculation. According to the official, Trump asked McMaster to stay on until mid-April to ensure a smooth transition and the general agreed. After 34 years of service to our nation, I am requesting retirement from the U.S. Army effective this summer, after which I will leave public service, McMaster said in a statement. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, right, sits with Energy Secretary Rick Perry during a meeting between President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office of the White House on March 20, 2018, in Washington. (Photo: Evan Vucci/AP) Trump praised McMaster for helping to develop our America First National Security Strategy, revitalize our alliances in the Middle East, smash ISIS, bring North Korea to the table, and strengthen our nations prosperity. In his early days as national security adviser, McMaster removed several more officials who were allied with Flynn and former chief strategist Steve Bannon, both of whom had reputations as hard liners on foreign policy. Unlike Trump and Bolton, McMaster advocated against quickly abandoning the current nuclear deal with Iran. Both Bolton and McMaster have taken an aggressive approach to North Korea and mused about the possibility of a preemptive strike against the rogue nation. It may be hard, however, for Bolton to articulate a clear position in the turbulence of Trumps White House, where so many top officials have come and gone and the president often makes contradictory comments and quick decisions. When Yahoo News asked a diplomat with a major U.S. ally for comment on Bolton, they made a crack about how previous officials have been unable to definitively express the presidents views. I look forward to a different person telling us he doesnt know what the president will do, the diplomat said. Additional reporting by Olivier Knox. (Cover photo thumbnail photo: Alex Brandon/AP) _____ Addressing the seminar, MoIT Deputy Minister Cao Quoc Hung called on the Oman side to organise more visits of enterprises to Vietnam to explore trade and investment opportunities in the country. He urged Vietnamese firms to pay more attention to studying the Oman market through field trips to and exhibitions in the Middle Eastern nation. Hung said many Oman businesses are interested in the Vietnamese market, while local firms have also made inroads into the Oman market. He highlighted the fruitful cooperation between the two countries in recent times, saying two-way trade has witnessed impressive growth, hitting 120 million USD in 2017, an increase of 122 percent year-on-year. At the seminar, the Oman side said the country is considering importing food from Vietnam, expressing the hope that the Vietnamese side will open bonded warehouses in Oman, thus facilitating the distribution of Vietnamese goods in Oman and exports to adjacent markets. Le Thai Hoa, Deputy Head of the Asia-Africa Market Department under the MoIT said the ministry is creating favourable conditions for the two sides enterprises to learn about each others market. The ministry is working with ministries and sector on a plan to open a direct flight between the two nations, towards promoting economic and culture exchange, he noted. The VOI is considered an outstanding model for economic cooperation between Vietnam and Oman. As a joint venture company between the Oman State General Reserve Fund and Vietnams State Capital Investment Corporation, VOI was established and operated on the basis of agreement and support from both sides. Since its initial commitment of 100 million USD in 2009, VOI doubled its capital in 2014. Abdullah Al Harthy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of VOI, also a member of the Vietnam-Oman Joint Committee, affirmed his country has global thinking on economic cooperation, even though it is only a small country in the Middle East. Oman sees long-term prospects for economic cooperation in Vietnam, he said. VOI has focused on Vietnam's competitive sectors and those have contributions to long-term sustainable development, such as electricity and logistics, he added. On the occasion, the VCCI and its Oman counterpart the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation, aiming to make it easier for the two sides enterprises to connect in the future. Vietnamnews Brussels (AFP) - European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker insisted on Friday that his top aide "will not step down" despite a spiralling promotion scandal. The leaders of France and Germany also said they "appreciated" the work of Juncker's former chief of staff Martin Selmayr -- dubbed "The Monster" by Juncker himself for his capacity for work. Their comments came after Juncker told his party he would resign if Selmayr was forced out of his new job as secretary general of the commission, a party source told AFP, confirming reports in Politico and Der Spiegel. The sudden promotion of Selmayr to the position of chief civil servant of the EU's 30,000-strong executive arm has sparked a row that involves allegations of cronyism and a lack of transparency. The scandal has gained momentum, with official inquests launched by the European Parliament, and the EU's top leaders also asked to weigh in. "Mr Selmayr will not step down because I am the only one being capable to ask him to step down," Juncker told a news conference after a summit in Brussels. He dismissed as "irrelevant" a question asking whether by calling for the sacking of Selmayr, the European Parliament could get "two for the price of one." Questions have mounted over the way the appointment was made behind closed doors and the European Parliament is now set to investigate. The EU ombudsman, which investigates allegations of malpractice in European institutions, is also analysing the promotion with some European officials voicing concern that there were too many Germans in top jobs. Pressed on the issue, French President Emmanuel Macron, who spoke alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said: "I can completely understand the reactions here and there." However, Macron underlined: "I always appreciated the professionalism of the man in question who is highly competent and knows Europe well." Story continues Merkel said she too "appreciated Martin Selmayr's work". "We are not at all of the impression that because of his German nationality he backs Germany. His decisions are very European," she said. Selmayr, 47 -- Juncker's gatekeeper and enforcer -- was appointed deputy secretary general on February 21 after applying along with one other unnamed candidate. The same day the existing secretary general resigned and Juncker immediately proposed promoting Selmayr at a meeting of the EU's 28 commissioners who unanimously agreed. Kellyanne Conway has come up with some unique advice for millennials who maybe considering taking the deadly drug fentanyl: eat ice cream and French fries but leave the opioid alone. Conway, a counsel to the president, is in charge of overseeing the White Houses efforts to tackle the countrys opioid crisis. Conway first explained the dangers of fentanyl, an opioid that has a potency 50 times the of heroin and 100 times that of morphine, before speaking directly to a group of college students as the White House hosted the youth forum Generation Next on Thursday. On our college campuses, you folks are reading the labels, they wont put any sugar in their body, they wont eat carbs anymore, and theyre very, very fastidious about what goes into their body, Conway said. And then you buy a street drug for $5 or $10, its laced with fentanyl and thats it, Trending: March Madness: More Busted Brackets in Elite Eight After Kentucky Blows It? So my short advice is, eat the ice cream, have the French fry, dont buy the street drugbelieve me, it all works out, Conway added. Conway has faced criticism since being announced as the White Houses opioid czar last November despite having no previous experience in public health. Don't miss: Trade War: Which U.S. Goods Will China Target as it Hits Back at Trumps Tariffs? Trump has repeatedly talked up the seriousness of the opioid crisis, which was responsible for the deaths of close to 60,000 Americans in 2016. Earlier this week, he unveiled his plan to tackle the crisis, which included $6 billion from Congress as well as proposing enforcing the death penalty for some drug dealers. If we don't get tough on the drug dealers, we are wasting our time, Trump said during a speech in New Hampshire on Monday. However, he could face widespread opposition to his proposal. Almost three-quarters of Americans oppose the death penalty for those convicted of selling drugs that led to a fatal overdose, including more than half of Americans. Story continues This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek (Photo: Bloomberg via Getty Images) TOP STORIES (Get this roundup directly in your inbox each weekday sign up for The Morning Email here.) Hey everyone Im headed to Mississippi and Texas next week for the final reporting leg of a massive feature Im excited for you all to read come April. My colleagues Eliot Nelson and Ariel Edwards-Levywill be filling in for me until next Monday! HERES WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TRUMPS NEW PICK FOR NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton is replacing H.R. McMaster. Take a look at his hawkish career, support for the Iraq War and record on Asia. And this Trump tweet on former Bush officials has not aged well. [HuffPost] [Tweet | Share on Facebook] BREAKING: REPORTED HOSTAGE SITUATION UNDERWAY IN FRENCH SUPERMARKET Shots have reportedly been fired in the town of Trebes in southern France. [HuffPost] SENATE PASSES $1.3 TRILLION SPENDING DEAL And has sent it to Trump, who is expected to sign. [HuffPost] PROTESTS OVER STEPHON CLARKS DEATH SHUT DOWN SACRAMENTO KINGS GAME, FREEWAYS Black Lives Matter activists linked arms and blocked the Golden 1 Center while chanting: Stephon Clark! [HuffPost] PARKLAND SURVIVORS STRUGGLE WITH GRIEF AS MESSAGE SPREADS You cant move on from something like this; nobody ever can, survivor David Hogg told HuffPost. The Parkland students were also featured on the cover of Time this week. [HuffPost] THE AUSTIN BOMBER SAYS HE MAY BE A PSYCHOPATH IN FINAL RECORDING I wish I were sorry, but I am not. [HuffPost] KAREN MCDOUGAL, WHO ALLEGES AFFAIR WITH TRUMP IN 2006, SAID HE CALLED HER BEAUTIFUL, LIKE HIS DAUGHTER The ex-playmate told Anderson Cooper about the awkward compliment Thursday. [HuffPost] HOW THE LAS VEGAS GUNMAN PLANNED A MASSACRE The New York Times compiled video showing the final days of Stephen Paddock, as he plays poker and lugs bags of weapons into his hotel suite. [NYT] WHATS BREWING U.S. TUBERCULOSIS CASES MAY BE THE LOWEST IN YEARS But the treatable and curable disease is on the rise in New York City, and an alarming number of latent cases are lurking. [HuffPost] Story continues SECURITY EXPERTS SAY YOU SHOULD NEVER TAG YOUR MOM ON FACEBOOK For this one reason. [HuffPost] SLACK WAS ALREADY A LIKELY TRAP FOR GIVING UP ALL YOUR INFO It just got even less secure when it comes to your boss reading everything. [The Next Web] ITS A NEW ERA AT VANITY FAIR When Lena Waithe, the black, openly lesbian female writer, producer and actor is featured on its first cover under the magazines new editor, Radhika Jones. [HuffPost] WOMEN AGED 28 TO 65 GET REAL ABOUT BEING SINGLE And have some advice for their younger selves. [HuffPost] BEFORE YOU GO And love this newsletter? Share it with a friend! Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Riga (AFP) - Latvia's foreign ministry on Friday said the Baltic state would expel "one or several" Russian diplomats over the nerve agent attack on an ex-spy in the English city of Salisbury. The move comes after Britain, which blames Russia for the poisoning, expelled 23 Russian diplomats they said were spies and pressed EU allies to follow suit despite Moscow's warning against confrontational steps. "In solidarity with the United Kingdom and other European Union countries, Latvia is currently discussing with them how to coordinate a proper response to Russian activity regarding the chemical attack on Sergei Skripal," ministry spokesman Gints Jegermanis told AFP. "One or several Russians involved in espionage activities, while living in Latvia with diplomatic passports, will be expelled from our country," he added. "The exact number is currently being discussed with our European partners and will be announced on Monday." The leaders of former Soviet bloc EU states the Czech Republic and Lithuania, as well as Denmark and Ireland, have also said they were considering further unilateral steps, including expelling diplomats. The poisoning has heightened worries across Europe about Russian meddling -- from repeated cyber attacks to what the EU has called an "orchestrated strategy" of disinformation aimed at destabilising the bloc. Latvia's security services regularly mention in their public reports that Russia's intelligence and security services pose the greatest threat to national interest, according to the Baltic news agency BNS. At least 13 people, including two young children, were reportedly killed when a 20-story condominium in Vietnam caught fire early Friday morning. According to state media, people died by suffocation or by trying to jump from the flames. Hundreds of people reportedly fled the inferno at Carina Plaza, home to more than 700 families, in the nations southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City. Firefighters rushed to the scene shortly after 1:15 a.m. Officials said two boys, ages three and five, were among those who died in the fire. A woman and her son also reportedly fell to their deaths from the 19th floor. At least 28 people have been reported injured. This blaze has resulted in the worst human and property loss in recent years, Vo Van Hoan, Ho Chi Minh Citys chief of staff, told VN Express International. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined, but officials claimed the building, erected in 2009, had undergone routine fire inspections. LONDON (Reuters) - British consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica lies at the centre of a storm for using data obtained from millions of Facebook users without their permission after it was hired by Donald Trump for his 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign. However, the analytics firm is also under scrutiny over campaigning for the 2016 referendum when Britons voted to leave the European Union. Cambridge Analytica and the leaders of the Leave.EU group have previously boasted about working together during the Brexit campaign. However, they have since retracted their claims, saying no contract was signed and no work was completed. Parliament is investigating the links between Cambridge Analytica and Leave.EU as part of an investigation into fake news. Did Cambridge Analytica and Leave.EU work together? Arron Banks, the co-founder of Leave.EU, said in a book that in October 2015 his group hired Cambridge Analytica, a company that uses "big data and advanced psychographics" to influence people. In a November 2015, Leave.EU said on its website that Cambridge Analytica "will be helping us map the British electorate and what they believe in, enabling us to better engage with voters". In the same month, Cambridge Analytica director Brittany Kaiser spoke at a Leave.EU news conference. She said her organisation would be "running large-scale research of the nation to really understand why people are interested in staying in or out of the EU". In February 2016, Cambridge Analytica chief executive Alexander Nix wrote in Campaign magazine that his company was working for Leave.EU. "We have already helped supercharge Leave.EU's social media campaign by ensuring the right messages are getting to the right voters online," said Nix, who was suspended by the company this week. Leave.EU's communications director Andy Wigmore also said on Twitter last year that his campaign group had used the company. "You should use Cambridge Analytics," he said, adding that he could "highly recommend them". Story continues What does Leave.EU say now? Banks says Cambridge Analytica sought work with the Leave.EU before the referendum but that ultimately it never did any - paid or otherwise - for the campaign. "We did have dealings with Cambridge Analytica they put forward a pitch that went into the designation document submitted to the electoral commission," Banks told Reuters. No work was done with Cambridge Analytica because Leave.EU did not win the designation as the official leave campaign and due to concerns about the consultancy, Banks said. When asked if Leave.EU paid or accepted any services from Cambridge Analytica, Banks said: "No benefit in kind, no data, no nothing." Banks told a parliamentary committee earlier this month that when he referred to Cambridge Analytica being "hired" in his book this was a reference to the intention to work them. What does Cambridge Analytica say now? Nix told a parliamentary committee last month that he contacted Banks and Wigmore and their statements were not true. The article written in the Campaign magazine was a mistake and "drafted by a slightly overzealous PR consultant", he said. This "referenced work that we hoped and intended to undertake for the campaign. Subsequently, work was never undertaken. The moment that that statement went out we were absolutely crystal clear to all the media outlets that we were not involved and that it had been released in error," he said. (Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; editing by David Stamp) By Cheikh Amadou Diouara KIDAL, Mali (Reuters) - Mali's prime minister travelled to Kidal in the West African nation's restive north on Friday as part of the first senior government delegation in three years to visit the city, which has been under the control of Tuareg rebels since 2012. Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga and eight of his ministers are making a nine-stop national tour aimed at shoring up support for the government of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita ahead of national elections planned for July 29. Worsening security has raised doubts about whether the vote can go ahead, especially in Kidal, where much of the population wants to secede and create an independent Tuareg state. Maiga met with local political and administrative authorities as well as traditional chiefs. "From today we are starting to consolidate relationships of trust that will allow us to advance in the construction of peace, unity and security, because without these three elements everything we say is impossible," he said during his visit in comments broadcast on television. Mali has been in turmoil since Tuareg-led rebels and Islamist militants seized control of the country's desert north in 2012. French forces intervened the following year to drive back the Islamists, but Tuareg groups have maintained their grip on Kidal and some other parts of the north. "(Maiga) came. He is not a stranger. He is here and we ask him to stay a bit with us to raise awareness, to reconcile us, to bring us together," Mohamed Ag Intallah, a leading Tuareg chief, said in televised comments. Government overtures like this will be vital for building trust and helping secure Mali's north, which has seen a surge of attacks by Islamist and periodic infighting between rival Tuareg militias. But previous attempts to pacify Kidal have not gone well. In 2014, former prime minister Moussa Mara's delegation was greeted with gun and rocket fire. A battle between the Malian army and Tuaregs at the time killed at least 50 soldiers and forced Kidal state governor Sidi Mohamed Ag Ichrach to flee. After that, Mali's central government based in the south more or less gave up on trying to re-establish sovereignty over Kidal, but a ceasefire deal between pro- and anti-government Tuareg factions last year, and subsequent talks, made this latest visit possible with the consent of the main factions. Ichrach was able to return to Kidal last year following that deal. But the Islamists remain opposed to any talks, and on Thursday a U.N. peacekeepers' camp near Kidal in Mali came under mortar fire from suspected Islamists. (Additional reporting by Tiemoko Diallo; Writing by Tim Cocks and Joe Bavier; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Peter Graff) Kidal (Mali) (AFP) - Mali's Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga made a landmark visit to the restive northern town of Kidal on Friday, the first since 2014 by a head of government to an area still in the hands of former rebels. Five French soldiers were wounded in Kidal on Thursday in a jihadist attack, underscoring the security issues faced by domestic and foreign forces in Mali. The prime minister spent several hours in the city after touching down at a UN base, before heading to Gao, another urban centre rocked by periodic unrest. Appointed in December, Maiga was charged with bolstering security as jihadists mount near-weekly attacks on security forces, raising safety fears ahead of the presidential election in July. The former rebels of the Co-ordination of Movements of Azawad (CMA) provided security for the delegation, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene. The CMA contains members who rose up against the state in order to separate the north from the rest of Mali in 2012, but ultimately signed a peace treaty in 2015 with the aim of reintegrating into the army and accepting a measure of control from Bamako. "The republic will do what it should for all its children. Mali is one and indivisible in its diversity," Maiga said after meeting locals in a city with still strong separatist tendencies. "We are placing a lot of hope in this visit to advance the peace process," said CMA spokesman Mohamed Ag Assaleh. The CMA and similar groups have resisted handing back full control to the government, and clashes with pro-government armed groups have flared despite the ceasefire. Meanwhile, 4,000 French troops are deployed there as part of Operation Barkhane alongside the UN's 12,000-strong MINUSMA peacekeeping operation in Mali to tackle a jihadist insurgency that piggybacked on the 2012 rebellion. The attack on French soldiers on Thursday was claimed by the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM), a jihadist coalition affiliated with Al-Qaeda and led by Tuareg former rebel Iyad Ag Ghaly. Story continues No Malian head of government has visited Kidal since 2014 when fighting broke out during a visit by then prime minister Moussa Mara which ended with the army suffering a heavy defeat. Maiga on Tuesday said he would visit "without arrogance, in order to listen, and understand the urgent needs of the population". On Saturday he is due in Timbuktu, another northern city frequently rocked by unrest. A day after police said they believed they had found a video "confession" by Austin bombing suspect Mark Anthony Conditt, police and federal agents continue to search his Texas home for clues that might point to a motive. Mr Conditt died in the early morning hours of 21 March after being tracked to Round Rock, close to his home in Pflugerville. He had detonated an explosive device in his vehicle minutes after police had approached him on the side of the road. The 23-year-old is suspected of having sent bombs by mail, one of which killed Stephan House and 17-year-old Draylen Mason of Austin while two others injured Esperanza Herrera, 75, two white males aged 22 and 23 and a worker at a FedEx facility. The scene outside of Mr Conditts home was relatively quiet on Thursday morning despite the police presence. The FBI and the US Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) agency do not yet know if the suspect had a partner or accomplice of any kind or what might have driven him to begin the spree. Neighbour Adrienne Rubel though was relieved that police had caught Mr Conditt, telling The Independent she was still having trouble sleeping at night and was worried about packages she was set to receive from Amazon. She also joked that she hoped [all the media and police] will hurry up and leave the neighbourhood so she could continue to walk her dog Barney, as she does every day, past Mr Conditts former street. Actually Im glad theyre here... Someone else may get hurt and I dont want to see that happened, Ms Rubel said. Im not sure I want to walk [this route] again, Ms Rubel said, "But life goes on. Police officers moved in and out of the vehicles and large ATF truck parked behind a barricade place on Conditt's street, including the lead detective of the Austin Police Department. Mr Conditt shared the home, which is just a few minutes drive from his parents home, with two roommates. The two were questioned by authorities but released and police have not made their identities public as yet. He was described as quiet and even standoffish by another neighbour and several relatives expressed shock at the deep thinker, as his grandmother referred to him, would turn to violence. Story continues The 25 minute confession video showed the outcry of a very challenged young man talking about challenges in his life that led him to this point, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said. The 23-year-old had been homeschooled in the modest Pflugerville home and Jeff Reeb, a longtime neighbour of parents Danene and Pat, said the family was as normal as Ive seen. Mr Conditt was working at a manufacturing company in the area, Crux Manufacturing, but had been sacked in last year for underperformance - though his behaviour was not seen as a problem or violent, the company told a local television station. He had also attended Austin Community College from 2010 to 2012, but did not graduate with a degree. In 2012, it appeared Mr Conditt had written blog posts espousing conservative views on the death penalty and what he was believed the illegality of gay marriage. He was also part of a Bible study group where the use of weapons had been discussed among the youth, the majority of whom had also been homeschooled in the Pflugerville area. Officers on the scene seemed less tense today than previously, but the Austin Police department is continuing to caution residents all over the city to remain vigilant and report any suspicious packages. Like any newlywed, Emily Ratajkowski must have found herself scrolling through her honeymoon pics and already wishing she was back at the exclusive Utah resort where she enjoyed her first days of married life with Sebastian Bear-McClard. Being a beautiful model, however, her Instagram flashbacks featured her posing unclothed for her partner. And while there were millions who admired these pics, a few critics spoke up on social media to ask, Why share these nuds with the world now that shes married? Posing for my husband like, the actress and model captioned one photo. Posing for my husband like A post shared by Emily Ratajkowski (@emrata) on Mar 21, 2018 at 12:02pm PDT Then let it just be for your husband and notthe world? wrote morganmfarrar in the comments. I would be really turned off if I was him at this point. We get it, youre hot. #tasteless But do these observers really believe Ratajkowski, who has become famous in part because of her willingness to bare all and embrace her sexuality, to ditch that side of herself and suddenly become a modest wallflower? Should she? The fact that after marriage, we are expected to keep everything sexy and sexual for only our partner is what leads to jealousy and insecurity, Dr. Joe Kort, a sex and relationship therapist, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. The value has been to give false security to a partner that if I go underground now with my sexual and sensual attractiveness, then youll be safe and we avoid infidelity. I think its the other way around. Talking openly about it and keeping it alive while maintaining the strength and attachment of the relationship is important. Take me back A post shared by Emily Ratajkowski (@emrata) on Mar 21, 2018 at 10:24am PDT While Ratajkowski and Bear-McClard had a whirlwind relationship, one would have to assume he knew how much his wife likes to shed her clothes for the camera. Child and relationship therapist Dr. Fran Walfish says the key to any successful marriage is to talk about these kinds of issues early on, ideally before the wedding. Of the couples shes seen in which one of them is sexy by profession, some roll with it easily, and others really dont. Story continues There are some guys who marry women who are nud models or bathing suit models, and it turns them on, Walfish tells Yahoo. There are a number of spouses who are just really solid together and dont have jealousy in their nature, and they manage it just fine. They work it out and have excellent communication. In other couples, theres jealousy, competition and a lot of the marital time is spent arguing about things that didnt occur, worries about potential problems that never happened. ny A post shared by Emily Ratajkowski (@emrata) on Feb 23, 2018 at 1:32pm PST People do often change after getting married, but certainly not overnight, Walfish said. The time to find out about each others views on modesty, or other important topics like religion or childrearing, is while dating. After getting married, a couple might want to revisit these issues when they start to consider having children. There are healthy ways to grow and change with your spouse, Kort says, but it requires work. If you want a healthy relationship without losing yourself emotionally, sexually, erotically or otherwise, then you must have ongoing intentional dialogue, he advises. You can stretch and engage in behavior changes for a partner but never change who you are unless you are unhappy with who you are. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. (Reuters) - A 16-year-old girl who was critically wounded this week when she was shot by a fellow student at her high school in Maryland will be taken off life support on Thursday evening, her mother said. Melissa Willey told a news briefing at Prince George's Hospital Center in Cheverly, Maryland, that she would take her daughter, Jaelynn Willey, off life support because she was brain dead. "She will not make it. We will be taking her off life support this evening. She is brain dead and has nothing, no life left in her," Melissa Willey told reporters. A tearful Melissa Willey held one of her younger children as her husband, Daniel, stood beside her while she spoke about Jaelynn, the second eldest of her nine children. The fundraising website YouCaring showed on Thursday night that more than $72,500 of a goal of $75,000 had been raised to pay medical expenses. Austin Rollins, a 17-year-old student at Great Mills High School, is suspected of bringing his father's handgun to the school on Tuesday morning and shooting Willey in a hallway, according to the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office. Rollins had been in a relationship with Willey that recently ended, the sheriff's office said in a statement on Wednesday. School resource officer Blaine Gaskill confronted Rollins and fired one shot at him as Rollins simultaneously fired a shot, according to police. Rollins died hours later at a hospital. The officer was not harmed. An autopsy is being carried out on Rollins to determine whether he was killed by a shot fired by the officer or from a self-inflicted gunshot. Investigators also remain uncertain over who fired a shot that hit a 14-year-old student in the leg, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office said. (Reporting by Andrew Hay; Editing by Sandra Maler, Lisa Shumaker and Paul Tait) By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Thursday that Rex Tillerson's firing as U.S. secretary of state did not come up during his talks overseas this week, describing interest in the issue as largely a "Washington, D.C., story. In his first public remarks on the matter since President Donald Trump announced Tillerson's dismissal on Tuesday, Mattis, who had forged a close working relationship with Tillerson, said allies understood that ties with the United States were deeper than with any one individual. "This issue has not even come up, other than with you all(in the media) and I understand why you're asking," Mattis told reporters as he flew back to Washington from the Gulf nation of Bahrain. He had also traveled to Afghanistan since Tillersons firing. "But I'm just pointing out that in most parts of the world, this is a Washington, D.C., story." Reuters has reported that differences over how to deal with North Korea's nuclear challenge were a key factor in Trump's decision to replace Tillerson as America's top diplomat. Trump nominated Mike Pompeo, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, to take the job. Mattis had made no secret of his strong rapport with Tillerson, saying in January that the two had breakfast every week together and communicated frequently - sometimes two or three times a day. The goal was to hammer out a consensus on key issues before addressing them to the White House. "We settle all of our issues between he and I, and then we walk together into the White House meetings. That way, State and Defense are together," Mattis said at the time. It was unclear whether Mattis, a retired Marine general, would be able to forge as strong a relationship with Pompeo. Mattis declined to comment on when he learned of Tillerson's dismissal and did not offer any personal thoughts about it, other than to say it was not discussed in his past two days of conversations with Bahrain's leaders and NATO's envoy to Afghanistan and multiple town hall-style gatherings with U.S. troops. "The durability of our relations with these countries, with the United States having very strong institutions, go beyond personalities," Mattis said. Mattis suggested that cooperation with allies was unshaken by the dismissal. "It's not about whether or not the United States is still an ally to the countries I've been in or the countries I've been talking to," Mattis said. "I've signed letters while I've been out here, the normal coordination. ... The work goes on." (Reorting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Peter Cooney) Meghan Markle is making good use of the Victoria Beckham cream cashmere sweater she wore in some of her engagement photos. Joining fiance Prince Harry for a surprise trip to Northern Ireland Friday morning, the 36-year-old bride-to-be paired the classic crewneck which promptly sold out, though a pink version is available for anyone with $945 to spare with a forest green skirt from Canadian designer Greta Constantine. A $750 sand-hued wool coat with a draped collar from another favorite Canadian label, Mackage, fended off the chilly temperatures, while a brown leather Bloomsbury bag from Charlotte Elizabeth kept her streak of toting small handbags alive. But the scene-stealer may have been her Jimmy Choo heels, in a sumptuous rich brown suede. Markles green skirt made a strong style statement. (Photo: Niall Carson/Pool via AP) Once again, the former Suits star has chalked up another sartorial victory and won points for making the most of her pre-loved pieces. Better act fast if you want to copy the look; what hasnt already sold out is bound to fly off the shelves. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. At least 135 short-finned pilot whales died after a mass beaching in Western Australia - with fears the carcasses will attract sharks - as rescuers worked to herd those still alive back out to sea. The stranding of 150 whales at Hamelin Bay, around 195 miles south of Perth, was spotted by a commercial fisherman at daybreak. Locals and tourists are being warned to stay out of the water due to a likely increase in sharks attracted by the dead whales. Western Australia states Parks and Wildlife Service said its staff were on site and assessing the health and well-being of the 15 still alive. "Most of the whales beached themselves on dry land overnight and have not survived," said incident controller Jeremy Chick who added they they were awaiting support and equipment to help in a rescue attempt." Stranded whales on the beach at Hamelin Bay Credit: REUTERS He added: "The strength of the animals and the windy and possibly wet weather conditions will affect when and where we attempt to move them out to sea. "The main objectives are to ensure the safety of staff and volunteers as well as the whales greatest chance of survival." Melissa Lay, manager at the Hamelin Bay Holiday Park, told Reuters on the phone that it was the second masse stranding she had witnessed during her 15 years in the area. "There are some that are still alive but barely," Lay said. "The last time it happened, none survived." Locals and tourists were being warned to stay out of the water due to a likely increase in sharks attracted by the dead whales. People there for the peak salmon fishing season were also advised to stay out of the shallows. When they beach, short-finned pilot whales do so en masse as they travel in their hundreds Credit: Reuters "It is possible the dead and dying animals will act as an attractant, which could lead to sharks coming close into shore along this stretch of coast," the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development said in a statement. It added: "While it's not uncommon for sharks to be present off the Western Australian coast throughout the year, people should exercise additional caution until the stranding incident is resolved." Story continues Short-finned pilot whales inhabit tropical and subtropical waters and are often seen in the hundreds and when they beach, it is usually en masse. The stranding happened at Hamelin Bay, around 200 miles south of Perth The reason why mass strandings occur is still unknown. There are many theories including the shape of the coastline being a contributing factor, whales responding to distress calls from other whales, or groups following a leader into shore. The largest mass stranding in Australias west was at Dunsborough in 1996 when 320 long-finned pilot whales came ashore. All but 20 survived. National security adviser H.R. McMaster is leaving President Donald Trumps administration, the president announced Thursday. McMaster will be replaced by former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton. I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2018 McMaster and Trump mutually agreed that it was time for the adviser to leave his post after discussing the idea for some time, according to the White House. The timeline was expedited as they both felt it was important to have the new team in place, instead of constant speculation, a White House official said in a statement. This was not related to any one moment or incident, rather it was the result of ongoing conversations between the two. McMaster will also retire from the U.S. Army, in which he has served for 34 years, he said in a statement. McMaster is the latest of several senior officials to leave the White House, following the departure of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Trump announced earlier this month that he intends for CIA Director Mike Pompeo to be Tillersons replacement, starting in April. At least a dozen aides to the president have now left their posts in a little over a year. NBC News was first to report that the White House was preparing for McMasters exit, a move reportedly orchestrated by chief of staff John Kelly and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. In response, the Trump administration dismissed NBCs March 1 report as fake news and stressed that McMaster was doing a great job. Story continues NBC reported in early March that Stephen Biegun, a Ford executive who once worked under former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, was rumored to take over as national security adviser. However, in recent weeks, another possible replacement came to light: Bolton, who served as a highly controversial ambassador to the United Nations under the George W. Bush administration. Tillerson was rumored to have expressed concerns over working with Bolton, whose tactics New York magazine once labeled very undiplomatic. McMasters tenure in the Trump administration was marked by conflict as he repeatedly found himself at odds with the president. After special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russians in February, McMaster said there was incontrovertible evidence that Russia had moved to influence the 2016 presidential election. Trump himself has long pushed back against allegations of Russian interference in the election, but recently attempted to blame former President Barack Obama for not doing enough to counter Russian meddling. General McMaster forgot to say that the results of the 2016 election were not impacted or changed by the Russians and that the only Collusion was between Russia and Crooked H, the DNC and the Dems. Remember the Dirty Dossier, Uranium, Speeches, Emails and the Podesta Company! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 18, 2018 Despite the Mueller indictments, the departing head of the National Security Agency, Adm. Michael Rogers, said at the end of February that he had not received any orders from the White House to counter future subterfuge. Rogers is reportedly set to retire this spring. McMaster joined the White House last year to replace Michael Flynn, who resigned amid reports that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about his meetings with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Eric Farnsworth Security, Americas Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo speaks at The Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, U.S. April 13, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Thayer Mike Pompeo will have to hit the ground running. What the Next Secretary of State Must Know about Latin America In a well-developed ritual of political transition in Washington, the State Departments bureaucracy is already mobilizing to read in incoming secretary Mike Pompeo on the most pressing issues. Coming from the CIA, the secretary-designate will already have strong views and, after one year in the Trump administration, has undoubtedly developed a clear understanding of the priorities of the president whom he serves. Meanwhile, the department he seeks to lead has been reduced in both scope and stature by the outgoing secretary, and will be hard pressed to re-establish its more traditional diplomatic position. Internal advocates for the hemispheric agenda will have to make the case for broad and sustained U.S. engagement within these political realities. They can be successful if they focus on a few key priorities within a framework consistent with the administrations America First approach and the interests of our hemispheric neighbors. It may not be pretty, but it can get the job done. A first step for those briefing the incoming secretary would be to acknowledge that very real security threats emanate from the regionwhether traditional, like drugs and criminal gangs, or nontraditional, from states using cyber tools to meddle in elections to the potential for cross-border pandemics, among others. While not necessarily at the same level as North Korea or Iran, these issues nonetheless require vigilance and resolve to address effectively, and should not be ignored. But they cannot be stopped at our borders alone unless we are willing to seal ourselves hermetically from the rest of the world; we need the willing assistance and true partnership of friendly nations to address these issues effectively. Partnership requires that all parties gain, and that political leaders gain politically by working with the United States. This is the key. To the extent that costs to regional leaders of a close association with the United States go up, cooperation will very likely go down, and U.S. security will suffer. Story continues Cooperation takes many forms, but, as the United States learned hard during the Cold War, narrow cooperation on issues such a law enforcement and security is unsustainable absent a broader agenda of economic development and trade. In fact, it can also backfire badly if such assistance is provided without the benefit of strong, democratic institutions and human-rights protections already in place. Otherwise, the United States, fairly or not, becomes susceptible to allegations of responsibility for the antidemocratic or even repressive nature of partner governmentsa talking point that continues to be the default position of those who reject U.S. leadership in regional affairs. For the new secretary of state, this means several things. The trade agenda, for example, has been Washingtons most powerful tool in the modern era to promote mutual economic and commercial interests across the region, while giving the United States and like-minded nations an effective platform for raising otherwise hyperintrusive issues such as rule of law, the environment and good governance. If the trade agenda retreats, as with TPP, or existing trade agreements such as NAFTA are tarnished, current and potential trade partners will have much less incentive to care what the United States thinks about how they run their respective sovereign nations. Additionally, our own economy, including job creation, will suffer. Meanwhile, as it has been doing in all emerging markets, China has entered Latin America and the Caribbean with economic force, purchasing huge amounts of primary commodities from the region, investing or loaning many billions of dollars, and asking for nothing in return except implicit support for Chinese economic and political interests. China makes no internal demands on corruption, or democracy, or the environment. The United States may be the preferred partner, but if China is the only partner, regional leaders choicebetween the one who brings little and demands much, and the one who brings much and demands littlereally is no choice at all. What would any of us do under similar circumstances? The history and legacy of the United States in the region also means that the United States should tread lightly on various security-related matters. We must actively promote and secure our interests as a global power while promoting universal values consistently, but we must also be mindful of the best, most appropriate means to achieve these ends. For example, it is important to stand for democracy where it has retreated, in Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua, but equally in U.S. ally Honduras and elsewhere. As well, a focus on security assistance, particularly in the troubled Northern Triangle region of Central America, potentially raises ghosts of human-rights abuses, and must therefore continue to be carefully conditioned. Improved security is needed, but in the longer term a renewed focus on improving the business climate will help create jobs in the formal economy that will reduce existing temptations for regional youth either to migrate or to join criminal gangs. Finally, the United States has a meaningful role to play in stemming the humanitarian crisis that has enveloped Venezuela. The incoming secretary is aware of these issues, and has spoken publicly about them. Much of the hemisphere, and much of the rest of the world, recognizes that the crisis is courtesy of Caracas and Havana, not Washington. But other nations have enabled Venezuelas deterioration, including Russia and China, and Venezuela is directly impacting its neighbors. A strategy for transition and recovery must acknowledge these outside parties. The United Nations may therefore be the appropriate venue to develop such a strategy, led by the incoming secretarys friend in the administration, Amb. Nikki Haley. In the meantime, the administration can continue to work with close allies in Latin America and Canada to address the burgeoning crisis, while highlighting the illegal activities, including drug trafficking, corruption and human-rights abuses, in which members of the Venezuelan regime are engaged and which undermine neighbors, especially in Central America and the Caribbean. The upcoming Summit of the Americas in April in Peru provides a near-term opportunity to discuss such priorities. If confirmed in time, the new secretary of state will be in an excellent position to advise the president on ways to lay the groundwork for an effective policy agenda that fits within the current political frame. Administration briefers: there is little time to delay. Eric Farnsworth heads the Washington office of the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. He served at the State Department, USTR and the White House. He was a senior adviser in the office of the special envoy for the Americas from 1995 to 1998. Image: Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo speaks at The Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, U.S. April 13, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Thayer Read full article Abuja (AFP) - Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari received the released Dapchi girls on Friday in a meeting clouded by the absence of a Christian student still held by Boko Haram for refusing to convert to Islam. "We entered into negotiation solely to make sure that no single girl was hurt. This strategy paid off as the girls are being released without any incident," Buhari said to reporters at the presidential villa in Abuja. Describing the release of the 107 youngsters -- 105 schoolgirls and two young boys -- as a "cheery and hearty" development, Buhari pledged to recover "every abducted citizen in Nigeria." "While parents of the Dapchi girls rejoice because of the reunion with their children, I want to appeal to the Chibok community never to lose hope or despair. We are determined as never before to bring back our remaining Chibok daughters," he said. A total of 113 children were seized from the school in Dapchi, in the northeastern state of Yobe, on February 19, all but two of them girls. On Wednesday morning, 105 of the girls were brought back by the jihadists on Wednesday morning, security director Lawal Daura said. "The insurgents' only condition was their demands for a cessation of hostilities and a temporary ceasefire to enable them to return the girls (to) the point they picked them (up)," said Daura. "The remaining six Dapchi girls are yet to be accounted for and dialogue on these students is still on-going," he said. Five girls are said to have died in the initial stages of the kidnapping, while one girl -- the only Christian -- is still being held, with Buhari on Friday promising to free her. Leah Sharibu is still with her captors, apparently because she refused to convert to Islam. "It is disheartening that one of the girls, Leah Sharibu, remains in captivity," said Buhari on his official Twitter account. "We will do everything in our power to bring Leah back safely," he said. Story continues The girls -- many dressed in matching fawn-coloured, long hijabs -- boarded a Nigerian military transport plane from the Borno state capital Maiduguri to Abuja on Wednesday night. The Dapchi kidnapping revived painful memories in Nigeria of the April 2014 abduction of over 200 schoolgirls from Chibok, a town also in the northeast, which caused global outrage. While some of the Chibok girls have been freed, a total of 112 remain in captivity. Boko Haram has repeatedly targeted schools giving a so-called Western education in the mainly-Muslim region as part of an insurgency that has killed at least 20,000 people since 2009. By Christine Kim and Josh Smith SEOUL (Reuters) - Once rejected by North Korea as "human scum," U.S. President Donald Trump's latest pick for national security adviser has called for regime change in North Korea, prompting worries in Asia ahead of a historic summit between Washington and Pyongyang. Trump announced in a tweet he was replacing H.R. McMaster with John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who has advocated the use of military force against North Korea and Iran and has previously been rejected as a negotiating partner by Pyongyang. "This is worrisome news," said Kim Hack-yong, conservative lawmaker and head of the national defence committee of South Korea's parliament. "North Korea and the United States need to have dialogue but this only fuels worries over whether the talks will ever happen." At Seoul's presidential Blue House, which has been forced to navigate between the unpredictable personalities of leaders in both Pyongyang and Washington, officials were circumspect. "Our stance is that if a new road opens, we have to go that path," a senior Blue House official told reporters. "Bolton has much knowledge on the issues regarding the Korean peninsula and most of all, we know him to be one of the U.S. president's aides who is trusted." He said Chung Eui-yong, South Korea's National Security Office head, had not yet spoken with Bolton and that Chung's reaction to McMaster's dismissal was "not bad". Another administrative official in Seoul expressed regret over the loss of camaraderie McMaster had built with his South Korean counterpart as they had tackled North Korea's nuclear issue together. Both officials requested not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue. "A ROCKY PATH" Bolton had described Trump's plan to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as "diplomatic shock and awe" and said it would be an opportunity to deliver a threat of military action. Story continues "I think this session between the two leaders could well be a fairly brief session where Trump says, 'Tell me you have begun total denuclearisation, because we're not going to have protracted negotiations. You can tell me right now or we'll start thinking of something else'", he told Washington's WMAL radio station. Former South Korean intelligence official Nam Sung-wook said Trump may not even get the opportunity to deliver that message. "Bolton being tapped for this position makes for a very difficult situation where the U.S.-North Korea summit may not even happen," he said. "Its going to be a rocky path even before the summit." The meeting is supposed to happen by the end of May, but an exact time and place have yet to be settled on. Pyongyang had no immediate comment about Bolton, whose criticism of then-North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and Pyongyang's human rights record in 2003 spurred state media to call him "human scum and bloodsucker." North Korean officials would not recognise him as a representative of the U.S. government or talk with him because of his "political vulgarity and psychopathological condition", state media said at the time. HOPES AND WORRIES IN ASIA Bolton's appointment came 10 days after Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, another moderating influence, replacing him with CIA director Mike Pompeo. His appointment will further diminish hope for China and the United States to see eye-to-eye on security issues, according to Shi Yinhong, an expert on China-U.S. relations at Renmin University in Beijing. "What security cooperation with China can there be? Nuclear weapons, North Korea, Taiwan, South China Sea, cyberspace Where is there hope for cooperation?" Shi said. "Trump and Xi Jinping have spoken in public of the logic of cooperation, but with the negative direction of trade and security cooperation, these words seem more and more empty." Zhao Tong, an expert on North Korea and nuclear disarmament at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center in Beijing, said Boltons previous calls for China to pursue regime change in North Korea, as well as for a reunification of the peninsula under the South Korean government, was "very unrealistic". His views on strategic security issues will reinforce the Chinese convictions that it needs to build up its hard power," Zhao said. Tokyo expressed hopes communication with Washington would go on as normal, with one Japanese government official saying he was "very optimistic" Japan would be able to get along with Bolton as he has many friends inside the Japanese government. Narushige Michishita, a professor at Tokyo's Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, said Bolton's toughness could present a hurdle in dealing with Pyongyang. "The problem is that he doesn't have any flexibility. That's a negative concern that I have," Michishita said. (Reporting by Christine Kim; Additional reporting by Heekyong Yang and Josh Smith in SEOUL, Christian Shepherd in BEIJING and Linda Sieg in TOKYO; Editing by Bill Tarrant) OSLO (Reuters) - Norway's $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, opposed Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk's compensation package in Wednesday's shareholder vote, the fund said on its website. Owners of the electric car company approved the compensation package, potentially worth $2.6 billion, though by a lower margin than U.S. CEOs typically receive on pay votes. The Norwegian fund, which at the start of 2018 owned 0.48 percent of Tesla's shares, worth $252.5 million, did not say why it voted against Musk's package. In the past, the fund has said it would work for an overhaul of executive pay. (Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Camilla Knudsen) A decade ago, the slogan used by Facebook appeared harmless, if not particularly catchy. Facebook, it said, is a social utility that connects you with the people around you. Today, the Facebook homepage bears a different promise: Its free and always will be. This week, the true cost to billions of users all over the world has been laid bare. As the extent of the social media networks negligence regarding the harvesting and use of personal information by Cambridge Analytica became apparent, so too did the unpalatable truth that we are living in a world where data is currency. It has the power to impact our buying habits, influence our dating choices, and change the course of elections. In a way, we should have seen this coming. Data collection companies have been harvesting personal information for the benefit of clients since long before Facebook had left Mark Zuckerbergs Harvard dorm room, and in the Wild West of the internet, little has been done to police them. But the capture of Facebook data for political ends didnt start with Cambridge Analytica. In 2016, it emerged an American firm called Geofeedia was providing social media surveillance to government offices, private security firms and American law enforcement. By exploiting Facebook, Instagram and Twitters laissez-faire approach to data protection, Geofeedia was able access personal information and offer it to agencies. Facebook and Cambridge Analytica | The story so far Four years earlier, the social media team working on the Obama presidential campaign - desperate to reach twentysomething voters on Facebook - used similar, although in their case entirely legal and transparent, methods to access the personal data not only of the individual Facebook user, but also of all that persons friends. Obama for America created a Facebook app that allowed the campaign to find undecided young voters, and target them appropriately. And it was successful: the apps developers estimate the campaigns target audience reach increased by 400 per cent as a result of peer-to-peer messaging. Story continues Two years before that, the Wall Street Journal reported widespread misuse of Facebook user information by app developers and third party companies. In one case, an online tracking firm called RapLeaf was found to be collecting user data and selling it to advertisers and political consultants. Facebook later banned the company. But data is not only useful to politicians. Cambridge Analytica, it is becoming abundantly clear, is the tip of a very large iceberg. Your personal information - and that means everything from your e-mail address, to your location, political beliefs and even sexual preferences - is being reaped at this very moment, and theres every chance you sanctioned it. How many people use Facebook Of all the applications on your phone or tablet, 7 in 10 share your data with third party services, be it a parent app, or data harvesting company such as Global Science Research, the partner which fed 50 million Facebook users information to Cambridge Analytica. At the point of downloading an app, you are agreeing to its terms and conditions, which are normally presented in the form of a pop-up in fine print. It wont always be obvious. Some apps simply ask for permission to know your location; some to access your contacts. But if different apps use the same third-party, those data elements can be tied together to paint a near-complete picture of your online identity, and in granular detail. It means that if, say, a person gave one app permission to know their location, and another app access to their contacts, that information could be shared between the two. In all this, Facebook has been willfully powerless. Whether following the Silicon Valley mantra of move fast and break things (consequences be damned) or recognising that closing loopholes could make their product less attractive to developers, only minor regulations have been introduced over the past decade. How is your data being used? Cambridge Analytica used Facebook likes to build a profile of each user before sharing it with political campaigns. A handful of likes could show if you were a democrat, a republican, LGBT, pro-gun, pro-nuclear, and so on. Meanwhile, any question you answer on a dating app could be shared with several others. Match.com, for instance, is the parent company of Tinder, the worlds most popular dating app, meaning they can exchange data. Tinder then has the capacity to share your preferences with entirely different apps on your iPhone, unless you have specifically requested it doesnt. Admitting you favour long walks on the beach, then, could see Amazon recommending you a new pair of flip-flops, Expedia holiday suggestions and Air BnB apartment rentals. Accessing Your Facebook Data | What categories of my Facebook data are available to me? Facebook has responded to the attack on its failure to protect its users with the bold assertion that tens of millions of people having their data scraped and passed on to a third party does not constitute a breach. The good news is that the most important actions to prevent this from happening again today we have already taken years ago. But we also made mistakes, there's more to do, and we need to step up and do it, Zuckerberg said, in a lengthy Facebook post today. The 'important actions' he refers to include closing the loophole which allowed third parties to gain access to entire networks of friends in 2015. Cambridge Analytica harvested their data in 2014, and continued to use it in the build up to the 2016 US presidential election. Alex Haydock, the Legal Officer of the Open Rights Group, told the Telegraph that the depth and amount of data that can be collected by third-party apps is highly concerning. Although [Facebooks] Platform Policy offers limited assurances about how user data should be processed, Facebook has very limited control over data as soon as it has been transferred to a third-party app. In short, despite the so-called loophole being closed, there is little stopping billions of internet users data being employed for far more nefarious means than to target their shopping habits. Without the loophole, companies or political parties couldnt scrape the data in quite such a clean swoop. But that doesnt mean it isnt entirely possible, or, indeed, that it isnt happening right now. It might just take longer. Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: AP While the field of candidates for the next presidential election is still taking shape, it is likely to include the oldest person ever to seek the office. President Trump, already the oldest first-term president in U.S. history, has begun campaigning for re-election and will be 74 by election day 2020. Though undecided about a run, former Vice President Joe Biden, who tops most early Democratic polls, will be just shy of 78, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders will be 79. They may be old, but they want voters to know theyre still in fighting trim. If I were in high school, Id take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him, Biden said of Trump, in answer to a question about the presidents crude comments about women. That prompted Trump to assure the nation that he would get the better of the hypothetical fist fight. Crazy Joe Biden is trying to act like a tough guy. Actually, he is weak, both mentally and physically, and yet he threatens me, for the second time, with physical assault. He doesnt know me, but he would go down fast and hard, crying all the way. Dont threaten people Joe! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2018 But will young voters, mobilized by the movement that has sprung up in response to the high school shooting in Parkland, Fla., turn out for candidates well into their 70s? I personally intend to support somebody who is young, Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor and presidential candidate told Yahoo News. My preference is someone under 50. I think its time we turned the page on my generations culture wars. Dean, who is 69 now but was 55 when he ran for president, believes Democrats should aim to motivate young voters by nominating a candidate with less gray hair and more youthful energy. I think the best way to activate them is to get somebody who they can relate to, and thats someone who is young, the younger the better, Dean said. Story continues Commentators worry that Democrats might squander their opportunity to draw a contrast with an aging Republican president. Democrats could choose a challenger so old that the prospect of infirmity or mortality or worse yet, actual infirmity or mortality during the general-election campaign could give Trump just the kind of advantage he needs, columnist Ed Kilgore wrote for New York magazines Daily Intelligencer. For others, however, that kind of calculus smacks of discrimination. Sanders supporters at a rally in New Jersey, May 2016. (Photo: Mel Evans/AP) Ageism is the last ism that seems to be acceptable to people, and I never felt that it was whether somebody was too young or too old, Jane Sanders, the Vermont senators wife told the New York Times. The focus on Sanderss age overlooks the extent to which he resonated with young voters in the 2016 campaign, routinely trouncing Hillary Clinton in primaries among millennial voters, according exit polls. While that enthusiasm is not lost on Dean, he also sees its limits. The difference was that he got [young voters] because he was outspoken and was speaking truth to power, and thats sort of the reason I got them, Dean said. But I think I would like somebody who has a more rounded approach to issues. The way that young people think is not the way that people my age think, and thats really the crux of all of this. But just fielding a younger candidate may not be a surefire way to energize voters, argues Princeton University professor of history and public affairs Julian Zelizer. I think theres still probably a bias in the electorate that younger is new, younger is fresh, younger is different, but middle age still seems to be a pretty good place if youre running politically, Zelizer told Yahoo News. In the 2016 Democratic primary, the agent of change was Bernie Sanders, and in the end Democrats rallied around Hillary Clinton, who was also older. People like young and they see young as different, but when it comes time to vote, I dont think age plays as solid a role as youd think. Is age itself a reason for concern? Apart from the political message it sends, nominating a candidate pushing 80 presents at least one clear area of medical concern the increased risk of dementia. At age 65, one in 10 Americans suffers from Alzheimers disease or other forms of dementia, according to statistics from the National Institute on Aging. That number jumps significantly over the next 10 years of age: 17 percent of people age 75 to 84 are diagnosed with Alzheimers, and 38 percent of people age 85 or older suffer from the disease. I would not want to have a president who is demented. I think thats dangerous, Dr. Laura Carstensen, director of Stanford Universitys Center on Longevity, told Yahoo News. But older people are also more likely to solve emotionally charged conflicts better than young people. Of course, thats not the case with everyone. A cardinal feature of research on aging is that the older the population that youre studying, the more variability you see. For people over 85, for instance, we would include very wise Supreme Court justices and then you have the most demented, in the same age group. I think what this means is that we have to be thinking about individuals more than age groups. While advanced age also correlates with a higher instance of cancer and heart disease, dementia poses a different level of worry. For this reason, Carstensen thinks presidential candidates should undergo cognitive testing, but not just to identify the onset of dementia. I think the idea of having people not only report their physical health records, but also their cognitive health is a good idea, Carstensen said. I wouldnt like to see us move in a direction where were only targeting old people and only targeting one thing that could be a problem because there are a lot of other things we should be looking at. Moreover, Carstensen sees the need to evaluate the mental and physical health of all presidential candidates, young or old. At his first physical as president in January, Trump requested a cognitive assessment, which, his physician reported, he passed. I wouldnt want to give all people under the age of 60 a pass for being mentally fit, while targeting old people. Making an issue out of age In one of the more famous lines delivered in a presidential debate, Ronald Reagan, who was 73 when he faced off in his 1984 reelection campaign against 56-year-old Walter Mondale, deftly parried Baltimore Sun reporter Henry Trewhitts question on whether his advanced age would inhibit his ability to handle an emergency like the Cuban missile crisis. Not at all, Mr. Trewhitt, and I want you to know that also I will not make age an issue of this campaign, Reagan responded. I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponents youth and inexperience. Ronald Reagan in his debate with Walter Mondale, October 1984. (Photo: Ron Edmonds/AP) Despite being issued a clean bill of health by his physicians, doubts about Reagans mental acuity persisted throughout his second term. In 1994, five years after he left office at the age of 77, he announced that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimers disease. A subsequent study by Arizona State University researchers published in the Journal of Alzheimers Disease based on Reagans speech patterns found that the onset of dementia was apparent while he was in the White House. Looking at the 46 news conferences that Reagan held while in office and comparing them against 101 held by George H.W. Bush, the researchers noted a marked increase in repetitive words and nonspecific terms as Reagans presidency went on. For Bush, who has never been diagnosed with Alzheimers, no such deterioration was noted. Most of the neurologists I know suspected that something was going on with Reagan when he was still in office. Whether the job was speeding up the progression is quite another question and I dont think we have any evidence for that. Carstensen said. In 2017, the health website STAT conducted a similar analysis of decades worth of Trump on-air interviews in the 80s and 90s, and compared them with those conducted since his inauguration. Seeking the opinion of experts in neurolinguistics and cognitive assessment, the panel came to the unanimous conclusion that the president had undergone mental deterioration. Yet their findings are hardly conclusive. The experts noted clear changes from Trumps unscripted answers 30 years ago to those in 2017, in some cases stark enough to raise questions about his brain health, Sharon Begley wrote in STAT. They noted, however, that the same sort of linguistic decline can also reflect stress, frustration, anger, or just plain fatigue. The oldest guy ever to be president The battle lines of the coming campaign are already being drawn on the subject of age. Joe Biden has been living off the swamp for five decades now, and if that is the person that the Democrats wants to run, that they think the American people wants [sic] then I wish them a lot of luck with that, Lara Trump said of the former vice president on Fox News. While Biden himself acknowledges that his age could be seen as a liability, he believes running against Trump would minimize those concerns. Look, it would be a totally legitimate thing for people to say Lets look at Biden. He would be the oldest guy to ever be president. See what kind of shape hes in, mentally, physically and the rest, Biden told PBS in a January interview, adding. Its probably the least consequential of any election because of who youd be running against, in all probability. Zelizer agrees with that assessment, noting that the Democratic fervor to remove Trump from office outweighs age considerations. Ordinarily, youth and change go hand in hand, but I think this time it might not work that way because of how Trump is defining the landscape, Zelizer says. Still, Dean believes its better to field a candidate who presents a clear contrast with Trump, and that starts with age. I think we need someone whos sober-minded and young, who knows what theyre talking about, and thats the great contrast with Trump, who is sort of this blustering guy who knows nothing and is obnoxious, frankly, to most kids. While Zelizer doesnt think being young is a prerequisite for running for president in 2020, he acknowledges that the post-Parkland youth movement could help reshape the political landscape, making age a bigger factor than in past election cycles. If young people can turn this moment of protest into something bigger, mobilizing voters in their 20s, for instance, you could see a shift in issues, Zelier said. Certainly with gun control, thats front and center. I dont think its a matter of bringing new voices into the arena. I think its more important that they shift the agenda and force candidates of all ages to deal with these questions. President Donald Trumps appointment of hawkish former UN ambassador John Bolton as National Security Adviser flies in the face of one of his old tweets. Back in September 2013, Trump posted this on Twitter: All former Bush administration officials should have zero standing on Syria. Iraq was a waste of blood & treasure. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2013 Trumps post has come back to haunt him, albeit 4-and-a-half years later, due to Boltons staunch support of the Iraq War when he was a State Department official under former President George W. Bush. In Boltons new role, which begins on April 9, he will likely help shape U.S. policy in foreign countries, including Syria and Iraq. Trumps hypocrisy did not go unnoticed: So you picked one as your national security adviser??? April Stephen (@aprilsaysso) March 22, 2018 Theres a tweet for everything. Meanwhile I couldve swore you ridiculed and belittled George Bush, all Republicans and Democrats that voted for the war in Iraq during your campaign and the debates. John Bolton was an advocate for that same war, just in case. Capt M J Singleton (@NavyCaptRet63XX) March 23, 2018 That would include John Bolton, one of Bushs UN ambassadors, who you just appointed as your senior national security advisor. Tom Busiahn (@TomBusiahn) March 23, 2018 Related Coverage Story continues Retired 4-Star General: 'Simply Outrageous' That Jared Kushner Represents America Obama Photographer Mocks Donald Trump For Using 'A Big Word' Donald Trump-Joe Biden Feud Sparks Savage Meme Ridiculing The Pair Also on HuffPost Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. The stock market should be peppy this year, as sharp cuts in the corporate tax rate goose profits. Instead, it cant seem to shake the gloomy feeling that something bad is about to happen. Thats probably because President Trump is now putting into practice the protectionism he promised as a presidential candidate. In the two days following Trumps announcement of new 25% tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese imports to the United States, the S&P 500 stock index fell nearly 5%. The weekly decline of 6% was the worst since January 2016. Since markets anticipate future activity, this seems to be a portent of trouble loomingand theres good reason to think it is. The same day Trump announced his new China tariffs, China announced retaliatory measures involving tariffs on just $3 billion of US imports to China. That relieved markets at first, as stocks stabilized. But those Chinese tariffs werent in response to Trumps latest targeting of China. They were in response to the steel and aluminum tariffs Trump announced on March 8, which were much less significant. China is now waiting to see which of its products will be subject to the new 25% tariffs, with a list due by April 6. At that point or soon after, another set of tariffs from China is virtually certainand it will probably apply to a lot more than $3 billion worth of US imports. Its guaranteed theres going to be another announcement, and its guaranteed its going to be much larger than what China just announced, says Scott Kennedy, director of the Project on Chinese Business and Political Economy at the Center for International and Strategic Studies in Washington. The message from China is that its not going to be cowed into submission by American threats, and that it can outlast the United States in any trade war. Trumps tariffs are meant to address a problem many trade experts agree is legitimate: China has, in fact, cheated on trade deals in many ways. The government subsidizes many firms that compete globally, allowing them to offer products well below market value. China often requires western firms to share key technology as a condition of doing business in China. It also resorts to outright theft of trade secrets from companies in developed nations. Story continues But experts dont agree that unilateral tariffs, imposed by the United States alone, are the right way to address the problem. One of the main reasons is that tariffs invite retaliation. The United States has a large trade deficit with Chinawhich apparently drives Trump crazybut American companies still export $130 billion worth of goods and services to China each year. Those producers are now vulnerable to tariffs that will make their offerings more expensive in China and cut into sales. Trumps steel and aluminum tariffs have become something of a sham, which may offer insights into the way his China tariffs evolve. Trumps initial idea was to hit all steel and aluminum imports with a tariff. But in his official announcement, he exempted Canada and Mexico from the tariffs and said other importers could apply for exemptions. The Trump administration has now issued exemptions for 67% of all steel imports and 55% of all aluminum imports, according to the American Action Forum. That obviously weakens the protection those tariffs were supposed to offer to domestic steel manufacturers. As a result, US Steels (X) stock has plunged 23% since the day Trump announced the tariffs. Nucors (NUE) stock is down 9%. Going after a lot of American producers One country not likely to get an exemption from the steel and aluminum tariffs? China. Steel imports into the US from China totaled $1.1 billion in 2017, according to S&P Platts, while aluminum imports from China totaled $3.3 billionfor $4.4 billion, combined. So new Chinese tariffs on about $3 billion worth of US imports is of magnitude similar to the US action that preceded it. Instead of targeting a couple of key industries, as the United States did, China spread its $3 billion in tariffs across dozens of product categories, affecting American producers throughout the country. The purpose of choosing those specific products is they will touch a lot of small American producers, all of whom will complain to the media and the US government, says Kennedy. Theyre trying to create broader anxieties in the American economy about continuing this trade action. If forthcoming Chinese tariffs are proportional to Trumps duties, theyll have 15 times of the tariffs China just announced. Thats the trouble markets are bracing for. Once China retaliates, Trump will have to decide whether to raise the stakes further with additional tariffs, or explain away whatever harm comes to American exporters and leave it at that. Trump, for all his tough talk, may not appreciate one particular Chinese advantage, should broader trade wars develop: China can probably endure a lot more pain than the United States. China, after all, is essentially a dictatorship in which the government controls the media and much of the economy. The United States is not, obviously, and the stock market will render prompt and unfavorable judgment on Trumps tariffs if a trade spat mushrooms into something more like a war. It might be prudent to prepare for collateral damage. Confidential tip line: rickjnewman@yahoo.com. Encrypted communication available. Read more: Rick Newman is the author of four books, including Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman Follow Yahoo Finance on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn By Zachary Fagenson PARKLAND, Fla. (Reuters) - Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students Madeline Gaffney, Diego Pfeiffer and Kayla Sanseverino were normal teens focused on homework and college applications before last month's mass shooting catapulted them into the U.S. debate on gun rights. As they prepare for Saturday's "March for Our Lives" rallies in Washington and elsewhere calling for tighter regulations on guns, the students said they were still coping with the anxiety that comes with surviving a violent crime. "I don't do as many outside activities any more, said Gaffney, a 17-year-old junior who liked to run and go to the gym regularly before losing a friend in the Feb. 14 shooting, which claimed the lives of 17 students and educators in Parkland, Florida. Pfeiffer, an 18-year-old senior, said he now scans restaurants and shopping plazas for potential danger and found himself looking over his shoulder in school hallways when classes resumed last month after the deadliest mass shooting at a high school in U.S. history. "I definitely look around, take in my surroundings a little more just to make sure that I can catch whatever I can, and I've never done that before," he said. Balancing his newfound activism and student life has been difficult at times, Pfeiffer said. When he is in school, he feels like his time could be better spent talking to lawmakers about gun control or trying to engage fellow young voters. He said the movement for tighter firearms controls, galvanized by survivors of the shooting, has shown his classmates that they can have an impact on the political process. "Now we have a reason, there are people saying you need to go out there and you need to make a difference," he said. Sanseverino, 16, said she wants to pursue a career in child psychology, with the aim of helping children before they become so troubled they turn to violence. The suspect in the Parkland shooting, former student Nikolas Cruz, 19, had a history of mental issues, numerous encounters with police and was expelled from Stoneman Douglas last year for disciplinary problems. Story continues "School safety helps our schools, but what about movie theaters, what about clubs, what about in the grocery store? We can't protect everywhere," said Sanseverino, a junior who will march in Amelia Island, Florida, on Saturday. Gaffney and Pfeiffer, who will both march in Washington, said their activism is only beginning. "We're just not going to go away," Pfeiffer said. (Reporting by Zachary Fagenson; editing by Colleen Jenkins) (Getty Images) Students and families from Parkland, Florida, traveled in style to this weekends March For Our Lives in Washington and they have the generosity of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft to thank. Kraft lent the use of his teams plane to the families of the 17 victims killed in the attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last month. Students who were injured in the attack were also aboard the plane as it headed toward Saturdays anti-gun violence event. Patriots spokesman Stacy James told the Boston Globe that Kraft decided to donated the use of his plane after Arizona representative Gabby Gifford and her husband Scott Kelly reached out to him. From the Globe: The plane took off from Fort Lauderdale Thursday, James said, and will bring the students and families back to Florida following the march. He was not aware of any Patriots players on the flight. Kraft was not with them. No report other than they took off and everyone was happy, James said. A couple of students thanked Kraft for the gesture on social media before boarding AirKraft: Thank you @Patriots for donating your plane to fly @ShineMsd to Washington DC We appreciate your support! pic.twitter.com/JGnN0jNjoe Kali Clougherty #ShineMSD (@kali4change) March 23, 2018 Heading to D.C. & Im so thankful to be here with so many amazing people. Thank you @Patriots for donating your plane to help us get to D.C.! And always so happy to have @isabelabarry by my side through everything I do pic.twitter.com/o8I7EfzQED soy | #shineMSD (@SawyerRayne) March 22, 2018 Well done, New England. More from Yahoo Sports: Golfer calls out airline after finding missing clubs for sale Book reveals ugly history between Tiger, Bill Clinton Engineering students come to rescue of hurt Purdue star Spurs players hold tense meeting with Kawhi The chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, a Republican, spoke out Thursday against lawmakers of his own party who filed legislation to impeach four Democratic state Supreme Court justices over disagreements on the states congressional map. The statement from Chief Justice Thomas Saylor comes days after a dozen Republicans in the state House filed articles of impeachment to remove four of the five Democrats on the court. The Republicans say the Democratic justices exceeded their constitutional authority in implementing their own congressional map after striking down the current one as unlawfully gerrymandered. Therefore, the lawmakers said, the justices should be removed from office. The state Supreme Court imposed its own map only after giving lawmakers and the governor three weeks to come up with a replacement map. Republicans enjoyed a consistent 13-5 majority with the old district boundaries, despite GOP candidates earning just 50 percent of Pennsylvanias popular vote in recent presidential elections. The new map is expected to make congressional elections more competitive in the state. As Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, I am very concerned by the reported filing of impeachment resolutions against Justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania related to the Courts decision about congressional redistricting, Saylor said in a statement. Threats of impeachment directed against Justices because of their decision in a particular case are an attack upon an independent judiciary, which is an essential component of our constitutional plan of government. Saylor and Justice Sallie Updyke Mundy, the only other Republican on the seven-member court, were the only justices who voted against striking down the map. Christopher Borick, a professor of political science at Muhlenberg College, said it was uncommon for a sitting Supreme Court justice to speak out the way Saylor did. This is a very unusual move on the part of the Chief Justice and reflects the unprecedented calls for impeachment against a number of justices, he wrote in an email. The Court rarely makes such public statements toward another institution of government and in this case the rattling of the impeachment sword was loud enough to make Saylor react to a threat to the independence of the judiciary. Story continues State Rep. Cris Dush (R), who has led the call for impeachment, denied in a Wednesday interview that he sought retribution or to intimidate Democrats on the court. He also said he had received guarantees from House Speaker Michael Turzai (R) and state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R), the chair of the state government committee, that they would allow a vote on the impeachment legislation. A majority of the House must vote to advance impeachment proceedings to the Senate, where two-thirds of the body must vote to remove an official from office. As of January, Republicans control 120 of 203 seats in the state House and 34 of 50 seats in the state Senate. The impeachment power is rarely used in the state. The impeachment talk comes the same week that the United States Supreme Court and a lower federal court rejected Republican challenges to the state courts decision. The decision means a new congressional map will be in place for the 2018 elections. Related Coverage Pennsylvania GOP Moves To Impeach Supreme Court Democrats For Gerrymandering Ruling Also on HuffPost Alabama State Capitol (Montgomery, Ala.) Pictured on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Dave Martin) Alaska State Capitol (Juneau, Alaska) Pictured on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011. 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Vizcarra, who turned 55 on Thursday, stepped forward to fill the gap left by Kuczynski's resignation and avoid the need for early elections at a time of widespread voter discontent after a series of political scandals. He would hold the post until July 2021, when Kuczynski's mandate was due to end. Meanwhile, instead of an expected impeachment vote for Kuczynski, Peruvian lawmakers were debating the 79-year-old's resignation late into Thursday night. They were to vote on Friday whether to accept it and forego the need for an impeachment. "This is not a happy day for the country. It is not a day we are proud of. It is a difficult and complicated day," opposition MP Victor Andres Belaunde told the Congress. Outgoing Economy Minister Claudia Cooper said Vizcarra would inherit "an economy with growth that is the highest in the region." Cooper resigned in solidarity with Kuczynski. Analysts predict Peru's economy will grow by more than 2 percent this year. Ratings agency Standard and Poor's said Peru's ratings were not immediately affected by the resignation. But it said Vizcarra "will need to forge alliances in the Congress to avoid recurrent conflicts and move ahead with the government's existing spending agenda." Kuczynski stepped down when it became clear he could not survive the impeachment vote, over his links to Brazil's construction giant Odebrecht. Story continues Odebrecht revealed in December that it had paid nearly $5 million for advice from companies linked to him when he was minister. The Brazilian company has admitted that it made campaign contributions between 2006-2011 to the last four presidents. A vote to reject the resignation would mean Congress is to going ahead with the impeachment vote, which would be a humiliation for Kuczynski, popularly known by his initials, PPK. The situation echoes what happened to his disgraced predecessor Alberto Fujimori at the end of his decade long presidency in 2000. Congress impeached Fujimori on the grounds of "permanent moral incapacity," bringing to an end weeks of political drama. Fujimori had resigned by fax -- sent from his hotel room in Japan -- but this was rejected by Congress, which chose instead to punish the ex-strongman. By resigning on the eve of an impeachment vote, Kuczynski was hoping to avoid the same fate. Warsaw (AFP) - Thousands of Poles took to the streets Friday to protest plans to tighten the abortion law, as the Council of Europe warned the new measure ran counter to Warsaw's human rights commitments. In Warsaw, men and women carried large red signs shaped like hands with the word "Stop", as well as others with slogans such as "your chapels, our uteri" and "we want choice, not terrorising". Demonstrators had gathered outside parliament before marching through the city to the police-guarded headquarters of the ruling right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, which backs the citizen's bill with the support of the Catholic hierarchy. Others marched from the seat of the Warsaw archdiocese to the PiS headquarters, making stops in front of churches along the way. The "Black Friday" protests also took place in other cities across the country, including Gdansk, Krakow, Poznan, Szczecin and Wroclaw. According to the bill, which could pass in parliament where conservatives have a majority, abortion would be outlawed except in cases where the mother has been raped or is a victim of incest. Stop Abortion committee activist Kaja Godek said it would halt abortions for malformed foetuses, and "represent the lives of three human beings every day". She said malformation was behind 1,046 legal abortions carried out in Poland in 2017 or 96 percent of the total. - Council of Europe warning - Earlier Friday, the Council of Europe's human rights commissioner Nils Muiznieks published his warning to Warsaw. "If adopted, the draft law would remove the possibility of terminating the pregnancy in case of severe foetal impairment, including in cases where such impairment is fatal," Muiznieks wrote. "This step would be at variance with Polands obligations under international human rights law." He urged the Polish parliament to "reject this legislative proposal and any other legislative proposal that seeks to further limit women's access to their sexual and reproductive rights in Poland". Story continues Last year the government issued a public health video encouraging Poles to "breed like rabbits" to counter a sharp population decline. The clip was one of a string of often controversial measures the PiS administration has introduced since taking power in late 2015 to boost the devoutly Catholic country's birth-rate, which is among Europe's lowest. The government has cut state funding for IVF and tried to tighten the already restrictive abortion law but buckled under pressure from nationwide protests in 2016 with women dressing in black to demonstrate. Those proposals, more restrictive than the latest draft, called for jail terms of up to five years for doctors, patients and others taking part in abortions. The government also introduced the "500+" child benefit granting 500 zloty (118 euros, $137) per child for families with more than one offspring. Two officers shouted for a suspect to show his hands, then shouted "Gun! Gun! Gun!" moments before fatally shooting the man, who turned out to be unarmed, audio from body camera footage released by Sacramento police shows. Footage from body cameras and an overhead helicopter does not clearly depict what the man, who was only holding a mobile phone, was doing in the moments before the police fired on Sunday night. The shooting happened in the backyard of the man's grandparents' home, where he was staying. The police did not find a gun at the scene. The Sacramento Police Department said the man, who was black, was seen breaking into at least three vehicles and later into a neighbor's home. The break-ins were first reported by a 911 call also released by the police. The police said deputies in the helicopter saw the man break a neighbor's sliding glass door before jumping a fence. The helicopter video does not show the alleged break-in. It picks up as the man is running through a backyard and climbing over a fence into a neighboring property. It shows him looking into a truck in the driveway. The helicopter, flying over the house, then loses sight of the man. It briefly shows him in the backyard as the police are running up the driveway along the side of the house. "Show me your hands - gun!" one officer yells, according to the body camera footage released Wednesday. It is dark outside and a torch from one body camera briefly shows the backyard, but the man is not visible. "Gun, gun, gun," one of the officers yells before they begin shooting. The helicopter footage shows the man collapsing as they shoot. It's unclear from the helicopter and body camera video exactly how many shots were fired. Police previously said the officers fired 20 shots. The department had said he advanced toward the officers holding an object extended in front of him. The officers thought he was pointing a handgun, police said. Story continues After the shooting, the footage shows the officers taking turns reloading and keeping their guns trained on the man from a distance while they await backup. Victim Stephon Clark Credit: Getty Images When backup arrives, one of the officers who fired says, "We can't see his left hand." Someone suggests getting a nonlethal weapon before approaching. "Let's hit him a couple of times with that before we uh-" the officer says, though it appears the suggestion was heeded. "What'd he have on him?" someone asks. "Something in his hands, it looked like a gun from our perspective," one officer says. As several officers approach, the man is seen lying face down with an iPhone near his head. He's handcuffed and the officers discuss performing CPR. The officers who fired are taken to the street, where someone says "Hey mute" and the audio cuts out. The video continues without sound for about two minutes as the officers talk. "Based on the videos alone, I cannot second guess the split-second decisions of our officers and I'm not going to do that," Mayor Darrell Steinberg said in a statement. "The investigation must be completed. We need more information in addition to the video before we can render any final conclusions." A police officer points his weapon in this still image captured from police bodycam video footage released by Sacramento Police Department Credit: Sacramento Police Department via REUTERS Steinberg said appropriate questions have been raised about the protocols for using force and rendering emergency aid during police shootings and they must be answered in the investigation. Authorities have not released the man's name but a woman who said she was his fiancee identified him as Stephon Alonzo Clark, 22, the father of her two sons, ages 1 and 3. The shooting has ignited questions by relatives, activists and others after it turned out he was holding only a mobile phone. "We're mourning right now and so we need our time to mourn," Salena Manni, said Wednesday as the family gathered in his grandparents' home. "He was at the wrong place at the wrong time in his own backyard?" Clark's grandmother, Sequita Thompson, told The Sacramento Bee . "C'mon now, they didn't have to do that." The department could not say how many times Clark was hit, and the coroner's office was not releasing information until his relatives were notified. The department said the two officers have been with Sacramento police for two and four years, but each has four years' previous experience with other law enforcement agencies. Both are on paid administrative leave. Clark routinely helped care for his grandparents at their home in south Sacramento, his cousin, Sonia Lewis, told Capitol Public Radio. Black Lives Matter Sacramento called it a police murder and demanded answers. City Councilman Larry Carr decried the loss of life and said police must provide timely information. President Trump admitted Thursday that he wasnt sure if his popularity with the Republican base would lead to Congressional wins in the 2018 midterm elections. Trump discussed attending rallies to support failed Congressional candidates Roy Moore and Rick Saccone where he could feel the love in the room but said it was unclear if that love would translate into big midterm wins. I dont know if its transferable, Im not sure if it is. They all like me, theyre all going to vote for me and say Im going to do great in 2020 but they dont know if its transferable, he said to a group of college Republicans. I hope it is because we have to do our agenda in 2018 and win, we need more Republicans. Trending: March Madness: More Busted Brackets in Elite Eight After Kentucky Blows It? GettyImages-930232754 Jeff Swensen/Getty Images President Trumps approval rating is 84 percent amongst his Republican base, according to a March 21st Quinnipiac University Poll. But the same poll found only 38 percent of Republicans were more motivated than usual to vote in this year's elections. And while the majority of the GOP said they would vote in the Midterms to express their support for Trump, less than a third said theyd be more likely to support a candidate because Trump campaigned on his or her behalf. Historically, midterms are tough on the party in power, and recent special elections have not been kind to Republicans. Still, the folks who try to run from the president of either party wind up the ones that get slashed at the ballot box, said Republican strategist Ford OConnell. Midterm elections tend to be base affairs. Don't miss: Trade War: Which U.S. Goods Will China Target as it Hits Back at Trumps Tariffs? Story continues Trump is not the first prominent Republican figure to hedge the results of the midterm elections. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell told The New York Times in February that the GOP would likely lose Congressional seats. "The odds are that we will lose seats in the House and the Senate," McConnell said. "History tells you that, the fired-up nature of the political left tells you that. We go into this clear-eyed that this is going to be quite a challenging election." House Speaker Paul Ryan reportedly warned a group of Senate and House Republicans in January that the party in power usually loses two dozen seats at a GOP retreat in West Virginia. Vice President Mike Pence, however, has taken a far more optimistic tone, stating that he believed Republicans will "make history again," in the midterm elections. "The truth of the matter is we made history in 2016, and we're going to make history again in 2018, when we reelect Republican majorities in the House and in the Senate," he said during the retreat. Most popular: How Vanguard 1, the Oldest Human Object in Space, Changed the Way We Look at the Universe President Trump is planning to ramp up his midterm campaign efforts, and will likely tour the country on behalf of candidates this Fall. Republicans currently hold a slight majority in both the House and the Senate. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek By Ian Graham BELFAST (Reuters) - Britain's Prince Harry took his American fiancee Meghan Markle to Northern Ireland on Friday where they were met by screams of delight as the couple ended their tour of the United Kingdom's four nations. The couple were met by cheering crowds lining the street as they went for a pub lunch in the historic Crown Liquor Saloon in Belfast's city centre during a day-long trip to the British province's capital. A Victorian gin palace dating back to 1849, the pub has a bar fitted out by Italian craftsmen in their off time after they were brought to Belfast by Protestant mill-owners to build churches for their growing Catholic workforces. After lunch in a booth at the back of the bar the pair, who will marry on May 19, spent 30 minutes greeting hundreds of well-wishers who were undaunted by a sudden downpour of rain. Three-year-old Thea Campbell shouted out "Happy Easter Meghan" and was rewarded with a chat with the bride-to-be who was wearing a pale Mackage coat, green skirt by Greta Constantine, cream Victoria Beckham sweater and carrying a tan Charlotte Elizabeth handbag. After Thea handed over a bouquet of yellow roses, her grandfather, Nigel Grey said: "She loved it, she is made up. She said 'Happy Easter Meghan' and Meghan said 'Happy Easter' back". A fellow Californian to Markle, Susan James, had just got off the train from Dublin when she saw the crowds. "Oh My, this is unreal," she said "You don't expect to take a holiday in Belfast and stumble on a member of the Royal family. Don't they look great?" Earlier the couple visited a peace building initiative, which Prince Harry launched last year to encourage young people across Northern Ireland to become ambassadors for peace within their communities. Northern Ireland suffered through three decades of sectarian violence that was ended by a 1998 peace accord. Story continues After the walkabout, it was on to a science park to meet some of the province's young innovators before wrapping up the trip with a visit to Titanic Belfast, one of the leading attractions in the city's now thriving tourist sector. The interactive centre - built beside the slipway from where the iconic liner was launched - charts the history of the Titanic from the laying of its keel in 1909 to its sinking on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York in 1912. (Editing by Padraic Halpin) Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have received a rapturous reception from the young people of Northern Ireland as they began a whirlwind visit. Meghan and Harry's unannounced trip to Northern Ireland will see them learn the history of the doomed Titanic, when they visit a Belfast visitor attraction telling the passenger ship's story, and sit down to a lunch in the city's most iconic pub. The prince and Ms Markle began their day-long visit at the former Maze paramilitary prison outside Lisburn where around 2,500 young people from both sides of the Irish border gathered for a peace-building event. They received a hugely warm welcome from teenagers when they entered an enormous performance arena before watching some of the children deliver their "peace pledges". The cross-community gathering at the Eikon Centre, which is built on the site of the old Maze prison, saw teenagers share their hopes and dreams of a peaceful and reconciled future on the island. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre Credit: Brian Lawless /PA Peter Sheridan, chief executive of event host Cooperation Ireland, welcomed the special visitors and said the youth-led initiative was "integral to the development of a peaceful society in Northern Ireland". "To have so many young people in one place proactively speaking out in favour of peace and committing to living their lives through peaceful means can only bode well for society, and to have the royal family here to witness it makes it even more powerful," he said. The couple are on the latest leg of a tour of the UK that has already taken them to major centres like Edinburgh, Cardiff and Birmingham. Meghan Markle clutches flowers as she arrives with Prince Harry in Northern Ireland Credit: Niall Carson /PA Kensington Palace said: "Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle are visiting Belfast today for their first official joint visit to Northern Ireland. "Throughout the day, Prince Harry and Ms Markle will have the opportunity to meet members of the public, to learn how young people are shaping the future of Northern Ireland, and to visit some of the city's most loved sites." Story continues When the couple first arrived they were greeted by Londonderry students Amber Hamilton, from Foyle College, and Ryan McCallion, from St Joseph's Boys school, both 17, before meeting a number of dignitaries including Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable George Hamilton. Ms Markle looked stylish in a cream coat and top with a green skirt. Later, the couple will have lunch at the Crown Liquor Saloon, Belfast's atmospheric Victorian gin palace which is filled with a wealth of architectural features and is a major tourist attraction. After dining they will go on a walkabout outside the building to meet the people of Belfast. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, who are getting married in May, in Belfast on Friday Credit: MARK MARLOW /AFP At the nearby campus of Northern Ireland's next generation science park, Catalyst Inc, Ms Markle and Harry will meet some of Ulster's brightest young entrepreneurs and innovators. Their day will end with a tour of Titanic Belfast which tells the story of the famous ship, from her conception in Belfast in the early 1900s, through her construction and launch, to the vessel's maiden voyage and tragic sinking with the loss of 1,500 lives in April 1912. Meghan and Harry have been touring Britain ahead of their May wedding and the prince will introduce his fiance to Ulster during a series of events. Harry and Meghan's official wedding china goes on sale The official range of commemorative china celebrating Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding has gone on sale. Cornflower blue with white detailing, the collection features a gold monogram of the couple's initials side by side, tied together with a white ribbon and surmounted by Harry's coronet. The decorative border on each piece is inspired by the couple's wedding venue. It is based on the stylised tree ironwork of the 13th century Gilebertus door of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, where the couple will marry on May 19. The official range of commemorative china to mark the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Credit: Royal Collection Trust When Harry and Ms Markle's choice of wedding venue was announced, the prince's communications secretary described Windsor as a "very special place" for Harry, and said that the couple had regularly spent time there together during their whirlwind romance. Harry and his American fiancee will have approved the fine bone china range by the Royal Collection Trust which includes a miniature coffee mug costing 19.95, a standard coffee mug for 25, a pillbox at 35, a tankard for 39 and a plate at 49. The Gilebertus door is rarely used, though hundreds of tourists and visitors to the chapel pass by it every day. The Queen and other members of the royal family use it to enter the chapel when attending some services at St George's, such as at Easter. St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will have their wedding service Credit: Dominic Lipinski /PA Its ironwork is in the form of a stylised tree and, unusually for a work of its time, bears a name +GILEBERTVS. The door is one of the few surviving parts of the earliest chapel at Windsor Castle. The official china, which is finished in 22 carat gold, has been hand made in Stoke-on-Trent using 250-year-old methods and techniques. All profits from sales go to The Royal Collection Trust, the registered charity responsible for the care and conservation of the Royal Collection. A decorative miniature coffee mug on sale for 19.95 Credit: Royal Collection Trust The souvenirs are presented in a cornflower blue gift box with a special card explaining the significance of the design. Nuala McGourty, Royal Collection Trust's retail director, said: "Royal Collection Trust is delighted to offer the official range of commemorative china to celebrate this happy occasion. "We are pleased to continue our support of the potteries of Stoke-on-Trent, who have manufactured our previous commemorative wares to celebrate royal birthdays, anniversaries and weddings." The china can be purchased from royalcollection.org.uk/shop and in Royal Collection Trust shops at The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The big wedding secret I couldn't tell my mother: The young woman tasked with creating 600 invitations It is one of the best-kept secrets in Britain: who will be the lucky few invited to share Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding day from the comfort of a Windsor Castle pew? On Friday, the answer will come, in the form of a thick envelope bearing the mark of the Palace As a final guest list was drawn up by the couple and their inner circle, it emerged one young woman has been party to the full guest list, and entrusted with keeping it strictly private. Lottie Small, a 24-year-old former intern at a Royal Warrant-holding printing company, has the duty of creating 600 invitations for the Prince and his bride-to-be. And the hardest part? Not even being allowed to tell her mother. Miss Small, who said she "squealed a little bit" when she was asked to take on the all-important job, only recently finished her apprenticeship with Barnard & Westwood, a printing firm that holds Royal Warrants from the Queen and the Prince of Wales. Miss Small, one of only a handful to know the details before Friday, made 600 die-stamped, embossed invitations for the St George's Chapel service, which will begin landing on doormats from Friday morning. Invitations for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding were printed at the workshop of Barnard and Westwood in London Credit: Victoria Jones /PA "Unbelievably excited" to be entrusted with the job, she was banned from telling anyone, working alone to perfect the invitations. "The worst thing is keeping it from Mum," she said. "With anything else, she'd be the first person I would call and she'd share in my excitement." The announcement will fire the starting gun on speculation about royal "snubs", with the couple expected to focus on family and friends over international dignitaries and statesmen. While Prince William and the then Kate Middleton invited world leaders and diplomatic figures to their Westminster Abbey state wedding, Prince Harry, currently the fifth-in-line, will endure less pressure to be formal. Barack and Michelle Obama have been widely predicted to be invited due to a blossoming friendship with the couple, along with Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, and his wife, while President Trump, whom the former actress has previously criticised, is unlikely to attend. Lottie Small cuts the crests being used on the Royal wedding invitations Credit: Victoria Jones /PA A wide circle of friends will make up one of the most extraordinary congregations in St George's Chapel history, from the Prince's military friends to Ms Markle's fellow actors. From Friday morning, that inner circle of trusted accomplices will expand to include the postmen and women of Britain, who will deliver the unmistakable envelopes to their recipients. Kensington Palace yesterday confirmed that 600 guests will be invited to the Windsor Castle service on May 19, followed by an afternoon reception in St George's Hall thrown by the Queen. In the evening, 200 close friends and family will attend Frogmore House for a party thrown by the Prince of Wales. Printed using machinery from the Thirties, the die-cast embossed white card has been issued under the Prince of Wales's name and bears his heraldic feathers embossed in gold at the top. A to tradition for a couple better known for their modern approach, the invitations are printed in American ink on English paper. Miss Small's work is likely to meet the approval of the Prince of Wales, with a shared attitude to the preservation of traditional skills and crafts. Originally an intern at the printing company, founded after the First World War by an injured soldier, Miss Small joined the apprentice scheme after gaining a BA Hons in hand embroidery at the Royal School of Needlework. Latest news about plans for Royal wedding Harry, the fifth in line to the throne, and Ms Markle, the US actress, will wed on Saturday, May 19 at St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle. The couple, who announced their engagement in November, are planning their own wedding celebration that reflects the characters of the bride and groom Days until the Royal Wedding From flowers to seating plans, the pair are taking charge of a ceremony designed to incorporate both families, their wide circle of friends, and welcome the public into their lives. Click here for the latest news about plans for their big day. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle: The story of their relationship, in pictures 'All the stars were aligned': How the couple met After announcing their engagement, the couple gave an insight into their 16-month romance in a BBC interview - and described how they met on a blind date set up by a mutual friend. Ms Markle told how she could not wait to say "yes" to the prince when Harry got down on one knee a few weeks ago as they cooked a roast chicken dinner at his home, Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace. Indicating the depths of his feeling for his bride-to-be, Prince Harry said: "The fact that I fell in love with Meghan so incredibly quickly was sort of confirmation to me that everything, all the stars were aligned, everything was just perfect. "It was this beautiful woman just sort of literally tripped and fell into my life, I fell into her life." Full interview: Harry and Meghan reveal engagement joy A few months into the relationship, Harry said he had to have "some pretty frank conversations" with Meghan about how her life may change when she entered the royal family. He added: "But I know that at the end of the day she chooses me, and I choose her, and therefore whatever we have to tackle together or individually we'll always be us together as a team, so I think she's capable... she's capable of anything." While it's been over a month since the deadly mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, both the victims and survivors remain front of mind for many, including Barack and Michelle Obama. The former First Couple sent a handwritten letter to the survivors on March 10, 2018, praising them for their "resilience, resolve and solidarity" after the shooting and in their activism, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Mic. SEE ALSO: Parkland students call out senator for law protecting dogs instead of gun control EXCLUSIVE: Heres the letter @BarackObama and @MichelleObama wrote to the #ParklandShooting survivors. In it, the former president and first lady tell the teens that theyve inspired them, and commend them on awakening the conscience of our nation. https://t.co/FOQYVguNFw pic.twitter.com/xEPHE6iUL2 Mic (@mic) March 21, 2018 You can read the full text of the letter below, via Mic. It's not the first time either Barack or Michelle have praised the MSDHS students. On February 21, Michelle tweeted a message that concluded, "were proud of you, and were behind you every step of the way." Im in total awe of the extraordinary students in Florida. Like every movement for progress in our history, gun reform will take unyielding courage and endurance. But @barackobama and I believe in you, were proud of you, and were behind you every step of the way. Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) February 22, 2018 The next day, Barack followed suit, calling the survivors "inspiring" and "fearless" in a most presidential tweet. Story continues Young people have helped lead all our great movements. How inspiring to see it again in so many smart, fearless students standing up for their right to be safe; marching and organizing to remake the world as it should be. We've been waiting for you. And we've got your backs. Barack Obama (@BarackObama) February 22, 2018 It's a nice reminder that even as we hope that these school shootings come to an end, we still have the solace of an empathetic, compassionate pair of leaders to offset the self-centered Instagramming and empathy cheat sheets that dominate the White House now. Secretary of state, who was fired by Trump last week, departs with a plea for integrity and says this can be a very mean-spirited town Rex Tillerson has said farewell to the state department with a parting shot at Washington, a plea for integrity and no mention of the man that fired him. Tillerson did not name Donald Trump as he spoke to several hundred state department workers who gathered at headquarters in Foggy Bottom to watch him depart. Nor did he directly address the icy manner in which he was dismissed last week after one of the shortest stints by a secretary of state in recent history. This can be a very mean-spirited town, Tillerson said, eliciting laughter at first and then applause. But you dont have to choose to participate in that. When he arrived in the nations capital last year, Tillerson made no secret of his disdain for Washington gamesmanship. He later said he had been reluctant to take the post, and had been looking forward to retirement, but had been persuaded by his wife. Weeks into his tenure, Tillerson said he did not have any appetite or hunger to speak with reporters about US diplomatic missions. Others he soon found himself on the receiving end of negative press reports, leaks from his rivals and mounting speculation about his future until he was abruptly fired last week, four hours after returning from Africa. Often at odds with the White House, he also lost the confidence and support of many of the state departments 75,000 workers over his moves to cut the budget, leave key leadership positions vacant and downplay human rights and democracy-promotion as diplomatic priorities. Still, there was sustained applause for several minutes as he departed the marbled lobby of the Harry S Truman Building, the same lobby where Tillerson, the former Exxon Mobil CEO, introduced himself as the new guy in his hallmark Texas drawl 14 months ago. A few former staffers whose tenures were even shorter than Tillersons also returned to see him off. Story continues Then Tillerson set off for his home in Texas a more familiar climate, the deputy secretary, John Sullivan, joked, which I know suits him well. If the Senate agrees, he will soon be replaced by current CIA director Mike Pompeo, who frequently bumped heads with Tillerson over Iran and other issues. Since his firing, Tillerson has pointedly declined to thank Trump. He made no explicit mention of the president in his remarks. Never lose sight of your most valuable asset, the most valuable asset you possess: your personal integrity, Tillerson says. Only you can relinquish it or allow it to be compromised. Once youve done so, it is very, very hard to regain it. So guard it as the most precious thing you possess. This report includes material from the Associated Press and Reuters As Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said goodbye on Thursday, he urged State Department employees to stay honest and be kind to one another, despite their mean-spirited town. After imploring his staff to continue doing their duties, Tillerson issued a warning: Never lose sight of your most valuable asset, the most valuable asset you possess: your personal integrity, he said in his farewell speech. The short talk reflected Tillersons tumultuous time in office. President Donald Trump fired the former Exxon CEO on March 13, barely one year after he was confirmed. Tillerson officially learned that he was being replaced through a tweet from the President. Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service! Gina Haspel will become the new Director of the CIA, and the first woman so chosen. Congratulations to all! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 13, 2018 Tillerson will remain Secretary of State until March 31, according to the Washington Post, but has already handed over day-to-day operations to his deputy, John Sullivan. Throughout his time at the State Department, Tillerson had a strained relationship with Trump, starting with his own reluctance to take the position and continuing through the President publicly criticizing him a number of times in recent months. Still, Tillerson insisted earlier this year that he would not be leaving and told CNN he intended to stay through the end of 2018. After his firing, the Daily Beast reported that Chief of Staff John Kelly had told Tillerson about Trumps tweet while the Secretary of State was on the toilet, a story that for many seemed to represent the devolving relationship between Tillerson and the White House. Tillersons final speech on Thursday remained restrained, but he did tell his staff to rise above Washington gossip and antics. Story continues In these times, your continued diligence and devotion to the State Departments mission has never been more necessary, he said. As you go about your duties, each of you carrying out your individual responsibilities as well as your collective duty, it is my hope that you will be guided by and test your actions each day against the values that we have spoken about over this past year. Tillerson also reminded staffers that their integrity is something others in the administration cannot take away. Only you can relinquish it or allow it to be compromised. Once youve done so it is very, very hard to regain it, he said during the speech. In closing Id like to ask that each of you undertake to ensure one act of kindness each day towards another person. This can be a very mean-spirited town, he added. But you dont have to choose to participate in that. Each of us get to choose the person we want to be, and the way we want to be treated, and the way we will treat others. Scores of Russian diplomats look set to be expelled from European capitals as ten EU countries indicated they were preparing to follow Theresa May's lead in the wake of the Salisbury attacks. France, Poland, Ireland, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latvia, Denmark, Estonia and the Netherlands are all in discussions about deporting suspected spies after Theresa May shared intelligence about the nerve agent attack at a meeting of the European Council. Germany's Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has also hinted that she may be prepared to go beyond merely rebuking Vladimir Putin, and the EU recalled its ambassador to Moscow overnight in a show of solidarity with Mrs May. Throwing their weight behind the Prime Minister, the 27 leaders of the European Council said it was highly likely that the Kremlin was responsible for the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia. Responding to the announcement on Friday, Moscow accused the UK of leading the European Union towards an "anti-Russia campaign". In a statement, the Russian foreign ministry said the only explanation was that European leaders "wanted to help the British Prime Minister out of a difficult situation". It came as Markus Ederer, the EU ambassador, was recalled from Moscow on Thursday night to consult with Brussels over the EUs response to the attack, while a number of EU member states said they were poised to announce expulsions of Russian diplomats. While Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte said the move was a "measure" rather a "sanction" against Russia, the decision paves the way for further retaliatory action against the Kremlin which could see its European spy network dismantled within a matter of weeks. Meanwhile, a convoy of vehicles left the British Embassy in Moscow on Friday morning ahead of a Russian deadline for 23 diplomats to leave the country. A convoy of vehicles leaves the British embassy in Moscow on Friday morning Credit: Pavel Golovkin /AP Russia said it was expelling the diplomats last Saturday in a carefully-calibrated retaliatory move against London, which has accused the Kremlin of orchestrating the nerve toxin attack. Story continues On Friday morning, staff were seen embracing colleagues as vehicles were being readied on the grounds of the British embassy. Members of the British embassy staff gather at its compound in Moscow on Friday morning Credit: TATYANA MAKEYEVA /Reuters Leaving a dinner with European leaders on Thursday night, Mrs May said the Council was standing together against the growing threat posed by the Putin regime. "I welcome the fact that the EU Council has agreed with the United Kingdom Government's assessment that it is highly likely that Russia is responsible for the attempted murder that took place on the streets of Salisbury and that there is no plausible alternative explanation, she added. "The threat that Russia poses respects no borders and it is a threat to our values and it is right that here in the EU Council we are standing together to uphold those values." On Friday morning, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on a visit to Hanoi that the UK is "feverishly trying to force allies to take confrontational steps". Theresa May left a dinner with European leaders late on Thursday night It came after five EU countries indicated they are prepared to follow Theresa Mays lead by expelling diplomats suspected of espionage. France, Poland, Lithuania and at least two other countries are understood to be in discussions about co-ordinated expulsions of Russian Embassy officials in the wake of the Salisbury poisonings. On Friday, Latvia said it would expel "one or several" Russian diplomats. The Czech prime minister Andrej Babis said it was "probable" his country would follow suit, with a decision to be made on Monday. Estonia is understood to be taking action. Irish PM Leo Varadkar said Ireland would conduct a security assessment of Russian diplomats, which could lead to expulsions. It comes as Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, said leaders of the 28 EU states agreed that Russia is likely behind the attack. At a dinner with other EU leaders in Brussels, Mrs May warned her allies that Russia represents a long term threat to each of them and urged them to consider taking action either individually or as a bloc. #EUCO agrees with UK government that highly likely Russia is responsible for #SalisburyAttack and that there is no other plausible explanation. Donald Tusk (@eucopresident) March 22, 2018 Following a meeting between Mrs May, the French President Emmanuel Macron and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French officials hinted that the country was prepared to act. Mr Macron and Mrs Merkel agreed on the importance of sending "a strong European message" to Russia. Dalia Grybauskaite, president of Lithuania, confirmed she was contemplating the deportation of Russians, and Polands deputy foreign minister Bartosz Cichocki told The Telegraph his country was prepared to act unilaterally in expelling Russians if it encouraged others to take steps against Moscow. The development is a huge victory for Theresa May Credit: WOLFGANG RATTAY/REUTERS EU leaders made a joint statement on Thursday night agreeing they stood in "unqualified solidarity" with the UK in a big victory for Mrs May. In a joint statement, they said: "The European Council condemns in the strongest possible terms the recent attack in Salisbury, expresses its deepest sympathies to all whose lives have been threatened and lends its support to the ongoing investigation. "It agrees with the United Kingdom Government's assessment that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible and that there is no plausible alternative explanation. We stand in unqualified solidarity with the United Kingdom in the face of this grave challenge to our shared security. "The use of chemical weapons, including the use of any toxic chemicals as weapons under any circumstances, is completely unacceptable, must be systematically and rigorously condemned and constitutes a security threat to us all. "Member states will co-ordinate on the consequences to be drawn in the light of the answers provided by the Russian authorities. The European Union will remain closely focused on this issue and its implications. "Against this background, the European Union must strengthen its resilience to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear-related risks, including through closer cooperation between the European Union and its member states as well as Nato. "The European Union and its member states should also continue to bolster their capabilities to address hybrid threats, including in the areas of cyber, strategic communication and counter-intelligence. The European Council invites the European Commission and the High Representative to take this work forward and report on progress by the June European Council." Donald Trump has said he would like to testify as part of the ongoing probe into whether Trump campaign advisers colluded with the Russian government during the 2016 presidential election. Yes, I would like to, Mr Trump told reporters at the White House after being asked if he would submit to questioning from Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading the investigation. The Presidents comments came after his lead personal attorney, John Dowd, resigned. Mr Dowds strategy for cooperating with Mr Muellers investigation was becoming increasingly at odds with the Presidents desire to be more aggressive toward the probe, the New York Times reported. The president has publicly said multiple times that he was willing to be questioned by the special counsels office. But Mr Dowd reportedly advised against such an interview. Im looking forward to it, Mr Trump said in January when asked about an interview. I would do it under oath. Mr Muellers team has reportedly sent a list of questions to Mr Trumps lawyers that may come up in a possible interview. A meeting with Mr Mueller could pose serious risks for Mr Trump, as it would expose him to questions over some of his most controversial actions as president, including his possible obstruction of justice. Even if he has nothing to hide, Mr Trump has demonstrated a willingness to bend the truth a quality that could cause headaches for his legal team over the presidents sit-down with Mr Mueller. In recent days, Mr Trump has begun directly attacking Mr Mueller, after saying for the past year that the Russia probe is a witch hunt. The President has repeatedly denied allegations of collusion. Why does the Mueller team have 13 hardened Democrats, some big Crooked Hillary supporters, and Zero Republicans? Mr Trump wrote on Twitter. Another Dem recently added...does anyone think this is fair? And yet, there is NO COLLUSION! With the conflict in Ukraine, allegations of election tampering, the war in Syria and renewed claims of international espionage, relations between Cold War enemies Russia and the West are at rock bottom in 2018. In the midst of this mutual distrust, Russias President Vladimir Putin has announced a slew of futuristic and, at times, alarming new weapons. At its heart is Putins ambition to return Russia to its superpower status, or at least give it the appearance of one. But how much of this is feasible for only the twelfth largest economy in the world, a country reeling from several years of international sanctions? Is Russia re-emerging as a global power, or just pretending to? Trending: Betsy DeVos Is a Danger to Transgender Children At his annual state of the nation address on March 1, Putin announced that Russia possessed hypersonic intercontinental and short-range ballistic missiles, nuclear-powered cruise missiles and nuclear-powered underwater drones. He boasted that the sophistication of the new technology meant some weapons were invulnerable to U.S. defenses. Vladimir Putin ALEXEY NIKOLSKY/AFP/Getty Images He admitted that these weapons had been developed from 2001, after George W. Bush pulled the U.S. out of the 1972 anti-ballistic missile treaty signed with the Soviet Union. You didnt listen to our country then, Putin said. Listen to us now. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia struggled amid economic turmoil as it attempted to privatize its state-owned industries. From this chaos rose a new class of Russian oligarchs, who amassed fortunes by buying up state assets. Under a tacit agreement with Putinwho has ruled either directly or indirectly since 2000he allowed them to protect and increase their wealth as long as they supported his autocratic rule. Corruption was not just tolerated, it became the essential oil for the gears of state. Story continues As the second largest producer of natural gas and the third largest producer of oil in the world, Russia is heavily dependent on its natural resources. The 2014 collapse in crude oil prices hit the Russian economy particularly hard, driving the value of the ruble down by around 50 percent. Disappearing oil export revenue combined with international sanctionsrelated to the annexation of Crimea and involvement in violence in eastern Ukrainecombined to throw Russia into a two-year recession. Maintaining high military spending is challenging for any nation. For a struggling Russian economy riddled with corruption and inequality, it is especially so. Russian ruble value falls KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/Getty Images Don't miss: Instagram Chronological Order: App's Algorithm Updated to Help Sort Feed The heavy burden of military spending Siemon Wezeman, a senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and an expert in military expenditure, explained that Putins announcement was intended to underline Russias status as a nuclear superpower, even if not all the weapons announced are operational or even close to operational. The announcement came around two weeks before Russias presidential election. Wezeman noted that Putin was hoping to demonstrate that Russias heavy burden of military spending is actually resulting in something. Though Putin comfortably won the election as expected, he would have wanted a strong turnout to give him a real, or at least perceived, mandate to rule the Russian people. Russia has increased its real military expenditure by 402 percent since 1999. Only China, at 589 percent, has gone further. Over the same period, American military spending has increased by 52 percent. However, Russian real spending is still pocket change compared to mammoth American and Chinese budgets. In 2016, Russias $70 billion in military spending was equivalent to 5.3 percent of its GDP. Other countries are spending a lower share of their GDP but higher real amounts. For example, the $611 billion spent on the American military in 2016 accounted for 3.3 percent of its GDP. Russia is playing economic catch up, and it is losing. Russian soldiers in Crimea Dan Kitwood/Getty Images The conventional approach Russias military ambition goes beyond nuclear weapons. The country has announced cutting edge tank and fighter jet technology intended to challenge U.S. dominance in conventional arms. Two particularly high-profile projects are the futuristic T-14 Armata tank and the Su-57 fifth generation stealth fighter jet. For all the excitement surrounding them, both programs have suffered delays and ever-inflating costs. Most popular: Best Battle Royale Games: Surviv.io, ZombsRoyale.io, Bruh.io Are Worth A Look Most non-nuclear projects look likely to be delayed, scaled-down or flat out canceled. Delivery of the Su-57s should already be underway but still looks to be several years off. Russia originally planned to deploy 2,400 T-14 tanks by 2020, but production has only just started. Wezeman estimated that fewer than 200 will be deployed on schedule, while navy plans for new aircraft carriers and amphibious ships remain dreams. With regards to the T-14, Olga Oliker, director of the Russia and Eurasia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said, My favorite line about the Armata T-14 is that it is a tank so powerful it can destroy an entire defense budget. T-14 Armata tank NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP/Getty Images Two Su-57 jets were recently spotted landing at Russias Khmeimim air base in Syria, but their arrival may not have been for purely military reasons. India part-funded the Su-57 development program, but the delays in its deployment have raised doubts over the feasibility of the project. There have even been unofficial suggestions of purchasing Western alternatives. Showing the Su-57 as at least semi-operational would be one way of convincing India that progress is being made and to retain the countrys involvement. Such challenges for Russias conventional arsenal might go some way to explaining Putins bombastic speech. It is the conventional not nuclear weapons of its rivals that truly scare Russia. Oliker suggested that Putins recent emphasis on big-ticket nuclear options might suggest Russia doesn't have faith in the conventional capabilities that it is working so hard to build. While the Russians are fielding new and advanced systems, they are not doing so in large numbers. Both Wezeman and Oliker pointed to Syria, where most Russian forces are still using so-called dumb munitions rather than more advanced systems. The high-tech weapons that Russia has used have been deployed on a demonstrative rather than regular basis. Su-57 performs in Moscow MAXIM ZMEYEV/AFP/Getty Images Russia is trying to keep up, Wezeman said. While headline-grabbing military technology sounds good, the reality is that the country still lags behind its rivals in almost all fields. Russia simply cannot afford superpower status. It is at best a small medium power with a GDP similar to that of Spain, barely one third of Germany and just over 10 percent of China, Wezeman explained. This translates into a gulf in basic technology between Russia and its great power competitors, which is only likely to widen as time goes on. However, Oliker cautioned against writing off the Russian military. It's not a paper tiger; it's a capable force. If everybody put everything into it, I guess NATO would win. But we'd all die, she said. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek The Russian military has chosen the names of three new weapons after millions voted in an online contest announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin himself. During his March 1 State of the Nation speech, Putin revealed an array of new, powerful weapons he claimed were being developed for Russia's armed forces and were capable of thwarting advanced U.S. defenses. These included the nuclear-capable RS-28 Sarmat "Satan 2" intercontinental ballistic missile and Kinzhal hypersonic missile, as well as a laser combat system, a "doomsday" torpedo-bearing unmanned underwater vehicle and nuclear-powered cruise missile that had yet to be named. Related: Russia's New Weapons Need Names and Putin Is Asking You to Help Choose Them Trending: Maryland Wants to Stop AirbnbHere's Why That Is A Bad Idea After suggestions were tallied on March 13 and voting for the top contenders concluded Friday, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced Thursday that the laser weapon would be called Peresvet (after the 13th century monk who died in battle against the Mongolian army), the underwater drone would be called Poseidon (the Greek god of the seas) and the nuclear-powered cruise missile would be Burevestnik (a seabird known in English as the stormy petrel). GettyImages-933744218 MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP/Getty Images "I think the names are fitting, they point to the area of implementation and the specific features of these weapons," Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said, according to the state-run Tass Russian News Agency. Don't miss: Facebook Data Breaches Like Cambridge Analytica Won't Be Stopped Through Regulation Story continues "But the most important thing is that nearly 8 million people answered our supreme commander-in-chiefs call and participated in the poll," he added. Borisov also told Russia's Interfax news outlet that Russian scientists have "gone ahead" of their U.S. competitors in terms of laser weapons technology. He had previously said that the then-unnamed Peresvet laser complex had been deployed since last year and could disable targets within "fractions of a second." RussiaCombatLaserComplex RUSSIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE/SOCIAL MEDIA Most popular: What John Dowds Exit Means For Trumps Mueller Approach: More Fire and Fury Putin, who won a landslide re-election victory on Sunday, has led a campaign of widespread military modernization and has expanded Moscow's political influence abroad. The West has criticized these developments, accusing Putin of interfering in the sovereignty of other countries, including an alleged conspiracy to sway the 2016 U.S. presidential election in favor of then-Republican candidate Donald Trump. As tensions mounted between the U.S. and Russia, however, Trump reportedly broke with his administration's advice to call Putin on Tuesday and congratulate him on his election. The following day, Russia's top general spoke with his U.S. counterpart and the U.S. commander of the NATO Western military alliance to discuss international security issues. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Beirut (Lebanon) (AFP) - Russian air strikes killed 37 civilians in the Arbin area of the shrinking rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus overnight, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday. "Russian air strikes and incendiary weapons killed the civilians in a basement from burning or suffocation" late on Thursday before a ceasefire came into effect in the area, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. Russia has denied being directly involved in air strikes on Eastern Ghouta. The Britain-based Observatory says it relies on flight patterns, aircraft involved and ammunition used to determine who carries them out. The White Helmets, a civil defence organisation operating in rebel-held areas, said most of the dead were women and children. In an image they shared on social media, rescue workers wrapped a blackened body in a blanket. More than 1,600 civilians have died in Eastern Ghouta since the regime launched a blistering assault on the last rebel bastion near Damascus on February 18, the Observatory says. The offensive has retaken most of the enclave and divided what remains into three shrinking pockets, each controlled by a different rebel group. Late on Thursday, the Faylaq al-Rahman group which controls the southern pocket that includes Arbin, said a ceasefire had been agreed from midnight (2200 GMT) to allow negotiations with Russia for an evacuation deal. Under a similar agreement reached by the Ahrar al-Sham group, hundreds of rebel fighters and their family members were evacuated from the town of Harasta earlier on Thursday. The ceasefire announcement came after air strikes killed 38 people in Arbin and Zamalka, another town controlled by Faylaq al-Rahman, earlier on Thursday, the Observatory said. Paris (AFP) - The lawyer of Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday he would appeal restrictions imposed on the ex-president after he was charged with financing his 2007 election campaign with money from late Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi. As part of preliminary charges brought against Sarkozy Wednesday, judges restricted his travel to certain countries including Libya, and forbade him from talking to nine other people involved in the investigation. "I will appeal these judicial restrictions," his lawyer Thierry Herzog told RTL radio, saying he believed the measures were designed humiliate the right-winger, who served as president from 2007 to 2012. After two days of questioning in police custody over allegations that first surfaced in 2011, during a French-led intervention in Libya, Sarkozy was charged with corruption, illegal campaign financing and concealment of Libyan public money. Among those he is banned from meeting are two close aides and former ministers, Claude Gueant and Brice Hortefeux. On Thursday evening, he went on prime-time television to deliver a forceful rebuttal of the claims that he accepted millions of euros from Kadhafi, some of it delivered in cash-stuffed suitcases. "If you had told me that I would have problems because of Kadhafi, I would have said: 'What are you smoking?'"the 63-year-old said, claiming that investigators had not found a single piece of evidence against him. "I never betrayed the confidence of the French," he said, claiming he was the victim of a vendetta by "a group of killers" out to avenge Kadhafi's ouster and vowing to clear his name. Herzog noted that Sarkozy had already been charged before, and later been cleared of suspicion, in another campaign financing case. "It will be the same in this affair," he vowed. By Brian Love and Emmanuel Jarry PARIS (Reuters) - Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy went on prime time television on Thursday to reject accusations of illicit Libyan funding for his 2007 election campaign and said they were making his life "hell". The 63-year-old, who held power from 2007 to 2012, was told by investigators on Wednesday after two days of questioning in police custody that he was formally suspected of passive corruption, an offence that carries a sentence of up to 10 years in jail. At issue is a murky affair of Libyan spies, arms dealers and allegations that late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi provided Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign with millions of euros shipped to Paris in suitcases - allegations Sarkozy has always denied. "There's not even the smallest inkling of proof," Sarkozy, visibly upset, said in a 25-minute evening news interview. "Do you want to know the figure the police who questioned me calculated regarding the sum believed to have circulated during my 2007 campaign? Thirty-eight thousand euros - which for a campaign that cost 21 million euros represents 0.0018 percent: This is a very far cry from the crazy amounts of 50 million euros," he said. Sarkozy, who came under fire for giving Gaddafi a red-carpet reception in Paris in late 2007, said his problems began in March 2011 after he hosted Libyan rebels and went on to become one of the main advocates of a NATO-led campaign that resulted in the dictator's overthrow and killing by rebels in 2011. He also denounced what he described as lies from one of his main accusers, a Franco-Lebanese businessman who has described himself among other things as a "middleman in the shadows" on liaison between Paris and Libyan secret service chiefs. Le Figaro newspaper published a lengthy account of what it said was a verbatim declaration by Sarkozy to magistrates. "This calumny has made my life a living hell since March 11, 2011," Sarkozy states, according to the newspaper. Story continues "I've paid a heavy price for this affair. Put it this way: I lost the presidential election of 2012 by 1.5 percentage points. The controversy initiated by Gaddafi and his henchmen cost me that 1.5 percent". Sarkozy tried to stage a comeback in 2016 in the Republican presidential primary but there is no sign that he would attempt another return to politics. ACCUSATIONS The accusations prompted the opening of a judicial inquiry in 2013 which snowballed this week when Sarkozy was called in for interrogation and, on Wednesday evening, formally placed under investigation as a suspect in the affair. In France, being "placed under investigation" is a step that judicial investigators can take if they have serious grounds for suspecting an offence. It often but not always leads to trial. Sarkozy, who was called "president bling bling" by many due to his flashy style, has been dogged for years by accusations of wrongdoing. He is challenging an order to stand trial on charges of illicit spending overruns during his failed 2012 campaign. One of the many factors that played in 40-year-old Emmanuel Macron's presidential election win in May 2017 was a promise of a clean break with traditional French politics, often marred by accusations of corruption. Sarkozy's immediate predecessor, Jacques Chirac, was tried and convicted in 2011 of misusing public funds to keep political friends in phantom jobs - making him the first French head of state to be convicted of a crime since Nazi collaborator Marshall Philippe Petain in 1945. (Reporting by Brian Love and Emmanuel Jarry, Additional reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg) By Elizabeth Piper BRUSSELS (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May urged EU leaders to seize on "a new dynamic" in Brexit talks and solve differences over a future border with Ireland to agree a deal on their future partnership. Leaders of the European Union are expected to sign off on Friday on an offer of a transition period and set out their terms for forthcoming talks on post-Brexit trade. At the end of a Thursday night summit dinner, May took to the floor to call on them not to squander that opportunity to reach an overall deal. By securing agreement on a 21-month transition period to allow businesses to prepare after Britain leaves the bloc in March next year, May now faces possibly the hardest part of a negotiation that has already shaken her grip on power. "We have the chance, now, to create a new dynamic in the talks to work together to explore workable solutions -- in Northern Ireland, in our future security cooperation and in order to ensure the future prosperity of all our people," she told the leaders at the end of a dinner of scallops and lamb. "This is an opportunity it is our duty to take and to enter into with energy and ambition," she added, according to a senior British official. May hopes the expected agreement by EU leaders on Friday will mark the start of the end of punishing talks, during which she has been criticized by some in her own party for giving too much away to Brussels and failing to take a tough enough stance. Some critics said the tone had been set for those talks when the lights went out at a meeting she had called with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss an attack on a former Moscow spy in the English city of Salisbury which Britain has blamed on Russia. BORDER May, under pressure from Brexit supporters in her Conservative Party for settling for a standstill transition with the EU when almost nothing changes, has long wanted to discuss future ties with the bloc, a conversation her government believes can settle some of the thorniest issues. One such problem is the border between Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland, which has been all but invisible since a peace agreement was signed to end decades of sectarian conflict in the North. Both London and Brussels agree there should be no hard border, but they differ over how that can be achieved. May has suggested a customs partnership or a streamlined arrangement, where jointly implemented measures and the use of technology minimize friction. EU officials reply by saying the easiest way to secure that would be to stay in its customs union -- something the British leader has ruled out. The standoff has left a backstop agreement -- that could see the British province of Northern Ireland staying in the EU's customs union -- still in the transition text, although subject to negotiators finding an 'operational' compromise. That, for some Brexit campaigners, is a major concern. But a senior British official voiced confidence the difficulties over the border could be resolved now that the two sides were talking about the future. "Once we move on to this stage of being able to talk about the future relationship, that is where we believe the solution to the Irish border will be found," he told reporters. "It will be a solution in terms of our entire relationship with the EU." (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Alastair Macdonald) In a Senate oversight hearing Thursday, Senator Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats hammered Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson over expensive furniture he ordered for his office and for the job he has been doing. Last year, Carson planned to spend more than $31,000 on a dining set and other furniture for his office at a time when the White House indicated a planned cut in spending for his office. The expenditure has been widely criticized, even though Carson said he canceled the order due to the price. Carson also has put much of the blame for the incident on his wife. There is a $5,000 spending limit on office decorations for department heads, after which congressional approval is requiredapproval the department did not seek. Trending: Does a State Have a Constitutional Right to Abolish Marriage? Carson also took heat for how his agency is handling housing discrimination. Dont get me wrong, I think scamming the taxpayers is a scandal, but the biggest scandal of your tenure is your unwillingness to do your job and enforce the laws that reduce housing discrimination and segregation across this country, said Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat. It is HUDs job to help end housing discriminationthats what the law said. You said you would enforce these laws, you havent, and I think thats the scandal that should get you fired. Don't miss: Transfer News: Tottenham and Arsenal Fight For Signing, Gunners Prepare For Two Departures Carson, who said during the hearing that the bottom line was that the furniture never materialized, defended himself against Warren. I dont think that you have characterized things in any way close to what is accurate, he said. But youre welcome to say whatever you want. Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio also blasted Carson. Most popular: 135 Pilot Whales Dead In Horrific Mass Beaching As Rescuers Rush To Save Those Still Alive Under your leadership, Secretary Carson, HUD has decided a wobbly chair in a private D.C. dining room requires the urgent attention of no fewer than 16 staffers and thousands, thousands of taxpayer dollars, Brown said. Unsafe and unsanitary conditions in public housing that puts working children and families at risk? Not our problem, you say. Let them use vouchers. Story continues GettyImages-935005504 Aaron P. Bernstein/GETTY This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Dakar (AFP) - Senegalese President Macky Sall on Friday promised to "track down" the perpetrators of a spate of child kidnappings and killings in Senegal that have sown fear among parents in the West African nation. Police said Tuesday that two children had been murdered in recent days and five more had faced kidnap attempts. Senegalese media has reported on several more such cases, so far unconfirmed officially. "I have given the firmest instructions... to track down these criminals and bring them to justice," Sall told the RFM radio station. "Senegal will do more than in the past to halt these terrible acts," he added. Criminality and the use of children in ritual ceremonies have both been blamed, but the police have not detailed any motive for the killings. The latest case confirmed on Tuesday was a toddler found dead in Rufisque, a town close to the capital, Dakar. Parents have spoken of their fear to even let their children play outside, despite the upcoming school holidays. Skopje (AFP) - Macedonia and Greece were looking to resolve a long-running dispute over the former Yugoslav republic's name through an "honourable compromise", the two countries' foreign ministers said on Friday. Athens objects to its northern neighbour's name arguing it suggests that Macedonia has claims to the territory and heritage of Greece's historic northern region of the same name. The dispute has remained unresolved since the former Yugoslav republic's independence in 1991. In light of the Greek objections, the country joined the United Nations in 1993 as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). But Macedonia has made significant progress recently and the European Union has said it is "very confident" the name row will be settled before July. Skopje in February made a concession to reconcile with Athens by renaming the capital's Alexander the Great airport as Skopje International Airport, which paved the way for a visit by Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias. Kotzias arrived in Macedonia on Thursday, on board the first Greek plane to land at Skopje airport in 12 years. "We believe in an honourable compromise, to the benefit of both sides," Kotzias told a press conference after meeting his Macedonian counterpart Nikola Dmitrov, according to Greek media. "In an honourable compromise one cannot have all one wants," added Kotzias whose visit comes a week ahead of a fresh round of UN-mediated talks over the issue in Vienna. "We have to overcome the current difference (over the name) ... which is not easy," Dimitrov said. He called for a "common solution" that would be "worthy ... without humiliation." The compromise solutions, cited by media of the two countries, consist of adding an extra geographic designation to Macedonia's name such as Upper Macedonia, New Macedonia or Northern Macedonia. But in both countries the governments are facing the opposition of nationalists who refuse any concession over the issue. In Skopje Friday a small group of some 30 protesters opposed to any name change rallied across from the foreign ministry waving Macedonia's flags. A resolution of the name issue is needed before Macedonia, home to some 2.2 million people, can join NATO or the European Union. Sen. Patty Murphy (D-Wash.) worked with Trump's labor secretary on a compromise tucked into the federal spending bill that makes tip theft illegal. (Photo: ERIC THAYER / Reuters) WASHINGTON Tucked into the $1.3 trillion spending bill unveiled by congressional leaders Wednesday night is a provision designed to prevent restaurants from pocketing their servers tips. The measure inserted by Democrats would put some limits on the regulatory changes being pursued by the Labor Department under President Donald Trump. The department has tried to reform wage regulations so that employers can require tipped workers to pool gratuities and share them with other non-tipped workers, like cooks and dishwashers, under certain circumstances. But the way Trumps Labor Department rewrote the rules, there would be nothing to legally prevent the employer from keeping some or all of the tips, so long as the tipped worker earned the full minimum wage before gratuities. That prospect made the proposal extremely contentious in Washington, and highly unpopular among those who submitted public comments on it. The provision included in the tentative spending deal would make such tip theft illegal. Democrats hailed it as a victory for the local bartender. Congress, however, still needs to pass the bill by Friday night in order to avoid a government shutdown. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Senates labor committee, said she worked on the change with Trumps labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, who oversaw the controversial rewrite of the tipping rules. Murray hammered Acosta for months over the proposal, but praised him Wednesday for working out a compromise. Im pleased that Secretary Acosta listened, reversed course, and worked with me on legislation to make sure that big businesses cant steal their workers tips, Murray said in a statement. For the millions of workers who rely on their tips to pay their bills and support their families, most of whom are women, this change comes as a sigh of relief. The language inserted in the spending bill would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to forbid employers from steering tip money toward owners, managers or supervisors, requiring that it stay among non-management employees. It would also allow workers to sue to recover stolen tips and win added damages. Story continues Still, not all Democrats are pleased with the arrangement. While the deal arranged by Murray would nix the most controversial piece of the tip rule proposal, it would leave the rest of it more or less intact. If implemented, the rule would allow employers to force front-of-the-house employees to share their gratuities with workers in the back, so long as the employer paid the full minimum wage, rather than the reduced, tipped minimum wage. President Barack Obamas administration had banned the practice under any circumstances. Critics of the Trump administrations proposal including many workers interviewed by HuffPost say that servers and bartenders shouldnt be subsidizing the pay of non-tipped workers, even when everyone is earning the full minimum wage before tips. Rep. Bobby Scott (Va.), ranking Democrat on the House labor committee, agrees with that sentiment. He signaled Wednesday that he would oppose a deal like the one hashed out by Murray. I am opposed to language that would allow employers to confiscate half or more of the workers tips to redistribute them, Scott said in a statement to HuffPost. Scotts opposition to the deal was first reported by Politico. Democratic Rep. Mark Takano (Calif.) is not thrilled with the arrangement either, said spokesman Josh Weisz. It does prevent outright wage theft, but it still undermines the basic principle that tips are the property of the worker who earns them, Weisz said. Critics of the tip rule had been expected to file legal challenges if the Trump administration moved forward with it. But by clarifying that employers cant keep tips for themselves, the provision in the spending bill would take a lot of political heat off the rule, making it more likely it would be finalized and implemented. Murray may view the deal as much better than nothing, since the Labor Department could have moved forward with what it originally proposed. Heidi Shierholz, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a think tank that was highly critical of the original proposal, said the deal reached Wednesday is not perfect, as it could still lead to some servers earnings being shifted to other workers. But with the added protections, It is clearly better for workers than if the Department of Labors proposed rule had been finalized. Theres no question, she said. Some of the tip rules fiercest critics were backing off Wednesday once the arrangement became clear. Restaurant Opportunities Center United, an influential worker center, said it would be satisfied with the rule, so long as management couldnt take a cut of the tips. Were very, very happy with the language, Saru Jayaraman, the groups co-director, told HuffPost. Its a total win for workers. Also on HuffPost Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Outrage is growing over the shooting of an unarmed black man holding only a cellphone in his grandmother's backyard. Video from a police helicopter and bodycam footage captures a chaotic scene as Sacramento police responded to a 911 call reporting a suspect "going down the street, breaking windows in cars." The video shows a suspect scaling a fence. As the chopper tracked the suspect from above, two cops on the ground gave chase. One claimed he saw a gun. An officer can be heard shouting "Show me your hands! Gun! Gun! Gun!" Twenty rounds were fired at 22-year-old Stephon Clark, who was holding an iPhone as he stood in the backyard of his grandmother's house. He falls to the ground as two officers fire at him. He died where he fell. As more officers arrive at the scene, one asks, "What did he have on him?" Another cop answers, "Like this, something in his hands. It looked like a gun from our perspective." Later, a voice is heard saying, "Hey, mute," and the audio on the camera cuts off. Sequita Thompson saw her grandson dead in the backyard and called the officers "murderers," CNN reported. Clark had two young children and was staying at his grandparents' home, family members said. The Rev. Al Sharpton pledged his support to Clark's family and said he would travel to California to help them fight for justice. Residents upset about the shooting have demanded answers from city officials. The incident began after 9 p.m. Sunday. The Sacramento Police Department is investigating the shooting. "Fearing for their safety, the officers fired their duty weapons striking the suspect multiple times," the department said in a statement. Both officers are on paid leave pending the investigation. RELATED STORIES Bodycam Video of Police Shooting Sparks Outrage: 'They Just Murdered Him Flat Out' De-Escalation Training: Could These Tactics Diminish Racially Charged Police Shootings? Story continues Upscale Florida Resort Community Shaken by Its First-Ever Police Shooting Related Articles: Yangon (AFP) - A close ally of Myanmar's de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi took a step closer to becoming the country's new president after the lower house overwhelmingly voted for Win Myint as its candidate on Friday. The 66-year-old was the overriding favourite to take over the role when he resigned from his position as lower house speaker shortly after president Htin Kyaw abruptly stepped down on Wednesday. "I hereby announce and confirm that the elected MPs group elected U Win Myint from Tarmwe constituency as a vice president," the new lower house speaker T Khun Myat announced after the session in the capital Naypyidaw. He received 273 votes against 27 for the runner-up. Parliament will now have to select the president from three candidates, one each from the lower and upper houses and the military. Win Myint is expected to face the final vote next week against his two opponents, upper house candidate Henry Van Thio and the military-backed acting president Myint Swe. Friday's endorsement of the former lawyer and political prisoner, however, means he is almost certain to clinch the job with Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party sporting a majority in both houses. Suu Kyi is barred from the presidency because her children are not Myanmar citizens, a rule inserted by the military when it drafted a new constitution in 2008 that helped it retain a large role in running the country. But Suu Kyi still leads the civilian government as state counsellor, a post engineered for her after her party dominated elections in 2015. Win Myint stood beside Suu Kyi during the 1988 democracy movement that was brutally suppressed by the then military junta. He is known for his strict management style in parliament but is one of Suu Kyi's inner circle so would likely remain loyal to the Nobel laureate as president. Yangon-based political analyst Yan Kyaw said that while Win Myint's profile may rise, "he won't do anything against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi". Suu Kyi widely remains a heroine domestically even though her reputation lies shattered on the world stage after failing to speak up on behalf of the country's Rohingya Muslim community. San Francisco (AFP) - Tesla chief Elon Musk will only get paid if the company's stock soars -- but could cash-in to the tune of more than $50 billion if it does, according to a plan approved by shareholders Wednesday. A Tesla spokesperson confirmed that shareholders voted to approve the proposal for a 10-year performance stock award "entirely contingent on achieving market cap and operational milestones that would make Tesla one of the most valuable companies in the world." If goals are hit, the compensation in shares could top $50 billion. For Musk to get the maximum, Tesla's stock market value would have to grow to $650 billion, an increase of some $600 billion from current levels, and certain revenue and profitability goals would also have to be achieved. The new package, using shares which "vest" based on certain criteria, is modeled on a similar deal created in 2012, after which Tesla's market value increased by more than 17-fold. Tesla stressed that Musk will "receive no guaranteed compensation of any kind -- no salary, no cash bonuses, and no equity that vests simply by the passage of time." Instead, according to the California-based company, Musk will only be compensated for his job if shareholders "do extraordinarily well." A pair of large institutional investors reportedly opposed the pay plan due to its size and questions as to whether it would actually motivate Musk. California state teachers' pension fund CalSTRS told AFP that it voted all of its 258,084 shares of Tesla against the Musk compensation package. "Given the size of the award, we believe the potential dilution to shareholders is just too great," CalSTRS director of corporate governance Anne Sheehan said in response to an AFP inquiry. "In addition, we have concerns about the lack of focus on profitability for the company. The package for Musk, 46, features a 10-year grant of stock options which vest in 12 tranches. Story continues To meet the first milestone, Tesla's current market cap must increase to $100 billion. Eleven additional milestones are set at increments of $50 billion. For each goal hit, Musk will get stock awards of one percent of Tesla's current total outstanding shares. If none of the tranches are achieved, he won't get anything. The package is contingent on Musk remaining as Tesla's CEO or as executive chairman and chief product officer. "This ensures that Elon will continue to lead Tesla's management over the long-term while also providing the flexibility to bring in another CEO who would report to Elon at some point in the future," the company said in an earlier statement about the compensation proposal. Tesla shares finished the formal trading day up 1.9 percent to $316.53, giving the automaker a market capitalization of some $53.5 billion. Musk's net worth was recently estimated by Forbes magazine at some $21 billion, making him one of the 100 wealthiest people on the planet. He also runs the private space firm SpaceX. Outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson tried to project an air of civility in his departure from the Trump administration. Barely a week after his unceremonious firing by President Donald Trump via Twitter, the reserved secretary gave a brief farewell address to his employees, decrying Washington as mean-spirited and urging employees to maintain their integrity and respect. This can be a very mean-spirited town, Tillerson said his speech, a not-so-subtle jab at the president, though he didnt mention Trump by name. But you dont have to choose to participate in that. The comments drew loud cheers and applause from State Department employees. But the warm farewell reception glossed over simmering employee resentment at how he managed the department, including controversial policies that will outlast his 14-month tenure. Tillersons efforts to trim the ranks of what he considered a bloated State Department soured relations with his own agency and many lawmakers on Capitol Hill. He pushed through hiring freezes, forced retirements, and firings that will affect staffing levels and expertise for years. Tillerson also defended steep White House budget cut proposals and never did get a handle on his ambitious plans to reorganize the departments vast bureaucracy. Some officials, disgruntled at how he managed the State Department, opted to skip the Rexit ceremony. I sympathize with his plight but he honestly was kind of a lame duck, one official who skipped the ceremony says. If I felt like he had actually done more for us, maybe Id consider attending. I couldnt stand the schadenfreude of being there, another says. Tillersons supporters say he managed as Trumps top diplomat as best he could under a mercurial commander in chief, and his efforts to trim the departments vast bureaucracy were well intentioned. Critics say he leaves the department in tatters. Under Tillersons tenure, the number of top-ranking career officials plummeted. A hiring freeze and promotion freeze have also depleted the lower and middle ranks. With Tillerson out and the No. 3 State Department official Tom Shannon slated to retire, eight out of 10 of the departments top posts will at least temporarily sit empty. The two remaining are Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan and Heather Nauert, the acting undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, who is also the departments spokeswoman. She got that job after Trump fired her predecessor hours after he axed Tillerson for having disputed the White House timeline on the secretary of states dismissal. Story continues Meanwhile, Trump has yet to put forth names for top State Department posts, including dozens of ambassadorships and assistant secretaries of state. The State Department disputes that it is being gutted and insists it can carry out its mission with current numbers and skilled career diplomats in interim roles. Tillersons efforts to redesign the State Department stumbled amid outrage from within the department and fierce criticism from lawmakers. This year, it was rebranded an Impact Initiative and will carry on for now, if for no other reason than through bureaucratic inertia. Tillerson did not mention Trump by name in his farewell speech, which lasted about only four minutes. But the former Eagle Scouts message in his final remarks stood in stark contrast to the president, who earlier that morning challenged former Vice President Joe Biden on Twitter to a fist fight. I hope you will continue to treat each other with respect, Tillerson told State Department employees. Were all just human beings trying to do our part. Sullivan has taken the reins at State until CIA Director Mike Pompeo can be confirmed by the Senate as the new secretary. Congressional staffers tell Foreign Policy that they expect his nomination hearing to be in April. Now, after a tumultuous year and then some under Tillerson, Foggy Bottom braces for more change. I think we all wish a lot of things could have been handled differently, but when I hear about how this all played out, its rough for him, one official says. Now I just pray we make it through Pompeo and beyond. Washington (AFP) - Outgoing US secretary of state Rex Tillerson did not mention President Donald Trump once in his farewell address to staff on Thursday -- but left Washington with a bitter parting shot. "This can be a very mean-spirited town," he told group of several hundred diplomats and civil servants who gathered in the State Department lobby to see him off. "But you don't need to choose to participate in that," he added, to warm applause. "Each of us gets to choose the person we will be, the way we want to be treated and the way we will treat others." Trump sacked the 65-year-old former oilman in a tweet last week, the latest humiliation in a bruising 414-day term as chief diplomat for an administration with no time for traditional diplomacy. Tillerson was to head home to Texas later in the day. Officials say he will retain his title until March 31, but his powers and duties have already passed to Deputy Secretary John Sullivan. Sullivan will run the huge department until Trump's preferred choice, secretary-designate and outgoing CIA chief Mike Pompeo, can be confirmed for the post by the US Senate. By Hallie Gu and Josephine Mason BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese buyers of soybeans, the United States' biggest agricultural export to the country, are quietly drawing up contingency plans to ensure supplies of critical raw materials in the event of a trade war, sources said. The moves are the strongest sign yet that businesses in the world's most populous country are growing worried that critical commodities could get caught up in escalating trade tensions. At least two trading houses have started buying more rapeseed meal, an alternative ingredient used to make animal feed, in case the oilseed is a target of retaliation by Beijing, sources at the company familiar with the strategies said. "It is an obvious choice to seek other protein sources. We are buying more rapeseed meal, for example," said one of the sources. As an extra layer of protection, his company has also started to include exit clauses in purchase contracts with U.S. suppliers giving them the right to cancel the order if needed. The second source said their firm was also purchasing more domestic distillers' dried grains (DDGS), a byproduct of ethanol production used as an animal feed ingredient. The company is also considering ramping up purchases of Brazilian soybeans. The sources declined to be named as they are not authorised to speak to the media and would not disclose further details due to the commercial sensitivity of the issue. POWERFUL WEAPON Penalties on soybeans would be a powerful weapon in Beijing's arsenal because they would especially hurt Iowa, a state that backed U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential elections. U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad was previously a long-serving governor of the farm state. The United States shipped more than $12 billion worth of soybeans to China last year. China buys two thirds of the beans traded worldwide, mainly from Brazil and the United States. China's commerce and agriculture ministries told a delegation of U.S. soy growers last September that soybeans were being considered as a target for retaliatory action in the event of U.S. trade action against Beijing. Story continues On Thursday, Trump announced plans for tariffs on up to $60 billion in Chinese goods for what he says is misappropriation of U.S. intellectual property, moving the world's two largest economies closer to a trade war. China showed readiness to retaliate by declaring plans to levy additional duties on up to $3 billion of U.S. imports including fruit and wine in response to U.S. import tariffs on steel and aluminium, which were due to go into effect on Friday. U.S. PRICES UNDER PRESSURE Jim Sutter, chief executive of the U.S. Soybean Export Council, said it would not be a surprise for Chinese crushers and importers to make emergency plans. "They're business people and they have to be thinking about their alternatives," he said. Sutter had not heard of any specific contingency plans being developed. However, Chinese buyers would likely find it difficult to get by only using alternatives, because its industry relies so heavily on U.S. soybeans, he said. Even so, worries that China may cancel orders pushed cash bids for both soybeans and corn lower at grain elevators along Midwest rivers on Thursday, indicating decreased demand from export terminals at the U.S. Gulf, a U.S. grains exporter said. Soybeans dropped by about 2 cents to 6 cents per bushel and corn was down 1 to 4 cents per bushel. NOW IT SEEMS REAL The threat of a trade war drove up prices for soymeal, hurting feedmakers and pig farmers, on Friday. The most-active soymeal futures prices on the Dalian Commodity Exchange were up 1.4 percent at 3,046 yuan per tonne. Traders and millers who crush soybeans and rapeseed to make meal and oil in China say there are no signs of panic in the country's vast farming and livestock sector. Any immediate impact on crushers will be cushioned by a Brazilian crop coming to market. "We will deal with it if it happens," said Ji Feng, a senior soybean trader at global commodities merchant Cargill, in a panel discussion at an oilseeds conference on Thursday. Still the increasingly heated rhetoric between the two countries has given some industry insiders pause this week. "I feel the trade war is really happening. Before it was just talk, but now it seems real," said a purchasing manager at a medium-sized feed company who is bracing for a further spike in soymeal prices. "For me, the impact will be mainly on soymeal prices." (Reporting by Hallie Gu and Josephine Mason in BEIJING; additional reporting by Mark Weinraub and Tom Polansek in CHICAGO; Editing by Bill Tarrant) By Dustin Volz WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Friday charged and sanctioned nine Iranians and an Iranian company for attempting to hack into hundreds of universities worldwide, dozens of companies and parts of the U.S. government, including its main energy regulator, on behalf of Tehran's government. The cyber attacks, beginning in at least 2013, pilfered more than 31 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property from 144 U.S. universities and 176 universities in 21 other countries, the U.S. Department of Justice said, describing the campaign as one of the largest state-sponsored hacks ever prosecuted. The U.S. Treasury Department said that it was placing sanctions on the nine people and the Mabna Institute, a company U.S. prosecutors characterized as designed to help Iranian research organizations steal information. U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said the nine Iranians were considered fugitives who may face extradition in more than 100 countries if they travel outside of Iran. Authorities "will aggressively investigate and prosecute hostile actors who attempt to profit from Americas ideas by infiltrating our computer systems and stealing intellectual property," Rosenstein said at a news conference. He said the case "will disrupt the defendants hacking operations and deter similar crimes." The hackers were not accused of being directly employed by Iran's government. They were instead charged with criminal conduct waged primarily through the Mabna Institute on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the elite military force assigned to defend Irans Shiite theocracy from internal and external threats. There was no immediate response to the charges and sanctions in Iran's state-run media. The targeting of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, was especially concerning, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said, because it oversees the interstate regulation of energy in the United States and holds details of some of the country's "most sensitive infrastructure." Hackers targeted email accounts of more than 100,000 professors worldwide, half located in the United States, and compromised about 8,000 of them, prosecutors said. Hackers also targeted the U.S. Labor Department, the United Nations and the computer systems of the U.S. states Hawaii and Indiana, prosecutors said. Friday's actions are part of an effort by senior cyber security officials at the White House and across the U.S. government to blame foreign countries for malicious hacks. They were announced a day after U.S. President Donald Trump named John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who is deeply skeptical of the 2015 international nuclear accord with Iran, as his new national security adviser. Trump himself has repeatedly cast doubt on the nuclear deal, in which the U.S. and other world powers eased sanctions in exchange for Tehran putting limits on its nuclear program. INTERNET FIRMS ALERTED The Department of Justice on Friday privately warned major internet infrastructure companies to expect attacks from Iran, an executive at one company who received the alert said. The officials said the most likely retaliation would be denial of service attacks on websites, which are not destructive but disrupt commerce and communication. Britain's National Cyber Security Centre said on Twitter that the Mabna Institute was "almost certainly responsible for cyber attacks targeting universities around the world." The sanctions and charges were the fourth time in the past few months that the Trump administration has blamed a foreign government for major cyber attacks, a practice that was relatively rare under the Obama administration. Last week, the administration accused the Russian government of cyber attacks stretching back at least two years that targeted the U.S. power grid. Washington imposed new sanctions on 19 Russians and five groups, including Moscows intelligence services, for meddling in the 2016 U.S. election and other cyber attacks. Friday's indictment in U.S. District Court in New York said the Iranian hackers did extensive background research of university professors before sending them "spearphishing" emails tailored to their academic interests and scholarly published articles. The emails purported to be from professors at another university and indicated the sender had read an article written by them, prosecutors said. The emails would then direct recipients to click on links to related articles that would direct victims to a malicious internet domain that appeared similar to the victim's actual university portal, where they would be prompted to enter their login credentials. Once accounts were compromised, the hackers would steal reams of academic data and intellectual property related to science and technology, engineering, social sciences and medicine, the indictment said. Stolen data was obtained to benefit Iran's Revolutionary Guard and sold within Iran through the websites Megapaper and Gigapaper to universities in Iran, prosecutors said. 'PASSWORD SPRAYING' Hackers targeted and compromised employee email accounts for 36 U.S.-based companies and 11 companies in countries including Germany, Italy and Britain, prosecutors said. Victim companies in the United states included two media and entertainment companies, one law firm, 11 technology firms, and two bank and investment firms, among others. Unlike the precise targeting of professors, companies fell victim to a broad technique known as "password spraying" that involves finding lists of company email accounts online and then attempting to hack into them by using common default passwords. Once inside, the hackers would steal entire email mailboxes. The Treasury Department also placed sanctions on another Iranian, Behzad Mesri. Sometimes known as "Skote Vahshat," Mesri was charged in 2017 with hacking cable TV network HBO to leak unaired episodes of the fantasy drama Game of Thrones. Mesri is still at large, officials said. The Obama administration in 2016 indicted seven Iranians for distributed-denial-of-service attacks on dozens of U.S. banks and for trying to shut down a New York dam. Those hackers were also accused of working on behalf of Iran's government. None of the Iranians indicted in 2016 have been arrested or extradited, a Justice Department spokesman said. (Reporting by Dustin Volz and Joseph Menn; additional reporting by Lisa Lambert, Timothy Gardner and Susan Heavey; editing by Grant McCool) Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump was poised to unveil sanctions against China on Thursday for what he called the theft of US intellectual property, fueling fears of a trade war as Beijing vowed to retaliate. White House spokesman Raj Shah told AFP that Trump will announce actions following an "investigation into China's state-led, market-distorting efforts to force, pressure, and steal US technologies and intellectual property." According to his schedule, released by the White House on Wednesday evening, he will sign "a Presidential Memorandum targeting China's economic aggression." The Chinese commerce ministry issued a pre-emptive warning, saying in a statement on Thursday that Beijing "will certainly take all necessary measures to resolutely defend its legitimate rights and interests". It is just weeks since Trump short-circuited White House deliberations and announced a raft of sanctions on foreign-produced steel and aluminum off the cuff. That move prompted the resignation of top economic advisor Gary Cohn, a global stock market selloff, legal disputes and threats of retaliatory measures. On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned that the prospect of a trade war was a growing threat to the world's largest economy. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang urged Trump on Tuesday to not act "emotionally," but the impulsive president is showing no sign of backing down. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer recently put a separate proposed package of $30 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports on the president's desk. And Trump appears to have agreed to at least that amount, as he tries to fulfil campaign promises to get tough on "cheating" by US trade partners, which he says have destroyed American jobs. The US trade deficit with China ran to a record $375 billion last year -- but US exports to the country were also at a record. Washington has long accused Beijing of forcing US companies to turn over proprietary commercial information and intellectual property as a condition of operating in China. Story continues Trump claims to have built up a generally good relationship with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping whom he has praised for his role in pressuring North Korea over its nuclear program. However, the trade dispute threatens to cast a pall over those relations, especially given the recent warnings from Beijing. - A laundry list of grievances - A senior official in Lighthizer's office said Wednesday that the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations had attempted over the decades to coax China into respecting market economics and trade liberalization, but had all failed. The Trump administration opened an investigation last August, acting on a series of allegations against China, including that as a condition of doing business, Beijing forces US companies to enter joint ventures and transfer technology and trade secrets to domestic partners, and that American firms are not able to license intellectual property in China as freely as Chinese companies. US officials also allege China has hacked US networks and conducted industrial espionage to steal US intellectual property. Xi sent his top economic advisor Liu He to Washington this month to discuss trade tensions, but the US official said that at no point had the Chinese made a constructive proposal. "Certainly by November, the background was such that officials in China had reason to know about the concerns we've raised... At least, as of today the administration has not been satisfied with the types of responses we've been getting from China," the senior official in Lighthizer's office said, speaking on condition of anonymity in a briefing to reporters. "Obviously the president will have the final say in terms of what we end up doing here." "As a general matter, we do have very strong evidence that China uses foreign ownership restrictions such as joint venture requirements and foreign equity limitations to require or pressure technology transfer from US companies to Chinese entities," he added. - Tariffs talks - Along with the announcement of that offensive, Washington also held out the possibility of a detente with regards to the European Union, which reacted furiously to the news of steel and aluminum tariffs. In a joint statement, US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said they had agreed to immediately begin "a process of discussion" on the tariffs and other matters "with a view to identifying mutually acceptable outcomes as rapidly as possible." Malmstroem had called for Europe to be exempted as a whole. Speaking to reporters in Brussels on Wednesday, European Council President Donald Tusk said he harbored "cautious optimism" on the prospects for a resolution. Malmstroem, back in Brussels, said Thursday the EU expects Trump to grant Europe a last-minute exemption from the steel and aluminum tariffs. "This afternoon, (Trump) will make an announcement on possible exclusions," Malmstroem told European lawmakers in Brussels after her visit to the US. "We expect that we are on that list, we don't know for sure." The White House already said Canada and Mexico, which are major producers of the metals, will temporarily be exempt from the tariffs during talks to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. Trump announces McMasters departure on Twitter Former UN ambassador John Bolton named as replacement The departure of McMaster (left) had been on the cards for some weeks amid ongoing ructions with the president Photograph: Susan Walsh/AP HR McMaster has resigned as Donald Trumps national security adviser and will be replaced by John Bolton, the hawkish former US ambassador to the United Nations, the president announced on Thursday night. Bolton has advocated using military force against Iran and North Korea and has taken a hard line against Russia. Trump announced the switch in a tweet, writing that he was thankful for the service of General HR McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will remain my friend. The changing of the guard will take place on 9 April, Trump said. An official said that there were no incidents that led to McMasters exit, and that it was instead the result of a continuing conversation between McMaster and the president. In a statement, McMaster, 55, said he would be retiring from the US army at the same time as leaving the White House. He thanked Trump and the members of the National Security Council, who he said had worked together to provide the president with the best options to protect and advance our national interests. His replacement, Bolton, 69, who has long been a polarizing figure in Washington foreign policy circles, becomes Trumps third national security adviser in 14 months. The departure of McMaster had been on the cards for some weeks amid ructions with the president. The pair have clashed several times over policy issues such as Afghanistan and Iran. McMasters exit marks the climax of an extraordinarily shaky period in the leadership of US foreign policy. Last week Trump fired Rex Tillerson as US secretary of state, placing the CIA director Mike Pompeo into the role of the nations top diplomat. The official line from the White House about McMasters departure was that there was a need for a new foreign policy team to be put in place before Trumps meeting with Kim Jong-un of North Korea, which is planned for spring. Story continues But McMasters departure was also announced just two days after the president was reportedly infuriated by a leak of intimate briefing documents relating to his conversation with the Vladimir Putin, in which he congratulated Putin upon his re-election as Russian president against the advice of aides. The White House has denied that McMasters departure had anything to do with the leak. Name John Robert Bolton Age 69 (Born 20 November 1948) Career Bolton, who was born in Baltimore, Maryland, has served under Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H Bush and George W Bush. He was the US ambassador to the UN between August 2005 and December 2006, and doggedly pushed bogus evidence of Saddam Husseins weapons of mass destruction in the run-up to the Iraq invasion. He is an attorney and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. He has been described as "one of the most extreme, irresponsible and dangerous voices in the country" by Adam Mount, a senior fellow and nuclear weapons policy expert at the Federation of American Scientists. Views on Iran Bolton has made a career of deriding diplomacy as a sign of weakness. While the 2015 landmark nuclear agreement with Iran was being negotiated, he wrote an article for the New York Times decrying the whole exercise, headlined: To Stop Irans Bomb, Bomb Iran. If Trump does not sign the next sanctions waiver on Iran in mid-May, the US will be in violation of the 2015 agreement. Views on North Korea Bolton has advocated three different military options against North Korea: a strike against nuclear facilities, bringing down a test missile or an assassination of Kim Jong-un. He will be at Trumps side when he heads for the planned summit with North Korea's leader, if it goes ahead. A month ago he published a piece in the Wall Street Journal entitled The Legal Case for Striking North Korea First. Views on Russia Bolton has a reputation for being hawkish on all fronts, including Russia. However, he has shown himself to be quite flexible, playing down the significance of the presidents congratulation of Putin for his election victory. He has previously suggested that the hacking of the Democratic partys emails could have been a false-flag operation by the Obama administration, rather than by Russian operatives. Julian Borger in Washington and Martin Belam in London. Boltons arrival as national security advisor now casts a shadow over the future of the White House chief of staff, John Kelly, and the defence secretary, James Mattis, both of whom are reported to see Bolton as a wild card, and a civilian with no experience of war who has backed plunging the US into new conflicts. The former envoy to the UN in the George W Bush administration has been a consistent advocate of the use of military force to further US goals around the globe. He was an enthusiastic booster of the invasion of Iraq, based on the grounds later proved spurious that Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction. Last month, Bolton published a commentary arguing the legality of a first strike against North Korea, saying the countrys development of nuclear weapons and long range missiles posed an imminent threat to the US. He has rejected counter arguments that North Korea can be contained and deterred. His appointment is also the latest in a long series of signals Trump has sent in recent months that he is determined to take the US out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, in the face of strong protests from European allies, as well as Russia and China, who are join signatories to the deal. Last August, when he claimed it was no longer able to get access to Trump, Bolton published an open memo on how to free America from this execrable deal at the earliest opportunity. Some conservatives close to the White House had argued that Bolton was too hawkish for Trump, and that his foreign adventurism would detract from the presidents America first strategy of concentrating on creating US jobs and cutting immigration. But Trump, increasingly besieged by the investigation into his campaigns contacts with the Kremlin, now seems to have set his sights on asserting US might abroad. It is unclear how Trumps friendly approach to Vladimir Putin will cohabit with Boltons more traditionally hawkish approach to Moscow. On the day his appointment was announced, Bolton made light of the issue. He told Breitbart radio that the presidents offer congratulations on Putins election was insignificant. In the course of my career Ive said lots of nice things to foreign diplomats and foreign officials that if I thought about it Id probably have to bite my tongue before I say it, Bolton said. The radical shake-up in Trumps top foreign policy and national security team comes a little over a month before two critical events: a decision, due in mid-May, over whether to stay in the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, and a planned summit with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. Bolton is one of the Iran deals fiercest opponents, and an advocate of a military solution to the standoff over North Koreas nuclear and missile programmes. In an interview two weeks ago, Bolton said the president demanded the immediate disarming of North Korea, and failing that, will cut off further talks. If you look at it as a way to foreshorten the amount of time we will waste in negotiations, that will never produce the result we want which is Kim giving up his nuclear programme, I think thats a good thing, Bolton said on Fox News. WASHINGTON Having failed to get Mexico and then Congress to pay for his promised great wall along the southern border, President Donald Trumps White House nevertheless described 33 miles of levees and fencing in a new spending bill as a substantial victory Thursday. Trump and his staff had been trying to carve out $25 billion in U.S. taxpayer money in the appropriations package for the budget year that ends Sept. 30, even though Trump had promised hundreds of times during his campaign in 2015 and 2016 that Mexico would pay for the walls construction. Generally speaking, we think this is a really, really good immigration package, budget director Mick Mulvaney said Thursday while acknowledging that Trump was unable to get anywhere near what is needed to build a wall along the border, which is nearly 2,000 miles. If Congress would give us the money to do it, we would do it now. Some of Trumps political advisers, though, see wall construction as critical to Trumps survival. He promised a wall along the Mexican border so many times over the course of his presidential campaign that failing to deliver would be disastrous in the November midterms and then in his presidential re-election campaign. Although his base has been patient so far, the thinking goes, that could evaporate instantly if Trump signs the $1.3 trillion spending bill that does not make good on the wall promise. The Senate faces a midnight Friday deadline to pass the bill, which cleared the House on Thursday. You could key yourself up to lose 50 seats if you fuck around with this thing, one Republican close to Trump said on the condition of anonymity. He ought to shut down the government if he doesnt get the money to start building the wall, the Republican added. At a White House press briefing, Mulvaney assured that Trump would not be doing that. Lets cut right to the chase: Is the president going to sign the bill? The answer is yes, he said. Story continues Mulvaney blamed Senate rules that require 60 votes to move most legislation including appropriations bills to a final vote. This allows Democrats to extract their pound of flesh in the spending package, he said. We dont control all of the government, Mulvaney said, even though Republicans hold the White House and control both chambers of Congress. We do not control the Senate, under the current rules. Therefore we have to give the Democrats something. Yet, in this case, Trump was unable to get the wall money he wanted because he was unwilling to give Democrats what he has claimed he also wants: a permanent answer for the undocumented immigrants who were brought to this country as children, often called the Dreamers. Trump tried to end protection from deportation for nearly 700,000 of those immigrants by rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in September. Two courts temporarily have blocked Trump and forced him to reopen the program to current applicants, who can continue to renew their two-year work permits and deportation relief. Trump has nonetheless insisted since he ended DACA that he is the champion of DACA recipients and that it is the Democrats who do not care about them. Democrats refused to take care of DACA, Trump tweeted Friday evening. Would have been so easy, but they just didnt care. White House legislative affairs director Michael Short said Trump offered Democrats three years of wall funding for three years of DACA protections but that Democrats rejected it. Short said the White House was willing to negotiate but Democrats were not. The Democrats in the House and the Senate have made it clear they think theyre winning in the courts and they do not want to fix this legislatively, Mulvaney said. But Democrats point out that they offered to support the full $25 billion to build Trumps wall in exchange for a path to citizenship for Dreamers. The White House rejected that offer, said Matt House, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). Outside of the recent spending bill negotiations, Democrats have also proposed a number of bills to protect DACA recipients and other Dreamers, some of them with Republican support. They argue any solution should be permanent not renewable permits but a path to citizenship. The White House worked to sink two of those bipartisan proposals in February while pushing its preferred plan to give a path to citizenship for Dreamers in exchange for wall funding, cuts to legal immigration and changes in asylum policies. That plan received only 39 votes on the Senate floor last month, while one of the bipartisan measures his administration successfully undermined had received 54 votes. The failure to resolve DACA, however, has left Trump unable to deliver on one of his signature campaign promises. President Donald Trump inspects border wall prototypes in San Diego on March 13. (Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) Trump promised from the day he began his campaign in June 2015 that he would build a great wall to end illegal immigration from Mexico. I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and Ill build them very inexpensively, Trump said in his Trump Tower announcement. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words. Over the coming 17 months, Trump promised many hundreds of times that he would build the wall quickly and at no cost to U.S. taxpayers. Trump said that his wall would be at least 30 feet tall and extend deep underground to prevent people from tunneling beneath it. At a December 2015 visit to Manassas, Virginia, Trump even went into construction details. Its going to be made of hardened concrete, and its going to be made out of rebar. Thats steel, Trump said to a question from a young boy in the audience. And were going to set [the rebar] in nice, heavy foundations. But having Mexico pay for a wall that country does not at all support has proved unrealistic. A planned meeting between Trump and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto was recently canceled because Pena Nieto would not back away from his refusal to pay. In the new omnibus spending bill, a grand total of 33 miles of the border between Mexico and the United States that is currently unsecured will get fencing, with 25 miles of that going atop new levees along the Rio Grande. A total of 14 miles of modern wall, such as the examples Trump recently visited in San Diego, will be built, Mulvaney said, but it will be on the U.S. side of an existing barrier in Southern California. In all, $1.6 billion was appropriated for border security enhancements, of which only $641 million are for the new fencing. We want the whole wall funded. Youve heard the president say he wants $25 billion to finish the wall, Mulvaney said. Congress will not give us that without a DACA fix. Trumps base of supporters, though, will not be interested in excuses, his Republican adviser warned, and Trump risks losing them by not following through. If youve got nothing in there for the wall, its not going to fly. The wall is a big deal. The wall is a huge deal, the adviser said. No wall? Few deplorables in 2018. Also on HuffPost May 1920s U.S. border guards check entering Mexicans May 1920s U.S. border guard and Mexicans behind the border fence. March 21, 1929 A line of cars carrying Mexicans over the border into California. The fence in the foreground is the border; the line of cars is in the main street of Mexicali. 1930s A flock of sheep at the border between Mexico and the United States. June 1937 A pic of state border plant inspection maintained by the United States Department of Agriculture between Mexico and the United States. Shoppers returning from Mexico (Juarez) to the United States (El Paso) over the bridge that carries all the traffic are required to open their packages for inspection. June 1937 Crossing the international bridge between Juarez, Mexico and El Paso, Texas. June 1937 Mexicans entering the United States via the United States immigration station at El Paso, Texas. 1943 U.S. soldiers exchanging money at the U.S.-Mexico border. March 15, 1950 A view of the Sigma Pi sorority crossing under the Mexico border sign to Tijuana, Mexico in Calexico, California. 1950s Pregnant woman at the border. 1954 Mexican farm laborers standing on the Mexican side of the border trying to get into the U.S. 1954 Mexican workers waiting just inside the U.S. border to be let in. October 1, 1962 A border guard checks passes of Mexicans entering the United States near Nogales, Mexico. 1967 Mexican workers crossing the border into Texas have their papers checked. Sept. 22 1984 Suspected undocumented immigrants cross into the U.S. from Tijuana, Mexico. 1990 Men look across to the other side of the Tijuana border. 1990 Woman walking along the America-Mexico border, near Tijuana. 1993 U.S. Customs agents patrolling the border. 1994 At first light, undocumented immigrants wait to cross over into the United States. 1994 Undocumented immigrants wait on the other side of Mexico. Aug. 19, 1997 Esther Pereyra Rubalcaba (left) kisses her daughter Patricia through the wall separating the US and Min Tijuana, Mexico. July 20, 2005 Migrant activists lean against the border fence to pay homage to undocumented immigrants who died crossing over. Aug. 28, 2005 Young Mexican nationals peer through the border wall at the beach along San Ysidro, California. June 6, 2015 Paper doves in the shape of a heart are seen at the border fence in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Sept. 25, 2016 Maria Rodriguez Torres, 70, looks towards her departing grandchildren after seeing them for the first time at the U.S.-Mexico border fence in Tijuana, Mexico. She had traveled with family members from Mexico City to see her grandchildren through the fence at "Friendship Park." Oct. 6, 2016 A burnt car is seen next to a section of the wall separating Mexico and the United States in Tijuana, Mexico. Feb. 4, 2017 A visitor stands next to the U.S.-Mexico border fence at Friends of Friendship Park in San Ysidro, California. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Donald Trump has unveiled a plan to impose up to $60bn in new tariffs on Chinese goods, as well as limiting the country's investment in the US as payback for what his administration alleges is years of intellectual property theft. The presidents order - which earlier reports had suggested would be nearer $50bn - is likely to trigger retaliation by Beijing and could further stoke fears of a global trade war. Just before signing the trade action, Mr Trump said it was the first of many as he looks to correct what has repeatedly called "unfair" trade deals with nations around the world. Under the terms of the memorandum Mr Trump signed, he will target the Chinese imports only after a consultation period, thereby giving industry lobbyists and members of Congress a chance to water down a list of proposed 1,300 products that could be targeted. The consultation period will also give China time to respond, reducing the risk of immediate revenge from Beijing. The Chinese government has vowed to take all necessary measures to defend the countrys interests if Mr Trump attacks it for allegedly stealing American technology or pressuring US companies to hand it over. China will not sit idly to see its legitimate rights damaged and must take all necessary measures to resolutely defend its legitimate rights, the Commerce Ministry in Beijing said in a statement on its website. Mr Trump struck a conciliatory tone when he first began speaking at the White Houses signing ceremony, calling China a friend and saying he had tremendous respect for Chinese President Xi Jinping. We have spoken to China and we are in the middle of negotiations, Mr Trump said, adding that loss of American jobs from unfair trade was one of the main reasons he had been elected as President. He again lamented over unfair trade deals and the USs trade deficits with other countries, saying he had asked China to immediately reduce its trade surplus with America by $100bn. Story continues The US runs a $375bn goods trade deficit with China, although Mr Trump claims it is $504bn. Economic experts have asserted that using trade deficits or surpluses to measure US commercial relations with any single country, as Mr Trump does, ignores the complexities of trade in todays global economy. What matters is the totality of trade, the experts argue. The presidents action was made under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act, which gives Mr Trump broad authority to respond to a foreign countrys unfair trade practices. An investigation identified theft from and coercion of US companies to disclose their intellectual property as well as purchases by Chinese state funds of American companies for their technology knowledge. Ahead of the trade announcement, White House officials said the administration was looking at tariffs on $50bn worth of Chinese goods, a figure based on a calculation of the impact on the profits of US companies that had been forced to hand over their intellectual property as the price of doing business in China. There was no explanation of the difference between the numbers provided by White House officials in the briefing and Trumps $60bn. Many of these areas are those where China has sought to acquire advantage through the unfair acquisition and forced technology transfer from U.S. companies ... establishing its own competitive advantage in an unfair manner, Everett Eissenstat, deputy director of the National Economic Council, told reporters. During his remarks, the President also slammed the World Trade Organization, saying it has been a disaster for the US and arbitration has been very unfair. Mr Trumps announcement came two weeks after he imposed sweeping new tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, trade penalties also aimed at China for flooding the world with cheap metals. Since his announcement of those tariffs, allies have been willing to renegotiate trade barriers, the President said. The EU, Australia, Argentina, Brazil and South Korea are among the nations that will get an initial exemption from the looming steel and aluminium tariffs, said US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. There are countries involved in various stages of trade talks with the US, and Mr Trump decided to pause the imposition of tariffs with respect to those countries, Mr Lighthizer told the Senate Finance Committee. Canada and Mexico will also be initially exempt from the tariffs that will go into effect on Friday. Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton is replacing H.R. McMaster as National Security Adviser - REUTERS Donald Trump has ousted HR McMaster as his national security adviser and will appoint hardliner John Bolton in his place, it emerged on Thursday. The US president announced the news in a tweet, with the change set to take place on April 9. The move comes despite repeated rebuttals from the White House over whether Mr McMaster would be removed from office. It also continues a tumultuous period that has seen a string of major staff departures from the White House and the cabinet. Mr McMaster, who had never met Mr Trump before being interviewed for the role, clashed with the president over the Iran nuclear deal and Afghanistan policy. John Bolton profile: A foreign policy hawk 'who will play to Trump's ego' Mr Bolton, who served as George W Bush's UN ambassador and reportedly held talks with Mr Trump on Thursday, is known for his hawkish foreign policy views that are more in line with Mr Trump's stances. Last month he wrote an article headlined The Legal Case for Striking North Korea First". Mr Bolton called the appointment "an honour" in a statement late on Thursday, saying he looks "forward to working with President Trump and his leadership team" to "make our country safer at home and stronger abroad." In a Fox News interview after news of his appointment broke, Mr Bolton appeared to temper his often harsh rhetoric. "Frankly, what I have said in private now, is behind me, at least effective April 9," he said, referring to the date he is scheduled to take over from Mr McMaster. Some members of Congress immediately questioned his selection for the critical position in the White House. This is not a wise choice. Mr. Bolton does not have the temperament or judgment to be an effective national security adviser," Democratic Senator Jack Reed said in a statement. My official statement on accepting @POTUS' request to become the next National Security Advisor. pic.twitter.com/lptI5AwSeU John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) March 23, 2018 One Republican operative, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted to some concerns about the appointment. Story continues "Some folks think he's a little too hawkish," the source told Agence France-Presse. "But people who have worked with him think he's a pro and will step into the job knowing the key players, processes and issues." Mr Trump praised Mr McMaster in his tweet announcing the change. "I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend," he said. Mr McMaster is expected to retire rather than be fired, with reports that the pair had been discussing his departure for weeks. I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2018 Mark Sedwill, the UK National Security Adviser and Mr McMaster's opposite man in Britain, praised him as a "great US patriot, great ally [and] great friend" on hearing the news. Congrats to @AmbJohnBolton. Look forward to new partnership. Thanks to my comrade from many conflicts @HRMcMasterNSC: great US patriot, great ally, great friend. https://t.co/bZ4XFhWI4z Mark Sedwill (@marksedwill) March 22, 2018 In the last month Rex Tillerson, the Secretary of State, Gary Cohn, Mr Trump's top economics adviser, and Hope Hicks, his communications director, have all left the administration. The changes have raised claims that Mr Trump is getting rid of 'no men' and putting people in line with his policy preferences in place instead. It was the second staff change to emerge on Thursday after John Dowd, Mr Trump's lawyer, quit amid reports he feared the president was no longer following his advice. The New York Times reported that Mr Trump wants his new top foreign policy advisers in place before his planned face-to-face meeting with Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader. Mr Bolton's appointment, taken together with Mr Tillerson's replacement with Trump ally Mike Pompeo, the CIA head, hints at a change in foreign policy approach. 'You're fired': Who Donald Trump has sacked and who has resigned during his time as president Mr Trump has called for the Iran nuclear deal to be torn up - something over which Mr McMaster and Mr Tillerson urged caution behind the scenes. Mr Bolton has been a vocal critic of the deal, writing a piece last October headlined: "Mr. President, don't put America at risk with flawed Iran deal." The appointment also marks a return to frontline politics for Mr Bolton, 69, who served as Mr Bush's representative at the UN from 2005 to 2006. The news broke on the same day as Mr Dowd's resignation from Mr Trump's legal team amid reports the pair clashed on how to handle Robert Mueller, the man leading the Russian investigation. Mr Dowd was said to have advised against Mr Trump agreeing to be interviewed, but the president was increasingly bullish about doing so in order to bring the long investigation to a head. Shortly after his top lawyers resignation, Mr Trump was asked if he was still willing to be interviewed by Mr Mueller. He replied: I would like to. In recent days, against Mr Dowds advice, Mr Trump also began publicly attacking Mr Mueller, including by name on Twitter, where he called the probe a biased witch hunt. Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli ministers on Friday hailed US President Donald Trump's choice of hardliner John Bolton as his new national security advisor, a pick denounced by a senior Palestinian official. Trump on Thursday announced that Bolton, a former United Nations ambassador and arch-hawk, would be replacing embattled army general HR McMaster in the key position. Bolton is known for his strong support for Israel and his hostility to the Jewish state's key foe Iran, and once said the idea of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is dead. Ministers from the far-right Jewish Home party and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud hailed the selection of walrus-moustached Bolton. "President Trump is continuing to appoint true friends of Israel to senior positions. John Bolton stands out among them," Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked of Jewish Home said in a statement. "The Trump administration is turning out to be the most friendly administration to Israel ever," she added. Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who leads Jewish Home, tweeted that Bolton was "an extraordinary security expert, experienced diplomat and a stalwart friend of Israel." Environment Minister Zeev Elkin of Netanyahu's Likud echoed his cabinet colleagues, telling Tel Aviv radio station 102 FM Bolton was "unquestionably a friend of Israel for many years, including in his position as US ambassador to the UN". In contrast the Palestinians reacted angrily, with Hanan Ashrawi, a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, slamming Trump's pick. "This man has a long history of hostility to Palestinians, dating to when he was at the United Nations, where he was protecting Israeli immunity," Ashrawi told AFP, referring to US vetoes of UN resolutions targeting Israel. With Bolton's appointment, she said, the Trump administration "has joined with extremist Zionists, fundamentalist Christians and white racists." Story continues "All this will lead to a devastating reality for Palestine and the region." - 'Three-state' solution - Bolton was known as a sharp-tongued and controversial UN ambassador during George W. Bush's administration who virulently defended Israel. In 2009 he wrote in The Washington Post that the idea of a two-state solution to the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict was "stillborn" and suggested giving the Palestinian territories to Egypt and Jordan. "We should look to a 'three-state' approach, where Gaza is returned to Egyptian control and the West Bank in some configuration reverts to Jordanian sovereignty," he said at the time. "Any two-state solution based on the PA (Palestinian Authority) is stillborn," he wrote. An Israeli state side by side with a Palestinian state has been the widely accepted basis for solving the Middle East conflict for decades, though Trump's administration has yet to commit to it officially. Bolton has also praised Trump's decision, announced on December 6, to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and to transfer the US embassy to the city from Tel Aviv. "We've been living in a delusion by not acknowledging the fact that Jerusalem is Israel's capital," he tweeted. Trump's Jerusalem declaration outraged Palestinians and broke with decades of international consensus that the disputed city's status must be negotiated between the two sides. Israel occupied mainly Palestinian east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community. The Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. Bolton has also strongly argued for the US to abandon the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which Trump said must be "fixed" by May 12 or the United States will walk away. Israel too has called for the deal between world powers and its nemesis Iran to be changed or cancelled. Heralded for masterminding an election campaign that tapped into the real-world frustrations of Americans long ignored by the media and political establishment, President Donald Trumps precise role in designing many of his best-known talking points is suddenly facing scrutiny. Both current and former members of data firm Cambridge Analytica have talked up the role it played in Trumps shock election triumph, including claiming credit for some of the presidents best-known catchphrases. Notably, the firm tested Americans reactions to the phrases drain the swamp and deep state, during focus groups that took place in 2014, a former employee of the firm, Chris Wylie, told The Washington Post Tuesday. Trending: Where Is My 600-Lb. Life Subject Renee Biran Now? Update On Former 'Plus-Size' Model On Tuesday, Trump, apparently coincidentally, conceded that he did not come up with the "drain the swamp" slogan. "It was a term that was actually given to me, usually like to think them up myself, but this was given to mewhich bothered me too. I never like that," he said during a speech to the National Republican Congressional Committee. Those werent the only themes tested that would later emerge in Trump's campaign, Wylie said. The focus groups were also asked to respond to the idea of a border wall to prevent illegal immigration as well as attitudes to race, including so-called race realism, which trumpets the fact that races should be considered different from one another. Overall the firm is said to have encountered widespread alienation among young, white Americans, The Washington Post reported. Don't miss: Can Trump Broker Israel-Palestinian Peace? Don't Hold Your Breath trump campaign Brett Carlsen/Getty Images It also observed favorable views to a foreign adversary who has since become inexorably linked to Trump. Story continues The only foreign thing we tested was Putin, Wylie said. It turns out, theres a lot of Americans who really like this idea of a really strong authoritarian leader and people were quite defensive in focus groups of Putins invasion of Crimea. Adding to the links with Cambridge Analytica, which Trumps campaign has sought to downplay, the presidents former campaign chief executive and White House chief strategist, Steve Bannon, was a top executive at the firm when the data was collected. Most popular: Toxic Twitter Letting Women Down, Says Amnesty Report Wylie is not the only member of Cambridge Analytica to downplay the role of Trump in his own campaign. The firms chief executive Alexander Nix was secretly recorded claiming that it ran all of Trumps digital campaign. In an investigation that aired on British network Channel 4 this week, Nix, who has since been suspended by Cambridge Analytica, added that the candidates they worked with were always a minor player. The candidate never, is never involved, Nix said. Hes told what to do by the campaign team. Asked whether the candidate is the puppet? Nix replied: Always. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Donald Trump is replacing national security adviser HR McMaster with the hawkish former Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton in the latest administration shake-up. In a sign of the administrations unusually high rate of turnover, the pro-Iraq war hardliner will become Mr Trumps third National Security Adviser. "General McMasters leadership of the National Security Council staff has helped my administration accomplish great things to bolster Americas national security. He helped develop our America First National Security Strategy, revitalize our alliances in the Middle East, smash ISIS, bring North Korea to the table, and strengthen our nations prosperity, Mr Trump said in a statement. The President said on Twitter that an official handover would occur in April. I am thankful to President Donald J. Trump for the opportunity to serve him and our nation as national security advisor. I am grateful for the friendship and support of the members of the National Security Council who worked together to provide the President with the best options to protect and advance our national interests, Mr McMaster said in a statement. Mr Trump's initial pick for the role, General Michael Flynn, stepped aside after it emerged he had misled officials about conversations with the then-Russian ambassador; Mr Flynn subsequently pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents who were investigating potential coordination between the Russian government and the Trump presidential campaign. In elevating Mr Bolton, a staunch proponent of the Iraq war, the President has chosen an aide whose support for military entanglements abroad would seem to clash with Mr Trump's America First instincts and campaign promises to emphasise domestic issues. The change also comes at a key moment for the Trump administration's foreign policy after the President committed to what would be an unprecedented meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to discuss denuclearisation. Story continues In an interview with Fox News, Mr Bolton called the appointment a great honour. Ive never been shy about what my views are, but frankly what I have said...is behind me, at least effective 9 April, Mr Bolton said. The important thing is what the President says and what advice I would give him. A hawkish figure who rose to prominence under George W Bush and a vocal supporter of the American invasion of Iraq, Mr Bolton served in the State Department during Mr Bushs first term before becoming Americas ambassador to the United Nations. Critics called the ambassador post an inappropriate choice given Mr Boltons history of assailing the international body, and Democrats later helped force his resignation by blocking a confirmation vote. Mr Bolton has also been a fierce critic of Iran and North Korea, two countries that Mr Trump has forcefully criticised and that will likely continue to feature prominently in the Trump administrations global posture. In 2003, when he was serving as Americas chief arms control diplomat, Mr Bolton delivered a speech in Seoul, South Korea, denouncing then-North Korean leader Kim Jong Il as a tyrannical dictator whose country resembled a hellish nightmare. The President is no stranger to using vivid language to denounce North Korea, threatening the regime of Kim Jong-un with military force as the country menaced neighbours and tested multiple intercontinental ballistic missiles in recent months. But Mr Trump has also embraced a diplomatic opening with his extraordinary agreement to meet with Mr Kim. His openness to negotiating an end to North Korea's nuclear programme contrasts with Mr Bolton's repeated recent declarations that diplomatic approaches to North Korea cannot succeed. In late February, shortly before the White House announced Mr Trump had accepted Mr Kims offer to meet, Mr Bolton wrote an op-ed backing a preemptive military strike on North Korea. Mr Bolton also shares Mr Trumps suspicion of Iran, a country the President has singled out as a threat to the United States. Mr Trump has frequently excoriated a deal forged during the Obama administration to halt Irans nuclear programme. Warning Mr Obamas approach towards Iran has brought a bad situation to the brink of catastrophe, Mr Bolton in 2015 authored an op-ed advocating a military strike on Irans nuclear facilities. The inescapable conclusion is that Iran will not negotiate away its nuclear program. Nor will sanctions block its building a broad and deep weapons infrastructure, Mr Bolton wrote, saying that only military action can accomplish what is required. That background prompted an outcry from Democrats in response to Mr Trump's selection of Mr Bolton. Rep Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania called him a "dangerous radical" with a record of "undermining key alliances around the world", and several lawmakers said he had been discredited by his support for the Iraq war. Bolton played a key role in politicizing the intel that misled us into the Iraq War. We cannot let this extreme war hawk blunder us into another terrible conflict, Senator Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, said on Twitter. President Donald Trump Wednesday congratulated law enforcement after the suspect in a series of bombings in Austin, Texas, blew himself up. The unnamed suspect reportedly blew himself up early Wednesday morning inside his vehicle as a SWAT team homed in on him near the suburb of Round Rock, Texas, local officials said. The 24-year-old white man was believed to be responsible for at least six bombs resulting in the death of two people and five more injured. Officials believe they know the suspect's identity but were waiting for his body to be identified. Trump, who often uses Twitter to praise law enforcement, took to social media to proclaim the suspect dead. Trending: What Is the Pineapple Express? Extreme California Rain May Cause Flooding, Mudslides AUSTIN BOMBING SUSPECT IS DEAD. Great job by law enforcement and all concerned!, the president tweeted. Trump has routinely shown that he has little issue with suspects facing serious allegations being killed. On Monday, the president rolled out his plan to tackle the opioid crisis, including his push for certain drug dealers to be put to death. Don't miss: Joe Biden on Trump: I'd Have 'Beat the Hell Out of Him' In School Over 'Grab 'Em by the Pussy' Comments "If we don't get tough on the drug dealers, we are wasting our time," Trump said in New Hampshire. Last year, Trump also called for the suspect in an attack on New York that left eight people dead to face the death penalty. Long before he was president, in 1989, Trump paid for full page-ads calling for five black and Latino men to get the death penalty after they were accused of brutally raping a woman in Central Park. The group of men, dubbed "The Central Park Five," were later proved innocent. Trump's praise of law enforcement Wednesday came after weeks and months of attacks on the FBI and his celebration over the firing of the agency's former deputy director Andrew McCabe last month. Story continues Most popular: Animal Cruelty: Which State Is the Worst at Protecting Animals? Austin police chief Brian Manley stated the suspects motive for the bombings was unknown, but also stressed officials did not know if more bombs had been planted. We still need to remain vigilant, Manley said. We do not know where he has been in the past 24 hours. Manley added that the investigation will continue, and it remains unclear if the deceased suspect was solely responsible. This investigation is still underway, so we cannot say that this was an individual acting on their own. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Donald Trump has grudgingly signed a massive spending bill just hours after threatening to veto the measure, complaining that it does not include protections for young illegal immigrants or fully funds his long-promised border wall. "But I say to Congress, I will never sign another bill like this again," Mr Trump said. The President said he seriously considered rejecting the $1.3 trillion spending package but decided not to out of concerns for national security. "There are a lot of things we shouldn't have had in this bill but we were, in a sense, forced if we want to build our military, we were forced to have," Mr Trump said. The Senate approved the 2,232-page measure in a 65-32 vote, about 12 hours after the House had also passed the legislation on a similarly wide bipartisan vote of 256-to-167. "Nobody read it," Mr Trump said. "Its only hours old." In a rambling speech after signing the measure that was released on Wednesday, Mr Trump railed against Democrats several times, calling for an end to the Senate's filibuster rule, which would allow passage of all bills on a simple-majority vote. The rule encourages Democrats and Republicans to work together. He also called on Congress to give him the ability to nix spending he disagrees with by granting him line-item veto power. The Supreme Court has previously found that the line-item veto violated the Presentment Clause of the Constitution, which says the President does not have the power to unilaterally amend or repeal legislation The government funding bill has been dogged by negotiations over the status of recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme, a policy from the Barack Obama era that Mr Trump announced last year he was rescinding. Democrats have accused the President of failing the young people DACA has protected from the threat of deportation. Mr Trump has, in turn, accused the party of walking away from deals to come up with a permanent legislative fix for the programme. Story continues I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded, Mr Trump tweeted just hours before signing the budget bill. The announcement took Washington by surprise, with the White House having said earlier in the week that Mr Trump would back the bill after discussing it with House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. If Mr Trump had not signed the measure by midnight on Friday night, the government most likely would have shut down. The president and the leaders discussed their support for the bill, which includes more funds to rebuild the military, such as the largest pay raise for our troops in a decade, more than 100 miles of new construction for the border wall and other key domestic priorities, like combatting the opioid crisis and rebuilding our nations infrastructure, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. A White House official later added that Mr Trump intends to sign the bill and that it is a step in the right direction. In many ways, the bill could be seen as a loss for Mr Trump, whose proposals for severe cuts to funding for the Environmental Protection Agency, State Department and other federal agencies were largely ignored. While the President at one point wanted the bill to allocate $25bn to fully fund construction of his border wall, negotiations to make that happen fell apart. Instead, under the budget deal, Mr Trump would get nearly $1.6bn for border security this year. More border patrol agents could be hired, but there would not be a significant increase in immigration agents working in the rest of the US. When coupled with recently enacted tax cuts, the legislation is projected to lead to budget deficits of more than $800bn for this year, potentially creating problems for Republicans up for re-election in November. Along with a $80bn increase in military spending, the largest in 15 years, the measure allocates money toward infrastructure improvements and fighting Russian election hacking. In response to public outrage over mass shootings, including a massacre last month at a Florida high school that left 17 people dead, the bill contains modest improvements to background checks for gun sales and grants to help schools prevent gun violence. Top Democrats had tied their support for previous budget bills to their receiving of commitments from Republicans to consider legislation that would salvage DACA. But with a standoff over the issue already leading to one of the government shutdowns this year, there appeared to be little appetite on Capitol Hill for a repeat of the same drama. In exchange for Democratic votes to reopen the government in January, Mr McConnell promised to hold an immigration debate to discuss the issue. While such a debate was held, no immigration bill received enough support to pass. Mr Trump had given Congress until March 5 to come up with a solution for DACA. However, the Supreme Court declined to immediately review a federal judges order saying that Mr Trump must continue the programme. This means that DACA will stay in place until, or if, the Supreme Court takes it up, all but nullifying the March 5 expiration date. Theres not a whole lot of reason to negotiate to do anything that is not already covered by the court decision, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said last week. President Donald Trumps choice of John Bolton as his national security advisor places a hard-line unilateralist and keen advocate of military power at the center of the White House. Bolton has explicitly called for a preemptive strike on North Korea, advocates bombing to force regime change in Iran, and wants an open-ended military presence in Afghanistan. He has also called for a much more confrontational stance against China, including stationing U.S. troops in Taiwan. But in contrast to Republican neoconservatives, whom he joined in urging President George W. Bush to topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in 2003, Bolton has little interest in exporting American values such as democracy and human rights. He served in the State Department and as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the Bush administration. Bolton shares with the president a disregard for international agreements, a disdain for multilateral organizations such as the U.N. and the European Union, and a flair for hurling cutting insults at his many political enemies. In his memoir, Surrender Is Not an Option: Defending America at the United Nations, Bolton repeatedly referred to EU bureaucrats as EUroids. His appointment, rumored for weeks, deeply rattled foreign-policy experts from Washington to Berlin who worry that McMasters ouster and Boltons arrival could set the United States on a path toward multiple conflicts. Bolton doesnt believe in coercive diplomacy, tweeted Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia during President Barack Obamas administration. Instead, he believes in regime change as the goal and the use of military force as the means in places like North Korea and Iran. His theories about American foreign policy are deeply flawed. Bolton will replace outgoing National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster in early April; instead of heading for a four-star post as consolation for leaving the White House, as it was rumored, McMaster will retire instead. A White House official said the change was made now to have the new team in place, instead of constant speculation. Bolton will be Trumps third national security advisor in a little over a year. Story continues Boltons appointment, which will not require Senate confirmation, will likely only sharpen the hawkish instincts of an administration that campaigned on a promise to limit American adventurism overseas but that has in office embraced a more militaristic view of U.S. foreign policy. (Like Trump, Bolton went to school to evade service in Vietnam, a war he supported.) Here are a few global hot spots where Boltons policy prescriptions threaten to dramatically reshape U.S. foreign policy. Bomb Iran Boltons selection as national security advisor places a long-standing proponent of military action against Iran at Trumps right hand, just as Trumps replacement of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with CIA Director Mike Pompeo put Iran hawks in the drivers seat. Bolton made his straightforward case for war with Iran in the headline of a 2015 New York Times op-ed: To Stop Irans Bomb, Bomb Iran. Bolton, who has often approvingly cited Israels preemptive strikes on its neighbors nuclear facilities, advocated military strikes at nuclear installations, backed by Iranian opposition forces committed to overthrowing the regime. In his vocal advocacy for regime change in Iran, Bolton has supported the fringe Iranian opposition group Mujahideen-e-Khalq, even when it was designated a terrorist organization by the United States. Speaking at an event in Brussels in 2011, Bolton said he unequivocally supports the movements goal of overthrowing the Iranian regime. (Several well-known Republicans, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and some Democrats, including former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, have also lent support to the group.) In 2009, Bolton even appeared to support Israels use of nuclear weapons against Iran. Unless Israel is prepared to use nuclear weapons against Irans program, Iran will have nuclear weapons in the very near future, Bolton said during a speech at the University of Chicago. North Korea Following North Koreas rapid advances on nuclear weapons and missile technology, Bolton has backed a preemptive military strike on the North in a bid to eliminate its nuclear arsenal. Writing in the Wall Street Journal just last month, Bolton made the case that the time to strike is now. The threat is imminent, Bolton wrote, citing examples of 19th-century gunboat diplomacy. Given the gaps in U.S. intelligence about North Korea, we should not wait until the very last minute. That would risk striking after the North has deliverable nuclear weapons, a much more dangerous situation. Such a strike would likely invite North Korean retaliatory strikes on South Korea and American bases in the region. U.S. military officials warn that it would likely result in tens of thousands of American deaths and a kind of warfare not seen in at least a generation. Its also unclear how Boltons itch for a preemptive strike will square with Trumps plans to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for a summit to discuss denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. Last year, Bolton dismissed direct negotiations with North Korea as a continuation of Obama policies. China Beijing is likely to view Bolton suspiciously. An outspoken supporter of Taiwanese self-determination, Bolton urged the Trump administration to review its decades-old One China policy with China. He has called for increased U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, and even the stationing of U.S. troops there, invoking Gen. Douglas MacArthurs notion of an unsinkable aircraft carrier just off the Chinese coast. Beijing, in contrast, views the One China policy as a non-negotiable cornerstone of its relations with the United States dating back to President Richard Nixons administration. Just this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping made an impassioned vow to defend every inch of Chinese territory, including what Beijing views as the renegade province of Taiwan. Israel Bolton can be expected to offer uncritical support for Israel; McMaster took fire from some conservatives for allegedly not being supportive enough. Dan Gillerman, Israels former ambassador to the United Nations, once described Bolton as Israels secret weapon. International institutions Bolton is one of the nations sharpest critics of multilateralism, repeatedly questioning the Americas commitment to arms control treaties and other international agreements that may limit its ability to use force. He once famously said of the United Nations an institution that employed him as a negotiator in Western Sahara that its Secretariat Building in New York has 38 stories. If you lost 10 stories today, it wouldnt make a bit of difference. In his memoir, Bolton wrote: My happiest moment at State was personally unsigning the Rome Statute that created the International Criminal Court. I told [Colin] Powell that I felt like a kid on Christmas Day. Boltons attitude toward international treaties aligns neatly with that of Trump. Treaties are law only for U.S. domestic purposes, Bolton once argued. In their international operation, treaties are simply political, and not legally binding. Bolton reserves his greatest disdain for defenders of the international order, none more than EU bureaucrats and State Department officials, who he claims lack spine. Moral equivalency, a disease of the sophisticated, is especially prevalent among EUroid diplomats, and is highly contagious, frequently spreading to States permanent bureaucracy, he wrote in his memoir. Top view of the Northrop-McDonnell Douglas YF-23 in flight. (U.S. Air Force photo) Robert Farley Security, Here is the story. X-32 and F-23: The Fighter Jets That Could Have Replaced the F-35 and F-22 On more concrete grounds, Boeings strategy probably hurt its chances. Instead of building one demonstrator capable of fulfilling the requirements of all three services, Boeing built two; one capable of conventional supersonic flight, and the other of vertical take-off and landing. Lockheeds prototype could do both. The Pentagon also liked the innovative (if risky) nature of the F-35s turbolift. Finally, Lockheeds experience with the F-22 suggested that it could probably handle another large stealth fighter project. This is two of our most popular articles merged into one post for your enjoyment this July 4th. The X-32: The Department of Defense (DoD) didnt have to opt for the F-35. In the 1990s, both Boeing and Lockheed Martin bid for the next big fighter contract, a plane that would serve in each of the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, as well as grace the air forces of many US allies. Boeing served up the X-32; Lockheed the X-35. Recommended: The Real Reason China Has Built a Massive Military The Pentagon chose the F-35. Given the struggles of the last decade with the Joint Strike Fighter, its impossible not to wonder about what might have been; what if DoD had gone with Boeings X-32 instead, or with some combination of the two aircraft? Recommended: Why the Korean War May Have Never Really Ended History: At the end of the Cold War, the Pentagon proposed a joint fighter project in the hopes of reducing the overall logistical tail of fielded forces, as well as in minimizing development costs. Each of the three fighter-flying services needed replacements for the 4th generation aircraft in their inventory; the F-15 and F-16 in the case of the Air Force, and the F/A-18 and AV-8B Harrier in the case of the Navy and the Marine Corps. The new fighter, thus, needed conventional, carrier, and STOVL (short take off vertical landing) configurations. Story continues DoD had not, historically, had good luck with joint programs, but the hope was that increased jointness between the services, combined with more advanced production techniques and more carefully refined logistics procedures, would make a shared fighter worth the effort. All parties understood that the winner of the competition would likely enjoy a great deal of export success, as many air forces around the world required a fifth-generation fighter. In short, this was the biggest deal on the horizon of the post-Cold War defense industry. Boeing and Lockheed Martin won contracts to develop two demonstrators each. Capabilities: Built to the same specifications, the X-32 and the F-35 had relatively similar performance parameters. Deciding to compete on cost, Boeing designed the X-32 around a single-piece delta wing that would fit all three variants. The X-32 lacked the shaft-driven turbofan lift of the F-35, instead using the same thrust vectoring system as the AV-8 Harrier. The X-32s system was less advanced than the F-35s, but also less complex. The X-32 was designed to reach Mach 1.6 in conventional flight. It could carry either six AMRAAMs or two missiles and two bombs in its internal weapons bay. Range and stealth characteristics were generally similar to those expected of the F-35, and the body of the aircraft could accommodate much of the advanced electronic equipment that the F-35 now carries. Decision: One thing is for certain; the X-32 was a ridiculously ugly aircraft. It looked like nothing so much as the spawn of an A-7 Corsair and a hideously deformed manatee. The F-35 is no prize from an aesthetic point of view, lacking the sleek, dangerous lines of the F-22, but the X-32 made the F-35 look positively sexy by comparison. How much should this matter? Not a bit. How much did it matter? Good question. Fighter pilots dont like to fly aircraft that look like they could be run over by Florida speed boat. On more concrete grounds, Boeings strategy probably hurt its chances. Instead of building one demonstrator capable of fulfilling the requirements of all three services, Boeing built two; one capable of conventional supersonic flight, and the other of vertical take-off and landing. Lockheeds prototype could do both. The Pentagon also liked the innovative (if risky) nature of the F-35s turbolift. Finally, Lockheeds experience with the F-22 suggested that it could probably handle another large stealth fighter project. Conclusion: Chosen in 2001, the F-35 went on to become the largest Pentagon procurement project of all time, and one of the most beset by trouble. The X-32 escaped all of the most significant challenges to the F-35. The X-32 never faced decades of testing and redesign; it never saw massive cost overruns; it was never subjected to an endless series of articles about how it couldnt out-dogfight an F-16A. Nostalgia for what might have been is common in aircraft competitions, and its impossible to say whether the X-32 would have run into the same difficulties of the F-35. Given the complex nature of advanced fighter projects, the answer is almost certainly yes. But in hindsight, it almost certainly would have made more sense to go with a VSTOL alternative fighter for the Marine Corps. This would have eliminated the most complex aspect of the joint project; the need to create an aircraft that shared critical components across three wildly different variants. This also would have helped spread the wealth across different major defense contractors, a practice that has increasingly become a Pentagon priority. Of course, given that the STOVL aspects of the F-35 and X-32 were baked in at the proposal stage, this would have required turning the clock back all the way to 1993, not just to 2001. The F-23: The Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) competition, staged at the end of the Cold War, yielded a pair of remarkable fighter designs. The United States would eventually select the F-22 Raptor, widely acknowledged as the most capable air superiority aircraft of the early twenty-first century. The loser, the YF-23, now graces museums in Torrance, California and Dayton, Ohio. How did the Pentagon decide on the F-22, and what impact did that decision have? We will never know, but going with the F-22 Raptor may have saved the Pentagon some major headaches. ATF Competition: The origins of the ATF competition came in the early 1980s, when it became apparent that the Soviets were planning to field fighters (the MiG-29 and the Su-27) capable of competing effectively with the U.S. Air Forces (USAF) F-15/F-16 high-low mix. The ATF would allow the US to re-establish its advantages, potentially on grounds (notably stealth) where the Soviets would struggle to compete. To great degree, the success of either of the ATF competitors was overdetermined. The Soviet Union disappeared during the course of the competition, and the major European aerospace powers largely declined to compete on the same terrain (stealth, supercruise, and eventually sensor fusion). Either the F-22 or the F-23 would become the finest fighter of the early 21st century; the only question was which aircraft would win the investment of DoD. And each plane had its advantages. The YF-23 enjoyed superior supercruise, and in some accounts better stealth performance, over the F-22. The F-22 offered a somewhat simpler, less risky design, along with an extraordinary degree of agility that made it an awesome dogfighter. The Choice: As Dave Majumdar pointed out a year ago, political and bureaucratic factors contributed to the selection of the F-22. Fed up with Northrop and (the still independent) McDonnell Douglas in the wake of the B-2 and A-12 projects, the Pentagon preferred Lockheed. The US Navy disliked the F-23 for idiosyncratic reasons, and hoped it would get a crack at a heavily modified F-22. For its part, the Air Force preferred the gaudy maneuverability of the F-22, which gave it an advantage in nearly every potential combat situation. In a sense, the F-22 (and to some extent its Russian competitor, the PAK-FA) represent the ultimate expression of the jet-age air superiority fighter. They can challenge and defeat opponents in every potential aspect of a fight, while also having stealth characteristics that allow them to engage (or refuse an engagement) under highly advantageous circumstances. Had the ATF competition not taken place coincident with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the YF-23 might have stood a chance for resurrection. Some of its characteristics were sufficiently advanced that they could have drawn further attention and investment. Moreover, building the F-23 alongside the F-22 could have been justified on grounds of maintaining the health of the US defense industrial base; as it was, the selection of the Lockheed aircraft undoubtedly contributed to the decision to consolidate Boeing and McDonnell Douglas. Raptor Problems: As is the case with the X-32, the YF-23 never faced the most dramatic problems to afflict the F-22 Raptor. It never experienced cost overruns, technology failures, software snafus, or pilot-killing respiratory issues. Those problems, which regularly afflict new defense projects (in fairness, the pilot suffocation is largely idiosyncratic to the Raptor) were consequential. In context of the broader demands of the War on Terror, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates curtailed the F-22 production run at 187 operational aircraft, just as the fighter was working through its teething troubles. Although understandable at the time, this left the USAF with a fighter deficit that only the F-35 could fill. Had the YF-23 enjoyed a smoother development path (a huge if), the fighter might not have faced such a hostile environment as it entered service. But given that the YF-23 was generally perceived to be the more innovative (and therefore riskier) design, and that it had a slightly higher price tag, the chances that it could have sailed through without a hitch are correspondingly low. And trouble with design and production might have left the USAF with even fewer operational fighters. Parting Thoughts: The F-23 included some characteristics that may eventually find themselves in a sixth generation fighter, or perhaps in the Air Forces deep interceptor intended to support B-21 Raiders on the way to their targets. For example, the V-tail aspect has been mentioned in some of the early conceptualization for a next generation fighter. And Boeing will undoubtedly hearken back to its experience with the F-23 when thinking about its next fighter. For years, one of the two YF-23 prototypes sat in the Hangar of Unwanted Planes (more formally known as the Research and Development Hangar) at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. The YF-23 was positioned right under the last remaining XB-70 Valkyrie, the centerpiece of the museums collection. Both aircraft have now moved to the newly opened fourth building of the museum, where they continue to represent alternative visions of the (past) future of the Air Force, visions deeply grounded in the industrial and organizational realities of American airpower. Robert Farley, a frequent contributor to TNI, is author of The Battleship Book. He serves as a Senior Lecturer at the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky. His work includes military doctrine, national security, and maritime affairs. These pieces both appeared separately several years ago. Read full article ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey continues to hold talks with the Franco-Italian Eurosam consortium and the United States to buy missile defense systems, Ankara's foreign ministry spokesman said on Friday. In December last year, Turkey and Russia signed an accord for Moscow to supply Ankara with S-400 surface-to-air missile batteries, finalizing a deal set to deepen military ties between NATO member Turkey and the Kremlin. "The system we are buying from Russia cannot be integrated into NATO systems, but we are maintaining our target to develop a system that is compatible with NATO," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hami Aksoy told reporters on Friday. In January, Turkey awarded Eurosam an 18-month contract for a study into the development and production of a long-range air and missile defense system, in a move towards closer defense cooperation with France and Italy. "Our cooperation with Eurosam is in line with this target. On the other hand, we continue our talks for Patriot systems with the U.S.," Aksoy said. (Reporting by Tulay Karadeniz; Writing by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Tuvan Gumrukcu) ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey continues to hold talks with the Franco-Italian Eurosam consortium and the United States to buy missile defense systems, Ankara's foreign ministry spokesman said on Friday. In December last year, Turkey and Russia signed an accord for Moscow to supply Ankara with S-400 surface-to-air missile batteries, finalising a deal set to deepen military ties between NATO member Turkey and the Kremlin. "The system we are buying from Russia cannot be integrated into NATO systems, but we are maintaining our target to develop a system that is compatible with NATO," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hami Aksoy told reporters on Friday. In January, Turkey awarded Eurosam an 18-month contract for a study into the development and production of a long-range air and missile defence system, in a move towards closer defence cooperation with France and Italy. "Our cooperation with Eurosam is in line with this target. On the other hand, we continue our talks for Patriot systems with the U.S.," Aksoy said. (Reporting by Tulay Karadeniz; Writing by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Tuvan Gumrukcu) ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish authorities began rounding up 155 suspected followers of the cleric Fethullah Gulen on Friday, police and media said. Ankara accuses Gulen, who lives in the United States, of masterminding a failed coup in July 2016, a claim he denies. Since the coup attempt, the authorities have arrested thousands of his suspected followers and fired thousands more. Friday's roundup included warrants for 55 employees in 13 provinces of Isik Publications, a publishing company that printed Gulen's books, Istanbul police said. Warrants were also issued for 38 former police officers in six provinces who were accused of being members of Gulen's purported network, the state-run news agency Anadolu reported. Twenty-four had been detained, it said. In addition, police targeted 62 executives of five labor unions in a third operation spread across seven provinces, Anadolu said. Thirty-eight had been detained, it said. The labor unions were part of Aksiyon Is Confederation, an association of unions that was shut down over suspected links to the Gulen network. In the 18 months through December 2017, nearly 160,000 people have been arrested and 152,000 civil servants sacked as part of a post-coup crackdown, according to a report published by the United Nations on Tuesday. The UN urged Turkey to end its state of emergency, which was declared after the coup and has been extended six times. It accused Ankara of mass arrests, arbitrary sackings, collective punishment and torturing detainees. Turkey's foreign ministry said the report was filled with unfounded allegations and compared the criticism to propaganda from militant groups. The crackdown has also been criticized by Turkey's Western allies, who accuse President Tayyip Erdogan of using the failed putsch as a pretext to quash dissent. Turkey says the measures are necessary to combat threats to national security. (Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen, editing by Ece Toksabay and Larry King) Associated Press Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel failed his pre-training camp physical and was placed on injured reserve, leaving the two sides no closer to a resolution over how to treat a herniated disk which has sidelined the player for six months. General manager Kevyn Adams said the player has also been stripped of his captaincy as the Sabres opened camp Thursday. The developments leave Eichel being out for the foreseeable future, with the growing likelihood the face of the franchise has already played his final game with the team which selected him with the No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft. The U.S. has dropped criminal charges against nearly all of the Turkish security officers accused of viciously beating American demonstrators last year in Washington, D.C., as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sat in a car nearby. Most of the charges were dropped last month, a day before now-outgoing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met in Turkey with Erdogan, who was furious about the arrest warrants that had been issued against his men, The Wall Street Journal reported. The attack in May outraged the American public and politicians after the foreign security guards beat up protesters in the nations capital. Members of Erdogans security entourage, many in suits and some spotted wearing Turkish security badges, can be seen on a Voice of America video rushing into the peaceful demonstration and punching and kicking protesters in the head. Demonstrators were protesting Erdogans human rights violations soon after he met with President Donald Trump in the White House. Local police were overwhelmed by the violence, and nine demonstrators were hospitalized. A police officer and two members of the U.S. Secret Service were also injured. Turkish officials did not deny the attacks occurred. They insisted guards had to take action to protect the president, and the Turkish-American citizens who had gathered to greet him, from protesters they labeled as Kurdish militants. Videos of the scene do not support that scenario. Charges against seven of 15 of the officers charges were quietly dropped Feb. 14, the day before the Tillerson meeting. Charges against another four security officers were dropped earlier in November. Charges against only four guards remain. A U.S. State Department official told The Associated Press on Thursday that the timing of the dropped charges before Tillersons meeting was coincidental. An official told CNN that questions arose about the identity of Erdogans guards involved in the attack. Several faces of the attackers were clearly visible in the Voice of America videotape. Story continues Another Voice of America video taken of Erdogan sitting in his car indicates that the president himself may have given an order to attack. At one point on the video, an official bends down to apparently exchange words with Erdogan through the open car door as the president waits in the driveway of the Turkish ambassadors residence near from the rally. The man then rushes from the car, saying, according to language experts, Come, come! He says to attack, and a mob of security officers then rushes the crowd of demonstrators. Two Canadians have also been charged in the attack on protesters. Two U.S. citizens who were charged in the indictment, Sinan Narin and Eyup Yildirim, pleaded guilty to felony assault in December. Theyll be sentenced in April. We should throw their ambassador the hell out of the United States of America, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said on MSNBCs Morning Joe after the attack in May. This isnt Turkey. This isnt a third-world country. They violated American laws. Turkish security guards' attack on peaceful protesters this wk was a despicable display of thuggery & repression - absolutely unacceptable pic.twitter.com/NQL0KychH4 John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) May 18, 2017 The president has a major business interest in Turkey Trump Towers Istanbul. I have a little conflict of interest cause I have a major, major building in Istanbul, Trump said in a 2015 interview on a Breitbart News radio program. Its tremendously successful. Its called Trump Towers two towers, instead of one. Just left Istanbul, Turkey, yesterday where #TrumpTowers was just opened--magnificent! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 23, 2012 In January, Turkey launched a new military operation aimed at Kurdish forces in northwestern Syria. The U.S. warned Turkey that Kurdish fighters were working with American forces in the Syrian town of Manbij. Related Coverage 25 Reasons Erdogan's 'Victory' Was Illegitimate Erdogan's Referendum Was Neither Free Nor Fair The Kurds Under Erdogan's Tyrannical Governance Erdogan Has Command Responsibility For Aiding Terrorism Video May Show The Order That Sent Erdogan's Guards To Beat Up U.S. Protesters Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. By Nate Raymond BOSTON (Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a criminal case against two members of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh's administration accused of illegally pressuring a music festival production company into hiring union labor. The decision by U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin came a day after he called off a trial scheduled to begin next week in the extortion case brought against the two city officials, Kenneth Brissette and Timothy Sullivan. The dismissal marked another setback for federal prosecutors in Boston after jurors in August in a related case acquitted four Teamsters union members of charges they tried to extort jobs from a production company filming "Top Chef" in 2014. Prosecutors did not oppose dismissing the case against Brissette, 53, and Sullivan, 38, but reserved the right to appeal, in light of a proposed jury instruction Sorokin issued that they contended incorrectly interpreted the Hobbs Act federal extortion law. Sorokin had ruled that prosecutors had to prove that the two officials personally benefited from union workers being hired for a 2014 music festival. Prosecutors conceded they lacked evidence to establish that the men obtained such a benefit. Prosecutors may now ask a federal appeals court to reverse Sorokin's decision, a fact the judge acknowledged in explaining why he dismissed the case. William Kettlewell, Brissette's lawyer, said in a statement the defense had long argued that U.S. Supreme Court precedent required the "legally deficient indictment" to be dismissed. Both men were first charged in 2016. "Dismissal was the only result the law could abide," he said. A spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling declined to comment. Sullivan's lawyer did not respond to a request for comment. Sullivan was the city's chief of staff of intergovernmental relations and Brissette was the head of tourism under Walsh, a Democrat and former union leader who took office in 2014. Both have been on paid leave while the case was pending. Story continues Prosecutors said that the defendants demanded in 2014 that a non-union production company behind a popular music festival called Boston Calling hire members of a local union, Local 11 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. The company, Crash Line Productions, was awaiting permits for the 2014 festival and an extension of a licensing agreement. It only received the permits after agreeing to hire union workers amid threats by Sullivan and Brissette of a picket, prosecutors said. They said Brissette previously withheld permits in a push for Teamsters to work on "Top Chef." (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Tom Brown) The U.S. will deploy over 1,500 Marines to Australiaa record numberin a move likely to annoy regional naval power China. Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne announced the deployment on Friday. China has recently strengthened its foothold in the South China Sea, against the wishes of several Southeast Asian neighbors. The U.S. has expressed alarm at Chinas land grabs in the region, access to which Washington considers key to its "national interest." Meanwhile China has pushed forward with building artificial islands in the area as a way to argue for expanding its territory and upgrade its military-capable infrastructure there. Related: New British warship heads to South China Sea as a message to Beijing Trending: U.S. Pilots Risk Accidentally Starting a Global War with Russia in Syria on a Daily Basis The U.S. will send 1,587 of its most elite troops to train in Australia's north, Payne said, which marks an increase of almost 27 percent compared to the same deployment last year. The six-month drill forms part of the U.S. rotation of forces hosted in the region, officially called the Force Posture Initiatives. 03_23_U.S._Navy Truong Giang/AFP/Getty Images "The U.S. military plays a vital role in underwriting security and stability across the Indo-Pacific, and the Force Posture Initiatives will be an essential component in preserving stability and security over the coming decades," Payne said in a statement published on the ministerial website. The U.S. first introduced the rotation in 2011 as an outreach attempt in Asias southeast. The rotation is now growing to historic heights. Story continues Arriving in Australias Top End, on the beaches of the Timor Sea, alongside the Marines are eight MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and an artillery battery of six M777 Howitzers. The record drill risks angering China partly because joining U.S. and Australian troops are services from a handful of nations with competing claims in the nearby South China Sea. These include forces from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailandall of whom access the South China Seaas well as Beijings historic regional rival, Japan. Don't miss: Travis Air Force Base Crash: Everything We Know About Deadly Fire After Man Drives Car Through Front Gates The first group of Marines will arrive to Australia as soon as this month. As the number of staff swells, the international deployment will take part in 15 training activities. The U.S. Navy has already made one statement of intent in the South China Sea waters before the start of the drill, sailing a destroyer ship 12 nautical miles off an artificial island built by China. Runs such as these are known as freedom of navigation operations, intended to counter any attempts by Beijing to execute strict exclusivity in the waters. The South China Sea is a valuable trade route that is also believed to contain large quantities of natural resources. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek President Donald Trump has incurred criticism for what many have charged is his systematic undermining of the U.S. relationship with Mexico, one of the most important the United States has with any country. During the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign and through his first year in office, Trump repeatedly singled out Mexico for taking unfair advantage of the United States under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and failing to adequately police its side of the U.S.-Mexico border to prevent drugs and criminals from entering the United States and pledged that Mexico will pay for the construction of his proposed border wall. More recently, tentative plans for Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to make his first trip to Washington to meet with Trump were canceled following what the Washington Post referred to as a testy telephone conversation between the two, in which Trump refused Pena Nietos request to recognize that Mexico will not pay for the construction of the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. There is no doubt that bilateral relations have been a roller coaster. The irony, however, is that even as gloom and doom dominates the headlines, the bilateral relationship has not only endured but thrived. Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray best captured that sentiment last month when he said the relationship was closer than it was with previous administrations. Thats a fact of life. Equally, during his recent trip to California to examine prototypes of the border wall, Trump had kind words for Pena Nieto, saying that they had a great relationship and that he was a very good negotiator on behalf of the Mexican people. Trump added, Cooperation with Mexico is another crucial element of border security. We must absolutely build on that cooperation. Nor is there any denying the unprecedented senior-level interaction between the Trump and Pena Nieto administrations over the past year. Jared Kushner, Trumps senior advisor and son-in-law, was just in Mexico City, the latest in a long line of top U.S. officials, including cabinet secretaries, who have engaged with their Mexico counterparts. Similarly, Videgaray has made numerous trips to Washington to confer at the highest levels. These meetings have resulted in deepening bilateral cooperation across the board, including: Story continues NAFTA negotiations. By now, many expected Trump would have withdrawn from NAFTA, a perennial target of his ire on the campaign trail. Instead, the United States, Canada, and Mexico just completed the seventh round of negotiations to modernize the 24-year-old treaty. At a recent White House ceremony where Mexico and Canada were exempted from steel tariffs, the president said, I have a feeling were going to make a deal on NAFTA. Negotiators will continue informal talks over the next few weeks before an eighth round, likely in April. The road to NAFTA 2.0 remains challenging, as some of the most contentious issues have yet to be addressed, while negotiators have to work around both countries electoral calendars (the Mexican presidential elections in July, the U.S. mid-terms in November). The process may not be very sentimental or for the genteel, but the bottom line is negotiations are continuing. Security cooperation. No other country in the world directly impacts U.S. homeland security more than Mexico, and U.S. officials say security cooperation with their Mexican counterparts has never been better. Following the most recent round of the U.S.-Mexico Strategic Dialogue on Disrupting Transnational Criminal Organizations, John Sullivan, the U.S. deputy secretary of state, said, Today, our two countries have one of the most extensive bilateral law enforcement relationships in the world. We share more information related to migration and border security, enabling us to better identify criminal threats, analyze migration trends, and reduce human smuggling on both sides of the border. Videgaray added that U.S.-Mexico security cooperation is not contingent on any other aspect of the bilateral relationship: Let me be absolutely clear on the matter. Mexico cooperates with the United States when it comes to security because that is in Mexicos best interest. Venezuela and regional cooperation. A key objective of U.S. policy toward Venezuela since President George W. Bushs administration has been to encourage other Latin American governments to step up in supporting democracy and human rights. Over the past year, Mexico has responded, in doing so jettisoning what is known as the Estrada Doctrine a pillar of Mexican foreign policy for decades that advocates nonintervention in other countrys affairs. Mexico has not only joined the United States in sanctioning members of the authoritarian government of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela but has led the diplomatic charge at the Organization of American States and the Lima Group to hold Maduro accountable for his anti-democratic behavior. Mexico has also continued its support of broader U.S. efforts on stability in Latin America. In June 2017, Mexico co-hosted with the United States a security conference in Miami promoting prosperity and security in Central America. Of course, there are important variables still at play that will affect U.S.-Mexico relations into the foreseeable future, such as the fate of NAFTA negotiations and the construction of a border wall. Just as important will be the direction Mexican voters choose for their country in the presidential election in July. The leading contender is a left-wing populist, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has benefited most from widespread popular dissatisfaction in Mexico with jobs, public security, and corruption. Many predict a Lopez Obrador presidency would mean a distancing of Mexico from its close economic and security cooperation relationship with the United States. But that is still in the future and has nothing to do with the U.S. presidency. All this is to say U.S.-Mexico relations remain strong and have proved durable because of the simple fact that both countries have significant interests in maintaining a productive relationship. Neighbors that share a nearly 2,000-mile border and trade $1.5 billion in goods and services every day will in the end find a way to make things work. GENEVA (Reuters) - United Nations experts called on China on Friday to provide medical care to Jiang Tianyong, a prominent human rights lawyer jailed for inciting "subversion", amid reports of his deteriorating health. In a rare joint statement on China, six independent human rights experts voiced deep concern at the condition of Jiang, sentenced to two years jail last November after being found guilty of inciting subversion of state power. "Mr. Jiang's health has apparently deteriorated dramatically in recent months. He is reportedly weak and suffers from severe memory loss, and it is suspected that he may have been drugged," the experts said. "This raises fears of torture or ill-treatment in detention, without access to adequate medical care." Chinese President Xi Jingping has overseen a sweeping crackdown on human rights activism in China since 2015 that has seen hundreds of rights lawyers and activists detained, dozens arrested and some handed lengthy prison sentences. Jiang, who provided legal defense for some of the lawyers arrested in the crackdown, had already been disbarred in 2009 and disappeared in November 2016. He was held in secret detention for more than nine months, the experts said. Many of the nearly 250 lawyers and defenders arrested remain in detention and are "often held incommunicado", they added. We appeal to the Chinese government to provide the detainees at a minimum with access to their families, lawyers of their own choosing and adequate health care, they said. The U.N. experts included Philip Alston, special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, who met Jiang during an official visit to China in August 2016. Alston has voiced concern at the Human Rights Council that Jiang's subsequent disappearance and arrest may be in part a reprisal for that contact, calling it "the equivalent of a legal sledgehammer". (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Richard Balmforth) The United States will need to fire hundreds of anti-missile rockets to intercept Russias much hyped new nuclear-tipped weapon, a senator in Moscow has boasted. The RS-28 Sarmat, nicknamed "Satan 2" by NATO, is Russias planned intercontinental ballistic missile system to replace its current generation of arms. Officials have repeatedly boasted about its capabilities. Shrouded in secrecy and propaganda, the missile has suffered a series of delays in testing and it's not clear how operational it is. Related: Russian forces launch large-scale drill in Crimea Trending: Kirby Star Allies Review: Cute, Fun and Best Played With Friends If launched, the missile would take 500 anti-missile rockets to take it out, the head of Russian Senates Defense and Security Committee Viktor Bondarev said on Thursday. "This is the conclusion of Western experts," Bondarev told state news agency RIA Novosti. The senator did not elaborate on which experts had made the estimation. Russian officials and state media occasionally draw attention to the prowess of the weapon, reportedly capable of striking an area the size of Texas. When the weapon will come into service is still not clear and the closest the public has been to watching it get tested was in a video presented by Russian President Vladimir Putin in his annual address earlier this month. 03_22_Putin Sputnik/Alexei Nikolskyi/Kremlin/Reuters Don't miss: Russia Names New Weapons And Claims It Has Surpassed U.S. In Laser Warfare Although presented as a big reveal, Putins footage of the Sarmat included mostly animated graphics that prompted mockery online and even included clips that had aired on Russian television over a decade ago. Putin said the test took place in October and had been successful. Story continues The missile is theoretically able to carry up to 15 warheads and part of the headline-grabbing rhetoric of Putins presentation was that it was invulnerable to missile defense systems. When asked about this statement, Putins spokesman Dmitry Peskov later conceded that this was in fact not an advantage to Russia, given what foreign nuclear powers have at their disposal. The other side also has arms against which Russia cannot defend itself, he said at a press briefing earlier this month, the RBC news channel reported. In this we have parity. This acts as the wager for the weapon not to be used. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek President Donald Trump's decision to oust former national security adviser H.R. McMaster in favor of John Bolton in the latest major White House shake-up has experts concerned that the U.S. is positioning itself for conflict with North Korea and Iran. Bolton, a hawkish hard-line conservative who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under former President George W. Bush, has earned himself a reputation for advocating for aggressive foreign policy. Bolton's appointment was announced just two days after the 15th anniversary of the Iraq War, a conflict he played a vocal part in promoting. Defense experts worry the former diplomat could bring that same approach to the current administration. Related: John Bolton: Heres what Trump's new national security adviser thinks about North Korea, Russia and Iran Trending: Pokemon Go Community Day: Shiny Bulbasaur, Start Time and Everything You Need to Know "I think the message is pretty clear. Trump is throwing in the towel as to whatever extent he was considering diplomacy and is preparing for war," Stephen Miles, director of the Center for International Policy think tank's Win Without War coalition, told Newsweek. Win Without War, which represents left-leaning foreign policy groups, was founded as the U.S. was preparing to go to war with Iraq in 2002. Nearly two decades later, Miles said he sees Bolton's nomination as part of "a war cabinet" the president is forming against Iran and North Korea. GettyImages-72716627 Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Images Bolton's appointment represents the second sudden dismissal this month from the upper echelons of Trump's national security inner circle after then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson learned of his own departure via a presidential tweet confirming speculation that CIA Director Mike Pompeo would replace the top diplomat. Both of these changes occurred after Trump accepted North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un's surprise, historic invitation for a face-to-face meeting earlier this month. Story continues Don't miss: Elementary Teacher Arrested For Alleged Sex With 13-Year-Old Male Student The upcoming meeting, announced March 8 by a South Korean presidential delegation that sat down with Kim in Pyongyang, was initially seen as a victory for diplomacy. Trump and Kim fought a very personal war of words through 2017 as the U.S. used maximum pressure to try to get North Korea to abandon the nuclear weapons that its leaders argued were necessary to deter a potential invasion. The new year brought a rare overture of diplomacy from Kim to U.S.-backed South Korea as the longtime rivals began peace talks ahead of last month's 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. South Korea has assured Trump that Kim was willing to denuclearize in exchange for peace and the upcoming meeting appeared to support this. Bolton's appointment, however, has introduced a more militant tone. Not one full month ago, Bolton penned a February 28 op-ed for The Wall Street Journal in which he argued "The Legal Case for Striking North Korea First" based on an 1837 British attack on a U.S. ship. GettyImages-467001260 BRIAN SNYDER/AFP/Getty Images His deliberation on Iran was equally antagonistic. As the administration of President Barack Obama entered the final stages of negotiations for the landmark nuclear deal with Iran and other world powers, Bolton advocated military action in a March 2015 New York Times article titled "To Stop Iran's Bomb, Bomb Iran," in which he recommended a move similar to Israel's pre-emptive strikes on suspected Iraqi and Syrian nuclear sites. Most popular: No DACA, No Wall: How the Omnibus Spending Bill Left Both Sides of the Immigration Fight Empty-Handed Pompeo and Bolton, described by Miles as "two proponents of violent regime change" have both been consistent opponents of the nuclear deal, which Trump has already decertified and threatened to scrap if it was not renegotiated by mid-May. When asked if Bolton entering the White House brought the U.S. closer to war with Iran and North Korea, defense expert and retired Army Colonel Daniel L. Davis told Newsweek, "It's hard to make any other case." "President Trump ran on a platform of no more regime change, no more stupid wars and argued that the Iraq War was a mistake. His new selection for national security adviser is curious, then, given that Bolton stands for the polar opposite on all threeovertly advocates for regime change in Tehran, recommends a military solution for Korea and still defends the Iraq War as good," Davis told Newsweek. RTRKKEY Goran Tomasevic/Reuters Davis served under McMaster in the Eagle Troop of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment during the 1991 Gulf War against Iraq. He recalled how Bolton advocated for overthrowing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s. And years after allegations of Hussein's continued production of weapons of mass destruction proved to be false and the invasion's chaos gave birth to the spread of Sunni Muslim jihadis such as the Islamic State militant group (ISIS), Bolton continued to regard the war as the right move. Trump, meanwhile, reportedly called the invasion "the single worst decision ever made" as recently as earlier this month. Davis said he hoped that Trump chose hard-liners Bolton and Pompeo to reinforce potential diplomatic opportunities, not replace them. He noted that the role of the national security adviser was to enforce, not influence, the White House's decision-making, "I hope that Trump has not changed his mind," Davis told Newsweek. "There's an enormous opportunity to defuse the situation in a way that nobody has to die and no wars need to be fought." This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Jerusalem (AFP) - The British government said Friday that the sentencing of a Palestinian teenager for slapping an Israeli soldier was "emblematic" of the impact of the region's conflict on its youth. Ahed Tamimi, now 17, agreed an eight-month plea deal on Wednesday after a video went viral in December showing her slapping an Israeli soldier on her property in the occupied West Bank. The jail sentence was "emblematic of how the unresolved conflict is blighting the lives of a new generation", Britain's minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, said in a statement. He said London remained concerned by Israel's jailing of Palestinian children, adding that the Jewish state needed to "do much more to safeguard vulnerable people in its care". "We will continue to call upon Israel to improve its practices in line with international law and obligations," he added. Tamimi, 16 at the time of the incident, has been hailed as a hero by Palestinians who see her as bravely standing up to Israel's occupation of the West Bank. Israelis accuse her family of using Tamimi as a pawn in staged provocations. She told reporters on Wednesday before the court accepted the plea bargain agreement that "there is no justice under occupation and this is an illegitimate court". Tamimis sentence includes time served and a fine of 5,000 shekels ($1,430, 1,166 euros), meaning she is to be released in the summer. KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine signed a preliminary agreement on Friday with France to buy 55 helicopters from a division of Airbus to be used by the police, border guards and emergency services. The deal was announced during a visit to Kiev by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who underlined French support for Ukraine in its standoff with Russia but also urged the authorities to do more to tackle corruption at home. The visit comes at a time when France may follow Britain's lead in taking measures against Russia in retaliation for a nerve agent attack on British soil against a Russian spy. Ukraine envisages the first delivery of helicopters this year, the Ukrainian interior ministry said in a statement. The order is for a mixture of 145, 125 and 225 models. The value of the deal was not disclosed. After meeting with Le Drian, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman forecast that trade turnover between Ukraine and France could grow to as much as $3.5 billion from $2 billion in 2016. "France is a reliable, strategic partner," Groysman said. "We sincerely value France's support of Ukraine's sovereignty." France, along with Germany, has spearheaded international efforts to find a resolution to Ukraine's nearly four-year-old conflict with Russia-backed separatists in which over 10,000 people have been killed. In a briefing, Le Drian said France had decided to pledge 500,000 euros ($617,000) in additional humanitarian aid for the conflict-hit eastern Donbass region. "I want to express our concern over the situation, which remains critical," he said. (Reporting by Natalia Zinets; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Matthias Williams and Adrian Croft) Halters, tube tops, and spaghetti straps were all banned at a concert at De La Salle University in Manila, the Philippines. (Photo: Benjamin Egerland/EyeEm/Getty) A universitys efforts to take a stand against sexual harassment backfired when it announced plans to host an empowering concert with a rather ironic catch: Female attendees would be forced to adhere to a strict dress code. Tube tops, halters, spaghetti straps, low-cut shirts and dresses, racer-backs, short hemlines, crop tops, see-through garments, and certain forms of open-toed footwear were all banned under the dress code for the Break the Silence: Speak Up Against Sexual Harassment event scheduled to take place March 23 at De La Salle University in the Philippines capital city of Manila. The dress code, which was set out in promotional materials for the concert, provoked a backlash from students, who called it hypocritical, particularly given that the event was to be held in honor of Womens Month. lmao lets celebrate women empowerment and speak up against sexual harassment by imposing an unreasonable dress code! HOORAY WOMEN! pic.twitter.com/RmJm3qEVNg Alissa (@Bantigve) March 21, 2018 The University Student Government (USG) issued a clarification on the dress code, noting that its partner organizations had requested that it be removed. Attendees were nevertheless advised to dress in a suitable manner. Our guests may enter the campus dressed according to their individual taste; however, due to university rules and regulations, they are urged to wear attires that would consider the educational character of the University, and the sensibility of the other members of the academic community, a statement posted to Facebook reads. In other words, the dress code more or less stands. Some commenters said the student government was being blamed for rules that are in fact being imposed by De La Salle (DLSU). Others argued that, out of respect for the tone of the event, another location with a less rigid dress code should have been chosen. Story continues You completely missed the whole point when you decided to adhere to the universitys dress code, one woman argued. The moment you decided to hold the event in DLSU without actively pursuing that NO dress code should be observed (because it defeats the purpose of your so-called advocacy). You could have given more effort to fight for the advocacy you say that you are supporting. Instead you punch the people in the face with a message that clearly does not support your advocacy because apparently with your previous post and your post now youre telling the people that if we dont abide [by] that dress code then I WOULD NOT be of a RESPECTABLE educational character under this institution. Sickening and infuriating. Did anyone pause and think that the DLSU dress code is always in place and that the USG was just doing its job to remind outsiders that, despite holding a women empowerment event, the dress code will still be implemented? a male student shot back, offering a defense of the university. I mean, I have four dress code offenses and I have every reason to despise the dress code but even I understand that its in place because DLSU is an educational institution and dress codes exist in other environments outside of it and me breaking it was my choice. An empowered woman isnt someone who is above rules and regulations that everyone is also subject to and a dress code does not negate what the event stands for. Subsequent commentators objected that the dress code had singled out women only, and was therefore sexist and degrading. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Elsa wears pants in the Frozen musical heres why thats important for little girls (and boys) Girl, 11, benched from basketball game for refusing to wear a dress Bella Thorne calls out hurtful comments about her provocative outfits Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Beijing (AFP) - It took a crucial piece of evidence for Microsoft to win one of its numerous anti-piracy lawsuits in China: A computer seller telling an investigator that he could install a Windows 7 knock-off for free. But the US software giant's victory was marred by the paltry compensation ordered by the court, illustrating both progress and challenges for foreign firms defending their intellectual property in China. Premier Li Keqiang pledged this week that China will "strictly protect" intellectual property rights, and special IP courts have been created to hear such cases. But US President Donald Trump has already made up his mind, and was preparing to unveil on Thursday tariffs on a wide-range of Chinese imports for what the White House called "state-led" efforts to steal US technologies. Alibaba's Taobao e-commerce website remains on a list of "notorious markets" put out by the United States Trade Representative. As does the Silk Market in the heart of Beijing, where fake Ralph Lauren polo shirts fly off the shelves. Washington has also long accused Beijing of forcing US companies to turn over proprietary commercial information and intellectual property as a condition of operating in China. - 'Mirror copy' - A survey of US businesses by the American Chamber of Commerce shows IP infringement continues to be a top challenge for some in China, citing inadequate laws and the difficulty of prosecuting cases as the most vexing IP issues. In Microsoft's case in the southern province of Guangdong, the company's lawyers focused on a large computer maker bundling its hardware with a pirated version of Microsoft's operating system in sales on Taobao. Using the name "Bob Jovi", its investigator purchased a computer from MSI's flagship online store in 2015, asking customer service if the machine came with an operating system. According to the court documents, the customer service representative wrote back that he could help install Windows 7: "It's a mirror copy of Microsoft's official operating system, just like the real thing, no fee." Story continues After receiving the computer with pirated software, the investigator made two more purchases over the following months to show the bundling was "commonplace" and "sustained", Microsoft argued. While the court ruled in Microsoft's favour, it set damages at $32,000 after finding the total cost of the infringement undeterminable as Microsoft only demonstrated three instances of piracy. Nor did it award Microsoft all of its legal fees. In December, after a two-year process, Microsoft lost its appeal for a larger settlement, leaving the software giant paying out more than it was awarded, the court documents show. "Most important is that the defendant will stop infringing and purchase genuine software," said a lawyer who has represented Microsoft in IP cases, who asked his name not be used. Microsoft declined to comment. The lawyer said it was not cost efficient to sue all infringers but the cases deterred others. - 'Whack a mole' - Microsoft argued its case in a civil court, but China set up special courts in 2014 to handle IP cases in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. A dozen other lower-level IP tribunals were opened. From 2013 to 2017 the number of IP-related court cases doubled, breaking the 200,000 mark last year, said Tai Kaiyuan, a justice of the Supreme People's Court, noting China now has sufficient IP-related legislation. "We've worked hard to implement them and build the justice system," Tai said, according to state media. Scott Palmer, an IP lawyer who represents US and European companies at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton in Beijing, said China has made "incredible" progress. "There are still problems. There is still infringement, sure, but anyone who watches China and speaks honestly about what they see has to admit it has come a long way," Palmer told AFP. The main area of infringement in China has moved to online platforms like Taobao, where brands face a frustrating game of "whack a mole" to get a range of knock-off products taken down, he said. Laura Wen-yu Young, a lawyer at the IP law firm Wang & Wang, said the IP courts are a "huge improvement" from the past when judges had no relevant training. A trademark case can now take just over a year on average to be decided, compared to having to wait up to four years in the past, she said, though there are still "a lot of improvements needed". Washington (AFP) - The United States imposed sanctions on Friday on 10 Iranians and an Iranian company for alleged hacking of hundreds of universities in the US and abroad and the theft of "valuable intellectual property and data." The Mabna Institute "engaged in the theft of personal identifiers and economic resources for private financial gain" and for the benefit of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the US Treasury Department said. The two founders of the Mabna Institute were among the 10 people whose assets are subject to US seizure, it said. The Justice Department said nine of the 10 had been indicted separately for conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and other crimes. Since 2013, the Mabna Institute carried out cyber intrusions into the computer systems of 144 US universities, the Treasury Department said, and 176 universities in 21 foreign countries. "For many of these intrusions, the defendants acted at the behest of the Iranian government and, specifically, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said in a statement. "The Department of Justice will aggressively investigate and prosecute hostile actors who attempt to profit from America's ideas by infiltrating our computer systems and stealing intellectual property," Rosenstein added. Washington (AFP) - The United States launched Friday a challenge at the World Trade Organization against China over intellectual property breaches, a statement said. "The United States is taking action at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to address China's unfair technology practices that run counter to WTO rules," the statement from the US Trade Representative's office said. US President Donald Trump on Thursday hit China with tariffs on up to $60 billion of imports to retaliate against the "theft" of American intellectual property, ratcheting up trade tensions between the world's two largest economies. Trump also announced he was directing the USTR to pursue dispute settlement in the WTO to confront China over its policies that result in unfair treatment for US companies and innovators trying to do business in China. "China appears to be breaking WTO rules by denying foreign patent holders, including US companies, basic patent rights to stop a Chinese entity from using the technology after a licensing contract ends," said the USTR in its statement. It said China also appears to be breaking WTO rules by imposing contract terms that discriminate against and are less favorable for imported foreign technology. "These Chinese policies hurt innovators in the United States and worldwide by interfering with the ability of foreign technology holders to set market-based terms in licensing and other technology-related contracts," said the USTR. China warned the United States on Friday that it was "not afraid of a trade war" as it threatened tariffs on $3 billion worth of US goods in retaliation over the US measures. The World Trade Organization is not only a forum for nations to negotiate trade deals, but it is also acts as a court to resolve trade disputes. However Trump's protectionist administration has levelled hostile rhetoric towards the WTO, and has nearly crippled its dispute resolution mechanism be blocking appointment of new judges. By James Pearson and Henning Gloystein HANOI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Vietnam has halted an oil drilling project in the "Red Emperor" block off its southeastern coast licensed to Spanish energy firm Repsol following pressure from China, three sources with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters on Friday. It would be the second time in less than a year that Vietnam has had to suspend a major oil development in the busy South China Sea waterway under pressure from China. A source with direct knowledge of the situation said government ministries in Vietnam had paused the project while the decision-making politburo debates whether to suspend or indefinitely terminate the contract. The decision, which hangs on whether the fees incurred by contract cancellation will exceed the cost of resisting Chinese pressure, is on hold until the politburo meets, the source said. That meeting has been delayed by overseas trips by Vietnam's prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, a series of visits by foreign dignitaries to Hanoi, and the death of former prime minister Phan Van Khai on Saturday. "The ministries are determined to terminate the contract," said the source, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation. A source with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed that the project, which is a joint venture with state oil company PetroVietnam, had been stopped following pressure from China. A source at Repsol told Reuters high-level executives had been discussing how to respond to the pressure, which had been applied both directly by China, and indirectly via Vietnam. A spokesman for Repsol in Madrid declined to comment. PetroVietnam executives declined to comment. The Vietnamese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Asked at a regular briefing if China had pressed either Vietnam or Repsol, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said she did not know where such news had come from, but did not elaborate. "We hope the relevant sides can work together to maintain the hard-earned positive situation in the South China Sea," she said. 'RED EMPEROR' Red Emperor, known in Vietnamese as the Ca Rong Do field, is part of Block 07/03 in the Nam Con Son basin, 440 km (273 miles) off the coast of Vietnam's southern city of Vung Tau. The $1-billion field of moderate size by international standards is seen as a key asset to help slow the decline of Vietnam's stalling oil and gas production. But the block lies near the U-shaped "nine-dash line" that marks the vast area that China claims in the sea and overlaps what it says are its own oil concessions. Located in waters around 350 metres (1,148 ft) deep, it is considered to be profitable from around $60 per barrel. Current Brent crude oil prices are almost $70 per barrel. The field's estimated potential recovery is around 45 million barrels of crude oil, 172 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 2.3 million barrels of condensate, a super light form of crude oil that is mostly a byproduct of gas production. Global crude oil, by comparison, is at almost 100 million barrels per day. Global gas consumption is around 4 trillion cubic metres per year. The move came as Repsol was making final preparations for commercial drilling, according to the BBC, which first reported the news on Friday. A rig, the Ensco 8504, was due to depart from Singapore for the drill site on Thursday, the BBC said, citing an unnamed energy industry source. Repsol spent around 33 million euros ($41 million) on exploration in Vietnam last year, according to the company's 2017 profit and loss statement. Repsol's top management considers the Red Emperor site one of the company's future growth projects. Repsol, which has a 51.75 percent stake in the project, signed a 384-million-euro rental contract for a rig to start work on a Vietnamese site in 2019, according to the statement. Just under half the company's 1 billion euro ($1.23 billion) investments for which contracts have been signed for 2018 are in Vietnam. (This version of the story has been refiled to clarify attribution in paragraph 7) (Additional reporting by Jose Elias Rodriguez in MADRID and Christian Shepherd in BEIJING; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) Lima (AFP) - Martin Vizcarra was sworn in as Peru's new president Friday, catapulted to the post when Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned to avoid impeachment. Vizcarra, who had been serving as both vice president and his country's ambassador to Canada, took the oath of office and donned the red-and-white presidential sash before the Peruvian Congress. The ceremony came shortly after lawmakers voted to accept Kuczynski's resignation, rather than push ahead with impeaching him over corruption allegations. "We will stand firm in the fight against corruption. Transparency will be a pillar of our administration," said Vizcarra, a former cabinet minister known for his meticulous management and unflashy style. "Better times will come," he told his fellow Peruvians in his first address as president. Just a day before, the engineer and technocrat was far removed from the political hornet's nest that brought down Kuczynski, leading a relatively placid diplomat's life in Ottawa. He flew home Thursday night, on his 55th birthday, and now takes over the remainder of Kuczynski's term, until 2021 -- though early elections are still possible. Kuczynski, 79, had a short tenure as president: the former Wall Street banker was elected by a razor-thin margin in June 2016, and took office the following month. But he lacked a majority in Congress, and was almost immediately embroiled in a messy conflict with the main opposition party, Popular Force, led by Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of disgraced ex-president Alberto Fujimori. When reports emerged linking Kuczynski to Brazil's scandal-plagued construction giant Odebrecht -- accused of paying massive bribes to politicians around Latin America for juicy public works contracts -- Popular Force mounted a relentless push to remove him from office. Odebrecht revealed in December that it had paid nearly $5 million to consulting companies linked to Kuczynski when he was finance minister. Story continues The former president survived a first impeachment vote that month. Three days later, he granted a pardon on medical grounds to former president Fujimori, who had been in jail for corruption and human rights violations. That sparked speculation of a back-room deal with an opposition faction led by Keiko Fujimori's brother and rival Kenji. When video tapes emerged of Kenji -- who has now split from his sister's party -- apparently offering bribes to a fellow lawmaker to vote against the December impeachment, the political damage to Kuczynski proved to be too much. Facing a new impeachment vote, he announced his resignation Wednesday, proclaiming his innocence but saying it was best for the country if he quit. - Fujimori truce? - Vizcarra inherits a country still reeling from the drama and deeply mistrustful of its politicians, just as its strong economy is slowing. Like Kuczynski, he will face an opposition-controlled Congress, though he may benefit from the fact that he has no connection to traditional political parties. Keiko Fujimori appears willing to declare a truce -- at least for now. "This is a moment to stand united as Peruvians, strong and optimistic in the face of the challenges that await us," she wrote on Twitter. Vizcarra will almost immediately be thrust onto the international stage when Peru hosts the Summit of the Americas from April 13 to 14 -- an event the foreign ministry confirmed was still on. - Kuczynski travel ban request - Ironically, Kuczynski's demise echoed what happened to Alberto Fujimori himself in 2000, at the end of his decade-long run as Peru's president. Fujimori had resigned the presidency by fax -- sent from exile in a hotel room in Japan. But Congress rejected the resignation, choosing instead to punish the ex-strongman. Lawmakers ultimately impeached Fujimori on the grounds of "permanent moral incapacity," ending weeks of political drama. Kuczynski managed to avoid the same fate when Congress accepted his resignation. But his troubles may not be over yet. On Saturday a court is due to rule on a request from prosecutors to ban him from leaving the country. Despite the turmoil, experts and markets appear cautiously optimistic that Peru will now regain political stability. "Peru's adherence to its constitution during this transition reflects its strength as a resilient democracy," US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement. A far-left South African politician told white farmers if they want to go, they must go, at a rally Wednesday, adding fuel to a politically charged fire surrounding land rights in the county. Led by recently elected President Cyril Ramaphosa, the South African government is exploring changing the constitution to allow farmland owned by the white minority in the country to be expropriated to black farmers without compensation. The countrys Parliament passed a motion to begin the process of amending the constitution last month, and the move is currently under constitutional review. The motion, coupled with claims that white farmers are being murdered and attacked at disproportionate rates, prompted Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton to suggest bringing white farmers to Australia and expediting their visas. Trending: Trump's Attacks 'Unhinged,' Says Sacked FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe If you look at the footage and read the stories, you hear the accounts, it's a horrific circumstance they face, Dutton told Australias The Daily Telegraph. I do think on the information that I've seen, people do need help, and they need help from a civilized country like ours. Dutton could not immediately be reached for comment. Duttons words sparked bombastic comments from Julius Malema, leader of South Africas radical left Economic Freedom Fighter party, which supported the constitutional motion. They must leave the keys to their tractors because we want to work the land, they must leave the keys to their houses because we want to stay in those houses. They must leave everything they did not come here with in South Africa and go to Australia, Malema said at a Human Rights Day rally Wednesday calling Australia a racist country. Don't miss: The NRA Is A Public Charity That Doesnt Pay Taxes Malema also addressed claims of white farmers being killed in South Africa. We want Africa back. Africa belongs to our people, said Malema. We are saying that which our people were killed for ... has not been achieved, and therefore we will continue with that struggle. When we say so, they say we are racist, they say we want to kill white people. Why would we kill white people? Story continues Malema is no stranger to controversial comments. He described removing a white mayor earlier this month as cutting the throat of whiteness. Most popular: Opioid Crisis: Is Arkansas Paving The Way for Big Pharma, Not Taxpayers, to Pay for Addiction? The Economic Freedom Fighter party could not immediately be reached for comment. South Africa has asked Dutton to retract his comments. Speaking to the BBC, government spokesperson Ndivhuwo Mabaya said there was no need to fear that any person in the country will be mistreated. The land redistribution program will be done according to the law. We want to say to our friends across the world that there's no need to panic, said Mabaya. An online petition has also called for the U.S. to bring over South Afrian white farmers. GettyImages-932984104 Wikus De Wet/AFP/GETTY This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek (Reuters) - A New York City firefighter was killed and five others including two firefighters were injured in a blaze in a historic building where a movie starring Bruce Willis and Alec Baldwin was being filmed, local media reported and officials said early on Friday. Firefighter Michael Davidson, 37, was injured in the fire that broke out on Thursday and later died in a hospital, the New York Fire Department said on Facebook. "Horrific tragedy," Mark Levine, a New York City councilman, wrote on Twitter. "We pray for his family and loved ones." Two other firefighters were seriously injured while three civilians suffered minor injuries in the fire that began at about 11 p.m. local time in the basement of the historic and now closed St. Nick's Jazz Pub, a local CBS affiliate reported. The building was being used as a set for the movie "Motherless Brooklyn," starring Willem Dafoe, Willis, Baldwin and Edward Norton, who was also listed as a director and screenwriter, CBS reported. In a statement to CBS, the film producers extended their condolences to Davidson, a father of four, and his family. "Our hearts ache in solidarity with his family," they said of the 15-year veteran of the department. "The FDNY are real life super-heroes and have our boundless admiration and gratitude." Dozens of movie crew members were working at the building when they noticed smoke on the set and called the fire department, the statement said. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe) A New York City firefighter lost his life on Thursday night, after battling a five-alarm fire that broke out on a film set in upper Manhattan. The New York City Fire Department identified the firefighter as Michael Davidson, 37, who had 15 years of experience with the department. He was a father of four children. Officials say the fire began at around 11 p.m. in the basement of a five-story building where "Motherless Brooklyn" was being filmed. The crime drama stars Bruce Willis and Edward Norton. Norton is also the director of the film. "Our city lost a hero tonight," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a tweet, adding: "The prayers of 8.5 million New Yorkers are with his wife, his four children and his loved ones." You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Our fears have been realized. It seems the story of the Israeli strike in Deir ez-Zor is going to leave behind a pile of mud: Smearing, gossip and mutual accusations. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Within a single day, the strike turned into the modern version of the legendary Altalena ship. Suddenly, years later, everyone claims to have been there. They all offered advice, they all planned, they all sat in the pit, they all knew and said something to someone at the top. There wasnt a single moment on Wednesday when I didnt hear the word I: I said, I decided, I was at the prime ministers home, I was sent, I was the only one who knew that everyone was wrong. It was me, me and me. Luckily, the ego trip festival that took place here on Wednesday was momentarily interrupted by former Mossad Director Tamir Pardo, who reminded us that the emperor has no clothes. Because the Deir ez-Zor affair was, first of all, an intelligence fiasco. The al-Kibar reactor. If it wasnt for the Mossads intelligence division, which managed to bring the golden piece of information at the very last moment, we would be dealing with a Syrian nuclear reactor today The people who were in charge of the intelligence information, of providing the warning, the people who were supposed to prevent a situation in which Israel would face an existential threatthose people failed. And those were more or less the senior General Staff members who had been responsible for the colossal success in the Second Lebanon War, under the same prime minister. Wednesdays show was an opportunity for all those who werent particularly flattered by the Lebanon wars legal and professional commissions of inquiry to rehabilitate themselves while receiving a share of the credit cake. The State of Israel invested a fortune in intelligence, agents, satellites. Every Syrian division was surveyed microscopically. But they knew nothing about a nuclear project that was being built in Syria for six years, with external aid. Today, everyone says that they knew, they suspected, they started checking in 2004. Nonsense. They accidentally stumbled upon North Koreans. If it wasnt for the Mossads intelligence division, which executed a series of operations which were mostly unsuccessful, and managed to bring the golden piece of information at the very last moment, we would be dealing with a Syrian nuclear reactor today. So exercise some modesty, gentlementhe politicians, the retired generals, the deputies and the rest of the people who were in on the secret and are now devouring the credit. Former Mossad Director Tamir Pardo. Reminded us that the emperor has no clothes (Photo: Yair Sagi) Censorship played an instrumental role in this story. When an appeal was made to the High Court of Justice about two years ago to release interviews that former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and late Mossad Director Meir Dagan had given to Channel 10, the Military Censor faced a dilemma. The High Court agreed to keep the gag order in place, but recommended looking into the possibility of clearing some parts of the affair for publication. The military censorship took its time, and when the officials in charge of confidentiality in the security systems asserted that there was no longer a threat in the affairs publication, it was decided in November 2017 to clear it for publication. The implementation of this decision was postponed too under different excuses, primarily operational events in the north which the publication might have exacerbated. Olmerts book waited for an implementation of the decision too. Contrary to claims made by Knesset members, secrets related to the operation which the defense establishment wishes to keep confidential have not been revealed so far, but the whole affair did inflict damage on the Israeli society. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, currently on a trip to Africa, said Wednesday that he regrets letting the censorship release the story. Hes right. He had been thinking in terms of deterrence against the Iranians and in terms of morale ahead of the State of Israels 70th Independence Day celebrations. He just failed to consider the fact that Israel, as late legendary Air Force Commander Benny Peled once defined it, isnt a state yet but a small remote Eastern European town. Its only in a shtetl that an event with such important national, operational and deterrence implications can turn into an opportunity to settle small scores and express so much hatred. Syrian President Bashar Assad managed to hide it for years. The nuclear reactor he was building with North Koreas help in Deir ez-Zor was the Syrian regimes top secret. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Assad may have been a serial gambler, but theres one thing he didnt gamble on: How much the Mossad and Military Intelligence Directorate (AMAN) knew about what was going on in his country. Assad Jr. has become really obsessed with the Israeli intelligence, which he both loathes and admires. He is convinced that any telephone or digital message transmitted in Syria is intercepted by the Israeli intelligence. He truly believed, a senior Unit 8200 (the central SIGINT AMAN division) says with a smile, that every time Mustafa called Muhammad, Moishele was listening. Napoleon Bonaparte used to say, I'd rather have lucky generals than good ones. And Meir Dagan was very lucky (Photo: Reuters) To evade the Israeli surveillance, Assad instructed General Muhammad Suleiman, the coordinator of his special black projects, to carry out his special activities through an entire system that was completely separated from the rest of the Syrian security establishment. Assad permitted Suleiman to keep the systems existence and activities even from the highest-ranking officials, including the chief of staff and defense minister. When Israel eventually found out about this system, significantly late, AMAN began referring to it as General Suleimans army of shadows. Suleiman instructed his people to avoid transmitting any message in electromagnetic ways, and to exclusively use physical copies. He established an organizational system which remained completely transparent to the Israeli intelligence for many years, despite the huge resources Israel invested in Syria to ensure that nothing important escaped its eyes, and mainly its ears. The biggest secret was concealed by General Suleiman in the Deir ez-Zor district, in northeast Syria. And now, as the versions surrounding Operation Out of the Box have started piling up, it turns out that in addition to professionalism, courage and resolve, the intelligence people had something else on their side: Luck. The selective written material distributed by the IDF spokesperson to the media in the past 24 hours, which fails to mention the Mossad, reveals that there was indeed a suspicion in AMAN that Syria was developing a nuclear project, probably with the North Koreans help. But that was a thesis that was raised by only one officer holding the rank of major, whoas is the tradition in AMANwas able to push the idea up the chain of command (he was later promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel for his original thinking). In spite of the entire discussions held on the issue, the Research Department eventually did not accept his version or reach the conclusion that Syria was developing a nuclear weapon. Syrian President Assad had become obsessed with the Israeli intelligence (Photo: AP) There is a difference between guiding the intelligence collection activityin other words, a desire to deepen an investigation into a particular issue (and that happened in AMAN too in a limited mannerto actually obtaining the information at the end of the day. Unit 8200 or any other unit in AMAN were not the ones who eventually got their hands on the smoking gun. In the Mossad, things are more complicated. The head of the organization at the time, Meir Dagan, decided shortly after taking office to narrow down the target list, and focus primarily on Irans nuclear program and on the Iranian and Syrian aid to jihad organizations in the Middle East. Dagan had a limited interest in the Syrian army. He thought the little resources the organization had should be diverted elsewhere. Dagans approacha focused and concentrated effort on just a few targetsproved itself in certain places but carried a price in other places. It was only thanks to a number of senior Mossad officials who argued with Dagan, that part of the attention was returned to Syria and to its nuclear energy organization. Israel never claimed responsibility for the operation in Vienna, but according to a report in The New Yorker magazine, Ibrahim Othman, the head of the Syrian Atomic Energy Commission, went to Vienna to attend a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agencyand the Mossad followed him, broke into his room and obtained ground images of the reactor. It didnt know Othman had information about the reactor in Deir ez-Zor for a simple reason: No one in Israel was aware of the reactor in Deir ez-Zor. But thats how it is with intelligence: Sometimes, you just need luck. The information from Vienna waited in the Mossads drawers for weeks without being interpreted, because no one thought anything significant would come out of it. Things changed when members of Unit 8200 happened to visit the headquarters and inquire about the material. After the Mossad handed the raw material to the 8200 officersagain, without understanding that they had dramatic information in their handsthey stumbled upon the revealing images and reached the critical conclusion that Syria was building an atomic bomb. Bombing of the Syrian nuclear reactor in Deir ez-Zor (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit) It was only thanks to that information that the Israeli defense establishment was able to determine in an unequivocal manner, in a way that could be presented to the Americans as well, what was going on in that mysterious warehouse in Deir ez-Zor, which up until then was the subject of learned guesses. The fact that the Mossad discovered the incriminating images quite by chance is interesting in itself, but we must remember: It was the operationand not any learned meeting in AMANthat started the chain reaction which ended with the reactor being bombed. I'd rather have lucky generals than good ones, Napoleon Bonaparte used to say. And Meir Dagan was very lucky. While he himself didnt believe Syria was developing a bomb, it was eventually his agency, under his command, and not any other intelligence agency in the world (although many tried to understand who North Korea was sharing its doomsday abilities with), that interpreted the secrets of Syria's main projectand led to its destruction. Deputy Finance Minister Yitzhak Cohen (Shas) announced Thursday that his ministry will not approve cuts to old-age pension which were insured in pension funds that ran into a deficit. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The instruction by Minister Moshe Kahlon is unequivocally clear, Cohen said to Ynet. There will not be a situation where someone deducts pensioners rights in order to solve a problem of raising the retirement age for women. I spoke today with the Chairman of the Histadrut Labor Federation Avi Nissenkorn and I told him there was nothing to worry about. Nothing is going to happen and there is no need for protests. The concern was sparked after it was announced that pension funds were facing a crisis and that, not for the first time, elderly people would be paying the price. After an accumulated deficit of billions of shekels, the group Amitim which manages 8 pension funds, announced a cut of 1.5% to an estimated quarter of a million retirees immediately after Passover. The cuts would mean a slash of NIS 1,000 per year for each pensioner. Cohen said that he had discussed the matter with Yoav Ben Or, manager of the old-age pension funds, and that they agreed to talk about it further next week. Deputy Finance Minister Yitzhak Cohen The problem of the deficit is known, and a solution is being found, but not by harming pensioners. Ben Or agreed and said he wouldnt promote the cuts, but merely wanted to raise a flag. Meanwhile, around 80 seniors protested in Tel Aviv against the announcement by the pension schemes of their intention to make the cuts. (Photo: Amir Alon) Chairman of the Pensioners Histadrut, Shmulik Mizrahi, said during the protest: The government is adding a sin to a crime. The ministers linked their salaries to the average wage and raised for themselves their monthly salaries by NIS 5,000, but for the elderly they refuse to do that. Also in attendance at the protest were Zionist Union MKs Itzik Shmuli and Nachman Shai. In the state treasury there is a surplus of NIS 20 billion but the Finance Ministry wants to turn you into its little cashier, Shmuli said. What is happening in the State of Israel is simply a disgrace. It is simply a spit in the face of the pensioners. We are determined to struggle against this. We wont allow anyone to touch your pensions. (Photo: Amit Alon) Slamming what he described as a moral failure by Israel and the Finance Ministry, Ephraim Koren, manager of the Pensioners Histadrut, lamented the low monthly pensions. The average pension in Israel for men is lower than NIS 6,000 and for women less than NIS 5,000, he said in an interview with Ynet. Its a disgrace to the people of Israel. Instead of letting people age with dignity, to feel like they are builders of this land, they are harming them, of all time when Israel celebrates its 70th birthday. SEOUL Voices of concern emerged in South Korea and elsewhere in Asia on Friday after US President Donald Trump shook up his foreign policy team again, prompting worries over Trump's pending summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump announced in a tweet he was replacing H.R. McMaster with John Bolton, a former US ambassador to the United Nations known for his hard-line stance advocating the use of military force against North Korea and Iran. Administrative officials in Seoul said they would continue communicating closely with Washington over the ongoing detente with North Korea, but their comments were tinged with worry. "Our stance is that if a new road opens, we have to go that path," a senior Blue House official told reporters. "Bolton has much knowledge on the issues regarding the Korean peninsula and most of all, we know him to be one of the US president's aides who is trusted." WASHINGTON The US Missile Defense Agency saw its 2018 budget jump to its highest level on record at $11.5 billion in an appropriations bill on Thursday as the agency's head said he was exploring the use of armed drones to counteract North Korea. The bill in the US House of Representatives increases defense funding and gives the MDA a 40 percent lift, $3.3 billion more than its fiscal 2017 enacted level, amid rising tensions over North Korea's nuclear missile program. The House approved a $1.3 trillion spending bill to fund federal agencies and avert a government shutdown ahead of a midnight Friday deadline. The US Senate has yet to vote on the bill. Charging ahead with the dramatic remaking of his White House, President Donald Trump said Thursday he would replace national security adviser H.R. McMaster with the former UN Ambassador John Bolton, a foreign policy hawk entering a White House facing key decisions on Iran and North Korea. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter After weeks of speculation about McMaster's future, Trump and the respected three-star general put a positive face on the departure, making no reference to the growing public friction between them. Trump tweeted Thursday that McMaster had done "an outstanding job & will always remain my friend." He said Bolton will take over April 9 as his third national security adviser in just over a year. A White House source told CNN that McMaster's resignation was not unexpected. "The two have been in talks about it for a while. It was carried out quickly because they both felt it was important to have a new team in place," he said. General H.R. McMaster (L) will be replaced by fmr. US Ambassador to UN John Bolton as national security adviser (Photo: AFP) The resignation was not brought on by any one specific incident, the source added, but was the result of ongoing talks between the ousted national security adviser and President Trump. Incoming adviser Bolton told told Fox News Thursday evening, "I didn't really expect that announcement this afternoon, but it's obviously a great honor. It's always an honor to serve our country and I think particularly in these times internationally, it's a particular honor." I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2018 "There's still a transition," Bolton said. "I look forward to working with H.R. and his team and the other senior members of the president's team on national security and I have no doubt there's a lot of work to do." In a statement released by the White House, McMaster was quoted as saying, "After 34 years of service to our nation, I am requesting retirement from the US Army effective this summer after which I will leave public service. Throughout my career it has been my greatest privilege to serve alongside extraordinary servicemembers and dedicated civilians. "I am thankful to President Donald J. Trump for the opportunity to serve him and our nation as national security advisor. I am grateful for the friendship and support of the members of the National Security Council who worked together to provide the President with the best options to protect and advance our national interests." McMaster is the sixth close adviser or aide to announce a departure in a turbulent six weeks, joining ally Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was unceremoniously fired last week. McMaster is the sixth close adviser or aide to announce his departure in as many weeks (Photo: AFP) The White House has said the president is seeking to put new foreign policy leaders in place ahead of not-yet-scheduled meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jung Un. Bolton is likely to add a hard-line influence to those talks, as well as deliberations over whether to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal. McMaster never developed a personal rapport with Trump, who chafed at his long-winded briefing style, according to a White House official and a person close to the president. His influence in high-level decision-making had waned in recent months, as Trump has increasingly relied on the direct counsel of Kelly and Mattis. Bolton a foreign police maverick Bolton, probably the most divisive foreign policy expert ever to serve as UN ambassador, has been a force in Republican foreign policy circles for decades. He has served in the Republican administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, and served as a Bush lawyer during the 2000 Florida recount. A strong supporter of the Iraq war and an advocate for aggressive use of American power, Bolton was unable to win Senate confirmation after his nomination to the UN post alienated many Democrats and even some Republicans. He resigned after serving 17 months as a Bush "recess appointment," which allowed him to hold the job on a temporary basis without Senate confirmation. Bolton during his days in the UN. The former ambassador was an ardent supporter of Israel in the international organization (Photo: EPA) After Trump's election victory, Bolton visited the president-elect apartment in New York City's Trump Tower, and was even rumored to be a prominent frontrunner for the position of secretary of state, but was eventually dropped in favor of Tillerson. Bolton has made vehement public statements against the Iran nuclear deal, which Trump himself detests. Commenting on the matter this week in a Fox News interview, the new national security adviser said, "I think it's a strategic debacle for the United States. "You can always tinker around the edges, and the question is whether putting lipstick on a pig is really going to make a difference here. I think the answer to that's clearly no." In a 2007 interview in Britain, meanwhile, Bolton said Iran should be attacked before the Islamic republic had the opportunity to develop nuclear weapons. Moreover, before Barack Obama's election win he stated he believed Israel will attack Iran itself if the Democratic candidate was elected. "Israel will fear Obama's foreign policy," he said in August, 2008. "Electing Obama will drive the government in Jerusalem to expedite the move." A month before the aforementioned statement, Bolton wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, "Instead of debating how much longer to continue five years of failed diplomacy, we should be intensively considering what cooperation the US will extend to Israel before, during and after a strike on Iran. "At a minimum, we should place no obstacles in Israel's path, and facilitate its efforts where we can. " Bolton's views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are also hawkish. "The two-state solution is dead," he told the Breitbart news site in December, 2016. Some six months later, he said in another interview on the matter that the solution was "not viable and not realistic at present." Bolton was also a strong supporter of Israel without regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and defended the country in numerous occasions while he was ambassador to the UN. "For years, Israel has been a target of hostility from the General Assembly with imbalanced, one-sided resolutions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," he once said. The role of national security adviser does not require Senate confirmation. McMaster was brought in after Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn , was dismissed after less than a month in office. White House officials said he was ousted because he did not tell top advisers, including Vice President Mike Pence, about the full extent of his contacts with Russian officials. A parent in Bruges, Belgium's seventh largest city, reported to the International Legal Forum NGO that a school textbook for 15 year olds contained an anti-Semitic caricature. The geography textbook was approved by the Belgian Education Ministry and was used throughout the Western European country. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The chapter in which the caricature appeared dealt with purported inequality in water distribution between Israelis and Palestinians residing in the West Bank. The caricature showed an overweight Jew with traditional Jewish payos (or sidelocks) asleep in a bathtub filled with water, contrasted with an old Palestinian woman with an empty water bucket. The cartoonwhich may have come from the international human rights group itselfcarried a caption that read, "Amnesty International: Israel is denying Palestinians access to adequate water While settlers enjoy lush lawns and swimming pools!" The Belgian caricature created controversy, allegations of anti-Semitism Director of the International Legal Forum attorney Yifa Segal, who is deeply involved in the international struggle against the worldwide Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, was astounded by a copy of the textbook she obtained and consequently sent a scathing letter to the Belgian education minister demanding the anti-Semitic caricature be removed summarily. News of the caricature broke merely a week after an expansive Foreign Affairs Ministry conference on combating anti-Semitism concluded. "It could scarcely be believed that in 2018 Belgium caricatures exist that scream anti-Semitism so bluntly," Segal said. "This act is not only immoral but also illegal and we demand the caricature be summarily expunged." Simon Slama and his family are the only Jews left in the Tunisian city of Monastir, once home to a thriving Jewish community. But instead of joining the exodus, he is running for officeas a candidate of Tunisia's Islamist party. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Slama's candidacy with the Ennahdha party in May municipal elections is causing a sensation in this overwhelmingly Muslim country, and some controversy. Critics see it as a calculated tactic by Ennahdha to regain power and to restore its reputation among Western allies like the United States. Others however see it as an example of Tunisia's long-standing traditions of tolerance. Simon Slama, a Tunisian Jew running on the Ennahdha Islamist party's municipal elections ticket in the city of Monastir (Photo: AP) A sewing machine salesman and repairman, 56-year-old Slama says he just wants to serve his country and the city where he was born, suffering from economic difficulties and social tensions. "I chose Ennahdha because I found that because of the crisis the country is going through, everyone is turning toward this party," he told The Associated Press in his workshop. "I see no difference between the Islamic and Judaic religions. We are all one family and we are all Tunisian citizens and we should go hand in hand to build the Tunisia of tomorrow," he said. Slama returned to Monastir, on the Mediterranean coast about 170 kilometers (105 miles) south of the capital, Tunis, after studying in the French city of Strasbourg even as other Jewish families left because "we love the city and it has the spirit of my ancestors." Tunisia is home to an estimated 1,500 Jews nationwide. Monastir "used to have 520 Jewish families. Today mine is the only one left," Slama said. He wants to enter public service because he sees towns and cities "as essential in the evolution of society." Tunisia is holding its first municipal elections since the 2011 revolution that overthrew a long-time autocrat and unleashed uprisings across the Arab world. Tunisia is the only country to emerge with a new and carefully constructed democracy, though the going has been rough. Dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's ouster in 2011 led to a precarious democracy in the North African country (Photo: Reuters) Ennahdha, banned under the old regime, was victorious in the first post-revolution elections but had to abandon power in 2013 amid a political crisis after the assassination of two opposition politicians and a rise in Islamic fundamentalism. The party leadership wants it to come out on top in the municipal vote, considered a springboard for legislative and presidential elections next year. It's the only party with candidates in all 350 municipalities, and also drew attention for putting a woman at the head of its party list in the capital, positioning Souad Abderrahim to become the city's first female mayor if it wins. The party's Monastir leader, Adel Messaoud, insisted that they accepted Slama's candidacy because it "conforms with the positions of Ennahdha, which is a civilian party that opted during its last congress to separate its political action from ideological action." While acknowledging that the candidacy could seem "a bit bizarre," he insisted that the controversy around it is unfounded. "I know him well, he's a neighbor who is appreciated by his compatriots for his human qualities and good reputation," he told the AP, noting that Tunisia had a Jewish federal government minister after winning independence from France and other Jews have served as local officials. "We are really an open party. It is not about trying to please anyone. We took into account the country's general interest, which is going through a unique democratic experience in the Arab world, which we want to succeed with the participation of all Tunisians regardless of their ethnic or religious affiliation," he said. Tunisia is still home to an estimated 1,500 Jews nationwide (Photo: EPA) Borhene Bsais, head of political affairs for the ruling Nida Tounes party, doesn't buy that argument. He called the candidacy "a propaganda operation by Ennahdha to seem like an open and tolerant party." While Nida Tounes and Ennahdha are currently in a government coalition together, they are the main rivals in the municipal vote, which will determine the political contours of the country for years to come. "We fear the exploitation for electoral reasons of non-Muslim citizens, who we consider as equal ... and not second class citizens," Bsais said. He said the candidacy is Ennahdha's effort to distinguish itself from the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist movements to keep alliances with the United States. One of Slama's Muslim clients, Moez Dali, praised his community spirit. "Everyone knows Slama," he said. His family "loves everyone here. And they come to our weddings and we go to their weddings. There is no difference between us. He is in the end a Tunisian from the city of Monastir." MOSCOW Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, commenting on the appointment of John Bolton as US national security adviser, said on Friday that Russia was ready to work constructively to resolve issues in its relations with Washington, RIA news agency reported. The Israeli Privacy Protection Authority (formerly ILITA) informed Facebook Thursday that it had opened an administrative investigation into its activities, following publications on the transfers of personal data from Facebook to the Cambridge Analytica company, and the possibility of other Privacy Law infringements regarding Israelis. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter According to the Israeli Privacy Law, personal data may only be used to the purpose for which it was given, with the consent of the individual. The authority will therefore investigate whether personal data of Israeli citizens was illegally used in a way that infringes upon their right to privacy and the provisions of the Israeli Privacy Law. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologized for the breach, but his company will be investigated in Israel for possible breach privacy laws (Photo: EPA) In Facebook's instance, the investigation will be an administrative enforcement procedure that may include sanctions in the form of fines, instructions on remedying flaws or a demand to provide reports on actions already undertaken. Information stemming from the investigation will be made public at its conclusion, possibly opening the door to class action suits on the matter. The social network entered a tailspin this week after it came to light Cambridge Analytica collected personal data on tens of millions of its users. Also Thursday, British police removed cordons around the London headquarters of Cambridge Analytica after they deemed a suspicious package that sparked a security alert to be safe. The police had earlier closed roads and evacuated the building after receiving reports of a package at the offices of the London political consultancy. "The package was assessed. It was deemed not to be suspicious. Police cordons have now been removed," the police said. The London-based political consultancy has been at the center of a storm this week after a whistleblower said the company had paid an academic to harvest the data of 50 million Facebook users to build profiles of American voters before the 2016 US election. MK Revital Swid said she asked AG Mandelblit to apply Israeli privacy laws to Facebook's operations in the country MK Revital Swid (Zionist Union), deputy chairperson of the Knesset's Lobby for Virtual Space and Social Networks, commented on the administrative investigation and said it was merely a "finger in the dam of the loss of the right to privacy, a dam that has long since burst." "What we demand of banks and beauticians we must also demand from Facebooka company hoarding information about us. Facebook and other web giants conduct themselves in a lawless no man's land. They collect information, store it and then sell it off to the highest bidder," she accused. "But while anyone owning a database must meet the legal and administrative requirements and stiff technological standards meant to allow to safeguard the information," the MK continued, "Facebook and its compatriots dodge (the requirements) under the claim they are not 'based in Israel.'" According to Swid, "A person's right to have his personal information safeguarded must be anchored as a basic right. Anyone in possession of personal information should be subjected not only to Israeli law, but also be limited in transferring the information, and it should be ascertained that any such transference will be transparent and minimal. "I have therefore contacted the attorney general (Wednesday) demanding to apply the Privacy Law and related regulations to web juggernauts' databases. The Justice Ministry must change tack and realize that a company operating in Israel in Hebrew and raking in profits must be subjected to Israeli law." Facebook CEO Zuckerberg breaks silence Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg provided his first public comment on the biggest controversy in the company's history Wednesday. In a post uploaded to the social network, Zuckerberg delineated a timeline of the events leading to the privacy of millions of users being compromisedall under Facebook's watchful eye. Zuckerberg wrote, "We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can't then we don't deserve to serve you. I've been working to understand exactly what happened and how to make sure this doesn't happen again. "The good news is that the most important actions to prevent this from happening again today we have already taken years ago. But we also made mistakes, there's more to do, and we need to step up and do it." Mark Zuckerberg on possible Russian interference in the 2016 elections X The company's CEO then went on to explain that leveraging users' personal data began by a "Cambridge University researcher named Aleksandr Kogan, who in 2013 created a personality quiz app. It was installed by around 300,000 people who shared their data as well as some of their friends' data." Kogan, it was later discovered, then traded the data to Cambridge Analytica in contravention of Facebook's terms of use. "In 2015, we learned from journalists at The Guardian that Kogan had shared data from his app with Cambridge Analytica," Zuckerberg wrote. "It is against our policies for developers to share data without people's consent, so we immediately banned Kogan's app from our platform, and demanded that Kogan and Cambridge Analytica formally certify that they had deleted all improperly acquired data. They provided these certifications." "This was a breach of trust between Kogan, Cambridge Analytica and Facebook. But it was also a breach of trust between Facebook and the people who share their data with us and expect us to protect it," Zuckerberg said. Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie Whistleblower Christopher Wylie, who worked for Cambridge Analytica, recently exposed the company's methods of operation in spying after web users for its clients' political ends. According to Facebook's post on the company's page, Cambridge Analytica insisted that it was utilizing a basic psychological quiz to analyze personality, when in fact they were tracking the positions of the person taking the quiz. Among the company's clients were the "yes" campaign for Britain's withdrawal from the European Union and Donald Trump's 2016 presidential election campaign. An investigative report aired this week on British Channel Four showed that the company used Israeli and British spies to swing elections around the world and to disseminate false information. MOSCOW The Kremlin said on Friday the appointment of John Bolton as US President Donald Trump's national security adviser was the affair of the US administration. "That is not a question for us, it is for the US administration," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a daily call. Peskov also said the Kremlin hoped there would be more people in the White House who "can see beyond the wave of Russophobia". BEIRUT Members of Syrian rebel group Failaq al-Rahman will meet Russian negotiators on Friday to negotiate an "end to human suffering" in the eastern Ghouta enclave they control, the group's spokesman told al-Hadath television channel in a phone call. When asked by the interviewer if the negotiations would involve the rebels withdrawing from their enclave, Istanbul-based spokesman Wael Alwan said he could not comment on what would be discussed but "today is a session to find a solution to end this human suffering, whatever the cost." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the "cruel terrorist attack," stressing "the civilized world must unite and work together to defeat terrorism." He then offered his condolences to the families of the terrorist's victims and the people of France. Britain called on Israel to improve the treatment of Palestinian children in military detention on Friday and said Israel should do more to safeguard vulnerable people in its care. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The Foreign Office issued a statement in the wake of the sentencing of Palestinian teenage girl Ahed Tamimi , who was arrested after kicking and slapping an Israeli soldier in the West Bank in December. Tamimi, who was 16 at the time of the incident, accepted a plea deal this week under which she will be sentenced to eight months in prison, her lawyer said. Ahed Tamimi, in court (Photo: AFP) Alistair Burt, Britains Minister for the Middle East, said in the statement: The conviction and sentencing of Ahed Tamimi is emblematic of how the unresolved (Israeli-Palestinian) conflict is blighting the lives of a new generation who should be growing up together in peace, but continue to be divided. The treatment of Palestinian children in Israeli military detention remains a human rights priority for the UK. We will continue to call upon Israel to improve its practices in line with international law and obligations, he said. Burt said Britain had offered to help the Israeli authorities through expert-to-expert talks with British officials. Israel had made some improvements but needed to do much more to safeguard vulnerable people in its care, he said. Tamimi became a hero to Palestinians after the incident outside her home in the village of Nabi Saleh was streamed live on Facebook by her mother and went viral. The soldiers had deployed during a weekly Palestinian protest in the village against Israeli policy on settlements in the West Bank, one of the most heated issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Palestinians want the West Bank for a future state, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. Most countries consider as illegal the Israeli settlements, built on territory which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war. Israel disputes that its settlements are illegal and says their future should be determined in talks with the Palestinians, although the peace process has collapsed. Amnesty International said after Tamimis conviction that her sentence was at odds with international law and showed that Israel had no regard for the rights of Palestinian children. About 350 Palestinian children were currently in Israeli detention, the human rights group said. The second largest rebel group in Syria's eastern Ghouta says it has reached an agreement with the Russians over areas it controlled near the capital Damascus. Failaq al-Rahman said in a statement Friday that the deal will lead to the immediate evacuation of sick and wounded people for treatment and to allow aid to enter the besieged area. The group added that opposition fighters and their relatives who decide to leave eastern Ghouta will head to rebel-held parts of northern Syria. It adds that civilians who decide to stay in eastern Ghouta will be guaranteed safety. It said that Russian military police will deploy in Failaq al-Rahman-controlled areas including the suburbs of Arbeen, Zamalka, Ein Tarma and Jobar. A prisoner exchange will take place between the group and the government, the group added. The Trump administration announced criminal charges and sanctions Friday against Iranians accused in a government-sponsored hacking scheme to pilfer sensitive information from hundreds of universities, private companies and American. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The nine defendants, accused of working at the behest of the Iranian government-tied Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, hacked the computer systems of about 320 universities in the United States and abroad to steal expensive science and engineering research that was then used or sold for profit, prosecutors said. The hackers also are accused of breaking into the networks of dozens of government organizations, such as the Department of Labor, the United Nations and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and companies including law firms and biotechnology corporations. FBI wanted posters for 9 Iranians that took part in a government-sponsored hacking scheme (Photo: AP) The Justice Department said the hackers were affiliated with an Iranian company called the Mabna Institute, which prosecutors say contracted since at least 2013 with the Iranian government to steal scientific research from other countries. "By bringing these criminal charges, we reinforce the norm that most of the civilized world accepts: nation-states should not steal intellectual property for the purpose of giving domestic industries an advantage," Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said in announcing the charges. Also Friday, the Treasury Department targeted the Mabna Institute and 10 Iraniansthe nine defendants and one charged in a separate case last yearfor sanctions that will bar them from doing business in the United States. The defendants are unlikely to ever be prosecuted in an American courtroom since there's no extradition treaty with Iran. But the grand jury indictmentfiled in federal court in Manhattanis part of the government's "name and shame" strategy to publicly identify foreign hackers, block them from traveling without risk of arrest and put their countries on notice. The strategy has been employed with past indictments accusing Iranian hackers of a digital break-in of a New York dam, Chinese military officials of large-scale hacks at energy corporations and Russians of a massive breach of Yahoo user accounts. "People travel. They take vacations, they make plans with their families," said FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich. "Having your name, face and description on a 'wanted' poster makes moving freely much more difficult." According to the indictment, the Iranians broke into universities through relatively simple, but common means tricking professors to click on compromised links. The spear-phishing emails purported to be from professors at one university to those at another and contained what appeared to be authentic article links. But once clicked on, the links steered the professors to a malicious Internet domain that led them to believe they had been logged out of their systems and asked them to enter their log-in. The credentials were then logged and stolen by the hackers, prosecutors say. From there, according to the Justice Department, the hackers stole roughly 15 billion pages of academic research and intellectual property that was then sent outside the United States for profit. More than 100,000 professors worldwide were targeted with spear-phishing emails, and the information that was stolen cost US universities about $3.4 billion to procure and access. "Just in case you're wondering, they're not admiring our work," Bowdich said. "They're stealing it, and they're taking credit for it, and they're selling it to others." President Donald Trump signed a $1.3 trillion spending measure Friday, averting a midnight government shutdown just hours after declaring he was considering a veto. Trump said he was "very disappointed" in the package, in part because it did not fully fund his plans for a border wall with Mexico and did not address some 700,000 "Dreamer" immigrants who are now protected from deportation under a program that he has moved to eliminate. But Trump praised the increases the bill provides for military spending and said he had "no choice but to fund our military" "My highest duty is to keep America safe," he said. The bill signing came a few hours after Trump created last-minute drama by saying in a tweet that he was "considering" a veto. A bill which would halt economic aid to the Palestinian Authority until they cease paying stipends to terrorists and to the families of deceased terrorists was passed into law Friday. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The legislation, known as the Taylor Force Act , was named after a 29-year-old American military veteran fatally stabbed by a Palestinian while visiting Israel in 2016. The act is intended to stop the Palestinians from paying stipends funneled through the Palestinian Authority Martyr's Fund, referred to as "martyr payments," to the families of terrorists killed or imprisoned by Israeli authorities. The payments can reach $3,500 a month. US President Trump (L) and PA President Abbas (Photo: Reuter, AP) Force's attacker was killed by the Israel Police, and his killer's family receives such a monthly payment. The measure has been working its way through Congress for some time. Despite the generally strong pro-Israel sentiment of most lawmakers, it was held up by the concern of some members of Congress that cutting too much aid could lead to increased unrest and instability in the Palestinian territories. Despite this and general reluctance, mainly by Democrats, against such sweeping punitive measures, in August the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations passed the bill by a vote of 16-5. For its part, the Palestinian leadership has vehemently opposes the act, with a close aide to PA President Mahmoud Abbas describing proponents of the initiative as mad. Former Palestinian minister of prisoner affairs, Ashraf al-Ajrami, explained to The Media Line that, This is a very sensitive issue, as the prisoners are considered freedom fighters. The Palestinian people believe there is a right to resist the occupation and thus reject the label of terrorist.' Al-Ajrami also notes that there are extremist entitieslike Hamas and Iranthat would fill the void if the PA discontinues paying the salaries, and this is not even in the interest of Israel. Taylor Force (Photo: AP) The Israeli-American Council (IAC) "wholeheartedly" welcomed the passage of the bill, naming Republican senators Lindsey Graham and Bob Corker and Democratic senator Chuck Schumer for "their leadership on this important bill." The bill was passed as part of a much larger $1.3 trillion spending measure after Trump reluctantly signed it, saying he was very disappointed in the package, in part because it did not fully fund his plans for a border wall with Mexico and did not address some 700,000 Dreamer immigrants who are now protected from deportation under a program that he has moved to eliminate. Trump said he had signed the measure, despite his qualms on some issues, because a $60 billion increase in military spending had convinced him it was a worthwhile compromise. But I say to Congress I will never sign another bill like this again, he told reporters. Im not going to do it again. A United Nations official says the multilateral organization will not provide any electoral assistance for Venezuela's upcoming presidential vote, an election that has been denounced as rigged by the opposition and many foreign governments. The official was speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Representatives of President Nicolas Maduro and independent candidate Henri Falcon traveled this month to the UN headquarters to try and persuade it to send experts to be present for the May 20 vote. The main opposition coalition is boycotting the election over concerns it will be rigged and has called on the UN to reject the request. Earlier, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told The Associated Press that a letter was sent to Venezuelan authorities about their request. He would not disclose the contents. A Spanish Supreme Court judge charged 13 Catalan separatist politicians with rebellion Friday for their attempts to make the region independent of Spain, dealing a heavy blow to the secessionist movement with an indictment that could put its political elite behind bars for decades. Judge Pablo Llarena ordered five of the Catalan politicians who answered a court summons Friday to be held without bail. Another of the summoned politicians, the ERC party's Marta Rovira, did not heed the order and announced in a letter that she was fleeing the country to live "in exile." Spanish media reported that she went to Switzerland. The judge also ordered that European and international arrest warrants be issued for six fugitive Catalan politicians, including former regional president Carles Puigdemont and Rovira. The charges of rebellion stem from an illegal independence declaration by the Catalan parliament last October. Rebellion is punishable with up to 30 years in prison. An IDF force fired at four major instigators in disturbances along the Gaza Strip border on Friday. About 700 Palestinians threw stones and burned tires near the security fence in protest of what they deem as the Israeli occupation of their land. Nine months ago, US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley sharply criticized the UN's top human rights body demanding an end to alleged bias against Israel and wielding the prospect of a US pullout if it didn't. So much for that. The 47-member body ended its first and longest session of the year Friday by adopting five resolutions critical of Israel's behavior toward the Palestinians or throwing support behind the long, fruitless Palestinian cause of statehood. Another two "country-specific" resolutions focused on Syria, where hundreds of thousands have died in a civil war. South Sudan, Myanmar, Iran and North Korea garnered one each. Haley railed Friday that when the council "treats Israel worse" than such countries, "it is the council itself that is foolish and unworthy of its name." An application letter is your introduction to the human resource department as well as all the other related people such as the hiring manager of any institution. There might be similar formats to follow in different fields such as business or the arts, but your application letter as a teacher requires effort as well as time. Applying for a teaching position in Ghana can be hard especially for students that are fresh out of campus, but with the tips and samples below you can easily land the job. Source: Paemuka There are different ways of crafting an application letter for teacher positions, but all that matters is keeping your content well-organized and professional. Below is a comprehensive guide on how to write application letter for teaching job in school. Application letter for teaching job in school Follow the tips below to ensure your application letter impresses your potential employees and give you a chance to follow your passion. Business Format The first step towards writing the perfect application letter for a teaching job is ensuring it follows a business letter format. As such, your letter should not only be well organized but also adhere to clean language with a professional tone. Input the date and your address as well as that of your future employer. In most instances, a dear sir introduction would work but if you are not sure who runs the school, be sure to seek counsel from the school district. You can also use Dear Human Resources Manager as pleasantries or Dear Administrator. After the address and introductory remarks, your next step should be including all the relevant information required. Relevant Information The best cover letter should always be targeted and contain all the relevant details of the potential employee. As such, your cover letter should begin with the specific position you wish to occupy in the school. Be sure to reveal how you knew about the open slot and dont be afraid to name-drop if the person you heard it from works in the same school district. An application letter for teaching job in school is somewhat similar to your CV. Your employers do not spend a lot of time looking at the schools you attended, but your score. As such, make sure after introducing yourself and the position you wish to apply for as well as explaining how you learned about the interview, the next step should be focusing on your strengths. Strengths Job descriptions have numerous clues regarding the type of things you should be aiming to impress your future employees within your cover letter. However, most people solely focus on the job and maybe the salary or get excited by the fact that they have a job and forget to pay close attention to the hints presented by employers regarding the type of teacher they wish to employ. Your qualifications might be impressive, but to ultimately win your employers trust, you need to include action verbs that will alert them to your sense of responsibility. Do not just focus on the class you are supposed to teach or the subject but on the institutions mission and vision as well. Their values should be of utmost importance to you as well and should be reflected in your strengths as well as achievements and traits. Do not repeat the content contained in your resume. If you have to refer to any figure in the CV, simply say, kindly refer to the attached resume. It is also essential to mention your affiliations such as other schools you have taught and your role in the institution. It could have been as a student, volunteer, substitute teacher, or student teacher, but make sure it shows in your application letter. Cover letters are also different regarding the level of professionalism that can be witnessed in different employees. Some might be fresh out of college, while others might come with little to no expertise regarding teaching despite graduating years ago. However, most teachers switching schools have a little or a lot of experience. Here is an application letter as a teacher sample to familiarize you more with the process of writing ne for yourself. Sample teacher cover letter with experience Victor Lemodo Box 45, Accra Ghana M: 0547635434 Vilemodo@gmail.com (Date) Mr. Ruther Turlin Human Relations Manager Accra International School Box, 46, Accra Ghana Dear Sir Re: Math teacher I am writing to apply for the position of a math teacher as advertised by your institution on the Daily Graphic. I have worked professionally as a teacher for five years and attained my bachelors degree in pure math from Winnebas University of Education. I currently worked in immaculate preparatory school, and my methods have helped increase the schools overall grade when it comes to mathematics over the past three years. I encourage children to achieve higher heights and make this subject interesting even for children who prefer the languages or arts. By giving them quality education at young age, I believe I play my part in ensuring the institution I work for produces not only the best students but professionals as well. Given the opportunity, I believe I can help your reputable organization reach even higher heights in the coming years. I look forward to the chance of discussing my application further as well as the contribution I can make to your institution. Yours Sincerely (Sign) Victor Lemodo Experienced teachers are no different from university graduates fresh out of campus regarding teaching opportunities in Ghana. However, most institutions might favor the experienced teacher at the expense of the university fresher due to their experience. Still, there are ways you can script your application letter as a fresh university graduate and beat applicants with years of experience. Application letter teacher fresh graduate As we speak, most companies are looking for fresh graduates due to the latters ability to see the world from a different angle. Syllabuses and education systems might change, but the primary reason these institutions exists is to teach children. However, unlike generations pose different challenges prompting teachers to adopt specific methods of teaching. As a fresh graduate, your chances of getting a teaching job in Ghana can be significantly increased if you follow the guidelines below. However, before you write a single letter on the paper, your confidence must be high considering you are selling knowledge without experience. The most important thing for fresh graduates to remember when writing application letters is originality. Source: GhanaCrusader.com Plagiarism has cost so many people well-paying jobs due to a lack of ingenuity. As a teacher, you will be dealing with all types of characters. As such, you need to demonstrate your fluidity regarding any changes and ability to impress even with little information to follow up in the background. Not to mention, it might be from South America while you are in Ghana and look applicable to your situation, but never plagiarize your application letter as a fresh graduate. At this moment, your cover letter should match your professional as well as personal life with the needs of the institution at hand. It doesnt matter if you dont have experience, the content of the application letter is what convinces the board or human resource manager to welcome you to their institution. Sample application letter for secondary teacher fresh from university Joseph Kimmich 876 Accra Ghana Josekimmich@gmali.com (Date) Ms. Emeli Zuria Headmistress Winners secondary school 45 Accra Ghana Dear Ms. Emeli Re: Job Application I am a recent graduate with a BA degree in linguistics and hold distinctions in over eight areas. I am confident of acquiring the position advertised by your institution on (date) in the national newspaper. I excel at both contemporary as well as standard teaching methods, and some of them can help make your schools results even better. Technology is also a fast-rising teaching aid, and as such, I took the liberty of studying and perfecting activities-based teaching methods. These tactics are the future of education and are already being used in thousands of institutions around the globe to great results. Since your institution is about to welcome the same technology, I feel my knowledge of the same can benefit both the teachers and the students in your school. I also have a knack for teaching and an ability to handle different emotions as well as different characters due to my love for children. I will reach out in the coming week to arrange a meet up so we can discuss my qualification as well as what I bring to your institution more. However, if you wish to call first, kindly find my number on the attached resume. I look forward to working with your institution. Yours sincerely (Sign here) Joseph Kimmich The cover above can also be used by someone as an application letter for teacher job without experience. The only difference will be the institutions the potential employees studied in and their respective achievements. It can also be used as a cover letter for teaching job fresher considering it is drafted with a university graduate without experience in mind. Just like the first example above regarding the math teacher, an application letter for English teacher should focus on both grammar as well as the teachers prowess. Considering that an English teacher mostly focuses on language and literature, they should be well-versed regarding the subject as well as the teaching knowledge required. Their communication skills should be unmatched and at least hold a degree in English literature. Teaching experience comes in handy for anybody seeking a career as an English teacher. Teaching job application letter examples are all over the internet at the moment, but none of them will do you any good if you do not understand what you can offer as well as what the institution thats hiring requires. Most employers are not only looking for a good grade but commitment to their school, hard and soft skills that might be transferable, unique talents, as well as the greatest strengths. As such, be sure to conduct thorough research regarding the institution to ensure your application letter stands out from the crowd. Also, remember to write the cover letter with conviction as well as a clear passion for both teaching and the institution you wish to work under. Your teaching enthusiasm should be clear for the reader to see as well as your commitment to the learners. Lastly, be sure to include some of the teaching methods you use as well as testimonials and quotes. Sometimes, its not the academic papers that enable most teachers to land well-paying jobs and pursue their dream, but their zeal for the job. Source: Yen - The sharp opposition by Ghanaians over the military corporation deal with America has 'disappointed' the US embassy - The Ghana-US deal is worth 20 million dollars - Many say the government of Ghana has sold its sovereignty to the US The US ambassador to Ghana, Robert P. Jackson, is expressing disappointment over the stiff opposition by Ghanaians against Ghana's military cooperation deal with the US. After secret memos about this deal got leaked to the media, Ghanaians have expressed grave disagreement as questions are rife over if the NPP administration wants to sell Ghana to the Americans. READ ALSO: 10 tips to scoring '10 ones' in 2018 BECE or WASSCE In fact, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has revealed plans for suspending this deal should they win the 2020 elections. In an interview with Joy News, the US ambassador says the 20 million dollar deal with Ghana is enough to let Ghanaians know how committed the US is to boosting Ghana's army. "I think Ghanaians never treated us fairly. I am very disappointed at the reaction we are getting. Maybe there should be more public knowledge because this deal was signed back in 1998," Robert P. Jackson revealed. So far, the government has insisted that there is no going back on the military deal with the United States. The defense minister says the agreement, was signed way back in 1998 and that they are just renewing it. There are fears that the deal between Ghana and the US to "establish a military base in the country" could spell doom for Ghana's security. Security expert, Dr. Vladmir Antwi Danso, is warning that the decision by Ghana to host US troops could expose the country to terrorist attacks. So far, America remains the major country in the world very exposed to terrorist groups like ISIS. It is for this reason that almost all countries that openly declare their allegiance to America expose themselves to terrorist attacks from the enemy of America. READ ALSO: 6 reasons most Ghanaian women prefer 'baby daddies' to husbands Meanwhile, the former minister for foreign affairs, Hanna Tetteh, is yet to respond to these claims and so it the case with the leadership of the NDC is yet to officially respond to these claims by the government. Who is going to be Ghanas next top pastor? Check out YEN.com.gh's top picks: Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. We are on Facebook and Instragram. Source: Yen - Canada-based musician, Minister Ike has criticized Shatta Wale for 'insulting' Stonebwoy - The Gospel musician said that Stonebwoy was better than Shatta Wale both lyrically and musically Multiple award-winning Canada-based Ghanaian gospel artiste, Minister Ike, has taken a swipe at Charles Nii Armah Mensah, popularly known as Shatta Wale, for mocking fellow artiste, Stonebwoy, over his disability. Speaking in an interview with Razzonline.com and sighted on Modernghana.com, Minister Ike said it was very childish on the part of Shatta Wale to use Stonebwoy's disability to mock him. READ ALSO: VIDEO: Sarkodie's tribute song to Ebony will make public officials bow in shame Minister Ike revealed that it was rather unfortunate that Shatta Wale had to call Stonebwoy a 'one-legged cripple' because it smacked of insensitivity. He added that Shatta Wale was just a local champion with a huge following who supported him even when he said inappropriate things. Deliberating further on the matter, Minister Ike, who is based in Canada, revealed that, Stonebwoy was known internationally and was lyrically better than Shatta Wale. According to the gospel act, Shatta Wale is only known in GhanaStonebwoy is well known internationallyhe was on bill boards in Canada hereand for a Ghanaian artiste to be on bill boards here is a great achievement he emphasized. READ ALSO: Video: Kwaku Bonsam jams to Shatta Wales songs; thanks Zylofon CEO Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale, both signed onto Zylofon Music label, over the weeks, have been throwing serious jabs at each other ever since the Bulldog-Zylofon-Stonebwoy brouhaha happened at Champs Bar in Accra. Not too long ago, Stonebwoy, known in real life as Livingstone Etse Satekla, claimed that he was lyrically and musically better than Shatta Wale. In replying to Stonebwoy's claim, Shatta Wale took to his Facebook page and descended heavily on Stonebwoy by calling him a 'one-legged' cripple. Minister Ike went on to advise Shatta Wale to desist from 'fighting' with his fellow Ghanaian artistes. Known in real life as Isaac Wilson, Minister Ike is noted forthe hit song, Onyame Gya. He is set to release his first song for 2018 titled 'Wonderful God' in April. READ ALSO: Sale of Ebonys funeral clothes booming sellers Star Gist on YEN brings you an exclusive interview with upcoming music star Kobla Jnr: 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. Send us a message via YENs official Facebook page. Source: Yen News Lately, there have been reports of lightning and thunder striking people and killing them instantly. The latest story is that of two first year students of Ofori Panin Senior High School, in the Eastern Region, who died painfully some few weeks ago when they were stuck by lightning and thunder. According to information available to YEN.com.gh, the two boys were on their way to the dormitory from the school's assembly hall where church service was to be held. READ ALSO: Ebonys jams to Stonebwoys Bawasaaba song, and this would leave you feeling emotional Before going to the assembly hall, the rain was just showering, but upon arrival at the hall, it had started raining heavily, therefore the rest of the students were asked to stay in their dormitories. Church service was thus canceled for that evening. The two OPASS students then decided to return to their dormitory, but on their way, unfortunately, they were struck by lightening, with one falling and dying instantly. The other student was later rushed to the hospital but died few hours later. Sadly, they were both buried last Wednesday. READ ALSO: Stonebwoy defies Zylofon Records orders; says nothing can stop him from performing at VGMAs There are other reports suggesting that lightening is killing people, and this calls for education on how to keep protected from being struck. YEN.com.gh brings you six ways to keep you and your family protected and safe. 1. Mobile phone: It is advisable to put all electronic gadgets away whenever there is rainfall. Do not use mobile phone when it is raining. According to experts, radiation from the phone could attract lightening, causing harm and injury to the user. READ ALSO: Mr. lyrically good with empty pocket Shatta Wale jabs Stonebwoy in latest video 2. Television Set: The same mobile phone principle applies to the TV set too. It is advisable to switch off your TV sets. 3. Metallic objects: It is also advisable to do away with all metallic objects during this time of adverse weather condition. Metals are good conductor of electricity and so they can easily attract thunder and lightening, causing burns, severe injury and possible death. 4. Transformers and electronic gadgets: During such weather conditions, it is very important to stay indoors. However, if one happens to be out, then the one must ensure that he or she does not stand close to a transformer and other electronic objects. READ ALSO: Video of Ebony separating a fight between Bullet and another person proves she had a good heart 5. Mirrors and glass objects: Lightening can strike mirrors and other glass objects, shattering them and causing injury to the one standing nearby. It is advisable to turn down or cover all mirrors when it starts to rain. 6. Bathing when it is raining is must not be encouraged. It is safer to either bathe before or after rain. It is hoped that readers will find these safety tips useful. READ ALSO: Rare photo showing when and how Ebony started her dreadlocks pops up Who is going to be Ghanas next top pastor? Check out YEN.com.gh's top picks: READ ALSO: Ebony's response to her managers when they asked her about her 17 tattoos Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page Source: Yen - A group of demonstrators have been barred from entering the house of Parliament - Their aim was to ensure that Parliament does not pass a military deal with USA into law - According to them, they would go to every length to ensure that they achieve their objective A group of people referred to as the Economic Fighters League (EFL), have besieged the gates of the house of Parliament. According to a report by MyNewsGH.com, their core objective is to make sure that Parliament does not debate on, and subsequently pass a military proposal between Ghana and the United States of America (USA). The EFL, YEN.com.gh understands, asked to be allowed entry into Parliament, so they could bring to a stop, the passage of the agreement that will sell Ghanas independence and sovereignty to a colonial super power. READ ALSO: I know pregnant Rashida Black Beauty needs GHc5000, but i won't give her - Afia Schwar The gates of the lawmaking House have therefore been locked to prevent them from gaining access to the House. The leader of the group, Ernesto Kofi Yeboah, vowed to ensure that the agreement does not see the light of day, regardless of the lengths they will have to go. In his opinion, the agreement is a re-colonization agreement and will be resisted in every possible way. He went ahead to say that the fact that USAs military personnel would have unrestricted access to Ghana, under the guise of securing a base for staging and deploying forces, should be an issue of concern. Ernesto Yeboah went on to say that aside the unrestricted access and tax exemptions, Ghana has also agreed to bear the cost and take primary responsibility for securing the U.S. facilities in Ghana. READ ALSO: Shatta Wale's Bandana from Ghana is a gospel song - Shatta Mama I want people to listen to my music Kobla Jnr speaks to YEN.com.gh on Star Gist: We are looking for unique stories and photos about developments happening in your area. Get in touch with YEN on Facebook or Instagram Source: Yen World Down Syndrome Day was celebrated with fun and laughter in Samoa on Wednesday. This years theme is What I bring to my community. Celebrated around the world on 21 March, the date is significant because of the extra 21 chromosomes typically associated with physical growth delays, characteristic facial features and mild to moderate intellectual disability in children with Down syndrome. Parents, friends and children with Down syndrome celebrated the day at the SENESE Inclusive Education Support Services in Vaitele. The event focused on raising awareness about Down syndrome and the services that are now available to support children with Down syndrome. More importantly it was to convey the message that people with Down syndrome should be recognised as valued citizens. The day was full of fun activities where SENESE Secondary School teachers, students and representatives from the Special Olympics Samoa played games and activities including making the umu. The highlight of the day was having the Speech and Language Therapist, Mulama Setu, give basic training on speech, language therapy and awareness on Down syndrome. Educational Psychologist, Orita Faanu Asi, also talked about ways to overcome behavioural difficulties at home and in the classroom, sharing views and empowerment based on children with Down syndrome within their community. The day was also an opportunity for parents to empower each other on treating their children with Down syndrome. SENESE provides inclusive education support services for children with disabilities in regular schools. SENESE is pleased and excited to be leading the commemoration this year with their partners and supporters. An information booth was also set up for people to learn more about the condition and what they can do as a community to support the inclusion of people with Down syndrome. The majority of people growing up with Down syndrome have the ability to achieve and participate as valued members of their communities, with varying support levels. SENESE also acknowledged with appreciation the support of the Government of Samoa, the Government of Australia through D.F.A.T, Central Bank, Apia Bottling and Special Olympics Samoa, TV3. What is Down syndrome? Down syndrome (also known as trisomy 21) is a genetic condition in which the person has an extra copy of chromosome 21. Chromosomes are the blueprint for the bodys development. They are found in every cell in our body and determine our physical and mental characteristics. The usual number of chromosomes is 46 (arranged in 23 matched pairs). People with Down syndrome have an extra chromosome 21 in their genetic make-up. This additional chromosome results in a number of physical and developmental characteristics and some level of intellectual disability. Approximately one in 800 babies is born with Down syndrome and around 70 percent are born to mothers under 35. Down syndrome was named after Dr. Langdon Down who was the first person to describe the syndrome . Intentional or not, Steven Soderberghs psychological horror film Unsane (Bleecker Street), shot on an iPhone 7, comes across as an homage to Brian DePalma, complete with the casting of Amy Irving (who starred in DePalmas Carrie and The Fury). Think about Dressed to Kills commentary on psychiatry. The way Blow Out manipulated perceptions and versions of the truth. The obsessive behavior in, you guessed it, Obsession. There are spoilers ahead. Consider yourself warned. Directionless young woman Sawyer (Claire Foy) has attempted to find herself through various types of education and employment. Before accepting a position which put her in a cubicle in a bank, she worked in hospice. It was there that she met David (Joshua Leonard), the son of an Alzheimers patient, and her life was forever changed. For the worse. Struggling with ways to cope with Davids obsessive stalking, Sawyer finally speaks with a therapist. Through a series of miscommunications and unfortunate actions (always read every form before signing it), Sawyer unknowingly checks herself into a psychiatric treatment facility. Unnerved by the situation, including unpleasant interactions with fellow patients Violet (Juno Temple) and Jacob (Raul Castillo of Looking fame), as well as staff members, Sawyer finds her stay extended because she is considered a danger to herself and others. Matters only get worse when Sawyer is convinced that one of the nursing staff is David masquerading as someone named George. Thankfully, Sawyer is able to connect with one patient, Nate (Jay Pharoah), who becomes a source of comfort and aid to her. Sawyer is able to contact her mother Angela (Irving), using Nates contraband mobile phone. Angela arrives in full Shirley-MacLaine-in-Terms-of-Endearment mode. Unfortunately, Sawyer is right about David/George, and that doesnt bode well for Nate, Angela and others. For the most part, Unsane does a good job of keeping us guessing on the is she or isnt she? scale. The movie belongs to Foy from start to finish (you have to see the final scene to believe it), and she is very convincing throughout. Soderbergh regular Matt Damon steals his scenes as an uncredited police detective who counsels Sawyer about stalker preparedness. Amidst all the, shall we say, insanity, Unsane also manages to lash out at the current state of mental health care, the insidious practices of the health insurance industry and the inability of some police forces to protect victims of stalking. Rating: B Before she persisted, it was he persisted. Thats how Robin Bodiford described Bill Rettinger, 63, an LGBT and disabled rights activist who died last week. Whatever Bill Rettinger undertook to do: he persisted. He was quick to laugh, earnest, cute and handsome, Bodiford said. I remember Bill as a tireless democrat, an unrelenting advocate for the disabled, and a tireless comrade in arms in the Americans for Equalitys successful campaign to preserve gay and lesbian rights under the Broward County Human Rights Ordinance. He was always loved and is already missed. She went to write that Rettinger, who was married to Gene Crane and lived in Palm Bay, was an unsung hero. He was also remarkable in the South Florida gay political community in that he never betrayed my trust and did not engage in some of the misogyny that was so prevalent among gay pols back in the day. Rettinger served as the president of the Democratic Disability Caucus of Florida, was an active member in the Dolphin Democrats, president of the Brevard County Chapter of the Florida LGBTA Democratic Caucus, and its regional director. Michael Albetta, the regional director of the Florida LGBTA Democratic Caucus, knows exactly what made Rettinger a great activist: fearlessness and a big mouth. He was not shy about keeping his mouth closed, he said. He could be eloquent in his words and bombastic at times. He was a good person to have on your side in a fight. Rettinger was also willing to go against the grain sometimes. I think Bill was different in his ideas, Albetta said. He wasnt afraid to call people out, including, according to Albetta, when former School Board Member Martin Marty Rubinstein broke promises he made to the LGBT community. Basically, Marty said one thing to placate the Dolphin Democrats and he did the opposite. Bill called him out on it. We went hook, line, and sinker and we finally got Marty Rubenstein out of office. The passing of Bill closes yet another chapter on another activist in our local LGBT history. He will be remembered for his commitment to the community and for the many hours of dedication he made to achieve equal rights for everyone, said Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis. In a statement, Florida LGBTA Democratic Caucus President Terry Fleming said, Bill Rettinger was a tireless advocate for disability and LGBT rights . . . Most importantly, he was a friend to me and countless others and he will be sorely missed. Rettingers activism also crossed party lines. I was saddened to hear that a former activist colleague recently passed away. Bill Rettingerwas more to me than just a community activist. Bill believed in outreach and inclusion when, for the good of the community, a need arose. I will always remember jointly walking and working together during the formative years of the "Rainbow Bridge" coalition headquartered in the Whimsey office and archives in West Palm Beach. Bill joins some really wonderful allies who are no longer with us, those who may have been forgotten and/or unknown to later arrivals, yet did so much in crating positive change here in the Sunshine State, stated Andy Eddy, a member of the Broward Log Cabin Republicans Club, in an email. To help with funeral expenses, a GoFundMe page has been established gofundme.com/bill-rettinger-memorial-fund. Le Collectif Cheikh Yassine a organise un certain nombre dactivites et de festivites pour les enfants de Gaza sous le theme La joie des enfants de Gaza pour lAid . Ces activites ont commence le premier jour de lAid et continue jusquau 4eme jour de lAid dans la bande de Gaza. Plusieurs activites, ont ete organisees parmi lesquelles : des competitions recompensees par des prix, des jeux, des animations et des chants presentes par un groupe ainsi que des distributions de cadeaux et daides financieres. Charles Sousa, Ontario Minister of Finance, and Jeff Leal, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, announced a long-term funding agreement with the horse racing sector in a press conference held Friday afternoon (March 23) at Flamboro Downs. Our government recognizes that the horse racing industry is vital to communities across Ontario," said Leal. "Thats why our government remains committed to ensuring long-term sustainability of the horse racing industry and the rural communities that depend on it. This new, collaborative agreement will provide owners, breeders and racetrack operators with the support they need to ensure stability and success for the long term. The announcement of the agreement comes five years after the conclusion of the Slots at Racetracks Program, and will see up to $105 million a year set aside for the horse racing sector in the province through 2038. Standardbred Canada's President & CEO Dan Gall (R) along with OLG President & CEO Stephen Rigby (L) and Minister of Finance Charles Sousa at Friday's announcement Standardbred Canada's President & CEO Dan Gall (R) along with OLG President & CEO Stephen Rigby (L) and Minister of Finance Charles Sousa at Friday's announcement "Our government is committing to a landmark agreement that will support the long-term sustainability of horse racing in Ontario," said Sousa, echoing Leal's commitment to the economic development horse racing provides for many rural communities in the province. "This funding will encourage economic development in rural communities across the province, while giving race tracks and breeders an opportunity to build a strong future for an industry that is central to our heritage. The official Ontario Ministry of Finance statement follows: Ontario is committing to a long-term funding agreement with the horse racing sector, supporting jobs in rural Ontario and strengthening local economies across the province. The new agreement will provide up to $105 million a year, for 19 years, for the horse racing sector, starting April 1, 2019, plus additional supports for smaller racetracks and those that are experiencing financial shortfalls. To further help transform the industry and bolster rural communities, Ontario will continue the Enhanced Horse Improvement Program and introduce a new Racetrack Sustainability Innovation Fund, providing up to $6 million over three years, beginning in 2018, to help regional racetracks innovate, diversify and expand revenue sources to ensure the vitality of the industry for generations to come. The long-term funding agreement will also empower the horse racing industry to work together to make long-term decisions about horse breeding, racing programs, capital investments and hiring. It will include specific measures focused on supporting community racetracks, including operational funding and purses. Ontario's plan to support care, create opportunity and make life more affordable during this period of rapid economic change includes a higher minimum wage and better working conditions, free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students, easier access to affordable child care, and free prescription drugs for everyone under 25, and 65 or over, through the biggest expansion of medicare in a generation. Quick Facts Ontario is home to 15 racetracks more than any other North American jurisdiction. Funding will be administered by Ontario Racing, which is responsible for representing industry interests, making strategic business decisions, and strengthening transparency and accountability. The Ontario Racing board will have equal representation of racetracks and horsepeople, with five seats for racetracks, five for horsepeople, including breeders, and an independent chair. The new long-term funding agreement will replace the existing Horse Racing Partnership Funding Program. Jockey Jose Flores has passed away as a result of injuries sustained from an accident on Monday (March 19) at Parx Racing in Pennsylvania. He was 56. On Monday, Flores was riding 14-1 shot Love Rules, a horse he had won his three weeks prior. Flores and Love Rules were on the lead when the horse fell and forced Flores headfirst into the track. The jockey was transported to hospital, where he remained on life support until Thursday. Its unbelievable, just sickening, said leading Parx trainer Scott Lake, who's known Flores since 1991. He was just tremendous, a nice guy, always a professional. Parx inducted Flores into the track's Hall of Fame in 2013. The entire Parx Racing team is deeply saddened by the loss of Parx Hall of Fame Jockey, Jose Flores, who died from injuries suffered in a racing accident on Monday afternoon," said the track in a statement issued Thursday. "Jose was an outstanding jockey who was greatly admired for both his superb talent and his wonderful personality. He embodied all that is good in the world of horse racing, and will be missed immensely. We offer our deepest condolences and prayers to his family, friends and the entire racing community. In just over three decades of racing with nearly 29,000 starts, Jose Flores won 4,650 races with his mounts banking more than $64 million. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, March 27 at Tomlinson Funeral Home, Bensalem, Penn. from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. with funeral services to follow. Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Jose Flores. The schedule for 'the Internets favourite harness racing handicapping show' North American Harness Update, is set for Friday, March 23. With Ray Cotolo out of town, Mike Pribozie and Rod Allums Jr. will lead coverage of the Late Pick 4 from Western Fair and the competitive Late Pick 4 at the Meadowlands, which carries a $50,000 guarantee, Friday. Alongside live coverage, the two will preview the second round of the George Morton Levy Series for Saturday, March 24 at Yonkers Raceway. Retired Hall of Fame driver Dave Magee will be joining the show to discuss harness racing and reminisce with Allums Jr., whom he raced against years ago in Illinois. North American Harness Update airs Fridays from 9:00 - 11:00 pm (ET) on SRN One and can be accessed by archive via the YouTube page or from its website at nahupicks.com the day after it airs. (with files from North American Harness Update) FADA Trojan Horse FADA was sponsored and introduced by Sen. Lee and 21 other senators to originally allow individuals who claim they have a "sincerely held religious belief" opposed to same-sex "marriage" from being punished by the government. The WASHINGTON, March 23, 2018 / Standard Newswire / -- Senator Mike Lee has revised and hijacked the language of the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), which was originally designed to protect the free exercise of religion. The result is a Trojan horse that will do more harm than good. Liberty Counsel can no longer support FADA.FADA was sponsored and introduced by Sen. Lee and 21 other senators to originally allow individuals who claim they have a "sincerely held religious belief" opposed to same-sex "marriage" from being punished by the government.The original language of the First Amendment Defense Act stated: "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Federal Government shall not take any discriminatory action against a person, wholly or partially on the basis that such person believes, speaks, or acts in accordance with a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction that marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman, or that sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage." However, Sen. Lee insisted the language be amended as follows: "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Federal Government shall not take any discriminatory action against a person, wholly or partially on the basis that such person speaks, or acts, in accordance with a sincerely held religious belief, or moral conviction, that (1) marriage is or should be recognized as a union of (A) one man and one woman; or (B) two individuals as recognized under Federal law; or (2) sexual relations outside marriage are improper" (emphasis added). The plain language of the revised FADA states "marriage is or should be recognized as a union of ...two individuals as recognized under Federal law." Senator Lee's revised FADA version would enshrine in federal law that marriage "IS" or "SHOULD" be between two individuals (of the same-sex as contrasted with the "union of one man and one woman"). "The language of Sen. Lee's revised First Amendment Defense Act will provide a weapon to those who want to press same-sex 'marriage' and the LGBT agenda throughout the federal law," said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. "The original version was meant to protect people from being forced to participate in same-sex ceremonies or be discriminated against for their view of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The revised version of FADA changes the meaning and will do more harm than good. It is a Trojan horse that we cannot support," said Staver. Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics. Virginia GOP to Expel Hispanic Republican on False Charges Contact: Jonathon Moseley, 703-656-1230, Contact@JonMoseley.com RICHMOND, Va., March 23, 2018 / Standard Newswire / -- Virginia Republicans have scheduled a "high-tech lynching" of a Hispanic-American for March 24, 2018, in Richmond, Virginia. The Republican Party of Virginia will be the first in U.S. history to try to expel a Hispanic.There are currently no elected Hispanic Republicans in Virginia. Virginia's establishment Republicans and commentators have attacked other Hispanic Republicans in the past. The Fairfax 9/12 Tea Party has promoted Hispanic conservatives since 2010."Main point, they are lying," warned Jon Moseley of the Fairfax 9/12 Tea Party in Northern Virginia. Moseley adds: "Since Fredy never said what they slanderously claim, the real motivation for the political lynching of Fredy Burgos will alienate Hispanic conservatives. You cannot improve the reputation of the GOP by flat-out lying. Being conspicuous liars in public tarnishes the GOP more than sharing a Facebook graphic."Intentional lies spread by RPV Chairman John Whitbeck, the establishment blog Bearing Drift, and Brian Schoeneman sparked a storm of controversy, falsely claiming that Burgo said things about Jews, which he, in fact, never said. Moseley comments: "The Republican Party cannot maintain a good image while openly and publicly trafficking in lies." Moseley, who is an attorney, adds: "I would love Fredy's approval for me to file a lawsuit."As hard as it is to believe, Fredy Burgos stands accused of quoting from Supreme Court Justice John Jay on Facebook about America's Christian heritage. That is the only allegation identified in the RPV Petition calling for Burgos' expulsion from the State Central Committee.The Republican Party Plan requires 30 days' advance notice of charges. Since only the quote from Supreme Court Justice Jay is listed in the Petition, no other issues may lawfully be considered on March 24. "You cannot accuse a person of 'Whatever else we might decide to add later,'" attorney Moseley explained. "The Petition was written by Whitbeck, an attorney, who knows what due process requires."Virginia open-border elites accuse Hispanic-American Fredy Burgos of being a nativist and seek to expel a Hispanic "for diversity" because Fredy does not fit their propaganda that Hispanics support illegal immigration. Hispanics who oppose amnesty undermine GOP elites.The vote in RPV's State Central Committee will be held during the 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM meeting at 800 East Canal Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, less than a mile from Richmond's old slave market.Documents available on request: Contact@JonMoseley.com FSS, a Payments and Fintech leader, announced the launch its new product FSS Sentinel, a real-time,preventive Fraud Risk Monitoring and Management solution, today. Senitel provides a robust and a comprehensive framework to help financial institutions minimize fraud exposure. Indian consumers are rapidly adopting UPI as a preferred payment mode to transact digitally.Currently,86 banks offerUPI services and the number of transactions has surpassed 150M monthly. With many third-party applications offering UPI as a payment option,an approximate 10% of digital payments in the country are performed using UPI. For banks,implementing tight risk controls is crucial to protecting reputational integrity and customer trust. Current counter-fraud measures, primarily limiting the velocity and the volume of transactions at a per customer level, are inadequate against evolving and in stensified sophistication of fraud attacks. FSS Sentinel, a Big Data fraud and risk management solution,automates risk-assessment, uniquely enabling banks to see the full picture of their risk profile and take calibrated actions to secure the transaction experience. FSS Sentinel deploys sophisticated machine-learning modeling technology to analyze fraud signals, precisely identify fraud types and make better informed transaction authorization decisions.FSS Sentinel continually learns customers transaction behavior such as maximum transaction amount and generates automatic alerts on detecting anomalous usage patterns. Banks can build a complete risk picture using a combination of variables including transaction velocity, volume, value and time, device fingerprinting, IP geo-location, multiple account registration and deregistration attempts, frequent mobile number changes as well as SIM swapping. Customers can form the weakest security link in securing digital transactions. Many customers use the same PIN or use multiple devices to transact, rendering their transactional accounts vulnerable to fraudsters. With FSS Sentinel,banks can provide a risk exposure score to customers as well as merchants to improve security awareness and gain customer trust. Rocket Software, a global technology provider specialising in modernisation and optimisation, has named Anjali Arora as SVP and Chief Product Officer, where she is responsible for driving the Rocket product strategy and R&D organization. Prior to Rocket, she spent three years as Global Vice President of Software Engineering for Oracles Health Sciences Global Business Unit. A long-time resident of Boston, Anjali has received numerous awards for her business and social leadership. Aroras hiring and the creation of the Chief Product Officer role is part of the companys executive alignment to focus on customer success. Rocket has transformed its R&D, customer-facing, and revenue-generating organizations to better deliver on its core value of putting customers and partners first. More than 10 million IT and business professionals rely on Rocket to run their most critical applications, business processes and data. Customers include the top 10 Fortune 500 commercial banks, 9 of the top 10 Fortune 500 aerospace/defensecompanies, the top 5 Forbes Global 2000 car andtruck manufacturers, and the top 5 Forbes Global 2000 managedhealthcare companies. During her first four months as CPO, Arora has undertaken several initiatives to broaden the companys ability to accelerate development and modernisation and to attract new talent. She has converted several Rocket locations into Centres of Excellence that will allow for career growth at all levels in technical and management space and allow engineers to innovate no matter where in the world they are based. She has also expanded the companys Rocket.Build programme to include coding contests in every Rocket Centre of Excellence. In addition, she is actively involved in a number of women in technology events around the world to help grow the next generation of female engineers and business leaders. As the Christian calendar approaches its holy crux, there is cause for rejoicing in Paraguay, where a fourteen-year-old rape victim has given up her soul to God while squeezing out a new soul for Jesus and the Virgin. The rapist is in custody, where his sins are presumably being forgiven. According to health ministry figures, almost nine hundred girls between the ages of ten and fourteen gave birth in Paraguay in 2015, including one ten-year-old rape victim who, like certain residents of Grenfell Tower, survived to enjoy the dubious fruits of a government pledge on accommodation. Danger to the mother is grounds for abortion in Paraguay, so in cases involving transfiguration and ascension Mother Church is no doubt eager to bestow all due credit upon the fallibilities of the secular arm. EU blames Moscow for UK spy attack, recalls envoy British Prime Minister Theresa May talks with Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa as they attend a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday. Reuters, Brussels : European Union leaders backed Britain on Thursday in blaming Moscow over a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in England and recalled their envoy to Moscow in a symbolic protest. The show of support from the EU, at a time when Britain is grappling with its departure from the bloc, will boost Prime Minister Theresa May, who has been asking other nations to match her decision to expel Russians over the attack. In a joint summit statement, the leaders said the EU "agrees with the United Kingdom government's assessment that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible and that there is no plausible alternative explanation". That marked a breakthrough for Britain, which had been seeking to persuade EU leaders to condemn Russia for the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent, and his daughter on March 4. It was the first known offensive use of a nerve toxin in Europe since World War Two. After talks that ran into the early hours of Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised the prospect of further punitive measures in response to the attack in the southwestern city of Salisbury, saying the European Union would strive to act together on the matter. "We are determined to react together, with the language we used here, but also possibly through additional measures," Merkel said at the end of the first day of the summit. May's move to expel 23 "undeclared intelligence officials" was followed by similar measures from Moscow, including the closure of Britain's cultural centre in St Petersburg.Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said she was ready to expel Russian spies. Other Baltic states and Poland could do so too. The European Union will recall their envoy to Moscow, German diplomat Markus Ederer, for one month for consultations. May, who used a dinner with EU leaders to call on all governments to confront Russia, welcomed the support. "The threat that Russia poses respects no borders," she told reporters. "This is about us standing together to uphold our values." In the early days after the attack, May won the support of French President Emmanuel Macron, Merkel and US President Donald Trump when they said they shared Britain's assessment of Russian culpability. But in Brussels, May had to convince Russia's allies Greece, Hungary and Bulgaria. Highlighting the bloc's familiar divisions on how to handle Russia, Slovakia's new prime minister, Peter Pellegrini, said he wanted "constructive dialogue" with Moscow despite the poisoning of the Skripals. British authorities say the pair have been critically ill since the attack by a Soviet-designed, military-grade nerve agent called Novichok. Leaders agreed to increase their defences against Russian "hybrid" threats, including in disinformation campaigns, cyber attacks and covert actions. May has also asked fellow European leaders to step up intelligence cooperation to start going after Russian spy networks, diplomats said. "Britain says there are these networks that organise such things like Salisbury, that these networks exist across our borders and that it would be good to go after them together," a senior EU diplomat said. Indian airliner makes history by flying to Israel via Saudi airspace An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane lands at the Ben Gurion International airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel on Thursday. Reuters, Ben Gurion Airport : Saudi Arabia opened its airspace for the first time to a commercial flight to Israel with the inauguration on Thursday of an Air India route between New Delhi and Tel Aviv. Air India 139 landed at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport after a flight of over 7-1/2 hours, marking a diplomatic shift for Riyadh that Israel says was fueled by shared concern over Iranian influence in the region. "This is a really historic day that follows two years of very, very intensive work," Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said in a radio interview, adding that using Saudi airspace cut travel time to India by around two hours and would reduce ticket prices. Saudi Arabia - birthplace of Islam and home to its holiest shrines - does not recognize Israel. Riyadh has not formally confirmed granting the Air India plane overflight rights. While the move ended a 70-year-old ban on planes flying to or from Israel through Saudi airspace, there is as yet no indication that it will be applied for any Israeli airline. The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner entered Saudi airspace at around 1645 GMT and overflew the kingdom at 40,000 feet for about three hours, coming within 60 km (37 miles) of the capital Riyadh, according to the Flightradar monitoring app. It then crossed over Jordan and the occupied West Bank into Israel. The airliner had earlier flown over Oman, according to Flightradar. Officials from Oman, which also does not recognize Israel, could not be reached for comment. Israel's flag carrier El Al, excluded from the Saudi route, says its Indian competitor now has an unfair advantage. El Al currently flies four times a week to the Indian city of Mumbai. Those flights take around 7 hours and 40 minutes, following a Red Sea route that swings toward Ethiopia to avoid Saudi airspace. If El Al planes were to fly on to New Delhi, a destination El Al has said it might be interested in, they would require another two hours - and significantly more fuel. Interviewed on Israel's Army Radio, Levin voiced confidence that El Al would eventually be allowed to use Saudi airspace. "You know, they said the Saudis wouldn't let any flight pass. So here, the Saudis are permitting it. It is a process, I think. Ultimately this (El Al overflights) will happen too," he said. Asked if any other foreign airlines might follow Air India by opening routes to Tel Aviv over Saudi Arabia, Levin said he has been in negotiations with Singapore Airlines and a carrier from the Philippines, which he did not name. "They are certainly showing readiness and desire to fly to Israel, and I don't know if they will also receive permission like the Indian airline," he said. Singapore Airlines did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Saudi officials could not immediately be reached. Macrons popularity hit record low: Poll Reuters, Paris : French President Emmanuel Macron's popularity has fallen to its lowest point so far in his presidency, a poll showed on Friday, a day after nationwide protests against his reform drive brought tens of thousands of public workers on the streets. Despite falling unemployment and a high profile internationally, the number of people with a favorable opinion of the 40-year-old former investment banker dropped three percentage points in March to 40 percent, the BVA poll showed. That puts his popularity down 12 points since the end of last year, although it is no worse than it was for his predecessors Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy at the same point in their terms, BVA said. Frustrated over Macron's wide-ranging labor and welfare reforms, nurses, teachers and other public sector workers walked off the job on Thursday over concerns about his plans to cut their headcount and introduce merit-based pay. Protesters also want to derail Macron's plans to raise a special tax used to finance welfare which hits pensioners particularly hard, overhaul unemployment insurance and shake up the highly indebted state railway company. Pensioners' higher tax bill appears to be frustrating an age group with which he has done well so far. His popularity with voters over 65 years old fell below 50 percent for the first time in March, dropping to 47 percent. Macron was elected last May on promises to push through reforms his predecessors stopped short of, refusing to align himself with traditional parties on the left and right. Opinion polls indicate that though a majority of voters backed Thursday's strike, an even bigger majority support the reforms. The BVA poll was conducted among more than 1,000 people on Wednesday and Thursday for telecoms group Orange, RTL radio and website La Tribune. The margin of error is 2.5 percentage points. German prosecutors raid BMW in diesel emissions probe AFP, Frankfurt : Prosecutors in Germany have raided high-end carmaker BMW in a fraud probe relating to more than 11,000 vehicles they suspect were rigged to appear less polluting in regulators' tests. "On suspicion of fraud in around 11,400 cases, prosecutors have opened an investigation against unidentified workers or managers at BMW and raided BMW headquarters in Munich and another site in Austria," the authorities said in a statement. "There is an initial suspicion that BMW uses or has used a 'defeat device' that activates during testing" by regulators to determine emissions levels, prosecutors added. A defeat device refers to a system like those built into more than 11 million cars worldwide by Volkswagen in the "dieselgate" scandal. In the VW case, it operated exhaust treatment systems to remove harmful nitrogen oxides (NOx) at full effectiveness when cars detected they were undergoing stationary tests, while shutting them off in on-road driving. As for BMW, "evidence gathered in Munich and Austria must now be looked over, the investigation is only just getting started," the prosecutors said. In a statement Tuesday, BMW confirmed the raids and repeated the company's stance that "a correctly programmed software subroutine was mistakenly allocated to incompatible models". The software was not used for "deliberate manipulation of the exhaust treatment system," it insisted. BMW in February admitted the software was present in some vehicles and said it would recall them for a software update as soon as one was approved by the KBA German vehicle licensing authority. The programme was not built into the first cars of the two types affected-the 750d and M550d-to roll off assembly lines, rather only a smaller number beginning "well after the start of production" the group said. BMW "is supporting the authorities fully in their work" and has also launched an internal investigation, the firm added. Parents Care celebrates birth anniv of Bangabandhu Principal of Parents Care School & College Md Nurul Islam addressing a discussion meeting on birth anniversary of Bangabandhu and National Children\'s Day at college premises recently. Chittagong Bureau : Parents Care School & College , Chittagong celebrated the birth anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and National Children's Day in a befitting manner with enthusiastic mood at school premises recently . Principal of the College Md Nurul Islam presided over it. Asstt.teacher Jhuma Paul conducted the program duly graced by Chairman of Chittagong Education Welfare Foundation Principal Dr.Abdul Karim as Chief Guest. Administrative officer of the school MA Fazal , senior teacher Reva Rani Das were present on the occasion as special guests. The speakers on the occasion said the birth of great leader of Bengali nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was a blessing of the Almighty Allah. His patriotism, honesty, bravery will remain in the hearts of the world community as a role model of democratic movement and self determination. Among others, teacher Ayesha Aman, Uma Paul, Al Muntasir, Anisul Islam, Kamrunessa, Ayesh Siddiqua, Asma Akhter, Kalimullah Rahat, K amrul Hasan Rubel, Harunur Rashid, NH Nirob, Rita Yasin, Nipa, Jannatul Kairunessa were present on the occasion EC ready to hold polls in 5 cities Gazipur, Khulna before Ramzan, Raj, Sylhet, Barisal after Eid-ul-Fitr Noman Mosharef : The Election Commission (EC) is taking preparations to hold five big city corporation polls within October next, which many think as a test case to prove its capacity and neutrality before the national election. The cities are Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Barisal and Gazipur. The big political parties are reportedly working to select their candidates. Ruling Awami League, BNP and Jatiya Party's aspirant candidates are now staying in their respective city corporation areas for lobbying their candidature. The Election Commission had already sat with different political parties and civil rights group of the respective city corporations with a view to holding a free and fair city corporation polls. Meanwhile, the EC has planed to conduct the Gazipur and Khulna city corporation polls before Ramzan while Sylhet, Barisal and Rajshahi corporations after Eid-ul-Fitr. EC sources said, the tenure of Gazipur City Corporation will expire on September 4, 2018, while Khulna city on September 25, Rajshahi city on October 5, Shylet city on October 8 and Barisal city on October 23. According to the Local Government Act (City Corporation), election must be held before 180 days of expiring the tenure. In this context, the EC has issued a letter to the Local Government Ministry to inform about the court order regarding boundary setting, word deviation and others. As the part of preparation, the EC has published tender for paper, ballot box, ink, seal, etc. To complete the preparation, it also sent demand letter to the authorities for election centers, returning officers, assistant returning officers, polling officers and voter list. The EC has also started to train up the employees. EC demanded Tk 1,200 crore to the Finance Ministry to complete all the procedure of the five cities and also the next Parliament elections. EC Secretary Md Helal Uddin Ahmed told The New Nation, "We want to conduct five city corporation polls from May to October. The Election Commission demanded Tk 1,200 crore for conducting five city polls and to take preparation of the next Parliament election. After the sanction of the money we will start our work." Local EC employees have already started to complete the voter list and other information. The printing work of various items in connection with the polls has already started. The Printing and Publication Department demanded Tk 35 crore from the Commission for printing purposes, sources said. The sources said, at least 852 rims of paper will be needed for five city polls. EC has reserved only 333 rims paper. So, they have to collect the rest 519 rims. The EC has to collect those papers within April if it wants to hold election before the month of Ramzan in two city corporations. It is to be mentioned that the EC had stayed the polls of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) because of boundary setting problem. But now they are careful about the five city polls. After the city polls, the EC's main target is to conduct the next Parliament election. So, this city polls may be considered as the Parameter of their capability. Medical college academic activities being hampered M M Jasim : The government and private medical colleges are suffering from teachers'crisis in basic sciences hampering regular academic activities. As a result, the foundation of the medical students is becoming week taken to be threat to the future medical sciences. According to the experts, it implies upon the students to learn basic sciences in order to become world standard doctors. The subjects thereof are Anatomy, Physiology, Bio-Chemistry, Pharmacology, Microbiology, Pathology, Forensic Medicine and Community Medicine. According to the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council Policy, basic sciences are the foundation of the medical sciences. It is impossible to develop the medical sciences and to get reputed doctors ignoring the subjects of the basic sciences. There shall be a teacher for every 10 students in case of the basic sciences, the policy said. But many medical colleges ignore the basic sciences and complete the courses of the students without enough knowledge in the field of basic science. A total of 57 students are admitted into Pabna Medical College every year. It needs at least six teachers in every department. But there is one teacher only for each of Microbiology and Forensic Department. There are two teachers in Anatomy Department. Noakhali Abdul Malek Ukil Medical College can take 57 students each year. It should have six teachers in each department. But unfortunately, the Forensic Department is running without any teacher while Anatomy Department has only one. Patuakhali Medical College has room to admit 51 students every year. But there is no teacher in the Pharmacology and Pathology departments. Each department is running with one teacher only at Anatomy, Bio-chemistry and Microbiology departments. Forensic Department has two teachers. Not only at Pabna Medical College, Noakhali Abdul Malek Ukil Medical College and Patuakhali Medical College; there are teachers' crisis at Dhaka Medical College and Suhrawardy Medical College also, the Health and Family Planning Ministry sources said. Regional Adviser of the World Health Organisation Professor Dr Mozaherul Hoque said, the teachers' crisis in the subjects of the basic sciences is the barrier to the medical education. The quality of the future doctors will fall if the crisis continues. Vice-President of Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council Dr ABM Maksudul Alam said, a good number of students become teachers of basic sciences. But they go abroad for higher education. Most of them never come back. "The teachers of the basic sciences do not get proper respect and facilities. The patients are also reluctant to go to them for treatment. As a result, the teachers stop their study in the basic sciences and attain another degree for medical treatment," he said. He said that the government must take extra measurers to keep the teachers in their academic activities giving huge facilities. "The government can provide training abroad and doubled the privileges," he said. Director of Directorate of Health (Education and Development) Professor Abdur Rashid said the government has taken many initiatives to resolve the teachers of basic science crisis. "We have held several meetings in this regard. I think the crisis will not be longer," he said. BNP plans tough agitation Reza Mahmud : The BNP plans to go for tough agitation, keeping soft movements in abeyance as the government is obstructing their all peaceful programmes using might, sources said. "The movement will go in its own way. It will be stronger gradually. We are regularly saying that we always want to pursue democratic way. No one can start tough agitation unless otherwise provoked. All agitations have their seeds in the streets," Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, a Standing Committee Member told The New Nation on Friday. He said, the people of the country will not accept one sided polls again. So they must prevent government's design to cling to power. When contacted, BNP Senior Joint-Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi told The New Nation, "We want to get our party chief released from jail. We will do everything through democratic way to release our leader." Sources said, the BNP started its new phase of movement after its Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia imprisoned on February 28 in a graft case. After her imprisonment, the BNP adopted sit-in programme, token hunger strike, human chain, distribution of leaflets and such more. The BNP was aiming two ways peaceful agitations. One is that the party wants to bring its field level leaders and activists on the street instead of their staying in hidden places to avoid police harassments. Secondly, the party wants to win confidence of the police and other law enforcers that the BNP will not create any anarchy in streets. But the party insiders said, the government has taken those peaceful movements as the party's weakness. The police has taken actions to foil almost every of its peaceful programme and obstructed those arresting important field level leaders. BNP Standing Committee Member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Joint-Secretary General Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal, Sechchhasebak Dal President Shafiul Bari Babu, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal President Razib Ahsan and General Secretary Akramul Hasan and other important leaders were imprisoned in last few days. Most of the leaders were arrested when they attended the programme. Among them, Tejgaon thana Chhatra Dal President Zakir Hossain Milan died in custody one day after his three-day police remand. The police tried to arrest BNP Joint-Secretary General and Dhaka North City unit President Habib-Un-Nabi Khan Sohel from a peaceful programme in front of the Jatiya Press Club. But he managed to escape. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that police were arresting after sorting out the field level important leaders. "Police were arresting those, who were capable to organize field level leaders and activists instantly for any movement. The government wants to make the BNP inactivie," Mirza Fakhrul said while talking with a group of journalists at the party's Nayapaltan office recently. In these circumstances, the BNP thinks to reshuffle its agitation plans. Senior leaders sat together recently in the party chief's Gulshan office to discuss strategies. The meeting has taken new plans to make the movement stronger gradually. But the leaders have been directed not to say anything about the tough movement publicly. The party senior leaders already have started to visit districts to send the grass root leaders the latest message of movement. One of the senior leaders said preferring anonymity, the government is arresting important leaders from peaceful programme. In this situation, if the BNP sits peacefully for ever, the party will be empty of capable leaders soon. In this view of reality, the party has no way but to choose tougher agitation. 2 Neo-JMB men put on remand Court Correspondent : The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court of Dhaka on Thursday placed two Neo-JMB members including Hadisur Rahman Sagar on remand. Sagar, allegedly supplied bombs during the Holey Artisan attack. Magistrate Raihanul Haque of the CMM Court granted seven-day remand to question Sagar. Meanwhile, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Aminul Haque granted a six-day remand for quizzing accused Akram Hosen Niloy, who was the mastermind of Hotel Olio International blast at Panthapath of city. Earlier, law enforcers produced the two accused in the courts onThursday with a 10-day remand prayer. According to the sources of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, Sagar, who hails from Joypurhat, allegedly supplied arms and grenades during the Holey Artisan Bakery attack in Gulshan that left 20 dead including 17 foreigners in 2016. Niloy, hailing from Kishoreganj, is the alleged mastermind of the Hotel Olio International blast in the Panthapath area of the city on August 15 last year, sources of the CTTC further said. Earlier on the day, a team of Bogra police arrested Sagar, 36, and Niloy, 26, from Shibganj upazila of the district. Later, the two accused were handed over to CTTC unit, Mohibul Islam Khan, Deputy Commissioner of the unit, told newsmen. Tamim Chowdhury, a suspected mastermind of the Gulshan cafe attack, killed during a raid in Narayanganj, brought Hadisur to Neo-JMB. Before joining the Neo-JMB in 2015, he was a member of banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). Copyright 2021 New Nation. All Rights Reserved by thedailynewnation.com No polls keeping Khaleda in jail: Moudud UNB, Dhaka : BNP senior leader Moudud Ahmed on Friday said the next general election will not be allowed to be held keeping their party chairperson Khaleda Zia in jail. "The government is saying the judiciary is independent. But it's also directing (jail authorities) Tamzid Bin Sultan Mahi and other members of the family were present at the time. Afsana passed away around 9:00am on Friday morning after she had been kept on life support at the National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital since Sunday. Afsana suffered a brain stroke after the news of her husband's death spread and admitted to hospital. A total of 51 people including Bangladeshi pilot Abid Sultan and all four cabin crew members were killed as the US-Bangla Airlines aircraft crashed while landing at the Kathmandu airport in Nepal on March 12. Twenty-six Bangladeshis were among the dead while 10 Bangladeshis survived the crash. Global democratic standards are in decline, report says Financial Times : The quality of worldwide democracy and governance has fallen to its lowest level in 12 years, with much of the decline occurring in free societies where some governments rule with an increasingly arbitrary hand, according to a study. Turkey was named by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, a Germany-based think-tank, as the biggest backslider in democratisation since its last report in 2016. The report said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's repressive measures after a failed 2016 coup had involved "a massive restriction of freedom of expression, the press and freedom of assembly". Some 3.3bn people are estimated to live under autocratic political systems, the largest number since the research group started its survey in 2006, while 4.2bn people are estimated to live in democracies. Of 129 countries analysed, the Bertelsmann report classifies 71 as democracies and 58 as autocracies. The last survey classified 74 countries as democracies and 55 as autocracies. The institute's studies exclude the mature democracies of North America, Europe, Japan, Australia and elsewhere. "It is not so much the slight increase in the number of autocracies that is worrying. More problematic is the fact that civil rights are being curtailed and the rule of law undermined in an increasing number of democracies as well," says the latest report, released on Thursday. "Former beacons of democratisation such as Brazil, Poland and Turkey are among the countries that have fallen the most." The report, conducted between February 2015 and January 2017, identifies five countries - Bangladesh, Lebanon, Mozambique, Nicaragua and Uganda - as no longer meeting minimum standards of democracy. "These five new autocracies have crossed a threshold that the defective democracies of Honduras, Hungary, Moldova, Niger, the Philippines and Turkey are nearing, though to varying degrees," the study says. It judges that Poland, "though much further away, is inching its way downward". The report says the world is experiencing "increasing political instability and a rapid decline in the acceptance of democratic institutions". "In more and more countries, government leaders are deliberately undermining the checks and balances designed to hold the executive accountable, thereby securing not only their own power, but a system of patronage and the capacity to divert state resources for their own personal gain," the report says. " The long-term trend of increasing restrictions on political freedom and the rule of law continues unabated. While in recent years this was primarily due to greater repression in hardening autocracies, in this study there are above all some relatively advanced transformation countries whose governments are showing a more authoritarian leaning." The report nevertheless lists a number of success stories. In the southern hemisphere these include Argentina, where "a strengthening of the rule of law was accompanied by a correction of market-distorting regulations of the former government", Mauritius and Uruguay. The institute estimated that about one in five countries managed to maintain or strengthen the foundations of democracy and a market economy, picking out Botswana, Chile, Estonia and Taiwan. Burkina Faso and Sri Lanka are now classed as defective democracies, having been classed as moderate autocracies in the 2016 report. The Undead Archives I have finally salvaged my pre-Blogger TDR archives and added them into Blogger. They are almost totally in the form of one giant post for each month. And the formatting strayed from the originals. Sorry. But historians everywhere can rejoice that this treasure trove of my thoughts is restored to the world. Yes, the decision belongs on the local level No, no one should be able to dictate whether people wear masks Vote View Results Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Michelle Forbes, Director of NEMO confirmed a reduction in the alert status surrounding activity at Kick em Jenny. Up to Wednesday, the alert level as it relates to the activities associated with Kick em Jenny, has been reduced (back) to Yellow. This means that the seismicity or the fumarolic activity are above the historical level, or other unusual activity has been observed. The alert level was raised earlier this month following increased (recorded) activity coming from the submarine volcano located just five miles north of Grenada. Michelle Forbes, Director of the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO), told THE VINCENTIAN in an interview, that although there has been a reduction in the alert level, it is likely that the advisory issued declaring a 5km/3.1-mile exclusion zone for marine craft would still be in effect. The volcano has been showing signs of constant activity for decades, with heightened levels of activity recorded recently. A colour coded alert level system was implemented, ranging from level Green, which means activity is quiet, to Red eruption may begin, or already is in progress. (DD) Members of the Trinity AMSA who were on hand to conduct the checks. The 2018 Glow Run had promised to be the premier activity of Islandwide Fitness Bootcamp organization. It fulfilled this intention. Over one thousand runners were expected to participate in the March 10 activity. Would be participants crowded the grounds of the Cruise Ship Terminal to register for the 10K event. Many, after registration, made good use of the service of checks specifically for blood glucose and blood pressure, offered at booths set up at various locations on the grounds, and manned by medical students from the Trinity Chapter of the American Medical Students Association (AMSA). Then it was time for participants to be adorned with glowing decorations that would resonate in the darkness, and off to the fitness challenges at the former E. T. Joshua Airport site, after which runners returned to the Cruise Terminal to conclude with warm down activities. The march got going at 6:30pm. What made the fit so perfect between Islandwide Fitness and Trinity AMSA was the fact that the fitness organization has a primary focus of creating awareness for diabetes and hypertension two chronic, non-communicable diseases at the forefront of the cause of death in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Fitness trainer and Director of Islandwide Fitness Bootcamp, Mr. Keyon Constance expounded, "The Glow Run seeks to get participants involved in physical activities. The glucose and blood pressure checks are intended to highlight the importance of controlling the levels for both diseases, hence the reason for the health fair conducted by AMSA prior to the run. AMSA students explain to the runners what their numbers mean, whether they be high or low. To further encourage checking, Islandwide Fitness offered an incentive of gifts of water bottles and other useful items, to the first three hundred participants completing both checks. Term four student Anitesh Jaswal saw the activity as an opportunity for AMSA to make persons aware of the issues. Because persons showed a willingness to be checked, he assured, "I think it shows peoples awareness, and its a good to get checked to put themselves ahead of any issues they may have. Thats really the goal! Though quite happy to do checks for runners, Anitesh was quite aware that the students were not there to give advice. "Its a good thing that people are getting checked he stated. "If they have any issues, our first and main advice would be, Go to your physician, because were only students and, therefore, not licensed to give that kind of advice. Another fourth term student, Spencer Allen, opined that, "I feel great assisting the fight against diabetes and hypertension. This isnt our home but were living here. Whenever we could help them, its useful. Director and Physical Trainer, Keyon Constance thanked AMSA and lauded them for their participation in the activity. "The fight against diabetes and hypertension is real, he stressed. Participation in the Glow Run ranged from a nine-month-old with his parents, to a seventy-five-year old grandfather. A bespoke interior finishing company, Covering Concepts has announced the launch of its design studio at Dubai Design District with the aim of capturing a share of the growing GCC interior fit-out market, valued at approximately $18 billion. Covering Concepts will offer a wide range of premium flooring and wall design solution for both residential and commercial projects. The company has partnered with several well-known European brands, such as Havwoods, Wineo, Shinnoki, Querkus, Ravaioli Legnami, Paviflex and Softcare bringing their artistic and eco-friendly products to the region. In addition, Covering Concepts will work with talented local and international designers to offer an end-to-end solution for their customers. Jay Vasu, director, Covering Concepts said: Flooring and wall designs play a dominant feature in the interior decor that enhances the ambience of a room significantly. With the environment and sustainability being a key focus; all our products are fully accredited as per green building standards. Our partnership with well-known European manufacturers enables us to offer our customers a wide range of quality products with the most elegant and modern designs. Raj Nair, director of Covering Concepts said, Dubai Design District is a hub for design, art and creativity, which makes it the right fit to launch our design studio here. With our wide collection of product in different textures, patterns and colours, interior designers and enthusiasts have an opportunity to customise their designs to the smallest detail. Covering Concepts will showcase its range of flooring and wall claddings and highlight seasonal trends at the upcoming Surface Design 2018 exhibition (Hall 6C Stand No: 251), taking place from March 26 - 29 at Dubai World Trade. - TradeArabia News Service Alfardan Premier Motors Co, the exclusive retailer of Jaguar Land Rover in Qatar, hosted an exclusive event to unveil the worlds first full-size luxury SUV coupe: the limited-edition two-door Range Rover SV Coupe. Created by Land Rover Design and Special Vehicle Operations, SV Coupe is an exemplar of Range Rover design, craftsmanship and capability. It features a seductive body allied to the next-generation of cabin luxury with the peerless all-terrain ability expected from Range Rover, said a statement. No more than 999 will be hand-crafted by SVO for clients worldwide, it said. The models stylish proportions with a powerful stance give SV Coupe unrivalled on-road presence. The signature floating roof, continuous waist and tapering tail are instantly recognisable Range Rover DNA, yet are expressed in a unique way for this exclusive addition to the Range Rover family, it added SV Coupes purity of line is perfectly complemented by elegant power-close doors with frameless glass. In combination with the panoramic roof, light floods into the cabin, accentuating the relaxed, sophisticated and contemporary ambience. Carefully curated body colour combinations, including a new Contour Graphic available in four duo-tone colourways, are offset by unique side vent and grille designs. This is also the first Range Rover with a 23-inch wheel option, it said. Enhanced luxury and exquisite craftsmanship extends inside too, with semi-aniline leather front seats bringing Range Rovers already premium interior to a new level of luxury: accommodation comparable to private jets and yachts. Their gradated diamond quilt design is unique to SV Coupe. Each SV Coupe will be hand-assembled to the clients personal specification by the fastidious experts at the SVO Technical Centre in the UK a first for Range Rover. John Edwards, Land Rover special operations managing director, said: The introduction of the new SV Coupe brings a new level of individual expression to our portfolio and builds on the success of Special Vehicle Operations existing bespoke Range Rover programme. Feedback from SV clients who have already seen the vehicle in confidential commissioning sessions has been overwhelmingly positive, he said. Samer Bou Dargham, general manager, Alfardan Premier Motors, added: We are extremely honoured to launch this fine example of automotive technology and performance engineering in Qatar. This introduction marks a key milestone for our Land Rover brands history, as we continue to deliver unrivalled levels of excellence, innovative technologies and uncompromised performance to our customers, he said. SV Coupe clients can choose from four front-to-rear contrast interior colourways, or a range of single-tone interior colours. Both are complemented by a choice of three elegant wood veneers. A first for Range Rover is Nautica, which carefully balances heritage craftsmanship with new technology, fusing walnut and sycamore together. Optional paint finishes include Liquesence, which brings a sensational liquid metal finish to Range Rover for the first time. Additionally, Special Vehicle Operations bespoke personalisation team offers SV Coupe clients the opportunity to indulge their desire to create a truly unique vehicle to their exacting taste, granting access to 100 more paint colours, plus unique match to sample hues, with a range of finishes; duo-tone front and rear leather colours with a bespoke quilt pattern; contrast stitching; headrest embroidery; door handle and tread plate engraving and semi-precious metal badging. SV Coupe is also the fastest-ever full-size Range Rover, with a 165mph top speed. Powered by an exhilarating 565PS 5.0-litre Supercharged V8 petrol powertrain, the most powerful engine ever placed in a full-size Range Rover, means SV Coupe hits 0-60mph in just 5.0 seconds. The suspension is tuned to provide a more driver-focused edge than the standard Range Rover, with a ride height lowered by 8mm, but will remain composed and comfortable at all times. Plus, the SV Coupe loses none of Range Rovers legendary all-terrain ability, with 900mm maximum wading depth and a maximum towing capacity of 3.5 tonnes, it stated. TradeArabia News Service On April 11, the early presidential elections will be held in Azerbaijan. Recall that according to the plan the elections were to be held in October. The government rescheduled the elections due to the fact that many important international and local events will be held in Azerbaijan since this May, including the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Azerbaijani Democratic Republic, the International Humanitarian Forum and others. "Most of these events fall at the end of the year and coincide with the elections. Therefore, such a decision was made, the Presidential Aide on Socio-Political Issues, Ali Hasanov, said in his February statement. In addition, he stressed that in the international practice, it is considered expedient to hold elections at the beginning of the year. "This also allows us to carry out more effectively the social and economic tasks," Ali Hasanov said. Gasanov's last phrase is especially interesting in the context of the fast-paced renovation process and active reforms aimed at improving the business environment, developing private entrepreneurship, attracting foreign investment and developing tourism. In recent years, Ilham Aliyev has replaced several ministers, some ministries have been merged, and new state agencies have been established. The sharp drop in the world energy prices has become a very unpleasant surprise for the government, which today faces the task of speeding up the diversification of the economy. President Aliyev stated that it is time to forget about oil and gas in 2015 and repeated this thesis during his participation at the World Economic Forum in Davos this year. The early elections can become a necessary mandate of confidence to accelerate the economic reforms that will inevitably have painful consequences, including for the most powerful elite. Possible other causes of early elections In addition to the official version, there were other assumptions made by the expert community. Thus, Milli Mejlis deputy and political scientist, Rasim Musabekov, believes that the process of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement played a role in the government's decision: Azerbaijan wants to close the issue of the presidential elections early, so that Armenia, where the constitutional amendments come in to force in April, has no opportunity to prolong the negotiations until October. Another version is that official Baku played ahead intentionally, anticipating attempts of the foreign forces to intervene in the internal political process, planned for the second half of 2018. To confirm or refute all these assumptions is not possible, but we should not ignore them as speculations either. The fact that Armenia is ready to use the opportunity to postpone the progress in the negotiations, which inevitably implies the extremely uncomfortable withdrawal of the Armenian army from the part of the occupied territories, is not the news for the Armenian government. Similarly, in the past, the attempts were made repeatedly by the global and regional players to put pressure on the Azerbaijani authorities in the pre-election stage, who do not want stubbornly to make an unambiguous choice in favor of closer integration with Russia or the West - which, however, is becoming increasingly difficult in the face of the growing opposition on the international arena. Geopolitical challenges In fact, it is hard to envy the uncertain geopolitical situation in which official Baku has found itself. The unresolved issue of the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and the adjacent seven districts, as well as the explosive situation in the conflict region, undermine largely Azerbaijan's immunity to the external challenges. Karabakh is a potential threat to stability within the country and throughout the region, and, undoubtedly, an effective lever of pressure on it by the managers of the settlement. At the same time, in recent years, the regional alliances and cooperation axes have been reformatted, which has put Baku in need of adjusting the traditional pendular foreign policy between Russia and the West. If ten years ago it was possible to talk about the existence of two axes Moscow-Yerevan-Tehran and Ankara-Baku-Tbilisi with the firm support of Washington, today these formats are so blurred that it is no longer possible to talk about them. Thus, along with a discharge of the international situation around the Iranian nuclear program, the Azerbaijani-Iranian relations have undergone a transformation in recent years from a cold mutual distrust and barely concealed ideological contradictions to a very pragmatic and regional partnership, which is even reinforced by the concrete projects, which affects even the defense sphere. In recent years, the tone in relations between the two countries has radically changed, the issues of Iran's religious influence on Azerbaijani believers or the issues of Iranian Azerbaijanis are no longer the topics that dominate the Iran-Azerbaijan bilateral agenda. The decision of Azerbaijan to allocate a $ 500 million loan to Iran for the construction of the Resht-Astara railroad testifies to the strengthening of trust between the parties and the long-term partnership. The warming of bilateral relations is also indicated by the fact that in March of this year, Azerbaijan decided to simplify significantly the visa regime for Iranian citizens - they will be able to receive a visa immediately upon arrival at the airport. The experts familiar with the Azerbaijani-Iranian problems note the special significance and symbolism of such a step made by Baku, which for a long time did not dare to make indulgence in the visa issues for Iranians. Meanwhile, the high risks remain for the full-fledged long-term bilateral cooperation due to the sharply negative attitude of US President Trump towards the nuclear deal and the likelihood of the new economic sanctions against Iran, which will limit the ability of other countries to make deals with the country. If the international situation around Tehran is pumped once again, and the tough stance of Washington and Tel Aviv indicates such a probability, then Azerbaijan, like other countries in the region, will have to take into account these factors in its economic and political relations with its southern neighbor due to the strong Azerbaijani-Israeli relations. Azerbaijan-Turkey: from younger brother to equal partner Turkey, which is the closest ally and important bridge of Azerbaijan to the West, can no longer be regarded as a full member of the Western alliance, even despite its participation in the NATO bloc. Today, this country, in fact, is cut off from the prospect of the European integration, and because of the contradictions over the Kurdish issue and the Syrian conflict, it has the extremely strained relations with the United States. Its NATO-relations with the West are not all smooth as well, as evidenced by Ankara's symptomatic decision to buy Russian S-400 air defense systems, despite the loud protests of its alliance allies. Finally, the West itself has disintegrated largely in its classic political interpretation in recent years. The protectionist policy of Donald Trump and his tough EU security requirements created a deep crack in the transatlantic relationship (in this respect, the Russian nuclear threat and the Skripal case were very welcome in terms of symbolic solidarization of the Western community). At the same time, the political integration of the national states within the EU itself has significantly weakened after the migration crisis and Brexit. Against this background, Baku's relations with Ankara, although they continue to be a full-fledged strategic alliance, have undergone certain changes. Azerbaijan is an important gas exporter to Turkey, occupying more than 11% of the market share, and a major investor - Azerbaijan's total investment in this country will amount to $ 20 billion by 2020. Recently after the signing of the Armenian-Turkish protocols, Azerbaijan demonstrated that its role of a younger brother in Ankara-Baku union is not at all something self-evident. Thus, the Armenian-Turkish Zurich protocols, concluded in 2008, were tied to progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, and in the spring of this year, Armenia finally abandoned them - to the great satisfaction of Baku. Today, Azerbaijan and Turkey, on the rights of equal partners, implement jointly initiated energy and transport projects. If earlier Azerbaijan was in the foreign political fairway of Turkey and officially declared European integration as the ultimate goal, while maintaining its exclusive relations with Russia and the countries of the former USSR, today, the growth of Azerbaijani foreign policy is observed. Turkey, for known reasons, is no longer a window to Europe for Baku, and the European integration in its original sense, due to a number of circumstances, is no longer so attractive for Azerbaijan. Between Russia and the EU The initial integration models proposed by Brussels to the Eastern Partnership member countries turned out to be unprofitable and uninteresting for Azerbaijan neither economically, nor politically. At the same time, in recent years, the activities of the most Western institutions of influence on civil society have been curtailed in the country, apparently as measures to prevent the revolutionary sentiments in the country. This, however, does not mean that Baku refused to pursue a rapprochement with the European Union - the European direction remains a priority for the Azerbaijani policy, the European gas market is a key for Azerbaijan in the context of the TANAP and TAP projects. Today, official Baku in its relations with Brussels focuses on energy partnership, economic cooperation and the introduction of new technological standards. The political support of Brussels in the Karabakh issue is rather restrained, as Europeans, proceeding from their own geopolitical interests, are also actively working with the Armenian side for the long-term prospect of withdrawing this country from the orbit of the Russian influence, and therefore they do not wish to spoil the relations with Yerevan. The price of Europe's greater loyalty could probably be a sharp anti-Russian roll in Baku's policy, but the Azerbaijani government is pragmatic enough to assess the role of Russia's regional hegemon for the stable development of the country's economy and security. Such a position of Ilham Aliyev's government - "cooperation without interference in domestic politics and not at the expense of deterioration of relations with the third countries" - causes, however, a critical attitude on the part of the Eurocentrist forces. It is no coincidence that such European capitals as Amsterdam and Berlin have become a permanent location for the opposition activists - they receive the status of refugees in Europe without any problems, with little support from Western sources of financing they conduct active anti-government information activities and draw ordinary Azerbaijani migrants to the opposition shop. It should be borne in mind that many migrants who left the country, as a rule, did this for the reasons of discontent with the certain conditions in their homeland and, consequently, are a priori more critical of the Azerbaijani government. European dream of the radical opposition abroad Faced with the limited opportunities to work actively with the civil society directly on the Azerbaijani territory, Europe has been developing an alternative tool of soft pressure on Azerbaijan in the past several years in the form of encouraging the activities of the political emigration and European-based opposition media. This does not characterize European countries with either bad or good side - this is just the political reality and methods of work of the global players around the world. At the same time, Europeans obviously face the problem of the quality of political emigrants - in fact, the of low working qualification leave as refugees in the overwhelming majority. The highly qualified migrants tend to find well-paid jobs on a regular work visa, and they have neither time nor desire to run around the city, putting up posters Down the dictatorship or posting videos in Youtube with a frenzy towards the government, as is done now, on the eve of the elections. Many Azerbaijani oppositionists, who settled in the West, prefer revolutionary changes in Azerbaijan, accompanied by a complete breakdown of the entire political system of the state. The history knows examples of the revolutions carried out on foreign money and their consequences - it is appropriate to recall here the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty contradictory to the national interests of Russia, but convenient for Germany, which was defeated in the First World War. It was signed by the Soviet revolutionaries after their coming to power. Of the modern and more relevant examples, we can cite the Euromaidan in Ukraine - regardless of the assessment of the role played by the Russian side in Crimea and Donbas - the ideologists and sponsors of the revolution could not but foresee that its results would hurt the national interests of the country, which ultimately happened. So what can the potential pro-Western (and it cannot be any other, taking into account whose funds the political immigration uses for the web-fight) revolution in Azerbaijan? The universal prosperity, European democracy, lack of corruption and German wages? Exactly this narrative prevails in the opposition information propaganda, built on the opposition of high living standards in Europe and, undoubtedly, significantly lower in Azerbaijan. The desire for a high European standard of living is perfectly normal and understandable, although we should not forget that in Romania or Bulgaria - also the EU countries - these conditions are not much higher than in Azerbaijan, and the same Romanian and Bulgarian citizens go to the Western European countries, working for salaries and positions, which the Germans or the Dutch will never agree to. Of course, the Azerbaijani goods will not become competitive on the European market overnight, and the key Russian market may close in case of deterioration of the relations with Moscow. Perhaps, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be resolved on the fair terms in case of hypothetical coming to power of a radical pro-Western opposition? The EU will hardly give up an equidistant policy in the conflict since the interest in squeezing out the Russian influence from Armenia will not disappear anywhere. Rather, on the contrary - either the conflict will break out with a new force in the conditions of deteriorating relations with Russia, which will significantly reduce the chances of success in a military confrontation with Armenia, where, incidentally, the Russian military bases are stationed. Or else the Caucasian Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty will be concluded, that is, on the conditions that are extremely unfavorable for Azerbaijan. The Western interest lies in the fact that the conflict is resolved and, thereby, the possibilities of the Russian influence on Azerbaijan and Armenia are limited as much as possible. The EU and the US are of little concern, whether the decision will take into account the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and therefore the answer is rather no than yes. Most likely, an important driving motive of the conditional revolutionaries is the change of elites and, ultimately, the redistribution of the country's resources in favor of the new elite. Whether a simple people will win from this is a big question. Afterword There is not much doubt that Ilham Aliyev will win on the upcoming elections. There are no persons among registered candidates who could compete with the incumbent head of state. The traditional opposition, united in the National Council of Democratic Forces, decided to boycott the elections in a friendly manner. Its supporters are going to rallies at Baku stadium "Mehsul" - the last sanctioned meeting, according to official estimates, gathered 1500 people. The organizers say there were about 10 thousand participants, although the photos from the rally show that there were much fewer people. The problem of the small number of modern Azerbaijani opposition lies not only and not so much in the absence in the country of those dissatisfied with their position - they are always enough of them everywhere - but rather in their inability to offer more than the state can offer. The opposition relies on bare slogans and the former authority of its leaders, rather than thought-out political programs, the preparation of which requires serious intellectual resources - namely, they are sorely lacking in classical opposition parties like the Popular Front or Musavat. An important factor undermining the credibility of the opposition is also the fact that the leaders of these parties have headed them for the last 15-20 years, despite the numerous parliamentary and presidential elections that they lost. In the European democracies, which they regularly set as an example in the speeches, the chairmen of the parties that failed at the elections are resigning without further ado; in Azerbaijan, nothing of the kind is happening. This discrepancy is so obvious that their criticism of the long-standing Aliyev presidency on a state scale cannot be taken seriously until at least they are ready to act differently on the scale of their own parties. Not least for this reason, the educated and politically active cadres do not join the opposition parties, but prefer to work either in the private sector or in the state and related structures - thereby, by their knowledge and experience they contribute to the reforms of the state and renewal of the political elite of the country. The strategic task of the state, at the same time, is to improve the functioning of the social elevators, since this is the basis for the long-term stability of any political system. The issue of political emigration in Europe should also be considered from this angle as well - the unrealized potential of some citizens of this country can be used abroad. But it is obvious that it is not in Azerbaijan's interests anymore. Nowruz is a holiday of spring, which marks the beginning of a new year according to the astronomical solar calendar. The history of its origin dates back several centuries and can trace its roots to the Zoroastrian period. In 2009, the holiday was officially registered on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Since that moment, March 21 was declared the International day of Nowruz. Today it is a state holiday in Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkey and other countries. In Russia, it is celebrated in Dagestan, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan and some other republics. Within the framework of the project 'National holidays' Novoruz was celebrated at the Moscow House of Nationalities. The director of the Moscow House of Nationalities Vladimir Tarasov said: "The geography of the holiday is amazing, it stretches from Egypt to some US states and South America, not even mentioning the post-Soviet space, where our former Soviet republics and currently independent states celebrate this wonderful holiday. People celebrate it in the days of the vernal equinox, when winter meets summer - a first furrow, grass, flowers, everything wakes up and comes to life." A member of the Presidency of the Russian Presidential Council for Interethnic Relations, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, Professor Sergey Kandybovich, told Vestnik Kavkaza: "All national holidays are unifying. It is very important for Russia as a multinational state that mutual penetration of cultures was carried out through mass cultural events, and as many people as possible can penetrate into the culture of their neighbors,. It shows how strong we are, what a powerful culture we have, and this is especially evident when you look at something new, not typical for the culture of your people. Therefore, Nowruz, as a very bright, very emotional holiday, has become one of the fundamental holidays among many national holidays, which we gladly celebrate in Russia." In the framework of the National Holiday Nowruz project, personal works by Balnura Asanova, Vladimir Gvozdev, Lilia Ramazanova and Mamut Churlu were presented at the Moscow House of Nationalities. The forum of young leaders of Eurasia was held at the Russian State University for the Humanities (RSUH) in Moscow: about one hundred delegates from the former Soviet republics, young representatives of scientific and expert communities, public and non-governmental organizations, the media, as well as eminent experts took part in the forum titled "Youth against extremism and radicalism". President of the Russian State University for the Humanities, Professor Yefim Pivovar said that any university is a project of the future, as it ensures the education of young people, who will pass on these skills to the next generations: "First of all, education looks to the future. This forum also looks to the future, because the youth struggle against extremism and radicalism must be uncompromising. If this process is not curbed, not controlled, if tensions are not reduced, then the youth will not have a future. Radicalism and extremism are opposite phenomena to a positive, constructive development of any society". According to Yefim Pivovar, the young generation of any country has its own national interests, own priorities, which need to be respected, known and considered, but there are also common interests, such as the fight against radicalism and extremism: "Today two processes take place at once. On the one hand, unfortunately, radicalism and extremism are gaining momentum, they are growing, there are a lot of interested structures. On the other hand, in the context of the information society, the disputes of this potion penetrate very quickly through social networks, through forums, online projects, through the rapid acceleration, distribution and transfer of information. We should strengthen our interaction in this sphere as well, because it is already clear that there are a lot of threats in cyberspace, in the information space, and in conditions of the information society they are increasing." Azerbaijan's politician and public figure, Milli Majlis deputy Rasim Musabekov said that the issue of increasing the resistance of the society to manifestations of extremism, of learning to deal appropriately with them is acute today: "The issue of using new communication tools by those trying to promote extremist ideas, ideologies and organizations in society. The issue of dealing appropriately with these challenges. There are several directions. The law enforcement structures should work in situations when concrete manifestations of extremism are already evident. But there is a part that concerns educational work: educational institutions, the media. The youth organizations, which should give alternatives for young people who are searching for their identity in this life, is rather important segment. Sometimes heightened emotionality, lack of life experience push people in the directions, which can distort both their lives and the lives of those people who will be in touch with them." According to Musabekov, about one thousand people from Azerbaijan were recruited by extremist groups, leaving for Syria and Iraq, but a much larger number of people were registered in Central Asia, Russia: "This should concern both those who are engaged in the prevention of this kind of actions and those, who are involved in preventing young people from joining the network of extremist organizations and their leaders. The important moment for young people is a search for the meaning of life. In this sense, there is a lot of ground to cover for youth organizations. It is important to create social networks, organizations and such projects in which young people will find meaning, being united by a common cause, projects where there's empathy, compassion, which give a sense of belonging to some kind of community. It makes life easier and gives it a necessary sense." Coordinated attacks on Turkish mosques and German-Turkish public organizations happened recently in a number of German cities like North Rhine-Westphalia, Berlin, Schleswig-Holstein and Baden-Wurttemberg. They coincided with successes of the Turkish army in Afrin. The police thinks that that Kurdish extremists living in Germany are behind the attacks. Eva Savelsberg, president of the European Center for Kurdish Studies, discussed activities of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Germany and the conflict between Turkey and the PKK in an interview with T-online. - How much do Kurds in Germany support attacks on Turkish objects located in Germany? - Only a part of those who write hateful comments truly believe that it's good to attack Turkish shops or mosques. But it's not completely clear who is behind these attacks. But I can imagine that young people from the PKK-related environment were strongly radicalized after events in Afrin and believe that such attacks are legitimate. I can't say with certainty that these attacks were planned in a certain center or that they were planned by individual youth groups with tacit consent of the center. - Can someone in Germany stop attacks with one order? - Can someone stop all these attacks? I don't know. After all, on the one hand, the PKK is an organization with a very centralized structure, but, on the other hand, it's a huge organization with a wide range that has strongly radicalized over several months and years, taking into account situation in Syria and, above all, Afrin. Perhaps it doesn't want to stop these attacks. The PKK is well aware that such radicalization also leads to the fact that anyone who makes even slightest criticism of the actions of the PKK in Afrin can be branded as "national traitor." - Recently "Kurdish Youth Initiative" openly called for further attacks. How important is this organization? - There are many different youth initiatives, one of the characteristics of the PKK is that new groups, associations and committees are constantly being created, and some of them can't be understood even by experts in this field. I wouldn't attach importance to individual names from youth committees. - How appealing is this call for more attacks? - First of all, it reflects political position of many young Kurds, especially from Turkey. If this action is a challenge issued by the PKK, it naturally has a certain appeal, because it promotes current mood. The PKK and PYD feel betrayed by the Americans and by Europe. They say that they fought for us against the ISIS (a terrorist organization banned in Russia), and now we leave them at the mercy of the Turks, supply them with weapons. Based on this, they conclude that they have a right to carry out attacks in Europe. - How widespread is hatred for Turkey among the German Kurds? - The PKK has an incredibly strong propaganda machine that dominates in public discourse in Germany. If Turkey attacks any Kurdish faction, it's automatically assumed that the Turks are bad, and the Kurds are always good. It's also a form of Kurdish nationalism. It's hardly possible for the Kurds to be critical when it comes to themselves. This situation further aggravated after Turkey invaded Afrin. Anyone who writes anything that doesn't correspond to the party line will be insulted and berated the next day. Many people prefer not to write anything, since they don't want their entire family to be attacked and receive death threats. - Will situation get worse after the fall of Afrin or continuation of Turkey's operation in other regions of Syria? - It's possible. The question is whether the PKK will decide to revise its relations with Europe, and whether the issue of attacks in Europe will return to agenda - it can remain a marginal phenomenon in some youth groups within the PKK. I think that both scenarios can play out. - Does the Turkish government win something from such attacks in Germany? - At the very least Turkey has new arguments that support calls to take measures against the PKK in Germany. Therefore, I think that the Turkish policy can actually benefit from such attacks. Also, the attitude of local population is radically changing sonce the first attacks happened. The same thing will happen after latest attacks in Germany. - Is this why the YPG hasn't carried out attacks in Europe for a long time alredy? - I'm surprised by these attacks. The PKK wants to continue to control various associations in Germany. It was always clear to it that it was hurting itself by attacks in Europe, since they could lead to a change of policy. - Turkey calls Germany "the PKK's base for retreat" ... - It's clear that the PPK collects donations here, and also that many Kurds in Germany send money to it because they are afraid of the consequences that may come if they don't do it. But this happens exclusively in the Turkish-Kurdish environment, which generally doesn't affect the majority of society. No Kurd that is being blackmailed by the PKK in some way goes to the police, because he doesn't believe that the police can help them, but the consequences and revenge from the Kurdish community can become worse. Germany knows about these structures. But since such things don't lead to social unrest, nothing is being done. This is the policy of the federal government when it comes to the PKK. There is a gap between Germany and Turkey, associated with conflicting interests, and it's hard to get over it. - Turkey also complains that Germany doesn't take active actions against the PKK. - Everyone knows that many Kurdish associations operating on German territory are close to the PKK. But, thank God, Germany doesn't have any laws that require to shut them down automatically. Before this, it was necessary to go through a complex and lengthy process. Organizational relations with the PKK should be thoroughly proved, and an independent court must recognize validity of existing evidences. This, in particular, is the difference between democracy. Open democracy has to observe rules of the game, even if they are used by enemies of democracy. Perhaps it's more effective to observe existing structures and not ban them, since it leads to creation of new ones. - Turkey perceives this as inaction of Germany. - It's hard to explain this to people in Turkey, who are actually afraid of terrorist acts and lost loved ones in attacks on civilians. The opposite is happening in Turkey itself - if your neighbor suspects you it's enough to get arrested for alleged relations with the PKK. You just need to look at the list of Turkey's Interpol, which includes not only alleged criminals, such as Salih Muslim, but also human rights activists such as Dogan Akanli, who, apart from criticizing the Turkish politics, did nothing. When you do this, you shouldn't be surprised if some of your problems aren't taken seriously and that you're no longer trusted. - Ankara claims that it must protect itself and therefore fights in Afrin. - "Must" is a relative term. There's no doubt that this is a violation of international law and an illegitimate operation. Turkey claims that it was attacked first, but, as far as I know, it provided no evidence. Missiles flew only after Turkey launched this offensive operation. However, after the failure of the 2015 peace process, it was predictable that Turkey wouldn't be able to just constantly watch from the sidelines how the group, which is ultimately a part of the PKK, expands its arsenal of weapons and military structures. To believe that the PPK will establish a lasting peace, or at least stability, would be naive. Turkey felt that the ever growing presence of the PKK near its border is a threat, and it's understandable. - Is there any difference between the PYD and the PKK? - Actually, it's the same organization. You can't separate them. If you look at who fought against the ISIS in Koban, you will see that the PYD forces were supported by the PKK. About half of those killed in the ranks of the PYD in the fight against the ISIS are Kurds from Turkey. It's a strong evidence, and if you look at those who lead them, there can be no questions. Ultimately, it's undeniable that personnel of the PKK and the YPG (military units of the PYD) are the same people. - Turkish government has similar position. You're a president of the European Center for Kurdish Studies, located in Berlin, you're German, but your name often appears in the Turkish media. - We also appear in the German media, but there are prejudices against our position. I think that this is also due to the fact that our position on the conflict between Turkey and the PKK is relatively unpopular in Germany, and, as a consequence, it's less in demand. The PYD and the PKK established dictatorship in Syria, which is in no way inferior to dictatorship that is being developed in Turkey. Germany likes to view the PYD and the PKK as a liberation movement that builds democracy from below, while Erdogan's position isn't percieved like that. This contrast is very common in Germany. The fact that the PYD limits freedom of expression is something that people don't really like to hear. - Germany often views these sides differently. - For a long time Germany considered the YPG as a separate organization, which represents Western values in Syria and the Middle East, fights for freedom and democracy. The fight against the ISIS changed public perception of the PKK. But it's very strange to see the YPG fighters in Afrin on tanks with Ocalan's flags on one sine and Assad flags on the other. It's hard to understand why a group that support such man can be viewed as left-wing progressive group in the West. The absurdity of this situation is that positions of the PYD and the PKK leadership and the government of Turkey aren't that different. Neither side thinks about freedom of expression, and they don't like the opposition. They are similar to each other more than they themselves would have liked. - Do you face the consequences of voicing such position? - Actually, this story concerns many people in the community. As a German journalist, you can more or less say what you want. You may have several unflattering comments in your articles, but few people are interested in that. It's interesting what the so-called "traitors" are saying. - What Syrian Kurds think about this situation? - Many non-PKK Kurds in Syria are divided when it comes to this issue. Many understand that the fight between Turkey and the PKK that spread to Syria's territory bring no benefit to Syrian Kurds, only civilian casualties. The YPG not only accepts such sacrifices, but also prevents civilian population from leaving Afrin, using it as a human shield. The more civilian casualties there will be in Afrin, the better it is for the PKK, since Turkey is blamed for every civilian casualty. - Can it be said that the occupation of Afrin has symbolic value? - With the loss of Afrina and possibly other areas, the PYD and the PKK might lose huge sources of income. They are mostly independent from European revenues, because their administration charged huge fees for various services and took customs duties. It's awful that at first civilian population was suppressed by the PYD, and now Turkey has invaded. Some consider the fight against the PYD and the PKK positive. But I'm pretty skeptical about whether Turkey will really try to build local administration together with local forces. - But shouldn't the West be grateful to Kurdish militants?" - I think that this question is incorrect. The fact that they fought against the ISIS has nothing to do with Western values, it was in their own interests. The term gratitude is inappropriate. The fact is that Americans didn't find other allies in Syria, who wanted to fight solely against the ISIS. The Americans reached an agreement with well-trained PKK, which has many years of fighting experience, wanted to lead this battle and cooperated with Bashar Assad. It was an ideal ally, which could consolidate its forces, because it received weapons. - What should be done to resume the peace process? - Right now it's time when Europe can really begin to pursue meaningful Turkish policy and make it clear to the Turkish government that without reaching agreement, there will be no peace in Turkey. Erdogan also understood this, because Kurdish policy of the AKP (Justice and Development Party) of early years had very strong positive sides - suddenly there were television channels in Kurdish language, Kurds became a part of society. This strong social discovery has now completely changed. I believe that Turkey needs to reach the point where it will once again understand that without negotiations with the PKK, peace with Kurdish population in Turkey can't be achieved. Unfortunately, there won't be any solution in Syria either. Right until his re-election next year, Erdogan won't be interested in starting any negotiations. The PKK can change its position if it loses Syria, since it will be under greater pressure in Turkey and, probably, in Europe. In recent years, the PPK is on the rise, and it's interested in negotiations only when it's weaker. The problem is that if Turkey is too strong, then it won't have any interest in dialogue with the PKK. It's dangerous because the Turkish government will think that it can finally defeat the PKK militarily. History since the 1980s shows that such thing is unlikely to happen. The reason for the Gudauri ski-lift accident on March 16 was a voltage drop and human error, Georgias Economy Minister Dimitry Kumsishvili said at a press-conference. "Based on the records from a memory device installed on the equipment, it was determined that on March 16, there was a voltage drop, which stopped the ski-lift. However, after the ski-lift stopped, the operator should have turned on a nearby diesel generator to bring skiers to a point from where they would have been able to get off and vacate the ski-lift," Kumsishvili said. Experts from the world leading Bureau Veritas have been checking the site as well as the ski-lift documentation over the past few days, and today they presented the results of the inspection together with the Minister of Economy, Agenda.ge reported. Kumsishvili stressed that Georgias Ministry of Internal Affairs would continue an official investigation and will raise the issue of relevant responsibilities in compliance with the legislation. Meanwhile, the operator was "suspended from his activities, as well as the Deputy Director of Mountain Resorts Company in the technical field and the head of the Gudauri Mountain Management Department offered their resignation to Kumsishvili "as they feel responsibility for the accident. President of the Peoples Republic of China Xi Jinping is ready to discuss prospective plans for the development of China-Turkmenistan relations and strategic partnership. According to the president, China pays great attention to building up bilateral relations, a letter to Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on the occasion of the Novruz holiday says. In addition, Xi Jinping said that he is ready to discuss prospective plans for the development of China-Turkmenistan relations and strategic partnership, Trend reported. The CIS Foreign Ministers Council will meet in Minsk on April 6, the CIS Executive Committee said. The agenda of the meeting includes the development of humanitarian cooperation and the fight against new threats in the CIS, AKIpress reported. The CIS Foreign Ministers Council meeting will consider 13 draft documents, most of which are aimed at developing humanitarian cooperation and ensuring security in the CIS. At least one person was killed when a man took hostages in a supermarket in the southwestern French town of Trebes today. Mayor Eric Menassi told LCI TV that the man had entered the shop screaming "Allahu Akbar, (God is greatest) Ill kill you all". The station reported that the hostage-taker has claimed allegiance to ISIS. The hostage-taker was now alone with one police officer in the supermarket and all other hostages had been freed, he added. LCI TV said the second victim was also dead and that 12 people were injured. All the information we have as I speak lead us to think that this would be a terrorist act, Reuters cited Prime Minister Edouard Philippe as saying. A police source had said earlier that eight people were being held hostage and that the hostage-taker had shot at a police officer. Earlier, the Interior Ministry had said security forces were carrying out an operation at a supermarket in southern France. Interior Minister Gerard Collomb was on his way. Turkey's security officials say police have detained 14 suspected ISIS militants during an anti-terrorist operation in Istanbul. They added that the operation is still underway in nine districts of Istanbul. According to the police, all the detainees participated in armed conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, being members of illegal gangs. Not all countries like rising Russia, with the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, therefore, were witnessing lots elements of the Cold War, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with RT news channel. "Were witnessing lots elements of the Cold War and, unfortunately, were seeing more and more elements of the Cold War in our agenda and were facing it in the international relationship," he noted. According to the spokesman, not all countries are comfortable with the rising Russia, with the leadership of President Putin. Peskov said that a number of countries are so concerned about a rising Russia they are ready to put international laws at risk to contain it. "And in this tough behavior they are ready to jeopardise international law, the basics of international relations, free trade and commerce regime. They are ready to forget about fair trade, they are ready to forget about WTO rules. They are ready to forget about every rules when they want to suppress Russia," Sputnik cited him as saying. President Putin is looking for repairing relationship where it is possible and looking for developing and furthering relationships with various countries, especially our partners in Europe, with the United States, and proceeding in this developing as far as our partners are ready to, Peskov added. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov voiced regret over the European Unions decision to recall its Ambassador to Russia Markus Ederer for consultations. "In regard to the decision, certainly we regret that again, with the term "highly likely" used, such decisions and such judgement are made," Peskov said. "We disagree with this and once again repeat that Russia absolutely and unambiguously has no relation to the Skripal case," TASS cited him as saying. According to the spokesman, Russia has not so far received information from the United Kingdom on the incident and doesnt know which data London cited when discussing the issue with its EU colleagues. US President Donald Trump's policy line is aimed at normalizing relations with Russia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. "The policy line of US President Donald Trump is aimed at normalizing relations with Russia and building interaction in the interests of all, in spite of everything," TASS cited the Russian foreign minister as saying. "The appointment of John Bolton is an internal affair of the United States," Lavrov added. US President Trump announced on Twitter on Thursday about the resignation of his national security adviser Herbert McMaster and the appointment of former US Permanent Representative to the UN John Bolton to this post. The importance of the Russian language for the North Caucasus can not be overemphasized, because it is both the language of everyday communication, including interethnic communication, and the language of official state life in the North Caucasus Federal District, and an important part of workers' qualifications, opening the way to the best jobs in the country, the employees of North Caucasian and Moscow universities told the correspondents of Vestnik Kavkaza, commenting on Patriarch Kirill's statement about the poor teaching of the Russian language in the region. Professor of the Pyatigorsk State Linguistic University, a member of the commission for migration issues of the Russian Presidential Council for Interethnic Relations, Maya Astvatsaturova, in the first place, drew attention to the fact that the use of the Russian language in the North Caucasus declined in the post-Soviet period for the simple reason - an outflow of the Russian and Russian-speaking population from the region. "In fact, the quality of knowledge of the Russian language has declined not only in the North Caucasus, but also in Russia as a whole," she noted. At the same time, as the recent scientific studies of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science have shown in the North Caucasus, the need for quality teaching of the Russian language has increased. "The Russian language is the language of career growth and communication for the North Caucasus. And today it is necessary to find some optimal forms of meeting the population's requests for learning Russian and native languages, interest in which is also great. This requires new textbooks, new technologies and new techniques," the professor of the Pyatigorsk State Linguistic University said. "I can say that our Pyatigorsk State Linguistic University attaches great importance to Russian language. Russian is taught both in specialized departments and special areas of training, as well as in many others, in addition, we have the Center for Russian Language and Culture," she noted. "Russian language in the North Caucasus is the language of both state and interethnic communication. The life of civil society and the political sphere in the North Caucasus is mostly realized in Russian. That is, the Russian language is not only the language of familiarizing with the great Russian culture and everyday culture of the Russian people, but it is precisely the language of political socialization. In this sense, I think, the authorities, local governments and national cultural organizations should be interested in preserving the Russian language in our region, especially since schoolchildren demonstrate a high interest in learning it," Maya Astvatsaturova concluded. Barasbi Karamurzov, the rector of Kabardino-Balkar State University, in turn, stressed that the everyday life level of knowledge of Russian in the North Caucasus remains very good, and all the catastrophic assessments are clearly exaggerated. "In fact, the quality of teaching all the disciplines is a little lower than we would like, and teaching Russian also requires improvements, but there is no catastrophe. The language of youth is significantly influenced by the Internet now and we certainly need to do something about it," the rector of Kabardino-Balkar State University said. "I have always advocated the need to improve the teaching of Russian, since I always treated language as a means of forming and maintaining a common way of thinking. Russian language is the language of everyday communication in the North Caucasus, and there are no situations that the Russian language disappeared somewhere. The quality of teaching is about the same level as in Russia as a whole," Barasbi Karamurzov added. Chief research associate, director of the Educational and Scientific Center for the Study of Ethnopolitical and Ethno-Cultural Processes of the Russian State University for the Humanities, Magomed Omarov, illustrated the relevance of Russian language on the example of Dagestan. "In Dagestan, where 32 indigenous people live and speak different languages, Russian is vital. Any communication, development of culture and art are simply impossible without it. Therefore, Russian was historically widespread in Dagestan and actively, at a good level, taught, including in rural mountain schools. The graduates of Caucasian rural schools enter Moscow and St. Petersburg universities, where they achieve real success in various fields, which is impossible without an excellent knowledge of Russian," he said. "Perhaps, due to the Unified State Exam and the negative processes of the 1990s, there have been disruptions in the teaching of Russian. The decline in the number of schools as a result of optimization in certain regions could also affect it. But in general the residents of the North Caucasus have an excellent knowledge of Russian. The Ministry of Education and Science constantly changes the standards of teaching, but the Russian language is taught very well in the North Caucasus," Magomed Omarov said. "Summing up, Russian language is both the language of interethnic communication in the North Caucasus, and the first, the main state language. If a person wants to achieve anything, he needs an excellent knowledge of Russian," the director of the Educational and Scientific Center for the Study of Ethnopolitical and Ethno-Cultural Processes of the Russian State University for the Humanities summarized. Incumbent Russian President Vladimir Putin was re-elected in the March 18 vote winning 76.69% or 56,430,712 votes, a draft resolution of the Central Election Commission adopted at a session on Friday said. The Communist Partys candidate Pavel Grudinin clinched 11.77%, while the leader of the Liberal-Democratic Party Vladimir Zhirinovsky came third with 5.65% of the vote. TV personality and socialite Ksenia Sobchak (nominated by the Civil Initiative party) garnered 1.68%. Next are head of the Yabloko Partys federal political committee Grigory Yavlinsky (1.05%), chairman of the Party of Growth and Russian Presidential Envoy for Entrepreneurs Rights Boris Titov (0.76%), Maxim Suraikin, nominated by the Communists of Russia party (0.68%) and head of the Russian Peoples Union party Sergei Baburin (0.65%). Russia's Defense Ministrys website suffered DDoS attacks during the recent poll for new weapons' names, but all of them were thwarted, a ministry source said. "On the last day of the poll for new weapons' names, the official website of the Russian Defense Ministry suffered seven DDoS attacks, five of which were of average power, while two more powerful attacks took place from 19:00 to 20:00 (16:00 to 17:00 GMT), in the last hour of the poll," the source elaborated. "The Defense Ministrys cyber security services thwarted all the DDoS attacks," the source stressed, adding that "in the last minutes of the poll, the number of requests was tens of thousands per second." "More than 600,000 users from all over the world monitored the polls results in the last hour of the poll," the source added. The source added that the attacks originated from Western Europe, North America and Ukraine. The poll on the ministrys website concluded at 20:00 (17:00 GMT) on Thursday. Russians have chosen names for the countrys newest weapons by participating in a poll on the Defense Ministrys website, a ministry source said, TASS reports. While delivering his State of the Nation Address to the Federal Assembly on March 1, Russian president Vladimir Putin suggested that the countrys people choose names for a combat laser complex, an underwater drone and a nuclear powered cruise missile. "The name Peresvet won the vote for a name for the combat laser complex. Most people voted for the nuclear powered cruise missile to be named Burevestnik, while the name Poseidon was chosen for the underwater drone," the Defense Ministry source said. The poll on the Russian Defense Ministrys website concluded at 20:00 (17:00 GMT) on Thursday, the source added. This is the first time in Russias history that weapons has been named by a popular vote as in the past, the military used to choose names for weapons and military equipment. US State Department considers countering state-sponsored propaganda coming out of Russia, Iran and China an additional priority, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said "About a year and a half ago or so, an additional priority was added to the Global Engagement Center, and that is countering state-sponsored propaganda. So that is something thats still getting ramped up. Part of my job here will be to really focus on this. I see that as a very important issue. When we look at the propaganda that we see coming out of governments, including Russia, including Iran, including China," she said. Nauert also thanked Congress for allocating $40 million from the Department of Defense for the Global Engagement Center. On March 20, Congressmen Seth Moulton and Elise Stefanik presented a bipartisan bill that would oblige foreign media companies to provide more information, particularly on their ownership and government ties, to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). According to the measure, US-based foreign media outlets would be required to submit semiannual reports to the FCC. The FCC will in its turn have to make such reports public on its website no later than 30 days after an outlets report submission or the date it is submitted to the Congress. The legislation would also require to include statements in the programming, and it will have to be done hourly during video programming longer than 60 minutes, according to the document. HA NOI Automaker Hyundai Motor, Thanh Cong Group and the Peoples Committee of Ninh Binh signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to construct the second automobile plant in the northern province of Ninh Binh. The MoU, which was signed on Thursday, demonstrates the efforts and actions of Thanh Cong Group and Hyundai Motors to invest and expand the assembly of Hyundai cars in Viet Nam. The current joint venture factory between Thanh Cong Group and Hyundai Motors, named Hyundai Thanh Cong Commercial Vehicle, has a total capacity of producing over 60,000 units per year. Currently, the factory is producing and assembling vehicles such as Hyundai SantaFe, Elantra, Grand i10, Tucson and New Porter 150. Thanh Cong Group president Nguyen Anh Tuan said his group would strive to invest capital, expand production scale, improve product quality and contribute to the development of the automobile industry in Viet Nam. With the construction of the second automobile assembly plant, the corporation would bring to the market the latest eco-friendly model and help Vietnamese consumers get quick access to the achievements of the world automotive industry. Byung Kwon Rhim, vice president of International Sales Division-Hyundai, said his firm saw opportunities and growth potentials of the Vietnamese market in Southeast Asia. This will be the basis for Hyundai Motors to promote and expand in the Asia Pacific region, with the centre being Viet Nam, he said. Along with the expansion of production scale, the joint venture also committed to expand the distribution system and improve service quality across the country. It will also help to develop the Hyundai car brand in a sustainable way not only in sales but also in meeting the satisfaction of consumers. VNS HCM CITY A report on last years imports and exports was released on March 22 by the Ministry of Industry and Trade to provide accurate information on the countrys trade to management agencies, policymakers and businesses. It includes an overview of the Vietnamese and global economy, Viet Nams import-export situation, its markets, in addition to import-export policies and mechanisms and information on free trade agreements. Speaking at the launch ceremony, Deputy Minister Tran Quoc Khanh said compared to the first ever report released last year, this year it provided more details on import-export targets for each product and market and was also more scientifically arranged. The report is a basic database to help enterprises make strategic plans, expand their trade, enhance their competitiveness and integrate with the global market, he said. Last year was a good one for Viet Nam with its exports crossing the US$200 billion mark for the first time and ending at $214.02 billion, a year-on-year increase of 21.2 per cent and well above the Governments target. Besides improving the trade balance, it also helped promote production and create jobs, he said. The deputy minister said last year marked a transition in exports from raw materials to manufactured and processed goods. This is in line with the target set under the import-export strategy for 2011-20, with a vision to 2030, he said. Exports of processed goods accounted for over 81 per cent, followed by agricultural and fisheries items with over 12 per cent, he said. Tran Thanh Hai, deputy director of the ministrys import export department, said last years trade surplus of $2.92 billion was the highest ever. The surplus was mainly with developed countries like the US, EU and Australia, which have strict requirements for imports. Truong inh Hoe, general secretary of the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, hailed the report, saying it greatly helps businesses, industries and business groups orient their export and business activities. He called on the ministry to include more information on trade protectionism and barriers, and offer solutions and recommendations to overcome them. The fisheries sector also needs information about the Chinese market, a promising one for Vietnamese firms, he said. Tran Viet Anh, vice chairman of the HCM City Union of Business Association, said the report compilers should provide statistics on the key import and export items of each province and city to help them make plans for developing their products and sectors. This would also help investors choose their ideal investment destination, he pointed out. VNS HA NOI Opportunities to strengthen trade ties between Viet Nam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) rose during a variety of partnership programmes held on March 22, during President Moon Jae-ins state visit. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) organised a Viet Nam-RoK business programme in hope of enhancing bilateral trade activities and cooperation between the two countrys enterprises, via exchanges of information and investment promotion. o Kim Lang, deputy head of the MoITs Trade Promotion Agency, said since the 2015 Viet Nam-RoK Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA), the RoK has established itself as Viet Nams third largest trading partner, just behind China and the US. In 2017, total bilateral trade turnover had reached US$61.5 billion, up 41 per cent year on year, he added. Economic, trade and investment relations between Viet Nam and RoK have been constantly developing, with the latter now an important strategic partner and leading investor for the former. Notably, in the field of agriculture, Langs department has focused on supporting Vietnamese enterprises to export to the Korean market, through commercial transaction programmes and exhibitions such as March 22s event. I hope trade promotion programmes such as this will help firms from both countries understand each other better, in order to seek reliable partners and effective cooperation, said Lang. According to Bui Viet Truong, Third Secretary of Office for Trade Affairs under the Vietnamese Embassy in the RoK , the RoK spends an average of $33 billion annually on agricultural and aquatic imports. This means Vietnamese firms can push for seafood and fruits exports to this market, beyond traditional goods such as shrimp, catfish, coconut or pineapple. However, he warned when Vietnamese enterprises export products to the RoK, they must pay attention not only to quantity but also quality and packaging, especially with the RoKs strict quarantine regulations. Speaking to the Vietnam News Agency, Nguyen Minh Duong, director of Minh Duong One Member Co Ltd, said that his company has been distributed dried agricultural products in Viet Nam via modern distribution channels such as Big C or Vingroup, but he hoped to expand business to other markets such as China and the RoK in relatively large volumes. The MoIT on March 22 oversaw a direct introduction of two large RoK retailers and distributors, K-holdings and Coupang Group, to a number of local agricultural producers. Accordingly, the two RoK firms are in need of imports such as spices, sauces, rice products, processed seafood, dried meat cuts and fruits. Both corporations purpose is to search for qualified Vietnamese agricultural products to introduce to the RoKs market. Coupang Group is considered Koreas number one leading online shopping business, who also hopes to sell at least 1,800 Vietnamese products on their website by 2019, while K-holdings is a leading enterprise in the field of procurement and distribution of agricultural and food products. Another promotion programme on March 22 was the Vietnam Silicon Valley Accelerators Global Demo Day, in collaboration with Koreas Born2Global Centre, focusing on matching venture capitalists to potential startups between both countries. VNS HA NOI Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) and Hau Giang Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company (DHG Pharma) on March 22 agreed to cooperate in product research and development. The aim is to meet consumers needs of healthcare and bring new values to the community. This is an important milestone, marking a new direction in the promotion of strategic cooperation on product development, business and distribution between two of Viet Nams leading companies in pharmaceutical and nutrition industries. Under the strategic partnership, DHG Pharma and Vinamilk will jointly build new co-brand products or develop existing ones to serve the healthcare needs of people from all walks of life. The two firms will also coordinate in supplying raw material to produce supplementary food products, utilising the strengths of each others distribution capacity to help people easily access and consume nutritional and healthy products. In addition to this, the two companies will help each other seek partners and customers as well as introduce scientific research to create new values, aiming to provide consumers at home and abroad with products with international quality. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Vinamilk General Director Mai Kieu Lien said Vinamilks mission was to bring high-quality nutrition to the community. Vinamilk has always pioneered in partnering with prestigious national and international corporations to develop and apply achievements in nutritional science and health in its products, she said. Cooperation with DHG Pharma is also a solid step in the strategy to combine the strengths of both sides towards the goal of introducing Vietnamese consumers to locally made products with international quality, she added. oan inh Duy Khuong, acting general director of DHG Pharma, said the application of scientific and technological advances to the production line not only contributed to raising competitiveness in the market but also showed the responsibility of DHG Pharma towards the community. Long-term orientation of DHG Pharma is to join hands with scientists, in collaboration with institutes and schools, he said, adding that the company had also signed a scientific cooperation agreement with the Institute of Biotechnology for research and development of products. DHG Pharmas signing with Vinamilk is also one of the strategies to help people easily access healthcare services and quality products. DHG Pharma believes that this partnership is a step towards creating new values and new products that fit peoples needs of healthcare, nutrition and physical improvement, Khuong said. VNS HA NOI The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) will organise the National FinTech Day in May. This is the first major event of FinTech in the country, with the participation of FinTech management agencies, the start-up community, commercial banks, experts from Viet Nam, as well as foreign countries. Speaking at the Viet Nam-Korea Financial Co-operation Forum on March 22, SBVs governor Le Minh Hung stressed that the industrial revolution 4.0 is causing a boom in technology, bringing many opportunities, creating added value and is a great driving force for economic development. Banking and finance is a pioneer sector in rapidly adopting and applying the superior features of technology solutions to enhance innovation, improve products and services, and reduce costs, thereby bringing benefits to customers, he said. "On the other hand, the financial and banking system may face many challenges due to the presence of machines and automation solutions, competition from FinTech companies or new risks from the technology environment," the governor said. At the forum, Nguyen Toan Thang, general secretary of the Viet Nam Banks Association, said that in the global trend, banking is one of the sectors witnessing a strong impact from the industrial revolution 4.0, which requires a lot of changes from banks to keep up with the development of technology and to meet the demands and expectations of customers. VNS QUANG NINH The water environment in the world-renowned Ha Long Bay has been under tremendous pressure from the growing socio-economic activities in the area. Recognised twice by the UNESCO as the global heritage, Ha Long Bay remains one of the countrys top attractions drawing in 9.87 million tourists last year, of which, 4.28 million are foreign tourists, bringing in US$797 million in revenues, up 30 per cent against 2016. Everyone it seems wants a slice of the pie with a boom in accommodation 12,000 rooms, 80 hotels, and 512 cruises (including overnight ones). Overload threats Pham inh Huynh, deputy head of the Bays management board, said the international recognition of the Bay has been a boom to the provinces development but also causes a lot of troubles for the authorities. Ha Long Bay is not just a purely tourist site. Several vital socio-economic activities make use of the bay marine transport route cuts through the Bay to move goods from Cai Lan Port to Hai Phong Port and others, aquaculture activities on the water surface, in addition to the rapid expansion of coastal urban areas including the planned development of the special economic zone Van on. ang Van Bai, vice chairman of the Viet Nams Heritage Association, shared his concerns over whether the understaffed management board could be capable of overseeing the 438sq.km heritage area with 788 islands of various sizes. The issue of wastewater involves many stakeholders, coming from different places, discharging different types of wastewater coal mining, operations of fishing vessels, operations of hotels or restaurants therefore, any unilateral action plan would not be effective, stressed Jake Brunner, programme co-ordinator of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Viet Nam. Ho Quang Huy, vice chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee, acknowledged that the future of the bay depends on commitments to particular measures to safeguard its environment. Huy said that the province is hastening the building of legal frameworks to make sure a rigorous implementation of the environment master plan envisioned for the bay, as well as mechanisms for co-operation between competent bodies. The role of community-based campaigns conducted by both the State organisations like youths union, womens association, as well as civil societies are also underlined, with specific activities such as awareness raising campaigns held across schools in the area, or clean-up operations on the beach and over the waters. Huy also said that in the future, the authorities will need to hold comprehensive water quality monitoring more frequently, at least once every three months, as well as more unannounced inspections to timely prevent violations. Cruises wastewater The operations of the hundreds of cruise ships in the Ha Long Bay area inevitably results in bilge water, and the pollution threats from this oily mixture poses are so dangerous that three years ago, the province has ordered a halt on building any more tourist cruise, otherwise the number would not just be kept at the current 500-600 but might swell to thousands, Huynh said. Previously, with lax regulations, most cruises operated without supervision, only recently the province has started to enforce stricter rules, but at the moment, only 10 per cent of the cruises are outfitted with bilge water treatment system, while the remaining 90 per cent are old-schooled sailboats and could not be added such a system, he said. However, even so, according to IUCN, with experts estimating the daily wastewater discharge from cruises reaching some 502cu.m, a treatment system that is capable of handling the total amount of wastewater could cost around $3.1 million $1.2 million for 12 boats for collecting bilge water, $800,000 for port-based treatment plants, and $500,000 for necessary on-board equipment for cruises. The daily operational cost for the entire system would come to $251 a day, which would require cruise operator to pay up to $5 per cu.m of wastewater handled. Nguyen Duy Phu, chairman of the Pelican luxury cruise company, said they have studied IUCNs figures and concluded that the actual number of ships needed to collect bilge water from all cruises operational in the bay would be at least five times higher than the suggested figure, which would mean the total investment needed for the wastewater treatment would rocket to a dozen million dollars. Phu also shared the Bay management boards position that despite various efforts and programmes by the province, its not enough, and would never be enough if we only rely on State resources. o Van Ha, director of the Ha Long JSC, said the tourist companies are willing to co-operate with authorities to design the wastewater treatment system in the bay. Ha also suggested that the tourist companies could start with small things right now, for example, switching to the use of biopolymer packaging as well as co-operation with local people to collect and recycle plastic waste. Recently, Quang Ninh Province has implemented a $29.6 million programme (sourced from Japans ODA) to collect waste on land, but a water protection programme in similar veins is still lying in waiting. When Viet Nam is preparing documents to seek the third recognition of Ha Long Bay as the world heritage site from UNESCO, its highly important that the water resources in the area is put under tigher control. VNS HA NOI Artist To Ngoc Thanh doesnt paint from his mind. He paints from deep within his heart and his soul. His inspiration is drawn from memories. Memories of his childhood. My childhood is those days following my dad traveling to Viet Bac (Northen Viet Nam) military base, he recalls as his 19th solo exhibition opens. Those mountain ranges, the lives of the ethnic groups. They have all left deep scars in my heart. Thanh draws inspiration from a multitude of places. But none are so meaningful as Sapa. This latest exhibition, Duyen No voi Sapa (Predestined Love Tile with Sapa), features 63 carefully crafted works. They include oil paintings of landscapes, scenery and the people of Sapa. The exhibition also contains pencil sketches of nude women. He is no stranger to the regions he paints. Mountainous provinces like Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Yen Bai, Hoa Binh, Son La, Lai Chau all feature heavily in his vast collection. But theres nowhere quite like home. And home is Sapa. Its here where his lasting impressions are formed and last a lifetime. Kicker: Beside Sapa, female sensuality is also a favourite subject of Thanh. VNS Photo An Vu Hes no stranger to the town. And can often be seen enjoying what he describes as year round mystery, poetry, culture and, of course, natural beauty. Its a place he has painted so much, he has forgotten how many works of art have come from his pallet. People here must get used to seeing me persistently strolling up and down all villages of Sapa and sitting silently for hours to paint, he said. With hundred trips to this township, until now, I can not remember how many paintings I have made on this land. I can name all the villages and people here. I also know the weather, the climate, and each road in Sapa. Even when I close my eyes, I can still paint Sapa. For Thanh his influences are many, but his path was formed by one man. I always live by my fathers wish. To paint is the reason to live. One single day I miss painting is a day of quitting my job. Why do you call yourself an artist if you can not paint? And his work is having a lasting impression of art lovers far and wide. Anna Sandberg, an American visitor, said she was impressed by mix of colour. Im really dazzled by the colour in his paintings. Their freshness and brightness make the paintings so alive. Kicker: Visitor watches paintings in amusement. VNS Photo An Vu Celebrated late painter Luu Cong Nhan once wrote on Thanhs artworks, To feel the art in Thanhs paintings, you have to come in early and watch them. This time has more beautiful pictures than the previous time, and the elegance and full-faced characteristics in colour. As the son of one of the great painters of Viet Nam To Ngoc Van (December 15, 1906 or 1908 June 17, 1954), who has pioneered in the way of using oil painting, Thanh graduated from the Viet Nam College of Fine Arts and the Czechoslovak University of Fine Arts. He is a member of Viet Nam Fine Arts Association. His works have been displayed in many national museums of Viet Nam, Poland, Italy, USA, France, Sweden, Germany, Japan and much more. He was also awarded many prestigious prizes like prize of International Children Painting in Austria and Japan 1951-58, special prize of Soviet Union Magazine in Moscow, and so one. The exhibition is being held at the Exhibition Hall of Viet Nam Fine Arts Association, 16 Ngo Quyen Street, Hoan Kiem District and lasts until March 26. VNS This year marks a meaningful anniversary for Italy and Viet Nam : 45 years of diplomatic relations. Italian Ambassador Cecillia Piccioni sends Viet Nam News readers a message to celebrate the long-term friendship between two peoples. Indeed, in 1973 Italy was one of the first countries of the European community to establish diplomatic relations with Viet Nam ; however, the ties that link our two countries have much older roots. They can be traced back to a past marked by friendship and solidarity during the countrys hardest times. Nowadays the co-operation between our countries is thriving, making the bilateral relationship truly strategic. In all fields we are working together to achieve the ambitious targets established by our Strategic Partnership. Our relations are getting stronger and tighter at all levels: institutional, economic and cultural. Institutionally, they are thriving, as illustrated by the many meetings among our leaders, including the State visit by Italian President Mattarella in 2015. That historic event has been followed by those of important Italian Ministers as well as by President Tran ai Quangs State visit to Italy in 2016. These high-level visits enhanced our already outstanding partnership in the economic and commercial sector. Indeed, not only is Viet Nam one of our most promising trade partners, but it ranks first among the 10 ASEAN members. Our bilateral trade hit 4 billion euros in 2016 (up 7 per cent compared to 2015) and preliminary data for 2017 are very encouraging, confirming us as the second largest EU exporter to Viet Nam . Moreover, Italy , whose entrepreneurial presence in Viet Nam is contributing to its industrialization, reaffirmed during the most recent Joint Economic Commission its commitment to sharing knowledge and technology to play a more active role in the new stages of the Vietnamese quest to reach higher standards of modernisation. Finally, our cultural relations are thriving. To enhance mutual understanding and deeper knowledge of our two countries traditions and heritages weve tripled the number of cultural initiatives, reaching the public throughout the country and bridging the geographical distance between Italy and Viet Nam . We focus on the similarities between our peoples and spare no effort to enhance awareness of the many tangible and intangible heritages we share. Against such a highly promising backdrop, the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations marks a new milestone in our partnership. In light of such a special occasion weve developed a program encompassing the various facets of our friendship and co-operation. A program that, highlighting and promoting reciprocal understanding as well as the richness of Italian culture, could enhance our mutual knowledge in areas ranging from cultural to economic promotion, from scientific and technological research, to fashion and industrial design. The celebrations were launched last Friday at the Youth Theatre in Ha Noi with a special concert celebrating Italian-Vietnamese friendship: the IBLA Viet Nam Awards 2018, featuring 11 young and talented musicians from all over the world, performing some of the most iconic music with a special focus on Gioacchino Rossini, in the year of the 150th anniversary of his passing away. The following weekend, the Italy-Viet Nam Fashion Council introduced to the Viet Namese public the Viet Nam-Italia Fashion Week 2018, with the special participation of the Italian designer Michele Gaudiomonte. As Italy is one of the leading fashion superpowers in the world and Viet Nam has always harbored a strong interest in the field, fashion has soon become an important area of cooperation between our countries. We complemented the fashion show with an exclusive thematic exhibition: the "Silk Weaving Process". Held at Casa Italia, the initiative showcased the traditional silk manufacturing process presented by artisans from Ha Noi and Bao Loc. The exhibition has highlighted the value of craft and culture in the fashion industry as well the key relevance our two countries attach to sustainability. Indeed, the preciousness and versatility of sustainable textiles such as silk, and the encounters between Italian and Vietnamese designers, proved the main sources of inspiration for many fashion collections for Autumn/Winter 2018. Indeed, sustainability is the golden thread that weve chosen to link the many events that will mark the 45th anniversary programme. Next month well organise a special event on geographical indications and scientific co-operation. The extensive calendar of activities will unfold with many other initiatives in the upcoming months through gastronomy, music, cinema and much more. HA NOI A prison term from 18 to 19 years has been proposed for inh La Thang, former chairman of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), who was accused of wrongdoings in the groups investment of VN800 billion (over US$35 million) in the Ocean Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OceanBank). The Ha Noi Peoples Procuracy proposed penalties for the defendants involved in the case on March 22. Thang and six other defendants faced the charge of deliberately violating State regulations on economic management causing serious consequences. The procuracy proposed Ninh Van Quynh, former chief accountant and former head of the department of finance, accounting and auditing of PetroVietnam, and Vu Khanh Truong, former member of the Member Council of PetroVietnam, each spend 78 years in prison. The procuracy suggested a prison term from 30 to 36 months for Nguyen Xuan Son, former deputy general director of PetroVietnam, and 24 to 30 months for Nguyen Xuan Thang. former member of the Member Council of PetroVietnam. Between 24 and 30 months of non-custodial re-education was proposed for Nguyen Thanh Liem and Phan inh uc, former members of the Member Council of PetroVietnam. A prison sentence from 17 to 18 years was proposed for Ninh Van Quynh, who was also charged with abusing his position and power to appropriate assets since he reportedly appropriated VN20 billion while performing his duties. The procuracy also asked the jury panel to ban the defendants from taking certain positions and jobs for five years after they serve their primary sentences. According to the procuracy, starting in September 2008, Thang ordered PetroVietnams investment in OceanBank so that PetroVietnam became the strategic shareholder of this bank. Under his orders, the other defendants actively three times contributed capital totalling VN800 billion to OceanBank. Due to OceanBanks poor capability and violations committed by Ha Van Tham, former chairman of OceanBanks Board of Directors, the bank suffered serious losses, leading to the loss of the amount invested by PetroVietnam. The procuracy said Thang knew of OceanBanks poor capability and that before investing capital to become the strategic shareholder of OceanBank, PetroVietnam should have asked for permission of the then-Prime Minister. However, he had intentionally directed his inferiors to commit violations before reporting to the then-Prime Minister and relevant agencies. The procuracy said the defendants intentional infringement of State regulations on economic management was particularly dangerous for society. It not only caused a loss of large sums of the State capital but also violated the management of State assets and the prestige of the State cadre contingent, and affected peoples trust in State-owned enterprises. VNS HA NOI Viet Nam opposes and resolutely rejects Chinas unilateral decision to adjust regulations on a fishing break at sea, including some territorial waters of Viet Nam, said the Foreign Affairs Ministrys spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang. Hang made the statement at a press conference in Ha Noi on March 22, in response to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)s reporters query related to the Chinese Ministry of Agricultures announcement of the adjustments to the regulations. The spokeswoman stressed Viet Nam has sufficient legal ground and historical evidence affirming its sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes, as well as legitimate rights over its waters in line with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). These regulations violate Viet Nams sovereignty over Hoang Sa archipelago, and the countrys legal rights and interests over its waters, as well as international law, including the UNCLOS, she said. Hang said Chinas decision is contrary to the spirit and wording of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and the agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of issues at sea signed between Viet Nam and China. She added it does not conform with the important agreement on well controlling disputes at sea reached by the two countries leaders, and brings no benefits to peace, stability and cooperation in the East Sea and the fruitful development trend of Viet Nam -China relations, as well as efforts of countries in negotiating a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC). Viet Nam protests Chinese Taiwans live-fire drills on Ba Binh Island The Foreign Ministry Spokesperson also said Taiwan (China)s repeated launch of live-fire drills in the waters surrounding Ba Binh Island in Viet Nams Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago seriously violated the territorial sovereignty of Viet Nam over the archipelago. That action also threatened peace, stability, maritime safety and security, caused tensions and complicated the situation in the East Sea, the spokesperson said while responding to reporters question about the recent live-fire drill of Taiwan in Ba Binh island area. Once again, Viet Nam resolutely opposes Taiwans moves and requests it to not repeat similar actions, Hang said. Viet Nam has sufficient legal foundation and historical evidence testifying to its sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa archipelagos, she stressed. Viet Nam supports constructive efforts to peace in Korean Peninsula Answering queries on the possibility of the organisation of a high-level meeting between the US and the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, Hang said Viet Nam supports constructive efforts to deal with disputes through peaceful dialogue, contributing to peace, security and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the world as a whole. Viet Nam is willing to make positive contributions to promoting dialogue, maintaining peace, security and stability in the Korean Peninsula, she declared. VNS HA NOI Republic of Korea (RoK) President Moon Jae-in and Viet Nam Deputy Prime Minister ang Thi Ngoc Thinh on March 22 attended a ground breaking ceremony for the Viet Nam RoK Institute of Science and Technology in the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park. Speaking at the ceremony, President Moon said that this project would open up a new chapter in Viet Nams science and technology development. Envisaged as a leading multi-disciplinary institution, it is expected to play an important role in providing state-of-the-art technology solutions for enterprises, and serve as a breeding ground for science talents in Viet Nam. Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh said the ministry has been tasked with the construction and management of the institute. In order to turn the project into a leading example in the two countries long list of co-operation, the ministry would adopt the international model in operating the institute, with a focus on development of industrial technologies. Research and development activities would start within the year, with priorities put on information technology and demand-supply technologies for domestic businesses. In the next five years, the institute is expected to be capable of providing technology solutions to foreign direct investment (FDI) companies in Viet Nam, as well as expand into the international market in the future. Agricultural co-operation Deputy Prime Minister Trinh inh Dung has hailed the effective cooperation between the Viet Nam Cooperative Alliance (VCA) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation of the Republic of Korea (NACF) over the past year, such as exchanging information and experience in developing cooperatives and human resources. During his reception for NACF Chairman Kim Byung-won in Ha Noi on March 22, Dung proposed the NACF continue assisting the VCA in training personnel, improving capacity for Viet Nams agricultural cooperatives, establishing new-style cooperatives, providing supermarket management skills, and boosting cooperation in agricultural finance. The Deputy PM suggested the NACF prompt Korean competent agencies to help address difficulties related to quarantine of Vietnamese agricultural products and open its market for Vietnamese pork and chicken in 2018, and then dragon fruits, rambutan, longan and lychees. The Government of Viet Nam pledges to create favourable conditions for Korean agricultural products to enter the Vietnamese market, he affirmed. The RoK is now one of the leading economic partners of Viet Nam, ranking first in terms of investment, second in terms of trade and ODA, and third in terms of tourism, he said. By the end of 2017, the RoK had invested in more than 6,400 projects with a combined investment capital of US$57.66 billion, Dung said, adding that in 2017 the RoK led foreign investors in Viet Nam, with $8.31 billion in newly licensed and added investment. NACF Chairman Kim Byung-won agreed with Deputy PM Dungs ideas and proposals for more effective cooperation between the NACF and the VCA, saying that staff training, capacity building for the Viet Nams agricultural cooperatives, and building new-style cooperatives are among their key cooperation contents. The RoK is willing to provide Viet Nam with resources and experience in chain-based production, thus raising the value of its agricultural products, Kim said. The NACF Chairman called on the two countries to take effective measures to increase the sale of agricultural products in each others markets. Irrigation deal The Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-Water) will support and share experiences as well as technologies with Viet Nam in dealing with water resources-related issues. An agreement to this effect was signed between K-Water and the General Department of Irrigation under Viet Nams Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) in Ha Noi on March 22. Accordingly, K-Water will assist the Vietnamese side in monitoring and operating reservoirs to reduce floods and increasing the clean water supply in rural areas. K-Water Vice President Park Won-cheol said following the signing of the deal, K-Water will dispatch its staff to Viet Nam to work with MARD on the contents of the agreement. March 22 also saw a seminar held on smart city co-operation, attended by the Minister of Construction Pham Hong Ha and his South Korean counterpart Kim Hyun-mi, where the two sides have shared that collaboration at the very early stages of smart city development would be beneficial for Vietnamese society. VNS HA NOI President Tran ai Quang and his spouse hosted the official welcome ceremony for the Republic of Korea (RoK)s President Moon Jae-in and his spouse in Ha Noi today. The Vietnamese officials at the welcome ceremony included Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, Chairman of the Presidential Office ao Viet Trung, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh, Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh, Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs ao Ngoc Dung, and Vietnamese Ambassador to the RoK Nguyen Vu Tu. After the talks following the welcome ceremony, Presidents Tran ai Quang and Moon Jae-in witnessed the signing of some cooperation documents, including a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on sending and receiving RoKVietnamese workers under the employment permit scheme between the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the RoK Ministry of Employment and Labour. The Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the RoK Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy signed a MoU on the action programme on trade cooperation for 2018-20, and another on cooperation in supporting industry. A MoU on cooperation in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution was inked by the Vietnamese and RoK ministries of information and communications. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport and the RoK Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport signed a MoU on cooperation in infrastructure, transport and transport technology development. The RoK Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport also signed another MoU on cooperation in urban construction and development with the Vietnamese Ministry of Construction. Also on March 23 morning, President Tran ai Quang and his counterpart Moon Jae-in visited the President Ho Chi Minh relic site. Earlier the same day, the RoK leader laid a wreath and paid tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum in Ha Noi. President Moon Jae-in is paying the first-ever State visit to Viet Nam from March 22 to 24. VNS CAN THO Can Tho has launched a project to improve the efficiency of advanced farming models in semi-urban areas. Nguyen Ngoc He, director of the citys Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the advanced techniques include organic farming that does not require large areas of land and is environment-friendly. Such models help increase the green space in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta city and have potential for tourism development, he said. The programme would be implemented mostly in Ninh Kieu and Cai Rang districts, developing nine advanced models. The city plans to establish at least one new high-tech agricultural co-operative in every commune and ward that takes part in it. The co-operatives will receive assistance in achieving global or Vietnamese good agricultural practices (GAP) standards and introducing their produce to supermarkets, wholesale markets and collective kitchens. Next month, the city will start training courses for farmers and agriculture co-operatives in advanced techniques for growing vegetables and flowers in semi-urban areas. The department and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment will closely monitor farmlands to prevent the use of chemicals that harm water resources and the environment. Urban agriculture The city has boosted investment in urban farming models that provide safe products and higher profits for farmers since the farming area has declined in recent years due to urbanisation. Ninh Kieu District has developed efficient urban agriculture models for flowers, sprouts and honeydew melon. In Binh Thuy District, many households earn good incomes from urban farming, with many in Ba Bo flower village earning VN80-100 million (US$3,500 4,400) a year. Huynh Thanh Can, director of the Pho Tho Flower Co-operative in the districts Long Tuyen Ward, said local authorities have organised a number of training courses in growing flowers for co-operative members and organised visits to model flower farms in ong Thap Province and a Lat City for them. Thus, the members have improved their farming techniques, resulting in a reduction in production costs and increase in profits. The co-operative has built net houses and installed water-saving irrigation systems for growing flowers, he said. The city has decided to develop tourism at several model farms in Long Tuyen Ward that grow flowers, mushrooms or vegetables or breed ornamental fish or eel in mud-free ponds. VNS BA RIA-VUNG TAU Oysters are said to be a natural aphrodisiac and if you are really lucky, you might open the shell to find a precious pearl. But now environmentalists are worried those who farm this popular seafood in Vung Tau Citys Long Son Commune could be causing harm to both rivers and even peoples health. This is because the material used to make oyster cages is made from fiber cement which, when disposed of in the water, carries a risk. The cement sheets are perfect for farmers to use as the oysters stick to them and they are resistant to water but local authorities are concerned because the material is toxic. Tran Van Ninh, lives in Phuoc Hoa Commune, Tan Thanh District in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, has a large oyster farm in the Cha Va River. After each oyster harvest season, he throws about 6,000 sheets of fiber cement overboard. Ninh said that no local farmers transported the sheets back to the shore. To discharge the fibro-cement sheets, Ninh simply throws them in deep water areas even though he is aware of the risks. "Local authorities told us about the toxicity of fibro cement and that it can pollute the water, Ninh said. But now we havent found any alternative materials so we still resort to fibro cement roofing sheets to raise oysters." Nguyen Van Lich used floating plastic cans to spread fiber cement roofs, which is cut into pieces of about 40sq.cm. It is the place for oysters to cling to live. "Oysters adhere to the pile, they are about 10 days old and as tiny as sesame seeds, only people specialising in the work like us can distinguish, said Lich. Whey they are about three months old, they are as big as half a finger and have a relatively hard shell, the farmer moves the oysters into fibro cement sheets to ensure the density for oysters to grow. A frame to raise oysters is on the Mo Nhat River. Photo tienphong.vn Loose management According to the Long Son Commune Peoples Committee, there are nearly 600 oyster farming households in the commune with an area of about 90ha. More than 80 per cent of the farmers use fiber cement roofing sheets as a substrate, with about 300,000 pieces of sheet are used each season. After harvest season, which usually lasts about eight months, most of the fibro-cement sheets are dumped into the river. Bui uc Binh, deputy chairman of the Long Son Commune Peoples Committee, told the Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper that since 2008, local residents use the sheets to raise oysters without any concern about to water pollution or consumer health. According to the provincial Department of Fisheries, the dumping of fibro-concrete sheets is the cause of river-bed sedimentation, which changes the flow, causes environmental pollution and direct impacts on water resources for aquaculture, affects the aquaculture production in the area in recent years. The Centre for Environmental Technology under the Viet Nam Institute of Nature and Environment said that fiber cement roofing sheets immersed in water will create sulfur and some other toxic chemicals, polluting the water source, affecting the ecological environment of aquatic and marine species. Provincial authorities encourage people to use other materials such as wood and oyster shell to substitute fibro cement. Fiber sheet is made of cement, silicate mineral fiber and asbestos powder, which is potentially harmful to the environment as well as harmful to human health, said the World Health Organisation (WHO) said. It also causes human diseases when exposed to these toxins through the respiratory and gastrointestinal tract from asbestos-contaminated water. Tested safe Tran Van Cuong, director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said, We have tested oyster samples and they do not manifest any negative signs. But, scientifically, fibro-cement sheets are harmful, so we have advised them not to use these materials as oyster feeders". Tran Van Ky, from the Viet Nam Scientific Association of Food Safety, said fiber sheets had asbestos, a substance that has been warned by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a carcinogen. They can penetrate the respiratory tract, digestive tract due to polluted water and cause some lung and larynx cancer. Incubation period usually lasts 20-30 years, so the first phase is difficult to be recognised. VNS BINH DUONG Binh Duong southern provinces authorities and police raided a house Thursday and discovered an illegal gas supplying racket. They found large cylinders and equipment to syphon the gas into smaller bottles in a hut at the rear of the property in the Thuan An Township close to the An Phu Ward. A record number of 21 gas tanks of 48kg type, 20 tanks of 14kg type, and 1,000 gas mini-bottles with various brands of famous gas companies were seized. When the inspection force entered the house, dozens of people in the hut were in a hurry to escape. Nguyen Thanh Danh, deputy head of Binh Duong Provinces market management department, said it was the first ever large-scale illegal gas trading case detected by the local functional forces since the beginning of this year. He added nearly 1000 of the mini gas bottled found should have only been used once and those checked, failed to meet technical standard. He also said the quality of the gas could not be guaranteed, and would be a potential fire hazard. The case is still being investigated, and strictly dealt by the relevant authorities of Binh Duong Province in accordance with the law.VNS HCM CITY Victims of a deadly fire on Friday early morning at a HCM Citys apartment building died from suffocation, said Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thanh Huong, deputy director of the citys Department of Firefighting Police. Huong said the death toll was 13 as of 8am on Friday. Twenty-eight others were injured. Identities of only five victims have been confirmed so far, including Luu Le Bich Phuong, Party secretary and Chairwoman of Peoples Committee of District 1s Nguyen Thai Binh Ward. There are three unidentified children among the dead, reported Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. The fire started at a 20,000sq.m basement parking between blocks A and B of the Plaza. Thirteen cars and 150 motorbikes were burned. Huong said the fire-preventing door connecting the basement and the upper floor was open when the fire started and that many doors on the upper floors were also not closed, which facilitated the smoke to rise upstairs. According to the residents of the Plaza, the fire alarm system did not work. Huong said it was difficult at the moment to investigate the basement as it was covered with smoke and heat, adding that investigators will also check the fire alarm system of the building. Residents of the apartment have been shifted to block C of Carina Plaza and the opposite City Gate building for safety. The citys leaders have asked authorised forces to ban residents from entering the scene to avoid possible collapse of concrete pieces. The injured are being treated at Nguyen Tri Phuong, Paediatrics No 1 and Cho Ray hospitals. Most of them have their eyes and respiratory system damaged. Among the eight children being treated at Paediatrics No 1 Hospital, the youngest is only three months old. It was too dangerous to allow suffocating residents to run out of the building or jump outside from the top floors, said HCM Citys Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Thien Nhan. He has ordered a review of firefighting practices at apartment buildings as well as more frequent drills to instruct residents on how to escape in case of a fire. He said the cause of the fire must be investigated soon and the guilty must be heavily fined. At some 1.30am, the apartment building of Carina Plaza residential area suddenly burst into flames. Hundreds of people were trapped inside, screaming for help. While some of the residents fled to the top floors, some tried to escape by jumping outside. Firemen were immediately sent to the location, and they succeeded in putting out the fire by 4.00am. At 12am the same day, the fire broke out again at the block Bs basement. The flames were extinguished 15 minutes later. Carina Plaza, invested by Hung Thanh Company, is located on Vo Van Kiet Street of District 8 and was let out for use some six years ago. It includes three blocks, with 15-21 floors each. The plaza is occupied by 736 households. VNS HOA BINH Hoa Binh General Hospital has resumed kidney dialysis for patients after suspending the procedure following the death of eight persons in May last year. Le Xuan Hoang, deputy director of the hospital, said the Ministry of Health had donated 10 dialysis machines, while the Institute of Environmental Health donated a multifunctional testing machine for the hospitals artificial kidney department. Currently, the hospital has 12 functional dialysis machines. Ha Noi-based Bach Mai Hospital has sent a team of doctors, nurses and technicians from its artificial kidney department to support Hoa Binh General Hospital in the first two weeks of operation, Hoang said. After the hospital resumed its kidney dialysis, 12 patients have come forward for treatment. Another 24 patients will be treated today and 35 more will be treated from March 24. Hoang Cong Tinh, head of intensive rehabilitation ward of the artificial kidney department at the Hoa Binh General Hospital, said 129 patients have been admitted to the hospital for dialysis. With the current number of patients, the hospital needs 22 dialysis machines. In the coming time, the department will strive to improve the quality of treatment for patients, Tinh said. Last May, 18 patients underwent kidney dialysis at the Hoa Binh General Hospital, following which they suffered from nausea, abdominal pain and shortness of breath. Eight of them died of suspected anaphylactic shock. The remaining 10 patients were transferred to Ha Nois Bach Mai Hospital and have recovered. This is one of the countrys most serious cases of medical negligence. Tests have revealed that the water used for kidney dialysis failed to meet safety standards. Water samples from dialysis machines No 10 and 13 had a low level of potential hydrogen and high conductivity; the fluoride level in these machines were 245 and 260 times higher, respectively, than the permissible limit of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI). The other dialysis machines tested also had higher fluoride levels than permitted. According to AAMI, the maximum fluoride level allowed in the kidney dialysis water is 0.2mg per litre. Three persons, including Bui Manh Quoc, director of Tram Anh Water Treatment Co Ltd, Tran Van Son, an employee from the hospitals medical equipment department, and nephrologist Hoang Cong Luong have been prosecuted in the case. VNS HA NOI The Ministry of Health plans to start giving measles vaccine to children in their sixth month instead of the ninth, Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long has said. The information was revealed at a conference on tackling dengue fever and summer diseases this year, held in a Nang City earlier this week. Health officials are worried about measles epidemics returning to Viet Nam this year as the disease often occurs in four-year cycles, and the previous major one was in 2013-2014, Suc khoe & oi song (Health & Life) reported. About 90 measles cases have been reported in the northern region from the beginning of this year, an increase of 30 per cent from the same period last year, said Dr Tran Nhu Duong, deputy director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology. Officials fear that many of these patients are children that have not reached the age to receive measles vaccines from the State, said Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long. We wonder why a lot of children under six months old have got measles, and a number of children under two months old have whooping coughs, he said. This points to the fact that their immune systems are very weak, which could be because the adults, especially the mothers, were not immunised when they fell pregnant, he said. Children in Viet Nam receive their first dose of measles vaccine at nine months old, but the percentage of younger children having measles has increased drastically from 3 per cent in previous years to 20 per cent in 2016-17. The Deputy Health Minister has requested health agencies to review all measles prevention measures and prepare to give measles vaccines to children earlier. We will probably get the children vaccinated during their sixth month instead of ninth, he said. Dengue fever is another worrisome summer disease, with 11,000 cases recorded in the country from the beginning of the year, said Tran ac Phu, director of Preventive Medicine Administration under the Ministry of Health. Although this is 37 per cent less than the same period of last year, citizens have to remain careful since the summer is the ripe time for dengue outbreaks, he said. Other diseases such as hand-foot-mouth, flu, Japanese encephalitis, chicken pox, diarrhea and dysentery can all be contagious if not treated properly, he added. Anyone can get infected, but children are the most vulnerable, he said. They need to be protected both at home and in school, which requires close collaboration between parents and teachers. VNS AK NONG Recently, some persons from other localities came to Quang Phu Commune, KRong No District, in the Central Highlands (Tay Nguyen) province of ak Nong to recruit Mong ethnic minority children to work illegally at HCM City. Many children, mainly girls, from 11 to 16 years old, have been sent to HCM City to work in harsh environment. Ngo Xuan ong, chairman of KRong No District Peoples Committee confirmed to Viet Nam News that the district authorities have acknowledged the incident and promptly asked the district police to coordinate with the local authorities, to bring some of the children home, and will continue investigating the incident. A 11-year-old girl of Song A Gang, (living at Phu Vinh Village, Quang Phu Commune) was one of the victims who have recently returned home after coming to HCM City for work. Gang remembered that in early March, he was persuaded by his son-in-law living in ak Lak Province, to agree that sending the daughter, Song Thi Nenh to work in HCM City with a promised salary of VN18 million a year. There is a car coming to my house to pick up my girl along with some others in the village to work in the city. However, in the workplace, they arent enough health and age to do work, they ask for returning home. The boss sent them home." Gang told vov.vn. Sadly, parents who were under difficult economic conditions and limited legal awareness still accepted their underage children to work far away home. Similarly, Phang A Hong (also at Phu Vinh Village) has two daughters (16 and 14 year old), who are working in a garment factory in HCM City. He said that they just telephoned saying life was very difficult. I hear they (strangers who firstly coming to the village) say that my girls are paid VN18 million a year so I let them go to work, he said. The children cant stand, cant do, and want to return. At that time, the owner doesnt let them out. Because they are too young, so now I want to ask local authorities to take the children home. Phang A Chu, official of Phu Vinh Village confirmed the case, saying at least he saw three times, cars from ak Lak Province came to the village to pick up people. Chau Ru Ni, police chief of Quang Phu Commune, said immediately after hearing the incident, local authorities and police have actively cooperated with KRong No District police to clarify the incident, and raise awareness among people, to avoid similar cases. He said from early March, there were some strangers traveling to Quang Phu Commune to pick up 11 girls to work in HCM City. These strangers take advantage of the lack of legal knowledge of local people. They also draft simple labour contracts aiming at creating confidence with residents, he said. "These people recruit underage workers illegally." VNS BRUSSELS European leaders are on Thursday set to strongly condemn Turkeys "illegal actions" toward Greece and Cyprus in a blistering denunciation that could upend an EU-Turkish summit in Bulgaria next week. The statement by the 28 European Union member states meeting in Brussels comes after Turkeys arrest of two Greek soldiers, and its promise to prevent the internationally-recognised Greek Cypriot government from exploring for oil and gas. "The European Council strongly condemns Turkeys continued illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea and underlines its full solidarity with Cyprus and Greece," the draft conclusions said. The draft "calls on Turkey to cease these actions and respect the sovereign rights of Cyprus to explore and exploit its natural resources in accordance with EU and international law." The statement shows firm support for Greece and Cyprus -- which have so far been among the EU countries most reluctant to endorse a separate EU summit condemnation of a nerve agent attack on a former Russian agent on English soil. The draft urged Turkey to normalise relations with Cyprus, divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied the northern third of the island in response to a Greek military junta-sponsored coup. A standoff over exploiting energy resources in the region risks further complicating stalled efforts to reunify Cyprus after UN-backed talks collapsed last year. In recent weeks Turkish warships blocked an Italian drillship from exploring for gas in the east Mediterranean islands waters. The leaders also expressed "grave concern over the continued detention of EU citizens in Turkey" and called for these issues to be resolved through dialogue with the EU member states. Difficult and sensitive Two Greek soldiers were arrested on March 2 for entering a military zone in the northern Turkish province of Edirne and are waiting for their case to be heard. Ties between Athens and Ankara are strained by the Greek failure to extradite eight Turkish troops who escaped Turkey by helicopter on the night of the July 2016 attempted overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkish tensions with Greece and Cyprus are part of a wider plunge in relations since Brussels denounced Ankara over its post-coup crackdown. Turkey has expressed increasing anger over its long-stalled bid to join the EU, mainly over human rights concerns. It was not clear whether the summit denunciation could derail an EU-Turkey summit in the Bulgarian resort of Varna on Monday aimed at improving strained ties. An EU diplomat appeared to suggest Wednesday that the summit would go ahead although it will be "difficult and sensitive" because of the many disputes. The diplomat said on condition of anonymity that the goal would be to keep "pragmatic strategic cooperation." The EU sees Turkey as a strategic partner in the fight against Islamic extremism and its efforts to stop Syrian and other asylum seekers from flooding into Europe and destabilising the bloc under a 2016 aid-for-cooperation deal. 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(13) Apr 11 (14) Apr 10 (16) Apr 09 (20) Apr 08 (36) Apr 07 (22) Apr 06 (11) Apr 05 (28) Apr 04 (20) Apr 03 (29) Apr 02 (32) Apr 01 (18) Mar 31 (12) Mar 30 (9) Mar 29 (15) Mar 28 (22) Mar 27 (24) Mar 26 (17) Mar 25 (17) Mar 24 (13) Mar 23 (5) Mar 22 (12) Mar 21 (15) Mar 20 (18) Mar 19 (19) Mar 18 (16) Mar 17 (10) Mar 16 (6) Mar 15 (18) Mar 14 (24) Mar 13 (18) Mar 12 (18) Mar 11 (17) Mar 10 (13) Mar 09 (12) Mar 08 (18) Mar 07 (25) Mar 06 (16) Mar 05 (16) Mar 04 (22) Mar 03 (17) Mar 02 (6) Mar 01 (23) Feb 29 (19) Feb 28 (25) Feb 27 (26) Feb 26 (23) Feb 25 (12) Feb 24 (13) Feb 23 (15) Feb 22 (26) Feb 21 (31) Feb 20 (12) Feb 19 (21) Feb 18 (15) Feb 17 (10) Feb 16 (15) Feb 15 (19) Feb 14 (15) Feb 13 (25) Feb 12 (20) Feb 11 (9) Feb 10 (7) Feb 09 (28) Feb 08 (20) Feb 07 (22) Feb 06 (20) Feb 05 (19) Feb 04 (14) Feb 03 (16) Feb 02 (28) Feb 01 (37) Jan 31 (27) Jan 30 (31) Jan 29 (18) Jan 28 (14) Jan 27 (10) Jan 26 (18) Jan 25 (26) Jan 24 (34) Jan 23 (21) Jan 22 (21) Jan 21 (18) Jan 20 (18) Jan 19 (18) Jan 18 (26) Jan 17 (24) Jan 16 (23) Jan 15 (30) Jan 14 (20) Jan 13 (18) Jan 12 (24) Jan 11 (11) Jan 10 (23) Jan 09 (22) Jan 08 (17) Jan 07 (17) Jan 06 (9) Jan 05 (18) Jan 04 (15) Jan 03 (19) Jan 02 (14) Jan 01 (6) Dec 31 (12) Dec 30 (4) Dec 29 (15) Dec 28 (11) Dec 27 (7) Dec 26 (10) Dec 25 (16) Dec 24 (13) Dec 23 (16) Dec 22 (11) Dec 21 (26) Dec 20 (28) Dec 19 (14) Dec 18 (25) Dec 17 (23) Dec 16 (19) Dec 15 (22) Dec 14 (38) Dec 13 (26) Dec 12 (25) Dec 11 (27) Dec 10 (31) Dec 09 (15) Dec 08 (30) Dec 07 (31) Dec 06 (27) Dec 05 (38) Dec 04 (25) Dec 03 (27) Dec 02 (15) Dec 01 (36) Nov 30 (23) Nov 29 (17) Nov 28 (23) Nov 27 (13) 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) According to the Nicaraguan president the measure goes against the... Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a peace zone. The government of Nicaragua has published a letter condemning Peru's decision to exclude Venezuela from the VIII Summit of the Americas, scheduled to take place in April, in Lima, Peru. In the letter, which was made public after Perus Foreign Minister Cayetana Aljovin confirmed receipt, on Tuesday urged Peru to reconsider the decision and harshly criticised their anti-peace stance. Citing a proclamation signed by members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Caricom)in 2014 by all regional governments. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega told his Peruvian counterpart, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (PPK), the banning of Nicolas Maduro is "contrary to the Purposes and Principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace." Members who signed the proclamation seek to "solve disputes through peaceful means with the aim of uprooting forever the threat or use of force" and committed to observe "their strict obligation not to intervene, directly or indirectly, in the internal affairs of any other State and observe the principles of national sovereignty, equal rights and self-determination of peoples..." according to Ortega. "Acts like this go against the Legal and Political Foundations that underpin the Summits of the Americas, which seek Equality and Respect among the Member States that, of course, are framed in the Plurality of existing ideologies in the Region. To act differently would be founding a bad precedent that would lead us to regulate the Integration Processes under arbitrary, intolerant and unilateral behavior," Ortega added. In February, Peru announced the decision to disinvite Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from the summit after a meeting of the Lima Group, an ad-hoc alliance of 14 countries, which was created in August 2017 to "monitor" Venezuela until the country returns to democracy. The United States has welcomed the move while Venezuela and others have argued that the Group has no power to decide which member states can or cannot attend the Organization of American States, OAS, meeting. Latin American countries, including Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Uruguay, Antigua and Barbuda, and Nicaragua have shown solidarity with Venezuela. According to the Peruvian government, the decision to cancel Venezuelas invitation to the Summitt was taken in observance of what is established in the Quebec declaration adopted in the III Summit of the American in 2001, which establishes that any alteration to the democratic order excludes a members participation. However, the announcement by Lima coincided with former U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's Latin American tour, during which he announced further economic sanctions on Venezuela and hinted at a military coup in the South American country. Armin Rosen at Harper's Magazine: Since 2003, al-Qassemi has accumulated around 1,000 modern and contemporary works by Arabic-speaking artists or artists of Arab heritage. Under the guidance of three curators, works rotate through his Barjeel Foundation space, a small public gallery inside of a large arts center in al-Qassemis home city of Sharjah, about twenty minutes north of Dubai. Between 200 and 300 pieces are lent to museums around the world each year, something from which al-Qassemi derives no financial benefit. The collection, now one of the most important of its kind, is so vast and geographically scattered that there are major pieces al-Qassemi hasnt actually seen before. At an opening of an exhibition of his works at Washingtons American University in September, he confronted an eerily static blown-up photo of exploding mortar shells by the Lebanese artist Akram Zaatari for the first time, and uttered a long, guttural wow. Until the UAE joined in the Saudi-led boycott of Qatar this past summer, al-Qassemi hosted a show on Al Jazeeras AJ+ where he walked viewers through collection highlights. He had over 500,000 Twitter followers before he deactivated his account, and was one of Gulf Businesss one hundred most powerful Arabs of 2017, falling within respectable distance of Gigi Hadid. more here. Screenshot - Crying Suns (iPad) Screenshot - Crying Suns (iPad) Screenshot - Crying Suns (iPad) Screenshot - Crying Suns (iPad) Screenshot - Crying Suns (iPad) Screenshot - Crying Suns (iPad) Screenshot - Crying Suns (iPad) Screenshot - Crying Suns (iPad) Screenshot - Crying Suns (iPad) Screenshot - Crying Suns (iPad) Screenshot - Crying Suns (iPad) Screenshot - Crying Suns (iPad) Entwickler Alt Shift aus Montpellier mochte ein galaktisches Taktik-Spiel mit "Rogue-lite"-Einschlag verwirklichen: Ihr Titel Crying Suns ab 19,94 bei kaufen ) fur PC und iPad soll offenbar bereits im zweiten Quartal des Jahres ("S2 2018") als Beta erscheinen. Die finale Fassung ist etwa fur den Jahreswechsel 2018/19 angesetzt.Bei der Story-lastigen Erkundung einer sterbenden Galaxie begibt man sich in die Rolle eines Flottenkommandeurs. Als Vorbilder dienen FTL: Faster Than Light sowie Isaac Asimovs Foundation-Zyklus. Jeder Durchgang soll einen Teil der "verborgenen Wahrheit" enthullen. Zur offiziellen Website geht es hier "After 700 years of peace and prosperity, the Galactic Empire has suddenly been shattered into pieces. The OMNIs, god-like machines which did everything for their human masters, have mysteriously shut down. And humankind, having long since lost the ability to survive on its own, is dangerously close to extinction. But somewhere in a far corner of the Galaxy is Gehenna, a planet of ice and rock and a top-secret facility that is the pinnacle of Imperial Tech and also humanitys last chance. You are a clone of Admiral Ellys Idaho, a weapon fashioned from flesh, the best Imperial Admiral ever to battle in the stars and you have just been awoken on this planet by its strange and darkly-humorous Guardian, Kaliban, the last functional OMNI to exist. Your mission: skillfully command a battleship through the Empire's now chaotic, violent clusters where one wrong move could be your last as you try to reactivate the OMNIs and save the future of all humankind. But you must leave Gehenna now.... for time has almost run out.- Space exploration in a procedural generated universe.- Tactical fights between BattleShips and their squadrons fleets.- A deep and dramatic storyline inspired by our favorite S-F universe (Foundation, Dune).- A mix between pixelart style graphics, 3D and HD special effects.- Prepare to die very often, it's a roguelite game... And it's a hard one..." WiseGuyReports.com with their unique quality of simplifying the market research study, presents a deep diving study report Payments Landscape in Greece: Opportunities and Risks to 2021 Payments Landscape in Greece Overview Payments Landscape in Greece: Opportunities and Risks to 2021, report provides detailed analysis of market trends in Chilean cards and payments industry. It provides values and volumes for a number of key performance indicators in the industry, including cash, payment cards, credit transfers, direct debit, and cheques during the review-period (2013-17e). The report also analyzes various payment card markets operating in the industry, and provides detailed information on the number of cards in circulation, transaction values and volumes during the review-period and over the forecast-period (2017-21f). It also offers information on the countrys competitive landscape, including the market shares of issuers and schemes. Click here for sample report @ https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3054175-payments-landscape-in-greece-opportunities-and-risks-to-2021 Top Companies mentioned National Bank of Greece Piraeus Bank Alpha Bank Eurobank Visa Mastercard American Express Diners Club Payments Landscape in Greece Industry Major Outlook In the wake of the economic crisis, the Greek government was forced to implement austerity measures in 2015 to gain access to a 86bn ($103.2bn) bailout package from the IMF, the EU, and the European Central Bank. Consequently, the government imposed capital controls and took a number of measures to arrest the outward flow of money, curb tax evasion, and encourage electronic payments, including restrictions on cash withdrawals at ATMs, remittances, and the use of payment cards abroad. Some of the measures include the compulsory acceptance of card-based payments at retail outlets and by certain categories of professionals (such as doctors, lawyers, electricians, and plumbers) effective from January 1, 2016. In extension to that the government identified 85 different business categories that are required to install POS terminals, for which the government set a deadline of July 2017. Refusal by these business categories to accept card-based payments attracts a fine of 1,500 ($1,800). To make online payments more convenient, MyBank, a pan-European e-authorization solution, was made available to Greek consumers from May 2016. To make payments, users need to select the MyBank option on the online retailers website, which connects them to their online or mobile banking platform. Here they need to approve a SEPA credit transfer order containing the details of the online retailer. Participating banks in Greece are Piraeus Bank, NBG, Eurobank, and Alpha Bank. According to the Hellenic Bank Association, between January-August 2017, transactions valued at 15m ($18m) were made using MyBank. Debit card penetration is anticipated to grow further over the next five years, as in June 2017 the government introduced a new regulation making it compulsory for private companies to pay employee salaries only through a bank account. Employers who do not comply with the regulation will be penalized by the Labor Inspectorate. Payments Landscape in Greece Competitive Analysis Key players are making innovative developments in Payments Landscape in Greece industry. The same will help in improving the market performance. Heavy investments are made by major players in the R&D sector .Continued For Detailed Reading Please visit @ https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/3054175-payments-landscape-in-greece-opportunities-and-risks-to-2021 About Us Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available. Contact Us: NORAH TRENT Partner Relations & Marketing Manager sales@wiseguyreports.com www.wiseguyreports.com Ph: +1-646-845-9349 (US) Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK) Media Contact Company Name: Wiseguyreports.com Contact Person: Norah Trent Email: Send Email Phone: +1 646 845 9349, +44 208 133 9349 City: Pune State: Maharashtra Country: India Website: www.wiseguyreports.com Alistair McQueen, Head of Savings and Retirement at Aviva, said: Employees and employers need to know that increases in workplace pension contribution levels are coming and understand why it is happening. If they dont, this could lead to a surprise in their April pay packet when employees see their pension contribution has trebled. There are a number of benefits to paying into a workplace pension, including the contribution from the employer and the top up from the government in the form of tax relief. It means someone on the average UK salary could add 840 to their savings pot across 2018, up from 600 in 20172. Its important to remember this as contributions increase. If an individual chooses not to save, they are also choosing not to take these extra boosts from the government and their employer. A workplace pension is one of the few times in life when doing nothing pays. Just by staying in the pension scheme you could give your future self a pay rise. Iraq's Melting Pot of Kirkuk Struggles With Ethnic Cohesion Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, consecutive governments have failed to solve the ethnic crisis in the city of Kirkuk, and last year's failed northern Iraq independence referendum has not improved the situation. It has been 15 years since the US invaded Iraq. During the rule of Saddam Hussein, the Baath party expelled hundreds of thousands of non-Arabs from their traditional lands. In Kirkuk, Kurds, Turkmens and Assyrians came under constant pressure to renounce their ethnicity and register as Arabs. But even though Saddam was ousted from power, consecutive governments have been unable to fix the ethnic problem. TRT World's Soraya Lennie reports. For almost as long as The Better Skin Co. has been in business - two-and-a-half years now - selling merchandise at Ulta Beauty has been an ultimate goal, at the top of the company's vision board, says founder Murphy Bishop II. Last week, Bishop visited an Ulta Beauty in West Hollywood and was thrilled to see three of his products on their shelves, touted as "New and Loved." "I can't even describe how exciting it is," he says. Three products from The Better Skin Co. are now on the shelves at some 1,100 Ulta Beauty stores nationwide. (Facebook photo) Bishop, who grew up in Grand Bay, Ala., just west of Mobile, and graduated from Birmingham-Southern College, worked for years in the beauty industry, including stints at Estee Lauder, Bobbi Brown and others. In 2015, he went out on his own after meeting Natalya Rachkova in Seattle. Rachkova, an aesthetician who had moved from her native Uzbekistan, was selling jars of a secret-formula skin cream she made in her kitchen. After some persuading, Rachkova let Bishop take it to a lab, where Mirakle Cream was born, featuring a colorful Uzbek fabric pattern that now adorns all of the company's products. Mirakle Cream was sold online and through the home-shopping network Evine, as well as at boutiques around the country. From there, the pair have gradually expanded their line to include two other items sold at Ulta: Lava Magik, a three-in-one cleanser, scrub and face mask; and Zit No More, an acne treatment that is already Bishop's number-one seller at Ulta. Another offering, Epik C Serum, is sold exclusively online. The Ulta Beauty launch, effective March 18, came just as The Better Skin Co. plans to offer several new items later in the year, including gel and lotion cleansers; Amaze Balm, an ultra-rich moisturizer; and a line of products in the popular Zit No More family, including a cleanser and a moisturizer for acne-prone skin. Bishop says it's rare for a small company to be in all stores at once. "This is a total game-changer for us," he says. "The Ulta order is more than we sold the year before. We used to buy 5,000 jars at a time to fill. Now it's 50,000." In addition to Ulta, the company recently launched in Canada and soon will be available in the United Kingdom. The marketing-savvy Bishop is working with a popular Instagram a makeup artist, on a new beauty oil as part of a social media influencer campaign. In May, he'll be on KCRW's podcast, "Press Play with Madeleine Brand." He plans to have a booth at Beautycon Festival, held in L.A. in July, where he has the potential to introduce The Better Skin Co. to 25,000 young people. "We want to get customers when they're young," he says. For now, the next item on his agenda is to find warehouse space - and an office. The company is still run out of his Century City home. With thousands of other brands in a store like Ulta, he says, it's important to find a way to stand out. Being a small company means he can stay nimble and "go around" the competition by doing things differently and faster. "The trick to this," he says," is you have to have good products, but you also have to keep customers interested so they keep coming back. I did this for years for other people. It's much more exciting to do this for myself." Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin on Friday slammed "fake news" and repeatedly denied that he has done anything wrong by pocketing more than $750,000 worth of public money allocated to feed inmates in the county jail he oversees. "There are so many falsehoods, half-truths and unfair allegations that have been reported in the press," he said. The remarks came during a tense press conference in a room on the ground floor of the detention center, which houses hundreds of federal, state and municipal inmates. "It's the law. I haven't done anything wrong," Entrekin said. "If I've done something wrong, they need to change the law." Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin speaks at a press conference in Gadsden on Friday. (Connor Sheets | csheets@al.com) He was echoing an argument he has consistently made in statements to the press ever since AL.com first published a story last week exposing both that Entrekin pocketed the $750,000 and that in September he bought a $740,000 beach house in Orange Beach. Entrekin's staff gave reporters packets of materials including his 2015 and 2016 tax returns prior to the press conference. But he said he could not hand over documents that show exactly how the inmate-feeding funds have been spent, citing the fact that his office and those of 48 other Alabama county sheriffs are currently being sued to produce those records. Aaron Littman, staff attorney for the Southern Center for Human Rights - a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit pursuing the inmate-feeding records - responded via email Friday to Entrekin's argument for not releasing the documents. "Sheriff Entrekin has suggested that he is free to pick and choose what information he releases," Littman said. "In fact, Alabama law compels him - and every other sheriff across the state -- to disclose how jail food funds are being spent." Entrekin stated Friday that he "never wanted" to run the jail's food service program, and urged the state Legislature to pass legislation to take that responsibility - and the monetary windfall that can come with it - away from county sheriffs such as himself. "I think there needs to be a statewide bill," he said. But he admitted that he has personally pocketed more than three-quarters of a million dollars over the past three years, and said that though he is aware of the bad optics of such a situation, he believes the law requires him to keep the money for himself. "What can I do about it?" he asked. Some Alabama counties, including Jefferson and Montgomery, have passed local legislation to transfer inmate-feeding responsibilities from sheriffs to the county government. Entrekin said he has tried unsuccessfully in the past to get the Etowah County Commission to do exactly that. "If the County Commission wanted to take that over I would not object," he said. The Etowah County Sheriff's office said it served prisoners in the county jail trays of breakfast exactly like this one on Friday morning. (Connor Sheets | csheets@al.com) Entrekin also responded to persistent complaints made in recent years by inmates, advocates and lawyers who claim that the jail serves inadequate, poor-quality food. An AL.com story published Thursday detailed complaints by former inmates who said they were fed "rotten," "outdated" and "tasteless" food while incarcerated in the Etowah County Detention Center. Entrekin denies that there are any valid concerns about the food his jail serves. "This is a jail, this is not a bed and breakfast, Domino's does not deliver here ... but we do prepare a healthy meal that is served here three times a day," Entrekin said. "It is true that many of our people are not happy with the food they are served." Ahead of a speaking event in Birmingham this afternoon, Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke to a local radio station about his time in the White House. Sessions, a former Alabama senator, spoke on Talk 99.5 on the Matt and Aunie show Friday morning. He spoke about public corruption, his recusal from the Russia investigation, the firing of former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, his relationship with the president, and the opioid crisis. "We needed a new start in a lot of areas...[President Donald Trump has] restructured the FBI with some very, very fine people that I believe are going to do a good job," Sessions said, referencing the termination of McCabe. Sessions fired McCabe after the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility recommended that he be dismissed for not being forthcoming about talks with a reporter regarding a pending investigation, The Washington Post reported. Sessions said he relied on "internal assessments that McCabe lacked candor on multiple occasions," the Post said. Sessions said Friday morning, "But there have been problems for some time. Deputy Director McCabe, without my direction, was under investigation by the Inspector General, that was not made public. They produced a report to the FBI, and the FBI then recommended to me that he be terminated... I think we just can't try and investigate cases in the newspaper or for the 24 hour news cycle.". "That's a dangerous trend," he said. "You can't use the office of Attorney General to prosecute your enemies." Regarding his relationship with Trump, Sessions said he serves at the pleasure of the president, and he understands why Trump is frustrated that Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation. "And I understand that. He's made that plain, there's no doubt that." Sessions continued, "That's just his style. I mean, he says what's on his mind at the time, I understand that... If I felt like I couldn't carry out the principles I believe in... that would be one thing. But I feel like we're able to do that every day. He talked about several recent events he attended with the president, and the compliments Trump made publicly about Sessions and his team. "I feel like that the most important thing is that he has allowed us in the Department of Justice to contribute to an agenda that he believes in, and I believe in," Sessions said. "We've got to end and start reducing these opioid deaths, we've got to crack down on violent crime," he said. Sessions also spoke about "going after" gangs that distribute drugs, and how he "will not hesitate" to bring the death penalty in certain, appropriate drug cases. Sessions will speak Friday afternoon at the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives CEO luncheon, and then will visit UAB's Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Continuing Care Nursery, which provides extended step-down care for preterm and term babies with medical conditions, including babies impacted by the opioid crisis. A raid at a Pelham business Friday morning turned up a load of candy infused with marijuana-derived oil that lawmen say is being distributed to convenience stores in at least four counties and ending up in the hands of Alabama's youth. The Alabama Drug Enforcement Task Force, a team within the ALEA's State Bureau of Investigation, hit American Wholesale Distributors about 9:30 a.m. The business is located on Yeagar Court off near Pelham Parkway and is a candy and snack distributor. Authorities seized CDB-laced gummy bears, kratom and more. Kratom is a southeast Asian plant used in liquid, pills and powders that is available in some convenience stores and online. Some are marketed as relaxants. In 2016, Alabama puts chemicals found in kratom on the controlled substances list. CBD oil in very specific circumstances is legal if it's under a licensed physician's care. In 2014, then-Gov. Robert Bentley signed Carly's Law, which permitted the University of Alabama at Birmingham to provide non-psychoactive CBD oil to children with debilitating seizures as a clinical study. The bill, commonly called Carly's Law in honor of the 3-year-old Carly Chandler of Birmingham, allowed UAB's Department of Neurology to prescribe the drug for children with debilitating seizures. In 2016 Alabama has passed a bill that decriminalized cannabidiol and allows patients with seizure disorders and other debilitating conditions access to cannabis oil without fear of prosecution. That bill was tagged "Leni's Law" after Leni Young, a young girl who moved with her family to Oregon for legal CBD access. SBI Lt. Jon Riley said likely over 100 cases of the CBD oil gummies were confiscated. The raid, he said, culminated a three-month probe after the state agency received multiple complaints from parents whose children were getting hold of the weed-infused candies. "In this case, it is being distributed out of a wholesale location and being taken to convenience stores where there is no pharmacological or medical benefit,'' Riley said. "It's oceans apart from Carly's Law and Leni's Law." The investigation showed that American Wholesale Distributors was distributing the illegal products to convenience stores in Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair and Talladega counties. "Many of these products are marketed to youth,'' Riley said. "There's nothing stopping a 15 or 16-year- old from walking into certain convenience stores and picking these items up." Just last week, authorities said, an 11-year-old Shelby County student was found in possession of the CBD gummy bears at schools. Nationwide, there have been reports of other school children getting sick after eating the candy. "They are laced with CBD oil and in some cases the cannabidiol are synthetic and there are some cases we don't know what it is until we send it to the lab and see what is in these products,'' Riley said. "We do know it's not legal, it's not safe and it has no medicinal value. Absolutely they are attempting to skirt the law."' Those participating in the investigation alongside ALEA and the Alabama Drug Enforcement Task Force are: the Shelby County District Attorney's Office, the Shelby County Drug Task Force, the St. Clair County Sheriff's Office, the St. Clair County District Attorney's Office, the Calhoun County Drug/Violent Crime Task Force, the Calhoun County District Attorney's Office, the Talladega County Drug Task Force, the Talladega County District Attorney's Office and Homeland Security Investigations. All of the seized drugs will be taken to the Alabama Department of Forensic Science for testing to determine what type of illegal substance has been infused in the candy. No charges have yet been announced, but they are expected to include trafficking in cannabis or unlawful distribution of a controlled substance. It's too soon, Riley said, to determine the cash value of the seized items but he said just one pack of the CBD-infused gummies sells for $25. The investigation is ongoing, he said. And SBI will work with its federal partners to find the holding companies who are shipping the illegal products into Alabama. "I can tell you we've talked to many parents who have called and complained about the CBD oil gummy bears,'' Riley said. "I know there are a lot of parents who will be happy and we're more than happy to serve the community and get this product off the street." The surviving victim of a workplace shooting at Birmingham's UAB Highlands has been moved out of the Intensive Care Unit and hopes to soon be discharged from the hospital. Tim Isley was wounded just over one week ago, on Wednesday, March 14, when employee Trevis Coleman, in the process of be reprimanded, brandished a gun and opened fire before turning the gun on himself. Nancy Swift, a 63-year-old nursing supervisor, was also injured and died a short time later at the hospital, as did Coleman, a 31-year-old central sterile supply worker. The shooting happened just before 7 p.m. in or near Swift's second-floor office near the operating room at the 11th Avenue South facility. Swift was rushed to the emergency room at UAB Highlands where she died at 9:01 p.m. Coleman was pronounced dead inside the hospital at 7:35 p.m. Coworkers said there had been prior problems with him at work. Isley, a 28-year-old surgical instrument supervisor and son of Springville Mayor Butch Isley, was rushed to the main UAB Hospital were he underwent surgery that night, and again in the days to come. On Thursday evening, Isley's family released this statement: "The family of Tim Isley would like to thank the everyone that have joined in vigilant prayer for our son, brother, relative and friend. We are convinced that God has plans for Tim's life, and Tim knows that to be the truth and awaits direction in his life." "Tim has been moved out of the Intensive Care Unit and is looking forward to discharge from the hospital in the near future. Tim continues to recover from his physical wounds and will face the challenge of handling the emotional recovery that faces him,'' the statement read. "Please continue to pray for Tim on this journey. The family is overwhelmed by the show of love that has been shown to our family, and we thank God every day for the love and support." Celebration of Life services for Swift were held earlier this week, both in Alabama and her native Mississippi. A 19-year-old has been charged in the Jan. 26 shooting death of a Tennessee teen in Huntsville. Travion Demond Evans is held in the Madison County Jail on a murder charge, said Huntsville police Lt. Michael Johnson. William Walker, a 19-year-old from Ardmore, was killed Jan. 26 in a shooting at Lakeshore Crossing Apartments on Rime Village Drive. The apartments are southwest of University Drive and Research Park Boulevard (Alabama 255). "Walker was in a crowd of people in a parking lot that night when shots were fired," Johnson said today. "This was a very extensive investigation that resulted in linking Evans to the shooting." At the time of the shooting, police said the incident that stemmed from a fight that happened at another location. That fight apparently did not involve Walker, police said at the time. Walker was one of five people killed by gunfire in Huntsville during the first month of 2018. The arrest of Evans comes just one day after Huntsville police announced they had in custody another suspect in a January shooting. Provisions in the federal spending bill approved by Congress early Friday and signed into law Friday afternoon by President Trump will benefit Alabama from Huntsville to Mobile, U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby said. Shelby's office issued a press release outlining those benefits - ranging from increased funding for national defense initiatives and NASA at Redstone Arsenal to money for four new military ships built in Mobile. President Trump signed the bill into law Friday afternoon after threatening to veto the bill earlier in the day. Trump's signature also staves off another federal government shutdown, which would have gone into effect at midnight Friday. I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2018 "Through this appropriations measure, Alabama will receive significant funding for a number of priorities around the state," Shelby said in the statement. "For example, this legislation strongly supports missile defense, space exploration, biomedical research, law enforcement, and provides funding to improve local infrastructure, among other included priorities. "I am proud to pass this measure which provides Alabama with the funding needed to continue economic growth and future development. I look forward to seeing our state benefit from this robust bill." The following are a few of the provisions within the FY2018 appropriations bill of interest to Alabama, according to Shelby's statement: Redstone Arsenal: This bill contains important funding for critical research and development activities that are being conducted by the Army Space and Missile Defense Command that will enable the U.S. Army to deter and prepare for conflicts of the future, including investments to advance our cybersecurity, directed energy technology and capabilities in space. The measure funds continued development of a new rocket propulsion system to modernize our national security space launch - Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV), which is $100 million above the President's budget request. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): The bill includes $20.7 billion for NASA, which is $1.1 billion above the FY2017 enacted level and $1.6 billion above the budget request, to support the human and robotic exploration of space, fund science missions that enhance the understanding of the Earth, the solar system, and the universe, and support fundamental aeronautics research. Huntsville Federal Courthouse: The measure includes $110 million to fund a new federal courthouse in Huntsville. The courthouse will be located at Lowe Avenue and Gallatin Street in downtown Huntsville. National Institute of Health (NIH): The legislation provides the National Institutes of Health (NIH) $37.1 billion in funding, which is a $3 billion increase over last year's levels. Anniston Army Depot: The measure provides funding for Army ground vehicles such as: Improved Recovery Vehicle (19 M88A2 Hercules), $86 million above the President's budget request Abrams Upgrade Program, $375 million above the President's budget request Stryker Lethality, $300 million above the President's budget request Survivability Double V-hull upgrades, $348 million above the President's budget request U.S. Coast Guard (USCG): The bill includes a total of $26 million for a new USCG HC-27J aircraft training simulator in Mobile. Shipbuilding: This legislation provides important shipbuilding funding to grow our Navy, including funding for 3 Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) and one Expeditionary Fast Transport ship (EPF), proudly produced in Mobile. Additionally, the measure includes incremental funding for one LXR amphibious warship constructed in the nearby Huntington Ingalls Shipyard. Red Snapper: The bill includes increased funding to protect and sustain our nation's fisheries. The funding will support more accurate and agency-independent data and language allowing NOAA to experiment with alternative management regimes. Provisions in the bill will help expand opportunities for American commercial and recreational fishermen. Updated today, March 23, 2018, with Trump signing the spending bill into law. Police will have to notify school superintendents about juvenile sex offenders -- and courts will consider alternative schooling -- after a bill named for a child victim won approval in a final House vote. Thursday's vote on "Annalyn's Law" was 76-18. Six-year-old Annalyn Cook was molested by the 14-year-old son of a Prattville school employee in 2014. The boy was convicted and withdrew from school for a year. He returned to classes where he interacted with Annalyn's brother, led campus tours and won a spirit award. Existing law did not require superintendents to be notified of the conviction. The Cooks reached out to Republican state Sen. Clyde Chambliss, who introduced legislation to change policy. Critics worried that separating offenders would be a "scarlet letter" for juveniles. The family celebrated the bill's passage with relief. ___ This story has been clarified to remove a line that said the superintendent didn't notify the principal. That was not the responsibility of the superintendent at the time. A bill to require law enforcement agencies to keep records of traffic stops to determine whether agencies practice racial profiling failed tonight in the Alabama House of Representatives The bill failed 34-52 on a procedural vote. Rep. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, who handled the bill in the House, had said Alabama could send a message that it did not tolerate racial profiling by passing the bill. "I guess we still sent a message that Bama is backwards," Coleman said after the vote. House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, said tonight he planned to meet with Coleman, the Senate sponsor of the bill and others in an effort to amend it and have it reconsidered next week. "I think there's hope for the bill," McCutcheon said. Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, the bill sponsor, told a House committee that approved the bill earlier this month that he has been stopped five times by police just because he is black because he wasn't accused of any violation on those occasions. Smitherman said the experience is common for African-Americans. His bill would require police agencies to report to the attorney general's office statistics about traffic stops, including the race, age and gender of the driver and the officer, the nature of the alleged violation that prompted the stop and whether there was an arrest, ticket, warning or search involved. Coleman said she was shocked by the margin of the vote tonight. But after the vote, she talked to McCutcheon about the possibility of bringing the bill back next week. "The bill does still have life," Coleman said. McCutcheon, who is retired from a career in law enforcement, voted against the bill. McCutcheon said he believes racial profiling is a problem that needs to be addressed. He said the data collected to determine whether there is racial profiling should include more than just records of traffic stops. He said it should also include factors like complaints against an officer. "I think there's things we can do to improve it and make it better," McCutcheon said. "In no way was it a vote to say we should not address the issue. We do need to address the issue." The vote was largely along party lines and racial lines, with Republicans opposing the bill and Democrats supporting it. The exceptions were five Republicans who voted in favor of proceeding to a vote on the bill. They were Reps. Allen Farley of McCalla, Danny Garrett of Trussville, Ken Johnson of Moulton, Arnold Mooney of Birmingham and Tim Wadsworth of Arley. Farley, who is retired from a law enforcement career, said he supported the data collection because he said "99.9 percent" of police do their job the right way. Rep. Connie Rowe, R-Jasper, the former police chief in Jasper, said she was concerned that using only traffic stops to build data could unfairly label some officers as racial profilers if they are assigned to patrol an area that where people are predominantly one race. Rowe voted against the bill. The bill was next to last on a long agenda of House bills today. After it failed, black lawmakers began a filibuster and said they were prepared to delay the next bill as long as possible. That was a bill to allow hunters to purchase a lifetime stamp to hunt waterfowl, rather than having to buy one every year. But the House adjourned at 10 p.m. after a count revealed there was not the required number to do business, which is a majority of the 102 members. McCutcheon said the House plans to meet Tuesday and Wednesday next week and finish the session on Wednesday. The Senate has the same plan. Local school systems could spend money from a technology fund for school security needs under a bill that moved closer to becoming law today. The bill, by Sen. Trip Pittman, R-Montrose, would add school security to the list of allowed uses for money from the Advancement and Technology Fund. The House of Representatives passed it by a vote of 96-4. About $41 million is expected to be available for K-12 schools from the Advancement and Technology Fund this year. Schools systems receive a share proportional to their enrollment. Under current law, the fund can be used for repairs and deferred maintenance, classroom instructional support, insuring facilities, transportation and education technology and equipment. Rep. Bill Poole, D-Tuscaloosa, the House education budget chairman, said the bill would allow school systems to use the money for security cameras, making entrances more secure and other nonrecurring uses related to security. "Any tool we can add to the toolboxes that schools have to keep the premises safe is critical," Poole said. Poole said the money is not intended to hire personnel, like school resource officers, but said it's possible school systems could do so under a contract arrangement. "If they have some security needs, whether those are security cameras or improving door lock systems or alert systems or whatever the case may be, the local districts will have the flexibility to point these resources to those specific needs," Poole said. Rep. John Knight, D-Montgomery, proposed an amendment to say that the money from the Advancement and Technology could not be used to buy guns for teachers. Knight said he did not think that was the intent of the bill but said it should be specifically prohibited. The House rejected the amendment. Poole said he did not think the amendment was necessary. "There's no reason to start itemizing out everything that can and can't be used," Poole said. The bill returns to the Senate, which could agree with changes made by the House and send the bill to Gov. Kay Ivey, who could sign it into law. The bill is one of the ideas that came after the Feb. 14 mass shooting at a Florida high school. Another bill that got a lot of attention, one to allow teachers who receive training and local approval to have guns in schools, is apparently dead for this session. House Speaker Mac McCutcheon said it would be revisited next session. A Bullock County man died in a single-vehicle wreck early Friday morning, Alabama State Troopers said. Jeffrey Darrell Tarver Jr., 25, of Union Springs, was killed shortly after midnight Friday when his 2003 Nissan Maxima left the road and struck a tree near the 141 mile marker on U.S. 29, authorities said. The crash occurred about one mile south of Union Springs. Authorities had no further details on the incident as of Friday afternoon and were continuing to investigate. Calling her "a fighter who will not bow down," the Alabama gun rights group BamaCarry today endorsed Alice Martin for attorney general. Martin enthusiastically accepted the support and said she was "proud" to have it. BamaCarry says on its website that it is a "no compromise gun rights group" working toward "Constitutional carry" in Alabama. That is the right to carry a handgun without a license or permit. The group has chapters in about three dozen Alabama counties with almost 15,000 followers on its chapter Facebook pages. "Alice Martin is the only attorney general candidate for those who care about protecting their second amendment rights here in Alabama," said BamaCarry President Eddie Fulmer. "She is a fighter who will not bow down to the pressures from liberals in and outside of Alabama. She has removed more corrupt elected officials than any other AG! We believe she will do all that's possible to 'clean up' our Statehouse. She is also a firm believer in the Constitution. BamaCarry, Inc. is proud to endorse her in this race, and our full support is behind her." Martin is a former U.S. attorney who also served as chief deputy & deputy attorney general in Alabama for five years before leaving office in 2017 to run. She is facing incumbent Attorney General Steve Marshall, former attorney general Troy King and businessman Chess Bedsole in the June 5 Republican primary. "Here in Alabama, we are proud of our second amendment rights," Martin said in a statement. "As attorney general, I will not bow down to political pressure from anti-gun groups and those outside the state who want to tell us what to do. Additionally, I will oppose unnecessary regulation that infringes upon the rights of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms. BamaCarry is a strong grassroots organization that has done a great job promoting and protecting our gun rights and I am proud to have their endorsement in this race." In case you had any doubts, Alabama still has some of the highest alcohol taxes in the United States. The Yellowhammer state raises approximately $18.27 per gallon of alcohol sold, according to a study released Thursday by the Tax Foundation, a Washington D.C.-based think tank that studies state and federal tax data. "Washington state has the highest spirits excise tax rate at $32.52 per gallon, followed by Oregon ($22.75), Virginia ($19.93), Alabama ($18.27), and Utah ($15.38)," noted a Tax Foundation study. "Spirits are taxed the least in Wyoming and New Hampshire, where government-run stores have set prices low enough that they are comparable to having no taxes on spirits. Following Wyoming and New Hampshire are Missouri ($2.00), Colorado ($2.28), Texas ($2.40), and Kansas ($2.50)." The data is taken from the Distilled Spirits Council of America, a national trade association that represents American's leading distillers. While you may have to pay a lot more in Alabama to get your hands on some booze, don't worry. Thank god for Georgia ($3.79) or Mississippi ($8.15). For those of you living in the north, Tennessee raises $4.46 per gallon. Florida is bringing in $6.50 a gallon. And if you really want to get drunk on the cheap, drive to Louisiana, where every gallon taxed raises just $3.00. The difference in tax rates, as you might imagine, means different prices at the checkout. A 1.75 liter of Jim Beam costs $34.99, according to Alabama's ABC Quarterly price list. The same bottle in a randomly chosen liquor store in Georgia costs $18.99. Some in Alabama's legislature would prefer to see Alabama withdraw from the liquor business and leave it to private liquor stores. And while those private liquor stores outnumber the ABC stores, booze coming into the state is controlled and taxed by ABC. There is a general belief among lawmakers that privitazing the industry would see a drastic fall in Alabama's tax revenues. "I think that we would see a decrease in revenues to start with for a couple of years but in time that would absolutely increase and go above current levels," said Senator Dick Brewbaker during an interview with AL.com. However, the status quo is being kept in place by an almighty and unlikely alliance. "We're still in the liquor selling business because of a coalition between the ABC and the religious right. And the religious right believes very firmly that if it was privatized there would be more liquor sold and they think that's bad," Brewbaker added. The Jefferson County Health Department said it started dispatching crews Thursday to make sure there are no edible rabies vaccines on private property after a Mountain Brook woman said Wednesday that her dog became ill after ingesting the vaccine. The woman, Allie Black, posted on Facebook that she walked her dog Charlie on Wednesday when he ate the rabies vaccine. "If I hadn't grabbed them out of my dog's mouth he could've eaten all of them. It's just bizarre to me," she told AL.com on Wednesday. "Once he ate one, he was on a rabbit chase to find more. He was pulling me down the street." Wanda Heard, a spokeswoman for the health department, said the rabies vaccines were deployed because of an "uptick in rabid raccoons" in the county. She said the vaccines were not supposed to be placed on private property, and said it was either a mistake or wild raccoons got onto private property. "The intent was to put the baits in the woods and not on private property, not on people's yards," she said. But Black said that was not the case when Charlie ate the bait and then developed diarrhea. She said she called the health department but the agency did not comfort her when they said the dog "should be O.K." and told her to make sure she handled the baits with gloved hands. "I don't even live in a really wooded area. This was clearly randomly put in people's yards," she said. Black then called her vet who said that her dog should be fine but not to touch him while he was ill. "I have not had one doctor who said, 'This is great, I'd feed it to my children,'" Black said. "I don't trust the government. I don't trust them putting live rabies vaccines in my dog's yard." While Black claimed that she was not given a heads-up about the baits, Heard said the health department provided the information to municipalities. Mountain Brook City Manager Sam Gaston said in an email to AL.com that the information was posted to three city-centric Facebook pages, including its main page, its animal control page and the police department's page. Black said she was not a "litigious person," and was asking for the health department to rectify the situation, noting that she has a child in Kindergarten who will be going Easter egg hunting next week and is concerned for his safety. "I want the right thing to be done," she said. "I want the Department of Health to come out and pick their damn things up and put them away. I mean, it's asinine." John Dowd, a personal attorney to President Donald Trump, resigned his position Thursday amid a shake-up in the president's legal team as Trump has sought more firepower to deal with the special counsel's Russia investigation. The resignation came Thursday, according to three people familiar with the decision. In an email to The Washington Post, Dowd wrote, "I love the President and wish him well." Dowd's departure was a largely mutual decision made after the president lost confidence in his ability to handle special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation and Dowd became frustrated with Trump's recent efforts to bring on new attorneys, they said. In recent weeks, Dowd clashed with the president, including an incident in which he disagreed vehemently with Trump over a legal strategy, according to the people. Jay Sekulow, a Trump lawyer and spokesman for the legal team, told The Post, "John has been a valuable part of the team and a friend and we will continue to cooperate fully with the special counsel." Trump added former U.S. attorney Joe diGenova to his legal team last week. And on Monday, The Post reported that Trump had urged his aides to reach out to legal superstar and former solicitor general Theodore Olson to join as his lawyer as he faces a likely interview with the Special Counsel's investigative team and scrutiny for possible obstruction of justice. Last week, Dowd called on the Justice Department to immediately shut down the special counsel probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, in the wake of the firing of FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. Dowd said in a statement that the investigation, now led by special counsel Mueller, was fatally flawed early on and "corrupted" by political bias. He called on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees that probe, to shut it down. "I pray that Acting Attorney General Rosenstein will follow the brilliant and courageous example of the FBI Office of Professional Responsibility and Attorney General Jeff Sessions and bring an end to alleged Russia Collusion investigation manufactured by McCabe's boss James Comey based upon a fraudulent and corrupt Dossier," Dowd said in an emailed statement. Dowd told The Post on Saturday he was speaking for himself and not on Trump's behalf. Earlier Saturday, Dowd told the Daily Beast that he was speaking on behalf of the president and in his capacity as the president's attorney. After the Daily Beast published its story, Dowd emailed the publication and said he was not speaking on the president's behalf. A Cherokee County man was charged Friday with attempted murder in the shooting of a 27-year-old man - a day after he was charged with domestic violence in an unrelated incident, according to the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office. Jeremy Bleu Clifton, 38, of Gaylesville, was charged Friday in the Wednesday shooting of 27-year-old Tyler Nance, who was shot multiple times. Jeremy Bleu Clifton Nance was given medical aid by sheriff's office personnel and then airlifted to a local hospital. The 27-year-old was listed in critical but stable condition as of Friday afternoon. Cherokee County Sheriff's Office Chief Investigator Josh Summerford charged Clifton on Friday with attempted murder. Clifton remains in the Cherokee County Detention Center. Clifton was arrested Thursday on second-degree domestic violence charges and held in the detention center on $15,000 bond on the domestic violence charge. According to Cherokee County Sheriff Jeff Shaver, an incident took place Wednesday, March 21, 2018, at a residence on County Road 77 in the Gaylesville area resulting in a man being shot multiple times. Deputies, investigators, and other members of the Major Crimes Unit responded to the scene. The JSU Center for Applied Forensics also responded and assisted in processing the crime scene. Sheriff's Office personnel arrived promptly on the scene and rendered medical aid to the victim until EMS arrived. Cherokee EMS transported the victim to a landing zone at Cedar Bluff School, where he was airlifted to an area hospital. He is listed in critical but stable condition. According to Sheriff Shaver, Jeremy Bleu Clifton, 38, of Gaylesville was arrested on Thursday for second degree domestic violence in connection with a separate incident and is being held in the Cherokee County Detention Center on a $15,000 bond for the domestic violence charge. Chief Investigator Josh Summerford charged Clifton on Friday with attempted murder for the shooting of 27 year-old Tyler Nance. Clifton remains in the Cherokee County Detention Center. A bill designed to close loopholes in Alabama child care law has left a few of its own. Last week, the Child Care Safety Act passed the Alabama legislature and now awaits a signature from Gov. Kay Ivey. The bill is a compromise. It adds some regulations for child care centers but stops short of requiring licensing and inspection of all centers. "To be honest, I'm very happy because it made a difference," said Rep. Pebblin Warren, D-Tuskegee, who led a two-year campaign to pass tighter regulations on child care centers. "It didn't go all the way we wanted to, but it still made a difference. I can't wait to have my grandkids standing there with me when it's signed into law." Alabama is one of a handful of states that still allow church-affiliated child care centers to be exempt from licensing and inspection requirements that other child care centers must meet in order to stay open. About half of Alabama's roughly 1,900 child care centers claim a religious exemption from licensing. The number of unlicensed centers has steadily risen over the past decade, while the number of licensed centers has declined. Proponents of the bill say tighter regulation on child care centers keeps children safe; opponents argue it could infringe on religious freedoms for church-based centers. A series of child injuries and deaths at unlicensed child care centers has drawn media attention to the issue over the past few years. The most recent came last August, when a 5-year-old Mobile boy died after being left in a day care van by the van driver. The boy's day care center was exempt from licensing. The driver had a criminal record. "VOICES for Alabama's Children applauds members of the Alabama legislature for even having the debate on childcare safety," said Melanie Bridgeforth, executive director of VOICES, a statewide child advocacy group that has pushed for licensing of all child care centers. "We will continue to urge that they produce a stronger piece of legislation," she said, "but with the understanding of the dynamics and political monster of getting everybody on board, and understanding there was opposition to full-out licensure." In the end, the bill that passed with an overwhelming majority of votes in the House and Senate closes some loopholes in state law even as it opens a few others. Different rules One of the biggest changes the new bill would bring is that it requires licensure for all child care centers, regardless of church affiliation, that accept children whose families receive federal subsidies. That's about 396 centers that will now have to be licensed, according to Barry Spear, communications director for Alabama DHR. It leaves about 500 centers statewide that still operate without license or inspection. The bill would, however, require those centers to file reports with DHR each year proving they've had local fire and health department inspections, and have performed criminal background checks on employees. They aren't required to follow DHR rules on things like transportation checklists, staff-to-child ratios, repaired playground equipment, or qualifications for staff members. One potential new loophole in the bill involves the new reporting requirements for license-exempt centers. "There's nothing in the bill that specifically addresses what to do if the exemption requirements aren't met," said Spear. "That's a legal issue that will have to be resolved." When licensed centers break rules, DHR can come in to inspect, and possibly shut down the center for critical violations. DHR can also prevent a center from transporting children if the center's transportation is deemed unsafe. DHR has no such authority over license-exempt centers. If a license-exempt center doesn't comply with its new reporting requirements, said Spear, it's unclear what would happen to the center. DHR can refer the center to the local district attorney's office as being out of compliance with the law, but can't shut it down. The bill does give DHR the ability to go into an unlicensed center if it receives a credible complaint, such as if a staff member is working there who hasn't had a criminal background check. Again, though, it's unclear how an unlicensed center would be penalized for not meeting requirements. Not enough toilets On the last page of the bill, there's a section that seems to say that if an unlicensed center chooses to be licensed, it doesn't have to meet licensing rules that relate to its physical building. Those kinds of rules include things like requiring centers to have enough toilets, or having door handles placed high enough that small children can't get outside. Spear called that section of the bill "problematic" because federal law requires child care centers to meet certain facility requirements, similar to those required by DHR for licensed centers. If a center can be licensed without having to meet those standards, it still may not be able to accept subsidy children. How would parents would know whether a licensed center was following all standards for licensing or whether it didn't have to follow facility requirements? That's unclear, Spear said. Bridgeforth wants clarification on this particular part of the bill. "Centers that choose to be licensed but aren't required to meet all standards, that could be problematic and confusing," she said. "What we don't want to do is give parents a false sense of security." Getting it passed The bill passed the Senate last week on a 23-4 vote after Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville, agreed to drop efforts to block the bill over concerns about the effect on church-affiliated centers that accept children who receive federal subsidies. The bill passed the House 86-5 on Feb. 1. Warren said that in the end, most legislators recognized there was a problem that needed fixing. "It took me two years to accomplish," passage of a child care bill, said Warren. "I had people who were deathly against my bill when it started who, at the last, were standing there with me trying to help me get it through." Last year, a child care regulation bill that would have required annual inspections of unlicensed centers died in the Senate of the last day of the legislative session. A few months later, the Mobile boy was found dead on the side of a road. Police say the driver of his day care van left him there after he'd been left, forgotten in the van for hours. It was another galvanizing moment for proponents of tighter regulations. Joan Wright, executive director of Childcare Resources of Birmingham, said the passage of the bill this year leaves her "cautiously optimistic," about the state of childcare in Alabama, although her organization advocates for licensure of all child care centers. It's the first time in 33 years that the legislature has passed meaningful childcare licensing legislation, she said. With that has come more public awareness of the state's dual child care system. "I believe that awareness does lead to consumer demand," she said, "and that can help push this issue forward." A former Alachua county manager was charged with simple battery after authorities said he tried to kiss a work acquaintance. On June 10, 2017, Lee Niblock, who was then Alachua County Manager, tried to kiss an acquaintance at a professional meeting and said he loved it when she showed off her legs, according to court records. Niblock, 64, arranged a meeting with the woman at Volta Coffee, Tea & Chocolate, located at 48 SW 2nd Street, to discuss a future job, according to a sworn complaint. Niblock, who was fired as the Alachua County Manager in August 2017, was fired Monday from his job as city manager of Marco Island and is under investigation in Marco Island for battery, according to The Gainesville Sun. During the meeting, which he later called a date, Niblock offered to drive the woman places for her potential job, according to the complaint. He touched her thigh and lifted the hem of her skirt as they drove on US 441 toward Micanopy, according to the complaint. Niblock said he loved it when she wore skirts and showed off her thighs. The woman pushed his hand away, according to the complaint. When Niblock brought the woman to her parked car, he put a hand on her thigh and her shoulder. He leaned in for a kiss, but the woman ducked and he kissed her temple. Gainesville Police charged Niblock with simple battery on Tuesday afternoon, according to court records. Niblock could not be reached for comment. Contact Robert Lewis at rlewis@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter at @Lewis__Robert. Lee Niblock Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now Every time John Kim goes to his group therapy sessions for depression at UFs Counseling and Wellness Center, he sees people just like him. The UF microbiology and cell science senior said the center continued to help him get in touch with a psychiatrist and find a therapist. The process also helped him realize he was not alone others struggled as well. So many people think that mental health is a bad word, but mental health is just as important as physical health, Kim, 21, said. You go to the doctors for a physical checkup every so often, so why not seek a mental health checkup? From the 2013-2014 school year to 2016-2017, there was a 17.6 percent increase in students served at the CWC, said Ernesto Escoto, director of the CWC. More students seeking mental health help is partly due to a decreased stigma among the younger generation, he said. Increasing awareness among mental health and educating others about existing resources remains instrumental, he said. In an effort to continue halting the stigma, the CWC held its second-annual UFisAWARE, a mental health awareness week, which aims to bring attention to these issues and to direct students to campus resources. Escoto said about 26 percent of UF students participated in some form of mental health treatment prior to attending college. Therefore, they are more familiar with mental health care and likely follow up in college. There have also been advances in counseling and psychiatric care, he said. Amanda Lawson-Ross, a clinical assistant professor and organizer of UFisAWARE week, said the stigma about seeking help is gradually lessening. I love seeing students speak openly about mental health and know that it can be healing to do so, Lawson-Ross said. For the awareness week this year, the CWC provided more information about mental health and resources, Lawson-Ross said. Some events included a mediation session and painting a mural. UF President Kent Fuchs participated in an awareness event Monday in which green flags were planted on the Plaza of the Americas lawn to raise awareness for the week. Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now Fuchs said some people wrote about their own experiences with mental health on the flags. One of the flags told about how someone lost their uncle to suicide and another was about counseling sessions. Fuchs said for a number of years, both nationally at universities and at UF, there has been a steady increase of students who reach out to counseling and wellness centers to take advantage of the offered services. Im really pleased that we reach out to the whole university community, he said, and just make mental health a topic that, first off, people are aware of, and also just remove the barriers that many of us have as it being a taboo subject. Despite promising yourself you wouldnt procrastinate on your homework this week, you find yourself deep in the aisles of Target with your roommate. You came to buy bananas, but your cart already has 10 items, none of which you actually need and none of which are bananas. Well, at least this is a stress reliever, you reason to yourself. A little embarrassed by the hodgepodge of useless products you collected on your raid, you decide self-checkout is the best option for you. Several scans in, you get an error message. This one, however, is one youve never seen before. After clicking cancel about 30 times, the screen reads Darts & Laurels A little more than a month after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, another took place. Tuesday morning, a 17-year-old student at Great Mills High School in Great Mills, Maryland, shot two other students before the school resource officer was able to engage him and stop the threat. According to CNN, Austin Wyatt Rollins shot a female and male student before he was later pronounced dead. The female, who Rollins had a prior relationship with, was in critical condition with life-threatening injuries as of Wednesday morning. The male who was shot is in stable condition. Although Rollins actions were truly unforgivable, we wont give him a dart. Instead, we award our first dart to the politicians who continue to block stricter gun control in our country. Young people with this type of disturbed mind should not have access to a gun of any kind. Its time we start taking guns seriously and limiting who has access to them nationwide. Its time we stop disasters like this from happening. In an effort to advocate for gun reform, people across the country will participate in the March For Our Lives protests Saturday. About 20 UF students have been raising money to organize a bus trip so more than 100 students can attend the march in Washington, D.C. They are determined to have their voices heard. If you plan to march, wed like to award you with our first laurel of the week. Whether close to home or traveling to a larger protest, we commend you. Your bravery and determination will make a difference, and the whole nation is thankful for you. Last week, the Islamist militant group Boko Haram kidnapped dozens of girls from a school in Nigeria. The girls were released Wednesday of this week with the attached warning, Dont ever put your daughters in school again. Kidnapping girls who are pusuing an education is not new for the group. In 2014, they kidnapped nearly 300 girls from their boarding school in Chibok. One hundred of them have yet to return home. According to the Associated Press, Informational Minister Lai Mohammed told journalists in the capital, Abuja, the girls were released through back-channel efforts and with the help of some friends of the country, and it was unconditional. Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now We award a dart not only to the military group, but also to the bystanders who continue to let this type of mindset exist in the world. No girl should ever be told she cant attend school or be forced to decide between her life and her education. Helping to slowly restore our faith in both humanity this week, however, was Gail Johnson. After being elected to the City Commission At-Large Seat 1 on Tuesday, she became the first black woman to be elected citywide in at least 21 years. We would like to award a laurel to Johnson for her immense success in breaking the glass ceiling and changing the norms that have been in place in Gainesville for nearly two decades. We will also give her opponent, Harvey Budd, a laurel. Its not always easy to accept a loss, but Budd took it with honor and conceded. He told The Alligator, She outworked us, and she deserves it. We wish both the best. A conclusive deal between the United States, Canada and Mexico on an updated North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) seems unlikely by year-end, one Canadian trade attorney told American Metal Market in an interview. Campaigning for the Mexican presidential election on Sunday July 1 is likely to start in April, and political candidates are unlikely to make any concessions on key sticking points, according to Clifford Sosnow, a lawyer at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, based in Ottawa and Toronto. Will there be any meaningful negotiations in the lead up to the presidential election? In April, May and June, who is going to be making significant, politically sensitive concessions and at the same time saying vote for me to be the president of the country? Sosnow asked rhetorically. Theres going to be negotiations at a highly technical level, but the hard issues will have to be put aside. On top of that, Republican and Democratic lawmakers are unlikely to back any major concessions on the US side in advance of contested midterm elections in November, he added. So all of a sudden you have a bit of paralysis in the negotiations about whos going to make the tough decisions, Sosnow said. The issues they want to deal with are very, very serious... There just is no way that in this round of Nafta negotiations that theyre going to resolve them, according to Sosnow, a veteran trade lawyer with years of experience before Canadian agencies, Nafta bodies and World Trade Organization (WTO) arbitrators. The US is only now signaling interest in Canadian proposals on automobiles and rules of origin - key to US metals producers - while thorny issues like procurement, investor-dispute settlement and anti-dumping law remain virtually untouched, he said. These are extremely detailed and complex issues that are very delicate, and the idea that all will be wrapped up three months prior to the presidential elections in Mexico is frankly not realistic, he told American Metal Market. And once Mexicos campaign is under way, it will be early 2019 before serious negotiations can continue since thats when a new president takes power, Sosnow said. By then, if theres a Democratic House and a Mexican president not supportive of Nafta, the negotiating dynamic and agenda will be completely different, he noted. The US could lose control of the negotiating agenda. Despite President Donald Trump and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizers attempts to achieve a Nafta deal as quickly as possible, theres a close to zero chance of that happening, Sosnow predicted. That will have a direct impact on the US steel market, which both sells and imports significant steel from Canada and Mexico. Nafta negotiations have left the North American steel industry and supply chain in limbo for months. Steel trade among Nafta countries totaled 17 million tonnes in 2016, according to World Steel Association data. In 2017, an average of 1.51 million tonnes per month moved beteween the three countries, according to the Nafta steel trade monitor. Section 232: The consequences for Canada While Canada is excluded from US import barriers, Canadian steel markets must still deal with the consequences of the US imposition of Section 232 tariffs on March 23. Some fear that global steel shipments bound for the US will find their way to Canadian shores and disrupt markets there. Canada has legal measures, including a market disruption safeguard and emergency safeguards, that can protect its market against a flood of Chinese steel, according to Sosnow, who formerly worked at the Canadian International Trade Tribunal. Those unilateral tools can be deployed by Canadas cabinet, now led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has expressed support for Canadas steel and aluminum industry. Still, targeting China might cause a backlash against Canada, which still seeks a free-trade deal with the worlds second-largest economy. Trudeau visited China recently to seek a free-trade deal but was rebuffed, even as he continues to court politically important steel voters for Canadian elections in 2019. In this uncertain environment, and with the real threat of a Nafta breakup, Sosnow advises Canadian steel businesses to look at setting up shop in the US. He outlined a dual-track strategy of maintaining an office in Canada and lobbying the Canadian government heavily to erect a safeguard against steel imports while also drawing on benefits from US tax reform at US operations. Sosnows clients include companies directly affected by 232 tariffs and Nafta policy, including automotive manufacturers, general industrial firms and transportation companies. If I was the [chief executive officer] of a steel company right now, Id be investing in setting up operations in the US, Sosnow said, adding that Canadian investment in northern US or even southern US states is an attractive option both for tax reasons and to protect against a Nafta breakup. Posted on: March 23, 2018 4:52 PM Parliamentarians and religious leaders from around the Commonwealth will gather at Lambeth Palace next month to discuss ways to strengthen religious liberty. Details of the event were given by the Bishop of Rochester, James Langstaff, during a debate in the House of Lords the upper house of Britains Parliament yesterday (Thursday). In the debate, Lord Alton of Liverpool, a cross-bench or non-party political member of the House of Lords, highlighted the fact that while 95 per cent of people in the Commonwealth profess a religious belief, around 70 per cent of the population live with high or very high government restrictions on the right to freedom of religion and belief. Lord Alton said that the political idea of the right to freedom of religion or belief had its origins in the horrors of the Holocaust and was intended to respect the dignity of every individual and community. He added that our right to believe, not to believe or to change our belief, as set out in Article 18 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, was one of very few non-derogable rights in the human rights arsenal. He said: The drafters of the human rights framework knew its importance. It is not something that we can simply sweep aside, either because some believe it is irrelevant or because others are nervous of the potential for conflict. No, it is a right that must be upheld and promoted for the positive change it brings to the world. Freedom of religion or belief goes to the very essence of our humanitythe right to hold our deep-seated beliefs, think our own thoughts and follow our consciences. The debate was a precursor to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which takes place in London and Windsor Castle on 19-20 April. In the days leading up to that meeting, four fora will take place addressing issues related to trade, gender justice, youth and civil society. The two-day meeting at Lambeth Palace is one of a number of side-events that will be taking place around the CHOGM meeting. Unfortunately, it is the case that some of the worst-offending countries when it comes to religious freedom are found within the Commonwealth, Bishop James said in the House of Lords debate. In the margins of the Heads of Government meeting, the . . . Archbishop of Canterbury, working with the Commonwealth Initiative for Freedom of Religion and Belief, is convening a gathering of parliamentarians and religious leaders to discuss over two days how they may, among other things, hold their Governments and constituencies to account in relation to these concerns around religious freedom. In the debate, the bishop outlined the strong links between the Commonwealth of Nations and the Churches of the Anglican Communion, saying: the Anglican Communion extends significantly beyond the nations of the Commonwealth. Nevertheless, for obvious reasons of history, there is a very substantial Anglican presence in many Commonwealth countries. Within the Anglican Communion we have a rich network of companion links between dioceses in different parts of the world. . . The nature of the Commonwealth as a network of autonomous free nations also has some parallel with the life of the communion, wherein each province is autonomous yet links together through what one might call family likeness, and the position of honour granted to . . . the Archbishop of Canterbury. He continued: We share with the Commonwealth and our companion dioceses a great number of areas of concern and involvement, not least around climate change, resilience, sustainability, issues of human trafficking, modern slavery and gender violence, the roles of women and young people, and the building of positive frameworks in civil society. We are very pleased that people from across the Anglican Communion will be participating in some of the forums around the forthcoming meeting for example those from Swaziland, Mozambique and Sri Lanka in the forums concerned with women and young people. My diocese has companion links with two Anglican dioceses in Tanzania. We also have a link with the diocese of Harare in a country that many of us wish to see as an active participant in the Commonwealth once again before too long. In my diocese, well over 30 parishes and schools have active relationships with parishes or schools in Tanzania or Zimbabwe, and I myself will visit both countries later this year. He also raised the difficulty that members of the Anglican Communion have in obtaining visas to attend Anglican events in the UK, and spoke of the example of his own dioceses companion links with two dioceses in Tanzania. I may travel and people from my parishes may travel freely to Tanzania, he said. It is not always possible for people to come back the other way, and we feel somewhat embarrassed about that. It is easy enough to get visas for bishops to visit: it is the ordinary people, very often. Whatever guarantees we may give, many of these people lead subsistence lives in a subsistence economy and would not have any need for a bank account, and thereby find it hard to demonstrate their bona fides. If we could have some further conversations with Her Majestys Government about that, we would be hugely grateful. He said that the companion links demonstrate the strengths of people from different religious groups working together. My friend the Bishop of Kondoa in Tanzania leads a diocese in a very rural part of the country where the population is more than 90 per cent Muslim, he said. Neither community compromises on its beliefs, yet there is in many places an ease of relationship and a mutual respect from which we in this country can learn a huge amount. I recall visiting one place where, although it was Ramadan, the Muslim village elders came out in numbers to greet the bishop and me. Indeed, they greeted the bishop as their bishop. I learned later that they had donated to the church in that village land on which to build a church building and the priests house. In another place, the local councillor a Muslim was the first to donate a substantial sum to put a roof on a new church building. In the town of Kondoa itself, the diocesan Bible school, as well as training priests and lay ministers, runs a year-long empowerment programme for young women. On that programme, Muslim and Christian women study together alongside each other. These are practical examples from which certainly I have learned a great deal. Responding to the debate, Lord Ahmed of Wimbledon, a minister in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, said that the Heads of the Commonwealth had recognised the freedom of religion and expression at previous meetings, and that the British government would use CHOGMs summit in April to encourage the Commonwealth to build on that. He said: Freedom of religion and belief is a priority for the Prime Minister, for the Secretary-General [of the Commonwealth] and for me, as Minister for Human Rights. We will discuss this bilaterally and during the course of the Commonwealth summit through various forums. I also acknowledge the great work done by Lambeth Palace. We look forward to the event that is being organised on this issue in the margins of the Commonwealth summit during the course of the week. I pay particular tribute to . . . the Archbishop of Canterbury for his continuing support and leadership on this important issue. Watch the Bishop of Rochesters speech: (ANSA) - Brussels, March 23 - Premier Paolo Gentiloni said Friday he could not see any alarm on the financial markets over the Italian political stalemate following the inconclusive March 4 general election. "I don't see an Italy alarm for the stability of the markets or the (bond) spread," he said. "I see an awareness that the convergence in the eurozone and the work done by Italian governments in these years guarantee a certain stability". Gentiloni said "it doesn't mean that the situation is eternal and immutable, and therefore there is a commitment on the part of all the parliamentary forces to work together to find a solution to the crisis". (by Olga Piscitelli) Rabat - Lalla Salma, princess consort of Morocco, has not attended official ceremonies or appeared in family photographs for several months, fuelling speculation and gossip about a possible marital rift in the royal household. The 39-year-old wife of King Mohammed VI made her last institutional appearance on November 23, in Marrakech, for a Foundation caring for child cancer patients that bears her name. Shortly after she went to an exhibition at the Rabat Museum. Since then she has not been seen in public. The subject is a taboo in Morocco, but international celebrity news media are busy speculating that divorce could be nigh. The gossip has been driven by an official photograph showing the king's family gathered around his bed at a Paris hospital where he received treatment for a heart condition in February. The picture shows his two children, three sisters and brother, but not his wife. An on-line campaign to belittle the popular princess began the following day, representing an unprecedented attack in Morocco. However, the allegedly institutional press makes no mention of the matter. Born into a middle class family in 1978, Salma Bennani married the Alaouite king on March 21, 2002. The couple have two children, crown prince Hassan and princess Khadija. Salma is a computer engineer by profession and is always seen with her head uncovered. She is much loved by Moroccans, who consider her to be a symbol of seriousness. She devotes her time to charity work and protocol engagements, often with Queen Rania of Jordan of whom she is a close friend. BEIRUT - At least 37 civilians were killed in Syrian regime airstrikes with incendiary bombs on the Ghouta, the area east of Damascus, according to civil protection sources. They said the majority of victims in Arbin were women and children. Russian General Vladimir Zolotukhin said more than 3,000 civilians have left the Eastern Ghouta region through the Muhayam al-Wafedin humanitarian passage. Meanwhile, hundreds of Syrian rebel militants with families arrived in rebel-held Idlib province in northwest Syria, after having been evacuated from Eastern Ghouta, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). The militants are part of Ahrar ash Sham, a Turkish-backed anti-government group, which surrendered after pressure from the Turkish government. BRUSSELS - The European Council has strongly condemned what it calls Turkey's "illegal actions" in the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea, in a statement detailing conclusions following a Thursday evening summit. The cited actions include Turkey's blockade of a drilling ship, the Saipem 12000, rented by Italian energy giant ENI for gas drilling at an offshore field in the eastern Aegean. After two weeks of being blocked off the southeastern coast of Cyprus by the Turkish Navy, ENI was forced to abandon its planned exploration, despite having a license for it from the Cypriot government in Nicosia. Turkey claims that part of the gas field off Cyprus belongs to Northern Cyprus, the Turkish part of the island. The Council also expressed "grave concern over the continued detention of EU citizens in Turkey, including two Greek soldiers" and said it "calls for the swift and positive resolution of these issues in a dialogue with Member States". The Council said it "recalls Turkey's obligation to respect international law" and "to respect the sovereign rights of Cyprus to explore and exploit its natural resources". Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said Italy has "great concerns" over "some of Turkey's recent behaviors". "Our position has always been in favor of involvement between the European Union's institutional heads and the Turkish authorities," he said. BEIRUT/MOSCOW - An anti-government rebel group operating in besieged Eastern Ghouta announced a ceasefire as of midnight on Thursday in the first step towards surrendering to the government, according to corroborating sources on the ground in Syria. The group is Faylaq ar Rahman, which controls Arbin and Zamalka with extensive support from Qatar. The two other main militas operating in Ghouta are Jaysh al Islam, which controls Duma with backing from Saudi Arabia, and Ahrar ash Sham, which is close to Turkey and based in Harasta. Ahrar ash Sham has already surrendered to the government under pressure from Turkey and the evacuation of its combatants from Harasta is underway. The Russian defence ministry reports that over 1,800 Ahrar ash Sham militiamen and members of their families have left Eastern Ghouta since Thursday, following an agreement between the Russian Centrefor theReconciliation of Opposing Sides, a ministerial body, and the group's leaders. AMMAN - The military-run state security court has sentenced over 31 people to between 18 months and life imprisonment in 16 separate terrorism-related cases for allegedly attempting to carry out attacks on foreign and local targets or operating under the Islamic State (IS) flag, judicial sources said on Thursday. Some of the cases involve attempts to blow up the embassies of Israel, Russia and Iran, while others relate to a planned attack against Israeli soldiers in the West Bank. The most common cases concern accusations of spreading ISIS ideology, which is punishable by between 4 and 15 years in jail according to Petra news agency. Human rights groups and the Jordan Bar Association have been at loggerhead with authorities over jurisdiction of the state security court, which is often accused of using confessions obtained under duress as valid evidence. The Jordan Bar Association (JBA) is currently banning its members from representing clients in court, which is run by two military judges and one civilian judge, as a sign of protest. The bar association claims the government and security apparatus including the intelligence department often apply anti-terrorism laws in cases of freedom of expression, as hundreds of citizens lie in prison for demanding reforms in a country plagued by corruption and increasing poverty. "A recent wave of protests against government fiscal policies, including lifting subsidies on bread, has seen dozens locked up in prison without bail," a member of the JBA executive office told ANSA. The bar association has demanded that the government free dozens of detained lawyers, stop referring protestors to the state security court, and refrain from using anti-terrorism laws against them. Lawyers have told ANSA that Jordanian prisons are home to thousands of individuals convicted in terrorism-related cases, and concern over their fate once they leave prison. Syrian civil protection says 37 killed in regime airstrikes Moscow says 3,000 civilians have left region (ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, MARCH 23 - At least 37 civilians were killed in Syrian regime airstrikes with incendiary bombs on the Ghouta, the area east of Damascus, according to civil protection sources. They said the majority of victims in Arbin were women and children. Russian General Vladimir Zolotukhin said more than 3,000 civilians have left the Eastern Ghouta region through the Muhayam al-Wafedin humanitarian passage. Meanwhile, hundreds of Syrian rebel militants with families arrived in rebel-held Idlib province in northwest Syria, after having been evacuated from Eastern Ghouta, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). The militants are part of Ahrar ash Sham, a Turkish-backed anti-government group, which surrendered after pressure from the Turkish government. (ANSAmed). PARIS - An armed terrorist who claimed allegiance to ISIS was killed in a shootout with special forces police in Trebes, in southwest France, on Friday, after killing three people and having taken hostages. The terrorist, Redouane Lakdim, 26, from Moroccan origins, with a criminal record in drugs trafficking, first shot at police, wounding one, in Carcassonne, in the Pyrenees region. He then hijacked a car, killing the passenger and seriously wounding the driver, before heading to a supermarket in Trebes where he took hostages and killed two people, including the supermarket butcher. A gendarme officer offered to take the place of the supermarket customers who were being held hostage, and the customers safely exited the supermarket. The terrorist was then killed by special forces agents after an hours-long standoff. ISIS claimed responsability for the attack in a statement by its 'newswire' Amaq. The man said he was demanding freedom for terrorist Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the 13 November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris that claimed 130 lives plus those of 7 perpetrators, in exchange for the release of the gendarme officer he was holding hostage in the "Super U" supermarket. The officer had "spontaneously" offered to be taken hostage in exchange for a hostage who had remained inside after the others came out. The officer left his cell phone turned on so that authorities could follow what was taking place inside the supermarket after he entered. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe made an emergency return to Paris from the French city of Mulhouse, where he was on an official visit. French President Emmanuel Macron, in Brussels for an EU summit, said he was following the situation "minute by minute". The terrorist was "neutralised" in a special forces raid, and his death was confirmed by French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb. The terrorist was known to French police and had been flagged for suspected radicalisation. His mother arrived on the scene during the taking of hostages. EU Council slams Turkey's 'illegal actions' in Mediterranean Concern over detained citizens. Alfano favors EU-Turkey dialogue (ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, MARCH 23 - The European Council has strongly condemned what it calls Turkey's "illegal actions" in the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea, in a statement detailing conclusions following a Thursday evening summit. The cited actions include Turkey's blockade of a drilling ship, the Saipem 12000, rented by Italian energy giant ENI for gas drilling at an offshore field in the eastern Aegean. After two weeks of being blocked off the southeastern coast of Cyprus by the Turkish Navy, ENI was forced to abandon its planned exploration, despite having a license for it from the Cypriot government in Nicosia. Turkey claims that part of the gas field off Cyprus belongs to Northern Cyprus, the Turkish part of the island. The Council also expressed "grave concern over the continued detention of EU citizens in Turkey, including two Greek soldiers" and said it "calls for the swift and positive resolution of these issues in a dialogue with Member States". The Council said it "recalls Turkey's obligation to respect international law" and "to respect the sovereign rights of Cyprus to explore and exploit its natural resources". Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said Italy has "great concerns" over "some of Turkey's recent behaviors". "Our position has always been in favor of involvement between the European Union's institutional heads and the Turkish authorities," he said. (ANSAmed). AMMAN - A new joint Jordanian-American regional counter terrorism training facility has been inaugurated south of Amman to train the military in crisis response, explosive incident countermeasures, post-blast investigations, and tactical medicine, an official statement from the US embassy said on Thursday. The facility is expected to train military from across the region. "For 30 years, the Government of Jordan has proven itself a steadfast partner of the Anti Terrorism assistance ATA program and has contributed significantly to U.S. efforts to advance the counterterrorism capabilities of law enforcement agencies in the region," read the statement. Through the ATA program, Jordan has become a regional training hub where ATA has trained not only Jordanian police but also police from at least 21 other nations. Established in 1983, the Department of State's Antiterrorism Assistance (ATA) program is the U.S. Government's premier counterterrorism training and equipment provider for foreign law enforcement agencies. Princess consortSalma of Morocco 'disappears' from public Her last appearance in November. Matter is taboo in Kingdom (by Olga Piscitelli) (ANSAmed) - Rabat, March 23 - Lalla Salma, princess consort of Morocco, has not attended official ceremonies or appeared in family photographs for several months, fuelling speculation and gossip about a possible marital rift in the royal household. The 39-year-old wife of King Mohammed VI made her last institutional appearance on November 23, in Marrakech, for a Foundation caring for child cancer patients that bears her name. Shortly after she went to an exhibition at the Rabat Museum. Since then she has not been seen in public. The subject is a taboo in Morocco, but international celebrity news media are busy speculating that divorce could be nigh. The gossip has been driven by an official photograph showing the king's family gathered around his bed at a Paris hospital where he received treatment for a heart condition in February. The picture shows his two children, three sisters and brother, but not his wife. An on-line campaign to belittle the popular princess began the following day, representing an unprecedented attack in Morocco. However, the allegedly institutional press makes no mention of the matter. Born into a middle class family in 1978, Salma Bennani married the Alaouite king on March 21, 2002. The couple have two children, crown prince Hassan and princess Khadija. Salma is a computer engineer by profession and is always seen with her head uncovered. She is much loved by Moroccans, who consider her to be a symbol of seriousness. She devotes her time to charity work and protocol engagements, often with Queen Rania of Jordan of whom she is a close friend. (ANSAmed). BAE Systems and Patria have selected RUAG Australia to produce the advanced high-level protection for their Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle (CRV), the AMV35, and RUAG Switzerland will transfer the technology to RUAG Australia to enable this to happen. The agreement substantially boosts Australias capability in the area of advanced protection solutions and means ballistic armour for the AMV35 8x8 combat vehicle will be manufactured in Australia by Australians. A Patria AMV35 combat reconnaissance vehicle drives onto the heavy vehicle deck of the Royal Australian Navy amphibious ship HMAS Canberra during a series of trials at Fleet Base East in Sydney on 6 December 2016 (Picture source: Australian army) BAE Systems is teaming up with RUAG to offer its 8x8 AMV35 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle (CRV) to Australian forces who want to equip 225 new-generation reconnaissance and combat vehicles (CRVs for combat reconnaissance vehicles). If the bid from BAE Systems Australia is selected by Canberra, RUAG will provide the outer armor of the future Australian vehicle. The call for tenders for phase 2 of the Land 400 program puts the British in competition with the Germans at Rheinmetall, and in the field of communication we can say that the advantage is at BAE. Through its Australian subsidiary, BAE promises to build 225 units in the state of Victoria. Several Australian state ministers also went to RUAG Australia headquarters on February 20 to support the partnership between the two European manufacturers. The Germans promise to build the same number of their Boxer, in the state of Queensland. RUAG Australia Managing Director John Yeager said the Land 400 project would create potential for future export opportunities. If the AMV35 is selected by Australia, RUAG's subsidiary will be able to offer its technology, developed and produced in Australia, to the forces of the country, as well as to foreign customers, thus offering economic benefits to the State. from Victoria. Yeager rightly pointed out that the armor was developed by the parent company, RUAG Defense Switzerland, and that it already equipped other Western armies. The parent company will transfer to Australia the know-how necessary to master the armored technology, which would be a first for the country's defense industry. Last week, BAE Systems announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Melbourne, offering its students the opportunity to complete internships and apprenticeship training at BAE Systems' Research and Development Center. Fishermans Bend. A final Victoria government campaign was also launched for BAE Systems' bid, with the Labor Party even putting up billboards across Canberra to defend the defense industry in the region. Under the project, valued at $5 Bn (EUR 4 Bn), 2,000 jobs should be created. French manufacturers also want their share of the Land 400 cake: Safran and MBDA joined forces in November 2017 to offer the MMP (medium-range missile / anti-tank) technology to the winner of Phase 2 The ballistic armor selected for the AMV35 is a multi-material protection system that is combat-tested and mission-proven. The AMV35 is an 8x8 combat reconnaissance vehicle jointly developed by the Defence Companies Patria and BAE Systems. These companies have submitted a bid for the Australian Armys Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle (CRV) program, 225 vehicles in seven role variants based on a combat proven vehicle platform and weapon system. Tata Steel has accepted the letter of intent for BSL under corporate insolvency resolution process of the IBC. Company said it has been declared as the successful resolution applicant by the committee of creditors of Bhushan Steel Limited on March 22, 2018. New Delhi: Tata Steel Ltd said it has won the bid to acquire debt-laden Bhushan Steel (BSL) in an insolvency auction. In a statement, the company said it has been "declared as the successful resolution applicant by the committee of creditors of Bhushan Steel Limited on March 22, 2018, subject to obtaining necessary regulatory approvals, including approval from the NCLT and the Competition Commission of India." Tata Steel said it has accepted the letter of intent (LoI) for BSL under the corporate insolvency resolution process of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (IBC). The production house is approachable to aspirants who can easily send in their details and be notified of their future ventures. Mumbai: Priyanka Chopras home banner, Purple Pebble Pictures that completed three years this March has an online presence now as its official website was launched this afternoon. The production house was founded with the endeavour to create quality regional cinema, refine storytelling through films and support new talent. Three years since its inception, the banner has stood its ground by not only providing regional films a solid platform but also backing talents who specialize in areas of filmmaking. Chopras home banner has churned out films with unique story lines and won accolades up to three National Awards for one of their Marathi films, Ventilator. Regional cinema bankrolled by Purple Pebble Pictures has travelled to international film festivals and earned praise from celebrated filmmakers world over. With such growth in a span of just three years, having a website seemed a natural progression. Interestingly, the website includes the details of its films, ads, as well as the team behind the banner. The most unique aspect is that it will serve as a platform for new talent, aspiring directors, actors, cinematographers, stylists, scriptwriters, and anyone with the interest and aptitude to get into a film industry. The production house makes itself approachable to aspirants who can easily send in their details and be notified of their future ventures. Co-Founder of the banner, Dr. Madhu Chopra says, I am very glad to announce our website to the world. Purple Pebble Pictures just completed three years in this month and what better way to celebrate than with a new portal. With this website, we welcome anyone who has the talent or passion for filmmaking. In February, the Juhu police had arrested Khanna for allegedly harassing and stalking Ms Aman. Mumbai: A Mumbai-based businessman Aman Khanna alias Sarfaraz (38) was arrested by the Juhu police on Friday for allegedly raping and cheating veteran actor Zeenat Aman. Ms Aman alleged that Khanna raped her on several occasions between 2011 and 2016. She also alleged in her complaint that he usurped five flats by forging property documents and sold off her jewellery worth Rs 15.4 crore. The crime branch has booked Khanna under sections 376, 420, 406, 465, 467, 468, 469, 471, 506 of IPC. Khanna has been remanded to police custody till March 28. Ms Aman filed the complaint at the Juhu police station on Thursday night, which was later transferred to the Crime Branch. In February, the Juhu police had arrested Khanna for allegedly harassing and stalking Ms Aman. He was later granted bail by a court. According to police sources, Khanna befriended the actor and usurped gold and silver jewellery worth Rs 15.4 crore for his business. He allegedly also made a fake marriage document Nikah Nama and raped her repeatedly. The prosecution on Friday argued before Magistrate R.S. Aradhye that they needed Khannas custody to investigate the forged documents, check the Nikah Nama documents and his bank transactions. The police also wanted to confront the accused with the jeweller to whom he allegedly sold Ms Amans jewellery. Khannas lawyer Kishor Gaikwad argued before the court that the allegations levelled against his clients are false. Mr Gaikwad claimed that there is no question of rape as Khanna and Ms Aman are married since 2013. He also produced the copy of the Nikah Nama in the court. Mr Gaikwad argued that in 2016, Ms Aman had even gone to perform Umrah and had travelled to Makkah and Madina in Saudi Arabia with Khanna. Their visa details also reveals them as husband and wife, Mr Gaikwad said. He added that this was nothing but a matrimonial dispute between a husband and wife. He claimed that the trouble began when Khanna got addicted to certain painkiller due to his illness and became aggressive. This soured their relationship. Later, Khanna even filed for restitution of conjugal rights in a local court but his action didnt go well with Aman and hence she allegedly file false complaint against him, Mr Gaikwad said. After hearing the arguments, Magistrate Aradhye remanded Khanna to custody of crime branch till March 28. 'The company killed over 3 lakh rats in just seven days while the BMC took two years to kill 6 lakh rats,' the minister said. Senior BJP leader and former Maharashtra minister Eknath Khadse demanded an inquiry into the way a contract to kill rats in the state secretariat was executed. (Photo: File) Mumbai: Senior BJP leader and former Maharashtra minister Eknath Khadse on Thursday demanded an inquiry into the way a contract to kill rats in Mantralaya (the state secretariat) was executed. "How could the company which was given the contract to kill 3,19,400 rats in Mantralaya accomplish the task in a mere seven days," he asked, speaking in the Legislative Assembly. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had taken two years to kill six lakh rats in the city, he said during a discussion on Budgetary demands. "A survey found that there were 3,19,400 rats in Mantralaya. A work order was issued by the General Administration Department. The company was given six months. But it claimed to have killed them in just seven days," Khadse said. "It means it killed 45,628.57 rats a day. Those 0.57 must be the new-born ones," he said, evoking laughter in the House. "It also means the company killed 31.68 rats every minute. Their weight was around 9,125.71 kg and every day one truck was required to take dead rats out of Mantralaya. But it is not known where they were disposed of," he said. The government could have deployed ten cats to do the job instead of hiring a private firm, the former revenue minister said in a lighter vein. Dharma Patil, a farmer who committed suicide in February, consumed poison from the stock kept by the company on the premises of Mantralaya, he alleged. Patil, alleging injustice in award of compensation for land acquisition, consumed poison at Mantralaya and died a few days later. "There is no information on whether the company had the permission to use the poison. Also, was it permitted to keep the poison stock in Mantralaya?" Khadse asked. "It is very surprising that this company killed over three lakh rats in just seven days while the BMC took two years to kill six lakh rats. There is a discrepancy in the claim made by the company," he said, demanding an inquiry. Later, in his reply to the debate on Budgetary demands, GAD (General Administration Department) Minister Madan Yerawar said the government will seek information on the tender floated for this purpose, and place it on the floor of the House within seven days. The illegal factory was being run by a man identified as Mohammad Sarfaraz who was also badly injured in the explosion. According to an eyewitness, local residents of the area had earlier alerted the police about the illegal factory but no action was taken against the owner. (Photo: ANI) Patna: Six people including four children were killed in a powerful blast that occurred in an illegal firecracker factory in Nalanda district of Bihar. According to news agency ANI, main accused and owner of the firecracker factory died during treatment. The incident took place late Thursday evening at Khasganj village, which falls under Sohsarai police station, in Nalanda, the home district of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The illegal factory was being run by a man identified as Mohammad Sarfaraz who was also badly injured in the explosion. According to the police, his four minor children Sumera, Taniq Fatima, Saista and son Sartaj died in the incident. The fifth victim has been identified as 30-year-old Munna Pandit who lived near the factory. The police suspect that owner of the factory was manufacturing the crackers in large quantity to meet the markets demand for Ram Navami festival which is to be celebrated on March 25. Sources said that the explosion occurred while Sarfaraz was trying to light an incense stick. The Nalanda police had registered an FIR against the factory owner. Sources from Nalanda told this newspaper that the explosion was so powerful that some of the houses close to the factory got damaged. The seriously injured has been sent to Patna Medical College and Hospital for further treatment. According to an eyewitness, local residents of the area had earlier alerted the police about the illegal factory but no action was taken against the owner. However, administrative sources told this newspaper that the SHO of the area has been put under suspension and investigation about his nexus with the owner of the illegal factory is also being probed. Meanwhile, a two-member team has been constituted to monitor the investigation. An eight-member team from Anti-terrorist squad (ATS) was also sent to the blast site on Friday. According to district administration, a team of forensic experts will also submit its report about the nature of the blast and explosives stored in the illegal firecracker factory. Forensic team will investigate the causes of the explosion and the nature of the material used in manufacturing the cracker, Nalanda District Magistrate Thyagrajan SM said. Social activist Anna Hazare has been pressing for setting up of the Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in the states. The venue of Anna Hazare's protest is the same iconic Ram Lila Maidan, where he had sat on a hunger strike in 2011 demanding that the then government set up a Lokpal to investigate cases of corruption. (Photo: File/PTI) New Delhi: Social activist Anna Hazare on Friday started an indefinite hunger strike against the Centre in Delhi, nearly seven years after his anti-corruption movement caught the imagination of millions of Indians and shook the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. He sat on hunger strike at the iconic Ramlila Maidan, the same venue of his protest in 2011. This time, however, his target is expected to be the Narendra Modi-led BJP government. Hazare has been pressing for setting up of the Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in the states, besides implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report, which has suggested ways to address the agrarian distress. Hazare previously has accused the Union government of not appointing the Lokpal to investigate the cases of corruption, despite having a law in place. The day, March 23, has been chosen on purpose as Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged to death on this day by the British, an aide of Hazare said. A core committee meeting of Hazare's trusted aides and representatives of farmers' organisations took place at the New Maharashtra Sadan on Thursday. Earlier on Thursday, Hazare took a round of the Ram Lila Maidan, where the organisers claimed that thousands of people will attend the protest that will begin from Friday. The 2011 anti-graft agitation by Hazare, which aimed at the increasing corruption cases that had surfaced during the UPA rule, had received the support of millions of people across the country. Some of the main organisers behind that anti-corruption movement later formed the Aam Aadmi Party, which now governs Delhi. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was one of Hazare's key aides. The Delhi Traffic Police has issued an advisory warning commuters to avoid taking routes towards Aruna Asaf Ali Road, Delhi Gate, Darya Ganj, New Delhi Railway Station, Ajmeri Gate, Paharganj, ITO, Rajghat, Minto Road, Vivekanand Marg, and JLN Marg. Senior counsel K Parasaran and CS Vaidynathan opposed revisiting the 1994 verdict. Stressing the need for relook at the 1994 verdict, senior counsel Dhavan contended that a mosque enjoys a particular position in Muslim Law. (Photo: File) New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday reiterated that before deciding the Ayodhya title dispute, it will examine whether the 1994 ruling, viz a mosque is not an essential part of the practice of the religion of Islam and Namaz (Prayer) by Muslims can be offered anywhere, even in open requires to be revisited by a five judge Constitution bench. A three-judge Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Ashok Bhushan and Abdul Nazeer agreed to examine this as a preliminary issue after senior counsel Rajeev Dhavan, appearing for one of the Muslim parties submitted that the 1994 verdict was wrong and required reconsideration. During the last hearing the court asked Dhavan to argue the propositions of law, which required to be considered by the court for reference to a larger bench. On Friday even as Dhavan pleaded for revisiting the 1994 verdict, the CJI made it clear to Dhavan if we agree with your propositions, we will refer the legal principles to be considered afresh by a five judge bench. If we dont agree with your argument and come to the conclusion that the 1994 observations were made in the context of acquisition of land in Ayodhya, we may not refer it. Earlier in a brief submission, senior counsel K Parasaran and CS Vaidynathan opposed revisiting the 1994 verdict on the ground that the observations in this case had no relevance in deciding the title suits. Revisiting the 1994 judgment again would amount to review, which is not permissible. Further the observations made in 1994 judgment were in the context of acquisition and has nothing to do with the secular character. Stressing the need for relook at the 1994 verdict, Dhavan contended that a mosque enjoys a particular position in Muslim Law and once a mosque is established and prayers are offered in such a mosque, the same remains for all time to come as a property of Allah and the same never reverts back to the donor or founder of the mosque and any person professing Islamic faith can offer prayer in such a mosque and even if the structure is demolished, the place remains the same where the Namaz can be offered. Counsel faulted the finding that Ayodhya is said to be of particular significance to the Hindus as a place of pilgrimage because of the ancient belief that Lord Rama was born there, whereas the mosque was of significance for the Muslim community as an ancient mosque built by Mir Baqi in 1528 AD This indicates the comparative significance of the disputed site to the two communities, the court said while ordering `status quo on worship by Hindus. He said when religious practices are common to all religions, reading down religion of Islam and raising the status of Hindus by way of comparative significance cannot be accepted. Dhavan pointed out that the 1994 verdict ordering `status quo on installation of Ram Idol in the disputed site, recognised Hindus right to worship at that place but completely ignored the rights of Muslims to offer namaz in the Babri Masjid. The observation that a mosque is not an essential part of the practice of the religion of Islam and Namaz (Prayer) by Muslims can be offered anywhere, even in open, required to be revisited as the Allahabad High Court while deciding the title suit in 2010 had apportioned one third of the land to Hindus, one third to Muslims and one third to Ram Lulla relying on the status quo order of 1994. Dhavan described the Babri Masjid demolition as a barbaric act. The mosque was desecrated and Ram idol was installed inside a mosque and this court has granted protection to that idol, which could never be accepted. He will continue his arguments for reconsideration of the 1994 verdict on April 6. Liga had arrived in Thiruvananthapuram on February 21 for Ayurvedic treatment of post-traumatic depression. Liga's sister Ilze has been using social media for spreading the word. She also tweeted External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday for help.(Facebook Screengrab/ Ilze Skormane) Thiruvananthapuram: Liga Skromane, a 33-year-old Latvian national, a resident of Ireland, has been missing from Kerala's Kovalam since March 14, 2018. Her husband Andrew Jordan (42) has been searching for Liga. "We reached out to the police and were assured that they will get her in two days. It's been nine days now," said Andrew, who had arrived in Kerala last Saturday. With over a week into her disappearance, the police and Liga's family have no clue about her whereabouts. Liga's sister, Ilze Skormane alleged that it took at least five days for the police to act. Ilze along with Liga's husband, Andrew, have decided to intensify the search in areas of Kovalam and Vizhinjam. Liga, a well-travelled woman with Latvian passport had arrived in Thiruvananthapuram on February 21 for Ayurvedic treatment of post-traumatic depression. According to reports, she went to a beach in Kovalam, about 40 km from the state capital, on March 14, without informing her sister, who was accompanying her on India trip. There has been no trace of her since then. Andrew and Ilze have been frantically wandering around the streets of the state capital for over 5 days now. Andrew, holding a poster of his wife's photo is offering a reward of Rs 1 lakh for anyone who gives information about Liga or help find her. "I was told yesterday by the police that my wife was last spotted by locals on March 18. I checked with locals and they could even identify her by her clothes. The description matched. We need help to locate her," Andrew was reported as saying. "She is well-travelled and an intelligent woman. She knows what needs to be done if she has lost direction," he stressed. Andrew suspects that his wife has been kidnapped. "The police, I think, initially kept thinking that she will return by herself and that she must have gone away for a while. We suspect something else. We believe she must have been taken away by a group that is not letting her off. We need help in locating her. We came to Kerala for her to be cured, because doctors in our country couldn't find any answers to her illness," Liga's sister, Ilze Skromane told NDTV. "We just need to find her," she added. Ilze has been using social media for spreading the word. She also tweeted External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday for help. My Sister Liga has been missing for 6 days in Kerala India please help! Ilze Skromane (@pilzeilze) March 19, 2018 @SushmaSwaraj Please Help! My Sister, citizen of Latvia has been missing 8 days! We are heart broken and very worried! Ilze Skromane (@pilzeilze) March 22, 2018 According to reports, Liga went missing from the treatment center in Pothencode on March 14. Based on the inputs from the rickshaw drivers, it was learnt that she took a ride towards Kovalam beach. Some local vendors on the beach also confirmed that they saw her at the beach in the afternoon. But, since then there hasn't been any trace about Liga, says Ilze. According to police sources, a body of a foreign national has been recovered but a DNA test will be required to confirm the identity. But refuting the suspicion, Ilze says, "My sister never had a tattoo, this body has a tattoo in the arm. Also, my sister's and my feet size are almost the same, but the feet of the body which has been recovered are much larger. We need all possible help to find Liga." Prasad said that the pattern of the Congress campaign in Gujarat suggested that the party had used and abused the services of Cambridge Analytica. New Delhi: In his first response to the Cambridge Analytica/Facebook data scandal, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused the government of inventing stories about the Congress involvement to divert attention from the controversy following minister of external affairs Sushma Swarajs statement on the killing of 39 Indians in Iraq. In a tweet, the Congress president also faulted the media for biting the bait. Problem: 39 Indians dead; Govt on the mat, caught lying. Solution: Invent story on Congress & Data Theft. Result: Media networks bite bait; 39 Indians vanish from radar. Problem solved, tweeted Mr Gandhi. The Congress and the BJP have been locked in a bitter verbal duel since Wednesday after it emerged that the scandal involving Cambridge Analytica (CA) a London-based data firm accused of accessing data of millions of Facebook users to help elect US President Donald Trump in 2016 could have links to political parties in India. Reiterating th BJPs allegations against the Congress and Mr Gandhi, that they had used the services of Cambridge Analytica, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said it took almost five months for the Opposition party to deny media reports that raised the issue. Mr Prasad said that the pattern of the Congress campaign in Gujarat suggested that the party had used and abused the services of Cambridge Analytica. Rejecting Mr Gandhis charge that the BJP was levelling false allegations against the Congress and linking Cambridge Analytica to it in order to deflect attention from the death of 39 Indians in Mosul, Mr Prasad wondered why that the Opposition party had maintained a conspicuous silence on such an important news of the role of a dubious companys involvement with it till now. On questions about reports that an Indian company, which was Cambridge Analyticas partner, might have worked for the BJP and its allies as well, the Union law and justice minister said there is no authentic confirmation of any Indian partner of the company working for the BJP or its allies. Mr Prasad, however, sought to make a distinction between Cambridge Analytica and its partner, saying the former has been accused of using honey trap and data theft. The Congress hit back saying the BJP government has become a manufacturer of fake news and compared Mr Prasad with German dictator Hitlers associate Joseph Goebbels and called him a minister for lies (jhooth). Congress communications chief Randeep Singh Surjewala said, Hitler had an associate called Goebbels, Modiji has an associate called Ravi Shankar Prasad. The BJP government has become a manufacturer of fake news. Sabse bade data chor macha rahe hain sabse zyada shor (The biggest data thieves are making the most noise). The Congress officially denied ever using the services of CA or any of its affiliates either itself or for its party president. Mr Surjewala demanded that the BJP should come clean whether they used the services of CA or its Indian arm, Oveleno Business Intelligence (OBI) OBI, while showing a tweet of former head of BJP IT cell Arvind Gupta who is currently the CEO of MyGov portal of Government of India. The tweet, according to the Congress, praised Cambridge Analytica. Cambridge Analytica is a powerful tool and when used correctly can provide deep insight and fine tune communication and outreach strategy, the tweet reads. The Congress also said that Union information and broadcasting minister Smriti Irani was following CA. Releasing screenshots, Mr Surjewala also showed an editorial on the US presidential elections by the son of JD(U) leader K.C. Tyagis son, Amrish Tyagi, who is the owner of OBI, the Indian arm of CA. Saudi Arabia, which does not recognise Israel, opened its airspace for the first time to a commercial flight to Tel Aviv. Air India 139 landed at Tel Avivs Ben Gurion Airport after a flight of over 7 and a half hours, marking a diplomatic shift for Riyadh that Israel says was fuelled by shared concern over Iranian influence in the region. (Photo: File/Representational) New Delhi/Tel Aviv: Saudi Arabia opened its airspace for the first time to a commercial flight to Israel with the inauguration on Thursday of an Air India route between New Delhi and Tel Aviv. Air India 139 landed at Tel Avivs Ben Gurion Airport after a flight of over 7 and a half hours, marking a diplomatic shift for Riyadh that Israel says was fueled by shared concern over Iranian influence in the region. This is a really historic day that follows two years of very, very intensive work, Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said in a radio interview, adding that using Saudi airspace cut travel time to India by around two hours and would reduce ticket prices. Saudi Arabia - birthplace of Islam and home to its holiest shrines - does not recognise Israel. Riyadh has not formally confirmed granting the Air India plane overflight rights. While the move ended a 70-year-old ban on planes flying to or from Israel through Saudi airspace, there is as yet no indication that it will be applied for any Israeli airline. The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner entered Saudi airspace at around 1645 GMT and overflew the kingdom at 40,000 feet for about three hours, coming within 60 km (37 miles) of the capital Riyadh, according to the Flightradar monitoring app. It then crossed over Jordan and the occupied West Bank into Israel. The airliner had earlier flown over Oman, according to Flightradar. Officials from Oman, which also does not recognize Israel, could not be reached for comment. Israels flag carrier El Al, excluded from the Saudi route, says its Indian competitor now has an unfair advantage. El Al currently flies four times a week to the Indian city of Mumbai. Those flights take around 7 hours and 40 minutes, following a Red Sea route that swings toward Ethiopia to avoid Saudi airspace. If El Al planes were to fly on to New Delhi, a destination El Al has said it might be interested in, they would require another two hours - and significantly more fuel. Interviewed on Israels Army Radio, Levin voiced confidence that El Al would eventually be allowed to use Saudi airspace. You know, they said the Saudis wouldnt let any flight pass. So here, the Saudis are permitting it. It is a process, I think. Ultimately this (El Al overflights) will happen too, he said. Asked if any other foreign airlines might follow Air India by opening routes to Tel Aviv over Saudi Arabia, Levin said he has been in negotiations with Singapore Airlines and a carrier from the Philippines, which he did not name. They are certainly showing readiness and desire to fly to Israel, and I dont know if they will also receive permission like the Indian airline, he said. Singapore Airlines did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Saudi officials could not immediately be reached. Former president Mohamed Nasheed who was in exile abroad had called for Indian intervention in Maldives. The Maldives will further embrace Chinese investment but is aware it risks getting caught between China and India, Maldives Ambassador to China Mohamed Faisal said. (Photo: AFP) Beijing/New Delhi: India is a brother, but China is like a long lost cousin found, Maldives Ambassador to China Mohamed Faisal has said, asserting that his country would push ahead with Chinese projects despite New Delhi's concerns. The Maldives will further embrace Chinese investment but is aware it risks getting caught between China and India, Faisal told the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. "China is like a long-lost cousin that we have found, a long-lost cousin who is willing to help us," he said on Thursday after Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen lifted a state of emergency in the troubled South Asian nation after 45 days. "India is a brother. We are a family, we may quarrel and we may have arguments but in the end, we will sit down and resolve it," the diplomat said. He claimed that the Maldives has taken a number of projects to India for finance "but we did not receive the necessary finance." China, which looks at Maldives as a major participant in its 21st century Maritime Silk Road plan in the Indian Ocean, has made heavy investments in the nation of islands which has 26 tropical atolls and 1,000 small islands. China has put up a staunch defence of Maldives President Abdullah Yameen, stonewalling international pressure and enabling him to stay in power during the current crisis. The picturesque Indian Ocean archipelago was plunged into chaos early last month when the Supreme Court called for the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, ruling that their trials were politically motivated and flawed. The government refused to implement the ruling. Yameen imposed a state of emergency and arrested apex court judges and former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Opposition party leaders in Maldives alleged that China is tacitly backing Yameen, which emboldened him to resort to unconstitutional actions like arresting Supreme Court judges. Former president Mohamed Nasheed who was in exile abroad had called for Indian intervention in Maldives to save the democracy in the island nation. He had alleged that China is indulging in land grabbing, threatening not just the Maldives, but the peace and the stability of the entire region. Faisal said Maldives will not allow any foreign military establishments. "Our government has made it very clear that we are not going to allow any kind of military establishments or military undertakings in the Maldives. Not for China, not for any other countries," he said. More than 70 per cent of the Maldives' foreign debt is owed to China, but Faisal said it was not having trouble making payments, adding that the country had taken some concessional loans to pay as its tourism market expanded. "Right now, it's only seven islands that Chinese have invested in, in the tourism sector. For a country with such capacity as China I think it is a very low number it should be more than that." China had expressed interest in building a port in the Maldives, Faisal said, but there was no confirmed plan at present. In petition, Ravi Bhandari has claimed his arrest was an illegal detention and said that he could not be held liable for the fire tragedy. The massive fire that broke out at the two pubs in the Kamala Mills compound in central Mumbai in December last year claimed 14 lives and left several others injured. (Photo: File) New Delhi: The co-owner of Kamala Mills on Friday moved Supreme Court seeking his release from the jail in connection with a fire incident that claimed 14 lives last year. The apex court will hear the matter on March 27. In his petition, Ravi Surajmal Bhandari has claimed his arrest was an illegal detention and said that he could not be held liable for the fire tragedy. Earlier, the Bombay High Court had dismissed Bhandari's bail application. Earlier on January 25, a Mumbai court rejected the bail applications of all five accused- Yug Tuli, Yug Pathak, Abhijit Mankar, Jigar Sanghvi and Kripesh Sanghvi, in connection with the fire case. The massive fire that broke out at the two pubs in the Kamala Mills compound in central Mumbai in December last year claimed 14 lives and left several others injured. With the relief granted to 20 AAP lawmakers by Delhi High Court, the Election Commission will now re-hear office of profit case. In a major blow to the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi, the Election Commission (EC) on January 18 recommended disqualification of 20 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs for holding 'office of profit'. (Photo: File) New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Thursday set aside the recommendation of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to disqualify 20 AAP MLAs in connection to the office of profit case. With the relief granted to 20 AAP lawmakers by Delhi High Court, the Election Commission will now re-hear office of profit case. The high court said violation of oral hearing norms by the poll body and failure to communicate that OP Rawat after recusing had rejoined proceedings were the reasons to quash the January 19 order. Also Read: Truth will win in the end: Kejriwal on EC office of profit controversy "Truth has won. Elected representatives of Delhi were illegally disqualified. High court has given justice to the people of Delhi," tweeted AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. "MLAs were not given a chance to put their point, so now the court has given them a chance to do that. The EC will hear their plea again," AAP's Saurabh Bhardwaj said. In a major blow to the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi, the Election Commission (EC) on January 19 recommended disqualification of 20 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs for holding 'office of profit'. President Ram Nath Kovind had also accepted the recommendation made by the EC. Also Read: President gives nod to EC recommendation disqualifying 20 AAP MLAs A day after the EC recommended the disqualification of AAP MLAs, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia had claimed that there was no hearing and they were not given a chance to explain their stand. Sisodia had also alleged that his government was being deliberately targeted for the "honest work" they have been doing in Delhi. He said the attempt by the EC was another move by the Centre to deter AAP from pursuing the path of honest politics. USD 1,919, a compass and an ID card were seized from the commando after he was intercepted by SSB troops at Indo-Nepal border. David Doohyun Kyung, a US Marine Corps commando, was apprehended on March 19 night and is being questioned by the sleuths of the IB, RAW and local police, an SSB spokesperson said. (Photo: Representational/AFP) New Delhi: A 50-year-old US marine commando was arrested by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) from the Indo-Nepal border in Bihar after he was allegedly found roaming in the area in a suspicious manner. David Doohyun Kyung, a United States (US) Marine Corps commando, was apprehended on March 19 night and is being questioned by the sleuths of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), external intelligence agency RAW and local police, an SSB spokesperson said. USD 1,919, a compass and an ID card were seized from Kyung after he was intercepted by SSB troops near the Khouna border post in Jainagar of Madhubani district. Kyung has been handed over to the local police, he said. During preliminary questioning, Kyung said that he was a US citizen and produced a tourist visa for Nepal that will expire on April 12, the spokesperson said. "On detailed questioning by security agencies, including the IB, the RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) and the police, it was found that he had visited India on October 26, 2017, and was asked to leave the country on January 17. "His visa was cancelled and he was deported on January 26," he said. It was not immediately clear as to why Kyung was deported then. The spokesperson said Kyung hails from South Korea, but he migrated to the US in 1998. Kyung claimed that from Delhi he went to South Korea and on March 12, he left that country to visit Nepal, the spokesperson said. "His statements were found contradictory as he had the tickets and boarding pass, but there was no such entry in his passport. According to him after reaching Nepal he visited the country and he was apprehended by the SSB while he came to visit Janakpur (Nepal) and its nearby village area," the spokesperson said. Security officials said the fact that he was trying to enter into the Indian side late at night, after being deported once from the country, was a "worrying development" and his credentials and motives are now being probed further. The police and intelligence agencies are in the process of obtaining further details about him from the US Embassy in Delhi, they said. US marines are tasked to conduct amphibious operations with the United States Navy. Peace was in the mutual interest of both countries and it could only be achieved through diplomacy and dialogue. New Delhi: Pakistan wants a peaceful neighbourhood and peaceful co-existence in South Asia, its high commissioner Sohail Mahmood said on Friday, adding that this can only be achieved through diplomacy and dialogue. Speaking on the occasion of his countrys national day, Mr Mahmood said it was important to resolve the J&K issue peacefully through dialogue. Mr Mahmoods speech was rather conciliatory and sober in content and contained none of the aggression that one saw in the speeches of his predecessor Abdul Basit. But it could be too early too say whether Islamabad is indeed offering the olive branch to New Delhi, particularly since the diplomat harassment row between the two countries is on in full swing and ties remain rock-bottom. Also, the Pakistan Army continues to maintain a vice-like grip on the countrys strategic affairs and policy, particularly on fostering hostility with India. Mr Mahmood returned to New Delhi to host the celebrations, about a week after being recalled to Islamabad for consultations in the wake of the diplomatic row. Mr Mahmoods speech addressed the issue of terrorism, but only that which was aimed at Pakistan. The speech was silent on Indias core concerns of terrorism against New Delhi emanating from Pakistani or Pakistan-occupied territory. In a statement, the Pakistan high commission said, In the regional context, high commissioner Sohail Mahmood underlined the importance of Pakistans vision of peaceful neighbourhood. He added that Pakistan desired peaceful and good neighbourly relations with India on the basis of sovereign equality and respect. It was important to resolve all the outstanding issues including the J&K dispute peacefully through dialogue. Peace was in the mutual interest of both countries and it could only be achieved through diplomacy and dialogue. Peace, security, stability and prosperity in south Asia could only be promoted on the principle of peaceful co-existence. A UP village panchayat ordered beating of woman on March 10 because she was suspected of having an affair. The video shows the husband beating the wife with belts and sticks and with every whip he was heard saying 'ab bhaag ke dikha (try to run away now)'. (Photo: ANI | Screengrab) Lucknow: In an act of sheer brutality, a village panchayat in Bulandshahr district of western Uttar Pradesh ordered the beating of a woman for allegedly having an affair and eloping with her lover. The disturbing video which went viral on social media shows scores of people - mostly men - congregated to see the husband of the woman tying her hands to a tree and beating her unabatedly while she wails in pain with each blow on her body. Some of the onlookers were even smiling while no one inched up to stop the heinous act. According to reports, a village panchayat of the Bulandshahr district had ordered the beating of the woman on March 10 because she was suspected of having an affair. Her crime and punishment were decided by the panchayat - one of the countless kangaroo courts that populate India's countryside. The video, reportedly shot by one of the villagers, was widely circulated this week. It is a full house as people circle around the scene, watching the woman being beaten up for more than a minute. The video shows the husband beating the wife with belts and sticks and with every whip he was heard saying "ab bhaag ke dikha (try to run away now)". By the end of the ordeal, the woman is unconscious. Three people, including the husband, have been arrested by the police after a complaint was registered on Wednesday. The incident according to police occurred in Longa village of Syana region of Bulandshahr on March 10, but the video became viral only on Thursday and hence the FIR was filed against seven named and dozen unknown men. According to station officer of Syana police station, Altaf Ansari, "We found out about the incident Wednesday night through the video. We investigated the matter and by morning everything became clear." "We called the woman, spoke to her and registered a case. We have arrested the husband, the panchayat pradhan (village headman) and his son. We have filed a case against 20-25 unknown people," Pravin Ranjan Singh, a senior police officer, said. According to reports, after she was beaten black and blue, the woman was dragged into a room where former pradhan Shersingh and his men allegedly molested her and asked to keep silent. The woman also accused Shersingh of asking his men to make a video of the incident so that others could see the consequences of eloping. Click here to watch video. BJP rushed Union health minister J.P. Nadda to Raipur in Chhattisgarh to ensure smooth victory of the party candidate Saroj Pandey in the polls. Bhopal: The biennial polls for the lone Rajya Sabha seat in Chhattisgarh, scheduled to be held on Friday, may witness a keen contest between the ruling BJP and Opposition Congress. With fear of cross voting haunting both the parties, the BJP rushed Union health minister J.P. Nadda to Raipur in Chhattisgarh to ensure smooth victory of the party candidate Saroj Pandey in the polls. I am going to attend the BJP Legislature Party meeting scheduled to be held prior to the RS polls on Friday. My visit to Raipur in connection with the RS elections is a routine party matter, he told the media. The Opposition Congre-ss had decided to field its candidate in the last mo-ment to deny BJP nomin-ee a smooth sailing in the polls. Besides, the Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) of former chief minister Ajit Jogi, which has three MLAs, has declared to support the Congress candidate making the polls unpredictable. While the BJP has strength of 49, Congress has 36 MLAs. Of the two independent MLAs, Bimal Chopra declared his support to the BJP nominee. The Congress has fielded former MLA Lekhiram Sahu in the polls. Mayawati is apparently wary of cross voting by SP MLAs and wanted to be doubly sure that such MLAs are not allotted to her candidate. Lucknow: With just a day to go for polling for the 10 seats to the Rajya Sabha from UP, BSP president Mayawati has asked Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav to send her a list of 10 dedicated legislators who will be voting for her candidate Bhimrao Ambedkar. Ms Mayawati is apparently wary of cross voting by SP MLAs and wanted to be doubly sure that such MLAs are not allotted to her candidate. This demand could now spell trouble for the SP candidate Jaya Bachchan since the party has only nine surplus votes and the BSP wants a list of ten which means that Ms Bachchan will have one less vote. SP MLA Nitin Agarwal, son of Mr Naresh Agarwal, has already stated that he will be voting for the BJP. Ms Mayawati has convened a meeting of her legislators later Thursday evening, while BSPs MP attended a lunch meeting of Congress legislators along with UPCC president Raj Babbar in the afternoon. The BSP has 19 MLAs and is relying on the support of 10 SP MLAs, seven Congress MLAs and one RLD MLA to reach the required figure of 37 to emerge a winner. If even one of the SP MLAs cross votes, there could be trouble for the BSP candidate. This is the third straight week that both the Houses were adjourned without undertaking any significant business. While the Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day in less than 20 minutes after it assembled on Thursday morning, the Lok Sabha was first adjourned till noon and then for the day after laying of the listed papers. (Photo: ANI) New Delhi: Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned for the 15th day on Friday as the stalemate between the opposition and the government continued for the third week of the second leg of the budget session with ruckus prevailing unabated. While the Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day in less than 20 minutes after it assembled on Thursday morning, the Lok Sabha was first adjourned till noon and then for the day after laying of the listed papers. The Lower House also did not take up the no-confidence motion against the government due to the noisy protests. It has been a week since the motion has not been taken up due to the unruly scenes. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had last Friday announced that she had received two notices for the motion but was unable to start the process due to the disruptions. However before they were adjourned on Friday, both the Houses paid glowing tributes to freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, who were hanged on this day 87 years ago by the British rulers. The Rajya Sabha could not transact any business on Friday, as opposition parties continued to create ruckus, forcing the adjournment of proceedings. Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu adjourned the proceedings for the day but not before expressing anguish over the House not functioning since it met on March 5 when the second part of the budget session started. Naidu said past disruptions should not be cited to justify the "present wrong" and expressed hope that the government will take the opposition into confidence to ensure that the House functions next week. He said it was distressing that the Rajya Sabha has not discharged its mandate for three weeks. "People of the country have been let down." Andhra parties, including the TDP, and KVP Ramachandra Rao of the Congress trooped into the Well shouting slogans for special status to the state, while Tamil Nadu parties - DMK and AIADMK - demanded setting up of the Cauvery management board for river water sharing between riparian states. Congress members too were in the Well raising slogans that the government was against scheduled castes and tribes, in an apparent reference to the recent Supreme Court ruling diluting certain provisions of the Scheduled castes and tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Naidu said he could understand that MPs may resort to disruption for a couple of days to press their issues but "persisting with it for three weeks has no justification". Congress members countered this by blaming the government for the stalemate and alleged that it has not engaged with the opposition parties on these matters so far. The Chairman, however, went on to state that while some may cite past instances to justify the present impasse, the three-week long disruption had no justification. "How long do you want to justify the present wrong, based on the past," he said. "People of the country are aspiring for a change. Should the change not begin from Rajya Sabha." He said people were asking why the House was not being adjourned sine die but added that this was not in his hands. "I am pained, I am sad," he said, adding he would not like to hazard a guess about what will happen next week or "if you are going to change for better ... If you are not interested in running of this House, it is another matter." When Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel read out the government agenda for next week, Naidu hoped the government will take the opposition into confidence to ensure that the House functions. Naidu said he was willing to allow discussion on any issue the members wanted, but placards, demonstrations and slogan shouting was not justified. He then adjourned the proceedings till Monday. The Lok Sabha proceedings were also disrupted again on Friday due to noisy protests by the AIADMK and TRS members, following which Speaker Sumitra Mahajan expressed her inability to take up the notices for no-confidence motion and later adjourned the proceedings for the day. She also announced a holiday for members on Monday on account of Ramnavami on Sunday as many of them had conveyed they would be busy in various related events and would find it difficult to join the House the next day. The House was adjourned till noon soon after it met at 11 am following noisy protests by members of the AIADMK and the TRS over the Cauvery and quota issues respectively. When it reassembled, the protests continued and Mahajan said she cannot not take up the notices for no-confidence motions as the House was not in order. The requisite head- count of members supporting the notices can be done only if they are in their seats, she added. At least 50 members need to support a no-confidence notice for the House to accept it and start a debate. The Speaker said the government had expressed its readiness for a discussion on it. The BJP-led NDA government enjoys a comfortable majority in the House. The Lok Sabha was then adjourned for the day as the protests continued. This is the third straight week that both the Houses were adjourned without undertaking any significant business, barring the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha. Earlier when the House met for the day, Mahajan paid tributes to Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev - who were hanged on March 23, 1931 by the British. The House observed silence as a mark of respect to the martyrs. Before taking up the question hour, the Speaker urged members to maintain order but those from AIADMK and TRS trooped into the Well holding placards and raising slogans. Congress members too were on their feet protesting against the Supreme Court verdict on the SC/ST Act. It has been demanding that the Centre seek a review of the court order which diluted provisions related to immediate arrest in cases related to atrocities on scheduled castes and tribes. Expelled RJD member Pappu Yadav was seen holding two placards demanding special status for Bihar. Scores of travellers, including ambulances, were stuck as a deadlock prevailed on the busy NH-24, bringing the vehicular traffic to a grinding halt. Parents of a Class 9 student who had committed suicide allegedly after failing in papers protest outside a private school in Mayur Vihar in east Delhi on Thursday, demanding a CBI probe. (Photo: GH Jha) New Delhi: Commuters had a harrowing time as traffic came to a grinding halt near east Delhis Mayur Vihar, where the parents of a Class 9 girl, who committed suicide at her Noida residence on Wednesday, protested outside Ahlcon Public School, blocking traffic for hours at the busy intersection. Scores of travellers, including ambulances, were stuck as a deadlock prevailed on the busy NH-24, bringing the vehicular traffic to a grinding halt. The agitated parents of the deceased and a large number of parents came out in protest against the school demanding a CBI probe into the matter. The group of people blocked the Delhi-Noida road in protest disrupting commuters. Deceased Ishika Raghav Shahs family also demanded the arrest of two teachers and principal of the school. According to police officials, both the stretches on the Delhi-Noida road and NH 24 were forced shut. The Delhi traffic police had to divert traffic, but still a large number of vehicles were queued up. A senior official of the Delhi police said that the family members ignored repeated requests to clear the road. The parents of the girl the alleged that she committed suicide after she was failed by the school. The family said that their daughter had told them about the harassment she was being subjected to by two teachers. They have claimed that she was sexually harassed by two teachers. Following the allegations by the parents of the girl, two teachers and the principal were booked. The HRD ministry sought a report from the said school regarding the alleged suicide after the parents of the deceased demanded a CBI probe. The education ministry too asked for a report from the school on the alleged suicide. Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia asked the Directorate of Education (DoE) to investigate the case. Ishika (16) was found dead at her home in Noida on Tuesday evening. The FIR, which was registered originally, contained charges of criminal intimidation and abetment to suicide against the principal of Ahlcon Public School, Dharmendra Goyal, science teacher Neeraj Anand and social science teacher Rajiv Sehgal. The MLAs said that the development work will speed up in their respective constituencies after the Delhi high court order. New Delhi: A jubilant chief minister Arvind Kejriwal hailed the Delhi high courts order of setting aside the disqualification of 20 AAP MLAs in the politically sensitive office-of-profit case and said it was a victory of truth even as Congress vowed to keep on fighting the matter afresh. Hours after the high court set aside the disqualification of the 20 AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) legislators, Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel allowed the MLAs to enter the House and take part in the ongoing Budget Session, following which ten AAP MLAs attended the session amid chants of Bharat Mata ki jai by fellow legislators. AAP MLAs Nitin Tyagi, Alka Lamba, Som Dutt, Rajesh Gupta, and Rajesh Rishi were among those who attended the Budget Session after their disqualification was set aside. The MLAs said that the development work will speed up in their respective constituencies after the Delhi high court order. Most of the MLAs alleged that Delhi government officers did not take their phone calls since their disqualification on January 20. Asked whether he also has faith in the Election Commission (EC), which will now hear the office-of-profit case afresh, transport minister Kailash Gahlot said he has faith in the poll panel and the MLAs will present their stand and make EC understand the matter. An elated AAP welcomed the order but claimed that the ECs decision was a serious attempt to dislodge an elected government. It is a victory of truth. The elected representatives were wrongfully disqualified. The high court has given justice to the people of Delhi. It is their victory. Congratulations to the people of Delhi, Mr Kejriwal tweeted minutes after the HC order. AAP leader Ashutosh said the decision of the poll panel to disqualify the MLAs, for allegedly holding office of profit, was an attempt to hijack the mandate of the people. If the post of constitutional authority is occupied by pygmies, democracy wont be safe. The ECs decision was a serious attempt to dislodge a duly elected AAP government and an attempt to hijack the mandate of the people. The ECs decision was not only constitutionally invalid, it also exposes how low the constitutional authority can stoop, Ashutosh alleged. Saurabh Bharadwaj, the chief spokesperson of AAPs Delhi unit, said the MLAs would now be able to take part in the ongoing Budget Session and resume their legislative work. Journalists manhandled, cameras taken away by cops. New Delhi: Unruly scenes of violence broke out on Friday afternoon when a large number of JNU students and teachers were stopped from marching to the Parliament over various demands, including academic freedom, with police resorting to lathi-charge and use of water canons. Two female journalists from a leading daily said that they were manhandeled by the police and even snatched away their cameras. The protesting students claimed that the attack by the police was unprovoked with a woman journalist alleging that a man in uniform groped her and asked her to vacate the place. According to the woman scribe, the station house officer of Delhi Cantonment first misbehaved with the male scribe and later he came back and allegedly pushed her by placing his hands on her chest. The protesters were demanding suspension of Atul Johri, a professor accused of sexually harassing students, and rollback of compulsory attendance. The JNUTA had announced the march on Wednesday after claiming the universitys administration had not reached out to the faculty members who have been on the hunger strike, to protest the new rules and sackings. Irate students clashed with police personnel at INA Market area when they were asked to end their march. The police also baton charged the protesters, injuring many, the students said. The police deployed at the spot fired water cannons to quell the unrest. The students and teachers held a march from the university campus to the Parliament to register their protest against privatisation of education and demanding suspension of Johri. According to sources, the students and teachers ran over the barricade, after which the police used force. Later on, the police detained the protesters. The students submitted a letter to the university authorities, expressing their displeasure at Prof. Johris bail and demanding his suspension. The angry students went to the extent of questioning the administration, asking it that on whose side it was. Khadse also said that the BMC has made a separate claim of killing six lakh rodents in two years time. Mumbai: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and former minister Eknath Khadse raised a query in the Assembly about alleged corruption related to the claims of a contractor of killing 3.19 lakh rats in seven days in Mantralaya alone. He said that the company that was awarded the contract claimed it killed all the rodents in a week even though the Brihanmumbai Muni-cipal Corporation (BMC) had mentioned in the past that it took two years to kill six lakh rats. In his reply, the minister of state for the general administration department, Madan Yeravar, said that the government would look into the matter. Pointing at discrepancies in the claim by the appointed company of having killed 3,19,400 rats in Mantralaya, Mr Khadse demanded an inquiry, stating. There was a survey that found 3,19,400 rats in Mantralaya. A work order was also issued in this regard by the general administration department. The company was given six months to kill the rats. But it claimed it killed them in just seven days. Analysing the companys claim further, Mr Khadse said, This means 45628.57 rats were killed every day. The 0.57 must be newborns. To the sound of laughter in the House, the former minister added. It also means the company killed 31.68 rats in one minute. Their weight was around 9,125.71kg and every day one truck was required to take them out of Mantralaya. But it is not known where they were disposed. Mr Khadse also said that the BMC has made a separate claim of killing six lakh rodents in two years time. There is a discrepancy in the claim by the company, he said. The former minister suggested that the government could have kept 10 cats in Mantralaya instead of giving the contract to the company. Mr Khadse also mentioned that Dharma Patil, the farmer from Dhule who consumed poison in Mantralaya and died in January, used the poison kept in Mantralaya to kill rodents. The rat poison was brought to Mantralaya without permission. If the company had permission to use the poison for rodents, did it have permission to keep the poison in Mantralaya, he asked Shingari has been detained by police and further investigation into the matter is underway, the official said. When Shingari, who works as a labourer in Nashik, doused himself with kerosene outside the Mantralaya building this afternoon, police personnel present on the spot intervened and prevented his suicide bid, the official said. (Photo: PTI/Representational) Mumbai: A month after a man committed suicide by jumping from the fifth floor of Mantralaya, the state Secretariat in south Mumbai, a 56-year-old labourer on Friday tried to end his life outside the building, police said. Gulab Maruti Shingari, hailing from Beed district in drought-prone Marathwada region, claimed he decided to end his life as the "police patil" in his village tried to usurp his land, a police official said. The duties of a police patil include reporting a crime in the village to the police station and is governed by the Maharashtra Village Police Act. When Shingari, who works as a labourer in Nashik, doused himself with kerosene outside the Mantralaya building this afternoon, police personnel present on the spot intervened and prevented his suicide bid, the official said. Shingari has been detained by police and further investigation into the matter is underway, the official said. This is the latest in a series of such incidents in and near Mantralaya. Last month, a 45-year-old man committed suicide by jumping from the fifth floor of Mantralaya, after which the BJP-led state government set up a safety net covering the open space on the first floor of the seven-storey building. On February 8, Harshal Raote, a murder convict on parole, jumped to death from the fifth floor, days after a 32-year-old unemployed man attempted suicide outside the building. On January 22, 84-year-old Dhule farmer Dharma Patil consumed poison in Mantralaya premises, demanding adequate compensation for his land, which had been acquired by the government for a solar power project. He died in hospital on January 28. Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said setting up a safety net would turn Mantralaya into a circus. "The government must think of the reasons behind people taking such an extreme step. Why do desperate people come here? The administration at the ground level is not working properly, neither is it solving issues. This needs to be taken care of. Setting up a safety net will not serve the purpose," the Congress leader said. Forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar also opposed the inclusion of the MNP in the Dharavi redevelopment project. Mumbai: After a controversy broke out about including Maharashtra Nature Park (MNP) in the Dharavi redevelopment project, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday clarified that no construction would be done in the MNP and it would remain untouched. There was public pressure as well to protect the MNP, one of Mumbais last surviving green spaces, against construction activity. The MNP is close to Dharavi and hence it has been shown in the Development Regulatory Plan. However, it will remain untouched and no construction will come up in the MNP, Mr Fadnavis informed the Assembly. On Wednesday, Shiv Sena youth leader Aaditya Thackeray visited the 41-acre MNP and criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government for including it in the Dharavi redevelopment plan. It is not correct to destroy the forest. We need breathing space in Mumbai, Mr Thackeray had said. Later, he tweeted I request the government to assign someone who loves Mumbai and understands Mumbai. Dont monetise on our citys green spaces. It is disgraceful to let builders build inside Mahim Nature Park. Forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar also opposed the inclusion of the MNP in the Dharavi redevelopment project. He said that he had written to the SRA to return the forestland and not work on the redevelopment. Last December, the redevelopment plan of MNP by the MMRDA was put on hold. The MMRDA had sought a clarification from the forest department and the state government about the extent of protected forest and/or reserved forest that covers MNP. Indians by and large are considered peaceful members of any society in which they reside. The nation is obviously shocked by the news that 39 Indian workers held captive near Mosul in Iraq were brutally murdered by the Islamic State, also known as Daesh. While Daeshs cruelty and dastardliness is well known, there was some hope that the workers would be found alive as there was no confirmation earlier that they were dead. The government has come under some fire for this, for not declaring them dead without concrete evidence and giving assurances to their relatives of the possibility of them being found alive. This entire episode needs a pragmatic analysis, especially as we have a large diaspora of Indians living and working abroad. Violence in any part of the world cannot be predicted with accuracy, though worldwide inputs on emerging events are always under the scanner of the MEA and the intelligence agencies. Indians by and large are considered peaceful members of any society in which they reside. However, they can always be caught in the vortex of different shades of violence anywhere and at any time. The kind of violence that emerged in the Iraq-Syria conflict zone was unpredictable. Without experience of such contingencies, the Indian government did make brave efforts, which succeeded in the case of 46 Indian nurses who too were stranded in Mosul. Although the government quite rightly did not reveal its sources, the identity of interlocutors or the methods used to negotiate their release, that was a success story which was celebrated. Similar efforts were possibly made with regard to the 39 workers, but it was unfortunate the tide of violent turbulence just consumed them. In the absence of any concrete evidence of their death, the government made sincere efforts to get as much information as possible. Minister of state for external affairs Gen. V.K. Singh (Retd), using his experience of turbulent conflict zones, was the pointsman in this regard. While many assumed the worst, the government followed the path of goodwill and sensitivity, assuring relatives of hope despite some unconfirmed evidence from an escaped member of the workers group. The pronouncement of their confirmed death after DNA matching with the mortal remains found in a mass grave near the devastated city of Mosul has obviously caused a stir, with relatives accusing the government of insincerity and hiding facts. The emergence of Harjit Masih, the lone escapee, and his statements of having been hounded and kept away from revealing the truth, is adding fuel to the fire. Its not the political innuendos launched against the government which concern me as much as the lessons from this unfortunate episode. The MEA, reflecting the sincerity and genuine concern of its senior minister, perhaps failed to sense the political outcome of such negative news, if and when that emerged. As India has one of the youngest populations in the world and the global market for skilled and unskilled workers is only going to expand, many more Indians will travel abroad to find a living. Its going to happen in the Middle East itself, where countries like Saudi Arabia are going to look at different national economic models beyond the energy-based ones. Russias population is reducing, and Central Asias is ageing. Todays devastated conflict zones will need reconstruction on a massive scale in future, which will need labour. Africa, not yet on the fast track of development, will inevitably move up in the long run. So Indian labour and white-collar professionals, known for their hard work and sincerity, will be attracted to these, creating an extended diaspora around the world. None of these zones can be predicted to be completely peaceful. The Indian government can adopt an insensitive attitude to the diaspora by washing its hands off issues regarding security only at risk to itself. If that becomes clear, the need for greater understanding of any potential turbulent areas, contingency war-gaming by different departments in the MEA as well as other agencies, bringing elements like first responders for potential rescue and relief operations, is something that we need to evaluate and implement sooner rather than later. But even before that, outreach to diverse agencies in host countries is a dire necessity. The current strength of MEAs officer corps is simply inadequate to handle even routine diplomacy, let alone severe contingencies which demand complete energy, hands-on dealing, negotiations with language skills and maintenance of regular contacts. Thats where the concept of military diplomacy comes in. While theres no denying that Indias military diplomacy has moved up many notches, the issues under discussion here dont form part of the traditional areas. As an example, the defence attache in Ankara, accredited to Lebanon as well, had to move to Beirut to oversee the evacuation of Indians and coordinate the arrival of Indian naval ships during the Israel-Hezbollah conflict of 2006. Countries with an Indian diaspora of a given magnitude cant have accredited military diplomats emerging to handle such issues at the last minute. Such operations require deep contacts and liaison, matters that are never given their due in good times. The second-rung MEA cadre doesnt have the capability of handling such issues, which fall within the ambit of national security. The Indian Navy and Indian Air Force have both had some experience in this regard, with Yemen being one of the latest examples where evacuation under fire had to be executed. However, a contingency like the kidnapping of workers or any other set of Indian nationals becomes an even more challenging one. While we may have had Indian security forces deployed to protect some Indian assets in Afghanistan, most nations dont allow the presence of armed foreign forces on their soil. Only an outstanding liaison effort will ensure the core presence of at least a small element, on which a buildup could take place in emergencies. Nevertheless, the need for far greater continuous intelligence, much more sophisticated and frequently shared with the relevant agencies, is a crying need. Finally, it may be time to debate whether the revival of the ministry of overseas Indian affairs, now merged with the MEA, would allow a greater focus on this new challenge that this country might have to meet from time to time. President Abdulla Yameen sent special envoys to Beijing, Islamabad and Riyadh to solicit support for his dictatorial rule. The case of how New Delhi was dismissively snubbed by the Abdulla Yameen government in Male on Friday illustrates how any attempt to render advice or to get a neighbouring country to accede to demands or requests is closely tied to the level of leverage and influence a country enjoys regionally. In this case it is clear that India, for all its ambitions to be the principal regional power, has little clout left with the tiniest member of Saarc, with a total population of only five lakhs. On Thursday, the Maldives government lifted the 45-day state of emergency, which was brought on to deal with opponents of the Yameen regime. Parliaments powers were cut during the emergency. The Chief Justice and a Supreme Court judge were imprisoned, and dissidents werent let out of jail despite an earlier court order. President Abdulla Yameen sent special envoys to Beijing, Islamabad and Riyadh to solicit support for his dictatorial rule. Evidently he found comfort. That has enabled him to tell New Delhi off. Indias traditional strong ties with the Maldives, which included a mutually valued security relationship, have been showing signs of wear for some years mainly due to the Chinese seeking to strengthen their position in the Indian Ocean region, where the archipelago nation commands sea lanes and is strategically located. After Beijing and Male signed a free trade agreement in December 2017, and the Maldives agreed to offer 17 islands to China to build observation posts a jejune way to conceal a military buildup Male decided it could disregard Indian concerns with impunity. The Narendra Modi government is loathe to take a more sturdy and consequential line with Male as it seems disinclined to open a fresh front with its powerful northern neighbour after the Doklam standoff with China last year. Its to please Beijing that Delhi also brought the Dalai Lama, living in India, under pressure recently. When the Abdulla Yameen regime announced the end of the emergency, New Delhi welcomed it, although it said many issues remained. Gratuitously, while possessing no bargaining counters, India on Thursday advised the Maldives to ensure credible restoration of the political process as well as the rule of law, before the elections are announced this year. New Delhi further asked Male to restore all articles of the Constitution. The response on Friday was tart. The Maldives as good as told India to mind its own business and not seek to intrude into its internal affairs. Not long ago, in a mocking tone, it had informed New Delhi that the current goings-on within its island territory were as much an internal matter as Kashmir was to India. If Indias working dynamics with China are not of an equal nature, neighbours will act up. I have written to the current West Bengal government, but there has been no response, says Taslima Nasrin. While she is happy that the English translation of the third part of her autobiography Split: A Life is out, Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasrin is anguished at the way the names of people mentioned in the book have been shortened to alphabets to hide their identity. In a freewheeling interview to Sreeparna Chakrabarty, she talks of how she feels closest to home in India, how she feels safer in this country due to its entrenched democracy and how she can write only here, and not in Europe, where she had lived in exile for many years. Excerpts: Your book is a translation of the original version Dwikhondito, which was in Bengali. What is the difference between the two texts? And why did you feel the need for the book to come out in English? What I had written in Bengali then had been translated into various languages. There was nothing like I felt the need to write it in English. It had been asked for by many translators in Malayalam, Odia, Hindi and Marathi. But nobody had asked for it in English. The difference between the texts in these regional languages and the one in English is that the names of people have been shortened (to alphabets). I dont understand why. The Bengali version had all the names. In the Bengali version, some pages had been omitted where certain things had been written against Islam. But in none of the regional versions, including Bengali, have the names been shortened. Maybe they (publishers) did so because of the Nawazuddin Siddique episode, where the book had to be recalled. But for an author it feels bad. Maybe in future people will be known by numbers instead of names. This feels like the science fiction movies that I keep watching. I am totally against any kind of banning or censorship. We can only connect to names, not alphabets. May be the times are bad. They may have thought about defamation This is not due to the fear of any fanatics. However, at least the book has come out now and it can be read by people. Maybe people will be able to connect with the book without the names as well. But if you change the names like this out of fear, what will happen to the author and the readers? As far as the text is concerned, it has been translated in full, but they have omitted some chapters, even though the high court had lifted the ban (earlier imposed) on them in West Bengal. Once, when I was living in a safe house, I had been pressured that I could return to West Bengal if I omitted those passages. I had agreed, thinking I would be allowed to go back to West Bengal. But later I realised that it doesnt help, it is just politics. I had then told the publisher to reinstate the text. But they did not agree. You had been asked to leave West Bengal when the Left Front government was in power. Have you made any effort to go back now? I have written to the current West Bengal government, but there has been no response. Most journals in the state have stopped taking my writings. In West Bengal, almost no publisher takes my writings. I have been virtually blacked out. Do you find any difference between India and Bangladesh? I feel at home here. (When living in Europe) I used to come to Kolkata thinking I am going to my place or country. Though I was born after the Partition, I find the division of the country on the basis of religion childish. Everything is the same. The language is the same, culture is the same, therefore the politics of the two countries are also the same. There too books are banned, as they are here I have faced threats there, and I get them here as well. However, here the Muslim community is in a minority, but there (in Bangladesh) it is in a majority. Over here, you have Muslim and Hindu fanatics, but despite that this country is much safer as democracy is far more entrenched, and has been for a long time. Here fundamentalists are not given that much importance. There are also some checks and balances, and so I feel much safer here. Nowadays I feel even Europe is not safe. The Europe of today is not as safe as Europe of the 1990s. But even if India is not as safe as Europe, it is much safer than Bangladesh. So you feel at home here? I feel at home here. It is important for one to feel at home, which I feel in India. Though I dont have a home, this country is like my home. So I can write much more here than I could in Europe. I write about the women of this region as their culture is the same, their history is the same and their stories are the same. The oppression they face is more or less the same. I get responses from my readers, thats something which is very important thing for a writer. Thats why it is important for me to live here. Have you seen any difference between the India of then and now? I would say that what I have observed is that in India people tend to be more religious and superstitious, compared to countries like Bangladesh, Iraq or Saudi Arabia, where more people tend to become atheists. There is a tendency in these countries. But in India, perhaps because of the choices available in Hinduism, there is no need for people to turn atheist. Even if there are (atheists), the proportion is very small. But there has been a rise in fundamentalism in Hinduism. What is the period which this book covers. Is there a sequel? This is the third of a seven-part series of my autobiography. This is that time in the 1980s when there were atrocities on Hindus when Islam was being made a state religion. When fundamentalists were gaining ground when there would be rallies against me. The next book in the series is Those Dark Days, which chronicles the long march against me in Bangladesh. That will be the fourth part of my autobiography. I have written seven in all. A breach can cause immense loss if the concerned organisation is not prepared. As narrated in Homers Illiad, after many failed attempts to breach the city walls of Troy, the Spartans hid in a giant Wooden Horse and befooled the Trojans to sneak inside the city. Even after constructing a strong defensive wall, carelessness cost Trojans dearly and they had to lose their city. In modern age computing, we still use the term Trojan Horse or Trojan to designate a malicious computer program which misleads users of its true intent. Most of the times, it is difficult to quantify a security breach since it may trail a long-term effect. But it always helps to have some numbers in hand which help in prioritising implementations. Anindo Bandyopadhyay, VP, Technology, Xoxoday feels that it pays off to remain vigilant and apply preventive measures against both internal and external factors in the long run. The Cost Study on Cost of data breach conducted by Ponemon Institute and funded by IBM in 2017 reports that in India, for budding services company like ours the cost can run up to $3.4 Million annually if no security is in place. And this figure can shoot upwards substantially if the organization is open to other factors like BYOD, loss/theft of devices, usage of mobile devices, cloud dependency etc. In the current age sales target, marketing pressure, clients escalations, delivery deadlines many times put the security concerns in oblivion for budding organizations. Even though security measures are made trivial but still no one clamours for a security breach. A breach can cause immense loss if the concerned organisation is not prepared. Various factors which needs to be considered while calculating the cost of the data breach: The unexpected and unplanned loss of customers following a data breach The size of the breach or the number of records lost or stolen The time it takes to identify and contain a data breach The detection and escalation of the data breach incident Post data breach costs, including the cost to notify victims An attack by a malicious insider or criminal is costlier than system glitches and negligence (human factor). Organisations must consider such factors beforehand to make better decisions about how to allocate resources to minimise the financial consequences when the inevitable data breach strikes. What should an organisation do Security implementations should never be considered as a target or a goal, rather an important process in helping achieve future sustainability and growth. To prove this the simplest example is that it pays to keep the customer. Clients/customers always have more faith in a secured application than on an application with no fortification. Security implementations can be built using three pillars identify, protect, respond. To begin with, every organisation should identify their critical assets, if lost or stolen will impact business the most. The next major step is to have a strong protection which in any case will not let the assets fall into wrong hands. Once the protection fortification is in place, the organisation must regularly review the fortification, check for upgradations and mend any loophole. Last but not the least in case of any untoward incident, the organisation should be prepared to act and respond appropriately. Post data breach response includes help desk activities, inbound communications, special investigative activities, remediation, legal expenditures, product discounts, identity protection services and regulatory interventions. It is always a good practice to imbibe compliances or processes which help in mitigating security risks. For budding organisations, it may appear costly to procure compliant accreditation, which mostly is a genuine case. In such a condition it is never harmful to simply follow the best-prescribed practices, indirectly improving the fundamentals of the application architecture and in turn helping the business grow. A disciplined approach can only be implemented by following a top-down model, and the senior management in the organisation needs to be thoroughly involved in the implementation. Though appointing a Chief Security Officer (CSO) may look expensive for startups, a voluntary CSO role may be assigned to a capable team member. Employees should be trained regularly for the dos and donts. Critical assets should be encrypted and stored away making them accessible to only authorised members. There are many free and open source tools readily available which can be frequently used to scan and report any vulnerability in the IT infrastructure. Using such tools helps in hardening the system. Incident management and reporting plan come handy if any such eventuality strikes. Generally, it is difficult to foresee any missed scenarios from the perspective of a designer, creator or a manager of the organisation. To protect such loopholes, organisations can outsource help by hiring a security specialist, or launch bug bounty programs. Conclusion Security cannot be a onetime process, rather it should be implemented as a discipline and is required to be followed in every step of the software development lifecycle in the company. If a loophole in the fortification or the security implementation of IT solution left unattended, may cost a business dearly, in the long run, after all A stitch at time saves nine. (source) As Facebook's top executive, Zuckerberg is indeed the "right witness to provide answers to the American people," House said. The leaders of a key House committee declared that Facebook officials failed to answers questions about a privacy scandal involving a Trump-connected data-mining company, and they want CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify before the panel. Reps. Greg Walden of Oregon and Frank Pallone of New Jersey said in a brief statement that the "latest revelations regarding Facebook's use and security of user data raise many serious consumer protection concerns." Representatives from Facebook, who weren't named, briefed the committee's staff Wednesday, according to Walden and Pallone. But a spokeswoman for the committee said the session left many unanswered questions about how Facebook and third-party developers use and protect consumer data on the social media network. Walden is chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee and Pallone is the panel's top-ranking Democrat. Their statement comes a day after Zuckerberg said during an interview on CNN that he would be "happy" to testify before Congress, but only if he was the right person to do that. He said there might be other Facebook officials better positioned to appear, depending on what Congress wanted to know. Walden and Pallone said that as Facebook's top executive, Zuckerberg is indeed the "right witness to provide answers to the American people." They said they would work with Facebook and Zuckerberg to set a date and time for a hearing in the near future. Their call represents the first official request from a congressional oversight committee for Zuckerberg's appearance amid demands by lawmakers that Facebook explains reports that Cambridge Analytica harvested the data of more than 50 million Facebook users in order to sway elections. The company, funded in part by Trump supporter and billionaire financier Robert Mercer, paired its vault of consumer data with voter information. The Trump campaign paid the firm nearly $6 million during the 2016 election, although it has since distanced itself. Other Republican clients of Cambridge Analytica included Sen. Ted Cruz's failed presidential campaign and Ben Carson, the famed neurosurgeon who also ran unsuccessfully for president in 2016. The data was gathered through a personality test app called "This Is Your Digital Life" that was downloaded by fewer than 200,000 people. But participants unknowingly gave researchers access to the profiles of their Facebook friends, allowing them to collect data from millions of more users. Republicans on the Senate Commerce Committee sent Zuckerberg a letter Monday that said the possibility that Facebook has not been transparent with consumers is troubling. They asked for responses by next week to a series of questions, including whether Facebook is aware of any other instances in which a third-party app developer used or shared Facebook user data improperly. It's far from certain what action, if any, the GOP-led Congress and the Trump administration might take against Facebook, but the company will almost certainly oppose any efforts to regulate it or the technology business sector more broadly. As do most large corporations, Facebook has assembled a potent lobbying operation to advance its interests in Washington. The company spent just over $13 million on lobbying in 2017, with the bulk of the money spent on an in-house lobbying team that's stocked with former Republican and Democratic political aides, according to disclosure records filed with the House and Senate. The company sought to influence an array of matters that ranged from potential changes to government surveillance programs to corporate tax issues. One of the team's newer members, Sandra Luff, was Attorney General Jeff Sessions' national security adviser when he served in the Senate. Facebook also employs a small army of outside lobbyists. Among them is Harbinger Strategies, which earned $240,000 last year and deployed four former Capitol Hill staffers to promote Facebook's interests as lawmakers debated the new tax law, cyber security and online advertising issues. For fashion brands, the potential of AI taking over these day to day decisions is very high and will only increase with time. Fashion traditionally has been seen as an expression of artistic sensibilities to enhance ones personality. There have been several attempts in the past to quantify something as abstract as fashion but most attempts have failed due to varying opinions on the very definition of fashion until the turn of this century. Companies around the world have invested millions in writing software that would eventually be able to quantify the complexities of abstracts, such as fashion. Ambud Sharma, Founder of Escaro Royale Luxury (Escaro.in) feels that artificial intelligence is now helping with not only the merchandising decisions but also in fine-tuning the supply chain and creating customised and personalised fashion trends. AI in Fashion Forecasting With the exponential increase in data and events pertaining to fashion each season, it is humanly impossible to collate and correlate all data to understand the future trends. AI systems are now being utilised to correlate worldwide data to forecast trends on what merchandise needs to be produced and in what quantity. The typical variables include colours, patterns, designs and geographic tastes in materials. With access to more data and insights, the fashion designers can now take help from the AI platforms to design accordingly. This saves time and money that was earlier wasted in experimentation. The designers can now be more confident in the sales potential of their merchandise. A lot of trends that may be seen as useless, may well be defined as valuable when the AI systems and machine learning engines do the data crunching. The resulting insights very often are counter-intuitive, and hence help in more accurate design decisions. AI in Consumer Insights It is important to know your customer, and even more important to know your consumers buying and spending behaviour. There are thousands of digital footprints that we leave behind each day when we engage over the Internet be it reading an article, reviewing a product or signing up for an event. These footprints are a goldmine for the fashion industry since it helps in identifying what we call a digital persona of a person in the AI world. Using this info, it is possible to accurately map a persons digital persona to their potential interests. This is especially amplified when an AI system knows what a person bought and when thus projecting and reinforcing a potential consumers interest in a fashion product through targeted advertising. For instance, if someone reads about Harley Davidson bikes, they can then be targeted to see ads related to high fashion leather biker shoes. The power of consumer insights allows for gauging the market size as well thus helping brands in ascertaining the quantities to be produced. It is well said A machine is a much more faithful friend with another machine than a human. AI in Retail Intelligence Retail is complex but can be handled seamlessly using AI. A consumers retail interaction, be it in a showroom or on a website is extremely important and hear-worthy. The feedback received in real-time from the consumers can be extrapolated to ascertain whether the consumer demand is being sufficed or not and if the consumer is looking for something that isnt available. Also, the real-time digital feedback mechanisms can quantify the customer satisfaction thus assisting in customer retention. This feedback, if correlated correctly, can be used as a guiding tool for future merchandising and retail dominance. Though this can be done manually, it can be done faster, better, cheaper and more accurately by using the processing capability of an AI platform. AI in Consumer Interaction and Engagement: AI-based chat-bots are being used now to seamlessly interact with consumers. These chat-bots learn skills over time by interacting with a various set of customers and they are able to handle most questions and concerns on their own not to mention that they dont change shifts or get tired like their human counterparts thus leading to higher consumer satisfaction. Additionally, the information collected through chat-bots is regularly analyzed and correlated by AI central commands for deeper insights about consumer base. Customised and automated messaging systems can keep the consumers abreast with the latest offerings of a fashion brand; thus keeping the customers engaged through the information that is unique & customized to his/her taste. AI in Inventory Management Most fashion brands of today understand the importance of a well-orchestrated supply chain and inventory management. There is nothing more frustrating than having inventory that doesnt sell and not having inventory that sells well. This is where AI-based inventory management systems come to rescue. These systems understand the velocity of sales, many times global sales, and provide insights into what is selling and how fast. More importantly, they help in providing recommendations on inventory optimization across markets thus ensuring that the right product is available in the right market. For sized products, like shoes and apparels, these intelligent platforms provide market-wise recommendation in sizing to ensure that the correct set of sizes are available in applicable markets. The AI platforms can be taught about the regional colour, design and material preferences of consumers and then emerging patterns of information can be used to make intelligent supply chain decisions. In all, something as abstract as fashion can be more-or-less quantified using artificial intelligence to the point that it may very well one day be able to make automated design and product decisions for current and future trends. For fashion brands, the potential of AI taking over these day to day decisions is very high and will only increase with time. As digital transactions and interactions increase, and more and more data is produced, the fashion brands can only look up to powerful AI platforms with humongous data-crunching capacities to assist them to navigate complex digital waters. (source) Companies like General Motors Co, Alphabet and Uber urged policymakers not to withold on an industry still in development. The fatal accident involving an Uber self-driving car cranks up pressure on the self-driving vehicle industry to prove its software and sensors are safe in the absence of strong government standards, experts in the field said. Automakers including General Motors Co, technology companies such as Alphabet and ride services providers like Uber Technologies have all urged policymakers at the federal and state level not to put a heavy regulatory hand on an industry still in development. They have said their extensive testing demonstrates a commitment to safety. Uber is currently looking for a head of global safety operations who would drive key strategic programs including Safety Experience and Building Trust, according to a job posting on the companys website. The search was posted before the Arizona fatality. The Uber accident in Tempe, Arizona this week was the first death attributed to a self-driving car operating in autonomous mode. It has given ammunition to critics of the industry concerned that the lack of clear standards allows manufacturers to test the faulty or partially developed technology on public streets. Well before Sundays fatal accident, industry executives had begun to confront questions about whether self-driving cars can be trusted. They have opened up about their testing methods without revealing secrets of system designs. Public disclosure of self-driving car testing data is inconsistent and varies by state. California requires manufacturers to report instances when an autonomous vehicle system disengages. Arizona does not. There is no question whatsoever that regulations are coming, said Doug Mehl, a partner at A.T. Kearneys automotive practice, based in Detroit. But right now (automakers), software developers and service providers have an opportunity to shape what those regulations are going to look like. Alphabets Waymo self-driving car unit has underscored in a report that its autonomous vehicles have now logged 5 million miles in real-world testing, and billions more in computer simulations. GMs Cruise Automation unit has highlighted its decision to teach its driving system to navigate San Franciscos congested streets. Still, Amnon Shashua, head of Intel Corps Mobileye vision systems unit, said the industry must do more. He has called for the self-driving vehicle industry to develop provable safety assurances. We need to prove that these vehicles are much, much safer than humans, Shashua told Reuters. How do you go and guarantee that you have a technology that the probability of a fatality per one hour of driving is 1,000 times better than a human? Nobody talks about that because nobody knows what to do. NO FEDERAL STANDARDS Most self-driving vehicles are equipped with radar sensors and lidar sensors, which use lasers to detect obstacles around the vehicle. There are no federal standards yet specifying how such systems should work. Congress and federal regulators are still debating how tightly to regulate such systems. There should be vision tests for the sensors they are using, both static and dynamic to see how well they work, said Missy Cummings, a Duke University mechanical engineering professor. The short video recorded by cameras in the Uber vehicle that struck pedestrian Elaine Herzberg while crossing a street in Tempe, Arizona late Sunday raises questions about whether the Uber system responded better than a human driver, experts said on Wednesday. Uber has hired human operators to sit in drivers seats of its autonomous vehicles to intervene if necessary. The video released by Tempe police shows a human operator behind the wheel of the Uber vehicle before the impact. The operator is seen looking down, away from the street, in the seconds before the vehicle struck Herzberg. She was pushing a bicycle across the street from the left lane into the right lane where the Uber vehicle was driving. It seems it should have detected her, Daniel Sperling, director of the Institute for Transportation Studies at the University of California Davis told Reuters in an email after viewing the video. It seems unlikely that a human driver would have done better. We do want AVs to do better than us and the potential exists. Americans were wary of autonomous vehicle technology even before Sundays fatality. According to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released in late January, two-thirds of Americans are uncomfortable about the idea of riding in self-driving cars. The greater risk for the industry is that if people feel it is unsafe, or the testing is unsafe, youll see a real backlash against this technology, said Matthew Johnson-Roberson, co-director of the University of Michigan Ford Center for Autonomous Vehicles. Nawaz Sharif said that suggestions to put names on Exit Control List were being given despite serving the country. Islamabad: A Pakistani accountability court on Thursday rejected exemption from hearing pleas of ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz in National Accountability Bureaus (NAB) Avenfield reference. During the hearing headed by Justice Mohammed Bashir, Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and Mohammed Safdar appeared in the court. The defence lawyer had submitted new medical certificate of Kulsoom Nawaz along with his clients pleas seeking exemption for seven days from March 26. The appeal stated that Ali Aimal will appear in place of Nawaz while Jahangir Jadoon will be Maryam Nawazs representative. The medical report revealed that cancer has been found on the left side of Kulsoom Nawazs neck after which the doctors have suggested to go for radiotherapy. The doctors have stated that they want to meet Nawaz Sharif to consult regarding his wifes health. Subsequently, the court turned down the plea and ordered to attend the hearings. Nawaz Sharif said that suggestions to put names on Exit Control List (ECL) were being given despite serving the country. I dont have any concern with any state institution, he added. He said that the purpose of filing supplementary reference against him is still unrevealed. The former PM asked why there was a need to change Balochistan assembly, adding that the nation has not accepted the verdict of his disqualification. Meanwhile, Maryam Nawaz said that they sought exemption from the court hearing to meet ailing Kulsoom Nawaz in London. The statement defended the Emergency measures, saying they had been precipitated by a constitutional crisis created by the two judges. Male/New Delhi: Hours after the Maldives President Abdulla Yameen lifted a 45-day State of Emergency on Thursday, India welcomed the move but said a number of concerns expressed by the international community still remain to be addressed. Though there still exists a diminished threat to national security... In an effort to promote normalcy, the President has decided to lift the State of Emergency, Mr Yameens office said in a statement. The statement defended the Emergency measures, saying they had been precipitated by a constitutional crisis created by the two judges. Mr Yameen was widely expected to let the tough laws lapse on Thursday after authorities charged former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and several senior judges with terrorism this week. Responding to the statement, India called upon the Maldives to ensure credible restoration of the political process, as well as the rule of law, before the elections are announced this year. New Delhi also asked Male to restore all Articles of the Constitution, allow the Supreme Court and other branches of the judiciary to operate in full independence and to promote and support the free and proper functioning of Parliament. Ties between India and Maldives continue to remain uneasy, with India wary of the proximity between the Maldives and China. Mr Yameen imposed draconian laws on February 5, following a Supreme Court ordered asking him to free high-profile dissidents from jail. Fearing impeachment, he refused to carry out the court order and instead invoked the Emergency which curtailed the powers of the judiciary and the legislature. He arrested the Chief Justice and another Supreme Court judge, as well as his senior political opponents. The remaining Supreme Court judges revoked an earlier decision to reinstate 12 MPs who had been sacked for defecting to the Opposition while Mr Yameen also stripped Parliament of its power to impeach him. Senior political opponents remain locked up. The dissidents release would have paved the way for former leader Mohamed Nasheed to return from self-imposed exile in London and contest presidential elections later this year. Thursdays statement said that the two judges had conspired with political actors... (to) overthrow a lawful government, and whose actions constituted an imminent threat to national security. Mr Nasheed said that Mr Yameen had allowed the Emergency to end because he no longer had any need for it. He has overrun the judiciary and legislature, arrested hundreds unlawfully and introduced a new normal in the #Maldives full dictatorship, Mr Nasheed said on Twitter. We will not give up, we will fight and we will overcome. In a statement later, he criticised other nations for not intervening to end the political crisis. It is sad that the international community has still not got their act together, Mr Nasheed said, accusing the Maldives regime of being a puppet state controlled by China. Mr Gayoom, Yameens estranged half brother, ruled the country for 30 straight years before losing to Mr Nasheed in the nations first democratic elections in 2008. The 80-year-old former strongman was arrested earlier last month accused of trying to topple Mr Yameen. The Prosecutor Generals office said Wednesday that Mr Gayoom had been charged with attempting an act of terrorism and obstruction of justice. He was charged alongside 10 others, including the sacked CHIEF JUSTICE Abdulla Saeed, and Mr Gayooms legislator son Faris Maumoon. The Maldives criminal court ordered Mr Gayoom to be remanded in custody until the conclusion of his trial, although it was not immediately clear when the case would commence. Mr Yameen came to power following a controversial election run-off in November 2013 when he narrowly defeated Mr Nasheed. His crackdown has dented the nations image as a popular tourist destination, which remains vital to its economy. Military-dominated economy prohibited poor or middle class people from accessing more resources, building a recipe for conflict. The Democracy Forum, a prominent London-based think tank, hosted a seminar titled 'Economic & Political Power of the Military: Its Impact on Democracy', at the St James' Court Hotel, London on Monday. (Photo: ANI) London: The Democracy Forum (TDF), a prominent London-based think tank, hosted a seminar titled 'Economic & Political Power of the Military: Its Impact on Democracy', at the St James' Court Hotel, London on Monday. The seminar, chaired by senior journalist Humphrey Hawksley, was addressed by TDF President Lord Bruce, and featured a distinguished panel of experts comprising Pervez Hoodbhoy, Ayesha Siddiqa, Myra MacDonald, Dr Hamid Hussain, Dr Rosena Khan and Dr David Brenner. Setting the tone for the discussions, Lord Bruce, in his opening remarks stated that it was a sine qua non that the role of the military is a frequent and sometimes nefarious participant in the suspension of democratic institutions across the world. According to the Democracy Index, none of the four countries selected for discussion in the seminar - Pakistan, Myanmar, Turkey and Egypt, scores more than five out of ten in the Index's 2017 international survey, which covers indicators including pluralism, civil liberties and political culture. Dr Hoodbhoy, Zohra and Z Z Ahmed Foundation Distinguished Professor at Forman Christian College, who focused on Pakistan, opened his speech by referring to two media articles that clearly demonstrated the all-encompassing influence that the Pakistan Army had over the civilian government. The first article referred to how members of the outgoing Senate, who requested for a presentation of the Nuclear Command Authority Act, passed by Parliament in 2010, never shared the outlines of the Act on grounds that it related to national security. According to Dr Hoodbhoy, this was hardly surprising, as the Pakistan Army has always said that matters of national security can be entrusted only to those who are 'worthy' of such trust. The second article concerned the worry, in Pakistani financial circles, on ways to deal with the 'grey-listing' of Pakistan by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Though the Army's official mouthpiece, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated that this was not a matter for the army to resolve, Dr Hoodbhoy was of the opinion that all Pakistanis were aware that this issue was largely dependent on the army's change of policy on supporting Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)-associated institutions. To underline the deep-rooted links between the Pakistan Army and terrorist groups, he gave the example of former Pakistan President and Army Chief General Pervez Musharraf banning the LeT in January 2002 following American pressure, while admitting in November 2017 of the Army's links with the group and declaring them 'excellent institutions of Pakistan'. Dr Hoodbhoy, however, believed that the message from the FATF would affect Rawalpindi, the heart of real power in Pakistan as the army had huge financial interests in Pakistan's national economy, and these interests would be affected by the grey-listing, and even more so by any blacklisting. Former Reuters journalist and author Myra MacDonald drew on the research conducted for two books she has written - Heights of Madness, about the Siachen war between India and Pakistan, and Defeat is an Orphan: How Pakistan Lost the Great South Asian War - to compare the power of the military in both countries. MacDonald looked at India and Pakistan's evolving relationship and said that the nuclear tests of 1998 should, in theory, have created parity between them, since Pakistan no longer had any reason to feel insecure about an Indian invasion. However, in reality, India had used the time since 1998 to emerge as a rising world power, while Pakistan had declined into a 'tottering' state, weakened by its absence of democracy. MacDonald argued that Indian democracy, combined with diplomacy, had helped to underpin its success while the dominance of the military in Pakistan not only undermined democracy but threatened to turn it into a failing state. Asking why we value democracy so highly, she said that it allowed for the legitimacy of the State, peaceful settlement of disputes and domestic stability that then led to international strength. Based on these four criteria, India has thrived and Pakistan has been weakened, as the Pakistan army presented itself as the guardian of the nation, yet in reality created instability rather than stability by running foreign and security policy, manipulating the democratic process and dominating the economy. She stated that such a centralised, military-dominated economy prohibited poor or middle class people from accessing more resources, building a recipe for conflict, apart from leading people to turn to Islamist or other right-wing religious groups to try and expand their power. She added that rather than holding the country together, the army's power exaggerated the existing power of Punjab province and caused conflict in smaller provinces such as Balochistan, whose people resented the domination of both the military and of Punjab. MacDonald, however, expressed optimism that Pakistan's vibrant civil society, as recently illustrated by the Pashtun Long March, would continue its peaceful opposition to the military's influence. In her presentation, Dr Siddiqa, well known for her book on the Pakistani military, focused on comparing the fledging democracies of Pakistan and Egypt and the role of their militaries. Dr Siddiqa said that her now-famous concept of 'Milbus' (military business) is not benign wherever it takes place, as no matter how it is justified, it has an inherent illegality because it is meant for the personal benefit of the military fraternity, yet is neither recorded nor part of the defence budget. "So, when militaries engage in business, it is about a military organisation proactively partaking in resource generation, and thus blurring the line between what is for the public and private good," said Dr Siddiqa. She highlighted both key differences and similarities between the Egyptian and Pakistani military systems. According to her, the Pakistan army was much more hierarchical, with fewer chances of coups from within, though in both nations the military had a greater sense of the national good. The fall of the Turkish army was the main focus for military commentator Dr Hamid Hussain, who described the army's view of itself as a doctor tending to the sick child, secularism, that resulted from the marriage of democracy and Islam. He offered an overview of the Turkish army's role as guardian of the Kemalist tradition and spoke about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's rise to power, and the dynamic between him and the military. Dr Brenner from the University of Surrey spoke on the Myanmar military and the country's move towards democracy in a top-down, military-led transition. He gave a short history of Tatmadaw's (the army's) emergence from the struggle for independence from Britain, considering its perception of itself as a 'guardian of the nation' that prevents the Union of Burma from disintegrating, and spoke of how it maintained its economic sources of power through control of assets, resources such as jade and gold, and strategic infrastructure. Also speaking on the subject of Myanmar was Dr Khan, Labour MP from Tooting, who has personally witnessed the humanitarian crisis of the Rohingya people in the refugee camps in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar. Describing what is happening to the Rohingyas in Myanmar as 'nothing short of a genocide', she condemned the West's failure to call to account those who perpetrate such atrocities. Senior journalist Hawksley, thereafter successfully steered a very lively Q&A session. The closing proceedings was TDF chair Barry Gardiner MP, Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade. He thanked the panel, and TDF for organising the event, which was, he said, a timely reminder of why democracy is valuable. He urged everyone present to use the analysis of the seminar to consider the dangers to democracy and to think about how lack of transparency and accountability can affect us all, not only those living under authoritarian regimes. The event was well attended, including by members of the Henry Jackson Society, postgraduate students from King's College London, University College of London and the University of Westminster, members of the print and TV media, representatives from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK, and several embassies and High Commissions. Baroness Shreela Flather was also in attendance. by Vladimir Rozanskij Francis is travelling to the Baltics in late September; Kirill will be Belarus in mid-October. In power for almost 25 years, Belorussian President Lukashenko would be quite happy to see a meeting take place. The nunciature and the patriarchate are working at it. Belarus has an ecumenical vocation. A new concordat giving Catholics the same rights as the Orthodox is close at hands. Moscow (AsiaNews) Belarus could be the setting for another meeting between Pope Francis and the Patriarch of Moscow Kirill (Gundyayev). Although the country might be less exotic and far away than Havana, Cuba, where the two religious leaders met for the first time on 12 February 2016, it could nevertheless see their paths cross next autumn, as they did during their visits to the Americas, since Francis plans to travel to the Baltics (22-25 September) whilst Kirill will be in Belarus on 13 October. Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, Archbishop of Minsk, spoke a few months ago about a possible visit by the pope in Belarus when he welcomed the presidents of the Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe (CCEE) who met in late September in the Belarusian capital for their annual plenary session. On that occasion, the country's president, Aleksandr Lukashenko, had expressed his support for a papal visit, and perhaps even a new meeting between the pope and the patriarch of Moscow. In Minsk, Russia and Ukraine signed the only agreements about their ongoing conflicts. This has at least lessened the level of fighting, with the conflict now referred to as "low intensity" or "hybrid" war. Belarus, also known as White Russia, has always been a place of mediation between the other two Eastern Slavic countries, Greater Russia and Little Russia (Ukraine). Lukashenko has been in power since 1994, following the fall of Communism, five years before Putin himself became president. His "subjects" call him batka, "godfather", and he wont dislike marking a quarter century in power with a great initiative of peace between peoples and religions. Reports about a possible autumn visit by Kirill have revived the suggestive idea of a meeting between the two religious leaders in a country where Catholics and Orthodox live side by side and support each other in a much more positive way than elsewhere. In fact, Belarus is an offspring of the history of Latin Poland and Byzantine Russia. Today still, out of almost 10 million inhabitants, the Catholic minority numbers almost 3 million. The capital Minsk, a metropolis of 3 million people, is one of the most "mixed" places for the two main Christian denominations. The Metropolitan of Minsk, Pavel (Ponomaryov), the Exarch of the Belarusian Orthodox Church in communion with Moscow, also expressed his interest in a papal visit. In a show of humility, he said, "Concerning a visit by the pontiff to Belarus, it is a question that must be assessed by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church and that of the Catholic Church. It is not an matter at our echelon, nor at the level of inter-confessional relations, but is eminently a Church-to-Church issue. As soon as the Pope of Rome discusses a possible visit with the patriarch, they will let us know at what level we must place ourselves." The Vatican nuncio in Belarus, Archbishop Gabor Pinter of Hungary, told the press that Pope Francis has an "exceptionally positive" view of a possible visit to the country, but there are no precise dates nor plans at the moment. However, the diplomat pointed out that "intense work is currently underway so that this event could take place in the near future", perhaps around the time of the popes visit to the Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia next September. The pope's visit could even celebrate a "concordat" between the Catholic Church and the Republic of Belarus, which is currently being discussed by the two sides. Local Catholics want the same rights as the Orthodox Church, whose official pact with the State is a model for the one now being negotiated. The latter would recognise the historical role of Catholicism in the development of the culture and traditions of the country, historically on the border between East and West. In addition to acknowledging the right to organise and set up their own Church institutions, Catholics would be given complete freedom to engage in social, educational and charitable activities at every level, in harmony with the Orthodox. In short, Belarus could serve as a model for ecumenical relations, especially in a region that has always been traversed by deep tensions and ethnic-religious conflicts. The movement has organised arts-related activities for Maranao children. Christian and Muslim members renew their action at Mindanao State University (MSU). In Malabang, where Christians are a shrinking minority, a nun has stayed behind to engage in pastoral work as a "witness of love". Mindanao (AsiaNews) The movement for dialogue and peace Silsilah (chain, tie in Arabic), founded by PIME missionary Fr Sebastiano D'Ambra in 1984, continues its initiatives to rebuild hope and peace between Muslims and Christians in Mindanao. On 23 October, the Filipino government declared the end of fighting in the "Islamic" city of Marawi, about five months after hundreds of jihadists attacked the southern city in a daring attempt to turn it into a "province" of the Islamic State (IS). The fighting devastated the city, left at least 1,131 people dead, and provoked ethno-religious tensions on the island of Mindanao, where Filipino Muslims, about 20 per cent of the countrys population, are concentrated. Remembering the suffering of the island's population during the crisis, the Silsilah Forum renewed on several occasions its work against religious hatred inviting Christians and Muslims not to lose hope. Two weeks ago, with the support of Quiapo parish in Manila, the movement organised arts-related activities for Maranao children, a mostly Muslim ethnic group living in Mindanao, who suffered the most during the conflict. Thanks to the contribution of some Forum members from Iligan and members of the Maranao community, Silsilah brought together hundreds of children to help them overcome trauma through drawing and painting. Volunteers helped them to express their pain, but also their desire for peace, through art. Silsilah is also helping the people of Marawi by renewing its initiative at Mindanao State University (MSU), a large university established in the early seventies to build good relations through education. As a result of the fighting, the MSU has to restart from scratch. To this end, Silsilah decided to boost its presence through its members and supporters at the university. Another story of hope, which the movement for dialogue and peace shared in its monthly newsletter OasisNews, is about a nun whose pastoral work is done in Malabang, a village near Marawi. In a place where the number of Christians is shrinking as a result of fear, the nun decided to remain as a "witness of love", despite threats by some radical groups who have made life hard for non-Muslims. In the village, some Muslim families often protect and help Christians, targets of extremist violence. Here, the Catholic nun can feel the solidarity of some Muslim friends. And when fear grips her, she finds strength in the Harmony Prayer learnt during a summer course organised by Silsilah in Zamboanga. The fourth in the history of the country and the second in recent times, together with Park Geun-hye. He faces 12 charges, including corruption, embezzlement, tax evasion and abuse of power. He risks 45 years in prison. The reactions of the South Korean political world. Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Lee Myung-bak, South Korean president from 2008 to 2013, was arrested today for alleged corruption. He is the fourth personality to have held office to be taken into custody for suspected corruption and the second in recent months, after the arrest of Park Geun-hye, for whom the prosecutor has requested 30 years in prison. The arrest warrant, approved last night and executed in the early hours of today, allows the prosecutor to retain the former leader for up to 20 days, and forward the formal accusation by April 10. Su Lee has a long list of charges, at least 12, including bribes, embezzlement, tax evasion and abuse of power. The former president is accused of having collected a total of 11 billion won (about 8.4 million euros) in bribes received from the secret services and from various companies and businessmen. Lee is also suspected of stealing 35 billion won from a company he secretly owns, also evading related taxes. If found guilty of all charges against him, he could be sentenced to a sentence of up to 45 years in prison. The news of his arrest triggered mixed reactions in the political arena of the country: while the ruling Democratic Party of Korea applauded the arrest and the "end of an era of corruption", the conservative opposition denounces a "political revenge" "by the government of President Moon Jae-in. The restrictive measure had been in place for 45 days. Former president-dictator Maumoon Abdul Gayoom investigated for terrorism. Opposition wiped out by the current head of state Yameen. Free field for trade agreements with Beijing. Male (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has lifted a state of emergency in force for 45 days. The decision was taken yesterday, the day after the former head of state Maumoon Abdul Gayoom (see photo) was charged with terrorism. He is the step-brother of Yameen and was a dictator who ruled the island for 30 years until 2008. Now, having wiped out all opposition, the current president is heading towards an undisputed government and automatic re-election scheduled for the end of the year. The situation precipitated at the beginning of February, when the Supreme Court judges unanimously established the release of opponents belonging to the Maldivian Democratic Party (Mdp) and the reopening of the trials against them. Furthermore, the sentence defined the trial that led Mohamed Nasheed, the first democratically elected president in 2008, to condemnation of terrorism as "unconstitutional". The latter, after the unexpected verdict, was preparing to return to the capital and compete in the presidential elections scheduled for the end of the year, after years of exile between London and Sri Lanka. Fearing that Parliament could vote impeachment against him, Yameen suspended constitutional rights and declared a state of emergency. Scheduled at the beginning for 15 days, the measure remained in force for 45. Meanwhile, the president arrested Supreme Court President Abdulla Saeed and judge Ali Hameed. Then, on March 21st, terrorism charges were also filed against Saeed, his brother and former dictator and nine other people. The highest judicial body, left without leadership, then withdrew its decision to release MPD opponents. "We will not give up - tweeted Nasheed from exile - we will fight and we will win". The restoration of a normal situation has also allowed the reopening of relations with foreign countries, first of all China. Mohamed Faisal, ambassador to Beijing, told the South China Morning Post that the Maldives are ready to give new impetus to Chinese projects and want to attract new investments from China, despite the repercussions that these could have in relations with the other great rival of the area, India. The constitutional crisis has in fact exacerbated the confrontation between Delhi and Beijing, both eager to establish spheres of influence in the region. The current president Yameen is considered close to the positions of Beijing, with which he has signed agreements for the "Belt and Road Initiative". On the contrary, his predecessor Nasheed gravitates around the orbit of Delhi and recently accused China of "seizure of land" for the construction of its trade routes to Europe. Vietnam is Italys main partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). On 21 January 2013, the two governments signed a strategic partnership agreement. Trade between the two countries is expected to reach US$ 6 billion this year. Italy is 31st out of 128 countries in terms of investments in Vietnam, with 88 projects worth more than US$ 388 million. Rome (AsiaNews/Agencies) Italy and Vietnam today celebrated 45 years of diplomatic relations, established on 23 March 1973 during a brutal war that was tearing the country apart and ended with the victory of Communist insurgents in the south and the countrys reunification. Over this period, the two countries have developed close ties and cooperation. Italy has actively supported greater cooperation between Vietnam and the European Union (EU) and the normalisation of relations between Vietnam and international financial, commercial and monetary institutions. On 21January 2013, the two governments reached a strategic partnership agreement signed during the visit to Italy of Nguyen Phu Trong, Secretary General of the Vietnamese Communist Party. Since then, Vietnam has become Italys main partner inside the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). With an annual increase of almost 9 per cent, bilateral trade reached US$ 4.7 billion in 2016, and should rise to US$ 6 billion in 2017-2018. The Vietnam-EU free trade agreement, which comes into effect this year, will play an important role for both nations, helping to promote trade and investment between Europe, especially Italy, and Vietnam. In terms of investments, Italy ranks 31st out of 128 countries with 88 projects worth more than US$ 388 million. For its part, the Italian government has included Hanoi on its list of top ten emerging markets for trade and investment. The two countries have set up a Joint Economic Cooperation Committee, which met for the first time in October 2014 in Hanoi, then in October 2015, November 2016, and more recently in November 2017. Italy is also intensifying cooperation in the cultural field, particularly in heritage conservation, museums and human resources development. This includes restoring the ancient Hindu sanctuary of My Son. Tourism is also a rapidly growing. In 2017 Vietnam welcomed 50,000 Italian visitors, a record. Furthermore, Vietnam and Italy have reached 72 agreements in education and training. Currently, about 5,000 Vietnamese citizens live, work or study in Italy. Rockets struck Brad, a site that has several Byzantine churches and monasteries as well as tombs from the Roman period. Many buildings were destroyed, including the tomb of Saint Maron and the Julianus church. For Syrian expert, the site held one of the most beautiful pages of the history of Christianity in the East. Not even the Mongol invasion caused such damage. Afrin (AsiaNews) Turkish air raids have damaged an ancient Christian heritage site in northeastern Syria near the city of Afrin, a Kurdish enclave in northern Syria, which Ankara-led forces captured on 17 March, Syrias antiquities department said Thursday. Turkish regime planes bombed the archaeological site of Brad, 15 kilometres south of Afrin city, the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums said in a statement. Brad which includes many Byzantine churches and monasteries as well as tombs dating back to the Roman period has been on Unescos world heritage list since 2011. Rockets destroyed many important archaeological buildings, including the tomb of Saint Maron of the Maronite community, said Syrian antiquities chief Mahmoud Hamoud. Turkish planes also destroyed the Julianus Church, which includes the mausoleum and is one of the oldest Christian churches in the world, built at the end of the 4th century, he added. On 20 January, Ankara launched a major offensive against the mostly Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which it says is allied with the "terrorist" Kurdish Workers Party (PKK). The latter has been fighting for the independence of Turkish-occupied Kurdistan. As President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced, after conquering Afrin, Turkey is now turning its attention towards other Kurdish towns in the area in order to control the border region in the eastern part of Syria. Turkish troops and anti-Assad jihadi groups have not damaged only Christian sites. In late January, Syria accused Turkey of damaging the 3,000-year-old iron age neo-Hittite temple of Ain Dara as it pressed its bombardment of the Afrin region. For its part, the Turkish military denied the charges, saying that religious and cultural buildings, historical sites, archaeological ruins and public facilities are absolutely not among the targets of its offensive. Still, damages from its planes to Syrias and the worlds cultural heritage are there to see. In addition to the tomb of Saint Maron, which was discovered in 2002 by a group of French archaeologists, the ancient city of Brad also has several Christian sites from the Roman and Byzantine periods. This site is one of the most beautiful pages of the history of Christianity. It is home to three churches, a monastery and a five-metre-high tower, Syrias former antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim said. "Not even the Mongol invasion did this," he added. In recent weeks, experts have voiced concerns over some 40 Christian villages in the Afrin region, which Unesco describes as "ancient villages of northern Syria" and has included in its World Heritage Sites. The UNs Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation says these villages provide, among other things, an exceptional illustration of the development of Christianity in the East, in village communities, and must be protected and preserved. Meanwhile, the BBC has reported that one of the last rebel groups in the besieged enclave of Eastern Ghouta, outside Damascus, has announced a ceasefire. The Faylaq al-Rahman group has accepted a UN-brokered truce, saying that the move would allow talks with the Russian military, Syria's ally, on guarantees for the safety of civilians. Syrian troops currently hold 80 per cent of the enclave. ATTENTION: Correction The agreement was signed during the meeting between President Trump and the Saudi hereditary prince, who is visiting the United States. Congress now has30 days for ratification, which provides for the supply of 6700 anti-tank missiles. Amnesty International: Its not just the United States fuelling the conflict in Yemen with the arms trade, but also the United Kingdom and France. Washington (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The US administration led by President Donald Trump has signed a 1 billion dollar arms deal with the leaders of Saudi Arabia. The signature came in the context of the visit of the Saudi hereditary prince Mohammed Bin Salman (Mbs), the first diplomatic overseas trip since he was appointed number two in the kingdom. In the late afternoon yesterday, the US State Department informed Congress of its intention to approve the sale. The parliamentarians will have 30 days to give the go-ahead to the agreement or try to stop its implementation; however, this hypothesis seems very unlikely because President Trump's party controls both chambers. The package includes up to about 6,700 U.S.-built anti-tank missiles. Raytheon Co. makes the missiles. Other items include support, maintenance and spare parts for American tanks, helicopters and other equipment already in Saudi Arabia's arsenal. The US Defense Sources point out that the sale is in line "with US foreign policy" and pursues "national security objectives" by improving the security of a friendly country. Riyadh continues, the note continues to be "an important force for economic growth and political stability" in the Middle East [read in an anti-Iranian key]. The United States seems to have overcome the "doubts" of the past on the sale of weapons to the Saudis and that they were used to fuel the bloody war in Yemen. A conflict that also involves, at the supplier level, other nations of the Western bloc: Amnesty International have accused the United Kingdom and France [as well as Spain and Italy] of "continuing to transfer weapons for billions of dollars" to the Arab coalition. A trade, they add, which ends up "inflicting terrible suffering on the population". Riyadh has long been the leader in the arms race in a region that holds the record in the global weapons trade. "We believe that Saudi Arabia - said US Defense Minister Jim Mattis - is part of the solution" to the problems of the Middle East and the Yemeni conflict. The new Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion bill follows the existing anti-conversion law. Christians in the state are 0.3 per cent of the population. The drafts aim is to threaten religious minorities and Dalits. Dehradun (AsiaNews) The Hindu nationalist cabinet of Uttarakhand (northern India) approved a draft bill against forced conversions, making the offence non-bailable. Under the new legislation, anyone found guilty of such a practice could face a prison term of one to five years. The minimum jail term would be two years if the victim were a member of a Scheduled Class or Tribe. "The decision to enact an anti-conversion law is fuelled by the ruling partys communal agenda," said John Dayal, former national president of the All India Catholic Union, speaking to AsiaNews. The state cabinet, under Trivendra Singh Rawat of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), approved on 13 March the draft bill, which would become the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act (Madhya Pradesh Dharma Swatantrya Adhiniyam). The government's goal is to criminalise any attempt to convert through financial inducements and/or deception. If someone wants to change faith, he or she must file a request at least a month before with a district magistrate. The authorities must also be notified of any religious meetings. The new bill follows the states existing law, which Christians had already criticised as a tool to persecute all those who want to embrace a religion other than Hinduism. For Dayal, "there are no forced or fraudulent conversions in the State of Uttarakhand. Christians are a tiny minority. For this reason, the only explanation (for the bill) is it represents an attempt to threaten religious minorities or limit the freedom of worship of Dalits and backward communities, whose rights are already crushed by the upper castes that rule the state." The last census in 2011 shows that 82.9 per cent of the states population was Hindu. Another 13.9 per cent were Muslims and only 0.3 per cent are Christians. The Church in Uttarakhand is free to practise, preach and worship, said Mgr John Vadakel, bishop of Bijnor. There is no intolerance towards the Christian faith. The administration and government officials have good and friendly relations with Christians, he said. Dayal agrees. "Precisely for this reason, we do not understand the reason for this new law that criminalises a right guaranteed by the Constitution, that is the right to profess or change ones religion. "We must remember, he noted, that the ruling party came to power with a communal platform. The draft could become law before the end of the year. If that were the case, we will challenge it in the courts of law and public opinion." The fires raging from the Syrian conflict have not even cooled down and the region is already looking towards another bloody conflict. With the defeat of Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria and Iraq the Syrian conflict continues to rage on with the respective regional and global powers vying for their share of the pie before the endgame. Turkey under President Erdogan has always aimed at rekindling its Ottoman glory as we have also documented in our book The New Global Order. To this end it launched Operation Olive Branch in January 2018 against the Syrian Kurdish groups along its southern border with Syria where it has pounded the US backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) killing around 1500 of their men and displacing nearly 1,50,000 people from Afrin. Turkish forces have now routed the SDF and unfurled the Turkish flag at the Afrin city centre. Further, Turkish President Erdogan has made it clear to the United States to choose between Kurdish terrorists or its NATO ally in Syria suggesting that Manjib, another Northern Syrian city manned by the US forces may be Turkeys next target while the US has cautioned Turkey against any strikes on its positions or bases in Syria. Turkeys assault on Afrin is a pivotal moment in the Syrian conflict in the wider Middle East because it was tactically facilitated by the Russians who backed the air defences for Turkish operations against the US-backed Kurdish militias. When the Syrian Army and its backed militias tried to enter Afrin, the Turkish military pounded upon them forcing them to retreat. Turkey has made it amply clear that it is in for a long haul in the region. Adding to this chaos are the Russian Private Military Contractors who along with the Syrian Armed Forces are attempting to target an American base in Syrias Deir-ez Zor region where the American jets and troops killed more than 100 Russian mercenaries as retaliation. All these proxy wars in Syria make the country a lawless state where everyone is vying for their share of the bounty. Israel has now joined the party with airstrikes on the Syrian Army and the Hezbollah arm shipments in and around Damascus which recently even led to the loss of one of its F-16 jets. So what comes next? To answer this it is important to understand the recent dynamics of the Syrian Civil War which is inextricably linked to the bigger geopolitical Shia-Sunni conflict in the region. The United States has already signalled its intent to withdraw from the Iran Nuclear Deal to its European allies when President Trump is due to sign the waiver of sanctions on Iran per the JCPOA on May 12, 2018. On January 13, 2018 the State Department issued a communique to its European allies for the conditions that need to be renegotiated to correct the flaws in the Iran Nuclear Deal. The cable state that, The Trump Administration calls on key European partners to join with the United States in fixing significant flaws in the deal, countering Iranian aggression, and supporting the Iranian people. We are asking for your commitment that we should work together to seek a supplemental or follow-on agreement that addresses Irans development or testing long-range missiles, ensures strong IAEA inspections, and fixes the flaws of the sunset clause. The cable further states that in the absence of a clear commitment from your side to address these issues, the United States will not again waive sanctions in order to stay in the Iran nuclear deal. If at any time the President judges that such commitment is not within reach, the President would end U.S. participation in the deal. The State Department memo makes it explicitly clear that President Trump is not inclined to stay in the Iran Nuclear Deal unless its European allies pressurize Iran to agree to harsher conditions on its Nuclear Program, Missile Program and roll back its proxy fronts such as Hezbollah and Shia Militias in Lebanon and Syria and the Houthis in Yemen. It was perhaps this leaked State Department Cable that showed Secretary of State Rex Tillersons inability to muscle through a solution in the region that resulted in President Trump terminating Secretary Tillerson and appointing Mike Pompeo who shares a hawkish stance with the Trump Administration on Irans Nuclear Deal and its activities in the Middle East. The European allies have thus far been unable to arrive at a compromise formula to retain the Iran Nuclear deal which the Trump Administration is egging to rip apart. Germany has also rejected the demand from the US negotiating team to outlaw all of Hezbollah because the Militia is linked to Israel-Palestinian peace talks. Though it seems that Britain and France are amenable to sanctioning however with some differences over what punitive measures to take. The sentiment in Washington DC is echoed by Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel and Prince Salman of Saudi Arabia who on his latest visit to the US termed the Iran Nuclear Deal as flawed and the Shia theocratic regime as biggest threat to the region. It has also been reported that the Trump Administration has asked Saudis to pay $4 billion for a safe exit route in Syria. The shakeups in Washington DC show the larger footprint of Israeli influence on President Trumps foreign policy when it comes to Iran Nuclear Deal, its proxy fronts and the wider Middle East question. The building of Irans Shia Crescent from Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq all the way to Iran as a land bridge has been the cause of much strategic concern to the Israeli defence lobby which feels that Iran and its proxy Hezbollahs presence in Syria is a prime threat to Israels safety and security. Thus when proxy warfare in Syria is at its peak and the time to make a decision on the Iran Nuclear Deal comes closer, Israel could very well launch a war on Lebanon targeting the regions of South Lebanon to further weaken and even possibly dismantle the Shia Crescent by striking at the very roots of Hezbollah, the Iranian backed militia group based in Lebanon. A top general in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in February 2018 said that Israel is gearing up for a war in 2018 on multiple fronts against Iranian proxies i.e. Hezbollah and Shia Militias in Lebanon and Syria and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. This was followed up by the latest military exercise Juniper Cobra between the US and Israeli forces in Israel where the USAF Third Airforce commander Lt Gen Richard Clark went on record to say, should need arise the American troops are willing to die for the Jewish State. The sound of war drums was even audible in Washington DC where Republican Senator Lindsey Graham warned that South Lebanon is where the next war is coming and that Israeli officials had made two major requests to American lawmakers. The first was military support via ammunition and weapon supplies and the second, the US backing of Israel in case civilian targets in Lebanon where Hezbollah is operating were struck. The war clouds in the Middle East are gathering once again and could prove to be bloodier than the last round in 2006 when Israel attacked Hezbollah in Lebanon and got a bloody nose by Iranian backed militia. The Lebanese prime minister has also recently ordered additional army regiments to be deployed on the southern border with Israel anticipating an Israeli action naming it as its prime adversary. This prospective war in the Middle East on Iranian Proxies i.e. Hezbollah and other Shia Militias in Syria has been in the making for months if not years now. On 07th November 2017 after the shocking resignation of Lebanese PM Saad Hariri, Israel sent a cable to all its embassies to do everything to ramp up diplomatic pressure against Hezbollah and Iran; accusing Iran of engaging in regional subversion. It also instructed its diplomats to urge the Lebanese government to nix Hezbollah officials from the government and politics. The cable also urged support for Saudi Arabias war on the Iranian backed Houthis in Yemen. This cable was widely covered by the Israeli media and even telecasted on Israels Channel 10 news network. Thus Israel has since long been drumming up a case of war against Iran and it proxies and in President Trump, it now has an administration which holds similar views to its own. The next war in the Middle East in Lebanon could have reverberating consequences across the region and globe. Any Israeli action with an active backing of the US against Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies in Syria would mean the degradation of the Shia Crescent as well as Hezbollahs strength with engagement in multiple theatres. An attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon would also imperil the Assad regime which has been gaining ground lately with the help of Iranian proxies forcing Russia to reconsider its stringent position on a political transition in Syria. The rapid changes in President Trumps core team with an increasing number of hawks reflecting the dominance of the US Military Industrial Complex can only mean that the next conflict is on the horizon sooner than later A conflict in Lebanon, an overstretched Hezbollah and a consequently vulnerable Assad regime fighting on multiple fronts with Turkey, Syrian Rebels and SDF could subsequently make Iran amenable to more concessions once the US decides to withdraw from the Iran Nuclear Deal. A pull out from Iran Nuclear Deal could hurt the US standing on its international commitments; yet a war on Lebanon and Syria could achieve more in disrupting and dismantling the major Iranian proxy networks in the region and with it imperil its much touted Shia Crescent. The tough US-Israeli action on Iranian proxies could also be a signal to North Korea to agree to the US terms showing that America under the Trump Administration wont shy away from military options. Thus the Trump Administration could back the Israeli option of a war in Lebanon to weaken Iran and force its hand to renegotiate the Nuclear Deal rather than engage in a direct war with Iran that could spiral out in a global war and end up being Americas next Vietnam. In a rare democratic exercise in Middle East when Lebanon is gearing up for its first national election on May 6, first time since 2009. The coming months could prove to be pivotal for the Middle East with a prospective conflict on Iranian proxies in Lebanon and Syria depending on the reactions of other geopolitical players like Russia, China and the EU. A war in the Middle East will further push up the Crude Oil prices benefiting Saudi Arabia, Russia and even the US who is now a prime producers and exporter. Things are going in sync with the desires of the Neo-Cons who framed the Axis of Evil Policy of the Bush Administration in the year 2000 which the Trump Administration is carrying forward. The point is further proved by Thursday night announcement of Trump to replace national security adviser HR McMaster by John Bolton, the hawkish former US ambassador to the United Nations. The rapid changes in President Trumps core team with an increasing number of hawks reflecting the dominance of the US Military Industrial Complex can only mean that the next conflict is on the horizon sooner than later. Notes: By Michael Milford, Professor, Queensland University of Technology Universal Pictures/Legendary Pacific Rim Uprising is the sequel to 2013s smash hit Pacific Rim, in which humanity united to create Jaegers (giant human-operated armoured robot machines, or mechas) to fight Kaiju (giant alien monsters, which rose from the ocean). While the first movie ended with humanity destroying the Breach - an inter-dimensional portal at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean through which the Kaiju were emerging - we find out that all is not well a decade later. Universal Studios/Legendary In Uprising, society has started to rebuild, but many city areas still lie in ruins and this is where Jake (John Boyega), the son of war hero Stacker Pentecost, thrives. He is joined by familiar characters - Mako (Rinko Kikuchi), scientists Hermann Gottlieb (Burn Gorman) and Newton Geiszler (Charlie Day), and new characters Amara (Cailee Spaeny) and Nate (Scott Eastwood). There are new plot twists and concepts, including new hybrid mecha-bio Jaeger drones and mind control. While Pacific Rim Uprising is definitely action-packed, there is still more to the movie than just giant robots fighting mega monsters. Characters are in parts more fully developed than in the first movie and theres humour in the form of one liners. But what of some of the new technologies and Kaiju shown? How plausible are they from a (forgiving) scientific perspective? Giant monsters, mechas and the square-cube law The biggest and heaviest creatures to ever walk on land were dinosaurs - with the largest sauropods like Argentinosaurus likely weighing in at more than 50 tonnes (weight estimation is an imperfect science). In the oceans, Blue Whales beat even dinosaurs with maximum weights of potentially up to 200 tonnes. Universal Studios/Legendary/Michael Rosskothen/Halina Koktysh/123rf.com/Michael Milford. But nothing has evolved (that we know of) that comes close to the size of the Kaiju in Pacific Rim. We havent built agile humanoid-like systems anywhere near as big as a Jaeger yet either - our only mobile machines that large are ponderous mining vehicles and the Space Shuttles Mobile Launcher Platform. One of the key reasons? The square-cube law. This law captures how the weight and volume of objects change as you make them bigger. Michael Milford If an animal is scaled up in all dimensions by a factor of two, its volume (and mass) goes up by a factor of eight (the cube of two). But the cross-sectional area of its muscles and bones (say the muscle in its legs) only goes up by four times. This is why large land animals (such as an elephant) generally look very different to small animals (such as a rat). So the depictions of both creature and machine in the movie require a departure from the physics of everything that weve seen in our world so far, something weve written about before for other monster movies. This same scaling law also applies to artificial constructs, such as the mechanical Jaegers. To be able to fight and move like they do in the movie, they would need to be made out of incredibly strong materials - perhaps some futuristic application of graphene. Verdict: Plausible only with futuristic materials science and out of this world biology - just like where the Kaiju come from! Heli dropping a Jaeger? Heavy lifting in process. (Universal Studios/Legendary) Both movies show Jaegers being carried around by futuristic rotorcraft. But what would it take to actually lift one? First we need to estimate the weight of a Jaeger. We can get a rough estimate by scaling up the 1.8 metre tall Atlas robot from Boston Dynamics to become an 80 metre tall Jaeger, and assuming that in this future we have access to new lightweight materials that weigh say four times less. Jaeger weight = 0.25 Atlas weight (Jaeger height / Atlas height)3 = 0.25 80kg (80 / 1.8)3 = 1,756 tonnes Ignoring details like the lifting efficiency of helicopters with an angled cable, we can see how many current heavy lift helicopters would be required. In real-life, the twin-engine Mi-26 can lift a payload of about 20 tonnes - so wed need about 1,756 / 20 = 88 of those. Maksym Dragunov/Andrei Dorogotovtsev/123rf.com/Universal Studios/Legendary To accomplish the feat shown in the movie of only six being required, theyd need to each have a payload capability of about 293 tonnes - which is more than that of the world record lift of 187.6 tonnes achieved in 2009 by the Antonov An-225. Verdict: Struggling to fly. How about rocket launching a Jaeger? The Jaegers are shown flying in the movie - propelled by some sort of rocket and new advanced rocket fuel based on Kaiju blood. But what if we did not have this new Kaiju-based blood rocket fuel? Up, up and away. (Universal Studios/Legendary) Could Elon Musk adapt his Falcon Heavy to do the job? The Falcon Heavy weighs about 1,420 tonnes at launch - not that much less than a Jaeger, but most of that weight is fuel, and it is a multi-stage rocket that jettisons parts of itself along the way. But it needs to get all the way to (and stay in) low Earth orbit, requiring a velocity change of more than 9km/s (thanks to the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation). In Uprising, the Gypsy Avenger Jaeger gains a lot of altitude but doesnt need to get up to the velocity required to stay in orbit, and hence wouldnt require as large a fraction of the weight to be fuel. The Jaeger propulsion system could also potentially be benefiting from advances in rocketry that lead to a greater effective exhaust velocity, further reducing the fraction of weight that would need to be taken up by fuel. Or they could just use nukes. Verdict: Elon could do it. Probably. Brain-machine interfaces The Jaegers are piloted by humans connected to them via a neural bridge called The Drift. In the first movie, Jaegers had two or more pilots, who had to be compatible with a close emotional or family tie - for example two brothers. Universal Studios/Legendary. In Uprising, there is a focus on starting young, training cadet kids to become pilots. So how close are we to this in reality? As one of us wrote in early 2017, the technology still has a fair way to go. But what about the potential appeal of using younger minds and using family members? I asked Queensland Brain Institute PhD student Angela Renton about it. Angela: A close, long-term relationship between BMI (Brain Machine Interface) co-pilots would probably improve performance. There are real-life BMI setups where two monkeys using their combined brain activity to control a robotic arm have better control when their brain activity is more correlated. Its also been shown that peoples brain activity becomes synchronised when they coordinate to perform joint actions. So two pilots with a long history of coordinating their actions might have more similar patterns of brain activity, and thus have better control over the Jaeger. So where are we at with Brain Machine Interfaces today? Angela: BMI technology is pretty impressive these days, but we have to trade off how much control wed like with how invasive our recording techniques are. With arrays of electrodes implanted on the brain, we can decode precise gestures, in near real-time. The average person probably isnt willing to undergo brain surgery just to control a BMI though. Non-invasive methods are more difficult to decode, but we can usually detect whether youre thinking of moving your left or right hand within about three seconds, and translate that into an action. So it seems, if advances in BMI technology were to continue into the future, a brain-controlled Jaeger may just be possible. Verdict: A credible control system. The verdict While it is hopefully unlikely that giant creatures will emerge from an interdimensional void to battle us, Pacific Rim Uprising previews a range of technologies that are likely to be a big part of humanitys future. The concept of humans and machines merging in ever more intimate ways, as in The Drift, is likely as scientists continue to push boundaries by combining artificial and natural intelligence. Universal Studios/Legendary Professor Michael Milford is a Chief Investigator at the Australian Centre for Robotic Vision, an Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Microsoft Research Faculty Fellow and Founding Director of the education startup Math Thrills Pty Ltd. He receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Queensland Government, Caterpillar Corporation, Mining3, Microsoft, the Asian Office of Aerospace Research and Development and AMP. James Mount does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. Originally published in The Conversation. virgo_girl_33 said: Thank you so much! I would have never found that! Click to expand... Generally only registered migration agent and immigration lawyers know where to find things like this. It's not really accessible to the general public. Photo courtesy of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. Commercial vehicle registrations in the European Union had a 5% improvement in February 2018 compared to what was reported during the same period in 2017, which was sustained by growth in several commercial vehicle segments, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said. Total commercial vehicle registrations in the EU for February were 173,385, and all of the largest markets in the union posted gains for the month, contributing to this growth, according to a release from ACEA. Spain showed the strongest increase for February, with a 17.9% growth, which was followed by Italy (5.7%), France, (4.2%), Germany (3.6%), and the U.K. (0.9%). Registrations for new light commercial vehicles in the EU were up 5.8% from February last year, and all major EU markets contributed to this upturn, according to the ACEA. This includes Spain, Germany, the U.K., Italy, and France. Meanwhile, registrations for new heavy commercial vehicles, over 17 tons, on the month increased 2.5% compared to last year, according to the ACEA. New medium and heavy commercial vehicles, over 3.9 tons, were 1% higher than last year. Growth in major markets, such as Spain, Italy, and France, helped contribute to this. Looking at the first two months into the year, commercial vehicle registrations in the EU market grew by 6.5% to reach 361,447 new registrations. Spain had a 16.6% growth and registrations for Italy grew by 10.3% in that span of time, said the ACEA. Meanwhile, Germanys market grew by 6.4% and France grew by 5.1%. Breaking down different segments during that span of time, the EU saw a 6.8% increase for light commercial vehicles compared to the same time in 2017, which was led by demand for vans in Spain, Italy, Germany and France. Meanwhile, registrations for new-heavy commercial vehicles, over 17 tons, grew 6.4% during the two month time frame, and new medium and heavy commercial vehicles, over 3.9 tons, grew 5.4%. Again, this growth was led with the help of major markets, including Spain, Italy, and France. Official opening with event on the future of regenerative medicine later in 2018 Waalre, The Netherlands, March 23, 2018 / B3C newswire / -- Medical technology company IME Technologies, developer, producer and scientific partner in the field of biomedical electro spinning processes and equipment, has moved its operations from Geldrop to a significantly larger facility in Waalre with effect from 26 March. IME's state-of-the-art technology enables scientists to develop medical implants that help the human body to repair itself, such as heart valves, blood vessels, nerves, tendons, skin and bone. IME is a world leader in this field. Later this year (September 2018) IME Technologies will officially open the new facility during an event themed 'The future of regenerative medicine'. In the new IME building at the Van Dijklaan in Waalre, the company will have the ability to, according to the highest standards, not only produce its electro spinning machines autonomously, but also the actual extracellular matrices or scaffolds for the intended medical implants. These are developed by IME in close collaboration with various partners. The company has a growing number of customers and partners worldwide in industry, science and medical institutes. IME's technological solutions are able to mimic the natural human extracellular matrix for implants in the human body in nanometer format, applying specific polymers. Human cells attach to this matrix leading to new body tissue. This is in contrast to implants of traditional structures, which are seen as foreign and therefore can be rejected or lead to scar tissue. New address IME Technologies Van Dijklaan 6 5581 WG Waalre The Netherlands +31 40 28 27 956 www.imetechnologies.com About IME Technologies IME Technologies develops and implements electro spin processes and equipment for the manufacturing of medical devices for (regenerative) medicine. Electro spinning is a flexible process for producing extremely thin fibres and structures that have excellent properties for use in regenerating human tissue. IME Technologies has developed unique electro spin technology for the reproducible and scalable production of electro spun material under medical conditions. Customers include industry, scientists and institutions. Shareholders in the company are Dutch economic development company De Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij (BOM) and informal investor network TIIN Capital (TIIN). Contacts IME Technologies, Waalre, The Netherlands Judith Heikoop M.Sc. Ph.D. +31 (0)40 28 27 956 j.heikoop@ imetechnologies.nl LifeSpring Life Sciences Communication, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Leon Melens +31 (0)6 538 16 427 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 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. A 17-year-old Armwood High School student was arrested on March 22 after he threatened to bring a firearm to school use it following a verbal altercation with a teacher. Student threatened to "bring the strap" Student had been investigated twice before for similar comments Student arrested without incident Officials said the student, who we are not identifying in accordance with our crime guidelines, made the statement during his second period reading class. According to witnesses, he said, "I'm going to bring the strap tomorrow and let it off." A "strap" is a slang term for a firearm. Deputies said the student had been investigated on two separate occasions for issuing similar statements. In each instance, the student's threats proved to be unfounded. The student was charged with false report concerning planting a bomb, explosive, or weapon of mass destruction, or concerning the use of firearms in a violent manner, a felony. He was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail without incident. UPDATE - Friday, March 23, 2018: 6:38 p.m. The jury vote in the sentencing of Marco Parilla was, in fact, 10 - 2 in favor death. Due to Florida law, which states that a death sentence must be unanimous, Parilla's sentence is now life in prison. 6:24 p.m. The jury in the Marco Parilla trial sentenced Parilla to death for the 2014 shooting death of Tarpon Springs Police Officer Charles Kondek. PREVIOUS STORY The man who pleaded guilty to killing a Tarpon Springs police officer in 2014 took the stand in his sentencing trial Thursday and apologized to the officer's family. Sentencing phase continues in Marco Parilla trial He pleaded guilty in October in slaying of Officer Charles Kondek Parilla said to Kondek's father 'I'm sorry for taking your son away' PREVIOUS: Cop killer's mother takes stand in Marco Parilla sentencing With his body visibly shaking, 27-year-old Marco Parilla addressed Charles Kondek's wife and children, his father, and other police officers in the department. "I'm sorry for taking your son away," Parilla said when asked what he would like to say to the father. "I never meant to. I'm sorry from the bottom of my heart. And I know it wasnt supposed to be this way. I wish I could take it back. Every second of my life I wish I could take it back." It was just a few days before Christmas in 2014 when Kondek was checking out a noise complaint at a Tarpon Springs apartment complex Parilla shot and killed him. He pleaded guilty last fall and could get the death penalty. Im sorry for taking away your son...I wish I could take it back -Cop killer Marco Parilla on the stand @BN9 pic.twitter.com/gHKgl5sham Cait McVey (@CaitMcVey) March 22, 2018 The defense would like the jury to believe Parilla has been sorry ever since. His attorneys showed a video in court Thursday of Parilla talking to reporters shortly after his arrest. "I apologize to the family," he said in the video. "That was not my intention." But during cross examination, the state leaned into Parilla and eventually got him to admit he is willing to say anything if it means staying off of death row. "You're not going to tell them to kill you. You're going to tell them whatever you've got to tell them to make a recommendation of life as opposed to death, aren't you," a member of the prosecution said. The state is expected to call another witness Friday, and then both sides will give closing arguments. A reward of up to $1,000 is being offered for information leading to an arrest of the person who has been calling in repeated bomb threats to a Hernando County high school. Person reporting threats at Central High sought Reward offered for info leading to arrest Five bomb threats reported at school this week PREVIOUS STORIES: Another bomb threat at Brooksville Central High Hernando County school on lockdown after 2nd bomb threat today Central High School has had five bomb threats this week, two of which occurred on Wednesday. After each threat the school was placed on lock down while officers did a sweep of the campus. Each time, no threat to safety was found. Officials are now trying to reassure parents and students the school is safe. "Students, we want you to come and attend Central High School. We will be operating on a normal schedule and law enforcement will be present and continue our partnership with law enforcement," Superintendent Dr. Lori Romano said. Sheriff Al Nienhuis added, "Parents we know you're concerned. We're parents ourselves and we know how concerning it is when you think your children might be in a dangerous situation, but I can assure you all the bomb threats thus far have been determined to be hoaxes. We have not found anything at the campus to indicated an actual threat." The sheriff's office said they're on the right track to making an arrest. And if the suspect is a minor, they will work to charge the person as an adult. In this case, she's able to draw out and sensationalize the story of a man with a cracked car windshield being chased at high speed by a... For Immediate Release, March 23, 2018 Contact: Shaye Wolf, (415) 385-5746, swolf@biologicaldiversity.org Wildlife in Danger as Arctic Sea Ice Maximum Hits Near Record Low Trump Administration Recently Blocked Protections for Pacific Walrus SAN FRANCISCO Scientists at NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center confirmed today that this winters Arctic maximum sea ice extent was the second-lowest ever recorded. The announcement comes months after the Trump administration blocked endangered species protection for the ice-dependent Pacific walrus. This is devastating news for Arctic wildlife like polar bears and walruses that depend on sea ice for survival, said Shaye Wolf, climate science director at the Center for Biological Diversity. Because of our failure to rein in carbon pollution, these amazing animals are suffering as their habitat melts away even faster than we predicted. But the Trump administration is failing to protect them. Without strong action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution, projections indicate that summer sea ice will disappear in the next decade or two. If sea ice loss continues unabated, scientists estimate that polar bears will be drastically reduced across their range by mid-century and ultimately disappear. Following the Centers 2008 petition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined in 2011 that the Pacific walrus warranted protection under the Endangered Species Act. Officials concluded that climate change would destroy the walruss habitat and shrink its population. But in October the Trump administration reversed the determination and denied the walrus protection. The Center recently filed a lawsuit challenging this decision. Making a dire situation worse, the Trump administration is dismantling critical climate policies while blocking protection for the ice-dependent Pacific walrus, Wolf said. With every wake-up call we ignore, we inch closer to losing these creatures forever. For Immediate Release, March 22, 2018 Contact: Catherine Thomasson, (503) 819-1170, cthomasson@biologicaldiversity.org Texas Growth Spurt Increases Pressure on Imperiled Wildlife Climate Change, Sprawl, Threats to Family Planning Services Amplify Impact of Growing Population DALLAS U.S. Census Bureau data released today shows that Dallas-Fort Worth is the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the United States, increasing pressure on endangered species in the region such as whooping cranes and Texas horned lizards. Six of the 10 fastest-growing counties in the United States are in Texas, with other southwest counties Maricopa County, Ariz., Clark County, Nev. and Riverside County, Calif. taking the top three spots on the list, raising concern for imperiled wildlife already stressed by habitat loss, drought and climate-driven extreme weather events. Soaring human populations are putting incredible pressure on endangered animals in Texas and across the Southwest, said Catherine Thomasson, MD, population campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity. We're crowding out wildlife and destroying wild places at an alarming pace. To protect imperiled creatures, we need smart planning that fully accounts for the growing human impact on other species. Cities and counties in Texas, as well as other rapidly growing areas, can take steps to reduce the impact of population growth by supporting land-use and smart-growth policies that protect habitat and water resources, transitioning to wildlife-friendly renewable energy sources and increasing access to contraception and reproductive healthcare. Texas has one of the highest unintended pregnancy rates in the country and the highest rate of people lacking health insurance. Only 10 percent of the need for publicly funded family planning services is currently met in the state. Family planning, education and access to affordable contraception are crucial factors in addressing unsustainable population growth. People in Texas and across the country deserve full access to contraception, reproductive healthcare and family planning services, Thomasson said. These are basic human rights, and they are critical to tackling the problem of unsustainable population growth. New Wolves May Be Reintroduced to Michigan's Isle Royale In Michigan's Isle Royale National Park, wolves have roamed for 70 years, having crossed a frozen lake from the mainland in the 1940s. But by this winter, with the warming climate keeping ice from forming and few wolves coming out from the mainland, their population had been reduced to two: a father and daughter. So last Friday the National Park Service announced a proposal to relocate 20 to 30 gray wolves to the island. After a one-month public-comment period, the agency will make a final decision. "Restoring wolves to their pivotal role in Isle Royale National Park is the right thing to do," said Center wolf specialist Michael Robinson. "Wolves, moose and vegetation are all part of a balanced ecosystem in the park, but the near-absence of wolves has been disastrous for both moose and vegetation." Read more in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Thor Halvorssen, president and CEO of the Human Rights Foundation The Oslo Freedom Forum marks its 10th anniversary this year. What would you say are some of its greatest achievements over the last decade as a networking platform for advancing human rights? This year, OFF has added Johannesburg to its satellite itinerary. Why here and why now? We've just had a "new dawn" heralded by President Cyril Ramaphosa after a lengthy period of ongoing corruption and state capture by capitalist influences. Many South Africans put their faith in the law to address such issues but not much was done over eight to nine years and apathy became the order of the day. What are the best ways in which a citizenry can hold its government accountable when its institutions fail them? How would you describe the state of human rights in Africa in the 21st century? Which countries stand out on either end of the spectrum and how did the nations that have it right get it right? We interviewed Thor Halvorssen , president and CEO of the HRF, to find out more about the forum and some of its achievements thus far, as well as the state of human rights in Africa in the 21st century.The greatest achievements are the meaningful connections that we facilitate at OFF. For example, Somali anti-FGM advocate Leyla Hussein and Pakistani womens rights advocate Maria Toorpakai spoke on the main stage at Lincoln Center at OFFinNY last year. Since then, they were invited as official panelists at the 2018 SXSW festival that took place on 12 March in Austin, Texas. This is the worlds largest interactive festival and exposes Leyla and Maria to a huge new audience of creatives, media, and foundations looking to make a positive difference in the world.Similarly, as a result of OFF, the North Korean defector Ji Seong-ho was profiled in a short video bythat received more than 640,000 views. His story about how he went from a near-death experience on the North Korean border to freedom in South Korea, and to his work today rescuing North Koreans stuck in China and sending information and truth into North Korea by radio inspired thousands of people and has helped educate the world about how to assist the North Korean people. Earlier this year, Ji Seong-hos story of endurance and survival was mentioned in the State of the Union speech by the president of the United States before the US congress.These are only two of dozens of examples over the last 10 years. Through this period, HRF has successfully organised nine Oslo Freedom Forums in Norway, two of them in San Francisco and one in New York. In addition, close to ten College Freedom Forums in schools that include Yale University, Stanford University, Tufts University, and Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala. During these events, HRF successfully gathered more than 6,000 audience members, live-streamed content to more than 100,000 people, triggered more than 1,000 unique mainstream media articles about the Freedom Forum and our speakers, and earned more than 3,600,000 online views of our videos.In 2017, HRF established a collaboration with the Nelson Mandela Foundation to bring the Oslo Freedom Forum to South Africa in 2018, the 100th anniversary of Mandelas birth. So were standing by our word and making this happen. Also, we only do Oslo Freedom Forums in democracies and only 13 out of the 54 countries in Africa are democracies according to our classification.Unfortunately, liberal democracy is eroding in the world. According to HRFs own research, 95 of approximately 193 countries in the world are currently ruled by authoritarian regimes. As global citizens, whether in Africa or in North America, we have a responsibility to counter this trend and protect and promote the basic freedoms and individual liberties that are fundamental to a liberal democratic system.In order to fulfill our mission to promote freedom and democracy with a focus on closed societies, HRF has taken on classifying all countries in the world with an aim to distinguish democratic from authoritarian regimes. According to HRFs current numbers, the world currently has 111 democratic regimes, which account for 47% of the worlds population or over 3.5-billion people; 42 competitive authoritarian regimes accounting to almost 16% of world population or almost 1.2-billion people; and 55 full-fledged dictatorships that oppress up to 2.8-billion people or 30% of the worlds countries.For HRF, democratic regimes are governments that, despite their governance shortcomings, economic conditions or personality of their leaders, govern with respect for the rule of law and the separation of powers, thus allowing large degrees of civil and political liberty and competition, which are best demonstrated by the existence of an independent judiciary, a vibrantly critical free press, an empowered political opposition, and periodic electoral contests that are both free and fair. Authoritarian regimes, on the other hand, deny these basic rights to their citizens either significantly or totally, while turning their polities into closing or closed societies.When regimes deny political rights significantly but allow for small amounts of political competition, HRF considers these governments to be competitive-authoritarian regimes following the widely accepted definition proposed by Harvard University professor and former Oslo Freedom Forum speaker Steven Levitsky and Toronto University professor Lucan A. Way, in their book. When political rights are denied fully, HRF considers these regimes to be full-fledged authoritarian or dictatorial.Democratic governments are in no way perfect and are as susceptible to corruption as authoritarian regimes are. But what ultimately sets democracies apart from authoritarian governments is that people have the freedom to hold those in power accountable for their actions, and there is a political opposition with a right to criticise and change government policy. Corruption is one of the factors that can make a government slide into populism and eventually into full-fledged authoritarianism, so it is important that the media and public intellectuals generally search for the truth, whether popular or not, on every public policy issue they expose and debate in the court of public opinion.Even with historical challenges so grand as the ones South Africa has had to face due to the horrendous, authoritarian policy of Apartheid, a democratic countrys institutions, political leadership, and the free press, have the duty to address the results of this shameful legacy and continue to move forward through sensible and smart public policy that benefits the general welfare of the country while protecting the civil and political rights of all citizens, not just those in office at a particular point in time.If people, as you say, have lost their faith in the law, there are alternative avenues for them to hold the government accountable. Apart from the courts, vibrant civil society groups can mobilise action on a wide variety of issues, and push for transparency from the government. Advocacy campaigns being carried out by an engaged civil society will ensure that there is a well-informed and educated citizenry that will be equipped to hold the government accountable when institutions fail them.Citizens can also take advantage of the freedom of the press. Media outlets and investigative journalism are tools that citizens can use to expose government corruption and reinforce the work that is being done by civil society groups.Citizens living under authoritarian regimes do not have the luxury of this freedom, so they largely lack the ability to organise as you are still able to organise here in South Africa. And these, the stories of the perils and evils of dictatorship, are the stories that attendees will hear at the Oslo Freedom Forum.Unfortunately, instead of moving into liberal democratic governance, a large part of post-colonial Africa has fallen into the grip of many brutal homegrown dictators, some of which have for decades enslaved their own people, promoted genocide, installed dynasties and devoted themselves to outright kleptocracy. Eritreas Isaias Afwerki, Equatorial Guineas Teodoro Obiang, Ugandas Yoweri Museveni, Chads Idriss Deby, Cameroons Paul Biya, Swazilands King Mswati III, Sudans Omar al-Bashir, the Republic of Congos Sassou-Nguesso, and Zimbabwes recently ousted Robert Mugabe are among the disastrous lineup of dictators that have ruled over the continent over the past few decades.As HRF board member, former OFF speaker, and Ghanaian economist George Ayittey has put it in the past, Africa is poor because she is not free, and he has asserted that the corruption of autocrats and the complacency of citizens are the bedrock problems in the majority of African states. As with most authoritarian leaders around the world, African leaders have maintained their rule by brutally cracking down on dissenting and opposition voices and extending or abolishing presidential term limits.But even with the presence of these notorious dictators in Africa, there are still 13 democracies in Africa, including South Africa, which leaves open the prospects of further democratisation throughout the continent.There are also 19 competitive authoritarian regimes in Africa in where there are elections, but the opposition cannot compete on an equal footing as the ruling party. These regimes have the chance to transit back into democracies.In 2016, Yahya Jammeh, who ruled over the Gambia for 22 years, was surprisingly defeated in the presidential election. In 2017, Kenya experienced a presidential rerun after opposition candidate Raila Odinga challenged the election results of the August presidential election results in court. Although incumbent president Uhuru Kenyatta was still re-elected in October 2017, the fact that a rerun did take place reveals that the court was able to rule against the government and the opposition did have some ability to meaningfully compete.The military coup against Robert Mugabe and his 37-year rule shows that while authoritarian leaders have dominated over Africa, their rule can and hopefully will soon come to an end. ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast - For the sixth consecutive year, the Africa CEO Forum will honour the economic performance of leaders, companies and investors in Africa, with awards for company of the year, CEOs, entrepreneurs and new startups. Africa CEO Forum. CEO OF THE YEAR YOUNG CEO OF THE YEAR AFRICAN COMPANY OF THE YEAR PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTOR OF THE YEAR INTERNATIONAL COMPANY OF THE YEAR CSR STRATEGY OF THE YEAR MOST PROMISING COMPANY OF THE YEAR A new award is the Most Promising Company of the Year award, which recognises the continent's most promising startup.Each year, the Africa CEO Forum awards recognises the leaders, companies and investors whose strategies and performance have contributed most to the momentum of Africa's growth over the past year.In 2018, there is an injection of innovation in the Africa CEO Forum awards with the launch of the Most Promising Company of the Year award which turns the spotlight on the continent's startups.To win this award, five young companies at the forefront of innovation will present their projects to a jury comprising specialist investors: IFC, TLCom and Omidyar. The startups in the running are: Morocco's Omniup, which offers free Wi-Fi access once an advertisement has been viewed; Senegal's InTouch, which has developed a mobile money platform; Kenya's Twiga Foods, which connects farmers and vendors for the sale of fresh produce; Kenya's Africa's Talking, which offers communication services (SMS and voice APIs, etc); and Nigeria's Thrive Agric, which offers, among other things, technological solutions to improve agricultural yields.Another innovation this year is the CSR Strategy of the Year award, in partnership with Bureau Veritas. This trophy rewards a company that has implemented a high impact social and environmental responsibility policy in Africa.In total, seven awards will be handed out at the 2018 Africa CEO Forum award ceremony, to one of the following finalists in each category:1. Jim Ovia, CEO, Zenith Bank2. James Mwangi, CEO, Equity Bank3. Mohamed El-Kettani, CEO, Attijariwafa Bank4. Kate Kanyi Tometi Fotso, CEO, Telcar Cocoa5. Strive Masiyiwa, Founder and Chairman, Econet Group6. Abdulsamad Rabiu, Founder and Chairman, BUA Group7. Nadia Fettah, MD, Saham Finances1. Basil El-Baz, CEO, Carbon Holdings2. Amy Jadesimi, MD, LADOL3. Ally Edha Awadh, CEO, Lake Oil Group4. Darshan Chandaria, CEO, Chandaria Group5. Aboubakar Sidiki Fofana, CEO, MATA Holding6. Youssef Chraibi, CEO, OUTSOURCIA1. NSIA2. Sahara Group3. Mansour Group4. Ethiopian Airlines5. Groupe ETRHB Haddad6. FirstRand Bank7. Sanlam1. Actis Capital2. AfricInvest3. Amethis4. Helios Investment Partners5. Carlyle Group6. Emerging Capital Partners1. Olam International Ltd2. Yara International3. Seaboard Corporation4. Huawei5. Kosmos Energy6. Unilever1. SIFCA2. OCP3. Sonatel4. Woolworths5. COSUMAR6. Safaricom1. InTouch2. Omniup3. Africa's Talking4. Twiga Foods5. Thrive AgricThe Africa CEO Forum is organised by Jeune Afrique Media Group, the publisher of Jeune Afrique and The Africa Report, and by Rainbow Unlimited, a Swiss company specialised in event organisation and economic promotion.With the success of its 2017 edition, which welcomed almost 1,200 business leaders from Africa and the world, the Africa CEO Forum has established itself as the main international event for the African private sector to discuss the continent's development in a highly professional environment ideal for business networking.The 2018 edition is co-hosted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group).Source: African Media Agency (AMA) This year marks the 15th anniversary of the Tarifa-Tangier African Film Festival (FCAT). The actor Emilio Buale stands out in the official poster for the edition 2018 of the FCAT which has been presented in Madrid. FCAT has turned into a unique platform for the dissemination of African cinema in the Spanish-speaking countries across the world. The festival, which last year was attended by 13,000 spectators, has managed to show the diverse and rich realities of this continent from the perspective of African filmmakers.At the 15edition launch event held in Madrid, the director of the festival, Mane Cisneros, announced that FCAT 2018 will take place from 27 April to 5 May 2018 in Tarifa, Spain and Tangier, Morocco. She also highlighted that this event "fulfills the old dream of linking two continents through culture, becoming the only transboundary and transcontinental film event held simultaneously in Europe and in Africa.The mayor of Tarifa, Francisco Ruiz Giraldez, for whom culture is "the best tool" for dialogue, pointed out that "to believe in cultural partnerships, in the attractive aspect of borders, means to invest time and resources". Ruiz added that, "15 years are little time to change social practices, but it is a start to soften the borders".The FCAT 2018 official poster, which was unveiled during the presentation, makes a strong call to give more visibility to Black Spanish artists in cinema, performing arts and music. The person depicted in the poster is the Spanish actor Emilio Buale, who began his career in Imanol Uribes film Bwana, and symbolises the 15 years of festival and its major role to multiply the reach of African film productions.According to Cisneros, "FCAT has become a school for experts in African Cinema in Spain.In fact, cinema involving Spains afro-descendants will be the centre of attention during The Palaver Tree, an event enabling dialogue between the public, the festivals guests and the media, which has been held for six editions as part of the festivals programme, with the sponsorship of the ACERCA Programme of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID).As in previous years, the Palaver Tree will continue to offer a space and time to meet up, share knowledge and exchange points of view between actors and film professionals from Africa and those of the diaspora in Spain, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Portugal.The aim of this meeting is to create networks that may lead to future joint projects between Africa and the diaspora in Europe.In the Palaver Tree, the complexity of the film industry and its different realities will be discussed by filmmakers like Fred Kudjo Kuwornu, Italy-Ghana; Santiago Zannou, Spain-Benin, and Newton Aduaka, United Kingdom-Nigeria; actors Iris Peynado, Italy-Dominican Republic; Angelo Torres, Portugal-Guinea Bissau; Armando Buika, Spain-Equatorial Guinea; and Emilio Buale, Spain-Equatorial Guinea; among others.Poetry, theatre and a contemporary flamenco show by Yinka Esi Graves, United Kingdom-Ghana, will be the icing on the cake.FCAT 2018 will devote a retrospective to the historic Moroccan filmmaker Ahmad Bouanani (1938-2011), who was born in Casablanca and studied cinema at the Institut des Hautes Etudes Cinematographiques (IDHEC) in Paris. Bouanani did not only work as a director, but also as an editor and a screenwriter for other Moroccan filmmakers, in addition to publishing several volumes of poetry. This retrospective was presented for the first time at the Berlinale in 2017.The complete programme of FCAT 2018 will be available at the beginning of April. SINGAPORE, Asia - Internet giants Facebook and Google on Thursday testified before a parliamentary committee in Singapore as they warned the city-state against introducing new laws to combat "fake news", saying that existing legislation is adequate to address the problem. Their warnings were made to a parliamentary committee which is examining possible measures, including legislation, to tackle false online information which the government says could threaten national security.Executives from Facebook, Google and Twitter appeared before the committee Thursday, and are among scores of experts, academics and activists called to testify over eight days.The financial hub is among several countries looking at legislation to rein in fake news but critics have cautioned this could be used to curb free speech. The Singapore government has denied it is trying to restrict free speech.In a submission given to the committee before testifying, Alvin Tan, Facebook's head of public policy in Southeast Asia, said: "We do not believe that legislation is the best approach to addressing the issue."Singapore already has a variety of existing laws and regulations which address hate speech, defamation and the spreading of false news."His comments came as Facebook is embroiled in a privacy scandal following revelations that British data analysis firm Cambridge Analytica exploited the personal data of millions of users of the social network.Facebook's Asia-Pacific vice president for public policy Simon Milner admitted during the hearing that the social media giant could have told users earlier that their data had been breached by Cambridge Analytica between 2014 and 2015."That's one of the lessons for us, as to why we're now going to audit all other apps and not just going to take their affirmation... that they have deleted data and not passed it on," he said.Google also raised concerns about a fake news law, saying in a written submission that "an effective way of combating misinformation is through educating citizens on how to distinguish reliable from unreliable information".Instead of legislation, it called for "promoting quality journalism to ensure that there is a robust network of fact-checking organisations providing reliable information and debunking falsehoods".Wrapping up a nearly three-hour exchange with Milner that got heated at times, committee member and law and home affairs minister K. Shanmugam said the government saw the tech giants as "partners"."We see you as partners, but we do not accept some characterisations of what you think you can do... some areas of concern we need to explore very carefully," he said.The committee has received views from 164 people on combating fake news. After the hearings, which are scheduled to end next week, it will make recommendations to MPs within months.Legislation is among the options under examination by the committee, and no details about any possible law have been made public."Given the alarming legislative precedents in the city-state, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) shares the deep concern that Singaporean defenders of the freedom to inform have expressed about this proposed law, which they suspect will be yet another tool for censoring dissent," said Daniel Bastard, the head of RSF's Asia-Pacific desk.Domestic media is tightly controlled in Singapore, and the country is ranked 151 out of 180 in the World Press Freedom Index by RSF. A number one ranking is the best. While Day Zero may be avoided altogether this year, Cape Town's Airbnb hosts are going to great lengths to save water and educate their guests about the water restrictions in place. They are now looking ahead to collectively rethink how to best host in a city where "hosting responsibly" has taken on new meaning and where water shortages will become the "new normal". Cold showers, fast showers Image Supplied Low-flow water saving showerhead Image Supplied Spring water Image Supplied Creating a sense of accountability Image Supplied A lot of information about the water crisis Image Supplied Sharing is caring With the World Water Day on 22 March, the Cape Town Home Sharing Club asked hosts across the city to meet again to discuss creative ideas and best practices for water saving and more than 100 hosts showed up. The main theme was encouraging guests to live like a local, both prior to their arrival but also during their stay. With hosts and guests empowered to save water, the Airbnb community plays an important role in fighting the drought:Nathan, host in Camps Bay: In order to use as little water as possible, I take cold showers so I shower faster. I encourage all my guests to have cold showers, too, to help save water. I want to set a good example and give my guests the opportunity to create an understanding of water scarcity while they are staying at my home.Herald, host in Helen Selle: We have managed to reduce our water use to 87 litres for three people per day in our household, which is significantly lower than the 150 litres per day the city recommends for a household of three. The low-flow water saving showerhead that Airbnb has provided us with helped us with reducing our water usage. When my guests arrive, I show them the water saving device and explain how to use it to help them save water.Judy and James, hosts in Cape Town: Together with our guests, we collect our drinking water from the spring. This helps our guests understand how important it is to save water and encourages them to be mindful of their water usage while they are staying with us in our home in Cape Town.Caitlin, host in Tamboerskloof and co-host in Greenpoint: I message all my guests before their arrival to inform them about best ways to save water. I think it is very important to educate my guests on water saving to create a sense of accountability. One thing I ask them to do is collect the water when taking a shower in the buckets I provide and use that water to flush the toilet. Its a simple way of saving water that makes a big difference in fighting the drought.Lameez, host in Thornton: I provide all my guests with a lot of information about the water crisis before they arrive, so they understand that they are responsible for their water usage. I want them to understand why it is so important to follow my strict guidelines about saving water when they stay at my home, for example not flushing the toilet every time. I also braided my hair, so I only have to wash it every second week.Tracey, host in Cape Town: The water crisis has brought the community closer together - not only my guests and me, but also my neighbourhood. I have been giving my well point water to the retirement home across the road, as their water is often cut off. To reduce the amount of washing laundry, I am asking my returning guests to bring their own towels, and I have made my home available for booking with a minimum of five nights. Our 2019 canvas is now open, book your ideal advertising space today! Jewellery Legal Advice & Ceremonies Health & Beauty Bridal Wear Grooms Wear Co-ordination & Decor Venues Flowers Catering Entertainment Photography & Videography Honeymoon Destinations Receptions Front Cover Competition Bridal Index Bridal Planner Events Training Indaba Trade Fair Oakfield Bridal Fair NWJ Bridal Experience The Wedding Expo Rain Farm Bridal Fair Brahman Hills Bizcommunity Social media - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram All advertisers, spread across South Africa. Boasting 32 editions of success,'s upcoming 2019 (33rd) edition is an ideal opportunity for you to get your brand out there!Themagazine is distributed for free at various bridal fairs as well as business expos across South Africa! The 2018 (32nd) edition ofsaw its debut at the NWJ Bridal Experience hosted at the Durban Exhibition Centre. The event saw future brides, grooms, friends and family flock in by the thousands with each and every one of them receiving a copy ofas they entered.is also distributed at exhibitions such as The Indaba and The Wedding Expo held in Durban, as well as the Oakfield's Bridal Fair in Gauteng.The annual coffee-table publication has become wildly popular due to its up-to-date content, covering the latest bridal trends! From basic etiquette to creative catering, colourful receptions, bridal beauty and glamorous gowns,has it all! This well-compiled and informative bridal magazine has proven to be a handheld guide to brides all around the country!The magazine comprises inspirational photographs of real brides, grooms and big-day celebrations! A winning combination of enduring quality, top-class content and visual appeal have madean indispensable tool for brides-to-be, as well as the best platform for advertisers to reach their niche market. Themagazine is also available online in an e-book format at no extra cost to the advertisers. Web, email and Facebook addresses are all hyperlinked, driving valued traffic to your various marketing platforms. The press release of the e-book is done on Bizcommunity, Ananzi and Brabys.com with a total reach of about 10 million monthly page views! We offer fantastic social media exposure with theFacebook page being in excess of 19,000 followers, as well as our Twitter and Instagram pages being in excess of 4,000 followers!A few of the key categories brides are able to find inInternational:Gauteng:KwaZulu-Natal:Online:Advertisers:With such a wide reach and maximum exposure on offer, can you really afford not to be a part ofContact Carol Spalding ( az.oc.sybarb@slorac ) for all yourneeds! This company article has been removed. Any business that sends out email marketing campaigns may need to comply with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or face legal sanction. With the GDPR coming into effect on 25 May, this leaves business very little time to get their houses in order if they haven't started already. Vasily Merkushev via 123RF.com Comes down to consent Take steps to comply The GDPR is an EU data protection directive that any business which provides a service inside the EU has to comply with. Given the global and virtual nature of many business transactions in the internet era, it is often difficult to establish where a customer or potential customer resides or to determine where the service takes place. It is this that makes the GDPR applicable to South African businesses.The crux of the matter comes down to consent do you as a business need to have consent from a person in order to send them email marketing? And if so, have you obtained it in a manner which the GDPR considers satisfactory?Determining whether or not you require consent is relatively simple. You do not need consent from customers with whom you communicate as part of providing a contracted service, for example by sending statements, invoices, and so on. You do require consent from someone who has signed up to receive marketing communications from you but otherwise has no legal relationship with your business.The purpose of the GDPR is to force businesses to be transparent and careful while processing personal information when providing services in the EU, regardless of where it is processed or whether the data subject is a citizen. The type of information protected under this legislation is broad: identity, contact, banking, medical, employment, education. The definition of processing is also broad - anything from collecting, storing, using and sharing.As such, the GDPR requires you to have consent from people in order to send them marketing communications, and it requires you to have a record of their explicit agreement (ie opt-in not opt-out) and to be able to show when and how they gave their consent and what they agreed to receive.If your business sends email marketing communications that may result in a service being delivered in the EU, then the safest approach is to act as if the GDPR does apply to you and take steps to comply.You have two options here - get hold of everyone on your marketing databases and get their explicit consent or go through your database and remove everyone for whom you do not have recorded, explicit consent before the 25 May deadline.If you aim to contact everyone, there are two important things you need to know. Firstly, you need to ask them opt-in, not to opt-out so communications must explicitly ask if the customer wants to switch on not switch off marketing communications from you. Secondly, if you have no record of how someone got onto your marketing database, emailing them to get their permission is illegal, even before the GDPR comes into effect. Flybe and Honda , to name two, are being fined for doing such.Youre probably going to take a hit on your database as the majority of your current base will likely ignore your request and you will have to remove them. On the other hand, this gives you a golden opportunity to start building a legitimate database of people who are genuinely interested in receiving information on your products and services, obtained through a legally compliant process.Not complying, by the way, could land you with a fine of up to 4% of annual global turnover or 20m (whichever is the larger) for breaching the regulations in the GDPR. Retired Justice Dikgang Moseneke's opening paragraph in his Life Esidimeni ruling sums up the horror of case. He says, "This is a harrowing account of the death, torture and disappearance of utterly vulnerable mental health users in the care of an admittedly delinquent provincial government . It is the story of the searing and public anguish of the families of the affected mental health users and of the collective shock and pain of many other caring people in our land and elsewhere in the world. These inhuman narratives were rehearsed before me..." Compensation and culpability Cost-cutting vs cost-effective Mosenekes ruling was handed down this week following public hearings which began in October last year. They came after revelations that 144 mental health patients who were moved from Life Esidemeni to outside facilities died because of improper and negligent care. A further 44 patients are still unaccounted for. The remaining 1,418 patients who were also moved are likely to be indefinitely traumatised.The arbitration hearings were part of an agreed to alternate dispute resolution process instead of approaches with individual claims or class action lawsuits.He says, however, the process resulted in two aspects which much be explored.The first is the issue of compensation. Each family who lost a loved one will be awarded approximately R1.2m.The principle of compensation is undisputed as it forms part of a case of (medical) malpractice. In this instance the malpractice was medically, and also socially, abhorrent and the quantum of the award has been determined by Justice Moseneke as being proper, explains Dr Mzukisi Grootboom, chair of the South African Medical Association (Sama).He says the second aspect that warrants comment is that of culpability. In effect 144 people, perhaps more, died after being entrusted to the care of a provincial health department. Many, such as the former MEC for Health in the province, Qedani Mahlangu, claimed a lack of foresight of the consequences of their decision. This was wholly rejected by Moseneke and correctly so.In our view, culpability in this instance has two components: professional and criminal. Professional culpability warrants the full processes by the relevant statutory bodies of the professionals involved, including the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and the South African Nursing Counicl (SANC). Why these bodies have been slow to act to date, especially in such a publicised hearing, is inexplicable.Sama would like to remind doctors that their primary responsibility is the welfare and safety of their patients. This applies whether they are administrators or active clinicians as long as their decisions will impact on the patients.According to him, criminal culpability has also been alluded to in the judgment and suggests the South African Police Service (Saps) investigate the matter. A full record of the proceedings has been provided to them and they, along with other organs of the justice system, need to do their job and provide a prosecutorial docket to the National Prosecuting Authority for consideration.If government can set aside resources for the hearings, resources must be provided for the justice system to conclude its investigation. The intriguing question to consider is whether, given the rejection of the lack of foresight argument by several key players, a charge of murder, dolus eventualis, is apt?Intent, in the manner of dolus eventualis - or legal intention - is considered when the perpetrator objectively can foresee the possibility of their act causing death and they persist regardless of the consequences. This is a question that warrants consideration in court especially in the light of numerous appeals by not only the families of the deceased but also by several professional bodies, mental health experts and civil society organisations to the highest health officials in the province not to implement their deadly plan .He adds that if the test of culpability fails, what happened at Life Esidemeni is doomed to be repeated.In a sense we have done this before. The death of Steve Bantu Biko was an act where practitioners, and others, failed in their duty. There was no culpability and hence we have done it again. Those entrusted with the care of the vulnerable must understand that there are consequences to actions that cause harm, suffering or death, Grootboom says.He adds that an important take-away from the hearings is the dispelling of the notion of cost-cutting as being cost effective.We were told the reason for moving the patients in the first place was to save costs, or because the Gauteng Department of Health was pressured from the auditor-general. Expedience in healthcare cost lives, and cost-cutting and cost efficiency are two very different notions. One affects quality, the other shouldnt. In our current climate of austerity, let us remind ourselves of the victims of cost-cutting, and practitioners need to remember their only responsibility is to the wellbeing of patients, concludes Grootboom. The world's top experts on tobacco and health gathered at a conference in South Africa last week to discuss how to prevent an estimated a billion people dying of smoking-related diseases this century. Hard to stub out. Shutterstock One of the most controversial issues at the conference, thats theme was Uniting the world for a tobacco-free generation, was a new organisation set up last year called the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW). This altruistic-sounding foundation argues it is an independent, non-profit organisation created to accelerate global efforts to reduce health impacts and deaths from smoking, with the goal of ultimately eliminating smoking worldwide. The Foundation is headed by Derek Yach, a former World Health Organisation (WHO) official who worked on the groundbreaking global treaty to tackle smoking, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). So far, so good except that the foundation is far from uniting the public health community. The problem for many experts is that the FSFW is to receive US$80m annually for the next 12 years from the worlds largest tobacco company, Philip Morris International (PMI), the makers of the Marlboro brand. Given the tobacco industrys well-documented and decades-long history of manipulating science and health, something which Yach himself has written about, one of the key questions at the conference was whether to engage with the FSFW or not. Finding new allies One panel session at the conference noted that the founding of the FSFW raises critical questions for tobacco control leaders in that it violates a fundamental tenet of tobacco control in accepting direct industry funding. It may distract from FCTC priorities, confuse media, the public, and policymakers, and advance the industrys partnership narrative. Another session, called Breaking Big Tobaccos Grip, warned of the tobacco industrys attempts to rebrand itself as credible, changed or responsible. And it seems that this is exactly what PMI is doing. The companys website now says PMI is designing a smoke-free future. And earlier this year, the company took out adverts boldly claiming the worlds largest producer of cigarettes was trying to give up, too. So what is going on? PMI reportedly is investing billions of dollars in an attempt at reputation rehabilitation to try and shift the debate away from a company vilified for decades, to one that can be trusted. But there is a big distinction between smoke-free and tobacco-free. PMIs vision for a smoke-free future, is one in which consumers do not quit tobacco, but switch from cigarettes to reduced risk products which are heated tobacco products. As PMIs CEO, Andre Calantzopoulos, concedes: Our paramount business strategy is to replace cigarettes with less harmful, smoke-free alternatives. Thats what we call a smoke-free future. Sold under the IQOS brand, these sleekly designed devices heat rather than burn tobacco. Although being heavily promoted by PMI, their safety is an ongoing debate. Leaked documents Insight into PMIs public relations plans are outlined in two recently leaked documents published by Reuters, both produced by the company in 2014. The first document, entitled: Corporate affairs approach and issues warned that the future for Big Tobacco will not become easier as the industry faced pressures from increased regulation, active anti-smoking organisations and denormalisation, where it becomes increasingly socially unacceptable to smoke. To counter this, the company planned to promote RRPs, or reduced risk products, such as iQOS. This will preserve consumers right to buy tobacco products. The second document, a ten-year corporate affairs plan, gives further insight. The companys overall objective was to be for something and establish PMI as a trusted and indispensable partner, leading its sector and bringing solutions to the table. It wanted to establish the legitimacy of tobacco companies to be a part of the regulatory debate on RRPs and to be part of the solution. Instead of being accused of producing a product that kills up to one in two of its long-term users, this is a bold attempt to become a trusted partner offering solutions. But Big Tobaccos less scrupulous habits die hard. The documents also outline PMIs intention to use the PR strategy of divide and rule, splitting the public health community by working with some organisations that promote harm reduction. PMI wants to find allies that cannot be ignored and amplify voices of harm reduction supporters vs prohibitionists. On e-cigarettes and other reduced risk products, we have a great story to tell; there are divisions within the anti-tobacco movement that can be exploited. This was evident at the recent conference. The corporate plans also identified working via third parties such as an alliance of credible messengers and third-party coalition building. PMI stated there was a need to use consultants as door-openers, spin doctors and strategists and to come up with one-liners for PMI and its allies. One such one-liner is the vision of a smoke-free world. Yach denies vehemently he is acting as a spin doctor for the industry he spent years fighting and is not being naive working with PMI. He urges people to join his movement for a smoke-free world. Meanwhile, PMI said in response to the leaked documents: We believe that the active participation of public health experts, policy-makers, scientists, and the industry is the best way to effectively address tobacco regulations in the genuine interest of todays billion smokers. It is our hope that moving forward, all tobacco policy makers will invite open dialogue, and in the meantime we will continue to speak with governments about policies that can address the impact of smoking on health. But whether by default or design (with the leaked documents pointing to the latter), PMIs funding of the FSFW is dividing the public health community into those who will take tobacco money to explore harm reduction and those who see the Foundation as the latest manifestation of Big Tobaccos disingenuous playbook. As this debate continues, PMIs leaked ten-year plan outlines that the company intends to maximise commercial opportunities and grow market share of traditional cigarettes. How PMI reconciles this with its objectives of a smoke-free world remains to be seen. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Bradley Elliott, founder of Continuon. After JHB, Heavy Chef was in CT last night. @workshop17ct was fully packed to hear @BradElliottSA @HeleenMills and @DaveDuarte on influencer marketing. Thanks to our exceptional speakers and to our awesome sponsors for making this an amazing event. #heavychef #heavychefevents pic.twitter.com/3jtDmzG4k0 Heavy Chef (@heavychef) March 16, 2018 "One, there is a huge breakdown of trust between brands, media, government and humans. Secondly, digital has forever disrupted the way the world engages with brands." The quality of influence between brands What are influencers and engagers? Relevance and resonance over reach. Fans and followers arent everything #heavychef pic.twitter.com/Ps005RsUMa Mari Sciarappa (@mari_sciarappa) March 15, 2018 Continuon. We need a new vocabulary for influence Reach is dead. Elliott explained that the most important thing one should remember when one looks at all of this data/research is that reach is still a very important metric but reach as we define it, is dead. The definition of reach at the moment is fans and followers or eyeballs. What we're saying is quality reach is still important. He said, "Quality reach is 300 people see my content and 299 engage with it. That is quality reach." Resonance and relevance is the new currency. These are the things marketers should be looking at and should be trying to measure. Velocity of conversation is the fuel in all of this. "I may not have a lot of friends and followers but it doesn't mean that I can't carry influence," said Elliott. New measures will start to emerge. "We are really just scratching the surface with this research. We are looking at just social data but when we start tying in other data sources, from CRM to purchase behaviour, we can really start getting a really deep understanding of people. And you can start understanding how to change behaviour because that is really what influence is about. It's about changing people's behaviour." Key takeouts There is more to influence than reach and followers/fans. Brands have thousands of authentic brand influencers in their own social media communities that they should and could be leveraging. Engagement is important, however, it does not always equal influence. However, all categories have people that engage heavily with content that shouldn't be ignored. The considerable variation across categories with regards to overall influence scores and number of authentic influencers is less of an indication of how categories perform in social. Strategy still reigns supreme. Social is now considered a pay-to-play space - the biggest budget wins. This is not true - smaller brands and brands in 'unsexy' categories have shown they have powerful, authentic influencers to leverage regardless of budget. Social data is the first layer of behavioural data that can be leveraged to gain true insight into authentic brand affinity/advocacy. The social intelligence company spent three months tracking the results. Fifty major brands participated in the study, where they analysed over 100-million data points, through three of the biggest social networks, which is Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, across nine different categories.Elliott said the reason why they did the study was that they wanted to start getting a cross-category about the quality of influence between brands and particularly between categories themselves.They identified 5.25 million unique engagers across 50 brands. South Africa has about 60 million people, which means that almost 10% of people who have engaged with these brands in the social media space in the last three months. Also, 355,000 unique influencers were identified.He said Continuon was formed because they believe that there are two major things happening in marketing and digital marketing as a whole."What we're seeing is a fundamental breakdown of trust between brands and people and we believe that by using data, and particularly social data in this instance, we can start forging better connections between brands and people and truly start to understand people's behaviour, understand their interests."Elliott also said as marketers, advertisers and businesses we have become masters of our own demise. We've abused that relationship in the past where people have passed a piece of data or personal information on to us and we've used it to send them spam, etc. So what they're trying to do is make marketing authentic again.In this case, the Continuon team looked at social data and influencership. Elliott said that a lot of people in the audience will probably define or think of influencers as celebrities, online influencers and micro influencers. But what they are looking at are brand influencers.He explained that brand influencers are people within a brand's social media community that carry influence. These people don't know that they're influential. They don't want to be influencers. They don't want to be paid for putting out products or brand posts. They just engage with the brand because they truly have a strong affinity towards it. That's really something that we have to keep in mind while going through all of the research, he said. They looked at ordinary people that carry a lot of influence within a particular brand in a social media community.Elliott then went through a few definitions with us. "What are engagers?" He explained that people who have engaged with a piece of content that a brand has put out might not necessarily be a fan or a follower. Often brands target audiences that aren't sitting inside the brand's social media communities. So often you might have more engagers than you would have fans or followers."What are influencers? Influencers are people that can carry velocity of conversation within a brand community," he explained. What they believe is that the metrics that we typically use as marketers are really skewed. He said we tend to talk about reach, we tend to use pay influencer strategies, we tend to go, 'How many followers does this person have?' And that is what we as marketers define as successful. We think that this person has 100,000 followers, therefore, they've got clout, they've got reach. But what they're saying is that there should be other metrics outside of reach that comes into play.Those metrics areand. Elliot said if you think about true influence, not online influence, it comes down to who you trust. And the people you trust are friends and family and those closest to you that drive word of mouth. If someone recommends a product to you and you trust that person, you'll go buy it. You won't ask that person, 'How many friends do you have?' So why do we use these metrics when it comes to marketing?Elliott said resonance is the ability to drive someone to action and to drive an action from someone. Relevance is how relevant you are within your circle or sphere above influence. "So, if we talk about the velocity of conversation, we're talking about resonance. When I engage with a piece of content that a brand has put out, velocity of conversation is how much resonance that carries," he explained.Ultimately, Continuon's algorithm identified people as brand influencers and scored them between 0 and 100. The research also looked at 17 large brands, 20 medium brands and 13 small brands. They put influencers into brackets, which saw anyone with a score of 0-20 being placed in the 'herd' bracket, anyone who scored between 21-40 was called 'sharers' and so forth. What they found was that the shape of these communities tends to look like pyramids. So very big herd bases and very small icon bases at the top. See image below.Elliott ended his presentation by going through some key takeouts that came out of the research:To download the research, click here . For more on Continuon, visit their website , click here for more on Elliott and here for more information on upcoming Heavy Chef events. The Conversation Africa is an independent source of news and views from the academic and research community. Its aim is to promote better understanding of current affairs and complex issues, and allow for a better quality of public discourse and conversation.Go to: https://theconversation.com/africa Scientists are hard at work in a new R37m research laboratory in Durban, expecting to turn tonnes of chicken feathers into anything from shampoo to shirts, socks and reinforcement fibres for rockets. From waste to value And it is not just chicken feathers they are trying to turn into money but a range of unwanted "waste" products discarded every year by major South African industries."We are throwing away millions of rand every day. It is such a waste and a highly irresponsible use of our natural resources," says Prof Bruce Sithole, chief scientist at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research biorefinery in Durban.Speaking at the launch of the new biorefinery research facility this week, Sithole noted that less than 50% of each tree processed by the pulp and paper industry was turned into a commercial product. The remainder (bark, sawdust, sludge or fly ash) was either burned, dumped into landfills or pumped into the sea.Mmamoloko Kubayi Ngubane, the new science and technology minister, said nearly one billion broiler chickens were slaughtered locally in 2013, leaving behind a pile of nearly 240 million kg of feathers every year that was mainly dumped in landfill sites.To turn this mountain of feathers into something more valuable, Dr Tamrat Tesfaye and colleagues in the Durban biorefinery are boiling and digesting piles of sterilised feathers to extract keratin proteins, which can be turned into several high-value products.Other scientists are experimenting with how pulp and paper waste can be transformed into high-value cellulose nanocrystals, which fetch about $1,000 for every kilogramme.Council for Scientific and Industrial Research officials said the biorefinery research facility was the first of its kind in SA and was equipped with specialist equipment owned by just a handful of local institutions. Rapid urbanisation across the continent is having an effect on water demands and it is estimated that by the year 2030, the world will need 40% more water than its current accessible, reliable supply. Water education Leaks and theft Major innovation needed High economic dividends Compounding the issue and according to the UNs Water for Life Report , it is estimated that approximately 300 of the 800 million inhabitants in Sub-Saharan Africa live in a water-scarce environment. While in South Africas Western Cape region there is a drought that one meteorologist referred to as a once-in-628-years weather event Water is vital to human existence. We depend on the resource to carry out important economic activities and provide proper sanitation, which are crucial elements to well-being and health. If neglected, there will be far reaching implications for government, business and ultimately society.Awareness about the importance and finite availability of the resource are crucial to widespread behaviour change and necessary to ensure environmental sustainability, and capacity for future generations. Water education should not be restricted to scientific or factual knowledge but be holistic and include decision makers, water technicians, communities, stakeholders and media to promote systemic change.When a resource is in such short supply, managing and producing it effectively is essential. Digitalisation of the existing infrastructure is just one water wise move for both the public and private sector.The water industry has been focused on ushering in a new era of water management, with an emphasis on automation, the internet of things (IoT) and more sophisticated data management and analysis software that enables the water end user or plant operator to have valuable, actionable information.This proactive focus is driving digital transformation for both utilities and industrial plants, and enables them to not only detect and react to an issue when it occurs, but also predict and prevent issues from occurring.In South Africa, local municipalities are losing up to 36% of bulk water due to pipe leaks and theft. Smart water management technologies and digital management systems combined with faster response times could dramatically increase water reliability and significantly reduce losses.Prioritising the use of intelligent, networked systems will conserve energy, avoid water losses and curb resource consumption. By having a 360 degree view of a water system, solutions can be pre-emptively identified.As we progress further into the Fourth Industrial Revolution, agility and inventiveness will become a pivotal requirement for the new world order. Climate change and global water shortages are a collective concern. In the latest World Economic Forum Global Risks Report , water crises ranks 20th as one of the risks respondents are most concerned about for doing business in their country in the next 10 years.To overcome this risk we will need to deploy major innovations. Imagine using 3D virtual technology to see a realistic representation of an existing water plant and overlaying how automation, drives, pumps, instrumentation and electrical components can best be implemented to ensure positive outcomes. Through the recent acquisition of Bentley Systems, Siemens is able to create a water plant simulation allowing for predictive maintenance, resource optimisation and energy data management.Another way in which Siemens is catalysing creativity in the digital economy is through a recently hosted 48-hour hackathon - #DigihackAfrica2018 - which brought together Siemens engineers alongside IoT and digital industry experts from IBM, IoT.Nxt, Atos and Wits University to work on ideas that will have the potential to disrupt the Industrial IoT environment (IIoT) in Africa.The winning team presented a decentralised intelligent water management system. The fully automated water accounting and leak detection system is made up of intelligently linked instrumentation from Siemens, flow meters and pressure transmitters linked to a GPRS 3G module that sends signals back to an in-house cloud based system. Through a mobile app, water technicians and engineers on the field will have real-time monitoring access to the flow of water in any water infrastructure network on a device. The winning team will travel to Siemens HQ to further develop their idea and receive seed capital towards making their idea commercially viable.The value of investment in R&D in Africa to find solutions to the water crisis should not be underestimated. Being able to have foresight about future problems and develop solutions, with a uniquely African view and relevance, will provide the continent with a competitive edge.Ultimately, effective and smart water management will enable governments and utilities to provide a safe and reliable resource to its people. Improved water stewardship pays high economic dividends and technology can help to make this happen. It seems like a smart start and a step in the right direction to find sustainable solutions that work for Africa and in Africa. Deputy Finance Minister Mondli Gungubele has defended the recently announced VAT increase, while giving an assurance that Treasury will tread carefully with corporate tax. Mondli Gungubele, deputy minister of finance. Photo: ANC Today An increase in VAT was the easiest way to plug the hole in the fiscus, he said.."We had to move right into tax and work very carefully within that area. VAT was the easiest way to deal with those problems and will bring in no less than R36bn."While the economy had recently shown an improvement, and investor confidence had soared after a period of uneasiness due to several areas of political and policy uncertainty, he said Treasury still had to acknowledge the picture painted by the medium-term budget policy statement, including rocketing debt."This called for a special intervention in our budget this year which forced us as government to respond to certain measures," he said.There was a focus on cutting down on expenditure and investing in education."The graduate sector has around 3% unemployment. If you invest there you will see a net benefit of contribution to tax revenue," he said.Treasury would tread carefully with corporate tax, he said, adding that a collaboration between the public and private sector was of critical importance."We must not do anything that must undermine this partnership. We don't have much going forward in dealing with socioeconomic uncertainty without the private sector."The role of this partnership could be further supported by improved economic growth and investor sentiment, he said.Last week, Treasury and business officials went on an investor road show in the UK and the US.Echoing Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene, Gungubele said investors' interrogation was positive, although there was pressure to answer tough questions - particularly on state-owned entities."Importantly, they saw SA as one of the strategic countries in the continent." Drought-stricken farmers in the Western Cape have had to abandon at least a quarter of their high-value vineyards and deciduous fruit orchards because of a lack of water for irrigation. This has had a knock-on effect on rural employment, with the loss of about 30,000 seasonal farm worker jobs during the harvest season, UCT Professor Mark New has said. Photo by Jesse Belleque on Unsplash A perfect storm De Lille 'really changed momentum' Dodged the bullet New, the director of UCT's African Climate and Development Initiative, was awarded the Piers Sellers Prize by the Priestley International Centre for Climate at the University of Leeds this week for his leading contribution to solution-based climate research. In a lecture, "The Anatomy of a Water Crisis", at Leeds University after receiving the award on Monday, New said the loss of this production would have a long-term impact on the agricultural sector, a major export industry in the region.A video of the lecture was released on Wednesday."So, what we have is a 25% reduction in this industry, which will only be incrementally increased if and when farmers can afford to replace those orchards and vineyards. They can't suddenly reinvest in 25% of the farm. They don't have the money to do that," New said.Fruit and wine farmers usually replaced their orchards and vineyards in cycles, when the plants reached the end of their lifespans after 15 to 20 years.But once the national government had cut off the water supply to farmers, when they had reached the limit of their drought allocation in late February, many of the deciduous fruit and wine farmers stopped irrigating those orchards and vineyards which were due to be replaced in the next five to six years. Many of these plants had died as a result. "So it has had an enormous effect," he said.New spoke of a "perfect storm" of conditions that had led to Cape Town's water crisis.Demand had increased and the Department of Water and Sanitation, responsible for bulk water supplies, had been incredibly reluctant to bring on additional water supplies in the Western Cape. New said this was because many other provinces had bigger demands in terms of water supply and sanitation. "So you can understand to some extent where the priorities of the national department lie, but it meant a delay, with the impending water scarcity looming in the background."Also, the Department of Water and Sanitation was a very poorly run department that had run out of money, partly through wasting it and partly because of inefficiency, he said. In addition, the City of Cape Town's water managers had been rather complacent during 2017 and had thought the city would not get a third dry year."The narrative in the city was this was a one-in-a-400-year drought, so the chances were very, very slim to get another dry year. It shows they don't understand probability at all," New said.The narrative around the drought had changed last year when Mayor Patricia de Lille had decided to take action by setting up a drought crisis committee. This had "really changed momentum" by getting the message out about the drought situation. "But, just as this was getting going, we had a political crisis in Cape Town where the mayor was accused of corruption by one of her colleagues... Effectively this meant there was political gridlock for about three months from October, November to December, while the ruling party was trying to get rid of the mayor."No decisions were made so all the technical managers, who were trying to install desalination plants, could not get permission to go ahead with getting the projects going," New said.However, Cape Town had managed to "dodge the bullet" of Day Zero this year because of the cuts to agriculture, water donations from farmers, and the huge drop in consumption by Capetonians.New said that water managers now should be thinking that there is an almost equal chance of another dry year this rainy season. Water augmentation schemes would start to make a difference by the middle of this year, but if there were another dry season, these augmentation schemes would not be sufficient.The region would need at least an above average rainfall this winter to get dams to a level where we would not have a Day Zero scenario at the end of 2018, or early 2019. The deep soils in the catchment areas were dry and would act as sponges soaking up rainfall.Water managers would get an indication by the end of April if this winter was going to be dry or wet. "If rainfall in April is above average, there is a high probability the whole year will be above average. If low, there is a high probability that that pattern will persist to the end of the year."This meant water managers would have an early warning system by the end of April, and certainly by the end of June, which would mean they could institute water demand management processes based on evidence, rather than wait until the end of the rainy season to take stock. President Cyril Ramaphosa says former President Jacob Zuma's legal fees will be paid in exception to cases where the court finds that he acted in his personal capacity. The State Attorney decided that it was appropriate to grant the request of the former President, subject to the condition that he make an undertaking - which he did - to refund monies thus spent should it be found that he acted in his personal capacity and own interest in the commission of the alleged offences, said President Ramaphosa in a statement.President Ramaphosa said this was done in line with section 12.2.2 of the then applicable Treasury Regulations, issued in terms of the Public Finance Management Act, 1999, read with section 3(1) of the State Attorney Act.The Act states that if it is found that an official was acting outside the course and scope of his employment and lost a case, that official must refund the state.The President provided clarity on the former Presidents legal fees following questions from Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema during an oral reply session on 14 March 2018.The EFFs questions referred to cases in which it is alleged that the former President committed criminal offences took place during his tenure as a government official both at provincial and later at national level.The request made by former President Zuma for legal representation at state expense, considered section 3(3) of the State Attorney Act, 1957. On 17 January 2018, Cape Town mayor, Patricia de Lille announced that the city of Cape Town had reached a 'point of no return' in its water supplies and that Day Zero was virtually guaranteed in a matter of weeks. Since then, questions have been raised as to the impact on visitor numbers to the city and its effects on the tourism industry, which is considered a 'bright spot' of the South African economy. Considering the impact of tourism on water Assessing water and sanitisation infrastructures Maintaining tourism growth amid water crisis HTI Consultings Wayne Troughton had this to say on last years tourism numbers: "According to Cape Town Tourism and WTCC, tourism accounted for an estimated 9% of South Africas economic output last year, contributing R412bn ($35bn) to the national economy, with approximately 1.5 million foreign tourists visiting Cape Town last year alone."As one of the mainstays of the Western Cape economy, tourism supports over 300,000 jobs across the province. In recent years, the domestic tourism industry has also grown considerably. A larger number of local visitors have made their way to the Western Cape over the festive season 250,000, in fact, according to advisory firm Grant Thornton. But, with around 290,000 Capetonians leaving the city over the same period, the impact on Cape Town is not as severe as it could potentially be."In February, Cape Town Tourism CEO, Enver Duminy admitted the citys water crisis was deterring international tourism to the city: "There have been many queries around the water crisis, people considering cancelling their future trips, events and conferences. We have aligned our messages convey that we are open for business, as tourism. We are mindful of the impact tourism has on water but also that weve found augmented solutions that address that."At the time of the statement, no official data had yet been able to quantify the impact water shortages were having on numbers, but Duminy said there had already been cancellations.However, Troughton said that there have been two occurrences of red-letter days since then."On 7 March, DA leader, Mmusi Maimane broke the news that Day Zero has been pushed out to 2019. On 13 March, the government finally declared a National State of Disaster to deal with the countrys drought and water crisis, with the minister of cooperative governance and traditional affair, Zweli Mkhize making the announcement on behalf of the inter-ministerial task team on drought and water scarcity during a media briefing," added Duminy.This came after ratings firm, Moodys Investors Service warned that Cape Town would need up to spend up to R12.7bn ($1bn) over the next five years on water and sanitation infrastructure to deal with its water crisis."Whilst the citys drought crisis will undoubtedly remain an ongoing concern for both citizens and all industries, its interesting to look at how it has impacted hotel occupancies and tourism up until this point," said Troughton."In speaking to a number of hotel operators, feedback is that demand has not been severely impacted, although concern amongst international guests who have already affected hotel bookings has certainly risen. This concern was heightened when Level 6b water restrictions were implemented in the first week of February."When comparing Cape Town hotels Occupancy Rates and Average Daily Rate (ADR) data analysis for season 2015/16 with 2016/17, it shows that the citys hotel occupancy rates did, in fact, decrease year-on-year. However, this can largely be attributed to new supply in the market (approximately 1,000 rooms) and therefore be considered 'normal'," added Troughton."A positive sign is the increase in ADR which increased by a healthy 7.2%. Although STR statistics indicate a decline in room nights sold, it is important to note that several new properties entered the Cape Town market towards the end of 2017 and that none of these properties was included in the STR survey sample in 2017. Therefore, by conducting a high-level calculation wed estimate that room nights sold in Cape Town grew by between 1%-2% in 2017," explained Troughton.Wesgro insists that Cape Town keeps its doors open for tourists to ensure the industry is not crippled as a result of the drought. One of the key concerns noted by potential tourists who are considering Cape Town is that they would make the water situation worse if they visited our region. We believe that this is incorrect. During peak season, international tourists only add 1% to the population, said Russel Brueton, Wesgro spokesperson.In speaking to several hotels, HTI Consulting established that several forward business cancellations (notably incentives and local corporate meetings) have occurred in several instances as corporates opt, amongst other reasons, for the moral decision not to put further strain on the citys municipal water system. The majority of Cape Town hotels, however, currently state that they ask guests not to use baths and to limit showers to two minutes or less.Many, such as Tsogo Sun (who are building a desalination plant to help supply its Cape Town hotels with their own water) and the Vineyard Hotel and Table Bay, amongst others, are implementing innovative water saving measures and say that, on the whole, guests are responding positively, and are aware of the citys challenges and act mindfully when visiting.Economic opportunities MEC, Alan Winde recently said that the Western Cape has worked hard to develop the Cape Town tourism industry into the award-winning sector it is. He urged visitors to not cancel their trips, but to join Capetonians by using water responsibly while they were visiting: "Saving water in Cape Town means saving jobs in Cape Town."Cape Town Tourism and Wesgro are still actively promoting the city of Cape Town to international tourists. "A city twinning agreement between New York City and Cape Town Tourism has recently kicked off and these types of efforts, combined with national government crisis funding and the alternative water source projects planned to augment the City's water supply, should keep demand high for Cape Towns hotel industry for the foreseeable future," concluded Troughton. LAM - Mozambique Airlines and Fastjet have announced the joint signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore long-term commercial cooperation. Signed at LAM's headquarters in Maputo, the memorandum includes areas of cooperation expected to enhance commercial aviation in the country. The memorandum covers code-share and interline agreements between the two carriers, optimised network synergies as well as cooperation on other commercial systems; cargo, engineering and maintenance. LAM Chief Executive, Antonio Pinto commented that the "areas of cooperation will not only further strengthen Mozambique's flag carrier as a regional air-services provider but contribute significantly to initiatives that promote tourism, economic development and trade.""This is an exciting and industry-leading public-private partnership initiative. It not only supports Mozambique's greater economic growth objectives in terms of the efficient and affordable movement of people and goods, but also the notion of a longer-term Whole of State Aviation strategy," added Pinto. Mozambique is a signatory to the Yamoussoukro Decision and one of the early nation-adopters on the continent."The approach to commercial cooperation is the first of its kind on the African continent. There is significant opportunity in stimulating not only commercial aviation but also up and downstream economic growth through key cooperative initiatives. Fastjet is committed to exploring and leveraging the agreement to the best benefit of both companies and, ultimately the people of Mozambique," said Nico Bezuidenhout, Fastjet chief executive.The African Development Bank recently reported on a high medium-term growth forecast for Mozambique. "This memorandum of understanding lays the foundation for full economic leverage of a very bright future and fulfilment of the government of Mozambique's whole of state aviation objectives." The SA Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff) has announced details of its 2018 two-day congress for the freight forwarding and customs clearing industry in South Africa, scheduled for 29-30 August 2018 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. Speaker: Dr Rutendo Hwindingwi, associate director at Deloitte South Africa. Speaker lineup Economic update by Dr Dawie Roodt, chief economist at The Efficient Group Panel discussion on the New Customs Act FIATA/IATA Cargo Programme by Paul Cheetham Business in Africa by Dr Rutendo Hwindingwi, associate director at Deloitte South Africa Panel discussion on Marine Insurance Future of technology workshop Themed Logistics through innovation and technology, the congress will focus on technology that helps achieve objectives, logistics solutions, opportunities in this economy and the African context, as well as stories to inspire, motivate, and transform the industry.The Saaff Congress is known for delivering high-quality speakers, interesting insights, valuable information, as well as unrivalled industry networking opportunities, says CEO Dave Logan.The 2018 programme features a varied mix of presentations, panel discussions and an interactive workshop. The draft lineup includes:The congress will feature an interactive workshop designed to enlighten and engage delegates on the future of technology and preparing them for ongoing disruption in the Freight Forwarding industry.Technology has changed the way we work and will continue to disrupt every facet of our lives, says Logan. Our workshop will give delegates the opportunity to experience the transformative power of technology first hand, in an interactive and engaging way."We have a team of experts and innovators on hand who are there to share their knowledge and expertise on a range of topics such as virtual reality and augmented reality, the internet of things, open source electronics, artificial intelligence, self-driving technology, robotics, design thinking and lean canvas, 3D printing and additive manufacturing, drone technology, cryptocurrency, and blockchain.The workshop will be facilitated by Steve Gray, founder of the Makerspace and innovator, trained engineer, teacher, artist, and entrepreneur.For more, go to www.saaffcongress.org.za or email az.gro.ssergnocffaas@ofni The Open Window on student creativity Some of the academic team and most recent student award-winners from The Open Window let us in on their most recent successes based on their experimental stylistic exploration of creative briefs, which they treat as the real deal. Matthew Tager's Fiction: The endangered species Matthew Tager's Fiction: The endangered species Matthew Tager's Fiction: The endangered species Matthew Tager's Fiction: The endangered species Matthew Tager's Fiction: The endangered species Matthew Tager's Fiction: The endangered species What plans are already underway to better your ranking in 2018? What plans are already underway to better your ranking in 2018? How does the 2017 Loeries flock differ from your haul the previous year? How does the 2017 Loeries flock differ from your haul the previous year? Tell us who you personally admire in the industry. Tell us who you personally admire in the industry. Zinhle Zulu's Holy Hustle. Zinhle Zulu's Holy Hustle. Zinhle Zulu's Holy Hustle. Zinhle Zulu's Holy Hustle. Zinhle Zulu's Holy Hustle. Zinhle Zulu's Holy Hustle. Leigh Andrews' articles About Leigh Andrews Leigh Andrews AKA the Leigh Andrews AKA the #MilkshakeQueen , is former Editor-in-Chief: Marketing & Media at Bizcommunity.com, with a passion for issues of diversity, inclusion and equality, and of course, gourmet food and drinks! She can be reached on Twitter at @Leigh_Andrews We attribute our students success to their immense commitment to their field of study. The students who performed well in the 2017 Loeries student category approached projects in a professional manner. Lots of research was conducted leading up to the execution and experimentation was implemented throughout.: The successes can be attributed to the students' commitment and hard work. Additionally, they have the opportunity to interact with multiple encouraging lecturers, who push them beyond what they thought was possible as well as industry professionals to expand their skill set and approach to their work.: I genuinely attribute my success to years of hard work and training at the Open Window Institute. If it was not for the guidance received from my lecturers throughout my studies, I would not have gotten to the point that I am at in my creative journey. Furthermore, the inspiration of the city I live in, the people within it as well as my own thirst to 'hustle' helped me to create work that Im proud of.: I would attribute my success in 2017 to my self-determination and willingness to greater my skills and learn from both my peers and mentors. The year 2017 afforded me the opportunity to explore both my personal life and design career, both critically and expressively, in order to do the best and excel at every opportunity that presented itself to me.The aim for 2018 is to maintain a sense of enthusiasm within our students. Students will be encouraged to treat project briefs as if they are real industry briefs that require thorough conceptualisation and planning. Students will also be further encouraged to focus on the final crafting or finishes of their projects, in order to excel. Hopefully, this will influence our ranking for 2018.: Our main focus is on providing students with content and projects that are relevant and innovative, with a strong conceptual overtone and a lot of creative freedom, not on creating briefs to fit into award- or competition criteria. This has brought about some amazing results that stretch beyond the scope of awards and competitions.The conceptual focus and stylistic exploration proved to be more diverse. Students approached projects in a more experimental manner and took more risks with projects.: The 2017 flock is still, as always, a talented and committed bunch. Students, however, do push more boundaries, both visually and conceptually, every year.Its difficult to limit my admiration of a representative in the industry to one specific person. Locally, there is such a great diversity of phenomenal talent in all creative sectors. I think rather than identifying specific individuals, its also worth specifically highlighting the entrepreneurial spirit of creatives operating within the industry.Many have managed to establish their own niche for them to operate in. Cape Town-based Studio Muti is, however, one that stands out as they consistently manage to create high-level work. In terms of up-and-coming talent, I enjoy the work of Adam Black. Garth Walker is certainly an inspiration due to his approach and the risks he takes, but mostly for his typography. Then, I admire any designers, newcomers or established mentors that design for social impact and change.: After being at the Open Window Institute for a total of four years and completing my honours degree in visual communication, I have mustered the confidence to start my own company called Zuluvisual, through which I do freelance illustration and design for various clients.I am really enjoying it. Navigating the growing creative industry in this country can be tough, however, there are creatives that inspire me, like Karabo Poppy Moletsane. Her work ethic and initiative is what I admire about her, aside from her always-amazing illustrations. She really is paving the way for young illustrators like myself.Sindiso Nyoni is also one of my great inspirations. His illustration style and the many platforms that he has managed to get his work onto makes for an eye-opening experience of where my own work could be someday... soon.: I admire Elani Botha as a mentor for my design career her willingness to share ideas, lend a helping hand and expanding on concepts through great conversation has inspired me to provide the same influence to others, where and when I can.As an up-and-coming artist, I am in awe of the work that my peer, Zinhle Zulu, produces both conceptually and aesthetically. Her subject matter and application in her work translates clearly in a flawless manner tackling local ideas, something very important for both the current epoch of South African society and creative industry. So people are talking about Facebook a lot this week. You know, that social network that only Baby Boomers seem to use now? It somehow has more than two-billion users at present, and that number for data collection firms is a goldmine just waiting to be ravaged. Feature image Memeburn What is Cambridge Analytica? What did it do, and how was Facebook involved? How many users have been affected? Why was this instance of data collection wrong? Who is Facebook blaming? Suspended by @facebook. For blowing the whistle. On something they have known privately for 2 years. pic.twitter.com/iSu6VwqUdG Christopher Wylie (@chrisinsilico) March 18, 2018 Cambridge Analytica fully complies with Facebooks terms of service. We are in touch with Facebook now and can confirm that we do not hold or use any data from profiles https://t.co/YD8kFXCFTL Cambridge Analytica (@CamAnalytica) March 17, 2018 What about Mark Zuckerberg? How are Facebook users responding? Facebook makes their money by exploiting and selling intimate details about the private lives of millions, far beyond the scant details you voluntarily post. They are not victims. They are accomplices. https://t.co/mRkRKxsBcw Edward Snowden (@Snowden) March 17, 2018 Ever notice that when you look up something on the internet, let's say cars for sale or hotels, you start getting Facebook ads on the same subject? Facebook tracks you even when you're not on Facebook.#DeleteFacebook Viva La Resistance (@TrumpsBrain) March 22, 2018 You should also delete Whatsapp and Instagram if you really and honestly believe in this #DeleteFacebook movement/trend. Nayantara Rai (@NayantaraRai) March 21, 2018 Should I delete my Facebook account? How can I delete my Facebook account? If I dont want to delete Facebook, how can I stop it from garnering information about me? Speaking of which, one particular company through a series of ducks, dips, dives and dodges, has garnered a hefty slice of this information.Heres what you need to know about the Cambridge Analytica and Facebook data siphoning fiasco.Cambridge Analytica is a privately-owned firm based in London, England, but has satellite offices in Malaysia, Brazil, and the US. It was created on the final day of 2013, and focusses on data collection and analytics for companies (doing, uh, data things) and politicians running election campaigns.Its the latter that has people outraged this week.CA Political has redefined the relationship between data and campaigns. By knowing your electorate better, you can achieve greater influence while lowering overall costs, it writes on its website.Cambridge Analytica came to prominence in 2015 when it aided the data collection for Ted Cruzs presidential campaign (for which it was paid US$750 000 ). Cruz, if you remember correctly, still lost. But in 2016, it finally found a winner with then-Republican candidate Donald Trump. It was a force behind his presidential campaign.The firm also reportedly played a role during the 2016 Brexit referendum, and a number of other campaigns closer to home. But well get into those a little later.Other notables includes its staffers. Steve Bannon, former Chief Strategist of the Trump administration and co-founder of right-wing publication Breitbart, was Cambridge Analyticas vice president.And in terms of investment, Republican donor Robert Mercer dropped cash into Cambridge Analyticas coffers too.On 17 March 2018, theand the UKspublished a joint report revealing that Cambridge Analytica collected the data of some 50-million users on Facebook through an app.Not an Android or iOS app; an app from within Facebook, like those annoying quizzes, games and surveys.The app dubbed was billed as a personality profile, and allowed its creator, Russian Cambridge University professor Aleksandr Kogan, to garner data, and pass it on to Cambridge Analytica through its owner Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL).The basis of apps within Facebook was made possible in 2007, when the company launched the Facebook Platform; effectively a framework on which apps can be built and can make use of social information in your profile.Facebook didnt break the news to the publications, and instead it was whistleblower and former Cambridge Analytica contractor Christopher Wylie who revealed the trail of spilled data on the floor.We exploited Facebook to harvest millions of peoples profiles. And built models to exploit what we knew about them and target their inner demons. That was the basis the entire company was built on, Wylie told The Observer.Although the app was only downloaded by 270,000 users according to Facebook, the app could gain data from users friends if their Facebook privacy settings allowed. Most estimates suggest that 50-million Facebook users have been targetted, and sheds light on how your friends on the social network can also be your worst enemies.While collecting data through social media activity is nothing new hell, Facebook does it as it chases you across the web with those advertising offers this particular collection of data was enabled through an academic license awarded to Kogan.But it wasnt entirely used for academic purposes.Facebook in a statement also resisted calling the scam a data breach as referred to by the New York Times and The Observer, but failed to suggest that it was in control or aware of the situation prior to the reports surfacing.Nevertheless, it did say that Kogan violated the firms Platform Policies by passing data from an app that was using Facebook Login to SCL/Cambridge Analytica, a firm that does political, government and military work around the globe.Although Kogan gained access to this information in a legitimate way and through the proper channels that governed all developers on Facebook at that time, he did not subsequently abide by our rules. By passing information on to a third party, including SCL/Cambridge Analytica and Christopher Wylie of Eunoia Technologies, he violated our platform policies, Facebook continued.While Cambridge Analyticas role cant be downplayed, Facebook ultimately awarded Kogan the academic license after he requested it from the social network. And it failed to tell users that their data was at risk Uh, definitely not Facebook.Instead, the company is pointing the finger at every other party but itself, including users.Aleksandr Kogan requested and gained access to information from users who chose to sign up to his app, and everyone involved gave their consent. People knowingly provided their information, no systems were infiltrated, and no passwords or sensitive pieces of information were stolen or hacked, it victim blamed Facebook also called out Kogan, Cambridge Analytica and whistleblower Wylie.It has since suspended Wylies Facebook account, and barred Cambridge Analytica and related parties from the social network.Cambridge Analytica is, however, pleading its innocence.Cambridge Analytica fully complies with Facebooks terms of service. We are in touch with Facebook now and can confirm that we do not hold or use any data from profiles, it tweeted.Jessie Eisenberg had Justin Timberlake to lean on in, but Mark Zuckerberg does what he always does: he wrote a Facebook post The founder and CEO however did take full responsibility for the issue, going against the statement mentioned in the previous section, written by Paul Grewal, Facebooks VP and deputy general counsel.I started Facebook, and at the end of the day Im responsible for what happens on our platform. Im serious about doing what it takes to protect our community, Zuckerberg wrote.We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we cant then we dont deserve to serve you.Even with this heartfelt post published, Facebook users are turning on the social network.The hashtag #DeleteFacebook began trending this week on Twitter after the story broke, as users across the world were made aware of the scandal.Prominent tech figures like WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton led the call. Thats a bold move Cotton, especially considering that WhatsApp is owned by Facebook.Whistleblower and all-round tech skeptic Edward Snowden called Facebook accomplices in a scathing tweet.Facebook makes their money by exploiting and selling intimate details about the private lives of millions, far beyond the scant details you voluntarily post. They are not victims. They are accomplices, he wrote.Others Twitter users called into question Facebooks ability to track users across the web.Some noted that you should delete all Facebook services if you really and honestly believe in this #DeleteFacebook hashtag.Others wondered what good deleting Facebook now, over 13 years since its inception, would do.So, should you?Thats a question that could be covered in its own detailed article, but heres what we say.If former Facebook executives, including the co-founder of WhatsApp, are saying you should delete Facebook, well that says it all, doesnt it? Gearburn editor Hadlee Simons tells me.Its given me pause for thought because this misuse of data was so blatant. Our social media profiles are essentially being weaponised and Facebook was apparently okay with it until negative press occurred.Ventureburns Daniel Mpala shares the same views.The whole Cambridge Analytica scandal shows that Facebook does not have control over data that outside developers have access to. Whats worrying is Facebook has rules on data but it seems the company is not actively enforcing them. The Cambridge Analytica incident is the only one thats come to the fore, what about the other stuff we dont yet know about?I am going to be taking heed of Brian Actons comments and will delete my account, he concludes.For me, I have to agree with my colleagues. But the question then is, what about your other social networks?Cambridge Analytica has also influenced elections closer to home in both Nigeria and Kenya How long until, say, South Africa is added to the growing list?There are two very clear distinctions you need to understand when it comes to deleting your Facebook account. You can either disable your account, which leaves it alive for when you feel the urge to post again but removes you from timelines, searches and renders your profile page invisible to others.And then theres actually deleting your account, which renders your account completely trashed and unrecoverable but only after a a few days after its requested.To delete your account, visit this link It will take up to 90 days for Facebook to realise that youre serious, and to scrub its servers of all of the things youve posted, like your photos, status updates or other data stored in backup systems.You may want to download a copy of your data before you delete you account. Head over to Settings, General Account Settings and click Download a copy of your Facebook data.If you cant delete your account perhaps you manage a business page we suggest you remove all apps from your Facebook account. Yes, that includes Farmville, and any other game you have installed to your profile.Be sure to remove Facebooks access to your other services as well, including services like Zomato and others.If you dont want Facebook to track you across the web, log in from the same browser or browser profile every day, and delete the cache and cookies at the end of each session. Dont use this browser for anything else.Additionally, you may want to run a tracking bug blocker or cookie cleanup extension to prohibit Facebook from suggesting those shoes you really want in advertisements.Or, hell, if you can just stop using the internet entirely. Throw all your hardware in a dumpster. Set it on fire. And live out the remainder of your life deep the forest armed with a sharp stick.Even if you can stop Facebook from following you around the internet, it doesnt mean that other companies wont (or dont) take its place. This job expired on 21 May 2018. This job expired on 22 May 2018. Jennifer Almodovar Jimenez '18 is on the move Almodovar Jimenez likes to travel, which has led her to study abroad in London and the Hague. She also loves scouring the Boston area for the best cuisine. Photo/Mike Lovett Jennifer Almodovar Jimenez at a Myra Kraft TYP event at Gillette Stadium. Throughout her childhood, Jennifer Almodovar Jimenez 18 moved around a lot. New York City. Vermont. The Dominican Republic. Finally, Massachusetts. She attended nine different schools during her primary and secondary education. She found a lasting home at Brandeis after applying through the Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program, which provides small classes and strong support systems for high school graduates who have developed skills for college success through life experiences, but have had limited precollege academic opportunities. Even though Jimenez never put roots down growing up, that hasnt stopped her from developing a desire to travel. Jimenez has studied abroad twice through Brandeis programs, going to London and the Hague. On campus, shes a double major in politics and international and global studies, with minors in philosophy and legal studies. Shes served as a senator in the Student Union, was president of the Caribbean Culture Club, and has worked closely with the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life as a Sorensen Fellow and with 'DEIS Impact, the annual festival of social justice. Jimenez took some time to describe her Brandeis experience with BrandeisNow: Why does Brandeis fit you? I have always been passionate about human rights, equality, and ending injustice. Brandeis laser focus on social justice allowed me to pursue my interests through opportunities that I never thought would be available to me prior to attending Brandeis. As a Sorensen Fellow, I was able to intern at the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti. This internship broadened my perspectives on international development, and the role of ethics in international relations and philanthropy. When did you know you made the right choice? Why? There was not a specific moment in which I knew I made the right choice; however, the sociopolitical climate in the United States during these past few years has made me feel lucky and thankful to be at Brandeis. It is an incredibly comforting feeling to know that the majority of those around me on this campus support the same causes that I do. Despite all the differences I may share with many students at Brandeis, there have definitely been encouraging we are in this together moments. What do you nerd out about? Why? Is it possible to nerd out about food? I love reading and learning about politics, foreign affairs, and philosophy, but I must say that I am quite proud to consider myself an international food connoisseur. I love to travel, and have spent hours hunting down the best food spots in every single country I visit. I am the go-to girl amongst my friends for food recommendations worldwide! How has Brandeis opened your mind? The experiences that studying at Brandeis has afforded have undoubtedly opened my mind. I have been able to study abroad twice, in London and The Hague, and both experiences were life-changing and affected my thinking in ways that I never expected. Whats your favorite class? Why? Social Justice and Philanthropy, taught by Melissa Nemon, has been one of my favorite classes at Brandeis. Part of the course consisted of building a foundation and making a donation to a nonprofit organization that you chose as a group. I loved this class, because it allowed me to put into practice what I learned in the classroom all the while giving back to the community. Whats been your most rewarding experience outside the classroom? I feel the most rewarded whenever I give back to the Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program through mentoring the younger students or planning events that foster a sense of community. I love MKTYP, and find that the community within it is amongst its most valuable assets. What do you like to do in Waltham/Boston? I love to embark on gastronomic excursions with my friends! Trying new foods and experiencing new restaurants is one of my hobbies, and Boston/Waltham have some really great places. As I said before, I am a total foodie! How will Brandeis help you make a difference? The knowledge and experiences I have gained at Brandeis have undoubtedly shaped who I am, and have allowed me to decide what kind of leader I want to be in this world. I dont think I can find the words to depict how much Brandeis has impacted my life, but I can say that Brandeis is a part of me, and the lessons I have learned here will be with me everywhere I go. It was a few minutes after he was declared dead in 2002 that a new idea came alive in Bala V Balachandrans mind. Bala was lying on a hospital bed for a quintuple bypass surgery to his heart. The surgery hadnt gone too well. 65% of his heart was no longer working. The doctors had almost given up hope when suddenly one doctor said he thought there was a slim chance of survival if they tried something new. As the doctors worked to revive Bala, a gem of an idea took clearer shape in his mind. He would set up a new MBA institute in his mother country something that wasnt enveloped in the politics and blame game that the institutes he had been associated in the past with in India were. It would be his big contribution to his country as a three year old, Bala had met Mahatama Gandhi in 1940 in his village and told him he was willing to die for his country (he insists he recalls it even though he was only three). Now was his chance to prove as good as his word. All these years when I studied and worked in the US, the Gandhi effect never went away. I wanted to do something serious for my mother country. Of course he had just lost 65% of his heart, very nearly died and yet here he was rearing to go. But Bala insists he was working 24 by 7 which meant he was working 24 days a month and 7 months in a year as a professor with full tenure at the Kellogg school of business. He spends a few minutes elaborating on how ones life gets easier lower teaching load and more time for research - in the academic world once you get full tenure. If I slowed down any further, Id be dead, he says. In 2004, with his own savings and a vast network, Bala egged on by many others who pointed out that Tamil Nadu had no serious MBA institute to speak of - hired a less than one acre space in Chennai to start the Institute a one-year MBA that would give serious competition to ISB, Hyderabad and other MBA courses offered in India. The main idea was to offer a one-year MBA like ISB but at the IIM prices, not the ISB ones which he saw spiraling soon after the institute was set up (ISB charges close to Rs 32 lakh for a year now). Now has a over 27 acre green campus in Chennai. It uses recycled water, recycled bricks and solar power. He tells me its pollution and mosquito free. A second campus of 7 acres was added in Gurgaon probably not mosquito or pollution free - in 2010. Since 2004, over 7000 students have graduated from the institute (Gurgaon and Chennai campus). Bala says 100 per cent of his students are placed post the course. There are over 900 students across both campuses in all the programmes. Average salary for students is around Rs 12 lakh at the Chennai campus and Rs 10.5 lakh for the Gurgaon campus. We are meeting at the office in Gurgaon. Despite writing on education, I have not really heard much about the Great Lakes MBA programme or the institute. Maybe its because I live in the North or maybe because almost every child I know leaves the country post schooling, I am skeptical about a meeting with Bala till other educationists and academicians advise me to go ahead saying he is a character. I tell him that clinched it for me. I like characters. Bala insists that Great Lakes is very high up in the numerous and endless MBA rankings in India. He says Outlook magazine has ranked the institute as third. He says every poll has rated the institute very high. I admit A, B and C are fantastic and those are my benchmark but he insists Great Lakes ranks higher than all others in India. I look as skeptical as possible. First, despite writing on education for a few years now, I have barely heard of Great Lakes. Second, who in their right mind takes these rankings seriously ? I tell him I dont give much credence to rankings; five years in Delhi university have disenchanted me of the whole ranking game; DU still ranks among the top and I found it dull as dishwater way back in the late 1980s. I have only one method of assessing educational institutes; it has to come from the parents and students : when they say they want admission in a particular college and try and use all tricks in the book to gain admission, the institute is worth writing about. By that yardstick, Great Lakes is not quite there yet. We dwell a little on his rather dramatic personal history and life. Bala intersperses his story with interesting anecdotes most unprintable - involving a whole host of known and diverse personalities from Bal Thackaray to Manmohan Singh and Rajat Gupta to Mahatama Gandhi. He tells me how the ISB came to be in Hyderabad and not in Mumbai or anywhere else. He tells me how the various deans for ISB were selected and who worked out and why or rather who didnt work out and why. He tells me the politics of setting up a new private MBA institute in India where so many cooks are there, that the broth is spoiled in the end. Unlike other places, he is the sole person responsible for Great Lakes, he tells me. I am happy for others to take the credit but any blame lies with me, he says rather nobly. Drama comes naturally to him and if he hadnt chosen academics, I think theater may have been his second calling. He also holds forth on the stories of how Great Lakes came about. Who actually supported his Great Lakes initiative and who offered to but didnt when push came to shove. Hes been on the board of various Indian companies and seems to know everyone in the corporate sector as well. As I listen to Bala and his anecdotes and snippets, I wonder : despite being away for 50 years, is there anyone in this country he doesnt know ? Despite the fact that he has lived in the US for 50 years, Balas involvement with Indias education space has been quite insistent. When IIM Bangalore was being set up, Balas friend Bullockcart Ramaswamy stayed with Bala for 8 days in the US and hired the first six faculty members for the new institute. Other than advise and support, Bala also made several trips and lectured as guest faculty at IIM-Bangalore in its early days. So, in some ways, he started his involvement in institution building in India in 1973. In 1991, after Indias economic liberalization, the government of India asked Bala to come to develop an MBA at the Management Development Institute (MDI) in Gurgaon. All the faculty of MDI was taken to Kellogg School of Management to be trained and taught how to teach for three months. As project director in 1993, Bala says he created and designed the MBA programme for MDI. The contract was for three years and it was Balas first direct involvement in an Indian institution. His next brush with Indian education was when the plan to set up ISB, Hyderabad came up. During his work with MDI and his growing association with India, Bala had even acted as advisor to both Manmohan Singh (when he was finance minister) and to Chandrababu Naidu (then CM of Andhra Pradesh). As a result, he got deeply involved in the setting up of ISB. Bala was the chairman of the committee to select the dean. I ask what happens to Great Lakes after Bala ? I point out hes 80 and not getting any younger. Who takes charge from him ? Bala says he has put in place a management and now has two lieutenants to steer the organisation in the future both of whom now have a stake in the organisation. As we draw towards the end of our chat, he tells me a lot of what he has achieved today he attributes to the guidance of his mother. A third grader, his mother, he says, was the first university he attended and the one from which he has learnt more than any of the others. The lady who is no more has created three sons who are all gold medalists and at the top of their careers. Two gold medalists, and a third gold medalist and a real character I think to myself. In a scene towards the end of the 2006 German film Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others), playwright Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) discovers that had been under constant state surveillance as a citizen of East Germany in the mid-1980s. For any surveillance to be effective, of course, the subject must remain blissfully unaware of it, and so was Dreyman until he is informed of it long after the fall of the Berlin Wall by a former minister of the socialist German Democratic Republic. Returning home, Dreyman pulls out the wires and microphones concealed in his walls and used the Stasi to eavesdrop on him. Later, at the Stasi Records Agency, he is stunned to discover thick files, with closely typed paged, that the secret police maintained on him, detailing every aspect of his life: What he ate and drank, what he told his friends, who came to see him, when he had sex with his wife. Of course, at the beginning of the film, we are told: The population of GDR is kept under strict control by the Stasi Its force of 100,000 employees and 200,000 informers safeguards the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Its declared goal: To know everything. The expose published last weekend by The Observer on how British data analytics and political consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica used personality profiling of 50 million Facebook users without their consent to micro-target US President Donald Trumps election campaign as well as the Brexit campaign. The company, whose services have also been allegedly used by the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party in India, also used the data they mined to discredit candidates in poll campaigns, thereby influencing results in way that are not yet fully known. This has thrown open the global debate on privacy, with many erstwhile sceptics now batting for stricter laws such as the European one which comes into effect next month on how private and government agency use data of individuals. As Business Standard columnist Claude Smadja argued on Friday, data is to 21st century economy what oil was to 20th century economy and is being weighed in gold. States have, of course, always used surveillance which is after all nothing but another form of data collection to control citizens. Be it Stalinist Soviet Union, where even the slightest careless remark could land one in the Gulag for decades, or democratic United States under the paranoid sway of Joseph McCarthy and the House Committee on Un-American Activities that presumed people to be communists unless they were able to prove otherwise. In more recent times, too, the National Security Agency of the US had been accused of global surveillance programmes, with the cooperation of European telecommunication companies. And, in India, privacy advocates have raised serious concerns about the governments Aadhaar programme, after a series of revelations of how sensitive data of citizens who registered for it could be breached. It is not without reason that Das Leben der Anderen is set in 1984; this is a subtle hint to George Orwells novel 1984, a stringent critique of Bolshevik Russia that popularised the phrase: Big Brother Is Watching. But what do states, and now multinational companies, do with the data they meticulously collect? In the film, which bagged an Oscar besides other prizes, the surveillance programme on Dreyman is initiated because the minister of culture, Bruno Hempf (Thoman Thieme) covets his wife, the actress Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedek). The Stasi put their best man, Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Muhe), on the job. While Hempf manages to force Sieland to have sex with him, taking advantage of her addiction to prescription drugs, the Stasi make little progress on their mission to find any dirt on Dreyman. He is, as we learn, a devoted socialist. At least, until the suicide of his friend, blacklisted theatre director Alberta Jerska, which prompts Dreyman to write an anonymous article on the spiralling suicide rates in East Germany for Der Spiegel. The enraged East German authorities launch a manhunt to find out the writer but is unable to link the article to Dreyman. This is because Wiesler, fully aware of it, protects him. He, too, has grown disillusioned with the regime and sympathetic towards the playwright. Discussing how he conceptualised the film, director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck told The New York Times: I suddenly had this image in my mind of a person sitting in a depressing room with earphones on his head and listening in to what he supposes is the enemy of the state and the enemy of his ideas, and what he is really hearing is beautiful music that touches him. The piece of music that moves Wiesler is Beethovens Sonata for a Good Man. Wiesler is depicted to be the perfect picture of soulless bureaucracy, wearing monochromatic greys or browns, with a receding hairline. His outstanding qualities, at least according to his superiors, are meticulousness and doggedness. Yet, this same man is moved by music, is sensitive to the motivations of an artist, and turns into an artist himself, authoring the detailed false reports of Dreymans activities that he submits to the Stasi. Donnersmarck wasnt allowed to shoot at the Berlin-Hohenschonhausen Memorial, formerly a dreaded Stasi prison because its director Hubertus Knabe objected to the portrayal of a Stasi man as a hero. When Donnersmarck cited Schindlers List in his defence, Knabe reportedly said: There was a Schindler. There was no Wiesler. This assessment, however, is a tad too pessimistic. Barely seven years after this film, in 2013, Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee and contractor of the US government, revealed to journalists an unauthorised NSA surveillance programme. He has since then been convicted of espionage and is living at an undisclosed location in Russia. His case is an example of how even the most well-orchestrated, Kafkaesque, machinations of governments can be compromised by a conscientious individual. The purpose of the big state is to regulate control the lives of others. Yet, even the most well-oiled bureaucracy comprises individuals, who are not without feelings, and some of whom will be only to happy to subvert the surveillance. GlaxoSmithKline has quit the race to buy Pfizer's consumer healthcare business, endangering an auction the US drugmaker hoped would bring in as much as $20 billion. It was not immediately clear whether there were other offers for the business, which includes Advil painkillers and Centrum vitamins, following this week's deadline for binding bids. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), which announced its withdrawal on Friday, was seen as the frontrunner to buy the assets after Reckitt Benckiser left the race late on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson stepped away from the auction in ... 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More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor With prospective buyers of stressed assets challenging the interpretation of clauses in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) in four key areas, the resolution of many of them would depend on the final decisions of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) or through amendments to the IBC by the government. Experts, however, say the plethora of legal cases being filed is not unusual. They say the new law is superior to a winding-up petition which was filed by creditors under the Companies Act. The key difference is that it wasn't time-bound though an official liquidator was ... Tata Steel on Friday said it has accepted the letter of intent for the sale of Bhushan Steel for an undisclosed amount. According to industry sources, the Tata group firm is likely to pay Rs 352 billion in cash for the deal. However, there are likely to be hiccups since the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has fixed April 3 as the date for deciding on Larsen & Toubros (L&Ts) petition, which had challenged the process, saying its dues of Rs 9.62 billion should be cleared first. The Committee of Creditors had declared Tata Steel the successful bidder for Bhushan ... United Kingdom-based Vodafone Group and Aditya Birla Group have appointed Balesh Sharma as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the merged entity to be created as the local units of the two telecom majors come together for the India market. The appointment of Sharma has not come as a surprise to Vodafone employees, who have seen him taking control of the day-to-day functions of the company over the past year as its chief operating officer (COO). According to several employees of the company, over the past year or so, Sharma was the man responsible for running the company, with ... Social activist Anna Hazare on the second day of his hunger strike on Saturday said the government was going to send a draft on his demands of an all-power anti-graft body and relief for distressed farmers that will be discussed by the core committee of the protesters. "I have been told that the government is sending a draft. I will discuss it with the core committee," Hazare told reporters here. He has been on an indefinite hunger strike at the Ramlila Maidan here. The activist has been pressing for appointments of Lokayukta at the Centre and Lokayuktas at the ... Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat on Friday said the poll panel would continue to have an association with Facebook, until the latter was proved guilty of any misconduct or impropriety. After the regular election commission meeting, which is held among the three election commissioners every Tuesday and Friday, officials were asked to find out if there was anything amiss in relation with Facebook. Officials are supposed to present a report to the three-member commission at the next meeting on Tuesday. Officials said thus far they had not found any risk associated with ... Attention, Delhiites! If you use an Ola or Uber cab for your daily travel to office or elsewhere in Delhi-NCR, you might have to look at alternative modes of transport today. Drivers of the two leading app-based cab aggregators are planning a complete shutdown in the city on Friday to press for their demands, according to a media report. The announcement of an indefinite nationwide strike in the key cities of Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune had been made by the Ola and Uber drivers on March 19. However, a significant impact had so far been seen only in Mumbai; the ... Delhi Metro Rail Corporation suffered a setback when the Delhi High Court earlier this month upheld an arbitration award in favour of Reliance Infrastructure. The company, whose success has been the reason for the metro revolution in the country, added over 30 km to its network in the past four months even as it is seeing a fall in ridership because of increases in fares in May and October. In an interview with Megha Manchanda and Jyoti Mukul, Managing Director Mangu Singh talks about the next course of action. Edited excerpts The recent Delhi High Court order has gone in favour of ... In 2014, PM Narendra Modi led NDA stormed in to power with an absolute majority. Since then, BJP has been successful in keeping the momentum going. As of today BJP led governments are in power in 22 states either on their own or along with a coalition partner. After the completion of 3 years in power, all the opinion polls and surveys that were conducted by various private media houses had concluded that PM Modi by-far remained the most popular leader in India. The consensus was that if the Lok Sabha elections were held then, the BJP would again form the government at the center with ease. ... Guwahati (Assam), Apr 30 (ANI): Dismissing the exit polls for Assam assembly elections which indicate return of BJP alliance in the state, Assam Cong... The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) is probing Religare Enterprises and its group company Fortis Healthcare for alleged frauds, Union Minister P P Chaudhary said on Friday. Besides, companies linked to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi groups are under the scanner too, the minister of state for corporate affairs said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. The development comes in the wake of over Rs 129 billion scam at the state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB). In the last four financial years, the corporate affairs ministry has ordered investigations through SFIO into the affairs of 575 companies on account of alleged frauds. This included probe in 258 companies in the ongoing financial year (till March 15, 2018), Chaudhary added. SFIO, which mainly investigates white collar crimes, is probing Religare and Fortis. This comes amid recent reports that financial irregularities have emerged at the two companies. The companies have also come under the lens of the markets regulator Sebi. The latest development comes against the backdrop of reports that Fortis Healthcare's promoters Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singhtook at least $78 million out of the company without any board approval about a year ago. Further, Chaudhary said SFIO has ordered investigation into the affairs of companies including Firestar Diamond International, Firestar International, Firestar Diamond Pvt Ltd, Nirav Modi Pvt Ltd, Gitanjali Gems Ltd and Nakshatra Brands Ltd. A multi-agency probe is already underway into the PNB fraud which was mainly perpetrated by way of fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs). According to the minister, investigations by SFIO have not unearthed any nexus between bureaucrats and corporate houses for the purpose of committing corporate frauds as of now. China on Friday said it will impose higher duties on $3 billion worth of US imports, including pork and steel pipes, in retaliation to stiff US tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminium imports, triggering fears of a trade war between the world's two largest economies. Trump had directed the US trade representative to level tariffs on about $50 billion worth of Chinese imports following a seven-month investigation into the intellectual property theft, which has been a longstanding point of contention in US-China trade relations. "We have a tremendous intellectual property theft problem," Trump said. "It's going to make us a much stronger, much richer nation." Trump on Thursday signed a memorandum announcing the trade actions, invoking Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act, which formed the basis for the administration's investigation. Before signing the measure, Trump lamented the US' multi-hundred billion dollar trade deficit with China and said the action would be "the first of many." Trump's proposed tariffs are a response to allegations of intellectual property theft by China. In August 2017, the US initiated an investigation into Chinese intellectual property and technology transfers under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The US also launched a complaint against China at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) today. Its statement said: "China appears to be breaking WTO rules by denying foreign patent holders, including US companies, basic patent rights to stop a Chinese entity from using the technology after a licensing contract ends." "China also appears to be breaking WTO rules by imposing mandatory adverse contract terms that discriminate against and are less favourable for imported foreign technology," the statement added. Reacting to the US move, Beijing said it firmly opposed the planned tariffs but China's ministry of commerce said it was "confident and capable of meeting any challenge". "China will not sit idly by its own legitimate rights and interests. We are fully prepared to defend our legitimate interests," the ministry said. But it said it hoped the US would not drag bilateral economic and trade relations into danger. China's embassy in Washington indicated the country was up for a fight in a statement, which said "China's not afraid of and will not recoil from a trade war." Beijing's measures suspending tariff concessions will target 128 US products including pork, wines and seamless steel tubes, the Ministry of Commerce said. According to the ministry, the measures will include a 15-per cent tariff on products including fruits, nuts, wines and seamless steel tubes, and a 25-per cent tariff on pork and recycled aluminium products. The measures will be implemented in two stages. In the first stage, the 15-per cent tariff will be imposed if the two countries could not reach an agreement on trade issues within scheduled time. In the second stage, the 25-per cent import tax will be imposed after evaluating the impact caused by the US policies, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted the ministry as saying. The move was aimed at countering US decision to impose 25 per cent tariffs on steel imports and 10 per cent on aluminium, with initial exemptions for Canada and Mexico. In August 2017, the US initiated an investigation into Chinese intellectual property and technology transfers under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The move, which comes on the heels of the administration's steel and aluminum tariffs that also took aim at China, is heightening concerns of a global trade war that could destabilise the global -- fears the Trump administration has repeatedly brushed off. After relief in the INX Media case, Karti Chidambaram on Friday filed an anticipatory bail plea in connection with the Aircel-Maxis case against the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The case relates to the unauthorised Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance given by Karti's father and then finance minister P. Chidambaram to Mauritius-based subsidiary of Maxis, Global Communication Holding Services Ltd., in 2006. This comes after the Supreme Court directed CBI and ED to complete investigation into all cases relating to 2G spectrum scam within six months. The CBI had registered an FIR in 2011, while the ED registered an enforcement case investigation report (ECIR) in 2012, in connection with the Aircel-Maxis. The Aircel-Maxis deal refers to a series of allegations of kickbacks in the telecom sector, which was part of the wider 2G scam that engulfed the UPA regime. Earlier in the day, Karti Chidambaram was granted bail in connection with the INX Media case, on a surety of Rs 10 lakh, by the Delhi High Court. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Anant Goenka, managing director CEAT Ltd. and Rajeev Anand, chairman and managing director Goodyear India Ltd have been unanimously elected as chairman and vice chairman of Automotive Tyre Manufacturers' Association (ATMA), the national industry body for automotive tyre sector in India. As one of the youngest chief executives in the automotive space, Anant Goenka has been at the helm of CEAT Ltd as managing director during the last five years. Prior to joining the RPG Group, Goenka has worked with Hindustan Unilever and Accenture in Mumbai and with Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong. He recently led CEAT as first tyre company outside of Japan to win the Deming Prize, one of the most prestigious global quality awards in the world. He is an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and a BS (Economics) from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Rajeev Anand has been with Goodyear India for almost 36 years now, and took on the country leadership in 2009, when the country was going through a rough economic patch due to negative global cues. He was able to turnaround the company within a year of taking charge through appropriate changes to the model. ATMA core group comprising conveners of five expert groups has also been reconstituted. Nitish Bajaj, vice president - marketing, Ceat Ltd is the new convener of ATMA Industry, Public & Economic Affairs (IPEA) Group that looks at developing new markets and increasing export competitiveness of Indian tyre industry. ATMA Supply Chain and Resources (SCR) Group that works to ensure fair and sustainable supply of raw materials to the industry will now be headed by Ashish Pandey, vice president - materials, JK Tyres and Industries Ltd. A veteran of tyre industry in all technical matters P. K. Mohamed, chief advisor - research and technical, Apollo Tyres Ltd., has again taken over the reins of ATMA Technology, Environment, Safety & Standards (TESS) Group. The policy formulation aspects of the industry will be taken care of by Nagaraja N, general manager - GST and Excise, MRF Ltd. as convener of ATMA Government Affairs and Legislation (GAL) Group. In view of increased importance of skilling, a new expert group on skill development has been created with Jyotsna Aswal, GM - HR and general affairs, Yokohama India Pvt. Ltd as the convener. Set up in 1975, ATMA is amongst the most active national industry bodies in the country representing Rs. 53000 crore (US$8 bn) automotive tyre industry. Eleven large tyre companies comprising mix of Indian and International tyre majors and representing over 90 percent of production of tyres in India are members of the Association. ATMA members include Apollo Tyres, Birla Tyres, Bridgestone India, Ceat, Continental India, Goodyear India, JK Tyre & Industries, Michelin, MRF, TVS Tyres and Yokohama. ATMA is a key link between the tyre manufacturers and the government and assists in relevant policy formulation on the tyre industry. It regularly publishes industry data and brings out status notes on various industry issues. ATMA is governed by a managing committee which is assisted by expert groups in areas like marketing, exports, purchase of raw materials, taxation, technical and skill development. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare will here on Friday begin his indefinite fast to bring about a competent Lokpal and ensure better production cost for farm produce. The Gandhian has been pressing for setting up of the Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in the states, besides implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report, which has suggested ways to address the agrarian distress. Hazare had earlier said that he would do satyagraha till life is left in his body, and accused the central government of not allotting space. The venue of his protest will be the same iconic Ram Lila Maidan, where he had sat on a hunger strike in 2011 demanding constitution of a Lokpal to investigate cases of corruption. Hazare has turned down last-minute overtures from ministers in Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's government in Maharashtra to call off his hunger strike. Maharashtra Irrigation Minister Girish Mahajan had earlier met Hazare to persuade him to give up his fast, but the activist, who has put together a team of around 6,000 people across India for the purpose, indicated that he would go for the fast until Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government came up with a concrete proposal to empower the Lokpal. He said he would do "satyagraha from jail" if not allotted a space in New Delhi. Hazare has demanded setting up of Agriculture Price Commission on the lines of the Election Commission and Niti Aayog. Earlier, 31 apolitical farmer associations from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh participated to set the agenda for the March 23 satyagraha. Retired Supreme Court judge and former Karnataka Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde has announced to join the social activist's stir. The activist had in 2011 anti-corruption campaign and 12-day hunger strike warned that he would resume his fast if an effective law was not instituted to deal with corruption and misgovernance. The parliament had in the 2011 hunger strike aftermath passed an unprecedented resolution in support of his demands. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China on Friday warned the United States that it is "not afraid of a trade war" while threatening to impose tariffs amounting to USD 3 billion on the US goods in retaliation to steel and aluminium tariffs imposed by the US. Beijing has released a list of import duties of up to 25 percent to be imposed on items including fresh fruits, wine and pork. Though, it has shown its readiness to negotiate an agreement with the US to avoid a trade war. Certain media source quoted the Chinese Commerce Ministry as saying, "China does not want to fight a trade war, but it is absolutely not afraid of a trade war". It further warned that a 15 percent tariff amounting to $1 billion on 120 goods including fresh fruit, nuts and wine would be imposed if the US fails to reach a "trade compensation agreement" within an unspecified timeframe. Earlier on Friday, US President Trump signed an order that could also result in restrictions on Chinese investment in the US, saying it would be the "first of many" trade actions. "We have a tremendous intellectual property theft situation going on," Trump said as he signed the new trade order, which could include duties as high as 25 percent. On March 23, the US President imposed massive trade tariffs amounting to USD 60 billion on China, in an effort to stop the latter from stealing "intellectual property" from American companies. Earlier in March, the US had passed an order imposing 25 percent tariffs imposed upon steel and aluminium imports claiming to stop the assault on the US. The new order saw a 25 percent tariff on imports of steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminium. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tibetian spiritual leader Dalai Lama will cut down on his foreign travel due to age and exhaustion, a spokesperson said on Thursday. "His Holiness is invited to different countries but he has cut down public engagements because of age. He is exhausted after teaching for a long period of time. Therefore a few commitments have been cancelled," said Sonam Dagpo, a spokesperson for the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). "The Dalai Lama's health is fine", Dagpo added, noting that the 82-year-old spiritual icon has made trips within India, where he lives in exile in Dharamshala. "Usually these engagements -- inauguration, ribbon-cutting-type ceremonies -- last only for a few hours, but some engagements are for teaching and they last for seven days, which he's doing less and less of," he stated. For decades, the Dalai Lama has brought Buddhist teachings to audiences across the world, while lobbying political leaders to press China to grant Tibet more cultural autonomy, CNN reported. He has said that his exile, while painful, brought some benefits, because it forced him to travel, enabled him to meet new people and helped the Nobel Peace Prize laureate spread Buddhist teachings. Last year, the Dalai Lama had public events in eight foreign cities, as compared to 16 in 2016 and 11 in 2015. The Tibetian spiritual leader will complete his 60th anniversary of living in exile in India at the end of this month. The Dalai Lama, along with his followers, fled to India from Tibet in 1959 in a massive uprising by the Chinese forces. China calls the 82-year-old Buddhist monk a 'separatist', seeking to secede Tibet from China. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress party leaders, led by president Rahul Gandhi, on Friday staged a protest in front of Mahatma Gandhi's statue at the Parliament, demanding the Government to file a petition against the Supreme Court ruling on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) SC/ST Act. Congress leaders raised slogans, "Daliton ke samman mein, Rahul Gandhi maidan mein." (Rahul Gandhi stands for protection of Dalit's rights) Meanwhile, Congress MPs from Punjab, including Sunil Jakhar and Partap Singh Bajwa also protested in the Parliament premises and demanded removal of Goods and Services Tax (GST) from food items purchased for 'langar' (community kitchen). Earlier in the day, the MPs gathered at the office of the Congress Parliament Party and discussed the strategy to move forward on the issue. Since the commencement of the Budget session of Parliament on March 5, the ruckus erupting every other day has been hindering the proceedings of the Parliament. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Democracy Forum (TDF), a prominent London-based think tank, hosted a seminar titled 'Economic & Political Power of the Military The seminar, chaired by senior journalist Humphrey Hawksley, was addressed by TDF President Lord Bruce, and featured a distinguished panel of experts comprising Pervez Hoodbhoy, Ayesha Siddiqa, Myra MacDonald, Dr. Hamid Hussain, Dr. Rosena Khan and Dr. David Brenner. Setting the tone for the discussions, Lord Bruce, in his opening remarks stated that it was a sine qua non that the role of the military is a frequent and sometimes nefarious participant in the suspension of democratic institutions across the According to the Democracy Index, none of the four countries selected for discussion in the seminar - Pakistan, Myanmar, Turkey and Egypt, scores more than five out of ten in the Index's 2017 international survey, which covers indicators including pluralism, civil liberties and political culture. Dr. Hoodbhoy, Zohra and Z.Z. Ahmed Foundation Distinguished Professor at Forman Christian College, who focused on Pakistan, opened his speech by referring to two media articles that clearly demonstrated the all-encompassing influence that the Pakistan Army had over the civilian government. The first article referred to how members of the outgoing Senate, who requested for a presentation of the Nuclear Command Authority Act, passed by Parliament in 2010, were never shared the outlines of the Act on grounds that it related to national security. According to Dr. Hoodbhoy, this was hardly surprising, as the Pakistan Army has always said that matters of national security can be entrusted only to those who are 'worthy' of such trust. The second article concerned the worry, in Pakistani financial circles, on ways to deal with the 'grey-listing' of Pakistan by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Though the Army's official mouthpiece, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated that this was not a matter for the army to resolve, Dr. Hoodbhoy was of the opinion that all Pakistanis were aware that this issue was largely dependent on the army's change of policy on supporting Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)-associated institutions. To underline the deep-rooted links between the Pakistan Army and terrorist groups, he gave the example of former Pakistan President and Army Chief General Pervez Musharraf banning the LeT in January 2002 following American pressure, while admitting in November 2017 of the Army's links with the group and declaring them 'excellent institutions of Pakistan'. Dr. Hoodbhoy, however, believed that the message from the FATF would affect Rawalpindi, the heart of real power in Pakistan as the army had huge financial interests in Pakistan's national economy, and these interests would be affected by the grey-listing, and even more so by any blacklisting. Former Reuters journalist and author Myra MacDonald drew on the research conducted for two books she has written - Heights of Madness, about the Siachen war between India and Pakistan, and Defeat is an Orphan: How Pakistan Lost the Great South Asian War - to compare the power of the military in both countries. MacDonald looked at India and Pakistan's evolving relationship and said that the nuclear tests of 1998 should, in theory, have created parity between them, since Pakistan no longer had any reason to feel insecure about an Indian invasion. However, in reality, India had used the time since 1998 to emerge as a rising power, while Pakistan had declined into a 'tottering' state, weakened by its absence of democracy. MacDonald argued that Indian democracy, combined with diplomacy, had helped to underpin its success while the dominance of the military in Pakistan not only undermined democracy but threatened to turn it into a failing state. Asking why we value democracy so highly, she said that it allowed for the legitimacy of the State, peaceful settlement of disputes and domestic stability that then led to international strength. Based on these four criteria, India has thrived and Pakistan has been weakened, as the Pakistan army presented itself as the guardian of the nation, yet in reality created instability rather than stability by running foreign and security policy, manipulating the democratic process and dominating the economy. She stated that such a centralised, military-dominated economy prohibited poor or middle class people from accessing more resources, building a recipe for conflict, apart from leading people to turn to Islamist or other right-wing religious groups to try and expand their power. She added that rather than holding the country together, the army's power exaggerated the existing power of Punjab province and caused conflict in smaller provinces such as Balochistan, whose people resented the domination of both the military and of Punjab. MacDonald, however, expressed optimism that Pakistan's vibrant civil society, as recently illustrated by the Pashtun Long March, would continue its peaceful opposition to the military's influence. In her presentation, Dr. Siddiqa, well known for her book on the Pakistani military, focused on comparing the fledging democracies of Pakistan and Egypt and the role of their militaries. Dr. Siddiqa said that her now-famous concept of 'Milbus' (military business) is not benign wherever it takes place, as no matter how it is justified, it has an inherent illegality because it is meant for the personal benefit of the military fraternity, yet is neither recorded nor part of the defence budget. "So, when militaries engage in business, it is about a military organisation proactively partaking in resource generation, and thus blurring the line between what is for the public and private good," said Dr Siddiqa. She highlighted both key differences and similarities between the Egyptian and Pakistani military systems. According to her, the Pakistan army was much more hierarchical, with fewer chances of coups from within, though in both nations the military had a greater sense of the national good. The fall of the Turkish army was the main focus for military commentator Dr Hamid Hussain, who described the army's view of itself as a doctor tending to the sick child, secularism, that resulted from the marriage of democracy and Islam. He offered an overview of the Turkish army's role as guardian of the Kemalist tradition and spoke about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's rise to power, and the dynamic between him and the military. Dr. Brenner from the University of Surrey spoke on the Myanmar military and the country's move towards democracy in a top-down, military-led transition. He gave a short history of Tatmadaw's (the army's) emergence from the struggle for independence from Britain, considering its perception of itself as a 'guardian of the nation' that prevents the Union of Burma from disintegrating, and spoke of how it maintained its economic sources of power through control of assets, resources such as jade and gold, and strategic infrastructure. Also speaking on the subject of Myanmar was Dr. Khan, Labour MP from Tooting, who has personally witnessed the humanitarian crisis of the Rohingya people in the refugee camps in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar. Describing what is happening to the Rohingyas in Myanmar as 'nothing short of a genocide', she condemned the West's failure to call to account those who perpetrate such atrocities. Senior journalist Hawksley, thereafter successfully steered a very lively Q&A session. The closing proceedings was TDF chair Barry Gardiner MP, Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade. He thanked the panel, and TDF for organising the event, which was, he said, a timely reminder of why democracy is valuable. He urged everyone present to use the analysis of the seminar to consider the dangers to democracy and to think about how lack of transparency and accountability can affect us all, not only those living under authoritarian regimes. The event was well attended, including by members of the Henry Jackson Society, postgraduate students from King's College London, University College of London and the University of Westminster, members of the print and TV media, representatives from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK, and several embassies and High Commissions. Baroness Shreela Flather was also in attendance. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Friday deleted his SpaceX and Tesla Facebook pages amid the Cambridge Analytica scandal, as part of the #deletefacebook campaign trending on social media. The development happened during an exchange on Twitter when Musk referenced an article by The Verge about Sonos pulling ads off of Facebook for a week. Musk provided a link to the story and a snarky comment, 'Wow, a whole week. Risky .' He then deleted the SpaceX page after his comments on Twitter, followed by his company Tesla page on Facebook. Musk's millions of followers on Twitter quickly jumped on the comment. Brian Acton, the co-founder of popular messaging service, WhatsApp, whose product was bought by Facebook in 2014 for a whopping USD 16 billion, took to the microblogging platform and said - "It is time. #deletefacebook", after concerns were flagged on data privacy in the wake of revelations about Cambridge Analytica's alleged misuse of user data. Both the SpaceX and Tesla Facebook pages had over 2.6 million likes and follows and super high engagement rates, prior to their deletion. Musk, who occasionally posts photos and videos on Instagram, admitted that Facebook's influence was creeping into the photo-sharing site. The Tesla CEO has slammed Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg earlier on their views on the dangers of artificial intelligence, describing it as a potentially existential threat to the human race. Cambridge Analytica, a London-based analytics firm is accused of harvesting personal data of Facebook users to influence elections in several countries including the US presidential elections. It has been accused of breaching private information of more than 50 million Facebook users. The company, founded by Stephen K. Bannon and Robert Mercer, a wealthy Republican donor who has put at least USD 15 million into it, offered tools that could identify the personalities of American voters and influence their behaviour. The so-called psychographic modeling techniques, which were built in part with the data harvested from Facebook, underpinned the company's work for then Republican nominee and US President Donald Trump's campaign in 2016. On Wednesday, the Indian Ministry of Information Technology had sent out a word of caution to Zuckerberg regarding any incident of data theft of an Indian citizen if found. Meanwhile, Cambridge Analytica on Tuesday suspended its chief executive, Alexander Nix over the same issue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer has stressed that retaining his world number one spot in rankings is no more than a 'mini goal' for him as he is looking forward to defend his title at the Miami Open. In order to retain his numero-uno spot, Federer is required to make it to the quarter-finals of the Miami Open or else he would be surpassed by his long-time rival Rafael Nadal of Spain. "The number one ranking is in my head a little bit, but no more than that. It's a mini-goal. It would be nice to stay there but it's no more important than that," news.com.au quoted Federer, as saying. Though Federer admitted that the quest of retaining the number one spot helps in keeping a player motivated, the failure of the same would not end his playing career. "You have to win matches to go far here. Going far enough to stay number one, it helps my motivation to have a goal. But even if I don't manage it, it's not the end of the world," Federer said. Federer will begin his Miami Open campaign against an Australian qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis on Saturday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The gunman responsible for France supermarket shooting, that took the lives of two people was shot dead by the French policemen in a counter-firing on Friday. The gunman has been identified by the investigators. He opened fire at the supermarket earlier today in which two people got injured. Earlier, one officer was injured in a separate incident when a gunman opened fire on a police team from Marseille who were jogging. However, the two incidents reportedly believed to be linked. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and a minister in Maharashtra government Eknathrao Ganpatrao Khadse on Friday demanded an enquiry into a rat company given a contract to kill the rodents. Questioning as to how the company, which was given a contract to Kill 3,19,400 rats in the secretariat accomplished the task in mere seven days, while the BMC took two years to kill around six lakh rats in Mumbai. A survey found that there were 3,19,400 rats in the secretariat and a work order was issued in this regard. According to the minister, about 45,628 rats a day were killed (around 31.68 rats every minute). The government could have deployed ten cats to do the job instead of hiring a private firm, the former revenue minister said in a lighter vein. But the minister demanded to know the technique used in this connection and also where did the dead bodies of the rats disappear. The Maharashtra government has assured the minister of a thorough probe into the matter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India and China underlined that maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the respective border areas was an important pre-requisite for the further development of bilateral relations between the two countries. The 11th round of the Working Mechanism on Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) for India-China Border Affairs was held in New Delhi on Thursday. The Indian delegation was led by Pranay Verma, Joint Secretary (East Asia), Ministry of External Affairs, while the Chinese delegation was led by Yi Xianliang, Director General, Department of Boundary and Oceanic Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China. The discussions were held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere. Both sides exchanged views on ways to improve border management. Various confidence-building measures were aimed at further enhancing the level of mutual trust and understanding between border personnel were discussed. India and China also agreed to explore the possibility of strengthening cooperation through exchange of visits and institutionalised dialogue mechanisms in order to promote better understanding and cooperation between the two defence forces. It agreed to hold the next meeting of the WMCC at a mutually convenient time. The WMCC was established in 2012 as an institutional mechanism for consultation and coordination for the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the India-China border areas, as well as to exchange views on strengthening communication and cooperation, including between their border security personnel. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A blueprint revealing the role of the US-based analytics firm Cambridge Analytica in the US presidential elections has been leaked. As per a report published by The Guardian, Cambridge Analytica helped US President Donald Trump to influence the voters in his favour via social media sites including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google and Snapchat. A 27-page document was presented by the CA officials who worked closely upon the Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Further, a former employee of the analysis firm said the document details the techniques used by the Trump campaign to micro-target US voters with carefully tailored messages about the Republican nominee across digital channels. During the paper presentation, it was shown how intensive survey research, data modelling and performance-optimizing algorithms were used to target 10,000 different ads to different audiences in the months leading up to the election. These ads were viewed billions of times, according to the presentation. The firm used Facebook data of various users to determine the effectiveness of campaigns designed for Trump and further gave constant feedback about the levels of engagement on platforms including Twitter and Snapchat. As per another CA employee, various previous employees of the firm demanded them to reveal their plan behind Trump's victory that led them to sign a non-disclosure agreement and hand over the details. The US-based online users were shown tailor-made videos on online video streaming website YouTube depicting high profile celebrities supporting Trump to help influence their votes. The results of the 2016 US presidential elections was earlier also claimed to be influenced by the third party. In January, the United States intelligence community said that the Russian government was engaged in electoral interference during the 2016 US presidential elections. Recently, Cambridge Analytica had come under fire for breaching private information of more than 50 million Facebook users. The investigation, in this case, is still underway. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mohajirs-- Muslims who migrated to Pakistan from India during post-partition period-- demand redrawing of geographical boundaries in Pakistan in line with the true spirit of the 1940 Lahore Resolution and according to the aspirations of the country's ethnic groups. This was stated by Nadeem Nusrat, former convener of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and spokesperson for the ' Free Karachi ' campaign, in a special message on the Pakistan Day. The Pakistan Day is celebrated on March 23 to commemorate the famous Lahore Resolution. The Lahore Resolution (Qarardad-e-Lahore), also known as the Pakistan Resolution (Qarardad-e-Pakistan) was a political resolution drafted between March 22 to 24, 1940, by the 25-member Working Committee of the All-India Muslim League, and was then formally adopted by the Muslim League membership at its general session on March 23,1940, held at Lahore. This resolution had asked for greater Muslim autonomy within British India. In a statement issued by the ' Free Karachi ' campaign, Nusrat said that Muslims in India had supported its partition only to achieve freedom, equality and all other human rights in their new homeland. Pakistan, however, has miserably failed to deliver even the basic human rights to its citizens. Ethnic Bengalis have been denied their rights since the breakup of Pakistan in 1971; it is Mohajirs, Balochs, Pashtuns, Hazaras, people of Gilgit-Baltistan and religious minorities who are being victimised by Punjabi elite and military establishment. Nusrat reminded that the 1940 Resolution had categorically and unequivocally called for the formation of autonomous "Independent States" in India, and not a single Muslim State. He said that the original resolution was highly pragmatic and sensible in its demand for the creation of "Independent States", as the Muslim-majority areas which became part of Pakistan were culturally and ethnically diverse. Even after 70 years of its existence and despite state-sponsored efforts to use religion as a binding force to create national unity in Pakistan, the country remains as ethnically divided and polarised as it could get, he reiterated. The 'Free Karachi' campaign spokesperson further highlighted that in its state-sponsored cultural shows, Pakistan presents itself as a country of many cultures and languages. This diversity, however, does not reflect in the running of the country. Every institution in Pakistan is dominated by people from one province, Punjab. The resources of smaller province are plundered by the Punjabi establishment. Pakistan at the moment is bleeding at the hands of its own security forces, whose overwhelming majority hails from Punjab. The country needs a complete overhaul as well as geographical restructuring, he added. The only way for Pakistan to become a viable state is to afford its ethnic minority's equal representation in the parliament, national policy-making process as well as in the armed forces, Nusrat stressed. The dominance of one ethnic group, the Punjabis, must come to an end now. 70-millions Mohajirs, whose forefathers played the decisive part during the movement to create Pakistan, also need administrative autonomy in areas where they form majority, he said. Nusrat said that Karachi, the main majority city in Pakistan, has been colonised by Punjabi military and Sindhi feudal lords, both of whom are busy looting the city and gradually handing over its financial and industrial institutions to the Chinese. The turmoil that Pakistan is facing today can only be addressed by forming many autonomous states and by ensuring equal participation of all ethnic and religious groups in the affairs of the country, the spokesperson said. Nusrat believed that creation of such autonomous states will guarantee the national unity, peace and stability and will also weaken the forces of religious extremism that at the moment enjoy unbridled support from Pakistan's military establishment. He added that the ethnic fault lines in Pakistan have deepened further in the last few years, as rights movements in Karachi, other areas of urban Sindh, Balochistan, KPK and FATA are becoming more visible and vocal despite the inhuman practices of Pakistan army to suppress them. In fact, Pakistani military establishment's excessive use of force in non-Punjabi areas is fanning separatist forces in Pakistan. The only thing that could save Pakistan from completely falling apart is the creation of many autonomous states with a loose federation, he said. Nusrat said that this is a final wake up call for Pakistan to address its policies which are based on racism, discrimination and persecution. He urged the policymaking institutions of the country to listen to the grievances of ethnic groups and immediately announce a powerful commission to work on the re-drawing of geographical boundaries according to the aspirations of ethnic groups and in line with the original Lahore Resolution of 1940. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Minister for Health and Welfare J.P. Nadda on Thursday said he is confident of his party's victory in the Rajya Sabha polls. "The election are about to take place. I have come to Chhattisgarh to meet party MLAs on Friday," the minister told ANI. Nadda said Chhattisgarh was developing rapidly and working well under the leadership of Chief Minister Raman Singh. Talking about the Centre's Ayushman scheme and its review in the state, the Health Minister said the Centre had approved the scheme to benefit people of the nation. "This is the single largest health scheme brought by India and at least 50 crore people would get Rs 5 lakh cover under it," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan's accountability court on Thursday rejected the plea by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz for week-long exemption from personal appearance in the court. According to the Dawn, accountability judge Mohammad Bashir quashed the applications filed by Sharif and Maryam. They had sought week-long exemption from appearance in court from March 26 to visit Sharif's wife Kulsoom Nawaz who, according to her medical report, may undergo a critical surgery in a London hospital in the next few days. Following the dismissal of her plea, Maryam Nawaz tweeted, "She'd been waiting. Haven't seen her for over 4 months. Our last exemption request was also rejected." "My mother was waiting for me and father, she asked on telephone whether permission was granted. I replied no. She went to say, it doesn't matter, Allah is with us," she said in a second tweet. Reacting to their plea's dismissal, Pakistan's Minister of State (MoS) for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said the Sharif family had been subjected to victimisation in the name of accountability. Earlier this month, the accountability court had allowed Sharif to leave the court after being told he was 'unwell'. Last month, Supreme Court had disqualified Sharif from the post of ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party chief, saying all the decisions made by him as head of the party stand null and void. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Rajya Sabha got adjourned till Monday, following the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MPs stormed into well of the house over demand of special status for Andhra Pradesh. When the house met earlier in the day, Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu expressed his anguish over the continued disruption before adjourning the proceedings for the day. As the Chairman gave the call for Zero Hour, the TDP, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra (AIADMK) and the Congress members stormed near the Chair shouting slogans and holding placards. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel listed the details of the pending Bills for passing and discussion next week. The Upper House had witnessed disruptions over different issues, including demands for special status to Andhra Pradesh, setting up of the Cauvery Management Board, Punjab Bank (PNB) fraud since March 5 when Parliament reassembled for the budget session after recess. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister, Keshav Prasad Murya, on Friday mocked the SP-BSP alliance and advised Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati to introspect the reason behind her loss in the Rajya Sabha polls. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday won nine seats and the Samajwadi Party (SP) bagged one seat in the recently concluded Rajya Sabha elections. "BSP should see and introspect that the party which supported them, actually betrayed them at the end," the Deputy Chief Minister said while taking a pot shot at the alliance. I want to advise Mayawati Ji to see the true face of its alliance (SP)," he said. Meanwhile, the BJP candidate Anil Agarwal thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for his victory in the polls and told ANI: "I feel elated that I could do what they expected from me. We all are really delighted with the results. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The daughter of a Hyderabad woman, trafficked by her employer from Dubai to Muscat, has requested the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to help her mother return to India. "I request MEA Sushma Swaraj, Indian embassy and Telangana government to rescue my mother," the daughter told ANI. She said that an agent had earlier approached her mother and offered a sales girl's job in Dubai, following which her mother on October 11 last year visited Dubai and stayed there for a month after the agent offered them a salary of 15,000 per month. According to the daughter, her mother was later shifted to Muscat in Oman and handed over to a hotel. She also said that she was made to dance at a bar and badly beaten if she refused to. "My mother, fed up with their harassment and torture, ran away from them and stayed in a church in Muscat. She on January 4 managed to approach the Indian embassy and but is stuck there as her passport was with the employer," she added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) United States President Donald Trump on Thursday imposed massive trade tariffs amounting to USD 60 billion on China, in a move that could escalate into a global trade war, given the accelerating trade tensions between the two countries. Terming Beijing as its efforts to steal 'intellectual property' from American companies, President Trump signed a memorandum directing the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) and the US Treasury Department to launch a 'broad range of actions' against China. During an event at the White House, Trump said that imposing tariffs on China is "going to make the US a much stronger and a much richer nation." The US President called China as a "friend" but demanded that Beijing should adopt more favourable trade practices with Washington D.C. "That's how China rebuilt itself. The tremendous money that we've paid since the founding of the Trade Organization, which has actually been a disaster for us. It's been very unfair to us. The arbitrations are very unfair. The judging has been very unfair. And knowingly, we always have a minority, and it's not fair," President Trump said. The US President alleged that China had been indulging in tremendous intellectual property theft worth hundreds of billions of dollars on a yearly basis. "I've spoken to the (Chinese) president. I've spoken to representatives of China. We've been dealing with it very seriously. As you know, we're renegotiating NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement). We'll see how that turns out. Many countries are calling to negotiate better trade deals because they don't want to have to pay the steel and aluminium tariffs, and we are negotiating with various countries," he added. President Trump will soon consult US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to consider whether the actions by China should result in increased tariffs on their imports. The USTR is expected to publish a proposed list of products and recommended tariff increases for public comment within the next 15 days, according to The Hill. The White House said that the Trump administration will propose adding 25 percent additional tariffs on certain products including aerospace, information communication technology and machinery for public comment. The decision comes after President Trump said earlier this month that the US will impose new tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium separately. While the steel and aluminium tariffs were targeted toward China, the new measures are even more focused on Beijing and could draw more political support from Congress. The steel and aluminium tariffs have been criticized by many Democratic and Republican lawmakers as well. The new order will see a 25 percent tariff on imports of steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminium. This might potentially have huge implications on the international trade front, with many experts predicting it will adversely affect oil prices, as well as prompting fears of a trade war. President Trump has also asked the USTR to pursue dispute settlement through the Trade Organisation (WTO) to address China's 'discriminatory licensing practices'. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hero of India's freedom struggle Sukhdev Thapar's relatives have demanded the government to declared him a ' Martyr'. They raised their demand during this year's Shaheed Diwas (Martyr's Day) celebrations. It's been 70 years since India became an independent country; but in all these years the government of India has not declared Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Hari Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar as ' Martyrs'. The family members were angry with the fact that the government has 'failed' to give due recognition to the sacrifices of the three. "What can be more shameful than this? They made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation when they gave their lives for the freedom of India, yet even after so many years the government has not sanctioned a single day's leave to commemorate their sacrifice" said one of the relatives. Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar, were Indian Revolutionaries who were hanged by the British Government in 1931, when the trio were found guilty of the murder of deputy police superintendent J.P. Saunders in 1928, to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) United States President Donald Trump claimed credit for exposing "fake news" since he took over the post in November last year. In an interview with conservative activist and Turning Point USA head Charlie Kirk here on Thursday, President Trump attacked the press, and said that the media 'turned on him' after he declared his candidacy, The Hill reported. "All my life I got the greatest publicity until I ran for office. But there's a lot of fake news out there, and I'm proud that I exposed it. People really do get it. There is a lot of fake news out there. Nobody had any idea. I'm actually proud of the fact I exposed it to a large extent. It's an achievement," he claimed. President Trump added that he had 'tremendous respect' for reporters. However, he did not name any journalist which he thinks them as 'credible'. On Tuesday, President Trump congratulated his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, after the latter secured an unprecedented fourth term in the just-concluded Russian presidential election. The US President has since then slammed the negative coverage of his phone call with President Putin. In January, President Trump along with the Republican National Committee (RNC) - mocked CNN, The Washington Post and other major news organisations with the "Fake News Awards," attacking columnists and news organisations by name for spreading what the administration claimed were 'false stories'. "2017 was a year of unrelenting bias, unfair news coverage, and even downright fake news. Studies have shown that over 90 percent of the media's coverage of President Trump is negative," the RNC wrote in its announcement of the awards. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US State Department on Thursday approved a nearly USD one billion deal in new arms sales for Saudi Arabia and notified the Congress of the same. The proposed deals to Riyadh include a USD 670 million sale for more than 6,600 TOW (Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire-guided) 2B missiles, and a USD 300 million sale for spare vehicle parts for the Royal Saudi Land Forces Ordnance Corps, The Hill reported. "This possible missile sale will support US foreign policy and national security objectives by improving the security of a friendly country which has been, and continues to be, an important force for political stability and economic growth in the Middle East," the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), which oversees foreign military sales, said in a statement. It added that the missile would "assist Saudi Arabia to sustain itself in its efforts to maintain stability." The spare vehicle parts, meanwhile, will "allow the Royal Saudi Land Forces Ordnance Corps to continue to purchase needed spare/repair parts to maintain Saudi Arabia's fleet of M1A2 Abrams Tanks, M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs), Light Armored Vehicles (LAVs), M198 Towed Howitzers," among other vehicles, according to a separate notice from DSCA released on the same day. This comes after Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is on a two-week visit to the US, where he is scheduled to meet a variety of different American leaders and personalities. US Defence Secretary James Mattis on Thursday met with Salman at the Pentagon. Prior to the meeting, the former said that Saudi Arabia was a "part of the solution" in Yemen, in the midst of a civil war in the country, which, according to experts, has killed thousands of civilians in airstrikes, initiated by Riyadh. Saudi Arabia is the largest buyer of US-made weapons, and Washington D.C. sees Riyadh as an ally in the fight against al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria. However, there have been controversies over the last few years, in providing Saudi Arabia with weapons. The US is accused of providing the Saudis with weapons and logistics support in Yemen's three-year civil war against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) To mark the martyrdom day of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, about 35,000 Drug Awareness Prevention Officers (DAPO) will take an oath to eradicate drug menace from Punjab on Friday. Launched by Punjab government, under the DAPO programme, the officers will take oath at Khatkar Kalan, in presence of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. "Similar programmes will also be held at Majitha, Shaheed Darshan Singh Pheruman College, Rayya in Baba Bakala sub-division and ITI College at Ajnala," Senior Superintendent Of Police (SSP) (Rural) Parampal Singh told ANI. "Groups have been made of volunteers who want to fight against drugs menace. The people will be educated against the ill effects of drug menace through lectures, seminars and short plays. The main idea of the programme is to spread a strong message against drugs and the DAPOs will work as agents to bring in a change," SSP. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister ShriNarendraModi has approved the Centrally Sponsored National Health Protection Mission (NHPM) having central sector component under Ayushman Bharat, anchored in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Thanking the Prime Minister ShriNarendraModi for his visionary leadership and constant guidance, ShriNadda said that NHPM is a major step towards Universal Health Coverage. It will protect around 50 crore people (from about 10 crore families) from catastrophic healthcare spending. This shall boost our resolve to serve the poorest of the poor in the country as there is an increased benefit cover to nearly 40% of the population, covering almost all secondary and many tertiary hospitalizations, he said. ShriNadda further stated that the coverage of Rs. 5 lakh for each family has no restriction of family size and age. This will give underprivileged families the financial support required when faced with illnesses requiring hospitalization, ShriNadda added. Families belonging to poor and vulnerable population based on Socio Economic Caste Census database shall be benefitted through the Ayushman Bharat-NHPM. NHPM will subsume the on-going centrally sponsored scheme RashtriyaSwasthyaBimaYojana (RSBY) and Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS). Poised to be the largest public funded health insurance scheme in the world, the Union Health Minister further said that the beneficiaries can avail of the benefits in both public and empanelled private facilities. All public hospitals in the States implementing Ayushman Bharat-NHPM, will be deemed empanelled for the scheme. As for private hospitals, they will be empanelled online based on defined criteria, Shri Nadda said. Shri Nadda stated that the Ayushman Bharat-NHPM will leverage on Comprehensive Primary Health Care through Health and Wellness Centres for preventive, promotive and curative care and will ensure seamless continuum of care. He also said that this will avoid overcrowding and improve quality of care at secondary and tertiary facilities and provide universal health coverage and make services equitable, affordable and accessible. Ayushman Bharat-NHPM is in synergy with NHM and will strengthen public health infrastructure. Various measures like identity validation through Aadhaar, cost control etc., make the Ayushman Bharat-NHP Measily accessible and transparent in approach, Shri Nadda said. The Union Health Minister added that the National Health Protection Mission will ensure rapid advancement towards attaining universal healthcare as there will be substantial reduction in out-of-pocket expenditure through the National Health Protection Mission, safeguarding about 50 crore people. Ayushman Bharat-NHPM will contribute immensely to ease of living and will enable beneficiaries to health facilities from any part of the country, he reiterated. The Health Minister said that Ayushman Bharat-NHPM will also strengthen spirit of cooperative federalism. NHPM provides ease to be merged with the ongoing health protection or Insurance schemes in various ministries and governments, he said. Shri Nadda further stated that all pre-existing conditions will be covered from day one of the policy. A defined transport allowance per hospitalisation will also be paid to the beneficiary. He further added that benefits of the scheme are portable across the country and a beneficiary covered under the Mission will be allowed to take cashless benefits from any public/private empanelled hospitals across the country. This will lead to increased access to quality health and medication. In addition, the unmet needs of the population which remained hidden due to lack of financial resources will be catered to. This will lead to timely treatments, improvements in health outcomes, patient satisfaction, improvement in productivity and efficiency, job creation thus leading to improvement in quality of life, Shri Nadda elaborated. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) All kinds of representations received from the trade and industry (including start-ups) regarding GST rates on services have been deliberated in the Fitment Committee. Government has exempted various kinds of services in relation to skill development. Decision pertaining to rates of GST and exemption on skill development, start-ups and tourism are taken after due deliberation in GST Council. There are several services which have been exempt from GST. The details are as given below. Exemptions in relation to Skill development and start-ups Services provided by an incubatee up to a total turnover of fifty lakh rupees in a financial year subject to the following conditions, namely:- -the total turnover had not exceeded fifty lakh rupees during the preceding financial year; and -a period of three years has not elapsed from the date of entering into an agreement as an incubatee. Taxable services, provided or to be provided, by a Technology Business Incubator or a Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Park recognised by the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India or bio-incubators recognised by the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, under the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. Any services provided by, (a) the National Skill Development Corporation set up by the Government of India; (b) a Sector Skill Council approved by the National Skill Development Corporation; (c) an assessment agency approved by the Sector Skill Council or the National Skill Development Corporation; (d) a training partner approved by the National Skill Development Corporation or the Sector Skill Council, in relation to- i. the National Skill Development Programme implemented by the National Skill Development Corporation; or ii. a vocational skill development course under the National Skill Certification and Monetary Reward Scheme; or iii. any other Scheme implemented by the National Skill Development Corporation. Services of assessing bodies empaneled centrally by the Directorate General of Training, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship by way of assessments under the Skill Development Initiative Scheme is exempt from GST. Services provided by training providers (Project implementation agencies) under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India by way of offering skill or vocational training courses certified by the National Council for Vocational Training are exempt from GST. Services provided to the Central Government, State Government, Union territory administration under any training programme for which total expenditure is borne by the Central Government, State Government, Union territory administration. Exemptions is relation to Tourism Services by a specified organisation in respect of a religious pilgrimage facilitated by the Government of India, under bilateral arrangement is exempt. Further, supply of tour operators services attracts concessional rate of GST @ 5%, subject to fulfilment of specified conditions. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India will be self-reliant in the production of silk by 2020, said the Minister of Textiles Smriti Zubin Irani. The Union Cabinet's decision approving the Integrated Scheme for Development of Silk Industry will help increase the production of Bivoltine silk (high quality) by 62 percent by 2020. The Minister further said the aim of the government is to increase the number of people engaged in the silk sector from 85 lakhs to one crore in the next three years. She said, 50 thousand people will be trained in this sector. Smt. Irani told media that an inter- ministerial committee of related ministries will be set up under the Textiles Ministry to disburse a sum of Rs. 1000 crores for development of Research & Development. Seed production units will be equipped and strengthened, besides increasing the production capacity to cater to the increased demand for silk in the future. Elaborating further the Minister said that under Digital India, web-based solutions will be provided to farmers engaged in seed production and other allied activities. Farmers and seed producers will get all subsidy by Direct Benefit Transfer. The minister informed that market development is a very important area and 21 cocoon testing centres are being set up in the main silk producing states of the country. Apart from this, 19 basic silk seed farms, 20 silk worm seed production centres, 131 chawki rearing centres and 500 acres of land is being set aside for improved varieties. Infrastructure development by individual farmers and silk producers will be financially supported by the Central Government which will bear 50% of the costs. For beneficiaries belonging to SC or ST category, the Centre will bear 65% of the cost. In case of beneficiaries from North East States, J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, the Centre will bear 80% of the cost. A Helpline will be set up for timely redressal of grievances and all outreach programmes. Smt. Irani informed that the State Governments have been urged to participate in implementing the Scheme as they have an important role to play in increasing the silk production of the country. The Minister said that out of 26 silk producing and consuming states, only 17 have a separate Department or Directorate of Sericulture. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) One person was killed and some others were taken hostage by an armed gunman at a supermarket in a southern French town on Friday. French Prime Minister Edouard Phillippe told the media that "there was a hostage situation in the town of Trebes". CNN affiliate BFM TV said a man had opened fire and that the incident was unfolding at a Super U supermarket. BFM reported that the attack appeared to be "ISIS-inspired", citing a local prosecutor. An investigation was launched into murder, attempted murder and kidnapping with terrorist intent, said officials. Earlier, a policeman was shot while jogging with colleagues in Carcassonne town, but was not critically injured. It was unclear if the incidents were connected, the BBC reported. Hundreds of police officers were deployed to the area and the vicinity was cordoned off. --IANS soni/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With the increasing penetration of smartphones, data becoming affordable and ever-growing availability of content, 80 per cent of internet users across all age-groups in the country are accessing YouTube, Google India said on Friday. The Google-owned company highlighted how YouTube is associated with India's internet growth story at "Brandcast 2018" event as it celebrated its 10th anniversary in the country since its launch in 2008. "For brands, YouTube is now an end-to-end platform and as per the December 2017 'ComScore Video Metrix Multi-Platform' it reaches 85 per cent of all highly engaged internet users, in the 18 years and above age-group," Rajan Anandan, Vice-President, South East Asia and India, Google, said in a statement. Touching 225 million monthly active users on mobile alone, India is one of the fastest-growing countries for the video platform, the company said. "We now have more than 300 channels with over a million subscribers, from just 16 channels in 2014. We will continue to invest in programmes to support creators, and encourage more diversity and distribution of their content," said Robert Kyncl, Chief Business Officer, YouTube. The total number of online video consumers is expected to reach 500 million by 2020, the company said citing a report by FICCI-EY. Ahead of the upcoming crucial Chengannur assembly by-election, the three rival fronts in Kerala -- UDF, Left and BJP -- are vying for the support of Kerala Congress-Mani (KC-M) chief K.M. Mani. "On Thursday, Saji Cherian (CPI-M candidate) came to me and asked for my party's support for his candidature. The intriguing thing is that while the candidate came and sought votes, one party (CPI) says they do not want our votes," Mani told the media on Friday. Of late, there has been a differences of opinion between the CPI-M and the CPI over seeking Mani's support for soon-to-be-announced bypolls being seen as a curtain raiser to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Friday said the "Kerala Left Democratic Front leadership will decide on what needs to be done", while former CPI General Secretary D. Raja told the media: "Whatever decision the Kerala unit of our party takes on Mani will be our decision too." The first to approach Mani was the top UDF brass. Last week, former state BJP President P.K. Krishna Das also arrived at the residence of Mani seeking his party's support for the BJP candidate. The KC-M was with the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) for over three decades and has now moved out of it. While the CPI-M has fielded Alappuzha district secretary Cherian for the bypolls, the Congress opted for local party veteran D. Vijayakumar and the BJP decided to field former state BJP president P. Sreedharan Pillai again. Mani's party has sizeable party workers at certain pockets in the Chengannur constituency. Its Alappuzha district secretary Jacob Thomas Aarikepuram has already gone public saying while the party's decision is yet to come on its strategy to be adopted during the polls, his personal opinion is he wants to vote for Cherian. "We are all waiting for the election notification to come as then our party will make its stand clear and we will all follow that," said a local party worker in Chengannur. --IANS sg/him/nir (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.) Launching a fresh anti-corruption agitation with an indefinite fast here on Friday, social activist Anna Hazare said his efforts to communicate with the Modi government on issues of Lokpal and agrarian distress had yielded no result. "I have written 43 letters to the Modi government in the last four years but did not get any reply," he said soon after he began his hunger strike at the sprawling Ramlila Maidan here after paying tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat. "The farmers in the country are in distress as they are not getting remunerative prices and the government is not acting to ensure fair prices." Hazare has been pressing for setting up Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in the states to probe corruption cases, bring in new electoral reforms and implementation of the M.S. Swaminathan Committee report to address the agrarian crisis in the country. He said he would hold discussions with the government during the agitation but his indefinite hunger strike, called 'Satyagraha', would continue "till the government comes out with a concrete action plan". The activist, who held a major agitation in 2011 against corruption catching the imagination of Indians, said Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and some ministers from Maharashtra met him on Thursday and gave certain assurances. "But I said I don't trust you. How many promises you have fulfilled so far? Nothing. So come with concrete action plan," he said in his address to thousands of supporters gathered at the iconic ground in the heart of Delhi. Hazare said the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), which decides prices for 23 crops, should be made autonomous for fair price fixation. Currently, the Central government controls CACP and cuts the fair price rates suggested by states by 30-35 per cent, he said. "I will prefer dying for the nation than by heart attack," said the 80-year-old activist, whose 2011 agitation gave birth to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) now ruling in Delhi. The agitation also contributed to the Congress-led UPA losing the 2014 general elections that brought the BJP to power at the Centre. Last month, Hazare accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of not being interested in the appointment of the Lokpal at the Centre. The veteran activist said Modi was "never serious about Lokpal". The reason behind the delay, he said, in the appointment of a Lokpal was because the Prime Minister was afraid that once this became a reality, his office as well as that of his cabinet members would also come under its purview. --IANS spk-mgu/sar/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Punjab government on Friday launched a campaign to wipe out the drugs menace in the state to mark the martyrdom day of freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh paid tributes to Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev on Martyrs Day, with a vow to empower the youth and a call to people to join his government's efforts to wipe out the menace of drugs. Dedicating the occasion to youth empowerment, he also launched a unique initiative - DAPO (Drug Abuse Prevention Officer) - to engage with government employees and citizens of Punjab in the ongoing fight against drugs. Amarinder Singh, addressing the state level function at Khatkar Kalan (nearly 85 km from here), the maternal ancestral village of Bhagat Singh, took the DAPO oath and also administered it to other volunteers. The cabinet ministers simultaneously administered the DAPO oath to volunteers in various district headquarters. The Chief Minister later told the gathering that the DAPO programme, marking the Youth Empowerment Day, will involve engaging with dedicated volunteers to work in their localities in coordination with the local administration, police and STF (special task force). He disclosed that more than 4.25 lakh DAPO volunteers had already registered on the DAPO website as part of the campaign and more applications were expected. "I appeal to one and all to become a part of the anti-drugs campaign of the government. It is the collective responsibility of all to rescue youth from the clutches of drugs, which was destroying future generations. It is important for everyone to support the government in this fight against drugs in the interest of the state's development and progress," he added. Referring to a demand for naming the Mohali International Airport after Shaheed-E-Azam Bhagat Singh, Amarinder Singh said the Punjab government had already taken up this issue with the Centre. The Chief Minister laid a wreath at the statue of Bhagat Singh and paid floral tributes at the memorial of the martyr's father, Kishan Singh. Paying his tributes, Punjab Tourism and Culture Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu urged the youth to seek inspiration from their supreme sacrifice to imbibe themselves with the spirit of patriotism. "Students in schools and colleges and even higher institutes of learning should be brought to the memorial and museum here at Khatkar Kalan to connect them with Punjab's rich legacy of nationalism and patriotism," Sidhu said. Sidhu requested the Chief Minister to formulate a policy for youth, who constitute 56 percent of the state's population, to provide them with quality education and gainful employment. Functions were also held at Hussainiwala border in Ferozepur district where the martyrs were cremated during British rule as well as other places across Punjab and Haryana. --IANS js/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Yesteryear Bollywood actress Zeenat Aman has filed a complaint accusing a Mumbai businessman of rape, a police officer said here on Friday. "The complaint was lodged by the victim late on Thursday and the accused has been arrested. He will be presented before a court later this evening," Mumbai Police spokesperson Deepak Deoraj told IANS. The businessman named in the complaint is Sarfaraz Mohammed, 38, with an alias of Aman Khanna. The complaint was registered by the 69-year-old actress at the Juhu Police Station against the businessman who had been charged for stalking and harassment in the past. It has been handed over to the Crime Branch which is now investigating the case. --IANS qn/rb/hs/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China announced on Friday that it was considering higher tariffs for imported US products worth about $3 billion to balance losses caused by the U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Beijing. The measures, or the suspension of tariff concessions, will target 128 items including pork, wines and seamless steel tubes, the Ministry of Commerce said. According to the ministry, the measures will include a 15-per cent tariff on products including fruits, nuts, wines and seamless steel tubes, and a 25-per cent tariff on pork and recycled aluminium products, reports Xinhua news agency. The measures will be implemented in two stages: in the first stage, the 15-per cent tariff will be imposed if the two countries could not reach an agreement on trade issues within scheduled time; in the second stage, the 25-per cent import tax will be imposed after evaluating the impact caused by the US policies, the ministry said. China's move comes after US President Donald Trump on Thursday directed the trade representative to level tariffs on nearly $50 billion worth of Chinese imports. Trump's announcement comes a seven-month investigation into the intellectual property theft, which has been a longstanding point of contention in US-China trade relations, CNN reported. In addition to the tariffs, the US also plans to impose new investment restrictions, take action against China at the World Trade Organization and the Treasury Department also will propose additional measures. Before signing the measure, Trump lamented the US' multi-hundred billion dollar trade deficit with China and said the action would be "the first of many". Trump, on March 8, signed proclamations to impose a 25 per cent tariff on imported steel and a 10 per cent tariff on aluminium, causing mounting dissent among business groups and trading partners around the world. --IANS ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid speculation that a CBI inquiry may be ordered into allegations of corruption against him, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Friday told TDP MPs that a 'conspiracy is being hatched against us'. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief advised MPs and other top party leaders to remain alert and be prepared to face any difficulties. In a teleconference with party MPs to take stock of the developments in Parliament, Naidu again voiced his apprehension that the BJP may target him, his son Nara Lokesh and other TDP leaders by slapping cases as they have pulled out of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The TDP chief also alleged that the BJP was trying to weaken the political leadership in south India. He said since a strong TDP means a strong Andhra Pradesh, attempts were being made to weaken the party by using the YSR Congress Party and Jana Sena. Naidu had earlier accused the BJP of trying to politically destabilize Andhra Pradesh by repeating what it did in Tamil Nadu. "I have come into to serve the people and not for conspiracies and machinations. This should be kept in mind by the three parties," he said referring to the BJP, YSR Congress and Jana Sena. Naidu's comments came in the wake of all the three parties making allegations of corruption against the TDP government, targeting him and his son Lokesh, who is also a cabinet minister. On Thursday, BJP leader Vishnu Kumar Raju alleged that TDP government was involved in corruption in the Pattiseema project and cited the report of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). Speaking in the assembly, Naidu made a counter attack by claiming that same CAG found fault with the Modi government on many issues. Naidu also slammed the three parties for making similar allegations on Polavaram project. "There were no corruption allegations when we were in NDA. How could we suddenly become corrupt after leaving the NDA?" he asked. The TDP pulled out of NDA over the latter's refusal to accord special category to Andhra Pradesh and fulfill other commitments made at the time of state's division in 2014. The TDP has also moved a no-confidence motion against the Modi government in the Lok Sabha. It could not be taken up due to unending uproar in the House. --IANS ms/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Going by the defiance of the ancient disease despite advancements in medical science, the bacteria may persist in several Indians even beyond 2025 -- the deadline set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to eradicate tuberculosis from the country. Day before the World Tuberculosis Day on March 24, the Prime Minister set the deadline to eradicate the epidemic from India, which accounts for 25 per cent of the global tuberculosis cases. This is five years ahead of the 2030 deadline set by other countries. "Globally, TB incidence is falling at about 2 per cent per year. This needs to accelerate to a 4-5 per cent annual decline to reach the 2020 milestones of the 'End TB Strategy'. Ending the TB epidemic by 2030 is among the health targets of the Sustainable Development Goals," said World Health Organization (WHO) on its website. TB is one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide. In 2016, 10.4 million people fell ill with TB and 1.7 million died. Over 95 per cent of TB deaths occur in low-income and middle-income countries. Seven countries account for 64 per cent of the total, with India leading the count, as per WHO. While the Indian government has given itself an ambitious target and taken several steps to reach it, including jail terms for doctors, hospitals and chemists if they fail to report TB cases, the country is facing the threat of rise in multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Though the number of new cases has been falling for some years, multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) remains a public health crisis and a health security threat. "India accounts for about a quarter of the global TB burden. Worldwide India is the country with the highest burden of both TB and MDR TB. Over the period of years, it is observed that not all tuberculosis cases are new patients. Significant patients present to us with recurrence or relapse of tubercular infection," said Dr Sandeep Nayar, Senior Consultant and HOD, Respiratory Department, BLK Super Speciality Hospital. However, tuberculosis is curable and preventable. "The treatment is a lengthy one but most patients who take medications in a proper way can beat the disease effectively," said Dr Puneet Khanna, Senior Consultant & Head, Respiratory Medicine Intervention Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine, Aakash Healthcare Super Speciality Hospital. The disease spreads through air and the symptoms include cough, fever, weight loss, chest pain, and fatigue. "Early diagnosis can cure TB completely. The complete course of TB treatment is minimum 6 months. In certain cases, patients do not respond to the commonly used TB treatment. There is an increase in MDR TB patients in last few years. Prevalence of MDR TB is almost 4-7 per cent," said Dr Salil Bendre, Chest Physician, Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital. Tuberculosis is one of the oldest and serious illnesses known to mankind, which, despite advances in medicine and vaccination, continues to cause high mortality. "We are already seeing a rise in the number of Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) and Extremely Drug Resistant (XDR)-tuberculosis. Such cases are extremely difficult to treat and are a major cause of mortality," said Dr Pradeep Mahajan, Regenerative Medicine Researcher, StemRx Bioscience Solutions Pvt Ltd. "The need of the hour is newer treatment modalities that target the disease from an unconventional angle. Cell-based therapy/ immunotherapy is one such modality wherein cells from ones' own body may be used to treat TB," said Mahajan. Dr Animesh Arya, Sr Consultant in Respiratory Medicine, Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute said, "It is advisable to maintain a good immunity and avoid coming into contact with people having tuberculosis. Few basic hygiene practices should be adopted like covering their mouth while coughing, refrain from spitting in public areas and to follow proper medication regimen." Further, as per Dr Sweta Gupta Clinical Director and Sr Consultant - Fertility Solutions, Medicover Fertility, tuberculosis causes tubal damage, resulting in rigid, pipe-like tubes which further impairs transport of egg from the ovary. When endometrium is damaged due to TB, it may lead to recurrent implantation failure, miscarriage, and recurrent pregnancy loss. --IANS mgu/and/nir (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A mention of Rampur may remind you of the famous Rampuri chhuri -- the switchblade Bollywood villains of a certain vintage proudly flaunted. But a taste of this Uttar Pradesh town's cuisine will leave millennials quite surprised. Of late, many hotels have started to showcase this delectable cuisine and one such ongoing fiesta is "Dine Like Royals" at K3, JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocity, from March 16 to March 26. For non-vegetarians, the cuisine is a delight all the way. But vegetarians won't go hungry either. Whisked, stirred, pounded and cooked by a team of third-generation cooks from the royal kitchens of the Nawabs of Rampur and chefs at the hotel, the mouth-watering traditional Rampur delicacies are characterised by the use of dry spices, or "khada masala" (black and white peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon or cassia bark, mace, black and green cardamom pods, bay leaf, cumin and coriander), which lend the dishes a unique flavour. Chef Suroor, who is among the team of "magicians" cooking up the delicacies at the restaurant, told IANS: "The cuisine was unheard of earlier -- or very few knew about it -- as the nawabs at the time did not want the food that they enjoyed to be had by all and become common. "They wanted it to remain unique... for their palettes only. People came to know about the wonders of the cuisine when they found documented recipes in the library of Rampur." Munch on the kachche gosht ki tikia (minced mutton tikka) and the fish anjeer tikka (fish and fig tika) while sipping on the Rampuri punch -- a summer cocktail comprising Rampuri spices, and a strong shot of vodka. The combination will prepare you for the rich and heavy main course dish -- tar qorma. The word tar (wire) has been given as the consistency of the curry is like that of a wire when you slide out the spoon from the dish. Not too soft, nor too chewy, the mutton which had soaked in the flavourful spices was cooked perfectly and was not even as spicy as it looked. "The speciality of the spices is that all of them are hand-pounded. None of them comes from the market," Chef Suroor explained. I would highly recommend the fish and fig tikka as it was a lovely amalgamation of fig with the spices and was melt-in-the-mouth soft. The taste of fig is not so strong if that is what you fear. Don't forget to try it with the garlic-yellow chilli dip. The yellow chilli is specific to Rampur and is hotter than the green chili that you get in the market. However, it is not as hot as the "bhut jolokia" found in the northeast Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland and Manipur. The keema aloo dish is dry and looks like minced soya bean, but like they say, "Never judge a book by its cover" -- it was delicious and I could not help but lap it up with a sheer maal roti which is very different from its usual Mughlai-style preparation. In the vegetarian section, the rich and heavy paneer shorma and the brinjal dish should be tried out even if you're partial to the non-vegetarian menu. For dessert, go for gulatthi (a cousin of kheer and phirni) and adrak ka halwa -- a sweet made of minced ginger. It warms up the stomach a bit, so the chef said it's a perfect winter delight. The price tag for the menu may seem overpriced to some, but for those who like to experiment with their taste-buds, it's a must-try. FAQs Where: K3 at JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocit, Asset Area 4, Hospitality District, Delhi Aerocity, New Delhi 110037 When: Lunch: 12.30 pm to 3 pm; Dinner: 7 pm to 11 pm Cost: Lunch: Rs 2,550 plus taxes, Dinner: Rs 3,350 plus taxes; both include the mocktail and cocktail menu (Kishori Sud was at K3 JW Marriott at its invitation. She can be contacted at kishori.s@ians.in) --IANS ks/vm/sac (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Brussels, March 23 (IANS/AKI) The European Union is sure that as the US ally and biggest trading partner, it will avoid the new US tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said. "We are confident, we hope, that there will be a total exemption of the European Union from the US decision (to impose tariffs on) imports of aluminium and steel," Gentiloni said in Brussels on Thursday. "We are especially interested on the discussion on trade, especially transatlantic trade. Italy has always been a supporter of free - and naturally fair - trade. It is in our economic interests," he said. US trade representative Robert Lighthizer said on Thursday that several American allies would initially be exempt from the controversial steel and aluminium tariffs that are to take effect shortly. The EU, Argentina, Australia, Brazil and South Korea would be initially exempted from the tariffs, Lighthizer told a meeting of the Senate Finance Committee in Washington. --IANS/AKI mr/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A man who stabbed to death his daughter near here a day before she was to marry her boyfriend was a drunkard, police said on Friday. Rajan, a casual labourer, is now in police custody. Police officer N.B. Shaiju, who is investigating the case, said 22-year-old Athira was a dialysis technician at the state-run Manjeri Medical College Hospital. She was in love with Brajesh, a soldier now posted in Lucknow. "Rajan was opposed to their relationship. The marriage was fixed for today at a temple. Yesterday at 4.30 p.m., Rajan came home drunk. As Athira tried to run away, he chased her and stabbed her to death," the officer said. While Brajesh was a Dalit, the victim was an Ezhava Hindu (OBC). Police are also probing speculation that Rajan was unhappy with the wedding as Brajesh came from a lower caste community. "We will certainly look into every aspect," the officer added. --IANS sg/mr/soni (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Champion Sangma, "Chairman" of the outlawed Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA), a rebel group fighting for a Garoland in western Meghalaya, walked out of jail on Friday after the Supreme Court ordered his release. "He (Champion) was released (from Shillong district jail) this afternoon. He is with his relatives now," Sangma's legal counsel Sujit Dey told IANS. On Tuesday, a division bench of the Supreme Court comprised of Justices A.K. Sikri and Ashok Bhushan, while passing the order on a writ petition filed by Sangma against the state, set aside the order passed by the additional district magistrate (judicial) allowing an application made by the prosecution against Sangma's release. The bench noted that the application for the rejection of Sangma's bail application was defective as Sangma had never filed any bail application. Sangma, one of the most-wanted Garo rebel leaders, was arrested from Umkrem Pyrwdiwah axis on the edge of the India-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya's East Khasi Hills district on July 30, 2012. Prior to his arrest by Meghalaya Police, the GNLA Chairman was captured by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) commandos on November 23, 2011 from his hideout at Haluaghat in Bangladesh's Mymensingh district. Sangma is accused in over 30 criminal cases. In 2011, a first information report was filed against him but Sangma was not arrested because he was on the run, according to the prosecution. Sangma was declared an absconder and a chargesheet was filed in 2012. He moved the Supreme Court alleging that the police had implicated him in different cases. Sangma, a former Deputy Superintendent of Police, deserted Meghalaya Police and floated the outlawed GNLA in November 2009 for a separate Garoland to be carved out of Meghalaya. The Centre has declared the GNLA as a "terrorist organisation" under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. --IANS rrk/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A gunman was shot dead after killing at least two people in a hostage situation at a supermarket in a southern French town on Friday in what officials treated as "an act of terror". The incident unfolded in the morning at a Super U supermarket in Trebes town where the attacker opened fire and held several people hostage. Police stormed into the supermarket leading to a standoff that lasted about three hours, CNN reported. Reports said the gunman, who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terror group, killed two hostages before he was shot dead by the police. "The hostage-taker has been shot down," Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said on his Twitter account. Later in a press conference, Collomb identified the alleged assailant as a 26-year-old common criminal and small-time drug dealer. Earlier in the day the same man had shot at a group of police officers in city of Carcassonne, injuring one. The gunman, believed to be a Moroccan and reportedly known to French intelligence services, was said to be heavily armed and asked for the release of Salah Abdeslam, the key surviving suspect in the 2015 Paris attacks which killed 130 people. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Twitter that all information about the supermarket attack pointed to "an act of terror". The Paris prosecutor's office said it was opening an investigation into a "terrorist act", as well as murder and attempted murder. French President Emmanuel Macron, who was in Brussels at an EU leaders' summit, described the hostage incident as a "terror attack" and said he would return to the country promptly. "Everything leads us to believe that it is indeed a terror attack which is, as I said, still ongoing. The police ... intervened in a very coordinated manner after what was first an attack against police officers," Macron said at a press conference alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel. France has been hit with several deadly terror attacks since 2015 and has been on high alert since. A state of Emergency put in place after the 2015 attacks in Paris was lifted in October. --IANS soni/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Excise and Taxation Department has cancelled the licences of 42 zones of retail liquor distributors in Gurugram and Faridabad in Haryana allotted for fiscal 2018-19, an official said on Friday. The Excise and Taxation Commissioner (Finance Commissioner) issued the orders under section 36 A (11) of Haryana Liquor License Rule 1970 and the state excise policy 2018-19. Earlier, licenses were allotted to these firms through e-tendering procedure for the upcoming financial year. The reasons behind the cancellation could not established immediately. The department has rejected 27 and 15 allotment licenses from Gurugram (two zones) and Faridabad respectively. The move came on the recommendations by concerned Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioners. "Concerned firms will be informed at least a week ahead of new financial year starting April 1 and Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) and security installment of liquor sellers will be refunded soon," a senior excise officer told IANS. Gurugram, the Millennium City, on an average, consumes over four lakh beer cans and nearly 1.24 lakh bottles of Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) and country liquor daily through authorised vends, according to Haryana government data. --IANS pradeep/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) British actress Elizabeth Hurley says she loves visiting India, and likes to combine business and pleasure during her trips to the country. "I adore visiting India and make the trip at least twice a year. I combine business and pleasure," Hurley told IANS. "I produce all my beautiful kaftans and dresses for my beachwear company in Mumbai and I also have some very dear friends in the city," she added. Hurley is back in India, and is currently enjoying her trip to the city of dreams Mumbai. She tweeted earlier this week: "Uber strike in Mumbai today. Traffic moving for once. Wish they'd stay on strike. Love the old black and yellow taxis." Hurley was once married to Arun Nayar, a businessman of Indian origin. Her affair with India started when she got married to Nayar at Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur in 2007. Her marriage ended with a divorce in 2011, but Hurley developed a special connection with the country, where she keeps making short trips every now and then. On the work front, the actress is enjoying the appreciation coming her way for her portrayal of Queen Helena in "The Royals", which airs in India on Colors Infinity. --IANS sug/rb/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain has accused India of putting regional peace at stake by ceasefire violations and human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir, in an address marking the 78th Pakistan Day on Friday. Pakistan Day commemorates the passing of the Lahore Resolution on March 23, 1940, when the All-India Muslim League demanded a separate nation for the Muslims of the British Indian Empire. On this day in 1956, Pakistan became the world's first Islamic republic. While addressing the Pakistan Day event at Parade Ground in the capital, Mamnoon "warned India to stop its atrocities along the border", Dawn online reported. "With these actions, Pakistan's neighbour has put the regional peace at stake," he said referring to cross-border ceasefire violations in Jammu and Kashmir. Hussain said "India was continuously increasing its military might and this attitude and behaviour is harmful... Our peace oriented approach should not be taken as our weakness," he said. He also stated that the issue of Kashmir can only be resolved in accordance with UN resolutions and wishes of the people of Kashmir. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena was the "guest of honour" at the event. He was received by Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in Islamabad. Hussain also greeted the forces from Turkey, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates that took part in the parade. Mobile phone services were suspended in the capital during the event. Various aeroplanes belonging to Army Aviation and Pakistan Air Force demonstrated aerobatic feats for the audience. Talking about anti-terrorism operations in Pakistan, Hussain lauded the armed forces as well as the nation for eliminating terrorism from the country under operations Raddul Fasad and Zarb-i-Azb and announced a medal "Tamga-i-Azam" for those who rendered sacrifices for restoration of peace. --IANS soni/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Karnataka government on Friday notified minority religion status to Lingayats amid protests by some sections of the community. "The state Social Welfare Department has issued a notification terming Lingayat followers of 12th century social reformer Basava's philosophy (tatva) as a religious minority," an official told IANS here. The notification comes three days after the state cabinet decided to grant the status to Lingayats and Veerashaiva Lingayats who are believers of Basava ideology. Lingayats, who worship Hindu god Shiva as their deity, and Veerashaiva Lingayats constitute the largest community (17 per cent) in the southern state. The notification, however, omitted 'Veerashaiva' word to Lingayats as then UPA government had in 2013 rejected the state government's proposal to grant religious minority status to them (Veerashaivas) as they are considered to be Shaivaites and hence cannot get a separate religious tag. Earlier in the day, the Akhila Bharatha Veerashaiva Mahasabha urged the state government not to grant minority religion status to the community and withdraw the cabinet decision. "Lingayats and Veerashaiva Lingayats are one and the same. They cannot be treated separately from followers of Basava as Panchacharyas founded the Veerashaiva, which is an ancient religion," Mahasabha President and state Horticulture Minister Shamanur Shivashankarappa told reporters here. The Mahasabha urged the state government not to divide the community. "The state government should go back and revisit the report that was submitted to the UPA government on the issue after which the decision to grant the religious minority status to Veerashaiva Lingayats and Lingayats was earlier stopped," added Shivashankarappa. BJP's state unit president and former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddurappa termed the government move as an election gimmick and accused the ruling Congress of dividing the people on religious and caste basis. "The Congress government is dividing society on emotional issues. There is only one Lingayat-Veerashaiva. The separate religion tag to Lingayats is an election gimmick. It is an attempt to mislead the people," Yeddyurappa said earlier. --IANS bha-fb/him/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Powered by a range of concrete technological innovations, Kerala needs to leverage its full potential to lead a technological revolution in the coming years, industry experts said here on Friday. Kerala's High Power IT Committee (HPIC) Chairman S.D. Shibulal, addressing a session on 'Technology Disruption and Inclusion' at the two-day Global Digital Summit - #FUTURE that ended here on Friday, said he would re-imagine Kerala as a cashless society running on completely sustainable energy with zero discharge waste in the coming years. "These aspirations are capable enough to create more innovations which will create more opportunities, talents and capabilities. In years ahead, there should be electric cars running on Kerala's roads." Former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan said the country has to embrace technology and become a leader in the digital transformation taking place around the globe without being bogged down by unfounded fears of job losses, incomes or machines replacing humans. "One of the big lacunae in this country is risk financing and so our start-ups go elsewhere because they need risk financing which is not available in this country. "We have to make sure Indian capital is available because often it is closest to the ground and understands the financing better. We have to make sure that the companies of our future are incorporated in India, get Indian financing and expand significantly. We cannot miss out on the AI and Robotics revolution," said Rajan. Harish Krishnan, MD, Public Affairs & Strategic Engagements - Cisco Systems, said: "Kerala is equipped with a congregation of smart villages that we should be able to build on the vast knowledge resources we possess." Citing the case of Estonia, which has become a completely digitalised country, Dinu John Parel, Global CIO - Dover Corporations, said he looks forward to a day when the world would think about Kerala as the most digitally advanced state in India. "Estonia could achieve it for they had a common purpose. Besides, they were willing to take risks. And to make it work, all the constituents, which include enterprises, corporates and citizens, should work together towards this cause," he added. --IANS sg/him/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mental illness is still considered a severe disorder like schizophrenia and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by a majority of people, indicates a report on Public Perception Towards Mental Health in India. The report, by The Live Love Laugh Foundation (TLLLF), was launched here on Friday by its founder and actess Deepika Padukone. The findings are based on views of 3,556 respondents across eight Indian cities, and highlights the importance of focused stigma-reduction programmes in mental health initiatives. As many as 87 percent of the respondents felt mental illness is a disorder. Illustrating the poor understanding of the broad spectrum of mental illness, respondents were unlikely to associate mental illness with symptoms of more common mental disorders such as anxiety, when describing people with mental illness. Deepika, who had earlier opened up about battling depression, told the media: "When we were talking about more celebrities coming out and speaking and when we were talking about stigma, there is a lot of miscommunication that depression happens to people who are successful. "I want to clarify that it can happen to anybody from any field. There is a perception that it happens to big (popular) people who are successful. It is sometimes perceived as luxury... (But) It is important to break that myth." The survey also revealed high prevalence of stigma with 47 per cent of the respondents using the word "retard" to describe people with mental illness. Further, 60 per cent of respondents believe that people with mental illness "should have their own groups to avoid contaminating healthy people" and 68 per cent believe that they "should not be given any responsibility". As many as 60 per cent of the respondents believe that mental illness is caused by a "lack of self-discipline and willpower". TLLLF 2018 National Survey Report: 'How India Perceives Mental Health,' is the result of a five-month research project commissioned in July 2017 by TLLLF. Deepika was accompanied on Friday by Sanjeeva Kumar, Additional Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare and Anna Chandy, Chair of TLLLF's Board of Trustees and Dr Shyam Bhat, Trustee - TLLLF, for the report's launch. Chandy said: "Traditionally and historically, India is a collectivistic society, now slowly moving towards a more individualistic one. "In larger cities, we see a more dramatic shift towards individualism, possibly due to an increase in the amount of access to information and migrant need for survival. "However, smaller cities like Kanpur and Patna seem to retain some of their collectivistic roots, and are moving towards an individualistic society at a slower pace." Some of the other key highlights of the report are; approximately one in two people associate "being healthy" to "happiness", one in two people link "being healthy" with "having a sound/healthy mind", almost half of the participants used words such as "retard" or "crazy/mad/dtupid" while describing people with mental illness. As many as 92 per cent of the respondents believe that people with mental illness should visit a specialist doctor. --IANS nv/rb/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Left Front-backed candidate M.P. Veerendra Kumar on Friday won the Rajya Sabha by-election from Kerala by securing a huge margin against Congress candidate Babu Prasad. Kumar, who resigned the seat in the Rajya Sabha after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar joined hands with the BJP, contested the seat after shifting from the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). The 80-year-old Kumar, a former Union Minister and newspaper baron, secured 89 votes as against 40 that Babu Prasad got. Counting that was supposed to begin at 5 p.m, took place after a delay of 50 minutes with the UDF leaders complaining that as per the guidelines three parties -- Communist Party of India, NCP and Janata Dal-United -- failed to appoint their agents and that their votes should not be counted. In the 140-member house, one seat is vacant following the death of a legislator. One vote of the LDF was declared invalid. Six legislators of the Kerala Congress (Mani), who currently sit as an independent block, the lone BJP legislator O. Rajagopal and independent legislator P.C. George did not vote. The LDF met here early this month and offered the seat which Kumar himself had resigned in December, after his party JD-U decided to end its alliance with the Congress-led UDF. Kumar and his party remained part of the LDF till 2009 but shifted to the UDF camp after he was denied his sitting Lok Sabha seat of Kozhikode. His party nominee was given a Cabinet post when the Oommen Chandy government assumed office in 2011. Kumar lost the 2014 Lok Sabha polls by over one lakh votes and since then he was unhappy with the UDF too. However, the UDF kept him happy by offering him a Rajya Sabha seat in 2016. wHEN he decided to quit the UDF, he put in his resignation in December last year. "More than winning, I am happy that I am back with the LDF," said Kumar soon after arriving at the CPI-M headquarters here and was greeted by General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and state party secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. --IANS sg/bns/vsc/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to publish data on criminal cases against Indian Police Service (IPS) officers, an RTI activist said on Friday. The direction was given by Information Commissioner Yashovardhan Azad in an RTI appeal filed by Lucknow-based activist Nutan Thakur. While the MHA had denied to provide this information, the Commission said as the cadre controlling authority, MHA's role is to look after the conditions of service of IPS officers, including departmental enquiries and criminal cases. Hence, the MHA must draw such list and provide it to the petitioner. Similarly, while the MHA denied information on cadre change of IPS officers calling it personal information, the Commission disagreed with it, saying that transfer of cadre affects public administration and must be placed in the public domain. The Commission also directed the MHA to furnish year-wise disciplinary action taken against IPS officers. --IANS md/him/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf will return to the country in April, Pakistan Awami Ittehad (PAI) Secretary General Iqbal Dar has said. The PAI is a coalition of 23 political and religious parties led by the former military ruler. Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Dar said the date of arrival and the city where Musharraf would land would be announced after consultation with all members of the PAI, Dawn online reported on Friday. Musharraf, who ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999, is living in exile in Dubai. He was declared an absconder by an anti-terrorism court in the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Dar, meanwhile, said "there was a need to support the judiciary and armed forces, adding political parties should sign an agreement to decide how the country would be run in the future. "If the ruling parties go for confrontation with the judiciary and armed forces, they will not be able to run the country's affairs smoothly," he said. "Politicians were giving a wrong message and impression about the country by levelling allegations of corruption against each other." --IANS soni/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The national anthem was played for the first time in the Tripura Assembly on Friday. The first session of the newly elected House begun with the election of Speaker Rebati Mohan Das. As soon as the House assembled at 11 and Pro-tem speaker Ratan Chakraborty arrived to conduct the Speaker's elections, the national anthem was played and all the ministers, members, officials, journalists and spectators stood up to show respect. Assembly Secretary Bamdeb Majumder said they will try to play the national anthem every day. "I do not know whether the national anthem was played in any other Assembly in the country," Majumder told IANS. Communist Party of India-Marxist legislator Badal Choudhury told IANS that the Assembly authorities did not consult the opposition on the issue. --IANS sc/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) While early detection is the key for successful breast cancer treatment, one in three women in rural India had not even heard of the deadly disease, finds a research led by a doctoral student of Indian-origin. Breast cancer is the most common of the types of cancer occurring in India, followed by lung cancer and cervical cancer. The findings showed that as many as 90 per cent of the women in rural areas are unaware of the possibility of self-examination of their own breasts. A delay of more than three months in seeking care was observed in almost half of the women. The delay in diagnosis and treatment was for more than twelve weeks in 23 per cent of the patients. "Early detection may be crucial for successful breast cancer treatment. Therefore, it's important to influence women's awareness of the symptoms and their attitudes towards treatment," said doctoral student Nitin Gangane in a statement released by the Umea University in Sweden. "It's urgent to have a national breast cancer programme in India, while at the local level, we need to raise awareness among women about breast cancer," Gangane said. The team performed two studies including over 1,000 women in the mainly rural-dominated district of Wardha in the state of Maharashtra in central India. Hardly any women in the studies self-examined their breasts. Every third woman had not even heard of breast cancer. On the other hand, most of the women showed a great deal of interest in learning more. "Illiteracy, ignorance, poverty and superstition regretfully lead to many women delaying their contact with the health care system too long," Gangane said. In addition, no pain in the breast lump delayed a visit to the doctor. Incorrect initial diagnosis or late referral for examination led to diagnostic delay, while the high costs delayed treatment. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) India is likely to have more than 17.3 lakh new cases of breast cancer and over 8.8 lakh deaths due to the disease by 2020. A recently published study, in the Journal of Business Research showed that lack of early diagnosis of breast cancer may kill 76,000 Indian women in a year by 2020. It also revealed that the average age of death from the disease has shifted from 50 years to 30 years. --IANS rt/nks/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pandemonium prevailed in the Odisha Assembly on Friday as members of the Congress and BJP created a ruckus over the distress sale of tomatoes in the state. As soon as the House met, the opposition members went to the Speaker's podium shouting slogans against the government. Unable to run the House, the Speaker adjourned the proceedings till 11.30 a.m. and then till 3 p.m. as the members again resorted to sloganeering when the Zero Hour began. "Media reports have said that at some places, people were not ready to purchase tomatoes at Re 1 per kg. It shows that the government has failed to understand the problems of farmers. Therefore, we demand that the government should stop the distress sale and ensure the right prices for farmers," said Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra. He also castigated the government for its lackadaiscal attitude towards the plight of farmers. Opposition chief whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati demanded that the Speaker should call an all-party meeting over the issue. Meanwhile, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) criticised the opposition for disrupting the House proceedings. "Such move by the opposition members on a day when the Budget is scheduled to be tabled is not acceptable. The issue could have been raised by them during Zero Hour," BJD MLA Sanjay Das Burma said. --IANS cd/ksk/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Polling was underway on Friday for the three Rajya Sabha seats in Telangana. Members of the state Legislative Assembly began casting their votes at 9 a.m. and the process will continue till 4 p.m., officials said. The counting of votes will begin at 5 p.m. and the results are likely to be announced an hour later. The election became inevitable after the opposition Congress party fielded a candidate though the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has the strength to bag all three seats. The TRS has fielded J. Santosh Kumar, B. Lingaiah Yadav and B. Prakash while former union minister P. Balram Naik is in the fray as the Congress candidate. In the 119-member Assembly, the TRS has sufficient numbers to get all its candidates elected. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) (five members), Telugu Desam Party (TDP) (two) and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) (one) have decided to abstain from voting. The TRS has 91 MLAs while the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), which has seven members, has announced support to TRS candidates. Two Congress members -- Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, S.A. Sampath Kumar -- cannot cast their votes as they were expelled from the House last week for allegedly hurling headphones during the governor's address, injuring Legislative Council chairman Swamy Goud in his eye. Though Reddy and Kumar have challenged their expulsion in the High Court, the Election Commission clarified that they cannot cast their votes. This has left the Congress with just 11 MLAs, far short of at least 30 required to get its candidate elected. The Congress issued a whip to all its members including six who crossed over to the TRS to vote for its candidate. However, those who violate the whip will not attract penalties of the anti-defection law as MLAs are free to vote according to their choice. --IANS ms/ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Megastar Amitabh Bachchan wishes his long-delayed movie "Shoebite", which got caught in a tiff between Percept Picture Company and UTV, gets a chance to see the light of the day. On Friday, a Twitter user made a request to Big B: "We want this movie 'Shoebite' to be released. Please do something UTV, I'm sure that with a little effort it can happen." To this, Amitabh wrote: "Yes... put aside the internal debate, issues, or personal view points and give this labour of love from Shoojit Sircar a chance for others to appreciate this novel story and film... Please." Sircar had taken "Shoebite" to production house UTV after it could not release with Percept Picture Company. Percept Picture Company then filed a lawsuit against UTV to stall the release which was later dismissed. Sircar had later blamed the producers of the film UTV Disney for the way they had handled the film. The film is the story of a man named John Pereira, who in his early 60s, sets out on a journey of self-discovery. Its cast also has Sarika, Dia Mirza, Jimmy Sheirgill and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. In 2016, Sircar had said he has "moved on". "We are making films and we are still trying if something can happen (about 'Shoebite') but I think that I am repaying back Mr. Bachchan with 'Piku' or even 'Pink' as we could not do that film and that film could not release. So this is my debt that I am repaying him," he said of the two movies which he made with Big B and which were hits. --IANS ks/rb/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) General John Nicholson, the head of the US forces in Afghanistan, has claimed that Russia is supporting and supplying arms to the Afghan Taliban. In an interview to the BBC, General Nicholson said he had seen "destabilising activity" by the Russians and weapons were smuggled by Moscow across the Tajik border to the Taliban. However, citing lack of evidence, Russia has denied such US allegations in the past. "We see a narrative that's being used that grossly exaggerates the number of Islamic State group fighters here," General Nicholson said. "This narrative then is used as a justification for the Russians to legitimise the actions of Taliban and provide some degree of support to the Taliban," he was quoted as saying by the BBC on Friday. "We've had stories written by the Taliban that have appeared in the media about financial support provided by the enemy. We've had weapons brought to this headquarters and given to us by Afghan leaders and said, this was given by the Russians to the Taliban," he continued. "We know that the Russians are involved." He also claimed that Russia conducted a series of exercises on the Afghan border with Tajikistan. "These are counter terrorism exercises, but we've seen the Russian patterns before: they bring in large amounts of equipment and then they leave." Russia, meanwhile, denies providing weapons or funds to the Taliban but has admitted that it has had talks with the militant group. It justified that on the basis of the shared opposition to the Islamic State group, which has been trying to establish a base in the north-east of Afghanistan. --IANS soni/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Following a time-consuming dinner discussion, leaders of the European Union (EU) on Thursday gave credence to Britain's allegation that "highly likely" Russia is responsible for poisoning a former spy on British soil, in which Moscow has denied any involvement. "EUCO (European Council) agrees with UK government that highly likely Russia is responsible for #SalisburyAttack and that there is no other plausible explanation," European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted. According to the European Council conclusions, the leaders of the 28-member bloc "condemns in the strongest possible terms the recent attack in Salisbury, expresses its deepest sympathies to all whose lives have been threatened and lends its support to the ongoing investigation." "We stand in unqualified solidarity with the United Kingdom in the face of this grave challenge to our shared security," Xinhua cited the conclusion as saying. As "the use of chemical weapons... constitutes a security threat to us all," the conclusions said EU member states "will coordinate on the consequences to be drawn in the light of the answers provided by the Russian authorities." "The European Union will remain closely focused on this issue and its implications," read the conclusions. Earlier on Thursday, after British Prime Minister Theresa May met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron in the margin of the EU summit in Brussels, a spokesperson of Downing 10 claimed that "the UK, Germany and France reaffirmed that there is no plausible explanation other than that the Russian state was responsible." The three leaders also agreed on "the importance of sending a strong European message in response to Russia's actions and agreed to remain in close contact in coming days," a spokesperson was quoted as saying. --IANS sku/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Samsung Electronics on Friday held a shareholders' meeting in Seoul in which Lee Jae-yong, the heir apparent of the conglomerate, did not participate. Attended by about 400 individual shareholders and institutional investors, the meeting touched issues surrounding the company, Yonhap news agency reported. It was the first shareholders' meeting held by the tech giant since Lee was released from prison last month after being embroiled in a political scandal that led to impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. "Samsung Electronics had an outstanding year in 2017 as we achieved record results despite an uncertain business environment," Oh-Hyun Kwon, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said in his opening remarks. "In 2018, we are committed to delivering another successful year by taking on new challenges and building the foundation for mid- to long-term sustainable growth," Kwon added. Kwon noted that Samsung Electronics posted a record-high operating profit of $49.6 billion last year, vowing to continue confronting new challenges down the road. Kwon also said Samsung will focus on increasing dividends throughout 2020 to share the company's robust earnings with shareholders. "This year, the expansion of protectionism and geopolitical risks will remain as major uncertainties for the company's business environment, and the shift in the paradigm of the IT industry calls for the company to tackle challenges," Kwon said, adding that Samsung will prepare thoroughly and expand communication with shareholders. During the meeting, the planned 50-to-one stock split was approved by the shareholders. Trade of Samsung Electronics' shares will be suspended for a three-day period at end-April and early-May, although details may change. President and former Chief Financial Officer Lee Sang-hoon was elected to the Board and will take the role of Board Chairman, succeeding Chairman Kwon. "This will mark the first time Samsung Electronics will separate the Chairman of the Board and the Chief Executive Officer roles," Samsung said. The heads of the three divisions, namely Kim Ki-nam of device solutions, Kim Hyun-suk of consumer electronics, and Koh Dong-jin of IT & mobile communications, were also named to the board. --IANS gb/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The central government on Friday said that it has asked the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to investigate the affairs of Fortis Healthcare. According to P.P. Chaudhary, the Union Minister of State for Law and Justice and Corporate Affairs, the ministry ordered investigation into the affairs of Fortis Healthcare on February 17, 2018. "The ministry has ordered investigation into the affairs of Fortis Healthcare Ltd and has assigned the same to SFIO vide an order dated February 17, 2018," Chaudhary informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply to a question. "During the investigation process, all the issues in their entirety will be examined by the SFIO. The investigation is currently in initial stage." SFIO is a multi-disciplinary organisation under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, consisting of experts in the field of accountancy, forensic auditing, law, information technology, investigation, company law, capital market and taxation for detecting and prosecuting or recommending for prosecution white-collar crimes or frauds. --IANS rv/nir (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Gujarat High Court on Friday ruled that suspension, remission and commutation of sentences are executive functions and that the judicial function ends after conviction and awarding sentence. Justice J.B. Pardiwala while giving a ruling in the high-profile 2003 Bijal Joshi gang rape case, said: "The grant of remission is a matter of policy and it is for the executive branch of the government to decide as to when, to what extent and in what manner remission is to be granted." A writ petition filed by the father of one of the five convicted and sentenced to life for being involved in the gang rape of 24-year-old medical student Bijal Joshi. Joshi committed suicide on January 7, 2004 after she was gang-raped and tortured by her boy friend Sajjal Jain and four others after spiking her drink at a hotel during a New Year-eve party in 2003. Sessions court in 2008 sentenced all the five accused for life and their conviction was upheld by the Gujarat High Court in 2012. There were also six policemen, including an Inspector of Shahibuag Police Station, who were suspended for laxity in the case. Father of one of the accused, Sugam Jaiswal, approached the high court seeking remission of the life sentence, stating that he had completed 14 years in jail. His prayer was that the state was indecisive on their remission petition. In his observation, Justice Pardiwala stated that the imprisonment of life in terms of Section 53, read with Section 45 of Penal code, means "the imprisonment for the rest of the life of the convict" or "till the convict breathes his last". The court observed that government decision to turn down the remission might be based on many factors, including the impact of remission on the social life and social security at the relevant time. "An offence punishable under Section 376 IPC is not only an offence against a singular individual but against the collective as it offends the dignity of a woman and creates a terror-trodden atmosphere in the civilized society. Sometimes, liberal delineation with a convict of this nature decreases the faith in the system and a feeling of insensitivity prevails." Pardiwala also ruled that the order passed under Article 161 of the Constitution granting remission in favour of a convict undergoing life imprisonment can be challenged before the high court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India by any person aggrieved, if such aggrieved person is able to show that the power had been exercised taking into account the extraneous consideration or was mala fide. The court also ordered the state government to convey its decision to the petitioner in writing within two months of receipt of its order. --IANS amc/nir (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday welcomed the Delhi High Court verdict that set aside the EC recommendation disqualifying 20 AAP MLAs in an office-of-profit case, saying truth has won. "Truth has been victorious. The elected representatives of Delhi were disqualified wrongly. The High Court has provided justice to the people of Delhi. It's a big win for people. Congratulations to the people of Delhi," Kejriwal tweeted. The Chief Minister reacted after the court asked the Election Commission to hear the case afresh because the MLAs were not given proper hearing before the poll panel decided on their disqualification. The MLAs were disqualified on charges of holding office-of-profit when they were appointed Parliamentary Secretaries. --IANS bns/him/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "Udann", which highlights the issue of bonded labour, is set to take a one and a half year leap. It will now address the issue of psychological domination. What started as a 7-year-old's (Chakor) dream to be free has culminated into an intense saga of freedom across social injustice, familial feuds and emotional barriers over its 1000-episode run. In the last few days, viewers saw Chakor (Meera Deosthale) and Suraj (Vijayendra Kumeria), who suffered a lot at the hands of Imli (Vidhi Pandya), finally getting rid of her. They will start their life afresh with a new addition to their family - their daughter Saavi. "The show will be taking a leap and I am really excited with the upcoming track. Chakor's fight is inspiring. In spite of motherhood, her battle against injustice will continue. Freedom is not just about independence but also liberation from age old stereotypes and cultural mindsets, which is what 'Udann' endeavours to bring to the fore with this leap," Meera said in a statement. Vijayendra said that with the leap, Suraj will take on the role of being an empowering husband who will support Chakor in every step that she takes. "Our journey on 'Udann' has been amazing and here's hoping for an even better innings with this upcoming track," he added. "Udann" is aired on Colors channel. --IANS nn/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US Senate on Friday passed a $1.3 trillion spending package that will increase funding for military, domestic spending and will keep the government funded till the end of September. The legislation will be now sent to the President for his signature ahead of a midnight deadline for it to become a law, reports CNN. The Senate passed the bill after a whirlwind day where at least two Republican Senators held up the legislative process and made it appear unclear whether the bill could pass ahead of the deadline. It passed 65-32, averting a potential government shutdown and funding the government through September 30. The House passed the legislation earlier on Thursday, voting 256-167 with Democrats and Republicans coming together to pass it less than 24 hours after the 2,300-page bill was made public. The Senate needed unanimous consent, meaning all members have to agree, to bring the bill up for a timely vote. If one member objects, it could force the government into a brief shutdown, which is why many congressional observers were watching Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul, who forced a brief shutdown last month using a similar procedural process, reports CNN. On Thursday, Paul spent hours criticizing the bill and the process by which the legislation is made public and passed, and appeared to live-tweeting as he scanned the measure. The package provides $1.6 billion in funding for Trump's border wall, far short of the $25 billion the White House had sought, reports the BBC. It also includes a provision that would legally allow the slaughter of wild horses roaming the American West. The spending package includes additional money that could be used to fund a controversial New York and New Jersey infrastructure project. It also contains the Taylor Force Act, which would cut off US aid to the Palestinian Authority until the government there ceases payments to families of terrorists. In a last-minute addition, it added funds to include the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) for gun sales. House Speaker Paul Ryan celebrated the package as a means to enact President Trump's policy positions. "This bill starts construction on the wall," he told reporters in a news conference on Capitol Hill. --IANS ksk/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Voting was underway here on Friday to elect 10 Rajya Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh. Voting for the crucial polls began at 9 a.m., at the Tilak hall in the Vidhan Sabha building. It will conclude at 4 p.m., after which counting will begin at 5 p.m. Shivpal Singh Yadav, the Samajwadi Party's (SP) legislator from Jaswantnagar, told reporters after casting his vote that he was sure that the Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) candidate Bhimrao Ambedkar would win the Rajya Sabha seat. He also trashed reports that there would be cross voting in favour of a ninth candidate for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Anil Jain. "The entire opposition is united in these biennial polls," he said. Congress legislators have also cast their vote. Ajay Kumar said all conspiracies and dirty tricks of the BJP to wean away MLA's from other parties will fail miserably. The Congress's seven legislators have pledged support to the BSP candidate. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is also in the Vidhan Sabha premises along with many of his ministerial colleagues. BJP has fielded nine candidates while the SP and BSP have named one each. --IANS md/ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistani actress Mahira Khan says she felt "violated" when images of her sharing a cigarette with Indian actor Ranbir Kapoor emerged in the media. Mahira also cited that it was the first time that she was embroiled in a controversy. The "Humsafar" actress spoke at length about working in Bollywood, the impact of the tensions between India and Pakistan on the countries' film industries, and the controversy, on "HARDtalk on BBC World News". Mahira's photograph with Ranbir Kapoor emerged from New York in September last year, months after the actress' Bollywood debut "Raees" hit the screens. Recounting how it became a "national topic and debate", she said: "That was the first time in my entire career that I was caught up in a so-called controversy and it was strange because there were so many things in that. One, obviously you feel violated, you are in a personal down time moment and someone has just photographed you. "Two, obviously there was an uproar, because here I was, someone who is extremely loved in Pakistan, and they sort of keep me up on this pedestal you know, they treat me with a lot of love and a lot of respect. And there are certain things I didn't realise that they don't want to see me do. "At that point yes, it was crazy honestly because it lasted for a while... It was crazy, it was ridiculous." Her film "Raees", starring Bollywood 'badshah' Shah Rukh Khan, did not get a chance to release in Pakistan. Mahira said she was excited for the film to release in her nation. "I was more excited about 'Raees' being released in Pakistan than anywhere else, because all I wanted was to sit there with my best friends and my child Azlaan and the audience and watch this and I couldn't." The Pakistani censorship board had deemed "Raees" as an "ugly, horrible, unacceptable depiction of Muslims" at the time. Mahira feels had the movie released at any other time, it would not have been banned. "I think their decisions sometimes are based on things that don't even concern the film sometimes. So you know I don't think that was the reason. They said it but I don't know. I don't know if 'Raees' was released today, would it be released," said the 33-year-old actress. The movie, released in January 2017, came just months after bilateral tensions intensified between India and Pakistan over the September 18, 2016 Uri attack that left 19 Indian soldiers dead and the September 28 surgical strikes by India on Pakistan terror camps. After the incident, India's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena gave an ultimatum to Pakistani artistes to leave India. Zindagi channel withdrew telecast of Pakistani shows. And even the Indian Motion Pictures Producers' Association (IMPPA) desisted from allowing Pakistani artistes to work in India. As a result, Mahira couldn't even promote the movie in India. She reflected: "It was a two way thing. We got stuck under the political fire really, nothing else. But by the way, Pakistan is still showing Indian films, we haven't banned Indian films at all." Mahira is currently filming for "Saat Din Mohabbat In" and "Maula Jatt 2". The episode with Mahira will be aired on March 26. --IANS ks/rb/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Over one kg gold "concealed" under a seat in an aircraft was today seized at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here and one person arrested in this connection, customs officials said. Customs Officers of the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU), intercepted a passenger, who arrived from Dubai by an Air India flight. After checking his baggage and body with metal detectors, the officers found no contraband goods in his possession. The officers found that the passenger was a native of western Uttar Pradesh and a frequent traveller from Gulf countries to different parts of India, a customs release said. Based on his travel activities, the officers got a suspicion that the passenger might be involved in illegal activities and started enquiring about his purpose of visits from Gulf countries to Hyderabad and to other airports in the country. "On persistent questioning, the passenger confessed that he has concealed gold bars under a seat in the aircraft," the release said. Two packets containing ten bars and cut pieces (of gold) totally weighing 1.224 kg was found under the seat, it said. The man confessed that some smuggler in Dubai gave him the gold for which he was paid Rs 50,000, the release said. He was only instructed to carry it to Hyderabad and then conceal it under some specific seat in the aircraft the passenger told the officials, it said. According to the release, the passenger also said that from Hyderabad another person would board the aircraft and take the gold to Delhi via Visakhapatnam domestic route, hoodwinking customs officials and avoiding detection and payment of customs duty. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A special court today sentenced a 26-year-old man to life imprisonment for burning a hotel owner to death in the city a year ago. The prosecution case was that Prabhu was working in a hotel run by Kannan in the city. Kannan admonished Prabhu for coming drunk and asked him not to come for work. Enraged over the incident, Prabhu went to his house on the night of February seven last year, poured petrol on Kannan and set him ablaze Kannan was admitted to the government hospital with serious burns and was admitted to the government hospital at Theni, where he died on February 27. Special court judge Gunasekharan today sentenced Prabhu to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 on him. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Shanta Kumar today urged External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to ensure the early release of three persons from the state from the custody of Nigerian pirates. He said the victims, belonging to Kangra district of the state and serving in the Merchant Navy, had been kidnapped by the pirates for ransom. The foreign minister assured me that the Government of India will act strongly in this matter and the youths will be back soon, he said. The BJP MP from Kangra said he wrote a detailed letter to Swaraj and also talked to her over phone regarding the matter. The pirates are demanding 11 million naira for the release of the Indian nationals, he said. On March 12, the family of one of the victims received a satellite call from Nigeria, informing them that some Nigerian pirates had hijacked their ship and kidnapped three Indian crew members. Kumar said the Indian nationals have been identified as Sushil Kumar from Nagrota Surian, Pankaj Kumar from Samloti and Ajay Kumar from Palampur. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Security forces arrested three Rohingyas in Manipur on the charge of illegally entering India from Myanmar, police said today. A joint team comprising police and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officers arrested the Rohingyas from the town of Moreh, near the Indo-Myanmar border in Tengnoupal district, yesterday night, Superintendent of Police S Ibomcha Singh said. The three are residents of Baguna in the Rakhine state of Myanmar, where Myanmarese security forces have been engaged in crackdown on militants and allegedly driving out Rohingya Muslims. The three arrested men were staying at Moreh for the last 10 days and had plans to go to Malaysia, the SP added. A case has been registered against them at Moreh police station. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Mumbai police have arrested seven foreign nationals and seized over 300 kg of Muguka, a plant-based stimulant produced in Kenya, at the Mumbai airport. This is only the second known case of seizure of Muguka in India, police said. Muguka, also known as Khat or Meraa, is not banned under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, but the accused were booked under IPC sections related to possession of poisonous substances, police said. Two years ago, 116 kilograms of the substance was seized at the Ahmedabad airport. The value of the seized Muguka was then estimated to be Rs 3 crore. "Based on that, the value of the current seizure could be around Rs 7.5 crore. But we are verifying it," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 8) Anil Kumbhare. The immigration officials had detained Zainul Khan, a Kenyan, after he arrived with three large suitcases filled with Muguka last night. His interrogation led to the information that another six persons were travelling to Mumbai by a Kenyan airline, carrying with them a huge quantity of the stimulant substance. "We laid a trap and intercepted them when their bags appeared on the conveyor belt at the airport around 4.45 am today," the DCP said. In total, 18 large bags with over 300 kg of Muguka were seized, another official said. Those arrested were identified as Tofiq Ali (32), Nuru Mohammed (38) and Hassan Abrahim (29), all Ethiopian citizens; Jacqueline Nyamgwange (34) and Mohd Abdi Gabow (32), both Kenyans, and Abdullahi Zakariya, a citizen of Sweden. They were booked under section 328 (causing hurt by means of poison) of the Indian Penal Code. Police are probing for whom the consignment was meant, the DCP said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior Chinese officials and over 400 representatives from 350 companies took part in electronic specific India-China Business Seminar in Shenzhen today. Ministry of Electronics and information technology (MEITY) Secretary Ajay Sawhney and Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India, Amit Narang, addressed the event. The event saw senior level participation from the local industry as well as Shenzhen Electronics industries Association, said a press release issued by the Indian Embassy here. The event also saw sector-Specific presentation made on the Electronics sector in India by Sudhir Kumar Marwah, Director, Ministry of Electronics and information technology. There was a detailed presentation on the legal and regulatory framework in India by Vina C Cheung from HSBC Limited. Fiona Li from Huawei Company Limited shared the company's experience of investing successfully in India. Representatives from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Nagaland also participated in the event. The seminar received an overwhelming response with around 400 representatives from more than 350 Chinese companies attending the event, the release added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) AAP MLAs today urged Lt Governor (L-G) Anil Baijal to approve the Delhi government's doorstep delivery of ration scheme for the "sake of poor citizen" of the national capital. Earlier this week, Baijal had asked the AAP government to refer the proposal to the Centre with full details, including implementation issues, before a final decision is taken. "This scheme will benefit the poor people a lot and end their sufferings as they will not have to stand in queues for hours to get their quota of ration. I request the L-G to approve this scheme," Food and Civil Supply Minister Imran Hussain said in the House during a discussion on the issue. Few AAP MLAs also displayed posters reading "L-G sahab garibo ki socho (L-G sir please think of the poor) in the House. During the discussion, Deoli MLA Prakash Jarwal and Okhla legislator Amanatullah Khan targeted the chief secretary and the L-G for delay in implementation of the scheme. They appealed to Baijal to clear the scheme for the benefit of the poor. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Air India's maiden flight to Israel has landed in Tel Aviv, reducing the travel time substantially after Saudi Arabia for the first time allowed a commercial flight to use its airspace, indicating a thaw in relations between the Arab kingdom and the Jewish state. Heralding a new beginning in the people-to-people contact and diplomatic ties between India and Israel, the state-run Air India introduced the direct thrice-a-week flight from New Delhi to Tel Aviv yesterday. Saudi Arabia permitted the airline to use its airspace, enabling it to take a shorter route, covering the distance in 7.25 hours, about 2.10 hours less as compared to the only other airline that flies between the two countries -- Israel's national carrier El Al. Flight AI 139 landed at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport at 2215 PM (Israeli time) yesterday, heralding a new chapter in the India-Israel ties and ending a decades-old overfly ban by Saudi Arabia. "This is really a historical moment... We are in a new era. I am sure that we will see many more Indian tourists coming to Israel... and Israelis would also come to India in much higher numbers," Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin told PTI. He said such a direct link would further strengthen the relationship between the two nations. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Israel considers the new route important, noting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raised the matter of the route with his counterpart Narendra Modi when the two met in July in Israel and then in January in India, Haaretz newspaper reported. The ministry said the route would also lower fares and boost investment and tourism from India to Israel. Saudi Arabia's decision to permit Air India to use its airspace has enabled the airline to take a shorter route. Many Arab and Islamic nations do not recognise Israel and, therefore, disallow airlines from using their airspace for flight services to that country. On a query over Saudi Arabia allowing Air India to use its airspace, Levin said: "We have to very cautious. This is really a first step -- a very important one... I hope with times we have more and more normal relation with our neighbour in this region... India played a very important bridge (by introducing this flight over Saudi airspace) not only between India and us but also between Israel and other countries in this region." Terming as "historic" the moment of arrival of the national carrier's maiden flight to Tel Aviv, Indian Ambassador to Israel Pavan Kapoor said a lot of efforts had gone into it over the last two years with a strong vision and support for the initiative from the prime ministers of both the countries. He said the initiative would strengthen the relationship between the two countries in various spheres, including political, trade and cultural. Air India Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Pradeep Kharola said the Air India direct flight has the shortest route connecting New Delhi and Tel Aviv and will bring people of the two countries closer. The flight will operate every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. While the inaugural flight AI 139 left at 6 pm IST yesterday, the scheduled departure will be 4.50 pm IST from March 25 when the summer schedule comes into operation. The state-run carrier will be operating its 256-seater Boeing 787 Dreamliner on this route. Kharola and Israel Ministry of Tourism Director Hassan Madah cut a symbolic cake to mark the start of the direct flight to Israel. Kharola had earlier said the airline anticipates interest from travellers from countries further to the east of India such as Australia. The Air India flew over Oman, Saudi Arabia and Jordan to reach Israel. The permission to fly over Saudi Arabia will save Air India almost 2 hours and 10 minutes compared to the longer route taken by Israels national carrier El Al, which has direct flights between Tel Aviv and Mumbai. El Al takes a circuitous route over the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and then enters India and avoids countries that are on the direct flight path such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The direct maiden flight of Air India to Tel Aviv from New Delhi arrived here yesterday, heralding a new chapter in the India-Israel ties and ending a decades-old overfly ban by Saudi Arabia. Flight AI 139 landed at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport at 2215 (Israeli time). "This is really a historical moment...We are in a new era. I am sure that we will see many more Indian tourists coming to Israel...and Israelis would also come to India in much higher numbers," Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin told PTI. He said such a direct link would further strengthen the relationship between the two nations. Saudi Arabia's decision to permit Air India to use its airspace has enabled the airline to take a shorter route. It will cover the distance in 7.15 hours, 2.10 hours less than the time taken by the only other airline that flies between the two countries -- Israel's national carrier El Al. Many Arab and Islamic nations do not recognise Israel and, therefore, disallow airlines from using their airspace for flight services to that country. On a query over Saudi Arabia allowing Air India to use its airspace, Levin said: "We have to very cautious. This is really a first step -- a very important one... I hope with times we have more and more normal relation with our neighbour in this region....India played a very important bridge (by introducing this flight over Saudi airspace) not only between India and us but also between Israel and other countries in this region." Terming as "historic" the moment of arrival of the national carrier's maiden flight to Tel Aviv, Indian Ambassador to Israel Pavan Kapoor said a lot of efforts had gone into it over the last two years with a strong vision and support for the initiative from the prime ministers of both the countries. He said the initiative would strengthen the relationship between the two countries in various spheres, including political, trade and cultural. Air India Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Pradeep Kharola said the Air India direct flight has the shortest route connecting New Delhi and Tel Aviv and will bring people of the two countries closer. The flight will operate every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. While the inaugural flight AI 139 left at 6 pm IST yesterday, the scheduled departure will be 4.50 pm IST from March 25 when the summer schedule comes into operation. The state-run carrier will be operating its 256-seater Boeing 787 Dreamliner on this route. Kharola and Israel Ministry of Tourism Director Hassan Madah cut a symbolic cake to mark the start of the direct flight to Israel. Kharola had earlier said the airline anticipates interest from travellers from countries further to the east of India such as Australia. The Air India flew over Oman, Saudi Arabia and Jordan to reach Israel. The permission to fly over Saudi Arabia will save Air India almost 2 hours and 10 minutes compared to the longer route taken by Israels national carrier El Al, which has direct flights between Tel Aviv and Mumbai. El Al takes a circuitous route over the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and then enters India and avoids countries that are on the direct flight path such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Shiromani Akali Dal today slammed the ruling Congress in Punjab for allegedly failing to fulfil its poll promises, including the eradication of the drugs menace, providing employment and waiving farm loans. Addressing the Shaheedi Conference which was earlier called the "Poll-Khol Rally", SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah had assured him about implementing the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations to address the rural distress. He claimed that the new museum dedicated to the nation today by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh was, in fact, started by his predecessor Parkash Singh Badal. He said the Congress, which once ruled a majority of the states in the country, has lost nearly all the states because of what he said was the party's of betrayal with the people. He accused Amarinder Singh of lying to the people and not fulfilling his poll promises: eradicating the menace of drugs, giving employment to the youth and waiving the loans of farmers within one month of coming to power in the state. He claimed that compared to this, Parkash Singh Badal's was based on fulfilling commitments and referred to schemes such as "atta-dal" and free power to weaker sections implemented by him. Later talking to reporters, the junior Badal refused to comment on the recent CAG report castigating the state on the menace of drugs addiction, saying CAG reports were failing in courts of law. He said the conviction rate in drugs' cases had risen to 85 per cent during their rule. MP Prem Singh Chandumajra accused the Congress of colluding with the British in the case of the hanging of Bhagat Singh and his associates saying had the Congress wanted to prevent the hanging, the British had not dared to hang them. He described Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and Manpreet Singh as "Rahu-Ketu" and claimed they would ensure the early fall of the Amarinder Singh government. Former minister Bikram Singh Majithia too criticised Sidhu and Manpreet Singh for their "opportunistic politics" and termed AAP leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira as the leader of the "B-team" of the Congress. MP Prem Singh Chandumajra had to be shifted to a private hospital in Nawanshahr just after he had completed his address as he felt uneasiness. Senior SAD leader Budh Singh Balakipur said the blood pressure of the MP, who was suffering from viral fever, had increased. He is better now and is in the process of being discharged from the hospital, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today paid tributes to Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev on their martyrdom day with a vow to empower the youth and launched the Drug Abuse Prevention Officers (DAPO) programme to wipe out the menace of drugs from the state. He said that the DAPO programme, marking the Youth Empowerment Day, will involve dedicated volunteers to work in their localities in coordination with the local administration, police and STF in the anti-drug drive. On the occasion during a state level function here, as part of a state-wide oath-taking ceremony, Amarinder took the DAPO oath, and also administered it to other volunteers, thanking them for joining his government's efforts to rid the state of the problem of drugs. The state cabinet ministers simultaneously administered the DAPO oath to volunteers in various district headquarters. Leading the campaign, Amarinder became the state's first DAPO, with STF chief Harpreet Singh Sidhu handing over the DAPO Identity Card to him at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh. The chief minister then carried the chain forward by presenting a similar card to Local Government Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and two citizen volunteers, an official spokesman said here. He said that more than 4.25 lakh DAPO volunteers had already registered on the DAPO website as part of the campaign and more applications were likely to flow in. The chief minister appealed to one and all to become a part of the anti-drugs campaign of the government, stating that it was the collective responsibility of all to rescue youth from the clutches of drugs, which was destroying future generations. It was important for everyone to support the government in this fight against drugs in the interest of the state's development and progress, he added. The chief minister recalled his visit to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands post Tsunmai, where thousands of Punjabi freedom fighters had jailed for raising the banner of revolt against the British tyranny, and exhorted the people to take inspiration from their sacrifices. Referring to a demand for naming the Mohali International Airport after legendary martyr Shaheed-E-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh, Amarinder said the Punjab government had already taken up this issue with the central government, and he would personally pursue the same. On the occasion, the chief minister laid a wreath at the statue of Bhagat Singh and also paid floral tributes at the memorial of the martyr's father, Sardar Kishan Singh. He also dedicated to the nation the Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh Memorial and Museum to commemorate the sacrifices of the great martyrs. Earlier, paying glowing tributes to the great sons of the soil, Sidhu urged the youth to seek inspiration from their supreme sacrifice to imbibe themselves with the spirit of patriotism. He said that students in schools/colleges and even higher institutes of learning should be brought to the Memorial and Museum here at Khatkar Kalan to connect them with Punjab's rich legacy of nationalism and patriotism. Sidhu requested the chief minister to formulate a policy for youth, who constitute 56 per cent of the state's total population, to provide them with quality education and gainful employment in order to control the trend of brain drain and bring youngsters back to their land. Among the special invitees at the programme were the family members of Shaheed-E-Azam Bhagat Singh, including Abhey Singh Sandhu, Harjiwanpal Singh Gill, Jagjiwanpal Singh Gill, Kiranjit Sandhu, Manjeet Kaur, Anshuka and Anushpriya. Family members of Shaheed Sukhdev, including Ashok Thapar, Tribhuvan Thapar and Vinod Thapar were also present. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three years into their war on Yemen's rebels, Saudi Arabia and its military allies -- armed by the US and Britain -- could stand guilty of war crimes, Amnesty International said today. While all parties in the Yemen war are accused of neglecting civilian safety, the Saudi-led coalition, which intervened on the side of the government in 2015, is behind "the latest in a long string of potential war crimes" documented by Amnesty, said the London-based rights group. "There is extensive evidence that irresponsible arms flows to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition have resulted in enormous harm to Yemeni civilians," said Lynn Maalouf, head of Middle East research at Amnesty. "But this has not deterred the USA, the UK and other states, including France, Spain and Italy, from continuing transfers of billions of dollars worth of such arms. "As well as devastating civilian lives, this makes a mockery of the global Arms Trade Treaty." The United States and Britain are both signatories to the treaty, which regulates the international trade of conventional arms for the purpose of "contributing to international and regional peace, security and stability" and "reducing human suffering". Amnesty also slammed the Iran-backed Huthi rebels for potential war crimes, including indiscriminate artillery shelling, enforced disappearances and death sentences against dissidents and members of the Bahai minority. On March 26, 2015, Saudi Arabia and its allies launched what would become an extensive military campaign on Yemen, sending aircraft and troops to back the government in its fight against the Huthis and recently slain former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Nearly 10,000 people have since been killed, triggering what the United Nations has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Amnesty said it had analysed video evidence confirming that at least two attacks on civilian targets, in August 2017 and January 2018, used bombs manufactured by Lockheed Martin and Raytheon of the United States. Overall, Amnesty said it had documented 36 Saudi-led coalition attacks in which 513 civilians were killed, "many of which may amount to war crimes". A January 27, 2018 attack on the southern province of Taez hit a family home three kilometres away from the nearest military site. The coalition used a GBU-12 laser-guided bomb, weighing 500 pounds, manufactured in the US by Lockheed, according to Amnesty. All six family members were killed or wounded. An attack in August on a residential neighbourhood in Sanaa, the rebel-controlled capital, killed 16 civilians, most of them children. Saudi Arabia and members of its military coalition were blacklisted by the United Nations last year for the maiming and killing of children. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The body Havildar Jorawar Singh, who was killed in an encounter with militants in Jammu and Kashimiris Kupwara district, was today cremated with full military honours at his native village here in Himachal Pradesh. Singh was among the five security personnel killed in the March 21 encounter with militants in Kupawra. Himachal Pradesh Urban Development minister Sarveen Choudhary paid tributes to the departed soul. Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, Sandeep Kumar said that the Havildar's father Rai Singh is an ex-serviceman. Jorawar Singh is survived by his wife and three children, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Shares of private lender Bandhan Bank would get listed on both the NSE and the BSE on March 27 after its IPO was oversubscribed by 14.6 times. The bank proposed to raise Rs 4500 crore from the IPO, primarily to raise capital base and allow part exit of one of its existing shareholders IFC. "The shares will get listed on both the NSE and the BSE on March 27," MD and CEO of Bandhan Bank C S Ghosh told PTI. Ghosh said he was expecting a bullish response from the market as the IPO was well received by the investors and retail individuals. After migrating from only micro-financing activity, the bank now adopted a unique model of entering normal banking services after getting the in-principle license from the RBI. This retail banking network has grown to 864 bank branches and 386 ATMs as of 30 September 2017. The bank's network is particularly strong in east and northeast India, with West Bengal, Assam and Bihar together accounting for 57.75 per and 58.13 per cent of branches and door step services (DSC) respectively. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two private member resolutions moved by Opposition BJP members today fell short of votes in the Delhi Assembly, dominated by the ruling AAP. The first resolution moved by Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta sought "sincere" implementation of schemes for labourers of the city. Development Minister Gopal Rai said the government monitored the schemes and it was determined not to allow the wastage of even a single paisa for the workers. "We have sought suggestions from everyone. Even you can give suggestion about welfare measures for the workers," he said in response to the resolution passed by Gupta. The resolution was turned down by voice vote. The second resolution was moved by BJP MLA Jagdish Pradhan. He wanted the government to table the report of 5th Finance Commission for the national capital in the House. In the second part of the resolution, Pradhan demanded funds for municipal corporations as per recommendations of the 4th Finance Commission. Urban Development Minister Satyendar Jain, replying to the resolution, said the government was ready to implement the 4th Finance Commission recommendation "in toto", provided the Centre followed suit. "There are certain recommendations in the 4th Finance Commission report that are to be met by the Centre," he said. Jain also hit out at the BJP MLA for demanding more funds for municipal corporations while not paying attention to the recommendations on handing over the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which owns valuable land parcels in the national capital, to the Delhi government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a photo-finish to the keenly watched Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP today took a sweet revenge on the opposition by ensuring victory of all its nine candidates, days after it lost two crucial seats in the Lok Sabha bypolls in the state. The remaining seat went to the Samajwadi Party in the polls marred by cross-voting from both the sides, which led to the defeat of the BSP candidate in the prestigeous battle of ballots, touted as a test for the new-found bonhomie between the parties headed by Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati. Besides BJP's prominent winner Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, others who made it to the Upper House of Parliament from the party are Ashok Bajpai, Vijay Pal Singh Tomar, Sakal Deep Rajbhar, Kanta Kardam, Anil Jain, Harnath Singh Yadav, GVL Narasimha Rao and ninth candidate Anil Kumar Agarwal, who pulled off a surpise win with the help of second preference votes. Other candidates, including SP's actor-turned-politician Jaya Bachchan won with the help of first preference votes. Counting of votes in the Rajya Sabha election from Uttar Pradesh began after a two-hour delay as the opposition Samajwadi Party and BSP lodged a complaint with the Election Commission. The opposition parties moved the poll panel against two MLAs who are believed to have cross-voted. "We have given a written complaint to the Election Commission that our MLA Anil Singh did not show his vote to the election agent of the party before casting it and we are awaiting a reply from the EC in this regard," Deputy leader of the BSP in the state Assembly Uma Shankar Singh said. The Samajwadi Party also lodged a similar complaint with regard to MLA Nitin Agarwal, who had switched sides after his father quit the party and joined the BJP recently. "Nitin Agarwal cast his vote without showing it to the election agent and we have demanded the cancellation of his vote," SP MLC Sunil Singh Sajan said. With one BSP MLA believed to have cross-voted and two others in jail being denied permission to vote in the Rajya Sabha polls, the opposition faced a challenge of numbers to ensure victory for their second candidate. While the ruling BJP was sure of bagging eight of the 10 Rajya Sabha seats, the Samajwadi Party fielded Jaya Bachchan and the BSP Bhimrao Ambedkar for the remaining two seats. As the parties totted up the numbers, BSP MLA Anil Singh indicated that he had cross-voted in favour of the BJP, saying "I am with Maharaj-ji", a reference to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The Allahabad High Court had denied permission to BSP's Mukhtar Ansari, currently lodged in the Banda jail, to vote in the Rajya Sabha elections. And a court in Firozabad had rejected a petition by SP MLA Hariom Yadav, who is in the Firozabad jail. The Opposition banked heavily on the votes of two Independents -- Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya and his close associate and MLA Vinod Saroj. Raja Bhaiya, who has had a rocky relationship with BSP chief Mayawati, had tweeted this morning that he was with "Akhilesh ji" and specified that it did not mean that he was with the BSP. The BSP did not take an adverse view of Raja Bhaiya's comment. "... had he had any reservations he would have said openly," said Uma Shankar Singh. He added that he could not be sure that Anil Singh had voted for the BSP candidate. Adding a tinge of surprise, Raja Bhaiya later met the chief minister, leaving political analysts wondering as to why he met Yogi Adityanath. "I discussed issues pertaining to my constituency (Kunda). Every MLA has the right to discussed matters related to his or her constituency with the chief minister," he said. Keeping it ambiguous, Anil Singh said that he had cast his vote and showed it to BSP agent Lalji Verma and the rest could be known from him. "I have cast my vote after showing it to Lalji Verma and he will tell you the details...I am with Maharaj-ji (Adityanath)," he said after voting at the Tilak Hall in the Assembly complex. According to Uma Shankar Singh, 17 MLAs of the total 19 BSP legislators had cast their votes by midday and shown them to Verma. The BSP leader exuded confidence that all the nine surplus MLAs of the Samajwadi Party as well as seven of the Congress and one of the RLD have voted in favour of his party candidate. "All the seven Congress MLAs went together to vote, while the SP has given us a list of their loyal MLAs," Uma Shankar Singh said. Independent MLA Aman Mani Tripathi also said he was with "Maharaj ji" and would vote for the BJP. There were 11 candidates for the 10 Rajya Sabha seats and 37 first preference votes were required for victory in each seat. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Slain forest brigand Veerappan's elder brother Mathaiyan, undergoing life imprisonment in the central jail here, was today admitted to a government hospital after he developed breathlessness, police said. Mathaiyan, 71, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in November, 1997 for murdering a forest official in Sathyamangalam 25 years ago. He had been lodged in the Central Prison here. Veerappan was a notorious poacher and sandalwood smuggler. The brigand, who faced a number murder and sandalwood smuggling cases, was active for nearly 30 years in the forests of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala before being shot dead in an encounter by the Special Task Force in October 2004. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Five people from Bihar, including two kids, were killed and seven seriously injured when the bus in which they were travelling collided with a dumper on the Lucknow-Faizabad highway early this morning. The Volvo bus was on its way to Muzaffarpur in Bihar from Delhi's Anand Vihar inter-state bus terminus (ISBT). It hit the dumper while crossing the road near Safedabad town, around 25km from Lucknow, said the superintendent of police (SP), Virendra Srivastava. The deceased have been identified as Mukesh Kumar (22), Ankita Yadav (18), Suraj Panapur Saroj (15), Israr Ali (1) and Shagufta (5), the SP said, adding that all of them belonged to Bihar. The injured were admitted to the district hospital. Two seriously injured were rushed to Lucknow Trauma Centre, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A businessman has been arrested on charges of raping and cheating veteran Bollywood actor Zeenat Aman of more than Rs 15 crore, police said today. The accused, Sarfaraz alias Aman Khanna, was arrested last night on the basis of a complaint filed by the actor, a police official said. "The complaint was filed yesterday night at Juhu Police Station. The accused has been arrested and produced in local court. The matter has been handed over to the Crime Branch. The investigation is on," DCP Crime Nisar Tamboli told PTI. In January this year, the actor had filed a separate stalking case against Khanna, 38. He was arrested the following month and released on bail. In the fresh complaint filed yesterday, Aman, 68, accused Khanna of sexual assault and cheating her of Rs 15.40 crore on the pretext of finalising a property deal, the official said. The alleged incidents took place between 2010 and 2015, he said, adding that the case was transferred to Crime Branch Unit IX for further investigation. Khanna has been booked under various sections of the IPC, including for rape and cheating, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China today welcomed Maldivian President Abdullah Yameen's decision to lift the emergency and reiterated Beijing's stand that the Maldives government and the country's political parties can resolve their differences. "China welcomes Maldives lifting emergency and restoring normal social order," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told media briefing here today. "The Maldives government and the political parties have the wisdom and capability to properly resolve their differences through dialogue and consultations and jointly uphold the stability and social harmony of Maldives," she said. China had backed President Yameen when he declared the emergency in the island nation on February 5 after the Supreme Court ordered the release of a group of opposition leaders, who had been convicted in widely-criticised trials. Yameen also arrested two judges of the Supreme Court as well as former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and other opposition leaders. Another former president Mohamed Nasheed who was in exile abroad had called for Indian intervention in Maldives to save the democracy in the island nation. He had alleged that China is indulging in land grabbing, threatening not just the Maldives, but the peace and the stability of the entire region. China has invested heavily in Maldives in various projects and regards the island nation with 26 atolls and about 1,000 small islands as key to its Maritime Silk Road project in the Indian Ocean as it has already acquired Hambantota port in Sri Lanka and Djibouti in the Horn of Africa. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Danish actor Claes Bang has joined the cast of the sci-fi thriller "The New Mrs. Keller". The 50-year-old actor will play the role of surgeon Dr David Keller in the film, which will be directed by French director Pierre Morel, reported Deadline. The film is set in the future where smart, beautiful and sophisticated, Vera Keller is far more than what she seems as she ensnares her husband, prominent surgeon Dr. David Keller, in a tense deception. Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi and Eric Reid will be producing the film and it is expected to start shooting in October. Bang rose to prominence last year with a leading role in the Ruben Ostlund's satirical drama "The Square". The film won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival last year and was also nominated in the Best Foreign film category at the Academy Awards. He will next appear in the next installment of the "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" franchise, tilted "The Girl in the Spider's Web", alongside actor Claire Foy. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress today said it would fight the office-of-profit case involving 20 AAP MLAs in the Election Commission of India (ECI) again, after the Delhi High Court set aside their disqualification and asked the poll panel to hear the matter afresh. The party also said that the AAP MLAs should resign on "moral ground" and seek re-election, as had been done by former Congress president Sonia Gandhi who resigned from the Lok Sabha following a similar controversy. "We will fight it out in the EC again as these 20 MLAs have enjoyed perks. HC has not disputed or denied this. The HC has just asked ECI to look at it again in the light of natural justice!" Congress's Delhi unit president Ajay Maken tweeted. He claimed that the AAP government itself had admitted before the EC that a huge amount was spent on office, furniture, transportation and perks for these MLAs who worked as parliamentary secretaries. The high court termed the EC's recommendation on disqualification as "vitiated", and noted that there was violation of natural justice and no oral hearing was given to the MLAs before disqualifying them as legislators of the Delhi Assembly. "We respect today's judgement of the high court, but we would like to raise some important questions," Congress spokesperson Sushmita Dev told reporters. "Both the BJP and the AAP are now in the same boat. The rules of natural justice have been upheld, but just like the AAP has made an absolute mockery of the laws, the BJP is flouting every rule in Manipur," she alleged. Recalling Gandhi's resignation following the office of profit controversy and her contesting again and winning, Dev said the BJP and the AAP were guilty of not upholding constitutional laws. "We demand that the 12 MLAs BJP in Manipur resign immediately, as well as the 20 MLAs AAP in Delhi," she said. She alleged that 12 MLAs, including 8 from BJP, 3 from NPF and an independent MLA were appointed as parliamentary secretaries after the last assembly election. After a Supreme Court order in July 2017, any person having held such position must be disqualified. "However, all the 12 MLAs are continuing in complete violation of the law," she alleged. Dev alleged that the BJP was the "master of defections and not elections", as it had consistently and repeatedly flouted the constitutional provisions while forming governments in Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya. "The BJP had committed daylight robbery of majority mandate in Goa, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. Political muscle, coercion and money moved swiftly by the BJP to further its agenda of usurping power," she alleged. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Delhi court has reserved its order on framing of charge against Aam Aadmi Party lawmaker Alka Lamba, accused of allegedly trespassing and vandalising a shop in the city and obstructing the police from performing their duty in 2015. Metropolitan Magistrate Abhilash Malhotra reserved the order after hearing the arguments of the police and the MLA's counsel on the point of charge. It is likely to pronounce the order next week. An FIR was lodged against the MLA from Chandni Chowk on August 10 2015, a day after she had received head injuries in a stone-pelting attack during her anti-drug campaign in Delhi's Kashmere Gate area. The case was registered at the Kashmere Gate Police Station on a complaint by traders including the proprietor of a sweet shop, Shiv Mishthan Bhandar, after a video clip emerged in which she was allegedly seen vandalising shops along with some of her supporters. Lamba was earlier summoned as accused in the case by the court which had taken cognisance of a charge sheet filed by the police against her. She was chargesheeted for alleged offences under sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 427 (mischief causing damage to property), 451 (house-trespass) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC. The charge sheet said that on August 9, 2015, Lamba along with some other persons committed trespass in the shop and threw a cash bill machine, vandalised the counter and obstructed and deterred the police personnel present there. According to the police, the CCTV camera footage recovered from the shop showed Lamba toppling the billing machine while one of her colleagues was seen pushing everything from a table and jostling with the policemen. The politician had claimed that the 30-second CCTV footage was shot after she was attacked. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Joining the chorus against the Supreme Court's verdict on the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the CPI(M) today urged the Centre to immediately move a review petition against the "retrograde" judgement. In a statement, the politburo of the Left party also criticised the government counsel for not raising objections against dilution of the provisions of the Act. "Unless immediate remedial measures are taken by the central government to undo the damage done by the judgement, forces inimical to social equality and justice will be further emboldened to perpetrate violence against Dalits. "The politburo of the CPI(M) urges the central government to immediately move a review petition against the retrograde judgement of the Supreme Court bench," the statement said. The party stated that the judgement "ignored" the caste oppression and atrocities perpetrated on Dalits on a daily basis. The apex court order has made the arrests and prosecution of those accused under the Act almost impossible by removing the restrictions on granting anticipatory bail, and imposing a condition that a public servant could be prosecuted only after obtaining permission from the higher authorities, the party statement said. The apex court had on Tuesday diluted stringent provisions mandating immediate arrest under the law concerned in a bid to protect honest public servants discharging bona fide duties from being blackmailed with false cases under the SC/ST Act. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Cyber security should be understood as a subject of national security and should not be viewed only from the perspective of cyber crime as it is complex and multidisciplinary, DGP, Goa, Muktesh Chander today said. He said this in his keynote address on Information Security at the 46th All India Police Science Congress here. The world is moving from the era of "cold war to code war", where information has become vulnerable to misuse, but in India cyber threat is viewed from the perspective of cyber crime, he said Cyber threat is complex and multidisciplinary and as such cyber security should be understood as subject of national security, Chander said. Expressing concern that none of the institutions adhere to information security regulations, he highlighted the importance of classification and identification of assets running in computers and stressed on promoting culture of information security and follow international standards. Chander also said the existing infrastructure to secure information was "insufficient" to deal with future challenges and there was a need for a separate allocation in the budget to deal with cyber threats. The police should indulge in better investigation of such offences and cyber security should be our priority, he said Speaking on Preventive Enforcement with respect to Narcotics, Himachal Pradesh DGP, Sitaram Mardi expressed grave concern over the growing problem of drug menace in the country. He advocated moving farmers away from growing narcotic plants by providing them alternate crops. Mardi suggested amending the Panchayati Raj Act to make Panchs responsible for wild growth and illicit cultivation of narcotic plants in their areas. IPS M V Rao in his presentation threw light on the correlation between illicit opium cultivation and Maoist insurgency in Jharkhand. Director General, Bureau of Police research and development, Andhra Pradesh Maheshwari advocated that every citizen is a police man without uniform and every police man is a citizen with uniform. Himachal Pradesh Governor Acharya Devvrat suggested that maximum use of latest techniques. He said that efforts should be made to implement the important suggestions given by citizens during intellectual session of this conference to enhance the efficiency of the police and achieving better coordination between the common citizens and the police can be established in future. Jatin Jain, CEO, Infosec Consortium spoke about cyber espionage and various malwares used by terrorist outfits to profile functioning of various organisations. He said that terror outfits through cyber honey trap extract critical information of defense and police organisations. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel today said he will allow the 20 AAP MLAs, embroiled in the office-of-profit controversy, to attend the ongoing Budget session in the wake of the high court setting aside their disqualification in the case. The AAP MLAs present in the House welcomed the Speaker's decision by thumping the desks and chanted "Bharat Mata ki Jai". Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also hailed the order saying "It is a victory of truth". In a major relief to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Delhi High Court today set aside the disqualification of its 20 MLAs in the office-of-profit case. A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Chander Shekhar said that the Election Commission's recommendation was bad in law and remanded their plea back to the poll panel which will hear it afresh. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi government today accused the Haryana government of giving political patronage to polluting industries that release ammonia in the Yamuna leading to a scarcity of potable water in the national capital. Delhi Urban Development Minister Satyendar Jain said that the Haryana government should shut those industries that have caused the level of ammonia to increase in the Yamuna. Yamuna is one of the main source of potable water to the residents of Delhi. Water supply in the national capital is often hit as a result of increase in the level of ammonia in the river. In January this year, water supply was affected across Delhi due to a rise in the levels of ammonia in the river. Jain alleged that the rise in level of ammonia in the river cannot have been possible without political patronage from the Haryana government, due to which there is a severe scarcity in Delhi. AAP MLAs Sourabh Bharadwaj initiated a discussion in the assembly on the issue of severe water scarcity "caused due to alarming level of ammonia in water released by Haryana". "The Haryana government should shut industries causing the rise in level of ammonia in Yamuna," Jain said, replying to the discussion. AAP MLA Rajesh Gupta also hit out at Haryana's BJP government over the issue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan wants to sort out "as soon as possible" the issue of alleged harassment of diplomats, its High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood said today and asserted that Islamabad desired "peaceful and good-neighbourly" relations with India. In an address at a reception to mark Pakistan National Day, Mahmood, referring to overall ties between the two countries, said building a future different from the past remains indispensable and hoped that there would be hard reflection by both sides on the "time lost" and the "opportunities missed". Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Gajendra Singh Shekhawat attended the event at the Pakistan embassy which was also joined by diplomats from a number of countries. Some low-ranking leaders from a number of separatist outfits from Kashmir also attended the reception. Mahmood, who came back to India last night, a week after he was called to Islamabad for consultations amid the raging row between India and Pakistan over harassment of diplomats, at a separate event earlier in the day, said such issues affect the relations between the two countries. "I discussed this issue (alleged harassment of Pakistani diplomats in India) with our government. We want to sort out this issue as soon as possible because it affects the relations between the countries," he said. In his brief address at the reception in the evening, the Pakistan envoy said, "I do hope that at this pivotal moment, with India and Pakistan at 70, there would be hard reflection on the time lost, and the opportunities missed." "Building a future different from the past remains indispensable. We owe it to our next generations. We must give them a future of hope and opportunities. I hope we can prove equal to the task and work purposefully to advance the worthy goals of honourable peace, equal security, and shared prosperity," he said. In this context, Mahmood also talked about Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi's communication with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the Republic Day in January where Abbasi had expressed the hope that the years to come would be different from the years gone by. The envoy also said that Pakistan's "endeavours" to fight the scourge of terrorism continue to move "apace, as reflected in the success of operations Zarb-e-Azb and Raad al Fasaad". Mahmood was called back to Islamabad for consultations after alleged incidents of harassment of its diplomatic staff in New Delhi, with the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson claiming the Indian government failed to take notice of the increasing incidents of intimidation of Pakistani diplomats, their families and staff by its intelligence agencies. India and Pakistan have accused each other of harassing diplomats in Islamabad and New Delhi. Mahmood said, "Pakistan desired peaceful and good-neighbourly relations with India on the basis of sovereign equality and mutual respect. It was important to resolve all outstanding issues, including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, peacefully through dialogue." He also said that peace was in the mutual interest of both countries and it could only be achieved through diplomacy and dialogue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan wants to sort out "as soon as possible" the issue of alleged harassment of diplomats, its High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood said today and asserted that his country desired "peaceful and good-neighbourly" relations with India. Mahmood, who came back to India last night, a week after he was called to Islamabad for consultations amid the raging row between India and Pakistan over harassment of diplomats, said such issues affect the relations between the two countries. "I discussed this issue (alleged harassment of Pakistani diplomats in India) with our government. We want to sort out this issue as soon as possible because it affects the relations between the countries," the Pakistani envoy said on the sidelines of an event organised to mark 'Pakistan National Day'. In the evening, the envoy hosted a reception at the embassy which was attended by Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. A number of diplomats and prominent personalities from various walks of life attended the reception. Some low-ranking leaders from a number of separatist organisations in Kashmir also attended it. Mahmood was called back to Islamabad for consultations after alleged incidents of harassment of its diplomatic staff in New Delhi, with the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson claiming the Indian government failed to take notice of the increasing incidents of intimidation of Pakistani diplomats, their families and staff by its intelligence agencies. India and Pakistan have accused each other of harassing diplomats in Islamabad and New Delhi. During his address at the event, Mahmood said, "Pakistan desired peaceful and good-neighbourly relations with India on the basis of sovereign equality and mutual respect. It was important to resolve all outstanding issues, including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, peacefully through dialogue." He also said that peace was in the mutual interest of both countries and it could only be achieved through diplomacy and dialogue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The AAP MLAs, who had been disqualified following the EC's recommendation for holding the office-of-profit, said today that the development work will speed up in their respective constituencies after the Delhi High Court order. The court set aside the Election Commission's decision to disqualify 20 AAP MLAs in the office-of-profit case and directed the poll body to hear the matter afresh. Most of the MLAs alleged that Delhi government officers did not take their phone-calls since their disqualification on January 20. Out of the 20 Aam Aadmi Party MLAs, about 10 legislators attended the House proceedings today and said they had complete faith in the judiciary. They added that had the poll panel given them a proper hearing, there would have been no need to approach the court. Kondli MLA Manoj Kumar said: "Development works were being affected in my constituency since my disqualification in the alleged office-of-profit case. Officers were not even picking up my phone." The Chandni Chowk MLA, Alka Lamba, said that due to her disqualification, she could not become a part of the budgetary process of the government and works were affected. Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot, who had also been disqualified, said: "We had complete faith in the judiciary from day one. If EC would give proper hearing to us, we would not need to move to court." Asked whether he also has faith in the Election Commission, which will now hear the office-of-profit case afresh, Gahlot said he has faith in the poll panel and the MLAs will present their stand and make EC understand the matter. Another AAP MLA, Anil Bajpai, said the truth has prevailed, welcoming the high court order. "If there had been a proper hearing by the Election Commission, the order of court would not have come," Bajpai said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood today said that he has discussed the issue of alleged harassment of diplomats with his government, which wants to sort out it "as soon as possible". Mahmood, who came back to India last night, days after he was called back for consultations amid raging row between India and Pakistan over harassment of diplomats, said such issues affect the relation between the two countries. "I discussed this issue (alleged harassment of Pakistani diplomats in India) with our government. We want to sort out this issue as soon as possible because it affects the relations between the countries," the Pakistani envoy said on the sidelines of an event organised to mark 'Pakistan National Day'. Mahmood was called back to Islamabad for consultations after alleged incidents of harassment of its diplomatic staff in New Delhi, with Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Faisal claiming that the Indian government failed to take notice of the increasing incidents of intimidation of Pakistani diplomats, their families and staff by its intelligence agencies. India and Pakistan have accused each other of harassing diplomats in Islamabad and New Delhi respectively. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The AAP today said the Election Commission's decision to disqualify 20 of its MLAs was a serious attempt to dislodge an elected government and demanded that the election commissioners either "resign" or "apologise" for it. The Delhi High Court today set aside the EC's order disqualifying 20 AAP MLAs in an office of profit case and directed the poll body to hear the matter afresh. Saurabh Bharadwaj, the chief spokesperson of the party's Delhi unit, targeted the former election commissioner A K Jyoti and alleged that his decision to disqualify the AAP MLAs was to please the Centre. Party leader Ashutosh alleged that the EC's decision was an attempt to hijack the mandate of the people. If the post of constitutional authority is occupied by pygmies then democracy won't be safe. The EC's decision was a serious attempt to dislodge the duly elected AAP government," he alleged. The EC's decision to disqualify AAP MLAs was not only constitutionally invalid but it also exposes how low the constitutional authority can stoop, he claimed. Mr A K Jyoti and his other two colleagues should introspect, should they not apologies and resign, Ashutosh tweeted. In January, President Ram Nath Kovind, on the recommendation of the Election Commission, had disqualified 20 AAP MLAs for allegedly holding office of profit. The AAP had then said that the decision was against the principles of natural justice and that they were not given a chance to present their case. Bharadwaj said the MLAs would now be able to take part in the ongoing Budget Session in the state Assembly and resume their legislative work. He said the EC's decision to disqualify the AAP MLAs was dangerous for the entire country. In the entire country, it will be a big thing for small parties that the conspiracies of Centre, which is drunk on arrogance and is trying to crush them, can stop, Bharadwaj said. After the high court's verdict, Alka Lamba, one of the disqualified MLAs, said the court had accepted that the principles of the natural justice were not followed in their case. This is a big victory and we will continue to raise voice of the people in the legislative assembly, she said. Lamba, along with Nitin Tyagi, another party MLA who was disqualified, later attended the Budget Session. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Over 200 eminent scientists from across India today endorsed the call made by the All India Peoples Science Network (AIPSN) and other organisations to "March for Science" on April 14, in as many centres as possible. The international "March for Science" call this year was issued to continue the movement started in 2017 in the wake of US President Donald Trump's frontal attack on science, terming climate change a hoax and slashing funds for various environmental programmes and scientific agencies as well as cutting down funding for higher education and research in many other countries. The AIPSN, in a statement, said in India, a similar pattern is visible too, but with several additional features specific to the country. "Funding for science continues to remain abysmally low in India while all developed countries or those aspiring to reach that stage of development are, in keeping with requirements of the knowledge era, investing much higher proportions of GDP in science and technology research," it said. In addition, there is a systematic attack on science and scientific attitudes, including those by influential leaders of the ruling dispensation in the form of questioning the theory of evolution, and positing bogus theories, fake history, unscientific claims of knowledge in ancient India, and advancing myths as historical fact, the organisation alleged. "Combined with attacks on diversity in culture and beliefs, this has created an atmosphere of violence against science, reason and critical thinking as manifested in the assassination of Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, M M Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh," it said. Voicing concern about funding of educational and scientific institutions, the AIPSN said that these establishments have also come "under attack not only in funding but also as regards academic freedom, autonomy and democratic functioning, even while school textbooks are being rewritten with false history, a communally jaundiced view and irrational ideas". Appealing to the scientific community, it said that since April 14, Ambedkar Jayanti, and all those who stand by science and reason, should also fight for social justice and against discrimination in educational institutions and work places. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) England romped to a convincing eight-wicket victory over Australia, riding on Natalie Sciver and Tamsin Beaumont's blistering half-centuries to start their campaign in the Tri-Nation Women's T20 series on a rousing note, here today. Opting to field after winning the toss, England restricted the Australians to 149 for eight at the Brabourne Stadium. Rachael Haynes top-scored for Australia with a 65 off 45 balls, knock that included eight boundaries and a six. For England, medium pacer Jenny Gunn and Sciver finished with three and two wickets, respectively. In reply, the English team chased down the target with as many as three overs to spare. The chase turned out to be a walk in the park as Sciver (68 not out off 43 balls) and Beaumont (58 not out off 44 balls) forged an unbeaten 116-run partnership for the third wicket in just 73 balls. Beaumonth and Sciver, who play in the Women's Big Bash League, took a listless Australian bowling to task as they overhauled the target with plenty to spare. In the process, they steered the team out of trouble from 34 for two. The carnage began in the sixth over with the right-handed Beaumont hammering four consecutive boundaries off Megan Schutt, as England raced to 51. Sciver too joined the party as she hit two sixes in the eight over and followed it up with three fours in the 10th. Australia tried as many as seven bowlers, but nothing stopped the brutal assault of Beaumont and Sciver and the sloppy fielding by the Aussies only aided them. While Beaumont struck eight boundaries, Sciver hit 10 fours and two sixes in their respective knocks. Earlier, a brisk 65 off 45 balls from skipper Haynes steered the Australia women to a decent total. England bowlers put a disciplined performance as they took Australian wickets at regular intervals and never allowed their batswomen to settle down. Haynes posted her highest individual T20 score, as she hammered the English bowlers around the park, but she failed to find support at the other end. Australian openers - Alyssa Healy (31 off 23 balls) and Beth Mooney (4) - had put on 26 runs before debutant Katie George affected a smart run-out off her own bowling to dismiss Mooney in the fourth over. It was Healy, who gave the much-needed momentum, as she hit two fours and two sixes in the first six overs. After Mooney failed, Ashleigh Gardner (28 off 16 balls) played her role to perfection as Australia managed 49 runs in the powerplay period. The eighth over bowled by Sciver was a dramatic one that saw two wickets and two sixes. On the first ball, Healy was brilliantly caught at deep square-leg by Danielle Wyatt. Then Gardner struck two massive sixes, but on the last ball, Sciver dismissed the batter to leave Australia tottering at 66 for three. Australia were poised for a big score as they had amassed 79 runs in the first 10 overs, but then apart from Haynes, no other batter contributed. Elyse Villani (4), Ellyse Perry (2), Sopihe Molineux (6), Delissa Kimmince (1) failed to support their skipper. This was Australia's first loss in the tournament after they had convincingly defeated hosts India by six wickets yesterday. Brief Scores: Australia Women (149/8 Rachael Haynes 65, Alyssa Healy 31; Jenny Gunn 3-26 ) in 20 overs lost to England Women (150/2) Natalie Sciver 68 not out, Tamsin Beaumont 58 not out; D Kimmince 1-12) in 17 overs by eight wickets. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) EU leaders decided today to recall the bloc's envoy to Russia after backing Britain's assessment that Moscow was likely behind a nerve agent attack on an ex-spy, officials said. A number of EU countries are also considering expelling Russian diplomats or recalling their own envoys following the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England. "After agreeing on attribution, they continued the discussions on how could they go beyond just words and actually really have some deeds," a senior EU official said after the first day of the summit. "Some member states are looking into possibly expelling Russian diplomats or recalling national diplomats. "But there was also an agreement to recall the EU ambassador to Moscow for consultations." Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte confirmed the recall of the EU envoy. Another EU source told AFP the recall was a "show of intent". The 28 EU leaders said in a statement "that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible and that there is no plausible alternative explanation". Lithuania's outspoken President Dalia Grybauskaite said on the way into the summit that she was giving serious thought to following Britain's lead in taking steps against Moscow. Britain has expelled 23 Russian diplomats and severed some high-level ties. "All of us we are considering such measures," Grybauskaite said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 59-year old farmer was today sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by a Mahila court here for allegedly raping a minor girl in 2016. Judge N Vijayakanth also sentenced Sivaprakasam to a seven-year imprisonment for kidnapping the 12-year old girl. The sentences would run concurrently, he said. The judge slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 on the convict for rape and kidnap. According to prosecution, Sivaprakasam had lured the girl when she was playing near her house by offering a chocolate and raped her in an isolated locality near Ariyalur Jameen in November 2016. He later abandoned the girl at the spot. Passers-by rescued the girl and handed her over to her parents, they added. On a complaint to the all-woman police station, a case was registered and the man arrested. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A French woman fighting for the Islamic State group in Afghanistan has been detained, Afghan officials said today, amid fears that IS militants fleeing Syria and Iraq are finding their way to the country. The woman was captured during a military operation in the northern province of Jowzjan -- an IS stronghold -- last night, several officials said. AFP recently reported that French and Algerian fighters, some arriving from Syria, had joined the group's Afghan franchise in the restive province. "In a joint operation between NDS and Afghan special forces, five Afghan men and a French woman fighting for IS were arrested in Darzab district of Jowzjan," the National Directorate of Security (NDS), Afghanistan's spy agency, said in a statement. The Defence Ministry confirmed that a "French insurgent woman was among those detained". Six IS fighters were also killed, it said. Afghan officials did not clarify how they identified the woman's nationality. One official described her to AFP as "French speaking". They provided no further details about the woman or where she had come from. Provincial police chief Faqir Mohammad Jawzjani told AFP that US forces were also involved in Thursday's operation. "Four Daesh fighters were killed and one French woman... was also detained," Jawzjani said, using the Arabic acronym for IS. He added that two other French IS fighters were killed in the province recently. Jawzjani said Afghan and US forces took the woman into custody -- which was confirmed by the provincial governor's spokesman Reza Ghafoori. Ghafoori said two Uzbek fighters had also been detained. But a US military spokesman for the NATO-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan declined to respond and referred AFP to NDS. Afghan and US special forces have ramped up airstrikes and ground offensives against IS fighters in Jowzjan in recent months, which the Americans say have "disrupted" the group's capacity to use foreign fighters. In January, Afghan forces caught the group's "head facilitator of foreign forces". Two months later, his two successors were killed in a US airstrike, a Resolute Support statement said yesterday. US and Afghan forces conducted a "nighttime raid" yesterday in Mughul village in Darzab, the statement added. It made no mention of a French female fighter. Most of the fighters in Jowzjan were "Pakistani Pashtun", General John Nicholson, commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said in the statement. Some were from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and there was "probably 10 per cent that's from a variety of sources around the world", he added. IS has a relatively small but potent presence in Afghanistan, mainly in the eastern province of Nangarhar and more recently Jowzjan. It also has cells in Kabul, and has claimed several high-profile attacks in recent months. But it is dwarfed by the much larger Taliban, which also has had at least one European in its ranks. A German national was recently arrested with the Taliban in the southern province of Helmand, Afghan officials said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today accused the opposition of spreading lies against his government due to its increasing "frustration" over electoral losses, and asked BJP MPs to use technology effectively to take the truth to the masses. At the BJP Parliamentary Party meet, Modi and party chief Amit Shah asked their MPs to observe Social Justice Day on Dalit icon Bhim Rao Ambedkar's birth anniversary, Swachh Bharat Divas and other events between April 14 and May 5, party leaders Prakash Javadekar and Anil Baluni told reporters here. "Modi told the MPs that the party is in power so that we can take the country to new heights, and asked them to work on the ground," Javadekar said. The prime minister told the MPs to use technology to present facts and reach out to people as the opposition was spreading lies against the government out of frustration. Shah in his speech blamed the opposition for the impasse in Parliament and asked the MPs to hold pressers in the next three days in their parliamentary constituencies to highlight the matter, Baluni said. With the party gearing up for Lok Sabha polls next year, Shah asked MPs to work to strengthen booth-level organisation in their constituencies, asserting that the organisation's work at the booth level, along with BJP's ideology and Modi's leadership, has been a key reason for its success. Baluni said that the party will celebrate the period between April 14 and May 5 as "Gram Swaraj Abhiyaan", and Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar gave a presentation on it. April 14, the birth anniversary of Dalit icon Bhim Rao Ambedkar, will be celebrated as Social Justice Day. It will be followed by Swachh Bharat Diwas on April 18, Ujjawala Diwas on April 20, Panchayati Raj Diwas on April 24 and Swasth Bharat Diwas on April 30. Kisan Kalyan Diwas will be observed on May 2 and Aajevika Kuashal Diwas on May 5. Baluni said that Jitendra Singh gave a presentation to the MPs on developing the 115 most backward districts in the country. Singh said that the prime minister will visit the best performing district. This was the first BJP Parliamentary Party meeting at its new headquarters at the Deendayal Upadhyay Marg here. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The police have arrested one person, allegedly the kingpin of a ganja smuggling racket spread across nine states, from Odisha's Koraput district. After eight months of search, the 48-year-old man was arrested from a relative's house at Jeypore following a tip-off, district SP Kanwar Vishal Singh said today. "He was in our wanted list since long as he was the kingpin in smuggling ganja from the area to other states. He operates a well-organised inter-state gang of ganja smugglers and is in this trade for past 25 years," Singh said. The arrested person's network is spread across Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha. Police seized a car, three mobile phones and Rs 7.20 lakh from the person during his arrest on Wednesday, police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) under the Ministry has not allowed import of live genetically modified (GM) soy seed into India, the government today said. Minister of State for Mahesh Sharma told the Lok Sabha that the GEAC has requested the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) to take appropriate action and to issue suitable directives to the agencies concerned to not allow such imports. "The GEAC has not allowed import of live genetically modified (GM) soy seed into India. "The GEAC has requested the DGFT to take appropriate action, and to issue suitable directives to the agencies concerned not to allow import of GM soy seed or its products," he said in a written reply. The 'Coalition for a GM-free India' had earlier urged the government to take strict action on illegal genetically modified (GM) soybean seeds being allegedly imported in India. The coalition had said this was in violation of the Environmental Protection Act and the 2006 DGFT notification. "We have been importing soy seeds from the USA and Ukraine, for instance. The US is known to have mostly GM soyabean (94 per cent) and Ukraine has had its soy exports been reported and cancelled by Russia for having GM contamination. "Import of GM soybean seeds has not been approved in India," the coalition had told the GEAC and the DGFT in separate letters. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Ghaziabad district administration has stepped up actions against illegal acid manufacturing units and traders selling them in view of rising acid attacks on women in the area, officials said today. Yesterday, the authorities raided an acid manufacturing unit in Loni area and seized a huge amount of chemical and raw materials used in making acid, the officials said. SDM Amit Pal Sharma said he and Circle Officer Durgesh Kumar headed a team of police personnel during the raid in Sewa Dham Colony. The factory has been sealed. He said their action came following an acid attack on a 25-year-old woman bank employee in Mohan Nagar in Sahibabad area. Five other people had also sustained injuries in the attack. The authorities have launched a special drive against illegal acid manufacturing units in the area. Sharma said raids are also being conducted against illegal sand miners. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Syrian state television said a bombed-out town in the one-time rebel stronghold of Eastern Ghouta outside Damascus had been "emptied" of opposition fighters today. Syrian state television announced "the end of the evacuation of fighters and their families from Harasta... Harasta has been emptied of terrorists," it said, referring to the rebels. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said after the evacuations that the regime had retaken control of more than 90 per cent of Eastern Ghouta. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri today said the government would complete its target of building 11 million homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna much before 2022. Refuting some media reports that the pace of the scheme was slowing down, the housing and urban affairs minister said that he has informed Parliament regarding the progress of the government's flagship scheme, under which 4.5 million houses would be sanctioned by the end of March. Puri was speaking at a national workshop on Urban Livelihood Mission ceremony organised by his ministry here. "I see the scheme progressing at a fantastic rate. I often come across narratives which are ill-informed, without any basis. On the issue of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna, our assessment is that we need to build 11 million homes by 2022. "The scheme was started in June 2015. By end of March we would sanction 4.5 million homes. Five years are still left (to fulfill) the scheme's target. We will be able to complete our target much before 2022," Puri told reporters. On the issue of building shelters for the urban homeless, he said, "In the last six months that I have been associated with this ministry, I have had serious concern because the progress that should have been registered in setting up and running such shelters for the urban homeless has been somewhat lacking in results." The Union minister blamed some of the state governments for the slow place of the scheme and appealed to all stakeholders to make an all-out efforts to achieve the objective of providing shelters for the homeless. The Supreme Court last year had directed Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and West Bengal to place before it a road map on implementation of a scheme for the urban homeless, saying it was the government's "obligation" to help these poor people. The top court perused the affidavits filed by the three states on the implementation of the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) scheme and observed that they had not given a road map or a vision document on the issue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Madhya Pradesh Lokayukta Police have arrested a Gram Panchayat secretary in the district while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 8,000. Deputy Superintendent of Police Praveen Baghel said that Vinod Prajapati (44), secretary of the Panchayat of Mirzapur village, was arrested while accepting the money in his office yesterday. Prajapati had demanded Rs 20,000 from Bharat Patel, a villager, who had applied for permission to construct a building on his land. After Patel approached the Lokayukta Police, a trap was laid and the secretary was arrested while taking the first instalment of Rs 8,000, the DSP said. A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered and further probe is on, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The state-run Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) has delivered an advanced offshore patrol vessel to the Sri Lankan Navy. The defence ministry here said the vessel will be the largest and the most advanced ship in the Sri Lankan Navy fleet. "This state-ofthe-art and largest ship in the Sri Lanka Naval fleet will help meet the increasing requirement of the Sri Lanka Navy for undertaking policing and patrolling of its vast Exclusive Economic Zone," said Rear Admiral (Rtd) Shekhar Mital, Chairman and Managing Director of GSL. The ship was handed over yesterday at a ceremony at Vaddem in Vasco da Gama. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Madras High Court has dismissed a plea by Hero Cycles seeking that its bid be considered in the tender floated by the Tamil Nadu government for supply of over six lakh bicycles under the free-cycle scheme meant for school children in the state. According to the petitioner, the government rejected the company's bid for two technical reasons - failure to fix a geared bell in the bicycle meant for boys and for not affixing logo of the Tamil Nadu government in the sample cycles. It claimed that the reasons for rejecting the company's bid were trivial, flimsy and mala fide. Justice K Ravichandrabaabu refused to direct the government to relax some of the minor rules of the tender and accept the bid submitted by Hero Cycles. In his recent order, the judge said, "The question of relaxation does not arise while considering the technical qualifications notwithstanding the fact that the lapse is minor or major." Noting that if 40 per cent is the pass mark, certainly the person, who got 39 per cent, is not entitled to be declared as passed, the judge said, adding there cannot be any relaxation just to make a person pass the the test. Once such relaxation is made to one person, that will not end with that person, and it will only open a floodgate, the judge observed. (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.) In a major relief to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Delhi High Court today restored the membership of 20 disqualified MLAs of Delhi's ruling party, quashing the Election Commission recommendation in the office-of-profit case as "vitiated" and in violation of natural justice. The court while setting aside the recommendation and the consequent Presidential order at the same time directed the poll panel to hear the matter afresh, observing no oral hearing was given to the MLAs before disqualifying them as legislators of the Delhi Assembly. The disqualification had reduced AAP's strength in the 70-member Delhi Assembly from 66 to 46 but it did not pose a threat to the government as it continued to enjoy a majority. A jubilant Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal hailed the reinstatement of the MLAs, saying it was a "victory of truth" even as his party alleged that the EC's recommendation to disqualify 20 of its MLAs was a serious attempt to dislodge an elected government and demanded that the election commissioners either "resign" or "apologise". "It is a victory of truth. The elected representatives were wrongfully disqualified. The high court has given justice to the people of Delhi. It is their victory. Congratulations to the people of Delhi," Kejriwal tweeted minutes after the HC order. Hours after the high court order, Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel allowed the disqualified MLAs to enter the House and take part in the ongoing budget session, following which 10 AAP MLAs attended the session amid chants of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' by fellow legislators. The EC had on January 19 recommended the disqualification of 20 AAP MLAs - Alka Lamba, Adarsh Shastri, Sanjeev Jha, Rajesh Gupta, Kailash Gahlot, Vijendra Garg, Praveen Kumar, Sharad Kumar, Madan Lal, Shiv Charan Goyal, Sarita Singh, Naresh Yadav, Rajesh Rishi, Anil Kumar, Som Dutt, Avtar Singh, Sukhvir Singh Dala, Manoj Kumar, Nitin Tyagi and Jarnail Singh. President Ram Nath Kovind had accepted the EC's opinion the next day. Remanding the MLAs' plea for being reinstated back to the EC, a bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Chander Shekhar, said, "Opinion of Election Commission of India (given to the President of India) dated January 19, 2018, is vitiated and bad in law for failure to comply with principles of natural justice." The bench, in its 79-page order said that the opinion (of EC) is quashed for "violation of principle of natural justice namely failure to give oral hearing and opportunity to address arguments on merits of the issue". "The order of remand is passed to the Election Commission of India to hear arguments and thereafter decide all the important and seminal issues, like what is meant by expression office-of-profit held under the government...," the court said It asked the EC to "re-examine the factual matrix to decide whether the petitioners (AAP MLAs) had incurred disqualification on appointment as parliamentary secretaries, without being influenced by the earlier order or observations on the said aspect in this order. The judgement was read out by justice Sanjiv Khanna in a jam-packed courtroom, after which the jubilant AAP MLAs, who were present there, congratulated each other. The MLAs, who were appointed parliamentary secretaries, had challenged their disqualification for holding office-of-profit. Saurabh Bharadwaj, the chief spokesperson of the party's Delhi unit, targeted the former election commissioner A K Jyoti and alleged that his decision to disqualify the AAP MLAs was to please the Centre. Party leader Ashutosh alleged that the EC's decision was an attempt to hijack the mandate of the people. If the post of constitutional authority is occupied by pygmies then democracy won't be safe. The EC's decision was a serious attempt to dislodge the duly elected AAP government," he alleged. Mr A K Jyoti and his other two colleagues should introspect, should they not apologies and resign, Ashutosh tweeted. Reacting to the high court order, Congress's Delhi unit president Ajay Maken tweeted, "We will fight it out in the Election Commission again as these 20 MLAs have enjoyed perks. HC has not disputed or denied this. The HC has just asked ECI to look at it again in the light of natural justice!" During the arguments, the MLAs had requested the court to remand their case back to the poll panel with a direction to hear the matter afresh. They had approached the high court challenging their disqualification after President Kovind gave his assent to the EC's recommendation. Backing its recommendation to the President for AAP MLAs' disqualification, the poll panel had submitted that the legislators cannot claim that they were not holding office-of-profit. It had also claimed that their pleas were not maintainable and were liable to be dismissed. The MLAs are accused of holding offices of profit, as they were appointed parliamentary secretaries to ministers in the Delhi government in March 2015. This was soon after they were elected to the Delhi Assembly. In September 2016, the Delhi High Court had ruled against their appointment as parliamentary secretaries, after hearing their pleas on a daily basis since February 7. The high court had on January 24 refused to stay the Centre's notification disqualifying them, but had restrained the poll panel from taking any "precipitate measures" such as announcing dates for by polls to fill the vacancies. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Gujarat High Court has issued notices to the Centre as well as the state government on a petition challenging the constitutional validity of the Gujarat GST Act with regard to some restrictions on firms in claiming input tax credit under the new regime. A division bench of justices Akil Kureshi and B N Karia issued notices last Tuesday, seeking replies from the GST Council, the Centre and the Gujarat government on the petition filed by city company Willowood Chemicals Pvt Ltd. The GST Council, the apex decision-making body for the Goods and Services Tax, is headed by the Union finance minister and comprises state finance ministers as members. The bench will next hear the matter on April 19. Challenging the constitutional validity of section 140(3) of the Gujarat GST Act, the petitioner submitted the Act has imposed certain restrictions on firms "for taking input tax credit on taxes already paid under the (previous) Value-Added Tax (VAT) Act" in case of non-submission of forms in time. The petitioner's lawyers submitted that the input tax credit already earned under the Gujarat VAT Act, which was in force before the GST Act was implemented, was allowed to be retained and utilised for payment of VAT or Central Sales Tax (CST). The petition said neither under the state VAT Act nor the CST Act, "there is any provision to deny input tax credit in case of failure to furnish statutory declaration". It was also submitted that when a firm is already liable to pay differential tax, interest and penalty for non- submission of various forms, it is "arbitrary and confiscatory" to not to carry forward input tax credit for not submitting forms. "In the disguise of Section 140(1) of the Gujarat GST Act, the government is adjusting future liability against current credit", the petitioner told the HC. Further, the court was told that section 140(1) of the Gujarat GST Act is ultra vires (beyond one's legal power or authority) to Article 279A of the Constitution. The article provides for constitution of the GST Council to decide on the rate of tax under the new tax regime. "Article 279A does not empower the GST Council to make recommendation for adjustment of a tax liability which may arise in future under the CST Act, a central Act, against an acquired right given under the VAT Act, a state Act," the petitioner submitted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Madras High Court, while upholding the nomination of three BJP members to Puducherry Assembly by the Centre last year, has suggested that Parliament consider a clear and unambiguous procedure to be laid down for nomination of MLAs to Union Territory Legislatures. The court yesterday upheld the nomination of three BJP members to the Assembly by the Centre last year and their swearing-in by Lt Governor Kiran Bedi, over which the Congress government had protested. The court ruled that an Administrator of a Union Territory had powers to act irrespective of the advice by Council of Ministers. A bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sundar passed the order allowing petitions by the three MLAs, whose nomination was cancelled by Puducherry Assembly Speaker V Vaithilingam later. It also held as invalid the Speaker's order cancelling the nomination of the MLAs - V Saminathan, K G Shankar and S Selvaganapathi, sworn-in as MLAs by Bedi on July 4 last year. It said that unlike the President of India or the Governor of a state, the Administrator of a Union Territory has powers to act independently irrespective of the advice given by the council of ministers headed by the chief minister. In their separate but concurring judgements, the judges held that the nomination was made in exercise of powers under Section 3(3) of the UT Act, enacted by the Union Parliament. Justice Sundar, while dealing with the power of nomination of MLAs by the Centre to the Union Territory, discussed judgements of various high courts and made recommendations to Parliament for consideration. They include (i) A clear and unambiguous procedure has to be laid down for nomination of MLAs to the Puducherry Assembly, with particular clarity about where it should emanate from and how it should be carried to its logical end. (ii) It has to be laid down withspecificity as to who / which office will actually exercise the powers of nomination under Section 3(3) of the UT Act eliminating the need to resort to inferential process which has become necessary in the instant case. (iii) Qualifications, qualities and credentials which will go to make a 'well rounded personality' for qualifying for being nominated as an MLA have to be set out.To be noted, we are not on 'eligibility' or 'educational qualification'. We are on 'suitability'. (iv) If the nominated MLA belongs to a political party on the date of nomination, it should be made clear that he shall become part of the legislature party of that political party. If there is no legislature party in the House on the date of nomination, the nominated MLA/s shall constitute the legislature party of that political party. The nomination of the MLAs had deepened the rift between the Lt Governor and the Congress dispensation in Puducherry then with the latter assailing her action as unconstitutional. Ever since she became the Lt Governor in May 2016, Bedi and the Congress government have been at loggerheads over various issues, including her style of functioning and the swearing-in of the MLAs and medical admissions. The Union Home Ministry had issued a notification appointing the three members as nominated legislators of Puducherry Assembly on June 23 last year in keeping with the provisions of the Government of Union Territories Act 1963. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp today commenced construction of new manufacturing plant at Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh entailing an investment of Rs 1,600 crore. The facility, which will be the eighth manufacturing unit of the company, will have an annual installed capacity of 1.8 million units, to be achieved in three phases. "When fully operational, this facility will take up our total combined installed capacity to 11 million units of motorcycles and scooters per annum, which is in line with our vision of surpassing the landmark 10-million unit volumes by 2020," Hero MotoCorp Chairman, Managing Director and CEO Pawan Munjal said in a statement. He further said the company would also create a world class manufacturing eco-system in the region, with a base of globally-benchmarked vendors and suppliers, which will together generate over 12,000 new jobs, thereby accelerating the socio-economic progress in the state." The new facility, spread over 600 acres, will generate 2,000 direct jobs and an additional 10,000 employment opportunities through vendors and suppliers in the region, the company said. "Given the strategic location of the plant, this can also act as a key hub for the company to export its range of products from this facility to some of its key overseas markets," it added. Hero MotoCorp has five plants in India and one each in Colombia and Bangladesh. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Superstar Aamir Khan has praised good friend Rani Mukerji's latest release "Hichki", calling it one of the "most enjoyable" movies he has watched in a long time. Aamir saw the film in a special screening held in Jodhpur, where the actor is shooting for "Thugs of Hindostan". "Just saw one of the most enjoyable films in a long time. Great story, amazing performances, superb film. Thoroughly enjoyed it. It's called 'Hichki'. Please don't miss it. Thank you Rani, Siddharth, Neeraj Kabi and the entire cast of young students, you were absolutely amazing," he tweeted. Directed by Siddharth P Malhotra and produced by Maneesh Sharma, "Hichki" has hit the screens today. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Hinduja family was today named the UK's richest British Asians for the fifth consecutive year, with an estimated net worth of 22 billion pounds. The London-headquartered Hinduja Group headed by brothers Srichand P Hinduja, Gopichand P Hinduja, Prakash P Hinduja and Ashok P Hinduja had a robust 2017 to add an impressive 3 billion pounds to their total net worth from the previous year, according to the annual 'Asian Rich List' published by UK-based Asian Media Group (AMG). "The Hindujas' trading empire is spread over five continents and run by four brothers and their children a testament to their incredibly strong family values. The group has what GP Hinduja likes to call 10 'verticals', spanning a variety of sectors and allowing true diversification," the Rich List notes. Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi N Mittal came in second with an estimated 14 billion pound fortune, up from the previous year's 12.6 billion pounds. Mittal is followed by another India-born entrepreneur Sri Prakash Lohia, the founder and chairman of Indorama Corporation a diversified petrochemical and textile company, with an estimated net worth of 5.1 billion pounds. This year's list shows the combined overall net worth of the featured 101 UK-based millionaires of South Asian origin hit 80.2 billion pounds in 2017, an increase of just under 11 billion pounds over the previous year. The top 10 richest British Asians are valued at a total of 54.25 billion pounds, representing 68 per cent of the total figure. "The list shows the remarkable strength and diversity of Asian businesses in the UK. Despite the challenges of the general economy, many business leaders in the community have seen opportunity and potential and moved quickly to capitalise. It is an inspiring picture and one that should energise entrepreneurs everywhere," said Shailesh Solanki, AMG executive and one of a panel of four experts who examined British Asian wealth over the last year for the list. The entry cut-off for this year's list emerged as 90 million pounds, resulting in eight new entries with a combined value of nearly 1 billion pounds. Ranked fourth this year is Pakistan-born founder of Bestway conglomerate Anwar Pervez with 2.35 billion pounds, followed by two other Indian-origin billionaires at joint fifth retail giants Simon, Bobby & Robin Arora and metals tycoon Anil Agarwal with a net worth of 2.3 billion pounds each. This year's list sees Rajesh Ram Satiija of Sun & Sand Group, Zuber and Mohsin Issa of Euro Garages, and Tony, Raj & Harpal Matharu of Global Grange Ltd making it to billionaire status, taking the total number of South Asian origin billionaires based in Britain to 12. Satiija is among the high risers in terms of net worth this year, with an increase of 390 million pounds to his wealth. His mining to agriculture business spans three continents and comes in at 1.3 billion pounds. "Satiija worked for an export business before starting out on his own, setting up an auto-parts business in Nigeria. He has a home in Mayfair and is now looking at a public flotation for his fast expanding group, where revenues have tripled over the last few years," notes the Rich List, which is to be formally unveiled at the Asian Business Awards ceremony in London this evening. The awards, now in their 21st year, honour outstanding achievements among British Asians across different industries. Some of the key award winners this year include ICICI Bank as Asian Business Bank of the Year, hotelier Joginder Sanger as Businessman of the Year, and Shamil Thakrar for Restaurant of the Year for his Dishoom chain of Indian restaurants in the UK. "The enterprising spirit and the crucial role of entrepreneurs is vital not only to the economy but to society as a whole as it serves to inspire the next generation of businessmen and women," said Kalpesh Solanki, Group Managing Editor of AMG. "It is this attitude that will drive the economy forward, fundamentally creating jobs and giving families value and sense of purpose. The winners of the Asian Business Awards 2018 are just a handful of these amazingly dedicated, innovative and committed individuals," Solanki said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Theme park Imagica has partnered with Green Gold Animation, the creator of popular cartoon character Chhota Bheem, to launch a character inspired roller coaster ride from May. "This collaboration is first of its kind in India where a theme park is associating with an animated content creator to bring India's favourite character alive. It is an integrated deal with Green Gold," Imagica director Pooja Shetty Deora told PTI adding that it would also boost the retail sales. The company is also exploring opportunities to tie-up with large experienced-based films for theme park rides. This association with the Green Gold Animation would take the total rides at its amusement park situated near the city of Khopoli on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway to 25. "It is expected to increase the footfalls at Imagica by 4 lakh annually and have a 17 per cent incremental growth in revenues across the businesses," Imagica joint chief executive officer Dhimant Bakshi said. Last year, the company had clocked a turnover of Rs 240 crore. It currently has a total footfall of 1.7 million across its theme, water and snow parks. Bakshi added that the firm would be looking at showcasing the Chhota Bheem movies in the future and the association would also look at incorporating Imagica in the popular cartoon series. The company, which is in the midst of capital restructuring, would look at expanding to Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad after the process is completed by June. Green Gold Animation chief operating officer and executive director Samir Jain said, "This was a piece missing in its merchandising and licensing space." "In India having an independent theme park (based on animation characters) is still a far cry and it makes sense to join with the best. It was the right fit for Chhota Bheem to be present with Imagica, which will benefit both the brands," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India and Egypt today reviewed entire expanse of their bilateral relationship with a focus on boosting cooperation in areas of security, trade and investment. The review was carried out by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry during the 7th meeting of the India-Egypt joint commission here. In a tweet, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the two sides reviewed progress in the areas of political, trade and investment, science and technology, cyber security, capacity building, security, space and culture. Egypt has traditionally been one of India's most important trading partners in the African continent. Indian businessmen have invested nearly USD 3 billion in about 50 companies in Egypt and have given employment opportunities to around 35,000 Egyptians, according to official data. President of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi visited India in September, 2016 during which the two countries decided to step up their overall defence and security cooperation to tackle the twin challenges of terrorism and radicalisation. Egypt is keen on India's participation in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, particularly in sectors such as petro-chemicals, energy, agriculture, healthcare, education, skills and information technology. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India is a brother, but China is like a long lost cousin found, Maldives Ambassador to China Mohamed Faisal has said, asserting that his country would push ahead with Chinese projects despite New Delhi's concerns. The Maldives will further embrace Chinese investment but is aware it risks getting caught between China and India, Faisal told the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. "China is like a long-lost cousin that we have found, a long-lost cousin who is willing to help us," he said yesterday after Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen lifted a state of emergency in the troubled South Asian nation after 45 days. "India is a brother. We are a family, we may quarrel and we may have arguments but in the end, we will sit down and resolve it," the diplomat said. He claimed that the Maldives has taken a number of projects to India for finance "but we did not receive the necessary finance." China, which looks at Maldives as a major participant in its 21st century Maritime Silk Road plan in the Indian Ocean, has made heavy investments in the nation of islands which has 26 tropical atolls and 1,000 small islands. China has put up a staunch defence of Maldives President Abdullah Yameen, stonewalling international pressure and enabling him to stay in power during the current crisis. The picturesque Indian Ocean archipelago was plunged into chaos early last month when the Supreme Court called for the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, ruling that their trials were politically motivated and flawed. The government refused to implement the ruling. Yameen imposed a state of emergency and arrested apex court judges and former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Opposition party leaders in Maldives alleged that China is tacitly backing Yameen, which emboldened him to resort to unconstitutional actions like arresting Supreme Court judges. Former president Mohamed Nasheed who was in exile abroad had called for Indian intervention in Maldives to save the democracy in the island nation. He had alleged that China is indulging in land grabbing, threatening not just the Maldives, but the peace and the stability of the entire region. Faisal said Maldives will not allow any foreign military establishments. "Our government has made it very clear that we are not going to allow any kind of military establishments or military undertakings in the Maldives. Not for China, not for any other countries," he said. More than 70 per cent of the Maldives' foreign debt is owed to China, but Faisal said it was not having trouble making payments, adding that the country had taken some concessional loans to pay as its tourism market expanded. "Right now, it's only seven islands that Chinese have invested in, in the tourism sector. For a country with such capacity as China I think it is a very low number it should be more than that." China had expressed interest in building a port in the Maldives, Faisal said, but there was no confirmed plan at present. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India may be in a position where it would want to retaliate, a top Trump administration official said on Thursday, even as the US continues to be on the cusp of triggering a global trade war by unveiling high import tariffs on a number of items. The US Trade Representative (USTR), Robert Lighthizer, told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing that India's system is not open and has a lot of "vulnerabilities". "My guess is that India may be in a position where they want to retaliate. I think there's some vulnerability there. India has a substantial trade surplus with the US and they have a system which is not particularly open," Lighthizer said. "They have a system that has a number of vulnerabilities. So to the extent, there are individuals who have this problem, all I can say is we'll try to work with them. It's a serious problem and one that we have considered," the USTR said. He was responding to a question from Senator Ben Cardin from Maryland, who shared concerns of the American spice industry who depend largely on countries such as India on the import of spices and are now fearing a retaliatory action from them. "I have another set of problems in regards to potential retaliatory actions. And I'll use McCormick spices as an example. It's a good American company, they source as much as they possibly can in our country, but you can't move the equator and their products from other countries in order to have their spices (sic)," Cardin said. Baltimore-based McCormick is one of the top spice companies in the US. "That's exactly the type of concern we have that they could be targeted for retaliatory actions that they have no choice. What do I tell McCormick?" Cardin asked. "I don't know enough about where they buy spice from. A lot of places -- presumably where they buy spices from are not going to be on the list where they're going to be significantly affected by (Section) 232 in aluminium or steel," Lighthizer said. "One that probably does come to mind, what they probably do is from India. I would presume India. I don't know. Once again, I'm not an expert in the spice industry. At least I remember from the old days, the whole spice trade, the whole opium trade was basically started with Europeans getting spice out of India and selling it to China. So that's kind of my frame of reference," he said. The USTR said that the companies ought to draw their attention towards any specific retaliation. India and Singapore can work together on infrastructure financing with opportunities to tap into USD 1.5 trillion funding required for development projects in India over the next 10 years, a Singaporean minister said here today. Making this call, Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) noted that the Indian corporates have been tapping Singapore capital market. "Indian infrastructure projects seeking long-term institutional funds can also look to leverage the strong infrastructure financing ecosystem in Singapore, comprising multilateral development banks, private financiers, lawyers, accountants, and other professional services," said Ong at a Symposium on 'India's Changing Financial Landscape', held here. He also pointed out that Indian insurance sector holds great promise for growth. "As a leading insurance and re-insurance hub in Asia, Singapore is also well placed to help address India's risk management needs," he said. The minister went on to highlight the "most exciting area for collaboration between Singapore and India in FinTech". "This is the space where there is boundless imagination, creativity and enthusiasm, especially from our young," underlined the minister. Singapore, he said, is also working with the state governments of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra to bolster cooperation in innovation and blockchain technologies, including cross border payments. The development of FinTech has opened up new frontiers for cooperation between Singapore and India. Highlighting technology-driven transformation in India, he said, "It has also opened up new and exciting opportunities for collaboration between the two countries." "Done well, these initiatives will have a far-reaching positive impact on India - as well as Singpapore for the long-term," Ong said. More than 100 executives and leaders from financial sector attended the symposium organised by the Institute of South Asia Studies, a think tank of the National University of Singapore. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) For the first time, senior Indian military officials and diplomats posted here attended the military parade to mark the Pakistan Day, a media report said today, claiming that the initiative of the Pakistan Army chief was to send a message of peace to New Delhi. Amid heightened tensions between the two neighbouring countries, the Pakistan Army invited, for the first time, Indian Defence Attache and senior diplomats of the Indian High Commission to join the March 23 celebrations, a senior Pakistani military official told The Express Tribune. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initiative came from Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa and the idea was to send a message of peace to India. Indian deputy high commissioner J P Singh and Defence and Military Adviser Brigadier Sanjay P Vishwasrao were among those who attended the event, according to media reports. The move comes at a time when tensions have been simmering between Islamabad and New Delhi with frequent incidents of clashes along the Line of Control and Working Boundary. While the Pakistan Army chief is believed to be in favour of improved ties, the ball is now in India's court to see how the unprecedented gesture will be reciprocated, the report said. India has made it clear to Islamabad that the onus is on Pakistan to create a conducive atmosphere for dialogue between the two countries. At the Pakistan Day event, President Mamnoon Hussain accused accused India of cease-fire violations and human rights abuses, saying New Delhi's actions have put regional peace at stake. He had also raised the Kashmir issue, saying, "the only solution to the dispute of Kashmir is providing the right of self-determination to the Kashmiri people, and Pakistan will continue to play its role...." The participation of Indian diplomats at the Pakistan Day came a day after Pakistan High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood returned to New Delhi a week after he was called back for consultations amid the raging row between India and Pakistan over harassment of diplomats. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi here today said that more active cooperation is needed among international organisations such as UNICEF, International Labour Organisation (ILO) and United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for arresting child trafficking. He also said that countries associated with the Organization for Identity & Cultural Development (OICD) should provide more resources to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) regarding the education sector till 2030, that will help in curbing the child labour. "More active and deep cooperation needed among ILO, UNICEF, UNHRC, IMO (International Maritime Organisation) and other such international bodies to fight against child trafficking . We will lay stress on it in the summit meeting," Satyarthi told PTI-Bhasha here before the beginning of the second Laureates and Leaders for Children Summit 2018 on March 26-27 at the King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Centre at the Dead Sea. Satyarthi has established the Laureates and Leaders for Children, its first meet was held in Delhi in December 2016, which was inaugarated by then President Pranab Mukherjee. The summit is being held under the aegis of Jordan's King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein. Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, Satyarthi, Panama President Juan Carlos Varela Rodriguez, India's Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi, member of Jordan's ruling family Ali Bin al Hussain, the US human rights activist Kerry Kennedy and many other leaders and Nobel laureates will attend the summit. The child rights activist said that along with child trafficking, child labour is also a very big problem before the world. "We have to make multi-dimensional endeavours to curb the child labour. By enacting strong laws, child labour has been reduced to a considerable strength but still we have 15 crore child labourers in the world," he said. He said that there is need to punish the officials of those multi-national companies that are associated with activities that encourage child labour. Satyarthi said to develop the political will, the summit will focus on collective responsibility and strong moral agreement. He also called for global efforts to solve the Syria refugee crisis. "Children suffer most from the violence and the civil war," he said, stressing that goal of providing security and education to children and safeguarding their independence cannot be achieved without collective effort. "This is the brutal truth of this world we live in. We need immediate and collective global effort to stop this (cruelty)," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "It is a victory of truth," Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said after the Delhi High Court set aside the Centre's notification disqualifying 20 AAP MLAs in an office of profit case. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia too welcomed the order as he joined the AAP legislators in thumping tables in the Delhi Assembly during its ongoing Budget session. The MLAs shouted "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" in the Assembly after the order. "It is a victory of truth. The elected representatives were wrongfully disqualified. The high court has given justice to the people of Delhi. It is their victory. Congratulations to the people of Delhi," Kejriwal tweeted. In a major relief to the Aam Aadmi Party, the high court today sets aside the Election Commission's recommendation and the subsequent Centre's notification disqualifying 20 of its MLAs in the office of profit case. A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Chander Shekhar said that the notification disqualifying the MLAs was bad in law and remanded their plea back to the EC which will hear it afresh. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former US Ambassador to the United Nations John R Bolton would be the new National Security Adviser to President Donald Trump, effective April 9, replacing Lt Gen H R McMaster. Reports of McMaster's ouster had surfaced last week but the White House had dispelled them saying that there were no changes at the National Security Council (NSC). Trump, however, took to Twitter today to make an announcement in this regard. The announcement of McMaster's ouster, who the White House said had a "good working relationship" with Trump, is the latest in a string of high-profile White House departures since President Trump took office in January 2017. "I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, John Bolton will be my new National Security Adviser," Trump said on Twitter. "I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9," Trump said. According to a White House official, Trump and McMaster mutually agreed that the latter will resign as the National Security Adviser (NSA). He will retire from the US Army after 34 years of distinguished service. "The two have been discussing this for some time. The timeline was expedited as they both felt it was important to have the new team in place, instead of constant speculation. This was not related to any one moment or incident, rather it was the result of ongoing conversations between the two," the official said. The White House has described Bolton, who replaces McMaster, as one of the strongest voices and experts on the full range of national security issues and challenges facing the country. Bolton served as US Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2005-2006 and as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security from 2001-2005. In a statement, Trump said McMaster has served his country with distinction for more than 30 years. "He has won many battles and his bravery and toughness are legendary. General McMaster's leadership of the National Security Council staff has helped my administration accomplish great things to bolster America's national security," he said. "He helped develop our America First National Security Strategy, revitalise our alliances in the Middle East, smash ISIS, bring North Korea to the table, and strengthen our nation's prosperity. This work and those achievements will ensure that America builds on its economic and military advantages. I thank General McMaster and his family for their service and wish them the very best," Trump said. The White House Chief of Staff, General (rtd) John Kelly said McMaster, a fine American and military officer, has served with distinction and honour throughout his career in the US Army and as the NSA. "He brought and maintained discipline and energy to our vital interagency process. He helped develop options for the President and ensured that those options were presented fully and fairly. A true solider-scholar, his impact on his country and this government will be felt for years to come," Kelly said. McMaster said after 34 years of service, he is requesting retirement from the US Army effective this summer after which he will leave public service. "Throughout my career, it has been my greatest privilege to serve alongside extraordinary service members and dedicated civilians. "I am thankful to President Donald J. Trump for the opportunity to serve him and our nation as national security adviser. I am grateful for the friendship and support of the members of the National Security Council who worked together to provide the President with the best options to protect and advance our national interests," McMaster said. Bolton, during his tenure at the United Nations, was a leading voice on the need for the Security Council to take strong and meaningful action against international proliferation and terrorism. Along with France's ambassador, Bolton led the Security Council to approve a unanimous resolution to end the summer 2006 Hezbollah war on Israel, to authorise UN peacekeepers and to create an arms embargo against Hezbollah. He also assembled an international coalition that blocked the bid of Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's Marxist strongman, to join the Security Council. As Under Secretary, he repeatedly advocated tough measures against the nuclear weapons programs of both Iran and North Korea, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction generally. He led negotiations for America to withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty so that the Bush administration could proceed with a national missile-defence program. Author of "Surrender is Not an Option: Defending America at the UN and Abroad", Bolton currently is counsel at Kirkland & Ellis LLC with a focus on counselling clients on domestic and international issues in complex corporate, litigation, internal investigations, regulatory and competition matters. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The owner of Mumbai's Kamala Mills today moved the Supreme Court challenging his arrest in connection with a fire that claimed 14 lives in December last year. A bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan asked Ravi Bhandari to serve a copy of his petition to the Maharashtra government. The top court listed the matter for further hearing on March 27. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Bhandari, said his arrest is illegal detention and he can't be booked for the offence of culpable homicide. He said the apex court has already held in the Bhopal gas tragedy and Uphaar cinema hall fire case that they are cases of negligence, which is a bailable offence. The Bombay High Court had recently dismissed Bhandari's bail application. Bhandari was arrested in January along with fire officer Rajendra Patil and Utkarsh Pandey, who supplied hookahs to the pubs Mojo's Bistro and 1 Above where the fire started. All three are in judicial custody. Fourteen persons were killed and several others injured when a fire broke out at the two pubs in the Kamala Mills compound in central Mumbai on December 29, 2017. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The JDS today demanded countermanding of election to fill four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka, alleging that the returning officer in 'collusion' with the ruling Congress in the state allowed two of its members to recast their vote after they 'cross-voted'. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, however, termed the charge as 'false', saying before casting their votes, the two MLAs realised theyhad made a "mistake" on the ballot paper, so they tookanother one for which "there is a provision in law." Five candidates, three from the Congress and one each from the BJP and the JDS are in the fray for the four seats. As the poll process was underway, JDS leader and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy claimed that two senior Congress MLAs had "cross voted" against their party's official nominees by marking for another candidate on the ballot paper. However, on the request of the ruling party's agent, the returning officer later allowed both the candidates to vote once again by issuing them a fresh ballot paper, he alleged. "Minister Kagodu Thimmappa, who was a former speaker, and MLA Baburao Chinchansur, both of them havecross voted in the first ballot paper, then they have shown itto their agent. "After seeing the cross voting the agent protested. Then the Returning Officer allowed these two voters to voteonce again, second vote," Kumaraswamytold reporters here. Stating that the returning officer had considered the request for second vote with the a fresh ballot paper, he said "we are protesting ...illegal voting is going on." Theobserver from the Election Commission has beenrequested to "countermand" the election process, he added. Four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka will fall vacant early next month following the retirement of sitting members. Claiming that both Thimmappa and Chinchanasur wanted to vote against Congress candidates, Kumaraswamy alleged thatthe Returning Officer is "colluding" with the government. Rejecting the charge, Siddaramaiah said: "It appears they (JDS) are desperate...they have tried every thing, they had gone to the court (on seven rebelJDS MLA issue), they failed in the court, and desperately theyare making these allegations." The chief minister also expressed confidence that all three Congress candidates will win the election, saying "we have enough votes on our side." The Congress has fielded Dr L Hanumanthaiah, Dr Syed Naseer Hussain and G C Chandrasekhar. The BJP has nominated Rajeev Chandrashekar, who was an independent Rajya Sabha member, and the JDS nominee is B M Farooq. With their current strength in the assembly, two candidates of the Congress and one from BJP can get elected comfortably. However, the fight will be between the third candidateof the Congress and the JDS' Farooq. Here too, the arithmetic favours the Congress, with the party hoping for support from seven rebel JDS MLAs, who are expected to join the ruling party after the Rajya Sabha polls. It also expects support of MLAs from smaller parties- BR Patil (KJP), B Nagendra (independent) and Ashok Kheny (KMP), who have recently joined the Congress. According to reports, the Congress' decision to field its third candidate came as a blow to JDS that had hoped the Congress would support its candidate, keeping in mind the larger picture of post assembly poll scenario. Assembly elections in the state are expected inthe next two months. In the 225-member assembly (including one nominated), each candidate will require 44 votes to win a Rajya Sabha seat. At present the party wise strength in the assembly isCongress-122, BJP-43, JDS-37, BSR Congress-3, KJP-2, KMP-1, independents-8, Speaker-1, nominated-1, vacant-7. Farooq had earlier too contested from JDS during the biennial elections to fill four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka in June 2016 but had lost, as eight MLAs from the party voted in support of Congress candidate. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court today granted bail to Karti Chidambaram, son of senior Congress leader P Chidamabaram, in the INX Media corruption case. Karti was arrested on February 28 by the CBI on his return from the United Kingdom, and his 12-day judicial custody was to expire tomorrow in the case. Justice S P Garg directed him to furnish a surety of Rs 10 lakh and imposed additional conditions including that he will seek prior permission of the CBI if he wants to leave the country. His passport is already deposited with the authorities, his lawyers had earlier told the court. The court also said that while out on bail, Karti will not tamper with any evidence in the case. The CBI had opposed his bail plea on the grounds that he has "already destroyed evidence" in the case and was an "influential" person. Karti's counsel had argued that no case under the Prevention of Corruption Act was made out against him since the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had neither questioned any public servant, nor made them an accused in the matter. Karti's lawyers had denied allegations of tampering with evidence and added that when the CBI had not sought his further custodial interrogation, why should he be kept in judicial custody. He was arrested from Chennai in connection with an FIR lodged on May 15 last year, alleging irregularities in a Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance given to INX Media for receiving funds of about Rs 305 crore from overseas in 2007 when his father was the Union finance minister. The CBI had initially alleged that Karti received Rs 10 lakh as a bribe for facilitating the FIPB clearance to INX Media. It had later revised the figure to USD 1 million (about Rs 6.50 crore at the current exchange rate and Rs 4.5 crore in 2007). The fresh evidence in the case, which triggered Karti's arrest, was based on a statement of Indrani Mukerjea, former director of INX Media (P) Ltd, who recorded it under Section 164 of the CrPC before a magistrate on February 17. Indrani is currently lodged in a Mumbai prison in connection with the case of murder of her daughter Sheena Bora. In the separate money laundering case arising out of the corruption matter, the high court had on March 9 directed the Enforcement Directorate not to arrest or take any coercive action against Karti. The protection was later extended by the high court till March 22. Subsequently, the Supreme Court had transferred the ED case to itself. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kerala has called for a meeting of Finance ministers of southern states here on April 10 to discuss and arrive at a consensus on their response to the terms of reference of the 15th Finance Commission. State Finance minister Thomas Isaac sent a letter in this regard two days ago, government sources said. Isaac has also personally contacted the southern ministers on phone and they have agreed to attend the meeting, the sources said. The minister said the southern states were being "penalised" for successfully implementing national policies. The 15th Finance commission's proposal to use 2011 census as the basis to allocate union tax revenues will affect all the southern states, according to financial department sources. "All the southern states have implemented family planning measures from 1971 onwards as a result of which population of these states have come down since 1971.So the quantum of devolution of funds to the states will be affected if 2011 census is taken as the basis point," the sources said. As per the terms of reference, the government is also trying to reduce the ability of states to borrow from open markets, which was also a cause of worry, the sources said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kerala today termed as 'illegal' construction of a check dam by Tamil Nadu across Nallar river, a feeder river of Bharathapuzha, and asked its counterpart to stop the work. The preliminary work started by Tamil Nadu for the construction of a check dam across Nallar river has come to the notice of the government, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the state assembly. Kerala has sought details of the construction work and to stop the 'illegal construction'. However, Tamil Nadu has not responded to it, he said adding the state would make necessary intervention on the matter. On the Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP) water sharing agreement with Tamil Nadu, Vijayan said there was a shortfall of 500 million cusecs in the state's share till March 15 during the current water year. The state had already pointed out this shortage to Tamil Naduand asked it to make available 200 cusecs water between March 16 and March 31 and later 100cusecs till May 15, Vijayan said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Kremlin today said it regretted the EU's decision to recall its envoy to Russia after the bloc backed Britain's view that Moscow is likely behind the poisoning of a former double agent. "As for the decision taken, we regret in this context that again such decisions are taken using the wording 'highly likely' and judgements are based on this. We don't agree with this and we repeat again that Russia absolutely definitely has nothing to do with the Skripal case," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sri Lanka's visiting President Maithripala Sirisena today met Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and expressed support for organising SAARC summit in Pakistan, according to an official statement. Sirisena, who arrived in Pakistan yesterday on a three-day visit, was Guest of Honour at the Pakistan Day military parade held in Islamabad. He also called on Prime Minister Abbasi for a one-on-one meeting which was followed by delegation level talks. According to an official statement, issues of mutual importance were discussed during the meeting and the two sides expressed hope that the bilateral ties will continue to grow in the future. The two sides also agreed to diversify and deepen the bilateral relations, it said. "The Sri Lankan President extended support for the holding of SAARC Summit in Pakistan," the statement said. After the meeting, the two sides signed three MoUs related to youth development and training of civil and diplomatic personnel. A presentation ceremony of corneas also took place, it said, adding that the corneas were presented by Sirisena to Abbasi for treatment of visually impaired persons in Pakistan. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier today said there were less chances of prosperity if countries turn their backs to multilateral cooperation, but noted that India's neighbourhood was not the easiest space for international cooperation, in an apparent reference to strained Indo-Pak relations. Delivering a lecture on 'India-Germany Ideas and Perspectives' here at Delhi University, an event which coincided with Shaheed Diwas, Steinmeier said Bhagat Singh, who was once labelled as a "criminal", was now celebrated as a "national hero". "Bhagat Singh was executed as a criminal for his violent resistance to British rule, today his statue can be seen in the Parliament House. How extraordinary. A man once labelled as a criminal now is a national hero," he said. Today marks the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru. The German President said there are many people in the world who do not want to talk. "We can see many recent examples of countries behaving this way and turning their backs on multilateral cooperation. We see countries that question the value of rules and agreements and seek strength and prosperity in isolation and concentration," he said, adding that such traits would undoubtedly not bring prosperity. "What will happen if every country, if India and Germany, started acting that way? What would happen if we all retreated to our own private spaces with none to talk to. What will happen to culture, commerce, innovation, global stability and our own security," Steinmeier said. In an apparent reference to strained Indo-Pak relations, the Presiden said India's neighbourhood is certainly not the easiest space for international cooperation. "Over the past few years, there have been too many setbacks for those who believed in an open and cooperative move. Cooperation requires dedication and stamina. But that's no reason to stop working together," he said, mentioning about solid foundations in navigation in Indian Ocean that India and Germany have built to protect international waters. "But we could make this legal framework even stronger. In times of setbacks, I believe we should emphasise such examples and continue sending messages of cooperation," he added. Emphasising about foundation of strategic partnership between both the countries, the President said, "In an increasing multi-polar world, we both understand that no single nation will be able to manage global engagement alone. We understand there is importance to emphasise what matters rather than focussing on our disagreements." Another challenge, he said, that unites both the countries is the need to innovate constantly and to stay atop research and development in science and technology. "For younger generation, industry 4.0, artificial intelligence, robotics will be the norm. India will be rural country and at the same time a 21st century data driven economy. We should strengthen our universities, defend the freedom to research. Make sure the arts and sciences continue flourishing freely, rather than restricting the space for debate and politicising these institutions, " he said. Mentioning about the factors that are not favourable to a democracy, he said, "If you are going to harass researchers on the basis of political beliefs, then soon the democracy will dry up. We should also continue defending freedom of speech rather than discrediting uncomfortable truth as fake and blurring the boundaries between facts and opinion." "We should continue to engage in rigorous and respectful debates in political parties and with our political authorities. We should defend autonomy of women and minorities," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Bombay High Court today asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to list the steps being taken to check the airworthiness of all Pratt and Whitney 1100 engines that power A320neo aircraft. A bench of Justices Naresh Patil and G S Kulkarni also said that merely grounding some aircraft or following the directive of the European Air Safety Authority (EASA) against the use of P&W 1100 engines belonging to the '450 and beyond' series, was not enough. The court said it was the "duty" of the Union government (UoI) and the DGCA to ensure that all aircraft were safe for travel and passengers were assured of their safety. "Are you merely relying upon the directive and certification issued by the EASA, or, have you conducted your own study to ensure that all engines, even those that have not been flagged by the EASA, are absolutely safe?" the bench asked. "Your duty does not end merely at grounding some flights. It is also the duty and responsibility of the DGCA and the UoI to ensure that the people of India feel safe," it said. "You must widely publicise the steps being taken to ensure that the flagged engines are not being used and that air travel was perfectly safe. Open a window to address the queries and pacify the fear of air travellers," the bench said. The directions came after senior advocate Janak Dwarkadas, the counsel for IndiGo Airlines, told HC that the airline was replacing all affected engines with "better and new" engines. "However, there is a sort of fear psychosis among passengers now. They keep asking if the aircraft has a P&W engine," Dwarkadas said. "This is because the DGCA is not communicating well with the passengers," he said. The bench was hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by a city resident Harish Agarwal, seeking appropriate directions to the civil aviation authorities, over recent reports ofcertain Pratt & Whitney engines powering A320neo planes being more susceptible to engine failures. In February this year, EASA had issued an airworthinessdirective for A320neo planes fitted with PW1100 engines having a particular serial number. As per the directive, PW1100 engines are classified into two types or series of numbers-- 449, and 450 and beyond. The EASA ruled that engines having serial numbers 450 and beyond had combustion and othersafety problems. It ruled that across the world, allA320neo aircraft with both engines having 450 or beyond serial numbers should be grounded, while those with only one 450 and beyond engine could continue to fly. However, DGCA's counsel Adveith Sethna said that in India, aircraft with even one 450 and beyond PW1100 engine were being grounded. Seven aircraft belonging to IndiGo and two from GoAir's fleet had one or both engines belonging to the flagged serial number and had been grounded, he said. Sethna also told HC that DGCA had received a certification from engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney that all pre-450 series engines met safety standards. However, the bench asked whether the DGCA was content with just the P&W's self certification, or whether it was doing something else to check not just the 450 and beyond engines, but, also the pre-450 engines. Sethna meanwhile, told HC that it will issue a public notice clarifying the issue. The bench has directed the DGCA, IndiGo and Go Air to file their respective affidavits by April 2 on compliance with all safety standards in light of the above issue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An 18-year-old Iraqi asylum seeker was today sentenced to life imprisonment for placing a bomb on a London underground train which partially exploded, injuring 51 people last year. Ahmed Hassan was directed to serve a minimum of 34 years behind bars before being considered for parole at the end of a murder trial at the Old Bailey court in London. The court was told that Hassan blamed the UK for his father's death in Iraq and was "disappointed" when the bomb only partly detonated in a huge fireball. "Your intention that morning was to kill as many members of the British public as possible by planting the IED [improvised explosive device] on a busy commuter Tube train," said Justice Haddon-Cave during the hearing. He said Hassan planned his attack with "ruthless determination and almost military efficiency while pretending to be a model asylum seeker". "You will have plenty of time to study the 'Quran' in Prison... the 'Quran' is a book of peace... Islam forbids breaking the law of the land... Islam forbids terror," the judge added. Prosecutors at the sentencing hearing said there would have been "serious harm, if not fatality" if the bomb, packed with 2-kilogramme of screwdrivers, knives, nuts and bolts, had fully detonated. Hassan built his bomb at the home of his foster parents in Sunbury-on-Thames while they were away. On the morning of September 15, he took a westbound District Line train from Wimbledon, getting off one stop before Parsons Green. His device, which had a timer and was placed in a supermarket plastic bag, was left on the floor of the carriage. He was arrested the following morning at Dover, trying the flee the country. During his asylum application a few years ago, the teenager told UK Home Office officials, that he had been trained to kill by the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist network, but denied being sent to the UK as a sleeper terrorist. Hassan had been referred to the government's anti-radicalisation Prevent programme, who believed he was engaging with them. Hassan's foster parents, Penny and Ron Jones, accused the authorities of failing to warn them to look out for signs of radicalisation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Anti-Terrorism Squad has arrested eight Bangladeshi nationals for living in the country without valid documents, officials said. Acting on a tip-off, the Nagpada unit of the ATS raided places in suburban Malwani and Kandivali and arrested these persons last night. Officials said that the eight, who were employed at an electronics assembling shop here run by a resident of 24 Parganas district in West Bengal, had confessed that they were Bangladeshi nationals. "They are residents of Jessore district in Bangladesh. Two had even managed to procure PAN cards. They have been arrested under relevant sections of the Passport Rules and Foreigners Act. Further investigations are underway," the official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A man was arrested and a juvenile apprehended in connection with a shootout in south Delhi, police said today. The members of a criminal gang, involved in extortion, had yesterday opened fire on Delhi Police's Crime Branch personnel after they were intercepted. Five criminals of the gang had managed to escape after the shootout, they said. The Crime Branch had received information that a gang was trying to procure a large cache of sophisticated weapons to overawe their rivals and to carry out some serious crimes in Delhi, police said. The gang was in touch with various suppliers of illegal arms in Baghpat, Hodal, Kosi, Mathura etc, they said. About two weeks ago, the gang members had travelled up to Baghpat to purchase the weapons. However, the deal was not finalised on price issues, police said. The gang members continued to negotiate with various illegal arm suppliers and on March 21, they went to Kosi Kalan, Mathura for procuring the weapons, where the deal was finalised, they added. The police team learnt that the gang would be returning to Delhi via Faridabad along with the procured weapons and would further take the Surajkund Road for entering Delhi, police said. A trap was laid at the police picket near Delhi-Surajkund Border. The Crime Branch personnel signalled the vehicle, carrying the five accused to stop but the driver rammed the car into the barricade and tried to run over a police man. The car's occupants, five in number, opened fire. The police team fired in retaliation. However, the accused continued to drive the vehicle, they said. During the search of the abandoned vehicle, five semi-automatic pistols, nine live cartridges, two fired cartridges were seized, police said. Several teams were formed to trace and arrest the absconding criminals. Subsequently, two gang members, including a juvenile, and Devinder, a proclaimed offender in three attempt to murder cases, were apprehended from Turkman Gate, Two 9 MM pistols (Prohibited bore weapons) and 26 cartridges were seized, police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police tonight arrested the 43-year-old man who stabbed to death his daughter on the eve of her marriage, angered over her decision to tie the knot with a Dalit youth. Rajan, who was taken into custody yesterday itself, admitted that he was not happy with his daughter Athira's decision to marry Brijesh, a jawan in the army, because he was a Dalit, a senior police officer said. Malappuram Deputy Superintendent of Police Jaleel Thottathil, who is probing the case, told PTI that the man had stated that he was afraid that people would mock him over his daughter's decision. In a fit of rage, the accused, who was inebirated, picked up a quarrel with her last evening over the marriage and stabbed her on her chest. Though she was rushed to hospital, her life could not be saved, the DySP said. A weeping Brijesh told television channels that both he and the woman were cent per cent confident that they would be able to marry and had not sought any help. Athira (21) was a lab technician in a hospital. Rajan will be produced in court tomorrow. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Manipur government will finalize it's stand on the demand of the United Naga Council (UNC) to roll back the decision on the creation of seven districts on April 10, official sources said today. An agreement on it was signed during the day by representatives of the Centre, the Manipur government and the UNC during tripartite talks at Senapati district. The sources said the Manipur government will inform the Centre and UNC about its stand on the issue, the sources said. UNC had demanded roll back of the creation of seven new districts in Manipur which had been decided by the previous Congress government led by O Ibobi Singh. In support of its demand it had sponsored an economic blockade in the Naga-majoity hill districts of Senapati, Tamenglong, Ukhrul and Chandel on November 1, 2016 which crippled the state's economy. The blockade had ended on March 19, 2017 following requests by the Centre. The BJP is now in power in Manipur under the chief ministership of N Biren Singh. The tripartite talk was attended by V Hangkhanlian, Agriculture Minister, N Kayisii, Tribal and Hill Areas Development Minister and Thokchom Radheshyam Singh, Education Minister. UNC was represented by its president Gaidon Kamei, general secretary S Milan, president of All Naga Students Union, Manipur Seth Shatsang and president of Naga Women's Union Asha Wungnam. The Centre was represented by the joint secretary (north east) in the ministry of home affairs, Satyendra Garg. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The freedom fighters who laid down their lives for the country have not got their due respect and honour in history books taught in schools and colleges, feels Minister of State for HRD Satya Pal Singh. "After the country's independence, martyrs have not got appropriate honour and respect in history books taught in schools and colleges," Singh tweeted in Hindi. He further tweeted, " Veeran hain kabren unkin jinke lahu se jalte the chirage vatan, jagmagate hain makbare unke jo bechte the shahidon ke kafan (Lonely are graves of those whose blood used to light lamps in the country, while mausoleum of those are lightened up who use to sell shrouds of martyrs." Singh made the comments on the martyrdom day of the great freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. "My heartfelt tributes to Shaheed S Bhagat Singh, Rajguru n Sukhdev who sacrificed their lives for Bharat Mata. Today is their martyrday (23 March, 1931.)," he tweeted. However, this is not the first time that the minister has questioned contents of the present curriculum in the country. The IPS-turned-politician had recently recommended to Central Advisory Body of (CABE) that there are certain mantras which codified 'laws of motion' much before it was discovered by Newton. "Hence it is essential that traditional knowledge must be incorporated in our curriculum and Vaastu compliance of educational buildings is important for learning," he had said. He had also stoked a controversy when he had claimed that Darwin's theory of evolution was incorrect and should not be taught in schools and colleges. Nobody, including our ancestors, in written or oral, have said they saw an ape turning into a man.... Humans appeared on Earth as humans from the very beginning, he had said at an event in Aurangabad in January. Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar had asked Singh to refrain from making such comments and leave the science to scientists as it is their domain. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today urged the media to be responsible and bring out only the truth before the public as fake may irreparably harm the society. "The aim of the media is to show the correct path to the public, guide the people and not mislead them by dishing out fake items," Banerjee said at a function organised by Bengali TV channel 24 Ghanta here. "One fake may trigger riots. Someone spreading fake news may himself benefit at personal level, but any such act will cause irreparable damage to the society, to the country," she said. Asking the media to be on the guard against distortion of news, Banerjee said "a media organization is not an outlet which sells food items. It disseminates correct news". Banerjee expressed concern over the violent contents shown on some fictional programmes on TV, especially soaps and serials. She said a mere disclaimer -- such acts were not endorsed by the makers and are purely works of fiction -- was simply not enough. Actress Sharmila Tagore was conferred the Life-time Achievement Award at the 'Zee 24 Ghanta Ananyo Samman' ceremony. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma today presented a Rs 1,150 crore deficit budget, highlighting that total receipts for 2018-19 will improve owing to higher central taxes share. He said the central taxes share is earmarked at Rs 5,059.77 crore and the government will grant mining leases for minor minerals to generate revenue from royalty. I am, therefore, presenting the budget of 2018-19 with a fiscal deficit of Rs 1,150 crore which is around 3.32 per cent of GSDP, Conrad said in his budget speech. Estimating the total receipts at Rs 14,104 crore, he said the revenue receipts are estimated at Rs 12,531 crore and capital receipts at Rs 1,573 crore. The total receipts saw a nominal increase of Rs 1,594 crore from last years projected receipt. The total expenditure is estimated at Rs 14,101 crore of which the revenue expenditure is estimated to be at Rs 12,036 crore while Rs 2,065 crore as capital expenditure, he said. The chief minister admitted that the spill over impact of the National Green Tribunal ban on coal mining on the economy of the state is still restricting the state from realising its full revenue potential. He, however, said the recent relaxation on sale of liquor has slightly improved the revenue collection during the past one year. Conrad said the advanced estimates for Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) for 2017-18 is Rs 31,290 crore, an increase of 10 per cent over last years current market price of Rs 28,445 crore which showed an increase of 9.5 per cent over last years figures. He said the growth of the tertiary sector is registered at 7.24 per cent and that of secondary and primary sector at 16.59 per cent and 2.71 per cent, respectively. The chief minister also informed that the per capita income of the state at current price for 2017-18 stands at Rs 89,432 showing an increase of about 5.04 per cent as compared to last years 8.26 per cent. The new Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government under the leadership of Conrad K Sangma also spelt out key measures the government will take to generate additional resources. "The government is taking measures to strengthen the enforcement machinery to realise higher revenue under Goods and Services Tax (GST(, grant mining lease to minor minerals to generate revenue from royalty," he said. Assuring that the state will meet its committed and unavoidable expenditures, the chief minister said, The government is committed to strictly implement and reinforce fiscal austerity measures and avoid all wasteful expenditures. He also said the state will appropriately make submissions before the 15th Finance Commission to help improve the socio economic and administrative set up. The Commission is set to submit its report by October 2019 and its five year award period will cover the year 2020 up to 2025. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Goa Foundation, an NGO on whose plea the Supreme Court ordered closure of 88 mining leases in the state, filed a complaint with Lokayukta today against former Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and two government officials, accusing them of abuse of power and conspiracy. The complaint lodged this afternoon says that Parsekar, former Mines Secretary Pawan Kumar Sain and current Director of Mines and Geology Department Prasanna Acharya entered into "an unholy conspiracy" to renew 88 mining leases to several persons in Goa". In his complaint, Claud Alvares, the director of the NGO, alleged that these renewals appear to be a result of "corrupt acts". The complaint urged the Lokayukta to probe the "circumstances that led to the en masse second renewal of 88 mining leases in Goa to various private stakeholders (lease holders), including one multinational corporation from November 1, 2014 to January 12, 2015 through flagrant abuse of power and conspiracy by the persons listed as respondents in this complaint". The complaint added that the second renewals were done illegally to benefit these private persons and companies. "As a result of these renewals, they benefited by operating the mining leases allocated for nearly three years from 2015 to 2018, till the intervention of the Supreme Court of India, which set aside all these illegal renewals," it said. "By these orders, vast public monies were handed over as largesse to private individuals and companies for extraneous considerations outside the purview of the MMDR Act," the complaint mentions. The NGO has said that all the three accused be charged underSection 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 in the act of renewing these 88 mining leases for mining in Goa with a total annual production capacity of 44 million tonnes and consequences therefrom. The NGO has also said that the renewals also resulted in colossal losses to the public exchequer as they temporarily halted the recovery process worth Rs 65,058 crore and were therefore completely against public interest. They were carried out in wilful violation of the provisions laid down in the MMDR (Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation) Act, Mineral Concession Rules, 1960 and the two Supreme Court's judgements. "The actions, taken jointly and severally, attract Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA)," it added. When contacted, Parsekar said he had mentioned on the file that it was for the Secretary of Mines department to pass appropriate orders about the renewal of mining leases. "I had no role to play in the entire episode except that I was the chief minister at that time," Parsekar added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The governor, the chief minister and other VIPs of Mizoram have hired helicopters 69 times since 2013, the state Assembly was informed today. Replying to a question from Dr K Beichhua of the Mizo National Front (MNF), Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla said the governor chartered state-run Pawan Hans helicopter 10 times, the chief minister 53 times and other VIPs six times. When opposition MLAs asked about the expenses incurred for chartering the helicopter, the chief minister evaded the question. He said the Pawan Hans's rate of chartering the helicopter had been Rs 70,000 per hour which was revised and hiked to Rs 80,000 per hour from January last. Mizoram government had sometime back written a letter to the Centre asking for more flights between Aizawl and Imphal as there was only one Air India flight between the two state capitals in a week. "Many people in Manipur are Mizos and we want better connectivity by air between the two states," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Member of Maharashtra Legislative Council Kapil Patil today took a dig at BJP MLC Praveen Darekar, also chairman of Mumbai District Central Cooperative Bank, over the banks poor financial condition. Speaking to reporters outside the House, Patil said that the bank's Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) were as high as 10 per cent when it should not have been more than 5 per cent. "It was the same bank that was earlier chosen to operate the salary accounts of teachers. I doubt if the money deposited in this bank will be safe," he said. Patil said that he had raised the issue in the House and had asked the state finance minister to protect the money of depositors. Earlier, an inspection report by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) stated that the cooperative bank had a weak appraisal system, inadequate loan review and monitoring system, defective documentation, lack of independent risk appraisal and inadequate recovery strategy, "thus leaving the bank with high operational risks." The cooperative bank's gross NPAs stood at Rs 169.40 crore in March 2017, which is 10 per cent of its total assets. "This also shows that the bank is exposed to high credit risks," said the report. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The father of a woman, whose was allegedly married to a Madhya Pradesh minister's son, today wrote to Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia alleging police were trying to hush up the matter of her suicide. Chandan Singh Raghuvanshi, the woman's father, in a letter to Scindia, alleged that his daughter committed suicide as her husband, PWD minister Rampal Singh's son, was planning to marry a second time. The 28-year-old woman had allegedly committed suicide on March 16. State Congress spokesman Pankaj Chaturvedi, a close aide of Scindia, said the woman's father urged the senior leader to reach Udaipura, the minister's hometown, to support the deceased's family. According to Chaturvedi, the woman's father alleged that the minister was "misusing his power" to hush up the issue. The woman's family claims they have evidence of her marriage to the minister's son, he said. Chaturvedi informed that Scindia would meet the family on March 30 and would also raise the issue in the Lok Sabha. Raghuvanshi told reporters that the minister and his kin were responsible for his daughter's death and that the police were "pressuring and misleading" the family. State BJP spokesperson Deepak Vijayvargiya said that it was a sad incident. "The police are probing the entire issue. This is a sad incident. I don't think this is an issue for politics," he said. Inspector General, Bhopal range, Jaideep Prasad said the Raisen police had recorded the statements of the woman's family members. Raghuvanshi had to be admitted to a local hospital after he complained of uneasiness, he said. State Congress's chief spokesperson KK Mishra had last week claimed that the woman married minister Rampal Singh's son Girjesh Pratap at an Arya Samaj temple on June 20, 2017. He had alleged that Girjesh was pressuring the woman to return documents related to the marriage so that he could marry again. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today asserted, with "duo apologies to all" that Mumbai is the best place to set up an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC). Fadnavis made the statement in the Legislative Council after a Congress member pointed out that Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had ruled out setting up an IFSC in Maharashtra's capital. Fadnavis said that London has three IFSCs, and India too can have multiple IFSCs. Replying to supplementary queries on a Calling Attention motion moved by Sanjay Dutt (Congress), Fadnavis said Mumbai alone can be the country's financial services hub, as it is a natural financial service centre, having the front offices of major banks, life insurance firms and others. "With due apologies to all, I want to make it clear that a financial services hub cannot be set up anywhere else other than Mumbai, and this is 100 per cent right," he said. He said this after Dutt pointed out that Jaitley, replying to a question by Congress's Lok Sabha MP Ashok Chavan, had ruled out setting up the IFSC in Mumbai. "The Union Finance Minister in his reply added that unless the IFSC in Gujarat is put to optimum use, a second IFSC will not be set up," Dutt had said. The chief minister said the master plan for the IFSC is in its final stage. Maharashtra can choose from two models of IFSC, he added. "One model is that of an IFSC in London, which does not have the status of Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which could lead to loss of some tax concessions from the Centre. While the other (option) would be to set up an IFSC in the existing SEZ anywhere in the state," he said. In both the models, the state will not have to approach the Centre for approval, Fadnavis said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan's former dictator General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, who has to appear before a special Pakistani court in a high treason case, is likely to return from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next month, a leader of Pakistan Awami Ittehad has said. The 74-year-old retired general has been living in Dubai since last year when he was allowed to leave Pakistan on the pretext of medical treatment. The former military ruler was indicted in March, 2014 on treason charges for imposing emergency in the country which led to the confinement of a number of superior court judges in their houses and sacking of over 100 judges. He has been declared "proclaimed offender" by courts in the treason and the Benazir Bhutto assassination cases. "Former president (retd) General Pervez Musharraf would return to Pakistan next month," Iqbal Dar, secretary general of the Pakistan Awami Ittehad (PAI), a coalition of 23 political and religious parties led by the former president, was quoted as saying by the 'Dawn' newspaper. He also said that the date of Musharraf's arrival and the city where he would be landing would be announced after consultation with all members of the PAI. Musharraf, who had ruled Pakistan from 1999 to 2008, had sought adequate security from the government for his return and his lawyer had moved a petition to the interior ministry, stating that the former president faced security threats. The ministry, in its response, had sought the details of Musharraf's travel itinerary and his stay in Pakistan so that necessary foolproof security arrangements can be made for him well in time. On March 16, the special court hearing the treason case against him authorised the government to suspend his passport as well as his computerised national identity card. The court had also directed the Interior Ministry to approach the Interpol for the arrest of the former president. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "Each time I visit, it is incredible to see the advancements taking place in India," said Indian origin Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Addressing Kerala's Global Digital Summit # Future here through video conference, he said one of the pressing challenges is to see how technology helps across public and private sectors to make a difference in society. Citing an example, he said health care organisations are now using AI (Artificial Intelligence) for early detection of cardiac diseases. In agriculture farmers and rural areas across the country are empowered with more data to better understand weather and soil conditions to improve crop yield, he said. The Microsoft head said every time he visited India, he saw advancements taking place. Nadella also referred to use of cloud and AI by schools to predict what students are at risk of dropping out so that they can intervene. Local governments across India use Kaizala, a mobile communications app, to empower government workers and improve citizen service, he pointed out. "We don't celebrate technology for technology's sake, we celebrate what others are empowered to do with that technology." "At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more," he said. Nadellaexpressed the hope that an event like #Future, which has brought together top leaders of knowledge industry, academics and influencers, would inspire to make a difference in the world. "And that's what I hope you would inspire to do after this event. To dream, create and build the solutions that will transform your organisations, your communities and make a difference in the world," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The opposition Congress today termed the recently approved North East Industrial Development Scheme (NEIDS) with an outlay of Rs 3,000 crore as a "cruel joke" and said the Centre downgraded the earlier policy to a scheme. "The NEIDS is a shame and hoax in the name of industry promotion initiative. It is not even a policy. The Centre simply downgraded the earlier policy to a mere scheme. It is a cruel joke on North East," Congress Vice President (Assam Unit) Pradyut Bordoloi said at a press conference. NEIDS, 2017 has been introduced by curtailing many of the elements and features of the earlier North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy (NEIIPP), 2007, he claimed. Bordoloi, who was the industry minister in former chief minister Tarun Gogoi's government, also attacked the BJP for allocating the scheme only Rs 3,000 crore. "In just one year of 2009-10, the total claim by the industries considering all benefits and subsidies offered under NEIIPP surpassed Rs 3,000 crore. And now the BJP is offering a scheme with just Rs 3,000 crore for four years," he added. Bordoloi claimed that the NEIDS has excluded the services sector, which generates most employment in the region. "From 2005 to 2016, the Congress government could create nearly five lakh direct jobs in the private and joint sectors. The credit goes to the benefits under NEIIPP. However, the new government does not even have a proper mechanism to count new jobs," he claimed. The Congress leader warned that unless the BJP government considers the massive unemployment issue at the earliest, serious "social agitation" will take place in Assam. In December 2014, the BJP-led Central government had suspended registration of all new schemes under the NEIIPP, which finally expired in March 2017. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Centre today told the Supreme Court that the NIA, being a special agency to probe national and inter-state terrorism cases, cannot investigate the murder of noted scholar and rationalist M M Kalburgi in 2015 at Dharwad in Karnataka. A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra was hearing the plea of Uma Devi Kalburgi, the widow of the slain scholar, seeking a SIT probe into the sensational murder. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Pinky Anand, appearing for the Centre, referred to the National Investigaiton Agency (NIA) Act and said the instant offence did not fall under the category of 'Schedule offence' under the law and hence, the probe agency cannot investigate it. The bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, considered the submission of the ASG and ordered listing of the plea in the first week of July. It asked the CBI and the governments of Maharashtra and Karnataka to file their responses in the meantime. 77-year old Kalburgi, the former Vice-Chancellor of Hampi University and a well-known scholar and epigraphist, was shot dead in broad daylight at his residence in Kalyan Nagar in Dharwad, Karnataka, on August 30, 2015. Born in 1938, he was a Sahitya Akademi award-winning writer of old Kannada literature. The top court had on January 10 sought the response of probe agencies NIA and CBI and the two state governments on the allegation of Uma Devi that no substantial investigation has been carried out so far in the murder case. Kalburgi's wife, in her petition filed through advocate Krishna Kumar, has alleged that there was common link between the murder of her husband and that of intellectual activists, Narendra Achyut Dabholkar and Govindrao Pansare, who too were assassinated in August 2013 and February 2015 respectively. Dabholkar was shot at on August 20, 2013 in Pune, while Pansare was killed in Kolhapur in Maharashtra on February 16, 2015. She said the investigations in Dabholkar and Pansare murder cases were in a "sorry state" and no progress has been made in bringing the killers to book. The petition said that in 2016, the then Karnataka Home Minister had in a statement claimed that as per the forensic analysis of cartridges recovered from the three separate crime scenes, the three murders were linked. It alleged that one of the weapons used in the murder of Pansare was used to kill Kalburgi and therefore coordination between Maharashtra police and Karnataka police, besides the CBI and the NIA, was required. "Although sketches of suspects were released after four days of Kalburgi's murder and statement was issued by Karnataka government that conclusive evidence of nexus of murders of all three activists was found, there has been no progress in the investigation till date," the plea has said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 35-year-old Nigerian national was found dead today under mysterious circumstances at his rented accommodation in southwest Delhi's Uttam Nagar, police said. The deceased, identified as Neely Emeko, had come here last year on a business visa. He was working at a company, they said. His boss was trying to reach him for the last few days but Emeko was not answering his calls. His boss came to meet him at his residence today, police said. He knocked on the door several times but did not get any response from Emeko. He peeped through a window and found him lying unconscious on the floor, they said. Emeko's body was sent for post-mortem and the cause of death would be known after autopsy, police said, adding that he was not keeping well for the last few days and it was suspected that he might have died due to illness. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The HRD Ministry will not grant minority status to any educational institution on linguistic basis, the Parliament was informed today. "The National Commission for Minorities Educational Institutions (NCMEI) gives the minority status to the educational institutions on the basis of six religious communities notified by the Ministry of HRD under the NCMEI Act, 2004-- Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains only," Minister of State for HRD, Satyapal Singh said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha. "Linguistic Minorities do not come under the ambit of the NCMEI Act, 2004. Hence question of empowering any agency to issue minority certificate on linguistic basis does not arise," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Renowned economist Raghuram Rajan today said he has not joined microblogging site Twitter as he was not quick to respond to tweets in a few words in 30 seconds. "I don't have time. My sense is that in many of these things, once you start engaging, you have to be consistent.. I certainly can't because I don't have the ability to think quickly and respond in you know 20-30 seconds in 140 characters," he said in a lighter note here. Rajan said this when asked about his absence in the social media during an interaction with reporters. The former RBI governor was here to address the Global Digital Summit (#Future), organised by the Kerala government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Odisha government today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the British Council to strengthen educational and cultural cooperation. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was present when Alan Gemmell OBE, Director British Council India signed the MoU with GB Reddy, OSD and Special Secretary of State Handicrafts Museum here. British High Commissioner to India Sir Dominic Asquith KCMG was also present. The British Council will support the state governments "Mo School" (My School) initiative by contributing to the development of English language skills for learners and teachers including government-aided schools. With the MoU, the British Council will expand its existing work in the state. The areas of potential collaboration include developing initiatives to improve capacity and motivation of English language teachers in primary and secondary schools, teacher development institutions, and to improve learner outcomes in English in the State and embed internationally benchmarked assessments. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The centenary of Mahatma Gandhi's Champaran Satyagraha, maybe the theme for the ongoing Bihar Diwas celebrations here, but at centuries-old Patna Collectorate, where some of the most iconic scenes in the Oscar-winning film 'Gandhi' were filmed, the mood is hardly festive. The Collectorate was shown as the Motihari jail and court in the 1982 biopic by Richard Attenborough, but last evening while Gandhi Maidan became the epicentre of a cultural extravaganza, this heritage building sank into darkness by dusk. City resident B P Gupta, who attended the grand function along with his two daughters, said, the Collectorate should have been lit-up to highlight its Gandhi connect. "A large number of major public buildings have been illuminated, as it is done ever year on the occasion. This year the theme is 'Champaran Satyagraha Centenary' but still the Collectorate has been left out of the ambit of festivities," he rued. Gupta's daughter Mohini, a student at a college here, when asked about the significance of the building, said, she only knew that "Collectorate is a very old government building". Her father interrupted, saying, "They (his daughters) were not even born when the film was being shot in early 1980s. But, by decorating it on Bihar Diwas, the youth can learn about these unknown facets of the city and its history." Patna-born photographer and heritage activist Rajiv Soni, says he was in Patna when the film crew came to the city. "I had even followed them all the way up to Koelwar where the Sone bridge train scene was filmed," he said. "It is sad and unfortunate that a historic building of Patna in which the famous Champaran Satyagraha scenes were filmed, moments that turned Gandhi into Mahatma, have not been made part of the Bihar Diwas celebrations," Soni told PTI. "What is more ironic is that the Collectorate, located on the bank of Ganga, sits right in the vicinity of Gandhi Maidan," he rued, adding that "illuminating it would have been a fitting tribute". From the Raj-era Patna Secretariat to the Assembly House, Vishwaisharaya Bhawan to Income-tax Building, major government buildings have been bathed in blue light to mark the 106th foundation anniversary of Bihar ('Bihar Diwas'). Many city residents still recall the crowd that had gathered outside the Dutch-era Record Room or "the artificial rain" created in front of the British-built DM Office during the shooting of the biopic by the British director. While the Record Room with its Ionic column facade was used as Motihari Jail the DM Office was used for recreating Gandhi's famous Champaran trial of 1917. The government had kicked-off a year-long Satyagraha centenary celebrations on April 10, 1917 marking hundred years of Gandhi's first arrival in Patna and Bihar, which will close with Bihar Diwas festivities. Incidentally, a film festival has also been curated for the three-day event that began tomorrow, and Attenborough's 'Gandhi' is slated to be screened at Gandhi Maidan, alongside other films on the Mahatma. The Champaran trial's centenary was on April 18 last year, but the Collectorate was not included in the Satyagraha commemoration events either. Soni, who is also part of a civil society-led movement 'Save Historic Patna Collectorate', said, "How many cities in India can boast of an Oscar connect. And, that too related to a milestone film like 'Gandhi' which remains popular among people around the world." The state government, in 2016, had proposed to demolish the Collectorate, endowed with high-ceilings and hanging skylights, to make way for a high-rise complex, triggering outrage. The heritage body INTACH, along with the members of the civil society including historians, architects, former bureaucrats and judges, and the London-based Gandhi Foundation, had separately written to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, urging him to spare the building. The chief minister had set up a panel to reconsider the decision. The fate of the Collectorate, on the banks of the Ganga, however, still hangs in the balance. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Maharashtra Legislative Council Chairman Ramraje Nimbalkar today directed the government to make a statement after Opposition asked why a tainted firm was hired again for the 'Magnetic Maharashtra' event last month. Sanjay Dutt (Congress) said a first information report (FIR) was filed against event management firm Wizcraft International for negligence following a fire on stage during a 'Make in India' event organised here in February 2016. "This company was (then) blacklisted by the state government. However, the work for Magnetic Maharashtra (investor summit) was assigned to the same firm," he said. The government should explain why a "blacklisted" and "charge-sheeted" company was awarded the contract for a major international event, he said. "Was there any pressure from some quarters or some other consideration which influenced the government...?" Dutt asked. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had assured the House in the past that the company "shall never ever be considered again for any state government programme"," Dutt claimed. Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, however, asserted that "the government is doing its work as per the laws." "Dutt's question -- why was the same company awarded work -- is like saying that the party, under whom there was a massive fire at Mantralaya, in which 58,000 files were burnt, should not be allowed to contest elections again," Mungantiwar said, referring to the massive fire which had broken out in the secretariat during the Congress-NCP rule. Chairman Nimbalkar later directed the government to make a statement over the issue. After a fire destroyed much of the stage during an event at Girgaum Chowpatty here during the Make in India Week in February 2016, Mumbai fire department had blamed Wizcraft for negligence. Police had registered an FIR against the company under IPC sections 336 (act endangering life/ personal safety of others) and 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Gujarat Government today informed the Legislative Assembly that the state had over 31.46 lakh Below Poverty Line(BPL) families, with over 18,000 such families getting added to the list in the last two years. Responding to questions raised by Congress MLAs about BPL families during the Question Hour, Rural Development Minister Bachubhai Khabad said, in his written reply, that over 31.46 lakh such families were registered in Gujarat as on December 2017. Banaskantha district topped the list with 2.36 lakh BPL families followed by tribal-dominated Dahod (2.25 lakh), Kheda (1.56 lakh) and Anand (1.53 lakh), he informed the House. Khabad said that a total of 18,932 new BPL families were added during the last two years across the state. The highest number of 4,248 such families was added in Amreli district, followed by Navsari (4,120), Rajkot (3,203) and Morbi (2,299), he said. Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi attacked the ruling BJP and said that the data showed that nearly one-fourth of the state's population lived below the poverty line. "A family usually consists of five members. So we can say that over 1.57 crore persons, that is about one-fourth of state's population, are living below the poverty line," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar today dismissed rumours that the judiciary intends to impose 'judicial martial law' in the country. "The constitution does not allow judicial martial law in the country. I had taken oath to protect the constitution and any deviation from it and derailment of democracy will not tolerated," the chief justice said while speaking at the Lahore's Cathedral Church on Pakistan Day here today. "This year's general election will be independent and the next government be formed in accordance with the Constitution," he made it clear. Rumours are rife that Pakistan may face 'judicial martial law' this time. The tug of war between the ruling PML-N and the Supreme Court since the ouster of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in Panama Papers case in July last has sparked such rumours. As judicial activism is being witnessed in the country the PML-N had also expressed fears that this year's election may not take place. Recently, Awami Muslim League president Sheikh Rashid urged the chief justice to impose a 90-day long judicial martial law' in the run-up to forthcoming general election. "Appointing the caretaker prime minister is the main responsibility of the chief justice of Pakistan as the whole nation is looking up to the judiciary in this regard," he said. Veteran politician Javed Hashmi said since 2014 Islamabad sit-in by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan there had been a plan to impose judicial martial law in the country. "Judicial martial law is under way. The Pakistani judiciary had never been independent," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistani police today claimed to have arrested the killers of a family of five members, days after the shocking incident sparked by a family feud took place in the country's restive northwest tribal region. The assailants had barged into a house in Chamkani area on the outskirts of Peshawar on Tuesday and opened indiscriminate firing, killing five family members, including two women and as many children. Senior Superintendent of Police operations Peshawar Javed Iqbal told reporters here that main accused Junaid and Amir, brother and brother in law of slain Yahya Khan, were arrested on the outskirts of Peshawar. The accused have confessed to the crime before a police investigation team, he said, adding that weapons used in the killing have also been seized from the accused duo. A dispute over land and some domestic matters were apparently the main reasons behind the merciless killing of the entire family, the officer said. The police were also trying to track down whereabouts of Junaid's two sister who are missing after the incident, he added. On March 20, uncle of Khan had lodged an FIR in Chamkani police station. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain today accused India of ceasefire violations and human rights abuses, saying New Delhi's actions have put regional peace at stake. He also raked up the Kashmir issue at the "Pakistan Day" joint military parade here. Pakistan Day commemorates the passing of the famous Lahore Resolution on March 23, 1940, when the All-India Muslim League demanded a separate homeland for the Muslims of British India. On this day in 1956, Pakistan became the world's first Islamic republic. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena was the 'Guest of Honour'. He was received by Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi at the parade ground here. Indian deputy high commissioner J P Singh was also seen seated among the foreign diplomats invited to witness the parade. Referring to cross-border ceasefire violations President Mamnoon accused India of gross human rights violations in Kashmir. "With these actions, Pakistan's neighbour has put the regional peace at stake," he said. Calling upon for an immediate and peaceful resolution of the struggle of Kashmiri people, the President said, "The only solution to the dispute of Kashmir is to provide the right of self-determination to Kashmiris, and Pakistan will continue to play its role in this regard." He said that Pakistan was ready to extend a hand of co-operation to the regional countries, but "taking it as a weakness will be a dangerous mistake". Mamnoon also said that the global scenario has changed, and now countries could not be coerced to tow the line of one particular country. Cautioning against exploitation, suppression of nations and interference into the internal affairs of any country by another nation, he said "Pakistan's foreign policy was about achieving permanent peace in the world and is based on non-interference into internal issues of other countries". He said that Pakistan had been playing a vital role for the global peace and rendering commendable services from the UN platform for it. On the issue of Afghanistan, Mamnoon said that Pakistan would continue playing its role for peaceful resolution of the Afghan issue. "Pakistan had always played a historic role in the peaceful settlement of Afghan issue and for the stability of the Afghanistan government." He also stressed that efforts to curb terrorism should continue so that achievements made so far could be further strengthened. Meanwhile, Abbasi, in his message, said that "We cannot succeed without upholding the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution." The special performance by the Jordan military band was the highlight of the day in which troops from Turkey and UAE also participated. Contingents from the Pakistan's Army, Air Force, Navy, Frontier Corps and Pakistan Rangers participated in a march-past. Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan led a fly-past as a salute to the president and later joined the guests at the parade ground. The other who witnessed the event include Pakistan's Defence Minister Khurrum Dastagir, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Navy Chief Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi and Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee Zubair Mehmood Hayat. Pakistan Day parade resumed in 2015 after a gap of seven years. It was suspended due to threat of militancy. Earlier, the day began with a 31-gun salute in Islamabad and 21-gun salute in the provincial capitals. Security was on high alert in the capital and mobile phone services remained suspended. Around 2,000 military and police personnel were deployed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan-based crime syndicate D-company, like Mexican drug organisations, has diversified in many other fields, US lawmakers were told today. "Pakistan-based crime-terror group, D-company, whose origins lie in India, expanded Karachi's historic role as a drug transhipment point, and built a powerful transnational crime-terror organisation, in part from drug proceeds," Dr Louise Shelley, Professor, Schar School of Policy and Government, at the George Mason University told lawmakers. Shelley claimed that the D-company has diversified. "D-company, like Mexican drug organisations, has diversified. They traffic weapons, counterfeit DVDs, and provide financial services through their extensive system of hawala operators," he said during a Congressional hearing organised by the Committee on House Financial Services Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance. D-Company is headed by fugitive Indian underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. Wanted in India for a series of high profile crimes and terrorist attacks in places like Mumbai, Ibrahim according to US and Indian officials is now based in Karachi city of Pakistan. Officials in Pakistan have denied his presence in their country. India's sustained campaign against Dawood was finally acknowledged by America in 2003 when the US Treasury department declared him a global terrorist having links with al-Qaeda. He also faces sanctions from the United Nations under its anti-terror resolution. Vindicating India's position that Pakistan has been sheltering Dawood, the Treasury Department had said he was in Karachi and possessed a Pakistani passport under the individual category. Testifying before the same Congressional sub-committee, Celina B. Realuyo, Professor of Practice, William J Perry Centre for Hemispheric Defence Studies, National Defence University, said a number of recent attacks in Kabul were planned and launched from safe havens in Pakistan. The year 2018 has already witnessed many deadly attacks. On January 20, at least 22 people, including four Americans were killed during a 12-hour standoff with security forces after gunmen dressed in army uniforms raided the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, frequented by many foreigners, he said. On January 27, an attacker driving an ambulance packed with explosives detonated them in the Afghan capital of Kabul, killing over 100 people and injuring some 158, according to Afghan officials. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mojahid claimed responsibility for the attack, one week after the attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Realuyo said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan-based Dawood Ibrahim-led terrorist group D-company has diversified in many other fields and built a powerful transnational crime-terror organisation in part from drug proceeds, US lawmakers were told today. Indian underworld don Dawood, wanted in India for a number of terrorist attacks, is now based in Karachi, according to the US and Indian officials. However, Pakistan has denied his presence in the country. "Pakistan-based crime-terror group D-company, whose origins lie in India, expanded Karachi's historic role as a drug transhipment point, and built a powerful transnational crime-terror organisation in part from drug proceeds," Dr Louise Shelley, Professor at Schar School of Policy and Government at the George Mason University told lawmakers. Shelley claimed that the D-company has diversified. "D-company, like Mexican drug organisations, has diversified. They traffic weapons, counterfeit DVDs and provide financial services through their extensive system of hawala operators," he said during a Congressional hearing organised by the Committee on House Financial Services Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance. India's sustained campaign against Dawood was finally acknowledged by America in 2003 when the US declared him a global terrorist having links with al-Qaeda. He also faces sanctions from the UN under its anti-terror resolution. Vindicating India's position that Pakistan has been sheltering Dawood, the US had said that he was in Karachi and possessed a Pakistani passport under the individual category. Testifying before the same Congressional sub-committee, Celina B Realuyo, Professor of Practice, William J Perry Centre for Hemispheric Defence Studies, National Defence University, said a number of recent attacks in Kabul were planned and launched from safe havens in Pakistan. The year 2018 has already witnessed many deadly attacks. On January 20, at least 22 people including four Americans were killed during a 12-hour standoff with security forces after gunmen dressed as armymen raided a hotel in Kabul, frequented by many foreigners, he said. On January 27, an attacker detonated explosives in an ambulance in Kabul, killing over 100 people and injuring some 158, according to Afghan officials. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mojahid claimed responsibility for the attack, one week after the attack on the Kabul hotel attack, Realuyo added. In June last year during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US, India and the US, in a joint statement after talks between Modi and President Donald Trump, vowed to strengthen cooperation against terror outfits like Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba and D-Company. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Odisha Assembly today witnessed pandemonium and adjourned twice till afternoon as opposition Congress and BJP members demonstrated in the well of the House over distress sale of tomatoes in the state. As the Question Hour started, several Congress and BJP members rushed to the well of the House shouting slogans against the BJD government over the issue. Housing & Urban Development, Water Resources Minister Niranjan Pujari was replying to a question when the shouting started. The House was then adjourned first till 11.30 am. Noisy scenes prevailed after the House reassembled at 11.30 am as opposition members again raised slogans and created ruckus following which the Speaker adjourned the House till 3 pm. "Though the state government has been claiming that it has done everything for farmers, the cultivators are forced to go for distress sale of their produces due to lack of proper marketing infrastructure," Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra of the Congress said. Mishra alleged that the state government giving rosy picture of farmers' welfare while the ground reality is altogether different. There should be a discussion on the issue as farmers are committing suicide due to distress sale of their produces. BJP Legislature Party leader K V Singhdeo said, instead of giving a helping hand to the farmers, the government has been creating problem for them. He said the farmers across the state go for distress sale of their produces. "The state government has failed to create marketing provision for agricultural produces for which the farmers are suffering," BJP MLA Rabi Naik said outside the House. However, the treasury bench members did not appreciate disruption of the House on the day of presentation of budget. "This move of the Opposition members on a day when the budget is scheduled to be tabled is not acceptable. The issue could have been raised by them after the Question Hour, during Zero Hour," BJD MLA Sanjay Dasburma said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Martin Vizcarra was sworn in as Peru's new president today, catapulted to the post when Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned to avoid impeachment. Vizcarra, who was both vice president as well as his country's ambassador to Canada, took the oath of office and donned the red-and-white presidential sash before the Peruvian Congress. The ceremony came shortly after lawmakers voted to accept the resignation of his former boss Kuczynski, rather than push ahead with impeaching him over corruption allegations. "We will stand firm in the fight against corruption. Transparency will be a pillar of our administration," Vizcarra, a former cabinet minister known for his meticulous management and unflashy style, said in his first address as president. "Better times will come." Just a day before, the engineer and technocrat was far removed from the political hornet's nest that brought down Kuczynski, leading the relatively placid life as the head of the Peruvian mission in Ottawa. He flew home last night, on his 55th birthday, and now takes over the remainder of Kuczynski's term, until 2021 -- though early elections are still a possibility. Kuczynski, 79, had a strikingly short tenure as president: the former Wall Street banker was elected by a razor-thin margin in June 2016, and took office the following month. But he lacked a majority in Congress, and was almost immediately embroiled in a messy conflict with the main opposition party, Popular Force, led by Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of disgraced ex-president Alberto Fujimori. When reports emerged linking Kuczynski to Brazil's scandal-plagued construction giant Odebrecht -- accused of paying massive bribes to politicians around Latin America for juicy public works contracts -- Popular Force mounted a relentless push to remove the president from office. Odebrecht revealed in December that it had paid nearly USD 5 million to consulting companies linked to Kuczynski when he was finance minister. The former president survived a first impeachment vote that month. Three days later, he granted a pardon on medical grounds to former president Fujimori, who had been in jail for corruption and human rights violations. That sparked speculation of a back-room deal with an opposition faction led by Keiko Fujimori's brother and sometime rival Kenji. When video tapes emerged of Kenji, who has now split from his sister's party, apparently offering bribes to a fellow lawmaker to vote against the December impeachment, the political damage to Kuczynski proved to be too much. Facing a new impeachment vote, he announced his resignation on Wednesday, proclaiming his innocence but saying it was for the good of the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The special CBI court conducting the trial in the Sheena Bora murder case today allowed former media baron Peter Mukerjea to be produced before a Delhi court in the INX Media case. Karti Chidambaram, former Union finance minister P Chidambaram's son, has also been arrested in the INX Media case. "The Delhi court had issued a production warrant against Peter, and directed that he be produced before it. The Mumbai court has allowed the warrant, so he will be taken to Delhi between March 26 and April 3," a CBI official said. Indrani Mukerjea, Peter's wife and the prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, was arrested in the INX Media case last month. The INX Media case, registered by the CBI, relates to a Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval granted to INX Media, founded by the Mukerjeas, for receiving foreign funds in 2007. The Enforcement Directorate has also registered a case against INX Media, the Mukerjeas and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). INX Media is accused of violating the FIPB guidelines while receiving investments from Mauritius. Meanwhile, trial of the Sheena Bora murder case continued before special judge J C Jagdale here. The defence is currently cross-examining police sub inspector Ganesh Dalvi, who had first arrested Shyamvar Rai, an accused-turned-approver in the case, in an arms case in 2015. The murder of Sheena Bora, Indrani Mukerjea's 24-year-old daughter from an earlier relationship, came to light in August, 2015 after Rai spilled the beans. Police then arrested Indrani and her former husband Sanjiv Khanna for allegedly murdering Sheena over a financial dispute in April, 2012. Peter Mukerjea was arrested later for being a part of the conspiracy. The judge today pointed out that examination of the first witness -- Rai -- took almost six months, and such a tardy pace can not be permitted. "If one witness takes six months, then it will take ten years to complete the trial. As long as I am here, I will not permit that," he told the lawyers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tamil Nadu BJP president Tamilisai Soundarajan today alleged that police have failed to take action against miscreants targetting party leaders and workers in the state, "despite getting intelligence reports." "It is an irony that BJP leaders and workers, who are victims of the attack, are at the receiving end and also being punished," she said. "Despite intelligence reports, police failed to act against miscreants, the latest incident being the hurling of a petrol bomb recently on the house of Coimbatore District BJP chief C R Nandakumar," she said, addressing party workers during a demonstration here. She was among 650 BJP workers detained for attempting to stage a demonstration here, protesting against police 'inaction' in protecting party cadres, particulary on the recent attack on the house of Nandakumar. Tamilisai, who led the demonstration, also alleged that many persons having link with terror outfits were arrested from Coimbatore by the National Investigation Agency. On March 21, miscreants had hurled a petrol bomb at the residence of Nandakumar at around 3 AM when he was sleeping. None was injured and only a car parked in the house was damaged in the attack. BJP had then announced that a demonsration would be held here on March 23 to draw the attention of Chief Minister K Palaniswami to 'negligence' by police to provide protection. The March 21 attack came close on the heels of the March 7 incident when two petrol bombs were hurled at the party's district headquarters here in which also no one was injured. Police had said that they suspected the attack could be in retaliation to vandalism of statues of leaders, including rationalist icon 'Periyar' E V Ramasamy, or against the "Ram Rajya Rath Yatra", which entered Tamil Nadu on Tuesday. tomorrow. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A constable was injured after a police team was attacked when they challenged four robbers who were trying to loot a State Bank of India (SBI) ATM at Kolaras town of the district, an official said today. The robbers reached the ATM in a car registered in Delhi late last night and were trying to break into the cash dispensing machine when they were spotted by a patrolling police team, Kolaras Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Sujit Bhadoria said. The police team challenged the robbers who attacked one of its members, constable Sunil Bansal, with an iron rod, leaving him injured, he said. They escaped from the spot, about 30km from here, after snatching his rifle, he said. On getting information about the incident, district Superintendent of Police Sunil Kumar Pandey reached the spot and a manhunt was launched for the miscreants who escaped towards Rajasthan in their car, the SDOP said. Police later recovered the rifle from the Gudha Road area, he said. The injured constable was referred to Gwalior for treatment where his condition is reported to be out of danger, the officer said. The robbers were unable to decamp with cash as the police team spotted them in time and foiled their attempt, Pandey said. A case under relevant sections of the IPC was filed against unidentified persons, the SP added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A large number of JNU students and teachers were today stopped from marching to the Parliament Complex over various demands, including academic freedom, with police resorting to lathi-charge and use of water canons. The "Padyatra", which started at the varsity's campus, was organised by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) and the Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers' Association (JNUTA). The protesting students claimed that the attack by the police was "unprovoked" with a woman journalist alleging that a man in uniform "groped" her and asked her to vacate the place. "At the INA bus stop, we were stopped. They (the police) used water cannon on us. They lathi-charged us. We were detained and taken to the Defence Colony police station," JNUSU, joint secretary, Shubhanshu Singh said. "The attack by the police was unprovoked," he said. The journalist alleged that she was "groped" by an Inspector of the Delhi Police and asked to vacate the place. She has lodged a complaint with the police. JD (U) leader Ali Anwar Ansari said, "We will raise the issue in Parliament. Fight and studies should continue." CPI leader Brinda Karat said, "The JNU vice-chancellor has become a chancellor of vices. A professor accused of sexual harassment has place in the varsity and being protected by the V-C." Others who offered support to the the march were RJD spokesperson Manoj Jha and Congress' Ashok Tanwar. The associations are demanding academic freedom, accessible and equitable among others. The teachers' body had requested other associations to join the protest march. Their other demands include withdrawal of the executive council decision to constitute a committee to take action against teachers and the immediate withdrawal of notifications replacing chairpersons who were opposed to implementing compulsory attendance. The JNUTA had earlier launched a three-day 'Satyagraha' inside the campus to raise these demands. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Portugal's government said today that a Portuguese citizen was one of the three people killed in a jihadist shooting spree in southwest France. "The death of a Portuguese citizen has been confirmed... by French authorities to our consular services," Miguel Silva, a spokesman for the department concerned with Portuguese living abroad, told AFP. He added that he was unable to give further details on the victim. Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa expressed his condolences to the family and friends of the victim in a statement published late Friday on the presidency website. French police yesterday stormed a supermarket in the town of Trebes and shot dead a gunman after he had killed two people there and taken a policeman hostage. A third person had been killed in an earlier shooting in the medieval town of Carcassonne. The attack, by a man authorities say had claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group, came with France still on high alert following a string of jihadist assaults since 2015 that have claimed more than a total of 240 lives. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross today said he is "pretty familiar" with the Indian situation about agricultural subsidy. India has been keenly pushing agriculture issues, including that of subsidies, at various international platforms such as the WTO Ministerial Conference. However, some WTO member countries, including the US, target the subsidies given by the developing economies to their poor farmers. "I'm pretty familiar with the Indian situation. I had an office there for six or eight years in Mumbai, I understand quite a bit about India," Ross told members of the House Ways and Means Committee during a hearing on recent aluminium and steel trade actions. Ross did not elaborate further. He was responding to a question on the alleged agricultural subsidy in India from Senator John Smith. Smith urged Ross to look into some countries such as India where they oversubsidise their agriculture products such as rice and other grains that definitely are to the detriment to American farmers. "I believe in free trade but it has to be fair trade. And in order to make sure we have free trade, we have to punish those people who are in breach of contracts," Smith said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The heir to the British throne has been painted as a lavish spender given to sudden changes in mood in a new unauthorised biography of Prince Charles. 'Rebel Prince: The Power, Passion and Defiance of Prince Charles' by Tom Bower claims to be based on interviews with more than 120 people associated with the 69-year-old, who collectively reveal a royal household rife with intrigue and misconduct. Despite his hard work and genuine concern for the disadvantaged, he has struggled to overcome his unpopularity. After Diana's death, his approval rating crashed to four per cent and has been only rescued by his marriage to Camilla. "Nevertheless, just one third of Britons now support him to be the next king, notes the book. The biography alleges that Charles once took a trip on the royal train from his Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire to Penrith in Cumbria to visit a pub, at a cost of nearly 18,916 pounds. On another occasion, the author claims the Prince of Wales brought his own mattress, toilet seat, toilet paper and two landscapes of the Scottish Highlands when visiting a friend in north-east England. When he leaves one of his six homes across the UK, including Clarence House, Charles reportedly travels with a large staff including a butler, two valets, chef, private secretary, typist and bodyguards. Bower, who has previously written unauthorised biographies of other famous figures such as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, claims that Charles presides at the centre of a court with no place for democracy or dissenting views...like some feudal lord. The eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II reportedly told a visitor of his mother: Mama down the road reads newspapers; I don't. It would drive me mad. The book, which claims the prince is obsessed with public opinion, is presented as a "probe" into the character and court of the Charles that no one, until now, has seen. Charles himself is quoted as saying in 2004: Nobody knows what utter hell it is to be Prince of Wales. Bower, a self-proclaimed monarchist, concludes that the princes legacy has been tarnished by his addiction to luxury, his financial mismanagement, his disloyalty to professional supporters, and the torrid relationships with his family. Clarence House, the office of Prince Charles, has said that no comment will be issued on the allegations made in the book. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made a surprise visit to Northern Ireland today as part of their pre-wedding tour of the United Kingdom. The trip was not announced ahead of time in keeping with security procedures used for royal travel to Northern Ireland. Kensington Palace officials said the couple would meet with young people and other members of the public and would also tour some of Belfast's most popular sites. They had lunch at the popular Crown Liquor Saloon, a landmark in central Belfast. As they toured Northern Ireland, approved commemorative china marking the couple's May 19 wedding went on sale Friday. The collection uses cornflower blue with white detailing and a gold monogram of the bride and groom's initials. The design also references the couple's wedding venue at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. The decorative border is based on the ironwork of the 13th century chapel door. The china is finished in 22 carat gold. It was made by hand in Stoke-on-Trent, 160 miles (260 kilometers) northwest of London, using traditional methods. Profits will go to the Royal Collection Trust charity. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress MPs, led by party chief Rahul Gandhi, today staged a protest in front of Mahatma Gandhi's statue inside Parliament premises, demanding that the Centre seeks a review of the Supreme Court's verdict on the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The apex court had on Tuesday diluted stringent provisions mandating immediate arrest under the law concerned in a bid to protect honest public servants discharging bona fide duties from being blackmailed with false cases under the SC/ST Act. The protesters charged the government with "not arguing properly" in the case before the apex court and demanded it files a review petition. They also called for an amendment in the Act. The Congress MPs raised slogans such as "Daliton ke samman mein, Rahul Gandhi maidan mein" (Rahul Gandhi stands for protection of Dalit's rights) and "stop atrocities against members of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes". "The latest interpretation of the SC/ST Act by the Supreme Court has resulted in (near) abolition of the legislation. The government did not argue properly before the Supreme Court in this connection," Mallikarjun Kharge told a channel outside Parliament. "Hence, the government should file a review petition, bring an amendment and protect rights. If it does not do, it is will manifest pretension of defence by the government," he said. Earlier, the MPs gathered at the office of the Congress Parliament Party and discussed the strategy to move forward on the issue. Sources said the party's strategy inside Parliament was also discussed with Gandhi during the meeting. Both Houses of Parliament -- the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha -- have not been functioning ever since the start of the second leg of the Budget Session on March 5. This is the third week in a row that Parliament proceedings have been disrupted and has not transacted any business. The crucial Finance Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha amid the din created by various parties. Attempts by Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to work out a solution to ensure smooth conduct of business have yielded no results. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The past governor of Reserve Bank Raghuram Rajan, captains of corporate India and some eminent academics have teamed up to transform the undergraduate by announcing setting up of Krea University at Sri City in Andhra Pradesh. R Seshasayee, chairman of IndusInd Bank and the chairman of the supervisory board of the university said the proposed liberal arts university will attract an initial investment of Rs 750 crore in the first phase. "There is a clarity on 70-80 per cent of the Rs 750-crore investment needed. The corporates are doing it as part of their philanthropy activities," he said. The first batch will commence in July 2019, admissions for which will start this November. The fees will be Rs 7-8 lakh inclusive of hostel facilities. The university will initially will run courses from the IFMR campus in Sri Coty, and eventually shift to its own 200-acre campus which will be ready by 2020. It will offer a four-year residential undergraduate programme in liberal arts and sciences leading to BA (Honors) and BSc (Honours) degrees, for which the permissions from UGC has been sought, according to Seshasayee. "The university will weave arts and sciences, creativity and action, eastern and western perspectives. We will create an endowment which will help poor students get admissions," he said. "Admissions will be purely on merit and the score in plus-two will not be the only determinant for it," he added. Rajan, who is an advisor to the university's governing council said, "What we're trying to do is to create a new generation of thinking Indians who will contribute to the development of the globe." "We intend to bring something to the table that simply doesn't exist in our country today, but is very much warranted for our future," he added. Sajjan Jindal of the JSW Group, another governing council member expressed the hope that the university will bring great global and Indian minds together to create an institution of global prominence. Anand Mahindra, another member of the governing council, said the fact that so many like-minded and eminent personalities have enthusiastically come together is ample proof of how much the new paradigm is the need of this day. While former banker N Vaghul is the chairman of the governing council, noted academic Sunder Ramaswamy has been named the vice-chancellor. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Over Rs 100 crore funded by cement giant LafargeHolcim to carry out socio-economic development at Nongtrai-Shella in Meghalayas East Khasi Hills district has been lying unutilised, the Assembly was informed today. About Rs 100 crore was lying unutilised by the Special Purpose Vehicle Society where the Forest department is the nodal department, Mawsynram MLA Himalaya Shangpliang told the House during question hour. He blamed bureaucratic wrangles as the reason for the delay in implementation of the projects. Shangpliang, a former board member of the SPV Society when he was social welfare director, was elected Mawsynram MLA in the February 27 elections and several villages in his constituency are beneficiaries of the socio-economic development like health, education, economy, irrigation and agriculture. Stating that not only road projects approved by the board of the SPVS were not sanctioned and taken up, Shangpliang said water supply projects were also not sanctioned by the governing body. Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, in his reply, assured the member to look into the matter while also informing the House that he had already had a meeting with the chief secretary last week in this regard. LafargeHolcim pays Rs 90 per tonne as royalty and the company exports over 2 million tonnes of raw limestone from its mines at Nongtrai to its cement plant at Chattak in Bangladesh using a 17 km-long coveyor belt. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russia today slammed Britain for encouraging European Union member states to support London over a spy poisoning row after they agreed to recall the bloc's envoy from Moscow for consultations. In London they "are feverishly trying to force allies to take confrontational steps," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on a visit to Hanoi, state agency RIA Novosti reported. He said London's focus was now on making "the crisis with Russia as deep as possible" following the attempted murder of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Britain. At a summit in Brussels yesterday, EU leaders united behind British Prime Minister Theresa May in blaming Russia for the nerve agent attack in England, and agreed to recall their ambassador to Moscow for consultations. Some EU states are now considering following Britain's lead in expelling Russian diplomats, with Lithuania and France among those indicating a willingness to take action. Russia's top diplomat insisted that Britain has so far failed to provide any firm evidence that would link Moscow to the March 4 attack. "We still do not see any facts," Lavrov was quoted as saying. "The absence of which makes one think that all of this is a provocation, the investigation has not even been finished yet." At the same time Lavrov praised US President Donald Trump for seeking to mend fences with Russia. "In spite of everything, President Trump's policies are aimed at normalising ties with Russia and establishing cooperation in the interests of all," Lavrov said. Earlier this week Trump appeared to have ignored the poisoning row when he called to congratulate Russian President Vladimir Putin on his re-election on Sunday and proposed a summit in the "not-too-distant future". But Trump has also agreed with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron "on the need to take action to hold Russia accountable" for the attack. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Directorate General of Safeguards (DGS) has recommended imposition of duty on imports of solar cells for a period of 200 days, Parliament was informed today. The preliminary findings have been submitted to the standing board under the commerce secretary, Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla informed the Lok Sabha. Safeguard duty is imposed to protect domestic players from steep rise in imports of a product. Shukla in a written reply to the House said that the directorate has initiated safeguard investigations in December last year. "The preliminary findings dated January 5 have been submitted to the standing board on safeguards recommending imposition of provisional safeguard duty on the imports of solar cells whether or not assembled in modules or panels for a period of 200 days," he said. The standing board is headed by commerce secretary. The final decision to impose the duty is taken by the finance ministry. The minister said that imports of solar cells from China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan account for more than 90 per cent of the total inbound shipments in the country. Since the provisional duty recommendations exempts the developing countries except China and Malaysia, there would still be countries like Vietnam and Thailand from which the imports can be carried out, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Supreme Court judge today recused himself from hearing a plea of Chhagan Bhujbal, former Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, challenging a Bombay High Court decision dismissing his petition for bail. Bhujbal has also challenged his arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The bench headed by Chief justice Dipak Misra posted the matter for hearing on March 26 and asked it to be listed before an appropriate bench in which Justice Khanwilkar is not a member. "Let the matter be listed on Monday, the March 26 2018 before appropriate bench wherein one of us, namely, Justice A M Khanwilkar is not a member. Registry is directed to do the needful," the bench, which also comprised Justice D Y Chandrachud, said. The Bombay High Court had in December 2016 dismissed Bhujbal's petition seeking bail and challenging his arrest under the PMLA. Bhujbal was arrested on March 14 2016 by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Maharashtra Sadan scam and Kalina land case in which he and his relatives were alleged to have received kickbacks. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hectic parleys are being held by the government on seeking review of the Supreme Court verdict "diluting" provisions of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, amid indications that the ministry of social justice is in favour of the move. The ministry feels that the apex court order may defeat the real purpose of the law which is to ensure swift justice for victims of atrocities against the SC/ST communities. According to sources, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot recently met BJP chief Amit Shah, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Finance Arun Jaitley to discuss the matter. Jaitley been tasked with taking a final decision in this regard. "The social justice ministry is likely to seek the opinion of the law ministry regarding it," a source in the ministry said. The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) have also conveyed their views and demanded a review of the verdict. The Supreme Court had on March 20 diluted stringent provisions mandating immediate arrest under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities (POA) Act. It had taken note of the rampant misuse of the stringent Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against government servants and held that there shall be no immediate arrest on any complaint filed under the law. It had passed a slew of directions and said a public servant can be arrested in cases lodged under the SC/ST Act only after prior approval by the competent authority. According to a ministry official, most of the victims of atrocities against the SC/ST communities are so poor that it would be really difficult for them to present their case along with proof to police authorities and get justice. Evidence can also be destroyed. The Supreme court order will only delay justice to the victims, the official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Scotland Yard today released CCTV images of a man they suspect for having targeted the turban of a Sikh activist in a racist attack outside Parliament in London last month. Ravneet Pal Singh, South Asia Project Manager for EcoSikh, was in the security queue to enter Portcullis House an extension of the House of Commons complex in Westminster when a man targeted him in what the Metropolitan Police have been investigating as a "hate crime". "A man who started shouting 'Muslim go back' approached the victim and attempted to remove his turban, grabbing it in his attempt to pull it off the victim's head. He was unsuccessful and then made off from the scene. Police attended soon after the attack following reports of an assault," the Met Police said in a statement released one month after the incident "Detectives from Westminster Community Safety Unit (CSU) are investigating and are keen to identify the man shown in CCTV stills released today. He is wanted for questioning in relation to this attack and is described as a white male, 5 ft 10 inches tall of stocky build and short black hair with stubble. He was wearing a dark blue jacket, blue jeans, black shoes and a black backpack," the statement noted. Singh and his colleague Jaspreet Singh, who were on a visit to the UK from India, were at Portcullis House to meet British Sikh MP Tan Dhesi regarding World Sikh Environment Day on March 14 and to discuss the establishment of EcoSikh as an environmental charity in the UK. "I am not sure why he was shouting and why he attacked my turban. I was able to prevent my turban coming off and he ran away when I shouted back but it was an extremely distressing experience," Singh had told PTI soon after the attack on February 21. The Metropolitan Police have used the investigation to urge people to come forward to report such crimes. The force said it recognised the impact of hate crime on communities and the hidden nature of the crime, which remains largely under-reported. "The MPS [Met Police Service] stands together with policing partners, colleagues and groups to investigate all hate crime allegations, support victims and their families, and bring perpetrators to justice. We would appeal to anyone who witnesses or suffers any hate of any type to immediately report it so that action can quickly be taken and catch those responsible," it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The sex ratio -- the number of females per a thousand males -- in Maharashtra has improved, the state government told the Legislative Assembly today. Compared to 878 girls per thousand boys during 2013-15, the latest survey in 2016 showed that there were 904 girls per thousand boys in the state, it said. Replying to a question by Shiv Sena MLA Sunil Shinde, Health Minister Deepak Sawant saidthe government has taken various measures over the years to prevent female foeticide. "As per the NITI Aayog,Maharashtra ranked fifth among 17 states where the sex ratio had dipped. The ratio was 896 in Maharashtra during 2012-2014. It declined by further 18 points to 878 in 2013-15. "But in 2016, the ratio increased to 904," said the health minister. To a question by NCP's Dilip Walse Patil about steps taken to increase the sex ratio,Sawant mentioned that a toll-free helpline number was set up where a complaint about sex determination tests can be lodged. A website 'Amchi Mulgi' ('Our Girl') was launched as part of an awareness campaign, he said. As many as 8,073 complaints about sex determination facilities were registered in the recent past, and action was taken in 876 cases, he said. Eighty-five sonography machines were seized during the drive, he said. Shivaji Sanap, a doctor from Beed, was sentenced to a rigorous imprisonment by a local court yesterday for illegal abortion of a female foetus, the minister informed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) is probing Religare Enterprises and its group company Fortis Healthcare for alleged frauds, Union Minister P P Chaudhary said today. Besides, companies linked to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi groups are under the scanner too, the minister of state for corporate affairs said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. The development comes in the wake of over Rs 13,000 crore scam at the state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB). In the last four financial years, the corporate affairs ministry has ordered investigations through SFIO into the affairs of 575 companies on account of alleged frauds. This included probe in 258 companies in the ongoing financial year (till March 15, 2018), Chaudhary added. SFIO, which mainly investigates white collar crimes, is probing Religare and Fortis. This comes amid recent reports that financial irregularities have emerged at the two companies. With regard to Fortis, Chaudhary, in a separate reply said all the issues in their entirety will be examined by SFIO. "The investigation is presently in initial stage," he added. These two companies have also come under the lens of the markets regulator Sebi. The latest development comes against the backdrop of reports that Fortis Healthcare's promoters -Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh- took at least USD 78 million out of the company without any board approval about a year ago. Further, Chaudhary said SFIO has ordered investigation into the affairs of companies including Firestar Diamond International, Firestar International, Firestar Diamond Pvt Ltd, Nirav Modi Pvt Ltd, Gitanjali Gems Ltd and Nakshatra Brands Ltd. A multi-agency probe is already underway into the PNB fraud which was mainly perpetrated by way of fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs). According to the minister, investigations by SFIO have not unearthed any nexus between bureaucrats and corporate houses for the purpose of committing corporate frauds as of now. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Most of the shops here remained closed today in response to a protest called by a federation of local Hindu outfits against desecration of portraits of Lord Rama by a group two days ago. Police said about 2,000 shops were closed and all the main streets in the town looked deserted in view of the protest. Armed Reserve police were posted across the town to monitor the situation. The federation of Hindu outfits here gave the shut-down call protesting against the desecration of the portrait of Lord Rama by a group led by professor Jayaraman, who headed the anti-methane project stir recently. The group had publicly vandalised portraits of Lord Ram during a protest demonstration it staged on March 20 against damage caused to a statue of social reformer 'Periyar' E V Ramasamy in Pudukkottai recently. Police have arrested 14 persons, including Jayaraman, after people demanded action against them. They were produced before a court and remanded to judicial custody. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Special Investigation Team has been constituted to trace the missing Lithuanian woman tourist who arrived in Kerala for Ayurvedic treatment recently, a top police official said today. DGP Loknath Behara today said a SIT has been formed to trace the woman, Liga Skromane, said to be suffering from mental depression. An award of Rs two lakh will be given to the person providing any clues about the missing woman, he said. The 33-year-old woman had come here along with her sister Ilzie and had gone missing from nearby Kovalam beach since March 14. Liga was staying at a private Ayurveda treatment centre at nearby Pothencode and had come to Kovalam from the treatment centre in an autorickshaw on March 14 morning. A case has been registered based on the complaint from the authorities of the treatment centre. Liga's husband has also reached Kerala to trace her. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Spanish Supreme Court judge today charged 13 Catalan separatist politicians, including fugitive former regional president Carles Puigdemont, with rebellion for their attempt to declare independence from Spain. Judge Pablo Llarena's indictment wrapped up the investigation into the events that six months ago plunged Spain into its deepest political crisis in decades. Rebellion charges are punishable with up to 30 years in prison under Spanish law. In a court ruling issued today, Llarena said that 25 Catalans in total will be tried for rebellion, embezzlement or disobedience. Others charged with rebellion were former Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras, who is already in pre-trial detention; seven other members of the ousted Catalan government; former Catalan parliament speaker Carme Forcadell; jailed separatist activists Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart; and the leader of the left-republican ERC party, Marta Rovira, who defied the judge's summons and announced Friday that she was fleeing Spain. In a letter addressed to her party followers and posted on ERC's website, Rovira didn't say whether she had left Spain already or where she might go. "Today I undertake a hard road, a path that, unfortunately, so many others that preceded us have had to take," Rovira wrote, adding: "The path of exile." Five other Catalan politicians, including Puigdemont, fled to Brussels following the failed secession attempt in late October. An anti-establishment party's former lawmaker, Anna Gabriel, fled to Switzerland earlier this year. The unity of Spain is enshrined in the Constitution, which says the country is "indivisible," and courts have blocked Catalonia's independence efforts at every turn. Secession is not allowed without a reform of the top law. Twelve of the former regional ministers are also charged with misuse of public funds. And seven other lawmakers are charged with disobedience. The judge also required the 14 ex-members of the Catalan Cabinet to pay a 2.1 million euros (USD 2.6 million) as a deposit before the trial establishes whether they need to pay back misused public funds. That figure includes 1.6 million euros that, according to the judicial investigation, were used to pay for the October 1 referendum that set the turbulent events in motion. Six of the politicians were summoned to court today, an indication that the judge may later in the day order them jailed pending trial. They include Jordi Turull, a former minister of the ousted regional Cabinet, who on Thursday failed in his bid to be elected as the region's new president. The semiautonomous region has been without a leader for nearly five months after central authorities took control following October's illegal independence declaration. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Spanish judge today issued international arrest warrants against Catalonia's former president Carles Puigdemont and four others involved in the region's independence movement, the Supreme court announced. Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena, who is handling the case concerning Catalonia's secession bid last October, issued the international and European arrest warrants for Puigdemont and four other former ministers who are in self-imposed exile in Belgium. An international warrant was also issued for a sixth Catalan separatist Marta Rovira who failed to appear in court on Friday and is now in non-EU Switzerland, according to Spanish media. In December the same judge dropped European arrest warrants for Puigdemont and the four other deputies who fled to Belgium, saying the warrants would complicate the overall probe into the region's leaders. Were a magistrate in another EU state to make a ruling on the secessionists -- including to drop all charges -- Madrid would be bound by that decision. In total Llarena said today that 13 key Catalan separatists would be prosecuted for "rebellion" which carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in jail. Five Catalan separatists, including the region's presidential candidate Jordi Turull, were placed in custody. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel today allowed 20 AAP MLAs to attend the ongoing budget session after the high court set aside their disqualification in an office-of-profit case. AAP MLAs Nitin Tyagi and Alka Lamba were among the first to enter the House. As Tyagi entered the House, AAP legislators started chanting 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' and thumping desks. Soon, other AAP legislators joined their colleagues in the House. In a major relief to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Delhi High Court today set aside the disqualification of its 20 MLAs in the office-of-profit case. A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Chander Shekhar said that the Election Commission's recommendation was bad in law and remanded their plea back to the poll panel which will hear it afresh. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also hailed the order, saying "it is a victory of truth". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned for the 15th day today as the stalemate between the opposition and the government continued for the third week of the second leg of the budget session with ruckus prevailing unabated. While the Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day in less than 20 minutes after it assembled this morning, the Lok Sabha was first adjourned till noon and then for the day after laying of the listed papers. The Lower House also did not take up the no-confidence motion against the government due to the noisy protests. It has been a week since the motion has not been taken up due to the unruly scenes. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had last Friday announced that she had received two notices for the motion but was unable to start the process due to the disruptions. However before they were adjourned today, both the Houses paid glowing tributes to freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, who were hanged on this day 87 years ago by the British rulers. The Rajya Sabha could not transact any business today, as opposition parties continued to create ruckus, forcing the adjournment of proceedings. Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu adjourned the proceedings for the day but not before expressing anguish over the House not functioning since it met on March 5 when the second part of the budget session started. Naidu said past disruptions should not be cited to justify the "present wrong" and expressed hope that the government will take the opposition into confidence to ensure that the House functions next week. He said it was distressing that the Rajya Sabha has not discharged its mandate for three weeks. "People of the country have been let down." Andhra parties, including the TDP, and KVP Ramachandra Rao of the Congress trooped into the Well shouting slogans for special status to the state, while Tamil Nadu parties - DMK and AIADMK - demanded setting up of the Cauvery management board for river water sharing between riparian states. Congress members too were in the Well raising slogans that the government was against scheduled castes and tribes, in an apparent reference to the recent Supreme Court ruling diluting certain provisions of the Scheduled castes and tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Naidu said he could understand that MPs may resort to disruption for a couple of days to press their issues but "persisting with it for three weeks has no justification". Congress members countered this by blaming the government for the stalemate and alleged that it has not engaged with the opposition parties on these matters so far. The Chairman, however, went on to state that while some may cite past instances to justify the present impasse, the three-week long disruption had no justification. "How long do you want to justify the present wrong, based on the past," he said. "People of the country are aspiring for a change. Should the change not begin from Rajya Sabha." He said people were asking why the House was not being adjourned sine die but added that this was not in his hands. "I am pained, I am sad," he said, adding he would not like to hazard a guess about what will happen next week or "if you are going to change for better ... If you are not interested in running of this House, it is another matter." When Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel read out the government agenda for next week, Naidu hoped the government will take the opposition into confidence to ensure that the House functions. Naidu said he was willing to allow discussion on any issue the members wanted, but placards, demonstrations and slogan shouting was not justified. He then adjourned the proceedings till Monday. The Lok Sabha proceedings were also disrupted again today due to noisy protests by the AIADMK and TRS members, following which Speaker Sumitra Mahajan expressed her inability to take up the notices for no-confidence motion and later adjourned the proceedings for the day. She also announced a holiday for members on Monday on account of Ramnavami on Sunday as many of them had conveyed they would be busy in various related events and would find it difficult to join the House the next day. The House was adjourned till noon soon after it met at 11 AM following noisy protests by members of the AIADMK and the TRS over the Cauvery and quota issues respectively. When it reassembled, the protests continued and Mahajan said she cannot not take up the notices for no-confidence motions as the House was not in order. The requisite head- count of members supporting the notices can be done only if they are in their seats, she added. At least 50 members need to support a no-confidence notice for the House to accept it and start a debate. The Speaker said the government had expressed its readiness for a discussion on it. The BJP-led NDA government enjoys a comfortable majority in the House. The Lok Sabha was then adjourned for the day as the protests continued. This is the third straight week that both the Houses were adjourned without undertaking any significant business, barring the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha. Earlier when the House met for the day, Mahajan paid tributes to Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev - who were hanged on March 23, 1931 by the British. The House observed silence as a mark of respect to the martyrs. Before taking up the question hour, the Speaker urged members to maintain order but those from AIADMK and TRS trooped into the Well holding placards and raising slogans. Congress members too were on their feet protesting against the Supreme Court verdict on the SC/ST Act. It has been demanding that the Centre seek a review of the court order which diluted provisions related to immediate arrest in cases related to atrocities on scheduled castes and tribes. Expelled RJD member Pappu Yadav was seen holding two placards demanding special status for Bihar. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Stopping exercise suddenly can result in increased depressive symptoms, according to a study. Julie Morgan, PhD student at the University of Adelaide in Australia, reviewed the results of earlier studies that examined the effects of stopping exercise in regularly active adults. "Adequate physical activity and exercise are important for both physical and mental health," said Morgan, who published the review in the Journal of Affective Disorders. Current public health guidelines recommend being active on most if not all days of the week, researchers said. At least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week is recommended to maintain health and prevent depression, or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise for added health benefits, they said. "An extensive body of clinical evidence shows that regular exercise can reduce and treat depression," said Morgan. "However, there is limited research into what happens with depressive symptoms when exercise is stopped," she said. Morgan reviewed studies that investigated the cessation of exercise in 152 adults. They had each undertaken at least 30 minutes of exercise, three times a week, for a minimum of three months. "In some cases, ceasing this amount of exercise induced significant increases in depressive symptoms after just three days," said Bernhard Baune, professor at the University of Adelaide. "Other studies showed that people's depressive symptoms increased after the first one or two weeks, which is still quite soon after stopping their exercise," said Baune. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Scotland Yard said today that a suspicious vehicle in the car park of a shopping centre in west London no longer posed a threat and cordons are being lifted. Specialist Metropolitan Police officers had been sent to the scene of Westfield London Shopping Centre in White City area of London to assess the vehicle and the situation was "stood down" a few hours later. "The incident at Westfield London Shopping Centre in White City has been stood down. Cordons are being lifted," a Met Police statement said. The police had been called in to the shopping centre at 10.30 am local time. "Westfield has been working closely with the police and emergency services in the investigation of a suspicious vehicle. The centre's retailers continue to trade as normal and all car parks are expected to be reopened shortly," a Westfield London spokesperson said. The had caused alarm as it emerged alongside reports of a hostage-taking at a French supermarket. At least two people are feared killed as a gunman claiming allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist group captured around eight hostages at the Super U store in the town of Trebes, in the south west of France. Shortly beforehand, an armed man shot and injured a police officer in the city of Carcassonne, around a 15-minute drive from Trebes. Local French media reported that the two incidents were linked and that the gunman has now been shot down in a police raid. The hostage taker was demanding the release of Salah Abdeslam, the ISIS terrorist linked with the killing 130 people in Paris in November 2015. Meanwhile, the terror threat level in the UK remains "severe", which means the security services assess that a terrorist attack in the country is highly likely. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Expressing concern over 'tariff skirmishes' between large economies, the US and China, India's G20 Sherpa Shaktikanta Das has said the issues need to be resolved through mutual engagement. The US administration has imposed tariffs worth USD 60 billion on Chinese imports to punish the country for its "unfair" seizure of American intellectual property. China, on the other hand, unveiled plans to impose higher tariffs on USD 3 billion worth of American goods including pork and pipes in retaliation to US tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Beijing, authorities said. "Tariff skirmishes between large economies are a matter of concern for global growth. These countries need to analyse whether it really benefits their domestic economy. Such trade issues need to be resolved through mutual engagement," Das said in a tweet. US President Donald Trump had imposed heavy tariffs on imported steel and aluminium which he said were necessary to boost the US industry suffering from "unfair" business practices, a move that has sparked fears of a global trade war Trump had signed two proclamations that levied a 25 per cent tariff on steel and a 10 per cent tariff on aluminium imported from all countries except Canada and Mexico. At a recent, informal mini-ministerial World Trade Organisation (WTO) meeting called by India, several WTO members expressed concern over unilateral decision of the Trump administration to raise duties and called for urgent and coordinated actions to promote global trade and strengthen the multilateral body. WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo too had said that in recent weeks, there was a rise in tensions in trade relations around the globe and this is a real concern. "...these measures, for whatever reasons, they have a very real potential for escalation because of the possibility of responses from other partners with trade restrictive measures as well. And I think is something we should avoid and that is what we heard today," the WTO chief had said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tata Steel Ltd today said it has won the bid to acquire debt-laden Bhushan Steel (BSL) in an insolvency auction. In a statement, the company said it has been "declared as the successful resolution applicant by the committee of creditors of Bhushan Steel Limited on March 22, 2018, subject to obtaining necessary regulatory approvals, including approval from the NCLT and the Competition Commission of India." Tata Steel said it has accepted the letter of intent (LoI) for BSL under the corporate insolvency resolution process of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (IBC). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Fired US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has called Washington a "very mean-spirited town" as he took veiled potshots at his former boss President Donald Trump in his farewell address to his staff. Trump announced the sacking of Tillerson last week by tweet and named CIA Director Mike Pompeo as his successor. Tillerson mentioned Trump only once in his remarks, in passing and not by name, as he told staffers about preparing background materials "that were first the basis for discussions at the National Security Council and ultimately with the President." Tillerson in his brief speech yesterday ahead of his official departure at the end of the month, told State Department employees to hold on to their integrity. "It belongs to you," Tillerson said. "Only you can relinquish it or allow it to be compromised." When the 66-year-old former ExxonMobil CEO observed that Washington can be a mean-spirited place, foreign service officers and civil servants burst into laughter and applause, with many nodding. When he followed that up with the advice that people don't have to participate "in that," he was again interrupted by clapping. "I'd like to ask that each of you undertake to ensure one act of kindness each day towards another person," Tillerson said. He urged the employees to "treat each other with respect," adding that "we're all just human beings trying to do our part." "Each of us get to choose the person we want to be, and the way we want to be treated, and the way we will treat others," the veteran Texan oilman said. Tillerson said the country faces many challenges -- in some instances perplexing foreign affairs relationships, and in other instances serious national security threats. "In these times, your continued diligence and devotion to the State Department's mission has never been more necessary," he said. Tillerson got sustained applause from staff, who clapped solidly for many minutes after Tillerson finished his remarks and while he slowly worked his way toward the exit, shaking dozens of hands as he departed, CNN reported. His leadership at State Department was characterised by often public friction with the White House and the President himself over staffing and policy, it said. Trump very publicly took a different stance than Tillerson on a dispute between Gulf nations, publicly mocked Tillerson's diplomatic efforts with North Korea, and disagreed with his top diplomat on how to approach Iran. With his call to State Department employees to treat each other with respect, Tillerson appeared to distance himself from Trump on issues of behaviour and the treatment of others. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Image Group LA/ABCKendrick Lamar's life -- from his humble beginnings in Compton, California to his current position on the top of the charts -- will be documented in an upcoming biography. The writer of the book, Bandcamp Senior Editor Marcus J. Moore, shared the exciting news via Twitter on Thursday. He writes, "Some big news I've been eager to share: I've signed with @TouchstoneBooks to write the cultural biography of Kendrick Lamar." "My book, The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America, will detail his ride to rap superstardom." As of now, the book does not have a release date. Touchstone Books, which is an imprint of Simon and Schuster, has published other biographies, like American Ballet Theatre dancer Misty Copeland's Life in Motion and late Mobb Deep rapper Prodigy's My Infamous Life. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami today expressed confidence that those who had left the AIADMK "under some illusion " would return to its fold and help fulfil late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's dreams. "Amma's children who had gone in a different directions under some illusion will certainly return to their mother's house," he said. Though he did not mention anyone, he apparently referred to those supporting sidelined party leader T T V Dhinakaran, who has been critical of the government. In his address at an event organised to mark the achievements of one year of his party led government, Palaniswami said they would return and help fulfil Jayalalithaa's dream, apparently referring to delivering good governance. The Chief Minister pointed out the government' stand on constituting of the Cauvery Management Board and Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee and expressed hope that the Centre would set them up. In an apparent dig at actors Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth for their political ambitions, he said people were closely watching the victory steps of the AIADMK and knew 'whose face was genuine and whose face had make-up and is fake." He also listed out the various achievements in the last one year, including in industry and the farm sector. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) TRS candidates B Prakash, B Lingaiah Yadav and J Santosh Kumar were elected to the Rajya Sabha from Telangana in the election held to fill three vacancies from the state. The nominee of the main opposition Congress, P Balaram, lost the election. Prakash, Yadav and Santosh Kumar got 33, 32 and 32 votes respectively. Balaram obtained 10 votes, official sources said tonight. In the 119-member house, 117 were eligible voters as two Congress MLAs were expelled from the house recently. BJP (5 MLAs), TDP (3) and CPI-M (1) abstained from voting. Thus the total number of votes was 108. One vote was declared invalid as the MLA, who is an independent, showed his vote to the Congress agent, the coursesaid. Congress, whose strength was 17, alleged that seven of its MLAs voted for TRS. The MLAs had allegedly switched loyalty to TRS earlier. Alleging that the MLAs had violated its whip,Congress has complained to election commission about the matter. AIMIM (seven MLAs) supported the TRS. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two truck drivers guilty of killing eight Indians last year in one of Britain's worst road accidents were jailed by a UK court today. Ryszard Masierak, a 31-year-old Polish national convicted of dangerous and drink driving at the end of a trial earlier this month, was jailed for 14 years. Second truck driver David Wagstaff, 54-year-old courier company worker involved in the highway pile-up, was sentenced to 40 months in prison after pleading guilty to causing death by careless driving. He had been cleared by a jury of the more serious charge of dangerous driving at the end of the trial at Aylesbury Crown Court. The crash had led to the deaths of Nottingham-based Keralite minibus driver Cyriac Joseph and seven of his passengers all Indians. The 52-year-old had been hired to drive his passengers from Nottingham to London to join a European holiday tour group when they met with the fatal accident. "This was a prolonged, persistent and deliberate course of very bad driving. He had consumed significant amounts of alcohol," Prosecutor Oliver Saxby told the court. Judge Francis Sheridan described the crash as the most serious in the UK for more than 26 years, for which the Masierak had shown "no remorse". "What you have tried to do is blame everyone and everybody except yourself," the judge told him. In reference to Wagstaff, the judge blamed his use of a mobile phone while driving for his role in the collision. "You took no action whatsoever because you weren't concentrating on what was in front of you they were there to be seen and you didn't see them," he said. Masierak was also disqualified from driving for 17 years after he was convicted of eight counts of causing death by dangerous driving and four counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. Wagstaff was banned from driving for three years. "The catastrophic and tragic collision was caused by both the individuals. We lost a great father, loving husband and a very good friend," a family spokesperson for Joseph's family said outside the courtroom. The other victims in Joseph's minibus were from Nottingham's Malayali community and their relatives. The entire group was on its way to London to catch a bus to Disneyland Paris when their vehicle crashed with the trucks near Newport Pagnell in southern England on August 26 last year. Among them were IT professionals employed by Indian software company Wipro. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump today fired National Security Adviser Lt Gen H R McMaster, replacing him with former UN Ambassador John Bolton, the latest high-level shakeup in the White House. Reports of McMaster's ouster had surfaced last week but the White House had dispelled them saying there were no changes at the National Security Council (NSC). Trump, however, took to Twitter today to make an announcement in this regard. "I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, John Bolton will be my new National Security Adviser," Trump said on Twitter. "I am very thankful for the service of General H R McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9," Trump said. McMaster was Trump's second national security adviser after Michael Flynn was dismissed last year for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the US. The NSC is one of the most powerful wing of the White House that drives the administration's national security agenda. The announcement of McMaster's ouster, who the White House said had a "good working relationship" with Trump, is the latest in a string of high-profile White House departures since President Trump took office in January 2017. The announcement came just days after he replaced secretary of state Rex Tillerson with his close ally, CIA Director Mike Pompeo. That move, Trump said, was in preparation for upcoming top-level nuclear talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. According to a White House official, Trump and McMaster mutually agreed that the latter will resign as the National Security Adviser (NSA). He will retire from the US Army after 34 years of distinguished service. "The two have been discussing this for some time. The timeline was expedited as they both felt it was important to have the new team in place, instead of constant speculation. This was not related to any one moment or incident, rather it was the result of ongoing conversations between the two," the official said. Trump and McMaster both released written statements thanking each other, with the president describing McMaster as an architect of his "America First" foreign policy. "He has won many battles and his bravery and toughness are legendary. General McMaster's leadership of the National Security Council staff has helped my administration accomplish great things to bolster America's national security," Trump said. "He helped develop our America First National Security Strategy, revitalise our alliances in the Middle East, smash ISIS, bring North Korea to the table, and strengthen our nation's prosperity. This work and those achievements will ensure that America builds on its economic and military advantages. I thank General McMaster and his family for their service and wish them the very best," Trump said. McMaster said after 34 years of service, he is requesting retirement from the US Army effective this summer after which he will leave public service. "Throughout my career, it has been my greatest privilege to serve alongside extraordinary service members and dedicated civilians. "I am thankful to President Donald J Trump for the opportunity to serve him and our nation as national security adviser. I am grateful for the friendship and support of the members of the National Security Council who worked together to provide the President with the best options to protect and advance our national interests," McMaster said. The White House has described Bolton, who replaces McMaster, as one of the strongest voices and experts on the full range of national security issues and challenges facing the country. Bolton served as US Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2005-2006 and as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security from 2001-2005. Bolton, during his tenure at the United Nations, was a leading voice on the need for the Security Council to take strong and meaningful action against international proliferation and terrorism. Along with France's ambassador, Bolton led the Security Council to approve a unanimous resolution to end the summer 2006 Hezbollah war on Israel, to authorise UN peacekeepers and to create an arms embargo against Hezbollah. He also assembled an international coalition that blocked the bid of Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's Marxist strongman, to join the Security Council. As Under Secretary, he repeatedly advocated tough measures against the nuclear weapons programs of both Iran and North Korea, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction generally. He led negotiations for America to withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty so that the Bush administration could proceed with a national missile-defence programme. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Donald Trump today suspended his controversial tariffs on steel and aluminium imports for the US' key trade partners, including the European Union. The countries temporarily exempted from the Trump administration's new 25 per cent import tariff on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium are the EU members states, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and South Korea, the White House said "These suspensions are based on factors including ongoing discussions regarding measures to reduce global excess capacity in steel and aluminium production by addressing its root causes, the White House said in a late night statement. In a proclamation, Trump said the tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from the six countries and European Union are suspended until May 1, 2018, pending discussions of satisfactory long-term alternative means to address the threatened impairment to US national security. By May 1, the President will decide whether to continue to exempt these countries from the tariffs, based on the status of the discussions. The European Union will negotiate on behalf of its member countries, the White House said. Earlier this month, Trump imposed heavy tariffs on imported steel and aluminium which he said were necessary to boost the US industry suffering from "unfair" business practices, drawing condemnation from allies and sparking fears of a trade war. Several countries, including the EU, warned the US that they would retaliate if they are faced with tariffs on metals products. The Trump administration has stressed that the trade penalties were primary aimed at China for flooding the world with cheap steel and aluminium. Noting that Trump retains broad authority to further modify the tariffs, including by removing the suspensions or suspending additional countries, the White House said any country not currently suspended remains welcome to discuss a possible suspension with the US based on a shared commitment to addressing global excess steel and aluminium capacity and production. The administration will closely monitor imports of steel and aluminium imports from exempted countries, and the United States Trade Representative, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce and the Director of the National Economic Council, may advise the President to impose quotas as appropriate. In his proclamation, Trump said the steel and aluminium tariff announced by him earlier remains an important first step in ensuring the economic viability of US domestic steel industry and removing the threatened impairment of the national security. Without this tariff and the adoption of satisfactory alternative means addressing long-term solutions in ongoing discussions with the exempted countries, the industry will continue to decline, leaving the US at risk of becoming reliant on foreign producers of steel to meet its national security needs -- a situation that is fundamentally inconsistent with the safety and security of the American people. Trump said each of these exempted countries has an important security relationship with the US. He said, "The necessary and appropriate means to address the threat to the national security posed by imports from steel articles from these countries is to continue these discussions and to exempt steel articles imports from these countries from the tariff, at least at this time." "Any country not listed in this proclamation with which we have a security relationship remains welcome to discuss with the United States alternative ways to address the threatened impairment of the national security caused by imports of steel articles from that country, Trump said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Turkey's prime minister said today his country was partially reopening its airspace to flights to Iraq's Kurdish region, after the central government restored authority at airports in the area. Binali Yildirim said the airspace would be open to commercial and civilian flights to and from the city of Irbil but flights to the city of Suleymaniyah would not be permitted. He cited security concerns stemming from alleged Kurdish rebel activity targeting Turkey from the Suleymaniyah region. "There will be no flight to Suleymaniyah whatsoever," Yildirim told reporters in Ankara. Turkey has shut down its airspace to flights to the Kurdish region following a controversial referendum vote in northern Iraq's self-ruled Kurdish region six months ago that overwhelmingly backed independence from Baghdad. The referendum was vehemently rejected by Baghdad, Turkey and Iraq's other neighbors, ratcheting up tensions in the region. The Turkish prime minister also said that his country would press ahead with military strikes against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq as long as threats to Turkey continue. Earlier, Iraq's Foreign Ministry condemned Turkey's attacks on what Ankara suspected were Kurdish rebel camps in northern Iraq, along the countries' shared border. The state-run Anadolu Agency said nine militants were "neutralized" in an operation yesterday. The Iraqi ministry described the attacks as "violations" that led to the death of a number of civilians in a statement released late yesterday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two Canadian brothers of Indian-origin have been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly operating an Internet-based unlicensed money service business that processed more than USD 250 million in transactions. Firoz Patel, 43, and Ferhan Patel, 37, who live in the area of Montreal, Qubec, are charged with one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and to violate anti-money laundering programme requirements, one count of a money laundering conspiracy and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business in the District of Columbia. Each of the brothers faces a maximum sentence of more than 25 years if convicted, US Attorney Jessie Liu and Special Agent in Charge of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations Washington DC Patrick Lechleitner said. Ferhan Patel was arrested on March 18 in Detroit. He remains held pending further proceedings in the District of Columbia. His brother remains at large. "Money transmitting businesses are required to be registered federally and licensed in most states and jurisdictions, including the District of Columbia. Consumers should beware of those that do not follow these laws because they could be acting as a cover for other illegal activity, Liu said. The indictment alleges that the criminal activity took place from in or about March 2012 until the present. The defendants, through their company Payza.com, are accused of operating a money transmitting business that operated without the necessary state licenses and knowingly transmitting funds that were derived from illegal activity. Payza.com allegedly processed more than USD 250 million of proceeds from Ponzi schemes, child pornography rings, and other criminal enterprises. Despite receiving cease and desist letters from various states, and being told by a consultant that operating a money transmission business without the necessary licenses was a crime, Firoz and Ferhan Patel continued their illegal activity, the indictment alleges. The indictment alleges that the Patels, together with other co-conspirators, are responsible for transmitting over USD 250 million throughout the United States and elsewhere. The investigation is continuing. The Patels opened bank accounts in the US and laundered their illegal proceeds through those accounts. The indictment seeks forfeiture of any property involved in these offenses or traceable to these offenses as well as specific forfeiture of approximately USD 10 million that has already been seized and frozen. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Security forces in Arunachal Pradesh have apprehended two militants - one each of NSCN (IM) and NSCN (R) - in the past 48 hours, Defence Spokesman Col Chiranjeet Konwer said today. The Assam Rifles, during an operation yesterday at Sonking Village under Jairampur sub-division of the district, arrested one NSCN (IM) corporal, who has been identified as Ngshingbam Nalung, he said. "During interrogation, Nalung admitted that he was a self-styled corporal in the NSCN (IM), and a part of a larger group of cadres, led by Major Damting Tangkhul." The security personnel also busted a hideout of the outfit, which consisted of 10 temporary huts, near Sonking village. "We got information that NSCN (IM) Major Damting Tangkhul, along with his cadres, were trying to terrorize people and extort money in Sonking and Kharsang areas. The Jairampur Battalion of the Assam Rifles swiftly launched an operation and surrounded the hideout," Konwer explained. The rebels have been using the hideout as an adhoc base for their operations in the neighboring villages, the spokesman said. In another operation on Wednesday, the Assam Rifles, along with the Jairampur police, arrested a militant of NSCN (R) from 17 Mile area of the district. "A 9 mm pistol with magazines and cash were seized from the possession of the militant, who has been identified as Private Chajong Mossang. A criminal case has been registered against the arrested cadre," Konwer added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two police personnel, including a sub-inspector, were injured when a pressure bomb, suspected to be planted by the Naxals, went off in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district today, the police said. The incident took place this morning near Ulloor village, around 4 km from Bhopalpatnam police station, when a team of the district police force was out on an area domination operation, DeputyInspector General of Police (South Bastar Range) Sundarraj P told PTI. On getting information that Naxals had put up banners and posters near Ulloor, the police team along with a Bomb Disposal Squad approached the spot, around 450 km from state capital Raipur, he said. While the security personnel were trying to remove posters, a pressure improvised explosive device (IED) went off, injuring sub-inspector Yogesh Patel and Bomb Disposal Squad constable Indrajeet Singh, the DIG said. Pressure-IEDs work on pressure mechanism and goes off when someone steps on it. The injured were immediately taken to a hospital in Bhopalpatnam. Additional forces were rushed to the area, where an intense search operation has been launched to track down the ultras, the IPS officer said. On March 13, nine CRPF personnel were in a blast triggered by Naxals blowing off a mine-protected vehicle (MPV) of the security personnel in Sukma district. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress-led UDF today accused the LDF government in Kerala of planning to grant remission to a CPI(M) leader, serving a life term in the sensational murder of a rebel Marxist leader, a charge rejected by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Raising the issue in the state assembly, the opposition alleged the government had sanctioned 211 days of parole in the last nine months to P K Kunjananthan, the 13th accused in the case related to murder of RMP leader T P Chandrasekharan. The government was now trying to give him remission citing his old age, it charged. The UDF said it would pursue legal course if the government went ahead with its 'move' violating Constitutional provisions and earlier court verdicts in similar cases. Chandrasekharan, a CPI(M) rebel who floated the Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP), was hacked to death in May 2012 near his hometown Onjiyam in Kozhikode district. Several of the accused in the case were local CPI(M) workers, besides goons hired to execute the murder. Vijayan, in his brief reply, denied the charge and said the opposition was making "unnecessary allegations". The issue would be relevant only if such a remission was granted. "The government has not given direction to award remission of sentence to any prisoner. The remission will not be awarded to any prisoner without considering all relevant legal aspects," he added. He also said there was no government or political level intervention in granting parole to prisoners. Seeking to table a notice for an adjournment motion, Sunny Joseph (Congress) said appeals seeking more stringent punishment to the accused in the case were pending before the Kerala High Court and the government could not grant remission to them in such a circumstance. Kunjananthan, a senior CPI(M) leader, was a 'close friend' of the Chief Minister, he alleged. Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said the Chief Minister was trying to trivialise the issue by giving a brief reply. "Even after he was jailed, the CPI(M) has given Kunjananthan several key party posts. He also took part in various party programmes during the time of paroles violating norms," Chennithala charged. He also alleged that besides Kunjananthan, all the accused in the cruel political murder case were given 'wellness treatment' inside the prison by the LDF government. The opposition later staged a walkout as Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan disallowed the motion. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A United Nations official said today that the multilateral organisation will not provide any electoral assistance for Venezuela's upcoming presidential vote, an election that has been denounced as rigged by opposition leaders and many foreign governments. Representatives of President Nicolas Maduro and independent candidate Henri Falcon travelled this month to the UN headquarters to try and persuade it to send experts to be present for the May 20 vote. The main opposition coalition is boycotting the election over concerns it will be rigged and has called on the UN to reject the request. The UN official confirmed the decision not to send an election mission to Venezuela, without giving reasons behind the move. "The UN is not providing any electoral assistance to Venezuela," the official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly. Oil-rich Venezuela has been sinking deeper into a political and economic crisis after global crude prices fell and the country's state-run oil production has been spiralling downward due to mismanagement under nearly two decades of socialist rule. The hand-picked successor to the late-President Hugo Chavez, Maduro is seeking a second six-year term. The Trump administration has said it will reject the outcome of the election it says won't be free or fair, and several Latin American leaders have pressured Maduro's government to return to what they consider democratic rule. Officials loyal to Maduro have banned the largest opposition parties from participating and the most popular opposition candidates are imprisoned or in exile. UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told The Associated Press earlier Friday that a letter was sent to Venezuelan authorities about their request. He would not disclose the contents. A campaign representative for Falcon said the independent candidate is considering his next move. Falcon, a former governor, had demanded the UN's participation as a condition for his own candidacy. "The scenario has changed," the Falcon representative told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity. He stopped short of saying that Falcon will drop out of the race. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) UN peacekeepers have found eight decomposing bodies in a village in the volatile Ituri province of northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the agency told AFP today. A local official said the eight had been killed during a March 12-13 attack on Djugu area in which at least 30 people were killed by assailants using guns, machetes and arrows. "MONUSCU peacekeepers found eight lifeless, decomposing bodies in a village in the Djugu area yesterday," said Guy Karema, a spokesman for the UN mission who is based in Bunia, capital of the Ituri region which has been blighted by ethnic strife. The discovery was made after the peacekeepers were tipped off by a group of people who said they themselves had been in hiding "for more than a week," he said. Local chief Pilo Molindro said the eight were "victims of the latest attacks" in Djugu, which took place after a visit to the area by Interior Minister Henri Mova. "Seven people who escaped (the violence) and who spent nine days hiding in the bush, have been found," he said. Djugu lies about 75 kilometres northwest of Bunia. Since December, scores of people have been killed in a flareup of clashes involving the Hema and Lendu communities, cattle herders and farmers who have a long history of violence over access to land. The violence has so far claimed at least 130 lives, according to an unofficial toll compiled by AFP, while the UN says more than 57,000 people have fled the bloodshed, crossing the border into neighbouring Uganda. It was in Djugu that the most recent attack took place, with at least 30 people killed there on March 13 following a visit to the area by Interior Minister Henri Mova. In 2003, another surge of violence in Ituri triggered Operation Artemis, a three-month operation by the European Union -- its first military mission outside Europe. The operation averted a humanitarian catastrophe, but the fighting never came to a total halt. The full scale of the latest bout of violence in the remote province remains unclear. The conflict is part of a broader background of violence and instability in eastern DR Congo. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Shares of Union Bank of India today tumbled over 9 per cent to hit a one-year low amid concerns over losses incurred in a Rs 1,394-crore loan fraud case. The stock plunged 9.13 per cent to Rs 86.05 to hit its 52-week low on BSE. On NSE, shares of the company dove 9.13 per cent to hit its one-year low of Rs 86.05. The CBI has booked a Hyderabad-based construction and infrastructure company for allegedly defrauding a consortium of eight banks to the tune of over Rs 1,394 crore, officials said yesterday. Totem Infrastructure, which worked as a sub-contractor for several major infrastructure companies, and its promoters Tottempudi Salalith and Tottempudi Kavita were named in a CBI FIR, registered on the basis of a complaint from Union Bank of India, one of the eight banks, they said. The bank alleged in the complaint that it suffered a loss of Rs 313.84 crore as the loans given to the company had become NPA in June, 2012. They said the total dues towards the consortium stand at Rs 1,394.43 crore. The BSE had yesterday sought clarification from Union Bank of India with respect to that CBI filed Rs 1,394 crore bank fraud case on UBI complaint. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US today announced charges against nine Iranians for their massive hacking into over 300 universities worldwide and the theft of precious academic data and intellectual property. The Justice Department indictment alleges that the defendants worked on behalf of the Iranian government, specifically the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). They hacked the computer systems of nearly 320 universities in 22 countries, 144 are American universities, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein told reporters at a conference here. "The defendants stole research that cost those universities approximately USD 3.4 billion to procure and maintain. That stolen information was used by the Revolutionary Guard or sold for profit in Iran," he said. The defendants worked for an organisation known as the Mabna Institute, which two of the defendants founded for the stated purpose of helping Iranian universities access scientific research. Their work consisted of stealing research through illegal computer intrusions. The indictment charges defendants for committing seven federal crimes. The charges include computer fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy and identity theft, he said. Rosenstein said every sector of the US economy was the target of malicious cyber-attacks. "Everyone who owns a computer needs to be vigilant to prevent attacks. Academic institutions are prime targets for foreign cyber criminals. Universities can thrive as marketplaces of ideas and engines of research and development only if their work is protected from theft," he said. This indictment publicly identifies the conspirators and this type of public identification helps to deter state-sponsored computer intrusions by stripping hackers of their anonymity and by imposing real consequences, Rosenstein said. Revealing the Mabna Institute's nefarious activities makes it harder for them to do business. "Additionally, we're working with foreign law enforcement agencies and providing the private sector with information that will help to neutralise Mabna's hacking infrastructure," he said. As a result of the indictment, these defendants are now fugitives from justice. There are more than 100 countries where they may face arrest and extradition to the US. According to the Department of Justice, Gholamreza Rafatnejad and Ehsan Mohammadi founded the Mabna Institute in 2013 to assist Iranian universities and scientific and research organisations in stealing access to non-Iranian scientific resources. The Mabna Institute employed, contracted, and affiliated itself with hackers-for-hire and other contract personnel to conduct cyber intrusions to steal academic data, intellectual property, email inboxes and other proprietary data. It contracted with both Iranian government and private entities to conduct hacking activities on their behalf, and specifically conducted the university spearphishing campaign on behalf of the IRGC. According to the indictment, the Mabna Institute, through the activities of the defendants, targeted more than 100,000 accounts of professors around the world. They successfully compromised approximately 8,000 professor email accounts across 144 US-based universities, and 176 universities located in foreign countries, including Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the UK, it said. "The campaign started in approximately 2013, continued through at least December 2017, and broadly targeted all types of academic data and intellectual property from the systems of compromised universities. "Through the course of the conspiracy, US-based universities spent more than about USD 3.4 billion to procure and access such data and intellectual property," it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Donald Trump said today that his administration was "very close" to striking a trade deal with South Korea, an achievement that would mark an end to the free trade agreement between the two countries. Trump, who made the comments during a press conference to mark his signing of a USD 1.3 trillion spending bill, has long complained about the trade deal with South Korea. "We are going to have a wonderful deal with a wonderful ally. We're getting very close to it. It was a deal that was causing a lot of problems for our country, in terms of employment and in terms of lots of other things," Trump said. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross who also spoke at the event, said the administration was nearing a "pretty comprehensive resolution" with South Korea. Ross and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the US was very close to finishing a trade deal South Korea. "It will encompass, if it goes through, both the 232s and broader trade issues. And we hope by sometime next week to be able to have a real announcement," Ross told reporters. The White House yesterday temporarily exempted South Korea from the new steel and aluminum tariffs, which were imposed under a rarely used trade law that allows the president to take trade action to protect national security interests. That exemption is pending a successful conclusion of talks to amend the 2007 free trade agreement between the US and South Korea, which took effect six years ago, Lighthizer said earlier this week, according to a local media report. Lighthizer initiated a process last July under the US-South Korea trade deal to negotiate changes to the pact to address market access issues and the trade imbalance between the two countries one of Trump's chief complaints about the deal, it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US today said it remains concerned about the developments in the Maldives, even though the State of Emergency in this island nation has expired. Maldives President Abdulla Yameen lifted a 45-day state of emergency yesterday, a day after senior political opponents were locked up indefinitely for allegedly trying to topple him last month. "Though the State of Emergency declared by President Yameen has expired, we remain concerned about developments in the Maldives," a State Department Spokesperson told PTI. "We continue to call on President Yameen and the government of Maldives to uphold the rule of law, release political prisoners, respect the constitutionally-guaranteed legal protections and rights of all Maldivians, permit the full and proper functioning of the Parliament and judiciary, and abide by Maldives' international human rights obligations and commitments," the spokesperson said. President Yameen's decision not to extend the draconian laws he had invoked on February 5 followed a Supreme Court ruling that threatened to lead to his impeachment. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Star opener Shikhar Dhawan today made it clear that if Indian team intends to do well in upcoming England tour, the preparations for that would need to start early. Indian team's preparations before the South African tour was panned by one and all as they didn't play any practice games but Dhawan is confident that they can do well in England if they can prepare on the kind of tracks that will be on offer during the five-Test series starting August. "England is going to be a very difficult series but we will have to play on those sort of pitches from early on and see how it goes there. If we have the right preparation and are able to give our best shot, there is no reason why we can't win Test series in England," Dhawan told reporters on the sidelines of a promotional event. While he had an ordinary Test series in South Africa before being dropped after identical scores of 16 and 16 in the first Test, he came back well with two half-centuries and a hundred in India's emphatic 5-1 ODI series win and a string of good scores in the T20 matches. The left-hander was visibly satisfied as doing well in the 'Rainbow Nation' according to him was a "dream come true". In fact, he admitted that his performance in the ODIs and the subsequent T20s helped him bag an A+ central contract. "I was failing badly in overseas conditions, so to perform well (in ODIs and T20) gave me confidence. The performance in South Africa helped me win an A+ contract. I am very happy about that. It was a dream come true to perform like that in South Africa. I want to keep scoring runs consistently," said Dhawan, who is the brand ambassador of Alcis, an Indian sportswear company. Dhawan has been retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad and is expected to form a formidable opening partnership with David Warner. "IPL is going to be exciting. It's a fresh season and we have so many new faces and the team looks good. Hopefully, I will be fresh and fit to perform," he said. However, Dhawan believes that while IPL can be a platform to get in contention for a berth in the Indian team, one should remain in the present and try to perform well. "IPL is a platform for players to get noticed and may be make it to the Indian team but the focus should be on performance rather than thinking about India selection," Dhawan had a word of caution for talented youngsters. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor George Clooney has penned a letter to the students of the Parkland, Florida high school where a deadly mass shooting claimed the lives of 17 people. The student journalists from Eagle Eye, the newspaper of Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school, where the shooting happened in February, had written to Clooney and his wife Amal for an interview. In the letter published in The Guardian, Clooney said their advocacy for gun control makes him "proud of my country again." He, however, declined their request for an interview, saying "young people are taking it to the adults and that has been your most effective tool." "The fact that no adults will speak on the stage in DC is a powerful message to the world that if we can't do something about gun violence then you will. The issue is going to be this, anyone you ask would feel proud to be interviewed by you but it's so much more effective if it's young people," he said. The Friday issue of The Guardian US was guest edited by the staff of the Eagle Eye. It is using the platform to cover the upcoming March for Our Lives as well as "heighten awareness of the issue of gun control and school safety to such an extent that the federal government can no longer ignore us. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Hallie Gu and Josephine MasonBEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese buyers of soybeans, the United States' biggest agricultural export to the country, are quietly drawing up contingency plans to ensure supplies of critical raw materials in the event of a trade war, sources said.The moves are the strongest sign yet that businesses in the world's most populous country are growing worried that critical commodities could get caught up in escalating trade tensions.At least two trading houses have started buying more rapeseed meal, an alternative ingredient used to make animal feed, in case the oilseed is ... By Richard Lough and Philip BlenkinsopBRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders called on U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday to make permanent an EU exemption from U.S. metal import duties, saying they reserved the right to respond "in a proportionate manner" to protect the bloc's interests.The 40-day exemption granted by Washington was like U.S. President Donald Trump putting "a gun to our head", complained French President Emmanuel Macron. The EU's trade chief demanded that the United States drop "artificial deadlines". Her boss, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, said ... By Rajendra Jadhav and Nithin ThomasPrasadMUMBAI/BENGALURU (Reuters) - Physical gold demand in Asian hot spots slouched this week as higher global prices made buyers hold off on purchases and as discounts in India widened to their highest in 6-1/2 months."Demand is very weak. At the current price level, retail buyers and jewellers are not making purchases," said Ashok Jain, proprietor of Mumbai-based wholesaler Chenaji Narsinghji.Dealers in India were offering a discount of up to $7 an ounce over official domestic prices, compared with a $3 discount last week. The domestic price includes a 10 ... BASEL, Switzerland (Reuters) - Swiss watchmakers expect further sales growth this year, driven by demand from China where a younger generation of shoppers discovers its appetite for watches, executives told Reuters.The industry is slowly emerging from a severe downturn caused by a Chinese crackdown on gifts for favours, a massive overstock in its top market Hong Kong and the flight of tourists from European shopping capitals due to militant attacks. "The recovery is there," Jean-Claude Biver, head of French luxury giant LVMH's watch business, said in an interview at the Baselworld trade ... By Lesley WroughtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Thursday it had approved the possible sale to Saudi Arabia of TOW anti-tank missiles, part of a bigger $1 billion package that also includes helicopter maintenance and spare parts for military vehicles.The department said it had notified the U.S. Congress on Thursday of the possible sale, which kick-starts a formal congressional review process.Saudi Arabia requested to buy 6,600 TOW missiles and an additional 96 for training for a total of $670 million, the State Department said in a statement.The proposed sale would ... LOGAN The preliminary hearing for Juan Valdovinos-Sanchez was postponed so attorneys could interview more witnesses. The 20-year-old Logan man is suspected of raping a teenage girl during a party at a hotel last summer. Valdovinos-Sanchez appeared in 1st District Court Thursday afternoon. He was arrested earlier this month after admitting to having sex with a 14-year-old girl who was under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Prosecutors later charged him with rape, a first-degree felony, furnishing drugs to a juvenile, a third-degree felony, and providing alcohol to a minor, a class A misdemeanor. The alleged victim told deputies she was given methamphetamine and alcohol by several adult men at the hotel during the August party. She described blacking out and later being told by her friends, the suspect was with her locked in the bathroom and may have had sex with her. Valdovinos-Sanchez told detectives, he didnt know the alleged victim was a minor. He claimed when he realized that, he stopped what he was doing. During Thursdays hearing, state attorney Jacob Gordon told the court, he and the defense attorney were needing to interview more witnesses before proceeding. He asked the court for more time to gather the evidence. Judge Brian Cannell rescheduled the hearing for April 25. Something is stirring in Central Asia. The past two weeks have seen a flurry of bilateral and multilateral get-togethers, starting on March 9, when Uzbekistans President Shavkat Mirziyoyev arrived with great fanfare in Dushanbe for the first state visit of a president of Uzbekistan to Tajikistan since 2000. Less than a week later, on March 15, the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as well as the speaker of Turkmenistans parliament gathered in Astana for the first exclusively regional summit in almost a decade. What do these meetings, each producing several intriguing bilateral and multilateral agreements and statements, mean for the prospects of Central Asian countries finally embarking upon a path of development through cooperation? BACKGROUND: Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyevs two-day official visit with his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rahmon in Dushanbe on March 9-10 represented a landmark event in the relationship between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The two presidents signed 27 bilateral agreements, including deals worth $140 million, an agreement to gradually open all 16 border crossings on the Tajik-Uzbek border and the introduction of visa-free regime for citizens of the two countries for visits up to 30 days. So successful was the meeting that the two presidents concluded that practically all the issues that have accumulated in the last 20 or more years had been resolved. Mirziyoyev also reiterated an informal approval regarding Tajikistans completion of the gigantic Rogun dam. This marks a truly stunning turn-around from the long-standing and fierce Uzbek opposition to the Rogun dam, which it has feared would disrupt Uzbekistans irrigation of its agriculture, in particular the water-hungry cotton production. The activities continued on the multilateral level a few days later when Kazakhstans President Nursultan Nazarbayev stood as host of the first exclusively regional meeting since April 2009 in the Kazakh capital Astana. Nazarbayev attributed the gathering of the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as well as the speaker of Turkmenistans parliament to the new mood taking hold in the region. In a joint statement, Central Asian leaders expressed their desire for regional cooperation, mutual support, and joint solution of topical issues in order to ensure security, stability and sustainable development of our entire region. In a particularly noteworthy remark, Nazarbayev put the newfound self-confidence within the region in words: We all have two big partners Russia and China. We will always work together with them. All agreements will remain in force. Some of our countries are in the Eurasian Union, some are in the CSTO, and some are not, but that is not important. But we ourselves must solve our own problems without involving any third party. Nazarbayevs phrasing echoed the joint Tajik-Uzbek statement on the region a few days earlier. IMPLICATIONS: What is the significance of all this for the region? The gains to be reaped from closer regional cooperation have been thoroughly documented for well over a decade, including by international organizations such as UNDP, IMF and the World Bank. Cooperation could improve regional security, trade and transport, water management and energy development, while enhancing Central Asias collective weight vis-a-vis external actors. However, to achieve closer cooperation has proved to be an arduous task. Indeed, for the better part of the first quarter of a century of independence, the regional states tended to turn inwards, protecting their own sovereignties, identities and interests, and in the process often defining themselves in opposition to their neighbors. This is neither unique nor surprising for states seeking to assert their statehood and construct independent political and economic systems. That said, Central Asian leaders have not been ignorant of the potential of regional cooperation. Discussions on Central Asian integration did take place in the 1990s. In 1994, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan signed a treaty creating a common economic space between the two countries, which Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan latter also joined, leading to the Central Asia Economic Forum in 1998. Four years later, in 2002, the Central Asian Cooperation Organization (CACO) was officially created with the same four states as participants with the declared ambition to promote economic cooperation and coordinate foreign policy. However, by 2005 CACO had effectively ceased to exist, as the Russian-led Euro-Asian Economic Community (EurAsEC) the predecessor to the present-day Eurasian Economic Union, absorbed it. Since then, a litany of outstanding issues such as border disputes, conflicts over water, trade barriers, inter-ethnic tensions, diverging views on the role of Russia in Central Asia and personal animosities between leaders have poisoned the collaborative climate in the region. Against this backdrop, one may be forgiven for asking why things may turn out differently this time around? The truly potential game-changer is the winds of change coming from inside Uzbekistan the core country in the region, and key to regional cooperation. Indeed, the last weeks high-profiled meetings only represent the crescendo of a steady evolution towards closer coordination and collaboration emerging in the region after Mirziyoyevs ascent to power in Uzbekistan. Mirziyoyev rapidly steered his foreign policy onto a proactive course, with strengthening Uzbekistans previously torn relations with its neighbors as first priority, starting with the revival of intra-regional trade. As Mirziyoyev noted, some results are already visible. Uzbekistans trade with the other four countries reached almost $3 billion in 2017, representing an increase of 20 percent compared to 2016. The stated ambition over the coming years is to bring that figure up to $5 billion. In launching Uzbekistans new regional policy, Mirziyoyevs first foreign visit went to Turkmenistan in March 2017, resulting in a strategic cooperation agreement. In a subsequent working visit in May that year, the two leaders filled the partnership with joint energy and transport and transit initiatives. Of particular importance was the signing of a memorandum on transiting electricity from Turkmenistan to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan through Uzbekistans power system. The two countries have also stated their interest in jointly developing Caspian oil and gas resources. As for relations with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistans major trading partner in the region, these have in the past been constrained by different approaches to Russian-dominated regional arrangements and a certain rivalry over the leadership position in the region. As part of its attempt to open up for trade and investments, economic cooperation with Kazakhstan is a priority for Tashkent. And, on this basis, a strategic partnership is emerging between the two states. The significance of the Uzbek-Kazakh rapprochement can hardly be exaggerated. It is clear that for regional harmonization, coordination and collaboration to take hold, the concerted weight of these two intra-regional powers will be key. In fact, the importance of the Kazakh-Uzbek relationship as catalyst for political and economic cooperation in Central Asian resembles the special Franco-German relationship as the engine of European integration. Finally, in the past year Uzbekistans past assertiveness towards its smaller neighbors Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan has been all but gone. Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan have decided to pursue mutual cooperation that ensures an integrated use of water and energy that are beneficial for both countries. The two governments have also agreed on the delineation of 85 percent of their contested border, previously the location of several armed clashes between border guards. The relations between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan had also seen several breakthroughs even before Mirziyoyevs visit, which essentially confirmed and expanded upon the significant progresses already made. Under Mirziyoyev, Uzbekistan not only relaxed its position on the Rogun dam, but also reinstated direct flights between Dushanbe and Tashkent, reopened borders and signaled a strong commitment to reestablish the common electricity grid that tied the countries together in Soviet times. Instead of ultimatums, statements from the region emphasize the need for compromises and cooperative solutions that take into consideration the interests of all states. The enthusiasm with which Uzbekistans regional policy have been met by its neighbors clearly demonstrates that it would only be beneficial for all countries. CONCLUSIONS: Since the ongoing cooperative processes in the region is still at a highly formative stage with no clear direction let alone endpoint in sight, any conclusions must be of a preliminary nature. What can be observed, however, is that the initiatives are emerging from within the region itself, without the involvement of external forces. In this light, Russian media have duly noted the significance of Central Asian governments gathering in Astana without Russian participation. In that sense, the nascent self-confidence of the region communicates the Central Asian nations right, as sovereign entities, to undertake initiatives of their own, without the involvement of outside powers. How Moscow will respond to this dynamic remains to be seen. Recent developments also suggest the important role of political leaders in promoting or thwarting regional cooperation. While the current concord among regional leaders has certainly been key to the rapidly changing cooperation climate in Central Asia, its long-term robustness is likely to depend on agreements and forms of cooperation that makes its future dynamic less reliant on personalities and possible mood swings. In short, sustainable and predictable cooperation will probably require some mechanisms of institutionalization. Admittedly, given Kyrgyzstans strong dependency on Russia and Kazakhstans ever-present challenge of managing the delicate relationship with its northern neighbor, intra-regional mechanisms seem challenging to find for now. Another key question relates to the extent to which Turkmenistan is committed to region-wide initiatives. Among observers, some fuzz was made out of the absence of the president of Turkmenistan from the meeting in Astana, due to a scheduled visit to the United Arab Emirates. Without speculating on this point, it is sufficient to recall that Turkmenistan, with its internationally recognized policy of permanent neutrality, has a history of eschewing multilateral cooperation. In addition, Ashgabat has tended to view its economic and security interests as somewhat distinct from the rest of the region. But for regional cooperation to really take hold in the region, Turkmenistan is a key country. This is especially obvious for realizing Central Asian leaders ambition to turn the region into a corridor for land-based trade between Europe and Asia and to connect the east and west of the Caspian Sea. In these projects, the strategic importance of Turkmenistan as a transit corridor is absolutely critical. AUTHORS BIO: Johan Engvall, Ph.D., is an analyst at the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI), and a Nonresident Senior Fellow with the Central-Asia Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program. Image source: By uzbekembassy.in accessed on 3.22. 2018 | BY Ricki Green | The winners of this years Interactive, Mobile, Design, Print Craft, Direct, Promo, Press, Outdoor, New Director and Film Craft Lotus were revealed tonight at the 21st ADFEST, held in Pattaya, Thailand. Also announced at the Awards ceremony were the results for the Fabulous Four and the straight8 competition. Says Grand jury president Joyce King Thomas, chairman and CCO, McCann XBC : The opportunity to see and debate Asias best work alongside talented people from all over the world at a beach town in Thailand was irresistible. The theme of the showTransformationis perfect, and I look forward to seeing how this diverse and culturally rich region is reinventing what we do. I also cant wait to meet the people behind that reinvention. Interactive Lotus In the Interactive Lotus category CHE Proximity Australia snapped up the Grande Lotus as well as a Gold Award in the Web Banner/Display Ad/Rich Media sub-category for Lego Making The List. R/GA Sydney has scored two Silvers for Google Play Music Through The Dark. This year there were 167 entries for Interactive Lotus. 20 awards were announced, including 7 Bronze, 9 Silver, 3 Gold and 1 Grande Lotus awards. Interactive and Mobile Jury President Kitty Lun, Head of Creative Shop, Greater China from Facebook, Hong Kong said In the Interactive category: Im happy that the industry is using data and technology very well in their creative ideas. We saw ideas that were not just about technology, but they were a good marriage between technology and creativity. Mobile Lotus Mobile Lotus received 83 entries. There were 10 awards given in the category, including 5 Bronze, 2 Silver, 2 Gold and 1 Grande Lotus awards. R/GA Sydney has scored two Silver Awards for Google Play Music Through The Dark, BWM Dentsu has picked up two Bronze one for Victorian Government Alert Ad and one for Queensland Police Disappearing Persons. McCann Sydney has scored a Bronze for Friskies Cat Critic and J. Walter Thompson Sydney has scored a Bronze for Vodafone DreamLab. The Grande Lotus for Mobile was awarded to work for Pedigree entitled, Pedigree Selfiestix by Colenso BBDO, Auckland in the Mobile Campaign category. Mobile has come a long way we definitely saw a lot of original ideas that are mobile-centric, inspired by good, relevant insights, said Interactive and Mobile Jury President Kitty Lun, Head of Creative Shop, Greater China from Facebook, Hong Kong. Print Craft Australia had no winners in the Print Craft category. The category attracted 156 entries in 2018. 14 awards were given out in total, which included 5 Bronze, 5 Silver and 3 Gold Lotus awards as well the Grande Lotus. The Grande award in the Print Craft category was awarded to Dentsu Inc., Tokyo for its work for The 101st Kanazawa High School Sumo Wrestling Tournament, Entitled, Sumo Girls in the Art Direction sub-category. Design Lotus In the Design Lotus category R/GA Sydney scored a Gold for Google Play Music Through The Dark and McCann Melbourne scored a Silver for University of Melbourne Infinite Future Film. Design Lotus received 230 entries. There were 30 awards given in the category, including 13 Bronze, 11 Silver, 5 Gold and 1 Grande. Design & Print Craft Jury President, Melvin Mangada, Chief Creative Officer of TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno, Manila said, We were really pleased to see a very diverse approach to design beyond flat, formatted pieces. We spent a lot of time discussing entries in sub-categories like product design, innovation and sustainable product design, and it was great to see entries that pushed design forward. The Grande Lotus was presented to Cogy Wheelchair for Cogy by TBWA\Hakuhodo Inc., Tokyo in the Production Design: Consumer Products sub-category. For us, the Grande should be awarded to an entry thats above and beyond the category. And this Grande winner truly did that. It pushed design forward, with an innovation that combined form and function to solve a real problem, says Mangada. Direct Lotus The Direct category saw CHE Proximity Australia score three Silvers for Cochlear The Hearing Test in Disguise and a Silver and a Bronze for Swann Insurance Inconvenience Stores. BWM Dentsu scored a Silver for Victorian Government Alert Ad, a Silver for Queensland Police Disappearing Persons and a Bronze for Babylove Premmie Proud. McCann Sydney scored a Bronze for MasterCard Contactless Tap For Your Town. Direct Lotus received 195 entries. There were 20 awards given in this category, including 11 Bronze, 7 Silver and 2 Gold. Direct & Promo Lotus Jury President and Managing Director & Creative & Partner for CJ WORX, Bangkok is Saharath Sawadatikom. He expressed his view of the overall quality of work for the Direct Lotus category, when he explained, The Direct category today is not the category it should be in 99% of entries, the Direct Marketing component was very small and wasnt key to the campaign. Thats why we awarded two Golds. Promo Lotus In Promo, CHE Proximity Australia scored a Bronze for Swann Insurance Inconvenience Stores and a Bronze for Velocity Frequent Flyer The Billion Point Giveaway. McCann Sydney has scored two Bronze Awards for MasterCard Contactless Tap For Your Town. Promo Lotus received 212 entries. There were 13 awards given in this category, including 7 Bronze, 5 Silver and 1 Gold. There was no Grande given in this category. Saharath Sawadatikom, Direct & Promo Lotus Jury President and Managing Director & Creative & Partner for CJ WORX, Bangkok summed up the overall view of the Promo Lotus Awards, when he said, In this category, the judges were looking for campaigns that were all about the offer it could be a discount, or anything that makes people act right now, within a certain time, or youre going to miss out. Timing is key. We found that very few entries met these criteria, and I think its because few agencies do promotional campaigns anymore they are more focused on building digital awareness, or launching brand activations, for example. Most entries were about awareness, not the offer. Press Lotus From 114 entries in the Press category, there were 6 Press Lotus trophies awarded including 2 Bronze, 2 Silver and 2 Gold. There was no Grande Lotus given out in this category for ADFEST 2018 and Australia did not have any winners in the category. Outdoor Lotus CHE Proximity Australia picked up Australias only Silver in the Outdoor category for Swann Insurance Inconvenience Stores. 236 entries were judged in the Outdoor category at ADFEST 2018. There were 23 Outdoor Lotus trophies awarded including 7 Bronze, 10 Silver, 5 Gold and 1 Grande. TBWA\Hakuhodo Inc., Tokyo won the Outdoor Grande for the second year in succession, this time for i ts work for Pure Boost Green Light Run in the Ambient: Large Scale category. New Director Lotus There were 23 entries received for New Director Lotus including Fabulous Four this year. Jury President of Film Craft Lotus & New Director Lotus, Timo Mitsuaki Otsuki, Founder & CEO from Connection, Tokyo explained the Jurys decision and why there was no Grande or Golds given in the New Director category: While the entries from new directors was good, they were not amazing. New talent is what pushes film craft forward. Which is why Im hoping that more new directors step up to the challenge next year. Two Silver and two Bronze New Director Lotus Awards were given out. The Silver awards were presented to: Kyra Bartley at Heckler, Sydney for Love is Love Love is Love in the Portfolio Spot sub-category Sezan Iseda at AOI Pro. Inc., Tokyo for A Drop of Freshness A Transfer Student in the Portfolio Spot sub-category Film Craft Lotus For the Film Craft Lotus Awards, there were 358 entries, with 40 winners in the category, including 16 Bronze, 15 Silver, 8 Gold Lotus Awards and 1 Grande. Alt.vfx has scored a Gold and a Silver for Tile Lost Panda via Deutsch LA. CHE Proximity has picked up a Gold and Silver for Cochlear The Hearing Test in Disguise. Heckler Sydney has been awarded a Silver for its Byron Bay Film Festival film created with Marcel Sydney. AIRBAG has scored a Silver for Australian Marriage Equality Bachelors & Bachelorettes created with Leo Burnett Melbourne. McCann Melbourne has picked up a Bronze for University of Melbourne Infinite Futures. FINCHs Rats Tale spot for NZ Transport Agency, created with Clemenger BBDO Wellington has scored a Bronze. A Grande Lotus was awarded this year in the Film Craft category. The winning recipient was Hakuhodo Inc., Tokyo for Gravity Daze 2 Gravity Cat in the Directing sub-category. Jury President of Film Craft Lotus & New Director Lotus, Timo Mitsuaki Otsuki, Founder & CEO from Connection, Tokyo explains the reasoning behind choosing the work awarded for the Grande, Weve not seen this level of craft in Asia for a long time. The work was clearly the result of everyone, from the client, to the agency and production team, collaborating to push the envelope. Its proof that Asia still can produce amazing film craft. Hopefully, well see more work like this in the coming years. Tohokushinsha Film Corporation, Tokyo won 3 Film Craft Golds: one for Iyemon Kyotos Fukujuens 227th Year of Innovation Cinematography sub-category and two for Gravity Daze 2 Gravity Cat in Special Effects: Digital Visual Effects and Production Design sub-categories. Timo Mitsuaki Otsuki, Founder & CEO of Connection Tokyo and Film Craft Lotus & New Director Lotus Jury President summarized the Jurys view on this years Film Craft work: We were very happy with the quality of entries. While there were not many new approaches, the quality of craft with tried-and-tested techniques went up compared to last year. Some of the best were pieces that we initially saw on the internet and were already jealous of, wishing we were the ones who had the chance to make them. Fabulous Four Script entries to Fabulous Four must be from directors or assistant directors with less than two years experience based in Asia and the Pacific, including Australia, New Zealand, and Middle East and their submission must be one of their first seven pieces of work. The Fabulous Four finalists were selected from submitted scripts and are based in Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne and Tokyo this year. Huixin Law from Reservoir World Sdn Bhd, Kuala Lumpur was awarded a Commendation for ADFEST 2018 Bird on a Wire. The other three finalists were Shuhei Murata, from Pyramid Film Quadra Inc., Tokyo; Thuy Vy from The Directors Group, Melbourne and Haruna Kaizuka from AOI Pro Inc., Tokyo. Scripts are judged by the Film Craft Lotus & New Director Lotus Jury and four short films are selected to go into production to debut at ADFEST 2018 in front of its delegate audience. This year reflected the theme for ADFEST 2018, TRANSFORM. Jimmy Lam, President of ADFEST says, Fabulous Four is one of the jewels in the ADFEST crown. We are proud of the Fabulous Four program for new directors. In a way, were helping to nourish our production partners to bring new blood into the market. Winners of straight 8 Competition Six companies took part in the first-ever straight 8 industry shootout @ ADFEST 2018, a one-super-8-cartridge-no-editing film competition. Ogilvy X Sydney won this years inaugural short film competition for its film Keynote. | BY Ricki Green | Judging of The One Show and ADC 97th Annual Awards is currently underway in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Each day, they are posting a brief Pick of the Day video interview with a One Show or ADC Annual Awards jury member, where they tell us about one piece of work that really impressed them. In the midst of Europes immigration crisis and ahead of Frances presidential election, FRED & FARIDs Libe Des Refugies campaign for French daily Liberation gave a voice to the voiceless, by turning over control of the newspaper to migrants and refugees for a single day. This provocative submission was one of many that stood out to Carol Lambert, ECD, Publicis Dublin and One Show 2018 Print & Outdoor judge, who selected it as her Pick of the Day. | BY Ricki Green | Renowned film director Patrick Fileti will be showcasing his latest short film Undercurrent at Golden Age Cinema in Surry Hills next Wednesday 28th March at 5.45pm followed by drinks at the bar. Fileti developed the script after interviewing and photographing over fifty Australian refugees as part his featured exhibition at Head On Photo Festival 2017 in support of The Refugee Council. Undercurrent is currently playing at the prestigious Arte Art Prize Laguna in Venice, Italy as well as festivals worldwide including: Mecal Pro International Film Festival in Barcelona, Flickerfest International Film Festival and Human Rights Arts & Film Festival. Synopsis: After a dangerous sea crossing, a young Syrian girl faced with tragedy is forced to find hope. Undercurrent is a meditation on survival, grief and the outcome of war. Says Patrick: Having carefully watched the refugee crisis accelerate over the last few years, I have become passionate about advocating for this cause. All the Refugees who came forward to share their story and who were the inspiration for the film humble me. Over 60 million people worldwide are now forcibly displaced. Globally, one in 122 humans is now either a refugee, displaced or seeking asylum. This is a huge epidemic and every country including Australia must do more in order to safeguard the lives of people fleeing war and persecution. Protecting humans is a shared responsibility. Fileti is an award winning filmmaker and photographer. His ambition to create purposeful and emotionally-charged content is rooted in his belief that images speak to the soul of a viewer. His work is shaped by a passion for beauty, thought provoking imagery and an intimate character. Please RSVP below and come along to support the film and cause. Who: Everyone is invited and drinks hosted by Exit Films When: 28th March at 5.45pm Where: Golden Age Cinema, 80 Commonwealth St, Surry Hills | BY Ricki Green | Intent on shaking up the Australian betting establishment, industry newcomer PointsBet has announced that Theres A New Player In Town in a launch campaign via Melbourne independent, Fenton Stephens, and 2017 LIA Global Production Company of the Year, AIRBAG. PointsBet is Australias only online bookmaker offering both traditional fixed odds betting (Sports & Racing) as well as a new betting format called spread betting, posing a genuine point of difference in a market sorely lacking one. The brand spot assertively makes the point that the same old world of betting is about to get smashed to pieces. Says Alex Fenton, creative director, Fenton Stephens: PointsBet is a new player in a highly overheated marketplace. We enjoy partnering with challenger brands to help them carve out a differentiated territory they can thrive in. Needing an impactful execution to support such a disruptive brand, Fenton Stephens teamed up with AIRBAGs Lukas Schrank to give the campaign the punch it deserved. The agency also employed Bang Bangs Tristan Dewey to produce an original track for the brand. The campaign will be supported by a series of retail TV spots and digital activity. Client Pointsbet Chief Operating Officer Andrew Fahey Agency Fenton Stephens Creative Director Alex Fenton Associate Creative Director Jess Wheeler Art Director Guillermo Carvajal Director of Planning Simon Antonis Head of Account Management Josh Collins Agency Producer Lisa Ramsey Production Company AIRBAG Director Lukas Schrank Producer Francesca Dorazio Sound: Bang Bang | BY Lynchy | Dentsu Singapore has been appointed as integrated creative and strategic partner for leading communications provider M1 Limited. The agency will be responsible for developing brand and product campaigns including digital communications across their Consumer and Corporate business units. Rosalynn Tay, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network Singapor (pictured), said, We are excited about winning an iconic local brand. M1 is a familiar face to all Singaporeans, with a notable story to tell. As the communications industry continues to evolve, we look forward to teaming up with M1 to create lasting and impactful stories that resonate with the nation. news, latest-news An Australian Defence Force Academy cadet has been acquitted of raping a Canberra university student. However, Sebastian Crago Ellis, 22, is still on trial on charges of committing an act of indecency and unlawful assault. An ACT Supreme Court jury on Friday handed down verdicts of not guilty to charges of committing an act of indecency without consent, two counts of attempted rape, and sexual intercourse without consent. Mr Ellis has this week been on trial before Justice John Burns for six alleged sexual offences. He pleaded not guilty. The court has heard that Mr Ellis and the student met in 2016 and the two struck up a friendship that became more than platonic. On June 25, 2016, Mr Ellis is alleged to have tried to grope her genitals after they kissed while dancing together at a Canberra nightclub. Mr Ellis was acquitted of that charge. In the weeks afterwards, they continued to talk on social media and one evening he brought food to her at home, where she gave Mr Ellis a massage. On July 24, the pair ran into each other again at Mooseheads, where they kissed, and about 3am, they caught a taxi to ADFA. The woman alleges she made it clear the two would not have sex. She said they kissed and started consensual sexual activity, and that she gave him oral sex. It was alleged Mr Ellis then raped and attempted to rape the woman. On Friday, the jury also found him not guilty to those charges. However, jurors have not returned a verdict on allegations relating to events after the alleged rape. It is alleged that the woman had rolled over to go to sleep, when Mr Ellis said: "I'm not done." It's alleged Mr Ellis sat on top of the woman and ejaculated onto her chest while she tried to wriggle out from underneath him. On Friday, the prosecution closed its case and the defence sought a Prasad direction, which requires the judge to inform the jury that they are entitled to find the defendant not guilty on the charges. After a brief adjournment, the jury returned to court in the afternoon and announced not guilty verdicts on three counts, including attempting to touch the woman's genitals in the nightclub and attempting to put his penis in her vagina and anus. Jurors requested to watch a 90 minute police interview before making any further decisions. The jury commenced viewing the footage on Friday afternoon and then returned to find Mr Ellis not guilty of a fourth count, a charge of sexual intercourse without consent. Justice Burns sent the jury home for the weekend. The trial on the two remaining charges will continue on Monday morning. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/7638d191-2220-42b9-ae5c-00b04deb34d4/r0_202_2000_1332_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news Canberrans interested in the development application process in the ACT have until June to get their submissions in to a new inquiry launched in the Legislative Assembly. The Assembly's Planing and Urban Renewal Committee on Thursday announced the inquiry, which will focus on the nature of the city's residents "engagement" with the development application process. Chaired by Greens MLA Caroline Le Couteur, the wide-raning inquiry will examine the community's involvement with the DA process, including how DAs are publicised and signage on relevant sites, the DA Finder app and online information. It will also investigate the increasing level of pre-DA consultation developers are undertaking with the community about their proposal and the availability of historical DA information, which are currently not publicly archived online. The inquiry will also look at the effectiveness of the territory's overall DA processes, including the three-prong "track system" which applications are divided into, processing times, the electronic lodgement system, appeal processes and heritage, tree protection and environmental assessments. The committee will also look interstate at similar processes other Australian planning systems use, with a report due by the last Assembly sitting day in November this year. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/8b303591-6390-46ce-b697-335f5848ba04/r0_553_2000_1683_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news While there is hot debate around whether cockroaches could survive a nuclear war, a sure bet is that they could not survive the toxin from a bootlace worm. Queensland and Swedish researchers discovered the toxin was also strong enough to kill a crab and believe it could be used to create a new and very potent insecticide. The marine bootlace worm, commonly found in the United Kingdom and in the North Sea on the west coast of Sweden, can stretch up to 55 metres long and is the world's longest animal. University of Queensland senior research fellow Dr Johan Rosengren said tests showed the toxin would not be as effective if it came into contact with humans. If the worm was handled, the mucus it excreted - which contains the toxin - would usually only be strong enough to create a tingling sensation in the human hand, according to Dr Rosengren. However, the UQ researcher said if enough toxin was excreted and large amounts were absorbed into the body through the skin, it could potentially kill a human. "This family of worms was looked at as part of an examination of venomous creatures with fantastic venom molecules which are very receptive to different parts of the body," Dr Rosengren said. "For example, if you want to design pharmaceuticals, you would be looking for toxin molecules to knock out specific receptors in the body, such as the nerves which tell the brain when the body is in pain. "By blocking the receptors that transport the pain signal, then you can relieve the pain." The bootlace worm's toxin possesses similarities to that of a cone snail, which has already been used to design painkillers, according to Dr Rosengren. He said that because the bootlace worm's toxin had proven to be less effective against humans and other vertebrates, then it would not be used to develop painkillers. However, Dr Rosengren said the toxin's remarkable results when injected into invertebrates, specifically insects and crustaceans, meant it could be used in the development of insecticides. "We are in the early days of the research ... we are trying to work out what subtle changes happen in the molecule sequence and how it knocks out some receptors in the body and not others," he said. "We will also be looking at what other organisms the worm toxin might be able to target and how to potentially mass produce it." /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/b8b6142d-6e30-4e7d-b9ec-a647b24850d4/r0_288_5619_3463_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news The Bundaberg community is reeling after the death of a paramedic, who fell 100 metres down a waterfall in New Zealand on Sunday. Online tributes have flowed after several reports identified Verena Jantje Kuhl, better known as Jantje, as the woman who died while abseiling at Twin Creek Falls in Arthur's Pass National Park on the South Island. The tourist, with German heritage, plunged 100 metres from a waterfall while abseiling with her husband, who were both experienced climbers, according to Stuff.co.nz. Ms Kuhl has been identified as the deceased by several media outlets and online tributes have been posted on her Facebook account, but police were yet to name her as the victim. Best Sport Medics, a Bundaberg medical training business, posted a tribute online. "Our deepest condolences go out to Bundaberg paramedic Verena Jantje Kuhls partner, Florian, family and her extended paramedic family after the talented Jantje was tragically killed in a climbing accident in NZ," the company posted. "She had the most gorgeous smile and beautiful nature. She cared for her patients with respect and compassion. I will really miss seeing your smile," Roxanne Fogarty said. "Will miss seeing your smiling face, beautiful lady. Such a loving, caring soul and amazing paramedic, taken way too soon," Amanda Evans commented. "Very, very sad news!! Cant believe it Jantje! Will always keep you in mind," Matthias Jahn wrote. "Stunned and sad, I'm thinking of your husband and your family. Adieu, Jantje," Heiko Hagenkamp posted. West Coast NZCC Rescue Helicopter base manager Angus Taylor said the chopper responded to Ms Kuhl's personal beacon activation at Dobson Nature Walk, near the waterfall car park, just before 4pm. "We found a gentleman at the bottom of the waterfall and paramedics found his climbing companion deceased at the scene," he said. Mr Taylor said the rescue helicopter had been sent on rescue missions to Twin Creek Falls previously, but did not believe it was known as a dangerous spot. The 150-metre waterfall is one of five located in the heart of Arthur's Pass National Park. Ms Kuhl's death has been referred to the coroner. - with Dasha Kuprienko, Stuff.co.nz /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/e0520438-098c-447b-a9b6-38c1b5562bcf/r0_252_959_794_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg In the wee hours of April 1, the city of Cape Coral will officially begin an extended bar hours program for the second time with the hopes of not only making the South Cape a destination but to do so in a way that is safe for everyone. The city Council on Monday voted 7-1 to bring back extended bar hours for Friday and Saturday nights, as well as certain holidays, this time to 3 a.m. as opposed to the 4 a.m. closing time used last go-around. That trial period went from April 2015 to April 2016, and ended when the then-sitting Council deadlocked on continuing due to reported increased crime numbers, even though the program proved financially beneficial to business in the South Cape where two venues took part. Those venues, Backstreets and Dixie Roadhouse, reported significant revenue increase as did other businesses in the district. For the program to work this time, it likely needs to heed the advice of other cities that have done extended hours in the past, such as St. Petersburg and South Beach in Miami. Jim Peters, president of the Responsible Hospitality Institute, a not-for-profit that aids communities with nightlife expansion, said extended bar hours are a growing trend. In California, a bill is being considered that would allow large cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco to have 4 a.m. closings. The closing time has a lot to do with how you manage things with the public agencies and the kind of relationship theyve had with the neighbors, Peters said. How efficiently can they get out of these areas at closing time? Are they lingering or having parking lot parties? When Cape Coral did its trial period for 4 a.m. bar hours in 2015-16, the Cape Coral Police and bar owners had a working relationship, meeting monthly to find ways to make the late hours safer and less eventful. Bart Connelly, police chief at the time said then there was a tremendous partnership between the police and bar owners and that partnership produced results. We have reduced the number of incidents that have occurred with the extended hours such as DUI, mischief, intoxication. Officers have talked to people about getting rides home and advising them on what they should do. Connelly said in October 2015, six months into the program. Upon completion of the trial period, though, the CCPD reported that calls for service, crime numbers and DUI arrests had all increased. Peters said bars need to decide for themselves whether to take on the burden of staying open late and deal with the increased chance for trouble. But they wont have to pay for police, as they had to pay for off-duty officers the first time the hours extension was tried. This time, there will be four on-duty officers and a supervisor in the area at a cost of more than $150,000 in overtime. The money will come mostly from the citys General Fund, with South Caper Community Redevelopment Agency paying a third. In other areas, that is considered appropriate, Peters said. You dont have banks pay for police in the day to protect their business. Its what people pay taxes for, Peters said. Cities have dedicated police teams at night trained to deal with nightlife issues. Cape Coral would like to see economic development increase with the extended hours, as it did the last time it was tried. This time, they want to program made permanent so people looking to invest in the South Cape have a level of certainty. Peters said the world in changing, and that people arent punching in and out at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. London has the option for 24/7 bar hours. The reason is simple. People dont want to be alone. Flexible hours are a good thing, and those who work the odd hours need the same opportunity to unwind and socialize as the 9-to5ers. The night time economy represents an important economic engine. Everyone needs a chance to meet and socialize. In New Orleans, the people who are out at 4 a.m. are the restaurant and bar workers. Its the swing shifters who are likely to be going to these places, Peters said. You need to recognize the other 9 to 5.' This creates jobs and adds a different layer to the daytime economy. People will go out and get their hair done or buy clothes in the day to socialize at night, proponents of extended hours say. Even big companies have made nightlife an important component in deciding whether or not to move into an area, Peters said. Amazon is an example. Dana Brunett, the citys economic development director, said there will be a positive impact on the South Cape economy, as it did the last time. The question is how much so with an hour less than the 2015-16 trial. The numbers showed that in the prior test. How far reaching it will be I dont know. Before it was a test. If its permanent, there might be more long-lasting effect. More money may be put into businesses, Brunett said. During the last test year, 69 new businesses came in. During Mondays Cape Coral City Council meeting, consultant Joe Mazurkiewicz gave a presentation that showed the residual effect of extended hours. Even if venues didnt close at 4 a.m., revenues increased. In fact, the impact was felt by businesses as early as 9 p.m. in some instances. Restaurants, for example, could have an extra seating. People werent coming out for the last two hours, they were coming out for the time before that. How late they stay out is up to them, Brunett said. Ultimately, it is customers who will determine what impact the new hours will have, according to some. JoAnn Elardo, owner of Big Blue Brewing, said they set their hours based on what customers want. I love the opportunity that we have. I think its very difficult to see when the government tells you what hours you should be open, Elardo said. We dont know how its going to affect us. If there is business we will be open like any business owner would be. Elardo said the ordinance will have a good impact on the area, but the customer will decide whether it will succeed. Anytime youre a little different, that helps your business. We have a lot of tourists who come in the winter, so its nice to be able to be on par with some of the other places, Elardo said. For some South Cape businesses, such as Dek, the extended hours first go-around didnt have a quantifiable impact, since they tend to be very busy anyway. Betty Davis, owner of Dek, said she is indifferent to the extended bar hours program, since she didnt participate in them two years ago and likely wont participate now. I dont care about it at all. It really didnt affect us in any way. Its pretty much wall to wall here on Friday and Saturday nights. I wouldnt notice any increase, Davis said. Davis said it worked out well the first time because only two places were open and were in close proximity, and it gave her staff a place to unwind after a hard night. It kept the police concentrated in one area so everyone felt secure down there, Davis said. And our staff had somewhere to go after work. Its nice to have it in a central location. If everybody did it, there would be no one to get off work and go. Editors note: This story has been updated to include additional quotes and sources. Firefighters will take to five intersections beginning today in Cape Coral to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Southwest Florida. Fundraising Coordinator Cindy Nichols said the Fill the Boot event began in 1954 by the International Association of Fire Fighters after they decided to partner with the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) to raise money until a cure was found. She said firefighters are the No. 1 supporter both nationally and locally for MDA. The Local 2424 Cape Coral Professional Fire Fighters have been involved for quite some time. Every station participates, Nichols said of all 10 fire stations that stand at five intersections throughout the Cape. The intersections include Del Prado Boulevard and Cape Coral Parkway; Veterans Parkway and Santa Barbara Boulevard; Chiquita Boulevard and Cape Coral Parkway; Pine Island Road and Burnt Store Road and Del Prado Boulevard and Diplomat Parkway. Any amount in the boot helps. It makes a huge difference. It is helping our community, Nichols said. The firefighters are splitting their shifts at the intersections from 9 a.m. to noon and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Every firefighter will be doing Fill the Boot by the end of the weekend, Nichols said. The goal this year is to raise $30,000 from Friday, March 23, Saturday, March 24 and Sunday, March 25. Last year we had a rain day, so a little lower than usual, she said of the $25,961 2017 Fill the Boot total. I have high hopes. The money raised goes towards a MDA Care Center at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, MDA Summer Camp and research. Nichols said the MDA Care Center provides services for all of Southwest Florida. In our area we have over 600 families, she said who are registered with them. People dont know how common it is. Or that ALS is part of muscular dystrophy. The Care Center has a neurologist who specializes in muscular dystrophy, as well as a team of doctors who specialize in nutrition, occupational and physical therapy. We provide a place to see everyone in one visit, Nichols said. The MDA Camp, she explained, provides the most amazing week for youths between the ages of 8 to 18 years old. Its a great week, she said because the kids can do anything due to the camp being wheelchair adaptive. Camper can do such activities as swing, zip line, go through rope courses and swim. They can feel like they can live life in an unlimited way. They can go and not feel different. Its a place where they can fit in, she said of the camp. In addition, it gives the parents a much needed break. Nichols said a lot of the children are on breathing treatments and feedings at night, and some children have to be turned every couple of hours. The money raised is making a huge impact. Nichols said six new treatments have been found in the last two years for muscular dystrophy. There has been more going on in the last two years . . . amazing the progress that MDA is making, Nichols said. In 1955 IAFF raised $100,000 for MDA. In 2017 $24 million was raised by more than 100,000 fire fighters participating in Fill the Boots events across the country. For more information, contact Nichols at (239) 437-6900, or email her at cynichols@mdausa.org. A three-day family-oriented event is being held at Cape Harbour starting today, complete with boats, cars and live music. Tim Hoffman, one of the owners of Fathoms Restaurant & Bar, said they started the annual Water & Wheels event more than 10 years ago because Cape Coral has 400 miles of canals and is a huge boating area, as well as an area that has many exotic cars. Its a good match to combine those two, Hoffman said. Its been very successful. Cape Harbour is a very open community. (People can) come down wander around and explore. Its all spread out about the Cape Harbour community and it provides a nice atmosphere. Its a nice attraction for the entire city of Cape Coral. Water & Wheels will be held Friday, March 23, through Sunday, March 25, at Cape Harbour. Its a very safe environment for kids to walk around, a great family event. The parents can sit down and the kids can run around and play in the circle while (parents) are having a drink. There is a lot of open spaces in Cape Harbour and that makes it a nice setting, Hoffman said. He invites people to come on down today and watch as the boats are coming in, while listening to live music by 3 CrookedSteps. He said its a great opportunity to do some window shopping before the boat show kicks off on Saturday. The opening day will be held from noon to 6 p.m. with the live music taking place from 6 to 10 p.m. Its a great opportunity for families to shop around, get a bite to eat, have some ice cream from The French Press, Hoffman said. The boat show, kicking off at 9 a.m. Saturday, will feature in-water, up to 50 foot yachts, as well as many land-based trailer boats, fishing kayaks and paddleboats. Boat safety inspections will be given by the Coast Guard. Saturday will end with live music from Iconic from 6 to 10 p.m. Sunday will be mostly about cars, although the boat show will be held from 9 a.m. to noon. Sunday, the cars will be here as early as sunup, Hoffman said, adding that the show will open to the public from 9 a.m. to 3 or 4 p.m. Those interested in registering their car for the show need to be there by 7 a.m. Sunday. There is no fee for registration. We will find a category for any car that shows up as long as it runs, Hoffman said. The famous Michigander Top Fuel Nitro Dragster will fire twice during the car show. Its fantastic to hear and see that. Its loud. Its so loud, but fun, he said. Live music will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. by Chris Workman. DJ Music Toms Traveling Tunes will also be part of Sundays festivities. Trophies will be presented for a plethora of categories including customs; Corvettes 1953-1999; Corvettes 2000-2018; stock restored 1900-1948; stock restored 1949-present; foreign cars; muscle cars; special interests street rods-open tops; street rods-coupes; street rods-sedans; Mustangs; motorcycles; race cars; sponsors home built 80 percent by owners and trucks. Sundays event is great, Hoffman said because people can roam freely while walking the docks and looking at the cars. There is ample parking for participants and spectators, Hoffman said. They will open and convert one of the large parts of the land for parking. Shuttle services will be provided to the attendees. The garages are available for a fee, he said. Water & Wheels is sponsored by Safe Harbor, Fathoms and The French Press. Hoffman said he enjoys the event because he loves boats and enjoys cars. The ability to have two things that I enjoy in one central spot . . . its just a fun time, he said. Its a nice gathering of people wandering around in this community and it feels really exciting when it happens. For more information, call (239) 542-0707. Student safety is the School District of Lee Countys No. 1 goal, Superintendent Dr. Greg Adkins told those attending a joint media conference held in conjunction with the Lee County Sheriffs Office Wednesday morning. Its a heartbreaking commentary on our times, indeed, when keeping our children safe must take priority over educating them, but that is our new reality, one which both the school district and the Sheriffs Office take seriously. We thank them for this. For a variety of reasons reaching deep into our social fabric, there are no easy or simple answers in the wake of school shootings such as the one in Parkland where 17 were killed and 14 wounded. But The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act is a start as is the local effort to put a first implementation component into effect immediately here in Lee County. When students return to school Monday from spring break, there will be additional school resource officers on campus. The Sheriffs Office Youth Services Division will grow to 100 members by immediately reassigning supervisors, lieutenants, sergeants and patrol deputies, Lee County Undersheriff Carmine Marceno said, adding, Our goal is to have a deputy assigned to each and every school as quickly as possible in the all hands on deck effort. In addition, the Sheriffs Office will increase its presence at Lee County Schools by directing: patrol deputies to use school facilities to complete reports; detectives to use school facilities as a base of operations whenever possible and patrol deputies to increase their already frequent area checks of schools during every shift. I want that omnipresence, Undersheriff Marceno said. I want people to see our deputies everywhere possible, as much as possible, and as often as possible. We understand this is no panacea. We and public safety personnel and educators unlike understand that much more needs to be done. But as recent events have tragically taught us, the days of soft duty in the schools where being Officer Friendly was pretty much the job description are long past. Todays SROs face a responsibility as heavy as that carried by those on patrol for, unfortunately, on patrol they must be. Law enforcement is, and has been, the tip of the spear when it comes to public safety. Reassigning 100 personnel from the top down while adding another 40 officers to schools to make our campuses safer is an appropriate start. We thank those responsible for their speed. We thank them for being proactive. And we thank those who protect and serve. Breeze editorial To the editor: We have been fighting the War on Terror for some 17 years. President Bush declared that in 2001. Fact is, Ronald Reagan use the same excuse when he was looting and massacring the people of Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua etc.). Of course we were building democracies. We fought a (wrong)war in a Iraq and have been fighting in Afghanistan now for 17 years. By the way, there are some signs that we might finally want to talk with Taliban (Citizens of Afghanistan). Daily we lose 100 Americans a day to gun violence. We have finally declared opioid addiction as an epidemic (We lose hundreds of lives daily to that). Things like the absence of health care, poverty and other preventable accidents (deaths) are also very costly(many lives are lost). We do not know how many military personnel are being lost daily fighting wars around the world (we dont get that information). Of course, our president had some choice words for small defenseless countries in Africa. A frequently asked question is should people on the FBIs terror watch list be allowed to purchase guns. The obvious answer is no. But we are not being shot up by foreign terrorists (home grown terrorists, yes). Another frequently asked question is should everything be done to pass gun safety laws. Yes, is the obvious answer. But thats not being done. Do we have too many guns? Yes is the obvious answer. We need to get rid of guns. It seems to me that we are fighting wars but not the wars that are killing us. Some of the wars we are fighting are creating wars. So we need to get busy electing a government thats going to do what is right for America and the world. Get involved, organize, and increase participation there is no excuse. Lewis Robinson Fort Myers One Cape Coral woman was the fan favorite choice at a popular competition last weekend, which, she said, boosted her confidence. I was lucky enough out of 12 beautiful girls . . . I got fan favorite, Mariah Materiale said of the Hooters swimsuit contest. A lot of my family was supporting me and my friends. She received a nice sash and flowers, as well as $100 for being voted Hooters Fan Favorite. The Friday, March 16, local swimsuit contest took place at the Hooters in Fort Myers. The contest featured a St. Patricks Day themed costume contest, as well as a green or white swimsuit contest. This is my fourth year now competing every year in the contest, Materiale said. It gives you a little bit of confidence that you dont think you have. You get up there and feel good. Its fun. I have made such good friends from it. We have become sisters for all the hard word we do to prepare for it. There are five contests total in a year, with two on the east coast of Florida, which she has attended. She participates in the contests to get noticed and hopefully be sent to the Hooters annual International Swimsuit Pageant, which is held in Las Vegas. The Hooters girl contestants are competing for the 2018 Miss Hooters International Title, and a $30,000 cash prize and an opportunity to serve as the face of the Hooters brand. The winner will be a brand ambassador and spokesperson enabling her to travel to assist in international openings, as well as make appearances on national advertisements and make contributions to marketing initiatives. That is everyones ultimate goal. I was lucky enough last year to be picked, Materiale said of being one of four girls chosen from the whole franchise to attend the International Swimsuit Pageant. It was the best experience I have every had. They pay for everything. The week-long trip provided lots of rehearsals of how to walk on stage. Eighty girls from all around the world attended the international pageant. It made me more outgoing and be able to talk to people more, she said. The contest brings out my confidence. Her roommate while in Las Vegas was from a Hooters in Japan. Materiale said it was great learning about her culture. I havent traveled much. Im kind of in my own bubble in Cape Coral, she said. She spends about a month preparing for the contests by practicing poses, working out and doing spray tanning. Every year the competition gets harder, Materiale said. The contest includes a costume round, which always features a different theme, as well as a swimsuit contest. Its so cool to see the creativity, she said of the costume round. Its pretty intense. Her costume for the St. Patricks Day theme included glitter letters spelling out Hooters that she wore on the back of her belt, as well as green rhinestones heals. Fans can join Materiale this weekend for another round of competitions at the Hooters of Naples, 3625 Gateway Lane, at 7 p.m. Friday, March 23, and at Hooters of Sarasota at 6 p.m., Saturday, March 24, 6507 S. Tamiami Trail. The theme is Nerd in honor of Dweebs. I have already got my costume, she said Monday evening. Tomorrow Im going to do the finishing touches and bling it all out and make it sparkly and give it a pop. She began working at the Cape Coral Hooters five years ago when she was 18 years old. Materiale said her best friend got a job there first, which resulted in her sharing all the great opportunities there are for modeling and marketing. The job has proven to be a great place to earn money while furthering her schooling. She is studying to be a vet tech. I love animals. I actually had an experience, she said of her 4-year-old Pomeranian dog that was diagnosed with two failing kidneys. The outcome made me learn how to deal with stuff like that. It was a rough experience of trying to take care of her. It made me a stronger person. I want to help animals and give them the best life, even if its not the best outcome. Fernandez named communication strategist at Pushing the Envelope Fort Myers-based marketing-communication firm Pushing the Envelope, Inc. (PTE) has promoted Vanessa Fernandez to communication strategist. In her new role, Fernandez serves as a primary liaison and strategy lead for a variety of clients. Building on her more than three years with PTE, Fernandez will now directly oversee services for a range of clients, including, but not limited to: public relations and publicity, social media marketing, email marketing, online reputation management, advertising, and a host of creative offerings such as graphic design and video production. She will also continue to serve as the coordinator for PTEs internship program. Fernandez, a native of West Palm Beach, moved to Fort Myers in 2011 to attend Florida Gulf Coast University. In 2015 she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication with a concentration in public relations and a minor in digital media design, as well as a second Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy with a minor in critical theory. Existing to help businesses prosper through strategic and creative communication, Pushing the Envelope is a privately held, award-winning marketing communication company based in Fort Myers, Florida. They work with companies in a variety of industries from motorsports and attractions to medical and technology, both regionally and nationally. For more information, please call (239) 221-2858 or visit GetPushing.com. Jersey Mikes Subs to participate in Day of Giving Jersey Mikes Subs, known for its authentic fresh sliced/fresh grilled subs, is asking customers to eat a sub and help a local charity this March. This year, the national sub shop chain will continue to support Calebs Crusade Against Childhood Cancer for the companys 8th Annual March Month of Giving fundraising campaign. During the month of March, patrons can visit their local Jersey Mikes restaurant and either purchase a $5 sub voucher or make a donation to that locations designated charity partner. All SWFL locations will be supporting Calebs Crusade, which assists families who have a child with cancer. The charitable campaign will culminate in the nationwide event, Day of Giving, on Wednesday, March 28, when Jersey Mikes will donate 100 percent of the days sales, not profits, to fund local childhood cancer families. Participating restaurant locations include: * 1804 Tamiami Trail, Suite E-6 Port Charlotte, FL 33948 (941) 979-5176 * 12377 S Cleveland Ave., Suite 18, Fort Myers, FL 33907 (239) 274-8877 * 6810 Shoppes at Plantation Drive, Suite 4, Fort Myers, FL 33912 (239) 931-7827 * 4600 Summerlin Road, Suite C3, Fort Myers, FL 33919 (239) 288-7944 * 8951 Bonita Beach Road, Suite 250, Bonita Springs, FL 34135 (239) 495-3588 Started in 1956, Jersey Mikes now has 1,500 restaurants open and under development nationwide. The Gulf Coast Harmonizers, a chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society, will present its annual performance, Main Street USA, Saturday, March 24, at 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday, March 25, at 2 p.m., at Cypress Lake Presbyterian Church, 8260 Cypress Lake Drive, Fort Myers. The Harmonizers will sing many favorite show tunes along with patriotic songs and gospel tunes. The highlight of the show will be a performance by Main Street, a barbershop quartet that has won several awards, including the title in the 2017 Barbershop Society International Quartet Champion-ship. Also performing will be the Sweet Adeline quartet Here N Now. Tickets for the performances are $20 with reserved seats $25. Both are available on the Harmonizers website at www.gulfcoastharmonizers.org, or by calling 855-425-3631, Thirty percent of the proceeds will be donated to Cypress Lake Presbyterian to help with Hurricane Irma damages. Catholics Returning Home program at St. Katharine Drexel No matter how long you have been away and no matter what the reason, Catholics Returning Home invites you to consider renewing your relationship with the Catholic Church. Please join in for informal listening sessions and an update of the Catholic faith. The sessions will be held starting Monday, April 2, at 7 p.m., and run through May 7. The group will meet in the St. Katharine Drexel Faith Formation Building, 1922 S.W. 20th Ave., Cape Coral. For additional information, please call Jane DiPaola at 239-573-8766 or Andy Halek at 239-471-7315. Holy Trinity Presbyterian Church to present Easter Cantata; services set Holy Trinity Presbyterian Church in North Fort Myers will present an Easter Cantata, Covenant of Grace by Joseph M. Martin, with an orchestra and chancel choir directed by Paul Brewer, on Palm Sunday, March 25, at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. The church will also hold a Maundy Thursday service March 29 at 6:30 p.m, and Easter services April 1 at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Holy Trinity Presbyterian Church is at 19251 N. Tamiami Trail. The Rev. R.C. Smith is interim minister. For additional information, call 239-567-2246. Beach United Methodist Church announces Easter services, Paul Todd concert Paul Todd & PJ will perform in concert today, March 23, at 7 p.m., Beach United Methodist Church. A generous donation is requested in lieu of tickets. On March 29, the Maundy Thursday service starts at 7 p.m. and the Easter sunrise service is April 1 at 6:30 a.m. at the pier. Easter worship service at 10:30 a.m. The church office hours are Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Church phone # . Call the office at 239-463-9656 or check the church website at beachunitedmethodist.org for additional information. Beach United Methodist Church is at 155 Bay Road, Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931. Photo: File photo Bill Balcaen will be replaced by Jennifer Pace as Vernon legion president. Jennifer Pace is the new president of the Vernon Legion. Current president Bill Balcaen said Pace will take over duties for Branch 25 on May 1. Balcaen has served as the president of the local legion for more than 18 months and has been on the executive for six years, but felt it was time to step down. The entire executive announced they would be stepping down at the end of April. There was some concerns the local legion may have to close its doors if a new executive could not be found, but enough members stepped up to take over the duties. She has good qualifications, Balcaen said of his replacement. She hasn't been super active at this branch, but she has been connected to the legion through the years. Balcaen said his greatest achievement with the Vernon legion was returning the branch to fiscal fitness. But Balcaen said he did not do it alone and he credits service officer John Miller with helping to achieve the goal. Miller also served as vice president and Balcaen said the two of them have been working together for six years and the biggest thing they did was move the legion into its new location, located in the basement of the Eagles Hall. The move allowed the legion to return to fiscal prosperity. We were in terrible shape financially there; we were broke, he said. There was only three months money left in the bank. Since the move, Balcaen said the legion is in good shape. And with this new executive, it looks really positive. Balcaen said lots of people within the local legion helped to turn things around. Photo: Twitter A judge has sentenced a busker to 18 months in jail for attacking a man he thought had swiped some of his change. The assault left Donny Crier, 41, a quadriplegic. Court heard Allen Dakota Cardinal was playing his guitar inside a light rail transit station in downtown Edmonton last April. Crier was dancing nearby with a friend who had dropped some money onto a blanket that Cardinal was using to collect donations. Court was told Crier picked up some of the money and gave it to his friend, who then returned it to the blanket. Soon after, Cardinal started fighting with Crier and, when Crier turned to walk away, Cardinal punched him in the back of the head, sending him onto the train tracks. A police officer and passerby helped pull an unconscious Crier onto the platform and out of the way of an oncoming train. Crier woke up in hospital to discover he had an irreversible spinal injury. Cardinal, 32, pleaded guilty in November to aggravated assault. Provincial court Judge Greg Lepp said during his sentencing decision Thursday that Cardinal didn't intend to put Crier in a wheelchair, but violence should never be a solution when someone feels they've been wronged. "It can and in this case did have life-altering consequences," said Lepp. "Mr. Crier ... needs constant care and will for the rest of his life." The judge said Cardinal deserved a three-year sentence, but he took into account the time Cardinal had already spent in custody. Crier, sitting in his wheelchair outside court, disputed that he had tried to take money from Cardinal. He said he wasn't happy with the sentence. The Crown had asked that Cardinal, who has two prior assault convictions, serve six to eight years behind bars. "He gets out. He's walking," said Crier. "I'm still in a wheelchair." Photo: DNR Washington state is phasing out marine farming of Atlantic salmon and other non-native fish by 2022. Net pens growing Atlantic salmon in state waters have operated for decades but the practice came under heavy criticism after tens of thousands of non-native fish escaped into waterways last summer. Under legislation signed by Governor Jay Inslee on Thursday, leases and permits for operations that grow non-native finfish in state waters would end when current leases expire. The legislation targets Canada's Cooke Aquaculture Pacific, the largest producer of farmed Atlantic salmon in the U.S., whose net pens in northwest Washington collapsed in August. Photo: @CanningsNDP A petition against the long-contentious proposed South Okanagan National Park Reserve has been brought before parliament by South Okanagan-West Kootenay MP Richard Cannings. Cannings presented an official House of Commons e-petition, e-1360, on Wednesday to the house. The petition was first created in November 2017 by Oliver resident Tony Iannella. "Last October, the provincial and federal governments and First Nations announced they were resuming plans to create a national park in the South Okanagan, and a lot of people celebrated who had been working on this for years, and a lot of people had concerns," Cannings said. "I met with a couple of those groups that had concerns and one of them wanted to organize a petition, so I told them how to get an e-petition going." This is the first of two e-petitions in relation to the national park, the second holding the opposite view and urging the government to go through with the project. "I offered to sponsor both those petitions and so that's what I presented [Wednesday], was the first of those," Cannings said. Cannings himself is pro-park, and has been for many years. "I continue to hold that belief, the scientific polls that have been done on this in the South Okanagan-Similkameen show very strong public support for the idea, something like 65-75 per cent public support," Cannings said. "I think as long as the people who make their living off those lands, especially the ranchers, if those concerns can be met, it's something we should move ahead with." Cannings said the overall message he got from speaking to those opposed to the project was that they didn't just want him to bring the petition to Ottawa, they wanted Parks Canada to sit down and listen to their concerns respectfully. "Hopefully, we will move forward on that basis," Cannings said. Photo: City of Penticton A year after taking possession of the failed Penmar Theatre Societys assets, the City of Penticton has recovered just $400 of the $63,000 loaned to the group. The city recently managed to sell its first 15-seat batch of the 310 theatre seats it seized from the society when it collapsed. Chief Financial Officer Jim Bauer said they sold at a little over $26 per seat. They cost the city, through the Penmar society, $96 each. Back in 2013, the city loaned the Penmar Community Arts Society $125,000 to purchase equipment, mainly theatre seats and projectors, that would become city property if the society failed to repay. A little under $63,000 was spent; $29,000 on seats, $21,000 on projectors and $11,000 on electrical upgrades. The society fell short of fundraising goals and lost its planned home when Encore Vineyards bought the space at 361 Martin Street for the soon-to-open TIME Winery. Despite marketing the seats on BC Auction, Bauer said they have had limited success liquidating the assets. The city has, however, managed to put one of the projectors to use at the Cleland Theatre. Bauer could not say if it replaced an existing projector. Our purchasing department is going to be reaching out to some of the parties that have been interested in the past, he said. "But it's a unique set of items." Bauer said the recent sale of 15 theatre seats is the largest offer they have received so far, and the city wants to avoid selling them off one at a time and would prefer they all went at once. We are trying to get a fair price so we can get some recovery (of the loan) so thats why we are not wanting to just give them away, he said, adding they are asking $30 per seat, or less if they are bought in batches. Photo: The Canadian Press More than 150 whales have become stranded in Hamelin Bay in western Australia, and only 15 of them were still alive on Friday, authorities said. The mammals are believed to be short-finned pilot whales. The stranded animals were first spotted by a commercial fisherman early on Friday morning. As of Friday afternoon, only 15 whales were alive. A rescue operation was underway to try and herd them back to sea. Authorities say palliative care will be administered where necessary. "I think it's absolutely incredible, I've never seen anything like it, seen so many whales beached like this," said Barrie Brickle, a tourist visiting the area. A shark alert has been issued by the Fisheries Department as the stranded whales may attract the ocean predators. "Unfortunately, most of the whales beached themselves on dry land overnight and have not survived," rescue team leader Jeremy Chick said. "Rescue operations will be hampered by deteriorating weather conditions and we need to ensure the safety of everyone involved before we move the whales." The carcasses were being removed from the beach, with Parks and Wildlife Service officers taking DNA samples in an attempt to collect clues about why whales strand. In 2009, more than 80 whales and dolphins died on a beach in Hamelin Bay. The biggest mass stranding of whales in Western Australia happened in 1996 in Dunsborough. That year, 320 long-finned pilot whales beached themselves. Photo: The Canadian Press The new official range of china to celebrate the future marriage of Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is displayed in The Queen's Gallery shop at Buckingham Palace, London, Wednesday March 21, 2018. (Rick Findler/PA via AP) Fans of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle can start building their collections of royal wedding memorabilia now. The approved commemorative china marking the couple's May 19 wedding went on sale Friday. The collection uses cornflower blue with white detailing and a gold monogram of the bride and groom's initials. The design also references the couple's wedding venue at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. The decorative border is based on the ironwork of the 13th century chapel door. Harry and Markle are making a trip to Northern Ireland as part of their pre-wedding tour of the United Kingdom. The china is finished in 22 carat gold. It was made by hand in Stoke-on-Trent, 160 miles (260 kilometres) northwest of London, using traditional methods. Profits go to the Royal Collection Trust charity. ___ Complete AP coverage of the royal wedding: https://apnews.com/tag/Royalweddings Photo: The Canadian Press They can't buy a beer or rent a car and most aren't even old enough to vote, yet the students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have spearheaded what could become one of the largest marches in history with nearly 1 million people expected in Washington and more than 800 sister marches from California to Japan. In the wake of a Valentine's Day shooting that killed 17, the teens have pulled all-nighters, scheduling speakers, petitioning city councils, renting stages and walking march routes with police in a grass-roots movement that has raised more than $4 million. Students will walk down Pennsylvania Avenue during the March for Our Lives on Saturday alongside pop stars Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato. They have requested 14 Jumbotrons, 2,000 chairs and 2,000 public restrooms. "People don't think about all these little things, but they add up," said Marjory Stoneman Douglas senior Ryan Deitsch, who is 18. Several student organizers have become mainstays on national TV, promoting the marches, and they landed on the cover of Time magazine. In the first two weeks after the shooting, Deitsch worked 22-hour days, often sleeping in his clothes. "I'd basically keep going until I shut down, like I'd just collapse, sometimes I'd be on the floor," Deitsch said. Seasoned activists have marveled at what the students accomplished so far, including a sweeping gun bill in Florida and school walkouts attended by over a million students last week, according to organizers Women's March. Oprah Winfrey and George and Amal Clooney have each donated $500,000. The cast of "Modern Family" did a public service announcement, and Broadway stars Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ben Platt recorded a song for the march. The Women's March, Everytown for Gun Safety and the gun violence prevention group founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords provided heavy support for the march, opening the youths up to criticism that they are just pawns of left-wing organizations that have been fighting guns for years. The students said, however, they are calling the shots, and have refused money and turned down support that doesn't align with their vision. "They like to believe we're puppets, they like to believe that we're being controlled by someone else because ... they don't want to believe that human beings have this power because if they have this power then they might not need a gun," Deitsch said. In Arizona, well over 20,000 people on social media promised to attend the student-led march, said leader Jordan Harb, a 17-year-old junior at Mountain View High School in Mesa. He co-ordinated vendors and met with police to talk about barricades and security as they expect counter-protesters to bring assault weapons. They've raised roughly $34,000 through T-Shirt sales and donations. The group Arizonans For Gun Safety is handling the money since the teens are underage. "All of my waking hours are pretty much spent on the march right now," Harb said. "I'm in class and all I do in class in march stuff. I was in Spanish yesterday depositing $10,000 in our bank account." Colton Davies UPDATE: 10:05 p.m. Water service was restored at 4 p.m. on Friday for the 250 homes in the Heritage Hills community. A boil water advisory is in effect until further notice for all homes in the area. UPDATE: 12:15 p.m. The RDOS has now made sandbags available for residents in areas that have been affected by flooding. Sandbags have been delivered to the Willowbrook Fire Hall and the Oliver Fire Hall for residents in Oliver and rural Oliver. In OK Falls, sandbags are at Keogan Park, across from 1512 Cedar Street. In Naramata, sandbags are available at the Naramata Fire Hall. The KVR Trail is also closed due to washout from water runoff south of Arawana Road, above Naramata, the RDOS said. "Please avoid using this trail until further notice, as the extent of damage or risk of further collapse is being assessed at this time," emergency services supervisor Paul Edmonds said in a news release. UPDATE 10:00 a.m. The Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen says a pair of Naramata residents were also forced from their home Thursday night due to flooding. Fire crews around the Valley were dispatched all night to deal with flood assessments, rock falls and landslides. RDOS Emergency Services Supervisor Brandy Maslowski says they have opened their emergency operation centre at level one. It means we have a base of staff in place for preventive measures. Between two and five staff engaged at any given time she said. The two Naramata residents that were evacuated have been provided with 72 hours of emergency social services support. ORIGINAL 7:45 a.m. About 250 homes in the Heritage Hills area of OK Falls are without water after a road washout severed a water main Thursday night. A culvert on Sunnybrook Drive east of Heritage Boulevard was unable to handle flash flooding during heavy rain, undermining and washing out the roadway. Argo Road Maintenance, FortisBC and BTN Contracting are on site to deal with the mess. Domestic water has been diverted so pipes can be fixed. 250 homes in the area on the Lakeshore Waterworks system should have water restored by this afternoon. A boil water notice is in place until then. Photo: The Canadian Press John Bolton Charging ahead with the dramatic remaking of his White House, President Donald Trump said he would replace national security adviser H.R. McMaster with the former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, a foreign policy hawk entering an administration facing key decisions on Iran and North Korea. After weeks of speculation about McMaster's future, Trump and the respected three-star general put a positive face on the Thursday departure, making no reference to the growing public friction between them. Trump tweeted that McMaster had done "an outstanding job & will always remain my friend." He said Bolton will take over April 9 as his third national security adviser in just over a year. The national security shakeup comes as the president is increasingly shedding advisers who once eased the Republican establishment's concerns about the foreign policy and political novice in the White House. McMaster is the sixth close adviser or aide to announce a departure in a turbulent six weeks, joining ally Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was unceremoniously fired last week. The White House has said the president is seeking to put new foreign policy leaders in place ahead of a not-yet-scheduled meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Bolton is likely to add a hard-line influence on those talks, as well as deliberations over whether to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal. The White House said McMaster's exit had been under discussion for some time and stressed it was not due to any one incident, including this week's stunning leak about Trump's recent phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. McMaster had briefed Trump before the Putin call and his team drafted all-caps instructions telling Trump not to congratulate the Russian leader on his re-election victory. Trump did it anyway. An internal investigation into the leak is underway, said a White House official who like others interviewed about the announcement and the White House shakeup demanded anonymity to discuss internal matters. In a statement released by the White House, McMaster said he would be requesting retirement from the U.S. Army effective this summer, adding that afterward he "will leave public service." McMaster had told confidants he would leave the post if at any point he lost credibility on the international stage, according to three White House officials. The feverish speculation about an impending exit sped up the decision for him to depart, the officials said, in part because McMaster believed foreign partners were beginning to doubt his influence. Chief of staff John Kelly and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis had been pushing Trump to get rid of McMaster and had been escalating their campaign in recent weeks. It had appeared McMaster's departure was imminent last week but White House officials insisted the speculation was false. "Just spoke to @POTUS and Gen. H.R. McMaster contrary to reports they have a good working relationship and there are no changes at the NSC," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted late last Thursday night. Photo: Gary Brown As Thursday's intense storm rolled through the Central Okanagan, some residents may have been surprised to see what almost looked like a tornado. It wasn't. Castanet reader Gary Brown sent in this photo of what he described as a funnel-type cloud hanging over the Bridge Hill area of West Kelowna. He snapped the photo about 4:45 p.m. from Highway 97, near downtown Kelowna. At first glance, the image does look ominous. But, Environment Canada meteorologist Lisa West says there was nothing to worry about. She said the cloud certainly has a lot of vertical development, and being close to the ground does have a tornado-like appearance. Checking radar images from Thursday, she said there was some intense convection over the Central Okanagan at the time. That was reflected in some heavy downpours and even some lightning strikes west of the city. West said the image appears to be of what she called a convective cloud. "In order to get a funnel going, you need a certain amount of wind shear and convective energy," she said. "You can get clouds like this with a more columnar appearance. It's fairly typical in conditions like that." West said surrounding terrain could also have played a part in creating the dramatic effect. 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. Beginning this Sunday, bear experts from all over the world will be meeting for the 5th International Human-Bear Conflicts Workshop at the Park Vista Hotel in Gatlinburg. Bear specialists from Asia, the Middle East and South America will join their colleagues from the U.S. and Canada to discuss strategies on dealing with human-bear conflicts.Beginning in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories in 1987, human-bear conflict specialists and community organizers have come together four times to share their experiences and successes. This year, the fifth workshop will take place for the first time ever in the eastern part of North America.TWRA Black Bear Program Coordinator Dan Gibbs and several colleagues from the southeastern U.S.attended the last HBC workshop in Montana in 2012. Mr. Gibbs said, Attending that workshop enabled us to see that other agencies are dealing with the same issues. We were able to learn from their successes and, in some cases, their failures. We came back refreshed, rolled our sleeves up, and got to work. Mr. Gibbs went on to say that the concept of a regional bear education program that is administered by state wildlife agencies was first discussed at that meeting in Montana. That particular program, now known as BearWise, has been implemented and is gaining traction at educating people on how to live responsibly with black bears.According to the 5th International Human-Bear Conflicts Workshop website, the workshops format is designed to encourage participants to interact with professional and community human-bear conflict specialists. Attendees leave with: A better understanding of the history, causes and current trends in human-bear conflicts; New and proven methods of reducing human-bear conflicts; Tools, techniques and tactics that work in the real world.The workshop concludes on Thursday, March 29. Lee University hosted the Tennessee History Day Southeast Region Contest with 144 middle and high school students, from 11 schools, presenting 81 entries for the contest. Students came from Bradley, Hamilton, Marion, Meigs, Monroe, and Sequatchie counties. This event is a part of the nationwide National History Day competition and is hosted in Tennessee by the Tennessee Historical Society, which became the state affiliate of National History Day in 2008. National History Day is a year-long education program for students in grades 6-12. This program aims to improve the learning of history in public, private, and home schools. Students present primary source research in one of five categories: documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website. The competitions theme this year is Conflict and Compromise in History. Winners of the Southeast Region Contest will continue on to compete at Tennessee History Day on April 7. Winners of the state contest move on to National History Day in June, held at the University of Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. After serving as the Southeast Tennessee Coordinator for five years, I am still blown away by the work of the students, said Joy Veenstra Key, adjunct professor of museum studies at Lee and the Southeast TN contest coordinator. Their projects are full of excellent research. It is inspiring to watch these students directly engage with the stories of the past, and will make them stronger members of our communities in the future. This years junior category first-place winners include: Jessie Henderson and Amanda Ledford, Lake Forest Middle School "The Battle of Athens: Conflict in the Friendly City Tamyra Dicandio, Rural Vale Elementary The Trail of Tears Lily Ledford and Sophia Ledford, Scriptorium Tutoring The Persian Wars: Two Conflicts, No Compromise William Owen, McCallie School All the News Thats Fit to Print: The Life of Adolph Ochs Lilly Dzinglski, Caitlynn Lewis, and Maddie Matherly, Whitwell Middle School Conflict and Compromise in Antebellum Tennessee Brooks Riley and Ethan Roldan, McCallie School The Coal Creek War: Labor Conflict and Compromise Senior category first-place winners for this year include: David Horne, McCallie School "Spiritual Split: Slavery and Compromise in the Presbyterian Church Maggie Parsley, Astha Sinha, and Anna Kate Stipanov, Girls Preparatory School Science and Journalism: The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 Duke Richey, McCallie School Quite a Nice Little Fish: The Snail Darter and the Environmental Compromise of the Century John Knox, Sultan Minhas, and Dawson Yates, McCallie School Culture Clash and Compromise Annie Thrash, Girls Preparatory School The Elizabethton Textile Mill Factory Strikes Ryan Huynh, Davis Little, and Davis McCloskey, McCallie School YAZOO: The Origins and Compromises in a Great American Land Scandal Pi Eager, McCallie School Winters v. United States: Native Americans, Water, and The Unintended Consequences of Compromise Adam Wang and Hanson Zhang, McCallie School Let Us All Be Equal: The Conflicted American Attitude Toward the Chinese and the Compromise Forged in War, 1850-1945 Will Parker, McCallie School Americans with Disabilities: Compromises and Conflicts in the Fight for Equality and Acceptance For more information about Tennessee History Day, visit http://www.tennesseehistory.org/tennessee-history-day/. For more information on National History Day, visit www.nhd.org. Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park will provide a special 90-minute driving/walking tour on Saturday, April 14, at 2 p.m., following General John B. Hoods famous Texas Brigade. This tour begins at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center. Hoods Texas Brigade is one of the more storied units of the American Civil War. During Chickamauga, its soldiers were engaged in some of the bloodiest fighting witnessed on the battlefield. This walk will cover the actions of this renowned unit in a part of the battle that one young Texan recalled as The Meanest, Most Unsatisfactory placein the whole war. It will also provide a glimpse into the lives of the men who made up this hard hitting organization. Participants should bring a bottle of water and comfortable walking shoes, as the walk will be about one mile in length. For more information about upcoming programs at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, please contact the Lookout Mountain Visitor Center at 821-7786, the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center at 706-866-9241, or visit the parks website at www.nps.gov/chch. There are no formal statistics kept on Chicago parking lot transactions, but developers and commercial real estate brokers say the market for development seems especially active these days. The value of parking lots just east of the expressway downtown, measured by the number of square feet that can be built on a site, has increased 25 percent in the past two years, estimates Mike Nardini, a CBRE first vice president. Owners of lots continue exploring potential sales especially those who missed out on the last real estate peak a decade ago. Legislation that holds tech companies accountable or offers more transparency regarding data use could help, experts say, but it has proved difficult to pass in the U.S. People also could swear off social media, change their privacy settings or just share less. But for many users, even grave concerns about giving up privacy are trumped by the desire and need to take part in the social media world. Cambridge University researcher Aleksandr Kogan, inset, had a previously undisclosed relationship with Facebook, which is mired in a scandal over its users' data. Kogan provided data firm Cambridge Analytica with as many as 50 million Facebook users' information. (TNS, Cambridge University handout) Stantis, 58, who has been the Tribunes editorial cartoonist since 2009, said in an interview he was informed last month that an internal investigation revealed his Twitter account was populated by fake followers. He went through his personal records and discovered the Devumi purchase was made in March 2015. He brought his findings to newspaper executives last week, Stantis said Thursday. But the wide scope of the exemptions - which now encompass more than half of the steel imported by the United States - raised questions about whether the tariffs would actually make a difference in supporting U.S. metal industries. The countries hit hardest by the steel tariffs when they take effect Friday will be Russia, Turkey and Japan. We are excited to have Chef Trevor join the Twist by Pierre Gagnaire team here at Mandarin Oriental, Twist chef de cuisine John Miranda said in a release. He is a fantastic addition and fits the vision and culture that is planned for 2018 and on. I am looking forward to the influence Trevor brings from both Chicago and Claudia. The foie-gras fluffer-nutter certainly accomplishes that. Listed among the appetizers but really best as a dessert, this riff on a childhood snack places a thick slab of smooth foie-gras pate, house-made marshmallow cream and maple syrup (solidified into a thin sheet) between thin slices of brioche bread (also in-house) smeared with almond butter. The sandwich is served, in two diagonal-cut halves (of course) inside a vintage lunchbox (mine featured Curious George) whose inner lid holds a remember to smile! note from Mom. The sisters seem to age faster when you see them live "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" has to achieve a lot and it still takes a while to invest in their relationship. But it's clear that since Denver, the creative team figured out that when neither one was on stage, no one was much interested, and thus either Levy's Elsa or Patti Murin's Anna, or, ideally, both, are always carrying the scene. They're painted with a broad brush one repressed, one always with a heart on her sleeve but both Levy and Murin fight against all of that with considerable success. Truly, these both are very admirable and well-matched performances they're Grandage's signature achievement here, actually. And when it matters, you now feel them come together in a very satisfying way, for everyone except we only children, at least. Today, not only are we publicly identifying the foreign hackers who committed these malicious cyber intrusions, but we are also sending a powerful message to their backers, the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran: Your acts do not go unnoticed, FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. The 1,500-odd islands (mostly islets) that make up Raja Ampat are at the center of the Coral Triangle, a hot spot of marine biodiversity at the crossroads of the Pacific and Indian oceans thats often called the Amazon of the sea. This wild frontier lies off the west coast of New Guinea, the worlds second-largest (and some say least explored) island, and has been an in-the-know spot within the scuba community for about a decade. Divers from around the world flock here to swim with massive manta rays and glide though undersea forests of brain corals, blue staghorns and orange sea whips. The how and why and who of what they had been as individuals are often blotted out by the harsh light on the killer. And his motives become weaponized by our politics, and we use these weapons on social media in our endless wars of words. Mannery was "highly intoxicated" and unwelcome at a home where Manning and at least five others were staying in 2008, according to background included in the ruling. Mannery was asked to leave, but wouldn't go. He and four of the residents, including Manning, began to fight. Mannery was unarmed. Manning had a knife. During the fight, Mannery was stabbed three times, and ultimately died from a stab wound to his chest, according to the court. I want to express my sympathy to the family of Mr. Calderon, Ziman said. Despite his actions that resulted in this outcome, we know he is a father and a son and that is not lost on us. Our police officers did an exemplary job last night. They were engaged in proactive policing and when the offender opened fire upon them, they responded courageously and rapidly to contain the threat. The Department of Children and Family Services has had no prior contact with the family, but will be investigating, a spokesperson said. About 4:15 p.m., officers responded to a call of shots fired in the 4500 block of South Justine Street in the Back of the Yards neighborhood and found the man, identified as Humberto Gonzalez, unresponsive inside the vehicle. He had been shot multiple times. The tracking device malfunctioned, however. But records show that shortly after the handoff, Zamora's sister had several text and phone conversations with Lizak. Later that day, Lizak reported to his superiors that his wife had just had a baby and that he would not be coming to work for several weeks, the affidavit said. The move to send Perez back to his native Mexico, where he has not lived since he was 8, could mark the end of what has been a 16-month effort by Perez and his advocates to let him stay in the United States. Supporters are holding out hope for an eleventh-hour reprieve, though it is seen as highly unlikely. Chicago police are seeking the publics help in locating a 79-year-old woman last seen Thursday in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the South Side. The man, 55, walked out of the alley in the 400 block of North State Street around 2:30 a.m. and made it to the corner of State and Hubbard streets before he fell, police said. The victim told Sanderlin that he would see what happens if he called her the name again. Sanderlin, Antonietti said, replied that she would see what happens, then grabbed a five-shot revolver from underneath a bed pillow and shot the woman. The bullet went through her left thigh and became lodged in her right thigh, Antonietti said. Ive taken children out of homes where theyve been exposed to child abuse, and in no way would I ever put them back in another such home, Raoul said of his time with the Cook County states attorneys office. And anybody who would do so is not qualified to be the chief law enforcement officer of the state of Illinois. Being nominated for a new term in office will allow President Preckwinkle to continue to advance her top policy priorities public health, public safety and economic development as well as guide Cook County through challenging fiscal times, as she has done since 2010, spokesman Frank Shuftan said in a statement. She looks forward to working with the board and the new commissioners on these important issues without some of the drama that unfortunately was evident in recent years. In the typical back-and-forth over how many debates to have in a campaign, it's usually the challenger who calls for a lot of them, and then tries to berate an incumbent or front-runner for dodging. Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg offered his condolences to Clark's family and said in a statement that he was "heartbroken" for the city. "The questions raised by the community and council members are appropriate and must be answered during the investigation," Steinberg said, though he noted that he had reviewed the police videos carefully and said, "Based on the videos alone, I cannot second-guess the split-second decisions of our officers, and I'm not going to do that." John Bolton speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference meeting in National Harbor, Md., on March 3, 2016. (Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg) The young aide was not a central player in Trump's inner circle. At times, he appeared as a supplicant to his superiors on the campaign, who occasionally ignored his notes or appeared to rebuff him, the emails show. Shortly after joining the campaign, Papadopoulos was rebuked by campaign officials for giving an unauthorized interview to a British newspaper, The Post previously reported. There are secrets he's worried about coming out. This is particularly true in Zervos' case, since she was on "The Apprentice." Since the case is going forward, she can demand documents and information as part of the discovery process, and who knows what might be revealed. Particularly tantalizing is the possibility that behind-the-scenes tapes of the show's production, which some involved with the show have said would show Trump making appalling racist and sexist remarks, might become public. But that would be more reason to settle quickly with Zervos. In the other cases, however, Trump could be concerned about embarrassing personal revelations not just that he had affairs with a porn actor and a Playboy model (which pretty much everyone accepts is true), but something more humiliating that might strike at Trump's carefully constructed image as a macho ladies' man, which he maintains with a kind of desperate insecurity. Former United Nations ambassador John Bolton arrives for a meeting with then-President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York on Dec. 2, 2016. (Justin Lane / EPA-EFE/REX/Shuttershock) The problem with Illinois, as weve written many times, is rooted in political dysfunction and a lack of respect for the needs of employers. Executives, entrepreneurs and investors want to play by the rules, not get strangled by them. They dont want to get fleeced by the tax authorities. And they want to know the rules, and tax burdens, wont be changed on them. They want certainty. Amazon came up with a smart description for its ideal second headquarters location. The company is looking for a stable and business-friendly environment and tax structure. Answering that question has to start with a frank and detailed acknowledgment by the candidates that this is the issue of our times: Illinois must change or die. The state is deep in debt and cant pay all its bills. Taxes already are high so theres no easy way out, well, except to flee so yes, people flee. Too many residents and employers are leaving for lower-cost Indiana, other Midwestern states or the Sun Belt. That worsens the looming reality for those who stay: Somebody has to pay for all thats been borrowed, spent and promised. Rauner does, though, understand the urgency of Illinois fiscal crisis. He recognizes the legislatures anti-employer bias, and the resulting impact on jobs and outmigration. Illinois lost population each of the last four years, finally slipping behind Pennsylvania, which became the nations fifth-largest state. Make no mistake, we are in a competition and the states around us are winning at our expense, Rauner said in his February budget address. They have out-legislated us and now they outgrow us. In sacking Tillerson and McMaster, however, Trump has silenced voices that had tried to mute some of his more bombastic foreign policy instincts, particularly on the Iran nuclear deal. What hell hear from Bolton presumably will be much closer to what Trump himself has advocated. To what effect? The mercurial Trump reverses course and befuddles friend and foe with often contradictory stances on major issues within hours if not minutes of each other. Where he had voices advising calm, he now has a potential encourager-enabler. Where our opinions differ is in cost efficiency. Your suggestion that dollars can be saved by using larger units of government from the municipal or county level to instead accomplish township services carries faulty assumptions. Public policy researcher Wendell Cox found that in Illinois, the smallest governments generally spent half as much per capita as those with local governments of populations between 10,000 to 250,000 residents. Much of the township cost savings come from salaries. For example, township salaries are 40 percent lower than state salaries. Plus, townships much more frequently save money by employing a more cost-conscious, part-time labor force. In 2008, it was Google and Facebook that went to Barack Obama and met him at San Francisco airport and told him all about the power of this personal data, he said. Yet, "the great opposition party media never went after the Obama campaign, never went after the progressive left as they've been doing this for years. And in 2013, when I thought a data company might be important, all the sudden it becomes global news." A winter storm with heavy, wet snow totaling 4-8 inches was expected later Friday night into Saturday afternoon. The greatest snowfall was expected to lay out west and south of Chicago tapering off sharply to the north. The city of Chicago looked to be in a position to receive between 1-3 inches, with the greater amounts in southernmost sections. The next James Bond movie will be the 25th in the series. Calls for a big name behind the camera, right? Danny Boyle, the renowned director of Slumdog Millionaire and Trainspotting says hes on it and told the newspaper Metro that hes currently working on a script. Oh, and despite earlier reluctance, it seems Daniel Craig will be back for one more turn as Bond. The movie is currently planned for release in late 2019. 219 E. DuSable Lake Shore Drive, No. 2A, Chicago: $5,115,000 | Listed: Aug. 4, 2021 This five-bedroom home has six full bathrooms, two half-baths, two large outdoor patios and two private elevators. A formal living room with a fireplace overlooks the lake and has a wall of windows. The family room has built-in bookcases and shelving, and the kitchen is equipped with a large island, granite counters and an eating area that opens onto one of the patios. The primary bedroom has a fireplace, a wall of windows overlooking the lake, two walk-in closets, a sitting room and a full Luxe bath. This unit comes with three garage parking spaces and is located in a building with a 24-hour door person. Agents: Linda Rosenbloom, @properties, 847-892-4800; Carol Gooze, @aproperties, 847-909-5585 *Some listing photos are virtually staged, meaning they have been digitally altered to represent different furnishing or decorating options. To feature your luxury listing of $800,000 or more in Chicago Tribunes Dream Homes, send listing information and high-res photos to ctc-realestate@chicagotribune.com. Join our Chicago Dream Homes Facebook group for more luxury listings and real estate news. In saying that, Judge David Akemann delayed ruling on the key parts of a plea brought by the city of Aurora. The city came into the hearing seeking to have results of the referendum that eliminated the Election Commission March 20 declared official immediately. They also sought to freeze the commission's assets to sort out where its money should go. The specific definition of when a single-family dwelling becomes a lodging or board house is when there are three unrelated people in the building. Because of that, Ald. Scheketa Hart-Burns, 7th Ward, said the city likely has to look at its definition of family in the ordinance. "It is really the most amazing spiritual retreat you can have," she said. "We talk to each other. We talk to the teacher. We have Mass. We share meals. It is more than painting. It is allowing God to work through our hands, which is humbling." Martin Vizcarra proyecta un pais estable con un crecimiento equitativo https://t.co/ArmBaricMS pic.twitter.com/Pnx88hCJmt "It's important to amplify the voice of students, to let them know that what they say and feel matters. They are surrounded by gun violence. We want to amplify their voice, and let people know how it feels to grow up in a culture of gun violence," she said, explaining why Southwest Suburban Activists is involved. She said she and Bell are very close, having grown up together and being the same age, and talk regularly on the phone. Iverson, of Joliet, said that along with insulin, Bell requires a regular injection to treat her rheumatoid arthritis. But Pritzker's right about one thing, state government is in chaos. That breeds toxic uncertainty and cynicism in the hearts of Illinoisans. He's just being myopic when it comes to the cause. What's driving that chaos is much more deeply rooted than the actions of a single governor. Everybody shouldn't get one raise straight across the board. Maybe you've been there for 20 years and another person's been there for two years and another person's been there for 90 days. The longer you're there, the more money you should make. All pay raises should be equal to however number of years you've been there, not politics to give this person a $5,000 raise and give another person a $200 raise. "I feel that with home rule the more you learn about it the worse you find out it actually is," she said. "Illinois is now considered the highest taxed state in the nation. We drive more individuals and businesses out of our state each time we raise taxes and I don't want that to happen. That is why I came out for this repeal of home rule. It comes with a big price tag. East Dundee's debt is backed by property tax increases that the village board has voted on but chosen to abate due to the additional 2 percent in sales tax revenue that was added under home rule." Bullying is a major factor in harassment, particularly gender-based harassment, she said. Bullying persists because the aggressor perceives and takes advantage of a "power imbalance," Cowart said. While bullying and harassment can come from any gender, men are more likely to take advantage of this imbalance, she said. Societal norms and upbringing have allowed many men to grow up believing aggression can help them move forward, she added. The City of Elgin has tried very hard to avoid a situation that would cause out-of-control anger by citizens over police actions. In 2015, after the shooting in Ferguson, Mo., the mayor and police chief met with the Elgin Clergy Coalition, and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives to open the conversation between races and ethnic groups. The board received a lengthy update on the first steps of the districts community advisory team March 20 which includes presenting the districts needs to the community and gauging community support for a master facilities plan that has been years in the making. Since the process began nearly three years ago, the district has paid a handful of consultants $128,672 to figure out district needs. "The district respects the parents' right to decide whether or not to send their child to school on any given day and communicated that to families," Moyer said in a statement. "I personally pray for the safety of students in Elmhurst and across the country every day." "It just seemed like fishing was fun to me," said Lemoncello, 10. "I've never gone fly-fishing before, but I had been fishing, and what I liked the most was when I reeled the fish in." "She served as the board secretary and as chair of the Program and Personnel Committee throughout her long Board tenure, and in those roles, she had tremendous influence and impact on the unprecedented academic growth of our students, innovative teaching and learning, and teacher and administrator professional development," Superintendent Prentiss Lea said in the statement. "The Adler Planetarium is asking the public to write notes to share how his story has encouraged them to pursue their dreams and say thank you for everything Captain Lovell has done. "Throughout the year, guests visiting the Adler can write their inspirational stories on notecards and place them in the Letters to Lovell mailbox located in the Mission Moon gallery. The letters will be shared with Captain Lovell and his family." "The fruits of decades of effort to build bilateral trust," is how U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Dan Kritenbrink describes the dramatic visit of our aircraft carrier the USS Carl Vinson to that country. The magnificent U.S. Navy vessel is on a mission of peace, serving as a symbol of steadily expanding cooperation between two nations once at war. A: I grew up in Morton Grove for most of my life, but I wasn't born here. I was born in Manila. I came to this country in 2005 when I was 5. My parents came because there were more opportunities. My dad is an engineer and my mom is teaching right now. "The Diary of Anne Frank" is the story of two Jewish families who attempted to hide from the Nazi regime during the occupation of Holland. Anne Frank (played by Riley Skalski of Itasca) was 13 years old when she went into hidnig in an annex with her parents and sister. She kept a diary during the two years she spent in hiding before being arrested and sent a concentration camp. Her father, Otto (played by Austin Slott of Wheaton), was the only one of the families to survive. Betty was nominated by her principal, Hugh Boger, for making positive contributions to the school. She told him it was becoming a problem for students to bring their winter coats, hats and gloves into the cafeteria after recess. If they put them in the classroom, they would lose lunch time, but keeping them on during lunch caused overheating, and taking them off resulted in small items, such as gloves, being dropped on the floor and lost. "We've accomplished historic tax reform and slashed regulations that stifled small businesses. Today, Illinoisans are seeing more money in their paychecks, small businesses are hiring and workers are getting raises because of this historic legislation. There's a lot of work left to be done, but there's no doubt we're making progress," Hultgren stated. "I know that this will be a tough campaign but I'm working hard every day, standing up for the people of the 14th District and the values that we share." You really only need those two items to make slime, but what's the fun in that? Adding shaving cream to make it fluffy, lotion to make it soft, and food coloring or glitter or beads to make it sparkly and pretty makes it more interesting. It's fun to find new recipes or, even better, to start mixing things together randomly to see what new kinds of slime you can invent. Its very popular," he said. "Its something that the chefs are excited about. Its seven courses and gives the guest a true amazing experience of the concept with appetizers, sushi, grilled seafood and steak, and dessert at the end. You try the most popular and chef-preferred dishes. In the petition, King argues the court "erred" when it "relied upon unsworn statements of the prosecuting attorney" that "other relatives of the defendant, also residing with (his great-grandmother) at the time of the murder, are available to testify, and have made statements that the defendant often went out during the week," court records show. Greater First Church: 4862 Olcott Ave. Palm Sunday service will be at 11 a.m. Sunday. Gathering at the Cross will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The Youth Ministry Easter Sunday performance practice will be at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday. Cooking class and coloring of Easter eggs will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday. Good Friday worship with Bishop Christopher and Lady Selena Woods will be at 6 p.m. Friday. Resurrection Sunday with Bishop Tavis Grant will be at 11 a.m. April 1. Information: 219- 712-8716. "Dear Philip: Having researched the Kubelsky Family for the past four decades, I wish to correct one part of your column on Jack Benny (who was my second cousin, three times removed). His father, Meyer, was not from Poland. The family name, Kubelsky, indicates origin from the village of Kobeldziszki (Kubeldzie) which was on the Holnianka River, in the township of Holny Wolmera, Sejny District of Lithuania, just to the east of Poland. Today, that location is found within the borders of Poland. Jack Benny's great-grandfather, Leib (b.1781), lived in Kubeldzie, Lithuania. Jack Benny's grandfather, Berko (b.1820) lived in Miroslaw, Lithuania. So, Jack Benny's father, Meyer (b.1862) lived in Miroslaw, Lithuania before immigrating to the U.S. The details concerning this can be found in my work, "The Kubelsky Family" in the Library of Congress, The New York Public Library, and the Newberry Library in Chicago. Best wishes, Rabbi Jeff Marx, Santa Monica, CA" On the south end of the project zone over the Kankakee River once work on the southbound lanes is complete this sprint, northbound traffic will be routed over the median to the new southbound side so work there can be completed. While the widening to three lanes stops before the Kankakee River, the bridge is also being widened to three lanes in anticipation of the continuation to widening of I-65 heading south in future projects. The program will reimburse employers up to $2,500 for each new employee who's trained, hired and retained for at least six months, and also provide Workforce Ready grants of up to $2,500 for individuals who improve their skills in one of the specified programs at either Ivy Tech Corporate College or Vincennes University. He also said that the Federal Transit Administration's recent approval of West Lake's environmental impact statement allows the South Shore to begin acquiring property for the project. However, the railroad is holding off until it meets with the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Administration and state officials "to discuss the pathway forward," Noland said. "They can do so much on their own, with budding independence," Faulkner said. "And they also have a sense of magical thinking, where they think of the world's possibilities, not its reality, and they want to make those possibilities the reality." Pueblo Chile & Frijoles Festival is back with a full celebration Pueblo is set to host the fiery Pueblo Chile & Frijoles Festival Sept. 24-26 with chile roasting, live music, parading Chihuhuas and more. Our weekly round up of other news affecting foreign investors throughout Asia: Banking Sector Reforms in Myanmar Myanmar recently permitted export-financing services by seven of 13 foreign banks operating in the country. In this article, we provide insight into Myanmars banking reforms and investment opportunities in the sector. Supply Chain in India: On the Brink of Revolution In this article, we discuss Indias supply chain ecosystem and emergence of new business opportunities. We also highlight how both government entities and private ventures are seeking to introduce critical efficiencies to transform the state of business as usual. Russia Attracts 1.5 Million Chinese Tourists in 2017 Russia has been experiencing a boom in the visiting numbers of Chinese tourists, according to Chinese Ambassador to Russia Li Hui, who said that 1.5 million Chinese nationals visited Russia in 2017. Belt & Road China Trade Up 14.8% to US$1.1 Trillion in 2017 Trade volume between China and countries along the Belt and Road in 2017 amounted to US$1.1 trillion, up 14.8 percent year-on-year, according to a report published in Peoples Daily on Monday. That is equivalent to the entire annual GDP of Indonesia or Mexico, and is 3.4 percentage points higher than the growth of Chinas overall total foreign trade. CPTPP Signed: Opportunities for Vietnams Enterprises Focusing on tariff and non-tariff measures, the recently signed CPTPP will have a positive impact on all spheres of Vietnamese economy such as trade, FDI, and domestic growth. Read more to know about the economic impact, opportunities and challenges arising from CPTPP, and what further needs to be done. "No nos temblara la mano frente a la corrupcion", asegura Martin Vizcarra https://t.co/KlR6HCuVgn pic.twitter.com/YyxdrIL7zL The latest issue of China Briefing Magazine, titled Cross Border e-Commerce in China, is out now and currently available to subscribers as a complimentary download from the Asia Briefing Publication Store. In this issue: Chinas cross border e-commerce Market Cross border e-commerce in China: Regulatory Updates and Trends Business Models for Chinas cross border e-commerce Market Managing Intellectual Property in e-Commerce Markets The incredible scale and growth of Chinas e-commerce market is not news to businesspeople familiar with the country. Driven by 772 million internet users, China spent over US$1.13 trillion on e-commerce purchases in 2017, accounting for about 40 percent of the global e-commerce market. Among the fastest growing subsectors of Chinas e-commerce market is CBEC the purchase of overseas products via e-commerce platforms. Chinas CBEC sales hit the US$100 billion mark in 2017, and are expected to reach US$144 billion by 2021, according to data from eMarketer. CBEC is an attractive channel for foreign businesses to sell to China, as it allows them to access the worlds largest e-commerce market without the costs and commitment of establishing a formal presence there. However, overseas sellers often underestimate the difficulties posed by CBEC, which include a fluid regulatory environment, logistical headaches, and a lack of brand visibility, among others. Misunderstandings over how CBEC in China works frequently end in costly disappointments and retreats from the market despite its vast size and growth prospects. In this issue of China Briefing magazine, we offer foreign investors a practical guide to selling to China through CBEC. We begin by introducing the market landscape, before diving in to the sectors legal and regulatory framework. We then compare the advantages and disadvantages of different CBEC business models. Finally, we consider how to protect intellectual property in China when selling online. Cooperation with new academic powerhouse of China is at the top of the agenda for the new vice-chancellor of the prestigious University of Cambridge. "In previous roles, I have worked closely with Chinese colleagues both in academia and in government," the university's Vice-Chancellor Stephen Toope told Xinhua in a recent exclusive interview. Toope, a scholar who specializes in international relations, studied at Cambridge for his doctorate. The Canadian took office in October 2017, making him the first foreigner to hold the post of vice-chancellor at Cambridge in the university's about 800-year history. "I'm now very hopeful being here at Cambridge that there will be even more opportunities to engage actively with China ...(a country)with an extraordinarily growing influence a university like Cambridge must be paying attention to," Toope said. One of his first acts as the 346th vice-chancellor of the university in the east of England was to contact China's Ambassador to Britain, Liu Xiaoming. "I felt it was appropriate to discuss a possible collaboration with the Chinese ambassador who is a very distinguished diplomat who's been posted here in the United Kingdom for a long time, and I wanted to get his advice on how best to proceed; and we had a very good conversation," Toope said. COOPERATION WITH CHINA Toope said that the university had already developed many links with China. The strides that China has taken since its reforms and opening-up in 1978 has been unprecedented in history, said Toope, and that direction of opening up and cooperation is welcome. "I think China is going to be, for the foreseeable future, at the heart of international cooperation," Toope said, hoping the University of Cambridge had a role to play in that cooperation. "Many of our scientists and scholars who already have strong links into China, we have particularly powerfully connected to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, to Tsinghua University and Peking University in Beijing, but now we're also looking to develop another hub in Nanjing," he said. Toope was proud that about 10 percent, around 1,200 people, of the University of Cambridge's student total population was Chinese, and that the university was aware that there was "so much talent in such a huge country that is dedicated to education." "So we want to continue to welcome outstanding Chinese students to come here," he said. BREXIT CHALLENGES Brexit has dominated British political life since the vote to leave the European Union (EU) on June 23, 2016. The University of Cambridge has for centuries been a major center of learning in Europe, and the formal separation of Britain from the EU poses previously unimagined challenges for the institution, for its role, its status, its capabilities, its staff and its students. Toope believes that as a foreigner, his appointment was a signal that the university was keen to continue international collaboration. "I think it was in fact part of the thinking of my coming to the university that, as a signal that the university is committed to genuine global involvement that it was not looking inward in any way; whatever happens with Brexit was important." He said he felt very welcome here at the university. "I have sensed a tremendous desire on the part of all of my colleagues to be clear to the rest of the world that Cambridge is very much engaged outside Britain," the vice chancellor said. A lack of clarity about what Brexit would mean in detail, or when or if Brexit would be delivered, was a problem. Toope said: "One of the great challenges we're facing is that very little is clear about Brexit at this point, so we are, I will be honest, a little frustrated; it's difficult to plan, not knowing exactly what agreement will be reached." He added there were "potential negative consequences" which the university would address very carefully. About 23 percent of the university's staff comes from the EU. Toope said the university wants to make sure that it is still deeply connected with its European partners in research networks. "We want to make sure that we are still a welcoming environment for European students," said Toope. "We also want to make sure that we remain a very welcoming place for our current staff members who are from Europe." He, however, admitted that in some senses the university remains dependent upon understanding what the final agreement will be between Britain and the rest of Europe through Brexit. "Even in the medieval period, there were people coming from Europe to study here, people from here going to continental Europe. We want to make sure that that continues," Toope added. WHAT MAKES GOOD UNIVERSITIES Toope said that the university was "a remarkably ambitious place", with a keen interest in piloting the best path towards continued success in the future. "I would say that one of my overall impressions so far is that my colleagues here are tremendously committed to working hard to make the next generation of discoveries to teach students with even more commitment than in past generations. I think that that's a remarkable thing to be able to say about an institution that's 800 years old," said Toope. Toope said it was a priority to ensure that the foundations of 800 years of research and tradition were not compromised by future developments. To that end, the vice chancellor said he placed diversity at the heart of his thinking. "I think what marks a great university is diversity of engagement, diversity of thought, diversity of practices, so that a wide range of people bring their talents to the university, we then have to have the ability to make sure that they are talking with each other, so we need flexibility and the way we organize our labs, the way we organize our teaching structures," said Toope. He said the university must also fundamentally commit to supporting basic scientific research and basic scholarly endeavors. "Great world universities don't look only at what's happening tomorrow," said Toope, adding that although applied research is very important, there must also be people who are thinking about the very long-term, who are just trying to understand the world in new ways. "It's those kinds of discoveries that Cambridge has been famous for over the years; work on DNA, Charles Darwin was here, these are fundamental shifts in the way we think about the world they're not about what happens tomorrow, that I think is the mark of a truly great world university," he said. Toope said he wanted to bring different parts of the big institution of the university closer together in a kind of "joining up." He said the university has a desire to connect its various parts more effectively. A 200 million year old sauropod has been diagnosed with osteomyelitis, a severe bone disease, according to a scientific paper published on Thursday. Scientists from China, the U.S., Britain and South Africa said study of a Jurassic Lufengosaurus fossil from Lufeng Dinosaur Museum in southwest China's Yunnan Province, suggests it may have had a serious bone infection. The findings were published on Scientific Reports, an online open-access scientific journal. When the dinosaur was excavated in 1997, there was a pathological abnormality on one of its right ribs. A small hole penetrates almost halfway through the rib, said the museum's Wang Yi. "The rim of the penetration is quite smooth, so it is more likely to be caused by some kind of disease, rather than any injury," said paleontologist Xing Lida, lead researcher of the team. According to Xing, traditional bone pathology involves low powered magnification of the bone, but this only shows the external surface of the fossil. "In the case of this rib, the lesion penetrates deep into the bone, so we needed to find a way to see the internal structure before diagnosis," Xing said. Now, 20 years after the dinosaur's discovery, X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) can image the deep structures and reconstruct the cellular structure of the rib. "From micro-CT scanning and reconstruction, we can tell this Lufengosaurus was attacked by a predator and the bite caused osteomyelitis which took its life. It must have suffered a lot before death," said Ran Hao, researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Kunming institute of zoology. "This is the first time that China has found such pathological changes in sauropod dinosaurs. This exciting discovery will aid understanding of how osteomyelitis originated and evolved,"said Xing. This is only the second case of osteomyelitis in a sauropod in the fossil record. The other case comes from a giant titanosaur from Argentina with a bacterial infection of the spine. Lufengosaurus was a herbivore, with a long neck and a small head. At least 16 Early Jurassic dinosaur species have been named after Lufeng and its neighboring area since paleontologist Yang Zhongjian published a paper on Lufengosaurus huenei in 1941. The recent work highlights how the use of micro-CT is revolutionizing the study of the fossil record. "This finding can provide critical insight into palaeo-immunology, behavioral and life history information for dinosaurs, as well as environmental insights into ancient ecosystems," Xing said. Eco-friendly burial shall account for more than 50 percent of all burials in China by 2020 in order to conserve land, according to a guideline released by the government. Eco-friendly burial includes storing ashes in cells, tree burial and sea burial, said the guideline published by 16 departments, including the Ministry of Civil Affairs. By 2020, there shall be funeral parlors with crematoriums in all counties and they should meet national environmental protection standards, and public eco-friendly burial facilities shall be available in all villages and towns, the guideline noted. Chinese tradition holds that the dead should be buried in coffins beside their ancestors, but the custom has put a strain on the populous country's land resources. To deal with the problem, Chinese authorities have promoted eco-friendly burials across the country in recent years. City officials in Beijing on March 21 announced a new initiative to ramp up recruitment for skilled personnel in science and technology, creative people in culture and art, financial management talents, patent holders of new inventions as well as professionals that the city urgently needs. Administrative procedure for moving high-level domestic talents to Beijing can take as few as five working days. Beijing is also going to boost support for bringing in overseas talents. Positions for qualified applicants will extend from municipal institutions to include innovative establishments throughout the city. The government will provide regular recruitment projects with one-year subsidy of up to 500,000 yuan (US$79,145), and key projects with subsidy of up to 500,000 yuan each year for three consecutive years. Scientific and cultural enterprises, higher educational institutions, R&D centers, and other research associations and service providers are encouraged to hire overseas talents, for whom the municipal government will subsidize 50 to 80 percent of the salaries. Meanwhile, recruitment for special posts is extended from the municipal government to public institutions, state-owned enterprises and R&D centers. The posts at government agencies and public institutions will not be subject to the restraints of the total number of posts available at the organization and the personnel structure, nor will they involve with administrative ranks or professional posts. The posts can adopt various emolument arrangements, and those who make remarkable contributions can be rewarded with 500,000 to 1 million yuan. It will also be easier for foreign talents to obtain talent visas (R visas), work permits and long-term residential visas. It can take as few as six working days for foreigners to get the five to 10-year multiple entry visa for free, and five working days to get the five-year work permits. The permanent resident permit can take as few as 50 working days to obtain. For domestic talents, recruitment qualifications will no longer depend solely on academic degrees and professional titles. Instead, the city will conduct diversified assessments. People who are with the country's or city's key talent programs or hold key scientific awards can be introduced into Beijing more easily, with as few as five working days. Outstanding talents that undertake key national-or municipal-level scientific projects or infrastructure, and leaders or partners of innovative groups that have successfully drawn investment worth 150 million yuan in the past three years may recommend talents for their teams. Patent holders who have made a profit from their inventions may apply for the talent recruitment projects. Furthermore, the city will relax the restrictions on age and the number of accompanying family members. Beijing will raise the incentives for successful innovative teams and talents to between 5 million and 10 million yuan, and set up financial reward of 10,000 to 100,000 yuan for people whose constructive suggestions on the city's high-end industrial development are adopted and proven effective. The city also encourages enterprises and institutes to reward the innovative groups and key members with 70 percent or above of the profits generated from their R&D efforts. Research talents in Beijing will be allowed to temporarily leave (three to five years) their positions in universities and research centers to start their own businesses or work with enterprises. Their achievements made during the process can be used for related employment, professional title review and rewards. The previous step-by-step elevation of professional titles will become more flexible, and new titles in sectors such as creative design and artificial intelligence will be added. The city will also launch a new project to support and subsidize young scholars in Beijing to pursue cutting-edge research and innovation. After a two-year interval, it is now vital that the revival and re-grouping of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) happens as soon as possible for regional re-integration. Having been relegated to the backseat since India's refusal to participate in the SAARC Summit in 2016 which was to be held in Islamabad, Pakistan, it has been given much less attention than it deserves. Now it is the right time to re-assess the options for SAARC and expedite the pending process. Pakistan still has to host the next summit and to announce a new date for later this year. Formed in 1985, the SAARC Charter requires the respective heads of state or government of all the member countries to meet once a year. This usually transpires every 18 months unless one of the eight members refuses to attend the meet. In a surprising recent development, an Indian politician Vijay Chauthaiwale has said that India should strive for South Asian economic integration without Pakistan and went on to elaborate that, "We should look at South Asia minus Pakistan. The other countries and larger economies in the region are willing." There is a background to this new school of thought. In the new two-year gap India has been placing more emphasis on lesser known initiatives such as the BIMSTEC and BBIN. Having been in existence in various capacities since 1997, BIMSTEC is the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation. India hosted a meeting of security chiefs from the seven member nations recently. Remarking at the second meeting of this group in October 2017, Foreign Secretary of India S. Jaishankar even referred to SAARC as a "jammed vehicle." Totally focused on moving ahead without Pakistan, India has been projecting the sub-regional BIMSTEC as a viable alternative to SAARC even though it has few achievements to its credit. Questioning the legitimacy of this platform, some observers have been sceptical about its viability and importance and its relative inactivity as it has only had three summit meetings since 2004. Moreover, the fact that most BIMSTEC members are already members of bigger groups like SAARC or ASEAN renders the group irrelevant. Suffering from India's lack of interest since its inception, BIMSTEC has never been in the limelight before India decided not to participate in the SAARC summit in 2016. However, considering the reality that the summit was only postponed, not cancelled, it cannot be conveniently brushed under the carpet. In another symbolic move, early this year the Indian government announced that it will connect just six of the SAARC countries with its National Knowledge Network for sharing scientific databases and remote access to advanced research. Excluding Pakistan from the list was a major faux pas vis-a-vis the region, especially since the two neighbors also happen to be a part of the Shanghai Co-operation Organization now. Such signals only widen the chasm between neighboring states that need to urgently sit together and discuss water distribution issues, resolution of disputes, trade connectivity and many other important matters. In contrast, Pakistan recently held the 73rd Executive Committee and 22nd General Assembly meetings of the SAARC group in Islamabad this February. Vice presidents from all member countries, including India, attended the two meets which were chaired by SAARC Chamber President Suraj Vaidya, where it was decided to celebrate the silver jubilee of the SAARC Chamber in all member countries. Considering this ongoing scenario, formalizing China as a member at the next summit would prove highly conducive for the future of SAARC. At the 18th SAARC summit held in Kathmandu in November 2014, China had expressed interest in joining the organization. Representing the China delegation at the 18th SAARC Summit, Vice Minister of Chinese Foreign Affairs Liu Zhenmin said, "China is ready to enhance economic cooperation with the SAARC region. China has deepened cooperation in the field of trade, investment and agriculture in the organization since it became an observer. The country has set aside US$550,000 for a SAARC Development Fund. China has already envisioned a SAARC-China Forum to strengthen the ties." Already having an observer status, consensus of all the members would complete membership formalities and the extension would serve to revive the group and give it new direction and purpose. Currently the chair of SAARC, Nepal has also backed Pakistan's request to help reactivate the group. Visiting Kathmandu, the Pakistani Prime Minister Khaqan Abbasi conveyed the wish to convene the 19th SAARC Summit at the earliest date in Islamabad to improve regional connectivity. Considering the improved relations between China and India these days, as well as their mutual trade interests, India also should have no objection to China's membership in the group. Reorganizing and extending SAARC membership would make it more effective and improve its perspective. Sabena Siddiqui (Twitter: @sabena_siddiqi) is a foreign affairs journalist and lawyer based in Pakistan. Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. You are here: World Flash A F-16 fighter jet crashed Thursday in Turkey's central province of Nevsehir, killing one Turkish soldier. The jet, which took off at 6:30 p.m. local time (GMT 1530), was on a training flight when the crash occurred, the Turkish Armed Forces said in a statement. Fire brigades, rescue units and gendarmerie forces were immediately dispatched to the crash scene. Emergency services have recovered the body of the soldier and found wreckage of the aircraft, local media reported. The reason of the accident remained unknown pending an investigation. Flash A key rebel group controlling the central part of Damascus' Eastern Ghouta countryside declared Thursday a ceasefire to negotiate its withdrawal from the region, local media reported. The War Media, the media wing of the Syrian army, reported that the Failaq al-Rahman rebels, or the Rahman Legion, declared a ceasefire in the central part of Eastern Ghouta, namely in the areas of Jobar, Zamalka, Ayn Tarma, Hazzeh, and Arbeen, as of midnight Friday. These areas have been the launching pad for the Failaq al-Rahman rebels for firing mortar and rocket shells on the Syria capital of Damascus throughout the last seven years of crisis. This development came as the Syrian army captured the farms of Ayn Tarma on Thursday and advanced toward that area, which is a key stronghold of the Failaq al-Rahman rebels. The negotiation for withdrawal coincided with the evacuation of the Ahrar al-Sham rebels from Harasta city, also a key rebel stronghold in Eastern Ghouta. As many as 1,580 people, including rebels and their families, evacuated Harasta on Thursday evening as hundreds more are set to leave that area toward rebel-held areas in the northwestern province of Idlib. The Syrian army has already captured over 80 percent of Eastern Ghouta and is closing in on the remaining rebel-held areas amid ongoing military offensive. The alliances of Failaq al-Rahman have been murky in Eastern Ghouta, as in many cases it was allied with the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, according to the state media in Syria. If the group evacuated Eastern Ghouta, it would be a major victory for the Syrian army and a massive setback for the rebels' presence in Eastern Ghouta, the last remaining threat to the capital. Flash John Dowd, U.S. President Donald Trump's lead lawyer who was handling the response to the special counsel investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia meddling in the 2016 presidential election, resigned on Thursday. Dowd had considered leaving several times in recent months and concluded that Trump was increasingly ignoring his advice, according to The New York Times. Trump's lawyers, under the leadership of Dowd since last summer, had advised the president to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller, who is also looking into whether Trump obstructed the inquiry. Dowd's departure comes after Trump began publicly attacking Mueller and his team. In a tweet last weekend, Trump said that the Mueller probe "should never been started." Following Trump's remarks, Dowd called for an end to the investigation. He originally claimed to be speaking on Trump's behalf but backtracked later by saying that he was only speaking for himself. Trump's lawyers are also in the midst of negotiations with the special counsel's team over a potential interview involving the president. On Thursday, Trump said that he's still willing to talk to Mueller, an idea that Dowd has reportedly opposed to. Dowd is also leaving three days after Joseph diGenova, a former federal prosecutor, was added to the Trump' s legal team for Mueller's probe. DiGenova, in an interview with Fox News two months ago, alleged that FBI officials were involved in a "brazen plot" to exonerate Hillary Clinton in the email investigation and to "frame" Trump for nonexistent crimes. 15:24 | Lima, Mar. 23. According to the newly-sworn-in President, Peru is a country with a great future ahead. Yet, he noted that moving forward will depend on all Peruvians. "We have the responsibility to turn the page . This is a historic moment in which we put Peru first, overcome conflicts, and build the country we deserve," he stated. Vizcarra went on to say he is willing to comply with the Constitution and expressed confidence that his administration will be open to dialogue. As is known, Martin Alberto Vizcarra Cornejo on Friday was officially named President of the Republic of Peru for the 2018-2021 term. (END) VVS/CCR/JAA/MVB Flash Cambridge Analytica's headquarter has reportedly been evacuated after a suspicious package was delivered to the building, the Mirror reported on Thursday. The news website quoted the Met Police as saying that they had been called to the scene amid reports of a package, but they could not provide any further details for now. You are here: World Flash Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had praised the country's security forces for destroying a Syrian nuclear facility in 2007, after the secret mission was declassified on Wednesday. Netanyahu released the remark after the Israeli censor lifted an 11-year gag order, confirming for the first time that Israel was behind the so-called "Outside the Box Operation." "The government of Israel, Israel Defense Forces and the Mossad prevented Syria from developing a nuclear capability," Netanyahu said in the statement, adding "They deserve every appreciation for it." The leader stopped short of threatening Syria's ally, Iran, with a similar attack but warned that Israel's policy "was and remains consistent, to prevent our enemies from acquiring nuclear weapons." Israel fears that Iran, its arch-foe, will establish a permanent military presence in Syria. According to documents released by the army, on Sept. 6, Israeli fighter jets carried air strikes on a partially-completed nuclear facility in al-Kubar near Deir ez-Zor, 450 km northeast of Damascus. The strikes "irreversibly" destroyed the reactor. Several months after the strike, the United States announced that intelligence indicated the site was a nuclear reactor with a military purpose, although Syria denied it. Flash The National Day of Pakistan was celebrated at Embassy of Pakistan in Beijing in a ceremony to mark the passing of Pakistan Resolution on March 23, 1940. The Pakistan Day ceremony commenced with the recitation of verses from Holy Quran. Pakistan's Ambassador to China Masood Khalid raised the national flag and gradually hoisted it to the mast's summit, with the invigorating tune of the national anthem. Ambassador Masood Khalid read out messages of the President of Pakistan and Prime Minister of Pakistan. He urged the Pakistani community to unite in order to achieve the national milestones. He urged Pakistani community to bring honor to the country and realize the dreams of the founding fathers to attain glory for Pakistan. Ambassador highlighted the importance of Pakistan-China friendship and said that both countries share the dream of development, peace and security in the region. He said that the bond of friendship between Pakistan and China has withstood the test of time through mutual trust and support. Students from Pakistan Embassy College, Beijing, presented national songs. The ceremony was attended by Pakistani community in China. Similar flag hoisting ceremonies were also held at Pakistani Consulates in Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shanghai. In order to celebrate the occasion, a Grand National Day Reception will also be held by the Embassy later in the evening at a local hotel. You are here: World Flash The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday reaffirmed its position on recent U.S. trade moves, saying that China will fight to the end in any trade war. Hua Chunying said at a daily news briefing that China urges the United States to make rational and prudent decisions. Despite strong warnings from business groups and trade experts, U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to 60 billion U.S. dollars of imports from China and restrictions on Chinese investment in the United States. Meanwhile, a White House trade adviser told reporters that retaliation could be difficult for China. In response, Hua said these remarks misjudged the situation, underestimated China's determination and capability to safeguard its legitimate interests, and underestimated the price the United States would have to pay for its arbitrary actions. Since 2006, Canada's Anglo-Celtic Connections has been an independent view of family history resources and developments seen from an Ottawa perspective. China Aviation Daily | Mar. 23, 2018 The International Air Transport Association (IATA) welcomed the UK Transport Select Committee's endorsement of Heathrow as the right location to expand airport capacity, but warned that the costs could still spiral out of control. IATA also welcomed the Committee's recommendations that the government consider giving the Civil Aviation Authority greater powers to regulate Heathrow's passenger and airline charges, and that these charges be held flat in real terms. "The airline community supports Heathrow as the right location to expand airport capacity, but has two overriding concerns: affordability, and operational flexibility. Both are jeopardized by the current plans from Heathrow's owners. The Select Committee's recommendations on cost control should be essential reading for the government, for Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd (HAL), and anyone with a stake in the future of air transport in the UK. At the moment, we are looking at extra capacity in the right place, but at the wrong price. We need guarantees regarding how costs will be managed, especially if key risks are not known at this stage," said Rafael Schvartzman, IATA's Regional Vice President for Europe. The Report is clear that Heathrow airport charges are the highest in the world, and that any expansion of the airport must be accompanied by a commitment that charges will not rise from the current level. Such a commitment would be in line with comments from the Secretary of State that charges should stay at today's levels. "We welcome the Committee's recommendation that charges should be held flat. And we share the Committee's concerns on the effects of an increase in charges. An unaffordable Heathrow will have a detrimental impact on the competitiveness of the UK's only hub airport in comparison to rivals in France, Germany and Netherlands," said Schvartzman. Costs for constructing the new runway could spiral out of control. "HAL have suggested a cost in the region of 14-17 billion pounds to build the third runway--around double the price of the London Olympics. The Select Committee have noted that these estimates are optimistic. And HAL have not been clear on the funding of crucial works such as the proposed bridging of the M25 and the relevant surface access schemes. The only way these concerns can be addressed is to ensure that there is much greater transparency on the costs of construction. Heathrow is a facility that benefits the entire nation -- it is too important not to be under careful oversight," said Schvartzman. Connectivity under threat The operational flexibility that enables airlines to provide connections to some of the world's largest and fastest-growing economies is under threat. In particular, the proposal to instate a ban on flights in the early morning will damage the connectivity of the UK economy. It also weakens the economic case for the new runway. Airlines are acutely aware of the noise impacts on local communities. The third runway opens up the possibility of predictable and increased noise respite, through runway rotation, leaving open the option to continue with night-flight connections which are vital to the UK economy. "The unique benefits of night flight connections must not be lost. Carriers from the US, China and Asia arriving in Europe in the early morning currently have a choice: to stop at Heathrow or land in continental Europe. Eliminating night flights removes that choice and may make it uneconomic or impossible for the UK to sustain air links to all these destinations. With the UK looking to open new trade lanes post-Brexit, it can ill-afford to weaken these connections," said Schvartzman. Contributed by IATA As'ad's Bio As'ad AbuKhalil, born March 16, 1960. From Tyre, Lebanon, grew up in Beirut. Received his BA and MA from American University of Beirut in pol sc. Came to US in 1983 and received his PhD in comparative government from Georgetown University. Taught at Tufts University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, Colorado College, and Randolph-Macon Woman's College. Served as a Scholar-in-Residence at Middle East Institute in Washington DC. He served as free-lance Middle East consultant for NBC News and ABC News, an experience that only served to increase his disdain for maintream US media. He is now professor of political science at California State University, Stanislaus. His favorite food is fried eggplants. If Baku is seriously concerned about water access issues, it can discuss that with Stepanakert. March 23, 2018, 11:45 Armenia MFA: If Azerbaijan is concerned about water accessibility, it can discuss that with Karabakh STEPANAKERT, MARCH 23, ARTSAKHPRESS:Tigran Balayan, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Armenia, stated about the aforementioned, commentingat the request of Armenian News-NEWS.amon the accusations by an Azerbaijan MFA representative. In all likelihood, they celebrate Nowruz too much at the Azerbaijan MFA and abuse alcoholic drinks at workplace; the Baku officials comments have no other explanation, Balayan said. If matters in connection with ensuring water accessibility and management of water resources seriously interest Baku, then they can discuss them with Stepanakert, which has repeatedly expressed such readiness. I believe Stepanakert is still ready to collaborate in this domain. The Azerbaijani MFA representative on Thursday made use of this topic to accuse Armenia. Despite its concern over water issues, Azerbaijan refuses to discuss this matter with the authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh). Russian-Israeli blogger Alexander Lapshin, who was imprisoned in Azerbaijan for visiting Artsakh, intends to travel to Armenia. March 23, 2018, 12:31 Alexander Lapshin plans to visit Armenia STEPANAKERT, MARCH 23, ARTSAKHPRESS:Lapshin said on Facebook that he will participate in the upcoming Tour Expo 2018 tourism exhibition in Yerevan, due in April 20-22. He jokingly said he will present his experience in Azerbaijan in Yerevan. I am departing to Yerevan with the goal to participate in a tourism exhibition. I will present my project With Lapshins tracks in Baku. The project will include a flight on Mehriban Aliyevas private jet, leisure in the Kyurdakhan jail all inclusive, and the Baku court for serious offenses. Prices are negotiable.I am joking. I am actually going to speak about my travels at the expo, it is going to be interesting, visit it, Lapshin said. Lapshin was arrested in 2016 by Belarus police after being declared internationally wanted by Azerbaijan. The blogger was blacklisted by Azerbaijan for visiting Artsakh. Lapshin was extradited to Baku in early 2017, a move that sparked outrage among human rights activists and others. He was sentenced to three years in jail by Baku, but was pardoned by President Ilham Aliyev on September 11, 2017. "However, as is too often the case in Washington, this debate has created a bitter partisan battle instead of sparking a productive debate," Katko said. "Despite this divide, I am confident there are areas in which we can find consensus but doing so will require having conversations that make both sides of the aisle uncomfortable." After the Parkland shooting, Katko said he supported or was considering other proposals to address gun violence. He supports banning bump stocks, which are devices used to increase a gun's firing rate, and improvements to the background check system. He is considering whether to support universal background checks for gun purchases. Raising the age for rifle purchases is another proposal he is reviewing. The $1.3 trillion spending bill approved by Congress this week includes provisions to boost security at schools. But many members of Congress view that as one part of addressing gun violence. "Unfortunately, recent shootings have revealed that additional safety protocols are needed in order to prevent tragedies from occurring in the future," Cuellar said. KATHMANDU - When Sophia, the world's first robot citizen, greeted the audience at a conference in Kathmandu with "Namaste Nepal", the hall burst into applause. As cameras from local and international media flashed and under the admiring eyes of the audience, Sophia proceeded with her keynote speech and interactions highlighting the importance of technology in the development of human lives. The robot, who is championing the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals in Asia-Pacific, with a focus on innovation, was in Nepal on Wednesday to attend the Innovation Conference and Fair: "Technology of Public Services and Development" organized by the United Nations Development Fund, which is known as UNDP. Thailand to legalize all foreign migrant workers China Daily | Updated: 2018-03-23 08:02 BANGKOK - The Thai government has reiterated its determination to register and legalize all of 3.8 million migrant workers from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos by the end of March. The country started to provide legal services to foreign workers in early February by opening 80 "one-stop service centers" nationwide to legalize them, with the ultimate aim to erase human trafficking, child labor and forced labor in the kingdom. "What we are doing is not making troubles for employers and migrants workers. We are making it easy for employers to employ legal workers, who can also work at any place in Thailand according to Thai laws," Anusari Thapsuwan from the Ministry of Labor of Thailand told a news conference in the province of Samut Sakhon on Monday. She emphasized that the registration of migrant workers will also put them under the protection of Thai laws and create a sustainable environment for everyone concerned. Thailand, due to its economic advantage to neighboring countries and aging society, has been attracting millions of migrant workers, predominantly from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, to find employment here. Many of these workers work in the so-called "Dirty, Dangerous, Difficult" industries and many are illegal and thus vulnerable to exploitation. As of February this year, a total of 3,809,519 foreign migrant workers are working in Thailand. About 1.8 million of them are legal while the remaining need to go through the registration process to get work permit and visa to work legally in Thailand for two years until 2020, said Minister of Labor Adul Sangsingkeo. Many Myanmar migrant workers - more than 90 percent of migrant workers in the Samut Sakhon province are from Myanmar - were seen at a hospital during a media visit waiting to go through the registration process to get legalized. Everything can be done in a day and none of the workers need to come to the center a second day, said Doctor Molee Wanichsuwan, Director of Samut Sakhon Hospital. Health checkups He told the media that the migrant workers are required to go through health checkups and those found to be sick would be treated with their health conditions evaluated to see if they could continue working in Thailand or be sent back to their home countries. Once registered, the foreign migrant workers would enjoy the same level of minimum wage and other social welfare. This will be guaranteed as employers are obliged to transfer wages to all workers through commercial banks. According to the Thai government, 537,494 migrant workers had passed through the registration process in these centers up to March 15. The Thai government has asked all employers to take their employees from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, to register at the one-stop service centers before March 31, otherwise they will be fined or even jailed according to a new regulation of foreign workers promulgated last year. Xinhua (China Daily 03/23/2018 page11) This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below: Password: The magic returns; the strains of our music will once more ring forth. Consortium Aurora Borealis is back in action after the silence imposed on so many arts organizations by COVID-19. Will President Donald Trump visit Fort Drum, a large Army base in northern New York? U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, whose district is home to the military installation, hopes so. Stefanik, R-Willsboro, sent a letter to Trump formally inviting him to visit Fort Drum during his first term. She noted that two of Trump's predecessors, Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, visited Fort Drum during their first terms. Bush visited Fort Drum in 2002. Obama traveled to the base in 2011. "Your visit would continue this great legacy of support for our brave men and women in uniform at Fort Drum," Stefanik wrote in her letter to Trump. According to a fiscal year 2017 report, Fort Drum's population includes more than 74,000 service members, civilian employees, families and retirees. As of September 2017, there were 15,110 military service members and 15,455 family members at Fort Drum. The base is the home of the 10th Mountain Division, a light infantry division of the Army and one of the most deployed units since the war in Afghanistan began in 2001. The Auburn Police Department and New York State Police were called to Walmart Friday afternoon after a customer reported seeing men with rifles in the store's parking lot, but police said it appeared to be a false alarm. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} According to Cayuga County 911, at around 1:25 p.m., a Walmart employee called police after a customer said there were two men wearing masks and holding rifles in a vehicle outside the store. The employee allegedly told dispatchers that the customer had called the store to notify management of a potential threat. Auburn Deputy Police Chief Roger Anthony said the APD and state police investigated the incident. He said officers surrounded the vehicle in question and quickly determined there was no credible threat. Anthony said officers now believe it was a false report. Several customers said shoppers were told to go to the center of the store while police investigated. Police said the store was back open for business by 2:30 p.m. Staff writer Megan Blarr can be reached at (315) 282-2282 or megan.blarr@lee.net. Follow her on Twitter @CitizenBlarr. Love 4 Funny 34 Wow 5 Sad 5 Angry 33 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. 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. SENNETT Water is relatively cheap in Cayuga County. But that could soon change, at least incrementally, as local municipalities look at how best to upgrade their aging infrastructure and hook up to second sources for emergencies. The Cayuga County Water and Sewer Authority is taking the first step, working with engineering firm Barton & Loguidice to assess some rural communities' water and sewer systems. Engineer Gregory Mosure presented the latest information to municipal leaders Thursday at the Natural Resources Center on County House Road in Sennett. The mapping project is paid for by a Local Government Efficiency grant with matching funds from Cayuga County. The authority is taking a close look at systems in Fair Haven, Cato, Meridian, Ira, Cayuga, Aurelius, Moravia, Aurora, Union Springs and Weedsport. The firm is also examining second sources of drinking water. More than half of Cayuga County gets its drinking water from Owasco Lake, and since 2016 when toxins from harmful algal blooms threatened that supply, local leaders have been considering what to do if they need a backup. AKRON, Ohio - A Maple Heights man was sentenced to life in prison Friday for killing his daughter's ex-boyfriend last year in Cuyahoga Falls. Edward Piechowiak, 66, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder in the Aug. 2, 2017 shooting and stabbing death of Kevin Tieraney, a Summit County Prosecutor's Office spokesman said in a news release. Judge Tammy O'Brien sentenced him immediately after he pleaded guilty Friday in Summit County Common Pleas Court. Piechowiak will be eligible for parole in 23 years, when he is 89 years old, the prosecutor's office spokesman said. Piechowiak is the maternal grandfather of Tieraney's daughter, investigators said. Tieraney, 32, was shot and stabbed to death at an apartment building on American Avenue near Wyoga Lake Road, Cuyahoga Falls police said. Piechowiak confessed to killing Tieraney and to dumping the murder weapons in Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Sagamore Hills, investigators said. To comment on this story, visit Friday's crime and courts comments page. AKRON, Ohio -- Two Akron parents charged in connection with the death of a 2-year-old girl who wandered outside in the cold appeared in court for the first time Friday afternoon. Tierra M. Williams, 22, and Dariaun D. Parker, 24, are charged with child endangering, a fifth-degree felony, in connection with the Feb. 2 death of their daughter Wynter Parker. An Akron Municipal Court judge appointed defense attorneys for Williams and Parker and ordered them to return to court Monday, a court official said. They were not given bonds because they were issued summons to appear in court, the court official said. Wynter was found Feb. 2 on the porch outside a house on Doty Drive near Faye Road, police said. The girl died after paramedics took her to Akron Children's Hospital. Investigators said Wynter's father, who works a night shift, fell asleep while he was watching the girl. The mother left Wynter in the father's care for approximately two hours while she was out of the house with a 4-year-old child, police said. To comment on this story, visit Friday's crime and courts comments page. WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. -- In November 2015, a 29-year-old man was returning to his living quarters at a Barstow, Calif., motel when a San Bernardino County deputy caught sight of him and followed. Shortly after, the deputy, thinking him suspicious, attempted to question the man, Nathanael Pickett, and a tussle ensued. When the two ceased their struggle, the unarmed Pickett was dead. The deputy later told investigators that Pickett, who appeared to be under the influence, had punched him to the point where he was about to lose consciousness, so he took out his gun and fired in self-defense. Pickett's family sued the county and, on March 14, a federal jury awarded the family $33.5 million in damages. It is an amount thought to be the most ever awarded in a police officer shooting case. The Pickett family's attorney was Dale Galipo, who may well be the most successful civil rights/personal injury lawyer in the United States in terms of cases won and dollars awarded to those he represents. A 1977 graduate of Orange High School, Galipo has been in the news for the record case, and the subject of emails of congratulations from his fellow lawyers and judges. While San Bernardino County is expected to appeal the eight-person jury's unanimous decision, Galipo used motel security video to persuade the jury that Pickett never really put up a fight. He also successfully showed that the deputy, Kyle Woods, did not show signs of having been punched in the face more than 10 times, as he had claimed. "It was a made-up story," Galipo told the Los Angeles Times after the case had been decided. "The jury realized it was all made up." Speaking to cleveland.com by phone from his Woodland Hills office, Galipo said, "I asked (initially) for $17 million to $20 million, and whatever the jury thought appropriate in punitive damages." The jury decided on $15.5 million in compensatory damages and $18 million in punitive damages. "At first, the county made no offer (to settle)," he said. "They thought they did nothing wrong." Then, after the first phase of the trial-- in which the deputy was found guilty of unreasonable detainment, false arrest, excessive force, denial of medical care and negligence -- the county made an offer of $6 million. "My client didn't accept that," Galipo said. "Then I was just hoping (moving forward) I could do better than $6 million." Galipo said even he was surprised by the $33.5 million figure. Not that he hasn't had huge successes in the past. He has won 10 trials in the past 10 months and, in the last seven years, has racked up more than 50 trial wins, each with awards in excess of $1 million. Early years Galipo was born while his father, Charles, a lawyer, and mother, Maryann, lived in Garfield Heights. The family moved to Pepper Pike in 1969 or 1970, when his father's law business picked up. "My parents still live in Pepper Pike," he said. "I graduated from Orange High School in 1977. A guy named George Stephanopoulos (ABC news anchor) was a friend of mine. He was about a year younger than me." Galipo said he remembers Pepper Pike and Cleveland fondly and returns often. "I talk to my parents on the phone just about every day," he said. "I come home a lot. In September, I was in town for my class reunion." Galipo hosted about 100 of those former classmates, out of an Orange High class of about 300, about a month ago in California. "We went to dinner at a friend's house and talked about old times in high school," he said. After high school graduation, Galipo attended the University of Michigan, where he earned a degree in business administration. Next, he traveled west and attended the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. Although he graduated from UCLA in 1984, he didn't begin working as a lawyer until 1989, after exploring entrepreneurial paths. A few years later, he began concentrating on civil rights and injury cases. Remembering home "I love Cleveland," Galipo said. "I proudly tell everyone that I'm from Cleveland. "We're big Cavalier fans. My wife calls me LeBron James. She asks me how many times I'm going to win." Single most of his life, Galipo met his future wife, Vicki Sarmiento, in 2004. They married in 2012. "She's also a civil rights/personal injury lawyer," he said. "We met each other working on cases." Also in California with Galipo is his brother, Dave, a 1980 Orange High graduate. Dave Galipo works as his brother's law office manager. "He used to be the manager at Saks Fifth Avenue in Beachwood," Dale Galipo said of his brother. After winning an award amount that may be the biggest of its kind in history, Galipo said, "I asked my wife, 'Where do I go from here?' "But, seriously, I have a good-faith belief in the people I'm working for. I'm down to earth, and I think juries see that and that's why I've been successful. I think I got that down-to-earth way about me from growing up in the Midwest, in Ohio." CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The U.S. Attorney's Office is seeking the forfeiture of millions of dollars and five cars -- three of which have been seen on the big screen -- as part of an FBI investigation into an Ohio businessman and his addiction treatment companies, according to court records. The health-care fraud investigation by state and federal authorities into Ryan Sheridan and Braking Point Recovery Center -- a for-profit company that provided detox, outpatient treatment, day treatment and sober living services -- is ongoing. Nobody has been charged. The broad allegations laid out in a forfeiture complaint filed in federal court Thursday show the FBI and other agencies are looking into whether Braking Point misled Medicaid when it billed for services. The feds are looking to have Sheridan forfeit $2,961,545.87 and five cars. Officials say the money was directly or indirectly obtained through illegal Medicaid payouts and the cars were bought with ill-gotten money. But not just any five cars. The lot includes: - A 1981 DeLorean DMC, a reproduction of the time machine in the "Back to the Future" movies. Sheridan bought it for $51,300, the complaint states. - A 1959 Cadillac Hearse, a reproduction of the car that carried the "Ghostbusters" in two 1980s movies. Price tag: $140,359. - A 1995 Chevrolet Caprice Classic Wagon, a reproduction of one of the Batmobiles. Sheridan purchased it for $160,359. Most of the seized money were in bank and financial accounts. However, agents found $390,066 in cash stacked inside a gun safe in Sheridan's basement when they searched his Leetonia home in January, according to the complaint. Attempts to reach Sheridan and his attorneys Thursday were not successful. Braking Point had facilities in Austintown and Whitehall, near Columbus. The Ohio Department of Medicaid stopped paying claims from the company in October, around the time the FBI executed its first set of search warrants. The company is no longer providing addiction treatment. News outlets in the Mahoning Valley have reported on the investigation into Sheridan, a flashy businessman and Youngstown developer, for several months. He ran with the bulls and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro last year to raise money for the Rich Center for Autism, according to WKBN-TV. He even took his Ghostbusters car for a spin in Youngstown's 2016 holiday parade, the station reported. WKBN captured footage of authorities hauling away Sheridan's DeLorean from one of his properties in Girard. The complaint says the FBI and other agencies began investigating Braking Point in December 2016 after receiving complaints from former employees and based on the high amount of Medicaid reimbursements. Braking Point submitted 134,744 Medicaid reimbursement claims worth $48,551,267.33 between May 2015 and October of last year. Medicaid paid $31,099,469.15 on those claims and issued a suspension of payments on Oct. 18 due to a "credible allegation of fraud," the complaint states. Thomas Dailey, a former executive for Braking Point, died in July of an accidental overdose. The Trumbull County Coroner found fentanyl, heroin and cocaine in Dailey's system after he was found dead in a motel in Warren, according to WFMJ-TV. "Federal law enforcement seized millions of dollars' worth of assets as they investigate allegations that Braking Point ripped off taxpayers," U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said in an emailed statement. "This case underscores that health care fraud is big business and a serious crime, particularly at a time when more resources are being devoted to drug treatment." If you would like to comment on this story, please visit Thursday's crime and courts comments section. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- On March 15, the Department of Homeland Security issued a warning confirming Russia hacked into the U.S. power grid and may be able to shut it down at will. President Trump might actually have welcomed a power outage during Anderson Cooper's Friday interview with Karen McDougal, and would welcome one during Cooper's interview with Stormy Daniels on "60 Minutes" this Sunday. With no power outage Friday, Trump may have opted to time the firing of H.R. McMaster and hiring of John-Bomb 'em-Bolton to distract attention from the McDougal interview. The former Playboy model credibly recounted her alleged affair with Trump that stretched from 2006 to 2007. While McMaster's exit was expected at some point, Trump's decision to make the change from McMaster to Bolton reportedly caught the White House staff, and Bolton himself, by surprise. Trump was said to be looking to get ahead of the news. You would think Trump further inflaming the trade war Friday, sending the stock market into a dive, would be enough to distract attention away from the McDougal interview. For good measure, Trump also responded to Joe Biden's fist fight challenge on "Top this News Story Friday" Trump is said to have cautioned Bombs Away Bolton not to start a war. But would Trump change his mind to distract attention from the Mueller investigation and "All the Presidents' Women?" Anderson Cooper's Friday interview with Playboy turned Trump playmate, Karen McDougal was just the opening act for Stormy Daniels appearance on "60 Minutes." The Daniels interview may not end up being much more than a tease. It doesn't seem to fit her smart lawyer's m.o. to have her suddenly whip out Trump penis pics and sexting messages like Anthony Weiner, if they exist. An interview containing such material would be airing after 12pm or on pay-per-view. Whatever Daniels ends up saying, will not be good for Trump. So far Daniels and her lawyer have out-maneuvered Trump and his lawyer Michael Cohen to the extent that Cohen has had to hire his own lawyer. It's never a good sign when your fix-it man needs to hire a fix-it man for himself. McDougal, Daniels and Summer Zervos have all made legal strides in restoring their power that Trump and his lawyers have tried to shut down. A New York Supreme Court judge has ruled Zervos' defamation case can go forward. If the ruling is upheld, Trump will have to comply with discovery demands in the sexual harassment-related case brought by the former contestant on "The Apprentice." If Trump really did decided to time McMaster's firing and Bolton's hiring to distract from the McDougal interview, don't be surprised if on Sunday Trump replaces Chief-of-Staff John Kelly with Sean Hannity. CLEVELAND, Ohio - Easter egg hunts aren't just for kids. Adults have their own after-dark version. Around the region, grown-ups are scouring through dark fields for egg-filled prizes. But this time, instead of a piece of chocolate or tiny trinkets, these prizes are more like TVs, vacations and the latest tech gadgets. And even if you don't win, there's usually still food and drinks flowing. The events are selling out throughout Northeast Ohio, but these are eight adult Easter egg hunts where you can still get in on the action. Maize Valley Winery & Craft Brewery moonlight egg hunt Whether you're bring a flashlight or cell phone, you'll want to have some type of illumination at this after-dark egg hunt. For the third year, Maize Valley Winery and Craft Brewery will be hosting their grown-up Easter party. The outdoor hunt will feature more than $3,000 in cash and prizes, including a 40" Smart TV, a Bluetooth speaker, wine-tasting packages, bottles of wine, food and more. Maize Valley Winery & Craft Brewery is at 6193 Edison St. NE, Hartville, OH. March 23, March 29, March 30 6-9 p.m. Bedford Co-Op's annual adult Easter egg hunt Gather at Bedford's Hemlock Creek Picnic Area for this late-night egg hunt through the woods. Bring a flashlight and stay alert because each egg you find wins a prize, such as a Cancun certificate, Chrome book, Kings Island tickets and more. They'll also be hosting a raffle that can get you a head start in the hunt. Hemlock Creek Picnic Area is at 14800 Button Rd, Walton Hills. Saturday, March 24 8-11 p.m. Casa Di Vino adult Easter egg photo scavenger hunt Turn your camera on as Casa Di Vino brings the city into focus. You'll get a list of items to photograph around town and each item found will be worth a designated number of eggs, which you'll open to see if you've won a prize. The $15 entrance includes a cash bar, beer and wine with heavy appetizers. Casa Di Vino is at 28932 Euclid Ave., Wickliffe, Ohio. Saturday, March 24 7-10 p.m. Fred Fuller Park adult egg scramble More than 5,000 eggs will be hidden at this 18+ hunt at Fred Fuller Park. Scour for eggs in the dark for the chance to win big screen TVs, bikes, a kayak, among other prizes that reach more than $4,000. Fred Fuller Park is at 601 Middlebury Rd., Kent. Friday, March 30 8:30 p.m. Columbia Reservation adult Easter egg hunt More than 3,000 eggs will be hidden at Columbia Reservation for this 18+ egg hunt. Local businesses will be providing all the prizes you find at this event. The hunt begins at 8 p.m., but they'll also have an Easter Costume contest at 7:45 p.m. Sundae Funday's will be serving up food specials, hot chocolate and coffee throughout the evening. The reservation is at 25145 Royalton Road, Columbia Station. Saturday, March 31 7-8 p.m. Cliffside Key Club adult Easter egg hunt Gather at Akron bar and restaurant Cliffside Key Club as it transforms into an adult Easter egg hunt. After it's over, nosh on their full menu of steaks, burgers, wings and more bar bites. Cliffside is at 2118 S. Main St., Akron. Saturday, March 31 6-9 p.m. HighTide Tavern adult Easter egg hunt Geneva-on-the-Lake celebrates Easter at HighTide Tavern. This event takes you on a night hunt for eggs filled with novelties. HighTide Tavern is at 5504 Lake Rd., Geneva-on-the-Lake. Saturday, April 7 8 p.m.-1 a.m. Middlefield Recreation's Adult Egg Hunt at Mineral Lake Park This 21-and-over event takes place at Mineral Lake Park. Bring your photo ID, basket and flash light to participate. Mineral Lake Park is at the corner of corner of Sperry Ln. and Lake St., Middlefield. Sunday, April 8 8-10 p.m. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- BAIC finished the merger of Changhe and Weiwang and combined the two into an all-new Big Changhe (hereinafter also referred to as Changhe) recently. During the strategy-releasing conference on Mar. 21, Changhe Automobile announced that it will unveil a new brand and a new logo. At the same time, it also released its development strategy, dubbed Mobile Co-Innovation Space. Changhe Automobile will be positioned as the southern production base of BAIC Group, the strategic base of energy-saving and environment-friendly models as well as the developing base of NEVs. According to the plan released by BAIC Changhe, Changhe Automobile will integrate with the original vehicle department and BAIC's Weiwang department into a new second-tier platform, big Changhe. Currently, BAIC Changhe owns two vehicle brands, Changhe and Weiwang, covering such areas as sedans, SUVs, MPVs and NEVs. Besides, it boasts three manufacturing bases, three manufacturing plants for vehicles and engines. During the press conference, Changhe announced that it will transfer from a traditional automaker into a service provider who targets to meet the personalized mobility demand of IoT and customers. In terms of products, BAIC Changhe will attach importance to the development of two-type products. One will focus on the working scenario products, which are represented by mobility+office, mobility+medical, mobility+education. The other will focus on life scenarios, such as mobility+music and mobility+game. BAIC Changhe also showcased a concept product about working scenario, the M60 at the press conference. Based on the existing M60, the new model offers a mobility office at the rear seats. In addition, BAIC Changhe signed a strategic cooperation agreement with DHL. Both parties jointly develop the BAIC Weiwang 407EV model for logistics area. It is said that the new model will make a breakthrough in reliability, safety, transportation efficiency and cruise range. In the future, BAIC Changhe will give its priority on both traditional vehicles and NEVs. After the merger of Changhe and Weiwang, their dealership channels will also be combined into one later. In the future, the number of first-tier dealers will be up to around 600. According to the plan, BAIC Changhe is expected to complete an output and sales target between 1,000,000 units and 1,500,000 units. FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio -- A Georgia man recruited men from a homeless shelter to pass counterfeit checks at banks in Northeast Ohio, police said. Gerald R. Blalock, 27, persuaded men staying at the Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry shelter in Cleveland to cash fraudulent checks, and promised them a 10 percent cut of the money, Fairview Park police said. Fairview Park police discovered the scheme when a 32-year-old man tried to cash a fraudulent $1,551 check Tuesday at a Key Bank on West 220th Street, according to court records. Investigators learned of similar attempts, earlier in the same day, to cash fraudulent checks in North Ridgeville and Rocky River. Each of those incidents involved a man staying at the Cleveland shelter, police said. The men told investigators that the man who recruited them to cash the checks was staying at a Fairview Park motel. Fairview Park police arrested Blalock later Tuesday, police said. Police found two large expanding portfolios containing hundreds of blank check forms in Blalock's car, according to court records. Blalock is charged with passing bad checks and possessing criminal tools in the scheme, according to court records. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing during his arraignment Wednesday in Rocky River Municipal Court. The case has been bound over to Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, records say. It's unclear why Blalock came to Cleveland, or if he has attempted the scheme in other cities elsewhere in the U.S., police said Friday. To comment on this story, visit Friday's crime and courts comments page. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Cleveland police internal investigation into more than 60 sex crimes and child abuse cases that went largely uninvestigated, some for two years, revealed frustrated victims and at least one suspect who raped again. The more than 250-page file includes interviews with victims in 2016 and 2017 who were upset that cases they reported were not followed up on by Det. Tom Ross. A 15-year-old victim told an internal affairs investigator Ross never contacted her after he took her statement in 2014 at a hospital, even after evidence tested in her case identified her attacker the following year. "I don't think he still should be working," she later told the investigator. "Because in the future what if another girl gets molested, raped or whatever... You got somebody working for you all that really don't care." The teen identified as her attacker later pleaded guilty to felonious assault and gross sexual imposition and is now serving three years in prison. The mother of a 7-year-old who said he was sexually assaulted in his Cleveland school by another student complained that nobody would tell her who was responsible for "this big screw up" that was causing ongoing emotional problems for her child. "A lot of people did not do their job. A lot of people was getting paid to do this and nobody did what they were supposed to do," she said in a recorded phone interview with the detective who took the case over after Ross. "You got a raw deal here, you and your son," Det. Charlie McNeeley told the mother. "I'm going to try to make it right by ya'll...You weren't treated right. " It's not clear how the case, which was referred to the Juvenile Court, was resolved. The file indicates that the family filed a lawsuit against the city. One of the victims who reported being raped didn't live long enough to see her case prosecuted. In June 2014, the 56-year-old woman told police that a neighbor from her Lorain Avenue apartment knocked her out of her wheelchair and raped her. Ross did some work to investigate the case, which a city prosecutor said should be referred to a grand jury. But that didn't happen. Months later, Wilberto Santos Gonzalez, the suspect in that rape case, was charged with another rape that happened during a robbery in Bedford Heights. He was sentenced to two decades in prison in that case. A new detective later completed the investigation into the earlier victim's case and Gonzalez pleaded guilty to sexual battery and was sentenced to a year in prison in 2017. Linda Lusk reported to police in 2014 that an off-duty East Cleveland police officer who worked with her at the Save-A-Lot on Clark Avenue showed her a photo of his penis and continually asked her to have sex with him, making menacing and derogatory comments that she felt were threatening. Lusk was a third-shift cashier at the grocery store. "I kept calling and trying to pursue it but nothing had happened," Lusk told The Plain Dealer Friday. Lusk, who gave permission for her name to be used, said: "I didn't know whether they were trying to protect him because he was a cop. He took the case and he just threw it under the rug." Lusk is frustrated that nothing has happened with the case, even after she spoke with internal affairs investigators. "It's been what, 3 or 4 years later?" Other cases received little or incomplete investigation, and more than half of the cases involved children who were reported as endangered, or abused physically or sexually, sometimes by a parent or loved one. In one case, a child remained in a home with a now-convicted abuser for almost two years, according to the file, which The Plain Dealer obtained through a public records request. Read a timeline of the investigation Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services had not raised any concerns in the cases "because it takes a long time to go from report to prosecution," Mary Louise Madigan, a county spokeswoman said. "But it's a small percentage of our cases that get prosecuted." Madigan said the agency has worked with the unit as they have cleaned up their files. "I think there's empathy from the social workers for the sex crimes unit because everyone is busy all the time." Cleveland Det. Reginald Lanton said the department had no comment at this time. City of Cleveland spokesman Dan Williams said the city would not comment on ongoing legal issues. No criminal charges Internal affairs investigator Sgt. Jason Steckle shared the findings of his internal investigation with the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's office in 2016. Assistant County Prosecutor Matthew Meyer told Steckle in an email that enough evidence existed to charge Ross with "dereliction of duty" but that since that crime was a misdemeanor the county wouldn't prosecute, according to the file. Meyer said then-Prosecutor Tim McGinty reviewed the file and agreed with the decision. McGinty declined to comment. After that, the city asked an Akron prosecutor to review the investigation. In an April 2017 letter, Akron Deputy Chief Prosecutor Craig Morgan said probable cause existed to charge Ross with dereliction of duty, but he was "unconvinced that any such prosecution would result in a conviction." According to Ohio law, dereliction of duty applies in cases where a law enforcement officer fails to apprehend an offender or fails to perform their lawful duty in a criminal case due to negligence or recklessness. Recklessness applies when the officer knew or should have known that his or her actions were likely to cause harm. This can include an officer not acting when he or she should have. Negligence means that an officer harmed someone by not performing his or her duty. Morgan, reached by phone Friday, said he reviewed a lengthy packet of material before making his determination. He declined to further discuss why he thought the case could not be successfully prosecuted. "I just think the letter speaks for itself," Morgan said. Investigation results in discipline Earlier this month, Ross was demoted from his current rank as sergeant in the Third District's Downtown Service unit. He plans to appeal that decision. Two sex crimes unit supervisors also were disciplined. Sgt. Anthony McMahan was suspended for 15 days, and also plans to appeal. Commander James McPike was demoted and cannot appeal. He is now a captain overseeing patrol officers. The department's investigation found that even after victims complained, both neglected their duties in supervising Ross and following up to make sure the cases were handled properly. The file contains interviews with McPike and McMahan in which both said they were unable to adequately supervise the unit because of the many responsibilities they were juggling because of thin supervisory ranks. They provided documents for investigators showing that for months at a time they had to handle the workload of multiple supervisors. Read more about understaffing in the unit over the years. Earlier this month at a news conference announcing disciplinary actions following the internal affairs investigation, Mayor Frank Jackson and Chief Calvin Williams said understaffing did not cause the problem that warranted the discipline. "It's been said staffing is an issue, staffing is always an issue," Williams said. "...In this particular case, there were things that happened that had nothing to do with staffing. There were things that happened in this case that shouldn't have happened." The city declined to respond to the assertions of the two supervisors contained in the investigation file. In a May 2016 memo, McMahan writes to his supervisors that detectives in the unit have high numbers of open investigations and that victims were complaining and asking if their cases could be reassigned. "These cases are piling up at an alarming rate," McMahan wrote. McMahan had written a similar memo pleading for additional detectives six months earlier. That memo also raised concerns about not having enough detectives to adequately investigate domestic violence cases. McMahan wrote: "With the number of domestic violence homicides on the rise, I fear our ability to safely and thoroughly investigate these cases will be compromised. As well as our ability to investigate sexual assaults in a timely manner, potentially preventing an offender from striking again." In 2013 and 2014, the unit received about 1,500 cases each year to distribute to 13 or 14 detectives, so many cases that the supervisors said they pitched in to investigate low-level cases. Memos sent up the chain of command also pointed out that the sex crimes and child abuse unit had only three working cars for 13 detectives to use, the newest being nine years old at the time, that two of their vehicles had been recently scrapped, and they were forced to borrow cars from other units. McPike told investigators he was supervising the domestic violence and sex crimes units, and attended the FBI's National Training Academy for 10 weeks during the time the cases went unattended. During an interview about his promotion to commander in April of 2016, McPike directly raised concerns about wearing "three, four, or five hats" with Chief Calvin Williams. He said Williams acknowledged the concerns but McPike was not sure Williams understood what he was conveying, according to the file. Ross, in his interview with investigators, said he fooled himself into thinking he could do two jobs when he offered to take his incomplete cases with him after being promoted in 2015 to the rank of sergeant. He also said he wanted to save himself from embarrassment and to prevent his colleagues from having to do his work. The investigation found he did no work on the cases after leaving the sex crimes unit. In McMahan's interview with internal affairs, he said other detectives in the sex crimes unit were aware of how many open cases Ross had, and would even go to his desk to count them, adding to Ross's sense of guilt. Ross had fallen behind on investigations quickly after entering the sex crimes and child abuse unit in 2012 and at one point was put on a weekly plan to catch up with the workload, according to the investigation. This was in part because of the number of cases he received, but also because he spent time doing ceremonial unit duties, working as a training instructor and acting as financial secretary for a police union, according to his supervisors. McPike asked Ross to return the files to the unit at least twice before alerting the Internal Affairs unit in April of 2016 about the cases. After that, the cases were redistributed to other sex crimes and child abuse detectives who picked up where Ross left off or started fresh investigations. Those three detectives were paid overtime for that work, according to the investigation. The file doesn't say what it cost the city. Also contributing to this story were John Caniglia, Jo Ellen Corrigan, James F. McCarty, Patrick O'Donnell and Brie Zeltner. WASHINGTON -- The federal budget deal signed Friday by President Donald Trump contained good news for state medical marijuana laws in Ohio and 45 other states. State medical marijuana programs have been protected from a federal law prohibiting marijuana since 2014 because of a budget amendment barring the Department of Justice from spending money on enforcement in those states. The restriction has been renewed several times since, but there was some uncertainty that it would be included in the latest iteration of the budget stopgap bill. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions asked lawmakers to exclude it and rescinded Obama-era memos that gave some assurances to the legal marijuana industry. The provision was part of the $1.3 trillion, 2,000-plus page bipartisan spending bill approved this week. However, the measure expires at the end of the fiscal year in September, and the protection does not extent to recreational marijuana, which has been legalized in nine states. Page 240 good news for states rights: no funds will be spent to prevent any states medical marijuana initiatives. Thank you Congr. Rohrbacher Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 22, 2018 "Patients across the country will be relieved to hear that Congress has maintained the current policy of allowing states to make their own decisions on medical marijuana policy," Matthew Schweich, executive director for national pro-legalization group Marijuana Policy Project, said in a statement. "It is imperative that Congress continue to include these temporary protections in the federal budget until comprehensive marijuana policy reforms are passed." Ohio is in the process of setting up its medical marijuana program. State law set a Sept. 8 deadline for the program to be fully operational. Provisional medical marijuana cultivator licenses were awarded in November 2017, and licenses for businesses that will test marijuana, make marijuana products and sell medical marijuana in dispensaries are expected to be awarded later this spring. Despite errors uncovered after the cultivator license application review process, state regulators say the program will meet the September deadline. Ohio's program will allow patients with one of 21 qualifying medical conditions and a doctor's recommendation to buy and use marijuana. Ohio law does not allow people to smoke marijuana or grow their own at home. CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cuyahoga County IT administrator Emily McNeeley, named in subpoenas served on the county by corruption investigators, was restricted in late 2014 from working on projects involving her spouse's employer, Hyland Software, unless cleared "through a conflict check," an email shows. The email was sent to the county's Law Department staff by then Law Director Majeed Makhlouf on Nov. 20, 2014, shortly after McNeeley went to work at the county as an assistant law director. "Anytime we have a matter with Hylant [sic], we need to go through a conflict check to determine if Emily can be part of the County's team on it," the email states. "In the absence of such analysis and approval from the Law Director, nobody should discuss matters affecting Hylant [sic] with Emily." Makhlouf also restricted McNeeley's electronic access to Hyland records. Cleveland.com obtained a copy of the email (read it below) through a public-records request. The directive from Makhlouf predates two ethics opinions that McNeeley sought from the county's current inspector general on whether she could work on projects involving Hyland. Both of those opinions were turned over to investigators from the county Prosecutor's Office and copies were obtained by cleveland.com through a public-records request. In response to McNeeley's first request, made on March 16, 2016, Inspector General Mark Griffin stated that McNeeley had no conflict as long as the county "does not contract directly with Hyland Software," or that McNeeley's spouse, Lisa McNeeley, does not work on city or county procurement contracts at Hyland. The memo stated that she did not. Emily McNeeley sought a second opinion on May 17, 2016, because the county's Information Technology Department began receiving direct support form Hyland and her boss, Scot Rourke, was "considering expanding the County's business relationship with Hyland," according to Griffin's response to McNeeley. In his second opinion, Griffin determined that McNeeley did have a conflict, but that it would not prevent her from working on Hyland projects after contracts were awarded. Emily McNeeley, who is on paid leave as a result of the investigation, could not be reached for comment on this story. In a telephone interview Friday, county spokeswoman Mary Louise Madigan said McNeeley was carrying out Makhlouf's directive for a "conflict check" when she asked the inspector general for the two conflict-of-interest opinions in 2016. County investigators have served a total of eight subpoenas on the administration of County Executive Armond Budish. Some of those subpoenas sought records associated with McNeeley and Rourke and their access to contracts involving Hyland and OneCommunity. Rourke, who also is on paid leave, worked at OneCommunity for 10 years. He left in 2013 and went to work at the county in December 2015 as chief information officer and chief transformation officer. Emily McNeeley joined the county in late 2014, around the same time her spouse, Lisa McNeeley, went to work at Hyland. Emily McNeeley has been general counsel and director of special initiatives for information technology for the county since July of 2016. Lisa McNeeley is manager of proposal services and government contracts for Hyland, according to her LinkedIn page. She has held that position since Jan. 18. Previously, she worked at Hyland as public procurement administrator and then as "Team Lead" for government contracts, according to the LinkedIn page. Emily McNeeley has been involved in numerous email conversations about Hyland with county and Hyland personnel, records show. She praised Hyland's software in a Jan. 13, 2017 email that she sent to top county administrators. That email was in reference to the "Procurement Transformation Plan 2017" that was to be presented to county officials later in the month. "The team has done a lot of great work to date and I believe we are in a strong position to move this project forward," McNeeley writes in the email. "We are excited about the partnership with Hyland Software and the amazing efficiencies the software can deliver. Thank you for your continued support throughout this effort." McNeeley, who signed the email "Emily and the team," sent the message to Budish, Sharon Sobol Jordan, who was then Budish's chief of staff, county Fiscal Officer Dennis Kennedy and Rourke, while copying six members of McNeeley's working group at the county. She also blind copied Hyland employees Lori Kershner and Tom Pappalardo. Eliza Wing, chief communications officer for the county said McNeeley's work on the transformation plan was not in violation of the ethics policy because it did not involve negotiating or procuring a contract. Wing said she didn't know why McNeeley blind copied the Hyland workers. HAMILTON, Ohio -- A former corrections officer at a jail in southwest Ohio has pleaded guilty after being accused of having sexual contact with an inmate. Nakisha Newell, 28, could be sentenced to up to five years in prison, fined $10,000 and must register as a Tier III sex offender for one count of sexual battery, a third-degree felony, the Journal-News reports. Newell's lawyer, Mike Allen, tells the Journal-News that Newell admits that she made a mistake and decided to change her plea to guilty. She will be sentenced on May 17. Newell had been working at Butler County Jail for the 18 months when she was arrested in November. Newell was accused of bringing a cell phone and cigarettes into the jail, but a further investigation revealed she had sex with at least one inmate, Sheriff Richard K. Jones said. COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio is the epicenter of a national opioid addiction crisis, and state and federal officials floated several ideas this week for how to lessen the wide-ranging effects of the problem. More than 4,300 Ohioans died in 2016 from opioid overdoses, and the death toll hasn't shown signs of slowing down. Days after President Donald Trump announced he wanted tougher penalties for drug dealers and stronger border protection, two Trump administration officials announced new federal money for addiction research and job training for people affected by the opioid crisis and those working in mental health and addiction services. Meanwhile, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine touted the benefits of chiropractic care and alternative therapies to manage pain. Real-time research Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said Thursday that research will be crucial in stemming the number of overdose deaths and treating the root causes of addiction. Collins spoke with Ohio State University professors and researchers awarded a piece of the university's $1.35 million opioid research initiative. Eight projects received a total $491,282 to examine medication assisted treatment, opioid use among domestic violence survivors, alternative pain therapies and other aspects of opioid abuse. Collins said the federal budget bill approved Thursday includes $500 million for NIH to better study pain management and opioid abuse. Collins said the agency fast-tracks research that can have a real impact, such as developing nasal sprays of naloxone that are easier and safer to administer to someone experiencing an overdose. Now, Collins said, researchers are working on new formulations of that drug to reverse overdoses of fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid, and for longer-lasting drugs that block the effects of opioids. Collins said it's not realistic to think individuals who have fallen into addiction can simply decide with willpower to end their dependence on opioids. "Opioid use leads to a rewiring of a brain," Collins said. Jobs U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta said opioid addiction has forced too many people out of the workforce. Acosta announced a $21 million pilot program on Tuesday that will award seven to 10 grants for job training efforts for workers affected by the opioid crisis or for workforce development in jobs that prevent or address problems related to opioid abuse. "The importance of a job and work in reducing opioid abuse cannot be overstated," Acosta said after touring Maryhaven, an addiction recovery center on Columbus' south side. "The Department of Labor's grant pilot program will focus on returning individuals impacted by opioids to the workplace." The Department of Labor cites studies that show opioid use may be responsible for up to 20 percent of the decline in labor force participation among men aged 25-54. Alternative pain treatments The Ohio State Chiropractic Association is calling for greater awareness of chiropractor care for pain patients. Pat Ensminger, a Warren chiropractor, said chiropractors have had great success treating back pain, neck pain and headaches without medication. Ensminger said the association wants to partner with hospitals and pain management clinics to offer chiropractic care as an alternative to prescribing painkillers. The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation now requires injured workers to undergo 60 days of chiropractic or other alternative care before receiving spinal fusion surgery. DeWine held a press conference Tuesday to endorse the chiropractors' message. DeWine, a Republican running for governor this year, said the culture around pain and prescribing drugs as an initial response needs to change. DeWine convened a group of insurance and managed care companies to examine alternative pain methods. The group is expected to release its recommendations in the coming weeks. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A trio who attacked and stabbed two teenagers Thursday vowed 'street justice' shortly before attacking them, according to a police report. Two teens, ages 15 and 17, suffered several stab and slice wounds in the attack. Both were treated at MetroHealth. An argument broke out about 6 p.m. at a bus stop on Quincy Avenue near East 47th Street, according to police. The two teens, an 18-year-old woman and a group involving the two attackers argued and a fight broke out, police said. Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority officers responded and broke up the fight, according to police. Everyone involved told the officers they did not want to pursue charges over the argument, police reports say. As the groups were walking away, a 37-year-old woman with the two attackers yelled out that she was going to get "street justice," according to a Cleveland police report. The groups separated until about an hour later when the two attackers and the 37-year-old woman showed up to the courtyard of a public housing complex. The woman yelled out: "Someone's going to die today," according to police. The two attackers, who were not named in police reports, each attacked the 15 and 17 year olds separately, according to police. The 15-year-old was stabbed twice, once on the left side and once in the back, according to police. The 17-year-old wrestled his attacker to the ground. The other attacker got on top of the 17-year-old's back and stabbed him in the back and neck several times, according to police reports. The attackers then ran off and have not been arrested, according to police. To comment on this story, visit Friday's crime and courts comments page. In recent months, Americans have more and more often gathered together in large groups to march, protest, sit in and demonstrate in support of causes dear to their hearts. On March 14, students from schools all across Northeast Ohio participated in a walkout to raise awareness of the causes behind mass shootings like the one Feb. 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. There have been women's marches, racial equality demonstrations, Second Amendment support rallies - to name just a few. As always, history seems to be repeating itself. The current demonstrations hearken back to the Civil Rights marches of the 1960s, and the love-ins and Vietnam War protests of the 1970s. How about you? Would you stand up and speak out in support of a cause that's important to you? Did you protest something when you were in high school or college? to load this Caspio to load this Caspio CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland Hopkins International Airport has plenty to brag about lately. Passenger traffic is up. It's offering new direct flights to Europe. Travelers have judged it the "most improved" airport in North America. But Cleveland officials can't boast about the airport's new baggage-screening system, which is supposed to make life easier for passengers and the airlines -- and is doing just the opposite. The $27 million system, paid for largely with federal tax money, has been plagued by problems that are generating consternation among airlines and passengers that could ultimately force a showdown between the airport and the companies behind the system. The system, which was rolled out in phases beginning in late October, frequently jams, backs up and has to be stopped. When that happens, flights are delayed or passengers arrive at their destinations without their bags. "On the [American Airlines] side, the total impact from yesterday morning's debacle was 73 missed bags that resulted in claims being opened," fumed an airline representative to Cleveland officials in an email dated Dec. 17, 2017. Robert Kennedy, director of Cleveland Hopkins, also was enraged that month, along with nearly every company handling baggage at the airport, according to internal communications obtained through a public records request. "Since November 11, 2017, there has been virtually zero consistency in the system's ability to process bags for all airlines," Kennedy complained in a Dec. 23 letter to the system's builder, Jervis B. Webb Company, and to VTC, the airport's design consultant. "There has not been a duration lasting over three consecutive days where the system has been considered reliable. Over the last two weeks, including this morning's holiday push, numerous bags have missed their intended flights due to the inability-of the system to keep up with demand. This morning alone, airlines had more than 30 bags miss a flight." Kennedy told cleveland.com this week that he is not satisfied with the Jervis B. Webb Company and is not ready to declare that it has completed its contract. Kennedy said the system needs fine-tuning and upgrades. He also said personnel handling bags would benefit from more training on how to manage the sensitive high-tech system. In addition, Kennedy complained in his Dec. letter that the "L3" screening machines (which are not made by Jarvis B. Webb) lack reliability. Andrew Grusnick, the director of project management at Jervis B. Webb, said the biggest problem is that the system was not built to handle the high-number of bags flowing through the system during peak hours. "After the baggage system was installed, Webb learned these projections were based on data from 2013, a period of passenger decline at [Cleveland Hopkins] and do not reflect the significant annual growth in passenger travel since the system design was completed," Grusnick said in a written statement to cleveland.com. "As a result, the system demand is at, and at times over, capacity during peak periods of passenger travel." Grusnick also said it misleading to suggest that Webb is solely at fault for the poor system performance. "Webb was provided a 100% [Transportaton Security Administration] approved design, which was based on passenger load projections calculated by TSA, the Cleveland Airport, and the design team," he said. So, how and why did Cleveland Hopkins and its designers build a system without better anticipating the future increase in passenger traffic? That remains unclear and is something the federal government, which paid for the system, certainly should be asking City Hall. At the time the system was being developed, Ricky Smith led Cleveland Hopkins. He left in July 2015. Kennedy, who has been in charge of the airport for more than a year, did not directly address the capacity issue during a recent interview. But he stressed that the airport is very different today than when the system was designed. He said passenger traffic has exceeded projections made by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2014, when the system was being designed. Cleveland Hopkins saw more than 9 million passengers in 2017, the highest number since 2011-- three years before United Airlines killed its Cleveland hub in early 2014. Without the hub, Kennedy said, the airport had space and could more easily attract low-cost carriers. Those carriers have, in turn, attracted more passengers. He also said the airport's improved customer service has contributed to an increase in traffic. The new system is supposed to be good for passengers, who no longer have to drag their bags from check-in counters to TSA screening devices, which resemble hospital MRI machines and have clogged the ticketing lobby. Now, bags are delivered directly from the ticket counters to screening machines out of sight by an elaborate system of conveyer belts. The system includes new explosive-detection machines and uses robotic carts to deliver bags that have been flagged by the system to TSA agents for further scrutiny. Representatives from the airlines, consultants, contractors and the TSA regularly discuss the problems and work on solutions, records show. But those talks have resulted in only modest improvements since December. The baggage system was down Wednesday morning, setting off a new round of frustration. Grusnick, of Jervis B. Webb, said at no point has the company declined to help troubleshoot the system and provide support. He said the company remains committed to finding solutions. Something will need to be done soon, if Kennedy's optimism about passenger growth is realized. "We are kicking butt," he said. But until the system is fixed, the butts getting kicked belong to passengers who arrive at their destinations without luggage. CLEVELAND, Ohio --Two big challenges for women candidates seeking elected office in Ohio? Fundraising. Networking. The two women running as major-party candidates for Ohio's down ticket statewide offices in 2018, a Democrat and a Republican, shared similar sentiments about the difficulties women face when seeking office: It's not easy for women to tap into influential fundraising circles, and obtain the cash essential to run for office. Democratic secretary of state candidate Kathleen Clyde and Republican treasurer candidate Sandy O'Brien differed on the scope of the problem, perhaps because of their respective places on opposite sides of the aisle. To learn more about why women are underrepresented in elected office, cleveland.com is interviewing female politicians on the federal and state level for a periodic series called A Woman's Place. We're asking them about the challenges women face in politics, and what women bring to government. In this installment, we talk to the women running for down ticket statewide offices. Clyde's evaluation of the fundraising problem for women, from her Democratic perspective, was blunt, but not without optimism. She received help with fundraising from EMILY's List, a group that supports Democratic women candidates who support abortion rights. "Fundraising is a big part of running for office, and it can be difficult for women to get into some of the circles of power that they need to access to secure the funds that they may need to run for office," Clyde said in an interview late last year. "Again, there's groups out there to help with that. EMILY's List has been very helpful to me, but I think that's a challenge that exists." She said she felt hopeful about a groundswell of Democratic women becoming politically active since the 2016 presidential defeat of Democrat Hillary Clinton. Clyde said she works to recruit women candidates, and mentor women elected to office, to help close the gender gap in politics. "I have noticed that there are a lot of women seeking office on the Democratic side, and it's our side that has more women in office. Certainly in Ohio our party is very encouraging of women candidates, and I'm excited about the future and about what we may see in these next few elections in our state," Clyde said. O'Brien, the former Ashtabula County auditor, offered a more sobering perspective about women candidates who face problems with fundraising during a cleveland.com and Plain Dealer editorial board endorsement interview this month. Sandy O'Brien "The argument that a female candidate is not qualified because she cannot raise funds that are readily available to a man is the single biggest factor holding women back," said O'Brien, who faces state Rep. Robert Sprague in the May GOP primary. O'Brien said she's committed to continuing to speak out about the institutional barriers women candidates face. Her evaluation of her party's work to elevate women candidates was especially grim. "This is the first year I can remember the state GOP has endorsed an all male ticket. This is not good for my party," O'Brien said. "It's leaving us wide open, from opposition. Our congressional delegation: 13 people, zero women. The Democrat party is doing better on this issue." Her answer to help women compete? It's not so positive. "I tell young ladies, 'Well, there's a couple of things you can do: you can move up the career ladder, move real high into some business," O'Brien said. "Don't just become a millionaire, become a multi-millionaire, because that's what you're going to need for politics. Probably give up children. Or marry money.'" Both candidates contend it's not the voters who have an issue with women candidates: It's a systematic political problem. Clyde, a state representative, said she never experienced sexism while campaigning in her district. She said she saw it once she arrived in Columbus. The Ohio Statehouse in recent months has been rocked by accusations of sexual harassment and misconduct. "I will say that I think Ohio voters are very supportive of women candidates and women elected officials, and I've always had a great experience in my district talking to my constituents, campaigning in my district," said Clyde, who is unopposed in the Democratic primary. "I've never felt like they were worried about a woman candidate. I don't experience sexism in that way. Where I have experienced it has been in the halls of the Statehouse from elected officials who are older." Clyde, alongside fellow women lawmakers, recently called for the resignation of Rep. Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican, who reportedly made light of sexual harassment claims against a former Ohio senator and made offensive remarks about a female former lawmaker. Clyde said she sees being a woman candidate as an advantage. "It's different. There's usually a lot of men to chose from, and not a lot of women. So I think people like to support women candidates," Clyde said. Clyde said women change the dynamic in the Statehouse: They help bring people together and seek solutions. "You know, we have a very difficult environment in our Statehouse where there's a lot of extreme partisanship and a lack of civility, and I think that having more women around, I think would restore that collaborative process," Clyde said. O'Brien said she's spoken to Ohioans who are surprised by the lack of women candidates. "We're not asking to vote for us because we're women. We're qualified for these positions -- that's why we're running. It's just we carry this burden that we can't seem to get out from under," O'Brien said. "I cannot begin to tell you, as I cross the state of Ohio -- and it's not just women -- they come up to me and say, 'Sandy, where are our women candidates?'" Shanghai (Gasgoo)- BYTON, a Chinese EV startup, announced that Chad Harrison, former chief automotive engineer of Honda Research & Development Americas (HRA), joined BYTON as vice president of product-line management unit. Meanwhile, David Twohig, former chief automotive engineer of Renault's high-performance vehicle unit, was appointed as the startup's chief automotive engineer who is responsible for some core businesses like body structure and vehicle equipment, etc. According to public materials, Chad Harrion had been working at HRA before he joined BYTON. During his tenure as HRA's chief automotive engineer in the past five years, he led the team in accomplishing the R&D of Honda Odyssey, the most popular MPV model in U.S., which was nominated as the North American utility model of the year. David Twohig had held the position as the chief automotive engineer of the high-performance vehicle unit in French automaker Renault. Under his leadership, his team developed the Alpine A110 which successfully brought the luxury roadster brand Alpine back to revival. Besides, he led the engineering team in developing the Renault ZOE that is currently the best-selling BEV model in Europe. Before that, he dominated the development of the first-generation Nissan Qashqai that has long occupied dominant shares in Europe's compact SUV segment. On March 20, BYTON announced that the former managing director of Goldman Sachs China's investment banking division officially joined the startup as co-president who will be in charge of the capital market and investor relations' management. The company said Cheng's participation will strengthen BYTON's capabilities of financing as well as the capital and investor relations' management. At the 2018 CES (International Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, BYTON unveiled its first drivable prototype that attracted a lot of attentions for the gigantic screen design. Besides, the startup's first production SUV model is expected to go on sale in the last quarter of 2018. Meanwhile, its sedan and MPV models will hit the market in 2021 and 2022 respectively. CLEVELAND, Ohio - Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, a Republican running for governor, is proud of the work he did preserving the filibuster in the U.S. Senate. DeWine, speaking on the latest episode of the Ohio Matters podcast, said his work with the so-called "Gang of 14" to keep the filibuster for judicial nominees - which has since been done away with - was the right decision, even though the filibuster is often criticized by conservatives. DeWine said his gubernatorial primary opponent, Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, was wrong to criticize him for the move more than a decade ago. "She's just dead wrong about it," DeWine said. "Because of what we were able to do - and I was one of 14 - the net result was we got two Supreme Court justices confirmed, nominees of President George W. Bush." DeWine also expressed an affinity for the Senate - where he served two terms - as an institution during the hour-long interview for Ohio Matters. "I found in the Senate you can have significant impact whether you're in the minority party or the majority party, and a lot of it goes back to... that you really have to be able to count to 60," DeWine said, referring the the 60 votes needed to avoid the filibuster. Ohio Matters is the weekly politics podcast from cleveland.com. Every Friday, Andrew Tobias, Mary Kilpatrick and Seth Richardson sit down with political figures from around the state for indepth interviews and discussions. DeWine is the fifth gubernatorial candidate to appear on Ohio Matters and talked about his rise in Ohio politics, long history in elected office and his current race for governor. Taylor and Democrats state Sen. Joe Schiavoni, former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill O'Neill and former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich have all appeared on the show as well. Democrat Richard Cordray has not scheduled an appearance before the May 8 primary. Previous episodes of Ohio Matters can be found here and include guests like former Attorney General Marc Dann and former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges. Spelling bee: If it were only as easy as spelling "bee" then spelling bees would be for me. But no, the upcoming Annual Reaching Heights Community Spelling Bee promises to have words aplenty that will have contestants' brains in knots. If I were participating, I wouldn't want to see the words that usually trip me up when I'm writing. These would include words such as -- and I'm looking each of these up as I write them here for you -- "rhythm," "accommodate" and "harass." This is strictly an adult competition, so you won't have to contend with any super smart kids showing you up. There is still time to form a team of three adults (at a team donation of $500) and take your place on the big, renovated stage at Cleveland Heights High School on April 21. And, what's more, if you're on a team, the organizers would like for you to dress in a silly costume, which probably helps when you misspell a word. If you don't want to be on a team, come on down to watch the professors, lawyers, city council members, business owners and others who will be participating. Celebrate public education and support Reaching Heights at the free, family, fun event. Reaching Heights is a local organization whose passion is excellent public education. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. You can buy raffle tickets and refreshments before the spelling bee starts at 7 p.m. For more information, contact Nicole Rossa at nicole@reachingheights.org. You can also learn more by visiting reachingheights.org or calling 216-932-5110. Laurel open house: If you're the parent of a girl or girls considering a change for middle or upper school -- grades 5-12 -- or, if you're getting a head start as to where you are going to send your daughter to school, then pencil in April 21 on your calendar. On that day, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Laurel School's middle and upper schools will hold an open house. The event will include information about academic and student life as a Laurel girl. There will be student-led tours and an opportunity to meet with faculty. In addition, Laurel's college guidance team will be on hand to discuss the school's history of excellent college placement. Laurel School is located at One Lyman Circle in Shaker Heights. If you plan to attend, RSVP at laurelschool.org/openhouse. Meet the author: From 7 to 8:30 p.m. April 4, you can meet Daniel Coyle, author of "The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups," a must-read book (according to the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Library) that demystifies the success of great organizations and serves as a step-by-step guide to building more effective and happier teams. Quick, someone notify the Cleveland Browns. Tell them it's at 7 o'clock April 4 at the Coventry Village Library branch, 1925 Coventry Road. A book signing will follow Coyle's talk. Call 216-321-3400. Also, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. March 29, you can take part in an informal dinner-discussion with CH-UH Schools Superintendent Talisa Dixon at the Noble Neighborhood Library branch, 2800 Noble Road. The discussion will center on the work taking place within the school district. As a bonus, dinner will be provided. Call 216-291-5665. And, while we're at it, be aware that you can catch the classic horror film "The Invisible Man" at 7 p.m. April 5, also at the Noble branch. Rocking the house: The Mandel Jewish Day School in Beachwood is hosting its signature fundraising event, this year themed "School of Rock," beginning at 6 p.m. April 22. The event has some great items up for auction, including a guitar signed by Aerosmith's Joe Perry; a fully expense-paid trip to Los Angeles, including backstage passes to comedian Bill Maher's show; an in-home cooking experience with Cleveland Chef Doug Katz; the opportunity to drive a BMW for one month; and a lot of electronics and appliances. The event, to be held at B'nai Jeshurun Congregation, 27501 Fairmount Blvd. in Pepper Pike, will be hosted by Mandel JDS (formerly Agnon School) alumnus and brand director for Chagrin Valley Soap and Salve Sam Friedman. Co-chairs of the fundraiser are Marla Bass, Stephanie Miller and Heather Sesnowitz. "Funds raised at this event make an immediate impact on our operating budget," Mandel JDS Director of Development Laura Loebl said in a release. "They help cover tuition assistance, technology, security needs, and more." Last year's auction generated more than $100,000 for operating needs, and an additional $115,000 for two new playgrounds that are now being enjoyed by all Mandel JDS students. For tickets and more information, contact Ali Tannenbaum at 216-464-4055, ext. 109. Fairmount Temple open house: Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple, 23737 Fairmount Blvd. in Beachwood, is holding an open house for families interested in learning more about the temple's pre-kindergarten and kindergarten Sunday morning program. At the open house, children will spend time in classrooms with other children and a teacher while their parents speak with clergy, staff and teachers to learn more about the programs. The Sunday morning pre-k class was introduced just last year with great success. It is for children who are 4 or 5 years old and a year away from kindergarten. The pre-k program is free and open to non-members. To RSVP for the open house and to learn more, contact Staci Cohen at 216-464-5890, or at Scohen@fairmounttemple.org. With honor: Laurel School recently inducted 14 junior and senior students to the Cum Laude Society. For those of us who were nowhere near being Cum Laude students, I can tell you it means "with honor." And, no, I didn't know that without looking at the Laurel press release sent to me. In other words, these are students being recognized for their superior scholastic achievement. Of those 14, four reside in our Sun Press coverage area. They are: Isabelle Chochran, Class of '18, from Shaker Heights; Catherine Amaddio, '19, of Beachwood; and, from Cleveland Heights, Hannah Ginley, '19, and Kyra Parras, '19. The lives of Shaker sisters: What was life like for Shaker sisters, the women who were alive when Shaker Heights was established? I wouldn't know. But Dr. Ware Petznick, executive director of the Shaker Historical Society, does, and she'll talk on that subject from 6 to 7 p.m. March 29 at the SHS, 16740 South Park Blvd., as part of the celebration of Women's History Month. Petznick will talk about the roles of Shaker sisters at the historic North Union site after its 1822 founding, and how those roles related to their beliefs of equality. Cost is $10 general admission, free for SHS members. It is asked that if you plan to attend, you RSVP. To do so, call 216-921-1201. In addition, the SHS will be hosting a four-day "Caring For Your Collections Workshop Week" from 3 to 5 p.m. April 3-6. April 3 is devoted to collections of any kind, or general collections. On April 4, it will be about furniture and woodworking collections. The day after that, it's about brass, silver and metalworking. Finally, on April 6, the discussion will center on the fascinating world of textiles. If you plan to attend, you can bring with you one item from your collection, or a photo of that item, and learn how better to care for it. The cost is $10 for SHS members and $20 for general admission. Again, RSVP by calling the above SHS phone number. Learn home repair: The Home Repair Resource Center, based in Cleveland Heights, will present "Home Remodeling Fair '18" from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 14 at Cleveland Heights City Hall, 40 Severance Circle. If you stop down, you can learn, at no cost, from 25 home repair experts. That's right -- admission, parking and advice are all free. To learn more, call 216-381-6100, ext. 22. Getting around: In case you haven't yet seen it or just want to known more, CircleLink is a free public shuttle that serves University Circle, Little Italy and Coventry Road. Routes run every 20 to 30 minutes during service hours. For routes and schedules, visit universitycircle.org/circlelink. If you would like to see an item included in Press Run, send me an email, at least 12 days in advance of an event, at jeff.piorkowski@att.net. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Chinese e-commerce giant Meituan officially launched its long-rumored ride-hailing service on March 21 in Shanghai. Reportedly, Meituan has raised a minimum capital of $ 1 billion to meet the challenge from Didi, the currently China's largest ride-hailing platform. While Meituan is diving into the area that is heretofore dominated by Didi, the ride-hailing giant is reportedly working on launching its food delivery service that is one of Meituan's core businesses. According to local media, Didi has started a RMB 10 billion ABS financing round which seems to challenge with Meituan's aggression. As a latecomer in the industry full of fierce competitions, Meituan joins this area with a huge subsidiary plan. In Najing, the first city where Meituan launched its ride-hailing service, the registered drivers only need offer an 8% commission fee to the platform which is much lower than that of Didi (20%).What's more, the drivers registered in Shanghai are exempted from being charged commissions during the first three months. According to Wang Huiwen, Meituan Dianping's senior vice president, among around 250 million active users on its platform, 30% consumers have the travelling needs that usually happen after they finish their group-buying on the platform. Thus, it creates a huge potential for the company to promote its ride-hailing service. Besides, Meituan is very popular among third and fourth tier cities in China where people tend to choose taxi as the preferential option. Besides, the subsidiaries offered by Meituan will be pretty attractive to people living there who much treasure their money. According to the list of global tech startup unicorn released by the CB Insights, both Meituan and Didi ranked among the top 10 companies with their valuation exceeding $10 billion in 2017. It may shows that Meituan has the strength to challenge Didi in ride-hailing field. Nevertheless, the good service and reasonable price are crucial things consumers concern. Since Didi became the winner in the former subsidiary battles, it has gradually taken back the preferential subsidiaries from consumers and drivers. In fact, summoning a vehicle on Didi's platform will cost nearly same as that of using a taxi. In addition, more and more drivers are giving up using Didi, while Meituan's ride-hailing service are providing consumers with another available option. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Active Alumina is used in various end-user industries such as oil and gas, healthcare, plastic industry, and water treatment industry among others. The growing demand from the developing region are the major factors driving the global market of Active Alumina. The growing GDP in the Asia Pacific region has augmented various sectors as healthcare, among others, which is significantly contributing to the growth of the region. Moreover, the growing population in the region has been increasing the demand for active alumina. Market Segmentation The Global Activated Alumina Market is segmented into the application and end-user industry. On the basis of the application, the market is segmented into catalysts, desiccants, fluoride adsorbents, bioceramics, and others. On the basis of the end-use industries, the Global Activated Alumina Market can be further bifurcated into oil & gas, water treatment industry, plastic industry, healthcare, and others. Get Sample of Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/5593 Market Scenario Among the various segments, the fluoride absorbent followed by the catalyst application is estimated to be the largest market in 2016 and is expected to continue its dominance over the forecast years. The growing use of activated alumina as a catalyst in the plastic and oil & gas industries is majorly contributing to the growth of the segment. The fluoride adsorbents are extensively used in the water treatment facilities across the globe. Various government regulations for treatment of wastewater coupled with the growing demand for clean water from the overpopulated countries is significantly spurring the demand. Moreover, the rising research and development in the healthcare sector have propelled the bioceramic applications majorly in dental and bone surgeries. On the basis of the end use industry, the water treatment segment holds the major share of the Global Activated Alumina Market. The rising demand for safe water from the residential as well as industrial sector is the key factor leading to the market growth. Furthermore, oil & gas and plastic industry are also anticipated to propel the market growth, especially in the developing countries such as China and India among others. Regional Analysis The Global Active Alumina Market is spanned across five key regions: Europe, North America, Asia Pacific Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. Among these, the Asia Pacific followed by Europe and North America are the major regions adding to the demand for active alumina. The growing oil and gas related activities in North America The major countries are contributing to the growth of the US and Canada. The European activated alumina market is mainly driven by the developed healthcare and water treatment industries. Get Complete Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/activated-alumina-market-5593 About Market Research Future: At the Research Market Future (MRFR), we provide our customers to unravel the complexity of our industries through our Cooked Research Reports (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous -Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services. MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimal quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by Components, Applications, Logistics and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enabling our clients to see more important questions. Contact: Market Research Future +1 646 845 9312 Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Market Overview Gallium Nitride is majorly used in the production of semiconductors, LEDs, and RF devices. GaN is widely accepted as green technology across most of the industries due to the properties such as high thermal stability, low power consumption, temperature resistance, and high voltage breakdown. Additionally, the GaN devices are smaller in sizes and lighter in weight, which further drives the market growth. The unique properties of GaN and its low cost over silicon have been the major driver of the global market and is expected to continue growing in the near future. The major applications of GaN devices in the end-user industries such as automotive, consumer electronics, defense and aerospace, and others are the drivers of the market growth. However, the demand for the lightweight automotive with improved efficiency consumes a significant amount of GaN. Furthermore, the consumer electronics industries favor the market growth due to the increased use of GaN in smartphones, laptops, television, and others. GaN LEDs are a threat to conventional lights owing to their power efficiency, energy consumption, luminosity coupled with environmental concerns. However, limited availability of gallium nitride may hinder the market growth during the review period 2017-2023. Get Sample of Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/5605 Market Segmentation The Global Gallium Nitride Market is segmented into Type, End-Use Industry and Region. Based on the Type, the GaN market is divided into p-type and n-type. Among these two types, n-type is projected to lead the market on account of easy availability and cheap cost. However, p-type GaN is going through patent processes undertaken by many leading players and is not being fully commercialized as of 2016. Therefore, p-type gallium nitride is holding the least share in the global gallium nitride market. The End-User Industries of Gallium Nitride are segregated into automotive, consumer electronics, defense and aerospace, healthcare, industrial & power, and others. The automotive industry is the leading segment of the Gallium Nitride in electric vehicles, locomotives, and traffic signals. According to Statistical, the global passenger car production was forecast to hit 78.6 million units in 2017. This trend is going to continue in the future. Regional Analysis The Global Gallium Nitride Market is segmented into five major regions: Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. The Asia Pacific is expected to witness the availability of raw materials and the increasing demand for consumer electronics. North America and Europe are the leading contributors to the gallium nitride market. Countries like the US, Canada, and Mexico contribute two to the increased standards of lifestyles. With growing technological advances in defense, military and space science, North America and Europe are expected to be the major contributor to the market growth in coming years. Get Complete Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/gallium-nitride-market-5605 About Market Research Future: At the Research Market Future (MRFR), we provide our customers to unravel the complexity of our industries through our Cooked Research Reports (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous -Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services. MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimal quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by Components, Applications, Logistics and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enabling our clients to see more important questions. Contact: Market Research Future +1 646 845 9312 Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Market Overview Microcrystalline Cellulose is a partially depolymerized, naturally occurring cellulose form wood pulp. It has properties such as anti-caking, bulking, and texturizing that are majorly required for keeping processed food fresh. The unique properties such as powder porosity, moisture sorption, and swelling capacity. Being a chemically inert substance, it has very less absorption capacity and does not dissolute during digestion. Due to this reason, it is highly used in excipient production in pharmaceuticals and is the major driver of the Global Microcrystalline Cellulose Market. The other driver for the global market growth is it being a fat substitute, primarily used in low-fat processed food. The increasing demand for pharmaceuticals with the growing population consumes a major quantity of microcrystalline cellulose followed by food and beverage industry. The global market growth is also driven by the cosmetic and personal care industry. The unique properties of extender, binder, and texturizer are extensively used in personal care products. The growing demand for personal care products with the concerned grooming and self-care population is expected to increase the market growth. Get Sample of Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/5614 Market Segmentation The Global Microcrystalline Cellulose Market is segmented as per the raw material, end-user, and region. There are only two raw material sources available, namely wood based and non-wood based. Out of these, the non-wood based raw material source is likely to dominate the market due to the excessive demand for synthetically produced and cheap products. Based on End-User, the market is segmented into pharmaceuticals, food & beverage, cosmetic & personal care, and others. Regional Analysis The Global Microcrystalline Cellulose Market is segmented into five key regions namely North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. North America is the major contributor to the market growth two to the increasing food and beverage industries. The increasing number of pharmaceuticals and food & beverage industries in this region. The regulatory association named the US Pharmacopeial Convention has identified Microcrystalline Cellulose as an excellent excipient, which has been marketed. Terms of revenue followed by Canada. Europe is another substantial region contributing to the market growth owing to the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries in this region. Asia Pacific is expected to hold a substantial share of the market in coming years. Microcrystalline Cellulose two to the low raw material and labor cost. The US is the major producer of Microcrystalline Cellulose followed by China. In Latin America & Africa, the growing medical support and availability of pharmaceuticals However, poor health and safety standards may hinder the market growth in this region. Get Complete Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/microcrystalline-cellulose-market-5614 About Market Research Future: At the Research Market Future (MRFR), we provide our customers to unravel the complexity of our industries through our Cooked Research Reports (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous -Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services. MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimal quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by Components, Applications, Logistics and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enabling our clients to see more important questions. Contact: Market Research Future +1 646 845 9312 Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Korovai, or wedding bread, symbolizes an entire Ukrainian communitys blessings for a couples wedding. And it should, because it takes almost a village to make it. In a ritual that begins on the Saturday preceding the ceremony, seven women gather to knead dough and sing folkloric wedding songs. These bakers are said to pass on the fate of their own marriages through the bread, so only women who are living happily in their first marriage are allowed the honor. After theyre done, a happily married man must place the bread into the oven. Then everyone prays for the best. A cracked or malformed korovai is a bad sign for the marriage, but the higher it rises and the more decorations or layers it contains, the better the marriage will be. Though wedding breads are a part of ceremonies across Russia, Bulgaria, Poland, and Romania, Ukrainian korovai is usually considered the most decorative. Each flourish crafted from the dough has a specific meaning: Roses symbolize beauty, ears of wheat mean future prosperity, and a wreath of periwinkle represents the strong connection that binds the couple together. Often, two birds grace the top of the bread, one baked with its wings outstretched to represent the groom, the other with wings furled to symbolize the bride. During the wedding, the beautiful finished bread is prominently displayed close to the altar. At the reception, everyone gets a piece. In some versions of the tradition, the bride and groom both chip off a bit of bread, and whoever comes away with the bigger slice will be the head of the household. Need to Know If youre ever invited to a Ukrainian wedding, be sure to leave some space for korovai. Its considered rude to refuse a piece when it is offered to you. If you would like to order a korovai, there are many bakeries will ship them internationally.Read more at:bridesmaid dresses brisbane | bridesmaid dresses perth ISIDA makes the most cherished dreams come true! For 25 years of experience, we achieved more than 25,000 successful IVF programs in ISIDA, thus giving the long-awaited joy of parenting to a plentitude of married couples. "A patient is above everything else!" - this is the philosophy of ISIDA clinic and our main value. We are attentive to the needs of our patients and always strive not only to justify, but also to exceed their expectations and hopes. We are infinitely grateful to every married couple for their trust and an opportunity to take part in the embodiment of a real miracle - the birth of a child! One of the first patients of ISIDA clinic, who dared to entrust the most sacred wish of their lives to us, were spouses from Donetsk, Ukraine. The couple made a long and very difficult way before becoming happy parents of two wonderful boys born a year apart: It took many years before our dream of children finally became a reality, - the father says. We were diagnosed with infertility back in the Soviet era, followed by our first unsuccessful attempt of IVF. Then there were years full of multiple attempts, ineffective treatment and disappointments ... In the end, we decided to go for treatment to ISIDA in Donetsk. What is important: we got explanation to all the details of our complex medical procedures and analyzes in the simplest, understandable for us language. With this perception, we fully understood the process, and, therefore, could trust the doctors. In ISIDA we felt that every staff member really did care, all the employees were worried about us and believed in success alongside with us. And a miracle happened! We had a wonderful boy, and a year later another one! So, this is how we became the parents of two boys born a year apart. During this whole time of multiple attempts and expectations, mutual support and endless faith in the realization of their dream of a small big happiness helped this couple to keep on going: Now, recalling our long, difficult and painful path to parenthood, both my wife and I are very grateful to each other. After all, there have never been any complaints or accusations between us. Not even one insulting word addressed to one another, not even a thought of it! On the contrary, we have always supported each other. Of course, there were periods of despair and despondency. However, during those days when one of us was depressed, the other tried to do everything there is to support the partner, and vice versa. This is the most important thing: look to the future with optimism, show love to your partner, be able to find the right words in difficult times. No matter how difficult it is for you now, be sure to keep going to your goal, do not lose hope in any situation. And one day you will certainly succeed! It`s verified by our own experience. The specialists of ISIDA clinic are doing everything possible to make your biggest dream of a parental happiness come true, that is why every happy story like this is our greatest pride and the highest reward that inspires us to only get better and achieve even greater results! Contact us! Phone: +380 (44) 455 88 14 Viber: +380 (67) 333 88 14 Skype: ISIDA International Address: 65, Vatslava Gavela Blvd, Kyiv, Ukraine Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Market Scenario: Fertigation is a term derived from fertilization and irrigation. Fertigation is a slow application of fertilizers, soil amendments, and other water soluble products into an irrigation system to improve the process of crop yield. It is used to add additional nutrients or to fulfill nutrient deficiencies in the plant tissue. The fertigation applies the nutrients exactly and uniformly to the wetted root volume, where the active roots are concentrated, which increases the efficiency of the fertilizers. It is gaining popularity due to high crop yield and cost-effectiveness due to less labor involvement. The market is further driven by minimized nutrient leaching losses which has gained popularity among farmers to increase their crop quality and quantity. Fertigation is a process where fertilizers are dissolved and distributed along with water in the irrigation system. It is used to increase the crop productivity by providing adequate nutrients to the plant tissues. Increasing population and rising demand for crops are driving the growth of the market. Factors such as increased crop production along with protection against drought like situation is an advantage served by this method. Moreover, it is gaining popularity due to its excellent efficiency of nutrient utilization. Additionally, it is gaining acceptance in the regions where labor is scarce and medium or large areas need to be irrigated with minimum waste of water and time. Furthermore, exploitation of groundwater in majority of countries is alarming the need for fertigation market, which is boosting the demand for fertigation. Get Exclusive Sample Copy @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/4540 Key Players Some of the key players profiled in the global fertigation market are The Toro Company (U.S.), Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd. (India), Lindsay Corporation (U.S.), Valmont Industries, Inc. (U.S.), Rivulis (India), Netafim (Israel), T-L IRRIGATION CO. (U.S.) Key Findings: Wide application of fertigation in drip irrigation is majorly contributing the market growth. Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing region in fertigation market Industry Segments: Fertigation market is segmented by agro inputs including fertilizers, pesticides, nutrients, and others. The fertilizer input dominates the market followed by herbicide and fungicide, which are part of pesticides. Fertilizers have gained huge popularity in regions where extensive production and cultivation of crops is done. On the basis of crop type, fertigation market is segmented as field crops, orchard crops, plantation crops, forage grasses, horticulture crops, and others. Among all, horticulture crops are dominating the market followed by orchard crop. Furthermore, growing population and growing demand for horticulture crops have led to extensive use of fertigation in this market. Based on the irrigation system, fertigation market is segmented as drip irrigation, sprinkler irrigation, pivot irrigation, and others. Among all, the drip irrigation is dominating the market and expected to grow in the coming years. It is the most water-efficient irrigation system and fertigation has become a part of drip irrigation system. Access Report Details @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/fertigation-market-4540 Regional Analysis: The global fertigation market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and rest of the world (RoW). Global fertigation market is dominated by Europe followed by North America. Extensive R&D activities in the European region along with technological surge have helped in the application of fertigation method in this region. However, Asia Pacific is projected to be the fast growing market owing to the developing agricultural sector and growing demand for foods. Furthermore, lack of rain and other water resources followed by technological advancements focusing on irrigation system in Israel has majorly contributed the growth of fertigation market. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Onychomycosis Pipeline Drugs Assessment: Clinical Trails Analysis, Player Profiles, Collaborations, Key Targets, Geographic Focus, and Data Publications, 2018 Onychomycosis Pipeline Drugs Assessment Overview: Onychomycosis is a fungal infection of fingernails or toenails, known as tinea unguium. Onychomycosis is common and occurs in about 10% of adult population. Nail changes may include, change in shape, brittleness, discoloration, debris trapped under the nail, detachment and thickening of the nail. Physicians can identify fungal nail infection by performing an examination most oftime. A sample may be taken from the debris beneath the nail and examined microscopically or cultured for possible fungal growth. Oral medications are generally required and sometimes they are combined with nail removal and/or application of nail lacquer. Presently available oral antifungal medications include: terbinafine, itraconazole, and fluconazole taken daily, in pulse or weekly, respectively. A sample of this report is available upon request @ https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/onychomycosis-pipeline-drugs-assessment/#ulp-h4n2eZVGqb32xpPc Segmentation: By route of administration, onychomycosis pipeline drugs are segmented into Oral Topical Parenteral Others By Trial Phase, Onychomycosis pipeline drugs are segmented as: Preclinical Trials Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 By company, Onychomycosis pipeline drugs are segmented into Polichem S.A. (Switzerland) Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co., Inc. (Japan) Viamet Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (U.S.) Galderma S.A. Others Space Analysis: In April 2017, Novan, Inc. announced positive top line results from the Companys Phase-II clinical trial with SB208, as a broad-spectrum anti fungal gel for the treatment of superficial cutaneous fungal infections of the skin and nails, including tinea pedis and onychomycosis. In January 2017, Viamet Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced positive results from RENOVATE, its Phase 2b clinical trial of VT-1161 in onychomycosis of the large toenail. To view TOC of this report is available upon request @ https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/onychomycosis-pipeline-drugs-assessment/#ulp-c654SbFYO64MsOhu Report Description: Onychomycosis Disease Pipeline Drugs Assessment report studies the various therapeutics under clinical development for Onychomycosis treatment along with targets for various drug candidate. The report provides plethora of information pertaining to trail phases, companies involved in the Onychomycosis disease pipeline drugs development. This report studies the dynamics of the Onychomycosis Disease Pipeline Drugs i.e. drivers, challenges, and opportunities which are significantly impacting the product development. The report provides various information pertaining the clinical trials such as designation, grants, patents, and technology among others. Moreover, the report on Onychomycosis disease pipeline drugs assessment comprehensively presents the geographic location, trial status information along with key players involved in the therapeutics development. Need more information about this report @ https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/onychomycosis-pipeline-drugs-assessment/#ulp-14mlyhjMGhVjZqa3 Key Features of the Report: Provides the information related to universities and research institutes working in the therapeutics development Report comprehensively covers the all active and discontinued studies Studies the entire pipeline with special emphasis on companies actively involved in the therapeutics development Presents the prominent targets for drug development in each stage of clinical trial Provides the in-depth analysis of each drug candidates in the clinical trial phases Get access to full summary @ https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/onychomycosis-pipeline-drugs-assessment/ About Precision Business Insights Precision Business Insights is one of the leading market research and business consulting firm, which follow a holistic approach to solve needs of the clients. We adopt and implement proven research methodologies to achieve better results. We help our clients by providing actionable insights and strategies to make better decisions. We provide consulting, syndicated and customised market research services based on our client needs. Contact to Precision Business Insights, Kemp House, 152 160 City Road, London EC1V 2NX Email: sales@precisionbusinessinsights.com Toll Free (US): +1-866-598-1553 Website @ https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com You'll recognize that style of score as "decidedly modern" and "exactly what's in literally every single action movie of the past decade." That's a 90-piece orchestra being heavily augmented by tons of electronic samples. The Batman Begins score influenced a generation of composers, and movie music became the way it is today in part because Zimmer's computer sucked at woodwinds. And also because ... 1 Directors Are Constantly Recycling Scores Most of the people reading this can hum "The Imperial March" from Star Wars or the Indiana Jones theme, but could not at gunpoint do the same for, say, Iron Man or Thor. There's a reason for that ... and in fact, a reason most movie scores aren't original. In general, composers need to see a movie before creating music for it, which means that part comes last. But the film's director needs some kind of music in the background during editing, so they use a temporary track (often a score from some other movie, or some other piece of classical music). But then, as Keltonic says, "they listen to it so much, they can't imagine the scene without it." At that point, the director basically says, "Give me something exactly like the temp score!" Thus you wind up with a score that's almost a cover version of somebody else's. Continue Reading Below Advertisement To be clear, this isn't at all a new thing. "The temp track for Star Wars is quite close to the finished product (not that John Williams isn't a genius, because he clearly is)," says O'Boyle, "and Stanley Kubrick famously liked the temp track that he threw together for 2001: A Space Odyssey so much that he decided not to use a single note of the music he'd hired Alex North to write and record for him. North didn't find out until he sat to watch the premiere." Birthday wishes Call 281-422-8302 or email david.bloom@baytownsun.com to wish someone a happy birthday. We will print your birthday wish on Page 2 of The Sun. Happy Birthday Wishes Zackary Montgomery Brian Musa Anthony Black Toronto police notices Thursday include an appeal for help in finding Zackary Montgomery, 23, of Toronto (at left). He is wanted for theft under $5000, mischief under $5,000 and breach of probation. Montgomery is described as 6 feet 7 inches tall, 200 lbs. with brown eyes and brown hair. At centre is Brian Musa, 19, of Toronto who is wanted for robbery with firearm, pointing a firearm, possession of a weapon, assault with a weapon and assault cause bodily harm. At right is Anthony Black, 32, of Toronto, wanted for attempt murder, assault with a weapon and possession of a weapon dangerous to public peace. Winter Advisory for Oregon Coast Range Passes Until Late Friday Published 03/22/2018 at 6:35 PM PDT - Updated 03/22/2018 at 6:45 PM PDT By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff (Oregon Coast) Just in time to inconvenience spring breakers, the Oregon Coast Range passes are under a winter advisory, in effect until 5 p.m. Friday. The higher elevations of Highway 26, Highway 18, Highway 126 and Highway 6 will be getting some accumulations of snow, from about three to seven inches. The National Weather Service (NWS) in Portland issued the advisory today, covering the upper half of the coast range, from Astoria / Portland to Florence / Eugene. Plan on difficult travel conditions, the NWS said. Expect reduced visibilities at times. A Winter Weather Advisory for snow means periods of snow will cause primarily travel difficulties. Expect snow covered roads and limited visibilities, and use caution while driving. The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5-1-1. Snow levels will drop overnight from 3,000 to 1,000 feet, but no snow is expected on the valley floors or the Oregon coast. However, some parts of the north coast received a very light dusting of snow early Thursday for about two minutes. The rest of the weekend calls for minor amounts of snow in the coast range, from about an inch of accumulation on Saturday shrinking to less than half an inch on Sunday and Monday. Thunderstorms and hail are likely in the forecast over the weekend as well for the beaches and passes. Weather for spring break on the beaches is looking at mostly cloudy with some amounts of rain, but a fair amount of sun breaks after Monday. The NWS is predicting showers at times on Saturday, but giving way to partly sunny on Sunday. Occasional showers and mostly cloudy to partly sunny typifies the rest of the week, with better weather kicking in later. Oregon Coast Lodgings for this event - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours Look for sizable ten-foot waves on the Oregon coast until Sunday, when conditions calm to eight feet or less for the rest of the week. See Oregon Coast Weather. See Oregon Coast Road Conditions. More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Oregon Coast Comic Con Brings Star Wars, Ninja Turtles, Walking Dead to Tillamook Published 03/21/2018 at 7:35 PM PDT By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff (Tillamook, Oregon) Get ready for the Oregon coast's only real foray into gleeful nerddom. The Second Oregon Coast Comic Com is the sequel to last year's NW Comic Con, held in Tillamook. March 24 and 25 sees the return of the festival of fun and fantasy to the Tillamook Air Museum, inside the largest, free span wooden structure in the world, surrounded by historical planes, trains and automobiles. More than just comic books are featured here. You'll find artists, actors, stuntmen, cosplay groups and food vendors, including a healthy dose of those from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movies, The Walking Dead, Stargate, True Blood and the show Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Look for over 75 vendor and exhibitor spaces. For actors, one of the big highlights of the event is Sandi Sellner, who played the role of Alpha 5 on the 94-'95 Fox Network show Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. She's also been an extra on several television shows. Another headliner is Vincent Ward, who comes from The Walking Dead Season 3, Death House and Everybody Hates Chris. He also played Hollis on True Blood. Ernie Reyes Jr. also appears. He's been in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Red Sonja, Surf Ninja, The Last Dragon and the Rundown. Stunt performer Nick Palma has been involved in no less than three parts of the Stargate franchise: the three movies Stargate: Continuum, Stargate: the Ark of Truth and the original in 1994. He's also been featured in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Rundown. Vincent Ward in The Walking Dead Kenn Scott from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Shootfighter shows up as well. From the anime world comes voice actor Eric Vale. He is also an ADR director, script writer, and head writer at Funimation, and he's provided voices for a number of English versions of Japanese anime series. He is known for voicing Trunks in Dragon Ball series, Yuki Sohma in Fruits Basket, Sanji in One Piece and Loke in Fairy Tail. Several cosplay events happen, including the group Star Wars Oregon. Cloud City Garrison (of the 501st Legion) and Kashyyyk Base (of the Rebel Legion) are teaming up to provide attendees with awesome Star Wars costuming appearances and fundraising and volunteer activities. Artists appearing at the events include: Arthur Suydam (Marvel Zombies, Walking Dead and Army of Darkness); Mike DeCarlo (Batman, Green Lantern, Scooby Doo, Animaniacs, Ghost Rider and more); Freddie E Williams II (Batman/TMNT 1 & 2 and He-Man/Thundercats), and Jeremy Colwell (Batman/TMNT 1 & 2 colorist, He-Man/Thundercats colorist). Weekend passes are only $25. You can purchase a Saturday pass for $20 or a Sunday pass for $15. Kids under 3 are free, and 4 - 12 are just $5 for the entire weekend. Active military personnel receive free admission with Military ID. Doors open on Saturday at 10 a.m. and it goes until 6 p.m. Cosplay Karaoke kicks at 6 p.m. on the main stage. Sunday times are 10 5 p.m. Tickets and more information available at www.OregonCoastComicCon.com. Oregon Coast Lodgings for this event - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours Nick Palma Below: more of the Tillamook area More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted When he wasnt worrying about the rocket-propelled grenades or car bombs and all the other things that would race through the mind of a young infantryman in Afghanistan, Private Craig Rigby found his own way of switching off. Hed write poems. They wouldnt be about life on the front line, he explains. He preferred to reflect on thoughts of home. He wouldnt dream of showing his work to his mates, of course, but it was a release. When he got home in one piece, the young soldier from the Princess of Waless Royal Regiment finally decided to share one of them with his father, Carl, himself a veteran of the Falklands War. He got quite worked up, Craig recalls, and so did I. The Poem To Remember competition seeks to unearth the latter-day equivalents of the great war poems of the First World War. Pictured: A soldier putting pen to paper Even today, five years later, as he prepares to leave the Armed Forces, he insists on keeping those precious lines to himself. But he is now one of countless people working on a new poem for a very special competition. And if Craig wins, there will be no hiding that poem from anyone. The Poem To Remember competition seeks to unearth the latter-day equivalents of the great war poems of the First World War, not that you have to have been anywhere near a war to enter, as the competition is open to everyone. FOR THE FALLEN They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them. Laurence Binyon Advertisement The winning entry will not only be published and read out in public by the Duke of Cambridge. It will also be engraved at the entrance to one of the most important new buildings of the 21st century. Oh, and there is a 2,000 prize, too. Ever since Homer composed the first verses of the Iliad, the epic tale of the fall of Troy, poetry has shown a unique capacity to capture the essence of war. Of course, paintings and monuments have helped to convey guts and glory, and reporters and photographers have brought home the realities of war. But theres nothing like a poem to reach in to our souls and move us. It was, after all, a single poem which created the most powerful, enduring symbol of war remembrance of all time. In Flanders fields the poppies blow/ Between the crosses, row on row, wrote John McCrae, the Canadian army doctor who died of pneumonia after fighting at Ypres exactly 100 years ago. His words have lost none of their power a century later. The millions of poppies sold year on year are testament to that. Rupert Brooke was one of the many famous war poets Laurence Binyons For The Fallen, with its poignant lines, At the going down of the sun and in the morning,/We will remember them, is regularly used at war memorial services, and all schoolchildren learn something of the works of Wilfred Owen or Siegfried Sassoon or Rupert Brooke. If I should die, wrote Brooke, think only this of me: That theres some corner of a foreign field/That is forever England. The war poets are as much a part of the narrative of the Great War as the trenches, gas and no mans land. Now a consortium of charities, including Help For Heroes and ABF The Soldiers Charity, have launched a competition to find a McCrae or Owen of our times. The purpose is to honour this years 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War but also to mark a vital moment for todays Armed Forces. This year also sees the opening of the new Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre (DNRC), a world-class clinical centre for wounded servicemen and servicewomen. It will replace the current national rehabilitation centre at Headley Court in Surrey, which does a fine job mending our broken heroes. A new facility is badly needed, however. In 2011, the late Duke of Westminster, a devoted Army reservist for 40 years, bought the entire Stanford Hall estate near Loughborough and gifted it to the nation precisely for the purpose of creating this new centre. Headley Court will soon start relocating to the new 300 million DNRC complex there in time for a formal royal opening later in the year. And the organisers want to mark the occasion with a poem. It does not have to be about war but should reflect the meaning of service and mankinds capacity for triumph over adversity. The charities encourage entries from anyone, regardless of any connection with the Forces. A lithograph of a soldier writing during WWI, many soldiers chose to document the horrors of war through writing The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry visit the poppy tribute at the Tower of London in 2014 You need to be 17 or over and the poem must be previously unpublished and no longer than 25 lines. The entries will be reduced to a long list of 25 and submitted to a panel of eminent writers including Stephen Fry, Andy McNab and award-winning author Katherine Rundell, and chaired by historian Dan Snow. The best five entries will be chosen and will go to a public vote. The winner will then be asked to the royal opening of the DNRC to see their work engraved on a plaque and recited by the Duke of Cambridge. So where better to find a few budding poets than at Headley Court itself? Though its soon to be vacated, the Victorian mansion near Leatherhead, Surrey remains as busy as ever. The number of troops wounded in battle has tailed off since the end of British deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq, but the Forces continue to suffer serious injuries in training or on exercise and come here to recover. IN FLANDERS FIELDS In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row That mark our place. And in the sky The larks still bravely singing fly, Scarce heard among the guns below John McCrae Advertisement Headley Court has never staged a poetry workshop before, but in light of the competition, its time. I attend one run by Isabel Palmer, a retired English teacher who liked to write the occasional poem purely for pleasure during her 30 years in a Wiltshire classroom. But it became a very different matter in 2010 when her only son, Harry, a rifleman in 2nd Battalion The Rifles, was sent out to Afghanistan. British casualties were mounting and Harrys unit was in the thick of it. For six months, Isabel found that a mere knock on the door was a heart-stopping moment. The two things that kept me sane were volunteering for Help For Heroes and writing poetry, she says. Once a week, she would write a poem and send it to Harry with a food parcel. After he came home safely, she sent some of her poems to the former Poet Laureate, Andrew Motion, who was so impressed he asked to meet her. Many of them are now published. I particularly like one called BFPO describing her anguish as she packed another parcel for her son. It concludes, So, when you ask me what can mend/the pulsing in your ears, the mousetrap snap/of each grenade, the rifles nibbling/echoes of the nearest bullet yet,/I send you cheese, beef jerky, protein bars/and think this must be how it feels/to be looking at a rainbow as a child/steps in front of a car. English poet and dramatist Laurence Binyon Now running poetry workshops around the country for Help For Heroes, Isabel encourages veterans and their families to put pen to paper and enter the competition. Only a handful of people turn up to the first class here at Headley Court but Isabel is not surprised. Some patients are bed-ridden, of course, while others prefer to stick with their exercise routines in the gym. If youre trying to come to terms with a life-changing injury, you dont necessarily want to write a poem about it. Poetry is a very private space, Isabel explains. She begins by urging everyone to keep a notebook on them at all times and jot down any thought or a particular word before it is forgotten. If youre going to be a poet, you have to be a magpie, she explains. You might have three or four poems on the go at the same time. Isabel produces photographs of unusual roads and asks the class to come up with adjectives for the images before they work their way through Robert Frosts The Road Not Taken: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I/I took the one less travelled by/And that has made all the difference. Frost was writing about a walk with his chronically indecisive friend, Edward Thomas, who happens to be Isabels favourite war poet. Thomas was killed on the Western Front soon afterwards. The class then moves on to some of the often-neglected war poetry written by women, many of them working in military hospitals or nursing a broken heart. Among those listening is Private Craig Rigby. He is currently a patient at Headley Court as he recovers from a back injury before leaving the Army for a new life in civvy street. He tells the group that he likes to pick a favourite word of the moment and then mull it over for a few days before trying to craft a poem around it. His current word of the moment, he says, is overwhelming. He hopes it will form the basis for his competition entry. THE SOLDIER If I should die, think only this of me: That theres some corner of a foreign field That is forever England. Rupert Brooke Advertisement Everyone, it turns out, has their own way of approaching a poem. Headley Courts commanding officer, Group Captain Teresa Griffiths OBE, says that she hadnt written a poem since she was a schoolgirl. But she felt moved to write one at the end of her time as the military matron in charge of the MoD wing of Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham. This was where the most severely wounded troops were medically evacuated straight from the battlefield at the height of the war in Afghanistan. Teresa and her team would help many of them overcome indescribable injuries but some, inevitably, would not make it home. Our Promise was her tribute to all of them. Very bravely, she is persuaded to read it out to everyone. It beautifully describes how the staff would try everything: Until you wake, we will watch over you./We will pray for you and some of us will touch wood./We will shield you from prying eyes/And protect you from the demons in your nightmares./That is our promise. It concludes: And should the day ever arrive that your body decides you can no longer bear your pain,/We will let you go./As you slip away, we will hold your hand and wipe away your familys tears./You will be missed forever but when you leave 'We will salute you./And should the world ever try and forget you, we will be your voice and honour your memory./ That is our promise. No one speaks. The class is dumbstruck and then bursts into applause. Such is the power of poetry. How do you compete with incredible programmes like Blue Planet II and Planet Earth? The answer is to go into space and enlist Hollywood star Will Smith. One Strange Rock is one of the boldest natural history programmes ever produced. The ten-part show, made for National Geographic, explores the features that let Earth sustain life. Will Smith narrates, looking occasionally flummoxed while a host of astronauts explain what the Earth is all about. Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield hosts the first episode, which is called Gasp and is all about breath. Hes an apt presenter for the subject; while doing a repair in space in 2001 his suit malfunctioned and for a short time he ran out of oxygen. One Strange Rock explores the workings of planet Earth from an astronaut's perspective. Pictured: Astronaut Chris Hadfield on the International Space Station in 2013 I was working on the outside of the ship when suddenly I had a searing pain in my eye, like somebody had stabbed me. 'My eye snapped shut and started tearing up but with no gravity, my tears didnt fall, they just got bigger and bigger until a lake of water crossed the bridge of my nose and into the other eye so I had to call Houston and tell them I had a problem I was blinded in both eyes. 'They suspected I had contamination in my suit and said, Youll have to flush it out. So I pressed a little valve and could hear a hiss as my precious oxygen supply leaked out into the vacuum of space. I realised I was running out of oxygen, but as my vision started to return I was able to close the valve and could breathe again. The documentary travels the globe to show the complex story of how enough oxygen is created to keep us all alive. Huge sandstorms, which can be seen from space, blow from the East African desert, cross the Atlantic and fall onto the Amazon in South America. Every year 27 million tonnes of African dust drops out of the sky, and it is the perfect fertiliser for the plant-rich rainforest. Will Smith narrates, looking occasionally flummoxed while a host of astronauts explain what the Earth is all about While the trees there can produce enough oxygen to sustain all human life, there are so many animals in the rainforest that they use it all up. Scientists are still getting to grips with how the Amazon still gives oxygen to the whole planet. It seems that water sucked up from the forest floor makes its way to the top of the trees. When it meets the sun and the wind it creates what Will Smith calls an almighty flying river that can also be seen from space. The river of cloud flows across South America until it runs into a brick wall four miles high the Andes, says Chris. Then the clouds condense into raindrops and fall down the slopes of the mountains into the Amazon River, picking up sediment as they fall until they reach the ocean where tiny little organisms four times thinner than a human hair called diatoms are waiting. These creatures use the sediment to create new shells, and in doing so they create oxygen. Diatoms, which can be seen from space as coloured reflections hundreds of miles long in the oceans, create a large amount of the oxygen the world needs. As Will Smith says, If you knew half of what it takes to make the oxygen we breathe itd take your breath away. The series also visits the unearthly Danakil Depression in Ethiopia, where the air is full of toxic gases and acid rises from underground but some life forms still thrive. And theres a trip to La Rinconada in Peru, the highest permanently inhabited settlement in the world thanks to the presence of gold, where lung problems are common because theres only half as much oxygen as in lower places. This is the first time technology has let us explore the Earth from both the surface and above, says Chris. The planet is wild and varied but unfathomably beautiful. One Strange Rock starts on Tuesday at 8pm on National Geographic. Last year it was set to be another surefire festive hit for the BBC a three-part adaptation of Agatha Christies Ordeal By Innocence to follow its earlier Christmas crackers And Then There Were None in 2015 and Witness For The Prosecution the following year. But those hopes were dashed in November when accusations of sexual assault were levelled against actor Ed Westwick, the British-born, US-based star of cult drama Gossip Girl and recent BBC2 sitcom White Gold. He was initially accused by two separate women, and although hes always denied any wrongdoing, the BBC had no option but to remove the show from the schedules. Scroll down for video Ordeal By Innocence was torn from the festive schedule after a lead actor faced claims of sexual assault, but it is finally coming to our screens this Easter . Pictured: L-r: Anna Chancellor, Bill Nighy, Alice Eve, Christian Cooke and Eleanor Tomlinson Two more women have since come forward to claim Westwick assaulted them at his Hollywood home, and with no resolution to the issue in sight the BBC was forced to recast his role or risk losing the whole project altogether. Christian Cooke, from ITV drama Where The Heart Is, was drafted in and all the scenes involving Westwicks character Mickey Argyll were reshot in January at Ardgowan House on the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, which doubles for Sunny Point, the fictional family home where the action takes place. So here we are then, three months and an estimated 1 million reshooting bill later, and Ordeal By Innocence is finally about to hit the screens on Easter Sunday. Ed Westwick (left) was originally cast as Mickey Argyll until he was pulled from the drama after four accusations of assault and Christian Cooke (right) was drafted in Bill Nighy plays widowed Leo Argyll, amateur Egyptologist and patriarch of a well-to-do but dysfunctional family, with Eleanor Tomlinson, Ella Purnell, Crystal Clarke and Westwicks stand-in Christian Cooke as his four surviving adopted children. Morven Christie is shifty housekeeper Kirsten Lindstrom, Matthew Goode plays Leos son-in-law Philip, Alice Eve is cast as Gwenda Vaughan, Leos soon-to-be second wife, while Anna Chancellor appears in flashback as Leos late wife Rachel. The action begins at Christmas 1954, when an unexpected visitor, Dr Arthur Calgary, turns up at Sunny Point to tell the family that Jack Argyll, the fifth child adopted by Leo and Rachel, couldnt possibly have murdered his mother. Its shocking news because Jack was jailed for killing Rachel 18 months previously and has since died in prison. Calgary gives Jack a cast-iron alibi, something he couldnt do at the time of the young mans trial because he was away on a polar expedition, explains Luke Treadaway, who plays Calgary. His revelation sends shock waves through the family. The new scenes were reshot in January at Ardgowan House (pictured) on the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, which doubles for Sunny Point, the fictional family home where the drama is set Leo and his bride-to-be Gwenda, former secretary for Leos orphaned children charity, immediately become suspects. As do Leos four remaining children Mary (Tomlinson), Mickey (Cooke), Hester (Purnell) and Tina (Clarke) as well as Marys husband Philip (Goode). With suspicion falling on Lindstrom too as she was present on the night Rachel was murdered, the stage is set for a classic Christie whodunnit. Everyone looks shifty after Dr Calgary has paid a call, but maybe Leo has reason to be shiftier than most, says Bill Nighy. He has no money it was Rachel who had the fortune and their marriage wasnt in great shape either. Rachels habit of bringing home stray children eventually ending up with five may have done them damage. And now hes about to marry Gwenda, which couldnt have happened if Rachel were alive. Does that make him a suspect? Quite possibly... ED THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM Just as Ridley Scott was forced to re-shoot scenes in his John Paul Getty movie All The Money In The World when lead actor Kevin Spaceys unsavoury private life unravelled, much of Ordeal By Innocence also had to be filmed again, due to the ensemble nature of the drama, after Ed Westwick was replaced by Christian Cooke in the role of Mickey Argyll. But Christian says he had no qualms about taking on a part that had already been played by another actor. From the word go, the director, Sandra Goldbacher, and the producers were very sensitive to the need to make it very fresh for me and there was never any talk on set, from any of the other actors, that theyd already filmed a version of this production, he explains. I just approached it like any other role and it never felt awkward or difficult, mainly thanks to the people with whom I was working. We didnt replicate all the scenes that had been shot originally. There were certain big group scenes where I just had to film my characters part in them, rather than everyone else getting involved again. That was acting by numbers, but the rest of what I did afforded me plenty of freedom. Advertisement Gwenda is also a prime suspect. Shes desperate, says Alice Eve. Maybe Leo was her only chance of marriage, and Rachel would have been in her way. She has to be a suspect. Eleanor Tomlinsons character Mary seems too weak and put-upon to be capable of murder, but she has a temper that occasionally bubbles to the surface. Her husband calls her a whipped dog, says Eleanor, who found fame as Rosss wife Demelza in Poldark. But there are hidden depths to Mary and shes capable of snapping. Add in Marys husband Philip, a former fighter pilot who lost the use of his legs in a car accident and uses whisky and morphine to cope with his disability; Cockney Mickey, whos uneasy among the smug wealth of his adoptive family; apparently quiet but secretly wild Tina; and the young Hester, and the finger of suspicion starts to point back and forth. For those who know the book, said to be a favourite of Agatha Christie, not everything they see will be familiar not least the ending. I know I may be horrifying Christie devotees by changing it, but I had the approval of the Agatha Christie estate, says Sarah Phelps, the former EastEnders scriptwriter who adapted the BBCs previous two festive Christie specials, as well as Ordeal By Innocence. They said to me, Youre mad but were going to let you do it. Because they trust me now, they know I wont mess around with the story unless theres good reason to. I felt I had to do it. In the book, a guy turns up, the family sit around, theres a hiatus, nothing really happens... It needed to be more compelling. 'So now as well as a nice murder, theres twisted deviance and savagery. Its about what kills Rachel, not who. She had a dark secret. Sarah decided she had to flesh out and embellish some of the key characters such as Dr Calgary. In our version hes a nuclear physicist who was working on the nuclear bomb and is haunted by what he thinks hes unleashed on the world, says director Sandra Goldbacher. He wants to do one good thing to clear Jacks name. Sarah also felt a dash of showbiz pizzazz would help the TV drama so shes given the whole thing a very glamorous feel. Gwenda Vaughan evokes the elegance of both Sophia Loren and Elizabeth Taylor, murder victim Rachel Argyll embodies the look of Hollywood legend Joan Crawford and rebellious, leather-jacketed Mickey has a touch of Marlon Brando in On The Waterfront about him. But Eleanor Tomlinsons character Mary takes the biscuit for drawing on the most famous person of them all for inspiration shes based partly on the Queen. At least her hair is, laughs hair and make-up designer Claire Harris. As Mary gets more and more stressed, her hair becomes tighter and tighter, and I had the Queen in mind as a reference for that. Costume designer Trisha Biggar reveals where she got the inspiration for Gwendas look a photo of Sophia Loren wearing a tight-fitting satin dress. I wanted to make her look totally different from the other female characters with that hourglass silhouette, showing off her attributes in every way. One dress Alice wears is from a hire company in Rome and is hand-painted when she moves across the room you can pick out all these lovely bunches of flowers that have been painted on. But there was one outfit Alice Eve felt suited her even more as Gwenda. I had a bikini scene and I was relieved that bikinis in the 50s were far more flattering for a figure like mine! Bill Nighy, a lifelong Christie fan, loved being involved. To be in one of her stories is just as much of a thrill as reading them, though I wont be watching it. 'I never do. I thought I was so dreadful in my TV debut Softly, Softly: Task Force in 1976 that I havent watched myself in anything since. Im sure Ordeal By Innocence will be a must-see for millions. Just not for me! Ordeal By Innocence begins on Easter Sunday on BBC1. Motivational speaker Turia Pitt has always been very honest about her day-to-day struggles, and that hasn't changed now that she's a mother. But she draws the line at strangers telling her how to raise a baby, particularly when there is already so much judgement around parenthood. The 30-year-old author and her fiance Michael Hoskin welcomed their baby son Hakavai in December last year. Turia Pitt (pictured) attended the Westfield Women In Conversation event at Parramatta And it's no surprise the couple have been bombarded with solicited and some definitely unsolicited parenting advice. 'Everyone around you seems to know what's best for your baby,' she said at the Women In Conversation event, held in partnership with Business Chicks, at Westfield Parramatta. 'Being a mum is amazing, but definitely challenging at times. I've got a whole new respect for parents everywhere. It's hard.' 'Having said that, you do get very rewarding moments all throughout the day. Making Hakavai laugh for a few seconds makes me feel awesome for the rest of the day. So relentless, but rewarding. 'Everyone around you seems to know what's best for your baby,' she said at the Women In Conversation panel at Parramatta Westfield (pictured with Hakavai) Previously, Turia opened up about nursing baby Hakavai and why it hadn't been a simple process 'Nothing prepares you for how drastically life changes when you become a mum. From the magic moments to the sleepless nights, it's a crazy time and one I think we should talk about more. 'We take so much for granted.' Previously, Turia opened up about breastfeeding Hakavai and why it hadn't been a simple process. While she admitted to not being an 'expert' at it (she confessed that this was an unrealistic expectation), she's now slowly getting the hang of it. But while practice helped, it was also a matter of staying positive in the face of adversity, she said. While she admitted to not being an 'expert' at breastfeeding, this was an unrealistic expectation, and she's now slowly getting the hang of it And while the positivity wasn't free-flowing to begin with it's getting easier as her son gets older (with her fiance Michael) 'I believe that our mindset is critical for our failure or success, and a positive outlook is a big part of this. And yes, it always requires work! For everyone - we all need to keep working at getting our mindset right,' she said. 'There's a tip of Megan Gale's that I love. Swap ''I have to'' with ''I get to''. So for example when I get woken up at 3am by Hakavai, instead of thinking ''I have to go and feed Hakavai'' I think ''I get to go and feed Hakavai!''. It's a simple mindset shift that reminds me how lucky I am to have a healthy little boy. 'I know it can be hard to do, but I'd really encourage new mums to try and make time for something they enjoy, every day, or as close to that as possible.' Turia said when she got home she shut the door and cried when she came home from the hospital And while the positivity wasn't free-flowing to begin, the motivational speaker said she is learning on the job. 'The first few weeks were really tough,' Turia said. 'I am getting better at being a mum.' The inspirational burns survivor said when she got home from the hospital after giving birth, she shut the door and cried. 'For a lot of women, it's [birth] is quite a traumatic experience,' she said. 'You feel very vulnerable and your hormones are going up and down and then your partner says ''what's for dinner tonight?' and you just lose it.' A man drove his pet cow more than 2,200 miles across the US in an emergency road trip to try and save his sight. Dan McKernan, 28, rescued six-month-old Hereford calf Mike from a farm in November 2017, but quickly noticed that there was something not right with his eyes. Keen to give the young calf the best chance at life, Mike took him to veterinary medics in Michigan State University, who determined that he was blind in one eye and needed surgery on the other to treat a detached retina. Scroll down for video Cud buds: Dan McKernan, 28, rescued a cow named Mike from a farm in November 2017, and together they went on a cross-country road trip He's a bovine baby! Mike is a six-month-old Hereford calf Barnyard problems: Dan soon noticed that something was wrong with Mike's eyes Dan began to research veterinary ophthalmologists and discovered Dr. Allison Hoffman, a miracle worker who has saved the sight of hundreds of animals. 'I wanted to give Mike the best chance at saving his sight, just like I would if he was my pet dog or cat,' Dan said. 'I decided to take him to Pasadena to Dr. Huffmans surgery. She was such a sweetheart.' The only problem was that her Californian surgery was more than 2,200 miles away from Dans home, which was close to the farm in Chelsea, Michigan. But the former tech worker, who now runs Barn Animal Sanctuary, did not let this stop him. He decided to load up his van and drive his bovine pal cross-country to Pasadena. Only the best! He researched veterinary ophthalmologists and discovered Dr. Allison Hoffman A major trip: Dan lives in Michigan, but Dr. Hoffman is located in California The start of a strange buddy comedy... They drove the 2,200 miles together, with Mike in the back of a van 'On the way we had a lot of funny looks when I would take him out of the van and at night it was interesting because I just bought a cot and slept in that for the three nights,' he said. 'When I brought him to the beach in Malibu he loved it. People just flocked to us it was really nice, they were just interested,' he added. 'I guess when people saw him they were like "Holy crap, thats a cow."' Although the surgery was sadly unsuccessful, Dan said the road trip was a wonderful experience for the pals, who also took photos at Mt. Rushmore on the way home. Although his sight couldnt be saved, Mike is thriving at the sanctuary thanks to his new seeing-eye buddy Dan Jr., named after the pairs rescuer. Catching a tan: They stopped at the beach in Malibu to enjoy the surf and sun Yeah, that's surprising: 'I guess when people saw him they were like, "Holy crap, thats a cow,"' he added Fans: 'People just flocked to us it was really nice, they were just interested,' said Dan It was all a moo point: The surgery was not successful, but Mike is thriving at Dan's animal sanctuary The friends are living life to the fullest at the sanctuary, which Dan quit his corporate job to launch in 2016. 'It was sad we couldnt save Mikes sight, but he really is thriving especially thanks to Dan Jr., a name which my friend gave him for fun. Dan added that he started the sanctuary with his father in 2016, after he'd grown bored sitting at a desk for his tech job ever day. 'It's been super rewarding,' he said. 'Right now we have 32 animals, the cows but also pigs, turkeys, chickens, sheep, pigs and even donkeys.' Shonda Rhimes is tackling the world of firefighting in her new drama Station 19, and the show's star Danielle Savre has nothing but praise for the powerhouse producer. The 29-year-old actress struck a pose for Vulkan magazine while dishing about what it has been like to work with Shonda on the set of the highly-anticipated Grey's Anatomy spin-off, which premieres on Thursday night on ABC. 'She runs the most diverse and inclusive set I have ever been a part of,' Danielle said. 'She is the vanguard of what a producer should be.' Bringing the heat! Danielle Savre, 29, struck a pose in nothing but a jean jacket for her new shoot with Vulkan magazine All dressed up: The 29-year-old actress stars in Shonda Rhimes' new Grey's Anatomy spin-off Station 19 Shonda fan: Danielle praised the powerhouse producer, calling her a 'leader of leaders' The star went on reveal that Shonda has shown up to every single one of the show's table reads so far, calling her a 'leader of leaders.' Shonda teamed up with former Grey's Anatomy writer Stacy McKee to create unique storylines for the team of firefighters who exist in the same universe as the doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. On the show, Danielle plays Maya Bishop, a former Olympic athlete-turned-firefighter, and she feels like she has been preparing for the role for years. 'My sister is actually a firefighter with the Los Angeles Fire Department,' she explained. Impressed: Danielle said Shonda created the 'most diverse and inclusive set' that she has ever been on Leader: The rising star also revealed that Shonda has shown up to every single one of the show's table reads so far Station 19: Danielle plays Maya Bishop, a former Olympic athlete-turned-firefighter, 'Through her journey I feel as if I had a connection to that world that allowed me to comprehend the everyday stress and anxiety, [as well as] the emotional adrenaline roller coaster that these real life super heroes endure.' Danielle and the rest of the cast were put through intense physical training with technical adviser Matty Mullen in preparation for filming, and she said he continues to keep them in line on set. She admittedly put a lot of pressure on herself to represent female firefighters in 'what is still a very male dominated field.' 'I want young girls to watch our show and look up to the women we are portraying. To be a role model for others like my sister has been for me,' she said. Support system: When she saw Kerry Washington at the Hollywood Beauty Awards last month, the Scandal star told her: 'Im rooting for you guys' Flawless: Danielle also graces the March 2018 cover of Metropolitan Magazine Gorgeous: The actress looks flawless in a double-breasted red blazer and a cleavage-baring yellow gown Amazing: Danielle also modeled a stunning blue dress featuring black ruffle detailing Danielle stars alongside actresses Jaina Lee Ortiz and Barrett Doss in the show, and she said it has been empowering to play a strong woman who isn't be victimized in any way. 'Station 19 has three female firefighters that all have there own stories, there own lives and there own personalities,' she told Daily Mail Online. 'No female on the show is there to support a male counterparts storyline.' Danielle admitted she is both nervous and excited to see how #TGIT fans react to the show, but they have already gotten 'complete love and support' from the stars or Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away with Murder. Family: Danielle revealed that her inspiration comes from her sister, who is a real-life firefighter Sweet: Daneille said she feels like she has been preparing for this role for years When she saw Kerry Washington at the Hollywood Beauty Awards last month, the Scandal star told her: 'Im rooting for you guys.' The rising star also covers the March 2018 cover Metropolitan Magazine, looking flawless in a double-breasted red blazer worn over a mustard yellow gown. Other photos show her donning a figure-hugging blue gown with black ruffles, as well as a gorgeous nude mesh dress covered in sequin floral embellishments. While speaking with the magazine, Danielle opened up about landing her dream role on Station 19. Beaming: Danielle recently took a break from her busy filming schedule to give DailyMailTV a tour of her home in Los Angeles So lovely: Danielle's craftsman style home stood out with its blue paint and wide porch, complete with a table and chairs in bright colors Colorful: Danielle revealed that she decorated her home with items from Homegoods, folliwng a red and beige color scheme 'For me, this role was meant to be because of who my sister is. I look up to her so much,' she said. 'The most exciting thing is she gets to come to set to double for me while driving the firetruck because obviously I have no idea how to do that. 'She'll come to set and put the hat on so that way they don't have to hide my character when there's a driving scene.' Danielle recently took a break from her busy filming schedule to give DailyMailTV a tour of her home in Los Angeles. Stylish: The star's dining room has a geometric carpet with a large wood table with a bench and black chairs Bright: The kitchen has white cabinets with wooden counter tops and a large farmhouse sink All about the details: Danielle's fireplace features nods to California as well as to the movie industry Effortless: The star looked pretty in her high-neck romper, topping off her look with wavy tresses and pink glossed lips The actress welcomed the show's correspondent Brandi Williams to her stylish residence for a look inside. Danielle's craftsman-style home stood out with its blue paint and wide porch, complete with a table and chairs set in bright colors. The star looked pretty in her high-neck romper as she showed off the red and beige color scheme inside her home. She revealed that she had decorated her home with items from HomeGoods, explaining: 'If I can make it look like this on a budget, then why wouldn't I?' A property developer from Sydney has fast become the envy of foodies across the nation after being dubbed 'Australia's Ultimate Food Tasker'. Scotty Gordon, 29, will spend the next 10 days travelling the nation and tackling some of Australia's most outrageous and sickening food challenges. Not only that, he will be paid $1,000 for the pleasure. Mr Gordon took out the title over more than 500 people after food app Menulog listed the job of 'Australia's Best Eater' on community outsourcing platform, Airtasker. Scroll down for video Scotty Gordon, 29, will spend the next 10 days travelling the nation and tackling some of Australia's most outrageous and sickening food challenges Mr Gordon took out the title over more than 500 people after food app Menulog listed the job of 'Australia's Best Eater' on community outsourcing platform, Airtasker Mr Gordon was selected for his 'absolute confidence in his ability' and 'readiness to put his insatiable appetite to the test'. Although he is thrilled with the job offer, it will be no easy task. Commencing in his hometown of Sydney, Mr Gordon will begin on Monday at Cantina Mexican where he will tackle a burrito weighing in at more than a kilogram. He will be expected to devour the meat, salad and jalapeno filled burrito in a Mexican food stand off before heading to Melbourne the following day and taking on the daunting burger task at Misty's Diner. Commencing in his hometown of Sydney, Mr Gordon will begin on Monday at Cantina Mexican where he will tackle a burrito weighing in at more than a kilogram He will eat this burger which has five burger patties, five slices of cheese, five slices of bacon, three buns and a whole lot of fries Featuring five burger patties, five slices of cheese, five slices of bacon, three buns and a whole lot of fries, this burger is not for the faint hearted. I take to the gym more than the average bloke to make sure I can eat insane amounts of food. Scotty Gordon Mr Gordon will then have one day off before flying to Slice Pizza in Brisbane, Queensland where he will have 30 minutes to consume a 60cm, 36 slice pizza with his choice of toppings. Just 10 others have completed this food challenge in the past six years. Mr Gordon will then head to Perth where he will take on a spicy green curry at Thailicious. Mr Gordon will then head to Perth where he will take on a spicy green curry at Thailicious - the curry has been supercharged with double chili and double the green curry paste Mr Gordon will fly to Slice Pizza in Brisbane, Queensland where he will have 30 minutes to consume a 60cm, 36 slice pizza with his choice of toppings This menu favourite has been supercharged with double chili and double the green curry paste for Mr Gordon to enjoy. Finally in Adelaide he will have 45 minutes to consume a one kilogram chicken schnitzel with side of chips plus litre of beer, for the illustrious honour of making it to Schnithouse's wall of fame. Mr Gordon will be live streaming each challenge across social media and he believes he has what it takes to complete each one. Finally in Adelaide he will have 45 minutes to consume a one kilogram chicken schnitzel with side of chips plus litre of beer, for the honour of making it to Schnithouse's wall of fame Scotty will share details of his escapades on his @TheWolfOfEatStreet Instagram page and on the Menulog blog 'I'm definitely the best person for it - I watch Man vs Food religiously and take to the gym more than the average bloke to make sure I can eat insane amounts of food in one sitting,' he said. 'Eating food is what I'm good at - simple as that! I've tackled many colossal dinner plates but but I may have bitten off more than I can chew with this challenge. I'm particularly worried about the 36 slices of pizza, that'll be tough.' Scotty will share details of his escapades on his @TheWolfOfEatStreet Instagram page and on the Menulog blog. Most mothers would panic if they knew they'd be forced to deliver their baby on the side of the road. But Lindsay Hollingsworth, from New South Wales, remained 'cool, calm and collected' as she gave birth to daughter Selena in a rest area on the Barton highway. The 40-year-old had woken up that fateful morning in 2016 and started to have contractions, but said she was in 'denial' about how quickly they were coming on. Lindsay Hollingsworth, from NSW, remained 'cool, calm and collected' as she gave birth to daughter Selena 20 months ago in a rest area on the Barton highway (pictured with husband Aymon) 'I was in no hurry to give birth. My first child, who is now eight, took 23 hours to arrive and I like being pregnant,' she told FEMAIL. She went to have a shower while her husband Aymon prepared the station wagon for a 63km journey to the hospital. Lindsay also called her midwife to alert her to the fact they were coming in. Aymon, who was 'scoping out all the possible places they could pull over', only got fifteen minutes into the car journey before Lindsay signalled for him to drive into a rest stop. After arriving at the hospital, a healthy newborn in hand, the Hollingsworth family only had to stay six more hours before being discharged 'I could feel the baby's head, and sure enough when I got out of the car she was on the way,' Lindsay said. 'Aymon asked if he should call the ambulance, which I agreed to, and while he that I got into the boot of our car, which had some blankets in it, and kneeled.' The 000 caller stayed on the line until the ambulance arrived, with the paramedics playing a key role in delivering baby Selena. And it took just two hours and 25 minutes from start to finish. 'We had awesome paramedics and they knew exactly what to do. When I told them not to clamp the umbilical cord they replied: "This is your show, you tell us what you want",' she continued. The 000 caller stayed on the line until the ambulance arrived with the paramedics playing a key role in delivering baby Selena (pictured with the paramedics) After arriving at the hospital, a healthy newborn in arms, the Hollingsworth family only had to stay six more hours before being discharged. This incredible story isn't as rare as you might think. In Australia, four to five in 1,000 births occur before the mother arrives at the hospital. A woman has posed naked to celebrate completing her half a million dollar surgery to emulate her idol Kim Kardashian. Jennifer Pamplona, 25, from Sao Paolo, Brazil, showcased her curvaceous new figure covered in only glittery paint for a shoot inspired by the Keeping Up With The Kardashian's star. She has spent a staggering $500,000 (350,000) transforming close to every inch of her body, from having four ribs removed to four pints of fat injected into her buttocks. Scroll down for video Jennifer Pamplona has spent half a million dollars emulating her idol Kim Kardashian, and recently celebrated with a naked shoot (right) seen before surgery (left) Recently she went under the knife again for her second nose job, to remove cheek fillers and had a face lift to closely resemble the star. The doppelganger has just recovered from the $30,000 (21,000) procedures with Dr Bulent Cihantimur, in Turkey, that initially left her unable to smile. The entrepreneur already has future plans to increase the size of her extremely enlarged derriere further, despite doctors rejecting the idea. Jennifer recently completed surgery to have her nose reshaped to better replicate Kim Kardashian (pictured here) She had the $30,000 (21,000) procedures with Dr Bulent Cihantimur, in Turkey, that initially left her unable to smile. Pictured during recovery (left) and now (right) She believes she will be able to model way into her late 60s thanks to the alterations and finally likes posing naked, as seen in her shoot imitating Kim Kardashian-West's photos for KKW Beauty. Jennifer said: 'After all my surgery and procedures I'm pretty happy, sometimes I think all the money I spent could be in my bank account but at the same time I'm so happy. 'I have spent a lot of money, but I feel very confident with myself and have the power to make more money because of my looks. To further emulate the star Jennifer has had two pints of silicone injected into her rear to give her a peachy behind (pictured before, left, and now) Jennifer wore nothing but glittery body paint for her recent shoot, imitating Kim Kardashian-West's photos for KKW Beauty 'When you're not happy with yourself, feeling upset and not great, you're not going to succeed, now I love myself and I feel happy looking in the mirror. 'If I had to, I definitely would do it all again, all of the surgeries and procedures, but for now I know it's time to focus more on my career, life and business. 'I chose this photoshoot style, because it's similar to some of Kim Kardashian-West's most famous photographs. 'I love when Kim Kardashian does these photoshoots, for me she looks beautiful and I feel like I look great too. Despite already having four pints of fat injected, dreams of an even bigger butt, however, her doctor has advised against it She says that she has no desire to be skinny and wants to maintain a curvaceous figure 'I gain more confidence every time I do a photoshoot without clothes on, I feel comfortable posing naked with body paint now and could be doing this for a long time. 'When I saw these photographs, I thought it was the most beautiful one I have ever done, I have a more mature look now. 'I think I will still feel confident doing naked shoots into my old age, I did all of my surgeries to remain beautiful - whether I'm 30, 60, 70 I'll still be beautiful, with age comes beauty too.' Jennifer, who shot to fame after undergoing nine surgeries in the 24-hours, after the death of her boyfriend Celso Santebanes, who was known for his modified look. Jennifer wants to prove that women can be both sexy and a successful entrepreneur Jennifer (pictured before surgery), shot to fame after undergoing nine surgeries in the 24-hours, after the death of her boyfriend Celso Santebanes, who was known for his modified look He dreamed that she would follow in his footsteps, with her going on to rack up a shocking $500,000 of surgery and procedures. Most particularly she aimed to imitate her idol's famous derriere and despite already having four pints of fat injected, dreams of an even bigger butt. Jennifer said: 'I wanted to have more done to my butt, when I travelled to turkey, I wished I could do it then, but my doctor has refused. 'He said he would not do it currently, but maybe in the future we can, I never say never, especially when talking about surgery. 'My doctor thinks I am addicted, so he put a stop on me if he didn't I would have kept on doing it, he didn't reject me because it's dangerous, he's just very responsible.' JENNIFER PAMPLONA'S HALF A MILLION OF SURGERIES AND PROCEDURES SO FAR 900cc (four pints) of fat injected into each butt cheek Four ribs removed Breast implants x2 Rhinoplasty x2 Liposuction Cheek fillers Lips fillers Veneers Fat injection to thighs Cheek fillers removed Face lift Advertisement Jennifer furthered her similarity to Kim Kardashian-West by recently having her nose reshaped to emulate the star and had drooping cheek fillers removed. She said: 'I wanted my face to look more similar to Kim Kardashian, when I woke up it was the most beautiful nose I could have seen, it looks very natural and not like I've had surgery at all. 'He broke my nose and cut it to make it smaller, then worked to remove the fillers and reconstruct my face. 'He took out my cheek fillers and gave me a facelift to stop them from sagging with the weight. 'I see my body more like a woman's and not a girl anymore, I'm growing up and finding fewer insecurities with myself.' To celebrate the modifications, she recreated another Kim Kardashian-West photoshoot. Jennifer said: 'After my nose job I wanted to do something really nice, I wanted to show my body completely. 'It was very sexy, very amazing and using great colours that overall enhanced my confidence. 'I was five kilos (11lb) heavier too, I was not fat but a little curvier and felt very confident within myself. 'I don't like to be skinny, when I'm too skinny I don't feel great because I like bodies with curves and was very happy with all my results.' Jennifer who has recently launched a perfume and chocolate line, wants to show other women that they can be both sexy and a successful entrepreneur. She said: 'People don't understand that beautiful woman can do business as well, some think beautiful woman are not smart. 'This is part of the reasoning behind why I like Kim Kardashian so much, she's really beautiful, very sexy, very smart and a savvy business woman. 'I want to show myself and others that I'm a confident woman but can still go to meetings and because I'm a business woman. 'A woman can stay sexy and beautiful, while still being great with business.' Prince Harry has quit smoking for Meghan as they prepare to start a family after the royal wedding, it has been revealed. According to the New York Daily News, the former Suits star has persuaded the royal to abandon his Malboro Lights and cut down on alcohol consumption ahead of trying for a baby. 'One of the reasons she got him to quit smoking is because smoking affects sperm production,' a source told the publication. 'Its no secret among friends that they want to start a family immediately.' Harry is also said to have lost 10lbs since he and Meghan announced their engagement in December, thanks to workouts at the exclusive KX private members health club in Chelsea where membership costs 575 a month. The royal has been spotted there at 7am on an almost daily basis, 'getting his soldier body back'. Prince Harry (pictured in 2009) has given up his beloved Malboro Lights as he and Meghan prepare to start a family Prince Harry has reportedly quit smoking and cut back on drinking as he and Meghan set their sights on starting a family after their wedding in May Harry enjoying a cheeky cigarette at the wedding of Captain Nicholas Van Cutsem and Alice Hadden-Paton in 2009 Meghan herself loves to keep fit and goes jogging to clear her head, as well as keeping up her yoga practice. And it seems she's also keen for Harry to share her healthy eating practices as he's reportedly been working with Gabriela Peacock, the nutritional therapist at exclusive womens club Grace Belgravia where Meghan is a member. While the Prince is known for his love of KFC and Haribo, Meghan takes a rather healthier approach. She previously told Good Housekeeping that her fridge staples are hummus, carrots, green juice, almond milk and chia seed pudding. Harry pictured in Afghanistan in 2012, is 'getting his soldier body back' with daily 7am workouts In December 2017, it was reported that Harry had stopped smoking at home at Nottingham Cottage in deference to Meghan. Harry has promised no smoking at all at home. Its not nice for Meghan as a non-smoker, a friend said at the time. So theres no more hanging out of the window for a quick puff.' Love Island star Gabby Allen has spoken about her 'funny' and 'caring' father Mike for the first time since he lost his life to a brain tumour five years ago, aged 54. Gabby, and boyfriend Marcel Somerville, 32, her co-star on the reality show and a former member of Blazin' Squad, captured the nation's hearts during the ITV2 series last summer. But her father was always on her mind, with Gabby taking a pair of his sunglasses into the villa as a good luck charm. The 26-year-old, who often pays tribute to her father on Instagram, has chosen now to speak out about her father to raise awareness as part of Brain Tumour Awareness Month. Love Island's Gabby Allen has opened up about her late father Mike (pictured) who passed away five years ago due to a brain tumour She said: 'Only if you and your family have been through it can you know the devastating impact of this cruel disease.' When her dad a fit, healthy ex- rugby player became ill, Gabby was a 20-year-old student in her third year at the Italia Conti Theatre School in London, while her brother Ethan, now 23, studied for his A-Levels. The family's nightmare started in February 2012 when property developer Mike had a seizure at the wheel of his transit van on the M62. He blacked out and veered off up an embankment. 'Thankfully he didn't crash into any other cars,' said Gabby. 'A lorry driver behind him watched him come off, went to help him and called 999. Gabby, who is dating former Blazin Squad member Marcel Somerville, last night attended the Brainbop ball to raise awareness Gabby, whose dad passed at the age of 54, says there isn't a day that goes by when she doesn't think of him. Pictured: Mike with Gabby and her brother Ethan (seen left) 'Next thing Dad knew was waking up in hospital with a broken nose and no recollection of what had happened.' Doctors discharged him with suspected epilepsy, but Gabby's mum Paula, 50, thought there was more to it. 'Mum was worried because he'd started mumbling, slurring like he was drunk and getting his words mixed up,' said Gabby. 'He became confused, forgetful and had constant ringing in his ears. A week after Dad's crash, Mum rang the GP and asked if he could have a scan.' Mike's condition was diagnosed back in 2012 after he had a seizure at the wheel of his van and was referred for a CT scan Mike had a five-and-half hour craniotomy at Walton Hospital, Liverpool in April 2012, when most of the tumour was removed. Pictured: Mike with his two children He was referred for a CT scan at his local hospital. Later that day, the GP broke the news that he had a huge mass on his front right temporal lobe. 'When I came home for the weekend, they sat me and Ethan down in the living room,' said Gabby. 'Mum said, "We've got something to tell you. Dad has got a brain tumour and he's going to have an operation." 'You just don't think that's a conversation you're ever going to have. When you hear brain tumour, you immediately think cancer and when you think cancer, you immediately think death. After radiotherapy and two operations Mike returned home in Januray 2013, and five days later he died in the arms of Gabby's mother 'But we didn't know it was cancerous then and I think we all just convinced ourselves it wouldn't be. Dad was just so matter-of-fact about it.' Mike had a five-and-half hour craniotomy at Walton Hospital, Liverpool in April 2012, when most of the tumour was removed Three-and-half weeks later, biopsy results revealed the devastating news that Mike had a grade four glioblastoma - the most common aggressive brain tumour in adults, with an average prognosis time of 12-18 months. She continued: 'Being in limbo waiting for the results was hell. When we got them, we were in shock - we just couldn't take it in at first. WHAT IS A GLIOBLASTOMA? Glioblastomas are the most common cancerous brain tumours in adults. They are fast growing and likely to spread. Glioblastomas' cause is unknown but may be related to a sufferer's genes if mutations result in cells growing uncontrollably, forming a tumour. Treatment is usually surgery to remove as much of the tumour as possible, followed by a combination of radio- and chemotherapy (chemoradiation). It can be difficult to remove all of the growth as glioblastomas have tendrils that extend to other regions of the brain. These are targeted via chemoradiation. Glioblastomas are often resistant to treatment as they are usually made up of different types of cells. Therefore, medication will kill off some cells and not others. The average survival time is between 12 and 18 months. Only 20 per cent of patients live longer than a year and just three per cent survive over three years. Source: The Brain Tumour Charity Advertisement 'I still have the note I made on my mobile phone - glioblastoma multiforme so I could google it. 'But I don't think my dad believed he was going to die, he thought he'd be one of the few who beat the odds. 'He was always on the computer researching new treatments in America and Germany, talking to other people with the same diagnosis at all hours. 'And he tried different things - at one point he was taking about 30 herbal tablets a day.' After surgery, Gabby's dad had radiotherapy sessions every day for five weeks and was on Temozolomide chemo tablets. Gabby, who attended the Brainbop ball on Thursday, says that despite his condition, her father remained in good spirits. She continued: 'He'd tease the nurses and patients and take the mickey. 'It was his way of dealing with it and he always saw the funny side of things.' Four months after Mike's diagnosis, a scan revealed his tumour had grown. It wasn't possible to remove it all due to its position, but he had surgery to debulk it at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London. 'By then, Dad was getting increasingly confused,' said Gabby. 'I remember we sat down for Christmas dinner and he picked up a lit candle from the table and was going to drink from it as he thought it was a glass.' 'Dad was on steroids which made him agitated. He had personality changes and would do weird things like tapping in numbers on an imaginary phone and saying random things.' Two weeks after his second operation, Mike came home. But sadly his condition then deteriorated quickly. His pain and symptoms couldn't be controlled at home, so he went into a hospice on January 13, 2013. Gabby admits that she found it difficult to return to university and leave her mum Paula (pictured) alone after her father's death She says that she, Ethan and Paula are closer than ever but says there is always the sense that someone is missing Five days later, Gabby was at her parents' home as she and Ethan were taking it in turns to walk the dogs. 'When I saw missed calls from Ethan, I just knew,' said Gabby. 'Dad had passed away in Mum's arms. 'It was hard to take in that someone who'd always been so full of life was just gone,' Gabby reveals that she treasures a recording she'd made of her dad's breathing on her mobile phone. 'I also used to listen to his answerphone messages so I could hear his voice,' she added. 'I was devastated when my mobile was stolen and I couldn't listen to his voice mails any more.' Now Gabby's many happy family memories comfort her. 'I was a daddy's girl and we never stopped talking, 'she said 'He was really intelligent and we'd discuss everything under the sun. 'If I groaned or rolled my eyes, he'd say. "You need to know about this!"' As a teenager, Gabby's family home in Liverpool was a popular hang-out for her friends. She explained: 'Our kitchen was party central. Mum stayed in the front room, but Dad always came into the kitchen to take the mickey. 'My mates loved him and thought he was hilarious of course I was mortified because he was my dad!' 'If he picked me up from somewhere, if I wasn't out at the car on the dot, he'd drive off! 'But he'd only go round the block and then come back for me. He was so caring and protective - a soft touch really. Gabby says that she thinks her dad would have liked Marcel 'When I was a scatty 18-year-old, I lost five mobile phones in as many weeks. After threats I couldn't have another one, he always replaced it. 'But he got his own back he loved Van Morrison and would ramp his music on Saturday mornings, especially if I'd had a late night!' 'He was really proud of me and Ethan. But when I got all As and A*s for my GCSEs bar a B for maths, he was so proud, but couldn't resist joking, "What happened with maths?" 'My dad's butties were legendary only ham and I don't know what he did - but my school friends asked if he could make them for them, too!' she said. 'Now I'd give anything for him to still be here taking the mickey; eating the whole packet of his favourite Tunnock chocolate wafers and me moaning at him; and ribbing my boyfriends.' Gabby reckons her dad would have liked Marcel who has the seal of approval from her mum. She continued: 'My mum loves Marcel and I think Dad would've, too. 'He'd have given him a hard time at first to make sure he was serious about me, and then welcomed him into the fold.' After Mike died, there was a period of adjustment for the shattered family. 'I was already away and Ethan about to go off to university, so it was really hard on mum, 'said Gabby. 'They'd been married for 23 years and suddenly she was alone. She had to become mum and dad to us. 'Not a day that goes by that I don't miss Dad. Grief becomes different but you never get over it it becomes part of you. 'Dad would have wanted me to get on with my life. He'd be the first to say, 'Why are you sitting around moping? Live your life. 'Now I'm even closer to mum and Ethan but there's always that sense someone is missing and that someone is missing out. 'I feel sad that Dad didn't see Ethan's graduation and how well he's doing, and that he hasn't seen what I've achieved and won't walk me down the aisle one day.' Not that Gabby and Marcel, 32, have any imminent wedding plans. 'I'm in no rush to get married and we're not engaged, 'she said. 'We're very much in love and happy as we are I still feel too young to get married!' Gabby now wants to help The Brain Tumour Charity raise awareness in her dad's memory. 'I can't get that image of my dad spending hours at his computer researching out of my head,' said personal trainer Gabby. 'Sadly, it may be too late for my dad, but I want to help The Brain Tumour Charity give hope to other families - I know Dad would be proud of me.' Sarah Lindsell, The Brain Tumour Charity's chief executive, said: 'We are so grateful to Gabby for her support and sharing her story to help us raise awareness. 'Like Gabby's dad, today 30 people will be given the devastating diagnosis of a primary brain tumour - that's 11,000 people a year. 'Although brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and under-40s in the UK, less than 2% of the money spent a year on cancer research goes to brain tumours. 'Our research strategy, A Cure Can't Wait, aims to double survival within 10 years and halve the harm brain tumours have on quality of life.' The Brain Tumour Charity is running its first Big Bandana Bake throughout March as part of #BTAM18. It is encouraging bakers all over the UK to take part, aiming to raise 150,000 pounds to fund a life-saving research project for over two years. Find out more about The Brain Tumour Charity's award-winning campaign to reduce diagnosis time for children and teenagers' brain tumours headsmart.org.uk Every mother wants to make sure their child's birthday is special, and Sarah Ferguson is certainly no exception. The Duchess of York celebrated Princess Eugenie's 28th birthday today with two very heart-felt Instagram posts. The proud mother-of-two shared a childhood snap of her youngest daughter with a special caption thanking her for the 'joy she brings' and using her pet name, 'Eugie Boogie'. The Duchess of York celebrated Princess Eugenie's 28th birthday with this touching Instagram post, featuring a childhood photo of her daughter and a message calling her 'Eugie Boogie' The proud mother-of-two received comments from dozens of well-wishers on the post Fergie kicked off the day by sharing a picture of an elephant birthday balloon with the words 'Happy Birthday my Eugie', tagging her daughter in the caption. An hour later she followed up with a picture of Eugenie as a child, with the message: 'Ohh the joy you bring to all our lives .. thank you and happy birthday my darling Eugie Boogie.' The sweet post received dozens of comments from well-wishers, with many praising the 'beautiful' princess. Fergie has previously taken to Instagram to celebrate her daughter's engagement to Jack Brooksbank, pictured together in January. The couple will tie the knot in Windsor this October Fergie kicked off the day by sharing a picture of an elephant birthday balloon with the words 'Happy Birthday my Eugie', tagging her daughter in the caption One wrote: 'Happy birthday to your sweet daughter. She's just lovely.' Another posted: 'Sweet sweet child many blessings to you.' Bride-to-be Eugenie, who will tie the knot with Jack Brooksbank in October, marked the occasion with an Instagram post yesterday. She shared a childhood photo of herself as a child on an outing with her parents and sister, Princess Beatrice, now 29, with the caption: 'Going into my birthday tomorrow like....' Bride-to-be Eugenie, who will tie the knot with Jack Brooksbank in October, marked the occasion with this Instagram post yesterday The royal, who joined Instagram earlier this month, appeared to be excited for the festivities Eugenie posted the image on her private Instagram account, which she launched earlier this month. On Saturday, she shared a sweet snap of her and elder sister Princess Beatrice, who is seen rolling her eyes to the ceiling and poking out her tongue. The sisters had been attending wedding celebrations for Prince Christian of Hanover in Peru over the weekend. This week has already been busy for the royal. Eugenie was joined by fiance Jack Brooksbank at the first night of Teenage Cancer Trust concert series at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Monday night, pictured On Monday she looked stylish in a black collared shirt dress as she arrived at the first night of Teenage Cancer Trust concert series at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Eugenie announced her engagement to Jack back in January, after the wine merchant popped the question when the couple were on holiday in Nicaragua. The wedding will take place on October 12, in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, where Prince Harry and Meghan will also be tying the knot. She's been careful to dress in understated outfits that don't grab headlines since taking up royal duties with Prince Harry, but it seems that Meghan Markle has been sending out strong messages - with her handbags. Today the bride-to-be shunned well-known brands for her surprise visit to Belfast, sporting a brown leather handbag by Hertfordshire-based Charlotte Elizabeth - a designer supported by the Prince's Trust. The accessories business was launched by Charlotte Elizabeth Jones, then 21, from her bed while she was paralysed by illness for a year, and couldn't speak or lift her hands. Her choice of bag would no doubt win approval from her future father-in-law Prince Charles. And it's certainly not the first time the former Suits star has used her accessories to champion a designer with an inspiring story. On her visit to Cardiff in January she carried a bag from DeMellier London who fund life-saving vaccines for children for every bag sold. And she's twice championed the small Scottish brand Strathberry who sold out of the bags she carried in Nottingham and Edinburgh. Today Meghan, 36, shunned well-known brands for her surprise visit to Belfast, sporting a brown leather handbag by Charlotte Elizabeth - a designer supported by the Prince's Trust For her visit to Cardiff in January, Meghan sported a handbag by DeMellier London who fund life-saving vaccines for children for every bag sold The former Suits star has twice accessorised with bags from Strathberry to champion a small Scottish business For her first visit to Belfast today, Meghan gave a nod to the Emerald Isle in a forest green skirt by Toronto-based Greta Constantine, worn with the same Victoria Beckham cashmere jumper she wore for her engagement photoshoot. She teamed the ensemble with rusty orange suede shoes by Jimmy Choo and covered up witha $750 Mackage waterfall collar coat. And she topped off the outfit with a handbag by Charlotte Elizabeth, a designer who set up her brand from her bed when she was paralysed by illness at 21. 'Like Kate who often gives a sartorial nod to the country she is visiting Meghan has opted for a green hue with the tailored skirt,' celebrity stylist Lucas Armitage told Femail. Who designed Meghan Markle's handbag? Charlotte Elizabeth Jones from Hertfordshire had to leave school at 16 after having heart surgery. Unable to pursue A levels or find work because of her health issues, she had an ambition to set up her own handbag brand. Aged 19, she went on a four-day Prince's Trust course to learn more about setting up a business, but only a fortnight later she collapsed and was left paralysed within seconds. She was unable to move her feet or lift her hands and was bedbound for a whole year, unable to speak at some points. Doctors believed her condition was 'all in the mind' which sent her into depression. However, the thought of setting up her own brand kept her going and a few months after her collapse she started working on her first designs. As she could barely move her hands, her sketches were childlike so she enlisted the help of her sisters boyfriend, a designer, to draw more detailed images. A year after she first became ill, she was diagnosed with postural tachycardia syndrome - an abnormal increase in heart rate that occurs after sitting up or standing. It typically causes symptoms such as dizziness, fainting, palpitations. She has also been diagnosed with ME. A year after she received her diagnosis, Charlotte was able to take her first steps outside and launch her online shop, selling her first design - the Bloomsbury handbag, a version of which Meghan carried today. Her business continues to be supported by the Prince's Trust. Charlotte Elizabeth Jones from Hertfordhire made her first designs while she was paralysed by illness Advertisement 'Meghan seems to be taking some serious style bits from Duchess Kate here, gone is her edgy style statements and she has opted for classic elements to produce a more conservative fashion vibe. This entire look could have been put together from Kates pre-pregnancy wardrobe, the chic pencil skirt, the courts and a classic knit. 'The only hint of Meghans signature style is the casual leather bag.' The couple have flown to Northern Ireland for an unannounced visit that follows on from high profile trips to other parts of the UK. Meghan and Harry have been touring Britain ahead of their May wedding and the prince will introduce his fiance to Ulster during a series of events. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Meghan showed that she's not averse to recycling by re-wearing the white Victoria Beckham jumper she sported for her engagement shoot The bride-to-be teamed her outfit with a cream waterfall coat by Mackage, a Canadian brand she's worn previously In keeping with royal visits to Northern Ireland details were not released in advance and the itinerary was not disclosed for security reasons. Their first stop was at Eikon Centre in Lisburn, for an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. The US actress began her UK tour with Harry in Nottingham a few days after their engagement announcement at the end of November last year. Meghan and Harry's first stop was the youth-led peace-building initiative 'Amazing the Space' In Brixton, the historic home of London's Caribbean community, Meghan and Harry visited a local community centre, then they travelled to Cardiff, with the US actress getting an introduction to Welsh culture. Edinburgh welcomed the coupled who visited the city's historic castle and they also toured Birmingham. Harry visited Northern Ireland last November when he opened a new ambulance station in Ballymena, County Antrim and also visited Belfast and Hillsborough Castle, County Down. Meghan Markle proved her selling power once again today as the coat she wore for her surprise Belfast visit sold out in under an hour. Prince Harry's fiancee donned a belted wool coat from Canadian brand Mackage as the couple touched down in Northern Ireland just before 11am on Friday - and by midday it was already out of stock. The 'Mai' coat boasts a stylish waterfall collar and comes in four colours - meaning Meghan style devotees can still snap it up in black, gold and light grey if they're quick. She teamed it with a bottle green dress by Greta Constantine, a cream top by Victoria Beckham, and towering suede heels by Jimmy Choo. Scroll down for video Meghan wore this belted wool coat from Mackage as the couple touched down in Northern Ireland just before 11am on Friday - and by midday it was out of stock in the 'sand' colourway Ms. Markle teamed her coat with a bottle green dress by Greta Constantine, a cream top by Victoria Beckham, and towering suede heels by Jimmy Choo Mackage is shaping up to be one of Ms. Markle's favourite labels; she opted for a white wrap coat for a photo call after Kensington Palace announced the couple's engagement in November, and once again for their first joint outing in Nottingham the following month. It's not the first time the so-called 'Meghan effect' has sent sales soaring; the princess-in-waiting has boosted sales of shoes, handbags and dresses since her betrothal to Harry was first announced. And proving that she is well on her way to becoming the nation's new style queen, a 425 crossbody bag she wore in Edinburgh last month also sold out in record time. Meghan opted for a bottle green Strathberry East/ West mini for her first official visit to Scotland in February - and within minutes it was listed as out of stock on the retailer's website. In a subtle nod to her hosts, Meghan paired the stylish dark green accessory - by an Edinburgh-based designer - with a tartan coat from Burberry. The Meghan effect in full swing: Ms Markle opted for a bottle green Strathberry East/ West mini for her first visit to Scotland last month, and within minutes it was listed as out of stock And the princess-in-waiting had barely stepped out with her fiance in Edinburgh before royal-watchers began snapping up her bag online. The Spanish-made East/ West Mini, which comes in 12 different colourways, features the label's distinctive gold bar closure and is described as 'elegant and timeless'. Last month's appearance was far from the first example of the so-called 'Meghan effect'; the former Suits actress caused another Strathberry bag to fly off shelves last year. She was spotted carrying the label's 495 midi-tote in burgundy, navy and vanilla for her first official engagement as Harry's bride-to-be back in December. Sales boost: Meghan also carried Strathberry's 495 midi-tote in burgundy, navy and vanilla for her first official engagement as Harry's bride-to-be - and it sold out in just 11 minutes The plum-coloured tote, featuring Strathberry's signature metal bar, was also a hit, selling out in record time after Meghan wore it for her first official royal outing in Nottingham And the stylish bag was later revealed to have sold out in just 11 minutes according to the label, launched in 2013. A spokesperson for Strathberry told MailOnline FEMAIL: 'We are pleased to welcome Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to Edinburgh on their first official visit to Scotland, and the support they are giving projects in our historic city is fantastic. 'It is such an honour to see Meghan carrying a Strathberry bag again; this time an East / West Mini in Bottle Green. 'We are especially thrilled that Meghan is carrying Strathberry in our home city and also after she chose to carry her Strathberry Midi Tote for her first royal engagement back in December. We wish them the very best for their upcoming nuptials.' She is known for her bold fashion choices, and Queen Maxima did not disappoint as she stepped out for an engagement on Friday. The Dutch royal, 46, made a statement in a black blouse with an oversized pussy-bow neckline as she visited the town of Door, in the central province of Utrecht. Maxima was on hand to learn about how money from the Oranje Fonds - a royal-backed foundation - is being used to help fund social projects. Queen Maxima was snapped in a monochrome outfit visiting a charity in Utrecht The fund was established as a 'national gift' to Maxima and her husband, King Willem-Alexander, 50, to celebrate their marriage in 2002. The king and queen are both patrons of the charity and remain involved in awarding money to deserving causes. For the meeting today, Maxima looked ready for business in a striking monochrome ensemble. The Dutch queen wore a fitted velvet blazer on top of her blouse and teamed them with a pair of cropped cream trousers. The always immaculately turned out Queen wore a velvet jacket over white cropped trousers, and carried a classic Chanel handbag The statement bow at the neck of her jacket ensured Queen Maxima stood out from the crowd She made the most of her long legs with a pair of black pointed pumps, also in black. She carried her essentials in a classic quilted Chanel handbag. It has been a busy week for the Dutch royals, who hosted the King and Queen of Jordan on a two-day state visit. Maxima spent much of the time with Queen Rania, 47, accompanying her on visits focused on how the Netherlands prepares its young people for the workplace. The Dutch Queen is seen shaking hands with staff and volunteers at the charity in Doorn Queen Maxima recently welcomed Queen Rania of Jordan to the Netherlands The royals both donned tailored grey ensembles as they visited a school on Wednesday morning. Maxima demonstrated her flair for bold sartorial choices with a knitted mustard-coloured turban, while the Jordanian queen opted for wide-leg trousers. During the visit, Rania and her husband, King Abdullah, were hosted by the Dutch King and Queen for a glittering reception. The aim of the visit was to improve relations between the two countries. There's nothing better than having your mom take care of you when you're sick, but there aren't too many mothers who are willing to fly across the country to make their adult children soup. Grace Li, a 22-year-old high school biology teach living in New York City, took to Twitter to reveal that her mom Shixia Huang made the spur-of-the-moment decision to fly from Texas to see her because she wasn't feeling well. While sharing a photo of herself in New York with her mom, she wrote: 'Me on the phone with my mom last night: I'm sick. Her: Ok I can catch the next flight. Me: Is that a joke?' Not a joke: Grace Li took to Twitter to reveal that her mom Shixia Huang dropped everything and flew from Texas to New York City while she was sick Look of love: The 22-year-old high school biology teach shared a photo of herself posed with her mom during the spur-of-the-moment visit The photo of them together is proof that her mom wasn't joking, and many commenters were truly touched that Shixia was willing to drop everything to see her daughter. A woman named Meg said it was the 'sweetest' thing she has ever seen, and Grace agreed that her mother is the 'best.' After Meg noted the post made her miss her own mother, Grace offered up a suggestion. 'Friend I have an easy solution to that just TELL HER YOU'RE SICK AND POOF,' she joked. The flight from Texas to New York is only about three hours, and Shixia made sure to get Grace's head pain checked as soon as she arrived. Taking care of business: Grace said the first thing her mom did when she arrived was take her to see a doctor Doting mom: Grace noted that her mom even made her soup in the morning The sweetest thing: Many commenters were truly touched that Shixia was willing to drop everything to see her daughter 'The first thing she did was zip me to her doctor friend,' Grace explained. 'I was like "mom it's fine I'm sure this stabby head pain will pass" and she was like LOL TIME TO SCHEDULE A CT SCAAAAANNNN.' Grace went on to reveal in the thread that her mother made her soup in the morning, and Shixia cooked her enough food 'to last the next three days.' 'Moms... theres nothing like em,' Jaimie Primak said, while Lynn Shelley added: 'It's that invisible umbilical cord. If your mum lives until you are 100 she'll still cross the world for you.' Shixia agreed with the latter tweet, telling BuzzFeed News: 'Yes, no matter how old my daughter is, I will always cross the world for her. When I could not do it physically one day, I will surely do it in my heart.' Side effect: A woman named Meg admitted the post made her miss her own mother Easy solution: Grace joked that Meg should tell her mother she was sick so she would visit So true: Jaimie Primak pointed out that there is noting like a good mom Theory: Lynn Shelley said there is an invisible umbilical cord that connects mothers and their children Not messing around: Michelle Ruiz Keil noted that 'moms mean business' The cancer researcher explained that she had planned on working late that evening until she talked to Grace. Shixia thought her daughter's headache was a 'bit unusual' and she believed she was also feeling homesick. The plane tickets from Texas to New York were incredibly cheap, and Shixia arrived in the Big Apple that night. Grace spent the weekend being doted on by her mom, and Shixia stayed up cooking the night before she left so her daughter would have food for the rest of the week. The teacher told BuzzFeed news that she was 'touched by all the responses' she received about her mom on Twitter. A woman who survived skin cancer has revealed how her dog caused her to realize she had the illness by becoming fixated on . Lauren Gauthier, 42, an attorney from Amherst, New York, told Yahoo Lifestyle that her two-year-old rescue dog Victoria started zeroing in on her right nostril. 'I had what I thought was a pimple there and she was always fascinated by it, even touching it with her nose,' Gauthier said. Woman's best friend: Lauren Gauthier, 42, an attorney from Amherst, New York has revealed how her dog Victoria caused her to realize she had skin cancer Spot check: After Victoria became fixated on her right nostril, Gauthier went to the doctor who diagnosed basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer that had to be removed Surgery: Gauthier's doctor recommended Mohs surgery, a procedure that involves removing the infected skin layer by layer And even as the red dot faded away, Gauthier said her dog kept staring at the area. So when the spot returned again three weeks later, Gauthier decided to make a doctor's appointment to get it checked out. Unfortunately, a biopsy revealed the dot was basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer that can appear as a white waxy spot or an irritated patch on sun-exposed areas, such as the face and neck. Gauthier, who frequented tanning beds when she was younger, decided to document her battle with skin cancer on her Instagram page to educate others about the dangers of UV damage. 'I've always believed you should try to make something positive out of your challenges so I wanted to discourage tanning bed use and help others undergoing Mohs surgery in their faces,' she said. Rebuilding: A flap of skin from the top portion of her nose had to be removed and used to conceal the hole cancer had left behind. Gauthier is pictured six days after surgery Speaking out: A fan of tanning beds in her youth, Gauthier decided to document her diagnosis and surgery on Instagram to warn others about the dangers of UV damage Waiting game: Four months post-surgery, Gauthier must wait one year until she is able to see how the scars have healed Gauthier's doctor recommended Mohs surgery,a procedure that involves removing the infected skin layer by layer, and then removing a flap of skin from the top portion of her nose to conceal the hole cancer had left behind. Four months after surgery, she is finally on the mend, but will have to wait one year before she can properly gauge her scarring. 'My nostril looks a bit like it's being lifted by a fish hook but if I want to fix that, I have to wait a year to fully heal,' she explained. Some studies have confirmed the ability of trained dogs to detect the skin melanoma by just sniffing the skin lesions. Furthermore, some researchers have also proven that trained dogs can detect prostate by simply smelling patients' urine. Scientist believe this is because dogs have 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses, compared to humans, who possess six millions, allowing them to analyze smells 40 times better than humans. Melania Trump was all smiles as she paid tribute to a group of courageous women and baked cookies with two special White House guests on Friday, amid claims that her husband had affairs with two different women. The 47-year-old first lady looked ready for spring in a $4,220 pink Emilio Pucci suit and a bright yellow top as she attended the 2018 International Women of Courage Award Ceremony at the State Department. Melania not only looked happy to be at the event, she flashed a bright smile as she stepped on stage ahead of the ceremony. Melania Trump attended the 2018 International Women of Courage Award Ceremony at the State Department on Friday The 47-year-old spoke about courage at the event and called the 10 honorees 'heroes' The first lady donned a pink suit and a bright yellow top to honor the 10 recipients of the award She wore her highlighted brown hair in loose curls, and she paired her Easter Sunday-worthy outfit with a pair of nude pumps. The first lady was introduced by State Department spokeswoman Heather Ann Nauert, and during her speech, she noted that courage is 'what sets apart the heroes from the rest.' 'Courage is the quality most needed in this world, yet it is often the hardest to find,' she said. 'Courage sets apart those who believe in higher calling and those who act on it. It takes courage not only to see wrong, but strive to right it. 'Courage is what sets apart the heroes from the rest. It is equal part bravery and nobility. The women of courage we honor here today are heroes,' she continued. Cost of style: Melania's Emilio Pucci trousers and double-breasted blazer cost a total of $4,220 Melania (pictured with Roya Sadat of Afghanistan) posed for photos with each of the honorees after she presented them with their awards The first lady clapped while Godelieve Mukasarsi of Rwanda raised her award in the air Melania and the genocide survivor and rural development activist kissed on the cheek Melania remained on stage to pass out the awards to the 10 honorees, taking a moment to pose for photos with each one of them. Among the recipients was Aiman Omarova of Kazakhstan, a lawyer who specializes in sexual abuse crimes committed against women and children, and Dr. Julissa Villanueva of Honduras, a forensic pathologist who oversees the Honduran Attorney General's Forensic Medicine Department. Melania's somewhat rare public speech took place amid allegations that President Trump had affairs with porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal in 2006. Melania was all smiles despite allegations that her husband had two separate affairs in 2006 The first lady had her arm around Aliyah Khalaf Saleh of Iraq while posing for pictures The White House has denied both affairs, and the allegations didn't stop Melania from having a jam-packed day as first lady on Friday. In addition to the awards ceremony, she received a special White House visit from two sisters. Natalie and her little sister Celia traveled from Clarksburg, Maryland, to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to bake cookies for the first lady. Photos of the meeting were shared on the FLOTUS Instagram page, and Melania appears to delighted to have the chance to meet the girls. 'A big thank you to Celia and her big sister Natalie from Clarksburg, MD for traveling to the @WhiteHouse to visit!' she wrote. 'I had a wonderful time watching you bake cookies! #ChocolateChipCookies.' In one snapshot, Melania has her hands clasped together and a smile on her face while she chats with the sisters. In addition to the awards ceremony, Melania received a special White House visit from sisters Celia and Natalie The first lady watched the two siblings from Maryland bake chocolate chip cookies at the White House Both of the girls have on backer's hats in the pictures, and another images shows Melania leaning over to watch Celia roll the chocolate chip cookie dough. Just one day before, Karen McDougal, 46, apologized to Melania for her alleged 10-month affair with the now-president in her first televised interview. 'When I look back, I know it's wrong,' she told Anderson Cooper of CNN. 'I'm really sorry for that. I know it's the wrong thing to do. But back in those days, I was a different girl, you know, I had fun. I was in the Playboy scene. 'I was just enjoying life as much as I could. And when I got with him there were real feelings between the two of us. Not just myself, not just him,' she continued. 'There was a real relationship there, and I kind of out of sight, out of mind with everything else. And deep inside, I did have a lot of guilt. But I still continued.' 'What can you say except I'm sorry?' she said. 'What can you say except I'm sorry? I'm sorry. I wouldn't want it done to me.' Prince Harry and Meghan Markle raised a few eyebrows when they unveiled their very nontraditional choice of wedding cake earlier this week. And, according to one chef, we can expect their wedding breakfast to be just as quirky. Richard Cubbin, executive chef at caterers Alison Price & Company was asked by Brides magazine to predict the couples big day feast including canapes. Richard Cubbin, executive chef at Alison Price & Company who cater to royal events, has predicted what Prince Harry and Meghan might serve at their wedding breakfast If anyone is qualified to place bets on the bride and groom's catering choices it is Richard as Alison Price previous clientele includes heads of state as well as royal events including the Golden Jubilee. Richard has devised a six-course menu including canapes and a cheese trolley and has based his predictions on Harry's family connections as well as giving a nod back to Meghan's American routes. He says: 'I took ideas from Cornwall, Wales, and California for a fusion menu. I wanted it to be special, but down-to-earth and friendly, like the couple themselves.' Richard has devised a six course menu including canapes and a cheese trolley The wedding breakfast will be served at Frogmore House, that was yesterday revealed as the couple's reception venue, following the nuptials at St George's Chapel in Windsor on May 19. Canapes are where we see the biggest US influence including nibbles such as a club sandwich tart with a pork scratching crumb as well as miniature tacos with shrimp mayonaise. Moving on to the first course Richard has paid tribute to Harry's step-mother. He says: 'The Cornish crab links nicely with the Duchess of Cornwall. Bloody Mary jelly is a nod to the version the Americans like to use.' Canapes are predicted to give a nod to Meghan's American routes in the form of miniature tacos with shrimp mayonnaise A Cornish crab and apple salad makes up the starter as a tribute to Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall The main course takes a more traditional route in the form of fillet of beef sourced from the Royal Windsor Estate as well as a sticky glazed beef rib. When it comes to dessert Richard harps back to the couple's childhood with an Eton Mess for Harry and an Immaculate Heart Tidy for Meghan. He says: 'Desserts were based on the couple's schools: the same ingredients in both, but deconstructed for Harry's, neat and heart-shaped for Meghan's.' The penultimate course is a twist on the traditional cigar trolley replacing the tabacco with chocolate and paired with shortbread matches. The main course is expected to be a fillet of beef from the Royal Windsor Estate followed by a dessert of Eton Mess The penultimate course is a twist on the traditional cigar trolley replacing the tabacco with chocolate and paired with shortbread matches For those who still have room Richard anticipates a final course of a cheese cart replacing grapes with a side of champagne For those who still have room Richard anticipates a final course of a cheese cart washed down with a glass of fizz. Richard's menu predictions appear in this month's Brides magazine, on sale now He comments: 'This Californian cheese is a real 'connoisseur' blue. The biscuits are from Prince Charles's estate, and the grapes? Well you have to finish with Champagne!' Of course there will be one further offering in the form of the couple's wedding cake which was unveiled on Tuesday. Harry and Meghan have chosen a Californian baker for their wedding cake, it has been announced - breaking with the royal tradition of serving a fruit cake on the big day by opting for a non-traditional sponge. The cake will be made by London-based baker Claire Ptak who is renowned for her American-style bakes, to make their wedding cake. Unlike the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who had an opulent eight-tiered fruit cake for their big day, Harry and Meghan have opted for a trendy lemon and elderflower creation that will be covered with buttercream and decorated with fresh flowers. See the full story in the May/June issue of Brides, on sale today The wedding breakfast will be served at the couple's reception venue which was announced yesterday as Frogmore House (pictured) Millions have spent years watching nervous couples meet for the first time at the iconic sweeping bar after entering through its glass doors. But now First Dates could be moving from its famous location in central London to a different restaurant after five years at the same venue, sources have said. The Channel 4 show, hosted by charming French maitre d' Fred Sirieix, is currently filmed at swanky Paternoster Chop House near St Paul's Cathedral. But producers are said to be on the lookout for a new location elsewhere in the capital as they seek to 'refresh' the show after nine seasons and spin-offs including First Dates Hotel. First Dates, hosted by charming maitre d' Fred Sirieix (pictured), has been filmed at Paternoster Chop House in central London since it first aired back in 2013 - but it could soon be moving It is thought the potential move is due to logistical issues at Paternoster. It is said that the producers of the programme may be looking for a new central London restaurant close to a significant landmark such as St Pauls, a source believes. The next season of First Dates is due to air later this year. It is not thought a new restaurant has yet been found for the filming, which could delay plans to move the show from Paternoster. A Channel 4 spokesman confirmed the production team, Twenty Twenty, was 'looking at new restaurants'. Fred Sirieix and the team of waiting staff on First Dates. Fred, the waiters and barmen only work at the restaurant during filming She said: 'We are always thinking of ways to refresh First Dates including looking at new restaurants but as of yet there are no set plans to move from Paternoster.' When First Dates is not being filmed, Paternoster is open to the public seven days a week. The upmarket restaurant specialises in high quality cuts of meat, and mains range from 16.50 to 35. During filming, the restaurant closes for about two weeks and three or four dates are filmed a day, according to the Birmingham Mail. Diners are given 25 towards their meal by the production company but otherwise have to pay for their dinner. The barman, waiting staff and Fred are all brought in specially for the show but otherwise the kitchen staff and the menu stay the same, it has been reported. Paternoster Chop House has been contacted for comment. Nearly half of online GP firms most of them offering webcam appointments are unsafe, says the care watchdog. Doctors are handing out addictive painkillers, antibiotics and medication for heart disease without carrying out proper checks. Some companies are failing to ensure patients are over 18 before prescribing potentially dangerous drugs. A report by the Care Quality Commission warns that 43 per cent of online GP firms operating in England are not providing safe care. The care watchdog has found that nearly half of online GP firms are unsafe The companies usually provide webcam or Skype appointments in which a doctor tries to make a diagnosis. Others operate as a virtual pharmacy and allow patients to fill in a form that is checked by doctors before medications are prescribed. Patients pay up to 25 for a ten-minute webcam appointment and can normally be seen within two hours. Many would otherwise have to wait up to three weeks for an appointment with a GP at their NHS surgery. The watchdog carried out inspections of 40 online GP firms in England. One of the main causes of concern was that GPs were prescribing medications too freely because they were not carrying out proper medical examinations. Doctors at one firm had prescribed powerful opioid painkillers to a patient for two years without telling the patients regular GP. Doctors are handing out addictive painkillers, antibiotics and medication for heart disease without carrying out proper checks Many other companies were found to be handing out anti-biotics too easily because doctors could not examine patients chest, ears or throat. GPs were also prescribing drugs for heart disease and diabetes without monitoring patients to ensure they were effective and not causing harmful side effects. The CQC is particularly concerned that doctors working for these firms do not have access to patients medical records, which may limit their ability to make a diagnosis. In many cases the doctors fail to contact the patients own GP afterwards and inform them about potentially worrying symptoms or medications prescribed. Professor Steve Field, chief inspector of general practice at the Care Quality Commission, said: While innovation should be encouraged, it must never come at the expense of quality As with all health care services, patient safety must be at the heart of all decisions around what kind of care is offered and how it is delivered. The firms usually employ NHS GPs who work from home in between their normal surgery hours to earn extra cash. The CQC has been inspecting the firms since 2016 and carrying out follow-up checks. Despite the problems, the watchdog pointed out that many of the companies had improved standards since first inspected. Professor Helen Stokes- Lampard, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said: Its very concerning to see that even now, 43 per cent of online consultation providers have been deemed unsafe in some respect. The inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics, for example, poses risks to individuals but also is of great concern to the wider public and the failure to share a patients data with their NHS GP could have a detrimental effect on their future care. Thousands of women who have radiotherapy for breast cancer could be spared severe side-effects after scientists found that targeted treatments or lower doses were just as effective. The study, led by Cambridge University and the Institute of Cancer Research in London, showed that irradiating the tumour rather than the whole breast was just as good and came with fewer side-effects. A second approach bathing the whole breast with radiation but using a lower dose was also equally effective and also reduced adverse effects. The less aggressive technique was shown to reduce permanent disfigurement of the breasts. The main side-effect of radiotherapy is an overall change in breast appearance; women also report pain, hardening of tissue, sensitivity and a build-up of fluid. Irradiating a tumour, rather than the whole breast, gave equal results and cam with fewer side-effects The scientists told the European Breast Cancer Conference in Barcelona that each of these side-effects were reduced with the targeted or low-dose approach. More than 38,000 women have radiotherapy for breast cancer in England each year. The procedure is given after having a tumour surgically removed and is designed to eradicate all remaining cancer cells. The trial involved testing the lower dose and more targeted dose among 1,200 women at 41 British hospitals, and then monitoring them for five years after treatment. The main side-effect of radiotherapy is an overall change in breast appearance; women also report pain, hardening of tissue, sensitivity and a build-up of fluid The researchers found no difference in rates of cancer recurrence with the less aggressive approaches, and the patients reported significantly lower side-effects. Dr Indrani Bhattacharya, a clinical research fellow at the Institute of Cancer Research, said: The findings from this study are reassuring for women who are offered either whole breast or partial breast radiotherapy using this technique of radiotherapy, which is simple to deliver and already available in centres worldwide. Grete Brauten-Smith, of the Breast Cancer Care charity, said: While radiotherapy is never a walk in the park, it will be wonderful if fewer people experience traumatic side-effects, such as severe pain, as a result. Smokers who vape are half as likely to ditch tobacco as those who never use e-cigarettes, new research suggests. Even those who just occasionally vape are 67 percent less likely to ditch smoking for good, a study found. Daily e-cigarette users are 48 percent less likely to quit the cancer-causing habit, the research adds. Study author Dr Stanton Glantz, from the University of California, San Francisco, said: 'This is important because e-cigarettes are widely promoted as a smoking cessation tool. 'And, while there is no question that some smokers do successfully quit with e-cigarettes, they keep many more people smoking.' Although often touted as a healthier alternative to tobacco, previous research suggests e-cigarettes may be linked to heart attacks and stroke, as well as being a gateway into nicotine use. In 2016, 3.2 per cent of adults in the US were e-cigarette users, of which around 58 per cent also smoked. Smokers who vape are half as likely to ditch tobacco as those who never use e-cigarettes WHAT PARENTS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT E-CIGARETTES How they work: E-cigarettes use a mixture of flavored liquids and nicotine to create a vapor. This vapor is then inhaled by the user similarly to how one would smoke a regular cigarette. Are these devices safe? Since these devices don't use traditional smoke, people are under the assumption that they are safe for you. But the liquid in the e-cigarettes can contain harmful toxins and carcinogens including anti-freeze. The nicotine in the e-cigarettes also had addictive components and can lead to other tobacco use. This can hinder brain development in teens. Also, the devices can overheat and explode if defective. The Food and Drug Administration does not certify e-cigarettes as a product to get over smoking regular cigarettes. Advertisement E-cigarettes may not help smokers quit Results further suggest smokers get through an average of 16 cigarettes when they also vape compared to 14 when they do not also do the supposedly healthier option. Dr Samir Soneji from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, who was not involved in the study, said: 'The findings are concerning because they suggest the idea that e-cigarettes are an even more effective cessation tool than nicotine replacement therapy - an idea aggressively marketed by e-cigarette and tobacco companies - may not be true in practice. 'Most of the scientific evidence to date, including this study, finds that e-cigarette use does not lead to higher rates of smoking cessation compared to standard cessation tools. Yet, Dr Thomas Wills from the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, argued: 'Whether they are safer than cigarettes is almost a trick question because tobacco cigarettes are one of the most harmful substances known to medicine. 'It would be hard to find anything more harmful to long-term health except maybe arsenic. 'But this does not mean that e-cigarettes are safe.' How the research was carried out The researchers analysed the results of a 2014 survey that assessed smokers and ex-smokers in the EU. Of the 13,000 participants, who had an average age of 50, 2,500 had tried vaping at least once. A criticism of the study is it did not ask participants if they were planning to quit or cut down on their tobacco use, or if ex-smokers ditched the habit before e-cigarettes were widely available. The findings were published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Even those who just occasionally vape are 67% less likely to ditch smoking for good Vaping may cause heart attacks and lead to tobacco use This comes after research released last August suggested just one puff of an e-cigarette could be all it takes to increase the risk of a heart attack. After just five minutes of vape exposure, mice's arteries narrow by 30 percent within an hour, a study by West Virginia University found. The animals' blood vessels are also less able to dilate, which is required to lower blood pressure, the research adds. Previous studies suggest narrow arteries can lead to heart attacks or stroke. The researchers wrote: 'These data indicate that e-cigs should not be considered safe and that they induce significant deleterious effects.' Further research from the same month implied e-cigarettes are a gateway to smoking for teenagers. Of those who have never tried cigarettes but do vape, 34.4 percent smoke a year later, a study by the University of Leeds found. This is compared to only nine percent who did not previously use e-cigs, the research adds. The study also found occasional smokers are nearly twice as likely to increase their habit if they vape. The researchers believe e-cigarettes may normalise nicotine use. This stomach-churning footage shows a woman having the abscess on her back drained - with the puss squirting across the room. The footage, which continues for three minutes, shows Dena Llynette Brizzi having the humongous abscess on her back drained. Despite often having abscesses, Brizzi claims that they are not always as bad as this one - which takes prodding, cutting and separating to drain. This stomach churning footage shows a woman having the abscess on her back drained The footage shows Dena Llynette Brizzi having the humongous abscess on her back drained. Deadly abscess The footage was captured in Pomona, California at the Pomona Valley Hospital in the ER department. Brizzi, 48, said: 'I get abscesses every three months, and I started getting them about 10 years ago. 'The video shows the worst and biggest one I've ever had - I didn't believe it when they told me it had squirted across the room and the doctor had to move out of the way. 'They wanted to hospitalise me for that one due to the size, because people can die from letting them go untreated or popping them themselves. 'Every time I get one it needs to be popped and after it is they do go away and because the pressure is released it feels better.' The footage was captured in California at the Pomona Valley Hospital in the ER department 'They wanted to hospitalise me for that one due to the size because people can die,' Brizzi said Do NOT try this at home An abscess is a mass that is normally filled with pus or debris. If not treated, it can grow into the tissue underneath the skin like it did with Brizzi. These can then infect the bloodstream and cause someone to become sick or develop a fever. Doctors do not recommend attempting to those with abcesses to treat them themselves. Puncturing an abscess can push can contaminate the area and cause the person to develop further infections. Doctors have successfully separated conjoined twins following a grueling all-day operation after the two babies had matured enough to handle the procedure. Specialists of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) carried out the complicated op at the IMSS Paediatric Hospital in Guanajuato City in the central Mexican state of the same name. The siblings were conjoined at the thorax and abdomen. Following several CT scans, echocardiograms and MRI examinations, experts decided to schedule the twin's surgery for when they reached 41 days of age. Doctors have successfully separated conjoined twins in a grueling all-day operation Doctors decided to schedule the twin's surgery for when they reached 41 days of age Joined at the hip According to local media, the babies' 32-year-old mother lives in the city of Irapuato and was informed during an IMSS prenatal check-up on the 26th week of her pregnancy that she would give birth to Siamese twins. The babies were delivered by caesarean section, they weighed just over five kilograms (11 lbs) and were 45 centimetres in length. The multidisciplinary team of surgeons, anaesthesiologists and nurses began the complicated operation first thing in the morning and had successfully separated them by 12.45pm without any problems. Specialists needed a few more hours afterwards to complete the surgery and make sure that the babies' organs were working properly. After a few days in paediatric intensive care, the two babies were sent home to be with their family. They recently went back to the IMSS Paediatric Hospital for their first check-up where they were reported to be in good health. Specialists of the IMSS Paediatric Hospital in Guanajuato City carried out the complicated op Conjoined twins are rare and this means the causes behind the condition difficult to study Rare condition About one in every 200,000 live births in the world are conjoined twins. Though there are far more hospitals and surgeons equipped to separate them now than in decades past, about 35 percent of these babies only live a day after their birth. Conjoined twins are very rare, making the causes behind the condition difficult to study and as-of-yet unclear. Twins form when a single fertilized egg splits early in embryonic development. But this process is not instantaneous, and on the rare occasions when the egg does not fully split, the two fetuses become conjoined, growing shared organs and body structures. Their bodies may be linked at nearly any point, though thoraco-omphalopagus twins, like the toddlers in this case, are the most most common form, making up about 28 percent of all conjoined twins. After a few days in paediatric intensive care the babies were sent home to be with their family Doctors are unsure why, but conjoined twins are usually girls - about 70 percent of the time - and tend to have better survival rates than boys do after birth. Twin girls also tend to be more resilient to the stresses of separation surgeries, and now, at least one twin survives separation about 75 percent of the time, though rates vary depending on what organs and structures the babies' share. Success rates for separating twins joined at the spine, for example, are estimated to be as high as 68 percent. The first separation surgeries were performed in the 1950s, but the operation remains a steep challenge to even the most experienced surgeons. For many sets of conjoined twins, separation is simply not an option because they share too many essential organs and blood vessel connections. For still other families, separation may cost one twin their life, but give the other a better chance at survival and a more viable future. Obesity rates have swelled again in America, bleak new figures reveal. Researchers were heartened by news that child obesity remains relatively unchanged over the past decade - although the staggeringly high figure is not decreasing. But since 2007, adult waistlines have been steadily expanding with no signs of letting up, particularly among women. The overall rate of obese adults climbed from 33.7 percent in 2007 to 39.6 percent in 2016, according to a nationally representative study of 40,000 people. That includes 37.9 percent of men (up from 32.2) and 41.1 percent of women (up from 35.4). Meanwhile 7.7 percent of Americans are morbidly obese - 9.7 percent of women (up from 7.3) and 5.6 percent of men (up from 4.2). While researchers were heartened by news that child obesity remains relatively unchanged over the past decade, adult waistlines have swelled uncontrollably CDC analysts, who had expected to see a plateau, said the disheartening findings show public health campaigns to curtail the obesity crisis - and the related rise in diseases - are not resonating with the American people. Obesity, measured as a body mass index over 30, and severe obesity, BMI over 40, has been on the rise since the 1980s. However, national survey data showed a plateau among young people between 2005 and 2014. Those blips led researchers to investigate whether it was part of a broader trend. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Just over seven percent of Americans are morbidly obese - 9.7 percent of women (up from 7.3) and 5.6 percent of men (up from 4.2) A team at the CDC led by Craig M. Hales, MD, analyzed data from 16,875 Americans under 19 and 27,449 adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) spanning 2007 to 2016. Obesity rates remain unchanged in young people, but the increase among adults is worrying. Nearly half of the women in the survey were obese by 2016, and well over a third of men. The figures come just days after a report showed the US has the fattest male population in the world. American men weigh an average of 196lbs, while Australian men come in at 189lbs, and Brits weigh around 186lbs. The findings mirror a report issued in November, which saw the US top the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's league of overweight nations. A mother has opened up about the pain of burying her one-month-old daughter who was born with four heart defects. Markie Ostler, 27, was overjoyed when she found out she was pregnant with her second child just months after she and her husband Andrew had welcomed their son, Urban, in July of 2016. Halfway through the pregnancy doctors informed the young parents that their unborn daughter had four heart defects, giving her a very slim chance of survival. When Everly Jo was born on November 6, 2017, doctors went straight to work on the little girl's heart, putting her through two open heart surgeries before she was even two weeks old - but on December 9 her heart stopped and doctors were unable to revive her. Three months later Markie describes what it was like to go from spending every possible moment showering her baby with kisses to burying her tiny casket in the ground. Markie Ostler, 27, has described the pain of losing her one-month-old daughter Everly, who was born with four heart defects Doctors first spotted Everly's heart defects during a routine 20-week ultrasound scan Markie and husband Andrew are pictured admiring their newborn at the hospital in Lehi, Utah After growing up in a big family surrounded by kids, Markie always knew she wanted to be a mom. As soon as her son Urban was born Markie says she instantly wanted another baby, and a few months later she learned she was pregnant again. 'I was ecstatic,' she told People. 'I had always felt like I needed my kids really close together.' During her first trimester Markie suffered intense morning sickness and on a couple occasions she had bleeding that was so heavy she thought she was having a miscarriage. 'When my first ultrasound came around, I was so happy to see a perfect little tadpole with a very strong heartbeat,' she wrote in a blog post for Love What Matters. As she came up on her 20-week ultrasound scan, a thorough screening intended to catch potential problems with the fetus, the expecting mom had a bad feeling. She was so nervous on the way to the appointment that she threw up three times. During the appointment she FaceTimed Andrew, who was out of town on business. When the doctors informed the couple of the baby's heart defects, Markie's world was shattered. The couple are pictured with their first son Urban, one, while Markie was pregnant with Everly Markie, Andrew and Urban are pictured at Everly's bedside on Thanksgiving when the baby was recovering from her second surgery 'I could sense the whole time that something was wrong,' she said. 'I couldn't even handle it, because I knew the whole time. And I finally had the validation that I wasn't crazy. Call it mother's intuition.' In a consultation a few weeks later, the pediatric cardiologist drew a picture of the baby's heart to show how complicated the defects were because he didn't have an image to serve as an example. One in 100 babies born in the US each year have congenital heart defects, of which there are 18 identified kinds that can present in unique ways. Everly's heart had formed with Double Outlet Right Ventricle (DORV), atrioventricular canal, pulmonary stenosis and hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The DORV defect meant both of her arteries were connected to the right ventricle and there wasn't an outlet for the left ventricle, which is responsible for pumping blood to the body. Right after she was born Everly was hooked up to multiple tubes and wires to monitor her condition. She underwent two surgeries, one at three days old and one a week later DORV is always accompanied by a hole in the heart wall that separates right and left ventricles called an atrioventricular canal defect. The hole allows oxygenated blood to mix with unoxygenated blood between the chambers - resulting in not enough oxygen circulated throughout the body. Everly also had pulmonary stenosis, a narrowed valve that limits heart's ability to pump blood to the lungs to be oxygenated. The hypoplastic left heart syndrome meant the left side of her heart was substantially underdeveloped. The combination of complicated defects meant Everly had a very slim chance of survival, but Markie and Andrew tried to stay positive as they prepared for what promised to be a long road ahead. Markie is pictured right before giving birth (left) and during the c-section (right) Right after baby Everly was delivered on November 6 the doctors brought her into treatment Andrew is pictured meeting his newborn daughter for the first time shortly after she was born On November 6, 2017, Everly was born by caesarean section and doctors immediately hooked her up to a machine that would trick her body into thinking it was still inside of her mother's womb. Two hours later, Markie finally got to hold her baby girl. 'They handed her to me and that was the first time I held her and got to know her, she said. 'I probably kissed her a million times. I just told her to be strong and that she'd get through this.' Three days later Everly underwent her first open-heart surgery where doctors put in a BT shunt to help balance the blood flow between her heart and lungs. After a week and a half she had another surgery to further improve the blood flow. Within a few days her condition had improved enough that she could be moved to the cardiac recovery unit, and the proud parents began telling their family and friends that their little girl was on her way to being ready to come home. For the first few days Everly was kept in an apparatus that mimicked the environment of her mother's womb Then on December 9 Markie and Andrew got a call from the hospital that Everly's heart had stopped abruptly. Right as Markie walked up to her baby's hospital room she saw the lead surgeon throw up his hands and say: 'That's it. There's nothing we can do.' 'Immediately after the surgeon called time of death, a sea of 40 plus eyeballs shot straight at me,' Markie wrote. 'They all knew I had seen the exact thing no mother should ever have to see. Not only did I witness my daughters death, but I witnessed an entire room of medical professionals, as their hearts broke.' Markie and Andrew held their lifeless daughter for several minutes as they said goodbye. 'I could feel that her spirit was not in her body anymore. She wasnt there. I am sure some moms could spend hours and hours with their childs body, but I couldnt. It just wasnt her anymore,' Markie wrote. Everly was buried a few days later in a tiny coffin. Three months later Markie has made it her mission to raise awareness for babies with congenital heart defects so that no mother has to go through was she did. 'We need to find a cure for these babies, to give them a chance at life. We need to find a cure so that no other parent has to feel the pain that I do,' she wrote. Everly's heart stopped on December 9, and she was buried a few days later. Andrew is pictured holding the casket Resources for lesbian and bisexual Americans have been stripped from the government health website, a new report has confirmed. The page which once contained substantial information about lesbian and bisexual health, and all external links, quietly disappeared from the Health and Human Services website in September 2017, and is still down six months later. What's more, the subhead of 'lesbian and bisexual health' has been removed from the drop-down menu. Although the section was long overdue an update, with the last edit made in 2012, public health advocates say it was a crucial platform providing some assistance to a largely under-served community. Lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans have poorer heart health, higher suicide risks, and higher rates of obesity and smoking than heterosexuals. It is a bleak reality that experts attribute to deep-rooted discrimination in the US healthcare system, making it harder to get insurance, rarer to be treated with dignity, and more difficult to access relevant resources if the patient is not heterosexual. This is what users are met with now if they try to find lesbian and bisexual resources on the HHS Women's Health website The defunct webpage was once a source analyzing the specific health risk factors for lesbian and bisexual women, and the challenges they face in the healthcare system. There was no announcement that it had disappeared from the HHS website but some people started to report it. Eventually researchers at the Sunlight Foundation, a nonprofit government watchdog group, sought to investigate what happened to the page, a subset of the HHS Women's Health site, which receives 700,000 views a month. They found, as expected, the link now leads to a 'page not found' error page, and there was no mention of a 'lesbian and bisexual health' page on the site. The HHS claims the page has been removed momentarily so it can be updated to provide the most up-to-date information for citizens. But Tanekwah Hinds, women's health program coordinator at Fenway Health, of Harvard-affiliate National LGBT Health Education Center, says that removing the information wholesale, and for so long, is such a stark move it smacks of discrimination. 'It continues to deprive the community of culturally competent resources,' she told Daily Mail Online. 'For the LGBT community, it's often not information you can easily find. Oftentimes you have to look online for those resources. Removing it from there just reinforces the discrimination that is already coming at this community from all angles. 'It's already coming from family, society, oftentimes healthcare providers. So, coming from the government, it's just a continuation of how this administration has treated this community.' Hinds explains that lesbians and bisexual women, in particular, are between a rock and a hard place, facing discrimination in terms of gender as well as sexual orientation. This group also includes transgender people, who are subject to yet more forms of abuse. 'They are more struggling to find community and acceptance in work places, at home... and this creates health disparities.' Equally enraged, the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA) hit back at the HHS's response with a strongly-worded statement: 'The erasure of lesbian and bisexual health content from WomensHealth.gov is tantamount to discrimination against a vulnerable population that already suffers significant health disparities and discrimination in healthcare,' the group's president Gal Mayer, MD, MS, said in a statement. 'In removing these resources, HHS restricts the ability of sexual minority women to access critical information designed to help them improve their health outcomes and get the quality care they deserve.' Dr Mayer added that it follows other measures taken by the Trump-lead HHS to 'dismantle LGBTQ health initiatives over the past year', and called on health professionals to fight back against the changes. Cannabis-infused soda has sparked outrage in California with critics worried they may end up in children's hands. The Seven Cities Beverage Company claims their product, called California Dreamin', is simply fruit juice, carbonation and the right amount of THC - the chemical compound in cannabis - to get people mildly high, not 'Cheech and Chonged.' This comes shortly California legalized the recreational use of marijuana earlier this year, following months of debate including fears that it may make it easier for children to accidentally take the drug. The new product has been slammed as the exact type of thing health professionals feared:the pot-containing drink could be mistaken for a regular bottle of soda. A California-based launched a cannabis -infused soda in an effort to provide an alternative to alcohol Jennifer Jordan, whose company Diamond Bonsai, was one of the first to carry California Dreamin', said one drink, which can be ordered online or sold at shops licensed to sell cannabis, contains less THC than a joint. 'A lot of the drinks that are on the market are 100 milligrams and for people who smoke or who are used to THC,' said Jordan. 'It's not only natural and has a delicious flavor, but it's 10 milligrams, so it's a low-dose. It's not intimidating to anyone, so you can casually drink it.' Manufacturers of the drink are marketing it as an alternative to alcoholic drinks. Dr Noemi Spinazzi, pediatrician at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, said the design of the cannabis-containing drinks may even attract children. 'It makes me worried that products that look so enticing can be so easily available in someone's home,' she told CBS San Francisco. 'They may not recognize the difference in the flavor and drinking as much or as little as they feel like drinking.' Furthermore, Dr Spinazzi said past research has proven that marijuana could negatively impact a child's developing brain. However, research on the impact marijuana may have on the developing brain are mixed. A 2012 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found extensive marijuana use as a teenager could lead to cognitive decline. While another 2015 study conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center found smoking marijuana in adolescence was not related to physical or mental health issues in adulthood. Although California Dreamin' is marketed to adults, Dr Spinazzi said children can still get their hands on it. 'Truly, we do see children in our emergency room come in with marijuana intoxication, typically because they got their hands on products that were left unsupervised,' she said. Jordan said she understands the concern, adding that there are packaging and labeling requirements to ensure that the products are childproof. Recreational marijuana use is legalized in eight US states - Maine, California, Colorado, Alaska, Nevada, Washington and Oregon. In Colorado, people could buy weed-infused waffles, cotton candy and extra virgin olive oil. States where marijuana is legalized for medical use include California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arizona, Florida, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Vermont. Advertisement Never mix electricity and water, we are warned from an early age. The effect can be shocking - and fatal. But that doesnt hold for Range Rovers new petrol-electric hybrid which I had fun putting through its paces this week, on and off-road, and across a lake. The car is helping the British luxury 4X4 brand shed the gas-guzzler slur which environmentalists have thrown at it for years. Whats more, this beautifully appointed Range Rover P400e plug-in hybrid has a decidedly green tinge. Scroll down for video Ray Massey put Range Rovers new petrol-electric hybrid through its paces this week, on and off-road, and across a lake I drove it around the Cotswolds and to Churchills former home, Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. The new Range Rover hybrid combines a frugal 2.0-litre 4-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine (300HP) with an 85kW electric motor, linked to a smooth 8-speed automatic gearbox. Together they generate a total of 404 bhp which is equivalent to about four Ford Fiestas. You can plug it in and charge it up at home (two hours and 45 minutes on the fast charger, or about 7.5 hours on a domestic plug), and it will drive for up to 31 miles in electric-power mode only at speeds of up to 85 mph, after which point the petrol engine kicks in. But its such a smooth operator and the switch from petrol to electric is seamless. The combination of petrol and electric power means an average fuel efficiency of 101 mpg. The new Range Rover hybrid combines a frugal 2.0-litre 4-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine (300HP) with an 85kW electric motor, linked to a smooth 8-speed automatic gearbox The new 4x4 will drive for up to 31 miles in electric-power mode only at speeds of up to 85 mph, after which point the petrol engine kicks in You can plug the new Range Rover in and charge it up at home. It takes two hours and 45 minutes on the fast charger, or about 7.5 hours on a domestic plug I took it off-road in super-slippery conditions and its a remarkable performer for such a posh 4X4. Its not infallible, however, and even I came unstuck at one slimy stretch where it slid like a bear on ice. Itll wade through up to 3ft of water, though you do need to fire up the engine to provide back-pressure to avoid water being sucked inside the exhaust. Land Rover reckons this is the ultimate in silent luxury. But engineers working with the Guide Dogs For The Blind Association have created a synthesised sound to alert pedestrians. It accelerates from rest to 60mph in just 6.4 seconds with a top speed of 137mph. Inside, luxurious touches include heated and cooled massage front seats and a 10in infotainment system for rear passengers. There is a catch, however. This car is not cheap. Prices for the Range Rover plug-in hybrid start from 86,965 in Vogue trim level, up to 93,465 for the Vogue SE and 105,865 for the Autobiography. Range Rover's P400e accelerates from rest to 60mph in just 6.4 seconds with a top speed of 137mph Prices for the Range Rover plug-in hybrid start from 86,965 in Vogue trim level, up to 93,465 for the Vogue SE and 105,865 for the Autobiography Taking the plunge: Range Rovers new P400e hybrid can cope with 3ft of water *** Ill be sad to part with my diesel Honda CR-V this month after a year of sterling service. Its gutsy 1.6-litre i-DTEC engine and four-wheel drive proved a godsend in the latest cold snap as I drove it up to the Midlands through snow, ice and severe weather warnings. Shame that Hondas phasing out the diesel in its next generation CR-V, replacing it with a petrol-electric hybrid. Itll be missed. *** Motorists face huge differences in the cost of updating in-car sat navs, says magazine Auto Express. Owners of older Subarus can pay more than 300, while those with newer models will be charged 100 once their three free upgrades run out. Those with first generation Jaguar XFs can pay up to 316. Volvo and Volkswagen now offer lifetime updates on their latest models. Rays says he'll be sad to part with his diesel Honda CR-V this month after a year of sterling service *** Varekai - a Romany word meaning wherever and used in an acrobatic production by Cirque du Soleil - is the name chosen by Aston Martin for the production version of its forthcoming new family-friendly SUV, codenamed DBX , to be built in Wales. Sleek: The new Aston Martin family-friendly Verekai model is to be built in Wales *** Drivers face a postcode lottery when it comes to the cost of motoring, with those in the West Midlands hit hardest. The total cost of fuel, insurance and maintenance adds up to an average of 1,944 per year, says independent car buying site Carwow. Those in the West Midlands pay 177 more than the average - 2,121 per year, followed by the North West (2,093), and London (2,038). An American court has dealt a major blow to Indivior as it battles to stop rivals making cheaper versions of its painkiller addiction treatment. The District Court of Delaware ruled that pharmaceutical rival Alvogen has not infringed any patents with its generic version of Indiviors Suboxone drug, its biggest seller. It will be a bitter pill for Indivior to swallow, but the FTSE 250 drug maker believes it has grounds to appeal the decision. An American court has dealt a major blow to Indivior as it battles to stop rivals making cheaper versions of its painkiller addiction treatment It is thought the US drugs regulator has not yet approved Alvogens copycat drug. However, if it does, Indivior says it would result in a rapid and material loss of market share for it in the US. Shaun Thaxter, chief executive, said: We will appeal this ruling and continue to vigorously defend our intellectual property. The companys shares dived more than 20 per cent in early trading, but recovered to a 6.2 per cent loss down 25.5p to 382.8p. The FTSE 100 followed world markets down as Donald Trump slapped $60billion (42.4billion) of import tariffs on China. It ended down 0.44 per cent, or 30.65 points, at 6921.94. Investors saw their shares in fire alarm supplier Sprue Aegis go up in smoke due to a messy split with a key partner. The FTSE 100 followed world markets down as Donald Trump slapped $60billion (42.4billion) of import tariffs on China. It ended down 0.44 per cent, or 30.65 points, at 6921.94 Consumer giant Newell Brands has terminated an agreement for Sprue to distribute its BRK smoke alarms in Europe over an alleged trademark breach. Sprue refuses to say what the breach relates to. The deal was due to end on March 31, but Newell has brought that forward because of the dispute and says it will not purchase any unsold stock that Sprue holds. AIM-listed Sprue, one of Europes leading smoke alarm sellers, says it is seeking legal advice. As a result, it is delaying the release of its full-year results. STOCK WATCH: Smiths Group Engineer Smiths Group was rooted to the bottom of the FTSE 100 after a slip in profits. Smiths, which makes everything from defence to medical equipment, says it had been hit by higher research and development costs, as it announced a 12 per cent fall in profits. However, group chief executive Andy Smith says the firm has made an encouraging start to the year. Shares fell by 11.2 er cent in morning trading before recovering. It ended the day down 4.4 per cent, or 67.5p, at 1468.5p. Its shares tanked 23.2 per cent, or 44p, to 146p. Butcher Crawshaw Group propped up the AIM index after revealing bad weather had hit sales and two directors had quit. Chief executive Noel Collett says he will stay until a replacement is found, although finance chief Alan Richardson will leave in early May. AIM-listed Crawshaw has 40 butchers across the country. The announcement butchered its shares, which plunged 29.2 per cent, or 1.65p, to 4p. Sticking with AIM, Fever-Trees shares slid 5 per cent, or 150p, to 2807p after it emerged co-founder Charles Rolls had cashed in 82.5million of shares. Deputy chairman Rolls originally intended to sell 1.5million shares, as announced on Thursday, but ended up flogging 3 million due to significant institutional demand. A $15 million (10.6 million) investment to boost mining production sent shares in Serabi Gold through the roof. Under the terms of the deal, private equity group Greenstone Resources will get a 29.8 per cent stake in Serabi, a gold miner operating in Brazil. The money will be used to extend the life of its Palito and Sao Chico projects, as well as to kick-on with its newly acquired Coringa project. Shares leapt 17.4 per cent, or 0.63p, to 4.25p. Plans to raise 100million to fund the purchase of healthcare centres caused Primary Health Properties shares to slide. Small Cap-listed PHP, which owns more than 300 doctors surgeries in the UK, will issue nearly 92.6m shares at 108p each to raise the cash. However, the board can increase the size of the issue by 25 per cent if there is enough demand among investors, the firm says. Investors were not impressed, however, and PHPs shares fell 3.5 per cent, or 4p, to 110p. Nex founder Michael Spencer's fortune is put at 800m Michael Spencers party at Scotts restaurant on the night of the 2015 General Election was a customarily civilised affair. Champagne. Excellent shell-fish. I dare say a few oysters shucked here and there. When the exit polls flashed up predicting a surprise Conservative victory, the Mayfair restaurants glint-eyed proprietor Richard Caring gamely bet the evenings host that should the Tories win an overall majority, hed happily pick up the tab. By 6am, the Tories had a 12-seat margin and Spencer, barring a generous 5,000 tip for the waiting staff, waltzed off without having to pay a penny. This yarn offers three telling insights into Spencers personality. First, he loves a good party. Second, he knows a decent bet when he sees it. And third, hes ruthless about seeing it through. He is founder and chief executive of Nex group, one of the worlds largest inter-dealer brokers, formerly known as Icap. Rumours swirl he may be about to offload it to Chicago-based CME Group, which, if true, will represent the end of an era. For among the San Pellegrino-sipping dullards who occupy the City these days, Spencer, 62, remains one of the Square Miles dwindling characters. His wry charm and playful nature is offset by a brooding temperament, prone to volcanic eruptions. He epitomises, in many ways, the work hard/play hard ethos of the 1980s, as committed to exhaustive hours roaming the trading floor as he is to expansive lunches in Mount Street power joint George Club. His fortune, put at 800million, has certainly allowed him to enjoy the finer things in life Jack Vettriano paintings, bespoke tailoring, Turnbull & Asser shirts. He has homes in London and New York, plus a beautiful safari ranch in Kenya which he shares with second wife Sarah, formerly the Marchioness of Milford Haven (he divorced first wife Lorraine, with whom he has three children, in 2008). Meanwhile, his impressive wine cellar is stacked with first growth clarets which he isnt afraid to uncork. Spencer has homes in London and New York, plus a beautiful safari ranch in Kenya. Meanwhile, his impressive wine cellar is stacked with first growth clarets which he isnt afraid to uncork Success didnt arrive overnight. Born in Kuala Lumpur, the son of a civil servant, he was brought up in Sudan and Ethiopia before being packed off to a Sussex boarding school. While studying physics at Oxford, a 30,000 windfall from a trade made him lust after making oodles of cash. His initial foray into the City proved a disaster. Sporting a hippy perm and unsatisfactory moustache, he joined stockbroker Simon & Coates, and was promptly fired for racking up trading losses on the gold market. He made a similar dogs dinner at investment bank Drexel Burnham, where he was sacked after he tried to cover up a trading error. After three years at futures firm Charles Fulton, he decided to go it alone. In 1986, armed with just 86,000 and a computer, he formed Intercapital Brokers. Just over a decade later, he was so successful he could take over Londons biggest money broker, Exco. The following year, he merged the business with a rival to form Icap, which became one of the top-three inter-dealer brokers in the world, acting as an intermediary in the financial markets between banks and finance houses. There have been a few bruising spats down the years, notably with rival broker Terry Smith, who accused Spencer of poaching his staff. An early supporter of David Cameron, he became Conservative treasurer in 2005 and, for four years, the Tory coffers brimmed with cash, including 4million of Spencers own donations. Thrice he has been denied a peerage for his efforts. Some say he was paying the price for a gamey incident in 2011 when Icap was hit with a 55million fine for Libor rigging, though Spencer was never personally implicated. Privately he fumes over the secretive honours committees snub, which his friends dismiss as sour grapes. No matter. Michael Spencer can look back on a City career thats premier cru. GlaxoSmithKline has pulled out of the race to buy Pfizers $20billion consumer healthcare arm the second major pharma firm in quick succession to do so. GSK was considered favourite to pick up the business following Reckitt Benckisers decision on Thursday, but the group indicated that the deal did not meet its investment criteria. GSK chief executive Emma Walmsley said: While we will continue to review opportunities that may accelerate our strategy, they must meet our criteria for returns and not compromise our priorities for capital allocation. GlaxoSmithKline has pulled out of the race to buy Pfizers $20billion consumer healthcare arm the second major pharma firm in quick succession to do so Shares in GSK rose towards the top of the FTSE 100 following the announcement, closing up 3.3 per cent, or 41.8p, at 1315.6p. When Reckitt pulled out, the household goods giant said it had wanted to buy only part of the Pfizer division, but this had proved impossible. Separately, GSK announced that its shingles vaccine Shingrix has been approved in Europe and Japan. Next is planning to fit out stores with prosecco bars, hairdressers, coffee shops and even a car showroom as it battles to win back customers. Lamenting the fashion retailers most challenging year in a quarter of a century, chief executive Simon Wolfson yesterday unveiled his blueprint to revive the High Street chain, which traces its roots back to 1864. With profits from its shops tumbling 24 per cent last year, Next is launching a fightback by renting out space to travel agents, florists, wedding-dress makers and spas to coax shoppers back. Next is planning to fit out stores with prosecco bars, hairdressers, coffee shops and even a car showroom as it battles to win back customers The company is even opening a car showroom at its store in the Arndale Centre in Manchester, where Ford will display five models. The shake-up which Wolfson admitted could leave Next looking like a department store comes just days after John Lewis opened its department store of the future in west Londons Westfield shopping centre. The store has its own spa, personal stylist service and offers classes for customers to learn how to host a dinner party or make Easter cards. High Street chains face an onslaught from online retailers such as Amazon. Toys R Us and Maplin crashed into administration this year, New Look is preparing to shut 60 stores, leaving 980 staff unemployed, while the future of Mothercare and Moss Bros hang in the balance. The company is even opening a car showroom at its store in the Arndale Centre in Manchester (pictured), where Ford will display five models In many ways, 2017 was the most challenging year we have faced for 25 years, said Wolfson. He admitted Next made mistakes last year stocking clothes that customers did not want even after they were put on sale. Store sales fell 7.9 per cent to 2.1billion while shop profits were down 24 per cent to 268.7million. But online sales rose 9.2 per cent to 1.9billion. Overall profits fell 8.1 per cent to 726.1million its second consecutive annual drop while total sales slid 0.5 per cent to 4.1billion. With profits from its shops tumbling 24% last year, Next is launching a fightback by renting out space to travel agents, florists, wedding-dress makers and spas to coax shoppers back Natalie Berg, retail analyst at NBK Retail, said: The store of the future wont just be a place to buy stuff, but also to eat, discover, play and even work. Next has introduced as many different concessions as possible in its biggest store at the Arndale so customers have the option of getting a massage or a glass of prosecco at the same time as buying a sofa or pair of shoes. The store already features an activity centre for children, a Paperchase stationery shop and an Italian restaurant backed by celebrity chef Gino DAcampo. The Arndale store will be used as a test centre to see which concessions work before they are rolled out to other regions. Wolfson claimed Next was not trying to replicate John Lewis or other department stores. Were not trying to be anything thats already been done; were just trying to make money, he said. If it doesnt work, we wont do any more of them. But Neil Wilson, an analyst at ETX Capital, said: I think the department store is not the way to go. Debenhams and House of Fraser are clearly struggling. But there is an argument for it its cheap to do and makes the most of the existing space. My contention is they then get bogged down in more and more stores which may boost sales but margins will suffer. Woof woof: Dog navigates its way on the tube With an estimated 8.5million pet dogs in the UK it is hardly a surprise they can be found just about everywhere - even on the busy London underground. Dog lovers and owners across London have taken to Instagram to record the lives of the canine commuters who brighten up their journeys. These dogs have become experts at travelling around London - and may even be better behaved than some of their fellow human commuters. One well practiced pup is eight-year-old Gustavito who started life as a stray in east Malaga, Spain. Although knowing the first time she saw Gustavito that she'd keep him, Maria Rosado tried to be sensible. She said: 'We didn't have a house or a job and were thinking about moving abroad, so adopting a dog wasn't the best idea. Paws to pay his fare: This dog tried to pay for his underground journey with an Oyster card No feet on the seats! This dog seems to have forgotten his train etiquette as he rides the tube Are you lost...? This dog appears to be staring hard at the Walthamstow Central sign 'We kept him for a week to see if owners appeared and no one claimed him. The next step would be leaving him in a killing station. Spain has a huge problem with abandoned dogs. 'That idea was just not possible, he behaved so well and was so friendly! So we decided to keep him.' Gustavito has been living in London for four-and-a-half years now and loves using public transport with his humans. She said: 'We don't have a car so we go everywhere by tube or bus. 'On Monday we have agility, so that's 40 minutes, plus I always try to take him somewhere at the weekend. We usually take the Tube at least two or three times a week. 'His favourite thing is saying hi to people. He is very friendly and wants to go to everybody for a cuddle. He also loves cheese - Gus would do any trick if you have cheese!' She said: 'People are usually quite happy to see him on the Tube. One lady said 'there should be a dog in every carriage' and another man who was coming from work and looked very tired said 'this has made my day.' With an estimated 8.5million pet dogs in the UK it is hardly a surprise they can be found just about everywhere - even on the busy London underground Dog lovers and owners across London have taken to Instagram to record the lives of the canine commuters who brighten up their journeys High five! This adorable picture was posted with the caption: 'Pig loves the tube.. probably because I constantly feed her treats so its a nice, happy experience for her' Kirsty Watson takes her four-year-old Boston terrier George on the Tube at least once a week. She said: 'The TfL staff are always super friendly towards George and he receives a lot of attention but he loves it.' Jules Binns, 53, bought her golden retriever Boo with her from south Manchester, Cheshire when she visited daughter Maddie at London South Bank University. She said: 'Maddie's nearest tube is Bermondsey. We went everywhere. Every tourist location. Even shopping in Liberty. 'The Tube was easy. We hardly saw other dogs though. She said: 'Boo was initially tentative at the noise but soon got the hang of it. She stood up mostly. Jules, who sells biodegradable dog poop bags on her site Mutts Butts, said the trick to taking seven-year-old Boo on the underground was going with the flow. Instagram hashtags #mindthedogs and #dogsonthetube are dedicated to London's cutest underground experts She said: 'I figured if I couldn't get out at one station I'd go back on the Tube and get off at the next one. 'One station had no lift and no stairs so I took it upon myself to go on the escalator. I heaved Boo up to get on. This did get stressful! She was fine. A tad perplexed but I talked to her. She said: 'As the end was approaching I knew full well to pick her up as their paws can get ripped.' 'So many people loved seeing her and made a fuss which she reciprocated!' The rules for taking a dog on the Tube are outlined in the Transport for London conditions of carriage handbook. TfL advises dog owners to use a lift or staircase if possible or carry the dog on the escalator - unless it has been trained to use them. Any dog or inoffensive animal can be taken on the bus and underground services, unless there is a good reason for TfL to refuse it - such as if the animal seems dangerous. Twenty-five per cent of households in the UK have a pet dog in 2017, according to the Pet Food Manufacturers Association (PFMA) Northern Ireland has the highest dog owning population at 38 percent. London has the lowest scoring at just nine per cent Two experts say that Uber's self-driving technology was ultimately at fault for the crash involving a homeless woman in Arizona on Sunday. Authorities investigating the crash in a Phoenix suburb released a video of Uber's Volvo striking a woman, identified as 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, as she walked from a darkened area on to the street. After watching the video, the two experts said it showed the sport utility vehicle's laser and radar sensors should have spotted a pedestrian pushing a bicycle, and computers should have braked to avoid the crash. Also, Uber's human backup driver appears on the video to be looking down before crash and appears startled about the time of the impact. Scroll down for video Two experts say that Uber's self-driving technology was ultimately at fault for the crash involving a homeless woman in Arizona on Sunday 'The victim did not come out of nowhere,' Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who studies autonomous vehicles, said. 'She's moving on a dark road, but it's an open road, so Lidar (laser) and radar should have detected and classified her [as a human].' Elaine Herzberg, 49 (pictured), who was hit and killed by a self-driving Uber SUV on Sunday in Arizona was widely known and liked throughout the homeless community of Tempe, a suburb of Phoenix Sam Abuelsmaid, an analyst for Navigant Research who also follow autonomous vehicles, said laser and radar systems can see in the dark much better than humans or cameras and that the pedestrian was well within the system's range. 'It absolutely should have been able to pick her up,' he said. 'From what I see in the video it sure looks like the car is at fault, not the pedestrian.' The video could have a broad impact on autonomous vehicle research, which has been billed as the answer to cutting the 40,000 traffic deaths that occur annually in the US in human-driven vehicles. Proponents say that human error is responsible for 94 percent of crashes, and that self-driving vehicles would be better because they see more and don't get drunk, distracted or drowsy. But the experts said it appears from the video that there was some sort of flaw in Uber's self-driving system. Sam Abuelsmaid, an analyst for Navigant Research who also follow autonomous vehicles, said laser and radar systems can see in the dark much better than humans or cameras and that the pedestrian was well within the system's range The video, released by Tempe police, shows the car traveling at about 40mph in a 45mph zone along a relatively empty roadway on Sunday night A woman walking while rolling her bicycle suddenly appears in the headlights, with the footage cutting out a split second before impact Herzberg was taken to hospital but died of her injuries. She is shown (left) in a social media photograph and (right) in a mugshot The video, Smith said, may not show the complete picture, but 'this is strongly suggestive of multiple failures of Uber and its system, its automated system, and its safety driver.' Tempe police, as well as the National Transportation Safety Board and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are investigating the Sunday night crash, which occurred outside of a crosswalk on a darkened boulevard. The crash was the first death involving a fully autonomous test vehicle. The Volvo was in self-driving mode traveling about 40 mph (64 kph) with a human backup driver at the wheel when it struck Herzberg, police said. The lights on the SUV did not illuminate Herzberg until a second or two before impact, raising questions about whether the vehicle could have stopped in time. Tempe Police Chief Sylvia Moir told the San Francisco Chronicle earlier this week that the SUV likely would not be found at fault. But Smith said that from what he observed on the video, the Uber driver appears to be relying too much on the self-driving system by not looking up at the road. 'The safety driver is clearly relying on the fact that the car is driving itself. It's the old adage that if everyone is responsible no one is responsible,' Smith said. 'This is everything gone wrong that these systems, if responsibly implemented, are supposed to prevent.' The experts were unsure if the test vehicle was equipped with a video monitor that the backup driver may have been viewing. Uber immediately suspended all road-testing of such autos in the Phoenix area, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto. An Uber spokeswoman, reached Wednesday night by email, did not answer specific questions about the video or the expert observations. 'The video is disturbing and heartbreaking to watch, and our thoughts continue to be with Elaine's loved ones. Our cars remain grounded, and we're assisting local, state and federal authorities in any way we can,' the company said in a statement. Seconds later, Vasquez grows alarmed when she realizes the car is about to hit the pedestrian. The footage appears to back up her claims that she was alert during the ride and nothing she could have done would have prevented the fatal collision In the seconds leading up to the collision, Rafaela Vasquez, 44, the safety driver who must take control of the car if there are any problems, is seen looking down and to the side In this March 20, 2018, photo provided by the National Transportation Safety Board, investigators examine the that fatally struck 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg in Tempe, Arizona Tempe police have identified the driver as 44-year-old Rafael Vasquez. Court records show someone with the same name and birthdate as Vasquez spent more than four years in prison for two felony convictions - for making false statements when obtaining unemployment benefits and attempted armed robbery - before starting work as an Uber driver. Tempe police and the NTSB declined to say whether the Vasquez who was involved in the fatal crash is the same Vasquez with two criminal convictions. Attempts by the AP to contact Vasquez through phone numbers and social media on Wednesday afternoon were not successful. Local media have identified the driver as Rafaela Vasquez. Authorities declined to explain the discrepancy in the driver's first name. The fatality has raised questions about whether Uber does enough to screen its drivers. Uber said Vasquez met the company's vetting requirements. The company bans drivers convicted of violent crimes or any felony within the past seven years. Records show Vasquez' offenses happened before the seven-year period, in 1999 and 2000. The company's website lists its pre-screening policies for drivers that spell out what drivers can and cannot have on their record to work for Uber. Their driving history cannot have any DUI or drug-related driving offenses within the past seven years, for instance. They also are prevented from having more than three non-fatal accidents or moving violations within the past three years. President Donald Trump has suspended the metal tariffs for close US allies, the White House said. The European Union, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, South Korea, Canada and Mexico will get initial exemptions from looming steel and aluminum tariffs from the Trump administration, which the president authorized late Thursday night. The president is planning to impose tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum - trade penalties aimed at China for flooding the world with cheap steel and aluminum. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told the Senate Finance Committee that the exempted countries are involved in various stages of trade talks with the nation, and that Trump decided 'to pause' the tariffs for them. The Trump administration decided to impose strict tariffs that would target China. But it was decided late Thursday night that the tariffs would be temporarily postponed on some of the nation's close allies The US is in consultations with Canada and Mexico in an effort to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. Trump moved on a separate trade front earlier Thursday, paving the way for tariffs on China as punishment for what he said is the theft of American technology. He told reporters that the threat of the steel and aluminum tariffs was already having an impact. 'Many countries are calling to negotiate better trade deals because they don't want to have to pay the steel and aluminum tariffs,' Trump said. Lighthizer identified the countries initially exempted from the steel and aluminum tariffs in response to a question from Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who said lawmakers wanted more consultation from the administration on trade. 'There are countries with whom we're negotiating, and then the question becomes the obvious one that you think, as a matter of business, how does this work?' Lighthizer said. 'So what he has decided to do is to pause the imposition of the tariffs with respect to those countries.' Before Lighthizer's congressional testimony, Germany's economy minister, Peter Altmaier, said he had found officials in Washington 'open to our arguments' during a recent visit with the EU trade commissioner, Cecilia Malmstrom. Altmaier told Germany's parliament 'it is a question of fundamental significance: whether we all stand for open and fair world markets in the future.' US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told the Senate Finance Committee that certain countries were involved in trade talks with the nation in regards to the new tariffs. Pictured is the representative on Wednesday Trump campaigned on promises to bring down America's trade deficit, which stood at $566billion last year, by rewriting trade agreements and cracking down on what he called abusive commercial practices by US trading partners. But Trump was slow to turn rhetoric to action. In January, he imposed tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines. Then he announced the steel and aluminum tariffs, saying reliance on imported metals jeopardizes US national security. Lighthizer said the nation's trade deficit indicates that the global rules on trade sometimes make it hard for US companies to export. The administration 'is seeking to build a better, fairer system of global markets that will lead to higher living standards for all Americans,' Lighthizer said. GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the committee chairman, said he was 'deeply disappointed in the decision to impose global tariffs to address a problem caused by China.' Meanwhile, Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said he was troubled to hear that South Korea would be initially exempted from the steel and aluminum tariffs. 'I was not expecting that,' Brown said. 'Korea has unfairly dumped steel and other products in our country.' CNN chief Jeff Zucker sharply attacked the network's rivals at Fox News Channel on Thursday, saying that it has become a propaganda machine that is 'doing an incredible disservice to the country'. Zucker spoke at the Financial Times Future of News conference two days after a former Fox military analyst quit, claiming he was ashamed at the way the network's opinion hosts were backing President Donald Trump. According to Zucker, analyst, Ralph Peters, voiced what a lot of people have been thinking about Fox in the post-Roger Ailes era. CNN chief Jeff Zucker (pictured on Thursday) sharply attacked the network's rivals at Fox News Channel on Thursday, saying that it has become a propaganda machine that is 'doing an incredible disservice to the country' Fox has maintained its ratings lead with a prime-time opinion lineup led by Sean Hannity 'What has happened to that network in the last 18 months, especially the last year, is that it has just turned itself into state-run TV,' Zucker said. 'TASS has nothing on them,' he said in reference to the Russian news agency. There was no immediate comment from a Fox representative. Fox has maintained its ratings lead with a prime-time opinion lineup led by Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham. Together with MSNBC's left-leaning lineup, the two political talk networks are frequently the most popular destinations for viewers on cable television. Fox and MSNBC have been widening their lead in prime time over CNN, which recently announced that Chris Cuomo would join its prime-time lineup. Zucker said that Fox has 'a handful of good journalists but they get lost in the propaganda machine'. 'The idea that they are a news channel is really not accurate at all,' he said. Zucker said that Fox has 'a handful of good journalists but they get lost in the propaganda machine'. Pictured is Tucker Carlson 'The idea that they are a news channel is really not accurate at all,' he said. Pictured is Laura Ingraham of The Ingraham Angle Zucker's network has been on the receiving end of withering criticism from Trump during his presidency. He's repeatedly referred to CNN as 'fake news' when he doesn't like its coverage. Zucker said Trump's criticisms are not going to stop CNN from doing its job of holding leaders accountable. But he said the Trump has created an atmosphere of hostility toward reporters that has spread from the US across the world. 'He doesn't even understand the danger he is creating for journalists and the danger he is creating for news organizations,' Zucker said. However, he said the Trump administration has helped news organizations raise their games to cover what is going on. 'He has made American journalism great again,' Zucker said. The use of forced anal examinations to test whether men have had gay sex have been ruled illegal by a Kenyan court. An earlier high court decision allowing their use was unconstitutional and a violation of human rights, an appeals court judge said. The ruling came in a case brought by two gay men who were arrested in 2015 on suspicion of being gay and subjected to forced anal exams and HIV tests. The use of forced anal examinations to test whether men have had gay sex has been ruled unconstitutional and a violation of human rights by a Kenyan court (file image) Homosexuality is illegal in the east African nation. Gay rights campaigners, who argued the exams amounted to torture, cheered the decision. The exams had also been condemned by the Kenya Medical Association. 'The ruling is a tremendous step not only in upholding the dignity of homosexuals who'd been subjected to the indignities of anal examinations but also to the rule of law in Kenya,' said Eric Gitari, the executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. Human Rights Watch has said Kenya is one of at least eight countries that have used forced anal exams on suspected homosexuals since 2010, along with Cameroon, Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda and Zambia. The new ruling undoubtedly will have an impact on those countries, Gitari said. In Kenya, gay sex faces a penalty of up to 14 years in prison. Gay rights campaigners, who had argued the exams amounted to torture, cheered the decision. Homosexuality is illegal in Kenya The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities in the East African nation have complained of harassment, which in some cases is violent. Gay people often are ostracized by families and communities and discriminated against when it comes to renting property and finding jobs. Kenya's High Court last month began hearing arguments in a case that challenges parts of the penal code seen as targeting the LGBT community. The National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission argues that the sections are in breach of the constitution and deny basic rights by criminalizing consensual same-sex relations between adults. The mystery woman who tried to bail out the trespasser brother of school shooter Nikolas Cruz has told DailyMail.com she's just a Good Samaritan - who 'felt sorry for him.' Stay-at-home-mom Andrea Hadyar, 22, says she was disgusted by Nikolas's killing spree at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High - but added: 'It's not Zachary's fault his brother is a mass murderer.' Prosecutors believe Zachary was interested in using his brother's infamy to attract girls and start a fan club but Hadyar insists she has no interest in speaking with him. The 18-year-old was arrested Monday night and charged with trespassing after he rode his skateboard around the Parkland, Florida school were AR-15-wielding Nikolas shot dead 17 people on February 14. He was booked on a misdemeanor charge of trespassing and his bond amount was initially set at $25, which is the standard rate for this offense. Good Samaritan: Andrea Hadyar told DailyMail.com she tried to bail out Zachary Cruz because she felt 'sorry for him.' Records show she posted the $25 bond after he was arrested for trespassing on Monday No luck: The day after she posted that bond the teenager's bail was increased to $500,000 amidst claims he had been told by officials to stay off the campus (Zachary in court on Tuesday) and had been talking to Nikolas about setting up a fan club Court records confirm that the cash was posted that same day by Hadyar, who claims she has never met either Zachary or Nikolas, 19. But her $25 was academic because the judge raised his bail to $500,000 meaning she would have had to put down $50,000. 'I read about what was happening to Zachary and I went to the sheriff's office. I just said can I bail Zachary drug out, they just let me in, it wasn't complicated,' she told DailyMail.com. 'I have absolutely no connection to either of them. I've never met Zachary, never talked to him, never had him on my social media. 'But I felt sympathy for Zachary - and for Zachary only. He's getting so much hatred because of his brother's action. 'It's not his fault his brother is a mass murderer. I'm sure he would have stopped it if he knew.' Hadyar's bid to free Zachary ultimately failed because when he appeared in court the next day a judge raised his bail to $500,000 after hearing it was the third time he had been seen lurking around the scene of the slaughter. 'I can't afford that amount of money. And honestly I had no idea he'd been up there that many times when I went to bail him out,' added Hadyar of Boca Raton, Florida. 'I don't regret it though, I was just trying to do a good thing for somebody.' Records show that Andrea Hadyar paid the $25 in cash on Monday. However, her money later proved to be academic because the judge raised his bail to $500,000 meaning she would have had to put down $50,000 Following his arrest at 5pm Monday, Zachary allegedly told an officer with the Broward County Sheriff's Office he was merely there to 'reflect on the school shooting and to soak it in.' In a further twist it later emerged that a deputy who was patrolling the school at the time has since been suspended because he was found asleep in his car following the intrusion. According to his arrest report, Zachary was caught on the school's surveillance camera despite having been told by school officials 'to refrain from entering the school campus.' Zachary was also banned from visiting his brother in prison after he allegedly expressed admiration for his Nikolas's actions Assistant State Attorney Sarahnell Murphy used that as the basis to massively ramp up his bond and Judge Kim Theresa Mollica agreed. If and when he raises the money, Zachary will have to wear an electronic monitor, receive a psychological evaluation, not go within a mile of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High and stay at least 500 feet away from all schools and childcare centers. He was also banned from visiting Nikolas in prison after prosecutors suggested Zachary had expressed admiration for the infamy his brother's massacre had garnered. 'Probably most concerning is his contact that he has had with his brother in the jail since his incarceration,' Assistant State Attorney Sarahnell Murphy said. 'He has been heard and observed discussing how popular his brother is now, that his face is everywhere and his name is national. 'There is discussion of starting some sort of pen pal or fan club and how many girls he is capable of attracting, referring to his brother Nikolas.' If he is released Zachary will also not be able to possess a gun under a law that was passed in the wake of his brother's mass shooting. The siblings went to live with a family friend, Rocxanne Deschamps, after their mother Lynda died in November 2017 but she later kicked Nikolas out. Deschamps told a press conference Wednesday that she repeatedly told police that Nikolas was unstable and had a warped interest in guns but her warnings went unheeded. Hadyar says she was disgusted by Nikolas's killing spree on February 14 and insisted she has no interest in speaking with him. Cruz will plead guily to 17 counts of murder Nikolas's attorney has said he will plead guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder if prosecutors will waive the death penalty, which they have refused to do. Police records show Zachary has also had a troubled life, including a juvenile arrest record for theft. Lynda Cruz made frequent calls to the Broward Sheriff's Office about him running away, refusing to go to school, being rude and disrespectful and attempting to break things in their Parkland home. The calls go back to when Zachary was 11 years old. Hadyar took her social media down after DailyMail.com revealed her apparent sympathy for him but in a now deleted Tweet she wrote: 'Zachary Cruz, the brother of Parkland shooter IS NOT the Parkland shooter. 'Don't punish him for his brother's sins. Likely, he needs help coping. He too is a victim of his brothers misdeeds. Get him help NOT a rap sheet to further isolate him from society.' The daughter of the woman killed by an Uber self-driving vehicle in Arizona has retained a personal injury lawyer, underlying the potential high stakes of the first fatality caused by an autonomous vehicle. The law firm of Bellah Perez in Glendale, Arizona, said in a statement it was representing the daughter of Elaine Herzberg, who died on Sunday night after being hit by the Uber self-driving SUV in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe. The firm did not name her but DailyMail.com has learned that she is Christina Paredes and is the first relative of Herzberg - who was homeless and had a string of convictions - to step forward. 'As the first pedestrian death involving an Uber autonomous vehicle, the incident has sparked a national debate about the safety of self-driving cars, exposing the technology's blind spots and raising questions of liability,' the law firm said. 'For Bellah Perez and Herzberg's daughter this case is fundamentally about a woman who lost her mother and wants to understand why.' Few details of the incident have emerged amid the investigations by police and federal safety regulators. Court case: The daughter of Elaine Herzberg (left) is preparing to sue over her death. She was killed by the self-driving Uber which had Rafaela Vasquez (right) behind the wheel National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators examine the self-driving Uber vehicle involved in the fatal accident in Tempe Police have said the vehicle, a Volvo XC90 which was operating in autonomous mode, was traveling at about 40 mile per hour at the time of the collision and did not appear to brake. They released dramatic footage showing the last seconds before the crash, which appeared to show 'safety driver' Rafaela Vasquez looking down immediately before the impact. Initially police said that nothing could have stopped the crash but appeared to have walked that back, now saying that following their probe, they will submit the case to the Maricopa County Attorney's office, which will determine if there is any basis for a case for potential criminal prosecution. One key question for investigators will be how the vehicle's technology failed to notice the pedestrian crossing the street in front of it, despite the darkness. Self-driving cars typically use a combination of sensors, including radar and light-sensing Lidar, to identify objects, including potential obstacles coming into range. In company presentations, Uber has stated its self-driving technology includes sensors that provide a 360-degree view around the vehicle. Vasquez's role is likely to come under intense scrutiny if there is prosecution or litigation. She was not a professional driver and DailyMail.com established that she had a history of driving offenses, although not enough to disqualify her from working from Uber, and also had a felony conviction for armed robbery. Her friends however said she was 'devastated' and was an 'intelligent and responsible' person. Two experts who reviewed the video suggested Uber was at fault for the death. 'The victim did not come out of nowhere,' Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who studies autonomous vehicles, said. 'She's moving on a dark road, but it's an open road, so Lidar (laser) and radar should have detected and classified her [as a human].' Sam Abuelsmaid, an analyst for Navigant Research who also follow autonomous vehicles, said laser and radar systems can see in the dark much better than humans or cameras and that the pedestrian was well within the system's range. 'It absolutely should have been able to pick her up,' he said. 'From what I see in the video it sure looks like the car is at fault, not the pedestrian.' The video, Smith said, may not show the complete picture, but 'this is strongly suggestive of multiple failures of Uber and its system, its automated system, and its safety driver.' Fall-out from the accident could stall the development and testing of self-driving vehicles, which are designed to perform far better than human drivers and sharply reduce the number of motor vehicle fatalities that occur each year. The fatality also presents an unprecedented liability challenge because self-driving vehicles, which are still in the development stage, involve a complex system of hardware and software often made by outside suppliers. The specifics of how Uber's technology operates are not known. The video, released by Tempe police, shows the car traveling at about 40mph in a 45mph zone along a relatively empty roadway on Sunday night In the seconds leading up to the collision, Rafaela Vasquez, 44, the safety driver who must take control of the car if there are any problems, is seen looking down and to the side Seconds later, Vasquez grows alarmed when she realizes the car is about to hit the pedestrian. The footage appears to back up her claims that she was alert during the ride and nothing she could have done would have prevented the fatal collision Rafaela Vasquez was behind the wheel of the self-driving Volvo SUV which struck Herzberg. Police say she stepped in front of it with her bicycle (shown above next to the car) The bicycle was laden down with shopping bags which contained Herzberg's belongings On Thursday a group of 10 Democratic senators cited the fatality in Tempe in a letter sent to Uber and 59 other companies including Ford Motor Co and Tesla Inc highlighting how the use of forced arbitration clauses to settle customer disputes would prevent victims of accidents involving self-driving vehicles from exercising their legal rights. The senators, led by Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, noted that Uber includes forced arbitration in its standard terms of service with users. 'Had the victim been a passenger ... the victim's family could have been denied recourse through the courts,' the letter read. The senators asked the companies to commit to not using the arbitration clauses in contracts related to self-driving cars. 'When injury or death does occur, a forced arbitration clause would prevent consumers from exercising their fundamental legal rights as Americans,' the senators wrote. Many companies include forced arbitration clauses in contracts with customers, requiring that any disputes be settled in binding arbitration and barring customers from suing in a court of law. Arbitration rulings, generally, cannot be appealed. Herzberg, 49, who was homeless, was jay-walking across a divided four-lane road with her bicycle when she was struck while in the far right-hand lane. A video taken from a dash-mounted camera inside the vehicle that was released by Tempe police on Wednesday showed the SUV traveling along a dark street when suddenly the headlights illuminate Herzberg in front of the SUV. She later died from her injuries. Other footage showed the human driver who was behind the wheel mostly looking down and not at the road in the seconds before the accident. Uber, like many other companies testing self-driving vehicles, has a human driver in each vehicle as a monitor and to act as a backup if necessary. Two teenage boys and two men were arrested and suspected of harvesting cannabis on a rural property near Bathurst where a crop worth $2million was found growing from tents. The large-scale cultivation of cannabis and operation networks within the drug trade has been part of an ongoing investigation by detectives from the State Crime Command's Drug and Firearms Squad since late last year. The rural property at Mount Rankin was searched where officers found large amounts of cannabis with a street value of almost $2million on Thursday morning. Scroll down for video Two teenage boys and two men were arrested and suspected of harvesting cannabis on a rural property near Bathurst where a crop worth $2million was found growing from tents (pictured) A total of 60kg of cannabis head, coming from 832 plants of varying maturity and 130 harvested plants, were found on the site. Two teenage boys and two men, aged 41 and 72, were arrested and taken to Bathurst Police Station. The teenage boys were charged with cultivating a commercial quantity of a prohibited plant and commercial drug supply. Both were refused bail to appear at a children's court on Friday. The rural property at Mt Rankin (pictured) was searched where officers found large amounts of cannabis with a street value of almost $2million on Thursday morning A total of 60kg of cannabis head, coming from 832 plants of varying maturity and 130 harvested plants (pictured), were found on the site A 41-year-old man, who is also an Italian National, and a 72-year-old man were also charged with cultivate commercial quantity of prohibited plant and commercial drug supply. Both men were also refused bail to appear at Lithgow Local Court today. 'Our Cannabis Team has worked long and hard - in less than ideal conditions - throughout the growing season and prevented more than $16 million of cannabis from hitting the streets,' Drug and Firearms Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Peter McErlain said. Two teenage boys were charged with cultivating a commercial quantity of a prohibited plant and commercial drug supply A 41-year-old man, who is also an Italian National, and a 72-year-old man were also charged with cultivate commercial quantity of prohibited plant and commercial drug supply The arrest has come after extensive inquiries and investigations into the manufacture and supply of illicit drugs throughout NSW 'I couldn't be prouder of the work all NSW Police officers are doing, not only in seizing drugs, but also in targeting those who are trying to get rich by inflicting pain and suffering on the community'. The arrest has come after extensive inquiries and investigations into the manufacture and supply of illicit drugs throughout NSW. A rural clandestine laboratory found to be manufacturing MDMA was also found near the same area as was part of three major police operations yesterday. Despite the operation's success, Detective Superintendent McErlain said police 'still need to tackle the issue of demand'. 'We need the support and assistance of the community to break the cycle of addiction and stop these substances from being a plague on our community,' he said. Police are hunting a wheelchair-bound homeless man who once held up a bank and threatened to blow up the same building just days after he was released from jail. Sean Nicholas was sentenced to 14 months behind bars in December after taking a homemade bomb to the Central Park building in Auckland, New Zealand, last July. The 46-year-old told terrified bystanders he would detonate the device, before he set alight a wick protruding from his suitcase when police arrived, Stuff reported. The wick stopped burning when it reached the suitcase and Nicholas was arrested - in his wheelchair - without causing any harm. Police are hunting Sean Nicholas, a wheelchair-bound homeless man who once held up a bank and threatened to blow up the same building just days after he was released from jail A bomb expert later concluded the device would not have exploded, but could have released toxic fumes. Just 11 days earlier, Nicholas had been released from jail after he held up a Westpac bank in the same building in 2013. The dramatic armed siege lasted five hours, with dozens of people in surrounding buildings told by police to barricade themselves inside. 'Sean, you're surrounded. Sean, we need to finish this now,' police negotiators said at the time, according to the New Zealand Herald. 'Sean, you're surrounded. Sean, we need to finish this now. Put the gun down. Put the firearm down, come outside and we can help you'. The dramatic siege reportedly ended when Nicholas' father pleaded with his son to give himself up. Nicholas was jailed for 14 months in December after taking a homemade bomb to the Central Park building in Auckland On Friday, police issued a appeal to help find the 46-year-old, who is 'wanted for arrest'. Police refused to give any further details, and it is unclear why he isn't in jail after his December sentence over his threat to blow up the Central Park building. 'Nicholas has a physical disability and uses a wheelchair and police want to urgently locate him as he poses a significant risk to himself,' a police spokesman said. 'Nicholas was last seen on Wednesday 21 March at around 8pm when he was dropped off in New Lynn.' The spokesman said the 46-year-old was thought to be staying in temporary accommodation or 'sleeping rough in the New Lynn area'. Advertisement Two Pennsylvania firefighters have been killed and two others injured in the partial collapse of a former piano factory, which had been heavily damaged in a fire. Ivan Flanscha, 50, and Zachary Anthony, 29, died Thursday at York Hospital in York, Pennsylvania, officials say. Two other firefighters are being treated for injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening. Part of the four-story building fell on the firefighters as they were looking for hot spots and investigating the cause of a fire that broke out Wednesday at the Weaver Organ and Piano factory. Ivan Flanscha, 50, (left) and Zachary Anthony, 29, (right) died Thursday at York Hospital in York Pennsylvania; they were transported to hospital after part of a four-story building fell on them while they were looking for hot spots Two firefighters were killed and another two were injured when part of a four-story building collapsed on Thursday in Pennsylvania. Pictured are emergency personnel moving one injured firefighter from the rubble The Weaver Organ and Piano factory in York, Pennsylvania, caught fire on Wednesday evening. On Thursday, firefighters were inspecting the area for hot spots when part of the building collapsed The factory - which was being converted into residential units - collapsed before 4pm on Thursday after a fire took place the previous day. Part of the building initially fell around 6pm on Wednesday after the fire started. Crews worked into the night to fight the blaze. Then during an a routine investigation for hot spots, four firefighters were trapped under the rubble as part of the four-story building came down. York Mayor Michael Helfrich called it 'a tragic day in York's history' during a press conference after the building collapsed. The death of the two firefighters brought the city's number to 13 people total who have lost their lives in the line of duty, according to the York Daily Record. Flanscha was a 20-year veteran with the fire department and won 'Firefighter of the Year', among other awards for his service. The mayor also expressed his distraught for the loss of Anthony during the press conference who he considered to be a personal friend. Anthony had been with the fire department since August 2010. 'This is the worst day of my career,' Helfrich said during the press conference. 'It is a dark day (for the York fire department).' Autopsies are scheduled for Anthony and Flanscha on Friday at Lehigh Valley Hospital. The other two firefighters in the hospital are doing OK and expected to recover from their injuries. Rescue personnel tend to a fellow firefighter after a wall collapse at the scene of a fire in York. Ivan Flanscha, 50, and Zachary Anthony, 29, died Thursday at York Hospital after the building came down A firefighter walks away from where EMS work on a fellow responder who was injured when a wall collapsed at the scene of a fire. Crews worked through the night on Wednesday to put out the blaze Sir Vince Cable was accused of a pathetic attempt to interfere in Brexit yesterday by falsely claiming that eight EU leaders backed a second referendum Sir Vince Cable was accused of a pathetic attempt to interfere in Brexit yesterday by falsely claiming that eight EU leaders backed a second referendum. The Lib Dem leader was humiliated after they said it was a botched PR stunt. Sir Vince, 74, faced criticism last night as opponents said he used improper tactics to impede Britains divorce from the EU. It came days after he faced a backlash for claiming that older Brexit voters were driven by nostalgia for a world in which faces were white. The latest furore began when he said the eight prime ministers had agreed to back a British vote on the final Brexit deal. Sir Vince said the group had sent a clear signal that Brexit should be challenged by supposedly agreeing to a joint statement published by the Lib Dems. It said: We regret Brexit, but acknowledge the choice made by British voters for the UK Government to negotiate withdrawal. We further acknowledge and support the Liberal Democrats call for the British people to have the final say on the Brexit deal. The Lib Dems said the statement was signed by the leaders of the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland and the Netherlands. It was allegedly agreed at a working lunch of liberal prime ministers in Brussels attended by Sir Vince before the EU leaders summit yesterday. But Belgian PM Charles Michel, who was named in the Lib Dem list, was not even present. The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group (ALDE), to which all the leaders belong, issued a furious response, saying such a statement was never signed. ALDE said: At the leaders meeting of March 22 no statement has been agreed upon or released. The Lib Dems said the statement was signed by leaders of the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland and Netherlands. It was allegedly agreed at a working lunch of liberal PMs in Brussels attended by Cable before the EU leaders summit yesterday. But Belgian PM Charles Michel (above), named in the Lib Dem list, was not even present A source within the group added: Somebody has obviously decided to become a little bit creative in London after the meeting. A diplomat working for one of the countries involved said: Why in the world would we do something like that? It looks pathetic. They said that the leaders at the lunch had all given their backing to Sir Vince but stopped short of weighing into UK politics. The Lib Dem leader accompanied the declaration with a statement, in which he said: The message is clear: Brexit is not inevitable. This is a clear signal from our European friends that they want us to remain in the European Union and would welcome an exit from Brexit with open arms. In a separate video message to his followers online, he repeated the claims by suggesting the leaders were very much on board. However, Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte publicly backed away from suggestions that he had signed a statement explicitly backing a second Brexit referendum. He said: If some way or another the UK would decide to change its position it would be highly welcome by the liberal prime ministers my impression is of almost everybody in the EU. But he added: Whether it happens is up to the UK itself and UK politicians. The row came as EU leaders prepared to sign off a Brexit transition deal lasting until December 2021 at the summit today. Addressing EU leaders at the summit in Brussels last night, Theresa May said Brexit gave Britain and the EU the chance to create a new dynamic and work together to find new solutions. Tory former cabinet minister Priti Patel accused Sir Vince of trying to subvert democracy, adding: It would have been extraordinary for governments of other countries to interfere in our democratic process. But it seems Vince Cable lied about that to mislead the public. A Broadway dancer has accused billionaire casino-owner Steve Wynn of sexual harassment. The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, danced on Broadway before she was hired to dance for the show Showstoppers at the Wynn Las Vegas from late 2014 through late 2016. She claims that Wynn would stop into their rehearsals. When he was in town, 'the female dancers were instructed immediately to strip down to bras and panties, put on heels, and apply extra makeup so as to be sexually appealing to Mr. Wynn', according to The Bloom Firm, who represents the dancer. A Broadway dancer has accused Steve Wynn (pictured) of sexual harassment. She claims Wynn would make female dancers of Vegas show Showstoppers strip down to their bras and panties during rehearsals The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, danced on Broadway before she was hired to dance for the show Showstoppers (file image) at the Wynn Las Vegas from late 2014 through late 2016 The woman said that dancers would normally wear jazz pants, tank tops or other casual fitness wear while rehearsing. 'Mr. Wynn would then sit in the front row of the theater and leer while the female performers danced particularly physically revealing segments of the show,' her attorney Lisa Bloom wrote in a statement. 'Many cast members, including my client, considered Mr. Wynn's demands humiliating,' Bloom wrote, adding that Showstoppers was not a nude nor a semi-nude show. The woman made the accusations through her attorney Lisa Bloom (pictured) Bloom wrote that her 'client was disgusted by Mr. Wynn's behavior'. 'She considered his demands unprofessional and demeaning. And so she would often not strip down, or would do so only partially.' The dancer claims that her acts of rebellion 'in the face of the most powerful man in Las Vegas were followed by her being sent to the back of dance routines, or removed from show routines altogether'. In the statement, Bloom wrote that witnesses who worked on the show have confirmed her client's allegations about Wynn's alleged behavior. Bloom said that her law firm has sent letters to attorneys for Wynn and Wynn Resorts about 'these acts of sexual harassment and retaliation and have yet to receive any meaningful response'. Through her lawyer, the dancer said she is willing to cooperate in any investigation. On Tuesday it was revealed that Wynn brokered a settlement more than a decade ago with a second woman who accused him of sexual misconduct. The Las Vegas-based tycoon recently reported her to the FBI, his attorneys said in court documents. Wynn and one of his attorneys met FBI agents last month to accuse the woman of trying to extort him by threatening to go public with details from the 2006 settlement, according to documents received earlier this month in state court in Las Vegas. In January, The Wall Street Journal reported that several women had accused billionaire Steve Wynn (above) of harassing or assaulting them On Tuesday it was revealed that Wynn (pictured in 2014) brokered a settlement more than a decade ago with a second woman who accused him of sexual misconduct He has been accused of sexual misconduct by a number of female employees at his Las Vegas casino, though he denies the allegations. In a recent court filing, his ex-wife Elaine alleged that a $7.5 million payout was made in 2005 to a manicurist he forced into having sex with him. In January the Wall Street Journal spoke to 150 people who currently work for Wynn or have in the past, with a number describing in detail the lengths they would allegedly go to in order to avoid being alone with their boss. Some scheduled fake appointments to make sure they would not be chosen to give Wynn spa treatments, while others went so far as to hide in bathrooms when he came into the salon. Viva: In a recent court filing, his ex-wife Elaine alleges that a $7.5 million payout was made in 2007 to a manicurist he forced into having sex with him at his Las Vegas property (above) Steve Wynn may now sell his stake in Wynn Resorts, Limited, according to recent reports, after a judge agreed his shareholders' agreement with his ex is now invalid Wynn resigned as chairman and CEO of Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts last month. He married second wife Andrea Hisson, 54, in 2011, and the pair are close friends with President Trump and the First lady. He has vehemently denied the accusations reported by the newspaper and attributed them to a campaign led by his ex-wife. Her attorney has denied that she instigated the report. The recent court filings do not provide details of the newly revealed settlement. The woman on Monday did not return a message seeking comment from The Associated Press. The woman is also being represented by Lisa Bloom, who said in an email that her client denies the extortion allegations. 'My client, who wishes to remain anonymous at this time, has never committed any act of extortion,' she wrote. 'To the contrary, she simply stated that she wanted to speak. Her emails did not seek any money. And that is surely why the FBI has not even questioned her about this, nor has she not been charged with any crime.' The FBI declined to confirm Monday whether it has investigated the extortion accusations. A declaration by one of Wynn's attorneys, Donald Campbell, says the FBI notified him on Feb. 10 that it had 'concluded its investigation.' Campbell identified the woman as a 'former Wynn employee' with whom the billionaire settled in December 2006, when she worked as a 'Playboy Bunny' at the Palms casino-hotel. Wynn Resorts has never owned that property. Its oldest casino-resort in Las Vegas opened in 2005. Steve Wynn and former wife Elaine Wynn are seen here attending an event at Cirpriani Wall Street on September 23, 2008 in New York City; the two divorced in 2010 Emails included in the court documents show the woman contacted an attorney who represented Wynn in the settlement, Barry Slotnick, the day after the Wall Street Journal story was published in January. She said she understood her non-disclosure agreement banned her from speaking out but that she believed telling her story would be a good thing. The woman wrote to the attorney again a few days later, saying she wanted to reveal the details of the settlement publicly and to consider the message notice of her intentions. The emails do not ask for money, and they don't appear to be redacted. The emails 'clearly evidenced that she was engaged in an effort to 'shakedown'' Wynn, Campbell said in his declaration. The settlement is the second between Steve Wynn and a woman who alleged sexual misconduct to be revealed during a protracted civil case that has involved the billionaire; his ex-wife, Elaine Wynn; and a former business partner. The deal reported by the Wall Street Journal was previously referenced broadly in the civil case, which is scheduled for trial in April. A large portion of the case was settled earlier this month when Wynn Resorts agreed to pay a Tokyo-based company $2.4 billion by the end of March. Elaine Wynn is fighting her ex-husband and Wynn Resorts over her removal from the company's board of directors in 2015. Same-sex couples who chose to travel overseas risk safety threats, criminal charges, time spent languishing in foreign prisons or even the death penalty, as many countries continue to treat homosexuality as a crime. Australia shares increasingly tolerant attitudes towards homosexuality, but it's not an attitude shared by 72 other countries and territories across the world where identifying as gay can be downright dangerous. A world map, identifying danger zones and national attitudes towards homosexuality, has been released to give LGBTI travellers a safety guide when heading overseas. A world map, (pictured) identifying countries and territories according to how tolerant national attitudes were towards LBGTI couples, was released by Travel Insurance Direct Same-sex relationships are criminalised in 72 countries and territories worldwide, dozens of which can enforce jail time and eight can even apply the death penalty. Bali is an Aussie holiday hot-spot, and Indonesia's proposal for a total ban on gay sex puts same-sex visitors increasingly at risk as the country continues to treat homosexuality as a crime with sex-same marriage remaining illegal. Many LGBTI travellers to the island report abuse and intolerance, while the country's rising intolerance against the LGBTI community was recently criticised by the UN human rights chief. And while most Aussies love to go abroad, many LGBTI travellers face unique challenges visiting countries which don't share the same attitudes, rights and legal status as back home. Many areas in the Middle East are considered an unsafe travel destinations for same-sex couples where homosexuality is criminalised and outlawed The countries identified as the biggest danger zones for LGBTI travellers where homosexuality is criminalised and outlawed are shaded in red on the map A world map, identifying countries and territories according to how tolerant national attitudes were towards LBGTI couples, was released by Travel Insurance Direct. The map is shaded from red - illegal or intolerant attitudes towards homosexuality - to purple -countries where same-sex marriage has been legalised. The countries identified as the biggest danger zones for LGBTI travellers where homosexuality is criminalised and outlawed are shaded in red on the map. These include large parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and includes Australia's nearest neighbour, Papua New Guinea. In these areas, same-sex acts can result in imprisonment. In Iran, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, homosexuality is punishable by death under sharia law. The same applies in parts of Somalia and northern Nigeria. India is considered an unsafe travel destination for same-sex couples and same-sex acts can result in imprisonment The city of Calcutta in India (pictured) is a popular travel destination, despite the city's problem with slums Countries shaded in orange, which include travel destinations such as Vietnam and Madagascar, do not outlaw against homosexuality but are considered intolerant towards LGBTI travellers. Same-sex relations are criminalised under laws covering sodomy, buggery and 'acts against nature'. 'They have never enacted legislation specifically outlawing it,' Phil Sylvester a travel expert from Travel Insurance Direct told news.com.au. Mr Sylvester described the legal situation as 'not officially illegal'. '[Travellers can] expect discrimination, prejudice and harsh treatment by officials and society as a whole. For lack of an official law these places would be marked red, too,' he said. Bangui in the Central African Republic is not often frequented by travellers 'Countries marked yellow have legalised homosexuality, but there is no other protection for the LGBTQI community,' Mr Sylvester said The Ukrainian town of Pripyat (pictured) has become a much-visited destination in Eastern Europe which offers some legal protections, such as anti-discrimination laws Countries identified as yellow, including China, Russia, Turkey and Indonesia consider homosexuality to be legal. These countries have only slightly better attitudes as 'there is often open societal hostility' and 'no other protection for the LGBTQI community,' Mr Sylvester said. Green countries offer some legal protections, such as anti-discrimination laws, and consider homosexual acts to be legal. They include Mexico, Thailand and parts of eastern Europe. The overcrowded city of Sao Paulo, Brazil (pictured) where same-sex marriage is legal The same can be said for blue countries, such as Italy, Poland, Greece, the Czech Republic and Chile, but have a wider range of protections in place. Purple countries enjoy legalised same-sex marriage and generally offer protection of rights of LGBTI people. These travel-safe zones include Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Brazil, South Africa and many countries in northern and western Europe. Travel-safe zones include Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Brazil, South Africa and many countries in northern and western Europe However, national laws and local attitudes don't always match and often change. 'For example, in Russia, despite it legalised homosexual sex between men in 1993 (lesbian sex has never been illegal), in practice, you risk violence and discrimination if you are openly gay,' Mr Sylvester said. 'Hungary legalised homosexuality in 1962, and has allowed registration of same-sex unions since 1992 and has anti-gay discrimination laws. But in 2015 the mayor of Budapest called the gay pride march 'repulsive'.' Homosexuality may be technically legal in many countries but people who are in same-sex relationships may still feel threatened, face threats to their safety, or endure locals being abusive or openly showing disgust. While other countries may not have laws against homosexuality, but condone laws that can be used to target LGBTI people. Russia has a law against 'promotion of non-traditional sexual relationships' to minors, which may target behaviour that appears to promote LGBTI issues, Mr Sylvester explained. The Culture Secretary yesterday accused Labour deputy leader Tom Watson of wanting to see Max Mosley involved in the regulation of the Jewish Chronicle newspaper. Matt Hancock launched an excoriating attack on Mr Watson as he made a rallying defence of a free Press. The minister raised concerns about Mr Mosleys connections to the controversial state-approved Press regulator Impress in the light of damning revelations about his past. Last month, the Daily Mail revealed that the ex-Formula One boss published a racist leaflet linking non-white immigrants to diseases such as tuberculosis in a 1961 by-election campaign. The Culture Secretary yesterday accused Labour deputy leader Tom Watson (right) of wanting to see Max Mosley (left) involved in the regulation of the Jewish Chronicle newspaper The Mail also asked whether Mr Mosley, the youngest son of Oswald Mosley, leader of the pre-war British Union of Fascists, lied at his orgy privacy trial. Under oath at the High Court, Mr Mosley, who had been suing the now-defunct News of the World for reporting his participation in what the newspaper alleged was a Nazi-themed orgy, categorically denied such a leaflet existed. But the Mail tracked down the pamphlet in an archive. It states: Published by Max Mosley. We also revealed how a year later he led a group including a convicted Holocaust-denier on a road trip to a neo-fascist conference in Venice stopping en-route at the Dachau former Nazi concentration camp and how he was arrested after swinging a punch at a Jew-baiting fascist rally in a Jewish area of London. Mr Mosley via a family trust is almost single-handedly bankrolling Impress, which is shunned by every national newspaper. Speaking at a lunch for journalists in Westminster, Mr Hancock criticised Mr Watson, who has received 540,000 in donations from Mr Mosley in the past three years. He said: In my view, it is only someone like Tom Watson who would think that it is a good idea to put Max Mosley in charge of regulating the Jewish Chronicle. From the Mail, March 5 The Mail, February 28 Advertisement It is a great irony of modern politics, Tom is one of Britains foremost conspiracy theorists, and when a real conspiracy comes along like the Trotskyites taking over the Labour Party he does not even notice. In 2015, Mr Watson was forced to apologise to Lord Brittans widow for causing distress after he described the late Conservative home secretary as being as close to evil as any human could get days after he died over claims he was paedophile. The accusations were later shown to be false. Mr Hancock yesterday pledged to be a staunch defender of a free Press while he is Culture Secretary. In a world of the internet and clickbait, the Press faces critical challenges that threaten livelihoods and sustainability, he said. Nationally and locally a Press that can hold the powerful to account is an essential component of our democracy. I have not always enjoyed everything that has been written about me, but then you are not here to keep us politicians happy, you are here to hold the powerful to account and to report without fear or favour. You have a powerful role in this and I want to see a stronger, more sustainable Press, confident in saying this fact is false and this fact is true. Mr Hancock voiced concerns about how the media industry faces challenges because of the rise of fake news and declining advertising revenue. Matt Hancock (above) launched an excoriating attack on Mr Watson as he made a rallying defence of a free Press. The minister raised concerns about Mr Mosleys connections to the controversial state-approved Press regulator Impress in the light of damning revelations about his past He added: But it is also under threat from a group of politicians who do not like what is written about them and do not think it should be written therefore at all. The thought of a state-regulated British Press under the sinister threats of Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell does not bear thinking about. It would mean a public that is less informed, less inspired and less able to keep the powerful to account. How dare they threaten the free Press with their own misguided goals. I for one will defend the free Press with everything I have got. So you should get out there and find the stories, find the objective reality, make sure that you print it without fear or favour, and fight for the freedom you have held dear for so long, and with that I will be by your side. Last night Mr Watson criticised Mr Hancocks decision earlier this month to cancel a second Leveson-style inquiry into the Press. He said: This ambitious ministers capitulation to his powerful friends in the Press over Leveson is a betrayal of all victims of phone hacking and Press intrusion. Ahmed Hassan, 18, was referred to the Government's flagship counter-extremism Prevent programme 20 months before he planted a bomb on a District Line The Parsons Green tube bomber never saw de-radicalisation experts despite referrals from his worried teacher and a charity worker about his links to Islamic State, it has emerged. Ahmed Hassan, 18, was referred to the Government's flagship counter-extremism Prevent programme 20 months before he planted a bomb on a District Line causing an explosion which injured 30 people. But the Iraqi asylum seeker, who claimed that he had been trained to kill by Islamic State when he came to Britain on the back of a lorry, was never considered for 'intervention' work with an Islamic expert despite repeated warnings about his behaviour before the attack on September 15 last year. The Home Secretary Amber Rudd will now face questions on the astonishing blunder when she appears in front of the Home Affairs Select Committee next week. Details about the case emerged as Hassan is due to be sentenced for the bombing later today after being convicted last Friday of setting off a bomb at Parsons Green station which he secretly built at the home of his foster parents who were not told of his links to IS when they took him in. Home Secretary Amber Rudd will now face questions on the astonishing blunder when she appears in front of the Home Affairs Select Committee next week Surrey County Council has apologised for failures in the case saying 'our work with other agencies in this case wasn't as good as it should have been and we're sorry for our part in that.' Vital opportunities to stop Hassan were missed because he was never referred to a part of the Prevent project designed to help individuals who may be vulnerable to radicalisation, where mentors talk through views of Islam. The teenage bomber did receive educational and mental health support and worryingly he also had contact with counter terrorism officers. But no one realised he was plotting an attack that could have killed hundreds of people. Teachers, doctors, prison workers and local authority workers were put under a legal obligation two years ago to refer such individuals to Prevent in order to intervene in the radicalisation process. The teenage bomber did receive educational and mental health support and worryingly he also had contact with counter terrorism officers But the fact that no de-radicalisation intervention was ordered in the case will raise serious concerns about the effectiveness of Prevent. During his first immigration interview in January 2016, Hassan said he had been 'trained to kill' by ISIS in Iraq. A day later staff from his children's hostel run by Barnardos contacted Surrey Police's Counter-Terrorism Unit and Prevent. Police visited the hostel eight days later to make an assessment of Hassan's behaviour and 'advise on how they should work with him'. But they never spoke to Hassan himself. He was later seen viewing an ISIS video on Facebook and listening to a jihadi chant by staff at the hostel in Horley. Eight months later, Prevent received a second referral from Hassan's tutor at Brooklands College in Weybridge after he told her it was his 'duty' to hate Britain and he was seen donating to Islamic State. Yvette Cooper, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said she would be seeking answers from the Home Office, police, councils and other agencies Weeks later another call was made when the orphan went missing, leaving his foster home in Sunbury, Surrey to go to Wales. A review is now underway into the case. Yvette Cooper, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said she would be seeking answers from the Home Office, police, councils and other agencies, adding: 'There are serious questions that need to be answered. 'Ahmed Hassan was rightly referred to the Prevent programme - but we want to know what happened after that. 'It is vital that Prevent works swiftly and comprehensively in response to extremism and we will be asking how long it is taking to respond to referrals, whether any other referrals have not been followed up, and what capacity the local agencies have.' Sir Christopher Chope who sits on the parliamentary committee said: 'I think we should be asking questions of what was done to stop this attack which could have been a horrendous mass murder and the fact that it was not the case was just good fortune.' Hassan faces life in jail when he is sentenced at the Old Bailey today (Friday). A spokesman for counter terrorism policing said: 'An ongoing review is being conducted during the course of which police and other agencies will examine what actions were taken and when. 'We are keen to learn any lessons and police will act on the recommendations.' He refused to say how many times police met with Hassan. He added: 'Prevent police officers visited the Children's home where Ahmed Hassan resided on 27 January 2016 to talk to staff, a day after receiving the referral. 'Prevent is a multi-agency approach that includes the Channel programme. Each case is considered to determine which professionals are best placed to work most positively with the person requiring support. 'Sometimes this is a police officer, but often it is someone with an existing relationship with the individual such as a person involved in their education, health or social care.' A Surrey County Council spokesman said there was no de-radicalisation intervention sought in this case, but he received other support: 'Staff from the agencies on the Channel panel met Hassan on many occasions between February 2016 and September 2017. Hassan received extensive support from these agencies including mental health and educational support and the panel monitored and reviewed this.' She said: 'This was a difficult case in tough circumstances. We have a duty as a county council to provide support to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who arrive in Surrey and we're also expected to work with law enforcement agencies and others to help stop people being drawn into terrorism. 'Our work with other agencies in this case wasn't as good as it should have been and we're sorry for our part in that. 'We knew before the terrible incident at Parsons Green that we needed to make changes and had already begun to do so.' Security Minister Ben Wallace said last week that the police and local council had conducted a review and it was 'clear that there are some lessons to be learned'. An alcoholic father who savaged killed his former partner and beat his son unconscious has been sentenced to 33 years in jail. Stephen James Boyd, 53, pleaded guilty last August to murdering Tina Kontozis, 51, and injuring their son Daniel, now 19, at her home in Bundeena in Sydney's south. Boyd beat Ms Kontozis with a wooden bat and stabbed her to death on April 24, 2016, before turning on his son. On Friday he was given the maximum sentence of 33 years in jail with a non-parole period of 25 years and six months for his 'brutal, prolonged and vicious attack'. A teenager (pictured, left) whose father stabbed his childcare worker mother to death before beating him unconscious has worn a white ribbon to the sentencing hearing Stephen James Boyd (pictured in handcuffs), 53, pleaded guilty last August to murdering Tina Kontozis, 51, and injuring their son Daniel, now 19, at her home in Bundeena in Sydney's south Boyd beat Ms Kontozis (pictured with Daniel) with a wooden bat and stabbed her to death on April 24, 2016, before turning on his son Dozens of emotional family members wore white ribbons and hugged each other in the packed New South Wales Supreme Court room after the sentence was handed down, while Boyd sat slumped in the dock with his head bowed. Boyd, who had been on an apprehended violence order and drunk at the time of the killing, had beaten his defenceless 51-year-old former partner with a wooden bat and stabbed her repeatedly during the senseless and ferocious attack, Justice Julia Lonergan said. He also pleaded guilty to injuring his then-17-year-old son with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. After killing Ms Kontozis, Boyd fled the scene and drove off to a liquor store where he bought booze, the court heard. During sentencing submissions last December - almost 20 months after Daniel found his bloodied mother dead on the floor - he labelled his father an 'evil narcissist'. Daniel (pictured, front left), who was 17 at the time of the murder, wore a white ribbon to the sentencing to make a statement about violence against women 'Rest in peace, mum, I love you and miss you, you will forever be in my heart,' the 19-year-old said. Statements also were read out on behalf of Ms Kontozis's three older brothers and her mother Helen, 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. James Kontozis asked what 'monster' could murder his sister then write letters from prison to the grieving family 'to justify and accrue blame on everyone but himself'. Psychiatrist Richard Furst said Boyd had been aware of his actions and was 'driven by anger and possibly intoxication'. Boyd, who had been on an apprehended violence order at the time of the killing, is due to be sentenced in the New South Wales Supreme Court on Friday (pictured is Ms Kontozis) The psychiatrist said Boyd admitted to drinking about 15 standard alcoholic drinks every day. He'd been drinking steadily for 'two to five years before his arrest'. Daniel Boyd wore a white ribbon to the sentencing to make a statement about violence against women. The court had previously heard that Ms Kontozis was beaten with a bat and stabbed in a savage attack lasting 'a significant period of time'. Boyd also pleaded guilty to attacking and injuring his then-17-year-old son Daniel Boyd. After the attack Boyd drove off to a bottle shop where he bought alcohol. The court had previously heard that Ms Kontozis was beaten with a bat and stabbed in a savage attack lasting 'a significant period of time' (pictured is Stephen Boyd) In his victim impact statement, the Daniel 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 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.' Joan Bakewell has revealed how she foolishly fell victim to an online face cream scam. The 84-year-old TV presenter said she saw an advert for a free trial for an anti-wrinkle cream and decided to try it out. She received the product in five days but later found that 160 had been taken from her bank account. Speaking about her experience with the company, called Claire Hydrafirm, Baroness Bakewell said: It was a hugely disappointing enterprise and I felt Id been a fool. I suspect it might have been Facebook [where she saw the product advertised], how gullible can you be. Joan Bakewell, 84 decided to try out a free trial for an anti-wrinkle cream online but later found 160 had been taken from her bank account I dont know how I came about it, Im such a gullible person. My brain must have been switched off really. It cost me 160 what a fool. Claire Hydrafirms website said that customers who buy products under the 14-day trial programme will receive one full jar and will initially be charged only a small postage and packaging fee of 4.93 on your credit card. But if no action is taken by the customer after the 14-day period, the credit card provided will automatically be charged 79.94 for one full jar of product, and charged 79.94 every 30 days thereafter. The 84-year-old TV presenter found that the company had taken two withdrawals of 79.94 because she hadn't acted in the 14-day trial period When Baroness Bakewell, a Labour peer, noticed the money had left her account, she contacted the companys call centre, which she said is based in the Philippines, but was unable to get a refund. Claire Hydrafirms website says customers may cancel at any time if they are unhappy with the product, but many reported having been charged twice, and receiving a serum they did not ask for. Baroness Bakewell said her experience is a lesson learned. She added: What the hell do I care about my wrinkles when Im my age. Its absurd. Claire Hydrafirm has not responded to a request for comment. An alcohol think tank is calling for a cull on the number of bottle shops and bans on advertising and sponsorship at sport events throughout Australia. Pressure is being put on governments to introduce new laws for more restriction to alcohol delivery services and make changes to how alcohol is advertised and sold throughout the country. Drinktank, an alcohol use think tank, is calling on the government to address a growing problem as it released new figures claiming more than half of people 'drink to get drunk'. A think tank has called on the government to slash the number of bottle shops as well as cut alcohol advertising on TV and sporting sponsorship deals One in three Australians are getting booze delivered with almost half drinking to get drunk, according to figures released by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) this week. The Annual Alcohol Poll also found citizens want the number of alcohol retailers slashed with more than half (51 per cent) backing calls to limit the number of bottle shops. Meanwhile, two thirds also supported a ban on alcohol advertising on TV before 8.30pm and 52 per cent saying booze should stop being used to sponsor sporting events. Nicole Lim, a policy officer at FARE, said the findings needed to be acknowledged and acted on as Australian governments work together on its National Alcohol Strategy. Half of people say there should be fewer bottle shops and alcohol retailers to help reduce harm The Ministerial Drug and Alcohol Forum (MDAF) is overseeing that policy and is a partnership between the federal and state governmnents. Ms Lim said: 'This year provides a rare opportunity for Australian governments across the country to take action to prevent and reduce alcohol harm. 'The MDAF must ensure that a new National Alcohol Strategy has clear priorities, commitments, timeframes and accountability mechanisms. Four out of five Australians say they drink alcohol with nearly half of those - around 5.7 million people - saying they drink 'to get drunk' 'Without these, change will not occur. Time will tell whether governments listen to the sentiment expressed in this poll.' The study also showed most Australians believe the country has a problem with alcohol and will get worse with the growth of alcohol delivery services. More than half drink to get drunk despite the vast majority of the population not understanding the link between misuse and cancer. WHAT THE PEOPLE SAY The country has a problem with alcohol (73 per cent) The problem will get worse over the next five to 10 years (71 per cent) The alcohol industry targets people under 18 (55 per cent) The industry should pay for schemes to reduce alcohol harm (68 per cent) University research linking alcohol to harm is downplayed by the alcohol industry (61 per cent) Ban alcohol advertising before 8.30pm (67 per cent) Ban alcohol sponsorship at sporting events (52 per cent) Slash the number of alcohol retailers to reduce domestic violence (51 per cent) Governments are not doing enough to address alcohol harm (57 per cent) More needs to be done by governments to address harm (76 per cent) Citizens have a right to know about the long-term effects and harm (84 per cent) Governments must urgently run a campaign to highlight harm (80 per cent) Advertisement The stats showed 73 per cent of Australians believe the country has a problem, with 71 per cent saying it will get worse over the next decade. Four out of five Australians said they drink alcohol - with beer and bottled wine the favoured tipple - and nearly half said they drink to 'get drunk', equivalent to 5.7 million people. Out of this number the majority of people said they were 'comfortable with how much they drink', the report said. It is the ninth poll produced by FARE which has provided some alarming trends among Australians. A new finding this year showed 30 per cent of Australians now get their alcohol brought to their door. Of those, 92 per cent said they had used them in the past year citing better value for money and convenience as the reasons behind the decision. Ms Lim said the findings were 'concerning' especially as there is 'limited and inconsistent regulation' for the emerging market. Ms Lim added: 'While Australians readily associate alcohol harm with violence in our pubs, clubs and on our streets, there is much less knowledge of alcohol's long-term harm.' The report highlights that only one in four Australians are aware of the health guidelines and risks associated with alcohol. Less than half understand or are aware of the links between alcohol misuse and stroke (38 per cent), mouth and throat cancer (26 per cent) and breast cancer (16 per cent). Ms Lim said the findings made it 'clear Australians want to know more about these harms'. The majority of people (80 per cent) said they wanted the government to educate Australians and that they had a responsibility to with more than half (57 per cent) saying not enough was being done by politicians and government officials. Harriet Harman has called on her male colleagues to sit out the next Labour leadership contest and support female candidates instead. She said the men could jostle among themselves for the role of deputy. Miss Harman, herself a former deputy leader under Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband, said: There are lots of fantastic men in the Labour Party who would be more than capable of being leader theres no doubt about that. And there are also lots of women who are more than capable of being leader and were going to choose one of the women. The men can jostle among themselves to be deputy. Harriet Harman has called on her male colleagues to sit out the next Labour leadership contest and support female candidates instead. She said the men could jostle among themselves for the role of deputy In an interview with The House magazine, Miss Harman, 67, also called for an end to parliamentary terms which refer to a politicians gender, such as Honourable Lady. Her views emerged as a female Labour MP vowed to resign if one of her male colleagues who is currently suspended following claims of sexual harassment, is allowed to question his alleged victim. Jess Phillips said she would cut up her membership card if activist Ava Etemadzadeh, 27, is subjected to an interview by MP Kelvin Hopkins during a Labour Party investigation. Miss Etemadzadeh has accused Mr Hopkins, 76, of rubbing his crotch against her during an embrace at a political event in 2014, and sending her inappropriate texts. He denies the claims. Yesterday Miss Etemadzadeh tweeted a letter from Labour officials which said Mr Hopkins would be able to ask her direct questions by audio-link. She wrote: @jeremycorbyn has kept me anxious and waiting over my complaint, now his team suggests I should face live questions from my harasser. In the interest of future victims, I have made it clear ... that under no circumstances will I participate in any meeting of this nature. Miss Harman's views emerged as a female Labour MP vowed to resign if one of her male colleagues who is currently suspended following claims of sexual harassment, is allowed to question his alleged victim. Jess Phillips said she'd cut up her membership card if activist Ava Etemadzadeh, 27, is subjected to an interview by MP Kelvin Hopkins (above) during a Labour Party investigation Mrs Phillips lent her support, tweeting: I swear to god if this is true and I really hope its a misunderstanding I will cut up my Labour Party membership card. Fellow Labour MP Sarah Champion tweeted: In Parliament, I argue with my colleagues to prevent alleged abusers of domestic violence and coercive control cross-examine their victims how is this different? Labour later said that instead Mr Hopkins would be allowed to submit written questions to her at a hearing in front of Labours National Constitutional Committee. Miss Etemadzadeh said: It will remind me of the things I went through. I would not feel comfortable. This system written on the back of a fag packet when I made my complaint, being interpreted entirely in Kelvin Hopkins favour, is not fit for purpose. She learned of the arrangement for the hearing from emails sent to her by Labours investigating officer, she said. One said: The complainants will not be in the same room but there will be an opportunity for Kelvin to put questions to the complainants. Labour guidelines on sex harassment hearings say the complainant and defendant should not meet face to face. The party said it takes all complaints of harassment extremely seriously. A shot of cognac has sold in the UK for 10,014, setting a new world record. The 40ml serving of Rome de Bellegarde sold in London's Hyde Kensington bar on Wednesday night after it was discovered in the cellars of cognac house Jean Fillioux by fifth generation cellar master Pascal Fillioux. It is believed to be the very first blend created by Jean Fillioux in 1894. Cognac enthusiasts and industry experts were invited to the event to witness the very first pour, alongside an official adjudicator from the Guinness World Records. The 40ml serving of Rome de Bellegarde sold in London's Hyde Kensington bar Ranjeeta Dutt McGroarty, the founder and director of Trinity Natural Gas, was the first to experience the rare tipple, breaking the Guinness World Record for the price in the process. A Guinness World Records spokeswoman confirmed that Rome de Bellegarde achieved the title of the most expensive shot of cognac on Wednesday. The brand has decanted the spirit into 67 French crystal bottles. Ranjeeta Dutt McGroarty, the founder and director of Trinity Natural Gas, was the first to experience the rare tipple Rome de Bellegarde founder David Smeralda said: 'We are so excited for Rome de Bellegarde to be available for the first time in over 120 years. 'Since its discovery in 2004 this incredible batch has been destined to be enjoyed by those that love and cherish truly pure cognac.' The previous Guinness World Record for the most expensive cognac sold was for 68,000 Hong Kong dollars (7,072) at the Inter Continental Hong Kong, China, on November 9 2016. A female AFL captain who is suspended from the competition's grand final for a 'rough' tackle will take the sport's governing body to the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). Western Bulldogs captain Katie Brennan was on Wednesday found guilty of rough conduct after a tackle on Melbourne player Harriet Cordner. The 25-year-old was handed a two-game ban, ruling her out of this weekend's AFLW grand final against the Brisbane Lions. Now it's been revealed that Brennan will take the AFL to court after she filed proceedings with the AHRC on Friday. Scroll down for videos Western Bulldogs captain Katie Brennan (pictured) will take the AFL to the Australian Human Rights Commission over her suspension from the AFLW Grand Final She was on Wednesday found guilty of a rough conduct charge after a tackle on Melbourne player Harriet Cordner (pictured) She was handed a two-game ban, ruling her out this weekend's AFLW grand final against the Brisbane Lions Brennan filed the application in a bid to overturn her ban for the 2019 season and to bring AFLW regulations in line with the AFL, The Age reported. The AFL star unsuccessfully appealed her suspension on Thursday, as she attempted to 'fight the injustice and inequality to women which afflicts the AFL rules'. She argued that a male player wouldn't have been suspended for the same kind of 'sling' tackle that she performed on Cordner. Brennan said she hopes by going to the AHRC, female players in the future won't receive harsher penalties than men with identical disciplinary records who commit identical conduct. 'I believe my tackle on Harriet Cordner was reasonable and I strongly disagree with the guilty finding,' Brennan said. 'It is even more troubling to know that if I was a man playing in the AFL and was reported for the identical tackle, I would not have been suspended and I would be playing in a grand final tomorrow. Brennan will take the AFL to court after she filed proceedings with the Australian Human Rights Commission on Friday Brennan filed the application in a bid to overturn her ban for the tackle (pictured) and to bring AFLW regulations in line with the AFL The AFL star unsuccessfully appealed her suspension on Thursday, as she attempted to 'fight the injustice and inequality to women which afflicts the AFL rules' Poll Should have Katie Brennan been cleared to play in the AFLW Grand Final Yes No I don't know Should have Katie Brennan been cleared to play in the AFLW Grand Final Yes 115 votes No 194 votes I don't know 22 votes Now share your opinion 'The fight for gender equality is as every bit as important to me as the grand final and the decisions I have made reflect both of those priorities.' Responding to Brennan filing proceedings on Friday, AFL boss Gil McLachlan strongly denied the organisation was 'sexist' in its ruling. 'Saying we're sexist is unfair,' he told 3AW. '[AFLW players] play over seven weeks, not 22. There is a pay differential and that's being discussed - that's relevant here as well. The finals series is different, there are 16 players and not 18. 'So the fact that the tribunal system is different is only one of a number of differences because they're two different competitions.' Prominent AFL journalist Gerard Whateley said on AFL 360 this week that Brennan would be playing in the grand final if she was a man, and would only have picked up a $5,000 fine. He explained that Brennan only had one prior rough conduct charge, meaning a second offence would have only warranted a slightly larger penalty. Brennan said she hopes by going to the AHRC, female players in the future won't receive harsher penalties than men with identical disciplinary records who commit the same conduct Responding to Brennan filing proceedings on Friday, AFL boss Gil McLachlan (pictured with AFL Women's Commissioner Simone Wilkie) strongly denied the organisation was 'sexist' in its ruling Last year, Richmond Tigers captain Trent Cotchin also faced the prospect of missing an AFL Grand Final after he was reported for a bump on GWS Giants star Dylan Shiel (pictured) 'In the mens competition, if youre found guilty of rough conduct, careless, low impact and to the head, youre fined $3,000 at the first instance and at the second instance for the same classification, and thats what Katie was facing, its a $5,000 fine,' Mr Whateley said. Last year, Richmond Tigers captain Trent Cotchin also faced the prospect of missing an AFL Grand Final after he was reported for a bump on GWS Giants star Dylan Shiel. Cotchin faced the tribunal with two fines for classifiable sanctions already on his record. One more would have triggered an automatic one-match ban. But the bump - which saw Cotchin connect with Shiel's head, forcing the GWS player out of the game soon after with a concussion - was deemed 'not unreasonable in the circumstances', and he was allowed to play. Brennan's tackle - known as a 'sling' - pinned Cordner's arms to her side, leaving her defenceless as she was brought to the ground. Cotchin (pictured) faced the tribunal with two fines for classifiable sanctions already on his record. One more would have triggered an automatic one-match ban A Philadelphia home was once a refuge for hundreds of escaped slaves, two historians and preservationist advocates revealed. The two-bedroom, one bath townhouse, located at 625 South Delhi Street, looks like an ordinary home but in the 1850s it provided shelter to runaway slaves seeking freedom in the North. 'The hardest problem of trying to retrieve the story of the Underground Railroad is finding documentation that the sites existed,' Jim Duffin, one of the preservationists, told The Washington Post. A Philadelphia home on South Delhi Street was once an Underground Railroad refuge for hundreds of escaped slaves The house was one of the stops slaves made on their way to the North for freedom The home belonged to African American businessman and abolitionist William Still The home - now called the William & Letitia Still House - is located at 625 South Delhi Street 'This is one of the incredibly rare opportunities where we absolutely know that this site had a connection to the Underground Railroad.' Duffin, and preservation activist Oscar Beisert, said the South Delhi home used to belong to William Still, a well-known African-American businessman, abolitionist and a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Still famously documented his stories of helping hundreds of escaped slaves, including Harriet Tubman, in their flight to freedom in a book titled 'Underground Railroad'. Still died in 1902. Duffin and Beisert said the slaves Still wrote about in his book sought refuge at the home he shared with his wife, Letitia Still. The house - know called the William & Letitia Still House - has been remodeled several times, the last update being in 1920. Beisert said the stoop in front of the townhouse appears to be the original marble from the 19th century. 'We don't even have basic African-American landmarks protected in Philadelphia(so) finding that stoop where she (Tubman) potentially arrived with people from Maryland, that's what I think is really incredible about what we have here,' Beisert told the website Plan Philly. Last Friday, Duffin and Beisert successfully argued that the home should be protected by the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, meaning the home can't be demolished or significantly altered. The Philadelphia Historical Commission unanimously voted in agreement that the house be protected. The owner of the home, F&J Homes LLC, did not contest the commission's decision. Pictured is a current side-view (left) of the house and what the house used to look like in the 1850s The historians who found the house said the residence has been remodeled several times but the stoop appears to be the same marble from the 19th century Pictured is an old view of the street the house is located on A current view of South Delhi Street in Philadelphia One of the historians said he used this 1850s newspaper ad to track down the exact location of the home Still, who died in 1902, helped hundreds of slaves get to the North. He documented his stories in a book titled 'Underground Railroad' Duffin told the Washington Post that tracking down the historical home came with some difficulties. He said property records from the mid-19th century identified the street on which Still lived, but not the exact house number. The name of the street has also changed throughout the years. When Still and his wife lived there it was called Ronaldson Street. It is now known as South Delhi Street. The surrounding area has also changed dramatically. Located near the house now is a Starbucks and Whole Foods. The house is also three-stories now. Duffin told the outlet that he had almost given up trying to track down the home until he came across an 1850s newspaper advertisement for dressmaking. Duffin said Still's wife took the ad out seeking clients for her dressmaking business. In the ad she included the exact location potential customers could find her. 'From my perspective, it's a huge discovery,' Duffin said. Advertisement A life-sized animatronic Tyrannosaurus Rex burst into flames on Thursday afternoon. Zach Reynolds, the co-owner of the Royal George Dinosaur Experience in Canon City, Colorado, said he thinks the lifelike dinosaur had an electrical malfunction that caused it to catch fire. He said the T-Rex smoldered for about 10 minutes before going up in flames. Scroll down for video The co-owner of a dinosaur-themed park in southern Colorado thinks an electrical malfunction caused a life-size animatronic Tyrannosaurus Rex to burst into flames Visitors watched as the inferno spread through the dinosaur, which appeared at times to be breathing flames Visitors watched as the inferno spread through the dinosaur, which appeared at times to be breathing flames. Reynolds joked, 'We knew he had a temper, but today he blew his top.' The 24-foot-tall T-Rex, which moved and made sounds, was one of 16 dinosaurs that line the park's Wild Walk exhibit. Reynolds says it was a total loss but at least 'it made for some spectacular imagery along the way.' He hopes to have a replacement T-Rex installed by the summer. A kayaker attempting to circumnavigate New Zealand has forced a dramatic rescue off a remote beach in complete darkness. Paul Gaastra, 58, was suffering from severe hypothermia and clinging to life when he was rescued from his home-made kayak off the coast of Northland, New Zealand on Wednesday, Stuff reported. He was caught out after capsizing in rapidly rising waters, and was languishing for three hours before he was found by a rescue helicopter. Paul Gaastra, 58, was severely hypothermic and clinging to survival when he was rescued from his home-made kayak off the coast of Northland, New Zealand on Wednesday A New Zealand army aircraft landing at a nearby airbase picked up his personal locator beacon alert and raised the alarm in what was described as a 'fluke' discovery. It's not the first time Mr Gaastra has needed rescuing from his pedal-powered kayak. In August, police rescued him after he went overboard at Opotiki beach on New Zealand's North Island. He said he gave up a horticulture career in order to chase his dream of kayaking the entire coast of New Zealand. But unimpressed locals have slammed him for trying to fulfill his dream, accusing him of wasting police resources. 'I guess he isn't experienced enough to gauge his ability to the conditions and not think of the safety and cost of his rescuers,' one man wrote online. 'Hope search and rescue sends him a bill.' 'Think it's time he gave it up... free rescues?' added another. Northland Rescue Helicopter chief pilot Pete Turnbull said Gaastra was 'not in a good state' when he was saved (Pictured: Northland coast) Northland Rescue Helicopter chief pilot Pete Turnbull said Gaastra was 'not in a good state' when he was saved. 'It wasn't a powerful signal, we didn't pick it up until were two miles away,' Mr Turnbull said. 'It was a fluke an aircraft landing at Whenuapai picked it up and alerted the Rescue Coordination Centre and notified Coastguard.' Andrew Ferguson, an advanced paramedic and rescue swimmer, was lowered down to rescue Gaastra from the sea. 'This canoeist was found just in time. The helicopter rescue crew believed he had been in the water for two hours and had a very close call,' Mr Ferguson said. Mr Gaastra was flown to Whangarei Hospital in a serious condition, but was discharged on Thursday. Advertisement White farmers in South Africa have the most dangerous job in the country, are twice as likely to be murdered than police and are killed at four times the rate of the wider community, a rights group claims. This week, as the government moves to seize all white-owned land without compensation, civil rights organisation AfriForum claimed there had been 109 attacks which left 15 white farm workers dead so far this year. This follows 82 killings and 423 attacks in 2016, though none of the figures can be verified because the South African government has refused to release farm murder statistics since 2007. Some of the killings are reported to have been barbaric, with farm owners tortured, raped, burned alive and slaughtered in front of their families. Scroll down for video White farmers in South Africa have the most dangerous job in the country, according to civil rights group AfriForum. This man is seen standing on his porch as he describes how he was having breakfast when he was attacked on his farm South African opposition party Congress of the People leader Mosiuoa Lekota (R) and members of the South African civil society organisation AfriForum march to raise awareness on farm attacks in November, 2017 Farm attack victims are usually restrained with shoe laces, telephone wires or electric cables, according to a previous AfriForum report. Some have had their nails pulled out, had boiling water poured over their bodies and been beaten to death with makeshift weapons. 'Some of the murders have been accompanied by gratuitous violence and torture that can only be explained as racial hatred,' Australian National University international law expert Associate Professor Jolyon Ford told SBS. In January this year, 86-year-old Piet Els and his partner Rikkie Alsemgeest were the alleged victims of a brutal attack which saw four black men storm their farm, beat them with steel pipes and burn them with an iron. Piet Els and his partner Rikkie Alsemgeest were the alleged victims of a brutal attack which saw four black men storm their farm A farmer speaks to South African police after an incident in which a worker was held at gunpoint and a chainsaw was stolen in November last year 'They tied me to a chair and came with a steam iron they found in the kitchen and burned me,' Ms Alsemgeest told The Daily Telegraph. 'Piet, they burned on his back in three or four places and burned on the back of his leg. They stripped off his skin... I thought Piet was dead because he was lying on the floor. 'They put a cloth in my face and tied me to the chair. They stripped off my top. I was naked. They put some tape over my face and eyes. They took my breast and twisted, humiliating me, not saying a word.' This week, a 40-year-old farm manager was tied up and hacked to death by a group of attackers, according to local reports. His wife was said to have been raped. A protester holds a bible as he speaks to South African farmers & farm workers gathered at a demonstration to protest against farmer murders in the country in October last year Pictures posted to the Stop Farm Attacks & Murders in South Africa Facebook page show the horrific injuries inflicted on farmers Earlier this month, a woman was allegedly 'repeatedly and violently' sexually assaulted in front of her young son as five attackers stormed the family farm. The group tied the family up in separate rooms and told the woman they would harm her husband if she didn't comply, according to AfriForum. The brother of another South African farm owner who witnessed his murder spoke to Australian activist Avi Yemini on Friday. 'I could see the fear in his eyes before he was shot. Then I tried to convince myself that my brother was one of the lucky ones... His fear was only for a few minutes,' he said. 'There are people that are being tortured for nine hours and through the night.' The South African government denies white people are deliberately targeted and says farm murders are part of South Africa's wider violent crime problem. Members of the South African civic organisation, Afriforum and others carry crosses used for a demonstration against farm murders Afriforum claims 156 commercial farmers are killed per 100,000 of the population, more than four times the wider murder rate of 34 per 100,000. The group said it is forced to compile its own statistics because the government stopped releasing its own figures more than 10 years ago. 'Although the South African government denies that a violence crisis is staring rural areas in the face, the numbers prove that excessive violence plague these areas,' Ian Cameron, AfriForum's head of security, said. 'The government cannot deny the facts - our people are being mowed down... Our rural areas are trapped in a crime war.' AfriForum claimed there had been 109 attacks which left 15 white farm workers dead so far this year. A South African security company worker is seen taking his dogs out for a training session Another image posted on the Stop Farm Attacks & Murders in South Africa Facebook page shows this man's horrific injuries Ernst Roets, AfriForum's vice president, said last year 'political factors' were fuelling the violent attacks. 'We are concerned about hate speech, political leaders who... would say for example ''the white farmers should be blamed for everything'',' he said. The situation has worsened since the ruling African National Congress joined with the Economic Freedom Fighters party (EFF) earlier this month and announced a motion to confiscate white-owned land without compensation. EFF leader Julius Malema, who was previously convicted of hate speech for singing the outlawed apartheid-era song 'Shoot the Farmer,' said two weeks ago: 'We are starting with this whiteness. We are cutting the throat of whiteness.' South African farmers and farm workers are seen training in the use of firearms and self defence in October last year EFF leader Julius Malema said two weeks ago: 'We are starting with this whiteness. We are cutting the throat of whiteness' On Wednesday, he urged white South Africans to 'go and live in a racist country like Australia' in front of a cheering crowd during a Human Rights Day rally in Mpumalanga. 'A racist country like Australia says, ''EFF wants to kill white farmers they must come to Australia''. If they want to go, they must go. They must leave the keys of the tractors because we want to work the land. 'They must leave the keys of the houses, because we want to live in those houses. They must leave everything that they did not come with to South Africa.' He went on to say anyone who immigrated to South Africa from Australia must 'leave quietly' and added: 'Don't make a noise because you will irritate us.' Australia's Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton last week announced controversial plans to fast-track white South African farmers through Australia's refugee program. White South Africans own over 70 per cent of the country's farm land, according to a 2017 government audit On Wednesday, Malema urged xenophobes to 'go and live in a racist country like Australia' in front of a cheering crowd during a Human Rights Day rally in Mpumalanga 'If you look at the footage and read the stories, you hear the accounts, it's a horrific circumstance they face,' Mr Dutton told the Daily Telegraph. 'We have the potential to help some of these people that are being persecuted.' Mr Dutton directed his department to explore whether the farmers can be accepted into Australia through refugee, humanitarian or other visas, including the in-country persecution visa category. 'I do think on the information that I've seen, people do need help, and they need help from a civilised country like ours,' Mr Dutton said. Australia's Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton last week announced controversial plans to fast-track white South African farmers through Australia's refugee program Protesters hold a banner during a demonstration by South African farmers and farm workers in October last year Australian Greens leader Senator Di Natale said Mr Dutton was invoking the White Australia policy, questioning the difference between the white South African farmers and the 700,000 Rohingya people forced from their homes. 'The difference is that they are white and that the other communities who are suffering - and we're talking about an ethnic cleansing in Myanmar right now - that they're not white,' Senator Di Natale told Sky News. Mr Dutton insists he is blind to skin colour and will continue to bring in migrants based on the national interest. 'It concerns me that people are being persecuted at the moment - that's the reality - the numbers of people dying or being savagely attacked in South Africa is a reality,' he said. Palm tree farmer and farm estate agent, Uwe Kroh, 62, who is part of the community security watch, sits at his home last year Money to be refunded to motorists as part of reform on compulsory third party car insurance could end up back in the government's bank account. Drivers have been eligible to claim between $10 and $125 under the shake-up, which followed a reduction in the cost of green slips in December. The New South Wales state government revealed it would release $300 million worth of refunds, but has applied a specific set of rules to the application process, Daily Telegraph reported. The New South Wales state Government will release $300 million worth of refunds, but drivers should be weary of the application process's specific set of rules Motorists could be eligible for a partial refund of what they paid if they were a registered owner of a private vehicle between December 2016 and midnight November 30 last year. And they will need to create an account on MyServiceNSW before lodging a claim. Refunds can then only be applied for over night, after 7pm and before 7am, from Monday to Saturday, and at any time on Sunday. The application process also comes with its own administration fee, which would render applicants ineligible for a refund if their claim is $10. Motorists will need to create an account on MyServiceNSW and lodge their claim during night time hours Monday to Saturday, or any time on Sunday Drivers have been asked to exercise patience will submitting their claim, as the high volume of users had caused technical delays on the website. Refunds could take up to ten days to be processed before arriving in the nominated bank account, with unclaimed refunds to go towards a new motor accidents scheme. Applications will only be accepted up until September 1, with funds not handed out to go towards helping people injured in car accidents. The president's former chief strategist Steve Bannon has dismissed claims that Cambridge Analytica's work for Donald Trump's campaign played a role in the 2016 election win. Facebook came under further pressure from lawmakers, investors, advertisers and users on Thursday, the day after Mark Zuckerberg admitted the social media network made mistakes in letting 50 million users' data get into the hands of political consultancy Cambridge Analytica. Bannon, who helped create Cambridge Analytica, said the consultancy firm just took Facebook data that was already widely available. 'That is Facebook's business model,' he added. 'They take your stuff for free and sell it and monetize it for huge margins . . . then they write algorithms and run your life,' Bannon told the Financial Times during the Future of News conference in New York. The president's former chief strategist Steve Bannon (pictured on Thursday) has dismissed claims that Cambridge Analytica's work for Donald Trump's campaign played a role in the 2016 election win Bannon then claimed that liberals and 'the opposition media' have just been looking for excuses to explain Hillary Clinton's election loss Bannon then claimed that liberals and 'the opposition media' have just been looking for excuses to explain Hillary Clinton's election loss. 'Here's what won it for Trump economic nationalism and talking in a plain voice to the American people.' Shortly after his interview with the Financial Times, Bannon told CNN: 'That Facebook data, by the way, is for sale all over the world. I don't remember buying it. That was the Cambridge guy.' Bannon was ousted from the White House last August. In January, Bannon stepped down as executive chairman of right-wing news site, Breitbart News, he drew fire from Trump for harshly criticizing his eldest son. He also commented on the recent departures at the White House, saying he doesn't believe Trump would appoint another chief of staff if John Kelly were to leave. 'If Kelly leaves I don't believe there will be another chief of staff instead there will be five or six reports like in Trump Tower.' Bannon also had a few things to say about Zuckerberg, who apologized on Wednesday about the reports of data misuse. Bannon was ousted from the White House last August. In January, Bannon stepped down as executive chairman of right-wing news site, Breitbart News, he drew fire from Trump for harshly criticizing his eldest son Bannon also had a few things to say about Zuckerberg (pictured), who apologized on Wednesday about the reports of data misuse 'His entire business model is made up upon taking that data for free and monetizing it, and then writing algorithms behind a wall that treat you like hamsters on a wheel. That's their business model,' Bannon said. He later added that Zuckerberg sounded 'like a first-year associate' during his interviews, in which 'nobody asked a tough follow-up question'. US lawmakers have demanded Zuckerberg personally testify in Washington to explain his company's actions. Zuckerberg said in media interviews on Thursday that he would be willing to testify if he is the right person at the company to speak to lawmakers. Meanwhile, advertisers Mozilla and Commerzbank suspended ads on the service and the hashtag #DeleteFacebook remained popular online, although it was hard to tell how many users are abandoning Facebook. In light of those concerns, investors continued to sell off Facebook shares, although not at the pace of earlier in the week. They closed on Thursday at $164.89, down 2.7 per cent. The S&P 500 Index was down 2.5 per cent on the day. Facebook shares closed at $185.09 on Friday. The company has lost more than $50 billion in market value since the allegations emerged this week. Michael Barrymore (pictured outside the High Court) is soon to return to ITV for the first time since he was axed from the channel 16 years ago Michael Barrymore is soon to return to ITV for the first time since he was axed from the channel 16 years ago. The TV star, 65, enjoyed great success with the channel, presenting shows like Lucky Strike and Blankety Blank. But he was dropped by TV bosses in 2002 after Stuart Lubbock, 31, was found dead in the swimming pool of his Essex home. Barrymore will be back on our screens at Easter to present an ITV3 documentary about the late Larry Grayson, who he used to perform before on The Generation Game. Larry Grayson: Shut That Door will see Barrymore exploring the life and times of one of Britain's best loved entertainers. It will provide unrestricted access to Grayson's personal archives, family photographs and unpublished autobiography. Before his death in 1995, Grayson presented the iconic show from 1978, replacing the late Bruce Forsyth. In the documentary, Barrymore tells of how much he learned from him and recalls going to parties he threw in Paignton, Devon, while he was still a hairdreser. The 65-year-old says in a clip: 'He had an amazing career out of just being Larry Grayson. He was unique. I was warm-up man for him. 'He fumbled his way through the programme, you were never sure he was going to get through to the end of the show in one piece. But he always did.' He gets to visit his dressing room at the famous London Palladium where he starred in the 1974 production Grayson's Sandals, adding: 'I know what the feeling is like, it is pretty amazing.' The TV star (pictured in his hey day), 65, enjoyed large success with the channel, presenting shows like Lucky Strike and Blankety Blank. But he was dropped by TV bosses in 2002 after Stuart Lubbock, 31, was found dead in the swimming pool of his Essex home Barrymore is currently pursuing a 20million legal battle against police for his wrongful arrest over Stephen Lubbock's death. His claim is calculated to compensate him for losing 17 years of lucrative TV roles he believes he missed out on due to bad publicity, reported The Mail on Sunday. Before his career was derailed by the 2001 scandal, Barrymore was one of Britains most popular entertainers. He believes that if he had not been arrested in 2007 over the death of Stuart Lubbock, he would have been a prime candidate for plum roles such as hosting Strictly Come Dancing. He was later released by police without charge. A source close to Barrymore said: All Michael wants is to get what he deserved. An open verdict was recorded over Mr Lubbocks death at Barrymores home in Essex. A tribe seized a newborn baby after a Native American woman gave birth to a child with her white partner. Rebecca Sanders was at Baptist Hospital, Florida, after giving birth to her daughter Ingrid Ronan Johnson, when Miccosukee tribal detectives and Miami-Dade officers entered with a court order and took the newborn. Sanders and her baby's father, Justin Johnson, spent the next four days desperately trying to get their little girl back. They say the court order came from Sanders' mother Betty Osceola who wanted to keep Johnson out of her granddaughter's life. The tribal order granted Osceola full custody of Ingrid. Justin Johnson and his Miccosukee girlfriend, Rebecca Sanders, who gave birth to baby Ingrid Ronan Johnson on March 16, only to see the baby whisked away by Miccosukee Police Video courtesy Local 10 'I'm still trying to wrap my head around how this has happened,' Johnson said. 'I can't even begin to explain how hard this has been. I don't see how people of the Miccosukee tribe can look me in the face and tell me this is OK.' Now the tribal court on the Miccosukee reservation have overturned the decision and ruled that the baby must be returned to the new parents. Miami-Dade says its officers were misled. 'I'm beyond ecstatic,' Johnson said. It wasn't immediately clear when the child would be returned. Just two days after giving birth to baby Ingrid, the little girl was taken away from her parents on a court order Now the tribal court on the Miccosukee reservation have overturned the decision and ruled that the baby must be returned to the new parents But it's been a harrowing experience for the new parents who haven't seen their daughter since she was born. Sanders, 28, said she too feels like she has no rights. 'I thought the tribe was to protect its people, not use its own rulings to control its people,' she told the Miami Herald. No phone listing could be found for Osceola in a public records search by the Associated Press Fort Lauderdale attorney Bradford Cohen, who represents Sanders, said the baby was missing critical bonding time with her mother. 'We don't know the health of the baby. We don't know if she is receiving proper care,' Cohen said. Authorities are reviewing what happened at the hospital, which said in a statement that its officials followed a court order. Miami-Dade police said its officers were asked to provide backup while tribal officers executed a 'federal court order,' but the order came from the tribe, not the federal government. Justin Johnson and Rebecca Sanders were emotional as they described how their baby was taken away from them - and still hasn't been returned The tribe's police chief hasn't returned a phone call from The Associated Press. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said in a tweet on Wednesday night that the tribe used its court to 'kidnap' the baby. 'They don't have any jurisdiction outside reservation,' Rubio tweeted. 'I'm in contact with fed officials & this won't end well for tribe if they don't' return child asap.' Baby Ingrid's parents have had conflicts and said they are no longer a couple, but remain amicable and plan to co-parent the girl. The Herald reports Sanders was arrested three years ago for misdemeanor battery on Johnson, and she told the newspaper her mother had pressured her to get a restraining order barring Johnson from the reservation. Sanders said her mother became agitated when she saw Johnson at the hospital, and that Osceola had hospital security remove him. Johnson said he wouldn't leave until he saw his baby. 'I remember kissing her forehead and telling her, 'Daddy will see you soon,' Johnson said. 'I haven't seen my daughter since.' A senior Sinn Fein politician has revealed a notorious paedophile priest physically abused him when he was a schoolboy and tried to sexually groom him. Conor Murphy has recounted how the late Malachy Finnegan dragged him into an office and savagely beat him with a stick before asking a series of explicit questions, including whether he loved him. In an exclusive interview with the Press Association, Mr Murphy outlined his experiences in the late 1970s at the hands of Finnegan at St Colman's College in Newry, Co Down. Sinn Fein assembly member Conor Murphy has revealed how notorious paedophile priest Fr Malachy Finnegan attempted to groom him sexually in the late 1970s Mr Murphy, who attended St Colman's from 1975 to 1980, said he was angry that no one in authority stopped Finnegan's reign of abuse, despite his sexual interest in young boys being common knowledge within the school. He has demanded a full investigation. The high-profile politician is the latest former pupil of St Colman's to reveal their treatment at the hands of the abusive and sadistic cleric, whom he described as a 'violent, volatile, bullying drunkard'. 'I think it was just before the end of our third year, I was a 14-year-old, and there was a bit of ruckus going on in the class we were in and Finnegan burst into the room,' the Newry and Armagh Assembly member told PA. 'He singled me out, he dragged me out by the hair, by the crown of your head, dragged me along the corridor, up two flights of stairs into his room and then he beat me with a stick on the hands and about the body. 'He was always prone to more violence than was perhaps to do with discipline. 'And then he suddenly flipped, as I was almost expecting, he sat me down and started asking me personal questions - did I smoke, did I drink? Bear in mind I was 14. Did I go out with girls? Did I masturbate? Did I love him? This type of conversation. 'I can't remember my responses but I wasn't shocked by the conversation, because I had been forewarned by other pupils that this was what was likely to happen.' Finnegan worked in the school from 1967 to 1987. He has also been accused of abusing children in later years during his time as a priest for the Clonduff parish in Hilltown, Co Down. He died in 2002. The full extent of his crimes has only emerged in recent months. Mr Murphy said his experience 'paled into insignificance' compared to those men who have come forward to say they were sexually abused by Finnegan. He said he was going public with his story to reassure others that they would be believed if they wanted to break their silence. The Sinn Fein MLA said while at the time he was not aware that Finnegan was sexually abusing fellow pupils, everyone in the school knew about the explicit conversations he would try to instigate. 'We knew it was wrong, it was inappropriate, that it was not natural for a man, particularly a priest, to behave in that fashion,' he said. Mr Murphy said he was unaware that fellow pupils were being sexually abused, he and his friends were aware about the sexually explicit conversations Finnegan would attempt to start 'This was the late 70s, we were 14-year-olds, we didn't understand paedophilia, we didn't understand it was essentially a grooming exercise. 'But we knew quite a few pupils had gone through it. We didn't know that he had sexually abused boys but we knew and understood that he had an unhealthy interest and the way you approached that conversation was to shut down and try to get out of that office as quickly as you could.' He said Finnegan's violence was not about simply disciplining pupils. 'His was different, his was a violent attack, he would assault people,' he said. 'It was also evident to me that he was drinking very heavily. I was only a kid but I had worked in a bar from when I was 12 years old and I knew. He would appear in the corridor in the mornings with his shoe laces undone, his vest hanging out underneath his shirt, the eyes bloodshot and quite aggressive. 'He would launch an attack if someone was coming up the corridor with their tie not straight they were liable to get thumped in the face for it. That was going on as a matter of course through my time there.' He added: 'As time went on students themselves got to know that he had an unhealthy interest in young boys and that if you were in the room alone with him that he was liable to ask you very inappropriate questions and display an inordinate interest in your sexual development as a child. 'I didn't know what a paedophile was, we didn't know what the behaviour of a paedophile was, but as an adult looking back it was fairly obvious to us that these were the classic symptoms of paedophilia.' With the knowledge so widespread among the boys in the school, Mr Murphy has asked why no one in authority intervened. He said the Catholic Church, the school authorities and the wider education authorities all had questions to answer. 'They left him to abuse people without any interference probably across two generations of boys,' he said. 'I am angry that a man who was a violent, aggressive bully, a drunkard with an unhealthy interest in children, and that was obvious, was allowed to be a principal of a school, was allowed to be teacher in a school over a long number of years, allowed access to young boys. 'And bear in mind a lot of boys boarded in that school as well, it wasn't just the day pupils. He had opportunity and access to people in the evenings who stayed and lived in the school.' He added: 'There was a system of administration in that school over a long number of years which allowed a paedophile to flourish, gave him authority, not only over all of the pupils, but gave him authority over the staff as well and put him in a position where he could abuse people and that needs to be explored, it needs to be investigated, it needs to be enquired into. Answers are needed.' Mr Murphy, who has made a statement to lawyers representing victims of Finnegan's abuse, said he hoped his story would help to validate the accounts of others who have come forward. 'I believe those people when they say they were sexually abused and I hope if others were sexually abused that they do come forward with their story,' he said. 'I hope me speaking publicly maybe gives some people confidence to come forward, and that's the purpose of me speaking. 'It's not to draw any degree of sympathy for myself but it's actually to encourage others and to say that we believe those who say they were sexually abused, we know the pattern in the school.' The Catholic Church has described Finnegan's abuse as 'abhorrent' while St Colman's College has said it condemns in the 'strongest possible terms the physical, sexual and emotional abuse inflicted by Malachy Finnegan'. Police have released dash cam footage showing the striking moment officers chase a carjacking suspect at 120 miles down the highway before he turns out and crashes into a ditch. The chase started around 4am Saturday when cops came across a man and woman, allegedly Natalie Adams and Ryan Shaw, breaking into cars in Edmond, Oklahoma. Officers managed to catch, subdue and arrest Adams, but Shaw managed to get into one of the stolen vehicles and speed away, headed north on the highway, according to Oklahoma News 4. The chase started around 4am Saturday when cops came across a man and woman, allegedly Natalie Adams and Ryan Shaw, breaking into cars in Edmond, Oklahoma Another police car then took off after him for a few minutes before eventually giving up the chase because he was driving over 100mph and had crossed into Logan County. The officer took the plate number and alerted other officers in the area to the stolen vehicle. Within 30 minutes he came back into Edmond and two patrol cars immediately began chasing him again. 'They are going about 120pmh, headed back into Edmond, you can see the suspect going through all the intersections without braking into Fairfax drive,' Edmond Officer Jennifer Wagnon can be heard saying. The footage shows the car speeding down the road at the high speed, blowing through several intersections. The squad car at the front of the pack can then be seen attempting to bump the suspect's tire to force him to spin out onto the road ahead of them and stop the chase. The footage shows the car speeding down the road at the high speed, blowing through several intersections The squad car at the front of the pack can then be seen attempting to bump the suspect's tire to force him to spin out onto the road ahead of them and stop the chase But instead the SUV mounted a curb, rammed through a fence and then plunged 10 feet down into a ditch. Shaw refused to exit the car, and put his hands in his waistband to make himself more difficult to grab, so officers were forced to pull him out through the sunroo He came out with his arms swinging and decked one of the officers, initiating a fight between the pair. The officer eventually battled Shaw to the ground, suffering a broken hand in the scuffle (right) But instead the SUV mounted a curb, rammed through a fence and then plunged 10 feet down into a ditch. Shaw refused to exit the car, and put his hands in his waistband to make himself more difficult to grab, so officers were forced to pull him out through the sunroof. He came out with his arms swinging and decked one of the officers, initiating a fight between the pair. The officer eventually battled Shaw to the ground, suffering a broken hand in the scuffle. 'You can see the fight and what it took to take him into custody,' Wagnon said. 'Like we say, police work is not pretty. This is what we are dealing with on a very regular basis.' Officers searched the car and found methamphetamine, heroin, multiple syringes, and stolen credit cards, among other things. Wagon also said the vehicle he was driving was believed to be stolen out of Edmond on March 5. A young mum who said she could not even afford a coffee has won more than $20 million in the lottery. The woman, from Lewisham in Sydney's inner west, was in shock when Powerball officials called her to confirm the win after Thursday night's draw. As well a winning the $20million division one entry, the mother also won division two's PowerHit 19 times - taking her grand total to $20,552,555.15. A young Sydney mother has won more than $20million in the Powerball Lotto 'When I told my husband, I almost gave him a heart attack. I was calling him from the other room. 'I ran up to him and said "I think Ive just won Powerball it says it here",' she said, according to The Daily Telegraph. The woman said it had been 'struggle after struggled' for their family recently, and her husband had to scrounge around in his car just to buy her a coffee. 'I couldnt afford a daily coffee then, but I might go buy a cafe now,' she said. She now hopes her family can afford to buy a home rather than renting. Advertisement These heartbreaking photographs show more than one hundred whales washed up on a bloodied Western Australian beach and most of them are already thought to be dead. Distressed locals in Hamelin Bay rushed to the seafront when they spotted 150 short-finned pilot whales, some of which had crashed into rocks on the beach. One woman told the Daily Mail Australia when they initially got to the beach, they assumed all the animals were dead before noticing some were still desperately trying to get back into the water. But, the whales who survived being washed up were caught on blood-soaked rocks or stuck behind dead animals, unable to move. A warning has been issued for people not to get in the water, with experts fearing deadly sharks could encroach on the shoreline to feast on the carcasses. Dozens of whales are seen washed up on the Western Australian beach. At least half are dead and the surviving animals cannot get back to the sea because they are trapped either by rocks or carcasses More than 150 whales are stranded and 75 are estimated to be dead on Hamelin Bay, 10km north of Augusta on the Western Australia coast More than 150 short-finned pilot whales beached en masse in Australia on March 23 with at least half dying as rescuers worked to herd them back out to sea The whales were spotted by distressed locals who captured images of the stranded animals washed up on the picturesque coastal waters Rescuers with cranes could only save six survivors, according toABC, and they were helped back into the open sea. They used hammocks to carry the whales, who can weigh up to four tons, a kilometre down the beach and volunteers were seen in the water in an attempt to coax the animals back into the water. It is not known why the whales washed up on the beach, but it is thought they were following subtropical waters around the coast. The species typically follow one alpha when finding the warmer waters, and it seems it's relatively common for the leader to misjudge shoreline and end up on the beach en masse, according to the Telegraph. Today's incident is the biggest mass stranding in Western Australia since 1996 when 320 long-finned pilot whales beached themselves. In 2009, nine years ago to the exact day, more than 80 whales and dolphins died in a similar case in Hamelin Bay. Three years ago there was another incident involving 20 whales who all died after becoming stranded in Bunbury, South West Australia. Leaarne Hollowood from Margaret River jumped out of bed to the scene when she heard about the whales on Friday morning. She described the dreadful moment she discovered the whales swept up on the beach. 'It was horrific, at first I thought they were all dead and that it was just the waves moving them around,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'As we got closer, I realised a lot were still alive, trapped on the rocks or in front of other dead whales, I just felt so helpless.' 'I just wanted to comfort them and help them...I couldn't bare to watch and not help, a lot of tears.' A shark alert was released by the Western Australian Government advising beaches between Hamelin Bay and Boranup were closed. 'A shark advice has been issued due to multiple whale carcasses being reported at Hamelin Bay, near the town of Augusta,' the shark advice alert states. Parks and wildlife incident controller Jeremy Chick said the main priorities were to ensure the welfare of the remaining live whales and the safety of everyone involved in the operation before any rescue attempt was made to herd the whales back out to sea. Rescue workers can be seen in the background working to free the whales who had washed up on the beach in Western Australia A shark advice was issued by the Western Australian Government advising beaches between Hamelin Bay and Boranup were closed Parks and wildlife incident controller Jeremy Chick said the main priorities were to ensure the welfare of the remaining live whales and the safety of everyone involved Parks and Wildlife said the strength of the animals and the windy and possibly wet weather conditions would impact when they attempt to move them out to sea 'The strength of the animals and the windy and possibly wet weather conditions will affect when and where we attempt to move them out to sea,' he said. 'The main objectives are to ensure the safety of staff and volunteers as well as the whales' greatest chance of survival.' Ms Hollowood said she would be going back to the scene on Friday afternoon to help. 'Heading back there now, she said...apparently they need more people with wetsuits to help,' she said. A knife-wielding would-be robber who held up a service station is being hunted by police. The staff member at the station in Heritage Park in Queensland was threatened with a kitchen knife and demanded to hand over cash. Police have released vision of the terrifying moment of the incident which took place on November 20, 2017. The terrifying moment a would-be robber brandished a knife at a store attendant in a Queensland service station was captured on CCTV As the man flees for safety in a room next door the woman prepares to jump over the counter She climbed through the wires and tried to open the till but failed and left the store empty handed The store attendant managed to lock himself in an office as the woman jumped over the counter and tried to take money from the till. It happened at around 2.45am and police are now trying to track down the woman who they wish to speak to. She managed to climb through the wires and tried to open the till but failed and left the store empty handed and nobody was injured. The woman, described as aged in her 20s and of Caucasian appearance, was wearing a black hooded jumper with a white T-shirt underneath. She was of a slim build and had long blonde hair The woman, described as aged in her 20s and of Caucasian appearance, was wearing a black hooded jumper with a white T-shirt underneath Police said they are trying to hunt down the woman described as aged in her 20s with long blonde hair A spokesman for Queensland Police Service said: 'Police are urging anyone who knows the identity of this woman, or may have information pertaining to her whereabouts, to come forward. 'The 32-year-old male employee immediately locked himself in an adjoining room. 'The woman then climbed through the wire counter barrier and attempted to remove money from behind the counter, but failed. 'She left the scene without obtaining any cash or property.' Witnesses or anyone who recognises the woman is asked to contact Policelink on 131 444 or provide information using the online form. Alternatively, report crime anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via crimestoppersqld.com.au It happened at around 2.45am at a service station in Heritage Park but nobody was injured Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been accused of using retirees who are not really struggling in an ad slamming Labor's tax policies. Former independent MP Rob Oakeshott challenged Mr Turnbull on Twitter after the prime minister posted the video on Thursday. The video featured four retirees sharing their concerns about Labor's plan to stop cash rebates given for an excess of imputation credits. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been accused of using retirees who are not really struggling in an ad slamming Labor's tax policies (pictured is the Coalition ad) Former independent MP Rob Oakeshott challenged Mr Turnbull on Twitter after the prime minister posted the video on Thursday (pictured is the original 'fake tradie') 'Prime Minister, I know individuals personally in your video,' replied Mr Oakeshott on Twitter (pictured) One of the people from the video was a successful accountant, while the other was a Telecom public relations manager, according to The Guardian. 'Australians right across the country are worried about Labor's new tax on their savings,' Mr Turnbull wrote while sharing the video. 'Yesterday, I sat down with a group of retirees, some on the pension, to hear first hand their concerns.' 'Prime Minister, I know individuals personally in your video,' replied Mr Oakeshott. The video featured four retirees sharing their concerns about Labor's plan to stop cash rebates given for an excess of imputation credits (pictured is the Coalition ad) 'Australians right across the country are worried about Labor's new tax on their savings,' Mr Turnbull wrote while sharing the video (pictured is the Coalition ad) 'Are you honestly saying well known, respected, former businessmen in Port Macquarie are your examples of those "most in need" in Australia?' Mr Oakeshott later said he was disappointed Mr Turnbull did not meet retirees who are 'genuinely in need' in order to shape his own tax policies. 'He sat in a room and talked to eight to 10 people who are not the genuinely needy, and are not in a position to talk about the overall tax policies we need for the future,' he said. Mr Oakeshott later said he was disappointed Mr Turnbull did not meet retirees who are 'genuinely in need' in order to shape his own tax policies (pictured is the Coalition ad) In the video one of the retirees called labor's new policies 'a cynical cash grab' while another said it was unfair to change the rules. 'How can you tax retirees, pensioners or people that have even planned for their future,' asked another. Poll Do you think the ad was dishonest? Yes No I don't know Do you think the ad was dishonest? Yes 115 votes No 40 votes I don't know 6 votes Now share your opinion 'I really think Labor should think again because they are affecting a lot more people than they even know,' she said. A 2016 election ad sparked a similar controversy when a tradesman was accused of being fake. The tradesman said in the ad Labor leader Bill Shorten 'wants to go to war' with the economy and 'even someone like me who just wants to get an investment property'. Internet users accused the Coalition of using a 'fake tradie' and questioned whether he was really struggling, pointing to his luxury watch valued at $7,250. The advertisement was widely mocked but days later Daily Mail Australia exclusively revealed the man was the real deal: a ute-driving metalworker and former electrical supervisor named Andrew MacRae. Five students who survived the Parkland massacre are featured on Time magazine's new cover just days before March for Our Lives - a protest organized by the activists to challenge current gun legislation. In the center of the cover stands Emma Gonzalez - a high school senior who gained notoriety after her impassioned speech about gun violence just days after the shooting - with her arms crossed across the chest. The headline reads 'ENOUGH' in capital letters with four other student activists - Jaclyn Corin, Alex Wind, Cameron Kasky and David Hogg - featured on either side of Gonzalez. The five students have vocalized the need for gun reform from politicians after Nikolas Cruz walked into Marjory Stoneman High School in Parkland, Florida, and killed 17 people with an AR-15. The student activists' next movement will happen Saturday during the March for Our Lives protest in Washington DC and other cities worldwide. Time magazine unveiled it's cover this week featuring five students from Marjory Stoneman High School in Parkland, Florida. Pictured left to right: Students and March for Our Lives organizers Jaclyn Corin, Alex Wind, Emma Gonzalez, Cameron Kasky and David Hogg Emma Gonzalez has become a prominent voice from Marjory Stoneman High School in Parkland, Florida, after the shooting. She has worked with other students to rally against the NRA and politicians who support loose gun legislation March for Our Lives was organized by #NeverAgain, a movement created by student Cameron Kasky, and gun control organization Everytown for Gun Safety. The march is encouraging students and adults to show up in Washington DC, and other cities, to protest current gun laws in the United States. As of Thursday evening, there were 832 'sibling marches' created worldwide to show support for the main event in Washington DC. This is one of the many events the five students from Parkland have organized since a school shooting devastated their community. Just last week, students across the country left their classrooms for 17 minutes to honor the 17 people who were shot and killed. The Time magazine feature covered what made these five students, and others, use their voices to promote change in the country despite most of them not being of age to vote, drink, or serve in the army. 'Surviving is the easy part,' writes 14-year-old Caspen Becher, a freshman who is part of the Douglas JROTC program, for Time magazine. 'Learning to live again is the hard part.' David Hogg is one of five students from Parkland featured on the Time magazine cover. He has helped organize the March for Our Lives and other events to promote gun reform in the US Pictured is Cameron Kasky (L) and Jaclyn Corin (R) on the Today show on Monday. They were also featured on the cover and will be in DC this Saturday for the March for Our Lives protest Since the shooting, organizations such as Delta Airlines and Enterprise Rent-A-Car have distanced themselves from the NRA - which has been targeted as an enemy against safer gun laws by the student activists. Also, stores such as Walmart, Fred Meyer and Kroger have changed their policies for what types of guns they sell and to whom they sell them to. The students are now setting their sights on Washington to see what change can occur with a march this large. But conservatives have blasted the magazine cover after it was revealed on Thursday saying it was missing the other side of the debate, the pro-gun students from Parkland. One student in particular who some have argued deserved to be on the cover is Kyle Kashuv. He has also garnered followers across the country for his own activism since the shooting. But he differs from the five students on the cover because he has advocated for gun laws that do not target the NRA. Conservatives have questioned why Kyle Kashuv (pictured left) or other students on the pro-gun side of the debate were not asked to join the cover of Time magazine. Kashuv has also stood out as a student activist since the shooting, but he is focused on protecting the core of the second amendment Kashuv is calling for bipartisan legislation, similar to the other students, but has been meeting with republican politicians in efforts to help protect the core of the second amendment. But the magazine chose to focus on the five students who are challenging lawmakers to cast aside their relationship with the NRA and consider stronger gun laws. Time wrote in its decision to feature the five student activists on its cover: 'On the surface, they're not so different from previous generations of idealistic teenagers who set out to change the world, only to find it is not so easy. 'Yet over the past month, these students have become the central organizers of what may turn out to be the most powerful grassroots gun-reform movement in nearly two decades. 'For much of the rest of the country, numbed and depressed by repeated mass shootings, the question has become, Can these kids actually do it?' A man who went missing for five months after an argument with his wife and missed the birth of his child has been revealed to be living overseas. Perth restaurant owner Yi Sun, 35, was last seen arguing with his heavily pregnant wife at his establishment on Barrack Street in Perth's CBD at lunchtime on October 15. He stormed off on foot leaving his wallet and keys behind, and his wife reported him missing three weeks later. Perth restaurant owner Yi Sun, 35, was last seen arguing with his heavily pregnant wife Detective Senior Constable Chris Hitchen said he didn't contact his wife or family for five months. 'His wife recently gave birth to a child, during which time he's had no contact with her or the child,' he told the ABC. Western Australia Police appealed for information on Mr Sun's whereabouts, and a day later they found out he was now living overseas. Police 'no longer have concerns for his welfare' after receiving the new information. He has a history of going missing for periods at a time, and police said that was why his wife took a few weeks to report his disappearance. 'Previously he was absent for a period of about eight days and then returned,' Mr Hitchen said. Mr Sun's family from China visited Australia during the time he was absent but were unable to make contact with him. Rodney Peter Vlahov (pictured), was found dead on a property Friday morning, 70 kilometres from where he was alleged to have killed his accountant, Phillip Chamberlain A man who was wanted in relation to the fatal shooting of an accountant has been found dead at a property about 70 kilometres from the crime scene. Rodney Peter Vlahov, 48, allegedly shot accountant Phillip Chamberlain, 49, inside Geraldton's Douglas Cross and Chamberlain, in West Australia's north west, about midday Thursday. Police launched a man hunt for the suspected gunman, who they believe opened fire at the Flores Street business, in Webberton, about 12.30. Following the wide-scale overnight search, Mr Vlahov's body was found at a Chapman Valley property Friday morning. Police revealed Mr Vlahov had fled the scene in a Toyota Landcruiser 100 series following the fatal event. The vehicle was found abandoned Friday morning in the Geraldton area. Initially reports suggested he was headed for Chapman Valley area, north-east of Geraldton, where he and his two brothers were well-known farmers. Mr Chamberlain was rushed to hospital following the shooting but later died from his injuries. 'Police are seeking the whereabouts of Rodney Peter Vlahov. He was last seeing driving a land cruiser with registration 1BBO 343,' police said in a Facebook video. A 'full and comprehensive investigation' would be conducted by the Major Crimes Squad, Homicide Squad and other specialist squads brought in from Perth, Assistant Commissioner for Regional WA Murray Smalpage said, TenPlay reported. Police revealed Mr Vlahov had fled the scene in a Toyota Landcruiser 100 series following the fatal shooting. The vehicle was found abandoned in Geraldton Friday morning 'Mr Vlahov and the deceased were known to each other, the circumstances of their relationship and the causal factors of the shooting will be the subject of a full investigation,' Mr Smalpage said. He revealed other people were at the property where Mr Vlahov's body was found, but could not elaborate on further details. WA Regional Commander Jo McCabe revealed Mr Vlahov and his family were well-known to the Geraldton community. 'Every resource available has been deployed to Geraldton and we will give it out upmost priorities,' she said in a video. The father of Mr Vlahov and his two brothers and sister, died last year, ABC News reported. The 49-year-old business partner was killed shortly after mid day Thursday at Geraldton's Douglas Cross and Chamberlain, in West Australia's north west Mr Vlahov was described as fair skinned, approximately 175cm tall, of medium build and with brown hair and blue eyes. The public have been urged not to approach Mr Vlahov, but instead call 131 444 immediately. Police said a firearm was recovered at the scene but 'we cannot discount that Mr Vlahov may have access to other firearms'. Friend and business partner, Stephen Cross, described the victim as 'one of the quietest, nicest people' he'd ever met. 'I honestly believed we operated in an industry that was very safe. There is a lot of industries around where there is danger and that, but not in an accounting industry,' he told Nine News. '(He was) a very very good friend. I mean, I'm devastated.' An escalating conflict between two neighbours in a Sydney street has taken a surprise twist with police arresting the operator of a residential 'death star.' Barber Street, Berkeley, has been home to a vicious neighbourhood spat that residents have likened to the latest Star Wars film. Now NSW police have arrested Nathan, who is feuding with his neighbours Kayte and Steven, after he dressed up as Darth Vader and allegedly began waving an improvised light-sabre at them, 9News reported. Scroll down for video NSW police have arrested Nathan, who is feuding with his neighbours Kayte and Steven, after he dressed up as Darth Vader Kayte and Steven had to set up a wooden barricade (pictured left) after Nathan allegedly set up nine mirrors on the outside of his house designed to beam light into their eyes He was filmed pacing on his front porch dressed as the Star Wars super villain. This latest development has resulted in Nathan being banned from Barber Street, with bail conditions preventing him from even going near the working class suburb. 'I've been banned from the street, I can't even step foot in Barber Street,' Nathan said. The arrest comes after months of escalating conflict between the two sides. Kayte and Steven claim that Nathan set up nine mirrors on the outside of his house designed to beam the afternoon light through their living room. 'It's like the Star Wars movie, it's a bleeding death ray,' Kayte said. 'It's a wonder the TV isn't burnt out. I'm at my wits' end.' Kayte and Steven eventually barricaded the front of their house to stop the beam of light coming in during the afternoon. Nathan admitted that the mirrors, or 'death ray' as it's been called, did reflect sunlight directly into the eyes of Kayte and Steven but argues that it was only for a few minutes each day. Nathan has been banned from Barber Street and bail conditions prevent him from going near the street The couple also allege that Nathan has set up floodlights and cameras that are directed straight at their house. The accusations have quickly escalated with both sides of the feud saying they have had their cars keyed. Kayte says the effects of the mirrors allegedly set up to antagonise them are severe. Everyday at 4.30pm she suffers from squinting and blindness and is unable to watch television without closing her slates, she says. Nathan has been charged with breaching an AVO and was granted conditional bail to appear at Albion Local Court on Thursday, April 5, 2018. Simon Monteiro, dubbed the 'playboy rapist', is behind bars after breaching parole Playboy rapist Simon Monteiro is back behind bars after breaching his parole conditions, less than two months after his release from prison last month. The 50-year-old was taken back into custody after an arrest warrant was executed on Thursday afternoon, the State Parole Authority has said. Monteiro, a former model, served nearly nine years in jail for the rape of his former girlfriend in Sydney's eastern suburbs. He was subject to strict supervision conditions when he was released on February 4, including electronic monitoring, psychological counselling and drug and alcohol testing. The 50-year-old was also banned from entering several eastern suburbs areas, including Randwick, Waverley and Woollahra. Though Monteiro failed to comply with his parole conditions, 'he did not commit an offence,' a statement from State Parole Authority said. Monteiro was reportedly uncooperative with conditions that had been set upon him and had disrespected the justice system, Minister for Corrections David Elliott told the Daily Telegraph . 'The offender has chosen to disrespect the justice system by breaching his parole orders,' Mr Elliott said. The 50-year-old was taken back into custody after an arrest warrant was executed on Thursday afternoon, the State Parole Authority has said Monteiro, a former model, served nearly nine years in jail for the rape of his former girlfriend in Sydney's eastern suburbs Monteiro served almost nine years of an 11-year sentence. A review hearing date will be set next week and he will remain under parole supervision until April 2020.. Monteiro's release in February came after he was rejected for parole twice in 2015 and again in 2016. Corrective Services NSW launched a last-minute bid to revoke January's decision to grant the serial offender parole, with commissioner Peter Severin arguing that Monteiro 'would be unable to adapt to normal lawful community life'. A man who was celebrating a $96,000 lawsuit settlement that stemmed from a car accident, was robbed of all the money by three prostitutes and two masked gunmen. Saul Mata Vellegas, 30, was celebrating at the Van Cortlandt Motel in the Bronx around 10pm Sunday night when he decided to call up some prostitutes. Three prostitutes came to his hotel room and had sex with Vellegas, according to the New York Post. Scroll down for video Saul Mata Vellegas, 30, who was celebrating a $96,000 lawsuit settlement that stemmed from a car accident, was robbed of all the money by three prostitutes (two pictured) and two masked gunmen Vellegas, 30, was celebrating at the Van Cortlandt Motel in the Bronx around 10pm Sunday night when he decided to call up some prostitutes. Three prostitutes came to his hotel room and had sex with Vellegas A few hours later, the women reportedly suggested they have a 'friend' come by and drop off beer and cigarettes. According to the Post, two gun-toting, masked men showed up to the motel around 6.50am. The men busted into the room, grabbed the suitcase with all of the money inside and fled the scene. Police released photos of the suspected gunmen and the three women. The men are seen climbing out of a black minivan when they arrived to the motel. Vellegas told the Post that he is 'haunted by this'. 'I keep playing it over in my mind. I was surprised they pulled a gun. I said "What is going on?" Vellegas said he 'needed that money badly' to help move his family. 'I am nervous all the time now. I keep replaying it over and over. I see the weapon they used clearly over and over,' he told the newspaper. Authorities said the settlement money was the result of a suit that involved a car accident. The three women and masked men are still at large, police said. The investigation is ongoing. The women then suggested they have a 'friend' come by and drop off beer and cigarettes. But that 'friend' turned out to be two gun-toting, masked men showed up to the motel around 6.50am A Queensland man is facing trial over a number of horrific child torture charges. The man from Nambour, 100km north of Brisbane, is pleading not guilty to the charges including one count of cruelty to children under the age of 16, Sunshine Coast Daily reported. The alleged abuse is believed to be domestic violence related. A Queensland man is facing trial over a number of horrific child torture charges including one count of torture and one count of strangulation (stock image) The man was charged with two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm, one count of strangulation and one count of torture. The court heard the man caused bodily harm to a child on November 29 and assaulted a woman on December 4. A couple of weeks later, the man allegedly strangled a woman on December 13. The man is currently in custody and did not ask for bail because he has 'nowhere to go', the publication reported. The accused will stand trial at Maroochydoore District Court at a future date. Simon Slama, a 56-year-old Jewish sewing machine salesman from Tunisia, is running for office as part of an Islamist party Simon Slama and his family are the only Jews left in the Tunisian city of Monastir, once home to a thriving Jewish community. But instead of joining the exodus, he is running for office - as a candidate of Tunisia's Islamist party. Slama's candidacy with the Ennahdha party in May municipal elections is causing a sensation in this overwhelmingly Muslim country, and some controversy. Critics see it as a calculated tactic by Ennahdha to regain power and to restore its reputation among Western allies like the United States. Others however see it as an example of Tunisia's long-standing traditions of tolerance. A sewing machine salesman and repairman, 56-year-old Slama says he just wants to serve his country and the city where he was born, suffering from economic difficulties and social tensions. 'I chose Ennahdha because I found that because of the crisis the country is going through, everyone is turning toward this party,' he told The Associated Press in his workshop. 'I see no difference between the Islamic and Judaic religions. We are all one family and we are all Tunisian citizens and we should go hand in hand to build the Tunisia of tomorrow,' he said. Slama returned to Monastir, on the Mediterranean coast about 170 kilometers (105 miles) south of the capital, Tunis, after studying in the French city of Strasbourg even as other Jewish families left because 'we love the city and it has the spirit of my ancestors.' Tunisia is home to an estimated 1,500 Jews nationwide. Monastir 'used to have 520 Jewish families. Today mine is the only one left,' Slama said. He wants to enter public service because he sees towns and cities 'as essential in the evolution of society.' Tunisia is holding its first municipal elections since the 2011 revolution that overthrew a long-time autocrat and unleashed uprisings across the Arab world. Tunisia is the only country to emerge with a new and carefully constructed democracy, though the going has been rough. Ennahdha, banned under the old regime, was victorious in the first post-revolution elections but had to abandon power in 2013 amid a political crisis after the assassination of two opposition politicians and a rise in Islamic fundamentalism. The party leadership wants it to come out on top in the municipal vote, considered a springboard for legislative and presidential elections next year. It's the only party with candidates in all 350 municipalities, and also drew attention for putting a woman at the head of its party list in the capital, positioning Souad Abderrahim to become the city's first female mayor if it wins. The party's Monastir leader, Adel Messaoud, insisted that they accepted Slama's candidacy because it 'conforms with the positions of Ennahdha, which is a civilian party that opted during its last congress to separate its political action from ideological action.' Slama said he picked the party because he sees 'no difference' between the two religions, saying: 'We are all one family and we are all Tunisian citizens' While acknowledging that the candidacy could seem 'a bit bizarre,' he insisted that the controversy around it is unfounded. 'I know him well, he's a neighbor who is appreciated by his compatriots for his human qualities and good reputation,' he told the AP, noting that Tunisia had a Jewish federal government minister after winning independence from France and other Jews have served as local officials. 'We are really an open party. It is not about trying to please anyone. We took into account the country's general interest, which is going through a unique democratic experience in the Arab world, which we want to succeed with the participation of all Tunisians regardless of their ethnic or religious affiliation,' he said. Borhene Bsais, head of political affairs for the ruling Nida Tounes party, doesn't buy that argument. He called the candidacy 'a propaganda operation by Ennahdha to seem like an open and tolerant party.' While Nida Tounes and Ennahdha are currently in a government coalition together, they are the main rivals in the municipal vote, which will determine the political contours of the country for years to come. 'We fear the exploitation for electoral reasons of non-Muslim citizens, who we consider as equal ... and not second class citizens,' Bsais said. He said the candidacy is Ennahdha's effort to distinguish itself from the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist movements to keep alliances with the United States. One of Slama's Muslim clients, Moez Dali, praised his community spirit. 'Everyone knows Slama,' he said. His family 'loves everyone here. And they come to our weddings and we go to their weddings. There is no difference between us. He is in the end a Tunisian from the city of Monastir.' Six men have been arrested, denied bail and await trial after a large scale police operation shattered a large MDMA syndicate. The men were taken into police custody at a rural clandestine laboratory in central NSW, which was dismantled by officers on Friday. A police strike force, Wanawong, was established in 2017 to focus on the putting a stop to the supply and distribution of MDMA. Scroll down for video Six men have been arrested, denied bail and await trial after a large scale police operation shattered a large MDMA syndicate A combined effort by a number of strike forces and special unit officers were able to execute 10 search warrants A shotgun was found under to blanket on one of the beds during the dorm raids The manufacturing covered purchase, storage and the diversion of chemicals in south-west Sydney and the central NSW. A combined effort by a number of strike forces and special unit officers were able to execute 10 search warrants at Neville, Moorebank, Wetherill Park, and Yennora, and properties at Mt Rankin, Fletcher, Merrylands, and Wattle Grove yesterday. During the course of executing these warrants, police uncovered a large scale laboratory at Neville along with an inactive clandestine laboratory at a Moorebank factory. Police also seized more than $100,000 cash, computers and documentation finished off the police haul during the raid Strike Force Wanawong, was established by New South Wales Police in 2017 to focus on the putting a stop to the supply and distribution of MDMA MDMA pills, powder, chemicals, three pill pressers and a range of other equipment used in the manufacturing of MDMA were also found during the raids. On top of the drug manufacturing gear police also seized an arsenal that included eight firearms, including a Ruger rifle and a loaded semi-automatic pump action shotgun; magazines, various calibres of ammunition. More than $100,000 cash, computers and documentation finished off the police haul during the raids. Police also seized an arsenal that included eight firearms, including a Ruger rifle and a loaded semi-automatic pump action shotgun; magazines, various calibres of ammunition During the course of executing these warrants police uncovered a large scale laboratory at Neville along with an inactive clandestine laboratory at a Moorebank factory French President Emmanuel Macron led Europe's resistance to Donald Trump's punishing new steel tariffs today, warning the US the EU will not negotiate 'with a gun to our heads'. Mr Macron used a press conference at the end of the EU summit to fire a broadside at the White House hours after a short term exemption from the 25 per cent tariffs was announced. EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker ratcheted up the pressure, warning American it was impossible to meet Mr Trump's demands before a May 1 deadline. Mr Trump rolled out his controversial tariffs overnight, defying international warnings they could trigger a damaging trade war with China. The EU, plus six other countries, will not be covered until May 1. Leaving Brussels earlier today Prime Minister Theresa May said she was 'pleased' at the temporary reprieve granted by Washington but joined calls for a permanent solution. UK steel producers had warned the swingeing tariffs could be devastating to British industry and will fear the temporary exemption will do little to help in the long run. French President Emmanuel Macron led Europe's resistance to Donald Trump's punishing new steel tariffs today, warning the US the EU will not negotiate 'with a gun to our heads' It is 'impossible' for the EU and US to resolve trade issues before May 1, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker warned today Leaving Brussels earlier today Prime Minister Theresa May (pictured today at the summit) said she was 'pleased' at the temporary reprieve granted by Washington but joined calls for a permanent solution Speaking in Brussels today, French President Emmanual Macron said the exemption was 'not satisfactory' and warned the US: 'Europe is not looking for a trade war. That will be good for no-one.' He said: 'We will talk about anything as a principal with a friendly country that respects the rules of the World Trade Organisation. 'We won't talk at all with a country if it is with a gun to our heads.' In a press conference at the end of the EU summit, Mr Juncker said: 'The United States are expecting us to conclude the negotiations, we will engage in the next coming days, until May 1, it doesn't seem to me that this date is a very realistic one given the broad issues we have to discuss with the United States. 'And so we will advocate a system where these exemptions in the European Union will be permanent, and not only temporary.' As he rolled out his tariffs last night, Mr Trump authorised the 'pause' for the EU and other countries. The White House announced a temporary exemption for the EU and six other countries - Canada, Mexico, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, South Korea - from tariffs of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium which came into effect today. Returning to talks this morning, Mrs May said: 'We have been working very hard to secure an EU-wide exemption to the steel tariffs that the Americans have announced. 'I am pleased that they have announced a temporary exemption for the EU. What I will be working with my fellow EU leaders today on is to see how we can secure a permanent exemption for the EU from these steel tariffs. 'We will be talking about what the next steps might be. I have stayed on to talk about these next steps because the steel industry is hugely important to the UK and the British Government and I want to ensure that steel workers and their jobs are properly safeguarded.' Theresa May chatted and Slovenia's Prime Minister Miro Cerar in Brussels today at the second day of the European Council meeting in Brussels, where the steel tariffs are on the agenda The Prime Minister (pictured in Brussels this morning) had been due to leave EU talks last night but stayed on to talk to colleagues in the bloc about how to respond to the rapidly escalating trade war European Council president Donald Tusk had said it was 'time for politicians on both sides of the Atlantic to act responsibly', while Mrs May had told Mr Trump of her 'deep concern' over the plans. What are tariffs and why has Trump's plan to impose them been met with such criticism? Tariffs are charges which governments can slap on certain goods or products imported into the country. Taxing items coming into a country makes them more expensive and people less likely to buy them as a result. Imposing such tariffs makes people more likely to turn to local products instead theoretically protecting domestic jobs. However, Governments usually try to negotiate minimum tariffs so that goods can be traded freely around the world. This is because for many years most politicians have agreed that free trade leads to greater wealth and makes products cheaper to buy in the shops. The US says the balance had shifted because China has massively ramped up the amount of steel it has produced in recent years and dumped it cheaply on the market. This global steel glut has made it far harder for steel industries in other countries to compete - prompting plant closures and job losses. Donald Trump has responded to domestic anger by imposing his hefty tariffs in a bid to protect the American steel industry. But critics around the world have blasted the move - warning this will result in a tit for tat trade war which will only push up prices in the long term. Advertisement UK Steel director Gareth Stace said: 'For the last few weeks the UK steel sector has held on to the hope that an exemption could be secured before tomorrow's deadline and today we have finally been given cause for optimism. 'The announcement that the EU will be given a temporary exemption will be greeted with an enormous sigh of relief from the sector and it now provides us with the breathing room to find a more permanent solution. 'Every effort must now be made by the UK and EU authorities to ensure that this happens swiftly. 'The alternative would be a severe curtailment of our ability to export to the US. 'With some 350,000 tonnes of steel sold to the US last year, 7 per cent of our total exports, it is clear any tariffs would ultimately hit the sector hard. 'There is surely no reasonable justification for allowing this to happen.' US trade representative Robert Lighthizer had earlier signalled that the EU along with a number of other countries would receive temporary exemptions. The disclosure came as Mr Trump signed an order paving the way for the imposition of wide-ranging tariffs on imports from China worth 60 billion dollars (43 billion) in response to an 'assault' on the US from cheap overseas metal. The White House said other countries not included in the exemption list are welcome to open discussions with the US 'based on a shared commitment to addressing global excess steel and aluminium capacity and production.' UK steel producers (including at Port Talbot, file image) had warned the 25 per cent tariffs could be devastating to British industry and will fear the temporary exemption will do little to help in the long run The reprieve was signalled yesterday when the EU's trade commissioner Celia Malmstrom said she 'expected' the US to leave the EU out of the protectionist measures, which are due to come into effect tonight. Ms Malmstrom met senior American officials including commerce secretary Wilbur Ross for talks this week. 'I hope that he (Mr Ross) will recommend the exclusion of the EU as a whole to the president,' she told a European Parliament committee today. 'President Trump will make an announcement on possible exclusions. We expect that we are on that list. 'It is the president who decides this... but we expect that Secretary Ross will recommend that the EU is excluded as a whole.' Asked if the Prime Minister has a message for UK steel workers about the potential tariffs, the spokesman said: 'We have been clear that tariffs are not the right way to address the global problem of over-capacity, which requires a multi-lateral solution. Fears of a trade war were raised when Donald Trump (pictured in Washington this week) laid out plans to impose tariffs on steel and other goods heading for the US Trade commissioner Celia Malmstrom said she 'expected' the US to leave the EU out of the protectionist measures (file picture) 'We are continuing to work with EU partners to make the case for exemptions, including an EU-wide exemption and we are working with all the sectors involved to robustly defend our industries and demonstrate the importance of their high quality products.' At a press conference earlier this month, Mr Trump said: 'The European Union has been particularly tough on the United States. They make it almost impossible to do business with them, and yet they send their cars and everything else back into the United States. 'They can do whatever they like but if they do that, then we put a big tax of 25 per cent on their cars and believe me, they won't be doing it very long.' He went on: 'The European Union has not treated us well and it's been a very, very unfair trade situation. 'One of the reasons I was elected is I'm protecting our workers, I'm protecting our companies, and I'm not going to let that happen.' There are online forums where social media users share and trade images of naked women without their consent - often with names and locations attached. These forums, such as AussieSluts which was shut down for ten days in 2016 for sharing images of underage girls, are breeding grounds for revenge porn. Revenge porn is a term that describes the online sharing of sexual images without the person in the image's consent. Online forums allow men to trade intimate images of women without their consent - otherwise known as revenge porn AussieSluts was shut down for ten days in 2016 due to posting images of underage girls, according to the Daily Telegraph It also means the threat to send these images out. These forums describe these images as 'wins'. Sue Gabor, who runs the Office of the eSafety Commissioner's Image-Based Abuse team, told ABC that they were aware of the website as people have contacted them to complain about it - in fact one in seven of the complaints the office received is about the AussieSluts forum. They have even had success it getting these images removed - although they have no power to force these sites to comply with their requests. Ms Gabor said: 'I wouldn't say as much as 100 per cent success, but I'd say that they've been very responsive and removed stuff when we've asked them to.' Julie Inman Grant, eSafety Commissioner, also confirmed that the body has received a number of reports 'about this particular image-board'. Ms Grant said: 'The forum hosts a number of specific threads and folders, including intimate images of women, sometimes with other identifying details. 'Where images are reported to us, we contact the site and seek rapid removal of the material. This approach has worked with considerable successresolving over 150 cases this way to date.' In 2017, there was data collected from 4,274 Australians aged 16 to 45, shared by The Conversation. The forums have threads based on location which allows users to find women close to them It found that 23 per cent of people reported having been a victim of image-based abuse - almost one in five. With 20 per cent having images taken without consent, 11 percent reported having their images forwarded on without permission and nine per cent were threatened with image-based abuse. According to the RMIT research, men and women were equally at risk of revenge porn, with the LGBTQ+ community and people between 16 and 29 at a higher risk. In New South Wales there is a maximum sentence of three years jail and an $11,000 fine. Attorney General Mark Speakman said that victims should come forward to police. Mr Speakman said in a press release: 'No one should ever use intimate images to threaten, control or humiliate victims, which is why the NSW Government introduced this legislation to ensure perpetrators are held to account.' Men are just as likely as women to fall prey to revenge porn, according to a 2017 study (stock image) He said that these laws were a power shift. Most states have similar legislation, however Tasmania, Queensland and the Northern Territory don't. The Office of the eSafety Commissioner's Image-Based Abuse team writes on their website that you should ensure your immediate safety, contact friends and family, seek counselling and take steps to have these images removed - including contacting their office, police or legal advice. Earlier this year fines of up to $525,000 for corporations and $105,000 for individuals who share intimate images of people without their permission were discussed in a bill written to parliament. However some want federal criminal offences made as well. If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit the online website here. In an emergency, call 000. The Office of the eSafety Commissioner's Image-Based Abuse can be found here. Officers for the Information Commission are searching the premises of Cambridge Analytica in central London after a High Court judge granted a warrant. Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham is seeking access to records and data in the hands of the company amid claims that Facebook data may have been illegally acquired and used for political campaigns. Both Cambridge Analytica and Facebook deny any wrongdoing. An investigator from Britain's Information Commissioners Office, is seen inside the building which houses the offices of Cambridge Analytica Enforcement officers (centre) working for the Information Commissioner's Office entering the premises of Cambridge Analytica in London At 8pm on Friday, less than an hour after the warrant was granted by Judge Leonard QC, a group of 18 people, some wearing ICO enforcement jackets, were led by a woman holding a piece of paper which appeared to be a warrant. They went up a side set of stairs at the building in New Oxford Street, London, and were seen on the second floor - where Cambridge Analytica has its offices. Earlier, the Information Commission Office Twitter account posted: 'ICO granted warrant: We're pleased with the decision of the judge and we plan to execute the warrant shortly. 'This is just one part of a larger investigation into the use of personal data for political purposes and we will now need time to collect and consider the evidence.' The data watchdog's investigation includes the acquisition and use of Facebook data by Cambridge Analytica, its parent company SCL and academic Dr Aleksandr Kogan, who developed the app used to gather data. It stems from claims over the harvesting of personal data and whether it was used during Donald Trumps US presidential campaign or the Brexit referendum. Officers entered through a side set of stairs on New Oxford Street and were seen on the second floor Cambridge Analyticas chief executive Alexander Nix has been suspended while Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been called on to give evidence to MPs. At the High Court yesterday, Judge Anthony Leonard QC said he would give the reasons for granting a warrant on Tuesday. The move comes as billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk ordered the deletion of his companies official Facebook pages. Those pages belonging to rocket company SpaceX and electric carmaker Tesla disappeared yesterday, just minutes after Mr Musk promised on Twitter to take them down. Mr Musks business ventures had millions of followers on the site. Earlier, challenged online whether he would take the pages down, the tycoon responded: Will do. He added that the Tesla Facebook page looks lame. I dont use Facebook and never have, so dont think Im some kind of martyr or my companies are taking a huge blow, Mr Musk said. Also, we dont advertise or pay for endorsements, so we dont care. Mr Musk has had run-ins with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in the past. Mark Zuckerberg's (left) Facebook gave details of 'every friendship formed in 2011 in every country in the world at the national aggregate level' to lab worked in by Cambridge academic Aleksandr Kogan (right) Britain's Information Commissioner received a warrant to raid Cambridge Analytica's London headquarters (pictured) Last year, a war of words broke out between the two billionaires over whether robots could become smart enough to kill their human creators. When Mr Zuckerberg was asked about Mr Musks warnings over the dangers of robots, the Facebook chief said it was irresponsible. In response, Mr Musk tweeted: His understanding of the subject is limited. Behind the frosted glass windows at the central London office block people could just barely be seen looking at and moving papers around. At around 9.40pm someone from inside began closing the blinds to the camera flashes of photographers who were outside on the street in the business district. Curious passers-by asked the waiting press what the fuss was about as the search continued. Facebook handed over data on 57billion friendships to the scientist who designed the app that creamed off personal data from 50million people for the data firm without permission, it was revealed earlier today. The social network gave details of 'every friendship formed in 2011 in every country in the world at the national aggregate level' to Aleksandr Kogan's University of Cambridge lab. It comes after a senior US academic said today it is proof that the social network had a 'pre-existing' and 'trusted partnership' with Dr Kogan before they blamed him for the data crisis that has wiped $50billion off its value. Last night it emerged that 57billion friendship links were shared in 2015 in an act later hailed by Cambridge University as the first of ongoing work between Kogan and Facebook. Two of Mark Zuckerberg's employees were even named as authors in the accompanying paper. WHAT IS FACEBOOK DOING TO FIX ITS DATA MINING PROBLEM? Mark Zuckerberg finally broke his silence on the misuse of 51 million users data Wednesday evening, outlining three steps the firm plans to take to prevent something like this from happening again. This includes: 1. Investigate apps which used old system to get user information Apps can no longer access the same amount of information that Kogan did through quizzes thanks to a 2014 change in Facebook policy however it remains unclear how many took advantage of the old rules before they changed. On Wednesday, Zuckerberg said Facebook's first step was to go back and look at what they still know. 2. Make the rules even tighter for app developers If a person has not engaged with an app for three months, Facebook will remove their access to you. They will also restrict what information they do get in the first place to only your name, profile photo, and email address. If they want more, they will have to sign a contract and get approval. 3. Introduce tool to show what companies already know about you The tool will appear in the next month or so on users' news feeds. Advertisement The study also says Kogan used Amazon's Mechanical Turk - the online retailer's AI function - to get US respondents to download an app that gave him access to their Facebook data and the location of their friends Jonathan Albright, research director at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University, said Facebook and Kogan had clearly developed strong links. He told The Guardian: 'The sheer volume of the 57billion friend pairs implies a pre-existing relationship. 'It's not common for Facebook to share that kind of data. It suggests a trusted partnership between Aleksandr Kogan and Facebook'. He added: 'In my view, it's Facebook that did most of the sharing', adding this arrangement was 'designed to share their users' data in meaningful ways in exchange for stock value'. Facebook said yesterday they had been 'deceived' by Dr Kogan who was paid $800,000 by Cambridge Analytica to create his controversial app. They also called his work a 'scam' and a 'fraud'. Facebook spokesman Christine Chen said: 'The data that was shared was literally numbers numbers of how many friendships were made between pairs of countries ie x number of friendships made between the US and UK. There was no personally identifiable information included in this data'. Dr Kogan, a psychology researcher at Cambridge University, would also 'personality quiz' app as a research project. Only 300,000 Facebook users responded to Kogan's quiz, but that gave the researcher access to those peoples Facebook friends as well, who had not agreed to share information, producing details on 50 million users. He passed the data to Cambridge Analytica, whose boss Alexander Nix was suspended on Tuesday after Channel 4 broadcast footage of him bragging about the firm's role in Donald Trump's presidential campaign. The company says Mr Nix's comments 'do not represent the values or operations of the firm'. Cambridge Analytica CEO Alexander Nix is reported to have taken credit for Donald Trump's shock presidential win Dr Kogan claimed 'tens of thousands' of other apps may be mining social media for personal data to be sold on in the same way. Other experts said it was possible virtually the entire Facebook database from 2015 could be in unknown hands. Elizabeth Denham applied for a search warrant to enter the CA headquarters after they refused to cooperate The algorithm trawled through what each user 'liked' on Facebook and could use this information to target them with personalised political adverts. The academic, who joined Cambridge's psychology department as a lecturer in 2012, also said the accuracy of the data had been 'extremely exaggerated'. He added: 'What Cambridge Analytica has tried to sell is magic.' He said: 'It made claims that this data is incredibly accurate and it tells you everything there is to tell about you. But the reality is it's not that. If you look at the data carefully those claims quickly fall apart'. There have been doubts about how useful the data was. Cambridge Analytica promised politicians its 'extra secret sauce' of harvested Facebook data would win them elections but it was 'never very useful', a presidential campaign chief said yesterday. Ted Cruz was favourite to win the Republican nomination and his team handed $6million to CA to help him find voters to target with online adverts during his battle to reach the White House. The London-based company handed him 'psychographic' profiles based on 50million Facebook accounts and said it would help Senator Cruz target them individually on social media. But in the end he was crushed by Donald Trump in the presidential primaries - losing by 7million votes - and Mr Cruz's campaign spin doctor Rick Tyler has said today it is proof CA 'didn't deliver'. Until it tightened privacy settings in April that year, Facebook was effectively giving away masses of personal data to third-party developers for free, to encourage them to create more apps and grow the platform, say experts. Storage crates have been removed from Cambridge Analytica's London headquarters (pictured) before Britain's data watchdog was allowed access Footage emerged of a meeting in which Mr Nix appears to suggest that CA could compromise politicians by sending 'beautiful' Ukrainian women to candidates' house In 2012, there were some nine million Facebook apps all of whose developers were apparently able to access users' personal details. It is unclear what checks were made on someone applying to Facebook to become a 'developer' for example whether they might be a company, a spy agency or even a mafia gang before personal details were made available. Dutch academic Bernhard Rieder, who created a similar Facebook app in 2009 before deleting it, said: 'Before 2015, you could get troves of data. I should have stored all the data [and then sold it to] get that Lamborghini.' Cambridge Analytica 'strongly denies' allegations of data misuse. A judge is to consider the Information Commissioner's application for a warrant relating to Cambridge Analytica this afternoon. Elizabeth Denham wants access to records and data in the hands of the London-based company amid claims that Facebook data may have been illegally acquired and used on behalf of political clients. Both Cambridge Analytica and Facebook deny any wrongdoing. The move follows the issue of a demand for access, on March 7 , to which there was no response by the deadline provided. 'Therefore, we are seeking a warrant to obtain information and access to systems and evidence related to our investigation,' said Ms Denham. She added: 'A full understanding of the facts, data flows and data uses is imperative for my ongoing investigation. 'This includes any new information, statements or evidence that have come to light in recent days.' A mother who had her hands chopped off with an axe by her jealous husband has proudly displayed her new robotic hand in Russia. Margarita Grachyova had her fingers crushed before her arms were severed at the wrists by her spouse Dmitry, 26, a trained psychologist, near Serpukhov, in western Russia. But the 25-year-old victim has since flown to the German city of Duderstadt to be fitted with specially-designed bionic limb and has told her two young children: 'Now your mum has hands like a robot!' Her case shocked the world in December when Dmitry Grachyov drove her to a forest, tied her up, forced her on to her knees, and then severed her hands with an axe. Margarita Grachyova, who had her hands chopped off with an axe by her jealous husband, has proudly displayed her new robotic hand in Russia (pictured) Margarita Grachyova(right) had her fingers crushed before her arms were severed at the wrists by her spouse Dmitry (left), 26, a trained psychologist, near Serpukhov, in western Russia She said he battered her fingers with the axe first then chopped off both of the hands (above, one of her hands after the attack) He confessed to carrying out the Medieval-style attack because he suspected she had cheated on him. Margarita has inspired Russians with her extraordinary optimism about life despite the brutality she endured. Doctors managed to sew back her left hand - even though eight bones were broken, crushed by blows from the axe - and in time she is expected to gain 70 per cent use of it. But the right hand could not be restored - and she is now learning to use two types of artificial limbs which she can alternate - fitted in the German city of Duderstadt. 'I am in a great mood, ready to solve all my problems,' said Margarita, who recently returned to Russia. 'I am rehabilitating my left arm and working with the prosthesis for my right arm. I am not making any plans yet. My health is my priority now.' She said: 'Many thanks to all those who helped me to get used to my new life. I know it is just the beginning of my way. I need to get used to my new limbs and to learn how to operate them.' Her case shocked the world in December when Dmitry Grachyov (pictured) drove her to a forest, tied her up, forced her on to her knees, and then severed her hands with an axe The 25-year-old victim has since flown to the German city of Duderstadt to be fitted with specially-designed artificial limbs and has told her two young children: 'Now your mum has hands like a robot!' She is still unable to dress herself and her mother Inna Sheikina helps her. German medics also used electrical impulses to stimulate the muscles in her left arm. 'At first we planned to order one artificial limb,' said Irina. 'There is a very good modern one, which allows her even to work with a computer. But at the same time it is a very fragile model, it often breaks. 'When doctors found out Rita (Margarita) has two young children, they recommended the second limb as well, more basic but stronger, for day-to-day uses.' Her ex-husband is undergoing psychiatric checks ahead of his trial. After the appalling attack, she told how he bound her so she could not run and forced her onto her knees with her arms on a tree stump - and was ecstatic after severing her limbs. First he battered her fingers with the axe - 'he was totally calm when he did this to me'. 'Unfortunately, I felt all the pain very much,' she said. German medics (pictured) gave her a new robotic hand and also used electrical impulses to stimulate the muscles in her left arm Margarita's left hand was rescued after the attack when it was surgically reattached by medics 'I was dreaming that I would faint. I kept thinking all the time, why am I not fainting? 'When he raised his axe, I just closed my eyes, I didn't look at it(when my hands were chopped off). 'At one moment I started rolling off the stump and he cut my thigh with the axe I have scars there too.' She had believed that he would hold back from axing her at the last moment. She said: 'I still can't understand how this could happen. I've lived with him for so many years.' Until she had demanded a divorce, he was not violent, 'then something flipped in his mind,' she said. He saw text messages with her males work colleague and believed she was having an affair, which she denied. 'This is something from Medieval times, inconceivable, unreal, it just could not happen,' she said. 'I think he had read somewhere about this exact sort of torture. 'He acted very cleverly, he even tied up my arms before the attack in the right way and in certain places in order to prevent a huge loss of blood.' She is convinced 'he did not want to kill me this time' - but she revealed that from his detention cell he sent her a note threatening to murder her if she does not rescind their divorce - and wait for him to be be freed. Margarita has inspired Russians with her extraordinary optimism about life despite the brutality she endured Dmitry (pictured) could face between ten to 15 years in jail, or undergo psychiatric treatment if he is judged not to be sane He could face between ten to 15 years in jail, or undergo psychiatric treatment if he is judged not to be sane. After the attack, he picked up her severed hands and bundled her back in the car. 'Only when he had chopped off my wrists and was driving me to the hospital, he kept repeating - 'What adrenalin! What adrenalin!' and he said it with real delight in his voice. 'Once on the way he checked my pulse, he was making sure that I was alive. 'But apart from that he kept telling me on the way to hospital that I should wait for him to come out of jail, or he would cut off the hands of my relatives.' He has written her notes saying he will kill me if I don't wait for him when he is jail,,' she said. 'He seriously thinks that now he has punished me, we have a hope of a happy life in future. 'I just don't understand how he pictures this in his mind. This is what I am afraid most of all. His threats are real. 'Before, he threatened to pour acid on me or to hurt me in some other ways. He kept his word. I don't have any kind of protection.' She is refusing to speak to him or his relatives. 'I don't have any words left for him. I am trying to forget this story and to think positively about the future,' she said. This is the hilarious moment a hooded man epically struggles to make his way up an icy hill. He sprints on the spot, slides backwards and clings to a pole as he battles with the frozen-over pavement. The clip shows the man marching along the streets of Rostov-on-Don in Russia before encountering the steep hill. As he walks into frame his feet start to lose grip and he slides back out of frame almost instantly in one fluid motion. Knowing what he's up against, he decides the best tactic is to sprint at the pavement head-on to try get past the slippery patch. But he loses his step and almost falls flat on his back, if it wasn't for some quick reactions and stellar balance. A hooded man had an epic battle with a frozen-over pavement in Rostov-on-Don in Russia He slid down the steep hill multiple times before launching himself at a lamppost and clinging to it His next course of action is to sprint faster at the hill, thinking his momentum will take him past the most slippery area. He gets about half way up before the ice causes him to hilariously run on the spot, travelling neither up nor down. He slides all the way out of frame yet again and looks as if he's ready to give up. His feet lose grip when he gets half way up and he slides all the way back to the start When he finally grabs onto the lamppost he slowly edges his way around it so he can carry on his journey Almost a full minute into his quest to reach the top of the hill, he gives it one last push and sprints towards a lamppost with his arms fully stretched. He just makes it, clinging on for dear life, and manoeuvres himself around the pole before continuing on his journey. This is the shocking moment a woman was flogged 100 times by her husband as punishment for adultery before collapsing in front of a mob - who then sexually assaulted her. The terrified woman, tied by her hands to a rope hanging from a tree, can be heard screaming in pain as her husband repeatedly whipped her with a leather belt in northern India. A group of men and boys standing around in a circle watched as she collapsed unconscious after the frenzied beating yesterday in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh. But her ordeal did not end there with reports claiming some of the villagers then sexually assaulted and tried to rape her. When she regained her senses, they warned her against telling the police before running off. Shocking footage shows a wife being flogged 100 times by her husband as punishment for adultery before collapsing in front of a mob Mob justice: The savage punishment was carried out after a kangaroo court found her guilty of eloping with her boyfriend. The savage punishment was carried out after a kangaroo court found her guilty of eloping with her boyfriend. According to Bulandshahr police, the woman had run off with her lover in the first week of March and was staying with him at a relative's house. On March 10, her husband sent a people to convince her to return home - telling her they will forget the past and start their life afresh. But when she returned, a court of village elders was set up to decide a punishment - that she should be flogged 100 times by her husband. In a mobile phone video, the woman can be seen strung up in public as he lashes out at her until she collapses. A group of men and boys standing around in a circle watched as she collapsed unconscious (pictured) after the frenzied beating yesterday in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh Her husband pauses only briefly to take off his jacket before completing his merciless assault. The woman was badly injured and filed a complaint against the accused after a week once she had recovered. According to her statement, police have registered a case against her husband, an ex-village head and five village strongmen. Police Inspector Altaf Ansari, in charge of Police Station, said: 'We have registered a case against her husband Saudan, former village head Sher Singh and his son Shravansinh and arrested them. 'We have started a hunt for other accused. The woman has been sent to the hospital for medical examination.' Vanessa Trump reportedly pleaded with Aubrey O'Day (pictured) to end her relationship with Donald Trump Jr. in a furious phone call Vanessa Trump reportedly pleaded with Aubrey O'Day to end her relationship with Donald Trump Jr. in a furious phone call. Bu the pair only broke off their liaisons when the President intervened and told his son to 'make his marriage work', it is claimed. Donald Trump Jr. and the former The Celebrity Apprentice contestant's affair reportedly began after they met on the US show in 2011. O'Day has 'proof' they had a sexual relationship for months but said it had nothing to do with his divorce six years later, sources told TMZ. Trump told her his marriage had fallen apart and he was going to leave his wife Vanessa, who knew about the affair, the sources claim. Vanessa flew into a rage after finding emails sent to O'Day by her husband, it was previously reported. Sources claim she then rang the star and pleaded with her to end the affair. Donald Trump eventually intervened, telling his son to end the relationship and 'focus on his marriage to make it work', TMZ reported. Trump Jr. quickly broke off the alleged affair with O'Day, who is 'devastated' to be called a homewrecker, the sources claim. She says she was told his marriage was already over and claims her affair did not trigger the couple's divorce six years later, sources told TMZ. O'Day, who reportedly did not sign a non-disclosure agreement, is said to be 'lost' and unwilling to come forward to tell her side of the story, according to the sources. Speculation over her and Trump Jr.'s relationship was fueled when she posted a photograph of herself cozying up in bed with a mystery man back in 2012. 'My babe is protecting my feet from bunions attacks. True Love Feet,' wrote O'Day on March 24 of that year on Twitter. She then shared a picture showing her feet being covered by those of a man. The man is not identified, but a side-by-side comparison reveals that the feet are remarkably similar in appearance to those of Donald Trump Jr. Vanessa Trump (left in 2015 with husband Trump Jr. and their children) confronted Aubrey O'Day (right) about her affair with Donald Trump Jr after discovering emails the pair had sent Donald Trump Jr. (pictured on Good Morning America in 2016) and the former The Celebrity Apprentice contestant O'Day reportedly began an affair after meeting on the US show in 2011 Donald Trump eventually intervened, telling his son to end the relationship and 'focus on his marriage to make it work', TMZ reported O'Day shot to fame back in 2005, the same year that Don Jr and Vanessa were married at his father's Palm Beach estate, Mar-a-Lago. She was a contestant on the MTV program Making the Band, and selected by Sean 'P Diddy' Combs to become part of the girl group Danity Kane. The group enjoyed a successful run in the aughts, at which time their first two albums debuted at the top of the charts. They also had a number of hit singles, with their song Damaged charting in the top ten on Billboard and earning the group two MTV Video Music Award nominations in 2008. Aubrey O'Day posted a photo in March 2012 of her feet being covered by the feet of another man 'My babe is protecting my feet from bunions attacks. True Love Feet,' wrote O'Day on March 24 of that year on Twitter (Don Jr's feet above on fishing trip, with his toes slightly flexed) O'Day had split from the group by that point and her solo efforts failed to repeat the success she had with Danity Kane. Then, in 2012, she was back in television on Celebrity Apprentice. O'Day also managed to grab headlines over the years for her life outside the recording studio, dating Jersey Shore star Paul 'Pauly D' DelVecchio, DJ Cassidy and Evan Ross. In a 2012 podcast, Aubrey O'Day shared details of her 'spanx-ripping' romp with a high-profile mystery man. O'Day was recorded on the 'Risk!' podcast in December 2012, just eight months after she and Donald Trump Jr ended their alleged affair. 'I was walking through the hallways and got pulled into this bathroom and he threw me up against the wall and looked at me for two seconds and then we started making out like crazy,' she said during the podcast. A source told Page Six that the unnamed man O'Day talked about during the podcast could actually be rap mogul Russell Simmons, who has been accused of sexual misconduct, including rape, by more than a dozen women. In a 2012 podcast, Aubrey O'Day shared details of her 'spanx-ripping' romp with a high-profile mystery man, who is speculated to have been rap mogul Russell Simmons (pictured together in 2009) 'He threw me up against the wall and looked at me for two seconds and then we started making out like crazy,' O'Day said during the podcast (pictured sitting on Simmons' lap in 2009 during her birthday party) Advertisement Chilling photos have emerged of a body of an alleged drug dealer lying on the ground after he was killed in Manila today. The identity of the killer is not known, but the death comes as Philippine police announced they had shot dead 13 drug suspects. Days before, President Rodrigo Duterte moved to take the country out of the International Criminal Court because of its inquiry into his deadly drug war. The suspects were killed Wednesday in the northern province of Bulacan, an official statement said, an area where police have previously launched lethal crackdowns on illegal drugs. People watch as the body of an alleged drug dealer lies in the streets in Manila. President Duterte has urged authorities to kill drug suspects while promising to protect police from legal sanction The body of an alleged drug dealer lies on the ground after he was killed by an unidentified assailant in Manila on March 23 'Bulacan police are continuously and relentlessly implementing their intensified campaign against illegal drugs,' the statement said, adding there had been more than 100 arrests. The war crimes tribunal, based in The Hague, last month launched a preliminary inquiry into Duterte's bloody crackdown on narcotics, amid allegations Philippine security forces may have committed crimes against humanity. Philippine police have said they have killed roughly 4,100 suspects who fought back during arrest, but rights groups allege the actual number is three times higher and accuse the authorities of murder. The tribunal opened in 2002 to try abuses in countries where national courts cannot or will not prosecute. Manila in 2011 ratified the Rome Statute that created the court. Manila gave official notice to the United Nations last week that it would withdraw, days after Duterte announced his country would quit the court over alleged 'baseless, unprecedented and outrageous attacks' against his government's rights record. Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said last Friday the Philippines was pushing back against 'the well-orchestrated campaign to mislead the international community, to crucify President Duterte... by distorting the human rights situation in the country'. Police attend the scene of the body of an alleged drug dealer in Manila, just days after President Rodrigo Duterte moved to take the country out of the International Criminal Court over its inquiry into his deadly drug war The tribunal has urged Manila to reconsider its decision, adding that officially quitting the court requires a year's notice and does not preclude its preliminary inquiry into the drug war killings, which have drawn international concern. Duterte, who is buoyed by high popularity ratings at home, has fiercely defended the drug war as a battle to bring safety to the nation's 100 million people. He has frequently urged authorities to kill drug suspects while promising to protect police from legal sanction. A British teacher has received a suspended sentence for sexually abusing a five-year-old girl from the school he worked at in Cambodia. Mark Smith, 40, had been Vice Principal of Golden Bridge International School in Phnom Penh when he took the young student home and molested her. The married father-of-two from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, was found guilty of 'committing indecent assault with aggravating circumstances' and received a two-year suspended jail sentence on Thursday. Mark Smith, 40, from Great Yarmouth, in Norfolk, has been found guilty of sexually abusing a five-year-old female pupil at a private school where he was vice principal Smith (pictured outside court with his wife and child) took the girl home before molesting her. He was handed a two year suspended sentence and a fine of 885 He was also fined five million Cambodian Riels (885) after the hearing at Phnom Penh Municipal Court. The allegations against Smith surfaced during a radio show in July last year when the show's host was discussing the the case of British paedophile Clive Cressy, a doctor arrested for abusing girls. The female radio host gave details of alleged abuse by Smith, claiming the girls' parents were too afraid to make a complaint. Police later followed up the case and arrested Smith. Khoem Vando, Child Protection Specialist at Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE) which had worked on the case, said: 'APLE responded to the report immediately and started looking into the matter with police, who acted very swiftly. 'The suspect was quickly identified at the school and sufficient evidence was found to justify the arrest of Mark Andrew Smith.' Smith moved to Siem Reap, in Cambodia, in 2007, where he started working at Smart Kids International School. In August 2014 he moved to Phnom Penh to work at the Golden Bridge School as its Vice Principal. He was arrested in July last year while leaving the schoolroom for the day and held in custody on suspicion of sexually abusing a five-year-old girl. Smith moved to Camboia in 2007 in order to teach, and became vice principal of the Golden Bridge International School in Phnom Penh in 2014 The allegations against Smith only came to light after a radio host who knew the family spoke about the incident on her show, leading police to investigate Speaking after the verdict, APLE Executive Director Seila Samleang said: 'It is a grave concern to observe the growing incidence of child sexual abuse in private schools, orphanages and child-welfare organisations over the last few years. 'The situation is alarming and effective measures must be put in place to stop the problem. 'The lack of child safeguarding procedures at schools, for instance, and the fact that these institutions fail to conduct proper checks on their employees, can be the main factors which allow abuse to happen and persist.' Speaking in handcuffs outside court following the arrest last year and with his wife and child, Smith said: 'Innocent 100 per cent, okay, innocent 100 per cent. 'It's a disgrace. This is my family, this is my family, I have two kids, [this is an attempt] to break up my family, and I didn't do anything.' Last month, retired British businessmen Leslie Peter Henman, 63, and David Malcolm Brock, 65, were arrested in Cambodia's Siem Reap province accused of molesting dozens of underage boys by luring them to play in their swimming pool. Their case is currently progressing through the courts. A 'hot cop' who went viral in a selfie as he helped Hurricane Irma victims last year has taken a leave of absence to appear on the next season of 'Survivor'. Officer Daniel Rengering, with the Gainesville Police Department in Florida, was approached by 'Survivor' producers about six months ago, tmz.com reported. He will be paid handsomely for his appearance - no less than $10,000 and possibly up to $1 million if he wins. Scroll down for video Officer Daniel Rengering (right) along with Officer John Nordman (left) and Officer Michael Hamill (middle) shot to fame last year after their selfie during Hurricane Irma was posted on Facebook. Officer Hamill resigned in December from the police department after he was discovered to have written anti-Semitic comments on social media The 27-year-old is selling calendars for $30 that feature 13 pictures of himself. All the money will go towards the Basketball Cop Foundation, which was started in Gainesville, Florida Pictured is one of the photos that will be featured in the 13-picture calendar of Rengering Rengering, 27, became something of a celebrity after he and two other cops posted a selfie of them working on the night of Hurricane Irma. His rise to fame is in contrast with the ignominious career path of another policeman in the Irma selfie - Officer Michael Hamill resigned from the police in December because of anti-Semitic comments he had written on Facebook. Rengering is reported to flying out to Fiji to start filming season 37 by the end of this week. His last day at the Gainesville Police Department was last week - but his patrol job is reported to remain open for him if and when he returns. Officer Daniel Rengering has become hot property on social media since he shot to fame at the end of last year Rengering now has a huge fan page on Facebook after the Irma selfie went viral -he often advocates better relations between the police and the public Last month he released a calendar to raise money for a police program which reaches out to kids. The calendar costs $30 and can be personalized with a message from Officer Rengering for an added $5. It will run from March 2018 to 2019 with every month featuring the 'hot cop'. Thirsty: The selfie of Rengering and his co-workers went viral with more than 276,000 shares. He is now using his recent fame to help raise money for a good cause The selfie, which helped the officer garner fame, was posted on the police department's Facebook page and amassed more than 276,000 shares and 517,000 likes. But after the selfie went viral, Officer Michael Hamill was suspended over anti-Semitic posts that he allegedly made years ago. These posts were found after fans of the 'hot cops' went through their social media pages. In one post dated April 2013, Hamill allegedly wrote: 'Who knew that reading Jewish jokes before I go to bed would not only make me feel better about myself but also help me to sleep better as well.' The post continued: 'Here is one for everybody, 'What's the difference between boy scouts and Jews?' Anybody know? Well it is because 'Boy scouts come back from their camps,' the post continued. Hamill resigned in December from the police department after he was suspended for his posts. Rengering now has a fan page on Facebook after the viral selfie and is using his platform to advocate a better relationship between the public and police officers. Packing heat: A spokesperson for the Gainesville Police Department said they wanted to do a calendar featuring all their 'hot cops', but the city didn't approve it. Rengering went solo and released the calendar by himself A father could end up behind bars after allegedly swearing at staff during a Tiger Airways flight from Brisbane. Robert James Foster was flying to Adelaide with his son, 9, last year when he was allegedly seen drinking wine from a 'goon bag' from the overhead locker during the flight. The 38-year-old, who admitted the charges, was 'angry' and 'aggressive' towards staff because they refused to serve him alcoholic beverages, Adelaide Magistrates Court heard. Robert James Foster was flying to Adelaide with his son, 9, last year when he allegedly drank wine from a 'goon bag' in the overhead locker during Tiger Airways flight (stock image) 'All I want is a f***ing drink,' Mr Foster allegedly said according to court documents. 'This is f***ing pathetic. F*** Tiger, what a piece of s**t, f***ing unbelievable. It's because I'm black. Tiger is racist.' Australian Federal Police, who met the man at Adelaide Airport after flight TT313 landed shortly after 6pm on December 11, found an inflatable life jacket from the plane in Mr Foster's bag, The Advertiser reported. The accused is facing up to five years in jail and a maximum $10,500 fine. Magistrate Brett Dixon said Mr Foster had history of theft and dishonesty crimes, the publication reported. The 38-year-old will be sentenced in May after serving home detention. Ahmed Hassan, you have been found guilty by a Jury of the Old Bailey of Attempted Murder on overwhelming evidence. This is a case of attempted multiple murder. I will now sentence you for this most serious offence. Please sit down. Shortly before 7 am on Friday 15th September 2017, you left your foster parents home in Sunbury on foot carrying a heavy Lidl shopping bag and headed for Sunbury railway station. The Lidl bag must have looked innocuous enough to members of the public, including children, who passed you; but, in fact, its contents were extremely sinister and dangerous. It contained an improvised explosive device (IED) which you had spent the previous hours, days and weeks, meticulously researching, refining and manufacturing in your bedroom at 47 Cavendish Road where you lived with your foster parents. The IED contained 400 grams of the high explosive Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP). The explosive TATP (or Mother of Satan as it is sometimes known) has increasingly become the explosive of choice for terrorists. You packed the device with 2.2 kilograms of metal shrapnel comprising nails, screws, bolts, sockets, knives and screw-drivers. You had a home-made initiator in your pocket which you had manufactured out of a kitchen timer. Your intention that morning was to kill as many members of the British public as possible by planting the IED on a busy commuter tube train and then make your escape to the Continent via Dover according to a pre-arranged plan. You took the overground from Sunbury to Wimbledon and, on arrival, disappeared into the public toilets. There you set the timer for 15 minutes and placed it with the device inside the Lidl bag. You then boarded a District Line tube train at Wimbledon which left at 8:08 am heading towards Edgware. You positioned yourself by the rear right-hand door in Car 6 of the tube and placed the Lidl bag on the floor beside you. The CCTV shows that Car 6 began to fill up Page 2 of 11 with commuters at the intermediate stops of Wimbledon Park, Southfields and East Putney all heading to work in Central London. When the tube arrived at Putney Bridge station at 8:17 am you slipped out as more people boarded the carriage and made your way down the stairs and out of the station. You were wearing a beanie hat, a grey jumper and headphones and were making a conscious effort to behave casually and blend in to the crowd. You knew that approximately two minutes later your IED would go off killing (you hoped) dozens of people in the tube. At 8:19:54 am your IED exploded in Car 6 of the District Line tube train shortly after it had arrived at the next stop, Parsons Green station. There were approximately 93 people in the carriage when the device went off. The IED created a large fireball which rolled along the ceiling of the carriage. Numerous passengers sustained burns to their faces, heads, hair, arms and legs and were showered with glass. People ran out in fear and panic, helping other victims as they went. A major incident was declared. A total of 23 passengers received burns injuries, some significant; and a total of 28 people who were on the tube or at Parsons Green station that day suffered crush injuries in the aftermath of the incident. Fortunately, no one was killed. Those at the rear end of Car 6 that day were very fortunate. Things could easily have been so much worse. You made and planted a very significant explosive device. Given the amount of TATP (400 grams) used and the weight and variety of shrapnel packed around it (2.2 kg), had the device fully detonated as you designed and intended, it is inevitable that there would have been numerous fatalities and serious casualties, particularly amongst those in the closest proximity standing or sitting nearest to the IED. I am satisfied that it was your desire and intention to kill significant numbers of members of the public on that busy tube train that morning. It is sheer luck that the main charge did not fully detonate. This was due, most likely, to the initiator moving out of place and not igniting the main charge. As a result, it triggered only a partial explosion, or what the Prosecution explosives expert, Dr Sarah Wilson (a Senior Forensic Case Officer at the Forensic Explosives Laboratory at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory) called a violent deflagration as opposed to a detonation of the main charge. The immediate aftermath was marked by remarkable bravery by passengers caught up in this incident, in particular, a recently retired Met police officer and an ex-Army officer, both of whom had the presence of mind to approach the device as it continued to burn in order to assess its remaining danger and warn others and the authorities. The Met explosives team were quickly on the scene to neutralise it. I am satisfied that you were determined to create as much death and carnage that day as possible. You had filled the Tupperware box you had selected with 300 grams of TATP, and when you found you had excess, you put the remaining 100 grams into a blue glass jar which you then placed on top of the Tupperware, in order to maximise the main charge. You stole knives from Mr and Mrs Jones kitchen and went out shopping on 14th September to Asda and Aldi carefully selecting metal tools to buy which would provide the most effective, dangerous Page 3 of 11 and heaviest shrapnel. You targeted the District Line tube from Wimbledon at rush hour because you were familiar with it and knew it would be crowded with passengers. You cynically placed a pair of trousers over the top of the open bag to make it look innocuous and avoid the sort of suspicion that, e.g. a closed rucksack, might have engendered if abandoned on a tube. You made a viable timer and initiator. You wanted to save your own skin and were not prepared for shahada (martyrdom). On exiting Putney Bridge station, you set about executing a carefully thought-out escape plan which involved (i) surreptitiously destroying your SD card and disposing of your phone, (ii) taking a complex series of bus, tube and train journeys via Fulham, Earls Court, Richmond, Clapham Junction, Brighton, Ashford to Dover, and (iii) wearing 4 tops and 3 bottoms so you could switch your clothes at least four times in 24 hours. You also had 2,300 pounds in cash with you and had deliberately wiped your Mac computer so your webhistory could not investigated. You could not resist a glance out of the bus as it passed Parsons Green tube station to see the results of your handiwork. And the first thing you did after buying a new phone at Dover was to check the headline news. As Ms Alison Morgan for the Prosecution said, it must have come as a great disappointment to you to see that the IED which you had so carefully created had failed to operate correctly and the carnage which you had hoped to create had not occurred. You were arrested at 7:52 am on the morning of Saturday 16th September 2018 waiting for the Dover Ferry as a result of the good old-fashioned police work and alertness of officers at Dover who recognised you from the circulated image and approached you and questioned you. It is telling that as soon as they arrested you, you started shaking, praying and complaining that your rucksack should not be placed on the ground because it had the Quran in it. You are clearly very religious. You were not averse to using others to cover your tracks, e.g. having the hydrogen peroxide delivered to the address of a friend, Mr Mahmood, and then telling the police at Dover you were meeting another friend, Mr Farroukh, both of whom were entirely innocent. Following your arrival in the United Kingdom in 2015, you were content to lead a double life for almost two years. You presented as a very polite, well-behaved and exceptionally bright model student, grateful for the opportunities that were being given to you. You cynically exploited to the full the generosity and naivety of the system and those looking after and helping you. Meanwhile, you harboured dark thoughts. Those dark thoughts lay dormant for periods, particularly as you began to achieve academic success at Brooklands College, culminating in you being awarded a prize in July 2017 as student of the year. In a remarkable act of cynicism you used your prize money from the College, a 20 Amazon voucher, to purchase the first ingredient for the IED. One can only imagine the sense of betrayal felt by all those at Barnados and Brooklands College whom you duped. I sentence you on the basis that you did not start actively planning this attack until about a month before 15th September 2017, i.e. in mid-August 2017 when the evidence shows you began researching the ingredients for TATP on the Web. In my judgment, taking all the above considerations and aggravating and mitigating factors which I have outlined into account, the appropriate minimum term is 34 years with no discount for time spent in custody. 47. So, Ahmed Hassan, for the offence of Attempted Murder of which you have been convicted, I sentence you to Life imprisonment with a minimum term of 34 years. Finally, Ahmed Hassan, let me say this to you. You will have plenty of time to study the Quran in prison in the years to come. You should understand that the Quran is a book of peace; Islam is a religion of peace. The Quran and Islam forbid anything extreme, including extremism in religion. Islam forbids breaking the law of the land where one is living or is a guest. Islam forbids terrorism (hiraba). The Quran and the Sunna provide that the crime of perpetrating terror to cause corruption in the land is one of the most severe crimes in Islam.1 So it is in the law of the United Kingdom. You have, therefore, received the most severe of sentences under the law of this land. You have violated the Quran and Islam by your actions, as well as the law of all civilized people. It is to be hoped that you will come to realise this one day. Please go with the officers. Theresa May today hailed the agreement by Brussels of a Brexit transition deal and the formal start of UK-EU trade talks. The Prime Minister urged EU leaders to press on with a deal that worked for both sides after Brexit as she left Brussels following the latest leaders' summit. A transition deal was announced earlier this week and Mrs May said it had been adopted by the EU-27 in Brussels this morning. The deal effectively keeps everything the same from Brexit day on March 29, 2019, until the end of 2020 - when the final settlement is due to come into force. It means free movement will continue from the EU into Britain - though arrivals will now have to register - companies can continue to trade on existing rules, and new EU laws can be imposed in Britain. EU Council President Donald Tusk announced today the remaining 27 leaders had signed off on negotiating guidelines for the trade talks phase. At a press conference to close the summit, Mr Tusk praised 'positive momentum' in the talks but warned EU leaders would assess progress on Ireland in June. The new guidelines are unchanged from a draft published earlier this week. They call for a future relationship that is 'as close as possible' but warns the EU is determined to protect its institutions, including the single market. Mrs May did not take part in today's Brexit talks, which are only held between the remaining 27 member states. The PM stayed overnight to take part in talks on Donald Trump's steel tariffs. Theresa May (pictured in Brussels this morning) will leave an EU summit later to allow the remaining EU members to sign off on the Brexit transition deal with Britain At a press conference to close the summit (pictured), Donald Tusk praised 'positive momentum' in the talks but warned EU leaders would assess progress on Ireland in June European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (pictured in Brussels today) has also signed up to the Brexit transition deal EU Council President Donald Tusk announced guidelines on trade talks had been formally agreed this morning EU leaders resumed their summit in Brussels today (pictured) with discussions covering a trade war with America and Brexit In his press conference to end the summit, Mr Tusk said: 'We want to use the positive momentum in the negotiations to finally settle outstanding issues, such as a solution to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. 'In parallel, we will start our first talks about the future EU/UK relationship. 'Leaders will assess in June if the Irish question has been resolved and how to go about a common declaration on our future.' As she headed home today, Mrs May said: 'I welcome the fact that the EU Council this morning has agreed the details of the implementation period. 'This gives certainty to people and businesses, it gives them the clarity to plan for their future and it ensures that they will only have to make one adjustment, one change when we enter into the new relationship with the EU. 'I believe there's a new dynamic now in the negotiations, I believe we are approaching this with a spirit of cooperation, and spirit of opportunity for the future as well. What are the key points agreed in the Brexit transition deal? Brexit Secretary David Davis and EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier were all smiles as they unveiled the Brexit transition deal Rights of EU nationals Britain has agreed that EU nationals arriving in the country during the transition period will have the same rights as Europeans living in the UK now. Free trade deals Britain will be able to negotiate and sign free trade deals around the world during the transition period. However, they will only come into force after the transition period has ended. The transition period The transition period will end on 31 December 2021 - meaning Britain will have a 21 month implementation phase. The Irish border Britain and the EU promised to keep a soft Irish border. Britain says it hopes to use technology to come up with plans to have an invisible border as part of the free trade deal. If nothing is agreed then a 'backstop' agreement will come into force meaning the UK would agree to align closely enough with EU rules to avoid a hard border. Divorce Bill: Britain signed up to the Brexit divorce bill, which is around 40billion. Advertisement 'We will now be sitting down and determining those workable solutions for Northern Ireland but also for our future security partnership and economic partnership.' Shadow Brexit Secretary Sire Keir Starmer welcomed progress. He said: 'Today's agreement is a step in the right direction but we are still a very long way away from both sides reaching an agreement on what the future relationship will look like. 'Theresa May must now finally drop her reckless red lines and take the action needed to protect jobs, the economy and avoid a hard border in Northern Ireland.' Despite the agreements, Brexiteers warned today it would be 'folly' for Britain to abandon preparations for a no deal Brexit. Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Brexiteer ring leader on the Tory backbenches, said Britain must be prepared to walk away from talks until a trade deal was finalised. Mrs May was greeted with a kiss on the hand by EU negotiator Michel Barnier as she made a surprise return to a summit in Brussels this morning. The Prime Minister has now left the summit as planned following EU-wide talks on Donald Trump's US steel tariffs. The EU Brexit discussion will then take place. Mr Rees-Mogg, chairman of the Tory European Research Group, said abandoning no-deal preparations would be 'folly'. He told Politico: 'If we were ready [to walk away with no deal] the EU would not be, as it has made no plans to cut spending in the beneficiary states or raise revenue from the other net contributors. 'That would leave us in a very strong negotiating position.' Last night Mrs May told EU leaders it is their duty to show 'energy and ambition' in negotiating a post-Brexit trade relationship which will be good for both Britain and Europe. Addressing fellow leaders over dinner on Thursday Mrs May said that 'compromise on both sides' had been required to reach a mutually acceptable legal text on the transition. Britain believes that moving on to trade talks with the EU will help unblock the logjam over the Irish border and prevent the need to implement a 'backstop' solution proposed by Brussels which would keep Northern Ireland in the Customs Union. Theresa May (pictured in Brussels today with the UK's EU ambassador Tim Barrow ) hailed the 'spirit of opportunity' which has seen the EU sign up to the deal Mrs May was greeted with a kiss on the hand by EU negotiator Michel Barnier as she made a surprise return to a summit in Brussels this morning (pictured) Last night Mrs May told EU leaders it is their duty to show 'energy and ambition' in negotiating a post-Brexit trade relationship which will be good for both Britain and Europe (pictured arriving in Brussels with aides including ambassador Sir Tim Barrow, right, today) London is hopeful that a solution to keep Northern Ireland's border with the Republic open will emerge in the context of a deal allowing trade between Britain and the rest of the EU to be as frictionless as possible. What is in the EU Council's new negotiating rules on trade talks? The EU Council today adopted negotiating guidelines ahead of planned formal trade talks. It says: The EU wants tariff free trade with Britain after Brexit. But it warns Britain cannot have 'partial participation' in the EU single market to achieve this. Services - crucial to the UK - will only be included with restrictions. The document sets out a willingness on the EU side to let Britain stay inside the Single Market and Customs Union if Theresa May dropped her red lines on the issue. There is common ground on a close defence, security and policing partnership. The EU wants a deal on aviation to keep planes flying after Brexit Advertisement Mrs May told the EU27 leaders: 'We have the chance now to create a new dynamic in the talks, to work together to explore workable solutions on Northern Ireland, on our future security co-operation and in order to ensure the future prosperity of all our people. 'This is an opportunity it is our duty to take and to enter into with energy and ambition.' Irish Taioseach Leo Varadkar played down suggestions that he wanted the border issue settled by the summer. 'Would I like to have it done by June? Yes, absolutely,' he said. 'But I would rather have the right deal in October rather than any deal in June.' Mr Varadkar said he envisaged a trading relationship between the UK and the EU, 'so close that many of the measures in the backstop may become unnecessary'. Arriving at the summit venue earlier, Mrs May said: 'I am looking for a new dynamic in the next stage of negotiations, so that we can ensure that we work together to negotiate and develop that strong future economic and security partnership which I believe is in the interests of the UK and the EU.' Mrs May was greeted by other EU leaders during the emergency trade discussion today, including Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite (pictured) Mr Barnier, who kissed Mrs May's hand as they met in the entrance lobby of the Europa building in Brussels, said Friday marked a 'decisive' moment in 'this difficult and extraordinary negotiation'. WHEN WILL BRITAIN BE OUT OF THE EU? Britain triggered Article 50 on March 29, 2017, starting a two year process for leaving the EU: March 2018: Outline transition deal agreed, running for about two years June 2018: EU summit that Brussels says should consider broad principles of a future trade deal. October 2018: Political agreement on the future partnership due to be reached Early 2019: Major votes in Westminster and Brussels to ratify the deal March 29, 2019: Article 50 expires, Britain leaves the EU. Transition is expected to keep everything the same for about two years December 31, 2020: Transition expected to come to an end and the new relationship - if it has been agreed - should kick in Advertisement He cautioned that the future partnership negotiated over the coming months 'must respect the principles and identity of the EU and the single market'. Addressing fellow leaders over dinner on Thursday, Mrs May said 'compromise on both sides' had been required to reach a mutually acceptable legal text on the transition. It will see the UK continue to observe EU rules until the end of 2020 while winning the freedom to negotiate and ratify trade deals with outside countries. Britain believes that moving on to trade talks with the EU will help unblock the logjam over the Irish border and prevent the need to implement a 'backstop' solution proposed by Brussels which would keep Northern Ireland in the customs union. London is hopeful that a solution to keep Northern Ireland's border with the Republic open will emerge in the context of a deal allowing trade between Britain and the rest of the EU to be as frictionless as possible. Irish Taioseach Leo Varadkar (pictured on Wednesday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel) last night played down suggestions that he wanted the border issue settled by the summer Jacob Rees-Mogg (pictured in London on Wednesday), the Brexiteer ring leader on the Tory backbenches, said Britain must be prepared to walk away from talks until a trade deal was finalised A former British surfing champion has ditched her bikini for a wetsuit after condemning her sport as 'hyper-sexualised'. Sophie Hellyer, a former British champion, said that as a top surfer she felt like a 'a glorified bikini model' and hit out at the impractical nature of bikinis in sport. The 30-year-old, from Westward Ho!, Devon, said: 'I don't want to bad mouth anyone for surfing in a thong, surf in whatever you want. Top British surfer Sophie Hellyer, 30, has ditched her bikini for a wetsuit after condemning her sport as 'hyper-sexualised'. She hit out at the impractical nature of the clothing for sports and claimed since wearing a full wetsuit in competitions she has received less magazine coverage 'I just want to see a fairer representation of the actual female surfing community, wetsuit hoods and all. 'I personally don't like surfing in bikinis, its impractical - they come down all the time, I get sunburn, slip off from sun cream and always cut myself on the reef.' Miss Hellyer, who hasn't competed in a decade, went on: 'The subject of hyper-sexualisation in surfing is especially interesting for me as I have been on both sides of the debate. Miss Hellyer said that as a champion surfer she felt like a 'a glorified bikini model' and would often cut herself on the reef when not wearing the 5mm neoprene suits. The 30-year-old Brit from Westward Ho!, Devon, who surfs on a pink board, said she was taking a feminist stand Miss Hellyer said: 'I personally don't like surfing in bikinis, its impractical - they come down all the time, I get sunburn, slip off from sun cream and always cut myself on the reef'. She's travelled the world as a surfer and model for brands like Toyota, Hunter Boots and Finisterre 'I have modelled in countless bikini photo-shoots and I have shouted feminism from the rooftops. I don't believe I have to stop riding a pink surfboard just because I believe in equal pay.' She added that since changing her kit she found she was enjoying less coverage in surfing magazines. Miss Hellyer asked: 'Is that linked? Probably. When was the last time you saw a woman in a full wetsuit in a surf mag? Since donning only wetsuits in competitions, Miss Hellyer claims she's received far less magazine coverage, with photographers opting to capture women in skimpy outfits instead of her. She asked: 'When was the last time you saw a woman in a full wetsuit in a surf magazine?' 'I wish it weren't a big deal, but it does need to be talked about. 'Regardless of whether it's the right decision, I'm glad its opened up the conversation.' The surfer has travelled the world riding waves and modelling for brands including Toyota, Hunter Boots and Finisterre - often wearing skimpy bikinis. The issue of the portrayal of women in this sport came under the spotlight recently when photographers and videographers on the World Surf League (WSL) tours were told not to zoom in on female competitors wearing skimpy bikinis for fears over sexism claims 'The main thing is, I hope the women support each other and stick together,' she said. 'I wish what the women were surfing in was irrelevant. These are beautiful, strong, skilled women who are positive role models for many - let's celebrate them for that. 'If they choose to surf in a bikini or leggings or one piece, should all be irrelevant.' In her original blog post on the subject, Miss Hellyer said: 'I support professional female surfers who are pushing for an end to the over-sexualised surfing culture but it is a daunting thing to speak up about' Not all agreed with Ms Hellyer though, Carly Truss, of SurfGirl magazine told The Times: 'In the office, surrounded by the industry, surf brand, surf clothing, riders, surf articles I have not once experienced a sexualised take on the industry. 'We talk about the sport itself, the conditions, the waves, the riders, passion for the industry. Not whether they are wearing a bikini or not.' In Miss Hellyer's original blog post on the issue, she said: 'I dont believe I have to stop riding a pink surfboard just because I believe in equal pay,' and added 'I support professional female surfers who are pushing for an end to the over-sexualised surfing culture but it is a daunting thing to speak up about.' However, in a more recent blog post she sought to clarify her original statements and said: 'I was discussing the over sexualisation of female surfers, and the imbalance and objectification I have experienced. 'I think it its important we overcome this unconscious bias and move away from this potentially damaging archetype of female surfers, as it is unhealthy for everyone.' The remaining council members of an elite private school will step down after the deputy headmaster was sacked for cutting a student's hair. School council chair Robert Utter claimed that if there were any more sudden resignations, Trinity Grammar would have to enter into administration after three members of the council announced they would relinquish their positions last week. 'This is extremely unfortunate and disappointing,' he said in a video addressed to parents and staff, the Canberra Times reported. Scroll down for video School council chair Robert Utter (pictured) claimed that if there were any more sudden resignations Trinity Grammar would have to enter into administration 'It saddens me to say that never in my 30-plus years as a Trinity parent and school council servant have I observed the sort of behaviours we have seen in the past two weeks; behaviour that has only served to bring the proud name and heritage of Trinity Grammar into disrepute.' Rohan Brown, the former deputy headmaster of Trinity Grammar School, spoke earlier in the week for the first time after his sacking for cutting a student's hair. Mr Brown wrote a letter to the school captain and four vice captains of the prestigious Victorian private school imploring them to end their 'smart casual' protest over his sacking. 'It is my wish that the boys return to school uniform for the remainder of the term,' the letter reads. 'Your strength of character, love of the school and leadership is very evident and I would wholeheartedly support you ensuring the boys are back in uniform.' Mr Brown thanked the boys for their support over the last and acknowledged that 'it must be very trying, confusing and difficult for the five of you.' The student at the centre of the incident, who had his hair cut by a long-standing deputy principal, has revealed he never wanted him to be sacked. A woman who claimed to be the boy's aunt told The Herald Sun they did not try to force Rohan Brown out of Trinity Grammar School in Melbourne. She also said that her nephew had been the target of bullying since the announcement of Mr Brown's dismissal and that the student and Mr Brown had sorted the issue out between themselves. Students were seen passionately protesting the dismissal of Mr Brown, with one student claiming students and teachers alike were crying over it. However, despite more than 500 people signing an online petition to 'Bring Brownie Back' and parents threatening to withhold fees, the school is standing firm on its decision. Video footage taken on students' mobile phones show Rohan Brown cutting a student's hair Principal Michael Davies said he would consult with advisors and leaders so that the school could provide more insight into the issue in the coming weeks. Trinity Grammar School council chairman Roderick Lyle told parents on Thursday night Mr Brown had left the school. Mr Lyle said Mr Brown's actions were 'inconsistent with community expectations in this day and age', The Age reported. School council chairman Roderick Lyle told parents on Thursday night deputy principal Rohan Brown (pictured) had left Trinity Grammar in Melbourne It is understood Mr Brown cut a student's hair because it was too long on the school's photo day. The school's policy is that hair must be off the collar. 'As a result, the school council was of the view that Mr Brown's leadership position at the school was no longer tenable,' the letter read. 'We are all very disappointed and deeply saddened by the situation.' Mr Brown had worked at the school for almost 30 years, and said he was upset about what had happened. 'I would like to go back. It's a good school and this is tearing me apart. I can't comment further,' he said. Former students said they believed the decision to sack Mr Brown was political. 'This was a school which produced well-rounded men who had an interest in the wider community not just their pay packets and status. The school is being destroyed,' a former Trinity Grammar student said. Mr Brown has since been dismissed from the school over the incident, but the student never wanted it to go that far Former teachers said there had been high staff turnover after current principal Michael Davies took the role in 2014. A teacher estimates 152 staff had left the school since then. In his letter to parents, Mr Lyle said Mr Brown had served the school and had made a strong contribution. An interim leadership structure has been put in place at the school while the council looked for a replacement for Mr Brown. A woman whose brother strangled their mother and hid her body under a caravan is campaigning for a change in the law after he was allowed to keep control of his murder victims estate. Ross Taggart, from Dunfermline, killed his mother, Carol, just days before Christmas in 2014 - but the 33-year-old remains executor of her estate, despite serving life in prison. After the murder he used her credit card to bankroll a night out in Edinburgh and pawned her jewellery, claiming she had been left to him. Her body was found wrapped in bedding three weeks later under a caravan after apparently being beaten around the head and strangled. But since being jailed Taggart has used his power as executor to repeatedly reject requests from his sister, Lorraine Bristow, for access to their mothers property, where she wants to pick up some mementoes including photographs. Ross with his mother in New York a month before he killed her and tried to cover up the crime. Despite being jailed for life he is still the executor of her estate Taggart killed his mother at the home they shared in Dunfermline, Fife, before hiding her body under this caravan. He is said to lay claim to the one his mother is believed to have owned next door His mother's body was found wrapped in bedding three weeks later under a caravan 30 miles from home (pictured) after apparently being beaten around the head and strangled He was jailed in 2015 after a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh, which heard that he killed his mother at the home they shared in Dunfermline, Fife, before hiding her body under a caravan. Taggart has used his power as executor to repeatedly reject requests from his sister, Lorraine Bristow, pictured outside court, for access to their mothers property Following the guilty verdict, family members suggested that Taggart may have killed the 54-year-old after finding out she had written him out of her will. He is reportedly demanding the 350,000 home where he killed his mother, her belongings and even the caravan next to the one where he hid her body. His sister Lorraine Bristow is now backing a petition, set up by her husband Stephen, which states: We would like to see a change in Scots Law that would prevent convicted murderers from being able to act as administrator/executor of the estate of the person they were convicted of killing. Ross Taggart is currently in jail in Scotland dictating to his lawyers what should be done with the estate of the person he murdered. It adds that the killers continuing control over the 350,000 estate is denying Mrs Bristow closure. Mr Bristow, 32, said: I set the petition up because I cannot bear to watch my wife suffer any longer. The last three years we have been fighting back and forward with Rosss lawyers. All Lorraine wants is to gain access to the house to pick up sentimental items; an item of clothing and some photographs. We have been getting reason after reason through Rosss lawyers rejecting entry saying he is trying to protect the property to he is trying to protect Lorraine. Ultimately were willing to buy the items. Its not the money side of things, its the sentimental items we want. Lorraine wants to be able to show our children photographs and say, heres your granny. Ross Taggart killed his mother, Carol, just days before Christmas in 2014 - but the 33-year-old remains executor of her estate, despite serving life in prison. After the murder he used her credit card to bankroll a night out in Edinburgh and pawned her jewellery (pictured at a Fife pawnbrokers), claiming she had left it all to him Taggart told friends his mother had gone missing when in fact he had murdered her - reportedly because she was planning to change her will Mrs Bristow has shared the Change.org petition, saying: Please take a moment to sign and share. Thank you for your continued support. In another post, she adds: I just want to move on with this, its wasting me alive. Carol's son still wants her estate despite murdering her Taggarts trial heard that after the killing he treated himself to a night out in Edinburgh using his mothers credit card and pawned her jewellery. Police found Mrs Taggarts body wrapped in bedding under a caravan at Pettycur Bay, near Kinghorn, Fife, on January 11, 2015. Sentencing Taggart in 2015, judge Lord Uist told him: How you have lived with your conscience since you murdered your mother, I do not know. You have been convicted of the terrible crime of the murder of your own mother, a woman who did a great deal, indeed probably too much, for you in the course of her life. Mr Bristows petition has attracted almost 1,500 signatures and hundreds of comments since it was set up online earlier this week. Ailsa Forrest wrote: I cant even believe this has to be petitioned! He should have lost all legal rights the second he was convicted. This is just making an already living hell ten times worse. The house where Taggart murdered his mother and over which he still has legal control A Scottish Government spokesman said: We note the concerns raised in this online petition. While it would not be appropriate for us to comment on any individual case, we will be happy to consider the issues raised during the forthcoming public consultation, part of ministers commitment to modernise the law of succession in Scotland during this parliament. The spokesman added: An executor may be removed in certain circumstances by raising an action in the Court of Session. A Brazilian man awaiting deportation has attempted a sensational escape from police custody while appearing in court today. Bruno Souza, 21, was facing court in Sydney on a string of charges including serious assault occasioning actual bodily harm and property damages when he made the mad dash for freedom at 10am. Souza fled from the scene and across Henry Street in Penrith, leaping a nearby fence in an attempt to evade police 7 News reported. Scroll down for video Brazilian man Bruno Souza, 21, attempted a sensational escape from police custody while appearing at a Penrith Court today Within seconds Souza was caught by pursing officers, handcuffed and brought back to the court house However, within seconds Souza was caught by pursing officers, handcuffed and brought back to the court house. Souza moved to Australia in 2007 as a dependent on a tourist visa but his visa has been revoked since that time. He has been appealing his deportation order. In that time, Souza has been charged with a string of offences including drug possession and has spent time in jail. His multiple attempts at applying for a permanent protection visa have been denied and Souza still plans on appealing his deportation order, despite his criminal record. He has been held at Villawood Immigration Detention Centre awaiting deportation and was taken back after today's attempt at escape. A Florida woman has been arrested after she was accused of attacking her husband when he forgot their wedding anniversary. Carol Stone, 35, was detained Wednesday by the Pasco Sheriff's Office after allegedly 'smacking' her husband 'multiple times' on his head and face, foxnews.com reported. Police said her husband recorded the assault on his cell phone and has handed it over to deputies. Carol Stone was allegedly seriously unimpressed when her husband forgot their wedding aniversary Pasco Sheriff's Office in the aftermath of the alleged assault have reminded people that domestic abuse of any kind is unacceptable Stone later confirmed to police that she carried out the attack because her husband forgot their special day. Police said that during the argument, Stone pushed her husband on the ground 'and went crazy on him'. There was no word on how long the couple have been married. Her arrest report said that she had been charged with domestic battery, a misdemeanor charge. Bomb disposal teams carried out a controlled explosion at a famous London landmark after a suspicious package was discovered. Witnesses reported hearing a loud bang as the item, later found to be a discarded microwave, was destroyed near the Gherkin. Images posted on Twitter showed a bomb disposal robot at the scene on St Mary Axe, in central London just before 9am. One image showed the bomb robot (right) moments after it had carried out the controlled explosion on the red 'box' (right) An image of the microwave after the controlled explosion The microwave had been discarded on a side street off St Mary Axe Officers inspected the package following the explosion, with some witnesses describe it as looking like a microwave St Mary Axe, the street next to the famous Gherkin (pictured) was in lockdown for an hour Buses were put on diversion around the area, in the heart of the capital's financial district. Onlookers watching from office windows took to Twitter saying the package looked like a microwave. Matthew Reeves wrote: "This is the controlled explosion outside the Gherkin on St Mary Axe, City of London. "Looks like a microwave, red parts appear to be packaging. Area still locked down. Another image taken by a witness and posted on Twitter shows the bomb robot surrounded by police City of London Police said in a tweet just before 9am: "We've put cordons around St Mary Axe due to a report of a suspicious package (a box) in Bury St received at 8.56am. "We'd ask people to avoid the area while we deal with the incident, and for people in nearby buildings to follow their internal procedures. The force then tweeted an hour later at t 9.55am that the cordon had been lifted and the bomb robot was taken away. Later they revealed the package was 'a discarded electrical item' and there was 'no cause for alarm. The force added: 'We always encourage you to report anything that doesn't feel right, no matter how small it seems.' Keelan Groves, 15, was found found hanged in his bedroom following a row with his parents about using his mobile phone at night, an inquest heard A 15-year-old schoolboy was found found hanged in his bedroom following a row with his parents about using his mobile phone at night, an inquest heard. Keelan Groves and his younger brother had been told to keep their devices in a downstairs room when they went to bed so they would not play on them late into the evening. But when Keelan was late bringing it downstairs on May 17, he returned to his bedroom with the phone and the following morning had an argument with his parents and had the device confiscated at school. That evening, on May 18, Keelan apologised to his mother Julie but later that night his father found him hanged at the family home in Fleetwood, Lancashire. He was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital and was transferred to Manchester Children's hospital but died two days later on May 20. At an inquest into the youngster's death, a coroner said Keelan's death was an 'act of impulse' but the teenager did not 'intend the consequences of his actions.' Keelan who was in Year 10 at Fleetwood High School, was a keen musician and played the drums with a local rock band. Keelan was a keen musician and played the drums in a local band. He had been told to leave his phone downstairs before bedtime but kept it upstairs following a row with his parents Keelan's phone was confiscated at school the day after he rowed with his parents. Later in the evening, his devastated father found him hanged in his bedroom In a statement to the Fleetwood hearing, his father, Darren, said: 'We had an agreement with the children that mobile devices on school nights come downstairs to be charged, so they don't play on them all night. 'That agreement had been in place for a couple of years, with no problems. Keelan's mother would text him saying that it's time to bring the phone downstairs, and he would. Both boys were pretty good at abiding by these rules with no problems.' Last May Keelan was late bringing his phone downstairs for the night. Mr Groves added: 'His mother sent him a message and he eventually came down some time after 10pm. We had a discussion about it, and he took the phone back upstairs with him. 'The decision was made to leave it until the following day to sort it out but when we went upstairs, it seemed like his phone was not switched on. 'I got up early to go to work but when I came home that afternoon, my wife was already at home and that was a surprise to me. At an inquest into Keelan's death, the boy's distraught father said he seemed 'very relaxed' before he was found hanged 'She was upset that she had had an argument with Keelan. She had confiscated his phone but he took it back from her and his head of year put the phone in the safe at school. He had apologised to his mum, and accepted that he was out of order and I could tell he knew he had done wrong. 'I had a talk with him, and his attitude was that that he knew he would get it back the next day from the school. He said he had apologised to mum and went upstairs just after 4pm. 'I went into his room and he seemed fine. He was sat at the end of his bed, he was watching YouTube. He was a bit of a musician, he was watching a band. He seemed very relaxed. 'I went out and came back about 20 minutes later. It was just my wife and other son there but 20 minutes later I went upstairs and I found Keelan. I cannot believe he wanted to end his own life. When I left his bedroom earlier, he seemed his usual self.' Det Insp Alisa Wilson of Lancashire Police said: 'Keelan's phone was pin locked so it took some time to access it. But there was nothing on the it to give any indication as to this would have happened. He seemed like a normal teenage boy. 'We had a meeting, and no investigative body expressed any concern over his health or mental health.' The coroner recorded a verdict of death by hanging but said Keelan did not 'intend the consequences of his actions' Recording a verdict of death by hanging coroner Richard Taylor said: 'There had been a disagreement at home over Keelan's use of his mobile phone at night while in bed. He returned from school on the 18 May and his father left to pick up his younger brother. 'He had a brief conversation with Keelan in which he seemed fine but he returned to the house 20 minutes later and found him hanging.' The coroner told Mr Groves: 'There is nothing that I have heard it read that suggests either you or your wife should reproach yourselves in any way. This was a reasonable punishment that many parents would adopt in these circumstances. 'It seems it was accepted by Keelan, who apologised to his mum as he knew that he had been in the wrong. It was supported by his school and it was a punishment intended to be for a short duration. 'He believed that he would get his phone back the next day from the school.. Questions parents often ask are 'what if'. I would suggest that, if put in the same circumstances, you would not have considered there to be anything wrong with your punishment. 'I believe that what Keelan did was an act of impulse. It was not thought out or planned. I can't accept that he believed his actions would end his life.' In a statement at the time of tragedy Richard Barnes headmaster at Fleetwood High said Keelan's funeral cortege would pass by the school. He said: 'The school was shocked and saddened to hear the news that Keelan tragically passed away before the half term holiday. 'Keelan was a fantastic member of the Fleetwood High Family and will be missed by all. Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.' For confidential support call the Samaritans in the UK on 116 123, visit a local Samaritans branch or go to www.samaritans.org for details. An aged care worker who vanished from her beachside home after being evicted for failing to pay rent has been missing for nearly one month. Roberta Ives, 57, was seen heading down to the beach on February 26 in the coastal town of Corinella, Victoria without any personal belongings and hasn't contacted family or friends since. The woman - who lived alone - has not touched her bank account and police fear she may be sleeping rough after she was spotted in a daze at a park two days after her disappearance. Scroll down for video Roberta Ives, 57, (pictured) was seen heading down to the beach on February 26 in the coastal town of Corinella in Victoria without any personal belongings and hasn't contacted family or friends since Ms Ives vanished from her beachside home (pictured) after being evicted for failing to pay rent has been missing for nearly one month. 'She was spoken to and didn't respond to the neighbour... and walked off,' Senior Constable Nick Carlson told Seven News. It is believed Ms Ives may have been evicted from her property on Kilburn Crescent after she fell behind in rent. Police and SES volunteers have combed the coastal, bushland and beach areas for any sign of Ms Ives. They also hold concerns for her welfare as she suffers from a medical condition. Ms Ives does not have any personal belongings with her and was last seen wearing a light-coloured blouse, grey slacks and open shoes. It is believed Ms Ives (pictured) may have been evicted from her property on Kilburn Crescent after she fell behind in rent The woman - who lived alone - has not touched her bank account and police fear she may be sleeping rough after she was spotted in a daze at a park (pictured) two days after her disappearance An upset neighbour who alerted police of Ms Ives' disappearance hopes her missing friend will return safely. 'There's always a bed at my place,' Robyn Smith said. 'You can always come and stay with me and sort this out.' Police have released an image of Ms Ives in the hope someone recognises her and can provide details on her whereabouts. Anyone who sees Ms Ives or has information on her current whereabouts is urged to contact Cowes Police Station on 5952 2037 or Wonthaggi Police Station on 5671 4100. Spirit airlines has been forced to apologize to a Parkland school shooting survivor after he complained about a crewmember making a speech about banning semi-automatic rifles. Kyle Kashuv, 16, survived the Valentine's Day shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and has been campaigning for gun reform since. However, unlike many of his fellow survivors, he considers himself an NRA and Trump supporter and wants to protect the Second Amendment. Parkland survivor Kyle Kashuv, 16, who has been campaigning for pro-Second Amendment gun reform, was angered by a Spirit Airlines crew-member's 'speech' about banning AR-15s Frustrated: Kashuv was on his way to Washington to attend a 'millennials' panel at the White House with Ivanka Trump, when he took offense with the stewardess's lecture But when Spirit was quick to reply with an apology, Kashuv let them off the hook En-route to Washington D.C. to attend a 'millennials' panel at the White House with Ivanka Trump, he claims a member of staff on a Spirit Airlines gave the passengers a 'speech' after landing at Baltimore Airport. He tweeted: 'Just landed in Baltimore on @SpiritAirlines and the stewardess felt compelled to give us all a speech about the March for Our Lives, which openly says on the petition are trying to categorically ban AR-15's, and made everyone clap. 'Can anything just be non-political anymore?' His tweet prompted the airline to apologize, and replied to his tweet saying: 'While we appreciate that our Team Members are individuals, we dont believe politics should be part of the Guest experience. 'We are looking into the incident and apologize to any Guests offended by these comments.' Kashuv was in the building when Nikolas Cruz walked into Marjory Stoneman High School in Parkland, Florida , and killed 17 people with an AR-15 last month. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Kashuv said that he supported Trump in the last election and considers himself a Republican. But he said the shooting made him reconsider his position on guns, saying there needs to be stronger background checks to make sure mentally unstable people like Nikolas Cruz can't purchase weapons. Big fan: Kyle Kashuv met with President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump 'Previously I believed that everyone under the Constitution should be allowed to have guns, but I now realize that not everyone should have guns and we should have way stricter background checks and mental evaluations,' he said. 'We need to a middle ground and have some reform.' Kashuv is calling for bipartisan legislation, and has been meeting with Republican politicians in efforts to help protect what he believed to be the core of the second amendment. This has seen him clash with fellow survivors from the Parkland shooting, in particular the founders of the March for Our Lives who are calling for a blanket ban on assault weapons in the U.S. Meanwhile a new Time magazine cover featuring five of the shooting survivors has drawn some criticism. In the center of the cover stands Emma Gonzalez - a high school senior who gained notoriety after her impassioned speech about gun violence just days after the shooting - with her arms crossed across the chest. The headline reads 'ENOUGH' in capital letters with four other student activists - Jaclyn Corin, Alex Wind, Cameron Kasky and David Hogg - featured on either side of Gonzalez. But conservatives criticized the cover claiming it was missing the other side of the debate, specifically Kashuv. Advertisement Britain is set for more bad weather with heavy rain and snow expected to arrive in time for the Easter holidays. Downpours are expected to batter the UK with up to 40mm of rain due to fall over parts of the North, followed by more snow with bitterly cold northerly winds sending temperatures plummeting to -4C. A Met Office spokesperson said that the mild temperatures would drop in the coming days with areas of low pressure bringing on heavy showers into the new week. Families hoping for sunnier Spring-time weather over the Easter holidays could be left bitterly disappointed as more frost and snow is expected over parts of the North East and into the North. Britain is set for more bad weather with heavy rain and snow expected to arrive in time for the Easter holidays. Downpours are expected to batter the UK with up to 40mm of rain due to fall over parts of the North, followed by more snow with bitterly cold northerly winds sending temperatures plummeting to -4C This comes after Britons have experienced treacherous conditions with snow and frost causing cimmuter chaos during March. A weatherman for the BBC said: 'Some computer models are suggesting that we are going to have a blast of cold Arctic air with wind coming in from the north. 'In this situation we do tend to get snow across northern Britain and there could even be wintry showers further south as well. 'That's one suggestion. Today some of the computer models were showing that actually some of the cold air could be coming in from Scandinavia and parts of Russia which is almost a Beast from the East, not quite, let's call it a Beast from the North East. Families hoping for sunnier Spring-time weather over the Easter holidays could be left bitterly disappointed as more frost and snow is expected over parts of the North East and into the North The south coastal resort of Dartmouth, known usually for its above average climate, pictured covered in snow on Monday 'Now this could still wobble a little bit but one thing we are getting increasingly confident about it that the air is not going to be coming from the south so get ready for a potentially chilly Easter.' Forecaster Amy Hodgson, of The Weather Channel, told The Mirror the chilly outlook is still in response to the sudden stratospheric warming event and polar vortex split which took place back in February. She added that the extended cold period is caused by high pressure blocking warmer air from sweeping across the country from the south-west. Heavy snow overnight on Sunday left snow drifts six foot high. Above, vehicles stranded near Ilfracombe, north Devon on Monday She said: 'For April, we expect temperatures to remain below normal across northern Europe. 'This is still in response to the sudden stratospheric warming event (SSWE) and polar vortex split which occurred back in February.' While research by Dr Todd Crawford, chief meteorologist at The Weather Channel, told the paper these events can lead to prolonged cold weather and a negative North Atlantic Oscillation 30 to 60 days after the initial split. Meteorologists are warning Easter weekend is predicted to be unseasonably chilly, with extreme lows of -9C in places Bitterly cold winds from the east and north-east normally dominate during a negative North Atlantic Oscillation phase. This could mean one more 'Beast from the East' could occur before May as dry and cold conditions take charge under high pressure throughout much of April. He said: 'As we head into April, most computer forecast models suggest we will get at least one more big cold spell before the blocking pattern fades, with warmer and wetter weather confined to parts of southern Europe.' Pictured: Farmers in their tractors help to clear the snow from a blocked road on Exmoor, Somerset 'White Easter': The Weather Channel UK tweeted a word of warning to followers this morning 'When will it end?': Long-range forecasts suggest two more spells of cold are on their way Advertisement This is the horrifying scene left behind after Syrian regime forces reportedly bombed a bunker in eastern Ghouta with Napalm overnight, burning at least 37 civilians to death. Images circulated online by the Syrian Civil Defence, a rescue group otherwise known as the White Helmets, showed volunteers pulling charred bodies from the ruined shelter. Rebel group Failaq al-Rahman, which controls the town of Arbin, said around 125 people, mostly women and children, were inside the shelter when the bomb exploded just before midnight when a ceasefire was supposed to take effect. Sources on the ground and rescuers from the Syrian Civil Defence claimed the air strikes were carrying napalm gas. At least 37 people were burned to death after an underground shelter in the town of Abrin, in Eastern Ghouta, was reportedly hit with 'Naplam' by regime forces overnight, according to observer groups and witnesses Failaq al-Rahman, the rebel group in control of Arbin, said around 125 people - mostly women and children - were in the shelter at the time the bomb struck, and they expect the death toll to rise. Above is an image being circulated on social media, purporting to show the scene in the bunker after the attack Syrian government forces also dropped bombs containing what appeared to be white phosphorus, a banned weapon, over the rebel-held town of Douma overnight on Thursday Douma, which is controlled by the Jaish al-Islam group, is one of just two rebel enclaves left in the Eastern Ghouta region. A third, around the town of Harasta, was emptied of fighters overnight The night sky in Douma was illuminated with dozens of fires overnight as incendiary bombs were dropped on the city in an attempt to retake it from the rebels A man tries to extinguish flames after a building was set alight in Douma overnight. It is unclear if there were any casualties in the raids, which happened in the early hours of Friday Izzet Muslimani, an activist in the town, told Al Jazeera: 'Those who were injured are still being treated for first and second degree burns. With the lack of emergency services, we are expecting the death toll to rise.' There were conflicting reports over who was responsible. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights attributed the attack to Russia. Activists on the ground said the Syrian air force was responsible for the atrocity. The use of Napalm in warfare is effectively banned under international weapons treaties. Moscow denied Friday it was bombing Eastern Ghouta with incendiary weapons after war monitors said Russian air strikes killed the 37 civilians. 'Russian aviation is not striking residential areas of Eastern Ghouta and especially it is not using incendiary weapons, unlike the US-led international coalition,' the Russian defence ministry said in a statement, quoted by TASS state news agency. Rebels in Arbin had earlier said they were hoping to be allowed to evacuate the city under a ceasefire, the term of which had been provisionally agreed, though it never materialised. Negotiations were continuing on Friday. Elsewhere rebels were allowed to evacuate the town of Harasta, with up to 400 fighters and their families taken out of the enclave on government buses bound for Idlib province. This follows a pattern which the Syrian government and its Russian allies have used elsewhere in the conflict: lay siege to an area, bombard it, launch a ground assault and finally offer passage out to rebels who agree to leave. A man watches helplessly as a building is consumed by fire following airstrikes using what appeared to be white phosphorous bombs in Eastern Ghouta Ghouta has been under siege for the best part of five years but attacks on the region drastically escalated in February as the government pushed to retake the region (pictured, a fire burns in Douma) The Syrian government and its Russian allies are using a tactic they have repeated throughout the war to recapture Ghouta - lay siege, bombard, send in ground troops, then offer evacuation to any rebels left (pictured, fires burn in Douma) Bashar al-Assad and Russia have been accused of indiscriminately using weapons against both civilians and rebels which has seen some 1,500 innocents killed in Ghouta in the last month, according to observer groups A man attempts to extinguish fires inside a building using nothing more than a bowl filled with water on Friday in Douma Up to 400 rebel fighters and their families were allowed to flee the town of Harasta overnight on government buses, effectively bringing the rebel stronghold under Assad's control Meanwhile in a third and final rebel enclave in the town of Douma, bombs containing what appeared to be white phosphorous, another banned weapon, rained down on the city overnight. Videos and pictures from the ground showed dozens of fires burning around the city in hellish scenes. If the evacuation of Arbin is successful, that would leave only the town of Douma still under rebel control. Pro-regime forces launched a blistering air and ground offensive on the Eastern Ghouta region on February 18. The assault has retaken 80 per cent of the enclave, the Syrian Observatory For Human Rights says, and what remains is within mortar range of Damscus, allowing for constant bombardment. The one-month offensive on Eastern Ghouta has killed more than 1,500 civilians, the Observatory says, and caused tens of thousands to flee into government-held areas. More than 350,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict since it broke out in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests. An Air China plane was left with a gaping hole yesterday after it had apparently struck a bird during a three-hour flight. Shocking pictures show a one-metre-wide (3.28-foot-wide) hole with bloodstains at the tip of the Boeing 737-800 after it landed in Hong Kong. The airline company, which is China's national flag carrier, said all parts of the aircraft worked well during the flight and no passengers were injured. The Air China plane landed in Hong Kong with a huge hole in the nose after a three-hour flight The Boeing 737-800 flew from Tianjin to Hong Kong International Airport (file photo) yesterday The Air China flight CA 103 took off at Tianjin Binhai International Airport at 10:21am and arrived at Hong Kong International Airport at 1:13pm. Air China told MailOnline that all passengers were arranged to leave the aircraft safely once it landed. The airline company said it's investigating the incident. It did not reveal the number of passengers on board. But according to Oriental Daily, the aircraft is a Boeing 737-800, which usually carries 189 passengers. Hong Kong's Airport Authority told Oriental Daily the apparent bird strike hadn't occurred in Hong Kong's airspace, which is among the busiest in the world. The Hong Kong's Airport Authority also said they had not received any request of assistance from flight CA 103. The authority said staff at the Hong Kong airport work hard to keep birds away. To prevent potential wildlife hazard, they inspect the height of the grass along the tarmac as well as the apron regularly to ensure it's not tall enough for birds to stay. Air China said the plane landed safely in Hong Kong and no passengers were injured An expert told local newspaper, Apple Daily , that a weather radar is installed inside the nose cone of a passenger plane. And t he cone is often made with specific materials such as fibreglass, which could protect sensitive instruments of the plane while allowing electronic signals to pass through. MailOnline has contacted Hong Kong Aviation Authority for comments and is awaiting a reply. Austrian Parliament yesterday voted to scrap an impending ban on smoking on bars and restaurants across the country. During a turbulent session in parliament, opposition MPs accused the government of 'voting for death' and betraying Austrian children. The blanket ban, enforced by the previous government, was due to come into effect in May and would bring Austria more into line with the UK and fellow European Union countries, which have far stricter smoke-free legislation. But the decision, championed by the coalition government, means Austria will remain one of the few dwindling number of countries where smoking in public spaces is legal. Austrian Parliament yesterday voted to scrap an impending ban on smoking on bars and restaurants across the country, backing the coalition government The move, led by far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) comes as a blow to health campaigners and opposition parties. The party made the vote as a condition of joining the Sebastian Kurz's coalition government last year. Bars and restaurants are allowed to set aside a ventilated section of their establishment for smokers under current laws. Pubs that are smaller than 500 square feet allow blanket smoking. The ban has been scrapped despite more than half a million people in signing an official petition calling for the ban to go ahead. An FPO demand to have the ban scrapped was written into the coalition agreement struck three months ago. Now that parliament has approved the bill, it must still be approved by the upper house and signed by the president. It is widely expected to pass both. 'This has not happened before in modern Europe,' the organisers of the petition, Vienna's doctors' association and the country's main anti-cancer organisation, said in a statement, calling the vote 'a unique bad example'. Footage from parliament showed lawmakers from the ruling People's Party and FPO standing together to vote in favour of the bill lifting the ban, despite the petition's organisers having called for a whip-free vote. Scrapping the ban was a key pledge made in last year's election campaign by Heinz-Christian Strache, leader of the FPO and vice-chancellor. Bars and restaurants are allowed to set aside a ventilated section of their establishment for smokers under current laws The FPO says a smoking ban would be an unnecessary intrusion on individual liberty and an unfair imposition on bar and restaurant owners. Opponents say public health is more important and point to the cancer risk posed by passive smoking. 'Where will this banning culture for adult citizens end?' Peter Wurm, a Freedom Party MP asked in parliament 'In the end roast pork will be placed on the blacklist because it contains too much fat.' The Austrian chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, says he is bound by his coalition agreement with the FPO, despite being a non-smoker himself. The ruling People's party was part of the previous coalition with the Social Democrats that approved the smoking ban. Matthias Strolz, the head of the opposition Neos party, said: 'You are acting against science and without a conscience. You are making a deliberate decision today in favour of death.' The Austrian smoking ban was championed by Heinz-Christian Strache, leader of the FPO (right), the Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, says he is bound by his coalition agreement with the FPO, despite being a non-smoker himself Pamela Rendi-Wagner, a former health minister from the centre-Left Social Democrats (SPO), was one of the many opposition MPs who denounced the decision. She accused the government of 'betraying the health of our children'. 'Today's session of parliament is truly unique in the world,' she said. 'No country has taken a backwards step on protecting non-smokers until today. It shows an ignorance that is second to none.' MPs also voted to raise the minimum age for buying cigarettes from 16 to 18 and introduced fines of up to 1,000 (870) for smoking in a car with anyone under the age of 19 being present. Around 13,000 deaths every year in Austria are tobacco-related, and around 30 per cent of the population are smokers - making them the third highest in Europe, according to Eurostats. Advertisement ISIS gunman and drug dealer Radouane Lakdim, 26, held shoppers at gun point at a Super U shop in Trebes, France The ISIS fanatic shot dead by police in France after he killed three people in a gun rampage and supermarket siege has been pictured for the first time. The lone extremist, armed with a gun, knives and a grenade, hijacked a car, shot its passenger in the head and fired at police officers in Carcassonne, south west France, before driving to a Super U shop in Trebes and taking hostages. After screaming 'Allahu Akbar, I'll kill you all', the Moroccan Islamist, named as 26-year-old Lakdim, killed a butcher and a shopper while terrified customers either fled from the store or hid in a cold room. During the siege, during which 16 people were wounded and two seriously hurt, Lakdim demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam, 28, the last surviving suspect in the 2015 ISIS attack in Paris that left 130 dead. But after an hours-long standoff, special police units converged on the scene and stormed the supermarket, where 50 people had been shopping when the attack began. President Emmanuel Macron this afternoon called Lakdim's rampage a 'terrorist act', the first to hit France since he became leader in May. French investigators said the man was known to intelligence services and had been flagged in a database of radicalised militants. His home was raided today and a neighbour said she had seen Lakdim 'taking one of his younger sisters to school' before he launched his attack. It has emerged that a French military officer took the place of a supermarket hostage, entering the danger zone as the drama unfolded. The 45-year-old lieutenant-colonel named as Arnaud Beltrame, who is now fighting for his life in hospital, left his mobile phone on a table so police could hear what was happening. Through that phone, police heard gunshots inside the building and decided that elite forces had to storm the market, killing Lakdim. The woman who lived with the gunman has been detained for questioning, the country's top anti-terror prosecutor has said. Speaking in Carcassonne, Francois Molins said gunman Radouane Lakdim had claimed to be a soldier of ISIS before he was killed by police. Scroll down for video Local press identified the gunman as Redouane Lakdim - broadcasting this picture, which appears to be a passport photo An ISIS fanatic has been shot dead by police in France after he killed three people in a gun rampage and supermarket hostage siege. Police are pictured in the supermarket car park after the terrorist was killed This afternoon, ISIS claimed that one of its 'soldiers' had carried out the attack ' in response to the calls to attack Coalition countries'. Masked police officers are pictured at the scene The lights of the Eiffel Tower in Paris were dimmed for midnight in memory of the victims of the supermarket attack After the Manchester Arena attack the lights on the iconic landmark were also dimmed in respect for the dead After screaming 'Allahu Akbar, I'll kill you all', the Moroccan Islamist, named as 26-year-old Redouane Lakdim, killed a butcher and a shopper while terrified customers either fled from the store or hid in a cold room. Police are pictured at the scene Forensics have descended on the scene this afternoon as it emerged that the gunman was 26-year-old Redouane Lakdim French forensic experts check a car - a white Opel Corsa - that is allegedly linked to the suspect in some way in the car park of the Super U supermarket where the massacre occurred. It has not been made clear if this was the car hijacked by Redouane Lakdim A military helicopter flies over the Super U supermarket where a gunman claiming allegiance to the ISIS held hostages before being shot dead Police have stormed a French supermarket and shot dead an ISIS gunman who was holding hostages as it emerged he had already killed someone before beginning his siege. Pictures n social media show police outside the supermarket After an hours-long standoff, special police units converged on the scene and stormed the supermarket. French President Emmanuel Macron this afternoon called the rampage a 'terrorist act' Pictures capture the moment French president Emmanuel Macron was informed by his security advisor about the hostage situation in Trebes The fanatic, armed with a gun, knives and a grenade, had hijacked a car, killing a passenger and injuring the driver, before shooting at police officers in Carcassonne, south west France, and driving to the supermarket in Trebes. Pictures show a car that was damaged during one of the earlier shootings in Carcassone How the Carcassonne and Trebes terror attack unfolded Prior to the attack: Redouane Lakdim, believed to be of Moroccan descent, was flagged to intelligence services and appeared in a database of radicalised militants. He was also known to authorities for petty crimes including drug dealing. Lakdim was incarcerated in Carcassonne some time in 2016, according to Le Parisien, though it is unclear what for. The paper also reports he was very active on Salafist networks online and was suspected of having made a trip to Syria, though it is not known when. Morning, Friday March 23: Lakdim, who reportedly lived with his mother and three or four sisters in Carcassonne, is seen walking his little sister to school Some time before 11am: Lakdim hijacks a car somewhere in his home town of Carcassonne. Passenger Jean Mazieres is shot in the head and killed while the driver is wounded before the terrorist drives away. Approximately 11am: The attacker opens fire on four policemen jogging near the edge of town. One officer is wounded after being hit in the shoulder. Bullets also strike a nearby car, shattering the back window. Lakdim escapes in the stolen vehicle. Approximately 11.15am: Gunshots are reported at a Super U supermarket in the town of Trebes as Lakdim storms in, taking hostages. Two people, customer Herve Sosna and Super U chief butcher Christian Medves, are later shot dead, though it is unclear precisely when or why. French police initially say a dozen people are wounded, though uncertainty remained around the exact toll on Friday afternoon. Some time before 2pm: French policeman Arnaud Beltrame makes his way into the supermarket after agreeing to swap himself for a hostage. He is later shot and stabbed to death, though it is not clear exactly how. Approximately 2pm: French police storm the supermarket, shooting Lakdim dead. Advertisement This afternoon, ISIS claimed responsibility for the shooting spree, saying one of its 'soldiers' had acted 'in response to calls to attack Coalition countries'. It was referring to the U.S.-led coalition that has been carrying out airstrikes against ISIS in Syria and Iraq since 2014. France is part of that coalition. Interior minister Gerard Collomb said the attacker was Redouane Lakdim, 26, who lived with his parents and his four sisters in a flat on a council estate in Carcassonne, a town that is a UN World Heritage site and a major French tourist attraction It was raided on Friday early in the afternoon, where a neighbour said she had seen Lakdim 'taking one of his younger sisters to school on Friday morning'. Lakdim was subject to an S-file, which means the intelligence services considered him a security threat. He spent a short time in prison in 2016. Collomb said Lakdim was not considered a terror threat - despite earlier reports. 'He was known by the police for petty crimes, we had monitored him and did not think he had been radicalised,' Collomb said after arriving at the scene of the hostage-taking in the town of Trebes, near Carcassonne. 'He was already under surveillance when he suddenly decided to act,' he said. One of those killed in the attack was Portuguese, the nation's government confirmed. Miguel Silva, head of the department that deals with Portuguese ex-pats, said: 'The death of a Portuguese citizen has been confirmed... by French authorities to our consular services.' The gunman had earlier held up a car in the nearby city of Carcassone, killing a passenger and then firing six shots at police officers, all members of the city's CRS 57 unit wearing athletic clothes with police insignia. Shouting 'vengeance for Syria', he injured one officer, before driving off towards the supermarket where he held several hostages. The injured officer is not in life-threatening condition. Forensic officers were combing the scene of the massacre on Friday afternoon and set up a cordon in the supermarket car park around a white Opel Corsa, thought to be in some way linked to the gumnan. It has not been made clear whether this was the car hijacked by Redouane Lakdim. Who was the French supermarket gunman? ISIS fanatic Redouane Lakdim was a Moroccan national drug dealer who was on the police watch list A specialist police officer at the scene of the triple shooting by Islamic State fanatic Redouane Lakdim The gunman who killed three people in southwest France on Friday before being shot dead by police was a 26-year-old known as a small-time drug dealer with a history of minor crimes. The rap sheet against Redouane Lakdim, who lived in nearby Carcassonne, eventually drew deeper scrutiny by investigators worried he was at risk of Islamic radicalisation. Lakdim, who has Moroccan nationality, was added to a watchlist of people considered possible extremists, security sources told AFP. 'He was known by the police for petty crimes, we had monitored him and did not think he had been radicalised,' Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told reporters at the scene in Trebes. Le Parisien newspaper reported that Lakdim lived with his parents, and quoted a neighbour saying he had dropped off one of his little sisters at school on Friday morning. Another neighbour contacted by the paper described him as 'calm' and 'nice' who 'always had a kind word to say', adding that he regularly attended a mosque. Yet Lakdim reportedly shouted 'Allahu Akbar' (God is greatest) as he stormed a supermarket and took hostages in an attack that was later claimed by the Islamic State group. Collomb said that Lakdim had 'suddenly decided to act'. His trajectory appears to have followed a grimly familiar pattern in France over recent years of young men progressing from petty crimes into terrorism, often despite surveillance by the authorities. Since the January 2015 massacre at the Charlie Hebdo newspaper in Paris by two men claiming allegiance to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, more than 240 people have been killed in jihadist attacks. A few days later Amedy Coulibaly stormed a Jewish supermarket in Paris, taking hostages and killing four people before being killed by police. All three men had a history of extremism and were known to French intelligence, with Coulibaly first meeting one of the Charlie Hebdo attackers while in prison. And in the deadliest attack, at the Stade France and the Bataclan concert hall and nearby bars in November 2015, ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud and Salah Abdeslam, the only surviving commando member, had both served time for robbery around 2011. A string of deadly gun and knife attacks has followed, and Collomb has said dozens of others have been thwarted by police as the government stepped up anti-terror measures. In Carcassonne itself, police had arrested a 22-year-old man in June 2016 on suspicions he was planning to target American and Russian tourists, after months of surveillance. Advertisement A French gendarme (left) secures a perimeter near the Super U supermarket. France's interior ministry is describing the suspect in the supermarket shooting and hostage-taking as a 26-year-old petty criminal who was considered radicalised and under police surveillance Armed response: A military helicopter swoops low over Trebes this afternoon in the wake of the terrorist shooting rampage The gunman had earlier held up a car in the nearby city of Carcassone, killing a passenger and then firing six shots at police officers, all members of the city's CRS 57 unit, while shouting 'vengeance for Syria'. He then drove off towards the supermarket where he held several hostages. The injured officer is not in life-threatening condition Gendarmes of the French special unit GIGN are seen next to a supermarket after a hostage situation in Trebes, southwest France Forensic police investigate after the assault on the Super U supermarket where a gunman claiming allegiance to ISIS was holding hostages in Trebes A medical air-ambulance helicopter approaches the Super U supermarket as it emerged two people had been killed and more injured Investigators think the suspect hijacked a car after leaving the nearby city of Carcassonne and one of the people in the hijacked vehicle was killed. Heavily armed officers later descended on ta supermarket where he was holding hostages (pictured) Roads around Carcassonne and Trebes were closed down as the drama unfolded this morning. Police officers are pictured at the entrance to Trebes Gendarmes arrive at the scene of the siege to secure the entrance to the Super U supermarket where hostages were held by the lone gunman A French gendarme (left) secures a perimeter near the Super U supermarket where a gunman claiming allegiance to Islamic State held hostages in Trebes A police officer, armed with a loaded assault rifle, stands near the supermarket where Redouane Lakdim killed a butcher and a shopper This afternoon, ISIS claimed that one of its 'soldiers' had carried out the attack ' in response to the calls to attack Coalition countries' Masked police officers are seen after they raided the Super U supermarket, killing the gunman who had claimed allegiance to ISIS Police traced the car involved in the shooting in Carcassonne to the hostage-taking in Trebes after it was found in the car park of the supermarket, a security source told AFP. Eric Menassi, the mayor of Trebes, confirmed that 'a supermarket worker was shot dead' and a CRS officer 'wounded in the shoulder'. Carole, who was shopping at the supermarket, described how people had taken refuge in a cold room. Cop is hailed a hero after hostage swap as he fights for his life in hospital A policeman, who was shot by the gunman after swapping himself for a hostage during the siege has been hailed as a hero. He has been named by BFM as Arnaud Beltrame - a hero officer knighted the Legion of Honor in May 2012. The officer was well versed in the scenario he found himself in today, having taken part in an exercise which replicated the scenario of a mass killing in a supermarket in nearby Carcassonne just four months ago. He was among a group of officers who rushed to the scene after the attacker, who claimed allegiance to ISIS, stormed the store and fired on shoppers and staff before taking them hostage. Speaking at the scene Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said a police team immediately intervened after the start of the siege at around 11am. 'They managed to get some of the people out,' he said, but the attacker kept one hostage back as a human shield. A senior officer then offered to take the hostage's place and remained holed up with Lakdim while negotiations to end the standoff continued. The officer 'left his telephone on the table', to allow police to listen in. 'When we heard shots the GIGN (an elite police force) intervened,' the minister said, adding that the policeman was 'seriously injured'. Collomb praised his 'courage' and 'act of heroism'. An officer from the SWAT team was also hurt in the operation to kill the gunman. Advertisement 'A man shouted and fired several times. I saw a cold room door, I asked people to come and take shelter,' she told Franceinfo radio. 'We were ten, and we stayed an hour. There were more gunshots and we went out the back door.' Another customer in the supermarket in southern France that was taken over by a gunman describes the assailant as a 'very agitated man shouting several times 'Allahu akbar''. Christian Guibbert told reporters: 'We heard an explosion, well, several explosions. 'So I went to see what was happening and I saw a man lying on the floor and another person, very agitated, who had a gun in one hand and a knife in the other one.' Guibbert said he had sought shelter with his wife, sister-in-law and other customers into the butchery's refrigerator. Then he went back into the supermarket's main room and walked toward the assailant, calling police and describing the situation. He says the suspect 'ran after me'. Guibbert escaped out an emergency market door as elite police forces arrived to storm the building. A security source, said: 'Most of the Super U staff and customers managed to get away.' Local media reported that Lakdim was demanding the release of Salah Abdeslam - the prime surviving suspect in the ISIS attacks that killed 130 people in Paris in 2015. Abdeslam, a French citizen born and raised in Brussels, went on trial in Belgium last month. He is accused of 'attempted murder in a terrorist context' over a Brussels shootout in March 2016, four months after he fled Paris on the night of the carnage during which his brother was among the suicide bombers. Helicopters could be seen circling over Trebes today, a picturesque medieval town of around 5,000 people, while heavily armed police had closed down roads surrounding the supermarket. As the drama unfolded this morning, police led the hostage-taker's mother, who lives in Carcassonne, to the supermarket in an effort to persuade him to give-up. 'She's gone to talk to him - to try and gethim to drop his weapons, and give up,' said a source at the scene. 'His sister is there too.' This was a tactic used by the authoritiesin 1994 when Armed Islamic Group terrorists hijacked an Air France plane in Algiers, the capital of Algeria, and wanted to fly it to Paris to crash into the Eiffel Tower. The leader of the hijackers disobeyed his mother - who spoke to him through a loudspeaker - and carried on with the terrorist attack. France's GIGN was involved, and it ended with the deaths of all four hijackers, and three passengers, with the plane only getting as far as Marseille. Meanwhile a French policeman who was shot by the Islamist after swapping himself for a hostage has been hailed as a hero. A man lowers the French flag to half mast at the council building during an incident in Trebes, southern France, on Friday in the hours after the March 23 attack A police officer stands looking at his mobile phone while another watches a white van being hoisted onto a transporter truck. It is not known who the van belongs to A French flag is lowered to half mast after yet another terrorist attack in France. Since the January 2015 massacre at the Charlie Hebdo newspaper in Paris by two men claiming allegiance to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, more than 240 people have been killed in jihadist attacks Shots were heard as the man stormed into a Super U at around 11.15am in the town of Trebes, south west France, screaming 'Allahu Akbar, I'll kill you all and 'vengeance for Syria'. Police are pictured at the scene Police blocked off roads to Trebes as the hostage situation unfolded in the town this morning. The man was later shot dead by armed officers Earlier, the man had opened fire with six shots aimed at police officers out jogging in Carcassonne. Experts are pictured examining the scene The man is said to have fired six shots at police officers, all members of the city's CRS 57 unit, before driving off. The injured officer is not in life-threatening condition. Police are pictured investigating the shooting Customers and workers fled from the shop in terror but a butcher and a shopper are believed to have been killed and about a dozen more are injured. This was the scene on the outskirts of Trebes this afternoon The shootings come with France still on high alert after a string of jihadist attacks since 2015, starting in January that year with the assault on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead Hostage taker called for the release of Paris attacker Salah Abdeslam The hostage taker called for the release of Salah Abdeslam, the ISIS terrorist who helped murder 130 people in Paris in November 2015. Abdeslam, a 28-year-old French national of Moroccan descent, is currently in solitary confinement in a high-security prison near Paris, while awaiting trial. Abdeslam has admitted helping coordinate the 2015 attacks, but failed to let off his suicide bomb vest out the Stade de France, France's national sports stadium, during a football match between France and Germany. He is the only terrorist survivor of the murderous 2015 ISIS attack in Paris and was Europe's most-wanted fugitive when he was captured in Brussels after four months on the run. He was extradited from Belgium to France and imprisoned, but has not gone to trial in France. Prime suspect in the November 2015 Paris attacks Salah Abdeslam (R) sits as he is surrounded by Belgian special police officers in the courtroom prior to the opening of the trial in Brussels, Belgium, 05 February 2018 Abdeslam did, however, appear in court in Brussels last month and said silence would be his defence, as he systematically refused to answer the judge's questions. Abdeslam and another man, Sofiane Ayari, went on trial facing charges of attempted murder in a terrorist context for a shootout with police on March 15, 2016. Abdeslam escaped out a window with Ayari while a third Islamic State suspect died. The pair were captured a few days later on March 18. On March 22, 2016, Islamic State suicide bombers struck the Brussels metro and airport. Prosecutors have asked for the maximum 20-year prison sentence. Advertisement The policeman was among a group of officers who rushed to the scene after the attacker stormed the store and fired on shoppers and staff before taking them hostage. Speaking at the scene Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said a police team immediately intervened after the start of the siege at around 11 a.m. 'They managed to get some of the people out,' he said, but the attacker kept one hostage back as a human shield. A senior officer then offered to take the hostage's place and remained holed up with Lakdim while negotiations to end the standoff continued. The officer 'left his telephone on the table', to allow police that had surrounded the building in the sleepy town of 5,000 inhabitants listen in, Collomb said. 'When we heard shots the GIGN (an elite police force) intervened,' the minister said, adding that the policeman was 'seriously injured'. Collomb praised the officer for his 'courage' and 'act of heroism'. An officer from the police SWAT team was also hurt in the operation to kill the gunman. The attack poses a new challenge to Macron's leadership as he faces nationwide strikes and criticism of his reforms, which include a tough new counterterrorism law that gives police extra powers to conduct searches and hold people under house arrest. Macron rushed back from an EU summit in Brussels to the crisis center in Paris that was overseeing the investigation into the attack. Standing next to Macron in Brussels, German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her sympathy with those affected by the hostage-taking. 'When it comes to terrorist threats, we stand by France,' she said. Today's shootings come with France still on high alert after a string of jihadist attacks since 2015, starting in January that year with the assault on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead. France also suffered major attacks in Paris in November 2015 when IS jihadists killed 130 people in bombings and shootings at bars, restaurants, the Bataclan concert venue and the national stadium. In July 2016, in another attack claimed by IS, a man drove a truck through revellers celebrating Bastille Day in the Riviera resort of Nice, killing 84 people. Police cordoned off an area near Super U in Trebes, France, amid reports of a hostage situation. The gunman killed two inside the shop before he was shot dead As pictures emerged on social media showing police gathering outside, French President Emmanuel Macron has asked Interior Minister Gerard Collomb to head to the scene A source in the town has claimed that a butcher in the supermarket has been shot dead and another person is seriously wounded. There are also reports that the gunman was carrying grenades. Police are pictured at the scene A state of emergency put in place just after the Paris attacks was finally lifted in October last year, but soldiers continue to patrol major tourist sites and transport hubs under an anti-terror mission. If the link to ISIS is confirmed, the hostage-taking would be the first deadly attack in France since October, when two young women were stabbed to death outside Marseille's main train station. Interior Minister Gerard Collomb was heading to the scene, he wrote on Twitter. The area of southwest France where Friday's shootings took place has been scarred by Islamic extremism before. In 2012, Mohamed Merah shot dead seven people including three Jewish schoolchildren in the nearby city of Toulouse. Advertisement Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have made a surprise trip to Northern Ireland as part of their pre-wedding tour of Britain. Belfast crowds were given the shock of their lives as the pair arrived unannounced in the city, before going on a walkabout in the city centre, visiting the iconic Crown Liquor Saloon, a science park and Titanic Belfast museum. During a visit to the Catalyst Inc science park, Meghan, 33, made it quite clear she and Harry, 36, are already planning their first child. Gesturing towards an innovative baby bath made by a Northern Irish firm she quipped : 'I am sure at one point we will need the whole thing.' The royal trip, the couple's first official joint one to Northern Ireland, also saw them learn the history of the doomed Titanic, visiting a Belfast visitor attraction telling the passenger ship's story. There they were presented with a replica of Titanic and flowers by Leyton Jackson, 6, and his sister Rosie, 4, before being shown around the museum by its chief executive Judith Owens. The bride-to-be praised the warmth of the Northern Irish people, commenting: 'It's been lovely. Everyone has been so warm and friendly.' The Prince and his bride-to-be met with some of Northern Ireland's brightest young minds as they spoke with entrepreneurs and innovators on their surprise visit to Belfast today Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are presented with a replica Titanic by Leyton Jackson 6 and Rosie Jackson 4, during a visit to Titanic Belfast maritime museum in Belfast today Prince Harry looks lovingly at his bride-to-be as they sign the visitor book at the Titanic Belfast Museum following their trip His face says it all! The Prince grimaces at prosthetic limbs made by made by the Titanic FX company during a visit to Catalyst Inc science park in Belfast Nuala Campbell and Eoin Lambkin from Titanic FX show Prince Harry and Meghan Markle some prosthetic limbs used in the movie industry during a visit to Catalyst Inc science park The couple arrive at the Titanic Visitor's Centre, Belfast on their surprise visit to Northern Ireland ahead of their wedding A relaxed and personable Meghan wowed the thousands of people who gathered in the streets of Belfast to catch a glimpse of Meghan and Prince Harry Meghan smiled and waved as the royal couple left the Catalyst Inc centre before continuing their trip around Northern Ireland Meghan and Harry are pictured leaving the Titanic Belfast Maritime Museum on their trip to Northern Ireland today Adoring crowds turned out in their droves to greet the royal couple who shook hands and took pictures with the people of Belfast Meghan Markle looked relaxed and affable as she shook hands with and greeted fans during a visit to Belfast's most historic buildings Prince Harry and his bride-to-be Meghan Markle (pictured accepting a posy from one wellwisher) came to Northern Ireland unannounced for a one-day visit where they met hundreds of local people They have been touring Britain ahead of their May wedding and the prince will introduce his fiancee to Ulster during a series of events In keeping with royal visits to Northern Ireland details were not released in advance and the itinerary was not disclosed for security reasons Camera phones at the ready! Adoring fans snapped as many pictures and videos as they could of the royal couple during their visit Prince Harry and Meghan Markle depart from the Crown Liquor Saloon after a Irish stew lunch during their visit to Northern Ireland today The royal couple waved to the ecstatic crowds after heading inside the major landmark where they met bar staff, local musicians and had a Irish stew lunch, including a tutorial on how to pull the perfect pint of Guinness Meghan Markle shakes hands with member of the public, who were more than happy to wait to greet the future royal despite the damp weather Meghan wowed audiences during the visit to Belfast city centre, taking the time to speak with people and shake their hands Meghan gets a shock as her fiance Prince Harry gives her a supportive hand during their walkabout in Belfast this afternoon The American actress, who recently was baptised into the Church of England,could not hide her joy at being presented with flowers by one wellwisher The pair wowed crowds, who quickly grew throughout the day despite no warning that the two would be visiting the area for security reasons Meghan Markle shelters under an umbrella as she meets wellwishers during a walkabout in Belfast after she and Prince Harry visited the Crown Bar in the city centre A young girl waits to pass some flowers over to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry during their walkabout in Belfast after following their visit to the Crown Bar in the city centre rince Harry interacts with crowd as he departs from the Crown Liquor Saloon during his lunchtime visit with Meghan Markle Meghan Markle braved the rain and a windy day to greet crowds in Belfast city centre, and even accepted a small bouquet of flowers from one wellwisher Wellwishers were not deterred by having to wait in the rain, with Meghan more than happy to extend her gratitude to those who had waited to see her Meghan and Harry have been touring Britain ahead of their May wedding and the prince will introduce his fiance to Ulster during a series of events Prince Harry was asked by a member of the crowd in Belfast whether or not he had planned his stag do yet, causing the royal to reply: 'No comment' A gracious Meghan accepts yet another bouquet of flowers from a wellwisher, as eager people in the crowd rush to get a photo of the future royal Meghan was all smiles despite the damp weather conditions, as she undertook yet another official engagement alongside her fiance Prince Harry 'At some point we'll need the whole lot!' Meghan's baby joke as she and Harry browse accessories By Rebecca English, Royal Correspondent for The Daily Mail They have not even had the wedding yet, but Meghan Markle today made clear that there will be one inevitable consequence of marriage to Prince Harry: babies. On their surprise visit to Northern Ireland today they visited Catalyst Inc science park, she gestured at an array of baby equipment and said: 'I am sure at one point we will need the whole thing.' The couple were being shown some of the items made by Shnuggle, a firm that makes innovative baby products. They included a baby bath which allows them to sit up, a changing mat and Moses basket. 'It's very sweet,' said Ms Markle. Sinead Murphy, who founded the company with her husband Adam, said: 'They seemed very engaged with the products. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are pictured talking to Sinead Murphy (left) of Shnuggle baby products today, where the bride-to-be hinted the couple are already planning a family together Harry was particularly interested in the bath. 'As soon as he saw the bum bump [which stops the baby slipping down] he understood immediately. He said, 'Oh, non-slip.'' Asked about the significance of Ms Markle's baby hint, she said: 'With an upcoming marriage it's likely there is going to be an announcement in the next few years. No pressure on the lovely couple! ' That's the worst thing when you get married - people are just waiting.' The couple, who were being shown round innovative companies at Catalyst Inc, a hub for tech entrepreneurs, also saw Shnuggle's BumGo. 'Harry said, 'What's a BumGo?' said Mrs Murphy. 'It's a changing wrap you can attach to your pram.' Advertisement The Royal bride and groom-to-be waved to the ecstatic crowds before heading inside the landmark Crown Liquor Saloon where they met bar staff, local musicians and had a Irish stew lunch, including a tutorial on how to pull the perfect pint of Guinness. Earlier in the day, the pair greeted stunned onlookers as they made their way inside the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn, surprising a huge crowd of unsuspecting children as they arrived inside the building. They received a rapturous reception from youngsters as they entered the huge performance arena, the former site of the Maze paramilitary prison where ten Irish republicans starved themselves to death. Prince Harry praised the youth-led peace-building initiative called Amazing the Space, and hinted to the turbulent history of Northern Ireland, declaring: 'Over the years religion has divided us but we're all the same underneath.' Arriving at their third engagement, at the hub for young entrepreneurs, the couple waved at well-wishers who had braved the rain to catch a glimpse of the royal visitors. Inside the facility in part of Belfast's regenerated docklands, they were greeted by a number of dignitaries, including Lord Mayor Nuala McAllister and East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson. Later, Miss Markle excitedly showed off her engagement ring to the crowds outside. Roisin Kerr, 35, from Magherafelt, said: It was a really lovely surprise. It means a lot to us that they decided to come here. Harry and Meghan touched down in Northern Ireland for an unannounced visit that follows on from high profile trips to other parts of the UK. Despite the rain, crowds were happy to wait to get a glimpse, and even a handshake, off of Meghan and her fiance Harry The royal couple walked hand in hand as they left the Crown Saloon ahead of their next appointment on a busy day in Belfast The crowds compete to get a photograph or even a quick chat with Meghan, who was happy to stop and talk with wellwishers They have been touring Britain ahead of their May wedding and the prince will introduce his fiancee to Ulster during a series of events. In keeping with royal visits to Northern Ireland details were not released in advance and the itinerary was not disclosed for security reasons. Ms Markle wore a cream coat by Mackage, a dark green dress by Greta Constantine, a cream top by Victoria Beckham, tobacco heels by Jimmy Choo. The Prince and Ms Markle had a private lunch in a romantic booth at The Crown Liquor Saloon, one of the oldest bars in Belfast. The Prince ordered sausage and champ while his fiancee tucked into the pub's signature Irish stew. They ordered half a pint of Guinness and half of the local Mourne Mountain Brewery gold ale to taste along with their soft drinks, after asking to sample the local beer. 'You don't want to give it to me do you?' Prince Harry lets Jude Campbell, 5, keep his Easter egg present when he looks reluctant to hand it over as long as he shares it with sister! By Lara Keay for MailOnline Prince Harry let a five-year-old schoolboy keep an Easter egg he was meant to give him as a present when he was reluctant to hand it over. Harry, 33, and his fiancee Meghan Markle, 36, stunned crowds when they turned up unannounced in Belfast today. After lunch at the iconic Crown Liquor Saloon they went on a walkabout around the city centre where they came across young Jude Campbell. The schoolboy had a chocolate Easter egg he was supposed to give the royal couple as a gift, but when it came down to it, he wasn't so sure. Meghan introduced the youngster and her husband-to-be, saying: 'Yes, that is Harry right there!' The couple cooed as they spotted their chocolate gift, as Harry said: 'Hello Jude, can I shake your hand?' But when the five-year-old had second thoughts about handing it over, the prince added: 'You don't want to give it to me, do you want to keep it for yourself? 'You can keep it, happy Easter.' Before moving to greet his next fan, Harry spotted Jude's sister and said he could keep the present on the condition he shared it with her. He said: 'You have to share it. Is this your sister? Share it with your sister.' The moment was captured on camera by ITV news and has already been viewed thousands of times. When Jude Campbell (pictured right), five, had second thoughts about giving the chocolate Easter egg he planned to gift Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the prince kindly let him keep it on the condition he shared it with his sister (left) Advertisement The Crown Liquor Saloon, a former Victorian gin palace is now run by the National Trust. Harry and Meghan were even given a lesson on how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness during their visit During the couple's trip to the Crown Bar, they were introduced to and met bar staff, local comedians and musicians who perform at the legendary pub Ms Markle looked stylish in a cream coat by Mackage, a dark green dress by Greta Constantine, a cream top by Victoria Beckham, tobacco heels by Jimmy Choo teamed with a tan-coloured Charlotte Elizabeth bag The American actress and her fiance (pictured), on a whirlwind trip to the region, toured the Crown Liquor Saloon - a major tourist attraction in the city - before greeting wellwishers outside Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have touched down in Northern Ireland ahead of their first official joint visit The couple were greeted by Lord Lieutenant for County Down David Lindsay (shown second left) and Lord Lieutenant's Cadet Alexander Lane (far left) Throughout the day, Prince Harry and Ms Markle will have the opportunity to meet members of the public, to learn how young people are shaping the future of Northern Ireland, and to visit some of the city's most loved sites, Kensington Palace said Harry and Meghan enjoy a traditional Irish stew at iconic pub (and yes, it's called the Crown!) Meghan Markle and Prince Harry embraced the culture of Northern Ireland during a visit to one of Belfast's most famous buildings - by sitting down to a traditional Irish pub lunch. The American actress and her fiance, on a whirlwind trip to the region, toured the Crown Liquor Saloon - a major tourist attraction in the city. The pub, in Great Victoria Street in Belfast, was opened by Felix O'Hanlon as The Railway Tavern in the mid-1800s, before it was renamed and renovated in 1885. Flanagan's son Patrick took over the pub and convinced Irish labourers, who were visiting Belfast to work on the many churches that were being built at the time, to help him renovate it after hours. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a visit to the Crown Bar in Belfast City Centre where they learnt from National Trust representatives about the pub's heritage In 1978, the pub was bought by the National Trust before a 400,000 renovation was undertaken to restore its Victorian features. Ms Markle revealed that they had been anticipating their trip to the well-known Victorian gin palace, which is owned by the National Trust and famed for its ornate decorations. Harry joked with Heather McLachlan, the National Trust's director for Northern Ireland, asking 'Are you open?', before declaring 'We want food'. His fiancee added: 'We saw the menu last week, and said "We'll have this".' The couple marvelled at the pub, which features period gas lighting, a red marble-topped bar, mosaic tiled floor and snugs - ornately carved wooden booths with stained glass where Victorian drinkers could sit in private. Looking up at the ornate ceiling, Harry said: 'It's amazing, it really is.' The antique bell system that drinkers used to call staff still exists and may have been used by the couple to order their lunch of Irish stew in a snug. The couple had lunch at the Crown Liquor Saloon, Belfast's atmospheric Victorian gin palace which is filled with a wealth of architectural features and is a major tourist attraction Advertisement They were also promised an early wedding present: bespoke spades made by the man who has provided personal spades for the Queen and Prince Charles. Speaking about its popularity with tourists, he added: 'It's on people's bucket lists isn't it? Does it take quite a lot of work to keep it looking like this?' 'We're very excited to be here,' said Meghan, disclosing the couple had been looking at the menu ahead of time. The Prince, who was keen to talk about the weekend's rugby, asked what the pub had put on for Saturday night, asking incredulously: 'You don't show sports here?' Andy Dickinson, general manager, said: 'It's been a great day, we've all really enjoyed it.There's always a bit of nervousness in the build-up, but it's great that we've been able to showcase The Crown and Northern Ireland. 'I'm really pleased they chose to visit us. They seemed to know a lot about The Crown, and were really glad to be a little part of their wedding build up.' Peter Sheridan, chief executive of event host Cooperation Ireland, welcomed the special visitors and said the youth-led initiative was 'integral to the development of a peaceful society in Northern Ireland'. 'To have so many young people in one place proactively speaking out in favour of peace and committing to living their lives through peaceful means can only bode well for society, and to have the royal family here to witness it makes it even more powerful,' he said. Harry grinned and looked at Meghan as they walked to the front and took their seats among the schoolchildren, where they enjoyed a long-video presentation with dancing, singing and speeches. The children at the Eikon Centre cheered and captured the moment on hundreds of mobile phones as Harry and Ms Markle waved and smiled The couple smiled and waved at stunned onlookers as they made their way inside the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn, surprising a huge crowd of unsuspecting children as they arrived inside the building Meghan looked like she was enjoying herself as she sat next to school children at the exhibition centre in Lisburn, near Belfast She shook hands with youngsters at the event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative in the city Excited youngsters cannot believe their luck as they are unexpectedly joined by Meghan Markle and Prince Harry for an event at the Eikon Exhibition Centre The royal couple pose for a photograph with schoolchildren during a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn, where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space Harry and Meghan touched down in Northern Ireland for an unannounced visit that follows on from high profile trips to other parts of the UK Meghan Markle receives flowers as she and Prince Harry arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space The prince and his fiancee politely introduced themselves and spoke to all the children sitting around them as youngsters gave a talk on world peace A shocked youngster cannot quite believe her luck as Prince Harry shakes her hand and introduces himself during a visit to see schoolchildren in Northern Ireland After landing in Northern Ireland, the couple were driven in a security detail to the Eikon Centre, where they undertook their first visit of a busy day in and around Belfast Shown left, Meghan exits the Range Rover that the couple arrived in, before later walking side by side with her fiance into the Eikon Centre (right) On a sunny but windy day in Lisburn, the royal couple were more than happy to make the rounds and introduce themselves Meghan Markle wowed in cream, grey and green, while her fiance Prince Harry went for darker colours, including a blue jumper Afterwards, the pair met singer Emma Horan, 19. Their host, clergyman Rev David Latimer, suggested to the couple that Emma could sing at their wedding. An enthusiastic Harry grinned while Meghan clapped her hands. Prince Harry has been a key supporter of Amazing the Space, officially launching the 2018 project on his visit to Belfast in September. 'Over the years religion has divided us but we're the same': Harry's message to Belfast pupils Harry, 32, spoke passionately about the scheme as he met school children who were involved in the project's direction. The royal said: 'The previous generations have caused such problems but with your help it can never happen again. 'You're trying to educate the older generation which is just amazing. 'Well done. 'Clean the slates guys, you got this!' The Prince said: 'The previous generations have caused such problems but with your help it can never happen again' Meghan laughed at Harry's passionate outburst and joked: 'No pressure...' Harry replied: 'Over the years religion has divided us but we're all the same underneath. 'The most important thing is that the door is open and you just keep pushing at it. 'Ten, fifteen, years ago you would have been up against the tide, but you're going with it now. 'Keep it up!' Pupil Ryan McCallion, 17, who welcomed the couple to the exhibition centre, and later chatted to Harry and Meghan was impressed. He said: 'They were so humble and down to earth. 'I felt they'd be up on this pedestal but they brought us together and made us feel almost equal. 'They were really interested in what we were doing. 'Compared to what our parents have gone through, it's easier for the younger generation. 'But we don't see religion or race or colour as a barrier, but a welcome.' Advertisement Despite a strong wind, Meghan Markle maintained her stylish look and bun hairstyle, which she has employed on many of her official trips so far A police officer observes the scene prior to the arrival of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for a walkabout in Belfast City Centre Police officers and security personnel surrounded the Eikon Centre during the royal visit, which many of the local schoolchildren were unaware of Meghan flashes her engagement ring as she sweeps back her hair behind her ear (left). Shown right, the Jimmy Choo shoes that Meghan wore for the visit Belfast crowds gave Meghan Markle and Prince Harry a warm welcome when they arrived in the city centre to visit the iconic Crown Liquor Saloon The couple waved to the crowds before heading inside the major landmark where they will meet bar staff, local musicians and have a private lunch Lord Lieutenant for County Down David Lindsay of the Reserve Forces and Cadets in Northern Ireland greets the royal couple Crowds wait for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to arrive for a walkabout in Belfast City centre where they visit the Crown Bar and learn from National Trust representatives about the pub's heritage A young cadet speaks with the couple as they make a whirlwind tour of Northern Ireland today ahead of their wedding in May The cross community gathering attended by Meghan and Harry (pictured) will see teenagers share their hopes and dreams of a peaceful and reconciled future on the island The Reverend Dr David Latimer walks with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ahead of a busy day in Belfast for the royal pair Pupil Ryan McCallion, 17, who welcomed the couple to the exhibition centre, and later chatted to Harry and Meghan was impressed. He said: 'They were so humble and down to earth. I felt they'd be up on this pedestal but they brought us together and made us feel almost equal. They were really interested in what we were doing. 'Compared to what our parents have gone through, it's easier for the younger generation. But we don't see religion or race or colour as a barrier, but a welcome.' The couple are on the latest leg of a tour of the UK that has already taken them to major centres like Edinburgh, Cardiff and Birmingham. In a statement, Kensington Palace said: 'Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle are visiting Belfast today for their first official joint visit to Northern Ireland. 'Throughout the day, Prince Harry and Ms Markle will have the opportunity to meet members of the public, to learn how young people are shaping the future of Northern Ireland, and to visit some of the city's most loved sites.' Later in the afternoon, at the nearby campus of Northern Ireland's next generation science park, Catalyst Inc, Ms Markle and Harry met some of Ulster's brightest young entrepreneurs and innovators. The royal couple met some of the brightest young minds in Northern Ireland when they visited the Catalyst Centre. Sinhead Murphy, from baby products firm Shnuggle, is pictured showing Harry and Meghan a baby bath Ms Markle wore a cream coat by Mackage, a dark green dress by Greta Constantine, a cream top by Victoria Beckham, tobacco heels by Jimmy Choo and a tan-coloured Charlotte Elizabeth bag Meghan and Harry have been touring Britain ahead of their May wedding and the prince will introduce his fiancee to Ulster during a series of events Harry and Meghan have arrived at the site of the former Maze paramilitary prison outside Lisburn where around two a half thousand young people from both sides of the Irish border have gathered for a peace building even Meghan was given flowers as she and Harry arrived at the 'Amazing The Space' project at the Eikon Centre this morning Meghan Markle watches on as her fiance Prince Harry talks away with a young cadet ahead of their visit to the Eikon Centre The couple were seen chatting away as they made their way inside the centre, which was built on the site of the former Maze paramilitary prison Royal visits to Northern Ireland are a sensitive issue for security personnel, with members of the public not told about the trip ahead of time How the Maze housed IRA prisoners during the Troubles One of Britain's most notorious prisons sat abandoned for years in Northern Ireland. The Maze, in County Down, was home to paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles that blighted Great Britain and Ireland until the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. The prison is well-known as the place where 10 Irish Republicans starved themselves to death during a hunger strike to protest for re-establishment of their political status. The Maze, in County Down, was home to paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles that blighted Great Britain and Ireland until the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 The jail closed its doors for good on September 30, 2000. Dilapidated cells, fences topped with razor wire and fading symbols sat rotting until demolition started on the 360-acre site in 2006. However, in April of 2013, it was announced the remaining buildings would be turned into a peace centre, which is now the home of the Eikon Centre. When it was being used, the Maze housed paramilitary prisoners in Ireland. One of Britain's most notorious prisons, it sat abandoned for years in Northern Ireland The prison is best known for the hunger strike carried out by republican prisoners, an effort that was led by Bobby Sands. Sands was elected as an MP in Fermanagh and South Tyrone during the hunger strike. This was seen as a huge propaganda victory for his party. Sands was the first hunger striker to die and his funeral was attended by 100,000 people in Belfast. Despite this, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher refused to meet the prisoners' demands. The hunger strike eventually came to an end on October 3, 1981, and partial concessions were granted to the prisoners. As well as Republican prisoners, British paramilitaries on the Loyalist side were also held in separate wings from their Catholic enemies. In 1983, the largest breakout from a British prison occurred at the Maze. A prison meal lorry was hijacked and 38 republican prisoners ran free, although 19 were later recaptured. During the escape, four prison officers were stabbed and six others suffered gun shot wounds. During the breakout, a prison meal lorry was hijacked and 38 republican prisoners ran free, although 19 were later recaptured Advertisement Their day ended with a tour of Titanic Belfast which tells the story of the ship, from her conception in Belfast in the early 1900s, through her construction and launch, to the vessel's maiden voyage and infamous sinking. There, Meghan praised the warmth of the people of Northern Ireland, saying: 'It's been lovely. Everyone has been so warm and friendly.' She was speaking after she and Harry toured the 97 million Titanic Belfast museum, which tells the story of the ill-fated liner that sank on its maiden voyage between Southampton and New York on April 15, 1912, killing more than 1,500 people. The White Star liner, the largest ship afloat at the time, was built at Harland & Wolff in Belfast. Harry and Meghan were given a guided tour of galleries showing how the ship was built and what it looked like. They went into a 3D interactive room and watched a film recreating each floor of the ship. Away from the cameras, they also went on a five-minute cable car ride around part of the museum before signing the visitors' book. Meghan is pictured getting out of her car as she arrives at the Titanic Belfast Maritime Museum this afternoon Meghan is handed a bouquet of flowers by Leyton Jackson, 6, and his sister Rosie, 4 (pictured) as they arrive at the museum The couple, who were presented with a replica of Titanic and flowers by Leyton Jackson, 6, and his sister Rosie, 4, were shown around the museum by its chief executive Judith Owens. She said the royal visit was a wonderful way for Titanic Belfast to celebrate its sixth birthday. In its first five years the museum has brought in 4.5 million visitors and 160 million for the Belfast economy. Ms Owens said: 'In particular I think Meghan Markle was very interested in the industrialisation of Belfast, and how the different industries developed and how Belfast had the wealth to build the biggest ships in the world.' She said Harry had focused on how the ship was designed. 'From her origins as a Royal Mail steamship, RMS Titanic has always had a royal connection, and as such, we are absolutely delighted to welcome Prince Harry and Ms Markle on their first official engagement to Northern Ireland.' There was, however, no recreation of the iconic bow moment between Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in the 1997 blockbuster movie about the disaster. 'That's not something we do here,' Ms Owens said. US actress Ms Markle began her UK tour with Harry in Nottingham a few days after their engagement announcement at the end of November last year. In Brixton, the historic home of London's Caribbean community, Meghan and Harry visited a local community centre, then they travelled to Cardiff, with the US actress getting an introduction to Welsh culture. Edinburgh welcomed the coupled who visited the city's historic castle and they also toured Birmingham. Harry visited Northern Ireland last November when he opened a new ambulance station in Ballymena, County Antrim and also visited Belfast and Hillsborough Castle, County Down. Crowds wait for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to arrive for a walkabout in Belfast City centre, where there was a large security presence The royal couple briefly joined some of the performers on stage at the end of the event, where they were presented with a picture of a 'peace tree' Today's visit is the couple's first official trip to Northern Ireland. The US actress began her UK tour with Harry in Nottingham a few days after their engagement announcement at the end of November last year In keeping with royal visits to Northern Ireland details were not released in advance and the itinerary was not disclosed for security reasons The Reverend Dr David Latimer (second left) welcomed Prince Harry and his fiancee to the Eikon Exhibition Centre Due to security reasons, the majority of people who were outside the Eikon Centre had no idea Harry and Meghan were turning up, leading many schoolchildren to shriek with surprise They were greeted by Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley and Londonderry school children Amber Hamilton, from Foyle College, and Ryan McCallion from St Joseph's Boys school, both 17, before meeting a number of dignitaries including chief constable George Hamilton The cross-community gathering at the Eikon Centre, which is built on the site of the old Maze prison, saw teenagers share their hopes and dreams of a peaceful and reconciled future on the island. Meghan Markle was presented flowers by one schoolgirl, before the royal couple made their way into the centre and surprised a hall full of other youngsters The visit comes a day after it was revealed that some 2,100 lucky members of the public will be allowed into the grounds for the wedding of the year at Windsor Castle The couple left the stage to meet a number of other young participants elsewhere in the centre before departing for their next engagement in Belfast Harry and Meghan's OFFICIAL wedding china revealed - and it features gold monogrammed initials and a pattern inspired by the chapel where they'll say their vows The Royal Collection Trust has unveiled the official range of commemorative china celebrating Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding. Cornflower blue with white detailing, the collection features a gold monogram of the couple's initials side by side, tied together with a white ribbon and surmounted by Harry's coronet. The decorative border on each piece is inspired by the couple's wedding venue. It is based on the stylised tree ironwork of the 13th century Gilebertus door of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, where the couple will marry on May 19. The Royal Collection Trust has unveiled the official range of commemorative china celebrating Prince Harry and Meghan Markle 's wedding Want to get your hands on a set? The china can be purchased from Royal Collection Trust shops at The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Holyroodhouse A souvenir wedding coffee cup from Harry and Meghan's official wedding china which has been revealed today by the Royal Collection Cornflower blue with white detailing, the collection features a gold monogram of the couple's initials side by side, tied together with a white ribbon and surmounted by Harry's coronet When Harry and Ms Markle's choice of wedding venue was announced, the prince's communications secretary described Windsor as a 'very special place' for Harry, and said that the couple had regularly spent time there together during their whirlwind romance. Harry and his American fiancee will have approved the fine bone china range by the Royal Collection Trust which includes a miniature coffee mug costing 19.95, a standard coffee mug for 25, a pillbox at 35, a tankard for 39 and a plate at 49. The Gilebertus door is rarely used, though hundreds of tourists and visitors to the chapel pass by it every day. The Queen and other members of the royal family use it to enter the chapel when attending some services at St George's, such as at Easter. The Royal Collection range will have been approved by Harry and Meghan. All profits from sales go to The Royal Collection Trust, the registered charity responsible for the care and conservation of the Royal Collection The pill box which costs 35. The souvenirs are presented in a cornflower blue gift box with a special card explaining the significance of the design The wedding date inside the pill box. Nuala McGourty, Royal Collection Trust's retail director, said: 'Royal Collection Trust is delighted to offer the official range of commemorative china to celebrate this happy occasion' The words on the back of the miniature coffee cup, ahead of the momentous wedding later this year at St George's Chapel A tea cup with the initials H and M which forms part of the new official range of china celebrating the future marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is displayed in The Queens Gallery shop attached to Buckingham Palace, London. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday March 21, 2018. Photo credit should read: Rick Findler/PA Wire Its ironwork is in the form of a stylised tree and, unusually for a work of its time, bears a name +GILEBERTVS. The door is one of the few surviving parts of the earliest chapel at Windsor Castle. The official china, which is finished in 22 carat gold, has been hand made in Stoke-on-Trent using 250-year-old methods and techniques. All profits from sales go to The Royal Collection Trust, the registered charity responsible for the care and conservation of the Royal Collection. The souvenirs are presented in a cornflower blue gift box with a special card explaining the significance of the design. Nuala McGourty, Royal Collection Trust's retail director, said: 'Royal Collection Trust is delighted to offer the official range of commemorative china to celebrate this happy occasion. 'We are pleased to continue our support of the potteries of Stoke-on-Trent, who have manufactured our previous commemorative wares to celebrate royal birthdays, anniversaries and weddings.' The china can be purchased from royalcollection.org.uk/shop and in Royal Collection Trust shops at The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The card which comes with the new official range of china. Nuala McGourty added: 'We are pleased to continue our support of the potteries of Stoke-on-Trent, who have manufactured our previous commemorative wares to celebrate royal birthdays, anniversaries and weddings' Time to check the letterbox! Meghan and Harry's wedding invites printed in American ink on English card are revealed as they are sent out to 600 lucky guests ahead of the ceremony at Windsor Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have finally sent out the 600 invitations to their eagerly anticipated May wedding after months of fevered anticipation. Some 600 guests will attend Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding service at St George's Chapel before they all make their way to a lunchtime reception at St George's Hall, which is being given by the Queen. Later that evening, 200 guests are invited to the private reception at Frogmore House given by The Prince of Wales. The invitation stipulates a strict dress code with men asked to don military uniform - likely to be worn by Harry, a former solder who is now Captain General of Royal Marines - or a morning coat and lounge hat, with women asked to wear a day dress and hat. The invitations to the wedding of Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle have been issued in the name of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales There is a flurry of excitement as Kensington Palace released a snapshot of the invites on Twitter Barnard Westwood have been making Royal invitations since 1985, and Managing Director Austen Kopley said he was 'thrilled and honoured to be making them' The people's wedding: Some 2,100 lucky members of the public will be allowed into the grounds for the wedding of the year at Windsor Castle Who will be in Windsor Castle's grounds on Harry and Meghan's wedding day? A Kensington Palace announcement at the beginning of March stated that the 2,600 people invited into the castle's ground on Harry and Meghan's wedding day will include: 1,200 members of the public from around the United Kingdom, nominated by nine regional Lord Lieutenant offices. The statement said: 'The couple have asked that the people chosen are from a broad range of backgrounds and ages, including young people who have shown strong leadership, and those who have served their communities.' 200 people from a range of charities and organisations which Prince Harry and Meghan support. 100 pupils from two local schools: The Royal School, Great Park, Windsor and St George's School, Windsor Castle. 610 Windsor Castle community members, including residents of Windsor Castle and members of the St George's Chapel community. 530 Members of The Royal Households and Crown Estate. Advertisement The invitations, posted this week, have been produced by company Barnard & Westwood, which has held a Royal Warrant for Printing & Bookbinding by Appointment to Her Majesty The Queen since 1985. Using American ink on English card, the invites - on thick white card gilded along the edge - feature printed italic writing and are issued under Charles's name and bear his heraldic feathers embossed in gold at the top. Each invitation was printed by Lottie Small, who recently completed her apprenticeship, on a machine from the 1930s that she affectionately nicknamed 'Maude'. The invitations are similar to the ones sent out for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding in 2011 - although these were in a different font and were issued with the Queen's royal cypher. They featured the words 'The Lord Chamberlain is commanded by the Queen to invite....' The invitations read: 'His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales KG KT requests the pleasure of the company of....... at the marriage of His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales with Ms Meghan Markle at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle on Saturday 19th May, 2018 at 12 Noon followed by a reception at Windsor Castle.' The royal couple will marry at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle on May 19, with millions of people expected to watch around the world. They will then embark on a carriage procession around the Berkshire town, cheered by residents and visitors, before a reception at St George's Hall. A smaller number of guests will join them at the evening receptions hosted by Prince Charles. Standing about half a mile south of Windsor Castle in Windsor Home Park, Frogmore House has been a Royal Residence since 1792. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, after the announcement of their engagement (left) and (right) on a visit to a radio station in Brixton, south London Are you on the guest list? Some 600 people have been invited to the service at St George's Chapel The couple will have a carriage procession around Windsor like that at the wedding of Prince Edward and his bride Sophie, now Countess of Wessex, in 1999 (pictured). Some 2,600 members of the public will be allowed into the grounds to watch After the wedding service and lunch evening, 200 guests are invited to the private reception at Frogmore House given by The Prince of Wales The invitations are similar to the ones sent out for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding in 2011 - although these were in a different font and were issued with the Queen's royal cypher Frogmore House is where Harry and Ms Markle posed for their official engagement photos. The location of the venue - away from the Castle - will offer the pair privacy as they celebrate with friends and family. Palace aides have previously said that the prince and Ms Markle's wedding will 'reflect their characters and personalities' and be a moment of 'fun and joy'. The Queen will attend, as will the rest of the royal family, along with Ms Markle's parents Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland. Prince George and Princess Charlotte are likely to take on the roles of pageboy and bridesmaid. The royal family are paying for the wedding, including the church service, the music, the flowers and the reception. But the security costs for the high-profile event are being covered by the state. CALLIGRAPHY EXPERT MEGHAN An example of Meghan's calligraphy which she posted on Instagram American bride-to-be Ms Markle worked as a calligrapher while trying to pay bills as she auditioned for acting roles. But the names of invited guests were added later by a calligraphy printer, the palace said. Ms Markle wrote correspondence for Dolce & Gabbana and wedding invitations for clients such as singer Robin Thicke. She has credited handwriting classes at school for her craft. On her my lifestyle website The Tig, former Suits star Ms Markle described herself as 'a firm believer in handwritten notes'. Advertisement Harry proposed to Suits star Ms Markle during a cosy night in over a roast chicken dinner after a 16-month whirlwind romance. In his engagement interview he told of how 'the stars were aligned' when he fell for his future wife, whom he met on a blind date. The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will marry the couple and the Rt Rev David Conner, Dean of Windsor, will conduct the service at the Castle's 15th century chapel. The wedding takes place on the same date as the the 2018 FA Cup Final and, as president of the Football Association, Harry's older brother the Duke of Cambridge usually attends the FA Cup Final and presents the trophy. Windsor Castle is less than 30 miles from Wembley Stadium and about an hour's drive meaning that William would be away from the celebrations for a minimum of two hours if he was to dash off to present the silverware. Last month, the second-in-line to the throne joked about whether or not he would be best man, quipping: 'He hasn't asked me yet it could be a sensitive issue.' He also said he is 'still working' on the date clash between the wedding and the football. Meanwhile Meghan was whisked off to A-list favourite Soho Farmhouse for a two-night stay with some of her closest friends earlier this month - with rumours abound they had enjoyed an early hen do. Two of Meghan's closest friends, Pilates instructor Heather Dorak and New York-based TV producer Lindsay Jill Ross are believed to have made the trip from the US for the weekend event. Quality Street heiress Millie Mackintosh was thought to be in the running to be a bridesmaid at the wedding - but she was not thought to be in attendance at the weekend getaway. Millie struck up a close friendship with Prince Harry's American fiancee after they were introduced in 2016. Meghan has also cited the reality star as one of her 'go-to' friends to exercise with, and talk all things fashion due to their own clothes lines. Other members of Ms Markle's high-profile girl gang including Serena Williams, actress Priyanka Chopra, Suits co-star Abigail Spencer and fashion designer Misha Nonoo, who are likely to be invited to her bridal shower. Lottie Small, who recently completed her apprenticeship, printed all of the invitations in a process known as die stamping, on a machine from the 1930s that she nicknamed Maude Kensington Palace announced the news on Twitter this afternoon and gave further details about the events taking place CRUMBS! EAST END BAKER CHOSEN TO MAKE THE CAKE The couple have chosen chef Claire Ptak, originally from San Francisco and the owner of London based Violet Bakery in Hackney, to make their cake. Unlike the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who had an opulent eight-tiered fruit cake for their big day, Harry and Meghan have opted for a trendy lemon and elderflower creation that will be covered with buttercream and decorated with fresh flowers. Claire only uses organic ingredients and is said to be Jamie Oliver's 'favourite' cake maker. She started out on a market stall but has now been chosen to bake the royal wedding cake. Meghan previously interviewed Claire for her former lifestyle website TheTig.com, which may be why the royal couple have chosen the baker to make their wedding cake. The former Suits actress even features in the publicity for Miss Ptak's 2015 The Violet Bakery Cookbook. Advertisement Ms Markle could also extend the invite to royals and members of their inner circle including Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and Violet von Westenholz, Prince Harry's childhood friend who is believed to have played a role in introducing the couple. It had been suspected that Harry and Meghan would select a banana cake for their upcoming nuptials because the Prince loves 'anything with banana'. But instead they have gone for a lemon and elderflower creation to reflect their springtime wedding date. Meghan is known to be a fan of peonies, which will be in bloom at the time of her Windsor wedding, and East End based baker Claire Ptak has used peonies on her stylish wedding cakes in the past. Claire makes wedding cakes on request and Harry and Meghan's lemon and elderflower creation appears to be a unique custom design just for the royal couple. Announcing the news, Claire wrote on her Instagram account: ''Kinda excited to announce this one! Violet has been chosen to make the wedding cake for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. They both share so many of the same values regarding food provenance, sustainability, seasonality and of course, flavour!' Her rustic baking style is a marked difference from Kate and William's traditional wedding cake, which was an eight-tiered iced fruitcake decorated with 900 delicate sugar-paste flowers. How many tiers the next royal bride and groom will have on their cake remains to be seen, but what seems certain is that they are breaking with formal tradition. And the fact they are eschewing fruitcake does raise another question the top tier of a wedding cake is traditionally saved for the christening of a couple's first child. In fact, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (with great foresight) kept three tiers of theirs. Inspiration for the flavour may come from close to home. Harry's father, the Prince of Wales, and the Duchess of Cornwall were presented with two lemon and Cornish elderflower sponge cakes on a visit to Porthleven in Cornwall last summer. HOW WERE THE ROYAL INVITES INVITES MADE? Using American ink on English card, the invitations are printed in gold and black, then burnished to bring out the shine, and gilded around the edge The plate for the black text was engraved into copper whilst the plate for The Three Feather Badge of The Prince of Wales was a pre-existing die that was hand-etched into steel a number of years ago. The process of die-stamping is an embossed printing technique, meaning the finished print has a subtle raised texture. To create this raised image, a piece of card was trimmed by hand around the area to be printed. This is known as a 'force'. This pushes that specific area of the paper up into the engraved die so the ink can be applied. Each invitation was then fed by hand into the press and the black ink printed onto the face. Once completed, the press was washed up and re-set ready for the gold print run of the crest. Each invitation was then fed by hand into the press and the black ink printed onto the face. Once completed, the press was washed up and re-set ready for the gold print run of the crest To give the metallic shine that die-stamping is renowned for, the invitations were passed through the machine twice, once to apply the gold ink and a second 'burnishing' run (used to smooth out imperfections in the ink and polish up the image). As a final finishing touch, the printed invitations were bevelled and gilded in gold along the edges. The bevelled and gilded edge allows the gold border to be viewed when looking straight down at the invitation as opposed to just being visible from the sides. Austen Kopley, Managing Director of Barnard & Westwood, said: 'The wedding of Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle will be a truly special occasion and we are thrilled to be able to create equally special invitations for their guests. 'We are incredibly honoured to continue our longstanding work for The Royal Family, and to be involved in such an important moment for the couple and their family and friends.' Advertisement Shaping up to be a dad! Broody Meghan persuades Harry to quit smoking, cut down on alcohol and 'get his soldier body' back - so they can start a family straight after the wedding Prince Harry has quit smoking for Meghan as they prepare to start a family after the royal wedding, it has been revealed. According to the New York Daily News, the former Suits star has persuaded the royal to abandon his Malboro Lights and cut down on alcohol consumption ahead of trying for a baby. 'One of the reasons she got him to quit smoking is because smoking affects sperm production,' a source told the publication. 'It's no secret among friends that they want to start a family immediately.' Harry is also said to have lost 10lbs since he and Meghan announced their engagement in December, thanks to workouts at the exclusive KX private members health club in Chelsea where membership costs 575 a month. The royal has been spotted there at 7am on an almost daily basis, 'getting his soldier body back'. Prince Harry (pictured in 2009) has given up his beloved Malboro Lights as he and Meghan prepare to start a family Prince Harry has reportedly quit smoking and cut back on drinking as he and Meghan set their sights on starting a family after their wedding in May Harry enjoying a cheeky cigarette at the wedding of Captain Nicholas Van Cutsem and Alice Hadden-Paton in 2009 Meghan herself loves to keep fit and goes jogging to clear her head, as well as keeping up her yoga practice. And it seems she's also keen for Harry to share her healthy eating practices as he's reportedly been working with Gabriela Peacock, the nutritional therapist at exclusive women's club Grace Belgravia where Meghan is a member. While the Prince is known for his love of KFC and Haribo, Meghan takes a rather healthier approach. She previously told Good Housekeeping that her fridge staples are hummus, carrots, green juice, almond milk and chia seed pudding. In December 2017, it was reported that Harry had stopped smoking at home at Nottingham Cottage in deference to Meghan. 'Harry has promised no smoking at all at home. It's not nice for Meghan as a non-smoker,' a friend said at the time. 'So there's no more hanging out of the window for a quick puff.' A nurse who tied an 'extremely unwell' elderly woman to a bed with a sheet has had her suspension overturned. Taruna Mehta claimed she was 'too tired' for work when she was instructed to give an elderly woman, who was more than 100 years old, special care, the Herald Sun reported. A tribunal heard the 'extremely unwell' woman was suffering a suspected urinary tract infection while she had her arms tied to the bed rail. Nurse Taruna Mehta claimed she was 'too tired' for work when she was instructed to give an elderly woman, more than one hundred years old, special care (stock image) The elderly woman was asking to go to the toilet when a doctor found her distressed at about 3.30am. Monash Health policy states restraint can only be used as a last resort, must be authorised and should not use bed sheets. Ms Mehta finished her shift however her nurse registration was suspended after 'immediate action', the publication reported. The nurse denied binding the elderly patient to the bed and said she instead became entangled in the sheets. The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal found Ms Mehta, believed to have been a nurse for seven years, was not a threat to patients and dropped her suspension. Further disciplinary action could be placed by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. Advertisement A fight to save one of Britain's tallest windmills is facing a race against time after the historic building was put up for sale. Campaigners are hoping to buy Sutton Mill in Norfolk and turn it into a school to train tradesmen to repair and maintain the historic machinery inside the buildings. It is hoped the move will safeguard the future of all UK mills as the centre would supply the next generation of 'millwrights' to work on them. There are currently only six millwrights left in Britain and most of these are said to be approaching retirement age. The historic Sutton Mill in Norfolk and a bungalow next to it are currently up for auction Although campaigners have secured 450,000 in loans and grants to buy Sutton Mill they need to find another 85,000 before the deadline for bidding ends next week. Steve Temple and Jonathan Cook, a miller, have set up the National Millwrighting Centre, a community interest company, to create a school to train apprentices and had set their sights on Sutton Mill. The idea is to run the national academy alongside a commercial millwrighting workshop that services mills and a new heritage centre with a commercial working windmill, holiday accommodation, an artisan bakery and bakery school, a shop, cafe and workshops. But they need to have 150,000 in working capital in order to get the loans and grants that would enable them to buy the site that comes in the form of the windmill and adjoining bungalow. The Mill (shown today, left) and in 1930 (right) was built in 1789 and used to grind corn to make flour but was only producing animal feed by 1940 when the sails were struck by lightning. Another view of the windmill, which here has had the the traditional boat shaped cap that houses the four blades They had raised 65,000 before they were caught off-guard when the owner of Sutton Mill decided to put the property up for auction rather than general sale. So the pair need to find another 85,000 before the auction on March 31. Mr Temple, a retired engineer and mill owner himself, said: There are a couple of thousand wind and water mills in the whole country, all of which are in desperate need of work doing to them and there are very few skilled people who know how to handle the old buildings and all the machinery. There are about five or six millwrights working in the country. Several of them are approaching retirement age and none of them are running apprenticeships. Theyre mostly one-man bands and cant afford the burden of taking on apprentices. I looked at ever single mill in the country and estimated how much work was needed - we need a national body of about 30 to 40 skilled craftsmen. The numbers are too small for a national institution to want to run a course so we realised the only way to achieve this would be to have our own school site. Sutton Mill has all the right attributes and is by far the best site. We have looked long and hard and not found a viable alternative. Many of the ancient workings inside Sutton Mill are still intact, but would need to be restored by experts It is hoped the mill will be turned into a school to train millwrights who can repair and maintain the original machinery Sutton Mill, which is Grade II* listed and was almost 80ft tall with its cap, was built in 1789 and rebuilt after a fire in 1861. The windmill was used to grind corn to make flour but was only producing animal feed by 1940 when the sails were struck by lightning. It was later run as a museum for more than 30 years until it closed in 2008 because the owners could not afford the 500,000 restoration. The site has been split into two lots - the nine-storey windmill, with 1.85 acres and a 7,000 sq ft granary, and a four-bedroom bungalow and outbuildings set in three acres. Bidding for the historic mill has already reached 180,000 The windmill lot had a starting bid of 135,000, but online bidding is already up to 180,000, and the bungalow lot has a starting bid of 250,000. Mr Temple added: Weve got enough money to buy the mill with loans from North Norfolk District Council and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) but we need the working capital to set up the school and commercial enterprises to access the loans. And SPAB have also promised a further 400,000 to repair the windmill and set up the school so weve got 850,000 on offer, we just need to raise this initial 150,000. But the owner has now put up the site for auction completely out of the blue. We had been communicating and pleading for time to raise this money but he put it up for sale without any warning. Matthew Slocombe, director of SPAB, said: The Mills Section of the SPAB is very supportive of any initiative that will help to secure the future of traditional millwrighting in this country. The shortage of millwrights to conserve and maintain the UKs windmills and watermills can only be addressed by training dedicated new apprentices. The SPAB have offered a very substantial grant to the Sutton Mill Project which we hope will help them to proceed with this important ambition. National Millwriting Centre CIC are asking people to pledge money through the form on their website, suttonmill.org, and will only collect the money if their bid is successful. President Donald Trump kicked off his Friday by tweeting out three findings of the Republican-run House Intelligence Committee which voted out a report finding there was 'no collusion' between his campaign and the Russians. Trump has brandished the 'no collusion' slogan for months, and can now point to the 150-page report that is being reviewed for declassification. President Donald Trump tweeted out three findings of the Republican-run House Intelligence Committee including that there was 'no Collusion' between his campaign and the Russians. Among the panel's findings were that it found 'no evidence' that Trump's pre-campaign business dealigns constituted collusion, no witnesses provided evidence of collusion 'when asked directly' about it, and that Trump's son Don Jr. 'did not obtain' derogatory information he sought at an infamous Trump Tower meeting with a Kremlin-inked lawyer. President Donald Trump tweeted out three findings of the Republican-run House Intelligence Committee House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes led his Republican colleagues in a party-line vote Thursday to shutter their probe into allegations of Trump campaign collusion with Russia 'House Intelligence Committee votes to release final report,' wrote Trump. 'FINDINGS: (1) No evidence provided of Collusion between Trump Campaign & Russia. (2) The Obama Administrations Post election response was insufficient. (3) Clapper provided inconsistent testimony on media contacts.' Trump's final point was a reference to a committee finding about former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. Clapper 'provided inconsistent testimony to the committee about his contacts with the media, including CNN,' according to summary findings. Clapper has been a frequent Trump critic as a commentator on the network since the election. The president tweeted out findings of the GOP-run panel In another key finding, 'The committee found no evidence that meetings between Trump associatesincluding Jeff Sessionsand official representatives of the Russian governmentincluding Ambassador Kislyakreflected collusion, coordination, or conspiracy with the Russian government," the list states.' Leading panel Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff of California blasted the GOP-written report, saying it ends a rather sad chapter in once bipartisan panel, dubbing it a fundamentally unserious effort. It was clear that their report was going to be completely political from beginning to end and there wasn't much to work on in a joint fashion, he said. He said Democrats still want to call witnesses and subpoena former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon, who only answered written questions cleared by the White House. The Intelligence panel voted Thursday to release a Republican report on the panel's Russia probe, the leader of the investigation said, a decision that formally ends the panel's examination of Russia and the 2016 U.S. election. The Republican report found no evidence of collusion between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russian interference in the election. Committee Democrats strongly disputed that finding, and said they will continue to investigate and, eventually, release their own report. The committee's vote to release the report was along party lines. Representative Adam Schiff, the panel's top Democrat, told reporters that Republicans had declined every motion offered by Democrats, including requests to subpoena witnesses who refused to answer questions and to charge former Trump adviser Steve Bannon with contempt. DID YOU COLLUDE? No witnesses provided evidence of collusion 'when asked directly' about it, according to the report The GOP-run report said the Obama administration had an insufficient response to the Russia election attack Rep. Adam Schiff, the committee's ranking Democrat, said his party's members will still issue their own minority report a document that's likely to tear the Republicans down for letting the White House off the hook President Donald Trump has repeatedly said the Russia investigations two in Congress and one overseen by a special counsel are 'witchhunts' 'The (Republican) majority was not interested in conducting any further investigation, even when the flaws in what we have done so far have become so apparent in the course of the last week,' Schiff said. The committee's chairman, Devin Nunes, said the report was based on more than 70 witness interviews and the collection of more than 300,000 documents, and makes recommendations about improving election security. He said in a statement it 'will include minority views if the minority submits them.' Reports have emerged from a whistleblower this week that British political consultancy Cambridge Analytica improperly accessed Facebook Inc users' information to build profiles on American voters later used to help elect Trump in 2016. Hidden camera footage released by British television showed a company official criticizing how the House committee conducted its interview. The Intelligence Committee shuttered its investigation despite pending motions from Democrats to hold former Trump campaign CEO Steve Bannon (pictured) in contempt for refusing to answer questions A summary of report findings concluded Russia conducted cyber attacks on U.S. political institutions, using social media to undermine the electoral process. It acknowledged contacts between Trump associates and representatives of the Russian governments, including Russian efforts to set up a 'back channel' to communicate with Trump's team after his election, but said it had not found evidence of collusion. Trump's fellow Republicans have Senate and House majorities, controlling every congressional committee. The House panel's investigation of how Russia might have sought to influence the 2016 U.S. election, and whether Trump associates colluded with Moscow has been marked by partisan disagreements for months. The doors to a secure area where the House Intelligence Committee meets were shut Thursday as the GOP majority prepared to shut down the panel's Russia investigation Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted that his government didn't try to meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, despite a raft of evidence to the contrary Earlier this year, Intelligence Republicans and Democrats released dueling memos about the investigation. Nunes removed himself from the probe for several months after a late-night visit to the White House raised questions about improper communications with Trump associates. The Senate Intelligence Committee released bipartisan recommendations on how to improve U.S. election security this week and is continuing its investigation, as is Department of Justice Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The probes have shadowed the first part of Trump's presidency, and the president has repeatedly denounced them, and Mueller, leading to concerns he might fire the special counsel. Moscow denies meddling in the 2016 U.S. campaign. Tributes have poured in for Tyrone 'Sylvester' Silcott, 42, a father-of-two, who was stabbed to death in Hackneym during a week of London violence that saw eight murdered Tributes have poured in for a father-of-two who was stabbed to death during a week of bloodshed in the capital that saw eight people murdered. Tyrone 'Sylvester' Silcott, 42, was knifed multiple times in Towpath Walk, in Hackney, East London following a St. Patrick's Day party with friends. Rowmando Lewis, 28, of Cunningham Avenue, Enfield, was charged with murder and appeared before Thames Magistrates' Court on Thursday. It is alleged Mr Silcott, a car mechanic who worked for Mr Clutch garage in Leyton, had got into a row at a party attended by 40 members of the Montserratian community. Paramedics fought to save Mr Silcott's life but he was pronounced dead at the scene in Homerton. Jasmine Lewis, who threw the house party, said Mr Silcott was her best friend. 'Sylvester would do anything for me we were very close,' she told the Hackney Gazette. 'He was my best friend. A lovable person. Always joking.' Mr Silcott had two young children in Birmingham he visited at weekends. Another friend said he was someone who was 'truly loved'. She said: 'This was a productive member of the community who shared love and life, and I'm going to miss him so much.' His colleagues at the garage in East London said they were in tears when they heard the news and would never come to grips with it. While a neighbour urged that this was a random act of mindless violence and that Mr Silcott was a productive, positive member of the community with no gang links. A bin man who stockpiled 250 explosive devices and military supplies in his family home as he believed a 'period of war and famine was coming' has been jailed for three years and four months. Reeco Fernandez, 29, stashed the IEDs and supplies - including arrow heads, army-style rucksacks and ration packs - in a cupboard under the stairs, a garden shed at his bedroom at his parents' terraced home in Bedminster, Bristol. His cache, including modified fireworks, ball bearings and chemicals to make further explosives, was discovered after emergency services were called to the property at 7pm on September 8 last year. Neighbours dialled 999 after hearing bangs, a loud boom and seeing smoke billowing from the house - caused after Fernandez unwittingly blew himself up in his bedroom. Reeco Fernandez, 29, hoarded improvised explosive devices in the home he shared with his mother and father A critical incident was declared after firefighters entered the three-bedroom property and saw the devices, with 80 neighbours evacuated for five days while experts including explosive ordnance disposal teams investigated. Avon and Somerset Police found Fernandez had been buying chemicals online for several years before the blast, with footage from his mobile phone detailing experiments he carried out on explosives in woods close to his home. Fernandez, who suffered 22% burns in the explosion and remained in hospital for 18 days, admitted five counts of possessing an explosive substance for an unlawful purpose at Bristol Crown Court on Friday. Mr Justice Dingemans, jailing Fernandez for three years and four months, said the defendant was not 'associated with a terrorist organisation' but had put himself, his family and his neighbours at risk of 'real harm'. The scene of devastation in Fernandez's room after one of the improvised explosive devices detonated Dozens of arrows were stashed behind a radiator in the 29-year-old's room at the house he shared with his mother and father The judge said the incident had been 'immensely frightening' for those close to the house at the time of the explosion, including children who were playing in nearby gardens. 'The only person injured was you, you suffered burns as you attempted to put out the flames,' the judge told Fernandez. 'It is apparent that you had, in a number of the IEDS, put in articles such as arrow heads and ball bearings. 'It is also apparent from the mobile phone footage that has been shown in court that you had started to experiment in a wooded area about half a mile from your house with a number of explosive attempts. 'Some of them ignited successfully, some of them didn't. You were taking no safety precautions for yourself. You made a deliberate decision to mix and store explosives. 'The explosion was an immensely misguided act which exposed yourself and others who you loved, and your neighbours to real harm.' Police uncovered hundreds of improvised explosive devices at the binman 'survivalist's' home in Bristol Prosecutor Rachel Drake said there was no obvious suggestion of terrorist motives but Fernandez had a committed interest in explosives Chemicals related to the bomb making were also discovered at the property following the explosion Mr Justice Dingemans ruled that Fernandez did not pass the threshold for dangerousness, which would have seen him jailed indefinitely. The charges admitted by Fernandez related to flash powder, black powder and three explosive chemical compounds. Prosecuting, Rachel Drake said the explosion appeared to have been caused on a metal cabinet in which Fernandez kept some of his explosives. Experts found 141 IEDs modified from shotgun cartridges, 96 IEDs from modified fireworks, 10 grenades, and four IEDs from other cartridges. There were 10 commercial containers of material and 21 suspected chemical mixtures, fireworks and pyrotechnics. Police uncovered a smoke grenade when they searched the 29-year-old's home. When officers arrived Fernandez provided no information other than mentioning a firework had exploded - he had suffered 22 per cent burns Bullet shells packed with explosive material and topped with fuses were also discovered during the police investigation A box packed with improvised explosive devices. Police also discovered recipes for bomb-making Other material in the property included chemicals, paper tubes, empty grenades, ball bearings, dismantled fireworks, cooking trays, scales, and a pestle and mortar with chemical residue in it. Fernandez replied 'no comment' when he was questioned by police following his release from hospital. 'No links to any kind of terrorist organisation or suggestion of any kind of malevolent intention were found in relation to these materials,' Ms Drake said. Footage recovered from Fernandez's mobile phone by police showed him experimenting with explosives in woodland in June 2016 and August 2017. Clips played to the court began with the bin man reciting the list of ingredients before lighting the devices and running away from them. A whiteboard and notebook found in his bedroom appeared to feature content 'related to the manufacture of IEDs', the prosecutor added. 'In the notebook, there were recipes and diagrams of IEDS,' she said. Fernandez has spent six months in prison, where the court has been told he has tried to make the best of it and participated in an arts workshop 'The volume of material is significant. They were stored in the garden shed, under the stairs and in the defendant's bedroom. They demonstrate a committed interest in explosives.' Representing Fernandez, Mary Cowe said a psychiatrist found he had 'eccentric beliefs about what the future holds'. 'He talks about being told in 2013 that a period of war and famine was coming and he could do something about it,' she said. 'The defendant didn't realise just how dangerous what he was doing was. He has an entirely misplaced idea of his expertise. He thought by storing them in his metal cabinet, he would mitigate the risk.' Ms Cowe said Fernandez had attempted to commission a woman to sew him a bullet-proof vest from his own design, which he planned to test out with the explosives and then provide to British forces. 'He thought he was going to help people by researching this vest,' she said. She added that the family of Fernandez, who dreamed of joining the Royal Navy, were supporting him. Caroline Peter, assistant chief constable of Avon and Somerset Police, said: 'Reeco Fernandez is someone who is interested in impending world disasters and had, for some time, been making his own preparations for a major event.' She added that his family were aware of his 'interests', but simply viewed them as a hobby. By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor for DailyMail.com and David Martosko for DailyMail.com President Donald Trump's decision to fire national security advisor H.R. McMaster may have short-circuited a plan to dispense with two other high-level administration officials. The White House on Thursday announced McMaster was out, ending months of speculation, to be replaced by former UN ambassador John Bolton. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted last week there are 'no changes' at the NSC. Even Bolton was surprised. 'I didn't really expect that announcement this afternoon,' he told Fox News less than an hour after Trump tweeted his hiring. White House aides were seen huddling Thursday evening shortly before word of McMaster's departure came out. Hiring and firing: John Bolton, the former ambassador the United Nations and a security hawk will come into the White House to replace General H.R. McMaster next month, ending months of speculation Trump's hasty action threw a wrench into a potential plan to dispense with numerous departures in a single announcement. Politico reported that senior aides were debating whether two embattled cabinet secretaries, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin and Health and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson should go out the door with him. Any McMaster announcement wasn't expected for at least another week, and there were indications he was seeking opportunities to finish out his career with the Army. Two senior administration officials said the optics might have been better to deal with the trio of departures all at once following the chaotic firing on Twitter of Trump secretary of state Rex Tillerson. Shulkin has been under fire for a 10-day taxpayer paid trip to Europe, and an inspector general's report faulted his chief of staff with doctoring emails during the approval chain. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson is under fire for the purchase of a $31,000 dining room set for his government office Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin arrives to testify on veterans programs before the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs at Capitol Hill, Wednesday, March 21, 2018. He is under fire for a 10-day taxpayer funded trip to Europe Carson testified this week before a House Appropriations subcommittee about the $31,000 dining room set for his official office purchased with taxpayer dollars. Carson said he left the details up to his wife. 'If it was up to me, my office would probably look like a hospital waiting room,' Carson said. The White House said McMaster's departure, forecast for months but still unexpected when it came down Thursday, was not related to the leak of stunning information that Trump ignored an explicit warning from his staff to 'NOT CONGRATULATE' Russian President Vladimir Putin on his reelection. Trump will replace McMaster with John Bolton on April 9, the White House announced late Thursday. Bolton, a former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, is a hawkish conservative with a pugnacious streak and a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel. He is also a fierce opponent of the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal. At one time a vacillating potential presidential candidate, the plainspoken yet curmudgeonly Bolton will become Trump's third chief national security aide in his 14-month presidency. 'I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor,' the president tweeted. Unusual tribute: Trump, who was late to a Greek Independence Day Celebration reception in the East Room because of the shake-up, thanked McMaster for his service 'I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9.' Bolton was on Fox News within an hour of Trump's tweet, saying 'I didn't really expect that announcement this afternoon.' 'But it's obviously a great honor, it's always an honor to serve our country.' Trump had clashed with McMaster repeatedly in recent months, telling confidants that he considered the general a long-winded bore. His departure comes barely a week after the president dramatically ousted former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a tweet. Trump's national security staff appeared in disarray this week after he placed a congratulatory phone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin who had won a fourth term in a lopsided election that critics called a corrupt 'sham.' National security aides, it emerged in an embarrassing leak, had cautioned him in written briefing documents: "DO NOT CONGRATULATE" in all capital letters but he did it anyway, following the example of Barack Obama in 2012. 'I was not involved in any way in the preparations for it,' Bolton said during his Fox interview, talking about the congratulations call. 'The election just took place. And I think it's a matter of courtesy more than anything else.' Bolton appeared on the Fox News Channel within an hour of the White House announcing he'd been hired But he was visibly upset that someone in Trump's inner circle would blab to the press that the president had ignored the advice of experts. 'When I read about the leak of the notes and the subject of the conversation, I was outraged by it,' he said. 'It recalled earlier in the administration when somebody was leaking transcripts of the president's conversations with foreign leaders. It's completely unacceptable.' 'I think this is really a terrible reflection on the individual or individuals that did this,' he declared. Bolton was in the West Wing Thursday afternoon along with his signature brush-like moustache and met with Trump. By dinnertime the White House Press Office was a hive of activity, with Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, her deputy Raj Shah and outgoing communications director Hope Hicks huddling behind closed doors and taking brief interruptions only for trips down the hall to the Oval Office. Because of the backstage frenzy, Trump was a half-hour late to a planned speech at an East Room event commemorating Greek Independence Day. The president had told top aides that he wanted to put a new National Security Advisor in place before his planned meeting with North Korean despot Kim Jong-Un, a sit-down that is expected no sooner than late May. A White House official said Thursday that Trump and McMaster 'mutually agreed' that he would 'resign.' 'The two have been discussing this for some time,' the official added. 'The timeline was expedited as they both felt it was important to have the new team in place, instead of constant speculation.' McMaster, a three-star Army general, said in a statement that he will retire from the armed forces over the summer, passing up what was thought to be a chance to land a command position with a fourth star. 'Throughout my career it has been my greatest privilege to serve alongside extraordinary servicemembers and dedicated civilians,' he said. 'I am thankful to President Donald J. Trump for the opportunity to serve him and our nation as national security advisor. I am grateful for the friendship and support of the members of the National Security Council who worked together to provide the President with the best options to protect and advance our national interests.' Pack your bags: A White House official said Thursday that Trump and McMaster 'mutually agreed' that he would 'resign.' 'The two have been discussing this for some time,' the official added. The president said in his own statement that McMaster 'has served his country with distinction for more than 30 years. He has won many battles and his bravery and toughness are legendary.' Trump credited McMaster with helping to revitalize U.S. relationships in the Middle East and bring North Korea's dictatorship to the brink of negotiations over its nuclear arsenal. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly called him 'a true solider-scholar whose impact on the U.S. 'will be felt for years to come.' Bolton's baptism into the Trump administration won't come without growing pains. He remains a firm believer in the wisdom of President George W. Bush's Iraq war, which Trump has routinely cast as a colossal mistake and a waste of money that could have been spent domestically. He has repeatedly drawn ire from libertarians like Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, who rhetorically body-slammed him in a 2016 op-ed when there was talk of Bolton becoming Trump's first secretary of state. The son of a Baltimore firefighter, Paul wrote, was 'a longtime member of the failed Washington elite that Trump vowed to oppose, hell-bent on repeating virtually every foreign policy mistake the US has made in the last 15 years particularly those Trump promised to avoid as president.' 'All nuance is lost on the man,' he continued. 'The fact that Russia has had a base in Syria for 50 years doesn't deter Bolton from calling for all out, no holds barred war in Syria. Bolton criticized the current administration for offering only a tepid war. For Bolton, only a hot-blooded war to create democracy across the globe is demanded.' Asked about strident opposition from Paul and other lawmakers, a White House official responded Thursday: 'Why should we care?' McMaster was originally hired as a quick-fix replacement for Gen. Michael Flynn, who was fired after mere weeks as National Security Advisor because he hid from Vice President Mike Pence and other officials the nature and extent of his contacts with Russia's U.S. ambassador. Ex-spy Chris Steele is being sued for libel by a Russian businessman who claims he was 'smeared' by the ex-MI6 officer and wants to know if Senator John McCain leaked it to the press Former British spy Chris Steele must reveal under oath if he knows who leaked his notorious 'dirty dossier' and if it was Senator John McCain, it was revealed today. Mr Steele will also be asked how he checked lurid claims in the explosive 35-page file during a seven hour grilling in London within the next three weeks. The dossier made headlines around the world with its wild claims Donald Trump ordered prostitutes to carry out 'degrading sex acts' including a 'golden shower' in a Moscow hotel while secretly filmed by the Kremlin's secret police. It also alleged Russia had been assisting Trump for 'at least five years' by sowing division in the US because Putin was 'motivated by fear and hatred of Hillary Clinton.' The former secret agent is being sued for libel by a Russian businessman who claims he was 'smeared' by the ex-MI6 officer. Aleksej Gubarev is also suing BuzzFeed in Florida over its publication of the dossier, which alleged his company XBT Holding planted bugs, transmitted viruses and stole data from the 'Democratic Party leadership'. Mr Gubarev says the allegations are completely untrue and claims Steele had 'done nothing' to check it before he put it in the explosive document. This week a British judge agreed Chris Steele should face seven hours of questioning about his dossier, which is expected to take place in private in the next three weeks. Today court documents reveal the former MI6 officer will be asked who he shared it with and who he believes leaked it, including whether he thinks it was Senator John McCain. He will also asked for names of people in America who asked him to dig up dirt on Donald Trump in Russia. Evan Fray-Witzer, a Boston-based attorney for Gubarev, told Fox News today: 'We expect that Mr. Steele will confirm that the allegations concerning Mr. Gubarev were unsolicited and that he included them in the dossier despite having done nothing to verify whether the allegations were true or not. '[Neither] Steele [nor] Buzzfeed did anything to figure out if the things they were saying about Mr. Gubarev were remotely true. That's not journalism, that's simply smearing someone's reputation'. But Mr Steele can refuse to answer questions on his sources because he fears they and their families could be jailed, tortured or murdered - and many of the questions will be sent to him in advance. Court documents seen today shows the questions Aleksej Gubarev wanted to ask Mr Steele. These have been slashed back to protect sources The US litigation involves a defamation claim brought by Russian businessman Mr Gubarev (left) against BuzzFeed Inc over its publication of the dossier (right) Mr Steele spied in Moscow in the 1990s and is believed to have been one of Britain's most senior intelligence officers in Russia as the Soviet Union collapsed. Revealed: The questions Chris Steele must answer under oath Christopher Steele will be grilled under oath about his so-called 'dirty dossier' and who ordered him to wrote it and why. Mr Steele worked for MI6 in Russia and is believed to have been a senior intelligence officer for 25 years. Court documents have shown he will be asked to reveal: His educational background, employment history and professional qualifications; Mr Steeles efforts to verify the allegations in the dossier; The provision of the dossier to Fusion GPS; The provision of the dossier to media outlets; The provision of the dossier to other third parties - this will likely include questions about attempts to send it to Senator John McCain and the British Government; But a judge has ruled he will not be asked about: The instructions given to Mr Steele and his company to prepare the dossier and the reasons for the preparation of the dossier; The payments made to Mr Steele and his company for the dossier; The steps Mr Steele took to obtain information for the dossier; Mr Steeles preparation of the dossier; Mr Steeles solicitation of information for the dossier; Mr Steeles sources of information for the dossier; Advertisement Sources claimed he also worked with Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko, the former KGB man was poisoned with polonium in London in 2006. He faced constant monitoring from the Soviet Union's feared secret police during his Moscow career. The KGB once broke into his flat to steal his wife Laura's high heels shoes before a state dinner and a Russian tank was once parked outside and its gun aimed directly at their home, friends have claimed. After leaving the service he formed Orbis Business Intelligence, a London-based firm which gathers 'strategic insight and intelligence' for corporate clients, including helping the FBI uncover corruption at FIFA. Steele's work led to a lucrative deal to dig for dirt on Trump's dealings with Russia, and he was paid Steele paid $168,000 by US-based company Fusion GPS. Fustion had been paid $1.8million via lawyers representing the Democrats and the Hillary Clinton campaign. Russian sources allegedly told Steele they had extensive material on the now President - including a secret film of him in the suite where President Obama stayed in Moscow, watching prostitutes committing degrading sex acts, specifically 'golden showers [urination]', on the bed where the president once slept. Mr Trump later claimed 'sick people put that c**p together' and called the dossier 'fake' and 'phony', even suggesting that US secret services had leaked it to damage his reputation before his inauguration. He debunked the 'golden shower' claim by saying: 'Does anyone believe that? I'm a germophobe'. The document also said Russia had been 'cultivating, supporting and assisting Trump for at least five years' because Putin was 'motivated by fear and hatred of Hillary Clinton.' When completed Steele sent his salacious file to Fusion by enciphered email in December 2016, with an instruction to Fusion to provide a hard copy to Senator John McCain, according to court documents. Steele also handed it to a UK official, believed to be from the secret service, because he felt said his work had 'considerable importance to the national security of the UK and US' and his research 'needed to be analysed further, investigated and verified'. But weeks later the dossier was leaked to Buzzfeed, who published it in full, but where it came from has never been known. Mr Gubarev's lawyers will ask specifically whether Mr Steele, who must give evidence under oath, knows who did it. The FBI considered paying Steele for the 'dirty dossier' that was included in a warrant application to spy on former Trump advisor Carter Page (pictured), but did not Last year Mr Steele fled his 1.5million Surrey mansion fearing for his life, and his family's, and 'remains horrified' the document was ever published, Wednesday's judgement says. Lawyers for Christopher Steele had argued that the lengthy pre-trial questioning session could put potential intelligence sources at great risk. Gavin Millar QC claimed that the planned seven-hour examination amounted to an oppressive 'fishing expedition'. He asked a High Court judge in London to set aside or vary an order she made in November for the examination to go ahead. In a ruling made public on Wednesday, Senior Master Fontaine said that Mr Steele did have relevant evidence to give in the proceedings in Florida and that the order did not breach his human rights. But she agreed that the original request from the US court at the behest of the plaintiffs went beyond what was required and that the order should be varied to offer further protection to Mr Steele. The US litigation involves a defamation claim brought by Russian businessman Aleksej Gubarev against BuzzFeed Inc over its publication of the dossier. The dossier consists of a number of memoranda produced by Mr Steele, who left the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2009, or his company Orbis Business Intelligence Ltd. Lawyers for Mr Gubarev, who is also suing Mr Steele for libel in the UK, told the High Court that the scope of the questioning had been narrowed and would not seek to expose sources. Senior Master Fontaine said it was an 'unusual, and probably unique, case'. Mr Steele was 'in many respects in the same position as a whistle-blower' because of the actions taken by him after the 2016 presidential election in sending part of the dossier to Senator John McCain and a senior government national security official, and in briefing sections of the US media, she added. She considered that seven hours was an appropriate time for the examination and said that Mr Steele would have the protection of his own legal advisers to ensure that the hearing should involve questioning only on the 'now very limited' topics permitted. The judge said it was not known who provided the dossier to BuzzFeed but Mr Steele's evidence was that he was 'horrified and remains horrified' that it was published at all, let alone without substantial redactions. Steele was furious that then FBI Director James Comey (sitting left) reopened the Clinton email probe in October 2016, and leaked to the media in retaliation, a new memo claimed She added: 'He considers that this may have compromised the sources of his intelligence, putting their lives, their families and their livelihoods at risk. 'He says that for former Crown servants with the experience and background of the directors of Orbis, such publication of such raw intelligence reports in this way is simply unthinkable.' The judge said that she had done her best to balance the interests of Mr Steele with the requirements of the Florida court against the background of very unusual circumstances. A police officer fired after he fatally shot a black unarmed motorist will get $344,000 in back pay and legal fees from the university which employed him. Ray Tensing, 28, shot father-of-13 Sam DuBose, 43, in the head after pulling him over for a missing front number plate on July 19, 2015. The University of Cincinnati is paying Tensing to settle a union grievance brought on his behalf for his 2015 firing following his indictment on murder charges, which were dropped last year after two juries deadlocked. Ray Tensing, 28, (left, in court during his second murder trial on June 8, 2017) shot father-of-13 Sam DuBose, 43, in the head after pulling him over for a missing front number plate on July 19, 2015 Body cam footage of the incident in Cincinatti on July 19, 2015 appears to show the second officer standing away from the car with his gun out. DuBose had driven the car half a block after Tensing shot him in the head The Fraternal Order of Police had challenged Tensing's dismissal, saying he should not have been removed from the university's police force before the case was resolved and was entitled to be reinstated. As part of the settlement, the union said, Tensing has resigned and will not pursue any other claims against the university. DaShonda Reid, the mother of four of DuBose's children, was engaged to marry him before he died. 'I'm very upset with UC paying that murderer Tensing,' she told The Cincinnati Enquirer. 'To even want compensation [after] murdering an innocent man shows how soulless and callous he is,' she said. 'UC has now reversed any of the rights they attempted to do by Sam. His blood is not only on Tensing's hands [and] the justice system, it's now on UC's hands. 'He's officially a paid assassin who has not shown one ounce of remorse for killing an innocent man. 'To even want compensation (after) murdering an innocent man shows how soulless and callous he is.' The confrontation started when Tensing pulled DuBose over for not having a front licence plate. They are seen talking to each other through the driver's side window When asked for a driving licence, DuBose handed over a bottle of alcohol instead. It was after this that Tensing asked the victim to step out of the car After a struggle, where DuBose insisted he didn't do anything wrong, Tensing is seen pulling out his gun Tensing released a statement through the FOP in which he thanked those who had stood behind him. He added: 'This case has caused a lot of strife in the community, and I believe the settlement will allow for healing to continue. It certainly will do that for me after two difficult trials.' Tensing testified at both of his trials that he shot at DuBose out of fear that he might run him over as he drove away, adding: 'I meant to stop the threat. I didn't shoot to kill him. I didn't shoot to wound him. I shot to stop his actions.' Tensing was tried in 2016 and then again in 2017, but on both occasions the jury could not reach a unanimous decision. The jury's inability to reach a consensus proved to be confounding for the prosecutor in the case, Joseph Deters. 'This is the most asinine act I have ever seen a police officer make,' he said back in 2016 while deliver his opening remarks to the jury. It was totally unwarranted.' Aubrey DuBose holds his mother Audrey during a news conference after murder and manslaughter charges against University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing were announced on July 29, 2015 Audrey DuBose (right) is comforted by her daughter Terina Allen during the news conference on July 29, 2015 Tensing (pictured left in uniform and right being sworn into the force in March 2013) has five years of law enforcement experience He also provided an expert witness who was able to dispute Tensing's claim that he was being pulled under the car as DuBose drove off, using the body-camera footage the cop was recording as evidence. This showed DuBose showing a bottle of alcohol when Tensing asked for his driving license. Tensing asked DuBose to get out the car, but he refused and after a struggle the officer drew his gun. DuBose drove off and had got half a block when Tensing shot him in the head. The shooting is among numerous cases nationwide that have called attention to how police deal with blacks, and the two trials underscored the difficulty prosecutors can have gaining convictions of police officers for on-duty shootings. The University of Cincinnati agreed to pay more than $244,000 in back pay and benefits and $100,000 in legal fees, the two sides said. 'I realize this agreement will be difficult for our community,' university President Neville Pinto said. 'I am nevertheless hopeful that we can focus on supporting each other as members of the same Bearcat family - even, perhaps especially, if we don't agree.' The university earlier reached a $5.3 million settlement with DuBose's family, including free undergraduate tuition for his 13 children. The school has initiated police reforms and restructured its leadership since the shooting. The University of Cincinnati (file photo) earlier reached a $5.3 million settlement with DuBose's family, including free undergraduate tuition for his 13 children The school has initiated police reforms and restructured its leadership since the shooting. Pictured: Tensing entering Hamilton County Common Pleas Court to be arraigned on murder charges July 30, 2014 A Townsville doctor was arrested and charged with eight counts of rape and perverting the course of justice on Friday. The doctor, 52, who can't be named for legal reasons, is charged with 'horrific offences of rape', the Townsville Bulletin reported. Townsville Child Protection Investigation Unit detective Senior Sergeant Dave Miles said police will claim that one of the alleged incidents took place within a medical facility against one of the doctor's own patients. 'Our investigation has identified that there was a particular pattern he certainly had vulnerable people come to his practice,' he told the publication. A Townsville doctor was arrested today and charged with eight counts of rape and perverting the course of justice (stock image) Police also allege he was employed as a medical practitioner when he sexually assaulted a former patient in 2012. Senior Sergeant Miles said he fears there are likely more victims. It's also alleged the man attempted to intimidate a witness who was due to give evidence against him. 'I believe that this individual has been involved in significant breaches of trust through his medical practice,' he said. 'And I am sure there will be victims out there who will be seeing this today and thinking it may well be appropriate to come forward and speak.' He said he would encourage any of those possible victims to come forward and speak with police. The alleged rapes were also 'fairly horrific' he said. The accused is set to face the Townsville Magistrates Court (pictured) on Saturday where police are expected to oppose bail The man is alleged to have also sexually assaulted a woman known to him between 2016 and 2017, according to Townsville Police. The investigation was a layered one that required police to carefully collect enough evidence before bringing the man up on charges. Police worked with the Office of the Health Ombudsmen and the Townsville Criminal Investigation Branch over 18 months before gaining enough 'sufficient evidence'. The accused is set to face the Townsville Magistrates Court on Saturday, during which police are expected to oppose bail. A motorhome driver barged a vehicle off the road after misjudging the size of his caravan as he attempted a risky overtake. The reckless driver didn't stop after performing the jaw-dropping manoeuvre, which almost bumped a 4x4 into a row of trees, on a country road in Dorset. Dashcam footage shows the campervan waiting for a pickup truck to pass before attempting an overtake. The motorhome driver barged a Nissan off the road after misjudging the size of his caravan as he attempted a risky overtake The reckless driver didn't stop after performing the jaw-dropping manoeuvre, which almost bumped a 4x4 into a row of trees, on a country road in Dorset When he sees oncoming traffic coming straight for him, the impatient motorist veers left and crashes into the front of the Nissan 4x4, forcing the car off the road. The motorhome manages to get back into the lane but the Nissan was forced to a halt after nearly veering straight into trees. The video has been viewed over 25,000 times since it was uploaded to the Dorset Idiot Drivers Exposed Facebook page on Wednesday. When he sees oncoming traffic coming straight for him, the impatient motorist veers left and crashes into the front of the Nissan 4x4, forcing the car off the road (right) After the close-call, the campervan speeds off down the road without stopping They captioned the clip: 'Time to change underwear. Camper failed to stop as well.' Social media users expressed their frustration at the driving of the motorhome. Clare Cunningham said: 'That's dreadful and the type of driving that gives motorhome owners a bad reputation. I hope the police have received this film and the driver is charged with dangerous driving.' Iain Middleton posted: 'A lot of camper van drivers don't realise the width and length of their vehicle.' Jay Rowles said: 'Makes a change you usually are the one stuck behind these things. Still no excuse though.' Georgia Looker commented: 'You have to admire his optimism.' EXCLUSIVE: Sabina Nessa, 28, had arranged to go on a first date at The Depot bar in Pegler Square, Kidbrooke Village, south-east London, last Friday night but she never made it. She was attacked in a park at around 8.30pm, and her body found on Saturday near the OneSpace community centre hidden under a pile of leaves. Reports have suggested her attacker was a stranger. No one reported her missing after she failed to make the rendez-vous, said police. A friend told MailOnline: 'Sabina was going on a date on Friday night when she left her flat. It was a first date. She was going to meet this guy in the local pub, The Depot.' The friend added: 'I don't know whether they knew each other before or they had met online but I know it was a first date.' The revelation comes as Detective Chief Superintendent Trevor Lawry says police are concerned the killer could strike again as investigations into her murder continue, but said there was nothing to suggest it would happen. Hackers demanding payment in bitcoin have attacked the city of Atlanta's computer network, officials said. The city's government network experienced a ransomware attack early on Thursday morning that shut down multiple internal and external applications for the city, including apps that people use to pay bills and access court-related information. The city does not yet have a timetable for getting all systems back up and running, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said in a news conference on Friday, after previously calling the attack 'a very serious situation.' 'At this time, there is no evidence that customer data or residential data or employee data has been compromised,' the mayor said. When asked if the city would pay a ransom to try to resolve the problem, Bottoms said the city would seek guidance from federal authorities on the best course of action. Regarding planned city-wide events over the weekend, Chief Operating Officer Richard Cox said that the March For Our Lives protest scheduled across the country for Saturday would continue as scheduled, as would NCAA March Madness events taking place in Atlanta. With this attack, Atlanta is the third southern city in four months to have its data held hostage by hackers, after similar attacks hit the North Carolina cities of Lexington in February and Charlotte in December. Hackers seeking payment in bitcoin have attacked Atlanta's computer network and demanded the equivalent of $51,000 to unfreeze files, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said on Thursday Ransomware, a form of malicious software, also called 'malware,' which blocks access to data once it's been installed on a computer system, was used in the cyber attack. The attack was discovered by the city's information security team, which noticed 'something that looked peculiar' on the server and began investigating, acting Chief Information Officer Daphne Rackley said. At around 5.40 am Eastern on Thursday, it be came apparent that some of the city's data had become encrypted. The outage did not affect the public safety department, water department or Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Cox said. Bottoms urged city employees and the public to monitor their bank accounts and to take proactive steps to protect their personal data, despite a lack of evidence that personal data had been stolen in the attack. Ransomware, a form of malicious software, also called 'malware,' which blocks access to data once it's been installed on a computer system, was used in the cyber attack on the government's computer system, officials said; Atlanta City Hall is shown here The city is working with federal agencies, including the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Secrete Service, as well as private sector partners like Microsoft and CISCO, to determine how the outage was caused and how to fix the problem, Bottoms said. A ransom note sent to the city gave instructions for paying to free up files encrypted by the hackers. Investigators say the total ransom being demanded was around $51,000 payable in bitcoin, local news media reported. There is no guarantee, however, that if the city were to pay the ransom, the hackers would remove the ransomware from its computer network and release the data back to the government. The mayor asked that Atlanta city residents remain patient while the city works out the best response to this situation. 'What we want to make sure of is that we aren't putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound,' Bottoms said. Cox, who has held his position for just five days, provided an update on which government agencies were impacted as of 4 pm Eastern on Friday. The police, the fire department and 9-1-1 were not affected, he said. Water treatment and quality have not been affected, either. Cox added that although the airport was not affected, wi-fi was disabled 'out of an abundance of caution.' The court system has been significantly impacted, and remains without ability to process payments, either online or in person. All court dates scheduled while the situation persists will be reset, and no one will be hit with 'failure to appear' penalties for missing a court date at this time. The Department of Corrections is processing inmates manually, he said. The Department of Human Resources has also suspended new applications for employment with the city of Atlanta, at this time. The city does have an insurance policy in place to help cover the costs of a ransomware attack like this, but would not release information as to the coverage amounts available so as not to entice further attacks. The mayor analogized this situation to that of realizing you have a broken down truck, that is out of date and must now be upgraded, implying the networks and infrastructure for data management in the city of Atlanta were simply out of date, and this attack was an inconvenient wake up call to what needed to be done, anyway. She also reiterated that the city continues to work with federal authorities in coming to the decision of whether to pay the hackers the bitcoin they have requested. Bitcoin is one type of crypto-currency, which can be sent online, anonymously. Each transaction is recorded on an open-source network called the blockchain, without including any identifying information about the individuals sending or receiving the digital money. Last year a ransomware attack hit more than 200,000 companies, hospitals, government agencies and other organizations in 150 countries. Those attackers were believed to have used tools developed by the US National Security Agency and leaked by a hacker group that calls itself the Shadow Brokers. In the Charlotte and Lexington attacks, hackers also asked for payment to recover data. Charlotte reportedly refused to pay what would have amounted to about $23,000 at that time, in bitcoin. Nerves got the best of a Minnesota teenager during her driving test when she accidentally put her car into drive instead of reverse, causing her to race forward and smash right into her driving center's entryway. The 17-year-old female of Monticello was supposed to reverse and pull out of a lot during her driving test, but she unintentionally accelerated straight into her examination building violently crashing through the brick wall and glass windows. The driving test flop took place on Wednesday around 2pm and sent her 60-year-old examiner to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. A 17-year-old Minnesota girl flopped her driving test when she accidentally accelerated forward instead of reversed, smashing right through the entrance of the examination center The teenager and the people inside of the building were unharmed during the accident. Police arrived on the scene located in a strip mall on the 10 block of 1st Ave where they learned the teenager unintentionally shifted into drive instead of reverse. The accident caused significant damage to the building with a pile in crumbling bricks. Her vehicle was also damaged in the crash. No charges are pending in the incident. The police shared the image of the ironic blunder onto their social media page, where fans coming to the young driver's defense claiming the teenager was simply anxious during the exam. The teenager and people in the driving facility were unharmed in the blunder, her 60-year-old instructor however was sent to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries 'Poor kid. Perhaps they were nervous.. I've caught myself once or twice almost putting the car into drive while in the garage. Thankfully, I've caught it quick enough so as not to crash through the wall,' one Facebook user wrote. 'I had a friend years ago who failed her drivers test because she crashed the car into the DMV building at the end of her road test!' another added. 'My guess is that her nerves caused an excessive amount of adrenaline which contributed to the incident. Can't you just cut her a break and smile? Be glad it wasn't you or your child!!!' a Facebook user said. 'To the 17 year old: You are not alone! This same exact thing happened at our local licensing center a few years ago. Theyve since put up concrete posts in front of the place, just in case! And dont worry...It will be a great story to tell in years to come,' another Facebook user added. An evil mother has been jailed for just four years for sexually abusing her five-year-old daughter after signing an agreement to become a sex slave for her 'online master'. Sara I, 31, was sentenced by a court in the Swiss city of St Gallen for abusing her own child with sex toys and broadcasting it to a married father-of-three in Germany. The mother regarded the pervert - 53-year-old Frank Heitmueller - as her owner and told him she wanted him to take her daughter's virginity. Evil mother Sara I, pictured, was sentenced to just more than four years in prison for the sick abuse of her daughter The mother (right) filmed herself sexually abusing her own daughter and broadcast it to Frank Heitmueller (left) who is married father-of-three Heitmueller recorded the abuse and watched it back later for his enjoyment, the court heard. Sara I, whose identity has been restricted due to privacy laws in Switzerland, regarded Heitmueller as her 'master' and had signed a certificate to say she had sold her soul to him. It stated: 'I give my body, mind and soul to him and from then on I confirm I am his object and property.' Shockingly, she also wrote in the agreement: 'I also entrust the upbringing of my beloved daughter to him.' Sara I started to sexually abuse her daughter by massaging her between her legs, which escalated to using sex toys on her. In court, the abusive mother showed remorse in court and said she felt 'disgusted at what I did to my daughter'. Heitmueller told the court he denied the accusations, saying he was only concerned with maintaining his online relationship with Sara I, which he claimed caused things to get out of hand. Heitmueller said: 'I'm not a paedophile, I have three children myself.' As Sara I's master, he had ordered her not to call her daughter by her name in their webcam talks out of fear they might be discovered, giving her the nickname 'Piglet' instead. The child abuse was discovered when Heitmueller's wife found the shocking material on his computer and called the police. Investigators found that he had also sent pictures of his penis to Sara I so that she could show it to her daughter for her to 'get used to it'. A Swiss judge was sentenced Sara I to four years and three months in prison. The same court sentenced Heitmueller to five years behind bars. Both and has been banned from any activities involving regular contact children for ten years and both will have to undergo a psychological outpatient procedure. A teenager gave his mobile phone to his young cousin as a distraction before raping the child. The far north Queensland teenager, aged 14 or 15 at the time, forced the eight-year-old boy on to the couch at a Manoora house as he cried for his mum. Cairns Judge Dean Morzone told the Children's Court of Queensland the teenager, now 16-years-old, had a clean criminal record,Cairns Post reported. A far north Queensland teenager, aged 14 or 15 at the time, forced his eight-year-old cousin on to the couch and raped him at a Manoora house as the boy cried for his mum (stock image) Described as an 'opportunistic offence', the teenager was not 'naive' and 'could not stop [himself] from doing these acts', the publication reported. The teenager, who pleaded guilty to the offence, was staying with relatives at the time of the incident early last year. The court heard the 16-year-old had learned about pornography from boys at boarding school. 'You know that you have brought great shame on your family,' Judge Morzone said according to the publication. The teenager was described as having a low to moderate risk of reoffending with the right education. The accused did not have conviction recorded and was given three years probation. President Donald Trump signed a massive $1.3 trillion bill Friday after hinting he might veto it, even as he complained no-one had time to read it and vowed never to sign something like it again. 'I say to Congress I will never sign another bill like this again. I'm not gonna do it again,' Trump said. 'Nobody read it. It's only hours old. Some people don't even know what it is,' Trump vented as he swallowed a veto threat he made after the massive bill cleared both chambers of the GOP-run Congress. Trump said he decided to sign the 2,232-page bill because it contained a boost for military funding although defense funding levels have been known for days. 'As a matter of national security, I have signed this omnibus budget bill. There are a lot of things that I'm unhappy about in this bill. There are a lot of things that we shouldn't have had in this bill, but we were in a sense forced if we want to build our military,' Trump said. Scroll down for video President Donald Trump speaks about the spending bill during a press conference in the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House on March 23, 2018. He said he would never sign one like it again Trump made the pronouncement in a hastily called public event which he erroneously tweeted minutes earlier would be a news conference. Making it even more bizarre was the online veto threat he had issued hours earlier after the House and Senate had already passed the bill. The White House had said earlier this week he supports the bill. 'We looked at it, a veto. I looked very seriously at the veto. I was thinking about doing the veto,' Trump said after he completed his remarks. 'But because of the incredible gains that we've been able to make for the military, that overrode any of our thinking.' With no notice to reporters about where the event would even be held, it showed up on the White House live-stream as a 'bill signing.' However, Trump did not actually sign the bill. Trump said at the event he had signed it, and Press Secretary Sarah Sanders confirmed after the event he had signed the bill. Trump claimed he wanted DACA protections in the bill. 'The Democrats would not do it. They would not do it,' Trump said, pointing at the opposition party, who helped cause a previous government shutdown after demanding DACA protections. 'Nobody read it. It's only hours old.' President Donald Trump walks past a copy of the $1.3 trillion spending bill after speaking in the Diplomatic Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, March 23, 2018 He also griped about funding levels, but said he had to trade domestic government program funding for the military buildup. 'While we're very disappointed in the $ 1.3 trillion, nobody more disappointed than me because the number's so large,' he said. 'We had no choice but to fund our military because we have to have by far the strongest military in the world, and this will be by far the strongest military that we've ever had,' Trump said. Then, Trump read through a list of favored weapons systems that were getting a boost. resident Donald Trump looks on as Secretary of Defense James Mattis speaks about the spending bill during a press conference in the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House on March 23, 2018 'There will be nobody that says that our mil is going to be depleted,' Trump said. 'We're spending a lot of money on nuclear our nuclear systems,' he added. He hailed funding for stealth aircraft, observing: 'They're hard to find, they're hard to see therefore they're hard to beat.' He also lauded the KC46 tanker aircraft, a large refueling plane manufactured by Boeing. 'Tanker aircraft is very important, based on everything,' Trump added. Trump had threatened Friday to veto the $1.3 trillion spending measure that the Senate passed in the wee hours of the morning because it includes little money for his border wall and no solution for illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said flatly Thursday afternoon that the president would sign it. Refusing would plunge the nation into a government shutdown the sixth since October. President Trump threatened to veto a massive spending bill on Friday over immigration issues including DACA and his long-promised border wall The president shocked Washington with his veto threat, delivered on Twitter along with a complaint that Democrats 'abandoned' Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals beneficiaries 'I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded,' Trump tweeted. A half-hour earlier he wrote on Twitter that DACA, the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, 'was abandoned by the Democrats. Very unfair to them! Would have been tied to desperately needed Wall.' The White House send multiple signals on Thursday that the president was eager to ink his signature on the 2,200-page legislation. 'All things considered, in the balance, the president supports the bill and looks forward to signing it,' budget director Mick Mulvaney told reporters during a hastily assembled noontime briefing. Trump has said he would only need to build between 700 and 900 miles of walls to secure the border; more than half of the 1,954 miles is lined by 'natural barriers' like mountains and rivers White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders proclaimed: 'This bill is so important on many fronts, from school safety and troop funding to opioids and veterans care.' Pressed a second time, Mulvaney answered 'yes' on Thursday when asked if Trump would sign the bill. 'Why? Because it funds his priorities,' he said. The DACA issue has become Washington's ultimate political hot potato, with both Democrats and Republicans trying to portray themselves as the party that cares for immigrants in visa purgatory. Trump's has complained repeatedly and publicly this month that Democrats abandoned them in the budget-cooking process. But they have largely sat on their hands because the administration's tactical move to administratively end DACA as leverage to get border security funding has been stopped in the courts. 'Let's make it clear: The president wanted a DACA fix as part of this deal,' Mulvaney said Thursday. 'He had offered a large package with a complete DACA fix in exchange for the entire wall. He offered a small package three years worth of a DACA fix in exchange for three years worth of a wall.' 'The Democrats in the House and Senate have made it clear they think they're winning in the courts and they do not want to fix this legislatively,' he added. 'We've reached out to them again and again to try to fix DACA, and they refuse to engage on the topic.' Trump vowed in April 2017 that his long-promised border wall would be finished by the end of his first term in office. But at the rate Congress agreed to, the project could stretch through more than two administrations. The fate of nearly 1 million 'DREAMers,' U.S. residents left in immigration limbo because they were illegally brought to the country as children, is a political hot potato Trump has demanded funding for the 1,954-mile border wall between the U.S. and Mexico but Congress only gave him funding for 33 new miles of barriers Rand Paul tweeted Friday that he would love to see Trump veto the spending bill, which he says is too long and complicated Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker also jumped on the please-veto train Mulvaney carped on Thursday that Capitol Hill inertia is to blame. 'If Congress would give us the money to do this, we would do it now,' he told DailyMail.com. The bill on Trump's desk include only 33 miles of fencing and levee walls where there are currently no barriers. The rest of the wall funding consists of replacements for deteriorating structures and 'secondary' walls running parallel with existing ones. The president agreed during his campaign that the entire 1,954 miles of U.S.-Mexico border doesn't need physical protection from illegal immigration and the drug trade. He said last year aboard Air Force One on his way to Paris for a Bastille Day celebration that between 700 and 900 miles would be sufficient because the rest is blocked by 'natural barriers' including mountains and 'rivers that are violent and vicious.' Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican who complained loudly during debates about the spending bill's extravagances, tweeted Friday that he hoped Trump got out his veto pen. 'I agree @realDonaldTrump should veto this sad excuse for legislation because it's $1.3 trillion in spending that (almost) no one read,' he wrote. Republican Sen Bob Corker of Tennessee had a similar idea about the possibility of a veto. 'Please do, Mr. President. I am just down the street and will bring you a pen,' Corker tweeted. 'The spending levels without any offsets are grotesque, throwing all of our children under the bus. Totally irresponsible.' Ukrainian politician Nadiya Savchenko began a hunger strike on Friday to protest her detention on charges of planning a coup against the government, less than two years after being welcomed home as a national hero. Savchenko, an ex-helicopter navigator who served time in a Russian jail as a prisoner of war, was detained in Kiev on Thursday. Authorities charged her with planning an attack on parliament using grenades and automatic weapons. Nadiya Savchenko reacts during a court hearing on a preventive punishment for her at the Svyatoshynskiy district court in Kiev, Ukraine Savchenko reacts from inside the 'defendant's cage' during a court hearing. She has been charged with planning an attack on parliament using grenades and automatic weapons Savchenko, an ex-helicopter navigator who served time in a Russian jail as a prisoner of war, was detained in Kiev on Thursday Speaking at a televised pre-trial hearing to determine the terms of her arrest, Savchenko said she would protest her treatment the same way she did her imprisonment in Russia (pictured) Savchenko is a former pilot and politician, and served time in Russian jail as a prisoner of war Since her return to Ukraine, Savchenko has been a frequent and outspoken critic of the administration in Kiev and says the authorities set up the coup plot to discredit her. However, she does not deny seeking to overthrow the government. Speaking at a televised pre-trial hearing to determine the terms of her arrest, Savchenko said she would protest her treatment the same way she did her imprisonment in Russia. 'I will go on a hunger strike from today and again show all the unbelievers,' she said. 'I will show the Ukrainian people what a hero is.' She wore a black t-shirt with a trident motif - a national symbol in Ukraine - similar to her outfit while standing trial in Russia. Her defiance in the Russian court earned her the nickname of Ukraine's 'Joan of Arc,' and at the time posters calling for her release were hung on the streets, at airports and in the chamber of parliament. But she has fallen out of favour since returning to Kiev in 2016 because of her outspoken manner and erratic behaviour . Savchenko's time in Russian court earned her the nickname of Ukraine's 'Joan of Arc' While imprisoned in Russia, there were posters calling for her release were hung on the streets, at airports and in the chamber of parliament Ms Savchenko shows her Star of the Hero of Ukraine during a parliament session in Kiev yesterday Ms Savchenko leaves after the sitting of the parliament in Kiev yesterday Since being freed from Russian prison in 2016, Savchenko has fallen out of favour since returning to Kiev in 2016 because of her outspoken manner and erratic behaviour In 2016, President Petro Poroshenko conferred on Savchenko the country's highest honour, 'Hero of Ukraine.' Yet, on Thursday he suggested her alleged coup plot was a Russia-led special operation to destabilise Ukraine. 'All this is another reminder that a large-scale hybrid war is being waged against Ukraine,' he said in a post on Facebook. Later on Friday, the court is expected to decide whether to release Savchenko pending trial or keep her in detention. In 2016, President Petro Poroshenko conferred on Savchenko the country's highest honour, 'Hero of Ukraine' but now is accusing her of a coup against her own government The court is expected to decide whether to release Savchenko pending trial or keep her in detention later today The South Korean government will switch off its employee's computers at 8pm on a Friday in an attempt to tackle the country's workaholic culture. The country has one of the longest working hours in the world, with the average government employee clocking up 2,739 hours a year - the equivalent of 52 hours and 40 minutes at work, 52 weeks of the year. Workers in the country spend about 1000 more hours a year in the office compared to their equivalents in other developed countries. In comparison, the average UK working week is 32 hours according to the OECD, if averaged out across 52 weeks of the year. The South Korean government will switch off its employee's computers at 8pm on a Friday in an attempt to tackle the country's workaholic culture (file photo) Seoul Metropolitan Government says the initiative will be rolled out over the next three months, beginning at the end of March. The plan comes in three phases, beginning with the 8pm switch-off coming from March 30. From April, the computers will be turned off at 7.30pm on the second and fourth Friday of the month, and by May the allowed working hours will be rolled back to 7pm. There will be exceptions made in special circumstances and 67.1 per cent of government workers have been asked to be made exempt. The Seoul government also recently passed the law to cut the maximum hours allowed to work a week down to 52 from 68. South Korea has previously mandated shutdowns to stop children playing video games between 12am and 6am. A former Florida police sergeant was sentenced to 120 years in federal prison for making and possessing child pornography, including images downloaded on his patrol car's computer. U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan on Thursday sentenced former Live Oak police Sgt. Kyle Adam Kirby after a jury found him guilty of producing, possessing and accessing images of child sexual abuse. Federal prosecutors say the 37-year-old Kirby used his patrol car's computer to download child pornography dating back to December 2014. Kyle Adam Kirby was sentenced to 120 years in prison for producing and possessing images and videos related to sexual abuse of children They also say Kirby used concealed cameras to film unsuspecting minors and transferred the pictures to his police computer. Kirby was also found to have used secret cameras to film minors without their knowledge, and the LOPD found images of nude and partially undressed children in at least three different bathrooms on Kirby's desktop computer. Prosecutors say Kirby tried to delete the files, but his attempt was unsuccessful. Live Oak Police Chief Alton 'Buddy' Williams said in a statement that Kirby was a trusted friend who betrayed the public and his family. Agents searched the computer inside of Kirby's police car, where they found images of young children depicted in a sexual manner dating back to 2014 'I have been in law enforcement for 30 years, and this has been the most difficult situation I have faced. A trusted friend, officer and protector of the public betrayed all facets of the job he swore to do. I realize that mistakes happen, but this was no mistake it was a choice, a choice that has impacted not only his agency, but his trusted friends, family, and community to include all brothers and sisters of the badge. I am appreciative of the FBI, the U.S Attorneys Office and all others involved. Justice did prevail,' Chief Williams said. 'This case is another example of the relentless efforts of the FBI and our law enforcement partners to identify those who prey on our children,' said Charles P. Spencer, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division. 'It is made even more egregious having been committed by someone who swore to uphold the law and protect the community. Let it be known that the FBI will stop at nothing to protect innocent victims, and seek justice for the heinous acts committed against them.' A friend of murdered student Russell Jones says he may have been the innocent victim of a feud between rival gangs in north London. The friend said the 23-year-old may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time when he got caught in fight involving rival groups in Enfield and Edmonton. Mr Jones, a university student, was shot and stabbed outside Ponders End station in what appears to be an unprovoked attack on Saturday. She said: 'It's so sad that he was targeted like that. 'There's no way Russell had any link whatsoever with gangs, he was never in trouble with police and it must have been a case of mistaken identity or a random attack. 'He studied business at Uni and spent a year as part of his course in Amsterdam in 2016. 'He'd given up his job as duty manager at a William Hill bookmakers to continue with his studies. 'We'd play football in our back garden, he was an Arsenal fan. Stephanie Saunders, the devastated mother of murdered student Russell Jones told today how the family were overcome with grief, adding: 'Russell will always be my baby.' Three days after his murder his girlfriend Tara Ward posted a poignant picture of the couple together (above) Mr Jones, a 23-year-old university student, was shot and stabbed outside Ponders End station in what appears to be an unprovoked attack on Saturday His mother Stephanie Saunders said the family - including Mr Jones's twin sister Hannah (above) - were struggling to understand how someone could do 'such a terrible thing' Another friend told MailOnline: 'He was so humble, very sweet and always laughing. 'I don't know anyone with a bad word to say about him let alone who'd want to hurt him. 'One theory is that he was an innocent caught up in a gang feud between Enfield and Edmonton. 'Some of his friends said someone drove down South Street near Ponders End station and shouted 'Edmonton' and then started firing a gun indiscriminately. 'Russell was hit, apparently, but I don't know if that's what happened or just a rumour. 'What I do know is that Russell was not in a gang and didn't know anyone who was. I can only think he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. 'I saw him in Tesco a few days before he died. He was with his girlfriend. 'We just had a brief chat, a catch-up, because I'd not seen him in a while. 'I didn't for one moment think it would be the last time I'd see or speak to him and I find it hard that I'll never see him again. 'He was a really friendly guy who'd do anything for you. He'll be really missed.' Mr Jones, a 23-year-old university student, (above with girlfriend Tara) was shot and stabbed with his friend claiming that he may have been caught up in a gang feud The devastated mother of the murdered student told earlier today how the family were overcome with grief and said: 'Russell will always be my baby.' Stephanie Saunders said the family - including Mr Jones's twin sister Hannah - were struggling to understand how someone could do 'such a terrible thing'. He became the eighth person in a week to be killed in London after a series of stabbings and murders across the city. He became the eighth person in a week to be killed in London after a series of stabbings and murders across the city His grandmother Valerie Ford, 76, who lives next door to Russell's family home in Enfield, North London, fought back tears as she spoke to MailOnline. She said: 'He was my grandson. We are still so raw and need to deal with our grief.' Three days after his death, his girlfriend of three years Tara Ward posted a poignant picture of the couple together. As the family were being comforted at their terraced house just over a mile from the murder scene, Ms Saunders paid tribute to her son who was looking forward to graduating from university when he was senselessly killed. 'We are completely heartbroken and in total shock and disbelief at what has happened,' she said in a statement. 'Russell was a loving son, twin brother, grandson, partner and friend who was looking forward to graduating from University. He will be forever loved by us all and will be in our hearts and minds for eternity. 'We are struggling to understand how someone could do such a terrible thing. Russell was and always will be my baby and he has been taken away from me in this truly devastating and heartbreaking way. 'We wish that no other family has to endure such a tragedy. The people who did this have to be caught, please if you know something, don't remain silent, please tell the police'. Tributes also poured in from friends with one describing him as in 'the wrong place and the wrong time' when the unidentified attackers inflicted fatal knife injuries and a suspected gunshot wound. His grandmother Valerie Ford, 76, who lives next door to Russell's family home in Enfield, North London, fought back tears as she spoke to MailOnline. She said: 'He was my grandson. We are still so raw and need to deal with our grief' Mr Jones's mother said: 'We are struggling to understand how someone could do such a terrible thing. Russell was and always will be my baby and he has been taken away from me in this truly devastating and heartbreaking way.' Pictured: Mr Jones's girlfriend Tara 'Russell was a kind, loving guy and very humble in school,' said Jordon Welsh, who attended Lea Valley High School along with Mr Jones he added. 'He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.' Mr Jones, who is understood to have been in the last two weeks at the University of Hertfordshire was with a friend, also 23, when four hooded men launched a brutal attack. His friend was also stabbed and taken to hospital but is not in a serious condition. Detectives from the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command are returning to the scene of the crime tonight, one week on from the murder to try and gather more clues. Police have yet to make any arrests. Detective Chief Inspector Andy Partridge, who is leading the investigation, said: 'Both my detectives and local Enfield officers are returning to the scene tonight. The attack happened just after midnight and we have already had a good response from the public. Detectives from the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command are returning to the scene of the crime tonight, one week on from the murder to try and gather more clues Mr Jones, who is understood to have been in the last two weeks at the University of Hertfordshire was with a friend, also 23, when four hooded men launched a brutal attack 'I believe further witnesses are yet to come forward. I am appealing to those who may have seen the suspects in the lead up to the attack or afterwards running along the alleyway at the side of the Oasis Academy towards Sandhurst Road. 'The suspects would have drawn attention to themselves, running away as a group into a residential area just after midnight. 'I can reassure anyone with information that it will be treated with the strictest confidence. This was a shocking attack and those responsible need to be caught.' The attack comes amid a murder epidemic sweeping the capital that claimed eight lives in a week from last Wednesday. Lyndon Davis, 18, the youngest to have been named, was found suffering from a single stab wound in Chadwell Heath, east London on March 14. Joseph Williams-Torres, 20, was killed the same evening as he sat in a stationary car in Essex Close, Walthamstow. Father-of-two Tyrone Silcott, 42, died from knife wounds on Sunday morning after a St Patrick's Day party. It is alleged the car mechanic got into a row over two girls at a party in Homerton and was attacked. Hersi Hersi, who lived as a trans woman called Naomi, was pronounced dead at the scene after being found with knife injuries at Heathrow Palace in Haslemere Avenue, Hounslow, at 10.50am on Sunday. Romanian Beniamin Pieknyi is believed to have jumped in to the fight in a bid to save his friend during the altercation at the Stratford Centre in east London. The 20-year-old, who only arrived in Britain two months ago, died in his best friend's arms after being chased and stabbed by a gang in the busy shopping centre. Rape in Singapore can carry a maximum prison sentence of up to 10 years as well as 12 lashes of a cane It is believed alleged incident took place while crew were off duty following flight from London BA employee remains in custody following sexual assault allegation by woman BA crew member arrested on suspicion of raping air stewardess in Singapore A British Airways crew member has been arrested on suspicion of raping an air stewardess after an off duty drinks party while on a stopover in Singapore. BA sources said the incident took place earlier this week following a 12-hour flight from London's Heathrow Airport to Singapore. After making the rape allegation, the stewardess, said to be a senior female flight attendant, was moved from the usual crew hotel in the city and given a room at a separate hotel. A British Airways crew member has been arrested on suspicion of raping an air stewardess after an off duty drinks party while on a stopover in Singapore The two crew members involved in the incident were unable to continue with the scheduled flight with the other crew from Singapore to Sydney in Australia. It is believed the crew member is still in police custody. Rape in Singapore can carry a maximum prison sentence of up to 10 years as well as 12 lashes of a cane. A BA insider said: 'There was an incident involving a female and male crew member. He is in police custody and she was moved to another hotel. 'BA had to send out a manager and replacement crew so the flight to Sydney could continue and manage the crisis.' The staff involved are believed to be part of the airline's 'Mixed Fleet' crew which is mostly made up of young stewards and stewardesses. BA sources said the incident took place earlier this week following a 12-hour flight from London's Heathrow Airport to Singapore They are usually on lower wages than more senior crew. Last year BA managers warned mixed crew fleets in a letter that drunken antics were gettng so bad that they were affecting the airline's reputation and ability to deliver a first class service to passengers. A BA spokesman said: 'We are co-operating with the police investigation and are offering our full support to our cabin crew. As it is a live investigation we won't be commenting further.' Christianity in Europe is dying out as young people continue to turn away from religion, new research has suggested. A majority of 16 to 29-year-olds do not follow a religion across the continent, with the Czech Republic the least religious among this age group, experts found. The breakdown of religious affiliation in 22 European countries shows that more than two thirds of young Britons have no religious affiliation. Europe is becoming increasingly secular as young people turn their back on religion, with 91 per cent of youths in the Czech Republic identifying as non-religious This graph shows the declining numbers of Christians in European countries. Rather than changing religious affiliation, it seems Christians are leaving religion behind. The fewer Christians there are in a country, the more non-religious people there are, except in Israel In the UK, only seven per cent of young adults identify as Anglican, and 10 per cent categorise themselves as Catholic. Young Muslims are also on the brink of overtaking Anglicans, on six per cent. Between 70 per cent and 80 per cent of the same age group in Holland, Sweden and Estonia are non religious while the figure is 91 per cent in the Czech Republic. The report, Europe's Young Adults and Religion, was produced by Professor Stephen Bullivant at St Mary's University in London, who said religion was 'moribund', according to The Guardian. He said that 'with some notable exceptions' young adults 'increasingly are not identifying with or practising religion'. The figures for the UK were partly explained by high immigration. He explained: 'One in five Catholics in the UK were not born in the UK. 'And we know the Muslim birthrate is higher than the general population, and they have much higher [religious] retention rates.' A chart showing the exact breakdown of religious affiliations in European countries and Israel In the UK, the young Muslims population - at six per cent - is close to overtaking the young Anglican population - at seven per cent (file image, the East London mosque) Some 70 per cent of Czech young adults and about 60 per cent of Spanish, Dutch, British, and Belgians from the age group 'never' attend religious services. Again in the Czech Republic, 80 per cent of young adults and around 70 per cent of Swedish, Danish, Estonian, Dutch, French and Norwegian ones 'never' pray, the report says. Just 21 per cent of British young people identify as Christians while only seven per cent identify as Anglicans - compared to six per cent as Muslims. Meanwhile, only two per cent of Catholic young adults in Belgium, three per cent in Hungary and Austria, five per cent in Lithuania, and six per cent in Germany say they attend Mass weekly. At the other end of the spectrum, Poland was revealed to be the most religious - with just 17 per cent of young people seeing themselves as non-religious - followed by 25 per cent for the same age group in Lithuania. Bullivant told the Guardian that Christianity 'as a default, as a norm, is gone, and probably gone for good or at least for the next 100 years'. Those who are religious now find themselves 'swimming against the tide', he added. An Adelaide school had a surprise visitor in the form of a baby brown snake this week. The snake was found outside a sign warning students and staff to shut the door specifically for that reason. Southern Montessori School principal Noel Browne told Southern Times Messenger that everyone was calm and no one was in danger when the snake appeared. Scroll down for video Southern Montessori School got a surprise visitor in the form of a baby brown snake The baby brown snake was found outside a sign warning students and staff to keep the door shut because of snake season Southern Montessori School, where the snake was found, principal Noel Browne said that the school gets one or two snakes a year 'We locked the door from the inside and made the pathway inaccessible with cone markers,' Mr Browne said. The school usually gets one or two snakes on campus a year and takes measures to remind the kids about safety. A snake catcher was at the school within ten minutes to collect the snake. Snake Catchers Adelaide employee Cory Young also told the publication that the number of snakes found in the suburbs of Adelaide has doubled. It comes after a venomous red-bellied black snake was found in classroom at a Queensland school. The poisonous snake was discovered by a teacher sitting at her desk at Noosa Christian College this week. A reptile catcher released footage of the moment he captured the snake using a stick, twirled it around in his hand and lured it into a black bag. 'The teacher was sitting at her desk when she looked down at her feet and saw a snake head poking around the corner by her feet,' he said. 'Lucky for her this gorgeous animal was very shy and quickly went back into cover,' he said. 'Absolutely beautiful snake, red bellies are my favourite.' Footage shows him using a stick to lure the snake from under the desk. A venomous red-bellied black snake (pictured) was discovered under the desk by a teacher at Noosa Christian College A local snake catcher (pictured) twirled the snake around his hand before he captured it in a bag He is shown twirling the snake around his hand and then finally seizing the reptile into his black bag. 'Of all the places for a red-bellied black snake to be, under the desk here is very interesting,' he said. The venom from a red-bellied black snake is extremely toxic and can cause nausea, vomiting, headaches and diarrhea in bite victims. The snake is often found in woodlands, forests and swampland in eastern Australia, and is one of Australia's most common snakes. The teacher was sitting at her desk when she looked down at her feet and saw a snake head poking around the corner This is the moment a reckless trespasser caused delays to the Central Line after walking on the tracks of the London Underground. Footage filmed at Bond Street last night captured a man walking out of a tunnel towards a crowd of onlookers. Police were already at the scene to arrest the trespasser after he had headed out near the platform. This is the moment a reckless trespasser caused delays to the Central Line after walking on the tracks of the London Underground The Central Line service was cancelled for a period and even after being reopened, severe delays were reported. Marlon Gordon, 39, of east London, who filmed the footage, said: 'I was travelling home from Bond Street and when I got to the station there was an announcement to say the next train had been held and that there was a trespasser at Marble Arch. 'We were waiting about 20 mins and then we saw a silhouette emerging from the tunnel. 'The police arrived and arrested the man, he seemed really confused. 'Everyone was shouting that there were two people in the tunnel but it turned out to be the man and a member of Transport for London staff I think.' British Transport Police said officers were called at 9.44 last night to Marble Arch on reports of a trespasser. The 26-year-old man, of Tower Hamlets, made his way to Bond Street tube station where he was arrested. He has been released under investigation for trespassing. The 16-year-old girl who was shot in the head by her ex-boyfriend on Tuesday at their Maryland high school has died. On Thursday, the parents of Jaelynn Willey told the media that their daughter was brain dead and that they planned to take her off life support. Willey died at 11:34pm that night, surrounded by her family, the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office said in a statement on Friday. 'It is with heavy hearts and great sadness we provide this update,' the office said. Jaelynn Willey, 16 (pictured), died Thursday night, two days after being injured in a shooting at Great Mills High School in Maryland Willey's parents Melissa and Daniel (pictured above) held a press conference Thursday night, revealing that their daughter was brain dead and they planned to take her off life support Willey was shot by 17-year-old Austin Rollins just before classes started at Great Mills High School on Tuesday. Rollins died after shooting Willey. A school resource officer got there within a minute and fired a shot at Rollins, but it's not yet clear whether Rollins was killed by the officer's bullet or took his own life. Another student, 14-year-old Desmond Barnes, was shot once in the leg during the incident but has since been released from the hospital. Police said Wednesday that the Willey (right), had recently broken up with the shooter, 17-year-old Austin Rollins (left) Willey was shot shortly before classes started Tuesday at Great Mills High School. Rollins used his father's handgun, which was legally owned. But it is illegal for any person under the age of 21 in the state to possess a gun School resource officer Blaine Gaskill was credited with responding to the shooting in under a minute. Rollins died after the shooting, but it's unclear whether the fatal shot was fired by Gaskill or the killer himself The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday Rollins and Willey had been in a relationship that recently ended. 'All indications suggest the shooting was not a random act of violence,' police said in a statement Willey had been in critical condition at the University of Maryland Prince George's Hospital Center. A fundraising page to help her family has raised more than $77,000. Jaelynn was one of nine siblings, her mother Melisa said at the Thursday press conference, and a member of the swim team. The mother, holding a young baby, said, 'On Tuesday ... our lives changed completely and totally forever. My daughter was hurt by a boy who shot her in the head and took everything from our lives.' In an email Thursday to The Associated Press, Barnes' mother, Kimberly Dennis, said her family is 'eternally grateful' that her son is 'alive, doing well and in good spirits'. Another student, 14-year-old Desmond Barnes (pictured), was shot in the leg but has since been released from the hospital She expressed sympathy for Willey and her family and added, 'We are also praying for the entire Great Mills High School family and young people around this country. As a community and nation, we must continue to work and fight for a world that is safe for our children.' A YouCaring page set up for Barnes' hospital bills has raised more than $20,000. Great Mills High School has about 1,600 students and is near the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, about 65 miles southeast of Washington. St. Mary's County Sheriff Tim Cameron credited Deputy First Class Blaine Gaskill with preventing any more loss of life. Cameron said Gaskill, a six-year veteran with SWAT team training, responded within a minute and fired his weapon simultaneously with a final shot fired by Rollins. The officer was unharmed. On Wednesday, authorities said the Glock handgun used in the shooting was legally owned by Rollins' father. In Maryland it is illegal for anyone under age 21 to possess a handgun unless it is required for their employment. Willey's death came two days before students plan to protest the nation's gun control laws with a demonstration in Washington, DC called the March for Our Lives. The demonstration was organized by survivors of the Parkland school shooting, which happened last month. In that shooting, 17 were killed when gunman Nikolas Cruz opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which he had been kicked out of. A woman has been hailed a hero after she saved almost a thousand of her co-workers lives on a 'hunch' during a devastating factory blaze. The unnamed female employee herded out 900 people from the Thomas Food abattoir in Murray Bridge, South Australia before the building burst into flames on January 3. She made the difficult call to evacuate the plant before the smoke detectors had even alerted staff - and she has now been labelled an 'absolute hero,' The Advertiser reports. Scroll down for video The unnamed female employee herded out 900 people from the Thomas Food abattoir in Murray Bridge, South Australia when the building burst into flames on January 3 She made the difficult call to evacuate the plant before the smoke detectors had even alerted staff - and she has now been labelled an 'absolute hero' 'There were 900 people in that facility, we could have been sitting there with 900 funerals,' managing director Darren Thomas said. 'It was just a hunch she was trained and she removed 900 people. She is an absolute, absolute hero.' The woman has undergone counselling since the blaze as she suffers from anguish and guilt that she could have done more. But she has been assured by her boss that, without her decisive action, those 900 workers could have perished in the blaze. Mr Thomas has also revealed his struggles since his life's work went up in smoke. 'There were 900 people in that facility, we could have been sitting there with 900 funerals,' managing director Darren Thomas said The woman has undergone counselling since the blaze (pictured) as she suffers from anguish and guilt that she could have done more 'It's a tragic event and the one thing I am grateful for is that there were no injuries. It's a significant event. It's one of the single biggest claims in insurance outside mining in Australia for over a decade,' he said. The blaze was started accidentally by a worker who was welding and caused tens of millions of dollars worth of damage. The Thomas Food boss spoke to the employee who caused the blaze and told him it was simply a 'horrible, tragic accident'. His family is now working to rebuild the facility as 900 of the company's displaced staff are offered positions in Lobethal, Adelaide. The abattoir employed 1400 staff, processed beef, lamb, goat and mutton and had an annual revenue of more than $1 billion. A black man was punched in the face by a white police officer while he was waiting for his mother to pick him up from a Texas hospital. The shocking blow was recorded on tape at Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth and shows Henry Newson, who had spent two days in the hospital, borrow a stranger's phone to call his mother while talking to a suspicious cop. When an argument escalates, off-duty officer Jon Romer enters the scene, pushes Newson out, and suddenly punches him in the face before pinning him to the ground. The scene unfolded on November 5, 2016 and was recorded on hospital surveillance footage and body cameras, obtained by WFAA. Newson, now 21, is suing Officer Romer, the hospital, and security guards for unspecified damages. Newson was in Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas for two days recovering from an illness. After he was released he borrowed a stranger's phone in the hospital lobby (above) Officer Jon Romer (right) began to push Newson out of the building after he became frustrated answering another officer's (center) questions Newson resisted the pushes and called Romer 'bro' causing Romer to punch him in the face Newson is pictured reeling from the punch, after which Romer put him in a choke-hold The harrowing footage sees Newson enter a lobby and borrow a stranger's phone after he had been in the hospital for two days recovering from an illness. A cop immediately hovers around him saying: 'Im just trying to figure out what youre doing'. Newson asks to be left alone and becomes frustrated with the officer's questions. 'Shes picking me up from here. I have nowhere else to go,' he says. 'You wont leave me alone. For real though. You keep asking me ignorant questions like do you know what hospital it is? Yes, my mother knows what hospital it is.'. Officer Romer, who was off-duty and working private security that day, bee-lines for Newson to usher him out of the building, placing his hand on his chest and pushing him out. Newson tries to calm him by calling him 'bro' which triggers Romer to punch him and put him in a choke-hold. Two other officers help handcuff Newson on the ground. He was arrested for trespassing and resisting arrest, but those charges were later dropped. He spent two days in jail. Newson filed a lawsuit in November accusing Romer of a 'clearly racially motivated attack' and seeking $1million in damages, according to Star-Telegram. 'This was a young African-American kid with no criminal history, no criminal record. He'd been in the hospital for two days and he was waiting for his mom to come pick him up,' his attorney Matthew Bobo said to WFAA. 'The officers knew why he was there, he complied with everything they asked him to do and they still beat him up,' he added. Henry Newson, 21, (left) is suing Officer Jon Romer (right) for a 'clearly racially motivated attack' for a November 2016 incident where Romer punched Newson as he waited for his mom to pick him up from a hospital lobby, where he had spent two days sick Video footage at the hospital captured the moment Newson was on the phone with his mother asking a police officer to leave him alone After he raised his voice Officer Jon Romer (above) approached and escorted him out After the punch Romer (above) pinned Newson to the ground (below Romer) to arrest him Newson pleaded with officers to call his mom. They refused because he was over the age of 18 Speaking to NBC5, Bobo added Newson 'doesn't resist, he doesn't fight back'. 'It was fast. It was violent and there was nothing that would have indicated that that should have happened or was going to happen,' he said. Officer Romer, 38, was indicted March 15 in the case on charges of official oppression, making a false report to a peace officer, and aggravated perjury, according to Dallas News. Romer told investigators in 2017 that his use of force was approved despite being off duty and Romer lied under oath saying he told Newson was under arrest before he hit him, according to indictment documents. He was released from Tarrant County Jail that same day after posting bond. Romer was an officer for 15 years has been placed on restricted duty. This isnt Romers first spat with the African American community. In 2011 Romer was involved in the shooting of Charal 'Ra Ra' Thomas, 32, who was a handicapped father. Thomas did not follow police orders to exit his vehicle and drove with Romers arm trapped in a window, dragging Romer along. Romer fatally shot Thomas as he drove, right in front of an adult passenger and Thomas three children in the vehicle. 'Why was a police officer who has used deathly force been allowed to remain on the streets until the day of his indictment?' Michael Bell spokesman for the Tarrant County Local Organizing Committee said in a press conference last week 'Who made the decision to not hold Romer accountable for his actions once they were uncovered?' he added. Qantas has announced that it will provide one inch of extra leg room to economy passengers on their new non-stop flights from Australia to Europe. More personal storage will also be afforded to passengers on the non-stop 17 hours flight, which begin today. Qantas officials announced the changes to passenger space as part of a layered approach to ease the impact of jet lag, The Australian reported. Qantas has announced that it will provide one inch of extra leg room to economy passengers on their new non-stop flights from Australia to Europe Qantas International chief executive Alison Webster said the new Dreamliner aircraft will have 64 less seats than other airlines using the same aircraft, from 300 to 236, as a means of creating the extra space. 'We've given passengers more space in every class, including an extra inch if legroom in economy and more personal storage,' she said. Qantas is also touting its 28 seat premium economy cabin which will provide passengers with a more ergonomic seat. Other changes that Qantas believes can help passengers on the long haul flight will be lower cabin pressure, 6000 feet elevation as opposed to the usual 8000 feet and higher cabin humidity. Another introduction is a 'simulated' sunrise over 15 minutes to allow passengers an easier transition into the daylight hours during the 17 hour flight to Europe Another introduction is a 'simulated' sunrise taking 15 minutes to allow passengers an easier transition into the daylight hours. Qantas will be testing some of its passengers with sleep measurement devises to help collect data. The data will be used to better understand what does and doesn't help passengers on the flight. Professor of Sleep Medicine at Charles Perkins Centre Peter Cistulli will be one of the passenger son the first flight and will help collect the data. He told The Australian another tweak to the flying experience will be 'pushing this dark period' where passengers are able to sleep into the first five hours of the flight. Guccifer 2.0, the 'lone hacker' who stole Democratic National Committee emails during the 2016 presidential election, was a Russian intelligence agent. The unnamed officer claimed to be a lone Romanian hacker, but was instead working for a military intelligence agency in Russia known as GRU, The Daily Beast reported. US investigators were able to trace the person's identity when they failed to activate the VPN client before logging on. Guccifer 2.0, the 'lone hacker' who stole Democratic National Committee emails during the 2016 presidential election, was a Russian intelligence agent Guccifer 2.0 used platforms such as WordPress and Twitter to publicise a series of leaks in 2016, seemingly to damage Hillary Clinton's (pictured) campaign A Moscow-based Internet Protocol address was left in the server logs of an American social media company, The Daily Beast report. Guccifer 2.0 was uncovered as a particular GRU officer working out of the agency's headquarters on Grizodubovoy Street in Moscow. The revelation is likely to deepen suspicions that Russia attempted to interfere in the US elections. Guccifer 2.0 used platforms such as WordPress and Twitter to publicise a series of leaks in 2016, seemingly to damage Hillary Clinton's campaign. These included emails between her campaign staff and Democratic National Committee employees, and the Hillary Clinton Foundation donor database. The hacker also proclaimed that the DNC's stolen documents were in WikiLeaks' hands. Guccifer 2.0 used platforms such as WordPress and Twitter to publicise a series of leaks in 2016, seemingly to damage Hillary Clinton's campaign In February, special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russian nationals tied to the Internet Research Agency 'troll factory' in St Petersburg (above: Russian President Vladimir Putin) In February, special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russian nationals tied to the Internet Research Agency 'troll factory' in St Petersburg. He accused them of spreading propaganda to interfere in and influence the US elections. It is now possible that Mueller will be able to charge Guccifer 2.0 if the individual has been uncovered. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and other top law enforcement officials held a press conference on March 23 to cover a 'major cyber law enforcement announcement.' A man in China has been arrested after violently beating his elderly mother who is mentally ill, according to police. The man, known by his surname Peng, claimed that his sick mother wouldn't obey him, therefore he started beating her. He said she had been hiding herself up in different parts of the house and making the house messy. A video posted online shows a man savagely slapping and hitting his mother in China According to a police statement, officers launched an investigation on March 22 after seeing an online video of a man repeatedly hitting his mother. Officers quickly tracked down the family, who live in the Li County of Changde city. Mr Peng confessed that he attacked his mother, known by her surname Zhang, at around 11am on March 22. The man has been arrested on suspicion of abusing his mother after police saw the video He said his mother often hid herself in their house and he had to find her; and on the day, she had been hiding again and he was enraged. Mr Peng also claimed that his mother continued making their home dirty after he had told her not to. Mr Peng has been arrested on suspicion of abusing his mother. The case is under investigation. A group of men are traveling North Carolina with red stained crotches as part of a protest against infant circumcision. The group is called Bloodstained Men & Their Friends. Its members wear all white and paint red splotches on their groins in an eye-catching attempt to represent the brutality they say baby boys experience while having their foreskins removed. This weekend, the group will take a stand in Charlotte. They have previously staged demonstrations in Florida and other states. They believe it is cruel and harmful to remove baby boys' foreskin at birth or shortly afterwards. Bloodstained Men & Their Friends wear all white and paint red splotches on their groins to protest infant circumcision. Some of the group's members are pictured At another protest, a demonstrator went barefoot and stood on a sidewalk to catch the attention of passing motorists 'Bloodstained Men & Their Friends is dedicated to giving victims of genital cutting a voice and educating Americans about the harms of infant circumcision and the importance of the foreskin,' the group says on its Facebook page. The group considers circumcision a 'shameful experiment'. They say it is only ever carried out for 'purported religious or cultural reasons'. Circumcision is more common in the United States than in other developed countries. Another protester is pictured. The group says that while it is not mandatory for demonstrators to wear the outfit, they encourage it The group says circumcision among baby boys, which is more prevalent in the US than in other developed countries, is as harmful as female genital mutilation, which is illegal The World Health Organization estimates that the rate in the US is between 70 and 90 percent. It is closer to 20 percent in parts of Europe and in some countries, namely Iceland, there are proposals for it to be banned completely. Medical benefits, listed by WHO, which the procedure can lead to include improved hygiene and reduced risk of infection later in life. It is also sometimes a necessary surgery for a man or adolescent later in life if their foreskin becomes too tight to be rolled back. The next Bloodstained Men & Their Friends protest will take place in Hip hop icon Russell Simmons is facing a new claim of sexual assault and accused of chillingly telling his alleged victim: 'I'm going to f**k you or I'm going to f**k your son,' Dailymail.com can reveal. Simmons is being sued for $10million by a woman who claims he raped her in a hotel room in Sacramento, California and threatened to rape her young son if she didn't comply. An attorney for the unidentified woman, named on legal papers as Jane Doe, filed the lawsuit in downtown Los Angeles on Friday, making her the 16th woman to allege Simmons was guilty of a sex crime. Court documents, obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com, allege Simmons - founder of Def Jam Recordings - invited the woman to his hotel room following a concert in Sacramento. The alleged victim, who is from Sacramento, says she attended a hip hop concert to chaperone her son who was in elementary school at the time and a fan of Def Jam. New claims: A 16th woman has come forward and has accused hip hop legend Russell Simmons (pictured in LA on March 17) of raping her in a hotel room in Sacramento, California An unidentified woman, named on legal papers as Jane Doe, filed the lawsuit in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. She is suing for $10M During the concert, the papers allege, Simmons, 60, approached Doe and invited her and her son to come backstage and meet the artists, which they did. The music mogul then invited her to go to the 'after party' at the now closed Clarion Hotel where he was staying after dropping her son off at home with a babysitter, the papers claim. Simmons and Doe socialized at the hotel bar before he asked the woman to show him some local nightclubs. 'They went to the CoCo Palms nightclub and then returned to the hotel with the intention of continuing to socialize at the bar,' the documents state. Simmons then enticed the woman up to his room because he said he had to get something. She was reluctant, but Simmons assured her that he wasn't interested in sex because he was dating a well-known model, the papers say. Assured by Simmons's 'lies', she agreed to join him up in the room. The documents, filed by attorney Douglas Mastroianni, state: 'After entering the room, Simmons shut the door and said 'I am going to f**k you.' Plaintiff said she had no intention of having sexual relations with Simmons -- but he replied 'I am going to f**k you or I'm going to f**k your son. You decide.' The papers added: '[Doe] was shocked that Simmons would threaten her -- let alone threaten to rape her young son. Simmons threw her on the bed and raped her.' Simmons allegedly invited the Jane Doe to his room at the now closed Clarion Hotel in Sacramento after she attended a Def Jam concert with her son. It is here where he allegedly raped her Simmons is the co-founder of Def Jam Recordings. The woman claims she attended a Def Jam Concert to chaperone her son who was in elementary school at the time (Pictured above is Simmons and Jay Z in 2005) According to the papers there's at least one witness who saw the woman leave the hotel room in tears and she apparently told several people about the rape at or near the time of the attack. Unusually, the lawsuit doesn't give an approximate date of the incident. The documents say the woman suffered 'severe emotional distress' and is seeking $10million in punitive damages. Mastroianni told DailyMail.com: 'I have a daughter so I admire and am grateful for women like my client who have come forward to expose Russell Simmons. 'This case, and others like it, will make the world safer for women and we have people like my client to thank for that.' Fifteen other women including directors, fashion mavens, and models have accused Simmons of raping, harassing, or assaulting them in claims dating back to the early 1980s. He vigorously denied their accusations, releasing a statement each time another's allegation was published. In December, as more emerged, Simmons vowed to start his own campaign to clear his name. The last woman to have publicly accuse Simmons was Jennifer Jorasik (above), who claims he sexually assaulted her in his home in 2016 He called it #NotMe and promised to hold his accusers 'accountable' for what he said were lies. On the heels of the Golden Globes and with the trending topic showing no signs of slowing, sources close to him revealed he had abandoned the campaign because he feels it is a time for 'women to speak.' Simmons stepped down from his business empire last month as the controversy boiled over. In an effort to clear his name, he took a polygraph test in December which he passed. The questions he answered as part of it were about Keri Claussen Khalighi, a former Victoria's Secret model who was the first to share accusations against him. Simmons referred to her allegation - that he raped her in his apartment in an attack witnessed and participated in by Brett Ratner - as 'the original sin'. Keri Claussen Khalighi (right) a former Victoria's Secret model was the first to share accusations against Simmons in November. She claimed the producer and director Brett Ratner raped her in his apartment He insists all of his interactions have been consensual, but did admit 'inappropriate conduct' in some instances, 'apologiz(ing) for the instances of thoughtlessness in my relationships with women.' In January, another woman accused Simmons of rape. The anonymous woman alleged that Simmons raped her in 1991 at his Manhattan apartment after forcing her onto his couch and trying to remove her dress. She reported her allegations to the NYPD along with Sherri Hines, who previously shared her story on Megyn Kelly. On January 24, Jennifer Jarosik also accused Simmons of rape; she filed a suit against him asking for $5 million in damages. A married middle school teacher from Wisconsin is facing several charges after being accused of having sex with a high school student. Meadowview Middle School physical education teacher Alexis Mashak, 27, of Bangor admitted to having sexual contact with a 17-year-old Sparta High School male student between November 2017 and March of this year. Mashak is currently free on $1,000 bond but is facing four felony charges. She has been ordered not to have contact with the alleged student or anyone younger than 18. Alexis Mashak appeared in court Thursday and was released on a $1,000 bond The27-year-old married P.E. teachers was charged with sexual assault of a student The Sparta School District stated how officials were made aware of the 'possible inappropriate relationship' on Tuesday and Mashak was immediately placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of a district investigation. According to the complaint, police began investigating earlier this week after CCTV footage from the Sparta Barney Family Community Center caught Mashak kissing the student a day earlier. The student said he met Mashak through his girlfriend and that they both worked at the Sparta Boys & Girls Club. The pair told police they had sexual contact in his vehicle, his house and the community center, and that they shared nude photographs, according to the complaint. Mashak is charged with child enticement, sexual assault of a child by a person who works with children and two counts of exposing genitals. Towns and regions with the highest influx of Eastern European migrants have been identified in government figures. Data from the Office for National Statistics has shown the areas in the UK with the biggest proportion of settlers from the Eastern bloc. In total there are now an estimated 2.03million people now living in the UK who are nationals of the ten Eastern European EU nations. By far the biggest number of settlers come from Poland, with the ONS statistics showing 1million from that nation now living amongst the 65 million population of the entire UK. A map showing the number of Eastern Europeans who have moved to the UK and the areas where they have settled It can be revealed that the highest concentration of Polish people live in Boston, Lincolnshire, where they make up one in ten of the population, a total of 10.45%, with 7,000 having settled there. The next biggest group of Eastern Europeans are Romanians, who along with Bulgarians, were first allowed free access to the UK to live and work in 2014. Some 358,000 have settled in the UK since then. The largest concentration is in the north west London borough of Harrow, where 8.37% of the population, a total of 21,000, are Romanians. Many of these Eastern European migrants to the UK have settled in Norfolk and Lincolnshire where they work in agriculture and food processing. Lithuanians are the next largest group to have settled in the UK, with 212,000 making the trip here. The highest concentration live in King's Lynn and West Norfolk, with 11,000 living there, making up 7.33% of the population. There are other figures for Latvia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic too. Many Eastern European migrants have found jobs in agriculture, like fruit picking, and food processing Boston is also the town with the highest concentration of the 112,000 Latvians that have come to Britain. Some 3,000 live there, making up 4.48% of the population. Hertsmere in Hertfordshire is the number one destination for Hungarians, where 3,000 live out of the 101,000 that have come to the UK. That works out as 2.91% of the areas population. Harlow in Essex is the town with the highest concentration of Bulgarians, with 2,000 of the 91,000 that have come to Britain living there (2.33% of the town's population) and Dartford in Kent is the location where most Slovakian's settle, with 2,000 of the 89,000 that moved to Britain living there. That is 1.92% of the town's population. Peterborough is the place where settlers from the Czech Republic now live, with 2,000 making a home there, making up 1.03% of the population. Some 46,000 have moved to Britain since 2004. There is no data for settlers from Estonia, from which 11,000 have moved to the UK, or Slovenia, which has seen 6,000 leave to come here. A Utah jail refused medical care to a woman who died of an infection from gastric bypass surgery, even though she showed symptoms of pain, her family alleges in a wrongful death lawsuit. Lisa Marie Ostler, 37, spent roughly four days in Salt Lake County Jail before she passed in April 2016, according to her family in the lawsuit filed Thursday. Rocky Anderson, the family's attorney, asserts that the the jail broke Utah law by denying the Riverton native her rights of due process. Lisa Marie Ostler, 37, spent roughly four days in Salt Lake County Jail before she passed in April 2016 The suit claims that proper medical evaluation would have shown how imperative it was that Ostler - who had an infection from a gastric bypass surgery - get care, which never happened 'Our daughter died a very painful death from a medical cause that was not related to drugs. And they couldn't get beyond looking at it as a drug event to get her any kind of help,' father Calvin Ostler said, according to Desert News. The suit claims that proper medical evaluation would have shown how imperative it was that Ostler get care, which never happened. According to the woman's family, Ostler showed 'obvious signs of excruciating pain' from inflammation of lining of the abdominal organs, or peritonitis. Jail employees refused to help her however. 'It's torture,' added mother, Kim Ostler. 'It's torture,' added mother, Kim Ostler (pictured right) 'Our daughter died a very painful death from a medical cause that was not related to drugs. And they couldn't get beyond looking at it as a drug event to get her any kind of help,' father Calvin Ostler said Inmates in the jail reported hearing the woman yell, moan, curl up in a ball and refused eating for two days and showing signs of dehydration. She was pronounced dead at the hospital on the morning of April 3, 2016. An employee filled out forms when the woman first arrived on March 30, explaining that Ostler had several medical condition that she took medication for, including Crohn's disease. Inmates in the jail reported hearing the woman yell, moan, curl up in a ball and refused eating for two days and showing signs of dehydration And when inmates tried to inform guards at the jail, they were told that Ostler was 'coming down off drugs,' and told said to the woman, 'I'll bet it feels like you're going to die, doesn't it? Just a couple more days.' She was told to stop pushing the alarm button, asking for help, the suit alleges. For over two days, inmates pleaded that guards assist the woman and told them that she was crying and yelling. When they found that Ostler stopped breathing, jail staff came and tried to perform CPR before taking her to the hospital. The woman's parents explained how Ostler became dependent on painkillers after undergoing gastric bypass surgery. The bank manager then developed Grohn's disease and turned to heroin after losing insurance, they added. She was being held in jail for drug charges and was expected to appear in court. An autopsy revealed that inflamed abdominal lining from a rupture where the surgery took place, along with complications the Crohn's, contributed to her death. Named in the lawsuit are former Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder, chief deputy Pam Lofgreen, jail medical director Todd Wilcox, and several other staff members from the jail. The suit claims that Olster was exposed to unnecessarily harsh treatment and violation of her Constitutional rights. The Salt Lake County Jail campus includes the Sheriff's Office and the Metro and Oxbow Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Kevin Hunter said the sheriff's office 'does not comment on active lawsuits.' The lawsuit asks for unspecified damages for the woman's suffering, medical and funeral expenses, family distress, attorney fees and other losses. Ostler's family hopes the jail reforms how it deals with medical issues for inmates and want to work to create a review board to evaluate the jail, comprised of civilians. The suit mentions that Ostler is a mother of a seven, 12 and 14-year-old. Police have proposed 'draconian' measures to prohibit five Nomads from associating with gang members, driving at night and using Snapchat after a series of shootings. The latest measure will be a state first and are part of moves to protect the public from bikies as a turf war continues in the Hunter region, according to top barrister Mark Tedeschi QC, acting on behalf of NSW Police. Should the courts grant the orders, the crime prevention laws will restrict the movements of the five men and forbid them using any encryption communication platforms including WhatsApp, Snapchat, Wickr and Hushmail, the Daily Telegraph reported. A raid on the Nomads clubhouse last weekend led to it being declared a restricted premises The Newcastle chapter of the Nomads, who are part of escalating violence between rival bikie gangs around the city, north of Sydney The restrictions would include not being allowed to enter any licensed premises in NSW or travelling in cars at night time over the next 12 months. The group would be forced to hand their mobile phones over to police and reveal passwords upon the command of officers. The restrictions would be in accordance with those imposed on anyone regarded to be 'involved in serious criminal activity' - regardless if they have been convicted. The orders would be obtained under similar legislation applied to suspected terrorists. Nomads national president Dylan Britliffe and Newcastle City chapter president Bradley Bowtell appeared in the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney Friday to oppose the order, represented by barrister Robert Cavanah. Bradley Bowtell (left and right) appeared in the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney Friday to oppose the order, represented by barrister Robert Cavanah The troubled has spanned across the Hunter Valley region, mainly in Newcastle and Maitland (pictured) The hearing was adjourned because the three other men, including Blake Martin (pictured) didn't show up Despite a judge last week citing the orders were 'draconian', NSW Police Criminal Groups Commander Detective Superintendent Deb Wallace told The Saturday Telegraph it was the next best step. 'We'd tried everything. We already had our toolbox raids, arrests, FPOs, but the violence continued, so we reached out a little further. 'It's an attempt to not only curb violent behaviour, but also to have an impact on the way they're trying to do business.' Lawyer Chris O'Brien, the acting solicitor for the men, disagreed. 'On behalf of each of the defendants the orders are opposed. The consequence of the orders being made are so oppressive that it could potential put each of the defendants out of work,' he said. Police have established Task Force Darnay in response to the violence and have shut down a number of bikie clubhouses across the region (pictured) The extreme police response follows seven drive-by shootings and firebombings involving the gangs across the Hunter Valley, leaving locals scared, throughout the first nine weeks of this year. The Newcastle chapters of the Finks and Nomads have seen their numbers rise in the first few months of 2018, as the two groups battle for supremacy in the region. Police sources have told Daily Mail Australia they fear a bikie war could erupt, leading them to initiate a task force specifically to crack down on the local rival gangs before the violence turns deadly. While much focus in recent weeks has been on bikie shootings across Sydney, just a few hours north tensions have been escalating over the past 12 months. Where two years ago members of rival gangs would leave friendly comments to their rivals on Facebook, the goodwill appears to have dried up. Advertisement Tourists and locals in Crete woke to a surreal scene on Thursday morning with the Greek holiday island covered in a plume of orange Saharan dust. Images show the island in a yellowish hue after southerly winds transferred the dust from the Sahara Desert in Africa. The veil of dust meant the island was surrounded by hazy orange skies for the day, making the location look like somewhere from another world. And it was all yellow: Crete Port turned a bizarre hue on Thursday when it was covered with Sahara dust Orange'tastic: The mass of dusty and very dry air forms over the Sahara Desert from late spring into early autumn and is known as the Saharan air layer Mystical: Tourists and locals in Crete woke to a surreal scene yesterday morning, with the entire horizon an unusual colour The mass of dusty and very dry air forms over the Sahara Desert from late spring into early autumn and is known as the Saharan air layer. Plumes of dust typically move off the African coast every three to five days during this time. The Saharan air layer is usually located 5,000 to 20,000 feet above the Earth's surface and travels due to strong winds. The dust usually presents high concentrations of lead, zinc, chromium and vanadium and has been associated with health problems in the Greek population. The veil of dust meant the island was surrounded by hazy orange skies for the day, making the location look like somewhere from another world. The mass of dusty and very dry air forms over the Sahara Desert from late spring into early fall and is known as the Saharan air layer. Plumes of dust typically move off the African coast every three to five days during this time A comparison picture shows the island of Crete on March 23 the day after it was covered in orange Saharan dust Thursday's orange cloud gave Crete something of a look about Mars on Thursday as resident struggled to adjust to the unusual from of light The dust usually contains a high concentrations of lead, zinc, chromium and vanadium and has been associated with health problems in the Greek population Tourists and locals in Crete woke to a surreal scene on Thursday morning with the Greek holiday island covered in a plume of orange Saharan dust The orange dust Crete is experiencing is not a wholly unusual phenomenon - it has also been seen as far afield as the U.S. and other European countries in previous years Several people are reported to have been taken to health centers and hospitals on the island of Crete due to respiratory problems created by the dust The dust is reported to have led to a big decrease in visibility, with some residents afraid to leave their homes and others wearing gas masks to protect themselves when they venture outside Last year Britain was cast by an eerie Martian gloom as Saharan dust whipped across the Atlantic by Hurricane Ophelia shrouded the sun turning skies over the nation red. The October storm was believed to have picked up dust from North Africa and debris from forest fires in Spain and Portugal as it travelled towards the UK. Skies over London and other parts of the UK were covered in a murky orange haze as the desert dust mixed with clouds, offering residents in the capital a stark contrast to the grey that usually greeted them at that time of year. In 2013 it was reported that dust from the Sahara had traveled thousands of miles across the Atlantic and covered the state of Texas in a cloud of haze. A number of Texans at the time reported an increase in allergy symptoms as a result of the African dust cloud. The parents of a Michigan boy are suing three years after they say their son was sodomized by kindergarten classmates, who photographed the abuse using school-issued iPads. The 23-page lawsuit filed this week in federal court in Grand Rapids against Grandville Public Schools, administrators and a teacher is filed using pseudonyms, listing the child as 'Jimmy Doe'. It alleges violations of Title IX, the federal law barring discrimination based on sex. According to the lawsuit, the abuse first started in the fall of 2014, when Jimmy was just five years old and attending kindergarten at the Century Park Learning Center in Grandville. Four boys would regularly bring Jimmy into the mudroom of the classroom during 'free time', where they would sodomize him and take pictures of his genitals using classroom iPads, the lawsuit said. Scroll down for video The parents of a Michigan boy are suing after they say their son was sodomized by four kindergarten classmates during the 2014-2015 school year. The abuse happened at Century Park Learning Center in Grandville, Michigan 'The four boys directed Jimmy as to what and how he was to pose and for how long while the boys used classroom iPads to take photographs,' the lawsuit claims. They took so many pictures that they often had to delete photos to make room for new ones, the lawsuit says. Whenever Jimmy would try to get away, the boys would physically block him and threaten him. 'The assailants told Jimmy that if he did not cooperate with them, or if he told about the touching and pictures, they would not be his friends and they would say the sexual activity was Jimmy's idea,' the lawsuit claims. Some of the pictures were sent to other students, causing Jimmy to be bullied, the lawsuit says. The abuse allegedly got so bad that Jimmy tried to hide from the four boys by digging holes on the playground and covering himself with mulch. Jimmy's parents noticed their child's physical and emotional well-being begin to deteriorate immediately, and brought it up at a parent-teacher meeting in October 2014. His behavior only worsened over the following months. The behavior was finally brought to an end when his teacher, Hillary Huberts, noticed one of the boys hiding his iPad screen from her during class. She asked to see the tablet and discovered that the device was full of photos of Jimmy's genitals. While she was dealing with the first student, Huberts noticed another boy deleting photos off of his iPad. She then confiscated the rest of the iPads before more evidence could be deleted. On April 22, 2015, the school's principal, Tonia Shoup, called Jimmy's mother and told him about the teacher's discovery. Shoup told Jimmy's mother that she interviewed the four boys who 'said that it had been Jimmy's idea to display his genitals in the classroom, and that Jimmy had admitted to showing his "privates" and to having his picture taken'. Jimmy's mother told Shoup to call the police and Child Protective Services and to save the photos. She then rushed to the school, arriving 10 minutes later. When she arrived, Shoup told her that the investigation into the matter was complete and she found no evidence of coercion or assault, the lawsuit says. She also said that she had deleted the pictures at the advice of police, because they were 'pornographic'. But that conflicts with the police report, which said that Shoup told them she had deleted the photos because she had already conducted an investigation and no police work was needed. They said she told them that she had only reached out at the insistence of Jimmy's mother. Police investigated but no charges were brought, due to the ages of the children, who are too young to prosecute. In another meeting with the then-Grandville Superintendent Ron Caniff and Assistant Superintendent Scott Merkel, the administrators 'stressed that the pictures needed to be viewed in the context of kindergartners' normal curiosity and suggested that if the parents insisted on pressing the matter, Jimmy would be the one to be disciplined as he was the only child whose genitals were photographed'. They then told Jimmy's parents that they could move him to another school district. Caniff, who is now the superintendent of the Kent ISD, disputed the allegations in the lawsuit, saying school officials responded appropriately. 'At the time I was at Grandville Public Schools, there was never any suspicion, suggestion or complaint expressed about inappropriate physical contact between the students involved in this matter, nor did the investigation indicate any concerns in that regard,' Caniff says in the statement. 'As I read through the complaint, there are several allegations that will be refuted, but since attorneys are involved, that will occur in due course through the legal process. Beyond this, I do not have more to add at this time since this is a pending legal matter,' Caniff adds. A statement from the current Grandville superintendent says the district can't comment in detail, but 'our focus is and always will be the safety and care of every student.' 'However, we assure you that our focus is and always will be on the safety and care of every student who walks through our doors,' Superintendent Roger Bearup said. 'Litigation is meant to be an avenue to the truth,' Bearup says in the statement. 'We patiently wait for that truth to be revealed. Until then, we will have no further comment.' Jimmy's parents took him out of the school after the incident, and he repeated kindergarten at the same school the next year. But he was still bullied by his new classmates, when they became aware of the pictures. 'On the playground other children tried to catch Jimmy, take his pants down, and tied to bribe him to "show (his) privates,"' the lawsuit said. Eventually, his parents transferred him to a different school completely. The lawsuit accuses the school district workers of 'gross negligence' when it came to supervising the class and investigating the matter. They say they failed to protect the boy in the first place and then turned a blind eye to the behavior when they became aware of the abuse. The family is seeking unspecified damages. The US Department of Justice has charged nine Iranians with hacking hundreds of American university, government and corporate email accounts and computer systems as part of a cyber attack they say was ordered by the Iranian government. The nine men all worked for a company called the MaBna Institute which, according to prosecutors, launched a 'coordinated campaign of cyber intrusions' which began in 2013 and harvested 31 terabytes of data. Together they got into systems which belong to 144 U.S. universities, 176 foreign universities, 47 domestic and foreign private sector companies, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the State of Hawaii, the State of Indiana, the United Nations, and the United Nations Childrens Fund. Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom were also targeted. Among the companies which were targeted were entertainment and news corporations, technology companies and banking firms. None are named in the indictment but all have been notified by the FBI. According to the Justice Department, the value of the information they stole from US universities alone was $3.4billion. Officials say the hack was ordered by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of the country's military. The information was also sold privately throughout Iran to state universities. Scroll down for full indictment These are the nine Iranians who have been charged with hacking into US and foreign government systems to steal 31 terabytes of information valued at at least $3.4billion from 2013, allegedly at the behest of the Iranian government US Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced the charges at a press conference in Washington DC on Friday In response to the indictment, the Treasury has imposed a list of sanctions against the men and the company. The men were all named at a press conference held by US Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein on Friday. U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman for the Southern District of New York described the effort as 'one of the largest state-sponsored hacking sprees in history' in a statement on Friday. WHO WAS TARGETED? U.S. VICTIMS 144 universities US Department of Labor Federal Energy Regulatory Commission State of Hawaii State of Indiana State of Indiana Department of Education United Nations United Nations Children's Fund Three academic publishers Two media and entertainment companies One law firm 11 tech firms Five consulting firms Two banking and investment firms Two online car sales companies One healthcare company One employee benefit company One industrial machinery company One biotech company One stock images company FOREIGN VICTIMS 176 universities and 11 private companies were targeted abroad. Those victims are spread across: Australia Canada China Denmark Finland Germany Ireland Israel Italy Japan Malaysia Netherlands Norway Poland Singapore South Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey United Kingdom Advertisement The individuals charged are Gholamreza Rafatnejad, 38; Ehsan Mohammadi, 37; Abdollah Karima, aka Vahid Karima, 39; Mostafa Sadeghi, 28; Seyed Ali Mirkarimi, 34; Mohammed Reza Sabahi, 26; Roozbeh Sabahi, 24; Abuzar Gohari Moqadam, 37; and Sajjad Tahmasebi, 30. 'These nine Iranian nationals allegedly stole more than 31 terabytes of documents and data from more than 140 American universities, 30 American companies, five American government agencies, and also more than 176 universities in 21 foreign countries,' Rosenstein said. 'For many of these intrusions, the defendants acted at the behest of the Iranian government and, specifically, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. 'The Department of Justice will aggressively investigate and prosecute hostile actors who attempt to profit from Americas ideas by infiltrating our computer systems and stealing intellectual property. 'This case is important because it will disrupt the defendants hacking operations and deter similar crimes,' he added. They men were all hit with sanctions as was the Mabna Institute which operates out of the Iranian city of Shiraz. The company acted at the behest of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of the country's armed forces. The company was founded in 2013 with the intention of 'stealing access to non-Iranian scientific resources. access to non-Iranian scientific resources,' according to the Department of Justice. Some of the men accused were 'hackers-for-hire' who were brought on specifically to target America's 'greatest minds', they said. Among their techniques was to pose as professors from other universities to send spear phishing emails to other professionals. The hackers sent links to other articles they said they would find interesting, and if the victim clicked on it, they would be sent to a fake internet page made to look like the homepage of the university they worked for. It made the victim think they had been logged out of their account and prompted them to reenter their details. Once they re-entered the credentials, the hackers obtained them. 100,000 professors around the world were targeted and around half worked at US universities. Around 8,000, including 3,700 in the US, fell for the scam and had their data compromised. Not only was the information given to the military, but prosecutors say it was privately sold throughout Iran. According to the indictment, the hack was ordered by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of the Iranian military whose soldiers are pictured above All nine of the men are now considered fugitives, Rosenstein said at a press conference on Friday The indictment is the latest show of poor relations between Trump and Iran. Iranian president Hassan Rouhani is pictured right Thirty-six private companies around the world were also targeted. They are based in the US, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy and the UK. HOW THEY DID IT The Iranian hackers employed two techniques to steal the information; spear phishing emails and password spraying Spear phishing To target the univerisites, hackers posed as other professors from different institutions and emailed links which appeared to be for academic articles to their victims. Once the victims clicked on the link, they were taken to a fake page which appeared to be the homepage of their own university. It asked them for their log-in details and suggested they had been logged out of their account. If the professors re-entered their credentials, the hackers were able to see them and kept a record. Of the 100,000 professors targeted around the world, 3,700 in the US and another 4,000 abroad fell for it. Password spraying To gain access to the email accounts of people in private corporations, government agencies and NGOs, the hackers simply guessed their passwords based on commonly-used words. Once they were in, they were able to extract entire mailboxes and set up automatic forwarding systems so that they would see any future outgoing or incoming emails. Advertisement Those companies include; Three academic publishers, two media and entertainment companies, one law firm, 11 technology firms, five consulting firms, four marketing firms, two banking and investment firms, two online car sales companies, one healthcare company, one employee benefit company, one industrial machinery company, one biotechnology company and one stock images company. Those companies were targeted using a technique known as 'password spraying' when hackers guessed their passwords to gain access to accounts. They pillaged their email accounts, sometimes emptying entire mailboxes and setting up a forwarding system so the hackers would see any outgoing and incoming mail after the initial breach. The charges are the latest indicator of Trump's crusade against Iran which he previously described as one of 'the worlds leading state sponsor of terror.' The action is the fourth time in the past few months that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has blamed a foreign government for major cyber attacks, a practice that was relatively rare under the Obama administration. Last week, the administration accused the Russian government of cyber attacks stretching back at least two years that targeted the U.S. power grid. Washington imposed new sanctions on 19 Russians and five groups, including Moscows intelligence services, for meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and other cyber attacks. The Obama administration in 2016 indicted seven Iranians for distributed-denial-of-service attacks on dozens of U.S. banks and for trying to shut down a New York dam. Those hackers were also accused of working on behalf of Iran's government. An ISIS gunman has been shot dead in the south of France after killing three people and injuring multiple others. Redouane Lakdim, 26, hijacked a car in the town of Carcassonne before storming a nearby Super U supermarket where he was shot dead by French police. This marks the first terror attack since Emmanuel Macron was elected in May last year and comes after a series of attacks in Paris and Nice in 2015 and 2016. Here is how events unfolded: Prior to the attack: Redouane Lakdim, believed to be of Moroccan descent, was flagged to intelligence services and appeared in a database of radicalised militants. He was also known to authorities for petty crimes including drug dealing. Lakdim was incarcerated in Carcassonne some time in 2016, according to Le Parisien, though it is unclear what for. The paper also reports he was very active on Salafist networks online and was suspected of having made a trip to Syria, though it is not known when. French police say Lakdim hijacked a car in his hometown of Carcassonne, shot at four police officers on the edge of town, then drove to Trebes where he took hostages Morning, Friday March 23: Lakdim, who reportedly lived with his mother and three or four sisters in Carcassonne, is seen walking his little sister to school Some time before 11am: Lakdim hijacks a car somewhere in his home town. A passenger in the vehicle is shot in the head and killed while the driver is wounded before the terrorist drives away. Approximately 11am: The attacker opens fire on four policemen jogging near the edge of town. One officer is wounded after being hit in the shoulder. Bullets also strike a nearby car, shattering the back window. Lakdim escapes in the stolen vehicle. A car that was hit with bullets as Lakdim fired at jogging police officers, leaving one of them with a bullet wound to the shoulder Approximately 11.15am: Gunshots are reported at a Super U supermarket in the town of Trebes as Lakdim storms in, taking hostages. Two people are later shot dead, though it is unclear precisely when or why. French police initially say a dozen people are wounded, though uncertainty remained around the exact toll on Friday afternoon. Some time before 2pm: A French policeman makes his way into the supermarket after agreeing to swap himself for a hostage. He is later wounded, though it is not clear exactly how. Approximately 2pm: French police storm the supermarket, shooting Lakdim dead. A man who asked police to help him push his car to get it started was arrested just minutes later for drink driving. The man allegedly approached officers from the Cairns Road Policing Unit on Thursday at around 9.45pm. He asked for their help to push his car. The officers were conducting static speed detection duties in Woree, Cairns, and allegedly explained to the man that they couldn't help as they were speaking with other motorists. The man allegedly approached officers for help before they realised his car was parked in front of a tavern and stopped him It is alleged the man then went back to his car and began pushing it with the help of others. This is when it is believed police noticed the car was parked outside of a tavern, according to the Cairns Post. Police then stopped the man and it is alleged he blew a breathalyser reading of 0.120. The general blood alcohol level is 0.05. The man was then charged with drink driving and will appear in Cairns Magistrates Court on April 19. Two Lebanese-Australian men who were arrested last year after an alleged conspiracy terror plot to bring down a plane in Sydney are facing the death penalty. The men have been named in reports as fathers and sons Khaled and Mahmoud Khayat and Khaled and Abdul Merhi, who are all related through marriage. The Lebanese military court is preparing to hand down a sentence over the alleged targeting of an Etihad flight from Sydney to Abu Dhabi with up to 400 passengers and crew aboard. Scroll down for video Khaled Khayat, pictured in a Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs jersey, is one of the Lebanese-Australian men who was arrested The men (one pictured being led away by police) were arrested in dramatic raids Amer Khayat, a dual citizen, is in custody in a Lebanese prison and will be the first to face the firing squad, The Weekend Australian reported. Due to Australia's opposition of capital punishment, it is unlikely the men will be extradited to Lebanon. The sentencing trial will begin in Beirut on May 4, before the president of the military court, Brigadier General Hussein Abdullah. It has been revealed the alleged bomb attack would have killed the 400 passengers and crew within 20 minutes of the flight, The Weekend Australian reported. It is also alleged the bomb attack was planned in the Syrian town of Raqqa, a former Islamic State caliphate. The two bombs were allegedly discovered when one of the accused was having his hand luggage checked and the check-in clerk informed him that he was not allowed a second hand bag. It's been alleged the two bombs were allegedly in the separate bags, one in a Barbie doll, and the other inside a meat grinder. It has been further alleged the men were relying on insider information at Sydney Airport to successfully bring the bombs past security check points. This comes after it was revealed the men have clear links to figures overseas, as well as ties to the aviation industry. One of the accused is pictured with a bandaged head following his arrest New South Wales Police officers arrive at a crime scene in Surry Hills in Sydney The tip-off of the terror plot came from a foreign intelligence agency that intercepted communication to the alleged conspirators from Syria, the ABC reported. Khaled Khayat's brother is believed to be a senior Islamic State figure while the other two men are related to Ahmed Merhi, who travelled to Syria in 2014 to fight for the jihadist group, the ABC reported on Monday. Khaled Khayat reportedly has no criminal history and he has been pictured online wearing the jersey of his favourite rugby league team - the Canterbury Bulldogs. Brothers Khaled and Mahmoud Khayat appeared in Parramatta Court this month and have been charged with two counts of planning a terrorist act, The Weekend Australian reported. The group was arrested when police swooped on five properties in the Sydney suburbs on a July afternoon. A number of 'items of interest' were seized during the searches at four of the properties. The plan was 'Islamist-inspired', federal police have said. Miles Connors is accused of travelling hundreds of miles across 15 different counties to commit 59 burglaries at the homes of old and vulnerable people Police are hunting for a baby-faced burglar who is thought to be one of Britian's most well travelled criminals. Miles Connors is accused of travelling hundreds of miles across 15 different counties to commit 59 burglaries at the homes of old and vulnerable people. Police believe the 21-year-old is connected to crimes across Cambridgeshire, Essex, London, Kent, Surrey and Nottinghamshire. Despite the spate of offences, police are unsure of his whereabouts and have launched a plea for information. They added that the burglaries had left many of his victims 'extremely traumatised'. Detective Sergeant Lee Hazell, of Surrey Police, urged anyone with information to come forward immediately. He said: 'We have been working tirelessly to find Miles Connors and now need the public's help. 'He is wanted for questioning in connection with a large number of burglaries across an extensive area and we do not want there to be any further impact on the public. 'The offences we are investigating include burglaries of elderly and vulnerable people who have been left extremely traumatised by what's happened, as well as some dangerous driving which has included going through a train level crossing barrier which could have put a vast number of lives at risk.' Police described Connors as having a slim build with brown hair and that he has links to Northampton, Slough, West Drayton in West London and Croydon. Det Sgt Hazell added: 'We cannot let this continue and would ask that if you have any idea where he is you must let us know - if you do know where he is I would ask you to consider how you would feel if it were your elderly relatives that had been burgled. 'We understand that some people may not wish to talk to a police officer in which case you can talk, in complete confidence and anonymity, to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.' The Royal Navy 'stands ready' to protect Britain's fisheries after taking delivery of the first of five state of the art gunboats, the Defence Secretary has claimed. Gavin Williamson said the introduction to the fleet of HMS Forth showed Britain was ready for its future as a newly independent coastal nation. The Government will hope the delivery of the ship - a River Class Offshore Patrol Vessel - will calm fears in fishing communities Brexit will not regain full control of the nation's fishing waters. Concessions in the Brexit transition deal provoked a huge row this week with one Tory MP branding them worse than a 'cup of cold sick'. The Royal Navy 'stands ready' to protect Britain's fisheries after taking delivery of HMS Forth (pictured) - the first of five state of the art gunboats joining the fleet Gavin Williamson (pictured last week in Bristol) said the introduction to the fleet of HMS Forth showed Britain was ready for its future as a newly independent coastal nation HMS Forth is the first of five state-of-the-art Royal Navy vessels designed for fishery protection. Its other tasks will include counter-piracy, anti-smuggling, border patrol, counter terrorism and maritime defence duties. Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said: 'The Royal Navy has a proud tradition of protecting the UK's coastline and keeping a close eye on our fishing waters. 'With these state-of-the-art, vastly capable ships we stand ready to protect our fisheries once Britain leaves the EU.' The River-class Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) production line is moving apace with the 116m ships emerging at around six-month intervals. The gunboats are designed to spend 320 days a year on the water with the capacity for 39 crew at a time. The Government will hope the delivery of HMS Forth - a River Class Offshore Patrol Vessel - will calm fears in fishing communities Brexit will not regain full control of the nation's fishing waters They are armed with a 30mm automatic cannon, two Miniguns, four machine-guns and are also equipped with two Pacific 24 sea boats. The ships also have a flight deck for Merlin size helicopters to land on. It comes as the Treasury announced the MOD will receive 12.7million from the Government's Brexit preparation allocation to support work with the department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on maintaining the UK's fisheries. Downing Street insisted this week Brexit would still eventually allow Britain to fully control its fishing waters for the first time in 40 years despite the transition deal effectively binding fishermen intoEU rules for another two years. Environment Secretary Michael Gove admitted in the Commons his 'disappointment' the EU refused to back down on letting Britain have complete control over fishing during the Brexit transition period. Former police office Darren McKie faces life in prison after being found guilty of murdering his wife DC Leanne McKie when she discovered his debts A police inspector who used his inside knowledge gained from 21-years on the force to cover up his role in murdering his wife has been convicted of the brutal crime. Darren McKie, 43, murdered his 39-year-old wife Leanne, who was also a police officer, after she discovered he had run up debts of 100,000 in her name. McKie used his knowledge of murder investigations in a bid to frustrate detectives trying to solve the case. He systematically tried to cover his tracks and tried to dispose of crucial evidence. McKie disposed of a pair of blood-soaked trainers linking him to the crime in a wheelie bin away from his home in the hope the crucial evidence would have been sent to landfill. Detective Inspector Adam Waller of Cheshire Police said: 'Darren McKie clearly thought he could get away with murdering his own wife - and used the knowledge gained as a police officer to try and systematically cover his tracks and dispose of evidence, with the aim of creating the impression that his wife had been murdered by someone else.' He said: 'Darrens been holding out, hes been hoping he could get away with what hes done and its only when weve presented the overwhelming evidence during the trial that hes accepted that theres nowhere else for him to go other than to admit his guilt.' McKie was desperate to hide his debts and killed Leanne, pictured with their three children, when she discovered he had secretly applied for a huge loan in her name Police out looking for burglars twice spotted him wandering the streets as he walked home Greater Manchester officer Darren McKie, 43, killed Leanne, 39, a detective constable in the same force, when she found out he had secretly been taking out huge loans in her name. Her body was found in Poynton Lake, Cheshire, around eight miles from their home in Wilmslow, on September 29 last year. McKie was caught because he had no shoes on - having dumped them in a wheelie bin (pictured) because Leanne's blood had stained them The karate enthusiast broke two bones in his wife's neck when he strangled her. But McKie was caught by chance when a police patrol spotted him without shoes on moments after he had dumped his blood-stained trainers in the bin. Detectives said today he had shown 'no remorse' and 'no regret' after killing his wife. And Leanne's bereft parents said her three children had lost their 'beloved mummy' and they had lost their 'beautiful daughter'. McKie, who accused his wife of 'nagging' when she asked about money, had throttled her in their home before dumping her body in the back of Mrs McKie's red Mini and parking it nearby. He then picked up their three children from school in his Audi - laughing and joking with other parents at the gates - before taking them home for dinner in the kitchen where he is believed to have killed their mother, who he said was at work. After putting them to bed he drove the body to Poynton Lake where he threw her in the water, abandoned her car and walked home believing he had committed the perfect crime. But he was seen by chance by a police patrol searching the area for burglars at around 1.30am and then again 2am. Leanne confronted her husband about his debt - and attempts to take out multiple loans - so he killed the mother of his three children The second time they spotted he had no shoes on, which he had dumped in a wheelie bin because they were stained with his wife's blood. After his arrest he maintained his innocence until he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter part way through his trial at Chester Crown Court. But today a jury convicted him of murder on their second day of deliberations. In a statement, Mrs McKie's heartbroken parents Ray and Ellen Dodd said: 'Justice has been served today. Our lives will never be the same again. There are no winners in this trial. We have lost our beautiful daughter and our grandchildren have lost their beloved mummy. 'We would like to thank our family and friends for their love and support they have given us through these tragic times. Also Leanne's friends and her colleagues from work for all their kind words. 'We cannot thank Cheshire Police enough for all their hard work and dedication. 'Last of all we would like to thank our two liaison officers for their professionalism and guidance through these last six months we are so grateful.' Leanne, a much-loved mother of three, was found dead in Poynton Lake, Cheshire, on September 29 last year. The jury found him guilty of murder by a majority of 11 to one on Friday after deliberating for nine hours and five minutes. McKie, wearing a navy blue suit and tie, closed his eyes briefly as the verdict was read out. Both his family and his wife's parents were in court for the verdict, along with a number of friends. McKie's mother was in tears after the jury returned their verdict. He will be sentenced on Tuesday. Senior crown prosecutor Rachael Barber said: 'Darren McKie went behind his wife's back to apply for loans in her name and when she confronted him, he murdered her. 'Leanne was clearly a wonderful mother, daughter, friend and colleague. 'His actions have deprived three children of their mother and our thoughts are with her family at this time.' Darren McKie, 43, murdered his wife Leanne, 39, after she discovered he was taking out loans in her name McKie dumped his wife's body in her red mini, drove her to Poynton Lake where she threw her in the water and abandoned the car (pictured at the scene) CCTV also captured the moment he walked home after moving the vehicle containing his wife's body McKie, 43, his wife Leanne, 39, and their three young children were said by friends to be 'the perfect family' - but he was a manipulative killer Leanne's father Ray Dodd (right) listens as his statement paying tribute to his daughter was read outside Chester Crown Court McKie, 43, his wife Leanne, 39, and their three young children were said by friends to be 'the perfect family'. Family's grief as three children have their 'perfect mummy' taken away Darren McKie, 43, admitted the manslaughter of Detective Constable Leanne McKie, nine days into his trial at Chester Crown Court, but on Friday a jury found him guilty of murder. Her body was found in Poynton Lake, Cheshire, on September 29 last year. In a statement, her parents Ray and Ellen Dodd said: 'Justice has been served today. Our lives will never be the same again. 'There are no winners in this trial. We have lost our beautiful daughter and our grandchildren have lost their beloved mummy.' Greater Manchester Police Deputy Chief Constable Ian Pilling paid tribute to Mrs McKie, who worked for the force along with her husband. He said: 'My heart goes out to Leanne's family, particularly her three children, who she adored. This is such a tragedy, and ultimately it is those children whose lives have been turned upside down the most by this devastating incident. 'Leanne was a hard-working officer who showed the utmost professionalism, she worked as a detective in the Serious Sexual Offences Unit and supported victims when they were at their most vulnerable. She worked tirelessly to provide victims with support and get them the justice they deserved. 'While this has been a Cheshire Police investigation, our officers have lost a colleague and a much-loved friend, Leanne was part of the Greater Manchester Police family and we will continue to always be there for her family and friends should they need us. 'We are supporting Leanne's team mates in their grief and will help them in any way that we can. 'We are also supporting those officers who worked with Darren McKie, who remain extremely shocked by what happened. 'My thoughts will remain with all of those affected.' Advertisement McKie, who had locked up countless criminals during a successful 21-year police career, was known as Spock by some colleagues because of his lack of empathy with others. But their perilous financial situation was putting them under strain before McKie killed his wife, jurors at Chester Crown Court heard. Mrs McKie found out about her husband's latest loan application - for which the court heard he had sent off their passports in secret and obtained details of her earnings by 'subterfuge' - on September 27 last year. McKie allegedly applied for 54,000 from lender Fluent Finance despite previous assurances to his wife. In an angry text, she wrote: 'You liar. Just got back a loan application with my passport and my name. WTF.' The jury was told they had spent 63,000 on renovations to their four-bedroom home in Wilmslow, Cheshire, in the months leading up to her death, including 3,500 on a granite kitchen worktop, and went on a 4,500 holiday to Portugal that summer. Nicholas Power QC, prosecuting, said: 'She then searched 'Fluent Money' on the internet and sent another message saying: 'I asked you and you promised. Fluent Finance? Who are they? Are we in such a mess? Why again? The kids need clothes and shoes, what's going on (?)'.' Mr Power said McKie, who was at work at Stretford Police Station in Greater Manchester, ignored calls from his wife but sent a text saying, 'I'm coming home.' Half an hour later at around midday, Mr McKie's white Audi was filmed by CCTV approaching the 435,000 marital home in Wilmslow, Cheshire. He killed his wife soon afterwards, jurors were told. McKie, a karate enthusiast, broke two bones in his wife's neck when he strangled her. The force he had applied was equivalent to a karate chop, a pathologist would tell the subsequent trial. At some stage McKie reversed his wife's Mini Countryman up to front door of their home and stuffed her slight, 5ft 2in body into the boot before parking the car round the corner. Then, he coolly went out on the school-run, laughing and joking with other parents as he picked up the kids. Mum wasn't home because she was working a late shift. With his wife's body concealed in the boot of her car which he had parked nearby, he carried on as if nothing had happened. Mrs McKie, a detective constable in Greater Manchester's Serious Sexual Offences Unit, was at home because she was on an afternoon shift starting at 3pm. But she never made it to work. Darren McKie, pictured after his arrest, has never shown any remorse or said what happened on the day she died Detective Superintendent Aaron Duggan, of Cheshire Police, said officers had to 'unpick the lies' of Darren McKie, 43, as they investigated the death of his wife Leanne, a 39-year-old detective constable, whose body was discovered in Poynton Lake, Cheshire, on September 29 last year. This is the bin containing McKie's trainers. They were dumped after an eight-mile walk home from the lake where he left her body When McKie was originally interviewed by officers, he told them he had nothing to do with his wife's death - but nine days into his trial he admitted the manslaughter of the mother-of-three, who was strangled. Mr Duggan said throughout interviews and court hearings McKie had 'shown no emotion at all, no remorse, no regret at all for what he's done'. The trial heard the couple were more than 100,000 in debt and police believe Mrs McKie's murder followed an argument after she discovered an application for a 54,000 loan made by McKie in her name. Mr Duggan said: 'Darren kept the debt from Leanne, he hid that from her. 'Leanne found out that he'd been applying for loans in her name and she had no idea, she had no clue he was doing that.' He said the family lived 'beyond their means', but McKie was in charge of the finances. Mr Duggan said: 'It would appear he's quite a controlling character in terms of the relationship around spending and we know from Leanne's friends and other parents that messages would be sent from Darren to her along the lines of 'stop spending, no more spending this month until we get paid'. 'Leanne didn't know the true picture, she didn't have a clue of how much debt was owed.' McKie killed his wife at their 435,000 marital home in Wilmslow, Cheshire (pictured) He said McKie, who had been a serving police officer for more than 20 years, tried to 'frustrate the inquiry' by disposing of crucial evidence, including his trainers, found in a wheelie bin near his Wilmslow home with his wife's blood on. He said: 'Darren's been holding out, he's been hoping he could get away with what he's done and it's only when we've presented the overwhelming evidence during the trial that he's accepted that there's nowhere else for him to go other than to admit his guilt.' McKie first came to the attention of police at 1.30am the day after he killed his wife, when officers patrolling the area because of reported burglaries saw him walking towards Wilmslow. He told them he was walking to his home nearby, but 45 minutes later the officers saw him again, this time with no shoes on. They took him home and left him, but returned later that morning and, after her body was discovered, arrested him on suspicion of his wife's murder. Mr Duggan said: 'In this case, had it not been for the actions of two officers on the following morning when they've come across Darren, we probably would have lost crucial evidence.' As McKie chose not to give evidence in his trial, the details of how his wife met her death may never be known. Mr Duggan said: 'Obviously I would like Darren to tell us what's happened, that would be the right thing to do for the case. 'It would also be the right thing to do for his three children.' Police in Denver opened fire on an SUV killing the driver and injuring his passenger after a high-speed chase because they wrongly thought an escaped convict was inside. Officers assigned to monitor an address in Denver associated with attempted murder suspect Mauricio Venzor-Gonzalez saw the car circling the area on Monday evening, and thought he was the passenger. When police tried to stop driver Steven Nguyen, 23, he fled and led them on a high-speed chase before being forced to a halt. Steven Nguyen, 23, (left) and Rafael Landeros (pictured in undated police mug shots) were described as 'associates' of escaped attempted murder suspect Mauricio Venzor-Gonzalez Nguyen and his passenger, Rafael Landeros, also 23, refused to raise their hands and started 'moving around, looking for something', according to officers, who concluded they were looking for a gun and opened fire. Nguyen died and Landeros was taken to hospital where he recovered from a bullet wound while being held on warrants from another county. Venzor-Gonzalez fled the Denver Health Medical Center in Colorado on Monday morning while reportedly wearing leg irons, although police have refused to confirm or deny this. Sheriff Patrick Firman said Venzor-Gonzalez had an appointment for a medical issue and hospital transportation is typically handled by two deputies. Venzor-Gonzalez (pictured in a mug shot taken on March 22) fled the Denver Health Medical Center in Colorado on Monday morning while reportedly wearing leg irons Authorities still have not found the 23-year-old, who is charged with the attempted murder of a police officer in November. He was arrested after a shootout with police during a traffic stop, after which the driver fled but crashed. The passenger, later identified as Venzor-Gonzalez, ran and fired a gun at the officer several times before escaping. Referring to Monday's shooting, Denver Police Commander Barb Carver said officers knew about the charges Venzor-Gonzalez faced for the November shooting and believed the occupants in the car were looking for a weapon, she said. 'So fearing their safety, officers fired,' Carver said. When the driver again tried to flee, driving down an embankment, officers followed, Carver said. 'Officers continued to see the occupants moving around inside, still looking for something, and so again they fired at the vehicle,' she added. Denver reached a settlement of nearly $1 million last April with the parents of a 17-year-old girl who was shot and killed by police while driving a stolen car toward an officer in 2015. The driver of this SUV (pictured on Tuesday) was killed and his passenger injured because police wrongly thought the car contained Venzor-Gonzalez Nguyen and his passenger, Landeros, also 23, refused to raise their hands and started 'moving around, looking for something', according to officers, who concluded they were looking for a gun and opened fire. Pictured: The damaged SUV on Tuesday After a string of cases where officers fired at a moving car, the department changed its policy after the teen's death to advise that officers only fire at moving cars if someone inside is shooting at them. In this case, the car wasn't moving either time officers fired, Carver confirmed. She said the pursuing officers never lost sight of the vehicle, so police don't believe Venzor-Gonzalez was ever in the car. Authorities still have not found Venzor-Gonzalez (pictured in a police mug shot on March 22) who is charged with the attempted murder of a police officer in November Police found a loaded handgun and determined that the car was stolen. Officers were wearing body cameras at the time of the shooting, she said, but the video has not been released. 'The officers were acting on information provided to them that Venzor-Gonzalez was in the passenger seat,' she said. 'They believed that to be him,' adding his criminal history 'justifies their actions.' The department is working with the FBI and other agencies to locate the suspect. 'He's a very dangerous individual,' she said. 'This is our top priority. The community's not safe with him out there.' The three officers involved in Monday's shooting have been taken off patrol duty. The shooting will be investigated by the Aurora Police Department, the Denver District Attorney's Office and Denver's Independent Monitor, a civilian-led agency that oversees the police and sheriff departments. The Danish inventor accused of murdering Swedish journalist Kim Wall on his submarine in Copenhagen in August last year, wanted to make a snuff film involving 'crazy women', a court heard today. Peter Madsen, 47, denies killing 30-year-old Kim Wall, and claims her death was an accident after which he panicked, dismembered her body and dumped the parts off the Danish coast. Today, a close female friend of Madsen's told Copenhagen district court that he has a manic obsession with pornographic fantasies about women and death. She also revealed his bizarre idea of 'the most comfortable death' involved being locked in a tube with naked women and kittens. Scroll down for video Obsessed: Peter Madsen, pictured in front of his submarine Nautilus last May, had spoken to a female friend about filming a snuff movie - a film showing a real-life death She said: 'The most comfortable death, in Peter's mind, was to be locked in a tube with kittens and naked women. Then the tube would be turned around so slowly that you could not fall asleep, and then you would die of lack of sleep' The unnamed woman, who says she had rejected Madsen's sexual advances several times during their friendship, also said the inventor had an interest in 'crazy women'. She told the court that Madsen had pornographic fantasies about 'women and death' that 'had turned a little bit into a manic obsession'. She says Madsen wanted to make a snuff movie - a film which shows a real-life murder or suicide - and that it was something they had talked about making together. 'He said he would like to find some crazy women to film.' When Prosecutor Jakob Buch-Jepsen asked if Madsen had told her what would happen to these women during the film, she replied: 'no he did not, but we talked about women dying.' Murder trial: Peter Madsen claims journalist Kim Wall, 30, died as a result of a gas leak on his submarine last August, and that he then dismembered her and 'buried her at sea' A psychiatric evaluation of Madsen has previously concluded that he is 'a sexual deviant with narcissistic and psychopathic traits, and is manipulative, with a severe lack of empathy and remorse.' The trial against Peter Madsen, charged with murder, dismemberment and indecent handling of a corpse, is set to continue until next month. Prosecutor Buch-Jepsen claims Madsen tied up and tortured Miss Wall before killing her, either by cutting her throat or strangling her. The murder has been called premeditated because he had brought along tools he normally would not take with him on the submarine. Coroner Christina Jacobsen testified Thursday about numerous lesions found on Wall's torso and head, with much of the questioning focused on the more-than two dozen stab wounds to her genital area. Heartbreaking: Miss Wall had arranged to meet Madsen to interview him about his work on his submarine in Copenhagen on August 10 last year She told the court that some of the cuts to the torso would have to have been inflicted before the moment of death. The court heard that there was no conclusive evidence to prove the cause of death beyond doubt, but that coroners believe the 30-year-old had her airways 'cut off'. Ms Jacobsen said this would be 'due to either strangulation, throat cutting or drowning,' she said. The court also heard that Miss Wall had several lesions on her neck and jaw which would have been inflicted while she was still alive. Ms Jacobsen told the court that the head may have been restrained, strapped down or that Miss Wall was 'gagged'. On Wednesday, the court were show animated videos of naked women being impaled spikes and being decapitated by men, which had been found on Madsen's computer. The press and hearers line up in front of the courthouse where the trial of Danish inventor Peter Madsen, charged with murdering and dismembering Swedish journalist Kim Wall A post-mortem examination of Miss Wall found 14 interior and exterior stab wounds to the journalist's genitals. Just hours before Madsen met Miss Wall, he searched the internet for 'beheaded girl agony', and watched a video of a girl having her throat slit. Madsen has continued to deny causing the death of Miss Wall throughout the investigation and trial, although he has changed his story of how she died several times. At first he claimed that she died after she was hit over the head when the hatch door slammed shut unexpectedly. Now, he claims Miss Wall was inside the vessel when a vacuum effect meant that he was unable to open the hatch door to get to her as exhaust fumes filled the craft. Yesterday, the medical examiner said it was an unlikely scenario as'the air seems not to have been able to leave the lungs, which is not the case with lack of oxygen or inhalation of gases.' Miss Wall had been trying to get Madsen to agree to an interview for months before her death, and so when the opportunity arose, she left her own goodbye party. She and he boyfriend were moving to China, and she kept in touch with her partner over the evening. Her boyfriend received several text messages from her which were read out in court earlier this month. 'I'm still alive btw (by the way),' one of her last messages read, adding 'But going down now! I love you!!!!!!' A minute later, she added: 'He brought coffee and cookies tho.' Police technicians board Peter Madsen's submarine UC3 Nautilus on a pier in Copenhagen three days after Kim Wall's disappearance Her partner called police after the messages suddenly stopped coming, and authorities launched a search for the submarine, which did not have a satellite tracking system. The 33-ton submarine sank south of Copenhagen shortly after being spotted afloat the following day and Madsen was picked up unharmed. Initially, he told police he had let Wall off on Refshale island several hours into the trip. Investigators found dried blood inside the submarine and on Madsen's face and clothes, and divers eventually found Miss Wall's body parts in plastic bags held down on the Baltic Sea bed by metal pieces. Kim Wall grew up in southern Sweden, and studied at Paris' Sorbonne university, the London School of Economics and Columbia University in New York, from where she graduated with a master's degree in journalism in 2013. She wrote for The New York Times, The Guardian and other publications, reporting on topics such as tourism in post-earthquake Haiti and nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands. A Los Angeles judge has taken a swipe at actress Minnie Driver and the neighbor she's feuding with for allowing a petty dispute over a shared driveway to escalate into a jury trial. The trial will last almost three weeks, involve at least eight witnesses and a half dozen high-priced lawyers. LA Superior Court Judge Rita Miller expressed her 'disappointment' in court Thursday that Driver, 48, and her 76 year-old Hollywood Hills neighbor Daniel Perelmutter couldn't settle their differences out of court. She said: 'These neighbor disputes are so unpleasant because people get so personally involved.' Peering over her glasses at the six attorneys who showed up for a pre-trial hearing, she added: 'The jury is going to say, "All these lawyers - they're making a Federal case out of this." Face-off: Daniel Perelmutter and Minnie Driver share a driveway between their Hollywood Hills, California, properties but are have long been at odds. Their bitter court dispute is about to become a full-blown jury trial - to the frustration of the judge overseeing it In contention: The driveway which the case revolves around is between their two homes and also shared with two other neighbors who are also suing Perelmutter Disputed: Perelmutter was found guilty of contempt in November 2016 for reducing the width of the driveway from 20 to 14 feet in order to make room to build a wall around his new house. But now the whole dispute will go in front of a jury in April And with a chuckle, the judge joked, 'The heart of this case is who's richer than who, I guess.' But Judge Miller urged all the lawyers in court to 'stick to facts and not legal terms' to make it simple for the jury at trial, scheduled for April 9. She asked if Driver would be available to testify and was told by the star's attorney, Ellyn Garofalo, that she 'is filming here and she is very accommodating.' The case is the latest shot to be fired in a vicious feud between the British actress and Perelmutter and comes more than a year after she won a major court victory in the battle that's raged for three years, when he was found guilty of contempt for narrowing the driveway to build a wall. But when he lost that case, grandfather-of-seven Perelmutter brought a fresh suit against Driver. He accused the 'Speechless' actress of 'outrageous and malicious' behavior, screaming insults and obscenities at him, driving at him in her car, causing $20,000 worth of damage to his property and threatening to have his construction workers 'deported.' And the army veteran and heart transplant survivor claims that after winning her lawsuit against him last year, he videotaped Driver 'gloating. telling him that she was so glad he got 'f***ed', and wishing that he lose everything as a result.' When Driver first bought her three-bedroom home on Woodrow Wilson Drive - for just under $2.5 million - in September 2014, relations between her and next door neighbor Perelmutter were 'cordial,' he says in court documents. He even said yes when she asked if she could install a gate across their shared driveway 'to keep out the paparazzi.' But 'trouble began almost immediately' in December 2014 when he started building an ultra-modern home on his property bordering that shared driveway. Things went down hill from there. Who's going to pay for the wall? Perelmutter's decision to build underlies the three-week long jury trial which starts early next month Perelmutter claims that Driver trespassed on and damaged his property, engaged in a 'campaign of harassment' against him in protest against a house he was building next door, and 'intentionally inflicted emotional distress' on him At one point during the years-long feud, Perelmutter accused Driver of vandalizing the wall by throwing baby food jars filled with black paint at it Driver shares the Hollywood Hills home with her art writer boyfriend Neville Wakefield. They're pictured together in April 2016 The long running court battle began when Driver - accusing Perelmutter of, among many other things, frightening her and her son, Henry, now nine - took out a restraining order against him in 2015. When that failed to end the feud, Driver went to Los Angeles Superior Court again in November 2016. And this time she won. Perelmutter was found guilty of contempt for reducing the width of the driveway from 20 to 14 feet in order to make room to build a wall around his new house. At a sentencing hearing two months later, LA Superior Court Judge Mark Borenstein ordered Perelmutter to move the offending wall - or go to jail. And he was also fined $1,000, ordered to do 10 hours of community service and pay Driver's $200,000-plus attorney fees. To avoid ending up behind bars, Perelmutter reluctantly knocked down the wall and rebuilt it six feet closer to his house, widening the driveway he shares with Driver back to it's original 20 feet. But even at his January 2017 sentencing hearing - Perelmutter, who walks around with a crooked driftwood cane, continued to lash out at Driver, saying that she 'perjured herself in every way with her testimony of complete lies,' putting on a 'performance worthy of an Oscar winner.' After losing the battle of the wall, Perelmutter filed his current countersuit against Driver, telling DailyMail.com: ' I'm going to pursue that lawsuit against her as hard as I can. She's destroyed my property, she's harassed me, she's trespassed - she's made my life a living hell.' He then vowed revenge and in a countersuit he's seeking damages from Driver, saying she trespassed on and damaged his property, engaged in a 'campaign of harassment' against him in protest against a house he was building next door, and 'intentionally inflicted emotional distress' on him. To complicate the case, the upcoming jury trial will also include a counter-complaint from Driver and two of her neighbors, Ed Dwyer and Kathy Easterling - who also share a driveway with Perlemutter - that Perelmutter intentionally inflicted emotional distress on them. A YouTuber who was knocked unconscious after crashing his bike during a triathlon filmed his entire helicopter rescue on a go-pro. BillTheThrill was competing at the EXTERRA event in Laguna Beach, California, when he went flying over his handlebars face first into the dirt. He flew more than 25 feet after hitting the soft patch of sand and landed face first on a rock. BillTheThrill was loaded onto a helicopter and flown to hospital after crashing his bike The YouTuber was competing at the EXTERRA athletic event in Laguna Beach, California Bill was immediately knocked out, and can be heard snoring in the footage, before other racers came to his rescue. One of the racers picked up his camera and continued to log the incident so that Bill could re-watch it when he had recovered. The first responders and rescue helicopter then came to help Bill, who was dazed and confused on the ground, and Bill decided he was going to film the whole thing. The concussed vlogger called the emergency crew 'awesome' on multiple occasions as they transported him to the hospital Bill was immediately knocked out following his bike crash - and can be heard snoring in the footage - before other racers came to his rescue He posted the video with the title, 'Wait until the Morphine Hits GoPro Triathlon Fail.' Bill was clearly concussed and couldn't remember the accident as he was flown to hospital, but the morphine had him in a chirpy mood. On multiple occasions he thanked the emergency crew for their help and called their job 'awesome'. One of the triathletes found his camera and kept it rolling for him so he could re-watch his accident Bill had completed the swimming portion of the race earlier in the day before hopping on his mountain bike One of the bikers who called an ambulance for Bill said: 'Good luck buddy we'll see you on the next race' Bill ultimately suffered a concussion, sprained wrist and a broken tail bone, but he left in good spirits. Bill also raised nearly 7,000 for his recovery costs and he bought a thank you gift for his girlfriend, Mariana, who helped him as he recovered. A new social media network that is suspiciously similar to Facebook has been launched in Egypt. 'Egypt Face' has been panned by critics as a none-too-subtle effort by the government to gather information about users and monitor their accounts. Founders of the website officially remain unknown, but its arrival comes barely two weeks after the information minister announced plans for Egyptians to have their own social networking site. Critics say that Egypt may be tentatively following the example set by the China, where the government has blocked Twitter, Facebook, Google, YouTube and many foreign news websites. Critics say that 'Egypt Face' is a none-too-subtle effort by the government to keep tabs on the country's social media users China has instead encouraged people to use the micro-blogging platform Sina Weibo or WeChat - its answer to WhatsApp. Egyptian Communication Minister Yasser al-Qadi said on 11 March that his country was taking 'concrete steps' towards establishing a social networking platform similar to Facebook, without providing any further details regarding the project, egyptindependent.com reported. He explained that there had been a huge growth in social media use by Egyptians both recently and during the period after the January 25 revolution in 2011. Al-Qadi pointed out that the protection of data and information is very important and that the Egyptian state wanted to safeguard the personal privacy of its citizens. Egypt has a comprehensive strategy for the development and dissemination of new ideas, he said, and the modernization of the country's information and technological infrastructure was a key part of that. The state is also developing tools which it says are necessary to combat terrorism, including 'improved legal frameworks that contribute to the protection of citizens and society as a whole'. But critics say the state is enhancing its powers of censorship, and that there are already a raft of laws in place that curtail individual freedoms. The government has insisted that its sole objective is to defeat terrorism. 'The Egyptian state has a clear strategy in the fight against extremism through thoughts,' al-Qadi said. He added that the government should play an important role in this regard through various institutions, 'especially in the field of educating the society about the dangers of terrorism-inspired ideas'. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (right, with U.S. President Donald Trump in April 2017) has issued directives to increase the strength of Egypt's information technology sector Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is seeking re-election on Monday He added that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has issued directives to increase the volume of Egyptian information technology exports to reach between $10-15 billion over the next two years. Al-Qadi said that the volume of these exports during the past two years amounted to US$3.6 billion. An analysis of 'Egypt Face' by africanews.com revealed the homepage is a direct reproduction of Facebook - enabling users to share posts, upload photos, videos, audio and files. But a key difference was that it only offered three languages - Arabic, English and French - in contrast to Facebook that allows users the option of scores of languages. The site pools user statistics including country, region, city, IP address, the platform or Operating System they are using and Browser, africanews said, and as of 23 March it only had a little more than 500 members. Many Facebook accounts have been recently closed in Egypt and several online users arrested for 'inciting hate against the state, army and police'. President Sisi is seeking re-election on Monday. Ronald Toussaint's 17-year-old daughter, Ariell, asked him to take her to her high school prom in Atlanta, but school rules forbid the father from being her escort A school rule in Georgia has a father upset, after learning he can't escort his oldest daughter to her senior prom. Ronald Toussaint's 17-year-old daughter, Ariell, asked him to take her to the dance, held by Fayette County High School, because he's 'the best man that she knows,' the father told Channel 2 News in Atlanta. But the school has canceled their plans, based on rules that prom dates for its students be enrolled in at least the ninth grade, no older than 20. 'She's actually pretty upset,' Toussaint said, of how his daughter has taken the news. Toussaint had already bought Ariell a dress for the occasion, but now it seems the teen will be all dressed up with no where to go. He held the beautiful gown up, rich purple in color, with sparkling silver embellishments featured both at the neckline, and above and below a mesh panel slightly above the natural waistline. The single father-of-three had gotten himself a suit, as well, but was fortunately able to return it for a full refund. Toussaint had already bought Ariell a dress for the occasion, rich purple in color, with sparkling silver embellishments featured both at the neckline, and above and below a mesh panel slightly above the natural waistline The school canceled the plans of Ronald Toussaint (left) and his oldest daughter, Ariell (right), based on a rule that attendees be enrolled in at least the ninth grade and no older than 20 'It's my job to dress it up and make it look good,' he said. 'I've been trying to do that on one hand and fighting on the other hand.' Another policy specifically outlaws Toussaint's attendance at the formal gathering, according to a statement provided to Channel 2 by School District spokesperson Melinda Berry Dreisbach. The school rules state that parents are not allowed to attend the dance, even as chaperones. Toussaint said his daughter was upset with the school's decision that he can't be her escort Toussaint's frustration also stems from instances readily found online of other fathers being able to escort their daughters to senior proms. He also pointed out celebrities over the age of 20 will often escort teens to this rite of passage, as they celebrate the milestone shortly before completing their high school educations. 'It should be "my child" comes first,' he said. 'Right?' Toussaint added: 'Whatever she needs... if she needs me to come to the prom with her. and it makes her feel comfortable, then that should be fine' He added: 'Whatever she needs... if she needs me to come to the prom with her. and it makes her feel comfortable, then that should be fine.' But school administrators are holding strong on their decision, saying that the prom is a students-only event. The dance is scheduled to take place on Saturday night. Brittany Zamora, 27, was arrested on Wednesday in Goodyear, Arizona (pictured is her staff ID) A married sixth grade teacher has been accused of having a sexual relationship with her 13-year-old student. Brittany Zamora, 27, was arrested on Wednesday, just hours after the boy's parents reported the alarming relationship to the principal of Las Brisas Academy in Goodyear, Arizona, who then contacted police. The boy's parents learned of the alleged inappropriate relationship after an app they used to monitor their son's text messages alerted them to certain key words of a sexual nature, officials said. They took screenshots of the texts, which reportedly implied the relationship was physical and had taken place both on and off school grounds. 'The text messages found are sexual in nature [and] allege an ongoing relationship between the two,' said Lisa Kutis of the Goodyear Police Department. Superintendent Dr. Richard Rundhaug said school officials asked Zamora to come in to the school for a meeting with the principal on Thursday but she was arrested before. The 27-year-old teacher is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old student Zamora was taken into custody hours after the boy's parents reported the relationship to the school principal 'While employee privacy law does not allow us to comment on the employee issues, we have taken the corrective steps to separate the students and staff member,' the school said in a statement posted to their website. According to Fox10, Zamora was known by parents as a wife and teacher of the year. They said she was the 'most sought-out' sixth grade teacher. Students who spoke to the local media outlet said Zamora's relationship with the student in question seemed irregular. The teacher married Daniel Zamora, who she knew since she was 16, in 2015 Students who spoke to the local media outlet said Zamora's relationship with the student in question seemed irregular (pictured is Las Brisas Academy) 'We all had suspicions, because they were really close,' one unnamed female student told Fox10. 'I hoped it was just rumors going around school.' Zamora faces two counts of molestation of a child, one count of furnishing harmful material and nine counts of sexual conduct with a minor. She married Daniel Zamora, who she knew since she was 16, in 2015. They don't have any children. 'From the moment we first saw each other, we had been falling for one another. So, it was only appropriate to ask Brittany [to marry me] while falling; a.k.a. skydiving,' Daniel wrote on a blog about his over-the-top marriage proposal. President Donald Trump's legal team wasn't able to enlist Theodore Olson in its effort to counter the Mueller probe because the super-lawyer's law firm already represented Karen McDougal, who claims she had a 10-month affair with Trump. Trump's legal team which lost attorney John Dowd this week reached out to Olson, 77, the former U.S. solicitor general, about joining the effort, according to numerous reports this week. It would have made for the addition of additional intellectual fire power as Trump battles special counsel Robert Mueller's sprawling Russia probe. But the effort appears to have been doomed from the start owing to potential conflicts of interest that were only alluded to in reports on the ill-fated recruitment effort, DailyMail.com has learned. NOT OF COUNSEL: Theodore Olson, right, is not joining President Trump's legal team. He would have been barred from doing so because his firm represents Karen McDougal, who claims she had an affair with Trump, and Fusion GPS In addition to having represented McDougal who told her story of a 10-month affair with Trump where she says the real estate baron offered her money after sex Olson's firm also represents Fusion GPS, which procured the infamous 'golden showers' dossier of potentially damaging information on candidate Donald Trump. Among other things, Trump longtime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen is suing Fusion GPS over the dossier, which he claims includes false information about him. Cohen has also filed suit against porn star Stormy Daniels for $20 million in damages for alleged violations of a non-disclosure agreement that Daniels and Cohen signed that precludes her from discussing her relationship with Trump. Those issues would have been a problem 'out at the starting gate,' according a knowledgable source at the firm. 'You have adversity in the same matter, it's impermissible for a law firm to have different lawyers on different sides in the same matter,' said the source. SUING: Former Playboy playmate of the year Karen McDougal is suing a media company over a non-disclosure agreement. She claims she had a 10-month affair with Donald Trump The Washington Post reported that Olson had declined the offer, after Trump discussed the overture with aides on Monday. Other outlets cited undisclosed potential conflicts. Gibson Dunn attorney Ted Boutrous represented McDougal in 2016 although he was not part of the team of six lawyers who filed a complaint in Superior Court in Los Angeles on behalf of McDougal against American Media Inc. McDougal is seeking relief from an agreement whereby she was paid $150,000 by the publisher of the National Enquirer in exchange for her story. The publication never ran it, and said it didn't meet the bar for publication. The lawsuit does, however, mention Boutrous and even includes an image of a tweet he posted in October 2016, when a slew of women came forward to accuse Trump of impropriety, harassment, and assault. Attorney Theodore J. Boutrous has represented Karen McDougal. He offered to provide pro bono representation to women who had their 'free speech rights' supressed Attorney Theodore J. Boutrous offered to provide pro bono representation to women who had their 'free speech rights' supressed 'I repeat: I will represent pro bono anyone #Trump sues for exercising their ree speech rights. Many other lawyers have offered to join me,' he wrote. Trump has denied all of the charges and threatened during the campaign to sue his accusers. According to the suit, on November 7, 2016 McDougal fired the lawyer who helped negotiate her non-disclosure agreement and hired Boutrous, referred to in the suit as 'one of the nation's leading media attorneys.' He has argued multiple appeals before the U.S. Supreme Court and is listed as the firm's global co-chair of its litigation group. Boutrous and his associates negotiated an amendment to the agreement allowing McDougal to respond to 'legitimate press inquiries, although McDougal's suit argues she was thwarted by the media company. Although reports this week said Gibson, Dunn & Cruther was 'weighing potential conflicts' about the possible hire, although there have been no public indications Olson wanted the job. Boutrous tweeted Monday following a Washington Post report: 'I can confirm that [the firm] and Theodore B. Olson will not be representing Trump,' he wrote. This is the chilling moment a little girl mimics slitting a Russian Governor's throat in front of him as he speaks on live television. The youngster named as Tania Lozova, ten, is seen scowling as she first points pistol-fingers at the Moscow Oblast regional governor, Andrey Vorobyov, 47, before drawing her finger threateningly across her throat. Crowds surrounded Vorobyov in the town of Volokolamsk in Moscow Oblast, Russia as they blamed him for an incident in which a landfill site belched out a cloud of noxious hydrogen sulphide. This is the chilling moment a little girl mimics slitting a Russian Governor's throat in front of him as he speaks on live television The gas was reportedly inhaled by 57 children near the Yadrovo site near Russian capital Moscow. The children complained of symptoms including nausea and dizziness. Social media users praised the politically precocious young girl with one saying: This kid has more brains than 95 percent of the population of our country. The youngster named as Tania Lozova, ten, is seen scowling as she first points pistol-fingers at the Moscow Oblast regional governor, Andrey Vorobyov, 47, before drawing her finger threateningly across her throat Another added: This is the new generation of voters. Maybe they will be smarter than the current ones. Yet not everyone was rewarding the child for her chilling hand gestures with one saying: Liberals will put her on a pedestal. Local media reported that the area discharging the gas had been covered with soil though it was not clear whether a more permanent solution was planned. This is the astonishing moment a Betfred worker continually punched a customer in front of a crowd of taunting patrons. Footage shows the now fired employee standing behind his counter in a South West London betting shop with the client reportedly yelling at him about f***ing his sister as the other customers encourage his rant. The clip then suddenly cuts to the worker coming around from his desk and stalking towards the verbally abusive customer. This customer reportedly yelled at the Betfred employee him about f***ing his sister as the other customers encourage his rant Before the client has time to react, the former employee hits the man with savage blow after blow, causing him to topple over a nearby chair. Onlookers watch and jeer before the clip cuts out. Betfred confirmed the worked had been fired following the altercation last month. A spokesman told the Sun: We were made aware of the video in February, launched an investigation and took the appropriate action. The member of staff is stood behind is desk while the customer shouts abuse at him The clip then suddenly cuts to the worker coming around from his desk and stalking towards the verbally abusive customer before punching him St Georges Day, the celebration of Englands patron saint, is set to be held soon. The day recognizes and honors St George, best-known by his mythical image as a mighty, dragon-slaying medieval soldier. The real St George, however, was a real life figure who lived centuries before his medieval legend as a dragon slayer was born. Although he never slayed any dragons in real life, he did in fact have an enormous impact in early Christianity, a feat that led him to be named as the patron saint of England and numerous other countries around the world. Heres all you need to know about what and when St Georges Day is, who St George was in real life and some common St Georges day activities. St George's Day will be held on April 23 in England and other countries around the world When is St Georges Day? St Georges Day is held on April 23 in England and many other countries around the world. However, it is celebrated on April 24 in the Czech Republic as the holiday of St Aldabert of Prague, the nations patron saint, is held on April 23. Hungary also celebrates St Georges Day on April 24. Eastern Orthodox Christians who follow the Julian calendar celebrate St Georges Day on May 6. What is St Georges Day? St Georges Day is an annual holiday that honors St George, the patron saint of England. King Edward III made St George the patron saint of England shortly after his ascension to the throne in 1327. He chose St George, historically seen as a chivalrous, righteous and powerful warrior, to be the countrys patron saint in an effort to rebuild the nations monarchy after the tumultuous reign of his father, Edward II, and to project a renewed sense of English power across Europe. Who was St George? St George was, according to legend, a Roman soldier born in what is today Turkey in 280 and died around 303. He is the patron saint of England as well as Malta, Portugal, Georgia, Ethiopia, Lithuania, Serbia, the Palestinian territories, the city of Venice and elsewhere. Little is known about St Georges early life, though he is believed to have descended from a prosperous family of Christian nobles. He rose through the ranks of the ancient Roman military and was eventually made an advisor to the Roman Emperor Diocletian. However, Diocletian opposed the growing influence of Christianity in the Roman Empire and ordered Christian soldiers in the army expelled and all soldiers to make a sacrifice to the Roman gods. St George refused to comply or to renounce his Christian faith, publicly condemning Diocletians edict. The emperor at first tried to convince him to change his mind through offers of land, wealth and power but he refused and was ultimately beheaded on April 23, 303. St Georges legend was soon spread by Christians throughout the world. In medieval Europe, the mythology of St George as a dragon-slaying warrior was born out of the tales of Crusaders from the 10th and 11th centuries. According to legend, villagers in a Libyan town were plagued by a dragon living in a local lake. They sought to appease the beast by feeding it sheep and later children. One day, St George was riding through the village and offered to slay the dragon if the villagers agreed to convert to Christianity. They did and St George later held up his end of the bargain by killing the dragon, eventually leading to his mythological image as a dragon slaying warrior. St Georges Day traditions Traditional St Georges Day activities include attending church services and flying St Georges Cross. In recent years, many other fun events have popped up across England. In London, some popular activities include jousting events held at various parks across the city and the widely-attended Feast of St George held at Trafalgar Square. Borough Market will also get in on the holiday fun, offering a popular event featuring music, food, theater performances and more. Elsewhere across England, other activities that have been held in recent years include a medieval-themed celebration at Wrest Park, St Georges Pageant at the historic Warkworth Castle, an educational and entertaining celebration at Beeston Castle and much more. A tiger has been killed by another after the two animals began fighting in front of shocked visitors at a zoo in Copenhagen, Denmark. A male Siberian tiger suddenly attacked one of the two females in their shared enclosure at Copenhagen Zoo and a brutal fight ensued. Miron the Siberian tiger had arrived from Moscow, Russia, just three weeks before the deadly attack, as part of a breeding programme to help save the species. Shocking: A picture taken by a visitor shows the female tiger lying dead in the enclosure after the fight at Copenhagen Zoo The incident took place around 3pm on Thursday afternoon in front of a number of visitors, who alerted zoo staff. However, by the time staff arrived, the female tiger was already dead. Lars Holse, divisional head of Copenhagen Zoo, told local media that the tigers had been through 'a normal introductory process, where they first meet through bars and then in the enclosure a couple of weeks ago'. 'There had been no signs of animosity from the beginning that indicated that such a violent attack would take place, he told Ekstrabladet. Rare: With the Siberian tiger on the verge of extinction, the Russian tiger had been brought over to Denmark in the hopes that he would mate with the females (not pictured) The male tiger only sustained a few scratches and did not need veterinary attention. It will be kept separately from the only remaining female for the time being, Ekstrabladet reports. The Siberian tiger, also known as the Amur tiger, as in endangered species with only around 540 still alive in the wild. Miron had been brought over to Denmark from Moscow Zoo as part of conservation efforts in the hopes that he would mate with the two females. A fight between two special operations soldiers serving together at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, earlier this week resulted in one of the brawlers being shot to death. According to the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office, at 5.37pm on Wednesday, deputies responded to the 1300 block of Anhinga Court in the Brookshire Subdivision for a reported shooting. Deputies found the victim unresponsive and he was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. Sgt 1st Class Mark Leshikar, 33, was found shot to death in the Brookshire Subdivision in North Carolina (pictured) after getting into a fight with a comrade Homicide detectives later identified the deceased man as Sgt 1st Class Mark Leshikar, 33, of Fayetteville. Sheriffs Office spokesman Lt. Sean Swain said the soldier who fatally shot Leshikar was still at the scene when deputies arrived, and investigators questioned people who were inside the home during the shooting. Both the victim and the suspected gunman were members of US Army Special Operations Command, Lt. Col. Robert Bockholt, a spokesman for the command, told Army Times. As of Friday afternoon, no charges have been filed in connection to the fatal shooting. Leshikars body was taken to the state medical examiner in Raleigh for an autopsy. Two people traffickers who tried to smuggle a Vietnamese migrant into the UK from France by hiding him behind boxes of wine and beer have been jailed, the Home Office has said. Jason Lee Palmer, 41, and Richard Giles 39, were caught as they tried to leave France by the Channel Tunnel shortly after midnight on May 20 last year. The pair from Cardiff were stopped in their Vauxhall Mokka at the tunnel entrance in Coquelles. The Vietnamese migrant (pictured) is discovered hiding in the boot of the vehicle. Jason Lee Palmer, 41, and Richard Giles, 39, were caught as they tried to enter the UK with the man Palmer, who was driving, told border police he had been to France to buy wine, beer and cigarettes. Officers searched the vehicle and found the Vietnamese migrant hidden behind boxes in the boot. A statement issued by the Home Office said the pair were found guilty of assisting unlawful immigration into the UK on February 8 by a jury after a trial lasting three days at Canterbury Crown Court. Commenting after they were sentenced on Friday, assistant director of Immigration Enforcement Criminal and Financial Investigation (CFI) David Fairclough said: 'I hope their convictions send a clear message to anyone tempted to get involved with this kind of criminality - you will be caught and brought before the courts. 'We work closely with Border Force colleagues to rigorously investigate allegations of immigration related criminality.' After his arrest, Palmer, of New Road, Rumney, Cardiff, was interviewed by CFI officers and claimed he left Wales on the Friday morning to travel to Calais to buy alcohol for a family party - and he had locked the vehicle each time he left it so could not explain how the migrant entered the vehicle Palmer was sentenced to three years in prison for people smuggling and an additional five months consecutive for possessing a bladed article following an arrest in Cardiff. Giles, of Pittsfield Place, Cardiff, did not answer questions when interviewed, but a forensic examination of his mobile phone showed text messages sent to and received from an unknown third party detailing the car's make, colour and registration number. Palmer (pictured right), who was driving Giles (pictured left), told border police he had been to France to buy wine, beer and cigarettes He was sentenced to two years and six months imprisonment. Mr Fairclough added: 'The telephone messages, considered in conjunction with the fact that the Vietnamese man could not have accessed the vehicle without help, left us with a strong case that Palmer and Giles were willing participants in this attempt to breach the UK's border controls.' The Home Office said the illegal migrant, who claimed he was from Vietnam, was passed to the French authorities. Paul Morgan, director of Border Force South East and Europe, added: 'Border Force works in close partnership with other UK and French law enforcement agencies to secure the border in northern France, the result of which is that it is one of the most secure in Europe. 'We will continue to work to ensure that people smugglers and traffickers, whose actions so often put the lives of others at risk, face the full consequences of their crimes.' Patriots owner Robert Kraft provided the team's private jet to shuttle survivors of the Florida school shooting to DC so they can participate in the 'March for Our Lives' event. On Thursday, the families and students from Parkland, were transported to Washington DC ahead of the march against gun violence taking place in the nation's capital this Saturday. Some of the students being transported thanks to the New England Patriots, were injured in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 staffers and students dead. Patriots spokesman Stacey James told the Boston Globe that Kraft decided to donate his Boeing wide-body 767, called 'AirKraft,' when Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly, reached out to him and asked for the favor. 'Thank you @Patriots for donating your plane to fly @ShineMsd to Washington DC We appreciate your support!' Student Kali Clougherty shared to Twitter 'Heading to D.C. & Im so thankful to be here with so many amazing people. Thank you @Patriots for donating your plane to help us get to D.C.! And always so happy to have @isabelabarry by my side through everything I do' student Sawyer Rayne shared Patriots owner Robert Kraft donated the Patriots' private jet to get the survivors of the Florida, Parkland school shooting to the protest against gun violence in DC 'Not only did their friends and teachers get shot and killed, other friends shot and injured . . . most of them they had bullets flying over their heads,' said Kelly told the Washington Post. 'This is not fair that they have to deal with something like this at their age. They wanted to go to Washington and be heard, and so I felt it was our obligation to help them.' Kelly and his wife founded 'Giffords,' a gun violence prevention organization after Giffords survived being shot in the head during a 2011 event in Arizona. The plane flew out of Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, and the Pats spokesperson said they will be transported back to Florida after the march. 'No report other than they took off and everyone was happy,' James said, after adding he didn't know if any players were on the flight, and Kraft was not travelling with the group. The Patriots owner has been a friend and supporter of President Trump, who faced backlash over his slow response to the tragedy, although the president has since said he supports more gun control laws. Some of the students shared photos from their time on the plane as well as boarding the flight as they head to the march where thousands are expected to protest gun violence. Kraft shakes President Trump's hands during the team's visit to the White House in 2017 Luxury ride: The 767 Boeing has first-class configurations with some of the seats fully reclining The plane was unvelilved in October, and its one of two jets the Patriots purchased. The airplane designs follow the team's traditional red, white and blue colorway and features its Minuteman profile logo and team name. The design also includes five red stars on the body and five Lombardi trophies on the tail fin, highlighting the team's five lifetime Super Bowl wins. When the Patriots purchased the two 767 Boeings, they had the existing seats removed. They replaced them with first-class configurations only. Some of those new seats are even the lie-flat design, the type typically sported on planes doing long-haul international flights. Curtis Mitchell III, 24, was arrested on Thursday but released shortly after on bail An Alabama police officer is accused of driving under the influence in a crash that injured a man. Open bottles of Jack Daniels and Crown Royal were found in the front floorboard of Curtis Mitchell III's car after the crash early on Saturday, according to a crash report obtained by AL.com. The 22-year-old Huntsville police officer was arrested on Thursday in Madison but was released shortly after on $1,000 bail. He was off-duty and driving a personal car when he ran a stop sign at Wall Triana Highway and crashed onto Robert Wyke's 2005 Chevy Avalanche. Locket, a 53-year-old retired Army command sergeant major, was taken to Madison Hospital with 'incapacitating injuries' and is still recovering, he told AL.com. According to the report, Mitchell was unable to walk and vomiting and was taken to the hospital, where workers reported he had no injuries, yet a trooper reported he was 'unable to walk or function on his own'. Mitchell was off-duty and driving a personal car when he ran a stop sign at Wall Triana Highway Open bottles of Jack Daniels and Crown Royal were found in the front floorboard of the cop's car, according to a crash report Mitchell's badge and gun have been taken away and he has been assigned to administrative duties while the investigation continues. Police have not said what his blood alcohol level was at the time of the crash, according to ABC 31. If found guilty, Mitchell could be fired from the police department, a spokesperson said. Mitchell attended the department's training academy and has worked there for a year. Arnaud Beltrame (pictured) was seriously wounded after agreeing to take the place of a female hostage during a terrifying stand-off in Trebes, France. He married his partner in a moving ceremony in hospital hours before passing away A French policeman who was shot by an ISIS fanatic in a supermarket siege was married on his deathbed just hours before he succumbed to his injuries. Arnaud Beltrame was gunned down after agreeing to take the place of a female hostage who was being held at the Super U store in the southern town of Trebes during a terrifying stand-off. The 45-year-old was one of the first officers to arrive at the supermarket, where an ISIS-linked terrorist began firing on shoppers and staff. Sixteen people were wounded, two seriously, and four were killed in the shooting spree at about 11am on Friday. Beltrame, who has no children, suffered four bullet wounds and later died, making him the fourth fatality in the attack. It has now emerged that the brave officer wed his partner Marielle while on his deathbed in a hospital in Carcassonne. His bride wept uncontrollably as they said their prayers in the Catholic ceremony just hours before he passed away. The couple met during a tour of an abbey in France in 2016 and had planned a church wedding for June. Father Jean-Baptiste, the priest who carried out the moving service, said the pair had 'spent some 30 hours preparing for their marriage ceremony'. He added: 'I gave him the sacrament of marriage, and the sacrament of the sick'. Beltrame was an 'extremely intelligent and courageous man', he said. A sign reading 'closed road' at the entrance of the Super U supermarket the day after the attack which shook the sleepy town Samia Menassi, director of the Super U store, praised Beltrame for saving her co-worker's life She said her colleague was in a 'catastrophic state' after the death of the officer, who agreed to swap places with her as a hostage France was in mourning on Saturday and flowers were laid at the Gendarmerie Nationale in Carcassonne in tribute to the officer The director of the Super U store praised Beltrame for saving her co-worker's life when he agreed to swap places with her as a hostage. Samia Menassi said that her colleague was in a 'catastrophic state' after the death of the officer. Ms Menassi recalled the petrifying moment she heard the first gunshots. 'I said to the girls, 'Call the police, there's a terrorist in the shop,' she told AFP. 'We felt powerless because we still had colleagues in there.' Gendarmes stand guard outside the Gendarmerie Nationale (left) as mourners came to lay flowers Lakdim was said to have demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam, the most important surviving suspect in the 13 November 2015 attacks in Paris which killed 130 people. Most of the approximately 50 staff and shoppers in the supermarket escaped after hiding in a cold storage room then fleeing through an emergency exit. News of Beltrame's death was first announced France's Interior Minister Gerard Collomb. He said in a Twitter post: 'Died for his country. France will never forget his heroism, bravery and sacrifice. 'With a heavy heart, I send the support of the entire country to his family, friends and colleagues of the Gendarmerie of the Aude.' The country was in mourning on Saturday and flags were at half-staff at all French gendarmeries. #ArnaudBeltrame has been the most used hashtag on Twitter in France, with many social media users paying tribute to a 'hero' who gave his life to save others. The gunman, identified as 25-year-old Redouane Lakdim, began his rampage by firing on a group of police joggers. He then opened fire on two passengers in a car, killing one and wounding the other, before driving off in the vehicle. Redouane Lakdim, 25, killed four people during the rampage in France Lakdim then made his way to the Super U store where he shot dead two people. The attacker took one female hostage to use as a human shield. It was then that Beltrame stepped in to offer himself to the gunman. He remained Lakdim's hostage while tense negotiations ensued. Beltrame cleverly left his mobile phone on the table so police surrounding the building in the sleepy town of 5,000 inhabitants could listen in. Through that phone, officers heard gunshots ring out inside the building. Elite police stormed the building and gunned down the assailant, putting an end to the violence. Police arrested two people after the attack: a woman connected to Lakdim and a 17-year-old man said to be one of his friends. People laid flowers in front of the Gendarmerie Nationale in Carcassonne in tribute to Beltrame Collomb praised Beltrame for his 'courage' and 'act of heroism'. He said Lakdim, a Moroccan-born French national, had been monitored on suspicion of having been radicalised but had been deemed not to pose a threat. The killer was known to authorities for drug-dealing and other petty crimes. Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said he had been on an extremist watch-list due to his links with the radical Salafist movement, an offshoot of Sunni Islam. Super U remains closed and surrounded by police tape. Police are pictured outside the supermarket after the gunman was killed during the stand-off Police are pictured in the supermarket car park after the terrorist was killed Beltrame was a hero lieutenant-colonel who was knighted the Legion of Honor in May 2012. The soldier was one of just a handful of candidates chosen to join the gendarmerie's elite GSIGN force in 2003. He was deployed to Iraq in 2005, where he won a Cross for Military Valour. Beltrame joined the Republican Guard protecting the presidential palace after returning from Iraq, and also worked as an advisor to the environment ministry. He had been named just last year as deputy chief of the gendarmerie in the Aude. And the courageous Frenchman was well-prepared for the terrifying situation he found himself in on Friday. In December he took part in an exercise which replicated the scenario of a mass killing in a supermarket in Carcassonne. Gerard Collomb speaks to the press in the wake of Friday's supermarket siege. He hailed Beltrame a 'hero' Beltrame's brother Cedric told RTL radio his brother 'gave his life for strangers.' '[He] was well aware he had almost no chance. He was very aware of what he was doing,' he said. He added: 'If we don't describe him as a hero, I don't know what you need to do to be a hero. It's a word I think is appropriate for him in such tragic circumstances.' Beltrame's mother, who has not been named, said she was unsurprised her son put others' lives before his own in the siege. She told told RTL radio: 'I'm not surprised. I knew it had to be him. He has always been like that. 'It's someone, since he was born, who gives everything for his homeland.' Asked if she was proud of him, she said he would have told her 'I'm doing my job mom, that's all.' Forty-five-year-old Beltrame (pictured) was knighted the Legion of Honor in May 2012 Beltrame (pictured) was a qualified parachutist who served in Iraq in 2005 Prosecutor Mr Molins, spoke from Carcassonne highlighting Beltrame's heroism. 'I wish to underline the heroism of the lieutenant-colonel who, at the risk of his life, made the choice to take the place of the hostages,' he said. President Emmanuel Macron issued a statement saying he was 'deeply moved' to learn of the officer's death from his injuries. He said of Beltrame: 'In offering himself as a hostage to the terrorist holed up in the Trebes supermarket, lieutenant colonel Beltrame saved the life of a civilian hostage, showing exceptional self-sacrifice and courage.' In a statement shortly before dawn on Saturday, Macron said: 'He fell as a hero, giving up his life to halt the murderous outfit of a jihadist terrorist.' Beltrame graduated in 1999 from France's top military college, Saint-Cyr, where his superiors described him as someone who 'fought until the end and never gave up', Macron said. He added: 'Lieutenant-Colonel Beltrame displayed exceptional calm in the heat of the moment and showed the virtue of our security forces in astonishing fashion. 'His leadership abilities and his dedication were appreciated by everyone, notably in developing the anti-terror capacity of the gendarmerie in the Aude.' French president Emmanuel Macron was informed by his security advisor about the hostage situation in Trebes during an EU meeting Jose Luis Carneiro, Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities Abroad, confirmed a Portuguese national was among the four dead after the terror attack. But Renato Silva, 27, from Coimbra north of Lisbon, is still alive in hospital in Perpignan. Relatives told media in his native city he was in an induced coma after being shot in the eye. Mr Silva was the driver of the white Opel car the terrorist hijacked. The passenger died. He is understood to have been living in France for around two years after completing university studies in Coimbra. Carneiro blamed the gaffe on an 'error of communication' between authorities in France tasked to deal with the attack. Masked police officers are pictured at the scene - where the hero officer took the place of a female hostage Flowers and messages were laid outside the Gendarmerie Nationale in Carcassonne to honour Beltrame Armed officers stand guard outside the Gendarmerie Nationale in Carcassonne, where flowera have been laid in commemoration of Beltrame and his courageous sacrifice Che Donald, vice chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: 'The bravery shown by Lt-Col Arnaud Beltrame is both remarkable and moving. 'Despite knowing the risks he selflessly placed himself in harm's way and sadly paid the ultimate price. 'This officer put his duty to protect the public before his own safety, as so many of our own do each and every day. 'Our thoughts are with him, his family and colleagues in the gendarme at this time. 'It comes just days after we marked the anniversary of PC Keith Palmer's tragic passing at Westminster and is another reminder of the commitment and heroism of police officers everywhere.' Prime Minister Theresa May said: 'I am saddened to learn that Lt Col Arnaud Beltrame, the Gendarme who took the place of a hostage in the attack at Trebes, has died. 'His sacrifice and courage will never be forgotten.' The lights of the Eiffel Tower in Paris were dimmed for midnight in memory of the victims of the supermarket attack After the Manchester Arena attack the lights on the iconic landmark were also dimmed in respect for the dead The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack and Macron has said security services are checking that claim. More than 240 people have been killed in France in attacks since 2015 by assailants who either pledged allegiance to Islamic State or were inspired by the group. The Super U store was the first deadly attack since October 2017, when a man stabbed two young women to death in the port city of Marseille. Beltrame is the seventh member of France's security forces to be killed in a jihadist attack since 2012. France is a member of the US-led coalition that has fought the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq. Soldiers and police have often found themselves the target in domestic attacks. The country remains on high alert. Emmy-winning actress Robin Wright is a 'force of nature' who has taken full charge of the show after it was rocked by Kevin Spacey's departure in disgrace, one of its stars tells DailyMailTV. Cody Fern, who is to play a new role in the sixth series of the Netflix hit, said that Wright had brought a 'let's do it' mentality to the set as she acts, directs and produces in parts of its final season. And one of the show's executives also revealed that its success is likely to be followed by spin-off series for two of its breakout stars. Robin Wright (pictured) has stepped up to lead the cast and crew of House of Cards after Kevin Spacey's departure, says her new co-star Cody Fern. Wright, who plays Claire Underwood (Wright pictured right in character) on the show, acts, directs and produces in parts of the final season Daniel Minahan, who was executive producer of the fifth season of the show, said that both Boris McGiver and Michael Kelly were likely to be given their own platforms. Fern told DailyMailTV how the embattled team on the troubled Netflix drama is stronger and more united since the Spacey scandal and credited Wright for it. The Australian actor, 29, said: 'I think that Robin is really stepping up in a way that everybody is excited about. Cody Fern, who is to play a new role in the sixth series of the Netflix hit, said that Wright had brought a 'let's do it' mentality to the set 'I get to work with her and I am thrilled about it. So the energy on and off set is one of let's do this... you know, let's do this - let's overcome this period of time where we are focusing on men and let's jump into the women. And let Robin have that. 'You can expect what you had always expected from Robin, which is phenomenal acting, absolute commitment and she is a force of nature. 'That is thrilling. It is changing.' Wright was understood to be the key reason Netflix bosses decided not to axe the series for good last November following Spacey's departure amid a string of allegations of sexual misconduct. Minahan added that under Wright, he has confidence the show will not skip a beat without Spacey as screen monster Frank Underwood. 'I was really pleased to hear that they were going to continue for another season regardless of what has happened with Kevin,' he said. 'I feel like season five ended with the president in exile, and I feel that given everything else that is happening in the world right now, Robin Wright is the most compelling actress I have ever worked with. 'And I am dying to see what she does with the final season. I have complete confidence in everyone at Netflix that they did the right thing.' Wright was understood to be the key reason Netflix bosses decided not to axe the series for good last November following Kevin Spacey's departure amid a string of allegations of sexual misconduct. Pictured above, Spacey in his role as Frank Underwood in the show Minahan gave a hint that the end of House of Cards will not be the end of all its character. 'I don't want to get into trouble but I kind of feel that Boris McGiver who plays the journalist at the Washington Post will be the most likely spin off character, he is one of the most wonderful actors they have there,' he said. Daniel Minahan, who was executive producer of the fifth season of the show, said there could be spin-offs on the show He also suggested that Doug Stamper, Spacey's sinister fixer who is played by Michael Kelly, could make a similar spin-off success. 'Michael Kelly created an amazing character. I would be happy to work with Michael and Boris,' he said. Fern and Minahan spoke as they attended the FYC Red Carpet Event for 'The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story' at the Directors' Guild in Los Angeles. In January Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos opened up about the studio's decision to immediately fire Spacey - essentially confirming that Spacey had acted inappropriately on set. He said: 'I think it gave us all an opportunity to soul search right away and I love that we were able to very quickly come to the conclusion that when it comes to having a workplace that is safe, where people are equal and respected and are judged by the quality of their work and not who they are, not to be in a position to be taken advantage of by people of power. 'The best way to set that environment is, no matter who it is, they've got to go. 'We have to be able to set a very hard line in the sand. We treat people at Netflix in our offices with great professional respect and dignity and I need our sets to feel like an extension of that work culture.' Spacey (left) was fired from all Netflix projects, including a biopic of writer Gore Vidal, as his sex shame emerged. The star has been accused by several men, including many who were underage at the time, of sexual harassment and assault, including Adam Rapp (right) Sarandos refused to leak details on how Spacey's departure will be explained, but he said the network was committed to not letting the production team suffer because of one person's bad behavior. Spacey was fired from all Netflix projects, including a biopic of writer Gore Vidal, as his sex shame emerged. The star has been accused by several men, including many who were underage at the time, of sexual harassment and assault. Eight people who worked on House of Cards have also reportedly accused Spacey of sexual harassment or assault. The actor's reps said that Spacey will 'seek evaluation and treatment' following the series of sexual misconduct allegations against him. In November DailyMail.com revealed the star checked into a luxury $36,000-a-month rehab center in the Arizona desert to receive treatment for sex addiction. The American Beauty actor's public apology to actor Adam Rapp, who said Spacey made a sexual advance on him at age 14, sparked outrage when he chose to come out as gay in the same statement. Days earlier Netflix announced that the sixth season would be its last. President Donald Trump complained Friday that a permanent for for beneficiaries of the DACA program was left on the cutting room floor during this week's congressional budget debates, and blamed Democrats for 'using' immigrants as negotiating pawns. Launched with an executive order by President Barack Obama, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals system offers a no-deportation guarantee to nearly 800,000 illegal immigrants who were brought to the United States as children. 'I say this to DACA recipients, that the Republicans are with you. They want to get your situation taken care of,' Trump said Friday during a brief appearance in the Diplomatic Reception room of the White House. 'The Democrats fought us. They just fought every single inch of the way. They did not want DACA in this bill.' President Donald Trump said Friday at the White House that a spending bill he signed didn't include help for DACA recipients because Democrats refused to entertain the idea The fate of nearly 800,000 'DREAMers,' U.S. residents left in immigration limbo because they were illegally brought to the country as children, is a political hot potato House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Trump said, are using DACA recipients as pawns instead of helping them Speaking to 'the Hispanic community' in particular, he said 'Republicans are much more on your side the Democrats who are using you for their own purposes.' Democrats had offered a compromise that would have involved putting all DACA recipients and illegal immigrants who qualified for the special dispensation but never applied for it on a path for citizenship. The White House countered with an offer for a three-year DACA extension, allowing for a scenario where Trump could continue using the issue as a 2020 political weapon. Trump announced in September 2017 that he would wind down DACA in six months, giving Congress until March 5 to codify it in law. The White House hoped the resulting deadline would give GOP negotiators leverage to insist on $25 billion in border security funding the lion's share of which would pay for the president's long-awaited border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. But a series of short-term court victories, most notably in the liberal Ninth Circuit in California, gave Democrats a reprieve and allowed them to ignore the March 5 red line, knowing that the Department of Homeland Security was powerless to stop DACA beneficiaries from renewing their legal status. That weakening of Trump's bargaining position is what forced congressional Republicans to settle for $1.6 billion in border security enhancements in the budget bill he signed Friday, just hours after he threatened to veto it. That money allows for the construction of just 33 miles of new border barriers where none already existed. Trump has said he wants between 700 and 900 miles built, and promised last year that it would happen by the end of his first term in office. The president railed against Democrats on Friday for cutting DACA 'DREAMers' out of the 2,200-page budget, but the Dems offered a deal Republicans decided they could refuse The president shocked Washington with a veto threat on Friday, claiming Democrats had 'abandoned' DACA beneficiaries, but ultimately he signed it 'DACA is also tied to the wall, for the major funding, the $25 billion for the wall and other things,' the president noted Friday, 'so I think that will be coming up very soon.' 'DACA recipients have been treated extremely badly by the Democrats,' he added. 'We wanted to include DACA. We wanted to have them in this bill 800,000 people, and actually it could even be more. And we wanted to include DACA in this bill. The Democrats would not do it. They would not do it.' In his veto threat Friday morning, Trump specifically cited the lack of a one-for-one deal involving both his wall project and a DACA fix. 'I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded,' he tweeted. A half-hour earlier he wrote on Twitter that DACA, the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, 'was abandoned by the Democrats. Very unfair to them! Would have been tied to desperately needed Wall.' Trump has demanded funding for the 1,954-mile border wall between the U.S. and Mexico but Congress only gave him funding for 33 new miles of barriers this time around White Houe budget director Mick Mulvaney said Thursday that Trump had offered Democrats 'three years worth of a DACA fix in exchange for three years worth of a wall' Trump sees his wall as a barrier against illegal immigration, an impediment to narcotics smugglers and an upgrade to national defense. 'National defense is a very important two words,' he said Friday. 'Because by having a strong border system, including a wall, we are in a position militarily that is very advantageous.' DACA, meanwhile, has become Washington's ultimate political hot potato, with both major parties trying to portray themselves as deeply concerned about immigrants languishing in visa purgatory. The White House has complained repeatedly this month that Democrats were abandoning them in the budget-cooking process. 'Let's make it clear: The president wanted a DACA fix as part of this deal,' White House budget director Mick Mulvaney told reporters on Thursday. 'He had offered a large package with a complete DACA fix in exchange for the entire wall. He offered a small package three years worth of a DACA fix in exchange for three years worth of a wall.' 'The Democrats in the House and Senate have made it clear they think they're winning in the courts and they do not want to fix this legislatively,' he added. 'We've reached out to them again and again to try to fix DACA, and they refuse to engage on the topic.' A Minnesota man was arrested after his grandparents were found dead, having been reported missing for more than 24 hours. Wilbert Scheel, 93, and wife, 80-year-old Gloria Scheel, were reported missing and last seen in Teal's Market in Payneville, Minnesota, on Wednesday. Their grandson, 33-year-old Gregory Scheel, who lived with them, was also reported missing with his family and last seen around 12.45pm. Wilbert Scheel, 93, and wife, 80-year-old Gloria Scheel, were reported missing and last seen in Teal's Market in Payneville, Minnesota, on Wednesday Their grandson, 33-year-old Gregory, was also reported missing. He would later be arrested in connection to their deaths (right is his mugshot) The two cars that the trio shared between them were also missing, although were found on Thursday night. The couples' bodies were found inside a Toyota Prius along a rural road in Kandiyohi County on Thursday, Stearns County officials told WCCO. An autopsy will be confucted at the Mid-West Medical Examiner. Just the day before they were reported missing, he posted a drawing he had made of the grandparents two years prior The couples' bodies were found inside a Toyota Prius along a rural road in Kandiyohi County on Thursday. They were last seen at a local farmer's market Their grandson was found around 9.09pm, south of where the Prius had been located. He was booked into the Kandiyohi County Jail. Prior to reports of the trio missing, Gregory Scheel posted a photo on his Facebook of a drawing he made for his grandparents, two years ago. He has a long criminal history in Minnesota, according to TwinCities.com. He had multiple felony convictions including DUIs and drug-related offenses. He also was convicted of burglary and domestic assault. Just last year, WCCO ran a story on Wilbert and his love of ping pong. Having survived cancer seven times, he was playing the sport to stay in shape four days a week. A teenage couple has been charged for taking photographs of another overdosed girl's body and posting them on social media before loading her into their car and running out of gas before they could make it to hospital. Lillie Cooper, 18, and John Guffey, 19, have been indicted on charges of corpse abuse and criminally negligent homicide. They were with 18-year-old Caitlyn Spears when she overdosed in a house last April in Grant, Alabama. It is not clear what drug she took or if she died instantly. Instead of calling 911, Cooper and Guffey allegedly 'dragged' her around and took photographs of her body. Lillie Cooper, 18, and Johns Guffey, 19, have been charged with abuse of a corpse and negligent homicide after allegedly dragging around the body of an overdosed 18-year-old girl and posting photographs of it on social media last April Caitlyn Spears, 18, died from a drug overdose last April in Grant, Alabama. She was with Cooper and Guffey in a house. It is not known what drug she took or if she died instantly or whether their delay in getting her help contributed towards her death They posted the images on Snapchat and Facebook and jokingly tried to wake her up, according to the victim's friends. Eventually, the pair loaded her into a car and tried to drive her to hospital but they ran out of gas on the way. They were forced to call for help at a gas station. When firefighters arrived, they found Caitlyn unresponsive in the vehicle. She was later pronounced dead. Cooper was underage at the time and Guffey was 18. It is not known how the trio knew one another. Caitlyn's relatives claim Cooper and Guffey jokingly said 'RIP' as they dragged her body around in the video. Guffey and Cooper dragged the teenager girl's body around and, according to her relatives, said 'RIP' in footage which appeared on Snapchat and Facebook It is not clear how soon after Caitlyn was found unresponsive in the car that she was pronounced dead but police say it was an 'extended period of time' before an attempt was made to get her help The couple have recently been released from custody. They posted this image on Facebook this week to celebrate their new freedom The teenagers are shown in their mugshots. Lillie was first arrested in May last year. Her boyfriend's mugshot is dated from Thursday. Both have since been released on bond Cooper and Guffey were charged with misdemeanor abuse of a corpse and felony criminally negligent homicide They have launched a petition to try to change the law in Alabama to make it illegal not to help someone if they are dying. Cooper and Guffey both posted bond and were released from county jail this week. The young couple will return to court at a later date. It is not clear how long exactly the pair waited before trying to take Caitlyn to hospital. In a report seen by AL.com, police described it as an 'extended period of time'. Authorities were not immediately available for comment on Friday afternoon. Hamman Forjani, 21 (pictured) is a cousin of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi and savagely assaulted a pregnant woman A cousin of the Manchester Arena bomber savagely beat up a pregnant woman, telling her he wanted to kill her unborn child and kicking her so hard that he left a shoe print on her face. Hamman Forjani, 21 from Fallowfield, Manchester was jailed for 21 months for the sickening assault on his victim, who was about 28 weeks pregnant at the time. Manchester Crown Court heard that Forjani repeatedly punched the woman in the head and body during the brutal attack. The woman gave birth prematurely, with concern that the assault may have triggered it. However, a judge ruled that there was no evidence to prove whether the attack was to blame or not, and said it would be difficult for any doctor to prove the cause. Thankfully, the baby was born healthy. The court was previously told that Forjani is a cousin of Manchester Arena attacker Salman Abedi. Forjani was not arrested as part of the investigation into the terrorist attack on May 22 last year. His barrister told the court during sentencing on Thursday that Forjani is finding his time in prison 'particularly difficult' because of a 'family association'. Michael Knowles, prosecuting, revealed how Forjani had been drinking alcohol before the sickening attack, which took place last year. Forjani's cousin Salman Abedi, 22, pictured on CCTV in the hours leading up to the blast in which he killed 22 people He became angry and threw water over his victim before breaking her mobile phone. Forjani then grabbed her, causing her to fall, and dragged her brutally along the floor. Mr Knowles said Forjani punched her repeatedly around the face and the body. He also kicked her viciously in the head, leaving an imprint of a shoe on her face. After she managed to climb to her feet, she told him that he could have killed her unborn baby. According to Mr Knowles, Forjani replied that 'he wanted to'. He later apologised to the woman. Forjani, who has previous convictions for robbery, burglary and theft, was arrested and charged. Defending, Rachel White said Forjani now has recognition and 'insight' into how his actions have affected the woman. She said when not on drugs or drinking, Forjani is a 'very pleasant young man not lacking in intelligence'. Ms White said Forjani is finding it 'particularly difficult' in prison and says he has been 'bullied because of a family association'. She also revealed that Forjani has considered asking to be moved to a different prison, but doesn't want to be further away from his family. Forjani previously pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and criminal damage. The judge, Recorder Andrew McLoughlin, said: 'Having punched her to her face and having made perhaps a comment in the heat of the moment about the baby and an apparent desire for the baby to die, matters then concluded. 'Fortunately for you and the victim in this case the child was born healthily.' Jeremy Corbyn has been accused of a 'Stalinist purge' after sacking his former leadership rival Owen Smith after he called for a second EU referendum. Mr Smith, who challenged Mr Corbyn for leadership of the party in 2016, was removed from his job as shadow Northern Ireland secretary after attacking Brexit in a newspaper article yesterday. Within minutes of his sacking there was a wave of support for Mr Smith on Twitter from Labour MPs critical of Mr Corbyn. Jeremy Corbyn has sacked shadow Northern Ireland secretary Owen Smith (pictured with Mr Corbyn during a leadership debate in 2016) after he called for a second EU referendum Former Northern Ireland secretary Peter Hain tweeted: 'This is a terrible Stalinist purge @OwenSmith_MP has been doing a terrific job on Northern Ireland. Mr Smith did not endorse Lord Hain's view that Jeremy Corbyn was conducting a Stalinist purge, but said he thought the leader had made a 'mistake' to sack him. 'I don't think it's a Stalinist purge, but I think it is a mistake - for Jeremy Corbyn in particular who has always understood the value of people standing by their principles, it's the position he has often adopted and it is certainly a value in him that others have extolled,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'That's all I have done, I have stood by principles on what I think is the most important economic and security issue facing our country for generations.' Mr Smith, pictured with Mr Corbyn in September 2016, challenged Mr Corbyn for leadership of the party in 2016 and lost. He is being replaced by Tony Lloyd 'Jeremy Corbyn clearly wants to take a different position to that which I advocate, a more Eurosceptic position if you like, on Brexit. 'My view is that the Labour Party needs to show leadership on this issue, it's the biggest economic crisis that our country will have faced for many, many generations. 'It's the first instance that I can think of in living memory of a government pursuing a policy that they know is going to make our economy smaller and reduce people's livelihoods and life chances and I cannot understand why we in Labour would support that.' Yesterday Mr Smith was replaced by the shadow housing minister Tony Lloyd. In a statement, Mr Corbyn said: 'Tony is a highly experienced former Government Minister who is committed to ensuring that peace in Northern Ireland is maintained and helping to steer the devolution deal back on track.' Mr Smith responded to the sacking by tweeting: 'Just been sacked by @jeremycorbyn for my long held views on the damage #Brexit will do to the Good Friday Agreement & the economy of the entire U.K. 'Those views are shared by Labour members & supporters and I will continue to speak up for them, and in the interest of our country.' The tweet has racked up nearly 11,000 likes and more than 4,750 retweets. Mr Smith wrote a comment piece for the Guardian in which he called for a second Brexit vote, saying that we need to ask if Brexit is the right choice for the UK. He wrote: 'Given that it is increasingly obvious that the promises the Brexiters made to the voters especially, but not only, their pledge of an additional 350m a week for the NHS are never going to be honoured, we have the right to keep asking if Brexit remains the right choice for the country. 'And to ask, too, that the country has a vote on whether to accept the terms, and true costs of that choice, once they are clear. That is how Labour can properly serve our democracy and the interests of our people.' Mr Corbyn has insisted that it is not Labour's policy to offer a second referendum, but it is a policy Mr Smith ran on while fighting him to become leader. Several MPs took to Twitter to share their support for the Pontypridd MP. Chuka Umunna, who was shadow business secretary between 2011 and 2015 when he resigned over Mr Corbyn's stance on the EU referendum, tweeted: 'Its extraordinary that a shadow cabinet member -doing an excellent job in their brief - should be sacked for standing up for our principles and advocating a Brexit policy that commands the overwhelming support of our members, supporters and voters. What has happened to our party?' Shadow housing minister Tony Lloyd, pictured, will be replacing Mr Smith He added: 'It is also worth remembering: @OwenSmith_MP was a public advocate of a people's vote on the deal, Single Market and Customs Union membership BEFORE he was appointed Shadow Northern Ireland Sec - its not as if the views he has voiced since his appointment were not already known.' Liberal Democrats leader Vince Cable said: 'Shame to see @OwenSmith_MP sacked for simply repeating the view of the majority of Labour members and, I suspect, MPs.' Lord Hain, the Labour former Northern Ireland secretary, tweeted: 'This is a terrible Stalinist purge. Owen Smith has been doing a terrific job on Northern Ireland, he's ideal for the role with his experience, expertise and considerable ability. Widely respected. 'In a Shadow Cabinet with few big hitters he was definitely one.' A Labour official said Mr Smith was sacked for repeatedly breaking from the party's position on Brexit, including advocating remaining in the EU single market. Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said: 'Owen Smith was a valued colleague, he wanted to make a contribution to the debate and he will be able to continue to do so. 'What he can't do is sit on our front bench and advance a position which is simply not Labour Party policy.' Miss Abbott herself wrote to constituents in November saying that she would 'argue for the right of the electorate to vote' on the Brexit deal. But she told Radio 4's Any Questions: 'We have debated this in the Labour Party, debated it seriously. But we are not calling for a second referendum.' Owen Smith hit back at the decision to sack him on Twitter, saying his views are 'shared by Labour members and supporters' Violeta Pilgrim, 89, was rescued by Miami Beach police after concerned residents contacted authorities after they hadn't heard from her in a few days An elderly woman from Florida who fell onto the floor ended up being trapped under her bed for six days without anyone realizing. Violeta Pilgrim, 89, was eventually rescued by Miami Beach police after concerned residents contacted the authorities after they hadn't heard from her in a few days. 'A concerned individual hadn't heard from his friend, someone who he treats as his mother hadn't heard from her in over five days,' Miami Beach police Officer Ernesto Rodriguez said to WSVN. 'He was concerned. He called the police. We arrived.' Footage from officers body cams show officers banging on windows trying to make contact with Pilgrim. One officer ended up noticing the woman on the floor and pulled out a screen window in order to reach her and rescue her. Miami Beach police ended up finding an elderly woman who had been trapped under her bed Body cam footage released by Miami Beach police shows officers about to enter the home of a woman trapped for six days. They had to pull out s screen to rescue her He called out to her to ask her how she was, but it was very clear that she was frail and fading fast. Officers Pablo Gonzalez and Whismick Charles can be seen on the video entering the woman's home through a window. "Senora!" Gonzalez called as he pushed aside blinds. He heard the woman's faint response and jumped into action. "We got to go around now," Gonzalez could be heard exclaiming on the video. 'They decided to come around the side of the building, the rear of the building,' Rodriguez said. 'They started banging on windows and they were able to rescue an elderly female who had been lying, trapped under her bed for six days.' Officers Pablo Gonzalez and Whismick Charle who were involved in the woman's rescue were commended for their actions Pilgrim had laid there on the floor without any food or water, hoping someone would help her. The two officers who rescued her were hailed as heroes for their efforts. She has been recovering in hospital since the rescue. 'She has a long road of recovery ahead of her, but she knows she has the Miami Beach Police Department now as an extended family,' Rodriguez said. The two officers who worked to save the elderly woman, officers Pablo Gonzalez and Whismick Charles have been recognized for their actions. A rare day of remembrance held in two different countries for the same occasion, ANZAC Day will soon be observed in both Australia and New Zealand. The day, initially held to honor Australian and New Zealand soldiers who died in a bloody World War I campaign, now commemorates all veterans from both nations. The wartime events played a key role in fostering a new sense of identity at a time when both countries were still in their infancy. Heres all you need to know about when ANZAC Day is, what it is, why its celebrated, what ANZAC stands for and the traditions held during the day. Parades and memorials are often used to mark ANZAC Day across Australia and New Zealand When is ANZAC Day? ANZAC Day is held annually on April 25. What is ANZAC Day? ANZAC Day is a day of remembrance observed in both Australia and New Zealand and commemorates the anniversary of their military involvement in the Gallipoli campaign during World War I. The day has since been expanded to honor all Australian and New Zealand military veterans who served in conflicts. Why is it celebrated? The day is used to honor all veterans from Australia and New Zealand and specifically the soldiers who gave their lives in the bloody Gallipoli campaign in World War I, an amphibious invasion of Turkey that sought to seize the Ottoman capital of Constantinople, now modern-day Istanbul. The invasion proved to be very costly on both sides, with more than 8,700 Australian and 2,700 New Zealand soldiers dying in the brutal campaign. Although the Ottomans ultimately repelled the invasion in their only major victory during the conflict, the valor and courage of the Australian and New Zealand troops immediately earned them the respect of their allies and became known as the Anzac spirit that remains a part of both countrys identities to this day, helping to create a sense of nationhood in both young countries. What does ANZAC stand for? ANZAC is actually an acronym that stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers who fought in the corps were commonly known as Anzacs, a nickname they adopted with great pride. ANZAC Day traditions ANZAC Day always starts off with memorial services held at dawn, the same time as the Gallipoli landings took place during World War I. Marches by veterans and former and active duty military members are also held, as are commemorative war ceremonies at war memorials across Australia and New Zealand. In Canberra, a memorial service is held at the Australian War Memorial with one minutes silence and the national anthems of both Australia and New Zealand being played. ANZAC Day has also been observed in the United Kingdom. Last year, a ceremony was held at Hyde Park Corner in London, the site of the UKs own Australian War Memorial, to commemorate the thousands of Australian and New Zealand soldiers who lost their lives during World War I and other wars. The ceremony was attended by the Duke of York as well as the Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Alexander Downer, New Zealand High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Jerry Mateparae and Air Chief Marshall Sir Stuart Peach. This year, commemorative ceremonies are planned to take place in London at the New Zealand War Memorial, The Cenotaph and Westminster Abbey. Two powerful congressional panels are now calling for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to come and testify under oath about how data for 50 million users got into the hands of a data firm hired by the Trump campaign. The company has come under enormous scrutiny and his stock price has been battered after revelations about data firm Cambridge Analytica, which was able to gain access to user data using an electronic survey that went out to a fraction of the people whose data they got. The Senate Commerce Committee on Friday called for Zuckerberg to come and explain how Facebook would 'safeguard users' data.' A letter released Friday from panel chair Sen. John Thune of South Dakota and Bill Nelson of Florida made the request. 'We believe Mr. Zuckerberg's testimony is necessary to gain a better understanding of how the company plans to restore lost trust, safeguard users' data, and end a troubling series of belated responses to serious problems,' the senators said. Two powerful congressional panels are now calling for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to come and testify under oath 'We appreciate the efforts Facebook and its employees have already made to assist our committee and will work with them to find a suitable date for Mr. Zuckerberg to testify in the coming weeks.' Senate Judiciary Committee staff met with Facebook on Thursday, an aide told DailyMail.com. That panel is another venue where Zuckerberg could be called to speak. Zuckerberg previously told CNN when asked if he'd be willing to testify: 'The short answer is I'm happy to if it's the right thing to do.' The appearance by one of the world's richest and most powerful CEOs is certain to draw international coverage. In the House, another pair of lawmakers asked Zuckerberg to explain at a congressional hearing how 50 million users' data got into the hands of political consultancy Cambridge Analytica. Senator John Thune (above), the committee chairman, and Bill Nelson, the top Democrat on the Commerce Committee, want Zuckerberg to testify Senator John Thune, the committee chairman, and Bill Nelson (above), the top Democrat on the Commerce Committee, want Zuckerberg to testify LET'S TALK: Lawmakers began pressuring Zuckerberg to testify after the breach was revealed The world's largest social media network is under growing pressure from governments, investors and advertisers. This follows allegations by a whistleblower that British political consultancy Cambridge Analytica improperly accessed users' information to build profiles on American voters that were later used to help elect U.S. President Donald Trump in 2016. 'The hearing will examine the harvesting and sale of personal information from more than 50 million Facebook users, potentially without their notice or consent and in violation of Facebook policy,' chairman Representative Greg Walden, a Republican who chairs the panel, and Frank Pallone, the top Democrat, and other committee leaders wrote in the letter. The House Energy and Commerce Committee did not say when they planned the hearing but it will not happen until Congress returns from a two-week recess. Zuckerberg said this week he would be willing to testify if he is the right person at the company to speak to lawmakers. A Facebook spokesman confirmed the company had received the House letter and was reviewing it, but did not say whether or not Zuckerberg would agree to testify. Separately, the leaders of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee also asked Zuckerberg to testify. Senator John Thune, the committee chairman, and Bill Nelson, the top Democrat, said the committee would work with Facebook 'to find a suitable date for Mr. Zuckerberg to testify in the coming weeks.' Facebook executives spent Wednesday and Thursday on Capitol Hill briefing congressional committee staffers. Two senators also asked the Federal Trade Commission, the leading U.S. consumer regulator, to investigate if other firms improperly obtained user data from Facebook users. The FTC is reviewing whether Facebook violated a 2011 consent decree it reached with the authority over its privacy practices, a person briefed on the matter told Reuters this week. Zuckerberg apologized on Wednesday for the mistakes his company had made and promised to restrict developers' access to user information as part of a plan to protect privacy. His apology has failed to appease investors and advertisers. Facebook shares fell on Friday, although not at the pace of earlier in the week. After opening higher, they were down 1.6 percent at $162, and have fallen around 12 percent since last Friday. The company has lost more than $50 billion in market value since the allegations surfaced. Advertisers Mozilla and German bank Commerzbank have suspended ads on the service and the hashtag #DeleteFacebook remained popular online. On Friday, electric carmaker Tesla Inc's and its rocket company SpaceX's Facebook pages - each with more than 2.6 million followers - were deleted after Chief Executive Elon Musk promised to do so. 'I didn't realize there was one. Will do,' Musk wrote on Twitter, responding to a person urging him to delete the SpaceX page. The Tesla page was taken down shortly afterwards. 'Definitely. Looks lame anyway,' Musk tweeted. Captured: Steven Nacim, 50, was arrested in New Jersey on federal charges of fraud and conspiracy after spending 16 years hiding out from the FBI in his native Morocco An international fugitive suspected of defrauding a dozen small businesses in the US out of $2.8million has been apprehended by the FBI after 16 years on the run. The feds on Friday announced the arrest of 50-year-old Steven Nacim in Newark, New Jersey, after he agreed to surrender. Nacim, a naturalized US citizen, fled to his native Morocco in 2002 after a federal warrant was issued for his arrest stemming from charges of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud. I want to thank the hard-working special agents and law enforcement officials who have been involved with this investigation over the past 16 years, stated Acting Special Agent in Charge Bradley Cohen. Their unwaning efforts and dedication led to the arrest of Mr. Nacim which will now allow for the criminal justice process to continue in this case. Nacim is currently in custody in New Jersey pending his initial appearance before US Magistrate Judge Cathy Waldor. According to a statement from the FBI, Nacim was a part of a large Middle Eastern criminal enterprise operating out of New Jersey and specializing in financial schemes. FBI announced Nacim's arrest in New Jersey on Friday, after he agreed to turn himself in Between March and April of 2002, Nacim and his alleged accomplices ran a company known as Computer 3000, based out of New Jersey and Casablanca, Morocco. The group would allegedly cash fraudulent checks and then wire-transfer the proceeds through multiple other accounts. The suspects were also allegedly involved in the purchasing of computers and other related merchandise from small stores in New Jersey, New York and California, using bad company checks, which would then bounce. The checks were drawn on bank accounts with insufficient funds in them, and the merchandise purchased was shipped to Morocco. The total amount of the fraud was approximately $2.8million. Nacim was indicted on July 31, 2002, and a federal arrest warrant was issued in the United States District Court of Newark, New Jersey. Federal authorities knew from their counterparts abroad that Nacim had been hiding out in Morocco, but the US does not have an extradition treaty with the country. 'Over the years we had contact with him to remind him he was still wanted in the US,' FBI special agent Ed Koby told NJ.com. Abdesslem Reda El Cohen (left) and Mohamed El Cohen (right) are still being sought by the FBI The 50-year-old eventually flew back to Newark on Friday after agreeing to surrender. His accused co-conspirators Mohamed El Cohen,46, and Abdesslem Reda El Cohen, 37, are still being sought by the FBI. Both are thought to be in Morocco. Reda El Cohen was sentenced on April 14, 2004, to serve ten months in prison and was set to report on August 13. However, on April 23 he boarded a flight to Morocco. On December 7, 2009, he was charged a second time for not reporting to prison to serve his sentence. Tyler Austin Miles, 28, the former operations director for a water park in Kansas where the 10-year-old died in 2016, was charged with involuntary manslaughter The former operations director for a water park in Kansas where a 10-year-old boy died on a ride was charged with a crime related to his death on Friday. Tyler Austin Miles, 28, turned himself in on a charge of involuntary manslaughter, the Wayne County Sheriff's Office told DailyMail.com. The charges stems from the August 2016 death of Caleb Schwab, who was decapitated while riding the Verruckt water slide at the Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City. 'Verruckt' translates from German to English as 'crazy' or 'insane.' The company, which Miles left in September for a 'great opportunity,' said it was disappointed in the charge and that its internal investigation found no individual at fault in the tragedy, according to the Kansas City Star. Miles was booked into the Wayne County jail on Friday, with bond set at $50,000. The charge stems from the 2016 death of Caleb Schwab, who was decapitated while riding the Verruckt water slide at Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City Caleb is seen here with his father, Kansas state Representative Scott Schwab Caleb died on August 7, 2016; He was survived by his father, mother, and three brothers Caleb's father, Kansas state Representative Scott Schwab, had taken his family of six to the water park that day thanks to a promotion that allowed elected officials and their families to enter, free of admission charges. They ended up paying the ultimate price, when Caleb lost his life after having his head cut off by what was supposed to be part of a safety measure on the water slide touted as the world's largest, at 17-stories tall and boasting a 168-foot steep descent. The raft Caleb rode on that fateful day went airborne at some point during the ride, and Caleb's body struck a metal pole that was in place to support a netting system installed to keep riders from flying off the slide Advertisements from before the attraction officially opened in 2014 showed rafts flying through the air out of the top of the chute during the building and testing phases for the ride. The raft Caleb rode on that fateful day went airborne at some point during the ride, and Caleb's body struck a metal pole that was in place to support a netting system installed to keep riders from flying off the slide. KCK Police described his death as resulting from a 'fatal neck injury.' Schlitterbahn, which operates across the US as a water park developer based in New Braunfels, Texas, told The Star the company was disappointed that 'any individual was being personally charged for the terrible accident on Verruckt.' 'Our review of the facts and circumstances of the accident has never shown any evidence of criminal conduct on the part of anyone,' Winter Prosapio, a spokeswoman for Schlitterbahn, wrote in an email. Prosapio added, specifically of Miles, that the company 'stand[s] by him and [we] are shocked by these allegations.' 'Throughout his employment with us, our operations director, Tyler, demonstrated the highest dedication to safety, from the training of our lifeguards and ride operators, to ensuring all rides have operated in accordance with our strict protocols,' he added. 'He was conscientious and committed to providing visitors to the water park a safe and enjoyable experience. Tyler left us in September to accept great opportunity; we were sorry to see him go and wished him well.' The Verruckt (pictured) featured a 17-story plunge and reached speeds of up to 70 mph Two women, Hannah Barnes and Matraca Baetz, who rode behind Caleb on that ride were also seriously injured, but survived The company maintained it was 'shocked by any allegations of impropriety or negligence on the part of anyone associated with Verruckt,' despite findings from an independent investigation conducted by The Star that the design of the ride had serious flaws and the state of Kansas was severely lacking in amusement ride regulation. Governor Sam Brownback signed a law into effect in April 2017, requiring new oversight meant to ensure safety of these types of rides, but implementation has been stalled due to concerns about the ability of fair and carnival operators to comply. Two women, Hannah Barnes and Matraca Baetz, who rode behind Caleb on that ride were also seriously injured, but survived. They reportedly settled lawsuits with the water park for undisclosed sums. Caleb's family settled a multiple defendant lawsuit with Schlitterbahn, an affiliated general contractor called Henry & Sons Construction, the raft manufacturer Zebec USA and a consultant named John Hunsucker for $19.7 million Caleb's family also settled a multiple defendant lawsuit with Schlitterbahn, an affiliated general contractor called Henry & Sons Construction, the raft manufacturer Zebec USA and a consultant named John Hunsucker for $19.7 million. Schlitterbahn closed its Kansas City, Kansas location for two days after Caleb's death, and never re-opened the Verruckt water slide. The slide, however, still remains standing due to a court order to facilitate investigation. The park opened in 2017, and is scheduled to reopen for the 2018 season on May 25. Neither the Schwab family nor Miles could immediately be reached for comment. Caleb died on August 7, 2016. He was survived by his father, mother, and three brothers. Richard Lee Quintero, 46, was arrested on Wednesday morning after he broke into a Pizza Hut and called the police on himself claiming to be Jesus Christ A North Carolina man claiming to be Jesus Christ broke into Pizza Hut and called the police on himself saying 'Jesus is here now, he's back to earth'. Police arrived on the scene to arrest Richard Lee Quintero, 46, for breaking into the pizza joint at 4:30am on Wednesday. In the bizarre phone call audio obtained by WFMY, Quintero says he has schizophrenia and goes on to describe how he broke the window at the High Point restaurant saying 'Im Jesus, I can do whatever I want'. The call starts with Quintero giving himself a divine introduction. 'Yes, this is Jesus Christ and I just broke into the Pizza Hut. I broke the window. Jesus is here now, hes back to earth,' he said. The restaurant's alarm can be heard going off in the background. 'I just broke in, had a pizza...had a Mountain Dew,' he said on the phone. The dispatcher then asks where Quintero came from. 'I'm from heaven,' he answered. He broke into this Pizza Hut at 4:40am, ate a pizza and drank a Mountain Dew before calling the cops on himself 'Im Jesus, I can do whatever I want. Were tired of Judases on this earth. Were going to clean this earth up,' he added. The police asked what he looked like to which he said: 'I look like Jesus what else am I supposed to look like?' When asked if he was armed, Quintero said he's nonviolent then began to tell the truth about his background. 'No Im not violent sir. Just hungry. Yeah I was starving to death. Everybodys been treating me mean in this town. Im from Indiana,' he said. He later told the dispatcher that he has schizophrenia. Police arrived to the Pizza Hut at 4:45am, Quintero was taken into custody without incident, according to the Miami Herald. He was charged with felony breaking and entering and felony larceny. A family ended up having an encounter with a bear that was a little too close for comfort. Kim Vastola and her two sons were staying at the Quality Inn-Creekside in downtown Gatlinburg in Tennessee when a mamma grizzly ended up walking past the front door to their motel room. Vastola said the employees at the front desk of the property had warned her about possible bear sightings but told her not to worry. A family got the shock of their life after they saw a bear outside of their motel room One member of the family walked right up to the bear with his cellphone to shoot this video Feeling reassured that such sightings were unusual they got the shock of their life when when one decided to make its way past their front porch. 'I was shocked first of all. I thought I cannot believe this thing is around people,' Vastola said to WATE. On the video, her son can be heard talking to the bear before it lunged forward at him. She said that there was a barrier between them and her son was never in any danger that the bear would attack them despite its proximity. The bear quickly made a lunge at him and the boy quickly retreated. The family say they weren't in any danger because of the metal barrier between the pair The bear ended up making off with some to-go food that had been left outside the front door 'I wouldn't have put myself or my kids in danger if I thought for a minute that he could get to us,' said Vastola. The bear ended up walking off with a to-go bag of food that had been left outside. An employee at Quality Inn said a maintenance man had left trash outside the rooms earlier that usual that may have been one reason why the bear was attracted to the area. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency says bears are often tempted to head to where humans live n order to find an easy meal. A Florida man has been arrested for allegedly going on a murderous rampage that claimed the lives of his girlfriend and their 11-year-old daughter, during which he was heard screaming 'Allah Akbar' and ranting about demons. Ronnie ONeal III, 29, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, and one count each of attempted murder, arson and resisting arrest. According to a detailed incident reported released by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, at around 11.43pm on Sunday, the county's emergency dispatch center received a 911 call from a woman, later identified as Kenyatta Keke Barron, 33, repeatedly pleading for help and saying she had been shot. Scroll down for video Deadly rampage: Ronnie O'Neal III (left), 29, has been charged with shooting to death his girlfriend, Kenyatta Keke Barron (right), 33, fatally stabbing their daughter and injuring their son in Florida Barron called 911 saying she had been shot and summoned deputies to 130000 block of Pike Lake Drive in Gibsonton, Florida, on Sunday night As she was trying to provide an address to the dispatcher, a male voice apparently belonging to ONeal could be heard in the background yelling, Allah Akbar, which means 'God is greatest' in Arabic. O'Neal identified himself on Facebook as a member of The Nation of Islam, according to Fox 13. Barron told ONeal, Im so sorry, Ronnie and then began screaming. The call ended after ONeal uttered cryptically, she killed me, then directed a neighbor to call 911. At 11.51pm, ONeal called 911, telling a dispatcher: I've just been attacked by some white demons. He added: Her name is KeKe and she tried to kill me and I just killed her. ONeal gave the dispatcher an address of a house in the 130000 block of Pike Lake Drive in Gibsonton, Florida. The dispatcher asked the male caller if KeKe tried to attack him, and he replied: yes, she tried to kill me! Deputies arrived at the scene to find Barron lying unresponsive on the front lawn of the house on Pike Lake Drive, which O'Neal allegedly set on fire while responding paramedics were trying to render aid to the dying woman. O'Neal told a 911 dispatcher he had been attacked by 'white demons,' one of whom was his girlfriend 'Keke,' whom he ended up killing. Barron was later found dead in front of her house O'Neal allegedly set the house on fire, which left his wounded son with burns The officers then forced their way inside the house, at which point the door of the garage opened and a blood-spattered Ronnie ONeal walked out and headed towards the deputies. They gave O'Neal multiple commands to stop and get on the ground, but he ignored them, prompting the officers to Taser him. ONeal was bundled into the back of a patrol vehicle, where he began repeating, Allah Akbar.' Meanwhile, deputies turned their attention back to the burning house and found inside Barron and ONeals nine-year-old son, Ronnie O'Neal IV, suffering from burns and multiple stab wounds. A further search of the residence led officers to the body of Barron and O'Neal's 11-year-old daughter, later identified as Ron'Niveya O'Neal. She was pronounced dead at the scene. ONeal made his first court appearance on Tuesday (pictured in custody) While medics were administering first aid to the boy, he stated, my father shot my mother. He was later transported to Tampa General Hospital, where he underwent surgery and was listed in stable condition. ONeal made his first court appearance on Tuesday. He was being held at the Hillsborough County Jail. The father-of-three had past criminal history, which included charges of marijuana possession and driving without a license, reported Tampa Bay Times. Speaking to Fox 13, Barron's cousin Angela Gaudette described the victim as a loving mother who did all she could for her children, and an all-around sweet person. A bikini top and a single boot was all that was returned to a college student, now living abroad, whose luggage was lost during a winter storm that crippled New York's JFK airport months ago. Rutgers student Aly Abrams, 21, was moving to Spain to study abroad for five months and says she had pretty much her entire wardrobe with her for the long journey. When Air Europa finally returned her luggage, it was ripped open and crudely taped back together. It contained just the two paltry items, which each on their own are useless. Aly Abrams traveled to Spain for a five month study abroad and packed almost her entire wardrobe for the long journey- but she says Air Europa lost her luggage for months Abrams was traveling during the winter storm that led to several events crippling JFK airport in New York where passengers were separated from their luggage- when her bag finally was returned to her it only had a bikini top and a boot (pictured) The college student's bag was returned ripped and crudely taped closed with just the two items inside After months of back and forth with Air Europa, Abrams says she was offered just $180 for her troubles. She says she lost about $7,000 in clothing She says she lost about $7,000 in clothes, and has spent months going back and forth with the airline trying to locate her items. 'It's like a slap in the face,' Abrams told NBC4 New York, adding she had everything inside the bag. 'All my clothes. All my jeans. All my skirts. All my dresses.' After spending over two months filing claims with the airline, she recieved an email back that read: 'We would like to apologize for the inconvenience that this incident may have caused.' The airline then offered her just $180.32 for for the thousands of dollars in clothing she lost. 'I thought it was a joke,' Abrams said. 'After all this, so much time wasted. And so much money was wasted.' If she accepts the $180.32 and signs off on it, Abrams says she won't be able to continue pursuing the right amount for her loss. She says she won't give up fighting for whats she is due. 'You would think an airline would want to have your safety and be responsible for something,' she said. The JFK chaos started on January 4, when the powerful 'bomb cyclone' hit New York and forced the airport to close for a day. Abrams is currently on her study abroad and had to deal with the airline and her lost luggage since her trip began In this Jan. 8 photo, unclaimed baggage sits at New York's JFK Airport after a water pipe burst following several days of weather-related delays in the wake of a powerful winter storm The next day, the airport reopened at 7am, and employees were faced with a backlog of flights trying to get in and out. Temperatures in the low teens also impacted equipment. On January 6, two planes collided with one another and then a water main burst and flooded a Terminal 4 on January 7. Amid the chaos, tens of thousands of pieces of luggage got separated from their owners. Two people have been charged with manslaughter after their four dogs mauled a woman to death. Amanda Albright, 40, and Doyle Patterson, 47, from Guntersville, Alabama, were charged for the death of a 46-year-old woman, officials say. Last year, Tracey Cornelius, 46, was killed after she ran out of her home to help a woman who was being mauled by four dogs. Marshall County deputies arrested Albright and Patterson on Friday and charged them with manslaughter and second-degree assault. Amanda Albright, 40, (left) and Doyle Patterson, 47, (right) from Guntersville, Alabama were charged with manslaughter and second-degree assault after their four dogs mauled two women The four dogs who were involved in the attack were put down after they killed one woman and seriously injured another. Albright and Patterson owned the four dogs who attacked the two women on Nov. 29, 2017. It is unclear what breed the dogs were who were involved in the attack. Albright and Patterson were arrested and indicted by the grand jury in Alabama on two charges for the attack. If they are convicted, both could face up to 30 years in prison. The pair has been released on $20,000 bail from the Marshall County Jail in Alabama. As President Donald Trump left Washington Friday afternoon for his private Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, preparations were underway down the street for the 'March For Our Lives' gun control event. Trump couldn't resist tweeting a boastful message on his way out of the White House, saying his administration had effectively banned bump stocks trigger devices that turn ordinary rifles into rapid-fire weapons akin to machine guns. And he made a dubious claim that his predecessor had made bump stocks legal to sell and own. 'Obama Administration legalized bump stocks. BAD IDEA,' Trump tweeted. 'As I promised, today the Department of Justice will issue the rule banning BUMP STOCKS with a mandated comment period. We will BAN all devices that turn legal weapons into illegal machine guns.' The Justice Department said Friday that it would reclassify bump stocks like the one seen above (at left) so they will fall under the same category as machine guns, which have been essentially illegal for civilians to buy since 1968 President Donald Trump boasted Friday that his government was poised to outlaw bump stocks, and claimed his predecessor had mad the deadly rifle accessories legal 'We will BAN all devices that turn legal weapons into illegal machine guns,' Trump tweeted Bump stocks like this one shown on an AK-47 rifle essentially grip the rear end of a semi-automatic long gun, allowing a shooter to hold down the trigger and rely on the gun's recoil to establish rapid firing Bump stocks were already being sold in the U.S. when Barack Obama became president in January 2009. His Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ruled in 2010, however, that their legal authority didn't extend far enough to regulate them since they don't physically alter the firing mechanism of rifles. Instead, the agency decided, bump stocks are mere 'firearm parts.' Trump's ATF made the same determination last year following a massacre in Las Vegas where the shooter used a bump stock to maximize his rate of deadly gunfire. The agency urged Congress to write a law to ban them instead, a dicey proposition that would require the assent of the powerful National Rifle Association in order to attract Republican votes. The Trump administration's action on bump stocks came the day before gun control activists were scheduled to descend on Washington, D.C. for an anti-firearms march Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Friday that the Justice Department planned to reclassify bump stocks as 'machineguns' President Barack Obama's administration didn't legalize bump stocks, which were already being sold prior to his inauguration, but his ATF did decide it lacked the legal authority to regulate them The NRA quickly filed a lawsuit this month after Florida's legislature outlawed bump stocks unilaterally and Rick Scott, the state's Republican governor, signed the measure into law. The group sees ATF regulations as an acceptable compromise, an NRA insider told DailyMail.com on Friday, since it would be easier to reverse in the future than a federal statute. But on Friday afternoon Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Justice Department planned to reclassify bump stocks as 'machineguns' on its own, lumping them in with other devices that 'harness recoil energy to facilitate the continuous operation of a semiautomatic long gun after a single pull of the trigger.' People are led out of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the site of a mass shooting, on February 15, 2018 in Parkland, Florida Good Samaritans carry a person at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, after a gunman opened fire from a hotel room where his weapons were augmented by a bump stock 'A semiautomatic firearm to which a bump-stock-type device is attached is able to produce automatic fire with a single pull of the trigger,' the Justice Department explained in its rulemaking proposal on Friday The new regulation won't be final until the public has had 90 days to comment on it. But Sessions called it 'a critical step in our effort to reduce the threat of gun violence that is in keeping with the Constitution and the laws passed by Congress.' Despite the national outrage over the Las Vegas shooting last fall, Trump didn't act until after the shooting deaths of 17 people at a Florida high school in February a bloodbath in which bump stocks did not play a part. 'You don't have to complicate the bill by adding another two paragraphs. We're getting rid of it,' he told a bipartisan group of U.S. senators at the White House in late February. 'We can do that with an executive order.' 'I'm going to write the bump stock essentially, write it out. So you won't have to worry about bump stocks. Shortly that will be gone. We can focus on other things.' Reversing the ATF's 2010 decision could prompt manufacturers of bump stocks to sue in court, casting the move as an admission that the original ruling was legally flawed. The sale of machine guns in the U.S. has been limited to law enforcement and the military since 1968. The First Family has put on a show of unity, disembarking from Air Force one together after Melania Trump boarded separately from her husband. President Donald Trump disembarked at Palm Beach International Airport together with Melania and Barron, using the main door and rolling staircase on Friday evening at the start of a weekend at Mar-a-Lago. The scene appeared somewhat awkward however, with Melania exiting the plane behind her husband and then stepping past him with her left hand in her pocket and right hand holding the stair rail. The First Lady continued walking a few steps ahead of the President and did not hold his hand as they got into the motorcade. Trump flashed two thumbs up from inside the motorcade as it departed the airport. Earlier Friday, Melania and the president avoided a public show of unity at the White House before Sunday's interview with the porn star who claims to have been his lover. Donald Trump instead walked alone across the South Lawn to Marine One and then used the lower, less showy, entrance to Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. It comes as 60 Minutes prepares to release an interview with Stormy Daniels on Sunday, amid new hints from her lawyer that she has photos backing up her claims of an affair. Trump flashed two thumbs up from inside his motorcade as it departed the airport Trump waves from 'The Beast', as his armored car is known, departing Palm Beach International Airport for Mar-a-Lago with Melania and Barron Melania exited Air Force One behind Trump and Barron but quickly powered past her husband with her left hand in her pocket before walking down the steps ahead of him President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and their son Barron Trump arrive on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach on Friday evening The President, First Lady, and son Barron walk down the rolling staircase from Air Force One Melania was hard to read as she walked a few steps ahead of Trump. On Sunday night, 60 Minutes is airing an explosive interview with porn star Stormy Daniels Barron Trump, son of President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, bounds to their motorcade vehicle after arriving on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport Trump gets into his motorcade vehicle after arriving on Air Force One Melania walks around the rear to get into the other side of the vehicle at the airport Trump's motorcade passes a sign calling for his impeachment on the way to Mar-a-Lago The first couple was publicly affectionate during the week, with Trump helping her when she stumbled on the way to Marine One on Monday, and the First Lady posting a picture of them together during Wednesday's nor'easter storm which had blanketed the White House grounds in snow. That was before Thursday night's series of claims from a Playboy model that she had unprotected sex with Trump 'dozens of times' during an extended affair and that she even showed him his wife's Trump Tower bedroom. Then Stormy Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti posted a photo on Twitter late Thursday showing a CD inside an opened safe. 'If "a picture is worth a thousand words," how many words is this worth?????#60minutes #pleasedenyit #basta,' he wrote. 'Basta' is the Italian word for 'enough.' Whether the First Lady was feeling 'basta' herself was unclear. She appeared at the State Department early Friday afternoon to honor the ten winners of the International Women of Courage Award and also tweeted pictures of her cooing with children in the White House kitchen. Discreet entrance: Earlier Friday, Trump used the front stairs to the lower level of Air Force One which are self-contained, making for a more discreet entrance to his plane A man alone: Trump set off for Mar-a-Lago with a walk across the White House south lawn to Marine One by himself Supporters: Trump backers were gathered on the South Lawn to greet the president but did not get an encounter with the First Lady Hail to the chief: Trump is expected back at the White House on Sunday - while 60 Minutes' interview with Stormy Daniels will also air then Hail to the chief:An Air Force chief master sergeant (left) and technical sergeant (right) salute Trump as he prepares to board AF1 On board: The president used the lower, less showy entrance, to the presidential plane, while Melania Trump had already boarded unseen Thursday night had offered an unpleasant prelude to the 60 Minutes interview. Thursday saw Anderson Cooper - who has interviewed Daniels - sit down with Karen McDougal, the former Playboy Playmate who alleges she had an affair with President Donald Trump. She told how she was in love with the then-reality television star with whom she 'had unprotected sex dozens of times' after they met in 2006. She developed feelings for the then-Apprentice host during their 10-month relationship, she said. McDougal, 46, also told CNN that she and Trump had sex on their first date and that she went home afterward crying in the backseat of a car when he offered her cash after they made love. 'After we had been intimate, he tried to pay me, and I actually didn't know how to take that,' she said. She said she was hurt by the cash offer, which she turned down. Here she is: The first lady donned a pink suit and a bright yellow top to honor the 10 recipients of the International Women of Courage Award earlier in the day In addition to the awards ceremony, Melania received a special White House visit from sisters Celia and Natalie and tweeted pictures of them cooking in the White House kitchen First lady Melania Trump posted a photo smiling alongside President Donald Trump during the Wednesday storm which blanketed much of the north-east. It was a notable show of solidarity Falling in love: President Trump, 70, yanked his third wife, 47, closer to his side as she put her arm around him when he saved her from stumbling on the White House lawn in a public display of affection 'I don't even know how to describe the look on my face,' she said. 'It must have been so sad.' Later that year she was also given an apartment in New York City as a Christmas gift, but lost it after the two split. The White House has denied the president had an affair with McDougal. McDougal also tearfully recalls feeling guilty when she went to Trump's apartment in Trump Tower and he showed her Melania Trump's bedroom. McDougal thought it was odd that Trump's wife slept in a separate bedroom. 'I thought maybe they were having issues,' she said. McDougal expressed regret over the affair, saying she felt guilty. Nonetheless, despite the guilt, she carried on with Trump for the better part of a year. 'When I look back, I know it's wrong,' the 1998 Playmate of the Year said. 'I'm really sorry for that. I know it's the wrong thing to do. 'There was a real relationship there, and I kind of out of sight, out of mind with everything else. 'And deep inside, I did have a lot of guilt. But I still continued.' 'What can you say except I'm sorry?' she said. 'I'm sorry. I wouldn't want it done to me.' Avoiding an awkward image: This picture of the Clintons on the South Lawn the day after Bill testified to a grand jury about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky summed up the froideur between the cheating president and his first lady - but the Trumps did not offer a parallel on Friday Stormy Daniels' lawyer upped the ante on Donald Trump, tweeting a photo on Thursday that suggests there's photographic or video evidence of the president's affair with the porn star CBS will air a taped interview with the 39-year-old Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, on Sunday night In her first television interview, McDougal told Anderson Cooper of CNN that she developed feelings for the then-real estate mogul during their 10-month relationship Karen McDougal (pictured with Donald Trump in 2006 above) says she met the future president at a Playboy Mansion party in 2006, shortly after his wife Melania had given birth to their son Barron The interview with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is scheduled to air Sunday on the CBS '60 Minutes' program. Earlier this month Avenatti refused to say whether Daniels has visual evidence of her claims. But in a letter to Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, Avenatti wrote that Daniels wanted to be released from a 2016 nondisclosure agreement that she signed in exchange for $130,000. Declaring the agreement null and void, he wrote, would permit her to 'use and publish any text messages, photos and/or videos relating to the President that she may have in her possession.' Avenatti demanded Thursday that the Trump Organization, the president's real estate company, preserve all of its records relating to the $130,000 payment. Citing 'unmistakable links' between Trump's company and the confidentiality agreement, he said he intended to subpoena the firm for the same documents. In his letter, Avenatti demanded they preserve all emails by Cohen that mention Daniels, as well as any emails and text messages related to the alleged relationship. He sent similar demand letters to two banks, asking they preserve documents connected to the transaction. Avenatti also enclosed an email showing Cohen used his Trump Organization email address in correspondence with a representative from one of the banks. In the e-mail, the representative said funds had been deposited in Cohen's account. Cohen has denied there was ever an affair and said he paid the $130,000 out of his pocket, using a Home equity Line of Credit to get the funds. He has said neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Clifford and he was not reimbursed for the payment. 'We intend on using all legal means at our disposal to uncover the truth about the cover-up and what happened,' Avenatti said Thursday. 'When we are done, the truth will be laid bare for the American people.' Clifford filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles earlier this month seeking to invalidate the agreement so she could 'set the record straight' and discuss her alleged relationship with Trump, which she said began in 2006 and continued for about a year. The lawsuit said their relationship included encounters in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and Beverly Hills, California. Trump married his current wife, Melania Trump, in 2005, and their son, Barron, was born in 2006. Stormy Daniels says she had an affair with Trump around the time this photograph was taken; Barron his youngest son, was just four months old when it began Trump attorney Michael Cohen insists he took $130,000 from a Home Equity Line of Credit and paid Daniels her hush money out of his own pocket Clifford has also offered to repay the $130,000 in hush money and argued in court documents that the agreement is legally invalid because Trump never personally signed it. The letter also charged that Cohen 'attempted to interfere' with Clifford's ability to hire Avenatti as her attorney, but provided no additional details. Avenatti also noted in his letter on Thursday that Jill Martin, another Trump Organization attorney, had initiated an arbitration proceeding in Clifford's case, which the company said did in her 'individual capacity.' The maths teacher who recently had his double-life as a gay porn star uncovered by students who found videos and X-rated photos of him online is from Brisbane. Scott Sherwood was teaching in the UK when he was outed by pupils at the Peacehaven Community School in East Sussex. It has now emerged Mr Sherwood, 36, is originally from Brisbane, the Courier Mail reports on Saturday. Scott Sherwood, pictured, originally from Brisbane but now living in the UK, flew out to appear in films in the US while he was teaching at the school in East Sussex The 36-year-old teacher and adult model was outed by pupils at the Peacehaven Community School in East Sussex Shocked students found out the teacher had been performing as a gay adult actor under the stage name Aaron Cage after Googling his real name. The bearded teacher, who has appeared in movies titled Gruff Stuff, Man Power and A Soldier's Goodbye, has since been suspended by the school. An investigation is now under way, the school's head teacher said in a letter to parents. Austen Hindman, who is the acting head at the Sussex secondary school, wrote: 'You may be aware of articles in the media concerning a member of staff at the school. Shocked students found out the teacher had been performing as a gay adult actor under the stage name Aaron Cage Mr Sherwood appeared in many adult films for the Colt Studio - a gay porn production company based in San Francisco 'I'd like to reassure you that we are well aware of the situation. 'The member of staff in question will not be in school by mutual agreement while we carry out a full investigation. 'It would be inappropriate for me to make any further comment while this investigation is ongoing.' Mr Sherwood had previously been working for 15 years as a bodybuilder and personal trainer and has lived in England for the past 23 years, according to the Courier Mail. One pupil commented identfying him as her maths teacher on YouTube clip after she found the teacher and porn star being interviewed online The educator became a porn model eight years ago - during which time he was also teaching at the secondary school. He started working as a part-time supply teacher, moving into a full-time role in 2017. Mr Sherwood is a mentor and form tutor for Year 10 students at the 850-pupil school. He gained a maths degree from the University of Sussex in 2015 and taught at Rodmell Primary School near Lewes for two years in 2012, according British newspaper The Sun. Mr Sherwood had previously been working for 15 years as a bodybuilder and personal trainer and has lived in England for the past 23 years The teacher flew out to the US to shoot movies with Colt Studio Group - a firm which boasts a 50-year porn industry history and specialises in 'all male erotica' and gay porn. Its website lists Mr Sherwood's sexual preferences as well as his height as 1.8m and weight as 108kg. The Australian recently said in an interview that porn should not be regarded as work and described it as 'a second job at best'. A secondary school pupil exposed the porn star's real identity after finding a video of him on YouTube, under which she wrote he was her maths teacher, according to Mirror Online. In an interview the porn star revealed his most embarrassing incident occurred when he got too carried away with his co-star Children then started circulating explicit pictures of the teacher to each other. Mr Sherwood has not been working since the allegations surfaced. One mother said students were threatened with detention for discussing the controversy. 'My daughter is in Year 10 and another child found things online and put them on the computer for everyone to see,' she said. 'My son is in Year 7 and found out about it in the lunch hall while all the children were talking about it.' In the Colt Studio 2018 calendar, he featured as Mr January and the movies in which he appears include Gruff Stuff and Manpower. An investigation is now under way about Mr Sherwood (pictured), the school's head teacher said in a letter to parents Mr Sherwood, who lives with his partner in Seaford, revealed his most embarrassing on-set incident in a recent interview. He revealed he had got too carried away with his co-star before the cameras had even started rolling. 'We kind of forgot we were being filmed and were just enjoying ourselves,' he said. 'It wasn't very professional. 'Yes, your co-star may be hot but you are both there for the camera and the viewer not entirely for yourselves.' Mr Sherwood took on a full-time role at the East Sussex school (pictured) last year after starting as a part-time supply teacher In the clip, he also joked about what his mother would think if she discovered his secret porn career. 'My mum's English,' he said. 'I'm still waiting for the birds and bees conversation. Don't worry, Mum, I've worked it out. 'I think she'd be shocked and, for her generation, understandably.' All the curtains and blinds in the house were shut at Mr Sherwood's 350,000 bungalow in Seaford, East Sussex today. Five miles away at Peacehaven Community School, where Mr Sherwood is still listed as a maths teacher, a spokesman refused to comment. Series note: Most of us realize that, for all our disagreements, our neighbors often have the best of intentions. But when it comes to public policy, good intentions are not enough to create human flourishing. Thats why a primary task of the Acton Institute is connecting good intentions with sound economics. Without sound economics as a foundation, good intentions tend to lead to detrimental unintended consequences. In this occasional series we examine policies and practices that are well-intended, but have negative, harmful, or otherwise unintended consequences. If youve ever filled out a job application, youve probably had to check a box that ask whether you have a criminal record or have ever been convicted of a crime. For many applicants, that box is an insurmountable obstacle to gaining employment. An applicant with a criminal record often doesnt even get the chance to explain their circumstances; the application is simply rejected by employers unwilling to take a risk. Because of this discrimination against people with criminal records, there has been a growing movement to advocate for ban the box legislation. According to the National Employment Law Project, 30 states have adopted statewide laws or policies that prohibit such inquiries into job applicants records until later in the hiring process. Currently, there are now over 230 million people in the United Statesover two-thirds of the U.S. populationthat live in a jurisdiction with some form of ban-the-box policy. Such legislation is intended to make it easier for those with a criminal records to find gainful employment. But several studies have shown the policies can have the unintended consequence of making it harder for certain groupsespecially minority mento get jobs. For example, a study published last month in The Quarterly Journal of Economics found ban-the-box policies encourage racial discrimination. Before the policies were put in place employers gave white applicants seven percent more callbacks than black applicants. After the policies were implemented, white applicants got 43 percent more callbacks than black applicants. We believe that the best interpretation of these results is that employers are relying on exaggerated impressions of real-world racial differences in felony conviction rates, the studys authors wrote. A working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found a similar result. This study found that black and Hispanic men between the ages of 25 and 34 who do not have a college degree are less likely to be employed under ban-the-box policies. Young, low-skilled black men are 5.1 percent less likely, on average, to be employed after such policies are adopted, while young, low-skilled Hispanic men are, on average, 2.9 percent less likely to be employed. (Another working paper published this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research found a link between ban-the-box policies and a rise in property crime committed by Hispanic men. The laws adoption is associated with a 16.5 percent increase in property crimes committed by Hispanic men between the ages of 25 and 34 and a 17.5 percent increase in property crimes among Hispanic men aged 35 to 64. Researchers found no evidence of increased crime for black men or non-Hispanic white men.) Ban-the-box policies are a well-intended effort to help those whove paid their debt to society find work. But as the studies show, when government attempts to reduce the transparency at the individual level employers resort to discrimination on broader factors, such as race. Fair-chance hiring practices should be encouraged, and we should find ways to remove barriers to employment for those trying to turn their life around. But ban-the-box policies arent a solutiontheyre just creating new and unintended problems. Kathy Griffin has announced that she will attend this years White House Correspondents Dinner Kathy Griffin has announced that she will attend this years White House Correspondents Dinner almost a year after she recorded a video of herself holding a severed head depicting President Donald Trump. Trump skipped last years dinner, an annual Washington, DC event dubbed nerd prom because of its mix of politicians, journalists, and other movers and shakers who attend. During past administrations, the president would attend the dinner and deliver a comic monologue poking fun at the press and his political rivals. It is not clear if Trump will attend this year. Throughout his political campaign and presidency, Trump has attacked the news media as fake news and the enemy of the people. Griffin posted a message on Twitter Friday saying that she was invited to the annual event as a guest of The Washington Blade, the nations oldest LGBT newspaper. Trumps administration has been criticized widely by the LGBT community for its socially conservative agenda. Griffin posted a message on Twitter Friday saying that she was invited to the annual event as a guest of The Washington Blade, the nations oldest LGBT newspaper Griffin, 57, has been an outspoken supporter of gay and transgender rights, including the legalization of same-sex marriage. The actress and comedian sparked nationwide outrage last year for the photo shoot in which she is seen holding a blood-soaked, severed head of a doll depicting Trump. Initially, Griffin apologized for the photo that appeared last May, taken by photographer Tyler Shields and posted on social media. But she later said she was no longer sorry, because the reaction had gotten so out of hand. Griffin's career appears back on track almost a year after she recorded a video of herself holding a severed head depicting President Donald Trump As a result of the backlash, she lost her job as a pitchwoman for Squatty Potty, the toilet stool company. Griffin was also fired by CNN, which hired her to co-host the networks New Years Eve broadcast alongside Anderson Cooper. She was also forced to cancel the remaining dates on her tour when venues told her she was not welcome. Griffin was also investigated by the Secret Service, though no charges were ever filed. In the 10 months since the controversy erupted, Griffin has been busy plotting her comeback. She announced on HBO's Real Time With Bill Maher earlier this month that she had just booked upcoming shows at New York's Carnegie Hall and at Washington's Kennedy Center - 'Trump's backyard,' she called it. A rep for Carnegie Hall told the Los Angeles Times that Griffins show, scheduled for June 26, sold out in less than 24 hours. Im in shock, Griffin tweeted on Saturday. For most of the past year I was convinced that my career was over. I have felt moments of despair that I cant describe in a tweet. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am so grateful. The backlash resulted in Griffin's tour being canceled and her losing jobs. Earlier this month, she told HBO's Bill Maher (right) that she would resume touring in the US after a nearly year-long hiatus During her segment with Maher, she said: I'm dipping my toes into touring again. The Grammy- and Emmy-award winning performer told Maher that the Republican president and his supporters would prefer she never worked again. Griffin's appearance on Maher's show - and what she called her small victorious announcement - appeared to mark the beginning of her comeback, after the backlash over the offending photo last May badly hurt her ability to work. TMZ was reporting my show cancellations in real time, she said of her standup tour. Unable to tour in the United States, Griffin went overseas, performing in 23 cities in 15 countries, she said. But because she was under investigation in the United States, she was detained at every single airport, she said. Griffin thanked Maher for being one of the only celebrities who publicly supported her during the ordeal. Introducing Griffin, Maher told the audience that she is a good American who loves her country and should be able to work in it. Referring to the desire of some Trump supporters to decimate her, she raised her arms defiantly and exclaimed, I'm not decimated! The nephew of actress Elizabeth Hurley has shared a photo of his first steps since he was brutally stabbed two weeks ago. Miles Hurley, 21, was rushed to hospital after he and a friend were stabbed following a minor road crash in south-west London on March 8. Mr Hurley shared a picture to Instagram in which he stood in front of a leafy, outdoor backdrop which he captioned 'first walk in two weeks'. Elizabeth Hurley's nephew Miles, 21, was stabbed two weeks ago and has now shared a photo of himself walking for the first time since the attack The full caption read: 'R & R with the boys, first walk in 2 weeks.' The photo shows the model making a recovery from the horrific wounds he suffered in the attack. Earlier this week, his famous aunt tweeted a graphic picture of the knife wound in his back on Twitter. In another post, she revealed that the five men who attacked Mr Hurley - who lost four pints of blood from the stabbing - had also tried to stuff him into the boot of their car. Mr Hurley and his friend, also 21, were driving along Wandsworth Road in a beige Fiat 500 when they were involved in a crash with a black hatchback. A row broke out and led to a high-speed chase, which ended when both groups got out of the cars and the model and his friend were attacked. His famous aunt took to Twitter last week to share the shocking wound her nephew suffered and called on any witnesses to come forward Under the heading 'Let's find these vicious knifemen and make our streets safer' Hurley wrote on Twitter: 'The victims drove to Ascalon Road, and got out of their car. 'The suspects also stopped, got out of their vehicle, attempted and failed to abduct my nephew by putting him in the trunk of their car, stabbed them both and drove off.' Last weekend, she took to Instagram and pledged to help make the capital's streets safer: 'We need to make our streets safer and I want to be part of the movement to achieve that. I hope you will join me.' She added: 'Thank you to all who sent such kind messages following the news that my nephew was viciously stabbed last week. His wound is shocking, he remains in great pain and he can hardly move, but he is slowly recovering.' Scotland Yard had previously released a CCTV clip of the black hatchback, which had blacked-out windows. They said they are trying to trace the vehicle. Scotland Yard released CCTV footage of the black hatchback that had been involved in the collision with Mr Hurley Detectives are appealing for anyone who saw either the beige Fiat 500 or black hatchback on Wandsworth Road and in the Patmore Estate at about 8.45pm on March 8 to contact them. The driver of the suspects' car was white or mixed race, aged in his early to mid-20s, 6ft, well-built and with a shaved head and stubble. He was wearing a navy blue tracksuit. His passengers were all young black men, police said. Detective Constable Simon Monga said: 'This was a violent and unnecessary attack. A minor traffic collision has resulted in two men being stabbed. It is only by sheer luck that their injuries are not more serious. 'If you have any information about the stabbing and the identity of the suspects, please call police without delay. It is vitally important that we trace these people.' Anyone with information can contact Wandsworth CID on 0203 276 2603 or 101 quoting ref: 7495/8March. Bill and Hillary Clinton have made a rare join appearance in public, attending the funeral of Congresswoman Louise Slaughter. Hillary Clinton eulogized her fellow Democrat at the service in Rochester, New York on Friday commemorating Slaughter, who died at 88 last week as the oldest serving member of Congress. 'Even her opponents couldn't help liking her and respecting her,' Hillary Clinton said. 'Louise never forgot she stood on the shoulders of brave trailblazers and history makers. She picked up their torch. She carried it proudly throughout her career,' Hillary Clinton said. Bill and Hillary Clinton greet Rep. John Lewis (left) and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi at the funeral service for Louise Slaughter in Rochester, New York on Friday Hillary Clinton speaks at the funeral service honoring Congresswoman Louise Slaughter Clinton tells a funny memory of how after New York Congresswoman Louise Slaughter broke her leg, she told Clinton she had a new slogan: 'vote for Louise, she has a leg up' Slaughter, a Kentucky coal miner's daughter who never lost her lilting Southern accent, died March 16 following a fall in her Washington home. She was 88 and had represented her district for 31 years. Clinton said Slaughter took her under her wing when the former first lady was elected to represent New York in the Senate in 2000. Slaughter had done the same for many other women in Washington DC, said Clinton. It is believed to be the first time since Clinton and her husband have been photographed together in public since a January 26 awards show in New York City. US Rep. John Lewis, of Alabama, recalled meeting Slaughter during their freshmen orientation after being elected to the U.S. House the same year. Slaughter, he said, later invited him to Rochester, where she introduced him to two nuns who had taken care of injured civil rights protesters in Selma, Alabama, in 1965. 'They cried. They hugged me. I cried, and Louise cried,' the civil rights icon said. 'That moment demonstrated to me the true nature of Louise. She was a beautiful, unbelievably gifted, loving sister.' With a degree in microbiology, Slaughter championed a 2008 law intended to protect people with genetic predispositions to health conditions from facing discrimination from their employers or health insurance companies. Slaughter, a Kentucky coal miner's daughter who never lost her lilting Southern accent, died March 16 following a fall in her Washington home. She is pictured in a 2010 committee meeting A photo of US Rep. Louise Slaughter is displayed at her funeral on Friday in upstate New York The Honor Guard carries the ashes of Congresswoman Louise Slaughter followed by family members in the Kodak Hall at the Eastman Theatre in in Rochester, New York on Friday She also helped write the Violence Against Women Act and was the chief force behind a 2012 law to ban insider stock trading based on congressional knowledge. Slaughter was the first woman to chair the powerful House Rules Committee, leading it from 2007 through 2010, and was her party's top member on the panel when she died. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi called Slaughter, 'a perfect balance of grit and grace' with whom there was little point in arguing. 'Louise shortened always the time and distance between what was inevitable to her and inconceivable to others,' Pelosi said. Slaughter was born Dorothy Louise McIntosh on August 14, 1929, in Appalachian coal country. She married Ohio native Robert 'Bob' Slaughter in 1957 and moved to the Rochester area for her husband's job. Bob Slaughter died in 2014 at age 82. The Slaughters are survived by three daughters, seven grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Governor Andrew Cuomo order that flags on state government buildings fly at half-staff in Slaughter's honor Friday. Cuomo will set the date for a special election to fill the remainder of Slaughter's term, which expires December 31. Parkland school shooting survivor David Hogg gave an expletive-filled interview lashing out at the National Rifle Association, Florida politicians and 'old a** parents'. The 17-year-old Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student, who has become a gun reform activist following the February 14 massacre at his high school, said he is the NRAs 'worst nightmare'. It just makes me think what sick f***ers out there want to continue to sell more guns, murder more children, and honestly get reelected, Hogg said in an interview with The Outline. David Hogg gave an expletive-laced interview slamming the NRA, Florida governor Rick Scott and 'old a** parents who don't how to use democracy' Hogg, a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, became a gun control advocate following the February 14 massacre The high school senior said he thinks the NRA and pro-gun politicians are more interested in money than protecting the lives of children. What type of person are you where you want to see more f***ing money than childrens lives? What type of s***** person does that? They could have blood from children splattered all over their face and they wouldnt take action, because they all still see these dollar signs,' he fumed. Ever since the February 14 shooting that left 17 students and staff members dead, Hogg and several of his classmates have become advocates for stricter gun control laws. The teen said he has been in the forefront of it because adults don't know how to 'use a f***ing democracy', so it's left up to him and his peers. When your old-a** parent is like, I dont know how to send an iMessage, and youre just like, Give me the f***ing phone and let me handle it.' And you get it done in one second. Sadly, thats what we have to do with our government,' he said. 'Our parents dont know how to use a f***ing democracy, so we have to. Hogg said the past month of advocating has been exhausting, but he knows it's important. 'I get to a certain point where I just get so tired that I keep going,' he told The Outline. 'It creates a positive feedback loop in some ways the more stress and work I put on me, the more stress and work I can deal with. During his interview with The Outline, Hogg called Florida governor Rick Scott 'Voldemort' and said he does not care about children's lives Hogg, pictured om the cover of Time magazine with some of his classmates, said he became an advocate because 'old a** parents don't know to use democracy' Gunman Nikolas Cruz shot and killed 17 people at the Florida school in February Hogg went on to say that he doesn't want to see all guns banned, but wants to make sure they are in the hands of the right people. Honestly, its alright that people are buying more guns. I just care that they are being safe individuals. And they can practice their Second Amendment rights all they want. I dont give a f*** about that. I just want to make sure that a crazy a** individual doesnt get an AR-15 or any weapon at all,' he explained. During the nine-minute interview, Hogg also lashed out at Florida Governor Rick Scott, who he said does not care about the lives of children. Youre kind of like Voldemort at this point. You should just retire, because you arent going to get elected to Senate,' the teen stated. One of Britain's most notorious prisons sat abandoned for years in Northern Ireland. The Maze, in County Down, was home to paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles that blighted Great Britain and Ireland until the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. The prison is well-known as the place where 10 Irish Republicans starved themselves to death during a hunger strike to protest for re-establishment of their political status. The Maze, in County Down, was home to paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles that blighted Great Britain and Ireland until the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 The jail closed its doors for good on September 30, 2000. Dilapidated cells, fences topped with razor wire and fading symbols sat rotting until demolition started on the 360-acre site in 2006. However, in April of 2013, it was announced the remaining buildings would be turned into a peace centre, which is now the home of the Eikon Centre. When it was being used, the Maze housed paramilitary prisoners in Ireland. One of Britain's most notorious prisons, it sat abandoned for years in Northern Ireland The prison is best known for the hunger strike carried out by republican prisoners, an effort that was led by Bobby Sands. Sands was elected as an MP in Fermanagh and South Tyrone during the hunger strike. This was seen as a huge propaganda victory for his party. Sands was the first hunger striker to die and his funeral was attended by 100,000 people in Belfast. Despite this, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher refused to meet the prisoners' demands. The hunger strike eventually came to an end on October 3, 1981, and partial concessions were granted to the prisoners. As well as Republican prisoners, British paramilitaries on the Loyalist side were also held in separate wings from their Catholic enemies. In 1983, the largest breakout from a British prison occurred at the Maze. A prison meal lorry was hijacked and 38 republican prisoners ran free, although 19 were later recaptured. During the escape, four prison officers were stabbed and six others suffered gun shot wounds. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry embraced the culture of Northern Ireland during a visit to one of Belfast's most famous buildings - by sitting down to a traditional Irish pub lunch. The American actress and her fiance, on a whirlwind trip to the region, toured the Crown Liquor Saloon - a major tourist attraction in the city. The pub, in Great Victoria Street in Belfast, was opened by Felix O'Hanlon as The Railway Tavern in the mid-1800s, before it was renamed and renovated in 1885. Flanagan's son Patrick took over the pub and convinced Irish labourers, who were visiting Belfast to work on the many churches that were being built at the time, to help him renovate it after hours. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a visit to the Crown Bar in Belfast City Centre where they learnt from National Trust representatives about the pub's heritage In 1978, the pub was bought by the National Trust before a 400,000 renovation was undertaken to restore its Victorian features. Ms Markle revealed that they had been anticipating their trip to the well-known Victorian gin palace, which is owned by the National Trust and famed for its ornate decorations. Harry joked with Heather McLachlan, the National Trust's director for Northern Ireland, asking 'Are you open?', before declaring 'We want food'. His fiancee added: 'We saw the menu last week, and said "We'll have this".' The couple marvelled at the pub, which features period gas lighting, a red marble-topped bar, mosaic tiled floor and snugs - ornately carved wooden booths with stained glass where Victorian drinkers could sit in private. Looking up at the ornate ceiling, Harry said: 'It's amazing, it really is.' The antique bell system that drinkers used to call staff still exists and may have been used by the couple to order their lunch of Irish stew in a snug. Prior to the attack: Redouane Lakdim, believed to be of Moroccan descent, was flagged to intelligence services and appeared in a database of radicalised militants. He was also known to authorities for petty crimes including drug dealing. Lakdim was incarcerated in Carcassonne some time in 2016, according to Le Parisien, though it is unclear what for. The paper also reports he was very active on Salafist networks online and was suspected of having made a trip to Syria, though it is not known when. Morning, Friday March 23: Lakdim, who reportedly lived with his mother and three or four sisters in Carcassonne, is seen walking his little sister to school Some time before 11am: Lakdim hijacks a car somewhere in his home town of Carcassonne. Passenger Jean Mazieres is shot in the head and killed while the driver is wounded before the terrorist drives away. Approximately 11am: The attacker opens fire on four policemen jogging near the edge of town. One officer is wounded after being hit in the shoulder. Bullets also strike a nearby car, shattering the back window. Lakdim escapes in the stolen vehicle. Approximately 11.15am: Gunshots are reported at a Super U supermarket in the town of Trebes as Lakdim storms in, taking hostages. Two people, customer Herve Sosna and Super U chief butcher Christian Medves, are later shot dead, though it is unclear precisely when or why. French police initially say a dozen people are wounded, though uncertainty remained around the exact toll on Friday afternoon. Some time before 2pm: French policeman Arnaud Beltrame makes his way into the supermarket after agreeing to swap himself for a hostage. He is later shot and stabbed to death, though it is not clear exactly how. Approximately 2pm: French police storm the supermarket, shooting Lakdim dead. CDs and vinyls are outselling digital downloads for the first time since 2011 thanks to streaming services, industry figures reveal. Apps like Spotify and Apple Music have seen an astronomical rise in popularity in recent years and this has all but destroyed the digital download market. As more people choose to stream music rather than own it, sales of physical media are now falling at a slower rate than their digital counterparts. This has been driven, in part, by a resurgence in vinyl sales among audiophiles, who prize the format's unique sound. Scroll down for video CD's and vinyl copies of music are outselling their digital counterparts for the first time since 2011. The downward trend for digital copies means the revenue has fallen behind that of physical media sales Findings from the 2017 report by The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) show that digital downloads revenue fell to $1.3 billion (920 million) last year. Physical media, such as CDs and vinyls, also fell in total value, but only declined to $1.5 billion (1.06 billion). For the first time since 2011, when digital downloads took off, physical media sales top that of downloads via online stores like iTunes and Amazon. The combined worth of both physical media and downloads pales alongside the money produced by streaming, however. Streaming continues to grow and dominated the music revenue stream. The total industry is now worth the highest figure since 2008. Streaming accounts for $5.7 billion (4 billion) of the business making up 65 per cent Platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and Tidal account for the majority of all income. In the US, the music industry is now worth an approximate $8.7 billion (6.1 billion) and, of this vast wealth, 65 per cent of it comes from streaming. Streaming now brings in around $5.7 billion (4 billion) to the US industry every year, and a vast chunk of this comes from paid subscriptions. These premium memberships, to sites such as Spotify, saw an increase of more than 50 per cent in 2017. Ad-based subscriptions for those reluctant to pay for a premium service also increased by 35 per cent. The US music industry has struggled recently. Despite this, 2017 marks the first time since 1999 that the industry has grown for two consecutive years and is now worth an approximate $8.7 billion (6.1 billion) In 2016, the music industry made more than half of its revenue from streaming. Although this was the first time streaming had accounted for more than 50 per cent of total revenue, the growth continued into 2017. Last year, nearly two-thirds of all revenue over $5.7 billion (4 billion) came from streaming, an increase of 43 per cent. Thanks to the spread of dedicated software, the relatively small amount of income from physical media and digital sales is more than offset by streaming, leading to steady growth. Streaming has continued to grow and bring in more money. In 2016, the music industry made more than half of its revenue from streaming. Although this was the first time streaming had accounted for more than 50 per cent of total revenue, the growth continued into 2017 This overall growth means that the industry is now the most successful it has been since 2008. As well as making more money than it had at any point in the last decade, the 16.5 per cent growth from 2016 marks the first ever time since 1999 that the business has expanded for two years in a row. Figures released in January revealed that more than four million vinyls were sold last year in the UK, purchased at a quicker rate than in 1991 and the US has seen a similar revival of fortunes for the retro format. Some experts believe that these trends will continue, and that the digital download will soon become obsolete. Physical sales of CDs and vinyl have struggled, and saw a decrease in popularity. The decrease of digital downloads, however, was more severe and dropped behind the physical sales for the first time since 2011 ARE PRICES FOR SPOTIFY, APPLE MUSIC AND PRIME MUSIC GOING TO RISE? Music streaming services, like Apple Music and Spotify, could be set to raise subscription prices, following the decision to increase royalties for songwriters and music publishers. Earlier this year, a federal copyright board raised the music streaming royalties for songwriters and music publishers by more than 40 per cent to narrow the financial divide separating them from recording labels. The decision stemmed from a long-running dispute that pitted songwriters against steadily growing music streaming services sold by Spotify, Apple, Google, Amazon and Pandora. The Copyright Royalty Board's decision will require those services to pay 15.1 per cent of their revenue to the songwriters and publishers, up from 10.5 per cent. Music streaming services could be set to raise subscription prices, following the decision to increase royalties for songwriters and music publishers The music publishers association hailed the ruling, stating that it represents 'the most favourable balance in the history of the industry'. None of the major companies affected by the new music streaming royalties have confirmed whether the shift will prod any of them to raise the prices paid by consumers. The popularity of music streaming services has soared in the past few years as more consumers have embraced paying a monthly or annual subscription fee for unlimited access to tens of millions of songs instead of incrementally buying a more limited amount of music on CDs or in a digital download. Those changing habits have pushed artists, songwriters and publishers to step up their efforts to get a larger cut of the royalties generated from music streaming - a format that didn't even exist when some performers signed their last record deals years ago. The Copyright Royalty Board drew up the new rates for songwriters and publishers after hearing evidence during a trial held in 2017. Advertisement A leaked email from earlier this month hinted at some major changes to Apples iTunes in light of weakening figures. With falling fortunes, Mark Mulligan, an analyst at MIDiA Research and music industry blogger, told the Metro that this was 'potential evidence' of Apple's future plans. He said: 'This could show Apple will turn off its download store at some point. 'At some stage in the future, Apple having an iTunes music store will be as incongruous as Currys selling black and white TVs.' The future seems to lie in streaming, and a sub-section of streaming has emerged as a popular favourite. Dubbed 'Limited tier paid subscriptions', they are basically subscription streaming services with some sort of major constraint. Amazon, for instance, sells an unlimited music subscription that only works on a single Echo for far cheaper than a full subscription. Digital AI assistants such as Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant are featured in the Amazon Echo (left), Google Home (middle) and the Apple HomePod (right). These popular smart speakers have lead to an increase in music streaming services This sector accounted for 14 per cent of the subscription market in 2017 and is rapidly growing. The recent popularity of smart speakers with integrated AI capabilities, such as the Amazon Echo, Google Home and the Apple HomePod, has likely fuelled the growth of streaming. With digital assistants that respond to voice commands, such as Amazon's Alexa and Apple's Siri, the companies are seeing more traffic from users using these platforms. In a statement to The Verge, Amazon Music vice president Steve Boom said that the total hours of music streamed using Alexa-enabled devices has already doubled this year. He said: 'In the US, we've seen more than half of Amazon Music listeners used voice year to date, and compared to this period last year, we've already seen that the total hours streamed on Amazon Music via Alexa-enabled devices have doubled in the US.' Scientists have used lasers to reveal a long-lost city in South Africa that was home to 10,000 people back in the 15th century. In the 1970s and 1980s, archaeologists dug up ancient homesteads from Suikerbosrand near Johannesburg, but no one thought it was anything more than a smattering of villages. Around 40 years later, in-depth aerial images have revealed the extent of this incredible site, hidden in the undergrowth for centuries. From the 15th century, this once illustrious place was occupied by people who spoke Tswana language but it collapsed in the early 19th century due to civil war. Writing for the Conversation, Karim Sadr, professor at the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, explains how researchers used laser technology to reveal this lost city's secrets. Scroll down for video Scientists have used lasers to reveal a long-lost city in South Africa that was home to 10,000 wealthy people in the 15th century. LiDAR, was used to 'redraw' the remains of the city (pictured), along the lower western slopes of the Suikerbosrand hills near Johannesburg There are lost cities all over the world. Some, like the remains of Mayan cities hidden beneath a thick canopy of rainforest in Mesoamerica, are found with the help of laser lights. Now the same technology which located those Mayan cities has been used to rediscover a southern African city that was occupied from the 15th century until about 200 years ago. This technology, called LiDAR, was used to 'redraw' the remains of the city, along the lower western slopes of the Suikerbosrand hills near Johannesburg. Tswana ruins It is one of several large settlements occupied by Tswana-speakers that dotted the northern parts of South Africa for generations before the first European travellers encountered them in the early years of the nineteenth century. In the 1820s all these Tswana city states collapsed in what became known as the Difeqane civil wars. Some had never been documented in writing and their oral histories had gone unrecorded. Four or five decades ago, several ancient Tswana ruins in and around the Suikerbosrand hills, about 60 kilometres (37 miles) south of Johannesburg, had been excavated by archaeologists from the University of the Witwatersrand. But from ground level and on aerial photos the full extent of this settlement could not be appreciated because vegetation hides many of the ruins. But LiDAR, which uses laser light, allowed my students and I to create images of the landscape and virtually strip away the vegetation. This permits unimpeded aerial views of the ancient buildings and monuments. We have given the city a generic placeholder name for now SKBR. We hope an appropriate Tswana name can eventually be adopted. Bringing the city to life Judging by the dated architectural styles that were common at SKBR, it's estimated that the builders of the stone walled structures occupied this area from the fifteenth century AD until the second half of the 1800s. The evidence we gathered suggests that SKBR was certainly large enough to be called a city. The ancient Mesopotamian city of Ur was less than 2km (1.2 miles) in diameter while SKBR is nearly 10km (6.2 miles) long and about 2km wide. The ancient homesteads at Suikerbosrand are shown against an aerial photograph from 1961. The two rectangles show where they carried out LiDAR imagery From the 15th century, this once illustrious place - located near today's Johannesburg - was occupied by people who spoke Tswana language but it collapsed in the early 19th century due to civil war It is difficult to estimate the size of its population. Between 750 and 850 homesteads have been counted at SKBR, but it's hard to tell how many of these were inhabited at the same time, so we cannot easily estimate the city's population at its peak. Given what we know about more recent Tswana settlements, each homestead would have housed an extended family with, at the least, the (male) head of the homestead, one or more wives and their children. LiDAR remote sensing technology allows archaeologists to hunt for sites of interest from a distance LiDAR (light detection and ranging) is a remote sensing technology that measures distance by shooting a laser at a target and analysing the light that is reflected back. The technology was developed in the early 1960s and uses laser imaging with radar technology that can calculate distances. It was first used in meteorology to measure clouds by the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The term lidar is a portmanteau of 'light and 'radar.' Lidar uses ultraviolet, visible, or near infrared light to image objects and can be used with a wide range of targets, including non-metallic objects, rocks, rain, chemical compounds, aerosols, clouds and even single molecules. A narrow laser beam can be used to map physical features with very high resolution. This new technique allowed researchers to map outlines of what they describe as dozens of newly discovered Maya cities hidden under thick jungle foliage centuries after they were abandoned by their original inhabitants. Aircraft with a Lidar scanner produced three-dimensional maps of the surface by using light in the form of pulsed laser linked to a GPS system. The technology helped researchers discover sites much faster than using traditional archaeological methods. Advertisement Many features of the built environment at SKBR seem to signal the wealth and status of the homesteads or suburbs that they are associated with. For example, parallel pairs of rock alignments mark sections of passageways in several different parts of the city. South African archaeologist Professor Revil Mason, who has carried out a great deal of research on stone walled ruins around Johannesburg, called these features cattle drives, built to funnel the beasts along certain routes through the city. If these were cattle drives the width and location of these passageways would have signalled the livestock wealth of the ward or homestead that constructed them, even when the cattle were not present. In the central sector of SKBR there are two very large stone walled enclosures, with a combined area of just under 10, 000 square meters (32, 000 square feet). They may have been kraals and if so they could have held nearly a thousand head of cattle. Monuments to wealth Among the largest features of the built environment at SKBR are artificial mounds composed of masses of ash from cattle dung fires, mixed with bones of livestock and broken pottery vessels. All this material appears to have been deliberately piled up at the entrance to the larger homesteads. In the 1970s and 1980s, archaeologists dug up ancient homesteads from Suikerbosrand near Johannesburg (pictured), but no one thought it was anything more than a smattering of villages These are the remains of feasts and the ash heaps' size publicised the particular homestead's generosity and wealth. The use of refuse dumps as landmarks of wealth and power is known from other parts of the world, like India, as well. Even the contemporary gold mine dumps of Johannesburg can be seen in this light. Other monuments to wealth and power at SKBR include a large number of short and squat stone towers on average 1.8 - 2.5 metres (6 - 8.2 feet) tall and about 5 metres (16 feet) wide at their base. The homesteads with the most stone towers tend to also have unusually large ash heaps at their entrance. The practical function of the towers isn't known yet: they may have been the bases for grain bins, or they may mark burials of important people. What next? It will take another decade or two of field work to fully understand the birth, development and ultimate demise of this African city. This will be done through additional coverage with LiDAR, intensive ground surveys as well as excavations in selected localities. Ideally, the descendants of those who built and inhabited this city should be involved in future research at this site. Some of my postgraduate students are already in contact with representatives of the Bakwena branch of the Tswana who claim parts of the landscape to the south of Johannesburg. We hope that they will actively become involved in our research project. 'Horrified' scientists have witnessed the moment a male orca drowned a baby killer whale so it could mate with its mother. A heartbreaking video shows the young orca - probably not yet even a day old - being hunted down by a 32-year-old male. The attacking male was swimming with his 46-year-old mother who was instrumental in this never-seen-before attack, scientists say. Scientists say this is the first recorded account of infanticide reported in killer whales, although the practice is common among many mammals. Scroll down for video 'Horrified' scientists witnessed the moment a male orca drowned a baby killer whale so it could mate with its mother (stock image) Spotted off the coast of Vancouver Island on Canda's west coast, the 28-year-old mother was swimming with her new born calf and two other daughters, aged five and eight. A group of scientists were watching the event after their research lab - OrcaLab - picked up strange calls with an underwater microphone, writes National Geographic. 'We saw some splashing and thought they were eating something,' said Jared Towers, a cetacean researcher from Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The male had grabbed the newborn infant and was dragging it away from its mother while the male's mother blocked the calf's mother from reaching her newborn. 'That all kind of came to a grinding halt when the mother of the infant hit the male so hard that his blubber was shaking on his body and you could see blood flying through the air', Dr Towers told CBC. 'That was kind of the final impact, but he never let go of the infant'. 'We were really quite horrified and fascinated', Dr Towers said. Males of certain species are known to kill the offspring of others, particularly when it comes to their rivals. The male had grabbed the newborn infant and was dragging it away from its mother while the male's mother blocked the calf's mother from reaching her newborn (stock image) Infanticide is more common in mammals when a few males must compete to reproduce with several females. It has has been observed in mammal species ranging from dolphins to lions but this is the first time it has been seen in marine mammals. Ecologist Ari Fiedlaender from Oregon State University told National Georgraphic this case could have been exception because the male orca had support from his own mother. 'The female, that male's mother, would effectively be helping to pass on her lineage if that male was then successful in breeding with the animal that lost her calf,' said Dr Friendlaender. WHY DO ANIMALS PRACTICE INFANTICIDE? Infanticide is the act of killing an infant and can be carried out by either a parent or another adult. It is common practise in many animal species and can be triggered by hunger, to eliminate competition or as a show of power. In the majority of cases it is caused by either severe emotional disturbance of a mother or a new dominant figure in a social group stamping their authority. Maternal infanticide Maternal infanticide describes mother killing their offspring. Many examples have been recorded in nature, often when a mother's mental state is diminished and she subsequently takes the life of her new-born child. It has been observed in both pigs and rabbits. Female infanticide The killing of young animals by other females is a phenomena that is often seen in large social groups. In groups where there are many females to a few males, the sexual attention of the males can be limited. In these cases, the females have been known to kill the offspring of other females to increase their chances of producing their own young. This stems from a scientific term called 'reproductive fitness' where an individual's success is measured by the amount of its genes that it passes to the next generation. To be more successful and increase fitness, they prefer to have children of their own and killing another animal's offspring allows this to happen. This is more common when food is scarce, and has been witnessed in chimpanzees. Male infanticide Male infanticide is the most common and well-documented form of the phenomena. Often occurring in mammals and intelligent animals, the act is used as a show of power as well as bringing females into season earlier. Prevalent in lion prides, there is normally one adult lion who is the alpha in a pride and controls several females. This alpha position can change hands when a younger, bigger and more virile male ousts the old male from the group. In this event, there will likely be many young animals in the fold. When the new male takes over, his first priority is asserting his authority and ensuring his own reproductive success. The most effective way this is done is by the culling of all youngsters. As well as removing any young that are not his, it brings the females into season earlier, ensuring he can sire his own offspring quicker. It has has been observed in mammal species ranging from dolphins to lions. Researchers have also seen a 32-year-old male orca killing a newborn. The male orca was helped by his 46-year-old mother - who was instrumental in the attack, scientists say. In doing so she effectively helped to pass on her lineage as long as her son was then successful in breeding with the animal that lost her calf, researchers believe. Advertisement Spotted off the coast of Vancouver Island on Canda's west coast, the 28-year-old mother was swimming with her new born calf and two other daughters, aged five and eight 'This is the first account of infanticide reported in killer whales and the only case committed jointly by an adult male and his mother outside of humans', researchers wrote in the paper, published in Scientific Reports. 'Consistent with findings in other social mammals, we suggest that infanticide is a sexually selected behaviour in killer whales that could provide subsequent mating opportunities for the infanticidal male and thereby provide inclusive fitness benefits for his mother.' Female chimpanzees have also been seen killing infant of other females, especially when food is scarce. However, in this case researcher do not believe the murderous pair ate the youngster after killing it. Scientists were unable to return and try and find the body as it was dark by that point. At an unpredictable time for tech companies and social media giants, California-based tech unicorn Dropbox looks to be entering a higher gear, following a better-than-expected IPO posting. Created in 2007, Dropbox is a company that allows users to upload data to the cloud and access it from any internet-connected device. According to its website, the company has over 500 million registered users and more than 300,000 teams are using Dropbox business. Dropbox CEO Drew Houston and Dropbox co-founder Arash Ferdowsi celebrate the IPO The companys shares surged by 50 percent on Friday, March 23 2018, its first day of trading. On Thursday, March 22 the company set an IPO price of $21 per share, $1 above the highest expected amount of $20 and it was several times oversubscribed. At the time, the pricing put the companys valuation at $8.2 billion, $1.8 billion under the valuation the company received after a funding round in 2014. However, on Friday morning the stock opened at $29, well above Thursdays set price and the initial price per share estimate of $16-$18. Were so thankful for the 500 million registered users who helped us get here. #DBX pic.twitter.com/YyhkpFiUoq Dropbox (@Dropbox) March 23, 2018 At one point during early trading the share price surged by 50 percent to $31.60. As the day went on the company was last trading at $29.90, still up by 42 percent. Such a strong performance puts the companys valuation at over $12 billion, not only higher than the 2014 valuation, but also well higher than the initially projected IPO valuation. It also makes Dropbox's IPO the biggest for a tech company since Snapchat's parent company Snap went public in March 2017. .@drewhouston, Ive a feeling were not in kansas* anymore *shout-out to my hometown of overland park, kansas :) pic.twitter.com/aZtZeuUuDq arash (@arashf) March 23, 2018 Dropbox is going public at the right time. It has an attractive story to justify its need for financing and the market dynamics are good,' Josh Lerner, professor of Investment Banking at Harvard Business School, told Reuters, adding But at the same time the environment is also competitive. Dropbox went public with multiple share classes, which gave more voting rights and control to executives. The strong performance of the Dropbox IPO may open the door for more technology unicorns to IPO throughout the rest of 2018, said Sohail Prasad, co-founder and co-CEO of Equidate, a platform for trading of shares in private technology firms. If investors had bought Dropbox stock within the last six months, theyd be up over 75 percent, he added. The company has yet to turn a profit, however, it reported a revenue of $1.11 billion, which is up from 2016s $844.8 million. Now that it is a public company, it is expected that Dropbox will be pressured to start turning a profit. A Soyuz capsule carrying two Americans and a Russian cosmonaut has docked with the International Space Station. The docking at 3:40 pm ET (1940 GMT) Friday came two days after the capsule blasted off from Russia's manned space launch complex in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. On board the capsule were NASA astronauts Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev. A Soyuz capsule carrying two Americans and a Russian cosmonaut has docked with the International Space Station. The docking at 10:40 p.m. (1940 GMT) Friday came two days after the capsule blasted off from Russia's manned space launch complex in Baikonur, Kazakhstan During a live stream of the capsule's approach to the ISS, a NASA announcer said the docking attempt was 'perfect.' The Soyuz MS-08 spacecraft could be seen approaching the Poisk module at 3:40 p.m. EDT. At the time, the craft were flying over Serbia, according to NASA. 'Welcome to your new home in space!' NASA tweeted after the crew's capsule attached to the International Space Station. After the long procedure to open the hatches between the Soyuz and the space station, the trio will join station residents Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos, Scott Tingle of NASA and Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The three new crew members blasted off from Kazakhstan on Wednesday, putting them in a designated orbit en route to the ISS, in a journey that lasted two days. Now safely traveling in low-Earth orbit, NASA tweeted after Wednesdays launch Pictured, the Soyuz-FG rocket booster with Soyuz MS-08 space ship carrying a new crew to the International Space Station, ISS, flies in the sky at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, March 21, 2018 The new crew will spend about five months on the space station. The three new crew members blasted off from Kazakhstan on Wednesday, putting them in a designated orbit en route to the ISS, in a journey that lasted two days. Now safely traveling in low-Earth orbit, NASA tweeted after Wednesdays launch. Before the hatches between the two spacecraft can open, they must first undergo standard pressurization and leak checks, according to the space agency. The hatch is expected to open at 5 p.m. (ET), and will be live-streamed on NASA TV. Earths transformation from an inhospitable planet to an oxygen-rich world capable of hosting life may have been far more dramatic than previously thought. A chunk of sea salt dating back to more than 2 billion years ago indicates that Earths oxygen upswing, known as the Great Oxidation Event, was no slow trickle. Instead of a build-up over millions of years, researchers say oxygen production may have boomed suddenly, potentially spurring significant changes on land and in the oceans. In the salt crystals, which were left behind after the evaporation of ancient seawater, researchers found a surprisingly large amount of sulfate, which is created through the reaction of sulfur and oxygen Instead of a trickle, it was more like a firehose, said Clara Blattler, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Geosciences at Princeton and first author on the study. It was a major change in the production of oxygen. The new findings come from an analysis of crystalized salt rocks taken from a 1.2 mile-deep hole in Karelia, in northwest Russia. Now, oxygen makes up roughly 20 percent of the air. But billions of years ago, this was not the case. Its estimated that oxygen began to appear 2.4-2.3 billion years ago but, whether this was a gradual or rapid shift has largely remained a mystery. In the salt crystals, which were left behind after the evaporation of ancient seawater, researchers found a surprisingly large amount of sulfate, which is created through the reaction of sulfur and oxygen. According to the team, the discovery suggests Earths Great Oxidation Event occurred in a swifter, more dramatic manner than previously thought. This is the strongest ever evidence that the ancient seawater from which those minerals precipitated had high sulfate concentrations reaching at least 30 percent of present-day oceanic sulfate as our estimations indicate, said Aivo Lepland, a researcher at the Geological Survey of Norway. This is much higher than previously thought and will require considerable rethinking of the magnitude of oxygenation of Earths 2-billion year old atmosphere-ocean system. A chunk of sea salt dating back to more than 2 billion years ago indicates that Earths oxygen upswing, known as the Great Oxidation event, was no slow trickle. Instead of a build-up over millions of years, researchers say oxygen production may have boomed suddenly. File photo According to the researchers, the crystals examined in the study are more than a billion years older than previously discovered deposits. They contain halite (rock salt), and salts of calcium, magnesium, and potassium. It has been hard to test these ideas because we didnt have evidence from that era to tell us about the composition of the atmosphere, Blattler said. The deposits were discovered during drilling at Onega Parametric Hole (OPH) on the western shores of Lake Onega. While these easily-dissolvable minerals are often washed away with time but, buried deep within Earth, these particular samples were exceptionally well preserved. This is a pretty special class of geologic deposits, said John Higgins, assistant professor of geosciences at Princeton. WHAT WAS EARTH'S 'HELLISH' HADEAN EON? The Hadean Eon is a period in Earths geologic timeline often described as hellish. It began about 4.6 billion years ago, accounting for Earths initial formation up to about 4.0 billion years ago. During this time, the planet was subjected to frequent impacts with extraterrestrial objects, leaving its crust unstable during the early years. Molten rock was thrust to the surface by convection currents, which also gave way to magmatic seas. Eventually, the core and crust stabilized, and the atmosphere and oceans began to develop, with evidence suggesting this occurred around 4.4 billion years ago. During the Hadean eon, Earth experienced intense bombardment from cosmic objects Advertisement There has been a lot of debate as to whether the Great Oxidation Event, which is tied to increase and decrease in various chemical signals, represents a big change in oxygen production, or just a threshold that was crossed. The bottom line is that this paper provides evidence that the oxygenation of the Earth across this time period involved a lot of oxygen production. The new understanding could also help better piece together the changes that occurred after the Great Oxidation. According to Blattler, There may have been important changes in feedback cycles on land or in the oceans, or a large increase in oxygen production by microbes, but either way it was much more dramatic than we had an understanding of before. She is super excited about her new movie Midnight Sun with Patrick Schwarzenegger, due out on Friday. In fact, Bella Thorne is so keen to make sure as many people as possible get to see it that she has bought out all the tickets at Universal Cinema in Los Angeles for fans to get a sneak peak - FREE- on Thursday. The 20-year-old actress took to Instagram to share the news, saying: 'I bought out an entire theatre!?! Scroll down for video 'First come, first served!' Bella Thorne posted an invite for fans in Los Angeles to see a sneak preview of her new movie, Midnight Sun, for free at at Universal Cinemas on Thursday 'I want everyone to get a chance to see Midnight Sun - so if you are worried about buying a ticket I got you covered. 'First come, first serve for a 7PM showtime tonight at Universal Cinemas!! I will have someone out front handing out a theatre full of tickets for those of you who want a little help getting into the movie.' Her generous invite got 28,000 views in just four hours so there may well be a long line outside the theatre, despite the threatened rain. Out and about: The 20-year-old actress and her Midnight Sun co-star Patrick Schwarzenegger, 24, were up early to take part in an AOL Build Q&A in the city A diferent era: The actress channeled 1950s Hollywood glamour in a white dress with an extravagant collar, a wide belt accentuating the nipped in waist and a circular skirt Chignon chic: Her red hair was styled in a classic up do as she was seen walking into the studio Bella is presently in New York with her co-star where they have been doing the rounds of the talk shows to promote the movie. On Thursday morning she and Patrick were at the AOL studio to take part in an AOL Build Q&A. The actress channeled 1950s Hollywood glamour in a white dress with an extravagant collar, four buttons on the bodice, a wide belt accentuating the nipped in waist and a circular skirt. That a different carpet: The pair posed on the well worn rug at AOL studios Cuddling up: Patrick, 24, who wore a black and grey pinstripe two piece, clasped Bella close Making a statement: Bella wore several rings and a selection of chains around her neck The beautiful redhead completed her ensemble with mid blue suede pumps. Arnold Schwarzenegger's handsome son was more casually dressed in a black and gray pin-stripe jacket, matching skinny pants (by Bottega Veneta), a black T-shirt and black boots. In the movie, Bella plays Katie, a 17-year-old who can only go out at night because she has a life threatening sensitivity to sunlight. Talking up their movie: Bella and Patrick chatted about Midnight Sun, due out on Friday Her role: Bella plays Katie, a 17-year-old who can only go out at night because she has a life threatening sensitivity to sunlight Her love interest: Patrick plays Charlie, who she falls in love after they meet one evening when she's out in the darkness playing her guitar She strikes up a romance with Charlie, played by Patrick, whom she meets one evening when she sits outside playing her guitar. The question is, can their relationship last given her ailment? You'll have to catch the movie to find out. Bella was later seen leaving her hotel with her 31-year-old rapper-author beau Mod Sun, aka Derek Smith, and their rescue pup Tampy. A different look: The actress donned a sleeveless dress by designer Fausto Pulisi when he left her hotel later that day Change of style: The sleeveless dress featured a zip up black bodice, a studded black leather belt and a wide miniskirt in layers of black, white and red chiffon So beautiful: Bella shared this image on Instagram with the words 'I feel like a princess' written on it and a shout out to dress designer Fausto Puglisis The actress donned a sleeveless, dress by designer Fausto Pulisi with a zip up black bodice, a studded black leather belt and a wide miniskirt in layers of black, white and red chiffon. She completed her ensemble with caged and laced red high-heeled booties. The couple, who started dating in October, were later seen checking out the bling in the diamond district of New York City. One man and his dog: Bella was accompanied by her 31-year-old rapper-author beau Mod Sun, aka Derek Smith, who held their rescue pup Tampy Engagement ring, maybe?: The couple, who started dating in October, were later seen checking out the bling in the diamond district of New York City Public display of affection: Bella reached for her beau's hand as he put his other hand around her shoulder She is currently in Sydney promoting her television series UnREAL. But Constance Zimmer had another show on her mind on Friday, telling The Daily Telegraph she is 'excited' to film season six of Netflix's House of Cards following the departure of Kevin Spacey. The 47-year-old said: 'This season is going to be off the hook because we have eight episodes to pretty much cram in a lot of information and tie up some storylines'. Scroll down for video 'It's going to be off the hook!': Constance Zimmer revealed her excitement over the sixth season of House of Cards on Friday, after Netflix cut ties with disgraced star Kevin Spacey After Netflix cut ties with Kevin Spacey in November 2017 amid sexual assault claims, the political thriller will now focus on Robin Wright's character, Claire Underwood. With Frank Underwood (Spacey) now out of the picture, Constance believes his wife Claire is ready to lead the nation in the sixth season of the hit TV series. 'Robin is a powerhouse and I am so excited just for us to dive deeper into her deception,' she said. 'Robin is a powerhouse': With Frank Underwood (Spacey) now out of the picture, Constance believes his wife Claire (Robin Wright) is ready to lead the nation in the six season Earlier this week, Constance revealed her own experiences with sexual harassment in Hollywood. Speaking to The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Thursday, Constance revealed a prominent producer offered her a film role in exchange for sex when she was just 19. Constance admitted she was lucky to be in a position where she could say no, because 'some people can't say "no" because the situation doesn't allow it.' Constance told radio presenter Kyle Sandilands she 'couldn't remember' which film was being offered, but confirmed: 'I said no, of course.' She also did not reveal the identity of the producer. 'He pretty much told me, "If you sleep with me, I'll put you in a movie,"' she alleged. 'I went into his office thinking it was a meeting and he had seen me in a play... And I knew right away that it wasn't legit.' She's an incredibly busy mom to almost three-year-old Silas Timberlake. But on Thursday, Jessica Biel found some time to herself as she leisurely strolled through Tribeca in New York City. The brunette beauty was prepped for the chilly NYC day wearing a black-and-white gingham coat that belted at the waist, showing off the star's fit figure. Solo stroll: Jessica Biel stuns in a black-and-white gingham coat as she walks through an NYC neighborhood on Thursday The 35-year-old looked like she was enjoying herself, teaming her coat with a yellow undershirt that perfectly coordinated with the inside of her jacket. The Sinner star added to her outfit with black skinny jeans and studded ankle books. To top it off, Jessica donned a wide brim maroon hat and kept a pair of brown tinted sunglasses over her eyes. A-list style: The 35-year-old actress donned a wide brim maroon hat and brown tinted sunglasses for her afternoon outing Proving to be quite the fashionista, the mother-of-one strapped a beige studded bag across her chest as her brown tresses flowed perfectly. The starlet looked as if she could be on the cover of a magazine, as she flashed her show-stopping smile throughout her walk. On Thursday, the on-screen beauty's Gaiam yoga campaign launched, featuring Jessica as the model. Covergirl: The brunette beauty flashed a smile as she made her way down the Tribeca sidewalk Fitness fashionista: The athletic star has recently teamed up with yoga-brand Gaiam as their first-ever celebrity ambassador The actress posted to Instagram to share the exciting venture with her 5.4 million followers. As the brand's first-ever celebrity ambassador, Jessica has picked out some of her favorites from the existing line and her style choices are made available at Kohl's. The starlet wrote: 'Oh, hello. Im just hanging out with a natural frozen smile, natural glassy-eyed gaze and sitting naturally on one bun cheek. It also seems natural that I let you know my @Gaiam picks are now available @Kohl's.' The fitness brand has also confirmed that the actress will be co-designing the Jessica Biel Signature Collection - expected to debut in the fall. Jessica Biel Signature Collection: The film and television star will co-design a capsule collection with the fitness brand - expected to debut in the fall It's all yours: Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel have put their SoHo, New York penthouse for sale for $7.995 million Earlier this month, Jessica and her husband Justin Timberlake put their 2500sqft SoHo penthouse on the market for $7.9 million. The modern luxury apartment comes with three bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms and an 850-square-foot terrace that wraps around three sides of the building. But they aren't moving far. The beautiful couple, who have been together since 2007, recently acquired a Greenwich penthouse that dates back to the 1880s to the tune of $20 million. She is expecting her second child, a baby boy, with fiance Hermann Nicoli. And Candice Swanepoel covered up her growing baby bump as she was spotted out during a chilly day in New York City on Thursday. The 29-year-old supermodel made the streets a maternity wear catwalk as she strolled alongside her mother Eileen. Expectant stunner: Candice Swanepoel, 29, covered up her growing baby bump as she was spotted out during a chilly day in New York City on Thursday Daring to impress, the South African stunner commanded attention in a woolen jacket that featured large pockets and a mid thigh hem. A peek at her gorgeous gams were revealed as the black skirt cut just below the knee while she stomped around in stylish black boots. She accessorized the Big Apple look with a large scarf, long grey beanie, and a set of retro shades. Bonding time:The supermodel made the streets a maternity wear catwalk as she strolled alongside her mother Eileen Impressive: Daring to impress, the South African stunner commanded attention in a woolen jacket that featured large pockets and a mid thigh hem Her mother was dressed for the freezing temperatures as well donning a big black puffy coat and navy blue scarf. Back in January, Candice made the announcement that she was having a second son with partner Hermann in an Instagram video of her one-year-old Anaca kissing her bump. 'My boys,' the star wrote warmly in her caption. Leggy lady: A peek at her gorgeous gams were revealed as the black skirt cut just below the knee while she stomped around in stylish black boots She first publicized the pregnancy with a December Instagram snap of herself cradling her bump. Her caption effervesced: 'Christmas came early.. #2'. Candice has been with Brazilian model Hermann since 2005, having reportedly met him in Paris when she was just 17 years old. They got engaged in August 2015 but have yet to announce wedding plans. He was left heartbroken and humiliated on Married At First Sight after his 'wife' Davina Rankin had an 'affair' behind his back. And it seems the stress has taken its toll on Ryan Gallagher, as he refused to speak to Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson during a live MAFS reunion on Friday. Despite believing they had Ryan on the line, the tradesman flatly refused to speak. 'He's telling us he can no longer talk': Married At First Sight's Ryan Gallagher (left) refused to speak during a LIVE radio interview with Kyle and Jackie O... so what upset him so much? 'Ryan is telling us he can no longer talk,' Jackie said, before placing the blame on her co-host Kyle. 'The production company... they don't like you doing these unauthorised interviews.' Kyle then appeared to mock Ryan by making a sexually explicit reference to Davina. 'The production company... they don't like you doing these unauthorised interviews': Jackie 'O' Henderson blamed Kyle Sandilands (pictured) for why Ryan couldn't speak to them Is everything OK? Ryan appears to be having a hard time with the attention the show has attracted in recent weeks, evening going so far as to delete his Instagram account Earlier in the show, Kyle and Jackie tried to encourage Ryan to speak about Davina, but they could only hear a dial tone, suggesting he had hung up the phone. During the Married At First Sight finale, Ryan received a positive response from fans, who praised him for shaking former love rival Dean Wells' hand. 'All class Ryan. First one to shake Dean's hand,' a supporter wrote on Instagram. Meanwhile, many female viewers were curious to know if he was still single, with one asking: 'When do I get to marry Ryan?' 'Class act': During the finale, Ryan received a positive response from fans, who praised him for shaking former love rival Dean Wells' hand They have continued to share their over the top PDA with the rest of Australia since announcing their surprise relationship on Married At First Sight. But it seems as though it's not all rainbows and butterflies for Carly Bowyer, revealing Thursday that boyfriend Troy Delmege's, 35, kissing technique sometimes leaves her without oxygen. Speaking to Nine Now, the 32-year-old confessed that the IT accounts manager doesn't know when to 'come up for air'. Scroll down for videos Gasping for air! On Thursday, MAFS' Carly Bowyer revealed she sometimes 'can't breathe' when her over-enthusiastic boyfriend Troy Delmege kisses her 'He doesn't know when to pull away,' she said, adding: 'He just keeps going'. Defending himself, Troy added that his 'technique' was only around his love as he was 'keen'. 'Like sometimes I can't breathe,' added Carly jokingly, before confirming that (compared to 'ex-husband' Justin Fischer); 'Troy is a very good kisser'. On and on: 'He doesn't know when to pull away,' she said, adding: 'He just keeps going' Unfortunately for Australia, they provided another demonstration of their much-talked about method. It's not the first time the nation has witnessed the love-birds and their over-affectionate behaviour. Unveiling their relationship on Tuesday and Wednesday's episodes of Married At First Sight, fans were caught-off guard when they were privy to their stomach-churning PDAs. 'Troy and Carly's public display of affection is the most violating thing I've seen on TV since A Current Affair did that story on incest,' one fan Tweeted. Make it stop! Unveiling their relationship on Tuesday and Wednesday's episodes of Married At First Sight, fans were caught-off guard when they were privy to their stomach-churning PDAs Not impressed: And even their co-stars were left disgusted, with Troy's 'ex-wife' Ashley asking for a 'vomit bag' And even their co-stars were left disgusted, with Troy's 'ex-wife' Ashley asking for a 'vomit bag'. 'That's the worst kiss I've ever seen in my life,' added Sarah Roza. But unfortunately for the eyes of Australia and Carly's lungs, it doesn't seem as though Troy will be stopping anytime soon - revealing he'll be spending this weekend moving in with his love into her Melbourne home. As a celebrity she is often gifted luxurious items, including clothes, shoes and accessories. And on Thursday, Rebecca Judd left one of her designer items in the hands of her 18-month-old twins, Tom and Darcy. The 35-year-old took to Instagram to share a photograph of her twin boys' playing with her $3650 handbag, which was gifted to her by British luxury fashion brand, Burberry. Scroll down for video Expensive toy! AFL WAG Rebecca Judd shares a snap of her 18-month-old twins playing with a $3650 handbag gifted to her by Burberry 'A tad obsessed with EVERYTHING in this pic. Thanks Burberry for my stunning new Belt Bag. The twins love it too,' Rebecca wrote alongside the adorable snap. 'And the bedding is from my new Adairs range- Jardin,' the Channel Nine TV host added to her 671,000 Instagram followers. In the photograph, the 18-month-old twin boys were seemingly in a state of wonderment as they peered inside Bec's designer belt bag, sitting atop the plush bedding. Fans gushed over the twins, who appeared mesmerised by her costly leather handbag. Lucky thing! As a celebrity she is often gifted luxurious items, including clothes, shoes and accessories 'Gorgeous kids to match the gorgeous bag,' one user wrote in the comment section. In the Instagram snap, one of the twin boys was seen opening the luxe handbag. This prompted fans to joke about the contents of Bec's bag, as one Instagram user commented: 'Whats in mummys handbag...blueberries no burberry'. While another fan wrote: 'Think the cherubs think there is something verrry interesting in there'. Last week, Tom and Darcy starred with their mother in a new ad campaign for BP's BPme app. In it, Bec looks every inch the star in a plunging tight white dress that shows off her cleavage to full effect. Rev the engines! Last week, Tom and Darcy starred with their mother in a new ad campaign for BP's BPme app With flawless make up by Jade Kisnorbo and perfectly-styled hair by Marie Uva, Bec is seen at a service station taking her twin babies out of their car seat. The boys are covered in chocolate and are seen with it on their faces, clothes and all over their hands. The messy brown liquid quickly transfers onto Bec's clothes and she is seen looking down at the handprints on her formerly pristine white frock with shock. The advert spruiks the BPme app, which allows parents to pay for petrol bought at a pump without leaving their car - and having to take their children with them. Sharing the it on Instagram, Bec explained how the app works in a caption that read: 'The #BPme app is THE BEST! You'll never have to go inside the station to pay for fuel again at #BP. She always makes a strong impression with her sartorial choices and has the power to sell out an outfit within hours. And Holly Willoughby was putting on yet another stylish display as she filmed for Celebrity Juice with her co-hosts and close friends Fearne Cotton and Keith Lemon. The This Morning favourite showed off her flair for fashion in a pretty summer dress with contrasting ruffle detailing across the bust. Terrific trio: Holly Willoughby was putting on yet another stylish display as she filmed for Celebrity Juice with her co-host Fearne Cotton and special guest Georgia Toffolo Holly's thigh-skimming number was set off with a pair of peep-toe heels to highlight her tanned pins. The star posed beside BFF Fearne, who was rocking an eye-catching pink suit and leopard print shirt. Special guest Georgia Toffolo completed the line-up for the evening, looking lovely in a burgundy dress. Leggy lady: Holly's thigh-skimming number was set off with a pair of peep-toe heels to highlight her tanned pins Fancy: The This Morning favourite showed off her flair for fashion in a pretty summer dress with contrasting ruffle detailing across the bust Outfit details: Sharing her look with her fans, Holly wrote, 'We are live at 10pm .... @celebjuiceofficial @itv2 ... dress by @topshop shoes @ginashoesofficial #hwstyle' Final countdown: Gino D'Acampo also joined in on the fun for the filming session Keith recently revealed what advice he gives to men when they meet his pal Holly for the first time. 'Generally every male on the planet tries to flirt with Holly cause shes incredibly attractive,' he told The Sun. 'I always just tell people, "Dont look in her eyes! Do NOT look in her eyes." 'If you do she can ask you to do anything and youll do it, so you just cant look into those eyes.' 'Do NOT look into her eyes!' Keith Lemon recently revealed what he tells men when they meet Hollyfor the first time The host of the show added that Holly's eyes are the reason he has ended up on more than one raucous night out. 'You know if you want to go home instead of going on to the next part, and she asks you to go on? Dont look in her eyes and youll go home, but as soon as you look into them and she says, "Lets go to another party," then youre like, "Oh okay!"' This perhaps explains Holly's notorious antics when she's out with her This Morning co-host Philip Schofield. The pair famously didn't go to bed after the 2016 National Television Awards, rolling in wearing the same outfits from the night before, coming straight to the studios from partying all night. As a nod to this, Keith added: 'Shes fun to go out with, shes good trouble, she enjoys herself. Thats what you see on This Morning when shes hungover.' It's back: As Celebrity Juice returns to ITV2, the series will broadcast another of its infamous live episodes, with Russell Brand on the panel Although the 2018 NTAs saw Holly and Phil turn up having been to bed, it wasn't an easy show for the hungover duo. Phillip nearly vomited live on air before climbing into bed with a very bleary-eyed Holly following another of their very boozy nights out. The playful pair showed up to their morning programme with hoarse Phil nearly losing his tummy over the sight of Holly eating a bacon sandwich and them both struggling to get through the show. Blonde beauty Holly admitted she had only had two hours sleep after heading to bed at 4am. Phil continued: 'We had a lot of fun. My voice has gone down an octave.' A bleary-eyed Holly continued: 'I might read the autocue with one eye shut.' As Celebrity Juice returns to ITV2, the series will broadcast another of its infamous live episodes, with Russell Brand on the panel. Nasser Sultan has pleaded with vile trolls to stop sending him 'absolutely shocking' racist and homophobic messages on social media. The Married At First Sight star became upset as he revealed online trolls were branding him an 'Arab dog' and 'Muslim scum' in sick taunts. The Egyptian-Muslim personal trainer, 50, said there was 'no need' to send slurs like that and urged his tormenters to stop. Cruel: Nasser Sultan has pleaded with vile trolls to stop sending him 'absolutely shocking' racist and homophobic messages on social media 'If you're going to jump on my Instagram please don't send racist or homophobic messages,' he told KIIS FM's Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson. 'Seriously the racist comments... "You Muslim scum, you Arab dog, you're screwing our women and f**king them over",' he said, reeling off the insults. He continued: 'There's no need for that. It's shocking, absolutely shocking.' In a bid to console him, Kyle suggested he block the trolls and Nasser replied somberly: 'I'm trying. I'm trying.' Insults: The Married At First Sight star became upset as he revealed online trolls were branding him an 'Arab dog' and 'Muslim scum' in sick taunts (pictured with his 'ex-wife' Gabrielle Bartlett) Nasser, who once said he slept with 1,000 women during his days as a rock'n'roll roadie, added that his MAFS co-stars were also harrassed and said Dean Wells was even sent death threats. 'There's no need to send Dean messages saying "I'm going to slash your throat",' Sultan said furiously. 'And do not send messages to the girls calling them hideous things. Ash and everybody.' Not having it: 'If you're going to jump on my Instagram please don't send racist or homophobic messages,' he told KIIS FM's Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson Nasser, who has split with his TV bride Gabrielle Bartlett, is from an Egyptian-Muslim background and previously revealed arranged marriage is 'quite common' in his community. 'Ive been introduced in my early years to girls by my parents,' he told TheFIX. He said his surname Sultan is 'like royalty' in Egypt, and said he would't want to marry a 'lower class' than him. 'We still have the family status, if thats what the word is. The upper class, lower class 'Those potential women had to be, not sounding corny, had to be from a good family background. It wouldnt be cool to marry a lower class.' Heidi Klum braved LA's continuing downpour on Thursday for another day of judging America's Got Talent auditions, with help from her very own umbrella handler. The 44-year-old Emmy winner - who joined the NBC talent competition in 2013 - clutched a black puffer coat while clad in a matching hoodie, skinny jeans, and sneakers. The German-born presenter - who boasts 13.7M social media followers - later shared a time-lapse video of her glam squad prepping her for the epsiode. Scroll down for video Diva moment: Heidi Klum braved LA's continuing downpour on Thursday for another day of judging America's Got Talent auditions, with help from her very own umbrella handler Rainy day: The 44-year-old Emmy winner - who joined the NBC talent competition in 2013 - clutched a black puffer coat while clad in a matching hoodie, skinny jeans, and sneakers In the clip, make-up artist Linda Hay and hairstylist Lorenzo Martin transformed Heidi from drab to fab with a red pout and blown-out locks. Klum completed her camera-ready look with a circular mirror-embellished black dress selected by stylist duo Rob Zangardi & Mariel Haenn. 'Sometimes people say, "You're 44. You're turning 45, why are you not giving the baton to someone else?"' the twice-divorced mother-of-four said on the February 26 episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. 'But I always think, there's a lot of women my age, 50, 60, 70, do we have an expiration date? Can we not also still feel sexy? 'Getting ready!' The German-born presenter - who boasts 13.7M social media followers - later shared a time-lapse video of her glam squad prepping her for the epsiode Ready for her close-up: In the clip, make-up artist Linda Hay (L) and hairstylist Lorenzo Martin (R) transformed Heidi from drab to fab with a red pout and blown-out locks. Filtered: Klum completed her camera-ready look with a circular mirror-embellished black dress selected by stylist duo Rob Zangardi & Mariel Haenn The twice-divorced mother-of-four said on the February 26 episode Ellen: 'Sometimes people say, "You're 44. You're turning 45, why are you not giving the baton to someone else?" ...But why can't an older woman be in a campaign? So I'm still doing it' 'And why do we always have to see 20-year-olds and 30-year-olds in campaigns, but why can't an older woman be in a campaign? So I'm still doing it.' Fans can catch the HK Intimates creative director on the 13th season - premiering May 29 on NBC - alongside Howie Mandel, Melanie Brown, Simon Cowell, and host Tyra Banks. Heidi also serves as lead judge and executive producer of cycle 13 of Germany's Next Topmodel, which airs Thursdays on ProSieben. Premiering May 29 on NBC! Fans can catch the HK Intimates creative director on the 13th season alongside Howie Mandel, Melanie Brown, and Simon Cowell (pictured Sunday) Busy: Heidi also serves as lead judge and executive producer of cycle 13 of Germany's Next Topmodel, which airs Thursdays on ProSieben When she's not in front of a camera, Klum cares for her four children - Johan, 11; Helene, 13; Lou, 8; and Henry, 12 - with ex-husband #2 Seal and ex-partner Flavio Briatore. The Project Runway host is 'very single and very ready to mingle' since the end of her three-year relationship with art curator Vito Schnabel in September. The Halloween enthusiast - who's not on any dating apps - admitted to Ellen that she had celebrity crushes on Oscar nominee Joaquin Phoenix and Grammy winner Drake. Christmas Eve family portrait: Klum has four children - Johan, 11; Helene, 13; Lou, 8; and Henry, 12 - with ex-husband #2 Seal and ex-partner Flavio Briatore After the Married At First Sight reunion left fans' burning questions unanswered, The Kyle and Jackie O Show staged its own explosive Q&A session on Friday. During the interview, Nasser Sultan finally addressed claims he had 'secret girlfriend' throughout filming - and his answer left his 'ex-wife' Gabrielle Bartlett speechless. Fellow contestant Sarah Roza called through to the studio and claimed the 50-year-old fitness instructor was indeed in a relationship with another woman while MAFS was being filmed last year. Scroll down for video Bombshell claims: On Friday, MAFS' Nasser Sultan finally addressed claims he had 'secret girlfriend' during filming - and his answer left his 'ex-wife' Gabrielle Bartlett speechless Nasser sat alongside his ex Gabrielle and co-star Dean Wells as the caller revealed: 'You know Nasser had a girl the whole time the show was being filmed?' Kyle Sandilands asked Nasser if this was true, and he shook his head in response. Sarah quickly responded, saying that Nasser had shipped his 'girlfriend' off overseas so that he could take part in the series. Nasser sarcastically 'agreed' and jokingly admitted had three extra relationships. Revelations: After the Married At First Sight reunion left fans' burning questions unanswered, The Kyle and Jackie O Show staged its own explosive Q&A session on Friday morning As Sarah shared her sympathies with Gabrielle over her ordeal, Nasser joked he had 'a side piece' and 'lots on the side', referring to his relationships with women. Confused at what was going on, Jackie 'O' Henderson asked Gabrielle if she had any idea that her 'ex-husband' had a girlfriend. She hesitated before saying, 'I just don't want to comment.' He said what?! When confronted by Kyle and Jackie, Nasser joked he had 'a side piece' and 'lots on the side', referring to his relationships with women. Gabrielle (right) declined to comment Kyle chimed in, wondering if Gabrielle had any suspicions Nasser was not being faithful during their TV marriage. She repeated that she did not want to comment. Wanting to get to the bottom of the rumours, Jackie turned to Nasser and demanded to know the truth. 'There's no girlfriend. There's nothing, it's "he say she say",' he replied. Secrets? The 'secret girlfriend' rumours come after Woman's Day alleged that Nasser had concealed a relationship from the show's producers The 'secret girlfriend' rumours come after Woman's Day alleged that Nasser had concealed a relationship from the show's producers. Insiders allegedly told the magazine: '(He) may have been in contact with another woman throughout the whole of the show.' However, Nasser denied the report, telling KIIS FM that he '100 per cent' did not cheat on Gabrielle Bartlett. She will return to Married At First Sight next year for a second chance at love. And on Friday, Jo McPharlin revealed she has had a few romantic offers since her TV marriage to Sean Donnelly fell apart. The 40-year-old single mother said on the Today show: 'There's been a bit of sniffing interest around the place!' Scroll down for video While Jo admitted a few men have been 'sniffing' around, she was quick to confirm that she isn't in a serious relationship. 'No nothing yet. I've literally been so busy... because I was away so long. I've just been really focusing on the kids,' she added. Host Georgie Gardner also asked Jo if the 'social experiment' had been worth it, considering her disastrous marriage to Sean. Cheeky bride: Married At First Sight's Jo McPharlin joked on Friday's Today show that she has had a few men 'sniffing' around as she prepares to walk down the aisle AGAIN in the next series 'It has just made me want to go out and get it more, I think,' Jo replied. Earlier on Friday, a producer from KIIS FM's The Kyle And Jackie O Show revealed live on-air that Jo will 'be back next season'. 'Did you know that Jo's actually going to be back next season,' they said. Spoiler alert! Earlier on Friday, a producer from KIIS FM's The Kyle And Jackie O Show revealed live on-air that Jo will 'be back next season' Jo, who hails from Adelaide, had previously expressed her desire to return to MAFS for another season. 'I would do it all again in the blink of an eye,' she told New Idea. Married At First Sight will return to Channel Nine next year Emma Chow has welcomed her first child, son Valentino Fox, into the world with her husband Enzo Lisbona. The bubbly radio host gushed that their little tot was 'more perfect than we could have ever imagined' after giving birth on Tuesday. Emma, who is one half of Mike E & Emma on The Edge 96.ONE, said: 'Meeting our little man was the most surreal, overwhelming, and unforgettable experience.' Congratulations! Emma Chow has welcomed her first child, son Valentino Fox, into the world with her husband Enzo Lisbona She continued: 'He is more perfect than we ever could've imagined and smells like heaven!' The presenter shared a sweet Instagram snap of her bundle of joy, who was born on March 20 at 7.42pm, weighing 2.8kg and 48cm. 'And just like that, life means so much more. Valentino Fox Lisbona 20.3.18,' she wrote simply. Doting father Enzo posted the same snap and penned: 'V A L E N T I N O. Just fell in Love all over again. Welcome to the world my boy, Valentino Fox Lisbona 20.03.18.' Adorable: The bubbly radio host gushed that their little tot (pictured) was 'more perfect than we could have ever imagined' after giving birth on Tuesday Proud parents: Emma, who is one half of Mike E & Emma on The Edge 96.ONE , said: 'Meeting our little man was the most surreal, overwhelming, and unforgettable experience' From Friday, Emma will be on maternity leave, but The 'Mike E & Emma Show' will continue, with Mike E hosting the show with help from 'Producer Nat' and 'Casual Mandy' until she returns full-time on May 21. The Sydney host announced in October that she and Enzo were expecting their first child, sharing a touching Instagram post of the couple next to a sign that read: 'Made in Italy, due April 7.' She captioned the photo: 'Secret's out! We've been cookin' something special - Beyond excited for the wildest ride of all.' Emma admitted that she'd had no desire to be a mother, until she saw how caring Enzo was around children. Glowing: The Sydney host announced in October that she and Enzo were expecting their first child, sharing a touching Instagram post of the couple next to a sign that read: 'Made in Italy, due April 7' 'The first time I saw him with his niece, I melted like butter. My ovaries did quadruple backflips and I felt like I was going to throw up,' she told Popsugar. 'I was already falling in love with him and this picture was the icing on the cake. 'I knew then and there that he was going to be the father of the children I thought I never wanted to have.' In 2015, the couple's engagement proposal video went viral after Enzo surprised the beauty on the radio. The star was live on-air when her beau unexpectedly entered the studio. 'Emma, will you be my real-life wife?' he asked clutching a ring box. After breaking down into tears of joy, she accepted by saying 'yes.' Candid: Emma admitted that she'd had no desire to be a mother, until she saw how caring Enzo was around children Tarek El Moussa claims he was conned out of $35,000 in putting down a deposit on a home in his native Orange County, California. The reality TV star of HGTV's Flip or Flop fame, according to TMZ, is suing a man named Mario Gonzalez and his company, MCR Realty, nearly four years after he wired Gonzalez $35,000 in the transaction. Tarek, 36, said in court papers that he was wary of wiring Gonzalez the money in the April 2014 transaction, but went ahead with it anyway, the outlet reported. Scroll below for video Headed to court: Tarek El Moussa, 36, says he was conned out of $35,000 in putting down a deposit on a home in his native Orange County, California from a man who was subsequently arrested in connection with grand theft Tarek said that he reported the transaction to authorities after Gonzalez did not respond to messages for months. Tarek said he subsequently learned that Gonzalez was arrested, as TMZ reported that he was taken into custody in connection with grand theft in December 2016 by officials with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Dept. Gonzalez also lost a license he had as a realtor, according to the outlet. Despite the legal headache, things have been on the upswing for Tarek, who recently acquired a farmhouse home in Costa Mesa, California, the city home to the luxurious mall South Coast Plaza. Buyer's remorse: Tarek said in court docs that the man stopped contacting him after he deposited $35,000 for the home. The TV star was snapped in NYC in June of 2017 Impulsive buy: Tarek last week revealed that he picked up a Costa Mesa, California home after it caught his eye after he drove by it The real estate professional took to Instagram to announce the acquisition of the home, and the spontaneous nature of his decision to buy. (The Blast reported that he spent $2.28 million on the abode.) 'I wasn't looking for a house nor was I looking in Costa Mesa,' he wrote. 'I was randomly driving down a street and saw this place and I knew it was the one! 'Within hours I was writing an offer and negotiating the deal...the lesson...if you want something go get it, go after it and never quit! Tarek, who shares two children with wife Christina El Moussa, 34 - seven-year-old daughter Taylor and two-year-old son Brayden, added, 'Babies finally get a home with daddy!!!' He is known for his feisty, flamboyant antics on popular quiz show Celebrity Juice. And Gino D'Acampo shocked the Celebrity Juice panel as he attempted to drop the C-Bomb three times in quick succession on live TV on Thursday. Presenter Keith Lemon had previously warned his guests they were banned from swearing as the 19th series of the hit show kicked off. Scroll down for video Wow:Gino D'Acampo shocked the Celebrity Juice panel as he attempted to drop the C-Bomb three times in quick succession on live TV on Thursday Celeb guests: Presenter Keith Lemon had previously warned his guests they were banned from swearing as the 19th series of the hit show kicked off (above with Holly Willoughby and Georgia Toffolo) At first This Morning chef Gino, 41, did appear to stick to the rules as he warned guests not to use expletives. But the Italian decided to use a clever tactic to get around the swearing ban as he used his accent to his advantage, with Keith asking if Gino had been prepped on what he could and couldn't say. Gino then said: 'Contagious, can I say contagious?' An irate Keith urged him to stop, as it sounded like a expletive but a quizzical Gino didn't believe he had broken the rules. Jaw-dropping: But the Italian decided to use a clever tactic to get around the swearing ban as he used his accent to his advantage, with Keith asking if Gino had been prepped on what he could and couldn't say Fury: Gino then said: 'Contagious, can I say contagious?' An irate Keith urged him to stop, as it sounded like a expletive but a quizzical Gino didn't believe he had broken the rules Determined: Gino then sang: 'Can I say 'cant buy me love'?" Keith responded: 'You cant sing it and you cant say it' Defiant: Russell Brand then said it was probably better if Gino had sworn outright, saying: 'That is probably more expensive to use a Beatles' lyric that hasnt been cleared than say that word' Gino then sang: 'Can I say 'cant buy me love'?" Keith responded: 'You cant sing it and you cant say it.' Russell Brand then said it was probably better if Gino had sworn outright, saying: 'That is probably more expensive to use a Beatles' lyric that hasnt been cleared than say that word.' Holly Willoughby was putting on yet another stylish display as she filmed for Celebrity Juice with her co-hosts and close friends Fearne Cotton and Keith Lemon. The This Morning favourite showed off her flair for fashion in a pretty summer dress with contrasting ruffle detailing across the bust. Terrific trio:Holly Willoughby was putting on yet another stylish display as she filmed for Celebrity Juice with her co-hosts and close friends Fearne Cotton and Keith Lemon (above with Georgia Toffolo) Holly's thigh-skimming number was set off with a pair of peep-toe heels to highlight her tanned pins. The star posed beside BFF Fearne, who was rocking an eye-catching pink suit and leopard print shirt. Special guest Georgia Toffolo completed the line-up for the evening, looking lovely in a burgundy dress. Leggy lady: Holly's thigh-skimming number was set off with a pair of peep-toe heels to highlight her tanned pins Fancy: The This Morning favourite showed off her flair for fashion in a pretty summer dress with contrasting ruffle detailing across the bust Outfit details: Sharing her look with her fans, Holly wrote, 'We are live at 10pm .... @celebjuiceofficial @itv2 ... dress by @topshop shoes @ginashoesofficial #hwstyle' Final countdown: Gino D'Acampo also joined in on the fun for the filming session Keith recently revealed what advice he gives to men when they meet his pal Holly for the first time. 'Generally every male on the planet tries to flirt with Holly cause shes incredibly attractive,' he told The Sun. 'I always just tell people, "Dont look in her eyes! Do NOT look in her eyes." 'If you do she can ask you to do anything and youll do it, so you just cant look into those eyes.' 'Do NOT look into her eyes!' Keith Lemon recently revealed what he tells men when they meet Hollyfor the first time The host of the show added that Holly's eyes are the reason he has ended up on more than one raucous night out. 'You know if you want to go home instead of going on to the next part, and she asks you to go on? Dont look in her eyes and youll go home, but as soon as you look into them and she says, "Lets go to another party," then youre like, "Oh okay!"' This perhaps explains Holly's notorious antics when she's out with her This Morning co-host Philip Schofield. The pair famously didn't go to bed after the 2016 National Television Awards, rolling in wearing the same outfits from the night before, coming straight to the studios from partying all night. As a nod to this, Keith added: 'Shes fun to go out with, shes good trouble, she enjoys herself. Thats what you see on This Morning when shes hungover.' It's back: As Celebrity Juice returns to ITV2, the series will broadcast another of its infamous live episodes, with Russell Brand on the panel Although the 2018 NTAs saw Holly and Phil turn up having been to bed, it wasn't an easy show for the hungover duo. Phillip nearly vomited live on air before climbing into bed with a very bleary-eyed Holly following another of their very boozy nights out. The playful pair showed up to their morning programme with hoarse Phil nearly losing his tummy over the sight of Holly eating a bacon sandwich and them both struggling to get through the show. Blonde beauty Holly admitted she had only had two hours sleep after heading to bed at 4am. Phil continued: 'We had a lot of fun. My voice has gone down an octave.' A bleary-eyed Holly continued: 'I might read the autocue with one eye shut.' As Celebrity Juice returns to ITV2, the series will broadcast another of its infamous live episodes, with Russell Brand on the panel. They've been happily married for eight years. And Emily Blunt and John Krasinski were the picture of marital bliss as they attended the screening of Final Portrait in New York City on Thursday. The Devil Wears Prada actress, 35, smiled admiringly at her dashing husband, 38, as they enjoyed a low-key night out on the town. So in love: Emily Blunt and John Krasinski were the picture of marital bliss as they attended the screening of Final Portrait in New York City on Thursday. Emily stood out in her bright orange blouse with puffy sleeves and a pair of flared black trousers. She gave her sophisticated look an edgy touch with her striking PVC ankle boots. John cosied up to his lady love in a black long-sleeve top, grey trousers, and black shoes. Neither Emily or John appear in the upcoming Final Portrait, which stars Armie Hammer and is about Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti. Marital bliss: The Devil Wears Prada actress, 35, smiled admiringly at her dashing husband, 38, as they enjoyed a low-key night out on the town But the couple recently worked together for the upcoming horror film A Quiet Place. John directed and starred opposite his wife in the thriller, which follows a family who are haunted by creatures who hunt their prey by sound. The Office actor admitted he was apprehensive about working with his wife just two days before filming. Just the girls! Blunt chatted up with Blake Lively and Felicity Blunt 'We were just finishing dinner, and she said, "Can I ask you a question? Are you nervous?" And I said, "Terrified"', he told Us Weekly. Fortunately it all ended up working nicely for the couple. 'It was bizarre how well it worked,' he told the website. A Quiet Place also stars Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds, Leon Russom, and will be released April 6, 2018. Award-winning American playwright Tony Kushner has praised the British cast of his musical Caroline, Or Change and expressed his excitement about its transfer into the West End this autumn. Kushner, who wrote the show with composer Jeanine Tesori, was jubilant because it's the first time one of his productions has played in the central theatre district. The musical, starring Sharon D. Clarke as a divorced mother of four, working as a maid for a Jewish family in Louisiana in 1963, played at Chichester Festival Theatre last spring. It is now enjoying a run at the Hampstead Theatre, where it received accolades from critics after Tuesday's opening night. On song: Me'Sha Bryan and Sharon D Clarke (right) who plays a divorced mother of four, working as a maid for a Jewish family in Louisiana in 1963 And I can now reveal that it will transfer to the ATG's Playhouse Theatre, where it will run for a season from November 16. 'It's exciting, and I'm very happy,' Kushner told me from New York. The playwright, whose hit National Theatre production of Angels In America opens officially on Broadway on Sunday, said that Caroline 'only works if you can find somebody who can do that monster role and Sharon is astounding!' He said he has already heard from two New York producers, asking: 'Why don't we do it here?' The calls amused him because when the Caroline, Or Change opened in NY in 2003 it was 'not entirely appreciated'. Kushner said that British reviewers and 'the wonderful British, listening audiences' got what it was about race, class, white privilege and black deprivation when it played at the National Theatre 12 years ago. And he said the show is even more relevant now that the 'unspeakable white supremacist Trump' is ensconced in the White House. His views echoed those of Ms Clarke. 'We've got the Trump foolishness now,' the actress said when we chatted following Tuesday's performance at the Hampstead. The story's close to home for Clarke. Her mother worked as a seamstress at a Jewish factory in East London; and her mum's boss insisted on hiring her, even though others said he shouldn't The 'change' in the title refers to the coins belonging to schoolboy Noah Gellman that Caroline finds when she does laundry at the home where she's employed. Problems start when the boy's stepmother tells her she can keep the change. Meanwhile, outside, there is change of a different sort: momentous social change. The story's close to home for Clarke. Her mother worked as a seamstress at a Jewish factory in East London; and her mum's boss insisted on hiring her, even though others said he shouldn't. Caroline's second act number Lot's Wife finds her unable to control the anger she usually keeps in check when she's working for the Gellmans. 'It's about her rage, but it's also a prayer to God,' she said. The actress noted that there has been a momentous shift, even in the last few months, in her own profession. 'They used to say black don't sell but look at Black Panther! Look at the Oscar nominees and winners.' She cited the success of London productions such as Hamilton, Dream Girls and Motown, too. Caroline's second act number Lot's Wife finds her unable to control the anger she usually keeps in check when she's working for the Gellmans Tesori, who also composed the forthcoming Tony-award winning Fun Home, which runs at the Young Vic in June, said she was thrilled with the Caroline ensemble including Clarke and Abiona Omonua, who plays Caroline's daughter. And she hailed the show's director Michael Longhurst as 'such a find...he gets the rhythm of musicals on stage'. Caroline, Or Change runs at Hampstead through April 21. Visit carolineorchange.co.uk for Playhouse transfer ticket info. Michael Stuhlbarg, who appeared in the Oscar-winning film The Shape Of Water and two other Academy Award-nominated pictures (The Post, and Call Me By Your Name) is joining Channel 4's big, post World War II spy thriller Jerusalem The Quite fabulous American Michael Stuhlbarg, who appeared in the Oscar-winning film The Shape Of Water and two other Academy Award-nominated pictures (The Post, and Call Me By Your Name) is joining Channel 4's big, post World War II spy thriller Jerusalem. Many folks felt Stuhlbarg should have been nominated for a best supporting actor award for his performance as Timothee Chalamet's father in Call My By Your Name. When I saw him at the Oscars, he hinted he might soon be working in the UK. Jerusalem, produced by Twenty Twenty and 42 , reunites Stuhlbarg with Bash Doran, who wrote some episodes of Boardwalk Empire, in which Stuhlbarg portrayed 1920s mobster Arnold Rothstein. British-born but New York-based Doran told me she has long wanted to create a television drama for the home front (her American efforts also include Masters Of Sex and The Looming Tower). She said the series will star 'the best of the best of British actors, and Michael Stuhlbarg'. Emma Appleton will play Feef (Correct) Symonds, a young woman from a failing aristocratic family who works for the Civil Service. Stuhlbarg plays an American living in the UK who's connected to a rogue, pre-CIA intelligence agency. Doran explained that after Labour won the 1945 election, some in Washington were worried about what the Socialists would do. Labour had promised a national health service, and other nationalised services. 'Civil servants had to structure them from scratch. Just trying to figure out how to give the country a health service was immense,' Doran said. Keeley Hawes has been cast as Priscilla Garrick, Feef's superior. Others in the 'HBO-sized ensemble' include Luke Treadaway, Stephen Campbell Moore, Phoebe Nicholls, Owen Teale, Stanley Townsend and Matt Lauria. Doran said that, after living in the US for 15 years, she was 'really conscious that I was writing in an American voice and creatively, I needed to find a vehicle to express my feelings about Britain'. Including those on 'entitlement and the eccentricity surrounding the aristocracy'. I've caught some of her stage plays, off Broadway, including Kin and The Mystery Of Love And Sex. She told me she's working on a new play that she hopes will start off in London. Broadway star Patti LuPone will be at the Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall on April 8 to present the best director trophy. She will stay on in town to meet up with her collaborators on the new adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's Company, which is being directed by Marianne Elliott at the Gielgud Theatre from Septe Rating: As a dizzyingly rich pop star, Sting could have taken it easy, counting his money and oiling his limbs for the occasional bout of tantric gymnastics with lovely wife Trudie. Instead, to his credit, he has spent years honing a romantic musical about the decline of shipbuilding in his home town of Wallsend on Tyneside. Geographically and politically, The Last Ship is roughly in Billy Elliot territory. Some of the story is set in the days of Thatcherism, when global competition caught up with British heavy industry and its trade unions. Alongside some clunky politics we have a love story about naval officer Gideon who returns to Wallsend after 17 years and encounters Meg (Frances McNamee), the girl he left behind. Gideon is played handsomely by Richard Fleeshman, whose husky singing voice is disconcertingly like that of Sting. The Wallsend skyline well depicted on a backdrop of scudding clouds and angular cranes is dominated by the outline of a not-yet finished ship, the Utopia. Tyne and Weary: Joe McGann (pictured) and Frances McNamee star in Sting's musical The Last Ship Some of the action is staged inside the cathedral hulk of the Utopia. Other scenes are set in the nearby pub run by single-mother Meg. The story pits brutal, foolish, capitalist management against a heroic Geordie workforce led by a wise foreman (Joe McGann) and a communist shop steward (Joe Caffrey). Good grief. You'd never guess that Mr Sting was a tax-savvy plutocrat with his own global brand. When the foreman's health starts to fail, brace yourself for one of several corny plot devices: gallant working man in drawn-out death scene urging his fellow proletarians to see the job through to the end. I happen to be a sucker for this sort of thing, as well as northern repartee and foot-stamping songs by proud working-class women. Accompanied by Sting's intricate and original music (played by a good five-piece band), long stretches become thoroughly watchable. There are numerous vignettes, not least from Charlie Hardwick as the foreman's wife and a song led by Annie Grace about how the women love their impossible husbands. That has more foot-stamping. Stamp, stamp, stamp. It gives the show an insistence, but it lacks Billy Elliot's balletic softness and that important sense of something bigger than even North-Eastern industrial tribalism. FAlongside some clunky politics we have a love story about naval officer Gideon who returns to Wallsend after 17 years and encounters Meg (Frances McNamee, pictured), the girl he left behind, WRITES QUENTIN LETTS When the shipyard is put out of business, the workers decided to honour their industrial skills and finish that last ship, without pay. They will launch it and maybe sail to Lindisfarne. As the plot veers into implausibility, we may see the ship as a metaphor: a vessel of life's dreams. Or we may just suspect that Sting is racked with nostalgia for the Tyneside he quit as a young man. Has he not heard that the place is booming (and often voting Tory) these days? Though I lapped up the soupier cliches and enjoyed the full-hearted (if over-amplified) performances, the politics become absurd. An Eighties Government minister is caricatured with Maggie-style vowels and blue jacket. And the framing device of a narrator, initially no more than twee, becomes annoying when she closes with a lecture about listening to the political views of the 'beautiful, powerful' workers of Tyne & Wear and it all starts going decidedly Corbyn with some stuff about how we need to save 'our NHS'. This in a show whose programme sneers at the very Brexit which those same valiant North-Easterners voted for in the EU referendum. Stick to the music, Mr Sting. Kim Jong-un's granddad was a wrong'un too! The Great Wave (Royal National Theatre) Rating: As a child on family holidays in Spain I was sometimes told by playmates to beware local gipsies 'because they kidnap English children and you will never again see your parents'. Probably unfair on the gipsies, but that was the lurid rumour. In 1979, something similar was said in Japan after young adults went missing the rumour was that the North Koreans snatched the youngsters to brainwash them as possible future spies. And it happened to be true. Francis Turnly's interesting play looks at one abduction. Schoolgirl Hanako has had a row with her sister and stomps off to the beach, never to return. Hanako, 17, has been taken by North Korean agents and ends up in a cell decorated by a portrait of 'Great Leader', Kim Il-sung (Kim Jong-un's grandpa). Hanako is told she may not return home until she has learned Korean and come to accept the supremacy of the North Korean way of life. As the Dorfman stage's revolve turns, we see Hanako's desolate mother and sister working with a young journalist to shame the Japanese foreign ministry into admitting it knows such kidnappings are happening. A Family left bereft: Francis Turnly's interesting play looks at one abduction, WRITES QUENTIN LETTS Indhu Rubasingham's uncluttered production tells the story crisply, though with too little internal characterisation. The plot gallops along and is at its best when we are in North Korea and see Hanako trying to form a friendship with Jung Sun (Tuyen Do), a communist she is instructing in Japanese culture. Kirsty Rider has touching moments of loneliness as Hanako. Kwong Loke is good as the outwardly rigid North Korean commander who tries to frighten Hanako into accepting her new fate. Look out for David Yip as a policeman, Kae Alexander as Hanako's sister, Rosalind Chao as her mum and Leo Wan as the journalist. The best moment is when a terrified North Korean (Vincent Lai) jabbers support for Kim while a soldier's torch beam shines at his mouth. Some of the writing is blunt a police interrogation is cornily done but dramatic niggles are balanced by the subject matter. Here is a show addressing genuine, pressing threats to liberty rather than the petty infractions of the Western grievance politics we are so often offered. The tale takes satisfying twists and the slow conclusion may elicit discreet tears. She put on an incredibly cosy display with hunky Scott Thomas as she enjoyed a chilly night out in London the day before. But on Thursday, Amber appeared to be yearning for balmier climes, as she took to her Instagram platform with a sizzling bikini clad image. The TOWIE star, 24, displayed her eye-popping assets and tiny stomach as she slipped into a pastel blue bikini with stylish white petal detailing. Wow: Amber Turner, 24, displayed her eye-popping assets and tiny stomach as she slipped into a pastel blue bikini with stylish white petal detailing for a sizzling Ijnstagram snap Amber's envy-inducing bronzed body was on full form in the minuscule two-piece and she completed the look with a glamorous coat of make-up and an immaculate blowdry. 'Summer where u at? Love this bikini from @unique_avenue #bikini #new #ad #uniqueavenue #swimwear,' the blonde bombshell captioned the attention grabbing snap. This comes after Amber was seen departing Wednesday night's OK! Magazine anniversary bash in London with Love Island 2016 contestant Scott Thomas. The stunner, who was left heartbroken after a fling with co-star Dan Edgar, looked sensational in a deeply plunging red jumpsuit while Scott, who split from Kady McDermott last year, looked slick in a checked suit jacket. Cosy: This comes after Amber was seen departing Wednesday night's OK! Magazine anniversary bash in London with Love Island 2016 contestant Scott Thomas Amber looked sensational at the party, which occured just days before the launch of TOWIE's 22nd season, on which her former flame Dan will introduce his new girlfriend Clelia Theodouru, much to her reported heartbreak. Elsewhere, Scott was in an on-off romance with Love Island co-star Kady, which first ended after he was arrested for a boozy bust-up in June, before a brief reunion which ended in tears in December - leaving the star single and ready to mingle. It was plain to see why Scott may have approached Amber before their departure together, as she looked incredible in her plunging red jumpsuit which displayed the results of her recent boob job as she went braless underneath. She wore her blonde tresses in huge bouncy waves, while her make-up was lavishly applied to provide the perfect red carpet look for the star-studded bash. Hot stuff! The 24-year-old stunner, who was left heartbroken after a fling with co-star Dan Edgar, looked sensational in a deeply plunging red jumpsuit while Scott, who split from Kady McDermott last year, looked slick in a checked suit jacket Stunner: It was plain to see why Scott may have approached Amber and their departure together, as she looked incredible in her plunging red jumpsuit which displayed the results of her recent boob job as she went braless underneath Blonde beauty: She wore her blonde tresses in huge bouncy waves, while her make-up was lavishly applied to provide the perfect red carpet look for the star-studded bash Off we go! Scott, who has christened himself Scotty Special, was certainly dressed to impress as he sported tight black jeans with a black shirt while upping the sophistication with his checked blazer and complementary pocket square Loved-up: Amber looked sensational at the party, which occured just days before the launch of TOWIE's 22nd season, on which her former flame Dan will introduce his new girlfriend Clelia Theodouru, much to her reported heartbreak Stunner: Scott was in a relationship with Kady before their final split in December Scott, who has christened himself Scotty Special, was certainly dressed to impress as he sported tight black jeans with a black shirt while upping the sophistication with his checked blazer and complementary pocket square. The couple looked extremely cosy, as Scott scooped down to look at Amber's phone before they both sat in the cab with matching grins on their faces. MailOnline has contacted Amber and Scott's representatives for comment. Taxi for two! The duo appeared perfectly at ease together as they headed into the night Just good friends? The stunner was smouldering in all red as she headed off with the dashing Mancunian Getting your own back? It's been claimed Amber hit back at Dan for 'lying and stringing her along' when she joined co-stars including Chloe Lewis for filming in Barcelona It's been claimed Amber hit back at Dan for 'lying and stringing her along' when she joined co-stars including Chloe Lewis for filming in Barcelona. It was alleged the Essex native had 'a huge meltdown' on set after discovering 27-year-old Dan was seeing new girl Clelia. Amber dumped her boyfriend of four years, Jamie Reed, to be with Dan in 2016. But the pair called it quits back in October when the blonde reportedly discovered he had bedded a mystery woman behind her back during a lads' trip to Ireland. Meanwhile, in June last year a fiery bust-up with Kady left fans in shock when Scott was arrested on suspicion of assault. Over it: Amber dumped her boyfriend of four years, Jamie Reed, to be with Dan in 2016. But the pair called it quits back in October when the blonde reportedly discovered he had bedded a mystery woman behind her back during a lads' trip to Ireland Got it going on: The pair were perfectly matched as they hit the red carpet in their stylish ensembles At the time, a spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: 'Shortly after 4:35am on Saturday 24 June 2017, police were called to reports of a domestic incident at an address in Stockport. 'Officers attended and arrested a 28-year-old man on suspicion of assault. He was later released without charge and no further action will be taken.' After the row, sources told The Sun: 'Kady was furious when Scott came into the house drunk. They had a huge row and it got out of hand with some pushing. Kady called the police and Scott spent the rest of the night in a cell. It was blown out of proportion and they were both really embarrassed the next day.' Moving on: Meanwhile, in June last year a fiery bust-up with Kady left fans in shock when Scott was arrested on suspicion of assault Fans were moved to tears after Coronation Street's David Platt was drugged and sexually assaulted by Josh Tucker in heartbreaking scenes. And David decided to move to New Zealand with his returning father Martin Platt in a bid to escape his evil rapist, in scenes aired on Thursday. Viewers were left shocked as the hairdresser told his stunned family he was moving halfway across the world, and leaving Weatherfield behind for good, even if it spelled the end of his relationship with Shona. Scroll down for video Emotional: David Platt decided to move to New Zealand with his returning father Martin Platt in a bid to escape his evil rapist, in scenes aired on Thursday's episode of Coronation Street Iconic: Viewers went wild for Sean Wilson's return to the soap as Martin, with hordes taking to social media to praise his performance and his youthful good looks David had taken his children to Liverpool after he was taunted by his rapist at Harry's party, and had a sleepless night on the sofa. Viewers saw Coronation Street legend Martin make his triumphant return to the cobbles after 12 years, with the concerned father realising David was not his usual self. He almost got David to reveal the devastating attack, with his son saying: 'It's not easy,' before Martin cut him off and claimed David was angry with him for moving abroad. When David returned to Weatherfield he said: 'Ive made a decision, I think we should move to New Zealand as well.' Move: Viewers were left shocked as the hairdresser told his stunned family he was moving halfway across the world, and leaving Weatherfield behind for good, even if it spelled the end of his relationship with Shona A father's insight: Viewers saw Coronation Street legend Martin make his triumphant return to the cobbles after 12 years, with the concerned father realising David was not his usual self A shocked Gail refused to let him go but David asked her to come with him. When she said she would be homeless, David said: 'To be honest Gail I couldnt give a monkeys. Im doing it for the kids.' David then rowed with Shona in the salon, with David shouting: 'I wish everyone would stop hassling me. Im moving my kids to New Zealand, you can either stay here or come with me, its up to you.' Viewers went wild for Sean Wilson's return to the soap as Martin, with hordes taking to social media to praise his performance and his youthful good looks. One fan wrote: 'Thank you @itvcorrie for bringing Martin Platt back (@SeanWilsonChef)... I've missed watching Martin and David (@JackPShepherd88) working together. Fear: He almost got David to reveal the devastating attack, with his son saying: 'It's not easy,' before Martin cut him off and claimed David was angry with him for moving abroad Decision: When David returned to Weatherfield he said: 'Ive made a decision, I think we should move to New Zealand as well' Heartbreak: David then rowed with Shona in the salon, with David shouting: 'I wish everyone would stop hassling me. Im moving my kids to New Zealand, you can either stay here or come with me, its up to you' Comeback: Martin (played by Sean Wilson) made a triumphant comeback Praise: Fans flocked to social media to praise the 52-year-old actor turned cheesemaker Another added: 'Best episode in years that with Martin back on defo brought me back through the years #CoronationStreet #corrie #martinplatt @itvcorrie.' One fan said: 'How has Martin Platt not aged one day!?! #corrie #CoronationStreet' while another added: 'Nice to see Martin back. Wish he was staying! Especially with David needing him #Corrie #CoronationStreet.' While some of Corrie's fans lauded the veteran tea-time show for addressing the topic of male rape, the complaints have continued to flood in to Ofcom from those finding it too much to stomach. The latest tally sees the complaints count reach almost 200, after the longstanding character was drugged and sexually abused by the character of Josh Tucker on Friday's episode. Flooding in: While some of Corrie's fans lauded the veteran tea-time show for addressing the topic of male rape, the complaints have continued to flood in to Ofcom from those finding it too much to stomach. While the initial encounter prompted some complaints to come in, the episode dealing with the aftermath encouraged more to express their disdain over the subject matter. David - who is played by actor Jack P. Shepherd - was seen waking up after the incident and slowly coming to realise what had happened to him. He woke up to find a photo of his rapist on the bed next to him, with a note telling him: 'Gone to gym. Help yourself to brekkie. No crumbs!' David was seen heading home, showering and slowly piecing things together, only to have to face Josh (Ryan Clayton) and David's mother Gail (Helen Worth) later in the day. This culminated in him being sick in the garden. The rape scenes first attracted 150 complaints to TV regulator Ofcom. Distressing scenes: While the initial encounter prompted some complaints to come in, the episode dealing with the aftermath encouraged more to express their disdain over the subject matter 17 further complaints were made on Monday. But with such an ordeal causing a longstanding effect, the story-line is unlikely to ease up any time soon - especially as Coronation Street is filmed weeks in advance and will have already shot the aftermath. 'It is a long-running story,' confirmed show boss Kate Oats after the scenes aired. 'I would ask people not to make judgments on it.' Yet one celebrity who spoke out against the plot is former Ready Steady Cook presenter Fern Britton, who took to Twitter to blast the dark subject matter, pleading for producers to bring back the 'fun and laughter' of the veteran soap. Heartbreaking: Coronation Street fans described being moved to tears after watching David Platt struggle to come to terms with being raped on Monday night Fern, 60, hit out at the devastating scenes, claiming it was 'unsuitable for pre-watershed'. She wrote: 'Is it looking for a post watershed slot? Not witnessing the graphic horror/degradation/shame/pain of sexual abuse is worse than seeing it. Unsuitable for pre watershed @ITV #SaveOurCorrie.' When asked by a fan if she wanted more explicit scenes, she continued: 'It's the thought and imagination of something that makes something scary, it's a we'll own technique for creating drama without being explicit. 'But in this case, is that @itvcorrie? (sic)' Annoyed: But Fern Britton took to Twitter to blast the dark storyline, pleading for producers to bring back the 'fun and laughter' following the harrowing episode Outraged: The 60-year-old hit out at scenes in which David realised he had been drugged and sexually abused by villain Josh Tucker, claiming it was 'unsuitable for pre watershed' Fern later hit out at the show for changing when replying to a follower who said the soap used to have 'warmth' and 'humour'. Enraged, she penned: 'It did! Now its brain tumour, testicular cancer, kidney transplant, ms, and bipolar all in one dollop. 'Plus paedophile grooming, and now male sexual abuse. Not to mention heroin addicted vicar, serial killer and psycho child ...,,, I want fun and laughter, love and heart break.' (sic) Harrowing: ITV producers focused on the aftermath of the terrifying rape in the episode, with David Platt (Jack P. Shepherd) waking up to find himself in pain ITV producers focused on the aftermath of the terrifying rape in the episode, with David Platt (Jack P. Shepherd) waking up to find himself in pain as well as a note from Josh (Ryan Clayton) asking about breakfast. The rapist then arrived at the Platt's household, acting as if nothing had happened. Traumatised, David ran outside to throw up before returning to confront Josh. 'What are you doing coming here?' he said. 'I've had my last drink from you. Whatever you put in it you didn't knock me out completely. I know what you did, I can still feel it. You're twisted.' No remorse: The rapist then arrived at the Platt's household, acting as if nothing had happened 'Twisted': 'What are you doing coming here?' he said. 'I've had my last drink from you. Whatever you put in it you didn't knock me out completely. I know what you did, I can still feel it. You're twisted' Josh tried to manipulate David, saying the sex was consensual and that they 'both wanted it'. 'You were all over me like a rash and now suddenly now you've gone all caveman,' he said. 'Just save the drama, we were both wasted, we both wanted it,' before claiming he was laying the blame on Josh because he was worried about Shona discovering what had happened. Villain: Josh tried to manipulate David, saying the sex was consensual and that they 'both wanted it' The soap's latest male rape storyline has caused outrage amongst show viewers after it received 122 complaints to Ofcom. Defending the storyline on This Morning last Friday, Corrie boss Kate Oates suggested that the uproar has been caused due to it being a male rape. She began: 'I think it's because it's a male rape it's in a different category. It's a double standard against male.' Hard-hitting: The soap's latest male rape storyline has caused outrage amongst show viewers after it received 122 complaints to Ofcom Despite the controversy, legions of fans praised the soap for shedding light on the subject of male rape, with hundreds of viewers taking to Twitter on Monday night. One wrote: 'This David Platt storyline has got my hair standing on end man. Such a believable and realistic portrayal. Really is hard hitting stuff that needs to be addressed. Well done @itvcorrie.' While another viewer tweeted: 'You're doing a great job so far, it's an absolutely heartbreaking story but it'd already raising so much awareness and helping so many people and that's what's important #Corrie.' She is following in the footsteps of her famous parents by making her mark in the fashion world. And Iris Law, 17, proved her rising star status as she celebrated Giovanni Morelli as the new creative director of Stuart Weitzman, hosted by Vogues Edward Enninful and Kate Moss, at Mark's Club in London on Thursday. Iris, whose father is Hollywood actor Jude Law, looked confident as she posed in her sartorially savvy ensemble. Chic: Iris Law, 17, proved her rising star status as she celebrated Giovanni Morelli as the new creative director of Stuart Weitzman, at Mark's Club in London on Thursday Iris looked catwalk ready in a patterned dove grey crop-top paired with a matching blazer and a coat. She finished her look with a pair of chunky black ankle boots as she posed with her hands in the pocket of her blazer. Her chestnut locks were slicked into a middle parting and a light dusting of radiant make-up completed her look. She was joined by mum Sadie, 52, who flaunted her enviable physique in a clinging black gown, paired with ankle boots and a satin coat. Rising star: Iris, whose father is Hollywood actor Jude Law, looked confident as she posed in her sartorially savvy ensemble alongside rumoured boyfriend Kelvin Bueno Following in her footsteps: She was joined by mum Sadie, 52, who flaunted her enviable physique in a clinging black gown, paired with ankle boots and a satin coat Suits you! Iris looked catwalk ready in a patterned dove grey crop-top paired with a matching blazer and skirt Her pretty features were accentuated with smoky shadow, eyeliner and fluttery lashes, completed with a slick of frosted pink gloss. Iris also joined the party with rumoured boyfriend Kelvin Bueno and fashion designer Kim Jones It was reported by the Daily Mail in October that Iris is dating fellow Burberry model Kelvin, 19, who hails from the Santos district of Sao Paulo. Speaking last year about her career, Iris said: 'It started with a shoot for Illustrated People, I kind of just rocked up thinking it was a little shoot. I was excited to see how the photos would turn out but I didn't realise it was going to be a reveal type thing. Famous parents: Iris is the daughter of Jude Law and Sadie Frost (Pictures in happier times in 1996) 'Then it dropped and it was on the website and newspapers were picking up on it. My agent, who I'm with now saw that and got in touch. I didn't think anything would come of it.' Iris first hit headlines when she was just two years old after she bit into an ecstasy pill she found on the floor at a childrens party at Soho House. Her actress and model mother divorced the Talented Mr Ripley star Jude in 2003, allegedly following a wife-swapping episode with designer Pearl Lowe and her husband, drummer Danny Goffey. They're two of Adelaide's finest. And a chance encounter between Married At First Sight's Jesse Konstantinoff, 31, and Hollywood star Teresa Palmer, 32, was met with a surprise reaction from fans on Thursday. Taking to Instagram, grocer Jesse shared a photo of himself and Teresa outside his McMahon's Fruit and Vegetables stall in Adelaide Central Market. Before long, his social media followers were asking if the South Australian locals were long-lost siblings. 'You could be brother and sister': A chance encounter between Married At First Sight's Jesse Konstantinoff and Hollywood star Teresa Palmer was met with a surprise reaction from fans 'You guys look like you could be brother and sister,' a fan wrote on Instagram. Another added: 'I thought the same thing'. In the photo, Jesse and Teresa do share a passing resemblance, particularly with their similar V-shaped chins. However it is not being suggested they are actually related. The actress and the grocer: Taking to Instagram on Thursday, Jesse shared a photo of himself and Teresa outside his McMahon's Fruit and Veg stall in Adelaide Central Market Jesse captioned his photo: 'Got to meet the humble and gorgeous actress Teresa Palmer from the movie Hacksaw Ridge. 'Definitely a pleasure meeting you! hope you enjoyed your sapphire grapes.' Teresa, who grew up in Adelaide, previously worked the city's Rundle Mall. Enjoying the single life? It's been a busy few months for Jesse, who was recently linked to Bachelor In Paradise contestant Leah Costa. Pictured with his MAFS 'ex-wife' Michelle Marsh It's been a busy few months for Jesse, who was recently linked to Bachelor In Paradise contestant Leah Costa. Jesse was paired with Michelle Marsh on Married At First Sight last year. However, their relationship hit a roadblock when Jesse got stuck in the friend zone. She was left seething after her close friend Carly Bowyer struck up a romance with her 'ex-husband' Troy Delmege, resulting in several explosive showdowns. And Ashley Irvin fuelled their bitter feud by cropping her former friend out of a group photo of the Married At First Sight women on Instagram. The 28-year-old flight attendant owned up to the brazen move by admitting she was 'savage' - before pointedly hailing the other girls in the photo her 'friends for life'. Scroll down for video 'Yes, I'm savage!' Married At First Sight's Ashley Irvin brazenly cropped out love rival Carly Bowyer from a group photo... and pointedly hailed the other women her 'friends for life' The photo, posted on Friday, showed Ashley larking around with Gabrielle Bartlett, Sarah Roza, Blair Rachael, Davina Rankin, Alycia Galbraith, Charlene Perera, Tracey Jewel, Melissa Walsh and Jo McPharlin. Carly, 32, who donned a white plunging dress and was standing at the far left of the snap, was cut unceremoniously out. Ashley wrote in the caption: 'Friends for life #strongwomen #mafs #bffs #thanksforthememories #absolutelegends #hoesbeforebros #yesimsavage #idgaf.' Fans were less than impressed with the 'petty' move and branded Ashley 'immature' and 'bitter'. Someone's missing: The photo, posted on Friday, showed Ashley larking around with Gabrielle Bartlett, Sarah Roza, Blair Rachael, Davina Rankin, Alycia Galbraith, Charlene Perera, Tracey Jewel, Melissa Walsh and Jo McPharlin. Carly - who was standing on the far left - was cut out And she's back! A similar photo from the day, shared by Blair, showed Carly standing at the back in a white plunging dress 'Oh my gosh so immature cropping out Carley hahaha, I don't want Troy but no one else can have him either,' one follower wrote in the comments section. 'She cropped out Carly. This is the level of pettiness that I wish to achieve one day,' another added while a third penned: 'That crop though! Hahaha so funny. This is my kind of level of bitterness.' Another user leaped to Ashley's defence however and said it was a fitting revenge for how Carly and Troy broke the news that they were now dating to Ashley. 'I don't care for her at all and I never will': It comes after Ashley said she won't ever forgive Carly [left] after she 'blindsided' her and struck up a relationship with her 'ex-husband' Troy Delmege 'Yes it might be a tiny bit immature to crop Carly out but I think they both should have shown you Respect and let you know what had happened,' they wrote. 'Good on you for giving it a go but you will find better than Troy - much better! Xox.' Ashley was left blindsided when her ex-husband Troy opted for a very illustrative PDA-filled reveal that he'd begun dating Carly. It comes after Ashley told OK! magazine she was 'very hurt' by Carly and that she no longer cared about her and her feelings. [I was] 'really badly blindsided by Carly and Troy's romance,' she said. Gutted: Ashley said: [I was] 'really badly blindsided by Carly and Troy's romance' 'I thought Troy and I left on good terms and would be forever respectful to each other. I would've told him beforehand if I was in that situation, but that's the difference between us.' Speaking about how 'hurt' she was, Ashley added that after breaking the girl-code, Carly was no longer in her life. 'As for Carly, I don't care for her much at all and I never will,' she added. Ashley's confessions come after she confronted the new couple about their excessive PDAs in front of the entire group. 'Where's the vomit bag?' said a clearly repulsed Ashley while witnessing the smooch on Wednesday night. Pierce Brosnan and his second wife Keely Shaye Smith were honored at UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability Gala in Beverly Hills on Thursday. The jade trophy was awarded to the 64-year-old Irishman and his 54-year-old ladylove for executive-producing her directorial debut, Kauai environmental doc Poisoning Paradise. The former Bond looked dapper in his shiny navy-blue suit and matching tie while the brunette journalist flaunted cleavage in a long-sleeved black gown. Scroll down for video Champs: Pierce Brosnan and his second wife Keely Shaye Smith were honored at UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability Gala in Beverly Hills on Thursday Kauai environmental doc: The jade trophy was awarded to the 64-year-old Irishman and his 54-year-old ladylove for executive-producing her directorial debut, Poisoning Paradise The Malibu-based, married couple of 16 years have been inseparable since meeting on a Mexican beach back in 1994. Pierce frequently shares gushing, retro snaps of the pair with his captive, combined 1.8M social media following. The Brosnans both dote on their two sons together - IMG Model Dylan, 21; and Next Model Paris, 17. The 6ft2in silver fox lost both his first wife Cassandra Harris and daughter charlotte to ovarian cancer, but their sons Chris, 45; and Sean, 34; remain. Black and blue: The former Bond looked dapper in his shiny navy-blue suit and matching tie while the brunette journalist flaunted cleavage in a long-sleeved black gown Still going strong! The Malibu-based, married couple of 16 years have been inseparable since meeting on a Mexican beach back in 1994 United front: Pierce frequently shares gushing, retro snaps of the pair with his captive, combined 1.8M social media following Their blessed boys: The Brosnans both dote on their two sons together - IMG Model Dylan, 21; and Next Model Paris, 17 (pictured January and February) Pierce shaved his burly beard on Monday after wrapping the second season of AMC western series The Son, on which he plays Texas cattle baron Eli McCullough. The two-time Golden Globe nominee will next play Detective Robert Malloy in Simon Kaijser's mystery thriller Spinning Man - hitting US theaters April 6 - alongside Guy Pearce and Minnie Driver. It was also glamorous date night for IoES host committee member Felicity Huffman and her husband of 20 years, Shameless star William H. Macy. The 55-year-old Desperate Housewives alum donned a LBD picked by stylist Linda Medvene, and she relied on glam squad Austin Evans and David Stanwell to make her blue carpet ready. Sensational fun: Pierce and Keely were the picture of newly weds as they larked about on the star-studded red carpet Living it up: The couple rubbed shoulders with William H. Macy, Shaye Smith and Felicity Huffman when they attended the glitzy event 'Time for a haircut!' The 6ft2in silver fox shaved his burly beard on Monday after wrapping the second season of AMC series The Son, on which he plays Texas cattle baron Eli McCullough Pierce versus Pearce: The two-time Golden Globe nominee will next play Detective Robert Malloy in Simon Kaijser's mystery thriller Spinning Man - hitting US theaters April 6 - alongside Guy Pearce (R) and Minnie Driver And Famous in Love star Perrey Reeves glittered in a gold cocktail dress while on the arm of her husband of over two years, tennis coach Aaron Endress-Fox. But the tented gala at the home of Jeanne & Tony Pritzker was a solo mission for Courteney Cox, who wore a black pantsuit selected by stylist Maryam Malakpour. The 53-year-old Golden Globe nominee - who admits to getting microneedling/laser treatments - was without her on/off fiance of three years, Snow Patrol guitarist Johnny McDaid. Oscar-nominated couple: It was also glamorous date night for IoES host committee member Felicity Huffman and her husband of 20 years, Shameless star William H. Macy Longtime love: The 55-year-old Desperate Housewives alum donned a LBD picked by stylist Linda Medvene, and she relied on glam squad Austin Evans and David Stanwell Couples everywhere: And Famous in Love star Perrey Reeves glittered in a gold cocktail dress while on the arm of her husband of over two years, tennis coach Aaron Endress-Fox On her own: But the tented gala at the home of Jeanne & Tony Pritzker was a solo mission for Courteney Cox, who wore a black pantsuit selected by stylist Maryam Malakpour Admits to getting microneedling/laser treatments: The 53-year-old Golden Globe nominee was without her on/off fiance of three years, Snow Patrol guitarist Johnny McDaid Grey's Anatomy's $20M woman, Ellen Pompeo, wore a cream-colored blouse and matching floral lace flared pants for the eco-concious soiree. Speaking of Shondaland, Scandal stunner Darby Stanchfield also turned up in a sheer silver-embellished gown selected by styling duo Dani + Emma. Other lovely ladies celebrating the environment Thursday included Alexandria Jackson, Scottie Thompson, Marguerite Insolia, and Monique Coleman. I'll be there for you: The Friends alum did pose on the blue carpet with Transparent actress Amy Landecker, who wore a mustard blouse with black leather pants Highest-paid actress on a primetime drama: Grey's Anatomy's $20M woman, Ellen Pompeo, wore a cream-colored blouse and matching floral lace flared pants for the eco-concious soiree Speaking of Shondaland: Scandal stunner Darby Stanchfield also turned up in a sheer silver-embellished gown selected by styling duo Dani + Emma She's a rising star in the modeling world. And Sofia Richie flaunted her latest gig on Instagram by posting snaps of herself braless in nothing but a T-shirt and bikini bottoms on Thursday. The 19-year-old plugged plugged Quay Australia sunglasses and accessories in a slideshow on the picture sharing site. Feeling the heat: Sofia Richie flaunted her latest gig on Instagram by posting snaps of herself braless in nothing but a T-shirt and bikini bottoms on Thursday The freshly brunette showcased eye-ear and a crossbody bag while posing poolside in the sunshine. In one snap she changes into a white bathing suit while halfway submerged in the pool. In another photo she wore a brown swimsuit underneath denim cutoff shorts as she stared off in the distance. She captioned her post with a simple plug: '@quayaustralia festival collection drop 2 available now'. Model magic: The 19-year-old plugged plugged Quay Australia sunglasses and accessories in a slideshow on the picture sharing site Cooling off: In one snap she changes into a white bathing suit while halfway submerged in the pool Meanwhile, Sofia has been been dating Scott Disick and their relationship has grown from strength to strength. Scott and Sofia were first seen getting close aboard a yacht last May, but didn't confirm their relationship until a few months later. She said Scott is very much like her which makes their relationship stronger. She captioned her post with a simple plug: '@quayaustralia festival collection drop 2 available now' Solo night out: Meanwhile Scott took the night off at Jewel Nightclub in Las Vegas without Sofia Casually clad: The reality star kept it low key for the evening in a white hoodie and blue jeans In an interview with E!, Sofia explained: 'I just think he's the male version of me. Our humor. We have very similar humor.' Prior to his relationship with Sofia, Scott was in a long-term relationship with Kourtney Kardashian. It was reported that Sofia was getting tired of Scott's preoccupation with the eldest of the Kardashian sisters. Keeping up: Prior to his relationship with Sofia, Scott was in a long-term relationship with Kourtney Kardashian A source told Hollywood Life: 'Sofia is annoyed with Scott's obsession over his ex Kourtney.' 'She's tired of listening to Scott complain about Kourtney and Sofia really doesn't like to hear Scott whine about Younes [Bendjima] taking his place.' The alleged insider added: 'It's a real turn-off when Scott stalks Kourtney online and obsesses about her, there is only so much more Sofia can take.' Married At First Sight's Telv Williams and Sarah Roza have been plagued by split rumours in the last few weeks. And on Friday, the TV groom did little to quiet speculation, when he was spotted at Melbourne's Formula One Grand Prix without his wedding ring. The 33-year-old, who was wearing a blue button-up shirt and tan trousers, was pictured heading to the racetrack with a casually-clad female companion. Where's Sarah? Married At First Sight's Telv Williams, 33, was spotted with a mystery redhead at Melbourne's Formula One Grand Prix on Friday, amid persistent split rumours with Roza Telv cut a cool and casual figure in a blue patterned dress shirt, rolled up to the elbows, teamed with a pair of slim-fit tan trousers. The Channel Nine personality accessorised with a black statement watch and Ray Ban sunglasses, and drew attention to his arm tattoos. Telv was pictured heading into Albert Park, home to Melbourne's annual Formula One Grand Prix, with a mystery redhead. At one stage Telv spent some alone time, looking to be checking up on emails. Drama to sort out? At one stage, Telv was seen having some alone time and looked to be checking up on emails Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Telv for comment. The sighting comes after Monday's issues of NW and Woman's Day claimed Telv and Sarah have been driven apart by him 'sneaking off to the casino' and the beauty therapist's 'domineering princess ways'. According to Woman's Day, the couple are now putting on a 'happy show' in the hopes they can 'reap the perks of their newfound fame'. NW claimed that Telv moved into a separate apartment while filming Married At First Sight, and despite wanting to leave MAFS 'felt pressure to keep up appearances'. Woman's Day also claimed that Sarah and Telv split 'not long ago', despite the Perth-based single dad moving to Melbourne to be with the buxom redhead. 'Telv couldn't stand Sarah's domineering princess ways,' a source reportedly claimed. Speculation: Telv and his 'TV wife' Sarah [pictured], 38, have been plagued with split rumours for the past few weeks And Married At First Sight co-star Ryan Gallagher has also weighed in, confirming in Thursday's OK! magazine that the 'TV husband wife' have called it quits. 'They've both got their demons. He's in Melbourne now, but they're not together,' the 29-year-old tradesman told the publication. Ryan added: 'They're still talking and they're civil to one another, but they've got a lot of baggage between them.' They share the big screen in The Last Movie Star. And at a special screening of the movie in Los Angeles Thursday night, Chevy Chase and Burt Reynolds sealed their partnership with a kiss. The two veteran stars went for a full lip lock as cameras rolled. Veteran stars; Chevy Chase, 74, and Burt Reynolds, 82, stepped out in Los Angeles Thursday night for a screening of their movie The Last Movie Star Whoa! For some reason, the two suddenly decided to lock lips in front of the cameras Oh boy: The SNL alum and the Smokey And The Bandit leading man went for lip lock The film, written and directed by Adam Rifkin, stars Hollywood legend Reynolds, 82, as an aging movie star forced to accept that his best years are in the past. Chase, 74, plays the longtime friend of Reynolds's character who urges him to accept an invitation to accept a lifetime Achievement Award from a film festival in Nashville, Tennessee. Needless to say, things do not turn out quite the way the fading star anticipates. Leading role: The film, written and directed by Adam Rifkin, stars Hollywood legend Reynolds as an aging movie star forced to accept that his best years are in the past Supporting role: Chase, 74, plays the longtime friend of Reynolds's character who urges him to accept an invitation to accept a lifetime Achievement Award from a film festival in Nashville SNL and Fletch star Chase made an appearance at the event just a few weeks after it was reported he taunted his Community co-star Donald Glover with racist jokes when they worked together. According to a profile of Glover in The New Yorker, Chase 'often tried to disrupt' his scenes opposite the actor and made 'racial cracks between takes. One such comment, the publication reported, was 'People think youre funnier because youre black.' Community creator Dan Harmon told The New Yorker: 'Chevy was the first to realize how immensely gifted Donald was, and the way he expressed his jealousy was to try to throw Donald off.' For his part, Glover, 34, said: 'I just saw Chevy as fighting time. A true artist has to be okay with his reign being over.' He went on: 'I cant help him if hes thrashing in the water. But I know theres a human in there somewhere.' Glover has gone on to enjoy critical and popular success with the FX series Atlanta, that he created and stars in. Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Michael Bennett was indicted on a felony charge of injuring the elderly by a grand jury in Harris County, Texas on Friday. The incident occurred in February 2017, as Bennett tried to go on the field at NRG Stadium in Houston and celebrate his brother, Martellus, winning a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots. According to investigators, Bennett was told by security, including a 66-year-old paraplegic woman, that he had to use a different entrance to head onto the field. Bennett pushed his way through security, including the 66-year-old, according to authorities. Bennett was indicted on a charge of injury to the elderly, which is a felony in Harris County, Texas. That charge includes intentionally and knowingly causing bodily harm to a person 65 years or older. The penalty could carry up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Bennett has not been arrested yet, but a warrant for his arrest has been issued. The Eagles acquired Bennett in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks earlier this month. "We are aware of the situation involving Michael Bennett and are in the process of gathering more information," the Eagles said in a statement. "Because this is an ongoing legal matter, we will have no further comment at this time." According to reports, the Patriots offered the Seahawks a better trade package for Bennett as he was traded to the Eagles. New England released his brother, Martellus, the same day Michael was traded. There's just a matter of days until the debut of their long-awaited reunion show. And the cast were clearly thrilled to be back together as they reunited in Toronto, Ontario on Thursday for the premiere of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation. Jennifer 'JWoww' Farley, 32, Vinny Guadagnino, 30, Deena Nicole Cortese, 31, and Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, 32, dressed to the nines as they posed up a storm together ahead of the premiere. Let's get together! Jennifer 'JWoww' Farley, 32, Vinny Guadagnino, 30, Deena Nicole Cortese, 31, and Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, 32, dressed to the nines as they posed up a storm together at the premiere of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation in Toronto, Ontario on Thursday JWoww sizzled as she put on a leggy display in her velvet champagne hued dress with a thigh-high slit and plunging neckline. She wore her jet black tresses swept across one shoulder in silky waves, giving her look a glamorous touch. Deena cut a sophisticated and playful figure in a black mini dress with with an elegant pattern across her chest. She topped off the look with peep toe heels and a sleek and straight hairstyle. Golden girl! JWoww sizzled as she put on a leggy display in her velvet champagne hued dress with a thigh-high slit and plunging neckline Double trouble! JWoww and Deena wowed in their head-turning looks as they debuted their long-awaited series Vinny and Ronnie kept it casual yet smart in their long-sleeve shirts and trousers. The men were clearly thrilled to be reunited after filming their show, pulling each other in for a warm embrace. Missing from the cast that evening were Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi, Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino, and Paul 'Pauly D' DelVecchio. Just the guys! The men were clearly thrilled to be reunited after filming their show, pulling each other in for a warm embrace Jersey Shore ran from 2009 to 2012 on MTV and followed the lives of rowdy housemates in the New Jersey town of Seaside Heights. They were known for their drunken antics and the 'gym, tan, laundry' phrase they used to describe their lifestyle. Jersey Shore: Family Vacation will premiere on April 5 on MTV. She's the former Bachelorette star turned Channel 10 reporter. And on Friday, Georgia Love stumbled across the man that helped her find love - Osher Gunsberg. The 29-year-old journalist took to Instagram to share a photo of her cuddling up to the well-known Bachelor franchise host emblazoned on an oversized screen. 'It's great catching up with old friends': The Bachelorette's Georgia Love (left) took to Instagram to share a snap of herself cuddling up to an oversized Osher Gunsberg (right) 'It's great catching up with old friends,' the reality TV star joked in the caption. In the snap, Georgia cut a casual figure in a maroon top and black trousers as she lovingly leaned against Osher's blown-up image. Meanwhile, Osher donned a blue Hawaiian shirt as he posed with his signature hands-in-front-of-his-waist stance. The Australian TV and radio presenter fronts the Bachelor In Paradise Australia advert, as he is hosting the upcoming TV series. About to kick off! Georgia's Instagram post comes at an opportune time as the highly-anticipated Network Ten series Bachelor In Paradise is set to premiere this Sunday Georgia's Instagram post comes at an opportune time as the highly-anticipated Network Ten series is set to premiere this Sunday. In return, Osher re-posted Georgia's photograph to his own Instagram account later on Friday, alongside a chummy caption. 'Fun fact, this photo is to scale. Im actually MASSIVE. See you 7:30 Sunday Georgia Love,' Osher wrote alongside the snap. Fast friends: As host of The Bachelorette, Osher (right) helped Georgia find love The pair's social media love-fest comes after the former Bachelorette star recently revealed a wedding is on the cards for her and dapper beau, Lee Elliott. Earlier this month the Channel Ten journalist told The Sunday Telegraph's Wellness, 'We can see ourselves getting married to each other'. 'At our ages and stages of life, to have been together for 18 months and to say marriage isn't on the cards is silly,' Georgia said of her romance with Lee, 36. The Bachelor and Bachelorette made Jarrod Woodgate, Keira Maguire, Apollo Jackson and Tara Pavlovic household names. And with fans eagerly anticipating the return of their favourites, a few forgettable faces will also join the first ever Bachelor In Paradise on Sunday. Daily Mail Australia takes a look at the reality TV rejects who will have you scratching their head and asking, 'Who are you again?' Scroll down for video 'Who are you again?' While fans are eagerly anticipating the return of their favourites, a few forgettable faces will also join the first ever Bachelor In Paradise on Sunday. Pictured is Ali Oetjen Devoted followers of the original Bachelor Australia will have to think hard to remember Ali Oetjen. The now 32-year-old joined a group of 25 other women who were vying for the heart of hunky chiropractor Tim Robards, but was beat out by Anna Heinrich. Ali, who is a real estate agent from Adelaide, uses her Instagram to promote a healthy lifestyle and show off her sensational physique to her modest 24,000 followers. In promo trailer for Bachelor In Paradise, the blonde beauty is set to make an impression as Jarrod Woodgate calls her 'stupidly hot.' She's stupidly hot! In a promo trailer for Bachelor In Paradise, the blonde beauty is set to make an impression on Jarrod Woodgate Another Bachelor reject who fans of the local franchise will struggle remembering is Nina Rolleston. The Bachelor season three alumna, who is also a wedding planner, failed to win over Sam Wood who went to choose Snezana Markoski. Since the heartbreaking moment she failed to recieve a rose, the Brisbane beauty has kept a relativity low profile in comparison to her Bachelor co-stars. It's not known whether she sparked anyone's interest during filming in Fiji. The Wedding Planner: Another Bachelor reject who fans of the local franchise will struggle remembering is Nina Rolleston. The Bachelor season three alumna, who is also a wedding planner, failed to win over Sam Wood Low profile: Since the heartbreaking moment she failed to recieve a rose, the Brisbane beauty has kept a relativity low profile in comparison to her Bachelor co-stars Eden Schwencke, from season three of The Bachelorette, will also return for a second chance at love. The 33-year-old scaffolder from Perth failed impress Sophie Monk with his intrepid break dance performance at the introduction and did not score a single date during his three episode stint on the show. In an interview with Popsugar he said he was 'ashamed' by the whole ordeal: 'I thought I'd rock up basically in my pyjamas! [Laughs] I was ashamed of myself, there was a little bit of regret!' The break dancer: Eden Schwencke, from season three of The Bachelorette, will also return for a second chance at love Showing off his bold moves: The 33-year-old scaffolder from Perth failed impress Sophie Monk with his intrepid break dance performance at the introduction This guy! Brett Moore is another unfamiliar name and face Brett Moore is another unfamiliar name and face that Bachelorette fans may have a hard time recalling. The 27-year-old failed to recieve a rose from Sophie Monk in the intruders episode. Since leaving the show, Brett has cultivated a humble social media following of 24,600 followers on Instagram and more on his blog, Such Is Life, featuring interviews and photo shoots with like-minded creatives. The aspiring model isn't shy in turning the camera on himself, even sharing heart-racing snaps of himself to his legion of female fans. Another chance: Mackane Reid has also been given a second shot at finding the love of his life in the spin-off Serenading: Fans may remember the 35-year-old small business owner did an acoustic guitar performance for Sophie at the introduction episode, featuring the very repetitive hook, 'You and me' Mackane Reid has also been given a second shot at finding the love of his life in the Paradise spin-off. Fans may remember the 35-year-old small business owner did an acoustic guitar performance for Sophie at the introduction episode, featuring the very repetitive hook, 'You and me.' Things came to a head between the Elijah Wood look-a-like and the blonde pop star when he got some one-on-one time with her during a group date and confessed his infatuation. It's tax season, and Cardi B is not a happy camper. The New York City native, 25, took to social media on Thursday launching into a fast-paced rant about how she was unhappy at the rate she was being taxed, as well as not seeing any sort of return on her dollar. 'So you know the government is taking 40 percent of my taxes and Uncle Sam, I want to f***ing know what you're doing with my f***ing tax money!' she said. Scroll down for video Speaking out: Cardi B, 25, ranted on Instagram Thursday about the high rates she's been taxed and demanded to know where the money has gone The MotorSport artist said she wanted an itemized list of places where the money went, comparing the taxes to charitable donations. 'When you donate, like, to a kid from a foreign country, they give you updates of what they're doing with your donation,' she said. 'I want updates on my tax money!' She cited her hometown of the Big Apple as an example of where she isn't seeing the money going. 'I'm from New York and the streets is always dirty, we was voted the dirtiest city in America,' she said, adding that 'there's still rats in the trains.' Start spreading the news: Cardi B called out the cleanliness of her hometown, New York City Let it loose: The pop breakout liberally used profanities in her extended rant No holding back: The passionate performer demanded to know where her money has gone The performer, whose real name is Belcalis Almanzar, said, I know you're not spending it in the damn prison,' citing meager supplies given to inmates in custody. The Bodak Yellow breakout seemed to grow anxious and impatient as the video went on, demanding answers from the government. She said, 'What is you doing with my f***ing money? I want to know, I want receipts, I want everything ... Uncle Sam I want to know what the f**k you're doing with my f***ing money!' The breakout hip-hop starlet aptly captioned the clip, 'I want to f***ing know WHAT YA DOING WITH MY F***ING MONEY!!!!!' She's the I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! star who is enjoying somewhat of a career resurgence. And Simone Holtznagel oozed confidence as she attended Melbourne's Formula One Grand Prix on Friday. The 24-year-old model offered a generous amount of cleavage in a plunging tiger-print frock, accessorised with knee-high leather boots. Va va voom! Simone Holtznagel, 24, took the plunge in a tiger-print frock, at Melbourne's Formula One Grand Prix on Friday Simone sported a long-sleeved tiger-print frock that featured a dramatic cut-out at the bust. Strategic tie detailing also accentuated her very slender waist. Elongating her frame with black pointy-toe leather knee-high boots, Simone concealed her gaze behind designer cat-eye sunglasses. Svelte: The Playboy model's frock featured a strategic cut-out and tie detailing that accentuated her very slender waist Going hell for leather! Simone elongated her frame with black knee-high boots and carried her belongings in a black fringed handbag A black fringed handbag ensured the lingerie model was equipped with all her belongings. Looking every inch the blonde bombshell, Simone styled her long locks in a centre part and soft waves, and her makeup palette consisted of a flawless complexion, bold brows, a false set of lashes and a matte nude lip. Simone lost 6.3 kilograms after spending more than 40 days on reality series I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! The future's bright! The LA-based star concealed her gaze behind a pair of designer sunglasses Blonde bombshell: Simone's long locks were styled in a centre part and soft waves Following her exit from the South African jungle earlier this month, the LA-based star told the Herald Sun that her model agents will be happy with the weight loss. 'I could hear all my agents clapping around the world though, I thought they might be happy about that,' Simone told the publication. 'My agent was like, ''Imagine how thin you'll be when you get back [from the jungle]''. 'He was like, ''You are going to be malnutritioned, it will be fabulous'',' she added. Daring to bare: The social media sensation flaunted a significant amount of cleavage in the eye-catching frock Reality TV fame: Simone lost 6.3 kilograms after spending more than 40 days on reality series I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! During a weigh-in on the Channel Ten show, Simone was revealed to have lost more than six kilograms. However the Playboy model lamented to producers that she may have lost the weight in the wrong areas. 'Totally think I lost most of the weight off my boobs, which is really unfortunate,' she said. She was set to host a number of Fifty Shades of Grey-themed girls' nights back in February 2015. And now Married At First Sight's Tracey Jewel is getting sued by former event planner Monique Davis, for more than $2,000. The reality star told Daily Mail Australia on Friday of the lawsuit: 'The events were rescheduled and I haven't heard from Monique in three years.' Lawsuit: Married At First Sight's Tracey Jewel is sued for more than $2,000 over Fifty Shades of Grey 'Women's Night Out' parties In court documents obtained by Fairfax Media on Friday, the 34-year-old is said to owe her former client more than $2,000. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Tracey failed to pay Monique back nearly $765 of 'sponsorship fees' for events cancelled in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. It's been alleged that Tracey called off the girls' nights at last minute, with Monique also wanting compensation for the $1157 paid for flights and accommodation. Parties: The girls' nights run by Tracey, were said to include a screening of erotic blockbuster Fifty Shades of Grey, and promote Monique's party planning business The girls' nights run by Tracey, were said to include a screening of erotic blockbuster Fifty Shades of Grey, and promote Monique's party planning business. Since her debut on controversial dating series Married At First Sight, Tracey has found herself the subject of headlines. After brutally dumping 'TV husband' Dean Wells for his cheating ways in a commitment ceremony earlier this month, the relationship expert went on to confirm her new romance with co-star Sean Thomsen. Shock romance: Since her debut on MAFS, Tracey has found herself the subject of headlines. After brutally dumping 'TV husband' Dean Wells for his cheating ways in a commitment ceremony earlier this month, the relationship expert went on to confirm her new romance with co-star Sean Thomsen However Sean's ex-girlfriend Jasmine Pugh has claimed that fans should not be fooled by their whirlwind romance. The 25-year-old who was dumped by Sean last year, insisted to Yahoo7 Be earlier this week: 'It's all fake!' Jasmine added: 'He got kicked off the show for being too boring so didn't get his 15 minutes of fame so now he is coming back with a different tactic.' Sean, 34, who was initially paired up with Blair Rachael on the series, has since flaunted his relationship with Tracey in the form of loved-up Instagram posts. She has been in the thick of Albert Square drama for barely a year. But EastEnders will reportedly be saying goodbye to Joyce Murray, played by actress Maggie Steed, next week as she is set to be killed off, leaving husband Ted heartbroken. A source told The Sun Joyce will die in her sleep next week, with Ted's grief setting the stage for the entry of the Murrays daughter Judith (played by Emma Fielding). Leaving: EastEnders Joyce Murray is reportedly set to be killed off from the soap next week, as actress Maggie Steed departs the BBC One soap The source said: 'Joyce's time on the Square has been a brief one and, after her death, Ted will come out of his shell a bit and viewers will see more of him. 'His and Joyce's daughter Judith will come into play and will be involved in new storylines with the Taylor family.' Representatives for EastEnders declined to comment to MailOnline. Joyce joined the soap last year as she and husband Ted (Christopher Timothy) were rehoused on Albert Square, and were immediately at odds with the explosive Taylor family, blaming them for causing their friend Joan's nervous breakdown. Shocking: A source has claimed Joyce will die in her sleep next week, setting the stage for Ted's daughter Judith to join the soap The couple were then at the centre of the gas tank explosion storyline, with the ensuing shock leading Ted to accidentally shoot Johnny Carter, after suffering flashbacks to his traumatic war years. Yet despite their early clashes with the Taylors, Ted formed a friendship with Karen Taylor's daughter Bernadette, as they bonded over a love of chess. Joyce is the latest in a long line of characters reported to be leaving the soap over the past week, with the most recent being Richard Blackwood's Vincent Hubbard, along with Lee Ryan's Woody Woodward and Jenna Russell's Michelle Fowler. United: Joyce's death will reportedly devastate Ted, as he had finally begun to realise how much he takes her for granted Joyce's death won't be the only dark storyline to commence in the coming weeks, as it has also been confirmed that Shakil Kazemi and Keegan Taylor will be the victims of a shock stabbing. Working with Brooke Kinsella - a former star of the soap whose brother was fatally stabbed in 2008 - the plot will show how Albert Square struggles to cope with such a brutal attack right on their doorstep. Speaking about the story Brooke said: 'The pain of Ben's loss will never go away, there isn't a day that we don't miss him. 'I commend EastEnders for choosing this storyline to portray the realities of knife crime.' Advertisement He has secured his place in history as one of Britain's most celebrated composers and theatre impresarios, with a career that has spanned five decades and produced a string of hit musicals on the West End and Broadway. And so it was no surprise that many of the showbiz world's brightest stars were on hand to Andrew Lloyd Webber's celebrate 70th birthday on Thursday night, as his wife Madeleine Gurdon, 55, threw him a lavish party. A host of familiar faces - including Sir Elton John and an injured Sir Michael Caine - descended on London's Drury Lane Theatre for the retro-themed bash, for which the man of the hour arrived in a bright purple suit. Birthday boy: Andrew Lloyd Webber celebrated his 70th birthday at a lavish party thrown by his wife Madeleine Gurdon, at London's Drury Lane Theatre on Thursday night Teaming his eye-catching suit with an equally colourful patterned shirt, he perfectly complemented his wife, who dazzled in a pink patterned floral A-line shift dress with a frilled cuff and knee-high black leather boots. The main of the hour appeared to be in decidedly upbeat spirits as he exited the venue arm-in-am with his equally elated wife following a night of revelry at the exclusive gathering, where guests pulled out all the sartorial stops. Not to be outdone, Elton John - who celebrates his 71st birthday on Sunday - arrived with his 55-year-old husband David Furnish in typically attention-grabbing style, wearing a pair of circular spectacles with a bejewelled frame. Andrew and the Technicolor Dreamcoat: The celebrated composer caught the eye in a bright purple retro-style suit Very colourful: The theatre impresario teamed his eye-catching ensemble of choice with an equally colourful patterned shirt Pretty in pink: His wife dazzled in a pink patterned floral A-line shift dress with a frilled cuff and knee-high black leather boots So in love: The pair lovingly linked arms as they made their exit from the exclusive gathering after a night of fun-filled revelry Donning a dark suit, which featured a jacket embroidered with the glittering images of a pair of dogs, his ensemble was a tad muted in comparison to his spouse's choice of a bright floral tuxedo jacket. Meanwhile, Michael Caine - who celebrated his 85th birthday on Wednesday of last week - was seen getting a helping hand getting into the bash as he walked with the aid of a walking frame after breaking his ankle. His broken ankle, which he sustained after slipping over earlier this month, forced him to miss out on a special London screening of the 1960s documentary My Generation, which he'd narrated. 'He's on strict doctor's orders to stay at home and rest until he's fully recuperated,' a source told MailOnline at the time of his absence from the event, which attracted the likes of Sir Paul McCartney and Twiggy. Eye-catching: Not to be outdone, Sir Elton John arrived with his husband David Furnish in typically attention-grabbing style All that glitters: The veteran musician stepped out wearing a pair of circular spectacles with a glittering bejewelled frame Suits you! The star opted to wear a dark suit, which featured a jacket embroidered with the glittering images of a pair of dogs He's got plenty of sole! The singer, 70, teamed his suit with a pair of floral decorated shoes and a white and peach frilly shirt 'Tis the season for much celebration: It's also a celebratory time for Elton, as he's set to welcome his 71st birthday on Sunday Say it with flowers: Sir Elton's ensemble was a tad muted in comparison to his spouse's choice of a bright floral tuxedo jacket I come bearing gifts: David was seen carrying a small gift and a card as he and Elton made their way into the exclusive party They were among a host of stars who stepped out for the party on Thursday night, including Prince Edward, Sir Tim Rice, Bob Geldof, Arlene Phillips, Mel C, Melvin Bragg, Craig Revel Horwood, Jason Donovan and Piers Morgan. Andrew Lloyd Webber has enjoyed a glittering career in theatre that his seen him pen many hit musicals, including Joseph And The Technicolor Dreamcoat, Cats, The Phantom Of The Opera, Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar. Last month, the star appeared to kick off the celebrations early, as he was spotted enjoying a relaxing pre-birthday beach break in Barbados with his beloved wife. Soaking up the sunshine, the West End supremo and his wife appeared to be in upbeat spirits as they relaxed together during their break on the balmy Caribbean island. Framed: Sir Michael Caine, who broke his ankle in a fall earlier this month, was seen using a walking frame at the gathering Helping hand: The 85-year-old actor also received the help of attendees and venue staff as he carefully exited the bash Miss: His injury forced him to miss out on a special London screening of the documentary My Generation, which he'd narrated Glamorous: He was joined by his stunning 71-year-old wife Shakira, who cut a glamorous figure in a flattering black ensemble Passenger: After making his way through the streets of the English capital, he climbed into the passenger seat of a waiting car The love of love: As the couple prepared to be zipped away into the night, Shakira flashed a smile at her husband of 45 years Centre stage: Singer Mel C who stood out in a floral print silk crepe de chine midi dress as theatre land celebrated their icon Turning heads: Erstwhile Strictly Come Dancing judge Arlene Phillips, 74, turned heads in a cleavage-bearing floral dress Reclining on sunloungers, the couple - who tied the knot 27 years ago - were all smiles as they laughed and joked with one another whilst looking out across the ocean. The pair went on holiday after Andrew opened up about a past battle with depression which led him to consider suicide, and revealed that his wife had been a source of comfort to him in recent years. The celebrated composer contemplated killing himself as recently as three years ago, a new book reveals, a thought which had plagued him since adolescence. In his memoirs, Unmasked, he also identifies a troubling episode of sexual assault as the genesis in his journey to theatre greatness. Special guest: Comedian Rowan Atkinson was also among the attendees who were on hand to celebrate Andrew's big day Suited and muted: While many of the party's guests wore flamboyant ensembles, he went for a muted dark suit and floral tie Me and my girlfriend: He was seen climbing into the back of a chauffeur-driven with his 34-year-old girlfriend Louise Ford It's good to talk: The lovebirds appeared to be deep in conversation as they sat and waited to be whisked off into the night True blue: Piers Morgan arrived at the exclusive gathering in a smart blue suit, which he teamed with a patterned white shirt Lads night out: The smiling TV personality was spotted outside the bash with Australian actor and singer Jason Donovan They're really having a laugh! The pair appeared to be in decidedly upbeat spirits as they posed together outside the venue Miles of smiles: Piers sporting a broad smile as he emerged from the celebratory gathering, which attracted a host of stars Keeping warm: Dressed in a smart black suit, 49-year-old Jason carried a thick quilted jacket to stave off the chilly night air He wrote: 'A saddo tried to fondle me under cover of the tight standing crush on the Tube train. 'I was too shocked to make a fuss. But I was furious. So furious that it gave me an idea that maybe was big enough to call an epiphany.' That same afternoon he performed at an end-of-term concert at Westminster Under School, ditching a planned recital for his own cheeky composition which mocked the masters and earned a rapturous reception. His book lays bare the depths of despair which countenanced staggering heights of success reached with musicals such as The Phantom Of The Opera and Cats. He's on the list: Prince Edward was also among the many well-heeled guests who accepted an invitation to the exclusive event Classic: The British Royal opting against going for a bright or retro ensemble, choosing instead to step out in a classic tuxedo In good spirits: Veteran rocker Bob Geldof appeared to be in an upbeat mood as he made his exit from the hot ticket gathering Brown, but not out: He stepped out in a brown hat and full-length coat, which he teamed with a patterned scarf and shirt Hair we go again! Christopher Biggins, left, emerged from the party wearing a blue gown while carrying a black curly wig Black and pink: Craig Revel Hrowood, left, wore a bold pink suit, while Melvin Bragg, right, donned an all-black ensemble It takes two: Politician-turned-newspaper-editor George Osborne arrived at the bash in colourful style with his wife Frances Collaborator: Andrew Lloyd Webber's longtime collaborator Sir Tim Rice arrived wearing a light grey suit with a floral tie In 1963, aged 15, he recalls first considering taking his own life after becoming 'deeply depressed' by how his mother a piano teacher became infatuated with the musical talents of another young pianist. But a visit to Lavenham, Suffolk, and in particular the local church, convinced him 'things werent so bad after all'. Another attempt to end his life followed in the 1960s when he was barred from attending a potentially fortune-changing appointment to have a song recorded after failing an army test in the school corps. The impresario told the Mail on Sunday: 'I woke to find a doctors face pressed close to mine, demanding what the hell I was doing frightening my parents like this.' More recently, he almost succumbed to the turmoil brought on by a diagnosis of prostate cancer and bouts of severe back pain, the paper reports. A night well spent: The couple were all smiles as they climbed in the back of a black cab together after a night of revelry Still looking sharp: His suit remained as crisp as when he first arrived as he got comfortable in the back of the spacious taxi He said: 'I did think of suicide. It was so painful and I couldnt sleep and you go on thinking about it. 'You have all those ridiculous painkillers and none of them working and you just think, "I shall take the whole lot of them".' His wife of 27 years, Madeleine, provided a ray of light through dark times, however. 'When I met Madeleine, it was almost like getting my life back; a door has been unlocked back into a world that Id perhaps missed in the previous years people outside the theatre. 'There is a world outside the Tony Awards and I think thats what Madeleine brings to me.' She rocketed into the spotlight when she failed to find love on the 2017 series of Love Island. But Georgia Harrison grabbed the attention of headlines with her racy ensemble as her female pal took an epic tumble on their way home, in Essex on Thursday. The dumped Love Island star, 22, put her tiny briefs on full display as she wore her khaki pants in a low-slung fashion. Pin-credible looks: Former Love Island star Georgia Harrison showed off her tiny underwear as she donned low rise jeans on raucous night out with her leggy pal, in Essex on Thursday Former TOWIE beauty Georgia also gave onlookers a good peak a her slender limbs thanks to the ripped design of her jeans. For a hint of trademark feminine glamour, the reality star added to her height in a pair of quirky pointed high heels. The television sensation displayed her eye-popping assets in a plunging crop top and she accessorised with layered necklaces to draw further attention to her bust. Oops! Despite appearing on top of their game, Georgia's pal suffered an epic fall following her boozy night out at the app launch Racy lady: The dumped Love Island star, 22, put her tiny briefs on full display as she wore her khaki pants in a low-slung fashion Despite appearing to be on top of their game, unfortunately Georgia's worse for wear pal took an epic tumble in the street. The raven-haired beauty tried to laugh off the fall when she kicked her sky-scraper high stilettos up in the air and giggled in front of waiting cameras. The Love Islander's friend crawled across the streets of Essex before she managed to regain her balance and stand up again with the help of her pals. Sensational curves: Former TOWIE beauty Georgia also gave onlookers a good peak a her slender limbs thanks to the ripped design of her jeans Still raring to go, Georgia continued to party up a storm with Fran Parman when she arrived back on home turf after her evening at an app launch in London. In February, she candidly shed light on the darker side of the dating sphere as she recalled a harrowing abusive relationship she had at the tender age of 18. The reality beauty penned in a Women's Fitness article that she feared for her life every day as her now-ex spat in her face, taunted her and smashed up her phone. Standing tall: For a hint of trademark feminine glamour, the reality star added to her height in a pair of quirky pointed high heels On the town: The television sensation displayed her eye-popping assets in a plunging crop top and she accessorised with layered necklaces to draw further attention to her bust Reflecting on her past abusive relationship, Georgia wrote: 'I remember being in constant fear throughout the day of what would set him off. 'Would he take my phone again and lock me out so that he can obsessively scroll through it until he finds an innocent message from a friend and smashes it up for the 3rd time? 'Would he taunt me and criticise my appearance to the point where I cant even look at myself? Would he take me to dinner and then spit in my face because I "looked at the waiter in a provocative way"? Each day was just a huge contrast of love and fear.' Keep the party going: Still raring to go, Georgia continued to party up a storm when she arrived back on home turf after her evening at an app launch in London Night out: The Love Island star was flanked by two of her female companions when she headed out for a busy evening on the cobbles The reality star also shared intimate details of how she was bombarded with constant paranoia and cheating accusations from her partner at the time. Georgia penned the moving piece for the publication in line with Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. The golden-haired beauty hoped to reach out to the hearts of those teenagers who suffered or are suffering at the hands of an abuser so they know they are not alone. Also Georgia positively referred to how she has gone onto enjoy many 'beautiful' relationships since this dark time in her life. Casually cool: The trio looked closer than ever as they looped arms when they headed through the streets of London Top fun! They had enjoyed the evening in the British capital to see the launch of the app The Influencers Diary Good pals: Georgia and Fran lent a helping hand to their raven-haired pal on the way home Although unfortunately for the dumped Love Islander, she didn't find love on the set of the reality series in the summer of 2017. However, she has been happily carefree and single since the breakdown of her brief romance with fellow Love Islander Sam Gowland. Yet Sam has been luckier in love as he has gone onto secure the affections of Chloe Ferry after their reality worlds collided following his split with Georgia. The unlikely pair are now appearing on Chloe's native MTV series Geordie Shore together as a couple. Home time! The starlet was giggling in front of the cameras as she posed for photographs by herself without her close famous pals Going for a ride? The Love Island star's friend decided to get a bike at the end of the night Cheeky! The raven-haired beauty kicked her sky-scraper high heels up in the air as she led on the floor Moving on: She crawled across the streets of Essex following her unfortunate fall Laugh it off! The beauty couldn't stop giggling as she tried to get off of the floor She's been revelling in the joys of motherhood since welcoming daughter India into the world in June 2017. And Binky Felstead took her 'little snow bunny' on her first ski trip as she helped former Made In Chelsea co-star Ollie Locke celebrate his 31st birthday in Meribel in the French Alps this week. The reality star, 27, was also joined by her older sister Anna-Louise and her baby son Freddie, as well as a group of friends, as they posed for a series of social media snaps in their very own winter wonderland on India's first trip abroad. Baby's first ski trip! Binky Felstead, 27, showcased her snow bunny style as she hit the slopes with mini-me daughter India in the French Alps this week Giving off serious snow-bunny vibes in one of a number of snaps, the TV personality made sure to pose for a number of selfies during the trip, with her little one bundled up in her own woolly bobble hat and patterned quilted jacket. With her brunette tresses tied back with an on-trend grey wool head wrap, the fashionista shielded her eyes with a pair of striking orange tint shades. Making her ensemble the focus of her next stylish snap, Binky threw a flirty kiss towards the camera as she showed off her cosy grey oversized jumper, teamed with a pair of black leggings and snow boots. Wrapped up: The former Made In Chelsea star, 27, threw a flirty kiss towards the camera as she showed off her grey oversized jumper, teamed with a pair of black leggings and snow boots Snow angel: Baby India, nine months, kept warm during their trip to Meribel in an adorable grey and pink onesie with polar bear slippers Best pals: Getting fully into the snow spirit, Binky lapped up the slopes alongside best pal Ollie Locke - who is also India's godfather - in a crisp white quilted jacket and black sporty trousers Getting fully into the snow spirit, Binky soaked up the magic of the slopes alongside Ollie - who is also India's godfather - in a crisp white quilted jacket and black sporty trousers. The Celebs Go Dating hunk no doubt grabbed all the attention in a vibrant pink snow suit and American flag jumper. Binky's sister Anna-Louise also got in on the action, sharing a snow-capped selfie in their faux-fur quilted jackets ready for the slopes ahead, before enjoying a few wines together. One person notably absent from the wintry holiday was Binky's boyfriend Josh JP Patterson, 28, who she shares India with. Feeling fresh: Binky's sister Anna-Louise also got in on the action, sharing a snow-topped selfie in their faux-fur quilted jackets ready for the slopes ahead Bottoms up: Binky made time for the odd tipple as she partied with her friends and sister Anna-Louise (L) All together: Binky (far right) looked right at home on the slopes with her skis and snow goggles as she posed for one last selfie with her friends The TV star's snowy getaway came after she rang in her first Mother's Day celebration last week. Flaunting her envy-inducing frame in a polka dot playsuit, the fitness enthusiast gushed: 'HAPPY 1st MUMMYS DAY TO MEEEE!!!!!!!!' Binky also shared some happy news with her fans on Mother's Day, revealing her brother Ollie is expecting his first child with his wife Lizzie. It will be the latest addition to the Felstead brood after Binky's elder sister Anna-Louise - who featured on the Made In Chelsea New York spin-off in the summer of 2014 - welcomed baby son Freddie shortly after India was born. On Thursday, the New England Patriots gave a lift to those affected by the school shootings in Parkland, Florida to help them attend the "March for Our Lives" in Washington D.C. Patriots owner Robert Kraft provided one of the team's private planes (AKA "AirKraft") to help those affected by the shootings Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School attend the march. "On behalf of the New England Patriots organization, I want to express our support as you travel to Washington for this weekend's March for Our Lives," Kraft wrote in a note to students. "In the wake of incredible tragedy, we have hurt for you, mourned with you and been inspired by you. It is an honor for us to partner with you as a you push for progress. "Your community is stirring our country towards a better future. That is the part of a true patriot. Thank you for your leadership and inspiration. best wishes as you prepare for your takeoff and journey." Here's a look at the note that was given to students on the plane: Thank you New England Patriots! You are AMAZING for supporting and standing behind the Douglas Family on their journey to Washington DC to make a CHANGE!! DC here we come!! #MSDStrong #ShineMSD #NeverAgain pic.twitter.com/Fz6uYswKoU Meredith (@meredith_beary) March 22, 2018 According to The Boston Globe, the gesture stemmed from a request from former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, on behalf of their gun violence prevention organization, Giffords. Patriots spokesperson Stacey James told The Globe that the students and families of victims flew out from Fort Lauderdale on Thursday and will fly back following the march. Students and families showed their appreciation from the gesture on social media before making the flight up to Washington. Thank you so much @Patriots for your generosity! We are so grateful to have been lent your plane to fly up to Washington DC. See you at the march!! ShineMSD (@ShineMsd) March 22, 2018 Thank you @Patriots for donating your plane to fly @ShineMsd to Washington DC We appreciate your support! pic.twitter.com/JGnN0jNjoe Kali Clougherty (@kali4change) March 23, 2018 One day closer to #MarchForOurLives. Many thanks to @Patriots for flying the families of Douglas victims to DC last night. In awe of the strength of the parents directly impacted on 2/14. Encouraged by their unyielding drive for a better future. Respect. #ShineMSD Miguel (@miguelpena_c) March 23, 2018 In DC for March for our Lives. So proud to be an Eagle. We are going to shine the light. Thank you @patriots. @ShineMsd @AMarch4OurLives #MSDstrong Elaine Sacks Moscou (@ElaineSacksMosc) March 23, 2018 The "March for Our Lives" is set to take place on March 24 in Washington. Many cities, including Boston, are organizing their own marches in support of the #NeverAgain movement to demand change with the country's gun laws. Felicity Blunt confirmed she is expecting her second child on Thursday evening as she celebrated the imminent release of husband Stanley Tuccis latest film in New York. The older sister of actress Emily Blunt revealed a prominent baby bump beneath her vibrantly striped Diane Von Furstenberg dress at the latest screening of Final Portrait, Stanleys directorial debut, at the citys Guggenheim Museum. Greeting onlookers, literary agent Felicity, 36, positively glowed as guests including Blake Lively playfully rubbed her prominent bump while Stanley, 57, toasted the launch of his self-confessed passion project, a biopic documenting the last days of celebrated Swiss sculptor and painter Alberto Giacometti. She's expecting: Felicity Blunt confirmed she is expecting her second child on Thursday evening as she celebrated the imminent release of husband Stanley Tuccis latest film in New York Emily, 35, was also in attendance alongside husband John Krasinski, and the actress ensured her sister's surprise pregnancy took centre stage by cupping a hand over her belly as they posed for photos. The news comes three years after Felicity and Stanley - already a father of three from his first marriage to late wife Kathryn - welcomed son Matteo in 2015. Stanley had previously admitted to feeling guilty after proposing to Felicity in 2011, two-years after losing his beloved Kathryn to breast cancer. Hard to miss: The older sister of actress Emily Blunt revealed a prominent baby bump beneath her vibrantly striped Diane Von Furstenberg dress at the latest screening of Final Portrait, Tuccis directorial debut In good company: Felicity, 36, positively glowed as guests including Blake Lively playfully rubbed her prominent bump Three's company: The literary agent was also joined by actress sister Emily Blunt, who previously worked with Stanley on The Devil Wears Prada It was very hard to go on vacations at first, really hard to go with Felicity someplace, he told the Times supplement. I felt guilty. Its horrible. You always feel guilty. There are photographs (of Kathryn) around at home Not that many, but I would have difficulty. And especially when we first met it was only two years after Kate died. So The couple hit it off after meeting at his The Devil Wears Prada co-star Emily's wedding to John, held a George Clooneys Lake Como home in 2010. Second time around: Felicity's pregnancy comes after she welcomed her first child with Stanley, son Matteo, in 2015 Say cheese: Blake, Felicity and Emily beamed as they posed for photos on Thursday evening There it is: The literary agent ensured her baby bump claimed the bulk of the attention Despite a 20-year-age gap Stanley admits a number of shared interests not least a passion for food helped them bond during their initial dates. The actor later proposed to Felicity during a trip to Berlin the following year, and he admitted her British outlook made her all the more endearing. Well, English women are a bit more relaxed than Americans, he told the publication. You do swear and drink more, but I like that. I find that very attractive. Stanley is already a father to daughter Camilla, 12, and twins Nicolo and Isabel. Stanley, a New York native, was married to social worker Kathryn from 1995 until her death. So happy: But Stanley had previously admitted to feeling guilty after proposing to Felicity in 2011, two-years after losing his beloved Kathryn to breast cancer Close: Felicity and Blake were inseparable after greeting one another at the event Cheers! (L-R) Diana Krall, Elvis Costello, Felicity Blunt, Stanley Tucci, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively She enjoyed five minutes of fame on the 2017 series of Love Island. But Danielle Sellers ensured she was back in the limelight once again when she dared to go topless on her sun-drenched Spanish getaway on Tuesday. The dumped Love Islander, 23, coyly covered her sensational cleavage with her hands when she took a dip in the sea on a secluded beach. Feeling hot, hot, hot: Love Island's Danielle Sellers protected her modesty with her hands as she posed TOPLESS on a secluded beach, in Spain on Tuesday Reality star Danielle paraded her phenomenal physique in incredibly tiny briefs which barely covered her modesty. The sexy snakeskin design of the model's bikini bottoms ensured the blonde bombshell caught the eye of onlookers on the beach. Love Island's Danielle let her golden locks tumble down her shoulders in loose waves to accentuate her slender waistline by drawing more attention to her figure. It's a parade! Reality star Danielle paraded her phenomenal physique in incredibly tiny briefs which barely covered her modesty Splashing around: The statuesque model cooled off in the sweltering Spanish climes by taking the plunge and splashing around in the sea Get him out of your hair! Danielle let her golden locks tumble down her shoulders in loose beachy waves to accentuate her slender waistline by drawing more attention to her figure To highlight her more natural appeal, the model defined her features with deftly touches of light make-up. Aside from her raunchy modelling work, Danielle enjoyed her 'five minutes' on 2017's smash hit reality show. The blonde bombshell lamented she was 'so gutted to be home so soon' after she was dumped from the series in the early stages when she failed to find love. Casually cool: A natural poser and model, the golden-haired beauty perched on a rock where she posed up a storm Missing something? Danielle was flying solo on her sun-drenched trip to the beach Unfortunately the reality star hasn't had much luck in the dating pool since either after her short-lived romance with blogger Jack Maynard ended. The pair's budding love story came to an end amid claims the brief I'm A Celeb star didn't 'see her as girlfriend material'. In February, Danielle got tongues wagging on the showbiz circuit when she cosied up to her rumoured ex 'Muggy' Mike at a London shop opening. Under her spell: The reality star left very little to the imagination when she stretched out on the hot golden sands Looking good: The dumped Love Islander shielded her eyes from the sweltering sunshine when she chilled out on the beach Sizzling siren: Danielle narrowly risked a nip slip when she covered her gravity-defying breasts with one arm Mike and Danielle first sparked romance rumours last autumn after they attended a string of events together but their fling was short-lived. It was even claimed Mike found himself embroiled in a 'heated' row with their co-star Theo Campbell at the Sixty6 Magazine launch party, held in October. Mike was said to have clashed with Theo after his former Love Island co-star was 'rude' about Danielle. Playful: The stunner looked amazing when she emerged from the icy waters and although she went topless, she was careful to protect her modesty Pulling off a look: The golden-haired beauty toyed with her golden locks to ensure she looked as glamorous as ever on the beach Natural beauty: To highlight her more natural appeal, the model defined her features with deftly touches of light make-up Top work: It is no wonder that Danielle posed like a professional as she has worked on a series of raunchy modelling projects However, despite the cosy display in February the Love Island villain had recently confirmed he was dating TOWIE's Megan McKenna. Celebs Go Dating star Mike and former TOWIE queen Megan headed off to Barbados for a romantic break away in recent days. Meanwhile, Danielle was flying solo in Spain as she returned to the sunny country after her brief getaway with former Love Islander Chyna Ellis in February. Bringing it back: She ensured she was back in the limelight once again when she dared to go topless on her sun-drenched Spanish getaway In the limelight: Danielle burst onto the reality scene with confidence when she enjoyed her 'five minutes' on 2017's smash hit reality show Great shame: The blonde bombshell lamented she was 'so gutted to be home so soon' after she was dumped from the series in the early stages when she failed to find love Unlucky in love: Unfortunately the reality star hasn't had much luck in the dating pool since either after her short-lived romance with blogger Jack Maynard ended Revealed: The blonde bombshell was also linked to 'Muggy' Mike but their short-lived fling came to an end months ago, with the hunk moving on with former TOWIE star Megan McKenna Moving on: The reality star was the picture of confidence as she posed up a storm without a man or female pal They revealed they were set to become parents together for the first time in late 2017. And Rowan Atkinson, 63, and his girlfriend Louise Ford, 34, enjoyed a rare date night as they attended musical icon Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's 70th birthday bash at London's Theatre Royal Drury Lane on Thursday night. The Mr Bean star - believed to be worth 100 million - and the actress were pictured together for the first time in a year as they left the high-profile party. Date night: Rowan Atkinson, 63, and his girlfriend Louise Ford, 34, attended musical icon Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's 70th birthday bash at London's Theatre Royal Drury Lane on Thursday The actor looked dapper in a midnight blue suit with a fresh white shirt underneath. Atkinson teamed his slick look with patent black Oxfords, and offset the toned-down ensemble with an eye-catching floral tie in keeping with the retro theme of the party. The Black Adder favourite appeared happy and relaxed as he joined his love in the car and headed home for the evening after partying into the night. Louise took a more casual sartorial approach, opting for an edgy leather jacket and matching blouse. Rare appearance: The Mr Bean star - believed to be worth 100 million - and the actress were pictured together for the first time in a year as they left the high-profile party Making an exit: In November, Louise was spotted with a blossoming bump just days after it was claimed the pair were expecting a child - Atkinson's third at the age of 62 The Windsors actress teamed her ensemble with dark trousers, and opted for low-key hair and make-up for the occasion. The occasion marked the first time the couple have been spotted together in a year. In November, Louise was spotted with a blossoming bump just days after it was claimed the pair were expecting a child - Atkinson's third at the age of 62. A source told The Sunday People at the time: 'Rowan and Louise are over the moon and can't wait for their new arrival. It's a very happy time for them both.' MailOnline has reached out to Rowan's representatives for comment. Suited and booted: The actor looked dapper in a midnight blue suit with a fresh white shirt Doting father: The Johnny English actor already has two grown-up children son Ben, 23, and daughter Lily, 21, from his 24-year marriage to BBC make-up artist Sunetra Sastry The Johnny English actor already has two grown-up children son Ben, 23, and daughter Lily, 21, from his 24-year marriage to BBC make-up artist Sunetra Sastry. In 2014, Rowan's union with his ex-wife, 55, hit the rocks, after it was reported he had a new woman in his life. She was subsequently named as Louise - an actress he met while they appeared in the play Quartermaines Terms in 2013. While they met during their run in the West End comedy, the pair did not embark on romance until two years later. Loved-up: The couple met while appearing in Quartermaines Terms in 2013, but did not embark upon a romance until two years later Atkinson's divorce from Sastry was finalised in 2015. Proving their romance to be going from strength to strength, it was reported last year that Rowan had moved Louise into his 4.65 million cottage in North London just weeks after his divorce. Atkinson, who attracted almost 19 million viewers in his role as Mr Bean at its peak, has amassed a fortune of an estimated 100 million. The actor recently gave up his controversial 10million home in the Cotswolds to his ex-wife as part of their divorce settlement. Example has opened up about his hidden heartache after his wife Erin McNaught suffered a miscarriage in 2016. The rapper, 35 - who raises two sons, Evander, three, and Ennio, six months, with the Australian model - explained he 'didn't know how to talk' about his devastation and struggled to cope with his loss in the wake of the tragedy. The Kickstarts hitmaker, real name Elliot John Gleave, urged other men to speak out about their own mental health struggles as he appeared on ITV1's Lorraine on Friday morning. Tough time: Example has opened up about his hidden heartache after his wife Erin McNaught suffered a miscarriage in 2016 (pictured in August 2014) The musician told show host Lorraine Kelly he struggled to cope with his grief as no one in his family had miscarried before, instead falling into the assumption that he needed to be strong for the sake of his wife. He said: 'It's that old-fashioned ideal that men should be tougher and not show their emotions and it's what leads us down the path of male suicide. 'I didn't know how to talk about it no one in my family had lost one, you realise it's just about opening up, you just want to put all your time and effort into your Mrs. 'It really is about speaking to everybody about it, it's so common. Whether the couple's together or not it's important to reach out.' Doting dad: The rapper, 35, now raises two sons, Evander, three, and Ennio, six months, with the Australian model, 35 Opening up: Example told Lorraine Kelly he 'didn't know how to talk' about his devastation and struggled to cope with his loss in the wake of the tragedy The couple tied the knot in Australia in May 2013 and welcomed Evander the following year in December 2014. Second son Ennio came along in September 2017, and Example revealed it was in the fog of new baby exhaustion in which he found the inspiration for his latest album. He said: 'I haven't had a hit since like 2014, the hits were nice, and in the last four years even though I've been gigging loads of people think I'm semi-retired. 'Then I got married and I found it really hard to write music because all my songs are about break-ups or depression.' Tough time: The musician struggled to cope with his grief as no one in his family had miscarried before, instead falling into the assumption that he needed to be strong for his wife Powering on: The Kickstarts hitmaker, real name Elliot John Gleave, urged other men to speak out about their own mental health struggles as he appeared on ITV1's Lorraine on Friday Back to business: The Brit-award nominated star admitted that since marrying Erin in 2013, he struggled to write new songs as all his previous hits were based on 'break-ups or depression' He added: 'People think I'm such a geezer, and I'm on a beach in Australia trying to relate it to a dirty rave in London. 'But when I had my second baby, I was in the studio, that dreamlike state you're in for the first month, it feels like jet lag and I just came up with all these amazing ideas.' Example added that since working on his music he has been jetting back and forth from London to Australia, where his wife and children are based. He said: 'We don't have any nannies at home, all my family and friends are in Australia even my parents! 'It is really tough and we dont get much quality time as a couple at the moment, but we will. It's a circus especially flying back on a 24-hour flight with a three-year-old and a six-month-old. I remember with the jet lag we had one waking up at 11pm and one at 2am, we were like flatmates meeting in the hallway!' Talented: The musician said the fog of new baby exhaustion in which he found the inspiration for his latest album Despite the jet lag, he enjoys the bubble of a 24 hour flight. 'No one can access you on the flight, I leave the Mrs and the kids in Oz, and can catch up on the movies or watch the whole of Black Mirror,' he said. 'Two kids is so tiring that the flight is actually the time off.' Lorraine also revealed that she got an unexpected mention in one of Example's most recent tracks, with 2015's Whisky Story featuring the lyric: 'She lies here on the sofa every morning like Lorraine.' Chatting about the story behind the song he said: 'We shot the video in one take on the tube. 'I was thinking about when you wake up at a house party and there's always someone sleeping on the sofa, and it came to me who's on the sofa every morning!' The rapper also dropped a major hint that he's set to perform at Ed Sheeran's wedding to childhood friend Cherry Seaborn later this year. When Lorraine quizzed him on whether rumours were true, he said: 'I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say!' She ensures she is noticed when she is out and about on the glitzy red carpets. And Lara Bingle enjoyed a break away from modelling when she headed out for lunch with her mum Sharon in Venice, California on Friday. Shared by her mother on Instagram, the 30-year-old model can be seen tucking into her food on their low-key day out. Different look: Make-up free Lara Bingle looked worlds away from her red carpet appearances as she went for a chic vibe in striped sweater for lunch date with her mum on Friday The Being Lara Bingle star looked worlds away from her red carpet glamour when she went make-up free to display her natural beauty on their lunch date. Lara kept the chill in the California air at bay with her stylish striped sweater which gave the stunner's casually cool look a chic vibe. The model was seen indulging on a piece of delicious seeded bread which she teamed with her huge bowl of salad for a healthy lunch out. While she was lying low, Lara's first taste for fame came after she appeared in the advert 'So where the bloody hell are you?' for Tourism Australia in 2006. Finding fame: The TV star looked dramatically different from her red carpet appearances (R, Los Angeles, November 2017) when she went make-up free The model has tried her hand at reality television as she started her own show Being Lara Bingle on Network Ten in June 2012 but it didn't have a second series. It is no wonder Lara has appeared on Australia's Next Top Model as she has graced the glamorous Australian edition covers of Harper's Bazaar, Elle and Grazia. Fabulous fun: Lara's first taste for fame came after she appeared in the advert So where the bloody hell are you? for Tourism Australia in 2006 (Los Angeles, March 2014) As well as having a close bond with her mother, she is rarely inseparable from her gorgeous husband Sam Worthington. The Lara and Sam love story goes way back with the couple secretly tying the knot in a ceremony in December 2014. Despite both having very busy careers, the secret to the success of their love story is that they make time for each other. Lara told Today Extra in May: ''We never do more than two weeks apart, two weeks apart is kind of our rule.' A hugely successful awards season may well be over, but Diane Kruger was still claiming plaudits as she promoted her latest film in Tokyo on Friday. The celebrated actress commanded attention in a plunging silver vest top while attending a press conference on behalf of new German language drama In The Fade at the Japanese capitals Goethe-Institut. Teaming her metallic top with a heavily embellished monochrome skirt, Diane, 41, was an engaging sight while fielding questions alongside co-star Denis Moschitto and director Fatih Akin. Looking good: A hugely successful awards season may well be over, but Diane Kruger was still claiming plaudits as she promoted latest film In The Fade in Tokyo on Friday Knee length leather boots rounded off her latest ensemble, while a distinct lack of accessories ensured it was not overshadowed as she took to the stage. Accentuating her features with liberally applied foundation, eye-shadow and deep red lipstick, the actress was on form during her latest round of promotional commitments. With a screening set to follow Friday's press conference, Diane later traded her top and skirt for an elegant black evening gown. Striking: Teaming her metallic top with a heavily embellished monochrome skirt, Diane, 41, was an engaging sight while attending a press conference alongside In The Fade director Fatih Akin (L) and co-star Denis Moschitto (R) Quite a difference: With a screening set to follow Friday's press conference, Diane later traded her top and skirt for an elegant black evening gown Upbeat: The actress was in high spirits as she fielded questions alongside Moschitto at Friday's press conference Distinctive by virtue of two cut-out chest panels, the fitted dress partially exposed her breasts as she made her way to the Human Trust Cinema Shibuya ahead of the film's official screening. In keeping with her sophisticated look, the actress's previously heavy make-up was reduced to muted tones selected from a natural colour palette. Completing the look, Diane opted for on-trend strappy boots, while her tousled hair had been straightened and styled with a simple side-parting. Bold look: Accentuating her features with liberally applied foundation, eye-shadow and deep red lipstick, the actress was on form during her latest round of promotional commitments Mix and match: Diane's stark black dress was in stark contrast to the metallic silver top and skirt she wore for her first public appearance of the day Side by side: The German star beamed as she joined director Akin at Friday evening's screening Revealing: Distinctive by virtue of two cut-out chest panels, the fitted dress partially exposed her breasts as she signed autographs outside the Human Trust Cinema Shibuya For you: The actress was gifted with a bouquet of flowers as she made her way inside the venue In The Fade has enjoyed enormous critical success over recent months, having won a Golden Globe and Critics' Choice Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Diane also claimed the coveted Best Actress award at the the 2017 Cannes Film Festival after it competed in competition for the Palme d'Or. However it was surprisingly snubbed at the 90th annual Academy Awards, with no nominations. Tasteful: In keeping with her sophisticated look, the actress's previously heavy make-up was reduced to muted tones selected from a natural colour palette Finishing touches: Completing the look, Diane opted for on-trend strappy boots, while her tousled hair had been straightened and styled with a simple side-parting I've got your back: The outfit accentuated her slender physique as she signed autographs Last week, she announced the devastating collapse of her eponymous fashion brand, which left her owing a reported 550,000. Yet Millie Mackintosh's recent financial misfortune has not put a dampener on her love of the finer things as she was seen emerging from her London home on Friday while clad in over 1000 worth of accessories. The 28-year-old former Made In Chelsea star was typically chic as she strutted out of her home while clutching a 395 Liberty Marlborough tote bag and sporting a 360 Gucci belt and 325 Ducie Teddy Bear Coat. Designer diva: Millie Mackintosh's recent financial misfortune has not put a dampener on her love of the finer things as she was seen emerging from her London home on Friday while clad in over 1000 worth of accessories Millie's fashion brand went bust owing more than half a million pounds because of the 'challenging financial climate'. She launched her label Cammac four years ago exclusively on the fashion website ASOS and it instantly became a hit thanks to her large social media following. But now the former Made in Chelsea star is having to liquidate the business with a shortfall of 548,000, according to the Evening Standard. Despite this, she has been carrying on life as normal as she was seen out on Friday while heading to a photoshoot while dressed in the designer ensemble. Rocking the look: The 28-year-old former Made In Chelsea star was typically chic as she strutted out of her home while clutching a 395 Liberty Marlborough tote bag and sporting a 360 Gucci belt and 325 Ducie Teddy Bear Coat Back to the grindstone: Millie proved the show must go on as she headed to a photoshoot amid her financial struggles While she has mostly been sporting black of late, she changed it up in her loose-fitting Mom jeans which were nipped in at the waist with the Gucci belt. Layered over the top, she wore the warm brown coat while also holding on to her envy-inducing handbag - also carrying a hefty price tag. Millie has herself lost out on 178,000 through the collapse of Cammac Venture Limited, according to liquidation papers. Tough times: Millie's fashion brand went bust owing more than half a million pounds because of the 'challenging financial climate' Tough times: The collapse of Millie's business comes in the same week as healthy eating blogger Ella Mills announced she was to close two of her three London delicatessens after racking up losses of 724,000 She said: 'Despite our efforts and being a top seller with a number of our stockists, the financial climate in the fashion industry has proved immensely challenging and the business is no longer sustainable.' The collapse of Millie's business comes in the same week as healthy eating blogger Ella Mills announced she was to close two of her three London delicatessens after racking up losses of 724,000. The foodie, known as Deliciously Ella, will close the first store she opened in Marylebone, and a shop in Herne Hill, south east London, which has been open for less than a year. Trouble ahead: The collapse of Millie's business comes in the same week as healthy eating blogger Ella Mills announced she was to close two of her three London delicatessens after racking up losses of 724,000 Eek! Millie has herself lost out on 178,000 through the collapse of Cammac Venture Limited, according to liquidation papers Millie's outing comes after fans speculated that her ex-husband Professor Green had taken a swipe at her on Instagram on Tuesday in the wake of news her clothing line has gone bust. The pair's three-year marriage to came to an acrimonious end back in 2016. Sharing a snap of himself and new girlfriend Fae Williams looking blissfully happy while behind the wheel of his car, the 34-year-old wrote: 'Hahahahahaahahahahaha. Not one to gloat, but Hahahahahaha.' Hitting out: Millie's outing comes after fans speculated that her ex-husband Professor Green had taken a swipe at her on Instagram on Tuesday in the wake of news her clothing line has gone bust (pictured at their 2013 wedding) Fans quickly speculated that the comment may have been at the expense of his ex-wife and her failing business, with one writing: 'This is about MM.' Another commented: 'Ouch!!! Is that due to a certain someones (Millies) company going bust!!! Karma.' 'Maybe his exs clothing line closing down,' a further remarked, before another chimed: 'Millies business going bust.' She has amassed a small fortune walking the runway for some of the world's prolific designers as well as gracing the cover of Edward Enniful's first British Vogue edition. But Adwoa Aboah is reportedly suing her former management company, claiming they are holding $190,000 of her earnings. According to TMZ, the disgruntled model, 25, has launched a lawsuit because she believes The Lions Management are holding the money as ransom because she left the New York agency. Lawsuit: Adwoa Aboah is reportedly suing her former management company, claiming they are holding $190,000 of her earnings The publication reports the British beauty earned approximately $670,000 between January 2015 to July 2017, and that her managers kept nearly a third of her earnings. Adwoa is said to have put in the lawsuit: 'Fashion models are not indentured servants.' The model reportedly had a bitter relationship with her former management after she left them last year and signed up to DNA Management. According to TMZ , the disgruntled model, 25, has launched a lawsuit because she believes The Lions Management are holding the money as ransom because she left the company At the time, Lions Management reportedly accused Adwoa of leaving her three-year contract with the firm prematurely, with WWD claiming they launched a lawsuit in September of last year seeking unspecified damages due to her early departure. MailOnline has contacted Lions Management for comment. Adwoa's alleged lawsuit comes after she talked about her insecurities and struggles with addiction in Allure. She said: 'I was insecure. Disgruntled: The publication reports the British beauty earned approximately $670,000 between January 2015 to July 2017, and that her managers kept nearly a third of her earnings 'I don't think I was confident enough, and I don't think there was a space within the industry for somebody who looked like me.' She added: 'I worked; I did odd jobs. There were times I had money and times I didn't, it was up and down.' The supermodel's whole life has been a series of highs and lows. Back in 2015, Aboah attempted suicide after battling drug addiction. In the same year she started down the path to recovery and also managed to land the cover of Italian Vogue. Those trials and triumphs led her to found Gurls Talka network for women that encourages conversation surrounding sex, anxiety, antidepressants, and more. Speaking about the charity, she added: 'If I had somewhere I felt safe enough to talk about the things going on in my life, whether they be small or big, I don't think I would have bottled up everything so much and had it fall to pieces.' A bit of rain didn't stop Emma Roberts from picking up a package from UPS on Thursday. The 27-year-old actress was snapped in an off-white flowing cardigan as she made her way through the downpour. She has been a regular fixture throughout Los Angeles since purchasing a new home in Los Feliz two weeks ago. Natural beauty: Emma Roberts, 27, glistened in the rain while picking up a package in Los Angeles. Dressed in a pair of baggy blue jeans with her hair pulled back into a messy bun, Emma glistened in the rain. The American Horror Story actress is a natural beauty and appeared to go make-up free for her solo run into town. The star added a bit of street style flair to her outfit via a pair of black sneakers decorated with white flowers and green leaves. Make it rain: The actress was snapped in an off-white flowing cardigan as she made her way through the downpour Missing from Emma's side Thursday was her on-again, of-again fiance Evan Peters, whom she split with twice after first meeting on the 2012 set of Adult World. The couple was last seen with at the star-studded Vanity Fair Oscars bash, and also attended the 2018 Critics Choice Awards together where Evan was nominated for Best Movie/Mini Actor for his portrayal of Kai on AHS: Cult. Earlier in March, the actress purchased herself a $4.02M three-story, three-bedroom Laughlin Park home in trendy Los Feliz, after selling her $1.65M Laurel Canyon abode to AHS co-star Sarah Paulson in 2016 - according to Variety. Solo star: On Wednesday, the star attended a party in West Hollywood's elegant Chateau Marmont The star has been seen out on her own in Los Angeles frequently over the past few weeks. On Wednesday, Emma - the niece of Hollywood megastar Julia Roberts - attended a party in West Hollywood's elegant Chateau Marmont. The Who We Are Now actress is next set to attend the world premiere of Sam Boyd's romance In a Relationship happening April 20 at the Tribeca Film Festival in her native New York. In the flick about two couples, the Prada spokesmodel plays a woman on the verge of a break-up called Hallie alongside Michael Angarano, Patrick Gibson, Dree Hemingway, and Melora Walters. He recently gushed that they're caught up in their 'own little bubble' after striking up a romance a month ago. And Pete Wicks, 29, and his girlfriend Shelby Tribble, 25, proved their blossoming relationship was hotting up as they headed on a double date with Dan Edgar and his new flame, Clelia Theodorou, in Brentwood on Friday. The smitten couple put on a loved-up display as they walked arm-in-arm to meet their TOWIE co-stars for a spot of lunch at Zizzi's. Loved-up: Pete Wicks, 29, and his girlfriend Shelby Tribble, 25, headed on a double date with Dan Edgar and his new flame, Clelia Theodorou in Brentwood on Friday Shelby was dressed to impress as she slipped her curves into a white lacy mini-dress, which she paired with a beige trench coat. The former Miss Great Britain opted to shun the cardinal legs-or-cleavage rule as she flaunted her toned pins in the thigh-grazing dress while showcasing her ample assets with its low neckline. She styled her long brunette tresses in tight curls and accentuated her sun-kissed complexion with a glamorous make-up look. Double date: The new couple were joined by Dan Edgar's new love interest Clelia, who flaunted her leggy frame in a skimpy white bandeau dress Cute: The smitten couple put on a loved-up display as they walked arm-in-arm to meet their TOWIE co-stars for a spot of lunch at Zizzi's Joining the line-up: The two girls have recently joined the cast of the hit ITVBe show Meanwhile, Pete cut a dapper figure in a black suit, which he paired with a black patterned shirt. The new couple were joined by Dan Edgar's new rumoured love interest Clelia, who flaunted her leggy frame in a skimpy white bandeau dress. The brunette beauty sported a near identical outfit to her TOWIE co-star donning a beige coat and nude sandals, while Dan rocked a grey blazer and black skinny jeans. Leggy: Shelby was dressed to impress as she slipped her curves into a white lacy mini-dress, which she paired with a beige trench coat Matching: Clelia sported a near identical outfit to her TOWIE co-star donning a beige coat and nude sandals, while Dan rocked a grey blazer and black skinny jeans Meanwhile, Dan Edgar's former flame Amber Turner opened up about her 'toxic' relationship with him while appearing on This Morning with co-stars Bobby Norris, Georgia Kousoulou and Tommy Mallet. The reality star, 24, confessed to show hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford that one particular row with her former flame became so heated that she even threw a drink in his face while filming the ITVBe show in Barcelona, Spain. But despite all the drama, the pretty blonde admitted she still has feelings for the hunk, 27. It's all over: Amber Turner has revealed that she and ex Dan Edgar are 'done' after a heated nightclub row as she joined her co-stars on This Morning on Friday Amber addressed the rumours about her relationship with Dan after Ruth asked her about a row the ex-couple had in the famous Essex haunt Sugar Hut. She said: 'I was having a conversation with one of the new girls and he came into the conversation and it just didn't go down well. 'Things have just got so toxic between us and I'm just so done with the situation.' Asked whether things got heated, Amber joked: 'A cup fell out of my hand and it may have had liquid in it.' Chatting away: The couple appeared deep in discussion as they left the eatery, following Dan's ex Amber appearing on This Morning New romance Amber remained coy when asked about Dan's romance with TOWIE newcomer Clelia, after she reportedly broke down in tears at the news She added: 'It's been over a year with us but I'm not going to say there aren't feelings there, but I can't do it anymore and I have to let go of feelings that I have. 'You think a lot of it is played for dramatics but everything I've talked about is real life.' Amber remained coy when asked about Dan's alleged romance with TOWIE newcomer Clelia, after she reportedly broke down in tears at the news during a break from TOWIE filming in Barcelona. 'I don't want to say he cheated because he isn't my actual boyfriend,' she said. Young and in love: The group seemed in high spirits as they left the Italian restaurant Meanwhile, Pete admitted that he is smitten with Shelby following his break-up from Megan McKenna, with whom he had a famously tumultuous relationship. Speaking to The Sun, Pete admitted: 'I am not talking about Megan ever again. Im not allowed', while his stunning new other half cheekily added: 'I don't know her so she is irrelevant.' Pete then gushed: 'With Shelby all we do is laugh and have a good time together - and thats a lovely way to be. 'We have been together for a month; we have loads of fun together. At the minute were in a little bubble and were really enjoying each others company,' Pete continued, before adding: 'We arent going to get caught up in that reality TV world.' By Gary Cardenas , President of TOC Logistics International While self-driving cars seem to be the latest technology buzz on everyones mind, even more likely to make a break into the market sooner rather than later are autonomous ships. These ships are no longer just a pipe-dream as numerous companies and organizations are undertaking the design and implementation of this technology. With so many organizations working to put this technology into place, these futuristic vehicles could make their way into the industry in 10-15 years time and could save the industry in many ways. While there are obvious challenges associated with the introduction of ships sailing the ocean without a captain or crew, these are the ways autonomous vehicles could save the shipping industry money, time, and more. From Piracy: While reports of maritime piracy continued to decline in 2017, the second half of the year did show a total of 87 incidents reported to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB). Unmanned ships could cut back on these numbers even more as an unmanned ship is significantly less appealing to pirates. When there is no crew, there is no crew to hold ransom. If those with ill intent do try to board an unmanned vessel, the design of these ships will make it difficult. If they were to make it on board, they would have no access to controls and the computer powering the ship could take over and either change course, drive in a circle until help arrived, or shut down. Money: Autonomous ships will not only be a game-changer when it comes to safety, but to budgets as well. Once these ships hit the ocean, they can save money on fuel and pack more cargo for more productive trips. With no crew on board, certain aspects of the ships design, like crew quarters and sewage systems, can be removed to create more cargo space. Their sleek designs cut back on wind resistance allowing them to move faster through the water. These changes will cut construction costs, reduce operating costs and make for more efficient trips. From A Talent Shortage: As technological-savvy millennials enter the workforce, they are attracted to digitally-geared jobs. Seafaring as a career, spending weeks or months away from homes and families, is becoming less appealing but powering these massive machines from home through electronic and digital systems are the careers that will appeal to the incoming generations. From Accidents: In a report published by the Munich-based insurance company Allianz in 2012, between 75 and 96 percent of marine accidents are caused by human error. A vessel not operated by humans will cut back on these errors and hopefully on accidents. While there will be regulatory and operating challenges to face, these ships present numerous opportunities to an ever-changing industry. (This blog original appeared on the TOC Logistics International website. To learn more about trends within the industry, you can sign up for blog update on the company's page.) Kim Kardashian's has been talking up her new concealers, which she is launching on Friday. And the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star's latest interview was with a Vogue podcast called Beauty Bosses. While on the show, the 37-year-old star revealed that she relies heavily on the concealer because she has 'really dark circles under my eyes' and she needs to 'go heavy' on the product so she doesn't look 'tired.' Confession: Kim Kardashian's has been talking up her new concealers, which she is launching on Friday. And the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star's latest interview was with a Vogue podcast called Beauty Bosses Her flaw: While on the show, the 37-year-old star revealed that she relies heavily on the concealer because she has 'really dark circles under my eyes' and she needs to 'go heavy' on the product so she doesn't look 'tired.' The subject came up when she was asked what was the one makeup product that changed her life. 'It was concealer and the way Mario put concealer under my eyes was a big change for me,' said the mother of three. 'I have really dark circles. Mario was like we are going heavy and we are going to contour and conceal and he taught me everything I know.' Done down: The subject came up when she was asked what was the one makeup product that changed her life. 'It was concealer and the way Mario put concealer under my eyes was a big change for me,' said the mother of three Kim added: 'I was so shocked and I fell in love. I am a heavy makeup kind of girl.' She added she can get a 'tired' look when she does not have the concealer on, which she does not mind, but when she is made up, she does not want that. 'It's an either or,' she noted. She also said her campaign for the new concealers is 'so cute' because it features her mother Kris Jenner her grandmother MJ, who she was thrilled to give a blonde makeover to. 'I features all ages,' she said, adding there are anti-ageing properties in the concealers. Glam queen: Kim added: 'I was so shocked and I fell in love. I am a heavy makeup kind of girl.' She added she can get a 'tired' look when she does not have the concealer on, which she does not mind, but when she is made up, she does not want that What's old is new: She shared this Instagram this week; it's from a shoot done months ago And there is a big shade range, a total of 16. 'I have a different skin tone from my daughters... I wanted variety,' said Kim. Her daughters are North, aged four, and Chicago, aged three months; she also has son Saint, aged two. The dad is Kanye West. She also admitted that she wants to get into skincare as she 'freaks out more and more' about ageing. 'I am big on complexion,' she noted. 'I always wanted to start with skin.' Fresh: The star also shared this old photo from her fragrance launch to help sell her concealers which launch Friday She began her interview by saying: 'I have always loved experimenting with different makeup looks and especially when we launched our show I started working with different makeup artists. 'When they wanted to experiment with different looks it was fun. I fell in love with makeup a little over a decade ago. 'We just had our 10 year anniversary for the show, it was crazy. I never had my makeup done before that, I always loved makeup but it's completely different when you start getting your makeup done. 'When they wanted to try crazy colors I got so into it.' Kim also said that she wears makeup almost every day and 'no matter what look I do I am always highlighting and contouring, even if it's a little bit of makeup I will contour.' Three generations: Her promo photos for the concealer feature mom Kris Jenner, far right, and her grandma MJ, far left Mrs West then said: 'I was more confident in my powder contour, because everyone uses it, cream contour is trickier and you need a bit more skill. 'But we did good a job at drawing the lines on the face, I wanted adult crayons, it resonated with people. 'Like my grandma was using the contour sticks, I was like I made it if she was using contouring.' New look: The Vogue favorite also said she was thrilled to give MJ a makeover She said she aimed to make the kits as simple as can be. 'My friends that I grew up with are not makeup artists, they don't know, so I have to make it easy. It's a three step process. 'I conceal, I blend it in, I bake with a lose powder on top, and then I brighten with a lighter powder, like a pressed powder,' said Kim. As far as staying on top of the beauty business she said: 'You have to stay on social media and stay engaged. Social media is your best focus group ever. I read the comments I see what people like and don't like about our products and I change accordingly. That's what's great about having a local company.' As far as the emojis fragrances, she said doing the sexy shoot with the huge hearts was a last minute decision. Another cover: Also this week her ODDA magazine cover made its debut 'It was so cute. I wasn't event thinking of a press box. And seven days before we sent them out I thought it up. 'I had received a delivery from a baker for Christmas that made me these Christmas trees with a wreath with a hammer, and I thought it was such a good idea. 'So I found him on Instagram and said we gotta think of these candy hearts.... he sent me a picture of the heart and we figured it out and we go there and we got the candy heart from a different vendor and we packaged them up and the blue color said BFF which was the pink, which was wrong, so we called the factory in Miami, they opened factory, printed them and sent them over with someone on a plane at 6 am. 'Anyone who says no is talking to the wrong person,' said Kim with a laugh. 'It all came together in 7 days!' She added she even ate the box: 'The chocolate was good, I ate it, my mom ate it, the kids ate it.' Kim Kardashian's KKW Beauty concealers go on sale Friday. The podcast, produced by Vogues Negar Mohammadi and Acasts Taylor Daulton, and hosted by Vogues Beauty Director, Celia Ellenberg, is available on iTunes, ACast, and Vogue.com. Lynda Carter was in attendance for the 2018 Simon Wiesenthal Center National Tribute Dinner honoring Leslie Moonves. Clothed in a sequin embroidered black coat and matching skirt, the Wonder Woman actress, 66, walked the red carpet Thursday night. The event celebrating the CBS Corporation's Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer took place at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Wonder woman: Lynda Carter was in attendance for the 2018 Simon Wiesenthal Center National Tribute Dinner honoring Leslie Moonves A pair of tasteful pointed kitten heels and a simple clutch added a sense of refinement to Carter's all black ensemble. She added cascading sliver earrings and a diamond encrusted emerald ring to complete her glowing outfit. The actress' husband Robert A. Altman is the current Chairman and CEO of ZeniMax Media, where Moonves has been a director since 1999. Shining: The 66-year-old actress glowed in a sequin embroidered black coat and matching skirt Altman is Carter's second husband. The couple was married in 1984 and have two children together. The two met following the actress' first marriage to her former talent agent, Ron Samuels, from 1977 to 1982. Earlier in March, the actress revealed that she has been a victim of sexual misconduct from a man who has assaulted many other women amidst the #MeToo movement. Picture perfect: She walked the red carpet at The Beverly Hilton on Thursday night The Wonder Woman actress, 66, refused to reveal the identity of the man in question, however she did say the man has mistreated 'a lot of people.' 'I can't add anything to it. I wish I could,' Carter told The Daily Beast. 'But there's nothing legally I could add to it, because I looked into it. I'm just another face in the crowd. I wish I could, and if I could I would.' 'But it ends up being about me, and not about the people who can talk about it. I don't want it to be about me, it's not about me. It's about him being a scumbag,' she said. Although she didn't reveal who the man was, she did say the horrific experience is something she is 'probably' still recovering from. She shared a very steamy smooch with Bachelor In Paradise's Davey Lloyd. And Sarah Turner ensured she was centre of attention once again when she stripped down to her bikini during her getaway on Friday on Instagram. The model, who has been romantically linked to the reality star, showcased her enviable physique in a scanty two-piece. Way to Turn(er) heads! Model Sarah paraded her envy-inducing figure in tiny bikini on Friday after she locked lips with Bachelor In Paradise's Davey Lloyd As well as her incredible figure, the bikini beauty also had the attention of her fans thanks to her impressive inking sleeves. The stunner's long golden locks were styled in a loosely-tousled fashion that tumbled down her shoulders. She penned on social media: 'This is what happens when you go on a holiday but stay indoors for 10 days straight.' (sic) Sarah was flying solo following her appearance on Bachelor In Paradise star Davey's Instagram once again in recent weeks. Hot and heavy: In February, Davey was pictured passionately kissing Sarah at Cosmopolitan & Tinder's Bachelor of the Year 2018 Awards in Sydney The couple were first picture passionately packing on the PDA at Cosmopolitan & Tinder's Bachelor of the Year 2018 Awards in Sydney. Davey cheekily shared the steamy moment on social media at the time and it seems the sparks continued to fly when they were reunited for a second occasion. But it seems the duo aren't officially seeing each other as the television hunk's Instagram bio clearly states he is 'single'. Packing on PDA: Sarah was flying solo following her appearance on Bachelor In Paradise star Davey's Instagram once again in recent weeks Feeling hot! Davey cheekily shared the steamy moment on social media at the time and it seems the sparks continued to fly when they were reunited for a second occasion Sarah is hot on the showbiz circuit as she follows a slew of Bachelor and Bachelorette alumni on Instagram. Matty J, Sophie Monk and Apollo Jackson are among the reality stars who have caught her eye. Their linking shortly follows rumours Davey was dating Tara Pavlovic after they met on Bachelor In Paradise in Fiji late last year. Los Angeles hunkered down as the city was battered by a huge rainstorm on Thursday But Irina Shayk didn't let the inclement weather prevent her from getting her favorite daily workout in. The 32-year-old model headed to class in Los Angeles, representing her partner Bradley Cooper's hometown in a pink Julius Erving Philadelphia 76ers sweatshirt. Prepped for pilates: Irina Shayk didn't let the inclement weather stop her from heading to her fitness class in Los Angeles on Thursday The Vogue beauty finished her look in patterned leggings, that showed off her toned legs, and a pair of bright white sneakers. Despite the cloudy skies, the mother-of-one kept on her dark sunglasses and was prepped for the cardio and strength training workout by tying her brown tresses back in a loose bun. Keeping hydrated, Irina carried a boxed water along with her cellphone. Reppin' Philly: The Russian model donned a Philadelphia 76ers hoodie, which is her rumored fiance Bradley Cooper's hometown Moving mama: The Vogue beauty has snapped back into shape after giving birth to her first child, Lea De Seine, one year ago Not seen with the Russian model was her rumored fiance Bradley Cooper, who she's been dating since 2015. The low-key couple recently celebrated the first birthday of their daughter Lea De Seine, who they welcomed on March 21, 2017. While the private pair don't like to share too much about their personal lives, one thing Irina isn't shy about is showing off her sensational post-baby body. The runway star proved she didn't have much trouble snapping back into shape after the birth of her first child, often sharing envy-worthy snaps of her in bikinis and on vacation. The busy mom is currently the face of Intimissimi's latest lingerie campaign. Envy-worthy: Bradley and Irina are typically very private, but one thing the model isn't shy about is showing off her amazing figure (pictured on vacation in January) Chris Evans wanted to depart his Captain America role before he was axed. The 36-year-old actor is expected to hang up his superhero character's vibranium-steel alloy shield following the release of next year's 'Avengers 4' movie, and he has confirmed he wanted to leave the part before he was let go. Speaking about playing Captain America in the upcoming 'Avengers: Infinity War' and next year's fourth film, he said in a profile piece in the New York Times newspaper: 'You want to get off the train before they push you off.' Getting ready to hang up his shield: Chris Evans wanted to depart his Captain America role before he was axed Evans filmed the two Marvel movies back-to-back last year and he also admitted he expects the upcoming autumn re-shoots to mark the end of his tenure in the red, white and blue superhero suit. The Hollywood star's comments come after his Marvel Cinematic Universe co-star Robert Downey Jr. - who plays Iron Man in the 'Avengers' movies - recently admitted he is going to feel lost when Evans departs the role. He said: 'I feel like my instinct would be to bust his jaw. 'All I know is that there's something about being on camera with Evans. I hate to say it, but I don't know what I'm gonna do when he's not Cap anymore. 'I look at him and think this is the truest, most down moral psychology I've ever seen and then they go, 'Cut!' and Chris is like, 'Hey buddy, I gotta get out of here'. Split: Evans and comedian Jenny Slate have quietly ended their on-again, off-again relationship 'I'm like, 'You wanna go to dinner?' 'Nope'. 'OK. Love you. Love you, Cap. I mean, Chris.' ' Evans recently insisted no other actor could ever play the role of Iron Man/ Tony Stark as well as Downey Jr. He explained: 'He really just opens his arms and it sounds so cheesy, but he makes it a family and none of this would happen without him. 'No matter what it feels like for me, I try to imagine what it feels like for him, because he really did start this. He really is so irreplaceable. 'Nobody can ever be Iron Man. It's not a role like Superman or Batman that can kind of find different incarnations, no one can touch it.' Meanwhile, it has also emerged that Evans and comedian Jenny Slate have quietly ended their on-again, off-again relationship. The news was revealed in the profile piece about Chris in the New York Times which said that their relationship, 'beloved by the internet, recently ended'. Kanye West has had a long, illustrious music career and it shows. The rapper has released eight studio albums, all highly-regarded and often-debated among his fans. He's also produced a number of popular projects, released a coveted collaborative sneaker line with Adidas and headed up his own fashion line. In his personal life, he's married to Kim Kardashian whom he once claimed he often dreamed about prior to their getting together and the couple have three children. Kanye West is a successful musician, producer and fashion designer and his net worth shows it At 40 years old, he's accomplished more than most people could ever dream of. So how much is Kanye West worth? Who is Kanye West? Kanye Omari West was born June 8, 1977. He grew up in Chicago, Illinois, with his mother, Donda West. His father, who divorced his mother when Kanye was young, was one of the first black photojournalists at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. When Kanye was about 10 years old, he moved with his mother to Nanjing, China. At the time she was teaching at Nanjing University. Kanye began writing poetry and growing interested in music at a young age. Eventually, he met DJ No I.D. and the pair became close friends. It's from him that West learned to sample beats. After high school, Kanye intended to attend art school at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. Eventually he transferred to Chicago State University. At 20 years old, Kanye decided to drop out to focus on his music career. Dadye is my fave A post shared by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Jan 21, 2018 at 8:02am PST Amid his struggle to land a record deal, Kanye was driving home from a California studio late one night in October 2002 when he fell asleep at the wheel. He was left with a broken jaw, which doctors wired shut. A short time later, his jaw still wired shut, Kanye recorded Through the Wire. The single was featured on his Get Well Soon mix tape and was considered a breakout hit. He continued to release music, all of which was well received, and eventually founded his own label, GOOD Music. Kanye West net worth According to Celebrity Net Worth, Kanye West's net worth is $160 million (113m). How did Kanye West make his money? Kanye West has made the bulk of his money through music. He's worked as a producer and an artist himself, releasing eight studio albums. In addition to his musical pursuits, Kanye is a well-known fashion designer. He has his own line, Yeezy Supply, and a collaborative shoe line with Adidas. Can you imagine if kanye sent you a pair of the rarest shoes on earth to do your first big tv show in? I felt like a superhero with a new suit. Francis (@andthelights) March 20, 2018 Kanye also launched a string of Fatburger restaurants in Chicago in 2008, though it's unclear if he still has those franchises. Kanye West albums The College Dropout was Kanye West's first studio album. It was released in 2004 and remains his best selling album, according to Capital Xtra. In 2005, Kanye released his second studio album, called Late Registration. The album sold more than 800,000 copies and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in its first week. Graduation followed in 2007 with 808s & Heartbreaks not far behind in 2008. In 2010, Kanye released My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, which has been hailed by some as his best album. Drake is reportedly in Wyoming working on Kanye Wests upcoming album pic.twitter.com/ZnnkrW4SR8 Things Drake Do (@ThingsDrakeDo) March 17, 2018 Kanye teamed up with Jay-Z for his next release, a dual album called Watch the Throne. The project is beloved by fans of both rappers and many are holding onto hope for a follow-up. After that release, Kanye took some time to work on his music and other ventures, but didn't release another album until 2013's Yeezus. The album was a departure from anything he'd ever done before and left Kanye's fandom divided between people who liked the album and people who didn't. It was three years before another Kanye project was released, but for many their patience was rewardded. The Life of Pablo was released in 2016 and was met with mostly positive reactions. Kanye West awards Kanye West currently has 21 Grammy Awards under his belt along with six MTV Music Awards, nine BET Awards, four Soul Train Awards, three BRIT Awards, two American Music Awards, five Billboard Music Awards and a few others. Kanye West and Kim Kardashian Kanye West and Kim Kardashian started dating in 2012. They got engaged in October 2013 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, while a massive orchestra played. Kim's engagement ring was a 15-carat diamond. In May 2014, Kim and Kanye tied the knot at the Forte di Belvedere in Florence, Italy. Throwback to that time I surprised Kanye with a trip to Japan for his birthday! He had to guess where we were going based on the snacks and magazines I had the plane stocked with! He was happy! pic.twitter.com/JuSrFr5w9n Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) February 22, 2018 Kim Kardashian net worth Kim Kardashian's net worth is $175 million (126.9m). Kanye West-Kim Kardashian children Kanye West and Kim Kardashian welcomed their first child, a daughter called North West, on June 15, 2013. Their second child, a baby boy named Saint West, was born two years later on December 5, 2015. Morning cutie A post shared by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Mar 17, 2018 at 7:15am PDT Most recently, the pair welcomed their third child, a second daughter, via surrogate on January 15, 2018. The called her Chicago West. Kanye West Michael Scott viral video On Friday, a video began circulating online showing The Office's Michael Scott 'describing' Kanye West's albums. The video was created by YouTubers MrBroks00 and the internet couldn't get enough of it. The video has been watched more than 93,000 times in the nearly three weeks it's been online. Halle Berry stripped off to perform an impressive yoga headstand while topless on Friday. The 51-year-old Oscar winner said she's 'happier and 'more like her best self' since she started meditating and practicing yoga. She posted the picture to Instagram along with an inspirational message that encouraged her followers to share their photos with her as they 'try new poses as well.' Force of nature: Halle Berry shared a photo of herself performing a headstand while topless The mother-of-two continued, 'Today, let's talk not just about yoga poses, but also about the meditative aspects of yoga. 'Many argue that some of the happiest people are those who spend time each day meditating.' 'I can tell you that I've felt happier and more like my best self since I started.' 'I've learned that meditation helps to balance your left brain and right brain, and as a result I feel more creative, I can absorb information faster and I experience better emotional health.' Naked lunch: She has been sharing a #FitnessFriday post for the past several weeks as well as her keto meal The Swordfish star was only wearing a pair of sheer black underwear while performing the challenging pose. Surrounded by bamboo stalks, it looked like Berry was holding herself up on a solid slab of stone. The toned actress has been sharing a #FitnessFriday post for the past several weeks as well as her keto meal. Spirituality: The 51-year-old Oscar winner said she's 'happier and 'more like her best self' since she started meditating and practicing yoga Inspirational: 'Some people use yoga poses to manage stress, increase circulation, for medication, recovery, better sleep, and mobility just to name a few,' explained the actress Earlier in March, she demonstrated her 'favorite yoga pose' - the shoulder stand - while clad in only a thong leotard. 'It stretches my lower spine and legs. I feel 2 inches taller after this stretch!' the evergreen 51-year-old announced to her combined 3.2M followers. 'Some people use yoga poses to manage stress, increase circulation, for medication, recovery, better sleep, and mobility just to name a few.' She has also shared footage of her trainer Peter Lee Thomas - her 'secret weapon' who 'changed her life' - as well as her daily #keto meal. 'Besides being an all around wonderful human, he's a trainer, martial artist, fellow actor, and nutrition specialist!' Berry gushed in January. The Victorian government will overhaul the state's teacher registration process after an independent review found there was not enough emphasis on child safety. The report by former Department of Justice secretary Penny Armytage, which has made 34 recommendations, follows a string of controversial decisions by the Victorian Institute of Teaching which allowed teachers accused of serious misconduct to keep their registration. Deputy Premier James Merlino, who recommended the review last year because there were "too many gaps", on Friday said the government will make legislative changes, including reforming the system that deals with teacher discipline. A NSW man who killed his former partner and knocked their teenage son unconscious is expected to be sentenced. Stephen James Boyd pleaded guilty last August to murdering his former partner, child care worker Tina Kontozis, in her Bundeena home in Sydney's south, and injuring Daniel Boyd with a bat on April 24, 2016. Boyd, who had been on an apprehended violence order at the time of the killing, is due to be sentenced in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday. The court had previously heard that Ms Kontozis was beaten with a bat and stabbed in a savage attack lasting "a significant period of time". Boyd also pleaded guilty to attacking and injuring his then-17-year-old son Daniel Boyd. After the attack Boyd drove off to a bottle shop where he bought alcohol. Power supplier Essential Energy denies poor maintenance of its equipment contributed to the bushfire that devastated the NSW coastal town of Tathra. It believes trees fell onto powerlines during extreme weather conditions, sparking the blaze that destroyed about 100 properties on Sunday. A preliminary investigation by the Rural Fire Service found electrical infrastructure was the likely cause of the fire. The Electrical Trades Union was quick to respond, saying the NSW government and Australian Energy Regulator have serious questions to answer over "massive maintenance funding cuts". But Essential Energy chief executive John Cleland said an initial review showed inspections and maintenance of the area around Reedy Swamp Road, just east of Bega, "are up to date and in accordance with prescribed standards". "Preliminary internal enquiries indicate network protection equipment activated as it is designed," he said in a statement. The company's "preliminary understanding" is that trees fell onto powerlines during extreme weather conditions. "However, our specialist internal investigators have not yet been able to fully access Reedy Swamp Road to conclusively determine the factors that impacted the network," Mr Cleland said. Power was restored to all customers in Tathra on Thursday night, four days after the fire tore through the south coast hamlet. Recovery coordinator Euan Ferguson has warned it could take 12 to 18 months before some displaced residents can return home. A recovery centre has opened at the Bega Civic Centre to help victims with a range of services including disaster welfare, insurance, providing access to counsellors, shire planning and legal aid. Some 166 people have been rehoused in temporary accommodation by Family and Community Services. Hundreds more are staying with friends and family awaiting permission to return to their homes. At latest count, 65 homes were destroyed along with 35 cabins and caravans. UPDATED The White House commission on school safety headed up by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVoswill hold its very first organizational meeting March 28, just four days after hundreds of thousands of students from the country are scheduled to march on Washington to protest gun violence. The meeting will be closed to the press. The commission is charged with making recommendations on how to improve school safety in the wake of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman High School last month, which left 17 people dead. Besides DeVos, the membership consists of three other cabinet secretaries: Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen. The commission plans to hear from students, parents, teachers, school safety personnel, administrators, law enforcement officials, mental health professionals, school counselors, security professionals, and others before making its recommendations. Its work could include forums in different parts of the country. But already, education advocates are skeptical of the commissions make-up and purpose. Kelly Vaillancourt Strobach, the director of government relations at the National Association of School Psychologists, wondered how productive a commission comprised of four cabinet secretaries could really be on this topic. Im really trying to not to be cynical about it, she said. We were hoping this would include researchers and experts as opposed to four cabinet secretaries trying to get input from all of their different groups and then making a decision behind closed doors. Maybe theyll surprise us. Thats my hope. DeVos told a congressional panel that the commission is made up of only cabinet secretaries so that it can get down to work quickly. Photo: Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos leans over to listens to U.S. Department of Education staffer Bill Cordes as they wait to testify before a House Committee on Appropriation subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 20. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP) Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 . A man who allegedly stole a car and rammed it into a police vehicle while trying to get away in Brisbane's south-west has been arrested and charged. The 25-year-old allegedly reversed backwards and collided with the front of a police car as he was trying to evade officers in Collingwood Park on Saturday. He sped away from the scene but was arrested on Thursday at his Ellen Grove address. The man has been charged with a string of offences including dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and wilful damage of police property. He is due to appear in Richlands Magistrates Court today. No officers were injured during the incident. Sydneysiders will be able to travel between the CBD and the western hub of Parramatta in 20 minutes using an underground train tunnel to be completed in the coming decade. The Berejiklian government revealed on Friday its plans to construct a 25-kilometre-long tunnel as part of its Sydney Metro West project, which it says will improve capacity on the network, though its cost or schedule won't be known for some time. Transport Minister Andrew Constance said the project will be the first stage in building an east-west link connecting the Sydney CBD to the future western airport at Badgerys Creek. "This will be the first stage of that project and then there will be a second stage from, in essence, Parramatta to Badgerys Creek," he told reporters in Sydney on Friday. Westpac sent letters to more than one million customers offering credit card limit increases without checking their incomes or employment statuses. The bulk of those contacted were considered "low risk" of default and subject only to automated checks, with more than 183,000 customers taking the bank up on its offer. Westpac is being grilled at the banking royal commission about its approach to lifting credit card limits from 2012 to 2014, which ultimately led to it refunding $11.3 million to 3400 customers. David Malcolm, Westpac's general manager of credit, said before the 1.16 million letters were sent an automated system analysed data on customer spending and repayment habits with the bank. Counsel assisting the royal commission, Eloise Dias, repeatedly pressed Mr Malcolm about whether the bank took reasonable steps to inquire about their customers' financial situations when making the offers. "We were of the view, at the time, that the totality of what we did for these existing customers constituted reasonable inquiries," Mr Malcolm told the commission on Friday. "We thought that was reasonable for the size of the additional commitment they were taking on." Mr Malcolm said the bank offered customers credit card limit increases if it believed they could afford the extra repayments. "The reason we're offering a limit increase is that we want it to be used, because we're a commercial enterprise, we want to grow the book," Mr Malcolm said. "If we were offering a limit increase, it was because we thought that the customer might want it, and if they do want it, then we can profit from that." Westpac suspended credit limit increase offers in late 2014 and worked with the business watchdog the following year to fix its processes and help customers in financial strife. Looming legislative reforms will outlaw bank-initiated credit limit increases. "We'll still need to do customer-initiated credit increases, but not bank-initiated," Mr Malcolm said. The financial services royal commission's two-week public hearing into consumer lending issues will finish later on Friday. Australia's consumer watchdog has proposed a minimum safety standard for quad bikes in a bid to reduce the national death toll. A safety star rating system and crush protection device have been proposed as part of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) plan to improve the safety of quad bikes, which have been associated with a rising number of deaths and injuries. Quad bike accidents result in an average 16 deaths in Australia every year, while six people per day enter emergency departments from accidents, according to the ACCC. The commission has invited public submissions on its proposal as it prepares to make a final recommendation to the government later this year. "A mandatory safety standard...is the best option to save lives and make quad bikes safer for everyone," ACCC Commissioner Mick Keogh said in a statement on Thursday. The ACCC's call for change follows consultations with quad bike manufacturers, farmers, academics, hospitals and health professionals. The plan includes adoption of the US standard and a minimum performance test for dynamic handling, stability and mechanical suspension, and a requirement that all wheels can rotate at different speeds. The watchdog has become the latest regulatory body to voice its concerns over quad bike safety, following numerous inquests into quad bike deaths. In NSW, the justice department rejected a recommendation by the Ombudsman in October last year to prohibit children under 16 from riding quad bikes despite the bikes claiming the lives of 10 children in a decade. The move comes after a Tasmanian coroner investigating a quad bike fatality handed down findings in August that called for licensing of quad bike drivers, training and mandatory helmets. The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and the National Farmers Federation also have previously called for a summit into the safety of quad bikes. Quad bikes are one of the leading causes of death and injury on Australian farms, according to the ACCC. The release of an audit report into Royal Adelaide Hospital honours a key election commitment of the new state Liberal government, the health minister says. Stephen Wade has released the accreditation report, which he says the previous government tried to bury ahead of the election because seven core safety standards were not met. "The people of South Australia had a right to know that their $2.3 billion hospital had not met accreditation standards before casting their ballots for a new government," Mr Wade said on Friday. The dodgem cars are oiled, the dagwood dogs are hot and the hundreds of showbags are safe for sale for this year's Sydney's Royal Easter show. Gates officially opened at 9am on Friday at the Sydney Showgrounds at Homebush, with about 780,000 people expected to attend the annual event over the next 12 days. NSW Minister for Better Regulation Matt Kean launched the showbag pavilion on Friday, saying all 368 bags and 55 amusement rides have been checked by Fair Trading in the last month. "We've identified five items that needed to be rectified or removed from the show bags," he told reporters on Friday. "That's been done, so all you have to do is come along." The items included a block set that presented a choking hazard for small children, a bow and arrow set, and a makeup set which lacked proper labelling. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull attended the show on Friday with his four-year-old grandson Jack, who had a go on the dodgem cars as the PM cheered him on. The Sydney Royal Easter Show runs until April 4. Sour grapes or a sobering warning? Twelve months after Liberty Media ended his controversial 40-year reign, ex-Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has claimed Mercedes will join Ferrari in a rebel series due to changes made by the new owners. Ecclestone also believes Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton will win a fifth world title in a predictable 2018 F1 season. United States group Liberty Media will begin their first full season at the helm in 2018, introducing controversial changes on and off the track. They have raised eyebrows with tweaks ranging from restricting teams to three engines not four in a record high 21-race calendar to replacing grid girls with "grid kids". But it's their long-term plans that have ruffled the most feathers. Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne has slammed Liberty Media's plans to simplify engine technology and introduce some standard parts from 2021. Ecclestone reckons Mercedes - winner of four straight drivers' and constructors' world titles - will join F1's most successful team Ferrari in a breakaway series. "Talking to people like Sergio and (Mercedes boss) Toto (Wolff), they are not idiots," Ecclestone told Autosport. "They will weigh up whether it's better for everyone to leave and do their own series, or do we need the FIA to look over things? So people will start to think what to do." Plenty of hype has been created by two four-time world champs going head to head for the first time in F1 history this year - Hamilton and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel. But Ecclestone reckons the 2018 winner is already clear. "Formula One is no longer as fascinating as it was or as it should be," Ecclestone told Belgian news outlet Le Soir. "Who do you think is going to win the title this year? Hamilton, of course! "A lot can obviously happen, but for the public there is no doubt. "So why would they be excited to go to a race? "They'll just watch it on TV, and think that whatever happens, in the end Lewis will win." Ecclestone also had a problem with another change in 2018 - the halo, a cockpit protection device that will take some getting used to from fans. "Today's cars offer above-average safety, and that's very good, don't get me wrong," he said. "But that halo ... it implies that Formula One is less dangerous today, and therefore less fascinating and appealing for some people (like) those who go to the circus to watch the acrobats fall." A battered woman who did nothing to stop her abusive partner killing her 12-year-old daughter in their NSW home has been jailed for at least 18 months. Justice Peter Hamill said the mother had failed in her duty of care to protect her daughter in a case he described as one of gross criminal negligence. The mother had failed to get her daughter away from her abusive partner, and failed to seek medical help for the girl during the four years she was beaten and tortured. Sentencing the woman in the Supreme Court at Newcastle on Friday to four years' jail with a non-parole period of 18 months, the judge said she had suffered from "'battered wife syndrome" but her lack of action to save her daughter was "bewildering". Justice Hamill said while the woman had suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression during the time her partner was regularly beating her and her daughter, a message had to be sent that her conduct could not be tolerated. The woman, who was in tears after being sentenced, was allowed five minutes to say goodbye to her distraught family and friends before being led away. The girl, whose beatings included being suspended from a beam by her hands and whipped, was found dead in her bed in September 2015 in the Hunter region. She was buried on what would have been her 13th birthday. The mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been due to stand trial last week for manslaughter before deciding to plead guilty. Her partner, 33, was jailed for a minimum 28 years after pleading guilty to murdering his stepdaughter. The couple met in 2007 and domestic violence began in 2011 when the stepfather slapped the mother across the head. Some months later he kicked her in the stomach and dragged her by the hair. The stepfather began to assault the woman's two daughters in late 2011 and the violence escalated against the older girl when the family moved to a new home in 2014. The mother would give the girls painkillers and apply antiseptic cream to the wounds. They were never taken to hospital and regularly kept out of school to allow their injuries to heal. Two days before the older girl was found dead by her mother she had staggered into the kitchen after being brutally beaten by her stepfather. The mother saw how the girl was dazed and struggling to walk and whispered to her, ''Are you OK?". The girl replied, "No mum." The mother warned her partner he was going to kill the girl before he took his stepdaughter back to her bedroom, tied her up again and beat her again. National domestic violence helpline: 1800 737 732 or 1800RESPECT. In an emergency call triple-zero. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has raised the prospect of travelling to the United States for the second time this year, to support world champion boxer Jeff Horn. Speaking at an American Chamber of Commerce lunch in Brisbane on Friday, Ms Palaszczuk said that now the fight had been postponed and wouldn't clash with the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games closing ceremony, she was thinking about attending. "The (Nevada) Governor Brian Sandoval said to me "premier, if you go, I'll go as well", so we'll see what happens," she said. Malcolm Turnbull's chances of delivering personal income tax cuts look more likely with new figures showing an improvement in the budget bottom line of almost $10 billion in two months. In the mid-year budget review released in December the budget deficit was forecast to be $23.6 billion, down from $29.4 billion in the 2017 budget. But the latest figures produced by the Finance Department on Friday show an underlying cash deficit in February of $19.75 billion. The improving position is due to a rise in commodity prices and corporate earnings as well as the 400,000 jobs created in 2017 which boosted income tax receipts and kept a lid on welfare spending. Company tax receipts are $3 billion ahead of the MYEFO forecast while income tax receipts are ahead by $1.25 billion. Government spending has also eased by about $800 million a month on MYEFO estimates. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Thursday the government was "increasingly confident" of the budget returning to surplus in 2020/21, when it could start to reduce debt. As part of a massive new spending bill, lawmakers are poised to provide $1.1 billion in aid that congressional aides say will help boost school safety and mental-health resources in the wake of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., last month. The money is intended to expand school-based mental health services and supports; for bullying prevention; and for professional development for personnel in crisis management and school-based violence prevention strategies, according to a House fact sheet. But the increase isnt just good news for school safety and counseling programs. It also being cheered by everyone from advocates for music education to fans of dual enrollment programs. The money would go to a relatively new program and very broad grant program, the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants, better known as Title IV of the Every Student Succeeds Act. Title IV received $400 million in fiscal year 2017 (or the 2017-18 school year). This proposed increase would mean the program would get nearly three times as much money as it is receiving currently, and would make Title IV one of the largest federal K-12 programs. Districts can use the money for safety and counseling programs, to be sure. But they can also use it for a broad array of other things: Advanced Placement course fees, computer science initiatives, dance programs, technology, physical education, music class, drug education programs to combat the opioid epidemic, and much, much more. Weve tried to say this is not just a school safety fund, said Kelly Vaillancourt Strobach, the director of government relations at the National Association of School Psychologists. We would love for districts to invest as much as possible in counseling. We also recognize and value the importance of a well-rounded education. Title IV was created when Congress combined a bunch of smaller programsincluding one targeted at just school counselinginto what was supposed to be a big, flexible funding stream. In addition, ESSA allows districts to transfer all of their Title IV money into Title II, which funds educator development. And its possible many will take that option. In fact, the state of Hawaii, which includes just one statewide school district, opted to do that this school year. (The new spending bill flat-funds Title II at $2.1 billion.) Theres no way to know how much money will go to school safety or mental health, as opposed to a wide range of other priorities, experts say. Districts that get more than $30,000 must do an examination to figure out what their needs are. Its hard to figure out how districts might spend the money because for any district that gets at least $30,000, they have to tailor their spending to their specific needs. And needs are going to vary from district to district, said Sheara Krvaric, a partner at the Federal Education Group, a law and consulting firm that works on education funding issues. Its sort of difficult to predict where the spending might fall out. With Title IV receiving $400 million, many districts have gotten just $10,000, and school leaders have often decided that its easier just to transfer that money to Title II than to figure out another use of it. Advocates are welcoming the larger grants. But they do come with more strings. A district that gets a grant of more than $30,000 under Title IV must use 20 percent of its funding on at least one activity that helps students become well-rounded, and another 20 percent on at least one activity that helps kids be safe and healthy. That means not all of the money could go to school safety or mental health, even if districts wanted to spend it that way. The spending bill hasnt made it over the legislative finish line, but at least one school leader already has ideas on how to use the new money. Dr. Kristi Sandvik, superintendent of the Buckeye Elementary District in Arizona, not far from Phoenix, got $18,000 from Title IV this school year, which she is using for AVID, a college-readiness program. But she has some thoughts about what shed do if that grant were nearly tripled. Shed love to put it towards mental health services for her 5,200-student district. Eighty percent of the children in Buckeye qualify for free- and reduced-price lunch and a hefty number are in foster care. Kids in poverty have unique emotional needs, Sandvik said, and shed like to do more to help them. Shed like to consider using the money to help hire a social worker, or create an afterschool program serving kids who need behavioral support. The increase for Title IV isnt the only resource in the legislation for school safety and mental health. The bill also includes a $22 million increase for the Department of Education to help improve school climates and prevent violence, and a $25 million increase Department of Health and Human Services program that provide mental health support to schools and school age children, as well as other resources. More here. Image: Getty Images Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 . Solar-powered drones linked to scientists by iPhone will soon sail for Victorian waters tasked with collecting valuable climate data. The Saildrones are part of a CSIRO project to monitor sea-surface temperature and ocean conditions off the Gippsland coast. They'll be launched in the next week from Hobart, where they were unveiled on Friday. "The fleet may be small in stature but their ability to autonomously monitor and collect rich streams of data ... makes them truly unique," CSIRO chief executive Larry Marshall said. The drones are controlled remotely and can be programmed via mobile phone, meaning data is transmitted 'live' to researchers. Drawing energy from the wind and sun, they can spend up to 12 months at sea working autonomously. "We have never had an opportunity like this before," CSIRO scientist Bronte Tilbrook said. "By combining advanced seafaring sensing technology, we will be able to capture more data over longer period of time." Information on salinity, ocean carbon levels and plant and animal life will also be collected. Two drones are expected to head for the Gippsland coast, with plans to deploy others in the remote Southern Ocean. As devastating bushfires swept across southwest Victoria a nearby air base was powerless to help due to an energy outage, a local politician says. But the State Control Centre says despite the outage aircraft could still refuel and reload at Hamilton air base and were in the air from 8am on Sunday. The lights went out at the air base on Sunday morning as bushfires sparked the previous night ravaged homes, sheds and livestock. "Every second is vital in a bushfire situation and our community has serious concerns with the hour-and-a-half delay getting aircraft to the fire ground when they were needed most," Nationals MP for Lowan, Emma Kealy, told AAP. The outage is believed to be part of a more widespread power cut and it is understood a back-up generator on site proved to be incompatible. "This precious time should be spent keeping our community safe, but instead crews were grounded because the Andrews Labor Government failed to put the right plans in place to ensure back-up power supply was available to Hamilton's radio comms in an emergency," Ms Kealy said on Friday. A State Control Centre spokeswoman confirmed the outage but said aircraft could still refuel and reload at Hamilton and were in the air from 8am. There were also crews flying out of Warrnambool and Colac to help fight the blazes. "The airport experienced a short power outage over the weekend. This had no impact on aircraft operating out of Hamilton to reload or refill," she said in a statement. Both the control centre and Ms Kealy acknowledged the efforts of hard-working volunteers who run the air base. Six fixed-wing planes operated out of Hamilton at the weekend, collectively reloading 51 times. The latest count lists the loss of up to 4000 sheep, 700 cattle, 60 sheds and 26 houses during the fires. It is understood further enhancement of the Hamilton airbase is being considered in ongoing discussions with authorities. Police have uncovered a multi-million dollar drug syndicate operating across NSW, seizing several kilograms of MDMA, guns and cash. Six men were arrested on Thursday after police raided properties in western Sydney, the Central Tablelands and Newcastle. Two men, aged 43 and 44, were arrested at a property at Blayney, where police allegedly uncovered a large-scale clandestine MDMA laboratory. Police allege $20,000 in cash, a pill press and a pump-action shotgun were also found at the lab. A short time later police conducted several raids across the city, Newcastle and regional parts of NSW, uncovering an inactive clandestine lab in a Moorebank factory. Police say they found nine kilograms of MDMA, thousands of litres of a precursor, seven guns and $100,000 in cash. Four more men were arrested during the raids - aged 44, 45, 50 and 52 - and taken to local police stations. Investigators estimate the total value of the MDMA seized is $4.5 million. All of the men are facing drug charges as well as being accused of participating in a criminal group. Tathra locals are sifting through the ashes of their homes, or gathering in cafes to discuss what happened and what comes next, as a sense of momentum returns to the NSW township which stared down a firestorm. Questions about what triggered the weekend blaze and the efficacy of the emergency response linger in the air as did the smoke just days ago. Now, five days on, as more and more residents return, they're thinking about the long process of rebuilding. A coronial Inquest launched in the fire's wake will seek to pinpoint the cause of the blaze while an independent inquiry will examine accusations a breakdown between metropolitan and rural fire brigades compromised the firefighting effort. Early investigations suggest power lines along a road on the edge of the national park that borders Tathra likely caused Sunday's fire. Temperatures in the high 30s and 70km/h winds whipped up a firestorm that rushed toward the town after it jumped the Bega river. Embers, described by one witness as "flaming hand grenades", indiscriminately incinerated dozens of homes. "It sounded like a freight train when it hit us," Doug Spindler told AAP this week. "All I could hear while we drove off was glass breaking and gas bottles exploding." Emergency text messages didn't reach some residents in time because of notoriously patchy reception. Some were totally unaware of the encroaching inferno until police were patrolling the streets shouting "Evacuate! Evacuate!" through a loud-hailer. It took days of intense firefighting, aerial water bombardment and rain to bring the fire under control. The only noise in vast swathes of charred bushland around Tathra now comes from embers crackling inside dead trees. In total 65 homes were destroyed along with 35 cabins and caravans. A further 48 houses were damaged while 810 were saved or untouched by the blaze. The worst hit properties are taped off and plastered with warning signs while authorities forensically test for asbestos. Some residents crossed the tape on Thursday to pick through the rubble and salvage what they could. They face months in temporary accommodation while the sites of the former homes are cleared. Meanwhile, the town's remaining cafes and shops have become meeting places for residents swapping stories of survival. One resident said an evacuated relative stopped in at her home and "asked if she could wash the dishes". "She just needed to do something," she said. "When she was about to run out the door all she thought to grab was two tops and the kitchen mixer. Later she told me she had no idea why she thought to take that." Many locals say the government must now work to improve mobile phone reception in Tathra with the fire proving the signal blackspot is not just a "nuisance" but "dangerous". All the residents who spoke to AAP applauded the firefighters who saved the town. But some question emergency service chiefs after the Fire Brigade Employees Union claimed an "ongoing turf war" between the volunteer-based RFS and the professional Fire & Rescue contributed to the losses. The RFS declined an offer of assistance from their urban counterparts for a pumper because - they say - it would have struggled in the hilly terrain. But one resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said it sounded like a "cop out" given the fire was destroying homes in an urban area. "Whoever is calling the shots - and I don't know who that is - I think they made the wrong choice," he told AAP. The captain of the Bega RFS said accusations FRNSW were locked out of the bush were a "load of rubbish". "If the RFS said no then how did the Merimbula Fire & Rescue travel about 45 minutes to the scene and be with my crew on the same side of the fire line?" he said on Facebook. Law firm Slater and Gordon is considering launching a class-action lawsuit if it becomes clear Essential Energy did not follow "stringent inspection and ongoing maintenance requirements" that could have prevented the bushfire. Dungog Shire Community Centre support worker Nina Williams says the road ahead for Tathra residents will be long and fraught with setbacks as well as victories. Many will turn to familiar faces - people who don't need to hear the whole story - to cope. "It's about talking to people who can ask how are you really going," she told AAP. Williams' Hunter Valley community is about to mark three years since floods destroyed hundreds of homes and left three dead. The mental load will be particularly challenging when dealing with the insurance providers and banks central to the recovery, Williams warns. "They're already dealing with the trauma of the event let alone the bureaucracy." Survivors guilt will also rear its head in Tathra. It always does in small communities hit by a disaster. Esther Lodge owner Joanne Coulton, who will house displaced locals in her holiday home, says the town's recovery will depend on getting tourists back. "You've still got your beautiful beach and coastline even though, yes, the houses that burned down look devastating," she told AAP. "But if people want to come to Tathra to chill out - they'll come. I know they'll come back. I know they'll return." Major banks deceived customers and haven't yet compensated many people they ripped off, the banking royal commission has heard. Two weeks of hearings concluded on Friday with a searing statement from the counsel assisting the commission Rowena Orr, who ran through a list of banking misconduct. She called on the commission to find misconduct charges and breaches of national credit and corporation law against the NAB, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, and Aussie Home Loans. Ms Orr also said Westpac had only just provided information about its own misconduct and the commission needed time to go through it before making more recommendations. The NAB's "introducer" program in western Sydney, which led to 10 bankers being sacked, saw branch managers falsify documents for home loans. "It had identified approximately 1300 customers who may have been affected by the misconduct ... (but) no customer has yet been offered any remediation," Ms Orr said. Senior NAB executive Anthony Waldron earlier told the commission up to $23 million would flow to the customers soon. Ms Orr said the evidence showed the NAB engaged in misleading, deceptive and unconscionable conduct. The Commonwealth Bank also identified its mortgage broking system was hurting customers, but has still not done anything about it. "CBA has not stopped paying volume-based commissions to brokers ... nor has it taken any steps to commence ceasing that practice," Ms Orr said. The commission heard people who received home loans weren't told how much their broker received in commission, even though banks had that information. The Commonwealth-owned Aussie Home Loans was savaged for not reporting to police or regulators four brokers who fraudulently arranged home loans. "The misconduct arose not merely because of misconduct of rogue brokers ... but because the systems, processes and culture at Aussie Home Loans permitted such conduct to occur," Ms Orr said. The commission was told to find ANZ in breach of its responsibilities to take into account a person's expenses, after it gave a 72-year-old pensioner a home loan so he could pay overseas scammers. Ms Orr said the Commonwealth Bank took two years to report problems with its credit card protection insurance, even though it was supposed to tell the Australian Securities and Investments Commission within 10 days. The bank also knew it had issues with its loan protection insurance but decided to ignore it until it had fixed the credit card problem. "The premise seems to be CBA could cope with one thing at a time, not two things," Commissioner Kenneth Hayne said. The banks named in the case studies have been asked to respond to the recommendations that they face misconduct charges. Some Australian fruit pickers have lost their jobs as a result of the country's rockmelon-related listeria outbreak, the industry's peak body says. The Australian Melon Association says demand for Australian rockmelons remains 90 per cent lower than average almost a month after the outbreak - which has been linked to six deaths - was revealed. The massive slump in sales is taking its toll on growers. "We've had growers already that have had to let workers go that would've been normally picking," the association's industry development manager Dianne Fullelove told AAP. "So there's already an impact flowing through communities." Ms Fullelove said export markets had also been "greatly affected" and, in total, growers in southern Australia had already lost about $15 million. At this rate, growers in the Northern Territory and western Queensland could lose up to $50 million when their season for the fruit starts in about five weeks, she said. NSW Health revealed this week that an elderly NSW woman with significant underlying health conditions had become the sixth Australian to die in the outbreak following the deaths of three Victorians and two people from NSW. Nineteen people have been infected during the outbreak - linked to a single NSW farm - including the six who subsequently died. Rombola Family Farms at Nericon, near Griffith in the NSW Riverina, voluntarily halted production of potentially contaminated melon types on February 23 after authorities identified it as the source of the infection. Ms Fullelove said news of the sixth death was terrible for the families affected and the melon industry - which is appealing to the community to get behind it. "We really need the support of consumers who understand that it's one incident," Ms Fullelove said. The federal opposition earlier this week criticised the Turnbull government for not doing enough to reassure people that rockmelons now on sale are safe to eat. A spokeswoman for Agriculture Minister David Littleproud told AAP in a statement the NSW Food Authority is leading the management of the issue. But she said the federal agriculture department had been working with all of Australia's trading partners "to minimise any disruptions to trade". It is understood Bahrain is the only market with a temporary suspension of Australian rockmelon exports currently in place. Adelaide United have warned their rivals of their finals intentions with a resounding 5-2 win over Newcastle Jets at Coopers Stadium on Friday night. A first-half double from Daniel Adlung sent the Reds on their way against an undermanned Jets, who finished the clash with 10 men when Jason Hoffman was sent off in the final quarter hour. Despite missing a host of key players, Newcastle fired the first shot with Ronald Vargas rattling the Reds crossbar with a well-taken free kick on six minutes from just outside the area. On the quarter hour, United broke the deadlock when skipper Isaias won possession in the middle of the park and evaded a tackle before splitting the Jets defence with a through ball for Johan Absalonsen. The Dane supplied the perfect cut back which was expertly left by striker Dzengis Cavusevic, allowing Adlung to run on a smash the ball home from 15m. On the stroke of half-time, Adlung whipped in a free kick from distance which flew through the crowded penalty area and into the back of the net. The Jets fought and pulled a goal back on 62 minutes thanks to a goal mouth scramble from a Riley McGree corner. Nikolai Topor-Stanley rose highest and headed the ball down through a sea of legs before it took a touch off Ben Kantarovski and eventually crossed the line. Newcastle looked to be working their way back into the contest and pressured the Reds going forward but it didn't last long as the home side added a third on 68 minutes. Substitute Ryan Kitto latched onto neat knock down from Cavusevic before sprinting past Topor-Stanely. The speedster raced through on goal before calmly slotting through the legs of Duncan. Three minutes later and Absalonsen made it 4-1 with the pick of the bunch. With Adelaide deep in attack, the winger drifted to the back post and thundered home a Michael Marrone cross with a delightful first time volley. Reds' fan favourite Tarek Elrich was brought on for the final quarter hour for his first minutes since April last year and slotted into left back. Soon after the Jets evening went from bad to worse when Hoffman was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence. The nightmare continued for Newcastle with Adelaide scoring a fifth a minute later. Cavusevic was rewarded for his solid performance with his first United goal, finishing truly from 10m after Kitto teed up the big forward. Kantarovski grabbed his second a minute from full time, again capitalising on poor Reds defending at a corner. With possession in dispute, the midfielder bundled the ball into the net with his back to goal. South Africa have seized control of the third Test, removing Cameron Bancroft for 77 to reduce Australia to 5-150 at tea on day two. The Proteas posted a first-innings total of 311 on Friday then dismissed both David Warner and Steve Smith, leaving the tourists in a great deal of trouble at 3-72 in Cape Town. Bancroft, who started the tour under pressure to retain his spot in the XI, steadied in a 78-run stand with Shaun Marsh but 3-150 quickly became 5-150. Morne Morkel broke the partnership, celebrating his 300th Test wicket when Marsh threw his bat at a wide delivery and edged the ball to the keeper. The post-lunch session ended, along with Bancroft's three hours of resistance, when the opener was trapped lbw by Vernon Philander. Bancroft reviewed the verdict but it only delayed the inevitable. Earlier, Bancroft and Philander physically clashed while the former scampered through for a single. Bancroft and Philander both appeared unhappy with each other immediately after the run-in, although the Australian opener could see the funnier side of it once he made his ground. "Fair bump - play on," Bancroft quipped. Warner landed a few blows but South Africa spearhead Kagiso Rabada won the battle amid a lively start to Australia's innings. Warner and Rabada squared off in a thrilling contest at Newlands, made all the more meaningful because of the state of the Test and series but also the express paceman's successful appeal against a two-Test ban. Rabada struck first. Australia's vice-captain required treatment after a blow to the arm inflicted by the 22-year-old's second delivery of the day. Warner fired back. The pugnacious opener whacked three-consecutive boundaries and a six off Rabada as he raced to 30 in 13 balls. Rabada roared in delight. Warner had no answers to a delivery that sent his off stump cartwheeling. There was no send-off from Rabada, as was the case in Port Elizabeth during the second Test, but Warner was given a spray by a fan as he walked off the field. Warner exchanged words with the spectator, who was later evicted. Usman Khawaja was out pulling the first delivery he faced from Morkel, while Smith steered a short ball from the recalled beanpole straight to Dean Elgar at gully. Elgar carried his bat for the third time at Test level, finishing 141 not out. A woman who failed to prevent her abusive partner beating her 12-year-old daughter to death has been sentenced to at least 18 months jail. Supreme Court Justice Peter Hamill in Newcastle said on Friday the mother had failed in her duty of care to protect her daughter in a case he described as one of gross criminal negligence. The child's stepfather had left their NSW Hunter region home after the beating to drive to the local bottle shop three kilometres away, giving the woman a chance to either call an ambulance or take her seriously injured daughter to hospital. She did nothing and the girl was found dead in her bed next morning, her body giving up after years of abuse, the judge said. A man has been jailed for at least 25 years over the savage murder of his wife in Sydney's south. Stephen James Boyd was sentenced to a maximum of 33 years at Sydney's Supreme Court on Friday. The 53-year-old pleaded guilty last August to murdering childcare worker Tina Kontozis in her Bundeena home in Sydney's south and to knocking his son Daniel Boyd unconscious with a bat in April 2016. Boyd had been on an apprehended violence order and drunk when he beat the defenceless 51-year-old woman with a wooden bat and stabbed her repeatedly. Speaking outside the NSW Supreme Court, Daniel said he was very happy with the punishment, which closes a long and emotional journey for his family. "I believe justice has been served," the 19-year-old said on Friday. Arizona voters will have the final word this November on whether the state can move forward with an ambitious plan to expand eligibility for a school voucher program to every student in the state. The states high court said Wednesday it will not stop a voter referendum on the issue. This means that the second attempt nationally to open up vouchers to all studentsa major priority for school choice advocatesis on increasingly thin ice. Last year Arizona lawmakers passed a bill that would eventually make all of the states 1.1 million public school students eligible for education savings accountsa voucher-like program created in 2011 that allows students to use public money not only for private school tuition, but also home schooling, tutoring, and therapy expenses. However, while eligibility for the program would be greatly expanded, it would be capped at about 30,000 students, at least for now. If the program, called Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, survives the ballot challenge and actually starts distributing money to families, it will become the first in the country to offer private school choice to all public-school students without restrictions. Similar programs in other states are limited to specific groups of students, such as those from low-income families or those with disabilities, among other classifications. School choice advocates are eager to see private school choice spread beyond small subgroups and into the general student population. Beyond philosophical reasonsthat parents should have a wealth of educational choices beyond their neighborhood public schoolthere are practical reasons for expanding private school choice to more students. The more families that benefit from a program, the more built in support it has among lawmakers constituents, making it politically harder to roll back or disband. Only one other state has attempted to open up a private school choice to all students in the state. That was Nevada, where lawmakers passed a law creating a universal private school choice program in 2015. That states supreme court ultimately ruled that the program was unconstitutionally funded. A legislative effort in Nevada to revive the law by changing the funding stream stalled last year. Education savings accounts have been gaining favor over traditional vouchers with advocates and pro-school choice policymakers, but the relatively new idea has yet to really catch on nationally. Arizona lawmakers, however, were waiting in the wings with their proposal to expand eligibility for their states education savings account program. But a group opposing the new law called Save Our Schools Arizona gathered enough signatures to put it to voter referendum, which is allowed by Arizonas constitution, according to the Associated Press. Voucher supporters, backed by the American Federation for Children, a group formely led by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, sued to block the effort, but were rebuffed by both a lower court judge and the Arizona Supreme Court. Although a setback for voucher supporters, the effort to expand the scholarship program is by no means over in Arizona. You can expect campaigns for and against vouchers to ramp up ahead of the midterm elections. The billionaire libertarian activist Koch brothers have already thrown their support behind the voucher expansion initiative by circulating pro-voucher advertisements. Related stories: Worsening weather in Queensland's Whitsundays region could hamper efforts to retrieve a helicopter which crashed this week, killing an American couple. Peter and Sue Hensel, aged 79 and 65, had been on their dream honeymoon when the tourist helicopter they were travelling in crashed into waters near Queensland's Whitsunday Islands on Wednesday. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is assessing the recovery of the EC120 helicopter to help piece together what led to the crash. The ATSB says no firm date has been set to try to raise the wreckage and weather is being monitored for potential impact on plans. "A decision on whether or not the ATSB requires the helicopter wreckage to be recovered as part of its investigation will be made in the coming days," the bureau said in a statement to AAP on Friday. Police are speaking to witnesses on Hamilton Island as they continue to assist the ATSB with the investigation and recovery of the aircraft. A preliminary report will be published in late April. Operator Whitsunday Air Services has suspended all operations and will work with authorities to determine the cause of the crash. The crash happened a day after the ATSB released its findings into a November incident involving the company, in which no one was injured. Malcolm Turnbull says the United States and Chinese presidents are "both big guys" who see eye-to-eye, so they can avoid a trade war. US President Donald Trump has signed a presidential memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to $US60 billion ($A84 billion) of imports from China, sparking plans from China to retaliate. But Mr Turnbull backed two of Australia's largest trading partners to get a deal done. "Donald Trump has said this is the beginning of a negotiation," Mr Turnbull told reporters in Sydney on Friday. "The important thing is, no one wins from a trade war. We look forward to the US and China being able to negotiate a satisfactory arrangement that suits both sides." Mr Turnbull said the presidents of both countries had a lot in common. "President Trump has talked about how much he respects President Xi (Jinping)," Mr Turnbull said. "Actually I've been with them and ... the two men see eye-to-eye on every respect. They're about the same height, both big guys." The prime minister said Australia had free trade agreements with both countries, and he expected trade to continue to improve with both nations. The US memorandum targets Chinese imports only after a consultation period, which will give industry lobbyists and legislators a chance to water down a proposed target list that runs to 1300 products. "I view them as a friend," Mr Trump said. "We have spoken to China and we are in the middle of negotiations." The president said the alleged theft of US intellectual property was a key issue he wanted to address. China unveiled plans on Friday to impose tariffs on up to $3 billion of US imports. The country was considering a 15 per cent tariff on US products, including dried fruit, wine and steel pipes, and a 25 per cent tariff on pork products and recycled aluminium, the Chinese commerce ministry said in a statement. China had a list of 128 US products that could be targeted if the two countries were unable to reach an agreement on trade issues, the ministry said. Federal opposition trade spokesman Jason Clare said the US and China needed to talk to each other to "make sure this does not lead to a full-blown trade war". The bar has been raised for airport transit lounges with the start of long-awaited direct flights from Perth to London. The days of weary travellers being offered mere crudites, beer, wine and soft drinks if they were well-heeled enough to afford airport lounge access have long gone. And at Qantas' new Perth Airport lounge, everything has been painstakingly designed with the aim of improving not just comfort but wellbeing by encouraging hydration and reducing the effects of jetlag. The airline consulted with Neil Perry for food, Australian industrial designer David Caon and SUMU design for the layout and decor, and the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre for sleep medicine expertise. Natural light floods in from an enclosed but breezy open-air terrace where chefs barbecue gourmet sausages, mushrooms and corn on the cob. The Perry-devised in-flight trial menu for the Perth to London route is chock full of healthy, hydrating options such as poke bowls and probiotic juice shots, and buffet choices in the transit lounge are equally nutritious. Before travellers begin their 17-hour haul, they'll be encouraged to hydrate with herbal tea, and fruit-infused and sparkling water. For those seeking a wee tipple, there's a full service bar with premium Australian beer and wine, including from the Margaret River region. "Light therapy" is also available in 15 spacious shower suites. The airline says 15 minute sessions can help body clocks adjust to the destination time zone, increase alertness and combat the effects of jetlag. There'a also a timber-lined studio where stretching and breathing classes run by a yoga teacher will be held every 15 minutes. The lounge is open to travellers going through Perth when travelling on QF9 from Melbourne to London and QF10 from London to Melbourne. It is also open to customers beginning their journey in Perth to London. Eligible customers include customers travelling in Business, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One Frequent Flyers, oneworld Emerald and Sapphire customers, and Qantas Club members and their guests. A young man who allegedly survived a drive-by shooting in Sydney's south-west is behind bars on gun possession charges. On Thursday last week a unit in Casula was sprayed with bullets and a man was shot in the leg. Officers raided the Carnation Avenue apartment the next morning, seizing a replica pistol, a firearm and ammunition. Police returned to the unit on Friday to arrest a 24-year-old man before taking him to Liverpool Police Station, where he was charged with two counts of possess unauthorised firearm and possess ammunition without holding a license. He was refused bail and is due to face Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday. US President Donald Trump's tenure has been marked by a series of abrupt departures of top aides and advisors National Security Advisor HR McMaster is the latest member of President Donald Trump's cabinet to be shown the door, with speculation rife over who might be next. Here are the senior members of Trump's government who have departed since the Republican leader took office on January 20, 2017: - National Security Advisor Michael Flynn - Retired general Michael Flynn lasted just 22 days as Trump's national security advisor Michael Flynn, a retired lieutenant general, entered the White House with a cloud over him -- he had been fired by Barack Obama as defense intelligence chief. Flynn was also being investigated for his contacts with Russians and eventually pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Flynn lasted only 22 days as national security advisor. He was forced out on February 13, 2017 amid concerns that he could be compromised by false statements he made over his contacts with Russian officials and his paid lobbying for Turkey during the campaign. - Chief of Staff Reince Priebus - Reince Priebus was sacked as White House chief of staff in July and replaced by former Marine Corps general John Kelly Reince Priebus, the bland former chairman of the Republican National Committee, was supposed to manage the White House workflow and control the door to Trump's office. But Priebus, who was never a member of Trump's inner circle, couldn't manage the tweeting president himself, and the West Wing sank into chaos. Priebus made his exit on July 31, to be replaced by retired Marine Corps general Kelly, who has been credited with bringing a measure of discipline to the Oval Office -- though some say his future is also in doubt. - Chief Strategist Steve Bannon - Former chief strategist Steve Bannon helped propel Trump to the White House but didn't last long in his administration The architect of Trump's nationalist-populist campaign and his election victory, White House chief strategist Steve Bannon was nicknamed the Prince of Darkness and the Shadow President. His economic nationalism became the lynchpin of Trump policies, even as many of his other ideas were rebuffed by policy rivals. After Kelly arrived, Bannon's constant clashes with other advisors became untenable, as did his ties to the extreme right, which drew accusations that Trump fostered racists. Bannon left on August 18. - Top Economic Advisor Gary Cohn - Gary Cohn, a former president of investment bank Goldman Sachs, resigned as Trump's top economic advisor on March 6, 2018 in protest against the president's decision to levy new global trade tariffs. Trump's top economic advisor Gary Cohn resigned to protest the president's decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports A long-time Democrat, Cohn had always been an uneasy fit in an administration propelled to power by strident nationalism. Trump's decision to impose the steep tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum was the final straw for the former Wall Street banker. The first eruption of tensions with Trump came last year when the president balked at condemning neo-Nazis and far-right extremists who had led a violent rally in Virginia in August. Cohn, who is Jewish, said he considered resigning. - Secretary of State Rex Tillerson - Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was fired by Trump after a rocky tenure of less than 14 months Rex Tillerson was fired by Trump on March 13, ending a rocky tenure as the nation's top diplomat for the former chief executive of Exxon. Tillerson was frequently at odds with the mercurial president and Trump said that while the pair got along "quite well," they "disagreed on things" -- notably the Iran nuclear deal. During his brief stay at Foggy Bottom, Tillerson frequently found himself out of the loop and caught unawares by policy shifts announced in Trump tweets. A top aide said Tillerson did not speak to the president before his firing was announced and was not given a reason for his dismissal. - National Security Advisor HR McMaster - HR McMaster will retire from public life after leaving his national security advisor post in April 2018 HR McMaster, a lieutenant general in the US Army who gained fame for a landmark book blaming politicians for the American debacle in Vietnam, leaves his post on April 9. Trump tweeted that McMaster "has done an outstanding job," but he never really clicked with the president, who bristled at the general lecturing on policy. Perhaps the final straw came when McMaster, echoing the consensus of the US intelligence establishment, told a conference that the evidence was "incontrovertible" that Russia meddled in the 2016 election, drawing a public rebuke from Trump, who is hyper-sensitive to the implication that Moscow aided his victory. Herbert Raymond McMaster made the move from the Pentagon to the White House as a proven battlefield hero -- he led a now-legendary tank battle in the first Gulf war -- and a respected military intellectual Lieutenant General HR McMaster gained fame for a landmark book blaming politicians for the US debacle in Vietnam. After one year at the White House as President Donald Trump's national security adviser, he likely doesn't have a higher opinion of Washington's political elites. On Thursday McMaster announced he would be stepping down to make way for Bush-era defense hawk John Bolton -- and became the latest victim of the never ending bedlam, infighting and capriciousness that has characterized decision-making under Trump. The serving officer had been widely expected to leave the White House later this year and return to the army with a promotion as a four-star general. But his decision to retire from public life entirely came as a surprise. "After thirty-four years of service to our nation, I am requesting retirement from the US Army effective this summer after which I will leave public service," he said in a statement. "Throughout my career it has been my greatest privilege to serve alongside extraordinary service members and dedicated civilians." - Tank commander, author - Herbert Raymond McMaster made the move from the Pentagon to the White House as a proven battlefield hero -- he led a now-legendary tank battle in the first Gulf war -- and a respected military intellectual. His pointedly titled book "Dereliction of Duty" earned him huge respect throughout the services as it savaged the politicking and careerism that he argued sank the military's battle plan in Vietnam in the 1960s. When the three-star army general replaced Michael Flynn, Trump's first national security advisor who stepped down after 22 days over his murky contacts with Russians, there was a surge in hope that foreign policy neophyte Trump would be in safe hands. He would form a triumvirate with Defense Department chief James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to keep a steady hand on the tiller. He was enough in the "us versus the world" school of thought to work with Trump. "Geopolitics are back and are back with a vengeance after this holiday from history we took in the so-called post-Cold War period," he said in a speech late last year. He took a harder line than his colleagues on North Korea, mulling a pre-emptive strike against its nuclear threat, saying "traditional deterrence" might not work with Pyongyang. But, like Mattis and Tillerson, he resisted Trump's instinctual rejection of multilateralism. McMaster is credited with blocking Trump's push to end the Iran nuclear deal, and bending Trump's attacks against NATO into just niggling criticisms over money. - 'Cage match' - He partly restored the mess of the NSC that Flynn left, regularizing a policy process and coordinating with other agencies, while driving out acolytes of Flynn and Steve Bannon, the president's arch strategist. For that he had to endure a withering campaign from the hard right to force him out, one which labelled him a liberal, an enemy of Israel and pro-Iran, among other things. But his efforts to systematize the policy process weren't enough, said Heather Hurlburt, a national security and government policy expert at the New America thinktank. "The hope was that McMaster would form a smoothly functioning triumvirate with Mattis and Tillerson and he hasn't been able to do that." "What is different here is you have a president who doesn't trust process and loves to pit his senior people against each other. You know, they were placed in a cage match," she said. Trump's approach to foreign policy "has moved a lot of us out of our comfort zone, me included," McMaster told the New York Times. And over time balding, gruff 55-year-old lost the ability to shift Trump's thinking. He never really clicked with Trump, who bristled at McMaster's lecturing on policy, preferring the more deferential hands of Mattis and CIA chief Mike Pompeo. Perhaps the final straw was when McMaster, echoing the consensus of the entire US intelligence establishment, told a conference in Munich that the evidence was "incontrovertible" that Russia meddled in the 2016 election. Trump, hyper-sensitive to the implication that Moscow aided his victory, publicly rebuked him. "General McMaster forgot to say that the results of the 2016 election were not impacted or changed by the Russians," Trump tweeted. Former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton has consistently argued for an uncompromising US stance backed by overwhelming force in crisis after crisis in the 12 years since he left office Fifteen years ago this week, the United States launched itself into an ill-fated invasion on Iraq. On Thursday, President Donald Trump -- who now says he opposed that war -- appointed one of its most outspoken and unrepentant architects as his national security adviser. Washington is divided about most things, but on this the pundit class is unanimous: diplomat turned provocateur John Bolton's rise means more unapologetic, unilateral US action. Bolton has publicly defended the option of a pre-emptive strike against North Korea's nuclear arsenal, and has strongly argued for the US to abandon the Iran nuclear deal. Senator Lindsay Graham, a Republican hawk whose support for any US military action is so predictable it has become a political punchline, was delighted at Bolton's return. "Selecting John Bolton as national security adviser is good news for America's allies and bad news for America's enemies," he declared, clearly relishing the prospect. Others recoiled. Democratic lawmaker Senator Chris Coons described Bolton's warlike approach to Iran and North Korea as "overly aggressive at best and downright dangerous at worst." Whether the first clash will be in Iran, North Korea or some other US bugbear remains to be seen, but the sight of Bolton's mustache sauntering into the White House set alarms ringing. - Nuclear war - The 69-year-old's triumphant return would have been bombshell national security news whenever it happened. But with Trump poised to definitively ditch the Iran nuclear deal and vacillating between courting and threatening the nuclear-armed North Korea regime, it is dynamite. Some of the generation of so-called neo-conservatives who in 2003 led former president George W. Bush into what, for US troops, are the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have gone silent. Some have publicly changed their minds, or retired or managed to reinvent themselves as a pundit or an analyst with a more nuanced view on the untrammeled use of US power overseas. Bolton, perhaps alone, kept the faith, consistently arguing for an uncompromising US stance backed by overwhelming force in crisis after crisis in the 12 years since he left office. Superficially, that ought to have undermined his appeal to Trump, who campaigned on an almost isolationist ticket and insisted he had opposed the Iraq gamble from the outset. But Bolton has other cards to play that make him much more attractive to this populist and nationalist president. Bolton has a track record of disdain not just for the foreign policy establishment but for the US diplomats of the State Department and for the rules-based international order. He was also the US ambassador to the United Nations who spoke out the most starkly against the idea that international laws, norms and agreements should bind the United States. In two weeks, when he joins the White House to replace warrior scholar General HR McMaster as Trump's top security adviser, Bolton will have another chance to make US policy. This means that on May 12, three days after Bolton takes office, Trump will probably abandon the 2015 Iran nuclear deal -- a keystone in international non-proliferation efforts. It also probably means that if Trump's quixotic attempt to arrange a nuclear disarmament summit with Kim Jong-Un fails, then the world is closer to the brink of all-out conflict. "Those content with living with a nuclear North Korea have argued that it can be contained and deterred like the Soviet Union during the Cold War," Bolton tweeted recently. "This assessment is deeply flawed," he warned. And the United Nations, where officials still shudder at Bolton's memory, can expect to see its funding cut and its resolutions ignored by a scornful US administration. One group of Trump critics, at least, may be reassured. Those who say Trump, for whatever reason, is too soft on Russia's President Vladimir Putin will have an ally. - Wilderness years - While his new boss Trump was on the phone to the Kremlin to congratulate Putin on this week's "election victory," Bolton was dismissive. "The recent Russian presidential election was a chance for Putin to practice election meddling on his own elections so he can do it better elsewhere," Bolton warned. "We need a long term strategy to deal with countries like Russia and China with long standing rulers." If he gets the chance to help craft that strategy, Bolton's long but determined wait railing in the wilderness of conservative think tanks and Fox News will not have been in vain. People arrive for the March For Our Lives rally against gun violence in Washington, DC More than a million Americans flooded the streets of cities nationwide for emotional protests demanding tighter gun control on Saturday, marches spearheaded by teenagers from a Florida high school where 17 people were shot dead last month. "Politicians, either represent the people or get out," Cameron Kasky, a 17-year-old from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, told the crowd at a huge rally in Washington. "Stand for us or beware -- the voters are coming," said Kasky, one of the leaders of a dynamic and passionate student movement which has emerged following the February 14 shooting at his school. Large crowds also turned out for demonstrations in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Seattle and other cities -- more than 800 in all according to the organizers of the "March For Our Lives." Signs carried by protestors lambasted lawmakers who oppose tougher laws and the National Rifle Association (NRA), the powerful US gun lobby Mayor Bill de Blasio said 175,000 people took part at the New York rally, tweeting: "These students WILL change America." But the largest protest was in Washington, where organizers told NBC News the crowd was estimated at more than 800,000 people, the largest gun control rally in the United States since the Million Mom March in 2000. The main stage for the event in Washington was set up near the US Capitol and lawmakers were the target audience as speakers delivered blistering warnings that the time has come for stricter gun laws. The movement has been led by teenagers from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 14 students and three adults were shot dead "The people demand a law banning the sale of assault weapons," Kasky said. "The people demand we prohibit the sale of high-capacity magazines. The people demand universal background checks." March organizers included a link for people to register to vote on their MarchForOurLives.com website as they seek to transform their nascent movement into a potent political force. - Republicans, NRA criticized - Signs carried by protestors lambasted lawmakers who oppose tougher laws and the National Rifle Association (NRA), the powerful US gun lobby. Protesters and speakers delivered blistering warnings to lawmakers that the time has come for stricter gun laws "These kids are right," said Jeff Turchin, a 68-year-old retired garment manufacturer who came to Washington from New York to attend the rally. "They're basically saying the NRA is paying off these Republicans," Turchin said of the party of President Donald Trump, which also controls Congress. The Washington rally kicked off with Andra Day singing "Rise Up" and also featured a performances by Jennifer Hudson, whose mother, brother and seven-year-old nephew were shot dead in 2008. But the most riveting appearances were by the Stoneman Douglas students. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Emma Gonzalez on stage at the "March For Our Lives" rally for gun control in Washington Emma Gonzalez, 17, took the stage wearing a green military-style jacket and ripped jeans and delivered a eulogy for the 14 students and three adults slain by 19-year-old gunman Nikolas Cruz. Tears rolling down her face, she then stood in silence at the podium for a full four and half minutes as the crowd fidgeted and some cried out "We're with you Emma." "Since the time that I came out here, it has been six minutes and 20 seconds," Gonzalez finally said -- the exact amount of time Cruz spent spraying bullets inside her school before fleeing. "Fight for your lives before it's someone else's job," Gonzalez said. "Get out there and vote." Yolanda Renee King, the nine-year-old granddaughter of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. brought many to tears with a surprise appearance. March organizers included a link for people to register to vote on their MarchForOurLives.com website as they seek to transform their nascent movement into a potent political force "My grandfather had a dream that his four little children will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character," she told a rapt crowd. "I have a dream that enough is enough," she said, referencing her grandfather's famous 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech on ending racism. "And that this should be a gun-free world -- period." - 'Killing our children' - In New York, former Beatle Paul McCartney showed up at a march and spoke of the December 1980 murder of his bandmate John Lennon. Martin Luther King Jr's granddaughter Yolanda Renee King addresses the crowd at the "March For Our Lives" rally in Washington "Every week you hear about a new shooting and nothing is done about it," McCartney told AFP. "But I think maybe after this something will be done about it." On the other side of the country in Los Angeles, comedian Amy Schumer delivered a passionate plea in front of hundreds of thousands. "You are killing children," she said, of the gun lobby. "And they call people like me 'Hollywood liberals' like there's something in it for us. "Well, what's in it for us is knowing we're doing our part to keep our children alive." Demonstrations of solidarity also took place around the world, including across cities in Canada, which unveiled stricter gun laws earlier this week including enhanced background checks. In Scotland, some relatives of those killed in a school shooting in the town of Dunblane in 1996 attended a protest in Edinburgh. Thousands meanwhile gathered in Parkland to pay tribute to those slain in the city on Valentine's Day. The protesters met at Parkland's Pine Trails Park, the same place where a somber vigil was held in the wake of the February 14 attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Trump was in Florida as marchers gathered in Washington but the White House issued a statement. "We applaud the many courageous young Americans exercising their First Amendment rights today," it said. "Keeping our children safe is a top priority of the President's." burs-ia/wd The latest crisis laying siege to Facebook has raised the specter that Mark Zuckerberg has lost control of his creation and been naive about the unintended consequences of people sharing so much about themselves Mark Zuckerberg rose to wealth and fame with a mission of connecting everyone through Facebook, but now faces the wrath of users outraged he isn't doing more to defend their data. The latest crisis laying siege to the leading online social network has raised the specter that he has lost control of his creation and been naive about the unintended consequences of people sharing so much about themselves. "If Facebook was a typical company, and Zuckerberg was the founder, he would probably be gone," said tech industry analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group. "He looks like a guy who really doesn't know what he is doing. He is not the hero that a lot of people had viewed him as; his reputation and image are badly damaged." Facebook has prospered on digital advertising that benefits from being able to use what people share about themselves to target ads. If Facebook was betting on people's better natures when it came to truthfully sharing, respecting others, and being able to connect with anyone, it wasn't always a winning wager. The California-based social network has been a flashpoint for controversies about bullying, harassment, free speech, extremist propaganda, election meddling, privacy, and more. "They don't put enough effort into making sure the user is protected and the experience is assured," analyst Enderle said. "They only care about the advertisers, and the user is basically a digital slave." - Dropout to billionaire - A public apology by Zuckerberg failed to quell outrage over the hijacking of personal data from millions of people, as critics demanded that the social media giant go much further to protect user privacy. Belatedly speaking out about the harvesting of Facebook user data by a British firm linked to President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign, Zuckerberg admitted Wednesday to betraying the trust of its more than two billion users, and promised to "step up." Vowing to stop data leaking to application makers and to give users more control over their information, he also said he was ready to testify before US lawmakers following -- which a powerful congressional committee promptly asked him to do. Zuckerberg has grown from a Harvard dropout who changed what it means to be social into a billionaire philanthropist bent on shaping a better world for his daughters. Zuckerberg and his doctor wife, Priscilla Chan, have pledged to give away their Facebook fortune to make the world a healthier, happier place for children. "Having kids changes a lot," Zuckerberg said this week in an interview with CNN. "I used to think that the most important thing to me by far was having the greatest impact across the world as I can; now I just really care about building something my girls are going to grow up and be proud of me for." Zuckerberg cemented his fortune, and a place in Silicon Valley history, by leading Facebook to a historic Wall Street debut in 2012. The $16 billion IPO was structured to keep control of Facebook in the hands of Zuckerberg, who has been Time's "Person of the Year" and cracked the Forbes list of 20 richest people in the world. The hoodie-wearing 33-year-old, depicted in the Hollywood drama "The Social Network" as a socially challenged computer geek, has evolved into a confident chief executive. Zuckerberg still favors t-shirts, jeans and sneakers, topped off by his trademark hooded sweatshirt and a mop of curly hair. He is known for setting annual goals, which have included wearing ties every day; only eating meat of animals he kills himself; and learning to speak Chinese. His personal goal this year is to fix Facebook, making sure it fosters real-world community. - 'Thefacebook' - Born on May 14, 1984, Zuckerberg was raised in Dobbs Ferry outside New York, one of four children of a dentist father and a psychiatrist mother. He began writing computer programs at the age of 11, including one said to resemble Pandora's musical taste program which reportedly drew the interest of AOL and Microsoft. He went to high school at the prestigious Phillips Exeter Academy, where he was captain of the fencing team, before entering elite Harvard University. Zuckerberg launched Thefacebook.com, as it was then known, from his dorm room on February 4, 2004 with some of his roommates and classmates. Facebook's early years were not without controversy, however. In 2008, a $65 million settlement was reached with three Harvard classmates -- twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, and Divya Narendra -- over their charges that Zuckerberg had stolen the idea for Facebook from them. The conflict was at the heart of "The Social Network," the Oscar-winning film written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher. Zuckerberg left Harvard in May 2004 for Silicon Valley, where he received his first major funding -- $500,000 -- from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. He has been referred to by some as being struck in the mold of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. Zuckerberg has praised Jobs as a friend and a role model. Akie Abe has become embroiled in a scandal threatening her husband's career Japan's First Lady Akie Abe is a freewheeling, flamenco-dancing socialite who once described herself as the "opposition" to husband Shinzo and is now embroiled in a scandal that threatens his career. The 55-year-old scion of a major confectionery firm has been thrust into the spotlight amid a favouritism and cover-up affair that has battered the prime minister's popularity. Japan's emboldened opposition parties have called for Akie Abe to appear in parliament to explain her links with a nationalist school operator at the centre of the cronyism scandal. The operator, who at one point named her the honorary principal of his new school, snapped up state-owned land at a price well below market value, with the opposition claiming his ties to the Abe family helped grease the deal. The scandal flared further when it emerged that finance ministry documents regarding sale had been altered, including deleting her name. The attention is probably not what Akie Abe expected when she vowed to raise the profile of the prime minister's wife following a series of predecessors who shunned the limelight. While Abe fends off political pressure to resign, his wife has continued her active presence on social media, posting images and comments on her Instagram and Facebook accounts. Her social media activity once landed her in hot water when she stunned followers by posting an image of a shirtless man with the word "Akie" and an arrow mark written on his chest. The post was quickly deleted. - 'Opposition camp' - Politically speaking, Abe benefits from a relatively weak opposition. But this is apparently not the case at home, with Akie once describing herself as the "opposition camp in the family". She has frequently acted in opposition to her husband's policies, openly supporting an anti-nuclear campaign as the government bids to get reactors back in operation following years of shutdown due to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis. She has visited Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, which honours millions of Japan's war dead as well as several senior figures convicted of war crimes after World War II. Her husband has been forced to stay away from the shrine after running into fierce criticism from war-time adversaries China and South Korea after visiting it in 2013. In 2016, she also made a controversial visit to Pearl Harbor, bombed by Japanese planes in an attack that brought the United States into World War II, months before her husband made a historic visit with President Barack Obama. When Shinzo Abe first took office in 2006, his wife, a fan of Korean culture, was seen as a political asset for her husband by softening his hawkish image. But some pundits have now labelled her "Abenorisk" -- a pun on "Abenomics," her husband's economic policy -- as the scandal dents Abe's hopes of winning re-election as head of his ruling party in September. "At first, her liberal image was expected to help balance Abe's conservatism, but she was too freewheeling," said Tomoaki Iwai, professor of Japanese politics at Nihon University. "She has little awareness of the political significance of her position, while Prime Minister Abe appears to have lost control of her," Iwai told AFP. "In total her presence is negative to the administration," he added. - 'Regret' - Born Akie Matsuzaki, her father was president of Morinaga and Co., one of Japan's best known confectionery companies. She studied at a Roman Catholic school and worked for Japan's leading advertising firm Dentsu before meeting Shinzo Abe and marrying him in 1987. The couple has no children. Akie has professed a love for South Korean culture and is known to be a fan of the neighbouring country's heart-throb Bae Yong-Jun, a baby-faced soap opera star. While Abe is teetotal, Akie is known to enjoy an occasional drink. In 2012, she opened a Japanese-style pub serving organic vegetables. She also studies flamenco dancing, a talent she has shown off for the cameras. On March 17, she attended an social event as a guest speaker, reportedly telling the audience: "Sometimes I regret my past but I want to value present time without worrying or fearing what will happen." Netflix is gearing up for the second season of 13 Reasons Why, the popular but controversial show about a high school students suicide that addressed issues such as depression, online bullying, and sexual assault. This week, Netflix announced several steps it would take to provide more resources to parents on the topics covered by the series, whose second season is to be released at an unspecified date later this year. The web-based television channel also promoted the results of a study by Northwestern University which shows that many teenage viewers found the show relatable and helped them consider tough topics, but that parents wanted more resources available. The hope is that the steps were taking now will help support more meaningful conversations as Season 2 rolls out later this year, said Brian Wright, the vice president of original series for Netflix, in a March 21 statement. The Northwestern study , by Ellen Wartella, Alexis R. Lauricella, and Drew P. Cingel of the Center on Media and Human Development at the universitys School of Communication, reports that teenagers and young adults found the show an accurate depiction of high school life and beneficial for them to watch. The younger viewers found the shows intensity appropriate, the study found, and 67 percent agreed that the graphic depiction of the suicide of the main character, Hannah, was necessary to the show. That depiction was the aspect of 13 Reasons Why that drew the most criticism when the show aired last year. A major finding from this project is that 13 Reasons Why can showcase difficult content, and in doing so, provide adolescents and their parents with strategies for discussing these tough topics, the Northwestern report says. But it suggests that mental health professionals could provide more resources to help viewers process and talk about the tough topics depicted in the show and also suggests having the actors step outside their roles and participate in post-program discussions of how to get help. Netflix embraced the recommendations. It will have cast members step out of character to address the audience at the beginning of each season, and it released this video in anticipation of Season 2, which features actors Dylan Minnette (who plays Clay Jensen), Katherine Langford (Hannah Baker), Justin Prentice (Bryce Walker) and Alisha Boe (Jessica Davis). Netflix said it was adding more resources to its 13ReasonsWhy.info website, including a viewing guide for parents. And there will be a new Beyond the Reasons episode at the end of Season 2, as there was for the first season, that explores the issues depicted in the show. The Northwestern study does not address the question of whether 13 Reasons Why had the unintended consequence of influencing more young people to consider or commit suicide. One study published in a medical journal last summer suggested that Internet searches for information about suicide increased 19 percent during the period immediately after the series debuted on Netflix on March 31, 2017. The 13-part first season is from the Jay Asher novel about a set of tapes left behind by 17-year-old student Hannah Baker detailing whom she believes wronged her and led her to commit suicide. Producers have provided some public hints that the second season will focus on other students perspectives on Hannahs suicide and will include a trial in the civil suit against the school district that was filed by Hannahs parents in the first season. A new search undertaken by private firm Ocean Infinity is currently under way in the southern Indian Ocean Malaysia's veteran ex-leader Mahathir Mohamad said Friday that missing flight MH370 might have been taken over remotely in a bid to foil a hijack, reviving one of the many conspiracy theories surrounding its disappearance. The Malaysia Airlines plane disappeared in March 2014 with 239 people -- mostly from China -- on board while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. No sign of the Boeing 777 jet was found in a vast search of the southern Indian Ocean and the Australian-led hunt, the largest in aviation history, was suspended early last year. Only three confirmed fragments of MH370 have been found, all of them on western Indian Ocean shores, including a two-metre wing part known as a flaperon. The search restarted in January, in an area north of the original zone that scientists now believe is the likeliest crash site. A private research vessel is scouring the seabed, commissioned by Malaysia on a "no find, no fee" basis. Mahathir, 92, who is leading an opposition bid to topple scandal-tainted Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in elections due this year, said he did not believe Kuala Lumpur was involved in any cover-up. But he told The Australian newspaper in an interview that it was possible the plane might have been taken over remotely. "It was reported in 2006 that Boeing was given a licence to operate the takeover of a hijacked plane while it is flying so I wonder whether that's what happened or not," said Mahathir, who ruled for 22 years. "It's very strange that a plane leaves no trace at all. "The capacity to do that is there. The technology is there," he added of his theory. "You know how good people are now with operating planes without pilots. Even fighter planes are to be without pilots. Some technology we can read in the press but many of military significance is not published." According to reports, Boeing in 2006 was awarded a US patent for a system that, once activated, could take control of a commercial aircraft away from the pilot or flight crew in the event of a hijacking. But there is no evidence it has ever been used in airliners due to safety concerns. The lack of a final resting place for MH370 has spawned numerous theories, including that it was a hijacking or terror plot. The jet's captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah also came under scrutiny, although investigations on him have turned up nothing. An initial search focused on an area east of peninsular Malaysia, but attention soon shifted west when it emerged the plane had switched course and headed over the Indian Ocean -- just as its communications equipment was switched off. Investigators later focused on an area to the west of Australia based on scant clues available from satellite "pings" and calculations of how much fuel was on board, which suggested the plane ditched in the southern Indian Ocean. The glamorous artistic whirl of Hong Kong's annual Art Basel fair feels like a world away for some artists battling sky-high rents and lack of space As international galleries and wealthy collectors descend on Hong Kong for Art Basel, life for some of the city's creatives is still a struggle to make ends meet. Art Basel's Hong Kong edition launched five years ago and spawned a host of simultaneous shows in what has become known as "Art Month". But the glamorous artistic whirl associated with March in Hong Kong feels like a world away for some artists battling sky-high rents and lack of space. Hong Kong mural painter Jackie Chung works out of a small unit in the working-class neighbourhood of San Po Kong, away from the hustle of downtown. The 250-square-feet (23-sqm) studio is one of 25 subdivided flats in an industrial building. Such cramped partitioned spaces are commonly lived in by residents who cannot afford spiralling accommodation costs. Chung, 36, and oil painter Ray Chow, 31, pay HK$8,000 (US$1,020) per month to use the unit as a studio and have promised the landlord not to get paint on the floors and walls. Both live with their families to save on outgoings. "It's not ideal. After we moved in with our artwork and tools, it was almost full," said Chung, who paints under the name "Pinkhead" after the colour of her hair. The bright unit is neatly stacked with oil paints, easels, books and paintings. Chung has been commissioned to create giant murals around the city, including a 22-storey-high elephant, but although her works are large-scale, she practises in miniature. Hong Kong ink artist Hung Fai, 30, poses next to some of his work "The studio is tiny and the ceiling is low. I can only paint on a medium size canvas," she told AFP. Chung has a day job as a graphic designer, painting every evening and on weekends. She earns around HK$5,000 for a 40-square-feet mural. Fellow artist Chow relies on freelance work including graphic design, teaching and painting commissions to pay his way -- creating an oil painting takes him up to three months and he sells one or two each year for around HK$10,000 each. "Sometimes it makes you feel so frustrated to be an artist in Hong Kong. You need to do a lot more other things to sustain your passion," he said. - 'Art appreciation' - Artists must be represented by a gallery to participate in Art Basel, which runs for five days at Hong Kong's harbourfront convention centre. The line-up this year includes galleries from Iran to Istanbul and some from Hong Kong with local artists on their books. Ink artist Hung Fai, 30, was born and bred in the city and has exhibited at Art Basel four times under Grotto Fine Art gallery, which aims to nurture emerging Hong Kong talent. He believes the fair is a good opportunity to meet other artists, curators and collectors, with tens of thousands of visitors each year. But Hung hopes that in the long term, Art Basel will work more closely with local art institutions or even the public sector to build a broader creative culture in the city. Hong Kong ink artist Hung Fai, 30, at his studio in Hong Kong "If we can transform the short-term interest of an art fair into a long-term habit of appreciation of the arts, then there can be positive changes on the local art scene," he told AFP. Art Basel's Asia Director Adeline Ooi said the fair tries to encourage Hong Kong galleries to present local artists as much as possible. "Our support for the Hong Kong local scene is clearly 100 percent there, but it is also the fact that we are an international art fair. So it's about trying to find the balance between these two points," Ooi said. - Enduring passion - There are plenty of galleries and exhibitions in Hong Kong year-round, but some feel the emphasis is commercial rather than aimed at a wider public and that there is a disconnect with grassroots artists. Mural artist Chung has worked at Art Basel as a volunteer and says she felt it was too driven by sales and visitor numbers. "I dont think Art Basel is that close to local artists. It seems to help local tourism more than the local art scene," she said. Smaller-scale shows in Hong Kong can also be prohibitive, adds Chung. She applied for a booth at a week-long local art festival last year, but the HK$20,000 (US$2,500) entry fee scared her off. Chow admits he sometimes fantasises about selling a painting for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. But he says passion is the overriding motivation. "I make art because I like it," he says. "Whether it makes me successful or not, it doesnt matter." Japan accepts only a handful of refugees each year and they face hurdles to employment that can seem almost insurmountable, including language requirements, cultural barriers and discrimination At an office in Tokyo, a group of asylum seekers clutching resumes listened to three Japanese companies describe their openings -- rare opportunities in the country's often impenetrable job market. Japan accepts only a handful of refugees each year and they face hurdles to employment that can seem almost insurmountable, including language requirements, cultural barriers and discrimination. But a handful of companies, driven partly by labour shortages, are now hiring refugees. Among them is Dairyu, a styrofoam manufacturer whose CEO Kenichi Osaka was hoping to find two new employees at a job fair held Monday by the Japan Association for Refugees, an NGO. "We need your work, and your novel ideas that Japanese people don't come up with," he told the asylum seekers in English. With its rapidly ageing society, Japan has an unemployment rate of just 2.4 percent, the lowest in 25 years. "We want to hire refugees because there are not enough workers in Japan," said Osaka, whose 200 employees include around 20 foreigners. "And Japanese are so strict with rules... we are looking for ideas that are unexpected and not predictable," he told AFP. Dairyu was offering a starting salary of 813 yen an hour ($7.63), around the government's recommended minimum wage, along with accommodation and three weeks of holiday. As prospective employees lined up, Osaka admitted to some apprehension about how his staff would react to working with asylum seekers from African nations. "I don't mind, but my employees have never seen a black person." He said his foreign and Japanese workers would be paid the same wage, but activists say asylum seekers regularly face wage discrimination in Japan. - Vulnerable to exploitation - The country is notoriously strict on asylum, granting refugee status to just 20 people out of nearly 20,000 applicants last year. The government says most applicants are economic migrants, but activists and the UN say Japan imposes onerous evidence requirements that can be impossible to meet, even for those in real danger. The process is also torturously slow, with applicants waiting an average of three years for a decision. "They are not allowed to work, nor access social security, so how can they survive?" said Eri Ishikawa, chair of JAR's board. "They are really more vulnerable to be exploited as well." For those granted asylum, or temporary work permits, job opportunities are often a far cry from the work they did at home. An asylum seeker at JAR's job fair, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he had nine years of experience in customer service in the aviation and tourism industries. Now, he was hoping to land a job cleaning at a Tokyo hotel. The Japan Association for Refugees organises job fairs every few months, and is seeing increasing interest from companies "Here you are forced to take any option to survive," he said, his eyes welling up as he described waiting to hear whether his asylum claim would be accepted. "I can't see my wife and my kid," he said, wishing the authorities would speed up his application. JAR organises job fairs every few months, and is seeing increasing interest from companies. "Many companies approach us because of the labour shortage, but to hire refugees just to meet the labour shortage doesn't work well," said Ishikawa. JAR wants companies to train refugees and see them as assets who can help them expand their customer base. "Quite a few companies who have hired refugees find real value in it, some companies see them as global marketers who can sell their goods abroad, especially wherever they are coming from," she said. - An 'incredible' position - Among them is Japanese fashion firm Uniqlo, part of the Fast Retailing group whose CEO Tadashi Yanai has committed to hiring refugees worldwide. Uniqlo currently employs 46 refugees at its stores in Japan and organises seminars "to increase the interest of other companies in hiring refugees", said Kurumi Shindo, of Uniqlo's sustainability department. The Japan Association for Refugees wants companies to train refugees and see them as assets who can help them expand their customer base The company offers refugee hires extensive training, including language and cultural support, but says the investment is well worth it. "They have this enthusiasm to work... they encourage the other employees to work in a more positive attitude," said Shindo. Among Uniqlo's refugee hires is Cing, who obtained asylum in Japan after fleeing Myanmar in 2008. She began working at Uniqlo in 2013, after years working two jobs at restaurants to make ends meet, and acknowledges struggling to adapt at first. "In Japanese, there are many ways to show respect to the customers, it's different talking to customers or to friends. I have experienced very difficult moments," she said. But five years on, she is a confident presence and now advises Uniqlo's newer refugee recruits. "My friends say it's incredible I have this position," she says with a smile. "It doesn't seem that Uniqlo has a plan to open an outlet in Myanmar yet, but if that happens, I would very much like to go back and work there." No caption US President Donald Trump on Thursday authorized the suspension of controversial tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from key trade partners including the European Union. Trump shocked the world with his sudden announcement earlier this month of a 10-percent levy on aluminum and 25-percent tariff on steel, angering Washington's closest allies, which swiftly demanded that they be exempt. "The tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the following countries are suspended until May 1, 2018," the White House said in a statement, listing EU members states, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and South Korea. "Each of these countries has an important security relationship with the United States," a proclamation from Trump announcing the steel decision said. The US is in discussions with the countries "on satisfactory alternative means to address the threatened impairment to the national security by imports of steel articles," and tariffs on steel imports from the trade partners will be exempt for now, it said. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told a Senate committee earlier in the day that the tariff suspension had been authorized by Trump, just hours before the tariffs were to kick in. "The idea that the president has is that, based on a certain set of criteria, that some countries should get out," Lighthizer said in testimony before the Senate Finance Committee. Many countries, including those of the EU, warned the White House that they would retaliate forcefully if they were hit with tariffs on metals products. - 'No use to anyone' - The climbdown came as Trump announced new sanctions against China for what he called the theft of US intellectual property -- which Beijing has vowed to meet with tit-for-tat retaliation. China is seen as the root cause of a massive oversupply of steel on the global market, and Europeans in recent days pressed that point with Washington. EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom made the EU's case over two days this week in Washington, negotiating the carve-out with US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, a strong backer of Trump's "America First" policies. Arriving at a EU summit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said "thanks" to Malmstrom "for holding intensive talks with the United States and we will see what the result is." As a precaution, the commission had drawn up a list of potential counter-measures, including tariffs on peanut butter and Harley Davidson motorcycles, in case Trump followed through. "We have made it clear that we do not want a trade war. Trade war is of no use to anyone," said Jean-Claude Juncker, chief of the European Commission, which handles trade talks for the 28 member states. German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier had stressed in Berlin that "fighting until the last minute is worth it," with Germany especially worried about its auto industry. The close confidant of Merkel reported a "very positive impression" of Ross, whom he also met earlier this week in Washington for last-minute talks. "We both know what the problem is," Altmaier said, pointing the finger instead at China. Egyptian cattle traders gather at a livestock market in the village of Abu Shosha in Qena province, some 650 kilometres (400 miles) south of the capital Cairo on March 21, 2018 In the Egyptian village of Abu Shosha, far south of Cairo, residents hit hard by economic hardships are planning to vote for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in elections starting on Monday. "We only began to feel safe after Sisi" became president and boosted security, said Tarek Mohamed Hafez, a cattle trader in his 40s. Dressed in a striped traditional galabeya gown, he was selling cows at the weekly cattle market in the village, in Qena province 650 kilometres (400 miles) south of the capital. "We didn't have any kind of security," he said, standing amid makeshift shelters held up by wooden sticks to provide shade. "Women couldn't even move to go to a doctor." Hafez was talking about the period between the January 2011 uprising that toppled longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak and Sisi taking office in 2014. The former defence minister and army chief was elected a year after ousting president Mohamed Morsi following mass protests against the Islamist, elected in 2012 in the first vote following Mubarak's ouster. Sisi is seeking re-election virtually unopposed in a March 26-28 poll. His only opponent is Moussa Mostafa Moussa, a Sisi supporter. All other presidential hopefuls were arrested or withdrew from the race. - 'No one else' - "No one will do except for Sisi," Hafez said. "You see countries around us have collapsed." But he appealed to the president for more investment in the health sector. "Hospitals here are falling apart," he said. Cattle traders in the impoverished Egyptian village of Abu Shosha, far south of Cairo, say the only choice for them in next week's presidential election is the incumbent, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi His support for Sisi was echoed by others in the village, both poor and rich. They included Hussein Hafez, a retired senior official at the education ministry. "We don't even know the other candidate, and he (Moussa) himself said he would vote for Sisi," said Hafez, sitting on a wooden bench in front of his house on the Nile. Moussa joined the race shortly before the application period closed, meaning Sisi would not stand unchallenged in the election. While they say they support Sisi for his record on improving security, many speak of economic hardships. Egypt's economy has been hard hit by sweeping reforms put in place under a $12 billion (10 billion euro) loan deal with the International Monetary Fund. The authorities implemented a value-added tax, cut fuel subsidies and increased electricity prices. "Farmers are losing money because everything has become expensive... electricity has become expensive as well as pesticides," said Adib Haleem Beksamos, 72, a water pump mechanic. The pound has also lost more than half its value since the authorities floated the currency in November 2016. "The harvest from one feddan (around one acre) of lettuce used to be sold for 10,000 pounds and now is sold for 3,000 pounds," Beksamos said. That is a fall from over $1,100 to around $170. - Not enough to eat - "Sisi is a good man and everything he did was good, but the rising prices are terrible and I'm asking if he can make things more affordable, because workers don't have enough to eat," Beksamos said. About 28 percent of Egypt's 96 million inhabitants live under the poverty line. Official poverty rates surpass 50 percent in some parts of the south. About 70 kilometres north of Abu Shosha, in the capital of Sohag province, banners supporting Sisi were far rarer than in Cairo -- but those supporting Moussa, if they existed, were not prominently displayed. An Egyptian drives a tractor loaded with sugarcane in the southern village of Abou Shosha Many in Sohag city vocally support Sisi. Maher Beshai, 66, who sells spare parts for bicycles, said he is ready to vote for him "for one, two, three, and four terms, as we want to build our nation." But some in the city were less enthusiastic. "I was only hoping to choose from several candidates, not for the two choices to be either Abdel Fattah or al-Sisi," said a pharmacy worker who refused to have his name published out of concern for his safety. Othman, a 21-year old brick factory worker, said he was not interested in the election. "I have my work and I support my siblings and my wife," he said. "I don't know how the country is run, so why would I vote, and what would my opinion add?" A first convoy evacuating rebel fighters and their families from the Eastern Ghouta enclave outside Damascus reaches the Hama province town of Qalaat al-Madiq where rebels and Red Crescent and White Helmets members await them early on March 23, 2018 Hundreds of fighters evacuated by the Syrian regime from their bastion near Damascus arrived in rebel-held Idlib province on Friday, a monitor said. Buses carrying the fighters and their families entered the northwestern province after their evacuation from the rebel-held town of Harasta in Eastern Ghouta on Thursday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. An AFP reporter at a camp for the displaced in the Maaret al-Ikhwan area in the north of Idlib province saw some of the evacuees arrive. Families entered the camp but the fighters were not allowed in, he said. Abu Zayd, a man who had just arrived from Harasta, said he was grateful to be alive. In Harasta, "we were already dead, buried underground," he said. The camp's manager said volunteer teams had devised an emergency response for around 2,000 people, with a field kitchen, mobile clinics and a round-the-clock volunteer team. Buses arrived outside the camp, one with small children peering out the window. Men -- some carrying guns -- women and children stepped off the buses and collected bags from the hold. Syrians evacuated from the rebel-held town of Harasta in Eastern Ghouta arrive at a camp for displaced people in Maaret al-Ikhwan, in Syria's largely rebel-held Idlib province on March 23, 2018 A woman held a new-born child in warm clothes, wrapped in a mint-coloured paper sheet. Before dawn, some 400 fighters and hundreds of civilians on buses and ambulances had stopped in the town of Qalat al-Madiq in Hama province to the south, the Observatory said. Among them was a man who had died of his injuries on the way, said the monitor, which relies on a wide network sources inside Syria for its information. The AFP reporter saw hundreds of people arrive on buses in Qalat al-Madiq, where rebel fighters and members of the Red Crescent and the White Helmets civil defence organisation were waiting. The evacuation from Harasta comes after pro-regime forces launched a blistering air and ground offensive on Eastern Ghouta, the last rebel bastion near Damascus, on February 18. The assault has retaken 80 percent of the enclave, the Observatory says, and divided what remains into three shrinking pockets, each controlled by a different rebel group. The evacuation of rebels from Harasta could empty the smallest of these pockets and rack up the pressure on those controlling the two other to accept similar deals. Eastern Ghouta is within mortar range of central Damascus, and the evacuation deal could be a major step in the regime's efforts towards securing the capital. The one-month offensive on Eastern Ghouta has killed more than 1,500 civilians, the Observatory says. It has prompted tens of thousands to flee into government-held areas. More than 350,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict since it broke out in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests. Olive ridley sea turtle hatchlings make their way to the Arabian Sea on Versova beach in Mumbai, as the species returns to India's financial capital for the first time in two decades after a major cleanup Tiny olive ridley turtles have hatched in India's financial capital Mumbai for the first time in two decades after a major cleanup of a beach, officials said Friday. Dozens of the threatened species cracked out of their egg shells and slowly waddled their way into the Arabian sea off Versova beach on Thursday, delighting wildlife conservationists. "We found around 90-95 olive ridley hatchlings... and the volunteers safely released them to the sea," Prashant Deshmukh, an environmental officer with the Maharashtra state government, told AFP. "The turtles have returned to Mumbai's coastline after nearly 20 years. This is big news and the clean-up drive seems to be yielding results," he added. The turtles were spotted by environmental activist Afroz Shah and his group of volunteers who have removed thousands of tonnes of rubbish from Versova beach since starting a huge clean-up operation in 2015. Olive ridley turtles are known to navigate thousands of miles of open ocean to reach beaches, where they come ashore under the cover of darkness to dig shallow pits with their flippers where they deposit dozens of eggs "Extremely elated the olive ridley turtles are back and it is a sign that things are improving. We need to do more to protect the ocean and other species including turtles," Shah told AFP on Friday. Olive ridley turtles are known to navigate thousands of miles of open ocean to reach beaches, where they come ashore under the cover of darkness to dig shallow pits with their flippers where they deposit dozens of eggs. The turtles are at serious risk from predators such as dogs and birds of prey during their 50-day incubation period beneath the sand. Deshmukh said the forestry department would conduct round-the-clock surveillance and ban any excavation work on the beach to protect the young hatchlings. With the majority of Mumbai's beaches notoriously dirty, owing to murky brown waters that regularly spew out garbage, residents took to social media to celebrate a rare good environmental news story for the teeming metropolis. The olive ridley turtle is also known as Pacific ridley. They are a medium-sized turtle species usually found in warm and tropical waters "Such amazing news! Flippers crossed that it's the first of many more!" wrote Bollywood actor Rahul Khanna on Twitter. "When turtles turn-up to say thank you for returning to them what was theirs. you are a legend," tweeted filmmaker Shamsi Abbas. The olive ridley turtle is also known as Pacific ridley. They are a medium-sized turtle species usually found in warm and tropical waters. US actor Joshua Leonard has become something of a go-to guy for groundbreaking, no-budget cinema Ever since Joshua Leonard helped reinvent indie filmmaking as a star of found-footage pioneer "The Blair Witch Project," he has been something of a go-to guy for groundbreaking, no-budget cinema. Two decades on he's at it again, in an acclaimed but deeply unsettling role as a stalker in "Unsane" -- filmed entirely on an iPhone by Oscar-winning auteur Steven Soderbergh ("Erin Brockovich," "Traffic"). "The only reason I have a career still is that we availed ourselves of new technology and unprecedented techniques 20 years ago with 'Blair Witch,'" said Leonard, 42, enthusing about how low-fi filmmaking appeals to his impatient streak. "I think it's the reason that I was so excited when I got called in to make this project, because I love making films much more than I love waiting to make films," he told AFP ahead its US release on Friday. "Unsane" stars British actress Claire Foy, of the Netflix series "The Crown", as Pennsylvania office worker Sawyer Valentini, who has left her hometown under mysterious circumstances. After an online dating encounter leaves her upset, she seeks help from a counselor at a local clinic, who tells her to sign a routine form before she leaves. Within minutes, she is committed to a mental institution against her will and pumped full of pills. A fellow patient whose background may be more interesting than he is letting on, tells her she's been locked away as part of an insurance scam but that if she keeps her head down, she will be released within days. However when Sawyer encounters Leonard's character, an orderly she claims has been stalking her for two years, the audience begins to question her sanity as well. - Kafkaesque - Leonard's nuanced, half-pathetic, half-terrifying performance has been roundly praised since the movie premiered in Berlin's film festival in February, although the acclaim has done nothing for his family life. "I just I felt terrible that my wife had to watch it, come home and sleep next to me. I want to try to figure out a way that my 15-month-old daughter never sees it when she's a teenager," he says, laughing. Understandably, much has been made of the iPhone novelty but the medium has overshadowed the message to some extent, with headlines concentrating on how the film was made, rather than what it has to say. Ostensibly a Kafkaesque satire of the medical insurance racket, "Unsane" is as much a part of the #MeToo moment as any red carpet protest since the Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct scandal ignited. Foy's brittle, irritable Sawyer isn't believed when she complains about her stalker, those in charge of her care assuming she is delusional. The significance of a woman screaming to be heard in the face of threatening male sexuality, as various characters try to "gaslight" her by telling her the ordeal is all in her head, is not lost on Leonard. "Unsane," he points out, was filmed before Weinstein was accused of litany of sex offenses, but he adds that "anything that furthers the discussion is a good thing." Ironically, real-life unfair treatment of women has thrust Foy into the limelight recently, with the producers of "The Crown" admitting she was paid less for her award-winning performances than co-star Matt Smith. "It's a conversation that is long overdue, and I think we've been operating off an old paradigm for far too long," Leonard told AFP. "Bringing some of this information to light, like the pay gap disparity, is the first step in actually making real and lasting change. " - Modern horror classic - Leonard has divided his career between appearing in television that you might recognize -- "Bates Motel," "True Detective," "CSI: Miami" and the like -- and cinema you almost certainly won't. Cast as the steadfast cameraman Josh in "The Blair Witch Project," Leonard balanced shooting the 16mm footage with improvising the increasingly-creepy turn of events alongside Heather Donahue and Michael Williams. Since its inauspicious release on 27 screens in 1999, the pioneering film from Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick has been hailed as a modern horror classic, despite having no special effects, monsters or gore. It made use of viral online marketing in a way no movie had attempted before and, despite its tiny $60,000 budget, managed to make $248 million worldwide. "I laugh at how young I look -- that terrible mid-90s bachelor," he chuckles. The movie spawned myriad imitations -- including a couple of its own ropey sequels -- with found-footage movies such as "Cloverfield," "Rec" and "Paranormal Activity" saturating the market over the following years. Rather than capitalizing on his sudden fame, Leonard stuck steadfastly to smaller independent films and working the festival circuit. "When you only want to spend $3 on your film, call Josh Leonard," he jokes. Leonard says working with Soderbergh, an avid innovator who likes to play with genres and formats, felt like a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" -- but he wasn't expecting a theatrical release to come of it. "That surprised and excited the hell out of all of us," Leonard said. "Wherever it takes me, I'm excited to keep telling stories in whatever manner best suits the story." In what he called "the first of many" trade actions, President Donald Trump signed an order imposing tariffs on at least $50 billion in Chinese products, and looking at restrictions on Chinese investments in the US EU leaders on Friday said they would seek a permanent exemption from punishing trade tariffs, after US President Donald Trump granted a temporary reprieve. "I am pleased that they have announced a temporary exemption for the EU," said British Prime Minister Theresa May as she arrived for the second day of an EU summit in Brussels. "What I will be working with my fellow EU leaders today is to see how we can secure a permanent exemption for the EU steel tariffs," she added. Trump on Thursday authorised the suspension of controversial tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from key trade partners including the European Union, but only until May 1. "We are just starting a negotiation with the European Union because they've really shut out our country to a large extent, they have barriers.. very strong tariffs," Trump said in Washington. Some leaders bristled at Trump's tactics and warned that the Trump reprieve could be only short-term. "This gives the impression that the head of the United states is looking to negotiate with the European Union with a gun to our head," said Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel. Speaking in Paris, EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici warned that the "devil was in the details". "This decision is temporary and will require exchanges with Washington and we will have to prepare for all eventualities," Moscovici told France Inter radio. As a precaution, the commission has drawn up a list of potential counter-measures, including tariffs on peanut butter and Harley Davidson motorcycles, in case Trump imposes his tariffs. Despite the apparent climbdown toward Europe, Trump has sparked fresh trade war fears by imposing huge tariffs on Chinese imports with Beijing unveiling its own measures against US goods. Tunisian mothers of a torture victims carry their sons' portraits as they arrive for a Truth and Dignity Commission hearing in Tunis on November 17, 2016 Human Rights Watch on Friday urged Tunisia to extend the mandate of a commission set up to examine human rights violations during six decades of dictatorship. The widely-praised Truth and Dignity Commission (IVD) was set up following the 2011 revolt that toppled dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and sparked the Arab Spring uprisings. Tunisia's parliament is set to vote on Saturday whether to prolong its work. But HRW's Tunisia director, Amna Guellali, accused Tunisian authorities of hampering the commission "by refusing to fully cooperate with it and by adopting a controversial law on administrative reconciliation." "By voting 'no' to extending the commission's work, parliament would be voting 'yes' for impunity," she said in a statement. The commission has a five-year mandate to investigate human rights violations between 1957, when Habib Bourguiba became president, and 2013, when the IVD was set up in the wake of the revolution. It aims to hold perpetrators to account and rehabilitate their victims. A "no" vote on Saturday could force it to cease work in May. That "would sabotage the fragile transitional justice process and trample the rights of victims to truth, justice and reparations," Guellali said. Sandy Hook Promise, a violence prevention program founded by families who lost their children in the 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Conn., launched an anonymous reporting system this week that schools can use to collect and track student tips about possible concerning behavior. The aim: Stop the next school shooting before it starts. The Say Something anonymous reporting system will allow students to submit tips about troubling behaviorincluding assault, bullying, animal cruelty, and child abusethrough a website, telephone hotline, or mobile app . It comes at a time when school safety experts are increasingly emphasizing prevention and early intervention in school safety efforts. Operators at a 24-hour crisis center will triage the tips, referring them to participating school districts and, as needed, to law enforcement agencies. Districts, charter schools, and independent schools can opt-in to the program for free . The PepsiCo Foundation plans to fund an initial rollout of the reporting system in a group of states that are most at-risk states for gun violence" California, Florida, Texas and New York Sandy Hook Promise said in a news release. Federal reviews of mass shooting incidents have found that a majority of shooters leak their intentions beforehand, telling at least one friend or family member. Thats why many states and districts have stood up anonymous reporting systems . Perhaps the most established tipline is Colorados Safe2Tel l, which was founded after the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., and has been credited with thwarting several shooting plans and other safety concerns, like suicide attempts. Sandy Hook Promise announced the Say Something reporting system with a powerful advertisement. Most people think that you know, a school shooting could never happen here, says a teen boy in the video, the camera close up on his face. But those same people are the ones who saw all of the signs and never said anything. The camera pans out and shows that the boy is sitting on a bed, loading a magazine into an AR-15 rifle. Im sure tomorrow, someone will wish they had said something. Sandy Hook Promise also helped conceive of and press for passage of the STOP School Violence Act, which was included in the federal spending bill President Donald Trump signed into law Friday. That bill, which was also supported by families of the 17 victims of the Feb. 14 school shooting in Parkland, Fla., provides funding for school safety efforts, security hardware, school police, and anonymous threat reporting systems. The Parkland shooting has brought fresh attention to potential missed warning signs of school violence. Local law enforcement was called to the accused shooters home dozens of times in recent years, and the FBI has confirmed it failed to investigate a recent tip that he could be a school shooter in the making. The state has formed a task force with subpoena power to explore how the shooting happened and whether law enforcement and educators missed opportunities to intervene. Related reading on school violence prevention: Follow @evieblad on Twitter or subscribe to Rules for Engagement to get blog posts delivered directly to your inbox. Vicky Tauli-Corpuz, the special advisor to the UN on indigenous rights, was among 600 people accused by the Philippine government of terrorism over their alleged links to Maoist rebels Vicky Tauli-Corpuz has spent four decades campaigning for indigenous people in her native Philippines, but never feared for her life. That changed last month when she was branded a "terrorist" by President Rodrigo Duterte's government. The special advisor to the UN on indigenous rights since 2014 was among 600 people accused of terrorism over their alleged links to Maoist rebels in a government document filed in a Manila court in February. The activist, who had condemned alleged rights abuses in the southern Mindanao region where the state is battling an Islamic insurgency and leftist guerrillas, denies the allegations and says she feels like a marked woman. "This is like a target list basically," the slightly built, bespectacled 65-year-old from the Kankanaey Igorot ethnic group said in an interview at the UN cultural body UNESCO in Paris. While waiting to see if the state brings charges, she said she has decided to stay out of the Philippines on the advice of her lawyers. Tauli-Corpuz is one of several left-wing activists accused by Duterte's government of links to the Maoist rebels with whom he broke off talks last year, after initially saying he would "walk the extra mile" for peace. Duterte blamed the rebels, whose insurgency has claimed an estimated 30,000 lives since 1969, for ongoing attacks on the security forces. - 'Virtual hit list' - In its court petition, the justice department asked for the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA), to be declared "terrorist organisations". Attached to the submission, seen by AFP, were 600 names of suspected rebels, including Tauli-Corpuz and two other prominent indigenous leaders -- Joan Carling and Jose Molintas -- who have previously advised the United Nations. The targeting of the trio came after Duterte last year accused indigenous Lumad schools of grooming children to become insurgents and threatened to bomb them. Reacting to the case, UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said it was "unacceptable for a special rapporteur acting on behalf of the international community whose expertise is sought by the (UN) Human Rights Council to be treated in this way". New York-based Human Rights Watch said those on the "virtual government hit list" were "at grave risk". Tauli-Corpuz, who began campaigning for indigenous rights in her native Cordillera region during the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, compared the government list to the lists of suspects used to prosecute Duterte's deadly anti-drugs war. Philippine police say they have killed more than 4,000 drug suspects who resisted arrest, but rights groups estimate there have been more than three times that, including people murdered by vigilante groups. "The president has his police and his death squads who can easily kill people whom they accuse of being terrorists," Tauli-Corpuz said. - 'Embarrassing the government' - The activist who helped draft the seminal 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples said she believed she was targeted over her condemnation in December of alleged rights abuses in the southern region of Mindanao, where Duterte is battling pro-Islamic State gunmen. "They (indigenous people) are being displaced, they are being killed, their lands are being taken over, so I made a statement which came out in the newspapers and the government immediately came out and said I was embarrassing the government internationally," she said. Philippine Foreign Minister Alan Peter Cayetano has insisted there is evidence linking Tauli-Corpuz to the rebels and said she and others on the list "should see this as an opportunity to clear their names". Duterte, who enjoys wide popularity despite his rights record, has repeatedly lashed out at his domestic and foreign critics. Last week, he announced he was pulling the Philippines out of the International Criminal Court, which is examining his crackdown on drugs. He also recently vowed not to cooperate with the UN special rapporteur on extra-judicial killings, Agnes Callamard. "You're investigating us, fact finding? Well sorry, do not fuck with me," he said, in remarks aimed at Callamard. Smoke billows over the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta town of Arbin during a bombardment on March 20, 2018 Russian air strikes killed 37 civilians in the Arbin area of the shrinking rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus overnight, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday. "Russian air strikes and incendiary weapons killed the civilians in a basement from burning or suffocation" late on Thursday before a ceasefire came into effect in the area, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. Russia has denied being directly involved in air strikes on Eastern Ghouta. The Britain-based Observatory says it relies on flight patterns, aircraft involved and ammunition used to determine who carries them out. The White Helmets, a civil defence organisation operating in rebel-held areas, said most of the dead were women and children. In an image they shared on social media, rescue workers wrapped a blackened body in a blanket. More than 1,600 civilians have died in Eastern Ghouta since the regime launched a blistering assault on the last rebel bastion near Damascus on February 18, the Observatory says. The offensive has retaken most of the enclave and divided what remains into three shrinking pockets, each controlled by a different rebel group. Late on Thursday, the Faylaq al-Rahman group which controls the southern pocket that includes Arbin, said a ceasefire had been agreed from midnight (2200 GMT) to allow negotiations with Russia for an evacuation deal. Under a similar agreement reached by the Ahrar al-Sham group, hundreds of rebel fighters and their family members were evacuated from the town of Harasta earlier on Thursday. The ceasefire announcement came after air strikes killed 38 people in Arbin and Zamalka, another town controlled by Faylaq al-Rahman, earlier on Thursday, the Observatory said. EU leaders said the bloc would "reserve its rights" to respond to US trade measures EU leaders on Friday said they would maintain a threat to hit the US with counter-measures -- that include tariffs on Harley Davidson motorcycles and bourbon -- as long as a metals tariffs exemption granted by Washington remained temporary. After a discussion at an EU summit in Brussels, leaders said in a statement the bloc would "reserve its rights, in compliance with World Trade Organization rules, to respond to the US measures as appropriate and in a proportionate manner." Trump on Thursday authorised the suspension of controversial tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from key trade partners including the European Union, but only until May 1. The commission earlier this month drew up a list of potential counter-measures, including tariffs on peanut butter, motorcycles and denim jeans, in case Trump slapped on the tariffs. "We now look forward to pursuing a dialogue with the US on trade issues of common concern, such as global steel overcapacity," EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said in a tweet. "These discussions between allies and partners should not be subject to artificial deadlines," she added. Trump's exemption landed just before a Friday deadline, and came after eleventh hour talks in Washington between Malmstroem and top US officials. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and South Korea were also spared. "We are just starting a negotiation with the European Union because they've really shut out our country to a large extent, they have barriers.. very strong tariffs," Trump said in Washington on Thursday. - 'Gun to our head' - Some leaders bristled at Trump's tactics and said that his methods were unworthy of close allies. "This gives the impression that the head of the United States is looking to negotiate with the European Union with a gun to our head," said Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel. In what he called "the first of many" trade actions, President Donald Trump signed an order imposing tariffs on at least $50 billion in Chinese products Speaking in Paris, EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici warned that the "devil was in the details". "This decision is temporary and will require exchanges with Washington and we will have to prepare for all eventualities," Moscovici told France Inter radio. Despite the apparent climbdown toward Europe, Trump has sparked fresh trade war fears by imposing huge tariffs on Chinese imports with Beijing unveiling its own measures against US goods. Palestinians wait for permission to cross into Egypt through the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip after it was opened by Egyptian authorities on February 21, 2018 Egypt opened its largely sealed border with the Gaza Strip on Friday for two days, Palestinian authorities said. In just the third such opening this year, the crossing between the Palestinian enclave and Egypt's Sinai region will be open Friday and Saturday for humanitarian cases, the Palestinian embassy in Cairo said. The Rafah crossing is the only exit for Gaza residents except into Israel, but Egypt has largely sealed it in recent years, citing security threats. Egyptian authorities have a poor relationship with Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas, whom they have accused of supporting attacks inside Egypt. Both of the two previous border openings this year were cut short due to the security situation in Sinai. The Egyptian army and police forces are engaged in a fierce conflict with armed Islamists, especially in the North Sinai governorate where an Egyptian affiliate of the Islamic State is active. Hundreds have been killed on both sides. For more than a decade, Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza that critics say amounts to collective punishment of the coastal territory's two million Palestinian residents. Israel says the blockade is necessary to isolate Hamas, with which it has fought three wars since 2008. Egypt has also kept the Rafah crossing largely closed for several years. In October, Egypt brokered a reconciliation agreement between Hamas and Fatah, the party of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, that was supposed to see the Islamists give up power in Gaza. But the deal has collapsed, with the two Palestinian groups trading blame. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, who was Africa's only female head of state, resigned as president of Mauritius following allegations she used a bank card provided by an NGO to make personal purchases The vice-president of Mauritius assumed temporary power on Friday a week after the resignation of President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim over allegations of a credit card scandal. A statement from the presidency said Paramasivum Pillay Vyapoory had assumed the functions of the president on 23 March. He will hold the position until he is either confirmed by parliament or someone else is appointed. Gurib-Fakim, Africa's only female head of state, submitted her resignation in the "national interest" following accusations that she used a bank card provided by an NGO to make personal purchases, including jewellery and luxury goods worth at least 25,000 euros. In a statement as she handed over power on Friday, Gurib-Fakim said she had "a heavy heart" but insisted that she would be cleared by any investigation. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, seen here at a World Trade Organization (WTO) gathering last year in Argentina, is taking action at the WTO to address China's unfair technology practices The United States launched Friday a challenge at the World Trade Organization against China over intellectual property breaches, a statement said. "The United States is taking action at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to address China's unfair technology practices that run counter to WTO rules," the statement from the US Trade Representative's office said. US President Donald Trump on Thursday hit China with tariffs on up to $60 billion of imports to retaliate against the "theft" of American intellectual property, ratcheting up trade tensions between the world's two largest economies. Trump also announced he was directing the USTR to pursue dispute settlement in the WTO to confront China over its policies that result in unfair treatment for US companies and innovators trying to do business in China. "China appears to be breaking WTO rules by denying foreign patent holders, including US companies, basic patent rights to stop a Chinese entity from using the technology after a licensing contract ends," said the USTR in its statement. It said China also appears to be breaking WTO rules by imposing contract terms that discriminate against and are less favorable for imported foreign technology. "These Chinese policies hurt innovators in the United States and worldwide by interfering with the ability of foreign technology holders to set market-based terms in licensing and other technology-related contracts," said the USTR. China warned the United States on Friday that it was "not afraid of a trade war" as it threatened tariffs on $3 billion worth of US goods in retaliation over the US measures. The World Trade Organization is not only a forum for nations to negotiate trade deals, but it is also acts as a court to resolve trade disputes. However Trump's protectionist administration has levelled hostile rhetoric towards the WTO, and has nearly crippled its dispute resolution mechanism be blocking appointment of new judges. Singapore is among several countries looking at legislation to rein in fake news but critics have cautioned this could be used to curb free speech. The government has denied it is trying to restrict free speech Singapore on Friday slammed Human Rights Watch for a "pattern of issuing biased and untruthful statements" about the city-state as the government mulled new laws to fight fake news. The Ministry of Law zeroed in on a report by the New York-based HRW last year which said that while the financial hub was an economic success, it was time to relax tough regulations which are not in line with international human rights standards. The rights group said harsh laws in Singapore were stifling free speech and had been used more frequently in recent times. This included prosecuting human rights activist Jolovan Wham for organising public protests without a permit and launching legal action against the grandson of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew over a Facebook post linked to a family feud. In a statement, the law ministry criticised HRW for not sending a representative to a parliamentary committee examining possible measures, including legislation, to tackle false online information. The rights watchdog was among scores of individuals and organisations invited to testify and give input. The ministry said HRW agreed initially to send a representative but later declined when it was told it would have to defend its report. "HRW's stance is disappointing, but not surprising. HRW has a pattern of issuing biased and untruthful statements about Singapore," the ministry said, adding the organisation "knows that its report will not withstand any scrutiny". "HRW, by its conduct, has shown that it cannot be taken seriously as a commentator or interlocutor on issues relating to Singapore," it said. HRW was not immediately available for comment. Singapore is among several countries looking at legislation to rein in fake news but critics have cautioned this could be used to curb free speech. The government has denied it is trying to restrict free speech. Executives from Facebook, Google and Twitter appeared before the committee Thursday, and are among scores of experts, academics and activists called to testify over eight days. Singapore is ranked 151 on the World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders. Officials in the city-state, however, say local media outlets enjoy high levels of credibility according the Edelman Trust Barometer Index. John Bolton addresses the United Nations Security Council on 14 October 2006, when he was United States Ambassador to the UN A senior Palestinian official on Friday slammed US President Donald Trump's choice of hardliner John Bolton as his new national security advisor. Trump on Thursday announced that Bolton, an arch-hawk and former United Nations ambassador, would replace army general HR McMaster. Bolton is known for his strong support for Israel and hostility to Iran. He has previously said the idea of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is dead. "This man has a long history of hostility to Palestinians, dating to when he was at the United Nations, where he was protecting Israeli immunity," senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi told AFP, referring to US vetoes of UN resolutions targeting Israel. With Bolton's appointment, she said, the Trump administration "has joined with extremist Zionists, fundamentalist Christians and white racists". "All this will lead to a devastating reality for Palestine and the region." In contrast, members of Israel's government, considered the most rightwing in the country's history, hailed the appointment. "President Trump is continuing to appoint true friends of Israel to senior positions. John Bolton stands out among them," said Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, of the far-right Jewish Home party. The desert town of Kidal in northern Mali remains in the hands of former rebels who have been reluctant to hand back full control to the government Mali's Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga made a landmark visit to the restive northern town of Kidal on Friday, the first since 2014 by a head of government to an area still in the hands of former rebels. Five French soldiers were wounded in Kidal on Thursday in a jihadist attack, underscoring the security issues faced by domestic and foreign forces in Mali. The prime minister spent several hours in the city after touching down at a UN base, before heading to Gao, another urban centre rocked by periodic unrest. Appointed in December, Maiga was charged with bolstering security as jihadists mount near-weekly attacks on security forces, raising safety fears ahead of the presidential election in July. The former rebels of the Co-ordination of Movements of Azawad (CMA) provided security for the delegation, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene. The CMA contains members who rose up against the state in order to separate the north from the rest of Mali in 2012, but ultimately signed a peace treaty in 2015 with the aim of reintegrating into the army and accepting a measure of control from Bamako. "The republic will do what it should for all its children. Mali is one and indivisible in its diversity," Maiga said after meeting locals in a city with still strong separatist tendencies. "We are placing a lot of hope in this visit to advance the peace process," said CMA spokesman Mohamed Ag Assaleh. The CMA and similar groups have resisted handing back full control to the government, and clashes with pro-government armed groups have flared despite the ceasefire. Meanwhile, 4,000 French troops are deployed there as part of Operation Barkhane alongside the UN's 12,000-strong MINUSMA peacekeeping operation in Mali to tackle a jihadist insurgency that piggybacked on the 2012 rebellion. The attack on French soldiers on Thursday was claimed by the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM), a jihadist coalition affiliated with Al-Qaeda and led by Tuareg former rebel Iyad Ag Ghaly. No Malian head of government has visited Kidal since 2014 when fighting broke out during a visit by then prime minister Moussa Mara which ended with the army suffering a heavy defeat. Maiga on Tuesday said he would visit "without arrogance, in order to listen, and understand the urgent needs of the population". On Saturday he is due in Timbuktu, another northern city frequently rocked by unrest. Zambia's main opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema has rejected the results of the 2016 election, which he narrowly lost, and refuses to recognise Lungu as president Zambia's main opposition party has filed a motion to impeach President Edgar Lungu for violating the constitution, the presidency said Friday, in the latest development following a disputed 2016 election. The impeachment motion will be put before parliament on March 28 by the United Party for National Development (UPND). Although it could win support from some members of the ruling Patriotic Front (PF), such as former minister Chishimba Kambwili, a leading Lungu critic who was arrested on Thursday, it looked set to be easily defeated. For an impeachment motion to succeed, the constitution requires a two-thirds majority in parliament. The UPND has 58 of the 167 lawmakers. "They do not have the numbers and the motion will not go anywhere," Lungu's spokesman Amos Chanda told AFP. The alleged constitutional violations relate to a legal battle by the UPND over the 2016 election result, as well as corruption and mismanagement allegations raised against Lungu. UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema has rejected the results of the election, which he narrowly lost, and refuses to recognise Lungu as the president. Kambwili was arrested in Lusaka on Thursday over allegations of making profits from criminal activity. Title II, the $2 billion grant program for teacher development, will likely remain intact for fiscal year 2018, despite President Donald Trumps proposal to eliminate the program entirely. Congressional leaders unveiled a $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill last night , and the House has already passed the package. The Senate must act by midnight on Friday to avoid a government shutdown. Trump is expected to sign the bill. See also: Federal Spending Bill Would Boost Education Aid, Reject Trump Choice Push Title II money is used for teacher professional development and class-size reduction. Trumps budget proposal eliminated the grant program, saying that the money is spread too thinly to have a meaningful impact on student outcomes. In addition, there is limited evidence that teacher professional development ... has led to increases in student achievement. This is not a new argumentthe Obama administration also questioned the effectiveness of the program and decreased its budget from nearly $3 billion to about $2.3 billion. But the proposal to eliminate Title II sparked backlash among the education community . Title II advocates said state and district leaders are working to improve professional development, in large part due to the Every Student Student Succeeds Act, which calls for PD programs to be evidence-based. Stephanie Hirsh, the executive director of Learning Forward, a membership organization that works to improve professional learning in schools, said in a statement that the funds are essential to educators at every level in schools, providing critical resources to help them improve teaching and learning for students. Weve heard from hundreds of educators about the importance of Title II-A at the local level, she added. We know that policymakers heard educators voices as they made their budgeting decisions. In a statement, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten applauded Congress bill as well. This bill, she said, includes funding for key programs that help poor kids, reduce classroom sizes, improve special education and community school programs, and provide educators with professional development to refine their craft. This means our schools are better resourced, our teachers have access to better training, and our kids are learning and thriving. See also: Heres How States Are Using Title II Funds to Strengthen the Teaching Profession The budget bill also gave a $34 million funding boost to the Corporation for National and Community Service, which pays for programs run by AmeriCorps. Trumps budget proposal had put the program on the chopping block . Most Teach for America members are also part of AmeriCorpsand because of that partnership, TFA members can defer their federal student loans during their two years of service. They also can forgo interest on the loans during that time period and receive an annual $5,800 award that they can use to pay off student loans, earn a masters degree, or offset the cost of teacher certification. Smaller teacher-prep programs also rely on AmeriCorps funding, including Urban Teachers, a nonprofit that trains teachers in the Baltimore, District of Columbia, and Dallas areas. However, Trumps proposed budget for fiscal 2019 also eliminates both the Title II program and the Corporation for National and Community Service. So legislators will take up these issues again soon. Hundreds of rebel fighters and civilians from Harasta in Syria's Eastern Ghouta board buses on March 23, 2018 in an evacuation deal as a Russian-backed regime assault comes close to recapturing full control of the region Syrian rebel fighters on Friday left one pocket of battered Eastern Ghouta and reached a deal to quit another as the regime drew close to regaining full control over the key enclave after a more than month-long battle. A blistering Russian-backed assault since February 18 on the last opposition bastion near Damascus had splintered rebel territory into three shrinking pockets, each held by different factions. Damascus and its ally Moscow have implemented a "leave or die" strategy with deadly air strikes on the enclave as they look to end six years of opposition control. State television said the town of Harasta had "been emptied of terrorists" after a deal that saw fighters from Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham and their families bussed to northwestern Idlib province, still largely rebel-held. Syrian advance in Eastern Ghouta The evacuation extended regime dominance to over 90 percent of the bombed-out Ghouta enclave that the rebels have clung to through years of punishing government siege, a Britain-based war monitor said. President Bashar al-Assad's forces look set to expand their control soon over another key area after Islamist group Faylaq al-Rahman struck a deal to evacuate starting at 0700 GMT on Saturday. The agreement will see a southern stretch of territory that includes the towns of Zamalka, Arbin and Ain Tarma cleared, while talks are under way over the third and final pocket, around Ghouta's main town of Douma. The withdrawal deal came after Russian air strikes using "incendiary munitions" hit the town of Arbin late Thursday, killing 37 civilians, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. AFP reporters saw similar munitions fall on Douma. But Russia denied it was carrying out any such strikes. - 'From under the rubble' - Each one of the three pockets has come under intense bombardment, essentially forcing the rebels who control them to sue for an exit in a tactic commonly used by Assad's forces in Syria's seven-year war. The Observatory says that more than 1,600 civilians have been killed in just over a month. A picture taken from the regime-controlled outskirts of the Eastern Ghouta town of Ain Tarma on March 23, 2018 shows smoke billowing from areas targeted by government forces in nearby Hazeh, still under the control of rebel fighters Harasta's evacuation -- which began Thursday -- came as part of a deal negotiated by Russia. Syrian state media reported more than 4,500 people including over 1,400 fighters left. Fighters and civilians on Friday loaded onto a fleet of 50 buses in a buffer zone outside their former bastion before beginning the journey to Idlib. The head of the rebel-controlled local council in Harasta, Hossam al-Beiruti, described a pitiful scene as he and other residents readied to leave their town. "They came out from under the rubble. They came out of cellars they had been buried in without food," he told AFP by phone. "They emerged back to life despite their feelings of abandonment by the international community." The first batch of fighters to leave Ghouta arrived at a camp in Idlib province on Friday after spending the night on the edge of rebel-held territory. "Our situation in Harasta was very tragic," Abu Mohammed, a civilian told AFP in the town of Maarat al-Ikhwan. Syrians evacuated from the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta town of Harasta arrive at a camp for displaced people at Maaret al-Ikhwan in rebel-held territory in the northwest on March 23, 2018 "We couldn't live above ground because of the heavy bombardment... Some children stayed in basements for four months with no food. We couldn't even find fodder to eat." Retaking Eastern Ghouta, a sprawling semi-rural area which had escaped government control since 2012 and lies within mortar range of central Damascus, was made a priority this year after a string of regime gains. On the regime-held side of Harasta, an AFP correspondent said Syrian soldiers fired celebratory gunshots into the air after they heard of the deal to evacuate the second pocket of the enclave. - Scabies - Ahrar al-Sham had made some demands in talks before the evacuation but were pummelled into accepting whatever conditions were imposed to them. "The one thing they got was that they were able to leave without being killed," said Nawar Oliver, an analyst at the Turkey-based Omran Centre. A Syrian woman walks past damaged buildings after a ceasefire came into effect in Zamalka, one of the few remaining rebel-held pockets in Eastern Ghouta, on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus, on March 23, 2018 ahead of an evacuation deal Some 80 civilians were reported killed on Thursday in bombardments of the territory held by Faylaq al-Rahman before they sealed a deal for some 7,000 people to leave. "The humanitarian situation continues to be catastrophic, with no food, emergency items nor medical supplies and outbreaks of disease due to civilians stuck in crowded and insalubrious basements," Faylaq al-Rahman spokesman Wael Alwan told AFP before the deal. "There are cases of lice and scabies," the Turkey-based spokesman said. AFP video and pictures from Douma, which is controlled by the rebel faction Jaish al-Islam, showed bright white streams falling from the sky in a fashion consistent with incendiary munitions. Jaish al-Islam too opened negotiations with Russia. White streams apparently trailing incendiary munitions rain down on the largest Eastern Ghouta town of Douma before dawn on March 23, 2018 The offensive on Eastern Ghouta has caused widespread outrage and marked one of the darkest episodes of a war that entered its eighth year this month. The UN says more than 57,000 people have fled across the border to Uganda to escape the wave of violence in DR Congo's volatile Ituri province UN peacekeepers have found eight decomposing bodies in a village in the volatile Ituri province of northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the agency told AFP on Friday. A local official said the eight had been killed during a March 12-13 attack on Djugu area in which at least 30 people were killed by assailants using guns, machetes and arrows. "MONUSCU peacekeepers found eight lifeless, decomposing bodies in a village in the Djugu area yesterday," said Guy Karema, a spokesman for the UN mission who is based in Bunia, capital of the Ituri region which has been blighted by ethnic strife. The discovery was made after the peacekeepers were tipped off by a group of people who said they themselves had been in hiding "for more than a week," he said. Local chief Pilo Molindro said the eight were "victims of the latest attacks" in Djugu, which took place after a visit to the area by Interior Minister Henri Mova. "Seven people who escaped (the violence) and who spent nine days hiding in the bush, have been found," he said. Djugu lies about 75 kilometres northwest of Bunia. Since December, scores of people have been killed in a flareup of clashes involving the Hema and Lendu communities, cattle herders and farmers who have a long history of violence over access to land. The violence has so far claimed at least 130 lives, according to an unofficial toll compiled by AFP, while the UN says more than 57,000 people have fled the bloodshed, crossing the border into neighbouring Uganda. It was in Djugu that the most recent attack took place, with at least 30 people killed there on March 13 following a visit to the area by Interior Minister Henri Mova. In 2003, another surge of violence in Ituri triggered Operation Artemis, a three-month operation by the European Union -- its first military mission outside Europe. The operation averted a humanitarian catastrophe, but the fighting never came to a total halt. The full scale of the latest bout of violence in the remote province remains unclear. The conflict is part of a broader background of violence and instability in eastern DR Congo. A favouritism and cover-up scandal has battered Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's popularity Hundreds of protestors, including opposition lawmakers, demonstrated in Tokyo on Friday to demand Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resign over a favouritism and cover-up scandal that has battered his popularity. Early Friday evening, around 700 people gathered in front of the prime minister's office in light rain -- one of the largest anti-government demonstrations in recent weeks. "Let's grill Abe and make him step down," Mizuho Fukushima, a senior lawmaker of the opposition Social Democratic Party, told the crowd. Participants carried banners reading: "Abe politics is full of lies. We are sick and tired of it." The premier has been on the ropes in recent weeks amid a scandal over the cut-price sale of government land to an Abe supporter. The demonstration came as Nobuhisa Sagawa, formerly the head of the finance ministry department that oversaw the land deal, has been summoned to testify before parliament on Tuesday. The finance ministry has acknowledged that documents related to the sale were altered, including by deleting the name of Abe's wife, Akie. Protestors also called on Akie Abe to be summoned to testify before parliament, though the prime minister has sought to fend off opposition calls for her to appear. Abe has repeatedly apologised, saying he "keenly felt" his responsibility over the scandal, but denied he and his wife were involved in the affair. The premier has taken a hit in opinion polls, however, with his approval rating at its lowest level his return to power at the end of 2012. Islamic State has a small but potent presence in Afghanistan, and has claimed several high-profile attacks like the one at a Save the Children office in Jalalabad A French woman fighting for the Islamic State group in Afghanistan has been detained, Afghan officials said Friday, amid fears that IS militants fleeing Syria and Iraq are finding their way to the country. The woman was captured during a military operation in the northern province of Jowzjan -- an IS stronghold -- on Thursday night, several officials said. AFP recently reported that French and Algerian fighters, some arriving from Syria, had joined the group's Afghan franchise in the restive province. "In a joint operation between NDS and Afghan special forces, five Afghan men and a French woman fighting for IS were arrested in Darzab district of Jowzjan," the National Directorate of Security (NDS), Afghanistan's spy agency, said in a statement. The Defence Ministry confirmed that a "French insurgent woman was among those detained". Six IS fighters were also killed, it said. Afghan officials did not clarify how they identified the woman's nationality. One official described her to AFP as "French speaking". They provided no further details about the woman or where she had come from. Provincial police chief Faqir Mohammad Jawzjani told AFP that US forces were also involved in Thursday's operation. "Four Daesh fighters were killed and one French woman... was also detained," Jawzjani said, using the Arabic acronym for IS. He added that two other French IS fighters were killed in the province recently. Jawzjani said Afghan and US forces took the woman into custody -- which was confirmed by the provincial governor's spokesman Reza Ghafoori. Ghafoori said two Uzbek fighters had also been detained. But a US military spokesman for the NATO-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan declined to respond and referred AFP to NDS. - Disrupting IS - Afghan and US special forces have ramped up airstrikes and ground offensives against IS fighters in Jowzjan in recent months, which the Americans say have "disrupted" the group's capacity to use foreign fighters. In January, Afghan forces caught the group's "head facilitator of foreign forces". Two months later, his two successors were killed in a US airstrike, a Resolute Support statement on Thursday said. US and Afghan forces conducted a "nighttime raid" on Thursday in Mughul village in Darzab, the statement added. It made no mention of a French female fighter. Most of the fighters in Jowzjan were "Pakistani Pashtun", General John Nicholson, commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said in the statement. Some were from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and there was "probably 10 percent that's from a variety of sources around the world", he added. IS has a relatively small but potent presence in Afghanistan, mainly in the eastern province of Nangarhar and more recently Jowzjan. It also has cells in Kabul, and has claimed several high-profile attacks in recent months. But it is dwarfed by the much larger Taliban, which also has had at least one European in its ranks. A German national was recently arrested with the Taliban in the southern province of Helmand, Afghan officials said. Ivory Coast is the world's largest cocoa producer, but it exports most of the beans raw, meaning it doesn't capture any of the value of turning them into chocolate The World Bank will provide Ivory Coast $1 billion for development, in particular to help it get more value out of its agricultural exports, a top official for the bank's Africa region has said. Of that figure, $300 million would be set aside for the cocoa industry while another $200 million would be ploughed into cashew nut production, said Makhtar Diop, vice president of the World Bank's Africa region. Ivory Coast is the world's top cocoa-producing nation and the second largest producer of raw cashews. It currently exports most of these products raw, meaning it forgoes the jobs and revenue from processing them into products consumers eat. The funds, loans with advantageous terms, will be transferred in the first half of 2018, Diop pledged on Thursday after holding talks with Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara. Speaking to AFP, Diop hailed the country's strong economic growth and its progress since 2011, when Ivory Coast finally emerged from nearly a decade of political and military crisis which saw its economy stagnate. But he said the government needed "to do more to encourage youth employment and social inclusion" -- in other words, to push for a better distribution of the fruits of economic growth. And he stressed the need to invest more in "basic services" like education, health and drinking water, particularly in rural areas "to reduce poverty and inequality". He also urged the authorities to continue their crackdown on bureaucracy and corruption. Ivory Coast is the world's second largest producer of raw cashew nuts Last month, the World Bank in published a report pointing out the high level of poverty in Ivory Coast -- currently at 45 percent -- and the fact it was lagging behind technologically which was impacting productivity. Concerning Ivory Coast's ambition to become an emerging economy by 2020, Diop said it was more of a "direction" being taken rather than a precise calendar. The US Treasury Department accuses Iran's Mabna Institute of cyber intrusions into the computer systems of 144 US universities, and 176 universities in 21 foreign countries The United States imposed sanctions on Friday on 10 Iranians and an Iranian company for alleged hacking of hundreds of universities in the US and abroad and the theft of "valuable intellectual property and data." The Mabna Institute "engaged in the theft of personal identifiers and economic resources for private financial gain" and for the benefit of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the US Treasury Department said. The two founders of the Mabna Institute were among the 10 people whose assets are subject to US seizure, it said. The Justice Department said nine of the 10 had been indicted separately for conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and other crimes. Since 2013, the Mabna Institute carried out cyber intrusions into the computer systems of 144 US universities, the Treasury Department said, and 176 universities in 21 foreign countries. "For many of these intrusions, the defendants acted at the behest of the Iranian government and, specifically, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said in a statement. "The Department of Justice will aggressively investigate and prosecute hostile actors who attempt to profit from America's ideas by infiltrating our computer systems and stealing intellectual property," Rosenstein added. This file photo taken on February 24, 2017 shows former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton speaking to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at National Harbor, Maryland in the United States Israeli ministers on Friday hailed US President Donald Trump's choice of hardliner John Bolton as his new national security advisor, a pick denounced by a senior Palestinian official. Trump on Thursday announced that Bolton, a former United Nations ambassador and arch-hawk, would be replacing embattled army general HR McMaster in the key position. Bolton is known for his strong support for Israel and his hostility to the Jewish state's key foe Iran, and once said the idea of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is dead. Ministers from the far-right Jewish Home party and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud hailed the selection of walrus-moustached Bolton. "President Trump is continuing to appoint true friends of Israel to senior positions. John Bolton stands out among them," Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked of Jewish Home said in a statement. "The Trump administration is turning out to be the most friendly administration to Israel ever," she added. Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who leads Jewish Home, tweeted that Bolton was "an extraordinary security expert, experienced diplomat and a stalwart friend of Israel." Environment Minister Zeev Elkin of Netanyahu's Likud echoed his cabinet colleagues, telling Tel Aviv radio station 102 FM Bolton was "unquestionably a friend of Israel for many years, including in his position as US ambassador to the UN". In contrast the Palestinians reacted angrily, with Hanan Ashrawi, a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, slamming Trump's pick. "This man has a long history of hostility to Palestinians, dating to when he was at the United Nations, where he was protecting Israeli immunity," Ashrawi told AFP, referring to US vetoes of UN resolutions targeting Israel. With Bolton's appointment, she said, the Trump administration "has joined with extremist Zionists, fundamentalist Christians and white racists." "All this will lead to a devastating reality for Palestine and the region." - 'Three-state' solution - Bolton was known as a sharp-tongued and controversial UN ambassador during George W. Bush's administration who virulently defended Israel. In 2009 he wrote in The Washington Post that the idea of a two-state solution to the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict was "stillborn" and suggested giving the Palestinian territories to Egypt and Jordan. "We should look to a 'three-state' approach, where Gaza is returned to Egyptian control and the West Bank in some configuration reverts to Jordanian sovereignty," he said at the time. "Any two-state solution based on the PA (Palestinian Authority) is stillborn," he wrote. An Israeli state side by side with a Palestinian state has been the widely accepted basis for solving the Middle East conflict for decades, though Trump's administration has yet to commit to it officially. Bolton has also praised Trump's decision, announced on December 6, to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and to transfer the US embassy to the city from Tel Aviv. "We've been living in a delusion by not acknowledging the fact that Jerusalem is Israel's capital," he tweeted. Trump's Jerusalem declaration outraged Palestinians and broke with decades of international consensus that the disputed city's status must be negotiated between the two sides. Israel occupied mainly Palestinian east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community. The Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. Bolton has also strongly argued for the US to abandon the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which Trump said must be "fixed" by May 12 or the United States will walk away. Israel too has called for the deal between world powers and its nemesis Iran to be changed or cancelled. Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi (C) appears in December at a military court at the Israeli-run Ofer prison in the West Bank village of Betunia The British government said Friday that the sentencing of a Palestinian teenager for slapping an Israeli soldier was "emblematic" of the impact of the region's conflict on its youth. Ahed Tamimi, now 17, agreed an eight-month plea deal on Wednesday after a video went viral in December showing her slapping an Israeli soldier on her property in the occupied West Bank. The jail sentence was "emblematic of how the unresolved conflict is blighting the lives of a new generation", Britain's minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, said in a statement. He said London remained concerned by Israel's jailing of Palestinian children, adding that the Jewish state needed to "do much more to safeguard vulnerable people in its care". "We will continue to call upon Israel to improve its practices in line with international law and obligations," he added. Tamimi, 16 at the time of the incident, has been hailed as a hero by Palestinians who see her as bravely standing up to Israel's occupation of the West Bank. Israelis accuse her family of using Tamimi as a pawn in staged provocations. She told reporters on Wednesday before the court accepted the plea bargain agreement that "there is no justice under occupation and this is an illegitimate court". Tamimis sentence includes time served and a fine of 5,000 shekels ($1,430, 1,166 euros), meaning she is to be released in the summer. Thousands of Congolese have fled to Uganda to escape fighting Ugandan police said Friday they had arrested 10 officials working at a camp housing refugees, mainly from neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, for stealing food aid. Benon Byamukama, police chief for the region in western Uganda where the Kyaka II refugee camp is located, said they had been caught stealing maize meal and cooking oil meant for refugees at night. "Acting on a tip-off, we have arrested 10 officials from Kyaka II refugee camp including two staff of Danish Refugee Council, an implementing agency for the World Food Programme, for selling on the black market food meant for refugees," he said. "We have recovered the food and it will be used as exhibit in court," said Byamukama. Kyaka II began as a camp for Rwandan refugees in 2005, but violence in DRC has seen citizens from that country take over as the main residents. According to the United Nations refugee agency, a fresh outbreak of fighting in DRC saw an estimated 17,000 new refugees arrive in December 2017, with the camp's population now standing at about 45,000. The WFP could not be immediately reached for comment. Craigslist has shut down its personal ads section as concerns grew over unintended consequences of a law approved by Congress which could hold the website liable for promoting sex trafficking. The move by Craigslist suggested that websites may shutter or censor some content to avoid prosecution under the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) approved by Congress this week and awaiting President Donald Trump's signature. Craigslist said in a statement it ended personals over concerns the law could subject websites to criminal and civil liability for third-party content. 'Any tool or service can be misused,' the statement said. Craigslist shut down its personals section on Friday after Congress passed a bill that could hold the website liable for promoting sex trafficking Craigslist users who clicked on the personals section on Friday were greeted with this message, explaining the company's decision to take down the section 'We can't take such risk without jeopardizing all our other services, so we are regretfully taking craigslist personals offline. Hopefully we can bring them back some day.' Lawmakers contended websites such as Backpage facilitated sexual exploitation including prostitution and human trafficking through their adult services listings. Craigslist ended adult services ads in 2010. Critics of the legislation argued that it undermines a basic underpinning of the internet, which enables websites to host information from third parties without liability. The measure 'creates a host of obstacles to the free and open internet,' said Emma Llanso of the Center for Democracy and Technology, a digital rights organizations. Robyn Greene of the New America Foundation's Open Technology Institute said the law 'will result in increased censorship and harm the internet economy, hitting small businesses and start-ups the hardest, but it won't effectively combat human trafficking.' Greene added that the measure 'could even do real harm by driving the perpetrators of these horrible crimes further underground.' The White House has endorsed the bill, and Trump's daughter Ivanka hosted a meeting earlier this month with sponsors of the legislation, saying it was needed to help crack down on human trafficking using the internet. There have been multiple protests across Togo since August, with the current talks aimed at ending the crisis Talks between Togo's ruling party and the opposition resumed on Friday after a month-long pause, with Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo acting as a mediator. After an hour of debate between the two sides, Akufo-Addo decided to move to bilateral talks, meeting first with the ruling party and then with representatives of the opposition, an AFP journalist said. The talks are aimed at resolving a political stand-off that began in August and has seen thousands take to the streets in almost weekly protests against the ruling party. President Faure Gnassingbe, who has been in power since 2005, is under pressure to stand down amid calls for constitutional reform. Talks opened on February 19 but following a second meeting four days later, they were adjourned over what the opposition said was a dispute about Gnassingbe's candidacy in the 2020 election. Gnassingbe has been in power since 2005, when he took over on the death of his father, General Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled Togo for 38 years. The opposition wants a return to Togo's 1992 constitution, which set a two-term limit for presidents, applied retroactively, to prevent Gnassingbe standing in 2020 and 2025. The opposition, which had agreed to suspend its mass protests for the duration of the talks, had on March 6 threatened to resume their street demonstrations, accusing the government of not honouring a commitment about preparations for parliamentary elections. Le pape Francois recoit une delegation du Conseil des Eglises du Sud-Soudan au Vatican le 23 mars 2018 Pope Francis on Friday met representatives of the South Sudan Council of Churches and discussed how to promote peace in a country ravaged by a bloody four-year civil war. "The Pope holds the suffering people of South Sudan in his heart," said Council Secretary James Oyet Latansio following the Vatican meeting with Francis. Father Oyet Latansio said the delegation and the pontiff debated ways of resolving the Sudanese conflict that has raged since December 2013 -- just two-and-a-half years after gaining independence from Sudan. Tens of thousands have been killed in the war, with estimates ranging between 50,000 and 300,000. Another four million have been displaced, with over two million fleeing the country. In February, a UN commission identified 41 senior South Sudanese officials responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes, including gang-rapes, castrations and ethnic violence. The commission's report on human rights abuses outlined how South Sudans conflict was becoming ever more chaotic, with what began as a power struggle between President Salva Kiir and former Vice-President Riek Machar has mushroomed into a conflict involving 40 armed groups. Oyet Latansio said that Francis reiterated his desire to travel to South Sudan with the Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Anglican Church Justin Welby, a trip that the Vatican has said is not possible for security reasons. "When he comes, we will welcome him," he said. "The pope can go wherever he wants ... South Sudan has security issues, but we have come from there and we live in it. Anywhere in the world someone can pick up a gun and shoot." Asked about the fact that almost all of the political and military leaders responsible for atrocities that have scarred the country call themselves Christians, Oyet Latansio replied: "We would like know whether they are full-time or part-time Christians... they might go to mass and pray, but what are they praying for?" "Our leaders are Christians but man remains a man, and when the sense of faith and humanity runs out, he becomes a kind of devil." In the US, February orders for civilian aircraft rose 25.5 percent, reversing January's decline in the volatile sector, while military aircraft sales added 37.7 percent, recouping much of the 48.9 percent drop in the prior month A rebound in sales of defense and civilian aircraft boosted February sales of US-manufactured goods to their biggest gain in eight months, the Commerce Department reported Friday. The data was a welcome sign for economic growth in the first quarter, with the gain more than double analyst expectations. The sluggish auto sector also saw a healthy bump. With broad-based gains across multiple industrial sectors, total orders for durable goods rose 3.1 percent to $247.7 billion, rising the most since June. The result handily overshot a consensus forecast among economists, who were expecting an increase of only 1.5 percent. The bounce also offset most of January's 3.5 percent decline and put the first two months of 2018 a solid 9.1 percent above the same period last year. However, RDQ Economics said the strong manufacturing sector is sensitive to the looming threat of a trade war, amid heated confrontation between the United States and China. Uncertainty "hurts capital spending and the greatest uncertainty in the economic environment at present is the wildcard threat that US tariff actions poses to the global trading system," RDQ said in a research note. Orders for civilian aircraft rose 25.5 percent, reversing January's decline in the volatile sector, while military aircraft sales added 37.7 percent, recouping much of the 48.9 percent drop in the prior month. But excluding the highly volatile transportation sector, which sees broad swings from month to month, the report still showed 1.2 percent increase. Sales of cars and trucks, long in the doldrums, rose by 1.6 percent after being essentially flat in the prior two months. Orders for electrical equipment and appliances had their best month since July 2016, adding 2.6 percent, while non-defense capital goods, a segment that can track investment by the oil drilling industry, added 1.8 percent. Economist Mickey Levy of Berenberg Capital markets highlighted this "core" data point "which has increased for 13 consecutive months, the longest streak in the 26-year history of the series." The outsized increase "suggests that underlying manufacturing demand is strong and factory activity is poised to remain elevated in coming months," he said. The lone sour note was communications equipment, which fell 8.4 percent, the biggest monthly decline since December 2015. "I have given the firmest instructions... to track down these criminals and bring them to justice," Senegal President Macky Sall told the RFM radio station. Senegalese President Macky Sall on Friday promised to "track down" the perpetrators of a spate of child kidnappings and killings in Senegal that have sown fear among parents in the West African nation. Police said Tuesday that two children had been murdered in recent days and five more had faced kidnap attempts. Senegalese media has reported on several more such cases, so far unconfirmed officially. "I have given the firmest instructions... to track down these criminals and bring them to justice," Sall told the RFM radio station. "Senegal will do more than in the past to halt these terrible acts," he added. Criminality and the use of children in ritual ceremonies have both been blamed, but the police have not detailed any motive for the killings. The latest case confirmed on Tuesday was a toddler found dead in Rufisque, a town close to the capital, Dakar. Parents have spoken of their fear to even let their children play outside, despite the upcoming school holidays. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to expand a military campaign in Syria to other Kurdish-held areas up to the Iraqi border The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) said on Friday it would pull out its fighters from northwestern Iraq after Ankara warned it could launch an attack on their strongholds. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday vowed to expand a military campaign in Syria to other Kurdish-held areas up to the Iraqi border. The KCK, considered the PKK's political branch, said fighters who were deployed in Iraq's Sinjar region to protect the Kurdish-speaking Yazidi minority from the brutality of the Islamic State group would be withdrawn. "We have decided to withdraw our guerrilla forces from Shengal," it said in a statement using another name for Sinjar. "Guerrillas intervened in Shengal in order to rescue the Ezidis (Yazidis) from genocide... With this goal achieved, guerrillas are withdrawing from Shengal," it added. Local sources in the region said the PKK has 2,000 fighters deployed in the Sinjar area. On Monday, Turkish troops and allied Syrian fighters ousted the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia from the city of Afrin in northern Syria after a nearly two-month offensive. Erdogan described Afrin's capture as a "major stage" but said more would follow. "We marked a comma. God willing a full stop will come next," he said. He spoke of a possible operation against PKK camps in the Sinjar region, adding that he had told Iraqi authorities to deal with those camps. "If (Baghdad) cannot, we may turn up in Sinjar suddenly one night and clean up the PKK there," Erdogan said. Outlawed by Ankara, the PKK has waged a bloody insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, and Turkey also considers the YPG a terrorist group. US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, says the UN Human Rights Council treats Israel worse than North Korea, Iran and Syria The United States warned Friday that it was losing patience and again threatened to quit the UN Human Rights Council after the Geneva-based body adopted five resolutions condemning Israel. US Ambassador Nikki Haley said in a statement that the council was "grossly biased against Israel," noting that it had adopted only three resolutions separately targeting North Korea, Iran and Syria. "When the Human Rights Council treats Israel worse than North Korea, Iran, and Syria, it is the council itself that is foolish and unworthy of its name," said Haley. "Our patience is not unlimited. Today's actions make clear that the organization lacks the credibility needed to be a true advocate for human rights," she said. Haley has over the past year repeatedly warned that the United States was ready to walk away from the 47-member body established in 2006 to promote and protect human rights worldwide. The five resolutions were presented by the countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation under the council's "agenda item 7" which concerns Israel. Israel is the only country that has a dedicated agenda item at the council, a mechanism that the United States and some European countries view as inappropriate. The latest threat to quit the council came after President Donald Trump appointed UN-skeptic John Bolton as his national security adviser. Since Trump took over at the White House, the United States has quit the UN cultural agency UNESCO, cut UN funding and announced plans to quit the UN-backed Paris climate agreement. Brad Smith, President and Chief Legal Officer of Microsoft, is seen outside the Supreme Court ahead of arguments in a case over cross-broder warrants for digital evidence, which could be rendered moot by a law enacted by Congress A measure signed into law Friday by President Donald Trump changes the rules for cross-border law enforcement requests to internet firms and could render moot a long-running court battle between the US government and Microsoft. The CLOUD Act, inserted in a massive spending bill signed by the president, was designed to streamline the process for law enforcement seeking digital evidence, but it has been roundly criticized by civil liberties and digital rights activists. US lawmakers drafted the bill in response to the court battle in which Microsoft refused to turn over the contents of an email account used by a suspected drug trafficker whose data is stored in a cloud computing center in Ireland. The case was argued earlier this year in the Supreme Court, as government attorneys argued that a win for Microsoft could set up a scenario in which police might never be able to access digital evidence because of how it is scatted across the internet "cloud." The legislation -- Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data -- was backed by Microsoft and other major tech companies, which reasoned that it provides a clear legal framework for handing over data both to US authorities and to foreign governments. Microsoft president Brad Smith said in a blog post this week the measure offers "a modern legal framework for how law enforcement agencies can access data across borders," while offering privacy protections. By speeding up the law enforcement process with safeguards, tech firms hoped to stem a trend toward "data localization" in which some countries insist any digital information on their citizens be kept on local soil. The new law enables the US Justice Department to establish agreements with other countries to speed up data requests, bypassing the existing lengthy diplomatic process, by certifying those countries enforce privacy and civil liberties. - Open to abuse? - Law enforcement requests for digital evidence can be complicated because of how data is stored in cloud computing centers around the world But some activists said the new law could open the door to increased surveillance and erode protections for human rights activists, journalists and others. With the new law in place, "US and foreign police will have new mechanisms to seize data across the globe," said David Ruiz of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "Your private emails, your online chats, your Facebook, Google, Flickr photos, your Snapchat videos, your private lives online, your moments shared digitally between only those you trust, will be open to foreign law enforcement without a warrant and with few restrictions on using and sharing your information." Critics said the law lacks adequate safeguards against foreign governments' abuse of human rights standards. It "fails to impose limits on foreign governments' real-time collection of communications that mirror those that would be required of the US government," said Robyn Greene of the New America Foundation. "It also does not define what constitutes 'serious crimes' under the bill, and leaves interpretation of that inherently vague concept to the discretion of the foreign government." Some analysts say the new law will enable the Supreme Court to sidestep a difficult choice -- whether to give the US government broad authority to obtain data stored anywhere, or allowing cloud firms to keep data out of reach for law enforcement. But law professor Jennifer Daskal of American University argues the CLOUD Act is positive for privacy and civil liberties. "For the first time, the bill sets up a mechanism for the US government to review what foreign governments do with data once it is turned over," Daskal said in a blog post with Peter Swire of the Georgia Institute of Technology. "This is a privacy win." The post said that "the status quo is not sustainable" because foreign governments have become frustrated by what they see "as an imperialist attempt to insist that foreign governments obtain a warrant issued by a US judge even for data needed in the investigation of local crimes." WASHINGTON (AP) - John Bolton, President Donald Trump's incoming national security adviser - and his third to date - is a divisive foreign policy figure who was an unabashed supporter of the Iraq war and advocates regime change in Iran. The rise of the mustached Bolton, a former U.N. ambassador under President George W. Bush who served in three federal agencies under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, is likely to herald a rightward shift in Trump's foreign policy and an embrace of more hard-line policies. Bolton, 69, has been an especially outspoken critic of the Iran nuclear agreement. Trump had campaigned against the deal and vowed to end it, but instead heeded the advice of two outgoing aides, national security adviser H.R. McMaster and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, to delay the move. FILE - In this Feb. 24, 2017, file photo, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Oxon Hill, Md. President Donald is replacing National security adviser H.R. McMaster with Bolton. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) Since firing Tillerson and announcing his intent to replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, Trump has signaled he is eager to make good on his promise on Iran. On Tuesday he coyly said, "You're gonna see what I do." Trump had originally considered choosing Bolton, a Fox News contributor, as his secretary of state. But Bolton's background complicated his chances for Senate confirmation. When George W. Bush became president, Bolton served as the State Department's point-man on arms control, where he battled other governments over nuclear weapons tests, land mines, biological weapons, ballistic missile limits and the International Criminal Court. An unabashed proponent of American power and a strong supporter of the Iraq war, Bolton was unable to win Senate confirmation after his nomination to the U.N. post turned off many Democrats and even some Republicans. He resigned after serving 17 months as a Bush "recess appointment," which allowed him to hold the job on a temporary basis without Senate confirmation. The human rights group Amnesty International called Trump's choice "reckless." "Bolton's influence over national security policy could result in even more civilian deaths and potentially unlawful killings given his disdain for international law and international institutions," Zeke Johnson, Senior Director of Programs at Amnesty International USA, said Thursday night. In recent years, Trump has denounced the U.S. invasion of Iraq, describing it as a waste of lives and money - though his contemporaneous views were less clear. He has also been critical of Bush and Republicans for their support of the nearly nine-year conflict, which saw more than 4,400 American service-members killed and more than 31,000 wounded. Bolton has maintained a pair of political committees, which he has used to funnel political support to hawkish candidates. The top donor to the groups was Robert Mercer, who has given $5 million to Bolton's super PAC in recent years. Mercer was also a top supporter of Trump's campaign. Bolton, who was born in Baltimore and graduated summa cum laude from Yale, briefly flirted with running for president in 2015, making campaign trips to early states and candidate cattle-calls. He and Trump have met regularly since Trump took office. Bolton is Trump's third national security adviser. He brought in McMaster to replace Michael Flynn, who, along with Trump's deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates and campaign aide George Papadopoulos, has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Flynn is now cooperating with investigators looking into potential collusion between Russia and Trump's campaign and other potential misdeeds by Trump and those in the president's orbit. __ Follow Colvin and Miller on Twitter at https://twitter.com/colvinj and https://twitter.com/ZekeJMiller LOS ANGELES (AP) - A former Playboy model apologized to first lady Melania Trump for a 10-month affair she claims she had with President Donald Trump that started with him offering her money after the first time they had sex. During an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper that aired Thursday night, Karen McDougal said Trump tried to pay her after their first sexual tryst at a bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 2006. "Well, after we had been intimate, he, he tried to pay me. And I actually didn't know how to take that," she said. "But I looked at him and I said, 'That's not me. I'm not that kind of girl.'" In this March 19, 2018, photo, President Donald Trump, accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, on his return from a trip to New Hampshire. Former Playboy model Karen McDougal apologized to Melania Trump for a 10-month affair she claims she had with President Trump that started with him offering her money after the first time they had sex. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) She cried on the way home and didn't think she would see him again, but agreed to go on other dates with him after he called her back, she said. McDougal repeatedly described Trump as "very charming" and "sweet." McDougal said she continued the relationship with Trump for about 10 months and broke it off in April 2007 because she felt guilty. She recalled traveling to meet Trump at his properties in New York, New Jersey and California and said she had sex with him "many dozens of times." McDougal had feelings for Trump, but the affair was "just tearing me apart," she said. "There was a real relationship there. There were real feelings," she said. "He would call me baby or he would call me beautiful Karen." Trump married his current wife, Melania Trump, in 2005, and their son, Barron, was born in 2006. Speaking to CNN - which her attorney has said would be her only interview about the relationship - McDougal apologized when she was asked what she would say to Melania Trump. "What can you say except, I'm sorry?" McDougal said. "I'm sorry. I wouldn't want it done to me." McDougal said she never wanted to discuss her relationship and repeatedly rebuffed inquiries from reporters about the alleged affair. But after the story became public, she wanted to get out and tell her side of what happened, she said. The White House has said Trump denies having an affair with McDougal and did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the interview Thursday night. On Tuesday, she filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles against the company that owns the supermarket tabloid National Enquirer, which she said paid her $150,000 during the presidential campaign for the rights to her story of an affair, but never ran the story. McDougal's lawsuit, which asks a judge to invalidate the contract, alleges that Trump's attorney, Michael Cohen, was secretly involved in her discussions with the tabloid's parent company, American Media, Inc. The company has said that McDougal has been allowed to speak about her relationship since 2016 and the contract gave them discretion over whether to publish the story. ___ This story has been corrected to reflect style on first lady. ___ Associated Press writer Jill Colvin in Washington contributed to this report. SAN DIEGO (AP) - The defense team of a Marine accused in a fatal stabbing on a California Marine Corps base argued Thursday that the death was a tragic accident and the two friends were playing around with a knife. Pfc. Raymond W. Begay faces charges of murder and obstruction of justice in the death of 18-year-old Pfc. Ethan Barclay-Weberpal, who died the morning of Jan. 16 after being stabbed while sitting in formation with a platoon of Marines at the School of Infantry at Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego. Several troops testifying for the defense said the death was an accident at a preliminary hearing Thursday at Camp Pendleton, according to the Orange County Register. The hearing - known as an Article 32 in the Uniform Code of Military Justice - allows the defense and prosecution to introduce evidence and arguments. Both sides must submit written arguments as well. The convening authority will then determine what level of court martial is ordered. Begay immediately admitted to training instructors that he stabbed Barclay-Weberpal, witnesses testified. Defense attorneys say Begay should be charged with involuntary manslaughter not murder. "This was just dumb kids doing dumb things," testified defense witness Pfc. Rhett Glubka. "I don't think he (Begay) thought about what could have happened." The family of Barclay-Weberpal, of Janesville, Wisconsin, listened via teleconference. Lance Cpl. Gavin Shorter testified that he was behind Begay when the stabbing occurred. "No one thought he was seriously wounded," Shorter said. "There was no scream or anything." Shorter testified that he saw Begay reach over Barclay-Weberpal's right shoulder and place the knife into the left side of his chest but "I don't believe it was intentional, sir," he told Maj. Nelson Candelario, one of three members of Begay's defense team. "There was no anger, no argument, no conflict. We were all good friends." He said the other Marines saw blood coming from Barclay-Weberpal's chest and tried to tug at his shirt to cover it up, but "we didn't think it was fatal and we didn't want to get into trouble. After we got out of formation, we were going to help him." Shorter said Begay was known to play with knives and had made stabbing motions at inanimate objects such as mattresses and lockers. He described Begay as a level-headed kid - a "solid Marine." He also said Begay appeared pale and scared and "just shook-up" after the incident. Shorter testified that Begay was playing around with a knife before he stabbed Barclay-Weberpal. Maj. Tanzania Jaysura, lead trial prosecutor, said she had testimony from at least three other Marines who said Begay was known to have threatened to stab other Marines and that some had told him to stop because it made them uncomfortable. She said she also had testimony showing Begay left the bleacher area after the stabbing to wash blood from his knife. "The knife was not the type of knife that retracts and opens to the front and witnesses will say they saw him play with the knife before the stabbing and that words were exchanged and that he intentionally put the knife into Barclay-Weberpal's left chest, into his heart," Jaysura said. She said the left ventricle of his heart was punctured with only one stab wound. "It was a deep puncture wound," she said. "Rather than getting help, he went to put the knife away - that's where we believe we have obstruction of justice." ___ Information from: The Orange County Register, http://www.ocregister.com PATNA, India (AP) - A big explosion ignited a fire at an illegal firecracker factory in an eastern Indian town, killing at least five workers and injuring another 12, police said Friday. Police officer Sudhir Kumar Porika said the injured have been hospitalized, five of them in critical condition. The dead included three children of the factory operator, who was running it without a license in a rented home in Biharsharif, a town 70 kilometers (45 miles) southeast of Patna, the capital of Bihar state. The cause of the explosion around midnight Thursday is being investigated. Its impact damaged four nearby buildings as well, Porika said. India has a huge demand for firecrackers, which are used in religious festivals and weddings. There are fatal accidents nearly every year in India as people work in makeshift factories in the absence of proper safety standards. In June last year, 23 workers were killed when a blast occurred while they were producing firecrackers in a village in Madhya Pradesh state. HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - The Latest on a condominium fire in Vietnam (all times local): 11:30 a.m. Vietnam's state media say police rescued more than 100 residents from a condominium fire in Ho Chi Minh City and more than 1,000 escaped the fire themselves. In this image taken from video, cranes are used to rescue people from a condominium complex during a fire in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Friday, March 23, 2018. The fire killed over a dozen people, most of them died of suffocation or jumping from high floors. (VnExpress via AP) The blaze early Friday morning killed at least 13 people and injured 27 others. It's not known if there are others missing. More than 700 apartments are in the three-building complex. State media quoted fire officials as saying the smoke spread because doors that separated the garage from the upper floors were left open when they should have been closed. The fire started in the basement garage. ___ 9 a.m. A city official says a fire at a condominium complex in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City has killed at least 13 people and injured another 27. The city fire and police department official says it's unclear whether anyone is missing in the blaze early Friday morning and declined to give more details. More than 700 apartments in the three buildings were built six years ago. The official Vietnam News Agency reported that most people died of suffocation or jumping from high floors. It said the blaze started in the basement parking area and took more than 200 firefighters more than an hour to put under control. In 2002, a fire at a trade center in the southern commercial hub's downtown killed 60 people in one of Vietnam's worst fires. LAS VEGAS (AP) - Kaitlynn Willoughby was frustrated by how quickly gun control debates stalled after the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Her friend, 20-year-old Quinton Robbins, was among the 58 people killed Oct. 1 at a country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. By the holidays, just weeks later, calls for change dissipated. "No one was listening to us yet," the 18-year-old high school senior said. "After Las Vegas, it was just another shooting." In this Wednesday, March 21, 2018, photo, Sophia Adams, a freshman at Clark High School works on a poster in Las Vegas, ahead of a planned Saturday rally in Las Vegas echoing ones being held in other cities to call for gun control. The message Adams is working on says, "It Isn't About Dem vs Rep, It's About Saving Lives." (AP Photo/Ken Ritter) Willoughby is among those planning to march this weekend in rallies worldwide inspired by high school students in Parkland, Florida, who turned their own mass shooting last month into a rallying cry. "The Parkland event allowed us to gain traction," Willoughby said. "Those students refused to be silent. They started in Florida and it spread nationwide." Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are anchoring a rally against gun violence Saturday in Washington, D.C., with hundreds of other marches set for cities across the globe. The protests follow widespread student walkouts last week, including at schools in Las Vegas, a city still scarred by its own massacre. Unlike the gambling destination, where many shooting victims were out-of-town tourists, Florida survivors spearheaded large state and national demonstrations and sweeping state gun legislation. After the Vegas shooting, vigils and "Vegas Strong" rallies filled street corners, but activism for gun legislation was less focused. Efforts in Congress to ban "bump stocks," devices used in the massacre that allow guns to fire like assault weapons, went nowhere. The Nevada Legislature was not in session. Now, students and survivors are joining protests launched by Florida youth and expect as many as 10,000 demonstrators Saturday in Las Vegas. Shae Turner, who would be marching if she weren't leaving town, escaped the outdoor concert through a hail of gunfire with her best friend. Some of her classmates at Faith Lutheran High School weren't so lucky: Two were wounded as bullets rained down from the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino across the street. "People that I see every day, they've forgotten," the high school junior said. "They've moved on. We're completely different." Turner remembers grabbing her friend's hand, ducking behind palm trees during barrages of gunfire, and running to a casino to take shelter until their parents arrived. "Other kids are passionate about it and will post about it on social media, but they don't understand how it changes your life forever," Turner said of mass shooting survivors. "It's just sad to me, the demographic of teenagers and children having to live a life where they are affected by gun violence." Unanswered questions about the gunman's motive are certain to be on marchers' minds. The shooter was a 64-year-old real estate investor and high-stakes poker gambler who meticulously amassed assault-style weapons and fired for 10 minutes into a concert crowd of 22,000 people, authorities say. He then killed himself. Survivor and San Francisco resident Stephanie Wellek said she's overcoming some fears to return to Las Vegas for the first time since the shooting to speak at the event. "It's partly for healing. I expect tears," she said as she worried about being back in a crowd surrounded by tall buildings. Officials say dozens of police officers and city marshals will monitor the march and rally. "But this feels good to be expending energy toward a solution," Wellek said. Connor Leeming, a high school senior whose campus hosted teach-ins instead of walkouts last week, said some classmates told him their Second Amendment rights are under attack. "It's not good for democracy when people isolate themselves and are not open to listening to other people," said Leeming, who recalled attending the funeral of a classmate's mother who died in the shooting. Karl Catarata, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas, political science student who has spent weeks organizing student actions at UNLV, high schools and now City Hall, said he felt like he was part of a budding grass-roots movement. He said the Saturday rally is about enacting comprehensive gun reform at the state and national level and "making sure people who are a danger to themselves and other people don't have access to automatic weapons." "How audacious is it for kids who are young to be upset that their classmates are dying?" Catarata asked. "All these students are mobilizing. They're the next generation and the next voters." In this Wednesday, March 21, 2018, photo, Kaitlynn Willoughby, a senior at Clark High School in Las Vegas, talks ahead of a planned Saturday rally in Las Vegas echoing ones being held in other cities to call for gun control. Las Vegas high school student Willoughby says it seems like the massacre that killed her friend last year became just another shooting. That is until Florida students turned their own mass shooting last month into a rallying cry. (AP Photo/Ken Ritter) In this Wednesday, March 21, 2018, photo, Connor Leeming, a senior at Palo Verde High School in Las Vegas, talks ahead of a planned Saturday rally in Las Vegas, echoing ones being held in other cities to call for gun control. Leeming, a high school senior whose campus hosted teach-ins instead of walkouts last week, said some classmates told him their Second Amendment rights are under attack. (AP Photo/Ken Ritter) NEW YORK (AP) - A New York City firefighter died early Friday battling a fierce blaze on a movie set after getting separated from his fellow firefighters in the thick smoke. The fire started in the cellar of a former jazz club as the crew of "Motherless Brooklyn," directed by Edward Norton, was nearing the end of its working day at 11 p.m. Thursday. Flames poured out the windows as firefighters stormed into the five-story Harlem building, dumping water on the blaze to get it under control. Firefighter Michael R. Davidson of Engine Co. 69 was assigned to the nozzle on the lead hose-line and pushed into the burning basement. Firefighters work at the scene of a fire Friday, March 23, 2018 that began overnight in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. Firefighter Michael R. Davidson of Engine Company 69, died after he became separated from his unit as they battled the fierce, smoky blaze that broke out in the basement of a former Harlem jazz club being used as a film set for "Motherless Brooklyn," directed by Edward Norton. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz) But the blaze was too much. Firefighters had to back out, and the 15-year Fire Department veteran was separated from his colleagues. Firefighters searched desperately for him, and he was found unconscious after suffering severe smoke inhalation, Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said. Davidson was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after midnight. "Our city lost a hero," Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a tweet before visiting the fire scene Friday evening. The Democrat called Davidson's death "a heartbreaking tragedy for the entire city." Davidson, a second-generation firefighter, had been cited four times for bravery during 15 years on the job. The building was being used to film the adaptation of the Jonathan Lethem novel of the same name. Norton was directing and starring, along with Bruce Willis, Willem Dafoe and Alec Baldwin. Neighborhood resident Daquan Evans, 28, told the New York Post he saw Norton at the scene. "He looked pretty upset," Evans said. "This is crazy, this fire. You think a movie comes up here and it is good for the neighborhood. Not a fire . . . damn." The cause of the five-alarm fire was under investigation. The building, built in 1920, is a landmark and was home to the former St. Nick's Jazz Pub, a venerable bar that was closed in 2011. Neighbor Joan Adams said she saw white smoke, then black, billowing from basement windows in the front of the building. But when she went into her backyard, two buildings away, she could see flames. "It was really scary," she said. The movie's producers said crews immediately called the fire department when they noticed smoke coming into the set and other parts of the building. "We watched firsthand with astonishment as they charged into the smoke to make sure all were safely out and then fought to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading, putting their lives on the line as they do every day," the producers said in a statement sending condolences to the firefighter's family. Background actor Ambroise Ironfence said the movie crew wasn't using any open fire during the shoot and the building's power wasn't on. "All the equipment we were using ... the power came from the truck outside," he told WCBS-TV. The movie crew didn't need a city film production permit to work at the building because it was a private residence. The filmmakers did need a street parking permit and had one, officials said. The building owner's phone number wasn't accepting messages Friday; nor was the phone for a lawyer who has represented him in real-estate cases. An email message to the owner failed. Neighbors said the movie crew had set up a sign that read "King Rooster Jazz Club" and began filming about two weeks ago. Cars from the 1950s era lined the street. Douglas Miller, who lives across the street in a second-floor apartment, said the fire traveled fast and went all the way to the roof. He saw firefighters carry out one of their own, on a stretcher, and try to resuscitate him and give him oxygen. "They tried to save him, but they couldn't," Miller said, and soon the firefighter was being rushed to a hospital. Later Friday, Davidson's body was taken to a suburban funeral home in a procession of fire trucks, getting somber salutes from firefighters stationed along the route. Davidson, 37, was the son and brother of New York City firefighters. His father is now retired. "You haven't heard a scream until you've heard the scream of a mother who's seen her son give his life to protect us," tweeted the mayor's spokesman, Eric Phillips. Davidson leaves behind a wife, Eileen, and four children under 8. Neighbors described him as a salt-of-the-earth guy, a great friend, father and husband. "He was a great guy - he went up and down and did everybody's sidewalk in the snow. He was playing with the kids in the snow yesterday," said Joanne Caldon. Two other firefighters suffered burns and were in serious condition, and three others were injured, Nigro said. ___ This story has been corrected to show the last name of Mayor Bill de Blasio's spokesman is Phillips, not Philips. This photo provided by New York Fire Department shows FDNY Firefighter Michael R. Davidson of Engine Company 69. Davidson was killed after a massive fire broke out at a building in the Harlem section of New York, Thursday, March 22, 2108, where a movie directed by Edward Norton was being shot. Davidson, a 15-year department veteran is survived by a wife and four children. (New York Fire Department via AP) Firefighters work at the scene of a overnight fire that began Thursday, March 22, 2018, in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. Firefighter Michael R. Davidson of Engine Company 69, died after he became separated from his unit as they battled the fierce, smoky blaze that broke out in the basement of a former Harlem jazz club being used as a film set for "Motherless Brooklyn," directed by Edward Norton. (AP Photo/J.E. Alexander) Firefighters work at the scene of a fire Friday, March 23, 2018, that began overnight in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. Firefighter Michael R. Davidson of Engine Company 69, died after he became separated from his unit as they battled the fierce, smoky blaze that broke out in the basement of a former Harlem jazz club being used as a film set for "Motherless Brooklyn," directed by Edward Norton. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz) Firefighters work at the scene of a overnight fire that began Thursday, March 22, 2018, in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. Firefighter Michael R. Davidson of Engine Company 69, died after he became separated from his unit as they battled the fierce, smoky blaze that broke out in the basement of a former Harlem jazz club being used as a film set for "Motherless Brooklyn," directed by Edward Norton. (AP Photo/J.E. Alexander) An police officer keeps watch outside a burned out building, the scene of a overnight fatal fire on Friday, March 23, 2018, in New York. Firefighter Michael R. Davidson of Engine Company 69, died after he became separated from his unit as they battled a fierce, smoky blaze that broke out in the basement of a former Harlem jazz club being used as a film set. (AP Photo/Kevin Hagen) Police tape lies with power cables outside the scene of a overnight fatal fire on Friday, March 23, 2018, in New York. Firefighter Michael R. Davidson of Engine Company 69, died after he became separated from his unit as they battled a fierce, smoky blaze that broke out in the basement of a former Harlem jazz club being used as a film set. (AP Photo/Kevin Hagen) Firefighters work at the scene of a overnight fire that began Thursday, March 22, 2018, in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. Firefighter Michael R. Davidson of Engine Company 69, died after he became separated from his unit as they battled the fierce, smoky blaze that broke out in the basement of a former Harlem jazz club being used as a film set for "Motherless Brooklyn," directed by Edward Norton. (AP Photo/J.E. Alexander) Firefighters work at the scene of a overnight fire that began Thursday, March 22, 2018, in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. Firefighter Michael R. Davidson of Engine Company 69, died after he became separated from his unit as they battled the fierce, smoky blaze that broke out in the basement of a former Harlem jazz club being used as a film set for "Motherless Brooklyn," directed by Edward Norton. (AP Photo/J.E. Alexander) This photo provided by WPIX-11 shows New York Firefighters at the scene of a raging fire at an unoccupied residential building being used as a film set in the Harlem section of New York on Thursday, March 22, 2018. Firefighter Michael R. Davidson of Engine Company 69 was killed after getting separated from other firefighters inside the building as conditions deteriorated and had lost consciousness when he was found by fellow firefighters. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. (WPIX-11 via AP) Neighbors look over a burned out building, the scene of a overnight fatal fire on Friday, March 23, 2018, in New York. Firefighter Michael R. Davidson of Engine Company 69, died after he became separated from his unit as they battled a fierce, smoky blaze that broke out in the basement of a former Harlem jazz club being used as a film set. (AP Photo/Kevin Hagen) BERLIN (AP) - German police are investigating an apparent far-right protest against the country's migration policies outside Chancellor Angela Merkel's constituency office. Stralsund police said Friday they were called late Thursday to investigate what was set up to look like a memorial outside the office. It consisted of roses, 14 candles and four photos of young women, with "Islam belongs to Germany?" written in chalk on the sidewalk. The dpa news agency said four candles were labeled "Identitarian Movement" - a white nationalist movement that Germany's domestic intelligence considers extremist and has under observation. Outside view of German chancellor Angela Merkel's constituency office in Stralsund, eastern Germany, Friday, March 23, 2018. German police are investigating an apparent far-right protest against the country's migration policies outside Chancellor Angela Merkel's constituency office. Stralsund police said they were called late Thursday to investigate what was set up to look like a memorial outside the office. It consisted of roses, 14 candles and four photos of young women, with "Islam belongs to Germany?" written in chalk on the sidewalk. Police removed the items. (Stefan Sauer/dpa via AP) The photos carried the names Maria, Keira, Mia and Mireille. Young women of those names have been recent victims of violence blamed on migrants or people of foreign background. Police say it's not clear whether any crime was committed. Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today: 1. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE CALLS "LONG-TERM SNAP DECISIONS" National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster departure spotlights mercurial decision-making when it comes to staffing the top ranks of government. A woman wearing a uniform with the logo of an American produce company helps a customer shop for apples a supermarket in Beijing, Friday, March 23, 2018. China announced a $3 billion list of U.S. goods including pork, apples and steel pipe on Friday that it said may be hit with higher tariffs in a spiraling trade dispute with President Donald Trump that companies and investors worry could depress global commerce. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) 2. LAST MINUTE FINANCING DEAL AVOIDS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN Congress gave final approval Friday to a giant $1.3 trillion spending bill that ends the budget battles for now. 3. WHERE PUSHBACK IS COMING FROM ON TRUMP'S TARIFFS China announces a $3 billion list of U.S. goods like pork and apples for possible retaliation in dispute over Trump's duties hike on steel and aluminum imports. 4. GUN-PROTESTING TEENS TAKE LEAD IN GLOBAL MOVEMENT The students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have spearheaded what could become one of the largest marches in history with nearly 1 million people expected Saturday in Washington and more than 800 sister marches from California to Japan. 5. THE DIFFICULTIES IN THE SEARCH FOR AUSTIN BOMBER There were many wrong leads in the three-week search that eventually led to Mark Anthony Conditt, an unemployed community college dropout who blew himself up as officers closed in. 6. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE FACEBOOK CRISIS Facebook is facing the most serious crisis in its 14-year history due to a major leak of user data to political consultants associated with the 2016 Trump campaign. 7. WHERE PROTESTS BEGAN AFTER ANOTHER POLICE SHOOTING Protesters are decrying this week's fatal shooting of an unarmed black man - they marched from Sacramento City Hall and onto a nearby freeway, disrupting rush hour traffic. 8. DOZENS OF MASSIVE MARINE MAMMALS PERISH More than 150 whales have become stranded in Hamelin Bay in western Australia, and only 15 of them were still alive on Friday. 9. HOW VARIETY AND QUALITY ARE ADVANCING NONFICTION MOTION PICTURES It feels like a golden age for documentaries, which are increasingly available across the TV and film spectrum. 10. MARCH MADNESS CONTINUES IN SWEET 16 The marquee matchup comes in the East Region Friday in Boston, where Villanova, one of two No. 1 seeds remaining, faces West Virginia. Children walk hand-in-hand as demonstrators protest the fatal shooting Sunday of an unarmed black man in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, March 22, 2018. Hundreds of people rallied for Stephon Clark, a 22-year-old who was shot in his grandparents' backyard. Police say they feared he had a handgun when they confronted him after reports that he had been breaking windows, but he only had a cellphone. (AP Photo/Robert Petersen) Aalayah Eastmond, left, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Calif., David Hogg, also a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., wait to speak as survivors of gun violence, congressional lawmakers, and advocates, urged Congress to pass gun safety legislation ahead of the Saturday March For Our Lives, Thursday, March 22, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) A robot is prepared for use at the scene of Walnut and 2nd Street in Pflugerville, Texas, on Wednesday, March 21, 2018 where Austin, Texas bombing suspect Mark Anthony Conditt lived. As a SWAT team closed in, the suspected bomber whose deadly explosives terrorized Austin for three weeks used one of his own devices to blow himself up early Wednesday. (Tom Reel/The San Antonio Express-News via AP) BAGHDAD (AP) - A Kurdish rebel group will withdraw from the town of Sinjar in northern Iraq on Friday, it said in a statement, following threats of attack from Turkey's president who has launched a series of airstrikes against suspected Kurdish rebel camps over the past week. The Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, said it moved into Sinjar to protect the Yezidi people "from genocide" at the hands of the Islamic State group and are now withdrawing "having reached that aim," according to the statement. PKK fighters moved into Sinjar - about 75 miles (120 kilometers) west of Mosul - in 2015 with an offensive led by Iraqi Kurdish fighters known as the Peshmerga and backed by the U.S.-led coalition. FILE - in this Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007 file photo, members of the Kurdistan Workers' party, known by its Kurdish acronym PKK, are seen near the Iraqi-Turkish border, northern Iraq. A Kurdish rebel group says they are withdrawing from Iraq's Sinjar following threats of attack from Turkey. The Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, says in a statement Friday, March 23, 2018 the "Iraqi government's position and the fact that the Kurdish community had managed to organize itself" have removed security fears in the area. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, File) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to expand an ongoing military offensive in the Syrian town of Afrin into other Kurdish-held areas across northern Syria and even into neighboring Iraq. "We'll continue this process until we completely abolish this corridor," Erdogan said earlier this week, referring to a string of Kurdish-held town in northern Syria. "One night, we could suddenly enter Sinjar." Turkey has launched a number of strikes against suspected PKK camps in Iraq's north over the past week. It views the PKK and some U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in Syria as terrorists. Earlier, Iraq's Foreign Ministry condemned Turkey's attacks in northern Iraq, describing them as "violations" that led to the death of a number of civilians in a statement released late Thursday. Also on Friday, Turkey's prime minister said his country was partially reopening its airspace to flights to Iraq's Kurdish region, after the central government restored authority at airports in the area. Binali Yildirim said the airspace would be open to commercial and civilian flights to and from the city of Irbil but flights to the city of Suleymaniyah would not be permitted. He cited security concerns stemming from alleged Kurdish rebel activity targeting Turkey from the Suleymaniyah region. Turkey has shut down its airspace to flights to the Kurdish region following a controversial referendum vote in northern Iraq's self-ruled Kurdish region six months ago that overwhelmingly backed independence from Baghdad. The referendum was vehemently rejected by Baghdad, Turkey and Iraq's other neighbors, ratcheting up tensions in the region. ___ Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey. Associated Press writer Andrea Rosa in Irbil, Iraq contributed to this report. FILE - in this Friday, Oct. 26, 2007 file photo, a member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, known by its Kurdish acronym PKK, is seen near the Iraqi-Turkish border, northern Iraq. A Kurdish rebel group says they are withdrawing from Iraq's Sinjar following threats of attack from Turkey. The Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, says in a statement Friday, March 23, 2018 the "Iraqi government's position and the fact that the Kurdish community had managed to organize itself" have removed security fears in the area. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, File) FILE - in this Friday, Aug 13, 2010 file photo, members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, are seen in the Qandil mountain range, Iraq. A Kurdish rebel group says they are withdrawing from Iraq's Sinjar following threats of attack from Turkey. The Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, says in a statement Friday, March 13, 2018 the "Iraqi government's position and the fact that the Kurdish community had managed to organize itself" have removed security fears in the area. (AP Photo/Yahya Ahmed, File) FILE - in this Friday, Dec. 18, 2009 file photo, a member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, trains on a weapon at their camp in the Qandil mountains near the Turkish border with northern Iraq. A Kurdish rebel group says they are withdrawing from Iraq's Sinjar following threats of attack from Turkey. The Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, says in a statement Friday, March 23, 2018 the "Iraqi government's position and the fact that the Kurdish community had managed to organize itself" have removed security fears in the area. (AP Photo/Yahya Ahmed, File) FILE - in this Tuesday, May 14, 2013 file photo, a group of armed Kurdish fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) enter northern Iraq in the Heror area, northeast of Dahuk, 260 miles (430 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq. A Kurdish rebel group says they are withdrawing from Iraq's Sinjar following threats of attack from Turkey. The Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, says in a statement Friday, March 23, 2018 the "Iraqi government's position and the fact that the Kurdish community had managed to organize itself" have removed security fears in the area. (AP Photo/Ceerwan Aziz, File) BEIRUT (AP) - The Latest on conflict in Syria (all times local): 5 p.m. Syria's state media is reporting that rebels in the Damascus suburb of Douma will release 3,500 people they are holding in return for allowing 3,000 "humanitarian cases" to be evacuated from the area. This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian government soldiers, helping civilians who fled from fighting between the Syrian government forces and insurgents, through the Wafideen crossing in eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus, Syria, Thursday, March 22, 2018. Syrian troops have recently taken control of about 80 percent of eastern Ghouta from rebel forces.(SANA via AP) The government-controlled Central Military Media said Friday that the deal is part of an agreement between the government and rebels in Douma in eastern Ghouta. Douma is controlled by the powerful Army of Islam group that is known to be holding hundreds of army prisoners and government supporters. The SCMM also reported that a tentative agreement has been reached between the Syrian government and the armed groups in the eastern Ghouta's towns of Arbeen, Zamalka, Hazeh and Jobar in which rebels in the area will head to the northwestern province of Idlib. ___ 4 p.m. Syrian state TV and an opposition monitoring group are reporting that the second largest rebel group in eastern Ghouta has agreed to evacuate the area. A Syrian State TV correspondent says 7,000 civilians and Failaq al-Rahman fighters will begin leaving four towns in eastern Ghouta as of Saturday. Rabieh Dibeh, correspondent for state-affiliated al-Ikhbariya TV, said the towns that are to be evacuated are Zamalka, Arbeen, Ein Tarma and Jobar. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it is not clear whether Failaq al-Rahman members will head to the rebel-held northwestern province of Idlib or to northern regions controlled by Turkish troops and Turkey-backed opposition fighters. Friday's announcement came hours after a cease-fire called for by Failaq al-Rahman in areas it controls went into effect. ___ 1:45 p.m. Syrian state-run TV is broadcasting images of hundreds of Syrians streaming out of a besieged town in eastern Ghouta, heading to safety in the nearby capital, Damascus. Al-Ikhbariya TV on Friday showed hundreds of men, women and children heading out on foot from the Wafideen crossing that links the rebel-controlled town of Douma to Damascus. Syrian State news agency SANA says over 4,000 left on Friday. The state media say more than 6,000 left the day before. Syrian rescuer workers, the White Helmets, said Douma had come under intense airstrikes, counting at least 30 since late Thursday. Activists claimed incendiary bombs were used, as videos showed dark skies light up with white smoke and multiple fires raging on the ground. ___ 12:55 p.m. Turkey's state-run news agency says Turkish troops and allied Syrian opposition fighters have captured four villages south of the town of Afrin in an enclave where Ankara s carrying out a military offensive to rout a Syrian Kurdish militia. The advance brings Turkish forces closer to areas in northern Syria where Syrian government troops are deployed. Anadolu Agency said the Turkish and Turkish-backed forces cleared the villages of Baay, Kafer Nabu, Bashufah and Burj Haydar on Thursday as they push toward the southeast of the enclave that is also known as Afrin. Turkey launched an operation to clear the enclave of Syrian Kurdish militia, which Turkey considers to be a security threat, on Jan. 20. It captured the town of Afrin in a major phase of the offensive last Sunday. ___ 10:20 a.m. Syrian rescuers and a war monitoring group say 37 people were killed in airstrikes in a town in the eastern Ghouta region near the capital, Damascus, just hours before a cease-fire went into effect after midnight. The rebel group Faylaq al-Rahman, one of at least three operating in the sprawling region, says intense government attacks targeted the area it controls on Thursday. Rescuers, known as White Helmets, say the casualties were from an airstrike that hit an underground shelter in the town of Arbeen. Rebel spokesman Wael Oweilan said Friday negotiations with Russia will follow to allow for the evacuation of civilians from the area. A similar deal with another rebel group, Ahrar al-Sham, led to the evacuation of hundreds of fighters and civilians from Harasta, an eastern Ghouta town. LONDON (AP) - A British student with red hair claims a teacher told her to dye her hair because "orange is not a natural color." Paris Lane's mother has filed a complaint with the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills. In various media reports, the 12-year-old says she was walking down a hall at Kearsley Academy in Bolton when the teacher made the comment. Her mother, Nicola, called the school and says she was told by a staff member that they know about her daughter's natural hair color. She says she had bought her daughter brown dye because she's been getting "bullied" about being a redhead. The teacher who allegedly made the comment wasn't immediately identified. The school says it does not comment about any student. NEW YORK (AP) - Support for tougher gun control laws is soaring in the United States, according to a new poll that found a majority of gun owners and half of Republicans favor new laws to address gun violence in the weeks after a Florida school shooting left 17 dead and sparked nationwide protests. The poll, conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, found that nearly 7 in 10 adults now favor stricter gun control measures. That's the strongest level of support since The Associated Press first asked the question five years ago. The new poll also found that nearly half of Americans do not expect elected officials to take action. "It feels hopeless," said 30-year-old Elizabeth Tageson-Bedwin, of Durham, North Carolina, a self-described Republican who teaches 7th grade English. "Considering recent events, gun control in this country needs to be stricter - and it can be without infringing on anyone's rights." FILE - This June 29, 2016, file photo shows guns on display at a gun store in Miami. Support for tougher gun control laws is soaring in the United States, according to a new poll that found a majority of gun owners and half of Republicans favor new laws to address gun violence in the weeks after a Florida school shooting left 17 dead and sparked nationwide protests. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File) Overall, 69 percent of Americans think gun laws in the United States should be made stricter. That's up from 61 percent who said the same in October of 2016 and 55 percent when the AP first asked the question in October of 2013. Overall, 90 percent of Democrats, 54 percent of gun owners and 50 percent of Republicans now favor stricter gun control laws. Sixty percent believe that making it harder to legally obtain a gun would result in fewer mass shootings; just 49 percent said the same in the 2016 poll. The new poll finds support for specific gun control measures even among those who bristle at the term "gun control." "That's what Hitler did," said Flora McIntyre, of Simi Valley, California, repeating a common, but inaccurate, line of criticism against gun control measures. "Hitler made everyone register their guns. Then he came and collected all the guns." But when asked about specific gun control prescriptions, the 82-year-old retired nurse, who said she owns a rifle and a .44 Magnum, said she favored stronger background checks and limits on the number of bullets allowed in a gun magazine. She also opposes President Donald Trump's plan to give guns to trained teachers. The poll shows that McIntyre is not alone. More than 8 in 10 Americans favor a federal law preventing mentally ill people from purchasing guns, along with a federal law expanding background check requirements to include gun shows and private sales. Nearly 8 in 10 favor allowing courts to prevent people from owning guns if considered a danger to themselves or others, even if they have not been convicted of a crime. And 7 in 10 favor a nationwide ban on devices known as "bump stocks" that allow semi-automatic guns to function like automatic guns. Nearly 6 in 10 favor a nationwide ban on AR-15-style rifles. "They should take them off the market. Too much power right there," 25-year-old Sedrick Clark, of St. Louis Missouri, said of AR-15s. Clark, a self-described Republican, said he recently purchased a handgun for protection. But he said he'd support police efforts to go door-to-door to confiscate "dirty guns" from convicted felons and others who shouldn't have them. "I know Trump would do it," Clark said, praising the Republican president. Americans have mixed views on whether they expect any elected leaders to enact tougher gun control laws in the next year. The Florida legislature passed a law earlier in the month to raise the minimum age to purchase a firearm to 21. The law also extended the waiting period to three days, banned "bump stocks," funded more school police officers and mental health services, and allowed certain staff members to carry guns in schools. Congress, however, has yet to adopt new gun control measures that would apply to the rest of the country. Just over half of Americans - 51 percent - expect elected officials to tighten gun laws, while 42 percent expect no changes; another 6 percent expect gun laws to be made less strict. Nearly two-thirds of Republicans, but less than half of Democrats, predict gun laws will be made stricter. Democrat Cody Campbell, a 42-year-old IT worker from Atlanta, suggested that the financial impact of the gun industry would prevent meaningful change. "Here in the U.S., it's all about the money, and guns are a big part of how we make money," said Campbell, a gun owner who supports stronger gun control. In Florida, not far from where a 19-year-old gunman killed 17 people and wounded 17 others last month, 50-year-old John Karnosh said he's favored stricter gun control measures since the 1999 school shooting in Colorado's Columbine High School that left 15 dead. "All this time has passed and still nothing has changed," said Karnosh, a gun owner from Miramar, Florida, who is not registered with either party. "I live in the same county, down the street from Parkland. I see what these kids are doing. If anyone can build a movement for change, these kids will do it." ___ The AP-NORC poll of 1,122 adults was conducted March 14-19 using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points. Respondents were first selected randomly using address-based sampling methods, and later interviewed online or by phone. ___ Online: AP-NORC Center: http://www.apnorc.org/ BRUSSELS (AP) - The Latest on the European Union's summit of leaders (all times local): 3:35 p.m. German Chancellor Angela Merkel says it's important to avoid a "spiral of trade measures" between Europe and the United States in which she says everyone would be a loser. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, attends a round table meeting of eurozone countries at an EU summit in Brussels on Friday, March 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys) President Donald Trump's administration has exempted the European Union until May 1 from new U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum while the two sides continue talks. Merkel said Thursday that, given the short reprieve, "this remains a matter of great urgency." She added: "We do not want to get into a spiral of trade measures in which we think ultimately everyone would lose. We are interested in fair international multilateral trade and will continue to speak out against protectionism." ___ 2:45 p.m. French President Emmanuel Macron says that the short temporary exemption for the European Union from U.S. import tariffs on steel and aluminum "is not considered satisfactory." The European Union obtained an exemption until May 1 to negotiate with the U.S. EU leaders gathered at a summit said that the grounds for the U.S. tariffs and the timing of the exemption were out of line. Macron said: "The U.S. strategy - it is a bad strategy." ___ 1:40 p.m. Germany's economy minister says he's "happy and relieved" the European Union has obtained a last-minute temporary exemption to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum. Peter Altmaier told reporters Friday that Germany and the EU will now work on "finding a good solution with all resources" by May 1 - the new deadline. Altmaier said the EU hadn't granted concessions, adding "when I arrived in Washington, I had the impression that a lot in the U.S. administration had not yet been set in stone." Foreign Minister Heiko Maas says the result "shows that a resolved EU that speaks one voice is listened to." He added, however, that the "basic conflict remains" and said Germany would continue to fight for a "fair and regulated trade and for a multilateral world trade system." ___ 11:00 a.m. The European Union leaders say that they want the temporary exemption to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum the tariffs to be made permanent. The leaders said that the tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump could still impose "cannot be justified on the grounds of national security" and therefore should be scrapped for good. Despite the temporary exemption, the EU leaders said at Friday's summit that they reserve the right "to respond to the U.S. measures as appropriate and in a proportionate manner." The EU leaders have also said they want close cooperation with Washington to deal with trade issues from now on. European Union leaders in the eurogroup meet during a round table at an EU summit in Brussels on Friday, March 23, 2018. (John Thys, Pool Photo via AP) British Prime Minister Theresa May, center, attends a breakfast meeting at an EU summit in Brussels on Friday, March 23, 2018. Leaders from the 28 European Union nations meet for a second day of an EU summit to assess the state of Brexit negotiations and the prospect of a trade war with the United States. (Olivier Hoslet, Pool Photo via AP) Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, right, speaks with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, second left, and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, center, during a breakfast meeting at an EU summit in Brussels on Friday, March 23, 2018. Leaders from the 28 European Union nations meet for a second day of an EU summit to assess the state of Brexit negotiations and the prospect of a trade war with the United States. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, Pool) NEW YORK (AP) - Jann Wenner feels the #MeToo movement shows a "real absence of due process." In an interview with The Associated Press, the Rolling Stone publisher said he feels that mere accusations of sexual impropriety are threatening careers, many times without corroboration, with people losing their jobs over "some of the most harmless (expletive) things." "Honestly, I do believe it's a bit of a witch hunt," Wenner said in a recent interview at his office in New York. "It's difficult to get due process because there's no real place to adjudicate it except in court, which takes forever." In this March 14, 2018 photo, Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner poses for a portrait in his New York office. Wenner feels the #MeToo movement shows an absence of due process. He said he feels that mere accusations of sexual impropriety are threatening careers, many times without corroboration with people losing their jobs. (AP Photo/John Carucci) The 72-year old Wenner speaks from experience, after a former Rolling Stone employee came forward last year, claiming the media mogul sexually assaulted him in 1983. Wenner doesn't deny something happened between him and his accuser. "There's some truth to it, but it does not fit any illegal, immoral, or unethical, or go in any way that direction," Wenner said. "All you can say is no, not me too, and wait," he added. He also sees violent sexual assault happening on college campuses as being a bigger problem. "This is student-to-student rape. It's different than being harassed on the job or having your butt pinched or whatever you're complaining about. This is a physical violence," Wenner said. Wenner made the comments while promoting the recent documentary by award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney, "Rolling Stone: Stories From the Edge." The four-hour, six-part documentary -which aired last year on HBO - makes its way to iTunes and other online services March 27. It showcases the magazine's 50-year history, and its remarkable news coverage, including the 1972 presidential election covered by Hunter S. Thompson and the Michael Hastings article that took down Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. It also highlights a dark time for the publication, the 2014 story of a gang rape at the University of Virginia, which the magazine had to retract because of "discrepancies" in the alleged victim's account. The magazine settled at least one suit over the story for $1.65 million. Wenner considers that time one of the most regrettable moments in Rolling Stone's history, but "nothing I feel guilty about. "Looking back, there's a few mistakes - had we not made a few mistakes, it would have turned out differently," he said. "In terms of regrettable things that have happened to us after 50 years, we finally had our turn with our feet on the fire. If you're in this business, sooner or later you're gonna make mistakes - that mistake happens." Wenner's life has been in the news over the past year with the sexual misconduct allegation, and "Sticky Fingers," the salacious biography by Joe Hagan. Yet, Wenner says he's unaffected by it all, especially now that the tables have turned, making him the focus of the story. "I'm in the business of journalism myself, and I'm not really ashamed of anything I've ever did, so it doesn't matter to me if you tell some stories of my sex life. It's just that it's not well done, it's out of context, and it overwhelms the real story, which is what great work we did, what fun we had, instead of saying I had sex with somebody that nobody has ever heard of before, will ever hear of again. It doesn't affect anything," he said. ___ http://www.rollingstone.com WASHINGTON (AP) - Sales of new U.S. homes slipped 0.6 percent in February, a third straight monthly decline. But year to date, sales are up 2.2 percent compared with 2017 in a sign that buyer demand remains solid. The Commerce Department said Friday that last month's sales came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 618,000, down from 622,000 in January and 653,000 in December. Homebuyers at the start of the spring purchase season are generally finding higher prices and fewer properties available. Those factors, along with rising mortgage rates, have suggested that home ownership is becoming less affordable. The shortage of existing homes on the market is intensifying competition among would-be buyers of newly built houses. FILE- This Feb. 26, 2018, photo shows a new home are for sale in Mahwah, N.J. On Friday, March 23, the Commerce Department reports on sales of new homes in February. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File) But buyers seem undeterred so far about the lack of available homes, given the low unemployment rate and wave of younger millennials who are entering the real estate market. "The demand for new homes should continue to rise with a solid job market, modestly accelerating wages and positive demographics," said David Berson, chief economist for Nationwide Insurance. Last month's decline came largely from a 17.6 percent drop-off in new homes sold in the West. New-home sales fell in the Midwest but climbed in the Northeast and South. The median sales price of a new home climbed nearly 10 percent from a year ago to $326,800. New homes make up slightly more than 10 percent of homes now being sold. Among existing homes, sales rose in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.54 million, the National Association of Realtors said earlier this week. But the supply on the market has been rapidly vanishing. Listings of existing homes have plunged 8.1 percent over the past year. Rising borrowing costs could worsen the supply squeeze. Many homeowners are reluctant to upgrade to another home that would require them to take on a mortgage with a higher rate than they now pay. The average rate this week for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 4.45 percent, up from an average last year of less than 4 percent, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. ATLANTA (AP) - As Georgia's governor, Zell Miller successfully championed selling lottery tickets to fund scholarships in a Bible belt state and lost a fight to change the Confederate-themed state flag. As a U.S. senator, he enraged fellow Democrats with a primetime convention speech endorsing the re-election of President George W. Bush. Time and again, Miller proved himself a stubbornly independent Southern Democrat during a political career that spanned four decades. Miller died Friday at age 86 in the same mountain home where he was raised by a widowed mother who built their house with rocks pulled from a stream. "He had an independent streak that was governed by what he thought was right," said U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, a Georgia Republican who befriended Miller after a bitter political rivalry. "We need more people like him." FILE - In this July 13, 1992 file photo, Georgia Gov. Zell Miller waves to delegates at the Democratic Convention in New York. A family spokesperson said he died Friday, March 23, 2018. He was 86. (AP Photo/Joe Marquette) Miller served as Georgia's governor from 1991 to 1999. He came out of retirement in 2000 at age 68 to fill the final four years of a U.S. Senate term. Miller had retreated from public view in the past year after his family revealed he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. He died at his home in Young Harris surrounded by three generations of family, grandson Bryan Miller said. "We were able to spend the last 24 hours of his life with him and I can tell you that he died peacefully, comfortably surrounded by his family," Bryan Miller said. Funeral arrangements would be announced later, the younger Miller said. "Georgia has lost a favorite son and a true statesman, and I've lost a dear friend," Republican Gov. Nathan Deal said. "Zell's legacy is unequaled and his accomplishments in public service are innumerable. Without question, our state and our people are better off because of him." Bush sent condolences from Texas, calling Miller "an example of service before self, country before party, principle before poll." Miller drew praise from another former president, fellow Georgian Jimmy Carter, who served alongside Miller as a state senator in the 1960s. "Growing up in the hills of north Georgia gave Zell a straight-talking approach to politics that left no one in doubt of his views on any subject," the 93-year-old former president said, adding that Miller was "a good friend." Both men got their political starts as conservative Democrats in the civil rights era. They eventually climbed to higher office - Carter became governor two decades before Miller - by putting together coalitions of white and black voters. Miller was considered one of the state's most successful and popular modern chief executives, compiling a progressive record in education and tax policy. His signature accomplishment was the HOPE scholarship, which paid college tuition for Georgia students maintaining a "B'' average and was funded by establishing a state lottery. Religious conservatives fought the effort, equating the lottery with gambling, but Miller won approval from the legislature and Georgia voters. Today the Georgia Lottery says the scholarship has provided money to 1.8 million Georgia students. Forty-four states have some kind of lottery, including all Georgia's Southern neighbors except Alabama and Mississippi, where religious conservatives have successfully blocked several attempts. Miller was near the vanguard of the idea in the South, where only Florida and Louisiana beat Georgia to the lottery game. Near the end of Miller's second term, South Carolina Democrat Jim Hodges and Alabama Democrat Don Siegelman won 1998 races for governor primarily on education lottery proposals like Miller's, though Alabama voters ultimately rejected the idea. "The first visit that I made after being elected governor was to visit him," said Hodges, who at age 41 viewed Miller as a mentor. "He was tough as nails." Miller also successfully pressed the Legislature to remove the sales tax from food. He had served a record 16 years as lieutenant governor before that. After heading to Washington in 2000, Miller hammered his own party for veering from mainstream values. He never changed parties, though many Democrats clamored for him to do so after he delivered a stem-winder of a keynote speech for then-President George W. Bush at the 2004 Republican National Convention. Calling him a man with "a spine of tempered steel," Miller hailed Bush as "the man I trust to protect my most precious possession: my family." Twelve years earlier, Miller addressed a different convention in the same New York hall, where he told national Democrats Bill Clinton was the man America needed. "We can't all be born rich and handsome and lucky, and that's why we have a Democratic Party," Miller said. It was precisely the kind of unpredictable behavior that earned the ex-Marine the nickname "Zig-Zag Zell." The moniker initially infuriated him but in later life he acknowledged there was some truth to it. "I would be suspect of any politician who doesn't change their mind on some issues," he once said. But of his battle with fellow Democrats, detailed in his carping book, "A National Party No More," a national best-seller, Miller insisted it was the party that had changed - not him. His political career wasn't without regrets. Miller failed in 1964 to unseat a popular north Georgia congressman and later said he was ashamed of that race. At the time he voiced opposition to the Civil Rights Act and denounced President Lyndon Johnson as "a Southerner who has sold his birthright for a mess of dark pottage." He wrote later, "I only hope that the totality of my forty-year record since then is proof that they were the words of someone who at that time was a political weakling, but not a racist." Miller worked a succession of state political jobs before winning the governorship in 1990 at age 58, easily defeating former Atlanta Mayor and ex-UN Ambassador Andrew Young in a Democratic runoff and then defeating Johnny Isakson, a Republican who would succeed him 15 years later in the Senate. Despite their political rivalry, Miller during his second term as governor appointed Isakson in 1996 to become chairman of the state Board of Education. Miller had just fired the previous board for political infighting with Georgia's new Republican school superintendent. "I thought that must be a trick," Isakson recalled. "I couldn't think why the guy I ran against for governor would want to appoint me." The rousing success of Georgia's lottery for education program probably saved Miller from defeat in 1994 when he sought re-election. He had ignited a firestorm in 1993 with an unsuccessful attempt to remove the fighting banner of the Confederacy from the state flag. With Atlanta due to host the summer Olympics in 1996, the business community wanted Georgia to remove a symbol associated with segregation. But many whites, and most legislators, opposed the idea. In a stirring address, Miller told lawmakers it was time to jettison the old Confederate insignia added to the flag in 1956 "to identify Georgia with the dark side of the Confederacy - the desire to deprive some Americans of the equal rights that are the birthright of all." But he couldn't muster the votes and ultimately abandoned the effort. When Miller left office in January 1999, his public life looked at an end. Then Republican Sen. Paul Coverdell died in July 2000. Miller was appointed to replace him. But he never switched parties. "I was born a Democrat. It's not simply a party affiliation," he once wrote. "It's more like a birthmark for me and many of my fellow mountaineers ... I would no more think of changing parties than I would think of changing my name." ___ Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. LONDON (AP) - Joseph Parker has no problems and no complaints. To Anthony Joshua, who Parker will meet in a world heavyweight unification title fight in Cardiff next week, he warned on Friday: "You're going to get the full Joseph Parker." The no-excuses line by Parker set the tone when he met the media for the first time since arriving in Britain from Las Vegas, where a nine-week training camp went so well that, he quipped, "I'm starting to see some abs come along." New Zealand's heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker during the training session at the Hayemaker Gym in Vauxhall, London Friday March 23, 2018. Parker will fight Britain's World Heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua in a title bout in Cardiff next week. (John Walton/PA via AP) It was revealed this week that the unbeaten WBO champion from New Zealand hasn't been the full Joseph Parker for more than two years. Not until after surgeries last Nov. 25 and Dec. 1 to repair his elbows. His trainer, Kevin Barry, said he was supposed to have the surgeries two years ago to originally remove bone chips. But career-defining fight offers arrived and they decided the pain was a manageable risk. There was the IBF eliminator in May 2016 with Carlos Takam. Then a shot came at the vacant WBO belt that December against Andy Ruiz. Then came the defense last September with Hughie Fury. Parker won those three and three other fights over the two years, enduring criticism for some performances, and all the while allowing bone spurs to develop and calcify over the elbow joints. He couldn't straighten his left arm, and struggled to jab. "I know the pain Joe has had to go through on a daily basis, and how he's been able to achieve some of the successes he's had are just very, very mind-boggling," Barry said at their first London news conference. "When the surgeon looked at the initial damage that was done to Joe's elbows, he asked how was he able to perform at a world-elite level? That speaks to the character of (Parker). "You will all see a huge improvement on March 31 compared to what you were looking at last year." Parker agreed. "The previous five, six fights I haven't showed the jab I had earlier in my career, so it's very important I have it back," he said. "We're seeing at the gym, every day, double jab, triple jab, sometimes 10 jabs. There's going to be a lot of jabs, and hopefully they land in the right place ... the nose, the head, the chin." Barry believed Parker hurt his elbows from developing his size and power. He said Parker, as an amateur, had fast hands and won on points, not knockouts. But in reinventing his style to suit the pros, the elbows were damaged. Now Parker and his team insist everything is OK. "Previous fights were not my best displays. (The operations) have made a big difference," Parker said. "That's why we're confident in what we can achieve." Those recent lackluster performances have contributed to Parker being regarded as a firm underdog against Joshua, who is also unbeaten and putting up his WBA, IBF and lightly regarded IBO belts. Parker embraces it. "The public are underestimating myself and my team. They're judging us on our last two or three fights, and I think they see Joshua as unbeatable," he said. "There's an element of surprise (for us). Everyone thinks it's going to be an easy win for him. That's motivation for us. We've had a great camp, done everything right. I just want to get in there and bash him." Thanks to the camp, Parker confirmed he will weigh in about four kilograms (nine pounds) lighter, at 108 kilograms (238 pounds), than against Fury. Little else fazes him. In reaction to Joshua reportedly saying this week he regarded Parker as a "weird character" and didn't like him or his promoters, who he considered two-faced, Parker said: "He stepped out of his comfort zone and said something interesting. He's been boring lately." About fighting for the first time in front of a crowd of about 78,000, he was excited, and hoped to see fans from New Zealand and Samoa. He's thought about what would happen if he knocked out Joshua. "Lots and lots of cheers," he said. "I've played out many scenarios in my mind, that one is the best one." Barry chipped in: "You'll hear the fans all the way from New Zealand." JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley on Friday said his office has issued 15 subpoenas as part of an investigation into a veterans charity founded by indicted Republican Gov. Eric Greitens. Republican Hawley - who is challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill in a race with national implications - said subpoenas went to the charity, The Mission Continues, as well as Greitens' campaign and the Greitens Group. Hawley said they also subpoenaed staffers or former staffers at those entities, but he wouldn't say specifically who. "Suffice it to say that this is a very active investigation and it is progressing by the day," Hawley told reporters in his Jefferson City office. Hawley announced the inquiry into the veterans charity earlier this month after The Associated Press reported that Greitens had used a Mission Continues email to send meeting invitations to political consultants as he was preparing to run for office in 2015. Greitens, who was on the board of directors of The Mission Continues at the time, sent meeting invitations from the charity's email address to three political consultants, according to records obtained by AP. Federal tax law prohibits 501(c)(3) charities such as The Mission Continues from participating in any political campaign on behalf of a candidate for public office, with penalties ranging up to the loss of their tax-exempt status. The legal consequences for individual charity directors are less clear. Greitens also faces an ongoing investigation by the St. Louis prosecutor's office after a grand jury last month indicted him on a felony invasion-of-privacy charge related to an extramarital affair in 2015. The indictment alleges Greitens took a nonconsensual photo of the partially nude woman with whom he was having the affair. Greitens has acknowledged the affair but denied any criminal wrongdoing. On top of that, the Republican-led Missouri House launched an investigation of Greitens to look into allegations against him. Hawley said his office is cooperating with both of those investigations. This is the second review Hawley's office has conducted against Greitens. The office earlier found no evidence of open-records-law violations after checking into use of a secretive messaging app, Confide, by some top staffers in the governor's office. The app deletes messages after they're read. Democrats have repeatedly criticized the Confide review, including complaints from a group of attorneys who previously served under Democratic elected officials over Hawley's office's decision not to press for an interview with Greitens himself. Missouri law does not give the attorney general subpoena power to investigate possible violations of the state's Sunshine law. Hawley said he would reopen the review if legislators pass a bill to give his office the authority to issue subpoenas in those cases. MOSCOW (AP) - A Ukrainian court on Friday sanctioned the arrest of a celebrated former military pilot accused of plotting an attack on parliament with grenades and automatic weapons. Nadiya Savchenko, who has declared presidential ambitions, described the charges against her as an attempt by President Petro Poroshenko's government to get rid of a powerful challenger ahead of the next year's presidential vote. The Shevchenko District Court in the Ukrainian capital on Friday ordered that she be kept behind bars for two months pending an official probe. The ruling followed parliament's vote to strip her of her immunity as a lawmaker. Lawmaker Nadiya Savchenko leaves the parliament building after a vote on her detention in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, March 22, 2018. The Ukrainian parliament on Thursday cancelled Savchenko's lawmaker immunity and approved her detention after the country's top prosecutor accused Savhcheno of an attempt to prepare terrorist attacks against the country's leaders. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) Prosecutors have accused Savchenko of plotting a coup in collusion with Russia-backed rebels - a plan to attack parliament with hand grenades, automatic weapons and even heavy mortars. Savchenko said she talked about attacking parliament as a "surrealist political provocation" to mock the government because she knew she was being wiretapped. Savchenko told the court Friday that her case was politically motivated. "When I said I would run for president I became dangerous for the authorities, and they sought to cast me in a negative light," she told the court. She said she's going on a hunger strike to let the public realize that "the Ukrainian government is just as criminal as the Russian one." Savchenko became a national hero in Ukraine after spending years in a Russian prison. She was elected in absentia to parliament in 2014, months after she was captured by Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine while serving in a volunteer battalion. She then landed in a Russian prison. In March 2016, a Russian court sentenced her to 22 years in prison, saying she acted as a spotter for mortar fire that killed two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine. During her trial she sang the national anthem and raised her middle finger in a show of contempt for Russian authorities. Russian President Vladimir Putin pardoned her shortly afterward amid international outrage at her sentence, but after her return home, Savchenko quickly fell out with Poroshenko, whose government she has accused of corruption and incompetence. Lawmaker Nadiya Savchenko in parliament after a vote on her detention in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, March 22, 2018. The Ukrainian parliament on Thursday cancelled Savchenko's lawmaker immunity and approved her detention after the country's top prosecutor accused Savchenko of an attempt to prepare terrorist attacks against the country's leaders. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) Lawmaker Nadiya Savchenko answers lawmakers' questions during a parliament session in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, March 22, 2018. The Ukrainian parliament on Thursday cancelled Savchenko's lawmaker immunity and approved her detention after the country's top prosecutor accused Savchenko of an attempt to prepare terrorist attacks against the country's leaders. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) Lawmaker Nadiya Savchenko holds her highest state award of the Hero of Ukraine and a lawmaker mandate in parliament session hall answers lawmakers' questions during a parliament session in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, March 22, 2018. The Ukrainian parliament on Thursday cancelled Savchenko's lawmaker immunity and approved her detention after the country's top prosecutor accused Savchenko of an attempt to prepare terrorist attacks against the country's leaders. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) A teenage girl who was shot when a classmate opened fire inside their Maryland high school has died, authorities said Friday. The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office said Jaelynn Willey died at 11:34 p.m. Thursday. Earlier that night, her family had said she would be taken off life support at the University of Maryland Prince George's Hospital Center. Melissa Willey told news reporters Thursday night that her daughter was brain dead and had "no life left in her." The mother, holding a young baby, said, "On Tuesday ... our lives changed completely and totally forever. My daughter was hurt by a boy who shot her in the head and took everything from our lives." Parents of Great Mills high school student Jaelynn Willey, Melissa Willey, and Daniel Willey, hold one of their nine children during a press conference at Prince George's Hospital Center in Cheverly, Md., Thursday, March 22, 2018. Melissa Willey told news reporters that her daughter, Jaelynn Willey, 16, who was shot when a classmate opened fire inside their Maryland high school, has "no life left in her." She said Jaelynn would be removed from life support during the evening. (Marissa Lang/The Washington Post via AP) The teen was shot Tuesday by 17-year-old Austin Rollins at Great Mills High School in St. Mary's County. Rollins died after shooting Willey. A school resource officer got there within a minute and fired a shot at Rollins, but it's not yet clear whether Rollins was killed by the officer's bullet or took his own life. The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday that Rollins and the girl had been in a relationship that recently ended. "All indications suggest the shooting was not a random act of violence," police said in a statement. Willey had been in critical condition at the hospital. A fundraising page to help her family has raised more than $77,000. Jaelynn was one of nine siblings, her mother said, and a member of the swim team. The shooting broke out just before classes were to begin Tuesday, according to the sheriff's office. A 14-year-old boy who was shot in the thigh during the encounter was released Wednesday from a hospital. In an email Thursday to The Associated Press, his mother, Kimberly Dennis, said her family is "eternally grateful" that her son, Desmond Barnes, is "alive, doing well and in good spirits." She expressed sympathy for Willey and her family and added, "We are also praying for the entire Great Mills High School family and young people around this country. As a community and nation, we must continue to work and fight for a world that is safe for our children." Great Mills High School has about 1,600 students and is near the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, about 65 miles (104 kilometers) southeast of Washington. Sheriff Tim Cameron credited Deputy 1st Class Blaine Gaskill with preventing any more loss of life. Cameron said Gaskill, a six-year veteran with SWAT team training, responded within a minute and fired his weapon simultaneously with a final shot fired by Rollins. The officer was unharmed. On Wednesday, authorities said the Glock handgun used in the shooting was legally owned by Rollins' father. In Maryland it is illegal for anyone under age 21 to possess a handgun unless it is required for their employment. ___ This story has been updated to correct that authorities say the school resource officer fired a shot at Rollins, not at the female victim. ___ Associated Press reporters Courtney Columbus and David McFadden in Baltimore and Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this story. This undated photo provided by the Willey family shows Jaelynn Willey. A teenager armed with a handgun shot and critically wounded Willey inside a Maryland school on Tuesday, March 20, 2018, and the shooter was killed when a school resource officer confronted him moments after the gunfire erupted. A third student was in good condition after he was shot. (Courtesy of the Willey family via AP) This undated photo provided by the St. Mary's Sheriff's Office, shows Deputy First Class Blaine Gaskill, a school resource officer who engaged a shooter at Great Mills High School in Great Mills, Md., on Tuesday, March 20, 2018. It wasn't immediately clear whether the shooter took his own life or was killed by the officer's bullet, St. Mary's County Sheriff Tim Cameron said, but the Gaskill was credited with preventing any more loss of life. (St. Mary's Sheriff's Office via AP) UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Nine months ago, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley stormed the United Nations' top human rights body demanding an end to what she said is its bias against Israel and raising the prospect of a U.S. pullout if it didn't. But the 47-member body ended its first and longest session of the year Friday by adopting five resolutions critical of Israel's behavior toward the Palestinians or throwing support behind their long, fruitless cause for statehood. Another two "country-specific" resolutions focused on Syria, where hundreds of thousands have died in a seven-year civil war. South Sudan, Myanmar, Iran and North Korea garnered one each. Haley railed Friday that the Geneva-based Human Rights Council every March sets aside only two sessions to debate rights violations and abuses - one for Israel and one for the rest of the world. "When the Human Rights Council treats Israel worse than North Korea, Iran and Syria, it is the council itself that is foolish and unworthy of its name," she said. Haley said it is time for "the countries who know better to demand changes," saying many agree the council's agenda "is grossly biased against Israel, but too few are willing to fight it." "When that happens, as it did today, the council fails to fulfill its duty to uphold human rights around the world," she said. Haley said the Trump administration is continuing to evaluate its membership in the Human Rights Council. "Our patience is not unlimited," she said. "Today's actions make clear that the organization lacks the credibility needed to be a true advocate for human rights." NEW YORK (AP) - The Latest on the death of a New York City firefighter in a blaze on a movie set in a former jazz club (all times local): 8:15 p.m. A foundation established to honor a firefighter who died in the Sept. 11 attacks will contribute $100,000 for the family of a firefighter who was fatally injured on a movie set in Harlem. The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation says it will donate the money toward paying off the mortgage on firefighter Michael Davidson's family home on Long Island. Davidson was killed in a fire that started Thursday night on the Harlem set of the movie "Motherless Brooklyn." The 37-year-old firefighter left a wife and four children. The producers and crew of the movie say they'll work with Tunnel To Towers to help the foundation reach its goal of getting the family's mortgage paid off. ___ 7 p.m. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (BLAH'-zee-oh) has visited the scene of a blaze that killed a firefighter who got separated from his colleagues in a burning building that was serving as a movie set. The Democratic mayor looked at the damage and conferred with fire officials at the Harlem building Friday evening. Earlier, De Blasio said the city "lost a hero" and ordered City Hall flags to be flown at half-staff to honor fallen firefighter Michael Davidson. The blaze erupted around 11 p.m. Thursday in the basement of the building, which once housed a jazz club. It was being used as a set for "Motherless Brooklyn," directed by Edward Norton. The mayor had left Thursday night for a Florida weekend but returned because of the blaze. The cause hasn't been determined. ___ 5:30 p.m. The charitable arm of New York City's fire department is donating $25,000 and collecting contributions for the family of a firefighter who died in a blaze on a movie set at a former jazz club. The FDNY Foundation announced the charitable effort Friday. Information on donating is available on the foundation's website. Firefighter Michael Davidson was cited for bravery four times during his 15 years on the job. He was the son of a retired New York City firefighter and leaves a wife and four children. The blaze erupted Thursday night in the basement of a Harlem building. It was being used as a set for "Motherless Brooklyn," directed by Edward Norton. Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro (NEYE'-groh) said Davidson became separated from his colleagues in the rapidly worsening fire. ___ 4:50 p.m. A procession of fire trucks has borne the body of a New York City firefighter to a suburban funeral home after he died battling a blaze on a movie set in a former jazz club. The motorcade carrying firefighter Michael R. Davidson's body arrived Friday afternoon at a funeral home in Floral Park. It's the Long Island community where Davidson lived with his wife and four children. As the procession traveled down the Long Island Expressway, firefighters waited on overpasses and saluted as it passed. The blaze erupted Thursday night in the basement of an unoccupied Harlem building. It was being used as a set for "Motherless Brooklyn," directed by Edward Norton. Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro (NEYE'-groh) said Davidson became separated from his colleagues in the rapidly worsening blaze. ___ 5 a.m. A New York City firefighter has been killed after a massive fire broke out at a building in Harlem where a movie directed by Edward Norton was being shot. New York Fire Department Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the blaze erupted in the basement of an unoccupied residential building about 11 p.m. Thursday. Nigro said two other firefighters suffered burns and were in serious condition, and three other people were injured. FDNY officials identified the firefighter killed as 37-year-old Michael R. Davidson, a 15-year department veteran. They say Davidson is survived by a wife and four children. Eric Phillips, Mayor Bill de Blasio's press secretary, tweeted: "This is an awful night." The blaze broke out on the set of "Motherless Brooklyn," starring Norton, Bruce Willis, Willem Dafoe and Alec Baldwin. ___ 4:30 a.m. A New York City firefighter has been killed after a massive fire broke out at a building in Harlem where a movie directed by Ed Norton was being shot. FDNY officials said in a tweet that the blaze broke out about 11 p.m. Thursday in the basement of the building on St. Nicolas Avenue. Authorities say at least one other person was injured and taken to an area hospital. It was not immediately clear whether that person also was a firefighter. The dead firefighter has not been officially identified. Eric Phillips, Mayor Bill de Blasio's press secretary, tweeted: "This is an awful night. We've lost an NYC firefighter." Multiple media reports indicate the blaze broke out on the set of "Motherless Brooklyn," starring Bruce Willis, Willem Dafoe and Alec Baldwin. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A former courthouse administrator who was sent to federal prison and ordered to pay millions of dollars in restitution in a courthouse corruption scandal that rocked New Mexico politics has been hired by the state Law Offices of the Public Defender. Toby Martinez, former administrator of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Courthouse, was accused more than a decade ago of bilking the state out of $4.2 million in the construction of an $83 million courthouse. Former state Senate President Pro Tem Manny Aragon was among the other defendants. Martinez cooperated with authorities and pleaded guilty to taking more than $2 million. He spent more than five years in prison and was released from prison in 2013. "There was no one better-positioned than Mr. Martinez to engineer the scheme to defraud the taxpayers," U.S. Attorney Greg Fouratt said when Martinez was sentenced. "Indeed, without him, there would have been no theft at all." Chief Public Defender Bennett Baur said Martinez was the most qualified applicant for the paralegal position after working for the office since November. "I would be skeptical too, and we are monitoring him to make sure he's doing the work and that he does not violate the public trust," Bauer said. "In the end, this is a way for him to prove to society that he deserves, that he's been rehabilitated, and he deserves another chance." Martinez began cooperating with federal investigators in late 2005 and they credited him with providing information that ultimately led to a guilty plea by Aragon, once one of the most powerful politicians in the state. Prosecutors had asked for leniency given Martinez's cooperation. Ken Stalter, general counsel for the Office of the Attorney General, said hiring a person convicted of a crime of dishonesty could lead to litigation and conflict. He said it raises the question of why a felon convicted of a crime of dishonesty would be given such access and legal responsibility. Brian Pori, a federal defender for Martinez, said his client has served his time and completed his probation. Pori says Martinez is rehabilitated and can serve as a model for those he contacts as part of his paralegal duties. "The idea that you violated the law (and) that you just don't get to have any decent job again, that's absurd," Pori said. Martinez worked at a warehouse before taking the $41,000-a-year job at the Public Defender's Office. Pori said Martinez pays a quarter of his net earnings to restitution owed as a result of the courthouse scheme. WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump says his administration will "BAN" bump stock devices that "turn legal weapons into illegal machines." The Justice Department announced Friday that it has started the process to amend federal firearms regulations to clarify that federal law defines bump stocks as machine guns. Trump had ordered Justice to work toward a ban after the Florida high school shooting. Bump stocks enable guns to fire like automatic weapons, and were used in last year's Las Vegas massacre. Trump tweeted Friday: "Obama Administration legalized bump stocks. BAD IDEA. As I promised, today the Department of Justice will issue the rule banning BUMP STOCKS with a mandated comment period." The government determined in 2010 that bump stocks couldn't be regulated unless Congress changed the law. WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump plans to visit Ohio next week to promote his plans to rebuild and repair the nation's roads and bridges. Trump asked Congress in February to consider using a $200 billion federal investment to leverage more than $1 trillion in state, local and private funding to pay for improvements to the nation's infrastructure, such as roads, highways, bridges, ports and airports. Trump has promoted the plan as one that would garner bipartisan support, but it has received a cool reception on Capitol Hill. The White House said Friday that Trump plans to travel to Richfield, Ohio, on Thursday to promote the plan. Trump won Ohio in the 2016 presidential election. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Hundreds of people with active Missouri driver's licenses are collecting from a pension fund set up for blind residents, Gov. Eric Greitens said Friday in alleging widespread abuse of the system. An investigation by the Department of Social Services and the Department of Revenue had flagged 436 people using the fund who also had driver's licenses, Greitens said in a statement. The Department of Social Services is now investigating at least 100 of those cases, including one person with a commercial driver's license and another who was charged with driving while intoxicated. The investigation also found that some people had successfully renewed their driver's licenses while receiving benefits. License renewal requires better vision than is allowed for the fund. "People who are abusing this system aren't just stealing from taxpayers, they're stealing from the most vulnerable," Greitens said in the statement. The fund was established almost a century ago. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported earlier this month that about 2,900 people participated in the program, which provides monthly payments of more than $700 as well as Medicaid benefits. The statement did not say when the investigation began. The governor's office did not return requests for comment, and representatives for the governor and the Department of Social Services did not immediately respond to requests to see the full investigation. The press release came a week before a Cole County judge is to consider a multi-million dollar settlement between Missouri and many blind residents. Earlier this year, the state agreed to pay $21 million to blind Missourians who said they hadn't received money they were owed through the state fund. The settlement stemmed from a lawsuit filed more than a decade ago by the Missouri Council of the Blind, who argued that the Family Support Division and the Department of Social Services had been underpaying blind residents. A bill that would further restrict what blind residents can receive benefits was overwhelmingly approved by the House March 15. It is now under consideration in the Senate. ___ The bill is HB 2171 A new museum dedicated to Isambard Kingdom Brunel is opening for the first time. The 7.2 million Being Brunel visitor attraction on Bristols harbourside will celebrate the life and legacy of the engineering genius who helped build Britain and shape the world. It will feature six galleries setting out 150 of Brunels personal artefacts many never seen in public before to provide unprecedented insight into his life, family, interests and creative mind. Curator Rhian Tritton with artefacts from the `Being Brunel museum (Adrian Brooks/PA). The overall design is set to evoke the atmosphere of the Great Exhibition of 1851, which was a celebration of Victorian wonder and invention and featured Brunel on its design committee. Visitors will step inside Brunels original and fully restored Grade II-listed Dock Office in the historic Great Western Dockyard, where he designed and built SS Great Britain. Brunel was behind some of the worlds greatest feats of engineering, from ocean liners like the SS Great Britain, which revolutionised maritime engineering and world travel, to the famous Clifton Suspension Bridge and Paddington Station. Visitors to Being Brunel will discover the man behind the extraordinary engineering talent, from his unique relationship with his father, his entrepreneurial talent and design skill through to his love for the arts and drama. Artefacts on display include Isambard Kingdom Brunels mother Sophias biography of her father, Sir Marc Brunel (SS Great Britain/PA). The museum will unravel Brunels story through personal possessions, including his mother Sophias diary and biography of her husband, Sir Marc Brunel. Visitors will be able to see a wall-mounted regulator clock made by EJ Dent of London, which was hung in Brunels London office at 18 Duke Street. Regulator clocks were extremely reliable and Brunel used to set his watch by this one. The reliability, speed and success of his Great Western Railway created the need for standardised timetabling across the UK, which ultimately contributed to the spread of Greenwich Mean Time across the UK. Also on display is Brunels cigar case and the last cigar, which offers a glimpse into his lifestyle and workaholic nature. A cigar smoked by Brunel at the SS Great Britain in Bristol (Ben Birchall/PA) Visitors will also be able to see Brunels 1821 school report, a sketch of a horse he drew aged six, and his diary, which offers a contrast to the confident public image he cultivated and shows he was riddled with self-doubt while driven to achieve success. His professional notebooks and sketchbooks show the scale of the influence of Brunels work and how his innovations changed the face of the British landscape and informed future engineering. Matthew Tanner, chief executive of the SS Great Britain Trust, said: By preserving Brunels legacy in this way, the museum aims to show what the man made, and what made the man, and we aim to inspire the innovators of the future. It will also highlight Brunels continuing relevance today with insight from modern-day Brunels including Norman Foster and Roma Agrawal, exploring how Brunel has inspired their work. The objects on display are drawn from the National Brunel Collection, housed at Brunels SS Great Britain in the Brunel Institute. A museum is to be renamed the McMenace Gallery as part of the Beanos 80th anniversary celebrations. The McManus in Dundee will be showing an exhibition between June and October charting the birth and development of the comic. As part of the landmark occasion, the museum will temporarily take its new name for the duration of the show in a nod to the much-loved character Dennis. Photo of `When the Bell Rings! the first comic strip which spawned the Bash Street Kids in 1954 (DC Thomson/PA) Mike Stirling, head of Beano Studios Scotland, said: Dundee is the hometown of The Dandy and Beano, and so for us there is no better partner than The McManus to celebrate our 80th milestone with. The exhibit will offer fans a glimpse into the history of the comics and showcase the rebellious and fun characters of the comics throughout the ages, and display how they still connect with children today. The collection will focus on The Bash Street Kids, whose conception was inspired by pupils at Dundee High School and their playground very close to the McManus Gallery. A special illustration to mark the 80 years shows The Bash Street Kids tangled in the Waldella, Dundee by artist David Batchelor, one of the museums most popular pieces. Sinclair Aitken, chairman of Leisure and Culture Dundee, said: We think that the Beanos 80th is an outstanding achievement, its influence shows the test of time as it is still so incredibly popular with children today. We cant wait to celebrate the birthday of this comic in its hometown. They have created so many iconic characters through the years from Dennis and Gnasher, Minnie the Minx to the fantastic Bash Street Kids. The free exhibition opens at The McManus: Dundees Art Gallery and Museum on June 2 and runs until October 21. Hundreds of Britons were arrested for child sex offences overseas in the last five years, new figures have shown, amid concerns the numbers are just the tip of the iceberg. There were 361 requests from UK nationals for consular assistance after being arrested for child sex offences from 2013 to 2017, according to Foreign Office data. But Labours Sarah Champion (Rotherham) said the number of arrests could be far higher. She told the Press Association that in some parts of the world people would be able to buy their way out of trouble without contacting the consulate if they were caught abusing a child. If you are in a backwater in Indonesia and you get caught raping a child, I would imagine that if youve got dollars on you, you could probably get out of it, she said. According to the figures, the Foreign Office responded to 124 requests from UK nationals arrested for child sex offences in the US, 40 in Australia and 39 in Spain over the five-year period. In Indonesia four cases were recorded, while there were five in the Philippines and three in India. Ms Champion, who has long campaigned against child sexual exploitation, said she thought the variation was due to tougher legislative processes in some countries. She said she believed people were deliberately travelling in order to abuse children, and said: I have no doubt that the sort of perpetrators will know where they are most likely to go and exploit a child and will be deliberately going there. The conclusion we have to come to is that it is a sick world we live in. Ms Champion said she felt utter disgust when she saw the figures, and said it turns my stomach that the Government knows that people are intentionally going abroad to abuse children but that we are not doing more, that Im aware, to prevent it. I am convinced that this is a tiny, tiny, tip of the iceberg the figures that were seeing so the actual scale of it is going to be pretty huge I would have thought. The figures were published in response to a parliamentary question from Ms Champion, who asked the Foreign Secretary what information his Department holds on the number of UK nationals who have been arrested for child sex offences overseas in the last five years; and in what countries such nationals have been arrested over that period. Foreign Office minister Harriett Baldwin replied: From 2013 to 2017 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) responded to 361 requests for consular assistance from UK nationals who had been arrested for child sex offences. The FCO are not routinely notified of the arrest of all UK nationals overseas. The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963 (Article 36) provides for an embassy to be informed of an arrest only if the individual requests it. Harriett Baldwin said the Foreign Office responded to 361 requests for consular assistance from UK nationals who had been arrested for child sex offences over the five year period (Chris Radburn/PA) A breakdown of the figures showed there were 58 cases in 2013, 63 in 2014, 82 in 2015, 80 in 2016 and 78 in 2017. Bharti Patel, chief executive of childrens rights organisation ECPAT UK, said the figures were likely to be a fraction of the total arrests made. She said: These statistics represent only a minority of abuses against children across the globe, due to a lack of sufficient data monitoring systems and reporting mechanisms. This leaves abuses unreported and unheard and children left unprotected. Ms Patel called on the Government to strengthen its data monitoring systems, reporting mechanisms and joint investigative capacities in regions of high incidence of child sexual exploitation. Our Government must take responsibility for these crimes committed by British nationals and prevent these crimes taking place against vulnerable children abroad. The teenager who planted the Parsons Green Tube bomb which injured 51 passengers will be sentenced later. Iraqi asylum seeker Ahmed Hassan, 18, pretended to engage with the anti-terrorism Prevent scheme as he plotted to cause carnage in the capital. He made a bomb with 400g of Mother of Satan explosives and 2.2kg of shrapnel while his unsuspecting foster parents were on holiday in Blackpool. (PA Graphics) The Old Bailey heard he wanted to avenge the death of his father in Iraq and was disappointed when the bomb only partly detonated in a huge fireball. (PA Graphics) A jury deliberated for just over four hours to reject his explanation that he only wanted to act out a fantasy like the Tom Cruise film Mission: Impossible. The photography student, who claimed to aspire to be the new David Attenborough, will be sentenced for attempted murder by Mr Justice Haddon-Cave later. Commuters were reading and sipping coffee as a fireball ripped through the carriage at Parsons Green (Metropolitan Police/PA) Following his arrival in Britain in 2015, Hassan told Home Office officials he had been trained to kill by Islamic State. The court had heard he was referred by Barnardos and Surrey social services to Prevent but kept his murderous plans a secret. Hassan caught a train to Brighton en route to Dover in a bid to flee the country after the Parsons Green bombing (Metropolitan Police/PA) Hassan used his student of the year award of a 20 Amazon voucher to buy one of the key chemicals online. Hassans foster parents Penny, pictured, and Ron Jones were awarded an MBE by the Queen in 2010 (Lewis Whyld/PA) The night before the bombing, his foster father Ron Jones went to find out why Hassan was not sleeping, unaware he was sitting next to the highly unstable TATP explosives. On the morning of September 15 last year, Hassan left his home and caught a train to Wimbledon carrying his bomb inside a Lidl bag. Ahmed Hassan was captured on CCTV carrying a bomb inside a Lidl bag at Wimbledon station (Metropolitan Police/PA) He set the timer in Wimbledon then got off the train one stop before the bomb partially exploded on the floor of the carriage at Parsons Green. Twenty-three passengers suffered burns, with some describing their hair catching fire and their clothes melting in the blast. An injured woman is assisted by a police officer close to Parsons Green station (PA) And 28 more suffered cracked ribs and other crush injuries in the stampede to get out of the platform via a narrow stairway. Meanwhile, Hassan destroyed his phone and changed into a Chelsea shirt as he fled London with more than 2,000 in cash but was picked up by police at the Port of Dover the next day. Hassans foster parents Penny and Ron Jones, who were awarded an MBE in 2010, did not give evidence in the trial. Afterwards they said authorities should have warned them to look out for signs of radicalisation. Mrs Jones told ITV News: I am cross with him for what hes done, and that hes done this in my house makes me feel very, very betrayed, I cant help that. Because hes such a bright and intelligent child, hed got a good future ahead of him. Commander Dean Haydon, head of Scotland Yards Counter Terrorism Command, said he was intelligent and articulate but also devious and cunning in equal measures. He said: On the one hand he was appearing to engage with the (Prevent) programme but he kept secret what he was planning and plotting. Mr Haydon said it was good fortune the bomb did not fully detonate and kill and injure many passengers. A review of Hassans dealings with Prevent is under way. Emergency services remain at the scene a day after a major blaze broke out on a busy shopping street. More than 120 firefighters dealt with the incident on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow which started in the roof of the building which houses Victorias nightclub at about 8.20am on Thursday. An asbestos warning was issued to local residents and businesses as firefighters battled the blaze, which they brought under control by early afternoon. Firefighters remained at the scene on Friday to dampen down the area, with several appliances involved. More than 120 firefighters were involved in tackling the blaze on Thursday (Jane Barlow/PA) Police said cordons would remain in place for several days while the safety of buildings was checked. Chief Fire Officer Alasdair Hay said the blaze was one of the biggest the single service has had to deal with and praised the professionalism of the firefighters who dealt with it. He said: Its one of the biggest incidents weve had in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service since its inception. No-one was injured in the incident. A police officer wears a face mask after asbestos warnings were issued (Jane Barlow/PA) Thick smoke billowed across the pedestrian precinct as fire crews battled the fire, with fears it could spread to nearby buildings including the historic Pavilion Theatre. Shows at the Pavilion and nearby Theatre Royal have been cancelled in the wake of the incident. The Pavilion thanked emergency services for saving the grand old lady of Renfield Street. Firefighters prevented the blaze from spreading to the Pavilion Theatre (Jane Barlow/PA) A statement posted on the Pavilion Theatre Facebook page on Thursday evening said: We managed to gain access tonight to ascertain the damage within the theatre. As the building across the lane is still currently pouring out smoke, this is still coming into the theatre. There is still a lot of smoke within the auditorium, and the seats, plasterwork, carpets and curtains are covered in a layer of black ash. We cannot see that we will be able to reopen within the next few days. They added: We would like to thank everyone within all the emergency services who have done a great job in saving the Grand Old Lady of Renfield Street and hopefully we will reopen in the not too distant future. We would also like to thank everyone for their support at this time. The fire was raised at First Ministers Questions in Holyrood with Nicola Sturgeon describing it as extremely serious. She later tweeted saying her sincere thanks go to firefighters and other emergency services for their heroic work. Could not establish database connection. DB: bostonimc and SQL: --> The administrator has been notified and will resolve the problem ASAP. Ireland is to conduct a security assessment of Russian diplomats working in the country. Britain has won the backing of EU leaders who accepted the only plausible explanation for the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, was that Russia was responsible. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar confirmed expelling suspected agents from Ireland was a possibility as early as next week. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Ireland will conduct a security assessment of Russian diplomats following the Salisbury attack (Niall Carson/PA) What we will now consider in the coming days is to whether we want to take individual action relating to Russian diplomats in Ireland, bearing in mind that what the UK did was to expel 23 diplomats who they believed, were not actually diplomats, were agents. So we would have to do a security assessment just like they did before that, we are not going to randomly expel people who are genuine diplomats. A security assessment will be done. The minister for Foreign Affairs Tanaiste (Simon Coveney) and I already spoke about this, in the coming days so we will make that decision I would say the early part of next week. Following Irelands proposal at a European Council meeting in Brussels, the EU leaders agreed on Thursday with the UKs assessment that it was highly likely the Russian authorities were behind the Salisbury attack. A former teacher who suffered two tumours and a life-threatening illness has successfully rowed solo across the Atlantic. Supporters of Kiko Matthews congratulated her on become the fastest female to complete the challenge, and said they are awaiting official timings. The charity co-founder, who had never rowed before taking on the feat, nearly died after being struck down with Cushings disease in 2009 and suffered a second tumour last year. Kiko Matthews arrives in Port St Charles, Barbados, becoming the fastest female to row solo across the Atlantic (Anthony Ball/PA) Following life-saving treatment in Londons Kings College Hospital, the 36-year-old, from Herefordshire, said she was determined to raise funds in gratitude. Ms Matthews, who left her job as a science teacher to help found The Big Stand charity and a paddle-boarding business, suffered symptoms including memory loss, insomnia and osteoporosis during her illness. In a modest reaction as she stepped off the boat, she said she was a bit proud of her achievement and hoped her story could inspire others. UPDATE KIKO HAS ARRIVED!!! She has been rowing across the Atlantic Ocean for 50 days, solo and unsupported, breaking the world record! #KikoRow #fastestsolorow pic.twitter.com/DoJ3Riv4bf Kiko Matthews (@Kikomatthews) March 23, 2018 The thought that, eight months ago, I was lying in hospital having my brain operated on, and now I am here having rowed the Atlantic, I guess I am a bit proud. I have shown that anyone can attempt anything given the right attitude, belief, and support. I want to use my story to inspire women to challenge themselves. And in true Kiko style she's already telling tales of her adventure, drink in hand, holding court. You're incredible, Kiko And for such an incredible cause: https://t.co/tq4zBAtfro#KikoRow #Fastestsolorow #100togetHER pic.twitter.com/p9Xxn6Trxm Kiko Matthews (@Kikomatthews) March 23, 2018 She arrived in Barbados late on Thursday (UK time) after 50 days at sea to be greeted by her parents, brother and nephew. Her efforts in rowing 3,000 nautical miles from Gran Canaria have so far raised more than 70,000 to help build a new intensive care unit at the hospital. In a message on a fundraising page, she added her thanks to those who had donated money, saying she could not have done it without them. Ireland is to carry out a security assessment of Russian diplomats ahead of their possible expulsion from the country. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar confirmed individual action against suspected agents was a possibility and a decision could be made as early as next week. Britain has won the backing of EU leaders including the Irish premier after they accepted that the only plausible explanation for the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, was that Russia was responsible. Mr Varadkar said: A security assessment will be done the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Tanaiste (Simon Coveney), and I already spoke about this in the coming days so we will make that decision, I would say, the early part of next week. He said some EU countries will expel Russian diplomats or withdraw ambassadors next week. Russia is represented in Ireland by ambassador Yury Filatov and has an embassy in Ballsbridge in South Dublin. Mr Filatov has a staff of 16, including defence attaches, counsellors and secretaries. The Russian Embassy in Rathgar, Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) As part of the EU, Ireland has been part of the Unions four-year sanctions war against the Kremlin following military action in the Crimea. As a result of the sanctions, the value of exports between Ireland and Russia has fallen dramatically. Expelling diplomats would represent a highly symbolic ratcheting up of the pressure as part of Irish solidarity with the UK following the Salisbury attack. The UK has already turned out 23 Russian representatives, prompting retaliatory action from Moscow. In her address to the other 27 EU leaders over dinner, Prime Minister Theresa May set out the four pillars of evidence which the UK believes put Russia in the frame: The positive identification by experts at Porton Down of the specific chemical used as a type of Novichok nerve agent; The knowledge that Russia has produced this agent within the last 10 years and remains capable of doing so; Russias record of conducting state-sponsored assassinations; and Britains assessment that Russia views defectors as suitable targets for assassination. Mr Varadkar added: Following Irelands proposal at a European Council meeting in Brussels, the EU leaders agreed on Thursday with the UKs assessment that it was highly likely the Russian authorities were behind the Salisbury attack. What we will now consider in the coming days is whether we want to take individual action relating to Russian diplomats in Ireland, bearing in mind that what the UK did was to expel 23 diplomats who they believed were not actually diplomats, (but) were agents. So we would have to do a security assessment just like they did before that. We are not going to randomly expel people who are genuine diplomats. Mr Filatov said he hoped Ireland will use its common sense in assessing any action it may take. He told broadcaster RTE any expulsion of Russian diplomats from Ireland would be an unfriendly action, that is certain. He said Russia had nothing to do with the poisoning and there was no evidence or proof to suggest otherwise. London Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced a 1 million grant programme to boost grassroots culture in the capital. Individuals and small organisations will be able to apply for grants of up to 5,000. Mr Khan said the money was aimed at communities which do not usually have access to public funds. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan (Kirsty OConnor/PA) He made the announcement as he visited Battersea Arts Centre, which is reopening its Grand Hall in September following a fire in 2015. The mayor said: London is overflowing with talent and imagination. Thousands of artists have made the capital their home and their creative influence is felt in all corners of the city. I know how difficult it can be for emerging artists and small creative organisations to get quick access to funding to support some amazing grassroots cultural activity in communities around the city. Thats why Im launching Culture Seeds and calling on all Londoners to let us know how a small grant could make a big difference in your neighbourhood. From kick-starting a new arts festival, to funding a pop-up cinema screening in your local park the possibilities are endless. The announcement comes after Waltham Forest was named the inaugural London Borough of Culture. Mr Khan also published his draft culture strategy and announced Sounds Like London, a programme of gigs and events promoting grassroots music venues. The UK should stay as close as possible to the EU after Brexit, Irish premier Leo Varadkar has said. The enormous trade between Britain and Ireland should be protected to ensure Irish jobs, the premier added. On Friday morning leaders of the 27 EU member states meeting in Brussels adopted guidelines for future EU-UK relations after the separation in a years time. Leo Varadkar The Taoiseach said: The UK has decided to leave the EU. The best way we can get a good outcome for Ireland is to make sure that we have an agreement that keeps the UK as close to the EU as possible. That is the best way to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland and also the best way to protect the enormous trade that occurs between Britain and Ireland, and that is so important for Irish jobs and our economy, and agriculture in particular. In 2015, 13.8 billion euros (12 billion) of goods were exported from Ireland to Britain, more than half involving food and live animals or chemicals and related products, according to the Central Statistics Office of Ireland. Goods heading into Ireland from Britain accounted for 24% of imports in 2015 while imports from Northern Ireland accounted for 2%. Mr Varadkar added: It is not a case of when they are winning we are losing or when they are losing we are winning. We are not going to get a good outcome for Ireland on that basis. One of the main stumbling blocks is the issue of the Irish border. Little agreement has been reached on the detail of measures to avoid a hard frontier with checks on goods and services. Renewed efforts are expected by negotiators in the coming weeks to crack the issue. Mr Varadkar has insisted a border deal must be done by October to allow time for it to be ratified by legislatures. Otherwise a backstop option will mean Northern Ireland would continue to follow EU regulations after Brexit involving the all-island economy and North-South co-operation, he added. Unionists have opposed any solution which would create differences between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, and Prime Minister Theresa May is reliant on Democratic Unionist support in key Westminster votes. Avoiding a hard border is generally defined as one without frontier checks on goods and services, but there has been no evidence of a technological solution for frictionless trade anywhere else in the world, a committee of MPs said. Police investigating the murder of a woman stabbed to death on a train 30 years ago have appealed again for help from the public. No arrests have been made since Debbie Linsley, 26, was found dead on the 14.16 from Orpington in Bromley, Greater London, when it arrived at London Victoria station on March 23 1988. She tried to fight off her attacker and police recovered a full DNA profile of the killer from blood traces at the scene. It did not match any records on the national DNA database and Metropolitan Police detectives are now carrying out a familial search to try to identify anyone who may be related to the suspect. Debbie Linsley was stabbed to death in March 1988 (Metropolitan Police/PA) Members of the public were urged to cast their minds back three decades as detectives vowed to do everything in our power to bring the killer to justice. Acting Detective Inspector Susan Stansfield, of the Mets special casework investigation team, said: Have you had an unusual, out-of-the-blue conversation with someone about the murder in the intervening years? Has someone confided in you with information only the killer would know? Although this happened 30 years ago, you may recall being on that train or at a station on the route and seeing something which, at the time, you thought nothing of but in light of what happened was out of place and suspicious, and might be significant. Ms Linsley, a hotel manager in Edinburgh, had been visiting her parents and brother Gordon ahead of his wedding. She boarded the train at Petts Wood, south-east London, and sat in an old-fashioned six-person compartment with doors at each side of the carriage. A French passenger is said to have heard screaming after the train left Brixton in south London. It arrived at Victorias platform 2 and at around 2.50pm her body was discovered on the floor by British Rail staff. The murder weapon believed to be a 5in to 7in knife was never recovered. More than 1,200 statements were taken and over 650 people eliminated as potential suspects during the investigation. The victims father, Arthur Linsley, said: My daughter was murdered 30 years ago and despite the DNA profile of the suspect being available, the person responsible has still not been found. I appealed in 2013 for those who had suspicions about a partner, a friend or a relative to please come forward and I renew that appeal now on this anniversary of Debbies death. Around one in eight students are unaware of how much money they have borrowed to cover their university tuition fees, a government-commissioned report suggests. It also indicates that around a fifth of university applicants are unsure about the amount they will have to take out in student loans. The findings come just weeks after Prime Minister Theresa May announced a wide-ranging review of post-18 education including tuition fees, which now stand at 9,250 a year for English and EU students. Graduates (Chris Radburn/PA) The study, published by the Department for Education, found that 13% of those in their first year of university did not know what amount of tuition loan they had taken out. It also showed that a quarter of students said they nearly did not apply, or go to university, because of debt worries, while half reported being put off by the costs of university. However, the findings also reveal that of those who felt deterred, the fact that they could access tuition fee and maintenance loans, as well as that they would not need to start repaying the money until they were earning a certain salary, helped to ease their concerns. Among the university applicants polled in the summer of 2015, around a fifth (19%) said they did not know the amount that they would be expected to take out in tuition fee loans, the study found. This might be because they were either unaware of or undecided about the amounts involved, it said. The research also suggested that many would-be students expect to get financial help from their parents while studying. While nearly nine in 10 (88%) said they expected to get a tuition fee loan, almost two-thirds (63%) anticipated using their mothers and fathers as a source of income, with a similar proportion (62%) planning to use savings. Would-be students from wealthier backgrounds were more likely to say they would get help from parents or savings. Financial factors were not the biggest influence on the final decision to apply to university, the report said. The most important factors were the desires to be more employable, to achieve the qualification and to pursue an interest in a subject. This was the case for applicants from both the higher and the lower socio-economic groups. More than half (54%) of the applicants polled said they were put off to some extent by the cost of university, and, of those who said this, tuition fees were a bigger turn-off than living costs, and most would-be students (75%) thought university was a worthwhile investment despite the cost. For those applicants who were put off by the costs of university, tuition fee loans, the repayment threshold and maintenance loans were considered to be the most important aspects of the student finance package that helped persuade them to apply to university despite the costs, it said. Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) said that one of the biggest challenges around student finance is that many get their first statement through and do not realise that as soon as they take out the loan they are paying interest of up to 6.1%. There is a lot of naivety in schools and colleges about this (student finance and costs), he said, adding that it is partly down to government and universities to pass on information to students, rather than it being left to teachers and parents. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have received a rapturous reception from the young people of Northern Ireland as they began a whirlwind visit. Meghan and Harrys unannounced trip to Northern Ireland will see them learn the history of the doomed Titanic, when they visit a Belfast visitor attraction telling the passenger ships story, and sit down to lunch in one of the citys most famous pubs. The prince and Ms Markle began their day-long visit at the former Maze paramilitary prison outside Lisburn where around 2,500 young people from both sides of the Irish border gathered for a peace-building event. They received a hugely warm welcome from teenagers when they entered an enormous performance arena before watching some of the children deliver their peace pledges. The cross-community gathering at the Eikon Centre, which is built on the site of the old Maze prison, saw teenagers share their hopes and dreams of a peaceful and reconciled future on the island. Prince Harry (second left) and Meghan Markle with guests during a visit at the Exhibition Centre in Lisburn (Niall Carson/PA) Peter Sheridan, chief executive of event host Cooperation Ireland, welcomed the special visitors and said the youth-led initiative was integral to the development of a peaceful society in Northern Ireland. To have so many young people in one place proactively speaking out in favour of peace and committing to living their lives through peaceful means can only bode well for society, and to have the royal family here to witness it makes it even more powerful, he said. The couple are on the latest leg of a tour of the UK that has already taken them to major centres like Edinburgh, Cardiff and Birmingham. Kensington Palace said: Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle are visiting Belfast today for their first official joint visit to Northern Ireland. Throughout the day, Prince Harry and Ms Markle will have the opportunity to meet members of the public, to learn how young people are shaping the future of Northern Ireland, and to visit some of the citys most loved sites. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on their visit to Northern Ireland (Brian Lawless/PA) When the couple first arrived they were greeted by Londonderry students Amber Hamilton, from Foyle College, and Ryan McCallion, from St Josephs Boys school, both 17, before meeting a number of dignitaries including Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable George Hamilton. Ms Markle looked stylish in a cream coat and top with a green skirt. Later the couple will have lunch at the Crown Liquor Saloon, Belfasts atmospheric Victorian gin palace which is filled with a wealth of architectural features and is a major tourist attraction. After dining they will go on a walkabout outside the building to meet the people of Belfast. At the nearby campus of Northern Irelands next generation science park, Catalyst Inc, Ms Markle and Harry will meet some of Ulsters brightest young entrepreneurs and innovators. Their day will end with a tour of Titanic Belfast which tells the story of the famous ship, from her conception in Belfast in the early 1900s, through her construction and launch, to the vessels maiden voyage and tragic sinking with the loss of 1,500 lives in April 1912. The internet was used to commit at least a fifth of all sexual crimes recorded in Scotland last year, a new report on cyber crime has estimated. The study, published by the Scottish Government, also revealed a number of gaps in knowledge about hi-tech crime. It found evidence that cyber-crime is under-reported to the police and other authorities with Police Scotland only dealing with 30 incidents of computer misuse which covers hacking and virus attacks in 2016-17, according to recorded crime data. The report said: Figures from the victimisation surveys are consistently higher than in police data, most notably for instances of fraud, computer misuse, abusive/threatening behaviour and stalking and harassment, suggesting these occurrences are often not being reported to the police. The review also found that incidents of cyber crime tend be concentrated around sexual crimes, fraud and computer misuse. It warned that a number of other different types of crime involved the internet and other cyber technologies either as a precursor to a crime or in the committing of a crime itself. Cyber technology has impacted both the scale and nature of sexual crime in Scotland, the report found. Justice Secertary Michael Matheson (Jane Barlow/PA) It estimated: The internet was used as a means to commit at least 20% of all sexual crimes recorded by the police in Scotland in 2016-17. However, it identified gaps in knowledge on the scale of the problem, saying: We still need to know more about cyber crime in Scotland, such as the prevalence of different types of cyber crime, the extent of under-reporting, the cost and the harm of cyber crime. Furthermore, little evidence is available which allows for the comparison between cyber and non-cyber incidents of the same crime. This review has also drawn attention to gaps around cyber-crime offenders, in particular the extent to which different kinds of individuals and groups account for cyber-crime offences in Scotland. Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said: This report shows how the internet and new technologies can impact on the scale and nature of criminal activity across Scotland. While fraud, online sexual crimes and computer misuse such as hacking might be the most obvious examples of cyber crime, we must remain vigilant at all times while online. The Policing 2026 strategy acknowledged the need to respond to new challenges in crime and Police Scotland are committed to recruiting more civilian cyber specialists to ensure they have the right mix of skills in place to counter the threat posed by cyber crime. Jeremy Vine becomes an agony uncle in a new spoof radio comedy. The broadcaster is known for his popular lunchtime slot on Radio 2. Now actor Lewis MacLeod voices the role of the DJ in a new show on the same BBC station. Playing the role of Vine, he will give advice to the worlds great and good in the part-scripted, part-improvised spoof phone-in. Sara Cox will host a panel show on the station (Ian West/PA) Whenever he pauses to play a record, he knows he has three minutes to offer off-air advice to the worlds great and good. God knows Donald Trump has problems, Radio 2 said of the show. Which is why they turn, in private, to Jeremy (MacLeod). Celebrities in distress are played by impersonators, but a couple of whom may yet be real. The show is one of several new comedies announced for Radio 2, including Proposal, a sitcom starring The Inbetweeners actor Joe Thomas and Doctor Who star Pearl Mackie, and a panel show hosted by Sara Cox. Lewis Carnie, head of Radio 2, said: Comedy is an incredibly important part of Radio 2 and its fantastic to have the opportunity to bring new comedy talent and ideas to Britains most popular radio network. Two social workers who say an inquiry report into allegations of child abuse on the British overseas territory of St Helena destroyed their professional reputations have taken legal action. Claire Gannon and Martin Warsama, who worked on St Helena and made cover-up allegations, have sued the Foreign Office and the senior barrister who led the inquiry. They say they stand by the accuracy and honesty of their disclosures and say conclusions were reached on the basis of an inquiry which was procedurally unfair. Photo issued by the Royal Navy of St Helena (Royal Navy/PA) Lawyers representing ministers and inquiry chairman Sasha Wass QC dispute their claim and say the litigation should not proceed. A judge was on Friday considering issues in the case at a High Court hearing in London. Barrister Neil Sheldon, who is leading a legal team representing Foreign Office ministers, asked the judge, Master Victoria McCloud, to halt the litigation and dismiss the claim launched by Ms Gannon and Mr Warsama. The inquiry had been set up by ministers following corruption and cover-up allegations which had been raised in newspaper articles and leaked documents and made by Ms Gannon and Martin Warsama. An inquiry report published in December 2015 concluded that: St Helena did not attract sex tourism; said allegations that the island in the South Atlantic was a paedophiles paradise were not true; reported no corruption at all; and found no evidence of any attempt by the Foreign Office, the Department for International Development, the St Helena government or police to cover up child abuse. The report said: We stress that there was no cover-up as alleged by Ms Gannon and Mr Warsama, rather an ignorance of proper safeguarding procedure. Nicholas Bowen QC, who represents Ms Gannon and Mr Warsama, told the judge the conclusions of the Wass Inquiry destroyed the professional reputations of his clients. He said the inquiry process was procedurally unfair and said Ms Gannon and Mr Warsama were entitled to just satisfaction for their loss. Ms Gannon and Mr Warsama say their claim should not be dismissed but say evidence should be analysed at a trial. The director of the hit Harry Potter play has spoken of his shock at being awarded an OBE, a title he thought was never on the cards because of his working class roots. John Tiffany, who was decorated for his services to drama at Buckingham Palace, opened Harry Potter And The Cursed Child in London in July 2016, on which he worked closely with the books original author JK Rowling. He dedicated the honour to his childhood community in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Harry Potter and The Cursed Child at the Palace Theatre (Yui Mok/PA) Mr Tiffany, 47, said: Its just wonderful. Coming from a working class family in Huddersfield, this was never on the cards. For the community there, everyone who has supported me, this is for them. Its just a great thing for them to see. At the end of the day, we are all made of our teachers. Someone who encourages us. I kind of feel like I am taking this for them. Despite being a decorated theatre director with awards including a Tony and an Olivier under his belt, Mr Tiffany did not always have his eyes set on the world of drama. Originally enrolling in university to study biology, he changed to drama and classics six months into his course after being inspired by the City of Culture festival. He said: It was 1990 and Glasgow, where I was studying, was the City of Culture. I started to see all this work by directors like Peter Brook and I instantly thought I just want to do this. So I changed course. It was terrifying because I only thought you could do drama and music as a hobby where I came from. My dad played in a brass band and my mum was a chorus girl, but the idea of doing that as a job was just terrifying. I just never thought I could I didnt even know what a director was. Mr Tiffany said JK Rowling was delighted at the news of his OBE. Shes a good pal, he said, and she was over the moon. Last time I saw her was in a Halloween party which she has every year in Scotland she was over the moon. I never ever thought I was in the running for something like this, where as at least with an Olivier or a Tony there is the possibility but I never thought I was in the running for an OBE. Dont forget that returns and late-release tickets become available daily. Visit the Lyric Theatre box office at 214 W. 43rd St. or https://t.co/gjv2nK6FhK for tickets. #CursedChildNYC Harry Potter and the Cursed Child NYC (@CursedChildNYC) March 22, 2018 Mr Tiffany, who was fresh from a flight from New York where the production is preparing to open on Broadway next month, still does not know who nominated him for the title. He said: Ive asked all the people I thought it could be and they have said it wasnt them. So I have absolutely no idea. As a theatre director you never think that you are going to think that anyone at the Palace or Downing Street knows who you are. Lennie James and Suranne Jones will return for a second series of drama Save Me, it has been announced. The Sky Atlantic show, which was also created and written by James, stars the actor as Nelly Rowe, whose world was turned upside down after he was arrested and accused of kidnapping his 13-year-old daughter Jody, a child he barely knew existed. The actor will return to the role alongside Doctor Foster star Jones, who will reprise her role as his ex-lover and Jodys mother, Claire. Lennie James and Suranne Jones (Justin Downing/Sky) James said: I am so chuffed that we get to keep telling the story of Save Me. Thank you to Sky Atlantic and a huge thank you to everyone who watched our little show and enjoyed it. More to come as soon as I can sit down to write it! Jones added: I am so thrilled to be returning for the second series of Save Me. The reaction to the show has been amazing and I love being part of a great ensemble piece. Lennie has fantastic energy and his writing is so real and poetic. I cannot wait to read what he creates next. A year-long crackdown on illegal bird poaching at a British military base in Cyprus has resulted in a huge drop in the number of poachers operating inside the bases territory, authorities said. There has also been a 70% reduction in the trapping of blackcaps over the same period, officials said. Small migratory birds are considered a delicacy by some Cypriots and trapping feeds a multimillion-euro illicit trade. The police chief of the British military base gives instructions to a bulldozer driver (Petros Karadjias/AP) Authorities used a road roller to crush bird-calling devices and other trapping paraphernalia. They also seized irrigation pipes used to water acacia trees that conceal nets. Dhekelia British base police chief Jon Ward said combating poachers remains a priority and that a 12-person anti-poaching unit will expand its use of drones and hidden cameras to enforce the law. A British Army brigadier who created a specialist unit of Facebook warriors to combat the rising influence of online interaction on warfare has said it was a remarkable feeling to receive a CBE. Brigadier Alastair Aitken set up the 77th Brigade in April 2015, as an agent of change to challenge the difficulties of modern warfare using non-lethal engagement. Brig Aitken was decorated at Buckingham Palace alongside playwright Peter Nichols, theatre director John Tiffany, and the governor general of Barbados, Dame Sandra Mason. Brigadier Alastair Aitken is made a CBE by the Duke of Cambridge (Jonathan Brady/PA) Brig Aitken said: Its remarkable feeling. Its a fantastic setting and brilliant experience in terms of the range of talent that you get to meet whilst here. My family were delighted and asked, can we have new hats?, They are very excited to be here today. I think they are a little starstruck from seeing the Duke of Cambridge too. The 77th Brigade is made up of Army recruits skilled in the use of social media, who disseminate digital content to support the armed forces. How we communicate is a really important part (of the 77th Brigade) and how we work together to counter the campaigns of regimes that use disinformation to create war zones, he said. Brig Aitken, who was born in Bedfordshire but raised all over the world, described the 77th Brigades creation as coming just at the right time in terms of international tensions over the past 12 months. He served in the the Black Watch, Royal Regiment of Scotland for 30 years. A serving soldier accused of being a member of a banned neo-Nazi group National Action claimed a senior colleague handed him propaganda leaflets on an Army base, a court heard. Private Mark Barrett, who had a swastika on his windowsill, claimed Corporal Mikko Vehvilainen, gave him two of the groups flyers, one bearing the slogan White Jihad, and cracked racist jokes. Barrett also alleged the more senior soldier asked him to draw pictures of a Nazi swastika and a Second World War German panzer tank found in a sketchbook in his barracks accommodation. The 25-year-old told police interviewing him after his arrest on suspicion of a terrorism offence at Alexander Barracks, Cyprus, that he found Vehvilainen intimidating and he scared the crap out of him. Birmingham Crown Court, where the three men are all on trial (Joe Giddens/PA) Vehvilainen, a fellow Royal Anglian Regiment soldier, of Sennybridge Camp, Powys, is also on trial at Birmingham Crown Court alongside a 23-year-old male, who cannot be named, accused of National Action membership. Barrett, then living at barracks at Cottesmore, Rutland, knew Vehvilainen as the 33-year-old lived in married accommodation on the base. Asked what he knew about the banned group, he told police: That guy, Vehvilainen, he approached me about it. He is a corporal in my battalion. He added: I had a coffee with him, and he started saying racial comments and had a joke about it, but didnt mean it, or anything sinister or anything like that. He gave me these two little things (leaflets) which I put in my wallet and left there. Barrett claimed he never again looked at the leaflets until they were pulled from his wallet after arrest by police. He said: It was more of a fact I knew of him in passing, working literally across the road from where I did at Cottesmore and asked me if I wanted to have a brew and I did. And then started making racial comments, and had a joke at first, and then he gave me those (leaflets) and that was it. I knew they were racist but I didnt know he was in, I couldnt remember it. Barrett said the extent of his knowledge of National Action was theyre a bunch of racist guys. Asked about whether Vehvilainen was a member, he said: I dont know. But he is a very, very particular racist. Asked about drawings in his sketchbook, he said: Yeah Ive got a book, a drawings book, but basically theres pictures that Vehvilainen asked me to do. I like to draw and always have done, so I drew a couple of pictures for him and that was it. One of them is a tank. Two of the men are accused of having a copy of white nationalist mass-murderer Anders Breiviks manifesto, which contained bomb-making instructions. (PA/PA) He added: He just said draw some pictures and I assumed thats what he wanted so thats what I did. I dont think the pictures themselves were specifically racist I just think it had, excuse me, the swastika on them. Vehvilainen, who has admitted having a CS gas canister, is also charged with possession of a terrorist document, the Anders Breivik manifesto, and two counts of stirring up racial hatred relating to two forum posts. National Action were proscribed by the home secretary in December 2016, after a series of events including Twitter support for the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox Jurors heard how the other male on trial had claimed to have written a computer document planning an internal takeover of National Front, written after National Action were banned. It read: An opportunity for us like this comes round about twice a century. The white working classes are begging for a party to represent them, our time is now. He is also accused of three counts of having a terrorist document, and one charge of distributing terrorist material. The trial continues on Monday. Meghan Markle has been recommended New Zealand as a destination for her honeymoon and Prince Harrys bride-to-be has said she will consider it. The advice came when the American actress and her fiance went on a walkabout to meet the people of Belfast during their one-day visit to Northern Ireland. Hundreds of well-wishers waited patiently outside the citys most famous pub the Crown for the couple to begin their meet and greet, and were not put off when they were caught in a heavy shower soon after the event started. When they emerged from the ornate gin palace after having lunch Harry made the first group of well-wishers laugh when he said: Are you all trying to get into the pub? Ellen Hawthorne, 38, who married husband Nathan last August said: I suggested New Zealand as a honeymoon destination because I went their last year for a month after my wedding. Mrs Hawthorne from Ballyclare, north of Belfast said: I told her it was lovely and she said shed keep it in mind. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle react to wellwishers (Brian Lawless/PA) The royal wedding was also the conversation topic for Alex McConkey, 52, when she chatted to the couple: I told them congratulations and that I was really, really happy for them. And I told Meghan Id miss her terribly in Suits, because Im a big fan and she said the next series is coming out soon. Ms Markle could not contain her joy about her May 19 wedding when she spoke to Shirley Begley, 51 from Larne, who said: She said she was really excited about the wedding and was looking forward to it. A council has said sorry over failings in its dealings with Parsons Green bomber Ahmed Hassan. The 18-year-old, who lived in Sunbury, Surrey, told immigration officials he had trained with Islamic State after he arrived in Britain illegally in 2015 and claimed asylum as a child. Hassan was referred by Barnardos and Surrey social services to Prevent, but kept his plans to cause carnage a secret. Ahmed Hassans dealings with Prevent are subject to a review (Met Police/PA) He was said by police to have engaged with the de-radicalistion scheme Prevent through its Channel programme while keeping his plot secret. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dean Haydon, of Scotland Yard, said: On the one hand he was appearing to engage with the programme, but he kept secret what he was planning and plotting. The high-achieving college student kept his dark thoughts from his foster parents, college mentor and other agencies who all tried to help him have a better life. In his sentencing, Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said he was sure Hassan had in fact been trained with IS before he committed his act of terrorism. Afterwards, a Surrey County Council spokesman said: Our work with other agencies in this case wasnt as good as it should have been and were sorry for our part in that. We knew before the terrible incident at Parsons Green that we needed to make changes and had already begun to do so. Since then we have made further improvements and continue to focus on ensuring our work in this area is as good as it can be. Our thoughts remain with everyone affected. The spokesman said staff from agencies on the Channel panel had met Hassan many times between February 2016 and September 2017. He received extensive support in mental health and education and the panel monitored and reviewed it. The spokesman added: This was a difficult case in tough circumstances. We have a duty as a county council to provide support to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who arrive in Surrey and were also expected to work with law enforcement agencies and others to help stop people being drawn into terrorism. A review of Hassans dealings with Prevent is under way. Meghan Markle appears to be making plans to start a family soon after she marries Prince Harry after joking about needing a range of baby products. The American actress made the light-hearted reference during a whirlwind visit to Belfast with her fiance, who sounded a positive note about Northern Irelands future saying: Over the years religion has divided us but were all the same underneath. During their first joint visit to Northern Ireland, which saw them tour the Titanic visitor attraction, the couple embraced local culture by sitting down to a lunch of Irish dishes with Meghan even sampling half a pint of Guinness. But when they met leading entrepreneurs from the city, as they toured a start-up business hub in east Belfasts regenerated docklands, they were taken with baby products by Adam and Sinead Murphy the husband and wife team behind Shnuggle baby range. Sinead Murphy from Shnuggle baby products talks to Harry and Ms Markle (Niall Carson/PA) When the pair behind a non-slip bath told the couple they could have one free of charge, Harry quipped: How many have you got? His US fiancee laughed and gestured to all the products on view, and said: Im sure at some point well need the whole (lot). Earlier in Belfasts most iconic pub the Crown, the royal couple enjoyed traditional fayre after being seduced by the watering holes lavish interior. Prince Harry and Ms. Markle then visit one of Belfast's oldest buildings, The Crown Liquor Saloon and learn about its history from @NationalTrust staff. pic.twitter.com/iT94q2xTTa The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) March 23, 2018 Andrew Dickinson, pub manager of the Crown, confirmed Ms Markle had the Crown Bar Irish stew, while Harry tucked into sausage and champ, three Gloucester old spot sausages with champ, an Irish dish of mashed potatoes, chopped spring onions, butter, milk and cheese. The pub manager added: Theyre two of our most popular dishes and on a hectic day it would have kept them going. He said they were poured half a Guinness and half a Mourne Gold Pale Ale to sample, but also had soft drinks with their lunch. Prince Harry meets crowds waiting outside The Crown in Belfast. pic.twitter.com/qdmdVW2kIt The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) March 23, 2018 Mr Dickinson said Im sure they liked them, theyre both great drinks, but he did not believe it was the first time the American actress had tried the famous Irish drink: I saw on Twitter shed poured a Guinness before so maybe not. Speaking about the visit to the Crown he said: Its a very iconic building in Northern Ireland, mostpeople have come here at some point so its great that they wanted to put it on their itinerary as well. After the private lunch the couple went on a walkabout in Great Victoria Street, meeting hundreds of well-wishers who waited patiently to meet the pair even when a heavy downpour began halfway through the meet and greet. In the afternoon, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle meet members of the public gathered on Great Victoria Street. pic.twitter.com/xxbP9M6dea The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) March 23, 2018 The couple were congratulated on their forthcoming wedding by many and Ellen Hawthorne, 38, who married husband Nathan last August, came up with a far-flung location for their honeymoon. She said: I suggested New Zealand as a honeymoon destination because I went there last year for a month after my wedding. Mrs Hawthorne from Ballyclare, north of Belfast, said: I told her it was lovely and she said shedkeep it in mind. Ms. Markle receives a posy from a member of the public on Great Victoria Street in Belfast. pic.twitter.com/n6Hv67TG7C The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) March 23, 2018 The prince and Ms Markle addressed Northern Irelands past when they visited the site of the former Maze paramilitary prison outside Lisburn where around two-and-a-half thousand young people gatheredfor the Amazing Space celebration. The concert at the recently-built Eikon Centre saw teenagers from both sides of the regions dividedcommunity share their hopes and dreams of a peaceful and reconciled future. After watching some performances, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle heard from the young people themselves about the reconciliation work going on across Northern Ireland. pic.twitter.com/f9JHWU2d0j The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) March 23, 2018 At one point Harry told some of the young people: Over the years religion has divided us but wereall the same underneath. The most important thing is that the door is open and you just keep pushing at it. Ten, 15 years ago you would have been up against the tide, but youre going with it now. Keep it up. The couple ended their day at the Titanic Belfast visitor attraction that tells the story of the liner, from its conception in Belfast in the early 1900s, through to the construction, launch and subsequent sinking in April 1912. Prince Harry and Ms. Markles last visit in Northern Ireland today was to the @TitanicBelfast, one of the world's leading tourist attractions. pic.twitter.com/2jbgQ2sAvY The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) March 23, 2018 More than 1,500 lives were lost after the ship struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. They were guided throughout the trip by Judith Owens, chief executive of the centre, who said Ms Markle praised the warmth of the Belfast people during her trip to the Titanic visitor attraction. Prince Harry and Ms. Markle walked through @TitanicBelfasts interactive galleries which tell Titanics story - from her conception in Belfast in the early 1900s, through her construction and launch to her maiden voyage. pic.twitter.com/RJ0FZEG5GR The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) March 23, 2018 Speaking after the visit, Ms Owens said: Meghan just said that she had really enjoyed today, that the people of Belfast were so friendly and they had really enjoyed the mix of the different places where they had been. She said it has been lovely, everybody has been very warm and friendly. A Spanish Supreme Court judge has charged 13 Catalan separatist politicians with rebellion for their attempts to make the region independent of Spain. The move deals a heavy blow to the secessionist movement with an indictment that could put its political elite behind bars for decades. Judge Pablo Llarena ordered five of the Catalan politicians who answered a court summons on Friday to be held without bail. Another of the summoned politicians, the ERC partys Marta Rovira, did not heed the order and announced in a letter that she was fleeing the country to live in exile. Spanish media reported that she went to Switzerland. The judge also ordered that European and international arrest warrants be issued for six fugitive Catalan politicians, including former regional president Carles Puigdemont and Rovira. Two other Catalan politicians are already in jail. The charges of rebellion stem from an illegal independence declaration by the Catalan parliament last October. Rebellion is punishable with up to 30 years in prison. Marta Rovira (Paul White/AP) Spanish courts sought Mr Puigdemonts extradition from Brussels last year but cancelled that petition amid concerns that Belgium might send him back but restrict the crimes with which he could be charged. The jailings on Friday are likely to cause outrage in Catalonia, where many supporters describe the Catalan officials in custody as political prisoners. The pro-independence civil society group ANC called for marches in towns across the region. The separatist movement in Catalonia, a wealthy region of 7.5 million in north-east Spain, has ignited Spains biggest constitutional crisis in decades. The indictment on Friday appeared to scotch hopes of breaking the political deadlock and installing a new Catalan government any time soon. Police block the street as large crowds, gather in Barcelona (Manu Fernandez/AP) Pro-independence political parties and civic groups in Catalonia have defied the Spanish government for the past six months with efforts to secede from Spain and create a new republic. They have repeatedly fallen foul of the courts and the constitution. Polls show Catalans are equally divided on the secession issue, although a vast majority support holding a legal referendum on the issue. Legal and political constraints have prevented the slim separatist majority in Catalonias parliament from electing a regional president and government since a December election. The latest failure, on Thursday, started a two-month countdown for either a government to be formed or for another ballot in the restive region. Catalan presidential candidate Jordi Turull, right, and former cabinet member Josep Rull arrive at the Supreme Court in Madrid (Francisco Seco/AP) One of those jailed on Friday was former Catalan government minister Jordi Turull, the third candidate since the December election to become Catalan president. Mr Turull failed to gain enough votes from regional lawmakers on Thursday but in theory had a second chance to be voted in on Saturday by a simple majority. It was unclear if Saturdays parliamentary vote could go ahead without Mr Turulls physical presence. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy declined to comment on the legal issues but said he is not enthusiastic about calling another regional election in Catalonia. Mr Rajoy said he does not like repeat elections, explaining that people vote and politicians have a duty to resolve problems and not create others. In his ruling, Mr Llarena said 25 Catalan separatists in all will be tried for rebellion, embezzlement or disobedience. Others charged with rebellion were former Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras, who is already in detention; seven other members of the ousted Catalan government; former Catalan parliament speaker Carme Forcadell and jailed separatist activists Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart. Mr Puigdemont appeared unshaken by the charges. Lets see what happens tomorrow, what happens today. Every day things change, Mr Puigdemont said in Helsinki, where he was on a visit. He also criticised the judges decision, suggesting Mr Llarena was influenced by the political climate. It is not right for a judge to do politics, Mr Puigdemont said. Supreme Court of Florida. ARMANDO RIVAS, Petitioner, v. THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON, Respondent. No. SC17-1934 Decided: March 22, 2018 Armando Rivas, pro se, Boynton Beach, Florida, for Petitioner Nancy M. Wallace of Akerman LLP, Tallahassee, Florida, Adam G. Schwartz of Akerman LLP, West Palm Beach, Florida, and William P. Heller of Akerman LLP, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for Respondent This case is before the Court on the petition of Armando Rivas to invoke this Court's discretionary jurisdiction based on express and direct conflict. We have considered the jurisdictional briefs and portions of the record deemed necessary to reflect jurisdiction under article V, section 3(b)(3) of the Florida Constitution and hereby deny the petition. Due to his numerous meritless and inappropriate filings in this Court pertaining to his foreclosure proceedings in the Circuit Court of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, in and for Palm Beach County, Florida, during the pendency of his petition for jurisdiction in this case, Rivas was directed to show cause why he should not be barred from filing in this Court any future pro se pleadings, motions, or other requests for relief pertaining to his foreclosure proceedings in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. Rivas has filed a response to the order to show cause. After considering Rivas's response, we conclude that it fails to show cause why he should not be sanctioned. Rivas has compiled a history of pro se filings in this Court that were devoid of merit or inappropriate for review. Accordingly, the Clerk of this Court is hereby instructed to reject any future pleadings, petitions, motions, documents, or other filings submitted by Armando Rivas pertaining to his foreclosure proceedings in the Circuit Court of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, in and for Palm Beach County, Florida, unless such filings are signed by a member in good standing of The Florida Bar. Counsel may file on Rivas's behalf if counsel determines that the proceeding may have merit and can be brought in good faith. It is so ordered. FOOTNOTES . In 2017, Rivas filed five other actions in this Court against The Bank of New York Mellon, four of which were filed in November alone. See Rivas v. Bank of New York Mellon, No. SC17-2099, 2018 WL 1020505 (Fla. Feb. 22, 2018) (review dismissed); Rivas v. Bank of New York Mellon, No. SC17-2098, 2017 WL 5983898 (Fla. Dec. 1, 2017) (review dismissed); Rivas v. Bank of New York Mellon, No. SC17-2043, 2017 WL 6031779 (Fla. Dec. 6, 2017) (petition transferred to district court); Rivas v. Bank of New York Mellon, No. SC17-1682, 2017 WL 4161262 (Fla. Sept. 20, 2017) (unpublished) (review dismissed); Rivas v. Bank of New York Mellon, No. SC17-203, 2017 WL 2569934 (Fla. June 14, 2017) (unpublished) (review dismissed). Rivas filed two additional actions in this Court against The Bank of New York Mellon in 2018. See Notice of Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court, or Alternatively, Notice to Invoke Discretionary Jurisdiction of the Florida Supreme Court at 1, Rivas v. Bank of New York Mellon, No. SC18-253 (Fla. Feb. 9, 2018); Rivas v. Bank of New York Mellon, No. SC18-138, 2018 WL 1151800 (Fla. Mar. 5, 2018) (review denied). . See State v. Spencer, 751 So. 2d 47, 48 (Fla. 1999) (stating that a court must first provide notice and an opportunity to respond before sanctioning a litigant and prohibiting litigant from future pro se filings). . In recent years, we have imposed comparable sanctions on other litigants whose pro se filing practices have exhibited their disregard for abusing the scarce judicial resources of this Court. See, e.g., Riethmiller v. Riethmiller, 133 So. 3d 926 (Fla. 2013); McCutcheon v. State, 117 So. 3d 769 (Fla. 2013); James v. Tucker, 75 So. 3d 231 (Fla. 2011); Johnson v. Rundle, 59 So. 3d 1080 (Fla. 2011); Steele v. State, 14 So. 3d 221 (Fla. 2009); Pettway v. McNeil, 987 So. 2d 20 (Fla. 2008). PER CURIAM. LABARGA, C.J., and PARIENTE, LEWIS, QUINCE, CANADY, POLSTON, and LAWSON, JJ., concur. There are instances where two or more planets occupy one Zodiacal sign. This occurrence is referred to in Astrology as planetary conjunctions or Graha Samyoga. Every planet except the nodes Rahu and Ketu emits certain type of rays and creates its own sphere of influence in the Zodiacal sign it occupies or transits. When another planet enters the same sign radiating its own rays the entire character of the sign would undergo change. Friendship and enmity between planets Rays of one planet would get either intensified or counteracted by those of another planet entering its longitude. If Planet A intensifies the rays of Planet B, Planet A and Planet B are considered `friends. If C counteracts the rays of D, Planets C and D are considered `enemies. The length of one Rashi or sign in the Zodiac is 30 degrees. And if the two planets in one sign are say 28 degrees far apart, the effect their Samyoga or conjunction can produce is very little or negligible. On the other hand, if there are two planets in two neighboring signs near the cusp between them, their conjunction or Samyoga becomes more effective and it would produce stronger results, good or bad depending on the nature of the two planets or the `friendship or the `enmity between them. Two planets under one constellation Effects planetary conjunctions produce vary depending on the sign and the House or Bhava where they occur as well as strengths and weaknesses of the planets. Two planets coming under one and the same constellation too are considered to form a conjunction. Planets losing or gaining strength in conjunctions Sun and Jupiter are the most powerful planets in the Zodiac. When another planet joins Sun or Jupiter in the same sign, they would not suffer a diminution of their strengths. However, other planets conjoining them would lose their strength and characteristics to some extent. Mercury and Moon are the two planets who are completely overpowered by other planets. These two planets undergo a complete change in their nature and characteristics when another planet conjoins them. Jupiter-Saturn conjunction Jupiter-Saturn Samyoga is considered very favourable, because it leads to diminution of evil influences of Saturn and intensification of Jupiters benevolent character. Moon-Saturn conjunction Moon-Saturn Samyoga produces an entirely different result. Moons good characteristics disappear and Saturns evil qualities become dominant in such a union. The results that this Samyoga produces are misery, suffering, disease, and loss of money, lands and even the good name. However, this Samyoga endows the native with the qualities of endurance and reliance. Exceptions to the general rule Mars-Moon Samyoga, which Indian astrologers hail as Chandramangala Yoga is considered unfavourable for females, according to veteran Sri Lankan astrologer Hendrick de Silva Hettigoda. Indian Rishi Varahamihira says in his celebrated work `Brihat Jataka that native born with Moon-Mars conjunction would eventually turn out to be a bad son to his mother and an unscrupulous trader. Hettigoda says he has found through experience that Moon-Jupiter Samyoga too is not favourable in certain instances. He says that he had found marriage had been an utter failure in cases where Moon-Jupiter conjunction had occurred in the 2nd or the 7th House. Hettigoda says that despite Jupiter and Venus are called `enemies in Astrological parlance, their conjunction produces very favourable results. From left: Dumindra Rathnayake, Minister Mangala Samaraweera, Minister Malik Samarawickrema , Mangala Yapa, Duminda Ariyasinghe The Board of Investment held the Investor Facilitation and Networking Event at the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel recently, to engage in a dialogue with investors who have re-invested in Sri Lanka. By confirming their trust in Sri Lanka and in the Board, these investors had sent a very positive message to potential investors both in Sri Lanka and overseas. At the event, the audience which consisted of nearly 200 existing investors who had opted to reinvest in the country were addressed by the Chief Guest Mangala Samaraweera, Minister of Finance and Mass Media, Malik Samarawickrama, Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade, Dumindra Rathnayake Chairman of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, Duminda Ariyasinghe, Director General of BOI, and Mangala Yapa Board member of BOI. The meeting was interactive and an excellent dialogue was established between the BOI and the investor community. In recent times the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka has identified existing investors as a major potential source for future investments in the country. In fact what is known as expansions (ie the decision on the part of a BOI investor to further invest) has become a major share of the actual investments handled by the BOI. One of the main reasons that this important group can be encouraged to invest in projects is that they are already familiar with the business environment of the country and their experience in Sri Lanka has been positive and beneficial. Hence they are agreeable to reinvest in the country. There are many reasons why existing investors can be helpful to the BOIs effort to promote the country as a preferred destination for investment. Existing investors may be considered brand ambassadors with a very clear understanding of the business environment and with considerable knowledge of the most attractive reasons for setting up projects in Sri Lanka. Existing investors can therefore be a powerful voice in Sri Lankas favour. Furthermore, many existing investors have an extensive network of contacts and for that reason the BOI currently works very closely with them to attract more investment in the country. If an investor, especially a foreign investor who has set up a reputed business speaks in Sri Lankas favour, this represents a strong voice in favour of investment in the country. However a major reason why investors have decided to reinvest in Sri Lanka is due to the commitment of the Government including the BOI to create a more business friendly and conducive environment. Hence more investor-friendly mechanisms being set up to fast track the approval and implementation of projects are additional reasons and the fact that there are currently more opportunities to invest in new areas. Also new liberalized laws covering the foreign exchange regime, simplified taxation laws that reduce upfront costs and efforts to improve facilitation are also important considerations. The BOI itself plays a role of facilitating investors and has increased its meetings with line agencies to resolve the issues while unresolved issues are taken up at various committees for speedy resolution. Existing investors are therefore aware of this extensive effort at hand holding and the facilitation service that the BOI offers investors has without any doubt made it more likely to encourage existing investors decide to invest rather than an outsider who may not be fully aware of the advantages available in Sri Lanka. The BOI strategy in that respect is to identify specific targeted sectors for reinvestment and then actively promote it with the investor to expand his/her investment. In addition, the BOI has been engaged in facilitation which includes identifying new lands for new Zones to channel the investor to that location. Furthermore a promotion strategy has involved focusing on Sri Lankas comparative advantages and including economic strengths, knowhow and the competitiveness of strong as well as soft assets. This in turn will help promote existing emerging exporters and target investments and knowhow from abroad. The reinvestment strategy of the BOI focuses mainly on developing the manufacturing sector which is the main target with a strong emphasis on attracting electronics, industrial machinery, automotive, electrical equipment, food products and pharmaceutical to name just a few. Furthermore, reinvestment is also sought in services which are also promoted including IT and software development, BPOs, tourism and education. Another attraction for the existing investors is the establishment of new Export Processing Zones under a budgetary allocation of Rs. 2.5 billion. These new zones will be located at Bingiriya, Mawathagama, Milleniya and Charlimount (Matara) BOI has also set up a new reinvestment team which has identified several activities that will encourage reinvestment. Firstly this would include communicating with companies which are known to be pleased with investing in Sri Lanka as well as some of the largest investors in term of the value of investments, exports or employment generated. Another consideration of the reinvestment team of the BOI is to encourage new investors like their suppliers or partners in the supply chain to invest by using the good offices of existing investors. Companies which belong to the BOI priority sectors such as manufacturing and services are goodwill ambassadors for the promotion of investment in Sri Lanka. Furthermore since there is a plan to make the country a global hub with a strong emphasis on logistics companies which are interested in being part of the global value chain are widely encouraged to expand their operation in Sri Lanka in the future. These are the many reasons why the BOIs programme to encourage reinvestments offers considerable potential for future investment in Sri Lanka. Says China may refer Trump tariff package to WTO Says appeasement of protectionism wont work REUTERS: China is preparing a range of responses to planned U.S. tariffs and will stand up to protectionism, but still hopes for dialogue, Beijings ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Thursday. Zhang Xiangchen said China was considering a WTO complaint against the package of tariffs that President Donald Trump was expected to announce later on Thursday. This is a legitimate right for China to do that. But I would not exclude other options because, if the flood approaches, you have to bank up to keep it out, he told Reuters. Zhang spoke before a senior White House official said Trump would sign a memorandum later on Thursday to potentially slap tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports over forced transfer of intellectual property. The announcement is the first in a string of U.S. trade restrictions to be aimed squarely at China. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Wednesday the tariffs would target Chinas high-technology sector and could also include restrictions on Chinese investments in the United States. Trumps protectionist trade policies have already caused a global outcry this year. In January, he slapped steep import tariffs on solar panels and washing machines and this month worldwide steel and aluminium tariffs have followed, justified by a claim to national security under a Cold War-era law. The European Union, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Brazil and South Korea won exemptions from the steel and aluminium tariffs, Canada and Mexico, Lighthizer said on Thursday. Asked about the exemptions, Zhang said that appeasement of protectionism would not work. If you surrender to protectionism, you will lose your credibility. The United States hopes that the national security claim will make the steel and aluminium tariffsimmune to a challenge, but Zhang said they failed to pass the WTO test of being essential for national security. No one has seen the essential national security rationale behind the U.S. measures, he said. Even the senior officials of the United States fail to hide the real reasons. Thursdays tariffs, under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act, would be even more difficult to defend, Zhang said, because in a previous ruling Washington promised to deploy them only with authorisation from the WTO. The U.S. commitment is still there. But it seems that today they would like to ignore it. This issue can be brought back to the WTO and it will be challenged again. China and other WTO members might also retaliate against the solar tariffs with their own tariffson U.S. goods, Zhang said. My colleagues in the capital have been preparing those options and this response. We still cherish the multilateral trading system very much, although theres a flavour of trade war in the air. Asked about a possible U.S. WTO complaint about currency manipulation, Zhang said China had been prepared for such an argument since Trump mentioned it during his election campaign. China is already under U.S. pressure at the WTO for its industrial overcapacity and its cyber security law. Asked if China would invoke national security to avoid a WTO dispute over cyber security, Zhang said China would exercise self-restraint.As well as deploying tariffs, the United States has undermined the WTOs ability to cope with disputes by vetoing the appointment of new appeals judges. If the United States has the intention to paralyse the system no one can stop this, he said, adding that China would keep trying to persuade Trump to unblock the system, although some in Geneva were talking about a plan B for the dispute settlement mechanism. Zhang said he hoped for good relations with new U.S. ambassador Dennis Shea, who he said had promised to discuss the issue, and he did not want to consider a scenario of the WTO without the United States. Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Ltd. ( CCBSL) recently hosted its annual Distributor Partner Convention, recognizing its longstanding distributors and rewarding top performances at a gala event of fellowship. The event took place at the Waters Edge, Battaramulla and was attended by over 100 distributors and Coca-Cola associates. Apart from giving out awards for outstanding contributions, the event provided a fitting platform to congregate with CCBSL distributors and to hear their amazing success stories. Mayank Arora, Managing Director of Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Ltd. commented: It gives me great pleasure to congratulate our valued distributors for their ongoing commitment and tireless efforts to ensure our success in Sri Lanka. Each one of our distributors has played a key role in driving our business growth in the market. We are proud of our distributors contribution and look forward to working together and serve all consumers in Sri Lanka with great tasting and refreshing beverages. Economic reforms have become an urgent need for Sri Lanka, with successive governments since independence, resorting to short-term, politically expedient economic strategies that have placed considerable macroeconomic pressures whilst reducing Sri Lankas global competitiveness. Vision 2025, the current governments short and medium-term policy direction, is aimed at steering the economy towards more sustainable means of growth, led by foreign and domestic private investment. The successful implementation of economic reforms, however, depends heavily on a combination of political, institutional and socio-economic factors. In fact, institutional misalignment, misidentified reforms and data deficiencies were identified as key structural and institutional bottlenecks hampering the successful implementation of Vision 2025, at the New Thinkers Symposium a unique platform launched by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) for those under the age of 35, from the public and private sectors, academia, think-tanks and other fields of interest involved in economic affairs. Institutional misalignment The most severe impediment to national economic policy implementation is the complex institutional framework within Sri Lankas public sector, which lacks coordination and capacity and is worryingly bloated. The sector is made up of too many workers who are engaged in duplicative work while being subject to constant shifts in ministerial portfolios, a recipe for inaction of any national economic action plan. Institutional excess in Sri Lankas public sector is giving rise to institutional fragmentation and instability, which is ultimately the primary hindrance to implementation of any reform agenda. Policy roadmaps such as Vision 2025 which have undergone a consultative process to include inputs of relevant stakeholders are likely to be futile in the absence of a stable institutional setup to implement the mapped out reforms. A snapshot view of institutional excess can be seen in the Figure. Too many ministries, agencies and departments, result in overlapping functions and mandates, which leads to institutional fragmentation. Furthermore, the level of institutional instability in Sri Lanka can be illustrated with the case of the Project Management Department and Monitoring Department (for Vision 2025), which experienced three changes in its overlooking ministry in the space of three years. Another crucial area in need of reforms, hampered by institutional complexity, is the state-owned enterprises (SOE) sector. Multiple stakeholder contestations take place on SOE reforms due to the decentralization of SOE oversight, which slows and complicates the reform process. Given that unstable and bloated public institutions are often a reality that developing economies must contend with, a more practical approach suggested would be to adopt clusters of core subject areas that group together multiple ministerial portfolios belonging to the same core subject area. Under such a framework, clusters should coordinate closely to avoid duplicating mandates. The current ad hoc division of ministerial portfolios creates conflicts of interest whilst also hindering the scope of policy consistency and continuity. Misidentified reforms Economic reforms are often spread over a significant amount of time and require considerable sequencing. In this regard, it is vital that the government undertakes reforms that are most impactful on the economy, while taking into account low hanging fruit. For instance, when considering the impact of information communication technology (ICT) on the economy, policies to enable flexible working conditions facilitated by ICT and improved online payment mechanisms can have a much larger marginal benefit to the economy than the significant investment cost of providing free Wi-Fi to the public. For instance, the Internet usage is low in Sri Lanka, amidst relatively affordable and higher Internet speeds, compared to other countries in the region. Similarly, on education reforms, low levels of tertiary enrolment in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) subjects has a knock on effect on the economy, with only 3.1 percent of the population above the age of 15 engaged in science and technology-related education and employment. Given the current challenges regarding broad economic reforms, the government should concentrate on prioritizing policies that have wide public and bipartisan support, such as accommodating flexible office hours and less rigid working conditions. Deficient data accessibility Successful reform identification, proposal and implementation depend heavily on evidence-based policymaking. Therefore, deficiencies in data accessibility are a leading obstacle to good policy research in Sri Lanka and ultimately to its capacity to influence policy reform. This is a composite problem due to obscure governance structures and poor access to official data and information. The problem affects the research community and university students alike. Using facilities like the Right to Information (RTI) Act has led to some improvements. However, Verite Research finds that nearly 90 percent of 55 public authorities are moderately unsatisfactory in their proactive disclosure of information and only 2 percent moderately satisfactory with regards to the same; this issue links back to poor public service delivery under a highly complex institutional setup, making accessing datasets time-consuming or impossible. Conclusion Unfortunately, Sri Lankas history of economic policy reforms has often been defined by its short-term nature, despite the necessity for long-lasting economic reforms heightening in recent years. Regardless of political affiliation, the countrys economic future will be determined by responsible policymaking over the next few years that address structural and institutional weaknesses. While political will is important to successfully implement these reforms and the appetite for reforms has waned recently, there is significant scope for reforms with little to no political costs. Even these reforms, however, are likely to be undermined by bottlenecks discussed above, unless the government takes decisive steps to mitigate them. (Kithmina Hewage is a Research Officer and Harini Weerasekera is a Research Assistant at the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS). This blog is based on the views expressed at the New Thinkers Symposium held at the IPS. For more articles, visit the IPS blog http://www.ips.lk/talkingeconomics/) REUTERS, 23rd MARCH, 2018- European Union leaders backed Britain on Thursday in blaming Moscow over a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in England and recalled their envoy to Moscow in a symbolic protest. The show of support from the EU, at a time when Britain is grappling with its departure from the bloc, will boost Prime Minister Theresa May, who has been asking other nations to match her decision to expel Russians over the attack. In a joint summit statement, the leaders said the EU agrees with the United Kingdom governments assessment that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible and that there is no plausible alternative explanation. That marked a breakthrough for Britain, which had been seeking to persuade EU leaders to condemn Russia for the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent, and his daughter on March 4. It was the first known offensive use of a nerve toxin in Europe since World War Two. After talks that ran into the early hours of Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised the prospect of further punitive measures in response to the attack in the southwestern city of Salisbury, saying the European Union would strive to act together on the matter. We are determined to react together, with the language we used here, but also possibly through additional measures, Merkel said at the end of the first day of the summit. DPA, 23rd MARCH, 2018- Former Playboy model Karen McDougal gave an interview on Thursday describing a 10-month affair she says she had with US President Donald Trump a decade ago, and apologized to his wife Melania. What can you say except Im sorry? she told CNN, which broadcast the interview late Thursday. Im sorry. I wouldnt want it done to me. Her first televised comments about the 2006-07 affair came days after she filed a lawsuit against American Media Inc, which owns the National Enquirer tabloid, in a bid to void an agreement on the rights to her story, which she sold before the 2016 election. Trump has denied the affair, as well as another alleged dalliance with porn star Stephanie Clifford, known as Stormy Daniels, who is also seeking to void a non-disclosure agreement she signed before the election. McDougal said she wasnt out to make money out of the affair, which began when she met Trump at a party at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles the year after he married Melania. Im out to get my rights back, to prove a contract was illegal, that I was taken advantage of and go back to my life. Period, she said. Paul Polman, Global CEO of Unilever, the worlds largest consumer goods company, told us recently about his personal mission to be a force for good instead of just making a profit and how Unilever is able to serve all their stakeholders as a result. The challenge we face now is that we are today impacted by the short-term focus of financial markets and political systems. Therefore, we need serious reform in the financial system, with greater focus on serving long-term needs of society. As Polman rightly says, Im a capitalist at heart and theres no reason to give up on capitalism. It still is probably the most efficient way of doing business. But there are some fine tunings that need to happen. Often we hear business people complaining that banks make too much profits (see Table). Bank bashing is something of a national pastime but far from being driven solely by envy at their success, there are sometimes sound economic argument to think the big four or five in Sri Lanka make way too much money, given the state of our small and medium enterprises and the quality of our rural infrastructure. This is nothing new in most markets. However, not all banking is bad obviously a modern economy needs access to credit, safe savings and transactions mechanisms and other investment products and advice. A bank or non-bank financial institution (NBFI) boards key duty is to create and deliver sustainable stakeholder value through setting strategy and overseeing its implementation. In doing so, a board needs to give due regard to the matters that will affect the future of the bank or NBFI, such as the impact the boards decisions may have on the employees, environment, communities and relationships with suppliers. The board also must ensure the management team achieves the right balance between promoting long-term growth and delivering short-term objectives. The members of the board are also responsible for maintaining an effective system of internal control that provides assurance of efficient operations. They too are responsible for ensuring that the top management team maintains an effective risk management and oversight process across the company, especially because the financial sector is constantly being buffeted by waves of capital issues, talent, regulatory and technological challenges. Moreover, the increased regulatory burden and related costs impact every financial institution in both the approach to doing business and the expense of doing business. Challenges for sector The banking sector is in transition, with many challenges ahead. For most banks, profitability continues to be hit by the rising impairment charges and provisions, the loss recognized on loan books to account for nonperforming loans and other impaired assets. This process started few years ago on the Central Banks instruction to clean up the balance sheets and was a major cause of the sectors profit reduction. The exercise will continue for some time. As a result, there has never been a greater need for well-functioning, informed and upright boards of directors. There has also never been a more important time for the board members to keep in mind that their responsibilities go beyond the institution they serve. To achieve long-term value for shareholders, the bank boards would need to look for ways to strengthen their institutions; to do that, they need to strengthen themselves as a board. One way of doing that is to adopt the practices of effective boards getting competent and credible directors to their boards. The well-performing companies on many occasions have been destroyed by bad governance. Almost always it is the board and the top management of these companies that ruin these firms and take them rapidly down. These are classic examples of boardroom and top management failure in discharging their fiduciary responsibility to shareholders and their failure to ensure the long-term health of the company. Leadership The most challenging and distracting governance issues a board can face are those related to its own members. These issues typically arise in connection with conflicts of interest between the board members and institutions they serve or when the board members experience financial difficulties of their own. A board can also lose its effectiveness when there are personality clashes in the boardroom or when one or more board members seek to dominate the deliberations. The best time to avoid such issues is during the selection process for new directors. Compromise and in the selection of directors will almost always dilute the effectiveness of the board as a whole. Therefore, a group of good, solid and dependable board members could be far more effective than an all-star line-up of directors. A board is far more effective when it acts as a group, where all members can voice their opinions and where difficult questions can be asked. Dominant shareholders and board cultures in which constructive debate never occurs have contributed to the demise of many financial institutions. Therefore, careful selection of new board members, keeping in mind the strengths and weaknesses of the other members of the board, is well worth the time and effort involved. The board of a financial institution that runs on public deposits is accountable as a group, since their functioning is essentially collegial in nature and is expected to promote a shared point of view about what decisions the firm should make to create lasting value. The composition of a board and the interpersonal dynamics among its members are critical for the success of a financial institution. A bank board is like any other working group can be heavily influenced by the members who dominate the conversation or by the members who actively discourage discussion or dissent. A board is not intended to merely rubber stamp the proposals of the management. If the responsibilities are to be effectively discharged, it is important that the composition of a board and the interpersonal dynamics among its members are right. While integrity is an essential prerequisite, this alone is not sufficient and the directors must be people who are alert and have the capacity to understand the inherent risks taken on by an institution and objectively analyse the proposals submitted by the management on various aspects of a firms operations. However, it is equally important that the board has competence within it which embraces other disciplines such as law, economics, marketing, human resource management and technology, so that a multidisciplinary approach is taken to managing risks and growing the bank business. Role of independent NE directors Most codes now insist that one third of the number of directors is independent non-executive (NE) directors. However, independence is not about no-shareholding and it is more about how independent the director is in his thinking beyond and his ability to challenge the proposals at the board meeting. The NE directors are the ones who really should perform the real role of independent directors, since the executive directors are often left to defend decisions and proposals in board meetings. Also, most codes now require nomination committees to recommend the appointment of new directors. The main purpose of having a nomination committee is to ensure that there is a transparent appointment process, which is not under the control of the chairman or CEO. It is also to ensure that the right balance of skills, experience and independence is brought to the board table and the directors appointed properly understand the business they are overseeing and also have the competence to get under the skin of the institution and follow up on things that dont seem quite right while giving due consideration to shareholder demands. Directors are now required to educate themselves to ensure they have the competence to identify and understand the risks that need to be managed, as well as the key drivers that most influence a banks performance. In the final analysis, directors are now expected to provide oversight and perspective to the executives running the institution to help the institution to make better quality decisions and to help build a sustainable banking business. If they fail to do that, they will surely face the wrath of the depositors and employees and also face legal action. (Dinesh Weerakkody is a former bank chairman) It is an identity crisis..an open dialogue of both the communities would help address the issue The hate speeches already made by various people, especially since 2012 and the statements posted in the social media for the past six years, have fed the communities with hate Business rivalry, envy and politics have been attributed to the recent wave of hate campaign by various groups and individuals The rise of the percentage of Muslim population due to the drop in Tamil population from 21 percent to 12 percent was cited as an unusual growth The deaths and migration of Tamils to other countries as a result of the war had caused an increase in the percentage of Sinhalese population as well Most abayas sold here do not conform to the requirements taught in Islam As it did on the wake of previous communal clashes in various places in the country, the Government said after the communal clashes in early this month that it would take action to filter the hateful statements and posts in the social media. It was reported that Ministers had discussions in this regard with officials of the Facebook Inc. who visited the country after the temporary ban on social media following the anti-Muslim riots in Ampara and Kandy Districts. However, the hate speeches already made by various people, especially since 2012 and the statements posted in the social media for the past six years, have fed the communities with hate sufficient to make a hell even out of a small road accident. Interestingly, the trigger for the communal attacks in Aluthgama in 2014, in Gintota last year and in Digana this month, had been traffic issues. However, there is a vast difference this time with Sinhalese intellectuals, Buddhist monks and the media being swift in countering the misconceptions such as the wanda pethi and with monks even physically coming forward to protect Muslims and their mosques in various parts of the country. Sinhalese in Anamaduwa had dared to challenge racist elements by reconstructing an eatery that came under arson attack, within a day. Monks in some areas had given shelter to terrified Muslim families in their temples, in spite of the Government being accused of inaction and the Police in some areas being accused of colluding with rioters. This is a situation that could not be expected some three years ago. Various reasons including business rivalry, envy and politics have been attributed to the recent wave of hate campaign by various groups and individuals, the prime ingredient of which has been vicious lies and distortions. However, a sizable number of Sinhalese, including some educated people seem to succumb to those distorted campaigns. During the Halal Controversy between 2012 and 2014, the Government or the concerned members of the business community, who had obtained the Halal Certificate voluntarily did not come forward to clear the misconception that prices had gone up due to the Halal Certificate. Only one person had the courage to say that he had spent only 27 rupees per day for this certificate in order to broaden his market. The Quran verses, almost all of which are contextual, were then cited out of context to demonize Muslims and these claims were vindicated by reports of barbaric acts of various terrorist groups in the Middle East, who are fighting each other in the name of Islam. After being static for a century until the early eighties, the rise of the percentage of Muslim population due to the drop in Tamil population from 21 percent to 12 percent, was cited as an unusual growth in Muslim population. In fact, the deaths and migration of Tamils to other countries as a result of the war after the eighties had caused an increase in the percentage of Sinhalese population as well. The canards stooped to such a low level intellectually that claims were made that the welcome toffees served at certain shops owned by Muslims and under-garments sold at those shops contained sterilizing chemicals. While the Government of the day seemed to connive with the groups spreading hate, one Minister of that Government warned that a small matchstick could create a hellhole as enough petrol had already been sprinkled all over the country. He also suspected a foreign hand behind the hate campaign with a view to defeat President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the next Presidential election by antagonizing the Muslims against his Government. But his warnings fell on deaf ears of the leaders. The hate campaign driving the past six years had been such that even a clump of flour in a plate of beef curry was used to incite violence. The hate campaign was facilitated by the Muslims as well by adamantly embracing more and more elements of Arab and Pakistani cultures such as the womens abaya, face veil and the mens Jubba. The more they changed their physical appearance the more did they psychologically detach themselves from the national fabric, creating an insular society amidst the Sinhalese. This insularity is such that they, for years debate the way they should greet a non-Muslim or a Non-Muslim priest. This mindset, while strengthening the already prevalent language barrier, prevented them from not only allaying fears and misconceptions spread by the hate mongers among their neighbours but rather made the latter even to view them as strange creatures and suspect them. The depiction of abaya, especially the black ones and the Jubba as symbols of extremism or fundamentalism is an unfounded vilification of Muslims as most of those who wear them, especially the women, do not know any politics or anything happening around them. And there are no radical Islamic groups in Sri Lanka, except for fringe groups occasionally fighting each other over religious issues. These attires came into the country as a result of Sri Lankans migrating to West Asian countries for employment. However, there is no any specific reason for them to stick to those attires so admirably or adamantly in Sri Lanka, as Islam does not recommend a particular dress, but only certain requirements in any dress. For the Muslims to assimilate with the Sinhalese in this regard is easier, as a majority of the latter has chosen, for their day-to-day use, the Western and Indian attires which are not strange or unacceptable to Muslims as well. Abaya or the Jubba is not popular among Muslims in Indonesia which is the home for the largest Muslim population in the world. In fact, the most abayas sold at the Sri Lankan market do not conform to the requirements taught in Islam as they are so tight and decorative and pompous and also highly expensive. The abaya, along with the face-veil, has in most cases become merely a fashion not corresponding with the Islamic way of life. Yet, certain businessmen have been successful in promoting such attires. There is a campaign among the Muslims in the country for the proper integration of the community into the Sri Lankan social fabric, without harming the basic religious tenets, but unfortunately by a relatively small group. Their voice is hence not sufficiently heard of within the community and is not known to the Sinhalese either, due to the language barrier. The increasing insular mindset of the Muslims and the unceasing vilification and alienation of them by hate-mongers have posed a question to the Muslims themselves as to who they are in Sri Lanka. It is, in fact, an identity crisis. An open dialogue between the intellectuals of both the communities would help address the issue or minimise the ill effects of it. Like it or not we find that were having to get used to the paradoxes, contradictions and confusions of the Trump era. None is more apparent than his attack on the landmark Iran de-nuclearisation agreement, fashioned by the Obama Administration and the Iranian government. President Donald Trump wants to unwind it, even though it has the 100% support of the UN Security Council which in an unanimous vote enshrined the agreement in international law. The Western politicians and pundits seem to have no historic memory- of when the US reneged or slowed down on the implementation of previous agreements At the same time he is trying to lure the North Koreans into a de-nuclearization policy, at the least into a nuclear freeze to stop it developing its rocket science any further, so that its incapable of hitting the US with a nuclear-tipped missile. But, given Iran, why should the North Koreans go along with such a deal? Why should it make such a deal when it knows there is a chance that the US might renege on this at a future date, as Trump wants to do with Iran? The Western politicians and pundits seem to have no historic memory- of when the US reneged or slowed down on the implementation of previous agreements. President Bill Clinton fashioned a superb agreement, only to be left in the lurch by a Republican-dominated Congress that effectively undermined the deal by refusing to implement the commitment to end sanctions and to liberalize trade. If the Republicans hadnt sabotaged that deal it is likely that North Korea would have no nuclear bombs today and would be happily warming itself on electricity from a safe light-water nuclear reactor that Clinton organized to be constructed- and now remains half built, a sad testimonial to what might have been. If Trump wants a deal with the North he will have to shelve his onslaught on Iran. He will have to stop his demonizing of the country and his drive to get the Arab countries to arm more and stand up to it. He has just consummated a large arms deal with Saudi Arabia meant for this purpose. If Trump wants a deal with the North he will have to shelve his onslaught on Iran. He will have to stop his demonizing of the country and his drive to get the Arab countries to arm more and stand up to it. The Arab countries are in a mess. Egypt is under the hammer of a vicious dictator, Syria is ablaze, Iraq is on its back following the US/UK invasion, Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf states have provoked a serious crisis with Qatar and Saudi Arabia is killing thousands of innocents in Yemen. Only Jordan remains reasonably normal. Is the effort to demonize Iran an attempt to re-build a false unity among the broken-backed Arabs by backing Iran into a corner? Ironically, in the time of President Jimmy Carter, an attempt was made to bolster the regime of the Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, to make sure Iran could militarily -- as a proxy of the US - dominate the Gulf. Indeed it helped it get going on its nuclear bomb research. The Islamic revolution changed all that. The US felt beholden to the deposed Shah, giving him refuge in the US. Iran became a fundamentalist theocracy, a rallying place for those of a militant tendency, whether they be Shiite or Sunni. Their first item of business was to see the Shah returned to Iran for a trial that would have encompassed everything from corruption to the abuse of human rights. Instead of this the US and many of its European partners chose to go nose to nose, magnifying every disagreement. Ironically, in the time of President Jimmy Carter, an attempt was made to bolster the regime of the Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, to make sure Iran could militarily -- as a proxy of the US - dominate the Gulf. Then Saddam Hussein led Iraq into an eight-year war of attrition against Iran that was finally mediated to a standstill by the UN, leaving neither country a victor. The US under President Ronald Reagan had provided Iraq with arms and the fruits of its aerial reconnaissance. Most of the West turned a blind eye to Saddams use of chemical weapons- which Iran refused to use. The war, fought on Iranian territory, consumed tens of thousands of innocent lives. One way of paying back was for Iran to fund fundamentalist militia, in particular Hezbollah, that would use its armed strength to try to undermine Israel, make Lebanon more militant and to aid the Palestinians. Later, other Iranian-backed militia entered war-torn Iraq and fought against the American occupiers. Iran itself fought against Al-Qaeda. Later still, its militia came to the aid of the Syrian dictator, Bashar al-Hassad. All this Iranian activity is understandable although not agreeable. But this is what can happen when the US and its allies back a country into a corner. The de-nuclearization deal could have been be a step to slowing Irans military forays, but Trumps animosity is forestalling that possibility. For the next three months the issue is can Trump learn from the history of American mistakes? For now he continues to deal destructively with Iran on the one side while he attempts to deal constructively with North Korea on the other, unaware of the contradiction. How can he reassure North Korea that a deal they sign wont be broken? That is the question. Note: For 17 years the writer had been a foreign affairs columnist and commentator for the International Herald Tribune/New York Times. Court of Appeals of South Carolina. SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES, Appellant, v. Michelle DOVER, Respondent. Appellate Case No. 2016-001030 Decided: March 21, 2018 Frank L. Valenta, Jr., Philip S. Porter, and Brandy Anne Duncan, all of Blythewood, for Appellant. Michelle Dover, of York, pro se. The South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (the DMV) appeals the administrative law court's (ALC's) determination that Michelle Dover's reckless driving conviction in Virginia did not constitute a major violation requiring her driver's license to be suspended under the habitual offender statute. We affirm as modified. FACTS Dover was convicted in South Carolina for driving under suspension (DUS) on August 14, 2012. Additionally, she pled guilty to driving under the influence (DUI) in South Carolina on August 12, 2014. On May 3, 2015, Dover was ticketed in Virginia for reckless driving. On July 21, 2015, she was convicted of the charge but did not appear before the Virginia court. Virginia reported this violation to the DMV on August 10, 2015, as RECKLS DRV-SPEEDING EXCESS OF 80MPH-MISD and with the ACD Code of M84. The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) Violations Exchange Code Dictionary (ACD) provides that M84 is the code for reckless driving. 23 C.F.R. pt. 1327, app. A (2017). The DMV did not receive a copy of Dover's actual ticket. The DMV applied the Virginia conviction to Dover's driving record as a conviction for reckless driving, determined this was her third major violation, and suspended her license due to it finding she met the requirements for being a habitual offender. Dover requested a contested case hearing with the Office of Motor Vehicles Hearings (OMVH), contending she should have been charged with speeding, not reckless driving, in Virginia. At the hearing, Dover did not dispute her two prior South Carolina convictions. She indicated that when she received the ticket in Virginia, she was driving ten miles over the speed limit and was with the flow of traffic. Following the hearing, the OMVH hearing officer rescinded Dover's suspension. The hearing officer determined because reckless driving was not listed as an offense in section 56-1-650 of the South Carolina Code, section 56-1-320 of the South Carolina Code applied. The hearing officer determined the behavior for which Dover was convicted in Virginia, if she had committed it in South Carolina, would not have fallen under South Carolina's reckless driving statute. The hearing officer therefore found the DMV erred in using the conviction as a third major conviction to suspend Dover's license. The DMV appealed to the ALC. The DMV argued the hearing officer erred in finding the DMV had made a discretionary decision to suspend Dover's license under section 56-1-320. It contended Dover's license was required to be suspended pursuant to section 56-5-1030. It also maintained it could rely on Virginia's categorization of the offense using the ACD Code for reckless driving. The ALC affirmed the hearing officer's ruling as modified. It determined the hearing officer erred in finding the DMV's decision to suspend Dover's license was discretionary. The ALC also found the Virginia conviction was added to Dover's driving record pursuant to section 56-1-790 under a reciprocal agreement. The ALC held South Carolina law requires an out-of-state offense must be recorded as if it were a conviction under South Carolina law. It determined that because Dover asserted she was only going ten miles per hour over the speed limit, she would have been charged with speeding in South Carolina, not reckless driving. Therefore, it found the hearing officer did not err in determining the DMV incorrectly suspended Dover's license. This appeal followed. STANDARD OF REVIEW The OMVH has exclusive jurisdiction over contested cases involving habitual offenders. Decisions by the OMVH hearing officer must be appealed to the ALC. Davis v. S.C. Dep't of Motor Vehicles, 420 S.C. 98, 102, 800 S.E.2d 493, 495 (Ct. App. 2017) (citation omitted). The [O]MVH is authorized to hear contested cases from the [DMV]. Thus, the [O]MVH is an agency under the Administrative Procedures Act. S.C. Dep't of Motor Vehicles v. McCarson, 391 S.C. 136, 144, 705 S.E.2d 425, 429 (2011) (citations omitted). Section 1-23-610 of the South Carolina Code [ (Supp. 2017) ] sets forth the standard of review when the court of appeals is sitting in review of a decision by the ALC on an appeal from an administrative agency. S.C. Dep't of Motor Vehicles v. Holtzclaw, 382 S.C. 344, 347, 675 S.E.2d 756, 758 (Ct. App. 2009). The review of the [ALC]'s order must be confined to the record. The court may not substitute its judgment for the judgment of the [ALC] as to the weight of the evidence on questions of fact. The court of appeals may affirm the decision or remand the case for further proceedings; or, it may reverse or modify the decision if the substantive rights of the petitioner have been prejudiced because the finding, conclusion, or decision is: (a) in violation of constitutional or statutory provisions; (b) in excess of the statutory authority of the agency; (c) made upon unlawful procedure; (d) affected by other error of law; (e) clearly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record; or (f) arbitrary or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion. S.C. Code Ann. 1-23-610(B) (Supp. 2017). Substantial evidence, when considering the record as a whole, would allow reasonable minds to reach the same conclusion as the [ALC] and is more than a mere scintilla of evidence. Davis, 420 S.C. at 103, 800 S.E.2d at 495 (alteration by court) (quoting Original Blue Ribbon Taxi Corp. v. S.C. Dep't of Motor Vehicles, 380 S.C. 600, 605, 670 S.E.2d 674, 676 (Ct. App. 2008) ). The mere possibility of drawing two inconsistent conclusions from the evidence does not prevent a finding from being supported by substantial evidence. Original Blue Ribbon Taxi Corp., 380 S.C. at 605, 670 S.E.2d at 677 (quoting Olson v. S.C. Dep't of Health & Envtl. Control, 379 S.C. 57, 63, 663 S.E.2d 497, 501 (Ct. App. 2008) ). LAW/ANALYSIS The DMV contends the ALC erred in affirming the OMVH hearing officer's reversal of Dover's suspension. The DMV asserts it can rely on Virginia's categorization of Dover's offense as reckless driving and as an ACD Code M84 conviction. Further, it maintains public policy demands Dover's suspension be upheld because the DMV does not have the resources to investigate every M84 conviction from Virginia. We disagree. Questions of statutory interpretation are questions of law, which this [c]ourt is free to decide without any deference to the tribunal below. Duke Energy Corp. v. S.C. Dep't of Revenue, 415 S.C. 351, 355, 782 S.E.2d 590, 592 (2016). The cardinal rule of statutory interpretation is to ascertain and effectuate the intention of the legislature. Centex Int'l, Inc. v. S.C. Dep't of Revenue, 406 S.C. 132, 139, 750 S.E.2d 65, 69 (2013) (quoting Sloan v. Hardee, 371 S.C. 495, 498, 640 S.E.2d 457, 459 (2007) ). [W]e must follow the plain and unambiguous language in a statute and have no right to impose another meaning. Grier v. AMISUB of S.C., Inc., 397 S.C. 532, 535-36, 725 S.E.2d 693, 695 (2012) (quoting Hodges v. Rainey, 341 S.C. 79, 85, 533 S.E.2d 578, 581 (2000) ). [T]he [O]MVH is an agency under the Administrative Procedures Act. S.C. Dep't of Motor Vehicles v. McCarson, 391 S.C. 136, 144, 705 S.E.2d 425, 429 (2011) (citations omitted). [T]he deference doctrine provides that whe[n] an agency charged with administering a statute or regulation has interpreted the statute or regulation, courts, including the ALC, will defer to the agency's interpretation absent compelling reasons. Kiawah Dev. Partners, II v. S.C. Dep't of Health & Envtl. Control, 411 S.C. 16, 34, 766 S.E.2d 707, 718 (2014). We defer to an agency interpretation unless it is arbitrary, capricious, or manifestly contrary to the statute. Id. at 34-35, 766 S.E.2d at 718 (quoting Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837, 844, 104 S.Ct. 2778, 81 L.Ed.2d 694 (1984) ). The findings of an administrative agency are presumed correct and will be set aside only if unsupported by substantial evidence. S.C. Dep't of Motor Vehicles v. Nelson, 364 S.C. 514, 519, 613 S.E.2d 544, 547 (Ct. App. 2005). The South Carolina Code provides that for convictions required to be reported to other states under the Driver License Compact a member state shall give the same effect to the report as if the conviction had occurred in that state. For a conviction that is not required to be reported under subsection (A), the provisions of [s]ection 56-1-320 shall govern the effect of the reported conviction in this [s]tate. S.C. Code Ann. 56-1-650(C) (2018). The DMV argues subsection 56-1-320(A) of the South Carolina Code (2018) is relevant to the determination of this case but acknowledges a reckless driving conviction alone does not lead to a license suspension. That subsection allows the DMV the discretion to suspend or revoke the license upon receiving notice of the conviction of the person in another state of an offense therein which, if committed in this [s]tate, would be grounds for the suspension or revocation of the South Carolina license. 56-1-320(A). Consequently, it is not determinative of the outcome in this case. When a person is convicted of one or more of the offenses listed in [s]ection 56-1-1020[ ] [of the South Carolina Code (2018) ], the [DMV] must review its records for that person. S.C. Code Ann. 56-1-1030(A) (2018). If the [DMV] [then] determines the person is a[ ] habitual offender as defined in [s]ection 56-1-1020, the [DMV] must revoke or suspend the person's driver's license. Id. When a trial judge finds the individual before him is a[ ] habitual offender, he shall direct that the person not operate a motor vehicle on the highways of this [s]tate and [that he] surrender to the court his driver's license or permit. S.C. Code [Ann.] 56-1-1070 (1976). The statute is clear and explicit; it leaves no room for construction. The [c]ourt must therefore apply it literally. Taken literally, the word shall is mandatory. We hold therefore that the Habitual Offender Act requires the judge to impose its penalty when he finds the individual before him is a[ ] habitual offender. State v. Foster, 277 S.C. 211, 212, 284 S.E.2d 780, 780 (1981) (third alteration by court) (citations omitted). Section 56-1-1020 defines a habitual offender as any person whose record as maintained by the [DMV] shows that he has accumulated the convictions for separate and distinct offenses described in subsections (a), (b) and (c) committed during a three-year period. Under subsection (a), to meet the definition of a habitual offender, a person must have three or more convictions for offenses including (2) [o]perating or attempting to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, narcotics or drugs; (3) [d]riving or operating a motor vehicle in a reckless manner; and (4) [d]riving a motor vehicle while his license, permit, or privilege to drive a motor vehicle has been suspended or revoked, except a conviction for driving under suspension for failure to file proof of financial responsibility. 56-1-1020(a) (emphasis added). These offenses include offenses under any federal law, any law of another state or any municipal or county ordinance of another state substantially conforming to the above provisions. 56-1-1020(c) (emphases added). The Driver License Compact is a multi-state law under which the participating states exchange information relating to convictions of drivers licensed in member states. Przybyla v. S.C. Dep't of Highways & Pub. Transp., 313 S.C. 116, 118 n.1, 437 S.E.2d 70, 71 n.1 (1993). [T]he compact provides that the conduct leading to an out-of-state conviction will be treated as if the conduct had occurred in the driver's home state. Draeger v. Reed, 69 Cal.App.4th 1511, 82 Cal.Rptr.2d 378, 381 (1999) (quoting The Driver License Compact and The Vehicle Equipment Safety Compact (1962) pp. 3-4). Under the compact, upon receiving an out-of-state conviction report a home state's responsibility is to determine whether the conduct underlying the conviction requires the imposition of a suspension. Roselle v. Commonwealth, Dep't of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 865 A.2d 308, 311 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2005). In an appendix, the Code of Federal Regulations includes an abridged listing of the AAMVA Violations Exchange Code, used by the National Driver Register (NDR) for Recording Driver License Denials, Withdrawals, and Convictions of Motor Vehicle-Related Offenses. 23 C.F.R. pt. 1327, app. A (2017). The ACD is an interpretive tool for states participating in the Driver License Compact to translate the nature of the conviction reported by a sister state. Hyer v. Commonwealth, Dep't of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 957 A.2d 807, 810 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2008). The ACD is not a reciprocal agreement, arrangement or declaration It is a federal regulation promulgated through the federal process Taddei v. Commonwealth, Dep't of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 982 A.2d 1249, 1252 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2009) (citation omitted). The following are included in the ACD: M80 Reckless, careless, or negligent driving[;] M81 Careless driving[;] M82 Inattentive driving[;] M83 Negligent driving[; and] M84 Reckless driving. 23 C.F.R. pt. 1327, app. A. In the present case, the ALC found [a]dministrative codes, such as those used by motor vehicle agencies, are for convenience and are not meant to supersede or replace statutory law. The ALC relied on a case from this court, State v. Bennett, 375 S.C. 165, 650 S.E.2d 490 (Ct. App. 2007), as support for that finding. That case looked at codes created as computer shortcuts for criminal statutes, explaining: CDR codes are four digit numerical codes [that] represent the criminal offenses created by the South Carolina General Assembly and common law. The codes were developed in the late 1970[ ]s in a collaborative effort between the South Carolina Justice Department (SCJD), [the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services], and [the South Carolina Department of Corrections]. They were created at a time when computer systems had limited memory and did not have the capacity to maintain references to specific statutes [that] could contain many digits. The shorter CDR codes saved computer space and provided a consistent administrative shortcut to be used by all three departments. Id. at 172-73, 650 S.E.2d at 494-95 (footnote and citations omitted). This court determined in Bennett the CDR codes could not be relied on over a statute, finding: While the codes were developed and are used to provide an administrative shortcut, they were never intended to replace statutory law. The codes are normally listed after the statute on all warrants, indictments, and sentencing sheets. As the SCJD's website explains, the elements of a crime, its penalties and other related matters are governed by the Code of Laws and the common law alone The website further states in a disclaimer, [t]he South Carolina Code of Laws is the controlling authority for classifications, definitions and penalties for criminal offenses, and the statute itself should always be consulted. Id. at 173, 650 S.E.2d at 495 (last alteration and emphasis added by court) (citations omitted) (quoting South Carolina Judicial Department, CDR Codes Frequently Asked Questions, http://www.sccourts.org/cdr/userInstructions.htm) The document Virginia sent to the DMV that reported Dover's conviction includes under the heading NATIVE CONV CODE the code A46.2-86. The report also states under Reason for Conviction RECKLS DRV-SPEEDING EXCESS OF 80MPH-MISD. Presumably, this refers to section 46.2-862 of the Virginia Code. That section of the Virginia Code contains the heading Exceeding speed limit and provides: A person shall be guilty of reckless driving who drives a motor vehicle on the highways in the Commonwealth (i) at a speed of twenty miles per hour or more in excess of the applicable maximum speed limit or (ii) in excess of eighty miles per hour regardless of the applicable maximum speed limit. Va. Code Ann. 46.2-862 (2017). Article 7, Chapter 8, Subtitle III, of Title 46.2 of the Virginia Code is entitled Reckless Driving and Improper Driving. This article contains fourteen statutes involving what the Virginia legislature has termed reckless driving. Va. Code Ann. 46.2-852 to -865 (2017). The first of those fourteen statutes is entitled Reckless driving; general rule and provides, Irrespective of the maximum speeds permitted by law, any person who drives a vehicle on any highway recklessly or at a speed or in a manner so as to endanger the life, limb, or property of any person shall be guilty of reckless driving. Va. Code Ann. 46.2-852 (2017). Section 46.2-868 of the Virginia Code is entitled Reckless driving; penalties and provides: A. Every person convicted of reckless driving under the provisions of this article is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. C. The punishment for every person convicted of reckless driving under the provisions of this article who, when he committed the offense, was in violation of 46.2-1078.1 shall include a mandatory minimum fine of $250. Va. Code Ann. 46.2-868 (2017). South Carolina has only one statute defining reckless driving. That statute provides: Any person who drives any vehicle in such a manner as to indicate either a wilful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property is guilty of reckless driving. The [DMV], upon receiving satisfactory evidence of the conviction, of the entry of a plea of guilty or the forfeiture of bail of any person charged with a second and subsequent offense for the violation of this section shall forthwith suspend the driver's license of any such person for a period of three months. Only those offenses [that] occurred within a period of five years including and immediately preceding the date of the last offense shall constitute prior offenses within the meaning of this section. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction, entry of a plea of guilty or forfeiture of bail, be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than two hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than thirty days. S.C. Code Ann. 56-5-2920 (2018) (emphasis added). As provided above, reckless driving is not one of the four categories of offenses listed in section 56-1-650(A) that are required to be reported by other states in the Driver License Compact. Therefore, section 56-1-650(C) necessitates we turn to section 56-1-320. Section 56-1-320(A) states the DMV may, in its discretion, suspend or revoke the license of any resident of this [s]tate to drive a motor vehicle in this [s]tate upon receiving notice of the conviction of the person in another state of an offense therein which, if committed in this [s]tate, would be grounds for the suspension or revocation of the South Carolina license. Even assuming the statute of which Dover was convicted in Virginia was equivalent to our reckless driving statute, section 56-1-320(A)which the DMV argues should have been applieddoes not apply because a reckless driving conviction by itself is not grounds for suspension in South Carolina. Accordingly, these two statutes are not pertinent to the situation here. Instead, we look to section 56-1-1020, which defines a habitual offender. Section 56-1-1020 defines a habitual offender as a driver who has been convicted at least three times in a three-year period of certain offenses, including reckless driving, DUS, and DUI. Dover admits her prior two convictions fall into these categories. Section 56-1-1020 further specifies the offenses provided include offenses under any law of another state substantially conforming to the above provisions. 56-1-1020(c) (emphasis added) Section 56-1-1030(A) mandates [w]hen a person is convicted of one or more of the offenses listed in [s]ection 56-1-1020(a), (b), or (c), the [DMV] must review its records for that person. If the [DMV] determines after review of its records that the person is a[ ] habitual offender as defined in [s]ection 56-1-1020, the [DMV] must revoke or suspend the person's driver's license. The question presented here is whether Dover's Virginia conviction substantially conforms to any offenses listed in section 56-1-1020(a), thus requiring the DMV to review its records to determine if she meets the definition of a habitual offender. The only offense in section 56-1-1020(a) relevant to the offense here is driving in a reckless manner. The South Carolina reckless driving statute provides, Any person who drives any vehicle in such a manner as to indicate either a wilful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property is guilty of reckless driving. 56-5-2920. The DMV argues because the offense is titled by Virginia as reckless driving and Virginia reported it to South Carolina using the ACD code for reckless driving, the DMV determined Dover had been convicted of reckless driving, triggering review. Virginia reported the conviction under ACD code M84, which only states reckless driving. The only other ACD code that includes the term reckless driving is M80, which is for Reckless, careless, or negligent driving. The problem is the difference in the definition of reckless in South Carolina versus Virginia statutory nomenclature. As previously set forth, South Carolina has one reckless statute and Virginia has fourteen. The ALC determined the DMV could not simply rely on the code at face value alone. We find the ALC correctly upheld the hearing officer's rescinding Dover's license suspension because section 46.2-862 of the Virginia Code does not substantially conform to South Carolina's reckless driving statute. While our reckless driving statute requires a willful or wanton disregard for safety, the Virginia statute under which Dover was charged simply requires a driver to be driving over eighty miles per hour to be in violation of that statute. The hearing officer, which is considered the agency in this case, found the offense for which Dover was convicted would not have been considered reckless driving in South Carolina but rather section 56-5-1520(B)(1) of the South Carolina Code, speeding. See McCarson, 391 S.C. at 144, 705 S.E.2d at 429 ([T]he [O]MVH is an agency under the Administrative Procedures Act.). This interpretation was not arbitrary, capricious, or manifestly contrary to the statute. See Kiawah Dev. Partners, II, 411 S.C. at 34-35, 766 S.E.2d at 718 ([W]he[n] an agency charged with administering a statute or regulation has interpreted the statute or regulation, courts, including the ALC, will defer to the agency's interpretation absent compelling reasons. We defer to an agency interpretation unless it is arbitrary, capricious, or manifestly contrary to the statute. (quoting Chevron, U.S.A., Inc., 467 U.S. at 844, 104 S.Ct. 2778) ). Therefore, we defer to the hearing officer's interpretation. As to the DMV's argument that it does not have the resources to research each M84 violation from Virginia to determine which reckless driving statute applies, we note that here, the report from Virginia specifically noted Dover was charged with going over eighty miles per hour, thus no investigation was necessary. Further, this court can only apply the statute as written, and the statute requires the offense substantially conform. CONCLUSION The ALC's order is AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED. FOOTNOTES . At the hearing in front of the hearing officer, the DMV stated Dover was convicted of section 46.2-862 of the Virginia Code. The DMV also indicated this in its memorandum of law to the hearing officer. The hearing officer found she was charged with that section. . Section 56-1-320(A) of the South Carolina Code (2018) provides the DMV may, in its discretion, suspend or revoke the license of any resident of this State to drive a motor vehicle in this [s]tate upon receiving notice of the conviction of the person in another state of an offense therein which, if committed in this [s]tate, would be grounds for the suspension or revocation of the South Carolina license. . Initially, the DMV argues the ALC erred in relying on section 56-1-790 of the South Carolina Code, instead of sections 56-1-650 and - 320 of the South Carolina Code. [I]ssues not raised to and ruled on by the AL[C] are not preserved for appellate consideration. Brown v. S.C. Dep't of Health & Envtl. Control, 348 S.C. 507, 519, 560 S.E.2d 410, 417 (2002). Our supreme court has held an appellant's failure to file a motion for reconsideration or a motion to alter or amend the judgment pursuant to [SCALC] Rules 29 or 68 or Rules 59(e) or 60, SCRCP, renders review of an issue first arising from the ALC's final order unpreserved for the supreme court's review. Risher v. S.C. Dep't of Health & Envtl. Control, 393 S.C. 198, 208, 712 S.E.2d 428, 433 (2011). The DMV did not file a Rule 59(e), SCRCP, or a SCALC Rule 29(D) motion for reconsideration to call the ALC's attention to its purported improper reliance on section 56-1-790. Additionally, a party may not complain on appeal of error which his own conduct has induced. Erickson v. Jones St. Publishers, LLC, 368 S.C. 444, 476, 629 S.E.2d 653, 670 (2006). The DMV admits it erroneously cited this section as applying in its brief to the ALC. Accordingly, the DMV's argument the ALC incorrectly relied on this section is unpreserved. However, our ruling as to this issue does not preclude our discussing the interplay and applicability of these code sections in our analysis as they are part of the record, and we may affirm for any reason appearing in the record. See Rule 220(c), SCACR (The appellate court may affirm any ruling, order, decision[,] or judgment upon any ground(s) appearing in the Record on Appeal.). . The statute requires a state belonging to the Driver License Compact to report to another member state a conviction for (1) manslaughter or homicide resulting from operating of a motor vehicle; (2) DUI; (3) a felony if a motor vehicle is used in the commission; or (4) failure to stop and render aid for a motor vehicle accident resulting in the death or personal injury of another. S.C. Code Ann. 56-1-650(A) (2006). South Carolina joined the Compact in 1987 and Virginia joined in 1968. See National Center for Interstate Compacts, Driver License Compact, Member States, http://apps.csg.org/ncic/Compact.aspx?id=56 (last visited Mar. 12, 2018). . The DMV also argues the OMVH hearing officer erred in finding the DMV's decision to suspend Dover's license was discretionary. The ALC reversed the OMVH hearing officer's finding the DMV's decision to suspend Dover's license was discretionary. Only a party aggrieved by an order, judgment, sentence[,] or decision may appeal. If a party prevails on an issue below, the party is not an aggrieved party with respect to those rulings, and thus, the party may not appeal those issues. Davis v. S.C. Dep't of Motor Vehicles, 420 S.C. 98, 103-04, 800 S.E.2d 493, 495 (Ct. App. 2017) (alteration by court) (quoting Rule 201(b), SCACR). In Davis, this court declined to address an issue on which the ALC had ruled in the DMV's favor because the DMV was not an aggrieved party and thus was not entitled to appeal that issue. Id. at 104, 800 S.E.2d at 495-96. In the present case, because the ALC reversed this finding by the hearing officer, the DMV was not aggrieved by it and we do not need to review it. KONDUROS, J.: SHORT and GEATHERS, JJ., concur. The official handing over of the donation by Asitha Wijerathne Group Managing Director/Founder, DSL Enterprises (Pvt.) Ltd. to Dr. Duminda Samarasinghe Consultant Pediatric Cardiologist In September 2017 DSL Enterprises (Pvt.) Ltd. announced their support in the funding of the Little Hearts Project by introducing the Speed Little Hearts Pens and Camlin Little Hearts Pencils. 20% and 13% of the earnings from the sales of these custom products were to be donated to the project. Completing the first phase of the donation within a few months, DSL announced the handing over of Rs. 20million to the Little Hearts Fund at a media conference held on 22ndMarch 2018 at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital. The Little Hearts project was initiated by the Sri Lanka College of Paediatricians, together with several organizations to build the Cardiac and Critical Care Complex at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital. The complex will be dedicated to the task of treating children afflicted with Congenital Heart Diseases (CHD), with which over 3,000 children are being born every year in Sri Lanka. The Little Hearts Pens and Pencils are a simple and most cost effective way in which the general public can contribute to the project. The pens and pencils are priced at reasonable rates, enabling every kind-hearted person to contribute towards saving a childs life. Being day to day commodities, pens and pencils hardly require consideration at the point of buying. However, since the Little Hearts Pens and Pencils are specifically marketed to raise funds for the Little Hearts project, the customer can make a conscious choice to contribute and be a part of the deserving venture. Reporting the progress of the project Dr. Duminda Samarasinghe, the Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital stated that over 250 million rupees have been accumulated through donors. It is further supported with another Rs. 170 million pledged from two organizations and Rs. 300 million allocated from the national budget by the Sri Lankan Government. The piling for the complex is set to commence in May 2018. The call for tenders for pile construction has been published in the newspapers on 4th February 2018 and the pre-bid meeting was held on 20th of the same month. The Sri Lanka Navy will be responsible for construction and the complex is to be handed over to the hospital in November 2019, he added. We are humbled and proud to be able to achieve this milestone in our pledge because it is not a mere social responsibility project to us at DSL, but a need of the country. We are grateful to our customers who have loyally bought the Speed Little Hearts Pens and Camlin Little Hearts Pencils, especially the school children who have continued to buy it, stated Mr. Asitha Wijerathne, the Group Managing Director and Founder of DSL Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd. The organization has initiated several CSR projects but the Little Hearts projects remains the most valuable to us. All our internal and external stakeholders have come together to achieve this goal to which we are greatly thankful, he added further. The real target of the No-confidence motion submitted by the Joint Opposition was not the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe but the President Maithripala Sirisena and the Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, Petroleum Industries Minister Arjuna Ranatunga said yesterday. He said more details would be revealed soon and underscored the fact that the UNP and the Prime Minister were in a better position right now than in the aftermath of the LG polls. The minister told a media conference that however he was disappointed and unhappy over the lackluster performance of the Yahapalana government to bring to book the murderers and fraudsters engaged in big-time financial crimes like money laundering, embezzlement, bribery and other misdeeds under the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime. "The motion was planned by those who have no future in politics. They expect to come to Parliament after the next general elections through the back door because none of them could win in an election," he said. The mandate given to the President and the Prime Minister in January and August 2015 by 6.2 million voters was not to bring down the cost of living or reduce prices of essential commodities but to put an end to the widespread corruption, nepotism, mismanagement and restore the rule of law, independence of the judiciary and the media and strengthen democratic establishments. The government has done much to fulfil those pledges except arresting the big fish involved in corruption and crime." Commenting on the government's electoral setback at the LG polls, the minister said the Yahapalana government had failed to market its people-friendly policies and relief and facilities provided to the people during the past three years. The government's propaganda machine during the LG election campaign was an utter failure. It did not take the message of good governance, the benefits enjoyed by the masses, increase in salaries of public servants by Rs.10,000, the price reduction of most essential commodities, the price reduction in medicine, fuel and transport fare and power tariff, constitution of independent commissions etc and restoring of Sri Lankas good name among the global community to the people in a convincing manner, the minister said. He said he also at fault for not marketing his people-friendly projects as a minister because he never liked to give priority to publicity or politics. Responding to the Daily Mirror, the minister said it was the responsibility of the UNP and the SLFP to protect good governance because this was a coalition. At the 2015 general election, the voters did not give an absolute majority to any of the two main parties. Therefore, both parties have a mandate to rule the country until 2020 jointly. (Sandun A Jayasekera) Video by Buddhi Two youths have been taken into custody by Talaimannar Police while in possession of 300 grams of Crystal Methamphetamine, a stimulant drug popularly known as Ice worth over Rs 6 million. Following a tip off, the suspects aged 16 and 23 were taken into custody last morning outside the Talaimannar Hospital when they were transporting the narcotics via a motorcycle. Ice is one of the most destructive drugs in the illicit market, in its physical, mental and behavioral effects and is a popular drug among foreign tourists. Speaking to Daily Mirror, a Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) flying squad officer said the current wholesale market price of 1 gram of Ice is over Rs. 20,000. It is also referred to as shabu, crystal, crystal meth or d-meth. Ice is the purest and most potent form of methamphetamine that comes as a powder or crystals that are usually snorted, injected or smoked. However, it is not a popular drug in Sri Lanka due to its high price but is commonly trade around tourist hotels. The PNB officer said that earlier the narcotic was smuggled into the country from Iran and Iraq but it was learnt that the drug is now popular in different parts of the world mainly in Eastern Europe, South East Asia, South Africa and Australia. According to Police the drug has frequently been detected in low quantities by drug prevention agencies in Sri Lanka as of recent times. (Thilanka Kanakarathna) Senkadagala Finance PLC has entered into a loan agreement with International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group to borrow US $ 15 million, a stock exchange filing said. The company said the loan proceeds will be utilized to grow its loan book for women entrepreneurs. According to IFC, the loan will allow Senkadagala Finance to provide financing to women-owned micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (WMSMEs) and the project is expected to directly fund around 2,500 such businesses, which would create between 1,500-4,650 new employment opportunities. IFC said in total Sri Lankan women entrepreneurs are in need of US $ 350 million in finances. The World Bank, in its recent Development Update, said that small enterprises and especially the WMSMEs are facing difficulties in raising finances due to biases from financial institutions, as most WMSMEs do not have significant assets to pledge as collateral and even if they do, the collateral required is higher than the norm. Of the total number of employers in Sri Lanka, just 10 percent are women, according to the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS). An IPS study published last September on WMSMEs in the spice and coir industries found that 53 percent of the obstacles in these firms were related to liquidity and other financial problems. Further, less than 37 percent of women in Sri Lanka were engaged in economic activities, according to the Census and Statistics Department (DCS) survey for the third quarter of 2017, leaving a large portion of economic potential untapped. Even among the economically active women, just one percent were employers and unemployment was higher among women than men. Around 80 percent businesses in Sri Lanka are small and medium enterprisesled mostly by menwhich are biased against employing females, according to the government. A Department of Census and Statistics survey released in January showed that the top reasons for this situation, according to the employers, were family commitments and maternity duties of women, along with concerns related to dedication to work and absenteeism among women. ECONOMYNEXT: Sri Lankas company law is to be changed to give powers to authorities to force shareholders of private companies to submit more information about themselves under global anti-money laundering laws. Under planned changes to Sri Lankas Companies Act No 07 authorities will demand more information from shareholders of private companies who hold more than 25 percent of the shares or those who exercise control. Sri Lanka has fast-tracked compliance to international money laundering laws after the country was warned and put under monitoring by the Financial Action Task Force, a UN affiliated body promoted by developed nations due to delays. Sri Lanka is also tightening regulation on non-governmental organizations. There are fears that the new laws and regulations will give more powers to rulers of illiberal countries to control the population and mis-use information against unarmed citizens political opponents. In Sri Lanka there have been questions whether the powers of Financial Intelligence Unit may be misused. Sri Lanka does not have an independent public service with permanent secretaries unlike the developed nations which are promoting the rules, where individual freedom is strong. There also concerns that the costs of compliance is raising the price and also access to financial services especially in poor countries but also in developed nations for law - abiding citizens. Even in developed nations a debate is already underway about the cost-benefits and whether the laws actually reduce crime. World TB (Tuberculosis) Day held annually on March 24th is intended to promote awareness and knowledge of the seriousness of the disease and to motivate action to be taken in order to cure TB worldwide 135 years after the discovery of the kochs bacillus, TB still remains an epidemic in much of the world today despite the effective cures which have been made available for decades. This lethal killer of human beings still prevails despite many scientific breakthroughs. Tuberculosis has re-emerged with a vengeance and has become the deadliest infectious disease in the world and has become the number one killer causing three (3) million deaths per year. These deaths also create serious implications on the world economy, as it kills or disables mainly young people who form the productive sector of the economy. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Tuberculosis a global emergency in 1993. This illness could affect around 90 million people worldwide within the next decade. The emergence of multi drug resistant tuberculosis can be controlled if the treatment of tuberculosis patients is completely supervised. Tuberculosis patients (or for that matter any patient) have the bad habit of forgetting to take their drugs when, they feel better, or throwing their drugs away when they feel better A study was undertaken in collaboration with the medical personnel of the Respiratory Disease Control Programme of the Ministry of Health, the Centre for Social Survey and the University of Sri Jayewardenepura Tuberculosis appears in forms resistant to multiple drugs (MDR TB) and cannot be cured by a single medicine. Together with its deadly ally, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), TB has emerged as one of the most potent threats to the existence of mankind. Can tuberculosis be eliminated? Low priority has been assigned to tuberculosis by health policy makers. In many low to middle income countries, less than 1% of the annual health budget is allocated for tuberculosis prevention. Why is this? Is it because Tuberculosis is something to be swept under the carpet? The inadequate funding and inefficient tuberculosis control programmes have led to a worsening of the global situation regarding tuberculosis. This is because of inadequate treatment that does not cure patients nor cause fatalities, leaving a pool of inadequately or improperly treated patients disseminating multi - drug resistant tuberculosis in the community. In other words, in a poor tuberculosis control programme, many patients will die of the disease, but there will also be half treated half dead patients disseminating the disease to healthy people. Also, if there were no tuberculosis drugs at all in a country, there would be no multi - drug resistant tuberculosis for it is the improper use of anti - tuberculosis drugs that creates multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. This is also compounded by patients who are forced to purchase drugs as cases have emerged of patients seeking private treatment having to purchase the drugs cutting costs by self reduction of the dosage or discontinuing the treatment due to lack of funds while in other instances cheaper drugs with less efficacy also causing great harm. However, all is not that gloomy. It has been shown conclusively in countries poorer than Sri Lanka, such as Nepal and Bangladesh. (with per GNP of around US$200, compared to a per capita GNP of US$ 840 for Sri Lanka). More than 90% of Tuberculosis patients can be cured. The emergence of multi drug resistant tuberculosis can be controlled if the treatment of tuberculosis patients is completely supervised. Tuberculosis patients (or for that matter any patient) have the bad habit of forgetting to take their drugs when, they feel better, or throwing their drugs away when they feel better. As Tuberculosis has been declared a global emergency many efforts are being made to find new effective solutions and strategies in service, design and delivery to eliminate this global menace which is appearing in various forms. New tools, drugs and strategies are being researched and tried out bringing effective results.Lets take a closer look at them. The DOTS Strategy (Directly Observed Treatment Short cause) Represents a major breakthrough in controlling tuberculosis. No other TB control strategy comes close to being as effective and is affordable as DOTS. The advantages to the community by using the DOTS strategy are numerous. A. Cures the patients Dots produces cure rates as high as 95 percent, even in the poorest of countries. B. Prevents New Infections DOTS makes it virtually impossible to cause a patient to develop incurable forms of TB that are becoming more common. MDRTB DOTS Makes it virtually impossible to cause a patient to develop the incurable forms of TB that are becoming more common. Cost effective A six-month supply of medicines for DOTS cost only $ 11 per patient in some parts of the world. This can be less than the price of a few bottles of aspirin. The World Bank has ranked the DOTS strategy as one of the most cost effective of all health interventions. Community based DOTS have been demonstrated to add as many years of life as currently available protease inhibitors to HIV positive people. Protects the workforce Nearly 80 percents of those ill with TB are in their most economically productive years of life. These youthful TB patients represent a workforce nearly as large as the number of people employed by the worlds 20 biggest international corporations. Protects International Travelers The only safeguard against TB is to use DOTS more widely. Stimulates Economies The DOTS strategy offers relatively quick payoffs to the economies of developing countries. Proven effective DOTS has been successfully implemented in a wide variety of conditions, including Sri Lanka, India, Tanzania, Guinea, China, 1. The implementation of the Stop TB Strategy This strategy has greatly expanded the Tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment services and has saved millions of lives. The development of new tools is a major component of the revised global efforts to stop TB Progress made in this area. They are now in the evaluation process and will be incorporated in to the TB control programme in the near future. Systematic Strategy for screening and monitoring high risk zones Where the population is concentrated such as, a) Garment Industries b) Factories c) Prison Institutions d) Rehabilitation Camps e) Elderly Peoples Institutions f) Orphanages g) Mental Asylums h) Low income communities residing in congested areas. 04. Changing of the campaign terminology strategy In the campaign such terms as TB suspects, defaulters, control, Campaign tend to criminalize and use terminology that is patient unfriendly, Therefore in the control of Tuberculosis consideration is being given to the use of terms which are more humane and patient friendly which will make the patient more co-operative. 05Greater involvement of NGOS/ CNAPT In recruiting and mobilizing volunteers for treatment and supervision which will make Tuberculosis programmes efficient. Compared to other South Asian Countries, Sri Lanka is far ahead in terms of quality of life, life expectancy, literacy and maternal mortality. This is a constant source of amazement to developed countries, who wonder how we can maintain such indices comparable to developed countries. Ceylon National Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis (CNAPT) Initiatives in Sri Lanka It has been recorded that in countries poorer than Sri Lanka, such as Nepal and Bangladesh, (with per capita GNP of around $ 200, compared to a per capita GNP of US $840 for Sri Lanka) have managed more than 90% of controlled Tuberculosis treatment. However, compared to other South Asian countries, Sri Lanka is far ahead in terms of life expectancy, literacy, and maternal and infant mortality. This is a consistent source of amazement to developed countries like Japan. It would be tragic if the TB situation in Sri Lanka was allowed to deteriorate, in spite of possessing such a record of healthcare. This is where the CNAPT steps in educating the public in one of the areas most important in TB eradication. The CNAPT has been at the forefront of the campaign for the education of Sri Lankans. Over the past 70 years, the CNAPT has worked in partnership with the Ministry of Health. In 1948 when tuberculosis (TB) was prevalent in Sri Lanka, the Ceylon National Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis (CNAPT) was formed as a Government approved non government organization (NGO), aimed at launching a nationwide TB programme which had support and international cooperation. 70 years ago when medical treatment was at its infancy and TB was rampant with no definitive cure, Dr. J.H.F.Jayasuriya, Chairman of the Rotary Club, Colombo, sponsored a voluntary organization to combat TB through the auspices of the club. An inaugural meeting was held on 17th June 1948, thus heralding the beginning of the CNAPT. A study was undertaken in collaboration with the medical personnel of the Respiratory Disease Control Programme of the Ministry of Health, the Centre for Social Survey and the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. With the intention of spreading knowledge regarding TB, its spread, prevention and management as well as to inform the public on how and where to get the help and information required, the CNAPT, with the assistance of the Global Fund, also started a Health Education Programme. The international community, WHO NGOs and the Sri Lankan Government have done a great deal for the prevention, treatment and management of the disease while also educating the public. Help is available, but people need to be informed where assistance and information can be found. The CNAPT aims at promoting the concept of extending a helping hand by seeking community, public and volunteer assistance. Tomorrow will be better only through our efforts. TB in children Special hospital facilities were non-existent for children afflicted by TB The CNAPT remedied this by constructing three childrens wards: Welisara Childrens Ward (1952) Hawake Memorial Ward, Kandana (1955) and Clarence Nathnielz Memorial Ward, Welisara (1960) which provided a total of 165 beds exclusively for children. The total cost of Rs. 900,000 was raised through the efforts of the CNAPT. Health Education Since its inception the association has concentrated heavily on health education. The objective of the programme was to convey to the public that TB could be cured, patients must take prescribed treatment and those with suggestive symptoms be screened for they must take prescribed treatment and those with suggestive symptoms be screened for the disease. The programme also included lectures to specifically targeted groups, talks via electronic media, participation at public exhibitions and the distribution of TB related literature. The proximity of the Health Education Centre to the Colombo Museum makes it accessible to any visitors to the Museum visit the CNAPTs Health Education Centre. REUTERS: Sri Lankan shares ended marginally higher yesterday, snapping three straight sessions of falls, as investors bought beverage and diversified stocks, brokers said. The Colombo stock index rose 0.09 percent to 6,451.51, after it posted an eight-week closing low in the previous session. However, investors remain worried about the island nations slower economic growth, said analysts. Sri Lankas economy grew by 3.1 percent in 2017, the slowest pace in 16 years and well below the 4.5 percent seen in 2016, revised government data released on Tuesday showed. We saw some of the positivity coming in after the release of GDP data. But investors are concerned over the lower growth, said Reshan Kurukulasuriya, chief operating officer, Richard Pieris Securities (Pvt) Ltd. We can see some high net worth investors collecting with the index trading below 6,500. Turnover was Rs. 1.4 billion (US$8.97 million), more than this years daily average of around Rs.936.4 million. Shares in Ceylon Tobacco Co Plc rose 2.9 percent, Ceylon Cold Stores Plc climbed 4.1 percent and conglomerate John Keells Holdings Plc closed 0.3 percent higher. Foreign investors sold a net RS.24.9 million worth of shares, but they have been net buyers of Rs.7.3 billion worth of equities so far this year. A joint delegation of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) visited the United States of America at a time when Sri Lanka was under scrutiny at the UN in Geneva, with appointments secured from the highest levels of authority at the UN, US Administration and Government, and the Norwegian Government, the GTF said in a statement. The delegation included TNA's M. A. Sumanthiran, GTF President S.J. Emmanuel, now resident in Sri Lanka, and members of various organisations from the US - United States Tamil Political Action Council (USTPAC), Canada - Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC), Norway - Norwegian Tamil Forum (NTF), Australia and Britain. The statement said, This visit at this critical juncture was based on TNA's and GTF's continued engagement with the Sri Lankan Government to encourage implementing their 2015 manifesto commitments and commitments made to all Sri Lankans and the international community. This visit was significant especially considering that the US still has not appointed an Ambassador in Geneva. The primary objective of the visit was to brief the officials and governments, of the ground reality, considering the deteriorating situation with law and order, appraisal of status on the constitutional reform process and implementation of UNHRC resolutions 30/1 and 34/1. Among other serious concerns, the delegation discussed the need to demand the Government of Sri Lanka to commit to a time-bound implementation plan of resolutions 30/1 & 34/1 of the UNHRC and the need for UNHRC monitoring and oversight over Sri Lanka, beyond March 2019. The delegation was delighted that the UN Under Secretary General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman and Director for Asia and Pacific Division, Mari Yamashita with her team spent a substantial amount of time discussing their observations and of hearing out concerns of the delegation, at the main UN building in New York. USG Feltman's team has been to Sri Lanka only weeks ago and had a very good understanding of the current political situation. "Deputy US Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Kelley E. Currie, who is also the Representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, met the delegates at the US Mission at the UN Plaza, 1st Avenue. Ambassador Currie was well informed, reiterated US government commitment for the full implementation of HRC resolution 30/1 and promised to discuss points of concerns with the missions in Geneva and in Colombo. "Similarly, the Norwegian Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Tore Hattrem also agreed to share the delegation's concerns with Oslo and the Norwegian Mission in Geneva recognizing the need for a time-bound implementation plan with benchmarks. "Tuesday, 20 March 2018, the delegation met with Ambassador Alice J Wells, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia and her senior staff, at the State Department in Washington DC. Ambassador Wells too was well informed, very engaged and discussed options and alternatives by way of questions and answers. Ambassador Wells also promised to discuss points of concerns with the missions in Geneva and in Colombo," it said. People funding free education have right to say stop private practice For a start, this stupid vehicle permit scheme should be scrapped forthwith It is the people who funded 13 years of their schooling and their graduate education. That includes five years of medical education Selfish, unethical work resulted in disrupting medical education for over 10 months. None but GMOA and dons are responsible for chaos Can they ever publicly say, they are honestly delivering on their social responsibilities to ask for more? Having indulged in writing on issues like reconciliation, corruption, development and all things directly political, a news item on Sunday last prompted this write up on professionals and academics beyond the short mention, I had about them last week. On Sunday, March 18, the Sunday Times carried a news item based on a letter written by the Kelaniya University Faculty of Medicine Teachers Association (KUFMTA) to the Minister of Higher Education. It says: This trade union action (referring to the strike by non-academic staff) has completely disrupted the academic activities of the University system and more so in the faculties of medicine, since medical education was earlier disrupted for over 10 months over matters relating to the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) issue. This is very funny, coming from Medical Faculty academics, which encouraged and allowed students to go out on street rampages on a weekly basis almost the whole of last year. Funny, disgusting and more than irritating too when they now say over 10 months of medical education was disrupted over matters relating to SAITM issue. What are those SAITM related issues? They are nothing more than what Deans of all Medical Faculties and their destructive allies the GMOA leaders created. It was these same Deans who left medical faculties to be run by student mobs as they pleased. All eight State University Medical Faculty Deans, who sit as Ex-officio members in the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) and that includes the Dean of the Kelaniya University Medical Faculty as well, together with GMOA, played a sinister role in dragging the SAITM issue into a crisis for no advantage of their own medical students and most unjustly against those medical students at SAITM. During Prof Carl Fonsekas pitiful tenure as the SLMC President, these Deans, in fact, changed recommendations of their own SLMC Committee, that investigated the quality of SAITM medical education, headed by Prof Rizvy Sheriff, for no other reason but to deny SAITM students any possibility of graduating as medical practitioners. All those selfish, unethical work of theirs resulted in disrupting medical education for over 10 months. None but they are responsible for all that chaos. Having aided and abetted the disruption of University education for almost one year, how or why have they suddenly turned into Saints in medical education? It is the same dirty, selfish mindset that deprives SAITM students any reasonable solution that is still working. They dont want the university non-academic staff unions to gain an advantage and benefit from their strike action. Yet, these dons cannot oppose the strike openly for FUTA, is collecting and arranging demands to go for strike action in a few months from now. Hence, this letter to the Minister of Higher Education is just to cover their otherwise crude selfishness. I beg to ask these dons who want the present university non-academics strike settled soon to save medical education, Would you oppose the planned FUTA trade union campaign that demands retirement permit for duty-free vehicles, to save medical education? FUTA leadership is now canvassing for consent from affiliated teacher unions for demands FUTA should agitate for, and take trade union action on, as necessary. The demands, over a dozen are extremely selfish and greedy, beginning with salary concerns post-2020, obtaining retirement permit for duty free vehicles, leave conditions especially addressing overseas leave constraints, adequate university housing for dons and remedying anomalies and injustices in payment of allowances and provision of benefits such as communication allowance among few others that had been squeezed in to show the academics are also interested in University activities. None of them have anything directly related to serious educational reforms though. Most have been listed expecting such personalized demands would carry the whole academic population on board for trade union action. The final demand list may even end up including one for preferential quota system for FUTA in Grade I School Admissions. In fact, this was argued as necessary by the Secretary of FUTA himself, some months back. These academics are not alone in professional greed. The GMOA leadership too has come up with similar and equally selfish demands once again. A short message on mobile phone that went out to the membership end of first week this March read, Hon. Minister Rajitha has given an appointment to GMOA on 23 March to finalise the decisions on our proposals for DAT revision & 05 yearly vehicle permit. Obviously there are other demands as selfish as these, they would be taking up with the Minister, if the appointment is kept as scheduled. Unlimited, never satisfied greed for money, leaves no shame with these mafia-type GMOA leaders to talk of revising an allowance that in the first instance is not valid and should be scrapped. Disturbance, Availability and Travelling allowance they call DAT is Rs.35,000 per month. What is disturbance for a medical practitioner who anyway is on call? What is availability when they are on call? Do they mean DAT is for those who are disturbed and called to be available for duty when not on call? Does it then mean those who are not disturbed and asked to be available during a month, are not paid DAT for that month? Thats how vulgar this DAT is and the GMOA leadership wants it revised upwards for no apparent reason. These medical practitioners never sign attendance for two reasons. One, they suffer from an incurable disease called AMES (Acquired Mega Ego Syndrome) and thus dont want to sign attendance like other public employees. They think they are not flunkies to sign attendance registers like others. The second and the more important reason is, with no attendance register to calculate the actual hours worked, overtime pay is now calculated on the personal diary entries as endorsed by another GMOA member, who is the DMO. They are paid overtime on an hourly basis as well as for three weekends they work. And there is much duplicity when DAT is also paid. When disturbed and called to be available and when that time goes as over time too. Fact is, there is no acceptable monitoring and supervising mechanism in place in any Government hospital or in the health sector that can check abuse thats plenty. With both the FUTA and the GMOA wanting duty free vehicles every five years, where do people who fund their living stand? There are 18,300 plus registered medical practitioners in Public Service. IF on a very conservative estimation, 75 percent of them purchase duty free vehicles, with a nominal duty waiver of Rs.03 million per vehicle, the national income to the Treasury, the people, will have to forego will be a colossal sum of 41,400 million rupees (Rs. 41 bn). What if that amount or close to that amount of national income has to be forgone for FUTA membership, who would want the same facility? Loss to public would definitely be more than 125,000 million rupees, on a realistic estimate. The GMOA and the FUTA leadership that claim they stand for free education should know, it is the people of this country -from every pauper on the street to the wealthiest high flying proprietor- have funded 13 years of their schooling and their graduate education. That includes five years of medical education. That notwithstanding, every cent of these professionals and dons take home salary and all other perks are also funded by public money. What moral obligations do these medical professionals and the academics have to society, to demand more and more? Can they ever publicly say, they are honestly delivering on their social responsibilities to ask for more? It was one of these university dons who once told me, if the railway employees want to strike for better pay, they must also ensure a better-improved service. There are plenty of issues in the public sector regarding salaries and cadres. They have to be fixed once and for all to demand an efficient Public Service. There are long-running anomalies on unnecessary salary gaps maintained between different trades, skills and professions on fake ratios. The GMOA sabotages all other union demands on salaries and allowances to maintain these gaps as wide as possible while holding public life to ransom to increase their package. This is a symptom of free education producing bigger crooks in a competitive free market economy. This method of salary and cadre calculations will have to be done with and sooner the better. Sri Lanka needs to have a common national living wage across all sectors, services, skills, trades and professions. Everyone has a right to a decent and a secured life and that has to be guaranteed to make free education worth its cost. Primary condition to ensure that is to pay a living wage for the job one is employed for. It is this living wage that should be topped with a skill or professional allowance to maintain a decent appreciation of responsibilities and workload entrusted in employment. For a start, this stupid vehicle permit scheme should be scrapped forthwith. That not only leads to corruption but also drains off hard-earned foreign exchange on increasing fuel imports too. Next, the GMOA should be very plainly told, if any of its demands require more public money than what is now allocated, their channelling and private practices (PP) would be completely banned. People cannot be candles those are lit at the both ends-funding their education and salaries and paying for medical treatment. They are free to resign and practise privately. The Netherlands, (Daily Mail), 22 March 2018 - The largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world, known as the great Pacific garbage patch, is now three times the size of France, new research has found. Aerial images reveal 79,000 tonnes of plastic in the huge ocean accumulation zone west of California, a figure 16 times higher than previous estimates. The results suggest that there is far more plastic in the area than scientists thought, and that microplastics are rapidly accumulating in the region, researchers at the Ocean Cleanup Project found. The tiny toxic particles get into our food supply when they are eaten by fish and can penetrate our internal organs and carry toxic chemicals into the body. Study coauthor and Ocean Cleanup scientist Dr Laurent Lebreton told MailOnline: The great Pacific garbage patch (GPGP) is located half way between Hawaii and California. Plastic waste may decompose into small fragments, often referred as microplastics that may be harmful to marine life. Working together as Christians is more important than stressing our differences" Author: Linda Bordoni | Source: Vatican News A delegation of the ecumenical Sudan Council of Churches met with Pope Francis in the Vatican before speaking to the press at the headquarters of the Rome-based SantEgidio Community which is engaged in peace negotiations in the country. Archbishop John Baptist Odama of Gulu in Uganda, who has been involved in mediating between South Sudans warring parties, told Vatican News that Pope Francis was very happy to meet with the ecumenical delegation: Working together as Christians is more important than stressing our differences he said. Uganda receiving South Sudanese refugees Archbishop Odama also explained that Uganda is playing an important role in the region. Uganda in fact currently hosts over a million refugees who have fled South Sudan out of fear of being killed by fighters from either side of the conflict inside South Sudan, as well as out of hunger and lack of social services. Odama pointed out that South Sudan is not only a neighbor, but a brother in need: When your brothers house is burning you should feel concerned; even just to get some water and to pour it over the burning house is a good gesture. Therefore, receiving the refugees who are running, escaping from the war is a sign of our solidarity with South Sudan he said. Pope calling on the world to take action The Archbishop also reflected on the fact that the recent Day of Prayer for Peace for South Sudan and for the Democratic Republic of Congo called for by Pope Francis, was an appeal to humanity to take stock of the fact that one of its parts is suffering and to urge the world to take action together and ask God for a way to stop this war. As human being we are one. If any part in any continent or in any country is suffering, then humanity is suffering he said. At least two people were killed after a gunman claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group opened fire and took hostages at a supermarket in southwest France a short while ago, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. A security source said the two were killed in the attack at a Super U store in the town of Trebes. Armed police were also responding to the earlier shooting of a policeman in the town of Carcassonne, 15 minutes drive away, which took place at around 11 am (1000 GMT). It was unclear if the two incidents were linked. The gunman claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group, the local prosecutor's office said, and the incident was being treated as a terror attack. Local authorities tweeted that the area around the supermarket was off-limits to the public, while Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said it was a "serious" incident. If the link to Islamic State is confirmed, the hostage-taking would be the first deadly attack in France since October, when two young women were stabbed to death outside Marseille's main train station. Interior Minister Gerard Collomb was heading to the scene, he wrote on Twitter The area of southwest France where Friday's shootings took place has been scarred by Islamic extremism before. The country would be able to witness a large-scale re-organization of the United National Party (UNP) before May this year, State Minister of Defense Ruwan Wijewardene said yesterday. Mr. Wijewardene made this comment at a ceremony held to mark the 66th death anniversary of the late Prime Minister D S Senanayake in Colombo last evening. The committee appointed to look into the reorganization of the party had recommended that a large-scale reorganization process was needed and Party Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has given his blessing for this process to take place as soon as possible. Therefore, it was decided that these changes should take place by May this year, Mr. Wijewardene said. He said the committee had recommended that the re-organization process begins from the grass-root level and the younger members of the party should be given this task. This he said is recommended in addition to the reshuffling of office bearers of the party. Referring to the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, Mr. Wijewardene said he was confident that it will not be successful. The joint opposition boasts that they have the support of 21 UNP MPs but they will not get even two UNPers supporting their cause, he said while highlighting the fact that the UNP Parliamentary group and other MPs who represent the United National Front (UNF) had pledged their fullest support to Mr. Wickremesinghe. He said the JVP and the TNA would also think of the country when deciding on whether to support the motion. (Yohan Perera) This cocoon-mindset is a product of a steady dose of the hate-filled ethno-superiority complex Religion in the hands of pagans is just another deadly device Muslims are no less responsible. They attacked a Buddhist Temple The Rajapaksas have no right whatsoever to speak about such situations as pious leaders of a nation If you see fraud and do not say fraud, you are a fraud. ~Nassim Nicholas Taleb Kandy was burning. The pinnacle of the teachings of the greatest Teacher in human history, who preached Ahimsa (non-violence) is being desecrated and the shame and ignominy that burning has caused have become our contemptible DNA. Religion in the hands of pagans is just another deadly device to hurl at those who dont believe in the same faith. In a macabre spectacle of treachery and religious dishonesty, what has moved our people towards sublime heights has been replaced by gory intent to kill and torture, to maim and murder and to impose their faith on others. When the fear of Tamils in the North is coupled with the jealousy of Muslims in the East and the rest of the country, the consequential stream of aggressive indifference towards decency and fundamental values creates all this mayhem and ethnic cleansing of Sri Lankan kind. Muslims are no less responsible. They attacked a Buddhist Temple. What have we become? After 70 years of Independence from colonial rulers, we managed to introduce in the 1972 Constitution, drafted and consummated by Dr. Colvin R. de Silva, one of the most scholarly advocates of secularism, a clause that rendered Buddhism a special place, thereby creating a discriminatory socio-religious machination amongst a people who were used to harmonious coexistence. However, since the 56 transformation, instigated by Bandaranaike, another Oxford Liberal whose political expediency subordinated all his liberal-mindedness to his empty rhetoric and created socio-ethnic hysteria that gave rise to a feeling of false superiority of race, the rate at which ethnic violence erupted in Ceylon increased. A mentality of The land, the race and the faith (Rata, Deya, Samaya) then took over the collective psyche of Sinhalese Buddhists whose imaginary Aryan origins as propagated by the likes of Anagarika Dharmapala, a zealot of no mean influence on the majority who was living with minority mindset. This mindset was primarily attributable to the fear of Tamils in South India, namely Tamil Nadu State. This cagey existence is utterly vulnerable and could be easily exploited by sinister politicians whose aims are much more deceptive and diabolical. That is precisely what has happened to our Sinhalese Buddhist community. When the fear of Tamils in the North is coupled with the jealousy of Muslims in the East and the rest of the country, the consequential stream of aggressive indifference towards decency and fundamental values creates all this mayhem and ethnic cleansing of Sri Lankan kind. No person on the soil of this country could keep quiet about violent treatment of fellow citizens in the same land. Such aggressive indifference towards decency and fundamental values result in macabre killings and inhuman torture. Sinhalese Buddhists, over a period of time, especially after 1956, have shown uncanny and remarkable ability to indulge in these racial riots as an expression of misplaced patriotism Such aggressive indifference towards decency and fundamental values result in macabre killings and inhuman torture. Sinhalese Buddhists, over a period of time, especially after 1956, have shown uncanny and remarkable ability to indulge in these racial riots as an expression of misplaced patriotism. Anyone who speaks against such wanton ethnic-based killings is being branded traitorous and betrayers of our thing. This cocoon-mindset is a product of a steady dose of the hate-filled ethno-superiority complex. Innocent women and men are drawn into this vortex of The land, the race and the faith. And when feelings are driven to an intense extent of ethnic hatred, all sublime teachings of the Buddha are forgotten and the base animal instincts of humankind overwhelm the brittle minds of these men and women of the faith. That is the basic calculus of this developing human spectacle. The base instincts of humanity have overwhelmed the wiser quarters; political expediency has deadened the nuanced aspects of the human race and created a crack in the fabric of socio-ethnic harmony. The Teldeniya riots and its rapid spread over the Kandy District, specifically in areas where Muslim communities are more prevalent, were another growing cancer which was curbed quite speedily whereas such riots in 1983 could not be averted. The Rajapaksas have no right whatsoever to speak about such situations as pious leaders of a nation. With their willing and ready nod, many ethnic riots were initiated and a destructive mode of governance was unleashed. Well-known thugs and socially malignant elements were wrapped in saffron robes and let loose on an otherwise placid people. The immense danger and damage that is caused to this placid mind of a village woman, who worships the tiny Buddha statue that is in her tiny shrine room cannot be disregarded as a mere contusion caused by a thorny creep. This womans faith in the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama the Buddha is too strong to be waived off by Islam Fundamentalism. Her allegiance to the Dharma, as she sees and understands it, cannot be subjected to judgment by zealots of another faith. Yet, her faith is invariably entangled with the superficial aspects of popular Buddhism, which has been a product of adulteration and contamination by generations of Dusseela Bikkhus (Corrupt Clergy) and ambitious politicians, who use these Dusseela Bhikkhus to gain their ends. This close affiliation between ruler-politicians and Buddhist Clergy has been a constant in our history. While this unbreakable bond, more often than not, has had very beneficial effects on the ruler and consequently on the subject people, sometimes has led to the irreversible conditioning of the minds and hearts of them. This conditioning, perpetrated over centuries of rule, has, in fact, produced a warped sense of patriotism, which manifestly rejects the fresh and openness of mind. The brutal truth is this same ruler-priest combination has not been present not only in Ceylon but was, in fact, had been a primary driving force in the so-called developed world long before the dawn of Liberal Democracy. The cloak of the religious cover has managed to conceal many a sin of the ruler, whilst the Monk/Priest clans have abused the relationship to enrich themselves and their kith and kin. The cycle continued with an ironclad combination between corrupt rulers and corrupting clergy. However, with the advent of Liberal Democracy- though it is more an evolution rather than an advent- in the developed world, the direct influence of religion on democratically elected leaders began diminishing at a faster rate than it could afford to. When religion is confined to Temples, Churches, Mosques and Kovils, the ruling clans began sustaining their rule over matters of Government affairs more freely and with a secular approach to the resolution of emerging economic and political problems. The emergence of Fundamentalism may be partly due to this historical evolution of the relationship between religion and Government. Future historians and political scientists will argue this case and arrive at more plausible conclusions. Yet, what has been evident in the world over the last two centuries have proven that the more economically advanced nations have done so by being more secular than religious in the execution of their policies and principles. Unfortunately, Sri Lanka cannot be counted to be amongst these enlightened nations. We have chosen to follow the Indian model in pursuing power along the lines of division than unity. Polarization has been willfully enunciated in the daily performance of political life. The rush to Kataragama to wash their sins off their souls and bodies is one example, which exhibits the shallowness of their beliefs. The mockery of religious and spiritual beliefs is no more succinctly displayed than in these Kataragama rituals. Ceylon has come a long way in her journey towards a perfect union of ideas and ideals. Yet, her rulers and religious leaders have let her down. Time after time, when the burning coal of religious anger and hatred seems to simmer and eventually die, these religious zealots and pseudo-spiritual heads have chosen to find the concealed amber and inflame the very hatred and anger to settle their own scores. It is the legacy of the politicians and religious leaders of our time. From the old woman whose faith in the serene teachings of the Buddha is unbreakable to the young man who takes knives and daggers to kill and maim those who do not belong to his religion have gone through this vicious circle of hatred and anger. The Buddha teachings have been relegated to the fulfilment of a fleeting sense of hatred. Certain extremists monks and most powerful politicians will continue to make their exploits more lucrative and profitable to their sponsors. Politicians would pay only lip service and the people who have been brought down to mere puppets will continue to dance to their tunes. Teldeniya riots were not the first of ethnic riots that occurred in post-Independence Sri Lanka and they wont be the last. SAN FRANCISCO REUTERS March 21 Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg apologized on Wednesday for mistakes his company made in how it handled data belonging to 50 million of its users, and promised tougher steps to restrict developers access to such information. The worlds largest social media network is facing growing government scrutiny in Europe and the United States. This follows allegations by a whistleblower that British political consultancy Cambridge Analytica improperly accessed users information to build profiles on American voters that were later used to help elect U.S. President Donald Trump in 2016. This was a major breach of trust. Im really sorry this happened. We have a basic responsibility to protect peoples data, Zuckerberg told CNN, breaking a public silence since the scandal erupted at the weekend. He said the social network planned to conduct an investigation of thousands of apps that have used Facebooks platform, restrict developer access to data, and give members a tool that lets them disable access to their Facebook data more easily. The Homebuilders Association of Greater Chattanooga announced Thursday that Richard Beeland, current deputy administrator of Economic and Community Development for the city of Chattanooga, will become the new executive officer for their Association. Jay Bell, president of the association, said, "We are pleased to announce and welcome Richard Beeland as our new Executive Officer. Richard has the credentials and experience to be an exceptional leader of our staff and play an important role in ensuring the continued success of our Association." Mr. Bell said the Homebuilders Association of Greater Chattanooga was established in 1945 and has a long history of representing the local home building industry that contributes greatly to the local economy and tax base. It also has a history of making many contributions to the Chattanooga communities through supporting local non-profit organizations, college scholarships offerings, and supplies to local schools. Mr. Beeland holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Mississippi State University and a Bachelor of Science in Political Science as well as a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. His community involvement includes current and past service on the boards of the United Way of Greater Chattanooga, Hamilton County Homeless Healthcare Center, Chattanooga Area Red Cross, and Metropolitan Ministries. Mr. Beeland said, I am looking forward to this opportunity. The Homebuilders Association of Greater Chattanooga represents the collective interest of individuals and organizations that build real value in our community. Its an honor to be a part of an organization that is as committed and involved as the Homebuilders Association. Legacy Village of Cleveland partnered with its sister facility, Renaissance Assisted Living of Greene County, in Stanardsville, Va., in support of Hope for Appalachia, by sending Hope Boxes to the poverty-stricken areas of Southeastern Kentucky and Southwestern Virginia.Hope for Appalachia is a collaborative group of churches, businesses and individuals that deliver boxes to the children of these poverty-stricken areas. Teams based in North Carolina and Kentucky each coordinate an annual trip to these impoverished areas in Kentucky and Virginia to deliver the boxes. The Hope Boxes, about the size of a shoebox, are filled with supplies such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, socks, warm clothes, school supplies and toys.Team members of Legacy Village of Cleveland pitched in to put together Hope Boxes to send to the disadvantaged children in need.With the help from local Bradley County High School Freshmen Student Council, Lee Universitys service club, Sigma Nu Sigma, ladies of Naomi Baptist Church and Cleveland community members, Legacy Village of Cleveland gathered over 200 Hope Boxes.We are so excited and humbled that we have the opportunity to partner with our sister facilities in Virginia to benefit these children in need. As we fill these boxes, we pray peace and comfort over each child that will receive a box, Shannon Alvey, executive director of Legacy Village of Cleveland, said. TUESDAY, MARCH 27 Reality Check at Howard High School 9:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Howard High School: 2500 Market St Reality Check teaches ninth graders budgeting and emphasizes the connection between education and income by allowing students to role-play as heads of household on a set budget. To volunteer for this Chattanooga Chamber career readiness program, please contact Cathy Humble at 423.763.4321 or chumble@chattanoogachamber.com. East Brainerd Chamber Council Meeting 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Car Barn : 6721 Heritage Business Ct. Speaker: Ron Harris, VP Diversity and Inclusion Blue Cross Blue Shield $12 Government 101: Contract Procurement Workshop from Start to Finish 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. INCubator: 100 Cherokee Blvd. Learn how to do business with the government in this comprehensive three hour course which overviews the entire federal procurement process, from start to finish. The introductory course outlines everything you need to know about government contracting, and how to be successful in todays procurement marketplace. Speaker: Paul Middlebrooks, UT Procurement Free Register at tsbdc.org. LCAA PM Regathering 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Alchemy Bar, 10th Floor, The Westin: 801 Pine St. Network with graduates and friends of Leadership Chattanooga at Chattanoogas newest night spot. Since the time the Dalai Lama crossed the border at Khenzimane on March 31, 1959 and entered India, the issue of Tibet has been on a perpetual simmer between India and China. In the 60 years since, Tibet remains at the core of tensions at the political and military levels. On the diplomatic front, the complexities surrounding the Tibet issue have emerged once again, with a formal circular being sent to Indian government officials to maintain distance from events related to the Dalai Lama's passage to India. Following the uproar over the circular, the Ministry of External Affairs clarified that India's position on the Dalai Lama remains consistent a that of him being a revered religious leader who has been accorded all freedom to carry out religious activities in India. What remains significant was MEA's tacit acceptance of issuing and circulating the formal note, given that it did not deny issuing the said directive. This only goes on to signify the implicit message that India's latest policy tool to 'deal' with China is its attempt to placate Beijing on multiple fronts. Pushing Tibet and the Dalai Lama's events away from the spotlight in Delhi to the quaint and politically uneventful location of Dharamsala appears a part of that larger strategy. Besides, the immediate agenda could be Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Qingdao in June to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, amid other speculations that suggest Modi's official visit to China happening as early as April. India and its policymakers are hunting for options to repair the Sino-Indian relationship, which experienced its roughest patch since the 1962 war over the Doklam standoff last summer. The question is, what are the areas that New Delhi seems to have identified, wherein it expects China to hand it a quid pro quo for the 'Tibet relief' that it has provided Beijing? Any outlandish hope of India expecting to be paid back in terms of diplomatic dividends might just be heading for a crash. For starters, would it be at the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) - where it is all too well-known and acknowledged that India's chances of gaining membership remains bleak given China's tenacious objection to it? China is known to have blocked a consensus vote on India's application and is decidedly prepared to scuttle New Delhi's application, even if it has to be the last man standing. China will continue to deny India entry into NSG, at any cost. Or, is India expecting a quid pro quo in its fight against terrorism, wherein Beijing is officially stonewalling Indian attempts to brand Masood Azhar a global terrorist? As recently as November 2017, China blocked listing of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief and Pathankot terror attack mastermind Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN under the al-Qaida Sanctions Committee of the Council. This is the second year in succession that China has blocked the resolution. Get real Third, and perhaps most significant, is China's Belt and Road Initiative. Is India expecting a quid pro quo over the BRI, especially on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor running through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir? With the amount of economic and political capital invested by the Xi administration in the BRI project, there is no way that China would relent to Delhi's objections on the CPEC corridor running through PoK since placing Delhi's sovereignty and territorial integrity under strain suits Beijing's South Asia strategy politico-diplomatically and adds pressure on the Indian military in the conventional deterrence equation vis-A -vis a two-front scenario. China's dealings with the outside world hinge upon three discernible policy stands that essentially constitute the basis of the Chinese Communist Party's claim to legitimacy: namely the so-called unequal treaties from another era, nationalism, and sovereignty. After all, China has successfully employed its traditional concept and strategy of shi that exploits the strategic configuration of power to its advantage, while maximizing its ability to preserve its own strength. The strategy of shi also advocates engaging the adversary in qi (extraordinary) ways and developing a win-win situation to achieve political and strategic objectives. Over the past decade and more, China has managed to gradually create a situation where India finds itself gripped, politico-diplomatically and militarily. As Chinese influence and presence inside and around South Asia increases, the hard realities outlined above need to be dealt with pragmatically. India needs a rethink on its policy before it loses leverage far beyond repairable standards. In its aim and ambition to redraw borders and expand its sphere of influence, Beijing inevitably is engaged in a wholesale revision of its foreign policy. The policy of handing over olive branches to Beijing without any terms and conditions does not constitute prudence. It is time for New Delhi to revisit the theoretical roots of India's strategic thinking and orientation that lie in the Arthashastra and delineate theories of statecraft, diplomacy, strategy, and prerequisites of politics and power in the Realist paradigm. (The writer is Senior Visiting Fellow at The Japan Institute of International Affairs, Tokyo) Crye-Leike Realtor Donna Darnes and Community Mortgage Branch Manager Rebecca Pool will be joining forces on Tuesday April 3rd to host a free home buyers seminar for the public. The event will start at 6:30 p.m. at Crye-Leikes Ooltewah office, 5913 Main St., Ste. 107. Together, Ms. Darnes and Ms. Pool will be providing an array of information about the home buying process and answering questions from attendees. Light refreshments will be provided during the event. We are thrilled to offer our services to the public with this free home buying seminar, said Ms. Darnes, a multi-million dollar producer with over 12 years real estate experience. Our hope is that we can provide valuable insight about every step involved with the home buying process and give peace of mind for those interested in buying a home. This seminar is perfect for anyone thinking of purchasing a new home but may know not where to start, said Ms. Pool. Owning a home is a dream for many, but it doesnt have to just be a dream, we want to share our knowledge from years of experience in real estate and the mortgage industry to help others turn that dream into a reality. For further information about the free home buying seminar contact Ms. Darnes at 423-544-1906, or by email at donna.darnes@crye-leike.com. Ms. Pool may also be reached at 423-304-1020 or Rebecca.pool@communitymtg.com. BENGALURU, dhns: The Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) has won this year's SKYTRAX Award for Best Regional Airport in India and Central Asia. The award was presented at the World Airport Awards held at the Passenger Terminal EXPO in Stockholm, Sweden, on March 21. This is for the second consecutive year that the KIA has won the award. The Bengaluru airport had won the award thrice, in 2011, 2015 and 2017. "To be named the Best Regional Airport in India and Central Asia is an incredible achievement for the KIA," said Hari Marar, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL). The SKYTRAX World Airport Awards is arguably the largest passenger satisfaction assessment. It is considered among the most prestigious surveys measuring airport service excellence and quality. The winners of the 2018 awards were declared based on 13.73 million survey questionnaires from over 500 airports worldwide. The survey was conducted between August 2017 and February 2018. A key directive of the survey is for customers to make their own, personal choices as to which airport they consider the best. 'Regional Airports' refer to airports operating short international and domestic flights, rather than having a vast intercontinental network. In the previous SKYTRAX Awards, the KIA was adjudged the best airport in India in 2011 and the second best airport in India in 2012. Bengaluru: The contract data entry operators of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) staged a protest on Thursday demanding the civic body to rehire them. The protesters said that it was six months since the Karnataka high court directed the civic body to rehire 274 data entry operators. But Palike is yet to follow the order. "There is a contract between the BBMP and the Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KEONICS) to hire the data entry operators on the contract basis. However, the contract is on an annual basis," said Mayor R Sampath Raj. "The high court order was passed in October 2017. Many of us have not even received our salaries for several months when we were working," said Lalitamma, a worker at Malleswaram ward. Some women employees complained said that the civic body was not considerate towards them, said Sharadamma B, chairman of BBMP Computer Operator's Forum. The protesters called off their strike after the Mayor promised to look into the issue and call a meeting with officials. Bengaluru: The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is now speeding up the process of reconstruction of its commercial complexes. The authority will issue a work order in a week to start the reconstruction of seven of its commercial complexes, said Ravindra Babu, BDA, Engineer. The existing shop owners in the complexes will be shifted to makeshift temporary shops for two years till the completion of the restructuring work so that their business is not affected, he said. In the first phase, the BDA will take up reconstruction work of Indiranagar, RT Nagar, Austin Town, Koramangala, Vijayanagar, Sadashivanagar and HSR Layout commercial complexes under the public-private-partnership (PPP) model. The Maverick Holdings and Investments Private Limited and Embassy Group will do the Indiranagar complex reconstructing work. The remaining complexes will be redone jointly by M-Far Developers Private Limited and Realty Limited and others. Babu said these companies would also have to create good quality structures in order to house the existing tenants for two years. After the completion of the project, the authority will get 35% of the complex space which it will hand over to the existing tenants according to the agreement. Once the commercial complexes are redone, the authority expects an increase in its annual income from the existing Rs five crore to Rs 38.98 crore. While the HSR Complex is 13 years old, the remaining are 30 years old. The state government's much-touted Indira Sarige service, aimed at providing affordable bus rides to women working in the garment sector, is unlikely to start anytime soon because of differences over cost-sharing by various stakeholders. According to the proposal made by Transport Minister H M Revanna, the Transport, Labour and Women & Child departments along with garment factory owners had to share the cost of the subsidised bus pass for garment factories. Women make up a large part of the labour force in more than 1,200 garment factories in Bengaluru. Under Indira Sarige, the government planned to provide subsidised monthly passes in non-AC buses to garment workers. Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) provides two types non-AC monthly bus passes to its commuters. The Rs 1,050 pass allows unlimited travel in the city while those who want to travel in buses running on Nice Road have to buy the Rs 1,900 pass. Sources in the Transport Department said a meeting was held recently in which officials of three departments as well as members of garment owners' association took part. "The Women and Child Welfare Department agreed to share 20% of the cost. Officials from Labour Department initially said they could not contribute to the scheme but relented later. The garment factory owners association sought time to come to a decision," they said. Another source said that given the disparate nature of garment factories, the owners are unlikely to arrive at a concession on sharing the cost. "Some owners were of the opinion that they have already made transport arrangements for labourers in their factory. Others asked why they had to fund the scheme," he added. Garment factory owners' association could not be reached for a comment. Gautam Porwal, president of Karnataka Hosiery and Garments Association, said it was the government's job to provide affordable transport to garment factories. "Garment factories are providing jobs to lakhs of people, especially to women with limited education. Governments should recognise their contribution to the job sector and should not demand more," he said. EU leaders decided today to recall the bloc's envoy to Russia after backing Britain's assessment that Moscow was likely behind a nerve agent attack on an ex-spy, officials said. A number of EU countries are also considering expelling Russian diplomats or recalling their own envoys following the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England. "After agreeing on attribution, they continued the discussions on how could they go beyond just words and actually really have some deeds," a senior EU official said after the first day of the summit. "Some member states are looking into possibly expelling Russian diplomats or recalling national diplomats. "But there was also an agreement to recall the EU ambassador to Moscow for consultations." Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte confirmed the recall of the EU envoy. Another EU source told AFP the recall was a "show of intent". The 28 EU leaders said in a statement "that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible and that there is no plausible alternative explanation". Lithuania's outspoken President Dalia Grybauskaite said on the way to the summit that she was giving serious thought to following Britain's lead in taking steps against Moscow. Britain has expelled 23 Russian diplomats and severed some high-level ties. "All of us we are considering such measures," Grybauskaite said. The health ministry has come out with a 30-second Public Service Announcement (PSA), as a part of a national campaign to sensitise people about the harms of exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke. "Clinical", the 30-second PSA, reveals how exposure to second-hand smoke causes stroke and heart disease among non-smokers and encourages smokers to protect others by quitting smoking. It is the first national tobacco control mass media campaign to promote a "quit smoking" helpline, said Vital Strategies which provided technical assistance for this campaign. The PSA will be broadcast in 17 languages over a period of three weeks on the channels of public service broadcasters Doordarshan and All India Radio for pan-India reach. The campaign will also run on major digital media platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Hotstar and Voot, it said. According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), India, 2017, there has been a reduction in exposure to SHS in India since 2009-2010 (the time of the last GATS India report), but a large proportion of adults and children are still exposed to this invisible killer. Exposure to SHS in public spaces reduced from 29 percent to 23 percent and exposure at home reduced from 52 percent to 39 percent, but exposure in the workplace rose marginally from 29.9 percent to 30.2 percent, the survey said. Fully comprehensive smoke-free laws, with no exemptions, are more effective in protecting smokers and non-smokers, it said. "There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke, but many people don't know about this invisible killer,' said Dr Nandita Murukutla, Vice President, Global Policy and Research, Vital Strategies. "We expect the campaign will be highly effective in changing knowledge and behaviours around the health risks of second-hand smoke," he said. "It will increase support for strong enforcement of India's smoke-free laws, increase traffic to the national quitline and Cessation website at the National Health Portal, and help to discourage people from consuming tobacco in any form," Murukutla said. Voting in the crucial biennial elections for the 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh began here today. To secure a seat to the Upper House of Parliament from this state, a candidate needs 37 first preference votes. Since the BJP and its allies have 324 seats in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly right now, the saffron party can easily bag eight of the 10 seats and will still be left with 28 surplus votes as the four-MLA strong Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) has decided to go with the ruling party. "There can be some contest on the ninth seat," a senior UP BJP leader said. The Samajwadi Party, which has fielded Jaya Bachchan, and the BSP, which nominated Bhimrao Ambedkar, appeared confident of winning one each of the remaining two seats. Voting will be held till 4 pm and counting will be taken up an hour later. BJP candidates in the fray from Uttar Pradesh are Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Ashok Bajpai, Vijay Pal Singh Tomar, Sakal Deep Rajbhar, Kanta Kardam, Anil Jain, Harnath Singh Yadav, G V L Narasimha Rao and Anil Kumar Agarwal. The Apna Dal (Sonelal), with nine MLAs, has also decided to vote for the BJP nominees. "We are standing with the BJP. We held a meeting of our MLAs and it was decided that we will strongly support the BJP," national president of Apna Dal (S) Ashish Patel had said. The declaration of support from the Apna Dal (S) came days after SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar, a Cabinet minister in state government, declared his party's support for the BJP candidates. The country's most populous state sends 31 MPs to the 245-member Rajya Sabha, and the BJP, which won a massive victory in the 2017 Assembly elections, is yet to get a lion's share of these. Hamilton County Schools plan to convene an Equity Task Force "to ensure a brighter future for all children in the district." Officials said, "In the first round of listening sessions the system held with parents and community leaders last fall, equity was highlighted, and we continue to receive community feedback on this issue in recent months. In response to that community feedback, the reorganization of central office introduced the role of chief equity officer, Dr. Marsha Drake. Dr. Drake is launching the Equity Task Force to review current practices in school choice, student assignment, student access, discipline, magnet policies, exceptional education procedures and programming, and English language learner procedures and programming. The Equity Task Force will make recommendations for developing an equity framework for student access and key performance indicators to monitor success." The goals of the Equity Task Force will be to: Identify opportunities and make recommendations regarding how the district can improve overall educational equity for students in historically underserved groups Review school programming (e.g., magnets), student assignment policies (e.g., hardship transfers and open enrollment), ELL and exceptional education, and discipline practices to develop recommendations that would improve equitable access for all students Develop an Equity Framework and key performance indicators to monitor district performance on equitable distribution of resources and student outcomes The Equity Task Force will include representatives from UnifiEd, the city of Chattanooga, Hamilton County Government, and other educational, business and religious leaders from the community. Dr. Steve Highlander, chairman of the Hamilton County Board of Education, will participate in the Equity Task Force and represent the board of education. He said, I look forward to working with community leaders to enhance our equity efforts to benefit the children in Hamilton County Schools. A kick-off meeting for the group will be in April with regular meetings through July. The group will present its recommendations to the Hamilton County Board of Education in August. Equity was a focus of the community that came through loud and clear in our listening sessions across Hamilton County, said Dr. Bryan Johnson, superintendent of Hamilton County Schools. This Task Force will help develop the framework to ensure that all students can access the opportunities and resources to help them succeed after graduation. He added, Equitable access will be a key component for Hamilton County Schools becoming the fastest improving school district in the state of Tennessee. The Rajya Sabha could not transact any business for the 15th straight day, as opposition parties continued to create a ruckus, forcing adjournment of proceedings. Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu adjourned the Rajya Sabha for the day but not before expressing anguish over the House not doing any business since it met on March 5. Naidu said past disruptions should not be cited to justify the "present wrong" and voiced hope the government will take the opposition into confidence to ensure the House functions next week. Andhra parties, including the TDP, and KVP Ramachandra Rao of the Congress trooped in the Well today shouting slogans for special status to the state while Tamil Nadu parties - DMK and AIADMK- raised the Cauvery water issue. Congress members too were in the Well shouting slogans that the government was anti-SC/ST, in an apparent reference to the Supreme Court ruling on the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. After paying tributes to freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, who were hanged on this day 87 years ago by the British, Naidu stood up to express his displeasure at the disruptions. He said it was distressing that the Rajya Sabha has not discharged its mandate for three weeks. "People of the country have been let down." Naidu said he could understand that MPs may resort to disruption for a couple of days to press their issues but "persist with it for three weeks has no justification". Congress members countered this by blaming the government for the stalemate and alleged that it has not engaged the opposition parties. The Chairman, however, went on to state that while some may cite past instances to justify the present impasse, the three-week-long disruption had no justification. "How long do you want to justify the present wrong based on past," he said. "People of the country are aspiring for change. Should the change not begin from Rajya Sabha." He said people were asking why is the House not being adjourned sine die but added that it was not in his had to do so. "I am pained... I am sad," he said, adding he would not like to hazard a guess about what will happen in the House next week or "if you are going to change for better". People are deeply disturbed, he said. "If you are not interested in running of this House, it is another matter." When Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel read out the government agenda for next week, Naidu hoped the government will take the opposition into confidence to ensure the House functions. Soon after listed papers were laid on the table of the House, placard-carrying members of Andhra and Tamil parties trooped into the Well and started shouting slogans. Congress members too joined them in the well. Naidu said he was willing to allow discussion on any issue that the members want, but placards, demonstration and slogan shouting was not justified. He then adjourned the proceedings till Monday. There are 35 lakh people of the Golla (Yadava) community in Karnataka. So, BJP will give three tickets to the community in the upcoming elections, assured State BJP President B S Yeddyurappa. Speaking at the state-level Yadava Samavesha in Tumakuru on Friday, Yeddyurappa said that Chikkaballapur, Kolar, Chitradurga, Tumakuru and Belagavi are districts with a sizable Yadava population. He called upon the people of the community to organize themselves and strengthen BJP. "Besides supporting candidates of your community, you must also support party candidates in other constituencies to win this election. As soon as the BJP comes to power, Rs 1 crore will be granted to the Krishna Yadavananda mutt. We will also try to include Kadugolla community in the list of SC/ST communities ," Yeddyurappa promised. DH News Service. IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has asked top officials of his ministry to take steps to prevent misuse of personal data of a user on social media to influence elections. The minister, who held a meeting with his officials on Thursday, directed the officials to probe the allegation of misuse of users' data stored in the social media giants and take steps to prevent any misuse in future. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology may also engage TRAI on the issue said an official in the IT Ministry adding that the government is exploring all steps to protect the user information from misuse without harming the growth of social media networks in the country. With several global internet giants having a large footprint in India, the government wants companies should have adequate firewalls and data should be protected, said an official. The IT Minister held a meeting with officials on the issue after the row over the London based firm Cambridge Analytica harvested user data of 50 million Facebook users to influence and identity voter behaviour in several countries. Earlier this week, Prasad had warned social media giant Facebook of "stringent" action for any attempt to influence polls through data theft and had even threatened to summon its CEO Mark Zuckerberg, if needed. Back Alley will present Maundy Thursday, a memory play about the final days of Jesus of Nazareth as told by people closest to him. This production has a limited, one-weekend run with shows set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 29, through Saturday, March 31, with a 2:30 p.m. matinee on Saturday, March 31. Performances will be held at the Historic Mars Theatre, 117 N. Chattanooga St. in Lafayette. Visit www.BAPshows.com or call (706) 621-2870 to purchase tickets. Review for Maundy Thursday: Set in First Century Palestine (Israel), the world is in turmoil. The Roman Empires rules over all of Judea, and the Jewish People are divided. Out from all the violence and uncertainty comes Jesus Christ, who claims to be the Son of God, and preaches about love and peace, and the Kingdom of God. Now, three years later, its the eve of Passover and tensions are critically high after Christs popularity and message has threatened to shake up the natural political order. This is not a living Last Supper often performed throughout churches, but a whole examination of the events, players, and context leading up to and directly after the Crucifixion of Jesus, said Kaylee Smith, director of the show. The actors will perform and recount memories from several key moments in Jesus ministry, including insights from Nicodemus, Mary of Bethany, the woman at the well, a Roman soldier, and the 12 disciples, each bringing a unique perspective or lens on their experience with Jesus. As a memory play, each character investigates their own humanity: what it would be like to be a follower of Christ during this historically turbulent time, and how those stories echo much of the tension in our modern world. Ms. Smith said, What weve discovered is that Jerusalem during the First Century A.D. is not all that different then it is today. The production is not strictly a scriptural reading, Ms. Smith notes, and allows for the actors to explore the historical, social, and personal aspects of their character, as well as the triumphs, questions, and decisions behind their actions. I think its impossible to come to the story of Christ without our own cultural assumptions, said Ms. Smith. Even a knowledge as basic as knowing how the story ends with the resurrection and ascension tends to diminish the emotions that people must have felt Thursday night of Holy Week. Our goal is to make you forget youve heard the story, and come to it with fresh eyes, and to hear it dramatically rather than through a church service, and to consider the setting and history alongside the beloved story of Christ. We want to add a rich new layer to a well-told message. We want you to walk away understanding how it may have felt to be an ordinary human witnessing an extraordinary event, with limited human perspective, and only able understanding a few things their teacher was trying to tell them. At the same time having the knowledge of being plotted against from within by one of their friends, to being hunted by leaders of their faith, the group of people surrounding Christ, without a doubt, were afraid for their lives. I think we forget there was a tremendous amount of fear, turmoil, and anxiety. The fact they fell asleep in Gethsemane, tells us that they expected a very different night than what occurred. No one knew what was going to happen next, or what the ultimate outcome of Christs ministry would be. "To me, that has always been a very affirming thing to acknowledge, that one minute these men ran, hid, and protected themselves, and then 40 days later, they were willing to be martyred to fulfill the Great Commission. "That said, this is is not a religious ceremony, there is no partaking of communion, or any alter calls, or a sermon, it is a stage play, and our actors simply tell the story." Maundy Thursdays run time is approximately 2.5 hours, including a 15-minute intermission. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit www.BAPshows.com or call 706-621-2870. Continuing with its tradition, activists of radical women's outfit Dukhtaran-e-Millat (Daughters of the Nation) on Friday celebrated 'Pakistan Day' in Srinagar, in which the party chief Asiya Andrabi said that "all Muslims in the sub-continent are Pakistanis". Addressing the party workers in Srinagar during a programme organized to commemorate the "Pakistan Day' on Friday, Andrabi said, "For us, people are either Muslims or 'kaafirs' (infidels) and if they are Muslims, then their country is Pakistan." "Pakistan was not formed on basis of a nationality (like India), Islam is the basis of its foundation. Every Muslim in the sub-continent is a Pakistani on the basis of Islam, Iman (faith), Quran and love for the Prophet (SAW)," she said. During the programme, firebrand (DeM) chief and her supporters sang the national anthem of Pakistan and hoisted neighbouring country's flag. Pakistan celebrates March 23 every year as its Republic Day to commemorate the adoption of the first Constitution during the transition of the Dominion of Pakistan to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on this day in 1956. The DeM, led by Andrabi, has been hoisting Pakistani flags every year on the occasion of Pakistan Day and Pakistan Independence Day on 14 August. She had been booked in the past for celebrating Pakistan Day in 2015 under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. Andrabi has been maintaining that she "does not hoist Pakistani flag on Indian soil but hoist it on the soil of Jammu and Kashmir which is a disputed territory and is not a part of India." Andrabi is married to Ashiq Hussain Faktoo, who has been awarded life term for his role in the murder of human rights activist lawyer H.N. Wanchoo 1992. In September 2013, Andrabi's three nephews were arrested in Pakistan for terror links. The Press Council of India (PCI) has called for a report from the Uttar Pradesh government over reports about Gorakhpur district administration barring the presence of media during the counting of votes for the just-concluded Lok Sabha bypolls in the state. The media watchdog has taken suo motu cognizance of the case, observing that the reported restrictions imposed on media prima facie appeared to be impinging on the freedom of the Press. On the orders of the Gorakhpur district administration, media persons were asked to leave the counting centre on March 14. Gorakhpur parliamentary constituency, which fell vacant after Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) leader Yogi Adityanath resigned as a Member of Parliament (MP) to don the hat of UP Chief Minister, was held on March 11. "PCI chairman justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad has taken note of the report of restriction imposed on media at the counting centre of Gorakhpur parliamentary constituency on March 14 by the district magistrate as prima facie impinging on the freedom of the Press," the Council said. Taking suo motu cognizance of the issue, a report on the facts of the case has been called for "along with a written reply" in the matter from the UP chief secretary and Gorakhpur district magistrate, it added. The Supreme Court on Friday told Sri Raghvendra Swamy Mutt and Uttaradi Mutt to perform three-day 'Aaradhana' (worshipping) one after another respectively at Nava Vrindavanagaddi at Koppal district for a one-and-half day each. A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud made the interim arrangement as both the Mutts are locked in a protracted legal battle claiming rights over the portion of the land. "It is directed that the respondent (Sri Raghvendra Swamy Mutt) shall do 'Aaradhana' of the deity for a day-and-half, which would cover the first day and half of the second day. The petitioner (Uttaradi Mutt) shall take over the Aaradhana from the second day, which starts at 3 pm and continue till the end of the third day," the bench said. The court also cautioned the parties to maintain their conduct. It ordered the superintendent of police to depute adequate police personnel to ensure that there would be no law and order problem. The court put a special leave petition filed by Uttaradi Mutt, challenging the Karnataka High Court judgement of November 14, 2017 for final disposal on July 18. As senior advocates Subromonium Prasad and Huzefa Ahmadi, representing the two Mutts sought preference over the right to perform worshipping, the bench at one point of time said, "Both of you get out and we will appoint somebody else to do 'Aaradhana'." Finally, both the parties agreed, the court made the interim arrangement, pending disposal of the matter. Both the Mutts claimed rights over the portion of the land measuring 27.5 acres out of 100 acres at Anegundi village, Gangavathi Taluka, Koppal district bound on the East, West, South and North by Tungabhadra River, popularly known as Nava Vrindavanagaddi. They also fought over the rights to perform the rituals at Sri Padmanabha Tirtha, the first disciple of Madhwacharya, at the Nava Vrindavan (an island). The Centre today told the Supreme Court that the NIA, being a special agency to probe national and inter-state terrorism cases, cannot investigate the murder of noted scholar and rationalist M M Kalburgi in 2015 at Dharwad in Karnataka. A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra was hearing the plea of Uma Devi Kalburgi, the widow of the slain scholar, seeking a SIT probe into the sensational murder. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Pinky Anand, appearing for the Centre, referred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act and said the instant offence did not fall under the category of 'Schedule offence' under the law and hence, the probe agency cannot investigate it. The bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, considered the submission of the ASG and ordered listing of the plea in the first week of July. It asked the CBI and the governments of Maharashtra and Karnataka to file their responses in the meantime. 77-year old Kalburgi, the former Vice-Chancellor of Hampi University and a well-known scholar and epigraphist, was shot dead in broad daylight at his residence in Kalyan Nagar in Dharwad, Karnataka, on August 30, 2015. Born in 1938, he was a Sahitya Akademi award-winning writer of old Kannada literature. The top court had on January 10 sought the response of probe agencies NIA and CBI and the two state governments on the allegation of Uma Devi that no substantial investigation has been carried out so far in the murder case. Kalburgi's wife, in her petition filed through advocate Krishna Kumar, has alleged that there was a common link between the murder of her husband and that of intellectual activists, Narendra Achyut Dabholkar and Govindrao Pansare, who too were assassinated in August 2013 and February 2015 respectively. Dabholkar was shot at on August 20, 2013, in Pune, while Pansare was killed in Kolhapur in Maharashtra on February 16, 2015. She said the investigations in Dabholkar and Pansare murder cases were in a "sorry state" and no progress has been made in bringing the killers to book. The petition said that in 2016, the then Karnataka Home Minister had in a statement claimed that as per the forensic analysis of cartridges recovered from the three separate crime scenes, the three murders were linked. It alleged that one of the weapons used in the murder of Pansare was used to kill Kalburgi and therefore coordination between Maharashtra police and Karnataka police, besides the CBI and the NIA, was required. "Although sketches of suspects were released after four days of Kalburgi's murder and a statement was issued by Karnataka government that conclusive evidence of nexus of murders of all three activists was found, there has been no progress in the investigation till date," the plea has said. India's largest association of doctors, Indian Medical Association (IMA), has asked its members to gather in Delhi on Sunday to protest against the proposed National Medical Commission(NMC) bill. IMA claims that doctors remained aggrieved on the controversial legislation that was reviewed recently by the Parliamentary Standing Committee. "The Parliamentary Standing Committee attempted to bring in some amendments in the bill, but they are cosmetic in nature and do not address the core issues in the NMC bill. The report has created more problems than it solved," IMA said in a statement. The bill seeks to create a new regulatory framework to replace the scam tainted Medical Council of India (MCI). In a report submitted earlier this week, the lawmakers approved the bill with few caveats such as removal of the mandatory provision of introducing a "bridge course" for Ayurveda and Homeopathy practitioners so that they can run the 1.5 lakh village sub-centres. The panel recommended that the decision should be left to the states on how to people these centres. The options on the table are AYUSH (Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) practitioners, B Sc (Nursing), BDS and B Pharma graduates. The association opposed the idea. "Backdoor entry of crosspathy has only taken the state route. Floodgates have been opened on bridge course to AYUSH to include non-doctors as well. Unscientific mixing of systems and empowering non-doctors to practice medicine is a measure inviting disaster and a crime against humanity," said IMA national president Ravi Wankhedkar. "States in the name of capacity building can start bridge courses and empower any graduate to practice medicine. Augmenting nurses or dentists or pharmacists towards medical practice can never be capacity building. The intention of the government is malafide and harmful," said R N Tandon, secretary general, IMA. While the association claims there is no shortage of doctors, government data tells a different story. As on March 31, 2017, there were only 23,715 doctors in 25,650 Primary Health Centres (PHC), which is even less than 1 doctor per PHC. At the same time, the total number of doctors in the country was 10,41,395 suggesting their overwhelming preference to remain in urban areas. The presence of doctors in the PHCs is steadily declining. There were 26,464 doctors at PHC on March 31, 2016 but within a year a shortfall of 2,749 was reported. There are 1,974 PHCs without a single doctor, 9,183 PHCs without a lab technician and 4,744 PHC without a pharmacist. Against this reality, the Health Ministry planned the bridge course to populate 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres, which would focus on the preventive care and identify serious cases that required to be treated by a qualified doctor. The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) is probing Religare Enterprises and its group company Fortis Healthcare for alleged frauds, Union Minister P P Chaudhary said on Friday. Besides, companies linked to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi groups are under the scanner too, the minister of state for corporate affairs said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. The development comes in the wake of over Rs 13,000 crore scam at the state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB). In the last four financial years, the corporate affairs ministry has ordered investigations through SFIO into the affairs of 575 companies on account of alleged frauds. This included probe in 258 companies in the ongoing financial year (till March 15, 2018), Chaudhary added. SFIO, which mainly investigates white collar crimes, is probing Religare and Fortis. This comes amid recent reports that financial irregularities have emerged at the two companies. With regard to Fortis, Chaudhary, in a separate reply said all the issues in their entirety will be examined by SFIO. "The investigation is presently in initial stage," he added. These two companies have also come under the lens of the markets regulator Sebi. The latest development comes against the backdrop of reports that Fortis Healthcare's promoters -Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh- took at least $78 million out of the company without any board approval about a year ago. Further, Chaudhary said SFIO has ordered investigation into the affairs of companies including Firestar Diamond International, Firestar International, Firestar Diamond Pvt Ltd, Nirav Modi Pvt Ltd, Gitanjali Gems Ltd and Nakshatra Brands Ltd. A multi-agency probe is already underway into the PNB fraud which was mainly perpetrated by way of fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs). According to the minister, investigations by SFIO have not unearthed any nexus between bureaucrats and corporate houses for the purpose of committing corporate frauds as of now. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today accused the opposition of spreading lies against his government due to its increasing "frustration" over electoral losses and asked BJP MPs to use technology effectively to take the truth to the masses. Modi made these remarks at the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting in which party chief Amit Shah blamed the opposition for the impasse in Parliament and asked MPs to hold press conferences in the coming three days in their parliamentary constituencies to highlight the matter, party leaders Prakash Javadekar and Anil Baluni told reporters. With the party gearing up for Lok Sabha polls next year, Shah asked MPs to work to strengthen the booth-level organisation in their constituencies, asserting that the organisation's work at the booth level, along with BJP's ideology and Modi's leadership, has been a key reason for its success. Baluni also announced that the party will celebrate the period between April 14, the birth anniversary of Dalit icon Bhim Rao Ambedkar, and May 5 as 'gram swaraj abhiyan' by holding a slew of events. It will observe Social Justice Day on April 14, followed by various events to highlight 'Swachh Bharat' and 'Ujjwala' schemes and several other government initiatives. The city police on Friday arrested eight more people in connection with malpractice in the examinations conducted by the Karnataka Public Service Commission. With this, the total number of arrests in the case has gone up to 13. Addressing a press meet, Superintendent of Police N Shashi Kumar said that the arrested were involved in malpractices in 13 examinations held for various posts. He said more than 100 job aspirants had taken the help of the gang to pass the examination and some of them had even been appointed to various posts. The SP said the gang provided answers to the candidates through micro earphones. The arrested have been identified as Meimood Nadaf, Nagaraj Tengli, Dr Kamran Kaisar, Hazarath Ali Nadaf, Imam Saab Nadaf, Abdul Najeeb, Salim Ali and Nazeer. They were remanded in judicial custody. Sixth in the series Where We Eat was just delivered to Reflections Gallery. Boccaccia is the eatery that inspired this 24x24 acrylic on canvas "tablescape" by local artist Jane Newman. Other pieces in the series still available are Public House, Polly Claires and The Spot, along with her new series entitled Hello which captures the history of telephone art through history. Show dates are March 26-May18 at Reflections Gallery on Lee Highway in Chattanooga. The gallery is open from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday. Leak of a question paper in Muddebihal, debarring of nine students and a mix-up in Dharwad and Chamarajanagar marked Day One of the SSLC examinations that began on Friday. Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board Director Sumangala V said nine students were debarred for malpractices in the examination hall. This included six students in Dharwad and one each in Chikkodi, Bagalkot and Kalaburagi. In Shirol, a village in Muddebihal taluk, the question paper for Kannada was leaked within an hour after the beginning of the exam at Vivekananda High School. Officials said Girish Hadapad, the student who was debarred over the incident, passed on the paper to a person outside the hall through a window. The accomplice then took photos of the question paper and passed it on to others to prepare answer chits. "The custodians and supervisors at the examination centre, including the principal, have been suspended pending inquiry. Similar action has been initiated against a route officer in Athani for allowing a student to sit inside a vehicle carrying the question papers," Sumangala said. She said that of the 8.5 lakh students enrolled for the exam, 26,799 were absent. "There have been no glitches in the examination process," she said. Mix-up in exam In Kundgol, 18 students who appeared for Kannada exam received the question paper that was meant for repeaters. By the time the matter was brought to the notice of the exam authorities, they had lost half the time. When asked about the incident, officials in Dharwad DDPI office said, "The students were given additional time after the end of the deadline in compensation for the time lost over the mix-up." Shashikumar D from the Associated Managements of English Medium Schools in Karnataka (KAMS) said that the mix up of question papers was not limited to Kundagol taluk in Dharwad district alone. "I received reports of the same problem from three schools under Bangalore South. When I informed the officials they said they will take action. I want to know who will face action? They can't punish the invigilators for a mistake that has happened at the department level," he said. Glitches in hall ticket About 40 students were put in distress due to the mistakes in examination hall ticket in Chamarajanagar district with four of them not being allowed to write the exam. Seva Bharati English Medium School on Chennipuramole Road was the exam centre for the private candidates. However, the examination hall ticket assigned the students to Seva Bharati Kannada Medium School on Court Road. "Due to the mistake of the officials we arrived five minutes late at the exam centre. The authorities there did not allow us inside saying that we were too late. We showed them the mistake in hall ticket but they refused to hear us and locked us out," students said. Meanwhile, Transport Department Principal Secretary B Basavaraju, who interacted with the media after visiting a school in Malleswaram, said that traffic has posed a challenge for the process of carrying question papers to exam centres at congested areas like Whitefield. "Traffic congestion has proved to be a problem as per the experience of the first day. We are thinking of starting the process earlier in such places to ensure papers reach the exam centres on time," he said. The National Highway Authorities of India (NHAI) has awarded two projects worth Rs 1,395.38 crore in Karnataka to Ashoka Concessions and Dilip Buildcon for widening of stretches of National Highway 4A, an official statement said. The four-laning of Belgaum-Khanapur section of about 30 km has been awarded to Ashoka Concessions on Hybrid Annuity Mode at a cost of Rs 892.16 crore, it said. Besides, two-laning of about 52 km of the highway on Karnataka/Goa border has been awarded to Dilip Buildcon on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode at a cost of Rs 503.22 crore. The projects involve construction of two major and six minor bridges and five railway-over-bridges (ROBs), for free movement of traffic in major crossroads and reduce conflicts. Two bypasses have also been proposed for the stretch. "Keeping in view the safety of roadusers, all major intersections have been provided with 21 vehicular underpasses/vehicular overpasses/light vehicular underpasses, etc. The project also provides four bus shelters," the statement issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said. The concession period of the projects is 17.5 years, including construction period of 2.5 years. Delivering a speech at Delhi University on Friday, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier underlined the need for religious tolerance and defending the rights of minorities. "We should continue to engage in rigorous but respectful debates, in political parties and with our political opponents," said Steinmeier. "We should defend the autonomy of women and the rights of minorities. We should stand up for religious tolerance a rather than excluding those we perceive as different. We are all entitled to our own opinions and our religious beliefs. That's why religious communities deserve special protection," the German President, who is currently on a tour of New Delhi, added. Steinmeier visited Varanasi and Sarnath before arriving in New Delhi. He visited Jama Masjid in Delhi early on Friday. Academic freedom He called for strengthening universities, defending the freedom of research, and ensuring that the arts and sciences could continue flourishing freely a rather than restricting the space for debate and politicising these institutions for narrow advantages of some. "When academic freedom is constrained by ideology, when students and researchers are threatened and harassed on the basis of their political beliefs, then soon democracy will dry out," said Steinmeier. He also stressed on defending the free and critical press, and the freedom of speech a rather than discrediting uncomfortable truths as "fake news" and blurring the boundaries between facts and opinion. "When reporters in many countries around the world refrain from reporting for fear of reprisals, when public debate is discouraged to the extent that criticism becomes dangerous, then it's time to speak up," said the German President. In a shocking incident, a woman was branded ''characterless'' and allegedly thrashed publicly after being tied to a tree on the order of a panchayat in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahar district, about 450 km from here. Although the incident occurred two days back, it came to light on Thursday after a video showing the woman tied to a tree and being hit by several people, went viral on social networking sites. According to police sources here, three persons, including the husband of the victim, have been arrested in connection with the incident that occurred in Syana locality in the district. Police said that the woman had eloped with a youth of the same village a few days back. She returned home last week. A panchayat was convened to deliberate on the matter after some residents, including her husband, sought punishment for the woman. The panchayat branded the woman ''characterless'' and ordered her public thrashing, sources said, adding that cries and repeated pleas by her did not have any effect on the perpetrators. Hundreds of residents of the village remained mute spectators to the beating of the hapless woman, sources said. A case was lodged after the video emerged. Police said that they were trying to identify the perpetrators with the help of the video footage. Earlier too, the panchayats have ordered thrashing of women, especially after they defied them and dared to marry their love. The panchayats have made it clear that they will not allow love marriages and same 'gotra' marriages. Saudi Arabia TOW 2B (BGM-71F-Series) Missiles (Source: Defense Security Cooperation Agency; issued Mar. 22, 2018) WASHINGTON --- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Saudi Arabia of TOW 2B (BGM-71F-Series) missiles for an estimated cost of $670 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today. The Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has requested to buy up to six thousand six hundred (6,600) TOW 2B missiles (BGM-71F-Series) and ninety-six (96) TOW 2B (BGM-71F-Series) fly-to-buy lot validation missiles. Also included is government furnished equipment; technical manuals and publications; essential spares and repair parts; consumables; live fire exercise and ammunition; tools and test equipment; training; transportation; U.S. Government technical support and logistic support; contractor technical support; repair and return support; quality assurance teams; in-country Field Service Representative (FSR); other associated equipment and services in support of TOW 2B missiles; and other related elements of logistics and program support. The total estimated program cost is $670 million. This proposed sale will support U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives by improving the security of a friendly country which has been, and continues to be, an important force for political stability and economic growth in the Middle East. This potential sale is consistent with U.S. initiatives to provide key partners in the region with modern systems that will enhance interoperability with U.S. forces and increase stability. The proposed sale of TOW 2B missiles and technical support will advance the Kingdom of Saudi Arabias efforts to develop an integrated ground defense capability. A strong national defense and dedicated military force will assist Saudi Arabia to sustain itself in its efforts to maintain stability. Saudi Arabia will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces. The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region. The principal contractor is Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, AZ. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale. Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the permanent assignment of any U.S. Government or contractor representatives to Saudi Arabia. There will be no more than two contractor personnel in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at any one time and all efforts will take less than two weeks in total. There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale. This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded. (ends) Saudi Arabia Royal Saudi Land Forces Ordnance Corps Foreign Military Sales Order (FMSO) II Case (Source: Defense Security Cooperation Agency; issued Mar. 22, 2018) WASHINGTON --- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Saudi Arabia of a Royal Saudi Land Forces Ordnance Corps Foreign Military Sales Order (FMSO) II Case for an estimated cost of $300 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today. The Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has requested a possible purchase of a new Foreign Military Sales Order (FMSO) II to provide funds for blanket order requisitions under a Cooperative Logistics Supply Support Agreement (CLSSA) for common spares/repair parts to support Saudi Arabias fleet of M1A2 Abrams tanks, M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs), Light Armored Vehicles (LAVs), M198 Towed Howitzers, additional support, and other related elements of logistics and program support. The total estimated program cost is $300 million. This proposed sale will contribute to U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives by helping to improve the security of a friendly country which has been, and continues to be, an important force for political stability and economic growth in the Middle East. This potential sale is consistent with U.S. initiatives to provide key allies in the region with modern systems that will enhance interoperability with U.S. forces and increase stability. The primary objective of this proposed sale is to allow the Royal Saudi Land Forces Ordnance Corps to continue to purchase needed spare/repair parts to maintain Saudi Arabias fleet of M1A2 Abrams Tanks, M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs), Light Armored Vehicles (LAVs), M198 Towed Howitzers, additional support vehicles and other related logistics support as part of the Cooperative Logistics Supply Support Arrangement (CLSSA) program. Saudi Arabia will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment and support into its armed forces. The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region. There are no principal contractors involved with this potential sale. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale. Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the permanent assignment of any U.S. Government or contractor representatives to Saudi Arabia. There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale. This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded. (ends) Saudi Arabia Continuation of Maintenance Support Services (MSS) (Source: Defense Security Cooperation Agency; issued Mar. 22, 2018) WASHINGTON --- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Saudi Arabia of equipment and services for the continuation of the Maintenance Support Services (MSS) contract that supports the Royal Saudi Land Forces Aviation Commands (RSLFAC) fleet of AH-64D/E, UH-60L, Schweizer 333 and Bell 406CS helicopters for an estimated cost of $106.8 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has requested the continuation of the Maintenance Support Services (MSS) contract that supports the Royal Saudi Land Forces Aviation Commands (RSLFAC) fleet of AH-64D/E, UH-60L, Schweizer 333 and Bell 406CS helicopters. The MSS contract services includes management and installation of engineering change proposals and modification work orders; Repair and Return (R&R) management services and component repairs; aircraft simulator logistics, maintenance and technical support; training; and maintenance management support for the RSLFAC Headquarters staff; and other related elements of logistics and program support. The estimated total case value is $106.8 million. This proposed sale will support U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives by helping to improve the security of a friendly country which has been, and continues to be, an important force for political stability and economic growth in the Middle East. This potential sale is a continuation of current support. Saudi Arabia will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment and support into its armed forces. The continuation of MSS services will aid in the maintenance support of Saudi Arabias rotary wing aircraft fleet, engines, avionics, weapons, and missile components. The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region. The principal contractor will be DynCorps International, Mclean, VA. There are no known offset agreements in connection with this potential sale. Implementation of this proposed sale will require the assignment of one (1) U.S. Government and up to three hundred twenty (320) contractor representatives to travel to Saudi Arabia for a period of two (2) years. There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale. This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded. -ends- iStock/Thinkstock(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) -- Demonstrators in Sacramento, California, gathered Thursday evening to protest the death of 22-year-old Stephon Clark, who was killed in his grandmother's backyard over the weekend after two police officers fired 20 shots at him. A crowd of people went to Sacramento's City Hall, chanting phrases like "Stand up, fight back" and "No justice, no peace." Black Lives Matter Sacramento is hosting the demonstration, according to the Facebook event titled "Turn Up - for [Stephon] Clark!" "We are tired of Sacramento law enforcement killing us!" the event description reads. "We are tired of talking and meeting and sitting trying to convince our elected officials that there needs to be change!" On Sunday night, police were responding to reports of a black male breaking into a car and hiding in a backyard, officials said. When the responding officers arrived at the scene, they said Clark advanced toward them with an object in his hand, police said. Initial reports said Clark was armed with a gun and then later a "toolbar." But the only object found on Clark was a cellphone, police later said. Police released body camera footage from the shooting on Wednesday night as well as thermal-imaging video from a Sacramento Sheriff's Department helicopter, which shows Clark running from a neighbor's yard and onto his grandmother's property. After police are seen running down a driveway after Clark and taking cover at the edge of the building, they yell several times for Clark to stop and show them his hands before several shots are fired. Chopper video shows Clark moving toward the officers before the shooting, but it is unclear whether his arms were extended. Organizers wrote on the event page that they waited until the video was released to schedule a protest. In a press conference Thursday afternoon, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg praised the city's efforts to remain transparent by releasing the video but also said "it is not fair" to "render a judgment on the specifics in this case until more facts are known that explain what we all saw in the video." Steinberg also encouraged the community to make sure voices heard, emphasizing his desire to make sure this kind of death never happens again. "It is vital that we give voice to the pain in our community, especially the African-American community," he said. "There is far too much history, too much pain, not to say loud and clear the death of one more young man of color is one too many." Former Dallas Police Chief and ABC News contributor David Brown told ABC News police officers are supposed to overcome "challenges of fear" in law enforcement training and that a person without training may "pull the trigger multiple times" without being aware of how many times he or she fires. "Officers are supposed to know exactly how many times they're firing and look at the target and make sure that every shot is necessary to stop the danger," Brown said. Brown added that when a large number of shots are fired, such as 20 or 30, "it leads one to believe there's an overreaction and officers got too close." "They didn't follow their training, and they failed to de-escalate the situation," Brown said. Clark's death comes less than two years after Joseph Mann, another unarmed Sacramento man, was shot and killed by police in July 2016. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Church partners celebrate the completion of the first Faith Build Home with homeowner, Shan Melvin. (from left to right): Ian Carney, Eric Light, Nathan Malone, Tom Hays, Mike Pettingill, Lindsey Gallaher, Rev. Lou Parsons, Edymar Panagos, homeowner, Shan Melvin and her son, Trey Melvin. Over the past 16 weeks, more than 130 volunteers representing nine local churches have worked alongside each other to build Chattanoogas first Faith Build Home. Each church donated $5,000 to build the 3-bedroom home for a mother and her two sons. The fruits of their labor were celebrated at a dedication ceremony held on Thursday of this week. The churches that participated in Habitats Faith Build were: Christ United Methodist Church Collegedale Community Seventh-day Adventist Church North River Seventh-day Adventist Church Ooltewah Seventh-day Adventist Church Ooltewah United Methodist Church Standifer Gap Seventh-day Adventist Church St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church St. Pauls Episcopal Church Two Rivers Church "At work in Chattanooga since 1986, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga Area is committed to transforming the Greater Chattanooga area by building affordable and energy efficient homes. "To date, Habitat for Humanity invested more than $26 million through the construction of Habitat homes in the Chattanooga community. And Habitat could not accomplish this great feat without the support of 32,000 corporate partners, faith-based organizations, educational institutions, volunteers and families. These volunteers have volunteered over 300,000 hours to build 278 homes providing more than 1,000 women, men, and children with the joy and security of Habitat home ownership," officials said. Save my User ID and Password Some subscribers prefer to save their log-in information so they do not have to enter their User ID and Password each time they visit the site. To activate this function, check the 'Save my User ID and Password' box in the log-in section. This will save the password on the computer you're using to access the site. Note: If you choose to use the log-out feature, you will lose your saved information. This means you will be required to log-in the next time you visit our site. Subscriber content preview SALEM, Ore. (AP) The state has reached a settlement with a northern Oregon dairy company accused of endangering drinking water by mismanaging manure and wastewater. The Statesman Journal reports the settlement filed Wednesday will allow Lost Valley Farm to operate in a limited capacity until it can prove that its wastewater treatment system is fully functional. . . . Mission BBQ is opening its 61st location in Chattanooga on Monday, April 9. This will be the fourth location in Tennessee for the restaurant known for its traditional American BBQ with a hefty side of patriotism. Co-founders Bill Kraus and Steve Newton achieved the original goal of 40 restaurants two years ahead of schedule in November 2016. The opening of the Chattanooga location is part of Mission BBQs new expansion plans, with a targeted goal of 80 restaurants throughout the Eastern U.S. by the end of 2018. As is tradition with the opening of every Mission BBQ, the Chattanooga location will host charity nights throughout the week leading up to the grand opening, with all sales donated to organizations chosen by local police and fire departments in the Chattanooga community, as well as to the USO. All grand opening events will be held at Mission BBQ, 1926 Gunbarrel Road. Firefighters Friends and Family Night - Private Party - Invitation Only Wednesday, April 4, 6-9 p.m. Benefiting Tri State Mutual Aid Police Officers Friends and Family Night - Private Party - Invitation Only Thursday, April 5, 6-9 p.m. Benefiting the AEGIS Law Enforcement Foundation of Greater Chattanooga Military Appreciation Night - Open to the Public Friday, April 6, 6-9 p.m. Benefiting the USOFort Campbell Grand Opening Day - Open to the Public Monday, April 9, noon Live rendition of the National Anthem, followed by a ribbon cutting ceremony. Doors open immediately afterward. The shocking picture of mental health in Hong Kong was revealed to a packed audience of students from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) as part of their #DMUglobal trip. The students from the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences (HLS), who covered a variety of disciplines from mental health and childrens nursing to criminology and psychology, had their eyes opened to the desperate issues affecting Hong Kong with a talk by eminent psychiatrist Dr Sunny Liu. The trip to the Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention at the University of Hong Kong was just one of many educational trips HLS students were able to experience during their stay. Dr Liu revealed that Hong Kong has around 1,000 suicides every year and a lot of the mental health problems are due to the stresses of living in the main city. Property prices are at a premium, rent is sky-high in an already cramped area and it creates huge amounts of stress among people worried about being able to afford to live in the area. Dr Liu said it was terrifying the number of professionals who cannot afford spacious rooms let alone people on lower wages. He also revealed how psychiatrists see around 40 patients per half day leaving no resource or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and referrals to mental health nurses to take on the task can take up to 12 months. The Centre was set up 15 years ago in response to the high suicide rates and it is making a difference. Dr Liu encouraged the students to remain positive, remain committed and passionate and help make a change for mental health. Harvey Noble, second year Criminology, said: I did not know quite what to expect but it was excellent. It waswellstrange. The fact they do not seem to be able to do anything about a mental health crisis, or rather they know how bad the situation is but they cannot seem to change it. I found it fascinating that they were talking about housing being a factor in suicide rates and a psychiatrist with his own practise cannot even afford to live in Hong Kong and has a house on a different island. It makes you wonder who all the people are that live in Hong Kong. Irum Bashir, second year Psychology and Criminology, said: It is such an eye-opening experience. It is amazing to see two different cultures and two different governments tackling the same problems in different ways. Rishi Sunair, second year Criminal Investigations, said: This talk really puts stuff into perspective. You really do value the NHS and its service. I wont take it for granted. Aimee Jackson, second year Childrens Nursing, added: There is a public service in Hong Kong but a lot of doctors have gone private to earn more money. The housing and social problems are obviously affecting mental health and there are problems here. It was fascinating. After past school shootings around the nation and recent school threats directed at local schools, Bradley County Sheriff Eric Watson has held several discussions with Dr. Linda Cash and school officials about the importance of ensuring security at schools. Earlier this week, Bradley County Sheriffs Office implemented an additional layer of security at Bradley Central High School and Walker Valley High School. An armed deputy sheriff is now assigned to a security booth at both campuses in order to monitor individuals who come and leave the school campuses during the school day. Sheriff Watson said, It is my belief a strong presence of trained law enforcement at schools is one of the essential elements to deter a school shooting. The sheriffs office is currently responsible for security at 16 schools within the Bradley County School system, with each school having an assigned school resource officer. In 2014, Sheriff Watson added a school resource officer to Bradley Central High School because of the buildings complex design which makes it difficult to monitor the security of students during the school day. Within the past four years, four positions have been added to the school resource officer program through the partnership of Dr. Linda Cash and Bradley County School Board. Sheriff Watson said, While law enforcement officers provide security for schools, this should not be the only concentrated effort to ensure the safety of students and faculty. Our agency will continue having conversations with school administrators to explore securing schools multiple entrances, while adding and enhancing surveillance cameras, communications systems, and identification badges. The Social and Behavioral Sciences Division at Chattanooga State Community College will present its Criminal Justice Speaker Series addressing The Mental Health Crisis in Our Criminal Justice System, at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Room 107 in the Health Science Center on the main campus. This event is free and open to the public. "Mentally ill people make decisions that are not always within the best discretion when they do not have appropriate resources and guidance,' officials said. Fifty-six percent of state prisoners and 45 percent of federal prisoners have a mental health problem, states Michael McCamish, associate professor of the Criminal Justice Program at Chattanooga State. Mr. McCamish goes on to state that mental illness is a public health problem that the criminal justice system is expected to solve, but that law enforcement and correctional professionals are expected to care for a growing mental health population without proper training and resources. Citizens from all walks of life make up the panel that will discuss the mental health crisis and how it affects the criminal justice system. Panelists include: - Sabrina Butler Smith, who was exonerated from Mississippis Death Row and Cynthia Vaughn, whose step-father is on Tennessees Death Row, who will share their experiences of the death penalty from individual perspectives. - Jennie Alexande, who served five years as chaplain for Tennessees Death Row and now works with ex-offenders through her organization No Exceptions Prison Collective, as its director. - Marcus Easley, a retired police officer from Chattanooga Police Department, who will share first-hand realities about the police who have to handle the mental health population on the street. - Boyd Patterson, who serves as a public defender for the Hamilton County Mental Health Court, Scott Berry, from Bradford Health Services, who will both address the psychological and physiological effects of addiction on behavior. The series is sponsored by Chattanooga States Social Justice Club, Multicultural Services, Psychology Club and Veterans Club. For more information, contact Dr. Michael McCamish at 423-697-2587. Sydney-based technology company Ansarada has raised $24 million in Series A funding to meet surging demand for its AI-powered business readiness platform, accelerate the rollout of new products, and facilitate further global expansion. Founded in 2005, Ansarada harnesses data as well as AI and machine learning tools to assist advisors and investors to identify prospects, raise their potential and nurture them through the preparation and execution of deals like debt and equity capital raising, refinancing and M&A. To date, the companys virtual data rooms have helped investors, advisors and corporates close over 20,000 deals worth over $2 trillion. In addition to counting the likes of Google, PwC and Deloitte amongst its clientele, Ansarada employs 200 staff across Sydney, Chicago, London, New York, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Johannesburg, and Hong Kong. Ellerston Capital, Tempus Partners, Belay Capital and Australian Ethical Investments led Ansaradas Series A round, which saw hundreds of thousands of dollars in advisory fees donated to charity projects in Uganda and Nepal via Adara Partners. Ansarada has worked with Adara for years and has pledged one percent of its equity, time and product to support the groups efforts to support vulnerable communities globally. Were delighted to have some of the most experienced and reputable investors in Australia as backers in this funding round, Ansarada co-founder and CEO, Sam Riley told Dynamic Business. Their global expertise in helping develop high-growth businesses will be invaluable as we look to the next stage of our development, and continue disrupting the market we operate in. From our experience of over 20,000 deals, we saw that companies were simply not ready to seize opportunities that came along. We chose to invest heavily in developing AI and machine learning driven solutions to this problem, and in doing so completely disrupted the industry we operate in. The size of the capital raise, the reputation of those involved, and the interest displayed during the process demonstrates that our vision was the right one, and that our ability to execute on this is strong. China is considering higher tariffs on some US imports with a value of $3 billion to offset losses on steel and aluminum products. The Ministry of Commerce released a list of the 128 targeted products and is soliciting public opinion. The measures will include a 15% tariff on products including fruits, nuts, wines and seamless steel tubes, and a 25% tariff on pork and recycled aluminum products. The measures will be implemented in two stages. In the first stage, the 15% tariff will be imposed if the two countries could not reach an agreement on trade issues within a scheduled time; in the second stage, the 25% import tax will be imposed after the impact caused by the US policies is evaluated, the ministry said. Customers shop for pork imported from U.S. at a supermarket in Zhengzhou city, central Chinas Henan province, 22 March 2014. [File Photo: IC] On March 8th, US President Donald Trump formally signed proclamations to impose steep tariffs on imported steel and aluminum amid mounting dissent from business groups and trading partners around the world. Trump later said Canada and Mexico were exempt from the measures. The country is imposing 25% tariffs on steel and 10% tariffs on aluminum, citing national security concerns. The measures go into effect on Friday, March 23. US trade representative Robert Lighthizer says President Trump has agreed to temporarily lift the tariffs for a list of countries that include Australia and South Korea, according to a Bloomberg report. China's top legislator Li Zhanshu met with Cameroonian President Paul Biya on Friday afternoon. Li, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), said Chinese President Xi Jinping held fruitful talks with Biya on Thursday and they made top-level designs for the development of bilateral relations in the future. China's top legislator Li Zhanshu meets with Cameroonian President Paul Biya in Beijing on Friday, March 23, 2018. [Photo: Xinhua] Li said China's NPC is willing to have more friendly exchanges with Cameroon's parliament and he called on the two sides to implement the consensus reached by the heads of state. Li expressed his hope that both sides would support each other on political issues, create a better cooperative environment, and have more people-to-people exchanges. Biya congratulates Li Zhanshu on his election as chairman of the Standing Committee of the NPC. Biya spoke highly of China's foreign policy and appreciated China's long-term support for Cameroon, calling for more legislative exchanges between the two countries. Supporting producers to invest in European standards Hazelnuts are a major product for agriculture in Georgia. As one of the countrys top 10 export commodities, they are a source of income for more than 50,000 farmers and dozens of processing facilities. The countrys subtropical climate by the Black Sea shore offers particularly favourable conditions for their growth, luring international confectionary giants such as Ferrero to invest in local production. "The livelihoods of around half of the Samegrelo regions population are closely linked to hazelnut farming. In villages, almost everyone grows them. Cultivating hazelnuts is what helped us overcome the hardships of the 1990s, said Demur Ardia, owner of SRT, one of the processing facilities in the Samegrelo region, the main homeland of hazelnut plantations and orchards in Georgia. After more than 22 years in the business, Mr Ardia only recently decided to open his own hazelnut processing facility. For two years in a row his company has ranked among the top hazelnut exporters in terms of volume, exporting mainly to Germany and Italy, sometimes to the Czech Republic. Turkey is the worlds biggest producer and exporter of hazelnuts, it sets prices worldwide. Georgian hazelnuts are often sold at a discount compared to Turkish ones, so our focus should be on productivity and quality to achieve higher prices and a bigger piece of the pie, said Mr Ardia. The EBRD and the European Union (EU), under its EU4Business initiative, support Demur Ardia and other small and medium-sized entrepreneurs with similar drive and passion in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine to help them to secure that bigger piece of the pie. Each of these three countries benefits from the free trade area with the EU, the world's largest trading block with 500 million consumers. Access to finance and knowledge Competitive small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are considered the backbone of any economy and Georgias is no exception. While the country has made significant progress outperforming other EU Eastern Partnership countries in creating a favourable institutional and operational environment for SMEs, challenges remain. Enhanced access to finance, deeper knowledge of export market opportunities and boosting innovation are considered crucial for further SME growth. The EBRD and the EU help SMEs in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine to integrate European standards in their work by investing in production upgrades, boosting growth and increasing competitiveness not only on the European market but their local market as well. Through partner banks, the EBRD provides credit lines for companies to foster stronger economic ties with the EU, which are complemented by grant incentives by the EU under its EU4Business initiative. SRT is one of many companies that have been supported by this initiative, where they have been able to invest in modern equipment to ensure European quality standards for the final product, as well as receiving 15 per cent cashback on the whole investment. SRT was also supported by advisory services through the EBRD SME Finance and Development Group, a complementary programme that also benefits from EU funding. The company was able to adopt standards to improve their overall food and hygiene quality and obtain the relevant ISO certificate, a universal recognition of compliance with global norms. Similarly, NUTSGE another nut processing company in the same region and also with trade partners in Europe, has benefited from advisory services to integrate their information management system so their business processes are managed on a single platform. The new system helps us to get hold of all information and track it, along with strengthening the companys reliability and cooperation with our European partners and consumers, said Thea Kukhalashvili, NUTSGE Marketing Manager. As is often the case, drastic upgrading in one area has created momentum for innovation and continuous improvement in others. We are looking into ways to make our operations even more efficient and to become more technology-savvy. "It is great to see Georgian SMEs benefit from opportunities provided by the DCFTA. The European Union is ever more committed to supporting innovative entrepreneurs. I hope that Georgian small and medium businesses will continue making good use of the support we offer through the EU4Business initiative and other programmes," said Janos Herman, Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia. Whats next for Georgian hazelnuts? For the past few years, Georgia has proudly secured its place in the list of top five hazelnut producing countries worldwide. But a recent severe attack of the agricultural pest brown marmorated stink bug made the lives of Georgian farmers more difficult and the ambitions of greater exports bleaker. According to preliminary estimates last year hazelnut exports dropped by more than 50 per cent. While the epidemic is not the sole cause, it played a large role in reducing hazelnut exports in both physical and monetary terms. After surviving the winter, the bug is expected to travel to the eastern part of the country, to the wine region - another vital source of income for Georgia. To fight the pest outbreak, the EBRD has teamed up with the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia in its efforts to spread information among farmers through various channels including traditional and social media. Multimedia lessons and tutorials are available to teach crop growers the most effective means, both chemical and mechanical, to combat and manage the pest outbreak. It is paramount that the state, international organisations and local farmers join forces to overcome this disease," said Mr Ardia. This outbreak cannot be managed only by handful of farmers. A united front is needed, along with more information and assistance to the hazelnut sector. Georgia is a small country and hazelnuts are a precious commodity for us." We are delighted to cooperate with Georgias Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture on yet another initiative that tackles the very pressing challenge Georgian farmers face today. This new initiative will bring Georgian producers closer to knowledge and information to fight the outbreak of the agricultural pest, said Bruno Balvanera, EBRD Director for the Caucasus, Moldova and Belarus. Georgia has a long tradition of farming and its hazelnuts are known and demanded worldwide. The Free Trade Area with the European Union opened the door to opportunities for Georgian farmers, and we stand ready to assist them in increasing yields and improving the quality of produce. 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This represents the fourth consecutive year of expansion for the Canadian pig industry, it said. The pork division of the UK Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board also said the latest census results suggest that further growth in pig meat production can be anticipated this year, at least in the short term, with young pig numbers up 7%, and piglets up 3%. Last year Canadian pig meat production reached 1.96 million tonnes, which was 2% higher than the previous year. AHDB Pork said that the domestic and export markets will need to be strong if the industry is to remain profitable. In 2017, Canadian pork exports were stable on the year at 960,000 tonnes as growth to Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan compensated for lower shipments to China and the US, where pig meat production is also expected to increase this year. Exports are likely to continue declining to the US market, which accounted for 30% of Canadian pork exports in 2017, AHDB Pork said. Thus, Canada's reliance on the Asian markets could increase, intensifying competition with EU exporters. With Chinese pork production anticipated to continue expanding and consumption growth stagnating, this market also remains uncertain. The same is true with the EU, AHDB Pork said. US pork industry: China tariffs to seriously hurt rural economy The US pork industry on Friday (Thursday in the US) expressed concern that possible Chinese tariffs on US pork could have a significant negative impact on rural farmers. China on Friday threatened to slap several US goods including pork with higher import duties in retaliation to US President Donald Trump's tariff hike on a host of Chinese goods including steel and aluminum. "We sell a lot of pork to China, so higher tariffs on our exports going there will harm our producers and undermine the rural economy", said Jim Heimerl, president of the US National Pork Producers Council and a pork producer from Johnstown, Ohio. "No one wins in these tit-for-tat trade disputes, least of all the farmers and the consumers", he added. Last year, the US exported $1.1 billion worth of pork products to China, making the East Asian country the No. 3 value market for US pork. According to the NPPC, many economists including Dermot Hayes of Iowa State University, have cautioned that tariffs on US agricultural products could disrupt exports to China. 'Severe economic consequences' It added that lost sales would have severe economic consequences for America's farmers, who shipped nearly $20 billion worth of goods to China in 2017. The US restrictions on Chinese imports come after an inquiry by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) into China's practices related to technology transfer, licensing and intellectual property rights. USTR's investigation determined that US companies have lost billions of dollars from being forced by China to disclose intellectual property and to transfer technology. Heimerl said, though, that all countries should resolve trade disputes in a way that doesn't harm businesses, farmers and consumers. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said it was willing to negotiate a settlement with Washington to "avoid damage to overall Chinese-US cooperation". "The Chinese side urges the US side to resolve the concerns of the Chinese side as soon as possible," the ministry was quoted as saying in a statement. To build the largest and most complete Amateur Radio community site on the Internet - a "portal" that hams think of as the first place to go for information, to exchange ideas, and be part of whats happening with ham radio on the Internet. eHam.net provides recognition and enjoyment to the people who use, contribute, and build the site. This project involves a management team of volunteers who each take a topic of interest and manage it with passion. The site will stand above all other ham radio sites by employing the latest technology and professional design/programming standards, developed by a team of community programmers who contribute their skills to the effort. The site will be something of which everyone involved can be proud to say they were a part. We welcome your comments. The eHam.net Team, Revision 07/2020. By My San Antonio , Mar. 22, 2018 AUSTIN, Texas (AP) After the first package exploded on an Austin doorstep, police assured the public that there was no wider threat, no signs of terrorism. The idea of a serial bomber striking random strangers never came up. The March 2 blast killed Anthony Stephan House, a 39-year-old man with a background in finance and an 8-year-old daughter. Investigators didn't rule out that House may have mishandled homemade explosives. Read More: Join us - become an Elderado today at: LarryElder.com Follow Larry Elder on Follow Larry Elder on Twitter "Like" Larry Elder on Facebook By The Hill , Mar. 21, 2018 Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) will stoke speculation that he is considering running for president in 2020 when he makes several stops across Iowa next month. Garcetti will travel to the Quad Cities in April to deliver a keynote address at the Scott County Democrats' annual Red, White and Blue Dinner, his political spokesman said. Read More: Join us - become an Elderado today at: LarryElder.com Follow Larry Elder on Follow Larry Elder on Twitter "Like" Larry Elder on Facebook Kentucky Power is planning to improve electric reliability and increase economic development opportunities in eastern Kentucky by making significant upgrades to the power grid in Pike and Floyd counties. The Enterprise Park Economic & Area Improvements Project will consist of building a double-circuit 138-kilovolt (kV) transmission line from a proposed substation in the Kentucky Enterprise Industrial Park to an end point on the existing Sprigg - Beaver Creek transmission line. The work will ensure continued reliable service for customers while providing the industrial park with a robust transmission system capable of handling continued customer growth and economic development. Kentucky Power is currently working to develop preliminary study segments for the new transmission line. Once study segments have been developed, the company will host an open house to introduce the project to the community, answer questions about the project and gather feedback from directly-involved landowners. After the open house, project team members will use information gathered from landowners and the community to work toward a proposed route. Kentucky Power plans to file for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity with the Kentucky Public Service Commission later this spring. Additional information about the project can be found at www.kentuckypower.com/EnterprisePark. Kentucky Power, with headquarters in Ashland, Ky., provides service to about 168,000 customers in all or part of 20 eastern Kentucky counties, including Boyd, Breathitt, Carter, Clay, Elliott, Floyd, Greenup, Johnson, Knott, Lawrence, Leslie, Letcher, Lewis, Magoffin, Martin, Morgan, Owsley, Perry, Pike and Rowan. Kentucky Power is an operating company in the AEP system, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity and custom energy solutions to nearly 5.4 million regulated customers in 11 states. AEP also owns the nation's largest electricity transmission system. AEP's headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio. 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US Army Major General James Jarrard, head of the special operations element of the US-led coalition, and other officials toured the local market in Manbij. The visit was organized to reassure the local population about Manbij plan against Turkey. US commenders are in a non-stop meeting with terrorists that were scattered to the four winds in the area on how to abuse Turkish Armed Forces civilian sensitivity. On Monday, President Erdogan had said that after Turkish troops libareted Afrin, Turkish military forces aim to head east toward areas controlled by the PKK/YPG. It's common to see actors milk every drop of their fame before fading into obscurity, but Chris Evans is not like any other celebrity. Instead, the heart and soul of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is embracing the chance to walk away. In a profile by New York Times, Evans shares his thoughts on leaving the role of a lifetime and venturing on to something new. Of course, for Marvel fans, this means the next two Avengers films mark the end of one of the most beloved superheroes in the entire MCU. An End To Chris Evans As 'Cap' Evans picked up the mantle of the heroic Steve Rogers in 2011 for the first film in his trilogy, Captain America: The First Avenger. The actor, along with the rest of the cast of the star-studded franchise, filmed the next two Avengers installments back-to-back. This counts the Avengers: Infinity War, which comes out this April, and an untitled sequel that's slated for release in 2019. According to Evans, these are the last Marvel films he plans to be in. "You want to get off the train before they push you off," he explains, adding that reshoots in the coming fall will probably be his final moments as the noble and iconic Steve Rogers. In the comic books, Captain America's shield gets passed on to a few characters two of which are already in the MCU and close allies of the superhero. Rogers' best friend Bucky Barnes or the Winter Soldier, played by Sebastian Stan, picks up the mantle in the comics, and so does Falcon, played by Anthony Mackie. Evans did not spoil anything in the upcoming Infinity War Rogers may be dead, but he could just as easily be retired or going about his superhero duties outside the MCU films but the people behind Avengers have previously revealed that the stakes are higher in their upcoming installments. Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, implied to EW that major character deaths may be permanent this time, unlike in previous MCU movies. "I would just say, yes," Feige responds when asked if deaths will be real in the next movie. "People need to be careful what they wish for." Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters on April 27. A Bright Future In Broadway If or when the time is near that Evans has to step away from being Captain America, one can expect the actor not to look back. After all, he already has a new passion he can dive into completely post-Avengers. The actor has his sights set in the bright lights of Broadway with a role in Kenneth Lonergan's Lobby Hero, which opens on March 26. His character, a narcissistic and manipulative cop, is worlds away from the squeaky-clean Avenger but that could be the draw for the actor and director Trip Cullman is confident Evans could pull it off. "I had this inkling that he may not have had the opportunity to show what he can really do as an actor," Cullman tells New York Times. "A lot of actors are afraid to play someone unlikable, but I think he really has an egoless desire to serve the work." Evans may not even prioritize acting in the future, explaining that when he thinks about a place where he's happiest, he doesn't think of a movie set. Apparently, he wants to keep his calendar limited to one film a year and his future plans revolve around directing and possibly making a family of his own. "I've stopped thinking about my trajectory, or my oeuvre, or whatever pretentious word you want to use," Evans says. "I'm just following whatever I feel creatively hungry for." The anticipation is definitely building for the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Kensington Palace just amped the excitement further with the reveal of the invites to the wedding. Wedding Invites Kensington Palace on its official Twitter page shared a copy of the wedding invitations on Thursday. As was expected, the invites are very formal and feature dark, scripted writing and gold gilded edges. The invites feature the Three-Feathered Badge of Prince Harry printed in gold ink. "His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, K.G., K.T. requests the pleasure of the company of ... at the Marriage of His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales with Ms. Meghan Markle at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle on Saturday, 19th of May, 2018 at 12 noon followed by a Reception at Windsor Castle," reads the wedding invite. The invitations follow many years of Royal tradition and have been made by @BarnardWestwood . They feature the Three-Feathered Badge of the Prince of Wales printed in gold ink. pic.twitter.com/cd7LBmRJxO Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) March 22, 2018 Background Details Prince Charles issued the invites to his son's wedding to Markle, contrary to when Prince William married Kate Middleton in 2011. At the time, it was the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who commanded the Lord Chamberlain to send the invites. A little background on Prince Harry and Markle's wedding invites revealed that printing was done by Lottie Small through a 1930s machine. Kensington Palace revealed that she painstakingly went through the process called die stamping using the machine she nicknamed Maude. Lottie Small, who recently completed her apprenticeship, printed all of the invitations in a process known as die stamping, on a machine from the 1930s that she affectionately nicknamed Maude. pic.twitter.com/kWs2RFx7nN Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) March 22, 2018 The invitations follow many years of royal tradition and have been made by Barnard Westwood, who has been making royal invites since 1985. Managing Director Austen Kopley assisted with the process and said that he was thrilled and honored to be making the invitations. Using American ink on English card, the invitations are printed in gold and black, then burnished to bring out the shine, and gilded around the edge. pic.twitter.com/gQpC6tDot0 Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) March 22, 2018 There are some interesting details on Prince Harry and Markle's wedding invites. For starters, the former Suits star is referred to as Ms. instead of Miss, contrary to Middleton, who was referred to as Miss in her wedding invite. This supposedly indicates that this is Markle's second marriage, according to Ruth Baxter, the stationary manager for Smythson, a British brand that makes stationary for Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, and Prince Philip. Another detail is the RSVP on the invites. Whereas Prince William and Middleton used fax as their save-the-dates, Prince Harry and Markle are more tech-savvy. The blurred out wording on their wedding invite reveals that they prefer to receive emails for the RSVP to either the Lord Chamberlain's officer or ceremonial@royal.gsx.gov.uk. St. George's Chapel can accommodate 800 guests. Approximately 600 guests have been invited to Prince Harry and Markle's wedding, and 200 of which are invited to an evening reception at Frogmore House hosted by the Prince of Wales. Parents of the late Anton Yelchin have agreed to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed against makers of the SUV that killed the Star Trek actor in 2016. Anton Yelchin's Parents Reach Settlement With Fiat Chrysler Yelchin's parents reached a settlement with automobile giant Fiat Chrysler, which manufactures the Jeep Grand Cherokee that was responsible for the death of their 27-year-old son. The terms of the settlement between Victor and Irina Yelchin and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles are not known but the settlement was filed at a Los Angeles Superior Court earlier this week. Fiat Chrysler released a statement on Thursday, March 22, saying that it was pleased that it had reached an amicable resolution in the matter. The company continues to extend their deepest sympathies to the Yelchin family for their tragic loss. A spokesperson for the Yelchin family said that the proceeds of the settlement will be donated to the Anton Yelchin Foundation and part of it will be used for the filming of a documentary film based on the late actor's life. Wrongful Death Lawsuit Yelchin died in June 2016 in a freak accident after his SUV rolled backward down the driveway of his Los Angeles residence and pinned him between a security fence and a mailbox. Following his death, Victor and Irina filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler because the SUV, a Grand Cherokee, was one of the 1.1 million vehicles that the company had recalled. The recall was due to a problem with the car's gear shifters, which confused drivers and caused the vehicles to roll away unexpectedly. Although the company recalled the cars in April, he received the letter only seven days before his death in June 2016. In their wrongful death lawsuit, Yelchin's parents alleged that the faulty gear selectors were responsible for their son's death. At the time, the car manufacturer released a statement extending their condolences to the Yelchin family, before adding that it will conduct a thorough investigation into the tragic incident. Yelchin's credits include several popular film and television projects including Fright Night and Green Room. The Russian actor also lent his voice to the Smurfs franchise and the Netflix series Trollhunters. However, he was best known for his role as Pavel Chekov in the rebooted Star Trek film series. Before his death, the actor shot scenes for the new drama thriller Thoroughbreds. The film arrived in theaters on March 9. Paris Hilton is looking to make her dreams come true on her big day. Hilton is reportedly planning to wear a princess dress. A Celebration Fit For A Princess The socialite and heiress to the Hilton fortune got engaged during a romantic New Year's ski trip to Aspen, Colorado last year. Chris Zylka proposed with a massive ring, which required its own security detail. The Leftovers star proposed with an eye-popping 20-carat, $2 million diamond. His big day with Hilton is sure to be just as extravagant. Although the couple is still in the early stages of planning their wedding, Hilton, true to form, knows exactly what kind of dress she wants. "I definitely want it to be very magical. I love Disney princess vibes," she revealed. The heiress is pretty well-known for her love of Disney fairy-tales. Hilton loves playing dress-up, she even shared various photos of herself as Sleeping Beauty and Snow White on Instagram. She also dressed up as Princess Jasmine for Halloween. Hilton sees Zylka as her Prince Charming too, as she recently shared a photo of the two of them photoshopped in full Disney regalia. He isn't, however, too involved in the preparations for the big day. "He lets me plan everything. ... He is so supportive ... but he knows that I like to pick out everything. It's the bride's day," she explained. Paris's mother Kathy Hilton advised that there was no risk of her daughter turning into a so-called "Bridezilla," because she and Nicky were the most chill at Nicky's wedding. Paris' sister married James Rothchild back in 2015. The couple has two children together. Ready For The Next Step Being an aunt has made the heiress ready to have babies herself, although Hilton has said she'll wait until after the wedding to think about getting pregnant. She and Zylka have been discussing the possibility of children since their first date. As for the all-important guest-list, Hilton previously confirmed that BFFs Nicole Richie and Britney Spears are invited. Kim Kardashian-West, who used to work as Hilton's personal assistant, is also invited. There may be hope yet for the long-rumored reboot of The Simple Life, which Hilton infamously starred in with Richie. Hilton recently shared how great it would be if the show came back. "I feel like I had so much fun doing it but I'm focusing on all my businesses and really wouldn't have time ... it'd be amazing for it to come back," she said. Kylie Jenner's girls' night out turned out to be a family reunion. On Thursday, March 22, the new mom stepped out with her sisters Kendall Jenner and Kourtney Kardashian as well as her best friend, Jordyn Woods. The girls headed to Mr. Chow in Beverly Hills, California, where they reportedly saw their former brother-in-law, Lamar Odom. Kardashian fans know that before Khloe Kardashian went into a relationship and got pregnant with her current boyfriend, Tristan Thompson, she was married to Odom for seven years before they officially finalized it in 2016. According to TMZ, Odom was already at the restaurant when the squad arrived. The media outlet further reports that Kendall, Kylie, and Kourtney actually went up to Odom and chatted with him for a few minutes and it appeared that there was no bad blood between the sisters and Odom. It seems the girls had a great night as Kourtney Kardashian took to Instagram to share a mirror selfie of herself, along with Kylie, Kendall, and Woods. little dinner party A post shared by Kourtney Kardashian (@kourtneykardash) on Mar 22, 2018 at 11:26pm PDT "Little dinner party," the mother of three captioned the photo. Kylie Spends Some Time WIth Travis Stepping out with her sisters for dinner wasn't the only thing Jenner did this week. On Tuesday, March 20, paparazzi caught the lip kit maven and her boyfriend, baby daddy Travis Scott, as they enjoyed dinner at Sweet Chick in Los Angeles. The new parents appeared to be off duty as their 1-month-old daughter, Stormi Webster, wasn't in sight. For the outing, the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star sported a gray zip-up hoodie with blue jeans and white sneakers, while Scott wore a black jacket with a dragon on the back. Earlier that day, TMZ spotted the couple at Jamba Juice in West Hollywood as they grabbed smoothies and oatmeal. An employee at Jamba Juice said they showed major PDA while they waited for their drinks. "While they waited for their drinks, they were hugging, kissing and showing a lot of affection. It was really cute. Love was definitely in the air and you could tell they were really happy," the employee said. Even though the two are now parents, they still make sure to spend some quality time together. Earlier this month, TMZ caught Jenner and Scott as they arrived at Seaspice in Miami on hospitality guru David Grutman's SS Groot boat. Schrunk has big experience at Governors Steer Show Each year a limited number of youth exhibitors (24) in Iowa get to participate in the Governors Celebrity Steer Show at the Iowa State Fair. Kami Schrunk, daughter of Keith and Angie Schrunk POW Recognition Day is Friday, Sept. 17 POW/MIA Recognition Day is celebrated on the third Friday of September. The American Legion Auxiliary Unit # 462 of Soldier would like to invite the public to their second annual POW observance The verdict of the Gauhati High Court in favour of political activist Akhil Gogoi reiterated the need to ascertain the constitutional validity for preventive detention, irrespective of the circumstances and pretexts of the detention. The judgment also called for an inquiry into the serious procedural shortcomings that led to the preventive detention order against Gogoi, as well as the laxity and casualness of the state in exercising power under the National Security Act, 1980. The Gauhati High Courts verdict on 21 December 2017 on the writ petition filed by Assamese political activist and farmers leader Akhil Gogoi1 has reaffirmed the primacy of the constitutional rights regarding preventive detention as ensured by Article 22(5) of the Constitution of India. The judgment has also exposed the laxity and casualness of the state authorities in exercising power under the National Security Act (NSA), 1980. The 76-page verdict extensively referred to a number of prior significant verdicts, pronounced both by the Supreme Court and the Gauhati High Court, which reiterated the need for constitutional validity in cases of preventive detention, irrespective of the circumstances and pretexts of the detention. The latest verdict assumes immense significance due to the fact that the grounds on which Gogoi was detained did not figure in the process of adjudication at all; the procedural lapses in the application of the NSA were enough to quash the detention order. The judgment, apart from disposing of the writ petition, directed the chief secretary of the Government of Assam to enquire and analyse the serious procedural shortcomings that led to the preventive detention order against Gogoi under the NSA, and to ensure that corrective measures are adopted to preclude such lapses and lacunae in future. A Force of Resistance BMW SA Open hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni Glendower GC, City of Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, South Africa The disease can rob farmers of up to half of their canola yields By Diego Flammini News Reporter Farms.com A yield-robbing disease has re-appeared in some Saskatchewan canola fields. In 2017, its the first time weve really seen (clubroot) in commercial canola fields, Barbara Ziesman, a provincial plant disease specialist, told Global News on Monday . Saskatchewans 23,000 canola farmers averaged a yield of 42.2 bushels per acre in 2017, according to the provincial agriculture ministry. The canola industry as a whole contributed more than $12 billion to the local economy, the Canola Council of Canada reported. The disease impacted some fields in 2008, 2011 and 2012. If clubroot is left unchecked, however, those numbers could decrease in 2018. The disease can also damage mustard, cabbage and broccoli crops. Clubroot survives in the soil and causes disease of the root below the ground, Ziesman told Global News. It is a disease that can cause up to 50 per cent yield loss or even higher under severe conditions. The Ministry of Agriculture is collecting field data through surveys to track clubroots potential spread. They are based on where we know where (clubroot is) occurring in neighbouring provinces, but also where the environmental conditions favour, Ziesman told Global News. Growers first spotted clubroot in Manitoba in 2013. In Alberta, the number of confirmed cases of clubroot increased from 12 in 2003 to 2,700 last year, according to the provincial agriculture ministry. Ziesman encourages producers to scout their fields regularly for signs of clubroot. In canola seedlings, the disease can result in wilting, stunting and yellowing. The canola plants may even die between the late rosette and early podding stage. Province of Manitoba photo Fenugreek seeks can be turned into essential oils By Diego Flammini News Reporter Farms.com If Tourism Saskatchewan ever wants to change the provinces slogan from Land of Living Skies, farmers could argue the province is the land of fenugreek. Saskatchewan farmers are the only Canadian producers of this crop, which is part of the pea family. Provincial growers produced all 2,809 acres of fenugreek in Canada in 2016, according to Statistics Canada . The total number of acres is up from 179 in 2001. Saskatchewan also exports all of Canadas fenugreek crops. Nathan Sudom, the CEO of Emerald Seed Products in Avonlea, Sask., and his family have produced fenugreek for 25 years. He contracts farmers to grow the crop, which he exports to such markets as the U.S., Japan and Israel. Its a pretty cool company, you know, being able to take a product from Saskatchewan, and export it all around the world and (added) value to customers, Sudom told CBC yesterday . Once harvested, fenugreek has several uses. The seeds can be used to treat digestive disorders or added to culinary seasonings. Seed extracts are also used to flavour maple syrup substitutes and clean potash. India is the worlds largest producer of fenugreek. Indian farmers harvested 121,775 tonnes of fenugreek seeds from 237,970 acres in 2011-2012. Ideal fenugreek growing conditions include cool climates, according to AgriFarming , an Indian farming resource. Loamy or sandy loam soils with good drainage and soils with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0 can help to increase yields. In Saskatchewan, fenugreek seeding should take place in early May, according to the Ministry of Agriculture . The optimum plant density is 12 plants per square foot. Farms.com has reached out to Sudom for more information on fenugreek production in Saskatchewan. PicturePartners/iStock/Getty Images Plus photo Dr. Aaron Westrick (Image courtesy of LinkedIn)An active-duty deputy sheriff for Charlevoix Country, Michigan with a Ph.D. from Wayne State University will collect nearly $6 million as part of a False Claims Act settlement, the Justice Department said. Aaron Westrick alleged in a qui tam lawsuit that a Japanese company supplied defective Zylon fiber used to make bullet proof vests. The vests were bought by federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies. Toyobo Co. Ltd. of Japan and its American subsidiary, Toyobo U.S.A. Inc., agreed to pay $66 million to resolve the allegations. Dr. Westrick is also an associate professor of criminal justice at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. His company, Ballistic Armor Research Group, LLC., specializes in government consulting for armor research projects, according to Dr. Westricks website. From 1996 to 2004, Dr. Westrick worked for Second Chance Body Armor, Inc. as the director of research and tactical. Second Chance recalled some of its Zylon-containing vests in late 2003 because of the defective materials. After the recall, Toyobo started a public relations campaign designed to influence other body armor manufacturers to keep selling Zylon-containing vests, according to the DOJ. Toyobos actions delayed by several years the governments efforts to determine the true extent of Zylon degradation, the DOJ said. In August 2005, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) completed a study of Zylon-containing vests and found that more than 50 percent of used vests could not stop bullets that they had been certified to stop. After that, the NIJ decertified all Zylon-containing vests. The qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act allows private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery. The False Claims Act also allows the government to intervene and take over the action, as it did in 2005 in Dr. Westricks case. Dr. Westricks share of Toyobos $66 million settlement is $5.775 million. The DOJ said the settlement did not determine liability. The lawsuits were United States ex rel. Westrick v. Second Chance Body Armor, et al., No. 04-0280 (PLF) (D.D.C.) and United States v. Toyobo Co. Ltd., et al., No. 07-1144 (PLF) (D.D.C.). ____ Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog. George Clooney says the Florida school students who are campaigning for stricter gun laws make him feel "proud" to be American. George and Amal Clooney The 56-year-old actor has penned an open letter to the students of Stoneman Douglas High School, who have tried to raise awareness of gun violence since a mass shooting at their school earlier this year left 17 people dead. He wrote: "Congratulations on the incredible work you and all of your fellow students are doing to make the country a safer place." The Hollywood star subsequently confirmed that he and his wife, barrister Amal Clooney, will attend the march being held in Washington DC this weekend. George continued: "We both feel very strongly that this is your march. Your moment. Young people are taking it to the adults and that has been your most effective tool. "The fact that no adults will speak on the stage in D.C. is a powerful message to the world that if we can't do something about gun violence then you will." George added that the efforts of the students made him proud to be an American. He said: "Amal and I stand behind you, in support of you, in gratitude to you. You make me proud of my country again." In February, Amal praised the Parkland students at the 2018 Watermark Conference for Women in San Jose, California. The 40-year-old legal expert revealed that the couple had donated $500,000 to March For Our Lives in the names of their nine-month-old twins, Ella and Alexander. She said: "George and I, actually not even through the foundation, just personally, wanted to make this contribution and to say, 'We will be there with our family,' because, you know, my children are very likely to go to school here. I know their lives literally depend on it." Naomi Campbell will be named Fashion Icon at the upcoming CFDA Awards. Naomi Campbell The 47-year-old supermodel has been selected as the 2018 recipient of the title for her four-decade spanning catwalk career by the Council of Fashion Designers of America and will be presented with her prize on June 4. Naomi follows in the footsteps of past winners such as Rihanna, Beyonce, David Bowie, Pharrell Williams and Kate Moss in receiving the accolade. Speaking to Vogue.com about the honour, the star said: "It is truly an honour to be recognized by the CFDA with this year's Fashion Icon Award, being from London, my personal style has always been tremendously influenced by both the dynamic, ever-changing nature of street culture and the music scene. I grew up in this industry and I'm forever grateful to the iconic American fashion designers who have supported me and celebrated me throughout my career." The ceremony will take place at the Brooklyn Museum in New York City and American actress Issa Rae will host the ceremony - making her the awards' first-ever female host - which will recognise the best talents in the fashion industry. Streetwear designers for both menswear and womenswear have been nominated for the first time in the awards' history, with Naomi's good friend and Off-White designer Virgil Abloh and Supreme's founder James Jebbia both being nominated for alongside Tom Ford and Raf Simons. Diane Von Furstenberg, Narciso Rodriguez and Carolina Herrea will all receive recognition for Positive Change, Lifetime Achievement and the Founder's awards respectively, and Versace designer Donatella Versace will receive the International Award for her work in honouring the legacy of her brother Gianni Versace who founded the iconic fashion house in 1978. Michael Barrymore is making a TV comeback in a new documentary. Michael Barrymore The 'Strike It Lucky' star was axed from ITV in 2002 after the tragic death of Stuart Lubbock, who was found dead in the swimming pool at Michael's Essex home. Michael, 65, is set to appear in an ITV3 documentary 'Larry Grayson: Shut That Door ' about the comedy legend, according to The Sun newspaper. The 'My Kind Of People' presenter was a warm up act for Grayson when he hosted 'The Generation Game'. He tells the show: "He had an amazing career out of just being Larry Grayson. He was unique. "I was warm-up man for him. He fumbled his way through the programme, you were never sure he was going to get through to the end of the show in one piece. But he always did." Michael insists Larry's signature campness was not an act, adding: "I remember talking to some old girls and I told them he was gay and they didn't believe me." Michael's TV career was left in tatters after Lubbock's death at a party at the star's home in 2001. The comedian was questioned on suspicion of rape and murder, but last year was awarded damages at the High Court for wrongful arrest. Michael has made various bids to revive his career, appearing on 'Celebrity Big Brother' in 2006 and opening up about his drug addiction on 'The Jeremy Kyle Show' in 2014. Attorney General Jeremy Wright recently turned down an application by Lubbock's father Terry to open a new inquest into his son's death. Welcome back to the third article in our 5-part series on everything you need to know about Gulets and Gulet cruises. If you missed the first two articles in the series, you can read them here. Everything you need to know about Gulets and Gulet Cruises (part one)- The History of Gulets Everything you need to know about Gulets and Gulet Cruises (part two) Things to Consider BEFORE Booking a Gulet Cruise This 5-part series was written by Sue Fockner, the Canadian owner of Arkadaslik Yachting. Sue and her Turkish husband, Captain Oktay, host private cruises throughout Turkey and Greece aboard their 22-meter luxury gulet, Arkadaslik. Part 3 How to Book the Perfect Gulet Cruise Once youve determined your gulet holiday schedule, budget, accommodation requirements and desired itinerary (as outlined in Part 2 of this series), its time to make the actual arrangements. But who do you speak with? There are actually 3 (mostly) reliable sources for booking gulet cruises, and one source that leads to variable results. Well talk about that one first Your Waiter / Taxi Driver / Bartender / Hairdresser / Carpet Seller If youve ever been to Turkey, you know how friendly and helpful Turkish people can be, especially to foreign visitors. And, you quickly realize how everyone you meet has a friend or cousin with a boat. Oftentimes, these informal connections lead to wonderful outcomes for everyone involved. However, keep in mind the following: You have no assurance that the boat is licenced for business charter or is insured or certified for safety and seaworthiness. Your Turkish friend is taking a commission on the deal and sometimes that commission is more than the cost of the actual boat booking. You have no legal recourse if things go awry before, during, or after your cruise. Travel Agencies Travel agencies are a common way for first-time cruisers to book a gulet cruise. Because they offer a wide-range of touristic services, travel agencies are a convenient way to book your entire holiday package flights, transfers, cruises, land-based options, hotels, etc. in one go. Travel agencies typically contract with yachting agencies or yacht owners for gulet services and offer cruises on a limited number of trustworthy and reliable gulets. You cant usually pick your boat when booking through a travel agency. The travel agency contracts a boat based on the number of passengers who sign up for the cruise. That means youre not guaranteed to cruise on the same boat you (or your friends) travelled on in the past. You get what you get, and the actual boat is confirmed at the last possible moment. Because there are several layers between you and the crew who work on your cruise, any special requests (e.g., allergies, food preferences, special celebrations, etc.) may not get passed along appropriately. Travel agencies tend to offer CABIN CHARTERS. This means you share the boat with others every age, every nationality, every social class. Oftentimes, the mix works perfectly, other times, not so much. Thats the reality of cabin charters. The travel agency is taking a commission. And if they are booking the boat via another party, that agent is also taking a commission. (The number of middle men involved in booking a charter, especially from outside of Turkey, can be mind-boggling. Commission upon commission, the price adds up quickly!) You have legal recourse via the travel agency if things go awry before, during, or after your cruise. Yacht Agencies Similar to travel agencies, yachting agencies are a common way for people to book gulet cruises. Because their expertise is focused on boating vacations, yacht agencies can locate the perfect boat for your cruise holiday. This is terrific if you have specific requirements for your holiday! The price of a cruise booked through a yachting agency includes rental of the boat and crew and costs for normal operation of the boat. Food and drinks are extra and you are responsible for their purchase and supply. The agency provides you with a provisioning list which includes everything from kitchen spices to cleaning supplies, toilet paper to snack foods, plus your favourite food and drinks to cover the consumable items you (and the crew) will require for the duration of your cruise. (Most agencies will do the shopping on your behalf for a small fee.) Yacht agencies tend to offer PRIVATE CHARTERS so you have exclusive use of the boat during your cruise. Love them or not, you pick you cruising companions. Like travel agencies, yachting agencies build a commission into their prices. The amount varies from boat to boat, and season to season, but 15 to 25% of the boats actually rental price is common. You have legal recourse via the yacht agency if things go awry before, during, or after your cruise. Owner Direct More and more options are available for holiday-makers to book cruises directly with the boat owner. A quick visit to Trip Advisors boat listings for your vacation destination provides a great starting point, and on-line tools like Get My Boat and Beds on Board expand your options even farther. You can also research boat options on yachting agency websites, then Google the boat name and contact the boat owner directly to make their reservations. Because you eliminate the middle men, you dont pay commissions and can often get the best prices when booking directly with the owner. (FYI this can usually result in an automatic discount of 10 to 15% compared to agency prices, and there may be wiggle-room to negotiate for more.) As with all human beings, boat owners range from horrendously-dodgy to ultra-professional so its a good idea to rely on trusted recommendations and your gut feel when entering discussions for charter directly with a boat owner. Whenever possible, obtain unbiased reviews from sources like Trip Advisor and other social media channels. And ask for a contract so you know exactly what youre getting yourself into. A solid contract, good communication with the owner, and recommendations from trusted sources is your best protection if things go awry before, during, or after your cruise. So, there you have it. There are pros and cons to each option for booking a gulet cruise but you are now one step closer to having all the information you need to book your dream gulet cruise. If you still have questions, youre welcome to get in touch anytime. Contact us at info@arkadaslik-yachting.com Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category In secret, behind locked gates, our Nation's Oldest City dumped a landfill in a lake (Old City Reservoir), while emitting sewage in our rivers and salt marsh. Organized citizens exposed and defeated pollution, racism and cronyism. We elected a new Mayor. We're transforming our City -- advanced citizenship. Ask questions. Make disclosures. Demand answers. Be involved. Expect democracy. Report and expose corruption. Smile! Help enact a St. Augustine National Park and Seashore. We shall overcome! VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 22, 2018 / Maple Leaf Short Duration 2018 Flow-Through Limited Partnership (the "Partnership") is pleased to announce that it completed its second and final closing on March 22, 2018. The Partnership issued 290,779 National Class Units and 429,280 Quebec Class Units at a price of $25.00 per unit in its first and second closings, for aggregate gross proceeds of $18,001,475. Partnership Objectives & Benefits - National Class Units The Partnership is designed to provide holders of National Class Units ("National Class Limited Partners") with an investment in a diversified portfolio of Flow-Through Shares of Resource Companies incurring Eligible Expenditures (as those terms are defined in the Prospectus) across Canada with a view to maximizing the tax benefits of an investment in National Class Units and achieving capital appreciation and/or income for National Class Limited Partners. National Class Limited Partners must be residents of Canada or liable to pay Canadian income tax. Investors are expected to receive tax deductions for 2018 of approximately 100% of the amount invested based on and subject to certain conditions as set forth in the Prospectus. Partnership Objectives & Benefits - Quebec Class Units The Partnership is designed to provide holders of Quebec Class Units ("Quebec Class Limited Partners") with an investment in a diversified portfolio of Flow-Through Shares of Resource Companies incurring Eligible Expenditures principally in the Province of Quebec with a view to maximizing the tax benefits of an investment in Quebec Class Units and achieving capital appreciation and/or income for Quebec Class Limited Partners. Quebec Class Units are most suitable for investors who reside in the Province Quebec or are liable to pay income tax in Quebec. Investors are expected to receive tax deductions for 2018 of up to 130% of the amount invested based on and subject to certain conditions as set forth in the Prospectus. Liquidity Event The investment portfolios of both the National and Quebec Class Units will be actively managed in such a way as to preserve the ability to undertake a future liquidity event, such as a rollover into a mutual fund corporation. The Syndicate The syndicate of agents for the offering was led by Scotiabank and includes CIBC World Markets Inc., National Bank Financial Inc., BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., GMP Securities L.P., Industrial Alliance Securities Inc., Canaccord Genuity Corp., Desjardins Securities Inc., Echelon Wealth Partners Inc., Manulife Securities Incorporated, Raymond James Ltd. and Laurentian Bank Securities Inc. A copy of the Prospectus can be obtained from any agent. Offering Jurisdictions Each of the Provinces and Territories of Canada. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Hugh Cartwright, Chairman MAPLE LEAF FLOW-THROUGH PROGRAMS Tel: 1-866-688-5750 Email: info@mapleleaffunds.ca Web: www.MapleLeafFunds.ca SOURCE: Maple Leaf Short Duration 2018 Flow-Through Limited Partnership National & Quebec Class Hitachi Ltd Corporate Communications Tel: +81-3-3258-1111 TOKYO, Mar 23, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501) announced today that it has agreed to invest in a fund managed by Geodesic Capital, a venture capital company active mainly in Silicon Valley. By investing in this fund, Hitachi will help to accelerate open innovation with startup companies in Silicon Valley using Geodesic Capital's extensive network.In recent years, with advances in digitalization as IoT and digital technologies continue to be used in a wide range of fields, startup companies with cutting-edge technologies have become a driving force behind global innovations. Hitachi is also promoting the effective use of advanced technologies such as AI and robotics through its Social Innovation Business, which combines the OT (Operational Technology) and IT that it has accumulated up to now.Geodesic Capital is a venture capital company established in 2015 by John Roos, former United States Ambassador to Japan, Ashvin Bachireddy, previously a growth stage partner at Andreessen Horowitz, and Mitsubishi Corporation. Geodesic Capital invests in rapidly growing technology companies in Silicon Valley and the broader U.S. using capital gathered from Japanese companies, supports their entry into Japan, and connects Japanese companies with Silicon Valley companies to support the creation of new business. Hitachi will invest as a limited partner in Geodesic Capital Fund I-S, a supplemental fund of the company's first fund which was established in 2015.In addition to the investment, Hitachi America, Ltd.(1) will establish its new Global Open Innovation Division on April 1 as an organization dedicated to open innovations. By utilizing Geodesic Capital's extensive network, the division will promote open innovations with startup companies. At the same time, in Japan, Hitachi will establish its Open Innovation Division in the Future Investment Division, which was established in April 2017 to create new business and oversee strategic investments in its Social Innovation Business. The establishment of these two divisions will accelerate business rollout and collaborations with startup companies and other outside entities.Comments from John Roos, Partner and Co-Founder, Geodesic Capital"Geodesic is proud to add an iconic company like Hitachi as a Limited Partner, and we are excited about the opportunity for our portfolio companies to partner with Hitachi as they build their businesses in Japan. We also look forward to working with Hitachi's team in Silicon Valley to support their strategic objectives and focus on open innovation."Comments from Toshiaki Higashihara, President and CEO, Hitachi, Ltd."I am extremely pleased to have this opportunity to invest in Geodesic Capital, which has an extensive network of ties with startup companies in Silicon Valley that act as the driving force behind the world's innovations. Through this investment, we will accelerate open innovations with companies in Silicon Valley focused on AI and robotics, and further evolve the Social Innovation Business using Hitachi's Lumada IoT platform and other cutting-edge technologies."(1) Hitachi America, Ltd.: The Hitachi Group's regional headquarters for North AmericaHitachi will continue to make aggressive investments aimed at accelerating open innovations, promote collaborative creation with startup companies and a variety of other partners, and roll out its Social Innovation Business using state-of-the-art technologies, in an effort to resolve the issues being faced by society.About Geodesic CapitalGeodesic Capital supports U.S.-based entrepreneurs building transformative growth stage technology companies. It was founded by former U.S. Ambassador to Japan and former CEO of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, John V. Roos, Ashvin Bachireddy, previously a growth stage partner at Andreessen Horowitz and Mitsubishi Corporation. Geodesic Capital helps its portfolio companies expand globally into key markets in Asia, starting with Japan, by assisting them in finding employees, customers, partners and developing go-to-market strategies. For more information, please visit www.geodesiccap.com.About Hitachi, Ltd.Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer society's challenges with our talented team and proven experience in global markets. The company's consolidated revenues for fiscal 2014 (ended March 31, 2015) totaled 9,761 billion yen ($81.3 billion). Hitachi is focusing more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes power & infrastructure systems, information & telecommunication systems, construction machinery, high functional materials & components, automotive systems, healthcare and others. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at www.hitachi.com.Source: Hitachi, Ltd.Contact:Copyright 2018 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved. EQS Group-Ad-hoc: Airopack Technology Group AG / Key word(s): AGM/EGM Airopack Technology Group AG: Changes to the Board of Directors and Publication of Invitation to Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of 18 April 2018 23-March-2018 / 06:51 CET/CEST Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 KR The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. / Airopack Technology Group AG - Changes to the Board of Directors and Publication of Invitation to Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of 18 April 2018 *Baar, 23 March 2018 - The Board of Directors of Airopack Technology Group AG ('ATG") has published the invitation for the upcoming Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, to be held at the Legends Club, Bossard Arena in Zug on 18 April 2018 at 10.00am. The invitation contains the Agenda and the Proposals of the Board of Directors.* The Board of Directors will propose to the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders to elect Mr. Jeremy Honeth as a new member of the Board. Jeremy Honeth [34] has been with Apollo Global Management in London, UK since 2013. Previously, Mr. Honeth was a member of the special situations team at The Carlyle Group in London, UK, and prior to that was a member of the mezzanine debt group at Barclays Private Credit Partners in New York, USA. Before this, Mr. Honeth was a member of the Restructuring investment banking group at Evercore Partners. Mr. Honeth also serves on the board of directors of Groupe Latecoere. Mr. Honeth graduated with Honors from The University of Chicago. Mr. Ralf Ackermann, who joined the board of Directors of ATG in July 2016 following the entry of the Apollo Funds in our share capital, has informed the Board of Directors that he will not be seeking re-election at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on 18 April 2018. On behalf of the Board of Directors and Airopack Technology Group AG, we would like to thank Mr. Ackermann for his valuable contribution during the past year, and we wish him all the best for the future. All other members of the Board of Directors will stand for re-election. These are: - Mr. Antoine Kohler - Mr. Quint Kelders - Dr. Attila Tamer - Mr. Okko Filius - Mr. Robert Seminara - Mr. Christophe Villemin Extensive information on the proposed new and current members of the Board of Directors, can be found by following this link on our website http://www.airopackgroup.com/en/investor-relations/board-of-directors [1] (English only). The invitation to the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders to be held in Zug on 18 April 2018 at 10.00am, with the full agenda including the details of the proposals of the Board of Directors, can be found by following this link to our website http://www.airopackgroup.com/en/investor-relations/general-assembly [2] (German only, with English summary) We also invite you to consult the 2017 Annual Report, which is available by following this link to our corporate website http://www.airopackgroup.com/en/investor-relations/reports [3] . *For more information:* Airopack Technology Group AG Quint Kelders, CEO / Liebwin van Lil, CFO Blegistrasse 5/1 OG CH-6340 Baar TF: +31 41 768 50 50 E-Mail: quint.kelders@airopackgroup.com E-Mail: liebwin.vanlil@airopackgroup.com www.airopackgroup.com [4] Airopack Technology Group AG is a leading developer and supplier of mechanical and pressure-controlled dispensing packaging technologies and systems for manufacturers and suppliers of cosmetics, body care, pharmaceutical and food products. The revolutionary and worldwide and solely by ATG patented Airopack(R) technology offers a safe, all-plastic pressurized dispenser that is environmentally and planet friendly Airopack Technology Group operates a Airopack Ready to Fill manufacturing facility in Waalwijk, The Netherlands and a Full-Service Filling operation in Heist-op-den-Berg Belgium (Airosolutions) as well as a manufacturing plant for filling equipment in Houten, The Netherlands (Airofiller Equipment Solutions), The Global Research and Development Team, the Airopack Global Management and Customer Service Organisation are located in Waalwijk, The Netherlands. The shares of the company are listed on the Swiss Reporting Standard of the SIX Swiss Exchange since 2010. (Ticker: AIRN / ISIN: CH0242606942). www.airopackgroup.com End of ad hoc announcement Language: English Company: Airopack Technology Group AG Blegistrasse 5 6340 Baar Switzerland Phone: +41 417663500 Fax: +41 417663509 E-mail: liebwin.vanlil@airopackgroup.com Internet: www.airopackgroup.com ISIN: CH0242606942 Listed: SIX Swiss Exchange End of Announcement EQS Group News Service 667927 23-March-2018 CET/CEST 1: http://public-cockpit.eqs.com/cgi-bin/fncls.ssp?fn=redirect&url=3f724d77016e7c99566cd4a7c37a5910&application_id=667927&site_id=vwd&application_name=news 2: http://public-cockpit.eqs.com/cgi-bin/fncls.ssp?fn=redirect&url=9abd10c6b95c99af9cdb4ce5f5e33a4f&application_id=667927&site_id=vwd&application_name=news 3: http://public-cockpit.eqs.com/cgi-bin/fncls.ssp?fn=redirect&url=bb303f04b7d1c1dad3d6879353707c8f&application_id=667927&site_id=vwd&application_name=news 4: http://public-cockpit.eqs.com/cgi-bin/fncls.ssp?fn=redirect&url=26ec27d0679301fe63ce8a1daf26a8df&application_id=667927&site_id=vwd&application_name=news (END) Dow Jones Newswires March 23, 2018 01:51 ET (05:51 GMT) LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Big Yellow Group PLC (BYG.L) announced the acquisition of a site in Hove for a new 56,000 sq ft store, subject to planning. The Group noted that Hove is to the west of Brighton and the new store will complement its existing store close to the centre in east Brighton. The Group said it will continue with its strategy, unchanged since the formation of the business, of developing quality assets in locations where the barriers to entry remain high. James Gibson, CEO said, 'securing sites and procuring planning permissions remains challenging and complex, and there will be setbacks. Notwithstanding this, we are confident of making progress and we have therefore decided to update the market more regularly with newsworthy events.' Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. PARIS, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Thursday, March 22, during the 20th annual L'Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards Ceremony, the L'Oreal Foundation and UNESCO launched the "Men for Women in Science" initiative. The goal is simple: contributing to better gender balance in science for more effective progress. (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/655919/LOreal_Foundation_UNESCO.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/655920/LOreal_Foundation_UNESCO.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/655921/LOreal_Foundation_UNESCO.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/655922/LOreal_Foundation_UNESCO.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/655923/LOreal_Foundation_UNESCO.jpg ) 25 eminent male scientists have already committed to the initiative, such as mathematician Cedric Villani, geneticist Axel Kahn, Etienne Klein, Research Director at the CEA (French Atomic Energy Commission), and Mouin Hamze, Secretary General of the CNRS (French National Council for Scientific Research) in Lebanon. More information here. UNDER-REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN POSES QUALITY ISSUES IN RESEARCH Over the past 20 years, the percentage of women working in science has increased by about 12%, but it remains too low: less than 30%[1] of researchers are women. The glass ceiling still exists; women hold only 11% of academic leadership positions in Europe. And only 3% of Nobel Prizes for Science have ever been awarded to women. This under-representation of women impacts the very quality of scientific research. For example, studies show that the lack of diversity in the sector of artificial intelligence has led to the development of software that reproduces, or even magnifies stereotypes, especially those related to gender.[2] A COALITION OF ALLIES TO CHANGE THE FACE OF SCIENCE To encourage collaboration between women and men, the L'Oreal Foundation and UNESCO are launching a new initiative called "Men for Women in Science". Male scientists were invited to sign a Charter of clear and measurable Commitments with the following objectives: Promoting access to research funding for women Providing equal recruitment opportunities Striving to achieve a better balance in publications and copyrights. "We want to accelerate change towards improved gender balance and effectiveness in science, in order to help advance scientific understanding for the benefit of all and better address the challenges facing today's world," saysJean-Paul Agon, President of the L'Oreal Foundation. Lear more about the L'Oreal Foundation For Women in Science report here 1. UNESCO Science Report: Towards 2030 (2015). 2. "Semantics derived automatically from language corpora contain human-like biases", Aylin Caliskan, Joanna J. Bryson, Arvind Narayanan, revue Science (April 14, 2017). ALBANY, New York, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the latest market report published by Transparency Market Research titled "Canned Tuna Market': Global Industry Analysis and Forecast 2017-2025," the revenue generated from canned tuna has been estimated to be valued over US$ 10,496.1 Mn in 2017, which is projected to increase at a CAGR of 3.8% during the forecast period (2017-2025). Market Taxonomy: By Species, Distribution Channel, and Region By species type, theglobal canned tuna marketis segmented as albacore, skipjack tuna, yellowfin tuna, Bluefin tuna, bigeye tuna and longtail tuna. By distribution channel the market is segmented as direct and indirect. Furthermore, by indirect channel, the market is segmented as hypermarkets/supermarkets, specialty stores, online channels, convenience stores and others. By end use, the market is segmented as foodservice and households. Request A Sample Of Canned Tuna Market: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=18581 On the basis of region, the market in Europe is anticipated to dominate the global canned tuna market both in terms of value and volume in 2017. North America is expected to gain significant market share in revenue terms by 2025 end. This trend is attributed to the consumer dependence on canned tuna as demand for processed and ready-to-eat food is growing in this region. Moreover, BENELUX is projected to exhibit significant CAGR in terms of value during the forecast period. While the consumer demand for canned tuna witnesses a downward trend, the increasing demand from the Middle East is leveling off this decline, and emerging as an attractive market for ASEAN canned tuna exporters. The exemption from import duties in the Middle East has led to higher exports in this region. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Israel are the largest importers of tuna in the Middle East, accounting for 21%, 19%, and 11% import share, respectively. The import tariff in most of the countries in this region is only 5%, which is very low as compared to the U.S. and the EU. In spite of the large scope for fishing, the Middle Eastern region is poorly developed in fishing, and hence, is heavily dependent on imports from ASEAN countries, especially Vietnam. High demand from non-traditional markets is the only rescuer of the canned tuna market from declining in the near future. View in-depth table of contents for this report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/18581 US Canned Seafood Market to Face a Downward Trend Overfishing has led governments to ban commercial fishing in parts of the Pacific Ocean. The ban on fishing has led to the overall lower supply of tuna, consequently leading to higher prices of canned tuna. Higher prices have, in turn, led to lower demand for canned tuna from regions such as Europe. Tuna species such as yellowfin are overfished and are categorized as an endangered species. Concerns against overfishing are growing and are leading to the fluctuating supply and demand of canned seafood, globally. In the U.S., the canned seafood market is also indicating a clear downward trend due to the lack of sustainable and regular supply of its main product. Consumers in the U.S. and Europe are highly concerned about dolphin deaths caused due to tuna fishing. A vast number of dolphins have been killed during tuna fishing, and consumers are averse to buying products that have resulted in the deaths of this large by catch. Consumer sensitivity towards the sustainability of canned tuna dictates the growth of the market. The dolphin safety issue has been trending in the canned tuna market over the past many years and is still a major obstacle being blamed for the decline of the canned tuna market. Ask for Discount on Premium Research Report (US$ 5795) With Complete TOC: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=D&rep_id=18581 Key Market Players Some of the major companies operating in the global Canned Tuna market are Thai Union Group, Alliance Select Foods International, Inc., Ocean Brands GP, Bumble Bee Foods, LLC, StarKist Co., Raincoast Trading Company, Princes Group, Golden Prize Canning Co., Ltd., PT. Aneka Tuna Indonesia., Wild Planet Foods Inc.., Hi-Q Food Products Co., Ltd., American Tuna Inc., Safcol Australia Pty. Ltd., Conga Foods Pty Ltd, Millaton Fishery Co. Ltd., Sadr Darya Co., Dorj Group Companies, Tohfe Food Product Company, C-Food International LLC and Pegasusfood Co., Ltd. The market has been segmented as below: Global Canned Tuna market - By Species Type Albacore Skipjack Tuna Yellowfin Tuna Bigeye Tuna Longtail Tuna Bluefin Tuna Global Canned Tuna market - Distribution Channel Direct Indirect Hypermarkets/Supermarkets Specialty Stores Online Channels Convenience Stores Others Global Canned Tuna market - By End Use Foodservice Households Popular Research Reports of TMR: Guava Puree Market: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/guava-puree-market.html Functional Flour Market: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/functional-flours-market.html About Us Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company,providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMR's experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information. Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports. Contact Transparency Market Research State Tower, 90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany NY- 12207 United States Tel: +1-518-618-1030 USA- Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453 Email:sales@transparencymarketresearch.com Website:http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com ResearchBlog:http://www.editiontruth.com/ Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 23, 2018) - Hunter Oil Corp. (TSXV: HOC) (OTCQX: HOILF) ("Hunter" or the "Company") is pleased to provide a corporate update. The Company is pleased to announce that it has completed a five-well abandonment program which fulfills a portion of the requirements of the Agreed Compliance Order ("ACO") with the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division ("OCD"). This ACO provides Hunter with the ability to permit and drill new wells. Hunter is now operating under the second annual renewal of its ACO, having successfully completed all requirements in each of the prior years. The Company completed repairs to six producing wells. Gross production for the first 20 days of March has averaged 108 BOPD (barrels of oil per day). The Company benefits from having significant infrastructure as an in-the-field redevelopment for Horizontal San Andres wells with roads, power and access to water. The Company is working diligently to secure financing to develop its 23,000 acres or seek other strategic options for its held-by-production acreage in the two historic Chaveroo and Milnesands oil fields. The redevelopment consists of an infill redevelopment of the San Andres productive zones where vertical wells successfully and economically produced oil. Hunter is debt free and is a 100% working interest owner. The Company also announces the appointment of Rick Powers as Chief Financial Officer of the Company, to replace Becky Gillespie. Mr. Powers brings to the Company more than 30 years of experience in public accounting and the energy industry, serving in numerous roles including financial management, auditing, accounting and mergers and acquisitions. From 1997 to 2007, Mr. Powers was a national energy practice audit partner at UHY, LLP in Houston, where he provided due diligence, mergers and acquisition advisory and public offering guidance to private and public clients, including clients listed on the London and Canadian stock exchanges. His private company experience includes serving as the principal financial officer for an exploration and production company, and an oilfield service manufacturer. Mr. Powers is a Certified Public Accountant and member of the Texas Society of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs. Mr. Powers holds a BBA in Accounting from Texas Tech University. About Hunter Oil Corp. Hunter Oil owns and operates two large, historic oil fields in the Permian Basin of Eastern New Mexico - the Milnesand and Chaveroo fields, which together comprise in excess of 23,000 gross acres, substantially held by production. Historical production of these two fields is approximately 40 million barrels. Hunter has engineered a horizontal redevelopment of the San Andres productive zones. The Company plans to unlock the value in these resource-rich fields by leveraging existing infrastructure, lowering operating costs and increasing efficiencies of its operations. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Andrew Hromyk President and CEO 1 (604) 689-3355 NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws, including statements regarding estimates of reserves and future net revenue, expectations regarding additional reserves and statements regarding Chaveroo and Milnesand wells development, including plans, anticipated results and timing. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause plans, estimates and actual results to vary materially from those projected in such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information regarding Chaveroo and Milnesand well development and expectations regarding additional reserves are based on plans and estimates of management and interpretations of exploration information by the Company's exploration team at the date the information is provided and is subject to several factors and assumptions of management. These assumptions include: that necessary regulatory approvals will be available when required, that no unforeseen delays, unexpected geological or other effects, equipment failures, permitting delays or labor or contract disputes or shortages are encountered, and that the development plans of the Company will not change. Risks include: the risk that anticipated results and estimated costs will not be consistent with managements' expectations, the Company will not be able to obtain and provide the information necessary to secure regulatory approvals required, that unexpected geological results are encountered and that equipment failures, permitting delays or labor or contract disputes or shortages are encountered. Information on other important economic factors or uncertainties that may affect components of the reserves data and the other statements in this release are contained in the Company's Statement of Reserves Data and Other Oil & Gas Information dated December 31, 2016, and the Company's MD&A under "Risk Factors", which are available under the Company's profile at www.SEDAR.com. For further information, visit our website at www.hunteroil.com New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - March 23, 2018) - NetworkNewsAudio announces the Audio Press Release (APR) titled "Big and Small Companies Partner Up to Provide Canada's Cannabis," featuring Choom Holdings Inc. (CSE: CHOO) (OTCQB: CHOOF). To hear the NetworkNewsAudio version, visit http://nnw.fm/05zWd To read the original editorial, visit http://nnw.fm/hhL5e The involvement of ABcann brings two significant advantages for Choom: cash for growth and an established cannabis supply to get its retail business started. One of the biggest challenges for recreational cannabis companies will be building customer loyalty, and the agreement with ABcann allows Choom to hit the ground running. The company won't need to have a large supply of cannabis grown specifically for the recreational market because it can draw on the supplies ABcann is growing under its medical license. Choom will be able to provide customers with what they want from day one, allowing the company to establish a strong foothold in the market. From there, Choom can build its profile and customer loyalty. "This supply agreement demonstrates our commitment to becoming one of Canada's leading retailers in the cannabis space," states Chris Bogart, president and CEO of Choom. "ABcann allows us to rapidly expand our SKU base in the rollout of our retail store strategy. As we expand our efforts on strengthening our retail platform and brand position, a partnership with one of the market leaders in quality and production will be of great value to our organization. The investment and supply agreement with ABcann is a strong endorsement of our strategy and a pivotal step in developing Choom as the premium brand in Canada's recreational market." About Choom Channeling the spirit of Hawaii in the Okanagan, high-grade handcrafted strains by Choom are all about cultivating good times and good friends. Choom was inspired by the Choom Gang; a group of buddies in Honolulu during the 1970s. Now, after four decades, Choom is bringing the spirit of Hawaii to the Okanagan. The company is planting its flag in the rapidly growing legal cannabis industry in Canada with its own brand of high-grade handcrafted herb. For more information, visit the company's website at www.Choom.ca. About NetworkNewsAudio NetworkNewsAudio (NNA) , a NetworkNewsWire (NNW) Solution, allows you to sit back and listen to market updates, CEO interviews and a Company AudioPressRelease (APR). These audio clips provide snapshots of position, opportunity and momentum. NetworkNewsAudio (NNA) is another NetworkNewsWire (NNW) Solution that can assist your company by cutting through the overload of information in today's market, NNA brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. NetworkNewsWire (NNW) is where news, content and information converge. NetworkNewsWire (NNW) is a comprehensive provider of news aggregation and syndication, enhanced press release services and a full array of social communication solutions. As a multifaceted financial news and distribution company with an extensive team of journalists and writers, NNW has the unparalleled ability to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public with an ever-growing distribution network of more than 5,000 key syndication outlets across the nation. For more information, visit: www.NetworkNewsAudio.com About NetworkNewsWire NetworkNewsWire (NNW) is a financial news and content distribution company that provides (1) access to a network of wire services via NetworkWire to reach all target markets, industries and demographics in the most effective manner possible, (2) article and editorial syndication to 5,000+ news outlets, (3) enhanced press release services to ensure maximum impact, (4) social media distribution via the Investor Brand Network (IBN) to nearly 2 million followers, (5) a full array of corporate communications solutions, and (6) a total news coverage solution with NNW Prime. As a multifaceted organization with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, NNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. By cutting through the overload of information in today's market, NNW brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. NNW is where news, content and information converge. For more information, please visit https://www.NetworkNewsWire.com. Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the NetworkNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by NNW, wherever published or re-published: http://NNW.fm/Disclaimer. Forward-Looking Statements This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain as they are based on current expectations and assumptions concerning future events or future performance of the company. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are only predictions and speak only as of the date hereof. In evaluating such statements, prospective investors should review carefully various risks and uncertainties identified in this release and matters set in the company's SEC filings. These risks and uncertainties could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Corporate Communications Contact: NetworkNewsWire (NNW) New York, New York www.NetworkNewsWire.com 212.418.1217 Office Editor@NetworkNewsWire.com BHUBANESWAR, India, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), Bhubaneswar, a sister-concern of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), in partnership with British Council India hosted the 'Commonwealth Big Lunch' on March 23. More than 30,000 staff and indigenous students of the institute took lunch with High Commissioners, Deputy High Commissioners and representatives from the High Commissions of 53 Commonwealth countries and British Council at a time at one place. (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/658124/KIIT_KISS_Commonwealth_Big_Lunch.jpg ) The delegates were accorded a traditional welcome by the students upon their arrival at KISS. They joined in various programmes at KIIT and KISS on 23rd March and took lunch with 27,000 students of KISS from 12 noon to 1 pm. They visited the handicraft exhibition by KISS students, inaugurated the Commonwealth Hall in KISS campus and interacted with the students of KISS. The delegates also released 53 white pigeons as a symbol of peace and harmony in the world. Ten different dishes prepared in KISS Mega Kitchen were served in the Big Lunch, for which an amount of Rs. 30 lakh was provided by the British Council. British Council is celebrating its 70 years of inception in the Commonwealth countries of the world. On this occasion, the British Council is organizing this kind of Mega Lunch. KISS was the only organization selected from Asia along with four other Commonwealth countries including Australia, South Africa, Ghana and Edinburgh (UK) to host Commonwealth Big Lunch. Expressing his happiness Mr. Alan Gemmell OBE, Director, British Council India said, "We are inspired by the vision and determination of KISS Founder Dr. Achyuta Samanta to share the transformative power of education with tribal children. It was somewhat inevitable when we were asked to host a really big lunch in India that we turned to the KISS team to create an unforgettable celebration of the Commonwealth and of the importance of young people to the future Commonwealth. Through the Big Lunch at KISS, Bhubaneswar, we also bring the celebrations of our 70th anniversary in India to Odisha." Dr. Achyuta Samanta, Founder, KIIT and KISS, thanked British Council for selecting KISS to host Big Commonwealth Lunch. "It is a matter of pride for Odisha to host the dignitaries from 53 Commonwealth countries who will certainly carry a part of Odisha with them," he said. Media contact: Shradhanjali Nayak Director - Public Relations KIIT +91-9437020240 shradhanjali@kiit.ac.in John Wood Group PLC ("Company") LEI: 549300PLYY6I10B6S323 Change of Auditor The Company announces that it has received a letter dated 20 March 2018 from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP confirming their resignation as auditor of the Company with immediate effect. The resignation follows the Company's formal and comprehensive tender process of external audit services and the decision to appoint KPMG LLP as auditor, as detailed on page 41 of the Company's 2016 Annual Report and Accounts. The appointment of KPMG LLP as auditor to the Company will be proposed at the Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held on 11 May 2018. Notification authorised by: MARTIN MCINTYRE, COMPANY SECRETARY VANCOUVER, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --LITE ACCESS TECHNOLOGIES INC. (the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: LTE) (OTC PINK: LTCCF) is pleased to announce that Gigaclear plc ("Gigaclear") has awarded the Company a rural fibre optic deployment contract to bring ultrafast, full fibre broadband to up to 10,000 homes in West Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. The total expected value of this award is upwards of $29,000,000 with completion of the works anticipated by the end of 2019. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/658161/LiteAccess.jpg Carlo Shimoon, CEO of Lite Access, stated, "This is a watershed moment for our Company and validates the premium quality of our work and ramp up in the UK over the past year.Our cutting-edge fibre deployment technologies are ideally suited for this rural environment and we expect to expand our strategic relationship with Gigaclear in support of their growing rural fibre coverage.We could not be more excited about this first, of what we expect will be many, opportunities. We are pleased with the direction the Company is heading, our growth potential, and ensuring that we remain a world leader in this industry to unlock the full fibre future in the UK and elsewhere." About Gigaclear Gigaclear is dedicated to building and operating ultrafast, pure Fibre-to-the-Premises broadband networks in rural Britain. It offers Gigabit services to over 60,000 homes and businesses to date across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Gloucestershire, Kent, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Rutland and Worcestershire. Gigaclear builds networks using commercial investment but it has also been awarded contracts in 2017 as part of the Government subsidised BDUK rural broadband programme in Devon, Essex, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Northamptonshire, Somerset and Wiltshire. For more information, refer to Gigaclear's website: https://www.gigaclear.com/ About Lite Access Lite Access Technologies Inc. is a world leader in the use of innovative and proven micro/narrow trenching technologies, alternate methods of deployment and specialist products which transform the cost the network deployment for telecommunications operators. Lite Access has successfully deployed or enabled deployment of thousands of kilometres of broadband networks throughout North America and the United Kingdom as well as South America, Africa, Australia and Asia. As part of its suite of services Lite Access provides clients with integrated solutions or select components for the design and implementation of fibre optic networks. Lite Access' products have been deployed in many high-profile communication networks including Olympic facilities, military and government, numerous communities throughout the United Kingdom, the USA and Canada as well as global telecommunications companies that have adopted Lite Access as the "solution of choice" for the least invasive, most cost effective and future-proof fibre optic connectivity available. Lite Access' installation technology and proprietary products extend a network provider's ability to deliver true broadband connectivity directly to end-users, such as homes, businesses, government and educational institutions, and emergency response facilities. Lite Access remains flexible and innovative in its commitment to provide global clients and partners with the most cost effective and proven fibre connectivity solutions available. Forward Looking Information This news release contains statements that, to the extent they are not recitations of historical fact, may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Lite Access uses words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "likely", "expect", "believe", "intend" and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Any such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by Lite Access in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to Lite Access' expectations and predictions is subject to any number of risks, assumptions and uncertainties. Many factors could cause Lite Access' actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Such factors include, among other things: the projected value of the contract award from Gigaclear, and risks and uncertainties described in Lite Access's most recent Management Discussion & Analysis (MD&A) for the period ended December 31, 2017 which can be accessed at www.sedar.com . The "forward-looking statements" contained herein speak only as of the date of this press release and, unless required by applicable law, Lite Access undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise such information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Lite Access Technologies Inc.: Carlo Shimoon, CEO, Phone: 1-604-247-4704, Unit 5 - 20678 Duncan Way, Langley, BC V3A 7A3, www.liteaccess.com; For investor relations please contact: Rob Gamley, Phone: 1-604-689-7422, Email: rob@contactfinancial.com, Contact Financial Corp., 810 - 609 Granville St., Vancouver, BC V7Y 1G5 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 23, 2018) - Alliance Growers Corp. (CSE: ACG) (FSE: 1LA) (WKN: A2DFYX) ("Alliance Growers" or the "Company") applauds the landmark decision for advancing the bill to legalize recreational marijuana passing a key legislative stage in the Senate. Senators have voted to pass the Liberal government's marijuana legalization legislation, Bill C-45, at second reading. Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau stated his support for the bill, saying "the current system does not work" because Canadian youth are the highest users of marijuana in the world even though recreational use is banned by law. Commenting on the landmark decision toward the passing of the bill for the legalization of recreational marijuana, Alliance Growers President and CEO, Dennis Petke stated, "We are thrilled with the positive vote passed by the senate toward the bill to legalize recreational marijuana. Alliance Growers is well positioned to take full advantage of the coming legislation. This significant milestone, puts Alliance Growers and Pharmagreen and our Cannabis Botany Center at the forefront of the Cannabis Industry. The advantages of legalization are that it opens a retail market in addition to a medical market, loosens regulatory restrictions for access, expands distribution and expands the industry into the billions of dollars. The cannabis industry will now evolve at a very quick pace. Today's decision is another step forward for our Company as we continue to take Alliance Growers to where the cannabis market is going and not where it is today." The decision for advancing the bill to legalize recreational marijuana passing a key legislative stage in the Senate will have tremendous positive impact on many of Alliance Growers' businesses: Cannabis Botany Centre These expanded market conditions provide increased demand for the product and services offered in the Cannabis Botany Center which translates into more sales, which translates into significant profits and therefore increased value for all shareholders of the Company. On a global scale it opens Canada to take the lead in the Cannabis Industry and for Canadian companies to set precedence as potential global suppliers of products, services and technologies. The expansion of building state-of-the-art greenhouses will provide strong additional revenues for the joint venture between Alliance and Pharmagreen. The greenhouses will be focused on significant quantities of production of the tissue cultured, proprietary "CBD Dana" hemp strain to supply retail Canadian, Cannabis CBD markets as well as for worldwide export. Investment in New Maple Holdings With the Company's strategic investment in Canwe, Alliance Growers has an entry into the lucrative Ontario cannabis market for both medical and recreational marijuana. Canwe has access to a 22-acre property approximately 1.5 hours away from Toronto that it plans to use as its state-of-the-art hydroponic growing facility. Canwe boasts a dedicated team of highly sought-after industry veterans, some of whom formerly worked at ACMPR-licensed MedReleaf Corp. The team also includes several University of Toronto alumni and quality assurance specialists from the food industry. Canwe plans to construct an initial 80,000 square foot purpose-built and cutting-edge cultivation centre, with the potential to expand the centre to 200,000 square feet over two floors. Like the Alliance Growers' Cannabis Botany Centre, Canwe will have expanded market conditions for its products and services and enjoy the benefit of being in Canada's most populous province, Ontario and near Canada's largest city, Toronto. Acquisition of the Quebec late-stage ACMPR applicant, Biocannatech Quebec's ACMPR licenses are currently under-represented relative to other provinces in Canada. Management of Alliance Growers believes it is advantageous to capitalize on the mandate to increase the number of ACMPR licensed companies in Quebec. We are pleased to have now entered the grow space in Quebec as we negotiate additional license applicants in this province. In addition to growing, we look forward to becoming a preferred tissue cultured plantlet supplier to the Quebec ACMPR community. The legislative move toward the legalization of recreational marijuana will massively enhance the value of a ACMPR, especially in the province of Quebec. With strong partners in Quebec, Canada's second most populous province, Alliance Growers is well positioned to take advantageous of opportunities in both recreational and medical marijuana in the province. About Alliance Growers Alliance Growers is a diversified cannabis company driven by the Company's 'Four Pillars' Organization Plan - Cannabis Botany Centre, Strategic ACMPR Investments, CBD Oil Supply and Distribution, and Research and Development. Alliance Growers has finalized its a new business partnership with WFS Pharmagreen Inc., to jointly develop and operate a 40,000-square foot facility to be the first of its kind in Western Canada to house a DNA Botany lab, extraction facility and Tissue Culture Plantlet Production facility to service the Cannabis market and agriculture market in general. The proposed Cannabis Botany Centre will grow Cannabis plantlets using proprietary tissue culture propagation, specifically the "Chibafreen Invitro Plant Production System", which assures consistent composition and purity of each plantlet for the growers. Alliance Growers has entered into an exclusive agreement to acquire a late stage licensed producer applicant, Biocannatech, to become a licensed producer under Health Canada's access to cannabis for medical purposes regulations ("ACMPR") in Quebec. Alliance Growers will supply financing and resources to build out the medical marijuana facility in preparation for the inspection required to obtain a growing license. Once Health Canada is satisfied with a successful crop, Alliance Growers will be granted its distribution license. This acquisition allows the Company an opportunity to become a licensed producer in the Province of Quebec and gain an in-road to provide tissue culture plantlets to all licensed producers in Quebec. Further, Alliance Growers has been negotiating to obtain other exclusive Canadian distribution agreements for certain proprietary products for support of the Cannabis growing industry in addition to possible partnerships with Licensed Producer Applicants at various stages in the Health Canada License process. For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.alliancegrowers.com or the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. If you would like to be added to Alliance Growers' news distribution list, please send your email address to newsletter@alliancegrowers.com On behalf of the board of directors of ALLIANCE GROWERS CORP. "Dennis Petke" Dennis Petke President and CEO For more information contact: Dennis Petke Tel: 778-331-4266 DennisPetke@alliancegrowers.com Rob Grace Communications Consultant Tel: 778-998-5431 RobDGrace@gmail.com THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE. FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements or information. More particularly and without limitation, the news release contains forward-looking statements and information relating to Company's corporate strategy. The forward-looking statements and information are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by management of the Company, including, without limitation, the Company's ability to carry out its business plan. Although management of the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements and information are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements and information since no assurance can be given that they will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements and information are provided for the purpose of providing information about the current expectations and plans of management of the Company relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such statements and information may not be appropriate for other purposes, such as making investment decisions. Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to, the Company's ability to identify and complete additional suitable acquisitions to further the Company's growth as well as risks associated with the medical marijuana industry in general, such as operational risks in development and production delays or changes in plans with respect to development projects or capital expenditures; the uncertainty of the capital markets; the uncertainty of receiving the required licenses, production, costs and expenses; health, safety and environmental risks; marketing and transportation; loss of markets; environmental risks; competition; incorrect assessment of the value of the potential market; ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources; failure to obtain required regulatory and other approvals and changes in legislation, including but not limited to tax laws and regulated regulations. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, timelines and information contained in this news release. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and no undertaking is given to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws or the Canadian Securities Exchange. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Citigroup has become the first major Wall Street bank to impose restriction on sale of guns by its business partners. The New York-based bank has announced new commercial firearms policy which prohibits its partners from selling bump stocks or the sale of guns to customers who have not passed a background check or are under 21 years. The policy apply to Citigroup's small business, commercial and institutional clients that borrow funds, use banking services or raise capital through the bank. Citigroup's clients who issue co-brand or private label credit cards through the bank are also required to comply with new policy. The lender plans to have discussions with business partners involved with gun sales to ensure they comply with the new policy. It seems that the bank is even ready to lose customers to implement the new policy. 'We know our clients also care about these issues and we have begun to engage with them in the hope that they will adopt these best practices over the coming months. If they opt not to, we will respect their decision and work with them to transition their business away from Citi,' wrote Ed Skyler, Executive Vice President, Global Public Affairs, Citigroup. 'As an avid outdoorsman and responsible gun owner, I know that some will find our policy too strict while others will find it too lenient,' CEO Michael Corbat said. 'We don't have the perfect solution to supporting our Constitution while keeping our children and grandchildren safe. Best practices are going to continue to change, and we understand the limitations of our efforts. But we shouldn't let that stop us from doing our part.' The bank's new policy change comes just over a month after a gunman killed 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The shooting raised demands for stringent policies over gun control by students at the school and across the nation. Regulators have been asked to pass stringent laws, including banning of assault-style firearms, raise the minimum age to purchase firearms to 21, ban high capacity magazines and bump stocks. Walmart, Dick's Sporting Goods and L.L. Bean announced new restrictions on some gun sales following the incident. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. - Elektronik, a German magazine specializing in electronics, selects the SunLike Series LEDs for its Product of the Year Award - SunLike Series LEDs were chosen as a leading product in the optoelectronics field, recognized for best innovation and technology - SunLike Series natural spectrum LEDs provide safe and healthy light that closely matches the spectrum of natural sunlight Seoul Semiconductor, a global innovator of LED products and technology, announced on March 23rd that its SunLike Series natural spectrum LED product won the Gold Award at the Elektronik Product of the Year 2018 Awards, hosted by Elektronik (http://www.elektroniknet.de), a leading German electronics publication. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180323005646/en/ Product of the Year Award from Elektronik Magazine (SunLike) (Photo: Business Wire) As a publication specializing in electrical and electronic components, "Elektronik" is a prestigious magazine with an illustrious history and the largest number of subscribers in Germany. Over the past 20 years, they have conducted annual surveys among their subscribers to find the "most creative and innovative products." Based on these survey results, Elektronik selects the top product that with the most impact in its corresponding field, and confers the awards accordingly. This year, SunLike Series natural spectrum LEDs were selected as the best product in the "Optoelectronics" field, in competition with Ceramos C product by Osram Opto and XHP70.2 by Cree. This is second time that Seoul Semiconductor has won the Product of the Year Award from Elektronik, since the company's Acrich technology won the award in 2007. SunLike Series natural spectrum LEDs were developed by Seoul Semiconductor and Toshiba Materials to produce light with that closely matches the spectrum of natural sunlight. "We are delighted to be chosen for the Product of the Year Award from the prestigious Elektronik magazine," said Andreas Weisl, CEO of Seoul Semiconductor Europe GmbH, "SunLike Series natural spectrum LEDs transcend the established paradigm in the LED industry, which has been competing on photo-efficiency and cost-efficiency in the past. Instead, SunLike LEDs seek to create a healthy environment in terms of lighting from a client and consumer perspective by focusing on safe and comfortable light. In doing so, it is bringing the era of human-centric lighting closer to our doorstep." SunLike Series LEDs show the color of objects as they would appear in natural sunlight. Generally, oversaturation of blue light in a certain wavelength may cause light reflection; however, the light produced by SunLike LEDs closely matched that of natural sunlight, so it enables users to view text and objects more clearly while also helping to maintain healthy human biorhythms. Due to their close match to the spectrum of natural sunlight, SunLike LED technology produces light with superior color quality compared with conventional. Traditionally, artificial lighting has applied a color rendering index (CRI) that evaluates color quality based on fluorescent lamps. However, as LED technology has advanced, it has exceeded the color quality of fluorescent lamps, and as a result, new standards of color quality (CQS) are being developed. In particular, if existing CRI (color rendering) is understood in terms of mechanical colors used for experiments and measurements, CQS is characterized by the expression of more natural colors as they are perceived by the human eye. In case of conventional LEDs, their color rendering is high, but their CQS is low. Light produced by SunLike LEDs can achieve the best color quality in both color standards, with a rating that exceeds 95% for both CRI and CQS. Also, SunLike Series LEDs represent the next generation of natural light sources, having achieved a higher level of eye safety certification than any other LEDs recently recognized by the International Commission on Illumination as a light source with no photobiological risks. About TRI-R technology SunLike Series natural spectrum LEDs were co-developed by Seoul Semiconductor and Toshiba Materials. The combination of Seoul Semiconductor's optical semiconductor technology and Toshiba Materials' TRI-R technology produces light that closely matches the spectrum of natural sunlight. TRI-R is a registered trademark of Toshiba Material Co., Ltd. About Seoul Semiconductor: Seoul Semiconductor develops and commercializes light emitting diodes (LEDs) for automotive, general illumination, specialty lighting, and backlighting markets. As the fourth-largest LED manufacturer globally, Seoul Semiconductor holds more than 12,000 patents, offers a wide range of technologies, and mass produces innovative LED products such as SunLike delivering the world's best light quality in a next-generation LED enabling human-centric lighting optimized for circadian rhythms; WICOP a simpler structured package-free LED which provides market leading color uniformity, cost savings at the fixture level with high lumen density and allows design flexibility; NanoDriver Series the world's smallest 24W DC LED Drivers; Acrich, the world's first high-voltage AC-driven LED technology developed in 2005, includes all AC LED-related technologies from chip to module and circuit fabrication, as well as multi-junction technology (MJT); and nPola, a new LED product based on GaN-substrate technology that achieves more than ten times the output of conventional LEDs. UCD constitutes a high color gamut display which delivers more than 90% NTSC. For more information about Seoul Semiconductor, please visit http://www.seoulsemicon.com # Trademarks WICOP and Acrich are trademarks of Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180323005646/en/ Contacts: Europe Seoul Semiconductor Europe GmbH Ariane Heim Tel: +49 (0)89 450 3690-0 Email: press.eu@seoulsemicon.com or North America Seoul Semiconductor Inc. Andrew Smith Tel: +1 (901) 831-6614 Email: andrew.smith@seoulsemicon.com or Asia Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd Jake Jung Tel: +82 070.4391.8270 Email: pr@seoulsemicon.com WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - United Airlines offered one of its passengers a $10,000 travel voucher to cover for her troubles after she was bumped from her flight. Allison Preiss, a communications director from Washington, was given a $10,000 travel voucher by United Airlines after she was asked to deboard the flight because the flight was overbooked and the plane had a broken seat that had to be taken out of service. Once Preiss knew that it was to be her who would we be dumped by the airlines she began tweeting from Dulles International Airport. 'United is offering $1K in travel credit for an oversold flight. If nobody bites, they will kick off the lowest fare passenger by pulling them out of the boarding line. For a flight that THEY oversold. Unreal,' she tweeted. 'I AM THE LOWEST FARE PASSENGER.' 'They are kicking me off this flight.' 'They can't board me on this plane because there is a broken seat.' '.@united IS THE WORST.' '.@united tried to get me to sign a document that says I volunteered my seat on this plane when I was involuntarily denied boarding. Sketchy af.' Her series of tweets read. However, United Airlines offered her $10,000 travel voucher and a seat in the next flight to give up her seat. 'They really do not want to give me cash. They just offered me $10,000 in travel credit. TEN THOUSAND,' she said in another tweet. 'On the upside, I wasn't physically dragged off the plane and my dog wasn't killed on board, so I've got that going for me...which is nice.' United confirmed to ABC News that they issued the voucher, which is according to their policy. Last April, United increased its customer compensation incentives for voluntary denied boarding to up to $10,000. The changes were made after the airline faced a huge negative PR crisis after its crew dragged off a bloodied passenger off an overbooked flight to make seat for a crew member. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Every year there are businesses that start up or experience significant progress. There are different trends that affect businesses too. In 2018, there are also many businesses in different fields in the UK that are expected to grow. Below are some of them. Driving Service Industry Lately, driverless cars are growing in popularity. With new developments in the driving service industry, many changes are expected in 2018. Researchers found that autonomous taxis would actually cut back on cities greenhouse gas emissions. So, many cabs can be easily replaced by self-driving vehicles! This advancement in technology can be very promising. Development of Artificial Intelligence Artificial Intelligence or AI is not only primitive marketing automation. Neither does it consist of dehumanising interactions. In fact, more and more leading companies are using AI to perform repeatable tasks or to process large amounts of data. It helps to enrich human interactions and is quickly becoming the norm for practical consumer experiences. Some examples of AI in daily life are Google Maps and GPS Insight. All the tools and technologies are already available for AIs development. So in 2018, expect to see more customized content delivery, adapted to a consumers persona and lifestyle. Plus, Artificial Intelligence does not tend to be costly. The Role of Social Media With the growing popularity of social media these days, you may tend to think that people prefer social networks to real interactions. However, social media does not limit itself to that! Today, the top companies are realising that social media actually helps to build long-term brand loyalty through communities. Social media of course does not replace human interactions. But it does help to enhance them and make them more valuable. In 2018, it is expected that those companies which decreased their live events on social networks in the past would be back on the scene. Thats because consumers are all connected in a virtual world, thus building in-person relationships more rapidly. This helps to boost up their business. Moonbingo.com is also very successful as a business as it continues to evolve in the online gaming world today. Plus, this top online site has its own social media page, where you can interact with other users. It also gives you the chance to know about the latest added games and other players experiences of the site. Live Streaming Do you love streaming videos? In 2018, it is expected to gain more momentum, especially into the business world. Customers are no longer interested in impersonal or generic marketing. They want more real connections. A video is already a most viewed content, but live video is even better! As a business tool, it is a most effective way to engage with your audience. With the growing popularity of smartphones, video is now a most digestible form of media. When a business adds live components using real people in real time, it connects with consumers in a more honest and personal way. This is what makes it different and unique. According to researches, 80% of the audience prefer live videos to blogs and 82% prefer live videos to social posts. Thus, it is expected that companies who plan to or already use live stream videos will see more growth. These are some of the top businesses that are more likely to grow in 2018. There are also other types of businesses that can develop and progress during the year. These trends definitely bring about changes in the business world. The government has set Rs 5,000 crore as the minimum net worth criteria for those looking to bid for state-owned Air India The government has set Rs 5,000 crore as the minimum net worth criteria for those looking to bid for debt-ridden Air India, a media report said. Government sources had earlier stated that the net worth criteria would be fixed at Rs 1,000 crore. However, according to The Economic Times, the government has raised the net worth criteria in order to block frivolous and dubious contenders. The minimum net worth criteria for companies or consortiums bidding for Air India has been set at Rs 5,000 crore. But to allow participation from domestic airlines many of which have negative net worth it has also been decided to allow them to bid provided they form a consortium that has a net worth of over Rs 5,000 crore, a senior government official told the newspaper. On 19 March the Business Standard reported that the Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment (CGD) had suggested that a company with a proven track record of running a successful airline be allowed to bid, even if its net worth is negative. The committee of secretaries opined that aviation as an industry often has to withstand external economic or market downturns and long periods of revenue losses or low profit margins, which can result in a negative net worth despite the airlines operating performance being strong, an official was quoted as telling the newspaper. The government is planning to execute the disinvestment process of the troubled Air India group in phases, and separate expressions of interest (EoIs) will be issued for each entity under the corporation. EoIs are likely to be issued by the end of the month. The government will kick-off the exercise with the sale of the parent airline and Air India Charters, which operates low-cost flights under the Air India Express brand. In June 2017, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its in-principle approval for the strategic divestment of Air India, which has a debt burden of over Rs 50,000 crore. The government expects to complete the privatisation of Air India this year and is planning to retain a 24 percent stake in the ailing carrier. It aims to split the airline into four different entities and hopes to sell each entity. With inputs from agencies Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 22) "Agent Carter" star Hayley Atwell has canceled her appearance at the ComicCon Asia in the Philippines, citing the "perceived 'political unrest in the country.'" The event organizers announced in a Facebook post Thursday the British-American actress who plays Agent Peggy Carter in Marvel's comic books has informed them she was "not comfortable making the trip" to the country. Carter, a prominent agent of the Strategic Scientific Reserve during and after World War II, helped U.S. Army soldier Steve Rogers become the world's first superhero Captain America. ComicCon Asia confirmed her appearance on Monday after comic book legend Stan Lee couldn't make it to the event due to health reasons. This was not the first time Atwell had canceled her visit to the Philippines. During the 2016 AsiaPOP ComicCon, she also dropped out of the event due to conflict in schedule. In a statement, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Atwells move to back out is her loss, because its wrong perception that theres political unrest in the country. Getting state governments to buy into Modicare and execute it by August, 2018, will be a huge challenge, especially in a big election year. In the 2018 Union budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced an ambitious plan to provide free health insurance to 10.74 crore poor families. The scheme, which the government claims is the worlds largest public-funded health insurance plan, will benefit some 50 crore people. The announcement raised a few questions with respect to its implementation. Interestingly, in the Budget, Jaitley did not set aside any specific amount for the roll out of the scheme, which the media referred to as Modicare. Later, the government admitted that it will need the help of the state governments to fund and execute the scheme. Almost two months after the budgetary announcement of Modicare, the Cabinet, on Wednesday night, cleared the scheme. But can India afford to provide free health insurance to 50 crore people as promised? Modicare, officially called the Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission (NHPM), is expected to be rolled out by August, 2018. Heres what we know about how Modicare will be implemented: What is Modicare? Indias Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) will implement the Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM). Dubbed Modicare, the scheme aims to provide free health insurance to poor families, targeting 500 million beneficiaries. By comparison, the United States Affordable Care Act (ACA), rolled out in 2010 and dubbed Obamacare, targeted 50 million people. How does it benefit the poor? The AB-NHPM will provide a benefit cover of Rs five lakh per family per year. This cover will take care of almost all secondary care and most tertiary care procedures. There is no cap on family size and age in the scheme, ensuring that nobody is left out. The insurance scheme also covers include pre and post-hospitalisation expenses. All pre-existing conditions will be covered from day one. Furthermore, beneficiaries will also be paid a defined transport allowance per hospitalisation. Is this a first for India? The subcontinent, the worlds second-most populous nation, has never implemented a very large, free nation-wide health insurance programme. Relatively smaller centrally sponsored and state-sponsored schemes do exist. The AB-NHPM, when it kicks-in, will subsume two on-going centrally sponsored schemes, the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS). RSBY was launched in 2008 by the Ministry of Labour and Employment and provides cashless health insurance, with a benefit coverage of Rs 30,000 per annum on a family floater basis [for five members], for below poverty line (BPL) families, and 11 other defined categories of unorganised workers. Whos footing the bill? Both the Centre and the various state governments will. The programme will require an estimated Rs 10,000 crore for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 financial years. Expenditure incurred in premium payment will be shared between the Centre and the states, as per guidelines specified by the Ministry of Finance. Total expenditure will depend on the actual market determined premium paid in the states and union territories where the NHPM will be implemented through insurance companies. On the contrary, the central share of funds will be provided based on actual expenditure or premium ceiling (whichever is lower) in the pre-determined ratio in states and union territories where the scheme will be implemented via a trust or a society. How will Modicare be implemented? At the national level, New Delhi will put in place an Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission Agency (AB-NHPMA). States and union territories will be asked to setup a dedicated State Health Agency (SHA) for the NHPM. They can use an existing trust, society, not-for-profit company, or state nodal agency (SNA), or set up an entirely new entity to implement the scheme. States and union territories can also implement the scheme through an insurance company, or directly through the trust or society, or adopt an integrated model. Funds from the central government will be transferred directly to the SHA via an escrow account. State governments have to contribute a matching share of grants within a defined time frame. Where will it be implemented? Beneficiaries can avail benefits at public hospitals and at private facilities empanelled to do so. All public hospitals in the states implementing Modicare will be deemed empanelled for the scheme. Hospitals run by the Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) may also be empanelled based on their bed occupancy ratio. As for private hospitals, they will be empanelled online based on defined criteria, which is unavailable at the moment. Whats next? The government will now have to set up an Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission Council (AB-NHPMC) at the apex level, chaired by the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister. It will have to create the Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission Governing Board (AB-NHPMGB). Thereafter, once floated, the AB-NHPMA, headed by a full-time CEO of the level of Secretary/ Additional Secretary to the Government of India, will manage the NHPM. The government hopes to appoint a CEO in April. Hospital empanelment is expected to be completed by end-June. What are the challenges? Getting all the state governments to buy into Modicare, and execute it by the end of July will be a huge challenge, especially in a big election year. After Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya, the Congress-ruled Karnataka will go to the polls in the first-half of this calendar year, followed by the BJP-ruled states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh (MP), Rajasthan, and finally Mizoram. That apart, the government too will jump into election-mode very soon, ahead of general elections in early 2019. With inputs from agencies The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday filed a case against Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd (DCHL), its chairman T Venkattram Reddy in a Rs 30.54 crore fraud case, news agency ANI reported. The CBI has also made some officials of CARE Rating Agency and United India Insurance Company as accused in the case. In July last year, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Hyderabad had appointed an insolvency resolution professional (IRP) while hearing a plea filed by the Canara Bank which claims DCHL owes it more than Rs 723 crore. At that time the NCLT had also put a moratorium on liquidation of the company. CORRECTION: CBI files a case against Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd, its chairman T Venkattram Reddy, CARE Rating Agency and officials of United India Insurance Company Ltd for a fraud worth Rs 30.54 crore. ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018 In February 2015, the CBI had arrested T Venkatram Reddy, the chairman of the Hyderabad-based English daily Deccan Chronicle in connection with alleged default of Rs 357 crore loan from Canara Bank. Back then CBI sources had said the arrest was in connection with a case registered by it against the company Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited in July 2013 on the basis of a complaint from Canara Bank, Bangalore, according to PTI. In 2013, the agency had registered a case of alleged cheating and criminal conspiracy against Venkatram Reddy. The Bank had refused to restructure the loan taken by the company that had remained unpaid. In 2015, Reddy was taken into custody by a CBI team from Bangalore after a brief questioning, PTI had quoted sources as saying. Back then, vice-chairman and managing director of the company T Vinayak Ravi Reddy was also arrested, the news agency had quoted CBI sources as saying. The Deccan Chronicle has a loan of more than Rs 4,000 crore to be paid back to a group of banks. In February 2018, The Times of India reported the interim insolvency resolution professional (IRP), KK Rao, invited Expression of Interest (EoI) from prospective investors/consortium of investors to submit their resolution plans before 15 February, 2018. ED has conducted 247 searches at various locations in country, total assets amounting to Rs 7,638 crore have been seized in the case. New Delhi: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is analysing 120 shell companies in connection with the Punjab National Bank fraud allegedly committed by jewellery designer Nirav Modi, the government said on Friday. The state-owned PNB has been defrauded of over $2 billion by fraudulent use of Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) allegedly by Nirav Modi and his associates. "As per inputs received from the Directorate of Enforcement, analysis of 120 shell companies in India in the case of PNB fraud is being done," Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. The bank, he added has stated that the matter is under under investigation and "it will not be in public interest" to share details along with the names of the companies as the same may hamper ongoing probe. In another reply, the minister said the ED has filed two cases against Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and conducted 247 searches at various locations in the country. He further said that total assets amounting to Rs 7,638 crore have been seized/attached till February end. The SC directed maintenance of status quo on sale of assets of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communication to Reliance Jio on a plea of a banks' consortium New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed maintenance of status quo on the sale of assets of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communication to Reliance Jio on a plea of a banks' consortium challenging a stay order of a tribunal. The top court refused to lift the stay ordered by the arbitral tribunal and set aside the 8 March order of Bombay High Court by which R-Com's petition was dismissed. A bench of Justices Adarsh Goel, UU Lalit and RF Nariman said "the parties are at liberty to file any affidavits/written submissions on or before 28 March, 2018. In the meanwhile, status quo be maintained by the parties". The apex court directed the listing of the matter for final hearing on 5 April. During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for joint lenders forum led by State Bank of India, said they were secured lenders and their claim took precedence over others parties including the unsecured creditors. He said the value of properties would deteriorate gradually and if the tribunal's stay was not vacated and the subsequent high court order not set aside, they would be at a loss. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for R-Com, said Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson, which had first approached the tribunal that restrained the sale, was an unsecured operational creditor and much lower in priority of getting the money. He said the claims of secured financial lenders stood higher on priority as compared to Ericsson and the sale of assets was being undertaken in pursuance of the decisions of the secured financial lenders. When the bench asked Rohatgi what was the nature of order passed by the tribunal, he replied that it was an injunction order by which sale of assets cannot proceed. Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for Ericsson, said if the stay order was vacated, the company would remain remedy-less and may not get its dues back. The bench said it will hear the matter at length and asked all parties to maintain status quo till further orders. The State Bank of India had recently moved the apex court challenging a tribunal's order which was upheld by the high court, allowing Ericsson to stake a claim on R-Com's consolidated assets. SBI has said it had total dues worth Rs 4,027 crore against R-Com Consolidated and asserted that unsecured creditor cannot make claims over secured creditors. Apart from SBI, 24 other Indian lenders constitute the Joint Lenders Fora, which includes BoB, BoI, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, PNB, IDBI Bank, UCO Bank, IOB, Dena Bank, Corporation Bank, Union Bank, United Bank, LIC and Barclays Bank. The Anil Ambani led R-Com owes Indian lenders total of Rs 42,000 crore and its consolidated assets include Reliance Communications, Reliance Infratel and Reliance Telecom. The sale was initiated through a bidding of RCom Consolidated's assets and Reliance Jio had agreed to buy spectrum, cell towers and other infrastructure, including 1.78 lakh km of fibre optics line for Rs 17,300 crore. R-Com assets' sale to Reliance Jio was likely to be completed by 31 March. However, Ericsson moved the arbitral tribunal and sought to restrain the sale of RCom Consolidated's assets on the ground that it had a claim of Rs 1,150 crore on the debt-ridden private telecom firm and would suffer an irretrievable injury. On 5 March, the tribunal gave an order in favour of Ericsson and restrained the sale of R-Com assets. On 8 March, the high court dismissed RCom's appeal against the tribunal order. (Disclosure - Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd) The maiden Air India direct flight to Tel Aviv from New Delhi arrived in Tel Aviv on Thursday, heralding a new chapter in India-Israel ties and ending a decades-old overflight ban by Saudi Arabia Tel Aviv: The maiden Air India direct flight to Tel Aviv from New Delhi arrived in Tel Aviv on Thursday, heralding a new chapter in India-Israel ties and ending a decades-old overflight ban by Saudi Arabia. Flight AI 139 landed at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport at 2215 (Israeli time). "This is really a historical moment...We are in a new era. I am sure that we will see many more Indian tourists coming to Israel...and Israelis would also come to India in much higher numbers," Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin told PTI. He said such a direct link would further strengthen the relationship between the two nations. Saudi Arabia's decision to permit Air India to use its airspace has enabled the airline to take a shorter route. It will cover the distance in 7.15 hours, 2.10 hours less than the time taken by the only other airline that flies between the two countriesIsrael's national carrier El Al. Many Arab and Islamic nations do not recognise Israel and, therefore, do not allow airlines to use their airspace for flight services to Israel. On a query over Saudi Arabia allowing Air India to use its airspace, Levin said: "We have to very cautious. This is really a first stepa very important oneI hope with time we have more and more normal relation with our neighbour in this region...India played a very important bridge (by introducing this flight over Saudi airspace) not only between India and us, but also between Israel and other countries in this region." Terming as "historic" the moment of arrival of the national carrier's maiden flight to Tel Aviv, Indian Ambassador to Israel Pavan Kapoor said a lot of efforts had gone into it over the last two years with a strong vision and support for the initiative from the prime ministers of both the countries. He said the initiative would strengthen the relationship between the two countries in various spheres, including political, trade and cultural. Air India Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Pradeep Kharola said the Air India direct flight has the shortest route connecting New Delhi and Tel Aviv and will bring people of the two countries closer. The flight will operate every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. While the inaugural flight AI 139 left at 6 pm IST on Thursday, the scheduled departure will be 4.50 pm IST from March 25 when the summer schedule comes into operation. The state-run carrier will be operating its 256-seater Boeing 787 Dreamliner on this route. Kharola and Israel Ministry of Tourism Director Hassan Madah cut a symbolic cake to mark the start of the direct flight to Israel. Kharola had earlier said the airline anticipates interest from travellers from countries further to the east of India such as Australia. The Air India flew over Oman, Saudi Arabia and Jordan to reach Israel. The permission to fly over Saudi Arabia will save Air India almost 2 hours and 10 minutes compared to the longer route taken by Israels national carrier El Al, which has direct flights between Tel Aviv and Mumbai. El Al takes a circuitous route over the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and then enters India and avoids countries that are on the direct flight path such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha said in Bengaluru that it is clear the Karnataka government only took the decision to grant religious minority tag to the dominant Lingayat and Veerashaiva Lingayat community due to the upcoming election in the state. The Karnataka government has declared minority status to the Lingayat community in the state, ANI reported on Friday. The declaration comes days after the state Cabinet's decision on the same. Slamming the decision of the Karnataka Cabinet, the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha said in Bengaluru that it is clear the government did this only due to the upcoming election in the state. It is clear that the govt is doing this only due to the upcoming election: All India #Veerashaiva Mahasabha at Bengaluru, Karnataka pic.twitter.com/MkflohmJ1w ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018 The Mahasabha further said, "If you are really interested in the community, you should say Veerashaiva and Lingayat is one and the same. Except this, the government is saying everything else." If you are really interested in the community say #Veerashaiva and #Lingayat is one and the same. Except this, the govt is saying everything else. Don't create differences between person to person & within the community: All India #Veerashaiva Mahasabha at Bengaluru, Karnataka pic.twitter.com/gxa4qZjUzU ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018 The Mahasabha had earlier said that it would not accept the Karnataka Cabinet's decision and called it "height of injustice". In a decision fraught with political implications in poll-bound Karnataka, the state cabinet had decided to recommend to the Centre the grant of religious minority tag for the numerically strong Lingayat and Veerashaiva Lingayat community. The meeting considered the recommendations of a committee under the Karnataka State Minority Commission amid reports of a division among ministers and discordant notes from seers of the community on the issue. Law Minister TB Jayachandra had said the Karnataka State Minority Commission, based on the report of an expert committee, has recommended considering grant of recognition as a religious minority to the Lingayat and Veerashaiva Lingayats (believers of Basava Tatva (philosophy) under Section 2 (d) of the Karnataka State Minorities Act. Mahasabha president Shamanur Shivashankarappa told News18 that the state recommendation sent to the Centre clearly states that whoever follows Basava tatva or philosophy can be considered a religious minority. "We are opposing it because the Veerashaiva sect was there even before Basavanna, who founded the Lingayat religion in 12th century. We feel that we have been betrayed by the government," he added. Shivashankarappa also said, "Our feeling is that Veerashaivas and Lingayats are one. Veerashaiva Mahasabha will not accept the Cabinet decision." Clashes even broke out on 19 March between Lingayat and Veerashaiva followers in Kalaburagi. According to ANI, the clashes broke after followers from both communities gathered in the same area to voice their opinion about the issue. The Lingayat followers had come there to celebrate the state cabinet's decision, while the Veerashaiva followers had come to the same area to protest against the decision, following which a scuffle began. With inputs from agencies Police have registered a case against Jouhar Munavvir, an assistant professor at Farook Training College in Kerala for allegedly making sexist and derogatory remarks against female students The Kerala Police has registered a case against Jouhar Munavvir, an assistant professor at Farook Training College in Kerala for allegedly making sexist and derogatory remarks against female students. Based on a complaint from a student of the college, a case was filed against Munavvir under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, police said. #BREAKING Case registered against Jouhar Munavvir, a teacher of Farook Training College for allegedly making sexist &derogatory remarks against female students. He had compared women's chest to watermelon & said that they're not wearing purdah properly & not covering their chests pic.twitter.com/ItXgXIK8Xa News18 (@CNNnews18) March 23, 2018 Munavvir had reportedly gone on leave after his comments created an outrage among the students. A clip of Munavvir's speech had gone viral, in which he could be heard saying, "I am a teacher of a college where 80 percent of the students are girls and of that, the majority are Muslims. These girls are not wearing dresses as per the religious tradition. They are not covering their chests with hijab. But showing part of it is like a slice of red watermelon being displayed," as reported by Deccan Chronicle. His comments on the outfits of Muslim girl students drew a sharp reaction, as students took out a 'watermelon march' and demanded action against the professor. Female students of Farook Training College took out protests to the main gate of the institution under the banner of Students Federation of India. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), RSS' student wing, smashed watermelons in front of the college. CA Jawahar, principal of the college, had sought to distance the institution from the controversy created by the professor's comments. The principal had said that Munavvir made the statements during a speech delivered at a counselling session, and not within the college. "The speech is from three months ago that the teacher made elsewhere and not on our campus. So, we have no responsibility in that. He regularly holds talks and motivational speeches for families on holidays. No student has raised a complaint against him, so we are not in a position to take any action against him," the principal had told The News Minute. With inputs from PTI Such miscarriages of justice run the entire gamut of the criminal justice system in India. Be it the police, investigators, advocates, media, even the judiciary the weak and powerless find the system stacked against them. On 21 March, the Bombay High Court ordered the immediate release of advocate Rizwan Siddiqui, who was arrested last week for illegal possession of the call detail records (CDRs) of Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui's wife. The court said that his detention was "unlawful", "high-handed", and in "clear contravention of the law". It also directed the state's home department to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the police officers concerned. Consider also the Ryan International School murder case. In the initial media frenzy, the Haryana Police wasted no time in arresting and claiming a "confession" from the school bus conductor, Ashok Kumar. The Gurgaon District and Sohna Bar Associations passed resolutions refusing to defend him. Kumar was demonised as a barbaric murderer, a paedophile. It needed the CBI to dig out the truth and arrest a Class XI student of the same school. Kumar was released, but his reputation was murdered. Then there is the Arushi Talwar murder case, India's 'Bermuda Triangle', a deeply-unsettling mystery that has become drawing room gossip. After the Honble Allahabad High Court's acquittal of the Talwar couple in October 2017, the Supreme Court admitted an appeal against the verdict. Making scathing remarks against CBI judge Shyam Lal, the Allahabad High Court judgment said, "The learned trial judge has prejudged things in his own fashion, drawn conclusion by embarking on erroneous analogy conjecturing to the brim on apparent facts telling a different story propelled by vitriolic reasoning, ....the trial judge was unmindful of the basic tenets of law." Such miscarriages of justice run the entire gamut of the criminal justice system in India. Be it the police, investigators, advocates, media, even the judiciary the weak and powerless find the system stacked against them. Filing an FIR is a struggle; the recent Mohammad Harris Nalapad case in Bengaluru being a case in point. Chargesheets are almost never filed within the stipulated 60-day period. Evidence is often tampered with, either deliberately or through callousness. Remember how everyone freely walked around the scene of crime where Gauri Lankesh was shot dead? It is no coincidence that most acquittals occur due to lack of evidence. The judiciary too is losing credibility. Public memories are short, the media circus even shorter; by the time the acquittal occurs (if at all it does, assuming the accused actually manages to find a good lawyer), years have passed, and an innocent person's life, and reputation are ruined. This brings us to the question of accountability and credibility of criminal justice delivery system in India. Rebecca Mammen John, senior advocate who represented the Talwars, shares her thoughts on the criminal justice delivery system in India. What ails the criminal justice delivery system in India? There needs to be a serious understanding of how badly the justice delivery system works in our country, for people who prosecute or defend. Victims of crimes who are prosecuted don't get justice fast enough, if at all. While people implicated in cases or facing trial have the constitutional right to defend themselves; those rights are routinely negated. Nobody talks about a rape case in Jharkhand or the rape and murder of a child in Chhattisgarh. Where has the judiciary failed? People look up to the judiciary as the last bastion which corrects the wrongs of the executive and legislature. To a great extent, the judiciary has acted as a vanguard. But the biggest area where it has failed is the criminal justice delivery system. We must be sensitive to the rights of human beings, we forget that even people accused of brutal crimes have rights which must be upheld. Irrespective of the case, due process must always be followed. I think the judiciary doesn't follow due process in many cases. The report of the Death Penalty Clinic at the National Law University in Delhi, headed by Anup Surendranath, analysed people who have been sentenced to death. The analysis showed that inevitably these are people who have not been represented or been represented very poorly; people with little or no means to defend themselves, and therefore they become victims of the system. I think the system is unfairly skewed; a large majority of the Indian population is poor and underprivileged and don't have access to justice. There are so many cases where the quality of legal representation people receive is pitiable. What is the role of civil society in criminal justice delivery? Soon after the Mathura rape case verdict of the Honble Supreme Court, letters were written by four professors of Delhi University, spearheaded by professor Upendra Baxi. They challenged the rationale of the acquittal of the two policemen who were accused of raping a tribal woman inside a police station. The rationale was that she didn't resist or scream. The professors wrote that submission is not consent; she was in a custodial situation. They said "your lordships spent months deciding the Keshavananda Bharathi case over the right to property, but when it came to the constitutional right of this woman, you took so little time and ruled in such an insensitive manner". This open letter is of great jurisprudential value because it attempted to fix accountability and was the first time open conversations with the judiciary began. Nothing came out of it in the case. Subsequently, there was a massive public outcry, and in 1983, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) was amended to address custodial rape situations. Are investigating agencies working effectively enough? Investigation agencies in the country are given too long a rope by everybody, including the media and the judiciary. If there is irrevocable evidence that I have not committed the crime, why should I face trial? I have seen this case after case, they probably pick up the right person but don't collect evidence properly and are lethargic in the way they prosecute. Ultimately, there is nothing in the case and the accused are let off. Even people who are arrested and prosecuted on valid grounds get acquitted due to sloppy investigation. So instead of being neutral, courts tend to fill up the gaps that the prosecution has created. That's dangerous; we don't want courts that act as a super prosecutor, that's not their job. How do you fix accountability of the judiciary and agencies involved? There must be a compulsory departmental enquiry, particularly where acquittals happen and judgments are passed challenging the findings of the investigating team, either on grounds that somebody was framed or some evidence was fabricated. That departmental enquiry report and action taken report must be placed before the court that passed the judgment. I think judicial orders must be accompanied by a further direction that there must be departmental enquiries against officers who have failed in recording proper evidence. Courts must call for records periodically seeking action against these officers. I also believe that the police force, CBI, NIA, etc must take such a verdict passed in the right spirit. Institutions close ranks, and huddle into a cozy club-like atmosphere. There's too much ego, after all you are the State, and there is no personal angst. What's your take on reports of delays in producing evidence? In the 2005 Diwali blast case, I defended one of the accused, Mohammed Rafiq Shah. There were four others involved. Shah was acquitted in 2016 after being in uninterrupted custody for 12 years. He was a college student when he was taken into custody; I saw him aging. The allegation against him was that he had physically planted a bomb in a bus near Sarojini Nagar. The Delhi Police's special cell had a very specific case that Shah had come from Kashmir to Delhi, was physically present on the day and at the time the explosion took place, and planted the bomb himself. From the time he was taken into custody, he shouted hoarse that he was in class at that time, the chargesheet filed mentions of this. In 2006, we sent a letter to Kashmir University to verify this and present it before the court. But it was never produced in court. We then summoned the record in defence and categorically proved that at the time and on the day when the bomb went off in Delhi, the boy was in class. Finally, based on this proof, the court let him off, but what is the point? Who will compensate him for the 12 years he spent in jail for a crime he did not commit? It is such a dehumanising experience. There's also inordinate delays in forensic labs sending reports. Doesn't it affect the process? Forensic labs in our country are limited and terribly overworked. Forensic reports have to be given instantly. Reports of viscera sent for examination don't come out for eight months. The Malkhanas look like a garbage dump. While it's fashionable to blame the police, their hands are also tied. If reports trickle at this pace, how do they put the chargesheet together? Look at it outside the prism of the metros, in the smaller towns. There is a monumental incompetence across the board and a complete breakdown of the system. But to say something is horribly wrong with our judiciary is not fair; they work with constraints of a system which doesn't allow them to do much. They are terribly understaffed, the ratio between the number of cases and the number of judges we have is skewed. It is humanly impossible for any judge to finish the cases on his roster. There are also knee-jerk reactions: One incident happens, institutional response creates fast-track cases. They pull out a judge from the general pool to put him there and don't appoint new judges. Judges in the general pool have to deal with additional baggage. What corrective measures would you suggest? The Delhi High Court looks into judgments and it does affect the ACRs of judges. Court proceedings should be made public. If people were to see these bulldozing prosecutors, absolute misbehaviour of defence counsels particularly in rape cases, the lack of intervention by the judges and his biases if these become public knowledge, there will be more attempts to straighten it out. We have forgotten the basic tenets of criminal jurisprudence, the presumption of innocence. We have lost compassion. The Delhi HC's decision provides a big boost to AAP's dwindling political fortunes. It couldn't have come at a better time for Arvind Kejriwal. The Delhi High Court has set aside the Election Commission's order on disqualification of 20 MLAs of the Aam Aaadmi Party (AAP) in an office of profit case. The court has now transferred the matter to the EC, allowing the AAP MLAs a chance to present their side through an oral hearing. In a scathing remark, the high court cited three reasons for its order: Violation of oral hearing norms by the EC and denial (of opportunity) to AAP MLAs to present their case. Failure of the EC to inform AAP MLAs (parties in the case) that Om Prakash Rawat (Chief Election Commissioner of India) after recusing himself from the case, has rejoined the proceedings. Violation of natural justice. Now the EC will have to restart the hearing proceedings. This shows the EC and the current BJP government in bad light. The Opposition has already been critical of the EC's actions before the announcement of the Gujarat Assembly polls. This gives a shot in the arm to the anti-government brigade, which has been blaming the Narendra Modi government for belittling the institutions and interfering in their functioning. This decision also provides a big boost to AAP's dwindling fortunes and couldn't have come at a better time. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has been facing flak from Kumar Vishwas' supporters over the alleged sale of Raja Sabha tickets. The AAP, meanwhile, has also been facing a rebellion in Punjab over Kejriwal's apology to Bikram Singh Majithia, who he had described as a 'drug lord' during the Assembly elections. The chief minister's unconditional apology to Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari added fuel to the fire, with even some of Kejriwal's staunchest supporters accusing him of going back on his fight against corruption. Social media ridiculed him to the hilt, with #KejriwalMangeMaafi trending on twitter. The order provides a relief to AAP in Delhi. Bypolls would have meant its tally reducing significantly, going by the trends of last year's MCD elections. The ruling party's brute majority in Delhi stays put for now. It also thwarts alleged BJP attempts at toppling Kejriwal's government with help of disgruntled elements like Vishwas and Kapil Mishra. BJP's tally in Delhi stays at a minuscule three seats. Congress Delhi chief Ajay Maken's dream of opening the party's account in the Delhi Assembly also gets a big jolt. The EC, now being asked to hear the AAP MLAs' side, means that the MLAs in all likelihood will complete their term, going by the fact that it took three years to complete a full cycle of investigation and court trial. Kejriwal thrives on the politics of confrontation and is an expert at playing the victim card to the hilt. BJP, through its actions again and again the arrest of AAP MLAs, constant tussle with L-G, the office of profit case is exposing itself. It clearly shows that the Modi-Amit Shah jodi (duo) has not been able to forget the humiliating loss served to them in Delhi in 2015 and has not forgiven Kejriwal for stopping BJP's juggernaut. They want to get back at him, but he keeps on slipping from their hands. This desperation, however, will not do the BJP any good in Delhi. They should leave him alone. Every time it seems like Kejriwal's euphoria is over, the BJP provides him with a helping hand. Kejriwal will now accuse the saffron party of trying to destabilise his government. AAP will again bring in the office of profit issue onto the national debate. How is it that some BJP-ruled states appoint Parliament secretaries and get away with it, but AAP can't? How come former Delhi chief minister Shiela Dixit got away with appointing these secretaries with retrospective effect, but it becomes an issue when AAP does it? It will give a chance again to AAP to tell the people of Delhi that both Congress and BJP are hand in glove, and are disrespecting people's mandate through these misdeeds. Kejriwal will be successful in invoking the sympathy factor and may get a few seats in the Delhi Lok Sabha. While this order is definitely a big boon for AAP and Kejriwal, he should not lose focus and should start to regain some of the lost ground by working for people of Delhi and making it a model state. He should also focus now on the national elections in 2019 and chose either the agrarian distress or unemployment issue. He should try to galvanise these voters. Currently, these groups lack national level leadership in order for their voice to be heard. Kejriwal is smiling again, this order drives away attention from the apology fiasco and provides him with a chance to get the glory of 'aam aadmi' back again. But the question is, will he grab it? The author is a former corporate and investment banker who is now following his passion for politics and elections. He is cofounder of LoudST and tweets @politicalbaaba Students and teachers of Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers'Association (JNUTU) on Friday took out a protest march to Parliament Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students and JNU Teachers' Association (JNUTA) marched from the university campus to Parliament to protest against the privatisation of education, compulsory attendance and to demand the arrest of professor Atul Johri, among other issues. Delhi: JNU Teachers' Association (JNUTU) and students of JNU march from University campus to Parliament to register their protest against privatisation of education, demanding suspension of Prof #AtulJohri and other issues. pic.twitter.com/qFW0VgGFQZ ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018 However, the protest was halted by Delhi Police, who also used water cannons and detained the protesters, ANI reported. According to Times Now, the police officials stopped the march near INA market in South Delhi, triggering clashes. The students and teachers were also demanding the suspension of Professor Atul Johri, who is accused of sexually harassing several students, according to India Today. Johri, who was arrested on Tuesday, was later released on bail. The arrest was made after incessant protests by various student bodies after cases of sexual harassment against him came to light. On Monday, the students had clashed with the Delhi Police in front of Vasant Kunj police station. Protesting students had blocked the highway, breached police barricades, and refused to attend classes until action is taken against Johri. The other demands include immediate withdrawal of notifications replacing chairpersons who were opposed to implementing compulsory attendance. The withdrawal of the executive council decision on constitution of a committee to take action against individual teachers is also a demand, JNUTA president Sonajharia Minz said. The JNUTA had earlier launched a three-day 'Satyagraha' inside the campus to raise these demands. With inputs from agencies Manila (CNN Philippines Life) This year, the theme for International Womens Day is #PressForProgress, a reminder to maintain the momentum of social movements and global activism that are striving for equality. Yet as more and more voices add to the discussion, those in the margins can be pushed even farther out of the conversation, their voices struggling to be heard. Among the most vulnerable are transgender women, who face a multitude of risks specific to their experiences, from sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression (SOGIE)-based discrimination to sexual harassment and violence. Many of these risks can be minimized with the proper implementation of laws like an anti-discrimination law and a gender recognition law, yet both see little to no progress at all in the Philippines, where traditional, conservative values still reign, and awareness of SOGIE is scarce. Then theres media representation, which perpetuates ideologies and shapes the way we view and think about people. Transgender women have gained a slight increase in representation in both local and international media in recent years, with Caitlyn Jenner and Angie Mead King coming forward to share their journeys. There has also been an uptick in mainstream T.V. shows and movies featuring transgender characters played by transgender actors. And though this is cause for celebration, theres also concern over the lack of nuance in the type of trans woman welcomed to the screen. In celebration of International Womens Day, CNN Philippines Life sheds light on the struggles faced by Filipino transgender women by inviting a few members of the transgender community for a roundtable discussion. On the panel are academic, activist, and International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association (ILGA) Global Trans Secretariat co-chair Dr. Mikee Inton, LGBTQ health advocate and Islands of Southeast Asia Network on Male and Transgender Sexual Health (ISEAN) Secretariat Regional Program Manager Raine Cortes, PR director Janlee Dungca, and actress Mimi Juareza. Below are edited excerpts of the discussion. "I think as much as transgender people are fighting for their rights, we also need to educate the public. It needs to be two way," says Janlee Dungca. "If other people, especially non-LGBT, non-transgender people, are not educated about transgenderism or the transgender phenomenon, we wont progress." Photo by JAKE VERZOSA What is the status of transgender women in the Philippines today? Janlee Dungca: There has been a huge increase in visibility and representation within and outside the transgender community, but I think it's still very superficial. Its still on the surface. What people see now is still very glossy. Figures like Caitlyn Jenner, or locally, Geraldine Roman or Angie King, these are women in positions of privilege. But what most people don't see or aren't aware of are transgender women who lead normal lives. And transgender women have different profiles, have different characters and personalities. Not everyone is like Caitlyn or Geraldine or Angie. So we still need people to know that we differ as much as cisgender people differ in terms of personalities and backgrounds and we're not limited to a certain profile. Raine Cortes: I cannot say that we're fully accepted or recognized because we do not have laws that are protecting our rights as transgender women. And at a level, we are tolerated because there are no laws that criminalize being transgender people ... Yes, that's true, we're becoming more visible, but in the level of being recognized by the state, there's still a difficulty in challenging that. Mikee Inton: I want to pick up from where Raine was getting off on law and legislation kasi while there is no law penalizing homosexuality and transgenderism or anything, the law also does not help trans women. The way the law is structured, the way society is structured, it makes it very difficult for trans women to live their lives. To live our lives. I think I really wanna stress the importance of passing legislation that makes it easier for trans women to exist in society. They have to have access to education, to have access to public spaces, to have opportunities that are afforded to other people. We're not asking for anything special, we're not asking for new laws to be brought up just for us. It's for everyone. We're asking to be treated the same way the law and society treats other people. Aside from the anti-discrimination law, what are other laws that are important for transgender people? Mikee Inton: I think primarily, the law that we need is a gender recognition law, aside from anti-discrimination. Because we're going around different countries, and even locally, we're going around with IDs that don't match our identities, with passports that don't match who we are. And sometimes, when you take your driver's license photo, they ask you to tie your hair back, they ask you to remove your eyebrows. And I'm like, The point of an ID photo is to identify you. I don't go around with no eyebrows. So you're not gonna recognize me from my photo. I guess I really want to stress the key importance of a legal gender recognition law that will enable trans people to define who they are on paper. Maraming different kinds of structures yan. There's a lot of models for that. There's the Argentinian model, which is probably the most progressive one, where there is no requirement that you present a psychologist's note saying that you have gender identity disorder, and there's no requirement for surgery. So I think that's the best kind of model. It's a model based on self-identification. I think it's the most empowering form of legal gender recognition. Raine Cortes: We need to remember that most anti-discrimination ordinances or bills are not specifically protecting people of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (SOGIE). ...For example, in the Philippines, if we want to target protection for specific key populations such as transgender women, I would really strongly support the passing of a legal gender recognition law. And we have actually neighboring countries as well Southeast Asia who already have similar laws. As mentioned by Mikee, there are different situations and criteria for each of these countries for you to be able to actually change your legal documents into the gender identity that you prefer. But I think regardless of this criteria, I think it's one step [forward] if other countries are already doing it. "While there is no law penalizing homosexuality and transgenderism or anything, the law also does not help trans women. The way the law is structured, the way society is structured, it makes it very difficult for trans women to live their lives. To live our lives." - Dr. Mikee Inton. Photo by JAKE VERZOSA Janlee Dungca: I'm not an expert on laws or anything legal, but I think as much as transgender people are fighting for their rights, we also need to educate the public. It needs to be two way. I'm thinking of something that will incorporate an educational system for academic institutions, public institutions, government offices, where their employees are actually aware and educated about SOGIE. We can start with SOGIE. They're well-versed on it, they know how to relate to transgender people, they know how these people feel, and how they identify. Kasi it starts there. As much as we're fighting for our rights, if other people, especially non-LGBT, non-transgender people, are not educated about transgenderism or the transgender phenomenon, we wont progress. So I want to push for something that really promotes awareness, education, and understanding. Because that's where acceptance begins. Mimi Juareza: For me naman, I will just share what happened to me when I went [abroad]. Because I have two passports, isang female atsaka male. Ginamit ko yung male passport ko. Nung nasa immigration ako, dere-deretso ako. Walang humarang sa akin. Tapos, nung umuwi ako ng Pilipinas, bumalik ako ulit. Nung pag balik ko, gamit ko na yung original passport ko kasi natakot ako [kasi] may nahuli. Ibang passport yung ginamit. Kinalbo, kinulong sa Singapore. Tapos ang nangyari, nung ginamit ko na yung totoong passport ko na male passport, saka ako na-hold sa immigration. They held me for how many hours. [Another instance was] when I went to Hong Kong for an international film festival. I had my invitation pero pag dating doon sa immigration, my red carpet was [at] 10 a.m., pero pinalabas nila ako ng 4 p.m. Tapos winala nila yung documents ko, yung invitation. Hindi ko alam kung bakit o anong reason, kung bakit nila ako hinuli even though I have my invitation. So without these laws, whether you can go to another country or whether you can even go into a restaurant or a club, it depends on the person there at the door or at the gate? So the laws will really help to just formalize everything and make everything much easier and much safer for you. Janlee Dungca: I think it's important to note that not all transgender women express as feminine. So, yes you [Dr. Mikee, Mimi] mentioned there are discrepancies in how we look in real life and in legal documents, or just in our identification and our expression. There are transgender women who are limited by resources, by rules in school, and in the workplace. So it's not about expression, it's really about identification. Not all of the people who will be reading this know what it means to be transgender. As you mentioned, transitioning itself is not the be-all-end-all of identifying as a trans person. So could you guys talk about how being a transgender woman begins with the identity? Raine Cortes: Well, the transgender identity is basically that your current gender identity [does] not match your sex assigned at birth [anymore]. So, for transgender women, it means that you were male sex assigned at birth, and now you live a life, you identify, and you see yourself as a woman. And we need to debunk the myths of being a transgender woman, that all transgender women need to undergo medical transitioning process. Other people just undergo the social level of transitioning. It's not necessary that you need to look very feminine. That's the stereotype that we need to debunk. That when you hear the word transgender, people think that you are these inappropriate words, being "transformer," or having undergone gender affirming procedures already, that you are a post-op transgender person already. That's the common connotation here in the Philippines, that you have undergone that procedure. But even though you haven't done any of those medical related procedures, as long as you know that you're a woman and you feel and you think [of] yourself as a woman, that's how you identify yourself, then that makes you as a transgender woman regardless of how your body looks like. Mimi Juareza: Especially in the Philippines, parang ang dami pa ring taong hindi nakakaalam kung ano ang ibig sabihin ng transgender. Like, may naririnig ako, isang tao, ang gusto nilang ang ibig sabihin ng transgender, isang bakla na nag-pa-opera na. Mikee Inton: Perhaps the confusion roots from the fact na, in Tagalog kasi, in Filipino, marami tayong terminologies for genderqueerness. Binabae, bakla, bayot, bantot. Tapos in 2002, biglang merong STRAP (Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines) which introduced "transgenderism" and made it more popular. So, this is a two-hour lecture so... [Everyone laughs] Ano ba talaga yung difference ng bakla at trans? If you wanted to be politically correct about it, sasabihin mo na yung bakla magkaiba sa trans. Kasi these are different universes of thought. The bakla comes from a very specific historical trajectory, from babaylan to bayot to binabae ... to bakla. Transgenderism is pathologized. It comes from psychiatric discourse. Psychology. It's a mental illness. Or it was a mental illness. Certain forms of transgenderism are still considered a mental illness. So yung paglapat nung word na transgender sa bakla, medyo complicated. If you want to be simplistic about it, pareho lang yan. Ano ba ang trans? Yung utak mo iba sa katawan mo. Ano ba ang bakla? Yung puso mo iba sa katawan mo. So both of them root from a kind of inversion where the internal, whether spiritual or intellectual, mental, is a mismatch with the body. So pareho lang yun eh. Yun nga lang, maraming uri ng trans, marami rin uri ng bakla. At maraming overlaps. "We need to debunk the myths of being a transgender woman, that all transgender women need to undergo medical transitioning process. Other people just undergo the social level of transitioning. It's not necessary that you need to look very feminine." - Raine Cortes. Photo by JAKE VERZOSA But is it offensive when someone calls you bakla? Raine Cortes: I think there's a big divide on that. [For some transgender women,] it doesn't matter if they are still being called bakla or gay because that's the culture that [we have] here in the Philippines. Even I before, when I didn't know what the word transgender was, I knew that I was very feminine, I was very female, but being called as a bakla was okay at the time. Until eventually, I learned about being transgender. So I think it depends on the person. It depends on the transgender person if she feels okay still being called bakla. Mikee Inton: But that's the thing kasi. Bakla is both a sexual orientation and a gender identity and a gender performance. When I entered STRAP in 2011, the first thing they told me was "Don't call yourself bakla. You're not bakla. Don't call your sisters bakla. They're not bakla. Bakla is a bad word." But why? Why is bakla a bad word? Parang, in banning the word bakla, you're simply affirming all the negative connotations of being bakla. And the bakla is good. Let the bakla prevail! UP Babaylan. Quote yun. So my thing is this. If you're identifying as trans, that's fine. if you're also identifying as bakla, that's also fine. And there's also space to identify as both. I identify as both. I'm trans and I'm also bakla. Bakla is the word that I grew up with. It was hurled at me as an insult, but I made peace with that and I reclaim it and I know that there is power in reclaiming that word. Janlee Dungca: I think it depends on the context, on who's saying bakla. Like, similar with Raine, prior to identifying myself as trans and being aware of the transgender identity, I was also identifying as bakla. So now that I identify as a woman, other people who are not aware of the transgender identity, when they call me bakla, I'm not offended but I don't feel comfortable. I feel more comfortable being called as a woman because I am a woman. But kunyari, my barkada, they call me bakla, that's okay because we call each other bakla all the time. It depends on the context, it depends on who's saying the term. But also, I think nga, as I mentioned earlier, it's important to know that expression is not dependent on identity. So, we have different identities but due to, as we mentioned, limitations in our resources, we will not always be able to express parallel to the identity that we have. And that's okay. Maybe not okay, but that's the case. And we have to live by it for now. So I feel especially bad for transgender women who identify as women but cannot express as women, because they're the most misunderstood. Especially, with kunyari, nanonood ako ng T.V. kasama yung mom ko. She refers to me as a woman, [pero kapag] makakakita siya ng someone sa T.V. [na] hindi siya sure kung bakla or trans, sasabihin niya agad, Bakla yan. Hindi naman siya mukhang babae. Sabi ko, Eh hindi naman ganun. Kailangan mo siyang tanungin para malaman mo kung babae ba siya, kung bakla ba siya, kung lalaki ba siya." Was it difficult to make that distinction as you were coming to terms with your identity because of how blurred the lines are between being bakla and being a trans woman? Raine Cortes: I think in my case it was not hard to distinguish between being bakla and being a trans woman. I think it's more of how other people would be using those terms. If I may add, there's also another relevant issue between trans women who identify as trans and those who identify as women. So there are people who want to be mainstream into the gender binary, that they're only [either] man or woman, and don't necessarily believe that they are women of transgender experience. Mikee Inton: Ako, I've always been bakla, I've always been trans, I've always kind of wanted to occupy those spaces in between. Like, I don't believe in the gender binary. Even my sexual orientation is not dependent on my kabaklaan. And I've always seen these in between spaces as important in terms of how we kind of try to disentangle the binary. If we're really against gender binary, then you have to make a space for that. For queerness. And I always make it a point that people know I'm trans. Kasi I'm privileged. I'm passable. Take me out anywhere and I look like a cisgender woman. And that's a privilege. Kasi you don't get harassed, no one kicks me out of the female bathroom. It's a privilege that is not afforded to many other people. But I still make it a point to tell people that I am trans because I don't want to erase that queerness in me. Because that's where I'm coming from. That's where my politics is, that's where my academic work is, that's where my activism is. It's in these spaces of queerness and claiming queerness. "Do I ask you How big are your boobs? when I first meet you? No, diba? So why would you ask me if I've undergone surgery if we've just met? Context! Kung kunyari close tayo na barkada, keri lang." - Janlee Dungca. Photo by JAKE VERZOSA Janlee Dungca: During the early stages of my transition, I used to just identify as a woman. But slowly, as I was transitioning na, as I was getting to know more about the whole transgender experience, I started reclaiming my transgender identity. Maraming stages yan eh. Na parang, sa una iisipin mo na babae ka kasi nga may binary. Subscribed ka to the binary system of gender. So babae-lalaki lang. But then, for me personally, as I was transitioning, na-realize ko na bakit ko ikakahiya ang pagiging transgender ko kung doon ako nanggaling? Ngayon, I would say mas may deeper understanding or mas may openness na ko in my part na iba-iba tayo ng experience. Maybe for other transgender people, mas nag-wo-work sa kanila yung binary system. For others hindi. It doesn't make them less. [To Mikee] You spoke about passing privilege. Is that a big issue in the trans community? Mikee Inton: Yes! Because you don't get harassed! If you look like a cisgender woman, you walk around, even if you experience the same kind of catcalling that cis women experience, but you don't get kicked out of bathrooms, you don't get kicked out of locker rooms. So yes, it is a privilege. Raine Cortes: And that privilege actually creates an internal divide within the transgender community itself. That's why there's a stereotype that trans women need to look very feminine. Janlee Dungca: So nagkakaroon ng hierarchy. Kung ikaw yung pinakamaganda, nasa taas ka. Kapag hindi ka passable, or hindi ka maganda, nasa baba ka. Mikee Inton: Eh paano pag passable pero hindi ka maganda? [Everyone laughs] Janlee Dungca: Nagkakaroon ng hierarchy based on how you look on the outside, which is so sad because transgender women have so much more to them. Raine Cortes: Kasi yung media portrayal din naman, ang minemainstream is yung passable type of transgender women. Janlee Dungca: So yung understanding of the general community is that you have to be passable in order for you to be called a transgender woman. Like my mom, may sumali ng Ms. Q & A sa It's Showtime. [Sabi niya,] Hindi siya mukhang babae, hindi siya trans. But we have to make them understand that it's not about looking feminine or expressing as feminine that makes you a transgender person. Again, it's identity. Mikee Inton: There's also an economic side to this. Yes, because obviously not all trans women can afford to transition or even take Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). Mikee Inton: Yeah, in order to pass, you need hormones, you need dresses, you need makeup, you need surgery. There's a lot of things that are at the same time a privilege of passing but also a privilege of economics. Not everyone can afford to look passable. Raine Cortes: So it's like an issue of instead of being seen as a transgender identity, you are being reduced back to an expression. That you need to express feminine rather than going back to your gender identity and really seeing you as a transgender person. "May artista sa set, tapos pag nalaman nila na may transgender tayong kasama minsan magtatanong sila in front of many people. Para bang ... di ko alam kung ano isasagot ko. Kailangan ba talaga sagutin ito? Importante ba yun? Mas tatanggapin niyo ba ako pag operada ba ako?" - Mimi Juareza. Photo by JAKE VERZOSA Janlee Dungca: And it's also dangerous for transgender women [that] because of the concept of passability, most transgender women want to be passable. So, they spend so much time, so much resources on wanting to be and to look passable, or some of them even get depressed because they dont look passable and they can't do something about it. So it becomes the end-all-and-be-all of being trans. [They might think] Okay, in order for me to become accepted, to become passable, I must look passable. But it shouldn't be the case. You should not be passable in order to be understood. It's definitely very important for media to have representations of different kinds of transgender women. Not just the Caitlyn Jenner type or the Angie Mead King type. It seems like the idea of passability is also rooted in misogyny, in that women have to look a certain way, they have to subscribe to beauty standards to be accepted by society. And sort of in line with that, have you ever felt alienated in discussions of feminism and discussions among women? Mikee Inton: Ah! I teach feminism! I think that people need to be most disabused of is the thought that there's only one kind of feminism. That it's just one big thing. It's all women, all together. It's not that. There are many many kinds of feminisms. My brand of feminism is, guess what? Queer feminism. So I look at LGBT people, I look at trans people, I look at queerness not just from a western vantage point, but also from a very local, indigenous vantage point. Are there certain kinds of feminisms that are exclusive of trans people? Yes. Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists (TERFs). Thankfully, hindi naman siya masyadong uso sa Pilipinas. At least we have that going for us. But that doesn't mean that the wider feminist movements in the Philippines are also accepting of trans women. A lot of them are quite mum about this. So we've kind of had to pull ourselves together and do the work that we want to do ourselves. We kinda have to create our own space within the feminist movement in the Philippines. Raine Cortes: That's why there's a separate trans movement, not necessarily part of the women's empowerment movement. These are two different movements that are going on ... The feminist groups here in the PH are not against, or I would say exclusionary radical feminists, compared to other feminist groups in other countries. Regarding which pronoun to use when referring to transgender people, Janlee Dungca shares: "Whenever I get asked this question, I say two two-word statements. Number one: don't assume. Because expression is not parallel to identity. So you don't base anything on the appearance. Number two: ask sensitively." Photo by JAKE VERZOSA How can people be of help to the trans community, and how can they be more respectful to transgender women? Mikee Inton: Stop asking about our private parts! Mimi Juareza: I want to ask if it's proper to ask somebody if they've ever undergone sexual reassignment? Mikee Inton: Siguro it's context eh. Kung close, yes. Mimi Juareza: Kasi in my case, I've never undergone any surgery. Tapos, for example, may artista sa set, tapos pag nalaman nila na may transgender tayong kasama minsan magtatanong sila in front of many people. Para bang ... di ko alam kung ano isasagot ko. Kailangan ba talaga sagutin ito? Importante ba yun? Mas tatanggapin niyo ba ako pag operada ba ako? Janlee Dungca: Yun dapat maintidihan ng mga tao. For most people, they randomly ask about these things kasi for them they're trivial. But it's not trivial. Do I ask you How big are your boobs? when I first meet you? No, diba? So why would you ask me if I've undergone surgery if we've just met? Context! Kung kunyari close tayo na barkada, keri lang. Mikee Inton: Also pronouns. If you're not sure what pronouns a person uses, just ask! Raine Cortes: Don't assume. As we said, people express differently. Not just because the person has long hair, is very feminine, that we automatically say "ma'am." Maybe she might not want to be called "ma'am" or "she." So it's just better to ask if you're not sure. Janlee Dungca: Or refer to the first name. Or use a general term. Raine Cortes: Remember that gender identity is self-determined. You can never determine it for somebody else. So it's better how he or she would like to self-identify, what his or her sexual orientation is. Janlee Dungca: Ako, whenever I get asked this question, I say two two-word statements. Number one: don't assume. Because expression is not parallel to identity. So you don't base anything on the appearance. Number two: ask sensitively. Outmaneuvering the Opposition Congress-NCP, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis moved a motion of confidence in the Chair, which the House passed with a voice vote. Mumbai: Outmaneuvering the Opposition Congress-NCP, which had given a notice of no-confidence against Assembly Speaker Haribhau Bagde, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday moved a motion of confidence in the Chair, which the House passed with a voice vote. The Opposition had submitted a notice of no-confidence against the Speaker on 5 March alleging that he was conducting the proceedings in a biased manner. On Friday, when the business of the House was being transacted, Fadnavis suddenly got up to speak and moved the motion of confidence in speaker. The chief minister's one-line motion said: "The Legislative Assembly expresses confidence in Speaker Haribhau Bagde." The motion was immediately seconded by Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra PWD minister (public undertakings) Eknath Shinde. Presiding officer Sudhakar Deshmukh, who was in the Chair, put the motion to vote, which was passed by a voice vote. Thereafter, the House was adjourned for 15 minutes. This sudden development left the Opposition parties stumped as they did not get a chance to speak on it. Opposition members, including Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, were present in the House. For the last two days, the Opposition members had been demanding that the notice of no-confidence be admitted and taken up for discussion in the House. Fadnavis had told the members that appropriate decision would be taken after consultations. After the House reassembled, presiding officer Subhash Sabne adjourned the House for another 15 minutes. Later, Vikhe Patil asked why the Opposition's notice was not taken up in the day's agenda when it was given on 5 March and the 14-day period to process it was over. When he began reading out the notice, Fadnavis said the no-confidence notice cannot be read. He said that on July 2006, the then chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had moved a motion that the House expresses confidence in the council of ministers. "There is a precedent for such a confidence motion and we have adhered to the rules. The Assembly proceedings are as per rules," he said. Elated member of the ruling BJP were on their feet shouting slogans of 'Vande Mataram' and 'Bharat mata ki jai' as the Chair rushed through the day's business of introduction of bills. Congress-NCP members demanded that they be allowed to speak. NCL legislator Dilip Walse Patil said he wanted to raise a point of procedure. However, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Girish Bapat said a point of procedure on an issue (no confidence), whose process had not begun should not be allowed. The BJP members were on their feet, shouting slogans, while the Opposition members remained seated requesting the Chair that they be allowed to speak. However, the Chair adjourned the House for the day. Ornit Shanis 'How India Became Democratic: Citizenship And The Making Of The Universal Franchise' tells the fascinating story of independent Indias first general election. The Indian Constitutional Law and Philosophy Blog is discussing the book in a four-part series that we're republishing here Editor's note: Ornit Shanis 'How India Became Democratic: Citizenship And The Making Of The Universal Franchise' tells the fascinating story of independent Indias first general election. The Indian Constitutional Law and Philosophy Blog is discussing the book in a four-part series that we're republishing here. In this concluding column, Ornit Shani responds to the preceding three essays. Read parts I, II and III here. *** Response to Suhrith Parthasarathy Parthasarathy presents superbly the main themes and arguments of the book about how the preparation of electoral rolls on the basis of universal franchise, ahead of the constitution, engendered struggles for citizenship, driven from below by Indians of modest means; about the tremendous administrative efforts the making of the universal franchise for the largest electorate in democratic history entailed, and the rewriting of the bureaucratic imagination it necessitated; and how the preparation of rolls on the ground informed the process of Constitution making. Parthasarathy rightly stresses the commitment to equality and to the right to vote that drove the making of universal adult franchise, not just as a constitutional vision, but also in practice, even before the constitution was finalised and came into force. Parthasarathy focuses on a case where the government of Travancore refused to register on the electoral roll Tamilians who resided in the state but were not Travancore naturalised subjects of the state. In redressing the grievance of these Tamilians against the government of Travancore, the joint secretary of the Constituent Assembly, determined that the state had to register them as voters on the grounds that the state could not legislate or set qualifications that were inconsistent with the provisions of Part III [Fundamental Rights] of the draft constitution. It was inconsistent, in this instance, with the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of a place of birth. So, in this case, a fundamental right provision was inextricably interlinked with and protected by the draft (prospective) constitutional provision (289 B, and finally article 326), which entitled every citizen of India to be registered as a voter at elections to the legislator of the State. Parthasarathy discusses this case to reflect critically on the Supreme Courts decisions and reasoning on the status of the right to vote in recent law cases (In Shyamdeo Prasad Singh v. Nawal Kishore Yadav (2000), Rajbala v. State of Haryana, (2015), and in Javed & Others v. State of Haryana & Others). Strikingly, the legal status of the right to vote has been a subject of debate for some time.[1] The court has debated whether the right to vote is a fundamental right, constitutional right, or whether it is a right created by statute. Parthasarathy argues, on the basis of his analysis of the case of the Tamilians from Travancore, and the commitment to equality at large, which drove the making of the universal franchise, that it was clear to the Constituent Assembly that the electoral process would in any event be subject to the larger guarantees in Part III, and that the fundamental rights enshrined in Part III cannot be isolated from the electoral process. I would like to make a few observations and some proposals to further strengthen Parthasarathys arguments. I will do so from both the perspective of the constitution makers intentions and their actions. I am not trained in the law, and therefore the proposals I offer below should be seen as based on my historical investigation and understanding of the actual making of the right to vote under universal franchise. 1. The Constituent Assembly Secretariat undertook the preparation of the draft electoral rolls on the basis of universal franchise, thus implementing the right to vote, from November 1947 , to ensure the holding of fresh general elections as early as possible after the new Constitution comes into force. (p. 91). They did so on the basis of the Constituent Assemblys decision, while discussing the Interim Report of the Advisory committee on the Subject of Fundamental Rights, to adopt the principle that every adult citizen shall have the right to vote. 2. Realising the idea of one women/man one vote institutionalising equality for the purpose of voting was fundamental to the building of a democratic edifice for India. The seriousness of purpose that was demonstrated in implementing this idea during the registration of Indias prospective voters, based on a deep commitment to procedural equality and on a comprehensive inclusive drive attending, for example, even to the voting rights of vagrants living in huts erected illegally was fully aligned with the fundamental constitutional vision of creating a democracy for India. It is reasonable to argue that implementing the right to vote through the preparation of rolls was the first constitutional promise to be fulfilled by the new republic. 3. During the preparation of the rolls, people grew to conceive of their voting right as a basic guarantee of the constitution. As I show in the book, a number of citizens organisations were established in order To safeguard the right of franchise as guaranteed by the new constitution (p.64). Numerous others fought for a place on the roll to ensure their citizenship and voting rights. 4. Most importantly, perhaps, as a result of the implementation of the right to vote through the preparation of rolls, especially the experience of distinct forms of attempted disenfranchisement on the ground at the state level, constitution makers agreed towards the end of the constitutional debates on a radical change (p. 185) in the election provisions. It aimed to ensure and fortify the autonomy and integrity of the election machinery, and to safeguard and give an explicit expression to the notion of universal franchise on the basis of a single joint electoral roll. The new article stipulated that the election machinery for all elections to parliament and to the legislatures of every state would be vested in a single independent central Election Commission at the centre. The implementation of the right to vote, a perennial and iterative process in a democracy, was removed from of the purview of the states, as it was originally set to be. In conclusion, constitution makers agreed in April 1947 to the suggestion of the Advisory Committee that the provisions on the right to vote should find a place in some other part of the Constitution, rather than in the part on Fundamental Rights, as was suggested by both the Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee and the Minorities Sub-Committee. I agree with Parthasarathy that this was a judgment founded on form. The Advisory Committee unanimously supported the principle of adult franchise, free and fair elections and the management of these elections by a body that is independent of the government of the day. It is true that some of its members doubted whether franchise would ordinarily be part of fundamental rights, and whether dealing with franchise broadly was within the Committees jurisdiction. But in June 1949, on the basis of the actual implementation of the right to vote, constitution makers erected a constitutional fortress safeguarding the right to vote within the constitution. The Election Commission is the guarantor, in practice, of the right to vote. As some scholars have argued, the Indian constitution moved beyond the classic separation of powers in its creation of an independent Election Commission.[2] As an autonomous edifice within the structure of the separation of power, should it not be considered part of the constitutions basic structure? Nehrus insistence, when some doubts were raised about the universal franchise, that It is one of the basic laws, according to me[3], is a footnote to these observations, which I hope strengthen Parthasarathys arguments. Response to Anupama Roy Prof Roy addresses two broad themes of the book: the making of democratic citizenship and the fashioning of a democratic political imaginary, which I suggest were driven by the preparation of electoral rolls and the contestations for citizenship that emerged in this process. Roy presents my broad arguments about these themes, and raises some important questions about each of them, and about the relations between the two. Roy asks how the big connection between a bureaucratic process [the preparation of electoral rolls] and democratic imagination could be made, and asks me to think about the idea that Indians became voters before they were citizens, and about the preparation of rolls as a state building process. The question of the connection between the bureaucratic process and the democratic imagination is very important. Three main interlinked processes, which together constituted the actual process of implementing electoral democracy, and which produced engagement with shared democratic experiences among civil servants and between people and administrators, played a role in connecting the two. These were the rewriting of the colonial bureaucratic imaginations and habits on franchise and voting rights; the way the universal franchise became a meaningful political order in which Indians would believe and to which they would become committed; and the ongoing numerous interactions between people and administrators about the preparation of the electoral rolls. The task of the administrators was to operationalise the notion of procedural equality for the purpose of electoral voting. They had to imagine a joint list of all adults in the land women and men of all castes and classes each carrying the same weight as equal voters. Designing instructions for the preparation of electoral rolls on that basis required a rewriting of the pre-existing bureaucratic colonial imagination on franchise and voting rights. This process began over four months of consultations between and among administrators at all levels throughout the country, during which they were asked to envision how the lists should be best prepared, the difficulties they might encounter and how these could be overcome. This all-India administrative exercise in guided democratic political imagination imbibed the notion of universal franchise and of procedural equality for the purpose of voting within the administrative machinery. This process deepened in the context of the intense struggles for citizenship and for a place on the roll that arose once the registration of voters began. The commitment to procedural equality that was cultivated in the process of the preparation of the electoral rolls, and that went beyond a notion of efficiency in election management, was strikingly demonstrated when the collector of Bombay, for example, took in November 1948 proactive steps to ensure the voting rights of vagrants, servants and footpath dwellers. I suggest in the book, that it would not have sufficed for a democratic vision based on adult franchise to become merely embedded in the institution of electoral democracy. The abstract principle of universal franchise also had to be embedded in the imagination of people. They had to find meaning in it, to own it, and to find a place for themselves in it. They had to make it personal. I argue that the storytelling about the preparation of rolls connected people to a popular democratic political imagination. Stories about the preparation of rolls were published in governments press notes and in the press. There was not a single pervasive popular narrative. Numerous different stories, which represented varying concerns, and fragmented reporting from across the country appeared in the press, press notes and in the correspondences between people and administrators. These disparate stories appeared in relatively regular installments. They represented different concerns related to the core plot of the preparation of the electoral rolls. This contributed to the dynamic of a serialisation of the story of making universal franchise. It was a story of a monumental historical significance, grand in scope, and therefore like an epic tale of India becoming a democracy. These stories stimulated peoples engagement with the making of the universal franchise. People began thinking about the universal franchise and to imagine their place on the roll from their personal perspective. Their correspondence with administrators about the preparation of rolls evidenced that. That people also began recognising their power in ensuring the success of the operation was illustrated when a labour union from Madras port, for example, wrote to the government that It will be a waste to the Government both financially and politically if we do not actively extend our co-operation in their attempt for reparation of electoral rolls based on Adult Franchise on which depends the fate of toiling millions (p. 119) This was in the context of their employers notification that they would not observe the days declared as public holiday by the government for the purpose of conducting the enumeration. Indeed, the success of the bureaucratic efforts were heavily contingent on the participation of people and their sense of commitment to and identification with the normative vision the universal franchise entailed. To borrow from Parthasarathys discussion, the democratic principle this vision entailed had to rest in peoples hearts, and be embedded in their minds, before any law or constitution could save it. All this informed peoples struggles in pursuit of their citizenship and voting rights on the ground in the preparation of the electoral rolls. In the context of the contestations for a place on the roll, people essentially already acted as engaged, even passionate citizens, while the constitutional citizenship provisions were still undecided and debated. Since a prospective voter had to be a citizen, the preparation of the electoral rolls at the time was the most concrete and inclusive means by which people could be Indians and feel a belonging to the new state. The first draft electoral roll on the basis of universal franchise was ready just before the commencement of the constitution. It was prepared on the basis of tremendous efforts to include all the adult population. As I state in the conclusion to my book, the all-encompassing national identity of Indians on the eve of the commencement of the constitution was that of being equal voters. The institutionalisation of procedural equality for the purpose of authorising a government in as deeply a hierarchical and unequal society as India, ahead of the enactment of the constitution turned the idea of Indias democracy into a meaningful and credible story for its people (p. 5). It is in this sense that Indians were voters before they became citizens. And their identity as such has become, and remained, very meaningful to them. It was not about the legal affirmation of being voters before citizens. In fact, formally-legally that would happen later on when the rolls would be finalised after the enactment of the election law. I therefore agree with Roy that this was not a matter of sequential development. And as Roy shows in her important book Mapping Citizenship in India (Oxford University Press, 2010), the life of legal citizenship in India has remained a contentious matter, and in some respects a thorny issue from the perspective of democracy. The preparation of the electoral rolls on the basis of universal franchise was indeed a large-scale democratic state building project. In contrast to other state building processes at the time, it was not based on state distinctions between, for example, good or bad refugees; displaced or intended evacuees. There was no distinction between good or bad voters. The principles that underlay the logic of this state building process were equality and universal inclusion. The production of a register of more than 173 million people that were bound together as equal citizens for the purpose of authorising their government rendered existent the idea of the people, even before they became We the People of India with the enactment of the constitution. It concretised, and made real the fiction that is called the people. I thank Roy for the interesting questions that she raised, and I hope that they have been successfully addressed. Response to Gautam Bhatia In his essay, Bhatia discusses the implications of the arguments in How India Became Democratic for contemporary constitutional interpretation. In doing so, he expands Parthasarathys analysis of the impact of the books themes on Indian constitutionalism. Bhatia addresses the question of how to accurately characterise the moment of constitutional creation. This question lies at the heart of various issues that came before the Supreme Court over the years, including decisions pertaining to fundamental rights. The Court has debated whether the constitution represents a moment of continuity with past colonial constitutional frameworks and therefore a stage in a constitutional evolution, or whether it was a transformative moment. The former view has prevailed in Indias constitutional jurisprudence. This, Bhatia argues, has a direct impact upon modern-day constitutional interpretation, and clearly an adverse one, in his view. Bhatia shows how the view of the transfer of power as incremental and evolutionary enabled the court on various occasions to uphold colonial law, endorse colonial practices and to maintain a restrictive interpretation on fundamental rights. Paradoxically, on the basis of a rather teleological understanding of the moment of the creation of Indias democracy as a stage in a process of evolution, the court sometimes reinstated autocratic forms of colonial rule. Bhatia argues that the moment of constitution creation was transformative. And that the transformation in the constitutional structure will inevitably affect the overlying substantive legal regime, even though, at the surface, the text of the laws might remain the same. It is not, then, simply the letter of the law, but the meaning with which it is imbued in the particular context of that transformation. This is a fascinating argument. Bhatia suggests three ways in which universal franchise marked a transformation that was not simply a question of degree, but of the very nature of the political society: the leap in the size of the new electorate; its nature unlike under all the colonial constitutional frameworks the individual was prior to the group; and its character as universal. To add a footnote to Bhatias point about the scale of the transformation in the character of the electorate, the franchise provisions in the Government of India Act, 1935 (Sixth Schedule), contained so many qualifications for being a voter for a divided and restricted electorate that this was sub-divided into 12 parts spread over 51 pages. Underlying his analysis, Bhatia picks up what to me is perhaps among the most, if not the most, revolutionary aspects of the moment of rupture from colonial rule and constitutional frameworks that the making of the universal franchise wrought (and which I already mentioned in my response to Roy): The institutionalisation of procedural equality for the purpose of authorising a government in as deeply a hierarchical and unequal society as India, ahead of the enactment of the constitution turned the idea of Indias democracy into a meaningful and credible story for its people (p. 5). I would like to attempt a small contribution to Bhatias arguments about the ways the making of the universal franchise marked a transformative constitutional moment. I will do so by thinking about the constitution creation moment as a process. I will dwell here further on some of the points I made in more detail in my response to Parthasarathy. The transformative nature of the making of the universal franchise also lay in the bold effort of undertaking it in anticipation of the drawing up of the constitution. The preparatory work started from November 1947. This was an extraordinary display of confidence in the fundamental principle of equality for the purpose of voting, and in the universality of the franchise, which marked the biggest rupture from colonial rule and its system of representation without democracy. Taking this leap resulted in a far more fundamental constitutional transformation. As I suggested in discussing the status of the right to vote, the experience of preparation of the electoral rolls on the basis of universal franchise, particularly the realisation of attempted disenfranchisement on the ground must be overcome, drove a radical change in the constitutional provisions for elections and their management. The new provisions, which set up an independent central election commission, was meant to supersede states rights over the universality of the franchise, and to create an institution that would protect citizens right to vote. This roundtable and the questions raised by Bhatia suggest that a closer history of other constitutional provisions might throw more light on the question of how to accurately characterise the moment of constitutional creation. [1] Also see Aditya Sondhi, Elections, in Sujit Choudhry, Madhav Khosla, and Pratap Bhanu Mehta (eds), The Oxford Handbook of The Indian Constitution, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016, pp. 196-200. [2] See Bruce Ackerman, The New Separation of Powers, Harvard Law Review 113, no. 3, 2000, pp. 715 16; Madhav Khosla, The Indian Constitution, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2012, pp. 38 43. [3] H V Iengar, Oral History Transcript, p. 146, Nehru Memorial Museum Library. This post originally appeared on ICLP and is reproduced here with due permission. The Delhi High Court has granted bail to Karti Chidambaram, son of senior Congress leader P Chidamabaram, in the INX Media corruption case. The Delhi High Court granted bail to Karti Chidambaram, son of senior Congress leader P Chidamabaram, in the INX Media corruption case on Friday. According to reports, Karti has to furnish a bail bond of Rs 10 lakh. #BREAKING -- Karti Chidambaram granted bail in the INX media case. Karti gets bail on Rs 10 lakh surety. He cannot leave the country and he cannot close any of his bank accounts | @SubhajitSG with more details #BailForKarti pic.twitter.com/Rn3M63yX5Z News18 (@CNNnews18) March 23, 2018 The order was delivered by Justice SP Garg who had reserved his verdict on 16 March after hearing arguments on behalf of Karti and the CBI, which had opposed grant of the relief to him. The Central Bureau of Investigation contended that Karti should not be granted bail, as he has already destroyed evidence in the case and was an "influential" person. Karti's counsel had argued that no case under the Prevention of Corruption Act was made out against him since the CBI had neither questioned any public servant, nor made them accused in the matter. Karti's lawyers had denied allegations of tampering with evidence, and added that when the CBI itself hadn't sought his custodial interrogation, why should he be kept in judicial custody. They also said that no one else has been arrested in the case and what the CBI has done is to put Karti behind bars. Karti's lawyers further claimed that the CBI was trying to connect him with a private company, Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt Ltd, which had received an alleged bribe amount of Rs 10 lakh, when he was in no way related to it. Karti was arrested from Chennai on 28 February by the CBI on his return from the United Kingdom in connection with an FIR lodged on 15 May last year, alleging irregularities in a Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance given to INX Media for receiving funds of about Rs 305 crore from overseas in 2007 when his father was the Union finance minister. The CBI had initially alleged that Karti received Rs 10 lakh as a bribe for facilitating the FIPB clearance to INX Media. It had later revised the figure to $1 million (about Rs 6.50 crore at the current exchange rate and Rs 4.5 crore in 2007). The fresh evidence in the case, which triggered Karti's arrest, was based on a statement of Indrani Mukerjea, former director of INX Media (P) Ltd, who recorded it under Section 164 of the CrPC before a magistrate on 17 February. Indrani is currently lodged in a Mumbai prison in connection with the case of murder of her daughter Sheena Bora. With inputs from PTI A co-owner of Mumbai's Kamala Mills told the Supreme Court that he cannot be held liable for the fire tragedy that claimed 14 lives in December last year New Delhi: A co-owner of Mumbai's Kamala Mills on Friday told the Supreme Court that he cannot be held liable for the fire tragedy that claimed 14 lives in December last year. The co-owner, Ravi Surajmal Bhandari, who has filed a habeas corpus (a writ requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a court) also dubbed his arrest as "illegal detention". A bench of Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan questioned senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Bhandari, how he could file a habeas corpus petition when he is in judicial custody. "I can always say that my arrest is illegal detention. It is my right. They have wrongly arrested me for no fault of mine and hence the habeas corpus petition was filed," Rohatgi said. He said that Kamala Mills is a huge commercial complex in central Mumbai and houses more than 50 restaurants and hundreds of corporate offices. The bench asked Rohatgi why he had not filed a bail application, which the top court could ask the Bombay High Court to consider. Rohatgi said he will file the bail application but the larger question was that the arrest is illegal, as no fault can be attributed to his client. "I can't be booked for the offence of culpable homicide. It is a commercial complex. What can be my role in the fire incident? This court has already held in the Bhopal gas tragedy and Uphaar cinema hall fire cases that, at the most, these can be a case of negligence, which is a bailable offence and not culpable homicide," the senior lawyer said and added that Bhandari should be released on bail. The bench asked Rohatgi to serve the copy of his habeas corpus petition to counsel for the Maharashtra government and decided to hear the matter on 27 March. Bhandari was arrested in January along with fire officer Rajendra Patil and Utkarsh Pandey, who supplied 'hookahs' to the pubs Mojo's Bistro and 1Above where the fire started. All the three are in judicial custody. Fourteen persons were killed and several others injured when a fire had broken out at the two pubs in the Kamala Mills compound in central Mumbai on 29 December, 2017. The owner of Mumbai's Kamala Mills on Friday moved the Supreme Court challenging his arrest in connection with a fire that claimed 14 lives in December last year. New Delhi: The owner of Mumbai's Kamala Mills on Friday moved the Supreme Court challenging his arrest in connection with a fire that claimed 14 lives in December last year. A bench of Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan asked Ravi Bhandari to serve a copy of his petition to the Maharashtra government. The top court listed the matter for further hearing on 27 March. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Bhandari, said his arrest is illegal detention and he can't be booked for the offence of culpable homicide. He said the apex court has already held in the Bhopal gas tragedy and Uphaar cinema hall fire case that they are cases of negligence, which is a bailable offence. The Bombay High Court had recently dismissed Bhandari's bail application. Bhandari was arrested in January along with fire officer Rajendra Patil and Utkarsh Pandey, who supplied hookahs to the pubs Mojo's Bistro and 1 Above where the fire started. All three are in judicial custody. Fourteen persons were killed and several others injured when a fire broke out at the two pubs in the Kamala Mills compound in central Mumbai on 29 December, 2017. Following is the chronology of events of the INX Media corruption case in which Congress leader P Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram was on Friday granted bail by the Delhi High Court New Delhi: Following is the chronology of events of the INX Media corruption case in which Congress leader and former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram was on Friday granted bail by the Delhi High Court. 15 May, 2017: CBI files FIR alleging irregularities in Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds to the tune of Rs 305 crore in 2007 when Karti's father was the Union Finance minister. 16 June: The Foreigner Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) and the Bureau of Immigration, under the Union Home Ministry, issues look out circular (LOC) against Karti. 10 August: Madras HC stays the LOCs issued against Karti and four others. 14 August: SC stays Madras HC order staying Centre's LOC issued against Karti. 18 August: SC asks Karti to appear before the CBI on 23 August. 22 September: CBI tells SC that Karti was prevented from travelling abroad as he was allegedly closing several of his foreign bank accounts. 8 December: Karti moves SC challenging summons issued by the CBI in the Aircel-Maxis deal case. 31 January, 2018: SC remands back to Madras HC the pleas relating to the issuance of LOCs against Karti and others. 16 February: Karti's CA S Bhaskararaman arrested for allegedly assisting him to manage his "ill-gotten wealth" in India and abroad. 28 February: Karti is arrested by the CBI at the Chennai airport and brought to Delhi. Delhi court sends him to one-day police custody. 1 March: Karti sent to five-day CBI custody. 5 March: Karti challenges in the SC the summons issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate in the money laundering case. 6 March: Special court remands him to three-day CBI custody. His plea for bail in CBI case adjourned to 9 March. 9 March: Special court sends him to three more days of police custody in the CBI case. 12 March: Special court sends Karti to 12-days judicial custody till 24 March. Declines his plea for early hearing of his bail plea. Subsequently, on the same day, he moves Delhi HC seeking bail in the corruption case. 13 March: Delhi HC seeks the CBI's response on his bail plea. Karti's CA S Bhaskararaman granted bail in the corruption case by the special court. 16 March: Delhi HC reserves order on Karti's bail plea in INX Media corruption case. 23 March: Delhi HC grants bail to Karti in the INX Media corruption case. 56-year-old labourer on Friday tried to end his life outside the Mantralaya building, police said Mumbai: A month after a man committed suicide by jumping from the fifth floor of Mantralaya, the state Secretariat in south Mumbai, a 56-year-old labourer on Friday tried to end his life outside the building, police said. Gulab Maruti Shingari, hailing from Beed district in drought-prone Marathwada region, claimed he decided to end his life as the "police patil" in his village tried to usurp his land, a police official said. The duties of a police patil include reporting a crime in the village to the police station and is governed by the Maharashtra Village Police Act. When Shingari, who works as a labourer in Nashik, doused himself with kerosene outside the Mantralaya building this afternoon, police personnel present on the spot intervened and prevented his suicide bid, the official said. Shingari has been detained by police and further investigation into the matter is underway, the official said. This is the latest in a series of such incidents in and near Mantralaya. Last month, a 45-year-old man committed suicide by jumping from the fifth floor of Mantralaya, after which the BJP-led state government set up a safety net covering the open space on the first floor of the seven-storey building. On 8 February, Harshal Raote, a murder convict on parole, jumped to death from the fifth floor, days after a 32-year-old unemployed man attempted suicide outside the building. On 22 January, 84-year-old Dhule farmer Dharma Patil consumed poison in Mantralaya premises, demanding adequate compensation for his land, which had been acquired by the government for a solar power project. He died in hospital on 28 January. Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said setting up a safety net would turn Mantralaya into a circus. "The government must think of the reasons behind people taking such an extreme step. Why do desperate people come here? The administration at the ground level is notworking properly, neither is it solving issues. This needs to be taken care of. Setting up a safety net will not serve the purpose," the Congress leader said. A 25-year-old woman, suspected of having an affair, was brutally thrashed by her husband in public in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr district on the orders of a village panchayat A 25-year-old woman, suspected of having an affair, was brutally thrashed by her husband in public in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr district following the orders of a village panchayat. The police has arrested the woman's husband, a former panchayat head, and his son after a video clip of the incident went viral on social media. The woman has also alleged that following the incident, she was dragged inside the house and molested by a few men. According to a report in The Times of India, police said that the incident took place in Longa village of Bulandshahr's Syana region on 10 March, but the video became viral only on Thursday, following which an FIR was registered. Seven persons were named in the FIR, while a dozen unknown persons were also mentioned. Woman publicly beaten up by husband on a village panchayats orders for allegedly eloping with another man in Bulandshahr. According to Praveen Ranjan Singh, SP Bulandshahr, 'Police arrested the womans husband, former panchayat head & his son in the matter'. (22.3.18) pic.twitter.com/B3EX2LtaIo ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 23, 2018 In the 73-second clip, the woman can be seen with her hands ties to an overheard branch of a tree. She is repeatedly beaten with what seems to be a leather belt by a man in a green shirt and a jacket, a report on Hindustan Times said. The woman can be heard grunting and screaming after every hit. Her husband can be heard shouting "ab bhaag ke dikha", according to The Times of India report. The woman had allegedly eloped with a village youth, the report added. It said that the woman's complaint also alleged that later she was molested by a few men. According to The Times of India, the woman further alleged in her complaint, "I had gone with our neighbour Dharmender Lodhi but after five days a few villagers brought us back to village on 10 March. From 7 am till 2 pm, my hands were tied to a tree and in full public view, thrashed by my husband Saudan Singh with belt and sticks. A few did protest but no one came forward to rescue me. Later, a few village men took me inside our house and molested me, labeling me a prostitute. The former pradhan of the village even made a video of my humiliation. I was then asked to remain quiet, or I would be killed, they said." The Hindustan Times quoted Bulandshahr superintendent of police Praveen Ranjan Singh as saying, "Former pradhan Shersingh, his son Shravan, and the woman's husband Saudan have been arrested. Raids are underway to arrest other accused." Massive irregularities have emerged in the operations of the Uttarakhand State Cooperative Bank Limited (USCB), ranging from lending for liquor contracts to doling out loans to relatives of board members without any collateral Massive irregularities have emerged in the operations of the Uttarakhand State Cooperative Bank Limited (USCB). Ranging from lending for liquor contracts and sugar mills in violation of the very charter of a rural bank to finance small and medium farmers for crops etc to doling out loans to relatives of board members without any collateral, the bank seems to have broken every rule in the book to run up non-performing assets (NPAs) worth Rs 165 crore. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), the regulator for rural and agricultural banking, is looking into the scam. It pointed out that the loan applications from the prospective borrowers were accepted directly by the on the day of board meetings. Sanctions were accorded without proper appraisal of loan by the branches or head office. Most of these loan proposals were put up between March 2016 and May 2017 by the general manager (banking), who was elevated to the post of managing director of the bank in April 2017. NABARD alerted the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in September 2017 to dissolve the USCB board and replace it with a management committee consisting of banking professionals. NABARDs chief general manager DN Magar, also wrote to the state government calling for action: "The board had not taken up the issue of default by the following relatives of existing board members and had not initiated any action against as per Uttarakhand Cooperative Societies Act/Rules 2003. Reeta Pant wife of Naveen Pant (director of the bank) owes Rs 4.42 crore and entire outstanding amount is overdue. The bank had wrongly classified it as Standard. Rajesh Pant, brother of Naveen Pant (director of the bank) amount Rs 5.97 crore classified under Standard category as on 31.03.2017 instead of Sub-Standard since the account was overdue from 06.12.2016. I request you to kindly conduct investigation into the activities of the Board and Chief Executive Officer and take appropriate action." Rajendra Prasad, who served as managing director of the bank between 2009 and February 2017 told Firstpost that all the loans were sanctioned when he was at the helm of affairs. However, he blamed the then general manager (banking) Deepak Kumar, who is now managing director, for the irregularities and sanctioning loans for liquor contracts. Prasad also said Kumar misled him and the board. "He gave me the appraisal reports to put up before the board. Then I asked him in writing whether he ensured the guarantee of the loans and his response was affirmative, however, at least six members of the board objected to the loan proposals for liquor. Subsequently, I ordered an inquiry into proposals put up by the general manager and a report revealed that loans were sanctioned without ensuring security and some relatives of some board members were also beneficiaries, which is a clear conflict of interest. In October 2016, I issued him a show cause notice seeking his response but he did not reply. A rejoinder was sent to him in January 2017 but he chose not to reply. Subsequently, I wrote to the registrar of societies, Uttarakhand, asking the state government authorities to recall Kumar's services. The state machinery and board sided with him and even NABARD tried to cover up the scam, as all the loans sanctioned would eventually turn NPA. I also wrote to NABARD chief general manager (Magar) with documentary evidence as late as on December 2017, for immediate action but he didnt do anything and I am still awaiting justice in irregularities at the bank that I had built from scratch," Prasad alleged. NABARD's Magar refused to speak to Firstpost citing statutory obligations. Magar also refused to comment on Prasad's letter, saying he had already submitted his observations. Kumar, incumbent managing director of the USCB (who as general manager had put up all these loans directly to the board) countered the charges levelled against him by his former boss. He said not a single loan was sanctioned by him in his individual capacity. He said all the proposals were put up before the loan committee and were subsequently taken up by the board involving then managing director. He (Kumar) merely issued a sanction letter in his capacity as general manager after getting final approval from the top. Kumar, however, admitted that loans to relatives of board directors and for liquor contracts were wrong and in violations of banking rules. But on lending for liquor contracts in violation of the rural banks charter, he argued that they had no option since agriculture activity is marginal in the hilly state of Uttarakhand. USCB couldnt have sat on idle funds and needed to diversify, he claimed. "Definitely, our primary responsibility is to provide agriculture loans and help the farmers, but the agriculture scenario in Uttarakhand has worsened and farmers are migrating to the cities. This forced us to act like any other commercial bank. Since we had surplus cash, we started diversifying and giving loans to various industries like real estate etc. Liquor contract loans were part of those loans, however, it could have been avoided," Kumar said, adding that since he took over as managing director, they had decided not to give any more liquor loans. "I have prepared a list of 54 NPAs and by next week we are going to publish the names with the guarantor in the newspapers," Kumar said, clearly preparing to secure the stables after the horses have bolted. Surendra Singh Negi, one of the directors on the USCB board had also objected to the loans for liquor contracts and had sought explanations, but he has alleged that the proposal was cleared in connivance with the bank officials. Negi is still serving on the USCB board and is now chairman of the NPA committee of USCB. Negi said in spite of his reservations and complaints, the state government took no action. "The entire scandal was buried by the bank and state machinery because all top bank officials were involved in sanctioning the loans. Since I became chairman of NPA committee, I have been consistently asking bank officials to recover bad debts but they don't listen to me because I don't have the power to punish. Despite being on the board as the director, I feel helpless because the state is turning a blind eye to the whole scam," he said. The bank, as per documents accessed by Firstpost, did not file any recovery case in 2016-17. The total recovery during the financial year was merely Rs 3.11 lakh. Documents said: "The revenue department returned the cases to the bank without assigning any reason. The bank had not taken cognisance of the returned cases for further action. The registrar of cooperative societies should prevail upon the concerned staff to give priority for settlements of recovery cases so that the level of NPA in the bank may be kept under permissible limits." Kumar admitted that recovery was a bit slow that particular financial year but since April last year, he has been trying to recover outstanding loans and tackling defaulters through legal means. Dodging the primary banking objective The primary objective of cooperative banks is to assist the agriculture sector in the economic upliftment of rural India. However, NABARD has alleged that the USCB did just the very opposite. A NABARD internal report observed that the bank failed to extend a helping hand to farmers and forced them to seek loans from moneylenders. The note sent to the state government on 21 September, 2017 exposed the rot within the banking system. The report said that even as they were lending crores to liquor contracts, "there were different caps on maximum lending to individual farmers by primary agricultural cooperative societies in the state ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs three lakh irrespective of their crop loan eligibility, depriving them of benefits of interest subvention and interest incentive available for crop loans up to Rs three lakh from the Central government and forcing them to approach moneylenders or other sources for their full credit requirements". NABARD further noted that the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna and personal accident insurance scheme the flagship programmes of the NDA government were not being properly implemented by the cooperative bank. "The coverage of loanee farmers by DCCBs (district braches of the bank) in the state was very poor. Being the apex bank of the state, the bank was not monitoring the implementation of the scheme in the state and not collecting any data from DCCBs. Although the personal accident insurance scheme is compulsory for all the borrowers, the DCCBs in the state were not implementing the scheme for eligible Kisan Credit Card holders," NABARDs special inspection report that was carried out between 31 July and 24 August, 2017 said. In a confidential recommendatory note, NABARDs inspecting officer Jugal Kishore observed that USCB violated directions issued by the RBI in sanctioning the loans. "The bank had violated Section 18 of the Payment and Settlements Systems Act, 2007 (Act 51 of 2007). The bank did not comply with the provisions of Section 11(1) of Credit Information Companies (CICs) Regulation Act, 2005. The bank had not complied with Rule 207(4) of Uttarakhand Cooperative Societies Rules, 2004, as it had financed sugar mills without obtaining government guarantee." A confidential note from NABARD's SN Chalia said, "The bank's internal check and control system were weak." Chalia further pointed out that USCB had not complied with provision of sections 18, 19 and 27 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 related to cash reserve, restrictions on nature of subsidiary companies and submitting monthly returns to the RBI. Who will clean up the mess? A NABARD letter said: "The USCB Board had constituted various Committees vide its resolution No 24(27) dated 03.05.2017 out of the board members without specifying the functions and powers of such committees. The committees failed to work in effective manner on account of lack of knowledge, adequate experience of the members and lack of clarity in the functions and duties of the committees. The board had constituted various loan committees like HO Loan Committee, Branch Loan Committee with one of its directors as its members, thereby directly influencing and interfering in the day-to-day functioning of the bank. A senior NABARD official on the condition of anonymity said the state government has to step in to clean up the mess in the USCB and to ensure that co-operative rules are strictly followed. Registrar Uttarakhand Cooperative Society that monitors functioning of USCB said it is investigating into the irregularities and will soon crack the whip. The present registrar BM Mishra told Firstpost that inquiry is being conducted on various levels to examine the loans for liquor contracts, NPAs and loans to the relatives of office bearers. "In certain cases, I have already recommended the state government to take appropriate action against those responsible. We will act in other cases after the final reports are in," Mishra said. There is another interesting twist to this entire scandal. The NABARD team that went to examine the books of USBC from on 31 July, 2017 to 24 August, 2017, received an anonymous threat letter on 19 August. The letter in Hindi reviewed by Firstpost revealed that messenger warned NABARD officers that any adverse report about the USBC would have dire consequences for them. A NABARD note subsequently sent to the state government in November 2017 said: "This (threat letter) resulted in much tension and worry regarding the safety of the team during the inspection of the USCB." The north Indian states which are ruled by the BJP will be beneficiaries of changed population criteria in the new Finance Commission. The Andhra issue is enveloping into North-South divide as political protests intensify over the terms of reference of 15th Finance Commission. Siddaramaiah called for a united fight by the chief ministers of the south Indian states over 15th Finance Commission considering 2011 Census for arriving at population weightage for devolution of Central funds to states instead of the earlier practice of 1971 census. "This will further affect the interests of the south, we need to resist," Siddaramaiah tweeted, and tagged the chief ministers of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Puducherry, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader MK Stalin and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka have questioned the Centre's claims that it is providing funds to these states stating that it is not a generosity. The south Indian states contribute more to the tax kitty than what they get in return. Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on 13 March accused the Narendra Modi government of diverting tax revenues collected from the south to fund development projects in northern states. The DMK leader Stalin wrote a letter to 10 chief ministers urging them to jointly fight with the Centre over the 15th Finance Commission. Meanwhile, Kerala finance minister Thomas Isaac has called for a meeting of the finance ministers of the southern states on 10 April to discuss the matter. The south Indian states which have successfully contained population growth rates will now be punished with reduced allocations. Thus the anti-Centre protests are more substantive than symbolic. The BJP called Karnataka chief minister's latest move as election eve divisive politics. But, the protests despite their political overtones have a substantial base. The north Indian states which are ruled by the BJP will be beneficiaries of changed population criteria in the new Finance Commission. As of now, not just the devolution of Central funds take 1971 Census into consideration even the Parliament seats are fixed on this criteria. If the 15th Finance Commission's terms of reference to decide the Central transfers to states is based on the 2011 Census, tomorrow, the same can be applied to Parliament seats too. This would further upset the political balance in favour of north Indian states where the BJP is strong. The BJP finds south India a hostile ground for its penetration and, therefore, these states would be punished. The states like Uttar Pradesh dominate the Indian political scene as it has the highest number of seats in Lok Sabha. If 2011 census is applicable to decide the number of Lok Sabha seats, south India will be further politically marginalised. The 15th Finance Commission's new formula thus not only raises fiscal concerns but even political fears among the south Indian states. Quite surprisingly, the Narendra Modi government which claims to be a votary of cooperative federalism has asked 15th Finance Commission to consider 2011 census without consulting states especially the south Indian states which would be hard hit by this change. The 14th Finance Commission has given only 10 percentage weightage for 2011 census, while 90 percentage was given for 1971 census. To understand and appreciate the growing political concerns of south Indian politicians and parties, the actual financial loss to these states, if 2011 census is taken into consideration, need to be explained. V Bhaskar, who was special chief secretary finance to the government of Andhra Pradesh, and joint secretary, 13th Finance Commission, in his article on Challenges before the Fifteenth Finance Commission published in Economic and Political Weekly, 10 March, 2018 said that while Uttar Pradesh gains Rs 35,167 crore, Andhra Pradesh will lose Rs 24,340 crore. Similarly, while Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh gains Rs 32,044 crore, Rs 25,468 crore, Rs 14,735 crore respectively Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka will lose Rs 22,497 crore, Rs 20,285 crore and Rs 8,373 crore respectively. Over the last 40 years, starting from the 7th Finance Commission till the 14th Finance Commission, eighth finance commissions have been mandated to use the 1971 population for the purpose of computing state shares. Why this change now? Should the south Indian states be punished either for controlling population or for their political preferences hostile to BJP? V Bhaskar further states Challenges before the Fifteenth Finance Commission, "Population is an important criterion that significantly affects a states share of the devolution pool. This is because it enters the computation of state shares both directly and indirectly. The XIV-FC allotted a weight of 17.5% to 1971 population. Directly, 17.5% of a states share in the divisible pool was determined on this basis. Indirectly, the 1971 population figure was also used to scale the income distance criterion (to which it had allotted a weight of 50%)." Besides this fiscal concerns, the south Indian states have already been complaining of the imposition of Hindi. The Central government decision to have milestones on national highways to be written in Hindi, the advice to all the Union ministers to make their speeches in Hindi and making Hindi compulsory in CBSE schools are only a few illustrations of Hindi hegemony sought to be imposed on southern states. The comprehensive sense of discrimination among the south Indians espoused by the political spectrum cannot be so easily wished away. This has the potential to impact the unity and integrity of the country. Thus, the north-south divide needs to be bridged both in perception and the concrete manifestation. Manila (CNN Philippines Life) Maria Lourdes Sereno, the youngest and first female chief justice of the Philippines, is calling on women to fight for the countrys judicial independence. Women who are so used to the double burden of being a mother and working have a special role to play. They know how to block out the white noise. They can focus on what is really at stake: constitutional rights and good governance, she said in a speech at a forum at the University of the Philippines, Thursday. The embattled chief justice was among a panel of female speakers at a forum discussing women against strongman politics, an apparent nod to dictator and former president Ferdinand Marcos and incumbent chief executive Rodrigo Duterte. "The stakes for the rule of law if the evil machinators of the impeachment or the resignation scheme succeed is that no one, not one man, especially not one woman, will be safe in this country," Sereno added. The president is allergic to strong women Sereno is among high-ranking women leaders in government who have been dealt with harsh action by the administration. In 2017, Sen. Leila de Lima, foremost critic of Dutertes war on drugs, was arrested and jailed on supposed drug charges. Meanwhile, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, who had begun investigating the presidents assets, was threatened with impeachment. Vice President Leni Robredo, who had been on the receiving end of several quips by the president about her looks, was banned from attending meetings in Malacanang Palace as the housing agencys head. She promptly resigned from her cabinet post thereafter. The president is allergic to strong women, Etta Rosales, martial law activist and former human rights chair, said during the forum. Women who are so used to the double burden of being a mother and working have a special role to play. They know how to block out the white noise. They can focus on what is really at stake: constitutional rights and good governance, Chief Justice Sereno said in a speech at a forum at the University of the Philippines. Photo by PAU VILLANUEVA All these women had been critical of President Dutertes drug war and policies. The chief justice, for instance, in 2016, defied Dutertes order to narco-judges he named in a televised speech to submit themselves before authorities. In response, Duterte directed one of his infamous tirades to the chief magistrate. Im giving you a warning. Dont create a crisis because I will order everybody in the executive department not to honor you, he said. Psychologically unfit In late 2017, lawyer Larry Gadon charged Sereno with multiple allegations of corruption and abuse of power such as excessive use of funds in the purchase of a luxury car, spending 500,000 for accommodations in a luxury villa in Boracay island during an ASEAN meet, and failing to declare 37 million in earnings when she was a private attorney. Among Serenos alleged misdeeds, perhaps, it is the accusation of psychological incapacity that is most peculiar to her position as a female leader. The portrayal of strong women as mentally ill is, needless to state, sexist and constitutes a form of gender oppression and discrimination, Atty. Josa Deinla, spokesperson of the chief justice, said. The chief justice views these charges as nothing but foul attempts at disparaging her character, she added. The Psychological Association of the Philippines, in a statement, later condemned the misuse of confidential psychological information, and questioned the methods to the conclusion that the chief justice was psychologically unfit. No one passes or fails a psychological test, the group's statement added. Aside from charges of psychological incapacity, Sereno has also been accused of having no respect for other members of the high court. Among Serenos alleged misdeeds is the accusation of psychological incapacity that is most peculiar to her position as a female leader. The portrayal of strong women as mentally ill is, needless to state, sexist and constitutes a form of gender oppression and discrimination, Atty. Josa Deinla, spokesperson of the chief justice, said. Photo by PAU VILLANUEVA In a Dec. 2017 hearing on Serenos impeachment raps, several magistrates visibly expressed dissatisfaction over Serenos alleged mistreatment and disrespect of the high tribunal. The Supreme Court is collegial. It is a consultative, deliberative, participatory body. The Chief Justice is not the Supreme Court, associate justice Noel Tijam said. However, Deinla notes that many of the complaints made by Supreme Court justices concerned internal matters relating to her style of leadership, which are not impeachable offenses. In our society, what is considered decisive and assertive for a man is viewed as conceited and walang pakisama for a woman, Deinla added. Duterte doesnt see gender if you can give him what he wants Gabriela While the administration has been cracking down on strong women figures critical of him, Rep. Emmi de Jesus of the Gabriela Womens party-list, believes Duterte is not necessarily afraid of strong women. That is a fallacy. He doesnt necessarily see gender. His preference is with whomever will give him what he needs to stay in power. Former president Gloria Arroyo is very close to President Duterte, herself a strong woman. Even Imee Marcos is a strong woman, de Jesus said. Benevolent sexist Dutertes camp has consistently defended him against accusations of sexism despite a laundry list of foul and objectifying language against women (threatening to shoot women rebels in the vagina, describing the Filipino womans genitals as fragrant, and infamously joking that when an Australian nun was raped by kidnappers, he should have been first) pointing to his legacy of enacting the Womens Code in Davao City when he was mayor. His critics, however, see it differently. The news site Rapplers Pia Ranada, during the forum, said that the term "benevolent sexist," as explained to her, meant that Duterte wont physically violate women but he will objectify them. That was a political move. His image would have suffered had he not enacted it. Those policies were hard won by womens organizations who campaigned for them, de Jesus added. What is alarming, De Jesus warns, is Dutertes penchant for being a benevolent sexist, a term reportedly used by his inner circle to describe his attitude towards women. The news site Rapplers Pia Ranada, during the forum, said that the term, as explained to her, meant that Duterte wont physically violate women but he will objectify them. That is even more dangerous because he is adding subliminally to a culture that is distorting values. He is setting a precedent to this generation, adding to a culture of impunity and machismo, de Jesus said. A call to reason According to Deinla, the chief justice is already prepared to face her accusers. She will confront the impeachment charges as well as the quo warranto petition with dignity and courage, the truth and law on her side, she said. In her speech at the forum, Sereno had a special message to the women in the audience. Women should lead the call to reason in an increasingly chaotic, noisy, and confused world Women can focus and get to the bottom of things. Our energies cannot be dissipated. We know the real picture and understand what is at stake. Fight for democracy. Fight for the rule of law. Fight for judicial independence. China's move to arm Pakistan with advanced missile tracking system fortifies their strategic relationship while effectively countering India's rise in Asia. China's move to arm Pakistan with an advanced state-of-the-art missile tracking system that is expected to dramatically bolster Rawalpindi's multi-warhead missile arsenal, fortifies the strategic nature of the bilateral relationship that Beijing has assiduously cultivated as a counterweight to India's rise in Asia. The interesting thing about this deal, however, is not that China has allowed the sale of such sophisticated equipment to Pakistan but that it has chosen to spill the beans. China has a long history of providing military assistance to Pakistan. The underlying geopolitical logic also captures the complex realities of the relationship. Both countries see each other as a strategic hedge against India with a crucial difference best explained by Husain Haqqani, former Pakistani ambassador to the US and now a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute think tank. According to the ex-diplomat, "For China, Pakistan is a low-cost secondary deterrent to India For Pakistan, China is a high-value guarantor of security against India." Let's face it, if a dysfunctional and broke Pakistani state whose biggest export is terrorism possesses more nuclear warheads than India and Israel (or for that matter any nuclear capability at all), it is solely because of China. Nuclear warheads, 2018. Russia: 6800 US: 6600 France: 300 China: 270 UK: 215 Pakistan: 140 India: 130 Israel: 80 North Korea: 20 (Federation of American Scientists) The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) March 21, 2018 The nuclear nexus between the two has been one of the darkest realities of our times one that has so far managed to largely escape global scrutiny. China realised pretty early that in Pakistan, it has a ready tool to keep India engaged and distracted provided the cards are played right that includes acting as the de facto security guarantor and ensuring that Pakistan's defence programme remains upgraded and updated to match India's progress at all times. Beijing has been providing Pakistan with nuclear technology at least since the 1980s. As Andrew Small notes in his seminal book 'The China Pakistan Axis' (Random House India publication): "In 1982, a C-130 Hercules transport aircraft belonging to the Pakistani military left Urumqi, capital of the northwestern Chinese province of Xinjiang, headed for Islamabad carrying five lead-lined, stainless steel boxes, inside each of which were 10 single-kilogram ingots of highly enriched uranium (HEU), enough for two atomic bombs. It is likely that this was the only time a nuclear weapon state transferred HEU to a non-nuclear country for military use." Small, a fellow at the German Marshall Fund in the US, also throws light on the role played by AQ Khan, the rogue nuclear scientist, in facilitating the Chinese engagement. Quoting a source, he writes: "The Chinese were working on triggering mechanisms, the centrifuges, vacuum systems. They brought rocket propellant and super-hard metals like maraging steel... They brought in fissile material and Khan gave them the data on enrichment and metallurgy. They helped Pakistan import and experiment with high explosives and Khan gave them his work on the centrifuge rotors." Pakistan's role was perhaps restricted to being glorified assemblers. China hasn't just provided Pakistan with the technology, design and fissile materials for the bomb but at various stages also helped Islamabad develop the missile delivery systems to deliver the warheads. Islamabad is on course to becoming the fifth largest nuclear power behind Russia, the US, France and China by 2025 with nearly 250 warheads, according to a Chicago-based think tank. G Parthasarathy, former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan, notes in a piece for Hindu Business Line: "Pakistans missiles, with ranges up to 2,750 kilometres, are all of Chinese design and produced at the National Defence Complex facilities in the Kala Chitta Dhar mountain range, to the west of Islamabad. The development, production and test-launching of missiles is done at locations south of Attock, using mobile Chinese designed missile launchers produced in Fateh Jang." As American nuclear analyst Gary Milhollin once said, "If you subtract Chinese assistance from the Pakistani nuclear weapons program, there is no program." And China has followed its agenda of arming Pakistan by bending rules and cocking a snook at regulatory mechanisms, undermining its status as a signatory to Nuclear Supplier's Group and Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. A report by Arms Control Association on nuclear proliferation, for instance, holds China responsible for financing and constructing nuclear reactors in Pakistan in violation of NPT and NSG norms. As Vaughan Winterbottom writes for Lowy Institute: "China is pushing forward with plans to finance and construct new nuclear power plants in Pakistan, in direct violation of its obligations to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Yet barely a whisper of protest has been heard." Given this history, and Pakistan's utility as a strategic tool against India, it shouldn't surprise anyone that China has now moved quickly to give Pakistan access to the latest missile-tracking technology to blunt India's successful test-firing of Agni-V, the most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed by New Delhi yet with a range of 5,000 kilometres that can deliver a warhead in Beijing or Shanghai. China's transfer of cutting-edge optical tracking and measurement system for Pakistan's missile program was first reported by Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post quoting a statement on the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) website, that said Beijing was the "first country to export such sensitive equipment to Pakistan." According to the South China Morning Post report, the technology transfer is expected to boost Pakistan's development of multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs), "a type of missile carrying several nuclear warheads that can be directed towards different targets." If Pakistan succeeds in harnessing this technology to further develop its Ababeel missile program described as South Asias first MIRV payload then it will possess the capability to wipe out "an adversarys nuclear arsenal in one surprise attack", claims the report, adding that MIRV technology may "tip the strategic balance between India and Pakistan and destabilise the subcontinent." While China is acting in accordance with its larger geopolitical calculus of containing India, Pakistan, which has emerged at the front and centre of Beijing's plan, is understandably delighted. Pakistan and China have expressed satisfaction on the level of cooperation in the field of defence production and resolved to further expand the existing relations. pic.twitter.com/02wqUltI7r Govt of Pakistan (@pid_gov) March 22, 2018 Islamabad has been the beneficiary of frequent strategic booster doses from China, most notably last year when Beijing shored up Pakistan Air Force's air defence capability by 'gifting' it the Low-to-Medium Altitude Air Defence System (LOMADS) LY-80. As Debalina Ghoshal writes in Defence IQ, "LY-80 is also known as HQ-16A in China and is a product of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC) and can hit targets of an altitude of 400 to 10,000 metres The LY-80 will become the backbone of Pakistans medium-range ground to air defence system, in addition to the HQ-7 command-line-of-sight short-range ground-to-air defence system." Pakistan may also purchase Chinas HQ-9 export variant the FD-2000. While China's role as the benefactor of Pakistan's defence programme is not new, the moot question is why did Beijing choose to suddenly publicise this aspect of the relationship when it has previously gone at great lengths to ensure deniability. One possibility is that China no longer sees any merit in keeping this role covert, given the fact that Pakistan has now become central to all of its plans. This, more than anything else, should worry India because hardening of the China-Pakistan axis will squeeze its strategic space further. As Shivshankar Menon, India's former NSA, writes in his review of Small's book: "Pakistan is at the heart of the network of One-Belt-One Road, Chinas strategic Marshall Plan; Karachi and Gwadar are critical for Chinas take-off as a naval power; and, the ISI is vital to Chinese intelligence on jihadis and to Chinas initiatives in the Islamic world. For Pakistan, China is the key to her future." Selling of the missile system is just a small part of this plan. Trouble is, there is very little that India can do. After 14 consecutive days of low productivity in the second part of the Budget Session the Parliament, the government is likely to make a fresh push to pass pending bills while the Opposition mount up efforts to corner the government Auto refresh feeds Amid the outrage over the Nirav Modi scam and Karti Chidambaram's arrest in the INX Media case, the NDA government is possibly staring at a stormy second half of Budget Session which begins from Monday. The first part of the budget session was held from 29 January to 9 February, while second half of the session will come to a close on 9 April. The Congress is also likely to denounce the government over the arrest of former Union finance minister P Chidambaram's son Karti by the CBI in the INX Media alleged bribery case. The Congress has termed the CBI action "political vendetta". The Opposition is also likely to corner the government over the tussle between Prasar Bharti and the Information and Broadcasting ministry. It is likely to raise issues concerning farmers, the Rafale deal, Staff Selection Commission "job scam", loss of life and property due to ceasefire violations on the LoC and increase in cost of petroleum products. Meanwhile, YSRCP MPs from Andhra Pradesh are likely to hold a dharna against the Centre in the Parliament premises. The party is also expected to initiate a no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha on 21 March, reported Livemint. BJP MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe calls for suspension of today's session under rule 267 of the Parliament in order to discuss allegations of corruption indulged by family members of former ministers under the tacit protection of ministers. D Raja of the CPI too has issued an adjournment notice in the Rajya Sabha in order to discuss the Punjab National Bank scam. This is the third adjournment motion on the issue. CNN-News18 is reporting that the BJP president will be meeting a delegation from the TDP to discuss the issue of special status to the state of Andhra Pradesh. According to the report, TDP is currently adamant on the 19 demands for the state. On the other hand, the YSRCP is also pressurizing the government over the same issue. The bill to target economic offenders was approved by the government following the escape of diamond merchant Nirav Modi and other accused in the over Rs 12,700-crore Punjab National Bank scam. The passage of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, which seeks confiscation of assets of absconding fraudsters and loan defaulters, and the triple talaq bill will be high on the government's agenda. The Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill 2017 and The Specific Relief (Amendment) Bill 2017 will be tabled in the Lower House of the Parliament, reported PTI. TDP MPs prtoest outside the Parliament over the issue of special status for Andhra Pradesh Today has been the day of adjournment motions. A notice for an adjournment motion can be issued under rule 267 of the Parliament. It is generally utilised by an MP to discuss a matter of public importance. Three of the adjournment motions have been issued to discuss the Nirav Modi scam, while Pappu Yadav has issued an adjournment motion to discuss the alleged scam in the SSC exams. On the other hand, BJP MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe has issued an adjournment notice to discuss the allegations of corruption by relatives of former ministers. While the Opposition is expected to target the government over financial scams in the recent past, the BJP is likely to pin the blame on the Congress-led UPA regime. The BJP has already claimed that the PNB scam had begun when the UPA was in power and its government has acted with alacrity after the fraud came out in the open. The party, energised by the win in Tripura and impressive performance in Nagaland and Meghalaya elections, is likely to be aggressive in Parliament and rake up scams that happened on the Congress watch to pin it down, party sources said. However, Opposition created a ruckus in the House as soon as the session began. Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Venkaiah Naidu is saying that everyone who issued an adjournment notices under rule 267 will get a chance once he holds a discussion with Arun Jaitley, the Leader of Rajya Sabha. He added that many of the members have to look at some other rule in the Parliament rule book to talk in the Parliament. On the issue of Cauvery water, Naidu said that the adjournment notice issued by AIADMK MP Navneethakrishnan will be discussed in Zero Hour. According to Financial Express, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and BJP president Amit Shah are scheduled to meet a TDP delegation, and more importantly the Andhra Pradesh finance minister, over the issue of granting Andhra Pradesh with special category status. "Don't create hungama," said Venkaiah Naidu as Opposition continued to create ruckus over PNB scam, 'Special Category Status' to Andhra Pradesh and other issues. This forced Naidu to adjourn the Upper House of the Parliament till 2 pm. However, the Opposition continues to create ruckus. The Opposition has also walked into the Well of the House to protest against the government. The resignation of Neiphiu Rio, who was elected to the Nagaland Assembly unopposed, and who is likely to be the next Chief Minister of Nagaland, has been accepted by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. The Rajya Sabha has resumed operations, with PJ Kurien seated at the Chair. However, MP's continued there agitation even as the Speaker took his seat. Slogans of "Nirav Modi vapas lao" raged in the Parliament while Kurien urged the MPs to maintain decorum of the House. PJ Kuries, in an attempt to calm down the agitated members, acknowledged that the issues raised by them were important and agreed to allow discussion on them one by one. For today, he granted permission to conduct a debate on the frauds in public sector banks. However, Opposition MPs refused to vacate the Well and continued raising slogans. There demand was that the prime minister must explain why he could not keep his promise to bring back Nirav Modi and other people alleged scamsters. In the Rajya Sabha, ministers are laying the papers on the table Members of the Opposition come to the Well of the House to protest against Nirav Modi. Slogans of "Nirav Modi ko wapas lao" are being heard. Meanwhile, Venkaiah Naidu has adjourned Rajya Sabha till 11.30 am. Times Now is reporting that Lok Sabha will be holding a marathon four-hour-long discussion on the issue, starting at noon. The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the much talked about Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Bill, 2018 which will be tabled in the remaining Budget session in Parliament. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said that the government has also decided to set up an independent body NFRA (National Financial Reporting Authority) to crackdown on big scams and avoid Nirav Modi-like situation in future. For the purpose the government will amend Companies Act. While the ministers have tabled their papers, the Opposition continue raise slogans against the government. The Opposition is raising slogans like "Chota Modi, bada Modi Murdabad". "The second half of the Budget Session is important for passing financial bills. I request the Congress, TDP, TRS and other parties to calm down and let the Hosue continue its work," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said. While speaking in the Parliament, Union Minister Ananth Kumar said that Arun Jaitley will be making a statement on the issue. However, he also took the opportunity to target the Congress and the previous UPA government. "No one involved in the Congress-led UPA era corruption scandals will be spared," he said. According to News18, MPs from four parties storming the Well to protest for different demands. While the Congress and the Trinamool Congress want debate on the PNB scam, the AIADMK is protesting over the Cauvery issue. The TRS wants the Constitution amended to skirt the 50% ceiling for reservation in jobs and education, while the TDP wants special status for Andhra Pradesh. "We have to look at the importance of passing the women's reservation bill," Kanimozhi said. "Families want to abort and kill the girl child. There are so many dowry deaths. Domestic violence is on the rise. When is all this going to stop?" she further said. "Men are celebrating us today as mothers, sisters, daughter. I think it's time for women to say, 'enough of that'. We don't want to be celebrated for our sacrifices. We want to be celebrated for our identity," Kanimozhi said in the Rajya Sabha. Women don't want to be celebrated for their sacrifices, they want to be celebrated for their identities: Kanimozhi "I find it strange that we celebrate Women's Day. But men don't celebrate any particular day. I am not in favour of this tokenism. I request all the men to stop throwing crumbs at us and treat us with respect throughout the year," Anu Aga said in the Rajya Sabha. "Earlier, people used to say, 'behing every successful man, there is a woman'. But now, the saying has become 'behind every successful man, there is a nationalised bank," said Derek O'Brien in the Rajya Sabha, clearly taking a dig at the Modi government over the PNB scam. "Everyone should promise that the restrictions imposed on women by men will be abolished. On Valentine's Day, girls and couples should not be beaten up. In the name of anti-Romeo squad, women were beaten up in UP," AAP's Sanjay Singh said in the Rajya Sabha. "On other hand, there are crimes against women which bring about shame to us. Which is why this day is one on which we should take a pledge to end such crimes," Swaraj said. "This should be a movement," she added. "India is a country where a woman became president, prime minister, twice became the Speaker of a House," she said. "Today, women are doing combat duty in the army, flying planes in the air force," she added. "International Women's Day gives us an opportunity to look at the requirements for gender equality," Sushma Swaraj said in the Rajya Sabha. "Women's reservation bill is important. But there are achievements by women even without reservation," she said. We should take a pledge this day to end crimes against women: Sushma Swaraj The Opposition parties protested against the passage of the budget without debate, as the session is slated to continue till 6 April. The Finance Bill as well as the Appropriation Bill were passed in a matter of 25 minutes during which Opposition parties and ruling NDA ally TDP shouted slogans and created a din. The Lower House was adjourned for the day immediately thereafter. The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the crucial Finance Bill 2018 and a Rs 89.25 lakh crore spending plan for the next fiscal year without discussion amid ruckus, which led to the adjournment of both the Houses of Parliament for the eighth day. The Rajya Sabha began Thursday's session with an obituary of former MP Hamida Habibullah. The members observed a minute of silence for the same. Lok Sabha MPs could be heard protesting in the background even as Speaker Sumitra Mahajan tries to conduct the Thursday's session. Congress and other Opposition party members stormed the Well. Ministers speaking can hardly be heard over the din. Even as Opposition party members stormed the Well in the Lok Sabha, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said the Centre is willing to discuss the Cauvery issue and special package to Andhra Pradesh but it cannot be done so with protests in the Well. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan was forced to adjourn the Lower House till 12 pm on Thursday within less than 10 minutes of the session's beginning. Former Union minister and TDP MP YS Chowdary speaks on why he resigned from the BJP-led Centre in Rajya Sabha Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, former Union MoS for Science and Technology YS Chowdary said that the Andhra Pradesh bifurcation was done unjustly and unscientifically. "The division could have been done after taking care of employment potential, development in both states. Both states must have been developed equally for 10 years by the government in power at the time," he said. Following his opening remarks, other members of the House began to clamour and protest, creating a din. Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu was forced to adjourn the House due to loud protests over former Union minister and TDP MP YS Chowdary's remarks on why he resigned from the Council of Ministers of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government. Opposition MPs continued to storm the Well of the House even as Speaker Sumitra Mahajan resumed the session. The Rajya Sabha was earlier adjourned till 2 pm on Thursday amid sharp exchanges between former Union minister from the TDP, YS Chowdary, and the Congress members over the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014 under the UPA government. If accepted, it will be the first no-confidence motion moved against the Modi-government. The motion can be accepted only if it has the support of at least 50 members in the House. YSR Congress has nine MPs in the Lok Sabha. The YSR Congress's MP YV Subba Reddy gave the notice to the Lok Sabha secretariat for including the motion in Friday's list of business, his office said. The YSR Congress on Thursday gave a notice for moving a no-confidence motion against the BJP-led NDA government following the Centre's refusal to grant special category status to Andhra Pradesh and found unlikely support from its arch-rival Telugu Desam Party (TDP). YSR Congress Party MP YV Subba Reddy submitted a notice to the Lok Sabha Secretary-General Snehalata Shrivastava for moving a motion on 'No-Confidence in the Council of Ministers' in the house. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has become the first BJP ally to break away from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Follow LIVE updates on the same here. After announcing the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) pulls out of the NDA, party MP Thota Narasimhan told ANI that the TDP will be moving a no-confidence motion on Friday. "We have decided... we are out of the NDA," he added. "TDP withdrew support from the NDA, which did injustice to Andhra Pradesh. TDP president Chandrababu Naidu took this decision in an emergency teleconference with party politburo members and MPs, which was unanimously supported. TDP to also introduce no-confidence motion against NDA government," ANI quoted the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister's Office as saying. "TDP's decision to quit was inevitable after its mischievous propaganda against Centre. People of Andhra Pradesh have now realised that TDP is resorting to lies to cover up its inert governance. TDP's exit is a timely opportunity for the BJP to grow in Andhra Pradesh," BJP national spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao tweeted. Speaking to ANI , BJP MP Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi commented on the TDP-NDA break up saying that every year before actual elections, there is always a rehearsal in Parliament. "We will see what happens in Parliament, which party chooses to go which way. In a way it is election year, and every state has demands and issues. It is not right for us to comment on it. It is a custom, before actual elections there is always a rehearsal in Parliament," he said. Sarfaraz Alam (Araria, Bihar), Nagendra Pratap Singh Patel (Phulpur, Uttar Pradesh), Pravin Kumar Nishad (Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh), who won the recent bypolls held in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, took their oath as Lok Sabha MPs on Friday. Supporting the no-confidence motion against the NDA government, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury tweeted: "Its (BJP's) betrayal of the promise of special status for Andhra Pradesh is inexcuseable. Its all-round failure and evasion of parliamentary accountability needs to be highlighted." After the obituary references were read out, Opposition parties' MPs created a ruckus over the no-confidence motion against the NDA government. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan adjourned the House till 12 pm. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi said his party will support the no-confidence motion against the NDA government in the Lok Sabha. "MIM party will support the no confidence motion in Lok Sabha, not only for failure of Modi government to implement State Reorganisation Act but their failure to fulfill their promise to provide employment to youth ans for injustice to Muslim women and minorities," CNN-News18 quoted him as saying. "We have no confidence in their no-confidence motion, so we have decided to go on our own," he said. - PTI TDP MP CM Ramesh added that YSR Congress MP Vijaysai Reddy was seen making attempts to meet the prime minister and this hinted at a nexus between both parties. Andhra Pradesh's ruling party had on Thursday offered to back the YSR Congress' no-confidence motion but has now said it withdraws the support as it smells a nexus between it and the BJP. TDP decided to move its own no-confidence motion after suspecting nexus between YSRCP and BJP Speaking to ANI , BJP national spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao claimed that the Andhra Pradesh government and TDP are wary of the BJP's rise in the state. "The state government and TDP are feeling the pinch of the public opinion going against them and BJP will use this as an opportunity to grow as a political party and emerge as a dominant political force in Andhra Pradesh. For us it will prove to be the next Tripura," Rao said. Even as Opposition MPs continued to chant slogans in the House, with TRS, TDP MPs storming the Well of the House, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan began with business for the day. She also said that she is duty-bound to introduce the two no-confidence motions but asked protesting MPs to sit in their places. As she said this, Opposition protests began to get louder. The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day after Telagana Rashra Samithi (TRS) MPs stormed the Well. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said she cannot introduce the two no confidence motions by YSRCP and TDP if House members continued to disrupt proceedings as she needed to check if there are 50 members to support each motion. Protesting MPs created more ruckus in response, forcing her to adjourn Lok Sabha till Monday. The NDA had stormed to power with 336 seats in 2014, of which the BJP alone claimed 282 seats. However, a series of bypolls that went against the saffron party meant that its tally in the Lok Sabha currently stands at 273 seats. When one adds the allies the BJP does have by its side Shiv Sena, JD(U), Apna Dal, LJP, SAD, RLSP, PDP the tally rises to 312. If the TDP can be persuaded to come around once again, this could rise to 328, a comfortable majority. The TDP has 16 MPs, and it said it would move a no-confidence motion against the Central government. In doing so, it would be following in the footsteps of rival Andhra Pradesh party, the YSR Congress, which has also said it would be moving a no-confidence motion against the Centre. The two Andhra parties have been miffed with the BJP following the latter's inability to grant special status for the state. As some other Congress members were on their feet trying to join the issue simultaneously, Naidu adjourned the House till 2.30 PM. "Do you want this sort of a thing to continue? ... Is that your suggestion. This is your party view," he said. To this, Naidu asked if somebody committed a mistake in the past, does it mean that he should also do the same. As he was making the appeal, Congress member Satyabrat Chaturvedi stood up and said he agreed with the Chair, but sought to know whether it was for the first time that he is witnessing such a scenario in Parliament. "I am very much pained that the Upper House of Parliament is not able to transact its business for last two weeks. Dont't test my patience...We are meeting, greeting and not doing anything and adjourning," the Chairman said. Before adjourning the House till 2.30 PM, Naidu said there were larger issues like banking scam, Cauvery river water sharing, demand for a special package to Andhra Pradesh and sealing in the national capital, which were agitating the minds of people and needed to be discussed. After tabling of the listed papers, Naidu expressed his anguish saying the House has not functioned ever since it resumed on March 5 after recess during the Budget session. The Rajya Sabha today witnessed an abrupt adjournment following a brief argument between Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu and some Congress members soon after the House assembled for the day. Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha told Chowsary to resume his speech from yesterday, which was interrupted due to the disruption of the House. He, however, added that Chowdary must stick to the speech approved by the Chairman and resist making any allegations. Chowdary said that the former prime minister Manmohan Singh has promised that Centre's hand-holing to Andhra. He then added that both the national parties were responsible for the secession of Andhra Pradesh and a certain help was promised to us at the time. Chowdary further said that the new constitutional restriction being cited by the Centre should not be applicable retrospectively to what was promised to Andhra. The deputy chairman, however, expunged those remarks as he said the Chairman had seen and vetted the speech but Chowdary had deviated from the approved version. In the course of his speech, Chowdary quoted the Opposition MP Venkaiah Naidu requesting special status for Andhra for at least 10 years. This elicited an objection from Railway Minister Piyush Goyal who said that Chowdary was trying to cast aspersions on the Chair (Venkaiah Naidu). This was met with sharp opposition from the Congress members who requested the quotes to be repeated. It is expected to be a stormy day in the Parliament on Monday, especially for the Lok Sabha where the two no-confidence motions against the Narendra Modi-led NDA government by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and YSR Congress Party are likely to be taken up. However, equations with the existing allies aren't particularly rosy. In particular with Shiv Sena, the largest non-BJP constituent of the NDA. If the Sena follows TDP by backing out, the figure of 314 will go down to 296, just 23 more than the magic figure of 273, and the BJP can no longer be certain of its future. The NDA had stormed to power with 336 seats in 2014, of which the BJP alone claimed 282 seats. However, a series of bypolls that went against the saffron party meant that its tally in the Lok Sabha currently stands at 274 seats. When one adds the 11 allies the BJP still has by its side Shiv Sena, JD(U), Apna Dal, LJP, SAD, RLSP, PDP, PMK, SWP, NPP and AINR Congress the tally rises to 314 . If the TDP can be persuaded to come around once again, this could rise to 330, a comfortable majority. RECAP: With TDP quitting NDA, Centre's strength comes down to 314 from 336 in Lok Sabha RJD's JP Yadav gave an adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha on Monday over the recent "communal incidents of violence in Araria, Bhagalpur and Darbhanga", reported ANI . Speaking to ANI, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said the party will "wait and watch" what happens in the Parliament on Monday. He said: "We will also have to see if the Speaker allows the no confidence motion or rejects it. TDP has its own state issues and we welcome them. As of now we have not decided yet on no confidence motion. Uddhav ji (Thackeray) will take a call." The Parliament secretariat received three separate notices for a no-confidence motion against the BJP government on Monday, two of which were from TDP and one from the YSR Congress, reported ANI . Lok Sabha Sumitra Mahajan is likely to take up the notices after Question Hour if the House is in order. CPI leader Duraisamy Raja said that the Left parties will be supporting the no-confidence motion in the Parliament on Monday. "People have started expressing their no confidence in the Modi government, it is time the Parliament does it too," ANI quoted him as saying. He had earlier also said the BJP enjoys support "inside and outside" the Parliament, according to Business Standard . "I want to tell the Congress and other Opposition members that there is confidence inside and outside the House. That's why the BJP is ready to face the no-confidence motion," said Kumar. Ahead of Monday's Parliament session, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said that the saffron party was ready to face the no-confidence motion as it is sure it has the necessary support. In less than two minutes of being in session, the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 12 pm. As soon as Speaker Sumitra Mahajan entered the House, loud protests and sloganeering dominated the scene, making it impossible for any business to be conducted amid the din. Slogans of "We want justice" could be heard as Chairman Venkaiah Naidu said, "This is not in the interest of the country, and Parliament. I am willing to allow also these discussions. How long should we continue like this?" The Upper House of the Parliament was adjourned till tomorrow after TDP and AIADMK MPs began protesting in the Rajya Sabha. He also said that the TDP also increased the state's budget by Rs 1100 crores. "We will strive to do the same in future. We are moving to work to move forward in skill development to help the people of Andhra Pradesh," he said. He also claimed that the YSR Congress Party is only 'playing politics' and has no interest in the state's welfare. Trying to assuage people's sentiments, Naidu said that the "TDP government is undertaking multiple irrigation projects to ensure the state's development is not stalled amid all this." Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday said that the state is being cheated by the Central government. "We are being cheated by the government. The BJP is making false allegations against me," he said. Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant told ANI that the party will abstain from the no-confidence motion. "We will neither support the government nor the Opposition. We will abstain," he said. As soon as Speaker Sumitra Mahajan took up the Question Hour, members from these parties trooped into the Well holding placards. While members from the TDP, YSR Congress, TRS and AIADMK were in the Well raising slogans and holding placards, MPs from the TMC and Congress were seen standing at their seats. This forced the House to be adjourned till 12 pm. The Lok Sabha proceedings were disrupted for the 11th day on Monday as the TDP, YSR Congress, TRS and AIADMK continued their noisy protests over various issues, including the banking scam and special status for Andhra Pradesh. Even as the Lower House resumed its proceedings, sloganeering dominated the scene as TDP, AIADMK MPs could be heard shouting "We want justice". However, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan began with day's business, asking ministers to lay their papers on the table. Home Minister Rajnath Singh said: "We want discussion on the no-confidence motion. I request all MPs to maintain decorum so that we can discuss it. We are ready to discuss any issue with any member." Following continuous uproar in the Lok Sabha, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan adjourned the House till Tuesday. TSR, YSRCP MPs trooped into the Well, while chanting slogans such as "We want justice". Mahajan tried to introduce the no-confidence motion notices but requested all MPs to sit at their designated spots so that a quorum could be established. Opposition members and other parties' MPs continued to create a ruckus, forcing the House to be adjourned for the day. The Samajwadi Party on Monday accused the government of egging AIADMK to stage protests in the Lok Sabha to avoid a no-confidence motion even as Tamil Nadu's ruling party warned that it would not allow business in both the Houses of Parliament till the Centre gives an assurance on the constitution of the Cauvery River Management Board. MoS Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel said the government is ready discuss all issues. However protests cause Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu to adjourn the Rajya Sabha till 21 March. Sushma Swaraj starts speaking about the Indians in Mosul. She had spoken about the issue in the Rajya Sabha earlier. The Bills have already been passed in the Lok Sabha Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to move Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill in Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The Bill gives the government power to confiscate the assets of such defaulters. "Let us all protest and, if required, sit on hunger strike at every place, sport black badges during working hours in offices. Let us awaken the people," party chief N Chandrababu Naidu said at a meeting of women self-help groups. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) held protests in Vijayawada on Thursday about the Andhra Pradesh special status row, reported CNN-News18. The TDP had decided to extend support to the National Highways blockade programme called by the Opposition parties in Andhra Pradesh seeking special category status to the state. As the deadlock in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha continued on Wednesday, here is a look at how both the Houses spent their time while in session ( as per PRS ): What has the Parliament been spending its time on? Protests and sloganeering marked the day's proceedings in the Lok Sabha as it began on Thursday. Opposition MPs could be heard chanting "We want justice" in the background, even as Speaker Sumitra Mahajan tried to conduct the day's business. As the protests grew louder, she said, "Nobody wants to listen, nobody wants to run the House." She then adjourned the Lok Sabha till 12 pm. "At the time of passing the AP Reorganisation Act, they (government) gave some provisions under it. People are suffering in Andhra Pradesh," said TDP's CM Ramesh. Chairman Venkaiah Naidu said that several leaders had approached him personally and let the the amendment Bill be passed. MoS Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel said, "The government wants to discuss everyone's issues. I request we discuss and pass other Bills." Just as the House passed the Gratuity Bill, AIADMK and TDP MPs trooped into the Well of the House holding placards and created ruckus. To this, Chairman Venkaiah Naidu said " People want to know why the Chairman is adjourning the House? I would like to tell the people that I don't want these ugly scenes to be seen by them. Each day, some or the other party troops into the Well." Nearly 20 MPs stood in the Well surrounding Naidu, and chanting loud slogans. As the Opposition refused to back down, Chairman Venkaiah Naidu adjourned Rajya Sabha for the day. "I would like to request all the MPs to go back to their places and let the House function. We are ready to talk about all issues, including the no-confidence motion notices that are being brought to the House," said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, even as AIADMK and TDP MPs continued their sloganeering near the Well of the House. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said she cannot act upon the no-confidence motion notices until there is order in the House. "I can't see anybody. I need to count heads (to establish a quorum of 50 members)," she said. After 14 days of low productivity in the second edition of the Budget Session of the Parliament, the Centre is likely to make a fresh push to pass pending bills even as the Opposition remain vehement to corner the government over issues like the Punjab National Bank scam, the murder of 39 Indians in Iraq by Islamic State among others. The Congress has issued a three-line whip to all its MPs in the Rajya Sabha asking them to be present in the House at 11 am in full strength on Friday and support the party's stand, PTI reported. The Parliament is lagging behind in terms of finishing scheduled tasks with productivity level really low. The Budget Session of Parliament, which reconvened after a brief break on 5 March, has been marred with protests, with the daily functioning in both Lok Sabha and Rajya well below 0.1 hours (six minutes), according to PRS data. With TDP's no-confidence motion notice still pending before the Lok Sabha, Chandrababu Naidu's party, which recently exited the NDA alliance, has appealed to Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to hold an all-party meeting on special status to Andhra Pradesh as well, reports said. "I request the leaders of the parties to come to the chamber of the chairman," Naidu also said. "This is totally undemocratic, totally unbecoming of Members of Parliament. You are weaking your cause. Please, you are all members. You must uphold the dignity of the House," Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said before adjourning the House for 15 minutes. "Madame Speaker, you have always asked the House to be conducted in order. The government is ready for a discussion...Congress has become a marginal party," said Union minister Ananth Kumar in response. "There are more than 50 members here who want to move a no-confidence motion," said Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge. As the ruckus in the Lower House continued, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan adjourned the House for the day. Narendra Modi to retiring Rajya Sabha MPs: I am sorry Parliament failed you in this last session Modi also said that the doors of Parliament and his Prime Minister's Office (PMO) will always remain open to them, and they are welcome to visit him whenever they like. While bidding the departing MPs goodbye, Modi also took a sarcastic jibe at protesting Opposition MPs, saying they nearly ensured this Session didn't take place and nearly denied this vote of thanks. Opposition ensured this Sesssion didn't take place and nearly denied this vote of thanks: Narendra Modi Narendra Modi also added that it was unfortunate that they didn't get a chance to pass important legislations in their final session, but may look back at their tenure gladly given the passing of landmark bills like the Triple Talaq bill. Unfortunate that you didn't get chance to pass important legislations in their final session: Narendra Modi "People have been agitating for special status, for their water, for their poor farmers and labourers. The MPs have been fighting on their behalf. If the people get what is rightfully theirs, it's not their parliamentarians who will stand to benefit," Azad said. He added that it's unfair to say MPs have been fighting and disrupting Parliament, because they are sent to Parliament to represent the needs of the people. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, meanwhile, said the Central Hall of Parliament is full of former MPs and he looks forward to seeing many of the retiring MPs at the same place in the future. Unfair to say MPs have been disrupting Parliament, because they are sent to Parliament to represent needs of the people: Ghulam Nabi Azad The second part of this session has 22 sittings, and is scheduled to conclude on 6 April. Five more sittings are slated. This is the final week that the Houses are functioning in the Budget Session Members from the Congress, the Left, the TDP and some other parties stood up holding the blue placards, apparently to show her that there were 80 members supporting the no-confidence motion After a brief discussion on scams in public-sector banks, Bills such as the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill and the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill to be tabled in Rajya Sabha today Arun Jaitley to move Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill in the Lok Sabha today, which is a Bill to deal with economic offenders who leave the country "Most MPs are already seated. If everyone stops shouting and goes back to their seat, I can see how many support for the no-confidence motion. the House must be in order," Sumitra Mahajan said. Day 19 of Parliament's Budget Session is likely to get underway shortly, but MPs from various Opposition parties have already begun protesting inside Parliament premises, drawing attention to various causes. With Opposition parties slamming the central government over atrocities being committed on Dalits, Union minister Ananth Kumar has said the government is "committed" towards protecting the rights of Dalits. "Whenever Congress is in power, they are responsible for inciting people and spreading violence," Ananth Kumar said. Lok Sabha was adjourned till noon within six minutes of starting proceedings, with Tamil Nadu MPs launching their demand the formation of a Cauvery Management Board. Congress MPs from Punjab have climbed on to the roof of Parliament When Lok Sabha reconvenes at noon, Home Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to address the House. Rajnath is expected to talk about the violence that singed large parts of the country of Monday. As Opposition MPs kept up noisy protests, Home Minister Rajnath Singh addresses Lok Sabha over violence that singed large parts of the country on Monday. "The government has not diluted the provisions of the SC/ST Atrocities Act. In fact, we have strengthened the act. We have introduced provisions for the protection of victims, who are already suffered enough. Moreover, if officials are found lacking in their response to a complaint filed by anybody, we want action initiated against them as well," Rajnath Singh said. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan tried to address Lok Sabha on Tuesday, but noisy protests kept her from speaking. She was responding to Home Minister Rajnath Singh's speech earlier in the day. Faced with unrelenting Opposition protests, Mahajan adjourned Lok Sabha for the day. Within minutes of proceedings beginning, Lok Sabha was adjourned till 12 pm after MPs raised slogans of 'We want justice, we want Cauvery board' Amid loud protests, Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien adjourned the Rajya Sabha for 30 minutes, after having pleaded with protesting MPs to go back to their seats. New members who took oath on Wednesday, have not been given division: Anand Sharma Announcing the decision, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said it has been decided that the NDA MPs would be giving up their salary and other allowances for 23 days "for which parliament was not allowed to function by the Congress". BJP and NDA party MPs announced on Wednesday night that they will take a pay cut for the 23 days wasted in the second phase of the Budget Session as they accused the Congress party of playing negative politics. Congress issues three-line whip to its Rajya Sabha MPs asking them to be present in Upper House, reports ANI Over a dozen Opposition parties had appealed to Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday for holding discussion on key matters like the SC/ST Act, PNB bank fraud, CBSE paper leak and Cauvery issue. Opposition leaders, including from the Congress, BSP, SP, DMK, NCP, TMC and the Left parties, had met in Parliament to discuss the lack of debate. Leaders of several Opposition parties are holding a demonstration inside the Parliament premises over various issues. Congress had said on Wednesday that it would not mind if Parliament session was extended by a day or two, but a debate on key issues should take place. "We want to hold discussions on key issues of national importance and we also want to pass legislation. The government should take the lead in doing so. We are not averse even if the session is extended by a day or two," Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad had told reporters. Congress president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chief Sonia Gandhi have joined the Opposition protest in New Delhi against the Centre. Asserting that he attended the House proceedings daily, Subramanian Swamy said that it isn't his fault if the Parliament didn't function. "Anyhow, I'm the president's representative. Until he says so, how can I say I'll not take my salary?" ANI quoted him as saying. Both the Houses of the Parliament were adjourned within minutes of reconvening on Thursday amid protests by the Opposition parties. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge urged Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to take up the no-confidence motion as the AIADMK continued protesting in the Lower House. Kurien went on to read the rules of the Rajya Sabha. "You are all eligible for suspension," he said. Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien said that he has an alternative to deal with the protests in the Upper House. "As per rule. I will see that a motion is moved to expel all protesting members. Thereby, you will lose all your voting right," he told the protesting MPs. LS Speaker reminded the MPs that today was the last day of the second leg of the Budget Session, even though the MPs continued shouting. "This Sabha is for a platform the raise issues for the welfare of the people. I understand that MPs have several issues they want to raise but they should keep in mind that the country has a variety of issues which need to be focused on," said Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. "I make an appeal to all of you to appear here next time to do what we were given to do at the time of Independence," said Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu. BJP works for connecting people, Congress works for dividing people. Congress indulges in divisive, negative politics. It didn't let the House function. We'll sit in protest against the negative attitude of Congress during last 23 days: Ananth Kumar,Parliamentary Affairs Minister pic.twitter.com/T710ENwveX BJP MPs to observe fast on 12 April to protest the impasse in Parliament caused by Congress: Union minister Ananth Kumar | PTI "Congress has become a marginal party, even in the Parliament," he said. "They don't have their own parliamentary strategy for both the Houses. They don't have parliamentary logic," he added. "From 5 March to 27 March, why did the Congress not allow business to happen?" said Union minister Ananth Kumar. "On 15 and 16 March, the YSRCP and TDP motions of no-confidence were brought up. Congress brought it up on 27 March? Why did they bring it up so late?" he added. The Parliament logjam continued even on Friday as the Rajya got adjourned till Monday amid ruckus in the House. Lok Sabha was also adjourned till 12 pm as Opposition leaders demanded that the government file a review petition in the Supreme Court against the apex court's decision on SC/ST atrocities act. After 14 consecutive days of low productivity in the second part of the Budget Session of Parliament, the government had begun on Friday with the government making a fresh push to pass pending bills and complete tasks before the beginning of the new financial year. However, the Opposition seemed determined to corner the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre over a series of issues right from the Punjab National Bank scam, the Supreme Court's order on SC/ST Act and the death of 39 Indians who were abducted by Islamic State in Iraq. According to PTI, the Congress has issued a three-line whip to all its MPs in the Rajya Sabha asking them to be present in the House at 11 am in full strength on Friday and support the party's stand. According to sources, the whip was issued on Thursday night as the Opposition seeks to corner the government on the above-mentioned issues. Some party MPs have also given a notice for moving a privilege motion against External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for allegedly "misleading" the House on the death of 39 Indians in Mosul. Sources said the party MPs in Rajya Sabha are also likely to meet this morning. The Parliament is lagging behind in terms of finishing scheduled tasks with productivity level really low. The Budget Session of Parliament, which reconvened after a brief break on 5 March, has been marred with setbacks, with the daily functioning in both Lok Sabha and Rajya well below 0.1 hours (six minutes), according to PRS data. The overall productivity of Lok Sabha stands at 31 percent in the current Budget Session, whereas for Rajya Sabha, it's 41 percent. A slew of bills such as Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill 2018, Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill 2018, Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill 2018, Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts (Amendment) Bill 2018, Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill 2018 were listed for the Budget Session, but haven't seen the light of day. The two houses are also expected to take up three bills for consideration and passing, including the important Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill 2018, Chit Funds (Amendment) Bill 2018, and National Council for Teacher Education (Amendment) Bill 2017. With inputs from PTI Polling to fill 26 vacancies in the Rajya Sabha was held in seven states on Friday Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala. Polling to fill 26 vacancies in the Rajya Sabha was held in seven states Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala. The counting of votes was delayed in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Karnataka due to claims of cross-voting. While results from all the states were out on Friday, the results from Jharkhand were announced around 12:20 am on Saturday. For the general 58 Rajya Sabha seats to be filled, 33 candidates from 10 states were declared elected unopposed from 10 states on 15 March. A bypoll was held on Friday for one seat in Kerala, which fell vacant after MP Veerendra Kumar resigned from the Upper House in 2017 as a mark of protest against the JD(U)-BJP alliance. Uttar Pradesh The BJP registered a massive victory as it won nine seats from Uttar Pradesh, while the SP managed to win one. The counting of votes in the keenly-watched Rajya Sabha election from Uttar Pradesh began after a two-hour delay as the Opposition Samajwadi Party and BSP lodged a complaint with the Election Commission. India Today reported that two votes one by BSP and BJP each were declared invalid by the poll panel. The BJP registered a massive victory as it won eight seats from Uttar Pradesh, while the SP managed to win one. Earlier, the Opposition parties moved the poll panel against two MLAs who were believed to have cross-voted. "We have given a written complaint to the Election Commission that our MLA Anil Singh did not show his vote to the election agent of the party before casting it and we are awaiting a reply from the EC in this regard," deputy leader of the BSP in the state Assembly Uma Shankar Singh said. The Samajwadi Party also lodged a similar complaint with regard to MLA Nitin Agarwal, who had switched sides after his father quit the party and joined the BJP recently. "Nitin Agarwal cast his vote without showing it to the election agent and we have demanded the cancellation of his vote," SP MLC Sunil Singh Sajan said. "We have demanded the cancellation of these votes," Sajan said. With one BSP MLA believed to have cross-voted and two others in jail being denied permission to vote in the Rajya Sabha polls, the Opposition faced a challenge of numbers to ensure victory for their second candidate. BSP MLA Anil Singh indicated that he had cross-voted in favour of the BJP, saying "I am with Maharaj ji", a reference to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath. While the ruling BJP was assured of eight of 10 Rajya Sabha seats, the Samajwadi Party had fielded Jaya Bachchan and the BSP Bhimrao Ambedkar for the remaining two seats. Since the BJP and its allies have 324 seats in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, it was easy for the saffron party bag to win eight of the 10 seats. BJP candidates in the fray from Uttar Pradesh were Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, Ashok Bajpai, Vijay Pal Singh Tomar, Sakal Deep Rajbhar, Kanta Kardam, Anil Jain, Harnath Singh Yadav and GVL Narasimha Rao. The ninth candidate is Anil Kumar Agarwal, a businessman. West Bengal The Trinamool Congress bagged four seats and the Congress got one in the Rajya Sabha polls from West Bengal. All four Trinamool candidates sitting Rajya Sabha member Nadimul Haque and first time nominees Subhasish Chakraborty, Abir Biswas and Santanu Sen emerged victorious in the vote count. Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, supported by the Trinamool, also won, while the CPM's Rabin Deb, backed by the Left, lost. According to election officials, Trinamool's Chakraborty secured the highest number of 54 votes. Haque and Biswas got 52 votes each and Sen 51. Singhvi garnered 47 votes. Deb managed to get 30 votes. The votes of two Trinamool lawmakers Jakir Hossain and Mrigendra Nath Maiti were rejected. Chhattisgarh BJP candidate Saroj Pandey won the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Chhattisgarh, defeating Congress' Lekhram Sahu. BJP will win in other states as well under the leadership of PM Modi and party president Amit Shah: Saroj Pandey, BJP pic.twitter.com/7ZlD2m8cJn ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018 Jharkhand BJP's Sameer Uranv and Congress' Dheeraj Sahu won the two Rajya Sabha seats from Jharkhand. The BJP's other nominee Pradeep Kumar Sonthalia lost the polls, finishing third. Counting of votes in the election for the two Rajya Sabha seats from Jharkhand began later on Friday after the Election Commission rejected complaints from the Congress and the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha- Prajatantrik (JVM-P) that a JVM-P MLA did not show his ballot to the party's polling agent. The JVM-P suspended its legislator Prakash Ram for the alleged cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha polls. "We have suspended Prakash Ram. We have written to the Election Commission to cancel his vote as he voted against the party line," JVM-P chief Babulal Marandi told reporters. Telangana Telangana's ruling TRS bagged all three Rajya Sabha seats. B Prakash, J Santosh Kumar and AB Lingaiah Yadav were elected to the Upper House. Congress candidate and former union minister P Balram Naik was defeated. A total of 108 members of the Assembly voted. Prakash secured 33 votes while Santosh Kumar and Yadav polled 32 votes each. The Congress candidate got only 10 votes as Independent member D Prakash Reddy's vote was declared invalid by the Election Commission. The poll panel took the decision after a complaint by the returning officer that Prakash Reddy showed his vote to the Congress agent before casting it. The election became inevitable after the Congress fielded a candidate though the TRS had comfortable strength in the 119-member Assembly to win all three seats. The TRS has 91 MLAs while the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), which has seven members, also supported the ruling party. The BJP, which has five members, TDP(2) and CPM (1) has abstained from voting. Two Congress members Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, SA Sampath Kumar could not vote as they were expelled from the House last week for allegedly hurling headphones during the governor's address, injuring Legislative Council Chairman Swamy Goud in his eye. Karnataka Amid a boycott of the poll by the JDS, which alleged electoral malpractice, the ruling Congress in Karnataka bagged three Rajya Sabha seats and the BJP, too, secured one seat with Rajeev Chandrashekhar's win. From the Congress, L Hanumanthaiah, Syed Naseer Hussain were declared elected to the Rajya Sabha. BJP's Chandrashekhar expressed happiness after emerging victorious in Karnataka. I am very happy to have received the maximum number of votes. Happy with the trust shown in me. It is an honor for me to serve Karnataka & serve my city Bengaluru: Rajeev Chandrashekhar, BJP after winning #RajyaSabhaElections from Karnataka pic.twitter.com/cDPOTsWHj5 ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018 Two votes were declared invalid and two rejected. The JDS boycotted the polls midway alleging electoral malpractice and collusion of the returning officer with the Congress. JDS state unit chief and former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy demanded countermanding of the election, charging that the returning officer, in 'collusion' with the ruling party, allowed two of its members to recast their vote after they 'cross-voted'. As the poll process was underway, Kumaraswamy claimed that two senior Congress MLAs had "cross voted" against their party's official nominees by marking for another candidate on the ballot paper. However, on the request of the ruling party's agent, the returning officer later allowed both candidates to vote once again by issuing them a fresh ballot paper, he alleged. "Minister Kagodu Thimmappa, who was a former Speaker, and MLA Baburao Chinchansur, both of them have cross voted in the first ballot paper, then they have shown it to their agent, he said. "After seeing the cross voting the agent protested. Then the Returning Officer allowed these two voters to vote once again," Kumaraswamy told reporters. Kumaraswamy later announced boycott of the election after two of the JDS MLAs had cast their vote and accused the Congress of indulging in "money politics." Rejecting the charge, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, "It appears they (JDS) are desperate... they have tried everything.. they had gone to the court (on seven rebel JDS MLA issue), they failed in the court, and desperately they are making these allegations." Taking cognisance of a complaint by JDS, the Election Commission directed the Returning Offficer MS Kumaraswamy to reject two votes cast by Congress MLAs. Kerala Veerendra Kumar, the Kerala president of the JD(U) Sharad Yadav faction, was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Kerala. Kumar, who was supported by ruling CPM-led LDF, polled 89 votes, while B Babu Prasad the opposition UDF candidate got 40 votes in the election held to one seat from the state, official sources said. In the 140-member Assembly, the LDF has 90 MLAs while the UDF 41 legislators. One vote of the LDF supported candidate was declared invalid. The Kerala Congress (Mani), which has six MLAs and is keeping an equal distance from both the fronts, abstained from voting. BJP's lone MLA O Rajagopal and PC George (Ind) also did not cast their franchise. One MLA of UDF ally IUML is on leave as he is unwell. With inputs from agencies Most of the legally recognised Rohingya in India are settled in Jammu and Kashmir, where they face tough living conditions and the risk of deportation By Basharat Amin (video) and Shreya Kalra (text) Were not here in Jammu and Kashmir illegally, says Siraj Mustafa, holding up his UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) identification card. For the time being, Siraj has shelter albeit only temporarily, as his UN identity card will expire on 30 March 2018 and once again exacerbate his lifes uncertainty. Rohingya people are the worlds most persecuted minority, and their sufferings have mostly been sidelined in world politics. Back home in Myanmar, which is a Buddhist majority country, they have been forced to leave in the wake of mass killings and rapes. Siraj is among half a million Rohingya people who have been forced to flee. They have been rejected outright in the neighbouring country of Bangladesh, and in India where approximately 16,500 have sought asylum through UNHCR they are being threatened with deportation. And this leaves the Rohingya stateless and without security. Wali Ahmad, who is living in a temporary shelter for Rohingya in Jammu, says that they were almost forced to leave their homeland simply to save their lives. We had everything back in Myanmar houses, land, shops, he said to Video Volunteers community correspondent, Basharat Amin. According to Human Rights Watch, the Rohingya people have been subjected to arson, extrajudicial killings and rape. In February 2017, UNHCR acknowledged that violence facing the Rohingya in Myanmar do amount to crimes against humanity. In Jammu and Kashmir, the Rohingya have faced verbal and physical xenophobic attacks. Siraj told Basharat that a few local men had come to the camp they were living in and tried to set it alight. Fortunately it was a small fire, otherwise about 11 homes wouldve turned to ash, he said. The Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party began a public campaign on the social problems created by Rohingya and Bangladeshis and rallied the masses against them through posters to push them out of the state. Though a few thousand Rohingya people have been legally recognised as refugees in India, according to the Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju, there are an estimated 40,000 Rohingya living in different parts of the country including Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Also read Rohingya Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir: Unwanted at home and unwelcome abroad, refugees are hanging by a thread In the refugee camp, residents earn their livelihood through odd jobs. As Muslims we cannot beg, Siraj told Video Volunteers. So some of us sew, while others are crack walnuts to sell and this is how were making money. Wali appeals to the humanity of Indian politicians and requests them to not deport them until Myanmar is safe for Rohingya to return. The plight of Rohingya people almost bleeds of absurdity coming as it does out of Myanmar. Its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is a Nobel Peace Prize Winner an honour bestowed for standing up against human rights violations in her country at the time, so its disconcerting to observe her silence on the mass killings of an entire ethnic group under her leadership. Meanwhile, the Rohingya in Jammu are trying to survive in the midst of deportation threats. Aware of the anti-Rohingya campaigns taking place in Jammu, Siraj says that they are living by the rules, and wants everyone to know that they simply fled their homes to save their lives. We are a peace-loving people, he says, hoping to find safety, acceptance and a sense of permanence. Watch Video Volunteers' special report here. The Parliament logjam continued for the 15th day on Friday as both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha were adjourned without completing any business for the day The Parliament logjam continued for the 15th day on Friday as both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha were adjourned without completing any business for the day. While the Lower House was adjourned amid ruckus caused by AIADMK and TRS MPs, the Upper House was adjourned after Opposition MPs created a ruckus inside the Parliament over special status for Andhra Pradesh and Supreme Court's decision over SC/ST Atrocities Act. The Upper House of the Parliament was first to adjourn for the day. Minutes after resuming business on Friday, Andhra parties, including the TDP, and KVP Ramachandra Rao of the Congress trooped in the Well of the Rajya Sabha shouting slogans for special status to the state while Tamil Nadu parties DMK and AIADMK raised the Cauvery water issue. Congress members too were in the Well shouting slogans that the government was anti-SC/ST, in an apparent reference to the Supreme Court ruling on the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Earlier, on Friday, Congress MPs including party president Rahul Gandhi were seen protesting under the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament, demanding the Centre file a review petition against the apex court's decision on the said act. Congress members were on their feet protesting against the Supreme Court verdict on the SC/ST Act in the Lower House as well, which, too, was adjourned for the day without any business. With the adjournment of both the Houses without concluding any business, it is clear that Union minister Vijay Goel's meeting with Opposition leaders, including Leader of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, at their residence, was a failure. Both houses also paid tributes to freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, who were hanged on this day 87 years ago by the British, Naidu stood up to express his displeasure at the disruptions. Ruckus in Lok Sabha too as MPs shout slogans demanding 'justice' The Lok Sabha proceedings were disrupted twice on Friday, mostly due to noisy protests by the AIADMK and TRS members. The House was adjourned till 12 pm soon after it met on Friday after the two southern parties started raising slogans over Cauvery river water dispute and quota issue, respectively. Expelled RJD member Pappu Yadav was seen holding two placards demanding special status for Bihar. The House reassembled at noon, but the sloganeering continued, thus forcing Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to adjourn the House till Tuesday. During the brief hours of business, Mahajan had expressed willingness to take up the notices of the no-confidence motion moved by the TDP and YSR Congress but said she was unable to take them as the House was not in order. The requisite head-count of members supporting the notices can be done only if they are in their seats, she said. At least 50 members need to support a no-confidence notice for the House to accept it and start a debate. The Speaker said the government had expressed its readiness for a discussion on it. The Speaker also announced a holiday for members on Monday (on account of Ramnavmi on Sunday), as many of them had conveyed they would be busy in various events on the festival and would find it difficult to join the House the next day. Stalemate in Rajya Sabha Affairs were more disruptive in the Rajya Sabha that witnessed members of different parties storming the well even as Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu was delivering his address. Expressing his displeasure at the failure of the Rajya Sabha to discharge its duties since it reconvened on 5 March, a distressed Naidu said, "People of the country have been let down." Naidu also said past disruptions should not be cited to justify the "present wrong" and voiced hope the government will take the opposition into confidence to ensure the House functions next week. "I am pained... I am sad," he said, adding he would not like to hazard a guess about what will happen in the House next week or "if you are going to change for the better". When Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel read out the government agenda for next week, Naidu hoped the government would take the Opposition into confidence to ensure the House functions. However, soon after listed papers were laid on the table of the House, placard-carrying members of Andhra and Tamil parties trooped into the Well and started shouting slogans. Congress members too joined them in the well. Naidu said he was willing to allow discussion on any issue that the members want, but placards, demonstration and slogan shouting was not justified. He also said that there was no "justification" for the persistent decision of the Opposition MPs to continue disrupting the house for three weeks. However, Congress members countered this by blaming the government for the stalemate and alleged that it has not engaged the Opposition parties. The adjournment of the House shouldn't come as a surprise since Congress on Wednesday had made it clear that it would corner the govt over a series of issues right from the Punjab National Bank scam, the Supreme Court's order on SC/ST Act and the death of 39 Indians who were abducted by Islamic State in Iraq. Some party MPs were also given a notice for moving a privilege motion against External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for allegedly "misleading" the House on the death of 39 Indians in Mosul. Session of low productivity The Parliament is lagging behind in terms of finishing scheduled tasks with productivity level really low. The Budget Session of Parliament, which reconvened after a brief break on 5 March, has been marred with disruptions, with the daily functioning in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha during Question Hours well below 0.1 hours (six minutes), according to PRS data. On Thursday, both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned with a total working time of less than 15 minutes. The overall productivity of Lok Sabha stands at 31 percent in the current Budget Session, whereas for Rajya Sabha, it's 41 percent till 20 March. During the Question Hours, the productivity level is even lower at 16 percent and 11 percent respectively. The above figures also include business taken up in the first half of the Budget Session which took place between 2 February to 9 February 2018. Over the last 15 days, the Lok Sabha has managed to introduce just two bills The Chit Funds (Amendment) Bill, 2018 and The Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018 on 12 March and passed another two bills The Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill 2017 and The Specific Relief (Amendment) Bill, 2017 on 15 March. Total time spent in passing the two bills which were passed in the Lower House were six and eight minutes respectively. With disruptions continued for the 15th day in Rajya Sabha, it's unlikely the two bills will see A slew of bills such as Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill 2018, Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill 2018, Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill 2018, Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts (Amendment) Bill 2018, Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill 2018 were listed for the Budget Session, but haven't seen the light of day. The two houses are also expected to take up National Council for Teacher Education (Amendment) Bill 2017. With inputs from PTI In the present climate of fear and reprisal, the Supreme Court order is politically damaging. Earlier this week, the Supreme Court passed a judgment in a case relating to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, which related to a complaint filed in 2006 by a scheduled caste storekeeper against two seniors for making adverse entries against him in his annual confidential report. The Maharashtra governments director of technical education refused to grant sanction for prosecution when an application was made in 2011. The questions considered by the Supreme Court concerned mostly the grant of bail and quashing of the proceedings. It ultimately quashed the proceedings, while also concluding that there was no bar on the grant of anticipatory bail in such cases and that in view of the acknowledged abuse of the law of arrest under the provisions of the law, the arrest of a public servant could only be effected after obtaining approval from the appointing authority and in the case of others from senior police officers. It also said that in many cases, preliminary investigations were necessary. There is no need to go into the merits of the order, but some remarks made by the court must be alluded to. First, it opined that the atrocities act was often misused to settle personal scores, so, it was incumbent on both judicial and law-enforcement authorities to exercise caution while dealing with complaints made under the act. It cited statistics from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) to show that in 2015, police filed closure reports in 15-16 percent of cases, while more than 75 percent of cases had resulted in acquittals or withdrawals. Second, and, more importantly, it opined that the working of the atrocities act should not perpetuate casteism, which would undermine the integration of society and the Constitutions secular values, quoting from BR Ambedkars speech in the Constituent Assembly in which he said castes were anti-national and that liberty, equality and fraternity were interwoven elements of a trinity and would have to be enforced. The Congress reacted first asking for a review of the order, which it said diluted the atrocities act and removed the rings of security it provided to the most vulnerable. It asked the government to take an unambiguous stand against the order, by either filing a review petition or amending the 1989 law. It accused the BJP government in Maharashtra of handling the case negligently. Subsequently, others have sought to intervene. Dalit MPs across parties have demanded a review, while a Dalit group, the Dalit Shoshan Mukti Manch, has urged the Union government to challenge the judgment. So much for context. The point the Congress has also made, that the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh are averse to reservations, is not without substance. But there can be no doubt about the fact that the Dalits have been under fire in more than one, especially since a BJP majority government has come to power at the Centre and several states, Uttar Pradesh being the most important. The Congress, in fact, cited 2016-17 NCRB data to show that crimes against scheduled castes had increased by 5.5 percent and those against scheduled tribes by 4.7 percent under the current dispensation in New Delhi. It is not just that physical attacks on Dalits have increased in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra, for instance but economically too they are under the cosh. The stringent penal provisions against cow slaughter, the broadening of legislation against it and the tacit encouragement given to cow vigilantes by the BJP and its governments, have had, as we know, a hugely adverse on skinning and tanning of dead cows and the leather industry generally, which provide livelihoods to Dalits on a disproportionate ratio. In the present climate of fear and reprisal, the Supreme Court order is politically damaging. In any case, one statistics the court cited that over 75 percent of cases filed under the atrocities act result in either acquittal or withdrawal does not necessarily prove that cases are filed to settle scores. Many would read it (as with cases concerning crimes against women) as a demonstration of the facts that Dalits lack the resources to utilise judicial proceedings in an equal manner, that they can be intimidated into withdrawing cases, and that systemic prejudices against them are alive and well, even in organs of the state. The Central government hasn't really responded to the judgment, though Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said he will react after examining it. The judgment is in the public sphere and over 48 hours have passed, we have heard not a peep. And finally, it bears noting that neither the atrocities act nor cases of its misuse are responsible for caste remaining a barbaric reality in Indian society. A vast complex of factors connected to education and the fundamental dynamics of the economy and polity have blocked social change. Strengthening the act, not impugning it, is one step forward. Senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, who was in Shimla along with her daughter Priyanka Vadra, was rushed to New Delhi on Friday owing to her ill health, officials said. Senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, who was in Shimla along with her daughter Priyanka Vadra, was rushed to New Delhi on Friday following an onset of ill health, officials said. Gandhi was on her way to Chandigarh when she complained of breathing difficulties, according to a report in India Today. She was then admitted to the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh at around 11:15 pm on Thursday night. A report in The Indian Express said Sonia's doctors at PGIMER advised her to travel to Delhi for treatment. Thereafter, she flew to New Delhi on Friday morning by an 8.30 am flight. Cold conditions due to a fall in temperature owing to rains and a thunderstorm in Shimla and adjoining areas was the primary cause of Gandhi's health complication, The Indian Express report quoted officials as saying. "Her condition was stable. She took a short break after travelling on the Shimla-Panchkula road, and stayed at a hotel near Panchkula before a special flight was arranged for her to travel to Delhi this morning. She reached the Panchkula hotel at around 2.35 am," a medical superintendent at the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Ramesh Chand, who accompanied the Congress leader from Shimla to Chandigarh, was quoted as saying in The Indian Express report. Sonia Gandhi and her daughter were staying at the Wildflower Hall, an Oberoi Group luxury resort. The family arrived in Shimla on Wednesday and visited Chharabra where Priyanka's cottage is being constructed. With inputs from IANS The friction between the BJP-led NDA government and the southern states seems to be becoming heated with the state leaders crying afoul over the Union government's recommendation to the 15th Finance Commission There's friction between the BJP-led NDA government and the four South Indian states and it's only getting worse. The latest war of words came following the central government's recommendation to the 15th Finance Commission of using population data from the 2011 Census, instead of the 1971 Census, for distribution of central tax revenues. On Friday, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said the move, if considered, would affect the "interests of the South" and called for state leaders of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry to "resist" it. Center asks 15th FC to use 2011 census data instead of 1971 census used so far to determine devolution of taxes. This will further affect the interests of the south:we need to resist. @CMOKerala @CMOTamilNadu @ncbn @TelanganaCMO @Dev_Fadnavis @CMPuducherry https://t.co/6EoDp0xClh Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) March 23, 2018 Echoing similar sentiments, DMK working president MK Stalin wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief ministers of 10 non BJP-ruled states expressing his concerns about some of the terms of reference (ToR) for the 15th Finance Commission. Calling it "ill-conceived", he said that it will affect equal distribution of central tax revenue among the states and reduce the fiscal capability of states to that of municipalities. Before we plunge into what the clamour around the 15th Finance Commission and the southern states is all about, here's a brief look at what is the ToR that has pinched these aggrieved leaders. How much of central funds do states get The Finance Commission is a crucial constitutional set-up which decides every five years the ratio in which central tax revenue should be divided among the different states. All the states and Union Territories in India are collectively allocated 42 percent of the central taxes collected each financial year. The remaining 58 percent is for the Centre to use for national purposes. But the ratio in which the 42 percent gets divided among the different states is decided by the Finance Commission. On 27 November, 2017, the Ministry of Finance issued a notification constituting the 15th Finance Commission under the chairmanship of NK Singh. The Commission has to hereby submit its report for 2020-2025 by 30 October, 2019. In the same notice, one of the ToR stated that the "Commission shall use the population data of 2011 while making its recommendations". Traditionally, the previous Finance Commissions used population data from the 1971 Census as a standard. In fact, Lok Sabha constituencies were also divided based on this data and is set to remain frozen this way until 2026. The reason the 1971 Census was used as the standard is because it was the last Census before aggressive family control initiatives were implemented. The decision to include 2011 Census was first introduced in the 14th Finance Commission, which gave a 10 percent weightage to the 2011 Census while allocating the central tax revenue. The political consensus was that the ratio of distribution cannot be arrived at based on current population after asking states to implement family planning measures, writes Nilakantan RS in The Wire. The argument the southern states are making is that in the decades between 1971 and 2011, these states saw a steady decline in population growth rate, whereas northern states showed no such sign. The contention made by leaders like MK Stalin and Siddaramaiah is that using the 2011 Census data would result in a much reduced flow of central funds to the state, which they term as "punishment" for investing in education and health schemes to reduce the fertility rates and see an uptick in literacy rates. Is it unfair to southern states? One of the ToR asks the Finance Commission to incentivise "efforts and progress made in moving towards replacement rate of population growth". As joint secretary of the 13th Finance Commission, V Bhaskar notes in the Economic and Political Weekly, the replacement level fertility rate is defined as the total fertility rate (TFR) of 2.1. Out of the 29 states in India, 18 have already achieved the desired replacement rate of 2.1 or less, including all the southern states. The ToR suggests that the Commission should provide incentives to the remaining 11 states to reduce their TFR, to which other states may feel they are being "penalised" for being achieving their targets. This asymmetry is exacerbated when the 2011 Census data is used for the same. Female literacy rates in states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu are much higher than in states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. This shows a correlation between education and health; states with better literacy seem better prepared to implement family planning measures. As per the The Wire's report, between 1971 and 2011, Tamil Nadu and Kerala showed an absolute population growth of 56 percent and 75 percent respectively the lowest among all the states. Most other states showed an increase in the population growth exceeding 100 percent. Uttar Pradesh's showed an absolute population growth of 138.02 percent, while Jammu and Kashmir recorded the highest at 171.82 percent. When the 14th Finance Commission introduced the change in ratio by including the 2011 Census data, it translated to a revenue loss of Rs 6,000 crore for Tamil Nadu, 19 percent compared to the 13th Finance Commission's allocation ratio, making it the worst affected state. If the 2011 Census data is solely used by the 15th Finance Commission, it could result in a loss of nearly 70 percent of central tax revenue it was allocated by the 13th Finance Commission, the report further stated. The argument these states are making is to achieve these development indicators, they announced separate welfare schemes, be it making mid-day meals universal or allowing easy access to menstrual hygiene to lower dropout rates. What pays for farm loan waivers Writing for BloombergQuint, Praveen Chakravarty explains how the farm loan waiver scheme announced in Uttar Pradesh last year works. The Yogi Adityanath-led government had announced a Rs 36,000 crore farmer loan waiver, above the Rs 50,000 crore budget deficit the state faced. As Uttar Pradesh itself couldn't raise that much money, it would normally turn to the Union government to dish out a loan worth the loan waiver amount or act as a guarantor for its borrowings. The article notes that Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Karnataka alone contribute to more than half of the central government's tax collections. On a per capita basis, a person from Maharashtra contributes nearly Rs 33,000 per annum to the Centre's tax basket, while a resident from Gujarat, Karnataka or Tamil Nadu contributes roughly Rs 20,000 each year to the Centre. In stark contrast, an Uttar Pradesh resident contributes just Rs 7,000 per year. When the taxes are devolved, it is the poorer and less backward states which receive more funds from the Centre while the richer states get a smaller share. As a result, a Bihar resident would end up receiving Rs 30,000 every year, while the average Maharashtrian resident would receive just Rs 4,800, explains the article. It also adds that out of every Rs 100 a Tamil Nadu resident gives as taxes, s/he receives only Rs 34 for the state's development while the remaining amount is used by the Centre and other states. If the 2011 Census data is applied to determine the devolution of taxes ratios by the 15th Finance Commission, there is a high chance it will increase the social and economic disconnect between the North and the South in India. Opposing arguments However, they are several arguments that explain why using the 2011 Census data may not affect a state's share in the central pool of taxes adversely. Commission chairman NK Singh earlier reasoned that the terms of reference of the 15th Finance Commission provide for incentives to states that have seen controlled population growth and so it balances out the concerns. In another article published in The Wire, Alok Prasanna Kumar writes that because the ToR says that the 2011 Census data be used, it doesn't mean the Commission cannot use data from any other Census or necessarily give it the weightage based on the current population. He also argues that each state has two major sources of revenue taxes collected by the state and the state's share of taxes as guaranteed under the Constitution. In this case, not all states are equally dependent on funds from central taxes. It turns out that states with low development indicators (Bihar, Meghalaya, Mizoram etc) are more dependent on these central funds. On the other hand, southern states like Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh generate roughly 67 percent of their revenue from the respective state taxes levied. Only 30-33 percent of revenue is received from the Centre. This shows that the 15th Finance Commission's recommendations will affect only how much revenue a state receives from the Centre, and not how much revenue the state can raise through its own taxes. Despite the above arguments, however, southern leaders continue to fear that the Centre's decision seems to be a bid to eventually move towards using 2011 Census data to determine the number of Parliamentary seats allocated to states, according to a report on Scroll. If that is done, the southern states will be allotted fewer seats in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha as well, thereby reducing their representation in the Parliament. The Supreme Court on Friday sought explanation from chief secretaries of 11 states in two weeks on why they have not appointed Lokayukta and Uplokayukta New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday sought explanation from chief secretaries of 11 states in two weeks on why they have not appointed Lokayukta and Uplokayukta, despite enactment of the law five years ago. The top court asked the chief secretaries to specify the reasons for not appointing the anti-corruption ombudsman in the respective states even after the law was enacted in 2013. A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and R Banumathi also asked the chief secretary of Odisha to apprise the court on whether the office of the Lokayuka/Uplokayukta in the State is functional, saying the apex court has no information about the any such appointment. It said that from the material brought on record, it appeared that Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh have not appointed any Lokpal, Lokayukta or Uplokayukta. "The Chief Secretaries of the aforesaid 11 States shall inform the court within two weeks as to whether steps have been taken for appointment of Lokyukta/Uplokayukta and if so the stage thereof. The reasons for non appointment of Lokayukta/Uplokayukta in the aforesaid States be also laid before the Court in the aforesaid affidavit(s) to be filed by the Chief Secretaries," the bench said. The apex court also asked the 11 states to specify the time period by which they would appoint a Lokayukta as mandated by the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013. At the outset, the bench asked counsel Gopal Shankarnaryanan, appearing for petitioner advocate and Delhi BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, to apprise it about the states which have Lokayukta and which do not. Shankarnaryanan said several states have appointed the ombudsmen but many have not made the appointments yet as mandated by the Act. "We want the exact figure. This is not the answer we expect from a counsel in a case of such a magnitude," the bench said and posted the matter for further hearing on 12 April. The apex court was hearing a PIL which has also sought a direction to the states to provide adequate budgetary allocation and essential infrastructure for effective functioning of Lokayuktas. Section 63 of the 2013 Act states that every state shall establish a body to be known as the Lokayukta. On 23 February, the Centre had told the apex court that the process for appointing the anti-graft ombudsman Lokpal was going on and a meeting of the selection committee, which includes the Prime Minister, will be held soon. Attorney General KK Venugopal had said that steps for appointing the Lokpal have been taken and the selection panel, comprising the Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India, Speaker of Lok Sabha and leader of the largest opposition party, would hold a meeting on 1 March to discuss the issue. The court had said that the Act was an eminently workable piece of legislation and "does not create any bar to the enforcement of the provisions". According to the PIL filed by Upadhyay, the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, received presidential assent on 1 January, 2014 and came into force from 16 January, 2014 but the executive has not established a Lokpal yet. According to the petitioner, many state governments are "deliberately weakening" the Lokayukta by not providing adequate infrastructure, sufficient budget and workforce. "An autonomous Lokpal at Centre and an independent Lokayukta in all the states in spirit of the Act 2013 is necessary for redressal of the citizens' grievances related to corruption in time bound manner and a Citizen Charter in every department is necessary to ensure time-bound delivery of goods and services," Upadhaya plea said. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) may be jubilant over the Delhi High Court verdict on its MLAs. However, it is not celebration time for the party just yet. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) may be jubilant over the Delhi High Court verdict setting aside the Election Commissions order on the disqualification of 20 MLAs in the office of profit case. However, it is not celebration time for the party as yet. The 20 MLAs need to know that the sword of disqualification continues to hang over them. The President had disqualified the 20 MLAs after the EC found their posts of parliamentary secretaries to be offices of profit. The High Court has transferred the matter to the Election Commission so that the MLAs get a chance to present their side through an oral hearing. However, constitutional experts and the petitioner in the case feel that the relief provided by the High Court is a temporary one. These MLAs have been found fulfilling all those criteria which make their post an office of profit. The present situation is like a convict in whose case the judgment has been stayed. In such a situation, the convict cannot be said to be free for all times to come, constitutional expert SK Sharma told Firstpost. "If the EC has to conduct a hearing again of the 20 MLAs, they should be eligible as MLAs and not disqualified ones. That is why a status quo has been maintained on the Presidents order on a temporary basis to make these disqualified MLAs eligible and call them for a hearing, he explained. However, the petitioner in this case Prashant Patel who was the first one to file a PIL questioning whether the post of parliamentary secretary was an office of profit or notdiffers with the plea of these MLAs. The hearing at EC took place 11 times and these 20 MLAs were called to present their side. However, they either didnt turn up or raised extraneous issues. This has been established from the fact that when the MLAs approached the High Court on being disqualified by the President, the High Court pulled them up for not responding to EC notices, remarked Patel. Parameters for deciding on Office of Profit In general, there are three parameters considered as the touchstone for deciding on whether a post is an office of profit. 1. Does the person hold a post that is an Office of Profit? 2. Whether the office is in the government? 3. Whether by virtue of holding that officethat person is earning some profits? In the case of the 20 AAP MLAs, it was found that the MLAs were holding an office of profit. The office was in the Delhi government as chief minister Arvind Kejriwal administered them the secrecy oath. The chief minister passed the order for their appointments. Under the third parameter, the MLAs responded in the negative, saying they didnt earn any profit (salary etc). However, according to the Supreme Court, earning profit doesnt mean only cash. It can be in the form of power, position, miscellaneous facilities, etc. Even an official car, furniture bought for the office, etc are considered as earning an income. All these constitute an office of profit. Five issues framed by Election Commission The EC framed five issues on the basis of which it declared that the MLAs had been holding an office of profit. 1. Did MLAs hold office of profit? (Yes, according to EC). 2. Whether they earned profit out of the post? (Yes, according to EC). 3. Whether facilities were provided? (Yes, according to EC). 4. Whether an exemption from the purview of office of profit was granted to the MLAs? (No exemption granted, according to EC) 5. Whether functions and responsibilities were decided for these MLAs as parliamentary secretaries? (EC noted that nothing was decided). Based on these five issues, the EC concluded that the posts held by the 20 MLAs fell under the purview of office of profit. These MLAs acting as parliamentary secretaries attended meetings with the respective ministers. Even in the absence of a minister, a parliamentary secretary held meetings with the officials. They gave directions to officials, which were executive in nature, said Sharma, who was also an adviser to Patel. Using official cars and buying furniture for ones office and the way parliamentary secretaries attended meetings and gave directions shows authority all these constitute office of profit. Only earning salary doesnt makes any post an office of profit. There is no escape for the MLAs in this case, added Sharma. What does the AAP say? The issue we had raised was that we should have been orally heard, which didnt take place. The EC will now start a proper hearing. Well put forth our side of the truth. The court had no option but to set the order aside. There is no merit in it. Justice has prevailed. Itll now help us to start working in our respective constituencies with new vigour, AAP MLA from Dwarka, Adarsh Shastri told Firstpost. Shastri was one of the 20 MLAs disqualified in the office of profit case. At a strategy level, the AAP is working on its next level of planning with respect to what will happen if the EC again disqualifies the 20 MLAs. It wasnt natural justice. Earlier, we werent given an opportunity to present our side through an oral hearing. Our MLAs werent informed that CEC OP Rawat rejoined the proceedings after recusing himself from the case. Now, the HC has referred it back to the EC. But nothing can be said about what the EC will decide after hearing our MLAs. If it goes against us, the party will move the High Court. But till then, this relief will help our MLAs reach out to the people of Delhi and work for them, said AAP national secretary Pankaj Gupta. The ball is now in AAPs court. It remains to be seen whether it handles the issue astutely or not. Manila (CNN Philippines Life) Majority of Filipinos are still glued to their T.V. sets, consuming news, telenovelas, and other kinds of shows. But that might be changing soon. According to a recent Nielsen Global Video-on-Demand (VOD) Survey, 81 percent of Filipino respondents subscribe to an online video service provider and 85 percent said they prefer to watch VOD during their most convenient times. The disruption on broadcast television is slowly trickling down from the U.S. to the Philippines. People are consuming more on-demand content, watching their favorite T.V. shows whenever they have free time instead of the usual channel schedule. Nowadays, T.V. content viewing doesnt just happen on T.V. screens, says CNN Philippines Mitzi Borromeo, the host of the news channels first digital show, DigiPinoy. People consume on-demand content on mobile phones, tablets, or other devices, and they demand more personalized experiences. It makes sense that a news network like CNN Philippines is now venturing into the realm of online shows, and beginning with a show that explores how Filipinos are affected by the onslaught of digital technology. DigiPinoy seeks to understand what we as a society have become in the digital age, says Borromeo, who also hosts CNN Philippines shows such as Profiles. For instance, in the way we communicate and express ourselves, in our relationships with family and friends, in our love lives, in the way we learn, do business, and travel. The first DigiPinoy episode explores how apps and dating websites have affected the behavior of Pinoys in getting and maintaining relationships. The series will be made up of various themes the first theme is love in the digital age around which the stories and experiences of everyday Filipinos revolve to illustrate how the digital age has influenced a particular aspect or theme of our lives, she adds. The series also features experts to help us make sense of human behavior. CNN Philippines Life recently talked to Borromeo, coming from the launch of the series pilot episode, to discuss online behavior, the gifts of technology, and the dark side of these innovations. Below are edited excerpts from the interview. Undoubtedly, social media is where Filipinos thrive these days. What do you think that says about us as a nation? This is a reflection of the Filipino peoples sociable and friendly spirit. We love making connections, and well jump at any opportunity to do so. We are also such emotional, expressive, and curious people. Perhaps this is why Pinoys thrive on social media they provide platforms for self-expression while making connections at the same time. Give the Pinoy a microphone, and [they] belt out a tune. Thats what social media is to the Pinoy: with the proliferation of apps and other digital tools, we have more avenues to be seen and heard. Theres also the Pinoy appetite for tsismis social media provides easy channels to feed curiosity and voyeurism where one can be in the know by lurking on social media and seeing the goings on through peoples posts. What are some important insights youve learned while working on these stories? Weve only covered one theme so far love in the digital age, a series entitled Love Bytes. Given the more open and liberal society we live in, I was surprised to find out that many people did not want to admit publicly (on camera) that they use dating apps, or met their partners through the internet or dating apps. Many expressed fear of coming out (for those using Grindr) and being found out by family, who are still very traditional, or even getting into trouble with their employers. I didnt realize that theres a big stigma attached to online dating in the Philippines. Another thing, despite dependence on digital tools to find or sustain love, its refreshing to discover that digital natives at least the ones we interviewed still prefer actual presence, quality face-to-face time with their partners, put away smartphones and digital distraction when with their partners, and that they have not become slaves to technology. On the other end of the spectrum, what analog or pre-internet technology do you miss the most? The internet has strongly fueled nostalgia as well, with digital technology giving rise to the importance of old-world innovations such as film in cinema and vinyl records. Vinyl and cassette tapes. I used to make mix tapes for friends, and received a lot from friends (and crushes) too. I also miss taking pictures using film, and photo prints. When it comes to reading, Im a lover of the actual printed book, not tablets or e-books. Nothing beats the feel, smell, the experience of holding an actual book and making notes or marks on it. Theres also a dark side to technology, such as hacking, invasion of privacy, and cyberbullying. Will this be discussed in the coming episodes? Yes. We skim the surface in our first series on love, looking at how people have been fooled or scammed through dating apps, and the stigma associated with online dating. DigiPinoy will definitely explore the dark side of technology as its part of the evolving digital culture that we are still grappling with. For instance, digital communications allows people oceans apart to engage with each other seamlessly, businesses can operate at a scale previously unknown, thanks to a burgeoning consumer electronics industry. But not all aspects of this industry are positive. Its important to recognize and be aware of the dangers of information technology. In tackling themes like travel, education, and online businesses for instance, DigiPinoy will discuss the proliferation of scams, false information, hacking, and invasion of privacy. Well also look into social media, technology, or gaming addiction and its real life consequences. Technology is changing us in many ways. The mental health field continues to adapt and develop its understanding to meet the needs of our changing society. And DigiPinoy aims to contribute to understanding such phenomena, and hopefully contribute solutions to the problems brought on by human misappropriation of technology. *** New episodes of "DigiPinoy" debut every Monday, 7:30 p.m. at the CNN Philippines website, Facebook, and Twitter. With an eye on the possible bypolls in Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government rolled out a seemingly pro-poor budget in the Assembly on Thursday. With an eye on the possible bypolls in Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government rolled out a seemingly pro-poor budget in the Assembly on Thursday. But deriving political gains out of the move may be difficult for the ruling dispensation, given the party's not so glorious record in implementing earlier budgetary promises. Though the AAP government in Delhi has always stood high in its budgetary promises, its success in fulfilling them has always been a subject of debate. Allegations of failing to spend huge amounts of government-allocated funds in the previous budgets and missing of targets have occupied public discourse in the recent past. In its first budget in the year 2015, the AAP government increased the budgetary allocation on education by 106 percent over the previous year. But an Indian Express report published at the end of the financial year showed that a substantial amount of the funds in various heads remained unspent. As per the report, 31 percent of the funds allocated as plan expenditure, more than 93 percent of the funds allocated under Right To Education Act and 76 percent of the budgetary allocation on Rashtriya Madhyamik Siksha Abhiyan remained unspent. Another report published in Hindustan Times showed that unspent funds in the health and education sector were as high as 34 percent of the allocation in the year 2015-16. Similar allegations continued to surface in the consecutive years too, as former education minister Dr Kiran Walia alleged in a press conference last February. She said that Rs 1,921 crore allocated to the education sector in the last two years had remained unspent. She flagged the issue again on Thursday just after the budget speech in another press conference held in the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee office and asked, "What is the point in increasing budgetary allocation when a huge chunk of money remained unspent?" The 2018-19 budget increases allocation in the education sector up to a whopping 25 percent of the total budgetary provision of Rs 53,000 crore from 23 percent in the previous year. It is significant to note that the 2018-19 health budget itself points to the missed target of setting up of 1,000 mohalla clinics in Delhi, as it lowers the target to 530. Though the target to set up 1,000 mohalla clinics was taken up by the previous budgets, little has been achieved so far in terms of this flagship project of the AAP-led government. Delhi health minister Satyendra Jain had declared the target to set up 1,000 mohalla clinics in the year 2016 and had allocated Rs 209 crore for it. But due to constant bickering with the lieutenant-governor over legal issues of the project, only 160 mohalla clinics have been opened till now. Delhi government has continued to include this unfulfilled target in previous budgets. This time around, the target is lowered as the government plans to set up 530 such clinics by 30 October. Delhi lacks adequate space to set up such a huge number of clinics in the capital city. It is alleged that this challenge was not taken into consideration while setting the target. "The ruling party has been blaming the L-G for non-implementation of the project. But it is not acceptable because the government was proposing more than 200 clinics inside school premises, which was illegal and the L-G is bound by the law of the land to flag this issue," said Ashok Agarwal, a noted health activist in Delhi. The budget also sets the target of procuring 3,000 buses for public transport. But then the same target was there in the 2016-17 budget as well, which till now remains unfulfilled. Explaining the reason for non-fulfilment of this target, a source in the Delhi government told Firstpost: "Though the target was set way back in the year 2016, the government did not have enough space to park the vehicles to be bought. Five parking depots are now planned for the purpose and are likely to be ready by October 2018." Purchasing 10,000 buses had been one of the electoral promises of the AAP, though till now it has bought none. Performance of the AAP-led government in Delhi may emerge as an issue in the forthcoming bypolls, as rivals may attempt to corner the government on this front. While speaking to Firstpost, Ajay Maken, Delhi chief of the Congress party said: "This budget is nothing but another attempt to fool the people." The Delhi High Court is likely to pronounce on Friday its verdict on the plea of 20 AAP MLAs challenging their disqualification for holding office-of-profit when they were appointed parliamentary secretaries. Bypolls in 20 Assembly constituencies could be held in the second half of the year. Breaking away from tradition, the BJP will hold its parliamentary party meeting at its new headquarters at Deendayal Upadhyay Marg in New Delhi on Friday. Breaking away from tradition, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will hold its parliamentary party meeting at its new headquarters at Deendayal Upadhyay Marg in New Delhi on Friday. This is a departure from the past practice of holding the meeting every Tuesday at the Parliament's library building or the Parliament Annexe. The meeting in the evening will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. All the 332 BJP MPs from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are expected to attend the meeting, including the Union ministers, and it will be followed by a dinner. The BJP has recently shifted its headquarters from the postcolonial Lutyens' Delhi bungalow at 11 Ashoka Road to the swanky three-storied building at 6A, Deendayal Upadhyay Marg. "It's a routine parliamentary party meeting. The only change is the venue. The basic objective of holding this meeting at our new office is to give the feel of this new headquarters to all the MPs, including the new ones. Discussions will also be the same as we do every Tuesday at the Parliament's Library building or Annexe. It's a routine affair," a BJP MP told Firstpost. Importance of the meeting Though this parliamentary party meeting has been stated to be a 'routine affair', according to sources, it will be an important one due to a couple of reasons. The Parliament has been witnessing a deadlock ever since the second phase of the Budget Session began on 5 March, due to relentless protests by Opposition parties besides NDA ally Telugu Desam Party. The ruckus inside both the Houses of the Parliament has led to daily adjournments without any serious business transactions. The prime minister is expected to discuss strategy on this with his party MPs. The current session ends on 6 April. The meeting will be the first one since the BJP lost three Lok Sabha seats in the recently held bypolls in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, including UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath's constituency Gorakhpur a strong BJP bastion. This will be an introspection session. Modi-Shah will discuss and give instructions on how the MPs should function in their respective constituencies ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, and subsequently in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. "The prime minister may ask the MPs to tell the public about the benefits of government schemes, especially when the Opposition has been trying to attack the government," a senior BJP functionary said. The Congress during its steering committee meeting had chalked out the strategy to attack the Modi government, both inside and outside the Parliament. Inside the Parliament, it is constantly attacking the NDA through floor coordination. TDP is also up in arms against the NDA government and it recently quit the alliance. Given the situation, the Friday evening meeting becomes much more important in terms of strategy on how the BJP would combat all these challenges. BJP's stand on the Cambridge Analytica data theft row is a perfect display of stamping your foot on an axe, as it may end up hurting the saffron party. The BJP's stand on the Cambridge Analytica data theft controversy is a perfect display of stamping your foot on an axe. Without any rhyme or reason, it has needlessly stoked a controversy that may ultimately end up hurting the saffron party. Most of us Indians had not even heard of the controversial data theft. Even those who had were aware only of its role in manipulating the United States presidential election in 2016. But, for some reason, IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad grabbed the issue floating around in the US and Europe and let it loose in India. First, he accused the Congress of hiring the company accused of mining personal data in the US for manipulating polls in India, without an iota of evidence. Then, he went on to warn Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg against influencing elections in India. It takes an exceptional amount of immaturity to cast stones at others while living in a glass house. With revelation after revelation pointing at the BJP's link with the Indian partner of Cambridge Analytics, Prasad's hasty decision to shoot the Congress with the data theft bullet is rebounding on his own party. According to NDTV, the BJP may have actually been a beneficiary of data mining by Strategic Communications Laboratories, the Indian partner of Cambridge Analytica's parent firm based in the UK. Avneesh Rai, co-founder of the Indian firm, told the news channel that Alexander Nix, the disgraced CEO of the UK-based data gathering firm may have "plotted to defeat the Congress party ahead of India's 2014 parliamentary elections." Rai said Nix mined data to defeat the Congress for a client. But he did not reveal the identity of the client. Rai also revealed that OBI, another company with links to Cambridge Analytics, had worked for the BJP in the 2012 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. He said the firm had supplied booth-wise age and caste data to the party. Interestingly, OBI had listed BJP, JD (U) and Congress among its biggest Indian clients. There are also allegations that I&B minister Smriti Irani was following Cambridge Analytics on Twitter. Amit Malviya, head of the BJPs media cell, had called Cambridge Analytics a "powerful tool." Why exactly did the BJP dash towards the controversy, crashing into it headlong? Did Prasad import the controversy without knowing about his own party's alleged links to the data theft? Or, was it a case of accusing the rival before the rivals point fingers at the BJP? The BJP's strategy to unnecessarily Indianise the controversy is perhaps symptomatic of its impatience and frustration. For the past few weeks, it has been on the backfoot because of negative news flow. First, the Congress successfully managed to lay the blame for the Nirav Modi scam at the BJP's doorsteps. Whatever be the BJP's argument, public opinion by and large favours the Congress allegation that the Narendra Modi government, that promised to be a chowkidaar, watched in silence as Nirav looted public banks and disappeared from India. Yet another setback was the unfortunate killing of 39 Indians in Mosul by the Islamic State. The revelation was contrary to the governments initial claims that the workers were safe. With the truth now coming out of Mosul graves, families of the victims have accused the government of lying to them. Politically too it has been a rough week for the BJP. Its fracas with trusted alliance partner TDP and the loss in Gorakhpur, Phulpur and Bihar bypolls has eroded the image of the party's invincibility. It seems, the BJP was eager to turn the tables on the Congress by latching on to the data theft controversy. But, in its haste to run down the Congress, it has drawn attention to its own links with the controversial company. Finger-wagging, lobbing dirt in the air in the hope that it will stick on rivals and accusing them of doing business with controversial firms that allegedly partnered the BJP are poor strategies indicative of restlessness in the party. They reveal a desperation to attack rivals, even if it leads to a PR harakiri. Somebody needs to remind the BJP that it is no longer in Opposition. If it has any evidence of data theft in India, if it seriously believes that Cambridge Analytica manipulated elections for the Congress, it should go ahead and launch a detailed probe. Also, it should come clean on its own links with the firm's Indian partners. Unless it does this, the BJP's stand would only lead to suspicions of its own complicity and, thus, the lack of courage to take decisive action. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday said JD(U) president Nitish Kumar had a lot to answer as his party leader KC Tyagi's son was reportedly associated with Cambridge Analytica Patna: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday said JD(U) president Nitish Kumar had a lot to answer as his party leader KC Tyagi's son was reportedly associated with controversial data mining firm Cambridge Analytica. The BJP, the JD(U)'s ally in Bihar, and the Congress have been trading charges over hiring the services Cambridge Analytica. Last week, Facebook had admitted that the British firm used data collected from 50 million users without their consent, an act of breach of privacy. "Bihar CM Nitish's close confidant and one instrumental in JD(U)'s reunion with BJP KC Tyagi's son Amresh Tyagi worked for #CambridgeAnalytica and helped it work for BJP as report confirms! Nitish and PM Modi have a lot to answer," Yadav, a former deputy chief minister, said in a tweet. "Nitish Kumar & PM Modi are only politicians in the country who take help of PR agencies like #CambridgeAnalytica to create hype around their non existent work! Both are answerable to the country for their Party's links with the agency!" he said in another tweet. Bihar CM Nitish's close confidante and one instrumental in JDU's reunion with BJP- KC Tyagi's son Amrish Tyagi worked for #CambridgeAnalytica and helped it work for BJP as report confirms! Nitish & PM Modi has a lot to answer! Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) March 22, 2018 NitishKumar & PM Modi are only politicians in the country who take help of PR agencies like #CambridgeAnalytica to create hype around their non existent work! Both are answerable to the country for their Party's links with the agency! Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) March 22, 2018 On Union Law and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad's warning to Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday, Yadav alleged that BJP leaders were preparing the ground for throttling social media. "They are warning Facebook owner that even he can be summoned. The government should tell us if it has the power, why is it not acting against fugitives like Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi and Vijay Mallya," he said. Talking to a news channel, the RJD leader claimed that he had got a whiff of the activities of Tyagi's son during the 2015 Assembly polls, when "I had not even heard the name of the firm (Cambridge Analytica)". "I was accompanied by KC Tyagi to a rally in Champaran and he told me that his son was in the PR business and was associated with election management of Donald Trump who was then preparing for the US presidential polls," Yadav claimed. The RJD heir apparently also said "Why is KC Tyagi not coming out with explanations himself and not allowing his son, who is an adult, to clear the air. And why isn't the NDA government at the Centre not conducting a thorough probe which could settle the matter once and for all?" he asked. The Delhi Congress on Thursday alleged that the AAP government had failed to utilise allocated funds for schemes last year. New Delhi: The Delhi Congress on Thursday alleged that the AAP government had failed to utilise allocated funds for schemes last year. It also claimed the Budget presented by it was "hollow with manipulated statistics and falls short of fulfilling aspirations of the people. Reacting to the Budget, the party's leaders claimed that the present dispensation had ruined the work the Congress government did under chief ministership of Sheila Dikshit. "The 2018-19 Delhi Budget does not fulfil aspirations of the people as it is a trick of statistics to deceive them," Maken said. The funds were allowed to lapse in the previous three budgets, and this budget also falls in the same category," he alleged. Rubbishing the AAP government's claim of presenting the first "green budget", he accused that the Arvind Kejriwal dispensation did nothing to control the worsening air quality in the city. Maken also rubbished the claims of the government in transforming the transport, health and education sectors. The Delhi HCs verdict on the disqualification of the AAP MLAs embarrasses the Election Commission. However, the triumphant mood in the AAP camp is unwarranted. The Delhi High Courts verdict on the disqualification of the AAP MLAs is a clear embarrassment to the Election Commission, which is a high constitutional office. Setting aside the disqualification of the MLAs, the court has now transferred the matter back to the Election Commission, allowing the legislators a chance to present their side through an oral hearing. The court verdict further indicates that the President should have at least warned the poll panel against the remarkable alacrity with which it acted on the issue. The norms regarding giving an oral hearing to the MLAs were violated. This goes against the principle that it is not enough just to deliver justice, but justice should also be seen to have been delivered. Seen in the perspective of how the L-G acted with the elected government of Delhi, the manner in which the AAP MLAs were disqualified is a cause for worry. However, Kejriwal should have avoided all this. The appointment of such a large number of parliamentary secretaries militates against the principles of law and political probity, which is unbecoming of the party and the government that swears in the name of the aam aadmi (common man). The court seems to have objected to the manner in which the EC has acted. The remarkable alacrity with which such an august constitutional body acted certainly raises many questions. As AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said, "The principles of natural justice hold that a person against whom an accusation is made should have a chance to explain his or her stand." The AAP is therefore, right on the question of principles of natural justice. However, the triumphant mood in the AAP camp is unwarranted as the case has more to it. It is difficult for the AAP to justify its actions that clearly violate the office of profit law. This law has a clear bearing on the constitutional scheme of things. The legislature is supposed to scrutinise the executive. Any legislator receiving a pecuniary benefit or any other benefit from the executive beyond what is permissible under law is a clear conflict of interest. Arvind Kejriwal being a civil servant-turned politician must be aware of this. The Delhi High Court, by allowing a fresh hearing of the case by the EC, therefore has not vindicated the AAP government's action of appointing legislators as parliamentary secretaries, that too in such a large number. Such an action by the Delhi government is a clear attempt to subvert the constitutional provisions that enforce a limit on the strength of the ministry in proportion to the strength of the legislature. Such provisions are aimed at establishing some propriety and probity in public life. The government headed by Kejriwal that assumed office on the promise of alternate politics and governance should not have resorted to such an act. Besides, he should have been aware that the Delhi government does not enjoy the constitutional luxury which other states enjoy, which had enabled them to bypass the office of profit law. More than the law, it is political optics and the perception battle which Kejriwal lost. It is true, as AAP leader Ashutosh has observed, that the BJP-led Central government has done everything at its disposal to hijack the people's mandate in Delhi. However, this does not justify Kejriwal's brazen actions on this issue. The AAP may be right in alleging political motives behind the disqualification. However, the question is whether such an accusation will stand in the court of law. Can Kejriwal defend his motives in distributing sops to his MLAs, subverting the provisions of the law? The Election Commission will hear the matter afresh, and may well arrive at the same recommendation. Thus, the issue can come before the court again. The key question is, as The Hindu observes in its editorial, whether the post was an office of profit even after the Delhi government made it clear that parliamentary secretaries would not be eligible for any remuneration. The AAPs stand is that they were only allowed the use of government transport for official uses and office space in the respective ministries. As per the Indian jurisprudence, the test to decide whether a post is an office of profit is the role of the government in appointing and paying the person concerned. In the case of Jaya Bachchan (2006), the Supreme Court said that it was an office of profit even if one did not actually receive payment; it was enough if some pay was receivable. An office of profit is an office which is capable of yielding a profit or pecuniary gain. The fact that these MLAs, in their capacity as parliamentary secretaries, would be functioning in an executive position would incur disqualification. The writer is a former MLC in Telangana, former editor, The Hans India and Professor, Journalism, Osmania University. Government is interested in the functioning of Parliament when it wants to stand up and make a statement and not beyond that, says Guna MP Jyotiraditya Scindia. Since 16 March when the second leg of the Budget session was reconvened everything has been happening in Parliament but work. No less than three no-confidence motions given by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and YSR Congress against the Narendra Modi-led NDA government stand pending in Lok Sabha since that day. Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned for the 14th consecutive day amid protests until Thursday. Friday happened to be the 15th time. Jyotiraditya Scindia, who represents Guna constituency in Madhya Pradesh, was one of those accused of disrupting the House when External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was reading out the list of 39 Indians who died in Iraq. In an interview to Firstpost about the state of affairs in Parliament and his preparation for the state Assembly polls, Scindia said, "We are in the 14th day of the Parliament not functioning. The Congress party isn't the one in the well of the House. We are sitting in our seats. In a parliamentary democracy, it is every party's right to protest but isn't it the duty of the government to break the logjam?" He accused the ruling party of not having initiated a dialogue with the opposition parties and of not calling an all-party meeting to break the logjam. His prime accusation is that this logjam has been socially engineered by the government because it doesn't want to discuss the Nirav Modi scam, the no-confidence motion, mortar shelling along the LoC in Poonch that claimed the lives of five members of a family, and the threat to internal security in Naxal-affected Sukma where nine CRPF jawans were killed last week. "The government is interested in the functioning of the Parliament when it wants to stand up and make a statement and not after that," the 47-year-old Guna MP said when quizzed about whether his argumentative methods are in fact disruptive. Notwithstanding the reasons for which Parliament was disrupted, the exchequer had to bear the burden of that. In the Finance Bill of 2018, the basic salary of MPs was revised from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1,00,000 per month. Before the revision of salaries and perks, IndiaSpend calculations showed that about Rs 144 crore was lost due to disruptions during the 10th session of the Lok Sabha in 2016. "Sushma Swaraj has repeatedly, on the floor of the House, said that all 39 members are safe and that she has received evidence from six witnesses and two others who are to be 100 percent trusted that they are alive and well. How can she now stand up and make this statement?" Scindia asked. Someplace far from the carpeted green confines of the Lok Sabha, news surfaced about the British consulting firm Cambridge Analytica that allegedly mined 50 million profiles from the social networking site to orchestrate campaigns for 2016 US elections and Brexit referendum. The company's India partner Oveleno Business Intelligence (OBI) lists the BJP, the Congress and the JD (U) as its clients. Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged that Congress president Rahul Gandhi's entire social media campaign was managed by the said company to which senior Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala responded by saying Prasad should be renamed from law minister to 'jhoot mantri'. And so began another slugfest over the privacy and data of millions of Indians which is possibly at risk. "If you look at the facts, the Congress party has never engaged with Cambridge Analytica, not for any election, not for any research. The company has stated on its website that it had a mandate and transactions that have happened with regard to the Uttar Pradesh Election and the Bihar Elections for the BJP," said Scindia, saying it is a case of the kettle calling the pot black. The Madhya Pradesh elections are still eight months away and the electoral outcome will undoubtedly have an impact on the 2019 Lok Sabha election. In the second largest state situated in the heart of India, Shivraj Singh Chouhan is completing his third term. Scindia hasnt been projected as the chief ministerial face yet but is the maharaja combat-ready? Yes, except he now wants the title of maharaja dropped. "My name is Jyotiraditya Scindia and I believe it's important to be able to go forward in my life based on your own achievements and hard work and thats something that Id like to speak for me and not my past," said the Guna MP, who holds degrees from Harvard and Stanford and feels thinking in the binary of Harvard versus hard work isnt fair because each degree, secured from whichever university, is achieved through hard work and shouldnt be disparaged or insulted. He also acknowledged that even those without degrees have had an amazing history and track record of public service in India. From a crop of young and argumentative parliamentarians, can India expect a narrative shift towards a jumla-free, issue-based election campaign? "I may disagree with you and have every right to attack your policies, achievements and failures if there is a yawning chasm between what they have said and what they have done. But I dont believe in entering the personal realm," said Scindia as he looks forward to a season of issue-centric campaigning. Sure, he doesnt make a personal attack but he does spin out jumla at the BJP, saying it has perfected the tripartite act of jhooth bolna, baar baar bolna and jor se bolna. With three-fourth of the voters being farmers, their distress is the top priority. Scindia even renamed Madhya Pradesh's agrarian scheme Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana the Bhrastachaar Anant Yojana. The scheme is designed to offer the farmer the bhavantar or the price difference between the MSP and the market price and is broadly considered a healthy policy by agrarian experts. In an earlier conversation with Firstpost, agrarian expert Devinder Sharma had said that the policy which states like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have shown an interest in, is on the face of it a good scheme but the problem lies in the implementation of it. He had given the instance of the price of black gram fixed at Rs 3,000 per quintal against the procurement price of Rs 5,400 per quintal. Scindia pointed out that the scheme offers the farmer the difference between what he has received in the mandi and the average mandi price in that area. He plucked two nerves. Firstly, the scheme is only applicable to those farmers registered with that government and only 8 percent farmers in Madhya Pradesh fall in this category. Secondly, the minute the scheme was announced, the traders got together and brought down the price of soyabean from Rs 2,350 and were buying from farmers at an average rate of Rs 1,800-1,900. In a story Firstpost reported on the impact of the scheme on the ground, Sharma had stated that traders form a cartel and pick up the black gram for prices as low as Rs 500 per quintal from farmers. Scindia may have lashed out at the scheme but did not however share a fresh and original recourse to resolving farmer distress. In Madhya Pradesh, the tribal vote is a substantial 21 percent. Does Scindia have an outreach plan in place or will the Congress crumble like a cookie before the BJPs thick shake of fieldwork? Under the UPA-rule, The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 was introduced after a protracted struggle by marginalised communities across the country. The act has a provision for entitlement to land for the tribals and other forest dwellers. Scindia alleged that the pattas distributed by previous UPA regimes were taken back during the NDA rule. But, returning of pattas wouldnt merely solve the problem, unless there is a survey and demarcation to ensure the claimants get their due. Should he be voted to power, it will be an uphill task for Scindia to convince the forest administration to part with the land, a problem that has been going on since the act came into force, which was in 2006 when there was a UPA-led government at the Centre. For Scindia, who faces one of the most critical elections of his political career thus far, says it is time to rise above BJP and Congress and make the election about the 7.5 crore residents of Madhya Pradesh. Time will tell which party clings on to that in reality. In a jolt to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), its legislator Anil Singh on Friday voted for BJP candidates in the Rajya Sabha polls currently underway in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow: In a jolt to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), its legislator Anil Singh on Friday voted for BJP candidates in the Rajya Sabha polls currently underway in Uttar Pradesh. Talking to the media after casting his vote, Singh, who met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday night, said he voted for the BJP on "antaratma ki awaaz" (inner call). His move sent shock waves in the Opposition camp, specially the BSP which is counting each vote to get its lone candidate Bhim Rao Ambedkar elected to the Upper House of Parliament. The BSP MLA, however, said he did not know what his other party legislators were up to. In a related development, Nitin Agarwal, the Samajwadi Party (SP) legislator from Hardoi, also voted for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates. His father Naresh Agarwal joined the BJP earlier this month. Nitin Agarwal told the media that the people would punish the unholy alliance between the SP and the BSP. "The SP preferred a person who entertains the society (Jaya Bachchan) over a person who serves the society (Naresh Agarwal) which is very unfortunate," he said, predicting that all the nine BJP candidates would win. Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya also claimed that the BJP candidates would sail through comfortably. Voting for the 10 seats began at 9 am at the Tilak hall in the Vidhan Sabha building. It will conclude at 4 pm, after which counting will begin at 5 pm. Among the first to vote was former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav's estranged uncle, Shivpal Singh Yadav who is the SP legislator from Jaswantnagar. Talking to reporters after casting his vote, Yadav said he was sure that the BSP's candidate would win the Rajya Sabha seat. Congress legislators have also cast their vote. Leader of the Congress legislature party in the Assembly, Ajay Kumar 'Lallu' said all the conspiracies and dirty tricks of the BJP to wean away MLAs from other parties will fail miserably. The Congress's seven legislators have pledged support to the BSP candidate. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath was also in the Vidhan Sabha premises along with many of his ministerial colleagues. The BJP has fielded nine candidates while the SP and BSP have named one each. Follow LIVE updates on Rajya Sabha Election here BJP, which can get eight candidates elected in Rajya Sabha based on its strength in the Assembly, has raised the stakes by fielding a ninth candidate. Auto refresh feeds Election would be held to fill three vacancies and four candidates, three belonging to TRS and one Congress nominee, are in the fray. A decision to the effect was taken as per the directives of the party's central leadership, state BJP president K Laxman said in a statement. BJP on Thursday said it would stay away from Rajya Sabha polls being held on Friday to fill three vacancies from Telangana. Speaking to ANI , Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Anil Singh said that he voted for the BJP. "I have voted for BJP, I don't know about the rest," he said. The Bharatiya Janata Party (44) is two votes short of the required number but can pull off at least one win with the help of the JD(S) (39). The BJP, JD(S), BSRC, KJP and KMP have 90 MLAs, which is still two votes short of what is required to elect 2 MPs. However, the NDA may be able to pull off the second seat with the help of independents. Before Karnataka heads for Assembly Election in teh next two months, the state will see four Rajya Sabha seats heading to polls. A candidate requires the vote of 46 MLAs in the house to get elected. With 124 MLAs, the ruling Congress party will elect 2 MPs and have 32 balance votes left, reported News18 . Both Finance Minister and BJP national spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao are expected to win. According to NDTV , there are 11 candidates for 10 seats. the BJP has over 300 lawmakers to ensure it clinchs eight seats. However, the saffron party out to avenge its bypoll losses has made it a fight to get the ninth seat by supporting an independent candidate. It has 28 extra votes to aim for a ninth seat, and needs nine more to win. 37 votes are needed for each seat. The fight for 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh is expected to go down to the wire with the BJP trying to avenge their Gorkahpur bypoll loss against the BSP and Samajwadi Party who joined hands and wrested the saffron bastion from under BJP's nose. According to News18 , the Samajwadi Party candidate for Rajya Sabha, Jaya Bachchan, has declared assets worth Rs 1,000 crore, which could make her the richest candidate in the Upper House. The choice of Ambedkar also shows the BSP is no more interested in wooing Muslims as it has chosen not to re-nominate sitting MP Munquad Ali, the second best-known Muslim leader of the party after Naseemuddin Siddiqui who has already joined the Congress. Ali not being re-nominated for the third term and selection of a little-known leader also fits into the pattern that is behind all the important appointments in BSP by Mayawati. Besides Mayawati and Satish Chandra Misra, no other leader has been sent to Rajya Sabha for more than two terms. She also keeps changing the people on senior posts of the party, which is seen by many as an attempt to keep the stature of all the leaders in check. Ambedkar belongs to Jatav sub-caste which is the traditional BSP support base. The selection of another Jatav means the party is focused on its core support base. If Ambedkar gets elected to the Rajya Sabha, the BSP will have five members in Upper House and four of them would be Jatavs, besides Misra, a Brahmin. This fits into the larger strategy emerging among regional parties to hold onto their caste-based core support bases and then come together to form an alliance to counter the BJP. Former MLA Bhimrao Ambedkar, a Dalit from Etawah , is the BSP's nominee for Rajya Sabha elections for the 10 seats falling vacant from Uttar Pradesh. It came as a surprise as Mayawati has for the first time, since she took reins of the party, chosen not to be a Member of Parliament or state legislature. Mayawati ropes in former MLA Bhimrao Ambedkar as Rajya Sabha poll candidate; BSP shifts focus to Jatavs from Muslims Voting is underway to elect 10 Rajya Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh. Voting for the crucial polls began at 9 am, at the Tilak hall in the Vidhan Sabha building. It will conclude at 4 pm, after which counting will begin at 5 pm. Counting of votes to take place at 5 pm in Uttar Pradesh "Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Rajeev Chandrasekhar will get at least 50 votes. He will win with a majority. I congratulate all MLAs voting for him," News18 quoted Karnatka BJP president BS Yeddyurappa as saying. Former MLA Bhimrao Ambedkar is BSP's nominee for Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh. Samajwadi Party has transferred 10 votes to BSP, Congress has given all 7; BSP has got its 17 votes along with RLD's one vote. The Opposition is now banking heavily on the two votes of Independents Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya and his close associate and MLA Vinod Saroj. The Allahabad High Court has denied permission to BSP's Mukhtar Ansari, currently lodged in Banda jail, to vote in the Rajya Sabha elections. And a court in Firozabad has rejected a petition by SP MLA Hariom Yadav, who is in Firozabad jail. The Unnao MLA's vote could be crucial as it gives the BJP the edge in getting a ninth Rajya Sabha seat from Uttar Pradesh. With BSP MLA Anil Singh believed to have cross-voted and two others in jail being denied permission to vote in the Rajya Sabha polls, the Opposition faced a challenge of numbers to ensure victory for their second candidate. BJP's Saroj Pandey is contesting against Lekhram Sahu of the Congress for the Chhattisgarh Rajya Sabha seat. Bhediya, however, denied the allegation and accused the BJP polling agent of peeping in when she was casting her vote. "I have used my vote as per rules. I have not disclosed my vote. The allegations are baseless," she said. Controversy erupted during the Rajya Sabha polls after a Congress MLA was accused of disclosing her vote in violation of election norms. BJP candidate Saroj Pandey's voting agent alleged that Congress MLA Anila Bhediya violated the rules by disclosing her vote cast in a secret ballot. According to The Indian Express, the Congress has written to the Election Commission claiming that Jharkhand Vikas Morcha MLA Prakash Ram violated the code of conduct. In a memorandum sen to the poll panel, the Congress claimed Ram "did not show ballot paper and concealed marked column" which violates the provisions of Rule 39AA of Conduct of Election Rules, 1961. According to News18, counting has been put on hold in Karnataka due to the complaint made by JDS. Due to some objections in ballot papers, Election Commission has not given permission to begin the counting of votes for Rajya Sabha election. Counting will begin only after clearance from poll panel, reports ANI . Prakash Ram did not show his vote to the party agent while casting his vote. "We have suspended Prakash Ram. We have written to the Election Commission to cancel his vote as he voted against the party line," Babulal Marandi, President of JVM-P, told reporters. The Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P) has suspended its legislator Prakash Ram for cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha polls. The counting of votes has been kept on hold in Karnataka after JDS' complaint over a disrepency. "JDS has boycotted the voting now. So, that will also enhance our chances of victory" ANI quoted Congress leader G Parameshwara as saying. After winning the Rajya Sabha seat from West Bengal, TMC's Abir Ranjan Biswas said that he was in "the seventh heaven of delight". On his win, TMC's Subhasish Chakraborty said that he does believe in democracy. "My priority will be to fight against corruption," ANI quoted him as saying. "It is humbling and uplifting. It is a result of cooperation between different groups and MLAs," Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who was backed by the Trinamool Congress in the election, told ANI after winning a seat. The counting of votes in Uttar Pradesh has begun. ACEO Ramesh Rai has said that the CCTV footage has been examined and nothing objectionable was found, reported CNN-News18. The election was held after the seat fell vacant when Kumar resigned from the Upper House of Parliament as a mark of protest against JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar joining hands with BJP-led NDA. Kumar, who was supported by ruling CPI(M)-led LDF, polled 89 votes, while B Babu Prasad the opposition UDF candidate got 40 votes in the election held to one seat from the state, official sources said. MP Veerendra Kumar, the Kerala president of the Janata Dal (U) Sharad Yadav faction, was today elected to the Rajya Sabha from Kerala. The Trinamool Congress bagged four seats and the Congress one in the Rajya Sabha polls from West Bengal. All four Trinamool candidates sitting Rajya Sabha member Nadimul Haque and first time nominees Subhasish Chakraborty, Abir Biswas and Santanu Sen emerged victorious in the vote count. The Election Commission has rejected the complaint against Jharkhand Vikas Morcha MLA Prakash Ram. It was alleged that he did not show his ballot paper to the party's authorised representative after casting vote. The BJP candidate Rajeev Chandrashekhar expressed happiness after emerging victorious in Karnataka. "It is an honor for me to serve Karnataka and serve my city, Bengaluru," he said. On his win, TMC's Subhasish Chakraborty said that he does believe in democracy. "My priority will be to fight against corruption," ANI quoted him as saying. "It is humbling and uplifting. It is a result of cooperation between different groups and MLAs," Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who was backed by the Trinamool Congress in the election, told ANI after winning a seat. The counting of votes in Uttar Pradesh has begun. ACEO Ramesh Rai has said that the CCTV footage has been examined and nothing objectionable was found, reported CNN-News18. The election was held after the seat fell vacant when Kumar resigned from the Upper House of Parliament as a mark of protest against JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar joining hands with BJP-led NDA. Kumar, who was supported by ruling CPI(M)-led LDF, polled 89 votes, while B Babu Prasad the opposition UDF candidate got 40 votes in the election held to one seat from the state, official sources said. MP Veerendra Kumar, the Kerala president of the Janata Dal (U) Sharad Yadav faction, was today elected to the Rajya Sabha from Kerala. The Trinamool Congress bagged four seats and the Congress one in the Rajya Sabha polls from West Bengal. All four Trinamool candidates sitting Rajya Sabha member Nadimul Haque and first time nominees Subhasish Chakraborty, Abir Biswas and Santanu Sen emerged victorious in the vote count. The Election Commission has rejected the complaint against Jharkhand Vikas Morcha MLA Prakash Ram. It was alleged that he did not show his ballot paper to the party's authorised representative after casting vote. I am very happy to have received the maximum number of votes. Happy with the trust shown in me. It is an honor for me to serve Karnataka & serve my city Bengaluru: Rajeev Chandrashekhar, BJP after winning #RajyaSabhaElections from Karnataka pic.twitter.com/cDPOTsWHj5 The BJP candidate Rajeev Chandrashekhar expressed happiness after emerging victorious in Karnataka. "It is an honor for me to serve Karnataka and serve my city, Bengaluru," he said. It' an important responsibility. We'll take up debates & discussions very seriously. We'll live up to expectation of national & state leadership. We'll also live up to the expectations of people of state: Naseer Hussain, Congress after winning #RajyasSabhaElection from Karnataka pic.twitter.com/OwL4sioJzc Rajya Sabha election updates: Counting of votes has begun in Jharkhand after the Election Commission gave clearance. Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi emerged victorious from West Bengal, while TMC bagged four seats from state. BJP's Saroj Pandey has been nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Chhattisgarh. With two jailed MLAs being barred from casting their votes in Uttar Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha elections on Friday, the battle for 10 Uttar Pradesh seats is set to come down to the wire as BJP and BSP will have to rely on cross-voting. SP has said that BJP MLAs will cross-vote in their favour because a lot of leaders of the saffron party are annoyed with the party. The voting for the remaining 25 seats in 6 states has begun. The stage is set for Rajya Sabha polls on Friday for the remaining 25 seats in six states including Uttar Pradesh where BJP is virtually assured of 8 of the 10 seats amid suspense whether it can snatch an extra seat in the light of the newfound bonhomie between former arch rivals Samajwadi Party and BSP. For the 58 Rajya Sabha seats to be filled, 33 candidates from 10 states were declared elected unopposed on 15 March. Seven Union ministers, including Ravi Shankar Prasad and Prakash Javadekar, were among them. Besides Uttar Pradesh, where Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is in the fray and who is certain to win, West Bengal, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Telangana will also feature in the polls. Counting of ballots will be taken up at 5 pm, an hour after the end of voting. A bypoll will also be held for one seat in Kerala where MP Veerendra Kumar, the Left-backed candidate of Sharad Yadav faction of the JD(U), is pitted against Babu Prasad of the Congress. The four-MLA strong Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), after being placated by BJP chief Amit Shah, and the Apna Dal (Sonelal) with nine MLAs have decided to vote for BJP nominees. "We are standing with the BJP. We had held a meeting of our MLAs and it was decided that we will strongly support the BJP," national president of Apna Dal(S) Ashish Patel said in Lucknow. In all there are 11 candidates in the fray for the 10 seats. The BJP and its allies have 324 MLAs in the 403-member Assembly after the death of its Noorpur MLA in a road accident recently. To secure a win, a candidate needs 37 first preference votes. Arithmetically, the BJP can easily win eight of the 10 seats and will be left with 28 surplus votes. "There will be contest on the ninth seat," a senior Uttar Pradesh BJP leader said, exuding confidence that the saffron party would bag nine seats. The Samajwadi Partyand the BSP also appeared sure of win one seat each. The Samajwadi Party has fielded Jaya Bachchan and the BSP Bhimrao Ambedkar. With 19 MLAs, the BSP is short of 18 first preference votes and with Naresh Agarwal's son Nitin, who is still an Samajwadi Party MLA, likely to cross-vote for the BJP, the task will become difficult for the candidate of the Mayawati-led party. BSP insiders said to be doubly sure of victory, Mayawati has sought a list of Samajwadi Party's loyal MLAs who will vote for her party candidate. She is also banking on some independent MLAs, who, though, are yet to reveal their cards, they said. Riding on the new bonhomie with the Samajwadi Party, Mayawati is banking on the 10 surplus votes of Akhilesh Yadav's party, besides seven votes of the Congress and one of RLD to reach the magic figure of 37 votes. However, Nitin Agarwal can queer the BSPs pitch if he votes for the BJP. Naresh Agarwal, who recently quit the Samajwadi Party and joined the BJP, has said his son would vote for the saffron party in the Rajya Sabha polls. The country's most populous state sends 31 MPs to the 245-member Rajya Sabha, and the BJP, which won a massive victory in the 2017 Assembly elections, is yet to get a lion's share of these. Presently, the BJP has 58 Rajya Sabha MPs. Besides Jaitley, the others in the fray are Ashok Bajpai, Vijay Pal Singh Tomar, Sakal Deep Rajbhar, Kanta Kardam, Anil Jain, Harnath Singh Yadav, GVL Narasimha Rao and Anil Kumar Agarwal. Altogether, six candidates, including Congress nominee Abhisek Manu Singhvi, are in the fray for the five Rajya Sabha seats from West Bengal. The state's ruling TMC has decided to back the eminent lawyer. Five candidates are in the electoral arena in Karnataka for four seats. The state's ruling Congress has fielded three nominees, while there are one each of the BJP and JD(S). Elections will also be held for two seats in Jharkhand where three candidates are in the fray, including two of the state's ruling BJP and one of the Congress. One candidate each of the ruling BJP and main opposition Congress will cross swords for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Chhattisgarh. Four candidates will try their luck from Telangana where polling will be held for three seats. With inputs from agencies The Aam Aadmi Party received a major shot in the arm on Friday as the Delhi High Court set aside the disqualification of 20 of its MLAs. The Aam Aadmi Party received a major shot in the arm on Friday as the Delhi High Court set aside the disqualification of 20 of its MLAs. The court has now transferred the matter to the Election Commission allowing the AAP MLAs a chance to present their side through an oral hearing, media reports said. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, responding to the verdict said, "Truth has triumphed. AAP MLAs, who were elected by the people, were disqualified in an inappropriate manner. The Delhi High Court has given justice to the people of Delhi. This is a victory for the people of Delhi, and we give them our good wishes." AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said, "The principles of natural justice hold that a person against whom an accusation is made should have a chance to explain his or her stand. However, the Election Commission had not done so. The Delhi High Court has set aside this order." During the arguments, the MLAs had told the high court that the Election Commission's order disqualifying them for allegedly holding office-of-profit was passed in "complete violation of natural justice" as they were not given an opportunity to explain their stand before the poll panel. The bench was also requested by the legislators to remand their case back to the poll panel with a direction to hear the matter afresh. They had approached the high court challenging their disqualification after President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the Election Commission's recommendation. Backing its recommendation to the president for AAP MLAs' disqualification, the poll panel had submitted that the legislators cannot claim that they were not holding office-of-profit. It had also claimed that these MLAs' pleas were not maintainable and were liable to be dismissed. The MLAs are accused of holding offices of profit, as they were appointed parliamentary secretaries to ministers in the Delhi government in March 2015. This was soon after they were elected to the Delhi Assembly. In September 2016, the Delhi High Court had ruled against their appointment as parliamentary secretaries, after hearing their pleas on a daily basis since 7 February. The Delhi High Court had on 24 January refused to stay the Centre's notification disqualifying them but had restrained the poll panel from taking any "precipitate measures" such as announcing dates for bypolls to fill the vacancies. The Election Commission had on 19 January recommended the disqualification of 20 AAP MLAs Alka Lamba, Adarsh Shastri, Sanjeev Jha, Rajesh Gupta, Kailash Gahlot, Vijendra Garg, Praveen Kumar, Sharad Kumar, Madan Lal, Shiv Charan Goyal, Sarita Singh, Naresh Yadav, Rajesh Rishi, Anil Kumar, Som Dutt, Avtar Singh, Sukhvir Singh Dala, Manoj Kumar, Nitin Tyagi and Jarnail Singh. The president had accepted the EC's opinion the next day. With inputs from PTI Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 22) The Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) on Thursday ordered the arrest of ten suspects in the hazing death of University of Santo Tomas (UST) law freshman Horacio "Atio" Castillo III. The ten Aegis Juris Fraternity members ordered arrested are: Arvin Balag Ralph Trangia Oliver John Audrey Onofre Mhin Wei Chan Hans Matthew Rodrigo Joshua Joriel Macabali Axel Munro Hipe Marcelino Bagtang Jose Miguel Salamat Robin Ramos On March 8, the Department of Justice indicted the ten fraternity members for violation of the Anti-Hazing Law, a non-bailable offense punishable with life imprisonment. The DOJ also indicted John Paul Solano, a primary suspect in the case, with perjury and obstruction of justice. Solano was a fellow Thomasian who said he found Atio's body Sept. 17, 2017 in Tondo, Manila where it seemed to have been dumped. It was later revealed Solano, who has a background in medicine, was called by fraternity members to revive Atio. READ: Aegis Juris president struck final blow that rendered Atio unconscious state witness Meanwhile, all cases against UST Law Dean Nilo Divina, UST Law Faculty Secretary Arthur Capili, and fraternity member Marc Anthony Ventura were dismissed. The cases against Divina and Capili were dismissed due to lack of evidence, while Ventura was cleared as he turned state witness. The Senate Committees on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, and Justice and Human Rights stated in their report the 22-year-old UST student, who had last told his parents he would attend a "welcoming party" of the fraternity, died on September 17 at the hands of fraternity members during hazing rites. UST has also expelled eight law students allegedly involved in the case. READ: UST expels eight students involved in Atio Castillo hazing death The report also recommended UST law dean Nilo Divina's disbarment for failing to report Atio's death after knowing about it. Following Atio's death, both the Senate and the House of Representatives approved bills completely banning hazing as a requirement for admission into a fraternity, sorority, or organization. READ: House OKs new anti-hazing bill on third and final reading Joining the chorus against the Supreme Court's verdict on the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, CPM urged the Centre to immediately move a review petition against the 'retrograde' judgment New Delhi: Joining the chorus against the Supreme Court's verdict on the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the CPM on Friday urged the Centre to immediately move a review petition against the "retrograde" judgment. In a statement, the politburo of the Left party also criticised the government counsel for not raising objections against dilution of the provisions of the act. "Unless immediate remedial measures are taken by the central government to undo the damage done by the judgment, forces inimical to social equality and justice will be further emboldened to perpetrate violence against Dalits. "The politburo of the CPM urges the central government to immediately move a review petition against the retrograde judgment of the Supreme Court bench," the statement said. The party stated that the judgment "ignored" the caste oppression and atrocities perpetrated on Dalits on a daily basis. The apex court order has made the arrests and prosecution of those accused under the act almost impossible by removing the restrictions on granting anticipatory bail, and imposing a condition that a public servant could be prosecuted only after obtaining permission from the higher authorities, the party statement said. The apex court had on Tuesday diluted stringent provisions mandating immediate arrest under the law concerned in a bid to protect honest public servants discharging bona fide duties from being blackmailed with false cases under the SC/ST Act. Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala alleged that Adityanath was emulating the British by ruling through the policy of 'divide and rule'. New Delhi: The Congress Thursday accused Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath of withdrawing cases of heinous crimes such as rioting in Muzaffarnagar on religious lines. Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala alleged that Adityanath was emulating the British by ruling through the policy of "divide and rule". "Can cases be withdrawn because I am a Muslim, I am a Sikh, I am a Buddhist, I am a Jain, I am a Hindu, I am a Parsi? Can cases be withdrawn based on which religion you belong to?" he asked. "Can cases under heinous offences, can cases of promoting enmity on communal ground, can cases of denigrating each others' religion and consequent riots be withdrawn as political cases is an important question that chief minister needs to answer," he alleged. BJP leaders met Chief Minister Adityanath on 5 February, 2018 and demanded withdrawal of 179 of the 503 cases. Surjewala said that if Adityanath wanted to review all the cases of riots based on truth, then why only 179 out of 503. "Why are you selectively picking up only those which are being stated or represented by BJP workers and leaders?" he asked. Surjewala asked if Adityanath was "scared" that after the Supreme Court ordered fast tracking all criminal cases against political leaders. "Are they scared that if the cases are put in fast track court, then it will be adversarial for BJP leaders, MLAs and MPs and that is why a quick and hurried decision is being taken, although the chief minister has only moved and a final call is yet to be taken," he said. The Congress leader urged Adityanath to learn from the defeat in the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha bypolls, saying he is no longer a BJP leader, but a defender and protector of the Constitution and the law. "We want to remind him that he has taken oath of India's Constitution that he will protect and uphold the Constitution and the law. Will he do so, is a question that he must answer," he said. "Divide and rule is the policy being followed by the BJP for they have emulated the British for far too long. Divide and rule and somehow come to power - divide on the basis of religion and retain or attain power, divide on the basis of caste and attain power and make everyone fight with each other," Surjewala said. He claimed that in western Uttar Pradesh, there have been no riots since 1857 and even during the partition of the country. There were no riots in this area as Hindus, Muslim, Sikhs, Buddhists and others all stood together in unison to remain in the Indian Union, he said. They did not want to go with Pakistan, they did not subscribe to the theory of a religion-based country and they rejected it in toto, he said. Surjewala said it was only in September 2013, that there were riots for the first time in the area after over 100 years in which 62 people died and 503 cases were registered. Reuters The European Union is planning to apply tougher consumer laws to social media networks and email providers like Facebook and Googles Gmail as scrutiny of data protection grow in the wake of an outcry over Facebooks handling of data. Under the draft proposal first considered last year, authorities could levy fines of at least 4 percent of turnover. Currently, EU consumer authorities can only levy small fines and some lack power to sanction companies at all for breaking consumer law. It is a fresh example of tighter EU rules for technology giants following reports that a political consultancy misused the data of 50 million Facebook users in a bid to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The proposal would extend the application of EU consumer law to free digital services for which consumers provide their personal data instead of paying with money, such as cloud storage services, social media, and email accounts. Given the increasing economic value of personal data, those services are not simply free, said the document seen by Reuters and due to be presented next month. The proposal would give consumers the right to pre-contractual information and to cancel contracts within 14 days. It would also require member states to ensure that their national consumer authorities can levy fines of at least 4 percent of annual turnover, in line with those foreseen under an EU data protection law set to enter into force in May. The European Commission is also planning a new law regulating the commercial practices of online platforms with smaller businesses, seeking to curtail their huge market power. EU consumer authorities have been pressing Facebook, Twitter and Google to improve their user terms since last year but the changes made by the companies have been deemed insufficient and no enforcement action has been taken so far. The proposal, if agreed by the European Parliament and member states, would also give consumer authorities more teeth to deal with scandals such as Dieselgate, where German carmaker Volkswagen cheated emissions tests. The Dutch regulator fined Volkswagen 450,000 euros ($554,085.00) for misleading consumers who bought its diesel cars, the maximum fine possible. By contrast, VW has pledged billions of dollars to compensate owners of its diesel cars in the United States. The available penalties for infringements of consumer law are very different across the EU, and are often set at a low level, the document says. As a result, their deterrence in some countries is also low. AP In the wake of a privacy scandal involving a Trump-connected data-mining firm, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg embarked on a rare media mini-blitz in an attempt to take some of the public and political pressure off the social network. But it's far from clear whether he's won over US and European authorities, much less the broader public whose status updates provide Facebook with an endless stream of data it uses to sell targeted ads. On 21 March, the generally reclusive Zuckerberg sat for an interview on CNN and gave another to the publication Wired, addressing reports that Cambridge Analytica purloined the data of more than 50 million Facebook users in order to sway elections. The Trump campaign paid the firm $6 million during the 2016 election, although it has since distanced itself from Cambridge. Zuckerberg apologised for a "major breach of trust," admitted mistakes and outlined steps to protect users following Cambridge's data grab. "I am really sorry that happened," Zuckerberg said on CNN. Facebook has a "responsibility" to protect its users' data, he added, noting that if it fails, "we don't deserve to have the opportunity to serve people." His mea culpa on cable television came a few hours after he acknowledged his company's mistakes in a Facebook post, but without saying he was sorry. Zuckerberg and Facebook's second executive, Sheryl Sandberg, had been quiet since news broke on 23 March that Cambridge may have used data improperly obtained from roughly 50 million Facebook users to try to sway elections. Cambridge's clients included Donald Trump's general-election campaign. Facebook shares have dropped some 8 percent, lopping about $46 billion off the company's market value, since the revelations were first published. While several experts said Zuckerberg took an important step with the CNN interview, few were convinced that he put the Cambridge issue behind him. Zuckerberg's apology, for instance, seemed rushed and pro forma to Helio Fred Garcia, a crisis-management professor at NYU and Columbia University. "He didn't acknowledge the harm or potential harm to the affected users," Garcia said. "I doubt most people realised he was apologising." Instead, the Facebook chief pointed to steps the company has already taken, such as a 2014 move to restrict the access outside apps had to user data. (That move came too late to stop Cambridge.) And he laid out a series of technical changes that will further limit the data such apps can collect, pledged to notify users when outsiders misuse their information and said Facebook will "audit" apps that exhibit troubling behaviour. That audit will be a giant undertaking, said David Carroll, a media researcher at the Parsons School of Design in New York, one that he said will likely turn up a vast number of apps that did "troubling, distressing things." But on other fronts, Zuckerberg carefully hedged otherwise striking remarks. In the CNN interview, for instance, he said he would be "happy" to testify before Congress, but only if it was "the right thing to do." Zuckerberg went on to note that many other Facebook officials might be more appropriate witnesses depending on what Congress wanted to know. At another point, the Facebook chief seemed to favour regulation for Facebook and other internet giants. At least, that is, the "right" kind of rules, such as ones requiring online political ads to disclose who paid for them. In almost the next breath, however, Zuckerberg steered clear of endorsing a bill that would write such rules into federal law, and instead talked up Facebook's own voluntary efforts on that front. "They'll fight tooth and nail to fight being regulated," said Timothy Carone, a Notre Dame business professor. "In six months we'll be having the same conversations, and it's just going to get worse going into the election." Even Facebook's plan to let users know about data leaks may put the onus on users to educate themselves. Zuckerberg said Facebook will "build a tool" that lets users see if their information had been impacted by the Cambridge leak, suggesting that the company won't be notifying people automatically. Facebook took this kind of do-it-yourself approach in the case of Russian election meddling, in contrast to Twitter, which notified users who had been exposed to Russian propaganda on its network. In what has become one of the worst backlashes Facebook has ever seen, politicians in the US and Britain have called for Zuckerberg to explain its data practices in detail. State attorneys general in Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey have opened investigations into the Cambridge mess. And some have rallied to a movement that urges people to delete their Facebook accounts entirely. Sandy Parakilas, who worked in data protection for Facebook in 2011 and 2012, told a UK parliamentary committee on 21 March that the company was vigilant about its network security but lax when it came to protecting users' data. He said personal data including email addresses and in some cases private messages was allowed to leave Facebook servers with no real controls on how the data was used after that. Paul Argenti, a business professor at Dartmouth, said that while Zuckerberg's comments hit the right notes, they still probably aren't enough. "The question is, can you really trust Facebook," he said. "I don't think that question has been answered." tech2 News Staff Chinese smartphone maker Vivo is planning to launch its upcoming smartphone, the V9 in the Indian market today. The company is holding a launch event for the device in Mumbai at 11:30 am. If you want to catch all the action of the launch event then you can check out the YouTube video embedded below of the live stream that is likely to start around 12 noon. The other option to catch the event is to visit Vivo Indias website, Vivo India's Facebook live stream, or the landing pages of the launch event on Flipkart and Amazon. (Also Read: Vivo V9 launch LIVE: Vivo V9 to launch in India with AI camera and a notch design) The company has already announced the specifications of the device so we know what the device will pack. According to a report by The Verge, Vivo V9 will come with a 6.3-inch LCD screen with 19:9 aspect ratio and 2280 x 1080 FHD+ resolution boasting 90 percent screen-to-body percentage with that iPhone X-like notch on the top. The device will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 SoC with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB internal storage. Vivo will also give users an option to add a microSD card to the device for expandable storage. Vivo has focused on its dual camera setup in its promotional material prior to the launch event. In the camera department, the device will come with a 16 MP camera sensor with an f/2 aperture and a 5 MP camera sensor for sensing the depth on the back of the device. Though, the highlighting feature of the device is likely to be its 24 MP camera sensor on the front of the smartphone with an f/2 aperture for improved selfies. It is likely to pack a new AI Face Beauty feature to truly represent' the beauty of its user. V9 will also come with AI Smart Engine, which according to the company, will boost the performance of the device by taking care of storage management and app launching by keeping track of the usage of the user. The device will also come with AI Face Access with improved accuracy of face unlock and AI Attention Sensing where the device will detect if you are looking at the screen of the device and then reduce the volume of any new incoming notifications as detailed in the report. In terms of connectivity options, V9 will come with a microUSB port, OTG, GPS, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.2 and headphone jack. The device will also come with the companys in-house Android 8.1 Oreo-based Funtouch OS 4.0 out of the box. The device will come in gold and black colours. The company has not announced the pricing of the device which is likely to be the main reason of the event since we already know everything about the hardware of the device after the company posted the listing on its website. A 65-year-old man jumped several metres from a public gallery onto the floor of the Dutch Parliament on Thursday with something tied around his neck, police said. Amsterdam: A 65-year-old man jumped several metres from a public gallery onto the floor of the Dutch Parliament on Thursday with something tied around his neck, police said. The man survived the apparent suicide attempt and was receiving medical treatment, police said in a statement. Eyewitnesses said the man had been pacing about in an agitated state before tying something to a railing and jumping during a debate, the Telegraaf newspaper reported. The paper identified him as an activist who had camped outside Parliament for several weeks in a demonstration for the legalisation of hashish and marijuana. I had to do this to wake up the politicians, the Telegraaf quoted the man as having written in a post on Facebook. Cannabis is technically illegal in the Netherlands, though it is widely available and police do not prosecute people for possession or sale of small amounts. Shocked lawmakers could be seen in a public video feed rushing to assist the man, who hit the ground with a loud thump. Photos on social media showed the man receiving first aid on a lawmakers desk and later being carried out of Parliament on a stretcher. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 22) The Ateneo de Davao University (ADDU) said Thursday it would file a complaint against a parent and public official who allegedly threatened one of its teachers over his child's low grade. In a statement signed by ADDU President Rev. Fr. Joel Tabora, the University said it would "not be intimidated" by the incident. "In this regard, the ADDU and its affected personnel will be taking the necessary steps and coordinating with the appropriate officials to ensure that complaints will be filed against said public official and lawyer," ADDU said. It said the University is a safe zone not just for students but for teachers as well. The University issued the statements after news spread that a parent threatened a teacher with a gun. The school denied a gun was brought inside the school, but said statements made by the parent were "clearly intended to intimidate" even without a weapon. The University said the unnamed lawyer and public official had issued statements which may have legal consequences. "When a parent accompanied by relatives and body guards comes in brandishing statements like "WE ARE A FAMILY OF LAWYERS AND KILLERS!" or "WE CAN TAKE DOWN THIS SCHOOL" - these are statements the ADDU as a University can only take very seriously as they threaten the safety and security of its personnel," ADDU said. The University said public office is not a license to "strong-arm teachers" into giving in to the official's demands. It added such "public displays of arrogant intimidation" may have sanctions for lawyers. ADDU said parental bullying based on one's legal profession had "no place at ADDU nor in any school, public or private, in the Philippines." "The ADDU is a safe zone not only for its students, but also for its teachers who ought to be able to teach and give out grades accordingly, free from intimidation and threats from parents or any related persons or personalities," the University said. It reminded students and parents of procedures students can avail of if they have concerns or complaints regarding their marks. "We continue to welcome these opportunities to meet and talk with our students' parents for as long as these are done in a respectful and calm manner with the aim of trying to look at what is in the best interest and welfare of the student," it said. Federal prosecutors in Latin America's biggest country announced Thursday that they are conducting an investigation to determine if Cambridge Analytica illegally used the profiles of millions of Brazilian Facebook users Sao Paulo: Federal prosecutors in Latin America's biggest country announced on Thursday that they are conducting an investigation to determine if Cambridge Analytica illegally used the profiles of millions of Brazilian Facebook users. Prosecutors said the investigation was prompted by reports that the London-based political consulting firm had access to the personal information of 50 million Facebook users in the United States and could create voter personality profiles. They said in a statement that they want to find out if Cambridge Analytica, in partnership with local consultancy A Ponte Estrategia Planejamento e Pesquisa, also did the same thing in Brazil before the country's October elections. Prosecutors said the partnership between both consulting firms began in 2017. The Brazilian company said in a statement that it was never involved in the creation of such profiles and ended its relationship with Cambridge Analytica earlier this month. "We are investigating if Cambridge Analytica is illegally using the personal data of millions of Brazilians to construct psychographic profiles to determine political and religious beliefs, sexual orientation, skin color, and political behavior," the prosecutors' statement said. "It is clear that the company's focus is to use this data to change people's behavior." According to Statista, a Hamburg, Germany-based data and statistical company, Brazil has the world's third largest number of Facebook users as of January 2018. With 130 million Facebook users, Brazil comes behind India with 250 million and the United States with 230 million. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said his company has a responsibility to stop fake news that could affect elections. "There's a big election in India this year, there's a big election in Brazil, there are big elections around the world, and you can bet that we are really committed to doing everything that we need to make sure that the integrity of those elections on Facebook is secured," he said in a Wednesday interview with CNN. Fake news, including stories posted on Facebook, and their potential to interfere in the coming elections is a growing concern in Brazil. US president Donald Trump, who is under mounting domestic pressure over his unwillingness to confront Vladimir Putin, is now ready to 'hold Russia accountable' over an attack on a former Russian spy in Britain Washington: US president Donald Trump, who is under mounting domestic pressure over his unwillingness to confront Vladimir Putin, is now ready to "hold Russia accountable" over an attack on a former Russian spy in Britain, the White House said on Wednesday. During a call with President Emmanuel Macron of France, the White House said both men "reiterated their solidarity with the United Kingdom in the wake of Russia's use of chemical weapons against private citizens on British soil." Moscow stands accused of the attempted murder of ex-spy Sergei Skripal in the city of Salisbury via nerve agent-- a charge the Kremlin denies. Trump and Macron who will visit Washington in late April also "agreed on the need to take action to hold Russia accountable," the White House said. A controversial Sri Lankan opposition legislator, on Thursday, said US authorities prevented him from taking a flight to Texas from Moscow where he was an observer for the Russian presidential election Colombo: A controversial Sri Lankan opposition legislator, on Thursday, said US authorities prevented him from taking a flight to Texas from Moscow where he was an observer for the Russian presidential election. Namal Rajapaksa, son of former strongman president Mahinda Rajapaksa, said the airline had been instructed not to allow him to board the flight to Houston. Rajapaksa said on Twitter that he had been informed by Emirates Air "I won't make my Houston Flight as #US Officials instruct them to not let me board. Sure it has nothing to do with my name, being part of #lka opposition or my travel from #Russia." The 31-year-old was invited by the Russian government to be a monitor of the presidential election won by Vladimir Putin. US authorities do not comment on individual cases, but official sources said his name was likely on a travel watch list as a result of the money laundering charges he faces back home. Namal Rajapaksa and a sibling have been charged with money-laundering. Other family members face corruption allegations. Sri Lanka has announced it will set up special courts to investigate billions of dollars of corruption under former president Rajapaksa who was defeated in the 2015 elections. His successor Maithripala Sirisena has said as many as half of all public procurement contracts under the Rajapaksa administration were corrupt. Former president Rajapaksa is not under investigation and denies any wrongdoing. At least three people were killed Friday in a shooting spree and hostage siege in southern France by a man claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group Auto refresh feeds The man "entered the Super U supermarket at around 11.15 am and shots were heard," a source said of the Trebes incident. Local authorities tweeted that the area was out-of-bounds to the public. AFP The policeman was shot in the town of Carcassonne, while a gunman fired shots during a hostage-taking Friday morning at a supermarket in the town of Trebes 15 minutes' drive away. A policeman was shot and a man took hostages at a supermarket in two separate incidents in the same area of southwest France on Friday, security sources told AFP. The attack took place in the town of Trebes. Shortly beforehand, an armed man shot and injured a police officer in the city of Carcassonne, about 15 minutes by car from Trebes. It was not clear whether the two incidents were linked. AFP The gunman who fired shots during a hostage-taking situation on Friday morning at a supermarket in southwest France claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group (IS), the local prosecutor's office said. French prosecutors say that they are treating the hostage-taking as a terror incident, reports AFP "We unfortunately presume one person has been killed, but we cannot bring a doctor on site to check," Jean-Valery Lettermann, the regional police chief, said of the attack at a Super U store in Trebes, near Carcassonne. AFP At least two persons were feared dead after a gunman claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group fired shots in a hostage-taking at a supermarket in southwest France on Friday, police said. At least two feared dead in French hostage situation, says police French President Emmanuel Macron has asked Interior Minister Gerard Collomb to go to the site of a shooting and hostage-taking in southern France, reports AP French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe also said that all information suggests that the shooting inside a supermarket in southern France and the earlier shooting of a police officer "seems to be a terrorist act". French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe shortens his visit to Mulhouse to return to Paris and look into the Trebes terror attack LCI TV reports that at least 12 people have injured in Trebes terror attack. Two people have been killed in the shootings in Trebes and Carcassonne so far. A police source said to Reuters that eight people were being held hostage in the supermarket in Trebes. Two dead, at least 12 injured in Trebes terror attack A public information unit has been set up for Trebes and Carcassonne; people affected by the attack can contact the phone number: 0468102900 France24 reports that the suspect in the Trebes hostage-taking has reportedly asked for the release of the 2015 Paris attacker Salah Abdeslam . French private channel BFM TV has also reported the news, citing an anonymous source. French investigators suspect the gunman who took people hostage at a supermarket on Friday is a Moroccan man who had been flagged as a potential extremist, a security source said to AFP. A policeman involved in the freeing of all of the hostages at the Super U supermarket in the town of Trebes was injured during the operation to kill the gunman, the source added, asking not to be named. AFP French police have killed a gunman who shot dead at least three people and injured two others in a hostage-taking and shooting spree in southwest France, security sources said. He then shot at a group of policemen nearby, leaving one of the officers injured, before driving to the nearby town of Trebes where he killed two people and injured another at a Super U supermarket, the sources said. AFP The man first hijacked a car in Carcassonne on Friday morning, killing a passenger and injuring the driver, the sources told AFP on condition of anonymity. A gunman in southwest France has killed at least three people and injured two others in three separate incidents around the city of Carcassonne, security sources told AFP. The president said he won't give details on the number of victims "at this stage." Macron said he would return to Paris in the coming hours and will follow closely the situation. AP French President Emmanuel Macron said all evidence suggested the hostage-taking and shootings were a terrorist attack. Speaking in Brussels, where he is attending an EU summit, Macron offered his "full support" to everyone involved in the situation. A policeman has been held by the gunman in France terror attack. Meanwhile, the other hostages have been released, security sources said to AFP A policeman involved in the freeing of all of the hostages at the Super U supermarket in the town of Trebes was injured during the operation to kill the gunman, the source added, asking not to be named. AFP French police have killed a gunman who shot dead at least three people and injured two others in a hostage-taking and shooting spree in southwest France, security sources said. The school system in the Trebes region says all students are safe and will remain inside schools until further notice. Parents and relatives have been told not to come to pick them up. AP The Paris prosecutor's office says the prosecutor who leads the country's counterterrorism office is heading to southern France to oversee the unfolding investigation of a hostage situation at a supermarket. Students in Trebes made to stay inside schools, officials report all students are safe He then shot at a group of policemen nearby, leaving one of the officers injured, before driving to the nearby town of Trebes where he killed two people and injured another at a Super U supermarket, the sources said. AFP The man first hijacked a car in Carcassonne on Friday morning, killing a passenger and injuring the driver, the sources told AFP on condition of anonymity. A gunman in southwest France has killed at least three people and injured two others in three separate incidents around the city of Carcassonne, security sources told AFP. The president said he won't give details on the number of victims "at this stage." Macron said he would return to Paris in the coming hours and will follow closely the situation. AP French President Emmanuel Macron said all evidence suggested the hostage-taking and shootings were a terrorist attack. Speaking in Brussels, where he is attending an EU summit, Macron offered his "full support" to everyone involved in the situation. "France has again been hit by a cowardly and bloody act," Juncker told an EU summit press conference, offering "all our feelings and our full support to the French authorities and the French people". AFP The EU offers its full support to the French people amid a new set of attacks carried out Friday in France, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said. "He was already under surveillance when he suddenly decided to act," he said. Security sources had said the gunman was believed to be a Moroccan who was on a watch list of suspected Islamic extremists, but Collomb did not confirm his nationality. AFP Collomb named the gunman, who was killed by police, as 26-year-old Redouane Lakdim and described him as a small-time drug dealer. "He was known by the police for petty crimes, we had monitored him and did not think he had been radicalised," Collomb said after arriving at the scene of the hostage-taking in the town of Trebes, near Carcassonne. The man who killed three people in a shooting spree and hostage siege in southern France on Friday was known to police but was not considered a terror threat, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said. Trebes terror attack suspect, Redouane Lakdim, was known to the police but not deemed extremist threat: interior minister Collomb said elite French forces stormed the market and killed the gunman after hearing gunshots inside. He did not say how or when the police officer was injured. AP Collomb said the policeman "volunteered to swap his place with a hostage" at a supermarket in the town of Trebes and stayed with the armed suspect. He managed to leave his cell phone switched on after the swap, establishing a contact with officers outside the supermarket in the hours-long standoff Friday. French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb has praised the "heroism" of a French police officer who offered himself up as a hostage swap during an attack in southern France and was seriously injured. French Interior Minister praises heroism of French cop who offered himself up as hostage swap "The person who carried out the attack in Trebes in southern France is a soldier of the Islamic State and he carried out the operation in response to a call to target states" of the anti-IS international coalition, the Amaq agency said in a statement on social messaging app Telegram. AFP The Islamic State jihadist group claimed responsibility for a shooting spree and hostage siege on Friday in southern France, its propaganda agency said. Latest updates: French President Emmanuel Macron said all evidence suggested the hostage-taking and shootings were a terrorist attack, reports AP. Speaking in Brussels, where he is attending an EU summit, Macron offered his "full support" to everyone involved in the situation. A gunman in southwest France has killed at least three people and injured two others in three separate incidents around the city of Carcassonne, security sources told AFP. The man first hijacked a car in Carcassonne on Friday morning, killing a passenger and injuring the driver, the sources told AFP on condition of anonymity. He then shot at a group of policemen nearby, leaving one of the officers injured, before driving to the nearby town of Trebes where he killed two people and injured another at a Super U supermarket, the sources said. French investigators suspect the gunman who took people hostage at a supermarket on Friday is a Moroccan man who had been flagged as a potential extremist, a security source said to AFP. France24 reports that the suspect in the Trebes hostage-taking has reportedly asked for the release of the 2015 Paris attacker Salah Abdeslam. French private channel BFM TV has also reported the news, citing an anonymous source. French president Emmanuel Macron to speak in Brussels on Trebes hostage taking, reports Catherine Nicholson, a journalist at France24. A public information unit has been set up for Trebes and Carcassonne; people affected by the attack can contact the phone number: 0468102900. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said that all information suggests that the shooting inside a supermarket in southern France and the earlier shooting of a police officer "seems to be a terrorist act". A witness said to AFP that the suspect shouted "Allahu Akbar, Ill kill you all" before going to the premises of Super U supermarket. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe described the situation, which investigators are treating as terrorism, as very serious and Interior Minister Gerard Collomb is heading to the site, his ministry said. At least two persons were feared dead after a gunman claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group fired shots in a hostage-taking at a supermarket in southwest France on Friday, police said. French prosecutors say treating hostage-taking as a terror incident, reports AFP. A shooting and hostage-taking situation is unfolding at a supermarket in Trebes, near Toulouse in south of France, AFP quoted a security source has saying. Prosecutors have said that the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the incident. In a separate incident in the same area, a policeman was shot. A suspect has been surrounded at a supermarket in the town of Trebes, south of Toulouse, and the suspect might have taken hostages, national police said. The man "entered the Super U supermarket at around 11.15 am and shots were heard," a source said. Local authorities tweeted that the area was out-of-bounds to the public. The French interior ministry said that the police intervention is underway. "The priority is the intervention of the police and rescue forces. More information will come on this account, do not spread rumors," it said in a tweet. Intervention de police en cours a #Trebes dans l'#Aude. La priorite est a l'intervention des forces de police et de secours. Plus d'informations a venir sur ce compte, ne diffusez pas de rumeurs pic.twitter.com/M2t4mLccG0 Ministere de l'Interieur (@Place_Beauvau) March 23, 2018 Authorities in the Aude region are warning people to avoid the area around the supermarket. With inputs from agencies Trump got the $1.6 billion he sought for one year of funding but he wanted a long-term wall financing commitment. In January, the administration proposed $25 billion over 10 years for the wall in a package that would have included a path to citizenship for 1.8 million young immigrants and sharp cuts to legal immigration. That effort failed. Congress gave President Donald Trump the $1.6 billion he wanted this year for his proposed "big, beautiful" border wall with Mexico but the headline number masks what he didn't get on one of his signature campaign promises. Here are some questions and answers about the wall's status: What did Trump get? Trump got the $1.6 billion he sought for one year of funding but he wanted a long-term wall financing commitment. In January, the administration proposed $25 billion over 10 years for the wall in a package that would have included a path to citizenship for 1.8 million young immigrants and sharp cuts to legal immigration. That effort failed. Trump wanted to spend the $1.6 billion on 60 miles (96 kilometers) of new wall in Texas' Rio Grande Valley, the busiest corridor for illegal crossings, and 14 miles (22.4 kilometers) of replacement in San Diego. Instead, he will get about 90 miles (144 kilometers) more than what he sought but the balance shifts more toward replacement wall than new miles and the money comes with strings attached. What does the wall look like now? What will it look like in a year? Barriers currently blanket 654 miles (1,046 kilometers) of the 1,954-mile (3,126-kilometer) border. The bill will add about 33 miles (53 kilometers) in Rio Grande Valley, bringing the total to 687 miles (1,099 kilometers). It allows 25 miles (40 kilometers) of new wall made of levees in Rio Grande Valley for $445 million. That's 3 miles (5 kilometers) less than what Trump wanted because Congress declared the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge in Texas off-limits to construction. Congress is giving $196 million for new bollard-style barriers in Rio Grande Valley, which encompasses more than 300 miles (483 kilometers) of river and cities including Brownsville and McAllen on Texas' southern tip. That money is expected to add 8 miles (13 kilometers). The bill sets aside $251 million to replace 14 miles (23 kilometers) in San Diego, just as Trump asked. It also marks $445 million for other replacement barriers. The administration has not given mileage or locations, but it is expected to provide 45 miles (72 kilometers), which averages to about $10 million a mile (1.6 kilometers). A recent replacement in the small town of Naco, Arizona, averaged just under $6 million a mile, and replacement work that began last month in the small city of Calexico, California, will cost about $8 million a mile. The Government Accountability Office estimates that new wall costs an average of $6.5 million a mile, but terrain, building materials and other factors influence costs. The Rio Grande's winding waters and lush vegetation are more challenging for erecting walls than Arizona's flat deserts. What strings are attached? Aside from the construction ban in the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge, the bill requires that wall construction this year sticks to existing designs that have proven effective. The administration had planned to issue bidding guidelines that draw on elements of eight prototypes that were completed in San Diego in October. The prototypes four made of concrete and four of see-through steel are about 30 feet (9.1 meters) high, much taller than existing barriers. Trump visited the prototypes this month and has expressed preference for a see-through capability, heeding advice from senior Border Patrol officials. Contracts for construction in Rio Grande Valley and San Diego have yet to be put out to bid but Trump promised quick action on the wall during a news conference Friday. Next year, the administration has requested $1.6 billion for 65 miles (104 kilometers) of new wall in Rio Grande Valley. Trump's repeated insistence that Mexico pay for the wall has gained no traction with Mexico's leaders. President Donald Trump is replacing national security adviser H.R. McMaster with the former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, injecting a hawkish foreign policy voice into his administration ahead of key decisions on Iran and North Korea. Washington: US president Donald Trump is replacing national security adviser HR McMaster with the former UN Ambassador John Bolton, injecting a hawkish foreign policy voice into his administration ahead of key decisions on Iran and North Korea. Trump tweeted Thursday that McMaster has done "an outstanding job & will always remain my friend." He said Bolton will take over on 9 April. Bolton will be Trump's third national security adviser. Trump has clashed with McMaster, a respected three-star general, and talk that McMaster would soon leave the administration had picked up in recent weeks. His departure follows Trump's dramatic ouster of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last week. It also comes after someone at the White House leaked that Trump was urged in briefing documents not to congratulate Russian President Vladimir Putin about his recent re-election win. Trump did it anyway. In a statement released by the White House, McMaster said he would be requesting retirement from the US Army effective this summer, adding that afterward he "will leave public service." The White House said McMaster's exit had been under discussion for some time and stressed it was not due to any one incident. Bolton, probably the most divisive foreign policy expert ever to serve as UN ambassador, has served as a hawkish voice in Republican foreign policy circles for decades. He met with Trump and White House chief of staff John Kelly in early March to discuss North Korea and Iran. He was spotted entering the West Wing earlier Thursday. Bolton has served in the Republican administrations of Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush and George W Bush, and served as a Bush lawyer during the 2000 Florida recount. A strong supporter of the Iraq war and an advocate for aggressive use of American power in foreign policy, Bolton was unable to win Senate confirmation after his nomination to the UN post alienated many Democrats and even some Republicans. He resigned after serving 17 months as a Bush "recess appointment," which allowed him to hold the job on a temporary basis without Senate confirmation. Tension between Trump and McMaster has grown increasingly public. Last month, Trump took issue with McMaster's characterisation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election after the national security adviser told the Munich Security Summit that interference was beyond dispute. "General McMaster forgot to say that the results of the 2016 election were not impacted or changed by the Russians and that the only Collusion was between Russia and Crooked H, the DNC and the Dems," Trump tweeted 17 February, alluding to frequent GOP allegations of impropriety by Democrats and Hillary Clinton. Tillerson's exit also forecast trouble for McMaster, who had aligned himself with the embattled secretary of state in seeking to soften some of Trump's most dramatic foreign policy impulses. McMaster told The New York Times last year that Trump's unorthodox approach "has moved a lot of us out of our comfort zone, me included." The military strategist, who joined the administration in February 2017, has struggled to navigate a tumultuous White House. Last summer, he was the target of a far-right attack campaign, as conservative groups and a website tied to former Trump adviser Steve Bannon targeted him as insufficiently supportive of Israel and not tough enough on Iran. McMaster was brought in after Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was dismissed after less than a month in office. White House officials said he was ousted because he did not tell top advisers, including Vice President Mike Pence, about the full extent of his contacts with Russian officials. Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain accused India of ceasefire violations and human rights abuses, saying New Delhi's actions have put regional peace at stake Islamabad: Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain on Friday accused India of ceasefire violations and human rights abuses, saying New Delhi's actions have put regional peace at stake. He also raked up the Kashmir issue at the "Pakistan Day" joint military parade in Islamabad. Pakistan Day commemorates the passing of the famous Lahore Resolution on 23 March, 1940, when the All-India Muslim League demanded a separate homeland for the Muslims of British India. On this day in 1956, Pakistan became the world's first Islamic republic. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena was the 'Guest of Honour'. He was received by Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi at the parade ground in Islamabad. Indian deputy high commissioner JP Singh was also seen seated among the foreign diplomats invited to witness the parade. Referring to cross-border ceasefire violations president Mamnoon accused India of gross human rights violations in Kashmir. "With these actions, Pakistan's neighbour has put the regional peace at stake," he said. Calling upon for an immediate and peaceful resolution of the struggle of Kashmiri people, the president said, "The only solution to the dispute of Kashmir is to provide the right of self-determination to Kashmiris, and Pakistan will continue to play its role in this regard." He said that Pakistan was ready to extend a hand of co-operation to the regional countries, but "taking it as a weakness will be a dangerous mistake". Mamnoon also said that the global scenario has changed, and now countries could not be coerced to tow the line of one particular country. Cautioning against exploitation, suppression of nations and interference into the internal affairs of any country by another nation, he said: "Pakistan's foreign policy was about achieving permanent peace in the world and is based on non-interference into internal issues of other countries". He said that Pakistan had been playing a vital role in global peace and rendering commendable services from the UN platform for it. On the issue of Afghanistan, Mamnoon said that Pakistan would continue playing its role for peaceful resolution of the Afghan issue. "Pakistan had always played a historic role in the peaceful settlement of Afghan issue and for the stability of the Afghanistan government." He also stressed that efforts to curb terrorism should continue so that any achievements made so far could be further strengthened. Meanwhile, Abbasi, in his message, said, "We cannot succeed without upholding the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution." The special performance by the Jordan military band was the highlight of the day in which troops from Turkey and UAE also participated. Contingents from Pakistan's Army, air force, navy, frontier corps and Pakistan Rangers participated in a march-past. Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan led a fly-past as a salute to the president and later joined the guests at the parade ground. The other who witnessed the event include Pakistan's Defence Minister Khurrum Dastagir, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Navy Chief Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi and Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee Zubair Mehmood Hayat. Pakistan Day parade resumed in 2015 after a gap of seven years. It was suspended due to the threat of militancy. Earlier, the day began with a 31-gun salute in Islamabad and 21-gun salute in the provincial capitals. Security was on high alert in the capital and mobile phone services remained suspended. Around 2,000 military and police personnel were deployed. Mueller's investigators have asked former campaign officials about the Trump campaign's data operations, particularly about how it collected and utilised voter data in battleground states Washington: Special counsel Robert Mueller is scrutinising the connections between US president Donald Trump's campaign and the data mining firm Cambridge Analytica, which has come under fierce criticism over reports that it swiped the data of more than 50 million Facebook users to sway elections. Mueller's investigators have asked former campaign officials about the Trump campaign's data operations, particularly about how it collected and utilised voter data in battleground states, according to a person with direct knowledge of the line of inquiry but not authorised to discuss it publicly. The investigators have also asked some of Trump's data team, which included analysts at the Republican National Committee, about its relationship with Cambridge Analytica, according to two former campaign officials. The campaign paid the firm just under $6 million for its work in 2016, according to federal records. Authorities in Britain and the United States are investigating whether Cambridge Analytica may have used data improperly obtained from Facebook to try to influence elections, including the 2016 White House race. Mueller is leading a criminal probe into whether Trump's Republican presidential campaign had ties to Russia and whether he may have obstructed justice. The Trump campaign has distanced itself from the data mining firm, which had been financed by major Republican donors and, for a time, employed Steve Bannon, the conservative provocateur who later became Trump's campaign chief executive. Trump turned to Twitter on Thursday to boast about his campaign's social media efforts compared with those of his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, but it was not clear what prompted the declaration. "Remember when they were saying, during the campaign, that Donald Trump is giving great speeches and drawing big crowds, but he is spending much less money and not using social media as well as Crooked Hillary's large and highly sophisticated staff. Well, not saying that anymore!" Trump wrote. Remember when they were saying, during the campaign, that Donald Trump is giving great speeches and drawing big crowds, but he is spending much less money and not using social media as well as Crooked Hillarys large and highly sophisticated staff. Well, not saying that anymore! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2018 A request for an explanation from the White House was not returned. The exact role that Cambridge Analytica played for the Trump campaign has remained murky. A teenage girl left brain dead after she was wounded in a school shooting in Maryland died after she was removed from life support, local officials said Friday. A teenage girl left brain dead after she was wounded in a school shooting in Maryland died after she was removed from life support, local officials said Friday. The girl, 16 year old Jaelynn Willey, was shot in the head by the attacker, with whom she had had a relationship. Another student was wounded in Tuesday's attack, and the assailant - also a student - was shot and killed by a police officer stationed at the high school in southern Maryland. Writing on behalf of the Willey family, the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office issued a statement "with heavy hearts and great sadness," saying that Jaelynn Willey died at 11:34 pm Thursday (0334 GMT Friday) "surrounded by her family." Her parents told a news conference late Thursday that their daughter was brain dead and would be taken off of life support. "My daughter was hurt by a boy who shot her in the head and took everything from us," said her mother, Melissa Willey, according to The Washington Post. The Great Mills High School shooting came about five weeks after a massacre at a Florida high school left 14 students and three adults dead and sparked a grassroots campaign for tougher laws on gun ownership. The shootout, in a school located just 90 minutes from the US capital, took place just days before a massive Saturday rally in downtown Washington supporting gun control. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 23) "I want to see them in jail, all of them." These were the words of Carminia Castillo, mother of hazing victim Horacio "Atio" Castillo III, as she welcomed the surrender on Friday of all ten suspects in her son's death. "I will be there every hearing to face them and to make them realize what they did," an emotional Castillo told CNN Philippines in a phone interview. She stressed that the suspects, all Aegis Juris fraternity members, could have saved Atio but didn't. "In the morning of September 17, (2017), hindi nila dinala siya sa ospital (they did not bring him to the hospital). They disregarded him e. All they thought about was themselves," the grieving mother added. "They did not even give him the opportunity to live." In a November 2017 Senate hearing on Atio's death, Aegis Juris member Marc Ventura said it took them 30 to 40 minutes to bring Atio to the hospital because someone tried to stop them. "Na-rattle kami then may takot din po (We were rattled and scared)," he said, refusing to name the fraternity member who prevented them from rushing Atio to the nearest hospital. READ: Hazing suspect: Someone tried to stop us from rushing Atio to hospital Ventura has been placed under the government's witness protection program. John Paul Solano, a primary suspect in the case, said it was then fraternity president, Arvin Balag, who insisted that Atio be brought to the Chinese General Hospital which is 20 to 40 minutes away from the frat library where the hazing took place. This went against Solano's advice to rush Atio to the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Hospital, just 10 to 15 minutes away. The Manila Regional Trial Court on Thursday ordered the arrest of Balag, along with other Aegis Juris members Ralph Trangia, Oliver John Audrey Onofre, Mhin Wei Chan, Hans Matthew Rodrigo, Joshua Joriel Macabali, Axel Munro Hipe, Marcelino Bagtang, Jose Miguel Salamat, and Robin Ramos. They all surrendered the following day and are now detained at the headquarters of the National Bureau of Investigation pending a court order. They were earlier indicted by the Department of Justice for violation of the Anti-Hazing Law, a non-bailable offense punishable with life imprisonment. Atio's mother said it is too late now for the suspects to evade justice. "If they want to say something to me, it's too late. They had their time, they had every opportunity but now it's too late," Castillo said. WATCH: Atio Castillo's mother comes face to face with hazing suspects Atio, a 22-year-old freshman law student of the University of Sto. Tomas, died after a supposed "welcoming party" or hazing rites of the Aegis Juris fraternity on September 16, 2017. He had promised to come home the following day, but never made it. The police said Atio had hematoma or bruises on both upper arms, as well as marks of candle wax drips all over his body. His death spurred calls for stricter anti-hazing measures. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 23) In a bid to justify her transfer to the Justice Department's custody, the camp of alleged pork barrel scam queen Janet Lim Napoles told the Sandiganbayan her jail cell was ransacked in October 2017. Since she faces plunder and graft charges before the Sandiganbayan over a multibillion-peso scam involving government funds, the anti-graft court has to approve her transfer from Camp Bagong Diwa to the custody of the Department of Justice (DOJ). Napoles has been provisionally placed under the DOJ's witness protection program. Napoles' lawyers on Wednesday submitted to the Sandiganbayan a three-page manifestation on their urgent motion for Napoles' transfer. CNN Philippines obtained a copy of this document on Friday. It contained an incident report signed by jail chief inspector Editha Balansay, which detailed alleged irregularities in a Greyhound Operation conducted by a team of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) on October 12, 2017, at the wee hours of the morning. "With this compliance, (the) accused hopes to enlighten even more the Honorable Court, of the reasons warranting the relief prayed for in the urgent motion," Napoles' camp said. Using a bolt cutter, members of the BJMP's Greyhound Team cut the "chain or lock" at Napoles' jail cell and kicked the door open, the incident report read. Napoles is detained at the Taguig City Jail female dormitory at Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig. "Body search was also conducted to the client by a male jail officer who is in full battle gear wearing a vest, Kevlar with a long firearms and wearing a mask," the report added. It further said some of Napoles' "personal belongings and important documents" were confiscated, and the closed-circuit television (CCTV) security camera disabled. "The Greyhound Team did not coordinate nor permitted the presence of the detailed "Start Team" on duty upon entering the client cell and during the conduct of the greyhound," the report said. According to the BJMP Manual, surprise greyhound operations may be conducted at any time. The jail warden generally exercises supervision and control over all personnel and inmates in the conduct of greyhound operations and other inspections. Napoles in May 2017 said she has been receiving death threats from former and current high-ranking officials, so she asked for protection. She has been provisionally placed under witness protection program since February. Her lawyer, Stephen David told CNN Philippines Napoles filed new affidavits on what she knows about the controversial Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel which the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional in 2013. Napoles allegedly funneled P10 billion in lawmakers' funds to bogus nongovernment organizations. David said Napoles will reveal new information on the scam, but denied she was the pork barrel scam queen or mastermind. . , , EU Observer. , [] , , ... Working from home? Switch to the DIGITAL edition of CLICK HERE to signup now! Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) "Oscar November 4, India-Sierra-Sierra, this is Delta-X-Ray-1-India-Sierra-Sierra, Philippines, all copy. Over." It was a message repeated 27 times by Philippine space engineer Leo Almazan, as the International Space Station (ISS) passed over the Philippines late afternoon of February 17. A group of high school students tensely waited, as they looked at a little yellow blip on a blue radar screen indicating the location of the ISS. But all they got was silence. "We only have a (communication) window of about 10 minutes, horizon to horizon," Almazan explained to the students. "Might be shorter, due to time delays, and other factors beyond our control." The attempted contact would have been the first for the children who were eager to ask NASA astronauts questions on space exploration and technology. Almazan said Philippine technology was adequate to contact the international satellite. But if what happened that day was any indication, it appears the country's ability to advance its space program has a long way to go, even as the country marks the second year since the launching of DIWATA-1, the first Philippine microsatellite and the first satellite built and designed by Filipinos. The Philippines' attempt to develop its space program is continually hounded by two problems: lack of funding for space research and development to further improve on technologies, and the lack of a centralized space agency to coordinate initiatives for exploring beyond the Earth. "We'll try probably one more time in May," Almazan said on the attempt to contact. "For the high school students, we'll probably get one more try." Engaging young minds in space technology and innovation has been part of the Department of Science and Technology's (DOST) agenda since it launched the Philippine Space Science Education Program in 2004. The director of DOST's Advanced Science and Technology Institute (DOST-ASTI), Dr. Joel Marciano, said the missed contact was a coordination challenge and not a technology issue. However, having led for more than two years the department in charge of space engineering and exploration, he said there are many challenges facing space technology development in the country. Joel Marciano is the director of the DOST's Advanced Science and Technology, the department in charge of advanced fields of information and communication technologyincluding space engineering and exploration. "Space technology is tough, challenging, it's of course, a new area for our country. And we thought the best way we can get our hands dirty and get more experience is through building satellites. It's not sort of sending people to the moon, and space exploration. It's using, building something that can have some application," he said. The country's involvement with space technology could be traced as far back as 1987, when it procured broadcast satellite AGILA-1. Originally launched by Indonesian company PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara, it was bought by the Philippines to enhance communication for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit at the time. Engineer Raul Sabularse of the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development said the country's investment in space technology actually helps them save on cost. Expenses for purchasing satellite images from other foreign satellites could go as high as 3.5 billion a year, said Dr. Rogel Sese, program leader of the National Space Development Program. "Many of our agencies rely on foreign images to look at what's happening in the forest areas, in other areas of the Philippines," Sabularse said. Engr. Raul Sabularse of the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development. Putting a satellite into orbit With the launch of DIWATA-1, one of the greatest achievements of the country's space exploration program, agencies are now more able to download images from the microsatellite. "We consider that a success because still even though this area is increasingly improving, there's still failed launches, and there's still failed satellites when they get into orbit, so we consider the fact that we have managed to launch a satellite, put it into orbit, and operate it, that's a success in itself," Marciano said. The microsatellite program or PHL-Microsat is a joint venture among DOST-ASTI, UP Diliman, and the Tohoku and Hokkaido Universities in Japan. The three-year program has spent over 874 million to keep more than 50 scientists and engineers, as well as purchase facilities and equipment. It was able to launch a 50-kilogram satellite with four cameras to capture weather patterns, vegetation, and land-water resources. These are used by government agencies, like the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, Astronomical Services Administration, the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority, and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, for research and disaster mitigation. Some of the recent images sent in by DIWATA-1 includes a top view of Mayon Volcano's eruption in Albay in January. DIWATA-1's Middle Field Camera captures the volcanic activity of Mayon was on January 30 at 12:47 PM. The Department of Budget and Management has also partnered with DOST for Project DIME (Digital Imaging for Monitoring and Evaluation), which allows satellites and drones to aid existing terrestrial technologies to monitor the speed of implementing 13 government projects. In orbit, DIWATA-1 passes over multiple areas of the Philippine territory at four to five times a day, with each pass lasting more than six minutes. During its run, DIWATA-1 has so far captured more than 15,000 images, including 22 percent of the country's land area. However, cloud cover and resolution remain a problem for image capture. "One way you can improve that is by having more satellites in orbit. And that's the objective of having a consortium," the DOST said. The Philippines is also part of the Asian Micro-satellite Consortium, a group of space agencies and universities dedicated to developing micro-satellite technology and data sharing. Under this agreement, 50 microsatellites from various schools and institutions in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam will be launched. This includes DIWATA-1's successor, DIWATA-2, which will be sent to space in 2018, with the help of Japan's national space agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The DIWATA-2 prototype. Aside from DIWATA-1's original payload of cameras, the new microsatellite will enjoy the addition of an amateur radio unit. "It's an alternate mode of communication when certain challenges happen to our islands, like maputulan ng (interrupted) communication infrastructure," Marciano said. After all, low-Earth-orbit satellites like DIWATA-1 only have a lifespan of around 18 months before they disintegrate. As it is, the satellite has gone on for nearly two years now. The country is also set to launch a cube satellite, as well as import two microsatellites and another cube satellite for Philippine laboratories so engineers may further study their creation and development. The recent space innovations have been the work of more than 50 engineers, scientists, and students involved in the PHL-Microsat program, which allows engineers interested in space technology to be sent to Tohoku and Hokkaido Universities to learn more about the industry. Creating a space agency, at last The country is also well on its way to creating a Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA), with President Rodrigo Duterte's announcement in February to create a National Space Development Office as its precursor. Duterte and DOST Secretary Fortunato dela Pena have expressed support for creating a PhilSA. Seven bills are pending in both houses of Congress for the creation of this agency, including one introduced by Sen. Bam Aquino. Aquino said a new space-dedicated agency will improve the capacity of government bodies tapping space innovation. "The need for a Philippine Space Agency is further emphasized by the demands of coordination with counterpart institutions from other advanced and emerging space nation," he said in an interview. Under Aquino's bill, 1 billion is allocated for PhilSA's first year of operation, supporting space research and development. Senator Bam Aquino filed Senate Bill No. 1211, which aims to create the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA). The senator also cited that prior briefings with the DOST estimated PhilSA could operate under a budget of 20 to 30 billion on a 10-year time frame. Asked if 1 billion per year for a space agency is enough, Sabularse said it depends on what the country wants to achieve, as the amount could be spent easily on one large satellite alone. "Kulang pa tayo sa tao, kulang pa sa capability, kulang pa sa infrastructure [We lack manpower, capability, infrastructure] to support a space program," he said, adding PhilSA seeks to have more than 800 people in 10 years for it to be competitive. The DOST's Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) also opened up opportunities for students who could be later be hired and provide the necessary manpower for space development programs. "They (DOST-SEI) handle scholarship programs, so they provide some slots on Space Science Education," Sabularse said. "They foresee the need for more people to get into space science and engineering." For Marciano, having a satellite provides a concrete platform to attract young people into the field. That afternoon with the ISS, students wanted to find out from the astronauts how the youth can actively participate in space programs. One of them, Nicole Bautista from the Holy Angel University, had a more specific question, "How long would it take for an astronaut to get walking again on Earth?" as he imagined the loss of gravity in space would make it hard for anyone to get their Earth-legs back. It was a question NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei never heard, and never got to answer. But Bautista and his classmates might get lucky during the next attempt at contact this May, one of the little steps the country takes to promote and move forward with its space development program. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 23) As the country prepares to welcome summer, the population is bracing for the heat that comes with it. With more people spending their time at home, the demand for electricity will also begin to rise. The question is: do we have enough power to go around. Speaking to CNN Philippines' On the Record Thursday, Mylene Capongcol, Director for the Renewable Energy Bureau of the Department of Energy, said we may have enough power supply despite power plants breaking down. But this, she said, is due to the country's aging power plants as well as the sudden increase and decrease in temperature. Meralco PowerGen President Rogelio Singson said 33 percent of the country's power plants are at least 20 years old and plants are usually built to last 25 years. The power plants we rely on now are nearing their tail end. "So if there is a large plant that breaks down, then we start having yellow alerts and blackouts," he said. Regular maintenance of the power plants could help with their longevity, but Singson said even with maintenance, unexpected power outages cannot be predicted. Apart from old power plants, Senator Win Gatchalian said another roadblock to ensuring a steady power supply was the red tape that prolongs the application process to build new power plants. "The common complaint of power plant proponents, as well as businessmen, is it takes too long to get your permit," he said. Gatchalian explained that on the average, it takes four years to obtain a permit. It takes another three years to build the plant itself. "Again, it all boils down to red tape. And we filed legislation to automate a lot of these processes, so we can reduce the four-year permit time frame and reduce it to about one to one-and-a-half years," he said. If that is followed, Gatchalian said the time it would take to build a plant from start to end would be four to five years. Currently, an investor would have to physically go to many different agencies to secure necessary paperwork: among them the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, local governments, the police, and even the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines. Gatchalian clarified that this is because of the compilation of many rules over the years. Capongcol said on the part of the Department of Energy, they need to put in place an environment conducive to private sector participation in power generation and supply. To ensure sustainable, affordable, reasonably-priced power, Gatchalian said we need a balancing act that will deliver and solve what he called an energy trilemma: to deliver reliable power, to deliver cheap power, and to deliver clean power. "Unfortunately have to do a balancing act to achieve all of this because clean power is expensive now, reliable power is cheap now," he said. "All of this should be a great balancing act and and that's the job of the regulators and the policy makers and the legislators to make sure the balancing act is in favor of the consumers." Singson said there are one or two applications for power plants they are calling "shovel ready." "We're looking at about a total of $3 billion in investment. And we hope we get this out soon. We're very proud of the technology. It's more expensive, but because of the higher efficiency and low emission, we're going for it," he said. Gossip Girl actor Ed Westwicks sexual assault case is being reviewed by the Los Angeles District Attorneys Office, according to reports. A source told Us Weekly the office was reviewing the case that was submitted Tuesday by the Los Angeles Police Department. In November, the LAPD confirmed to Fox News that a person filed a sexual assault report against Westwick at their Hollywood division. Kristina Cohen, Westwicks first accuser, told the Associated Press that she filed the police report but the LAPD did not identify the alleged victim in the investigation. Cohen claimed Westwick raped her three years ago at a get-together at his home. CELINE DION CANCELS LAS VEGAS SHOWS TO UNDERGO EAR SURGERY I was paralyzed, terrified. I couldnt speak, I could no longer move. He held me down and raped me, Cohen wrote. Following Cohens claim, a second woman, Aurelie Wynn, came forward alleging she was also sexually assaulted by Westwick in 2014. Westwick denied the allegations calling them unverified and probably untrue social media claims. "It is disheartening and sad to me that as a result of two unverified and probably untrue social media claims, there are some in this environment who could ever conclude that I have had anything to do with such vile and horrific conduct. I have absolutely not, and I am cooperating with the authorities so that they can clear my name as soon as possible," Westwick tweeted. The actor was fired from BBCs Ordeal by Innocence following the allegations. BELLA THORNE OPENS UP ABOUT BEING SLUT-SHAMED Westwick is not the only Hollywood figure under review. The Manhattan District Attorneys Office is investigating disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. Weinstein has been accused of sexual misconduct spanning for decades. The New York Police Department conducted a sting operation involving model Ambra Battilana Gutierrez and Weinstein. The operation captured Weinstein making potentially incriminating comments to Gutierrez but the producer was not arrested or charged with any crime, KTLA reported. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is currently being reviewed by the New York State Attorney Generals Office regarding why Weinstein was not prosecuted. As has been widely reported, our investigation of Mr. Weinstein is active and ongoing. It would therefore be inappropriate to comment further," Danny Frost, Vance's director of communications, told Fox News. Infamously known as Americas first female serial killer Aileen Wuornos captivated the nation when she confessed to murdering several men in central Florida between 1989 and 1990. While the circumstances of the crimes that led to her arrest are well-tread territory, a new documentary seeks to shine a light on the subsequent trial in an effort to determine whether the notorious killer got a fair shot within the justice system. Wuornos, a self-described highway prostitute rose to infamy when she was arrested for killing seven of her clients. She confessed to her crimes, arguing that they were in self-defense. This prompted the public to see her as a controversial folk figure. Wuornos was even the subject of the movie Monster, for which actress Charlize Theron won an academy award for best actress. Snapped: Notorious - Aileen Wuornos debuts on Oxygen on Sunday. In it, a myriad of experts on the case say the media attention surrounding her crimes made it difficult for the trial to play out in a fair manner. The documentary also explores the controversial time in 2002 when Wuornos waived her appeals rights and requested to speed up her own execution, calling her mental competency into question. Perhaps none of the experts had more first-hand experience with Wuornos than Raag Singhal, who was her final appeals attorney. Singhal said in the documentary that Wuornos' final moments on October 9, 2002 impacted him. It was a difficult day because, no matter what, she wanted to die. Singhal was brought onto the case earlier in 2002, after Wuornos had already been sentenced to death. In a recent interview, Singhal told us how he entered the scene to determine if some complaints Wuornos was making about the prison she was in were true. Before her eventual execution, Wuornos claimed that the guards were mistreating her, going as far as to accuse them of tampering with her food. Singhal, a seasoned criminal defense lawyer, has seen this kind of behavior before, but usually those who want a prison transfer or to delay an execution. Wuornos, however, was unique in that she wanted to die. If her complaints were valid, if something could be proven, then theres a real issue with the prison system, Singhal, now a circuit court judge in Broward County, Fla., told Fox News. If the complaints werent valid, then theres a real issue with her mental state. Either way, something must be done. Ultimately, Singhal was unable to substantiate Wuornos claims about her stay in prison. As a result, he had to seriously entertain the notion that she was not mentally fit to call for her own execution or waive her appellate rights. I think she had a whole host of mental issues, Singhal said. If you were to kind of look at the totality of the circumstances, her complaints, her behavior, some of the things that she would do She was someone who, in my view, was going in and out of competency, which is somewhat of a normal thing. When we talk about competency in the criminal context, we say its something that waxes and wanes. You can have someone who is confident on one day, then you meet them three days later and theyre not. I have no doubt that she had entire periods where she was lucid and could converse. There were times I met with her when I had no issues with her, then there were times I met with her and she clearly had mental issues. As an example, Singhal recalls Wuornos would occasionally laugh uncontrollably for no real reason in meetings with him. But she was the same woman who, in her letters to the Florida Supreme Court, was capable of a level of advanced penmanship. Singhal asked former Florida Governor Jeb Bush for a stay of execution noting that society has a duty to answer all questions of mental competency prior to the carrying out of the death penalty. Bush agreed and granted the stay, but it did not last very long after the then-governor asked three different doctors to check Wuornos for mental competency. All three found her mentally fit to make the choice she was making. To Singhal, this was a clear example of her waxing and waning periods of competence. She was definitely someone who had good days and bad days, and rarely were the two consecutive. The new documentary asks the viewer to question whether or not Wuornos received a fair trial. By the time Singhal joined the case, she had already been sentenced to execution. However, to this day he wonders if Wuornos case was handled the way another of its kind would be. Specifically, he compares her sentence to a fellow infamous Florida-based serial killer Ted Bundy. What's interesting in the Wuornos case, and its a highly unusual case, is if you were to talk to the public and say This is a serial killer who was executed, I dont think anyone would lose sleep over it. The things the public typically looks at are whether they have confidence in the defendant's guilt and whether they got due process. The third thing is whether the defendant was treated consistently with those who acted similarly, he said. Its a strange concept when youre talking about those who acted similarly and youre talking about a serial killer. But, when you think about the fact that someone like Ted Bundy was offered life in prison while Aileen Wuornos was someone where death seemed to be really all that was ever on the table, I think theres a lot of things that come into play that make it seem like the level of fairness was a little bit different for her. Lena Waithe, one of the stars of Aziz Ansari's "Master of None," has weighed in on the actor's recent sexual misconduct scandal, saying that society needs to be educated on the importance of consent. Waithe graces the cover the April issue of Vanity Fair where she opened up about the meaning of consent. At the end of the day, what I would hope comes out of this is that we as a society educate ourselves about what consent is what it looks like, what it feels like, what it sounds like, Waithe said. I think there are both men and women who are still trying to figure it out. The "Master of None" actress and writer added, We need to be more attuned to each other, pay more attention to each other, in every scenario, and really make sure that, whatever it is were doing with someone else, theyre comfortable doing whatever that thing is, and that were doing it together. Thats just human kindness and decency. In January, a young woman claimed anonymously that a date in New York City last year with Ansari turned into a very uncomfortable situation for her. The woman shared her story on babe.net and wrote that Ansari was aggressive when he took her back to his luxury Tribeca apartment and tried to have sex with her, ignoring her verbal and non-verbal cues to indicate her discomfort. The 23-year-old Brooklyn photographer said she left the apartment in an Uber in tears and expressed her displeasure to him in a text message the following day. The Emmy-winning actor responded to the allegations in a statement which read, In September of last year, I met a woman at a party. We exchanged numbers. We texted back and forth and eventually went on a date. We went out to dinner, and afterwards we ended up engaging in sexual activity, which by all indications was completely consensual, Ansari told Fox News in a written statement. The next day, I got a text from her saying that although 'it may have seemed okay,' upon further reflection, she felt uncomfortable. It was true that everything did seem okay to me, so when I heard that it was not the case for her, I was surprised and concerned. I took her words to heart and responded privately after taking the time to process what she had said. I continue to support the movement that is happening in our culture. It is necessary and long overdue. Waithe's comments on the Ansari scandal come several days after actor Adam Scott told Vulture that the "Master of None" creator was doing fine following the misconduct allegation. I dont know what to say on the record about Aziz. I dont want to say anything that could be misconstrued," the "Big Little Lies" star said. Ill say this: Aziz is doing great. Hes a great, lovely guy. Hows that? A Florida police officer whose photo went viral while working after Hurricane Irma is set to be on the next season of Survivor," according to reports. Officer Daniel Rengering of the Gainesville Police Department, who caught attention for his good looks in the viral post, will be taking a leave of absence from the force to compete on the 37th season Survivor, TMZ reported. The show is about to begin production in Fiji. JUSTIN VERLANDER OPENS UP ABOUT SUPPORTING WIFE KATE UPTON, BALANCING MARRIAGE WITH BASEBALL TMZ reported the handsome officer was approached by "Survivor" producers a few months ago and he agreed to appear on the reality show. He is also being compensated for his appearance, about $10,000, and would receive a grand prize of $1 million if he wins. The gossip website reported Rengering will still have his job once he returns from the show. PINK POSTPONES MONTREAL CONCERT DUE TO FLU: IM ABSOLUTELY GUTTED Rengering's career is booming, unlike that of Michael Hamill, who was also in the photo. Hamill resigned from the force on Dec. 6, 2017, amid an internal investigation into anti-Semitic comments he made on social media and allegedly having sex while on the job. The post of Hamill, Rengering and another officer John Nordman went viral because of the officers good looks. Before it was removed, the photo received 181,000 comments, 517,000 likes and 276,000 shares. Gianna Simones life these days as an actress can be best described as a fairytale set in Hollywood. But before the 28-year-old found fame as a starlet who socializes in Cannes and is recognized by numerous fashion magazines as a Best Dressed star, she endured a troublesome childhood and was abused before she turned 14. EVAN RACHEL WOOD EMOTIONALLY RECALLS SEXUAL ASSAULT DURING CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY While Simone was hesitant to elaborate on the turmoil she faced, she revealed she was abused as a kid at home. She did not say who her abuser was. She said her father was a source of love who was unstable in his own life. He was there as much as he could," Simone told Fox News. Simone found herself taken out of her home by the Department of Social Services and then tossed from family to family in Bostons inner-city foster care system, she told us. I went from one hell to another, Simone said. Many nights, theyll place you with whoever has a house open. Ive been in crazy houses, housing projects. I was with a woman who wanted babies. So I had to sleep in a baby bunk one night. "It was scary. I didnt know who I was going to end up with. I didnt know if there were any men in the house that were going to rape me. I bounced around because most people wanted young kids I was rejected out of many houses. Simone eventually found herself in a girls home in Chelsea, Massachusetts. These girls were serious toughies, said Simone. One girl had a knife slice from the corner of her lip up to her ear. I remember just sitting in a room with all of these girls and thinking, I hope I dont have to fight for my life every day because this is going to get exhausting. Somehow, Simone befriended the other girls, developing a sisterhood. I never remember physically fighting, she explained. I never remember even yelling at any of the girls. They were all just tough and trying to survive. We were all in the same boat. Still, Simones luck continued to dwindle. Kathy DeMarco, a local gym owner she befriended, was eager to adopt the teen. However, DeMarco suddenly passed away at age 52. Kathy would come to court every couple months, recalled Simone. It just wrecked my world. But before DeMarco died, she gave a seemingly hopeless Simone a final gift. She always brought me to a small church, described Simone. I would say, These are a bunch of loonies. This is a looney bin. But I would go because I loved her and she genuinely believed this was a wonderful place with wonderful people. "After she passed, I kept going. I knew in my heart she loved it and she was such a good person. She always gave credit to God. I would hear the word of God and I would see all these people and how they werent actually crazy. They were actually filled with love. That was such a strange thing for me because I wasnt around people like that. Today, Simone identifies herself as a Christian, a decision she said has forever changed her life for the better. I was going through a lot of scary times filled with instability, she said. And I still struggle with that in my life, to be honest... Just trusting people, having a stable home life. Im still trying to get over that. But at the root of things, I know... God has a plan and purpose for all of our lives. "I feel like understanding that really brought me out of the darkness I was going through and continue to go through sometimes It has gotten a lot better. But in hard times, its who and how I lean on. Simones relationship with her father preservered. And when she thought about modeling at age 16, he cheered her on. We planned a portfolio and I got it done, said Simone. I got rejected all over the place I was booking work on my own at this point. I just felt this is what I was supposed to be doing in my life. I felt so much passion for it. And by the grace of God, I got my own apartment and was providing for myself. Simone later signed with a top modeling agency in Massachusetts. And by 21, she found herself heading to Los Angeles where she was eager to take on a new challenge. I fell in love with acting and was slowly taking a few parts, said Simone. I knew LA was the place to act. So I just packed up and moved. Simone has garnered several roles in film and television, including 2013s Star Trek: Into Darkness and 2016s Mothers Day, one of the highlights of her career. It featured an A-list cast, including Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts and Kate Hudson, among others. It was Garry Marshalls last directorial project before he died that same year at age 81. Simone still vividly recalls the first time she spoke to Marshall. I said, Do you need anything? she recalled. He said, Yeah. I just want you to come to the set as you Dont change anything about yourself. I want you and I want you to be the one who shows up.' That gave me so much peace of mind He was so humble and kind Working with Garry was such an honor and privilege. Simone is still staying busy. Shes already completed two films and her most recent, Unbroken: Path to Redemption, is currently in post-production. She also runs the Gianna Simone Foundation, which aims to support abused children in foster care and animals. And as far as what the future holds, Simone isnt worried about Hollywoods many temptations leading her astray. If people ever want to know why I have good morals, why I dont sleep around or drink or do drugs, why I choose to walk a really clean life and clean path, they can ask, she said. I embrace everybody. Thats the only way life can be lived. I think I will always be that way, no matter what happens or where I am in the world. Kevin Sorbo said in a new interview that he feels his freedom of speech was denied after the ThunderCon comic convention rescinded his invitation to their October event. The former "Hercules" actor told TMZ that he is not sure why exactly the comic convention decided to disinvite him shortly after announcing he would be attending. "That was kind of new to me. I thought it was pretty funny," he told TMZ. "I honestly don't even know why they said what they said. I don't know the whole reason behind it. The people that run it didn't even tell me." Sorbo explained that ThunderCon did not contact him directly to explain why he had been removed from the program, but he said the hasty action on the convention's part was an attempt to silence him for his conservative ways. "Freedom of speech is gone, I don't know what I said that offended them," Sorbo said and then suggested that it was possibly a publicity stunt. According to TMZ, a rep for ThunderCon explained that they did feel that the "Hercules" star's conservative views were "distressing to their community," and that some of his past statements had drawn criticism and backlash. When asked if he thought ComicCon goers should take a political stance he said, "No, they shouldn't be. This is all about people liking me as Hercules. Honestly, I don't know what I said to upset them. I don't get it. People are offended by anything nowadays. That's the sad thing." But despite being removed from the convention, the actor expressed well-wishes to the future attendees and said, "I hope you guys have a good time, peace out, relax it's not that big of a deal." One New York City firefighter has died and two have been seriously injured battling a blaze that broke out late Thursday on a film set in upper Manhattan, authorities said. The deceased firefighter was Michael Davidson, 37, authorities said. The 15-year department veteran, who had reportedly been cited for bravery four times, leaves behind his wife and four daughters. The fire reportedly began around 11 p.m. in the basement of a five-story building where crews were shooting Motherless Brooklyn, an upcoming film set in 1950s New York, starring Edward Norton and Bruce Willis. "They encountered heavy fire, and they did the best they could," Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said early Friday. "The fire continued to advance. Units were forced to back out of the building. Somehow while backing out of that building, firefighter Davidson was separated from the rest of the unit. The search ensued. Members tried desperately to find firefighter Davidson, and when they did he was unconscious." The building was empty when the blaze began, police said. Producers for the film told Fox News their crew alerted the fire department and building residents as soon as they noticed smoke. They also expressed their condolences to the family of the deceased firefighter. "To our great sorrow, we now know that a NYC firefighter lost his life battling the blaze that grew, and our hearts ache in solidarity with his family. New York City firefighters truly are the bravest in the world," the producers told us. "We watched firsthand with astonishment as they charged into the smoke to make sure all were safely out and then fought to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading, putting their lives on the line as they do every day. The FDNY are real life super-heroes and have our boundless admiration and gratitude." Witness videos posted to social media showed a massive firefighter response to the five-alarm blaze. Nearly 40 FDNY vehicles and 175 firefighters were at the scene. This is a tragedy. Please give us some privacy, Norton told reporters at the scene, the New York Daily News reported. Norton was standing outside when he first noticed the fire in the basement and pointed it out to a nearby cop, the New York Post reported. The New York City Fire Department declared the scene "under control" on Twitter about 2:40 a.m. Friday. The site of the fire, at 773 St. Nicholas Ave., in the Hamilton Heights section of Harlem, formerly housed the St. Nicks Jazz Pub, a fixture of Harlem's nightlife that was closed in 2011. Witnesses reportedly said crews had hung a sign saying "King Rooster Jazz Club on the building, and were using the old pub location for filming. "Fire at 773 St. Nicholas Ave, started in basement, now flames coming our through roof," New York City councilmember Mark Levine tweeted early Friday. "Massive @fdny operation underway." The fire "appears to have started in a long-closed bar on ground floor (former St. nick's pub), which was being used for a movie shoot in past week," Levine added. The mayor's office later confirmed that a firefighter had died in Harlem Hospital. "This is an awful night," mayoral press secretary Eric Phillips tweeted. "Weve lost an NYC firefighter. Public briefing shortly at Harlem Hospital. Sick to my stomach." "Motherless Brooklyn," which also stars Willem Dafoe and Alec Baldwin, is set for release next year. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 23) At this time of the year, Grade 10 students (formerly 4th year high school in the old education system) are rehearsing for the annual pass-and-review of their mandatory Citizen Army Training (CAT). Just like any graduation ceremony, the pass-and-review marks the completion of the cadets' training for a year. They get to march in their prescribed CAT uniform white shirt, blue pants and white cotton gloves while bearing their individual wooden rifles. It may appear too small for a concern, but CAT cadets from the Jesuit-run St. Isidore High School in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon, often face the problem of supply of white gloves. Located in the remote village of Zamboanguita, it takes about a couple of hours of land travel, around 60 kilometers, to get to Malaybalay's business center. "Malayo kasi ang siyudad mula dito," Roland Sabote, the school's CAT facilitator explained, "Walang mabili (na white gloves) ang mga estudyante." It is also a fact, Sabote added, that a sizeable percentage of the school's students live within and below average means, so traveling to downtown to buy a pair of gloves will merely entail costs. Almost ten years ago, some cadets thought of a novel idea to solve their problem. Instead of having to buy new gloves, they would paint their hands white to give the illusion they are wearing white gloves. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 23) At this time of the year, Grade 10 students (formerly 4th year high school in the old education system) are rehearsing for the annual pass-and-review of their mandatory Citizen Army Training (CAT). Just like any graduation ceremony, the pass-and-review marks the completion of the cadets' training for a year. They get to march in their prescribed CAT uniform white shirt, blue pants and white cotton gloves while bearing their individual wooden rifles. It may appear too small for a concern, but CAT cadets from the Jesuit-run St. Isidore High School in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon, often face the problem of supply of white gloves. Located in the remote village of Zamboanguita, it takes about a couple of hours of land travel, around 60 kilometers, to get to Malaybalay's business center. "Malayo kasi ang siyudad mula dito," Roland Sabote, the school's CAT facilitator explained, "Walang mabili (na white gloves) ang mga estudyante." It is also a fact, Sabote added, that a sizeable percentage of the school's students live within and below average means, so traveling to downtown to buy a pair of gloves will merely entail costs. Almost ten years ago, some cadets thought of a novel idea to solve their problem. Instead of having to buy new gloves, they would paint their hands white to give the illusion they are wearing white gloves. Practical and cheap "May pangalawang reason sila kung bakit ginamit nila (ang pintura). Yung paghawak sa rifle, hindi madulas kung paint ang ginamit," Sabote said. It is not only practical to use, it is also cheaper. A small container, the size half of a can of sardines, of white "Lotus," a paint being used for the students' art class, costs about P18. About two to three students can use up the paint to color their hands. School director Fr. Harvey Mateo, SJ, posted Facebook photos of the cadets while on formation, their hands painted in white perhaps to show how innovative the students are. The young Jesuit priest said he was not aware of the student' practice, but is more than willing to produce white gloves they can use. "Makakahanap naman ng (cotton) gloves," Fr. Mateo says. "But if they insist on paint, water-based poster paint na lang," insisting that the paint should also be lead-free and safe for skin contact. 'Proud of these kids' CNN Philippines showed to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana copies of the photos. Lorenzana has been pushing for high school and college students to submit to compulsory military training in schools, as part of the national program to develop patriotism and love for country among young people. "I am proud of these kids," Lorenzana said in a message, praising the cadets' "initiative and improvisation". "Nothing can stop them," Lorenzana added, citing the students' determination to learn and be trained under CAT. "They are our future soldiers, engineers, and whatsoever they want to be. Great to see kids preparing themselves for the challenges they will face as grownups," Lorenzana pointed out. Sabote, who also serves as the school's prefect of discipline, said the CAT training as an effective tool in imparting discipline and sense of responsibility among their students, as well as love for country through the Ignatian principle of "Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam" (For the greater glory of God). Paris Hilton lost her $2 million engagement ring while she was partying at an expansive Miami club, the New York Post's Page Six reported on Friday. So distraught was the heiress that she had security scour the huge venue until the enormous diamond was finally found in an ice bucket at another VIP table. The 20-carat diamond engagement ring from fiance Chris Zylka flew off Hiltons finger into the crowd while she danced in the early hours of Friday at an industrial former RC Cola Plant at Mana Wynwood, a nearly 50,000-square-foot venue with a 7,000-person capacity, witnesses told the paper. The VIP area quickly became the site of an exhaustive search by Zylka and security while Hilton waited tearfully nearby. The paper said the ginormous rock was turned up in a most unlikely place -- an ice bucket two tables down from where Hilton had been partying. A witness told the Post's Emily Smith: Paris was dancing with her hands in the air, and the next minute her giant ring had flown off. She was really panicked as the venue was packed and very dark, it was the early hours of the morning and it was crazy in there." It was amazing that they managed to even see that huge diamond in an ice bucket. Paris cried with relief when it was safely back on her finger. The Justice Department on Friday announced an Iranian man was sanctioned for hacking information on unaired "Game of Thrones" episodes and stealing personal information from HBO employees' accounts. Behzad Mesri was indicted in November after he attempted to extort HBO for $6 million. The stolen content included what appeared to be scripts from five "Game of Thrones" episodes, including an upcoming episode at the time and a month's worth of email from the account of Leslie Cohen, HBO's vice president for film programming. There were also internal documents, including a report of legal claims against the network and job offer letters to top executives. Other nine Iranians were also arrested in a government-sponsored hacking scheme that pilfered sensitive information from hundreds of universities, private companies and government agencies. The Iranian defendants are accused of working at the behest of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Prosecutors say the defendants were affiliated with the Mabna Institute, an Iranian company that since at least 2013 has contracted with the Iranian government to conduct hacking. The defendants are unlikely to ever be prosecuted in an American courtroom since there's no extradition treaty with Iran. But the case is part of the government's "name and shame" strategy to publicly identify foreign hackers and put their countries on notice. Also Friday, the Treasury Department designated the Mabna Institute and the nine Iranians for sanctions. "Today, not only are we publicly identifying the foreign hackers who committed these malicious cyber intrusions, but we are also sending a powerful message to their backers, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran: your acts do not go unnoticed," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. "We will protect our innovation, ideas and information, and we will use every tool in our toolbox to expose those who commit these cybercrimes. Our memory is long; we will hold them accountable under the law, no matter where they attempt to hid," he added. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Unlike that one Wendys restaurant in Pittsburgh, McDonalds locations in the U.K. arent so keen on letting horses into their drive-thru lanes. A man in Suffolk, England, was reportedly denied service at the drive-thru of a McDonalds after trotting up to the microphone with his horse on Thursday, according to the BBC. THE WORLD'S BIGGEST RESTAURANT CHAIN SURPRISINGLY ISN'T MCDONALD'S The horseback rider, who was not identified, was photographed by fellow McDonalds customer Jason Barrett, who told the BBC that a McDonalds manager came outside of the restaurant to inform the man he couldnt take his equine through the drive-thru. "I had to do a double take. You don't see that every day, he told the site. According to Barrett, the man didnt seem to mind much, and proceeded to tie up his horse while he went inside for a coffee. When he was finished, he just trotted across the grass with his latte, Barrett said. ALYSSA MILANO BLASTS WENDY'S AMID FARMERS' COALITION'S PROTESTS As odd as this sight was, it wasnt even the first time this week that a McDonalds customer in the U.K. was forced to tie up his horse before ordering. The day before in Croydon, South London, a witness photographed a horse and carriage tied up outside a McDonalds while the owner was presumably grabbing a bite to eat inside the restaurant. The towns local publication, the Croydon Advertiser, notes that McDonalds must encounter this situation quite a bit, as the McDonalds U.K. website even has a page explaining why horses arent allowed in the drive-thru. Government road safety advice to drivers notes it is unsafe for them [horse riders] to position a horse between lines of traffic where they can panic, sandwiched with no escape route, reads the site. That Wendys in Pittsburgh, on the other hand, apparently has no such restrictions, as Marcella Gruchalak found out in mid-February. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS Gruchalak and her friend Shelly had just left a fundraiser in Fox Chapel, Penn., when they decided to stop by Wendys to grab a treat for her horse Buns and they successfully trotted away after ordering a Frosty for the horse. I thought it would be extra humorous to take him through Wendy's because hes a redhead just like Wendy, Gruchalak later wrote on Facebook. In 1965, 17-year-old Fred DeLuca borrowed $1,000 from Peter Buck to form Petes Super Submarines. Never heard of it? The restaurant in Bridgeport, Connecticut, now goes by the more succinct Subway, along with the 40,000-plus other locations worldwide. Thank goodness for that! Imagine the sandwich techs today: Welcome to Petes Super Submarines. Some sauce on your super-succulent sub sandwich? as they gather orders for the 7.6 million sandwiches made daily around the globe. (Hungry for Subway now? Make yourself this copycat.) It may be because Subway is one of the least expensive restaurants to franchise, according to Business Insider. Or maybe its just that crazy-delicious aroma of baking bread. Or the 38 million possible ingredient combinations from which to choose. (By the way, this doesnt even include secret menu items, such as the Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwich and Eggs Florentine Flatbread.) Whatever the reason, DeLuca turned his sandwich artistry into franchise magic, surpassing McDonalds in restaurant locations by the end of 2010, says CNN Money. Theyre on every continent except Antarctica (for now). Worried about having to give up your favorite turkey on wheat or meatball on white while you travel to landlocked central Europe? No worrieshead to Lichtenstein. Too busy carting the children to Sunday school to grab a Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki? Kill two birds with one stone at True Bethel Baptist Church in Buffalo, New York, where people have been worshiping and enjoying a footlong under the same roof since 2004. The pastor there happens to be the franchise owner, and if you go, youd be supporting a location that helps teach job skills to underprivileged community members. However and wherever you choose to chow down on your Subway sandwich, youll be in good company 5,300 people (per minute!) cant be wrong. This article originally appeared on Taste of Home. NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! No child should have to fear going to school or walking the neighborhood streets. And yet, we know that many children and their parents do live in fear, in part because of a string of cowardly and barbaric school shootings in recent years. Just last month, the American people were shocked and horrified by the vicious murder of 17 innocent students and educators in Parkland, Florida. Fortunately, we have a law-and-order president who is determined to make America safer. President Trump and his administration are moving swiftly and taking action. The Department of Justice will provide $1 million in emergency funding to Florida law enforcement agencies in Broward County and other jurisdictions that assisted with the response and investigation of the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. We have a law-and-order president who is determined to make America safer. President Trump and his administration are moving swiftly and taking action. After the mass murder in Las Vegas back in October, President Trump instructed his administration to review how the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) our lead firearms agency has regulated bump stocks and similar devices. In December, the Department of Justice announced its intention to issue a rule clarifying whether bump stocks qualified as machine guns and thus were prohibited under federal law. President Trump then directed the Department of Justice to propose rulemaking on bump stocks as expeditiously as possible. This month, the Department of Justice proposed a rule clarifying that bump stocks should be prohibited because they effectively transform legal semi-automatic weapons into machine guns, which have been illegal in this country for decades under federal law. Last week, the Department of Justice announced our next steps to build upon our response to the Parkland shooting. Following President Trumps call to keep our schools and our neighborhoods safe, the Department of Justice is taking immediate action. First, we are investing in putting more highly trained armed personnel in our schools. Every year, the Department of Justice helps local communities hire more police officers. Now we will give priority consideration to cities and states that specifically want to hire more school police officers. Second, we are making several improvements to our criminal background check systems. I have ordered our federal prosecutors to aggressively prosecute those who lie to the background check system in order to try to get guns illegally. We cannot tolerate this kind of fraud. Under my tenure as attorney general, we have already increased federal gun prosecutions to a 10-year high and violent crime prosecutions to a 25-year high the highest level since records have been kept. But we are just getting started. With this new policy in place, and with our continued emphasis on federal prosecution of the most dangerous gun offenders, we intend to break these records again. We are also taking steps to ensure that the information accessible during a background check is both complete and up to date. After all, our background check systems are only as good as the information they receive. We are holding federal agencies as well as state and local jurisdictions accountable for providing us with the information we need to know if someone shouldnt have a gun. I have ordered the FBI to identify the jurisdictions that fail to give us the information we need in a timely fashion. One problem we face all too often is that the FBI will have access to an arrest record, but there is no indication of the final outcome of the case. As a result of this information gap, people who are prohibited from having a gun can still pass a background check. But we will help the states in this process. We will provide funding for increasing accessibility to the input of criminal records, especially domestic violence convictions, and information on people who have firearm restrictions related to mental illness. Additionally, we must ensure that we properly use information coming in from the public. Thats why we will also improve the way Department of Justice law enforcement agencies respond to tips from the public. I have ordered an immediate audit and review of our existing process. We will ensure that we respond to life-saving and crime-fighting tips quickly and effectively. With these new measures in place, we are better positioned to disarm criminals and protect the law-abiding people of this country. Achieving those two goals will help us achieve President Trumps goal of a safer America. NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! Cambridge Analytica is being loudly criticized for apparently using massive amounts of data on 50 million Facebook users to formulate political advertising on behalf of the Trump campaign after receiving the data from Cambridge University researcher Aleksandr Kogan. Facebook is calling this a violation of its terms of use for the researcher, who was only authorized to use the information for research purposes. However, there is nothing illegal about companies such as Cambridge Analytica using gathered data for political campaigns. Their liability relates to allegedly having received the data and used it without the permission of Facebook. While the Obama campaign used social media information harvested from Facebook to target voters, they did so in compliance with the standards of Facebook at the time. Cambridge Analyticas primary sin is not the use of the data, but relates to how they obtained the data. Facebook, in turn may well have been negligent not only in how it handled the misuse of its data, but also for possibly failing to respond in a timely manner when the problem became known. Their actions may also violate an agreement with the FTC from 2011 which required Facebook to better protect the data of its users and be more transparent in their use of users data. It is important to note that I did not refer to users of Facebook as customers. They are not customers of Facebook. They pay nothing. As Steve Jobs once said, If you are not paying for the product, you are the product. Facebook gathers the data we willingly provide, analyzes it and utilizes it for very profitable targeted advertising. A big part of the problem is that many people dont realize that they have agreed to have their data used for commercial purposes. By and large, social media has privacy policies that are either hard to read, hard to find or merely inconvenient for many people who never had concerns about the privacy of their data. But that data can be used incredibly effectively by advertisers of political campaigns. Facebook likes have been analyzed to come up with models used for commercial or political advertising that can be targeted to your personality to manipulate your opinion. Researchers at Stanford and Cambridge Universitys Psychometrics Center used Facebook likes to create such a model by scoring a persons openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. Here are some examples. According to their model, if you like the musician Tom Waits or the musician Bjork, you are among the most open. If you like the musician Luke Bryan or the television show, The Hills you are among the least open. If you like traveling, cooking and hiking as hobbies, you are among the most conscientious. If you like the video game Minecraft or the television show, The Skins you are among the least conscientious. Interestingly, if you like the musician Marilyn Manson, you are among the least agreeable and most neurotic people. There is a great lack of protection of the public from having their data gathered and used in ways that they may not desire. The few laws we have such as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act are riddled with exceptions that make these laws ineffective and little more than window dressing. The European Unions privacy regulations (GDPR) will take effect in May and provide a road map for what we could be doing to protect our personal information, but the first step is for Congress to hold public hearings at which Mark Zuckerberg and others should testify about the business model as to how social media truly operates so that the American public can become aware of how their data is used and how their privacy is being threatened. NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! Across the web, online administrators are hitting delete on sex ads. Several websites built solely around prostitution and sex trafficking, such as Cityvibe, have begun going dark, and mainstream websites like Craigslist and Reddit are removing their Hookers and Personals sections which acted as thin veneers for sex trafficking and prostitution advertisements. Why? This week, Congress passed a bill soon headed to the presidents desk to be signed into law that will change the landscape of the internet forever. H.R. 1865, known as FOSTA-SESTA, amends the 1996 Communications Decency Act Section 230which courts previously interpreted as granting broad immunity to websites that facilitate third party sex trafficking and prostitution ads. This legislation was sparked by the powerful momentum of the documentary I Am Jane Doe, which spotlights the stories of sex trafficking survivors fighting for justice against these multi-million dollar websites, and it was championed by survivors, Rep. Ann Wagner, Sen. Rob Portman, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, Shared Hope International, World Without Exploitation, 50 United States Attorneys General, and many more. For years this law thwarted sex trafficking survivors attempts to sue websites like Backpage.com -- a website which garnered 99 percent of its income from ads for sex, and which refused to take down ads of known child sex trafficking victims according to a U.S. Senate investigation. Online sexual slavery auctions were in effect a protected class of crime, a tragedy compounded by the fact that 73 percent of child sex trafficking victims referred to the National Center on Missing and Exploited Children were sold online. That is until this week. After removing its Personals section offline, Craigslist, for many years a go-to site for sex trafficking, stated: Any tool or service can be misused. We can't take such risk without jeopardizing all our other services, so we are regretfully taking craigslist personals offline. Hopefully we can bring them back some day. Many have made hyperbolic claims that amending the law to hold websites accountable for knowingly hosting sex trafficking and prostitution ads would break the internet. These developments clearly refute that argument. The sun rose today and Twitter is still functioning, knitting blogs remained intact, and Wikipedia is uninterrupted. The only difference is scores of websites are voluntarily removing sections that facilitated a high volume of sex ads. These websites already knew the problem existed, but just lacked the incentive to effectively safeguard their communities. The writing was on the wall that their criminal liability, and perhaps even conspiracy with sex traffickers in some cases, would soon be addressed. So, is sex trafficking on the internet over? Certainly not, there will be websites that attempt to guise sex ads as dating ads. Most likely, many ads will migrate to social media sites where they will attempt to blend in with other users. Some ads may transfer to the dark web. But at the end of the day, ads for sex trafficking and prostitution were already occurring in all of these places simultaneously before the new legislation. What H.R. 1865 did at a minimum is it effectively shut down the lowest hanging fruit -- the forums and websites where any young pimp could become a wealthy trafficker just by posting a few ads and skyrocketing the number of sex buyer clients in his rolodex. Raising the barrier to entry for the sex trafficking market is a step in the right direction. This measure, before its even been signed into law, has decreased the profits in the lower tiers of trafficking. Now law enforcement should focus its resources on the more sophisticated (and more damaging) organized crime components of trafficking. One thing is for sure, this law made sex traffickers jobs harder, and for some, impossible. Which, in my book, is a good thing. NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! What will be the impact of former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton becoming President Trumps new national security adviser April 9, replacing Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster? No one can say for sure, and Bolton made clear in an interview on The Story on Fox News that he understands his role is to follow the policies set by the president. But Boltons long record in the spotlight in government and in many appearances as a contributor on Fox News give some clues and allow me to make some predications. President Trump announced via Twitter Thursday night that Bolton was replacing McMaster. The move should not come as a shock. McMaster never seemed like a good fit in the world of Team Trump. On five key issues, here is what I predict Bolton will advocate in the White House once he replaces McMaster: North Korea Bolton has pushed privately and on Fox News for a tough stance against North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and his Communist regime. Last fall, Bolton argued that the U.S. should not rule out the use of military force against the North if Kim refused to give up his nuclear weapons, or if China refused to join the U.S. in pressuring Kim to do so. In recent days, the former ambassador has taken a more balanced approach, backing the presidents move to open negotiations with the Kim regime. But Pyongyang should take no solace in Boltons most recent comments. If North Korea demands any sort of bribe for the simple pleasure of sitting down with the U.S., South Korea or Japan, expect Bolton to push for the ending those talks and fast. Also, Bolton will likely take a very tough line on any negotiations with the North if such talks even happen. Look for him to demand some sort of concrete statement from the North that it intends to denuclearize in a predetermined timeframe that is verifiable. Bolton will not allow President Trump to walk into any sort of trap if the president meets with Kim. Instead, Bolton will make sure there are predetermined deliverables before Trump even thinks about getting on Air Force One for a summit with Kim. No deliverables mean no summit will take place. What Bolton will not allow is for Kim to get the photo op of a lifetime standing with the president of the United States, plaster it on every billboard in North Korea, and then walk away with the legitimacy and recognition he seeks from the most powerful nation on Earth without doing anything in return. China The incoming national security adviser has been a tough critic of the Obama administrations past efforts that failed to hold to account a rising China that has been on a decades-long quest to dominate Asia. Bolton will enthusiastically support President Trumps decision to hit China with tariffs, announced Thursday. He will also support crucial allies and partners in their disputes with Beijing in the East and South China Seas, and make sure Taiwans democracy is never tampered with by China. Russia Boltons appointment as a key adviser to President Trump might be Moscows worst nightmare. A staunch critic of Russias actions in recent years, Bolton will likely play a key role in making sure Russias hostile and aggressive moves do not go unchallenged. In fact, here is where some fresh blood could result in some dramatic changes in policy. Look for Bolton to push President Trump to press Moscow in Syria, Ukraine and over its often-overlooked help to North Korea. I would also not be shocked if Bolton recommended increased arms sales to Ukraine, as well as pressing Moscow to end its troublemaking in Syria perhaps by increasing Americas role in that war-torn nation if necessary. Iran With Boltons appointment, the nuclear deal with Iran is dead and buried. Period. Bolton has been one of the toughest critics of a deal designed to temporarily keep Iran from becoming a nuclear power. Look for him to urge the president to kill this agreement not seek any sort of replacement or even push for the resumption of tough sanctions to weaken Irans ability to spread trouble around the region. Bolton will do all he can to prevent a nightmare scenario: a nuclear-armed Iran that could hit Israel, Europe or even someday the U.S. homeland with enough force to kill millions of people. The X Factor The biggest question of all is: How will Bolton mesh with an unpredictable and unconventional president who is prone to make snap decisions and think on his feet many times to the angst of his own top advisers? This is where Boltons experience and working in the top tiers of foreign policy decision-making will serve him well. And considering the challenges around the world this administration faces especially a tough summit with North Korea on the horizon by the end of May those years of experience will be needed and tested early and often. NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! We now know that the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica harvested data from 50 million Facebook users by using a personality test app. The information was used to help Republican presidential contender Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas to target voters, and the data was later used on behalf of the Trump campaign to develop profiles of potential voters. The problem is that Cambridge Analytica stands accused of violating its contract with Facebook and misrepresenting the purpose of some of its data mining. It is alleged not to have deleted data when requested to do so by Facebook. Lawsuits are no doubt in the works. A contract breach would make what Cambridge Analytica did different from what political campaigns have done for years use analytics to properly target potential voters. But that doesnt mean that what other campaigns have done to exploit data isnt eye popping. For example, according to tech guru Sasha Issenberg, the 2012 Obama campaign used the same permission structure of Facebook to gain access to data on the friends of people who used their Facebook profiles to log onto an Obama campaign website. Using this data, Issenberg says the Obama campaign created a new political currency that predicted the behavior of individual humans. The campaign didnt just know who you were; it knew exactly how it could turn you into the type of person it wanted you to be. The manipulation of social media data by political players was viewed as benign when it was used to elect President Obama. But now that its perceived that President Trump may have benefitted from similar behavior, the pitchforks are out and the mob is ready to storm the Facebook castle. Writing new government regulations is the demand of the day. Youve created these platforms, and now theyre being misused, and you have to be the ones to do something about it. Or we will, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California warned Facebook. Its clear these platforms cant police themselves. Fellow Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota introduced the Honest Elections Act, a bill to create regulatory rules she says would block foreign interference from social media trollers from Russia and other adversaries. Klobuchar dismisses Facebooks efforts to police itself as meaningless: They say trust us, she says. Certainly, Facebook can be faulted for putting its head in the sand and not revealing what it learned about Cambridge Analyticas behavior after the 2016 elections. Unlike recent Internet security scandals, such as those involving Target stores or the federal Office of Personnel Management, no personal financial or identifying data was stolen. Cambridge Analytica scooped up data on who peoples Facebook friends were and what they liked. By declining to blow the whistle on Cambridge Analyticas alleged behavior, Facebook made the scandal worse. Now Facebook will now be put through the same political wringer that Big Oil or other suddenly suspect companies are. Facebook will have to deal with investigations from the Federal Trade Commission and at least two state attorneys general. In addition, the European Union is planning to consider a tax on digital ad revenue and the sale of digital data to third parties. California lawmakers are debating legislation that would establish a data protection authority that would request and use data. And the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee will soon call Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify. Zuckerberg didnt help matters for his firm this week when he told an interviewer: I actually am not sure we shouldnt be regulated. While he makes up his mind, he has proposed useful changes in policies, such as having Facebook ban any developer who has not agree to a thorough audit. It is precisely when the media and politicians are baying that something anything must be done to address a scandal that thoughtful debate is necessary. Look at Sen. Klobuchars benign-sounding Honest Elections Act. It would require the same disclosures for online political ads that now apply to broadcast ads. But its completely unclear if that would block entities such as the Kremlin-backed trolls who put up online ads during the 2016 election. The ads that the Kremlin trolls bought wouldnt be considered political advertising because they didnt explicitly support or oppose any candidate. New regulations could help increase transparency. In Canada, Facebook users can click on a button and see all ads running on a Facebook page even if they are directed at someone else. But regulations could easily stifle political speech, which weve seen is a real problem everywhere from college campuses to corporate America. The Internet Association, a group of tech companies, warns that proposals that would hold platforms liable for advertisers claims could discourage platforms from carrying ads from individual citizens or legitimate groups that arent well known or established. Facebook and Congress will have to come to some understanding and level of trust on how to prevent future misuse of Big Data. But the worse policy response to the Cambridge Analytica scandal would be to adopt European-style data rules that will inhibit innovation, make the social media experience less accessible to consumers and not even prevent abuses. President Donald Trump announced Thursday that former United Nations Amb. John Bolton will replace Gen. H.R. McMaster as his national security adviser effective April 9 -- the latest in a growing list of White House staff shakeups over the past year. I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9, Trump tweeted. The presidents announcement came after months of speculation over whether McMaster would resign or be fired. Bolton told Fox News' The Story Thursday evening, I didn't really expect that announcement this afternoon, but it's obviously a great honor. It's always an honor to serve our country and I think particularly in these times internationally, it's a particular honor. But on Thursday evening, a White House official said that the president and McMaster mutually agreed that he would resign. The two have been discussing this for some time, the official said, noting that the timeline was expedited as they both felt it was important to have a new team in place, instead of constant speculation. A White House official said the decision was not related to any one moment or incident, but rather the result of ongoing conversations between the two. The official told Fox News that the move has been contemplated for some time, and was just about the worst-kept secret in Washington. The president took his time to find a replacement for McMaster because he wanted the right person. While Trump spoke to Bolton many times about the job, the deal was cemented in an Oval Office meeting between the two Thursday afternoon. Bolton told Fox News' Martha MacCallum that the process of his hiring came to a conclusion this afternoon, but ... there's still a transition. I look forward to working with H.R. and his team and the other senior members of the president's team on national security and I have no doubt there's a lot of work to do. Bolton has previously served as a Fox News contributor, as well as in the Republican administrations of presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, and served as a Bush lawyer during the 2000 Florida recount. A strong supporter of the Iraq war and an advocate for aggressive use of American power in foreign policy, Bolton was unable to win Senate confirmation after his nomination to the U.N. post alienated many Democrats and even some Republicans. He resigned after serving 17 months as a Bush recess appointment, which allowed him to hold the job on a temporary basis without Senate confirmation. The position of White House national security adviser does not require Senate confirmation. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized Bolton's appointment. Mr. Boltons tendency to try to solve every geopolitical problem with the American military first is a troubling one, Schumer said. I hope he will temper his instinct to commit the men and women of our armed forces to conflicts around the globe, when we need to be focused on building the middle class here at home. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., tweeted that Bolton was too extreme to be confirmed as UN ambassador in 2005 and is absolutely the wrong person to be national security advisor now. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he was deeply concerned by Bolton's positions and said he hoped Bolton would moderate his positions and work closely with our military, diplomatic, intelligence, and development professionals before rushing into armed conflict. In a statement, McMaster said he was thankful to President Donald J. Trump for the opportunity to serve him and our nation as national security adviser. I am grateful for the friendship and support of the members of the National Security Council who worked together to provide the President with the best options to protect and advance our national interests. McMaster said he was especially proud to have served with National Security Council staff, who he said established a strong foundation for protecting the American people, promoting American prosperity, achieving peace through strength, and advancing American influence. I know that these patriots will continue to serve our President and our nation with distinction, McMaster said. White House chief of staff John Kelly said McMaster is a fine American and Military officer. He has served with distinction and honor throughout his career in the U.S. Army and as the National Security Advisor, Kelly said Thursday. He brought and maintained discipline and energy to our vital interagency processes. He helped develop options for the president and ensured that those options were presented fully and fairly. A true solider-scholar, his impact on his country and this government will be felt for years to come. Bolton, who served as U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006 and as undersecretary of state for arms control and international security from 2001 to 2005, will take over for McMaster next month. Thank you to Lieutenant General HR McMaster for your service and loyalty to our country. Your selfless courage and leadership has inspired all of us. Most of all, thank you for your friendship, current U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley tweeted. A White House official said Bolton is one of the strongest voices and experts on the full range of national security issues and challenges facing the U.S. McMasters retirement comes just one week after the president fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Twitter, and after other high-profile administration departures. Earlier this month, Chief Economic Adviser Gary Cohn resigned amid disagreements over a round of steel and aluminum tariffs, which Trump supported. McMaster was brought in after Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was dismissed after less than a month in office. White House officials said he was ousted because he did not tell top advisers, including Vice President Mike Pence, about the full extent of his contacts with Russian officials. Fox News' Kristin Brown, Chad Pergram, John Roberts, Samuel Chamberlain and the Associated Press contributed to this report. President Trump announced Thursday that White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster would be replaced in April by former U.N. ambassador John Bolton. In a tweet, Trump said he was very thankful to McMaster for his service, adding that he has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. The presidents announcement comes after months of speculation over whether McMaster would resign or be fired from his post. Now Bolton, who has served as a Fox News contributor, will take over the position on April 9. Throughout my career it has been my greatest privilege to serve alongside extraordinary service members and dedicated civilians, McMaster said in a statement. He went on to thank the president for the opportunity to serve. I am grateful for the friendship and support of the members of the National Security Council who worked together to provide the President with the best options to protect and advance our national interests, McMaster continued. I am especially proud to have served alongside the men and women of the National Security Council Staff who established a strong foundation for protecting the American people, promoting American prosperity, achieving peace through strength, and advancing American influence. I know that these patriots will continue to serve our President and our nation with distinction. McMaster's ouster sparked a series of reactions. Here's what is being said: Vice President Mike Pence tweeted that McMaster leaves the position "w/ our highest respect for his service to this Admin & his heroic service on & off the battlefield." He also congratulated Bolton, "a highly respected American patriot," to the position. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly labeled McMaster "a fine American and military officer" who "served with distinction and honor throughout his career in the U.S. Army and as the National Security Advisor." Kelly continued: He brought and maintained discipline and energy to our vital interagency process. He helped develop options for the President and ensured that those options were presented fully and fairly. A true solider-scholar, his impact on his country and this government will be felt for years to come. In a tweet, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio called Bolton an excellent choice who will do a great job. Current UN ambassador Nikki Haley thanked McMaster for his service and loyalty, adding in the tweet, Your selfless courage and leadership has inspired all of us. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., tweeted that "it has been a privilege to work with" McMaster. Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton in a statement called McMaster "a warrior and a scholar, one of the best generals of his generation." "I join all Arkansans in thanking him for decades of service to our nation, most recently as President Trump's National Security Advisor," Cotton continued. "I also congratulate Ambassador John Bolton for his appointment as the next National Security Advisor. He's an excellent choice to take the baton from General McMaster." In a tweet, Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y. called Bolton "ridiculously knowledgable" and said he would be a "great National Security Adviser" for Trump. But McMaster's replacement by Bolton was also met by a series of criticisms. Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., slammed Bolton in a tweet saying "he was too extreme to be confirmed as UN ambassador in 2005 and is absolutely the wrong person to be national security advisor now." Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. in said on Twitter that Bolton's "tendency to try to solve every geopolitical problem with the American military first is a troubling one." Minnesota U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum also disagreed with the decision to move Bolton into the position, tweeting that the former U.N. ambassador was "a discredited architect of the Iraq War" and his "appointment puts our national security at risk." Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., thanked McMaster for his service but said in a statement that he was "concerned that President Trump has chosen to abruptly dismiss" him and "hire his third national security advisor in just 15 months." "Though Ambassador John Bolton has extensive foreign policy experience, I'm deeply concerned by the prospect of him advising President Trump and directing key debates on national security policy," Coons said. "Ambassador Bolton's stated positions on today's major issues, most notably North Korea's and Iran's nuclear programs, are overly aggressive at best and downright dangerous at worst," he continued. "I hope that Ambassador Bolton will moderate his positions and work closely with our military, diplomatic, intelligence, and development professionals before rushing into armed conflict." Virginia Rep. Don Beyer called the move on Twitter "a monumental step backward." Fox News' Brooke Singman and Kristin Brown contributed to this report. Former Playboy model Karen McDougal said Thursday that she did in fact have a sexual relationship with Donald Trump before he was president, going so far as to call it a consensual, loving relationship. McDougal told CNN she had seen Trump many dozens of times in a 10-month period beginning in 2006, and that they had been intimate during this time. The interview came just days after the model sued American Media Inc. to be released from a 2016 agreement that prevented her from speaking about the alleged affair she had with Trump. McDougal was paid $150,000 for her story that never was published. She said she saw Trump at least five times a month, and that he would even reimburse her for flights for what she says was done to eliminate a paper trail. McDougal said she was unaware that Trump saw other women, aside from his wife, during this alleged affair. Trump also has been accused by adult film actress Stormy Daniels for another alleged affair. Trump vehemently has denied these claims. Fox News Barnini Chakraborty contributed to this report. New details have emerged about questions that former British spy Christopher Steele may be asked regarding the unverified "Trump-Russia" dossier during his upcoming court-ordered deposition in London. Fox News has obtained and reviewed British court records filed Wednesday in the ongoing multi-million dollar civil suit brought by Russian tech guru Aleksej Gubarev against Buzzfeed and Steele that is underway in courtrooms on both sides of the Atlantic. Evan Fray-Witzer, a Boston-based attorney for Gubarev, told Fox News in an email, "We expect that Mr. Steele will confirm that the allegations concerning Mr. Gubarev were unsolicited and that he included them in the dossier despite having done nothing to verify whether the allegations were true or not." In London, the Steele deposition could last up to seven hours, something he has gone to great lengths and legal expense to avoid. Meanwhile in Washington, D.C., Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., have recommended a criminal referral of Steele to the Justice Department for the investigation of his potential violations of federal law pertaining to alleged false statements about his meetings and communications with the press. Gubarev and his companies, including XBT Holdings and Webzilla, brought the defamation case against Steele and Buzzfeed after they published the dossier on Jan. 10, 2017. Sixteen memos were written by Steele, who was paid $168,000 by Glenn Simpson's U.S.-based company Fusion GPS. The dossier alleged that Gubarev's companies "used botnets and porn traffic to transmit viruses, plant bugs, steal data and conduct 'alerting operations' against the Democratic Party leadership." Fusion GPS was paid nearly $1.8 million via the law firm Perkins Coie, by the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign, to dig up dirt on GOP candidate Donald Trump and his associates. According to the newly revealed records, the memo Steele wrote for the dossier in December 2016, after Trump's election, is key to the civil litigation. On page 9 of the filing, Gubarev's attorneys noted that they sought answers to "the circumstances in which Mr. Steele and Orbis prepared the December memorandum" and "the circumstances in which Mr. Steele transmitted a copy of the December memorandum to Fusion/Senator [John] McCain in December 2016." According the the British filing, "The dossier was supplied to Fusion on terms that it was subject to an obligation not to disclose it or any of it to third parties without the agreement of Orbis and/or Mr. Steele." However, Simpson specifically tasked Steele with spreading the dossier's contents to at least five U.S. media outlets friendly to Clinton, via both in-person meetings and Skype. While in Rome, Steele also briefed the FBI, who reportedly offered him $50,000 to verify parts of the dossier. However, the FBI has denied making any payments or reimbursements to Steele. Still, Steele claimed in the documents, filed after the dossier's publication, that he was "horrified and remains horrified that the U.S. defendants published the dossier at all, let alone without substantial redactions ... It is not known who provided the dossier to the U.S. defendants." As extensively reported by Fox News, increased scrutiny has surrounded the role of David J. Kramer, a close associate of McCain who pleaded the Fifth to the House Intelligence Committee, but did give a videotaped deposition in the Buzzfeed litigation filed in Florida. Kramer was tasked by McCain in December 2016 to obtain a debriefing from Steele in Britain and receive a copy of the dossier from Fusion GPS. On the same page, Gubarev's attorneys raised questions about "whether Senator McCain or his representative, David Kramer, was responsible for the dissemination of the December 2016 memorandum to the media ..." Kramer has denied multiple requests for comment by Fox News and his Florida attorney Marcos Jimenez has not returned any emails or voicemail inquiries. Fray-Witzer told Fox News, "[Neither] Steele [nor] Buzzfeed did anything to figure out if the things they were saying about Mr. Gubarev were remotely true. That's not journalism, that's simply smearing someone's reputation." In an email to Fox News, Buzzfeed spokesman Mike Mittenhall said: "We fully expect the information contained in Mr. Steele's deposition to reaffirm our decision to publish the dossier, which was at the center of official investigations and circulating at the highest levels of government." Steele left MI-6 in 2009 to become a director of Orbis Business Intelligence. Glenn Simpson formed his Washington-based consulting firm Fusion GPS around the same time. Steele's videotaped deposition is expected to take place within the next three weeks. Fox News' Catherine Herridge contributed to this report. The appointment of John Bolton as President Donald Trumps next national security adviser has prompted mixed reactions in Asia on Friday amid his hawkish "striking first" foreign policy views. Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations known for advocating the use of military force against North Korea and Iran, will replace H.R. McMaster, whose departure had been rumored for months. News of the staff change came just 10 days after Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, with plans to replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo. The Pompeo appointment requires U.S. Senate approval, but the Bolton hiring does not. Our stance is that if a new road opens, we have to go that path, a senior official at South Koreas presidential office told reporters, Reuters reported. Bolton has much knowledge on the issues regarding the Korean Peninsula and most of all, we know him to be one of the U.S. presidents aides who is trusted. The reaction to McMasters dismissal was not bad by South Koreas National Security Office head Chung Eui-yong, the official added. But more skeptical voices have also emerged, fearing Bolton could possibly derail any productive dialogue during the upcoming U.S.-North Korea talks. This is worrisome news, said Kim Hack-yong, a conservative lawmaker and head of the national defense committee of South Koreas parliament, according Reuters. North Korea and the United States need to have dialogue, but this only fuels worries over whether the talks will ever happen. "If Bolton takes office and talks with North Korea go haywire and yield bad results, I don't know what we'll do then," he added. "It might be great if Kim Jong Un comes to talks with a free spirit but any turns in a negative direction could mean all our work over the years to engage North Korea could turn to dust." Just last month, Bolton penned a controversial article for the Wall Street Journal in which he argued that it would be "perfectly legitimate for the United States to respond to the current 'necessity' posed by North Koreas nuclear weapons by striking first." The new adviser, who was called human scum and a bloodsucker by North Korea as it refused to work with him, also said Trumps possible meeting with Kim Jong Un could be an opportunity to threaten U.S. military action. But a senior aide to South Korean President Moon Jae-in downplayed concerns that Bolton could disrupt the possible dialogue, telling the New York Times that Trump himself is pushing for a meeting with the North Korean leader. Japans foreign minister, Taro Kono, who met McMaster recently, also weighed in on Boltons appointment. Our stance is completely coordinated with the U.S. government," he told reporters Friday, "so I believe there is no change of direction. Former CIA director John Brennan raised eyebrows this week when he went on national television and suggested the Russians may have something on President Trump. Brennan, who led the CIA during the Obama administration, later conceded to The New York Times that he actually had no knowledge to back the claim. To critics, this was yet another example of increasingly hostile and partisan behavior toward Trump from the former leader of an agency that considers itself above partisanship. For John Brennan, the most recent former CIA director, to come forward and insinuate -- on national TV -- that a sitting president is the subject of blackmail by a foreign adversary is outrageous, Buck Sexton, a former CIA officer, said in an interview. There used to be a day when intelligence officials, whether they were in office or out of office, would not spew innuendo like that, especially such grave charges, Wall Street Journal writer Kim Strassel said on Fox News Ingraham Angle. Brennan, who is now an analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, has not shied away from expressing his extreme distaste for Trump. But critics argue he is going farther than others who have led the spy agency. Our former intelligence chiefs have a responsibility to maintain the nonpartisan, mission first reputation of the intelligence community. Buck Sexton, former CIA official When the full extent of your venality, moral turpitude, and political corruption becomes known, you will take your rightful place as a disgraced demagogue in the dustbin of history, Brennan recently tweeted. Mollie Hemingway, a staff writer at The Federalist, said Brennans comments destroy the media narrative that intelligence chiefs are a bunch of apolitical boy scouts. As Brennan's increasingly unhinged tweets show, a year later, that narrative (and push by compliant media) looks patently absurd, she tweeted. Sexton, host of a syndicated radio program Buck Sexton with America Now, suggested Brennans comments are hurting the reputation of the agency. Our former intelligence chiefs have a responsibility to maintain the nonpartisan, mission-first reputation of the intelligence community, he said. Other experts say Brennans intense partisanship is unusual for someone in his position, even if other former top administration officials have been outspoken about their beliefs after leaving office. I think he is afraid of the Russian president. They may have something on him personally... the fact that he has had this fawning attitude toward Mr. Putin... I think continues to say to me that he does have something to fear. Ex-CIA Director John Brennan in an MSNBC interview Partisan criticism is not uncommon, but it is usually diplomatic, said Cal Jillson, political science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Think of James Baker or Leon Panetta, people who speak softly because they are used to being listened to. Jillson said that current and former intelligence officials who have been privy to secret information should adhere to a higher code of conduct because their remarks carry more weight. With politicians, we take what they say as raw speculation, Jillson said. But for someone like John Brennan, who has known the countrys deepest secrets for decades, the public takes it as an allusion made with the knowledge of the nations secrets, which he has a responsibility not to reveal. Brennan is facing criticism from the left, too. The liberal New York Times opinion page recently cited Brennans tweet accusing Trump of venality, moral turpitude, and political corruption and argued such accusations hurt his credibility. Declarations like these may be important to make and gratifying to read, but they really shouldnt be coming from those whose integrity depends on them remaining outside the political fray, even in these insane times, the paper said. Zell Miller, the former Georgia governor and U.S. senator, has died following a battle with Parkinsons Disease, his family said Friday. He was 86. A lifelong Southern Democrat, Miller famously famously spoke at the 2004 GOP convention as a Democrat in support of former President George W. Bushs re-election campaign. A decade earlier, Miller had been the keynote speaker at the 1992 Democratic National Convention, endorsing then Arkansas Democratic Gov. Bill Clinton for president. The people of Georgia have lose one of our states finest public servants, grandson Bryan Miller said in a statement. He said Miller passed away peacefully at his home with family by his side. Miller was the 79th governor of Georgia, serving from 1991 through 1999. He represented the state of Georgia in the U.S. Senate from 2000 to 2005. Millers political career began in 1959, when he served as mayor of Young Harris, moving on to become a Georgia state senator from 1961 to 1965. He then served as Georgias lieutenant governor from 1975 to 1991, making him the longest serving lieutenant governor in Georgias history. Later in life, Miller was a Fox News contributor. As governor, Miller created the Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally (HOPE) scholarship, and Georgias voluntary pre-kindergarten program. According to the Miller Institute Foundation, more than 1.8 million students have gone to college in Georgia on HOPE scholarships, and more than 1.6 million four-year olds have begun their education through the pre-K program. These were his proudest achievements in his 46-year career in public service, the foundation said in a statement Friday. After 40 years, one of Utahs Senate seats will be back in contention after longtime Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch announced he was retiring. Hatch is 84 years old and amid mounting speculation that he would not run for another term, former Massachusetts governor and 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney announced Feb. 16 he would vie for the seat. The prospect of a political powerhouse like Romney winning the primary has not daunted the hopes of a flooded field of candidates who have filed alongside him to try their chances. The race is being called a David vs. Goliath situation. Ten candidates have filed to run in the hopes of besting the former governor. Some have political experience and some do not. Voters and party officials are wondering if they even have a chance. When theres an open seat, typically there are 12 to 15 people that throw their name in the hat, but I will say this election cycle, because of the name recognition, there are a lot of candidates that Ive known that were interested in running for that seat that will not run against Mitt Romney because they read the tea leaves and they say I do not want to get defeated by Goliath and come back in six years or 12 years and run again as the guy who got trounced, said Rob Anderson, chair of the Utah Republican Party. But with that name recognition comes withering criticism that Romney was too harsh on President Trump in the early months of the 2016 campaign. President Trump has since endorsed his candidacy, but for Utahns, those denouncements echo loudly. I believe he is as politically dangerous as he is physically attractive, said candidate Jeremy Friedbaum; a local restorer of grand pianos who has run in races previously. Hes truly dangerous, if he had gotten his way with not having anybody vote for Trump, wed have Hillary Clinton as our president today. Wed lose the courts, corruption would be deeply entrenchedyou shouldnt trust a man who tried to do that. Other candidates have concerns that Romneys bid is seemingly like a planned coronation and want it to be a conversation about issues that affect Utahns instead. But the Romney for Utah campaign disputes that notion. In a little over a month hes been to 21 of the 29 counties. Hes made stops in 40 cities, hes put almost 5,000 miles on his truck, his 2002 Chevy. So we have been circling the state up and down. Hes been working hard, said MJ Henshaw, a spokesperson for the campaign. Those in Utah Republican political circles said State Rep. Mike Kennedy has the qualifications and is very well liked and can give Romney the strongest chance of a worthy challenge, but that his national recognition is next to none. Kennedy grew up poor and has eight children. Hes a doctor of law and medicine and describes himself as a common man. If elected, he said he would stand with the president even when times are tough not just when it suits him. And not convenient and at the same time if there are disagreements, he said. Theres a way to respectfully disagree. I dont believe that throwing criticisms likes throwing rotten tomatoes at a poor actor on stage is the best way to go about things. The Utah GOP picks its nominee through the caucus system. Candidates can appeal to delegates directly to capture their vote. At the nominating convention on April 21, if a candidate gets 60 percent or more of the vote, then no primary is even held and the winner would face-off against the Democrat in the general. But candidates do have another option to get on the ballot if they can get signatures as well, 28,000 are needed to qualify. If so, a primary would take place. But thats not deterring some of the more obscure personalities from running, especially Brian Jenkins, an Abraham Lincoln impersonator. He filed to run dressed in a top hat and long black overcoat, complete with a dyed long beard. He admits it is part publicity stunt and marketing ploy to get voters interested in Lincolns life and philosophy, Id probably walk around just like this on the Senate floor, he said. Voters in this predominantly red state have grown more unfavorable to President Trumps job performance in recent months. The most recent Real Clear Politics average has it at 55.7 percentage points. The race so far has opened old intraparty wounds dating back to the 2016 election with fraught, yet consistent quibbling as establishment and tea partiers come#MAGA types square off. Kennedy, in his campaign video, offers the question: "Do you honestly think an establishment insider is going to fix the problems in Washington and restore our values?" Ross Douthat, the consistently provocative New York Times columnist, had a personal reason for being put off by Donald Trump's prowess at dominating television. Douthat, a conservative who is fiercely anti-Trump, was a CNN contributor during the 2016 campaign. He writes that "a network like CNN, which thrives on Team Red vs. Team Blue conflict, felt compelled to turn airtime over to Trump surrogates like Jeffrey Lord and Corey Lewandowski and Kayleigh McEnany because their regular stable of conservative commentators (I was one of them) simply wasn't pro-Trump enough." He has a pointthough those few were greatly outnumbered by never-Trumpersbut harbors some misconceptions when it comes to the president and TV news. The backdrop for the piece is the scandal at Cambridge Analytica, the data firm that just suspended its CEO (largely over hidden-camera footage showing him and others talking about bribing potential clients with money and hookers.) Since Cambridge worked for the Trump campaign, the column says that whatever voter data the company improperly mined is much less important than Trumps "hacking" of television. Douthat argues that Trump created phony news for years as the host of "The Apprentice," saying many Republican viewers "bought the fake news that his television program and its network sponsors gladly sold them." No question the show helped cement his image as a celebrity businessman, but come on. People know that what theyre getting with these staged reality shows is hardly the unvarnished truth. Trump's real sin, says Douthat, "was the use of his celebrity to turn news channels into infomercials for his campaign ... With television news there were actual human beings, charged with exercising news judgment and inclined to posture as civic-minded actors when it suits them, making the decision to hand day after day of free coverage to Donald Trumps rallies, outrages, feuds and personal attacks." Here he misses the boat. Trump dominated TV news because he knows how to drive a media agenda, and because he did hundreds and hundreds of interviews. At a time when it was difficult for shows (including mine) to get many sitdowns with Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and especially Jeb Bushand when they were cautious when they did appearTrump did all the channels even when he knew he was going to get beat up. He did Sunday shows, morning shows, nighttime shows and cable shows (including on CNN and MSNBC). And he made news, especially by challenging the anchors and reporters, either in the moment or later on Twitter. What's more, an awful lot of his coverage was negative. And he was often at odds with Fox News then, even blowing off the network's Iowa debate. Sure, cable news covered too many of his rallies because they were good for ratings. But that was a minor factor in his non-stop media blitz. Douthat also makes a pretty audacious declaration: "The depth and breadth of Trump skepticism among right-wing pundits was a pretty solid indicator of his unfitness for high office." Sorry, but the consensus of National Review, the Weekly Standard, Charles Krauthammer, George Will, Rich Lowry, Steve Hayes and Ross Douthat didnt ultimately matter, because Trump was able to forge his own connection with Republican voters and disaffected Democrats. He didnt run as a doctrinaire conservative, which cost him the backing of many conservative pundits and scrambled the usual left-right argument. But in the end that mattered more to elite opinion-makers than the working-class voters in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. National Reviews Jim Geraghty, responding to Douthat, takes a much broader view beyond cable news. He notes that Trump had been on "SNL" and the "Tonight" show, in "Home Alone 2" and even popped up in Bobby Brown music videos: "Trump had enjoyed the pop-culture and big-media seal of approval for decades! "Televisions coverage of Donald Trump from the 1980s to early 2015 portrayed Trump as a phenomenal business success, endlessly knowledgeable and fascinating, insightful, shrewd, entertaining, and funny a larger-than-life character. Why are so many baffled that Trump managed to turn that image into a path to the presidency?" Two days before the election, Douthat warned that voting for Trump would install "a man who stands well outside the norms of American presidential politics, who has displayed a naked contempt for republican institutions and constitutional constraints, who deliberately injects noxious conspiracy theories into political conversation, who has tiptoed closer to the incitement of political violence than any major politician in my lifetime ..." Perhaps thats why the notion that television served as Trumps infomercial service sounds more like an after-the-fact justification for a victory that that virtually all the pundits insisted would never happen. Rep. Louise Slaughter's mark on Congress was evident, as staff and colleagues on both sides of the aisle remembered the longest-serving member of Congress from New York after news of her death broke on March 16. Slaughter, a Democrat, died at the age of 88 after being hospitalized with a concussion, Fox News confirmed. She had served in Congress since 1987. Slaughter's funeral on March 23 will be held at the Eastman Theatre in Rochester, New York. Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Georgia Congressman John Lewis and more than 40 members of Congress are slated to attend. Her funeral will be a "fitting celebration of a truly remarkable person," a top aide to the late Congresswoman said. The first female chair of the powerful House Rules Committee, Slaughter co-authored the Violence Against Women Act, was a founding member of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus and authored the STOCK Act, a 2012 law that prohibited insider trading in Congress. Lawmakers and staff members shared statements and took to social media to share memories of Slaughter as a colleague and a friend. To have met Louise Slaughter is to have known a force of nature, Liam Fitzsimmons, her chief of staff, said in a statement. It is difficult to find a segment of society that Louise didnt help shape over the course of more than thirty years in Congress, from health care to genetic nondiscrimination to historic ethics reforms. Her strong example inspired countless young women to know their power, and seek their rightful place at the head of the decision-making table. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., remembered Slaughter as a trailblazer who used her positions to fight for women and working families in New York and across the country. Her strong example inspired countless young women to know their power, and seek their rightful place at the head of the decision-making table, Pelosi said. Her tireless leadership was invaluable to passing legislation to expand access to affordable, high-quality health care and to help young people climb the ladders of opportunity with a good education, Pelosi continued. She made it her mission to help every man and woman chase their American Dream. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Slaughter was a giant. She had deep convictions on both issues important to the people of Rochester, and for the integrity and honesty of the political system, he said in a statement. Throughout her entire career, Louise worked with people from so many different philosophies and backgrounds, because she was such a genuine human spirit. The ferocity of her advocacy was matched only by the depth of her compassion and humanity. Schumer continued, Her passing will leave a gaping hole in our hearts and our nation. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said flags at the Capitol would be lowered to half-staff in her memory, calling her death "jarring." Slaughter "was tough, unfailingly gracious, and unrelenting in fighting for her ideas," Ryan said. "She was simply great." "Louise did not need a gavel to make a dent in history," Ryan also said. "Louise did not need a gavel to make a dent in history." House Speaker Paul Ryan Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., said his friendship with Slaughter went beyond politics, especially as she counseled him during a recent, deep personal loss. Newhouses wife passed away in May just before their anniversary. You could not find a sharper mind than Louise Slaughter, remembered Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., on social media. She was a truly great leader and I was honored to serve alongside her. Louise was a pioneer and a tireless voice for women. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, said she served with Slaughter on the House Rules Committee. I knew her to be a tough-as-nails role model and extraordinary communicator, Pingree said. She was the Houses biggest champion against antibiotic misuse and a tireless fighter for the arts. In a series of tweets, Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., remembered Slaughter as amazing, sharp-tongued yet charming and brilliant. Her quick with and Southern drawl were irresistible, Speier said, adding that she hopes Slaughters family can take some small comfort in knowing the legacy Louise leaves behind will live on for generations to come. As we talked over dinner so many times, she would regale us with sure fire quips and clear eyed commentary about the political world, Speier recalled. Louise knew fake when she saw it and was not afraid to call it out. She knew truth when she saw it and stood strong in its defense. I loved her so. Rep. Ann McLane Kuster, D-N.H., said Slaughter was her mentor and a dear friend to her mother. She was a trailblazer for women lawmakers and will be truly missed, she said. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., said she "always felt so warmly welcomed by [Slaughter] and her entire staff." "Louise has served our state for over three decades, and has been a role model to many women Members, including myself," Stefanik said in a statement. "My thoughts and prayers are with her family during this difficult time." Rep. Tom Reed, a Republican from New York, said it was an honor to serve in the House with Slaughter throughout the years. He added that the congresswoman will be missed. Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., said on social media that she always enjoyed our spirited debates and praised Slaughter for having fought for what she believed in. Congresswoman Louise Slaughter was loved by the God who made her and respected by her colleagues, Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., said in a statement. We worked on different sides of the aisle, but kindness and dignity characterized every piece of our friendship. We worked on different sides of the aisle, but kindness and dignity characterized every piece of our friendship. Rep. Doug Collins Collins added that had always enjoyed Slaughters homemade rhubarb pie. A Republican representing Alabama, Rep. Bradley Byrne noted Slaughters significance as the first female chair and ranking member of the House Rules Committee. He said she would be remembered for her effectiveness [and] passion for her constituents [and] the many causes she believed in. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D, said in a tweet that Slaughter was "a champion for New York who had a larger than life presence in Rochester area politics." "She was trailblazer, a partner and friend ever since we worked together for my father more than four decades ago," the governor said. New York Attorney Gen. Eric Schneiderman praised Slaughter's "deep knowledge of policy and profound commitment to her community." Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren called Slaughter "the embodiment of leadership and tireless advocacy for her constituents." "The citizens of Rochester, along with women and minorities across our entire country, have lost a voice in Washington. But the legacy of Louise Slaughter is truly enduring and I am confident her accomplishments will benefit our city and nation for generations to come," she said in a statement. Former Vice President Joe Biden remembered working with Slaughter on the Violence Against Women Act when he was a senator. He called the late congresswoman an "unparalleled champion for women." "I will always remember her grit and determination in standing up for women and families every day," Biden said. "She will be greatly missed." The Associated Press contributed to this report. The cover of Time magazine this week features five anti-gun survivors of the Parkland, Fla., high school massacre, but has drawn criticism for pointedly omitting their pro-Second Amendment classmates. One of those students, Kyle Kashuv, has been a prominent advocate for preventing violence while respecting gun rights in the weeks since the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Kashuv has visited the White House, met with President Donald Trump and legislative leaders across party lines, and unveiled an app to prevent school shootings. But unlike the students appearing on Time magazine's cover, including outspoken NRA opponents and "#NeverAgain" members Emma Gonzalez and David Hogg, Kashuv has publicly declared his support for the Second Amendment and tussled with liberal media figures. PARKLAND SURVIVOR VISITS WHITE HOUSE, REVEALS APP TO PREVENT SCHOOL SHOOTINGS After the Time cover was revealed Thursday, critics pounced on social media, accusing the magaizine of bias. "Theres definitely a media blackout." Parkland shooting survivor Kyle Kashuv When one Twitter user asked why Time had not included students who support gun rights, Kushev answered, "Cause that would make TIME be unbiased." He also retweeted parody versions of the Time cover, including one that features him with another conservative student from Parkland. The headline: "The Boys who Believe that Screaming ENOUGH is NOT ENOUGH." Kashuv has recently sparred with other organizations that he accuses of bias. While he was heading to a millennial-focused forum at the White House on Thursday, a flight attendant aboard his Spirit Airlines flight shared her feelings about the March For Our Lives movement. Just landed in Baltimore on @SpiritAirlines and the stewardess felt compelled to give us all a speech about the March for Our Lives, which openly says on the petition are trying to categorically ban AR-15's, and made everyone clap, the high school junior tweeted on March 22. Can anything just be non-political anymore? SPIRIT AIRLINES APOLOGIZES TO PARKLAND SURVIVOR AFTER FLIGHT ATTENDANT GETS POLITICAL News of Kashuv's flight came one day after CNN canceled what would have been his first one-on-one interview on the network, scheduled for March 21. The appearance was reportedly canceled after Kashuv retweeted a story describing anchor Brooke Baldwin as a fake news hypocrite. For his part, Kashuv has already moved on. But don't worry, CNN really wants to have the other side on, as long as they're complicit, he tweeted later that day. "There's definitely a media blackout" for those with dissenting, pro-gun rights views, he told the Daily Signal. President Donald Trump announced Friday that the administration would ban bump stocks and all devices that turn otherwise legal weapons into illegal machine guns, keeping a promise made amid a bipartisan gun control debate. Moments before he departed Joint Base Andrews for his Florida property at Mar-a-Lago, and hours after signing a $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill, the president tweeted about the new policy. Obama Administration legalized bump stocks. BAD IDEA. As I promised, today the Department of Justice will issue the rule banning BUMP STOCKS with a mandated comment period. We will BAN all devices that turn legal weapons into illegal machine guns, he wrote on Friday. A bump stock is an attachment that allows a semi-automatic rifle to achieve a fully automatic weapons cyclic firing rate to mimic nearly continuous automatic fire, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Semi-automatic rifles with bump stocks can fire hundreds of rounds per minute, according to experts. The bump stock moved to the foreground in the national discussion of gun control last fall, after Stephen Paddock used the attachment when he opened fire at an outdoor concert in Las Vegas. He killed 58 people and injured hundreds more. The president, for months, has urged the Justice Department to ban firearm modifiers, directing Attorney General Jeff Sessions last month to implement new federal guidelines very soon. On Friday, Sessions announced that bump stocks fall within the definition of machine gun under federal law, as the devices allow a semiautomatic firearms to achieve a continuous firing cycle with the single pull of the trigger. WHAT ARE BUMP STOCKS? HOW THEY WORK AND WHY TRUMP WANTS THEM BANNED Since the day he took office, President Trump has had no higher priority than the safety of each and every American, Sessions said in a statement. That is why today the Department of Justice is publishing for public comment a proposed rulemaking that would define machine gun to include bump stock-type devices under federal law effectively banning them. Sessions cited the senseless Las Vegas attack, noting that the rule is a critical step in the effort to reduce the threat of gun violence. The White House released a memo last month that directed the Justice Department to propose the rule. Trump wrote in the memo, Although the Obama administration repeatedly concluded that particular bump stock type devices were lawful to purchase and possess, I sought further clarification of the law restricting fully automatic machine guns. The ATF made bump stocks legal in 2010, when, at the time, the bureau concluded that bump stocks didnt convert a semi-automatic firearm into one that is fully automatic, meaning it was not equivalent to machine guns that are regulated under the National Firearms Act, which dates back to the 1930s. Since the shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school last month, the president has proposed numerous measures in the gun control debate, including banning bump stocks, arming and training teachers and school officials, and raising the age requirement to purchase a gun from 18 to 21. The president, though, has touched off tensions with the National Rifle Association, which endorsed him during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump has said, repeatedly, that he and the NRA dont have to agree on everything. President Trump signed the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill Friday despite an earlier threat to veto the legislation due to the lack of border wall funding and a fix for DACA. Trump signed the mammoth legislation reluctantly, saying in a press availability with other members of the administration that, in order to secure a necessary increase in military spending, he had to give money to Democratic projects that he derided as a "wasted sum of money." "It's not right and it's very bad for our country," he said. But he said that military spending was very important, and that concern overrode his thoughts about vetoing the legislation. Therefore, as a matter of national security, I've signed this omnibus budget bill. There are a lot of things Im unhappy about in this billBut I say to Congress, I will never sign another bill like this again. I'm not going to do it again, he said. He also called on Congress to end the filibuster in the Senate and to give him a line item veto. To prevent the omnibus situation from ever happening again, I'm calling on Congress to give me a line item veto for all government spending bills," he said. "And the Senate must end -- they must end -- the filibuster rule and get down to work. Trump had tweeted earlier Friday that he was considering using the veto, saying that recipients of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program have been totally abandoned by the Democrats. He added that the border wall, which he said was "desperately needed for our National Defense" is not fully funded. The House adjourned Friday morning until Monday, meaning that if Trump had vetoed the bill then the government would shut down. Trump moved to end the DACA program in September, giving Congress a six-month window to come up with a legislative fix. That deadline has been delayed by court orders, but the fate of the 800,000 enrolled recipients is still uncertain. Trump addressed DACA recipients at the press availability: "Republicans are with you," he said, before accusing Democrats of blocking efforts to fix DACA "every step of the way." The White House has tried to use the DACA issue to convince Democrats to support approximately $25 billion in funding for Trumps central campaign promise. But a congressional GOP source told Fox News talks broke drown after Democrats pushed for a path to citizenship to include also those who are currently eligible -- expanding those covered to 1.8 million. The spending bill passed by Congress includes only $1.6 billion for border measures -- much of which is for repairs to already existing fencing. It explicitly rules out any new prototypes of the kind President Trump viewed this month in California. But House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and the White House pushed back against conservative concerns on Thursday, saying it provided for 100 miles of border construction. FUNDING FOR BORDER WALL IN SPENDING BILL DIVIDES CONSERVATIVES, ESTABLISHMENT REPUBLICANS Democrats had claimed victory on the issue, pointing to the fact that Trump's requests for new deportation agents and detention center beds had gone unanswered, although they had expressed disappointment at the failure to get a DACA fix in the bill. The deal has also irked more conservative members of Congress, who objected to the size and cost of the bill (which ran in at over 2,000 pages) as well as the failure to remove funding for Planned Parenthood and so-called "sanctuary cities." Other Republicans approved of the deal, pointing to a massive increase in military and infrastructure spending as well as funding to help combat the nation's opioid crisis. Trumps veto threat was totally unexpected, particularly as the White House had signaled Trump would support the bill if passed by Congress. Most lawmakers have already left Washington for a two week recess. Some are on overseas trips already. Fox News' Chad Pergram and Mike Emanuel contributed to this report. President Trumps decision Thursday to appoint former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton as national security adviser brings a hawkish presence, combined with a bulldog spirit, to the White House. Trump announced late Thursday that Bolton would replace H.R. McMaster in the post, and while the Bush-era hawk's staunch defense of the war in Iraq may conflict with Trumps more skeptical approach, his stand on other issues -- along with his penchant for getting in the face of his opponents -- makes him a natural fit for the Trump White House. "I think what you said is offensive and inappropriate -- you are a munchkin in the media, Bolton said to a Sky News host in January who asked if Trump was a slippery fish. While he served at the U.N., he was no fan of the place, saying in 1994 that if the headquarters in New York City lost 10 stories, it wouldnt make a bit of difference. So controversial was Bolton, who served under the Reagan and both Bush administrations and who is a former Fox News contributor, that he was unable to gain enough votes to be confirmed by the Senate as U.N. ambassador and was instead appointed by recess. He has also mulled presidential runs in 2012 and 2016. But while Trump has been hesitant on the value of military action in far-away theaters, Boltons hawkishness and bullishness do align somewhat with Trump. Particularly they both share a strong skepticism of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which Trump has repeatedly promised to tear up if it cannot be satisfactorily re-negotiated. Bolton has gone even further. In 2015, Bolton wrote an article for The New York Times, titled: To Stop Irans Bomb, Bomb Iran. He also supports Trumps aggressive stance on North Korea. He recently wrote an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, called The Legal Case for Striking North Korea First. In 1837 Britain unleashed pre-emptive fire and fury against a wooden steamboat, he wrote. It is perfectly legitimate for the United States to respond to the current necessity posed by North Koreas nuclear weapons by striking first. It is not clear if he will support Trumps move to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. He has also expressed significantly more skepticism about Russia and has called for a strong response from NATO to the poisoning of a former spy in the U.K. But Axios reported that Bolton has a reputation not only for having hawkish tendencies, but also for getting things done. My problem with you, over the years, has been, youre too competent, then-Sen. Joe Biden told Bolton during his 2001 confirmation hearing for undersecretary of State for arms control and international security affairs. Bolton said as much himself in an interview on Fox News "The Story" Thursday night. Ive been in a lots of bureaucracies, and Ive seen the way that bureaucracies that dont like decisions, sit on them, he said. So I know my way around the corridors in Washington and I think that role will also be important. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, said in a statement Thursday night that he hoped Bolton would temper his military-first instincts. Mr. Boltons tendency to try to solve every geopolitical problem with the American military first is a troubling one, Schumer said. I hope he will temper his instinct to commit the men and women of our armed forces to conflicts around the globe, when we need to be focused on building the middle class here at home. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he was deeply concerned by Bolton's positions and he hoped Bolton would moderate his positions and work closely with our military, diplomatic, intelligence, and development professionals before rushing into armed conflict. But Republican hawks welcomed the appointment. He believes in a strong military, going after terrorists, taking the gloves off, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. said on "Fox and Friends." He is a diplomat. But he understands that if you're going to deal with thugs like in Iran, you have to be taken seriously. Bolton is likely to encourage Trumps more bullish tendencies when it comes to foreign policy, and some lawmakers are expecting a significant pivot in terms of foreign policy remarks from the White House. The era of leading-from-behind is over, Graham said. John Bolton is a leading-from-the-front kinda guy. The Senate passed a $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill, which is 2,232 pages, with a 65-32 vote just after midnight Friday, making their deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown. President Trump signed the spending bill Friday despite an earlier threat to veto the legislation. "800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded," the president tweeted Friday morning. Trump said he had to sign the bill "as a matter of national security." "There are a lot of things Im unhappy about in this billBut I say to Congress, I will never sign another bill like this again. I'm not going to do it again, he added. Read on for a look at five things to know about the omnibus bill. Immigration President Trump didnt get every penny he wanted for his border security plan, but a solution for those under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program arent going to find reprieve in the bill either. The bill includes $1.57 billion for barriers along the border. Democrats seemed willing to concede on that funding, but dug in their heels against Trumps plan to hire hundreds of new Border Patrol and immigration enforcement agents. Gun violence The bill does include incremental steps to curb gun violence, including the so-called "Fix NICS" measure which would strengthen the background check system. The measure to fix the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), would provide additional funding to agencies and states that comply with the system. Those that did not, would be penalized. More than $2 billion was also allocated to train school officials and law enforcement officers to identify signs of potential violence so they would be able to intervene earlier. This money, to improve school safety, would also be used to install metal detectors. Gateway project Despite opposition from Trump, a project to build a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River could get some funding through this bill. The Gateway project has garnered bipartisan support among many New York and New Jersey lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and New Jersey Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, a Republican who chairs the House Appropriations Committee. The House spending bill initially allocated $900 million for the project, according to NJ Advance Media. The spending bill removed the earmark that protected funding for the project, but a Schumer aide said it should still get significant funding. The Gateway Project could receive as much as $540 million, the New York Post reported. New York and New Jersey have committed to picking up half of the estimated $11 billion cost. Tax fix When Republicans pushed their $1.5 trillion tax bill last year, they did so in such a quick manner that it included mistakes. One of those mistakes was language that accidentally gave farmers a higher tax advantage if they sold crops to cooperatives as opposed to other buyers. The spending bill fixed some of these mistakes. Democrats were able to get on board with the fix in exchange for expanded tax credits for low-income housing. Johnson Amendment The spending bill leaves out two provisions included in a previous House plan that would dismantle the Johnson Amendment, the 1954 tax law that prohibits charitable, philanthropic and religious organizations from partisan politicking. Trump signed an executive order in May 2017 aimed at weakening the law. Fox News' Samuel Chamberlain and The Associated Press contributed to this report. The Pacific Ocean is being treated like a giant dumpster and it's starting to look like one, too. A "floating" island of trash dubbed the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) now stretches 600,000 square miles, according to a study published Thursday in Scientific Reports. It's more than twice the size of Texas (three times the size of France), and it's growing every day. Environmentalists expressed concern in October 2016, after a team of researchers from The Ocean Cleanup Foundation surveyed the vortex of trash piling up between California and Hawaii. They spotted chunks of plastic glued together measuring more than a yard. "[It's a] ticking time bomb because the big stuff will crumble down to micro-plastics over the next few decades if we dont act," Boyan Slat, founder of Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit that helps remove pollution from the world's oceans, told Newser at the time. The size of the trash pile has nearly doubled in size since then, containing at least 79,000 tons of plastic "a figure four to 16 times higher than previously reported," Scientific Reports said. Researchers gathered 1.2 million samples during a multi-vessel expedition in October 2017, exactly one year after their previous test. They used large nets to scoop the debris and took several aerial images to examine the extent of the GPGP. Large items such as bottles, ropes, plastic bags and buoys were the most common objects spotted in the pile. Fishing nets had an overwhelming presence, accounting for nearly half of the weight of debris picked up by research vessels. Microscopic particles made up less than 10 percent of the mass collected by researchers. We were surprised by the amount of large plastic objects we encountered," Dr. Julia Reisser, the chief scientist of the expeditions, said in a statement online. "We used to think most of the debris consists of small fragments, but this new analysis shines a new light on the scope of the debris. Data from the nets proved more plastic is coming into the ocean than being cleaned up. But scientists didn't realize how fast garbage was piling up. "Historical data from surface net tows indicate that plastic pollution levels are increasing exponentially inside the GPGP, and at a faster rate than in surrounding waters," the report said. The findings were "depressing to see," Laurent Lebreton, an oceanographer and lead author of the study, told The Guardian. There were things you just wondered how they made it into the ocean," Lebreton said, adding that the group even found a toilet seat discarded into the sea. "Theres clearly an increasing influx of plastic into the garbage patch." Pollution is problematic for the environment and humans, but it's especially troubling for marine life. Floating plastic litter can be ingested or entangle marine life, and carry invasive organisms across oceanic basins, Matthew Cole, a research scientist with the Plymouth Marine Laboratory in the U.K., told New Scientist. Lebreton hopes to find a way to curb plastic waste. We need a coordinated international effort to rethink and redesign the way we use plastics," he said. "The numbers speak for themselves. Things are getting worse and we need to act now. Archaeologists in Alexandria, Va., have uncovered the remains of two ships that likely date back to the late 1700s or 1800s during construction work on the citys waterfront. The city announced the discovery at the construction site in the historic Old Town district earlier this week. The find was made at the site of the former Robinson Terminal South. In 2015 a Revolutionary War-era ship was found nearby during construction work for the Hotel Indigo. The discovery of three historic ships in a two-block area is absolutely incredible, said Eleanor Breen, Alexandrias acting city archaeologist, in a statement. There have been very few ships from this era excavated in Virginia or nationwide. REVOLUTIONARY WAR-ERA SHIP UNEARTHED AT VIRGINIA CONSTRUCTION SITE The discovery was made last week by experts from Thunderbird Archaeology working for developers JBG Smith and EYA, the Washington Post reports. The site is being developed into a residential complex. The city is overseeing an analysis of the site to determine what the next steps should be. As part of a private construction site, the artifacts are not currently open to public view and are not visible from the street, it said, in its statement. The ships are the latest historic vessels to be discovered in the U.S. Earlier this year, for example, it was revealed that the wreckage of the Clotilda, the last slave ship to bring slaves to the U.S., may have been found near Mobile, AL. THE LAST AMERICAN SLAVE SHIP MAY HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED In 2015 the remains of a Confederate warship were raised from the Savannah River in Georgia. The following year the wreck of a large iron-hulled Civil War-era steamer was discovered off the coast of North Carolina. The ship, which was found off Oak Island, N.C, was tentatively identified as the blockade runner Agnes E. Fry. Fox News Chris Ciaccia contributed to this article. Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers A group of citizen scientists helped to discover a new type of aurora they named "Steve," and now NASA wants your help photographing the unusual phenomenon. Members of a Facebook group known as the Alberta Aurora Chasers originally documented the aurora-like light show in the night skies over western Canada. Unlike other auroras, the phenomenon (which scientists have turned into an acronym: Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement) appears as a distinct purple ribbon of light with green "picket fence" accents. STEVE occurs at lower latitudes than most of the northern lights, according to a statement from NASA. Using the European Space Agency's Swarm magnetic field mission, researchers were able to study STEVE in greater detail, revealing new clues about the interactions of Earth's magnetic field and upper atmosphere that cause the phenomenon. Their findings were published yesterday (March 14) in the journal Science Advances. [Amazing Auroras: Photos of Earth's Northern Lights] Now, a citizen science project called Aurorasaurus, which is funded by NASA and the U.S. National Science Foundation, is seeking skywatchers' help to learn even more about STEVE's appearance, life cycle and implications. People from around the world can report where they have seen auroras, including STEVE, and post photos online or using the Aurorasaurus mobile app. Since its discovery, STEVE has been documented in the United Kingdom, Canada, Alaska, the northern United States and New Zealand. To help citizens observe STEVE, NASA provides some basic skywatching tips: For starters, this phenomenon appears between 5 and 10 degrees farther south in the Northern Hemisphere, compared to other auroras. The ribbon of mostly purple light is a very narrow arc that is aligned east-west and extends for hundreds or thousands of miles, according to the NASA statement. Occasionally, a rapidly evolving, green "picket fence" structure accompanies STEVE. While the green accent-lights are short-lived, STEVE can last 20 minutes to an hour. Also, the phenomenon has been documented only in concurrence with a normal aurora which is why scientists need your help to learn more about how the two phenomena are connected. Furthermore, the appearance of STEVE may be limited to certain seasons. "It was not observed from October 2016 to February 2017. It also hasn't been seen from October 2017 to the present, March 2018," NASA officials said in the statement. (However, NASA's Elizabeth MacDonald, a researcher at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, told Space.com the phenomenon was just spotted again the night of March 10.) Skywatchers who want to get involved can report sightings of STEVE and other auroras using Aurorasaurus. Editor's note: If you captured an amazing photo of STEVE or any other night sky sight, and would like to share it with Space.com for a story or gallery, send images and comments to managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com. Original article on Space.com. A tiny, pointy-headed skeleton that fits in the palm of a hand isn't an alien, despite conspiracy theories that have circulated for years. The skeleton, with a dramatically elongated skull and an underdeveloped jaw and face, was uncovered in Chile's Atacama Desert in 2003, and mystified scientists when it was first found. Research published in 2013 offered some clues about the skeleton's bizarre appearance, but five additional years of genetic analysis have provided even more answers. Examination of the skeleton's entire genome revealed that it was Chilean and female, and that its misshapen skull and other deformities might be linked to a host of genetic mutations that affect bone development. Together, those mutations shaped an array of abnormalities that gave the remains an alien-like form. [Image Gallery: Odd Alien-Looking Skeleton Poses Medical Mystery] Though the skeleton is the size of a 22-week-old fetus, it was initially thought to be a 6- to 8-year-old child with severe deformities. Nearly a decade later, a highly detailed analysis including X-rays, computed tomography (CT) scans and DNA sequencing showed that it was a fetus (and that it was definitely human). It's hard to tell how old the skeleton is just by looking at it, but prior examinations found it to be about 40 years old, scientists explained in a new study. Despite the skeleton's minuscule size, previous analysis cast doubt on whether it was a fetus because its "advanced bone age" more closely resembled that of a young child, particularly in the structure of the skeleton's skull, with sutures that were already fused. But that feature was a byproduct of a genetic mutation one of many that caused its numerous skeletal deformities. And, in fact, the premature fusing of skull plates in the fetus is what gave the skull its pointed shape, the researchers reported. The scientists extracted DNA from one of the skeleton's ribs another anomaly that previously had fueled speculation about alien origins, as there were 10 pairs, rather than the 12 normally found in humans. However, alien hunters will likely be disappointed to hear that "the specimen is shown here to have a purely earthly origin," the study authors reported. Genetic anomalies, not extraterrestrial DNA While the scientists found no evidence of alien DNA, they did find mutations in seven of the fetus's genes: COL1A1, COL2A1, KMT2D, FLNB, ATR, TRIP11 and PCNT. Mutations in these genes are known to play roles in premature joint fusion, abnormalities in rib development, malformed skulls, and diseases that inhibit the development of bone and cartilage, according to the study. Taken together, the mutations expressed by these genes would explain all of the fetus's skeletal abnormalities, the scientists concluded. However, finding so many mutations that specifically affect skeletal development is unusual; in fact, it's never been reported before, and it is unknown what triggered this cascade of mutations, study lead author Garry Nolan, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University, told Live Science in an email. As bizarre as this skeleton may appear, it isn't the first example of remains that look mostly human but nevertheless invite comparisons to popular images of creatures from science fiction. In 1999, excavations in a 1,000-year-old cemetery in Mexico yielded 13 human skeletons many of them children with skulls that were stretched and pointed in the back, bearing a distinctly alien appearance. But researchers determined that the skulls' unusual shapes stemmed from cultural practices that deliberately deformed the bone, similar to those seen in pre-Hispanic cultures in Central America. And 14 elongated, alien-like skulls in Bavarian graves dating to 1,500 years ago also were traced to cultural practices of cranial shaping, this time in tribes from southeastern Europe, Live Science previously reported. However, five so-called "alien mummies" from Peru mummified humanoids with three-fingered hands were widely denounced by experts as fabrications, perhaps even cobbled together from looted body parts belonging to real human remains. [In Photos: 'Alien' Skulls Reveal Odd, Ancient Tradition] Genes working together The bigger story is not about the skeleton's debunked "alien" origins but what its analysis reveals about how genes shape our skeletons as they develop and grow, and how they interact with each other to do so successfully or not, Nolan told Live Science in an email. "The era of single gene/single disease is just about over it's now time to look at the more subtle effects when genes interact," Nolan wrote. "In isolation, a gene might have no effect ... but combined with other genes, the outcomes can be dramatic." The idea of gene collaboration is not new to geneticists; it has been well studied for years in models derived from fruit flies, plants and yeasts, Nolan said. But now, researchers are compiling enough data to understand these genetic interactions in humans, and are exploring how they affect our biology. "These studies show that certain gene mutations can 'vote' towards a given body plan or disease," Nolan said. And the new study's findings about genetic control of bone development could help researchers reverse-engineer solutions to disorders that affect how bones grow, Nolan told Live Science in an email. "Deeper knowledge about bone growth disorders will point to how normal growth must develop," he said. "It might offer understandings of how we can (say, with drugs) stimulate bone growth in cases of catastrophic accidents to help patients." The findings were published online today (March 22) in the journal Genome Research. Original article on Live Science. Imagine thousands of talking drones, able to act as one to perform high-level rescue missions in the face of imminent danger. Sounds like a scene straight out of a Hollywood movie, but in a University of Pennsylvania lab, engineers have produced just that. Swarm drones, which can navigate on their own and coordinate with one another using sophisticated metric technology, could become the next fleet of emergency responders. These devices can function as a rescue unit to investigate an active crime scene or natural disaster capturing images and other data that could help law enforcement plan next steps from a safe distance, said Penn researcher and team member Giuseppe Loianno. Imagine in the case of a fire, the drones can be sent, said Loianno. The firefighter can remain in a safe area and in real-time receive multiple images in order to plan the teams next step. The drones, which range in size from less than a pound to four pounds, have internal applications that guide them in search-and-rescue missions. We should really look at these machines as vehicles that can help humans [in emergencies], Loianno said, They can locate injured and identify critical points. While many commercial drones rely on satellite signals and can only function outdoors, these drones use algorithms that allow them to perceive their surroundings by means of onboard cameras and inertial measurement units (IMU) the same technology used in smartphones to tell when the screen orientation is changed. Its like they have eyes, said Loianno. Lioanno held the small device in his palm and demonstrated how the two cameras worked together as eyes to explore the environment around them showing the four tiny propellers that could ascend the drone high into the air and the brain which use sensors to predict and feel the next movements. IMUs or "smartphone" technology developed by Qualcomm is installed in each drone, allowing a GPS receiver to work when GPS-signals are unavailable, such as in tunnels, inside buildings, or when electronic interference is present. Loianno calls this research is unprecedented. They are now testing 12 drones but he said the swarm drones could soon cluster in numbers much higher Testing is not complete and some features are still in development. But Loianno said he is confident these drones can serve as advance emergency companions for law enforcement. As technology is quickly becoming cheaper and more sophisticated, the interest in using drones for police investigations have skyrocketed across the country. But their use has raised concerns among civil liberty experts who feel that the growing use of drones among government agencies is a gross invasion of privacy. A 2011 report by the American Civil Liberties Union suggested that if a drone intrudes on privacy expectations, a warrant should be required. Rules must be put in place to ensure that we can enjoy the benefits of this new technology without bringing us closer to a surveillance society, the ACLU said in its report, in which our move is Experts also say that if placed in the wrong hands, the technology can be dangerous. One of the problems with how items progress from research to commercial use is that hostile governments will try to steal intellectual property during this stage and use it for their own programs, said Stratfor Security Analyst Scott Stewart. This presents a threat to national security. The university will not control how or who uses the technology in the future but have noted that the devices have received attention from NASA, along with funding from the Pentagon and the National Science Foundation. Although its unclear how much the device will cost, some say they may sell for about $1,000. There are a lot of life safety issues that can be enhanced or resolved from the use of this technology, said Stewart. This device has two applications one role is to survey and collect intelligence, and the other is to act as responder [or weapon]. He said American law enforcement officials could use this sort of technology in the very near future. Any technology can be used by the good guys or the bad guys, said Stewart. Drones are merely tools and cannot circumvent the planning process so security analyst will still have the ability to foresee and prevent threats. While Elon Musk was making headlines about his space innovations, down on the ground there was an epic race to snap up his flamethrowers. What can this Musk flamethrower do? What sort of fiery flames could be unleashed? While other models on sale can shoot flames up to 50 feet, Quartz has compared the Musk flamethrower to an overpriced roofing torch. The specifics of Musks flamethrower will become apparent when the controversial device starts shipping in the spring. Earlier this year Musks The Boring Company began selling flamethrowers for $500 dollars with a cap of 20,000. In mere days, Musk sold out, raising $10 million. The internet was ablaze with frantic trawlers for spare flamethrowers. No doubt some headed over to eBay and found some Musk flamethrowers posted for as much as $25,000. Cyberspace continues to be awash with folks in despair, lamenting they missed their chance to own their very own flamethrower. AMAZING MILITARY ATVS ARMED WITH LASER WEAPONS WILL BLAST DRONES OUT OF THE SKY Musk is the new kid on the flamethrower block. The Boring Company may have sold out, but there are other vendors to civilians out there. The military began using flame throwers World War I and decided to stop using flamethrowers in the 1970s. Now the U.S. military only uses them for very restricted, and limited, non-combat purposes. For civilians the popular 50-foot flame shooter ThrowFlame X15 retails for $1,599. How does it work? In simplest terms, there is a backpack with a tank of fuel. According to the company, it can hold about 3 gallons of fuel. The backpack has a hose connected to it. The user wields the hose to shoot and direct fire. Even truck-mounted, powerful, flame shooting beasts are available to civilians too. Who can buy them? Flamethrower weapons are not federally regulated like other weapons such as guns. There are no Federal restrictions or limitations to them. Remarkably, there are only a few states who regulate flamethrowers. GLOCK MAKES MILITARY-GRADE PISTOL AVAILABLE TO CIVILIANS To purchase the Musk flamethrowers there were no age qualifications. There were no background checks to identify potential risks such as a history of criminal activity. The devices, however, do have their critics. One California lawmaker, for example, citing safety concerns, particularly in areas at risk of wildfire, has already voiced his opposition to the technology. PODCAST: LEARN THE SECRETS TO A US NAVY SEAL BODY IN 10 EASY STEPS WITH THIS ELITE COMMANDO So how will 20,000 civilians use the Musk flamethrower weapons? Fun seems to be the primary purpose. Musk marketed them as big boys toys. They will no doubt be the star attraction at BBQs in every state this summer. Flamethrowers are used for practical purposes. On farms and ranches, for example, folks use them to clear fields by burning unwanted brush. Fire departments also use them for controlled burns to help prevent forest fires or to stop fires from spreading. In some scenarios like clearing a field, drip torches may be far more effective and cheaper but arguably far less fun. Fun vs. safety Flamethrowers look like a huge amount of fun. But should we be worried? Between Musks flamethrower weapons, other vendors and intrepid Americans with the DIY approach in the garage no doubt far more than 20,000 flamethrowers will be spewing streams of fire and fireballs from coast to coast. US MILITARY EYES FUTURISTIC 'BIONIC ARM' FOR TROOPS In light of the horrible, tragic school shootings, should we be concerned that the next thing a student attacker brings to school to attack his fellow students and his teachers is a flamethrower? Without age restrictions on flamethrowers, there is a very real and intensified risk a kid could use one to attack innocent civilian. Flamethrowers can be extremely dangerous. In the hands of untrained, inexperienced civilians without professional protective gear, they can severely harm not just others, but also the user. Not to mention, flamethrowers can easily accidentally set devastating fires to property and trigger forest fires. How does the military use flamethrowers? Flamethrowers were, and remain, controversial military weapons. The U.S. military stopped using flamethrowers for combat purposes in 1978. The weapons were used for combat purposes in the World Wars, Korea, and Vietnam for purposes like destroying bunkers and vehicles. The fear of being burned alive made them a potent psychological weapon too, capable of instilling terror in enemy combatants. ARMY SETS SIGHTS ON NEW SNIPER RIFLE The M1 and the enhanced M1A1 flamethrower weapons were used back in World War II. These days, some flamethrowers can shoot fire more than twice as far and incinerate targets in just seconds. Modern flamethrowers can be vehicle mounted or carried like a backpack. And instead of combat, the military uses flamethrowers these days for crucial force protection and other tasks. PODCAST: GO FROM MANLY TO MANLIEST MASTER CLASS IN HOW TO BE A GENTLEMAN GLADIATOR WITH HBOS GENERATION KILL STAR, REAL LIFE MARINE FORCE RECON RUDY REYES Militarys Ground Torch System Gelfire Systems Terra Torch is a monster flamethrower. The Army uses it and has dubbed it the Ground Torch System. The Ground Torch System is truck-mounted flame throwing system designed to deliver a controlled burn. In addition to pickup trucks, it can be mounted on things like trailers, boats and more. Flaming gel shoots out of the Ground Torch System and blankets the area with flames. At a designated target, the GFS Terra Torch shoots ignited gelled fuel as far as 75 feet. US ARMY TANKS GET FUTURISTIC SHIELDS TO DESTROY INCOMING THREATS Similar to its practical uses on the homeland, it can be used to remove potentially obstructive vegetation along supply routes and even canals. PODCAST: GO INSIDE DANGEROUS FIREFIGHTS WITH THIS SPECIAL OPERATIONS HERO Flamethrowers can help keep soldiers safe The military uses flamethrowers to destroy concealed improvised explosive devices (IEDs) by enemy combatants making travel much safer. Hidden trip wires are another threat that the flames can be used to eliminate. Clearing brush around forward operating bases so that enemy combatants cant use vegetation to conceal themselves and approach to attack is another key use. The same concept applies to convoy routes. By clearing the vegetation, it removes places enemy combatants can hide and launch an ambush. In terms of wildfires, the Army uses them to reduce that threat as well. In Alaska, the Army uses flamethrowers to help protect communities from wildfires that could ignite from the use of military weapon ranges and training areas. Elon Musk unfriended Facebook on Friday, pulling the SpaceX and Tesla pages from the social network after he was challenged to do so on Twitter. With controversy raging over Cambridge Analyticas alleged misuse of Facebook user data, a number of people are ditching the platform. On Friday, Musk responded to a tweet from WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton to delete the accounts. It is time #deletefacebook, tweeted Acton. Whats Facebook? quipped Musk in response. Delete SpaceX on Facebook if youre the man? chimed in @serdarsprofile. I didnt realize there was one. Will do, replied Musk. The SpaceX and Tesla pages were subsequently deleted from Facebook, along with the page for Musks solar firm Solar City. The verified Instagram accounts for SpaceX and Tesla, however, have not been deleted. Instagram is owned by Facebook. FACEBOOK DENIES CLAIM THAT IT FAVORED OBAMA'S 2012 CAMPAIGN Reports emerged over the weekend that Cambridge Analytica improperly used information from more than 50 million Facebook accounts, prompting the social network to suspend the U.K.-based company. Cambridge Analytica, which has ties to Donald Trumps 2016 presidential election campaign, denies any wrongdoing. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologized for the data scandal in a lengthy post Wednesday. He also described the situation as a major breach of trust" in an interview with CNN. Cambridge Analytica has agreed to a forensic audit by a firm hired by Facebook. Aleksandr Kogan, a psychology researcher at Cambridge University who worked with Cambridge Analytica via his company Global Science Research (GSR), is also embroiled in controversy. Earlier this week, he told the BBC that both Facebook and Cambridge Analytica have tried to place the blame on him. MARK ZUCKERBERG APOLOGIZES FOR FACEBOOK DATA SCANDAL, 'MAJOR BREACH OF TRUST' Cambridge Analyticas acting CEO, Alexander Tayler, described the media frenzy around the scandal as distressing in a statement released on Friday. I am sorry that in 2014 SCL Elections (an affiliate of Cambridge Analytica) licensed Facebook data and derivatives from a research company (GSR) that had not received consent from most respondents, he said. The company believed that the data had been obtained in line with Facebooks terms of service and data protection laws. Facebook requested that Cambridge Analytica delete the data shortly after Tayler became the companys chief data officer in October 2015. We immediately deleted the raw data from our file server, and began the process of searching for and removing any of its derivatives in our system, he wrote. When Facebook sought further assurances a year ago, we carried out an internal audit to make sure that all the data, all derivatives and backups had been deleted, and gave Facebook a certificate to this effect. Please can I be absolutely clear: we did not use any GSR data in the work we did in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, he added. Fox News Samuel Chamberlain and the Associated Press contributed to this article. Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers A woman being called a Good Samaritan saved the day after an Ohio dad was left stranded at an Arizona airport with his newborn daughter because Frontier Airlines deemed her too young to fly. Rubin Swift had planned to fly back to his home in Cleveland, Ohio after being awarded custody of his baby daughter, Ru-Andria, AZ Family reports. Swift says he contacted Frontier to inquire about what he needed to fly with his baby. The airline allegedly told him a birth certificate and a note from the hospital clearing her to fly. Swift told AZ Family he acquired the documentation and then went to the airport with his daughter to get their plane tickets. SOUTHWEST AIRLINES SEEN KICKING MAN AND YOUNG DAUGHTER OFF FLIGHT IN VIRAL VIDEO However, once Swift reached the gate, airline crew members would not let him board with Ru-Andria. Frontiers policy bars children less than seven days old from flying. "I asked for my money. They said it would take seven days to get your money back," Swift said to AZ Family. Swift says he was left without enough money to get a place to stay or rent a car to drive them back to Ohio. Swift was stranded with his newborn until he remembered a volunteer, Joy Ringhofer, he had met at Banner Medical Center while his daughter was in the NICU. "I was rocking [Ru-Andria] when her father came in and we sort of made a connection right away," Ringhofer said of meeting Swift at the hospital. Swift said he made the call to Ringhofer looking for help, but was taken back by her response. "I didn't expect her to say, 'I'm coming to get you and take you home.' So, I'm thinking, 'She is going to drive me back to Cleveland' but she actually brought me to her house and feeding me and making sure my baby is alright," Swift said to AZ Central. Swift said Ringhofer let the two stay there until his daughter was seven days old and able to board the flight back to Ohio. "I had such a strong feeling that I needed to do this for him," said Ringhofer. "I know he was a kind and safe man to have in my home and he has been a perfect gentleman." "We're two different colors and she opened up her door and it never was an issue," said Swift. "My color was never an issue. She loves my baby. She held her. My baby was with her all night. Who does that?" FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS Swift said he started calling Ringhofer the grandmother of his daughter and is planning a trip back to Arizona so Ru-Andria can visit her. "He promised to come back and visit me, and let me see her again," said Ringhofer. "I'm looking forward to that." Swift and his daughter left on Tuesday on a Frontier Airlines flight. Frontier Airlines told AZ Family, "To comply with Frontier policy regarding the age of traveling infants these passengers were rebooked on a Frontier flight department on March 20. We also waived any change fees associated with this change so the passenger can travel in accordance with our policy." A British Airways crew member was reportedly arrested on suspicion of raping one of the airlines female flight attendants during a layover in Singapore. The male employee, who was not identified, is currently believed to be in police custody, according to sources for the Daily Mail, which first reported the news. ALASKA AIRLINES PILOT ACCUSED OF RAPE GROUNDED AS SHOCKING DETAILS EMERGE British Airways has since confirmed that the company is cooperating with the police investigation and are offering our full support to our cabin crew in an emailed statement obtained by Fox News. The airline declined further comment as it is a live investigation. The incident allegedly took place during an off-duty party after the British Airways crew landed in Singapore after traveling from Londons Heathrow Airport, the Daily Mail reports. The flight attendant believed to be the flights senior flight attendant was moved to a separate hotel apart from the one normally used by British Airways crew after reporting the incident. WOMAN REJECTS AMERICAN AIRLINES' $5,000 OFFER AFTER ALLEGING SHE WAS RAPED IN PLANE BATHROOM She, along with the male crew member, did not continue on the second leg of the crews journey to Sydney. A source for British Airways added to the Daily Mail that the airline sent a replacement crew to Singapore to staff the flight, and a manager to manage the crisis. The alleged incident follows news of a female American Airlines passenger who recently filed a lawsuit against the carrier over their response to her alleged rape aboard a June 2017 flight. The woman, Aubrey Lane, claimed the airline did not detain the alleged rapist. Lane had also turned down $5,000 from American, stating that she was waiting for some sort of human response. Alaska Airlines, too, was recently sued by a female First Officer Betty Pina, who claims a male pilot drugged and raped her during off-hours at a Minneapolis hotel. An Alaska Airlines representative told Fox News that the pilot was grounded after the airline learned of the incident. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS A new report found that more and more Hawaiian homes are being converted into vacation rentals, raising questions about the permissibility of the practice in the state. The report, by the Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice, finds that 1 in 24 homes in Hawaii or just over 4 percent are being listed as short-term rental units on home-sharing and home-rental websites like Airbnb, according to Hawaii News Now. On islands such as Kauai and Maui, that number rises to just 1 in 8 homes (12.5 percent) and 1 in 7 (14.2 percent) respectively. NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO LIVE IN A REAL-LIVE IRISH CASTLE "That rate of expansion of vacation rentals, taking that critical affordable housing away from our residents, really shocked me, to be frank," said Victor Geminiani, who claimed that more than half of the states 23,000 vacation rentals were owned by non-residents. He further argued that just a fraction of those were actually legal. The Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice concurred, writing in a press release that every vacation rental has a negative impact on the local economy, raising prices in the area and leaving locals without afforable housing. "The loss of long-term rentals to VRUs means higher housing costs for Hawaii residents. Although Hawaii derives some benefits from VRUs through increased tourism spending and tax collection, the benefits are far outweighed by the costs." In their report, the Hawaii Appleseed Center suggested that Hawaii should consider adopting measures that will help reverse the damage caused by the proliferation of illegal VRUs [vacation rental units] in the state, in part by requiring the VRU owners to be present whenever a renter occupies the space, and by informing communities about their rights to file complaints against illegal rental units. Democratic State Senator Glenn Wakai further argued that locals have had enough already when it comes to the large and loud vacation rentals, according to Hawaii News Now. SEE IT: 'ONCE IN A LIFETIME HOUSE' BEING SOLD ALONG WITH ANTIQUES, CLASSIC CARS Recently, the states legislature has also introduced a bill that would force home-rental websites to divulge the personal information of VRU owners, which would help authorities determine if theyre operating legally. Airbnb, on the other hand, has disputed the Hawaii Appleseed study's findings, and says it has instead proposed a set of common sense regulations for Hawaiis home-owners and renters as an alternative solution. "The numbers released in this new study are unfounded and patently false," said Airbnb in a statement obtained by Fox News. "Other recent studies have shown that Airbnbs activity in the state has minimal impact on the availability of housing for local families. In fact, Airbnb has helped 66 percent of hosts in Hawaii afford to stay in their home with the supplemental income they earn by sharing their home. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS "Whats more, data shows that visitors using Airbnb are critical to the Hawaii economy and spent an estimated $649 million while visiting in 2016. Efforts to ban alternative accommodations would be devastating for the local economy, hurting small businesses and local residents. "That is why we continue to work towards the adoption of common sense regulations for the industry that balances the preservation of affordable housing and neighborhood character while also providing economic opportunity for locals." One woman flying United from Washington, D.C. to Austin, Texas was shocked when the carrier offered her a $10,000 travel credit to give up her seat on an oversold flight. Shortly after 8 a.m. on Thursday, Allison Preiss took to Twitter to express her frustration with United as she flew from Dulles International Airport to a bachelorette weekend in the Lone Star state. @united offering $1K in travel credit for an oversold flight. If nobody bites, they will kick off the lowest fare passenger by pulling them out of the boarding line, wrote Preiss, who is communications director at Washington D.C.-based Center for American Progress. For a flight that THEY oversold. Unreal. SPIRIT AIRLINES APOLOGIZES TO PARKLAND SHOOTING SURVIVOR FOR FLIGHT ATTENDANTS POLITICAL STATEMENT In a series of subsequent posts, Preiss detailed that United removed her from the flight and wouldnt let her board again as her intended seat was broken. I AM THE LOWEST FARE PASSENGER. They are kicking me off this flight. They cant board me on this plane because there is a broken seat. Describing the carrier as "the worst," Preiss further divulged that United then tried to get me to sign a document that says I volunteered my seat on this plane when I was involuntarily denied boarding, which she dubbed Sketchy af. On the upside, I wasnt physically dragged off the plane and my dog wasnt killed on board, so Ive got that going for me...which is nice, she mused, referencing the infamous scandal in which Dr. David Dao was dragged off an April 2017 flight and the March death of a dog who passed away in the high skies when he was wrongfully placed in an overhead bin for the duration of the flight. They really do not want to give me cash. They just offered me $10,000 in travel credit. TEN THOUSAND, Preiss wrote, sharing a photo of the waiver. FRONTIER AIRLINES KICKED OFF PROFESSIONAL SKATEBOARDER BECAUSE OF HIS SHIRT LOGO, MAN CLAIMS She said that while the airline denied her lounge access for her troubles, they did give her vouchers for two meals at Pizza Hut. Though it is not clear at this time how the rest of Preiss' journey transpired, she did make it known that she did not eat any of the fast-food pizza. Preiss she did not immediately return Fox New's request for comment. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS United offered Fox News the following statement on the matter: "We issued this voucher per our policy," a media relations spokesperson said. Though airline drama continues to make headlines across nearly all major carriers, Americans apparently can't get enough of it. On March 22, the U.S. Transportation Department reported that in 2017 airlines carried 3.4 percent more passengers on U.S. domestic and international flights, with an all-time high of 965 million passengers. A 16-year-old girl who was critically injured in a shooting at a Maryland high school earlier this week has died, police said. The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office announced Friday that Jaelynn Willey died Thursday at 11:34 p.m. ET while surrounded by family. Willey's parents announced earlier Thursday night that their daugther was brain dead and would be taken off life support at University of Maryland Prince George's Hospital Center. Melissa Willey told reporters that her daughter, Jaelynn, has "no life left in her." "On Tuesday ... our lives changed completely and totally forever," Melissa Willey said. "My daughter was hurt by a boy who shot her in the head and took everything from our lives." Jaelynn Willey was shot in the head by 17-year-old Austin Rollins at Great Mills High School. Investigators said that Willey and Rollins had recently ended a relationship and the shooting was not random. Rollins was fatally shot after being confronted by an armed school resource officer, thought it is not clear whether Rollins took his own life or was killed by the officer. Willey had been in critical condition at the University of Maryland Prince George's Hospital Center. A fundraising page to help her family has raised more than $78,000. Jaelynn was one of nine siblings, her mother said, and a member of the swim team. A 14-year-old boy who was shot in the thigh during the encounter was released Wednesday from a hospital. In an email Thursday to The Associated Press, his mother, Kimberly Dennis, said her family is "eternally grateful" that her son, Desmond Barnes, is "alive, doing well and in good spirits." She expressed sympathy for Willey and her family and added, "We are also praying for the entire Great Mills High School family and young people around this country. As a community and nation, we must continue to work and fight for a world that is safe for our children." Great Mills High School has about 1,600 students and is near the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, about 65 miles southeast of Washington. St. Mary's County Sheriff Tim Cameron credited Deputy First Class Blaine Gaskill with preventing any more loss of life. Cameron said Gaskill, a six-year veteran with SWAT team training, responded within a minute and fired his weapon simultaneously with a final shot fired by Rollins. The officer was unharmed. On Wednesday, authorities said the Glock handgun used in the shooting was legally owned by Rollins' father. In Maryland it is illegal for anyone under age 21 to possess a handgun unless it is required for their employment. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist who made an unceremonious exit from the Trump administration last year, said his old boss will bring fire and fury before long to special counsel Robert Mueller. I think President Trump is going to war, Bannon said about the criminal probe into whether Trumps Republican presidential campaign colluded with Russia, while appearing at a Financial Times Future of News panel in New York on Thursday. Hes going to war on this. Bannon noted the Thursday morning resignation of John Dowd as Trumps lead outside counsel in the Russia probe amid an internal dispute with other attorneys on the legal team over whether the president should agree to an interview with Mueller proves his point. Despite their bad blood, he had considerate words for Trump. Hes anything but a dictator, hes a populist. How can a dictator take nine months to decide on Afghanistan? Bannon said. He said Trump is Americas greatest orator since William Jennings Bryan, who was known as The Great Commoner because of being able to speak to not at or down at his audience. Bannon, who left the White House in August 2017, said Trumps simple, plain and direct populist language during the campaign made him relatable, and won him the election. Heres what won it for Trump: economic nationalism, Bannon said. Bannon, who served as vice president of Cambridge Analytica from June 2014 to August 2016, when he joined the Trump campaign, attempted to draw a line between the campaign and the firm. Bannon said he had no knowledge of the data mining operation and instead put the blame on Facebook, saying the social network cared more about profits than privacy. They take your stuff for free. They sell it and monetize it for huge margins. Thats why the companies trade for such high valuations, Bannon said. Then they write algorithms and control your life. He also stood by his comments in Michael Wolffs Fire and Fury a tell-all about the Trump administration. Trump booted him out of The White House last year over disparaging comments he made about the presidents family. Bannon said his Wolff interviews were authorized by both the White House and outgoing communications director Hope Hicks. I havent seen anybody refute anything that was said in the book, Bannon said. Fox News Marta Dhanis and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Public schools in Tennessee could be required to display the motto, In God We Trust, after state legislators unanimously passed a bill that would mandate schools to place the saying in a prominent location. The measure requires that motto to be displayed either as a plaque, artwork or in some other form where it can be seen. The bill passed both Republican controlled chambers, clearing the House in an 81-8 vote. It will take effect immediately if Republican Gov. Bill Haslam signs it. He has not definitively said if he will sign it, but he did say that he has never been one that thought that having a motto somewhere changes a lot of peoples thoughts. IN GOD WE TRUST REMOVED FROM CLASSROOM AFTER ATHEIST PARENTS COMPLAINT The legislation has been met with backlash over the legality of a government endorsing religion. But the bills sponsor, Rep. Susan Lynn, R-Mt. Juliet, says that because its the motto of the country, faithless people and people of other faiths shouldnt be bothered by it. Our national motto and founding documents are the cornerstone of freedom, and we should teach our children about these things, Lynn said. In God We Trust became the national motto in 1956, and there are several states that have attempted to pass such legislation. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A federal grand jury has indicted a Dallas-area man in the killing of a postal worker who was driving an 11-ton (10-metric ton) delivery rig on a Dallas expressway. A statement by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Dallas said 25-year-old Donnie Arlondo Ferrell of Hutchins is charged with murder of a U.S. officer or employee and a firearms violation. The indictment also charges 24-year-old Bei-jing Tashawna Walker of Hutchins with aiding and abetting Ferrell after the Feb. 19 shooting by helping him avoid arrest. Both will remain jailed pending trial. Investigators say 58-year-old Tony Mosby was driving the rig, known as a box truck, when he was shot. He was found dead in the truck, which had crashed into a guardrail on Interstate 30 near downtown Dallas. The legal defense team for a U.S. Marine accused in a fatal stabbing at Camp Pendleton in California argued Thursday that the death was a tragic accident that occurred while the two friends were playing with a knife. The prosecution countered that the defendant went off to hide the bloody knife rather than help the bleeding victim. Pfc. Raymond W. Begay, 20, faces charges of murder and obstruction of justice in the Jan. 16 death of 18-year-old Pfc. Ethan Barclay-Weberpal. Barclay-Weberpal, from Wisconsin, died after being stabbed while sitting in formation with a platoon of Marines at the School of Infantry at Camp Pendleton, about 40 miles north of San Diego. Defense attorneys said Begay should be charged with involuntary manslaughter, not murder. Several troops testified for the defense Thursday that the death was an accident, the Orange County Register reported. Begay immediately admitted to training instructors that he stabbed Barclay-Weberpal, witnesses said. This was just dumb kids doing dumb things, defense witness Pfc. Rhett Glubka said. I dont think he (Begay) thought about what could have happened. This was just dumb kids doing dumb things. I dont think he (Begay) thought about what could have happened. Pfc. Rhett Glubka, defense witness Lance Cpl. Gavin Shorter testified that the other Marines saw blood coming from Barclay-Weberpal's chest and tried to tug at his shirt to cover it up. "We didn't think it was fatal and we didn't want to get into trouble," Shorter said. "After we got out of formation, we were going to help him." Shorter testified that Begay was playing with a knife before he stabbed Barclay-Weberpal. Maj. Tanzania Jaysura, lead trial prosecutor, said she had testimony from at least three other Marines who said Begay was known to have threatened to stab other Marines and that some had told him to stop because it made them uncomfortable. She said she also had testimony showing Begay left the bleacher area after the stabbing to wash blood from his knife. "The knife was not the type of knife that retracts and opens to the front and witnesses will say they saw him play with the knife before the stabbing and that words were exchanged and that he intentionally put the knife into Barclay-Weberpal's left chest, into his heart," Jaysura said. She said the left ventricle of his heart was punctured with only one deep stab wound. "Rather than getting help, he went to put the knife away that's where we believe we have obstruction of justice," she said. "Rather than getting help, he went to put the knife away that's where we believe we have obstruction of justice." Maj. Tanzania Jaysura, lead trial prosecutor The family of Barclay-Weberpal, of Janesville, Wis., listened via teleconference. His father told the Register after the hearing that he was glad the public could hear his sons death was not the result of a fight. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Weeks ago, as a serial bomber was terrorizing Austin and the community was gripped in fear, the citys interim police chief attended a meeting at a local Baptist church, part of his frequent neighborhood visits to hear concerns from the community. Interim Police Chief Brian Manley was met with angry questions of hate crimes and people who feared a terrorist in their midst. As the worried audience of 400 peppered him with questions, he kept his composure, calmly answered all the questions and made an impassioned promise to catch the killer. It was a critical moment of the Austin bombing investigation, when tensions were high and a wrong statement could inflame the community. But through his unruffled demeanor, some said, Manley was able to bring the community together. "His work with the community is masterful, and I consider it masterful because he cares, said Austin Mayor Steve Adler, and because he considers himself part of this community and he has always been part of this community." Now there is a big push to permanently hire Manley, largely credited with helping locate accused serial bomber Mark Anthony Conditt. Manley is a first-generation police officer who has a degree in finance. He does not come from a long line of law enforcement, but he told Fox News his passion to protect others runs deep in his blood. I still went and got my business degree, but I knew this is what I wanted to do, Manley said. And, Ive never looked back. Flash forward several decades and Manley led hundreds of law enforcement officials in the investigation of a series of package explosions that resulted in two deaths and multiple injuries. The complicated investigation started with a breakdown of the explosive devices compartments, then moved to a review of store receipts, hundreds of tips, surveillance footage and cellphone technology. It hit a high point Wednesday morning when authorities located Conditt, 23, who eventually blew himself up. The investigation thrust Manley into the national spotlight like never before. Not free of criticism, Manley took heat for being slow to recognize the serial nature of the explosions and for his description of Conditt a very challenged young man, avoiding the use of the word terrorist. But, praise from all levels continues to ring loudly. President Trump tweeted Wednesday: AUSTIN BOMBING SUSPECT IS DEAD. Great job by law enforcement and all concerned! I have not seen a better job than what weve seen from this police chief and the Austin police force, Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott said at a press conference that evening. The mayor said Manleys even keel during the investigation helped the community cope, even when racial tensions and fear ran high. The ability for him to be able to lead in a way thats not about him or his ego, but getting the work done was once again on display for all of us to see, Adler said. City officials are rallying to give Manley a permanent chief title. The city manager, who has to approve the hire, said a decision will be made in the next few weeks. City Manager Austin Cronk added that his priority right now is the bombing probe. But some on the council are trumpeting Manleys achievements. You need someone who is both a strong leader, someone who can make those hard decisions, but also someone who can communicate with the community and hear their concerns and reflect their concerns back and I think Chief Manley does a really good job balancing those responsibilities, said Austin City Council member Jimmy Flannigan. Manley, who rose through the ranks beginning as a patrolman, brings three decades of experience on the force. Manley, a married father of two, was a former child abuse investigator who also led teams during the 2009 presidential inauguration and helped Houston when it was dealing with devastating floods. But nothing, he said, can compare with the last three weeks. These, he said, have absolutely been the most difficult weeks of my career. California students are putting their schools administration to the test by organizing an anti-abortion protest inspired by their teacher getting punished for her comments on the recent nationwide student walkout for gun control. The students are organizing around the hashtag: #LIFE. Pro-life walkout organizer, Rocklin High School student Brandon Gillespie, told the local CBS affiliate he wants to "honor all the lives of the millions of aborted babies every year" with the protest. Gillespie says he was inspired by history teacher Julianne Benzel, who was placed on administrative leave when she asked students to consider whether there was a double standard over protests on school grounds between gun control and abortion. HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER PLACED ON LEAVE AFTER QUESTIONING SCHOOLS STANCE ON ANTI-ABORTION WALKOUT If schools, not only just our school and our administration, but across the country are going to allow one group of students to get up during class and walk out to protest one issue, would they still give the same courtesy to another group of students who wanted to protestabortion? Benzel told Fox & Friends. Students at Rocklin will find out a little over two weeks from now. Gillespie announced the pro-life walkout is set for Wednesday, April 11, at 10 am EDT. Just like the National School Walkout Day, they are planning to walk out for 17 minutes. We encourage students across the country to participate in a stand for #life, Gillespie tweeted Thursday morning. But not every student is on board for the alternative walkout. "Abortions aren't really anything that has to do with school or students, said student newspaper editor Naeirika Neev. They have their First Amendment, they can go protest about that anytime, anywhere. Gillespie says thats the point. I would like to see if there really is a double standard and what will come of that, he said. The school district says the principal plans to meet with Gillespie on Friday to discuss the planned protest. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Deputies in Colorado were reportedly sent out on the streets Tuesday to select random people to serve as jurors for a murder trial because not enough people complied with jury summonses. The Logan County Sheriffs Office alerted residents in a Facebook post Monday that deputies would be picking people at random, according to The Denver Post. The message has since been deleted. Colorado Judicial Branch spokesman Rob McCallum told the newspaper that hes only heard of a similar situation happening once before. When the court is not able to impanel a jury for a case called that morning, the wheels of justice come to a grinding halt, McCallum said. There are very few things Ive seen in my career that upset judges more than when people fail to appear for their cases. Jurors are the life blood of the court. Officials didnt explain details behind the situation, but claimed that the directive came from the Logan County Combined Courts, according to the newspaper. The jurors were set to hear the first-degree murder trial of Brandon D. Cox, Logan County clerk and jury commissioner Sara Harms told The Denver Post. The trial was set to start March 18. The dealer who sold heroin to a Wisconsin woman who died of an overdose has been sentenced to prison -- and the woman's father may soon follow. That's because Terry Hibbard, 60, chauffered his 32-year-old daughter Taralyn to her "once or twice a week" drug buys, authorities said. Davion Cheese Poe, the Milwaukee drug dealer who sold the heroin that killed Taralyn, was sentenced Wednesday to eight years in prison with 10 years extended supervision, after being convicted of first-degree reckless homicide, the Ozaukee Press reported. In July 2017, Hibbard was with Taralyn when she purchased $60 worth of heroin from Poe, FOX 6 reported. The father and daughter then drove home to a trailer park in Grafton, Wis. Investigators say Hibbard then asked Taralyn for a line to snort and let her keep the rest. Taralyn was found dead the next morning by a friend who called 911. Authorities found text conversations on Taralyns phone between her and a contact listed as Daddy, in which they allegedly discussed how to obtain drugs as well as their dealer Cheese. In one text, Taralyn allegedly told someone she overdosed and Hibbard had to use Narcan to revive her, the Ozaukee Press reported. In an interview with authorities, Hibbard admitted to driving Taralyn to buy heroin from Poe, according to a criminal complaint. Poe was arrested during an uncover sting operation in which Hibbard, working with the Ozaukee County Drug unit, purchased heroin from him. Hibbard remains in custody for reckless homicide. If convicted, he will face 40 years behind bars. A white police officer who was fired after he shot and killed an unarmed black motorist will receive more than $300,000 in back pay from the University of Cincinnati, the school said Thursday. The university agreed to pay Ray Tensing, 28, more than $244,000 in back pay and benefits and $100,000 in legal fees, the school and the Fraternal Order of Police said. The payment will settle a union grievance brought on his behalf following Tensings indictment on murder charges. The charges were dropped last year after two juries deadlocked. The Fraternal Order of Police argued that Tensing shouldnt have been fired before the case was resolved. "This case has caused a lot of strife in the community, and I believe the settlement will allow for healing to continue," Tensing said. "It certainly will do that for me after two difficult trials." "This case has caused a lot of strife in the community, and I believe the settlement will allow for healing to continue. It certainly will do that for me after two difficult trials." Ray Tensing, former police officer Tensing shot Sam DuBose, 43, in the head after pulling him over for a missing front license plate in 2015. Tensing testified that he believed his life was in danger when DuBose tried to drive off during the traffic stop. Im very upset with UC paying that murderer Tensing, DaShonda Reid, the mother of four of DuBoses children, told the Cincinnati Enquirer. Hes officially a paid assassin who has not shown one ounce of remorse for killing an innocent man. Im very upset with UC paying that murderer Tensing. Hes officially a paid assassin who has not shown one ounce of remorse for killing an innocent man. DaShonda Reid, mother of four of Sam DuBoses children Reid said that the fact Tensing even wanted compensation shows how soulless and callous he is. The University of Cincinnati previously reached a $5.3 million settlement with DuBoses family, including free undergraduate tuition for his 13 children. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war. 2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war. 3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament of the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength. 4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war. 5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites. 6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination. 7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N. 8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N. 9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress. 10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N. 11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.) 12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party. 13. Do away with all loyalty oaths. 14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office. 15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States. 16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights. 17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks. 18. Gain control of all student newspapers. 19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack. 20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions. 21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures. 22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms." 23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art." 24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press. 25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV. 26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy." 27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch." 28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state." 29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis. 30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man." 31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over. 32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc. 33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus. 34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities. 35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI. 36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions. 37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business. 38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand. 39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals. 40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce. 41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents. 42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use united force to solve economic, political or social problems. 43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government. 44. Internationalize the Panama Canal. 45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike. A Florida man was heard shouting Allah Akbar while going on a violent rampage that left his 11-year-old daughter and the mother of his children dead and his 9-year-old son seriously wounded, police said Tuesday. Ronnie ONeal III, 29, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder and arson, according to Fox 13 News. The Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office said officers received a 911 call from a woman Sunday pleading for help because she had been shot, WFTS-TV reported. Police said O'Neal was overheard shouting "Allah Akbar!" while the woman was talking to dispatchers. ONeal made the second call to 911 dispatch minutes after the first call came in, police said. "I've just been attacked by some white demons, he allegedly told operators. "Her name is Ke-Ke and she tried to kill me and I just killed her. Neighbors told Hillsborough County detectives they either saw or heard ONeal murder Kenyatta Barron, 33, the mother of their children, according to Fox 13 News. Two neighbors told the station they heard the gunshot. "All of a sudden I heard a loud bang. I mean, it was so loud it scared me," Carol Pietraniello, who lives in the house behind Barrons, told Fox 13 News. David Huber, who lives next to Barron, told the station that it sounded like a crash. "I've just been attacked by some white demons." Ronnie O'Neal III When deputies arrived on the scene, they found Barron lying in the front yard of a neighbors house, according to WFTS-TV. ONeal walked out of the garage door toward deputies as police tried to force themselves into the house. Authorities said deputies deployed their Tasers to take down ONeal and as he was being placed into the back of a police cruiser he was shouting Allah Akbar. ONeal son walked out of the home, suffering from burns and multiple stab wounds, police said. He was taken to a hospital and was listed in stable condition, according to WFTS-TV. ONeals daughter was found dead inside the home with multiple stab wounds, police said. Officials said in the incident appeared to be domestic related. ONeal made his first court appearance Tuesday. He was being held at the Hillsborough County Jail. Idaho will require abortion providers to report how many times their patients have terminated a pregnancy in the past and other personal information under the latest pro-life law approved in the state. Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter signed the legislation Thursday, just two days after approving a measure requiring women seeking abortions to be informed that the drug-induced procedures can be halted halfway, despite opposition from medical groups that say there is little evidence to support that claim. Providers will now be mandated by law to report a woman's age, race, how many children she has, if any of their children have died and how many abortions they have had in the past. The legislation outlines a list of abortion complications such as infection, blood clots and hemorrhaging that providers, hospitals and clinics must report to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Depression, anxiety and sleeping disorders also are on the list. The laws that take effect July 1 align with a national trend among Republican-dominant statehouses seeking new ways to test the legal ability to restrict a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy. The state would compile the information for an annual report and make it available to the Legislature and the public, but identifying information would not be revealed. Idaho courts have also overturned some state laws targeting abortion due to a lack of information about complications surrounding the procedure. The Guttmacher Institute, which opposes abortion restrictions, said at least 20 states have such laws on the books, though the amount of detail that must be reported varies. Also on Thursday, the Kentucky Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation to ban a common abortion procedure once the patient reaches her 11th week of pregnancy, Reuters reported. The ban would amount to one of the strictest abortion limits yet in the U.S., the report said. UTAH'S GOVERNOR SIGNS ABORTION-HALTING LEGISLATION On Monday, Mississippis governor signed into law the most restrictive abortion measure enacted in the U.S., which bans any type of procedure once pregnancies reach 15 weeks, Reuters reported. But on Tuesday, a federal judge blocked the law from taking effect for 10 days, pending legal arguments over whether the injunction should remain in effect while the overall case remains under judicial review, the report said. The Guttmacher Institute also said interest in such laws has spiked after a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling struck down Texas restrictions that contributed to the shutdown of more than half the state's abortion clinics. At the time, the court found there was insufficient data to justify the restrictions, which required doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and forced clinics to meet hospital-like standards. The Associated Press contributed to this report. An infant girl taken from a Florida hospital by sovereign Indian nation officials has been reunited with her mother and father. The mother's attorney Bradford Cohen said Friday the one-week old baby missed critical days to initiate breast-feeding. The Miccosukee tribal court had issued an order of protection for the newborn on allegations the father was abusive. A Thursday statement didn't say anything about mother Rebecca Sanders. The baby was placed in custody of the grandmother for four days after Miami-Dade officers accompanied Miccosukee police to carry out the order Sunday at a Miami hospital outside the reservation. Miami-Dade said its officers were misled. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio accused the Miccosukee of lying to police and hospital about having state or federal court approval to take the child. A North Carolina man with an insatiable appetite for Pizza Hut pizza broke into a restaurant Wednesday and called 911 claiming to be Jesus Christ, police said. Richard Lee Quintero, 46, broke into the High Point eatery at around 4:30 a.m. and made the divine claim, according to audio obtained by WFMY-TV. Yes, this is Jesus Christ and I just broke into the Pizza Hut, Quintero was heard telling dispatchers. I broke the window. Jesus is here now, hes back to earth. The operator questioned Quintero about whether he worked for the restaurant. No, I just broke in, had a pizza, he said, adding he also had a Mountain Dew. Im Jesus. Quintero also went on to tell dispatchers that he was tired of the Judases here on earth and that he was starving and everybodys been treating me mean, according to WBIR-TV. He also reportedly told dispatchers that he has schizophrenia. "I broke the window. Jesus is here now, hes back to earth." Richard Quintero Police arrived at the scene at around 4:45 a.m. and placed Quintero into custody without incident, the High Point Enterprise reported. Quintero was charged with felony breaking and entering and felony larceny. A "warrant" is out for Punxsutawney Phil's arrest months after the famous groundhog spotted his shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter on Groundhog Day. The six weeks is up and, well, it appears winter is here to stay at least, that's what one Pennsylvania sheriff's officer is saying after a fourth Nor'easter struck the East Coast. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office says Phil's forecast expired last week, yet a spring storm brought more snow to millions of people across the Northeast on Wednesday and Thursday. Some areas saw several inches of snow. Long Island, in particular, was slammed with 19 inches in some areas. Parts of Pennsylvania saw more than a foot of snow. "It's time to move on to another season," Pancho Ortega, who was shoveling the sidewalk outside of his restaurant in Philadelphia, told The Associated Press on Thursday. Cpl. Scott Martin, of Monroe County Sheriff's Office, jumped into action to save spring. He created and printed out a poster with a photo and description of Punxsutawney Phil, seeking his immediate arrest. He pinned the piece of paper to what he calls the station's "wall of shame," WBRE-TV reports. "They stop, they look, they do the double take because they can't believe what they're seeing," Martin described people's reactions as they spot Phil's face on the wall. The poster claims Phil is wanted for deception. Phil is described as having "brown and grey hair, brown eyes, sharp teeth." "I think it's good. I think that they need to get him, yeah. They need to get him and bring him in because we need spring. We need it now," Mary Montgomery, who lives in Stroudsburg, told WBRE-TV. Records dating to 1887 show Phil has predicted more winter 103 times while forecasting an early spring just 18 times. The Associated Press contribtued to this report. During the last year, multiple schools across the U.S. have been impacted by shootings, which have resulted in the deaths of both students and faculty members. Read on for a look at school shootings that have taken place within the last year. Noblesville West Middle School, Indiana A male student fired shots at Noblesville West Middle School in Indiana on May 25, critically injuring another student and a teacher at the school. The alleged shooter, who has not yet been identified, was taken into custody shortly after the incident occurred at roughly 9 a.m. Sources told FOX 59 the suspect walked into a science classroom with a gun and opened fire, hitting a female. A science teacher was able to tackle the student who fired shots inside the classroom, student Ethan Stonebraker told The Associated Press. The victims were taken to a local hospital. The extent of their injuries is unclear. Santa Fe High School, Texas At least eight people were killed and several others were injured following reports of an active shooter at a Texas high school on May 18, local affiliate KTRK reported. The suspected shooter was taken into custody. "Personnel treating the injured. Info is still preliminary, but there are multiple casualties," Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez confirmed. Police officers responded to Santa Fe High School around 8 a.m. CDT after reports that a shooter opened fire inside a first-period art class. Details of the incident were not immediately available. "Details will be released as we receive updated information. Law enforcement will continue to secure the building and initiate all emergency management protocols to release and move students to another location," the school district said in a statement. Highland High School, California A 14-year-old student was taken into custody after allegedly shooting a classmate at Highland High School in Palmdale, California on May 11. The suspected gunman shot a fellow student in the arm, police said. The shooting stemmed from a dispute between the shooter and the victim, according to authorities. The injured student is expected to make a full recovery. Forest High School, Florida A suspected gunman, later identified as 19-year-old Sky Bouche, allegedly opened fire at Forest High School in Ocala, Florida, on April 20. The shooting occured on the 19th anniversary of the Columbine school shooting. At least one student was injured after the gunman shot through a classroom door, hitting a 17-year-old student in the ankle, authorities said. The student was later taken to a local hospital with a non-life-threatening injury. A school resource officer, James Long, was hailed a hero after arresting Bouche just three minutes after he opened fire. Bouche, a former student at the school, allegedly carried the weapon in a guitar case inside the school, authorities said. Great Mills High School, Maryland On March 20, a gunman, identified as 17-year-old Austin Rollins, shot 16-year-old sophomore Jaelynn Willey at Great Mills High School in Lexington Park, Maryland, authorities said. Willey died days later from her injuries. Investigators believe the shooting was not random as the gunman and Willey had recently ended their relationship. Rollins was fatally wounded during a confrontation with Deputy Blaine Gaskill, an armed school resource officer who doubles as a SWAT team member. "Our school resource officer...pursued the shooter, engaged the shooter, fired a round at the shooter," St. Mary's County Sheriff Tim Cameron said. "The shooter fired a round as well. In the hours and days to come, we'll be able to determine if our school resource officer's round struck the shooter." Gaskill was praised because he reportedly contained the situation in under a minute, Cameron said. Willey's parents announced on March 22 that their daughter was brain dead and that they would be taking her off of life support. She died later that night. Jaelynn's mother, Melissa, told reporters her daughter had "no life left in her." "On Tuesday ... our lives changed completely and totally forever. My daughter was hurt by a boy who shot her in the head and took everything from our lives," she said. A 14-year-old boy, later identified as Desmond Barnes, was also injured in the shooting. Authorities said he was shot in the thigh but was later released from a local hospital. Police are still investigating if the boy was shot by Rollins or Gaskill while the two exchanged gunfire. Huffman High School, Alabama A 17-year old girl is dead and one other person was left injured from a March 7 shooting at Huffman High School in Birmingham, Alabama. Courtlin Arrington, 17, was killed when shots were fired in a classroom, Birmingham Police Chief Orlando Wilson told WBRC. A 17-year-old male student was wounded. He was taken to the hospital and released. Birmingham Police Department announced March 8 that a student was taken into custody in the investigation into the deadly shooting. Police said evidence, surveillance video and statements were reviewed throughout the night. Police initially called the shooting accidental, but later reviewed a video that captured the deadly incident. "We're not saying he shot her, we're not saying he didn't shoot her," the chief said. "We're asking those questions ourselves so we can determine exactly what happened." Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Florida Police responded to reports of shots fired at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., around 3 p.m. on Feb. 14. Seventeen people lost their lives and 17 others were injured. The day after the shooting, the suspected gunman, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, told authorities he arrived at the school with an AR-15 rifle, adding that he shot "students that he saw in the hallways and on school grounds," according to an arrest affidavit. Cruz may plead guilty to avoid the death penalty, his lawyer reportedly said Feb. 16. Cruz was formally charged March 7 with 17 counts each of premeditated murder and attempted murder. A 12-year-old girl was taken into custody after police said the loaded gun she brought to Salvador B. Castro Middle School in Los Angeles accidentally discharged on Feb. 1, shooting a 15-year-old boy in the head and a 15-year-old girl in the wrist. Police interviewed the 12-year-old student and agreed the shooting was accidental. She was booked in a juvenile detention center on suspicion of negligently discharging a firearm on school grounds. It is unclear where the girl got the gun or why she decided to bring it to her school. Doctors said both students who were shot are expected to recover. Additionally, an 11-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl were treated at the hospital and released while a 30-year-old woman, who is a school staff member, had only minor injuries, Los Angeles city police said in a statement. Marshall County High School, Kentucky A shooter opened fire at Marshall County High School in Benton, Ky., on Jan. 23, killing two people. Students Bailey Nicole Holt and Preston Ryan Cope, both 15 years old, died. Suspected shooter Gabriel Ross Parker, 15, was arraigned on Feb. 16, according to Kentucky State Police. "A Marshall County Grand Jury returned an indictment on Tuesday, charging Parker with two counts of Murder and fourteen counts of First Degree Assault," KSP said. Marshall County Circuit Clerk Tiffany Griffith told Reuters a judge entered a not guilty plea on the teen's behalf. Italy High School, Texas A 15-year-old girl was hurt in a Jan. 22 shooting at Italy High School in Italy, Texas. A 16-year-old male student was taken into custody, Ellis County police told Fox News. In the school's cafeteria, the suspect "engaged the victim" and fired several shots with a semi-automatic handgun, Ellis County Sheriff Chuck Edge said during a press briefing. The suspect was confronted by an Italy Independent School District staffer in the school cafeteria and took off, Edge said. Law enforcement later apprehended the suspect on school grounds. The suspect was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, the Ellis County district attorney's office announced. Aztec High School, New Mexico Gunman William Atchison, 21, disguised himself as a student to get inside Aztec High School in Aztec, N.M., on Dec. 7, 2017, according to authorities. Atchison was also a former student. State police said that Atchison killed students Francisco I. Fernandez and Casey J. Marquez. Officials said Atchison eventually shot himself, adding that the students killed were not targeted, but were at the "wrong place at the wrong time." Rancho Tehama Elementary School, California A man in Northern California went on a random shooting rampage on Nov. 14, 2017, killing five people and wounding at least a dozen adults and children before authorities shot and killed him. The gunman, who was later identified as Kevin Neal, 44, rammed a car into the gates of Rancho Tehama Elementary School and shot at its portable classrooms. He repeatedly tried to get into a kindergarten classroom but quick-thinking staff locked the school down, and he eventually stormed off. Neal reportedly targeted the elementary school as part of a long-running feud with neighbors. Mattoon High School, Illinois A male student shot and injured a fellow student at a central Illinois high school on Sept. 20, 2017. The shooting unfolded in Mattoon High Schools cafeteria around 11:30 a.m., officials said at the time. One female teacher intervened and successfully subdued and disarmed the gunman -- a move Mattoon Police Chief Jeff Branson said at the time was pivotal. The gunman was taken into custody shortly after the incident. Freeman High School, Washington A 15-year-old student opened fire on fellow classmates at a Washington state high school on Sept. 13, 2017, killing one, investigators said. Caleb Sharpe, the suspected gunman, said the student who died had bullied him. The slain student tried to stop the teen's rampage when the gun jammed, according to The Associated Press. A school janitor was hailed a hero after he was able to subdue the alleged shooter. Three other students were wounded in the attack. According to court documents, Sharpe told officials that he brought the two guns to school to teach everyone a lesson about what happens when you bully others. North Park Elementary School, California A special needs teacher and a child, 8, were killed in what police said was a murder-suicide at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino, California. Police said Cedric Anderson walked into the school on April 10, 2017, and shot his estranged wife, Karen Elaine Smith. Two other students were also struck before Anderson killed himself, although law enforcement officials said they do not believe they were intended targets. Jonathan Martinez was identified as the 8-year-old killed at the elementary school. A 9-year-old was injured. Liberty-Salem High School, Ohio Two high school students were injured after a fellow student allegedly fired a shotgun inside Liberty-Salem High School in Ohio on Jan. 20, 2017. Logan Cole, who was 16 at the time, was shot twice but survived. Another student was grazed by a bullet. Champaign County Sheriff Matthew Melvin said the gunman intended to harm more students than he did. Ely Serna, the accused gunman, was 17 at the time of the shooting but is being tried as an adult in Champaign County court. He has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Fox News' Nicole Darrah, Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Elizabeth Zwirz, Katherine Lam, Lucia I. Suarez Sang, Samuel Chamberlain, Kathleen Joyce, Shira Bush and The Associated Press contributed to this report. David Sweat, the convicted murderer who performed a Shawshank Redemption- style escape from a New York state prison in 2015, has reportedly found himself in hot water with another woman. Sweat was in the visiting area for Atticas Special Housing Unit with his girlfriend Frances Malanik, 45, when a corrections officer noticed Sweat fondling himself, the New York Post reported Thursday. Sources told the newspaper that Malanik reached through a window of the partition and gave Sweat an extra hand. Officers reportedly caught the two in action and Malanik was tossed out of the prison. Sweat received disciplinary charges over the incident and the prison banned him from seeing Malanik for 60 days on Tuesday, according to the newspaper. The 37-year-old inmate and Malanik began their relationship in 2015, right after Sweat was recaptured and sent back to prison following his escape from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y., The Daily Mail reported. Sweat, along with Richard Matt, escaped the facility using tools given to them by prison worker Joyce Mitchell. It was later learned Mitchell had a relationship with both Sweat and Matt. Sweat was serving a life sentence without parole for killing a sheriffs deputy. Matt was doing 25 years to life for the 1997 kidnap, torture and hacksaw dismemberment of his former boss. Matt was shot and killed by police three weeks after the pairs escape. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The son of a New York City nanny, currently on trial for the murders of two young children, described the killings as an accident during testimony in court on Thursday. Jesus Frias, 22, testified that his mother, Yoselyn Ortega, was experiencing sadness in the days before she allegedly slaughtered 6-year-old Lulu Krim and 2-year-old Leo Krim, on Oct. 25, 2012. While taking the stand, Frias said that his mother was not herself in that time frame before the accidents, according to the New York Post. His choice of words sparked outrage from assistant district attorney Stuart Silberg. Im sorry did you just say, the accident? Silberg said in court. Frias, who knew the Krim children and reportedly cared for their dog, quickly corrected himself, saying before what happened. Ortegas son also testified that the nanny loved the children she allegedly stabbed to death in a bathtub. Frias said that young Lulu would often draw nanny pictures for his mother, who frequently put the young girl on the phone with him to practice her Spanish, the Post reports. Frias testimony comes days after Ortegas sister, Miladys Garcia, appeared to blame parents Kevin and Marina Krim for not recognizing that the nanny was unraveling. SISTER OF NYC NANNY WHO KILLED TWO CHILDREN BLAMES PARENTS FOR SLAYINGS Why didnt those parents realize and take her out themselves they were seeing it, Garcia said on Monday. Give her a vacation if you see shes losing weight, say Yosie, youre not yourself. Even a week of vacation. Say, Go, Yosie, youre very thin. Relatives, according to the Post, claim Ortega told them that she saw a black man or a black shadow who would follow her and talk to her. Ortegas son says she told him no such thing. However, Frias did testify that he received a call from his mothers cell phone, which was reportedly left behind the day of the murders. Frias said a mans voice with an accent whispered I need help before the call ended. Ortegas phone was never found and the service line has been disconnected. Ortega is charged with first-degree murder and faces life in prison without parole. The nanny has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. The suspect linked to a barbershop shootout in San Francisco on Wednesday -- that left a police officer and five others injured -- was reportedly a 21-year-old Palestinian immigrant who was on probation for a 2015 armed robbery. Jehad Eid, 21, of Suisun City, Calif., who had come to the U.S. as an infant, died Wednesday evening at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, the Bay Area's Fox 2 reported. Eids younger brother, Tariq Eid, 18, who was born in the United States, told the San Francisco Chonicle he was skeptical of a police account that said officers shot at Eid first. My brother did not have that mentality to shoot first, Tariq said. He was a caring person. Police responded around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday to a report of a man with a gun in San Franciscos Excelsior neighbor, officials said. According to a source familiar with the investigation, police had been called by a family member of Jehad Eid, the Chronicle reported. Eid allegedly fired at police from inside a barbershop at the corner of London Street and Geneva Avenue. Police returned fire and shot Eid. Five people, including one of the officers and a teenager, were injured amid the gunfire. Ive seen the cops shoot people in videos on Twitter, but I never thought my brother would be one of those people, Tariq said. I just cant believe it. Tariq said some of the people who work at the barbershop are related to Eid. The shootout remained under investigation. Police said they would release more details at an upcoming town hall meeting. A home health care nurse who reportedly is in the U.S. illegally and is accused of smothering an 81-year-old Texas woman to death may have more victims, police said Friday. Billy Kipkorir Chemirmir, 45, was taken into custody Tuesday after Lu Thi Harris was found dead from homicidal violence in her Dallas home, police said. A source told FOX 4 News that she was found with a pillow nearby and her makeup was smeared, and that Chemirmir worked as a home health care nurse. Authorities said Friday that they are looking into Chemirmir's medical background and Dallas Police will analyze 750 unattended elderly female deaths in the area since 2010 to see if he is connected to any of them. Police have also set up a 24-hour tip line for the case. This is terribly disturbing," said Plano Police Chief Gregory W. Rushin. Rushin's department started tracking Chemirmir after another family reportedly became suspicious that he was stealing from a relative that he was seeing. While following him on Tuesday, officers saw Chemirmir discard a jewelry box and found jewelry, cash and a set of keys on him. They also found a piece of paper that they traced back to Harris home. Two other possible victims have come forward and told police that he tried to sit on their chest and smother them with a pillow, according to FOX 4 News. Chemirmir is currently being held in in Dallas County Jail on a $1 million bond and is facing a capital murder charge in Harris death. Records show Chemirmir is in the U.S. illegally and has an immigration hold on him, according to Fox 4. Two Kenyan news websites reported that he hails from the African country. Chemirmir previously was given trespass notices and was accused of posing as an employee at a retirement community in Dallas in 2016, WFAA reported. He is also suspected of attacking a 93-year-old woman at an assisted living facility in Frisco in October 2017, the station added. In that incident, a woman told police that a man knocked on her door claiming to be a maintenance worker and asked if she needed anything fixed. After she denied, the suspect then forcibly entered her assisted living apartment, knocked her from her walker and to the ground, then placed a pillow over her nose and mouth in an attempt to muffle her screams and smother her, WFAA reported, citing a police affidavit. She started praying because she was believing she was about to die, the affidavit added, before the suspect left with her jewelry box. Nine months ago, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley sharply criticized the U.N.'s top human rights body demanding an end to alleged bias against Israel and wielding the prospect of a U.S. pullout if it didn't. So much for that. The 47-member body ended its first and longest session of the year Friday by adopting five resolutions critical of Israel's behavior toward the Palestinians or throwing support behind the long, fruitless Palestinian cause of statehood. Another two "country-specific" resolutions focused on Syria, where hundreds of thousands have died in a civil war. South Sudan, Myanmar, Iran and North Korea garnered one each. Haley railed Friday that when the council "treats Israel worse" than such countries, "it is the council itself that is foolish and unworthy of its name." A West Virginia woman has been found guilty in the death of a Maryland man who was found naked at the bottom of a cliff with his throat slashed, despite her claims that he used her hand to cut himself. Megan Shaffer's attorney Stephen R. Tully tells The Cumberland Times-News that they're considering an appeal after the 21-year-old was convicted of second-degree murder Monday in the January 2017 death of 25-year-old Alexander Stevens. Shaffer had pleaded not guilty to the murder charge, as well as manslaughter and assisting to commit or attempt to commit suicide. Her attorneys argued that she was the victim of Stevens' physical and sexual abuse and that he used her hand to cut his own throat. The prosecution says there was no evidence of abuse and that Shaffer's statements kept changing. Her sentencing is pending. ___ Information from: Cumberland (Md.) Times-News, http://www.times-news.com/timesnew.html An all-womens college in Massachusetts tells its teachers not to say women in the classroom but rather use the word students. Professors are instructed to say Mount Holyoke students instead of Mount Holyoke women, as well as avoiding statements like Were all women here or referring to the two genders as part of a Teaching & Learning Initiative. CRTVs Roaming Millennial sounded off on the policy Friday morning on Fox & Friends. This is becoming increasingly common on campuses across the countrywe have these administrators, these leftist progressives who take their own ideological opinions, their political views and insert them into things like speech codes and diversity classes, she said. They try to codify their opinions into the school policy to try to indoctrinate students. Acting Presidnet Sonya Stephens doubled down on the gender-neutral policy to Fox & Friends in a statement. As we know not every Mount Holyoke student identifies as a woman, Stephens said. But every student at Mount Holyoke has the right to live and learn in an inclusive environment that is free from hostility and respectful of their identity. The Supporting Trans and Non-Binary Students guide was created by officials at Mount Holyoke to promote a gender neutral environment, CampusReform.org reported. PRONOUNS MATTER: GEORGIA COLLEGE SUGGESTS NE AND VE AS GENDER-NEUTRAL WORDS Yet, on the school's website, it says, Imagine if every day were International Womens Day. Meet Mount Holyoke, and also boasts of being founded by a woman! in 1837. The college now wants professors to take an intersectional approach to the classroom by becoming aware of the multiple forms of oppression and privilege each individual faces and how they interact with one another. While Mount Holyoke maintains it is committed to its historic mission as a womens college, it says it recognizes that what it means to be a woman is always changing. Traditional binaries around who counts as a man or woman are being challenged by those whose gender identity does not conform to their biology, the policy states. The college formed a gender inclusion task force to assist with the changes. Any biologically born female can apply for admission, but only a biologically born male who identifies as other/they/ze and when other/they identity includes woman and one who identifies as a woman. COLLEGE STUDENT REINSTATED AFTER 18-DAY EXILE FROM CHRISTIANITY CLASS FOR GENDER SPEECH But even with all the safeguards and changes, the college admits it makes mistakes. Classrooms are never neutral spaces and are marked by the same inequalities, exclusion and power struggles that exist elsewhere in the world, the Inclusive Training manual reads. The point is not to claim a privileged space for the classroom that is somehow exempt from those dynamics, but to work to eliminate them where we can, confront them honestly when we cannot, and find ways to listen and include all our students in equitable, just ways. A humble 98-year-old Kentucky man has become one of the few World War II veterans to receive the French Legion of Honor, Frances highest military award, comparable to the U.S. Medal of Honor. France bestowed the honor on Jack Baker at a ceremony Wednesday in the small Kentucky town of Olive Hill. The ones that didnt get back are the ones that deserve it, Baker said. Drafted into the Army, Baker wore the First Army patch as a young private, Fox affiliate WVAH-TV reported. Due to a clerical error he never attended boot camp. Baker landed at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 under the command of First Army commanding Gen. Omar Bradley and fought through the Cherborg Forest, the station reported. In the critical fight at St. Lo, he was there as the Germans collapsed and surrendered en masse at the Falaise Gap. With the First Army, he was among the first U.S. troops to enter and liberate Paris. He also fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He was awarded five Bronze Stars. Well, you just took it day by day, whatever happens is going to happen, you know, just try to dodge the bullets, Baker told the station. He stood at attention on the stage as he received the Legion of Honor from Guillaume Lacroix, the consul general of France in Chicago. Mr. Jack Baker, and through him, thanks (to) all the veterans who have helped my country be what it is today. A free, independent, democratic country, Lacroix said. Baker is well known in Olive Hill, Ky., where he still cuts his own grass. He is looking forward to another season of fishing in Tygarts Creek, the Ironton Tribune reported Thursday. Those honoring Baker included the commander of the First Army, Lt. Gen. Stephen Twitty. Generations from now many of these folks will be gone and shame on us if we dont say thank you for the sacrifices youve made for this great country, he said. The U.S. Army says the First Army is the military's longest serving field Army and is celebrating its 100th birthday on Aug. 10, 2018. A preliminary autopsy report for a Pennsylvania college student found dead in Bermuda on Monday showed no evidence of foul play, authorities reportedly said Thursday. The examination of 19-year-old Mark Dombroski was done by pathologist Dr. Christopher Milroy, who said the teen died from an apparent fall, The Times Herald reported. I found no evidence of foul play in my postmortem examination, Milroy, a Canadian doctor brought to Bermuda for the autopsy, said. PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE STUDENTS BODY FOUND AT BASE OF SIGNICANT DROP IN BERMUDA Dombroski was in Bermuda to compete with his rugby team from Saint Josephs University in Philadelphia. He went missing around midnight on Sunday and was last seen at a bar called The Dog House, the Bermuda Police Service said. His body was found Monday night near the base of a significant drop, at Fort Prospect in a wooded area known as The Arboretum, police said. His cell phone and wallet were reportedly also located. Milroy wouldnt say if Dombroski had alcohol or any medication in his system, saying that kind of information would be part of the official autopsy report, The Associated Press said. Officials from the British island territory will reportedly continue to investigate the incident. PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE STUDENT WHO VANISHED IN BERMUDA IS FOUND DEAD Well do all our best efforts to get a clearer picture of what happened that morning, Bermuda Police Services Superintendent Sean Field-Lament said. Theres nothing to indicate that he was pushed at this stage. The truth of the matter is, we may not ever find out how he came to fall. Field-Lament said it was not yet clear how or why Dombroski went through a fenced area to reach the area from which he fell about 35 feet. "As such, we will be exhausting all avenues at the scene to try to determine, if we possibly can, what happened," he said. "There may be questions that we'll never be able to answer." The Associated Press contributed to this report. next Image 1 of 2 prev Image 2 of 2 The European Union is recalling its ambassador from Moscow for consultations over the nerve gas attack against a former spy in Britain earlier this month, reinforcing a united stand with Prime Minister Theresa May against Russia. After the EU firmly sided with May in the escalating conflict reminiscent of the Cold War and said it was "highly likely Russia is responsible" for the attack on Sergei Skripal, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the EU envoy "is being recalled for consultations to Brussels." May won the backing of 27 other EU leaders at a summit Thursday and the bloc called the attack a "grave challenge to our shared security." The EU states said they would "coordinate on the consequences to be drawn in the light of the answers provided by the Russian authorities." May was delighted with the support early Friday. "This is about us standing together to uphold our values against the Russian threat," she said. Rutte said no sanctions were actually discussed at the summit even though rumors swirled of more drastic diplomatic measures. President Dalia Grybauskaite of former Soviet state Lithuania said she was considering expelling Russian diplomats in the wake of the March 4 attack. Rutte said over the coming days or weeks, "we and our partners must see what the logical next steps are." He insisted that any measure "must have an added value to this extremely strong political declaration." The unanimity was a victory for May. She had been striving at a summit in Brussels to persuade her EU colleagues to unite in condemning Moscow over the attack on Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence officer convicted of spying for Britain, and his daughter, Yulia. Russia strongly denies responsibility and has slammed Britain's investigation. During a summit dinner, May laid out the reasons Britain is convinced Moscow was behind the attack, including the type of poison used a Soviet-developed nerve agent known as Novichok and intelligence that Russia has produced it within the last decade. Britain argues the attack is part of a pattern of behavior by an increasingly assertive Russia whose muscle-flexing, cyber-meddling and law-breaking on foreign soil pose a threat to the international rule of law. May said Thursday that "it is clear that the Russian threat doesn't respect borders." She said "the incident in Salisbury was part of a pattern of Russian aggression against Europe and its near neighbors, from the western Balkans to the Middle East." But European politicians and leaders varied in how far they were willing to go in blaming the Kremlin. Russia President Vladimir Putin's office said Thursday that Greek leader Alexis Tsipras had called Putin to congratulate him on his re-election and discuss issues, including the Salisbury poisoning. Britain and Russia have expelled 23 of each other's diplomats in a dispute showing no sign of easing. Russia's ambassador to the U.K., Alexander Yakovenko, accused the U.K. Thursday of having a "bad record of violating international law and misleading the international community." "History shows that British statements must be verified," he told reporters in London, demanding "full transparency of the investigation and full cooperation with Russia" and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. ___ Associated Press writers Lorne Cook in Brussels, Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow and Danica Kirka and Greg Katz in London contributed to this report. A family of four from Iowa who went missing after traveling to Mexico was found dead Thursday night in their condominium in a tourist complex in the country, police confirmed to Fox News. The family Kevin Wayne Sharp, 41, Amy Marie Sharp, 38, Sterling Wayne Sharp, 12, and Adrianna Maria Sharp, 7 left their hometown of Creston, Iowa, to travel to Tulum, Mexico, on March 15, the Des Moines Register reported. Grieving relatives and friends of the family gathered Friday at the home of Beth Fry, mother of Amy Sharp, the newspaper reported. Life is not going to be the same without her, Fry told the newspaper. Half my family is gone. Chief Paul Ver Meer of the Creston Police Department told Fox News the family was found dead Thursday night in a condo they rented in Tulum. The familys cause of death was not immediately known but the department was awaiting autopsy reports. There appears to be no signs of trauma, Ver Meer said. Ashli Peterson, a family member, wrote in a Facebook post that the family was supposed to return to the U.S. on Wednesday after catching a flight from Cancun, but did not return. Peterson said the Sharps notified family members that they made it to Mexico safely but that was the last time they heard from them. MAN ARRESTED IN STRING OF ROBBERIES, SEX ASSAULTS IN IOWA Peterson said the family filed a missing persons report via the U.S. Embassy in Mexico. They also tried to locate the family by tracing their cell phones but found there was no movement on their phones. The familys social media accounts were also at a standstill. Renee Hoyt, Amy Sharps sister, told Creston News Advertiser that the family flew into Cancun and rented a car to drive to Tulum. "On Wednesday at 7 p.m., Amy sent a text to our mom that said, 'We made it to our condo,'" Hoyt told the media outlet. "That is the last communication she made. We got told last night Kevin sent a text to Travis Anderson around 5 p.m. Thursday and Travis responded around 11:30 and has not heard anything back." IVANKA TRUMPS VISIT TO IOWA SALON SPARKS SOCIAL MEDIA BACKLASH On Friday, Peterson posted a Facebook post saying the family was located. They were found last night in their condo deceased, Peterson wrote. There was no foul play! At this time that is all the information we have. Please respect the family at this time as they go through the grieving process. Thank you for all the posts, shares and kind words. Last week, the State Department sent out a travel advisory to Mexico due to crime in Playa del Carmen. The department warned American travelers to exercise increased caution in the country. The French police officer who offered himself up in a hostage swap Friday after an armed man yelling Allahu akbar went on a rampage in southern France has died, a report said early Saturday. French President Emmanuel Macron said Lt. Col. Arnaud Beltrame, 44, died after being seriously injured in the attack. Macron said Beltrame "fell as a hero" and "showed exceptional courage." "Arnaud Beltrame died in the service of the nation to which he had already given so much," Macron said in a statement. "In giving his life to end the deadly plan of a jihadi terrorist, he fell as a hero." Interior Minister Gerard Collomb wrote in a tweet early Saturday that Beltrame had "died for his country." The officer had offered himself up unarmed to the 25-year-old attacker in exchange for a female hostage. He managed to surreptitiously leave his cellphone on so that police outside could hear what was going on inside the supermarket. Officials said once they heard shots inside the market they decided to storm it, killing the gunman. Beltrame was grievously injured, and his death raised the toll from the attack to four. Some 15 other people were injured in the attack. "He gave his life for strangers. He must have known that he didn't really have a chance. If that doesn't make him a hero, I don't know what would," Beltrame's brother, Cedric, said in a radio interview Saturday. Beltrame joined the elite police special forces in 2003 and served in Iraq in 2005. People were placing flowers in front of the Gendarmerie headquarters in Carcassone to pay tribute to the fallen officer. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, the deadliest since Macron became president last May. Macron said investigators will focus on establishing how the gunman, identified as Morocco-born Redouane Lakdim, got his weapon and how he became radicalized. Lakdim was known to police for petty crime and drug dealing. But he was also under surveillance and since 2014 was on the so-called Fiche S list, a government register of individuals suspected of being radicalized but who have yet to perform acts of terrorism. The series of events appeared to begin when Lakdim hijacked a car near the medieval city of Carcassonne Friday morning, killing one person in the vehicle and injuring another. Yves Lefebvre, the secretary general of SGP Police-FO police union, said Lakdim then fired at least six shots at a group of police officers who were returning from a jog nearby. He said the officers were wearing athletic clothes with police insignias. One officer was shot in a shoulder, but the injury was considered not life threatening. Afterward, Lakdim went to the Super U supermarket in Trebes, 60 miles southeast of Toulouse, where he opened fire and killed two people. He took an unknown number of hostages. French counterterrorism prosecutor Francois Molins confirmed that Lakdim shouted "Allahu akbar" - the Arabic phrase for God is great - as he entered the supermarket and claimed to be a "soldier of the Islamic State." There were about 50 people inside the market when the suspect entered, the prosecutor said. Molins added that an unidentified woman who was close to the suspect and shared a life with him was taken into custody on Friday. During the standoff, Lakdim demanded the release of Salam Abdeslam, the lone survivor of an ISIS terror cell behind the deadly 2015 attacks in Paris that killed 130 people, officials said. Counterterrorism investigators took over the probe into Friday's rampage. France has been on high alert since a string of Islamic extremist attacks in 2015 and 2016 left more than 200 people dead. Fox News' Elizabeth Zwirz and the Associated Press contributed to this report. Page Content European Committee of the Regions backs EU strategy aimed at enabling the accession of Western Balkan countries starting in 2025 Plans to invigorate the European Union's engagement with the Western Balkans were welcomed by the European Committee of the Regions on 22 March, but the EU's assembly for local and regional politicians stressed that the EU must make itself "stronger and more stable" before countries from the region can join the Union. The call for "a wider strategy to strengthen the EU" is contained in a set of recommendations published today that state that the success of the EU's enlargement to the Western Balkans will heavily depend on local and regional government greater involvement in the EU accession process. The CoR drew up recommendations at the request of the Bulgarian EU Presidency and ahead of a debate on enlargement at the EU summit in May, and adopted the proposals after a debate on 22 March with Johannes Hahn, the EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations. The European Commission's strategy and action plan set out on 6 February aims to "create a completely new dynamic that will see Serbia and Montenegro meet the membership criteria by 2025" and should encourage other countries Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to accelerate reforms. During the debate the Commissioner underlined, however, that the pace of accession negotiations will depend on the implementation of reforms, in particular in the rule-of-law area. The strategy is scheduled for adoption by EU member states this June. Karl-Heinz Lambertz , President of the European Committee of the Regions, said: "The EU should always be open to welcome in new members if and when they are ready. Currently, this means significantly stepping up progress on local-government reform in candidate countries so that cities and regions are given substantially greater powers and capacity. Importantly, they must be fully aligned not only with all EU values, but demonstrate that they are upholding the rule of law and meeting fiscal rules The 2025 accession date for Serbia and Montenegro is ambitious but possible if the pace of reform significantly picks up and if local authorities are given a greater say in the EU accession process." Commissioner Hahn emphasised that the success of enlargement will depend heavily on the involvement of local and regional authorities. "I am convinced that strengthening capacities at local and regional administration and government levels in the Western Balkans countries has a positive impact on a countrys development as they are essential when it comes to implementing the EU acquis at the local and regional level. Therefore I highly value the work of the Committee of Regions in this regard," he said. In his opinion , Franz Schausberger (AT/EPP), representative of Salzburg Province, underlined that strengthening local and public administrations will be "absolutely essential" if integration is to be a success. He said: "The European Commission has suggested that 2025 is a plausible target date for Serbia and Montenegro to join the EU. That will require a commitment and speed that we have not seen to date. The volume of EU law is huge, and cities and regions will need to implement about 70% of it. At the moment, they are not ready for that. They need stronger powers, better training, greater transparency, more money, greater dynamism, and a sharper focus on providing services to citizens." The recommendations highlight the political importance and practical value of cross-border cooperation in the region, and they point to a set of initiatives many of them established by the EU that the region's national and sub-national governments should join "without delay". The report notes that local and regional governments have gained powers in most countries in the region, and specifically cites the benefits of reform in Albania and Serbia, anti-corruption measures in Albania and Montenegro, and Serbia's pioneering adoption of the EU's Gender Equality Index. Across the region, there is a "vital" need of funds to increase regional and local administrations' ability to perform their "expanded roles". The report also states that none of the countries "can be regarded as a functioning market economy" and warns that they are currently unable "to cope with the competitive pressure and market forces in the EU". They also remain a significant distance from meeting the EU's values and standards of governance. Background The opinion by the European Committee of the Regions is entitled: " Enlargement: Inclusion of Western Balkans Local and Regional Authorities in the EU's Macro-regional, Cross-border and other Transnational Cooperation Initiatives ". The rapporteur, Franz Schausberger (AT/EPP), represents the province of Salzburg and has been a member of the CoR since 1996. A former governor of the Salzburg province (1996-2004), he is the founder and president of the Institute of the Regions of Europe and in October 2016 he became a special adviser to Johannes Hahn, EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations. The CoR's opinions underscores that "regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations" should be "key prerequisites" for admission to the EU, specifically noting the "utmost importance" attached to migration and border management". It calls for more cross-border cooperation, while noting a general improvement and describing the 'Berlin Process' started in 2014 as a "significant step" at the national level. It calls for local and regional governments to increase cross-border activities, to twin themselves with cities abroad, take advantage of the EU's TAIEX technical-support programmes, macro-regional strategies, and cross-border instruments such as Interreg programmes and European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation. The recommendations build on CoR opinions on the value and implementation of macro-regional strategies, ways of strengthening cross-border cooperation , and the EU's strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region . The European Committee of the Regions has joint consultative committees with Serbia , Montenegro and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia . These committees, which have a fixed membership, typically meet twice a year and follow a long-term work programme. The CoR has a working group for the other countries in the Western Balkans Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Kosovo as well as a working group with Turkey. The working groups meet twice annually; the delegations from the Balkans and Turkey are organised ad-hoc. On 3-4 May, the European Committee of the Regions will hold its 4th Enlargement Day, one of the annual flagship events on enlargement policy in Brussels, organized this year with the co-operation of the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU. The event will bring together delegations from each country currently negotiating entry to the EU, Turkey included. The conference will be preceded by meetings of the joint consultative committees and the working groups. Analyses of the division of power in each country are available on the CoR's website . The debate can be re-watched on the European Commission's website . Photos are available on Flickr . Contact: Andrew Gardner Tel. +32 473 843 981 andrew.gardner@cor.europa.eu Iraq's Foreign Ministry has condemned Turkey's attacks on what Ankara suspected were Kurdish rebel camps in northern Iraq, along the countries' shared border. The ministry describes the attacks as "violations" that led to the death of a number of civilians in a statement released late on Thursday. Turkey's state-run news agency said Turkish jets launched the attacks after drones detected militants preparing to launch an attack against Turkey. Anadolu Agency said the operation reportedly "neutralized" nine militants. Turkey regularly targets the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq, where they maintain bases. Turkey and its allies consider the group a terrorist organization. Turkey said this week its military may mount an offensive against the PKK in Iraq's Sinjar region if the Iraqi government doesn't act against the group. The Communist Party of China announced this week a consolidation of state-run media, part of a broader push by President Xi Jinping to tighten supervision over broad swaths of Chinese public life, or what he calls unity in thought among officials and citizens. Movies, television, books and radio programs will now be under the direct control of the Communist Party. The announcement comes weeks after China voted to end a two-term limit on the presidency. Having direct oversight of the media will allow the Community Party to craft its message domestically and improve its image abroad, analysts say. "It's one vast effort to get everybody thinking together," said David Zweig, director of the Center on China's Transnational Relations at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. China Radio International, China National Radio and China Central Television, along with its international broadcast arm, China Global Television Network, will merge into one entity called "Voice of China." The government's regulator of the press and print publications, radio, film and television will cease to exist and its responsibilities and resources will be transferred to the party's Central Propaganda Department, along with control over the film industry, including the import and export of movies. According to one government expert quoted by the Communist Party newspaper Global Times, the consolidation effort will concentrate the resources and authority to improve Chinas influence overseas and promote Chinas international image. China has spent vast sums to boost its overseas media presence in recent years, having opened broadcast centers in Washington and Nairobi, Kenya. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The European Union vowed Friday to take "more steps" against Moscow over the poisoning of a former spy and his daughter in Britain in an incident that has rapidly heightened tensions between the two world superpowers. European Council President Donald Tusk said Friday that the 28-nation group will recall its ambassador from Moscow for consultations and that "more steps are expected at a national level" by Monday. "I think it is clear that Russia is challenging the values we share as Europeans, and it is right that we are standing together in defense of those values, British Prime Minister Theresa May said following a summit dinner where she shared information about why Britain is convinced Moscow was behind the March 4 attack. The UK has already expelled 23 Russian diplomats and their families, and Moscow responded by expelling 23 British diplomats, who are expected to return to the UK on Friday. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said his country will conduct a security assessment of Russian diplomats with a view to possibly expelling those who are not legitimate. "We will make that decision, I would say, in the early part of next week," he said. Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen also says his country will consider "whether we should take unilateral steps." Dalia Grybauskaite, president of Lithuania, said that "from the beginning of next week, a lot of countries, we will go for our national measures." The EU added Friday it was highly likely that Russia was behind the nerve-agent attack which left Sergei Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia in critical condition -- and could see no other plausible explanation for it. Speaking March 18, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow would cooperate with the U.K. in an investigation of the poisonings, calling them a "tragedy." However, Putin said that if the claims that they were poisoned by the Soviet-designed nerve agent were true, the victims would've died instantly. Regarding the diplomatic blowback, Russia's Foreign Ministry said Friday that Moscow is not aware of immediate plans by any European countries other than Britain to expel Russian diplomats. Artyom Kozhin, a spokesman for Russia's Foreign Ministry, told a televised briefing Friday afternoon that officials there have not been approached over the matter. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The Latest on developments regarding Iraq ,Turkey and Kurdish rebels (all times local): 4:45 p.m. A Kurdish rebel group says it is withdrawing from the town of Sinjar in northern Iraq, a move that follows threats of attack from Turkey. Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, says in a statement Friday they moved into Sinjar to protect the Yezidi people "from genocide" at the hands of the Islamic State group and are now withdrawing "having reached that aim. " PKK fighters moved into Sinjar about 75 miles (120 kilometers) west of Mosul in 2015 with an offensive backed by the U.S.-led coalition. Recently, the Turkish prime minister threatened military strikes against the group who Turkey and its allies consider to be terrorists. Turkey has launched a number of strikes against suspected PKK camps in Iraq's north over the past week. ___ 12:25 p.m. Iraq's Foreign Ministry has condemned Turkey's attacks on what Ankara suspected were Kurdish rebel camps in northern Iraq, along the countries' shared border. The ministry describes the attacks as "violations" that led to the death of a number of civilians in a statement released late on Thursday. Turkey's state-run news agency said Turkish jets launched the attacks after drones detected militants preparing to launch an attack against Turkey. Anadolu Agency said the operation reportedly "neutralized" nine militants. Turkey regularly targets the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq, where they maintain bases. Turkey and its allies consider the group a terrorist organization. Turkey said this week its military may mount an offensive against the PKK in Iraq's Sinjar region if the Iraqi government doesn't act against the group. Mali's prime minister has traveled to the northern rebel stronghold of Kidal, marking the first such trip since a now stalled peace deal was signed in 2015. Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga arrived Friday morning in this town that has been home to a separatist movement for years. The last time a prime minister visited Kidal was in 2014, when his delegation found itself in the center of bloody clashes between the Malian army and armed groups in the area. Nina Walet Intalou, Mali's tourism minister and a member of the prime minister's delegation, says "many things have changed since 2014." Northern Mali has seen violence not only from separatists but also from radical jihadists, who controlled Kidal and the other major northern towns in 2012. Page Content The European Union needs to increase support for cities and regions and border countries that are on the front line of managing migration, the European Committee of the Regions said on 22 March. The EU's assembly for local and regional politicians expressed particular concern about the challenges faced by islands and coastal regions in the Mediterranean and called for greater shared European responsibility and investment. The assembly called for local and regional authorities to be involved in every stage of framing and implementing the EU's migration-related policies, because of their role in taking care of new arrivals and then integrating them. In addition to asking for more funding, training and technical support for cities and regions, the European Committee of the Regions suggested that the EU should examine the possibility of "transferring responsibility for examining asylum applications from national to EU level". The recommendations are contained in an opinion drafted by Dimitrios Kalogeropoulos (EL/EPP), a delegate from the Palaio Faliro municipality near Athens, and were adopted shortly after a debate with Dimitris Avramopoulos , the European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship. Karl-Heinz Lambertz , the President of the European Committee of Regions (CoR), said: "Local and regional governments are on the front line, receiving, managing and integrating migrants and refugees, and they need far more support. Every EU member state must shoulder the responsibility, to avoid leaving just a few countries and communities to manage alone. Migrants and refugees are not numbers; they are people that should be protected. It is a European challenge that needs European investment, which is why the next EU budget, after 2020, must increase and why EU regional funds its cohesion policy, which supports social inclusion must continue to be a strong pillar of Europe's future." Speaking during the plenary debate, Commissioner Avramopoulos said there was a need for a " radical re-think " on the integration of migrants in Europe across all policy areas, as well as improved access to EU funds for cities and regions. "Local and regional authorities play a positive role in creating spaces for exchanges between migrants and societies, ensuring social inclusion and active participation in the host society. But you cannot and should not be doing this alone." Mr Kalogeropoulos said: "Local and regional leaders generally feel that the EU has moved in the right direction over the past two years, but, in practice, there remain difficulties for local communities as well as for refugees and migrants. Social tensions are high, local authorities are struggling to cope, and the level of consultation and coordination between the levels of governance local, national and EU and with NGOs remains too low. The objectives of the EU to provide reasonable conditions for refugees and migrants to process applications for asylum speedily are not being met fully, and member states are ignoring agreements to relocate asylum-seekers equitably across the EU. We badly need a long-term commitment from national governments and the EU to increase funding for cities and regions and to pursue a comprehensive policy that makes migration manageable." The debate also focused attention on global trends, the experiences of refugees, and efforts to integrate new arrivals in Europe into the labour market, with contributions from: Laura Thompson , the deputy director-general of the International Organization for Migration; Elisabeth Bartke from the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry; and Anila Noor, a refugee and member of the European Migrant Advisory Board. Background The opinion entitled "Implementation of the European Agenda on Migration" considers the progress made by the EU on its migration policy priorities since 2015. The CoR supports many of the actions taken by the EU and describes reform of the current asylum system as "essential". It draws attention, however, to weaknesses and to the need for more radical action particularly to relieve pressure on the worst-affected islands and regions, and to address difficulties assessing asylum applications. The possibility of "transferring responsibility for examining asylum applications from national to EU level" should be considered, it argues. The opinion says that local and regional authorities need more funding and calls for them to be involved in every stage of framing and implementing of the migration agenda. It argues that the powers of a new EU agency the European Border and Coast Guard Agency and EU naval operation (Sophia) should be strengthened, and highlights that work is needed to produce a "coherent action plan" capable of ending smuggling and the migration-linked slave trade that has emerged in North Africa. It supports the 'hotspot' approach to managing exceptional migratory flows, through which EU agencies can intervene rapidly to help EU member states on the front line of migration, and suggests that 'hotspots' in non-EU countries could be "important" as a way of creating "safe routes" for migration. It notes, however, that guidelines are needed for managers of hotspots, with input from local and regional authorities. President Lambertz wrote to Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, on 21 February 2018 calling for a budget after 2020 capable of matching Europe's ambitions. The European Committee of the Regions is asking for the next budget to be "increased to 1.3% of the Gross National Income of the EU 27 as an expenditure ceiling through national contributions and new EU own resources". President Lambertz described the EU's cohesion policy as "the EU's most effective means of tackling today's challenges: climate action, migration, sustainable growth, and research and innovation". The EU external investment plan is designed to boost investment in the EU's neighbourhood and Africa, particularly in fragile, conflict- and violence-affected countries, some of which are countries from where irregular migrants originate. The European Commission is contributing 4.1 billion, with the aim of stimulating more than 44 billion of investments by 2020. A recent study of global migration by the European Commission found that the world's migrant population is increasing steadily. While the number of people forced to move by conflict or persecution is surging, environmental disasters are a bigger cause of displacement. Overall, the nature of migration has become more complex, with economic development spurring migration in the short term. Migration has become a big business, eased by digital technology. Globally, migration is primarily an urban phenomenon, with one in five migrants living in the world's 20 largest cities. Of legal migrants who arrive in the EU, more than half come to be re-unified with their family or on humanitarian grounds. Highly skilled migrants are heading primarily to other OECD countries rather than to the EU. The number of irregular migrant arriving by sea has dropped sharply (to 160,000 in 2017), but immigration remains the second greatest concern of Europeans (after terrorism). It was their principal concern in 2014-16. Contact: Andrew Gardner Tel. +32 473 843 981 andrew.gardner@cor.europa.eu Deep in the mountainous terrain of Pakistans Federally Administered Tribal Areas just miles from the Afghan border, around a dozen men - from their early 20s to their late 50s - salute and stamp feet to their national anthem. The flag dramatically bursts open, and rose petals flutter down around their crisp black-and-white, traditional dress uniforms. Proud and emotional teachers look on as their students prepare to venture out into the wild western frontier. It almost seems like the moment when a "Grease"-style song and dance number might break out - complete with We Go Together choreography. But Pakistani officials want the world to know this is serious stuff: This is no ordinary graduation, and these are no ordinary students. They're former terrorists. That's the hope, anyway. They're now called inductees," and have just completed at least six months of deradicalization rehabilitation. This particular group is made up of former members of groups like Lashkar e-Islam (LEI), which in 2015 announced it was merging with the Taliban. This is not a jail, this is a deradicalization center. We want to ensure the gentlemen are skilled in their chosen vocation, Pakistan Army official Zubair, who oversees security and programming at the center, told Fox News. Part jovial tour guide and part serious junior high science teacher in demeanor, Zubair said the center offers aims to "help them for a better life. The goal is for them to be useful members of society. Welcome to Rehab for Radicals, Pakistan-style. Its called Saboon ll (meaning First Ray of Sunlight), and is a joint venture between the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the Headquarters of the Pakistani Armys Frontier Corps. Following Pakistani military operations to clear terrorist pockets out of the area, some 650 militants subsequently surrendered. And by law, they could neither be prosecuted nor released to the society. So, in January 2015, Saboon became the solution. And its doors in the foothills of the tribal area mountains opened wide. Now, the centers experts enthusiastically say, this crop is ready to re-enter the real world. Each graduate has been given a certificate of recognition and a Technical Training Diploma by the Khyber Institute of Technical Training, as well as a goodie bag filled with personal items, tools for their chosen tradecraft, and an NGO-donated farming kit. Some even have a job lined up. That's apparently the magic ingredient that will keep the weapons away. Zubair insists, with unwavering conviction, that rehab is also helping out the military. He pointed out what he noted were numerous examples of this throughout a recent Fox News tour of the facility: There is a gym, a patch of overgrown grass to practice agriculture tidbits, a health clinic where they can learn first aid. Then there are the classrooms, where students learn an array of skills from carpentry and computers to auto mechanics and mobile phone repair. In contrast with their spirited security guards and teachers, the former fighters generally remain quiet, and expressionless. There is no hint of them being hardened fighters fresh from the Hindu Kush. When they come, all others, including us, are infidels in their view. That is the main challenge, said one religious leader at the center. But that is all changed now. The rules for release are minimum six months at the center, individual and group training, and an approved risk assessment from both a psychologist and a religious leader. Recent grads must report to law enforcement every two weeks. If they are then deemed to be on their best behavior, the monitoring is reduced to once a month, then every two months. After a year, the frequency of reporting becomes very infrequent, managed on a case-by-case basis. Social workers and psychologists also do home visits. Many are uneducated, so that is a challenge, one female worker said. It is a hard job, but they do change. Program organizers claim 900 fighters have successfully passed through their doors - with a 100 percent success rate. But then there are the critics, some of whome call that claim absurd. This is a ridiculous assertion. Intervention programs are not an exact science and absolutely not foolproof, noted Robin Simcox, national security and foreign policy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. They can do good, but we should never rule out that terrorists genuinely do recant their views. Just hours after Peruvian legislators voted to accept the resignation of President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, 79, over accusations of corruption, the countrys ambassador to Canada was sworn in as the new president. Martin Vizcarra, 55, took the oath of office Friday after flying in from Canada. He was welcomed at the airport with a large cake, a marching band and supporters carrying signs that read, Peru is with Vizcarra. Despite the show of support, Vizcarra is not known by most of the country. A poll taken in March showed that 81 percent of Peruvians did not recognize his name. While Vizcarra is expected to continue Kuczynskis pro-business agenda, he will face a tough challenge building consensus with a hostile congress and growing public anger at Perus political class. Protesters scuffled with police Thursday night while calling for new elections for both the president and congress. Ousted President Kuczynski was voted out in a 105-12 tally. Kuczyski threatened to withdraw is resignation offer earlier because the proposed congressional resolution accused him of "betraying the fatherland, something he would have to admit if he accepted. The language was ultimately removed. Kuczynskis downfall was his association with Odebrecht, the Brazilian construction giant that has admitted to spreading some $800 million in bribes to officials across Latin America, including $29 million in Peru. He has denied any wrongdoing. The new presidents first test on the international stage will come in three weeks when he is expected to host President Donald Trump and other Western Hemisphere leaders at the Summit of the Americas in Lima. The Associated Press contributed to this report. At first, people thought it was part of an act: a deadly python coiled around the neck of its owner and snake charmer during a live show in Uttar Pradesh, India, this week. But they soon found out the act was all too real. The snake charmer initially picked up the adult snake and allowed it to sit on his shoulders as he welcomed the crowd. Slowly, the snake slithered up the man's body and started to wrap itself around his neck. The man appeared calm acting as if he was simply wearing a turtleneck. He continued to motion people to come closer. Thirty seconds later, the man kneeled on the ground and appeared to be having trouble breathing. He leaned forward and grabbed the snake's body, attempting to forcefully pull the creature off. For nearly a minute, a group of people just watched in shock and horror. They realized the man was in serious trouble when he toppled over onto the sandy ground. He appeared to be unconscious when a man stepped in to help. He sprinkled water on the snake and eventually the python slitered away. A group of three men rushed the unidentified man to a nearby hospital in Varanasi on March 20, according to The Independent. His condition is still unknown. Snake charmers are common in India, but the reptiles have been known to turn on their handlers. A famed "snake whisperer" in Malaysia died last week after he was bitten by a cobra, Free Malaysia Today reported. Last year, Dan Brandon, a snake enthusiast in the U.K., was found suffocated to death near his pet python, Tiny. A coroner later confirmed there was no doubt the python had killed him. The leader of Yemen's Shiite rebels has lashed out at the United States, accusing it of fomenting the war in his country through a Saudi-led coalition and even going so far as to claim that U.S.-ally Israel is participating in attacks in Yemen. Abdel-Malek al-Houthi's remarks were published Friday in a front-page interview with the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, along with a photo of him dressed in a traditional Yemeni robe with a dagger worn on a belt. Al-Houthi alleges the U.S. saw the war in Yemen "as a golden opportunity to seek control" of the region. He says Saud Arabia and the United Arab Emirates two top nations in the coalition against his rebels, known as Houthis wouldn't have "entered the war ... without American desire and supervision." Page Content The cost and risks of non-cohesion and the EUs long-term budget after 2020 were the main points of the discussions held in Brussels on 23 March by local and regional leaders with the co-rapporteur of the European Parliament on the EU's next long-term budget, Jan Olbrycht (PL/EPP). In the course of the plenary session of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), the members adopted an opinion drawn up by Mieczysaw Struk (PL/EPP), President of the Pomorskie region, stressing the need for a strong cohesion policy. "Cohesion policy is the most tangible expression of European solidarity, offering equal opportunities and a better quality of life to people in all EU regions", argued Mieczysaw Struk in his draft opinion on The cost and risk of non-cohesion: The strategic value of cohesion policy for pursuing the Treaty objectives and facing new challenges for European regions . For the CoR members, cohesion policy is, and should remain, the EU's main investment policy, available to all EU regions. It is a policy for evening out and making use of development opportunities geared to improving the quality of life of people across the EU. It is the best expression of European solidarity and it directly implements the key objectives of the Treaty. "A weak cohesion policy can mean a dark future for Europe, this is why a decision on the future budget means a decision on the future of the EU. If after 2020 cohesion policy is marginalised and eroded, we will soon be faced with very specific risks. One of these is the widening of divisions and development disparities between EU countries and regions, which in practice could result not only in the disintegration of the single market but also in a loss of public trust in the EU and an increase in nationalism. We do not want that kind of Europe", the rapporteur added. The future EU budget must take into account the strategic role of cohesion policy, the local leaders agreed. Mr Olbrycht said that the European Parliament agreed on the strategic need to maintain cohesion policy, voicing dissatisfaction with a commitment, made on 22 March by EU Budget Commissioner Gunther Oettinger, that the European Commission would try to limit "cuts to between 5% and 10%". He said that "money should be found" to maintain "cohesion policy at its current level". He continued: "We cannot abandon our ambitious agenda for the EU after Brexit. The Parliament is calling for support after 2020 for two long-term European policies the common agricultural policy and cohesion policy - and the maintenance of spending in the future budget at least at current levels. Cohesion policy should support the development of all European regions by means of three funds: the ERDF, the ESF and the Cohesion Fund. The Parliament believes that some future programmes of major importance for the economy, competitiveness and young people should be strengthened. We want to see an increased budget for the next generation of programmes: Horizon 2020, COSME, YEI, Erasmus+ and LIFE+. The Parliament recognises the need to provide EU financial support for new challenges in the area of security and defence and for dealing with the migration crisis. In this connection, we call for the next MFF to be set at a level of 1.3% of EU-27 GNI. If the Member States prefer a lower level, they must decide which joint EU activities they wish to reduce. "It's not only about money, it's about the future of Europe." The President of the Wielkopolska region, Marek Wozniak (PL/EPP), rapporteur for the CoR opinion on the future of EU finances, stressed that "the EU budget must support our common political objectives and concentrate on achieving results and greater European added value. So let us be bold and shape the next budget following the subsidiarity principle and place-based policies so it may answer the needs of people living in municipalities, cities and regions. The European Committee of the Regions speaks with one voice together with the European Parliament when calling for the future budget to be set at a level of no less than 1.3% of EU GNI. We need resources from various sources, the abolition of all rebates and the introduction of new own resources as well as increased contributions from the Member States. We also want a budget that support a Europe closer to its citizens, in particular via the two political assemblies having democratically elected members: European Parliament and European Committee of the Regions. Background #CohesionAlliance To make the case for a stronger cohesion policy after 2020, the CoR, together with leading EU territorial associations, launched the #CohesionAlliance , a grass-roots movement open to anyone who believes that EU cohesion policy must continue to be a pillar of the EU's future. Since its launch in October last year, the Alliance has continued to attract new signatories every day, including regional and local authorities, business associations, academia, trade unions and think tanks. Further information on the initiatives, declarations and negotiating position of the #CohesionAlliance can be found at: http://cohesionalliance.eu . Contact: Wioletta Wojewodzka Tel. +32 0 473 843986 wioletta.wojewodzka@cor.europa.eu 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. The Farmers Apprentice competition is a unique opportunity for young people who have their hearts set on a career in agriculture. FW catches up with previous winners to find out how the experience and the prize changed their lives. So youve done the lottery (no luck there), youve tried the Bank of Mum and Dad (ditto) and, lets be honest, high street lenders arent exactly falling over themselves to throw cash at you. Without access to capital, it can be notoriously tough to get on the farming ladder. Land is expensive, tenancies are few and far between and, even if you go down other routes, you will need money for machinery or stock. See also: Farmers Apprentice is one of the best things Ive ever done Sometimes in agriculture, as in all areas of life, you need a helping hand especially when youre starting out and Farmers Weeklys Farmers Apprentice competition will provide an amazing opportunity for one talented youngster. You could win 10,000 We want to give someone the chance to kick-start their farming career and were prepared to put our hands in our pockets to make it happen. Yes, were going to give the winner of the 2018 competition a whopping 10,000 along with access to an experienced mentor who will help them spend it in a way that ensures its of maximum benefit to their career. Entering the competition has been a life-changing decision for previous winners opening doors on new opportunities, expanding their contacts book and providing otherwise hard-to-come-by cash. George Brown Farmers Apprentice, 2012 George Brown, who won the first contest, reckons the prize money made a massive difference to him. It gave me a huge step up on to the first rung of the ladder, says George, who won in 2012 as a 21-year-old Cambridge graduate. Armed with his prize, he flew to New Zealand where he spent 18 months working as a farm assistant and then as second-in-command on a large dairy farm. I had an amazing experience, learned so much and thoroughly enjoyed being on a very steep learning curve, recalls George. Aware of the importance of lifelong learning, he put 1,000 of his prize towards a course specialising in dairy production management while he was overseas. With a long-term dream to have his own herd, however, the bulk went on buying 19 heifers that he reared when he came back to the UK and settled in Cumbria, where he worked as a dairy farm manager for almost three and a half years. He sold these animals and reinvested the profits in more stock enabling him to grow his own herd alongside his day job, running a 600-cow spring calving dairy farm near Rugby in Warwickshire. I now own 120 cows and am positioning myself for a joint venture or tenancy in the next 18 months, while I continue to develop a much-needed track record with my bank and accountant, says George. Its all been an amazing experience, and I have been fortunate to work for, and alongside, a number of fantastic operators. I have learned so much about problem-solving and working in teams, along with building my own business and pushing my own equity growth. Joe Weston Farmers Apprentice, 2016 In 2016, the Farmers Apprentice organisers decided to ring the changes and offer, instead of a cash prize, an opportunity that money couldnt buy a years work as an intern at Farmcares 1,600ha Goole Estate. Step forward worthy winner Joe Weston who was thrown in at the deep end and last September, at the end of his internship, was offered a full-time position there as a trainee farm manager. Joe, who had worked as a retail operations manager at a bike shop in York prior to taking part in the contest, soon realised his future was wedded to agriculture and hes since got a new role as an assistant manager on a 242ha mixed farm at Eastoft in Lincolnshire. Applying for Farmers Apprentice was one of the best things Ive ever done, he says. What is Farmers Apprentice? From farm to fork, businesses are on the hunt for the best new recruits. Its vital, therefore, that the most capable members of the next generation both from farming and non-farming backgrounds choose careers in farming and the food chain. Run by Farmers Weekly, Farmers Apprentice is a unique competition giving young people a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to develop their skills and progress their careers. We will pick 10 of them to take part in our week-long, summer residential bootcamp that will put them through their paces in a range of tasks and culminate in one being crowned Farmers Weekly Farmers Apprentice 2018. Will Hinton Farmers Apprentice, 2014 According to Will Hinton, getting your hands on 10,000 is tough for anyone with a limited track record certainly getting access to it interest free. There certainly arent easily accessible grants for young farmers that Im aware of and tenancies are very hard to come by. We need young faces coming into the industry, though. 10,000 would definitely be a massive game-changer to anyone starting out in farming, he says. He spent his prize money on store lambs the proceeds from which he invested into more sheep. Having then headed to New Zealand to hone his shearing skills, hes now engaged to a kiwi with a baby boy on the way. He liquidated the flock last September and put the money in a high-interest bank account until he spots the next sensible investment. I learned a lot about myself at bootcamp, he says. Ive focused more on being positive with my decisions and not being so hard on myself when things go wrong. I remember following the first-ever Farmers Apprentice and watching George Brown and thinking the competition was out of my league. I was wrong. No matter who you are or what youve achieved, if you love farming and want to get a helping hand into the industry, this competition is for you. Gambling911.com has your 2018 Louisiana Derby betting odds with Bravazo and Noble Indy the odds-on favorites at 7/2. This race is run on 1 miles (9 furlongs) of dirt. This is an important prep race for the upcoming Kentucky Derby. Two winners of the Louisiana Derby have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby including Black Gold in 1924 and Grindstone in 1996. The 1988 winner, Risen Star, went on to win that years Preakness and Belmont Stakes races. The purse was still $1 million in 2018. Bravazo will receive a jockey change, as Miguel Mena, who rode him in the Risen Star, is sidelined with a fractured ankle and broken heel. - Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is one the biggest event in Long Beach. Here are some numbers that put the three-day event in context. When Apollo 13 came out on video yep, I own it on actual VHS I parked myself in front of the TV and watched it several (like... in the vicinity of 10) times over the course of the next few weeks. I had just started high school, and was in a phase that included learning everything I possibly could about our space program. I wanted to be an engineer or an astronaut; I went on to attend NASAs Space Academy in Huntsville, Alabama, twice over the next four years, and took as many Earth science-based classes as I could in preparation for the time when I would apply to college. Today, I am obviously not an astronaut or an engineer, but I do hold a Ph.D. in astronomy and I love sharing knowledge about both the night sky and humanitys efforts to understand and reach it with others. I love my career and the places it has taken me, and every step Ive taken since high school can, in part, be traced back to that VHS, which I admit still holds a place of pride in my home media collection. (Dont worry, I still own a working VCR.) This weekend, on March 25, Captain Jim Lovell turns 90. While many know him as the commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, he flew on three additional missions, including the first manned flight to circle the Moon, Apollo 8. In honor of Captain Lovells birthday and the amazing contributions he has made to humanitys efforts to reach the stars Chicagos Adler Planetarium is asking you to share how his story and his relentless passion and bravery have encouraged you to reach for your dreams. There are two ways you can contribute to this amazing campaign. If youre in or near Chicago, visitors to the Adler can write their message on a notecard provided by the planetarium and drop it in the Letters to Lovell mailbox in the Mission Moon gallery. Alternatively, you can send your note to Captain Lovell electronically by emailing it to letters@adlerplanetarium.org. These messages will be shared with Captain Lovell and his family. And at this years annual fundraising Celestial Ball in September, the Womens Board of the Adler Planetarium plans to honor Captain Lovell and share your stories as part of the tribute. Lovell is not only a lifetime trustee of the Adler Planetarium, he has also donated many of his personal belongings to the Moon Mission gallery, which highlights the story of Americas early endeavors into spaceflight, culminating in the ultimate achievement: sending men to the Moon. Why is all this happening now? Not only is reaching age 90 an incredible milestone, but this year also marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission, which launched December 21, 1968. The Adler Planetarium and additionally, Astronomy magazine is gearing up to announce special programming and material in celebration of the anniversary. Stay tuned for more; and for now, the Adler invites you to share your accomplishments and your thanks with Captain Jim Lovell. I know I will! kacylee at 23-03-2018 07:25 AM (3 years ago) (f) The Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) has described the north as Nigerias biggest problem and obstacle to development. The Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) has described the north as Nigerias biggest problem and obstacle to development. The Secretary General of YCE, Dr. Kunle Olajide, said this in reaction to a comment by the Chairman, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Alhaji Ibrahim Coomasie, that Nigeria could not survive without the north. Olajide made this known in Oshogbo, the Osun State capital on Thursday. He said that before describing itself as the best thing that ever happened to Nigeria, the north should consider that Boko Haram, religious crises and killer Fulani herdsmen are all products of the north. Olajide said that by the statement, the ACF had accepted that the north represents everything that is bad about Nigeria. He said, The newspapers reported the Arewa Consultative Forum as saying that Nigeria cannot survive without the North . Whatever was meant by that statement credited to the ACF chairman remains to be understood. However, I congratulate him for accepting that the North as it is today represents all that is wrong with Nigeria. The North-East is ravaged by insurgency costing the country billions of dollars annually. The North-West is home to religious crisis, the North- Central is ravaged by herdsmen of northern extraction . Collectively the North is home to all negative indices of the quality of life. Infant mortality rate is highest in the North. Illiteracy rate is highest in the North and the number of out-of school children is highest in the North. The poverty index in the North is high while the twin evil bedeviling the North is feudalism and religious fatalism . It will not be out of place to say the North has in fact been dragging Nigeria down since independence . All sorts of mischievous phrases were coined by the very tiny political / military elite of the North to give undue advantage to the North. He added, Let me assure Alhaji Coomassie that much as we want a fair and egalitarian Nigerian society, it is not at all costs. The rest of Nigeria will survive, flourish and join the league of first world countries within two decades if the North exits. If it desires to leave Nigeria, join me in saying goodbye to the exiting North, I wish them a safe journey into the desert. The Secretary General of YCE, Dr. Kunle Olajide, said this in reaction to a comment by the Chairman, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Alhaji Ibrahim Coomasie, that Nigeria could not survive without the north.Olajide made this known in Oshogbo, the Osun State capital on Thursday.He said that before describing itself as the best thing that ever happened to Nigeria, the north should consider that Boko Haram, religious crises and killer Fulani herdsmen are all products of the north.Olajide said that by the statement, the ACF had accepted that the north represents everything that is bad about Nigeria.He said, The newspapers reported the Arewa Consultative Forum as saying that Nigeria cannot survive without the North . Whatever was meant by that statement credited to the ACF chairman remains to be understood.He added, 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 23-03-2018 07:25 AM (3 years ago) | Addicted Hero kacylee at 23-03-2018 07:54 AM (3 years ago) (f) Dr. Christopher Abebe, who is the former boss of the United African Company (UAC) and father of Stella Obasanjo, former President Olusegun Obasanjos wife, is reportedly dead. Dr. Christopher Abebe, who is the former boss of the United African Company (UAC) and father of Stella Obasanjo, former President Olusegun Obasanjos wife, is reportedly dead. In a statement released by his son, Dr. John Abebe, who is also the President of St. Gregorys College Old Boys Association, it was confirmed that Dr. Christopher Abebe died on Thursday afternoon at the age of 99, in Iruekpen, Edo State, after a brief illness. The statement read; In his lifetime, he joined the United African Company Nigeria Limited as a young clerk and rose through the ranks to become the first Nigerian Chairman/Managing Director of the company. He was also the first Nigerian Personnel Director of UAC in 1959. He was at various times the pro-chancellor and chairman of council of three Nigerian universities: the University of Benin, the University of Nsukka and the University of Calabar. On his retirement from the UAC, he became the first Nigerian Chairman of the Nigerian Breweries. A devout Catholic, he was a Papal Knight of the St. Gregorys and Supreme Knight of St. Mulumba. The statement added that the deceased was survived by his wife of nearly 75 years, Mrs. Theresa Abebe, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. The late Dr. Christopher Abebes daughter, Stella Obasanjo became famous not only for being the first lady of Nigeria, married to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, but also for being a political activist in her own right, supporting such causes as womens liberation, youth as leaders of tomorrow, and the rehabilitation of a war torn Nigeria. She was a trailblazer in her role as first lady and showed Nigerian women the way to becoming more involved in the rebuilding of the country. Obasanjo will be remembered as the kind of first lady that countries desire to have as a figurehead of their nation. Born November 14, 1945, Stella Abebe met her husband, Olusegun Obasanjo, when he was a military officer. According to the P.M. News, she found him to be rather dull at first, but was finally won over by the mans intelligence and perseverance, two traits she said helped make her husband a great leader. He was imprisoned in 1995 for taking part in a coup to overthrow the government, and while trying to have her husband freed, Obasanjo began to exhibit the activism that many applauded her for. In a statement released by his son, Dr. John Abebe, who is also the President of St. Gregorys College Old Boys Association, it was confirmed that Dr. Christopher Abebe died on Thursday afternoon at the age of 99, in Iruekpen, Edo State, after a brief illness.The statement read;The statement added that the deceased was survived by his wife of nearly 75 years, Mrs. Theresa Abebe, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.The late Dr. Christopher Abebes daughter, Stella Obasanjo became famous not only for being the first lady of Nigeria, married to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, but also for being a political activist in her own right, supporting such causes as womens liberation, youth as leaders of tomorrow, and the rehabilitation of a war torn Nigeria. She was a trailblazer in her role as first lady and showed Nigerian women the way to becoming more involved in the rebuilding of the country. Obasanjo will be remembered as the kind of first lady that countries desire to have as a figurehead of their nation.Born November 14, 1945, Stella Abebe met her husband, Olusegun Obasanjo, when he was a military officer. According to the P.M. News, she found him to be rather dull at first, but was finally won over by the mans intelligence and perseverance, two traits she said helped make her husband a great leader. He was imprisoned in 1995 for taking part in a coup to overthrow the government, and while trying to have her husband freed, Obasanjo began to exhibit the activism that many applauded her for. 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 23-03-2018 07:54 AM (3 years ago) | Addicted Hero Cameroon Minister, Basil Kuna Who Was Sacked & Barred From Travelling Arrested In Nigeria felicilin at 23-03-2018 11:02 AM (3 years ago) (f) A former Cameroonian minister, Basil Atangana Kuna was caught by Interpol on Wednesday night in Nigeria and transported via a plane to Yaounde in handcuffs. The former minister of water and energy minister was arrested in Nigeria and flown home on Thursday escorted by police officers amid a crackdown on high-level corruption. A former Cameroonian minister, Basil Atangana Kuna was caught by Interpol on Wednesday night in Nigeria and transported via a plane to Yaounde in handcuffs. The former minister of water and energy minister was arrested in Nigeria and flown home on Thursday escorted by police officers amid a crackdown on high-level corruption. Basile Atangana Kouna was removed from his ministerial position during President Paul Biyas March 2 cabinet reshuffle. He had already been ordered the previous month not to leave the country. It was not clear what charges Atangana Kouna was facing, but there was speculation on Thursday that he was arrested as part of an anti-corruption drive known as Operation Sparrowhawk. Three men a former Ministry of Public Works official, the head of a state company, and the ex-rector of the University of Douala were arrested as part of the operation earlier this week. Basile Atangana Kouna was removed from his ministerial position during President Paul Biyas March 2 cabinet reshuffle. He had already been ordered the previous month not to leave the country.It was not clear what charges Atangana Kouna was facing, but there was speculation on Thursday that he was arrested as part of an anti-corruption drive known as Operation Sparrowhawk.Three men a former Ministry of Public Works official, the head of a state company, and the ex-rector of the University of Douala were arrested as part of the operation earlier this week. Post Reply Posted: at 23-03-2018 11:02 AM (3 years ago) | Hero ruthie at 23-03-2018 11:13 AM (3 years ago) (f) of course, he will be found here....a lawless country with very poor security...a well known criminal can live here without being detected..shameful Posted: at 23-03-2018 11:13 AM (3 years ago) | Hero of course, he will be found here....a lawless country with very poor security...a well known criminal can live here without being detected..shameful Reply cypanyahucha at 23-03-2018 11:30 AM (3 years ago) (m) Criminals in W/Africa Posted: at 23-03-2018 11:30 AM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac Criminals in W/Africa Reply maxzy277 at 23-03-2018 02:01 PM (3 years ago) (m) Smoke them out wherever they may be, no more impunity in our continent Posted: at 23-03-2018 02:01 PM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac Smoke them out wherever they may be, no more impunity in our continent Reply fineboy77 at 23-03-2018 06:22 PM (3 years ago) (m) ...........Only that Paul Biya is still the president. What is the color beneath your skin? Posted: at 23-03-2018 06:22 PM (3 years ago) | Hero ...........Only that Paul Biya is still the president. Reply slimber at 23-03-2018 08:22 PM (3 years ago) (f) Okoooo Posted: at 23-03-2018 08:22 PM (3 years ago) | Hero Okoooo Reply The content you are looking for has either been removed or requires you to login to view Please login below or register for an account With Naijapals.com felicilin at 23-03-2018 04:28 PM (3 years ago) (f) South African gay choreographer and TV/ radio personality, Somizi Mhlongo, 45, and his bae, Mohale Tebogo Motaung, 24, are engaged. South African gay choreographer and TV/ radio personality, Somizi Mhlongo, 45, and his bae, Mohale Tebogo Motaung, 24, are engaged. The media personality who has been dating his man for almost a year now got engaged during a recent romantic trip to Paris. The Idols SA judge took to Instagram to share a video of himself flaunting his sparkly engagement ring. He captioned the video: 'Its a Big YESSSSS. its a golden ticket. #MCM #MCE' Confirming the good news on SA's Metro FM, he said: "Yes, I did. (It was) on the 'love lock' bridge with the Eiffel Tower behind us. I've watched too many movies obviously," Somizi said. Somizi also revealed that their engagement isn't going to be a long one. "I wanted to wait for the right time to tell everyone, but eish. Paparazzi. I'm not a long time engager. I'm not talking about getting engaged 7 years ago. It must be within a year-ish." A post shared by Somizi (@somizi) on Mar 18, 2018 at 10:14pm PDT The media personality who has been dating his man for almost a year now got engaged during a recent romantic trip to Paris.The Idols SA judge took to Instagram to share a video of himself flaunting his sparkly engagement ring. He captioned the video: 'Its a Big YESSSSS. its a golden ticket. #MCM #MCE'Confirming the good news on SA's Metro FM, he said: "Yes, I did. (It was) on the 'love lock' bridge with the Eiffel Tower behind us. I've watched too many movies obviously," Somizi said.Somizi also revealed that their engagement isn't going to be a long one. Post Reply Posted: at 23-03-2018 04:28 PM (3 years ago) | Hero felicilin at 23-03-2018 04:37 PM (3 years ago) (f) Yawe Sonter Emmanuel, a staff of IOM, the United Nations Migration agency, an aid group providing humanitarian services for those people displaced in the North Eastern Nigeria and the Cameroon, died at an IDP camp in Rann, near Maiduguri when Boko Haram terrorists attacked the camp on Thursday evening March 1. Yawe Sonter Emmanuel, a staff of IOM, the United Nations Migration agency, an aid group providing humanitarian services for those people displaced in the North Eastern Nigeria and the Cameroon, died at an IDP camp in Rann, near Maiduguri when Boko Haram terrorists attacked the camp on Thursday evening March 1. Photos of the young father of two and UN aid worker killed by Boko Haram in Rann, Borno State A large number of Boko Haram members armed with automatic weapons, Rocket Propelled Grenade and gun trucks attacked the military base in Rann, in Borno State, with superior fire power. There is also an Internally Displaced persons camp there. Photos of the young father of two and UN aid worker killed by Boko Haram in Rann, Borno State During the incident four soldiers, four mobile police and three humanitarian workers including, Ibrahim Lawan, Yawe Emmanuel and Dr.Onyedikachi Izuogu, lost their lives and another three humanitarian workers were injured. Photos of the young father of two and UN aid worker killed by Boko Haram in Rann, Borno State Late Yawe has since been buried in his hometown, Korinya city in Konshisha Local Government Area of of Benue state. He is survived by a wife, two children, mother and relations. Photos of the young father of two and UN aid worker killed by Boko Haram in Rann, Borno StateA large number of Boko Haram members armed with automatic weapons, Rocket Propelled Grenade and gun trucks attacked the military base in Rann, in Borno State, with superior fire power. There is also an Internally Displaced persons camp there.Photos of the young father of two and UN aid worker killed by Boko Haram in Rann, Borno StateDuring the incident four soldiers, four mobile police and three humanitarian workers including, Ibrahim Lawan, Yawe Emmanuel and Dr.Onyedikachi Izuogu, lost their lives and another three humanitarian workers were injured.Photos of the young father of two and UN aid worker killed by Boko Haram in Rann, Borno StateLate Yawe has since been buried in his hometown, Korinya city in Konshisha Local Government Area of of Benue state.He is survived by a wife, two children, mother and relations. Post Reply Posted: at 23-03-2018 04:37 PM (3 years ago) | Hero Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. ("FCA") (NYSE: FCAU / MTA: FCA) announces the following leadership changes, effective immediately. Antonio Filosa is named Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Latin America Region. Filosa, has 18 years of experience with FCA, and most recently as the Head of Argentina, as well as the Head of Alfa Romeo and Maserati brands for the Latin America region. Mr. Filosa has held a number of senior operating positions in Brazil and Argentina over the last 12 years including leading Purchasing for the region, and holding key leadership positions in Manufacturing operations in Brazil. Mr. Filosa will join the Group Executive Council (GEC) of FCA which is chaired by the Chief Executive and is the highest operational body in FCA. Stefan Ketter who has led the Latin America region until now, will return to Europe and continue serving on the GEC as the Chief Manufacturing Officer of FCA. "Stefan has done an exceptional job leading the Latin America region including overseeing the industrialization of Jeep in Pernambuco and steering the commercial efforts that resulted in Jeep leading the SUV segment in Brazil last year. His rejuvenation and development of the team in Latin America have helped to achieve profitability in the region during challenging market conditions, and will have an enduring influence as we look to grow over the coming years. Antonio is a product of that team and represents a natural and seamless transition as we move forward", added Sergio Marchionne, Chief Executive Officer of FCA. London, 23 March 2018 Waukesha, WI (53187) Today A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 63F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low 44F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. The marine environment is critical to Grenadas economy and closely linked to the islands income generating tourism sector. Grenadas tri-island ocean state is not just a hub of maritime activity, but also home to unique marine biodiversity Its mission statement is clear. The Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists in Maryland has the responsibility to protect the citizens of Maryland. Like similar boards in other states, it licenses practitioners and attempts to ensure that they follow codes of ethics and guidelines for responsible behavior in dealing with their clients. But the mere existence of a board with a laudable mission is just a starting point. There are no guarantees that it will actually deliver.A December 2017 legislative review of the board and an earlier audit in Maryland point to substantial breaches in delivery. Theyre not tracking complaints that they receive, and it takes a long time to look at complaints, says Maryland Auditor Thomas Barnickel. His previous April audit, for example, listed untimely action in nine of the 15 complaints the audit tested. This included three that were not submitted to the Office of Attorney General, even though the board recommended at least 10 months earlier they should have been referred to OAG for administrative action [including license revocation].Maryland is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to difficulties with the 1,800 professional and occupational licensing boards in the U.S., which are largely dominated by the men and women who are part of the very professions being governed. Though problems arent universal, its difficult to balance the interests of members of a profession who deliver specified services with the interests of the public who receive those services. On top of that, many licensing boards are thinly staffed; board members, who are often unpaid or poorly paid, usually have significant subject knowledge but lack essential managerial skills.The range of problems these weaknesses cause is wide and deep. A 2016 performance audit of the Nevada State Board of Dental Examiners, for instance, found almost no oversight of board decisions, poor documentation within disciplinary files and the absence of organized filing methods. Licensees were also often overcharged for investigations. Although the board had a goal of resolving complaints within 90 days, it took on average over 400 days to settle disciplinary matters.A particularly biting special report came out of the Iowa Office of Ombudsman a year ago. That states 36 licensing boards cover a variety of medical professions and other occupations, such as massage therapists, plumbers and sign language interpreters. The problem, the report found, is that many of Iowas boards operate in the shadows with little accountability. Are the boards focused on the complainants? Id have to say no. Thats not really a big focus, says Andy Teas, legal counsel for the ombudsman office and the lead writer of the February 2017 report. Since it came out, complaints to the ombudsmans office have increased by about 55 percent.One approach that has the potential for improved monitoring and oversight of licensing board activity is centralizing their work. For example, states can create a singular office that acts as an umbrella to oversee licensing board actions, such as the handling of complaints. Some states, like Arizona and Colorado, are quite centralized and provide more management oversight, which increases board effectiveness and the attention to public concerns. This kind of attention from state agencies can help make sure that technology is adequate, reports are completed on time, online files are fully documented, and complaints receive timely and even-handed treatment.In Maryland, the Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists is trying to address its problems in part by creating a new tracking system for complaints and applying other management improvements.Despite the problems in many state licensing boards, their numbers are growing, which can present additional challenges. Back in 2015, Morris Kleiner, the AFL-CIO Chair in Labor Policy at the University of Minnesota, told us he was concerned about the expansion in the number of state licensing boards and their subsequent costs. Today, he sees another related problem in the way professionals on boards deal with complaints against their peers. There are few individuals who are disciplined by boards, he says, and its extremely rare for individuals to lose their license.As much as the issue of licensing and professional boards is not a brand-new one, its likely that states will find they need to manage this aspect of governance more closely in the near future. The impetus for that focus will be fallout from a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners faced off against the Federal Trade Commission. The case involved the ability of a board dominated by licensed practicing dentists to prevent non-dentists from offering teeth whitening services and products. By ruling against the dentists, the Supreme Court alerted states that they could run afoul of antitrust laws unless they supervised the actions of a board dominated by the profession or occupation it licensed. Previously boards had been immune from antitrust actions. This is really important and will occupy occupational regulation for years to come, says Kleiner. It makes the state government look at boards in a different way and will help make sure theyre looking after the interests of consumers. After of lobbying from students and teachers, a bill to prevent school administrators from censoring the work of student journalists has became law.Gov. Jay Inslee signed Senate Bill 5064 Wednesday in front of a group of students, teachers and school administrators in Olympia. The new law, which goes into effect this June, makes Washington the last state on the West Coast to pass an "anti-Hazelwood law," a reference to a 1988 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that made it legal for school administrators to censor content in school newspapers and other student-run media.Now, public-school students in Washington will have the final call on what to publish, with a few exceptions for libel or otherwise illegal content."Students deserve a chance to investigate and write stories that are relevant to them without wondering if their work will be censored," state Sen. Joe Fain, R-Auburn, said in a statement.Fain sponsored SB 5064 this year, although the legislation has been introduced in Olympia four different times, in various forms, by three different lawmakers since 2007.The bill remained largely intact as it moved through the state House and Senate this year, with the exception of a few amendments: Content published in school-sponsored media cannot harass or bully students, violate FCC regulations or incite the breaking of school rules. Oregon Democratic Gov. Kate Brown has signed a measure into law that would toughen the states consumer data breach laws.The legislation, which is set to take effect in June, would require that residents be notified within 45 days after a data breach has been discovered, unless doing so would impede a law enforcement investigation.The measure also would prohibit credit reporting agencies from charging a fee to residents who want to freeze or unfreeze their credit reports.Legislators in a number of states are trying to beef up consumer protections, in the wake of last years massive Equifax breach that exposed the personal data of nearly 148 million Americans.At least 29 states are taking up consumer security breach notification bills this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In more than a dozen states, measures would require residents to be notified within a given time, from 48 hours up to 60 days.And at least 100 bills have been filed in more than half the states to lower or eliminate credit report freeze fees charged to consumers, according to the Consumer Data Industry Association, a trade group representing consumer reporting agencies.Earlier this month, Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, signed a no-fee credit freeze bill into law.Forty-eight states and Washington, D.C., have security breach notification laws, most of which apply to the private sector and to government. But the laws vary considerably, from when affected victims must be notified to what is considered personal information.Last year, there were a record 1,579 data breaches in the United States, a nearly 45 percent hike over the previous year, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit that helps victims of identity theft and promotes public awareness. City of Atlanta officials are struggling to determine how much sensitive information may have been compromised in a Thursday cyber attack.They urged employees to check their bank accounts to make sure their financial information had not been accessed and said that anyone who had conducted transactions with the city could be at risk."Because we don't know, I think it would be appropriate for the public just to be vigilant in checking their accounts and making sure their credit agencies have also been notified," Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said at a Thursday press conference.The city has also received demands that it pay a ransom of an unspecified amount, officials confirmed. But officials had yet to make a determination if it would pay the ransom."We can't speak to that right now," Bottoms said. "We will be looking for guidance, specifically from our federal partners."The FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service had been called on for advice.For years, the FBI has warned that the use of ransomware -- malicious software that threatens to block access to data or to publish it unless the infected organization pays a ransom -- is a fast growing criminal enterprise.Organizations often don't learn they have been infected until they can't access their data or until computer messages appear demanding a ransom payment in exchange for a decryption key, according to the FBI's website.The messages include instructions on paying the ransom, usually in the form of bitcoins -- a crypto currency that allows for anonymous transactions online.Both Davidson County North Carolina and the Colorado Department of Transportation suffered ransomware attacks last month.The city's Department of Atlanta Information Management at 5:40 a.m. Thursday learned of outages of various internal and customer applications "including some applications customers use to pay bills or access court related information," said Richard Cox, the city's interim Chief of Operations.Cox called it a "ransomware cyber attack."The public safety department, water services and the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport operated without incident, Cox said.Cox said the city would offer employees additional resources to help them protect their information in coming days.Bottoms said that the city's municipal courts should be open on Friday.Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields said that her department's emergency response system had not been affected at all.Shields said that officers had reverted to writing reports on paper out of an abundance of caution, but that as far as she knew the police departments computer systems were still operational.Shields insisted that earlier reports attributed to a department memo that warned that payroll might be disrupted were not true."We did not put out a memo," Shields said. "I can't control what is said. I'm deferring to experts here who said, 'It won't be affected.' And I believe them."Bottoms also said that city's 8,000 employees would be paid on Friday."I'll be signing signing 8,000 checks today if necessary," Bottoms said. Data Definitions Many of the nations large urban centers have seen a slow, yet growing exodus of residents to more suburban areas in recent years. New county population estimates released by the Census Bureau on Thursday suggest this shift isn't slowing down.Migration out of densely populated areas has broadened, now spanning highly educated urban counties and more regions of the country. Some jurisdictions, such as New York Citys boroughs, are seeing larger than typical losses to other localities. Even big counties experiencing population growth arent adding quite as many residents as before.A review of the latest estimates finds that 125 large, predominately urban counties lost an aggregate net total of 377,000 residents from domestic migration last year, following declines of 225,000 in 2016 and 132,000 in 2015. Average migration rates similarly dropped for these counties, which we define as those containing the largest city in metro areas with populations exceeding a half million or any other city with more than 200,000 residents.Domestic migration rates continued to decline in four of New York Citys five boroughs last year. Los Angeles County, Calif., has similarly seen its net domestic migration rate dip further each year since 2012, with a net total of just under 92,000 residents leaving last year.One jurisdiction experiencing a particularly large uptick in outward migration was Miami-Dade County, Fla. Manny Armada, the countys chief of planning research, attributes part of that to rising home values. Affordability concerns have likely pushed some families to relocate to less expensive areas of the state, while others who bought homes during the depths of the recession wanted to cash in.Were basically witnessing the same pressures you see in all the cities across the country, Armada says.A further breakdown of the data suggests that several more educated jurisdictions were mostly spared from domestic migration losses until recently. Consider San Francisco County and Alameda County, Calif. Both highly educated counties have seen net domestic migration turn negative after years of gains. Last year, large urban counties where more than a third of adults hold at least a bachelors degree recorded an average net domestic migration of -17 per 1,000 residents -- a rate that had previously remained positive or flat.Localities in thriving regions of the South are mostly continuing to grow. But this, too, is slowly changing. Aggregate domestic migration for 49 Southern large, more urban counties was essentially flat in 2017 after years of growth. Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston, was adding more residents than it lost until 2016; Census estimates suggest outmigration accelerated there last year.Major urban counties in the Northeastern U.S. continue to sustain the largest migration losses, followed by those in the Midwest. Those out West have held up better. Clark County, Nev., and Maricopa County, Ariz., to name a couple, have yet to experience any drop-off in migration.Perhaps the biggest determining factor in how these counties are doing is density. The nations most densely populated counties -- those with more than 1,000 residents per square mile -- have incurred steeper losses the past two years.It's the counties that tend to be more suburban that are experiencing upticks in migration after slowing during the recession. Five such counties in Florida recorded among the highest domestic migration rates last year: Brevard County, Lee County, Polk County, Sarasota County and Volusia County. El Paso County, Colo., and Spokane, Wash., are two other similarly situated jurisdictions where growth hasnt slowed down.If theres good news for some of the larger, more densely-populated counties, its that most continue to register gains in total population, albeit at a slower pace than before.This is mostly a result of steady migration flows from abroad. Immigration to Miami-Dade County remains strong -- more than offsetting the countys domestic migration losses. If it werent for international migration, many other urban counties and their cities would be experiencing overall population declines.County-level jurisdictions either containing the largest city within metro areas of populations exceeding 500,000, or those encompassing any city with a population over 200,000. Includes the independent cities of Baltimore, Chesapeake, Va.; Norfolk, Va.; Richmond, Va.; St. Louis and Virginia Beach, Va. In all, approximately 134 million Americans live in these 125 counties.Figures represent net rates per 1,000 population.Jurisdictions where more than one-third of adults age 25 and up hold at least a bachelors degree, per 2011-2016 Census American Community Survey estimates. A total of 55 large urban counties met this definition.States classified using Census Bureau definitions In other public finance news this week: Rating Agency Warns of Climate Change Risk The Most and Least Federally Dependent States In the federal spending bill that President Trump signed on Friday, several government programs are getting funding boosts, including two that the White House sought to eliminate a year ago.Community Development Block Grants, which help fund an array of local government projects spanning from affordable housing assistance to small business loan programs, are set to see a $300 million increase in funding. That puts total federal funding at $3.3 billion for a program that Trumps 2017 budget proposal had targeted for elimination. Its also the first meaningful increase for the program since the early 1990s Every year, it costs more to build roads and homes and to rehab facilities, says the Urban Institutes Brett Theodos. So a program thats the same dollar value every year is actually a shrinking program in terms of what it can produce on the ground.Congress also plans to triple funding for the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program that's popular with states and cities. Funding for the program will increase from $500 million to $1.5 billion. That's a huge boost given that only a year ago , administration officials were saying the program should be defunded and the money spent elsewhere. The majority of the increase will fund local and state multimodal and multijurisdictional projects that include things like transit, bike lanes and rail lines. Nearly one-third of the funding will be set aside for rural areas.The budget avoids another government shutdown, but its passage was uncertain. As recent as this morning, Trump tweeted that he was "considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded."The funding boosts are not a total surprise since Februarys spending deal included increases in domestic spending. But states were still doing a fair amount of guesswork when it came to anticipating exactly how much money certain programs would get from the feds, says John Hicks, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers.This is a really good budget for states as it relates to traditional programs where they partner with the federal government, he says. Id say the numbers here in many areas are even higher than what states were counting on.For example, highway funding will get a $3.5 billion boost. More than two-thirds of the increase will come in the form of discretionary funding and will supplement what's coming from the Highway Trust Fund.Education funding will see a $2.6 billion increase, with $400 million of that being set aside for charter schools.Child care development grants, which help pay for child care so that low-income parents can find work or go back to school, are set to almost double to a historic $5.2 billion in funding. The Center for Law and Social Policy called the boost a significant win that will help 230,000 children and their parents across the country.Affordable housing scored some wins as well. It will see a 12.5 percent increase to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and a two-year extension of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, which had faced defunding last fall.And, with the 2018 elections looming and the probe into Russias 2016 election tampering in full swing, the bill includes $380 million in Help America Vote Act dollars to safeguard election security. The National Association of Secretaries of State said the money will go a long way to aiding the states as they prepare for 2018 elections and beyond.The budget, however, doesn't address a few issues pertinent to states and localities.There's no mention of a path to citizenship for 1.8 million so-called Dreamer immigrants. A deal on that reportedly fell apart after Democrats rejected a White House bid to extend protections in exchange for $25 billion in funding for a border wall. It also doesnt reinstate subsidies to help stabilize the cost of insurance on state health insurance exchanges. And it takes away $4.5 billion -- a 6 percent cut -- from food stamps.Thanks to two major hurricanes and several wildfires , 2017 was the most expensive year on record for natural disasters. Damages totaled more than $305 billion.In a report this week, S&P Global Ratings warns that because of a potential shift in federal disaster relief and insurance funds, as well as the potential for increasingly frequent climate-related disasters, the risks to local governments will likely compound without planning or prevention.The agency says governments must manage budget volatility following such events, repair and adapt their key assets to the changing risks, and plan for potential long-term impacts.New Mexico, Kentucky and Mississippi rely the most on federal money, while Delaware, Illinois and Kansas are the least dependent, according to WalletHubs annual study on tax dependency.The study incorporated things like where money goes for federal contracts, grants, and other financial and income assistance, as well as a states own economic output. The study found a correlation between low state tax rates and higher federal dependence.If a state can afford not to tax its residents at high rates, there are multiple explanations. One is that their economic policies are sound and the state economy is doing well, the study says. But another is that the state gets disproportionately more funding from the federal government than states with harsher tax codes. The Governors Official Program is comprised of a wide range of constitutional and legal duties and ceremonial and community engagements. Each year, the Governor hosts thousands of visitors to Government House to take part in investiture and award ceremonies, Open Days, receptions and meetings, and travels widely throughout Queensland to support the activities of Patron groups. View a chronological record of the Governors daily program below. On Thursday, in the morning, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC and Mrs Kaye de Jersey departed Wuhan for Beijing. In the afternoon, the Governor and Mrs de Jersey visited the Forbidden City. Following, at Dongcheng District, the Governor and Mrs de Jersey met with Mr Lei Wei, Vice President, Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference. In the evening, at the Australian Embassy Beijing, the Governor and Mrs Jersey received a briefing on the diplomatic and trade relationship from Her Excellency Ms Jan Adams. Description GIS 23 March 2018: Branding Strategies for Origin-based Products , was the main theme of a one-day National Stakeholder workshop which was held yesterday at Maritim Resort & Spa Mauritius, in Balaclava. It was organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). The objective is to outline the basic elements in the development and implementation of a branding strategy for Mauritius, as well as agree on the responsibilities of relevant stakeholders in the next phase of a project which pertains to the promotion of branding for origin-based products. At the request of the Government of Mauritius, WIPO has solicited the assistance of the Japan Patent Office to support the process of developing an Intellectual Property (IP) and Branding strategy for products in the agricultural and handicraft sectors. In his opening address the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr. V. K. Daby, pointed out that, in a globalised world, goods and services acquire higher market value due to intangible inputs such as technical knowledge and artistic creativity. Huge investments are involved in developing and the commercial exploitation of creative ideas and inputs, he said adding that the absence of appropriate protection will lead to piracy and counterfeiting, which is a deterrent to innovation and research, he cautioned. Mr. Daby was upbeat that the branding strategy being developed for Mauritius will ideally capture the goodwill and reputation of Mauritian products on the international market. Handicraft operators have complained of the illicit use of Mauritian products and imported products and which are marketed under the label Made in Mauritius. On that score, he outlined that the branding strategy is a means to try to solve this problem by creating a brand for a specific type of handicraft. For his part the Japanese Ambassador to Mauritius, Mr Yoshiharu Kato, recalled that since 1993 Japan has led the Tokyo International Conference of African Development (TICAD) which has served as a pioneering multilateral forum for international cooperation on African development. Speaking about industrial property, the Ambassador said that it is essential to further promote innovation and developing industries in Africa to establish a comprehensive industrial property system. He expressed his confidence that appropriate protection of industrial property such as patents and trademarks in Africa will result in improving the environment for companies in foreign countries including Japan to expand their business to Africa. This will result in increasing investments and lead to bringing out the potential of Africa and driving sustainable economic growth in African countries, he said. In her address, WIPO Senior Counsellor, Regional Bureau for Africa, Development Sector, Ms. Loretta Asiedu, stated that WIPO Member States are realising the importance of the intellectual property system and product brand strategies as a means of enhancing the competitiveness of agro-based and other product industries. This, according to Ms Asiedu can be measured by an increased request for assistance in this regard, some of which are a direct reaction from exposure to existing WIPO programmes while others are a response to recommendations made in WIPO-supported country IP strategies which have identified certain agro food sectors as potential candidates for sectoral IP and product brand strategies to add value and enhance their performance. The lessons learnt in the context of the implementation of WIPO-led IP and product branding strategies provide solid ground from which to replicate on a number of additional products and in a more concerted approach, she added. Workshop and Branding project Some 45 participants from the public and private sectors attended the workshop which was conducted by Mr Getachew Mengistie Alemu, WIPO expert, IP Law Consultant, United States of America and Ms Asiedu, WIPO Senior Counsellor. Presentations focused on: Intellectual Property (IP) IP and Branding Strategies WIPO Technical Assistance Tools and Services; Preliminary Feasibility Study; and, IP Rights Tools for Protection of Origin-based products. The WIPO expert is assisting Mauritius to develop and implement a branding strategy. Since 13 March 2018, Mr. Getachew Mengistie Alemu is having in-depth consultations with various stakeholders and relevant government actors to establish the required scope of work for the branding project. The project will initially focus on handicrafts (production of Dodo items), special sugars and local rum. Mauritius has, in fact, secured assistance from the WIPO to promote branding for origin-based products. The main objective of the project is to capture the goodwill and reputation of specific Mauritian products. The project is part of the recommendations of the National Intellectual Property Development Plan that was reviewed in 2016. WIPO WIPO is the global forum for intellectual property services, policy, information and cooperation. We are a self-funding agency of the United Nations, with 191 Member States. Description GIS 23 March 2018: The Mauritius Export Association (MEXA), which has been at the forefront to support its members by extending valuable advice, facilitating logistics activities, and implementing training programmes that are highly critical for the export sector, has greatly contributed to the economic growth of the country. MEXAs sense of entrepreneurship and innovation provides great opportunities for economic growth, prosperity and inclusion. The Minister of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives, Mr. Soomilduth Bholah, made this statement yesterday at the 12th Annual General Meeting of MEXA held at the Labourdonnais Waterfront Hotel in Port Louis. The Minister of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping, Mr. Premdut Koonjoo; the Chairman of MEXA, Mr Beas Cheekhooree; and other personalities were also present. In his address, Minister Bholah highlighted that the success of Mauritius is to a large extent the result of its export-oriented strategy since the 1970s and that Small and Medium Enterprises are bound to enter the circle in which trade allows them to expand output so as to achieve economies of scale which can be passed on to customers in price-sensitive markets. He underscored that Government is committed to formulate policies, as evidenced by the launching of the National Export Strategy 2017-2021, as well as to revamp its industrial base which will eventually help Mauritius to graduate in the league of high income economies. Mr. Bholah underlined that Budget 2017/2018 provided new incentives for the export sector, such as the proposal to reduce corporation tax of exporting firms from 15% to 3%, and the extension of the Speed to Market scheme to a wider range of products. He added that exporters can now work towards an expansion of trade in Africa, notably through the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area, which Mauritius has ratified since April 2015. He made an appeal to MEXA to see Government as a partner as the latter has a clear roadmap geared towards sustainable and inclusive economic growth and encouraged public-private partnership to attain a better and stronger Mauritian economy. For his part, Mr. Cheekhooree pointed out that our export sector is not only competing against traditional countries but also against emerging economies of South East Asia. He stressed that MEXAs vision for a new export sector should be built around the several fundamentals which include an integrated value chain that combines its various components so as to enable a country to put forward its competitive advantage as well as a business environment that promotes innovation, creativity and high quality. A constant flow of investment into the manufacturing sector; air and sea connectivity; a better synergy between offshore sector and onshore manufacturing base allowing sourcing of goods and products from local companies; and integration in the e-commerce revolution will definitely boost the export sector, he added. Description GIS 23 March, 2018: In a fast moving working environment, the health of employees has become a major concern for employers as a healthy workforce hugely contributes to an increase in productivity. Thus, developing health care plans and wellness programs which cater for the medical needs of employees are of utmost importance. The Minister of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives, Mr Soomilduth Bholah, made this statement on 21 March 2018 at the launching of a health care insurance policy Mo Sante organised by Business Mauritius at the Hennessy Park Hotel in Ebene. The policy is intended for all Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that are affiliated with the Business Mauritius Provident Association. Minister Bholah underscored that a s we set out to achieve the objectives found in Vision 2030 blueprint, the focus is on the concept of an inclusive high-income economy. Employers, he emphasised, should work towards an inclusive sustainable growth but at the same time cater for the well-being of the employees. He recalled that during the World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization held in May 2017, the resolution entitled Workers Health: Global Plan of Action was revised so as to urge member states to develop health care policies and plans for workers of SMEs and of the informal sector. The revised resolution makes provision for various strategic directions to be followed with a view to better cater for health care needs of employees of the SME sector, he added. The Minister reiterated that health care covers of employees should not be considered as unnecessary expense but rather a necessity. On this score, he highlighted that it is imperative for employees of the SME and informal sectors to benefit from health care covers and wellness plans. He pointed out that SMEs should avail themselves of comprehensive packaged health care insurance policies designed at competitive prices within their budget. He also commended Business Mauritius for coming up with this laudable initiative which is testimony to the willingness and commitment of the private sector to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Government in its endeavour of boosting the SME sector. Whats New in Civic Tech: What Do State Chief Data Officers Do? The city of Atlanta watched multiple online Web pages and services stop working on March 22 in a ransomware attack that began during the early morning hours and generated a response from two federal law enforcement agencies and two technology companies.The Department of Atlanta Information Management (AIM) was made aware around 5:40 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time that various internal and customer-facing applications had been compromised, Atlantas new Chief Operating Officer Richard Cox said during a late-afternoon press conference.The federal Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and incident response teams from Microsoft and Cisco are working with the city and AIM to resolve the issues, Cox said.However, we are still evaluating the extent of the compromises, he said.Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms urged residents who have done business with the city online to be cautious and monitor their personal data, including their bank accounts. But, contrary to some previously published reports, officials said the city payroll was unaffected and staffers are expected to be paid on schedule.In a statement via Twitter , the city had earlier characterized the attack as outages on various customer-facing applications, including some that customers may use to pay bills or access court-related information, and said it would post updates as they become available.Public safety, water and airport operations remain unaffected, officials said during the press conference. And while some court-related services may be unavailable, courts are expected to be open on March 23. It remains unclear when affected services will be restored.An Atlanta Police Department representative said at the press conference that the citys 911 system and its emergency response remain unaffected, but that out of an abundance of caution, police officers are temporarily filing incident reports on paper.Asked whether the city would meet any demands, officials declined to comment and said they would look to federal agencies for guidance in this area.Kennesaw State University Professor Andrew Green, who lectures on information security and assurance, toldhe reviewed screengrabs of information that Atlanta NBC affiliate WXIA-TV reported it obtained from a city employee.Based on that review, Green said its likely this attack is based on a virus from the Samas or SAMSAM family, which dates at least to 2015 and, like typical ransomware, encrypts portions of a disc.Asked how deliberate the attack on Atlanta may have been, Green said: At this point in time, I dont think theres any way to know that, at least publicly. Typically ransomware attacks in general are targets of opportunity.Given the number of agencies involved, however, and the extent of the citys response including holding a multi-departmental press conference late in the business day Green said the attack is likely significant. Based also on information provided to him by WXIA, Green said he was able to determine the extent of the demand placed on the city.Green said the demand was .8 bitcoins per individual system or device, or 6 bitcoins for a mass encryption key. Based on exchange rates on the morning of March 22, the professor said the latter demand equated to roughly $50,000 but, he noted, current wisdom is to not pay the ransom.Current guidance is that you dont pay, that you simply rely on your internal controls and processes to get you restored back up to some levels of functionality. Weve seen situations where either A, the promised decryption key was never delivered; or B, it was delivered and didnt work, Green said.An FBI official confirmed that the Bureau is responding to the incident.We are aware of the situation and we are coordinating with the city of Atlanta to determine what happened, said Kevin Rowson, a public affairs specialist in the Atlanta Field Office.Rowson toldthe Bureau was contacted right around lunch time here, between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. He declined to comment on the amount and nature of the ransom demand.A representative of the Atlanta mayor's office declined to respond when asked to discuss the attack, indicating that her own computer terminal was currently down.Atlanta Director of Communications Anne Torres did not respond to a request for comment. In the latest enhancement of Fort Worth Independent School Districts plan to keep students and faculty safe, the district granted the Fort Worth Police Department access to school video in real time whenever police deem it necessary.School Resource Officers (SRO) already have access via the Internet, their phones and laptops, and now Fort Worth Police will have access at the Real Time Crime Center. Any information gleaned via the surveillance cameras within the district by the Real Time Crime Center can be transmitted to patrol officers on the street.I can access the cameras from my desktop or phone, said Clint Bond, executive director of external and emergency communications for the district. Its giving police the same kind of access. Responding officers who are not assigned to our schools, who are not familiar with our schools, will get up-to-date information as theyre responding.Lt. Bill De La Campa of the Fort Worth Police Department wrote in an email, A properly installed system of school security cameras is important technology and an indispensable aid to deterring and detecting criminal activity. The live feed combined with immediate access to their basic floor plans, provides crucial intelligence needed to successfully confront a school shooter.The district has 143 schools and began installing the surveillance package in 2007 when voters approved a bond package. Voters approved additional bond packages in 2013 and 2017 to help continuing enhancement of the system.Were replacing those cameras that are out of date and expanding in places where we havent had eyes before, Bond said. The cameras are both inside and outside of the schools, 83 of which are elementary schools.The district can afford to have about 45 of the schools patrolled by an SRO. The district pays half of the SROs salary and the police department pays the other half. This is one of the reasons its so important for police on the street to have access to real-time information.The surveillance system is just one of the layers of security for the district, Bond said. We have layers that start with See Something, Say Something. Everybody is involved, everybody has a job when it comes to safety and security, he said. The young kids in school, the teachers, the parents and campus administrators.He said district administrators have a key function. Our function is to provide the security of the buildings as best as we can within the confines of the money that we have. In our new bond package, we will be building schools and one of the things we have to consider are hardened structures, not only for weather because the international building code now requires us to provide structures that are safe against tornadoes. Those are our biggest threat, not shooters.He said the district will involve the police department in an architectural review to glean any information on building safety the department could provide.De La Campa also said the department has long-term strategic plans to incorporate facial recognition technology in the surveillance and combine the two into an interoperable system. 'Whoa, slow down' 'Those seconds matter' Just the beginning (TNS) FRISCO, Texas For one of the nation's fastest-growing cities, discussions about responsible growth are an ongoing conversation.The latest iteration of those talks brought top leaders from government, education and business together on Thursday. The topic? Smart cities and all of the associated buzzwords: innovation, technology, efficiency, competitiveness, sustainability, partnerships.But among these bright minds corralled by the Frisco Chamber of Commerce came some interesting food for thought. While a lot of places are doing a lot of good things, no one has all the tools in place yet to be a smart city."I don't think there's one out there," said Joe Quinlan, chief market strategist for the Bank of America Corp., whose new partnership with the Frisco chamber focuses on you guessed it smart cities.Smart cities are all about moving people, goods, services and data efficiently, Quinlan said. He described creating an environment where companies want to do business and people with talent want to live. It's also a place where lower-income folks are taken care of, he added.At the center of a smart city is big data, said Russell Laughlin, executive vice president of Hillwood Properties. "How do you utilize it, how do you organize it and how do you begin to understand to use it for quality of life?" he asked.Hillwood is the company behind Frisco Station, a new kind of mixed-use development that will also be one of the world's first hubs for the Uber Elevate air taxi service.Laughlin said the goal is to cater not only to today's workforce but those in the future. The younger generation has grown up with technology, prefers a non-traditional workplace and is more willing to accept change, he said."They embrace the disruptive technologies where we sometimes go, 'Whoa, slow down. You're really going to have a flying helicopter taxi?'" Laughlin said. "Yes."Thursday's discussion turned to examples that already make Frisco a smarter city.The public library uses an automated system rather than a human being to sort the more than 2.5 million items that circulate among users each year.Dispatchers recently started using new software to send the nearest first-responders to emergencies rather than route calls by districts. It also classifies calls to improve efficiency. Already, the city has seen response times drop by as much as 30 seconds."Those seconds matter," deputy city manager Henry Hill said.A lot of the efforts around smart cities start in the schools. Frisco ISD Superintendent Mike Waldrip talked about relevant offerings that students will need whether they go on to college or head straight into the workforce. Partnerships with business are key, he said.And Collin College has done a lot to ensure that its course offerings align with what businesses need from their employees."We want to give them the confidence that our programs are preparing graduates with the competencies that they desire," said Jennifer Blalock, the college's vice president of workforce and economic development.Tony Felker, president and CEO of the Frisco chamber, said that Thursday's roundtable discussion is just the beginning.He used the opportunity to announce the chamber's newest initiative, a Smart Cities Leadership Exchange. The plan is to recruit community and business leaders along with elected officials to share ideas with other high-growth cities. The chamber is planning to take a delegation of about 50 people from Frisco to Scottsdale, Ariz., for three days in October to learn some of that area's best practices for growth.Registration for the inaugural trip along with details about the initiative are available on the chamber's website Frisco needs to "challenge ourselves not just to be content with where we are," Felker said.And that means constantly finding new ways to serve the needs of businesses and the larger community as a whole, he said."As soon as you take your foot off the gas pedal, you're coasting," he said. "We don't coast in Frisco." Toto Wolff has warned the FIA and Liberty Media not to take Ferrari's F1 quit threat lightly. As negotiations over a new commercial deal and regulations beyond 2020 loom, many long-serving F1 figures have heard Ferrari's quit threats before. But Mercedes boss Wolff says it's different this time. Referring to Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne, he said: "He has clear ideas about what formula one must look like to be a platform for Ferrari. "If he sees no advantage for the brand, he will turn off the light, quite simply and without remorse," Wolff is quoted by the German-language formel1.de. So Wolff's advice for Liberty Media and Jean Todt?: "Do not mess with Marchionne. Formula one needs Ferrari more than the other way around." (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has hinted strongly that Red Bull is giving serious consideration to a switch to Honda power for 2019. Currently, the Austrian outfit is weighing up between staying with Renault or moving to the Japanese manufacturer. Already for 2018, Red Bull decided to install Honda engines at its second team, Toro Rosso. "We let Honda explain everything they wanted to change for this year," Marko told Bild newspaper. "That convinced us. "I am even learning a few Japanese words, especially so that we can have dinner together in the evenings." Some worry that while Red Bull Racing makes arguably F1's best chassis, it is Renault power that will stop the team from winning the 2018 title. "Red Bull has taken a step, but it takes a lot of money and energy to reach Mercedes," Frits van Amersfoort, Max Verstappen's junior series boss, told Het Laatste Nieuws. "It is mainly about Renault and what it can do with the engine, and I'm pretty sceptical. I do not believe the euphoria that arose after the Barcelona tests. "16 million Dutch think Max is going to be world champion, but we'll only find out in Australia," he added. (GMM) Frederic Vasseur has admitted that Sauber will be lucky to score points in 2018. Days ago, rookie driver Charles Leclerc said his goal for the new season was to score points "in one or two races". Asked if he agrees, the Swiss team's boss Vasseur answered: "Yes. But when you are at our level, to score points it is also necessary that another team has problems. "Charles knows that, and I think he has the honesty and the intelligence to be very opportunistic," he told RMC. Sauber was the slowest team in 2017, but for this year it will be equipped with the latest Ferrari engine and strong Alfa Romeo backing. "We know very well that Mercedes took five years to be champion, and Red Bull took seven. That's life, even for big companies," said Vasseur. "We know we will not do anything tomorrow morning, but we must already be attacking. Even yesterday morning," he added. Vasseur said Sauber will at least get an immediate boost with its new up-to-date Ferrari power. "We make a small leap in performance with the engine, but I also think that for the identity of Sauber we have taken a huge step forward," he explained. "We have many new sponsors, for example, and also in recruitment there are those believing in the project. We have never received as many CVs from engineers who want to be a part of the adventure," said Vasseur. (GMM) Toro Rosso has confirmed rumours Honda made a big step forward over the winter after the Japanese engine manufacturer got more 'freedom'. One analysis of the big improvement made by Honda since the McLaren split is that it now has more room to breathe at its new partner, Toro Rosso. Technical boss James Key confirms: "We told them 'Do whatever you need to do with your engine'. "'Don't worry about the chassis. If it means a little more weight or size, we'll find a way. We just didn't want to put pressure on them," he told Auto Motor und Sport. Key said the outcome of that was good reliability and driveability in the winter tests. He added: "I don't know how much better Renault has got, but we are not far from what we were used to in 2017. "I think the differences that were talked about last year were a little over the top." (GMM) Mark Webber says he would be "flabbergasted" if Ferrari quits formula one. Mercedes is also unhappy about Liberty Media's plans for a budget cap and new engine regulations, but Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne has threatened to pull the Maranello based team out of the sport after 2020. "It's a bit of a chess match at the moment in the background," former F1 driver Mark Webber told the Melbourne newspaper The Age. But he thinks Ferrari will ultimately decide to stay on the grid. "They want to showcase their technology," said the former Red Bull driver. "It's an incredibly high-end, high-technology sport and there is a glamorous (element). I would be absolutely flabbergasted if Ferrari aren't there in '21 but never say never." (GMM) Lance Stroll has admitted Williams needs "time" to get the most from its 2018 car. Once a stronger force behind the top three teams, the British outfit had a less competitive winter with its new car and young driver lineup of Stroll and rookie Sergey Sirotkin. "The design of the new car is more daring, and it will take a little more time to get the most out of it," Stroll told the Canadian newspaper La Presse. "The car is already better than last year's, but that's the same for everyone," he added. "We'll only know in Melbourne where we are." Stroll, still 19, is often dismissed as a 'pay driver', and he admitted that it's "true" that he struggled at times last year alongside Felipe Massa. "But I feel much better in the car now and, with experience, I think I can be much faster," he said. "It's hard to do well in qualifying when, like me last year, the day ends in Q1 or Q2. It's hard to get used to the tyres and find the limit of the car when you only have one or two laps to do it. "But I now know more about what to expect, so I think I can do a lot better in qualifying," Stroll added. He also said he has learned a lot about setting up the car and finding a good balance, and is therefore ready to be the most experienced Williams driver. "Sergey and I have a very experienced team around us, and I'm very comfortable in the team. I know all the circuits and the routine. "I will do my best, and I don't see why I will not have a better season than the last. What remains to be seen is if the car will be competitive," Stroll said. (GMM) Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) has awarded New Flyer a new contract for 154 Xcelsior compressed natural gas (CNG) forty-foot, heavy-duty transit buses (154 equivalent units) over the next five years. The contract includes 28 firm orders with options to purchase an additional 126 compressed natural gas (CNG) forty-foot, heavy-duty transit buses, which will replace end-of-life vehicles with more efficient CNG buses over the next five years. The purchase was supported by local, state, and Federal Transit Administration funding. The Central Ohio Transit Authority serves greater Columbus and central Ohio, covering 1.2 million residents and providing more than 18 million passenger trips annually. Work has begun on the construction of LNG vessels for logistics within the Volkswagen Group. (Earlier post.) Volkswagen Group Logistics, the operator Siem Car Carriers and the shipyard Xiamen Shipbuilding celebrated the steel cutting (equivalent to foundation laying in the shipbuilding industry) with an official ceremony in the Chinese city of Xiamen. From 2019, the two ships powered by liquefied natural gas will carry Volkswagen Group vehicles from Europe to North America. LNG drive systems will significantly reduce the atmospheric pollutants emitted by the ships. Each ship will carry up to 6,500 vehicles. Over the coming months, the shipyard, Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry, will build two LNG ships which will then be operated by Siem Car Carriers and chartered by Volkswagen Group Logistics. The engines for the ships will be supplied by MAN Diesel & Turbo. Yes. I will do my part to conserve household energy usage, even if I'm uncomfortable in my home. No. It is too hot to conserve household energy usage. I already conserve, even before ERCOT requested it. Maybe, depending on the reason ERCOT provides and whether or not I am home during that time. Vote View Results Governor Sensitizing SPLA Soldiers On Cessation Of Hostilities Agreement The Governor of Yei River State Emmanuel Adil Anthony has been sensitizing senior SPLA commanders in Jombo, Morobo and Kaya areas to observe and respect the cessation of hostilities agreement in the area. Yei River State Governor, Adil Anthony speaking to soldiers in the State [Gurtong photo|Daniel Friday] By Daniel Friday Martin YEI, 23 March 2018 [Gurtong] In December 2017, the IGAD and parties to the conflict signed a Cessation of Hostilities (CoH) agreement which shall come into force, and the Parties shall cease all hostile military actions and operations in furtherance of the armed conflict between and among the Parties. It stipulated that all forces shall immediately freeze in their locations, except for movements authorized by CTSAMM for logistical and administrative purposes. The agreement also said within 72 hours of the signing of the agreement, each Party shall notify its commanders and affiliates of this Agreement and the obligations to cease all hostilities. Emmanuel Adil told forces stationed along the Yei-Kaya road to respect the agreement and only act on self defense when attacked by the opposition forces. Adil says the people of Yei River State are tired of the war saying its time to observe the agreement so as to create a path for peace, stability and create enabling environment for the return of the internally displaced persons and returnees so that citizens can start re-building their livelihoods. The Governor urged all the Commissioners and army commanders who are heads of security committees in their respective Counties to speak the language of peace with the armed opposition, open corridors for peace dialogues, reconciliation, and protection of civilians and allow humanitarian access. He explained to the soldiers that his priority is to restore peace, stability, reconcile and unite communities and protection of civilians. Its time for us to speak the language of peace, reconciliation and above all start embracing military civilian relationship so that people can have confidence in the government and all of us can join hands for peace and reconciliation in our communities, said Adil. Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Mugwo County, Natalino Lasuba says his County has started implementing the cessation of hostilities agreement saying his administration is in contact for peace with the armed opposition forces operating in the villages of Mugwo County. Since I came here, we had no military confrontation with the opposition, they are in their positions and our forces are also remaining in their positions. We have been contacting them for peace dialogue and some of them are responding positively while others are still resisting peace he added. Natalino says some of the civilians who fled their villages as a result of the conflict have started returning to clean their home states in the villages. However, Gurtong could not independently reach the armed opposition to comment on the matter. Residents in Morobo County who fled into DR- Congo who returned recently to the area said the situation is improving. Since we came back to our homes in Morobo County, we did not hear any fighting between the Government and opposition forces in the area. Our priority now is that we want peace so that we can return to farm, our children go to school, access better health care service and clean drinking water said Moro Peter a local resident in Morobo town. imaginethat said: No, I don't remember Putin winning by 110 percent. I do remember the rightists defending DJ's congratulatory call hammered Obama for his 2012 call. Clara posted a non-exhaustive list of all Putin has pulled since 2012. Let's see your list of stuff Putin pulled in the six years preceding 2012. Click to expand... I don't remember the exact % but it was obviously flawed. I would think you would remember due to you obvious obsession w/ czar putin. He rigged that election too and the lord of the drones chimed w/ his usual bootlicking when he did. And camel towed the leftist line there i am sure along w/ the other leftist lemmings. Now they suddenly care. Why? Because the legacy media has told them ti, that's why. Definitely not because of some sort of moral epiphany. So now. The White House is confirming that former Fox News personality Joseph diGenova will not join Trump's legal team to advise on the Russia probe. CNN's Brian Stelter reports.Source: CNN (CNN)President Donald Trump's attorney announced Sunday that a veteran Washington husband-and-wife legal duo will not join Trump's team handling the Russia probe. "The President is disappointed that conflicts prevent Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing from joining the President's Special Counsel legal team," his lawyer, Jay Sekulow, said in a statement. "However, those conflicts do not prevent them from assisting the President in other legal matters. The President looks forward to working with them." Sekulow announced Monday that diGenova, a former US attorney for the District of Columbia, would be joining the team, and sources told CNN that he and Toensing met with Trump on Thursday. One source said the President liked the pair's message, but was not convinced they were right for the legal jobs. BUT then, WHO IS right for Trump's legal jobs?? LOL Elect a clown. Get a circus. Jones Act puts U.S. ship safety at risk, research shows Grassroot Institute of Hawaii urges reform of the century-old law News Release from Grassroot Institute HONOLULU (March 22, 2018) >> The Jones Act has contributed to Americas cargo ships being old and outdated, leading to reduced ship safety and greater risk to their crews, according to research from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. The findings give further urgency to calls that the U.S.-build requirement of the Jones Act be updated, says Kelii Akina, president of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. Jones Act ships are much older than the average ship, and the long life-span encouraged by the Jones Act should be partially blamed for the sinking of the El Faro cargo ship in 2015, which led to the loss of life for 33 crew members, Akina said. The research, titled Sacrificing Safety Is an Unintended Consequence of the Jones Act, cited the case of the El Faro, the Jones Act-compliant ship that sank near the Bahamas during Hurricane Joaquin. Investigations by the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board found that age-related factors contributed to the ships sinking and the deaths of crew members. American ships average 33 years old, while the the El Faro, a cargo ship headed from Jacksonville, Fla., to Puerto Rico, was even older, at 40 years old. Foreign-flag ships average 13 years old, while international ships that were recycled by shipbreakers from 2012 to 2015 average 23 years old, according to the Mercatus Centers research. We can attribute the old-age discrepancy, at least in part, to the Jones Act, Akina said. If the Act is endangering American seamen, its time to take a hard look at how we can update the law to protect those workers and restore Americas competitive advantage in maritime shipping. The Mercatus report noted that the United States is the only major country that retains a domestic-build requirement. Voiding the Jones Acts ship-build requirement would usher the U.S. fleet into this century, allowing for our shipping industry to be more safe, technologically sound and economically competitive, Akina said. * * * * * Sacrificing Safety Is an Unintended Consequence of the Jones Act by Thomas Grennes, Emeritus Professor of Economics, North Carolina State University, Mercatus Center, March 21, 2018 On a 2015 voyage from Jacksonville, Florida, to Puerto Rico, the Jones Acteligible cargo ship El Faro sailed directly into Hurricane Joaquin and sank, losing all 33 crew membersone of the greatest peacetime maritime disasters in modern American history. El Faro was 31 years older than the average foreign-flag ship of its type, raising the question as to whether old age might have contributed to the sinking. The Jones Act of 1920 requires, among other things, that cargo voyages between two American ports must use American-built ships. As the United States has lost its comparative advantage in ship-building, US ships have become more expensive, and the average age of ships in the Jones Acteligible fleet has risen relative to the average age of foreign-flag ships. Older ships are less safe, and reforming the Jones Act is the key to increasing safety in US shipping. Technological Change in Ships and Comparative Advantage In its first session following the ratification of the US Constitution in 1789, Congress required a vessel to be American built to be eligible for US-flag registry. In the early days of the nation and through the Civil War, the domestic-build requirement had little effect on US shipping costs, since American shipbuilders had a comparative advantage in producing ships that had wooden hulls and were wind driven. US-flag ships carried most of the nations foreign trade before the Civil War, and they were highly desirable for use in the international export market. As part of the Industrial Revolution, Great Britain began producing iron-hulled ships driven by steam that displaced the wooden, wind-driven ships. Ships equipped with the new technology quickly came to dominate most international sea lanes, relegating wooden sailing ships to a subordinate role. American ships became technologically backward. Further, the British repealed the domestic-build requirement of the Navigation Acts, but the US retained its requirement. By 1900 ships wearing a US flag were still 73 percent sail powered, but the British fleet was only 20 percent sail powered. The result was a long-term decline in the share of US trade carried by US-flag ships and a decline in the US-flag share of the world fleet. The US Merchant Marine has been permanently damaged by the persistence of the American-build requirement. The United States is the only major country that retains a domestic-build requirement. Although this clearly was not the intention [of the build requirement], the policy further accelerated the virtual elimination of U.S. shipping from all trade routes open to foreign competition. US shipbuilders lost their comparative advantage, and American-built ships became increasingly expensive relative to foreign-built ships. According to recent estimates, American-built oceangoing ships cost five times as much as their foreign counterparts. Because of the higher cost of new ships, American shippers have delayed replacing older ships, and the American fleet has gotten older. It is ironic that a law intended to strengthen the US Merchant Marine has contributed to its near disappearance. Age and Technology As technology advances, older ships have become more technologically backward. In principle, older ships could be serviced and refitted with the latest technology, but ship owners have avoided bringing older ships up to date because of the additional costs modernization would entail. Services of American shipyards are more expensive than foreign shipyards, and a 50 percent tariff on the use of foreign shipyards that was part of the infamous Smoot-Hawley tariff of 1933 remains in effect. Safety rules with grandfather clauses have made it possible for older ships to operate legitimately without adding modern technology. For example, El Faro was delivered in 1975 and it was required to follow the safety requirements of 1960 when it sailed in 2015. Safety standards are lower for older ships, and there is evidence that enforcement of standards is also weaker. In the El Faro case, some work was not done before the ship left the port because parts for older ships were hard to find. The Coast Guard has been criticized for outsourcing some monitoring to the Alternate Compliance Program, which was judged to be ineffective. Regarding safety standards for older ships, an American ship captain stated recently that what they have done over the last 20 years is lowering the bar. Their definition of seaworthy gets lower and lower because the ships are getting older and older. Are Older Ships Less Safe? It is undeniable that the Jones Act contributes to the aging of the US-flag fleet. Is there evidence that older ships are also less safe? Marine insurance companies consider older ships to be riskier. Marine insurance is one of the oldest forms of insurance, and insurers have accumulated vast experience evaluating the safety of different types of ships. The importance of age varies with the type of ship, but marine insurers are reluctant to insure ships older than 20 years without extraordinary inspections or higher premiums. A group at Southampton Solent University conducted a comprehensive study of ship accidents taking place in the last 15 years and concluded, The evidence confirms the hypothesis that most ship accidents can be linked with older vessels. . . . The average age of vessels lost was consistently above 20 years, and the average age of lost ships increased steadily over the sample period. National governments inspect foreign ships calling at their ports under the Port State Control (PSC) regime, verifying compliance with the several international conventions of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a specialized agency of the United Nations. One of the nine regional PSC organizations worldwide, the Paris Memorandum of Understanding, reports the highest detention rates for ships older than 20 years and uses age over 12 years as a key risk profile factor. National ship registries with good safety records, such as the one for the Marshall Islands, will not register ships older than 20 years unless owners provide additional information about the safety of the older ships. The financial community is also suspicious about the safety of older ships. Potential investors were once warned about investing in Horizon Lines, once the largest Jones Act company, because they owned too many older ships. Jones Act Ships Are Older and Less Safe US-flag ships are older than those of the world fleet, and the Jones Act contributes to the extraordinary aging of the US fleet. The average age of ships in the US fleet (33 years) is greater than the average age of ships in the foreign-flag fleet (13 years). At the age of 40, El Faro was even older than the average US-flag ship, and it was far older than the average age of international ships (23 years) that were recycled by shipbreakers from 2012 to 2015. In their comprehensive study of the history of US maritime policy, Andrew Gibson of the Naval War College and Arthur Donovan of the US Merchant Marine Academy concluded that the Jones Act contributed to the aging of the US fleet: The insistence that such ships be U.S. built is the Jones Acts most constraining feature; no other nation imposes a similar requirement. U.S.-built ships are so expensive that ships in the Jones Act trades are kept in service long past their normal retirement age, the result being that the fleet is very old, indeed much of it is virtually obsolete. The Jones Act and Railroad Safety The Jones Act has contributed to a decline in domestic water transportation. By making US coastal transportation more expensive, the act has also contributed to diminished transportation safety on land. Some oil shipments that could have used coastal tankers have instead been diverted to railroads. A new study of rail safety has demonstrated that additional oil shipments by rail have added to rail congestion and to the frequency and severity of rail accidents. The El Faro Tragedy and The Age and Safety of Jones Act Ships The El Faro sinking is a tragic example of the relationship between older ships and safety. El Faros owner, TOTE Maritime, operates Jones Act common carrier ocean container shipping services in the Puerto Rico and Alaska trades. TOTE had a different kind of problem earlier on the Puerto Rican route. They were convicted of violating antitrust laws by conspiring to fix freight rates for actions in 2005 and 2008. Before the loss of El Faro, TOTE planned to reposition the ship and continue operating El Faro in their Washington StateAlaska service. In their investigations of the El Faro sinking that ended in December 2017, the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found multiple factors that contributed to the sinking and loss of lives, but both agencies identified factors related to the age of the ship. For example, El Faro was exempt from the current standards for lifeboats. Since it was delivered in 1975, El Faro was permitted to meet the 1960 requirements for ship safety set by the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, rather than the higher standards in place in 2015. NTSB is now recommending closed-top life boats for all ships, rather than the open-top lifeboats used by El Faro. In addition to lower standards for older ships, both agencies cited weaker enforcement of standards for older ships. The Coast Guard was criticized for applying the older safety standards, even though major refitting in 20052006 should have caused them to apply the higher standards for newer and remodeled ships. The Coast Guards Alternate Compliance Program, which was introduced in the 1990s, allows inspections of US-flag commercial ships required under IMO conventions to be delegated to a ships nongovernmental classification society, includingin the instance of El Farothe American Bureau of Shipping. This practice has been accused of resulting in weaker vessel inspection enforcement than would have been performed by the Coast Guard, and it may have been a contributing factor in El Faros loss. Since seamen are the main victims of shipping accidents, it is surprisingly difficult to find public statements from labor union officials expressing concern about possible safety problems with older ships. Reforming the Jones Act to Improve Safety Broadly eliminating the most commercially restrictive provisions of the Jones Actincluding the US-build, US-ownership, and related requirementswould substantially improve the nations economic efficiency and shipboard safety. A narrower but still substantive national reform would be to eliminate only the domestic-build and related requirements, which would completely remove all the incentives to employ older ships. It would revitalize the Jones Act seagoing fleet with modern tonnage. A more moderate reform on a regional basis would be to eliminate the build requirement only for seagoing ships employed in the noncontiguous routes (Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico). Safety reform could be addressed directly by applying the same standards and enforcement to both old and new ships. A reform that might receive the greatest support would be a permanent exemption from the Jones Act for Puerto Rico, which is suffering from a long-term debt problem, as well as a recent hurricane disaster. Conclusion The Jones Act has been justifiably criticized for contributing to higher shipping costs and diverting some transportation from water to land. An unintended consequence of the act is that it contributes to lower ship safety. The US-build requirement of the Jones Act (combined with the high tariff against foreign shipyards and the lower safety standards for older ships) contributes to more dangerous working conditions for American seamen. In spite of the large net cost of the act that is borne by millions of consumers and other end users, the act continues to have strong support from elected officials and union leaders ostensibly representing seamen and shipbuilders. Sponsors of the Jones Act intended to create a stronger merchant marine, but the unintended consequences have been a smaller, older, and more dangerous American fleet that carries very little of US international trade. ---30--- Schatz: Federal Funding For Hawaii To Rise Spending Bill Includes Millions In New and Increased Funding For Veterans Health Care, Clean Energy, and Native Hawaiian Education and Health Care Programs - Schatz: This is the best appropriations bill that weve seen for Hawaii since I got here News Release from Office of Sen Brian Schatz, March 22, 2018 WASHINGTON - Last night, congressional appropriators released a bipartisan spending deal that will increase federal funding for critical programs that benefit Hawaii for fiscal year 2018. U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, successfully advanced state priorities that are now included in the final deal during committee consideration. With this bipartisan deal, Hawaii will receive a sizeable increase in federal funding. This is the best appropriations bill that weve seen for our state since I got here, Senator Schatz said. This appropriations bill will give our state funding to create jobs, help our veterans, protect our environment, and strengthen education and health care programs. The deal will increase funding for clean energy projects and VA clinics in Hawaii, as well as Native Hawaiian health and education programs. The bill also adds billions in funding for programs that support telehealth in Hawaii, affordable housing programs, and the Honouliuli National Monument. NEW AND INCREASED FUNDING FOR HAWAII Native Hawaiian Education$36.4 million, a $3 million increase from last year. This funding supports programs that strengthen Native Hawaiian culture, improve levels of educational attainment, and enhance family and community involvement in education. President Trump proposed eliminating funding for Native Hawaiian education programs in his budget. Native Hawaiian Health Care$17.5 million, a $3.1 million increase from last year. Native Hawaiian Health Centers, run through the Native Hawaiian Health Care Systems (NHHCS) program, provide critical access to health education, promotion, disease prevention, and basic primary care services for thousands of Native Hawaiians. This funding will support five health centers on Hawaii Island, Kauai, Molokai, Maui, and Oahu. Affordable Housing$41.4 million, a $5.8 million increase from last year. This estimated funding supports the HOME Investment Partnership program, which provides resources to help communities build and maintain affordable housing. It also supports the Community Development Block Grant Program, the Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities Program, the Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program, and HUD Homeless Assistance grant programs. Highway and Transportation$177.4 million, a $3.5 million increase from last year. This estimated funding is distributed from the Highway Trust Fund to Hawaii for highway maintenance and new construction of bridges, roads, and bike and pedestrian paths. Bus and Transit$7.6 million, a $2.6 million increase from last year. This estimated funding is distributed among the state and counties for the operation and capital costs associated with operation of public transit systems, including the Maui Bus, TheBus, Kauai Bus, Hele-On Bus, and TheHandi-Van fleets. Veterans Affairs$81.5 billion (nationwide), a $7 billion increase from last year. Funding will be used to: Help fund the construction of new facilities, including a new 120-bed state extended-care facility in Honolulu. The agreement includes a provision freezing all existing projects on the VAs priority 1 grant list in an effort to clear the existing backlog and fund more projects; Improve aged electrical systems and leaking roofs at the VA Pacific Island Health Care System; Help to finally make progress toward a long-overdue community-based outpatient clinic in Hilo and replacement clinic in Kona; Expand VA telehealth services in rural and remote areas; and Fund and expand VA projects aimed at closing gaps in access in rural, highly rural and remote areas. Clean Energy Research for the Military$25 million, a $5 million increase from last year. Hawaii continues to lead in clean energy technology and implementation, which will pay dividends to our state, our economy, and our national security. This funding supports the Navys alternative energy research programs, including those in Hawaii that are working to make the Navy and its installations more resilient and less reliant on fossil fuels. Senator Schatz worked to secure $25 million in funding for the Navys alternative energy research and development, which was not part of the presidents budget. Native Tourism$4.4 million (nationwide), new funding. Funding includes $1 million from transportation and $3.4 million from community and economic development accounts within the Department of the Interior to implement the Schatz-led NATIVE Act , which was signed into law in September 2016. Senator Schatz authored this law to empower native communities, including Native Hawaiians, American Indians, and Alaska Natives, to tell their own stories and share in the benefits of heritage and cultural tourism in the United States. Hakalau Forest and Haleakala Conservation$13 million, an increase of about $800,000 for Hawaii projects. The bill includes $7 million for Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge and $6 million for Haleakala National Park, which will allow those federally protected areas to expand and thrive. National Estuarine Research Reserve including Heeia$25 million (nationwide), a $1.5 million increase from last year. Funding includes a $1.5 million increase, which will be used, among other things, to support the newest Reserve in the system: Heeia. This site demonstrates the value of Native Hawaiian taro cultivation and fishpond aquaculture to maintain a healthy ecosystem. It is viewed by NOAA to be a model site because of its seamless integration of science and culture. Native American Language Preservation$14 million (nationwide). This funding includes $12 million for Native American language preservation activities under the Administration for Native Americans and $2 million in new funding for Native American language immersion schools as authorized under the Every Student Succeeds Act. Senator Schatz co-authored the legislation to create new grants for Native American immersion schools and programs. Telehealth Addressing the Opioid Epidemic$20 million (nationwide), new funding. This funding supports telemedicine and distance learning services to help address the opioid epidemic in rural America. Coral Reef Conservation$26.6 million (nationwide), a $600,000 increase from last year. This funding supports NOAAs Coral Reef Conservation Program, which addresses the top threats to coral reef ecosystems in Hawaii and across the country. Working with partners, NOAA develops place-based strategies, measures the effectiveness of management efforts, and builds capacity among reef managers globally. Compact of Free Association Impact$4 million (nationwide), a $1 million increase from last year. The United States has entered into the Compacts of Free Association (COFA) with the governments of the Freely Associated States (FAS), which are the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. These Compacts allow FAS citizens to live in the United States and receive certain benefits. This funding will help Hawaii provide those benefits to FAS citizens who live and work in the state. Regional Coastal Resilience Grants$30 million (nationwide), a $15 million increase from last year. The spending deal doubles the FY17 funding for this national program from $15 million to $30 million. The program funds projects that help coastal communities and ecosystems prepare for extreme weather events, climate hazards, and changing ocean conditions. In Hawaii, it has funded projects to improve high wave and king tide forecasts, to plan and prepare better for extreme coastal weather, and to restore native Hawaiian fishponds. Environmental Restoration on Formerly Used Defense Sites$248.7 million, a $26 million increase from last year. Hawaii will see a 10 percent increase in funding. Funding supports the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continued efforts to identify and remove unexploded ordnance at former military sites across the neighbor islands and to ensure that military training and activities remain in balance with Hawaiis local needs. Senator Schatz worked to secure an additional $40 million above the presidents budget. Military Construction $317 million, a $119 million increase from last year. $90 million for increment 3 of the Armys command and control facility at Fort Shafter; $73.2 million for a sewer lift station and relief sewer line at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam (JBPHH); $5 million for the consolidated training facility at JBPHH; $19 million for LHD pad conversions to MV-22 landing pads at Marine Corps Base Hawaii (Kaneohe Bay); $5 million for the NSA Hawaii Kunia tunnel entrance; $65.9 million for a communications/crypto facility at JBPHH; $25 million for an operational readiness training complex at the Pohakuloa Training Area; $26.5 million for the Mokapu gate entry control antiterrorism/force protection at Kaneohe Bay. The bill also funds two Energy Resilience and Conservation Investment Program projects to improve energy security and water conservation at military installations in Hawaii. These projects include: $6.2 million for HVAC upgrades at Kaneohe Bay; and $1.4 million for a salt water pumping system for the Navy at JBPHH. PROTECTED FUNDING Japanese American Confinement Sites including Honouliuli$2.9 million (nationwide), despite President Trumps proposed elimination. Funding will support Japanese American Confinement Sites (JACS) grants. JACS grants support the preservation of Japanese American internment camps, including the Honouliuli National Monument, through partnerships with local preservation groups. Grants may also be used to encourage and support the research, interpretation, and preservation of internment camps to help prevent this injustice from being repeated. Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument$500,000. The spending deal authorizes NOAA to make a competitive grant of up to $500,000 for research and management activities in Papahanaumokuakea. The funding is subject to a 100 percent non-federal match, and will bring new resources to keep our Hawaiian archipelago healthy and productive. East-West Center$16.7 million, despite President Trumps proposed elimination. The East-West Center directly supports the U.S. rebalance to the Asia Pacific through cooperative study, research, and dialogue with countries in the region. It is the only U.S. institution that provides a multilateral approach through research and exchange programs. Native Hawaiian Housing$2 million, despite President Trumps proposed elimination. The Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant Program provides financial assistance for Native Hawaiian families to obtain new homes, make renovations, build community facilities, and receive housing services, including counseling, financial literacy and other critical resources to address housing disparities. Hansens Disease Treatment in Hawaii$1.9 million, despite President Trumps proposed elimination. Under this Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) program, payments are made to the State of Hawaii for the medical care and treatment of persons with Hansens Disease in its hospital and clinic facilities in Kalaupapa and Honolulu. Programs supported by HRSA to address Hansens Disease are particularly important in states like Hawaii that have large populations of immigrants from nations with high rates of the disease. Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) $1 million, despite President Trumps proposed elimination. REACH is a national program to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities by providing grants to community-based organizations that work to reduce chronic illnesses and encourage healthy lifestyles in underserved populations. This estimate is based on last years allocation of $1 million in grants to Hawaii. Tsunami Program$31.6 million (nationwide), despite major cuts proposed by President Trump. The NOAA Tsunami Program provides funding to coastal states for preparedness activities such as inundation mapping, disaster planning, and tsunami education. Funding includes $12.2 million for tsunami monitoring, $13.4 million for forecasts, and $6 million for a grant program, which states can compete for, to prepare inundation mapsand assist with outreach and education. Hawaii relies on all three components of the program. Despite deep cuts proposed by President Trump, Senator Schatz helped protect funding for this critical program. OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FOR HAWAII Maui Space Surveillance System$10.4 million. This funding supports DoD programs that help track, identify, and characterize space objects of interest, including the Dynamic Optical Telescope System. High Performance Computing Modernization Program$221 million, despite President Trumps $39 million proposed cut. This funding supports DoDs regional supercomputing centers, including the Maui High Performance Computing Center (MHPCC). Working with Committee leaders, Senator Schatz was able to increase funding for the program by $39 million above the presidents budget to ensure that DoD has the funding it needs to upgrade the technology at MHPCC so that it can continue to support the militarys current and future high-performance computing needs in Hawaii and the Pacific. Endangered Hawaiian Monk Seals and Sea Turtles Protection$8 million. Hawaiian monk seals are the only seal species in the world that live in only one nation's territorial waters. Because these seals are an extremely endangered species, we have a responsibility to help them toward recovery. This funding will continue to support monk seal conservation and recovery. Funding will also support sea turtle conservation activities such as interagency consultation and technical assistance on marine turtle by-catch reduction strategies, cooperative conservation actions in the greater Pacific region, marine turtle stock assessments and scientific research projects. ### Voter backlash no longer a threat to tax hikes? From Grassroot Institute March 23, 2018 When you live in a state dominated by a single party and known for its high taxes, you take your reprieves where you can. But its beginning to look like the last bulwark against yearly tax hikes is eroding. For years, it was conventional wisdom that as tax-happy as the Hawaii Legislature might be, it still would avoid raising taxes in an election year. The threat, however mild, that one might lose ones seat to a challenger or have to defend the tax hikes to unhappy voters was enough to get us a biennial break from higher taxes. But that doesnt seem to be the case anymore. Just last week, the Senate Democratic Caucus issued a press release touting the $72 million in tax revenues they plan to generate from bills the Senate has passed this session. And thats just the Senate tax bills; it doesnt include various proposals to raise or institute new fees or create new programs that would expand the size of government. The Senate has tried to downplay some of the tax bills as efforts to promote tax compliance, as in the many proposals to collect more transient accommodations taxes, especially from vacation rentals. Other bills are aimed at non-residents and investment properties. And there is the continued attempt to create an internet tax, requiring online merchants that sell to people in Hawaii to pay the states general excise tax. There appears to be a persistent belief that its possible to create a tax bill that will increase state revenues without affecting the average Hawaii family. But thats wishful thinking. Every tax increase has the potential of affecting the average citizen. Thats because tax hikes dont happen in a bubble. They pile up and contribute to the states mediocre rankings in economic freedom and business climate. When state Sen. Sam Slom left office in 2016, I pondered whether the loss of his lonely dissenting voice in the Senate would lead to the point where the Legislature would simply enable all spending and taxes that our legislators desired without regard to the consequences. At the moment, Hawaii has the second highest income tax rate in the nation, with more individual rates than any other state (12). We are frequently rated as one of the worst (if not the absolute worst) in the sales tax category, thanks to our pyramiding general excise tax. Were 43 in the Rich States, Poor States index of economic outlook. And were 45th in the Economic Freedom of North America index. Can Hawaii afford another $72 million in taxes? Not if we want to change those rankings. E hana kakou (Lets work together!), Keli'i Akina, Ph.D. For the lack of a better way of saying it, are people so brain-rotted by TDS that they think that China is innocent in all this? Restricting imports is how they make sure they have a trade surplus with every freaking nation on earth. Are people forgetting that China places tariffs and quotas on all goods entering their country? Are people too stupid to know that China uses VAT(valued added taxes) to push up the cost of foreign goods for their domestic consumers? Do you know that they have a 30% tariff against US electronics? Large motorcycles such as Harley Davidson? When was the last time any of the Hollywood studios actually made money from DVD sales in China - when they allow rampant pirating to go unchecked? You actually believe the madness that TDS journalism prints up about China reciprocation? Trump is doing the reciprocation that his predecessors did not dare. Tariffs have always existed in some way. There just simply is no such thing as completely free trade except in TDS delusions. This country declared and fought for independence over tax stamps, a form of tariff, and fought a civil war over tariffs and then rewrote history that is was over slavery. Certain inconvenient facts such as four slave states not seceding from the union and that Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was not even written or delivered until after the Lee's defeat at Gettysburg are just inconvenient truths that are always ignored. History has a way of repeating itself. We have members here droning on and on about the Trump's proposed tariffs against China as if it was the end of the world, yet are too blind to read beyond their TDS news feed that the EU placed even tougher tariffs against Chinese steel last year. (HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Silicon Valley-based private company Theranos Inc., its founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes, and its former President Ramesh Sunny Balwani with raising more than $700 million from investors through an elaborate, years-long fraud in which they exaggerated or made false statements about the companys technology, business, and financial performance. Theranos and Holmes have agreed to resolve the charges against them. Importantly, in addition to a penalty, Holmes has agreed to give up majority voting control over the company, as well as to a reduction of her equity which, combined with shares she previously returned, materially reduces her equity stake. The complaints allege that Theranos, Holmes, and Balwani made numerous false and misleading statements in investor presentations, product demonstrations, and media articles by which they deceived investors into believing that its key product a portable blood analyzer could conduct comprehensive blood tests from finger drops of blood, revolutionizing the blood testing industry. In truth, according to the SECs complaint, Theranos proprietary analyzer could complete only a small number of tests, and the company conducted the vast majority of patient tests on modified and industry-standard commercial analyzers manufactured by others. The complaints further charge that Theranos, Holmes, and Balwani claimed that Theranos products were deployed by the U.S. Department of Defense on the battlefield in Afghanistan and on medevac helicopters and that the company would generate more than $100 million in revenue in 2014. In truth, Theranos technology was never deployed by the U.S. Department of Defense and generated a little more than $100,000 in revenue from operations in 2014. Investors are entitled to nothing less than complete truth and candor from companies and their executives, said Steven Peikin, Co-Director of the SECs Enforcement Division. The charges against Theranos, Holmes, and Balwani make clear that there is no exemption from the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws simply because a company is non-public, development-stage, or the subject of exuberant media attention. As a result of Holmes alleged fraudulent conduct, she is being stripped of control of the company she founded, is returning millions of shares to Theranos, and is barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for 10 years, said Stephanie Avakian, Co-Director of the SECs Enforcement Division. This package of remedies exemplifies our efforts to impose tailored and meaningful sanctions that directly address the unlawful behavior charged and best remedies the harm done to shareholders. The Theranos story is an important lesson for Silicon Valley, said Jina Choi, Director of the SECs San Francisco Regional Office. Innovators who seek to revolutionize and disrupt an industry must tell investors the truth about what their technology can do today, not just what they hope it might do someday. Theranos and Holmes have agreed to settle the fraud charges levied against them. Holmes agreed to pay a $500,000 penalty, be barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for 10 years, return the remaining 18.9 million shares that she obtained during the fraud, and relinquish her voting control of Theranos by converting her super-majority Theranos Class B Common shares to Class A Common shares. Due to the companys liquidation preference, if Theranos is acquired or is otherwise liquidated, Holmes would not profit from her ownership until assuming redemption of certain warrants over $750 million is returned to defrauded investors and other preferred shareholders. The settlements with Theranos and Holmes are subject to court approval. Theranos and Holmes neither admitted nor denied the allegations in the SECs complaint. The SEC will litigate its claims against Balwani in federal district court in the Northern District of California. (The Business Insider) President Donald Trump announces that the US will soon impose tariffs on billions of dollars of imports from China, a move that could eventually trigger a trade war. The tariffs, which function as taxes on imports, come after an investigation by the Trump administration into Chinese theft of US intellectual property. For instance, the country has forced businesses to move their patents to China or disclose their trade secrets to do business there. To read this article: A photograph dated 2 January, 2018, shows the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Katajanokka, Helsinki. Finnish authorities have obtained confirmation that the Finnish citizen who was reported missing in Dubai on 4 March has been found. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and National Bureau of Investigation (KRP) announced yesterday evening they have been in contact with the woman in question. The investigation into her reported disappearance has consequently been discontinued. Statement made by Chuck Schummer; Unfortunately, previous presidents, Democrat and Republican, just stood by as China did what it did to us. President Trump is exactly right. I have called for such action for years and been disappointed by the inactions of both President Bush and Obama, Schumer said. Im very pleased that this administration is taking strong action to get a better deal on China. ...As recently as March 8, the White House was denying reports that McMaster was on his way out, with spokeswoman Sarah Sanders declaring on "Fox & Friends" that "General McMaster's not going anywhere." ...National Security Council spokesman Michael Anton had dismissed reports of McMaster's departure, telling CNN on March 1 that Trump had dismissed stories of McMaster's ouster as "'fake news,' and told McMaster that he is doing a great job." ...Trump has privately expressed irritation with McMaster stemming from differences in "personality and style," a senior Republican source said. The two have never gotten along, and Trump continues to chafe at McMaster's demeanor when he briefs him, feeling that he is gruff and condescending, according to a source who is familiar with his thinking.... Camelot said: Ask the Republicans. They control the whole ball of wax. And yes, republicans always use crisis tactics to justify giving trillions to their lobbyist buddies in the military industrial complex. Click to expand... Well this would then be an issue also correct?PrintThe Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on United States TaxpayersReport by Matt O'Brien and Spencer Raley | September 27, 2017 | View the Full Report (PDF)IntroductionA continually growing population of illegal aliens, along with the federal governments ineffective efforts to secure our borders, present significant national security and public safety threats to the United States. They also have a severely negative impact on the nations taxpayers at the local, state, and national levels. Illegal immigration costs Americans billions of dollars each year. Illegal aliens are net consumers of taxpayer-funded services and the limited taxes paid by some segments of the illegal alien population are, in no way, significant enough to offset the growing financial burdens imposed on U.S. taxpayers by massive numbers of uninvited guests. This study examines the fiscal impact of illegal aliens as reflected in both federal and state budgets. The application deadline is approaching for 2018-19 Ronald Colman Israel Scholarships, administered by the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando. The Federation will accept online applications through 5 p.m. March 30. Applicants should visit http://www.jfgo.org/jten for details. A review committee will select the scholarship recipients, who will be notified no later than April 30. The Ronald Colman Israel Scholarship Fund was made possible by a generous endowment established by the Colman family to encourage Jewish teens in the Greater Orlando area to participate in educational experiences in Israel. The Federation administers the program and awards the scholarships each spring. The program is open to all Jewish teens in grades 9 to 12 who are permanent residents of Central Florida. Gap-year programs are not eligible. Additional application criteria: Teens who apply must be traveling on an organized educational youth/peer Israel program, including adventure travel, community service, volunteer work or academic programming. Family trips are not eligible. Scholarship funds are for programs in summer 2018 and program during the 2018-19 school year (such as the Alexander Muss High School in Israel). Funds will be distributed directly to the sponsoring organization of the selected trip. For additional information, please contact the Jewish Federations Jennifer Cohen at jcohen@jfgo.org or 407-645-5933, ext. 239. (JTA)After a gunman took the lives of 17 students and staff at their high school in Parkland, Florida, students there launched a national campaign to promote gun control. They called for a major protest in Washington, D.C., on March 24, and are encouraging similar protests and student walkouts across the country. And they took a name for their campaign, #NeverAgain, that has long been linked to Holocaust commemoration. Parkland junior Cameron Kasky is credited with coining the hashtag. A Twitter account for the movement, NeverAgainMSD, is described as For survivors of the Stoneman Douglas Shooting, by survivors of the Stoneman Douglas Shooting. Some supporters of the students efforts are put off by their use of Never Again. Lily Herman, writing in Refinery29, said its very uncomfortable to watch a term youve used to talk about your family and peoples own heritage and history be taken away overnight. Malka Goldberg, a digital communications specialist in Maryland, tweeted, When I saw theyre using #NeverAgain for the campaign it bothered me, b/c many Jews strongly [associate] that phrase w/ the Holocaust specifically For a second it felt like cultural appropriation, but I doubt the kids knew this or did it intentionally. Hasia Diner, a professor of American Jewish history at New York University, is unfazed by the students use of the phrase. While some may object to the phrase Never Again being reappropriated for gun control, it does not mean that reaction is appropriate or reasonable, she told JTA. While some have traced the phrase to the Hebrew poet Isaac Lambdans 1926 poem Masada (Never shall Masada fall again!), its current use is more directly tied to the aftermath of the Holocaust. The first usage of Never Again is murky, but most likely began in postwar Israel. The phrase was used in secular kibbutzim there in the late 1940s; it was used in a Swedish documentary on the Holocaust in 1961. But the phrase gained currency in English thanks in large part to Meir Kahane, the militant rabbi who popularized it in America when he created the Jewish Defense League in 1968 and used it as a title of a 1972 book-length manifesto. As the head of the American Jewish Committee, Sholom Comay said after Kahanes assassination in November 1990, Despite our considerable differences, Meir Kahane must always be remembered for the slogan Never Again, which for so many became the battle cry of post-Holocaust Jewry. For Kahane, Never Again was an implicitly violent call to arms and a rebuke of passivity and inactivity. The shame surrounding the alleged passivity of the Jews in the face of their destruction became a cornerstone of the JDL. As Kahane said, the motto Never Again does not mean that it [a holocaust] will never happen again. That would be nonsense. It means that if it happens again, it wont happen in the same way. Last time, the Jews behaved like sheep. Kahane used Never Again to justify acts of terror in the name of fighting anti-Semitism. In the anthem of the Jewish Defense League, members recited, To our slaughtered brethren and lonely widows: Never again will our peoples blood be shed by water, Never again will such things be heard in Judea. Later, however, Kahanes violent call for action was adapted by American Jewish establishment groups and Holocaust commemoration institutions as a call for peace, tolerance and heeding the warning signs of genocide. These days, when the phrase is used to invoke the Holocaust, it can be either particular or universal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tends toward the particular when he uses it to speak about the need for a strong Jewish state in the wake of the Holocaust. I promise, as head of the Jewish state, that never again will we allow the hand of evil to sever the life of our people and our state, he said in a speech at the site of the former Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp marking International Holocaust Memorial Day in 2010. But Netanyahu has also used the phrase in its universal sense of preventing all genocides. After visiting a memorial to the victims of the Rwanda genocide in 2010, Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, wrote in the guestbook, We are deeply moved by the memorial to the victims of one historys greatest crimesand reminded of the haunting similarities to the genocide of our own people. Never again. Then-President Barack Obama also used the phrase in its universal sense in marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2011. We are reminded to remain ever-vigilant against the possibility of genocide, and to ensure that Never Again is not just a phrase but a principled cause, he said in a statement. And we resolve to stand up against prejudice, stereotyping, and violenceincluding the scourge of anti-Semitismaround the globe. Thats similar to how the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum uses the phrase. In choosing the name Never Again as the theme of its 2013 Days of Remembrance, its used the term as a call to study the genocide of the Jews in order to respond to the warning signs of genocides happening anywhere. And Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust survivor and author who came to be associated with the phrase, also used it in the universal sense. Never again becomes more than a slogan: Its a prayer, a promise, a vow ... never again the glorification of base, ugly, dark violence, the Nobel laureate wrote in 2012. Never Again is a phrase that keeps on evolving. It was used in protests against the Muslim ban and in support of refugees, in remembrance of Japanese internment during World War II and recalling the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. And now the phrase is taking on yet another life: in the fight for gun control in America. Shaul Magid, a professor of Jewish studies at Indiana University who is presently a visiting scholar at the Center for Jewish History in New York, told JTA, For [Kahane], Never Again was not this will not happen again because we will have a country but we Jews will never be complacent like we were during the war. That is, for Kahane, Never Again was a call to militancy as the only act of prevention. In Parkland it is a call for gun control. In a way, a call for anti-militancy. (Cleveland Jewish News via JNS)-Judge Dan Aaron Polster of the Northern District of Ohio is presiding over a case involving more than 400 federal lawsuits brought by communities around the country against drug companies and pharmacy chains for their role in perpetuating the opioid epidemic. The case and Polster-a member of Congregation Shaarey Tikvah in Beachwood, and Park Synagogue in Cleveland Heights and Pepper Pike-were covered in a March 6 front-page story in The New York Times It discussed Polster's urging of lawyers to settle the case in a way that will provide meaningful solutions to the crisis, rather than focusing on a trial and "finger-pointing," and how that stance has caused an uproar in the legal community. "I don't think anyone in the country is interested in a whole lot of finger-pointing at this point, and I'm not either," Polster said, according to a Jan. 9 legal transcript of the first hearing. "People aren't interested in depositions, and discovery and trials." Polster told the Cleveland Jewish News that his view of the world through a Jewish lens-and the Jewish obligation to help others-has conditioned him to try to make an impact and affects how he goes about his work. "I take our obligation of tikkun olam [often defined as the 'repair of the world'] very seriously," he said, adding that what he said at that first hearing best reflected how those intentions of helping others may apply to these lawsuits. "I requested that everyone try and work together to come up with some steps that we can take this year, in 2018, to begin to abate the crisis because we are losing 50,000 people or more a year," he said. The transcript read: "With all of these smart people here and their clients, I'm confident we can do something to dramatically reduce the number of opioids that are being disseminated, manufactured and distributed. Just dramatically reduce the quantity, and make sure that the pills that are manufactured and distributed go to the right people and no one else, and that there be an effective system in place to monitor the delivery and distribution, and if there's a problem, to immediately address it and to make sure that those pills are prescribed only when there's an appropriate diagnosis, and that we get some amount of money to the government agencies for treatment." The lawsuits allege that drugmakers used deceptive marketing to push the sale of opioids and targeted vulnerable populations, such as the elderly and veterans, despite knowing that the drugs are addictive. They are also accused of negligent product oversight and ignoring suspicious, large orders of the drugs, according to the Associated Press. On March 6, the city of Cleveland was added to the list of cities filing lawsuits against drug manufacturers and distributors, including other Ohio cities, the state and Cuyahoga County. The city and county have been disproportionately affected by the opioid epidemic. According to Dec. 31, 2017 data projections from the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner, 822 people died last year from drug overdoses. Of those deaths, 522 died from heroin, fentanyl or a combination of both. For context, the county saw 666 overdose deaths in 2016 and 370 drug deaths in 2015, according to the medical examiner. By filing lawsuits, the city and county aim to acquire financial reparations for the costs the city has faced due to the epidemic. Drugmakers targeted in the lawsuits include Allergan, Johnson & Johnson and Purdue Pharma, in addition to three large drug-distribution companies, Amerisource Bergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson. Drug distributors and manufacturers named in the lawsuits have said they don't believe litigation is the answer but have pledged to help solve the crisis, the A.P. reported. The Times article said Polster was chosen by a judicial panel to hear the case based on Ohio being hard-hit by the crisis, its central location to defendants and his experience with multidistrict litigation, or consolidation of many similar cases. Polster told the Cleveland Jewish News that the Times reporter, Jan Hoffman, shadowed him while he tutored a third-grader through the Jewish Federation of Cleveland's Public Education Initiative, among other legal engagements he had that day. He said she "got a pretty accurate picture of me, my strengths and weaknesses." Most recently, Polster and the lawyers involved in the case met March 7 in a closed meeting. According to court documents, "the parties reported important and substantial progress on several fronts, but also identified barriers to a global resolution." "Everyone," insisted Polster on the matter at hand, "is working hard." (JNS)vJ Street and the radical wing of the Democratic Party have worked hard in recent years to chip away at the partys traditional support for Israel. And theyve made some progress, to judge by recent public opinion polls, in the changes in the Democratic Party platform and the number of Democratic congressmen who have signed J Streets letters criticizing Israel. But a speech at the AIPAC conference, made by the senior U.S. senator from New York, Chuck Schumer, has struck a powerful blow against those trends in his party. As the Senate Minority Leader, he is the most powerful figure in the Democratic Party today. What he said to AIPAC has established 10 principles of a new American political consensus concerning Israel and the Palestinian Arabs. And J Street is far outside of it: Tearing down Jewish settlements will not bring peace. Now, some say there are some who argue the settlements are the reason theres not peace, said Schumer. But we all know what happened in Gaza. Israel voluntarily got rid of the settlements there, the Israeli soldiers dragged the settlers out of Netzarim, and three weeks later, the Palestinians threw rockets into Sderot. Its sure not the settlements that are the blockage to peace. Giving more Israeli lands to the Palestinians will not bring peace. Some say its the borders, Schumer told the AIPAC conference. But they forget during the negotiations in 2000, Ehud Barak was making huge territorial concessions that most Israelis didnt like, it was [Palestinian head Yasser] Arafat who rejected the settlement. Its not the borders, either. Making concessions on Jerusalem will not bring peace. Schumer: And [the obstacle to peace is] certainly not because weve moved the embassy to where it should belong in Yerushalayim [Jerusalem]. Its not that either. Most Palestinians do not accept Israels existence. The reason why we dont have peace, Schumer said, is because the fact of the matter is that too many Palestinians and too many Arabs do not want any Jewish state in the Middle East. The Torah says the Land of Israel belongs to the Jews. It may not be politically correct to acknowledge Israels biblical right to the Jewish homeland. But its a fact that is acknowledged by millions of Jews and tens of millions of Bible-believing Christians. We dont have to feel embarrassed to say it, just as the senator was not embarrassed to say: Of course, we say its our land. The Torah says it. Israel remains vulnerable. A generation that has grown up with an Israel that seems almost invincible has to be reminded that creation of a Palestinian state would reduce Israel to just nine miles wide, as it was before the 1967 Six-Day War. Schumer recalled walking through the corridors of his high school in Brooklyn that spring, his radio glued to his ear, deathly worried that Israel would just be pushed into the sea by the Arab onslaught...Now, the younger generation never experienced this. They havent lived through a time when Israels very existence was balanced on the edge of a knife. The Palestinian Authority isnt moderate. The great myth of the Oslo era was that the Palestinian leadership genuinely made peace and rejected terrorism. Too many believe that this Palestinian Authority is moderate and really wants peace. But it does not, declared Schumer. The Palestinian Authority actively supports terrorism. Its not just that the P.A. leaders are unreasonable and extreme; they directly support terrorism. The dark truth, Schumer said, is that the Palestinian Authority, every day, actively aids and abets terrorism. The P.A.s payments to terrorists must cease. The P.A. cant disguise its payments to imprisoned terrorists and the families of dead terrorists. It cant pretend they are social welfare payments. It cannot route them through a third party. What it must do, Schumer said, is to cease making payments to the families of terrorists. Period. The P.A. must stop glorifying terrorists. Its not a case of we have our heroes, and they have theirs. Its not a matter of what they do is their business. Glorifying terrorists encourages more terrorism. The P.A. as to stop calling them martyrs, said Schumer, and stop giving them parades. The leadership of the Democrats, as represented by Schumer, has now in effect joined hands with the leadership of the Republicansand the majority of the American publicwhen it comes to Israel. J Street and other harassers of the Jewish state have been left behind in the dust. A powerful new pro-Israel consensus has been reaffirmed. I hope it continues to grow. Stephen M. Flatow, a vice president of the Religious Zionists of America, is an attorney in New Jersey. He is the father of Alisa Flatow, who was murdered in an Iranian-sponsored Palestinian terrorist attack in 1995. There is a webpage, JewBelong and other web pages on the Internet, whose alleged purpose is to bring Judaism to new heights of contemporary cool, and thereby attract young Jews back to Judaism. The result of their methodology is to dilute Judaism. The current effort is to incorporate and to politicize the seder with contemporary issues, to change the symbolism on the seder plate to include symbols for gay rights and other causes, to read selections from Christian and Muslim sources, and to promote a progressive political agenda that has nothing to do with the original Passover story. Fortunately, this strategy is not going to work for a myriad of reasons. First and foremost is the false presumption that traditional Judaism is not with it and therefore, is in need of change to make it relevant to the issues of the day. How many times have we heard that in the last several decades! The truth is that contemporary issues the progressives wish to deal with can already be found in the Passover story. It is not for the Jewish people to distort this story, but to embrace and continue it. We should welcome non-Jews to participate in the seder tradition, but we should not dilute it. There are many lessons to be learned from the telling of the Passover story for both us and our non-Jewish friends and neighbors that can guide us through the many issues facing contemporary life. The traditional Passover seder tells the story of the singular momentous event in the formation of the Jewish nation: Not only does it tell the miraculous story of a people in slavery being rescued by G-d and their hurried exodus from Egypt, but also of their transformation from a tribal people to a nation. It tells a story of a messenger from G-d who leads his people out of Egypt and then assumes the role of a political leader who has to deal with everyday issues of a developing society. The Passover story is a story of an infant nation, having only recently become bound to a rule of law and ethics, so sophisticated for the primitive times in which these events occurred, trying to define itself. G-d freed the slaves with His strong hand, but he required the Jewish people to wander 40 years in the desert, to transform from a dependent slave mentality to a mentality of independence and freedom. This wandering was not only physical, but also spiritual. Even though G-d had made a covenant with Abraham that the Jewish people were to inherit the Land of Israel, the Jewish people were compelled to do battle to earn their rights to the Promised Land. The Torah mandates us to tell this story, our story, in every generation as if we ourselves were delivered from slavery unto freedom. Why are we obligated to continually remind ourselves that we were slaves in Egypt? It is to give us a deeper appreciation of freedom and equality. It is to strengthen our conviction to help others who have not reached a high level of equality. It is to give us the strength and wisdom to free people from their own prejudices and hatreds. It is to yearn for and work for peace. It is to continue our journey through history and assure our own survival and our heritage, so we can continue to be a catalyst for progress for all humanity. In you wish to comment or respond to any of the contents herein you can reach me at melpearlman322@gmail.com. Please do so in a rational, thoughtful, respectful and civil manner. If you wish to respond by ranting and raving, please go into your bathroom, lock the door and shout your brains out. Mel Pearlman has been practicing law in Central Florida for the past 45 years. He has served as president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando; on the District VII Mental Health Board, as Special Prosecutor for the City of Winter Park, Florida; and on the Board of Directors of the Central Florida Research and Development Authority. He was a charter member of the Board of Directors and served as the first Vice President of the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Central Florida, as well as its first pro-bono legal counsel. Donald Douglas classic transport elevated aviations state of the art with its superb combination of beauty and performance. Within a decade of its 1921 founding, the Douglas Aircraft Company had built a solid reputation. The design talent at the drafting tables and the vision of Donald W. Douglas meant that the company was poised for its biggest success ever. Yet, by the early 1930s, the founder recognized the need to diversify his companys product lines; the Depression raged and military budgets would be subject to drawdowns. The Ford Tri-Motor was on the way out and intimations of the next generation of all-metal, multiengine passenger planes floated about the industry, with Boeing set to deliver its new 10-seat twin-engine Model 247 to United Air Lines. Not wanting to be left behind, Transcontinental & Western Air (later to become Trans World Airlines, or TWA) circulated a letter with specifications for an even higher-performing airliner. Dated August 2, 1932, and signed by Jack Frye, the airlines vice president of operations, the letter went to a half dozen manufacturers, including Douglas, seeking their proposals. In retrospect, Douglas described the letter as the birth certificate of the modern airliner. He convened his senior staff to ponder the question of whether to respond substantively. He weighed the mostly positive input and decided to submit a proposal for what became the first in the Douglas Commercial (DC) family of airliners. Point man on the design was Arthur E. Raymond, a young engineer who had had a circuitous journey to his position at Douglas Aircraft. In 1921 Raymond graduated with honors from Harvard and then earned a masters degree in aeronautical engineering at MIT. One day in 1925 he wandered into the Douglas facilitya converted movie studio in Santa Monica, Calif.looking for work. Douglas was his company of choice, in large part because the year before, its hefty biplanes, the Douglas World Cruisers, had been the first aircraft to circumnavigate the globe in a highly publicized six-month U.S. Army expedition that originated at nearby Clover Field. Raymond persisted day after day until the company offered him a manual laborers job on the shop floor. It was not exactly what he was looking for, but it would be a start at the company he had his heart set on. Coincidentally, within a few weeks Douglas sent a letter to his old professor at MIT, Jerome Hunsaker, asking if he knew someone able to fill an open aerodynamics engineering slot. A telegram soon arrived advising that an ideal candidate, Arthur Raymond, was already at the company. In short order, Raymond went from the shop floor to the engineering offices. Ten years later, after James H. Dutch Kindelberger vacated the top engineering post to head up North American Aviation, Raymond would become the companys chief engineer as it ventured boldly into the civil aviation marketplace. It was a lot of fun to work for Douglas in those days, Raymond later wrote. The DC-3 was virtually unchallenged, for we had such a head start that nobody else could catch up. We knew each other and our customers intimately. We were not overburdened by organization. But best of all, we were proud of our boss and felt that he was proud of us. According to Donald Douglas biographer, Wilbur H. Morrison, one reason for the success of the company was the founders uncompromising standards. In what today would qualify as a corporate mission statement, Douglas laid out his guiding principles via advertising copy distributed in 1921: Those who know most of superfine quality and workmanship find the cost of quality a small item when measured in terms of satisfactory performance. Quality is the basic feature of all successful aircraft. Another reason for the companys rise amid intense competition and challenging economic times could be traced to the founders relationships with his employees. Staying connected to the activities on the shop floor, maintaining the respect of machinists and welders by listening to them, being open to the ideas that might percolate from the hands-on assemblers remained unwavering constants through his tenure. About the early days when it was still possible for the founder to know his employees by name, Morrison wrote, The atmosphere at the Douglas plant was so informal that, if one had a problem, he just went up to Douglas and told him about it. This culture of inviting employees to speak up and share their thoughts animated staff discussions on the design prompted by Jack Fryes letter. The new airplane, to be designated the DC-1, would be an all-aluminum-alloy twin-engine configuration with a standup passenger cabin and retractable landing gear. The wing would draw on the taper in some of Jack Northrops recent cantilevered designs, and the center section would be an integral part of the fuselage, with outboard sections bolted on. Raymond spent considerable time in TWAs offices in both New York and Kansas City clarifying technical matters. The biggest question mark was the feasibility of single-engine flight at every segment of the airlines cross-country route, especially at the highest elevation in New Mexico. The airline had incorporated single-engine operation into its specifications for safetys sake. Douglas launched a legend in 1933 with the DC-1. (National Archives) Douglas launched a legend in 1933 with the DC-1. (National Archives) Tension ran high in long-distance phone conversations between Donald Douglas and Arthur Raymond as the latter attempted to assure the airline that the new design could satisfy the single-engine requirement over the mountainous American Southwest. But Douglas wanted to know, could it really? Raymond, who had been meeting in New York with Frye and Charles Lindbergh, the newly hired high-profile consultant to the airline, reportedly confided, I sure did some fast slide ruling. In the end, Raymond expressed 90 percent certainty to his boss, who considered that level of confidence from his fellow engineer to be bankable. During construction of the DC-1, Douglas decided to install new Wright Cyclone air-cooled engines with new three-bladed Hamilton-Standard variable-pitch propellers. The aircraft had a soundproofed and heated cabin. It was ready for its maiden flight on June 22, 1933, less than a year from contract signing. In keeping with the founders regard for his employees morale, Douglas called for the flight test to occur at lunchtime, when the hundreds of plant workers could come out and watch their handiwork rise from the Clover Field runway. According to Morrison, before the flight Douglas asked his chief test pilot, Carl Cover, if the plane was ready. A smiling Cover said, Shes born to fly, and belongs up there with the angels. When the DC-1 lifted off, Douglas had to turn away from Raymond to hide his tears. The euphoria quickly turned to alarm. Every time the new airliner tried to climb, its engines quit. But when it pointed down, they came back to life. Cover skillfully returned to the airport and subsequent inspection revealed that the carburetors had been installed backwards. The problem was fixed and the DC-1 continued its flight test program, which revealed the need for more tail surface area. Delivered to TWA in December 1933, the DC-1 raised the bar for commercial air transportation. But it was obvious to both the manufacturer and the airline that this airplane, great as it was, could be made even better. A lengthened fuselage would add seats to generate additional passenger revenue. Work soon began on the enlarged airliner, the DC-2. It would have 14 seats (two more than the DC-1), an automated landing gear system, power brakes and improved instrumentation, including an autopilot. Initially TWA committed to 25 DC-2s. The first was delivered on May 14, 1934. Two and a half months later, TWA entered DC-2s in its transcontinental service with one named Sky Chief. It left the East Coast in the late afternoon and arrived on the West Coast the next morning, with three stops along the way. New long-distance speed records were set. The DC-2 was deemed the greatest aviation achievement of the year, and Donald Douglas received the annual Robert J. Collier Trophy on behalf of his companys workforce at a White House ceremony in 1935. That year, another airline executive contacted Douglas for an even bigger passenger plane. Cyrus R. Smith, the president of American Airlines, wanted to quickly update his fleet, which consisted of obsolescent Ford Tri-Motors and Curtiss Condors. Smith believed that he had to outdo his competitors, TWA and United. They had recently converted to the DC-2 and the Boeing 247, respectively, so in Smiths view American would need to offer its passengers something not yet available to the other airlines: sleeping berths in greater comfort and quantity than was possible in its Condors. Americans engineering vice president, William Littlewood, had overseen preliminary design work for an enhanced DC-2 to accommodate the berths. Raymond was brought into the discussions and explored the ideas viability. Things came to a head when Smith called Donald Douglas to advocate for the new airliner. Douglas was reluctant because the DC-2, at the time halfway through its production run, commanded so much of the companys attention, and a new design with its associated tooling would be expensive. Another factor in the eyes of the Old Man, as some now referred to the companys founder, was the impracticality of sleeper planes. He believed berths would not be popular with passengers nor be as economical as seats. Nevertheless, Smith persisted in his phone call, which lasted a few hours. Despite his reservations, Douglas consented to proceed with the DST (Douglas Sleeper Transport). In the end, only seven DSTs were delivered. Douglas intuition was right: Replacing the 14 double-wide seats that converted into sleeping berths with a seats-only configuration that accommodated 21 passengers proved more economical. Through this unpremeditated process, the legendary DC-3 was born. The aircraft dominated prewar commercial air traffic and became indispensable as a military transport during World War II. Using the DC-2 as the basis for the DST, the new plane was slightly more than 30 inches longer and 26 inches wider. It was ready for its first airborne trek on December 17, 1935, the 32nd anniversary of the Wright brothers famous first flight. The press was not called out to the airport, nor did the companys executives bother to stop work and observe the takeoff. The Santa Monica plant was humming right along and the new plane was seen then as an extrapolation of the existing string of airliners. Even the flight crew, led by Carl Cover, considered the initial test hop to be nothing special. The people hatching this soon-to-be-dominant transport were simply too close to the trees to see the forest. The DST rose from Clover Field at 3 p.m. and returned after an hour and a half of uneventful flying, indicative of the quiet excellence that would characterize countless flights of the workhorse in the years to come. The DC-3 carried 21 passengers in relative comfort, and proved easily adaptable to hauling paratroopers in its C-47 version. (Left: Getty Images; Right: National Archives) The DC-3 carried 21 passengers in relative comfort, and proved easily adaptable to hauling paratroopers in its C-47 version. (Left: Getty Images; Right: National Archives) Nine months later, on September 18, 1936, the DST initiated the upgraded American Airlines Skysleeper service. Although the DST was soon superseded by the DC-3, both configurations upped cruise speed to 200 mph, which when combined with the aircrafts range made transcontinental flight possible with just two stops. The miracle of the evolved Douglas design was that it could carry a third more payload than any other competing airliner for half the operating cost. The DC-3 became the first profitable passenger-carrying airliner, not reliant on mail contracts to pay its way. Among domestic carriers, the next to buy the DC-3 after American Airlines were Eastern and United in 1937, followed by TWA and Western in 1938. Many others, including Braniff, Northwest, Pennsylvania Central and Delta, added the type to their fleets before Americas entry into WWII. Within three years of its introduction, the DC-3 accounted for 95 percent of all commercial air traffic in the U.S. From commencement of service to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the DC-3 increased domestic revenue passenger miles more than fivefold. Of the 322 aircraft operated by the countrys airlines in December 1941, 260 were DC-3s. At the prewar peak, 30 foreign airlines operated the DC-3. On the eve of war, the planes scheduled flights represented 90 percent of international air traffic. Interestingly, the first foreign airline to buy the DC-3 was KLM, the Dutch company that had entered a DC-2 in the London-to-Melbourne MacRobertson air race. The U.S. Army Air Corps had a keen interest in the Douglas airliners potential as a troop transport and cargo plane. The trouble was sluggish funding in the prewar years, given the countrys isolationist temperament. During DC-2 production, the Air Corps bought small numbers of the type and modified them under the designations C-33 and C-39. The first DC-3 variant for the Air Corps was delivered in 1939 and decked out in classic prewar markings. Designated the C-41A and configured for command transport, it was initially assigned for the use of Secretary of War Henry Stimson. The aircraft had 1,200-hp, 14-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engines, an upgrade from the DC-3s 1,000-hp nine-cylinder Wright Cyclone SGR-1820 engines. Other modifications included military instruments and communications equipment. Orders picked up in 1940 and again in 1941. The Army issued contracts for the C-47 and C-47A, which had a two-panel cargo door on the port side of the fuselage and a reinforced floor. Wingspan was lengthened by six inches and an astrodome was installed behind the flight deck for navigation purposes. The Army named its new transport the Skytrain, but more often it was called the Gooney Bird. The crew typically consisted of a pilot, copilot and radio operator. Payload could be up to 6,000 pounds of cargo or 28 fully equipped paratroopers on folding canvas seats. It was also possible to outfit the transport as a flying ambulance with 14 stretchers and positions for three medical attendants. Over half the total military variants were C-47As built at new Douglas plants in Long Beach and Oklahoma City. The aircraft designation generally included the suffix DL or DK, denoting the production venue as the Long Beach plant or the Oklahoma City plant, respectively. Paratroopers prepare to board a C-47 on June 5, 1944, for the airborne invasion of Normandy. (National Archives) Paratroopers prepare to board a C-47 on June 5, 1944, for the airborne invasion of Normandy. (National Archives) The C-47B was tweaked for high-altitude operations, most notably for missions over the Hump in the China-Burma-India Theater. A number of these transports, redesignated C-47Ds, saw continued military service into the 1960s, first as navigational systems testing aircraft and then as gunships. The AC-47D gunship model, outfitted with three 7.62mm miniguns on the port side, gained notoriety during the Vietnam War as Puff the Magic Dragon. Another variant, the C-53 Skytrooper, was made to haul up to 28 people in fixed metal seats and to tow a troop- or weapons-carrying glider. The last DC-3 derivative built for the Army Air Forces was the C-117A, a staff transport that accommodated 21 passengers in a civilian-style seating arrangement. The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps operated more than 500 DC-3 derivatives under the designation R4D in a variety of roles, including personnel/staff transport, polar operations, radar countermeasures, air-sea warfare training and navigation training. Before production could be ramped up to meet the militarys needs in WWII, the Army impressed into service about a third of the domestic civilian DC-3 fleet. These were generally leased from the airlines, but not in all cases. Each of these civilian airliners was given a distinct Army designation from C-48 to C-68, based on the Douglas specification number, adding immensely to the alphabet soup of the DC-3 derivatives used by the military. The British Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force operated DC-3 derivatives during WWII. These Commonwealth air forces uniformly referred to the aircraft as the Dakota. The Soviets obtained manufacturing rights from Douglas before WWII. Production began in Moscow and continued in Tashkent during the war. The original Soviet designation of PS-84 was changed to Lisunov Li-2. It is not clear how many of these were built, but estimates range from 2,000 to nearly 5,000. In an extreme case of unintended consequences, manufacturing rights were also bequeathed before the war to Japan. Showa Hikoki Kogyo assembled 416 for the Japanese navy, designated L2Ds. Nakajima Hikoki built another 71. The 487 DC-3 derivatives served as the Japanese navys standard wartime transport, known to the Allies by its code name, Tabby. Regrettably, the extensive use of the type in the Pacific theater led to instances of misidentification among the Allies, with sometimes fatal results. Altogether, Douglas Aircraft built 10,654 civilian DC-3s and their military variants. Aftermarket modifications have included luxury interiors for corporate conversions and turboprop upgrades to increase the planes freight capacity. The talented and close-knit Douglas engineers who conceived the DC-3 amid the Depression had no way of knowing that their creation in modified form would become the most ubiquitous Allied transport of the war. The aircraft served in all theaters, providing timely delivery of men and materiel. Arguably, its finest hour came on June 6, 1944, when more than a thousand C-47s and related variants participated in D-Day operations, dropping paratroopers and towing troop-laden gliders into battle. After the war, General Dwight Eisenhower, the supreme Allied commander, said that the majority of senior officers under his command considered the militarized version of the DC-3 to be one of four pieces of equipment most important to winning the war in Africa and Europe. The others were the bulldozer, the jeep, and the two-and-a-half-ton truck. Eisenhower went on to note, Curiously, none of these is designed for combat. DC-3s, like this Air Colombia example, continue to fly cargo and passengers in South America and other locales worldwide. (Alamy) DC-3s, like this Air Colombia example, continue to fly cargo and passengers in South America and other locales worldwide. (Alamy) The DC-3 wont die. Of the roughly 400 still being flown worldwide, some carry skydivers, others fly tourists to remote locales, a few still deliver freight, while yet more are flyable museum pieces dropping in at airshows to share the types rich history. The DC-3 has outlasted most of the airliners and cargo planes that entered service after it started plying routes for American Airlines in 1936. That longevity speaks volumes about its efficiency and durability. Rarely is an airplane at once a utilitarian and aesthetic success, but Donald Douglas and his colleagues managed to pull it off with this fine-tuned machine. Contributing editor Walter J. Boyne and Philip Handleman are the authors of The 25 Most Influential Aircraft of All Time, from which this article is excerpted. Copyright 2018 by Walter J. Boyne and Philip Handleman. Used by permission of Globe Pequot (rowman.com). Against seemingly overwhelming odds, the diminutive Fourteenth Air Force held the line against the Japanese in China during World War II. After almost six months of continuous combat duty in China with the Fourteenth Air Force, Sergeant Hobart Jones, the nose-gunner and engineer of a Consolidated B-24J named Tough Titti, was no stranger to surprises. One experience he later vividly recalled happened in midsummer 1944, while he and his unit, the 375th Bomb Squadron, 308th Bomb Group, were leaving the target area, 18,000 feet over Nanking. Wed just assembled into a tight defensive formation with maybe 100 feet separating our planes, Jones said. And several thousand feet over our heads, our escortsa mix of P-40s and P-51swere in the middle of a dogfight with a bunch of Jap fighters. I happened to be looking over to my left when this Jap fighterI believe it was an Oscar [Nakajima Ki.43]just seemed to drop out of nowhere and form up right behind our left wing. Jones threw up his hands and mimicked the shock that had been on his face at the time. I thought I was hallucinating! he declared with a laugh. The Jap pilot and I were staring at each across a space of maybe 50 feet, maybe less. The guy had on a fur-trimmed helmet and sported a bushy mustache, and he was grinninggrinning at me! Nobody could take a shot at him because our planes were in each others line of fire. After what must have been only two or three seconds of looking at this guy, my headset erupted with the voice of my pilot screaming, Step up! Step up! He was calling the plane next to us, telling them to move so we could get a clear shot. But the exact instant the other ship moved, the Jap flicked over on his back and split-essed right out of thereI mean, got clean away without one shot being fired! In a one-year odyssey, Jones had left his family farm in Shady Grove, Ark., enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF), trained all over the United States and arrived in China in February 1944 as a buck sergeant. In the States, wed all [B-24 crews] been trained strictly for high-altitude, daylight precision bombing, Jones said, but that turned out to have little bearing on what they did with us in China. After we got there, we were required to fly whatever kind of mission the military situation called for from day to day. It wasnt unusual, he explained, for us to fly a long mission to Hong Konga 1,400-mile round trip from our base at Chengkung [near Kunming]where wed be dropping bombs on the docks from 20,000 feet; then, a day later, get ordered to make a low-level bomb run on a bridge or a railroad tunnel. To Jones, low meant as near to the ground as they could get and still clear obstacles, at times down to 50 feet above the ground. Sometimes wed go right down on the deck and strafe, he said, to shoot up the Jap supply boats on the rivers or maybe a train if we caught one. Jones recalled that the 375ths most persistent problem wasnt combat requirements but supplies: Our B-24 outfits normally had to fly three to five resupply trips to India and back just to get everything we neededgas, bombs, ammunition and so onto mount one combat sortie. Of course that meant flying the Hump, a three-and-a-half-hour trip each way, and most of the time we did it in overloaded airplanes. [The Hump was the name American aircrews had attached to the Himalayan mountain range.] And the shortage of parts made it impossible to keep a lot of the B-24s in service. The biggest number of planes I ever saw the 308th put in the air at one time was 28, and that was only once. Consolidated B-24J "Tough Titti" of the Fourteenth Air Forces 308th Bomb Group was photographed by another B-24 crewman over China. Consolidated B-24J "Tough Titti" of the Fourteenth Air Forces 308th Bomb Group was photographed by another B-24 crewman over China. During World War II, the China-based Fourteenth Air Force was not only the most short-lived of the numbered air forces, existing for a period of less than 34 months (March 5, 1943 to December 31, 1945), it was the smallest to operate in a combat theater, reaching a peak strength of just six air groups and four auxiliary squadrons (approximately 700 airplanes) by the end of 1944. It holds the singular distinction of being the only numbered air force to have been wholly created, organized and operated within a war zone. Despite its limitations, the Fourteenth went on to produce a truly astounding war record: 2,908 enemy aircraft destroyed or damaged against 193 combat-related losses of its own; 2.1 million tons of shipping sunk or damaged; 99 warships sunk or destroyed; an estimated 18,000 small rivercraft (carrying enemy troops and supplies) destroyed; and 1,225 locomotives, 817 bridges and 4,836 trucks destroyed. Added to that were approximately 59,500 Japanese troops killed in close air support engagements. For most of its life the Fourteenth Air Force was commanded by one of the most controversial USAAF leaders of the wartime period, Maj. Gen. Claire Lee Chennault. The ultimate success of the Fourteenth did little or nothing to relieve the longstanding estrangement between Chennault and his superiors at the Pentagon. When the Japanese threat in China had been neutralized, he was relieved of command. On September 2, 1945, during the surrender ceremony aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, five-star Supreme Commander Douglas MacArthur was reported to have asked, Wheres Chennault? He had not been invited. Unlike the other air forces created during World War II, the Fourteenth was not the typical, planned-from-the-top military organization; in fact, the U.S. military leadership, from the Joint Chiefs of Staff on down, was unanimously opposed to the idea of establishing a separate numbered air force in China. All of them believed that such a venture would be a tactical and logistical rat hole down which money, materiel and manpower needed elsewhere would be wasted. Yet, even before the United States entered the war, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was anxious to make some gesture to assist the beleaguered Chinese. Chiang Kai-sheks Chinese Nationalist government had been embroiled in a war with Japan since 1937 and had repeatedly begged the United States for help. So in April 1941, against the advice of his military staff, Roosevelt authorized the Chinese to recruit pilots and ground crewmen from the U.S. military services for a civilian fighter unit to be called the American Volunteer Group (AVG). He also allowed the Chinese government, through a civilian cover organization, to purchase 100 Curtiss Hawk 81A-3 fighters (export models of the P-40C) that had been earmarked for Britains Royal Air Force. The man selected by Chiang to organize, train and lead this force was ex-U.S. Army Air Corps captain Claire Lee Chennault, who since 1937 had functioned as Chiangs chief adviser on military aviation matters. Though classified as an eccentric by his former Air Corps peers, Chennault had nonetheless spent his time well in China, not only learning to effectively deal with his Chinese hosts but also becoming an expert on Japanese tactics and capabilities. The earliest mission of the AVG, which became famous as the Flying Tigers, was to protect the vital rail-, road- and sea-based supply routes between China and Burma. Despite noteworthy tactical successes (the AVG was ultimately credited with the destruction of 286 Japanese aircraft against a loss of 14 of its own pilots), Chennaults small fighter band was unable to reverse the overwhelming tide of invading Japanese forces, and the Burma supply routes were completely sealed off in early March 1942. China was effectively severed from surface contact with the rest of the world, and the only means of resupply was by air via Indiaover the Himalayas, the highest mountain range in the world. When the civilian AVG was disbanded on July 4, 1942, it was incorporated into the China Air Task Force (CATF), a subcommand of the AAFs India-based Tenth Air Force. Claire Chennault was recalled to active duty in the AAF at the rank of brigadier general and placed in overall command of the CATF. Starting with one fighter group consisting of 51 P-40s inherited from the AVG, the CATF was soon augmented by North American B-25s of the 11th Bomb Squadron and tasked with the broad responsibilities of interdicting enemy movements, protecting the southern and eastern approaches across the Himalayan Mountains, and defending the China terminals and bases. The CATFs combat tactics were characterized by mobility and surprise, attacking enemy supply lines, dock facilities, military installations and airfields across a 1,000-mile battle front while simultaneously being prepared to take off and intercept incoming Japanese aircraft that had been sighted by the Jing-Bao warning net. Originated by the AVG, the term Jing-bao meant to be alert, and became the name for a system of observers scattered throughout the China front who reported enemy aircraft movements using a combination of radio and semaphore signals. By way of this system, CATF fighters were regularly able to intercept Japanese aircraft long before they reached their targets. And as the CATF planes were moved from one forward base to the next, their spinners and markings were often repainted to mislead Japanese observers. The tactics and the warning net were effective enough to cause Japanese intelligence analysts to grossly overestimate American air strength in China through the balance of 1942; they believed the CATF was operating a force of at least 200 planes when, in fact, there were no more than 30 operational at any one time. As new combat units arrived in late 1942 and early 1943 to boost CATF numbers, the stress on the supply system intensified. The recently constituted India-China Division of Air Transport Command (ATC) was unable to keep up with the combined demands of the Chinese army, U.S. forces in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater and the CATF, a problem made worse because nearly all the CATF bases were at the ends of the supply lines. Priorities on materials were set by Lt. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell, the U.S. theater commander in China, and Maj. Gen. Clayton L. Bissell, Tenth Air Force commander, to which the CATF was technically subordinate. The situation was further aggravated by Chennaults habit of consulting directly with Chiang Kai-shek or the White House and ignoring the normal chain of command, a practice greatly resented by Stilwell and Bissell. Out of this fractious command relationship the CATF was reconstituted as the Fourteenth Air Force on March 5, 1943, with its headquarters in Kunming. Although Roosevelt was generally not in the habit of interfering with the prerogatives of military leadership, in this instance he created a wholly new numbered air force by presidential order. As part of the same order, Chennault was promoted to the rank of major general and given command of the new organization. In contrast to the military chain of command (Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall termed Chennault disloyal, Chief of the AAF Henry H. Arnold rated him a crackpot, and Stilwell referred to him as a jackass), Roosevelt admired the feisty Chennault, whom he had met in 1941. But perhaps more important, he knew that Chiang Kai-shek would have been angered by the appointment of anyone else. Kunming airfield, shown here under construction by Chinese laborers, saw frequent use by the Fourteenths aircraft. (Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis) Kunming airfield, shown here under construction by Chinese laborers, saw frequent use by the Fourteenths aircraft. (Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis) Although the Fourteenth had been elevated to the status of a theater-level air force, its mission remained essentially guerrilla in nature: to disrupt, harass and confuse the movements of a numerically superior enemy. According to several references, Fourteenth Air Force headquarters perceived itself as responsible for the following military objectives: (1) defend the Allied supply lines over the Himalayas; (2) seek and destroy enemy aircraft and troop concentrations; (3) destroy enemy military and naval installations; (4) interdict and destroy enemy shipping along Chinas coastline and inland waterways; (5) interdict and destroy enemy supply lines within China, Indochina, Thailand, Burma and Formosa; (6) provide close air support to Chinese ground forces; and (7) encourage the Chinese resistance to assist AAF airmen in enemy-occupied territories. In short, they were to stall Japanese forces as long as possible, not defeat them. It would ultimately be the job of Chiang Kai-sheks armies to repel the Japanese, but in early 1943 Chiangs poorly trained and ill-equipped forces could scarcely defend the territory they already held. Chennault recommenced combat operations as the Fourteenth Air Force with an arsenal of about 170 aircraft, mostly obsolete P-40s, one reconnaissance squadron of Lockheed F-5s (photoreconnaissance version of the P-38) and one squadron of B-25s; however, lack of logistical support caused the B-25s to be grounded for much of early 1943. Opposing the American airmen at that time was a force of approximately 450 aircraft belonging to Japanese army and navy units. The Fourteenths numbers were bolstered in May by the arrival of B-24s of the 308th Bomb Group (Heavy), which had the effect of greatly extending the commands radius of attack, especially to the faraway centers of Japanese shipping and supply, and, as described by Hobart Jones, the B-24s possessed the added advantage of being logistically self-supporting. Throughout the spring and summer of 1943, the Fourteenths two P-40equipped fighter groups, the 23rd and 51st, were called on to perform a variety of tasks: protection of AAF and Chinese bases from enemy air attacks; fighter sweeps near Japanese bases that were designed to lure enemy fighters into action; fighter-bomber interdiction of Japanese supply routes, particularly along the Burma Road in the southeast; and escorting the B-24s and B-25s on bombing raids against major enemy military and supply installations. When scrambled via the Jing-Bao warning net, there were sometimes only two or three P-40s available to oppose formations of 30 to 40 Japanese bomber and fighter aircraft, but such measures were often sufficiently disruptive to cause the bombs to miss their intended targets. The Chinese-American Composite Wing (CACW) became a part of the Fourteenth Air Force in July 1943. The CACW consisted of Chinese aircraft and crews trained under Lend-Lease with a combination of Chinese and USAAF officers serving as the wings group, squadron and flight leaders. Organized as two fighter groups of P-40s and one bomber group of B-25s, CACW units began their first combat operations in October 1943. The coming in of the CACW effectively gave Chennault command and control over all tactical aviation operations occurring within the China theater. As increasing numbers of aircraft and aircrews enabled the Fourteenth to expand its reach, the command was split into two composite wings in December 1943, roughly dividing operations between east and west China along the 108th meridian. The 69th Wing, commanded by Colonel John Kennedy, was headquartered in Kunming and assumed responsibility for an area that extended west to Burma and included the Hump supply lines; the 68th Wing, commanded by Colonel Casey Vincent, which operated as more of a frontal unit, was given the responsibility for an area that extended from Shanghai to Indochina and also included the shipping lanes in the South China Sea and the Formosa Strait (today known as the Taiwan Strait). Sustaining the 68ths widespread combat operations would ultimately prove problematic because of the great distances from normal supply lines, with the result that its aircraft were sometimes grounded for lack of fuel. Pilots chat with Chennault near a newly arrived North American P-51B, one of a handful sent to replace the Fourteenths aging P-40s in 1944. (U.S. Air Force) Pilots chat with Chennault near a newly arrived North American P-51B, one of a handful sent to replace the Fourteenths aging P-40s in 1944. (U.S. Air Force) Starting the new year with 285 aircraft on hand, Fourteenth Air Force operations in the early months of 1944 were characterized by a lull in activity by Japanese ground forces in China and poor weather conditions. The fighters, whose ranks were now augmented by P-38s of the 449th Fighter Squadron and a handful of North American P-51s to replace the aging P-40s, continued to fly sweeps and fighter-bomber strikes, while the B-25s simultaneously concentrated on river and sea sweeps along the Yangtze River and South China Sea. Heavy bombardment operations were delayed in the first four months of the year due to fuel shortages. During the same period, however, Japanese forces in China had been building up to mount an offensive aimed at opening a northsouth corridor from Hankow all the way to Indochina. Such a move would not only create overland rail routes between their territories, but would also eliminate many of the forward bases from which the Fourteenth was flying antishipping strikes. The Japanese offensive, a three-pronged attack involving a force of 250,000 men, began on April 17, 1944, and continued off and on through the remainder of the year, eventually pushing the Chinese lines another 200 miles inland from Chengchow to Indochina and causing the Fourteenth to lose 13 of its bases in eastern China. Even with the loss of valuable bases, the Fourteenth was not deterred by the Japanese onslaught. With two new groups of Republic P-47s and two more squadrons of B-25s joining it in the spring and early summer of 1944, the Fourteenth began a series of intensive interdiction strikes along the newly established northsouth Japanese corridor. Chief among the targets were the railwaysbridges, tunnels, locomotives and marshaling yards. At the same time, the B-24s of the 308th Bomb Group stepped up their attacks on Japanese shipping in the sea lanes and the rivers, which included laying mines, and fighter units flew hundreds of sorties in support of the Chinese army all over the huge frontal area. During the time the Japanese offensive in China was in full swing, Boeing B-29s of the XX Bomber Command began arriving in the CBI for eventual deployment from bases located in the Chengdu area of central China. Taking their orders directly from the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, however, the B-29s were officially attached to the Twentieth Air Force and in no way connected to tactical operations within China itself but intended for strategic attacks on the Japanese Home Islands. Chennaults repeated demands to use the Superforts against the Japanese armies in China only served to widen the chasm between himself and the Joint Chiefs. The B-29s were ultimately withdrawn from the CBI in early 1945 and moved to the Mariana Islands. In spite of Japans 1944 offensive, the India-China Division of the ATC continued to increase the tonnage of supplies being delivered across the Hump, which in turn permitted the Fourteenth to further expand its operations. All through the fall and winter of 1944, new Merlin-equipped P-51s began to arrive in China to form the new 311th Fighter Group and also replace many of the war-weary P-40s operating in other groups. During this period, other new aircraft and crews were added to the Fourteenths roster, such as two squadrons of troop-carrying Douglas C-47s and the 426th Night Fighter Squadron, equipped with Northrop P-61 Black Widows. Before years end, the commands inventory had risen to a force of 700 aircraft versus an estimated Japanese force of 1,200 planesstill outnumbered but in far better shape than the year before. The new year1945turned out to be a time of major transformation for the Fourteenth Air Force. Its determined interdiction efforts during the enemy offensive had borne fruit: The Japanese advance was permanently stalled, and counterattacking Chinese forces, supported by the Fourteenth and the CACW, were starting to regain territory. Equally as important, the Allies, after a yearlong push, had regained enough of Burma by February 1945 to reopen the overland supply routes from India. The Fourteenth was now positioned to become the conventional striking force envisioned by Chennaultone that would eventually thrust at the Japanese mainland. But the reopening of the supply lines brought about sweeping changes in the CBI. The CACW was abolished, and the Fourteenth and Tenth air forces were placed under a unified command, the China Theater Air Forces (CTAF). While Chennault might have seemed the most logical choice to lead the new command, it was given instead to Lt. Gen. George Stratemeyer. Following FDRs death, Generals Marshall and Arnold made plans to limit Chennaults role by giving him a job in one of CTAF subcommands. It probably surprised no one when Chennault refused. On July 8, 1945, Maj. Gen. Claire Lee Chennault retired for the second time. Plans to use the CTAF in support of the invasion of Japan never materialized, and what had once been the Fourteenth Air Force disappeared from China by the end of 1945. E.R. Johnson is a frequent contributor to Aviation History. Additional reading: Kenneth C. Rust and Stephen Muths Fourteenth Air Force Story in World War II; and Malcolm Rosholts Days of the Ching Pao: Photographic Record of the Flying Tigers14th Air Force in China in World War II. This feature originally appeared in the November 2005 issue of Aviation History. Subscribe here! In defeating the Roman army, a Teutonic prince turned the tide of modern history. SEPTEMBER AD 9. SOME 18,000 ROMAN LEGIONAIRIES AND THEIR SUPPORTING COHORTS are slogging through a dank German forest on their way to suppress an uprising by a handful of Teutonic tribes. The skywhat little of it can be glimpsed through the tops of the tall treesthreatens rain that could slow their progress even more. As they move along a narrow defile beside the Kalkriese Hill in northern Germany, the three legions are thinned into a slender, sluggish column, just a few men abreast and stretched out precariously over several miles. Gaul and the Germanic lands east of the Rhine River have been peaceful for some time, but the legionaries are marching in territory to the east of the Rhine, a sweeping, forested wilderness extending from present-day Poland to the Netherlands and peopled by fierce tribes. Three years before, Roman armies had been poised to make ambitious eastward advances, hoping to incorporate all of the lands between the Rhine and Elbe Rivers into the empire, but then a titanic revolt in Pannonia had diverted the attention and manpower of the Roman military. Yet even during the Pannonia crisis, five legions had continued to guard the imperial provinces of Germania Inferior (Lower Germany) and Germany Superior (Upper Germany), and the friendly tribes on the west side of the Rhine had continued their gradual Romanization. It had been a leader from one of those allied tribes, Arminius, who had warned of the uprising that the legionairies are now marching to suppress. A 25-year-old prince of the Cherusci, Arminius speaks Latin and has been recognized by the Romans for his valor in past battles. Moving three legions, six auxiliary infantry cohorts, and three auxiliary alae, or wings, of cavalry through a dense forest is no easy task. Thousands of pack animals weighed down with supplies have to be coaxed and prodded carefully through the woodland and along the swampy ground. The Romans are forced to hack their way through the trees or throw temporary bridges across rugged stretches so that men, animals, and wagons can cross. Making matters worse, the weather has turned ugly, and a relentless downpour drenches the men as they trudge on. Their commander, Publius Quinctilius Varus, a seasoned administrator but inexperienced military leader, is not worried, confident in the competence of his soldiers and the tribal allies on the route of his march. In fact, accompanying him are leaders from various friendly tribes. As the marching column struggles on through the thickest part of the forest, the unsuspecting Varus remains untroubled as one after another of these leaders makes an excuse for dropping away from the Roman column. Then, deep in the forest, the air fills suddenly with Teutonic war cries. The legionaries, split into penny packets up and down the defile, are taken completely by surprise. They grimly draw their short swords, ready their javelins, and prepare to defend themselves, but their position is nearly hopeless. The curses of soldiers goading their animals forward now gives way to the shouts and cries of men fighting for their lives, as a rain of Germanic spears shower them. THE CORNERED LEGIONARIES DESPERATELY TRY TO FORM SOME SEMBLANCE OF A DEFENSIVE LINE wherever they stand. Initially, the Germans hang back, choosing to hurl missiles from a distance, but when they see that the Romans cannot mount effective counterattacks, they close in. Throughout the forest, Romans and Germans fight each other in wild melees beneath the rain-soaked boughs of the trees until darkness brings a reprieve from battle, and the Romans set up camp for the night. The next day, abandoning their wagons, the Romans continue their march, hoping that they have made it out of the death zone. Initially, they pass through into open country, but then the way forward takes them back into the forest, where the Germans are waiting again. In the confined space of the woods, they are again unable to form up for a proper charge against the enemy, and they suffer more terrible losses. Dogged by bad luck, the surviving imperial forces are pummeled by another heavy rainstorm and by high winds as they march on the following day. Shields become waterlogged and too heavy to hold high; weapons grow slick in their hands and become impossible to wield. The Germans, lightly equipped and quicker than the armored enemy, are less hindered by the pouring rain and reinforced by more men. Having heard that the Romans are cornered, other tribesmen have left their lands in large numbers to have a go at the beset legionaries and come away with a share of the plunder. Seeing the swelled ranks of the enemy, the already wounded Varus knows there can be no escape. Refusing to be captured alive and tortured to death, the doomed general and his senior officers commit suicide in the time-honored Roman manner: They plant their swords in the ground, points up, and impale themselves. With their general and higher officers dead by their own hands, the fight goes out of the surviving Romans. They are cut down by the exultant Germans, who quickly begin looting their corpses. Scarcely any of the 18,000 men in Varuss ill-fated army make their way back to Roman territory. Never was there slaughter more cruel, Roman historian Florus would later write, than took place there in the marshes and woods. Varuss head is cleaved from his corpse and presented to Arminius, the allied chieftain who in fact had initiated the plot against the Romans. Arminius sends it on to Maroboduus, one of his Germanic rivals, perhaps as a ploy to incite a general rising across Germany. But Maroboduus refuses the bait, immediately sending the gory trophy on to Rome and staying out of Arminiuss war. Across Germany, however, the massive bloodletting continues as isolated and unsuspecting Roman detachments, thinking they are in friendly territory, are slaughtered by local tribes. If the Romans had any good fortune that baleful September it was that their control in the Rhineland survived, thanks mainly to the presence of mind of Lucius Nonius Asprenas, Varuss nephew. A commander in Germania Superior of two legions that had not taken part in the march, he immediately went on the defensive, making sure that no tribes on the western bank of the river had an opportunity to rebel. Soon, the general Tiberius, stepson of the emperor and commander of earlier successful campaigns in Germany, was on the scene, bolstering defenses and conducting punitive operations of his own on the eastern side of the Rhine. By the time Tiberius went into winter quarters, the threatening situation along the northern Rhine had been contained. Historians can only speculate as to what prompted Arminius to hatch his plot against the Romans. His earlier military service to the empire had been of such distinction that he had risen to equestrian rank, just one rung below that of Romes senatorial class. He had probably received an education in Rome, and he likely seemed as Roman as the Romans themselves. Yet he may have seen in the creeping Romanization of his homeland the death knell of his culture and its permanent incorporation into the empire. Perhaps, too, he had seen Caesars voracious tax collectors at work and refused to let them take from his people anymore. In any case, Arminius seems to have decided that the Roman presence in Germany must come to an end. Conspiring with other Germanic leaders, Arminius contrived to lure Varus and his legions out of their forward bases at Xanten and Haltern on the eastern side of the Rhine with the news that nearby tribes were in open revolt. The route there would take the Romans deep into the forest, where they would be vulnerable. In a pitched open battle, the legionaries were nearly invincible, but in thick woods, their many tactical advantages would be lost. ROME HAD BEEN READYING ITSELF FOR A FESTIVAL CELEBRATING VICTORY IN PANNONIA when word of the massacre in Germania arrived. The triumphant mood in the city quickly evaporated, and the 71-year-old emperor Augustus was shattered by the news. The second century ad Roman historian Suetonius says the stricken emperor yelled Quinctilius Varus, give me back my legions! as he banged his head on the doors of the palace. For months he would cut neither his hair nor his beard. For Augustus, the period following the disaster was a time of supreme crisis. The prospect of an invasion of Italy by the barbarians seemed terrifyingly real. He also feared that the news of such a damaging blow to the Roman army might cause the Germans and Gauls who filled the city of Rome to rise up against the empire. To safeguard against an insurrection, he instituted night patrols in the streets, dismissed his German bodyguard, and banished Romes Germans and Gauls to the countryside. The army was critical to Augustuss grip on power. He made sure to keep almost all of the legions under his direct control and out of the hands of the senate. Though the army was his, he was not a warmonger. His primary aim was to restore the empire, left depleted and in disarray by the civil wars waged by Romes mighty generals. To that end, the gargantuan armies of the recent past had been disbanded, and in their place remained a slimmed-down force of 28 legions with some 165,000 men and an equivalent number of auxiliary troops recruited from noncitizens. To defend a sprawling empire that stretched over three continents with just over 300,000 soldiers was economical in the extreme, leaving little margin for disasters like the Clades Varianathe Varian Disaster, as the Romans came to call it. In just a few days, Arminius had destroyed a significant portion of the Roman army and torn a yawning gap in Romes frontier defenses. From the beginning Varus, who was married to Augustuss grandniece, was blamed heavily for this frightful catastrophe in the forest, as Marcus Velleius Paterculus, a soldier-historian and contemporary of the battle, described it. He wrote that Varus was an easygoing characterslow to act physically and mentallymore familiar with the leisurely life of the camp than the rigors of the military campaign. For centuries, the picture of Varus as an indolent fool who led his soldiers to their deaths has held sway. Yet this Roman patrician had served the empire well in a number of roles, including as governor of Syria. His greatest mistake in Germany was trusting Arminius, even though he had every reason to do so. As a Cheruscan noble in the service of the imperial army, Arminius had many opportunities to get to know Varus and to win his confidence. Its understandable, then, that when an uncle of Arminius warned Varus of his nephews plot to destroy the Roman army, the general waved him off. Varus would pay through history for his mistaken trust. In ad 14, the formidable general Germanicus launched a punitive campaign against Arminius, taking eight legions across the Rhine to bring the Cheruscan leader to account. Several bruising engagements were fought, but Roman arms were not enough to overcome the determined German resistance. The legionaries did, however, find gruesome remains of that earlier bloodbath in the Teutoburg. According to the Roman historian Tacitus, they discovered the whitening bones of men, as they had fled, or stood their ground, strewn everywhere or piled in heaps. Near lay fragments of weapons and limbs of horses, and also human heads, prominently nailed to trunks of trees. In the adjacent groves were the barbarous altars, on which they had immolated tribunes and first-rank centurions. Arminiuss successful rebellion derailed forever Augustuss plan to create a new province of Germania Magna. Though the Romans did not lack the strength to make that a reality, they ultimately lacked the will. If the Romans had wanted to overwhelm Germany, they probably could have done so. Within a century of the Teutoburg debacle, they had in fact conquered and made provinces of Britain and Dacia (now Transylvania). But Germany in the first century ad was a very poor land, producing little in the way of wealth that the Romans might covet. The stubborn resistance of the tribes there, taken together with the calamity in the Teutoburg, likely convinced the new emperor, Tiberius, that the prize of a German province from the Rhine to the Elbe was not worth the tremendous cost. In retrospect, the Teutoburg Forest battle marked the definitive end of Roman expansion into Germany. The results of this disaster, Florus wrote, was that the empire, which had not stopped on the shores of the Ocean, was checked on the banks of the Rhine. And so the Roman frontier remained firmly rooted at the Rhinewith profound repercussions. For four centuries the river corridor stood as a militarized zone through the middle of Europe, creating a cultural, religious, and linguistic cleavage between Roman Germany and the lands to the west and Free Germany to the east. This resulted in a Latinized western and southern Europe whose development was far different from that of northern and central Europe. How much might European history have differed if this division had instead run along the Elbe? Would the Roman Empire have fallen to the Germanic barbarians in Late Antiquity if a Roman Germania had become a reality? Would the Protestant Reformation have unfolded as it did if Germany had been Latinized in language and culture? Would a unified Germany have developed sooner, thereby avoiding the world wars of the 20th century that came as a late-arriving Germany, playing imperial catch-up, vied with the established European powers for its place in the sun? THE PRECISE LOCATION AND EVEN THE STORY OF THE HISTORY-CHANGING BATTLE IN THE TEUTOBURG FOREST were soon forgotten. Then, 1,500 years later, the Annals of the historian Tacitus were rediscovered in an abbey in Corvey, Germany, and subsequently published in Italy. Among Germans, the battle soon acquired great cultural importance. In the early 16th century Martin Luther, involved in his own messy separation of the German church from Rome, would hail Arminius as the liberator of the German people. In 1736 George Frideric Handel composed the opera Arminio in the Teutonic princes honor. Tacituss history, together with his shorter work Germania, would also add fuel to the fires of 19th-century German nationalism. In the Romans portrayal of the ancient Germans as a simple but brave and noble people, many Germans felt they had recovered their own history, lost for more than a thousand years. The valorous ArminiusHermann to the Germansand his destruction of the Roman legions provided a past around which the many Germanic states could unite. Arminius was neither killed nor captured during the Roman campaigns against him. Tacitus reports that he met his end in ad 21 when he was slain by kin who feared that he would set himself up as king. But Tacitus does supply a fitting epitaph for the Cheruscan leader, calling him the liberator of Germany who had challenged Rome not at its beginnings, like other kings and leaders, but when its empire was at its zenithin war he was undefeated. MHQ MARC G. DeSANTIS is the author of Rome Seizes the Trident and A Naval History of the Peloponnesian War. This article appears in the Spring 2018 issue (Vol. 30, No. 3) of MHQThe Quarterly Journal of Military History with the headline: This Frightful Catastrophe Want to have the lavishly illustrated, premium-quality print edition of MHQ delivered directly to you four times a year? Subscribe now at special savings! Over the coming days, we'll be giving you exclusive access to David Keenan's Irish tour, as penned by the man himself. Next up, Phil Grimes in Waterford. And on the third day he wised up again... Waterford, a proud place on the waterfront, home of the mystical blaa and Phil Grimes pub where a welcome was waiting by the fire, open armed and smiling. The men behind Subterranean Sounds reached out and facilitated last nights happening. Phad and Gar, two salt of the earth soldiers on the front lines trying to maintain a night of credible artistry and expression upstairs in The Other Room a place dripping with character that is sought by the many but the like just cannot be bought, its legit, if the walls could talk theyd whistle. Patterned red carpet lines the floor, a little green wooden bar, an old piano hiding in the corner of the small stage, old yellowed lighting hanging from the ceiling, no seating, intimacy. I was in my element ! Let us call all the bards in ! I was joined in the affray by young Tadhg Williams, a man with many artistic pots on the boil. He read aloud some of his spoken word pieces before I took to the stage and one poem in particular that compared the relationship with travelers during his grandmothers time with present day struck a chord. However I had to disagree with him all of a sudden for he read the line: Expressionism is dead and gone, its with Yeats in the grave Blasphemy!!! It lives on, coursing through our spirits and through our veins, it walks beside us and dances on our tongues for as long as we keep the beacons burning it will guide us in the dark! My love to Tadhg, he is a man on the path, walk on brother. Advertisement Waterford you were beautiful, you were beyond welcoming, Phil Grimes you are my new shelter from the rains, a fella may indeed find love in that Snug ! I had a hankering to venture into the Wander inn but for fear of not wandering out I decided against it, perhaps next time. Im making my way towards home, well almost. Drogheda calls X 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. Proposed Williamstown Marijuana Facility to Hold Public Forum Saturday Joshua Silver of Silver Therapeutics discusses his application for a medical marijuana dispensary at January's forum. WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. The commonwealth plans to open applications for recreational marijuana shops on April 1, but the business looking to open in the Colonial Plaza is getting ahead of the curve by hosting a community outreach session on Saturday, March 24. Silver Therapeutics CEO Joshua Silver explained Thursday that Massachusetts' Cannabis Control Commission already has outlined the rules governing applications for licenses to operate what it's calling "adult use marijuana establishments." One of those requirements is a community forum. Silver hopes to operate a recreational pot shop in the same structure where he plans a medical marijuana dispensary at 238 Main St. (Route 2). Earlier this year, Silver sought and received from the town a " letter of non-opposition " to the proposed medical dispensary, all the while explaining that his ultimate goal was to operate both types of facilities at the same location. On Thursday, he said he expects any day to receive his provisional license from the state Department of Public Health to operate the Williamstown dispensary and a cultivation facility in Orange. "Once [the cultivation facility] is built out, the DPH inspects it and issues the final certificate that it meets all their standards," Silver said. The medical dispensary would only sell marijuana grown under those standards in Orange. Saturday's 10 a.m. community outreach session at the Williams Inn will concern the proposal for a recreational marijuana facility, although Silver fielded questions on his plan for the non-medical retail trade in the run-up to January's vote of non-opposition by the Select Board. "I think [Saturday's forum] is going to be similar to what we heard in our public hearing prior to receiving the letter of non-opposition," Silver said. "We were upfront that this was going to be an adult-use and medical dispensary, so we received comments relevant to both those licenses. "I'm also hopeful people will come out who are interested in what we're doing, maybe interested in working for us. We're going to be looking to hire local people to staff our store, and we're bringing job applications with us [on Saturday]." Silver said he will be joined by his chief financial officer and his cultivator. His medical consultant, who participated in a public forum sponsored by the town at Williamstown Elementary School, will not be able to attend. Neither will his security consultant from Boston's The Flying Locksmiths. But Silver said he is prepared to answer any questions that may come up at the session. According to a public notice announcing the meeting, the topics on the table include "steps to be taken by the Adult-use Marijuana Establishment to prevent diversion to minors" and "Information adequate to demonstrate that the location will not constitute a nuisance to the community by noise, odor, dust, glare, fumes, vibration, heat, glare or other conditions likely to cause nuisance." As he did during the process leading to January's Select Board vote, Silver said Thursday that he plans a low-key exterior presence in the shopping plaza with a modest display of the Silver Therapeutics logo. "The town has a pretty robust sign ordinance," he said. "It would be something worked on and agreed upon between us and the Sign Commission." He said he did not anticipate window displays of marijuana products similar to the posters advertising alcohol typically displayed in the windows of liquor stores. "That's not really the look we're going for," Silver said. "We have a concept that's very sleek, and there's very few if any outward displays of marijuana. I'm pretty confident people who know who we are and where we are. "We're not going to use things in the window to draw them in. Hopefully, our online presence and community outreach efforts will be enough to let people know we're there. We're very aware this is a new thing for the town." Cory Ravelson, general manager of Mission Massachusetts, addresses the Board of Selectmen on the progress of the medical marijuana company's plans to open Howland Avenue. Adams Approves Medical Marijuana Dispensary COA Director Erica Girgenti updated the board on the council's new Nissan, courtesy of Fallon Health. ADAMS, Mass. The Selectmen gave Mission Massachusetts the OK to open a medical marijuana dispensary on Howland Avenue in one of two buildings that house Ronnie's Cycle Shop. The board unanimously voted Wednesday to provide Cory Ravelson, general manager of Mission Massachusetts, with a letter of non-opposition and welcomed him into the community. "We have always had a strong interest in locating in Adams and it was always just a timing thing," Ravelson said. "We really look forward to locating here in Adams and being a positive member of this community." Ravelson came before the board last year and ran through his group's intentions and security plan. The board had also agreed at that time to write a letter of non-opposition. Since then, Mission officials have been in contact with the town and the Police Department and have been waiting for the town's marijuana bylaw to pass, which it did this month. "We didn't want to take action until we saw the town's bylaw because we wanted to make sure we had a location the town thought would be appropriate," Ravelson said. Mission has been in touch with Ronnie Ouimet, owner of Ronnie's Cycles, for some time now and plans to lease his smaller 5,400 square-foot building at 150 Howland Ave. Ouimet said he was impressed by the company and thinks they will bring business to Adams. "All I have to say is they have been very professional, and it has been a difficult decision to give up part of our business that we have had for 62 years," he said. "But I think it is worthwhile and I think they will bring good business to Adams." Ravelson said he plans to sign the lease upon town approval and to repave and extend parking at the facility. He is still waiting for construction on the company's Worcester grow facility to be completed and final state approval but said he anticipates opening before the end of the year, possibly as early as September. Chairman John Duval said he was happy that Mission Massachusetts were able to compromise and find a location that met the town's needs. "A few of us had concerns about you locating on Park Street so you have found a compromise that the board is pleased with," he said. Selectman Joseph Nowak agreed and said the location has access to public transit and is a great location. Police Chief Richard Tarsa said Mission Massachusetts was forthright in its security planning and has gone beyond state security regulations. "The relationship they have portrayed and extended to the town of Adams does speak volumes and a lot of groups out there put the cart before the horse," Tarsa said. "But they did this methodically." Ravelson said his company does plan to sell recreational marijuana and have a dual-purpose facility. However, that is a different application process that has "just come into vision," he said, and that he will keep the town abreast of this process. Ravelson addressed a concern many residents had about marijuana home delivery and said currently it is only allowed for medical marijuana. Mission does intend to offer this service unless there is a demand. Duval closed by asking about the host community agreement that promises Adams a percentage of the profits. Ravelson said this is something Mission and Massachusetts will have to negotiate in the near future. In other business, the Selectmen approved the amended veteran's agent agreement that would extend Stephen Roy's coverage of Adams, North Adams and Williamstown to Dalton, Lanesborough and Cheshire. The agreement has already been approved by North Adams and Williamstown. The Selectmen tabled the vote last week because they were concerned Roy would be stretching himself to thin. Roy attended Wednesday's meeting and said he felt there was nothing to worry about. "It doesn't add any hours to my work week. The only thing it does do is add one hour of commute time," Roy said. "I want to make sure the quality of service does not suffer, and I am very confident I can do this." He said his Adams schedule has been left untouched and he will still hold the same office hours in town. He now has a full-time assistant and a cell phone so is even more reachable. He currently has more than 120 clients, however, many of them are on "autopilot" and he only needs to meet with them a few times a year. He added that there is a 90-day trial period and if it doesn't work changes will be made. During Public Comment, Erica Girgenti, executive director of the Adams Council on Aging, informed the selectmen that the Council on Aging recently received a new 2017 Nissan Rogue from Fallon Health. "This will expand transportation for seniors in Adams," she said. "It smells brand new and it is shiny." Unlike the passenger vans the COA already uses, the all-wheel-drive vehicle will be better for some of the more difficult roads to navigate in the county, Girgenti said. She added that the vehicle will be able to leave the state and she hopes Adams can partner with surrounding communities, so others can use the vehicle. Girgenti said the vehicle is not just tied to medical trips but possibly social events and things of the like such as driving grandparents to visit their grandchildren in the hospital. The car came with a $3,000 check that will fund maintenance on the vehicle. She added because the town owns the car, the Department of Public Works can do this maintenance. SVHC Foundation Names 2018 Vision Award Honorees BENNINGTON, Vt. Southwestern Vermont Health Care will present the 2018 Vision Awards at the organization's inaugural Centennial Gala. The awards recognize individuals who have made significant contributions in support of SVHCs mission and the community. This year, SVHC names two Vision Award honorees, a physician and a family, for their efforts to advance the health systems vision of healthier communities. The Health Care Leadership Award recognizes a current or former member of the medical staff who demonstrates excellence in medical practice and patient care and whose service is aimed at improving health care in our region. SVHC's 2018 Health Care Leadership Award honoree is Dr. Michael E. Brady. The Distinguished Community Service Award honors a member of the community for their commitment, support and service to Southwestern Vermont Health Care's mission and vision. The Hunter Family, representing the James H. and Irene M. Hunter Charitable Trust, is the recipient of SVHC's 2018 Distinguished Community Service Award. "The positive impact Dr. Brady and the Hunters have made on our health system and in our communities cannot be overstated," said Thomas A. Dee, president and CEO of SVHC. "It is through their generous support and their dedicated service that we fulfill our mission of exceptional care and comfort while achieving our vision as a preeminent, rural health care system." Brady earned his dentistry degree at Columbia University in New York in 1972 and his bachelor's degree at Villanova University in Pennsylvania in 1968. He started his career as a dental officer in the United States Navy stationed in Florida. He has performed general dentistry in the Bennington area for 43 years, specializing in children's dentistry at Molly Stark Elementary School in Bennington for 18 years, and now leads SVMC's new dentistry practice. He has been a member of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center's medical staff since 1974 and has served on SVHC's Board of Trustees. Throughout more than two decades, the Hunter family has supported nearly every educational and arts initiative in southwestern Vermont and many in the Berkshires in Massachusetts and the eastern Capital District of New York. Apart from their interests in education and the arts, the family led an initiative to establish a major community park and ice arena in Manchester, Vt., known as Hunter Park. Through their valuable contribution to the Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center, SVMC will greatly improve the experience for hundreds of patients and families. "It is a pleasure to show our respect and gratitude to this years Vision Awards honorees," said Tommy Harmon, chair of the SVHC Board of Trustees. "They have improved countless lives through their gifts of service and generosity." Dr. Brady and Susan Hunter, along with family members, will be honored at the Centennial Gala on the eve of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center's 100th anniversary, Saturday, June 9, at the 1768 Hubbell Homestead at Colgate Park in Bennington. All proceeds will benefit the health system. For tickets or more information, contact the SVHC Foundation office at 802-447-5017. Williams Senior Named Watson Fellow WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. Williams College senior Rob Hefferon has been named a Thomas J. Watson Fellow for 2017-18. Winners of the fellowship receive a stipend of $30,000 for 12 months of independent study and travel outside of the United States. Hefferon joins 39 other students selected as Watson Fellows from among 152 finalists nominated to compete on the national level. The fellows, who hail from eight countries and 17 states and are selected from private liberal arts colleges and universities, will travel the world exploring a diverse range of topics and disciplines. Hefferon, a Spanish and political science major from McLean, Va., will use his fellowship to pursue a project titled "Brewed Awakening: Ethical Dilemmas in Coffee Culture." His project aims to explore the inner workings of the coffee business, from farm to shop. Furthermore, Hefferon intends to use coffee as a looking glass into societal issues such as socioeconomic inequality, racism, elitism and climate change. Drury Student Selected to National Society of High School Scholars NORTH ADAMS, Mass. Drury High School students Chad A. Lawrence of Stamford, Vt., has been selected to become a member of the the National Society of High School Scholars. The society recognizes top scholars who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, scholarship and community commitment. The announcement was made by NSHSS Founder and Chairman Claes Nobel, senior member of the family that established the Nobel Prizes. "On behalf of NSHSS, I am honored to recognize the hard work, sacrifice and commitment that Chad has demonstrated to achieve this exceptional level of academic excellence," Nobel said. "Chad is now a member of a unique community of scholars - a community that represents our very best hope for the future." Tuesday evening 5 Republicans joined the Democrats to end the US role in Yemen-- so it could have passed-- but 10 Democrats crossed the aisle in the other direction and killed Bernie's joint resolution, 55-44 . These were the Republicans who voted to end the war: Susan Collins (ME) Steve Daines (MT) Mike Lee (UT) Jerry Moran (KS) Rand Paul (KY) And these were the Democrats who voted with Trump to keep the resolution locked up in committee: Chris Coons (DE) Catherine Cortez Masto (NV) Joe Donnelly (IN) Heidi Heitkamp (ND) Doug Jones (AL) Joe Manchin (WV) Robert Menendez (NJ) Bill Nelson (FL) Jack Reed (RI) Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) Washington Post noted that the At least every senator was forced to take an on-the-record vote so that their constituents will know, beyond the bullshit, where they stand on this catastrophic war. Thenoted that the vote came just as Trump was feting the Saudi dictator , architect of the devastation in Yemen. Jared Golden joined the Marine Corps in response to 9/11 and combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now he's running for Congress in the sprawling Maine district (ME-02) where he was born and raised. "Senator Sanders," he told us this morning, "is right: Congress doesnt take its responsibility to authorize war seriously, and members of Congress fail the country and our service members when they dont do their duty and take responsibility for putting troops into combat or getting our country involved in conflicts like Yemen, and so many others. As a congressman I will demand that my colleagues show just a modicum of the courage that our service members have and take the vote to authorize war, instead of looking the other way and leaving it to the President and the Pentagon." Levi Tillemann is the progressive Democrat running in the suburban Denver congressional district seat (CO-06) held by conservative Republican Mike Coffman, a GOPer who tends to make a lot of noise and then go along with Trump and Ryan on everything anyway. We reached Levi on the campaign trail and he didn't seem any happier about the Senate Yemen vote than Jared Golden. "A few nights ago Bernie Sanders spoke on the floor of the Senate about the continued unconstitutional presence of U.S. forces in Yemen. Our military is currently involved in supporting the war efforts of the Saudi government. Sen. Sanders stated that both chambers of Congress over the past 2 decades have abrogated their constitutional role to declare war and have yielded that authority to a string of presidential administrations. That's dangerous and unconstitutional. The people's representatives in the House and Senate must reassert their authority over American military intervention in Yemen (and elsewhere). Unless and until Congress reasserts this sacred authority, I'll oppose further U.S. military involvement overseas. I oppose the human toll borne by enlisted men and women and the financial toll borne by our citizens. Here at home, combat veterans arent getting the medical care they need when they return home. And as Sen. Sanders said during the his 2016 presidential campaign, 'a nation that cannot afford to care for its veterans when they return home... cannot afford to send them to war.' Senate Democrats had the opportunity to stand up and vote against the continuing U.S. military involvement in Yemen and to reassert Congress authority to declare war. I am disappointed that many of my fellow Democrats sided with the administration and the Saudi government by not supporting Sen. Sanders joint resolution." In the same week that the secretary of state signed a joint statement on trade collaboration, some of the WSTA team led a group of English wine and British gin producers on a trade mission, which - for the first time - was jointly funded by the UK government. The aim of the WSTAs British drinks delegation was to increase awareness of English wine and British gin, help boost exports from those producers already in market and to help those producers keen to export to Hong Kong for the first time. WSTA chief executive, Miles Beale said: Hong Kong is one of the top target markets identified by WSTA members - both for British gin and English wine exports. I am delighted that we have been able to work so closely with the British Consulate here in Hong Kong to produce this weeks bespoke programme of events. Following this visit we are even more convinced that Hong Kong holds significant potential for British gin and English wine. Moreover we learned about future opportunities in mainland China, for which exporters need to start planning well in advance. The programme included a briefing from UK Consulate staff on commercial operations in Hong Kong, Macau and Guangzhou; and hear from commercial organisations sharing first hand experience of trading in wine and spirits in the region. Thursday saw participating brands showcasing their products in a Meet the Buyer event to a wide range of importers, distributors, retailers and opinion formers. The event, which lasted four hours, also included a briefing and demonstration of his award winning gin-based cocktail by Maxim Schulte, Bar Manager, Ritz Carlton Macau. Maxim Schulte, Beefeater MIXLDN global winner and bar manager, Ritz-Carlton Macau added: The gin scene in Hong Kong and Macau is growing rapidly. When I joined our bar at the Ritz Carlton, we were gin centric with 25 gins on our shelves. We now stock 150 from around the globe, making us world leaders on the cocktail scene and British gins such as Beefeater 24 are amongst my favourite to work with. The trade mission rounded off with a series of tutored tastings of each WSTA participants brands led by MW and Hong Kong based wine journalist, Sarah Heller. Imperial Valley News Center FTC, Attorneys General Investigating Facebook, Cambridge Analytica Washington, DC - The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with the State Attorneys General from New York and Massachusetts have launched investigations into Cambridge Analytica and Facebook. The FTC is focusing its efforts on Facebook while the State Attorneys general announced a joint investigation into both Cambridge Analytica and Facebook on Tuesday. As we covered on Monday, Cambridge Analytica scraped over 50-million profiles from Facebook using an app that provided a false pretense for data collection. If you want the full story, read the article, but heres the abridged version: Cambridge Analytica is a shell for a London-based company called SCL Group. While it may have started with noble intentions, its co-founder, Alexander Nix, turned a couple of chance encounters with Breitbarts Steve Bannon and GOP Mega-donor Robert Mercer into funding. Unsurprisingly the group began to take a right-wing slant, eventually working for the political campaigns of Texas Senator Ted Cruz and then-candidate Donald Trump. The company was allegedly named by Bannon. He took the Cambridge part of the name from Cambridge University where former co-founder and current whistle-blower Christopher Wylie met Aleksandr Kogan. The Russian-American professor essentially co-opted part of an app from researchers at the university. Then programmed it to scrape information from Facebook users and their friends under the guise of a personality quiz. The app was purportedly collecting data for academic purposes. That was total malarkey. Rules dont matter for them, for them, this is a war, and its all fair, Wylie told the New York Times. They want to fight a culture war in America. Cambridge Analytica was supposed to be the arsenal of weapons to fight that culture war. Unfortunately for Cambridge Analytica, and Facebook (more on that in a bit), the rules may start to matter now. The investigation being carried out by the Attorneys General has already issued a letter to Facebook demanding information about the misuse of personal data. In addition, they have requested any contracts, agreements and communication that occurred between the social media giant and Cambridge Analytica, SCL Group, Nix, Kogan and former Cambridge Analytica employee, Joseph Chancellor. Additionally, the Attorneys General want to know why Facebook failed to tell its users that their personal information had been handed over to a third party. In a statement Friday, Facebook admitted it found out about the violation of its terms of service back in 2015. The FTC is investigating Facebooks misuse of personal data, too. Kickstarting Investigations into Cambridge Analytica It was Wylie that brought Cambridge Analytica into the limelight after telling The Guardian that the company had harvested user data from Facebook to weaponize it and help sway the US election in Trumps favor. There are already four investigations underway. In addition to the joint investigation by the Attorneys General from New York and Massachusetts and the FTCs, Connecticut and Pennsylvania have also launched inquiries. Per a statement by New York Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman: Consumers have a right to know how their information is used and companies like Facebook have a fundamental responsibility to protect their users personal information Todays demand letter is the first step in our joint investigation to get to the bottom of what happened. In another statement, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said that Facebook needs to show that it acted responsibly with regard to the data transfer. Companies that control huge amounts of personal data have a legal obligation to guard against theft and misuse of that information. We are investigating to find out how and why this data was shared by Facebook and whether the appropriate steps were taken to protect it against misuse and manipulation. Facebooks General Counsel, Paul Grewal, told Bloomberg that the company is conducting its own investigation. A Few Thoughts on Facebook and Cambridge Analytica Cambridge Analytica is what it is. As you peel back the layers of American politics, you find some pretty unscrupulous activity. It wasnt long ago that Republican Data firm Deep Root Analytics exposed nearly all of the US 200-million voter records, totaling 1.1 TB, on a misconfigured database. In fact, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to political analytics. Most of us have never consented to having our personal data shared with these kinds of firms. But thats a problem for people who care. These groups dont. Theyre using our data, pulled from a seemingly infinite number of sources, to map us. To figure out how to market to us. How to change the way we think. In fact, changing audience behavior is a selling point for SCL Group, the company behind Cambridge Analytica. In truth, Cambridge Analytica is a shell company. All of the contracts that it was awarded were passed to SCL. And while Cambridge Analytica says it has suspended Nix, its CEO, until further notice hes still on the board at SCL. Additionally, an undercover video sting by UK Channel 4 may have caught Nix and a couple of fellow executives speaking freely about their tactics. The videos show a series of meetings between Nix and [Now-interim CEO Alexander] Tayler, as well as SCL Elections managing director Mark Turnbull and a Channel 4 reporter posing as a fixer for a wealthy client in Sri Lanka looking to influence local elections. In the video, Nix discusses filming political opponents accepting bribes and sending some girls around to the candidates house. The Channel 4 video also shows Nix expressing an apparent willingness to spread fake news, saying, It sounds a dreadful thing to say, but these are things that dont necessarily need to be true, as long as theyre believed. Nix and SCL have both argued that the conversation was edited to look more incriminating, but Nix also admits to saying those things. He claimed that he entertained some absurd suggestion to spare the wealthy Sri Lankan embarrassment. As you do. Regardless, Cambridge Analytica looks dishonest at best, downright malicious at worst. But this is hardly an isolated incident when it comes to American politics. But what about Facebook? Why didnt it notify its users? Especially given that it became aware of this in 2015. This looks even worse when you factor in all the problems the platform had with the 2016 election. While there was probably no way for Facebook to know what the data was really being used for (it was told it was for academic purposes), its inaction may have enabled other companies and firms of the same ilk to continue these activities through 2016. The bigger issue is the fact that Facebook was giving its data away to anyone using the Graph API. "If you were one of these developers, and you got a user to give you access to their Facebook account (say, to log in or to use your app), you got a data payout that is unlikely ever to be replicated in history. It wasnt just the users data but all the data of that users friends on Facebook." Today, Mark Zuckerberg made a statement on his Facebook page regarding the Cambridge Analytica situation. "I started Facebook, and at the end of the day Im responsible for what happens on our platform. Im serious about doing what it takes to protect our community. While this specific issue involving Cambridge Analytica should no longer happen with new apps today, that doesnt change what happened in the past. We will learn from this experience to secure our platform further and make our community safer for everyone going forward." He also wrote: "We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we cant then we dont deserve to serve you." Heres where that goes sideways, outside of the millions of apps that were integrated with Facebook at the time and could have been pulling data, there are also a handful of companies that relied on the Graph API. Those companies went under. But we have no idea what they did with that data, who they sold it to, gave it to, etc. James Allworth, a fellow at Christensen Institute and Harvard Business Review writer compared it to when nukes go missing after a state fails. Regardless, right now Facebook seems to be operating in a moral gray area. And it starts with the fact that this wasnt technically a breach. Cambridge Analytica didnt exploit holes in Facebook security or hack them or anything. They grabbed data under false pretenses. Thats really more of a leak, though even that descriptor comes up a little bit short. Facebook is calling it a violation of its terms of service. Either way, it seems like Facebook is justifying its lack of response or user notification on the fact that this wasnt technically a breach and doesnt require the same reporting. Facebook is hiding behind semantics. Thats not ethical. But its also not illegal. Its a moral gray area. Its also unacceptable, and while this time there likely wont be any major financial penalties domestically, the EU doesnt play around. Once the GDPR goes into effect on May 25, if this kind of thing happens in Europe and Facebook doesnt notify anyone, its going to cost 4% of its global turnover from the previous fiscal year. Global turnover is a very European way of saying gross revenue. Facebook reported $45,653,000,000 in gross revenue in 2017. That would work out to a fine of $1.826 BILLION (with a B). The craziest thing is that Facebook can easily weather that. Facebook makes that in a little over two and a half weeks. That in itself may be a criticism of the GDPRs penalty system. For SMBs, these fines are potentially back-breaking. For a large company like Facebook or Amazon or Google, its a little more than a drop in the bucket. That means they can continue to play fast and loose with our data. The rest of us better watch out. President Trump at Signing of a Presidential Memorandum Targeting Chinas Economic Aggression Washington, DC - Remarks by President Trump at Signing of a Presidential Memorandum Targeting Chinas Economic Aggression: THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you everybody. This has been long in the making. Youve heard many, many speeches by me and talks by me, and interviews where I talk about unfair trade practices. Weve lost, over a fairly short period of time, 60,000 factories in our country closed, shuttered, gone. Six million jobs, at least, gone. And now theyre starting to come back. You see whats happening with Chrysler, with Foxconn, with so many other companies wanting to come back into the United States. But we have one particular problem. And I view them as a friend; I have tremendous respect for President Xi. We have a great relationship. Theyre helping us a lot in North Korea. And thats China. But we have a trade deficit, depending on the way you calculate, of $504 billion. Now, some people would say its really $375 billion. Many different ways of looking at it, but any way you look at it, it is the largest deficit of any country in the history of our world. Its out of control. We have a tremendous intellectual property theft situation going on, which likewise is hundreds of billions of dollars. And thats on a yearly basis. Ive spoken to the President. Ive spoken to representatives of China. Weve been dealing with it very seriously. As you know, were renegotiating NAFTA. Well see how that turns out. Many countries are calling to negotiate better trade deals because they dont want to have to pay the steel and aluminum tariffs. And we are negotiating with various countries Mr. Lighthizer, Mr. Ross. We are just starting a negotiation with the European Union because theyve really shut out our country to a large extent. They have barriers that they can trade with us but we cant trade with them. Theyre very strong barriers. They have very high tariffs. We dont. Its just not fair. NAFTA has been a very bad deal for the United States, but well make it better or well have to do something else. The deal we have with South Korea is a very one-sided deal. Its a deal that has to be changed. So we have a lot of things happening. But in particular, with China, were going to be doing a Section 301 trade action. It could be about $60 billion but thats really just a fraction of what were talking about. Ive been speaking with the highest Chinese representatives, including the President, and Ive asked them to reduce the trade deficit immediately by $100 billion. Its a lot. So that would be anywhere from 25 percent, depending on the way you figure, to maybe something even more than that. But we have to do that. The word that I want to use is reciprocal. When they charge 25 percent for a car to go in, and we charge 2 percent for their car to come into the United States, thats not good. Thats how China rebuilt itself. The tremendous money that weve paid since the founding of the World Trade Organization which has actually been a disaster for us. Its been very unfair to us. The arbitrations are very unfair. The judging has been very unfair. And knowingly, we always have a minority and its not fair. So were talking to World Trade, were talking to NAFTA, were talking to China, were talking to the European Union. And I will say, every single one of them wants to negotiate. And I believe that, in many cases maybe all cases well end up negotiating a deal. So weve spoken to China and were in the midst of a very large negotiation. Well see where it takes us. But in the meantime, we are sending a Section 301 action. Ill be signing it right here, right now. Id like to ask Bob Lighthizer to say a few words about the 301 and where we are in that negotiation. And were doing things for this country that should have been done for many, many years. Weve had this abuse by many other countries and groups of countries that were put together in order to take advantage of the United States, and we dont want that to happen. Were not going to let that happen. Its probably one of the reasons I was elected; maybe one of the main reasons. But were not going to let that happen. We have, right now, an $800 billion trade deficit with the world. So think of that. So lets say we have 500 to 375, but lets say we have 500 with China, but we have 800 total with the world. That would mean that China is more than half. So were going to get it taken care of. And, frankly, its going to make us a much stronger, much richer nation. The word is reciprocal. Thats the word I want everyone to remember. We want reciprocal mirror. Some people call it a mirror tariff or a mirror tax. Just use the word reciprocal. If they charge us, we charge them the same thing. Thats the way its got to be. Thats not the way it is. For many, many years for many decades, it has not been that way. And I will say, the people were negotiating with smilingly, they really agree with us. I really believe they cannot believe theyve gotten away with this for so long. Ill talk to Prime Minister Abe of Japan and others great guy, friend of mine and there will be a little smile on their face. And the smile is, I cant believe weve been able to take advantage of the United States for so long. So those days are over. Ambassador Lighthizer, thank you. AMBASSADOR LIGHTHIZER: Well, thank you very much, Mr. President. First of all, for those of you who dont know, Section 301 is a statute that gives substantial power, authority to the President to correct actions in certain circumstances where theres unfair acts, policies, or practices by our trading partners. In this case, the area is technology. Technology is probably the most important part of our economy. Theres 44 million people who work in high-tech knowledge areas. No country has as much technology-intensive industry as the United States. And technology is really the backbone of the future of the American economy. Given these problems, the President asked USTR to conduct a study. We conducted a thorough study. We had hearings. We reviewed tens of thousands of pages of documents. We talked to many, many business people. We had testimony, as I say. And we concluded that, in fact, China does have a policy of forced technology transfer; of requiring licensing at less than economic value; of state capitalism, wherein they go in and buy technology in the United States in non-economic ways; and then, finally, of cyber theft. The result of this has been that the President has analyzed it we have a 200-page study which we will put out and he has concluded that we should put in place tariffs on appropriate products we can explain later how we concluded what products they are; that we would put investment restrictions on China with respect to high technology; and that well file a WTO case. Because one of the actions here does involve a WTO violation. This is an extremely important action, very significant and very important for the future of the country, really, across industries. And I would really like to thank you very much, Mr. President, for giving me the opportunity to work on it. THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, Bob. Secretary Ross. SECRETARY ROSS: Intellectual property rights are our future, and its no accident that in June of this year, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will issue its 10 millionth patent 10 million patents. Theres no country in the history of the world that remotely approaches that. So the steel and aluminum actions weve taken deal more or less with the present. This action on intellectual property rights deals with the future. So were trying to solve both todays problem and problems that otherwise will be forthcoming. Thats why these actions are so important and so important in unison with each other. We will end up negotiating these things, rather than fighting over them, in my view. THE PRESIDENT: Mike Pence, would you like to say something? THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Mr. President, and to all our honored guests. Todays action sends a clear message that this President and our entire administration are determined to put American jobs and American workers first. The action the President will take today under Section 301 also makes it clear that the era of economic surrender is over. The United States of America is taking targeted and focused action to protect not only American jobs, but Americas technology, which will power and drive an innovation economy for decades to come. It is just one more step of a promise made and a promise kept by President Trump. THE PRESIDENT: So well sign right now. I just want to let everybody know, just for a second time, that we are in the midst of very major and very positive negotiations. Positive for the United States and, actually, very positive for other countries also. We have some of our great business leaders and leaders, period right behind me. I may ask Marillyn Lockheed the leading womans business executive in this country, according to many. And we buy billions and billions of dollars worth of that beautiful F-35. Its stealth. You cannot see it. Is that correct? MS. HEWSON: Thats correct, Mr. President. THE PRESIDENT: Better be correct. Right? MS. HEWSON: Absolutely. THE PRESIDENT: Marillyn, please say a few words. MS. HEWSON: Well, thank you, Mr. President. I would just say that this is a very important moment for our country, in that we are addressing what is a critical area for the aerospace and defense industry, and that is protecting our intellectual property. As has been expressed, that is a threat to us if we have that stolen from our companies, because that is the lifeblood of our companies. And so, we very much welcome this action on the part of the Trump administration and the President of the United States. Thank you. THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Marillyn. This is the first of many. This is number one, but this is the first of many. (The memorandum is signed.) Thank you all very much. Marillyn. Thank you very much. MS. HEWSON: Thank you, Mr. President. Q Mr. President, would you still like to testify to the Special Counsel, Robert Mueller? THE PRESIDENT: I would like to. I would like to. The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) and the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH) issued an alert this week to warn residents of an increase in opioid overdose activity throughout the state. The alert comes on the heels of the state recording 48 reports of opioid overdoses from hospital emergency departments from September 12-18. Have you or your family been personally affected by the opioid epidemic in Rhode Island? Let us know in this week's poll question below. You voted: March 23, 2018 California Eagle President, Orlean Koehle and the California Eagles are busy preparing for Eagle Forum of Californias 18th annual conference to be held on April 21 in Santa Ana. Tabitha Walter will be one of her many outstanding speakers. Please help spread the word about this wonderful opportunity presented by our great Eagle Forum organization in Cali! Dear Editor: Orlean wrote the following letter to the Editor of the Santa Rosa newspaper about the latest attempt for gun control. It was published in The Press Democrat. This is just another example of what we can do and can encourage others to do to educate others and to effect change. Thank you for the good reminder, Orlean! Teach Morals EDITOR: The solution to preventing mass killings, whether done by guns or any other weapons (such as trucks, cars, knives, axes, machetes) isnt to have more controls over these weapons. It is people who turn these items into weapons. It is people who need controls to teach them to be responsible citizens and have self-restraint. Such people-control laws already exist and have existed for centuries. They are called morals, and they teach an inner code of conduct for self-governing. Examples are the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. California teachers are supposed to be teaching morals according to education code section 233.5 (a) and (b). The code, updated in 2016, reads: Each teacher shall endeavor to impress upon the minds of the pupils the principles of morality, truth, justice, patriotism, and a true comprehension of the rights, duties, and dignity of American citizenship. Part (b) tells us why: in order to prevent acts of hate violence. With moral teachings, young people and adults can develop their own inner controls and can be self-governing, as our Founding Fathers intended us to be. Then we dont need a powerful police state to run our lives. We can remain a free people and a free nation. ORLEAN KOEHLE, Santa Rosa The National Park Service has an important job: protecting beautiful places, promoting patriotism and telling stories of American struggle, tragedy and courage. The Park Service has established several sites that commemorate the history, decisions and moral questions raised during the Civil Rights movement. However, several important stories remain to be told. Consider the story of Sen. Robert F. Kennedys visit to Indianapolis nearly 50 years ago. On April 4, 1968, Kennedy was scheduled to make a campaign stop in Indianapolis, on the site of todays Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park, during his run for the presidency. Shortly before his speech, the senator from New York learned Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had been shot and killed by an assassin. Rather than cancel his speech for fear of unrest, Sen. Kennedy announced the horrifying news of Kings death to a crowd of over 2,500 Hoosiers. He overcame his own shock to urge those gathered to reject violence, even if their first instinct may have been to riot. He spoke powerfully and with understanding of the crowds pain, sharing his own painful experience of his brother, President John F. Kennedys assassination. Sen. Kennedy concluded his remarks that night by encouraging everyone to return home and say a prayer for Dr. Kings family, for our country and our people. His words mattered. While unrest erupted in cities across the nation that night, Indianapolis did not burn. As we approach the 50th anniversary of this momentous speech, many across our city have yet to hear this powerful story. Thats why I recently introduced a bipartisan bill to raise the national profile of this special place. This bill would designate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Indianapolis as a National Commemorative Site and add it to the new National Civil Rights Network, preserving it for generations to come. After receiving unanimous support in the House of Representatives this week, my bill now goes to the Senate, where our Hoosier Senators have introduced the companion legislation. Im optimistic that when this bill is enacted into law, the Kennedy- King Establishment Act will bring long overdue national recognition to the hollowed ground where Sen. Kennedy made his speech. In this time of division and strife, the story of what happened in Indianapolis the night of April 4, 1968 is more important than ever. As we continue to grapple with intolerance and fear, we should look back and remember the power of our words and tone and look to carry on the peace that Senator Robert Kennedy called for 50 years ago. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Krishanti Vignarajah has released an ad for her Maryland gubernatorial candidacy, urging the voters to vote for a woman in the election. In her recently-released ad campaign, she is shown breast-feeding her 9-month-old daughter. (YouTube screen grab) With the mining industry mood picking up, the level of interest in IPCC solutions is again increasing, and some high profile projects in Chile, Peru and Brazil are now well advanced. In the technology part of the industry, there has been some significant consolidation of key players. Thus International Mining Events is very pleased to announce our fifth IPCC conference will be held on 26/27 April 2018 in Santiago, Chile, some four years after the last event in South Africa. The timing is at the end of Expomin week in Santiago, giving delegates the chance to attend one of the most important Latin American mining shows first, before rounding off their time in Chile with our focussed mining technology conference. Today there is much more of an acceptance that applying elements of IPCC to a conventional truck and shovel operation is just as valid as an IPCC-only mine; while progress in mine automation also brings a lot of potential for IPCC with more efficient and better adhered to long term mine planning. Already the conference is shaping up to be one of the most successful to date. Paper offers are still welcome to IM Events Director Paul Moore at paul@im-mining.com while delegates can be registered at this link: https://im-mining.com/in-pit-crushing-and-conveying/. There are also numerous sponsorship opportunities available, including a limited number of exhibition booths. Please get in touch if potentially interested. The current list of speakers is displayed on the website and the latest advertisements feature in the January and February 2018 issues of International Mining and Mineria Chilena. March 22, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - " Jewish Telegraphic Agency " - WASHINGTON (JTA) President Donald Trump named as his national security adviser John Bolton, a hawk who has said military strikes may be inevitable as a means of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. The White House announced Thursday evening that H.R. McMaster was leaving the position and that Bolton would take his place by April 9. General McMasters leadership of the National Security Council staff has helped my administration accomplish great things to bolster Americas national security, Trump said in a statement. He helped develop our America First National Security Strategy, revitalize our alliances in the Middle East, smash ISIS, bring North Korea to the table, and strengthen our nations prosperity. ISIS is one of the bynames for the Islamic State. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter Naming Bolton suggests Trump is ready to pull out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal by May 12, the deadline for Trump to waive sanctions. The deal trades sanctions relief for a rollback of Irans nuclear program. Bolton is a staunch opponent of the deal, as is Mike Pompeo, the CIA chief Trump nominated last week to replace Rex Tillerson as secretary of state. Bolton has multiple times striking Iran to stop it from going nuclear may be inevitable. I dont make any disguise of the idea that ultimately it may take an Israeli strike against Irans nuclear program to stop it, he told the conservative Washington Free Beacon last August. Tillerson and McMaster both dont like the deal but counseled not pulling out of it now that it is in place, because Iran is complying with its narrow strictures, and pulling out would remove whatever leverage the United States has with U.S. allies to pressure Iran outside the deals confines. That leaves James Mattis, the defense secretary, as the only Cabinet level official who opposes leaving the deal. Bolton has close relations with the pro-Israel community stemming from his success in 1991 in getting the United Nations to rescind its Zionism is racism resolution. Bolton was at the time the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs under President George H. W. Bush. Bushs son, George W. Bush, nominated Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations in 2005 and named him acting ambassador. Bolton never cleared the Senate nominating process, in part because of his hawkishness on Middle Eastern issues, but also because subordinates at the State Department emerged to describe him as an abusive boss. Bolton had under the younger Bush been the Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs. Pro-Israel groups, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, at the time broke with protocol and endorsed a nominee, but to no avail. McMaster got along well with his Israeli counterparts but angered some on the right wing of the pro-Israel community because of reports that he blocked Trumps recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital. Trump ultimately recognized Jerusalem last December. Everyone knows Bolton is a hawk. Less understood is how he labored in secret to drive Washington and Tehran apart. By Gareth Porter March 22, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - In my reporting on U.S.-Israeli policy, I have tracked numerous episodes in which the United States and/or Israel made moves that seemed to indicate preparations for war against Iran. Each timein 2007, in 2008, and again in 2011those moves, presented in corporate media as presaging attacks on Tehran, were actually bluffs aimed at putting pressure on the Iranian government. But the strong likelihood that Donald Trump will now choose John Bolton as his next national security advisor creates a prospect of war with Iran that is very real. Bolton is no ordinary neoconservative hawk. He has been obsessed for many years with going to war against the Islamic Republic, calling repeatedly for bombing Iran in his regular appearances on Fox News, without the slightest indication that he understands the consequences of such a policy. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter His is not merely a rhetorical stance: Bolton actively conspired during his tenure as the Bush administrations policymaker on Iran from 2002 through 2004 to establish the political conditions necessary for the administration to carry out military action. More than anyone else inside or outside the Trump administration, Bolton has already influenced Trump to tear up the Iran nuclear deal. Bolton parlayed his connection with the primary financier behind both Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump himselfthe militantly Zionist casino magnate Sheldon Adelsonto get Trumps ear last October, just as the president was preparing to announce his policy on the Iran nuclear agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). He spoke with Trump by phone from Las Vegas after meeting with Adelson. It was Bolton who persuaded Trump to commit to specific language pledging to pull out of the JCPOA if Congress and Americas European allies did not go along with demands for major changes that were clearly calculated to ensure the deal would fall apart. Although Bolton was passed over for the job of secretary of state, he now appears to have had the inside track for national security advisor. Trump met with Bolton on March 6 and told him, We need you here, John, according to a Bolton associate. Bolton said he would only take secretary of state or national security advisor, whereupon Trump promised, Ill call you really soon. Trump then replaced Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with former CIA director Mike Pompeo, after which White House sources leaked to the media Trumps intention to replace H.R. McMaster within a matter of weeks. The only other possible candidate for the position mentioned in media accounts is Keith Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general who was acting national security advisor after General Michael Flynn was ousted in February 2017. Boltons high-profile advocacy of war with Iran is well known. What is not at all well known is that, when he was under secretary of state for arms control and international security, he executed a complex and devious strategy aimed at creating the justification for a U.S. attack on Iran. Bolton sought to convict the Islamic Republic in the court of international public opinion of having a covert nuclear weapons program using a combination of diplomatic pressure, crude propaganda, and fabricated evidence. Despite the fact that Bolton was technically under the supervision of Secretary of State Colin Powell, his actual boss in devising and carrying out that strategy was Vice President Dick Cheney. Bolton was also the administrations main point of contact with the Israeli government, and with Cheneys backing, he was able to flout normal State Department rules by taking a series of trips to Israel in 2003 and 2004 without having the required clearance from the State Departments Bureau for Near Eastern Affairs. Thus, at the very moment that Powell was saying administration policy was not to attack Iran, Bolton was working with the Israelis to lay the groundwork for just such a war. During a February 2003 visit, Bolton assured Israeli officials in private meetings that he had no doubt the United States would attack Iraq, and that after taking down Saddam, it would deal with Iran, too, as well as Syria. During multiple trips to Israel, Bolton had unannounced meetings, including with the head of Mossad, Meir Dagan, without the usual reporting cable to the secretary of state and other relevant offices. Judging from that report on an early Bolton visit, those meetings clearly dealt with a joint strategy on how to bring about political conditions for an eventual U.S. strike against Iran. Mossad played a very aggressive role in influencing world opinion on the Iranian nuclear program. In the summer of 2003, according to journalists Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins in their book The Nuclear Jihadist, Meir Dagan created a new Mossad office tasked with briefing the worlds press on alleged Iranian efforts to achieve a nuclear weapons capability. The new units responsibilities included circulating documents from inside Iran as well from outside, according to Frantz and Collins. Boltons role in a joint U.S.-Israeli strategy, as he outlines in his own 2007 memoir, was to ensure that the Iran nuclear issue would be moved out of the International Atomic Energy Agency and into the United Nations Security Council. He was determined to prevent IAEA director general Mohamed ElBaradei from reaching an agreement with Iran that would make it more difficult for the Bush administration to demonize Tehran as posing a nuclear weapons threat. Bolton began accusing Iran of having a covert nuclear weapons program in mid-2003, but encountered resistance not only from ElBaradei and non-aligned states, but from Britain, France, and Germany as well. Boltons strategy was based on the claim that Iran was hiding its military nuclear program from the IAEA, and in early 2004, he came up with a dramatic propaganda ploy: he sent a set of satellite images to the IAEA showing sites at the Iranian military reservation at Parchin that he claimed were being used for tests to simulate nuclear weapons. Bolton demanded that the IAEA request access to inspect those sites and leaked his demand to the Associated Press in September 2004. In fact, the satellite images showed nothing more than bunkers and buildings for conventional explosives testing. Bolton was apparently hoping the Iranian military would not agree to any IAEA inspections based on such bogus claims, thus playing into his propaganda theme of Irans intransigence in refusing to answer questions about its nuclear program. But in 2005 Iran allowed the inspectors into those sites and even let them choose several more sites to inspect. The inspectors found no evidence of any nuclear-related activities. The U.S.-Israeli strategy would later hit the jackpot, however, when a large cache of documents supposedly from a covert source within Irans nuclear weapons program surfaced in autumn 2004. The documents, allegedly found on the laptop computer of one of the participants, included technical drawings of a series of efforts to redesign Irans Shahab-3 missile to carry what appeared to be a nuclear weapon. But the whole story of the so-called laptop documents was a fabrication. In 2013, a former senior German official revealed the true story to this writer: the documents had been given to German intelligence by the Mujahedin E Khalq, the anti-Iran armed group that was well known to have been used by Mossad to launder information the Israelis did not want attributed to themselves. Furthermore, the drawings showing the redesign that were cited as proof of a nuclear weapons program were clearly done by someone who didnt know that Iran had already abandoned the Shahab-3s nose cone for an entirely different design. Mossad had clearly been working on those documents in 2003 and 2004 when Bolton was meeting with Meir Dagan. Whether Bolton knew the Israelis were preparing fake documents or not, it was the Israeli contribution towards establishing the political basis for an American attack on Iran for which he was the point man. Bolton reveals in his memoirs that this Cheney-directed strategy took its cues from the Israelis, who told Bolton that the Iranians were getting close to the point of no return. That was point, Bolton wrote, at which we could not stop their progress without using force. Cheney and Bolton based their war strategy on the premise that the U.S. military would be able to consolidate control over Iraq quickly. Instead the U.S. occupation bogged down and never fully recovered. Cheney proposed taking advantage of a high-casualty event in Iraq that could be blamed on Iran to attack an IRGC base in Iran in the summer of 2007. But the risk that pro-Iranian Shiite militias in Iraq would retaliate against U.S. troops was a key argument against the proposal. The Pentagon and the Joint Chiefs of Staff were also well aware that Iran had the capability to retaliate directly against U.S. forces in the region, including against warships in the Strait of Hormuz. They had no patience for Cheneys wild ideas about more war. That Pentagon caution remains unchanged. But two minds in the White House unhinged from reality could challenge that warinessand push the United States closer towards a dangerous war with Iran. Gareth Porter is an investigative reporter and regular contributor to TAC. He is also the author of Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare. Follow him on Twitter @GarethPorter. Tech giants are trying to cancel Eagle Forum. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, and others have shadow-banned, and removed us from your news feeds and search results. They are trying to erase Eagle Forum. But we are here. Help us fight. Subscribe to Eagle Forum Report newsletter by email here its free and its critical NOW more than ever. Please SHARE our posts on your social channels and with your email contacts. Help us win! And if you can, please contribute to Eagle Forum. YOU make our work possible. Beautiful nollywood actress celebrates her 30th birthday with beautiful photos. Regina Chinedu Chukwu is an actress and a producer who hails from Enugu state in Southeast Nigeria. But most of her movies are mostly Yoruba films, that is in Southwest Nigeria where she was born in the Iyana Ipaja area of Lagos and also attended her primary and secondary education at Alimosho area. She studied at Laspotech, Lagos State Polytechnic.Regina have two lovely children but her husband is late, so shes a single parent. While receiving the freed Dapchi schoolgirls at the State House in Abuja on Friday, President Muhammadu Buhari told the security chiefs that any loophole y that leads to abduction will not be taken lightly. Meanwhile, the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Lawal Daura, had said that almost all the freed Dapchi schoolgirls had one skin infection or the other for norlt bathing for one month. In other news, those who actively participated in the release of the Chibok girls and the oil explorers from the University of Maiduguri as well as the women that were abducted while conveying the corpse of a police woman to her village in Borno state for burial were the same people that played key role in the release of the Dapchi girls, Daily trust reports. Nigerian media personalities, Daddy Freeze and IK Osakioduwa have added their voices to the ongoing drama about the released Dapchi girls. The duo are not happy following the refusal of Boko Haram to release Leah Sharibu, who was not released alongside other schoolgirls because she refused to denounce Christianity. The other schoolgirls were returned on Wednesday to their families in Dapchi after being abducted from Federal Government Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State. Daddy Freeze wrote: Sad to see this poor girl and her family go through this Where are all those thieving Daddy GOs on this matter? Oh sorry, my bad, it doesnt concern tithes. The only Christ they are about is the one that fuels their jets, buys their Gucci sweaters and funds the tomfoolery their ridiculous doctrine has shamefully become! ~FRZ #FreeTheSheeple IK Osakioduwa also wrote: This morning I pray for the brave young Christian student Leah Sharibu, still being held by Boko Haram abductors because she refused to renounce her Christianity. May God bring you back to us safely in Jesus name. I salute your courage. You are an inspiration to us all. #FreeLeah #FreeWorship Tori The US reality TV star, 20, welcomed daughter Stormi in February and is already showing off a trim shape She recently confessed to using a waist-trainer to reclaim her pre-pregnancy shape. But Kylie Jenner s fans arent very impressed by the stars tactic and told her so via social media, this week. The US reality TV star, 20 who welcomed daughter Stormi in February has been inundated with comments from people who believe shes risking her health with the compression garment. And, furthermore, they fear it sends a bad message to other women. It comes just 24 hours after she shared a snap of herself in a black corset, which she called her snap back package. Dismayed, one fan said: My God. Is Kylie still advertising waist trainers to teenage girls? How can u [sic] be so filthy rich and still sell out for something that is so dumb and could potentially perpetuate negative body image in young girls. Another said: Find it so weird that the Kardashians/Jenners are multi millionaire uber cool influencers but still jam up their Instas with basic, basic ads. Kylie, Im looking @ you with todays waist trainer. Parents of the only Dapchi schoolgirl still being held by Boko Haram are hopeful that she will return home. Leah Sharibu, a SS 1 pupil, sent a message to her mother that the family should pray for the will of God to be done. The Nation reports. President Muhammadu Buhari said yesterday that the government would not abandon her. Leah, the only Christian among the 110 girls kidnapped on February 19, was not released along with 104 others on Wednesday. Five of the girls died on the day they were abducted. Leahs mother, Mrs Rebecca Sharibu, fainted when she was told on Wednesday that her daughter was not released. According to Premium Times, Mrs Sharibu told their reporter yesterday that her daughter sent a message that the family should pray for Gods will to be done. Mrs Sharibu has not lost hope that her daughter would return. She vowed to continue to pray for her to be released. She said: The released girls told us that the insurgents insisted that my daughter must renounce her religion. But she told them she had no single knowledge of Islam and could not be a Muslim. She was then left out of the Dapchi trip. They told her that any day she accepts Islam, she will be released. Leah, we were told was left behind with three Boko Haram women but she sent the message through her mates that we should pray for the will of God to be done in her life. She urged the Federal Government to negotiate for her daughters freedom, saying: So I plead that the government and the negotiation team should revisit the terms of the agreement to ensure the release of my daughter. Everybody has his religion and no one should be compelled to practice a religion he or she never wishes to. Leahs father Nathan Sharibu thanked the Dapchi community for standing by him and his family. How Leah was stopped from returning Mrs. Sharibu said some of the released girls told her how Leah was stopped by Boko Haram at the last minute. What her school mates that returned told me was that my daughter (was told she) must recite the Kalima Shahada (the Islamic profession of faith in one God), and she does not know how to recite it, she said. So they told her that if she didnt know how to recite it then she should come down from the vehicle. She had already boarded the vehicle alongside others that were ready to come home. So she was asked to go down and join some three other females that they said they met there at where they were kept. They said my daughter would only be brought back home the day she knows how to recite Kalima shahada. She insisted that she does not know how to recite and that she was not brought up as a Muslim. That was why she was held back. She was asked to go and stay with those three women who were also captives there. She then pleaded with her friends that if they eventually made it home successfully, they should inform we, her parents, to continue to help her pray for God to protect her and bring her home safely as well. That whether she survived or not, she still need prayers. My concern and question to the government is that since we were told that the negotiation was done for all the schoolgirls, why did government accept that only my daughter be left behind when others were freed and even brought home? So I am begging the federal government of Nigeria, if the negotiation was because they love all the girls as their own, they should do everything to help release my own girl. To the Boko Haram members, I have nothing to say other than they should have pity on my only daughter and release her. It was not her fault that she is a Christian, I know that in this world, everyone chose the path of faith he or she has chosen in worshipping God. There is no way one could be forced to do what he or she does not know. It is not possible. Popular Nigerian musicians Olamide, 9ice as well as Davido have all seen their latest new songs, banned by federal government agency, NBC. The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) have placed a ban on works by three of Nigerias top level music artistes for an alleged violation of its rules and regulations. According to PUNCH, the NBC, named Olamides Wo and Wavi Level; a remix of Davidos If and 9ices Living Things as the culprits in a current list of banned songs and music videos that it released to the public. The commission however did not give specific reasons for banning the songs, the decision may have been influenced by a recent reaction from the Federal Ministry of Health to the music video of Olamides new song. In a swift reaction, Olamide said that he never intended to cause harm to music fans with the song. He tweeted:- No intentions of promoting tobacco to get people killed. I love my people, I love my country. One love, one Nigeria. A message posted on Twitter last Friday, the ministry kicked against the video of Wo, released some weeks ago and described the content as contravening the Tobacco Control Act of 2015. The Ministry of Health also noted that the video contained scenes showing youths of different ages openly smoking substances believed to be either cigarettes or narcotics and concluded that such scenes could encourage second-hand smoking among underage children anywhere in the country. Also, before the ban on 9ices Living Things, the song had been fingered as the subject of a statement by fellow rapper Falz, which urged Nigerian musicians in general to be mindful of the kind of messages that they passed to the public in their songs. Falz had appeared to be genuinely concerned about the impact of such messages on the youth. He pointed out that artistes who saw nothing wrong about glorifying Internet fraud, drugs and other anti-social behaviour were not doing the society any good. Source: Naijaloaded Worlds second richest man and founder of Miscrosoft, Bill Gates was in Nigeria yesterday. Gates in his address noted that the present economic templates being used by the Muhammadu Buhari led government, do not have the ability to address the unique needs of Nigerians. Mr Gates statement was received with mixed feelings. However, here are 5 things Nigerians had to say. U invited Bill Gates to ur Economic Council meeting and he told u the bitter truth and that things are not working the way they should. When ur guest tells u the bitter truth u better sit up and listen. Gates needs nothing from u and he has no reason to lie. U are a disaster. Femi Fani-Kayode (@realFFK) March 22, 2018 I assure you that Mr. Buhari himself, still doesnt understand what Bill Gates meant by invest in human capital, he will wait for the sycophants around him to interpret. They will now tell him Bill gates commended N-Power and wants the budget doubled. N-Power Looters: pic.twitter.com/76nCd4cBrv Somto Onuchukwu (@chosensomto) March 23, 2018 "The present economic templates being used by the President Muhammadu Buhari's government do not have the ability to address the unique needs of Nigerians at present"~ Bill Gates. This is another confirmation of Buhari's cluelessness, Nigeria is in the wrong hands. Oluyemi Fasipe (@YemieFASH) March 22, 2018 Founder of Miscrosoft, Bill Gates was in Nigeria yesterday and in his address, he noted that the present economic templates being used by the Buhari govt do not have the ability. That was like going to scold a grown man in his own house. Some Nigerians hilariously took to Twitter to mock the All Progressives Congress, APC saying the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP must have sponsored Gates to speak against Buharis government. See funny reactions below; Bill Gates is a Wailer. He is wailing because he belonged to the GEJs administration and also a card carrying member of the PDP. How could he say such a thing about the best Administration Nigeria has ever had? Doesnt he know Buhari is fighting corruption? Yeye Billionaire. Sage (@SageKyngDavid) March 22, 2018 Buharis economic blueprint does not address Nigerias needs Bill gates Bill gates has this to say during his visit to Nigeria. Who can we say bribed bill gates to make this statement, PDP? pic.twitter.com/Ff7XEuSiGz Signalsng.com (@SignalsNg) March 23, 2018 Bill Gates is a Wailer. He is wailing because he belonged to the GEJs administration and also a card carrying member of the PDP. How could he say such a thing about the best Administration Nigeria has ever had? Doesnt he know Buhari is fighting corruption? Yeye Billionaire. Sage (@SageKyngDavid) March 22, 2018 PDP sponsored Bill Gates to malign Buhari, we reject his verdict on Nigerias economy ~ Lai Mohammed Lere Olayinka Aresa 1 (@OlayinkaLere) March 23, 2018 Apparently, President Buhari invited Bill Gates to the Villa thinking Mr. Gates would praise him, but instead he got the shock of his life when his guest criticized his handling of the economy, saying it does not reflect the needs of Nigerians and described Nigeria as pic.twitter.com/QdzqKSfPhd PDP Youth Frontier (@PDPNYF) March 22, 2018 Buharis economic blueprint does not address Nigerians needsBill Gates LAI MOH:Mr. Gate is too busy with designing computer hard & software to see the effect of our economic blueprint in NGR John Danfulani (@john_danfulani) March 22, 2018 Popular artistes Davido, Olamide and 9ice have all come under fire from the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission and seen their songs stricken from the airwaves. Olamides Wo, 9ices Living Things and Davidos If remix were all banned. For Olamide, it is suspected that the depiction of smoking, was something that didnt sit well with the NBC. Olamide responded to the ban, apologising for any harm caused. He tweeted; No intentions of promoting tobacco to get people killed. I love my people, I love my country. One love, one Nigeria. No specific reason was given for the ban, but the tweets of the Ministry of Health are an indicator as to why Olamides Wo was banned. According to the Ministry of Health, the video for Olamides song contravenes the Tobacco Control Act of 2015 and that it is dangerous to kids who might be encouraged to smoke after seeing that. As for 9ices song, it is speculated that the seeming subject matter of the song might be unhealthy to young, aspiring Nigerians to hear. Recall that sometime last year, the song was slammed by Falz who said that the message of the song could easily be misinterpreted by listeners. 9ice has since defended the song saying that the song was in no way sung to harm anyone. Source Herald A heartless ritualist has abducted and plucked out the eyes of a 7-year-old boy, Maina Bukar popularly known as Almajiri in Borno state. Bukar, a student of Sangaya was kidnapped by suspected ritualist on Saturday 17/3/2018 at Ngomari Kare Kili area of Borno state. According to the boys father who narrated what happened, the boy was asked to bring water for ablution by the suspected ritualist, he kindly did as directed. He was again asked to escort the ritualist to a nearby village. He obeyed, and was taken to the bush where he was asked to wait in the bush while the suspect excuse himself to urinate. He then came back and told the poor boy that he would slaughter him. The boy reportedly replied him saying; Dont slaughter me because my teacher would not leave me. He then tied the boy down and ripped out his two eyes. The boy sustained multiple knife injuries in his stomach and his thigh. He is currently on admission at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital UMTH. Purple Heart Foundation in collaboration of Better Jere Initiative donated the sum of 100,000 Naira to the parents to aid the boys medical treatments. TORONTO, ON On Saturday, March 24 from 3 7 p.m., K1 SPEED Toronto will host its Grand Opening Event. Hometown racing hero Paul Tracy will be on hand for the event for a meet and greet. Races are just $25 with $5 from each going to the Make A Wish Foundation. Set a top-14 lap time prior to 5:00 p.m. and you can race against PT. Prizes will be handed out throughout the day. Dont miss out on this fun event! K1 Speed Toronto is located at 75 Carl Hall Road (Unit #9) in North York, Ontario. Visit www.k1speed.ca for info and directions. WASHINGTON - March 23, 2018 (Investorideas.com Newswire) A spending bill passed by Congress early Friday contains language that renews restrictions on the use of federal funds to interfere with state medical marijuana programs. If approved by the president, the legislation will continue to prevent the Department of Justice from spending resources to target medical marijuana patients and providers who are in compliance with state law. These protections are set to expire on September 30 and would need to be renewed in the FY2019 spending bill. This language was originally approved in 2014 and has been included in every subsequent budget agreement. On January 4, Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded a Department of Justice policy instituted in 2013 that directed federal prosecutors not to enforce federal marijuana laws against individuals and businesses that are in compliance with state medical or adult-use marijuana laws. This move created uncertainty in states where marijuana is legal for adults, but passage of the spending bill ensures that medical marijuana programs will still be protected for the remainder of the fiscal year. "Patients across the country will be relieved to hear that Congress has maintained the current policy of allowing states to make their own decisions on medical marijuana policy," said Matthew Schweich, executive director for the Marijuana Policy Project. "A strong majority of American voters oppose federal interference in state-level marijuana laws. Any actions by the federal government against medical marijuana patients or their providers would represent a dangerous and unjust backwards step on public health. Lawmakers are increasingly recognizing the benefits of medical marijuana, as well as the role it can play in our efforts to combat a nationwide opioid crisis that tragically claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Americans last year." Recent studies suggest that marijuana may be used to treat opiate addiction as well as many of the conditions for which opiates are commonly prescribed. Several states where marijuana is legal for medical purposes have shown links between reforming their marijuana laws and positive opiate-related public health outcomes. "It is imperative that Congress continue to include these temporary protections in the federal budget until comprehensive marijuana policy reforms are passed," Schweich continued. Twenty-nine states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories of Guam and Puerto Rico have enacted effective medical marijuana laws. Marijuana is legal and regulated for adults in eight states, and adult possession and limited home cultivation are legal in Vermont and the District of Columbia. The Marijuana Policy Project is the nation's largest marijuana policy organization. For more information, visit http://www.MarijuanaPolicy.org. 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Student Body President Cody West speaks during the Student Government town hall meeting in the Soults Family Visitor Center on March 22. During the meeting, West spoke of achievements from his presidency that he is most proud of. Huawei is taking the marketing of its upcoming flagship, the P20, to the next level. The company has started putting up ad vans in front of Apple and Samsung Stores in the UK, asking users to Wait and Be Patient. The alphabets AI are highlighted to indicate the technology it will be running on. The company has also sprayed graffiti in front of some stores claiming that The Renaissance is coming on the 27th of March. Thankfully, we dont have to wait much longer to know what Huawei has in store. The P20, from what we know, is expected to be packing a groundbreaking camera that could rival most competitive offerings, including flagships from Apple and Samsung. Its too soon to tell if the over-the-top marketing is going to work for the Chinese company, but it has gotten people talking on social media, and thats exactly what Huawei wants ahead of the big unveiling on Tuesday. The company is also going to launch the P20 Pro, which is expected to be an upgraded storage or RAM variant of the standard P20. The company, however, will not be able to sell its smartphones in the U.S. with Best Buy announcing that it wont sell Huawei phones in the region. Previously, carriers like AT&T and Verizon had backed out of a deal with Huawei to sell its upcoming phones on American soil. This is believed to be the repercussion of a letter sent by the Senate and the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, citing intelligence sources who believe that Huawei is closely associated with the Communist Party in China as well as its security and intelligence agencies. [Via Phone Arena Nikol Pashinyan: A 35-point package is being discussed in one-day procedure (video) At today's extraordinary session of the National Assembly, Ara Babloyan, Chairman of the National Assembly, announced that the were going to work without breaks. Edmond Marukyan, a member of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) faction, said it was unacceptable as the projects should be thoroughly discussed. The head of the Yelk parliamentary faction Nikol Pashinyan also stated that by saying to discuss thoroughly we mean that a 35-point package is being discussed in one-day procedure. "We use breaks to understand whether the draft has been adopted or not, or what has happened in the drafts." Member of the Tsarukyan alliance Naira Zohrabyan, in her turn, said "I think everyone should understand that our job is here if someone is in a hurry, let him go. We must work before the exhaustion of the agenda. " Head of the HHK (RPA) faction Vahram Baghdasaryan stated "Since the session is extraordinary, we have had such cases very often, we should work more efficiently, and if necessary, we will further enforce a session. There is no hurry, we will work until late before the agenda is exhausted." Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan will pay a working visit to New York Governments preventing publication of Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper during state of emergency UCOM prolongs the unlimited internet offer for the level up 4700 and level up 5500 subscribers Ucom employees received recognition for their services to the homeland Google Ad Karen Vardanyan has allocated 105 million AMD to rescue the Yerevan Botanical Garden. "The Power of One Dram" to overcome childhood cancer Generation A 13 your chance to be the change President of the Artsakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan met with Russian Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Igor Khovayev "uDays" special offer at Ucom: discounts for all smartphones and accessories for 2 days only For more than 3 hours, 50 or more Azerbaijani servicemen have blocked the interstate road Call on the international community for an adequate response against azerbaijani aggresssion Transformation and trust are important for success in modern banking. Artak Hanesyan UCOMS LEVEL UP 1700 REGIONAL TARIFF PLAN USERS TO RECEIVE MORE THAN THOSE IN YEREVAN Joint statement Statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group Covid-19: 163 new cases in Armenia Google Ad Armenia: Remarks by Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi at the press point with Acting Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan The United States Welcomes Azerbaijans Release of Armenian Detainees and Armenias Actions to Facilitate Demining The Coronavirus-Related Situation in Armenia International aviation: Council greenlights signing of major agreements with four countries With UCOMs level up tariff plans subscribers have unlimited access to Netflix, Duolingo and Zoom Armenia: Statement by the Spokesperson on the early parliamentary elections Armenias Parliamentary Elections PRESS STATEMENT COVID19:77 new cases Armenias early parliamentary elections were competitive and well run, but polarized and marred by aggressive rhetoric, international observers say International election observers to Armenias early parliamentary elections held press conference Drop Charges Against Rights Defender Sashik Sultanyan The Coronavirus-Related Situation in Armenia The European Union in Armenia calls all parties to contribute to a peaceful Election Day to celebrate democracy Susan Powell, East Cowes: I read with despair about the Isle of Wight Councils proposals to increase parking charges (CP, 16-03-18). I feel this is a financial burden too much for our towns, and would-be shoppers, to bear. I dont like shopping online and much prefer to see what Im getting, which means going shopping, in the old-fashioned way. I dont want to have to pay even more for the privilege to park, having already paid council tax, road tax, insurance, MoT costs etc etc. On a walk from Appley to Seaview the other day, my son and I commented on the amount of empty houses abutting the coastal path in Seaview: on turning inland into the town, we noticed the only people around were workmen and folk working in the hotel. Now heres an idea. How about putting a higher levy, not to mention charging full council tax, on all those empty houses? If you collected revenue from all of these part-time properties all over the Island, there would probably be enough money annually for all of us to enjoy free parking in perpetuity, plus a holiday in the Bahamas. Just a thought. Having closed Yerevan council meetings is challenge to media (video) Journalists' entrance to Yerevan council hall was banned. The National Assembly has amended the RA Law "On Local Self-Government in the City of Yerevan". Shushan Doydoyan, President of the Freedom of Information Center told A1 + that during the first reading, the bill was only 3-4 lines where there was no word about the work of journalists, and during the second reading, another draft was brought, which had other content. No public hearings on the project were held. Journalists also did not have the opportunity to express their opinion. The idea of holding the session of the Council of Elders without journalists emerged after the incident on February 13, when the members of the Yerkir Tsiran (Country of Apricot) faction brought water from the Nubarashen open water plant. Before the video cameras, the RPA members beat the members of Yerkir Tsirani members. Justice Minister Davit Harutyunyan said that the project will repeat the model of the National Assembly and there will be live broadcast. However, there is a significant difference between the sessions of NA and municipality. Journalists in the National Assembly see behind the windows what is happening in the hall. And there will be another situation in the municipality, the room for journalists will be on the first floor and the council session will be held on the 5th floor. Shushan Doydoyan reminds that journalists do not cover the meetings of the Council for their personal interests or purposes: "They are there as the public's eyes or ears, they see, hear, record and transmit it to the public." Freedom of Information Center Chairman concluded that the live broadcast can always be interrupted by different pretexts, leaving the public unaware of what has happened inside. Human rights activist, Ibtisam Al-Saegh, also tweeted the news of Mansoor's hospitalization. (AhlulBayt News Agency) - Bahraini detainee Hajer Mansoor, 49, was admitted to hospital Thursday, her family said, three days after launching her second hunger strike behind bars to protest the treatment of prisoners. Human rights activist, Ibtisam Al-Saegh, also tweeted the news of Mansoor's hospitalization. Hajer Mansoor Hassan and her 18-year-old son were sentenced to three years in jail in October, in a trial decried by rights groups as an act of political reprisal against Bahraini activists. She was hospitalized with hypoglycemia, three days after starting a hunger strike to protest the treatment of inmates at the notorious Isa Town Prison, her son-in-law Sayed Alwadaei said. Bahrain's justice ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. /257 03/22/2018 Dear Students, Thank you for your continued patience as we strive to recover from the tornadoes of March 19th. As I stated yesterday, we realize the storms profoundly impacted you, as well as many faculty and staff. We have been busy developing plans, inspecting facilities, and clearing trees along with a host of other activities. I've received numerous questions today, and I will do my best to answer them with this update. For students who reside on campus, expect a phone call from a housing representative in the near future. We want to reach out to you individually to let you know what we are doing to address your housing needs for the remainder of the semester. I know many of you who reside on campus want to return to pick up your personal effects and I understand this sentiment. Inspections are moving as quickly as possible and, once the all clear has been given, you will be able to return. I do not anticipate an all clear signal this week or even early next week. I realize this is frustrating for you, and believe me, it's frustrating for us. However, there are only so many hours in the day and the damage is extensive. Your safety is important to us, so bear with us as inspectors do what they are trained to do to make sure the facility is safe before you return. For students who reside off campus, we had a productive meeting with National Guard representatives from Ft. McClellan. The training facility at Ft. McClellan has residence halls and they are willing to share what space they have with displaced students. Our housing representatives are working on a survey that will be made available to you in the coming days to ascertain your interest in this option. There are still many details to work out and the room allotment will be limited. Regardless, we are fortunate to have Ft. McClellan near us and the National Guard for being so generous. For students living at Fort McClellan, we will provide bus service to assure that students living there without a car can easily come back and forth to campus. More information on this will be forthcoming. For any student in need of basic necessities, the First United Methodist Church of Jacksonville is serving as a distribution center. Once campus is back up to speed, my team will be offering a help center on campus to serve you. If you and/or others want to volunteer with clean up for the City of Jacksonville, please contact or go to the Jacksonville Community Center. Campus has not been cleared for volunteer assistance due to safety concerns, but, once we have been cleared, volunteers will be welcome and needed. The Provost and Deans have been examining academic buildings with inspectors to ascertain usable space. Please be patient as this is a monumental task. The Provost, Deans and Registrar are considering all options to help you complete the semester. The Registrar has been in touch with colleagues at The University of Alabama, Union University, William Carey University and Louisiana State University institutions that have encountered similar circumstances and is working with the Deans to incorporate what was learned to best serve you. More discussions await us tomorrow and rest assured that everyone here is working as hard as possible for you. And remember, if you have ideas to help us better serve you, feel free to let me know. Until tomorrow #jsustrong, #jacksonvillestrong Kind regards, Timothy B. King, Ph.D. Vice President for Student Affairs US President Donald Trump [official website] signed a presidential memorandum [text] on Thursday calling for the US Trade Representative [official website] to develop a list of proposed tariffs against goods from China. The trade representative has 15 days to publish the list of proposed tariffs, which will undergo a period of notice and comment. After the notice and comment, the trade representative will implement and publish the final tariff increases against Chinas goods. The trade representative will also pursue a dispute settlement with China in the World Trade Organization (WTO) [official website]. The trade representative will also propose actions to address China investment in US industries and technologies. The tariffs have been justified due to the results of a trade representative report [text, PDF], which investigated Chinas trade practices under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The report states that China restricts US companies from investing in China and forces technology transfers from US companies to Chinese entities. The report also states that China has made unauthorized intrusion into, and theft from, computer networks of U.S. companies. The announcement comes less than two weeks after Trump announced [JURIST report] tariffs against imports of aluminum and steel. Several Republican legislators in Pennsylvania filed resolutions [text] on Tuesday to impeach Democratic Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justices Max Baer, David Wecht, Debra Todd, Christine Donohue, and Kevin Dougherty [official profiles]. The resolutions claim that the Justices should be impeached due to misbehavior in office. The resolutions were filed following a memorandum submitted by Pennsylvania House member Cris Dush [official website] in February. The memorandum claimed that an order [JURIST report] of the court undermined legislative and executive veto powers established in the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in Article IV, Section 15 [text]. The order called into question came out of a redistricting case decided earlier this year, League of Women Voters of PA, et. al. v. The Commonwealth of PA, et. al [opinion, pdf]. The court had declared the Congressional Redistricting Act of 2011 [text] unconstitutional in violation of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The per curiam opinion stated that the previous redistricting process resulted in a significant benefit to the republican party who were in control of that process in 2011. The court then ordered that the Pennsylvania General Assembly draft a new congressional districting plan that comports with the Pennsylvania constitution. Challenges to the courts decision were denied [JURIST report] by the US Supreme Court and a Pennsylvania federal district court last week. The revelations were made by Maatouks family members, who repeatedly voiced their concern over his well-being. (AhlulBayt News Agency) - Blind Bahraini detainee Jaafar Maatouk has been placed in solitary confinement after online activists launched a Twitter campaign demanding his immediate release. The revelations were made by Maatouks family members, who repeatedly voiced their concern over his well-being. The Twitter campaign was launched last week following allegations that Maatouk was being subjected to severe torture in Bahrains Jaw Prison. The disabled 27-year-old is serving a life sentence over what activists describe as politically motivated charges. Detained in 2014, Maatouk has also been stripped of his Bahraini citizenship. Prisoners at Jaw are routinely harassed by guards for speaking out against poor living conditions, observing Shiite religious occasions, and refusing to abide by abusive restrictions. /257 [JURIST] In a ruling from the bench on Thursday, Wisconsin Dane County Circuit Judge Josann Reynolds ordered [MJS report] the states Governor Scott Walker [official website] to call special elections to fill two empty seats which were previously held by Republicans. Walker had previously refused to call the elections after two fellow Republicans stepped down to join the Walker administration. Under Walkers plan, the seats would remain vacant for more than 12 months. This triggered the lawsuit [Petition for Writ of Mandamus, PDF] to compel the elections. The lawsuit was headed by Eric Holder [official profile], the first attorney general under president Barack Obama. The case relied on a state law [materials] that imposed on Walker a duty to call special elections upon a seat becoming vacant. The judge found that Walker was bound by this duty and, moreover, the delay in doing so violated the voting rights of the voters who lived in the two affected districts. While the order compelled the holding of the elections themselves, the judge did not impose a date by which the elections must be held. The winners of the election would also be up for re-election again in the November midterm elections. Today the Islamic Republic of Iran is an independent country in the region, AbuTorabi Fard said. (AhlulBayt News Agency) - Political independence is a valuable and great asset, Tehran's interim Friday Prayer Leader Ayatollah Mohammad Hassan AbuTorabi Fard said on Friday. Today the Islamic Republic of Iran is an independent country in the region, AbuTorabi Fard said. Referring to designation of the New Year by Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei as year of support for domestic productions, he said this is only achievable through efforts based on knowledge, science and belief. If you want to introduce Iranian products, they should be introduced to the market with highest quality and affordable prices, he said. It means promoting knowledge-based productions, he added. Abu Torabi also hailed freedom of thought, speech and choice in Iran. He also congratulated people on the Iranian New Year, Norouz. /257 PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - An Oregon man has pleaded guilty to using a passport obtained in the name of a baby that died in Wales more than 50 years ago. Timothy Matthews faces a maximum of 10 years in prison when he's sentenced in June, but without prior convictions he's expected to get no more than probation. He did not make a statement Wednesday in federal court, and declined comment outside the courtroom. According to court documents, the defendant was born Timothy Scheidt in Lander, Wyoming, in 1963. He changed his surname in 2013. Years earlier, he received a passport issued by the United Kingdom in the name of Peter Matthews - a baby who died shortly after birth in 1963. He used it many times before the fraud was detected in 2012. His motive for doing so remains unknown. (Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) 3/21/2018 3:38:22 PM (GMT -7:00) SOUTHERN OREGON- Information as of 5:40PM Winter Storm Warning Areas Affected: Eastern Curry County and Josephine County NWS Medford (Southwest Oregon and Northern California) ...Heavy mountain snow and possible low elevation snow tonight into Friday night... .Snow levels will drop to around 1500 feet tonight. A rich plume of Pacific moisture will take aim at the area, bringing heavy snow to the mountains. Particularly hard hit will be the mountains of Curry, Josephine, and western Siskiyou counties where several feet of snow are possible. Heavy snow is also expected over the Cascades, Mt. Shasta area, and portions of the east side, although confidence in snow amounts is lower for these areas. Snow will also impact lower elevations primarily at night and especially the more snow-prone areas like the I-5 Passes north of Grants Pass and the Illinois Valley. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 11 AM PDT FRIDAY... ...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 11 PM PDT FRIDAY... * WHAT...Heavy snow expected above 2000 feet. Total snow accumulations of 1 to 3 feet in the warning area west of the Illinois Valley, and 4 to 8 inches of snow on I-5 passes north of Grants pass. In the advisory area, total snow accumulations of 1 to 3 inches, with localized amounts up to 6 inches. * WHERE...Warning above 2000 feet in eastern Curry County and Josephine County. Sexton pass and Smith Hill on I-5 are also included in the warning area. The advisory is for the Illinois Valley, including Highway 199 from west of Wilderville to the state line. * WHEN...11 PM this evening to 11 PM PDT Friday. The most significant impacts at lower elevations are expected between 11 pm this evening and sunrise Friday, then daytime warming will diminish impacts and snow levels will rise... but wet roads will freeze Friday night and any precipitation will transition back to snow. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel will be very difficult to impossible, including during the morning commute on Friday. Be prepared for significant reductions in visibility at times. * View the hazard area in detail at https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mfr/HAZARD && * Travel is strongly discouraged because of dangerous conditions. * If you must travel, keep tire chains, a flashlight, blankets, food, water, medications, and a fully charged phone with you. * The safest place during a winter storm is indoors. * See https://www.tripcheck.com for latest road conditions. * A Winter Storm Warning means that severe winter weather is likely and poses a threat to life and property. Take protective action now. * A Winter Weather Advisory for snow means that periods of snow will cause travel difficulties. Winter Weather Advisory Areas Affected: Eastern Curry County and Josephine County NWS Medford (Southwest Oregon and Northern California) ...Heavy mountain snow and possible low elevation snow tonight into Friday night... .Snow levels will drop to around 1500 feet tonight. A rich plume of Pacific moisture will take aim at the area, bringing heavy snow to the mountains. Particularly hard hit will be the mountains of Curry, Josephine, and western Siskiyou counties where several feet of snow are possible. Heavy snow is also expected over the Cascades, Mt. Shasta area, and portions of the east side, although confidence in snow amounts is lower for these areas. Snow will also impact lower elevations primarily at night and especially the more snow-prone areas like the I-5 Passes north of Grants Pass and the Illinois Valley. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 11 AM PDT FRIDAY... ...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 11 PM PDT FRIDAY... * WHAT...Heavy snow expected above 2000 feet. Total snow accumulations of 1 to 3 feet in the warning area west of the Illinois Valley, and 4 to 8 inches of snow on I-5 passes north of Grants pass. In the advisory area, total snow accumulations of 1 to 3 inches, with localized amounts up to 6 inches. * WHERE...Warning above 2000 feet in eastern Curry County and Josephine County. Sexton pass and Smith Hill on I-5 are also included in the warning area. The advisory is for the Illinois Valley, including Highway 199 from west of Wilderville to the state line. * WHEN...11 PM this evening to 11 PM PDT Friday. The most significant impacts at lower elevations are expected between 11 pm this evening and sunrise Friday, then daytime warming will diminish impacts and snow levels will rise... but wet roads will freeze Friday night and any precipitation will transition back to snow. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel will be very difficult to impossible, including during the morning commute on Friday. Be prepared for significant reductions in visibility at times. * View the hazard area in detail at https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mfr/HAZARD && * Travel is strongly discouraged because of dangerous conditions. * If you must travel, keep tire chains, a flashlight, blankets, food, water, medications, and a fully charged phone with you. * The safest place during a winter storm is indoors. * See https://www.tripcheck.com for latest road conditions. * A Winter Storm Warning means that severe winter weather is likely and poses a threat to life and property. Take protective action now. * A Winter Weather Advisory for snow means that periods of snow will cause travel difficulties. Winter Storm Warning Areas Affected: Jackson County NWS Medford (Southwest Oregon and Northern California) ...Heavy mountain snow and possible low elevation snow tonight into Friday night... .Snow levels will drop to around 1500 feet tonight. A rich plume of Pacific moisture will take aim at the area, bringing heavy snow to the mountains. Particularly hard hit will be the mountains of Curry, Josephine, and western Siskiyou counties where several feet of snow are possible. Heavy snow is also expected over the Cascades, Mt. Shasta area, and portions of the east side, although confidence in snow amounts is lower for these areas. Snow will also impact lower elevations primarily at night and especially the more snow-prone areas like the I-5 Passes north of Grants Pass and the Illinois Valley. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 11 AM PDT FRIDAY... ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 11 AM PDT FRIDAY... * WHAT...Moderate snow expected. In the warning area, total snow accumulations of 4 to 6 inches with localized amounts up to 10 inches. In the advisory area, total snow accumulations of up to 1 to 3 inches. * WHERE...Warning for northwestern Jackson County, including Tiller-Trail highway above 3000 feet. Advisory for areas above 2000 feet, including Butte Falls, Highway 62 near Shady Cove, Highway 140, and Highway 238 at Jacksonville Hill. * WHEN...11 PM this evening to 11 AM PDT Friday. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Plan on difficult travel conditions, including during the morning commute on Friday. Be prepared for significant reductions in visibility at times. * View the hazard area in detail at https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mfr/HAZARD * Travel is strongly discouraged because of dangerous conditions. * If you must travel, keep tire chains, a flashlight, blankets, food, water, medications, and a fully charged phone with you. * The safest place during a winter storm is indoors. * See https://www.tripcheck.com for latest road conditions. * A Winter Storm Warning means that severe winter weather is likely and poses a threat to life and property. Take protective action now. * A Winter Weather Advisory for snow means that periods of snow will cause travel difficulties. Winter Weather Advisory Areas Affected: Jackson County NWS Medford (Southwest Oregon and Northern California) ...Heavy mountain snow and possible low elevation snow tonight into Friday night... .Snow levels will drop to around 1500 feet tonight. A rich plume of Pacific moisture will take aim at the area, bringing heavy snow to the mountains. Particularly hard hit will be the mountains of Curry, Josephine, and western Siskiyou counties where several feet of snow are possible. Heavy snow is also expected over the Cascades, Mt. Shasta area, and portions of the east side, although confidence in snow amounts is lower for these areas. Snow will also impact lower elevations primarily at night and especially the more snow-prone areas like the I-5 Passes north of Grants Pass and the Illinois Valley. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 11 AM PDT FRIDAY... ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 11 AM PDT FRIDAY... * WHAT...Moderate snow expected. In the warning area, total snow accumulations of 4 to 6 inches with localized amounts up to 10 inches. In the advisory area, total snow accumulations of up to 1 to 3 inches. * WHERE...Warning for northwestern Jackson County, including Tiller-Trail highway above 3000 feet. Advisory for areas above 2000 feet, including Butte Falls, Highway 62 near Shady Cove, Highway 140, and Highway 238 at Jacksonville Hill. * WHEN...11 PM this evening to 11 AM PDT Friday. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Plan on difficult travel conditions, including during the morning commute on Friday. Be prepared for significant reductions in visibility at times. * View the hazard area in detail at https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mfr/HAZARD * Travel is strongly discouraged because of dangerous conditions. * If you must travel, keep tire chains, a flashlight, blankets, food, water, medications, and a fully charged phone with you. * The safest place during a winter storm is indoors. * See https://www.tripcheck.com for latest road conditions. * A Winter Storm Warning means that severe winter weather is likely and poses a threat to life and property. Take protective action now. * A Winter Weather Advisory for snow means that periods of snow will cause travel difficulties. Winter Weather Advisory Areas Affected: Klamath Basin NWS Medford (Southwest Oregon and Northern California) ...Heavy mountain snow and possible low elevation snow tonight into Friday night... .Snow levels will drop to around 1500 feet tonight. A rich plume of Pacific moisture will take aim at the area, bringing heavy snow to the mountains. Particularly hard hit will be the mountains of Curry, Josephine, and western Siskiyou counties where several feet of snow are possible. Heavy snow is also expected over the Cascades, Mt. Shasta area, and portions of the east side, although confidence in snow amounts is lower for these areas. Snow will also impact lower elevations primarily at night and especially the more snow-prone areas like the I-5 Passes north of Grants Pass and the Illinois Valley. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 5 AM TO 11 PM PDT FRIDAY... * WHAT...Snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 1 to 3 inches, with localized amounts up to 8 inches, are expected. * WHERE...Highway 97 north of Chiloquin. * WHEN...From 5 AM to 11 PM PDT Friday. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Plan on slippery road conditions, including during the evening commute on Friday. Strong winds of 15 to 25 mph may create areas of blowing snow and reduced visibilities. * View the hazard area in detail at https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mfr/HAZARD * Slow down and allow extra time to reach your destination. * Carry tire chains and be prepared for snow covered roads and limited visibilities. * See https://www.tripcheck.com for latest road conditions. * A Winter Weather Advisory for snow means that periods of snow will cause travel difficulties. Winter Storm Warning Areas Affected: North Central and Southeast Siskiyou County; South Central Siskiyou County NWS Medford (Southwest Oregon and Northern California) ...Heavy mountain snow and possible low elevation snow tonight into Friday night... .Snow levels will drop to around 1500 feet tonight. A rich plume of Pacific moisture will take aim at the area, bringing heavy snow to the mountains. Particularly hard hit will be the mountains of Curry, Josephine, and western Siskiyou counties where several feet of snow are possible. Heavy snow is also expected over the Cascades, Mt. Shasta area, and portions of the east side, although confidence in snow amounts is lower for these areas. Snow will also impact lower elevations primarily at night and especially the more snow-prone areas like the I-5 Passes north of Grants Pass and the Illinois Valley. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 5 AM TO 11 PM PDT FRIDAY... ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 5 AM TO 11 PM PDT FRIDAY... * WHAT...Moderate to heavy snow expected. In the warning area, total snow accumulations of 6 to 10 inches, with localized amounts of up to 18 inches. In the advisory area, total snow accumulation of 3 to 7 inches, with local amounts of up to 10 inches. * WHERE...Warning for elevation above 4000 feet, including Highway 89 between McCloud and Mount Shasta City. Advisory for below 4000 feet, including Interstate 5 near Mount Shasta City and Dunsmuir, and Highway 89 between Macdoel and Weed, and the Tennant area. * WHEN...5 AM to 11 PM PDT Friday. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel will be very difficult, including during the evening commute on Friday. Be prepared for significant reductions in visibility at times. * View the hazard area in detail at https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mfr/HAZARD * Travel is strongly discouraged because of dangerous conditions. * If you must travel, keep tire chains, a flashlight, blankets, food, water, medications, and a fully charged phone with you. * The safest place during a winter storm is indoors. * A Winter Storm Warning means that severe winter weather is likely and poses a threat to life and property. Take protective action now. * A Winter Weather Advisory for snow means that periods of snow will cause travel difficulties. Winter Weather Advisory Areas Affected: North Central and Southeast Siskiyou County; South Central Siskiyou County NWS Medford (Southwest Oregon and Northern California) ...Heavy mountain snow and possible low elevation snow tonight into Friday night... .Snow levels will drop to around 1500 feet tonight. A rich plume of Pacific moisture will take aim at the area, bringing heavy snow to the mountains. Particularly hard hit will be the mountains of Curry, Josephine, and western Siskiyou counties where several feet of snow are possible. Heavy snow is also expected over the Cascades, Mt. Shasta area, and portions of the east side, although confidence in snow amounts is lower for these areas. Snow will also impact lower elevations primarily at night and especially the more snow-prone areas like the I-5 Passes north of Grants Pass and the Illinois Valley. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 5 AM TO 11 PM PDT FRIDAY... ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 5 AM TO 11 PM PDT FRIDAY... * WHAT...Moderate to heavy snow expected. In the warning area, total snow accumulations of 6 to 10 inches, with localized amounts of up to 18 inches. In the advisory area, total snow accumulation of 3 to 7 inches, with local amounts of up to 10 inches. * WHERE...Warning for elevation above 4000 feet, including Highway 89 between McCloud and Mount Shasta City. Advisory for below 4000 feet, including Interstate 5 near Mount Shasta City and Dunsmuir, and Highway 89 between Macdoel and Weed, and the Tennant area. * WHEN...5 AM to 11 PM PDT Friday. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel will be very difficult, including during the evening commute on Friday. Be prepared for significant reductions in visibility at times. * View the hazard area in detail at https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mfr/HAZARD * Travel is strongly discouraged because of dangerous conditions. * If you must travel, keep tire chains, a flashlight, blankets, food, water, medications, and a fully charged phone with you. * The safest place during a winter storm is indoors. * A Winter Storm Warning means that severe winter weather is likely and poses a threat to life and property. Take protective action now. * A Winter Weather Advisory for snow means that periods of snow will cause travel difficulties. Winter Weather Advisory Areas Affected: Northern and Eastern Klamath County and Western Lake County NWS Medford (Southwest Oregon and Northern California) ...Heavy mountain snow and possible low elevation snow tonight into Friday night... .Snow levels will drop to around 1500 feet tonight. A rich plume of Pacific moisture will take aim at the area, bringing heavy snow to the mountains. Particularly hard hit will be the mountains of Curry, Josephine, and western Siskiyou counties where several feet of snow are possible. Heavy snow is also expected over the Cascades, Mt. Shasta area, and portions of the east side, although confidence in snow amounts is lower for these areas. Snow will also impact lower elevations primarily at night and especially the more snow-prone areas like the I-5 Passes north of Grants Pass and the Illinois Valley. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 5 AM TO 11 PM PDT FRIDAY... * WHAT...Snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 3 to 5 inches, with localized amounts up to a foot expected. * WHERE...Western Lake County and northern and eastern Klamath County, including Chemult, Highway 97 north of Chiloquin, and Highway 138. * WHEN...From 5 AM to 11 PM PDT Friday. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Plan on slippery road conditions, including during the evening commute on Friday. Be prepared for reduced visibilities at times. * View the hazard area in detail at https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mfr/HAZARD * Slow down and allow extra time to reach your destination. * Carry tire chains and be prepared for snow covered roads and limited visibilities. * See https://www.tripcheck.com for latest road conditions. * A Winter Weather Advisory for snow means that periods of snow will cause travel difficulties. Winter Weather Advisory Areas Affected: Siskiyou Mountains and Southern Oregon Cascades; South Central Oregon Cascades NWS Medford (Southwest Oregon and Northern California) ...Heavy mountain snow and possible low elevation snow tonight into Friday night... .Snow levels will drop to around 1500 feet tonight. A rich plume of Pacific moisture will take aim at the area, bringing heavy snow to the mountains. Particularly hard hit will be the mountains of Curry, Josephine, and western Siskiyou counties where several feet of snow are possible. Heavy snow is also expected over the Cascades, Mt. Shasta area, and portions of the east side, although confidence in snow amounts is lower for these areas. Snow will also impact lower elevations primarily at night and especially the more snow-prone areas like the I-5 Passes north of Grants Pass and the Illinois Valley. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 5 AM TO 11 PM PDT FRIDAY... ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 5 AM TO 11 PM PDT FRIDAY... * WHAT...Moderate to heavy snow expected. In the warning area, total snow accumulations of 12 to 20, with localized amounts up to 25 inches. In the advisory area, total snow accumulations of 3 to 6 inches, with localized amounts up to 10 inches. * WHERE...Warning for elevations above 5500 feet, including Crater lake and Diamond Lake, Highway 62, Highway 138 near Toketee Falls, and Mt. Ashland ski area. Advisory for elevations above 4000 feet, including Highway 140 at Lake of the Woods, Highway 66 near Greensprings, I-5 at Siskiyou Summit, Highway 58 near Willamette Pass, and Highway 138 near Diamond Lake. * WHEN...5 AM to 11 PM PDT Friday. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel will be very difficult to impossible, including during the evening commute on Friday. Significant reductions in visibility possible. Strong southwest winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 45 mph will create near blizzard conditions at times over peaks, including the Mt. Ashland ski area. * View the hazard area in detail at https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mfr/HAZARD * Travel is strongly discouraged because of dangerous conditions. * If you must travel, keep tire chains, a flashlight, blankets, food, water, medications, and a fully charged phone with you. * The safest place during a winter storm is indoors. * See https://www.tripcheck.com for latest road conditions. * A Winter Storm Warning means that severe winter weather is likely and poses a threat to life and property. Take protective action now. * A Winter Weather Advisory for snow means that periods of snow will cause travel difficulties. Winter Storm Warning Areas Affected: Siskiyou Mountains and Southern Oregon Cascades; South Central Oregon Cascades NWS Medford (Southwest Oregon and Northern California) ...Heavy mountain snow and possible low elevation snow tonight into Friday night... .Snow levels will drop to around 1500 feet tonight. A rich plume of Pacific moisture will take aim at the area, bringing heavy snow to the mountains. Particularly hard hit will be the mountains of Curry, Josephine, and western Siskiyou counties where several feet of snow are possible. Heavy snow is also expected over the Cascades, Mt. Shasta area, and portions of the east side, although confidence in snow amounts is lower for these areas. Snow will also impact lower elevations primarily at night and especially the more snow-prone areas like the I-5 Passes north of Grants Pass and the Illinois Valley. ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 5 AM TO 11 PM PDT FRIDAY... ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 5 AM TO 11 PM PDT FRIDAY... * WHAT...Moderate to heavy snow expected. In the warning area, total snow accumulations of 12 to 20, with localized amounts up to 25 inches. In the advisory area, total snow accumulations of 3 to 6 inches, with localized amounts up to 10 inches. * WHERE...Warning for elevations above 5500 feet, including Crater lake and Diamond Lake, Highway 62, Highway 138 near Toketee Falls, and Mt. Ashland ski area. Advisory for elevations above 4000 feet, including Highway 140 at Lake of the Woods, Highway 66 near Greensprings, I-5 at Siskiyou Summit, Highway 58 near Willamette Pass, and Highway 138 near Diamond Lake. * WHEN...5 AM to 11 PM PDT Friday. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel will be very difficult to impossible, including during the evening commute on Friday. Significant reductions in visibility possible. Strong southwest winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 45 mph will create near blizzard conditions at times over peaks, including the Mt. Ashland ski area. * View the hazard area in detail at https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mfr/HAZARD * Travel is strongly discouraged because of dangerous conditions. * If you must travel, keep tire chains, a flashlight, blankets, food, water, medications, and a fully charged phone with you. * The safest place during a winter storm is indoors. * See https://www.tripcheck.com for latest road conditions. * A Winter Storm Warning means that severe winter weather is likely and poses a threat to life and property. Take protective action now. * A Winter Weather Advisory for snow means that periods of snow will cause travel difficulties. Winter Storm Warning Areas Affected: Western Siskiyou County NWS Medford (Southwest Oregon and Northern California) ...Heavy mountain snow and possible low elevation snow tonight into Friday night... .Snow levels will drop to around 1500 feet tonight. A rich plume of Pacific moisture will take aim at the area, bringing heavy snow to the mountains. Particularly hard hit will be the mountains of Curry, Josephine, and western Siskiyou counties where several feet of snow are possible. Heavy snow is also expected over the Cascades, Mt. Shasta area, and portions of the east side, although confidence in snow amounts is lower for these areas. Snow will also impact lower elevations primarily at night and especially the more snow-prone areas like the I-5 Passes north of Grants Pass and the Illinois Valley. ...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 11 PM PDT FRIDAY... * WHAT...Very heavy snow is expected. Total snow accumulations of 1 to 2 feet with local amounts up to 3 feet. * WHERE...The western Siskiyou County mountains, mainly above 2500 feet. This includes Sawyer's Bar road west of Etna and highway 3 south of Callahan. * WHEN...From 11 PM this evening to 11 PM PDT Friday. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel will be very difficult to impossible, including during the evening commute on Friday. Be prepared for significant reductions in visibility at times. In addition, southwest winds of 10 to 20 mph will create areas of blowing snow, especially over peaks and exposed areas. * View the hazard area in detail at https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mfr/HAZARD * Travel is strongly discouraged because of dangerous conditions. * If you must travel, keep tire chains, a flashlight, blankets, food, water, medications, and a fully charged phone with you. * The safest place during a winter storm is indoors. * A Winter Storm Warning means that severe winter weather is likely and poses a threat to life and property. Take protective action now. EUGENE, Ore. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is looking for an Oregon transient, who they say has been calling their offices with death threats. Shawn Weatherhead is a transient with connections to Springfield and Eugene in Oregon, Eureka in California, and Reno in Nevada. According to the FBI, Weatherhead has been calling the FBI's Public Access Line in Clarksburg, West Virginia and other FBI offices around the country, sometimes aggressively. The calls began in December of 2015, and continued at least into last year. The FBI approximates that Weatherhead placed over 1,000 calls to them. On at least three occasions in early April of 2017, Weatherhead's calls became violent, and he threatened to kill people, according to the FBI. A federal judge from the Northern District of California issued an arrest warrant for Weatherhead on October 24, 2017. Weatherhead is described as a white man with hazel eyes and brown hair. He is about 5'6" tall, and weighs about 140 pounds. He has tattoos all over his bodyincluding his forehead, chin, arms, wrist, hand, right leg, and back. The word "dork" is tattooed across his throat. CLICK HERE for our story on how Weatherhead was recently apprehended. The FBI asks that anyone with information about Weatherhead's location should contact their local FBI office or submit a tip via the FBI tip inbox. In Oregon, call the FBI at (503) 224-4181. In California, call the FBI in San Francisco at (415) 553-7400. In Nevada, call the FBI in Reno at (775) 328-4000. PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Former U.S. attorney for Oregon Amanda Marshall has been barred from practicing law for 90 days because she lied about a sexual relationship with a subordinate. Marshall resigned in May 2015 after it was revealed that she had an extramarital affair with an assistant prosecutor and stalked him when the relationship ended. She is now in private practice in McMinnville. The Oregon State Bar later opened an investigation, and the Oregon Supreme Court on Thursday finalized the settlement between Marshall and the professional standards agency. Marshall acknowledged she was dishonest when initially telling a federal official she didn't have an affair with the subordinate. Marshall's attorney, Allison Martin Rhodes, tells The Oregonian/OregonLive: "We are pleased to finally have this chapter behind us." ___ Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com (Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) 3/22/2018 2:04:30 PM (GMT -7:00) SPOKANE, Wash. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke visited Washington state on Thursday to meet with local tribes regarding the opioid epidemic. Zinke met with the Spokane Tribal Business Council and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. "While the opioid crisis affects every community in America," said Secretary Zinke, "More often than not, tribal communities are disproportionately affected." Tribal communities across the country have filed lawsuits against drug manufacturers, distributorseven pharmaciesfor the role that the tribes say those companies have played in creating or worsening the crisis. The Yurok Tribe of Northern California notably filed such a lawsuit earlier this month. That lawsuit joins others from tribes in Washington state, South Dakota, and Oklahoma, to name a few. According to a study from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), "American Indians and Alaska Natives" had the highest drug overdose death rates in 2015 (the last year studied), and the largest percentage change increase in the number of deaths over time (519 percent in rural areas). They also topped a number of the preceding years in death rates. Secretary Zinke has been drawing attention to initiatives by the Trump administration aimed at addressing the crisislike launching CrisisNextDoor.gov and Opioids.gov. The former allows survivors to share their stories, while the latter provides statistics on the epidemic and highlights what the Trump administration has done to combat it. "The President and I have prioritized combating the epidemic through education, treatment, enforcement, and of course support," said Secretary Zinke. The Secretary of the Interior met with an inter-tribal council in Phoenix, Arizona on Monday. On Tuesday, Secretary Zinke met with the Oneida Nation in Wisconsin. Friday will see him meeting with the Lummi Tribe in northwest Washington state. "We are looking at how Interior can best support tribal law enforcement in cracking down on drug dealers through a joint task force and how best to support community-based treatment. We strongly believe the best holistic approach will be at the community and tribal level, and we are looking at ways to create programs that engage the women in the tribes because women are the life-givers and hold special places in the community." Chuckwagon driver, and last year's winner of the Calgary Stampede chuckwagon title, Kurt Bensmiller waves as he's the first to be auctioned off during the Calgary Stampede chuckwagon canvas auction in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, March 22, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Todd Korol A hydro tower is seen in Toronto on Wednesday, November 4, 2015. Manitoba has appointed five new people to the Manitoba Hydro board after all but one board member at the Crown corporation quit en masse earlier this week. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese Kelowna's airport business park, the access for which is shown under construction in this file picture from 2014, should not be opened up for big box stores and other highway-oriented commercial businesses, city staff will tell council on Monday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India on Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. Conservatives are forcing MPs to stay up all night voting continuously on more than 250 motions, a filibuster launched in retaliation for the Liberals voting down a Tory motion to call Justin Trudeau's national security adviser to testify at a House of Commons committee about the prime minister's disastrous trip to India.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Foreign diplomats are frustrated about the way the Trudeau government handled this week's announcement that Canada will send military helicopters to Mali. A French soldier stands inside a military helicopter during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to the troops of Operation Barkhane, France's largest overseas military operation, in Gao, northern Mali, Friday, May 19, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Christophe Petit Tesson, POOL Beth MacLean, the woman at the centre of a human rights case dealing with persons with disabilities and their attempts to move out of institutions, pauses while testifying at an inquiry in Halifax on Tuesday, March 6, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese Andre Young, who says he is a cousin of shooting victim Stephon Alonzo Clark, stares at a protest sign during a demonstration, Thursday, March 22, 2018, over the shooting death of Clark by Sacramento Police, in Sacramento, Calif. The police said two officers were responding to a call of a man breaking at least three vehicle windows Sunday night. Clark, who was unarmed, was shot in the backyard of his grandparent's home, where he was staying. Video footage released Wednesday shows the officers yelling that Clark had a gun before firing. No gun was found at the scene. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) FILE - This Feb. 14, 2013 file photo shows Amy Locane Bovenizer entering the courtroom to be sentenced in Somerville, N.J. for the 2010 drunk driving accident in Montgomery Township that killed 60-year-old Helene Seeman The actress, who served about two-and-a-half years of a three-year sentence, must return to court for a second re-sentencing. (AP Photo/The Star-Ledger, Patti Sapone, File) In this image taken from video, firefighters use torch to look for people trapped in a condominium complex during a fire in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Friday, March 23, 2018. The fire killed over a dozen people, most of them died of suffocation or jumping from high floors. (VnExpress via AP) Authorities surround the home of the Austin bombing suspect Mark Conditt in Pflugerville, Texas, Wednesday, March 21, 2018. Authorities say Conditt, a man suspected of planting several deadly bombs in the Texas capital this month, blew himself up in a motel parking lot overnight as a SWAT team approached his SUV. (Jay Janner /Austin American-Statesman via AP) SPRINGFIELD, Ore. The Springfield Police Department just got a generous boost to their K-9 Unit after the owner of a gun shop held a rifle raffle. KEZI spoke to Neal Caloia who owns Gun Pro Shooting Supplies off of Main St. in Springfield. Caloia said he raised $1,880 for the Springfield Police Department K-9 Unit after holding a raffle in his store in February. He said he raffled off a Smith and Wesson AR 15 with all proceeds going toward the K-9 Unit. Each ticket cost five dollars and the rifle was awarded to a licensed gun owner. Caloia said he wanted to donate to the Springfield Police K-9 Unit because he saw online that the unit was primarily funded through donations, and wanted to make sure he could show his appreciation for their service. "I told them thank you, I appreciated the work that they do around here, Caloia said. We see them occasionally, one or two of them in here. But, you know, just thank you, thanks for the support they give for the community." Lt. Scott McKee with the Springfield Police Department said he knows some people may have some concerns with his department accepting the donation because of the rifle raffled off. But said the department stands by their decision. "When they (Gun Pro Shooting Supplies) do a fundraising benefit like this, the winner is going to be somebody who is a responsible gun owner, they do a background and it's only given to a licensed responsible gun owner who has passed a background check." McKee said the money will go towards training and grooming the dogs, equipment, food, and potentially purchasing more dogs. Caloia hes not done yet. He plans on partnering with other Springfield businesses to host another fundraiser for the police department. EUGENE, Ore.--The Joint Committee of Student Success met with students, teachers, and parents at Sheldon high school Thursday evening. Lane County is the first stop for the bipartisan committee. They're traveling around the state, exploring the best practices used in Oregon's most successful schools. A variety of topics were discussed at the hearing, including mental health, classroom ratios, and funding. After their statewide tour, the committee will draft a list of recommendations to improve public schools. MASON CITY, Iowa Codie Matz is scheduled to stand trial on two counts of 1st degree murder in October. An order setting the start of the trial for October 15 was entered Thursday. Court documents say the trial is expected to last six days. RELATED: Codie Matz double murder information. Codie Matz is accused of stabbing to death 61-year-old Kenneth Hackbart and his wife, 64-year-old Kathleen Hackbart at their Mason City home at 327 27th St. SW in early November. Matz is facing two counts of first-degree murder. Matz was found competent to stand trial Feb. 13. A court filing by his attorney says he may use a defense of insanity, intoxication, or diminished responsiblity at trial. GARNER, Iowa A man accused of kidnapping and beating a woman is pleading guilty to lesser charges. Christopher James Moore, 26, of Crystal Lake was arrested in August 2017 and charged with 1st degree kidnapping, willful injury resulting in serious injury, domestic abuse assault by strangulation, and false imprisonment. Witnesses stated they heard the victim screaming, saw Moore hitting her and throwing her around, and heard Moore say he would kill her. Moore is now entering guilty pleas to reduced charges of 3rd degree kidnapping and willful injury resulting in serious injury. Those are class C felonies, which could send him to prison for up to 10 years each. A sentencing hearing for Moore is set for May 1 in Hancock County District Court. Court records say that because Moore is pleading guilty to two forcible felonies, he is not eligible for bail and will remain in custody until sentenced. CHARLES CITY, Iowa Two years after attacking a woman, a Rockford man is going to prison. Jason Weitzel, 40, pleaded guilty Tuesday to domestic abuse assault, possession of methamphetamine, carrying weapons, and OWI 1st offense. The judge gave him a total of five years in prison and he must pay $3,620.74 in restitution. On March 6, 2016, Floyd County sheriffs deputies were called to a domestic dispute. Deputies say when they arrived, Weitzel had left but they tracked his cell phone to an area between Nora Springs and Rockford, then arrested him after a brief chase. According to court documents, Weitzel got into an argument with his wife on March 5, 2016, which escalated into him punching her. Weitzel also reportedly got a handgun and fired it outside. Authorities say Weitzels verbal and physical assaults continued into the next day. He also made a comment to shoot her and throw her out the window, according to court documents. CHARLES CITY, Iowa A man wanted on a drug charge is arrested. Authorities say Johnigan Donyeal Stewart, 38, was pulled over on December 16, 2107, in Charles City for not having a working license plate light. A check with dispatch found that Stewarts license had been suspended. The officer says he arrested Stewart and asked if he any anything illegal on him, to which Stewart reportedly replied he had marijuana in high right pant leg. Authorities say four individually packaged bags of a leafy green substance were found. When a test confirmed they were marijuana, an arrest warrant was issued for Stewart on March 8. He was then arrested after another traffic stop Thursday in Charles City. Stewart is charged with one count of controlled substance violation. FOREST CITY, Iowa An ATV chase from Iowa into Minnesota results in probation for a Winnebago County man. Miguel Angel Romo, 22, received seven days in jail, two years of probation, and a $315 fine. He was arrested in July 2017. Law enforcement says the Buffalo Center man was seen riding a 4-wheel ATV at 67 miles an hour. When an officer tried to pull Romo over, he reportedly accelerated to 80 to 90 miles an hour in a pursuit that went into Faribault County, Minnesota. A Winnebago County sheriffs deputy says he and his K9 partner found Romo hiding beside his ATV in the middle of a corn field. A bag containing marijuana and a scale and grinder was found nearby. Romo wound up pleading guilty to eluding and possession of marijuana 1st offense. THE TENNESSEAN Hotel named The Souths Best Hotel for 2018 by Southern Living KNOXVILLE East Tennessees first personal luxury hotel, THE TENNESSEAN, has been named the Souths Best Hotel for 2018 by Southern Living. THE TENNESSEAN Personal Luxury Hotel & Residences in Knoxville has been named the Souths Best Hotel 2018 by Southern Living magazine. THE TENNESSEAN comprises a AAA Four Diamond-rated, 82-room and suite hotel and 12 upper-bracket residences. The Souths Best list is determined by votes from Southern Livings readers on what they think are the Souths best placescollected through a crowd-sourced digital survey. Categories range not only from the best hotel but also the regions best BBQ joints, breweries and more. An impressive 32,000 responses were collected to rank THE TENNESSEAN ahead of hotel properties in seven states. This honor is special to our team as it was voted by Southern Livings readers who have enjoyed exceptional stays with us and kept us close to heart, said Nicholas G. Cazana, innkeeper of the hotel. Since we opened the hotel almost a year ago, weve been committed to meshing Southern hospitality with personal luxurya trait we believe Southern Livings readers have come to recognize and love. Opening its doors in April 2017, the hotelwhich boasts 82 guest rooms and suites and 12 luxury residencesprovides opulent amenities such as tailored concierge services and an experienced staff who collectively speak nine different languages. THE TENNESSEAN is also home to the Governor's Suite, a 1,600-square-foot space with a baby grand piano, dining room, butler's pantry and nearly 360-degree views of the city. Addtionally, the hotel has been named a AAA Four Diamond Property for 2018 and was recognized on Forbes Hot Hotels list. Located in downtown Knoxville, guests at THE TENNESSEAN can enjoy all that the city has to offer including a variety of historic landmarks, outdoor recreational activities and a vibrant arts, theater and culinary scene. Less than an hour drive from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Knoxville is also home to The University of Tennessee and Worlds Fair Park. To book reservations or for more information about the hotel, visit www.thetennesseanhotel.com. THE TENNESSEAN is more than a hotel it is an authentic East Tennessee experience from the imaginative contemporary decor to the spirit of Southern Hospitality that imbues the professional staff. The hotels interior design reflects the flow of the nearby Tennessee River, and the propertys logo features the Tennessee state flower, the Iris. The hotels 82 luxurious guest rooms and suites are spacious and equipped with luxury services such as turndown service, robes and slippers, in-room safe and Illy coffee makers. By Yoon Ja-young With the United States and China threatening to throw tariff bombs at each other, experts say Korea, which heavily relies on trade and is stuck geopolitically between the two heavyweights, is especially vulnerable. Reflecting the concerns over a trade war, the main index KOSPI dropped 3.18 percent Friday. Following U.S. President Donald Trump's signing of an executive memorandum to levy $50 billion tariffs on Chinese imports, China unveiled plans of levying reciprocal $3 billion tariffs on U.S. steel and pork. While a trade war between two countries might in theory benefit a third country through "trade diversion," with its exports gaining price competitiveness, this isn't the case with Korea. The country's main exports to the United States are intermediate goods and cars, while China mostly exports consumer and capital goods. Their export items don't overlap much. Yoon Yeo-joon, an associate research fellow at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, said the trade conflict between the superpowers will have a huge impact on the Korean economy. Cars manufactured in Korea are parked at Mokpo New Port in the southwestern city of Mokpo to be shipped to other countries, in this file photo. Korea is expected to face extra pressure from the United States to decrease its vehicle exports to the United States in negotiations to revise the bilateral trade pact. / Korea Times file The United States temporarily exempted Korea from heavy tariffs on steel, but it will face bigger pressure from the United States over amendment of the bilateral trade pact. The White House announced Thursday that Korea, along with five countries and members of the European Union (EU), got authorization by President Donald Trump to get temporary exemption from tariffs planned for steel and aluminum imports. The pause will last until May 1 and each county will have to negotiate with the United States for extension of the exemption. Korea was relieved as it was desperately lobbying to avoid 25 percent tariffs on steel exports and 10 percent on aluminum, which Trump said aims at protecting U.S. workers and benefiting domestic businesses. As the third largest steel exporter to the United States, Korea feared a huge damage. According to the Korea International Trade Association, 73.7 percent of Korea's $3.8 billion steel exports to the United States last year was subject to tariffs. Hyundai Research Institute also has estimated that Korea's steel exports to the United States would dip by $880 million annually while loss in production will be 7.23 trillion won for three years if the U.S. levies tariffs as planned. The announcement, however, means that Korea will be driven into a corner in its talk with Washington to amend the bilateral free trade pact. The two countries have been engaged in negotiation since Trump's denunciation that the pact is responsible for job loss and trade deficit. By Kim Yoo-chul Kim Jung-tae Hana Financial Group Chairman Kim Jung-tae will serve a third term after he scored majority backing at a shareholders' meeting Friday. "Shareholders approved a plan to make Kim an internal director of the Hana Financial Group," the company said. "As Kim was the sole candidate for the internal director position, the approval also means Kim will continue in his top job to 2021." Kim won the backing of 78.9 percent of shareholders, while 15 percent opposed the plan for a third term, according to those at the meeting at KEB Hana's headquarters in Euljiro, downtown Seoul. KEB Hana is the core affiliate of Hana Financial Group. Kim's reappointment was not without controversy. Financial Services Chairman (FSC) Chairman Choi Jong-ku said the country's top financial policy regulator didn't support Hana's move to favor "one specific person" for the top job. Following the remarks, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) begun probing Hana over its alleged involvement in hiring irregularities and favoring a local startup for loans. But Hana Financial criticized the regulators, saying they were trying to step into what the banking group regards as an "internal issue." Kim started in the top job in 2012 and was reappointed chairman in 2015. He was one of the founding members of Hana Bank and made a significant contribution to the acquisition of what was then called Korea Exchange Bank (KEB). Stock market analysts say major foreign investors, led by leading proxy advisers such as Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and the National Pension Service (NPS), favored Kim. The NPS is Hana Financial's top shareholder, holding 9.64 percent. Foreign investors, such as Blackrock Fund and Capital Group, hold a combined 75 percent of Hana Financial. "For them, an advisory by ISS has been used as a core reference about this issue," a senior hedge fund manager at a U.S.-based investment bank operating in Seoul said. He also said foreign investors pay a little attention to ethical issues. Kim and Hana Financial are expected to respond to criticisms and enhance its rigid business structure and make management more transparent. Kim earlier committed to boost transparency in management and to comply with FSC and FSS guidelines to overhaul its holding structure. Hana's total assets were about 360 trillion won as of last year. It is one of the nation's leading financial groups. In 2017, the banking group reported 1.92 trillion won in net profit, up from 909 billion won in 2015, according to FN Guide, an industry tracker for bank activity. A model wears a creation by Tibaeg's 2018 fall and winter collection at the HERA Seoul Fashion Week at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, Tuesday. / Courtesy of Seoul Design Foundation By Rachel Lee Seoul's biggest biannual fashion event ended Saturday with an accomplishment in promoting Korean beauty. The six-day HERA Seoul Fashion Week had 37 designer brands, two companies and 90 rising designers unveiling their 2018 fall and winter collections at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Seoul. The trade show kicked off with "hanbok" (Korean traditional dress) designer Kim Hye-soon's collection. This is the first time for the Korean designer to open the trade show. Along with the catwalk itself, celebrity models like the country's first black model Han Hyun-min and global manufacturers such as Haagen-Dazs heightened the audience's attention. Haagen-Dazs, designer Lee Moo-yeol, patisserie Yoo Min-joo, and photographer Nam Hyun-bum held collaborative seminars under the topic "Haagen-Dazs Collaboration and Fashion Trend," "Desserts and Fashion/ Desserts and Life" and "Artisan Spirit of Twenties." Renowned fashion experts Sara Maino, Anders Madsen and Isabella Burley also joined the event for a discussion to talk in-depth about sustainability and "new luxury." The Seoul Collection had the country's big names -- including designer Park Seung-gun of pushBUTTON and Gee Chun-hee of Miss Gee Collection -- as usual. The overall tone for their 2018 fall and winter collection was typical autumn shades -- black, burgundy, brown and khaki -- and some toned down violet and pink. Here are The Korea Times' three picks: Tibaeg Tibaeg, led by Cho Eun-ae, presented a collection of her trademark graphic pattern with a mix of fur jackets and mid-length skirts. Her hazy, cozy print and calmer, more muted colors was reminiscent of fall when the leaves on deciduous trees begin to turn. It was overall feminine and soft with an added fashion statement graphic top. Tibaeg's use of diverse colors made her show stand out from the rest. From classic autumn colors to pastel shades and all black looks proved the DNA of the brand which focuses on releasing the "colors" within each one of us, like the way "a tea bag infuses its rich flavors into water." A model wears a creation by YCH's 2018 fall and winter collection at the HERA Seoul Fashion Week at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of Seoul Design Foundation YCH Yoon Choon-ho presented another collection of his playful, punk separates with mixed colors, but this time in a more elegant way. Oversized blue print coats and white jackets proved the designer went more provocative within an "80's modern glamour" concept in his 2017 fall and winter collection. Considering that this was his fourth show, the collection was much mature like a girl who has grows up and become a woman, thanks to outstanding patterns. Applying men suits' tailoring techniques into the brand was a new challenge and now an important factor that led to such beautiful garments and a successful show. A model wears a creation by By D By's 2018 fall and winter collection at the HERA Seoul Fashion Week at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, Wednesday. / Courtesy of Seoul Design Foundation By Kim Jae-heun The government announced Thursday it will spend more money on trauma centers across the country to improve medical treatment for serious injuries. The poor conditions at 10 trauma centers became an issue last November after a North Korean soldier defected to the South through the Demilitarized Zone. Ajou University Hospital's trauma specialist Lee Cook-jong led the medical team operating on the North Korean soldier, and spoke of the poor conditions and manpower shortage there. Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon who announced the measure during a cabinet meeting said the government would put forward 27 new measures to improve the working environment and medical treatment conditions to reduce the death rate to 20 percent in seven years. The injury fatality rate reached 30.5 percent in 2015. "We remember how we saved our heroic captain Seok Hae-kyun of a hijacked ship in the Gulf of Aden, and the recently defected North Korean with our advanced medical treatments. The two incidents left us with a lot of homework to do," the prime minister said. "The public particularly raised its voice on increasing support for trauma centers and it moved to petition Cheong Wa Dae with a record number of participants. We can no longer delay our plan to expand support for regional trauma centers," the prime minister added. The most notable change to come will be mobilizing more emergency helicopters to carry the patients. Currently, only six helicopters serve as transport, but under the new measures, the trauma centers will be able to use more than 100 state-owned helicopters at hospitals, fire stations, police departments and military units. The government will also strengthen the education system for emergency medical technicians. A trauma map will also be provided for emergency flights transferring patients along with easy-to-follow manuals on treating urgent patients for the public. The Ministry of Health and Welfare will also provide financial support for the trauma centers so that they can hire more nurses and give a pay increase to doctors. The ministry said it will give 40 million won per additional nurse and the pay increase will be 20 percent. By Lee Min-hyung U.S. President Donald Trump is on track to replace his top advisers with hard-liners, as part of a show of his strong willingness for "no compromise" with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ahead of their planned meeting in May, experts said. On Friday, Trump appointed John Bolton, a hawkish former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, as his new security adviser, in a move to intensify diplomatic pressure before the Washington-Pyongyang talks. Bolton is cited as one of the most hard-line diplomats in the country's history. "The reshuffle apparently came as Trump wants to prove he is different from former U.S. presidents in dealing with the regime's nuclear and missile threats," said Lee Jin-gon, professor of political science at Kyung Hee University. The U.S. leader, since taking office last year, has outwardly denounced relatively less aggressive North Korea policies taken by his predecessors, which Trump believes only helped intensify the regime's nuclear armament. By Kang Aa-young, Park Si-soo Kyung Hee University is receiving applications from foreigners who want to show off their Korean speech ability in a coming contest. The Seoul-based university will hold its 21st "World Korean Language Speech Contest for Foreigners" on May 15. Applications can be made on the of the school's international education institute by April 12. Applicants are also required to send a three-minute written script to the following email ( ). This year's topics are "Unique presence of Korea in the world" and "Hidden charm of Korea." Those who pass the document screening will compete in the preliminary round on April 24-25. The final round will be on May 15 at the school's Crown Concert Hall. The top prize winner will receive 1.5 million won ($1,399). Second prize is 1 million won, third prize 800,000 won and fourth prize 500,000 won. For more information, call 02-961-0106 or email . By Kim Hyun-bin The government said Friday it will conduct a survey on sexual harassment conditions at all college and universities in the nation starting next month. It will also examine the way the institutions' sexual harassment report centers handle cases when they occur. The measure was announced at a ministers' meeting led by Education Minister Kim Sang-gon at the Sejong Government Complex as part of a plan to tackle sexual harassment and violence in colleges nationwide. The government said it would enforce a "one stop" rule at the report centers and establish a hotline with the police to swiftly investigate any cases that come through. The report centers will be run by government entities including the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The government also plans to crack down on sexual discrimination in the workplace and during the job interview process. Excluding female co-workers on business trips and company gatherings under the "Pence rule" will be considered a violation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Law and the Labor Standards Act. The government plans to take strong action against any firm that violates the act. The "Pence rule" was named after U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, who said he avoids dining or sharing a vehicle alone with women other than his wife. The government will also help schools draft investigation standards, to prevent secondary damage to victims, as well as sex education guidelines. School sex education guidelines are expected to include human rights and gender equality education, and are scheduled to be finalized and distributed to colleges around the country by early next year. The #MeToo movement has taken Korea by storm, with an increasing number of professors accused of sexually harassing their students. In some cases students have spoken up about their ordeals anonymously on the internet and their testimonies have encouraged other students to speak out about their experiences. Universities moved swiftly to remove the accused professors to save their reputation. One of the most recent offenders was a professor of Middle Eastern studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies who resigned after allegations that he had sexually harassed his students. Earlier this week, another Hankuk University professor committed suicide amid rising allegations against him. The Myongji College in western Seoul expelled five professors from the theater and cinema department, including Professor Park Jung-hyeon, for sexual misconducts. The Ministry of Education requested the prosecution to investigate the case. The Dongduk Women's University in Seoul also saw one of its professor leave the school amid the #MeToo movement. At Professor Ha Il-ji's press conference, a crowd of students gathered demanding his apology but he denied allegations against him. By Lee Min-hyung The United States Forces Korea (USFK) plans to hold its first-ever mass evacuation exercise to the U.S. during the upcoming joint military drills with South Korea next month, according to reports Friday. The USFK has held the evacuation exercises, called Focused Passage, twice a year to brace for any worst-case military scenarios. But this is the first time some volunteers of USFK families and noncombatant troops will fly to the U.S. mainland, overseas media said. For this year, the evacuation rehearsal is scheduled from April 16 to 20. Last year, the USFK evacuated some military families here to Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo. "We cannot disclose any details on any planned drills," a USFK official said, declining to comment further. The drills will come as part of this year's joint military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea. The two countries hold the annual drills between late February and early March, but they delayed the plan amid a rare peace momentum on the Korean Peninsula due to North Korea's participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics last month. The sporting event has since paved the way for the regime to actively engage in peace dialogue with the South, with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un offering to invite President Moon Jae-in for a possible summit. After exchanging high-level delegations, the two leaders agreed to hold the historic meeting later next month. President Moon Jae-in has also taken advantage of Kim's rare signal for dialogue by mediating talks between Washington and Pyongyang. U.S. President Donald Trump also accepted Kim's gesture for dialogue, with both sides expected to meet sometime in May. Under the peace momentum, Seoul and Washington reached a consensus over keeping the upcoming drills low-key without any strategic weapons such as nuclear submarines. By Park Ji-won More women are throwing their hats into local elections, especially in Incheon and Busan, while some areas have no female candidates. According to the National Election Commission, 26 female candidates are registered to run in the local elections for Incheon City: one for Incheon city mayor, two for district head, and 23 for municipal council member seats. The figure doubled from 13 candidates who ran in the last election held in 2014. In Gyeonggi Province, 20 female figures are expected to run for city mayors or are considering it as filing deadlines approach. Already, 14 female figures out of all 144 candidates are registered to run for city and district chiefs. In the last election held in 2014, Shin Gye-yong was the only female city mayor in Gyeonggi Province. In Busan, up to 10 candidates are running for city mayor and district head in its 16 precincts. In North Chungcheong Province, where no female figure has been elected as mayor, four women decided to run for seats; the North Chungcheong Province council member Kim Yang Hee of the Liberty Korea Party (LKP) and professor Chun Hye-sook of Seowon University for Cheongju mayor and Jecheon City Council member Kim Ggot-im for Jecheon City mayor and independent Kim Jin-ok for Jincheon county chief. Ko Eun-young, chief of the founding committee of Green Party Korea's Jeju branch, is the only female figure running for Jeju governor out of six. Choi Gwang-ok, a six-term city council member for North Chungcheong Province and Cheongju City, threw her hat in for council membership again in the region. Those candidates have diverse backgrounds in their professions and ages. In some areas, however, it is hard to find female candidates. In Gangwon Province, Yong Jung-soon, a city council member of Wonju ran for Wonju mayor. However, she is the only female candidate for the city mayor post. In the precinct, the elections for council members are also having a hard time to recruit female members. The registered candidates for the council are five for the province and 10 for its city. In Gyeongsang Province, female candidates vying for council member posts account for 10 percent while male candidates account for the rest, 109 male candidates for provincial councils and 202 for the city council. Former President Lee Myung-bak is taken to the Seoul Eastern Detention Center by car, Friday, after a court approved an arrest warrant for Lee on charges of bribery, embezzlement, tax evasion and abuse of power. / Yonhap By Yi Whan-woo The arrest of former President Lee Myung-bak puts his political legacy at risk as he became the latest disgraced leader in a series of in corruption scandals after leaving office. The prosecution's investigation against Lee has centered on allegations of bribery and embezzlement, such as taking a total of 11 billion won ($10 million) from the spy agency and business groups as well as using a private company to establish slush funds worth 35 billion won. Political analysts speculated Friday the probe may widen into lingering suspicions over construction, energy and other projects carried out during his five-year presidency from 2008 to 2013. "It's unlikely Lee will win at trial, considering the prosecution has made thorough preparations for months, collecting hard evidence and testimonies against him," said Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University. "It will give momentum for the prosecution to dig into other allegations involving Lee if he is convicted over bribery and embezzlement." Shin referred to the Four Rivers Restoration Project, construction of Lotte World Tower and Lee's "energy diplomacy." From 2008 to 2012, the Lee government carried out a 22-trillion-won project to clean up, mitigate seasonal floods as well as droughts and develop riverside resorts at the Han, Nakdong, Geum and Youngsan rivers. It, however, caused dammed pools of environmental damage, deterioration of water quality, and frequent and repeated spread of green tides that are toxic to fish and other aquatic animals. Critics argued Lee made a hasty decision to carry out the project for illicit purposes. Regarding Lotte World Tower, suspicion remains over why the Lee government approved Lotte to construct the 555-meter-tall building in southern Seoul despite concerns over its location near a military airbase and safety problems. Lee was supportive of Lotte's ambition to build Korea's tallest building, while the military said it would pose a serious threat to aircraft flying in and out of the airbase, due to its close proximity to flight paths. Lee was criticized for "energy diplomacy," which resulted in accumulating losses after state-run companies made poor decisions and went on a buying spree of energy firms abroad. Against this backdrop, the parties except for the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) welcomed Lee's arrest. "We should continue to make efforts to root out irregularities to make the Republic of Korea more fair and objective based on law and principle," ruling Democratic Party of Korea Chairwoman Choo Mi-ae said. Justice Party said Lee should live the rest of his life "repenting over his crimes," while the Bareun Mirae Party said Lee's arrest was "the right move irrespective of the situation." LKP said it finds the arrest "extremely miserable," claiming the political revenge against former leaders should not be repeated. By Lee Sun-ho On March 9, U.S. President Donald Trump accepted North Korea's invitation for direct talks with Kim Jong-un, North's young leader to be held possibly at some neutral site by May. Since then, the world has been wondering what it means, and what to think about it. Regardless of the diplomatic stance, it is always a political gamble when dealing with North Korea. Pyongyang has been seeking a summit with American presidents for more than two decades, without satisfactory results. However, there is nothing wrong with a meeting, even if the chances of success are exceedingly slim. Kim might be inviting Trump to demonstrate that his investment in nuclear and missile capabilities has forced the U.S. to treat him as an equal. North Korea's 25 million people, under the forced "juche" ideology, remain among the poorest and most isolated in Asia. Talks can be good, but a summit should be a carrot for the end of a satisfactory process, not the beginning. Chances are Kim will spin the optics, and show his people and the world he is received as a legitimate head of state, and in the end keep his programs intact. The rigid U.S. stance in dialogue over denuclearization was the most dangerous road to ensure maximum American leverage and flexibility up to now. In repeated statements, North Korea has said it would give up its nuclear weapons as it has shown since Nov. 28, 2017, only if the U.S. lifts its hostile policy toward the North, and accept a demand for the withdrawal of 28,500 troops from South Korea. Then, North Korea's intentions and goals may pursue similar footsteps to the war in Vietnam ending April 30, 1975, if the regime's upcoming peace dialogue with the U.S. proceeds as planned. North Korea's nuclear program today is sufficiently advanced, that even a freeze would leave the country with enough plutonium to make nuclear warheads. So far it is unclear whether the "little rocket man" will give up his nuclear build-up by actions or not. One possibility would be for Trump to join with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at a summit scheduled for late April at Panmunjeom. Three countries, having been part of high-level negotiations through the six-nation talks, namely China, Japan, and Russia, might go their own respective ways for their national interests, as far as North Korea's denuclearization issues are concerned. At the end of the Trump-Kim talks, either from a propaganda standpoint or from a diplomatic breakthrough, the "little rocket man" can claim a win against Trump, or Trump can show confidence in his unprecedented gamble with Kim. A good outcome would be desirable for the sake of well-being and peace on earth for entire mankind. Lee Sun-ho (kexim2@unitel.co.kr) is an ombudsman columnist for The Korea Times in Seoul. Effective policies needed for swiftly aging society Latest data is raising serious concerns about Korea's swiftly aging population. A Statistics Korea report released this week showed that for the first time the elderly outnumbered youth in Korea in 2017. There are about 7 million people over the age of 65, taking up about 13.8 percent of the population, while the number of people under 14 stood at approximately 6.8 million. It is also the first time the number of people over 65 hit the 7 million mark. Statistics Korea said the population will start to decrease from 2032, given the falling birthrate. Korea's birthrate, which is one of the lowest in the world, stood at a record low of 1.05 children per woman last year, much lower than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average of 1.68. In particular, the number of newborns dropped to a record low of 357,700 last year, the first time the number of newborns has fallen under the 400,000 mark since the data began to be compiled in 1970. The rapid childbirth decline and the aging population pose grave challenges for Korean society in the coming years, as they will result in a huge decline in the working population, which will ultimately undermine Korea's growth potential and also drive up welfare costs. The nation's population, which stands at 51.45 million, is expected to decline after 2032 due to the falling birthrate. The number of people over 65 could account for more than 26 percent of the population by then. The problem is that there seems to be no easy solution to the unprecedented demographic crisis that Korea is facing today. As shown by the latest data, marriages fell to a record low last year, as more young people start to give up on getting married amid the protracted economic slump and the extremely tough job market. Youth unemployment reached 9.9 percent last year. The number of people getting married was 264,500 in 2017, the lowest since 1970. Dealing with the population crisis is one of the most urgent tasks for the Moon Jae-in administration. The government should look at why policies have failed to boost the birthrate. In the age of 7 million elderly people, it is also crucial for the government to come up with measures to promote the quality of life of the elderly, many of whom have serious problems managing post-retirement livelihoods due to lack of sufficient pension and savings. By Kim Bo-eun President Moon Jae-in's proposal for a possible three-way summit with the leaders of North Korea and the United States is being viewed as part of the big picture to end the current armistice between the Koreas and achieve lasting peace on the peninsula, analysts said Thursday. "Depending on the circumstances, the Seoul-Pyongyang and Pyongyang-Washington summits could lead to a three-way summit between North and South Korea and the U.S.," Moon said at a meeting on Wednesday preparing for the inter-Korean summit in April. "Through the upcoming summits and those that will follow, we must put an end to the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula." The 1950-1953 Korean war ended in an armistice, technically still leaving the North and South at war. "The mentioning of a possible three-way summit is seen as part of efforts to use the current momentum to make achievements in denuclearization and achieve peace and possibly make a statement on the end of the Korean War," Kim Hyun-wook, professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, said. By Kim Yoo-chul Corporate governance is the system of rules, practices and processes by which a company is directed and controlled. More specifically, it refers to the way a company is governed and for what purpose. Corporate governance also identifies who has the power and accountability, and who makes decisions. Corporate governance ensures businesses have "appropriate decision-making" processes and controls so the interests of all stakeholders (shareholders, employees, customers and suppliers) are balanced. But this hasn't been applied to KT, the country's dominant fixed-line operator and Korea's No. 2 mobile carrier, as its longtime chief concern should be how to get away from external influences so its top management can get the job done. KT was privatized in 2002 after the government sold 28.36 percent of the company. Given the significance of telecommunications to the overall national interest, the government had tried to disperse KT shares to multiple owners. In February this year, the National Pension Service was KT's largest shareholder with 10.34 percent, followed by NTT DoCoMo with 5.46 percent. Domestic institutional investors and retail investors held 34.47 percent while foreign investors owned 48.48 percent. While KT's governance structure looks good, the key problem is it has no clear internal guidelines to guarantee the telecom business serves the public interest; therefore, KT's governance structure has been dependent on political changes. When a new administration comes in, KT's CEO is usually changed to a figure with close connections to the leading political party, KT officials said. "This trend has been repeated over the last decade, hurting corporate sustainability and corporate governance," one KT official said. More specifically, prosecutors recently investigated the present CEO Hwang Chang-gyu over his alleged involvement in handing out "unspecified but huge" sums of money to an association handling Korea's e-sports to curry favor with then-President Park Geun-hye. Park appointed Hwang to the top post. While he was given a second term to 2020, KT's labor union wants Hwang to step down immediately. Hwang is now making a last-ditch effort to find some way to revive his team's seemingly failed efforts on corporate governance. At a shareholders' meeting Friday, KT shareholders approved a plan to improve its corporate governance system. Under the system, the key criteria of CEO candidates will be reviewed by three independent committees _ the corporate governance committee, the CEO selection committee and the board committee. The approval is seen as interesting by many as the governance committee, which will have four internal directors and one outside director, will be searching for CEO candidates within and outside the company. "Literally, this is a CEO-pooling system that hadn't been attempted before," another KT official said. "The corporate governance committee will have the authority to handle CEO selection and related processes. Also, we mandated some core qualifications which should be applied for outside directors," KT said, adding it hopes the latest move will enhance transparency and improve management independence. Hwang said at the meeting: "Good governance is important as it offers the infrastructure to improve the quality of decisions made by those who handle key businesses. Ethical decision-making builds sustainable businesses and also could more effectively enable creation of long-term value." But it remains to be seen as union workers at the company still question the "effectiveness" of the latest move. "Simply, KT has no check-and-balance system," its labor union said. "What that means is when the CEO says something, the board members answer yes. This has happened for so long and this is why KT faces the so-called CEO risk." The union said management should put labor or consumer representatives on the board. Kwon Oh-hyun, outgoing chairman of Samsung Electronics' board of directors, speaks during a general meeting of shareholders at Samsung headquarters in Seocho, Seoul, Friday. / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics By Jun Ji-hye Samsung Electronics has decided to separate the roles of chairman of the board of directors and chief executive for the first time since its foundation, in a bid to enhance board independence. The decision was made during a general meeting of shareholders in Seoul, Friday. About 400 stockholders and major executives, including Kwon Oh-hyun, outgoing vice chairman and CEO of the tech giant, who has chaired the board, attended. Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, heir apparent of the Samsung conglomerate, did not attend. He has remained low key since being released from prison in early February after an appeals court reduced his prison sentence to a suspended term on corruption charges. A Supreme Court trial is expected to take place this summer at the earliest. During the gathering, Kwon said: "We plan to separate the board chairman and the CEO roles to strengthen responsible management, with the board as the center, and boost independence of the board." Through the measure, the board would be able to assess management performance more objectively and raise trust among shareholders, Kwon said, noting that this would make the board a more efficient decision-making body. Toward that end, the meeting of stockholders approved the appointment of former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Lee Sang-hoon as board chairman succeeding Kwon. Lee assumed the CFO position in 2012 but stepped down on Oct 31. Though he took a step back from management at the time, he was recommended as Kwon's successor by outside directors. The meeting also named the new heads of the three divisions _ Kim Ki-nam, CEO of device solutions; Kim Hyun-suk, CEO of consumer electronics; and Koh Dong-jin, CEO of IT & mobile communications _ to the board. The three were appointed to the posts late last year when Samsung announced the appointments of executive-level positions, replacing Kwon, Yoon Boo-keun and Shin Jong-kyun. The new leadership was seen as a symbolic shift in generations through the replacement of longtime loyalists to Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee. The appointment of three new outside directors, including a foreigner and a woman, was also approved at the shareholders' meeting, a move construed as the company intending to secure diversity and international competiveness. The three are Kim Jeong-hoon, a Korean-born U.S. technology entrepreneur who currently serves as executive chairman of Kiswe Mobile; Kim Sun-wook, a law professor at Ewha Womans University; and Park Byung-gook, a professor of electrical engineering at Seoul National University. This increased the number of Samsung Electronics' independent directors to six from five. Born in 1960 in Seoul, Kim Jeong-hoon moved to the United States in 1975 and acquired U.S. citizenship. He served in the U.S. Navy for seven years and as president of Bell Labs from 2005 to 2013. During the Park Geun-hye government, he was nominated to head the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, the predecessor of the Ministry of Science and ICT, but stepped down due to a controversy at the time over his dual citizenship. Kim Sun-wook was the nation's first female government legislation minister who served under the Roh Moo-hyun administration. She also was president of Ewha Womans University. The shareholders' meeting also approved a 50-to-1 stock split, which the company said will boost shareholder value and allow easier access for retail investors. President Tran Dai Quang and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (Source: VNA) Congratulating Russia on the successful presidential election, President Quang also asked Lavrov to convey his congratulations to President Vladimir Putin on the latters re-election. He told his guest that Vietnam always attaches importance to enhancing the comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia. President Quang recalled profound impressions about his official visit to Russia in June 2017 and his meeting with Russian President Putin on the occasion of the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in Da Nang last November. He asked Lavrov to convey his invitation to President Putin to visit Vietnam. While applauding the outcomes of the earlier talks between Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Russian Minister Lavrov, the President noted with satisfaction that Vietnam-Russia reliable trusty political relations have continually been reinforced through regular meetings and mutual visits, especially high-level ones. He expressed his delight at the growth of bilateral trade as a result of the implementation of the Vietnam-Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement. Trade between Vietnam and Russia reached USD3.55 billion in 2017, up 31 percent from the previous year, which is expected to hit USD10 billion in 2020. The two sides should actively carry out the signed agreement on cooperation in controlling the quality and safety of agro-forestry-fishery products so as to boost trade links, the President said, asking Russia to consider permitting more Vietnamese businesses to export aquatic products to the country. President Quang also called on both sides to create favourable conditions for their oil and gas businesses to cooperate effectively within Vietnam-Russia joint ventures in the two countries. The State leader said that Vietnam is finalising procedures to ratify a protocol amending the protocol on supporting the production of motorised transportation vehicles in Vietnam. Vietnam is willing to assist the formation of automobile joint ventures in the country, he said, adding that Vietnam supports Russian firms to participate in new cooperation projects on energy and transport infrastructure. The President proposed the Russian side back Vietnamese-invested projects in Russia, thus contributing to the enhancement of economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries. He expressed his hope that the two sides will continue maintaining practical and effective cooperation in defence and security in the spirit of reliable strategic partnership, while raising the efficiency of existing cooperation mechanisms in the field. Vietnam wants to continue working with Russia in using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, he said, suggesting that the two sides soon conclude negotiations on an inter-governmental agreement on using and developing the Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), aiming to enhance cooperation in information and communications as well as exploiting universal space for peaceful purposes. Minister Lavrov said that building on the long-standing friendship between the two nations and the outcomes of visits by senior leaders, the Russia-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership has grown strongly, bringing in very positive achievements. Briefing the host on the results of his talks with Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, Lavrov said that both sides recognised the expansion of the Russia-Vietnam cooperation, especially in the field of oil and gas. Two-way trade grew sharply after the Vietnam-Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement took effect in 2016, he said, adding that the two sides also discussed the construction of a liquefied petroleum gas-fuelled power plant in Vietnam, as well as the modernisation of Vietnams railway sector. Russia highly evaluates cooperation propsects between the two countries in defence-security and military technology, he added. President Quang asked the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs to closely coordinate in implementing high-level agreements reached by Vietnamese and Russian leaders in Moscow and Da Nang. Minister Lavrov expressed his respect for the Vietnamese peoples love for Russian culture and language, which was reflected by the expanded cooperation in education-training and tourism. He affirmed the two sides will well coordinate together in organising important events to mark the 25th anniversary of the signing of a treaty on basic principles for bilateral friendship in 2019. President Quang appreciated Russias active participation in and effective coordination with Vietnam during the APEC Year 2017, as well as the countrys active contributions to the success of the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting 2017 and the 26th Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF-26). He asked Russia to back Vietnam's candidacy for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021 term, and hoped that the two sides will continue closely coordinating and supporting each other at multilateral forums. The President also suggested Russia support Vietnam in training human resources, create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community to reside, work and do business in Russia, and work with Vietnam to promote culture exchanges and tourism promotion between the two nations. The Vietnamese leader also urged the two sides to soon begin negotiations and sign an agreement on labour cooperation, making it easier for Vietnam to send workers to Russia. Minister Lavrov stressed that his country is willing to create favourable conditions with special mechanisms for Vietnamese expats who are living and working in Russia. He reaffirmed the Russian Governments stance to solve citizen-related issues in line with its current legal regulations, saying that Russia is ready to discuss new legal mechanisms, including those related to the sending of Vietnamese laborers to work legally in Russia and increasing scholarships for Vietnamese students./. (ST. JOSEPH, Mo.) A St. Joseph professor is being honored for his work towards educating the next generation of journalists. Missouri Western journalism professor Dr. Bob Bergland is the 2018 Taft award winner by the Missouri Interscholastic Press Association. The award is given to a person or organization that has made a difference in scholastic journalism education. Bergland is working to pass the 'Cronkite New Voices' act; a bill that would protect high school and college journalists from censorship since Missouri currently has no protections in place for students' first amendment rights. "Many schools where they are censored, it is not true journalism," Bergland said. "It is public relations for the school and that doesn't prepare them for what journalism is and should be." Bergland says the 'New Voices' bill has already passed the Missouri House and is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Education Committee on March 27. If it passes there, it will need to be approved by the Senate before being signed by the governor. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc shakes hands with Special Advisor to the Japanese Cabinet Isao Iijima at their meeting in Hanoi on March 23rd. (Photo: VNA) During a reception for Iijima in Hanoi on March 23rd, PM Phuc said he was pleased to meet the Japanese advisor again when the bilateral relations are flourishing with high political trust. Vietnam and Japan have maintained regular high-level meetings and fostered cooperation in all fields, he said. Japan is currently the biggest provider of ODA, second biggest foreign investor and fourth biggest trade partner of Vietnam, PM Phuc said, noting that in 2017 alone, Japan poured a record amount of USD9.11 billion in FDI into Vietnam, ranking first among countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian nation. The PM expects that Japan will continue taking the lead in terms of FDI from now on, particularly in the areas of supporting industry, manufacturing, renewable energy and hi-tech agriculture. He spoke highly of Japans Sakura Blossom Festival which is being organised in Vietnam to mark the 45th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties, saying such cultural exchange activities play a significant role in enhancing the bilateral relationship. Iijim said the festival is a significant event, helping to promote cultural exchanges between the two countries. Japan has a sakura association and wants to grow the flowers in many other countries around the world, including Vietnam, he said. The advisor hoped that there will be more Japanese sakura and Vietnamese apricot blossom festivals to promote cultural exchanges between the two nations, paving the way for expanded cooperation in other fields. Echoing his guests view, PM Phuc said he also wants the sakura blossom festival will continue to be held in Vietnam on a larger scale and looks forward to more cultural festivals which will bring Japanese culture closer to Vietnamese people. Some 50 sakura trees of different species, above 2.5m high each, and 10,000 branches of sakura blossoms are on display at Ly Thai To park by Hoan Kiem lake, downtown Hanoi as part of the 2018 Vietnam - Japan Cultural Exchange Festival. The festival include various cultural activities, such as the introduction of the Japanese tea culture, chess, Kendama folk games and Japanese cuisine near Hanoi Childrens Palace, besides a Yosakoi dance performance by 17 teams on Dinh Tien Hoang street. The event, which will run until March 26th, will also host various Vietnamese traditional arts such as ca tru (ceremonial singing), hat xam (blind buskers singing) and folk dances./. President Tran Dai Quang and RoK President Moon Jae-in (Source: VNA) The talks took place right after the welcome ceremony held on morning the same day. It is the first-ever State visit to Vietnam by President Moon from March 22th-24th. President Quang affirmed that Vietnam always highly values developing ties with the RoK and wished that the RoK would continue sharing its experience for sustainable development of the two countries, and for peace, stability, development and prosperity in the region and the world. Both sides agreed to maintain annual visits and exchanges, improve the efficiency and frequency of exchange and dialogue mechanisms, extend collaboration between the two nations governments, legislatures, Party agencies and localities, and in important fields of diplomacy, national defence, security and legal enforcement. Apart from adopting trade balance measures, the two sides vowed to improve the efficiency of partnership across investment, engineering, energy, labour; consider science-technology a pillar to create new momentum for bilateral links, as well as extend cooperation in culture, education, tourism and people-to-people exchange. The Vietnamese leader welcomed Korean investment in large-scale infrastructure, industrial and smart urban areas, and equitisation of State-owned enterprises. He asked the RoK to continue stepping up examination on agro-fishery products and chicken and pork-derived processed food, bring Vietnamese products to domestic and global distribution chains, provide Vietnam with development assistance and preferential credit, and effectively implement the 2016 - 2020 credit frame agreement and financial cooperation deal. The host spoke highly of the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on sending and receiving workers to the RoK under the Employment Permit System programme, and wished that the RoK government will continue assisting Vietnamese nationals living in the country. The two leaders vowed to further enhance close support at international forums, and jointly cope with global challenges and non-traditional security issues. They underscored the importance of ensuring peace, security, maritime and overflight safety and freedom in the East Sea while promoting the settlement of conflicts and disputes in the East Sea via peaceful means in line with international law. The Vietnamese President lauded the RoKs efforts in accelerating inter-Korean dialogue and peacefully settling the nuclear issue of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. He reiterated Vietnams consistent policy of supporting denuclearisation in the Korean peninsula and constructive actions to promote dialogues for the sake of peace, security and stability in the Korean peninsula. President Moon stated that the RoK attaches importance to developing strategic cooperative partnership with Vietnam, considers Vietnam an important partner in its New Southern Policy. He welcomed the regular exchange of visits between Vietnamese and Korean ministries, agencies and localities, and further strengthening of coordination in support and automobile industries towards a more balanced trade. The guest promised to assist Vietnam in human resources development, science-technology, information technology, environment management, agriculture, and extend bonds across transport, energy, infrastructure and smart urban areas. The RoK will continue with projects to support Vietnam - RoK multicultural families, and Vietnamese brides living in the two countries, he said. He also expressed his hope for Vietnams facilitation of Korean investment in north-south highway and Long Thanh international airport projects. Following the talks, host and guest witnessed the signing of cooperation agreements and met the media to inform the outcomes of the talks./. Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang and President Moon Jae-in of the Republic of Korea (Source: VNA) Speaking at a press conference the same day to inform outcomes of the talks, President Quang said President Moon and him reached consensus on major orientations of the bilateral ties in the time ahead. They assessed the Vietnam-RoK relationship since the two countries set up diplomatic ties more than 25 years ago, and discussed regional and international issues of shared concern. Host and guest agreed to conduct annual exchanges of high-ranking delegations through flexible forms, while expanding exchanges and cooperation between Government and National agencies, political parties, and localities, focusing on such areas as diplomacy and national defence and security. They agreed to soon approve the Declaration on Joint Vision on Defence Cooperation between the two defence ministries, and reinforce mutual beneficial collaboration in the defence industry. The leaders discussed measures to expand economic partnership, stressing their determination to raise two-way trade to USD100 billion by 2020, along with implementing solutions to balancing the trade. They agreed to encourage cooperation in investment, especially in the support industry, electronics, energy, high technology and infrastructure. President Tran Dai Quang said that the two sides will continue enhancing the quality and efficiency of affiliation in manufacturing, promoting the transfer of technology for the support, automobile, mechanical engineering, and garment and textile industries. They will foster coordination in renewable energy, power safety and power saving solutions, while conducting all-round cooperation in environmental and natural resources protection. Meanwhile, President Moon affirmed that the RoK will increase support for Vietnam in material and spare part manufacturing industries, thus building a sound foundation for trade ties. In the area of development cooperation, leaders of the two countries concurred to bolster affiliation in transport, infrastructure, creating growth-motivating sources such as advanced technology, smart city, as well as exploiting achievements of the fourth industrial revolution. Besides, the RoK will concentrate on investing in the central region of Vietnam through projects in war-era landmine clearance, and the building of hospitals and schools. The two Presidents also outlined orientations for development cooperation as well as affiliation in training, industry, energy, environment, labour, culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchange. The RoK side regarded Vietnam as the countrys largest development assistance partner and pledged to continue its development assistance and preferential, suitable credit loans for Vietnam, particularly in science-technology, infrastructure and smart urban, clean energy, agriculture and rural development, climate change response, personnel training and public administration. The leaders consented to expand cooperation in culture, education and tourism, intensify mutual understanding and trust, and support citizens of the respective countries, while consolidating the social foundation for the bilateral ties. President Moon said the RoK will employ more measures to support and protect multicultural families, helping them have a more stable life. The two sides agreed to enhance cooperation at international forums and stressed the significance of ensuring peace, security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight, and promoting the settlement of disputes and conflicts by peaceful measures, and in line with international law. While showing his joy at fruitful cooperation between the two countries in the recent time, President Quang expressed his belief in a bright future of the bilateral relations. He stressed with the political determination of the two sides senior officials and the support of the two people, the Vietnam-RoK strategic cooperative partnership will continue enjoying a more robust and effective multifaceted -development in the future, for the prosperity of the two nations, the sake of their people, and for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world. For his part, President Moon said his country and Vietnam are very special friends, adding that the similarities in history, culture and society, and traditional exchanges in the past and the people-to-people bonds today have made the two countries become closer. The deep relationship between the two nations laid a foundation for their stronger economic, trade and investment cooperation, and Vietnam has become a key cooperative partner of the RoK and vice versa, he said. Vietnam is also the most important country in the New Southern Policy which is being implemented by the RoK government, he said./. Kostas Sarantidis (Nguyen Van Lap) writes in the funeral book. In a solemn atmosphere, Vietnamese Ambassador to Greece Nguyen Manh Cuong showed his emotion and endless regret, remembering former Prime Minister Phan Van Khais merit and contributions for national independence and socialism, and for the happiness of the people, especially his great contributions to the renewal (doi moi) process in general as well as external relations in particular. His death is great loss of the Vietnamese Party, State and people, he said. Representatives from the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ambassadors, representatives from diplomatic delegations of foreign countries in Athens, organizations, individuals, staff members of the Vietnamese Embassy in Greece and their family members, as well as overseas Vietnamese in Greece paid tribute to the former Prime Minister. Writing in the funeral book, Vietnamese hero of the people's armed forces Kostas Sarantidis (Nguyen Van Lap) and delegations expressed their deep condolences and regret over the passing of former Politburo member and former Prime Minister Phan Van Khai./. Vietnamese Ambassador and his spouse present gift to Christine Ha (Photo: baoquocte.vn) During the festival, visitors will see the culinary talents of top chefs such as Wolfgang Puck, Masaharu Morimoto, Christine Ha, Sulaiman Al Qassar, Luis Rey Nino Logarta, Ranveer Barar, Ramzi, Murat Bozok, Aisha Al-Tamimi and many chefs from 17 five-star hotels of countries in the region and in the world. In an area of 80,000m2, with 177 booths and two outdoor stages, Qatari and international diners enjoy not only famous dishes of Asian and European cultures, but also arts performances of India, South Africa, Turkey, Ethiopia and Vietnam. In addition, they also have the chance to take part in free cooking classes directly instructed by famous chefs. This is the first time Vietnam has participated in the festival, especially significant as 2018 marks the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Qatar, and it is part of a series of cultural exchanges between the two countries. In the framework of the festival, the spouse of the Vietnamese Ambassador to Qatar invited Qatari guests and spouses of diplomatic missions and overseas Vietnamese to attend "Live Cooking" program, performance and instruction to cook Vietnamese dishes with live performances by Vietnamese American chef Christine Ha and experienced chefs from Vietnam, to introduce and promote Vietnam to international friends. The performance of chef Christine Ha attracted a large number of visitors, who are local people, diplomatic missions and foreigners living and working in Qatar. Moreover, Christine Ha also spent time to answer interviews of newspapers to promote the Vietnamese cuisine to local people in order to boost cultural exchanges between peoples of the two countries. After the first days of the event, Vietnams booth is highly appreciated by the public and organizing board, and is chosen as one of seven booths to be necessary to visit at QIFF 2018. The festival will close on March 25th./. Rome, March 23 - Rome prosecutors on Friday asked judges to shelve an embezzlement case against Constitutional Court judge Niccolo Zanon for allegedly misusing a chauffeured limousine. The request was linked to the March 21 approval of a Constitutional Court rule where the use of cars by the supreme court judges is "personal and exclusive". The request to shelve the case was sent to a preliminary investigations judge for their decision. Shakespeare, the king of one-liners and one-name recognition, continues to carry a following in La Jolla. The first Sunday of every month, Tea with the Bard welcomes Williams fans to the La Jolla Library at 2 p.m. for scenes and scones. The March 4 session, featuring provisions from Brick & Bell cafe, opened with Act 4, Scene 1 of A Midsummer Nights Dream. San Diego Shakespeare Academy director Cherie Peacock sets the stage if you can forgive the expression for whats happening in the tale. By this point, the main characters in Shakespeares play-within-a-play, do not know where Bottom is, and a spellbound romance is blossoming. At the event onset, roles were assigned to the dozen or so participants, and the script is brought to life with an around-the-table group reading. The true Shakespeareans chuckle even before humorous parts, knowing in advance the jokes to come and the wit within them. Each puts his or her own spin on the lines, including dramatic groans if a character dies. At the conclusion of Midsummer Nights Dream and a quick stretch to break up the two-hour session the thespians start right back up again with the comedic classic Much Ado About Nothing. Books and treats are provided at monthly, Tea with the Bard events. (Ashley Mackin-Solomon ) Its all about embodying the language, Peacock explained. Its a different experience to hear your own voice or other people voice the part when you do it out loud. So far, this gathering has been popular, and we have a lot of regulars. People like that theres coffee and scones; it has made it more pleasant and more casual. I also believe in feeding people, just offering them a little something. We take a little time, people prepare a plate and make their tea. Its lovely. I dont want this to be a lecture, but a group experience. Intended to be approachable to various levels of expertise, Peacock started organizing Shakespeare readings with costumes for a friends children. But it wasnt long before the readings started gaining popularity with both children and adults. Its been very organic. I would not have thought you could make a living teaching Shakespeare, but I do. Theres a hunger for it. The kids are particularly adept because they still have the ability to acquire language. Theyre also not intimidated because theyre used to not knowing some words; they figure meanings out by context or by asking, she said. Similarly, the La Jolla group is welcoming enough that people feel safe posing questions. If one person is willing to say they didnt understand something, others say they didnt either, she said. Some people are intimated by the content and those are not the people who show up for the first time by themselves theyre usually brought by a friend or a spouse. No one is forced to participate. If someone wants to hang back and just listen, thats OK, too. Cherie Peacock, director of the Shakespeare Academy (Ashley Mackin-Solomon ) Benson (who simply goes by Benson) drives from Clairemont, and started attending a year ago as an admitted Shakespeare novice. Having seen Shakespeare productions at the Old Globe Theatre and seen film adaptations, Benson wanted more. I go because I didnt get Shakespeare even though I went to college. I felt jilted. We get to talk and ask questions. Its almost like a classroom but more fun. Im learning a lot about Shakespeares intent when he wrote whatever we are studying, she said. I think its for those that are not experts, but some participants are very knowledgeable and participated in their own productions. Its a nice mix of people. There are always questions about what he meant and we have discussions on that. Its a way to learn. She concluded, People think its weird but I feel joy here and am happy doing this. Branch manager Shaun Briley said the formula and the venue are just right. I think drama goes well with libraries, especially here in La Jolla where we have a community that appreciates the theater, he said. Shakespeare isnt just theatre, of course, it is literature, poetry, and there couldnt be a more appropriate venue to bring it to life for an audience. The great thing about Cherie is that she explains the text to the group as they go through the reading, which makes it accessible and rewarding for everyone. Her passion for the drama is infections for those taking part. Peacock said she began organizing Shakespeare-reading events five years ago, after losing her previous job. With a background in literary studies to the point that she almost got a doctorate in the works of Shakespeare, she returned to an early love. Shakespeare wrote very profoundly about the human condition, she said. He really understood what it was to be human. That doesnt really change over time. He understood human psychology in a way that was very endearing. He gives these characters such beautiful speeches, and that is something quite wonderful. IF YOU GO: The next Tea with the Bard event is 2 p.m. Sunday, April 1 at La Jolla Library, 7555 Draper Ave. Free admission. lajollalibrary.org In 2017, Viet Nam was hit by 16 typhoons. More than four million people were affected by floods, mudslides and landslides caused by heavy winds and downpours. Thousands of houses were damaged, communities evacuated, and tens of thousands of hectares of crops were destroyed. The coastal city of HCMC in particular has been affected by increasing incidents of weather related emergencies. The city and its 13 million residents are struggling with storm surges and Photo: UNDP To improve disaster preparedness and resilience, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Viet Nam Disaster Management Authority, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development support schools to evaluate their disaster risk, design emergency procedures and conduct emergency evacuation drills. The activities are organized under the Schools of Son Tinh campaign, supported by the Government of Japan. Children, who hold the future of the country, are vulnerable to natural disasters. They should be equipped with the knowledge and skills to protect themselves against natural hazards. Disaster preparedness should be integrated in the schools curriculum at all levels, said Mr. Nguyen Truong Son, Deputy Chief of Office, Viet Nam Standing Central Steering Committee on Disaster Preparedness. Photo: UNDP Japan leads the global efforts to prepare schools in high risk areas for natural disasters. Raising awareness as well as preparing for natural disasters is one of the most important development challenges for Japan as well as other countries, said Mr. Kazunori HOSOYA, Deputy Consul-General of the Consulate General of Japan. Viet Nam is one of the top ten countries that are vulnerable to natural disasters. It is therefore very meaningful for every student to know how to behave appropriately in the case of natural disasters. In this sense, this project and campaign are very much helpful for all students in obtaining such knowledge and experiences. In addition, this project is not only aligned with the UNs 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development but also aligned with Japans ODA policy in Viet Nam, he explained. The school-aged children and students can make a significant contribution to enhancing the awareness and preparedness of a community by spreading their knowledge and skills to their parents, family members and others. It is important for them to learn to recognize the early signs of natural disasters and take active part in the evacuation drill to ensure the safety of their lives, said Ms. Akiko Fujii, UNDP Deputy Country Director in Viet Nam. These drills help to improve disaster preparedness at schools and communities, and reduce loss of valuable lives and assets, she added. Photo: UNDP Todays drill in HCMC was observed by leaders and representatives of the Viet Nam Standing Central Steering Committee on Disaster Preparedness, UNDP, Consulate General of Japan, Ho Chi Minh City Committee on Disaster Preparedness, Department of Training and Education, and teachers of other schools. Viet Nam is one of 18 countries participating in the UNDPs and Japans regional project Strengthening School Preparedness for Tsunamis in the Asia-Pacific Region. The project is active in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor Leste, Tonga, Vanuatu and Viet Nam. Photo: UNDP The regional project supports achieving the targets of Sendai Framework to reduce lives lost, numbers of people affected, and economic damage from natural and human-induced hazards. It also aims to achieve UNDPs goal to help vulnerable regions to adapt to climate change by integrating disaster risk measures into national strategies./. Im biased: My favorite book event in the spring is the L.A. Times Festival of Books. I helped invite the authors and plan the panels and think its an amazing way to spend a weekend. So its off the table. Instead, for our spring preview, heres a list of other terrific literary events to add to your calendar (alongside the book festival, taking place April 21-22 at USC). March 31: Reading by Moonrise Poets Sesshu Foster, Vanessa Angelica Villarreal and Hari Alluri read their own work and others outdoors at the Bowtie Project as the moon rises over the L.A. River. Picnic items and blankets are encouraged; there will be a campfire. Gates open at 6:30 p.m. $5. Info at www.clockshop.org. Sesshu Foster (Juliane Backmann / For the Times ) April 2: Sean Penn, novelist Sean Penn brings his first novel, the darkly comic Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff, to the Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre at the New Roads School in Santa Monica. The Oscar-winning actor and activist will read and be interviewed by Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jane Smiley. 8 p.m. Tickets $45-$55. Info at livetalksla.org. Advertisement April 9: Unbreakable Spirit The surviving members of the Angola Three, Robert King (author of the autobiography From the Bottom of the Heap) and Albert Woodfox (memoir forthcoming), talk about their decades in solitary confinement in Louisiana and their activism since their release with Bryonn Bain, director of the UCLA prison education program at ALOUD at the Central Library in downtown L.A. 7:30 p.m. Free. Info at lfla.org/aloud April 14: James Ellroy and the film L.A. Confidential The 20th annual Los Angeles Festival of Film Noir kicks off at American Cinematheque not with a black-and-white classic but 1997s L.A. Confidential, based on the book by James Ellroy, which reinvigorated the genre. Hell appear in person for a discussion after the screening. 7:30 p.m. Tickets $15. Info at americancinematheque.com. April 15: Independent Bookstore Day This nationwide celebration of independent brick-and-mortar bookstores features limited edition swag and, of course, lots of books. The daylong event is customized by each individual bookstore. In the past, Skylight Books in Los Feliz has had wine and cheese, authors have served as booksellers at Vromans in Pasadena, and Pages in Manhattan Beach, Chevaliers Books in Larchmont and Diesel Bookstore in Brentwood have also participated. Free. Info at indiebookstoreday.com. April 17: Eric Jerome Dickey book launch Dickeys new novel, Bad Men and Wicked Women, is a sexy thriller set in Los Angeles. He launches it at Eso Won Books in Liemert Park with a reading and conversation. 6 p.m. Free. Info at (323) 290-1048. Viet Thanh Nguyen (Guillaume Souvant/AFP/Getty Images ) April 26: Viet Thanh Nguyen and The Displaced Pulitzer Prize-winner and MacArthur Fellow Nguyen served as editor for the essay collection The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives. Hell be in conversation with contributor Meron Hadero and executive editor Jamison Stoltz at Skylight Books. Proceeds from the book will go to the International Rescue Committee. Free. Info at skylightbooks.com. May 1: Francesca Lia Block book release The writer, beloved for her Weetzie Bat series for young adults, explores the writing life in her new memoir, The Thorn Necklace: Healing Through Writing and the Creative Process. In conversation with Sara Benincasa. 6:30 p.m. Free. Info at dieselbookstore.com. Advertisement Francesca Lia Block (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times ) carolyn.kellogg@latimes.com @paperhaus Chelsey Johnson sang a few bars of Fleetwood Macs Second Hand News in the Council Chambers at the West Hollywood Library on Thursday night. Beside her onstage, although not performing: Carrie Brownstein. Johnson read and sang from Stray City, her debut novel, which flips the script on the mainstream coming-out narrative: following a devastating breakup with her girlfriend, a young woman living in 1990s Portland, Ore., crosses enemy lines, sleeps with a man, discovers shes pregnant, decides to keep the baby and confronts her group of astounded gay friends. Johnson shared a tense (and hilarious) scene in a lesbian karaoke bar in which her protagonist unexpectedly runs into both her ex-girlfriend and the man in question but not before finding herself staring down the lyric prompter, stuck with singing Second Hand News. Ive sung that song at karaoke said Brownstein after the reading. Its terrifying. Advertisement The rain seemed to have deterred attendance at the event, co-presented by Book Soup and WeHo Reads. I know its dangerous outside, so thanks for making the trek over, said Brownstein to the roughly 50 people in the crowd. Its very Portland Johnson said, fitting weather for her book. Chelsey Johnson (Agatha French / Los Angeles Times ) Before Stray City Johnson wrote short fiction; Brownstein asked what it was like to make the jump to a longer form. Writing her debut novel took seven years, she replied, and from its inception the book evolved dramatically. I started out with a straight white guy story, Johnson said, Which is legitimate literary material, right? As the novel presented itself, she realized how important it was to set it in a certain time and place. We were a lot more rigid about identity and roles, she said, whereas the present moment is in flux. I see a lot of straight people claim queer, she said, adding, Maybe its on them to redefine straight. In some ways it can be a form of solidarity, said Brownstein. In other ways its co-opting. Johnson agreed. She said that she recently saw a novelty mug that read woke in an airport. If you carry that mug, she said, youre trying too hard. Brownstein laughed: Somebody bought that. Advertisement Johnson, who teaches at the College of William and Mary, figured out the last chapter of the book in an in-class writing exercise, and in response to an audience question, offered a tip for writing satisfying endings. What would be the worst ending for your character, she asked, and what would be the best ending, the Lifetime Movie final scene? Once you have those two extremes, mix them. That gets you to that sweet spot, she said. Brownstein said that Johnson has been her first reader for years and that when shes stuck in a draft, she often uses another trick that Johnson taught her: open up a new document that fresh, blank page and just start writing. Stray City buttons (Agatha French / Los Angeles Times ) Advertisement Stacks of books for sale sat beside buttons reading Lesbian Mafia, a reference to the novel. Monica Iannessa, assistant principal at Pasadena Charter High School, said she was amazed at people who can be teachers and also be artists. She wasnt familiar with Johnsons short fiction, but the novels premise intrigued her: Lesbians. Portland. This sounds like something Id like to read. She couldnt wait to find out of the protagonist: how did her group of friends treat her? Christine Hill, a native of New York who has lived in Berlin for 26 years, found the reading by seeking out literary events while visiting Los Angeles. Theres a parallel between the storied Portland 90s and the storied Berlin 90s, she said, how scenes like that start and how they get mythologized. She enjoyed the conversation, and felt it deserved a full house. Like Brownstein, she blamed the weather before stepping out into the rain. Signing line for Stray City. (Agatha French / Los Angeles Times ) agatha.french@latimes.com Advertisement @agathafrenchy Californias job engine appears robust in the eighth year of an economic expansion, even if there are growing headwinds on the horizon after President Trump announced new tariffs this week. The state added 14,000 net jobs to payrolls last month, while the unemployment rate fell to 4.3% from 4.4% a month earlier, according to data released Friday from the Employment Development Department. The February job numbers mark a slowdown from an upwardly revised gain of 48,900 in January. Even so, the unemployment rate hit a new record low of 4.3%, and six of the states 11 industry sectors added jobs. The economy looks very solid, said Lynn Reaser, chief economist of the Fermanian Business and Economic Institute at Point Loma Nazarene University. The biggest risk factor now is what will happen in terms of trade. Advertisement (Los Angeles Times ) The professional and business services sector saw the largest increase: a net 8,300 jobs. Payrolls in construction and manufacturing grew by 6,800 and 3,500 jobs, respectively. Education and health services, leisure and hospitality and financial activities also added jobs. Sectors that lost jobs included trade, transportation and utilities, where employers shrank payrolls by 3,100. The government and information sectors also saw declines. Protectionist federal trade policy including new tariffs on Chinese goods that President Trump announced Thursday has the potential to throw the state off course. If a trade war erupts, a large swath of industries could be hit, including agriculture, technology and tourism, as well as the logistics industry. Late Thursday, the Chinese government retaliated with tariffs on $3 billion worth of U.S. goods, including California wines, fruits and almonds. We are all kind of connected by a spider web, said Sung Won Sohn, an economist at Cal State Channel Islands. If you touch one part of the spider web, the entire thing will shake. Sohn said the job losses last month in trade and transportation were likely an anomaly and not related to any fears of a trade war, though going forward, the sector could see a significant hit. Last year, $159 billion worth of imports flowed from China to California, according to federal data compiled by Beacon Economics. Not all of those goods stay in the state, but the activity creates paychecks for legions of California longshoremen and truck drivers who ferry cargo from docks to warehouses and beyond. Advertisement The growth in trade has transformed the Inland Empire in particular, where developers have constructed massive warehouses to hold goods going into and out of the nations largest ports in San Pedro Bay. In 2017, Riverside and San Bernardino counties saw the states fastest job growth: 3.9%. John Husing, chief economist of the Inland Empire Economic Partnership, said even if a full-blown trade war doesnt erupt, Southern California still could be hit if tariffs lead to a slowdown in trade. We have a huge number of jobs directly related to trade, and China is a huge piece of it, Husing said. None of this is helpful. andrew.khouri@latimes.com Advertisement Follow me @khouriandrew on Twitter UPDATES: 12:05 p.m.: This article has been updated with additional analysis and comment from economists. This article was originally published at 10:30 a.m. Michaela Mendelsohn, 66, is chief executive of Pollo West Corp., a franchisee of El Pollo Loco since 1986. Pollo West Corp. operates six restaurants in Los Angeles and Ventura counties and has 175 employees. It is owned by founders Michaela and Barbara Mendelsohn, along with two minority owners: Chief Operating Officer Sal Sandoval and Chief Financial Officer Tony Shepard. At its peak, Pollo West Corp. had nearly 500 employees, and as Mendelsohns son Shimon gets more involved with the company, theyre considering expanding once again. Earning more than a quarter Mendelsohn was born in the Bronx and moved to California with her family when she was 9. Her father, Seymour, started a successful business in 1961, selling and repairing check writer machines after working for years as a plumber, furrier and in other skilled-trade jobs. Inspired in part by her dads entrepreneurial spirit, Mendelsohn started her own business, washing and waxing cars. She had enough regular customers to hire a few kids in her neighborhood in Torrance. I decided when I was around 11 years old that a quarter a week of allowance just wasnt going to cut it, so I wanted to make my own money, she said. Dishing it out Mendelsohn learned the restaurant business while working at her fathers Straw Hat Pizza restaurants. At her dads busiest restaurant, the Westwood Village location, Mendelsohn worked hard washing dishes to prove she deserved the job. [My manager]told me a few years later, The day before your first day, your dad sat me down and said, I want my son to work twice as hard as anybody else, said Mendelsohn, a transgender woman who was designated male at birth. Thankfully, college was boring Mendelsohn studied political science at Cal State Northridge with the goal of going to law school but she was bored with classes. In her free time, Mendelsohn played Pong, Ataris first arcade game. Her dad suggested that Mendelsohn take the fun distraction and turn it into a profitable business. Mendelsohn started a company, Games Unlimited, out of her parents garage when she was 21. Her father cosigned for the first four machines, which Mendelsohn put at his four Straw Hat Pizza locations. Over the next nine years, the company grew to 2,200 machines scattered across California, with offices in Hayward, L.A. and San Diego. At its height, Games Unlimited made $12 million a year. By the time I was 30, it was the largest company of its kind in California, Mendelsohn said. More success stories from How I Made It All the social justice work I do centers around seeing people in the transgender and nonbinary community being able to live normal lives. Michaela Mendelsohn From Pong to Pollo As home video games grew in popularity, Mendelsohns arcade business did not. She transferred Games Unlimited to a business partner, then launched her next business venture in restaurants. In 1988 she opened her companys first El Pollo Loco at the corner of Venice Boulevard and Western Avenue in L.A. Over the next 30 years, Pollo West Corp. owned and operated 17 restaurants, some of which it later sold. It became one of the largest El Pollo Loco franchisees on the West Coast. Mendelsohn served for nine years as president of the El Pollo Loco Franchise Assn. Our culture is built on respect for our employees as we believe it is crucial to take care of our own in order for them to be happy at their work while serving our customers, Mendelsohn said. Introducing Michaela About 11 years ago, Mendelsohn realized she could no longer suppress her gender identity. She was experiencing heart palpitations and feared shed have a nervous breakdown. She took a year off work to transition from male to female. During that year, a rumor circulated among her colleagues that Mendelsohn must have cancer. Why else would she disappear? At Pollo West Corp.s annual Christmas party, the director of operations told the crowd of nearly 500 employees and their families, I have someone I think youre going to want to meet. I got up to the microphone, and I told them who I was, and I told them my story, and I asked for their support for me, and especially for my family, Mendelsohn said. About three, four minutes into it, I was very nervous, and one of the female managers jumps up and yells, You go, girl! and that broke the ice, and I felt so much better. Since then, Mendelsohns employees have been supportive, taking time not only to get to know Mendelsohn better but also telling more about their lives. I was a little bit uptight before because I wasnt in my own skin, and that was difficult for me, and I had to always put a shell around me to protect me from the pain I was feeling, she said. Manager Kristy Ramirez at work in an El Pollo Loco. Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times Empowering others About seven years ago, a manager at Mendelsohns Thousand Oaks store hired a transgender woman, Kristy Ramirez. Mendelsohn was thrilled, but she hadnt specifically asked her managers to seek out trans workers. And then she realized she should. In talking with Ramirez, Mendelsohn learned how Ramirez had been harassed and abused at her last fast-food job, forced to use the mens restroom when she clearly identified as a woman. This prompted Mendelsohn to found TransCanWork, a nonprofit organization that trains businesses in best practices for hiring transgender workers and helps transgender people have equal access to employment. Trans people of color are over three times more likely to be unemployed and over seven times more likely to be living in poverty, under $10,000 a year, because of difficulty in getting employment, Mendelsohn said. And so when I heard her story, I realized how fortunate I was to have transitioned as the boss of my own company. Be nice or leave Over the span of her career, Mendelsohn considered leaving the business world more than once because of its cutthroat nature. Her approach has long been to treat her employees and colleagues with dignity and respect. The same philosophy we have in life with our friends and our family, we should have in business, she said. Order up Mendelsohn has ordered the same thing at El Pollo Loco for more than three decades: a two-piece chicken meal with coleslaw, pinto beans, corn tortillas and salsa, and an iced tea. I still eat El Pollo Loco, like, three or four times a week, and Im not tired of it after 32 years, Mendelsohn said. And thats not a commercial its true. Personal Mendelsohn and her partner, Carmel, live in Woodland Hills with their 4-year-old son, Isadore. They enjoy hiking and attending concerts. Mendelsohn has three adult children with her former partner, Barbara, who helps in the management of Pollo West Corp. All the social justice work I do really centers around seeing people in the transgender and nonbinary community being able to live normal lives and not have to worry day to day about their survival, Mendelsohn said. I have a 4-year-old child. I feel so fortunate and why shouldnt trans people already be raising families, and owning homes and cars, and going to school and supporting their kids through college? That should be the same. Its been a rough quarter for the rollout of Teslas Model 3. There were faulty robots at the Nevada battery factory and an idled production line in California. Reservation holders from San Diego to Brooklyn saw their delivery times pushed back. What should have felt like a cascade of electric cars flooding American streets seemed more like a trickle. Now, with less than two weeks left in the quarter, CEO Elon Musk is looking to make up for lost time. Just got back from Gigafactory, he said on Twitter before dawn Thursday. Will be at our Fremont factory in the morning. Tesla team is going all out. Those efforts appear to be paying off. Bloomberg is tracking the Model 3 rollout with an experimental tool that estimates production using vehicle identification numbers. Our model estimates that Tesla is making 805 Model 3s a week, for a total of 10,636 cars so far. But that tells only part of the story. We track two sets of VIN data, and both are showing indications of significant improvement to come. Advertisement (Bloomberg ) Our model is, by design, slow to respond to such changes in the data. In order to avoid overreacting to unusual batches, weve averaged our production rates over time. That means our models current estimated production rate is still being held back by Februarys temporary manufacturing pause. We expect the improving trend will continue next week based on the data weve already received. (Bloomberg ) Both of our methods are designed for long-term accuracy, but they take some time to register sudden shifts. The tracker currently shows Tesla making 810 Model 3s a week, up from 693 in the prior week. However, we think our model may be underestimating whats going on at the Tesla plants. Based on some of the numbers were seeing, we think its possible Tesla already could be producing more than 1,000 a week and climbing. That doesnt make up for all of Teslas first-quarter production woes. Many Tesla Model 3 owners are reporting a wide variety of quality problems. It remains to be seen whether the production boost carries a cost in quality. At the start of the year, Tesla said it already was capable of cranking out 1,000 Model 3s a week and would finish the quarter at 2,500 a week. Bloombergs model suggests Tesla is still nowhere near where it wanted to be but theres still one week left to make up some ground. (Bloomberg ) Randall writes for Bloomberg. RoK President Moon Jae-in, who is on a State visit to Vietnam from March 22nd-24th, and Vietnamese Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh, at the ceremony. (Source: VNA) RoK President Moon Jae-in, who is on a State visit to Vietnam from March 22nd-24th, and Vietnamese Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh, along with representatives from a number of ministries, agencies and localities of both countries were present at the event. Addressing the ceremony, President Moon described the event as a milestone of the RoKs support for scientific and technological development in Vietnam, as well as close-knit relations between the two countries in all sectors. The enhancement of cooperation to spur Vietnams economic development through science and technology is evidence of the RoKs New Look South Policy towards prosperity of both sides, he stressed. In her remarks, Vice President Thinh noted with pleasure the breakthrough development of Vietnam - RoK cooperative ties over the past 25 years, especially after the two countries established the strategic cooperative partnership in 2009. Once operational, the institute is expected to play an important role in providing technological solutions for businesses, and become a scientific and technological incubator in service of the domestic industrial sectors as well as Vietnams sustainable development, she said. Vietnamese Minster of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh said his ministry, which has been assigned to construct and manage the operation of the institute, hopes that the institute will soon become a model for the Vietnam - RoK friendship. To that end, the ministry has devised an operation plan for the institute, he noted, adding that it will firstly focus on completing the institutes infrastructure to serve research activities, building and operating the personnel training system. Initial research activities will be carried out in 2018, aiming to address pressing technological demands of a number of industrial sectors like IT and supply-demand technology, Anh said. In the next five years, efforts will be made to build prestige, expand research activities and provide in-depth technological products for businesses, meeting requirements of foreign-invested firms. The institute will then penetrate into the global market and cooperate with the worlds leading businesses and partners, according to the minister./. SpaceX and Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk became the latest high-profile supporter of the call to #DeleteFacebook on Friday morning, and the Facebook pages of his two most prominent companies quickly disappeared. The move could signal new problems for a social media giant battered by the widening Cambridge Analytica controversy, with calls now for its chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, to testify in front of Congress about the alleged misappropriation of user data. Musks pledge to delete the SpaceX and Tesla Facebook pages came after WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton who sold his messaging service to Facebook for $21.8 billion in 2014 encouraged users Tuesday to shut down their accounts. It is time. #deletefacebook, Acton wrote. Advertisement I didnt realize there was one. Will do. Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 23, 2018 Musk responded Friday to Actons tweet by asking: Whats Facebook? A Twitter user then urged Musk to delete SpaceXs Facebook page if youre the man. I didnt realize there was one, Musk responded. Will do. As of Friday afternoon, the Facebook pages of SpaceX and Tesla pages remained inaccessible. SpaceX also removed a link to its Facebook account from its website, leaving only links to its Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and Instagram accounts. Instagram accounts for Musk, SpaceX and Tesla have so far survived the purge. Instagram was acquired by Facebook in 2012. Musk tweeted Friday that Instagram was probably ok as long as it stays fairly independent. I dont use FB [Facebook] & never have, so dont think Im some kind of martyr or my companies are taking a huge blow, he tweeted. Also, we dont advertise or pay for endorsements, so dont care. In an interview with the New York Times on Wednesday, Zuckerberg acknowledged the #DeleteFacebook hashtag but said he hadnt seen a meaningful number of users delete their accounts just yet. Advertisement That could change with prominent Twitter users such as Musk and the singer Cher, who said earlier this week that she had deleted her Facebook account a move that was very hard because the social media firm had helped her with her charity, she tweeted. With his 20.5 million Twitter followers, Musk has standing as an opinion leader, said Karen North, professor of digital social media at USCs Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, meaning he could influence others to deactivate their accounts as well. The call for users to scrap their Facebook accounts echoes last years #DeleteUber campaign, which took off after the ride-hailing firm advertised that it would offer service free of surge pricing at New Yorks John F. Kennedy International Airport during a taxi strike protesting President Trumps travel ban. Angry customers interpreted Ubers move as a bid to undermine the protest. The New York Times reported that more than 200,000 customers wound up deleting their Uber accounts. Advertisement However, the implications of deleting an Uber account, compared with a Facebook account, are very different, said Kelli Matthews, senior instructor in the University of Oregons school of journalism and communication. She said most of the conversations shes seen recently about Facebook have focused on digital literacy and understanding how personal data is being used. If you delete it, for a lot of people, thats cutting off a considerable communication channel, Matthews said. Still, Zuckerberg has acknowledged that the #DeleteFacebook hashtag is a sign that users saw a major trust issue. And whether people delete their app over it or just dont feel good about using Facebook, thats a big issue that I think we have a responsibility to rectify, Zuckerberg told the New York Times. Advertisement Facebooks stock closed Friday at $159.39, down 3.3%. Though he doesnt appear to be a Facebook fan, Musk has some connections to the social media firm. His fellow PayPal co-founder, Peter Thiel, sits on Facebooks board of directors. And he has done business with Facebook before. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that exploded on a Florida launchpad in 2016 also destroyed a commercial communications satellite Facebook was set to use to provide internet access to remote areas. When a Twitter user reminded Musk of that incident, he responded that it was my fault for being an idiot. Advertisement We did give them a free launch to make up for it and I think they had some insurance, Musk tweeted. samantha.masunaga@latimes.com Twitter: @smasunaga UPDATES: Advertisement 3:40 p.m.: This article was updated to include comments from Kelli Matthews of the University of Oregon and Karen North of USC. 1:05 p.m.: This article was updated to include tweets from Cher and another tweet from SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk. This story was originally published at 11:40 a.m. It looks like the Trump administration has finally found a business it doesnt like. Amid a far-ranging push to deregulate American companies from payday lenders to internet service providers Trump has singled out Big Tobacco as the one industry he intends to crack down on. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration announced it will push ahead with a plan to reduce nicotine in cigarettes. This week, the FDA said it also wants to take a closer look at menthol and other flavors that entice young people to try smoking. The question is why. Advertisement Not why would a federal agency charged with keeping Americans safe go after cigarettes under normal circumstances, the answer to that would be obvious. Rather, why would this most regulation-hating of Republican administrations seek to impose new rules on an industry that is one of the Republican Partys most generous donors? According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Big Tobacco contributed more than $5 million to politicians during the 2016 election cycle. Of that total, 84% went to Republicans. I spoke with a number of experts who track the doings of the tobacco industry, and they too are scratching their heads. But one theory making the rounds is that our businessman in chief may be pulling a fast one. By that thinking, Trump is publicly signaling a willingness to go after tobacco companies. But in private, his relationship with the industry is very much nudge-nudge, wink-wink, with an understanding that tobacco firms will enjoy a free hand on what matters most to them: developing a lucrative market for electronic cigarettes as consumption of traditional cigarettes declines. Thats a very real scenario, but not the only scenario, said Matt Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and an influential figure in the cigarette arena since his days with the Federal Trade Commission in the early 1980s. There is every reason to be skeptical, but there are also strong indications the FDA is sincere and serious. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb last week unveiled an advance notice of proposed rulemaking that is the first of numerous steps in a regulatory process that could last years. The goal, he said, is to explore a product standard to lower nicotine in cigarettes to minimally or non-addictive levels. Advertisement This week he said that we must give serious consideration to the ways in which we might further address flavors in combustible tobacco products like menthol in cigarettes and the fruit- and candy-flavored little cigars and cigarillos. Those are impressive objectives considering theyre direct assaults on the $130-billion U.S. tobacco industry, which, along with all that money showered on Republican lawmakers, donated $1.5 million to Trumps inauguration festivities. The strong statements from Commissioner Gottlieb are a very encouraging sign, but such a strong regulatory move would go against the overall anti-regulatory tone of the Trump administration, said Micah Berman, a professor of law and public health at Ohio State University. The FDA seems committed to this approach, he told me, but the tobacco industry will heavily lobby to shut it down. Advertisement One hint as to how all this could play out might be gleaned from the order of the FDAs announcements. First nicotine. Then flavorings, which in the eyes of the public now could be seen as an equally important health hazard. Theyre not. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about a quarter of cigarettes sold in this country are mentholated. The FDA is right to target tobacco flavorings as a gateway for young people to take up the habit. But, pardon the expression, it may be just a smokescreen. Nicotine is the whole ballgame. Tobacco companies have known since at least the 1960s that nicotine addiction is central to their business. Advertisement When former President Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act into law in 2009 empowering the FDA to regulate cigarettes he noted that 1 in 5 teenagers leaves high school as a smoker. I know because I was one of those teenagers, he said. I know how hard it can be to break this habit when it has been with you for a long time. Ask agency officials why it took so long to get the rule-making process up and running, and theyll tell you its taken years for the science to catch up with conventional wisdom. Theyll say sufficient data finally exist to proceed with potential limits on nicotine. An FDA spokesman steered me to Gottliebs official statement, in which he noted that tobacco kills more than 480,000 Americans every year and costs nearly $300 billion annually in healthcare expenses and lost productivity. Advertisement In fact, he said, cigarettes are the only legal consumer product that, when used as intended, will kill half of all long-term users. Thats not exactly a news flash. Nor will it surprise anyone that the tobacco industry, despite its legacy of death, has fought aggressively against regulation of its products. Are things different now? I put that question to Altria Group, parent of Philip Morris USA. Murray Garnick, the companys executive vice president and general counsel, said in a statement that any proposed nicotine standard would need to be part of a comprehensive package which also includes steps to encourage the innovation of less harmful products. Advertisement James Figlar, executive vice president of research and development for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, said the company looks forward to establishing a regulatory framework that is based on tobacco harm reduction and recognizes the continuum of risk. Not one expert I spoke with said they think Big Tobacco will roll over and accept a reduction of nicotine in cigarettes by as much as 99%, which is the maximum allowed under the 2009 law. The tobacco industry is saying that they want to play along, but decades of past experience show that they say one thing and act in a completely different way, said Lucy Popova, an assistant professor of public health at Georgia State University. It is guaranteed that they will be fighting this regulation, using a whole arsenal of tricks to stall it, she said. Advertisement Why werent these recent FDA announcements greeted with immediate threats of lawsuits? Heres where the nudge-nudge theory reemerges. Last summer, the FDA announced it would delay regulation of e-cigarettes until 2022 at the earliest. This was a huge win for tobacco companies, which view e-cigs and vaping as major moneymakers. The global market for e-cigarettes was worth $11.4 billion in 2016, according to BIS Research. By 2025, the company forecast in a study this month, global e-cigarette sales will reach $86.4 billion. The tit for tat, then, would be the tobacco industrys forestalling litigation on nicotine limits as long as the FDA keeps its distance from vaping. Advertisement And after a few years of bureaucratic paper shuffling, Big Tobacco would reluctantly agree to some new restrictions on menthol and candy coatings in return for no government tampering with nicotine limits or vaping. Maybe thats what Altria was referring to when it talked about innovation of less harmful products, which is how the industry wants people to see vaping (even though recent studies say it can, in fact, lead to more smoking). Or its what Reynolds meant with that cryptic comment about recognizing the continuum of risk, which seems to suggest that nicotine wont go away, so lets get behind vaping as a less harmful delivery method. Oh, have I mentioned that Gottlieb, the FDA commissioner, used to sit on the board of Kure, a North Carolina vaping company? Advertisement Go figure. We dont know whats motivating the White House, said Myers at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Its possible the White House is letting Gottlieb talk about reducing nicotine because they know it wont go anywhere. He and others hope thats not the case. They hope that after millions of tobacco-related deaths, were at last on the verge of meaningful steps toward weaning Americans from nicotine addiction. I hope so too. But Im not holding my breath. Advertisement David Lazarus column runs Tuesdays and Fridays. He also can be seen daily on KTLA-TV Channel 5 and followed on Twitter @Davidlaz. Send your tips or feedback to david.lazarus@latimes.com. Damien Hirst is dialing it back a bit. The British artist known for shocking, grandiose gestures that tend to provoke a love-it-or-hate-it response think of those animals in formaldehyde, or his 2017 exhibition in Venice, Italy, a shipwreck fantasy featuring the sculptural remains of fictional, ancient civilizations has returned to the humble canvas. His first Los Angeles exhibition since 2102 has opened at Gagosian in Beverly Hills. The Veil Paintings exhibition features his poppy, pointillistic, candy-colored abstract works. Unlike the Venice exhibition, which took about a decade to produce, the 24 oils-on-canvas in the new show were all created during the last year, and none has been shown publicly before. The work marks Hirsts return to simpler-in-scope painting, but these are not quiet works. For me, theyre all just a massive celebration, Hirst said in this edited conversation. I had a lot of fun with the colors, theyre exciting, they make me feel really good when I look at them. The new show is a departure from last springs Treasures From the Wreck of the Unbelievable. What triggered the shift back to painting? Whenever I do something, if I go deeply into something, I always try to sort of swing back the other way. Like whenever Ive made butterfly paintings, I immediately go and make fly paintings. And I think maybe with Treasures, I kind of went and made all these sculptures and this big illusion and immediately thought: the equal and opposite is also true, and went back to something basic. Probably because it involved so many other people, and I think I just felt a need to get rid of everybody and be on my own [in the studio]. Was going back to basics also a response to critics of Treasures, some of whom said the show was too extravagant in scale and expense? Venice was like 10 years work, but Ive always done [more immediate] paintings. I remember John Lennon said, when someone asked him, What do you do after youve cut your hair? He said, You just grow it. Its a bit like that. You grow your hair, you cut your hair. You work on complicated things, you simplify, you complicate, you simplify it. One of Damien Hirst's new "Veil Paintings" at Gagosian in Beverly Hills. Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times The work in the new show, youve said, is inspired by Post-Impressionist Pierre Bonnard? Yeah. They have that sort of feeling, of that color its not natural color from life. I think if you look at a detail of a Bonnard, the colors, they start to excite you like a Rothko painting, something spiritual if you believe in that. So I kind of mixed the two. I saw a show, when I was student, at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, of Bonnard and de Kooning. It was a really good pairing. I was in my early 20s. I think I just got a really great hit from the color. Color is just a powerful, uplifting thing. I think art should always be hopeful and make you feel good. Your relationship with social media particularly Instagram has changed this year. Its gotten more personal, more autobiographical. Why? I had sort of left my Instagram up to other people and didnt see it as a tool to communicate or to show work. I didnt really look at it very often. But when I started looking at it, I started noticing they were advertising my restaurant and things like that, and it all seemed kind of stupid. I thought: I have 100 images of my work, and I just started writing little pieces about them, and I thought Id see what happened if I started putting those [online]. Also, my son is big on Instagram, and he was giving me a bit of a kick saying, Dad, you should do something with your Instagram. Hes 17. Hes a fingerboarder mini skateboards. But I like the direct thing thats happening now, where Im talking about myself and my work, just keeping it simple and tight. And hopefully thats what people wanna hear about rather than whats going on in my restaurant. The Spot Paintings, the Visual Candy works, the Veil Paintings and now Colour Space, 250 dotted works debuting later this month in Britain what is it about dots? Wow. I dont know. I mean, Ive always liked Op Art, like Bridget Riley, Larry Poons. Ive always liked paintings that are exciting to the eye. I suppose dots come out of that. Its a surface that moves. A detail from one of Damien Hirst's new "Veil Paintings" at Gagosian in Beverly Hills. Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times Your work tends to provoke strong reactions particularly from animal rights activists. Whats your response to that? I think I create a lot of reactions, some positive, some negative. But I dont kill animals for art or anything like that. As an artist you have to be really careful. Whenever I use animals or butterflies, I always make sure that theyre all [handled] in the correct way and theres nothing dangerous. Same as when we use diamonds, we make sure theyre not conflict diamonds. Thats just normal things you have to do in the world today. But I think mixed feelings are good. Theres a lot of questions, arent there, about animals. Thats why I use animals in art in the first place. You wanna make art that is alive. You can imagine a time in the future when maybe everyones vegetarian. All the pieces that Ive made in formaldehyde, I now scan them. Im looking at ways to make things 3-D that arent animals, but look exactly like animals, from the older works. In case we get to a point in the future where you cant use meat. Are you making new works incorporating animals? Im working with the Mexican government at the minute to maybe make a formaldehyde piece of an extinct animal, a porpoise, its like a dolphin, to auction for charity. To highlight the plight of these animals. How often are you in L.A.? Im in L.A. quite a lot often doing kid things. I have a 12-year-old and a 17-year-old who likes to skate. My other [younger] son used to want to do Disneyland, and now its Six Flags. We come out twice a year. I like Soho House, the Ivy restaurant. I do the museums, maybe a concert at Disney Hall. I saw the Alejandro Inarritu VR piece at LACMA its great, really intense. One of Damien Hirst's new "Veil Paintings" at Gagosian in Beverly Hills. Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times Was there a reason for debuting this particular show in L.A.? L.A. is just very open to painting. It just felt right. For me, the paintings seem to be about sunlight on flowers on a sunny day. And L.A. is perfect for that. Who inspires you these days? The whole world inspires me. My kids. Anyone making great art. Theres a New York painter I really like called Sadie Laska; Sarah Lucas from England, she makes art from found objects. In L.A. I like Jonas Wood, Alex Israel. Mark Bradford Ive met, a lovely guy, I really like the paintings. Paul McCarthy I love. Whats next? Ironically, its quite funny because a lot of people say Im more interested in money than art. So I thought of making an artwork where I actually try to create money from art. Theyd be like an 8-by-10 note, with very small dots on it over the whole surface. A bit like the new dot paintings Im doing. Theyd be handmade, all unique. Id sign the back and theyd all have individual titles, maybe put a hologram on it and make it like a note in a currency. I mean, a print actually works like a currency. If you make 100 prints and they all sell out and people trade them, it kind of works like a currency. So Ive been thinking about that. Especially with all this bitcoin frenzy going on, its nice to go back to something tangible. Might that just inflame those critics who say youre more interested in money than art? Not really. Ive always been interested in money and art and how they connect. I think about money like you think about love or you think about death: Theyre very big, huge things you have to deal with in life, theyre important. But I believe that art is more important than money. It rises above. Damien Hirst with his new "Veil Paintings" at Gagosian in Beverly Hills. Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times deborah.vankin@latimes.com Follow me on Twitter: @debvankin No one attending Frozen, the new Broadway musical that had its official opening on Thursday at the St. James Theatre, is meant to ponder the rise of extreme weather events. Leave it to a spoilsport critic, escaping an atmospheric river on one coast only to be met with a noreaster on the other, to connect the psychological metaphor of a freakish summer blizzard onstage with the battering reality of climate change. Disney, like Blanche DuBois, wants magic, not realism. And were there more enchantment to this relentlessly perky stage adaptation of the highest-grossing animated movie in history, my mind probably wouldnt have strayed from the path of fantasy and fallen victim to the mudslide of fact. With music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez and a book by Jennifer Lee, Disneys latest brand extension has conscripted into service three key players from the movies creative team. But thundersnow hasnt struck twice. As Disney stage musicals go, this nobly multicultural, unabashedly earnest show is bound to add many more millions to the companys coffers. Yet its a far cry from the whirligig imagination of The Lion King. If truth in advertising prevailed, the marquee would read, Moderately entertaining and fortified with vitamins and minerals! The production, directed by Michael Grandage, begins on a surprisingly modest note. When Elsa and her younger sister, Anna, are frolicking around the palace as children, the elder princess bizarre snow-making powers amount to little more than a spurt of confetti. The decision not to compete with the films visual ingenuity makes perfect sense, but the wizardry here seems like something I could have cooked up with loose-leaf paper and a pair of scissors. Advertisement The special effects become more sensational as Elsas sorcery strengthens with age. And the production earns extra points for the delightful human-puppet hybrids that bring to life Olaf (Greg Hildreth), the fey snowman who adores warm hugs, and Sven (Andrew Pirozzi), the trusty reindeer who accompanies his master, the handsome ice-peddler Kristoff (a jocularly amiable Jelani Alladin), through all kinds of blustery adventures. But Grandage, a British director whose commanding clarity of storytelling has relighted classics from Shakespeare to Schiller, approaches the musical as though it were The Winters Tale. But theres no lyrical language in the show to compel us to awaken our faith, as Paulina instructs King Leontes before animating the statue of his dead wife at the end of Shakespeares romance. Frozen is more Broadway machine than dramatic poem. Theres much to admire in a modern fairy tale that wants to resist the romantic traps of the genre. Frozen elevates the bond between sisters over more traditional hetero-normative endings. The refreshingly female-centered story is laden with nuggets of updated moral wisdom. Impulsive, fun-loving and self-deprecating Anna discovers the extent of her courage and loyalty after her big sister, in a fit of pique, plunges the kingdom into a deep freeze on her coronation day and runs away to live alone with her anger and shame in a remote ice castle. It takes time indeed an entire musical for Elsa to learn that what marks her as dangerously different is also the source of her majestic uniqueness. The film found depth in the sisters quest to thaw their own hearts by an act of true love, but the material can only withstand so much gravity. The genius doesnt inhere in Lees screenplay but in the total package. Frozen excels as an animated movie musical, not as a profound work of childrens literature. Grandage lays too much emphasis on the psychology of characters who cant sustain the weight of so much dramatic complexity. Not that the shows captivating leads, Caissie Levy as Elsa and Patti Murin as Anna, dont charmingly incarnate these beloved animated screen figures. Beneath the chilly hauteur of Levys Elsa lies a world of fear, sadness and confusion. Murins Anna is the perky younger sibling hell-bent on adventure and prone to embarrassing mishaps. Their childhood counterparts (played at the reviewed performance by Ayla Schwartz and Mattea Conforti) more than fill the adorable bill. The best songs are plucked from the movie. The simple lyrics of Do You Want to Build a Snowman? and For the First Time in Forever trace the youthful wonder of the sisters as they move from childhood to the brink of adulthood. In Love Is an Open Door, Anna, still full of adolescent wishes despite the heartache of a mysterious rift with her sister, heedlessly succumbs to romance with handsome, too-good-to-be-true Hans (John Riddle, impressive in every way) in a pop number pulsating with blind hope. Let It Go, the song that not too long ago colonized the airwaves with a seemingly ubiquitous military force, brings down the curtain on Act 1. Its a tough number to belt out on command night after night, but Levy smartly husbands her vocal resources, delivering the boom when extra power is needed in an interpretation that is true to both Idina Menzels shadings and Levys own knowledge of the characters frostbitten heart. Advertisement The design team ups its game after the kingdom is imprisoned in permanent winter. The dark paneling of Christopher Orams set transforms into a graphic-novel-style alpine landscape shot through with the menacing shadows of Natasha Katzs lighting. Caissie Levy as Elsa in Frozen, with set design by Christopher Oram and lighting by Natasha Katz. (Deen van Meer ) Elsas mountain hideaway is bejeweled with ice, perfect for a young queen who has grown tired of concealing her true nature. When she changes costumes (more of Orams imaginative handiwork) in a royal declaration of frigid independence, the switch, magically orchestrated, is a genuine coup de theater. In general, the production opts less for glitzy tricks than for old-fashioned musical comedy goofiness. Some of the humor is targeted to a younger audience, but there is plenty of elbow-nudging wit for the adults in the house. Advertisement The comic sweetness pairs nicely with the simplicity of the better songs. Sometimes, though, when the energy is ratcheted up (as with the rollicking Hygge), the number can feel like an excuse for choreographer Rob Ashford to showcase the full catalog of his pastiche gifts. One dark ditty that should have been excised is Hidden Folk, the clunky appeal to the community of creatures previously known as trolls before political correctness (and uninspired songwriting) intervened. Frozen likely wont have many repeat customers, but its agreeable competence will satisfy hardcore fans who are curious to understand more about the plucky, climate-meddling heroines who devise their own happy ending through sisterly solidarity. charles.mcnulty@latimes.com Follow me @charlesmcnulty Advertisement ALSO Eager anticipation for Leslie Manville, Jeremy Irons, Soft Power and more Lauren Yee, playwright on the verge The Broad acquires a new Kusama Infinity Mirror Room Spring has sprung! And weve got previews, new plays, more MOCA stonewalling and Chicano everything. Im Carolina A. Miranda, staff writer with the Los Angeles Times, with the weeks top culture news: ESSENTIAL IMAGE A circular relief from the sun pyramid at Teotihuacan, from the exhibition City and Cosmos, opening Sunday at LACMA. (Museo Nacional de Antropologia / INAH-CANON ) In its day, the ancient city of Teotihuacan was the largest urban center in the Americas and the sixth-largest city in the world. Today, it is an iconic Mexican archaeological site. The exhibition City and Cosmos: The Arts of Teotihuacan, opening Sunday at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, presents recent findings from excavations at the sites three main pyramids. It includes more than 200 objects that help tell the story of the ancient city, including monumental sculpture and smaller-scale objects that include precious stones. More art events in Datebook. Los Angeles Times Advertisement UNTAMED SHREW Shrew! the latest from Pulitzer finalist Amy Freed gives Shakespeares Taming of the Shrew a makeover from a womans point of view at South Coast Repertory. I think its the opportunity for a full-throttle woman onstage, she tells The Times Daryl H. Miller. Plus, theres something really sexy about this setup of unstoppable force meets immovable object. Los Angeles Times Playwright Amy Freed, author of the Shakespeare-inspired Shrew! (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times ) FROZEN ON BROADWAY Times theater Charles McNulty traveled to New York to check out the stage version of the Disney animated hit Frozen. (He also landed just in time for a noreaster.) Thundersnow, he reports, hasnt struck twice. The musical is a multicultural, unabashedly earnest show that will likely make millions, he writes. Yet its a far cry from the whirligig imagination of The Lion King. Los Angeles Times Caissie Levy is Elsa, left, and Patti Murin is Anna in the Broadway adaptation of Frozen. (Deen van Meer ) THEATER NOTES Lauren Yees new play, Cambodian Rock Band, on stage through Sunday at South Coast Repertory, tells the story of a Cambodian musician who survives the genocide and lands in the U.S. For me as an artist, the idea that music and art can be so powerful that a regime goes after you is a really startling idea, Yee tells Times contributor Steve Appleford. Los Angeles Times Advertisement Playwright Lauren Yee, on stage at South Coast Repertory. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times ) Plus, Times contributing reviewer F. Kathleen Foley says that A Noise Withins production of A Raisin in the Sun is an opportunity to experience a near-optimum staging of this American classic. She also checks out the IT-themed Pigs and Chickens at Atwater Village Theater, while Philip Brandes takes in a potent King Lear at the Rubicon Theatre in Ventura. On the 99-Seat Beat, Daryl H. Miller suggests several plays that applaud strong, resourseful, vital women as one way to participate in Womens History Month. Saundra McClain, left, is Lena Younger and Toya Turner is Ruth Younger in A Noise Withins production of Lorraine Hansberrys A Raisin in the Sun. (Craig Schwartz ) STILL NO ANSWERS FROM MOCA Advertisement Times art critic Christopher Knight evaluates the situation at the Museum of Contemporary Art in the wake of chief curator Helen Molesworths dismissal which was not handled with the care which it deserved. The museums board of trustees is not helping nearly as much as it should, Knight writes. One crystal clear sign: The museum is downtown, but board meetings are regularly held 10 miles to the west at the Beverly Hills Hotel. On levels both practical and symbolic, the foolish practice betrays a disheartening institutional disconnect at the very top. Disheartening, indeed. Los Angeles Times Plus, reports from Julia Halperin at Artnet and Andy Battaglia and Maximiliano Duron at ARTnews look into the events that may have led to Molesworths firing. Former MOCA chief curator Helen Molesworth, left, board co-chairs Maurice Marciano and Lilly Tartikoff Karatz, museum director Philippe Verge. (From left: Ricardo DeAratanha and Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times; Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images; Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times ) SPRING ARTS PREVIEW Advertisement Time to mark up your calendars its spring preview season! In the wake of Pacific Standard Time, spring will be an unusually quiet time at the major L.A. museums, writes Christopher Knight. But the Hammer Museums Made in L.A. biennial and a show of Iranian art at LACMA, among others, will give art lovers plenty to look at. Los Angeles Times Mothers of Martyrs (detail), 2006, by Newsha Tavakolian, from an upcoming exhibition at LACMA. (Newsha Tavakolian / Thomas Erben Gallery ) Times classical music critic Mark Swed reports that this year will be about young talent coming into bloom: soprano Julia Bloom, opera director Yuval Sharon and composers Ellen Reid and Matthew Aucoin. Los Angeles Times Also, reviewer Rick Schultz picks 15 chamber music concerts hes anticipating this spring. Los Angeles Times Advertisement Charles McNulty says the coming months will offer theatrical works by new talents. But there will be classics, too: such as the anticipated production of Long Days Journey Into Night starring two of Britains best, Lesley Manville and Jeremy Irons. Los Angeles Times Plus, Matt Cooper previews the Broadway hits coming to Southern California. Los Angels Times Reviewer Laura Bleiberg rounds things out with a dispatch on the dance season, which will include Dada Masilos re-imagining of Giselle and a David Bowie-inspired ballet. Los Angeles Times South African choreographer Dada Masilos retooling of the classic ballet Giselle comes to the Wallis in Beverly Hills. (Stella Olivier ) And heres a handy link that features all our spring preview stories in one place! Los Angeles Times Advertisement 24 HOURS TO GO Mark Swed has been putting in some serious time in the chair for Taylor Macs epic, six-hour performances at the Theatre at Ace Hotel. If you havent already heard, A 24-Decade History of Popular Music is ruthlessly punishing, infuriating, alarming, charming, impressive and obsessive like no other music theater, he writes. It is also extraordinarily illuminating, if you are willing, without succumbing to silliness, to put up with it. Did I say it is infuriating? Wagner, to whom Mac has some resemblance in the grandiosity department, can be infuriating too. More important, like Wagner, Mac is a sorcerer. Los Angeles Times Taylor Mac performs at the Theater at Ace Hotel. (Claire Hannah Collins / Los Angeles Times ) Plus, Swed checked out performances by the Huayin Shadow Puppet Band in Santa Barbara and Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan at the Segerstrom. Music, he writes, is no more a universal language than is Hungarian or Hebrew, he writes. Yet at both of these events, the audiences were engrossed. Los Angeles Times Advertisement DAMIEN HIRST SEEING DOTS The Times Deborah Vankin talks with Britains shock artist Damien Hirst about dialing back his provocation impulses for his newest series, The Veil Paintings, on view through April 14 at Gagosian in Beverly Hills. Of his return to the humble canvas, Hirst says of the paintings, Theyre all just a massive celebration. I had a lot of fun with the colors. ...They make me feel really good when I look at them. Los Angeles Times Artist Damien Hirst presents his latest series, The Veil Paintings, on view through April 14 at Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times ) EVEN MORE SHOWS Advertisement Deborah Vankin also previews a pair of new shows that are landing in town: King Tut: Treasures of the Golden Tomb is opening at the California Science Center this weekend. But its not the same show you may remember of decades past: the exhibition features objects that have never before left Egypt and some high-tech environments. Los Angeles Times A gilded wooden figure of Tutankhamun on a skiff in King Tut: Treasures of the Golden Pharoah. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times ) Plus, street art curator Roger Gastman is organizing Beyond the Streets, which will feature graffiti and street artists such as REVOK, RISK, RETNA and Shepard Fairey. It opens in May. Los Angeles Times Advertisement BATTLING CHICANO INVISIBILITY The major event that contributes to Trump denouncing Mexicans is the vast vacuum that exists, the lack of a multitude of representations of Chicanos and Chicanas, artist Harry Gamboa Jr. tells me about representations of Chicanos in media and art. I speak with Gamboa and photojournalist Luis C. Garza, both of whom have exhibitions at the Autry Museum, about photography, Mexican Americans and 50 years of protest. Los Angeles Times I also report on Oscar Zeta Acosta, the activist Chicano lawyer and noted author of two semi-autobiographical novels that are staples of Chicano and psychedelic lit. Phillip Rodriguez considers Acostas life in a new PBS documentary: The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo. I talk with Rodriguez about the man who inspired Hunter S. Thompsons Dr. Gonzo. Los Angeles Times Advertisement Daniel Hernandez reviews the docs unorthodox style: The filmmakers decided to make the project a semi-scripted story, where Acosta and his contemporaries are played by actors in period dress and hair, talking to someone just beyond the camera as in documentary interviews, he writes. Viewers will find either freedom in the narrative experiment, or feel a tinge of impulse to dismiss the whole set-up as hokey. I suggest holding on. L.A. Taco Hunter S. Thompson, left, and Oscar Acosta in Las Vegas in April 1971. (PBS ) And because March is unofficially Chicano history month: Hua Hsu has a piece on the life and work of photograph George Rodriguez. New Yorker IN OTHER NEWS Advertisement The California African American Museum has received a large gift of 32 works by self-taught contemporary artists from the South from collector Gordon W. Bailey. Los Angeles Times In the wake of the controversy over Dana Schutzs Open Casket, critic Siddartha Mitter considers the display of Emmett Tills casket in Washington, D.C. This is a stark and beautiful read. Village Voice What Black Panther gets right about the politics of museums. Hyperallergic Chad Smith, chief operating officer of the LA Phil, has been named artistic director of the Ojai Music Festival for a three-year term beginning in 2020. Los Angeles Times Advertisement Los Angeles Philharmonic Chief Operating Officer Chad Smith . (Mathew Imaging ) Composing an oratorio about DACA recipients in the era of Trump. New York Times Director Marianne Elliott resurrects Tony Kushners Angels in America on Broadway. New Yorker What really makes a pan a responsibility is that criticism is a form of journalism, which is, in theory, a form of truth. Theater critic Jesse Green on the negative review. New York Times Advertisement How Ubers fatal crash in Arizona reveals the ways in which urban design prizes cars over humans. Essential reading from Alissa Walker. Curbed Related: Allison Arieff on why driverless cars will not save cities. New York Times How the Indian city of Ahmedabad became a hub for innovative architecture and the work of Pritzker Prize winner Balkrishna Doshi. Citylab How do you boycott a building? Four critics weigh in on architecture in the #MeToo moment. Co.Design Advertisement The redesign of the Hotel Figueroa in downtown L.A. pays subtle tribute to women. Los Angeles Times AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST Awesome illustrations of cactuses you didnt know you needed. The Public Domain Review ALSO Advertisement Who was the first celebrity you saw in person? Angelenos banal, weird and hilarious star encounters City and artist hit legal snag in finding a new site for beloved Vermonica light post sculpture Pantherpedia: A guide to the cottage industry of essays about Ryan Cooglers Black Panther Sign up for our weekly Essential Arts & Culture newsletter Advertisement carolina.miranda@latimes.com @cmonstah March has been a bit of an unofficial Chicano history month in Los Angeles. It began with the 50th anniversary of the East Los Angeles blowouts, the school walkouts led by Mexican American students that helped ignite the Chicano movement. It continues with the Friday debut on PBS of The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo, the first film on the life of Oscar Zeta Acosta, the often outrageous activist lawyer who defended some of the protests principal organizers. Meanwhile, a pair of exhibitions at the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles explore Chicano history and identity: La Raza, organized by Luis C. Garza as part of the Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA series of exhibitions, gathers photography and other ephemera from the pages of the 1960s-era activist newspaper. And Harry Gamboa Jr.s installation, Chicano Male Unbonded 84 photographic portraits of Chicano men who have affected his life explores representation issues and webs of connection. The shows tell a wildly different story about Mexican Americans than the political punch lines you might hear about bad hombres in the news. They document activism, faith, community and culture. Gamboas installation in fact, reads like a map to the regions Chicanerati the Chicano literati. Garza, a curator and photojournalist, and Gamboa, a conceptual artist who is a founding member of the influential collective Asco, recently came together at the Autry to discuss issues related to Chicano identity. In this lightly edited conversation, they chat about the ways in which photography was used to create a counter-narrative, about identity and representation, and how their respective exhibitions kick back at all the stereotypes. Photographer Luis Garza, left, and artist Harry Gamboa Jr. at the Autry Museum of the American West. Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times Luis, you covered the blowouts, and Harry, you took part in them. What has it been like to watch the current wave of school walkouts? Gamboa: The walkouts of 68 were a life or death situation. Young men were being drafted. We wanted to promote better education. But it required people to perhaps suffer the consequences of police brutality or being denounced in class. In the current era, you also have a life or death situation: where students are being sacrificed for the profits of the gun industry. Thats unconscionable. Any other country would take care of its children. That was our argument then. Garza: Its a pushback that is occurring in so many different forms be it these walkouts, or the womens marches, or Black Lives Matter. I see time bending in. When I look at 50 years ago and I look at now, I see a wrinkle in time. Gamboa: Maybe one or two extra wrinkles [laughs] and they are all well deserved! South L.A. youth arrive at Belvedere Park for La Marcha por la Justicia in January 1971. Luis C. Garza / UCLA CSRC Luis, how did you select the work you wanted to feature from the vast La Raza archive? Garza: The La Raza collection now stands about 26,000 images negatives dating from 1967 to 1977, which was the life of the publication. Some depict major events like the East L.A. walkouts or Aug. 29 [the 1970 Chicano Moratorium protest against the Vietnam War]. But there was daily life, too. There were children and families. There were people, their art, their food. I went through several thousand images for the show because we didnt have access to the entire 26,000 immediately since they were being digitized. It was a difficult process. We selected 250 photographic images, thereabouts, that are on the gallery walls. Other images are loaded into touchscreen computers. And within the show itself, its more than just photographs, its the graphic artwork, too. Photographer Luis Garza stands amid the exhibition he helped curate. "La Raza" features images from the activist newspaper. Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times Harry, what are the origins of Chicano Male Unbonded? Gamboa: I remember there was a preliminary meeting for the creation of the Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation show [a 1990 Chicano art exhibition at UCLAs Wight Art Gallery]. I happened to attend a dinner where I was surrounded by artists and historians. Everything sounded so positive. When I got to my car to go back to East L.A., where I was living at the time, I turned on the radio and it warned to be on the lookout for a Chicano male. It was this promotion of a negative stereotype. I thought of all the males I knew who had influenced me: scholars, writers, poets, artists, family members. And I thought itd be interesting to photograph the men I knew who had influenced me. I was going to photograph them at night. I wanted to make it film noir-ish. And Chicano men, when theyre shown in media, it was often askance or in a mugshot. I wanted to do it so that the men were looking down at you. It was to generate some anxiety in the viewer because this would likely be the first time a Chicano would look down on them. Artist Harry Gamboa Jr. stands amid his installation "Chicano Male Unbonded" at the Autry Museum. Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times This is a political moment in which Mexican and Mexican American men have been depicted as rapists and gang members. How does your work contend with how Chicanos are seen in our society? Gamboa: The major event that contributes to Trump denouncing Mexicans is the vast vacuum that exists, the lack of a multitude of representations of Chicanos and Chicanas. This allows people to insert negative ideas into the vacuum. And this justifies the mean-spirited behavior on behalf of our government. Garza: Our exhibition is a counterpoint. Its a pushback. Its an exploration of our humanity in general of Latinos. My work begins with my family when I first pick up a camera and I start capturing my family and my environment in the South Bronx. (My family comes from Mexico, the south Texas area, but they migrate to New York in the 1920s.) And Im brought up in a very diverse community and I begin to capture that. And then I come here in the mid-1960s and I become involved with La Raza and I am introduced to a whole new world. You look at the collection and you see the expanse that the photographers cover. There are people in Harrys collection that were part of La Raza. Thats the interesting thing about this project. It traces a genealogy. You see how it intersects with the arts community, academic community, with artists, musicians. Gamboa: I knew people who had been involved in La Raza and they influenced me. I was the editor of a Chicano magazine called Regeneracion. Thats how Asco started. I invited Willie [Herron], then Gronk [Glugio Nicandro] and Patssi [Valdez] to participate. It all introduced me to ideas of media and counter-media. Mainstream media insists on a vacuum, but there is no vacuum. That required us to generate our own media. And this predates the internet, so its graphics, fliers, photographs. Asco was our foray into interrupting some of this. And a lot of it was in response to this insistence to remove the Chicano from the conversation. That persists today. Artist and musician Willie Herron as photographed in 2000 by Harry Gamboa Jr. for "Chicano Male Unbonded." Harry Gamboa / Autry Museum The lack of a multitude of representations of Chicanos and Chicanas this allows people to insert negative ideas into the vacuum. Harry Gamboa Jr., artist What significance would you say photography had to the Chicano movement and to Chicano art? Gamboa: Im born in 1951 when they initiated the first nuclear test in Nevada, which means I was born at the onset of post-Modernism, and this notion that things needed to be deconstructed, re-evaluated and re-defined. The focus at the time would have been the language of cinema, which requires a great amount of funds. Cinema, however, is a sequence of stills. I decided early on to simply take a photograph. That became the No Movie, [Ascos send-up of film stills]. Stylistically it could be at the same level of anything you could find in any magazine or any film. It would engage in conversation with multi-million dollar productions, but it would come from East L.A. for zero budget. Photography wasnt cheap, but it was accessible. Garza: Thats where La Raza as an organizing tool and informational tool begins with photography. Photography was one of the arrows, along with poetry, along with cartoons, along with journalism. La Raza emerges out of this sense of frustration and futility, in challenging the system so you can be heard. There was hard-core photographic work. The collection is part of a larger civil rights movement going on with the country at the time. We cover police brutality, indigenous rights, Catholic issues all things that continue to this day. And people see their reflection, they are identifying with themselves. And its not just the Latino community, but a larger community. Why? Because the power of the photograph speaks to the humanity in us all. "Protesters outside the 42nd Academy Awards, Hollywood," circa 1970, from the archives of La Raza. La Raza staff photographers / UCLA CSRC Aqui estamos en frente. That is the statement. That is the stand that we take. And its a stand that has a long history. Luis C. Garza, photojournalist and curator What kind of record has your work created? Gamboa: Because this project began in 1991, I feel like it has captured my own changes in perspective as Ive grown. Some of the people that are in Chicano Male Unbonded, I catch them at a particular point in my career and their career. Many of them are upwardly mobile. Willie Herron, who I met when we were both 15, and we have gone through like 10,000 different stages, is in there. [Documentary director] Phillip Rodriguez is in there. Chon Noriega [director of the Chicano Studies Research Center at UCLA] is in there. I photographed him when I first met him, but then I re-photographed him when he became director of the center. My son is in there. He was 15 and he is thinking about something that would be actualized he served 15 years in the military. There are many people I catch in the moment of aspiring to be. And everyone who is on the wall has made something or done something that has contributed to the fabric of America. On that level, its in complete contradiction to the insult that [President] Trump has made upon us. Composer Gerardo Velazquez, photographed by Harry Gamboa Jr. for "Chicano Male Unbonded" in 1991. Harry Gamboa Jr. / Autry Museum Garza: Thats the challenge of these exhibitions. Aqui estamos en frente. [We are here before you.] That is the statement. That is the stand that we take. And its a stand that has a long history. As younger people walk into the exhibition, we are passing the baton for them to carry on. La Raza When: Through Feb. 10, 2019 Harry Gamboa Jr.: Chicano Male Unbonded When: Through Aug. 5 Where: The Autry Museum of the American West, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park, Los Angeles Sign up for our weekly Essential Arts & Culture newsletter Support our journalism Please consider subscribing today to support stories like this one. Get full access to our signature journalism for just 99 cents for the first four weeks. Already a subscriber? Your support makes our work possible. Thank you. carolina.miranda@latimes.com @cmonstah ALSO How 'brown buffalo' Oscar Acosta, best known as Hunter Thompson's Dr. Gonzo, inspired his own TV doc Parkland student activists should study the East L.A. Blowouts that launched a movement in California We watch artist Harry Gamboa Jr. stage a fotonovela at the site of L.A.'s demolished 6th Street Bridge From Donald Duck to Donald Trump, an unprecedented look at Latin American art holds up a mirror to the U.S. Footage for White Justice, the incendiary new video from Los Angeles punk lifer Alice Bag, was shot nearly 50 years ago, but aside from the Technicolor sheen of the document, its just as resonant today. The clip comes as Bag, who was once best known as the co-founder of Los Angeles punk band the Bags, celebrates the release of her searing new album, Blueprint. A mix of punk, twangy rock and pull-no-punches protest music, the album came out today via the indie Don Giovanni imprint. As captured by filmmaker Tom Myrdahl, the White Justice footage depicts the National Chicano Moratorium March down Whittier Boulevard in summer 1970. Through shaky-camera scenes that capture the joy and enthusiasm of organized action, protesters walk alongside uniformed Chicano militia members as police watch on the perimeter. Advertisement The images linger as Bag paints an empowering scene featuring blue skies and brown berets and agua fresca and yellow corn. That is until, a third of the way through the video, teargas floats into the frame as the mostly Latino protesters scatter. The police charge, billy clubs swinging. Cop cars race to the scene as Bag rages in stark language against a corrupt system. The colors are different now: Black clubs, blue collars, blood red silver dollars. As she pays witness, Bag concludes: You say justice is colorblind I know youre lying. She and her band move into the chorus and they lock into a double-time groove that recalls classic tones of the Clash, Patti Smith and, well, Alice Bag: White justice doesnt work for me white justice is a travesty, she sings before getting tangled in a remarkable scream-long line: White justice just isnt just. A musically dynamic song featuring piano, guitar, stop-and-start energy and Bags ridiculously confident delivery, the video acknowledges the late Times reporter Ruben Salazar, who died during the march while covering the police action. The video moves into the present as Bag offers a frustrated update: I still choke when I stop to think / Our struggle then was here at home / And its still going on. The Times recently sat down with Bag to discuss Blueprint, her life as a punk, writer and activist and will next week publish a feature based on that conversation. For tips, records, snapshots and stories on Los Angeles music culture, follow Randall Roberts on Twitter and Instagram: @liledit. Email: randall.roberts@latimes.com. ALSO Advertisement Producer and DJ Matt Dike defined rap and underground in the 1980s. Then he walked away California Sounds: Five must-hear spring releases from L.A.-area artists California Sounds: A new video from Jonathan Wilson, DJDS remixes St. Vincent and SSION teams with Ariel Pink SUNDAY The story of militant abolitionist John Brown is revisited as Legends & Lies returns with a new season. 5 and 8 p.m. Fox New Channel Call the Midwife delivers two new episodes to begin its seventh season. With Jenny Agutter and Jessica Raine. 8 and 9 p.m. KOCE She learns the shocking truth in the new thriller My Husbands Secret Life. With Kara Killmer and Brett Donahue. 8 p.m. Lifetime Advertisement As seen on Narcos: A new Kingpin focuses on notorious Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. 9 p.m. History Channel Donald Sutherland, not Kevin Spacey or Christopher Plummer, portrays billionaire J. Paul Getty in the new fact-based series Trust: The House of Getty. Hilary Swank also stars. 10 p.m. FX Mike Judges start-up send-up Silicon Valley is back. With Thomas Middleditch, Zach Woods, Kumail Nanjiani and Martin Starr, but not T.J. Miller. 10 p.m. HBO Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis battle it out in a third season of the drama Billions. With Malin Akerman and Maggie Siff. 10 p.m. Showtime Nice headshot! A hit man named Barry gets bit by the acting bug in this new comedy starring SNLs Bill Hader. With Stephen Root and Henry Winkler. 10:30 p.m. HBO MONDAY The two-part special The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling remembers the late, great stand-up comic and star of Its Garry Shandlings Show and The Larry Sanders Show. 8 p.m. HBO; concludes Tue. The big sleep that awaits us all is pondered by an astrophysicist, a preacher, et al., in the new special Into the Night: Portraits of Life and Death. 9 p.m. KOCE Advertisement Romes Ciaran Hinds and Mad Mens Jared Harris face The Terror in this new historical drama about an ill-fated Royal Navy expedition to the Arctic in the 19th century. 9 p.m. AMC After Earths Will Smith is your guide to the wonders of this world we call home in One Strange Rock, a new 10-part series from Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky. 9 p.m. National Geographic Channel Poultry in motion: The 2017 documentary Pecking Order explores the wacky world of chicken-breeding competitions. 9 p.m. Starz TUESDAY Advertisement Shes baaack! Roseanne Barr is the once and future Roseanne as her classic 1980s-90s sitcom reboots, original cast and all, for its 10th season. With John Goodman and Laurie Metcalf. 8 p.m. ABC Si se puede! United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta is saluted in the documentary Dolores on a new Independent Lens. 9 p.m. KOCE WWII and its aftermath are recalled in the specials Hitlers Death Camp: The American Prisoners and After Hitler: The Untold Story. 9 and 10 p.m. National Geographic Channel The Offices Jenna Fischer and Nashvilles Oliver Hudson continue to co-habitate and co-parent even as they consciously uncouple in the new sitcom Splitting Up Together. 9:30 p.m. ABC Advertisement WEDNESDAY No Scrubs: Zach Braff tries to make his name in the podcasting game in the new sitcom Alex, Inc. Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos) also stars. 8:30 p.m. ABC Evita. The Phantom of the Opera. Cats. Just some of the mega-hit musicals on the resume of the composer celebrated in the new special Andrew Lloyd Webber: Tribute to a Superstar. With Glenn Close, John Legend and Hamiltons Lin-Manuel Miranda. 10 p.m. NBC Motown legend Smokey Robinson and rising country-music star Cam share the stage on a new edition of the concert series CMT Crossroads. 10 p.m. CMT Advertisement Spies like them: Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell return as the 1980s-set espionage drama The Americans launches its sixth and final season. 10 p.m. FX Got paper towels? An expanded edition of Full Frontal With Samantha Bee looks at how Puerto Rico is faring in the weeks and months since Hurricane Maria struck the U.S. territory. 10 p.m. TBS Expedition Unknowns Josh Gates is your guide to Legendary Locations in this new globe-trotting travelogue. 10 and 10:30 p.m. Travel Channel THURSDAY Advertisement Nerd alert! Billionaire techie Bill Gates puts in a cameo on a new episode of The Big Bang Theory. 8 p.m. CBS The scourge of influenza is the first of three Invisible Killers examined in this new three-part series. 8 p.m. Discovery Channel, Science Channel Somethings fishy: A mysterious young woman (Eline Powell) stirs things up in a small coastal town in the new fantasy drama Siren. 8 and 9 p.m. Freeform British pop stars Charli XCX and Rita Ora duke it out in a stiff-upper Lip Sync Battle. Boy George mans the turntables. 9:30 p.m. Paramount Advertisement Nobodies are still trying to make names for themselves in the movie biz as the sitcom returns for Season 2. 10 p.m. Paramount FRIDAY A troubled teenage girl (Elvire Emanuelle) in the inner-city tries out for the boys wrestling team in the poignant 2018 indie drama First Match. Any time, Netflix SNLs Noel Wells and Parks and Recs Ben Schwartz may be on the verge of uncoupling in the 2018 rom-com Happy Anniversary. Any time, Netflix Advertisement The dastardly Count Olaf (Neil Patrick Harris) is back after the Baudelaire orphans as A Series of Unfortunate Events returns for a second season. Any time, Netflix Avatars Sam Worthington prepares for a different sort of mission in the 2018 sci-fi terror tale The Titan. Tom Wilkinson and Taylor Schilling also stars. Any time, Netflix And they dont stop: The new eight-part docu-series Rapture gets up close and personal with such hip-hop artists as Nas, T.I. and 2 Chainz. Any time, Netflix Radio, radio! A 1980s-era New York radio station that championed then-lesser-known artists like Elvis Costello, R.E.M., U2 and Talking Heads is saluted in the 2018 rock-doc New Wave: Dare to Be Different. 8 p.m. Showtime Advertisement The docu-series Bering Sea Gold dredges up a 12th season. 10 p.m. Discovery Channel SATURDAY Hey, ladies! Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett-Smith and breakout star Tiffany Haddish take a Girls Trip together in this hit 2017 comedy. 8 p.m. HBO An event planner (Poppy Drayton) has an unplanned romance in the new TV movie Home by Spring. With Steven R. McQueen. 9 p.m. Hallmark Channel Advertisement A 1990s-era criminal enterprise that stretched from Miami to Moscow to Medellin, and the DEAs efforts to shut it down, are detailed in the 2018 documentary Operation Odessa. 9 p.m. Showtime Customized TV Listings are available here: www.latimes.com/tvtimes Click here to download TV listings for the week of March 25 - 31, 2018, in PDF format This weeks TV Movies 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 Recently it was announced that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle chose pastry chef Claire Ptak, the owner of the East London-based Violet bakery, to make their wedding cake. Why is this news? Not only is Ptak not a Brit (shes from Inverness, Calif.), shes been asked to change direction when it comes to whats typically served on a royal couples big day. According to longstanding tradition (as in forever), a royal wedding cake is a tall, architectural fruitcake of reconstituted dried fruits and raisins and topped with huge drooping floral arrangements befitting a beauty pageant winner. (Prince William and Kates showstopper was an eight-tiered iced one, festooned with 900 fragile sugar-paste flowers.) Ptaks, on the other hand, will leave fruitcake behind. According to the Kensington Palace Twitter feed: Prince Harry and Ms. Markle have asked Claire to create a lemon elderflower cake that will incorporate the bright flavours of spring. It will be decorated with fresh flowers. What has the London cake community abuzz, however, is the frosting. Advertisement Its the magic word: buttercream, says Valeri Valeriano, who runs Queen of Hearts Couture Cakes in West London with her partner, Christina Ong. The pair has written four books on buttercream. Here in the U.S., a classic wedding cake is covered in the delicate butter-and-powdered-sugar mixture. In the UK, however, says Valeriano, buttercream is considered a starting point ingredient, a sort of soft, sweet mortar, which is then covered by a layer of stiff translucent fondant or marzipan. On top of that, bakers use royal (yes, its called that) icing, a mixture of egg whites and bakers sugar, to pipe intricate 3-D garlands, latticework, roses and borders. Buttercream is never used as a proper decoration to make your cake. According to reports, Markle and Ptak met when the former interviewed the latter for Markles now-defunct lifestyle blog, the Tig. Its been assumed that hiring Ptak instead of a royal baker was Markles decision and, if this is true, theres something touching about that. While abiding dutifully to the many rules of a royal engagement and marriage, the future princess choice of a fellow Californian as their baker Markle was born and raised in Los Angeles means that when it comes to the cake, shell have something that suggests a little bit of a hometown wedding, albeit one on steroids. Or maybe Markle was as impressed by the deliciousness of Ptaks baked goods as I was when I stopped by Violet bakery a couple of years ago. Ptak has made a name for herself in London over the last 10 years by merging a California sensibility she loves organic, seasonal ingredients with the fact that the British love to eat cake. Located in Hackney, a sort of Silver Lake of London, Violet bakery is small, two stories high and smells of things like baking ham, cheese and leek scones mixed with squash, brown butter and sage quiche and the perfume of just done cupcakes. On the day I visited, Ptak, who spent three years as pastry chef at Chez Panisse before moving to London, had lots to say about the superiority of English dairy products and why salads arent on the menu. Most intriguing, she held forth on fruitcake. As it turns out, shes actually a fan. To read this article in Spanish click here food@latimes.com Monte Morin is environment editor for the Los Angeles Times. Previously, he was a breaking news and assignment editor who oversaw online coverage of the L.A. Now news blog and has reported on drought, science, health, war, crime, courts and transportation, in addition to a variety of editing posts. He shared staff Pulitzer Prizes for breaking news in 2004 and 2016 and won two overseas coverage awards from Military Reporters and Editors as a combat correspondent for Stars and Stripes. A native of New England, Morin attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was a medic in the U.S. Army Reserve. A judge in Northern California is ordering the city of Oakland to pay about $1 million in attorneys fees to a former leader of the Black Panthers who was injured after an Oakland councilwoman punched and pushed her. An Alameda County jury in January awarded more than $4 million in punitive damages to Elaine Brown in a civil lawsuit she filed against the city and Oakland Councilwoman Desley Brooks. The jury found Brooks shoved Brown inside a restaurant during an argument over housing, causing her to fall and injure her shoulder. Jurors said the former Black Panther leader, who was 72 at the time of the assault, was the victim of elder abuse and battery. Advertisement The East Bay Times reported the ruling on attorneys fees comes days after the city filed a motion for a new trial. Weary of repeated orders in recent weeks telling them to pack their bags and flee, some Montecito residents ignored officials latest warnings of flooding and debris flows, choosing to wait out a powerful storm at home. Ruth Pedersen, a 92-year-old widow, was among them. It takes a lot for me to be scared. I dont think I will ever choose to evacuate, Pedersen said. I see my neighbors return, and its been their fifth time evacuating and they look tired. Pedersen has lived in the house her husband, Aage, built on Orchard Avenue for 61 years. Since he died seven years ago shes lived alone. Advertisement Im being vigilant, she said, pointing to a purple bag near her door. I always have my pjs in there, and important paperwork, if I have to suddenly leave. Since the January mudslides that killed 21 people, Montecito residents have been on high alert. No fewer than three times in recent weeks, authorities have asked thousands to flee, warning that if they stayed behind they would risk their lives and possibly those of rescue workers. But when forecasters predictions didnt materialize time and again, a kind of disaster fatigue settled in. Still, told earlier this week that a powerful storm could deliver another damaging blow to the region, many residents heeded officials orders and left town. Of the nearly 1,200 Montecito residents Santa Barbara County sheriffs deputies spoke with near Montecito creek beds, about 75% said they were planning to leave, a county spokesperson said. That represents a marked improvement from January, when according to officials only about 15% of those living in mandatory evacuation zones took off before the storm. In the aftermath of the Jan. 9 mudflow, Santa Barbara County created and publicized a more formal process for informing the community ahead of a natural disaster. It also uses a federally created alert messaging system that reaches cellphones more reliably than it did before the disaster. These last couple of storms have seemed to take either a left-hand or right-hand turn when it got to Montecito, said Sheri Benninghoven, a county spokeswoman. That has been really good for us, but really challenging for helping the public know that they did need to honor this evacuation. Carla Case Flynn of Montecito said she hasnt evacuated since the Thomas fire in December. This weeks evacuation order was at least the fifth time in four months she and her family had been told to leave. Advertisement Ive made a pact with my brother and husband that if we decide not to leave, we will be vigilant, she said. We each stay awake at different times and monitor the situation. Flynns house, where she has lived since 2003, sustained minor damage during the mud and debris slides. In the wake of that storm, and she and her family went three weeks without electricity or gas. We used buckets of water from our pool, she said. If we made it through Jan. 9, we think we will probably be OK. But if the rain does pick up, Flynn said, her car is packed and ready to go. She, her husband and her brother promised each other to not call 911 and to stay off the roads. Advertisement We dont want to be in the way of any first responders, she said. Runoff in Montecito Creek runs past homes destroyed in the January mud and debris slide. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times ) The heaviest rains fell on Southern California Thursday morning, and National Weather Service forecasters predicted that they would be followed by a cold front that takes mercy on Santa Barbara County, pushing the storm to the east. The threat of heavy rains this week didnt faze 80-year-old Shirley Thornton, who spent Thursday morning under a blanket on her couch watching the storm unfold on her TV in Montecito. Advertisement She has lived in her home on Orchard Avenue for 56 years and said her son in Louisiana has been calling frequently to check on her. Ive been here long enough to know what to do. Im just going to wait and see what happens, watch TV and feed my cat, she said. I got water bottles, and Im ready in case something happens. The brief but intense rains that pelted Santa Barbara and Montecito did dramatically increase the flow of Montecito Creek and other waterways that drain the area. Advertisement In an email earlier this week, written under the subject line: Tired of Evacuating, County Supervisor Das Williams urged residents to heed officials warnings. The risk is real, he wrote. We issue evacuations because it is better for you to be out of your home for a while than for you to have a story of gut wrenching survival to share, or worse: to have your name added to the list of people who have lost their lives to the Thomas fire debris flows. Though the worst-case scenario didnt materialize on Thursday, the storm did flood residential streets and closed portions of Highway 33. Debris basins filled up and trees were felled across the Southland. I have a 2-year-old and my wife is 5 months pregnant and is working at the same time and we have evacuated 5 times, Williams said in an email to The Times on Thursday. Evacuating is stressful and distracts from everything we love about this place, but its a temporary downside versus the permanent loss from tragedy. When we are thinking of our families, our friends, and our neighbors, we should not rely on luck. The stakes are too high. Advertisement Etehad and Vives reported from Montecito, Serna from Los Angeles. Times staff writer Anna M. Phillips in Los Angeles contributed to this report. melissa.etehad@latimes.com | Twitter: @melissaetehad ruben.vives@latimes.com | Twitter: @LATvives joseph.serna@latimes.com | Twitter: @JosephSerna Nearly eight years ago, Los Angeles lawmakers decided to protest an Arizona law targeting illegal immigration by barring city employees from traveling there on municipal business and urging city departments to avoid doing business with Arizona firms. Now the city is poised to roll back those restrictions. At a committee meeting Friday, council members recommended ending the boycott. The move comes after a series of legal battles eliminated or softened key parts of the hotly contested law. There was no debate over the decision at the meeting, but Council President Herb Wesson, who heads the committee, said in a brief statement afterward that court rulings on its major provisions effectively annulled the law. Advertisement Under the advice of our citys immigrant advocate, we saw no further reason for keeping the boycott, Wesson said. Some L.A. lawmakers had also become skeptical of the travel ban after the City Council repeatedly loosened the rules to allow travel to Arizona for meetings and training and to keep buying Arizona products. If youre going to do a protest action like that, you have to be very serious about it, Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson said Friday. The city just hasnt done that. The decision on whether to rescind the restrictions now goes to the entire council for approval. The polarizing law, SB 1070, allowed officers to arrest a person without a warrant if the officer believed the person had committed an offense that could lead to deportation. The law also made it a crime for people in the country illegally to seek work, and required police to check the immigration status of people they suspect are in the country illegally when they are stopped for other reasons, among other provisions. At the time, a majority of Americans backed the Arizona law, according to a national survey. Illegal immigration opponents ushered in similar bills in other states. But SB 1070 drew sharp condemnation from immigrant rights groups and spurred boycotts from several cities. L.A. lawmakers vowed to halt city travel to Arizona and forgo contracts with its companies, comparing the law to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. L.A. did stop some official travel to Arizona in the years after the ban, bypassing a National League of Cities event and deciding not to send a Los Angeles Police Department team of helicopter pilots to a training conference. But the council also repeatedly approved exemptions to the rules, and in some cases, city staffers appear to have flown to Arizona without seeking an exemption, according to a city report reviewing the policy. Advertisement At a meeting two years ago, Councilman Gil Cedillo said he wasnt upset about L.A. lifting the rules so it could carry out important business, but what I find offensive or unnecessary is for us to pretend that we have a boycott while approving exemption after exemption. Cedillo had been a sharp critic of SB 1070, but he derided the city restrictions as a so-called boycott. Several parts of the controversial law were struck down by the Supreme Court six years ago. Immigrant rights groups later reached an agreement with the Arizona attorney general that stopped requiring police to demand papers from people suspected of being in the country illegally. Under the agreement, the attorney general instructed police not to prolong a stop solely for the purpose of verifying immigration status. Advertisement The political landscape is different now in Arizona, said Joseph Villela, director of policy and advocacy for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in Los Angeles. As the city reexamines and possibly ends the Arizona boycott, this is an opportunity for the City Council to have conversations about other states such as Texas that have passed similar laws, Villela added. And to make sure that when L.A. takes a stand, it has to be more than symbolic. ... Angelenos deserve concrete actions by the City Council instead of symbolic actions. Arizona is not the only place that L.A. lawmakers have singled out in protest in recent years. Council members have also sworn off doing business with North Carolina and Mississippi over laws that they denounced as discriminatory against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Those policies, however, do not explicitly ban city travel to those states, nor do they restrict the city from entering contracts with businesses based there. Advertisement emily.alpert@latimes.com Twitter: @AlpertReyes Fifteen students from five Los Angeles area high schools boarded buses to Washington, D.C., early Friday to begin their trip to the nations capital to participate in the March for Our Lives rally against gun violence. Thousands of students are expected to take part in such rallies across the country Saturday as part of a movement that found its voice after a 19-year-old wielding a semiautomatic rifle killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., last month. Edna Chavez of Manual Arts High south of downtown Los Angeles is part of the student delegation headed to the Washington rally, where shes a scheduled speaker. Chavez, said her goal is to call attention to a broader kind of violence that permeates her community daily. Her brother was 14 when he was killed in a shooting outside their home in 2007. Chavez is appealing for more than gun control she said she wants improved mental health services, mentorship programs and job opportunities. Advertisement Weve had a couple of lockdowns at school this year, she said. I can tell you straight up Ive seen my peers build up that trauma and anxiety .... We learn how to duck before we learn how to read. More than 1,000 Parkland students are expected to participate, fanning out across the country. The largest event in the L.A. area is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Saturday at 6th and Spring streets downtown. sarah.parvini@latimes.com For more California news follow me on Twitter: @sarahparvini A key committee of the Los Angeles City Council came out Friday against a California bill aimed at increasing the number of locations where multistory residential buildings can be constructed in the city. The Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee voted 2 to 0 to oppose Senate Bill 827, which lifts or eliminates local restrictions on density, height and parking on properties that sit near rail stations and higher-frequency bus stops even if those locations are in single-family or low-density neighborhoods. Council President Herb Wesson praised the bills author, state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), for wanting to do what he believes is right. But he argued that decisions on real estate development should remain in local hands. We need to deal with our housing crisis. We have to stop putting it off, said Wesson, whose district stretches from Koreatown to Leimert Park. But it is our responsibility. Advertisement The resolution, introduced by Councilman David Ryu, now heads to the full council, which is expected to take it up Tuesday. Wiener said after the vote that he respects the council members opinions and looks forward to more discussions with them on making housing more affordable for all Californians. We all have the same goal, just different ideas of how to get there, he said in a statement. SB 827 loosens or eliminates certain planning rules for properties that sit within half a mile of subway stations, light-rail platforms and stops where two high-frequency bus lines those that run every 15 minutes during rush hour intersect. In those areas, developers would be allowed to build apartments and condominium complexes of four to five stories. The bill also would allow multistory residential buildings of five to eight stories for properties that are within a quarter-mile of rail stations and stops on high-frequency bus routes. The committee voted after hearing from roughly two dozen speakers, the vast majority of them opponents of SB 827. CALL TO ACTION: On Friday, an L.A. City Council committee is taking up a resolution to oppose SB 827, the pro-developer, pro-gentrification bill. Send an email to the committee's chairman, urging him to approve the resolution. #StopSB827 #KillTheBill https://t.co/QsXo8kEr2C Housing Is A Human Right (@HousingHumanRt) March 20, 2018 Advertisement Homeowners criticized SB 827 as a one-size-fits-all planning bill. Linda Dishman, president and chief executive of the Los Angeles Conservancy, said it would eviscerate protections in the citys historic zones. And renters rights advocates warned that the bills new financial incentives would cause apartment owners to sell to developers, increasing the number of evictions and demolitions. In South Los Angeles, it would be urban renewal 2.0, said Damien Goodmon, director of Housing is a Human Right, a project of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation aimed at fighting gentrification. Wiener says his bill defers to local rules on the demolition of historic homes and protects families living in rent-controlled housing. Advertisement One provision would require local city councils to sign off on the destruction of rent-controlled properties that are redeveloped using the incentives in SB 827. Another would force developers to pay more than three years of relocation benefits to anyone moved out of a building razed as part of an SB 827 project. Business groups in Los Angeles have lined up behind SB 827, saying it will make huge strides in addressing a statewide housing crisis. Christine Rangel, director of government affairs for the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California, told the committee that the bill would also help address climate change by putting more homes near public transportation. Were very disappointed that the city is essentially saying they dont want housing, she told the panel. today we sent a letter to LA City Council asking them not to oppose SB 827. We gave 8 reasons why SB 827 is good for LA & CA. They are elaborated on in letter, which is linked to in this post https://t.co/JXtf05bJPX pic.twitter.com/lkIjZGWahI Abundant Housing LA (@AbundantHousing) March 22, 2018 Advertisement Three other supporters of SB 827 said they turned in public speaker cards but were not called to testify. Shane Phillips, director of public policy for the Central City Assn., a downtown business organization, said he submitted a card but was not summoned to the podium. Mark Vallianatos, policy director for Abundant Housing Los Angeles, an advocacy group, said the same thing happened to him. Because some in the audience werent called to speak, the testimony lacked balance, said Vallianatos, whose organization submitted a letter arguing in favor of SB 827. Its upsetting to me because [council members] dont get to hear from the city they represent, he said. If they dont allow people on both sides of an issue to testify, then they cant get a fair understanding of what the people in the city believe on issues like housing. Advertisement Wesson, who chairs the committee, said his panel did not have enough time during the hourlong meeting to hear from everyone, opting instead to take testimony from more than 60% of those who turned in cards. He said he was sorry some did not get the opportunity to weigh in. When it gets to council, I probably will open it up for another 10 minutes more discussion, he said. david.zahniser@latimes.com Twitter: @DavidZahniser A Los Angeles man who allegedly defrauded immigrants who were in the country illegally as they sought lawful permanent residence in the United States was arrested Thursday, authorities said. Edgardo Guerrero, 68, was charged with four counts of grand theft, two counts of unlawful practice of law and two counts of immigration consultant services without a bond, according to the California attorney generals office. He is being held on $80,000 bail. Authorities say Guerrero, of Oficina Guerrero in Inglewood, charged thousands of dollars for legal services that he was not legally qualified to give because he is not an attorney. None of the victims who sought his help obtained legal status, California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said. No one, regardless of status, should have to deal with fraudulent behavior while seeking legal advice, Becerra said in a statement Friday. At a time when the Trump administration stokes fear and desperation in communities across the state, the California Department of Justice is committed to protecting families from unscrupulous practitioners who would exploit them for personal gain. Advertisement Those who paid Guerrero for immigration assistance and believe he may have defrauded them are encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs immediately by calling (800) 593-8222. sarah.parvini@latimes.com Twitter: @sarahparvini As homelessness surges across Los Angeles County, the regions largest transportation agency is exploring whether some of its properties including bus yards and Metro stations could be used to provide services for people living on the streets. At a downtown meeting Thursday, Metros board of directors asked the agency to prepare a list of properties that could accommodate showers, storage for belongings, parking lots where people could sleep in their cars overnight, or other facilities. The countys rising homeless population has become a major concern for Metro as ridership on the system continues to decline. Nearly three in 10 riders told the agency that they stopped taking transit because they felt unsafe. During Thursdays meeting, Los Angeles County Supervisor and Metro director Mark Ridley-Thomas urged an expansion of a program that pays for homeless outreach along the Red Line subway, where complaints about cleanliness and safety are common. Advertisement Ridley-Thomas asked Metro to study where outreach workers would be most effective on other rail lines and on the sprawling bus system, which carries about 70% of total riders. Overnight buses along major corridors, including Pico and Santa Monica boulevards, see a high concentration of homeless riders. We dont have a moment to waste, Ridley-Thomas said. We have to run faster to keep up with this crisis. Metro staff will report in May on expanding the homeless outreach program, and later this year on which properties could accommodate homeless services. Metro is a major landowner in Los Angeles County, with a portfolio that includes dozens of train stations, parking lots and bus yards, as well as parcels adjacent to rail lines that were acquired during construction. Some properties are slated for development but sit unused now, said Metro director and Los Angeles Councilman Mike Bonin, who urged the agency to draft a list of surplus and vacant properties. Until construction starts, he said, they could be used for RV parking or other services. The footprint around some Metro stations would also be very appropriate locations for a trailer with showers, toilets and laundry machines, Mayor Eric Garcetti said in an interview. A similar facility operates four days a week on a city-owned parking lot in skid row. The refresh center is monitored by security officers and a maintenance crew. Los Angeles officials are making similar plans for city-owned property. Analysts have identified 119 city-owned parking lots that they say could be sites for permanent supportive housing, and the City Council approved Garcettis plan to install makeshift trailers to house up to 60 people near the historic El Pueblo site downtown. Advertisement Five Bureau of Sanitation yards in West L.A., San Pedro, Northeast L.A. and the San Fernando Valley now house storage sites for belongings that city officials remove from homeless encampments during clean-ups. The storage facilities are managed by the nonprofit Chrysalis. laura.nelson@latimes.com For more transportation news, follow @laura_nelson on Twitter. Experts will inspect a small earthen dam in Tuolumne County in Northern California after a leak detected on the dam face Thursday triggered a rapid evacuation downstream, officials said. A small leak was detected on the downstream face of the 60-foot Moccasin Dam before 3 p.m. Thursday, forcing Caltrans to quickly close two nearby highways while authorities scrambled to evacuate a nearby campground and fish hatchery. Students at a local school were ordered to shelter in place when authorities feared the dam would break and unleash a torrent of water into Moccasin Creek and flood highways 120 and 49. For a few moments there, it was very stressful because we thought we were going to lose the dam, Tuolumne County Sheriff Jim Mele told reporters Thursday afternoon. Advertisement The dam, completed in 1930 and considered in satisfactory condition in a September 2017 document, generates power for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and supports a small fish hatchery at its base. The commission said Thursday night that the dam was considered stable but would be inspected for damage to its spillways, which took on water when a massive storm this week sent water and debris flowing into the dams reservoir. The water level in the Moccasin reservoir has significantly decreased since the initial incident, and the SFPUC has started draining the Moccasin reservoir into the much larger Don Pedro Reservoir, the commission said in a statement Thursday evening. At the same time, crews are actively inspecting the current state of the dam and the extent of any damage to it and its spillways. If the dam failed, the water would eventually have flowed into the Don Pedro Reservoir about a mile downstream. The reservoir had more than enough capacity Thursday to take on the additional water, officials said. Mele said he was concerned how the dam would respond next week when temperatures are expected to pick up and the Sierra Nevada snowpack begins to melt and flow into the reservoir. The Moccasin Point Marina and nearby homes remained evacuated Friday. The reservoir is one of the San Francisco utilitys smallest reservoirs and helps regulate the Hetch Hetchy water system. joseph.serna@latimes.com For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter. Los Alamitos was the first government agency in Orange County to fire a salvo against Californias so-called sanctuary laws, which aim to shield immigrants here illegally from deportation, but it might not be the last. Costa Mesa Mayor Pro Tem Allan Mansoor who in 2010 spearheaded a City Council action to declare Costa Mesa a rule-of-law city when it comes to support for upholding immigration laws said hes open to looking at ways to work more closely with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The resolution was a clear statement that we uphold our laws here and that we are not a sanctuary city, Mansoor said Thursday, adding that he would like ICE to come to Costa Mesa and simply do the job they are sworn to do. In Fountain Valley, Councilman Larry Crandall has asked city staff for information on how the states sanctuary laws could affect the citys federal funding. Advertisement The Trump administration has threatened to withhold federal funds from states and cities that dont cooperate with immigration officials, though a federal judge in November blocked the presidents executive order to deny funding. Crandall said his inquiry wasnt necessarily inspired by Los Alamitos action Monday, when it passed an ordinance that exempts the city from the states recently enacted Senate Bill 54, which restricts local law enforcements cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Its something Ive been thinking about and been contacted the last several weeks on, Crandall said at Tuesdays Fountain Valley council meeting. And Huntington Beach Mayor Mike Posey said Thursday that he was inclined to oppose SB 54 but that the matter had not gone before the entire City Council. It could become a discussion item in coming weeks, he said. Posey called the law unconstitutional overreach by Sacramento. Its another piece of legislation that seeks to usurp local control and inhibit law enforcement, he said. In August, before the Legislature passed SB 54, the Newport Beach council unanimously agreed to have the city manager send a letter of opposition. Councilman Scott Peotter said at the time that this is less an issue of what are we going to do about our borders and more of an issue of we need to make sure that crime is controlled, and the ability for our law enforcement to work together is going to be curtailed by this. Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson on Thursday endorsed joining existing federal litigation against California over the state laws, or filing a separate lawsuit. Advertisement Nelsons suggestion goes beyond a call by Supervisor Michelle Steel to adopt a resolution against SB 54. Both items are on the supervisors Tuesday agenda. hillary.davis@latimes.com lucas.money@latimes.com bradley.zint@latimes.com Harry Burkhart told his mother he wanted to roast America after federal authorities arrested her in connection with a fraud case in Germany and threatened to deport her to answer the charges. During the holiday season six years ago, Burkhart sought to carry out his threat. Between Dec. 30, 2011, and Jan. 2, 2012, he terrorized Hollywood, West Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley, torching carports, garages and homes. On Friday, Burkhart was sentenced to 33 years and four months in prison for the spate of arsons, a few weeks after a jury found him sane at the time of the crimes. Advertisement Prosecutors had implored Los Angeles Superior Court George G. Lomeli to sentence Burkhart to more than 60 years in prison based on his conviction for setting about 50 fires, noting that he had shown no remorse. Burkhart could have faced 89 years in prison. He is not getting a slap on the hand. He knew of his wrongdoing legally and morally. Superior Court Judge George G. Lomeli After he was taken to jail, he said, Death to America, Deputy Dist. Atty, James Falco said. Besides the property damage, Falco said, Burkhart scarred many peoples lives for years to come. None of the blazes resulted in injuries. But Lomeli said the sentence was substantial for the 30-year-old German national. While a jury found Burkhart sane during the crimes, he has a history of mental illness, the judge noted, and was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor. He expressed surprise that the defendant attended the sentencing. He is not getting a slap on the hand, Lomeli said. He knew of his wrongdoing legally and morally. Judge George Lomeli sentences Harry Burkhart to 33 years and four months in prison. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times ) Burkhart sat in a wheelchair motionless, looking straight ahead, and showed no reaction as the judge handed down the sentence. Before sentencing, his attorney Steven Schoenfield told the judge that Burkhart had turned down a deal offered by prosecutors for a 23-year prison term because his mother told him to reject it. Dorothee Burkhart is believed to be in Germany. The status of her case there was unknown. Advertisement Burkharts mental state and his mothers influence have been at the center of the proceedings since his arrest. He has been hospitalized numerous times for psychiatric illnesses. He began setting the fires after his mothers arrest in connection with a fraud case against her in Germany. The fires were set during the night, putting residents on edge. Most were set under vehicles in carports or near homes. Residents turned to social media to get updates on the fires, with some peering out windows into the dark, keeping porch and garage lights on, and fixating on sirens in the distance. Police initially were stumped. Finally, a reserve sheriffs deputy spotted Burkharts minivan in West Hollywood and stopped it near the Sunset Strip. Advertisement The driver appeared to match a grainy video of the suspect. Officials found fire starter sticks, police said. Burkhart, who was born in Chechnya before growing up in Germany, was arrested in the early morning hours of Jan. 2, 2012. Police later retrieved videos of Burkhart buying the items and of him visiting the German consulate with materials in his possession. At the time of the arson attacks, Burkhart was already suspected of burning down his family home in Germanys Schwalm-Eder district, north of Frankfurt. His mother had escaped from handcuffs while in German custody on fraud allegations and fled with her son to Canada before entering the United States. Authorities captured her in Los Angeles. A carport is left charred from an arson fire at a West Hollywood apartment in January 2012. (Ringo H.W. Chiu / For The Times ) richard.winton@latimes.com Advertisement Twitter: @lacrimes Stephon Clark was shot by Sacramento police in the backyard of his home Sunday. Police said officers believed he was holding a gun, but all they recovered at the scene was a cellphone. Heres a breakdown of the case that has sparked protests and outrage: What happened? The deadly encounter occurred Sunday behind the home that relatives said Clark shared with his grandparents and siblings. A 911 caller had reported to police that a man had busted both my truck windows out, and hes in peoples backyards right now. The caller said the man was wearing a black hoodie. Advertisement The officers arrived in the neighborhood at 9:13 p.m., the department said. About 9:25 p.m., the sheriffs helicopter spotted a man in a backyard and told police that the suspect had picked up a toolbar and broken a window to a home. As the man climbed a fence and entered another yard, the pilot directed officers to his location. Police say Clark scaled a tall fence and peered into a vehicle before running into his backyard, where officers pursued and shot him. Clark, it turned out, had no weapon, only a cellphone. Body cam footage of officer involved shooting. What do the videos show? Sacramento police have released video footage from the body cameras worn by the two officers who encountered Clark, as well as from the sheriffs helicopter, showing the shooting after a chaotic nighttime pursuit last weekend. Shaky body cam footage shows officers running up a dark driveway with flashlights. Hey! Show me your hands! Stop! Stop! an officer yells. As the officersrun into a backyard, they turn a corner and spot Clark in the glare of their flashlights. The officers take temporary cover behind the corner and then confront the suspect once more. This time, an officer yells at Clark to show his hands, then begins shouting, Gun, gun, gun! Gunfire then erupts. A total of 20 shots were fired. A department statement said that prior to the shooting, the involved officers saw the suspect facing them, advance forward with his arms extended, and holding an object in his hands. At the time of the shooting, the officers believed the suspect was pointing a firearm at them. Advertisement The Sacramento Police Department released helicopter footage of the police shooting of Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man who was holding his cellphone in his grandparents backyard. What do independent experts say about the videos? The Times talked to several experts, and they were divided about the police response. Ed Obayashi, a deputy sheriff and legal advisor to Plumas County, specializes in examining police shootings. He called Sundays shooting reasonable, adding that a cellphone can easily be perceived as a gun in that environment of poor light. Obayashi said the officers threat radar is way high after moving through backyards in pursuit of a suspect reported to have committed several dangerous felonies, including breaking into a home. This guy wasnt complying with orders and raised his hands with an object in his hands, he said. Advertisement Geoffrey Alpert, a University of South Carolina criminologist who studies police chases and shootings, disagreed. It doesnt look good, Alpert said, noting that the yelling of the word gun here seems to trigger the shooting. The officers are going to have to explain all 20 shots. They are going to have to justify repeatedly shooting, he said. The bottom line is we have a young African American man with a cellphone being shot dead by police. What has been the reaction in the community? Hundreds of protesters took to the streets Thursday, blocking a freeway and access to a Sacramento Kings game. At City Hall, members of Black Lives Matter and other activists condemned the incident as yet another case of officers shooting an unarmed black person. Advertisement More protests are planned for Friday. 1 / 5 Black Lives Matter protesters hold their fists in the air as they block the entrance to the Golden 1 Center arena during a demonstration in Sacramento. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) 2 / 5 Black Lives Matter protesters hold signs as they stage a demonstration outside Sacramento City Hall against the Sacramento Police Department after two officers shot and killed Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man, in the backyard of his grandmothers house following a foot chase. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) 3 / 5 Veronica Curry raises her fist with other supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement during a rally on Interstate 5 in Sacramento. (Hector Amezcua / Sacramento Bee) 4 / 5 A Black Lives Matter protester jumps on a California Highway Patrol car on Interstate 5 during a demonstration in Sacramento. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) 5 / 5 Hundreds of protesters demonstrating against the fatal police shooting of Stephon Clark shut down Interstate 5 in both directions in downtown Sacramento. (Renee C. Byer / Sacramento Bee) Police said they are trying to be transparent about the shooting by releasing videos but urged patience as the department investigates. I urge our community to remain peaceful, to respect one another, to try and be extra kind to each other, Mayor Darrell Steinberg said. Let us channel our anguish into healing and to justice. Advertisement House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco said she was sickened by the senseless shooting . His life mattered, and he should be alive today. I extend my condolences to his children, family and friends. The serial bomber who terrorized the Texas capital for three weeks is dead, but many on the citys predominantly minority, blue-collar east side where the blasts began said they have been left with lingering fears about the attackers motives. I wish I were sorry, but I am not, Mark Conditt said in the cellphone recording he made hours before he blew himself up in his SUV on Tuesday while being pursued by police, a source told the Austin American-Statesman. Conditt described himself in the video as a psychopath whod been disturbed since childhood and vowed that if authorities closed in on him, he would walk into a crowded McDonalds and blow himself up, the source said. Conditt, 23, was white, home-schooled by a middle-class family on the citys suburban north side. An evangelical Christian, he blogged about his opposition to abortion and homosexuality. Its not clear why the first in a series of bombing targeted African Americans and Latinos east of Interstate 35, which slices through the city and has a history as a racial divide. Advertisement The first attacks March 2 and March 12 killed two African American men and injured two women, one African American and one Latina. Because the bomber dropped packages at specific addresses on the brick-home-lined streets, investigators initially said the attacks might be racially motivated. But on Sunday the bomber left a package rigged to a tripwire in a wealthy mostly white suburb, injuring two white men in their 20s. Investigators shifted theories and said the motive could be more complicated. Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said the confessional video recovered from Conditts cellphone showed his motive was not racial enmity or terrorism, but rather personal challenges. Manley did not detail the video or specify what he meant by challenges. Investigators also have not disclosed where the final packages were destined. One of those packages exploded on a conveyor belt at a FedEx processing center outside San Antonio; the other was recovered from a FedEx facility near the Austin airport. After Conditt died, state troopers notified several residents of potential danger in Cedar Park, west of where he lived. The recovered package was destined for southwest Austin, according to a screenshot obtained by San Antonios KABB-TV. Relatives, friends and neighbors of the victims of the initial blasts want to know more about the bombers motives and any potential accomplices. On Thursday, the father of the first bombing victim thanked investigators in a letter to the city but also asked what motivated the attack that killed his 39-year-old son, Anthony. Hopefully, the death of the bomb maker suspect ends the ring of fear and terror in the Austin area, Elliot House wrote. Although it leaves a few questions, he added, that his family shares with that of 17-year-old victim Draylen Mason both being black and the only deaths in the series of bombings. We are plagued with how they were selected and why. Draylens family also released a statement through their pastor thanking police and adding, The most recent chain of events have brought some sense of closure that our beloved has received justice. The Rev. Gary Renfro, who ministers on the east side and released the statement, acknowledged that questions linger. Advertisement Were all just kind of hoping the authorities will find some more information that gives some kind of idea why, what motivated him to do what he did, to target the individuals. Was it random or did he have a reason for what he did? Renfro said. Community leaders had criticized police for being slow to respond to the bombings. At an east Austin town hall last week, residents questioned whether police would have responded quicker and in full force had the victim been white or lived west of I-35. Once the heart of the citys negro district, the area where the first bombing occurred was designed decades ago by the City Council to segregate Austins black population, said Eric Tang, an associate professor of black and Asian American studies at the University of Texas. Mexican Americans, meanwhile, were relegated to an area to the south, and by the end of the 20th century gentrification pushed them farther east, the area where the third bomb exploded. Advertisement Theres a general sense that there hasnt been enough information shared about what exactly the motives were and how one could rule out certain motives so quickly, said Tang, who recently published a survey of gentrification on the east side. Theres still fear. It lingers for them. Its a community that feels invisible, a community that feels its being erased and nobody really cares that this is happening to them, and, at worst, people would like to see them go. Nelson Linder, president of the citys chapter of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, said it was too soon to dismiss the attacks as being without racial motive. Theres still too many unanswered questions to reach that conclusion. Were going to be doing more research on who Mark Conditt was, Linder said. They dont think this guy had a racial motive. We cant accept that. We have not come to that conclusion yet until we find out who this guy is. Rickye Henderson stands outside his home in east Austin. (Molly Hennessy-Fiske/ Los Angeles Times ) Advertisement East side neighbors agreed that Conditts death only raised more questions. When I found out it was him, I became even more scared, said Rickye Henderson, who lives down the street from the site of the second bombing and knew House. Its an injustice for the police to not tell us. Austin knows they have a racial problem. I do believe there was some racial involvement in the situation. Conditt had two roommates, who were detained, questioned and released by investigators, but not identified. Authorities said the men did not appear to have been involved in the bombings, and were cooperating. The mother of one of the men told Austins KXAN-TV that she was shocked to learn her son was taken in for questioning. Advertisement I know my son is not involved in this, said Jennifer Withers, who is African American. On Galindo Street, where 75-year-old Esperanza Hope Herrera was wounded in an explosion March 12, neighbors still worry about the bombers motive. Estella Chavez lives across the street and remembers hearing the pop of the explosion, then rushing outside to see her friend on the ground, crying softly. A neighbor covered her with a blanket and kept repeating her name. She never answered. She remains in critical condition, and may lose an arm and a leg, Chavez said. Chavez wonders whether Conditt had accomplices, and if the neighborhood and routine things like the daily mail delivery will ever feel safe again. Advertisement I wish he would have lived and gone through the consequences like this poor lady, Chavez said. She didnt deserve this. If you stand close enough, you can make out the names and numbers in small font on the beige plasterboard outside St. Annas Episcopal Church. 5/25/07 Montrell Faulkin 22 Shot 3/02/10 Kris Rink 24 Shot 9/19/12 Garold Lewis 25 Shot Advertisement There are so many names, dozens and dozens, that the display runs out of room with 2012 and resumes inside the church with more panels listing yet more names of people killed in gun violence in New Orleans. Among the victims mostly black, mostly young, mostly male is Deidra Smoot-Halls baby boy: 6/21/15 Kenneth Hall Jr. 27 Shot. On the local nightly news, her sons death was a blip, another name on the seemingly never-ending list of people killed with a firearm. I know hes not coming back, Smoot-Hall said. But I refuse to allow him to become just another number. He was a victim of violence. Brutal gun violence. Kenneth Hall Sr. and Deidra Smoot-Hall recall their son, Kenneth Hall Jr., who was shot and killed on Fathers Day in 2015. (Jonathan Bachman / For The Times) The Feb. 14 mass shooting at a South Florida high school captured the nations attention, leading to the passage of stricter gun laws, nationwide school walkouts and extensive media coverage. And yet, mass shootings account for only a tiny fraction of gun deaths. So when tens of thousands of people gather Saturday for March for Our Lives a nationwide protest of gun violence inspired by students from Floridas Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Smoot-Hall will march through the streets of New Orleans, calling attention to the deaths, like her sons, that largely go unnoticed. Nationwide, almost 100 people are killed with guns every day, based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention logging suicides, accidents and homicides. Advertisement Are you going to the March for Our Lives? We want to hear from you Unlike the mass shootings where gunmen wielded semiautomatic rifles notably the AR-15 most gun violence involves handguns. In 2016, almost half of all homicides in the U.S. were committed using a handgun, according to FBI data. By contrast, 5% of homicides that year involved a long gun. In 157 homicides in New Orleans last year, about 85% of the victims died of gunshot wounds, according to data compiled by the Times-Picayune. The year before, New Orleans police responded to nearly 10 shooting incidents a week a number that, per capita, was greater than Chicago, the third most populous city in the country. A T-shirt in memory of Kenneth Hall Jr. is seen at his parents home in Avondale, La. In the New Orleans music scene, he was known by the nickname StunnamanKen. (Jonathan Bachman / For The Times) Advertisement Kenneth Hall Jr. died on Fathers Day 2015. He was the youngest of Smoot-Halls three children a boy with an entrepreneurial spirit. When Hall turned 8 she bought him a lawn mower and rake, and he would go from house to house in their suburban neighborhood, with its neat lawns and towering magnolia trees, and offer to cut the grass. When he was a teenager, she took him to New York, where he stocked up on trendy shirts and pants, which he then sold for a profit back home. After high school, Hall attended community college and got an associates degree in business. He then found his passion in music, helping to promote concerts and bring big hip-hop and R&B acts, including Tyga and Chrisette Michele, to New Orleans for shows. In the citys music scene, he was known by the nickname StunnamanKen. Advertisement It gave him so much happiness, Smoot-Hall said of the young man who affectionately called her Big D. He felt like he had a purpose. That Sunday in 2015, he was sitting in his black Nissan Titan in the citys Algiers neighborhood, just across the murky Mississippi River from the French Quarter. Detectives believe he was waiting for someone who wanted to buy concert tickets. Then 12 shots from a 9-millimeter handgun pierced the quiet afternoon. Two of them tore through his body. His slaying one of 164 that year remains unsolved. Tamara Jackson, executive director of Silence is Violence, a local group that helps victims of gun violence, said that firearms are far too easy to get on the streets of New Orleans. Advertisement No one seems to really care, she said. It hardly makes the news. Guns are wiping out generations right here in this city. Jackson, who also works as a victim advocate with the Orleans Parish Coroners Office, has helped console families who have lost loved ones to assault-style weapons as well as handguns. AK-47s, AR-15s, you name it, she said, shaking her head. Its out here on these streets. Tamara Jackson, executive director of Silence is Violence, at her office in New Orleans. (Jonathan Bachman / For The Times) Advertisement For years, Jackson worked alongside Smoot-Hall in the healthcare industry in New Orleans. The two were friends, and Jackson knew Smoot-Halls children and was working as a victim advocate that Fathers Day three years ago. When she arrived at the bloody scene one of hundreds she has been called to she recognized the car and the name: Kenneth Hall Jr. She broke into tears. I was the one who had to call my friend. Call her to let her know her baby was gone, Jackson said. In recent years, Smoot-Hall has joined Jackson at marches to combat gun violence. Shes spoken at Crime Stoppers events. Members of Silence is Violence, which consists of family members, mostly mothers who have lost sons, meet regularly at a churches and inside rec centers. Smoot-Hall has attended. Its her therapy. Advertisement Seeing other women and being able to look them in the eyes and know they can feel what I feel it gives me comfort, she said. The Rev. Bill Terry of St. Annas Episcopal Church in New Orleans says gun violence touched his own family. (Jonathan Bachman / For The Times) For some, the Victims of Violence Memorial at St. Annas offers comfort. Loved ones of shooting victims come to pray at the memorial situated in the 7th Ward, along an avenue dotted with pastel-colored Civil War-era mansions and shaded by oak trees. The Rev. Bill Terry said the wall humanizes the victims. He was inspired to create it after a 17-year-old was killed on his stoop in 2005. Advertisement In some ways I see this wall as a bit of social justice for these young men, Terry said. Were recognizing that, no matter the circumstances, these young men should not have been gunned down in the streets. No one deserves to get shot in the streets. He began the wall with the new year in 2007 and soon had the first name: 1/1/07 Corey Hayes 28 Shot. Inside the church, boards with names of those killed since 2013 wait to be mounted outside along a cast-iron fence. The list only goes through Nov. 11 of last year. More names are to be added. Terry, a native New Orleanian, has seen the gun violence destroy communities around his church. But hes also experienced it on a personal level. Nearly 20 years ago, Terrys oldest daughter, Tonya, who was bipolar, grabbed a handgun and shot herself during an argument with her boyfriend. She died instantly. More needs to be done with mental health and guns, said Terry, who on Saturday will attend a march 80 miles north of here in Baton Rouge. Advertisement Louisiana, a deeply conservative state, has some of the most lax gun laws in the country. Anyone 18 or older can open-carry a firearm without a permit. The laws need to be changed, said Terry, who owns several guns. And we really need to crack down on illegal sales here in New Orleans. For Smoot-Hall, its frustrating to see focus on guns only come to the forefront of American debate after a mass shooting. On a recent afternoon, she and her husband, Kenneth Hall Sr., and daughter, Delisha, visited the site of her sons killing. She clutched a framed photograph of him. The neighborhood is lined with single-level, wood-paneled homes. A man pushed a mower across his front lawn as a strong wind blew clippings into the air. Advertisement The thought of such violence playing out on this street seemed so distant. No one, not a single politician, said anything when my brother was killed, Delisha said. They never do, unless its out in the wealthy suburbs, her mother said. Deidra Smoot-Hall and Kenneth Hall Sr. with a photo of their son, Kenneth Hall Jr., at the site where he was shot to death in 2015. (Jonathan Bachman / For The Times) Advertisement kurtis.lee@latimes.com Twitter: @kurtisalee John Bolton, President Trumps new national security advisor, has a take-no-prisoners approach that may prove problematic as he tries to manage a White House riven by leaks and defections. Known for his brash style and bushy mustache, Bolton has been an informal advisor to Trump, a frequent commentator on Fox News and a longtime hawk on Iran, North Korea and other U.S. adversaries. He is best known for his 16 months service as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations an organization he frequently said shouldnt exist from mid-2005 until the end of 2006. President George W. Bush named him as a recess appointment because the White House knew Bolton was too toxic to win Senate confirmation. Some State Department officials accused him of being so abrasive at the U.N. that he undermined U.S. policies. Advertisement Earlier, serving as Bushs arms-control point man at the State Department, he famously engaged in ideological and personal clashes with subordinates, colleagues and superiors. Even one of his defenders at the time described him as a knuckle-dragger in a cave. It was during that period that Bolton decided to add Cuba to the administrations list of axis of evil nations, a term coined in 2002 by Bush to describe the terrorism-sponsoring states of Iran, North Korea and Iraq. To justify adding Cuba, Bolton claimed the communist-ruled island was producing biological weapons, although there was no evidence for that, recalled Price Floyd, then a State Department media affairs official. Floyd had to call in then-deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage to stop Bolton. Bolton was furious and took to calling Floyd Pink Floyd, for his supposed softness toward communism. My concern is, not that he has extremist or neo-con views but that he would make up facts and things that further his vision for a more muscular national security, said Floyd, an 18-year veteran of the department who is now a private consultant. More recently, Bolton, 69, has advocated hard-line some would say extreme positions on foreign policy challenges that have roiled the Trump administration. He has vigorously opposed the Iran nuclear deal, and no doubt will back Trumps threats to withdraw from the landmark accord. Before it was signed in 2015, he suggested bombing Iran to quash its nuclear ambitions. He also has called for a military attack on nuclear-armed North Korea. Six months ago, as Trump and North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un traded insults and threats, Bolton said the solution was to topple the Pyongyang government and have South Korea take over the North. In 2003, when Bolton was Bushs undersecretary for arms control, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il father of the current dictator sought to ban him from U.S.-proposed multilateral talks on North Koreas suspected nuclear weapons program after Bolton criticized Kim publicly while visiting South Korea. Advertisement Such human scum and bloodsucker is not entitled to take part in the talks, said a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman. Bolton now will backstop Trumps agreement to conduct a summit with Kim Jong Un, tentatively planned for May, a high-wire diplomatic act that will test both leaders. Unlike Trump, Bolton is a staunch critic of Russian President Vladimir Putins military incursion in Ukraine, although its not clear whether he agrees with Trumps skepticism of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Boltons defenders include the most conservative members of the Republican establishment. Some welcomed him as national security advisor after H.R. McMaster, whom they saw as more moderate and more inclined to try to block some of Trumps suggestions. Advertisement Obviously, I think Boltons world view is more muscular than McMasters, said Lanhee Chen, a fellow at the conservative Hoover Institution who was Mitt Romneys chief policy advisor in 2012. But there clearly are similarities and actually more similarities than people might see at first blush. Chen said both men favor an engaged America around the world, a contrast to how many conservatives initially viewed Trumps America First policy as isolationist. Some will try to portray him as being out of the mainstream, particularly detractors of the administration, but I dont actually think thats where Bolton is, he said. Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, said via Twitter, A national security advisor must be an honest broker, ensuring the [president] considers all points of view. Second, he is a counselor with his own views. The obvious question is whether John Bolton has the temperament and the judgment for the job. Advertisement But many veterans in the foreign policy, global democracy and human rights communities were appalled. Bolton generally disparages international law, Amnesty International said in a statement. The McMaster ouster means no more adults in the room except [Defense Secretary James] Mattis, who now has no allies, said Charles Stevenson, a former State Department official who teaches foreign policy at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. McMaster, Mattis and outgoing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, whom Trump fired earlier this month, were seen as forces who could sometimes rein in the impetuous president. Advertisement McMaster was no dove. But Bolton falls into an entirely different category of dangerous uber-hawk, Colin Kahl and Jon Wolfsthal, national security officials in the Obama administration, wrote Friday in Foreign Policy. Boltons views on Iraq, North Korea, Iran, and other issues reveal a general pattern of thought: a tendency toward worst-case thinking; a pattern of warping and misusing intelligence to build the case for war with rogue states; a disdain for allies and multilateral institutions; a blind faith in U.S. military power and the benefits of regime change; and a tendency to see the ends as justifying the means, however horrific. If another of Boltons tasks is to impose discipline on a fractious staff, his track record is not favorable there, either. In his various government jobs, Bolton was known as hot-tempered and volatile and quick to belittle employees. One former employee recalled him throwing a stapler at a subordinate. Even among his detractors, however, Bolton is seen as effective in contrast to McMaster, a seasoned mover-and-shaker in Washington who knows how to exercise power and get things done. For good or for bad. Advertisement After the 2016 election, Trump initially considered nominating Bolton as secretary of State but reportedly decided the mustachioed Bolton didnt look the part. Trump instead picked Rex Tillerson, the dapper CEO of ExxonMobil, although he fired Tillerson last week. A Baltimore native and son of a city firefighter, Bolton was a student organizer for Republican conservative Barry Goldwaters presidential campaign in 1964, a race that ended in overwhelming defeat. Bolton later worked for Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), an archconservative who opposed civil rights laws, and in the administrations of Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush. The Yale-trained lawyer earned points in the GOP by helping fight the recount battle in Florida after the razor-thin presidential election in 2000. The Supreme Court ultimately gave the state, and thus the election, to George W. Bush over Democratic nominee Al Gore. He has been a consistent flame-thrower, critics and supporters agree. When he left a position at the U.S. Agency for International Development in the late 1980s, colleagues presented him with a special gift: a bronzed hand grenade. Advertisement tracy.wilkinson@latimes.com For more on international affairs, follow @TracyKWilkinson on Twitter UPDATES: Advertisement 11:45 a.m.: This article was updated with reaction from Floyd and Kahl. This article was originally published at 3 a.m. President Trump was evidently just warming up when he ordered global tariffs on steel, aluminum, solar panels and washing machines in recent weeks. The main event came Thursday, when the president announced plans to impose up to $60 billion in tariffs on China. This time, the president is focused on the right problems: Chinas abuse of U.S. companies that do business there, its pursuit of technology developed here, and its support for hackers who steal trade secrets online. Unfortunately, Trump is once again offering the wrong solution. The tariffs arent likely to inflict as much pain on China as they will on U.S. consumers and exporters. For Trump, China has long represented the worst of the worst among trade cheats. The tariffs announced in previous weeks applied to metals and products from a vast array of countries, but their primary target was Chinese exporters that allegedly sell their goods below cost in defiance of global trade agreements. In the view of top administration officials, those unfair practices have been enormously costly to U.S. companies, causing factories to shut down and thousands of workers to lose their jobs. Its hard to see how slapping tariffs on as-yet-identified products will induce China to honor intellectual property rights. Advertisement But thats only part of the story. Even if you accept the administrations analysis, it is also true that cheap Chinese materials and assembly factories have helped U.S. companies compete and expand globally (see, e.g., Apple). In fact, one study estimates that the tariffs on steel and aluminum would create about 33,000 jobs at metals factories while costing nearly 180,000 in other industries. Trumps latest initiative focuses not on Chinese products, but on Chinese behavior its cavalier attitude toward intellectual property rights and the hostile environment it has created for U.S. companies seeking to operate or invest in China. And on these points, there is widespread agreement that China has not only behaved badly, it has resisted years of pressure from U.S. leaders to change. Among other things, China continues to require U.S. businesses to create joint ventures with Chinese firms in order to invest in selected industries, and in the process they often are forced to transfer valuable and novel technology to their Chinese partners. China also puts its thumb on the scales in negotiations between U.S. and Chinese firms, helping Chinese companies obtain U.S. technology on favorable terms. Chinas bad trade practices were damaging enough when the country was mainly a source of cheap consumer goods. But now that Chinas industrial policy is focused on dominating such crucial 21st century fields as health sciences, artificial intelligence and aerospace, the stakes are considerably higher. Thats why Trumps tough talk and actions are drawing plaudits from some lawmakers in both parties, whose patience with China has understandably grown thin. And two pieces of Trumps latest order imposing restrictions on Chinese investments in the U.S. to match the ones China imposes on U.S. companies, and asking the World Trade Organization to rule against Chinas discriminatory licensing practices are welcome steps that respect the WTO and international trade agreements that the U.S. has pushed the world to embrace. On the other hand, its hard to see how slapping tariffs on as-yet-identified products will induce China to honor intellectual property rights, permit more investment by U.S. firms or stop trying to steal trade secrets online. The tariffs will no doubt raise the price that U.S. consumers pay for those products. And they will just as surely prompt China to retaliate against U.S. exports, even as it finds new buyers for its own goods. Thats been the result when the U.S. has unilaterally imposed tariffs in the past, and theres no reason to think the outcome would be any different this time. The right steps to take are the ones that Trump has disdained since the day he took office. The industry groups and countries that have succeeded in changing Chinas trade practices have been the ones that have acted in broad coalitions. Governments around the globe have complained about Chinese violations; the Trump administration should be organizing trading blocs to jointly demand changes from the Chinese through globally recognized institutions like the WTO that exist for just that purpose, backed up with tariffs and other sanctions if they dont deliver. Advertisement Instead, the administration has gone in the exact opposite direction, bullying trade partners, threatening to cancel major free-trade deals and undermining the WTO. One of Trumps first acts as president, in fact, was to pull the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership a 12-nation pact the U.S. had organized to counterbalance Chinas influence in Asia and establish high standards for intellectual property protection, state-owned industries and other trade norms. By calling out Chinas mistreatment of foreign investors and competitors, Trump has echoed the sentiments of government leaders around the world. If only hed lined them up any of them to help make his sanctions work. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook The appointment of John Bolton as President Trumps national security advisor is a symptom of the most profound and dangerous shift in American foreign policy since the end of World War II. Bolton is an extremist hawk whose inflammatory views kept him from being confirmed by a Republican-controlled Senate as our ambassador to the United Nations in 2005 (he served in the role through a back-door recess nomination). He will, conveniently, need no confirmation as head of the National Security Council, but with his predisposition for pre-emptive military action, his contempt for diplomacy, and his on-the-record coziness with the Putin regime, he has no business in the role of being the presidents principle advisor on security issues. As bad a choice as Bolton is and in my view he may be a more dangerous choice than Michael Flynn, who lasted 21 days in the job and has already pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI he is a symptom of a much more dangerous trend in Trump foreign policy. The Bolton announcement came on the same day that Trump added $50 billion worth of tariffs against China and promised more such tariffs on more countries worldwide would be coming soon. We are witnessing the most extreme form of American nationalism in modern times, and it is primarily in service to craven politics. Advertisement It follows the firing of the adult (if often ineffective ) Rex Tillerson as secretary of State and the departure of another adult, Gary Cohn, as economic advisor. It is of a piece with isolationist decisions to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accords and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the administrations attempts to scuttle NAFTA. Coming soon: unilateral withdrawal from the Iran nuclear accords. The administration is running away, fast, from commitments to the principles of international cooperation, dialogue and respect for the rule of law that have been central to U.S. foreign policy since the 1940s. In the days after the bloodiest conflict the world had ever known, the Truman administration led a period of unprecedented transformation in the way the world worked. It was the high point of U.S. international leadership and creativity. In just a few years, the U.N., the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, NATO and the trading system that became the World Trade Organization came into being. The European Union got its start then as well. The U.S. has sometimes chafed against the constraints of the system we helped to create. But even at moments of peak unilateralism here for instance, during the first years of the administration of George W. Bush, when Bolton and fellow neocons were last in their ascendancy America did not abandon its alliances, or desert international institutions and international law. Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld got their way disastrously on invading Iraq without U.N. support, but an effort was made to get the U.N. Security Councils agreement. Elsewhere, the Bush team actively supported and liberalized the international system. TPP was born on Bushs watch, and his administration had a better record on encouraging immigration than President Obamas. Bushs AIDS program in Africa and his active outreach to the emerging world marked him as a leader of compassion committed to strengthening U.S. ties with rising powers and helping those in need. Trumps hard turn away from such policies is unmistakable. We are witnessing the most extreme form of American nationalism in modern times, and it is primarily in service to craven politics. Trump appears to know little and to care less about a coherent, forward-looking international design of any kind, let alone one that truly protects U.S. interests. He is merely shoring up his angry, fearful base, whose isolationism he has cultivated with the help of Stephen K. Bannon, Stephen Miller, Breitbart News and Fox News. He employs dog whistles with abandon embracing a border wall and refugee bans, and calling Mexicans rapists and using code words like globalists (which Nazis and white supremacists use to mean Jews). He cannot say a bad word against a clear enemy of Western democracies, Vladimir Putins Russia. Trumps actions are a repudiation of what has made America great for almost three-quarters of a century. They come perilously close to the disastrous nationalism of fascists in Europe and America-firsters in the U.S. that arose between World War I and World War II. Hyper-nationalism back then led to catastrophe. Trumps version will at the very least make dangerous situations like North Korea and Iran much more dangerous. It will weaken the international system we helped create and that, though flawed, has served the world well. What is more, it will accelerate the precipitous decline of Americas standing in the world, which is already a defining hallmark of the Trump presidency. Slogans aside, America was great when Trump took office. It will most assuredly be less so when he departs. David Rothkopf is a senior fellow at the School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Advertisement Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook To the editor: However well intentioned, Southern Californias early flood control efforts led to the drained aquifers of today. (When California needs to flush its stormwater out to sea and when it doesnt, editorial, March 21) I literally teethed on this subject. My grandfather spent the majority of his career as an engineer on water projects starting from the Roosevelt Dam in 1911 through Grand Coulee in 1943, including the Central Valley Project, the Owens Valley project, the State Water Project and the Colorado River Project. Raise the Shasta Dam? Engineers design dams, not politicians. Shasta was carefully designed to maximize water retention and still remain stable. Raising the dams height could create an unsustainable structure. Many and varied solutions need to be applied, from refurbishing and maintaining the projects that we have, revising the ones that retard water retention, and building carefully conceived projects to enhance retention. All projects must have locked-in funds for continued maintenance. Advertisement Decades of deferred maintenance and complacency must be reversed now (witness the near disaster of the Oroville Dam last year). We have gone beyond a crisis situation, and we require leadership and action, not conversation. Harvey Cordner, Pasadena .. To the editor: As a recent graduate with a degree in environmental science who is embarking on a career in sustainability, I want to thank the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board for arguing that Los Angeles needs to invest in capturing stormwater to augment local water supplies rather than invest in business-as-usual water imports. Climate scientists warn us that California will continue to whiplash between drought and drenched. The best way to combat unpredictability is for Los Angeles to capture stormwater when it rains heavily so we can meet our needs during times of drought. With another round of major storms ending now, we can all look out the window to see polluted stormwater flooding our streets and communities. I hope Angelenos will understand how this could make them water-secure instead of being the biggest pollutant of our rivers and beaches, and remember this when voting to fund stormwater capture projects this November. Hannah Sands, Los Angeles Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook. Gavin Newsom releases ad that highlights his push to allow same-sex couples to marry By Phil Willon A new ad from Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom features Phyllis Lyon, who with her partner, Del Martin, received the first marriage license after Newsom vowed to allow same-sex couples to marry when he was mayor of San Francisco in 2004. The current lieutenant governors push for marriage equality thrust him into the national spotlight and he has emphasized that effort to portray himself as a bold, progressive leader. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Failed California housing bill was not a bad idea, Gov. Jerry Brown says By Liam Dillon Gov. Jerry Brown (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Earlier this month, high-profile housing legislation that would have allowed for four- to five-story apartments and condominiums near transit stops failed to advance in the state Legislature. But had it reached his desk, would Gov. Jerry Brown have signed it? Maybe. I think that was not a bad idea, Brown said of Senate Bill 827 at a meeting with business leaders from the Bay Area Council on Monday afternoon. The bill, written by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), attracted national attention and a maelstrom of opposition in part because it would have eliminated single-family zoning near transit stops in favor of apartments or condominiums. Brown said that a relative of his who lives in West Portal, a low-density neighborhood in San Francisco, told the governor he was horrified by the bill. Brown also lamented dramatically rising housing costs. He said he bought his first house in Los Angeles in 1973 for $75,000 at a time when his salary as secretary of state was $35,000. Now, he said, buying a house for a little over twice ones annual salary is virtually impossible anywhere in the state. FOR THE RECORD May 1, 9:32 a.m.: This post originally misstated the year Brown purchased his house as 1970. It was 1973. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print John Cox begins California barnstorm with the delivery of gas tax repeal signatures By Javier Panzar Gubernatorial candidate John Cox, left, and Assembly candidate Bill Essayli load boxes of signatures for the gas tax repeal initiative. (Francine Orr) GOP gubernatorial candidate John Cox strolled up to the stack of 12 boxes in front of the Los Angeles County registrar-recorders offices in Norwalk on Monday and placed his hands on top of his partys hope for success in 2018. The boxes, stacked four across and three high, contained 211,000 signatures for an initiative to repeal recent increases in Californias gas tax and vehicle fees. Cox says the effort has gathered more than 940,000 signatures from registered voters to put the measure on the ballot far more than the 585,407 signatures that are required. The aim: to bring out the partys base to the polls this November and help candidates in tough congressional and legislative races down the ticket. A USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll in November found 54.2% of registered voters surveyed said they would repeal the tax and fee hike, but a survey a month earlier by another group said a majority would vote to keep the higher taxes. Cox was flanked by Bill Essayli, a former federal prosecutor who is challenging Democratic Assemblywoman Sabrina Cervantes of Riverside in the June primary. Cervantes voted for the gas tax and Essayli plans to use that vote against her. He even launched his campaign at a 76 gas station in Norco. This is a central issue in my campaign, he said. Cox also submitted signatures in San Diego on Monday and is headed to Bakersfield, Fresno and Sacramento, as well as Shasta and Butte counties in coming days. We are going all across the state, Cox said. The whole state is paying this tax and the whole state wants it gone. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print All Californians would be able to serve on state boards even people in the U.S. illegally under new bill By Jazmine Ulloa Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) State lawmakers on Monday introduced legislation that would allow all Californians to serve on state boards and commissions regardless of immigration status. Senate Bill 174, by Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) and Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo (D-Los Angeles), comes as the state is locked in a broader legal battle with the Trump administration over state immigration laws and his call for mass deportations. Lawmakers point to what they say is the states own discriminatory history as their basis for introducing the legislation. The proposal would amend an 1872 provision that was first adopted to exclude Chinese immigrants and other transient aliens from holding appointed civil positions. At the time, antipathy toward the Chinese had been building in California, though, Chinese immigrants opened hundreds of businesses across the state and would play a critical role in building the transcontinental railroad. The Senate bill would delete the phrase transient aliens from the government code and make clear that any person, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, can hold an appointed civil office if they are at least 18 years old and a resident of the state. That would allow any Californian to serve on hundreds of boards and commissions that advice in an array of policy areas, including farm labor, history and employment development. Californias two million undocumented immigrants are a source of energy for our state, Lara said in a statement. It is shocking to read the words of fear and exclusion that are still in California law but belong in historys trash can. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Tony Mendozas fundraising dries up after resignation amid harassment inquiry By Patrick McGreevy Former state Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia). (Steve Yeater / Associated Press) Political contributions to Tony Mendoza, who resigned from the state Senate under pressure amid sexual harassment allegations, have nearly dried up. New documents he filed with the state in his bid to reclaim the seat he once held show that his support has eroded. As a result, five other candidates for the 32nd District senate seat in the June 5 election have raised more than Mendoza so far this year. With the June 5 election approaching, Mendoza has reported raising just $7,750 in cash from six supporters during the nearly four-month period from Jan. 1 to April 21. Mendoza, a Democrat from Artesia, went on a leave of absence from the Senate Jan. 3 and resigned a month later under the threat of expulsion from colleagues. An investigation ordered by the Senate found a pattern of unwanted flirtatious or sexually suggestive behavior based on testimony from six women. Mendoza has denied wrongdoing. Last year, Mendozas reelection campaign raised $412,600, or an average of about $34,000 per month, from more than 350 supporters. Most of Mendozas 2018 total was contributed by the political arm of the Southern California Pipe Trades District Council 16 on Jan. 22, a month before Mendoza resigned. Mendoza also reported that his campaign loaned $125,000 this year to his legal defense fund. That left him with $446,600 in his campaign account at the end of April. Mendoza is running against eight Democrats and two Republicans. Democrat Bob J. Archuleta, a Pico Rivera city councilman, raised the most, $210,000, during the period. On Monday, Mendoza suffered another setback when the State Legislative Womens Caucus endorsed Democrat Vicky Santana, a member of the Rio Hondo College Board. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Newsom and Villaraigosa affairs coming to TV ads in California By Phil Willon An independent political committee backing Republican John Cox for governor released an ad blasting both Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for their past sexual affairs. The California Deserves Better ad, which was first reported by Politico, criticizes Newsom for having an affair with a woman on his staff in 2005 while he served as mayor of San Francisco. It also goes after Villaraigosa for having an extramarital affair with a television reporter in 2007 while he was mayor of Los Angeles. The ad, which begins airing on Fox stations in the states top media markets Monday, links Newsom and Villaraigosa to the men accused of sexual impropriety in the #MeToo movement, including movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and disgraced Today show veteran Matt Lauer. Powerful men are finally being held to account, punished for inappropriate sexual conduct with women over whom they exercise power, the ad begins. Newsom and Villaraigosa think the rules shouldnt apply to them. The independent campaign committee, called Restore Our Values, already has raised more than $100,000, said Leigh Teece of Emeryville in Northern California, co-founder of the group. Teece, the CEO of a nonprofit that helps line up students with professional mentors, said the campaign will actively support Cox. She called him a true conservative and noted that he supports cutting taxes and opposes Californias sanctuary state policy. John is a business person who has demonstrated integrity, Teece said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Was that Cisneros in the voicemail? Dispute is latest espisode of Democratic infighting in crowded primary races By Christine Mai-Duc Gil Cisneros speaks during a forum at Fullerton College in January. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) With less than five weeks to go before Californias primary, insults and accusations are flying with abandon in the most crowded races Democrats hope to ultimately win. The latest example of this is in the 39th Congressional District, where a half dozen Democrats are vying for a chance to replace Rep. Ed Royce, whos retiring. Its one of several California contests where Democratic leaders are already worried that divisions could ultimately split votes and shut Democrats out of key pickup opportunities. In that race, millionaires Gil Cisneros and Andy Thorburn are going negative about going negative. Cisneros was recently elevated to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committees Red to Blue program in hopes it would serve as a signal to Democratic activists and donors that his campaign was the most viable. But both Cisneros and Thorburn have poured millions into the race, which promises to be a knock down, drag out fight through June 5. At the center of the latest controversy is a voicemail, allegedly left by Cisneros on Thorburns home answering machine earlier this month. The recording, which the Thorburn campaign turned over to media outlet The Intercept, lasts less than 10 seconds. Hi Andy, its Gil Cisneros. Im gonna go negative on you, a mans voice is heard saying. Cisneros campaign manager Orrin Evans denied the candidate made the call, posting a cease and desist letter to The Intercept on Twitter. The letter, sent by a Cisneros campaign attorney, called the voicemail fabricated and demanded that the story be taken down, calling it defamatory. It gave the publication until 3 p.m. Friday to take down the story before they pursue all legal rights and remedies. An attorney for The Intercept, in a letter to Cisneros, said the publication confirmed with multiple sources familiar with Mr. Cisneros that his voice was on the recording, and that it stands by its reporting. Thorburns camp says it flatly rejects Cisneros denial, and that the timing of a negative website filled with unflattering background on Thorburn, released three days later, suggests it was him. Track the California races that could flip the House According to The Intercepts report, Cisneros campaign manager did not respond to initial inquiries about the voicemail, calling its questions ridiculous. In a follow-up statement Friday, Evans said called the episode a dirty, desperate trick by the Thorburn campaign and said they are readying to pursue legal action for defamation and false light against both him and the publication. It sounded like him to me! said Thorburns wife, Karen, in a statement released by the campaign. She was the one who first heard the voicemail, they said. Thorburn campaign manager Nancy Leeds called Cisneros threats Trump-like tactics and accused the candidate of trying to harass and intimidate anyone who stands in his way. Its not the first time candidates from the same party have clashed in the lead-up to the June 5 primary, and its all but certain to not be the last. Cisneros sued two of his opponents, Thorburn and Sam Jammal, over their ballot descriptions until they had to change them. Earlier this month, Democrat Bryan Caforio asked his opponent, Katie Hill, to sign a pledge rejecting the use of independent expenditure committees, entities that neither of them can legally coordinate with, in the race to unseat Rep. Steve Knight (R-Lancaster). Hill refused and called the attempt hollow and likened it to political theater, while Caforio accused her of empty campaign promises. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print California Politics Podcast: The money raised in the race for governor hints at a race thats now red hot By John Myers With less than six weeks before election day, the cash raised in the California governors race mirrors the overall dynamics: one major front-runner and a heated race for second place. This weeks podcast episode offers a glimpse into those cash reports and how the Republican field seems more settled in a new statewide poll than the battle between Democrats. We also examine the reasons why a nationally talked-about housing bill in Sacramento was killed by the Democratic authors own allies. Im joined by Times staff writers Melanie Mason and Liam Dillon. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud and Stitcher. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement L.A. County politician sexually assaulted woman when she was 16, lawsuit claims By Dakota Smith A woman sued an unnamed politician in Los Angeles County on Friday, alleging the man sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager after he gave her an unusual-tasting drink. The politician, identified as John Doe, was in his early 40s and a public figure at the time of the 2007 assault, according to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. The man is an elected official today and lives in Los Angeles, said attorney Lisa Bloom, who is representing the woman identified in the lawsuit as Jane Doe. Bloom declined to say what branch of government the man represents. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Villaraigosa touts his working-class upbringing, accomplishments as mayor in first TV ad By Phil Willon Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa released his first TV ad in the governors race Friday, touting his record and accomplishments as mayor of Los Angeles when up against the economic downturn during the recession. The 30-second television spot opens with a sweeping shot of Los Angeles and cuts to Villaraigosa sitting on a bus. In kindergarten, my sister and I took three buses to get to school. As mayor, I remembered that, Villaraigosa says into the camera. And despite the recession, we built more new schools and rail lines than any city in America, added 200,000 living wage jobs, built 20,000 units of affordable housing and nearly doubled graduation rates. Campaign spokesman Luis Vizcaino said the ad will air statewide over the next week at a cost of approximately $1 million. The commercial will being airing Saturday. Two Democratic rivals in Californias race for governor, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Treasurer John Chiang, also launched ads this week, signaling the biggest ramp-up of the campaign as the June 5 primary approaches. Newsom is the front-runner, while Villaraigosa is battling for second place with Republican John Cox. One recent poll has Villaraigosa trailing both Cox and Republican Assemblyman Travis Allen of Huntington Beach. Chiang has been stuck in the single digits in almost all polling in the race. Last week, an independent expenditure group called Families and Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor, funded largely by a trio of wealthy charter school backers, launched a spot in support of the former mayor of Los Angeles. That ad campaign is focused on increasing Villaraigosas chances of coming in second in the June 5 primary and moving on to the general election. Villaraigosas ad, titled Three Buses, emphasizes the struggles he faced growing up in East Los Angeles and addresses one of his central campaign themes that hes the candidate best suited to help working-class Californians. I know how far a bus can take you, Villaraigosa says in the ad. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Sen. Dianne Feinstein wont participate in pre-primary debate By Sarah D. Wire (Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call) California Sen. Dianne Feinstein will not participate in a proposed pre-primary debate because there are too many candidates in the race, her campaign spokesman said Thursday. Political activists with the group Indivisible Los Angeles said they had a venue and date May 5 reserved for a debate with four of the Senate candidates. But they said if Feinstein does not participate, it will be canceled. Feinstein faces 31 primary opponents in her bid for a fifth full term representing California in the Senate. Feinstein staffers initially said she had a prior commitment on May 5 in San Francisco. When organizers offered to let her campaign pick another date, her campaign said it wasnt fair for the group to invite only some of the candidates when there is such a big field, said Tudor Popescu, volunteer community organizer with Indivisible Los Angeles. The invited candidates, all Democrats, were Feinstein, state Sen. Kevin de Leon, political action committee director Alison Hartson and lawyer Pat Harris. They were selected based on fundraising and poll numbers. There are 11 Republicans, 10 Democrats, nine independents and 2 third-party candidates running for Senate on the June ballot. Indivisible Los Angeles is still hoping Feinstein will pick another date, Popescu said. Feinstein spokesman Jeff Millman pointed to a San Francisco Chronicle endorsement of Feinstein, which indicates that she told the editorial board she would be willing to have a debate ahead of Novembers general election. Senator Feinstein looks forward to debating her opponent in the general election, Millman said in an email. Feinstein holds a substantial lead in both fundraising and in the polls. Front-runners in statewide races have routinely declined to debate their challengers, knowing that its free publicity for candidates who dont have the cash to increase their name recognition on their own. De Leon spokesman Jonathan Underland said the state senator has done candidate forums before, but planned to attend the May 5 debate only if Feinstein did. We basically said well clear his calendar 100%, well clear his calendar if Feinstein shows up, Underland said. Wed love to make it happen, but we want her to be there. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement NRA, Olympic shooter sue California over its restrictions on ammunition sales By Patrick McGreevy Olympian Kim Rhode is a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the NRA and its state affiliate against California. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) The National Rifle Assn. and its state affiliate have filed a fourth lawsuit against California over its gun control laws, this time challenging new restrictions on the sale and transfer of ammunition. The NRA and the California Rifle and Pistol Assn. filed a challenge in federal court to a requirement that ammunition sales and transfers be conducted face to face with California firearms dealers or licensed vendors, ending purchases made directly from out-of-state sellers on the internet. The lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California also challenged a requirement starting next year for background checks for people buying ammunition. The lawsuit was filed in the name of Kim Rhode, a six-time Olympic medal-winning shooter, and others. It challenges Californias new ammunition sales restrictions as a violation of the 2nd Amendment and the commerce clause of the United States Constitution. Restrictions on ammunition purchases were included in Proposition 63, approved by voters in 2016, and in bills approved by the Legislature. As a result of these laws, millions of constitutionally protected ammunition transfers are banned in California, Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRAs Institute for Legislative Action, said in a statement. Californias law-abiding gun owners are sick of being treated like criminals and the NRA is proud to assist in this fight. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is running for governor, defended his initiative and vowed to fight the NRA lawsuit. We wrote Proposition 63 on solid legal ground and principle: If youre a felon banned from possessing guns in California, then you should not be able to purchase the ammunition that makes a firearm deadly, Newsom said in a statement. California voters said loudly and clearly that guns and ammunition do not belong in the hands of dangerous individuals but once again, the NRA has prioritized gun industry profits over the lives of law-abiding Californians. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Republicans hope to ride a gas-tax repeal to victory By Patrick McGreevy In a Central Valley barn decked out in red, white and blue, dairyman and state Senate candidate Johnny Tacherra drew cheers from a crowd of fellow farmers when he said he opposes the California Legislatures hike on gas taxes and vehicle fees. I would not have voted for that. It is not the time to be voting on (raising) the gas tax, said Tacherra, a Republican running against Democratic Assemblywoman Anna Caballero, who voted for the tax increase last year. Three hundred miles away the same week, a campaign mailer arrived at homes in Orange County from an Assembly candidate with a message blaring from the cover in bold type: Republican Greg Haskin tough enough to stand up to Jerry Brown and repeal the gas tax. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Treasurer John Chiang launches ad in governors race touting his record as a fiscal steward By Seema Mehta In his first television ad in the governors race, state Treasurer John Chiang touts his record on fiscal issues as California faced the recession. Some thought we were done, Chiang says in a voiceover in the 30-second spot he released Thursday, with images of him standing seriously at a lectern and complimentary headlines about his work as controller and treasurer. But I knew better. I made the tough calls. And brought California back from the brink of financial disaster because you trusted me to manage our economy. Chiangs campaign is spending about $500,000 to air the ad in Los Angeles and San Diego in coming days. That buy is dwarfed by seven-figure purchases for ads supporting Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Newsom is the front-runner, while Villaraigosa is battling for second place with Republican businessman John Cox. Chiang has been mired in the single digits in almost all polling in the race. His ad, called Quiet Storm, tries to portray Chiang as a progressive who is effective and can move policy in Sacramento. Chiang points to his work challenging Wells Fargo before arguing that he could accomplish what doubters say is impossible to improve the states healthcare, housing and schools. I say, we got this, Chiang concludes. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Been ignoring the race for California governor? Thats OK, in some ways its just starting By Mark Z. Barabak On a recent trip to Iowa, Eric Garcetti the mayor of Los Angeles and a possible 2020 White House contestant raised eyebrows with a bit of exuberant outreach. Los Angeles and Iowa, Garcetti insisted, have a ton in common, and he didnt simply mean both are inhabited by carbon-based life forms needing oxygen to survive. Urban or rural, farmer or fashion plate, all of us harbor the same hopes and dreams, the mayor suggested, and if it wasnt a terribly original thought it also wasnt the most egregious sort of political pandering like, say, ordering that every home in Los Angeles be powered by Iowa-produced ethanol. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print California voters should expect to decide on an $8.9-billion water bond in November By Liam Dillon (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) A proposal to borrow $8.9 billion for improvements to Californias water quality systems and watersheds and protection of natural habitats is eligible for the statewide ballot in November, Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced in a press release Wednesday. Padilla said the measure, which is backed by agricultural interests, had exceeded the 365,800 valid signatures it needed to qualify for the general election ballot. The bond measure will appear on the ballot unless proponents withdraw it by June 28, the release said. The bond is one of many voters could decide on in 2018. A $4-billion bond for parks and water infrastructure improvements will appear on the June 5 ballot. State lawmakers approved it last year. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print They came for Darrell Issa. They stayed with their inflatable chicken, blue wall and signs for political therapy By Christine Mai-Duc (John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune) A mother of two turned ringleader of the resistance and more than a hundred of her faithful followers gathered on Tuesday morning outside Rep. Darrell Issas office in a northern San Diego County suburb. Across the street was her foil, a wedding DJ in a red Make American Great Again cap, setting up hefty speakers for an upcoming war of words. For about 65 weeks the deep divide in America played out along this 100-yard stretch of road in Vista. Here, at 10 a.m. every Tuesday, passersby found signs, chants, songs and, if they were lucky, sometimes a 20-foot-tall inflatable chicken with a Trump-esque coif. Theyd also glimpse the state of the body politic in 2018, a time when shock has turned to anger and post-2016 calls for reconciliation have morphed into grudging acceptance that each side might be better off in their respective corners. Or in this case, their sides of the street. On Tuesday, the anti-Issa, anti-Trump contingent fought this particular battle for the last time, declaring it their final protest at the congressmans office. They said they planned to use their energy to knock on doors and get out the vote, with an occasional protest on the side. Their pro-Trump rivals vowed to show up wherever they do. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Efforts to regulate bail companies have some unlikely allies: bail agents By Jazmine Ulloa Jane Un, chief executive and founder of Abba Bail Bonds, works with a client. ( Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) In recent years, the seriousness and number of official complaints related to the bail industry in California have significantly increased while bail agents and bounty hunters face limited oversight, putting vulnerable communities at risk of fraud, embezzlement and other forms of victimization. This year, as Gov. Jerry Brown has pledged to work with lawmakers in a push to overhaul how courts assign defendants bail and to better regulate bail agencies, even some who profit from the court practice admit its time for regulation. These bail and bail-recovery agents could become unlikely allies, saying they advocate for change because theyve seen the system abuse the poor. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement California voters: Get ready for an onslaught of television ads By Seema Mehta After a sleepy campaign, California voters are now being bombarded with television advertisements in the governors race, an onslaught that is expected to ramp up in coming weeks. The ads most frequently seen on television are those promoting Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the front-runner in the race, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is trying to secure the second spot in the June primary. Newsoms campaign and an outside group backing Villaraigosa are spending seven figures weekly on these efforts, according to filings with the California secretary of states office and a media buyer who asked not to be identified in order to freely discuss the ads. Other gubernatorial candidates are expected to hit the airwaves soon, the media buyer said. State Treasurer John Chiang has reserved a half-million dollars in the coming days in the Los Angeles and San Diego markets, and Villaraigosas campaign has requested availability in at least five of the states biggest TV markets. The GOP candidates in the race, who will be seeking the state Republican Partys endorsement at its convention next weekend, have been much less active. Businessman John Cox in recent weeks has been spending about $90,000 per week, but doubled that this week in Los Angeles and added small buys on KFI-AM radio and cable in markets including Fresno, Bakersfield and Salinas. State Assemblyman Travis Allen of Huntington Beach, who has been scooping up Republican Party endorsements across the state, has yet to make a notable television or radio buy, though he and Cox have received some attention as commentators on Fox News. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Republicans ready to turn in signatures for ballot measure to repeal California gas-tax increase By Patrick McGreevy A Chevron gas station in Sacramento shows prices last year. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Republican activists said Tuesday that they have collected at least 830,000 signatures for an initiative to repeal recent increases in Californias gas tax and vehicle fees, more than enough to qualify the measure for the November ballot. The activists need 585,407 signatures of registered voters to qualify the ballot measure. Because signatures are still being processed and counted by the campaign, backers hope to have 900,000 by the time they begin turning them in to the counties on Friday, according to Carl DeMaio, a former San Diego City Council member and organizer of the drive. The breadth and depth of voter anger over the car and gas tax hikes is just amazing, said DeMaio, who hosts a radio talk show. We are seeing Democrats, independents and Republicans sign the petition and volunteering to carry the petition, people from all walks of life. The initiative targets a law approved in April 2017 by the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown that is expected to raise $5.4 billion annually for road and bridge repairs and improvements to mass transit. The money comes from a recent 12-cents-per-gallon increase in the gas tax, a 20-cent increase in the diesel fuel excise tax and a new annual vehicle fee ranging from $25 for cars valued at under $5,000, to $175 for cars worth $60,000 or more. The petition drive raised more than $2 million with significant contributions from the California Republican Party and Republican members of Congress from California, including House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield and Reps. Ken Calvert of Corona and Mimi Walters of Irvine. Republicans hope the issue will help their candidates for office in this years election and hurt Democrats who support the higher taxes. I think this is going to put Democrats in real bad spot, DeMaio said. A spokesman for Brown declined to comment until the signatures are filed. DeMaio said there were approximately 20,000 volunteer petition circulators who brought in more than 250,000 signatures, with the rest collected by paid circulators who received $1 to $2.50 per signature. Its a pretty comfortable margin [of signatures] that we have been able to hit here, DeMaio said. Opposition will grow, he said, as more Californians get their annual vehicle registration notice. The repeal campaign hopes to raise $5 million for the campaign to pass the constitutional amendment, which would not only repeal the increase in the gas tax and vehicle fees but require future increases to be submitted to voters. We know that Gov. Brown and his cohorts are going to spend an amazing amount of money to mislead voters, DeMaio said. But I feel pretty confident that we will repeal the gas tax. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Rep. Duncan Hunter sets up trust to raise money for legal expenses amid ongoing criminal investigation By Morgan Cook Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, has filed paperwork to establish a legal expense fund amid an ongoing federal criminal investigation into misused campaign cash. Hunter filed the required paperwork March 27, seeking a rarely granted Legal Expense Fund through which members of Congress under investigation or being sued in connection with doing their jobs or running for office can raise money for their legal expenses. Such funds are administered by an independent trustee and allow donors to give above the maximum amount they can contribute a candidates campaign. Hunter has spent more than $600,000 of campaign money on lawyers. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Kamala Harris says she wont take corporate donations anymore By Sarah D. Wire (Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press) California Sen. Kamala Harris says she will no longer accept money from corporate political action committees. In an interview with WWPM-FMs The Breakfast Club, in New York that aired Monday, the senator said she wasnt expecting a question at a town hall this month about whether she would accept money for corporations or corporate lobbyists. At the time, Harris said it depends, but she said on Monday that she had reflected on the matter and changed her mind. Money has had such an outside influence on politics, and especially with the Supreme Court determining Citizens United, which basically means that big corporations can spend unlimited amounts of money influencing a campaign, right? Harris said. Were all supposed to have an equal vote, but money has now really tipped the balance between an individual having equal power in an election to a corporation. So Ive actually made a decision since I had that conversation that Im not going to accept corporate PAC checks. I just Im not. You can watch the video of the interview here. (Harris corporate money comments come about 30 minutes in.) Harris wouldnt be on the ballot for a second Senate term until 2022, though its widely believed that she is planning a presidential bid in 2020. Other potential 2020 presidential candidates, including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), have also ruled out taking corporate PAC money. Soon after Mondays show aired, Harris campaign sent out a fundraising request noting her new stance. As corporate PACs continue to corrupt our politics and twist Congress priorities at your expense, were going to focus on raising money from small-dollar, individual donors like you, the email says. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement With money tied up in court, California lawmakers try again with new plan to spend $2 billion on homeless housing By Liam Dillon A man sleeps on the sidewalk in front of the Union Rescue Mission in the skid row neighborhood of Los Angeles. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) A measure to spend $2 billion on housing homeless Californians could be on the November statewide ballot. State Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) is pushing the idea to deal with what he said was a burgeoning humanitarian crisis whose epicenter is here in California. De Leons new measure is a do-over for a 2016 plan passed by the Legislature to redirect $2 billion toward building homeless housing from a voter-approved 1% income tax surcharge on millionaires that funds mental health services. A Sacramento attorney sued over that decision, arguing that the move violated constitutional rules on approving loans without a public vote and that lawmakers shouldnt take money away from mental health treatment. The case remains active in Sacramento Superior Court and its unclear when, or if, the state will be able to spend the $2 billion. De Leons Senate Bill 1206 would put the $2-billion loan on the ballot in November, freeing up the money if voters approve the measure. De Leon said had he been able to predict the 2016 plan would end up in court, he would have sought a ballot measure at the time. We thought this was like apple pie and baseball and puppies, De Leon said. Who would oppose the idea of repurposing the dollars to build immediate housing as a permanent solution for homelessness? Obviously with a crystal ball, had I anticipated the litigation, I would have worked to place it on the ballot. De Leon noted that the 2016 plan had bipartisan supermajority support in the Legislature, something his new bill also will need to get on the ballot. Sen. John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa) is a coauthor of the plan. SB 1206 is scheduled for its first hearing in the Legislature on Wednesday. Should De Leons measure be approved, it will join a crowded list of housing issues before voters in November. Californians will decide on a separate $4-billion bond to help finance new low-income housing and home loans for veterans. De Leon said hes not worried those two measures will compete against each other because voters are aware of the scale of the states housing problems and the proposed homeless housing bond redirects existing dollars instead of raising taxes. Once [voters] know that the impact on their pocketbook is not existent, Im confident that theyll join me and my colleague John Moorlach in support of this measure, De Leon said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print California lawmakers say too many former felons are being denied professional licenses By John Myers Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco) along with supporters of bills to allow more former felons to receive professional licenses. (John Myers/Los Angeles Times) A trio of California Assembly members urged colleagues on Monday to pass legislation that would prohibit state commissions and agencies from rejecting a professional license for those who were once convicted of less serious crimes. We cant say we want to rehabilitate people, and then block them from getting the jobs that they need when theyre released, said Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco). That leads to more recidivism and to more crime. The bills, scheduled to be heard in Assembly committees Tuesday, would ban the use of arrest or conviction records as the reason for denying a professional license. The bill would not apply to Californians who served time for any of the offenses on the states list of violent crimes. The authors, all Democrats, said that a government-issued professional license is required for some 30% of all jobs in the state. Their bills would change the licensing process at the California departments of Consumer Affairs and Social Services and agencies that certify emergency medical technicians. The bills would block prior convictions from leading to the delay or denial of a license unless that crime is directly related to the profession the person intends to pursue. Two of the bills also specifically say convictions less than 5 years old could continue to play a role in licensing decisions. Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law that keeps private sector employers from inquiring about a job applicants conviction history prior to an offer of employment. Advocates joined the lawmakers at a press conference in Sacramento to point out that limits on awarding licenses should focus only on those whose prior criminal activity could pose a threat to consumers. Continuing to hold people back for crimes that are 6, 7, 8, 10, 20 years old does not actually make sense if youre looking at public safety, said Jael Myrick of the East Bay Community Law Center. One of the proposals, Assembly Bill 2293, seeks to make it easier for ex-felons to get a license allowing a job with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection the same agency that often uses prison inmates to battle blazes around the state. If a person is good enough to risk their life fighting fires for the state of California as an inmate, said Assemblywoman Eloise Gomez Reyes (D-Grand Terrace), their previous actions should not prevent from having a job utilizing the skill set that they learned. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Assembly speaker rebukes building trades union after it targets Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia By John Myers ( (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)) The decision by a politically powerful labor group to openly campaign against an embattled Los Angeles-area lawmaker drew a sharp rebuke on Friday from Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. The Lakewood Democrat lashed out hours after the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California filed paperwork for a political action committee to defeat Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens). Garcia, whos seeking her fourth term, took an unpaid leave of absence in February following allegations of sexual misconduct. She has denied the reports and an Assembly investigation remains underway. Rendon didnt criticize the labor group by name, insisting instead that the decision was driven by oil and gas industry interests. This is a thinly veiled attempt by Big Oil and polluters to intimidate me and my members. It is an affront to my speakership, Rendon said in a statement. We are proud of the work that the Assembly has done to increase jobs and wages while defending our environment. We will vigorously defend the members of our caucus from any ill-advised political attack. A statement from the labor group, which sparred with Garcia last year on her effort to link new climate change policies with a crackdown on air pollution, said it had decided to reverse past support for her. The Trades have thousands of hard working members in Garcias district, and we look forward to lifting up another Democrat in the 58th Assembly to better represent them and their families, said the statement. The political action committees campaign finance filing on Friday listed nonmonetary in kind contributions from Erin Lehane, a public affairs consultant aligned with the building labor group. Lehane said she had begun researching Garcia in November. In January, a former legislative staffer accused her of groping him in 2014. Lehane, who identified herself as a spokesperson for the labor groups political action committee, said on Friday that she believed Garcias hypocrisy threatened a movement that will dictate how much harassment and abuse my daughter will face in her work life. Garcia, who has been an outspoken advocate for women in the #MeToo movement, has complained that her political opponents helped fan the flames of the accusations. Through a campaign consultant, she declined to comment on Friday. Rendons critique came on the heels of a full-page ad in The Times on Friday, partly paid for by the Trades Council, that criticized well-funded ivory tower elites who push proposals that hurt the oil and gas industry. We are the real jobs that fuel the real California economy, read the advertisement. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Legal tiff breaks out over independent committees ad backing Antonio Villaraigosa for governor By Phil Willon An attorney representing Gavin Newsoms campaign for governor is demanding that California television stations cease airing an ad by an independent political committee supporting his Democratic rival Antonio Villaraigosa. Attorney Thomas A. Willis, in a letter to the stations, said the ad is false and misleading and violates California law because it uses snippets of video footage from Villaraigosas own campaign ads. Willis called that illegal coordination between the campaign and PAC. Under California law, advertisements made by entities other than a candidate are presumed to be coordinated and thus not independent expenditures when the advertisement replicates, reproduces or disseminates substantial parts of a communication, including video footage, created and paid for by the candidate, the letter states. A representative for the independent expenditure committee Families & Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor fired back. Attorney Brian T. Hildreth says those allegations have no merit and accused the Newsom campaign of being misleading. Hildreth sent a letter to the television stations in response, urging them to ignore the Newsom campaigns accusations. He said the Newsom camp appears to intentionally misrepresent the law and that the video use was permissible. He said only six seconds of video from Villaraigosas campaign ads was used, which is well within the legal limits. The independent committee is sponsored by the group California Charter Schools Assn. Advocates, according to the California secretary of states office. The ad is airing on broadcast and cable stations statewide. The committees ad is focused on Villaraigosas record as Assembly speaker and as mayor of Los Angeles when there was a drop in crime. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Governors race snapshot: Californians are generally upbeat but not focused on the campaign By Mark Z. Barabak Armand Werden, a 29-year-old community college student who works the taps at Dust Bowl Brewery in Turlock, said the state is on the upswing. (Phil Willon / Los Angeles Times) As California chooses a new governor one of just a handful in the last 40 years not named Jerry Brown the state seems to be enjoying something unusual in these tumultuous political times: a feeling of relative contentment. Not to say things are perfect. Still, more than 100 random interviews conducted over the length and breadth of the state from Redding in the north to Santee in the south, from the Pacific coastline to the edge of the Sierra Nevada found most saying things are looking up, at least so far as Californias direction is concerned. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Sierra Club backs Gavin Newsom for California governor By Phil Willon Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks with members of the public following a debate at USC in January. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) The Sierra Club endorsed Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom in the race for California governor, with officials in the established environmental group praising the Democrats record on climate change and clean energy. He has a proven record for leading on environmental protection, public health and clean energy, Kathryn Phillips, director of Sierra Club California, said in a statement released by the Newsom campaign. He understands that we are feeling the effects of climate change and that California must reduce carbon emissions and reach 100% renewable energy to achieve our climate goals. Phillips said the Sierra Clubs extensive network of volunteers will campaign for Newsom as the June 5 primary approaches. Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune also praised the Democrat, saying he will protect California from Donald Trumps attacks on our clean air and water. The Sierra Club joins a series of other influential groups in California that have backed Newsom. The California Medical Assn., the powerful state doctors lobby, announced its endorsement of Newsom on Thursday. The California Nurses Assn. and the Service Employees International Union, one of the most powerful labor unions in the state, also support Newsom. Newsom is the races front-runner in polls and fundraising. A poll released earlier this month by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California found that 26% of likely voters backed Newsom. John Cox, a Republican from Rancho Santa Fe, was favored by 15% of likely voters and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a Democrat, by 13%. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Californias GOP House members are taking their challengers more seriously and the numbers show it By Christine Mai-Duc For much of last year, consultants and campaign managers for some of Californias most vulnerable Republican incumbents maintained a bullish tone on the prospect that the GOP would hold the House in this years midterms. The National Republican Congressional Committee insisted that longtime Republican incumbents in California had built up reputations as effective champions of local issues that would help them weather a flood of Democratic enthusiasm. Since then Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) have decided not to seek reelection and the NRCC has opened a West Coast headquarters in Orange County. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print California officials say Pentagon has confirmed National Guard funding despite Trump threat By John Myers (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) The awkward dance between Gov. Jerry Brown and the federal government over the National Guard jerked back toward discord on Thursday, when Trump said he would refuse to pay for a new deployment of troops just hours after his administration said otherwise. And a few hours later, California officials said they had received written confirmation from the Pentagon that the mission would indeed be funded. Trump had earlier called Browns decision to approve 400 troops for a mission focused on combating transnational crime and drug smuggling a charade in a tweet. We need border security and action, not words! the president wrote. Governor Jerry Brown announced he will deploy up to 400 National Guard Troops to do nothing. The crime rate in California is high enough, and the Federal Government will not be paying for Governor Browns charade. We need border security and action, not words! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 19, 2018 A spokesman for Brown pointed to a tweet written Wednesday night by Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, thanking the California governor for his efforts. Trump was meeting on Thursday with Nielsen at his Mar-a-Lago estate not long after his tweet was posted. A tweet later posted by the California National Guard said that almost three hours after Trumps comment, the state received written confirmation from the Pentagon to fund the mission as outlined by Brown the day before. In short, nothing has changed today, said a subsequent Guard tweet. Just spoke w @JerryBrownGov about deploying the @USNationalGuard in California. Final details are being worked out but we are looking forward to the support. Thank you Gov Brown! Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen (@SecNielsen) April 19, 2018 Brown was the last of the nations border governors to respond to Trumps insistence earlier this month that National Guard troops were needed to assist with immigration-related duties at the U.S.-Mexico border. And he has consistently refused to allow California troops to engage in any mission related to federal immigration law. This will not be a mission to build a new wall, Brown wrote last week to Nielsen and Defense Secretary James N. Mattis. It will not be a mission to round up women and children or detain people escaping violence and seeking a better life. Exactly what the California operations will cost remains unclear, as state officials have said it will depend on decisions made once the mission begins. The funds would not be transferred to the state, but instead would be paid directly by the Department of Defense. Trump has critiqued California several times over the past few days, often writing tweets that embrace the actions by some cities and counties to join his administrations lawsuit against the states sanctuary immigration law. He made similar comments to reporters on Thursday afternoon. If you look at whats happening in California with sanctuary cities people are really going the opposite way, Trump said. They dont want sanctuary cities. Theres a little bit of a revolution going on in California. 2:26 p.m.:This article was updated with additional information from the California National Guard and with remarks from Trump. This article was originally published at 9:51 a.m. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Gay conversion therapy services would be banned under measure advancing in California By John Myers (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) The California Assembly voted Thursday to add gay conversion therapy to the states list of deceptive business practices, following a debate that focused on the personal experiences of several lawmakers and hinted at potential lawsuits to come. It is harmful and it is unnecessary, Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell), the bills author and one of the Legislatures most vocal LGBTQ members, said of the practice. Low, who told Assembly members that he explored conversion therapy as a teenager and suffered depression over his sexual orientation, insisted that the bill would be limited to efforts that involve the exchange of money. Theres nothing wrong with me, he said in an emotional speech on the Assembly floor. Theres nothing that needs to be changed. The bill, which now heads to the Senate, has become the focal point of intense debate on social media. Some religious groups have said that such a law would be a violation of their constitutional rights, while advocates insist the provisions are narrow and theres no credible evidence that the services work. One key part of the debate centers on whether Assembly Bill 2943 would stretch beyond businesses that charge for these programs and extend to printed documents, even Bibles. An analysis by the Assembly Judiciary Committee says the bill would apply only to services that purport to change a persons sexual orientation and offered on a commercial basis, as well as the advertising and offering of such services. Lawmakers who spoke in support of AB 2943 also made clear that they believe those kinds of services have been discredited. This is fraudulent, it should not be occurring, said Assemblywoman Susan Eggman (D-Stockton). But you can still try to pray the gay away, if you like. Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-Yuba City), who said the bill addresses a difficult issue, nonetheless said that its important to ensure laws dont tamper with religious freedom. We have to think about the legitimate experience of people who have gone through conversion therapy and said this was a good thing for them, Gallagher told his colleagues. California law already bans the use of conversion therapy by mental health professionals on those under age 18. Lows bill would expand the states efforts beyond minors. It would join a list of commercial activities deemed unfair or deceptive acts or practices and therefore banned under state law. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Gavin Newsom gets backing from doctors group, despite differences over single-payer healthcare By Melanie Mason Gavin Newsom speaks at the California Democrats State Convention in San Diego on Feb. 24. (Kent Nishimura) Californias doctors are siding with Gavin Newsom in the governors race, even though they dont see eye-to-eye on a defining issue of the campaign: single-payer healthcare. The California Medical Assn., the state doctors lobby and a political heavyweight, announced its endorsement of the lieutenant governor on Thursday. Gavin is a lifelong champion for health care in California, and we know he will continue to fight for pragmatic solutions to our most crucial health care challenges, including working to achieve universal access and tackling our states physician shortage, CMA President Theodore M. Mazer said in a statement. Newsom has made his support for state-financed healthcare a centerpiece of his campaign, and he earned the early backing of the most ardent single-payer supporters, the state nurses union. The doctors, meanwhile, oppose the nurses bill, SB 562, which emerged as a flashpoint in the healthcare debate last year. The CMA said the bill would dismantle the healthcare marketplace and destabilize Californias economy. Newsom has said SB 562 should advance in the Legislature, but also said it has open-ended issues that still need to be addressed. The doctors group is also battling with another prominent Newsom endorser, the Service Employees International Union, over a new measure that would impose price caps on an array of medical services paid for by commercial health insurers in the state. The SEIU is a leading sponsor of the proposal; the doctors fiercely oppose it. Newsom and the physicians group have a history of political alignment. Newsom was the first statewide official to support Proposition 56, a 2016 tobacco tax pushed by the CMA that raised revenue in part to increase money for doctors who saw Medi-Cal patients. That year, the association also endorsed two initiatives championed by Newsom: Proposition 63, which imposed new gun control measures, and Proposition 64, which legalized recreational marijuana. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Independent committee backing Antonio Villaraigosa for governor hits the airwaves with first ad By Phil Willon Antonio Villaraigosa speaks at the 2018 California Democratic Party Convention in San Diego in February.. (Denis Poroy / Associated Press) A well-financed independent committee backing Antonio Villaraigosas bid to be Californias next governor released its first television ad Thursday, praising his record for working with Republicans and as a candidate for all of California. The ad, which is to air statewide on broadcast and cable stations, is focused on Villaraigosas record as Assembly speaker and mayor of Los Angeles, including on education and a drop in crime while he was at City Hall. To move California forward, we need to help more Californians get ahead, the ad says. Thats why Antonio Villaraigosa brought both parties together to balance the state budget with record investments in public schools and new career training programs. The independent expenditure committee behind the ad campaign, Families & Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor 2018, is sponsored by the California Charter Schools Assn. Advocates, according to the California secretary of states office. The committee is spending seven figures per week on the ad buy, said Josh Pulliam, a political consultant for the committee. As mayor of Los Angeles, Villaraigosa clashed with teachers unions, starting with his failed attempt to take political control of the Los Angeles Unified School District. His fight with those unions continued after he left office in 2013. Money has poured into the committee this month from wealthy charter schools supporters: Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix, donated $7 million, and Los Angeles billionaire and philanthropist Eli Broad donated $1.5 million. On Wednesday, former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan donated $1 million. The independent expenditure committee is expected to provide a boost to Villaraigosas campaign. Democratic front-runner Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom has a major advantage in fundraising over all other candidates in the race and has received the backing of the California Teachers Assn. and other education unions. A recent Public Policy Institute of California poll also showed Villaraigosa lagging in third place in the race, trailing Newsom and Republican businessman John Cox. The candidates who finish in the top two in the June 5 primary will advance to the November general election, regardless of their party affiliation. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Gov. Jerry Brown says Trump administration will fund his National Guard mission without immigration duties By John Myers (Alex Wong / Getty Images) Gov. Jerry Brown formally mobilized 400 California National Guard members Wednesday for transnational crime-fighting duties, thus preventing any effort by President Trump to have the troops focus on immigration enforcement on the Mexican border. The governor announced that federal officials have agreed to fund the plan he announced last week a mission to combat criminal gangs, human traffickers and illegal firearm and drug smugglers in locations around California, including near the border. The order Brown signed makes clear that the troops will not be allowed to perform a broader set of duties as envisioned by Trumps recent comments. California National Guard service members shall not engage in any direct law enforcement role nor enforce immigration laws, arrest people for immigration law violations, guard people taken into custody for alleged immigration violations, or support immigration law enforcement activities, the order read. The cost of the mission, a spokesman for Brown said, will be paid directly by the federal government. No initial estimate has been made, as the exact amount will depend on exactly how the troops will be used. Though the duties of California Guard members were outlined last week, the state had been waiting for an agreement by federal officials to pay for the operations. Since that time, the president has taken Brown and the state to task over its decision to avoid any immigration-related duties at the border. On Wednesday morning, Trump tweeted, Jerry Brown is trying to back out of the National Guard at the Border, but the people of the State are not happy. Want Security & Safety NOW! There is a Revolution going on in California. Soooo many Sanctuary areas want OUT of this ridiculous, crime infested & breeding concept. Jerry Brown is trying to back out of the National Guard at the Border, but the people of the State are not happy. Want Security & Safety NOW! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 18, 2018 Looks like Jerry Brown and California are not looking for safety and security along their very porous Border. He cannot come to terms for the National Guard to patrol and protect the Border, Trump tweeted Tuesday. There was no immediate reaction from the White House to Browns announcement. On Tuesday, Brown told reporters in Washington that his plan was consistent with a safer border. That sounds to me like fighting crime, the governor said. Trying to catch some desperate mothers and children, or unaccompanied minors coming from Central America, that sounds like something else. The order Brown issued Wednesday after returning from a brief trip to talk climate change in Toronto and to speak to a national trade union and visit with reporters in Washington is set to expire at the end of September. It specifically says no Guard service member may participate in a mission that would exceed the mission scope and limitations related to transnational crime activity. It also says troops cannot help build any new border barrier. 5:27 p.m.: This article was updated with information related to the cost of the Guard mission and Browns trip to Washington. This article was originally published at 5:13 p.m. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement California bill aims to end practice that keeps workplace misconduct cases out of court By Melanie Mason A California bill would prohibit employers from requiring workers to use private arbitration to settle disputes, a practice that critics say shields improper workplace conduct from public view. The bill by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego) would bar businesses from making employees, when they are hired, waive their future rights to take any harassment, discrimination or other claims to court. Arbitration can be a highly effective dispute resolution method when both parties can choose it freely, when both parties are equal, Gonzalez Fletcher said at a news conference on Wednesday. It is far less successful when the more powerful party forces the other to accept those terms, especially as a condition of employment. Forced arbitration has come under increasing scrutiny since the #MeToo movement, with high-profile figures such as former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson pointing to the practice as shielding workplace abusers from public disclosure because arbitration resolutions often include nondisclosure agreements. Last year, a bipartisan bill was introduced in Congress to end mandatory arbitration in employment agreements. Gonzalez Fletcher said she was pursuing an unusual tool to draw attention to the issue a subpoena issued by the Legislature to compel testimony from a worker bound by a nondisclosure agreement as a result of arbitration. The Legislature has subpoena power but it is rarely used. The bills sponsors believe lawmakers last issued a subpoena in 2001 while investigating price manipulation by Enron. Gonzalez Fletcher said she has requested Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) to issue the subpoena to require Tara Zoumer, who sued the company WeWork in 2016 for overtime pay, to testify before the Assembly Judiciary Committee next week. Zoumers suit was moved to arbitration and resolved. She is now subject to a nondisclosure agreement and could face a financial penalty for speaking publicly about her case. A spokesman for Rendon said the subpoena request is under consideration. Business groups oppose the bill, AB 3080. The California Chamber of Commerce has dubbed it a job biller, claiming it would dramatically increase legal costs for businesses. Banning such agreements benefits the trial attorneys, not the employer or employee, the group said. The bill must first advance from the Assembly Labor Committee on Wednesday. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print At least 240 House lawmakers want a vote on immigration. California supporters say they arent ready to force one By Sarah D. Wire Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock), flanked by Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands) and Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) speak about DACA legislation (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) Rep. Jeff Denham says at least 240 of the 430 current House members have signed onto his resolution to hold votes on four immigration bills, and he hopes House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and President Trump are paying attention to the show of support. But, the Republican from Turlock and his allies said Wednesday that they are not yet willing to commit to forcing Ryans hand through a little-used procedural move called a discharge petition; they acknowledged theres no guarantee that all of 47 Republicans and 193 Democrats House co-signers will back them up if they try to force the issue. Im sure that it is something that will be discussed in the coming weeks. You should not need a discharge petition. When you can show the overwhelming majority of the House, the support of it, you should not need a discharge petition, but it is something we would talk about in the future, Denham said. It is far too early to talk about next steps. Ryan said last week that he opposes Denhams effort, saying its a waste of time for the House to vote on bills the president might veto. Denhams resolution would prompt debate and votes on four very different immigration bills: one favored by the Trump administration, one preferred by Democrats, one bipartisan proposal and another immigration bill of Ryans choice. Whichever got the most votes would move forward to the Senate. All four bills would help Dreamers to differing degrees and include varying levels of border security or immigration enforcement. For example, the Trump-backed bill would also dramatically reduce legal immigration, while the Democrats would only deal with legal status for Dreamers. Democrats say they dont expect the show of support will sway Ryan. Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.) said Tuesday night she expects Ryan will have to be forced into allowing a vote. It doesnt matter how many signatures we get. We could have every signature, technically, except his, on the floor of the House and... if he doesnt want to, it doesnt happen, Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.) said. Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands), who gathered the Democratic co-sponsors for Denham, also wouldnt give a deadline for House leaders to act, but said the co-sponsors are only willing to wait weeks not months. We do want to give them an opportunity to bring up the rule and to use whatever process they want, Aguilar said. They do have options, but I think they need to understand that we have options too. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer endorses Kevin de Leon in his insurgent bid against Sen. Dianne Feinstein By Seema Mehta Tom Steyer, left, and California state Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles). (Getty Images; Los Angeles Times) Billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer is endorsing state Sen. Kevin de Leon in his insurgent challenge to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and did not rule out funding an outside effort to boost De Leons chances. I think hes the kind of young progressive that reflects California and would be a very strong advocate for our state nationally, Steyer said in an interview on Tuesday, pointing to De Leons efforts on issues such as immigration, climate change and gun control while he was the state Senate leader. I know him well and hes a friend. We share a lot of values. Steyer, who flirted with running for the Senate seat, did not criticize Feinstein as he has in the past. Sen. Feinstein has been an outstanding public servant who has dedicated the bulk of her adult life to the service of our state and the country, he said. These are two strong, very good Democrats. I just believe Kevin is the true progressive and he reflects something we need representing California going forward. I have nothing bad to say about Dianne Feinstein. I have a lot of good to say about Kevin de Leon. De Leon faces enormous odds as he tries to oust Feinstein, who has served in the Senate for a quarter-century, is well known to the states voters and has daunting leads in polls and fundraising. But De Leon has gained notable endorsements, most recently from the 2.1-million-member California Labor Federation last week. Campaign finance reports released this week show that Feinstein has more than $10 million in the bank, while De Leon has just more than $670,000. Feinstein, a multimillionaire and one of the wealthiest members of the Senate, has already lent her campaign $5 million and could easily write another check. But Steyer, a billionaire former hedge fund manager, could write a larger one. He is among the largest Democratic donors in the nation and has already committed more than $50 million to push for the impeachment of President Trump and to register young voters. He was noncommittal when asked if he would fund an independent expenditure group on behalf of De Leon. I dont have any concrete plans for that, he said. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Californias largest pension fund sends next years invoice to state government: $6.3 billion By John Myers The California Public Employees Retirement System building (Max Whittaker / Getty Images) As part of a shift toward less optimistic expectations for investment returns to pay for government worker pensions, board members of the California Public Employees Retirement System voted Tuesday to require an almost $6.3-billion payment from the state budget in the fiscal year that begins on July 1. The action, which could receive final approval on Wednesday, reflects a gradually higher annual contribution to public employee pensions by the state and from local governments across California. In 2016, CalPERS approved a half-percentage point decrease in its official estimate of the long-term investment return on its $353.3-billion portfolio. That shift was designed to happen over several years, in hopes it would lessen the financial shock of shifting more of the costs onto government employers. The highest costs are also, in part, a reflection of increases in the size of the states payroll. The states CalPERS payment will be about $450 million more than the total paid in the current fiscal year and more than double what it was only a decade ago. CalPERS board members voted on Tuesdays staff proposal with little discussion, save for a question about the increase in contributions also required from workers hired after a pension overhaul that took effect in June. It seems like it will be a ding on peoples salaries, said Theresa Taylor, the chairwoman of CalPERS finance committee and a member of SEIU Local 1000, the union that represents some 96,000 state employees. The $6.299-billion payment required from Californias state government must now be factored into the budget crafted by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in late June. Brown had already assumed a similarly sized payment in his budget proposal unveiled in January. In February, a coalition representing city governments warned about the effects of rising pension costs under the expectations of less money from Wall Street investments. The report issued by the League of California Cities projected an average increase of more than 50% in annual pension payments made by the states largest cities over the next seven years. A CalPERS staff report notes that the net return on all of the funds investments for the fiscal year that ended in July was 11.2%. But expectations on profits over the next 30 years remain significantly more modest, and theres long been a robust debate about how to properly set those future expectations. The lower the rate of projected investment return, the larger the share of pension costs that must be covered by taxpayers and some employees. Overall, CalPERS officials believe the system has assets to cover 71% of its long-term obligations. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print California warns legal pot sellers not to participate in unlicensed 4/20 events By Patrick McGreevy Marijuana on display at a dispensary in Los Angeles. ( (Frederic J. Brown / AFP/Getty Images)) The state issued a warning Tuesday that businesses holding licenses to sell marijuana could face penalties if they participate in unlicensed temporary events away from their stores, including on Friday, April 20, which has become an annual celebration for counterculture groups. The warning was issued ahead of 4/20 by the state Bureau of Cannabis Control. Since Jan. 1, the bureau has issued more than 700 state licenses to sell marijuana for medical or recreational use. The bureau has issued 47 temporary event licenses to groups that are limited to holding the marijuana celebrations on county fairgrounds that have authorized such events with city approval. Any bureau licensee participating in an unlicensed cannabis event may be subject to disciplinary action, the warning said, adding that lawful participation by bureau licensees in any temporary cannabis event that allows sales and/or consumption is dependent upon issuance of the appropriate licenses from the bureau. While many Californians have been issued medical approval to sell or use marijuana, the law does not allow them to participate in unlicensed events, also referred to as Proposition 215 events after the ballot measure that legalized medical pot two decades ago in the state. Participation in such events may lead to civil penalties for unlicensed commercial cannabis activity, the warning said. Meanwhile, a survey of some 1,000 marijuana users that was released Tuesday by the firm LendEDU found that the average 4/20 participant plans to spend $71 on marijuana to celebrate the unofficial holiday, and about 35% of respondents are planning to take off work Friday. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print California police groups shift position on officer discipline records, now consider support for making some of them public By Liam Dillon Los Angeles Police Department recruits at a graduation ceremony in April (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) Some major law enforcement groups signaled Tuesday they are willing to support making part of police officer disciplinary records public, a dramatic departure from their past positions. Local and national attention on police shootings and misconduct has led law enforcement organizations to reconsider their blanket opposition to proposals that would give public access to some internal disciplinary investigations of officers. Were going to be open to supporting efforts that would allow for some records to be released, said Ryan Sherman, a lobbyist with the Riverside Sheriffs Assn. Debate over secrecy provisions in officer disciplinary files came during a legislative hearing on Senate Bill 1421 from Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley). Skinners bill, which advanced out of the Senate Public Safety Committee on Tuesday, would require public disclosure of all internal officer shooting investigations and confirmed cases of sexual assault and lying while on duty. Currently, all police discipline information is confidential outside of a courtroom in California, which has some of the nations strictest standards against public disclosure. Unfortunately, the fact that we have such strict restrictions on any access to public records has affected certain communities trust towards our law enforcement, Skinner said during the hearing. Prior to Skinners effort, other have tried to loosen these rules, some of which date back 40 years. Most recently in 2016, a bid by then-Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) failed in a Senate committee. In debate two years ago, no major law enforcement groups indicated they would accept changes to state laws that would make individual internal investigations public, saying they were essential to protect officer privacy and safety. But Tuesday, Sherman and other lobbyists including those representing the states largest police labor organization, signaled they might be willing to entertain changes. They said they were negotiating with Skinner on the bills details. Law enforcement groups still have major concerns about SB 1421 as written. Ed Fishman, an attorney for the Police Officers Research Assn., told legislators that the bill would wrongfully expose police officers who acted within departmental policy to invasions of their privacy. It has unintended consequences that are extreme and will hurt the public, Fishman said. Tuesdays hearing featured testimony from many who have had relatives killed by police officers in recent years advocating for the bill. Senators on the Public Safety Committee also gave public rebukes to law enforcement lobbyists, criticizing them for a lack of diversity and insensitivity to concerns raised by communities of color. I think that you are completely and utterly out of touch with the realities of how those you are representing are perceived by major segments of California, said Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles). You are not going to be able to continue to lobby your way out of it. The bill faces at least one more committee hearing in the Senate before reaching the floor. It will have to pass both houses of the Legislature by the end of August. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Newest member of the California Assembly arrives ready to work on criminal justice issues By John Myers Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove prepares for the oath of office from Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon with her husband, Austin Dove. (California Assembly Democrats) Two weeks after winning a Los Angeles special election, the newest member of the California Assembly says she hopes to focus on reforms to the states criminal justice system during her time in Sacramento. Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Los Angeles) took the oath of office on Monday, filling one of three vacant seats representing Los Angeles County in the lower house. The Democrat, a former community college trustee and legislative staffer, thanked her mentors in remarks from the Assembly rostrum. So many women, and in my life so many black women, have paid in giving me the kind of morals and integrity and grit that is required to fight on behalf of people that you know, and people that you dont know, she said. Kamlager-Dove won handily on April 3, receiving 70% of the votes cast in the 54th Assembly District which encompasses communities west of downtown Los Angeles, from Crenshaw to Culver City and as far north as Westwood. She will serve the remaining eight months of the term of former Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, who resigned last year citing health concerns. She has said she hopes to focus her attention on poverty issues and on reform of the states criminal justice system. I think we have an opportunity to really push the needle in terms of how we look at rehabilitation, how we look at incarceration, and how we look at changing the lives oftentimes of poor men and women of color, Kamalager-Dove said on Monday in a video released by Assembly Democrats. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Survivors of violent crime raise their voices in California to call for a new approach to criminal justice By Jazmine Ulloa Aaliyah Smith marches with her cousins. (Jazmine Ulloa / Los Angeles Times) Her father, uncle, a cousin and two older brothers. Those are some of the family members 16-year-old Aaliyah Smith has lost to gun violence. Then there are her friends. Jermaine Jackson Jr., 27, was shot and killed in 2016 while he painted over graffiti in San Francisco. Toriano Tito Adger, 18, was shot there a year later at a bus stop. He called Smith, who was nearby, and warned her to run. She made it inside a library moments before the crack of gunfire. Last week, Smith was among hundreds who gathered in Sacramento for annual National Crime Victims Rights Week events, where calls were issued for a new approach to criminal justice and public safety in California, one that puts survivors at the center of policy. But a debate is brewing over what that entails. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print California expects $14 billion in tax payments this month By John Myers State workers handle income tax returns at the California Franchise Tax Board offices. (Laura Morton / For The Times) Gov. Jerry Browns proposed state budget is built on what taxpayers might find an audacious assumption: almost $14 billion in tax payments in the month of April, an average of $83 million collected per hour on every business day of the month. Most of that money will come from the taxes Californians pay in advance of Tuesday nights filing deadline for income tax returns. If history is any guide, the rate of payment could quadruple by weeks end. While tax rules have shifted some of the payment schedules to other months, April remains a vitally important month to the fiscal health of state government. The state controllers office reports more than 15% of all personal income tax revenues in 2017 were collected in April. In the recession years of a decade ago, tax revenue predictions were frequently off the mark by hundreds of millions of dollars. The last two state budgets have seen significant windfalls of personal income tax revenue, thanks in part both to an improving economy and to the continuation of a temporary surcharge on the wealthiest taxpayers extended by voters in 2016. In the budget plan he sent to lawmakers in January, Brown projected a $6.1-billion windfall and proposed using a sizable amount to top off Californias rainy-day fund ahead of schedule. The independent Legislative Analysts Office reports that through the end of last week, the months income tax tally stood at $3 billion, slightly ahead of projections. By the end of the current week, a single days total could be almost that large. Lawmakers began reviewing the governors $190.3-billion spending plan during the winter, but few decisions are made until they get a look at Aprils tax revenues. The governor will release a revised plan based on the new data next month; lawmakers are required to send him a completed budget no later than June 15. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Feinstein war chest tops $10 million while Kevin de Leon struggles to keep pace By Sarah D. Wire Sen. Dianne Feinstein widened her already-massive fundraising advantage in the run-up to Junes primary, raising twice as much in the first quarter than her strongest Senate challenger has sitting in the bank. Feinstein raised $1.3 million between January and March, bringing her war chest to just over $10 million as Californias U.S. Senate race begins in earnest, according Federal Election Commission reports. Former state Senate leader Kevin De Leon, the best known of the more than 30 people who will appear with Feinstein on the June primary ballot, raised just $575,991 in that same period, bringing his cash on hand to $672,331, according to his quarterly FEC report. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump has met his match, says Gov. Jerry Brown in promoting climate action on a quick trip to Canada By John Myers (Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press) Gov. Jerry Brown told a Canadian audience Monday that he believes President Trumps efforts to reverse course on climate change policy are a momentary deviation as others in the United States seek limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Thats very temporary, I can assure you, Brown said at a joint event in Toronto with Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne. The governors quick international trip, announced only late last week, comes as Wynnes Liberal Party faces a stiff challenge in Junes election from the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario and its leader, Doug Ford. Critics of Wynnes party have called for Ontario to pull out of the Western Climate Initiative, a cooperative agreement between three Canadian provinces and California on efforts to limit greenhouse gases. Brown sought to link the efforts of Canadian conservatives with Republicans in the United States who oppose existing climate change programs. In contrast, he told the audience, several GOP lawmakers voted last summer to renew Californias cap-and-trade program. I would say to the conservatives of Canada, wake up and see what your friends in California are doing, he said. The Democrat took particular notice of Trumps efforts to shift away from climate change policies from the administration of former President Obama, as well as a push by the Environmental Protection Agency to cancel Californias strict limits on automobile emissions. If Trump tries to change that, well have litigation well beyond his term in office, Brown said while also noting Chinese government efforts to produce more low-emissions vehicles. Between California and China, Trump has met his match. What hes saying is not going to happen. Many of the governors remarks, though, were aimed at the tough political situation in which Wynne finds herself with seven weeks to go before Ontarios parliamentary elections. Dangers abound, but success is right in our hands, Brown said. So dont blow it! Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print California voters are getting to know the states attorney general through his aggressive stance challenging Trump By Patrick McGreevy Less than two months from his first statewide election, California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra has become adept not only at challenging President Trump but at using the bully pulpit of his office to raise his profile with voters. The aggressive effort may help boost the former Los Angeles congressmans chances at winning a full term in office this fall, almost two years after he was appointed to replace Sen. Kamala Harris in 2017. Appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown, Becerra took office as attorney general four days after Trumps inauguration. Thats afforded him an opportunity to get in front of Californians and potential voters on an array of issues including immigration, healthcare and the environment. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Gov. Jerry Brown forms commission for 2020 census outreach By Melanie Mason In an effort to make sure California has a strong showing in the next national census, Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday established a state commission to prepare outreach for the decennial count. It is vitally important for California to do everything it can to ensure that every Californian is counted in the upcoming census, Brown said in a prepared statement. The commissions formation comes on the heels of a Trump administration plan to ask about citizenship status as a part of the census. State officials fear that such a question, which has not been asked in a census since 1950, could chill participation among California residents. That could result in the state losing billions of dollars in federal funds and a seat in Congress. The 23-member panel, appointed largely by Brown as well as picks by legislative leaders, comes from private- and public-sector backgrounds, including civil rights groups, religious institutions and educational institutions. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Garcetti kicks off Iowa visit with 2020 on his mind and a hardhat on his head LA Mayor - and 2020 prospect - Eric Garcetti makes his Iowa debut at the Carpenters Union Training Center. Fearlessly flaunts the never be photographed in head gear/safety glasses rule. pic.twitter.com/14bUOPXMvF Mark Z. Barabak (@markzbarabak) April 13, 2018 Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Asm. Rocky Chavez takes the lead in race to replace Issa, while Doug Applegate slips By Joshua Stewart A new poll shows that Republican Assemblyman Rocky Chavez has taken a clear lead over 15 other candidates running to replace Rep. Darrell Issa in Congress and has overtaken Democrat Doug Applegate, the previous frontrunner. In a SurveyUSA poll by 10News and The San Diego Union-Tribune, Chavez, R-Oceanside, has support of 16 percent of likely voters, putting him ahead of Applegate, a lawyer, who was favored by 12 percent of voters and is in second place. The top two vote-getters in June, regardless of party, will proceed to a November runoff election. Competing with Applegate for the No. 2 spot is Democrat Mike Levin, also a lawyer, with support of 9 percent of voters. Several other candidates were right at his heels. Democratic Businessman Paul Kerr and Board of Equalization Member Diane Harkey, R-Dana Point, were tied for fourth at 8 percent each. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Pro-Kevin de Leon group launches ad castigating Dianne Feinstein By Seema Mehta A group that is supporting Kevin de Leons bid for the U.S. Senate launched a blistering ad against Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Thursday, questioning her progressive principles and tying her to President Trump. The ad buy from A Progressive California is minuscule $10,000 to air it in Los Angeles for one day on CNN and MSNBC during programming such as The Rachel Maddow Show, Hardball with Chris Matthews and Anderson Cooper 360. The minute-long ad features news clips about Feinstein not getting the California Democratic Party endorsement earlier this year, as well as footage of Feinstein saying that Trump can be a good president and appearing to share a laugh with Trump. That moment actually came during a White House meeting in the aftermath of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting when the president suggested an assault weapons ban should be included in a bipartisan bill to expand gun background checks. It also features extensive clips of de Leons speech at the state partys convention. De Leon, who just ended his final term as leader of the state Senate, announced last year he would run against fellow Democrat Feinstein as she seeks her fifth full term. Feinsteins longtime political advisor dismissed the ad, noting the size of the buy. Its not really a buy, said Bill Carrick. Ten thousand dollars in cable in L.A. Poof, its gone. Still, he said he planned to have the campaigns lawyers review the ad to see if it violates campaign law that limits what outside groups like A Progressive California can do. Such groups cannot coordinate with campaigns or candidates, and are limited in how much their messages can support a candidate. Ann Ravel, the former chair of the Federal Election Commission and the California Fair Political Practices Commission, said if the ad was in a state race, she is certain that the state commission would open an investigation into potential coordination with de Leons campaign because of the messaging and the types of footage in the ad. But the bipartisan federal commission cant agree on how to enforce the federal regulations, she said. The problem is [outside groups] understand that given the lack of very strong enforcement at the federal level, theres the ability to stretch the law, she said. A spokeswoman for the FEC declined to comment. Dave Jacobson, a spokesman for A Progressive California, disputed the suggestion that the ad violated campaign law. This frivolous allegation shows that Sen. Feinstein is afraid of the public seeing an ad which showcases her own words, that Donald Trump can be a good president, he said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Dispute over money emerges in campaign to repeal Californias gas tax increase By Patrick McGreevy A motorist prepares to gas up her vehicle in San Rafael, Calif., in 2015. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) A proposed initiative to repeal hikes to Californias gas tax has been caught in the middle of a dispute involving Republican rivals in the governors race. Assemblyman Travis Allen, a Republican candidate for governor, decided in January to drop plans for his own initiative and said he would urge supporters to sign a separate petition being supported by several Republican members of Congress. Then last week, the committee Allen formed to finance his ballot measure reported a $300,000 contribution from PISF Inc., a Novato, Calif., real estate firm. Now, an organizer of the still active Give Voters a Voice committee is urging the Allen committee to immediately donate their funds in support of the ongoing signature gathering efforts. There is only one gas tax repeal measure currently in circulation and that is the measure sponsored by the Give Voters a Voice Committee, said Dave Gilliard, a consultant to the group. PISF Inc., he said, gave to repeal taxes a Allies balk at Trump administration bid to block Chinese firm from cutting-edge telecom markets By David S. Cloud Britain and Germany are balking at the Trump administrations call for a ban on equipment from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, threatening a global U.S. campaign to thwart Chinas involvement in future mobile networks. Both countries are expected to limit Huawei and other Chinese companies from providing core components including routers. But other types of Chinese equipment for next-generation, high-speed communications could still be installed on British and German networks, officials and analysts say. The U.S. push to ban Huawei has provoked a global dispute in recent weeks, with senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, publicly urging NATO allies in Europe to exclude the company and warning that the United States might limit its military presence in countries that did not do so. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Confucius Institutes: Do they improve U.S.-China ties or harbor spies? By Don Lee Hanging red lanterns welcome visitors to the University of Marylands Confucius Institute, the oldest of about 100 Chinese language and cultural centers that have popped up over the last 15 years on American campuses, subsidized by millions of dollars from Chinas central government. But last fall, when four U.S. Senate investigators walked into the Confucius offices in Maryland and spent hours questioning staff, they werent looking for an educational exchange. The committee has been seeking detailed information from the university about the program, including contracts, email exchanges and financial arrangements that school administrators have kept under wraps since it started in 2004. American colleges once viewed these jointly funded institutes as an economical way to expand their language offerings one that could also bring warmer ties with China and, importantly, an influx of Chinese international students paying full tuition. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Watch Live: White House holds surprise news briefing amid government shutdown Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement U.S. policy toward China shifts from engagement to confrontation By David S. Cloud For decades, China had no closer American friend than Dianne Feinstein. As San Francisco mayor in the 1970s, she forged a sister-city relationship with Shanghai, the first between American and Chinese communities. As U.S. senator, she dined with Chinese leaders at Mao Tse-tungs old Beijing residence. And in the 1990s, she championed a trade policy change that opened a floodgate of Western investment into China. Today the Democratic senator sees China as a growing threat, joining a broad array of Trump administration officials, national security strategists and business executives who once favored engagement with Beijing and now advocate a confrontational approach instead. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Mnuchins attempt to calm markets backfires as Trump takes another shot at the Federal Reserve By Jim Puzzanghera An attempt by Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin to calm plunging financial markets backfired Monday, further rattling investors with new fears about whether major U.S. banks have enough cash on top of worries about interest rates, political instability in Washington and a slowing global economy. Adding to the volatile mix was a fresh attack on the Federal Reserve by President Trump, who declared that the central bank was the U.S. economys only problem and that it didnt have a feel for the market. The Fed is like a powerful golfer who cant score because he has no touch -- he cant putt! Trump said on Twitter. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print He speaks to Democratic hearts. But is Beto ORourke a serious White House contender? By Mark Z. Barabak Hes a failed U.S. Senate candidate with an undistinguished congressional record who, for the moment, is a blazing-hot 2020 presidential prospect despite the fact that he may not run and faces long odds if he does. Beto ORourke suggests the will-he-or-wont-he speculation is something he himself cant quite fathom. I think thats a great question, he responded in a Dallas Morning News interview when asked whether his unsuccessful November Senate bid merited a promotion to the White House. I ask that question myself. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Russian disinformation teams targeted Robert S. Mueller III, says report prepared for Senate By Craig Timberg, Tony Romm, Elizabeth Dwoskin Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. (Associated Press) Months after President Trump took office, Russias disinformation teams trained their sites on a new target: special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. Having worked to help get Trump into the White House, they now worked to neutralize the biggest threat to his staying there. The Russian operatives unloaded on Mueller through fake accounts on Facebook, Twitter and beyond, falsely claiming that the former FBI director was corrupt and that the allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election were crackpot conspiracies. One post on Instagram which emerged as an especially potent weapon in the Russian social media arsenal claimed that Mueller had worked in the past with radical Islamic groups. Such tactics exemplified how Russian teams ranged nimbly across social media platforms in a shrewd online influence operation aimed squarely at American voters. The effort started earlier than commonly understood and lasted longer while relying on the strengths of different sites to manipulate distinct slices of the electorate, according to a pair of comprehensive new reports prepared for the Senate Intelligence Committee and released Monday. Read more Timberg, Romm and Dwoskin report for the Washington Post. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement President Trump announces Mick Mulvaney as acting White House chief of staff By Associated Press President Trump says budget director Mick Mulvaney will serve as acting chief of staff, replacing John F. Kelly in the new year. I am pleased to announce that Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management & Budget, will be named Acting White House Chief of Staff, replacing General John Kelly, who has served our Country with distinction. Mick has done an outstanding job while in the Administration.... Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2018 Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print It aint over when its over: In Michigan, Wisconsin and elsewhere, losers seek to undermine election results By Mark Z. Barabak Democrat Gavin Newsom has yet to become California governor, but already a candidate for state Republican Party chairman is promoting a recall effort. In Michigan and Wisconsin, GOP lawmakers have rushed through legislation to thwart their incoming Democratic governors and hamper others in the opposing party from doing the jobs voters chose them to do. In Congress, GOP leaders have echoed President Trump and sought to undermine the legitimacy of Democrats strong midterm performance, raising unsubstantiated allegations of fraud and political malfeasance. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print New CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger says she wont be a puppet of Mick Mulvaney By Jim Puzzanghera On her first full day leading the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Kathy Kraninger said she wont be a puppet of Mick Mulvaney, the controversial acting director whom she replaced in the powerful regulatory position. To underscore that point, the former White House aide said she would even reconsider a Mulvaney action that critics saw as a gratuitous jab at Democrats who championed the agencys creation: changing its name to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. Kraningers declaration during a meeting with reporters Tuesday addressed one of the main criticisms of her selection. She is considered a protege of Mulvaney, her boss at the White House Office of Management and Budget who has executed a dramatic, industry-friendly shift at the watchdog agency. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trumps pick for chief of staff, Nick Ayers, out of running By Associated Press Nick Ayers, right, with Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, at the funeral service for George H.W. Bush on Dec. 3. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Associated Press) President Trumps top pick to replace John F. Kelly as chief of staff, Nick Ayers, is no longer expected to fill that role. Thats according to a White House official who is not authorized to discuss the personnel issue by name and spoke on condition of anonymity. Ayers is Vice President Mike Pences chief of staff. The official says that Trump and Ayers could not agree on Ayers length of service. The father of young children, Ayers had agreed to serve in an interim capacity though the spring, but Trump wanted a two-year commitment. The official says that Ayers will instead assist the president from outside the administration. Trump announced Saturday that Kelly would be departing the White House around the end of the year. Thank you @realDonaldTrump, @VP, and my great colleagues for the honor to serve our Nation at The White House. I will be departing at the end of the year but will work with the #MAGA team to advance the cause. #Georgia Nick Ayers (@nick_ayers) December 9, 2018 Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement U.S. hiring slows to 155,000 jobs, unemployment rate holds at 3.7% By Jim Puzzanghera Job growth slowed significantly in November but still was solid, indicating the economy remains in good shape but not expanding so quickly that it will lead to sharply higher interest rates. U.S. employers added 155,000 jobs last month, well below analyst expectations and a steep decline from Octobers strong 237,000 figure, the Labor Department reported Friday. Still, monthly job gains are averaging 206,000 this year, the best since 2015. Even the slower pace of 170,000 over the last three months is close to last years average of 182,000 and well above the amount needed to keep up with population growth. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump is expected to pick State Department spokeswoman for U.N. ambassador By Associated Press Heather Nauert at a briefing at the State Department on Aug. 9, 2017. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) President Trump is expected to nominate State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Two administration officials confirmed Trumps plans. A Republican congressional aide said the president was expected to announce his decision by tweet on Friday morning. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly before Trumps announcement. Trump has previously said Nauert was under serious consideration to replace Nikki Haley, who announced in October that she would step down at the end of this year. Trump has been known to change course on staffing decisions in the past. Nauert was a reporter for Fox News Channel before she became State Department spokeswoman under former Secretary Rex Tillerson. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Senate confirms new consumer financial protection chief: Kathy Kraninger, protege of industry-friendly Mick Mulvaney By Jim Puzzanghera The Senate, in a party-line vote Thursday, confirmed White House aide Kathy Kraninger to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and experts predicted a continuation of the industry-friendly shift it has taken since President Trump installed an acting director last year. Kraninger is a protege of acting director and White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney, an outspoken critic of the agency that was created in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis to prevent predatory lending and other abuses that led to it. Democrats and consumer advocates have denounced him for sharply departing from the aggressive watchdog role the bureau had pursued under its first director, Obama-appointee Richard Cordray, including scaling back enforcement and moving to reassess tough new rules on payday loans and narrow the definition of abusive practices by banks and other firms. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Shutdown postponed by two weeks under plan approved by Congress By Erik Wasson Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), shown at the Capitol on Tuesday, says President Trumps border wall is a waste of money. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) Congress passed a two-week stopgap spending bill that will delay the chance of a partial government shutdown until Dec. 22 as lawmakers and President Donald Trump negotiate over his demands to pay for a wall on the southern border. The House and Senate passed the measure Thursday without dissent, and Trump has indicated hell sign the bill before the current shutdown deadline of midnight Friday. Negotiations were delayed by memorial services this week for former President George H.W. Bush. The temporary measure gives Democrats and Republicans more time to find a resolution to their biggest hurdle: funding a wall on the U.S. Mexico border wall. Trump says he wants $5 billion for parts of a concrete wall on the southern border and is willing to shut down the government if he doesnt get it. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has said Democrats will provide no more than $1.6 billion for border security, because the wall is a waste of money. The presidents demands for wall funding from Congress come after he said during the campaign that Mexico would pay for it. This week he said on Twitter that a $25 billion border wall would pay for itself in two months, without providing evidence. Most of the U.S. governments $1.2 trillion discretionary budget has been appropriated already by Congress for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1. Departments at a risk of a partial shutdown late this month include the departments of State, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Treasury and Homeland Security. Talks to resolve the differences have been on hold since a meeting among Trump, Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California originally slated for Dec. 4 was postponed due to Bush memorial events. The three are scheduled to meet on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the matter. Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby of Alabama told reporters the rest of the seven-bill spending package being negotiated is basically done. Shelby in recent weeks had tried to broker a compromise in which Trumps $5 billion request would be split over two years, but Schumer has rejected that. Some Democrats have been willing to trade border wall funding for deportation protections for young undocumented immigrants. Pelosi ruled out such a deal in remarks to reporters Thursday. The stopgap government funding measure also would extend the National Flood Insurance Program, which provides subsidized coverage for homes in flood-prone areas, to Dec. 21. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Bipartisan Senate group wants to formally blame Saudi crown prince for journalists killing By Karoun Demirjian Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires. (Associated Press) A bipartisan group of senators filed a resolution Wednesday condemning Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as responsible for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, directly challenging President Trump to do the same. This resolution -- without equivocation -- definitively states that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia was complicit in the murder of Mr. [Jamal] Khashoggi and has been a wrecking ball to the region jeopardizing our national security interests on multiple fronts, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in a statement accompanying the release of the resolution. It will be up to Saudi Arabia as to how to deal with this matter. But it is up to the United States to firmly stand for who we are and what we believe. The resolution put forward by Graham and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who are expected to lead the Judiciary Committee together next year, comes just one day after CIA Director Gina Haspel briefed leading senators about the details of the agencys assessment that Mohammed ordered and monitored the killing and dismemberment of Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Senators emerged from that closed-door briefing furious not only with Saudi Arabia, but Trump as well for dismissing the heft of the CIAs findings. You have to be willfully blind not to come to the conclusion that this was orchestrated and organized by people under the command of MBS and that he was intricately involved in the demise of Mr. Khashoggi, Graham said following the briefing, referring to Mohammed by his initials. He added that Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Defense Secretary James N. Mattis, who briefed senators last week, were at best being good soldiers and at worst were in the pocket of Saudi Arabia for presenting the evidence of Mohammeds involvement as inconclusive. The release of the resolution condemning Mohammed also comes as the Senate is preparing to move ahead with debate on a resolution to curtail U.S. support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen. Though the Yemen resolution does not directly address Khashoggis murder, its popularity is a sign of how strained the United States patience with Saudi Arabia is on multiple fronts, including its role in worsening the civilian cost of the war in Yemen, cited by the United Nations as the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. Last week, the Senate voted 63 to 37 to advance the Yemen resolution past an opening procedural hurdle. But Graham and Feinsteins resolution on the crown prince has the potential of drawing broader support, especially from Republicans, who are deeply divided about how fiercely to punish Saudi Arabia over Khashoggis killing. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who has been an outspoken advocate for human rights and is seen as one of the more influential foreign policy voices in the GOP, did not vote for the Yemen resolution last week or sign on to a bipartisan measure last month to sanction Saudi officials and cease weapons transfers to the kingdom. But he is an original co-sponsor of the resolution condemning Mohammed over Khashoggis death. So is Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), who represents the other end of the GOP spectrum in terms of recent Saudi-related votes and endorsements. Young was an initial co-sponsor of the bill Graham wrote with Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) to sanction Saudi officials deemed responsible for Khashoggis killing and stop the sale of anything but exclusively defensive weapons to the kingdom until it ceased hostilities in Yemen. Young also voted to advance the Yemen resolution something Graham did as well, though Graham has signaled he will not be lending any similar support to the measure, fearing it may establish a precedent of invoking the War Powers Act too broadly. Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) are listed as original co-sponsors of the resolution condemning Mohammed, which also urges Saudi Arabia to negotiate with Houthi rebels to end the Yemen war, work out a political solution to its standoff with Qatar and release political prisoners. But how much sway the resolution has probably comes down to how forcefully the administration decides to heed it -- and thus far, Trump has not shown any interest in condemning the crown prince the way the senators hope he will. Demirjian reports for the Washington Post. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Los Angeles County offices and U.S. Postal Service closed Wednesday in honor of George H.W. Bush By Brian Park The Honor Guard carries the casket of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush following his funeral on Dec. 5 in Washington, DC. (Doug Mills - Pool/Getty Images) The U.S. Postal Service will suspend regular mail delivery Wednesday, which President Trump has declared a national day of mourning in honor of former President George H.W. Bush. All retail postal outlets will be closed, and package delivery will be limited. In Los Angeles, all nonessential county departments, offices and libraries will be closed for the day, L.A. County officials said. The Los Angeles County Library said no overdue fines will be assessed for books, and due dates will be moved forward one week. Los Angeles County Department of Public Health offices also are closed Wednesday. The Sheriffs Department, Fire Department, clinics and hospitals will continue to operate, the county said. The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health clinics are being operated with reduced staffing, and the department asked patients to confirm or reschedule any appointments. All county courts and the disaster recovery centers for the Woolsey fire in Malibu and Agoura Hills will remain open. Larger federal government operations will be closed Wednesday. To honor the life and legacy of President Bush, the Postal Service will observe the National Day of Mourning. Learn how Postal operations will be affected. https://t.co/Mffch7bPCh pic.twitter.com/vG46BsIOpm U.S. Postal Service (@USPS) December 4, 2018 L.A. County offices and libraries will be closed tomorrow (Dec 5) in observance of the #NationalDayOfMourning for President George H. W. Bush. The Countys Disaster Recovery Centers in Malibu & Agoura Hills will remain open from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. pic.twitter.com/Sv1J7GoJ7T Los Angeles County (@CountyofLA) December 4, 2018 @LAPublicHealth offices will be closed tomorrow December 5 in observance of the national Day of Mourning for President George H. W. Bush. Essential Services including clinics and other services will remain open: https://t.co/tZGoGGHRlg pic.twitter.com/ypXsV6vlYY LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) December 4, 2018 Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to skip 2020 White House race, sources say By Associated Press Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick speaks during an interview in Boston on Dec. 15, 2014. (Elise Amendola / Associated Press) Former Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts will soon announce he wont launch a 2020 presidential campaign, according to three sources familiar with his plans. They did not say why the Democrat decided against a run. A formal announcement was delayed as the country observed a day of mourning for President George H.W. Bush, one source said. News of Patricks plans was first reported by Politico. Patrick, 62, served two terms as governor, from 2007 to 2015, was assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Clinton administration and since leaving the governors office has been a managing director for Bain Capital. Patrick traveled the country in support of Democratic candidates in the recent midterm election. Earlier this year, some of Patricks supporters and close advisors started the Reason to Believe political action committee, a grassroots organization dedicated to advancing a positive, progressive vision for our nation in 2018 and 2020. Reason to Believe PAC had been holding meetups across the country, including in early presidential primary states. While Patrick is opting against a 2020 run, dozens of Democrats are considering jumping in, including nearly a half-dozen members of the Senate, several House members, and other Massachusetts politicians. On Tuesday, Michael Avenatti, the attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels and a vocal critic of President Trump, said in a statement that he would run. Patrick had previously expressed some concerns about breaking through if he sought the nomination, telling David Axelrod, a former advisor to President Obama, that he wasnt sure he could stand out in such a large field. Its hard to see how you even get noticed in such a big, broad field without being shrill, sensational or a celebrity, and Im none of those things and Im never going to be any of those things, Patrick said in a September interview with Axelrod. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Former Trump adviser Roger Stone invokes 5th Amendment right and wont testify before Senate Judiciary Committee By Associated Press Roger Stone in 2017. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images) Roger Stone, an associate of President Trump, says he wont provide testimony or documents to the Senate Judiciary Committee. An attorney for Stone said in a letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the committees top Democrat, that Stone was invoking his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination in refusing to produce documents or appear for an interview. Stone has been entangled in investigations by Congress and special counsel Robert S. Mueller III about whether Trump aides had advance knowledge of Democratic emails published by WikiLeaks during the 2016 election. Stone has not been charged and has said he had no knowledge of the timing or specifics of WikiLeaks plans. In the letter to Feinstein, Stone said the committees requests were far too overbroad, far too overreaching and far too wide-ranging. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Watch live: Vice President Pence and lawmakers honor George H.W. Bush at the U.S. Capitol before he lies in state Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Rebuilding crumbling infrastructure has bipartisan support. But who gets to pay for it? By Jim Puzzanghera The grades for major U.S. infrastructure would give any parent indigestion if they were on a childs report card. Roads: D; bridges: C+; dams: D; ports: C+: railways: B; airports: D; schools: D+; public transit: D-. The nations overall grade: D+, which translates to being in fair to poor condition and mostly below standards with significant deterioration and a strong risk of failure, according to an evaluation last year by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump calls former lawyer Michael Cohen a weak person who is lying By Associated Press President Trump says his former lawyer Michael Cohen is lying to get a reduced sentence. The president is reacting to Cohens guilty plea Thursday to lying to Congress about work he did on a Trump real estate project in Russia. During a surprise court hearing, Cohen admitted to lying in testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee about a plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Cohen in his guilty plea said he made the false statements to be consistent with Trumps political message. Cohens lawyer says he continues to cooperate with special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination with Trump associates. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print As California Republicans confront a congressional wipeout, GOP leader Kevin McCarthy faces a reckoning By Mark Z. Barabak When the House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Kevin McCarthy trooped with other Republican lawmakers to a splashy Rose Garden celebration, smiling alongside President Trump as they celebrated the moment. As majority leader, McCarthy had helped round up the votes to narrowly pass the hard-fought legislation, convincing 13 other California Republicans to go along, even though several faced tough reelection fights. Fewer than half will be returning in January. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print As California Republicans confront a congressional wipeout, GOP leader Kevin McCarthy faces a reckoning By Sarah D. Wire When the House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Kevin McCarthy trooped with other Republican lawmakers to a splashy Rose Garden celebration, smiling alongside President Trump as they celebrated the moment. As majority leader, McCarthy had helped round up the votes to narrowly pass the hard-fought legislation, convincing 13 other California Republicans to go along, even though several faced tough reelection fights. Fewer than half will be returning in January. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Michael Cohen, President Trumps ex-lawyer, pleads guilty to lying to Congress about Trump real estate project in Russia By Associated Press Michael Cohen, President Trumps former personal lawyer, pursued a Russian real estate project on candidate Trumps behalf well into the 2016 campaign, he said Thursday while pleading guilty to lying to Congress. Cohen had previously said that the project was abandoned in January 2016, but he now admits he continued to pursue a deal and says he updated Trump and members of his family about the negotiations, according to a new court document. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement James Comey says acting Atty. Gen. Whitaker may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer By John Wagner Acting Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitaker speaks at the Justice Department in Washington on Nov. 14. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press) Former FBI Director James B. Comey apparently isnt too impressed with the mental prowess of President Trumps acting attorney general. Matthew Whitaker may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer, Comey said during a radio interview on Monday night in which he sized up the man Trump installed this month to replace ousted Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions. Comey was asked by WGBH News in Boston if he thinks Whitaker could derail the investigation of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Whitaker has spoken critically of the probe, and Trump as recently as Tuesday continues to call it a witch hunt. I think its a worry, but to my mind not a serious worry, Comey said. The institution is too strong, and [Whitaker], frankly, is not strong enough to have that kind of impact. He may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer, but he can see his future and knows that if he acted in an extralegal way, he would go down in history for the wrong reasons, and Im sure he doesnt want that, added Comey, who was fired by Trump last year and later wrote a book that portrays the president as an ego-driven congenital liar. Whitaker, a former U.S. attorney in Iowa, was Sessions chief of staff before being picked by Trump to lead the Justice Department. Trump has called Whitaker a very smart man. Earlier this year, Trump called Comey an untruthful slime ball. Wagner writes for the Washington Post. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Interior Department watchdog clears Zinke in investigation of Utah national monument By Juliet Eilperin Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, third from the left, and Gov. Jerry Brown tour fire damage in Paradise, Calif., on Nov. 14. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) The Interior Departments Office of Inspector General has cleared Secretary Ryan Zinke in a probe of whether he redrew boundaries of a national monument in Utah to aid the financial interests of a Republican state lawmaker and stalwart supporter of President Trump. In a Nov. 21 letter to Zinkes deputy, David Bernhardt, Deputy Inspector General Mary Kendall wrote that her office found no evidence that the secretary or his aides changed the boundaries of Utahs Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in an effort to help former Utah state representative Mike Noel, who serves as executive director of the Kane County Water Conservancy District. Last December, Trump shrank the monument, first established by President Clinton in 1996, by 46% based on Zinkes recommendation. Noel owns 40 acres that had been surrounded by the monument, but now lies outside its boundaries. The new boundaries also would make it easier to construct the proposed Lake Powell Pipeline, which would deliver water to sites in Kane County that include Noels property. Earlier this year, the Interior Department had proposed selling off 120 acres of federal land from the former monument that lay adjacent to some of Noels land holdings, but later reversed the plan. We found no evidence that Noel influenced the DOIs proposed revisions to the [monuments] boundaries, that Zinke or other DOI staff involved in the project were aware of Noels financial interest in the revised boundaries, or that they gave Noel any preferential treatment in the resulting proposed boundaries, Kendall wrote. Neither the Interior Department nor the inspector generals office would release the actual investigative report. In the letter, Kendall writes that her office will provide the report to Congress no sooner than 31 days from Nov. 21, when it is provided it to Zinkes office. The Associated Press first reported the inspector generals conclusions Monday night, but did not provide details from the report itself. Noel emailed Zinke about the effort to alter Grand Staircase-Escalante, according to emails released by Interior under the Freedom of Informational Act. But those emails do not make references to Noels land holdings. Noel also pushed to rename a Utah highway in honor of Trump, but abandoned that effort in March after some of his fellow Republicans objected to the idea. Noel did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday. The inspector generals office still has at least two ongoing probes of the secretary, including one focused on his real estate dealings in Whitefish, Mont., and another regarding his decision to deny a permit to two Connecticut tribes who were hoping to jointly run a casino after MGM Resorts International lobbied against it. Interior Department spokeswoman Heather Swift welcomed the watchdogs conclusions. The report shows exactly what the secretarys office has known all along that the monument boundaries were adjusted in accordance with all rules, regulations and laws, she said in an email. This report is also the latest example of opponents and special interest groups ginning up fake and misleading stories, only to be proven false after expensive and time consuming inquiries by the IGs office. But Kendalls spokeswoman, Nancy DiPaolo, defended the inquiry, even though she said the report has not been publicly released and we will not be speaking specifically about the matter at this time. The OIG opens investigations based on credible allegations and reports our findings objectively and independently, DiPaolo added. Any time or resources spent investigating conduct or activity that may be a violation of law, regulation or policy is a service to the public, Congress and the Department. Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, said in a statement that he still intended to investigate the way Zinke and his colleague redrew the boundaries for Grand Staircase-Escalante and another Utah national monument, Bears Ears, next year. I have great respect for the inspector general, and I accept these findings, but Secretary Zinke should have known the people he listened to while destroying our national monuments had disqualifying conflicts of interest, he said. Should I chair the Natural Resources Committee in the next Congress, the process he and President Trump used to destroy Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante will be front and center in our oversight and investigations efforts. We need to know why they ignored overwhelming public expressions of support for both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, why they ignored Native American tribes throughout their decision-making, and why they removed protections on parcels of land with known mineral deposits. Eilperin and Rein report for the Washington Post. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump advisor Larry Kudlow says China must do more to end trade war By Jim Puzzanghera Larry Kudlow, President Trumps top economic advisor, said Tuesday that Chinas response to U.S. efforts to rework the two economic superpowers trade relationship has been extremely disappointing but the planned meeting this weekend between the nations leaders is an opportunity for a breakthrough. They have to do more. They must do more, Larry Kudlow, director of the White House National Economic Council, told reporters ahead of a Saturday dinner between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 Summit in Argentina. I think the president is exactly right to show strong backbone when prior administrations did not, to break through these Chinese walls, Kudlow said. Theyre so resistant to change. We have to protect the country. We have to protect our technology, our inventiveness, our innovation. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Watch live: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders holds a media briefing amid tensions at the border By Los Angeles Times Staff Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Democrat TJ Cox grabs lead over Republican David Valadao in nations last remaining undecided House race By Maya Sweedler Democrat TJ Cox slipped past Republican incumbent David Valadao on Monday to take the lead in the countrys sole remaining undecided congressional race, positioning Democrats to pick up their seventh House seat in California and 40th nationwide. Cox, who trailed by nearly 4,400 votes on election night, has steadily gained as ballot counting continues nearly three weeks after the Nov. 6 election, a pattern consistent with the states recent voting history. On Monday, he pulled ahead by 438 votes after Kern County updated its results. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Former CIA director Michael Hayden hospitalized after suffering a stroke By Deanna Paul Then-CIA Director Michael Hayden testifies before a Senate committee in 2008. (Saul Loeb / Getty Images) Former CIA Director and retired Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke, his family said Friday. He is receiving expert medical care for which the family is grateful, according to a statement issued by his namesake organization. The General and his family greatly appreciate the warm wishes and prayers of his friends, colleagues, and supporters. Hayden, 73, served as director of the CIA and National Security Agency during the George W. Bush and Obama administrations. He retired from the CIA in 2009. Hayden has been a vocal critic of Donald Trumps campaign and presidency. Earlier this year, after Trump decided to revoke the security clearance of former CIA director John Brennan, Hayden was one of several former intelligence leaders who signed a statement in opposition. Criticizing the president for crossing a line, he quickly became one of the individuals whose security clearance Trump threatened to review. Deanna Paul writes for the Washington Post. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump tells troops hes thankful for what hes done for the U.S. and rails against courts and migrants By Associated Press President Trump talks with troops via teleconference from his estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Thanksgiving. (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) President Trump used his Thanksgiving Day call to troops deployed overseas to pat himself on the back and air grievances about the courts, trade and migrants heading to the U.S.-Mexico border. Trumps call, made from his opulent private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., struck an unusually political tone as he spoke with members of all five branches of the military to wish them happy holidays. Its a disgrace, Trump said of judges who have blocked his attempts to overhaul U.S. immigration law, as he linked his efforts to secure the border with military missions overseas. Trump later threatened to close the U.S. border with Mexico for an undisclosed period of time if his administration determines Mexico has lost control on its side. The call was a uniquely Trump blend of boasting, peppered questions and off-the-cuff observations as his comments veered from venting about slights to praising troops You really are our heroes, he said as club waiters worked to set Thanksgiving dinner tables on the outdoor terrace behind him. It was yet another show of how Trump has dramatically transformed the presidency, erasing the traditional divisions between domestic policy and military matters and efforts to keep the troops clear of politics. You probably see over the news whats happening on our southern border, Trump told one Air Force brigadier general stationed at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, adding: I dont have to even ask you. I know what you want to do, you want to make sure that you know who were letting in. Later, Trump asked a U.S. Coast Guard commander about trade, which he noted was a very big subject for him personally. Weve been taken advantage of for many, many years by bad trade deals, Trump told the commander, who sheepishly replied, Mr. President, from our perspective on the water we dont see any issues in terms of trade right now. And throughout, Trump congratulated himself, telling the officers that the country is doing exceptionally well on his watch. I hope that youll take solace in knowing that all of the American families you hold so close to your heart are all doing well, he said. The nations doing well economically, better than anybody in the world. He later told reporters, Nobodys done more for the military than me. Indeed, asked what he was thankful for this Thanksgiving, Trump cited his great family as well as himself. I made a tremendous difference in this country, he said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump contradicts CIA assessment that Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi killing By Josh Dawsey | Washington Post (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) President Trump on Thursday contradicted the CIAs assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, insisting that the agency had feelings but did not firmly place blame for the death. Trump, in defiant remarks to reporters from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, defended his continued support for Mohammed in the face of a CIA assessment that the crown prince had ordered the killing. He denies it vehemently, Trump said. He said his own conclusion was that maybe he did, maybe he didnt. I hate the crime .... I hate the cover-up. I will tell you this: The crown prince hates it more than I do, Trump said. Asked who should be held accountable for the death of Khashoggi, who was killed at the Saudi Consulate in Turkey, Trump refused to place blame. Maybe the world should be held accountable because the world is a very, very vicious place, the president said. He also seemed to suggest that all U.S. allies were guilty of the same behavior, declaring that if the others were held to the standard that critics have held Saudi Arabia to in recent days, we wouldnt be able to have anyone for an ally. Trumps remarks came after he held a conference call with U.S. military officers overseas, during which he repeatedly praised his administration and sought to draw the officers into discussions of domestic policy. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Former FBI Director James Comey gets subpoena from House Republicans By Bloomberg Former FBI Director James B. Comey said he has received a subpoena from House Republicans, according to a Twitter post on Thursday. Bloomberg News reported last week that Comey would be receiving a subpoena alongside former Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch as part of continuing probes into their handling of investigations into Hillary Clinton and Russian election meddling, according to a top House Democrat. Happy Thanksgiving. Got a subpoena from House Republicans. Im still happy to sit in the light and answer all questions. But I will resist a closed door thing because Ive seen enough of their selective leaking and distortion. Lets have a hearing and invite everyone to see. James Comey (@Comey) November 22, 2018 Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Republican David Valadaos lead slips to 447 votes over Democrat TJ Cox in still-undecided Central Valley House race By Mark Z. Barabak Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford), right, finds himself in an increasingly harrowing cliffhanger against Democrat TJ Cox. (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) On election night, it looked like Rep. David Valadao had survived a close shave and was destined to return to Washington for his fourth term. But on Wednesday, when Fresno County announced its latest vote totals, the Hanford Republican found himself in an increasingly harrowing cliffhanger against Democrat TJ Cox, with his lead in the Central Valley district shrunken to 447 votes. Thousands remain to be counted. Valadao, a repeated Democratic target, finished election night with a lead of nearly 4,440 votes. Cox, an engineer and a business owner who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2006, has steadily gained ground in the 21st Congressional District ever since. The trend is consistent with historic patterns showing Republicans in California tend to vote early and Democrats later, meaning their mail ballots continue to stream in past election day. Under California law, ballots postmarked up to midnight on Nov. 6 will be counted. Democrats have already picked up six House seats in California. They ousted Reps. Dana Rohrabacher, Mimi Walters, Steve Knight and Jeff Denham and won the seats of retiring Reps. Ed Royce and Darrell Issa. All six represented districts that backed Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in 2016. Valadao was the seventh California Republican in a district Clinton won, though his previous successes he last won reelection by a 14-point margin suggested his ouster was a longer shot for Democrats. If Cox prevails, it would give Democrats a 40-seat gain nationwide, far more than the 23 seats needed to take control when Congress reconvenes in January. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump says no new punishments against Saudi Arabia in Jamal Khashoggi murder By Eli Stokols In this Oct. 25 photo, candles are lit in front of a photo of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. (Lefteris Pitarakis) President Trump made it clear on Tuesday that he does not intend to punish Saudi Arabia or Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, an American resident killed by Saudi officials in Turkey in October. In a remarkable statement replete with exclamation points, Trump cast doubt on the CIAs reported conclusions that it has a high degree of confidence that the crown prince ordered Khashoggis murder and sent his closest allies to Saudi Arabias consulate in Istanbul to carry it out. Read MoreThis article has been updated with staff. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Sixteen House Democrats vow to oppose Nancy Pelosi as next speaker By Mike DeBonis | Washington Post House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) Sixteen House Democrats said Monday that they will vote to deny Rep. Nancy Pelosi another stint as House speaker, a show of defiance that puts her opponents on the cusp of forcing a seismic leadership shake-up as their party prepares to take the majority. Their pledge to oppose Pelosi (D-San Francisco), both in an internal caucus election and a Jan. 3 floor vote, delivered in a letter sent to Democratic colleagues, comes as Pelosi has marshaled a legion of supporters on and off Capitol Hill to make her case. But her opponents said Monday they are convinced it is time to select a new leader. We are thankful to Leader Pelosi for her years of service to our Country and to our Caucus, they wrote. However, we also recognize that in this recent election, Democrats ran on and won on a message of change. Pelosi has expressed complete confidence that she will retake the speakers gavel in January eight years after she lost it following massive Republican gains in the 2010 midterms and 16 years after she was first elevated to the top Democratic leadership post in the House. Come on in, the waters fine, she said Friday about a potential leadership challenge. The signers might not be able to force Pelosi out themselves. The size of the Democratic majority remains in flux, but Democrats have already won 232 seats, according to the Associated Press, with five races still undecided. All those races have Republican incumbents, but the Democratic challenger is ahead in only one of them. If the leads hold in the uncalled races, Democrats would have won 233 seats, a 16-seat majority. That means Pelosi could lose as many as 15 Democratic votes when she stands for election as speaker on Jan. 3. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Democratic senators sue over Whitakers appointment as acting attorney general By Associated Press Acting U.S. Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitaker (Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images) Three Senate Democrats filed a lawsuit Monday arguing that Acting Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitakers appointment is unconstitutional and asking a federal judge to remove him. The suit, filed by Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, argues that Whitakers appointment violates the Constitution because he has not been confirmed by the Senate. Whitaker was chief of staff to Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions and was elevated to the top job after Sessions was ousted by President Trump on Nov. 7. The Constitutions Appointments Clause requires that the Senate confirm all principal officials before they can serve in their office. The Justice Department released a legal opinion last week that said Whitakers appointment would not violate the clause because he is serving in an acting capacity. The opinion concluded that Whitaker, even without Senate confirmation, may serve in an acting capacity because he has been at the department for more than a year at a sufficiently senior pay level. President Trump is denying senators our constitutional obligation and opportunity to do our job: scrutinizing the nomination of our nations top law enforcement official, Blumenthal said in a statement. The reason is simple: Whitaker would never pass the advice and consent test. In selecting a so-called constitutional nobody and thwarting every senators constitutional duty, Trump leaves us no choice but to seek recourse through the courts. The lawsuit comes days after a Washington lawyer challenged Whitakers appointment in a pending Supreme Court case dealing with gun rights. The attorney, Thomas Goldstein, asked the high court to find that Whitakers appointment is unconstitutional and replace him with Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein. Rosenstein, the second-ranking Justice Department official, has been confirmed by the Senate and had been overseeing special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation. Whitaker is now overseeing the investigation. The Justice Department issued a statement Monday defending Whitakers appointment as lawful and said it comports with the Appointments Clause, the Federal Vacancies Reform Act and legal precedent. There are over 160 instances in American history in which non-Senate confirmed persons performed, on a temporary basis, the duties of a Senate-confirmed position, Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said. To suggest otherwise is to ignore centuries of practice and precedent. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Gov. Rick Scott says Sen. Bill Nelson concedes Florida Senate race By Associated Press Republican Senate candidate Rick Scott speaks with his wife, Ann, by his side at an election watch party in Naples, Fla., on Nov. 7. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) Floridas Republican Gov. Rick Scott says incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson called him to concede defeat in their extremely tight race. Scott issued a statement Sunday saying Nelson graciously conceded their Senate race shortly after the states recount ended. The final results show Scott defeated Nelson by just over 10,000 votes out of 8 million cast. Nelson is scheduled to release a videotaped statement later Sunday. The defeat ends Nelsons lengthy political career. The three-term incumbent was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000. Before that he served six terms in the U.S. House and as state treasurer and insurance commissioner for six years. Scott spent more than $60 million of his own money on ads that portrayed Nelson as out-of-touch and ineffective. Nelson responded by questioning Scotts ethics and saying he would be under the sway of President Trump. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Orange County goes blue, as Democrats complete historic sweep of its seven congressional seats By Michael Finnegan Gil Cisneros defeated Republican Young Kim on Saturday in the last of Orange Countys undecided House races, giving Democrats a clean sweep of the states six most fiercely fought congressional contests and marking an epochal shift in a region long synonymous with political conservatism. With Cisneros victory, Democrats will constitute the entirety of Orange Countys seven-member congressional delegation, the first time since the 1930s that the birthplace of Richard Nixon, home of John Wayne and spiritual center of the Republican Party will have no GOP representative in the House. Sitting back in the 1960s, I would never have believed this would happen, said Stuart K. Spencer, a party strategist who spent more than half a century ushering Republicans, including President Reagan, into office. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Going, going ... with midterm wipeout, California Republican Party drifts closer to irrelevance By Michael Finnegan For a party in freefall the last two decades, California Republicans learned that its possible to plunge even further. The GOP not only lost every statewide office in the midterm election again, in blowout fashion but Democrats reestablished their supermajority in Sacramento, allowing them to legislate however they see fit After major defeats in Orange County and the Central Valley, two longtime strongholds, Republicans will have a significantly smaller footprint on Capitol Hill. (Democrats hold both Senate seats.) When the vote-counting is finished, the GOP may not even have enough lawmakers in Californias 53-member House delegation to field a nine-person softball team. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Congresswoman-elect Katie Porter says she will support Rep. Nancy Pelosi for speaker By Maya Sweedler Democratic Rep.-elect Katie Porter is congratulated by volunteers at her campaign headquarters in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Congresswoman-elect Katie Porter said she plans to support Rep. Nancy Pelosis bid for speaker of the House and will make campaign finance reform her top priority when she enters the chamber in January. Im going to continue to have conversations, but so far I feel like Leader Pelosi is definitely making the things that were a priority to the families that elected me her priorities, including announcing her support for campaign finance reform and anti-corruption as HR1, Porter said in her first public appearance since being declared the winner in Californias 45th Congressional District on Thursday evening. It means a lot to me that she is a Californian. She understands our state, Porter added. When we talk about environmental protections, this is a person who understands as a Californian how fragile our environment is and whats at risk in things like drilling off our coasts. Porter, a law professor at UC Irvine, defeated two-term Republican Rep. Mimi Walters. The 45th District, covering inland Orange County, has never been represented by a Democrat. Porter became the third Democrat to claim a Republican-held seat in Orange County, following the victories of Harley Rouda in the 48th District and Mike Levin in the 49th. A fourth, Gil Cisneros, is running slightly ahead of his Republican opponent in the race for the open seat in the 39th District, which extends into Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. Porter attributed the massive political shift in the county, for decades a conservative stronghold, to increased levels of political engagement. Folks here care about education, they care about the environment, they believe climate change is real, they want healthcare that protects preexisting conditions, they want a tax system that doesnt punish California, they want our schools and places of worship to be safe from gun violence, she said. Those are the issues we campaigned on, and to the extent that Donald Trump and Mimi Walters were on the wrong side of those issues, the voters have made clear what direction they want us to go. Porter was flying back from the East Coast when her race was called, she said. She turned on her phone to find 167 text messages from friends and supporters. Among them was Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who was one of Porters teachers in law school and with whom she has remained close. The pair spoke via FaceTime this morning, she said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Bitter battle for Senate seat in Florida goes to hand recount By Associated Press Employees look through damaged ballots during a recount Thursday in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) Floridas acrimonious battle for the U.S. Senate headed Thursday to a legally required hand recount after an initial review by ballot-counting machines showed Republican Gov. Rick Scott and Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson separated by less than 13,000 votes. But the highly watched contest for governor between Republican Ron DeSantis and Democrat Andrew Gillum appeared to be over, with a machine recount showing DeSantis with a large enough advantage over Gillum to avoid a hand recount in that race. Gillum, who conceded the contest on election night only to retract his concession later, said in a statement that it is not over until every legally casted vote is counted. The recount so far has been fraught with problems. One large Democratic stronghold in South Florida was unable to finish its machine recount by the Thursday deadline due to machines breaking down. A federal judge rejected a request to extend the recount deadline. We gave a heroic effort, said Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher. If the county had three or four more hours, it would have made the deadline to recount ballots in the Senate race, she said. Meanwhile, election officials in another urban county in the Tampa Bay area decided against turning in the results of their machine recount, which came up with 846 fewer votes than originally counted. Media in South Florida reported that Broward County finished its machine recount but missed the deadline by a few minutes. Counties were ordered last weekend to do a machine recount of three statewide races because the margins were so tight. The next stage is a manual review of ballots that were not counted by machines to see whether there is a way to figure out voter intent. Scott called on Nelson to end the recount battle. Its time for Nelson to respect the will of the voters and graciously bring this process to an end rather than proceed with yet another count of the votes which will yield the same result and bring more embarrassment to the state that we both love and have served, the governor said in a statement. The recount has triggered multiple lawsuits, many of them filed by Nelson and Democrats. The legal battles drew the ire of U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker, who slammed the state for repeatedly failing to anticipate election problems. He also said the state law on recounts appears to violate the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that decided the presidency in 2000. We have been the laughingstock of the world, election after election, and we chose not to fix this, Walker said during a morning hearing. Walker vented his anger at state lawmakers and Palm Beach County officials, saying they should have made sure they had enough equipment in place to handle this kind of a recount. But he said he could not extend the recount deadline because he did not know when Palm Beach County would finish its work. This court must be able to craft a remedy with knowledge that it will not prove futile, Walker wrote in his ruling turning down the request from Democrats. It cannot do so on this record. This court does not and will not fashion a remedy in the dark. The overarching problem was created by the Florida Legislature, which Walker said passed a recount law that appears to run afoul of the 2000 Bush vs. Gore decision by locking in procedures that do not allow for potential problems. A total of six election-related lawsuits are pending in federal court in Tallahassee as well at least one lawsuit filed in state court. Walker also ordered that voters be given until 5 p.m. Saturday to show a valid identification and fix their ballots if they have not been counted due to mismatched signatures. Republicans appealed the ruling, but an appeals court turned down the request. State officials testified that nearly 4,000 mailed-in ballots were set aside because local officials decided the signatures on the envelopes did not match the signatures on file. If those voters can prove their identity, their votes will be counted and included in final official returns due from each county by noon Sunday. Walker was asked by Democrats to require local officials to provide a list of people whose ballots were rejected. But the judge appointed by President Obama refused the request, calling it inappropriate. Under state law, a hand review is required with races that have a margin of 0.25 percentage points or less. A state website put the unofficial results showing Scott ahead of Nelson by 0.15 percentage points. The margin between DeSantis and Gillum was at 0.41 points. The margin between Scott and Nelson had not changed much in the last few days, conceded Marc Elias, an attorney working for Nelsons campaign. But he said that he expected the vote tally to shrink due to the hand recount and the ruling on signatures. The developments fueled frustrations among Democrats and Republicans alike. Democrats want state officials to do whatever it takes to make sure every eligible vote is counted. Republicans, including President Trump, have argued without evidence that voter fraud threatens to steal races from the GOP. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Democrat Gil Cisneros pulls ahead of Republican Young Kim as more votes are tallied in Orange and San Bernardino counties By Michael Finnegan Congressional candidate Gil Cisneros (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Democrat Gil Cisneros pulled ahead of Republican Young Kim in one of Californias undecided congressional races Thursday, an ominous sign for a GOP already reeling from its loss of four House seats in the state. In updated vote counts released by the registrars for Orange and San Bernardino counties, Kim fell 941 votes behind Cisneros in the contest to succeed Republican Rep. Ed Royce in Californias 39th Congressional District. The 39th straddles Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Orange counties. In another unresolved House race, Democrat Katie Porter pulled further ahead of Republican incumbent Mimi Walters in the 45th District, which includes Mission Viejo, Tustin, Irvine, Rancho Santa Margarita and Laguna Hills. Porter, a consumer attorney and UC Irvine law professor, is now 6,203 votes ahead. The Nov. 6 midterm election has been devastating to Republicans in California. If Cisneros and Porter win, the party will have lost six of its 14 House seats in the state, essentially a wipeout in every contest that both parties spent heavily to win. The three Republicans already bounced from Congress are Reps. Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa, Steve Knight of Palmdale and Jeff Denham of Turlock in the San Joaquin Valley. Democrat Mike Levin won the seat of retiring GOP Rep. Darrell Issa of Vista in the fourth district flipped so far. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Florida Senate race likely headed to second recount By Associated Press A Palm Beach County Sheriffs deputy walks past boxes of ballots before a recount on Nov. 15 in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee) Unofficial Florida election results show that the governors race seems to be settled after a machine recount but the U.S. Senate race is likely headed to a hand recount. Republican Ron DeSantis is virtually assured of winning the nationally watched governors race over Democrat Andrew Gillum. Florida finished a machine recount Thursday that showed Gillum without enough votes to force a manual recount. Unofficial results posted on a state website show the margin between U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and Gov. Rick Scott is still thin enough to trigger a second review. State law requires a hand recount of races with a margin of 0.25 percentage point or less. Counties have until Sunday to inspect the ballots that did not record a vote when put through the machines. Those ballots are re-examined to see whether the voter skipped the race or marked the ballot in a way that the machines cannot read but can be deciphered. The election will be certified Tuesday. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Pelosi says she has the votes to become the next House speaker By John Wagner Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi speaks during a news conference in Washington on Nov. 14. (Susan Walsh) House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi insisted Thursday that she has the votes to become the chambers speaker despite solid opposition from more than a dozen Democrats who want fresh leadership when the party takes control next year. I have overwhelming support in my caucus to be speaker of the House, the San Francisco lawmaker told reporters. I happen to think at this point, Im the best person for that. A vote within the Democratic caucus is scheduled for Nov. 28. The full House votes on Jan. 3 to elect a new speaker. During her remarks, Pelosi touted the size of the Democratic victory in the midterms, which she called almost a tsunami. With a few races still to be decided, Democrats are poised to pick up close to 40 seats in the chamber. Pelosi called that the biggest victory for the Democrats since 1974, when the Watergate babies came in. Pelosis comments come as she faces solid opposition from at least 17 Democrats, setting the stage for a battle over who will ascend to one of the most powerful positions in Washington. After a campaign in which some Democrats prevailed in competitive districts by promising to oppose her, a coalition of incumbents and newly elected members has denied her a smooth path to the speakership. The defections, if they stand, would leave Pelosi, who has led the Democrats for more than 15 years, several votes short of the 218 she would need when the full House votes for speaker Jan. 3. However, no Democrat has stepped forward to run against her for a job she held from 2007 through 2010. Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) told reporters Wednesday that shes being encouraged to stand for speaker if Pelosi doesnt have the votes. In an interview with the Washington Post on Thursday, she said she has been overwhelmed by the support from many of her colleagues for her possible entry into the race for House speaker. Over the last 12 hours, Ive been overwhelmed by the amount of support Ive received, Fudge said, adding that there are probably closer to 30" Democrats who have privately signaled that they are willing to oppose Pelosi. Things could change rapidly, Fudge said. Fudge, 66, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said she is building a diverse coalition as she mulls a speaker run, talking with allies in the caucus, moderate Democrats and newly elected members. To this point, Pelosi has enjoyed the strong backing of the Congressional Black Caucus. On Thursday, Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), one of its members, wrote a letter to colleagues praising her insight, fortitude and strategic thinking and urging support for her speakership bid. Former Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr., an African American who is contemplating a 2020 presidential bid, also voiced support for Pelosi, praising her in a tweet as an architect of the recent midterm success. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), a leader of the resistance to Pelosi, said during an interview on CNN on Thursday that Fudge is the kind of new leader that we need in this party. Shes in touch with middle America. She understands what the American people want. Shes a next-generation leader that people will look to and say, Thats the future of our party, thats the future of our country, and thats exactly the kind of leader that I want to see as our next speaker. Wagner reports for the Washington Post. The Posts Robert Costa, Erica Werner, Mike DeBonis, Paul Kane and Elise Viebeck contributed to this report. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement GOP Rep. Jeff Denham concedes to Democrat Josh Harder in Central Valley race By Maya Sweedler Rep. Jeff Denham (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) Republican Rep. Jeff Denham has conceded to Democrat Josh Harder in the race to represent Californias 10th Congressional District in the San Joaquin Valley. It has been an absolute honor to serve our community and represent the Central Valley in Congress over the past eight years, the 51-year-old congressman said. The enormity of the responsibility was never lost on me. My wife Sonia and I look forward to starting the next chapter of our lives. Harder said he had spoken with Denham and the two were committed to a productive transition. Denham, an Air Force veteran, previously represented the region in the state Senate for eight years and founded a company specializing in plastic packaging used in agriculture. While a member of Congress, he sat on the Transportation and Infrastructure, Veterans Affairs and Agriculture committees. First-time candidate Harder was born and raised in the district. After graduating from Stanford University, he served as vice president of a Silicon Valley venture capital firm. Since moving back, he has been teaching at Modesto Junior College. Denhams House seat is one of four in California that Republicans lost in the Nov. 6 election, with two contests in Orange County still undecided as of Thursday morning. Jeff Denham called me this morning and we had a very productive conversation. I'm honored that I've been chosen to serve our community in Congress, and we're both looking forward to a productive transition that best serves the people of District 10. Josh Harder (@JoshHarder) November 14, 2018 Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Democrat Katie Porter now nearly 3,800 votes ahead of GOP Rep. Mimi Walters By Maya Sweedler Rep. Mimi Walters thanks all of her supporters as she watches election results in Irvine on Nov. 7, 2018. (Alex Gallardo / Associated Press) Democrat Katie Porter opened a 3,797-vote lead Wednesday over Republican Rep. Mimi Walters in Orange Countys 45th Congressional District. In the neighboring 39th, Democrat Gil Cisneros has nearly tied the race against Republican Young Kim. Cisneros now trails Kim by a razor-thin margin of 122 votes. The 39th District straddles Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties; Wednesdays updated ballot counts came from the latter two. There are more than 202,000 ballots left to count in Orange County, which includes parts of seven congressional districts. The 45th is entirely in inland Orange County. In California, the ballots counted first tend to lean Republican and those tallied later skew Democratic. In the Central Valleys 21st Congressional District, Democratic challenger TJ Cox has pulled within 2 percentage points of Rep. David Valadao, who is serving his third term. The Associated Press had projected a win for Valadao on election night, but his 4,839-vote advantage has shrunk to 2,090. Back in CA-21, Valadao (R) wins a batch of ballots from his stronghold in Kings Co., but by a considerably smaller margin (14 points) than his previous ~30-point margin in the county. We're moving to Lean R from Likely R; today a bit scary for Valadao.https://t.co/WqJVUVkqGW Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) November 15, 2018 A spokesman for Valadao told the Fresno Bee that the changes were expected and that [s]tatistically, David Valadao has won this race. Democrats in California have already flipped four House seats, defeating three Republican incumbents and claiming an open seat previously held by the GOP. Reps. Steve Knight of Palmdale, Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa and Jeff Denham of Turlock have already lost their races, and retiring Rep. Darrell Issas San Diego County seat was claimed by Democrat Mike Levin. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump aide departs West Wing after rebuke from Melania Trump By Associated Press First Lady Melania Trump. (Alain Jocard / AFP-Getty Images) Deputy national security advisor Mira Ricardel is leaving the White House, one day after First Lady Melania Trumps office issued an extraordinary statement calling for her dismissal. No replacement was named. Aides said Ricardel clashed with the first ladys staff over her visit to Africa last month. Yet it is highly unusual for a first lady or her office to weigh in on personnel matters, especially the presidents national security staff. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Ricardel would have a new role in the administration. On Tuesday, Stephanie Grisham, the first ladys spokeswoman, released a statement saying, It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House. President Trumps White House has set records for administration turnover. Ricardel was the third person to hold the post under Trump. An ally of national security advisor John Bolton, Ricardel began her service in the Trump administration as associate director in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, then moved to the Commerce Department last year. Bolton brought her into the West Wing shortly after taking the job in April. He is traveling in Asia this week alongside Vice President Mike Pence. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Race for House Minority Leader is Kevin McCarthys to lose By Associated Press (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is running to take over next years shrunken caucus in closed-door elections that will set the tone for the new Congress. The race for minority leader is McCarthys to lose Wednesday. But the California Republican, who is an ally of President Trump, must fend off a challenge from conservative Jim Jordan of Ohio. Jordan is a leader of the House Freedom Caucus. The two encountered questions and finger-pointing during a private meeting with lawmakers Tuesday night as the GOP sorted through the midterm defeat that put Democrats in the majority next year. Elections Wednesday will also determine party leadership in the Senate. Voting for the biggest race, Nancy Pelosis bid to return as the Democrats nominee for speaker, is later this month. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Melania Trump calls for the firing of deputy national security advisor By Justin Sink First Lady Melania Trump arrives at the Chateau de Versailles outside Paris on Nov. 11. (Alain Jocard / AFP/Getty Images ) First Lady Melania Trumps office said she wants Mira Ricardel, the deputy national security advisor, ousted from the White House. It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House, Trumps spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, said in a statement in response to a question about reports the first lady had sought Ricardels removal. Ricardel is the top deputy to national security advisor John Bolton. She drew the first ladys wrath after threatening to withhold National Security Council resources during Melania Trumps trip to Africa last month unless Ricardel was included in her entourage, one person familiar with the matter said. Grishams statement comes as several media outlets have reported that President Trump is considering a broader shakeup of his administration, including ousting Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Sink and Jacobs report for Bloomberg. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print CNN sues Trump over the suspension of Jim Acostas White House press credentials By Jim Puzzanghera CNN said Tuesday that it is suing President Trump and other administration officials over the decision to suspend the White House press credentials of correspondent Jim Acosta after a conflict at a news conference last week. The suit, to be filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, escalates an ongoing battle between Trump and the cable news outlet that he frequently accuses of disseminating fake news for its aggressive coverage of him and his administration. The wrongful revocation of these credentials violates CNN and Acostas 1st Amendment rights of freedom of the press, and their 5th Amendment rights to due process, CNN said in a written statement. If left unchallenged, the actions of the White House would create a dangerous chilling effect for any journalist who covers our elected officials. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Maxine Waters to take aim at Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank as new head of House Financial Services Committee By Jim Puzzanghera Rep. Maxine Waters plans to zero in on two big banks Wells Fargo & Co. and Deutsche Bank when she becomes head of the powerful House Financial Services Committee. The Los Angeles congresswoman, now the committees top Democrat, is widely expected to gain the gavel after her party won control of the House in last weeks elections. While Waters has outlined a wide-ranging agenda, she said her focus on bank oversight will target two large institutions she has been tangling with for a while including one, Deutsche Bank, that spills into her bitter feud with President Trump. With Trump in the White House, I know that our fight for Americas consumers and investors will continue to be challenging. But I am more than up to that fight, Waters wrote in a letter last week to her Democratic colleagues on the committee that was obtained by The Times. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Heres how a controversial voting system will decide a congressional race in Maine By Kurtis Lee For the first time in U.S. history, a controversial voting system known as ranked choice is being used to decide a federal election. Its happening in Maine, which adopted the system in 2016. Rather than marking a single candidate, each voter ranks them all, assigning a first-place vote, a second-place vote and so on down the ballot. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print ACLU files suit to stop Trumps new asylum limits By Associated Press A group of Central American migrants march to the office of the U.N.'s humans rights body in Mexico City on Nov. 8. (Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press) The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a legal challenge to President Trumps order denying asylum to migrants if they cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. The lawsuit was filed Friday in federal court in San Francisco and argues the new rules are against the law. Attorney Lee Gelernt said the regulations will put families in danger. The suit seeks to declare the regulations invalid and wants a judge to stop the rules from going into effect while the litigation is pending. The new rules were spurred in part by caravans of Central American migrants slowly moving north on foot, but officials say they will apply to anyone caught crossing illegally. Officials say about 70,000 people who enter the country illegally claim asylum. The order invoked the same national security powers Trump used to push through his travel ban. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump on new acting AG: I dont know Matt Whitaker By Associated Press President Trump talks with reporters before departing for France on the South Lawn of the White House on Nov. 9. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) President Trump is moving to distance himself from Matthew Whitaker as he faces criticism over his choice for acting attorney general. Trump told reporters Friday that I dont know Matt Whitaker and said he didnt speak with Whitaker about special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation. Whitaker has made public comments critical of Muellers investigation, and critics have called on Whitaker to recuse himself from oversight of the inquiry. Under former Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions, the investigation was overseen by Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein. Of the scrutiny Whitaker is facing, Trump said: Its a shame that no matter who I put in they go after. He also called Whitaker a very highly respected man. Whitaker was Sessions chief of staff before Trump made him Sessions interim replacement. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg out of hospital after fall By Associated Press The Supreme Court says 85-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is home after being released from the hospital. She had been admitted for treatment and observation after fracturing three ribs in a fall. The court said Ginsburg was released Friday. Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg says she is doing well and working from home. The court had previously said the justice fell in her office at the court on Wednesday evening and went to George Washington University Hospital in Washington early Thursday after experiencing discomfort overnight. Ginsburg broke two ribs in a fall in 2012. She had two prior bouts with cancer and had a stent implanted to open a blocked artery in 2014. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Gun-control activist Lucy McBath defeats GOP Rep. Karen Handel in Georgia By Associated Press Lucy McBath speaks during a rally for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams on Nov. 2 at Morehouse College in Atlanta. (Alyssa Pointer / Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) Democratic gun-control activist Lucy McBath has defeated Republican Rep. Karen Handel of Georgia in a suburban congressional district long considered safe for the GOP. Handel had to seek reelection after winning her seat last year in a close special election race against Democrat Jon Ossoff. McBath became an advocate for stricter gun laws after her son, Jordan Davis, was fatally shot at a Florida gas station in 2012 by a man angry over loud music the teenager and his friends were playing in a car. McBaths margin of victory was narrow enough for Handel to have requested a recount. The Associated Press declared McBath the winner Thursday after Handel conceded. Handel conceded in a statement Thursday morning, stating that after reviewing all of the election data, its clear she came up a bit short in Tuesdays vote. Handel congratulated McBath, offering good thoughts and much prayer for the journey that lies ahead for her. McBath, who is African American, declared victory Wednesday. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hospitalized after fracturing 3 ribs in fall By Associated Press Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press) The Supreme Court says 85-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fractured three ribs in a fall in her office at the court and is in the hospital. The court says the justice went to George Washington University Hospital in Washington early Thursday after experiencing discomfort overnight. The court says the fall occurred Wednesday evening. Ginsburg was admitted to the hospital for treatment and observation after tests showed she fractured three ribs. Ginsburg broke two ribs in a fall in 2012. She has had two prior bouts with cancer and had a stent implanted to open a blocked artery in 2014. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print White House suspends press pass of CNNs Jim Acosta after heated exchange with Trump By Associated Press The White House on Wednesday suspended the press pass of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta after he and President Trump had a heated confrontation during a news conference. They began sparring after Acosta asked Trump about the caravan of migrants heading from Latin America to the southern U.S. border. When Acosta tried to follow up with another question, Trump said, Thats enough! and a female White House aide unsuccessfully tried to grab the microphone from Acosta. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement accusing Acosta of placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern, calling it absolutely unacceptable. The interaction between Acosta and the intern was brief, and Acosta appeared to brush her arm as she reached for the microphone and he tried to hold onto it. Pardon me, maam, he told her. Acosta tweeted that Sanders statement that he put his hands on the aide was a lie. CNN said in a statement that the White House revoked Acostas press pass in retaliation for his challenging questions Wednesday, and the network accused Sanders of lying about Acostas actions. This conduct is absolutely unacceptable. It is also completely disrespectful to the reporters colleagues not to allow them an opportunity to ask a question. President Trump has given the press more access than any President in history. Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) November 8, 2018 Contrary to CNNs assertions there is no greater demonstration of the Presidents support for a free press than the event he held today. Only they would attack the President for not supporting a free press in the midst of him taking 68 questions from 35 different reporters... Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) November 8, 2018 As a result of todays incident, the White House is suspending the hard pass of the reporter involved until further notice. Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) November 8, 2018 Sanders provided fraudulent accusations and cited an incident that never happened. This unprecedented decision is a threat to our democracy and the country deserves better, CNN said. Jim Acosta has our full support. Journalists assigned to cover the White House apply for passes that allow them daily access to press areas in the West Wing. White House staffers decide whether journalists are eligible, though the Secret Service determines whether their applications are approved. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump spars with reporters at post-election news briefing, ordering several to sit down By Associated Press President Trump assails CNNs Jim Acosta at a White House news conference. President Trump sparred with reporters at his post-election news conference, ordering several to sit down and telling another hes a rude, terrible person. He told another reporter hes not a fan of yours, either. The presidents mood turned sour Wednesday after reporters pressed him on why he referred to a migrant caravan making its way to the U.S. on foot through Mexico as an invasion. Trump ramped up his anti-immigrant rhetoric against the caravan in the final days of the midterm elections. Trump was also pressed on why his campaign aired an ad featuring a Mexican immigrant convicted of killing American police officers and linking the mans actions to the caravan. Several television networks pulled the ad after airing it or declined to air it at all. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Im living one hour at a time at this point By Christine Mai-Duc Republican congressional candidate Young Kim and gubernatorial candidate John Cox campaign in Rowland Heights. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Republican congressional candidate Young Kim greeted gubernatorial candidate John Coxs giant campaign bus, the words HELP IS ON THE WAY emblazoned across it, as it rolled into the parking lot outside her Rowland Heights field office. Standing beside Cox on Saturday, Kim predicted that a string of GOP victories Tuesday would start with voters repealing the gas tax hike. Can you imagine Gavin Newsom being our governor? Can you imagine Gil Cisneros being your representative? Kim asked the crowd, to loud boos and cries of Nooo! The former state assemblywoman who worked for retiring Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) is vying for his seat with Democrat Gil Cisneros. She led the crowd in chants of Enough is enough! and, though short-lived, Drain the swamp! Ive served you in Sacramento and Ive seen dysfunction personally, Kim continued. We cannot continue that route. She urged her supporters to stay and help make phone calls or walk neighborhoods. Lets get out there the 72 hours is really critical. Its all going to come down to a few votes, it could be your vote, she said pointing to her left, then pivoting right, it could be your vote. So dont sit back and do nothing. Every night I go to sleep thinking, OK, how many more votes can I get or how many more people can I call tomorrow? Kim said. It can be physically exhausting but Im mentally, emotionally very energized. She listed off her events so far that day and the next one she was heading to. Thats just what I can remember, she said. Im living one hour at a time at this point. Kims campaign invited press to two of her events on Saturday. After she was whisked away to her next event a high tea fundraiser in Walnut, a couple dozen volunteers remained. John Freeman, a statewide field manager for the state Republican Party, tried to pump them up. This is the Super Bowl. Were not in an NFL stadium, were not getting paid millions of dollars, but you know what? Freeman said. Were walking on the field right now. This is that high-stakes-level game. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Its going to be tough out there Democratic candidate Katie Porter speaks to volunteers in Mission Viejo. Jon Bauman, Bowzer from the band Sha Na Na, is in the background. (Victoria Kim / Los Angeles Times ) Judging from the cheers in the crowd, about half those assembled at Katie Porters campaign headquarters in Mission Viejo Sunday morning were old enough to remember 70s rock n roll star Bowzer from the band Sha Na Na. Jon Bauman, as Bowzer is known off stage, said it was her position on senior issues including retirement and social security that has him out supporting Porter over her opponent, incumbent Rep. Mimi Walters. I want you to make sure every phone is called and every door is knocked, he told the crowd of about 80 volunteers. There has never been a more important election. Both Bauman and his nephew, California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman, were interrupted by yells from Trump supporters coming from an adjoining hillside. We love Trump, the voice cried out. We love him too, he makes great fodder, the younger Bauman retorted, before introducing Porter. Porter, a UC Irvine law professor and first-time candidate, acknowledged the uphill battle some of her canvassers might face in this more conservative end of the long-red Orange County district. I know its going to be tough out there, she said, motioning to the hillside. But she said the attacks meant the other side viewed her campaign as a significant threat. This election is going to be close, she said. If we dont fight all the way to the finish line, until 8 oclock on Tuesday, this could slip away. Bowzer then took to a keyboard piano to lead the crowd in a reworded rendition of the song Good Night Sweetheart: Good night, Mimi Walters, he crooned. A woman in a black tank top, jeans and flip flops holding a cup of coffee later joined the crowd with her two sons, 17 and 14, the younger one wearing a Trump 2016 T-shirt. She declined to give her name, saying she was concerned about being attacked, but said she lived up the hill and said she had been the one yelling. She said she was encouraging her sons to talk to people on both sides and make up their own minds. We need to have a government that runs the way government teachers are telling kids its supposed to be run, said the woman, a retired registered dental assistant who voted early for Mimi Walters. Referring to Democrats, she said: Theyve had control over all these years and Californias gone to crap. Among those canvassing was Stacie Campbell, 37, who was at the launch with her husband Jerome and three children, the youngest of whom was 2 months old. Campbell, a Mission Viejo resident who runs a business, had never canvassed or volunteered for campaigns before, and her husband is a French citizen and unable to vote. She said they had been talking to their children the older ones are 5 and 2 about the presidency and the government since Trumps election. Together, they worked on homemade Katie Porter lawn signs and put them up around town. This is the first time its felt like a big deal and there isnt a president up for election, she said. Because her city is a mix of conservatives and liberals her next-door neighbor is an NRA-supporting Republican she the race felt m An Iranian consulting firm worked for years to steal secrets from universities and companies in the U.S. and around the globe, even hacking into the U.S. Department of Labor and the United Nations, according to an indictment unveiled Friday. The Mabna Institute, based in Tehran, worked for Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other clients in the Iranian government to steal academic research, proprietary secrets and government data, the indictment claims. The hacking went on since at least 2013, the Justice Department said. The company is also accused of breaching the computers of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the states of Hawaii and Indiana. A grand jury meeting in the southern district of New York charged nine people, all of them living in Iran. The Treasury Department also announced sanctions against the company and the employees. Advertisement The hackers used stolen account credentials to access university professors accounts and allegedly stole journals, dissertations and electronic books in science and technology, engineering, medical and other fields. The leaders of the company sold the material through two affiliated websites, according to the indictment. One firm sold a professors log-in information that allowed access to online library systems. Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein said the hackers penetrated 320 universities around the world, including 144 in the U.S. He said universities are prime targets for cybercriminals. By tricking professors into clicking on false links, the hackers got into 8,000 accounts, said Geoffrey Berman, interim U.S. attorney in Manhattan, saying the hackers stole innovations and intellectual property of some of our countrys greatest minds. While it does not yet have the sophistication of hackers in Russia or China, Iranian government-sponsored hacking poses a growing threat. One recent study from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace found that offensive cyber operations have become a core tool of Iranian statecraft, sponsored by the government intelligence apparatus. The hacking is just the latest example of the Iranian regimes willingness to use techniques to enrich itself and attack companies and countries around the globe, said Sigal Mandelker, a Treasury Department undersecretary. Justice officials would not discuss how the FBI discovered the operation, or how it determined its alleged links to the Iranian government. In some cases, victims reported the hacking and reported it, Rosenstein said. Today, not only are we publicly identifying the foreign hackers who committed these malicious cyber intrusions, but we are also sending a powerful message to their backers, the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran: Your acts do not go unnoticed, FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. The nine defendants, including company founders Gholamreza Rafatnejad and Ehsan Mohammadi, were charged with conspiracy, wire fraud and identity theft. But since Iran does not have an extradition treaty with the U.S., its unlikely they will face trial, unless they leave the country. Advertisement joseph.tanfani@latimes.com Twitter: @jtanfani A former Playboy model recalled having sex with Donald Trump dozens of times in the early years of the presidents marriage to Melania Trump, sharing elaborate details of what she described as a 10-month love affair. Karen McDougal, the magazines 1998 Playmate of the Year, told CNN Thursday that she was racked with guilt about Trump cheating on his wife, especially when he took her on a tour of the couples Trump Tower penthouse apartment when Melania was not home. That just puts a little stab in your heart, McDougal told Anderson Cooper. I couldnt wait to get out of the apartment, actually. McDougal, who remembered Trump showing her his wifes private bedroom, apologized to the first lady. Advertisement What can you say except Im sorry? she said. Im sorry. I wouldnt want it done to me. McDougal, 46, said Trump flirted with her when they met in 2006 at a Playboy Mansion party celebrating the taping of an Apprentice episode there. He asked for her phone number, then invited her to meet for dinner a week later at the Beverly Hills Hotel, she said. His bodyguard, Keith Schiller, picked her up and drove her to the hotel, where after a pleasant dinner in his bungalow McDougal had sex with Trump, she told CNN. Trump, she said, offered her money at the end of the evening, but she turned him down and told him, Im not that kind of girl. She recalled feeling deeply hurt. I was crying in the back seat of the car, she said of the ride home with Schiller. But she and Trump fell in love and wound up seeing each other at least five times a month until she broke up with him in April 2007, McDougal said. If he werent married, I wouldnt have any regrets, she said. McDougal teared up a few times but mostly kept a calm, poised demeanor during the lengthy interview. She said she was a Republican who voted for Trump. "What can you say, except, I'm sorry?" Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who is alleging an affair more than a decade ago with Donald Trump, apologizes to first lady Melania Trump https://t.co/iHhuzgEaMo pic.twitter.com/3FNDGY7CdW CNN (@CNN) March 23, 2018 Advertisement She spoke out as Trumps alleged marital infidelity and sexual misconduct toward women are becoming a source of growing trouble for the president. Stripper and porn actress Stormy Daniels, who says she had a fling with Trump around the same time as McDougal, will appear Sunday on CBS to share her story on 60 Minutes. Like Daniels, McDougal recalled that Trump always had unprotected sex. Stormy weather, or how a meeting at a golf resort blew up into a Trump scandal McDougal, who described Trump as nice-looking, funny and respectful, said she was unaware that he might have been having another affair while they were together. In retrospect, she added, If hes doing it behind his wifes back, why wouldnt he do it behind my back? Advertisement The spectacle of a presidents alleged mistresses telling all on prime-time television is reminiscent of the Bill Clinton dramas of the 1990s. With both McDougal and Daniels suing to break confidentiality agreements that they say are shams, the wrangling in court could take years to play out. Trump spokeswomen have denied he had sex with McDougal or Daniels. On Thursday, the first lady tweeted a photograph of herself with the president, smiling on a White House patio with the snow-covered South Lawn as their backdrop. Trump retweeted the photo for his 49 million followers. Advertisement It was as close as the president would get to responding to the growing public relations mess of multiple sex scandals. Having them together in these photogenic moments is important, said political scientist Terry Madonna of Pennsylvanias Franklin & Marshall College. McDougal, now an Arizona actress and fitness model, filed suit Tuesday in Los Angeles to break the confidentiality agreement that has barred her from speaking publicly about her alleged affair with Trump. American Media Inc., the parent company of the National Enquirer, paid McDougal $150,000 in August 2016 for exclusive rights to the story of what she describes as a 10-month romance with Trump that started in 2006. Advertisement AMI, led by Trumps close friend David Pecker, declined to publish the story. Pecker told the New Yorker last year that when AMI bought the rights to McDougals story under a contract that also promised her monthly columns and her photo on magazine covers, she cant be bashing Trump. The guys a personal friend of mine, Pecker said. McDougal said the contract, when she signed it, seemed like a win-win for her protection from the loss of privacy if the affair were exposed and, at the same time, a good business opportunity for an older model. In the suit, however, she alleges that her attorney at the time, Keith Davidson of Beverly Hills, was secretly colluding with Trump representatives to protect the newly named Republican presidential nominee from public disclosure of his extramarital affair. Advertisement President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump appear at the White House on Monday. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press ) AMI, she says, threatened her with financial ruin if she told the truth about Trump. McDougal told CNN that she is suing to escape from such threats and regain the rights to her own story not to make money on it, but to return to private life. AMI has denied threatening McDougal, saying in a statement Wednesday that it had not yet decided if, when, or how her story may be published. The story is more valuable today than it was two years ago, the statement said. Advertisement McDougal is free to respond to legitimate press inquiries concerning her relationship with Trump, the company said. The only thing she cant do is sell her story rights to another publisher, AMI said. McDougals attorney, Peter K. Stris, said she was explicitly told that they would not produce a story on her relationship with Trump. Despite their claims, it has always been AMIs intention to manipulate and silence Karen, and we look forward to freeing her from this bogus contract so she can move on with her life in peace, he said. McDougals deal with AMI was revealed by the Wall Street Journal three days before the November 2016 presidential election. In February, the New Yorker published excerpts from eight pages of handwritten notes that McDougal kept to document her alleged affair with the president. Advertisement Also suing Trump is former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos. Trump called her a liar after she accused him in October 2016 of trying to force himself on her in 2007, sparking her defamation complaint. On Tuesday, a judge rejected Trumps request to dismiss it. michael.finnegan@latimes.com Twitter: @finneganLAT Advertisement UPDATES: March 23, 8 a.m.: This article was updated to note Wall Street Journal and New Yorker articles on Karen McDougal. 8:50 p.m.: This article was updated with more details from the CNN interview with Karen McDougal. 7:35 p.m.: This article was updated with additional quotes from Karen McDougal. Advertisement The article was originally published at 6:45 p.m. March 22. President Trump announced Thursday that he was replacing his national security advisor, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, with John Bolton, a tough conservative with a sometimes irascible manner, in the latest move suggesting the presidents shift to a more hard-line foreign policy team. The decision to name his third national security advisor, which Trump characteristically first disclosed in a tweet, follows months of speculation about McMasters potential ouster. Administration officials, speaking anonymously, have been saying for weeks that the president had tired of McMasters methodical approach to the job and wanted a more aggressive leader who would compel Cabinet secretaries to more quickly implement the presidents policies. Coupled with Trumps decision last week to replace Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with Mike Pompeo, currently the CIA director, the moves suggest that the administration will shed even more of the approaches favored by the Republican foreign policy establishment in favor of confrontational policies on subjects such as Iran and North Korea. During roughly a year as the White House national security chief, McMaster never developed a tight bond with Trump. But the president developed a grudging respect for McMasters willingness to present him with advice that contradicted his impulses, aides have said. Still, the constant friction was clearly wearing on both men. Advertisement As recently as several days ago, White House aides had said Trump might keep McMaster at his side until after the planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which is scheduled for May. The timeline was expedited as they both felt it was important to have the new team in place, instead of constant speculation, a White House official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official acknowledged that Trump and McMaster had been discussing the national security advisors departure for some time. McMaster, a three-star general, will leave the White House in mid-April and plans to retire from the Army this summer, he said in a statement released by the White House. On Twitter, Trump referred to Bolton, former ambassador to the United Nations, before McMaster, saying he was pleased to announce that Bolton would become national security advisor April 9. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend, Trump added. In a subsequent statement, Trump paid tribute to McMasters three decades of military service. McMasters departure comes at a fraught time for the White House as Trump prepares for the meeting with Kim. McMaster, who has been deeply involved in Korea policy, spent the previous weekend in San Francisco meeting with Japanese and South Korean security officials about how to orchestrate the meeting and maintain economic pressure on North Korea. Trump also faces crucial decisions on the deal with Iran that the Obama administration negotiated to restrain that countrys nuclear program. He seems increasingly likely to abandon the pact, officials say. Trump cited disagreements over the Iran deal as a main reason for his decision last week to fire Tillerson. Bolton has long been one of the GOPs strongest voices and experts on national security issues, but one who has made many foes within the Republican foreign policy establishment. Advertisement He was U.N. ambassador in 2005-06 under President George W. Bush and has more recently served as a commentator for Fox News. He was initially considered by Trump to be secretary of State as he built his first Cabinet after the 2016 election, but Trump, then the president-elect, reportedly decided that Bolton, with his distinctive bushy mustache, didnt look the part. A national security advisor does not have to be confirmed by the Senate. Trumps first security advisor was Michael Flynn, who lasted less than a month before he was forced out, ostensibly for lying to his colleagues about contacts with the Russian ambassador. McMaster was quickly brought in to replace Flynn, who has since pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Advertisement Even as their relationship foundered, Trump liked to lump McMaster into the group he proudly called my generals, along with White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly and Defense Secretary James N. Mattis, both former Marine Corps generals. McMasters approach to the job was informed, aides said, by his study of mistakes of the Vietnam War era, in particular the unwillingness of senior military leaders to challenge White House decisions. He turned his research on that topic, which he did for a graduate degree, into a book, Dereliction of Duty. His take-away from that work was that advisors should be candid with presidents. Yet his effort to put that into practice did not endear him to Trump. The war in Vietnam, McMaster wrote, was not lost in the field, nor was it lost on the front pages of the New York Times or on the college campuses. It was lost in Washington, D.C. Advertisement In particular, McMaster criticized senior military officers for remaining silent as President Lyndon B. Johnson and his advisors misled Congress and the public about the troop numbers in Vietnam in 1965. In a passage with echoes perhaps in the present, McMaster wrote that the president disregarded the advice he did not want to hear in favor of a policy based on the pursuit of his own political fortunes and his beloved domestic programs. Twitter: @ByBrianBennett brian.bennett@latimes.com President Trump signed a $1.3-trillion spending bill Friday, and as he castigated it as ridiculous, signaled a central reality of national politics: Republicans who control Washington are being led by a man who wants little to do with them. He still prefers a party of one. Hours after threatening a veto that would have shut down the government, Trump grudgingly signed the bill in a speech suffused with scorn, although the White House and Trump, according to his aides had endorsed the measure less than two days earlier. He savaged Republican leaders on Capitol Hill, as well as Democrats, for the contents of a bill they had contorted themselves, at political risk, to pass. Trump came to office as an outsider. More than 14 months after assuming the presidency, by all signs he wants to remain one, a difficult task for the head of a government, much less someone being counted on to lead his party in the November election. Advertisement On Friday, he appeared physically uncomfortable as he described all the items he did not want in the deal he had just signed. He demanded a line-item veto for budgetary matters, long a desire of presidents but one that would require a constitutional amendment. In his choice of words, Trump went out of his way to create distance between himself and everyone else. A side effect of his protestations: The man who had crowned himself as a master deal-maker made himself seem less than essential in Washingtons latest massive deal. Its always been a problem for our country, Trump complained, pointing blame at unspecified opponents. They get together and they create a series of documents that nobody has been able to read because it was just done. Now, you tell me who can read that quickly. It takes a long time to read it. Just as he was during the campaign, Trump appears to be a man fighting to stay apart. Were seeing him struggle with what most any outsider struggles with: Once you are elected, how long can you get away with being an outsider? How long can you get away with not being in charge? said Republican strategist Rob Stutzman. You can position yourself as an outsider for a year, then you have to transition. Trump clearly is having trouble at the moment reconciling all that. The spending measure came to Trump as the deadline bore down for financing the federal government. The House passed it Thursday morning; the Senates assent, on a bipartisan vote as in the House, came early Friday morning, hours before the shutdown deadline of midnight. Ideally, Friday could have been a day for both sides to tout significant wins in what may be the last big piece of legislation to pass in this midterm election year. Advertisement But Republicans suffered for Trumps criticism, which served as a reminder of the party schisms that his presidency has fostered. In the last several days alone, as Republicans presided over the mammoth spending bill, Trump announced billions of dollars in trade tariffs. Such expansive spending and tariffs have both long been opposed by a party that prides itself on fiscal diligence and free trade, and the alternatives as more in the traditional wheelhouse of Democrats. What exactly defines a Republican has fractured as some of them cast off long-held views in order to position themselves closer to Trump, the chief motivator of the partys voters. It has also added to the uncertainty for wobbling voters about where exactly Republicans stand. The public way in which Trump tried to navigate from responsibility for the budget plan added to the potential threat to him and the partys image. Advertisement He teased opponents of the spending bill with the veto threat Friday morning, only to back off and support it, potentially angering both sides. In besmirching Republican leaders, he did them no favors as they seek to craft a message for their candidates in November that will give them some cover from voters strongly anti-Washington mood. Some of his usual allies broke ranks. Fox News personality Pete Hegseth, a favorite of the president, called the budget Trump signed a swamp budget, referring to the Washington denizens Trump vowed to toss from the capital, and has not. Shortly thereafter, Trump tweeted his veto threat. Then when he signed the bill after all, the Drudge Report headlined Trumps Fake Veto. Advertisement Steve Deace, an influential conservative radio host, mocked the signing with a tweet: Make America Great Again, or something. Ann Coulter, the firebrand conservative, quoted Trumps statement that he will never sign another bill like this again, and added, Yeah, because youll be impeached. From the more moderate side of the party, Ohio Gov. John Kasich sent out fundraising letters excoriating the budget deal because of the amount it would spend. Enough is enough! he said. On Capitol Hill, there was some sense of relief that weeks of negotiations had not been dashed by a capricious president. During the hours between Trumps veto threat and his signing of the bill, House and Senate members left for vacations and on overseas delegations during their planned two-week break. Most members of Congress kept publicly mum about the presidents threat, as they crossed fingers that the storm would pass. People mostly think hes venting frustration about the process, said one hopeful aide. Advertisement Trumps public reaction to the bill exposed one glaring problem for him as he seeks to direct the government: He seems fixed in his last role that of the leader of a company whose word was unquestioned. In a narrowly divided nation represented by a narrowly divided Senate, compromise of some sort is inevitable, but not something Trump embraces. He repeatedly praised the military spending included in the bill, crediting it for turning him away from a veto that would have shut down the government. That spending was the chief Republican argument for the measure, and made one of Trumps favorite aides, Defense Secretary James N. Mattis, an advocate for it. But Trump rebuked Republicans and condemned Democrats for the trade-offs that helped make all of that military spending possible. Democratic votes were necessary because many Republicans refused to sign off on the domestic spending included in the plan. Moreover, Republicans themselves acknowledged that many of the domestic programs are popular. There was some irony. Among those who publicly praised the domestic spending included in the measure was his own daughter and aide, Ivanka Trump, who touted increased spending for child-care programs. Advertisement To Republican leaders who had already weathered complaints from many of their members, his criticisms were no less galling for their familiarity. Even Trumps own team had fiercely defended those trade-offs the day before the president criticized the bill. Is it perfect? No. Is it exactly what we asked for in the budget? No, said Trumps budget director Mick Mulvaney, a former congressman. Were we ever going to get that? No, thats not how the process works. As he set himself off from Washingtons tribes, Trump demonstrated little in the way of bending to that reality, which has limited his influence on Republican lawmakers, angered Democrats who once hoped to cut deals with him, and confounded even his own exhausted staff. Asked whether Friday had been a baffling day, one aide replied: Its been a baffling year. Advertisement For more on politics from Cathleen Decker cathleen.decker@latimes.com Twitter: @cathleendecker Advertisement noah.bierman@latimes.com Twitter: @noahbierman ALSO The latest from Washington Advertisement Updates on California politics Nancy McFadden, who translated the sweeping agenda of Gov. Jerry Browns return to power into legislative action and established law as his top advisor, died Thursday after battling ovarian cancer. In January, she stepped away from her daily state Capitol duties to receive additional medical treatment. A spokesman for the governor said McFadden died Thursday night at her home in Sacramento, surrounded by family and friends. She was 59. In a statement Friday, Brown called McFadden the best chief of staff a governor could ever ask for. Advertisement She understood government and politics, she could manage, she was a diplomat and she was fearless. She could also write like no other. Nancy loved her job, and we loved her doing it. The indispensable insider looking out for Gov. Jerry Browns interests Aside from the governor, no one had more sway over the Brown administrations agenda than McFadden. Her title was executive secretary, but she held a job more often labeled chief of staff. Always close to the enigmatic politicians side in his travels, McFadden was an essential negotiator who never shied away from twisting arms to sell Browns governing vision to recalcitrant lawmakers or warring interest groups. When she spoke, state Capitol insiders knew she was empowered to do so by the governor and likely the one who had helped guide him to the point of action in the first place. The results over a seven-year period comprise the key planks to Browns legacy: a repair and renovation of Californias deficit-plagued state budget, an extension of its landmark law to combat climate change and far-reaching efforts on topics from criminal justice to transportation. The achievements were perhaps even more notable because Brown has one of the smallest inner circles of any modern governor. McFadden was the groups indefatigable leader. She never gave up, in work or in life, said Dana Williamson, a top political advisor to Brown who earlier served as his Cabinet secretary. Nancy absolutely loved that job, every moment of it, said Donna Lucas, a close friend and public affairs strategist who worked for two of the states former Republican governors. When you look at this governors legacy, and what he was able to achieve, a good chunk of it was from her efforts. Nancy McFadden had a hand in crafting virtually all of Gov. Jerry Browns policy proposals from 2011 until she had to step back from her duties for health reasons. (Hector Amezcua / Sacramento Bee ) Advertisement McFaddens political resume was already muscular by the time she signed on to work for Brown a match orchestrated in 2010 by the governors wife, Anne Gust Brown, and her predecessor, Maria Shriver. She had previously served as a senior advisor to former Gov. Gray Davis, and her most wide-ranging experience came from working for former President Clinton. On Friday, the former president and Hillary Clinton called McFadden someone who deeply believed in the power of politics to make a positive difference in peoples lives, and she did until the very end. As a junior associate at a Washington law firm in 1991, she was offered some career advice from one of its prestigious partners, Warren Christopher. He told McFadden to get her feet wet in politics by joining the then-Arkansas governors presidential campaign effort. She became Clintons deputy political director and was tasked with helping handle some of the 1992 campaigns most volatile moments the accusations of an extramarital affair by Gennifer Flowers and the questions raised about the Democrats draft deferments during the Vietnam War. Advertisement Clintons victory swept McFadden and a cadre of young staffers into Washington, where she became a key liaison to the White House at the U.S. Department of Justice under Atty. Gen. Janet Reno. She later served as general counsel for the U.S. Department of Transportation and then spent two years as deputy chief of staff to Vice President Al Gore, who called her an extraordinary public servant in a statement after her death. McFadden moved to Sacramento in 2001, advising Davis in the aftermath of the California electricity crisis. The recall election that ousted him in 2003 led to a senior vice president position at PG&E. It was a position that later provided political heartburn when her connection to the utility raised questions about a possible conflict of interest in serving as the governors top aide. Last year, she paid a state ethics fine for failing to provide complete investment information on her official financial disclosure form. Brown, though, never wavered in his support. And McFadden found in her idiosyncratic boss a kindred soul, a politician unlike any other with whom she had worked. He is a questioner, she told The Times in 2011. Its like youre preparing for your Socratic session with your law professor. You always get asked the question for which you dont have the answer. Advertisement At the time of her death, McFadden was one of the longest-serving members of Browns administration. The way she carried herself, Williamson said, people followed her lead. Staffers praised McFadden for creating what she called a real no-drama team. But her fierce loyalty to Brown could generate a stinging rebuke to any Capitol power broker or journalist who she believed was wrong in his or her assessment of the chief executive. McFadden underwent surgery and chemotherapy for ovarian cancer in 2001 and remained cancer-free until 2014. Advertisement Over the past four years, I have been able to manage both the cancer and the demands of my job and our track record speaks for itself, McFadden said in a statement in January when she began working remotely. I now have to devote more attention to managing my healthcare and recuperating from recent surgery. McFadden was born in Wilmington, Del., the oldest child of William and Mary McFadden, who divorced when she was 11. Soon after, she moved to San Jose with her mother and younger brother. I was raised, for the most part, by a single mom who was a nurse, she told a Sacramento womens group in 2012. I had a mother who believed in her children, and wanted both of us to be able to do whatever it was that we wanted to do. McFadden was student body president at San Jose State University and graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law, later serving as a clerk for a federal judge. Friends describe her as passionate, not just about politics and public policy, but also her life and loved ones relishing travel and music, and quick with a good joke as a way to break the tension in a room. She would often surprise friends with a memento for special occasions. Advertisement You always got a great note from Nancy, Lucas said. McFadden shunned publicity, even when her efforts were crucial to major policy decisions. Her speech to San Jose State graduates in 2014 offered a glimpse into her thinking. Climb the mountain not to plant the flag but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air and behold the view, she told the universitys graduates. Climb it so you can see the world, and not so the world can see you. john.myers@latimes.com Advertisement Follow @johnmyers on Twitter, sign up for our daily Essential Politics newsletter and listen to the weekly California Politics Podcast ALSO: Gov. Jerry Brown plants the seeds of his next chapter on a ranch in rural Northern California UPDATES: Advertisement 10:10 a.m.: This article was updated with comments from former President Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore. This article was originally published at 7:10 a.m. First Gary Cohn and Rex Tillerson, now H.R. McMaster President Trump has served clear notice that he has limited tolerance for aides who say no. Trumps decision to sack the three-star general who served as his national security advisor came as he opened what could be a prolonged trade war with China. There, too, Trump followed his own instincts, brushing aside aides who urged caution. Then, once again undermining his aides and blindsiding his congressional allies, Trump on Friday morning said he was considering a veto of the $1.3-trillion spending bill that the Senate had just finished work on. His budget director and head of legislative affairs had both publicly said he would sign it. In the end, the threat proved empty. Sign up for the Essential Politics newsletter Advertisement GOODBYE ESTABLISHMENT In Trumps transition and first year as president, he largely acquiesced in hiring a foreign policy team that met the approval of the Republican establishment. Tillerson at the State Department came with the blessing of previous Cabinet officials including Condoleezza Rice, the former secretary of State, and Robert Gates, the former secretary of defense. McMaster had the ardent backing of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee. The foreign policy that resulted during the first year more or less stuck to establishment priorities: Trump might be personally enamored of Vladimir Putin, but his administration pledged to deliver lethal weapons to Ukraine to fight Russian subversion. U.S. troops killed hundreds of Russian mercenaries in Syria. Trump sent more troops to Afghanistan, and, to his deep frustration, his advisors persuaded him to stick to the nuclear agreement with Iran. And despite his campaign-season musings about pulling out of U.S. alliances, Trump made the requisite pledges about NATO and the U.S. defense commitments to Japan and South Korea. With the appointment of Mike Pompeo to replace Tillerson at State and now John Bolton to replace McMaster, much of that will change, some of it dramatically. As Tracy Wilkinson and Noah Bierman wrote, Bolton has a long history as the hardest of hardliners, one with little use for international agreements or other efforts to constrain U.S. power and a commentator who repeatedly has advocated military action in places like North Korea and Iran. Bolton advocated America First long before Trump picked up that slogan, something thats clear from this profile that we ran in 2005, when President George W. Bush nominated Bolton as his United Nations ambassador. Overall, his views as well as his often-abrasive manner deeply estranged him from much of the GOP establishment. Advertisement The chance that Trump would uphold the nuclear deal with Iran was already slim. Now, its virtually nonexistent, administration officials say. Both on that issue and on others, Bolton and Pompeo likely will augment, more than restrain, Trumps instinct toward confrontation. A TRADE WAR AHEAD? Trump has similarly surrounded himself with an aggressive, confrontation-oriented set of advisors on trade. With Cohns departure, Trumps trade advisor, Peter Navarro, and his U.S. trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, led the process that ended with Thursdays announcement of some $50 billion in tariffs on imports from China. Advertisement Unlike many other Trump moves, the decision to adopt a tougher policy on China got early, bipartisan support: In both parties and in much of the business community, leaders have grown disenchanted with Chinas efforts to strong-arm companies into giving up technological secrets. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who often spars with Trump, was among those who announced quick support. But that backing could dwindle if the tariffs lead to a prolonged trade war with China. Beijing almost immediately announced the first round of retaliatory tariffs aimed at U.S. agriculture, and the response likely will escalate. And even backers of the administrations overall plan questioned whether Trump had weakened his position by alienating potential allies in other countries. China likely will target some big farm exports, such as soybeans. That could hurt Trump in farm states that form a major part of his political base. White House officials, briefing reporters ahead of Trumps announcement, insisted that China had far more to lose in a trade war than the U.S. does a stance that reflects Navarros view that China seeks to dominate the industries of the future and must be blocked from doing so. Advertisement Lighthizer, however, took a somewhat more nuanced position in testimony to Congress the day before Trump acted. Nobody wins from a trade war, he said. On the other hand if youre on a course thats unsustainable, you have to change. Speaking of unsustainable: Two weeks ago, Trump made a splashy announcement of new tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. At a White House ceremony, he surrounded himself with burly steel workers, and he touted the move when he went to Pennsylvania to campaign for the Republican candidate in an election last week to fill a congressional vacancy. Those tariffs led to considerable consternation among Republicans on Capitol Hill, who worried about the impact on automakers, airplane manufacturers, construction companies and others who would face higher prices for their raw materials. The move also angered U.S. allies, which export most of the steel that the U.S. buys. (And, of course, the Republican candidate in Pennsylvania whom Trump supported lost anyway). Advertisement Thursday, even as Trump announced the tariffs on China, the administration substantially watered down the tariffs on imported metals, announcing that not only Canada and Mexico, but Argentina, Brazil, Australia, South Korea and the entire European Union would be exempt. All told, well over half the metal imports to the U.S. will be untouched by Trumps tariffs, and the administration also plans to exempt several industries, which import types of steel that arent produced domestically. As is often the case with Trump, the end product bears little relationship to the initial, bold rhetoric. A VETO THREAT RATTLES CONGRESS Last month, Trump went along with a congressional budget agreement that boosted military and domestic spending, promising much higher deficits as a result. Advertisement In the wee hours of Friday morning, the Senate gave final approval to the $1.3-trillion spending bill that fleshed out that budget agreement. Trump had grumbled about the plan earlier in the week, and on Wednesday, when a snow storm shut down most of Washington, House Speaker Paul Ryan had gone to cajole Trump into supporting the bill. Ryan thought he had prevailed. Even though the bill rejected the vast majority of Trumps budget proposals including virtually all the cuts in domestic programs and provided very little money for his proposed border wall, it did fund his top priority, the huge increase in spending for the military. Based on the assurances Ryan received, the House passed the bill Thursday morning; the Senate followed suit in the wee hours of Friday. Then Trump sent out his tweet. Perhaps he was responding to Pete Hegseth, the Fox commentator, who denounced the bill on Fox & Friends, Trumps favorite morning show. (Hegseth, by the way, is a leading candidate to replace Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin if Trump decides to sack him.) Whatever the cause, the tweet generated much consternation on Capitol Hill, where members already have left Washington for a two-week recess. Trumps language, saying he was considering a veto, was the tell that he was just venting. A veto would have led to a government shutdown that could have lasted for days, even weeks, and was unlikely to lead to a bill he would prefer. Advertisement Trumps threat will only deepen the suspicions that many lawmakers have about whether they can rely on White House assurances over legislation. It also drew attention to how few of his priorities outside of Defense Secretary James Mattis wish list got funded. But for a president who likes drama and wants always to be at the center of the spotlight, maybe none of that matters. A SEX SCANDAL THAT WONT GO AWAY Washington cant get enough of the Russia investigation. The capital hangs on every detail of the investigation being led by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III. This weeks installment was the drama over the firing of former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, the renewed jabs by Trump and at least one of his lawyers at Mueller and the changes in the presidents legal team. In the rest of the country, by contrast, Russia draws yawns, while Karen McDougal, Stormy Daniels and Summer Zervos produce ratings gold. Advertisement McDougal and Daniels each have legal agreements that nominally bar them from talking about alleged sexual affairs with Trump. But both women have found ways to tell their stories. Thursday, McDougal was on CNN, dishing to Anderson Cooper about the details of what she described as a 10-month affair with Trump. Daniels has taped an interview with 60 Minutes that CBS plans to run Sunday. [Go to latimes.com/politics for our coverage]. And Zervos won a battle in court this week when a judge rejected Trumps efforts to dismiss a defamation suit she filed. She claims Trump defamed her by saying she was lying about allegations that he tried to force himself on her. Zervos case could be the most troublesome of the three for Trump because it could force him to give testimony under oath. Lying under oath about sex was, of course, what led to President Clintons impeachment. Advertisement As Michael Finnegan and Mark Barabak wrote, the sex scandals promise months, if not years, of headlines reminding voters of Trumps conduct toward women. Those allegations werent enough to prevent his election, but in the year since then, anger on the part of women has been a major factor in Democratic gains. Democrats have a decent shot at winning control of Congress this fall; the constant reminders to voters about aspects of Trump that they dislike play an important role in that. LOSING WOMEN, COLLEGE GRADUATES More on that voter reaction: Advertisement The nonpartisan Pew Research Center has produced a major study of who the voters are who back each of the two major parties. The study provided some attention-grabbing data: Fully 70% of women in the millennial generation now back the Democrats. College graduates have moved sharply away from the Republicans. At the same time, the GOP has never been stronger among white voters who did not graduate from college. And, overall, the voters behind the two parties are less alike than at any time in the past generation. RUNNING AGAINST PELOSI Advertisement Its no secret that Republicans love to run against House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco. The new twist, as Sarah Wire writes, is that increasingly, Democrats are doing so, as well, and Pelosi seems willing to give them a pass if thats the best way to victory. The risk for Pelosi, of course, is that enough Democrats could get elected on pledges not to support her that she would fall short of the votes she would need to regain the speakership even if the Democrats win the majority. Right now, however, thats a risk she seems willing to run in the interest of gaining back a Democratic-led House. LOGISTICS That wraps up this week. My colleague Christina Bellantoni will be back Monday with the weekday edition of Essential Politics. Until then, keep track of all the developments in national politics and the Trump administration with our Essential Washington blog, at our Politics page and on Twitter @latimespolitics. Advertisement Send your comments, suggestions and news tips to politics@latimes.com. If you like this newsletter, tell your friends to sign up. David.lauter@latimes.com @davidlauter Artificial-intelligence devices seem to be everywhere nowadays. An increasing number of consumers are purchasing Google Home or Amazon Echo devices to use their smart-assistant capabilities, whereas automobile manufactures and some ride-sharing companies are working to create fully automated vehicles. Discount retailer Walmart has also been looking to see how it can incorporate an artificial-intelligence device into the retail market to make some of the day-to-day operations at its thousands of stores in the United States more efficient, and the company is close to turning that vision into reality. On Wednesday, store officials gathered at the Burbank Walmart Supercenter at 1301 N. Victory Place to demonstrate a new shelf-scanning robot developed by Bossa Nova Robotics. The job of the roughly 6-foot-5 robot is simple: scan the shelves and let employees know when a product is out of stock, if an item is misplaced or if it is mislabeled, said Tiffany Wilson, a Walmart spokeswoman. It scans each aisle in about two minutes, so it can scan dozens of shelves in less than an hour, she said, adding that this job would usually be done by a store employee. Its scanning and looking for all of those things and, in real time, can tell associates what parts of the store need the most attention. Debra Weber Kemmsies, of Hollywood Hills, takes a photo for her friends of a new Bossa Nova robot at Walmart. (Tim Berger / Burbank Leader ) The robot, which looks like a trash bin on wheels with a periscope jutting out of its top, gathers its data by using dozens of lights, cameras, both 2D and 3D, as well as lasers to recognize the products and bar codes it is scanning. As it goes down each aisle, it creates images of the shelves and relays that information to store employees, said Martin Hitch, chief business officer for Bossa Nova. The device is also equipped with multiple proximity sensors that allow it to navigate the store by itself without any help from an employee. Hitch said the robot is continuously scanning its surroundings to identify any obstacles in its path. If it senses something in its way, such a shoppers, carts or product palettes, it will stop and figure out the best way to move around the obstacle. Hitch added that if the robot detects a congested aisle, it will move on to the next available aisle, while keeping track that it needs to go back and scan the previously blocked section. Its not about zig-zagging across the store, Hitch said. Its about scanning the shelves first and foremost. Since the robot is still in its testing phase, it is only responsible for scanning about 30 aisles in the store, said Panthi Patel, Burbank Walmart manager. For the roughly three months it has been in the store, the device has not been an issue for staff or customers, Patel said, adding that shoppers are either curious about the robot or dismiss it to focus on their shopping. Patel said he sees the potential of the robot because it will free up his employees to focus on stocking the shelves to ensure customers find what they need. This is a unique approach because we want to use technology to take care of our customers while still having human involvement and that human touch, Patel said. Bossa Nova, which is based in San Francisco, has been working with Walmart on this project for about three years, first implementing an early version of the device in a store in rural Pennsylvania, Hitch said. The retailer recently decided to expand the pilot program to 50 stores across the United States, including the new Burbank Walmart Supercenter, which opened in June 2016. The autonomous robot has been at the Medic City store since January, Wilson said. The shelf-scanning device has also been implemented at the Walmart Supercenters in Palmdale, Lancaster and Santa Clarita. Michael Dimente, of North Hollywood, sneaks by a new Bossa Nova robot. (Tim Berger / Burbank Leader ) Hitch said he understands there will be concerns about the robot taking away jobs from its human counterparts, which is why the device has been engineered to have a symbiotic relationship with workers. Should Walmart choose to use the robot in its other stores, it would eliminate the need for an employee to manually go through each aisle to scan each bar code and let others know which shelves need to be restocked. Wilson said this means it would free up employees who would have had to do this task to take on other responsibilities around the store. Were creating more tasks than were previously created, Hitch said. We dont miss an out-of-stock [product] because its about extracting information from a photograph. What we are doing is creating an extra workload of tasks, which now means we have to prioritize that labor. However, an official from the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union said a major retailer like Walmart should invest in its employees rather than fully automate services. Chelsea Connor, communications director for the organization, said if any brick-and-mortar store wants to survive in an online-shopping world, they have to invest in their storefronts and the people that work in them. If companies dont train their employees well or provide them opportunities for growth, people arent going to be invested and theyre not going to treat their surroundings well, she said. If they dont, customers are more likely not to shop there. anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com Twitter: @acocarpio A recent Washington Post article about efforts by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to persuade Episcopalian churches from cooking lobsters inspired a number of comments regarding religion. Readers made reference to chapters in Genesis, claimed the animal-rights group has become the Westboro Baptist Church of the vegan movement and said, Once again PETA has massaged fact and reality to fit philosophy. The commenters were not the first to compare PETA to a religious organization. In The Gospel According to PETA, published on the MarketFaith Ministries website, Freddy Davis posits, While PETA is not a formal religion, everything they do is based on a set of beliefs which becomes a religion for those who are believers. He says the group has a specific worldview that is akin to religious dogma. In a 2015 article claiming PETA uses religion for its own aims, Daily Caller analyst William Coggin called appalling a widely published op-ed from the organizations director of Christian outreach and engagement, which suggested that Lent is an ideal time to start [the] journey toward veganism. Q. Is PETA twisting doctrine when it equates animal rights with human rights? Could it be said that PETA is akin to a religion of its own? I wonder if it is twisting doctrine to equate the rights of corporate entities, which live on paper only, with the free speech rights accorded to human beings in the U.S. Constitution? No one owns the concept of religion and Im sure PETA doesnt mind being accused of behaving with religious fervor as it pursues its goal of changing the worlds idea of the human-animal relationship. Every movement has its vanguard. No doubt the vanguard of the Christian right making this criticism of PETA recognizes that as well. While accepting that one of the worlds major religious texts claims that humans should have dominion over the Earth, including other animals, I see no reason why that precludes the most humane treatment possible, even to the point of never eating them. The large-scale production and slaughter of animals for food is clearly a greater environmental burden on the Earth than vegetarianism or veganism. One writer who condemns PETA for its offensive propaganda is with a group called the Center for Consumer Freedom. Its website reveals nothing about its funding, nor does it list any advisory or governing board. But many other research and news organizations have a lot to say about CCF. One example: Its advisory board is comprised mainly of representatives from the restaurant, meat and alcoholic beverage industries. So the Center for Consumer Freedom knows propaganda when they hear it, but it is for consumers to judge what is offensive. Roberta Medford Atheist Montrose .. Biblically it is errant to equate animal rights with human rights. The creation of animals is clearly distinct from the creation of Man in Scripture. Mankind alone is made in the image of God. When Adam and Eve sinned and realized they were naked, God sacrificed animals and brought them the skins to wear. In the Mosaic Law, God commanded the ongoing sacrifice of animals (and the eating of their cooked flesh) as atonement for the sins of men. I find the suggestion to use Lent as a time to start the journey toward veganism ironic. Yes, its a time when many Christians give up certain luxuries, including eating meat. But Lent leads up to Easter, which coincides with (and to the Christian supersedes) the celebration of Passover, in which every citizen of Israel was commanded by God to eat roasted lamb. Jesus, who kept every commandment of Gods law, would himself have eaten lamb. So God clearly distinguishes between human and animal life. Consequently, so do his people. Is PETA akin to a religion of its own? Yes. It has its own worldview, its own system of morality and its own standard of expected conduct. It has exalted its own beliefs above the clear teaching of the Bible, Gods word. Call it just another form of idolatry, or the philosophies of men, but however its labeled, its unbiblical and errant. Christians are certainly free to abstain from eating meat as a matter of conscience, but any church that teaches PETAs suggestions as doctrine, or even as preferable behavior, has fallen into error. Jesus came to save people, not animals. That should be the churchs primary focus too. Pastor Jon Barta Burbank .. Yes, PETA is a religion. It has a set of self-generated morals that it propounds for the conversion of the world, yet its disciples have shown themselves to be cruel to their own humankind for the sake of animals. They seem to have an almost self-loathing, or desire, to be less than the other creatures on this planet, and it makes many of us cringe. I saw the note PETA sent to the Episcopal Churchs presiding bishop, which read all killing requires conquering, violence, and separating ourselves from the rest of creation. God designed humans to be caretakers, not killers. How would PETA know? PETA is not a godly organization. PETA has concern for animals, and thats laudable, but it takes its concerns too far, conflating the consumption of meat with animal cruelty. These are different things. PETA also presumes to know Gods will for us without consulting him. God did give us charge over the animals, to be their caretakers, and also to use them for our own benefit (as beasts of burden and as food). According to Gods own words, he instructed the animal savior, Noah, saying Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you (Gen 9:3). God gave the sacrificial system to his Old Covenant people, and they would humanely slaughter their animal sacrifice, make offering, and then eat the cooked animal. Jesus (God incarnate) ate the Passover with its lamb (except the last one before his crucifixion) and then he ate fish with St. Peter after he rose from the dead (Luk 24:41-3). Im reminded of the PETA evangelistic tract that targets children of fishermen, telling them to Ask your daddy why hes hooked on killing! PETA should meet Peter, the saint who was a fisherman, and Jesus, the one who created both fish and Peter, and who, himself, fished and ate fish and called Peter to be his apostle. Mankind is superior to all other creatures because we alone are made in the image of God. It is in our created image that God became flesh and dwelt among us. He didnt come as a lobster, he came as a man; a man who ate seafood (although at the time, lobster was not consumed by Jews under the Mosaic law). Without Gods input, who says that animal cruelty is wrong, or that anything at all is right? PETA has a religious perspective founded on faulty reasoning and wrong assumptions about God and creation, so I advocate its opposition by all Christians (carnivorous or otherwise). Rev. Bryan A. Griem Tujunga An Azusa man who was acquitted of murder last year in an Anaheim case pleaded not guilty Thursday to a new murder charge in the stabbing death of a Costa Mesa man. Authorities allege Jasper Bear Belknap, 21, stabbed Austin Donal Robinson, 23, in the chest with a pocket knife on a Costa Mesa street Feb. 12. Belknap is being held in Orange County Jail in Santa Ana with bail set at $1 million. If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of 27 years to life in state prison. Officers responded to the 2900 block of Grace Lane, a small dead-end street lined with businesses just off Baker Street in Costa Mesa, after Robinson called 911 at 2:41 a.m. to report that he had been stabbed. When officers arrived, Robinson was lying on the sidewalk, bleeding from a stab wound to his chest. He was taken to Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, where he was pronounced dead, according to police. A Costa Mesa police statement attached to an arrest warrant for Belknap, obtained by the Daily Pilot last month, gives an account of events leading to the fatal stabbing. Det. David Sevilla wrote that authorities obtained a search warrant for Robinsons two cellphones, on which they found evidence that he was involved in selling drugs, mainly Xanax. According to the statement, Robinson apparently tried to sell drugs to Belknap and other men who were sitting on the patio of Hanks Mexican Food at 1087 Baker St. after the restaurant had closed for the night. According to the statement, Robinson went home and then returned a short time later and accused the group of stealing drugs from him. Belknap, who appeared angry, followed Robinson as he walked south on Grace Lane, the statement said. About 10 minutes later, Belknap returned to the restaurant without Robinson and appeared out of breath, Sevilla wrote. Belknap told the others they should leave and then ran, according to the statement. Less than 24 hours before the stabbing, Sevilla wrote, a Newport Beach police officer found a red and black Husky knife on Belknap at the restrooms near the Balboa Pier. Belknap also is facing misdemeanor and felony charges in two unrelated cases. In both of them, he pleaded not guilty to all charges and had been free on $60,000 bond, court records show. In November, an Orange County Superior Court jury acquitted Belknap of a special-circumstance murder charge stemming from the death of a man who was dragged by a truck in Anaheim. Prosecutors alleged the man died during a robbery, according to an Orange County Register report. hannah.fry@latimes.com Twitter: @HannahFryTCN A sober-living home operator has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Costa Mesa alleging that local regulations for such facilities are discriminatory and violate its civil and constitutional rights. In the lawsuit, filed Feb. 26 in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Casa Capri Recovery claims the city has engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination ... on the basis of disability, in violation of the Fair Housing Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1871 and related state laws. Sober-living homes typically house recovering alcoholics and drug addicts, who are considered disabled under state and federal laws. I think the [lawsuit] speaks for itself, Steven Polin, one of Casa Capris attorneys, said Thursday. The city enacted an ordinance that violates the Fair Housing Act. The suit asks the court to, among other things, keep the city from taking actions that either directly or indirectly interfere in any way with plaintiffs abilities to provide housing to groups of unrelated disabled persons who are in recovery. Costa Mesa spokesman Tony Dodero said the city hadnt been officially served with the lawsuit as of Thursday. The city doesnt comment on pending litigation, he said. At the heart of the lawsuit are decisions by the City Council and Planning Commission to deny permits for a Casa Capri facility housing up to 28 women in eight units at 269 and 271 16th Place in Costa Mesas Eastside. According to the complaint, Casa Capri operated without incident at the adjoining properties for years, starting in 2011, until it was swept up in [the] dragnet of the citys official campaign against persons in recovery. In 2014 and 2015, the council adopted two ordinances that imposed new permitting requirements on sober-living homes and stipulated that they, group homes and licensed alcohol and drug treatment facilities be at least 650 feet from one another in residential areas. City officials have said the buffer requirement is meant to keep such facilities from clustering in neighborhoods. Costa Mesa residents have grown increasingly vocal in recent years about the proliferation of sober-living homes, saying they can cause problems with traffic, parking, noise, litter, crime and other issues. Since city codes state that sober-living homes may occupy only a single parcel, Casa Capri had to apply for separate permits for the two properties on 16th Place. That meant the buffer rule would still come into play. Casa Capri requested what it called a reasonable accommodation to be allowed to operate on the contiguous parcels. After coming up short at the Planning Commission in November 2016, Casa Capri appealed to the City Council, which denied its permit applications in October last year. According to the lawsuit, the city sent a letter on Oct. 30 stating the facility needed to close within 60 days. An attorney for Casa Capri asked for an additional 24 months to relocate the facilitys residents. The request was denied, and the city gave Casa Capri until late February to cease operations, according to the lawsuit. By evicting disabled persons from their homes, the city renders them homeless and displaced, forcing them to search for alternative housing in a market that already underserves persons in recovery, the lawsuit states. An official policy with that effect does not benefit disabled persons. According to recent city figures, Costa Mesa has 106 approved sober-living and group homes, 88 of which are licensed by the state, and more are working their way through the permit process. The council this week unanimously denied permits for two drug and alcohol treatment facilities including a Casa Capri location at 166 E. 18th St. saying the properties violated the 650-foot separation requirement. luke.money@latimes.com Twitter @LukeMMoney A longtime Huntington Beach resident is circulating a petition that seeks to ban semiautomatic and automatic guns in the city, contending such weapons are a clear and imminent danger to the community. Dan Horgan, a local real estate agent and mortgage broker, said in an interview Thursday that he is tired of hearing about shootings involving such weapons over and over and over. I see this as getting worse, not better, Horgan said. I can let it bother me or I can do something about it. These assault rifles dont have any place in modern society, in my opinion. Huntington Beach real estate agent Dan Horgan is circulating a petition proposing a ban on semiautomatic and automatic guns in the city. (Trulia.com ) Horgans proposed law would make possession and sale of semiautomatic and automatic firearms in Huntington Beach a felony by April 1, 2019. Such weapons already in circulation would have to be surrendered to the Police Department by Jan. 1, though there would be a three-month probationary period to comply. Horgans Committee to Reduce Gun Violence needs about 12,000 signatures from Huntington Beach registered voters by June 2 for the measure to qualify for the Nov. 6 election ballot, City Clerk Robin Estanislau said. Horgan, a Huntington Beach resident since 1984, filed a notice of intent to circulate the petition in November. He said Thursday that he is quite a ways away from the 12,000-signature goal and has been getting the word out mainly via direct mailers. All Im interested in here is helping stem the flow of these guns, he said. Were at war. This is going to keep happening. Horgans petition has caught the attention of the California Rifle & Pistol Assn., a Fullerton-based gun-rights advocacy group. In a post on its website, the association called the proposal plainly unconstitutional and part of an effort by anti-gun proponents to eviscerate the Second Amendment [to the U.S. Constitution] in California. Our members should be aware that at this stage in the process, there is nothing that can be done to legally challenge the petition, the group stated. But rest assured, [National Rife Assn.] and CRPA attorneys are watching and will be ready to file suit if necessary to stop this unconstitutional proposal from taking effect. bradley.zint@latimes.com Twitter: @BradleyZint A Laguna Beach man pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud charge based on allegations that he stole $6.8 million from victims nationwide in three investment schemes over four years. Under a plea agreement signed March 13, Peter Heinrich Conrad Reinert, 63, agreed to forfeit about $300,000 the FBI seized from him in 2015, along with two Mercedes-Benzes. He is expected to be sentenced June 8 in federal court in Santa Ana. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. In one of the schemes, prosecutors said, Reinert who operated an Irvine-based company called Fazer Technologies claimed he was developing a product that could increase gas mileage for any car up to 150 miles per gallon. In another, Reinert claimed another of his companies, Global Encryption Imaging Corp., was developing anti-counterfeiting technology to be used on state-issued identification documents, prosecutors said. In the third scheme, Reinert told victims that another company he ran, Income from Waste Corp., was developing technology to convert used tires into oil, authorities said. Prosecutors said Reinert pretended to be a Marine and a Secret Service agent as part of the various schemes. He also told victims that Tesla and General Electric were interested in his products and that Tesla had stolen his technology to increase mileage. Through various false claims, Reinert induced victims to send him approximately $6.8 million, the U.S. attorneys office stated in a news release. The victims from these schemes came from around the nation and included farmers from Missouri. Instead of spending the money to develop the technologies, as promised, authorities said Reinert used it for personal expenses, luxury cars, sales commissions, purchases at Apples iTunes store and wire transfers to an account in Poland. hannah.fry@latimes.com Twitter: @HannahFryTCN Thursdays rain did little to dampen the enthusiasm of about 60 people who turned out to honor female veterans and active military service members at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa. The event, which began in the plaza outside the Heroes Hall veterans museum and then moved inside after showers sent guests scurrying for shelter, commemorated National Womens History Month and was meant to highlight the women veterans, not just in Orange County but around the nation, that have served us and served our country, said Orange County Fair Board member Ashleigh Aitken. Also deserving of recognition, she told the crowd, are the women that stayed at home, whether you were mothers, wives [or] daughters, and made the service of others possible. Our country thanks you. Retired Army Brig. Gen. Robin Umberg said women have been instrumental in every conflict the nation has fought, all the way back to the Revolutionary War. They may have been wearing mens clothing, but they were brave, they were talented, they deployed, they died and they were prisoners of war, she said. Umberg said shes heartened by recent directives that have removed many of the official barriers that long kept military women from serving in the same capacities as men. It only took 2 centuries, but you have witnessed the true official equality of women in the Army, she said. Now, we know there is attitude yet to change, but I am very hopeful that is occurring. Eileen Moore, a former Army combat nurse and current California appellate court justice, described how being a woman in the military can carry challenges and ordeals. She said she was harassed and subjected to aggressive, unwanted physical contact by men she served with in Vietnam. On the one hand, I knew in my heart and soul that every one of our troops, to their own peril, would come to my rescue if I was in danger of being harmed by the enemy. But at the very same time, I was constantly afraid that one of our own soldiers might hurt me, she said. And to this day, I feel guilty about feeling that way about American troops. That kind of anxiety and trauma continues to be a significant problem for women in the service, Moore said. I think it is going to take woman power and a significant amount of help from manpower to give Congress and the military the willpower to change things, she said. Moore and Umberg joined about a dozen other female veterans at the event for a group photo to thank them for their service. luke.money@latimes.com Twitter @LukeMMoney Los Alamitos was the first government agency in Orange County to fire a salvo against Californias so-called sanctuary laws, which aim to shield immigrants here illegally from deportation, but it might not be the last. Costa Mesa Mayor Pro Tem Allan Mansoor who as mayor in 2010 spearheaded a City Council action to declare Costa Mesa a rule-of-law city when it comes to support for upholding immigration laws said hes open to looking at ways to work more closely with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. The resolution was a clear statement that we uphold our laws here and that we are not a sanctuary city, Mansoor said Thursday. Mansoor said he would like ICE to come to Costa Mesa and simply do the job they are sworn to do. When an agent was stationed at the city jail, as was the case for a time, we had up to 50 or so criminals per month flagged by ICE, Mansoor said. Im open to bringing another resolution forward, but it would be just that a resolution, he said. Another option is clearly asking ICE to come over and for us to start cooperating with them, which, frankly, we should be doing. Fountain Valley Councilman Larry Crandall has asked city staff to give the council information on how the states sanctuary laws could affect Fountain Valleys future federal funding. The Trump administration has threatened to withhold federal funds from states and cities that dont cooperate with federal immigration officials, though a federal judge in November blocked the presidents executive order to deny funding. Crandall said his inquiry wasnt necessarily inspired by Los Alamitos action Monday in passing an ordinance that exempts the city from the states recently enacted Senate Bill 54, which restricts local law enforcements cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Its something Ive been thinking about and been contacted the last several weeks on, Crandall said at Tuesdays Fountain Valley council meeting, where he asked to discuss the funding ramifications at a future meeting. They just happened to beat us to the punch. Huntington Beach Mayor Mike Posey said Thursday that he is inclined to oppose SB 54 but that the matter has not gone before the entire City Council. It could become a discussion item in coming weeks, he said. Posey called the law unconstitutional overreach by Sacramento. Its another piece of legislation that seeks to usurp local control and inhibit law enforcement, he said. Newport Beach Mayor Pro Tem Will ONeill said Thursday that to his knowledge, Newport would not be taking a stance on the sanctuary issue. It is not on next weeks City Council agenda. In August, before the Legislature passed SB 54, the Newport council unanimously agreed to have the city manager send a letter of opposition. Councilman Scott Peotter, who asked for the letter, said at the time that this is less an issue of what are we going to do about our borders and more of an issue of we need to make sure that crime is controlled, and the ability for our law enforcement to work together is going to be curtailed by this. The letter reads: We have no intention or desire to become the primary enforcers of federal immigration law. Even under ongoing federal changes, we will do our best to keep doing what we do best partnering with Newport Beach businesses, community members and visitors to ensure everyone is protected from crime. SB 54 may make it more difficult to work with our federal law enforcement partners in apprehending criminals. For this reason, our city respectfully opposes SB 54. Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson on Thursday endorsed joining existing federal litigation against California over the state laws or filing a separate lawsuit. Nelsons suggestion goes beyond a call by Supervisor Michelle Steel to adopt a resolution against SB 54. Both items are on the supervisors agenda Tuesday, though Nelsons is set for a closed session. This legislation prevents law enforcement from removing criminals from our community and is a threat to public safety, Nelson, whose district includes Fullerton, Anaheim, Buena Park, La Habra, Placentia and Brea, said in a statement. Steels proposed resolution would reject the effort through state law to violate the Constitution of the United States and says the supervisors instead will comply with the appropriate federal laws and the Constitution of the United States and encourage all cities and agencies within the county of Orange to do the same. hillary.davis@latimes.com Twitter: @Daily_PilotHD The Coast Community College District appointed a new president for Golden West College in Huntington Beach on Wednesday, naming Tim McGrath to replace Wes Bryan, who plans to retire in June. McGrath has been serving as vice president of instruction at San Diego Mesa College. Bryan was appointed Golden Wests president in December 2004 after serving as vice president of instruction and as a speech communication instructor for more than 20 years. Tim McGrath is an experienced leader who brings a strong record of innovation to Golden West College, Coast Community College District Chancellor John Weispfenning said in a statement. Im looking forward to having Tim as a member of our leadership team. McGrath said in a statement that hes honored to join the Golden West College community and to have this new opportunity. The college has a long history of success, and the pride that faculty and staff have in helping students succeed is well-known throughout the region. Golden West College President Wes Bryan, pictured in 2015, is retiring in June. He was appointed to the post in 2004. (File Photo ) bradley.zint@latimes.com Twitter: @BradleyZint Once again, Councilman Scott Peotter attempted to undermine the constitutional rights of Newport Beach residents. At the recent March 13 council meeting, Peotter brought forward a recommendation to endorse Senate Bill 1394, a proposal by Democrat Josh Newman of Fullerton to prohibit paying signature gatherers by the signature rather than by the hour. Given the huge population growth in our state, the practical effect would be to substantially impair the constitutional rights of initiative, referendum and recall. Like Peotter, Newman was the subject of a recall, in his case due to his vote to increase the gas tax. Its important to note the history of citizen-initiated efforts that have used paid signature gatherers. These include Proposition 13, the Gann Spending Limitation, restoration of the death penalty, the recall of former Gov. Gray Davis and the pending effort to repeal the gas tax increase. Our liberal friends have their own list of important laws that have also used paid gatherers, including the California Coastal Act. Peotter survived being recalled by a mere 106 signatures, and now he wants to put his own narrow political interest ahead of the longstanding rights of the people to take government into their own hands. His disrespect for the rights of residents, and his disdain and contempt for those who disagree with him, is a disgrace. To protect our rights to petition our government, Peotter must be removed from office. Scott and Liddy Paulsen Newport Beach Los Alamitos votes in support of U.S. law I support the Los Alamitos decision to challenge Californias sanctuary city law. I support its decision as being heroic and protective of our Constitution. I support legal, controlled immigration. I look upon the sanctuary law, Senate Bill 54, to be comparable to when the Southern states succeeded from the United States; the move resulted in the Civil War. Any law, even a partial one like SB 54, that illegally separates and removes itself from the United States government, is unconstitutional. The sanctuary law is illegal, unconstitutional and detrimental to the citizens of the United states. In fact, it undermines the citizens of the United States. I did not serve in the United States Armed Forces to come home and preserve illegal immigration. We served to protect and preserve the Constitution of the United States of America. I support the United States Constitution and legal immigration. We are a country of legal immigrants. Larry Bales Tustin Los Alamitos vote was anti-immigrant Now we stand on a precipice, the long fall from America, land of the free, to a despotic state, the lessons of our history forgotten. Is Orange County the leader in the landslide of hate? Will Orange County win in the war of propaganda against the immigrant? Is God on the side of the immigrant-hater? Will we tear down the Statue of Liberty like they tore down the statue of Josef Stalin, the statue of Saddam Hussein? In that absurd, unbelievable move, will these despots of the past be laughing in their graves at the holier-than-thou Americans? Stand by for more on this unless the Los Alamitos City Council, the Orange County Board of Supervisors and even the president unite to close down the media. Mike Robbins Anaheim How to get published: Email us at dailypilot@latimes.com. All correspondence must include full name, hometown and phone number (for verification purposes). The Pilot reserves the right to edit all submissions for clarity and length. The Glendale City Council voted 4-1 Tuesday to again transfer a portion of Glendale Water & Power funds to the citys General Reserve Fund directly from a surplus. The decision continues a modified accounting practice mandated in 2016 by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge who ruled a previous fund transfer practiced by the city breached its own charter. Councilman Vrej Agajanian cast the dissenting vote. The city will transfer an estimated $20 million from the Electric Works Surplus Fund or about 10% of the Electric Works Budgeted Operating Revenue to the General Reserve Fund. The money will eventually make its way to the General Budget Fund, according to city documents. Previously, the city made its annual transfers from the Electric Revenue Fund directly to the citys General Fund between 2010 and 2014, but in a ruling last year, Judge James Chalafant found that the money should have instead been moved from Glendale Water & Powers surplus fund to the citys General Reserve Fund, after the conclusion of a 2014 lawsuit filed by the Glendale Coalition for Better Government. Shortly after, in June, council members voted to approve the 2015-16 annual transfer under the procedure Chalfant ruled should be followed. The Glendale City Charter requires up to 25% of the utilitys operating revenue fund be transferred to the General Reserve Fund as long as the utility is in a fiscally strong position. Since at least fiscal year 2012-13, the city has adopted a resolution that sets a lower percentage roughly no more than 12.7% and the percentage has declined over time. Still, the transfer amount has remained at around $20.5 million because of revenue growth, according to City Manager Scott Ochoa. Before the resolution vote Tuesday, Frank Gallo, a board member with the coalition, asked Ochoa how much money is being set aside to account for utility depreciation before the transfer into the the General Fund. "[The coalition is] very concerned with that because we have seen that, in the past, money has been transferred without money put aside for depreciation, Gallo said. According to the city charter, before transferring money to the General Reserve Fund, the city must set aside a separate fund that shall be sufficient to meet the normal depreciation of such electric works and each of such funds shall be used only for the repair, replacement, betterment and extensions of the plants and equipment of the waterworks or electric works. The city ceased the transfer of monies from its Waterworks Revenue Fund in 2011. Ochoa pointed to capital investment funds for the utility and said the the city has a robust replacement program for its infrastructure. One of the items that gets mischaracterized is that the city doesnt put money into infrastructure. Quite the contrary, particularly when you look at the two bonds that were sold over the last several years Youve had a very significant investment in the depreciation of the utility, Ochoa said. jeff.landa@latimes.com Twitter: @JeffLanda Re: Bill would give cities tools they need to crack down on speed, Forum page, March 17. Another commentary by Laura Friedman, our ultraliberal/progressive representative to the state Assembly appeared in Saturdays News-Press. This time she is letting us know that what we need to crack down on speeding is new legislation (AB2363) which, after a long protracted explanation, would allow local authorities to adjust speed limits. Is she aware that on March 12 in a 5-hour period, 63 speeding violations were cited on only four major Glendale streets? I am sure that each of those streets had posted speed limit signs every couple of blocks. Regardless of speed limit signs speeders speed. Why? I contend that they just dont care what the speed limit is and dont care what the consequence is if, on the rare occasion, they do get caught. In addition she feels (my word) that this new legislation will work with cities across California to increase pedestrian and bike safety. I see bike lanes and bike pictures in streets all over Glendale. What I dont see is lots of people riding bikes. Whenever a liberal wants to make a point they cite safety as a major reason for the change. Maybe if we spent more money on enforcement of existing speed limits and cellphone laws, and less on feel-good things like bike lanes and markings, the streets would be safer. In the meantime pass some legislation that makes speeders and cellphone talkers and texters care more. Just a thought. Jim Kussman Glendale You can fly round trip from LAX to Manila for $627, including all taxes and fees, on Philippine Airlines, but the booking window is short. The fare, subject to availability, must be booked by March 31. It is for travel Sundays through Thursdays from April 16 to May 20 and July 10 to Dec. 5. The city dates back more than four centuries. Miguel Lopez de Legazpi claimed in for Spain, driving out the Muslims and destroying their settlement in the 1570s. Americans took control of the island nation after Spain was defeated in the Spanish-American War. The city, once known as the Pearl of the Orient, was largely destroyed by the Japanese at the end of World War II as Allied forces retook it. Advertisement The country gained its independence from the United States in 1946, and the city was rebuilt. The metro area is home to about 11.8 million people. Info: Philippine Airlines, (800) 435-9725, Source: Airfarewatchdog.com ALSO: Heading for spring break? What students need to know and what parents must know Philippines travel: Courage and legacy Fee for passport book or card is going up April 2 travel@latimes.com Advertisement @latimestravel Visit the capital city of Havana and other colonial cities, along with fishing villages and tobacco fields, on a tour to Cuba, one of the hottest travel destinations for 2018. Cultural Journeys offers several people-to-people itineraries that focus on the art, music, architecture, natural beauty and history of the Caribbean island. Trips range from a week to 13 days. In May, participants will visit Havana, Cienfuegos and Trinidad, three UNESCO World Heritage sites. In late June, the tour will travel to Santiago de Cuba to see the annual Fire Festival. On a Dec. 28 trip, participants will celebrate New Years Eve in Havana. Advertisement Dates: May 15-22, June 29-July 11, Sept. 5-12, Oct. 23-30, Nov. 10-18, Dec. 6-12, Dec. 28-Jan. 5. Prices: From $3,675 for eight days to $3,975 for 13 days, per person, double occupancy. Single supplement available, depending on tour length. Includes accommodations, most meals, local guide and driver, U.S. guide ground transportation, entrance fees and Cuban visa. International airfare not included. Info: Cultural Journeys, (562) 439-2828 ALSO Swimming with giant sharks isnt as scary as it sounds Spring flowers and cherry trees bloom 24/7 at Las Vegas hotel Spring shows up with a splash at these eight California spots travel@latimes.com Advertisement @latimestravel Jimmy Stewart had just finished a revival of Harvey on Broadway and the movie The Cheyenne Social Club with Henry Fonda. His children were all grown and, as Times writer Wayne Warga explained: Jimmy Stewart is a very busy man. He doesnt need money, he needs the activity. And so does his wife [Gloria]. It was the need for activity that sent him east to do Harvey. Probably the major reason I did Harvey was well, behind the decision was that the house was empty. Empty. It was wonderful for Gloria to go back with me, her whole family is back there. The house was empty and so were their hearts. Four children, the two eldest by Glorias first marriage and raised by Stewart, and the couples twin daughters all left home. ... Advertisement A different image from the same shoot by Kathleen Ballard of Stewart with one of his dogs was published with Wargas article on the Los Angeles Times Sunday Calendar cover of July 5, 1970. Check out Stewarts biography on the Los Anglees Times Hollywood Star Walk. This post was originally published on April 24, 2012. See more from the Los Angeles Times archives here One man lay sprawled out in the back of a Brazilian military police officers pickup truck, the back of his T-shirt soaked with blood and pierced by bullets. The blood-smeared body of another man pressed against him. Blood leaked through the trucks closed tailgate, dripping onto the pavement. We need some help here! two police officers called to staff members outside Nova Iguacu General Hospital in Rio de Janeiro state this month. At this hospital outside the city of Rio de Janeiro, which has seen a drastic uptick in gunshot victims during the last five years, the response to persistent violence in the region has become a mixture of urgency and apathy. Some residents, having seen family and friends hurt by violent crime, at times cant help showing their anger, or satisfaction when suspected criminals become the ones urgently in need of care. An ambulance arrives with an injured person at Nova Iguacu General Hospital in Rio de Janeiro state. Right, the reception area where patients receive their first medical attention at the hospital. Flavio Forner / For The Times As two hospital orderlies walked over to the military truck, placed the bloody men on stretchers and headed toward the doors of the trauma center, a crowd stood outside the hospital awaiting word on their loved ones. No one seemed to know the two men. A woman at the front of the crowd crossed her arms as she glanced over her shoulder at them. Good, she says. Thats two more thugs we dont have to worry will rob and kill us. Other people in the crowd nodded without saying anything. Nova Iguacu General Hospital, or HGNI, last year treated 687 people who had been shot, up from 475 the previous year, dozens of them fatalities. As of mid-March, the trauma center known as Rios war hospital had treated 159 shooting victims this year, including 31 who died of their wounds, putting it on track to surpass last years total if the violence does not ease. Clockwise from top left, a man wounded by gunfire is taken to Nova Iguacu General Hospital, where police arrive to watch over prisoners and gunshot victims. Outside the hospital, people await news about their relatives. Flavio Forner / For The Times The hospital is responsible for patients from 13 municipalities in a region known as the Baixada Fluminense. The region, which is home to about 3 million people, has two hospitals, including HGNI, that treat trauma patients. State authorities have struggled to ensure public safety. Daily shootouts between police and suspects, generally linked to drug trafficking, recently led the federal government to intervene, putting troops on the streets and handing control of the states public security to an army general. The governments Public Security Institute registered 6,731 homicides in the state of Rio de Janeiro in 2017, the highest number since 2009. The hospital, administrated by the city of Nova Iguacu, receives about $1.9 million from the federal government to treat the 9,000 emergency patients who come through its doors every month. The hospital says it would cost $4.3 million to meet its needs. On the day the officers dropped off the two men in the pickup truck, the trauma centers nine waiting-room chairs, their blue fabric torn and stained from years of use, were occupied. Other patients stood, while some waited in wheelchairs. The stretcher carrying one of the men passed through the middle of the waiting area. It was about 10 p.m. Nobody blinked at the sight. Clockwise from top, a wounded man who was detained by authorities awaits treatment. Alessandry Lopes Bastos, a vascular surgeon, drinks coffee before surgery. Felipe St. Clair, chief of emergency, tends to a patient. Flavio Forner / For The Times The man was rolled through another set of doors into the trauma centers red room, meant for those in life-threatening situations. Five patients were already in beds lined up along the wall to the right. The area behind the shift supervisors desk in the middle of the room was full too. Where do you want him? the orderly who wheeled the patient in asked Dr. Fernanda Sahione, a physician at the hospital for four years. He stopped the stretcher at the foot of the five beds to the right as a screen of thin teal fabric was hung from metal poles to separate the shooting victim from the other patients. Dont worry, we can keep him here for now, said Sahione as she took the patients vital signs. He wont be here long. Hes already dead. We just need to declare him and have the morgue pick him up. She moved the first stretcher over as the second one was brought in. He was dead too. Can we get someone to come in and clean up this blood? said Dr. Alessandry Lopes Bastos, a vascular surgeon. There was nothing more he could do. Bastos had been ready to take the two men to surgery. Instead, he helped place them into body bags before pulling off his gloves. They have IDs that say theyre 19 and 24, but they must be fake, he said, shaking his head. That boy cant be more than 15 years old. Both victims had been shot multiple times. The officers who brought them in said they were suspected of involvement in the illegal drug trade and were killed during a shootout in a favela, or slum, known as Comunidade Sem Terra. A police car arrives with two gunshot victims at Nova Iguacu General Hospital. Right, police officers stand by at the hospital to watch prisoners and gunshot victims. In 2017, the hospital treated 687 shooting victims. Flavio Forner / For The Times Later, in a lunch room, several half-eaten pizzas sat on a table as the 11 oclock news aired on TV. Nobody paid attention. Bastos took a last bite of pizza after being called into surgery a stabbing victim this time. Dr. Artur Ferreira, a neurosurgeon, sat on an old black couch next to Sahione. Im just glad to be working at this hospital, Ferreira said, leaning forward in his seat. The doctors continued to chat about life at the hospital. This place is like cocaine for us. Its addictive, Sahione said. And were a family here. I never want to leave. A short time later, Bastos smoked outside the trauma center. The surgery on the stabbing victim had been simple and went well. It took less than an hour. Bastos flicked the ash from his cigarette. Life is so futile, he said. At 12:50 a.m., Bastos still had more than six hours remaining on his 12-hour shift. An ambulance came up the hospital drive, its sirens blaring, and pulled to a stop. He took one last puff, put out his cigarette and headed toward it. Here we go again. Langlois is a special correspondent. An independent Mexican journalist who reported on politics and crime was shot dead Wednesday night in the violent coastal state of Veracruz, one of the worlds most dangerous places for journalists, with 22 slain there since 2000. Leobardo Vazquez Atzin, who previously wrote for a local newspaper and recently launched an independent news page via Facebook, was killed outside his home in the municipality of Gutierrez Zamora, state authorities said. Vazquez, 42, was shot by assailants on a motorcycle. No suspects have been arrested in the case. He is at least the second Mexican reporter slain this year in a nation that ranks among the deadliest for journalists. In 2017, journalists were killed here at a rate of about one a month. Dozens of others came under threat and went into hiding or fled the country. The largest number of killings has taken place in Veracruz, which press freedom advocates call a zone of silence because many reporters there practice self-censorship to stay alive. In Veracruz, with a population of half a million people about the size of Wyoming nearly two dozen journalists have been killed in the last 18 years. Reporters and photographers from the state have been slain at holiday parties, their bodies dismembered and dumped in canals; some have been tracked down and killed after going into hiding in other parts of the country. Advertisement Human rights advocates argue that Veracruz officials, and Mexican officials more broadly, have not done enough to protect journalists under threat and have not prioritized investigations into their killings. In Mexico, just 10% of journalist killings have resulted in convictions, according to the National Human Rights Commission. On Thursday, press freedom advocates complained that the state attorney generals office in Veracruz was not taking the case seriously because it released a statement dismissing Vazquez as a former journalist working as a food vendor. Although Vazquez apparently did operate a taco stand, his Facebook page clearly indicates that he was very active as a citizen reporter, said Jan- Albert Hootsen, Mexico representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists. His death, Hootsen said, is yet another sign that the conditions for journalists in Veracruz simply havent improved. In a statement about Vazquez, the Veracruz State Commission for Attention and Protection of Journalists implored police to consider his journalistic activity as the principal line of investigation. Press advocates have fought to bring attention to the issue, holding protests, suspending publication for a day, and frequently reminding audiences that journalists in Mexico are as likely to die as those working in war-torn Syria. But while they have won added protections, including government safe houses for journalists under threat, those havent made a dent in preventing killings. Despite pleas from the United Nations and U.S. Ambassador Roberta Jacobson, top officials here havent made the issue a priority. This week, Mexican journalists reacted angrily after one of Latin Americas leading intellectuals said the increase in killings of journalists is a sign that press freedom is improving in a country that was ruled autocratically for seven decades by a single political party until 2000. The fact that more than 100 journalists were murdered is in great part to be blamed on the freedom of the press today, which allows journalists to say things that were not permitted before, Peruvian Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa said Monday. He blamed the increase in such killings on narcotics trafficking. Advertisement Vargas was criticized for blaming journalist deaths on criminal groups, when studies have shown that it is public officials law enforcement officials and political leaders who have been behind the majority of threats to journalists. Last year, it was revealed that the federal government used spying software to hack into the phones of several of Mexicos most prominent journalists. In recent weeks, Vazquez published stories about a shooting in a shopping district and about a group of municipal law enforcement officials convicted of kidnapping charges. He wrote about a local mayor, whom he accused of having favors that need to be paid, and about a burned-out vehicle discovered outside a chapel. Previously, Vazquez worked for a newspaper called La Opinion de Poza Rica. An employee of that newspaper, Armando Arrieta, was shot multiple times by an unknown gunman outside his home last year. Arrieta survived. kate.linthicum@latimes.com Advertisement Twitter: @katelinthicum It turns out that PA Bacon Fest isn't the only local food festival that knows how to pig out. The Lehigh Valley Food and Wine Festival announced Friday that this year's event will feature a new "Pork Tasting Adventure," courtesy of Clemens Food Group, the producer of Hatfield Quality Meats. The festival runs June 1 to 3 at Sands Bethlehem Casino Resort. In a special pork-themed room, fest-goers will have a chance to taste an array of pork products paired with regional craft beers. The treats will include Hatfield classics like thick-cut bacon and dry-rub pork tenderloin along with new offerings like shoulder bacon and a cheddar ale bratwurst made in partnership with Flying Fish Brewing Co. The Pork Tasting Adventure will also feature pork experts on hand to educate guests about different pig cuts. They'll also lead demonstrations on the proper ways to cook and serve different pork products. Now in its ninth year, the Lehigh Valley Food and Wine Festival will once again draw Emeril Lagasse to Bethlehem. The celebrity chef, who has three restaurants at the Sands Bethlehem, will present a cooking demonstration. During Lagasse's appearance, Northampton Community College will reveal culinary and hospitality students who will have a chance to work in Lagasse's restaurants as part of an externship. The demo takes place Friday, June 1 and costs $75. The "Grand Tasting," where guests sample dishes and wine from area restaurants and vendors, will be held June 2 and 3. Daily tickets for the tasting cost $85 in advance and $100 on the day of the event. Tickets to the festival are on sale now. The event raises money for scholarships for NCC students, and has generated over $1.5 million so far. "It helps transform the lives of students," said Chef Francine Marz, the director of NCC's culinary arts program. "That's what it's really about." Andrew Doerfler may be reached at adoerfler@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @adoerfler or on Facebook. A Lehigh County bagel store was heavily damaged Thursday night in a fire, according to a report from the scene. The fire began just before 8 p.m. at The Bagel Bunch at 6299 Route 309 in Heidelberg Township. Other businesses and state Rep. Gary Day's office sustained smoke damage. The Germansville Fire Company led the effort that limited the damage. We will be closed due to fire until further notice. We want to give a huge THANK YOU to all of the fireman who were dispatched to our store in New Tripoli. We Thank god that no one was hurt. The Bagel Bunch (@BagelBunch) March 23, 2018 The owners of the Bagel Bunch said on Twitter the store would be closed until further notice. They thanked firefighters. "Thank God that no one was hurt," they added. Freelance photographer Mike Nester provided information for this post. Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. A little over a year after Penn State freshman Timothy Piazza died following a fall at an alcohol-fueled pledge party, a Pennsylvania lawmaker is proposing a major overhaul of the state's hazing laws. With the late Hunterdon County, N.J., teen's parents by his side Friday afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman announced the new anti-hazing bill on the steps of the Centre County Courthouse during a break in the preliminary hearing for the fraternity members charged in connection with Piazza's death. "Jim and Evelyn Piazza have taken what is an unspeakable tragedy - their very personal heartbreak - and channeled it into what will be the most complete anti-hazing law in the nation," Corman, R-Centre, said. "They are driven by the memory of Tim, propelled by the desire to make certain that no other child dies as part of some coerced and misguided rite of passage." In 2017, there were four hazing-related deaths in the United States at fraternities. The proposed bill heightens penalties for all those involved in hazing, making severe hazing a felony, and requires schools to report all violations of the anti-hazing policies Corman's bill would mandate. The bill also provides amnesty from prosecution on charges of hazing and underage drinking to someone seeking assistance for someone in need, like Piazza. A forensic pathologist testified Friday that Piazza's injuries might not have been fatal if fraternity members had summoned help more quickly. On Feb. 2, 2017, Piazza, 19, of Readington Township, attended Beta Theta Pi's pledge party, where he reportedly ran "the gauntlet" - a hazing ritual in which he consumed 18 drinks in 82 minutes - before falling head-first down the basement stairs. It allegedly took fraternity members 12 hours to call 9-1-1. "He has a much better shot at survival, if they brought him out of the basement, recognized what's going on," and called an ambulance, Dr. Harry Kamerow testified. "If he's very close to that period, he's got a good shot. As time passes on, his prognosis grows dimmer and dimmer and dimmer." By the time Piazza arrived at Hershey Medical Center, it was estimated 80 percent of his body's blood supply was in his abdomen. He was taken off life support on Feb. 4, 2017. "Had this law been in place before, I would like to think we would not be here today. We are hopeful this bill makes it way through the Pennsylvania legislature and is put in the hands of Gov. Tom Wolf for signing on an expedited basis," Jim and Evelyn Piazza said in a statement. "We are also hopeful that this bill will become the model for state laws throughout the country so that people think twice before committing these crimes." Corman's bill creates tiers of hazing. It starts with a minor summary offense, like loitering, that typically just carries a fine to a felony charge for hazing that results in serious injury or death. If the law was in effect when Piazza died, members of the fraternity could have been charged with felony hazing -- proposed to carry a penalty of up to seven years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000. Friday's new conference occurred during a break in a hearing for 11 of the 26 former Beta Theta Pi brothers charged in connection with Piazza's death. The young men waived their right to attend the hearing, which will determine if there's enough evidence to send the cases to trial. Prosecutors are no longer pursing aggravated assault charges, which had been the most serious allegations. But five defendants face involuntary manslaughter charges. Other allegations include hazing, reckless endangerment, conspiracy and alcohol violations. The Piazzas said they stood Friday with mixed emotions. "Our emotions are mixed because as much as we believe in the need for this legislation, the very reason that we are here reminds us of how much our life has been impacted over the past 13 months as a result of hazing," the family said in the statement. "I, of course, am talking about the death of our son Tim as a result of the egregious hazing and disregard for human life at the hands of the very individuals that he was looking to become friends with." The proposal creates categories of organizational and institutional hazing, which would allow prosecutors to charge groups that participate in hazing, like Beta Theta Pi, as well as the college and universities where the hazing occurred. "We want this to be a model for establishing and strengthening anti-hazing laws nationwide," Corman said. "With this proposal, students will have the tools they need to make informed choices about the groups they consider joining as well as safeguards so they can make good decisions in times of distress." If an organization knows about hazing and does nothing to stop it or promotes it, it can be charged under the hazing tiers. If found guilty, the court could force the organization to forfeit property involved in the violation, like a fraternity house. A university, like Penn State, guilty of hazing offenses could face a fine of up to $5,000 and aggravated hazing would carry a fine of up to $15,000. "The Corman bill gives law enforcement the tools we need to hold students accountable when they engage in hazing that results in the death or serious bodily injury of a fellow classmate, as tragically happened in the death of Tim Piazza last year," state Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. In the wake of Piazza's death, Penn State has banned Beta Theta Pi from campus and 13 other Greek organizations have been suspended for safety violations. Penn State University President Eric Bannon also released a letter in February touting changes made to Greek life in 2017. Changes include deferred recruitment policy, authorities reducing crowd sizes at fraternity gatherings, required risk-management programs and implementing new safety programs. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Prosecutors are eager to get their case against Daniel Clary moving in court, but the question about whether he is competent to stand trial for allegedly shooting at two troopers, serious wounding one, is still unanswered. Clary, 22, is accused of wrestling with two troopers on the side of Route 33 in Plainfield Township, then walking to his car, grabbing a semi-automatic pistol and opening fire. Cpl. Seth Kelly was critically wounded and Trooper Ryan Seiple suffered minor injuries. Clary was also shot and injured when they returned fire, and needed surgery, officials said. Defense attorney Janet Jackson has questioned if Clary is competent to stand trial. Clary's mother, Monica Patterson, previously told lehighvalleylive.com that her son suffers from paranoid schizophrenia after a series of head injuries. At a hearing Friday, Jackson said Clary was previously treated at Lehigh Valley Community Mental Health Centers Inc., and she is having difficulty finding his records from there. Clary was not in court for the hearing. The mental health center, then the Lehigh Valley's largest group of Medicaid-funded mental health clinics, closed after being sued by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Jackson said the clinics shut down and it is believed the owners fled the country. Clary was interviewed twice by a defense expert, and prosecutors are waiting on the report so their expert can review it. Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Computer & Technology Financial Times | IE Corporate Learning Alliance partners with Volute to launch the Data Wheel 23.03.2018 16:43:43 - Executives can now think like innovators, thanks to a new type of learning tool - the Data Wheel. (live-PR.com) - Executives can now think like innovators, thanks to a new type of learning tool - the Data Wheel. Many organisations create, commission or purchase costly but valuable reports. Yet their value can be lost merely because of competing demands for employee attention. Made by Volute, the Data Wheel reduces the chances of this happening. Its a dynamic visualisation that liberates relevant data - Executives can now think like innovators, thanks to a new type of learning tool - the Data Wheel.Many organisations create, commission or purchase costly but valuable reports. Yet their value can be lost merely because of competing demands for employee attention.Made by Volute, the Data Wheel reduces the chances of this happening. Its a dynamic visualisation that liberates relevant data from big data reports, allowing a user to filter just the right information at just the right moment when this information is of value. FT | IE Business School Corporate Learning Alliance approached Volute to build its vision for the Data Wheel because it was searching for an interactive visualisation tool to enable employees in its client companies to discover key information on which to act. Recognising that innovation is a key by-product of a companys culture, FT | IE Corporate Learning Alliance, which develops customised executive education programmes for its global clients, needs to know - for each client - the scale of that clients appetite to innovate. Some diagnostic questions might include: How does a company deal with new ideas? Do processes exist for staff to generate new ideas? Do employees understand how to acquire funding for these? According to FT | IE Corporate Learning Alliance, it needed a way to make data-rich reports come alive for each user, filtering exactly the right information at just the right moment. So, it bought a measurement tool called Innovation Survey (InnoQuotient) from Dicere Global. InnoQuotient, which measures a companys culture for invention, is based on research by Dr Jay Rao of the entrepreneurial business school, Babson College. By surveying employees, InnoQuotient provides: an Innovation Index score a benchmark score against similar industries a detailed mapping by a variety of factors FT | IE Corporate Learning Alliance realised that, for its clients to improve their innovation culture and allow ideas to flourish, it needed to find a way to make the InnoQuotient reports extensive data come alive for each user. One of the problems with big data is that its big, which makes the interesting bits hard to spot. So, to turn the useful data into actions that lead to business improvements, FT | IE Corporate Learning Alliance aims to help increase its clients likelihood of innovation by deploying both InnoQuotient and the Data Wheel. Volute learning activities are a combination of diverse learning tools, like the Data Wheel, that foster experiential, applied and active learning. This allows FT | IE Corporate Learning Alliance to create activities that require learners / employees to use the Data Wheel to craft a unique action plan. About Volute Volute is a new EdTech option that is pioneering digital learning with a global network of smart, connected learning tools. The network is a new education sharing economy where thought leaders publish their unique L&D methods as interactive tools for digital learning. About Financial Times | IE Business School Corporate Learning Alliance FT | IE Corporate Learning Alliance was formed in 2015 in response to growing calls for more flexible, practical, relevant and timely corporate learning. A joint venture of the Financial Times and IE Business School, it brings world-renowned business information and journalism, leading academic faculty and a global network of educators to co-create customised corporate learning and leadership development programmes in multiple languages, to almost any sector, anywhere in the world. Through expert learning frameworks, innovation and technology, it focuses on achieving measurable learning outcomes. Press enquiries: further information from: David Wells, Head of Communications, FT | IE Corporate Learning Alliance Direct +44 (0)20 7775 6241; Mobile +44 (0)7921 582419 david.wells@ftiecla.com Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PR Direct +44 (0)1727 860405; Mobile +44 (0)7850 508209 bob.little@boblittlepr.com from big data reports, allowing a user to filter just the right information at just the right moment when this information is of value.FT | IE Business School Corporate Learning Alliance approached Volute to build its vision for the Data Wheel because it was searching for an interactive visualisation tool to enable employees in its client companies to discover key information on which to act.Recognising that innovation is a key by-product of a companys culture, FT | IE Corporate Learning Alliance, which develops customised executive education programmes for its global clients, needs to know - for each client - the scale of that clients appetite to innovate.Some diagnostic questions might include: How does a company deal with new ideas? Do processes exist for staff to generate new ideas? Do employees understand how to acquire funding for these?According to FT | IE Corporate Learning Alliance, it needed a way to make data-rich reports come alive for each user, filtering exactly the right information at just the right moment. So, it bought a measurement tool called Innovation Survey (InnoQuotient) from Dicere Global.InnoQuotient, which measures a companys culture for invention, is based on research by Dr Jay Rao of the entrepreneurial business school, Babson College. By surveying employees, InnoQuotient provides: an Innovation Index score a benchmark score against similar industries a detailed mapping by a variety of factorsFT | IE Corporate Learning Alliance realised that, for its clients to improve their innovation culture and allow ideas to flourish, it needed to find a way to make the InnoQuotient reports extensive data come alive for each user.One of the problems with big data is that its big, which makes the interesting bits hard to spot. So, to turn the useful data into actions that lead to business improvements, FT | IE Corporate Learning Alliance aims to help increase its clients likelihood of innovation by deploying both InnoQuotient and the Data Wheel.Volute learning activities are a combination of diverse learning tools, like the Data Wheel, that foster experiential, applied and active learning. This allows FT | IE Corporate Learning Alliance to create activities that require learners / employees to use the Data Wheel to craft a unique action plan.About VoluteVolute is a new EdTech option that is pioneering digital learning with a global network of smart, connected learning tools. The network is a new education sharing economy where thought leaders publish their unique L&D methods as interactive tools for digital learning.About Financial Times | IE Business School Corporate Learning AllianceFT | IE Corporate Learning Alliance was formed in 2015 in response to growing calls for more flexible, practical, relevant and timely corporate learning. A joint venture of the Financial Times and IE Business School, it brings world-renowned business information and journalism, leading academic faculty and a global network of educators to co-create customised corporate learning and leadership development programmes in multiple languages, to almost any sector, anywhere in the world. Through expert learning frameworks, innovation and technology, it focuses on achieving measurable learning outcomes. www.ftiecla.com Press enquiries: further information from:David Wells, Head of Communications, FT | IE Corporate Learning AllianceDirect +44 (0)20 7775 6241; Mobile +44 (0)7921 582419Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PRDirect +44 (0)1727 860405; Mobile +44 (0)7850 508209 Contact information: FT | IE Business School Corporate Learning Alliance One Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HL, UK Contact Person: David Wells Head of Communications Phone: +44 (0)20 7873 4248 eMail: eMail Web: http://www.ftiecla.com/ Author: Bob Little e-mail Web: http://www.boblittlepr.com Phone: 00 44 (0) 1727 860405 23.03.2018 16:43:43 - Disclaimer: If you have any questions regarding information in this article please contact the author. Please do not contact Live-PR.com. We are not able to assist you. Live-PR.com disclaims content contained in this article. Live-PR.com is not authorized to give any information about content and not responsible for content posted by third party. Entertainment Independent Film Offering Fully Subscribed on Fineqia (CSE: $FNQ.C, OTC: $FNQQF) Investment Platform 23.03.2018 17:10:35 - The Field, an Independent Film Offering, Fully Subscribed on Fineqia (CSE: $FNQ.C), (OTC: $FNQQF) (Frankfurt: $FNQA) Investment Platform (live-PR.com) - The Field, an Independent Film Offering, Fully Subscribed on Fineqia (CSE: $FNQ.C), (OTC: $FNQQF) (Frankfurt: $FNQA) Investment Platform London - March 23, 2018 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Fineqia International Inc. (the "Company" or "Fineqia") (CSE: FNQ) (OTC: FNQQF) (Frankfurt: FNQA) is delighted to announce that The Field offering, available on the platform of its U.K. sub-sidiary Fineqia Ltd, has been fully subscribed. The Field, - The Field, an Independent Film Offering, Fully Subscribed on Fineqia (CSE: $FNQ.C), (OTC: $FNQQF) (Frankfurt: $FNQA) Investment PlatformLondon - March 23, 2018 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Fineqia International Inc. (the "Company" or "Fineqia") (CSE: FNQ) (OTC: FNQQF) (Frankfurt: FNQA) is delighted to announce that The Field offering, available on the platform of its U.K. sub-sidiary Fineqia Ltd, has been fully subscribed.The Field, an action-drama and independent picture set on the streets of New Delhi, India, previously raised approximately US$2.3 million and connected with the Fineqia platform to help raise the remaining funds to help take the movie to completion. With the offering now fully subscribed, The Field - starring Canadian Hollywood Actor Brendan Fraser and Indian film stars Prem Chopra and Ronit Roy - is able to finish production and is set for release later this year. Read this news in full at "We are absolutely thrilled with the news and the outpouring of support we have received for The Field," said The Field's Director, Rohit Batra. "Through Fineqia, we have been able to successfully raise the funds we need to showcase The Field to a global audience - we couldn't be more excited." "We couldn't be happier for Rohit and The Field to achieve their goal with us" said Fineqia CEO and Founder, Bundeep Singh Rangar. "Fineqia will continue to put out carefully chosen, high-quality deals to engage our investors and promote financial democratisation." The minimum amount to be raised on the Fineqia platform was US$100,000 for 40% of 1 unit of equity in The Field LLC, a California limited company. This amount has now been met to complete the full US$100,000 for which Fineqia Ltd received a placement fee. Eligible investors can find further information about The Field and Fineqia at About Fineqia Limited Fineqia provides a platform and associated services to support security issuances and manage administration of equity and debt securities. It acts as a broker bringing an issuing company's securities to market, distributing and marketing them as well as transparently highlighting the risks and objectively outlining opportunities involved. It recently announced the incorporation of blockchain technologies to achieve these objectives. For more information visit Residents of Canadian jurisdictions are not able to subscribe for equity or debt securities on the Fineqia platform unless and until Fineqia has become registered in the Canadian jurisdiction as a dealer under applicable securities laws. Investors resident in other jurisdictions outside of the European Union may also be restricted from participating in offerings on the Fineqia platform. We will allow for participation of investors resident outside of the European Union when Fineqia has received the requisite regulatory approvals. RISK WARNING Investing in start-ups and early stage businesses involves risks, including illiquidity, lack of dividends, loss of investment and dilution, and it should be done only as part of a diversified portfolio. Fineqia Ltd is targeted exclusively at investors who are sufficiently sophisticated to understand these risks and make their own investment decisions. You will only be able to invest via Fineqia Ltd once you are registered as sufficiently sophisticated. This page is communicated by Fineqia Ltd and has been approved as a financial promotion by Kession Capital Ltd. Fineqia Ltd, is an appointed representative of Kession Capital Ltd who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Investment are not offers of guaranteed returns and investments can only be made by members via Fineqia Ltd on the basis of information provided in the pitches by the companies concerned. Fineqia Ltd takes no responsibility for this information or for any recommendations or opinions made by the companies. Your capital is at risk. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Some statements in this release may contain forward-looking information (as defined under applicable Canadian securities laws) ("forward-looking statements"). All statements, other than of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that Fineqia (the "Company") believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements regarding potential acquisitions and financings) are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words "may", "will", "should", "continue", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "believe", "intend", "plan" or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict, that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, without limitation, the failure to obtain sufficient financing, and other risks disclosed in the Company's public disclosure record on file with the relevant securities regulatory authorities. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made except as may be required by applicable securities laws. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement except to the extent required by applicable securities laws. SOURCE: Fineqia International Inc. Fineqia Limited (FRN: 757772) is an appointed representative of Kession Capital Limited (FRN: 582160), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. For further information: Bundeep Singh Rangar, Chief Executive Officer T: +44 203 500 3462 E: W: Fineqia International Inc. (CSE: FNQ) is a featured tech stock on Investorideas.com Visit profile page Get News Alerts on Fineqia International Inc. Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investment involves risk and possible loss of investment. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Contact each company directly regarding content and press release questions. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. More disclaimer info: Additional info regarding BC Residents and global Investors: Effective September 15 2008 - all BC investors should review all OTC and Pink sheet listed companies for adherence in new disclosure filings and filing appropriate documents with Sedar. Read for more info: an action-drama and independent picture set on the streets of New Delhi, India, previously raised approximately US$2.3 million and connected with the Fineqia platform to help raise the remaining funds to help take the movie to completion.With the offering now fully subscribed, The Field - starring Canadian Hollywood Actor Brendan Fraser and Indian film stars Prem Chopra and Ronit Roy - is able to finish production and is set for release later this year.Read this news in full at www.investorideas.com/CO/FNQ/news/2018/03231TheField.asp "We are absolutely thrilled with the news and the outpouring of support we have received for The Field," said The Field's Director, Rohit Batra. "Through Fineqia, we have been able to successfully raise the funds we need to showcase The Field to a global audience - we couldn't be more excited.""We couldn't be happier for Rohit and The Field to achieve their goal with us" said Fineqia CEO and Founder, Bundeep Singh Rangar. "Fineqia will continue to put out carefully chosen, high-quality deals to engage our investors and promote financial democratisation."The minimum amount to be raised on the Fineqia platform was US$100,000 for 40% of 1 unit of equity in The Field LLC, a California limited company. This amount has now been met to complete the full US$100,000 for which Fineqia Ltd received a placement fee.Eligible investors can find further information about The Field and Fineqia at www.fineqia.com About Fineqia LimitedFineqia provides a platform and associated services to support security issuances and manage administration of equity and debt securities. It acts as a broker bringing an issuing company's securities to market, distributing and marketing them as well as transparently highlighting the risks and objectively outlining opportunities involved. It recently announced the incorporation of blockchain technologies to achieve these objectives. For more information visit www.fineqia.com Residents of Canadian jurisdictions are not able to subscribe for equity or debt securities on the Fineqia platform unless and until Fineqia has become registered in the Canadian jurisdiction as a dealer under applicable securities laws. Investors resident in other jurisdictions outside of the European Union may also be restricted from participating in offerings on the Fineqia platform.We will allow for participation of investors resident outside of the European Union when Fineqia has received the requisite regulatory approvals.RISK WARNINGInvesting in start-ups and early stage businesses involves risks, including illiquidity, lack of dividends, loss of investment and dilution, and it should be done only as part of a diversified portfolio. Fineqia Ltd is targeted exclusively at investors who are sufficiently sophisticated to understand these risks and make their own investment decisions. You will only be able to invest via Fineqia Ltd once you are registered as sufficiently sophisticated. This page is communicated by Fineqia Ltd and has been approved as a financial promotion by Kession Capital Ltd. Fineqia Ltd, is an appointed representative of Kession Capital Ltd who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Investment are not offers of guaranteed returns and investments can only be made by members via Fineqia Ltd on the basis of information provided in the pitches by the companies concerned. Fineqia Ltd takes no responsibility for this information or for any recommendations or opinions made by the companies. Your capital is at risk.FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTSSome statements in this release may contain forward-looking information (as defined under applicable Canadian securities laws) ("forward-looking statements"). All statements, other than of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that Fineqia (the "Company") believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements regarding potential acquisitions and financings) are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words "may", "will", "should", "continue", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "believe", "intend", "plan" or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict, that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, without limitation, the failure to obtain sufficient financing, and other risks disclosed in the Company's public disclosure record on file with the relevant securities regulatory authorities. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made except as may be required by applicable securities laws. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement except to the extent required by applicable securities laws.SOURCE: Fineqia International Inc.Fineqia Limited (FRN: 757772) is an appointed representative of Kession Capital Limited (FRN: 582160), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.For further information:Bundeep Singh Rangar, Chief Executive OfficerT: +44 203 500 3462E: info@fineqia.com W: www.fineqia.com Fineqia International Inc. (CSE: FNQ) is a featured tech stock on Investorideas.comVisit profile pageGet News Alerts on Fineqia International Inc.Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investment involves risk and possible loss of investment. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Contact each company directly regarding content and press release questions. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. More disclaimer info: www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp . Disclosure: Fineqia International Inc. (CSE: FNQ) - paid PR, media, news publishing and social media client on Investorideas effective January 24, 2018 for one yearAdditional info regarding BC Residents and global Investors: Effective September 15 2008 - all BC investors should review all OTC and Pink sheet listed companies for adherence in new disclosure filings and filing appropriate documents with Sedar. Read for more info: www.bcsc.bc.ca/release.aspx?id=6894 . Global investors must adhere to regulations of each country. Contact information: Fineqia Limited LONDON, UK Contact Person: Bundeep Singh Rangar CEO Phone: 44 203 500 3462 eMail: eMail Web: http://www.fineqia.com Author: Dawn VanZant e-mail Web: http://www.investorideas.com Phone: 800-665-0411 23.03.2018 17:10:35 - Disclaimer: If you have any questions regarding information in this article please contact the author. Please do not contact Live-PR.com. We are not able to assist you. Live-PR.com disclaims content contained in this article. Live-PR.com is not authorized to give any information about content and not responsible for content posted by third party. Stock Market News Broker tips: Just Eat, Mitie, Allied Minds 23-03-2018 17:18 Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.uk Stock Market News China supports stocks, but US tariffs 'not as bad as thought' 23-03-2018 10:50 Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.uk Stock Market News Gaming Realms swings to profit as company sheds affiliates 23-03-2018 09:37 Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.uk Stock Market News GlaxoSmithKline confirms it's no longer interested in Pfizer 23-03-2018 07:41 Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.uk Stock Market News SDX Energy posts stellar set of full-year figures 23-03-2018 12:22 Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.uk Stock Market News Trump threatens to veto $1.3tn spending bill 23-03-2018 15:24 Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.uk Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > What Standards? Double Standards! MUSINGS During the recent election campaign in the North-East the BJP made promises to send senior citizens of Nagaland on religious trips, all the way to Jerusalem! Blatant wooing of the majority Christian population of Nagaland by setting up a senior citizens board which would annually select 50 members through lucky draw for a free trip to the Holy Land of Jerusalem. This tactic of the BJP is another of those double standards in governance! Not to be overlooked is the fact that just weeks back the Central Government scrapped the Haj subsidy for the Muslim community of the country. And whilst on double standards, I ought to mention that chances of getting lynched hold high if you and I were to even spell out the word beef, but Right-wing men hailing from the North-East blatantly flaunt their beef-eating ways! Why is it that Central and State level Ministers from the North-East can openly talk of their beef-eating traditions and get away with it, but Muslim cattle-grazers and traders are lynched in public on the beef alibi! Today, Ministers in the BJP-ruled States of the country can pass orders for government school children (including those from the minority communities) to sing Vande Mataram, to do Surya Namaskar, to read religious scriptures of a particular religion. Not to overlook the latest announcement by the Haryana Education Minister, Ram Bilas Sharma, that Gayatri Mantra will be part of the morning prayers in the Haryana Government Schools. Describing the mantra as a gift by our saints and sages to the world, the Education Minister said a decision to this effect was taken during his meeting with senior Education Department officials. Provocatively communal remarks and orders are passed regularly by the BJP rulers but no question of their arrest or ouster! Last week the BJP MLA from Ballia district in Uttar Pradesh, Surendra Singh, publicly said that once India becomes a Hindu Rashtra, only those Muslims who assimilate into the Hindu culture will be able to stay in the country. There are very few Muslims who are patriotic. Once India becomes a Hindu Rashtra (Hindu nation), Muslims who assimilate into our culture will stay in India. Those who will not are free to take asylum in any other country. He also claimed that by 2024, India would become a Hindu nation, As the RSS completes 100 years in 2025, by 2024, India will become a Hindu Rashtra. This is not the first time that the Hindutva mafia has threatened the existence of the Indian Musalman in the country. Though the likes Sangeet Soms, Sadhvi Niranjans, Giriraj Singhs, Katiyars, Sakshi Maharajas, Togadias, Hegdes have been heard threatening, abusing, taunting sections of the minority community, yet they move around freely. Also, though news-reports had surfaced that the VHP and Bajrang Dal were holding arms training camps in Greater Noida, Varanasi, Ayodhya and in several other locales, where the young were getting training to attack the enemy, yet no arrests of the organisers and promoters of these terror-striking camps! And one cannot overlook the fact that the three main destroyers of the Babri MasjidL.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharatiwere allotted prime slots in the very governance of this country! In fact, Uma Bharati is even today a Minister in the Modi Cabinet. Double standards all the way, even where as serious a crime as rape is concerned. Different treatment meted out to the rapists if they are from the corridors of power or if they rape whilst communal rioting is on. During the Gujarat pogrom and even during the Muzaffarnagar riots, Muslim women were raped and molested; yet little justice for the victims. Its obvious there seem to be two sets of rules prevailing at the very governance level. The state machinery is treating communal characters from the various Hindutva brigades with no apparent harshness and that explains why there is a steady increase in the commu-nally surcharged unleashes. Today, camouflages are off. Stark realities stare. I do realise Im ruled by a bunch of pracharaks and maha-pracharaks, their dictates unleashed on a daily basis. Humiliating me, throttling my very spirit; diluting my identity. No, I cannot revolt; otherwise there is danger of getting hounded by the private senas that these Hindutva rulers have raisedHindu Yuva Yahini, Durga Vahini, Shiv Sena... And in contrast stands the state fury against the likes of Zakir Naiks for their supposedly provocative speeches. And now with the very recent arrest of M.M. Akbarhead of the Niche of Truth, the body to propagate Islam, a regular speaker on platforms of Mujahid organisations, and the Director of the Peace International Schoolquestions are raised on the very reasons for his arrest. The case against him is based on the allegation that the textbooks of the Peace School create communal discord, and charges him under IPC 153 (A). To quote from a report published in the MadhyamamThe religious textbook for Class II of the Peace School had contained a question, If your classmate decides to embrace Islam, what advice would you give him? The case was registered following the conclusion of the District Educational Officer of Ernakulam that this question and the answers to it would spread religious hatred. The head of the Burouj Realisation of Mumbai, the publishers of the book, its content editor and designer were the other accused in the case. They were all arrested in December 2016 and put in jail for nearly a month, but later obtained bail from High Court. The school officials explain that once they found the disputed part of the lesson inappropriate, they had already given instruction that it should not be taught.... It cannot be said that the lesson that prompted registration of a case is one that overtly spreads religious hatred. The publishers clarify that this part was included as an activity to teach children that declaration of faith by truth (kalima shahaada in Arabic) is the first step to becoming a Muslim. Still, the publishers announced, since it was likely to be misconstrued, they were withdrawing the book. In other words, the Peace School cannot be said to be trying deliberately to inject enmity towards other religions, although it could be argued that under close scrutiny there was imprudence in teaching second-level children a lesson that was likely to create misunderstanding. As for the school, the contention that they had already issued instructions not to teach that portion, need not be taken as such by everyone. All the same, the propaganda to the effect that the Peace School was a centre producing hatred are malicious. It was the wide spread of such misinformation that pitted the school and its chief, M.M. Akbar, at the centre of controversy. Why doesnt the Right-wing government look right! Look, whats taught in the RSS schools! I had first heard the former Delhi University Professor Nalini Taneja talk in an open forum of the twisted history taught in the RSS-run schools. It was a shocker, as she read out and aloud several of the provocative passages from the textbooks taught in the RSS-run schools... poison dripping from each one of those sentences, enough to inculcate hatred in young minds for the otherthe Muslims of the country.. The following years I have heard several academics detail whats getting taught in the RSS schools: The history texts are nothing but unadulterated illustration of the RSS view of history and use of history for its sectarian agendaAryans are the original inhabitants of India, Indian civilisation is essentially Aryan civilisation, the ancient period of history when Hindu rulers ruled was golden and India had enormous advantages during this period.. The coming of Mughals brought darkness, cruelty... Hedgewar, Gowalkar, Savarkar are amongst the greatest freedom fighters. Muslims as a community are traitors, Hinduism is synony-mous with nationalism. Also, caste, child marriages and sati are defended. Muslims, Christians and Parsees are all called foreigners. Urdu is referred to as a foreign language. And in 2016, during an interview given to me, Professor Ram Puniyani had detailed the teachings in the RSS run schoolsRSS has single-teacher schools, Ekal Vidyalaya, and bigger ones as Shishu Mandirs. The pattern of authoritarianism between teachers-taught, senior-junior is very rigid. The main values which are promoted are those of conformism. Along with this the books in these schools are structured around the mythical history of superiority of Hinduism, that all was well with Hindus till the Muslim aggressors came, caste is presented as having given stability to society, Muslim Kings are presented as cruel and so on. The hatred for religious minorities is drilled into the children. Perhaps, it would be naive to expect anything else but these build-ups, as the RSS agenda seems to be in full-swing. Well into its implementation stage. Soon it wouldnt be a question of Hindus or Muslims or Christians, but fascist forces versus the saner elements. All those who love this land, irrespective of their creed and caste, are seeing the dangers ahead and are trying to put up a stiff resistance. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > Why does China Want Everybody to Look Away from the Maldives (...) by Bhartendu Kumar Singh The ongoing domestic political crisis in Maldives could be a concern for the international community but China thinks otherwise! In recent times, China has issued a series of statements insisting that the Maldives Government be allowed to resolve the crisis on its own without any outside involvement. However, behind the veil of non-interference, China wants to protect its own growing stakes in the archipelago. Any outside intervention and regime change could jeopardise Chinas maritime expansion and consolidation in and around Maldives. Chinas interests in Maldives is under-standable. Prima facie, Chinas great-power rise and quest for dominating the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) propels its quest for increased political and economic investments in the archipelago. While Chinas naval power has too many contestants in the East Asian waters and South China Sea in the Pacific Ocean, China finds the IOR a relatively virgin area and has already taken baby steps in the region. Chinas two-ocean strategy, therefore, aims to establish anchor bases in the region to propel the IOR towards the Chinese sphere of influence. Chinas white paper on defence in 2015 gave special emphasis on pushing the military strategy towards the oceanic front through dedicated maritime missions. The 2017 white paper has spoken of a good neighbourly policy towards Asia Pacific neighbours. Small and weak countries like Maldives become pawns in the chessboard and China is willing to pamper them to fulfil its maritime missions. One example would suffice. In December 2017, China signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Maldives. The coercive manner in which the Yameen regime forced the Maldives Parliament to approve the FTA speaks of Chinas influence over President Yameen. But the FTA is just one aspect of the Chinese subjugation of Maldives. The geography of Chinese power in Maldives is also visible in other sectors throughout the archipelago. Yameens Maldives is a key partner in Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and is being rewarded with mega projects in key sectors. The airport upgradation project at Hulhule has gone to a Chinese firm and China has just completed the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge connecting the two islands of Male and Hulhule. China is also using geoeconomic tools to assimilate Maldives into the Chinese economic order through huge loans, investments and grants. China overbearing presence in Maldives through tourism deserves mention. Around one lakh Chinese tourists visit Maldives every month. Eight Chinese cities have regular flights to the Male International Airport, compared to only two from India. Chinese food is increasingly popular in Maldives along with the language and a Confucian Centre could also start in future. Chinese investments are sprucing up the tourism infrastructure to enhance its attraction quotient. If tourism is the largest contributor in the Maldivian GDP, China is the largest stakeholder in Maldives tourism blueprint. All this could be part of the larger game-plan. The strategic implications from such overbearing economic investments are easy to discern. First, until now, China was playing the geopolitical game of one upmanship on the continental platform. However, the development of a series of naval platforms starting from the Myanmar-Sri Lanka-Pakistan axis culminating in Djibouti will provide supporting pillars for Chinas conversion from a continental power to maritime power. With its huge involvement in infrastructure in Maldives, China could be positioning listening devices capable of eavesdropping on nearby naval activities. In the long run, China would want a Diego Garcia for itself in this part of the Indian Ocean and Maldives could be convinced (or coerced) to become the springboard for such a base. Already, there are speculations that China is interested in the Gan island in the southernmost part of the archipelago for strategic development. Second, Chinas increasing presence in Maldives, seen in the context of parallel activities in other small counties like Sri Lanka etc, could trigger a change of balance of influence if not balance of power. Maldives, saddled with the domineering influence of Chinese loans and investments in almost every aspect of its economy, could lose its sovereign autonomy to a great extent and would be forced to bandwagon with the Chinese agenda in international relations and regional security. Even in purely functional areas of regional maritime cooperation, China could instigate Maldives to deny the legitimate rights of other regional powers and even undermine their security. Third, Chinese advances in Maldives would create strategic uncertainties and new faultlines in an already fractured Asia. As long as the great game was being played in the South China Sea, South Asian waters were immune from external influence. But the Chinese march towards the western part of the Indian Ocean would certainly put the South Asian security in disarray. Peace in the adjacent waters would be under yellow peril and who knowsMaldives could turn out to be another Grenada one day where China could install a puppet government of its choice. Dethroning of President Yameen may alter the strategic scenario to Chinas disadvantage since the Opposition, led by former President Nasheed, is quite vocal against Chinas dominance accusing it of buying up Maldives. Other stakeholders in the region are equally alarmed about the recent developments. Also, China is still a partial power and may not be in a position to outrightly convert economic prowess in distant countries into military power. Beijing would like to perpetuate its influence in Male and churn it into a protectorate in the long term. Perhaps that explains why China desperately wants Yameen to stay in power and resists international involvements. The author is in the Indian Defence Accounts Service. The views expressed in the article are his personal. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > Assam: NRC and Illegal Migrants Controversy by Pranjit Agarwala For four decades in the interests of vote-bank politics both the State and Central governments have indulged in political brinkmanship on the vital issue of illegal influx from Bangladesh. However, in 2009 the Supreme Court (SC) taking cognizance of the matter ordered the revision of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) 1951 in Assam under its direct supervision. The objective was to prepare a register of genuine Indian citizens residing in Assam so that all illegal foreigners can be detected and their names deleted from the electoral rolls of Assam. Despite the SC intervention, vested political interests attempts to subvert or delay the NRC to protect their respective vote-banks continue as evident from the misleading statements after the release of the first partial part of the draft NRC. Doubts have been expressed about the veracity of the verification process mainly because of some anomalies in the inclusion of names. There is also a mischievous propaganda alleging that the migrants issue is only a political ploy to mobilise the regional votes, indirectly implying that the NRC revision is an exercise in futility. Or specifically, there are no illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in Assam. In 1984, responding to a writ petition in the SC challenging the validity of the 1979 electoral rolls and the 1983 Assembly elections in Assam, the Election Commission of India (ECI) undertook an intensive revision of the electoral rolls based on the 1971 voters lists. During the revision out of 1.5 crore voters, names of 35 lakh voters could not be traced directly or by parentage to the 1971 electoral rolls. Although after disposing of claims and objections the figure came down to about 10 lakhs, it confirmed the suspicion that some constituencies were swamped by migrants. The signing of the Assam Accord in 1985 failed to arrest the flow. Electoral data and population census figures indicate an abnormal increase in the number of voters and population in Assam since 1971, particularly post-1981. Significantly the increase in the number of voters and population has been more pronounced in the districts bordering Bangladesh. But population experts and analysts do not consider this as indicative of cross-border influx. However, the rapid change in Assams demographic profile tells a different story. After 1971 the religious and linguistic profile of Assam underwent a marked change. The Muslim population grew steadily from 24 per cent in 1971 to 31 per cent in 1991 to 34.7 per cent by 2011. Number-wise in 1951-1971 the Muslim population grew by 16 lakhs or 80,000 per year; 1971-1991 by 27.81 lakhs or 1,39,000 per year; 1991-2001 by 18.67 lakhs or 1,87,000 per year; 2001-2011 by 26 lakhs or 2,60,000 per year. This is the highest rate of increase in India. Higher fertility rates are cited as the main reason for the steadily increasing numbers. But since 1991 the highest decline in fertility rates among religious groups in India occurred among the Muslims. In contrast the Hindu population declined, while Christians and others rose marginally. Linguistically, the Bengali-speaking population grew sharply from 19 per cent in 1971 to almost 30 per cent in 2001. While Assamese and Nepali speakers declined, Hindi speakers and others increased slightly. Pertinently this change in Assams religious and linguistic profile has been markedly more in the Indo-Bangladesh border districts of the State. Sociologists consider cross-border influx from Bangladesh to be primarily responsible for the significant change in the religious and linguistic profile of Assam. The 1996 Bangladesh Population Census Report found eight million (80 lakh) persons missing or unaccounted for in the country. In 2013 the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs reported that 3.2 million (32 lakh) Bangladeshis had entered and settled in India. The UN termed this phenomenon as the single largest stock of international migrants in the eastern hemisphere which might just be the tip of the ice-berg. Even though a majority of the migrants are Muslims, according to Professor Abdul Barak, an eminent economist and academician of Dhaka, from 1964 to 2012 eleven million (110 lakh) Hindus left East Pakistan/Bangladesh because of ethnic cleansing and religious persecution. Their favoured destination was the sparsely populated North-Eastern States, particularly Assam, rather than the densely populated West Bengal. Post-1981 this increased. The promulgation of the Illegal Migrants Determination by Tribunal Act (IMDT), 1983 encouraged influx. Unlike the Foreigners Act, 1946 prevailing in the rest of India where the onus of proof was on the accused, the IMDT Act, applicable only in Assam, put the onus of proof on the complainant. This made detection difficult because the immigrants were well armed with forged documents to support their citizenship claims. It is no secret that in Assam there is a flourishing racket in forged government documents that help illegal immigrants prove their citizenship. The SC revoked the IMDT Act in 2005. The NRC revision has received overwhelming public support. A totat of 68.27 lakh families have submitted 3.29 crore applications along with 6.6 crore documents for inclusion in the NRC. It is a mammoth task complicated by the existence of a large number of forged documents. But the digitisation of legacy data has now made it possible to correctly trace a claimants ancestry making detection more foolproof. So far 48 lakh mismatches have been detected. However, there is no need to panic as the thorough scrutiny of all documents is the key to preparing a correct NRC. An issue that should have been tackled under the Foreigners Act, 1946 and with meaningful diplomatic initiatives has been allowed to fester and become controversial only because of political expediency. The political quid-pro-quo of migrant votes in lieu of the protection of their domicile in Assam has not only upset the demographic balance of Assam but has also ignored the legitimate fears of marginalisation of the indigenous people and genuine citizens of the State. The SCs latest directive to publish the final NRC by June 30, 2018 has therefore been welcomed by all conscious citizens irrespective of their linguistic, socio-religious or ethnic affiliations because it can end the decades-old controversy. Interestingly in 1951, when the NRC was first prepared, there were 80 lakh Indian citizens in the whole of undivided Assam. The author is a freelance writer and entrepreneur based in Guwahati. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > Incredible India by Sardar Amjad Ali It is the best of times, it is the worst of times for Incredible India. Best, for those who after a period of 64 years could get a magnificent mandate of the Indian electorate to rule over a country of 125 million mixed population, the majority being true nationalists and educate a fringe minority about what nationalism means, and worst, for those who like fools of the first order believed to live in harmony with those who believe that Bharat means Hindustan, not India as a Dalit Babasaheb scripted in the Holy Book of the Nation, called Sambidhan (constitution). Best, for those who preach that equal opportunity and equal protection in the eye of law can never be achieved till the time a Village gets a Samshan if the other has a Kabrasthan. Worst, for those who, forgetful of their descent failed to run away from a land of the Rama and take shelter in a land created for those hapless unwanted humans where an unseen entity is worshipped five times a day. Best, for those who enjoy the sacred right to lynch them who not being Sachcha Brahmins dare eating the forbidden flesh on their religious or social occasions; Worst, for those who do not have the right to remind that only they can be regarded Sachcha Brahmins who enjoyed that liberty of eating the forbidden flesh at the time of yagnas, shradh ceremonies, sacred thread ceremonies and the like as enjoined in the Holy Vedas. Best, for those who enjoy unimpeached fundamental freedom to run largest abbotoirs in Punnya Bharatbhumi to earn crores in Forex by exporting the forbidden flesh and offer pujas to Devi Durga or Lord Shiva buying Prashadi Pushpas with that hard-earn money. Worst, for those who indulge in the unforgiveable crime of trading with the unproductive livestocks to earn their daily bread in an independent Hindusthan of 64, where their ancestors had, without any caveat, lived on the same trade for their bread. Best, for those who are destined to equate a Dalit with a canine by the virtue of being a privileged Mantri in the Government of the day; Worst, for those who having born in the family of a Chamar are destined to live their life under the shade of the upper-caste Gosevaks because they seek to live on the skin of a dead cow left in a Bhagar (depository of dead cattles). Best, for those who had refused to hoist the Tricolour, the national honour, in their party headquarters till they had their Atalji as the Premier of Great India getting the opportunity to unfurl the same tricolour from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort. Worst, for those who pledge to save the honour of the Tricolour until death but should listen to the sermons from those who disowned it initially and learn from them what is nationalism. Best, for the disciples of those who had signed letters of unqualified surrender to the British for not participating in the struggle for national liberation and remained outside the Jail. Worst, for the descendants of those who had rotten inside the Andaman Cellular Jail and many other prisons in captive India for fighting for liberation of Mother India and now get tutored after 64 years as to how one should love Bharatmata. It is the best of times for non-historians/non-archaeologists sadhus and Babajis to give the verdict of certainity over a controversial, if not imaginary, location of Lord Ramas garvogriha out of the debris of a demolished Babri. It is worst of the times to brush aside Archaeologists Johna Marshall or G.R. Sharma or P.K. Mishras historical archaeological evidences as to how Buddhist establishments were damaged in 2nd Century BC by King Pushyamitra Sunga. It is the best of the times for those, who can, with impunity, violate the provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 without divorcing or paying any maintenance to the legally married Sahadharmini and advise the nation to respect the mahilas of Great India whose sons are identified as Gandhari Putras, Kaushallya Tanaya and Jasoda Nandans. It is the worst of times for those who, even if they have severed their matrimonial ties with their profligate wives according to their religious law, yet have to go behind the prison bar and maintain such pious biwis unlike the Mahamahim Pradhan Mantriji. Best for those who join the chorus of chanting unprecedented eulogies to an architect of Vibrant India with modern technologies, scientific development, digital progress. Worst for those, who to their astonishment for the first time come to learn from the same architect that the lord of wealth, the poor Ganesha had undergone a plastic surgery and Garuda had sailed in the skies of Wright brothers, as the genological parent of modern aircraft. Best for those most-cultured, fortunate youths of modern India who suitably celebrate a blessed Valentines Day on 14th of each February. Worst for the old fools who still commemorate March 23rd as the day when a young man named Bhagat Singh embraced the gallows for this Valentine Mother India. Best for a Dalit President of Hindustan to lecture to the nation that social and economic democracy cannot be achieved without treading the path the Dalit Babasaheb had suggested; Worst for the Dalit Vemula to commit suicide for being unable to continue his higher studies as his scholarship was snatched by a Cabinet Minister of Dalit Modis Union Government. Best for the Pandits of Nagpur to educate the nation about the sanctity of the mythological myths that helped the Hindus to be a distinct nation in the world. Worst for the Kalburgis, Dabholkars and Pansares to propagate their observations on the irrelevance of the mythological myths vis-a-vis the scientific progression. Best for the Honble Sadhvis and Sadhus decorating the Treasury Benches of the temple of Democracy, that is, the Parliament for their erudition to distinguish Indian Hindus and Non-Hindus into Ramjads and Haramjads. Worst for the Owasis or the Jamate Ulemas to raise their voice against the uncivilised hate campaigns and vilification against their religious compatriots being inspired by the revered Sadhus and Sadhvis. Best for the Singhals and Katiars to boastfully suggest that the Mussalmans quit India and add as Neo-Rohingyas in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Worst for the Gulam Nabis and Ahmed Patels to condemn the disgraceful observations of a presidential nominee in the House of Elders, that is, Rajya Sabha and advise him to refrain from making such invectives. Best for those Noble Entrepreneurs to plunder public money from the Banks by taking loans without securities or on the basis of letters of undertaking and then leave the country peacefully with their kith and kin while a vigilant chowkidar was in slumber. Worst for the poor 24,962 farmers unable to survive in independent India for their inability to repay the debt they had taken for cultivation and cross the border without having a valid travel document but commit suicide for eternal respite from the burden of debt. Best for Ambanis, Adanis, Eichers, Tatas and many others of the same clan to get registered their Non-Productive Assets of Rs 4,54,466 crores and by a midnight order of the Almighty Modi get those liabilities exonerated. Worst for the poor artisans like Ramas and Sankaras to save their small homesteads, only shelters from being taken over and sold in auction under a draconian law known as Securitisation Act by a generous Government. Best for a General of our Army to render political observations as to how demographic change helps Badruddin Ajmal of the All India Democratic United Front to increase their legislative representatives without successfully resisting the invaders on different fronts of Bharatbhumi from their murderous invasions; Worst for Faruk Ahmad Dar to be out-of-doors for bringing medicine for an ailing mother but destined to be grabbed by General Rawats Major Beetul Gogoi to make him a human shielld, tied with chains in an Army jeep in his heroic move for resisting stone-pelters and achieve for the bravery a commendation from the Chief of our Deshrakshaks. Best of the Chief Commander of the sevaks of Nagpur to appraise the nation that his Sayam Sevaks will take only three days preparations to face a war (fullfledged war) against any Army equipped with modern military hardware. Worst for the entire rank of our Army platoon to swallow the sarcasm of the superior-in-command of our voluntary service Brigade (RSS) stationed in Maharashtras Nagpur, about their inefficient war preparedness. Best for those 50 blessed Indians out of 125 millions to make default in repaying the bank debts amounting to Rs 40,528 crores, bunk Indian territory with their kith and kin peacefully without any hassle and settle in countries beyond the reach of Indian Law-keeping agency; Worst for the Rams and Rahims of Independent India who took loans from the PSBS by hypotecating their small homesteads and ultimately turn homeless for their only shelter having been sold in auction for non-payment of the bank debt. Best of the times for our public sector banks to write off bad debts of Rs 1,14,182 lakh crores since 2013-2015. Among those fortunates in the list are: Vijay Mallya, the Booz Baron - Rs 9,000 crores, Steel Magnet JRD Tata - Rs 34,000 crores, Reliance Group (Anil Ambanis) - Rs 1.25 lakh crores, Gautam Adani - Rs 96,031 crores, Essar Group G.V.K. Raddy - Rs 33.933 crores, Videocon Group (Venugopal Dhoot) - Rs 45,403 crores, Lanco Group (Madhusudan Roy) - Rs 47,102 crores, Sajjan Jindal (ISW Group) - Rs 58,171 crores, J.P. Group - Rs 75,163 crores, Vedanta Group - Rs 1,03 crores. Worst of the times for the hapless millions of Swadhin Bharat to perform the role of poor onlookers and observe how their reserves in the public Sector banks is utilised by the Reserve Bank of India to recapitalise Rs 2.11 lakh crores to the gaping PSBS for their benevolent loan waiver policy. Best of the times for five per cent of the 125 millions to have amassed 73 per cent of the national wealth within a period of four years of Vikas regime. Worst of the times for the teeming millions to dance attendance in the office of Gaon Panchayats to get a parchi for carrying headload of earth for building a Village pathway under the Mahatama Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Act (100 days work) on no work no pay basis. It is the best of the times when within a period of four years India registers a number of 101 billionaries from seven. It is the worst of the times in an era of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas with an average two lakh wage earners being thrown out of employment per year. It is the best of the times for our Chini bhai (China brother) to be endowed with an honour of manufacturing the tallest ever statue of Vallabhbhai at a cost of Rs 1300 crores. It is the worst of the times for Indian labourers to wait for the benevolent enterpreneurs from abroad to visit, establish and start manufacturing their products with gleeful sticker Make in India out of cheap labour and raw materials, of course, on their terms. It is the best of the times for our Honourable Finance Minister Arun Jaitleyji to let the nation know that drastic action in the nature of filing Arbitration proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal against the debt default Corporates have been taken. It is the worst of the times for the small or medium scale entrepreneurs to get their assets sold in auction as they are neither fortunate enough to get bank loans without collateral guarantees, nor are they favoured customers in the banks vocabulary. It is the best of the times for we, the Indians to hear Sashi Kanta Sharma, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, that a significant part of NPAs amount to fraudulently obtained advances and a large part of these loans may now be irretrievable as they are likely to have been transferred abroad. It is the worst of the times to educate ourselves that a vigilant Government has been writing off such corporate debts in lakhs of crores under what is called Revenue Forgone now known by a new fancy name Revenue impact of tax incentives. It is the best of the times of register the record that corporate tax dodgers get a tax waiver of Rs 7 crore every hour or Rs 168 crore every day or Rs 5.32 crore every hour as the Revenue Forgone Statement dockets for 2013-14 speak. It is the worst of the times to enrich our knowledge about the loan waived during the last three years of Swachha Prasason is only 6.8 lakh crores of which 70 per cent beneficiaries of such waiver were the poor corporates. It is the best of the times to build a modern India with our enlightened youth and inculcate into them a Swadeshi Sanskriti of celebrating every 14th February as Valentines Day. It is the worst of the times to foolishly commemorate March 23rd as the day when Bhagat Singh was hung in the gallows for his love of Bharatbhumi. It is the best of times when we, Indians should not forget to celebrate the resuscictation of our Hindutva Sanskriti. It is the worst of the times when we conveniently forget the culture of multiracial, multi-religious ramifications of a nation built through unity in diversity. It is the best of the times to play the role of lickspittles of a covert fascist to survive in the game of the devils. It is the worst of the times to shudder at the sight of a blood-soaked Gauri Lankesh. Oh Mother India! we allbut very few of the obscurantists and hypocritesdearly love you. The author is a former Congress Member of the Lok Sabha. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > Family of Bhagat Singh by Bharat Dogra and Jagmohan Singh While Bhagat Singhs many-sided accomplish-ments at a very young age evoke admiration and awe, the family influences which made this possible have not been adequately explored. Bhagat Singhs remarkable consciousness and yearning for justice even at the age of 12 to 14 has been frequently cited. We must know whatever made this possible and whatever contributed to this. Bhagat Singh was born on September 28, 1907 at Banga Village (now in Lyallpur district of Pakistan). At age of nine he heard about the efforts of the Ghadr Party wherein 8000 emigrees returned from America, Canada and South-East Asia to liberate India, particularly its 19-year old leader, martyr Kartar Singh Sarabha, who became a source of great inspiration. In 1919 many innocent people were killed by the security forces in the most cruel way at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar. At the age of 12 Bhagat Singh insisted on going to Amritsar to pay his homage to those who were killed and brought back a handful of blood-soaked soil from the site of the massacre. With his sister, Amar Kaur, he put flowers on this soil, as if paying homage to those who had died. At the age of 14 we find him observing closely the massacre at Nanakana Sahib, the birth place of Guru Nanak. In November of the same year we find him writing (in a letter to his grandfather) about the preparations of an impending railway strike. At the age of 14 we also see him getting involved in the non-cooperation movement and participating in activities like burning foreign cloth by making a bonfire of such cloth. At the age of 15-16 we see him establishing contacts with revolutionaries and immersing himself in studying revolutionary literature. At the age of 16 we see him leaving home for some time with a message for his father that his life was now dedicated to the freedom of India. This is quite an extraordinary childhood and to understand the making of Bhagat Singh we need to understand the equally remarkable family in which Bhagat Singh was born and brought up. Bhagat Singhs grandfather Arjun Singh was a man of strong feelings for social reforms as well as freedom of India. In his family he often told stories of his own grandfather, Fateh Singh, who had helped Muslim tenants to get land rights and later, unlike other big landowners, refused an offer to get more land by entering into a deal with the British. This happened at the time of the great struggle for independence in 1857. Refusing the offer, Fateh Singh said that the teaching of Guru Gobind is that as a principle we should stand with the struggle for justice. Arjun Singh carried this tradition further and provided conducive conditions for his three sons to join the freedom struggle and reform movements. He set high standards for good relationships with farm workers. He provided free medicare to the needy and encouraged his wife, Jay Kaur, also to do so. At a time when education of girls was frowned upon, he gave the name Vidyawati to his eldest daughter-in-law (mother of Bhagat Singh). He encouraged his daughters-in-law to carry out various constructive activities to help villagers like educating girls and providing a helping hand to the needy. He along with his wife and other family members supported the upbringing of about 22 orphan children, most of whom later contributed to the freedom movement with dedication. At the time of the thread ceremony of his two grandsons, Jagat Singh and Bhagat Singh, he said: I dedicate them to the freedom struggle of the nation. The eldest son of Arjun Singh was named Kishan Singh (father of Bhagat Singh). At a young age he worked with great dedication in relief work during earthquake, flood and drought. (Bhagat Singh also later worked with great dedication in flood relief in Kanpur). Then he joined the freedom struggle with equally strong resolve, helping the Ghadr Revolutionary Partys efforts, going to jail several times and enduring much hardship. He was also active in the efforts for improving jail conditions. (Again this role was taken up further by his illustrious son, Bhagat Singh.) Kishan Singhs wife, Vidyawati, supported her husband bravely in his various activities, apart from helping in bringing up many orphan children. At a later stage, her courage and firm resolve received nationwide admiration. When her son, Bhagat Singh, had been hanged and her two other sons, Kulbir and Kultar, as well as daughter, Amar Kaur, had been arrested, she challenged the colonial government saying: You can kill me but you cant bend me. No less inspiring for Bhagat Singh was his uncle, Ajit Singh. In cooperation with other leading freedom fighters like Sufi Ambaprasad, Lala Hardayal and Lala Lajpat Rai, he quickly took forward many initiatives like farmers movement against unjust taxes and publication of inspiring literature. (Both these aspects were later emphasised also by Bhagat Singh.) He led a successful public agitation popularly known as Pagri Sambhal Jatta, which forced the colonial rulers to withdraw unjust tax rules imposed on farmers. Ajit Singh impressed the freedom movements leader, Lokmanya Tilak, so much that he said when India becomes free, Ajit Singh should be the first President of India. However, due to his brilliance and rapid progress the colonial government was expected to take strong action against Ajit Singh. So at the age of 26 he had to leave India and for 37 years he worked for the freedom of India in various countries outside India. Bhagat Singh cherished memories and anecdotes about his uncle. Ajit Singhs wife, Harnam Kaur, came from a family with strong sufi influences. She helped villagers with educational and medical services, and spinned a lot of khadi thread (this was an integral part of the various constructive works taken up by freedom movement). Arjun Singhs third son (and Bhagat Singhs younger uncle) was named Swaran Singh. He started his social activities by working for orphans and for drought and earthquake relief. Then he participated very actively in the freedom movement including publication of freedom literature. He was arrested and became seriously ill in jail. On his release he couldnt recover and died at the young age of 23. His wife, Hukam Kaur, continued to help in the familys many struggles. As a child, Bhagat Singh sympathised with both his aunts. Harnams husband had to leave the country he loved so deeply. Hukam had lost her husband at a very young age. The thoughtful child that he was, Bhagat linked his family tragedies to the oppressive foreign rule. Growing up in such a family Bhagat Singh was constantly exposed to stories of glaring injustices of foreign rule, the extreme distress of the people and the valour of those who opposed this injustice. The family had a rich collection of literature on these issues and Bhagat Singh started reading all this at a very young age. From this family which challenged the prevailing social and religious norms and supported reforms, Bhagat Singh got a strong sense of rationality and reasoning based on reality and facts. This was a family which despite suffering many-sided oppression and economic loss continued to care for workers, poorer families and orphans. Bhagat imbibed strong concerns of siding with poor and deprived people. This family had tried to embrace what was best in many rich traditions as well as reform movements and freedom movement, and all this contributed to the very remarkable qualities seen in Bhagat Singh at a very young age. Bharat Dogra is a freelance journalist who has been involved with several social movements and initiatives. Jagmohan Singh is the Chairperson of the Shahid Bhagat Singh Research Committee. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > Sign of Strength, Comprehension, Vision EDITORIAL That the ruling NDA coalition at the Centre, led by the BJP under the supervision of Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo, is on the defensive is clearly manifest in not just the last bypoll results in UP and Bihar but also in the manner in which it has overreacted to the speechesmainly of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and erstwhile head of the party Sonia Gandhiat the latest 84th plenary session of the principal Opposition party in New Delhi. Without replying to the basic issues raised by Rahul in particular, the BJP spokes-person Nirmala Sitharaman, the present Defence Minister, could only quip that Rahuls allegations reflected the rhetoric of a loser, devoid of substance. What Rahul had said was that while the Kauravas (BJP-RSS) were hell-bent on fighting for power, the Pandavas (Congress) would fight for the truth. Rahuls speech was also replete with a self-critical approachopenly conceding the streak of arro-gance in the Congress that alienated itself from the people at large towards the end of UPA-II culminating in its 2014 electoral defeat; and Sonia Gandhi herself recounted the Shimla conference of the party in 2003 where it was decided to seek electoral allies jettisoning the idea of going alone in the battle agreed upon on the basis of the discussions at the Panchmarhi brain-storming session in 1997. The contrast between the two strategies was quite sharp and revealing, to say the least. In fact, as The Asian Age aptly noted: The message that gains salience in the immediate political context of the preparations for the next Lok Sabha election is that the party will adopt a practical approach to facilitate the coming together of like-minded parties, which means sharpening the ability to strike working arrangements with any party ranged against the ruling BJP. Yet the publication hastened to underline: This wont be easy, given that many regional secular parties remain wary of the Congress... but in the same breath it did not fail to add a vital point: ...the party (Congress) is conscious that its future advance will be thwarted if the BJP is not defeated. This particular sentence assumes special impor-tance against the backdrop of the regional parties moves for a non-Congress, non-BJP Federal Front. Such an endeavour, if not nipped in the bud, could inevitably lead to a split in the anti-BJP votes and thereby in turn help the present ruling dispensation at the Centre which has given the country and its people the worst Union Government since our independence seventyone years ago. It is against such a difficult background that the Congress has shown extraordinary maturity by pleading for the widest possible secular-democratic unity. This should not be misconstrued as a sign of weakness; rather it is an undisputed sign of strength, comprehension and vision which needs to be lauded without any trace of ambiguity by all secular-democrats anxious about the future of this country and keen to rescue it from the vice-like grip of those currently in power. March 22 S.C. Thiruvananthapuram: CPI National Secretary D Raja on Friday made it clear the central leadership completely backs Kanam Rajendran's decision to not induct KC (M) to LDF. Last day, a meeting of the CPM-CPI central leaders in New Delhi is learnt to have reached a broad understanding to associate with Kerala Congress (M) in the Chengannur bypoll. However, the central leaders have left the final decision to the state leadership of both parties. Meanwhile, Party State Secretary Kanam Rajendran made it clear that they are still evident on their decision to not co-operate with KM Mani in the poll fray. Lucknow : BSP MLA Anil Singh today indicated that he had cross-voted in favour of the BJP in the Rajya Sabha polls, saying "I am with Maharaj-ji", referring to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Deputy leader of the BSP Legislature Party Uma Shankar Singh also said he cannot be sure that Anil Singh had voted for the BSP candidate Bhimrao Ambedkar. The Unnao MLAs vote could be crucial as it gives BJP the edge in getting a ninth Rajya Sabha seat from Uttar Pradesh. It is already assured of eight seats on the basis of its strength in the Assembly. Anil Singh said he had cast his vote and showed it to BSP agent Lalji Verma and the rest could be known from him. "I have cast my vote after showing it to Lalji Verma and he will tell you the details...I am with Maharaj-ji (Adityanath)," he said after voting at the Tilak Hall in the Assembly complex. According to Uma Shankar, 17 MLAs of the total 19 had cast their votes by midday and shown them to Verma. "We are not very sure about Anil Singh as he was not present either in the meeting last night nor in the breakfast with party chief Mayawati this morning," Uma Shankar said. Another MLA of the party, Mukhtar Ansari, is in Banda jail. PTI On 4 April, public sector workers in Denmark will be taking strike action in response to negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement. The government has reacted by threatening 440,000 public sector workers (of a total 825,000) with lockouts, which could take effect any time from 10 April. This could result in the biggest class conflict in 20 years. The impending confrontation bears major historical significance, because it marks the beginning of the end of 'class peace' and 'social partnership' in Denmark. On 22 March, over 10,000 shop stewards from the public sector met in Fredericia for the biggest meeting of its kind in Danish history. Nurses, nursery teachers, unskilled workers, army personnel in uniforms and teachers of all sorts sat side-by-side, discussing the steps to take against the government offensive. There was a fighting spirit, and it is clear that the government will not have an easy time taking on the organised public sector workers. Hundreds-of-thousands of public sector workers will strike over planned government lockouts / Image: public domain The negotiations started in November/December 2017 in a toxic atmosphere. For decades, the public sector has faced cut after cut. Especially after the crisis in 2008, the frequency and intensity of cuts has sharply risen. The anger amongst the public sector workers is palpable. Talk to any of them and their frustrations pour out. Despite high-quality educations, a deep knowledge of their sector and a deep desire to carry out the work on hospitals, in schools and elsewhere, the constant cuts on the sector is making it an impossibility. Almost everybody is burnt out, and those who can are considering finding work elsewhere. The public sector is reaching breaking point. Aggressive demands of the bosses It is against this background of frustration that the employers (the state, in the final analysis) have presented their extremely aggressive demands for the new collective bargaining agreement. Their demands cover a wide range of issues for different sectors, but there are three main sticking points: For the last half century, public sector workers have had a paid 29 minute lunch break. In reality it is not a break, since they often continue working over lunch. But just before the negotiations started, the state employer, Moderniseringsstyrelsen, run by Minister for Innovation, Sofie Lhde, announced that, from now on, they will not consider the paid lunch break a right in the collective bargaining agreement, but a fringe benefit than can be removed by any local state employer at a few weeks notice. To remove this right is equal to prolonging the working week by two-and-a-half hours without compensation: a 7.25 percent wage decrease in absolute terms. The unions will not accept this, and will demand that the paid lunch break be explicitly included in the text of the new collective bargaining agreement. The government claims that public sector workers owe money to the state. This is a technicality, but the point is that in 2008 the public sector won a wage increase after some bitter strikes, which put their wage growth on a par with the private sector. To catch up with the private sector, the growth in the public sector was higher for one or two years. Now the government uses 2008 (the low point just before the public sector wage growth caught up) as the base year for calculating the relative growth. From this calculation they claim that the public sector owes 1.6 percent, or 33bn kroner, which should be deducted from the wage growth in the next collective bargaining agreement. But if you look at the wage growth predicted for just a few years longer, the perspective for the public and private sector will be synchronous. The public sector workers simple demand the same wage growth as in the private sector. The teachers demand that their working hours and rules for lesson planning be part of the collective bargaining agreement and not dictated by the law, as has been the case since a brutal government lockout of the teachers union in 2013. In reality, they are demanding that the same conditions apply to them as to other public sector workers. These demands have been agreed by all public sector unions, who for the first time in history stand united. Until now the government has not been willing to engage in meaningful negotiations. They just keep repeating their initial demands. The public sector workers face a purely defensive struggle. But the government seeks a confrontation, as evidenced by the lockout warning. So the concrete demands are only one part of the issue. More importantly, this struggle is a defence of the right to organise and make collective bargaining agreements. There are 750,000 organised workers in the Danish public sector / Image: public domain Because of the scale of the Danish public sector, the strikes and the lockout will cause Danish society to grind to a halt. Everything indicates that the right-wing government wants to crush the unions and the workers in the public sector. There is little-to-no opposition in parliament from the Social Democracy, which has voted for the lockout alongside the right wing. The aim of the government is to hypocritically use the chaos caused by the total lockout to justify a direct intervention: using the courts to impose their will and fix their demands in law, superseding negotiations with the unions. The trade union bureaucracy, which has been a fellow traveller of the ruling elite and the state since the 1930s, is now forced to fight to maintain its own position. The whole institutionalised class collaboration system, which is founded on the official cooperation of the unions, the employers and the state, is nearing its end. The long class peace The public sector in Denmark is huge. With 750,000 organised workers out of Denmark's total population of 5.6m, the state and municipalities are collectively the biggest employer in the country. The workers are distributed over schools, nurseries, universities, public transportation and the healthcare sector. They are the foundation on which the social democratic welfare state was built. The postwar boom, which in Denmark lasted from 1956 to 1973, made Danish capitalism wealthy and the ruling class was able to give concessions to the Danish workers and thereby buy relative class peace. The concessions were won by struggle but the gains were negotiated through the state, where the Social Democracy and the union bureaucracy, representing 60-80 percent of the workers, were negotiating on behalf of the working class. The state became involved in everything, through this collaboration between the capitalists, the workers movement and state bureaucracy. Danish capitalism gained class peace and workers gained one of the highest living standards in the world, with free education, free healthcare and relatively decent pensions for all. But this form of social democratic, civilized capitalism has been under pressure for many years. The coming struggle reveals it is at breaking point. The collaboration between the three pillars of the welfare state, the state bureaucracy, the trade union bureaucracy and the employers organisations, has a long history. This system is called The Danish Model. This model traces its roots back to 1899 and the reformism of the Danish Social Democrats, which even at that time were amongst the most right-wing in the Second International. Through many generations, and betrayals of the working class, the Danish Model has been honed to become one of the smoothest and most efficient systems of ruling over the working class in Europe. For many years this model only applied to the private sector. But 40 years ago, in a move to get rid of the lifetime job security of the civil servants, the public sector was remodeled along the same lines. The union bureaucrats, politicians and capitalists used to be a tight-knit group. They shared the same living conditions, whereby (for example) the leader of the nurses union earns 532,000 Euros every year (plus benefits). By contrast, an ordinary nurse earns around 47,000 Euros a year. For generations, the top levels of the union leadership were treasured partners of the ruling class, delivering relative class peace by holding back the working class. For the last few decades, the unions have thus become completely passive and have not led any struggles. Instead, they have moved sharply to the right, which has also precipitated a gradual decline in membership. The union apparatuses are still enormous, but they increasingly resemble an inverted pyramid. At the same time, the economic foundations of the welfare state (the post-war boom) have long ceased to exist. Governments all over the world, and also in Denmark, are turning to austerity measures, to which the unions are an obstacle. These two factors the capitalist crisis and the weakness of the unions has led the ruling class and its government to conclude that it is easier and less costly to push the parasitic union bureaucracy to one side, and instead dictate wages and working conditions directly via the courts. The weakness of the unions In 1985, this dynamic led to a pre-revolutionary situation developing in Denmark, when collective bargaining negotiations developed into country-wide strikes, which moved towards a general strike. Back then, the working class turned an economic struggle for a 35-hour week into an offensive against the Danish brand of Thatcherism: the Conservative Schluter government. This regime tried to impose its demands by forcing them through a government intervention. This struggle was the peak of the Danish trade union movement in the post-war period. Despite the enormous energy and will to sacrifice on part of the workers, the Stalinist Danish Communist Party and the union tops succeeded in derailing the movement, which led to its defeat. A confrontation between the unions and the Conservative Schluter government resulted in a pre-revolutionary situation in 1985 / Image: Lennart Perlenhem The demoralisation and general ebb of the class struggle in the 1990s reinforced the grip of the right wing over the unions and thereby their general rightward drift. Since then, the unions have for the most part delivered defeats and rotten compromises with the state and the capitalist class. All talk of class struggle has been treated with contempt and they have become terrified of calling their members onto the streets, insisting instead that salaries and working conditions can only be settled through peaceful bargaining with their friends and colleagues, the capitalists. From being organs of class struggle, the unions have increasingly turned into glorified insurance companies, only handling unemployment benefits and legal cases for the workers. As a consequence they have lost hundreds-of-thousands of members to yellow unions, as well as their own fighting traditions. But now, the onslaught of the employers has forced them to fight, because the capitalists and the state have decided that friendly relations can no longer be maintained. The end to social partnership Under the impact of the crisis of capitalism and seeing the weakness of the trade union bureaucracy, the Danish ruling class is being divided into two camps: the old and new school of capitalists. The old-school group wants to continue collaboration with the union leadership, because they have learned from history that the reformist leaders of the workers movement are their greatest allies against class unrest and ultimately revolution. But this comes at a high price. The remit of the collective bargaining agreements keep growing and getting more complex, thus costing time and effort and reducing the flexibility of the workforce. The new breed of capitalists look to Britain, where the unions have been severely undermined since the 80s. Why should they respect or include a weak union leadership that fears mobilising the workers? What power does this union bureaucracy represent anyway? These people feel it is time to free themselves of the Danish Model and the long and troublesome negotiations and friendly dinners with the union bureaucrats, whom the employers rightly consider to be parasites. What we are witnessing today is this layer of capitalists getting the upper-hand in the internal balance of forces within the ruling class. Testing ground The first shots against the Danish Model were fired in 2013. The target was primary school teachers. They were to serve as a testing ground for the current onslaught against all the public sector workers. Since the beginning of the 90s, the influence of the public sector unions had been a thorn in the side of the state bureaucracy. But different governments, both social democratic and liberal, refused to take on the public sector unions, fearing the consequences of struggle. But with the Social Democratic government coming to power under Helle Thorning-Schmidt (married to a certain Stephen Kinnock) in 2011, they found a willing puppet. In the months leading up to the collective bargaining negotiations in 2013, the Social Democratic government waged a vicious smear campaign against the teachers, saying they were lazy and so on. At the collective bargaining negotiations, the state and municipal employers refused to make any concessions at all. It was their way or the highway! This was highly unusual. The union leaders were taken completely by surprise. Why would the employers not listen to reason? The reason was, that the government was consciously aiming for a breakdown of negotiations and a conflict, which would enable them to step in and dictate the working conditions through law rather than the collective bargaining agreement. The Social Democratic government of Helle Thorning Schmidt crushed a teachers' strike in 2013 / Image: Flickr, World Economic Forum So all primary school teachers who were members of the union (the vast majority) were locked out for four weeks until the Social Democratic government stepped in to restore order through direct intervention. This successful (social democratic) operation is now what is in store for the entire public sector. The steam-rolling of the primary school teachers was a big factor contributing to the unpopularity of the Social Democratic government, and support for that party collapsed amongst the teachers. In the 2015 elections a right-wing minority government came to power in Denmark. And this government knows that in the coming struggle against almost a million public sector workers, it can count on the loyal support of the Social Democrats in opposition. Playing with fire The consequences of a defeat for the public sector workers will be far-reaching. If the public sector workers are defeated, the employers in the private sector will be emboldened to follow the same procedure. The Danish working class is being forced to fight to maintain its semi-civilised living conditions or suffer the same fate as the workers in Britain and Germany, who have seen their living standards decline significantly for the past 20 years. The break-up between the three pillars of the Danish welfare state is an event of historical significance. And the sheer size of the lockout is breathtaking. It will be the biggest lockout in Danish history. The current, right-wing government is very weak and unpopular. They have been emboldened by the pathetic nature of the union bureaucracy, but they are playing with fire. Until now they have been following the playbook from 2013, which means that they will probably let the struggle break out and use the ensuing chaos to justify direct government intervention, in which they will dictate wages and conditions. The government feels safe, since they are confident the Social Democrats will support them. But a government intervention in a trade union struggle of this size could backfire. Already, the Social Democrats have lost over 5 percentage points since January bringing them to 25 percent approval, due to their support for the lockout. Years of attacks and betrayals by all parties and leaders have left a simmering discontent within the working class. There is no guarantee that the workers will respect a government intervention, which would immediately declare a just struggle for decent wages and conditions illegal. They might not accept the governments dictates to return to work. The union leadership could easily lose control over the workers, resulting in a massive illegal strike wave. The politicians are the most hated people in Denmark and have been so for a long time. The government is very weak and ridden with scandals. It can only stay in power because there is no real opposition in the parliament apart from the relatively small, left-wing, Unity List (with support of around 9 percent). A serious fight on behalf of the working class could realistically trigger a crisis, topple the government and open up a whole period of political instability. The Danish section of the IMT, Revolutionre Socialister, which is quite young in composition, and its student network, Marxistiske Studerende, have taken the initiative to start a broad solidarity network (SNAS) to forge unity between students and public sector workers. They have worked especially diligently in the universities, to bring the students to the front-lines of the coming struggle, alongside the workers. Our Danish comrades have launched a broad solidarity network (SNAS) to forge unity between students and public sector workers / Image: SNAS Given the widespread anti-establishment mood amongst the youth and the treacherous passivity of the traditional political and student organisations, this campaign has been growing rapidly. Within a little more than two weeks of activity, the SNAS facebook page has reached more than 1000 likes and the groups have over 500 members on the ground. SNAS groups have been formed in three faculties in Copenhagen University, Roskilde University, Syddansk Universitet and Aarhus University. This represents all-but-one of the major universities in Denmark, and other groups have been launched in high schools. SNAS is clearly operating within a huge vacuum and more groups of students are expected to join in the next period. All of this is an anticipation of the explosive events ahead. The perspectives for the class struggle in Denmark have been turned upside down in a few weeks. The reactionary government seems intent on unleashing the pent-up rage of the Danish workers, who have held their heads low for 10 years. The coming struggle confirms what the IMT has repeated on many occasions: sharp and sudden changes are implicit in the current situation in all countries even peaceful, social democratic paradises like Denmark. Our solidarity campaign is active in nearly all the major Danish universities / Image: SNAS Roughly 20,000 people are expected to participate Saturday in the "March for Our Lives" in Boston, Mayor Marty Walsh said Friday. "We're expecting a very big turnout tomorrow," Walsh told reporters after an unrelated event in Boston's Seaport District. Other major U.S. cities, including Washington, D.C., will also host the march, driven by shooting survivors. Organizers are looking for additional gun control measures across the country. The march comes after a school shooting in Parkland, Florida, where 17 students staffers were killed. Their classmates have taken to social media in advocating for stricter gun control. The number of marchers in Boston will be lower than the Women's March, which drew more than 170,000 people protesting the inauguration of President Donald Trump, according to the mayor. "I think that if you're in Congress or the United States Senate and you underestimate these kids, watch out," Walsh said. Walsh himself plans to attend the march but does not expect to speak. "They don't want any elected officials speaking, which is great," Walsh said. "I don't think we should. This is not about us. This is about the kids. This is about young people in America making a movement towards getting guns off the streets of America." A Dover doctor, who at one time was one of the state's largest prescribers of opioids -- second only to an entire hospital -- was sentenced Thursday to eight years in federal prison. Fathallah Mashali, 62, will also serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution in the amount of $8,725,120, federal prosecutors said in a statement. Mashali pleaded guilty last year to numerous charges of Medicare fraud and money laundering. Investigators said Mashali ran a group of pain management clinics in Massachusetts and Rhode Island and employed a group of physicians in Cairo, Egypt. Investigators said Mashali billed Medicare for extensive medical treatments and services never provided to patients. His patients suffered from chronic pain and he prescribed large doses of powerful painkillers. Some patients died due to Mashali's greed, prosecutors said. "Dr. Mashali ran his pain management practice as a pill mill," U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said in a statement. "He overprescribed powerful narcotics without any discernable medical services to patients, and some of those patients died from overdoses." The Egyptian doctors helped falsify medical records to keep Mashali ahead of investigators, prosecutors said. Mashali also improperly billed Medicare for urine drug tests but did not properly store urine samples and used faulty equipment, prosecutors said. SPRINGFIELD - The cause of a fire that injured four people in the Pine Point neighborhood Thursday morning, although not considered suspicious, will remain undetermined, a fire department spokesman said. The fire at 195 Riverton Road started in back of a dryer, Dennis Leger, aide to Commissioner Bernard B.J. Calvi said. The Springfield Arson & Bomb Squad, however, has not been able to determine the exact cause. A mother and father and their two children suffered smoke inhalation and were taken to Baystate Medical Center. Their injuries, however, were not considered life-threatening. The fire, reported at about 7:45 a.m., caused less than $100,000 in damage. Judge Thomas Estes should be suspended without pay until the Legislature and governor determine whether he should keep his job, according to the state Commission of Judicial Conduct. Estes had an ongoing extramarital sexual relationship with a woman he supervised that included sexual encounters in his office at the Belchertown courthouse, the commission found. It determined Estes engaged in "willful judicial misconduct" and should be publicly censured. "The Commission also respectfully submits that the gravity and nature of Judge Estes' misconduct is such that it renders him permanently unable to command the respect and moral authority essential to serve as a judge," wrote Howard V. Neff III, executive director of the commission. David Hoose, a Northampton lawyer who represents Estes, recommended the judge be suspended without pay for four months and then be allowed to return to work. Hoose also recommended that Estes be publicly censured and submit a "letter of apology to colleagues and staff at the Belchertown and Pittsfield District Courts" and "Remain in counseling with his current therapist." The matter is scheduled for a hearing before the state Supreme Judicial Court April 24. Massachusetts judges may only be removed via an act of the Legislature and governor. Estes' official title is associate justice. He is collecting an annual salary of $172,194, the state Trial Court said. The Supreme Judicial Court earlier this month unsealed the recommendations of the Commission on Judicial Conduct and other documents from the commission's investigation. The commission found that Estes, who is married with two children, carried on a sexual relationship with Tammy Cagle, a clinician in the drug court program at Pittsfield District Court, from November 2016 to July 2017. They had at least two sexual encounters in Estes' lobby at Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown, the commission said. Estes also used his state email address to communicate with Cagle "about his and her personal lives and to discuss an approach to text messaging each other so that Judge Estes' family would not learn of his extramarital affair," the commission found. Estes agreed with all of those facts, the commission said. The commission said Estes breached numerous codes of conduct including "participating in activities that would appear to a reasonable person to undermine the judge's independence, integrity, or impartiality." Estes has other legal problems. Cagle has accused him in a federal civil rights lawsuit of pressuring her into performing sex acts. No trial date has been set. In July 2017, Cagle filed a sexual harassment complaint against Estes with the state Commission Against Discrimination. Both complaints also name as a defendant Cagle's former employer, Behavioral Health Network. Estes, who owns a home in Northampton, was sworn in as a judge at Northmapton District Court in 2014. He oversaw Eastern Hampshire District Court as its first justice from Feb. 26, 2016, until July of last year, when he was reassigned to administrative duty. The Republican was the first to report, in August, that Estes was barred from hearing cases in Belchertown and had been assigned to administrative duties in Holyoke. At the time, judicial officials said they could not comment about why that action happened. Contact Jim Russell at newstips123@gmail.com. SPRINGFIELD - A New York man who has been repeatedly arrested in New York and Massachusetts for failing to register as a sex offender is facing federal charges for failing to register one more time, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for Massachusetts. Jose Dones, a Level 2 sex offender originally from Schenectady, New York, was charged in U.S. District Court in Springfield after his indictment for failing to register as a sex offender. His prosecution will proceed in Springfield. A level 2 sex offender is someone who has been convicted of a sexual offense but who after release is considered to be of moderate risk to reoffend. Dones, 43, was convicted in New York state in 1994 of second degree rape, and in 2008 for forcible touching. He is required by law to register with the local police once a year or after every time he gets a new address. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Dones has been arrested and convicted four times in New York state courts with failing to register. In May 2016, he was convicted in federal court and sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for the same charge. He had been arrested after moving from New York to Amherst where he had been staying with his girlfriend. Dones was released by November 2017 and was living in Boston while on probation from his 2016 conviction. He failed to register then, and again with New York officials when he moved back to Schenectady the following month. He was arrested Jan. 10 in Schenectady on a charge that he failed to register as a sex offender. According to the U.S. Attorney, Dones could be sentenced to as much as 10 years in prison and be fined up to $250,000. The Massachusetts Lottery announced two Western Massachusetts residents this week have come forward to claim major prizes in separate scratch games. Garrett Alibozek of Adams won a $1 million prize in the lottery's "200X" game, and William Patrick of Chicopee won a $25,000 for life prize in the "Lucky for Life" game. Albiozek opted for the one-time buy-out rather than payments over 20 years. The buyout totalled $650,000, but after taxes came to $461,500. He told lottery officials he plans to use the money to buy a new truck. He purchased his ticket at O'Geary's Package Store on Commerical Street in Adams. The store will receive a bonus of $10,000. Patrick, wife Rita Patrick, and friends drove to Lottery headquarters in a rented stretch limousine to claim his prize. He also opted to receive a one-time buyout rather than $25,000 payments for the rest of his life. The one-time buyout totalled $390,000 before taxes and $276,900 after. He purchased his ticket at Orchard Variety on Main Street in the Indian Orchard section of Springfield. The store will receive a $5,000 bonus. Pittsfield police are asking Facebook users in Berkshire County to stop posting an image of a school threat against the Pittsfield Middle and High School -- which is in Pittsfield, New Hampshire. The department posted on its Facebook page that the threat circulating around Berkshire County is being investigated by police in the Granite State. "PLEASE stop sharing this image as it is only creating mass confusion in and around our community," the post reads. The Concord Monitor reported Wednesday that a New Hampshire student has been banned from the school pending the outcome of the police investigation. The posting sarcastically invites a possible school shooter to chose the New Hampshire school. It first showed up on the student's Facebook page Tuesday. HOLYOKE -- Two students from the Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School were arrested in the past two days for allegedly posting messages on Snapchat that police said threatened shootings. At 11 a.m. Thursday, police arrested an 18-year-old male student from Hatfield at the 161 Westfield Road school after being contacted by school staff. The student allegedly posted a photo of himself on the social media site making the shape of a gun with his bare hand, standing with a classroom of students in the background and the words, "When they don't think I'll shoot this s--- up," Lt. James Albert said. At about 11 p.m. Wednesday, police arrested a 17-year-old girl who attends the school at her home after getting a phone call from someone concerned about a Snapchat post. In the post, the girl allegedly said, according to Albert, "Bet the police can't catch me. If you go to Paulo Freire, don't go to school because I'm going to shoot the whole school (well not everyone) with all my love and kindness. So if you don't want to feel my love, don't go to school on Friday." The posting included numerous multicolored hearts and emojis, he said. It resembled another alleged threat police linked to a 15-year-old ninth-grader at Holyoke High School, who was arrested Thursday. According to police, that student wrote on Snapchat: "if you attend holyoke high school DO NOT GO MARCH 22ND IM SPREADING LOVE AND APPRECIATION IN THE SCHOOL! IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SHOWERED WITH LOVE DO. NOT. GOO. IM AIMING FOR 24 STUDENTS AND 0 TEACHERS, YOU GUYS LOVE AND APPRECIATE ME ITS TIME FOR REVENGE, SEE YOU THERE !" Isabelina Rodriguez, executive director of the Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School, didn't return a call seeking comment. On the school's Facebook page, Rodriguez said the school informed students, parents and staff by email or automated phone call about one of the arrests, and about "a very concerning post on Snapchat, that was subsequently shared via Facebook and other social media venues." "Further it has been determined there is no immediate threat to Paulo Freire Charter School," Rodriguez said on Facebook. "Please be assured any student who attempts to disrupt student learning in this manner, will face significant disciplinary action and possible repercussions. We ask for your assistance in speaking to your students in using social media appropriately to avoid situations like this in the future," she said. Such postings might be dismissed as jokes or parodies, given the choice of words and playful symbols, but police are making arrests to ensure safety in today's climate in which deadly school shootings are happening, Albert said. "We're not ever going to ignore that and neither is the school system and I don't care who thinks it's a joke. Our job as the police is to make sure the schools are safe and the community is safe," Albert said. Albert declined to release the male student's name because he said police were checking to see if the age they received for him was accurate. Police withhold names of juveniles. The male student was charged with violating Massachusetts General Law Chapter 269, Section 14 regarding: "Deadly weapons, explosives, chemical or biological agents, or other deadly device or substance; threatened use or presence; threat to hijack; disruption of school, public building or transport." The student was also charged with threatening to commit a crime and disturbing or interrupting a school assembly, Albert said. The student was arraigned in Holyoke District Court, said Albert. The results of the hearing were unavailable Thursday night. The 17-year-old girl was charged with threatening to commit a crime and violating Massachusetts General Law Chapter 269, Section 14, Albert said. "It's important because she said she'd shoot. We executed a search (at her home). No weapons were found," he said. The girl was held at the police station lockup at 138 Appleton St. overnight and turned over to state juvenile probation staff Thursday, he said. Police in Scituate have seized $30,000 in drugs, thousands of dollars in cash, body armor, a crossbow and pellet guns from a man also accused of sexually assaulting a minor. Michael Tibbets, 23, is facing a slew of criminal charges after a narcotics investigation by Scituate Police and a child abuse investigation sparked by the Department of Children and Families led to his arrest on Wednesday. Tibbets allegedly ran a large-scale drug distribution and THC oil manufacturing operation out of a home at 18 Country Way in Scituate, police said. "Scituate Police Detectives had received many complaints from citizens, anonymous sources and neighbors regarding alleged drug dealing at the Country Way address," police wrote in a Facebook post. "Witnesses had alleged that people were seen coming and going from the house on a regular basis and believed that someone was dealing drugs from the residence." Those complaints led to a months-long investigation into the drug dealing, as a Scituate school resource officer worked with DCF on a parallel investigation into Tibbets' alleged sexual assault of a child under the age of 14. Both investigations came to a head this week, when police filed sexual assault charges against Tibbets and on Wednesday executed a search warrant at the Country Way home. After Tibbets was taken into custody, officers searched the house -- and allegedly found evidence of substantial drug selling and manufacturing operation. "Inside the Country Way residence a large amount of evidence was seized which included large amounts of packaging material, scales, marijuana, oil extract THC, THC vape cartridges, and THC infused liquid drinks that were intended for sale," police wrote. "Several hundred plastic bottles, caps, and labels were located in the attic area of the home along with Pyrex cooking trays, crock-pots and large liquid containers. Police also seized three different kinds of pills believed to be the designer drugs known as Ecstasy and Molly, as well as Adderall. Several thousand dollars in cash, 2 pellet guns, a cross-bow, and a bullet proof vest were also seized. Tibbets, police allege, was extracting THC oil inside the home using butane fuel -- a process that both yields a highly concentrated THC oil ideal for creating marijuana edibles and can cause explosions. This month, explosions linked to hash oil manufacturing have been reported reported in California, Nevada and the Pacific Northwest, including a blast in Stockton, California that sent two men to the hospital with severe burns. "Although the recreational use and possession of Marijuana has been legalized in Massachusetts, the sale of it in raw or oil form by private citizens still remains illegal," Scituate police wrote. Personal possession and use of cannabis are now legal in Massachusetts, and select retail businesses could begin legally selling marijuana as early as July 1. But unauthorized selling of the drug is still a crime in the state. Tibbets was arraigned in Hingham District Court on nine counts, including indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, manufacturing a controlled substance, marijuana trafficking, three drug distribution charges and two drug possession charges. He was initially released on $5,000 cash bail, but a judge increased his bail by $10,000 at the arraignment, police said. If bail is posted, Tibbets will be given a GPS bracelet and ordered to stay away from any child under the age of 18. NORTHAMPTON -- Alumnae from Smith College sent school administrators a letter Wednesday asking them to divest from the fossil fuel industry. As of October 2017 Smith had over $100 million invested in fossil fuels, according to Divest Smith, a student-led activist group. That same month, Smith reported that, as of June 2017, a total of 6.2 percent of its endowment is "invested indirectly in fossil fuels." Written by members of the group Smith College Alumnae for Responsible Investing, the letter was sent to the school's top administrators, including board of trustees Chairwoman Deborah Duncan, Investment Committee Chairwoman April Foley and President Kathleen McCartney. The letter dubs the fossil fuel industry "morally egregious" and calls divestment not only an "environmental" issue but also a "social justice" one. "Climate change is one of the greatest threats facing humanity in the 21st century," the letter reads. "It disproportionately impacts women and other marginalized groups, and exacerbates conflicts over already scarce resources." Signed by some 200 alumnae, the letter makes several demands of the school -- including that it publish a financial analysis of possible divestment pathways and impacts, negotiate such pathways with its investment manager, and cancel a two-year hiatus that its board of trustees had suggested regarding further action on divestment. The letter's authors state they expect a response by April 1. The letter was released along with a statement from the alumnae organization. "If Smith wants to protect our reputation as a pioneering force for social justice, as well as our integrity as an independent academic institution, and the health and longevity of our endowment, we need to divest from fossil fuels right now," said Gabriella Zutrau, a member of the group, in the statement. "Smith's trustees should listen to the community instead of the fund managers that control the endowment," said Eleanor Adachi, of the class of 2017, who also helped author the petition. "Divestment of fossil fuel holdings is the only way to avoid hypocrisy," added Laurie Macintosh, 1977 class president. The mission to make Smith divest has also been led by Divest Smith, which has been responsible for staging rallies on campus, and also facilitated dialogue between administrators and students regarding divestment. Most recently, members of Divest Smith met with school officials in February to try to convince them to expedite the divestment process, demanding "immediate action" to curb the school's connection on the industry. Action by activists had previously resulted in the school releasing a list of steps it is willing to take reflecting "college's commitment to environmental sustainability while also ensuring the continued health of the endowment." Alumnae commended the school for its efforts while also characterizing them as "wholly inadequate." Divest Smith tweeted out the alumnae organization's letter Wednesday. IT'S OFFICIAL: today hundreds of @smithcollege alums are calling on the Board of Turstees and @presmccartney to immediately take steps toward divesting our endowment from fossil fuels! See the full text of the letter, get involved, & add your name: https://t.co/VnY7TlRbR2 pic.twitter.com/gqJmPRzm4t Divest Smith College (@DivestSmith) March 21, 2018 Other schools throughout Massachusetts have followed similar trajectories for divestment -- including UMass Amherst, which, in 2016, became the first major public university to divest its endowment from direct holdings in fossil fuels. SPRINGFIELD - A driver of a red pickup truck, who crashed into a car in the Liberty Heights neighborhood Friday morning, grabbed his pickup's front grill, which popped out from the impact, and fled, police said. Springfield firefighters were summoned to the crash at Freeman and Phoenix terraces to extricate a victim from the car, Dennis Leger, aide to Commissioner Bernard "B.J." Calvi, said. Ryan Walsh, spokesman for Springfield police, said the victim was taken to Baystate Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. The crash occurred shortly before 9:30 a.m. The pickup, on Freeman and crossing Phoenix, hit the car, which was traveling on Phoenix, Walsh said. The car hit a utility pole and then a parked car, Walsh said. Police continue to look for the red pickup and its driver. This is an update to a story posted at 6:47 p.m. SPRINGFIELD -- Former city police patrolman Anthony Bedinelli had two open internal investigations when he was fired for the second time in 11 years Thursday. The two open cases relate to an on-duty incident in 2017 and an alleged domestic dispute that took place off-duty but left a woman injured, according to summaries of Bedinelli's Internal Investigation Unit records provided by the city in response to a public records request. Hours after Bedinelli was fired, police department spokesman Ryan Walsh confirmed he had been terminated in connection with an on-duty incident, but initially provided no further details. The city's records say a woman made a complaint in November stating Bedinelli "hit her twice in the chest and pepper sprayed her." Walsh later confirmed that was the incident that was reviewed by the Civilian Police Hearing Board and led to Bedinelli's firing. No additional details were available late Thursday. The woman's name was redacted from records provided to the newspaper and it is unclear whether the woman was arrested or charged with a crime. "Today, Springfield Police Commissioner John Barbieri terminated Officer Anthony Bedinelli," Walsh said in a statement earlier on Thursday in response to an inquiry over Bedinelli's firing. "This followed a Community Police Hearing Board review. The city's civilian review board sustained charges against Officer Bedinelli involving an on-duty incident. Officer Bedinelli has the right to appeal this decision, but his termination was effective Thursday afternoon." Of the alleged domestic incident in February, Walsh said state domestic violence laws prevent him from sharing more information on that matter. "Officer involved in off-duty domestic incident; female half injured by unknown means," the records read. Bedinelli could not be reached for comment. He was fired once before in 2007 by then-Police Commissioner Edward Flynn. That firing was prompted by a 2 a.m. off-duty bar fight with a group of young patrons at the Ale House on Worthington Street the previous year. Bedinelli fought his ouster and won at arbitration. He was reinstated in 2009 and collected two years of back pay totaling about $65,000. "We knew former Commissioner Flynn completely overreached in this matter," Bedinelli's attorney, Daniel D. Kelly, said at the time. But that wasn't Bedinelli's first serious brush with discipline. In 1997, his two Rottweilers mauled an 8-year-old girl in their shared East Forest Park neighborhood. Bedinelli was on the dispatch desk at the time, fielded several 911 calls, diverted cruisers from responding to the scene and abruptly left his post to tend to his dogs, hearing officers found at the time. He was suspended for six months. The arbitrator who overturned his 2007 firing ruled Bedinelli only should have been suspended for another six months. Bedinelli was hired as a police officer in 1996. He was on a list of a dozen officers up for promotion to sergeant at the time of his firing. Bedinelli joined several with sketchy disciplinary histories who scored reasonably high on a civil service exam. The list of prospects puts Barbieri in the uncomfortable spot of deciding whether to promote problematic officers based solely on test scores. But the commissioner now has one less to worry about. City Councilor Justin Hurst in February hosted a public hearing and speak-out over the sergeant prospects. Barbieri came to speak about the challenges of the state civil service system and answer councilors' questions. Also making an appearance was Stacie Gumlaw, now 29, who was the 8-year-old mauled by Bedinelli's dogs. She still bore the scars of the attack, when she spent several days in the hospital. Her older brother, Chad, threw himself over his sister to protect her, according to news reports at the time. He also attended the council meeting along with other family members. "It's the most disgusting, disturbing thing," Stacie Gumlaw said of Bedinelli's potential to move up the ranks. The records obtained by The Republican cite that incident along with 18 other internal investigations over Bedinelli's career ranging from the one that triggered his second ouster to civilian complaints of rudeness and swearing at children. In one instance in 2008, Bedinelli's gun was stolen, and in another in 2005, Bedinelli was among a group of officers who allegedly beat a man during an arrest. The dispositions of those case were redacted from the records. The Republican has requests pending for additional information on the 2017 and 2018 investigations cited in Bedinelli's IIU records. SPRINGFIELD -- Their lawyers said William Collazo and Wilbert Medina were by no means high level players in Holyoke's heroin trade. But, the lawyers said, Collazo and Medina were ready to admit their role in a $20 heroin sale to an undercover state trooper. Collazo, 51, and Medina, 45, of Holyoke, pleaded guilty Friday to distribution of heroin. Medina also pleaded guilty to possession of heroin with intent to distribute. Hampden Superior Court Judge Constance M. Sweeney sentenced both men to two to three years in state prison. Assistant District Attorney Lee Baker said on Feb. 17, 2017, the Holyoke police narcotics and vice unit, with the Hampden County Narcotics Task Force, was out looking for street level drug dealing. An undercover trooper approached a man, asking for heroin. The trooper gave that man $20. The man gave the money to Collazo, who gave it to Medina. Medina produced four bags of heroin that were sold to the trooper. Collazo was arrested immediately but Medina ran inside a building and into an apartment, where he was arrested. Outside the apartment he dropped a pill bottle with 45 packets of heroin inside, as well as the $20 buy money. Peter F. Murphy, Collazo's lawyer, said his client was "a minor player in the transaction" but nevertheless facilitated it. He said Collazo has struggled with mental health problems and addiction. Joseph P. Harty, Medina's lawyer, said his client has nothing but regret for what he did. "I don't see him as being a higher level player," Harty said. SPRINGFIELD -- Approximately 50 trades workers and union representatives gathered at City Hall on Thursday to support the city's efforts to make contractors meet hiring requirements for women, minorities and residents on public construction projects. A picket on the front steps of City Hall was followed by a meeting with the City Council on the topic of improving and enforcing the city's Responsible Employers Ordinance. The ordinance sets minimum staffing guidelines for Springfield residents, minorities, women and veterans, including requiring at least 35 percent of the employment for all trades must be Springfield residents. A "Springfield Construction Industry Disparity Study" was unveiled at the meeting. It concluded that stronger efforts are needed to achieve greater diversity, particularly the need for contractors to hire more women on construction projects. After hearing some of the statistics, Jason Garand, business manager for Local 336 of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters, said the situation "just boils my blood." Some contractors seek waivers of diversity requirements, making the excuse they are unable to find qualified women, minorities and residents to fill jobs, but statistics show that is not the case, he said. "The city is saying enough is enough, and we're out here saying thank you," Garand said. While the state and federal target is for 6.9 percent of the jobs to go to women, workforce construction on public projects in Springfield is only 2 percent, researchers said. Researchers from the University of Massachusetts in Boston led the study. The study offers several recommendations including: Make workforce participation requirements prominent in all bid documents. As part of the bid process, general contractors should submit a "diversity history." The city should not grant waivers of the requirements. Public construction projects range from new school construction to major renovations of city buildings. Many union workers and apprentices spoke during the meeting, saying that employment on projects including the MGM Springfield casino project have been critical in their lives. Many of them urged the council to keep jobs and the money from those jobs in Springfield, rather than to workers from outside the region and state. Councilors said their stories have bolstered their commitment to the ordinance and its goals. "You have made this issue real," Councilor Kateri Walsh said. "You have put a face on this issue." Councilor Melvin Edwards, who chairs the REO Committee, said "nothing is more disheartening" than seeing a company come in for a city public construction job and take the money from the project back to places like Rhode Island or New York. Timothy J. Plante, the city's chief administrative and financial officer, said he is working with a council subcommittee and other city officials and union representatives to advance the amendments and enforcement of the ordinance. Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and the council recently approved preliminary funding for a two-person compliance unit to oversee contractor compliance with the Responsible Employer Ordinance. WESTFIELD -- Police are investigating a reported attack on a Westfield State University student as a possible hate crime because the alleged victim was black and the suspects were described as white. Police received a call at 2:28 a.m. Friday reporting an assault on Lloyds Hill Road. Westfield State University police alerted Westfield police after the incident was reported by the student. The student was walking back to campus from a downtown Westfield bar when a vehicle stopped and the occupants asked if he wanted a ride back to campus, police said. The victim agreed and told police before he could get in the car, two of the three male occupants exited the vehicle and began hitting him with an object stuffed inside a sock. Police said there were no visible bruises, but the victim was visibly suffering from abdominal pain. As Transit Police officers were arresting a Dorchester woman for the assault of a Peter Pan Bus Lines employee at South Station in Boston, the woman allegedly threatened to bite one of the officer's ears off. "I'm going to bite your ear off ... I can take you," the woman, identified as 29-year-old Sheila Lynch, said to the officer as she was being arrested for assault and an outstanding warrant, Transit Police said in a statement. The Peter Pan Bus Lines employee reported to Transit Police, who were on patrol at the MBTA's South Station Bus Terminal around 5:40 p.m. Thursday, that the woman demanded a refund on her bus ticket, taking out a knife and making threats. Transit Police located Lynch and the knife used in the alleged assault, the statement said. Lynch had an outstanding arrest warrant from Dorchester District Court for threatening to commit a crime and assault with a knife, Transit Police said. Transit Police were placing Lynch into custody when she threatened to bite the officer's ear off. Lynch was taken to Transit Police headquarters for booking. A look at the federal budget by the numbers generally includes lots of dollar signs. But the omnibus spending bill passed in the early hours of Friday morning fairly cries out for a different kind of calculation, one based on time and pages. The 2,232-page bill was passed by the House less than 17 hours after it was released. A lawmaker who spent each and every second of that time trying to get through the entire package would have to have read 131 pages per hour before casting a vote. With no time for bathroom breaks. Or for trying to figure out what, exactly, a certain less-than-crystal-clear bit of language meant. The Senate passed the measure some dozen hours after the House vote. That provided those in the upper chamber fully 29 hours from release of the bill until their votes were cast. A senator intent on using all of that time - again, with no breaks - could have made it through the measure by reading 77 pages per hour. With no time for even a brief nap. In other words, lawmakers were forced to vote on a bill they hadn't read. When the Senate passed the measure at about 1 o'clock in the morning on Friday, members were voting in the dark, both literally and figuratively. That said, the bill isn't all bad news. It includes much-needed funding for the military, and also funds many domestic priorities. Oh, and it provides just a dribble of money for President Donald Trump's foolish border wall on our nation's border with Mexico. You know, the one he repeatedly said our neighbor to the south would pay for. The White House had asked for $25 billion for the wall. The bill includes just $1.6 billion to get started on the wall, with tight restrictions on how those funds can be spent. Said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, the once and possibly future speaker: "If you want to think you're getting a wall, just think it, and sign the bill." Ouch. Trump loves to dismiss reports he dislikes as "fake news." Fittingly, Congress wants to give him a fake wall. The $1.3 trillion omnibus spending plan provides funds for operations of the federal government through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. Without it, or without the president's signature, the government would have run out of money when the clock struck midnight on Friday. The bill is widely expected to be the last significant piece of legislation that will make its way through Congress this session. Which means, in practical terms, that the midterm campaign season is now officially under way. Expect lots of advertisements from Republicans touting the funds that Congress supplied to beef up our nation's armed forces. And nary a whisper about efforts to rein in federal spending. Because the once-Grand Old Party that had long preached fiscal probity is now a thing of the past. Time was, Republicans would routinely complain about big-spending Democrats who seemed to care not a whit about debt and deficits. There are still a few of those folks on the scene, but they've been largely sidelined. There were also once Republicans who said that Democrats were too often passing bills that would come to the floor for a vote too soon after their release, granting lawmakers insufficient time to know what they'd be voting on. Seems so long ago now, doesn't it? By SHIRA SCHOENBERG and JIM RUSSELL BOSTON -- Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said Friday that Judge Thomas Estes should be removed from office. Two members of the state panel that vets judicial nominees also called for his ouster. The Commission of Judicial Conduct found that Estes, who is married, had an affair with a woman he supervised, including sexual encounters in his courthouse office in Belchertown. The commission recommended that Estes be publicly censured while the Legislature decides whether to remove him. The matter will go before the Supreme Judicial Court next month. "The Baker-Polito administration has a zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment, believes this behavior is entirely inappropriate and that Judge Estes should be removed," said Baker spokesman Brendan Moss in a statement. Moss said Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito support the Commission of Judicial Conduct's recommendation to suspend Estes without pay and "will await the outcome of the legislative and judicial processes in place for further action should either of those independent branches choose to consider it." Retired judge Mary Hurley of East Longmeadow, a member of the Governor's Council, called Estes a "disgrace to the judiciary and the legal profession." "For the good of public confidence in the judicial system, he should resign forthwith -- and stop the charade of collecting his paycheck and doing nothing," Hurley told The Republican in an interview. "There are honest and hardworking judges who have to do his work -- because he is incompetent." The Governor's Council approves or rejects all judicial nominees brought forward by the governor. The council confirmed Estes unanimously after he was nominated by then-Gov. Deval Patrick in 2014. Hurley was elected to the Governor's Council in 2016. Governor's Councilor Jennie L. Caissie, who voted in support of Estes' confirmation four years ago, said Friday: "It is a smack in the face to the taxpayers of Massachusetts that Judge Estes has not already resigned." "Based on the undisputed facts, there are clear ethical violations and worse," she said. "I look to the legislature and governor to institute impeachment proceedings as soon as possible." Under the state constitution, there are two ways to remove a judge who is healthy and under the mandatory retirement age of 70. The Commission on Judicial Conduct can recommend removal to the Supreme Judicial Court or the Legislature can remove the judge. In the case of legislative removal, the House could pass a bill containing articles of impeachment, then the Senate would hold a trial. Alternatively, the House and Senate may both issue a "bill of address," which must be agreed on by the governor and confirmed by the Governor's Council. Senate President Harriette Chandler, D-Worcester, who would preside over a potential impeachment trial, declined to comment. Rep. Thomas Petrolati, D-Ludlow, said Estes has been accused of "serious charges." Petrolati said he had not seen the recommendations of the Commission of Judicial Conduct. "If those charges have been substantiated, I would certainly have to consider removal," Petrolati said. "I'm not going to make a decision until I see the particulars." Estes, previously the presiding judge at Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown, was reassigned in July to administrative duties in Holyoke District Court and is barred from hearing cases. He continues to collect a an annual salary of $172,194, according to the state Trial Court. In documents unsealed earlier this month by the Supreme Judicial Court, Estes acknowledged to investigators that he engaged in sex acts with Tammy Cagle, a clinician in the drug court program at Pittsfield District Court, which Estes oversaw. "The gravity and nature of Judge Estes' misconduct is such that it renders him permanently unable to command the respect and moral authority essential to serve as a judge," Howard V. Neff III, executive director of the Commission on Judicial Conduct, told the court in a written statement. David Hoose, a Northampton lawyer who represents Estes, has recommended the judge be suspended without pay for four months and then be allowed to return to work. Hoose also recommended that Estes be publicly censured and submit a "letter of apology to colleagues and staff at the Belchertown and Pittsfield District Courts" and "Remain in counseling with his current therapist." Cagle has filed a federal lawsuit and a state sexual harassment complaint against Estes. Her former employer, Behavoiral Health Network, is also named as a defendant in both cases. House and Senate negotiators on Friday released a final version of a bill that would overhaul the state's criminal justice system, diverting more people to treatment and programming, making the jail system more humane and helping people convicted of crimes move on with their lives. "The agreement we reached today is about lifting people up instead of locking them up," said Sen. Will Brownsberger, D-Belmont, Senate chairman of the Judiciary Committee. "It's about cutting the chains that hold people down from trying to get back up on their feet, and it is about better protecting the public from drugs and guns." Rep. Claire Cronin, D-Easton, House chairwoman of the Judiciary Committee, said the bill is "comprehensive but also workable, smart on crime and fiscally sound." Sen. Cythia Creem, D-Newton, said after years of being "in punishment mode," the bill focuses on prevention and "looks at the prison population as human beings." The bill, the product of four months of negotiations, is expected to be voted on by the full House and Senate next month. Because it is a conference committee report, lawmakers cannot change it but can only vote yes or no. Lew Finfer, a spokesman for the Jobs not Jails Coalition, said the activists who supported major reforms will be reviewing the details, but the bill appears to be "better than we thought might have been possible" a year ago. "It's all about the impact of incarceration on the person, on their families, back in their communities, about safety, about racial disparities and diversion to treatment," Finfer said. The bill will affect people involved in the criminal justice system from childhood through death, with provisions ranging from raising the minimum age at which someone can enter the court system to establishing a medical release program for terminally ill prisoners. The bill raises the minimum age of criminal responsibility from seven to 12 years old. It does not raise the age at which someone is tried in adult court, despite provisions in the Senate version that would have raised it from 18 to 19. Other provisions aimed at helping young people include: decriminalizing minor offenses for juveniles, including disturbing a public assembly and disorderly conduct on school grounds; authorizing the creation of young adult units in correctional facilities; and limiting the shackling of juveniles. Cronin said the bill focuses on juvenile justice because "the earlier a child becomes involved in our criminal justice system, the more likely that child will remain in the system throughout his or her life." The bill expands diversion programs and removes age restrictions on diversion programs aimed at keeping young people and first offenders out of prison. The bill would create a process to allow records to be expunged, rather than just sealed. Courts will be able to expunge records for juveniles and young adults, until age 21, and records of offenses that are no longer crimes, like marijuana possession. The Senate wanted to rewrite statutory rape laws to decriminalize sex between two teenagers who are close in age, but lawmakers ultimately did not make any changes. An effort has been pending for years on Beacon Hill to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for low-level drug offenders, and the bill would get rid of a handful of mandatory minimum sentences for drug dealing that do not involve trafficking or minors. The bill would strengthen penalties for trafficking in the dangerous opioids fentanyl and carfentanil. Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, D-Boston, who was not a member of the conference committee, has advocated for changes that would help minority communities, who are often disproportionately involved with the criminal justice system. Chang-Diaz said the bill "finally honors the needs of communities that experience the most crime and who are too often ignored." The bill would require that bail take into account a person's financial resources, allow fees and fines to be waived for financial hardship, increase a daily incarceration credit and establish grace periods after a prisoner is released in which parole or probation fees are not assessed. Brownsberger said the bill will address the high rates of incarceration in poor and minority communities. "We've come to understand the criminal justice system is in fact a sprawling bureaucracy that ensnares people from which people cannot escape," Brownsberger said. The bill also: Reduces the time after which someone can seal a conviction from 10 to seven years for a felony and five to three years for a misdemeanor. Increases the threshold for felony larceny from $250 to $1,200. Expands access to programming, mental health screening and regular reviews for inmates in solitary confinement, and prohibits the use of solitary confinement for pregnant women and juveniles. Protects victims of human trafficking from prosecution for prostitution. Increases the penalty for corporations convicted of manslaughter. Increases penalties for operating under the influence for a sixth or subsequent offense. Requires anyone convicted and sent to prison to immediately submit a DNA sample. Creates special commissions to collect data related to solitary confinement, juveniles, medical parole, forensic science, and justice-involved women. The overhaul of the state's criminal justice system has been in the works for years. In early 2016, a task force led by the Council of State Governments Justice Center began a year-long review of the criminal justice system. Their report focused primarily on ways to reduce recidivism: improving prisoners' education while in prison and improving the supervision and programming that is available upon release. A bill based on those recommendations was passed by the House, and will be voted on by the Senate alongside the new criminal justice bill. But activists for reform complained that the report did not go far enough. As a result, the Senate then the House both released more extensive bills. The six members of the conference committee, which included Democrats and Republicans, all signed the final compromise after what they characterized as long hours of extensive haggling over details. House Majority Leader Ronald Mariano, D-Quincy, said he had never participated in a conference committee in which the House and Senate bills started with "such a wide gap philosophically." The bill got positive reactions from several people who were closely watching the process. Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins said he is still reviewing the details, but, "From what I've heard, I think they've addressed all of the salient issues that will keep people out of jail, that will help people in jail and after they get out, and equally important help to keep people out of the system entirely." Gov. Charlie Baker declined to weigh in. "The Baker-Polito Administration is pleased that the committee has reached an agreement and will carefully review final legislation that reaches the governor's desk," said Baker spokesman Brendan Moss. By Colin A. Young STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, MARCH 22, 2018.....Trying to bring state law in line with the new ways in which people rent short-term lodging, the Massachusetts House on Thursday passed legislation to regulate and tax the short-term rental industry. Short-term rentals through websites like Airbnb, HomeAway and VRBO have grown in popularity over recent years, creating new revenue streams for property owners and giving travelers more options, but critics say the trend is changing neighborhoods and should be regulated in the same way hotels and motels are. The House passed its rental regulation bill 117-30 on Thursday afternoon, though there was no debate on the bill or any of the 29 amendments representatives filed to it. Two representatives spoke from the floor Thursday, both in favor of the bill. Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, who helped write and champion the bill passed Thursday, said the explosion of short-term rental services has "created a whole new industry that at the moment is completely unregulated, has created drastic inequities in the overall lodging market and has added to the housing crisis in some of our biggest cities." Michlewitz said his bill (H 4314) addresses public safety and consumer protection concerns while letting cities and towns make decisions about regulation rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach. "The elderly couple in the South End renting out their spare bedroom is a different type of business than a summer vacation rental on the Cape or a unit of housing that is on the short-term rental market for 365 days of the year," said Michlewitz, whose Committee on Financial Services held listening sessions around the state as it developed the bill. "The needs and concerns for the short-term rental industry in the Berkshires are much different than those needs and concerns in places like Cambridge or Somerville." Michlewitz's bill would require the Department of Revenue to maintain a short-term rental registry, record the name of each host and the address of each unit they offer, and give the department the authority to charge a "reasonable fee" for registration. An "easily searchable and regularly updated" list of unit addresses -- without the host's name -- would be published online. Rentals would be taxed at levels ranging from 4 percent to 8 percent, depending on how many units a host offers. Residential hosts renting two or fewer units would be taxed at 4 percent, investor hosts with three to five units would have a 5.7 percent tax, and professionaly managed hosts renting six or more units would face an 8 percent tax per rental, under the bill. Cities and towns would have the option to impose local excise taxes of up to 5 percent for residential hosts, 6 percent for investors, and 10 percent for professionally managed hosts. Communities that opt for the local tax would need to adopt ordinances or bylaws requiring any residential units offered as short-term rentals first undergo a safety inspection, the costs of which would be charged to the host. Half of the local tax collected from professionally managed hosts would need to be dedicated to "programs addressing either local infrastructure needs or low- and moderate-income housing programs," according to the bill. A Rep. Kevin Honan amendment adopted Thursday would require that at least 25 percent of that tax money be distributed to low- and moderate-income housing programs. The taxes in the bill would kick in a year after the bill's effective date and would not apply to units that rent for less than $15 a day. Hotel rooms rented for $15 or more per day are taxed at 5.7 percent in Massachusetts, with municipalities able to levy up to an additional 6 percent, or 6.5 percent in Boston. Airbnb has called the proposal "onerous and overly burdensome," a position that prompted pushback from the Massachusetts Lodging Association, which represents the hotel industry and said Airbnb's goal is "protecting the wealthy investor class hosts who have made it a big business to buy up scarce housing and convert it to illegal, unregulated and untaxed hotels at the expense of local residents and neighbors." The issue has been percolating on Beacon Hill for three years, as Airbnb has asked Massachusetts to tax its rentals, the hotel industry has called for an even regulatory playing field, and Gov. Charlie Baker and the Senate have put forward their own plans. Baker, in his fiscal 2019 budget, proposed extending the state's lodging tax to short-term rentals, but only for units that are rented out 150 or more days per year. The House bill does not require a minimum number of rental days before the tax applies. "The House took a thoughtful and holistic approach to regulating short term rentals," House Speaker Robert DeLeo said. "For the first time in Massachusetts, we go beyond taxation and implement a necessary regulatory framework to ensure public safety and accountability." Sen. Eric Lesser, who said the issue of short-term rentals is "a big deal" in his district because it has a lot of bed and breakfasts, said Thursday that he expects the Senate will again pass a version of a rental regulation bill this session. "I definitely think we need to do something very soon and I think we will do something very soon," he said on Boston Herald Radio on Thursday morning. "The Senate has done this now several times in a row, we've passed Airbnb rules, so my hope is now once the House does theirs today we'll be able to all get in a room together and come to consensus on something the governor can also sign." As another dramatic and prolonged New England winter draws ever-so-slowly to an end, schools throughout Massachusetts are preparing to make up the many days lost to foul weather. Superintendents across the state have faced difficult decisions this year as back-to-back storms ripped power, flooded streets and left mounting snow piles in their communities. For some districts, that last day of school is starting to inch into summer. On Thursday, school districts in Eastern and Central Mass. called it quits the night before a looming nor'easter, though snowfall turned out to be a dud for most of the state, earning the mocking titles of bor'easter, snor'easter or no'easter. In Boston, schools were canceled on Thursday despite minimal snow. Boston Public Schools spokesperson Daniel O'Brien acknowledged that it was a tough call, but said the city decided to take the precautionary measure. "We knew there was uncertainty, but we opted to close schools because we always make safety a top priority," O'Brien said. In a statement, Mayor Marty Walsh, too, recognized the forecast was ambiguous. Boston has had six snow days total. But in other districts, turbulent weather and widespread power outages have made for a far worse case. Schools in Andover have lost 10 school days due to weather and power outages. Three days were missed in late October, two days during the January nor'easter, and five more in the last few months. "I consider it very troubling," said Andover Superintendent Dr. Sheldon Berman. Berman went to the town's school committee in January to initiate an emergency plan: schedule school days on Good Friday and two Saturdays, April 28th and May 12th. Andover schools will still let out on June 29th. In Billerica, the public school system posted a survey on its website asking if the town would rather see its eight school-day cancellations made-up during April vacation, or the last week of June. The Billerica superintendent's office said the town will learn the outcome at a school committee meeting on Monday. "None of these are easy decisions," Berman said. "No one loves Saturdays. Let's just say that. But people understood we have a requirement to go 180 days." Berman said he wakes up at 4 a.m. to make a final decision about the school day. But this year, Berman said the decisions to call off school were all "really clear." At least half of the missed days in Andover were due to power outages. "The earlier the decision can be made based on National Weather Service and local weather forecasts, then it's made as soon as possible," said Springfield Public Schools spokeswoman Azell Cavaan. "The decision is based on the best information at the time." She said that weather forecasts have become increasingly accurate over the years, and that in a bigger city like Springfield, the safety of 26,000 students is the top priority. "Springfield has more of everything because our district is second largest in New England," she said. "Our whole transportation system, the number of walkers, is huge." Plymouth Superintendent Gary E. Maestas agreed that size plays a big factor in whether or not to call off school. Plymouth's landmass extends over 100 square miles, compared to Springfield's 33 square miles or Boston's 90 square miles. According to the superintendent, different parts of the town often experience very different weather, which has resulted in six school day cancellations so far this year. "It's very difficult in Plymouth," Maestas said. "I don't just get up in the morning and think, 'I should call a snow day.' It's very complex, really dependent on conditions across our community." Public school administrators share similar decision-making processes: contact their respective public works department, speak with local authorities, check on specialized weather reports for the latest information. Maestas said other than weather reports, he uses no external sources to make his decision. In Andover, which is less than a third the size of Plymouth, Berman said he consults and collaborates closely with other superintendents in the area. Chelmsford Public Schools had moved the last day of school to June 29 prior to closing school on March 14. Superintendent Jay Lang, in a message to parents, said he was recommending holding a full school day on Good Friday to make up the snow day. The school had previously planned a half day. "I am trying to be sensitive to the number of families and staff that have scheduled trips and/or have existing vacation plans for April school vacation week," he wrote. But Lang is concerned that the snow days may not be over. "While I hope we do not need to utilize any of these days, we need to have a plan to prepare for the worst-case scenario," he wrote. That plan includes holding school on Saturdays to make up for each additional day the school might lose. Some believe this season was just another in a long line of cruel New England winters. Over in Plymouth, Maestas believes it was the rapid succession of storms this year which made it difficult for schools. Others -- like Berman -- find the intensity of the storms an eerie sign of what's to come. "One of the things we're seeing is we're having more ... challenging storms than we've had before," Berman said. "I just have a sense we're going to be experiencing that similar kind of more extreme weather conditions in the future." As for next year, Andover approved the school year start before Labor Day. While it will make for an extra-short summer this season, the town hopes the new measure will ensure school lets out on time next June. "For small to medium to national organizations, for events and fundraisers of any size, in any format live, virtual or hybrid the platform is built for scale." Bullocks bipartisan solutions to balance the states budget affirm Montanas positive credit outlook Governor Steve Bullock today announced that Moodys has affirmed Montanas positive credit outlook, commending efforts by the executive to balance the states budget through bipartisan solutions. "I am pleased that Montana continues to maintain our fiscal strength. Its good for our economy, for doing business in Montana, and for all Montanans," said Governor Bullock. "Next legislative session, I look forward to using that strength to continue investments in critical health, education, and public safety." http://governor.mt.gov/Newsroom/governor-bullock-protects-montanas-fiscal-strength The public is hereby informed that as from Monday 24 May 2021 and until further notice, the MNIC Centre at Port Louis will operate on an Alphabetical Order System. It will be as follows: A to F on Mondays and Thursdays 08.45 15.30 hrs G to N on Tuesdays and Fridays 08.45 15.30 hrs O to Z on Wednesdays 08.45 15.30 hrs O to Z on Saturdays 08.45 12.00 hrs Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Le ministre de lIndustrie a pris part a la 4e reunion ministerielle de la COMESA sur lindustrie en mode virtuel avec le service de conference zomm. Lors de son discours, Sunil Bholah a souligne que Mauritius was also one of the countries that benefitted from the Multi-Fibre Agreement (MFA) during the 1980s and 1990s which provided additional opportunities for international trade. Il a ajoute plus loin, As at December 2020, the Export Oriented Enterprises (Ex-EPZ) exported for 53% to Europe, 23% to Africa, 12% to USA and the rest to Asia and others. It is highly desirable that exports to the Continent be further pursued with other Member States. The manufacturing sector remains one of the most important pillars of the Mauritian economy. It accounts for around 12% of the GDP and about 17% of the total labour force. Sur le Industrial Policy and Strategy Plan (IPSP) 2020-2025 presente fin 2020, le ministre a indique The main objective is to achieve higher industrial growth for greater economic prosperity. An uplift of the manufacturing sector to a more competitive, innovative, technology-driven and resource-efficient activity is imperative to withstand the challenges of a global and liberalized trading environment. The document revolves around five focused areas namely reinforcing the industrial foundations, upgrading the value chains, increasing domestic market supply, enabling regional and global growth, and ensuring advanced technology absorption. A set of 22 industrial policy recommendations has been proposed to achieve the targeted goals in these fields of interventions. In addition, a Plan of Action with projects and activities has been formulated for four key sectors namely Textile & Clothing, Food Processing and Fish Preparations, Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticals, and Jewellery to accelerate their development. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Urging unity and action to accelerate nutrition targets amid the global Covid-19 pandemic, representatives of the African Development Bank , the Aliko Dangote Foundation and Big Win Philanthropy renewed their commitment to end child stunting and other forms of malnutrition through the Banking on Nutrition Partnership . The partners convened during a high-level panel discussion held on 8 July, organized by the African Development Bank. They shared lessons learned, experiences, achievements of the Banking on Nutrition Partnership since its inception five years ago. They also discussed its implementation within the African Development Bank and its Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Action Plan, as well as measures to encourage other organizations and development banks to integrate nutrition into their portfolios. The Bank is relentless in pursuing bold targets to unlock Africas human and economic potential. It is our aim to inspire other actors to recognize nutrition as central to that agenda, said Dr. Beth Dunford, Vice President, Agriculture, Human and Social Development Complex, African Development Bank in her opening address. We need urgent action from all sectors to rise and renew commitment towards nutrition to help speed up the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerate achievement of nutrition targets, she added. Other interventions during the program came from Kesete Admasu, CEO of Big Win Philanthropy, Zouera Youssoufou, CEO of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, Joel Spicer, CEO of Nutrition International and Martin Fregene and Chanda Osward, directors from the African Development Bank. Each speaker reaffirmed their commitment to the Partnership and to help countries end child stunting on the continent. Malnutrition continues to rob generations of Africans of the chance to grow to their full physical and cognitive potential, hugely impacting health outcomes and economic development. The Banking on Nutrition Partnership aims to generate long term economic growth for Africa by investing in Grey Matter Infrastructure. In 2020, 61.4 million African children were registered as stunted, with Africa being the only region where the number of stunted children has risen and 40% of all stunted children in the world live on the African continent. The Banking on Nutrition Partnership is a prime example of African leadership in health and nutrition. When we have a practical result driven success story based on partnership, it is important to showcase it, said Youssoufou. The value of the Partnership is for all of us to come together and look at how to incorporate nutrition more deliberately as part of a comprehensive protective wall of immunity around people from the inside and out, Spicer said. The Partnership has demonstrated its effectiveness through numerous initiatives and programs such as support for Ethiopias Seqota Declaration a commitment to end stunting in children under two by 2030. The African Development Bank approved $48 million in funding for the Government of Ethiopias Multi-Sectoral Approach for Stunting Reduction Project (MASReP). Positive results of the Banking on Nutrition Partnership include integration of nutrition into 18% of African Development Bank projects, with 21% of project interventions prioritizing focus on women and children. The Bank also surpassed its 2025 targets of 15% and 10% nutrition-smart investments in the WASH and social protection sectors respectively. In its next phase, the Banking on Nutrition Partnership will prioritize 10 countries using the African Development Banks Grey Matter Infrastructure Investment Index, a criterion based on country rankings centered on their stunting burden and borrowing headroom. These countries include Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Sudan, Madagascar, Kenya, Burundi, Mali, and Burkina Faso. It will take a healthy and skilled workforce to put Africa on the recovery path after COVID-19 and, more importantly, to move the needle in transforming the continent and the quality of life of its people, said Martha Phiri, Director of Human Capital, Youth and Skills Department. Launched in 2018, the Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Action Plan (https://bit.ly/3r8KVyk) 2018-2025 is an ambitious plan to leverage additional financial resources through nutrition smart investments across sectors such health, agriculture, WASH, social protection and education to support a 40% stunting reduction across the continent by 2025. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Ten utility CEOs from Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Malawi and Rwanda have confirmed their attendance at the Utility CEO Forum: East Africa 2019 that is taking place during the upcoming Future Energy East Africa conference and exhibition at the KICC in Nairobi from 17-18 September. The forum is a closed, by-invitation-only meeting for utility CEOs to gather under Chatham House Rules to discuss pressing issues and pave the way for transformation and deeper collaboration. Confirmed so far for the Utility CEO Forum: East Africa are: Beck Awan Deng, Chairman & General Manager, South Sudan Electricity Corporation, South Sudan David Muthike, Strategy & Business Performance Director, KenGen, Kenya Jared Omondi Othieno , CEO, Kenya Power, Kenya Rebecca Miano, CEO, KenGen, Kenya Shiferaw Telila, CEO, Ethiopian Electric Utility, Ethiopia Allexon Chiwaya, CEO, Escom Malawi, Malawi Jean Claude KALISA, CEO, Energy Utility Corporation ltd, Rwanda Mike Nolan, Engineering Director, Biojoule Kenya, Kenya Norman Wanyiri, General Manager, Gulf Power Limited, Kenya Sending a representative Abraham Belay, CEO, Ethiopia Electric Power Corporation, Ethiopia Future Energy East Africa The 21st edition of the Future Energy East Africa conference and exhibition will focus on the enormous progress that has been made in the region in terms of access to energy and the increasingly important role of mini and off-grid projects to meet targets. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Ukraine's National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting has issued another warning to companies broadcasting in the MX-5 multichannel digital network with the logo "112 Ukraine," in particular, Ariadna TV, Leader TV, Partner TV, Vybir TV, and Novy Format TV, for violating the program broadcasting concept, changing the format and logo, and again refused to reissue their licenses, the regulator has reported on its official website. The council made respective decisions at a meeting on March 22. "Scheduled inspections of companies, which were conducted on February 28 on the basis of monitoring on February 14, recorded a number of violations of the current legislation and licensing conditions for broadcasters," the report says. In particular, all these regional companies broadcast with the same logo "112 Ukraine," whereas, under the license, the logo should look like the name of the company with the words "the 112 Ukraine emblem." In addition, the change in the format of broadcasting has been revealed. Instead of the entertaining and film showing format, companies actually broadcast in the information format, which is also a sign of violations. As reported, in June 2017, Kyiv's Administrative Court of Appeal recognized as illegal the inaction of the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting regarding the failure to consider the applications submitted by 112 Ukraine companies for re-issuing licenses due to the change of the company's managers. The validity period of the previous licenses of the TV channels of the 112 Ukraine group expires in September 2018. A Northwestern University-led team has developed a new way to manufacture proteins outside of a cell that could have important implications in therapeutics and biomaterials. The advance could make possible decentralized manufacturing and distribution processes for protein therapeutics that might, in the future, promote better access to costly drugs all over the world. The team set out to improve the quality of manufactured proteins in vitro, or outside a cell, and found success across a number of fronts. We developed a bacterial cell-free protein synthesis system that is capable of high level expression of pure proteins containing multiple non-canonical amino acids, said Michael Jewett, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering at Northwesterns McCormick School of Engineering. This is important because it allows us to expand the range of genetically encoded chemistry incorporated into proteins in previously unattainable ways. The team, which brought together researchers from Northwestern, Yale University, and the Illinois Institute of Technology, reported its work in the journal Nature Communications on March 23. Protein production plays a critical role in medicine, biotechnologies, and life sciences. Recombinant protein production, for example, has transformed the lives of millions of people through the synthesis of biopharmaceuticals, like insulin, and industrial enzymes, like those used in laundry detergents. Conventionally, protein production has been accomplished in living cells in large centralized manufacturing facilities. Alternatively, what cell-free protein synthesis does is take the cell, rip off the cell wall, and collect the guts of the cell. We then use this to make a protein without a living, intact organism, said Jewett, who is also co-director of Northwesterns Center of Synthetic Biology. You can imagine Ive taken a car and opened the hood and taken out the engine and put it over here in my driveway. Now I can use it to do something else. Without the worry of trying to keep a cell alive, this process opens up many possibilities, including the synthesis of new classes of enzymes, therapeutics, materials, and chemicals with diverse chemistry. A living cell may balk when asked to do something it hasnt seen in its evolutionary biology, not so for a cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) platform. The problem up to this point, though, has been that efforts to use CFPS systems for expanding multiple non-canonical amino acids have been limited by competition with the natural machinery that terminates protein synthesis. As a result, manufacturing proteins harboring diverse chemistries with high purity and yields has presented a formidable challenge. But Jewett and the team produced the highest yields of proteins with non-canonical amino acids ever reported for in vitro systems, suggesting that long-term commercial applications for CFPS might be realistic. Jewett credited the breakthrough to two elements. The first was the idea of using a genomically recoded organism of Escherichia coli bacteria that lacked release factor 1. This is important because it provided us an open coding channel to incorporate new chemistry, he said. Trying to develop a cell-free protein synthesis from that strain had never been done before. The second element came courtesy of Jewetts student, Rey Martin, the lead author of the paper. Jewett said when they first tried to use the strain, they failed to make enough protein. What my student Rey did in a very innovative strategy was find genes in the chromosome of that organism that we thought were negatively affecting our ability to produce protein, Jewett said. He functionally inactivated them to enable higher cell-free protein synthesis yields. Jewett said that Martin didnt stop there. Rey optimized the cell-free environment to enable multiple identical non-canonical amino acids to be incorporated, Jewett said. Where before researchers have used just one or a few instances, he said his team was able to incorporate up to 40, site specifically with no observable truncation products. What that means is we can really change fundamentally the properties of protein polymers in unique and new ways, Jewett said. And you may ask, well, what are you going do with that? From a research perspective, we havent had this exact capability before so we havent been able to even ask the question. Jewett imagines applications not just with medicines but also biomaterials for drug delivery systems, medical materials such as surgical sutures, and functionalized biopolymers. Whats special about this platform is that its already being used in so many other project areas in the lab, Jewett said. It has the potential to open up an entirely new area of materials chemistry research for biotechnology and, more broadly, could enable new paradigms of on-demand biomanufacturing of vaccines and therapeutics. Ryanair to launch flights to 10 destinations from Kyiv, five from Lviv in Oct Ireland's low cost airline Ryanair in October 2018 is to launch flights to 10 destinations from Kyiv and five from Lviv, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said at a briefing in the Boryspil airport devoted to the arrival of Ryanair to the country on Friday. Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said that the flights will be launched from October 15. Thus, the airline will launch flights from Kyiv to Barcelona (four flights a week), Bratislava and Wroclaw (three each), Warsaw (four), Krakow (three), Poznan and Gdansk (two each), Vilnius and Stockholm (three each) London (five); from Lviv to Krakow (three), Warsaw (three), Dusseldorf (three), Memmingen (two) and London (three). According to a press release distributed to journalists during the briefing, the fares start from EUR 19.99, whereas in the presentation presented at the event - from EUR 9.99. According to the airline booking system, fares from EUR 9.99 are available on routes to Poland and Vilnius, EUR 19.99 - to London and Stockholm. The fare for flights to Barcelona, for example, in November starts from EUR 29.99. France allocates EUR 500,000 for humanitarian projects in Donbas, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has said. "We are determined to continue our assistance ... France has decided to provide financial assistance to two non-governmental humanitarian organizations that work there. France allocates EUR 500,000," Le Drian said at a press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin in Kyiv on Friday. He expressed concern over the humanitarian situation in Donbas. "I want to express our concern about situations that remain critical, victims that happen to be almost every week and those people who are hostage and suffer from unbearable conditions of existence," the minister added. According to Le Drian, the funds will be allocated for the implementation of projects to ensure the food security of the local population, as well as a project to restore the school in Krasnohorivka, Maryinsky district of Donetsk region, and restore reservoirs at the water station in Popasna, Luhansk region. The Irish low cost air carrier Ryanair, which intends from October 2018 to launch flights to Kyiv and Lviv, does not rule out the opening of a subsidiary in Ukraine in future, but this should be preceded by the development of the network and the basing of planes here, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has said at a press conference at Boryspil airport. "We have confidence that at least two large airports will be added in the next two years, and more routes from Kyiv and Lviv. The next big stage, which we have already discussed with the minister [Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Volodymyr Omelyan] is the possibility of opening bases in Ukraine. This can happen when we operate in three or four airports and have a certain number of routes. We expect that in Ukraine we will grow faster than in Poland," he said. The expert stressed that it is too premature to talk about the Ukrainian subsidiary, first 15 new routes should be launched and passenger traffic should start growing. As reported, Ryanair in October 2018 will launch flights on ten directions from Kyiv and five from Lviv. Thus, the company will launch flights from Kyiv to Barcelona (four flights a week), Bratislava and Wroclaw (three), Warsaw (four), Krakow (three), Poznan and Gdansk (two each), Vilnius and Stockholm (three each) London (five), from Lviv to Krakow (three), Warsaw (three), Dusseldorf (three), Memmingen (two), and London (three). We aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world For over 130 years, Merck (known as MSD outside the U.S. and Canada) has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the worlds most challenging diseases in pursuit of our mission to save and improve lives. We demonstrate our commitment to patients and population health by increasing access to health care through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. Today, we continue to be at the forefront of research to prevent and treat diseases that threaten people and animals including cancer, infectious diseases, such as HIV and Ebola, and emerging animal diseases. On Friday, March 23, at 10.30, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency will host a press conference, entitled "Collapse of Trust", on the results of a poll conducted by the Sofia Social Research Center on March 2018: an assessment of the work of central authorities, a request for the political renewal, the level of electoral support of political parties and potential presidential candidates in Ukraine, and attitudes to various ways of settling the conflict on Donbas. The participants include philosopher Andriy Yermolaev and head of sociological programs of Sofia Center Oleksandr Levtsun (8/5a Reitarska Street). Admission requires press accreditation. More information by phone: (095) 095 9223. On Friday, March 23, at 12.00, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency will host a press conference titled "Start of Political Season: First Results, First Conclusions." The participants will include Director of the Institute of Global Strategies Vadym Karasiov; expert of the Gardarika strategic consulting corporation Konstiantyn Matviyenko; and director of the "Ukrainian Barometer" sociological service Viktor Nebozhenko (8/5a Reitarska Street). Registration of journalists requires press accreditation. Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin has announced a joint trip with the French and German foreign ministers to Donbas. "It's a pity that we could not go to Donbass today, but we agreed that we would do it together with the new German Foreign Minister and go there together," he said at a joint press conference with Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Yves Le Drian in Kyiv on Friday. According to Klimkin, it is important to see Russian aggression with your own eyes. Ukrainian deputy (non-factional) Nadiia Savchenko, in respect of which at present the Shevchenkivsky district court of Kyiv is choosing a preventive measure, has announced a hunger strike. "I am starting a hunger strike from today," Savchenko said, speaking during the court session on Friday. "It's no longer scary for me, I've already done it," she said. "God helped me last through a 83-day hunger strike [...] If he helps me last longer, I will live longer. If not, [my life] will end before you convict me," she told the judge. Savchenko went on hunger strike in a Moscow detention facility in December 2014. She said it lasted more than 80 days. She has gone on hunger strike several times since then. Ex-nonaligned Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine deputy Nadiia Savchenko has said transportation of weapons from Russia-occupied Donbas was arranged in order to determine the origin of the armaments. Savchenko made the statement during a pretrial arraignment session in Kyiv's Shevchenkivsky District Court. "The weapons transported, and I did not once take part in this, except at the end of the notice of suspicion where it says this, even though I did not know what weapons were being transported But let's be objective. The weapons were transported from Russia-occupied Ukraine in order to find out if they came from our artillery warehouses, which were blown up under our criminal authorities during wartime, already four times, in order to understand whether they were produced in Russia-occupied Donbas or delivered from Russia, because ammunition is not running out there for four years," Savchenko said. The ex-MP said, "If the weapons had been meant for use in a terror attack, they never would have been transported to a military unit for storage." "Military servicemen receive orders and act according to them. These orders are military and state secrets. Weapons from the enemy need to be tested. It was necessary to understand what we're dealing with because otherwise we would lose," Savchenko said. The ex-MP denied all charges against her. "I never bought weapons. I don't have the money for such an arsenal. I coordinated with volunteers in order to secure the release of Ukrainian prisoners. I always spoke the truth," she said. Ukraine was able to avoid an economic default, despite the loss of GDP and part of the infrastructure, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said. "We avoided default caused by Russia's hybrid war against Ukraine and restored economic growth. This is the merit of the strong, patriotic and responsible Ukrainian people," Poroshenko said at a meeting with Volyn region representatives in Lutsk. "I'll start with the statistics, which gives us an opportunity to understand what kind of abyss we all jumped out of. Because of the annexation of Crimea we lost 3.6% of GDP, 80% of oil and gas deposits in the Black Sea, and 10% of the port infrastructure. Because of the occupation of part of Donbas, we lost 15% of GDP, 25% of industry," the head of state added. The Shevchenkivsky District Court of Kyiv has ruled to select a preventive measure in the form of detention for Ukrainian MP Nadiia Savchenko for 59 days, until May 20, 2018. Judge Yevhen Sydorov read the corresponding ruling on Friday evening after returning from the deliberations room where he spent 3 hours, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent said. Almost 60% of Ukrainians support introduction of peacekeepers into Donbas up to border with Russia poll KYIV. March 23 (Interfax-Ukraine) About 60% of Ukrainians support the initiative to deploy the UN peacekeeping mission throughout the entire region of the ORDLO, up to the border with Russia, according to a survey conducted by the Center for Social Studies Sofia. "The majority of the respondents (55.5%) consider the proposal to place UN peacekeepers on the collision line between the belligerents to ensure a ceasefire, consider it unacceptable - 28.4%, while 16.1% find it difficult to answer," head of sociological programs of the Sofia Center Oleksandr Levtsun said, presenting the results of the poll titled "Public request for renewal of power" at a press conference in the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Friday. He said: "Even more citizens support the deployment of UN peacekeeping forces throughout the occupied territory [Donbas], right up to the border with Russia, to ensure complete cessation of hostilities and the disarmament of militants. Some 59.9% of respondents consider this idea acceptable." According to the poll, this offer is considered unacceptable by 24.1%, it was difficult to answer for 16.0% of respondents. At the same time, according to the results of the poll, the population is rather reserved about the proposal to introduce a temporary UN administration into the territory of the ORDLO with the support of the peacekeeping forces in order to prevent a humanitarian crisis, ensure law and order and conduct elections to local authorities. This position is supported by 47.7%, it is considered unacceptable by 30.5%, while 21.8% found it difficult to answer. The survey was conducted from March 9 to 16 March, 2018 in all areas that are controlled by Ukraine. Some 2,010 respondents aged over 18 were interviewed. The sampling error does not exceed 2.2%. The Grand Rapids chapter of Citizens' Climate Lobby is hosting a festival event on April 11 focused around the topic of climate change. The event, titled "Our Children's Future," will feature a live teleconference session in the main auditorium at the Wealthy Theatre, 1130 Wealthy St. SE, with Coreal Riday-White of Our Children's Trust. Our Children's Trust is a legal campaign that seeks systemic, science-based emissions reductions and climate recovery policy at all levels of government. Riday-White will be joined by one or more of the young plaintiffs who are currently litigating for a stable environment for future generations. Following the teleconference, a panel discussion moderated by George Heartwell will take place. Heartwell is the former mayor of Grand Rapids and will focus the discussion on what can be done by the community to mitigate and reverse damage done by carbon emissions. Additionally the event will feature live music, displays from students at Grand Valley State University that present different scientific aspects of climate change, and an exhibition of photographs and paintings by local artists. Representatives from local organizations who will be attending to give more information on their services include Citizens' Climate Lobby, The Climate Witness Project, Grand Rapids Food Co-op, West Michigan Growers Group, Greater Grand Rapids Bicycle Coalition, Urban Roots and the West Michigan Environmental Action Council. A full list of activities and schedule for "Our Children's Future" can be found on the event page at www.eventbrite.com. The event is free and open to the public. Join John Gonzalez and Amy Sherman as they explore the best spots to grab a bite in Dearborn Michigan. The Michigan's Best team plans a full day of good eats starting with baklava. Don't Edit Amy Sherman | MLive.com Shown are the owners of Taystee's Burgers in Dearborn. BY AMY SHERMAN | asherma2@mlive.com Our Michigan's Best team of Amy Sherman and John Gonzalez travel the state, searching out amazing food and drink. While these searches are usually focused on a type of food, like chicken wings or pizza, we've found that certain cities in Michigan are hot beds of awesome cuisine. Our new video series Michigan's Best Day aims to introduce you to the culinary delights of cities all over our state. We show you how to have a great day eating and drinking your way through well loved establishments, new finds, and hidden gems. Michigan's Best Day recently visited the bustling town of Dearborn, an ethnically diverse area located in Metro Detroit. You can check out the video, and then go behind the scenes of our visit to some of Michigan's Best. Don't Edit Amy Sherman | MLive.com Our first stop was the wonderland that is Shatila Bakery. It is a feast for not only your eyes, but your tummy too, with an unbelievable array of incredible things to indulge in. Case after case of sweets and savories await your visit to Dearborn. Don't Edit Amy Sherman | MLive.com Shown is the walnut baklava from Shatila Bakery. The bakery was opened in 1979 by Riad Shatila, as just a small retail space. The traditional, authentic Middle Eastern sweets that they make became incredibly popular not just in the Detroit area, but across the country. When you ask for baklava here, you get to pick from dozens of different varieties of paper thin phyllo dough brushed with real butter, and filled with all sorts of different nuts. Lightly soaked in syrup, these are crunchy, flaky, sweet and absolutely delicious. Don't Edit Amy Sherman | MLive.com Shown is the knafeh from Shatila Bakery. We got to try a traditional Middle Eastern breakfast pastry, knafeh. Served slightly warm, you drizzle rose water syrup over the top before diving in. Break the crispy shredded wheat on the top to get to the creamy filling. Made with both Spanish and mozzarella cheese, the filling is an interesting balance of sweet and savory. A completely unique treat anytime of the day. Don't Edit Don't Edit Amy Sherman | MLive.com Shown are the mushabak cookies from Shatila. From their humble beginnings, Shatila has grown and expanded remarkably. They added a production and shipping facility in the late 1990's, and remodeled the main bakery in 2000. The bakery now ships all over the world. Most likely if you order baklava at your favorite pita spot or Middle Eastern restaurant, you'll be enjoying something that Shatila Bakery made. Don't Edit Amy Sherman | MLive.com Shown is the mixed baklava tray from Shatila Bakery. If you go: Shatila Bakery 14300 Warren Ave Dearborn MI 313-582-1952 Hours: Sunday through Wednesday 7:30am to 11pm Thursday through Saturday 7:30am to 12am Don't Edit Tanya Moutsalias | Mlive.com The very best subs in Michigan can be found in Dearborn at Alcamo's Market. These are incredible subs, on delicious local bread, featuring imported Italian meats, at prices that you just can't beat anywhere. They are top-notch quality, with fantastic flavor, in a massive sub. And for only $5. Crazy. "I offer these subs at these prices as a gift to my customers," owner Emily Chimento said. "If I'm not going to eat it, I'm not going to serve it." Don't Edit John Gonzalez | MLive.com Pictured is co-owner Pina Chimento, right. This family-owned market can trace its origins to 1942. Originally opened as an Italian market featuring hard-to-find imports, it now has a full service deli, complete with those amazing subs, house-made sausage, and a huge wine section. Alcamo's started making subs for some of their Italian customers and "things just blew up" owner Emily Chimento told us. Her mom, and co-owner Pina said "it wasn't the original intent, but it's just kept growing on its own". They now make hundreds of subs every day for their customers. Don't Edit Amy Sherman | MLive.com During our filming we got to go behind the scenes at Alcamo's, even learning how they make their famous sausage, which is ground and stuffed in house. In addition to making their fabulous subs, Alcamo's is a full blown Italian market, with a deli case that runs along one whole wall and is loaded with all sorts of house made goodies. Lasagna, veal cutlets, chicken pot pies, pasta salad and more are all fresh and ready to grab and go. The whole family works at the market, and many of their employees have been there long term. "Our employees are family," Emily told us. The whole crew works hard to know all of their customers, and to provide friendly, excellent service. Don't Edit Don't Edit Amy Sherman | MLive.com The "Famous Italian" sub is by far the most popular one at Alcamo's, and with good reason. It features Genoa salami, capicolla, mortadella and cooked prosciutto ham on it, as well as provolone cheese, all on a locally baked bun. It then gets topped with fresh shredded lettuce, tomato and onion, and a good dousing of house-made sub sauce. The sub sauce at Alcamo's was one of the best we tried during our search. It's an oil-and-vinegar-based sauce, with a bunch of secret ingredients added, and it adds a great acidic punch to the sub. Delicious. The Famous Italian comes in two sizes. The standard 8 inch comes loaded with meat and cheese and is only $5. Or, if you have a slightly smaller appetite, you can get the same bun, but with a little less meat and cheese for $4. Yes, you are reading those prices right. Get yourself to Alcamo's, for Michigan's Best sub and so much more. Don't Edit MLive reporter Amy Sherman surprises Alcamo's Deli in Dearborn with news that they won MLive's statewide Michigan's Best Sub search. Don't Edit If you go: Alcamo's Market 4423 Schaefer Rd Dearborn, Michigan 48126 (313) 584-3010 Tuesday through Friday 9am to 6pm Saturday 9am to 4;30pm Closed Sunday and Monday Don't Edit Eli Zink | Mlive.com It's a family affair at Taystee's Burgers. Owner Ali Jawad was just 21 when he decided to open a burger spot inside his grandfather's gas station. To help out, he partnered with his cousin Mohamed Nasserddine. The two of them came up with some of the craziest and tastiest burgers you'll ever try. Ali's mom Lila Jawad is almost always helping out behind the absolutely immaculate counter. Don't Edit Amy Sherman | MLive.com Shown is the Volcano burger. The creative burgers here are exactly what you'd expect to come out of a 21 year old brain. They feature fresh ground halal beef that gets delivered to the restaurant several times a week. Ali's Natch-Yo Burger sounds crazy and tastes delicious. Loaded onto an onion bun you get that yummy burger plus lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, jalapenos, American, Swiss, Pepperjack cheeses, nacho cheese sauce, Doritos, mayo and hot sauce. Trust us, just try it. The Volcano Burger, shown above, is a fiery take with locally cured beef bacon on it, as well as deep fried jalapenos. Don't Edit Don't Edit Amy Sherman | MLive.com Other popular burgers include the Taystee's Special Burger, shown above. This burger gets topped with cole slaw, fries, spicy mayo, American cheese, tomato and a fried egg. Take a big bite and watch that yolk run right down your arm. In addition to burgers, they offer everything from chicken sandwiches, to wings, to wraps and quesadillas. Don't Edit Amy Sherman | MLive.com We also fell in love with their hand cut, fresh fried french fries. The West Coast style fries, pictured above, are enhanced with nacho cheese sauce, grilled onions and Taystee sauce. To find this kind of quality food at a burger shack is rare, to find that shack located inside of a gas station is rarer still. Put Taystee's on your list for the next time you find yourself anywhere near Dearborn. Don't Edit Amy Sherman | MLive.com If you go: Taystee's Burgers 10419 Ford Rd Dearborn, Michigan 48126 (313) 724-6535 Sunday through Thursday 11am to 11pm Frida and Saturday 11am to midnight Don't Edit While Taystee's are the new kids on the burger block in Dearborn, old favorite Miller's Bar still brings in loyal crowds for their classic hamburger. One of our top picks for Detroit's Best burger, Miller's has been in business since the 1940's. A verifiable institution, the bar offers up a super simple menu, and a super simple burger. The griddle has been in use here for ages, so it is perfectly seasoned. The burgers are cooked to order and to temp, and come with cheese or without. If you'd like to add anything else to them, visit the condiment tray on your table. Don't Edit John Gonzalez | MLive.com From our Detroit's Best burger search: Miller's keeps it simple with 7 oz., unseasoned burgers. Velveeta cheese is the topping of choice ($7 with cheese, $6 without), but the burgers come with a condiment tray with pickles, lettuce, tomato and onion, if you ask for it. The ground round arrives fresh daily from Davis Meats and has 12-14 percent fat. It's all about the basics, said Mark Miller, who owns the bar with his brother Dennis. Fries and onion rings are available, and so is a fish sandwich during Lent. -John Gonzalez Don't Edit Don't Edit John Gonzalez | MLive.com This is an old school place, nice and dark and moody inside. Please note that they only take cash here, no cards of any kind. The bar is also run on the honor system, just head up to the bar and tell the bartender what you had and they'll ring you up. Don't Edit John Gonzalez | MLive.com If you go: Miller's Bar 23700 Michigan Ave Dearborn, Michigan 48124-1823 (313) 565-2577 Monday through Saturday 10am to 1am Closed Sunday Don't Edit Amy Sherman | MLive.com Shown is the hummus Beirut. For lunch or dinner, it is a must to stop at Al-Ameer Restaurant. Dearborn is home to the largest proportion of Arab Americans in the country, so this is your chance to experience first hand their delicious cuisine. The largest Middle Eastern restaurant in Wayne County, the original was opened by partners Khalil Ammar and Zaki Hashem in 1989. They've been serving up authentic dishes ever since. In 2016, Al-Ameer was named an American Classic by the James Beard Foundation. This is like winning a life time achievement award from The Academy Awards. It's a really big deal, and speaks to the restaurants commitment to quality, authenticity, and dedication. According to the JBF:The America's Classic award is given to restaurants with timeless appeal, each beloved in its region for quality food that reflects the character of its community. Establishments must have been in existence for at least ten years and be locally owned. Don't Edit Amy Sherman | MLive.com Shown is the mixed grill platter. Everything here is made fresh in house daily. Hundreds and hundreds of pounds of chick peas are soaked every night to make gallons and gallons of super creamy hummus. We can't recommend the special Beirut hummus enough. This fantastic family recipe features a huge platter of hummus doctored up with pine nuts, tomatoes, jalapeno, whole chick peas and carrots. Mix it all up, then dive in with a pita bread that is baked fresh every few minutes. The mixed grill has a little bit of everything meat wise. Kafta, shish tawook, shish kabob, and shwarma are all ready to be shared, and can come in chicken, beef, or lamb. At Al-Ameer you'll see a true cross section of Dearborn, all tucking in happily to incredible platters of authentic Middle Eastern cuisine. Don't Edit If you go: Al-Ameer Restaurant 12710 W Warren Ave Dearborn, Michigan 48126-1531 (313) 582-8185 Serves lunch and dinner. 27346 Ford Rd Dearborn Heights, Michigan 48127-2892 (313) 565-9600 Serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Don't Edit Don't Edit More Michigan's Best: These are the 10 best Italian restaurants in Michigan. We reveal the best bakeries in Michigan. Give Michigan's Best french fries a try at these top spots. These are Michigan's Best chicken wings. Don't Edit Spend a Michigan's Best Day in Jackson Join John Gonzalez and Amy Sherman as they explore the best spots to grab a bite in Jackson Michigan. The Michigan's Best team plans a full day of good eats starting with doughnuts, barbecue,... Don't Edit Spend a Michigan's Best Day in Grand Haven Join John Gonzalez and Amy Sherman as they explore the best spots to grab a bite in Grand Haven, Michigan. The Michigan's Best team plans a full day of good eats from breakfast to dessert. Don't Edit Follow Michigan's Best! Amy Sherman on Twitter @amyonthetrail, as well as Facebook and Instagram @amyonthetrail. John Gonzalez on Twitter @michigangonzo, as well as Facebook and Instagram @MichiganGonzo. ANN ARBOR, MI - Ann Arbor is considering ways to reduce traffic speeds to make city streets safer for people, including pedestrians and cyclists who are particularly vulnerable. The speed-reduction subcommittee of the city's Transportation Commission released a set of recommendations this week, noting that numerous studies show pedestrian fatality rates increase dramatically with even moderate increases in vehicle impact speed. For instance, while most pedestrians will survive being struck by a vehicle going 20 mph, many will die if struck by a vehicle going 30 mph and most will die if struck by a vehicle going 40 mph, according to studies cited by the U.S. Department of Transportation. While reducing speeds on all city streets to 25 mph has been discussed, the committee isn't recommending that. "Based on research, work with staff and other transportation professionals, this committee does not recommend a city-wide, 25-mph speed limit for a number of reasons, including (but not limited to) location and traffic volume, functional classification, context, state and federal regulations, traffic patterns, surrounding land uses, and current road designs," the committee report states. Instead, the report recommends a combination of speed changes, road design changes, cultural changes, increased traffic enforcement, changing the city's criteria for undertaking traffic-calming measures on streets, and systematic study of key problematic corridors. "These efforts must be undertaken in combination for change to occur," the report states. "Simply changing speeds without corresponding changes in road design, enforcement, and education about how to use crosswalks or to observe and pass bicycles will not be effective." The city's Transportation Commission, an advisory body to the City Council, unanimously voted to accept the committee recommendations this week, sending them to the City Council for consideration. Commission Chair Linda Diane Feldt expressed appreciation for the committee's work and the thoroughness of the report. The speed-reduction committee members include Bradley Parson, Stephanie Preston and Council Member Chip Smith. They've been meeting bi-weekly since last fall, compiling research, working with city staff and reviewing current policies and procedures. "In keeping with Ann Arbor's Vision Zero goal of zero traffic-related fatalities by 2025, the reality of lowering speeds must be addressed," the committee report states. Some of the ideas in the new report include adopting a zero-tolerance policy on speeding in the city, doing more traffic-calming projects in neighborhoods, looking at changes to the design of Washtenaw Avenue and other corridors to lower speeds, developing a new "Neighborhood Slow Streets Program" and taking a "safe system" approach to setting speed limits. Other than Washtenaw Avenue, there are no specific streets where specific speed-limit reductions are identified in the report, though it does recommend evaluating various corridors for possible changes. Recommendation 1 The report includes seven specific recommendations, the first of which is for the city to establish dedicated "Vision Zero funding" for safety improvements, including measures to calm traffic, as well as public outreach and traffic enforcement. "Currently, a significant barrier to safer streets in Ann Arbor is funding and resources," the report states. "Funding is needed to pay for: enhanced enforcement, capital improvements, programming, staffing and communications. Funding should be separate from and in addition to existing street reconstruction funds." The report suggests that should be overseen by a new city staff member focused on mobility, a person yet to be hired. "This position has been identified in the budget as a recurring expense by the city administrator," the report states. Recommendation 2 The second recommendation is to adopt a city policy requiring a "safe system" approach to designing roadways and setting speed limits. It cites a National Transportation Safety Board report that states, "The safe system approach to speed limits differs from the traditional view that drivers choose reasonable and safe speeds." In the safe system approach, speed limits are set according to the likely crash types, the resulting impact forces, and the human body's ability to withstand those forces. The approach anticipates human error, the fact that humans will make mistakes resulting in crashes, and acknowledges that humans are physically vulnerable. "Therefore, in this approach, speed limits are set to minimize death and serious injury as a consequence of a crash," the report states. "This approach is far more commonly applied outside of the United States, such as in Sweden (where it is called Vision Zero), the Netherlands (where it is called Sustainable Safety), and several jurisdictions in Australia (OECD 2008). However, it is now gaining acceptance in the United States, particularly in Vision Zero cities and municipalities." Recommendation 3 The third recommendation is to increase police traffic enforcement hours in Ann Arbor, including high-visibility enforcement, as speed limits must be enforced to be effective, the report states. "Increased enforcement efforts need to be prioritized by the Ann Arbor Police Department," the report states. "To do this, a different approach to enforcement that engages and involves all road patrol officers rather than a dedicated traffic enforcement unit should be evaluated." The report suggests establishing a zero-tolerance policy on speeding, with citations issued for all violations, and investigating automated enforcement possibilities, including seeking an exception for camera-based tickets at the state level if needed. Recommendation 4 The fourth recommendation is to expand public outreach and education regarding the city's crosswalk ordinance, safe crossing and the city's five-foot rule for cars passing cyclists and pedestrians, reaffirming the city's commitment to safety and fostering cultural change. The report suggests doing so in collaboration with the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Public Schools, employers and others. "Successful implementation is accessible to outsiders and recurs over time, to take into account our transitory population," the report states. "For example, signs on roads entering town are more visible than articles in local papers. The city can also work with large employers to teach new employees our culture and specific rules." Recommendation 5 The fifth recommendation is to broaden the city's existing traffic-calming program through which neighborhoods can request street design changes such as speed humps, lane narrowing and raised crosswalks to reduce speeding and aggressive driving. As of November 2016, there were petitions for traffic calming on 76 street segments, with 24 receiving treatments while 43 others did not qualify based on the city's criteria, the report states. The report suggests broadening the program to allow more streets to qualify for resident-driven improvements. Recommendation 6 The sixth recommendation is to lobby for speed changes on state-owned roads, starting with Washtenaw Avenue, a major intercity corridor between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti that's controlled by the Michigan Department of Transportation. The speed limit is 45 mph on some parts of Washtenaw, including before and after the Washtenaw/Stadium split. The report indicates that's the highest speed limit in the city and there were 25 crashes near the Washtenaw/Stadium split in 2016. It also says there were two fatal incidents there in the last two years, killing one cyclist and one motorist. "Speeding cars involved in accidents also damage adjacent properties with significant damage to fences, bushes, and even the first floor of a house," the report states, suggesting a comprehensive corridor study should be conducted to determine changes necessary to reduce the speed limit throughout the Washtenaw corridor. It suggests exploring opportunities to alter the physical roadway on Washtenaw Avenue for speed reduction through street design, and developing cost estimates for changes required to lower the speed limit between Hill and Arlington to 25 mph. Recommendation 7 The seventh and final key recommendation in the report is to create a new Vision Zero Task Force charged with creating a Vision Zero Action Plan for the city and overseeing its implementation. The report suggests that task force also should be charged with developing a Neighborhood Slow Streets Program that would include taking a neighborhood-based approach to transportation and create a higher level of respect for pedestrians and cyclists, enhancing community-city partnerships on transportation design and expanding the street design toolbox to create active corridors. The report also suggests the task force should be charged with developing a program for system-wide changes to lower traffic speeds using a "safe system" approach, identifying priority corridors near schools and parks, where speeding is documented, and where bicycle facilities and high numbers of pedestrians are present. The report recommends allowing for resident-initiated review of corridors for speed reduction, including through online feedback, and performing ongoing crash data analysis to identify locations, priorities, and preferred outcomes. It also suggests identifying engineering solutions that could be suitable for certain streets. The recommendations are expected to go the City Council for consideration next. The city's staff has provided comments on them, noting the city will need to develop cost estimates and identify funding needs to determine an implementation strategy. According to police data complied by MichiganTrafficCrashFacts.org, there were 3,939 reported vehicle crashes in Ann Arbor in 2016, including 68 involving pedestrians and 82 involving bicyclists. Three of those were fatal, including a student who was killed while trying to cross Fuller Road at a crosswalk by Huron High. The other two fatal crashes happened on Interstate 94 and U.S. 23, not city streets, police reports show. ANN ARBOR, MI - After killing another 115 deer in January and sterilizing several others by removing their ovaries, Ann Arbor is taking a look at how the local deer population is changing. The city's administration released a three-page memo this week, along with a 29-page report from White Buffalo Inc., the hired contractor for the city's deer management program. The report suggests the deer population is up in some parts of the city and down in others, though the contractor also acknowledges last year's estimates were off significantly. It indicates 276 deer were counted in areas inside and just outside the city during a helicopter flyover on Jan. 19, down about 12 percent from 315 counted the year before. Inside the city limits, the count was down 24 percent, from 289 last year to 220 this year, according to the report. But that's not an indication of the total deer population, as other factors go into calculating the overall estimates. And as the new report shows, it's not a perfect science and there's room for error. White Buffalo now acknowledges it significantly over-estimated the deer population in Ann Arbor last year. "Based on observations from the 2018 survey, the correction factor utilized in the prior year is believed to have been too high," the city's memo states. "As survey data continues to be collected each year, the accuracy of the correction factor will improve." White Buffalo previously estimated its 2017 count detected anywhere from 28 percent to 60 percent of deer, depending on the area, and overall it estimated there were about 450 deer in wards 1 and 2, which include the north and east sides of the city. That's where the city has mainly focused its population-reduction efforts. Based on that over-estimate of the population, the city and White Buffalo believed killing 250-350 deer this year, mainly in wards 1 and 2, may be necessary. The actual permit from the state allowed killing up to 250 deer during the third-annual cull in January, and White Buffalo's sharpshooters fell short of that goal, killing 115 deer. The post-cull report now indicates White Buffalo believes the correction factor it used to estimate the deer population last year was off and the estimated detection rate for the 2017 flyover count was too low, resulting in "a significant over-estimation of the population." For this year's count, White Buffalo used a detection rate of 80 percent outside the designated sterilization zones to estimate the population, while looking at trail-cam images to count deer in the sterilization zones where detection rates were believed to be lower. The new report indicates there were 172 deer observed in wards 1 and 2 during the 2018 flyover count. With a roughly 80 percent detection rate, White Buffalo estimates that means there were 216 deer in those wards, including 78 in the sterilization zones. That's 234 fewer than were estimated last year, though White Buffalo now acknowledges last year's estimate was too high. The report also indicates, for this year's flyover count, there were 19 deer observed in Ward 3 around County Farm Park and Mary Beth Doyle Park, up from 11 the year before; 23 in Ward 4 around Pioneer High School, up from eight the year before; and six in Ward 5, which was the same as the year before. "Although not considered a problem at this time, deer abundance is increasing in Wards 3 and 4," the report states. The new report indicates 39 of the 115 deer killed in January were killed after the helicopter flyover count on Jan. 19, and 30 of those 39 post-count kills were in wards 1 and 2. With about 60 female deer still believed to be outside the sterilization zones, White Buffalo expects an additional 70 fawns to be added to the population in wards 1 and 2 by fall, raising the deer population in those two wards, the city's main areas of concern, to about 300 by fall. The report includes discussion of how to manage the deer population with lethal and non-lethal methods going forward. Sterilized deer that are not to be shot have been tagged. "In the future, the relative acceptance of residents in various wards, coupled with desired deer densities for forest health in natural areas, will determine how many deer to allocate to lethal versus non-lethal methods," the report states. "Considering that the University will not allow sharpshooting efforts in the northern portion of North Campus, this might be an area that should be considered for sterilization methods. The other area that is most problematic is the area adjacent to Skyline High School in the NW neighborhoods. "Maintenance-level sterilization of untagged females, and possible immigrants, also should be considered," the report continues. "We should be at maintenance level densities in the rest of the Wards 1 and 2, with pockets of deer in Wards 3 and 4 that should be monitored based upon stated objectives." The report indicates 96 percent of adult female deer in the non-lethal study areas are now sterilized. A total of 72 female deer in Ann Arbor have had their ovaries surgically removed since last year, with 19 of those occurring this year in January. "In some areas of Ann Arbor, capture and surgical sterilization is the best method to control deer abundance, whereas, in other areas with larger open spaces and fewer roads, sharpshooting is the most cost-effective method," the report states. For the initial two non-lethal study areas from last year where deer were sterilized, the report indicates there was an observed 33 percent reduction in the deer population in those zones this year, down from 94 to 63 in the southern zone, which includes neighborhood areas southeast of Nichols Arboretum, and from 15 to 10 in the northern zone, which includes Cedar Bend and surrounding areas. The southern zone is estimated to have an adult female sterilization rate of 96 percent or more, while the northern zone is estimated to have a rate of 70 percent, though the city believes only three adult females remaining in the area have not been sterilized. "The limited number of unsterilized females in the southern and northern zones should greatly reduce the recruitment rate and contribute to a population decline over time," states the city administration's memo accompanying the report. A third sterilization study area was added this year, defined by Plymouth Road to the north, U.S. 23 to the east, Green Road to the west, and Concordia University to the south. Five adult female deer were sterilized there this year, though the sterilization rate for that zone won't be determined until next year. White Buffalo killed 96 deer in Ann Arbor during last year's cull, which puts the total from this year and last year at 211. Another 63 deer were killed by a different sharpshooting team in 2016 before the city began working with White Buffalo. "Most of wards 1 and 2 may only require program maintenance going forward with the notable exception of the Skyline neighborhood and a portion of the University of Michigan's North Campus," the city's memo states. "The southern and northern sterilization zones will require maintenance of the untagged females, plus any possible female deer that have immigrated into the zones. Pockets of deer in wards 3 and 4 need to be monitored based upon program objectives. Ultimately, moving an area to maintenance levels will depend on the results of the resident survey and browse damage studies." A resident survey to determine the community's views on the deer management program and a browse-damage study to determine the impact of deer on public nature areas are both in process and results are expected by the end of May. The city established a $370,000 budget for this year's deer management efforts. The new memo indicates actual expenditures are forecasted to be $63,000 under budget, with an additional $32,000 in forecasted revenue to offset expenditures. In total, the 2018 program is projected to be $95,000 under the net budgeted expenditure, the memo states. The city already has $150,000 set aside for continued deer management efforts in the next year. The memo indicates the $95,000 under-run may go to 2019 deer management efforts, which would increase next year's total budget to $245,000. State lawmakers are still considering legislation that would ban sterilization of deer in Michigan. BANGOR TWP, MI -- A Bay County mother and teacher is suing a high school counselor, alleging he caused her son to be disqualified from competing for a national scholarship. Sarah Atkins, a science teacher at John Glenn High School in Bangor Township, on March 22 filed a lawsuit against Jeff Tuck in Bay County Circuit Court. Atkins brought the suit on behalf of her son, who is a junior at John Glenn. In the suit, Atkins states her son is a straight-A stuent with a greater than 4.0 GPA. On Oct. 11, her son and several of his peers took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, sponsored by the College Board and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation and administered by Educational Testing Services. The standardized test is used to determine eligibility and qualification for the National Merit Scholarship Program. One of the rules for administering the test states that neither its "supervisor nor any associate supervisor or the proctor may be a member of the household or immediate family of a student taking the test on the same date, even if the student is testing at a different school. In such instances, the related student's scores are subject to cancellation." This clause is referred to throughout the suit as "the Nepotism Rule." Atkins alleges Tuck was responsible for administering the test on Oct. 11 and "commanded" her to assist in proctoring it to students at John Glenn, even though he knew her son was among them. Atkins states she strongly objected to being assigned such a task and repeatedly informed Tuck her son's test scores would be disqualified due to the Nepotism Rule. Atkins "objected so urgently to Defendant Jeff Tuck that she was later improperly and unfairly reprimanded by administrators for her objections," the suit states. Atkins alleges she had no choice to assist in proctoring the test. Her son scored in the 97th percentile nationally with an equivalent standard SAT score of 1330, Atkins alleges. However, her son's score was indeed disqualified after Educational Testing Services learned his mom helped proctoring the test. Atkins' suit contains two counts -- violation of substantive due process and gross negligence. It concludes by asking the court to declare Tuck's conduct as being unconstitutional and unlawful and order Tuck to pay for damages and attorney fees, amounts of which are not specified. Messages were left with Tuck, but MLive was unable to contact him for comment. Atkins is represented by Hemlock attorney Philip L. Ellison. Messages were left with him seeking comment. A court date for the suit is pending. MONITOR TWP, MI -- Work is progressing to repair a Monitor Township overpass recently struck by a semitrailer as it traveled south on Interstate 75. "Right now, we have all of the temporary support beams in place and we're working on still welding them in," said Jocelyn Hall, Michigan Department of Transportation spokeswoman, at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, March 23. The eight supports, she added, aren't necessarily engaged yet in holding the weight of the Salzburg Road overpass. As of Friday morning, only one lane of southbound I-75 has been opened to traffic, Hall said. "We're starting to make much faster progress," she said. "We feel pretty confident that at some point today, we'll be able to open an additional remaining lane." MDOT crews have been working round-the-clock since the incident. A dollar figure for the damage and repairs won't be known for a while yet, Hall said. "In a situation like this where a bridge or infrastructure gets it, (MDOT) always sees reimbursement from (the driver's) insurance company," Hall said. "There will be costs for the emergency repairs, in addition to any permanent fixes." One of the bridge's concrete supports was struck about 2 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21, by a southbound semitrailer driven by an approximately 48-year-old man. Bay County Sheriff Troy R. Cunningham said the driver, who was hauling wood paneling from Alpena to Toledo, told deputies he suspected he had a flat tire and was trying to pull over, when the cargo weight shifted and he collided with the abutment. The cab detached from the trailer, passed under the overpass, and erupted in flames. The driver managed to get out of the vehicle with minor injuries and was subsequently transported to McLaren Bay Region hospital for treatment. Monitor Township firefighters extinguished the blaze. A group of students organizing a "March for Our Lives" rally on Saturday in Detroit to advocate for gun control hopes to gather as many as 10,000 attendees. Rallies are also planned Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and cities around the country, including a central protest organized by survivors of the Parkland, Florida shooting in Washington, D.C. "We've lived under the constant threat of gun violence, in our schools and our communities, for too long," said Tamera Middlberooks, senior at Cass Technical High School, in a news release. "It's time that our voices are heard, and we won't stop until we see meaningful action." The march steps off at 11 a.m. at Rivard Plaza, continuing along the riverwalk and up Woodward Avenue through Campus Martius Park. The march will circle back to the riverwalk in front of the Renaissance Center to feature speakers including: Students People affected by gun violence Representative from Mothers of Murdered Children U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence State Rep. Stephanie Chang State Rep. Robert Wittenberg "We want to bring attention to all gun deaths, not just mass shootings in upper-middle class communities," said Harry Susalla, senior at Grosse Pointe South. "Every single gun death matters and every person deserves to feel safe in school and at home." The march is expected to end at 2 p.m. The statement was made by Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung at the Vietnam-Oman Business Forum, jointly organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Vietnam - Oman joint venture Oman Investment (VOI), in Hanoi, on March 22. With the participation of over 70 enterprises from the two countries, the forum is within the framework of the 3rd session of the Vietnam - Oman Joint Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation, which is co-chaired by the Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade and the Omani Minister of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam's capital city from March 22-23. Potential for further cooperation Deputy Minister Hung said that the economic and trade relations between Vietnam and Oman have grown rapidly in recent years. Statistics from the ministry show that the two-way trade turnover in 2017 reached nearly US$120 million, up 122% compared to 2016, of which Vietnamese exports to Oman were worth US$40.9 million, up 74%. However, the trade figure at just over US$100 million was very modest, not on a par with the potential and strength of the two countries, Hung stated. Previously, the two countries had signed a number of bilateral and memorandum agreements on aviation, trade, human resources, investment protection and double taxation, contributing to breakthroughs in their bilateral cooperation. The Vietnamese Deputy Minister said that besides promoting bilateral cooperation, Vietnam expresses the wish that Oman would act as a bridge for Vietnamese goods to be exported to the Middle East and African markets; meanwhile Vietnam will also act as a connector for Oman to enter the ASEAN market with about 600 million people. On the same point, Omani Minister of Commerce and Industry, Ali Masoud Al Sunaidy, said that both Oman and Vietnam have a favourable geographic location and impressive economic growth. Therefore, the two countries have many advantages that can complement each other. Oman is particularly concerned about food security, so with the advantage of an agricultural country, agricultural products, foodstuff and consumer goods from Vietnam, such as rice, sugar, coffee, seafood, vegetables and fruits will have more opportunities for export to the Omani market. However, a disadvantage for exports from Vietnam to Oman and the Middle East market in general, is that there are currently no direct shipping routes between the two countries. With the advantages of its major seaport system, such as Salalah, Sohar and Duqum ports, the Omani Minister expressed his hope that the two countries would soon establish direct shipping lines alongside a direct flight route to facilitate trade between the two. In addition, Oman welcomes Vietnam to soon open a warehouse in the country to store its goods and agricultural products, thereby not only supplying essential goods to Oman but also exporting to other countries in the region. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung speaks at the forum. (Photo: NDO/Trung Hung) Future development directions One of the key measures to boost economic cooperation between the two countries is to expand the joint venture model between the two sides, such as the operation of the VOI. As a joint venture between the Oman State General Reserve Fund (SGRF) in Vietnam and the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC), VOI was established and operated on the basis of an agreement and support from both sides. Since its initial commitment of US$100 million in 2009, VOI raised its capital to US$200 million in 2014. Abdullah Al Harthy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of VOI, who is also member of the Vietnam-Oman Joint Committee, said that in nearly ten years of operation, VOI has focused on Vietnam's competitive growth sectors and contributed to the long-term sustainable development of the economy in essential fields, such as electricity, sugar, logistics, clean water, education, health care, agriculture and consumer goods. VOI has disbursed more than US$200 million over the past ten years, becoming a typical investment flow from the Middle East into Vietnam. On the Vietnamese side, Le Thai Hoa, Deputy Head of the Asia-Africa Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that in the future, the two sides will continue to create favourable conditions for VOI to seek more cooperation and investment opportunities in Vietnam, not only in direct investment but also in the financial sector. In addition, the Vietnamese and Omani stakeholders, as well as the business communities of the two sides, will also promote trade activities, thereby detecting the needs and abilities of each other for further cooperation. Besides promoting trade and commodity exchanges, Hoa also recommended that Vietnamese businesses focus on investment opportunities in Omani economic zones with incentives for foreign businesses to invest in producing goods for distribution to other countries in the region. On the other hand, Vietnam could also call on Oman businesses to invest in their strengths in Vietnam, including oil and gas, chemicals, real estate, and transportation infrastructure. On the occasion, the Vietnam and Oman Chambers of Commerce and Industry signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the two sides, seeking to provide information on market and trade opportunities for businesses to reach each other's market. Representatives from Vietnam and Oman Chambers of Commerce and Industry sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the two parties. (Photo: NDO/Trung Hung) Detroit police Chief James Craig called the recent indictment of seven current and former police officers, including one member of the Detroit Police Department, "yet another stain on the badge." But the "vast majority" of law enforcement officers, Craig said, are hard-working, dedicated professionals. Attorney General Bill Schuette's office on Thursday, March 22, announced 100 charges against seven people accused of fraudulently certifying salvaged vehicles. Among them was 59-year-old Detroit Police Officer Tammy Barnes, who Criag said has been placed on a paid suspension. Police Chief Craig takes questions from media Posted by 910am Superstation on Thursday, March 22, 2018 "These specially certified officers were placed in positions of trust with the responsibility to ensure vehicles they inspected and approved for motor vehicle titles were not stolen," Schuette's office said. "Instead they falsified and signed documents published to the Secretary of State for new motor vehicle titles." Automobiles are designated "salvage" vehicles for several reasons, including if they are deemed totaled by an insurer because of a crash, reported stolen and then the owner is compensated for the loss by the insurer, or if they suffer severe weather damage, such as in cases of flooding. A salvage vehicle can not be registered or plated until it has been certified as being safe and not a stolen vehicle by a specially trained police officer called a salvage vehicle inspector. There is a list of certified officers and inspection locations on a state website. State law allows police to charge up to $100 per salvage vehicle inspection. "In this case, each of the defendants conducted hundreds, in some instances thousands, of salvage vehicle inspections," Schuette's office said. An audit of the inspections "revealed that the officers had falsely stated they had conducted the searches required by law when they had not," the attorney general announced. "The insurance industry also maintains a database of vehicles reported stolen within the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB)," Schuette's office said. "In each felony allegation, the officers did not even check with NICB." While Schuette's office didn't reveal a suspected motive for the fraud, it prosecuted former Michigan State Trooper Seth Swanson for similar crimes in 2016. Swanson was accused of conducting nearly 1,700 inspections that he never reported, and for which he pocketed the cash. "Swanson used the fees he pocketed for personal purposes, including paying personal credit card debt, vacations, paying for multiple plastic surgeries and for home improvements for himself and family," Schuette's office said when charges were announced in that case. Swanson, who was at first suspended and later resigned, pleaded guilty to felony embezzlement by a public official and felony uttering and publishing. He was sentenced to a year in jail, five years probation and ordered to pay $170,000 in restitution. Other defendants charged: Detroit police say a young girl was shot at a Detroit gas station Friday morning. She was listed in stable condition and a suspect had been arrested, a representative from the Detroit Police Media Relations Unit told MLive. The victim is an 8-year-old girl who was sitting in a Dodge Journey SUV with her mother when a distraught man opened fire randomly, striking the vehicle and girl in her arm, WDIV-TV, Channel 4 News reports. The shooting occurred at a Sunoco gas station on Plymouth near Kentucky in Detroit. Police used surveillance video to locate and arrest a suspect. No charges have been announced. PORT HURON, MI - A 15-year-old Fort Gratiot boy is facing two felony charges in connection with an alleged threat made against a Port Huron high school. The teen is being held at the Macomb County Juvenile Center after Sgt. Dave Seghi, assigned as school resource officer at Port Huron Northern High School, was made aware March 21 by a student of an alleged social media threat to shoot up the building made by an unknown source. Officers arrested the teen, a ninth-grade student at Port Huron Northern High School, on March 22 after he admitted there was no original threat and he fabricated the information, according to police. Seghi and other members of the Port Huron Police Department began an investigation, along with the Port Huron Area School District, into the alleged threat. The department followed up on multiple social media posts indicating an additional threat against the school that was supposed to take place Thursday. Port Huron police were unable to substantiate the threats after interviews and a follow-up investigation with assistance from the Port Huron Police Road Patrol, Criminal Investigative Division, and Major Crimes Unit. The student faces one count each of filing a false report of a felony, punishable by up to four years in prison, and obstructing police, a two-year felony. It's not clear if the teen will be charged as an adult or minor. The teen is being held until a hearing date on the charge, which has not yet been determined. FLINT, MI -- A doctor says he believes two men who Flint water prosecutors say died from Legionnaires' disease actually died of other ailments and says the public shouldn't necessarily have been warned of outbreaks of the disease. Dr. Jeffrey Band, former chief of infectious disease at Beaumont and a tenured faculty member at Oakland University, said he thinks Robert Skidmore died of progressive heart disease and John Snyder died from acute respiratory distress syndrome during the Flint water crisis. Band's comments came during the 18th day of the preliminary examination of Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon, who faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and misconduct in office in Genesee District Court. Witnesses have said previously that Skidmore and Snyder's deaths were at least partly related to Legionnaires' disease, and prosecutors claim Lyon bears responsibility for both deaths for failing to warn the public of outbreaks of the disease. Within months of the city's water source having been changed to the Flint River in April 2014, DHHS officials were among those officials aware of both a surge in Legionnaires' cases in Genesee County and suspicions the river water triggered the outbreak. Although hospitals were eventually warned of the increase in cases, the public was never told until Gov. Rick Snyder announced the outbreaks after recognition of the Flint water crisis. Band said he reviewed medical records for Skidmore and Snyder and said he believes Skidmore had Legionnaires' but recovered from it. Although a urinary antigen test indicated Snyder had also contracted the disease, Band said the test may have provided a false reading because he suffered from rheumatoid arthritis. Band's testimony conflicts with testimony given last month by Dr. Joel Kahn, who testified that Legionnaires' contributed to or caused the deaths of Skidmore and Snyder. Band said by notifying area hospital of the increase in Legionnaires' cases, public health officials took a necessary step in dealing with the outbreaks. Notifying the public might have caused more problems than it solved, he said, especially indications that a large number of cases were tied to McLaren-Flint hospital. "If you release (that information it) would that put fear and panic" in patients, who say, "Hey I want to get out of this hospital ... as fast as I can," Band said. HOLLY, MI - A Holly teen has been charged with a misdemeanor after sending a Snapchat message to his peers with the caption, "I feel like shooting up a school today." Oakland County Prosecutors have charged Kenneth Dane Parks, 17, with a single count of malicious use of a telecommunications device - a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail or $1,000, according to a release from Holly Police. Arraigned on Friday, March 23, Parks' bond was set at $50,000 with no release without GPS tether, house arrest and other conditions including not being allowed on any school property and possession of firearms. Parks was arrested a day prior on Thursday, March 22, after his fellow students reported him to the Holly High School resources officer for sending the photo captioned, "I feel like shooting up a school today," police said. Most of Parks' followers were students from Holly schools, the release said. After reviewing the material, prosecutors charged Parks for the "malicious use [of] a service provided by a telecommunications service provider, with intent to terrorize, frighten, intimidate, threaten, harass, molest, annoy, or disturb the peace and quiet of his Snapchat followers by threatening physical harm or damage to any person or property in the course of a conversation or message through the use of a telecommunications service or device," according to the release. Michigan has seen a substantial spike in school shooting threats in the month since a gunman opened fire on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., killing 17. GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- An 18-year-old man convicted of stealing guns from one Kent County gun shop, and attempting to break into two more, will serve prison time. Cameron Deshawn Ellis-Ayres was sentenced Thursday, March 22, to 6-10 years in prison for breaking and entering a building. He was given credit for 175 days already spent in jail. Circuit Judge Mark Trusock called Ellis-Ayres' actions "absolutely unacceptable and outrageous." "Without question, it's an absolutely outrageous situation that you and the codefendants in this case were involved in," Trusock said. "There guns are on the street now. They're going to be used in robberies, they're going to be used to shoot and to kill people. There is no excuse or justification to this behavior." Police used the mobile app Snapchat videos to connect Ellis-Ayres and two other teens to the larceny of 20 handguns during a break-in around 12:30 a.m. Sept. 24 at Barracks 616 in Cascade Township. He was also connected to at least two attempted burglaries at Rylee's Ace Hardware and Bachelder Master Gunmakers in Grand Rapids. No guns were stolen from either shop. The teen admitted to being in a vehicle during the attempted burglaries, and told police the stolen Barracks 616 guns were sold in Muskegon, according to court records. Ellis-Ayres was originally arraigned on 11 charges, including five counts of breaking and entering a building with intent, two counts of larceny of firearms, carrying a concealed weapon, illegal sale and use of a credit card, delivering and manufacturing of narcotics or cocaine, and possession of marijuana. He pleaded guilty to breaking and entering a building, two counts of larceny, and one count of carrying a concealed weapon. Defense Attorney Scott Pederson asked Trusock to consider that Ellis-Ayres spent four hours providing information to investigators and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents who were searching for the stolen guns. Trusock said Ellis-Ayres' juvenile record contained three felonies and four misdemeanors. In addition to prison time, he ordered him to pay more than $38,000 in restitution. As the sentence was announced, the teen's family broke into crying and yelling in the Kent County courtroom. One woman ran out of the room repeatedly screaming, "Oh my God." 7 weeks, 122 guns: Rash of break-ins puts more firearms on the streets Ellis-Ayres' getaway driver, Desiree Taggart, 17, was sentenced to eight months in jail, followed by three years of probation with an evening curfew. The prosecution determined that she didn't get out of the vehicle, or handle the stolen firearms. Joel Hondorp. (Courtesy photo) GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Grand Rapids' search for its next city clerk is down to two finalists after one candidate withdrew her name less than a week before the second-round interviews. Lori Wilcox, city clerk in Chicago Heights, Illinois, bowed out of the running after she won the Bloom Township Democratic Committeeman seat in her home state on Tuesday, March 20. That leaves the city commission with a decision between Byron Township Clerk Joel Hondorp and Montcalm County Clerk Kristen Millard to replace now-retired clerk Darlene O'Neal. Hondorp and Millard will participate in a community meet and greet event at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 28, in the ninth-floor commission chambers in City Hall, 300 Monroe Ave. NW. Then on Thursday, the commission will conduct second-round interviews of both finalists at 9 a.m. in the commission chambers. The interviews are open to the public. The city clerk oversees elections, passport applications, boards and commissions, business licensing, and the city archives and records center. They are hired and overseen by the city commission. Kristen Millard (Courtesy photo) O'Neal served in the role for 3.5 years before retiring Feb. 13. Hondorp has held the position of clerk in Byron Township since 2000. He's an on-call firefighter with the township, and was previously an elected township trustee. He has a bachelor's degree in political science from Michigan State University. Millard has served as Montcalm County's clerk since 1997, and was named the "County Clerk of the Year" in 2015 by the Michigan Association of County Clerks. Before coming to Montcalm County, she served Ionia County as deputy clerk/bookkeeper. She has an associate's degree in sales and marketing from Davenport College of Business. GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Grand Rapids Public Schools, one of West Michigan's largest employers, is holding a job fair Saturday, March 24, at Alger Middle School. In addition to teaching staff, GRPS is looking for individuals to fill current and upcoming positions in multiple areas, including nursing, security, facilities and operations, transportation, nutrition services, support services, and skilled trades. The job fair is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Alger, located at 921 Alger St. NE. On-site interviews and hiring will be available for select schools and departments. "I encourage job seekers to visit the job fair, learn about the opportunities, and join the movement as a GRPS employee," said Superintendent Teresa Weatherall Neal, about the district that employs approximately 2,800. "Grand Rapids Public Schools is gaining state and national attention as a model public urban school district." Representatives from human resources will be available at the job fair to answer questions and assist with applications. The following benefits may be available to GRPS employees: health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, life insurance, retirement savings accounts, long term disability, short term disability, flexible spending accounts, tuition reimbursement, professional development, and paid time off. Job fair attendees can register in advance on the district website. Under the careers tab, select "job fair quick form" and choose "Grand Rapids District Job Fair" from the drop down list. There are more than 100 positions to be filled. GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Test results have confirmed the presence of toxic chemicals in the wells of nearly a dozen homes near a closed Kent County landfill. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, called PFAS or PFCs, were found at levels lower than federal standards in 11 of 41 properties tested near North Kent Landfill, according to a press release from the county's Department of Public Works. "While the levels are lower than the health advisory for drinking water, we are still concerned for the 11 homes where PFAS was detected," Department of Public Works Director Dar Baas said. Exposure to PFAS chemistry has been linked to certain cancers, thyroid malfunction and other diseases. Tests requested late last year from monitoring wells at the landfill showed levels of PFAS significantly above EPA health standards, prompting testing of a number of homes not included in previous PFAS testing zones in Kent County. Wolverine World Wide, which dumped PFAS-laden sludge at the landfill in the early 1980s, refused to pay for water or testing in the new area. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality asked Kent County to test groundwater on properties both south and west of the landfill, located on the south side of 10 Mile Road NE, east of U.S. 131 and Belmont Avenue. In February, tests were conducted on 41 properties along Belmont Avenue, Montana Trail, House Street, House Court, Crestview Dive and Roguewood Drive. Of those, 11 tests came back showing detectable levels of PFAS. All 11 showed levels of the chemicals below the Environmental Protection Agency's health advisory level for PFAS and PFOA of 70 parts per trillion, a standard recently adopted by the state as well. The highest test result showed a level of 58.6 parts per trillion, according to county officials. The remaining 30 properties tested in February had no detectable PFAS in their groundwater. Baas said the results do not necessarily suggest the landfill as the source of contamination since some homes adjacent to it had no detectable PFAS, while others further away from the property did. "We don't truly know if our landfill is contributing to it," Baas said. In addition to paying for the tests, Kent County Department of Public Works is also drawing from $300,000 it set aside for PFAS-related work to pay for installation of whole-house filtration systems in the 11 homes with detectable PFAS levels. Though the tests came back below the health advisory level, Baas said the county felt offering the systems to homeowners as a "precaution" was the right thing to do. "We felt that we owed it to the residents," he said. "It is difficult at this time to determine where the contamination is coming from, but we want to act in the best interest of our neighbors." The new filtration systems, estimated to cost roughly $5,000 each, are expected to be installed in those 11 homes within a matter of weeks, Baas said. The department will continue to work with state and local officials to determine the sources of PFAS contamination in and around North Kent Landfill, Baas said, and what steps might need to be taken to remedy the issue. Chemicals containing PFAS were used by Wolverine starting in 1958 at its former Rockford tannery to waterproof shoe leather. Historic disposal of tannery waste sludge in local gravel pits, landfills and on farm fields as crop fertilizer came to light in August. Kent County asked the DEQ to test landfill wells for PFAS on Nov. 8, a week after MLive notified the county that court documents and township meeting minutes indicated Wolverine dumped sludge at the landfill after being kicked out of the Northeast Gravel pit. County officials point out that the disposal of waste in the landfill by Wolverine was in compliance with state and federal regulations at the time. The expansive dumping investigation has sparked dozens of individual lawsuits in state circuit court and a class action lawsuit in federal district court. HASTINGS, MI -- District leaders with Hastings Area Schools say classes have been cancelled for Friday, Marc 23 because of a threat. The advisory about the closure was placed on the district's Facebook page late Thursday. It offered no details about the threat, other than to say the threat involved the high school. The Friday closure extends to the Community Education and Recreation Center and the day care operated there. The closure at Hastings Schools is among several across West Michigan in recent weeks due to potential threats. The signing of the agreements took place at the 2018 Vietnam RoK ICT Cooperation Forum that was held in Hanoi, on March 22. The signed agreements include a cooperation agreement on the roll-out of the M090 application between MobiFone and Tripath; another on wireless and wire-line consolidation services between Supernet Company (RoK) and Newtaco Company (Vietnam); an agreement on digital conversion solutions between JC1 Company and FSI Vietnam Company; and the last between MobiFone Global and Samsung Eletronics Limited Company on technical and trade activities related to 4G and 5G technology in Vietnam. Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Minh Hong emphasised that the RoK has become one of the top strategic partners of Vietnam and Vietnam is also a leading strategic partner of the RoK in Southeast Asia. Their cooperation in the field of ICT has been enhanced and expanded by the Governments and enterprises of both countries, he added. The Deputy Minister also noted that the two sides have closely cooperated in training human resources, exchanging experts, building policies and developing new technologies. WYOMING, MI -- Two Wyoming High School students were treated and released form a hospital after feeling ill not long after eating brownies that may have contained marijuana, police said. Police were called about 9 a.m. Thursday, March 22 to the high school, 1350 Prairie Parkway SW, on a report of a student who became ill after eating a brownie that possibly contained a drug. Police said the drug was suspected to be marijuana. Wyoming police Capt. Kim Koster said investigators learned that four students consumed some of one brownie or a batch of brownies. She said police continue to investigate who supplied the brownies. Police also are awaiting test results on the confiscated food to determine if marijuana or any other controlled substance was in it. "We continue to work with police during their investigation and all students have been dealt with according to our policies,'' said Principal Nate Robrahn in letter sent to parents on Friday, March 23. Upon investigation, Robrahn said they found the students willingly ingested a marijuana-type substance that a student brought to school. "Please know that the safety of our students is always our first concern. This is a good time to check in with your students to be careful and mindful of what they may ingest." GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Judge George J. Quist has given Wolverine World Wide two weeks to supply "substantive" records requested by attorneys representing more than 100 clients with drinking water polluted by toxic chemicals once used to make shoes. Quist, a 17th Circuit Court judge in Kent County, said the Rockford-based shoemaker has until April 13 to turn over internal records sought during the initial steps in what's expected to be a drawn-out litigation process that won't see trial until next year. The 20-minute hearing in Grand Rapids on Friday, March 23, was the first of what's expected to be many in a growing wave of litigation sparked by last year's discovery of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances called PFAS or PFCs in local drinking water. Ingestion of PFAS has been linked in human studies to some cancers, thyroid disorders, elevated cholesterol and other diseases. Quist also denied Wolverine's request to dismiss and/or halt the first batch of 52 cases filed by Varnum Law starting last fall. The cases claim, among other things, that PFAS contamination has sickened and killed some people and hurt property values. Neighbors of the PFAS dump on House Street suing Wolverine -- including Sandy Wynn-Stelt, Melvin Nylaan, Steve Martin, Ryan and Meaghan Schweinzger, Seth and Tobyn McNaughton, and Jennifer and Lucas Carney -- watched from the court pews. Wolverine argued the individual cases in the state circuit court system should be folded into a separate class-action lawsuit in federal court. Because Wolverine has installed whole-house water filtration systems at many homes with contaminated wells, "the plaintiffs in these cases have safe drinking water," said James Moskal, a Warner Norcross & Judd attorney representing Wolverine. Moskal argued Varnum is trying to "rush these cases forward when another court down the street is handing the same claims." He asked Quist to "take a step back" and allow residents suing Wolverine in state court to join the class action case. That case is scheduled for a conference on April 11, where a federal judge will bring Wolverine, 3M, Waste Management and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality together to discuss whether to appoint a special master to handle the complexities of separate class action and state-initiated environmental cleanup litigation. Quist denied the request for a stay from the bench. He ordered Varnum to pick a single tentpole case out of the batch and schedule a tentative September 2019 trial date. Quist also said Wolverine had engaged in "mere boilerplate" objections to requests for what Varnum attorney Aaron Phelps described as insurance policies, court files from 1966 litigation with Plainfield Township, other waste disposal records and "everything they knew about PFAS and when they knew it." Varnum had filed a motion to compel Wolverine to produce those records as part of the initial litigation discovery request. Warner Norcross & Judd attorney Janet Ramsey quoted Abraham Lincoln in arguing that Wolverine was getting its case in order rather than being uncooperative. "As Abe Lincoln said, 'If I have six hours to chop a tree, I'm going to spend four hours sharpening my axe,'" Ramsey said. "We are sharpening our axe by going through the plan with plaintiffs to get a plan in place for discovery." The argument didn't move Quist. "We need to move the ball forward with this case," he said, ordering Wolverine to produce "substantive, non-evasive answers." "They shall in good faith produce all of this information by April 13." Before the hearing ended, Quist agreed with Wolverine that depositions in the case should wait until after an April 20 scheduling conference to begin. Wolverine issued a statement after the hearing expressing disappointment at Quist's decision not to hold the cases, saying that "overlapping and uncoordinated lawsuits in state and federal court" is not the best way to "work collaboratively to provide long-term water solutions for the community." "However, our efforts to vigorously protect and defend our company in court will not stop us from moving forward to develop real solutions with federal, state and local regulators," the company said. The statement did not address a request for response to Quist's order that Wolverine produce records next month. ESCANABA, MI - A grocery store in Michigan's Upper Peninsula recently sustained thousands of dollars in damage when a disgruntled customer went on a rampage through the local business. According to ABC10 News, the Escanaba Department of Public Safety was called to Elmer's County Market on Friday, March 16 after reports that a 33-year-old male was acting strangely and had threatened an employee with a knife. When the officers arrived, the man had barricaded himself in a second-story storage area of the store. For nearly two hours, the TV station reported, the male subject threw items such as metal shelving, metal brackets, pipes and lumber at the officers. He also intentionally damaged the water heater which created a gas leak. He then proceeded to put a lighter to the gas leak, which started it on fire. The man destroyed numerous products and equipment totaling thousands of dollars and eventually broke through a wall next to the storage area and fell approximately 15 feet through the ceiling into the deli kitchen. One of the employees was injured by an object thrown by the suspect and an officer sustained a minor injury when the suspect fell through the ceiling, ABC10 reported. KALAMAZOO, MI -- Instead of taking months to plan, going to countless appointments with vendors and searching for the perfect location, Marilyn Cole planned her wedding in seven days. She had only one wish for her wedding day -- to have her mom by her side. Marilyn married Josh Cole in a hospital room at University of Michigan Hospital four days before her mother, Mary Beth Holewinski, died from leukemia. The 25-year-old newlyweds currently live in Mary Beth's home in Kalamazoo with Marilyn's 17-year-old sister Claudia. Holding her mother's wedding ring, Marilyn Cole sat on her living room couch talking about the moment they knew her mom wouldn't beat the disease. "All of a sudden our Earth just shook, and my heart shattered," she said. Mary Beth, 51, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia Jan. 26, 2017. She was first given a positive prognosis with optimism for the future. But their optimism turned to sadness only two weeks before she died. That's when the wedding planning began. "She's everything," Marilyn said. "I couldn't imagine her not being there." Decorations were donated by hospital staff and coworkers. Fake flowers were created by a friend, and shawls for the bride and her sister were made from lace from Mary Beth's wedding dress. "We went to David's Bridal the second they opened," Marilyn said. "I tried on one dress and that was it. That was the dress I bought." Both Marilyn and her sister's dresses fit perfectly and didn't require alterations. "It was meant to be," she said. Marilyn and Claudia hid from the groom in a bathroom across from their mother's hospital room before walking down the makeshift aisle behind Marilyn's flower girl, her 62-year-old aunt Betsy. "It was happiness," Marilyn said, reflecting on her March 10 wedding day. "I thought it was going to be very sad, but it was so happy ... I think I went in laughing ... That's the only way you can get through something like this." The family never expected Mary Beth to die from the disease, she said. She was cancer free in March 2017. "This wasn't even a possibility in our minds because she was doing so well," Marilyn said. But, when Graft-Versus-Host Disease infected five of her organs after receiving a bone marrow transplant in April, the doctors became worried. Mary Beth's kidneys failed and ultimately, she decided to stop all treatment, the day before her daughter got married. "It wasn't living, what she was doing," Marilyn said. "She would never get out of a hospital bed again. ... We had been asking her to hold on and saying, 'You're going to get through this,' but really, she kind of knew and held on for us. I felt very selfish." Marilyn remembered back to one of the countless drives she took home from Ann Arbor when she realized she didn't have her mother's homemade spaghetti sauce recipe. "I just never thought to ask," she said. "She loved cooking," Marilyn said. "Our mom was one of the most amazing people I could ever meet in my life ... She was so involved in family. She was just the light of our lives." Mary Beth will never meet her future grandchildren. She won't see Claudia graduate from college. "That's a lot to take in when you're normally like ... 'Oh let's just call mom.' When I have a stomach ache, I call my mom and ask her what to do," Marilyn said laughing. "There are just so many things we'll miss." Marilyn and Josh, who had first discussed getting married when Mary Beth got sick, weren't expecting it to come so suddenly. But when Marilyn looked at Josh and asked, "Can we?' he knew exactly what needed to happen. The hospital staff decorated a conference room, supplying table cloths, a head table for the bride and groom and made banners out of medical gauze. "It was awesome. That meant a lot to us," Marilyn said. "I had everything I had ever wanted," the bride said about the small ceremony held at her mother's bedside. "She was happy. She was smiling and laughing. She was so glad to have been there." Within 10 minutes after the ceremony, Mary Beth began fading, her daughter said. She started sleeping the entire day, lost her appetite and eventually could no longer speak. She died four days later at 12:20 a.m. March 15. "I still don't feel like any of this is real," Marilyn said. "We are just waiting for her to come home from a doctor's appointment ... She's not. That's the hardest thing to get through our minds." KALAMAZOO, MI -- Services are Sunday and Monday for a husband and wife killed late Tuesday night when their car was rammed by a man trying to flee police. A funeral Mass for Juan Rene Muniz, 66, and Mary Hernandez Muniz, 62, both of Kalamazoo, is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday, March 26, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 936 Lake St. Monsignor Michael Hazard will officiate. Members of the Muniz family will receive visitors from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, March 25, at the Westside Chapel of Langeland Family Funeral Homes, 3926 S. 9th St. Cremation will follow the funeral service. The Muniz were fatally injured when their car was struck by a speeding pickup truck shortly before 11:30 p.m. Tuesday on Portage Street at Crosstown Parkway. Police say the couple was trying to make a left turn from southbound Portage Street onto eastbound Crosstown Parkway when they were struck by a truck driven by Thomas Vyverman, 56, of Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo Public Safety officers say Vyverman was a motorist officers tried to stop a short time earlier after receiving a report of a man in a gray truck armed with a gun. They say a patrol officer on foot tried to make contact with Vyverman in the 1500 block of Washington Avenue. But the truck sped away from him as well as a patrol car at Portage Street near Stockbridge Avenue. Officers say they quit the chase at Portage Street and Washington Avenue as the truck fled north on Portage Street at a high rate of speed. The truck crashed into the Muniz's Chevrolet Malibu about a half-mile later and the driver fled on foot. Officers said he was found and arrested a short time later. Vyverman was arraigned on Thursday, March 22, in Kalamazoo County District Court on two counts of operating under the influence causing death, two counts of first-degree fleeing a police officer, and one count of assaulting, resisting or obstructing a police officer. At probable cause hearing Thursday, a Kalamazoo Public Safety detective testified that a post-arrest blood draw indicated that Vyverman had a blood-alcohol content of 0.21 percent, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent. Vyverman told Judge Richard A. Santoni that after 27 years of sobriety, he had recently started drinking again as he dealt with a bad relationship. He told the judge, "I'm not a bad person. I'm really not. ... I'm not dangerous." Vyverman is being held in the Kalamazoo County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bond. Mary Muniz was born in Kalamazoo and was a lifelong resident of the community, according to family members. She was a homemaker who had also done house-cleaning work. Juan Muniz was born in McAllen, Texas, and relocated to Kalamazoo at age 18. He worked as a systems technician with AT&T for 34 years before retiring a few years ago. The two were married on July 1, 1972. They were members of St. Joseph Catholic Church. They are survived by four children: Juan J. (Cristin) Muniz, of Portage, Luchana Muniz, of Kalamazoo, Kristina (Trumaine) Coleman, of Kalamazoo, and Alicia (Will) Schaefer, of Portage; as well as nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Mary is also survived by: her father, Luciano Hernandez; siblings Lou (Diana) Hernandez, Joseph (Beverly) Hernandez, Jesse Hernandez, Susan Welch, Raymond (Chari) Muniz, Ruben (Elida) Muniz, Amelia (Richard) Eaton, Mary Mason, Elizabeth "Betty" Muniz, Delia Sanchez, Raul (Elida) Muniz and Tina Howard. She was preceded in death by her mother, Elvira Reno Hernandez. Juan was preceded in death by his father and mother, Chris Muniz and Delfina Rodriguez Muniz; and siblings Ismael Muniz and Fita Gonzales. The family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Alzheimer's Association-Greater Michigan Chapter. Its West Michigan Office is at 2944 Fuller Ave NE #101, Grand Rapids, MI 49505. It may be contact at 800-272-3900. SAGINAW, MI -- After records, documents and computers were seized Thursday from the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw and the bishop's home, state and local police now begin the work of sifting through it all. "The purpose of the search warrants was to obtain documents and records that we desired to have now," said Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Mark Gaertner. "There's much to be examined." The warrants executed Thursday morning, March 22, by Michigan State Police and Saginaw Township police came after prosecutors allege diocese officials failed to fully cooperate in the ongoing investigation into sexual abuse within the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw. "Contrary to the statements of the diocese and the bishop that they would fully cooperate with law enforcement, they did not," Gaertner previously said. Gaertner declined to comment on whether diocese officials could face obstruction charges. Since the raids, the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw has not responded to multiple calls for comment, nor have they released a statement. The search and seizures took place at three locations -- Saginaw Bishop Joseph R. Cistone's home on Corral Drive in Saginaw Township, the rectory at Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption in Saginaw and the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw offices in Saginaw Township. Gaertner declined to specify what items were sought and seized in the raids. Six years ago, a lawyer accused Cistone of misleading a grand jury by not acknowledging that he witnessed the shredding of documents that contained the names of priests suspected of child molestation in 1994 while he was serving as a church official in the Philadelphia area. Among other findings in the 2005 grand jury report, Cistone in 1996 was given several updates on efforts to silence a nun who tried informing parishioners about a priest's past, particularly his "predilection for naked children." He never faced any criminal charges in that case. Gaertner declined to comment on whether there was evidence here, too, of document destruction. He said the searches were not prompted by Cistone's past. Gaertner spoke in general terms about what it takes for a judge to sign off on a search warrant. A search warrant is a judicial order that allows officers to search a person, place or vehicle. To get the judicial seal of approval, an investigator needs to explain what they're seeking, how it relates to their investigation and why they believe it will be at the location or on the person they're searching, Gaertner said. "It can't be a fishing expedition," the assistant prosecutor said. A hunch that a certain place or person might have the items is not adequate, Gaertner said. Judges require evidence that shows reasonable grounds for the search. "Opinions and beliefs are not good enough in a search warrant," Gaertner said. Under Michigan law, a search warrant and the affidavit in support of it are sealed from the public until 56 days after they are served. If investigators show a judge that the release would hamper an ongoing investigation or endanger a witness or victim, warrant and affidavit could remain sealed for longer. To date, only one diocese priest, the Rev. Robert DeLand, has been criminally charged. He was accused of sexually assaulting two males -- a 21-year-old and a 17-year-old -- in his Saginaw Township condominium. Since DeLand's Feb. 26 arrest, numerous tips and allegations about further sexual abuse dating back as far as three decades have flooded area police departments, investigators previously said. Among the tips were allegations against other clergymen. Another diocese priest, the Rev. Ronald J. Dombrowski, was recently suspended by the diocese after they received a report he allegedly sexually assaulted a person when they were a minor. He has not been criminally charged. Earlier this month, the Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor's Office formed a special investigative team to coordinate and investigate allegations of abuse involving "officials" within the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw. The diocese includes the counties of Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Clare, Gladwin, Isabella, Midland, Gratiot, Tuscola, Huron and Sanilac. SAGINAW, MI -- For the fourth and possibly second to last time, the man accused of stabbing and shooting his father to death in late 2016 was found incompetent to stand trial. Patrick Erdmann, 40, was ordered Tuesday, March 21, to again continue treatment and assessment to determine if he will be able to stand trial on the open murder charge he faces. "So far, the reports indicate that he is clearly disturbed, and we are not surprised that the professional opinions reflect that," said Erdmann's attorney, Frank J. Manley. Erdmann has been detained since December 2016 on accusations he killed his 60-year-old father, David Erdmann, that month at the family home in rural Marion Township. The day police found the father dead, the younger Erdmann was arrested after going the wrong way on I-94 near Ann Arbor and nearly hitting a Michigan State Police trooper's car, investigators previously said. According to court documents, Erdmann told police he killed his father. He told the trooper he was "God" and his father was "Donald Trump," police state in the documents. Under Michigan law, a defendant found incompetent to stand trial has 15 months to regain competency in cases where charges may result in life imprisonment, unless prosecutors decline to pursue the case. That deadline for Erdmann, who was first ruled incompetent to stand trial in March 2017, is in June. Competency means a defendant understands the charges against them and is able to assist their attorney in their defense. If Erdmann is found competent before the deadline, the case against him continues. Manley could then argue Erdmann was insane at the time he allegedly committed the homicide. Insanity, in Michigan law, means a person lacks the capacity to know right from wrong or act in accordance with the law. If Erdmann is found not guilty by reason of insanity by judge or jury, prosecutors could petition him to be institutionalized but cannot retry the case, said Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Mark Gaertner. Should Erdmann remain incompetent past the deadline, the charges are dropped but prosecutors, again, could petition him to be institutionalized. Prosecutors can refile charges against Erdmann if he regains competency. District Judge A.T. Frank, who presided over the competency hearing Tuesday, ordered another review of Erdmann's case in 60 days. SAGINAW, MI -- The Saginaw County Road Commission will receive an additional $1.36 million to improve over 39 miles of roads in Saginaw County. The extra money comes after a recent $175 million road supplement was passed by the state House and Senate, according to a press release from the Saginaw County Road Commission. The commission is using the extra money toward several projects including: Birch Run Road chip and seal from Sheridan Road to Birch Run village limits. Center Road at State Street rehabilitation. Ditch Road overlay from East to Sheridan (M-13). King Road chip and seal from Williamson Road to Reese Road. Michigan and Tittabawassee intersection improvements. Miller Road resurfacing from State to River Road. Shattuck Road resurfacing from Center Road to Wieneke Road. 19.88 miles of crack seal on various primary roads. Center Road at State Street and Michigan and Tittabawasee intersection are areas of pavement that are past their expected lifespans, said Joe Wisniewski, Deputy of Engineering for the Saginaw County Road Commission. Wisniewski said the the two areas will have to be completely reconstructed and the pavement and base material will be taken out. He said the project on Center Road is estimated to cost $197,000 while the other at Michigan and Tittabawassee is an estimate of $250,000. He said Shattuck, Ditch and Miller roads are in relatively good condition, but they're starting to show age and cracks. At various locations a crack seal process will be used as the first step of pavement maintenance and next year it will be followed up with a chip seal process, Wisniewski said. He said the roads are typically built to last at least 20 years. The normal revenue from state funds are estimated to be $17 million. This one-time $175 million revenue in statewide road money is not related to the 2015 transportation package, it is surplus. A year ago, the Governor's 21st Century Infrastructure Commission concluded that $2.7 billion more per year is needed to maintain roads, bridges and public rights-of-way. The Legislature has identified $1.2 billion for roads by the close of 2021, plus the $175 million just appropriated, according to the press release. A Dinosaur-themed park says that a rare electrical issue caused its 24-foot-tall animatronic Tyrannosaurus Rex to burst into flames and give the appearance it was breathing fire. The incident occurred at the Royal Gorge Dinosaur Experience Thursday morning, March 22 in Canon City, Colorado. Zach Reynolds, owner of the park, told the Associated Press that his T-Rex smoldered for 10 minutes before it became fully engulfed in flames on Thursday morning. The 24-foot-tall animatronic dinosaur moved and made sounds, and was one of 16 different featured creatures at the theme park. "Holy smokes! We always knew T-Rex had a temper but, today he blew his top. There was an unfortunate (and rare) electrical issue with our mighty T-Rex and he is no longer," the Royal Gorge Dinosaur Experience wrote on Facebook. "You might even say... extinct. We are incredibly proud of our team for the way they efficiently and quickly handled this situation and kept our guests safe." The park wrote in a separate Facebook post that it this was an "isolated incident" and that they hope to add a T-Rex back to its fold as soon as possible. The Denver Post reports the Royal Gorge Dinosaur Experience opened in 2016, and has a learning center, gift shop, obstacle courses and more. A crazy shot of our poor T-Rex from this morning. We just want to re-emphasize that this was an isolated incident and we... Posted by Royal Gorge Dinosaur Experience on Thursday, March 22, 2018 Holy smokes! We always knew T-Rex had a temper but, today he blew his top. There was an unfortunate (and rare)... Posted by Royal Gorge Dinosaur Experience on Thursday, March 22, 2018 -- Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had quite the eventful Wednesday, March 22 appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" between pumping some iron and making a decision on the debate if a hot dog is a sandwich. The 85-year-old U.S. Supreme Court Justice sat down and spoke with Colbert before the two hit the gym. The host asked if a hot dog was a sandwich, which he described as "two pieces of bread" with any type of filling "as long as it's not more bread." Ginsburg, clearly still thinking like a Supreme Court Justice, pressed Colbert for more information regarding if the bread were actually a roll that had been cut open, and so on and so forth. Colbert then used the Subway argument that the bread is not completely split apart, but is considered a sandwich as its name implies. "On your definition, yes, it is," Ginsburg finally concluded. After this sit-down interview, Colbert -- dressed in a shirt and tie with shorts on -- and "the Notorious RGB" hit the gym with quirky conversation and music choices. The two discussed the age-old debate on whether a hot dog was a sandwich at around the 2 minute 30-second mark. As Thrillist notes, the is a hot dog a sandwich debate has been raging on for years in late night television and even with a newspaper issuing a correction 130 years later that it had "misidentified a hot dog as a sandwich. The newspaper in question was the Louisville Courier-Journal back in July of 2017, who issued the correction by tweeting out a photo of the newspaper correction. -- How strong are you on the 2nd Amendment? Because welcome to the gun show! #LSSC pic.twitter.com/sF75nWDnDh The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) March 22, 2018 The annual report aims to provide useful information and data on the industry and trade sector, and the import-export activities in particular, for State management agencies and the business community. General Secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) Truong Dinh Hoe said that the report is an important publication for associations and the business community as it provides access to accurate information on current world practices, foreign trade activities, potential markets, and others to help facilitate enterprises. He hopes that the annual report would not only update new information but also expand its scope of review on issues of attention for enterprises, including trade protectionism and technical barriers. The report showed that Vietnam enjoyed a record high trade surplus of US$2.92 billion in 2017. The country also witnessed 29 groups of goods posting export revenue of over US$1 billion each and eight groups of goods with export revenue of over US$6 billion. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh said that 2017 marked the first year that Vietnam's exports climbed to over US$214 billion, up 21.2% compared to 2016, which contributed to the growth of the GDP and macroeconomic stability. [March 22, 2018] IOActive Celebrates Expansion of Security Research Laboratory in Spain Madrid-Based Team Grows Security Consultancy Company's Global Offerings and Expertise MADRID, March 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- IOActive, Inc., the worldwide leader in research-driven security services, today announced the expansion of its global lab and research facilities in Madrid. The lab location, which originally opened in October 2015, offers cutting-edge hardware security services throughout the European, Middle Eastern and African (EMEA) regions while also fostering additional security research from its world-renowned team. The Madrid lab expansion underscores IOActive's increased investment and commitment in lab tools and in the team's skillset. The Madrid team's capabilities range from hardware manipulation, to reverse engineering, to mobile and web application testing. The team interacts with external interfaces from conventional USB and Wi-Fi to proprietary optical and RF protocols, as well as the software stack. "Manipulating modern devices built with very small tolerances requires manual capabilities comparable to those of an internationally-famous piano player only a few in the world can do that, and it requires constant exercise," said Alfredo Pironti, Managing Consultant at IOActive's Madrid Hardware Lab. "Our consultants develop a deep, unbiased knowledge of novel attack echniques that then transfers to the security industry via our clients' engagements. On several occasions, our research has served as a wake-up call for security in industry sectors where this aspect was previously neglected." "The IOActive team is rapidly growing to meet increasing client demands in the EMEA market, and our team in Madrid has proven capabilities in firmware and software reverse engineering, allowing them to spot vulnerabilities that can allow an attacker to reprogram and repurpose the devices under test," said Jennifer Steffens, chief executive officer for IOActive. "We invest a significant amount of time in ensuring our consultants can acquire and maintain security skills that are unmatched in the market, and we continue to be on the lookout to recruit top new talent to the IOActive European team." To celebrate the expansion and IOActive's 20th Anniversary, the team will host "An Evening with IOActive" on Thursday, March 22 from 6pm-12am CET at Travesia Dr. Fleming, 15, 28036 Madrid. The fiesta will be complete with tasty hors d'oeuvres, lively security discussions, and a few surprises that promise to make it an evening to remember. Interested attendees can register on the Eventbrite invite and receive updates of the event as the big day approaches. About IOActive IOActive is the industry's only research-driven, high-end information security services firm with a proven history of better securing our customers through real-world scenarios created by our security experts. Our world-renowned consulting and research teams deliver a portfolio of specialist security services ranging from security advising to penetration testing and application code assessment to chip reverse engineering across multiple industries. IOActive is the only security services firm that has a dedicated practice focusing on Smart Cities and the transportation and technology that connects them. Global 1000 companies across every industry trust IOActive with their most critical and sensitive security issues. Founded in 1998, IOActive is headquartered in Seattle, US, with global operations through the Americas, EMEA, and Asia Pac regions. Visit www.ioactive.com for more information. Read the IOActive Labs Research Blog: http://blog.ioactive.com. Follow IOActive on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ioactive. [ Back To www.mobilitytechzone.com\LTE's Homepage ] The agreement was signed by the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance (VCA) and the ROKs National Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives (NACF) in Hanoi, on March 22. Currently, Vietnam has over 20,100 cooperatives, 80,340 cooperative groups and 59 cooperative unions. Of which 12,000 cooperatives are operating in agriculture, forestry and fisheries, while 8,000 others are in the fields of industry, services and currency, attracting 5.7 million members and creating jobs for 2.4 million labourers. The cooperative economy in general and cooperatives in particular have been considered as a key contributor to the rapid, sustainable growth of the economy and social welfare, especially in rural and agricultural areas. Speaking at the signing ceremony, VCA President Nguyen Ngoc Bao said that the deal was born from the international economic cooperation policies from the State and advantages from the Vietnam-Korea Free Trade Agreement that took effect in the beginning of 2017. Under the agreement, with immediate effect from 2018, the VCA and NACF have agreed to strengthen their cooperation in the fields of staff training and capacity building for agricultural cooperatives, building new cooperative models, cooperating in the production of goods and equipment for agricultural cooperatives, and exchanging experience in agricultural cooperative development. NACF Chairman Kim Byeong Won expressed his belief that through the cooperative agreement, the two cooperative organisations would find new opportunities for both Vietnams and the ROKs development. He also revealed that NACF would support the establishment of a chain of shops in Vietnam to export Korean agricultural commodities, seeds, fertilisers and agricultural machinery to the host country. The Korean cooperative agency also wants to discover new business opportunities in the financial sector, such as banking, insurance and leasing, as well as running a joint microfinance company, after being discussed thoroughly, Kim Byeong Won added. NACF is the ROKs top agricultural cooperative, established in 1961. With a total asset of US$1 trillion, the NACF is the tenth largest organisation in the ROK in terms of assets, gathering more than 80% the ROKs farmers. Jointly held by the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army and Cambodian Defence Ministry, the ceremony featured a musical show and the presentation of certificates of merit to winning contestants from the Cambodian royal army. The Cambodian contestants earned five A prizes, 9 B prizes, 13 C prizes and 16 consolation prizes. Speaking at the event, Secretary of State at the Cambodian Defence Ministry Neang Phat stressed the five decades of Vietnam Cambodia ties reflect bilateral solidarity, friendship, and mutual support, which are continuously consolidated to contribute to the two nations security and economic development. Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Trong Nghia, Deputy Director of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam Peoples Army, praised the engagement of the Cambodian royal army in the contest, with 270 contestants submitting many high-quality entries. Vietnam and Cambodia established diplomatic relations on June 24, 1967. The diplomat informed his guests that the comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and Argentina has reaped new, positive developments across many sectors, especially politics, economics, trade and culture, via various channels such as the Party and government. A series of important events held over recent years, such as the 20th founding anniversary of the Argentina-Vietnam Culture Institute and the re-establishment of the Argentina-Vietnam friendship parliamentarians group, provided vivid examples of the increasingly expanded relations between the two countries, he said. He noted that the growing economic, trade and investment cooperation served as a foundation for the two countries long-term ties. In 2017, bilateral two-way trade hit more than US$3 billion, doubling the figure recorded five years ago, and making Argentina the second largest trade partner of Vietnam in Latin America and Vietnam the second most important market of Argentina in Asia and the fourth export market globally, he told the participants. He expressed his hope that, in 2018, when the two countries are celebrating the 45th anniversary of their diplomatic ties, many practical activities would be launched, helping to bolster the friendship and cooperation to match with the two countries comprehensive partnership. Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Ministry of Agro-Industry Guillermo Bernaudo spoke highly of the nation-building cause of Vietnam. He said Vietnams role and prestige has been heightened on the regional and international arena. Bernaudo stated that Argentina always treasures its relations with Vietnam and wants both sides to continue taking stronger and more practical steps in their cooperation in the future. Welcome to Morningstar.co.uk! You have been redirected here from Hemscott.com as we are merging our websites to provide you with a one-stop shop for all your investment research needs.To search for a security, type the name or ticker in the search box at the top of the page and select from the dropdown results.Registered Hemscott users can log in to Morningstar using the same login details. Similarly, if you are a Hemscott Premium user, you now have a Morningstar Premium account which you can access using the same login details. Following the welcoming ceremony, Presidents Tran Dai Quang and Moon Jae-in held discussions and witnessed the signing of various cooperation documents, including a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on sending and receiving RoK Vietnamese workers under the employment permit scheme between the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the RoK Ministry of Employment and Labour. The Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the RoK Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy signed a MoU on the action programme on trade cooperation for 2018-2020, and another on cooperation in supporting industry. A MoU on cooperation in the context of the fourth Industrial Revolution was signed by the Vietnamese and RoK ministries of information and communications. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport and the RoK Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport signed a MoU on cooperation in infrastructure, transport and transport technology development. The RoK Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport also signed another MoU on cooperation in urban construction and development with the Vietnamese Ministry of Construction. Also on March 23, President Tran Dai Quang and Moon Jae-in visited the President Ho Chi Minh historical site. Earlier the same day, the RoK leader laid a wreath and paid tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum in Hanoi. President Moon Jae-in is paying his first-ever State visit to Vietnam from March 22 to 24. Archers-Kettering is hosting a Food Adventure Wine Dinner on April 19th and we are calling it CORKS and FORKS. Today the chefs at Archers have confirmed a final menu for the event. GET TICKETS NOW Seated is limited to the first 40 tickets sold. CORKS and FORKS 4 COURSES, 4 WINE PAIRINGS Just $40 (Menu subject to change) THURSDAY MARCH 29th 6:30pm ARCHERS KETTERING, 2030 E. Dorothy Ln, Kettering FIRST COURSE: BANGING SHRIMP and SPINACH DIP Made with 3 cheeses SECOND COURSE: GRILLED ROMAINE HEART CAESAR SALAD: Served with shaved Parmesan cheese and grape tomatoes. We may showcase Archers Cardinal dressing. THIRD COURSE: BEEF TENDERLOIN: Served with a wild mushroom red wine sauce, on a bed of mashed potatoes. (possible Salmon option for those who do not like steak) FOURTH COURSE: APPLE CRUNCH CAKE Apple Pie topped with brown sugar, yellow cake, and mixed nuts. (Key Lime pie option for those with nut allergy) Wine pairing information to be announced later.. TICKETS MAY BE PURCHASED ONLINE BY CLICKING HERE Again, seating is limited and once seats are gone, they are GONE ! CORKS AND FORKS THURSDAY APRIL 19th 6:30pm ARCHERS KETTERING, 2030 E. Dorothy Ln, Kettering During a reception for Iijima in Hanoi on March 23, PM Phuc said he was pleased to meet the Japanese advisor again when the bilateral relations are flourishing with high political trust. Vietnam and Japan have maintained regular high-level meetings and fostered cooperation in all fields, he said. Japan is currently the biggest provider of ODA, second biggest foreign investor and fourth biggest trade partner of Vietnam, PM Phuc said, noting that in 2017 alone, Japan poured a record amount of US$ 9.11 billion in FDI into Vietnam, ranking first among countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian nation. The PM expects that Japan will continue taking the lead in terms of FDI from now on, particularly in the areas of supporting industry, manufacturing, renewable energy and hi-tech agriculture. He spoke highly of Japans Sakura Blossom Festival which is being organised in Vietnam to mark the 45th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties, saying such cultural exchange activities play a significant role in enhancing the bilateral relationship. Iijim said the festival is a significant event, helping to promote cultural exchanges between the two countries. Japan has a sakura association and wants to grow the flowers in many other countries around the world, including Vietnam, he said. The advisor hoped that there will be more Japanese sakura and Vietnamese apricot blossom festivals to promote cultural exchanges between the two nations, paving the way for expanded cooperation in other fields. Echoing his guests view, PM Phuc said he also wants the sakura blossom festival will continue to be held in Vietnam on a larger scale and looks forward to more cultural festivals which will bring Japanese culture closer to Vietnamese people. Some 50 sakura trees of different species, above 2.5m high each, and 10,000 branches of sakura blossoms are on display at Ly Thai To Park by Hoan Kiem Lake, downtown Hanoi as part of the 2018 Vietnam-Japan Cultural Exchange Festival. The festival include various cultural activities, such as the introduction of the Japanese tea culture, chess, Kendama folk games and Japanese cuisine near Hanoi Childrens Palace, besides a Yosakoi dance performance by 17 teams on Dinh Tien Hoang street. The event, which will run until March 26, will also host various Vietnamese traditional arts such as ca tru(ceremonial singing), hat xam (blind buskers singing) and folk dances. Vous etes confrontes a une infestation par la puce, la punaise de lit ? Voici plusieurs actions qui sont a mettre en uvre pour faire [] In Focus with Allison Walker is a 30-minute public affairs program, featuring a roundtable of newsmakers representing a range of perspectives, including local officials and expert analysts as they tackle topical issues of importance to Floridians. In Focus airs Sundays at 11:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m., right after Political Connections. Both sides said they were pleased with the strong development of the Vietnam-RoK Strategic Partnership, friendship exchanges between the two legislative bodies and cultural, tourism and people-to-people exchanges. The two leaders agreed to encourage and facilitate expansion of parliamentary cooperation at all levels to strengthen the two countries political will towards a long-term and stable bilateral relations. They voiced support for the two parliaments to cement cooperation to increase exchange of law-making experience and foster the implementation of agreements between the two nations, particularly the Vietnam-RoK Free Trade Agreement. They also agreed to strengthen support for each other at international and regional inter-parliamentary forum, contributing to peace and stability in the world and the region. Chairwoman Ngan said she highly appreciated support President Moon and the RoK government have provided for Vietnam and expected the two sides will work together to bolster the sustainable development of their economic and trade ties. She urged the RoK government to back Vietnam in developing human resources, science-technology and the Vietnam-Korea Institute of Science and Technology; and to expand partnership in culture, education, tourism and people-to-people exchange. She also asked the RoK side to ensure the legitimate rights and benefits of Vietnamese citizens living in the RoK, especially brides and second-generation children. President Moon, for his part, affirmed his desire to deepen the strategic cooperative partnership with Vietnam in various fields, saying Vietnam is a focus of the RoKs New Southern Policy and a key partner in terms of development aid. The RoK will continue backing Vietnam to develop the supporting industry and attract RoK investment into local hi-tech industries, Moon said. He vowed to join Vietnams efforts to strengthen support and protection of Vietnamese brides and the future generations of the two countries. He wants the two sides to step up cooperation in language training and soon sign an agreement in social security. Vietnam and the RoK established diplomatic ties on December 22, 1992. They set up their comprehensive strategic partnership in August 2001, and agreed to lift the ties to a strategic cooperative partnership in October 2009. The United States Postal Service plans to immortalize Mister Rogers on a Forever stamp today in Pittsburgh at the PBS TV studio where it all began 50 years ago. Mister Rogers Forever stamp dedicated today Rogers known for TV series "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" The late Rogers was known as a beloved television neighbor to generations of children. His groundbreaking public television series "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," inspired and educated young viewers for warmth, sensitivity and honesty. To generations of viewers who grew up enjoying his show, Rogers remains a beloved figure, USPS wrote on their website. Weve released our Mister Rogers stamp to honor the man who shaped generations with his kindness. #MisterRogersStamp U.S. Postal Service (@USPS) March 23, 2018 The Pittsburgh International Airport will also honor the 50-year-legacy of Rogers with activities for employees and travelers in the terminal today. Airport employees will wear red cardigan sweaters and buttons, and travelers will be invited to share their memories of Rogers Neighborhood on a large chalkboard in the Airside Terminal Center Core. Paul Siefken, president and CEO of the Fred Rogers Company, has recorded a special message for arriving and departing passengers on the airport train. The Mister Rogers Forever stamp will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce price. Law enforcement in Orange County says they've seen an increase in elder abuse scam crimes throughout Central Florida over the past few years. Elder abuse, scam crimes on the rise in Central Florida DCF says they've already handled 434 elderly scam cases Vist resources below to protect yourself against scams, abuses We have to learn that we cant trust like we did before, said Senior Specialist with the Orange County Sheriff's Office, Laura Lang. But she said it's a tough lesson for seniors. That's why she believes seniors in our area are targeted by scammers calling your phone or even heading to your home, knocking on your door in hopes of tricking you into getting your information and money. These crimes not uncommon in Orange County or Central Florida. In 20 years of doing this position, I have seen the same type of scam with a different little twist to them, but the scams are still all the same, Lang said. Over the past few years, Lang said shes noticed an increase in the amount of elderly scam and abuse cases. Already this year the Department of Children and Families handled 434 cases of elderly scams and 332 cases of mental injury. People Spectrum News 13 spoke with during InFocus even say the issue can impact just about anyone in the community. Although DCF numbers also show the number of reported abuse and scams to their agency decreased from 2,549 in 2016 to 2,358 in 2017, Lang says the scammers arent going away, and the best defense is to educate yourself on what scams could be out there. The best thing you can do is protect yourself because this is what is going on in 2018." Lang said. For more information on how to protect yourself against scams and abuses targeting the elderly, visit these sites: CHESHIRE Police say three people were taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure following crashing into a pole on Cornwall Avenue. The crash occurred around 7:30 p.m., in the area of 855 Cornwall Ave. The three occupants were taken to an area hospital for superficial injuries police said. The vehicle they were in sustained moderate damage, as did the pole. Eversource was on scene assessing the pole. Police closed Cornwall Avenue from Oak Avenue to Timber Lane while emergency crews responded to the accident. bwright@record-journal.com 203-317-2316 Twitter: @baileyfaywright MERIDEN The citys St. Patricks Day parade will kick off Saturday afternoon with Grand Marshal Patty Angiletta decked out in a white convertible at the forefront. The 45th annual parade, sponsored by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, will start at 2 p.m. on the corner of East Main Street and Parker Avenue. The marchers will travel down East Main, ending at West Main Street and Bradley Avenue. Angiletta, 61, has been in the AOH Meriden chapter for about 15 years. She said she was shocked to be named this years grand marshal, an honor she always dreamed of, but never thought would happen. Im very excited, said Angiletta, a lifelong Meriden resident. As a member of the club, Angiletta has been named woman of the year, held duties in the former county office and has tried to volunteer as much as possible. I love volunteering, I love being (at the AOH), Angiletta said. Its a family. Angiletta said she tries to instill the Irish culture into her seven grandchildren, who will be cheering her on in the parade. She said she followed in the Irish footsteps of her own parents, who were also members of the AOH. Parade co-chair and former AOH president, Jim Finley, said Angiletta was chosen unanimously by a committee formed to choose the grand marshal. It was clear to everybody that she was deserving, Finley said. Finley said the club welcomes anyone to come out and enjoy the annual parade, even if they arent Irish. We want to represent the diversity that makes Meriden such a great city, Finley said. Were proud of our immigrant heritage and were also proud to be Americans. The parade will feature over 200 participant groups, including pipe bands, fife and drum corps, marching bands, the Shrine Temple Funsters, and various youth organizations. The AOH also hosted their 94th Annual Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner last Saturday on March 17. At the dinner they announced the winners of their annual scholarship to high school students Greyshel Colon and Caroline Gonzalez, who will both graduate from Platt High School this year. bwright@record-journal.com 203-317-2316 Twitter: @baileyfaywright The Prime Minister expressed his pleasure with the development in cooperation, trade and investment between the two sides and believed that the Ministers current visit will open new space for bilateral cooperation. The Omani Minister agreed on the PMs proposal on boosting cooperation between the two countries and said that numerous Omani enterprises who accompany his current visit want to seek opportunities for cooperation, especially in logistics and transportation. During their stay in Vietnam, the Omani delegation had working sessions with relevant Vietnamese agencies and businesses. The Minister expressed his wish that Vietnam continue maintaining export of food and rice to Oman, proposing establishing a direct marine transport route between Oman and Vietnam. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and Omani Minister of Commerce and Trade Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidi He said Oman is able to serve a gateway for Vietnam to access the Gulf and African markets, and wishes to cooperate with Vietnam to exploit natural gas in the future as the country has huge natural gas reserves. The PM agreed on cooperation potential between the two countries, suggesting that the two sides need to sign necessary documents soon, creating legal framework for promote cooperation. He highly valued Omans dispatch of a business mission to Vietnam to learn the market and attend the Vietnam - Oman business forum to seek opportunities for business, trade and investment during the ministers visit. He affirmed the Government will create all possible favourable conditions for Omani enterprises to operation in Vietnam. "As we always have over the past 25 years, South Korea (RoK) and Vietnam will hold hands tightly and move toward a better future," Moon said in a groundbreaking ceremony for the Vietnam-Korea Institute of Science and Technology (V-KIST). V-KIST is a US$70 million research facility jointly funded and built by Vietnam and RoK's Korea Institute of Science and Technology. Construction is set to be completed in 2020. "The V-KIST is where the dreams and determination of our two governments and their people emerge. Dreams have the power to make imaginations come true and determination leads us to better future," the RoK leader told the ceremony. Moon noted the construction of the institute will mark Vietnam's step toward realizing its goal of building a "modernized industrial nation," and that his country's participation in the construction will mark its support for Vietnam in the process. "South Korea's experience in industrializing its own nation in just half a century is being used to make Vietnam's dream a reality. South Korea's dream too has become bigger," he said. "Vietnam and South Korea have already become irreplaceable friends to each other. The Vietnam-Korea Institute of Science and Technology that is being constructed in the countries' joint project shows how strong our trust and cooperation are. What is left now is the countries' future, which will only be more prosperous," President Moon added. Vietnam is RoK's fourth-largest trading partner and RoK is Vietnam's second-largest. Their bilateral trade came to $63.9 billion in 2017. Moon earlier said the two countries will work to boost the amount to over $100 billion by 2020. Moon arrived Hanoi earlier on March 22 on a three-day state visit that will include his summit with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang. President Donald Trump signs Presidential Memorandum imposing tariffs and investment restrictions on China, in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, Thursday, March 22, 2018, in Washington. (Xinhua Photo) Read More: China readies as Trump's trade war plan spells failure Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai said Thursday China will retaliate after U.S. President Donald Trump signed a memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to 60 billion U.S. dollars of imports from China. We do not want a trade war with the United States or with anybody else, but we are not afraid of it. If somebody tries to impose a trade war upon us, we will fight. We will do whatever we can to defend the legitimate interests. We will also do whatever we can to safeguard the open global trading system, said Cui in a video posted on the embassys Facebook account. Trump has directed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to publish a list of proposed Chinese goods that could be subject to tariffs in 15 days, while the U.S. Treasury Department will have 60 days to propose restrictions on Chinese investment in the United States, according to the presidential memorandum. The tariffs "could be about 60 billion" dollars, Trump said Thursday at the White House before signing the memorandum. But a senior White House official told reporters earlier in the day that the number would be close to 50 billion dollars. In the video post in response to the announcement, Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai sent a strong warning to those people who intend to fight a trade war. We will certainly fight back. We will retaliate. If people want to play tough, we will play tough with them, and see who will last longer, he said. He also warned that a unilateral approach, protectionist approach or a trade war will not help anybody and will hurt American people and businesses because it makes no economic or political sense. So the end of it will be hurting everybody. It will certainly affect the daily lives of the American middle class people. It will affect the balance sheet of American companies. It will affect the indexes of the financial market. It will undermine peoples confidence in the long-term economic prospects. I dont think anybody can gain anything from it, the ambassador said. Trumps memorandum is based on a so-called Section 301 investigation into alleged Chinese intellectual property and technology transfer practices, launched by the Trump administration in August 2017. Section 301, once heavily used in the 1980s and the early 1990s, allows the U.S. president to unilaterally impose tariffs or other trade restrictions on foreign countries. But the United States has rarely used the outdated trade tool since the World Trade Organization (WTO) came into being in 1995. "It became no longer necessary really for the United States that they have to use that law, because now we have an effective dispute settlement system under the WTO," said Chad Bown, a trade expert and senior fellow at the Washington D.C.-based Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE). The memorandum follows Trump's recent tariff plan on steel and aluminum imports and January's tariffs levied on imported solar panels and washing machines. These unilateral moves have prompted strong opposition and warnings from business groups around the world. In a letter to Trump on Sunday, 45 U.S. trade associations, representing retail, technology, agriculture and other consumer-product industries, urged the administration not to move forward its tariff plan on Chinese imports, as it would hurt U.S. consumers and companies. A group of 25 major U.S. retail companies, including Walmart, Costco and Best Buy, also warned on Monday that any additional broad-based tariff would worsen U.S. inequity and "punish American working families" with higher prices on household basics like clothing, shoes and electronics. If the Trump administration imposes a 25-percent tariff on information and communications technology imports from China, it would cost the U.S. economy 332 billion dollars over the next 10 years, according to a report recently released by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a U.S. technology policy think tank. "Simply put, tariffs are damaging taxes on American consumers," said Thomas J. Donohue, President and CEO of U.S. Chamber of Commerce, warning the Trump administration's tariff plan could lead to "a destructive trade war" with serious consequences for U.S. economic growth and job creation. "Tariffs of $30 billion a year would wipe out over a third of the savings American families received from the doubling of the standard deduction in tax reform. If the tariffs reach $60 billion, which has been rumored, the impact would be even more devastating," Donohue said. A South Korean court on Thursday issued a warrant to arrest former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak over a series of corruption charges, multiple local media reported. Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. [File Photo: IC] The Seoul Central District Court decided to put Lee, who served his five-year presidential term through early 2013, under custody as he denied almost all of alleged wrongdoings, and even basic facts found through an investigation. The denial raised a possibility for destroying evidence, and many of Lee's offences were justifiable, the court said. Lee posted a message in his social media account after the arrest decision, saying he is responsible for everything though he tried his best during his presidency. Lee was summoned last week for questioning, and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office requested a warrant Monday to arrest him for multiple charges, including bribery, embezzlement, tax evasion and slush fund creation. The former president refused to present himself in the court to be arraigned, saying he already clarified his position while being grilled by prosecutors. The court made the detention decision by examining documentary evidences and testimonies provided by prosecutors. Lee had awaited the court's decision at home in central Seoul. Investigators would soon take him to a detention center in southern Seoul. Lee's arrest came about a year after former President Park Geun-hye, Lee's successor, was detained last March after her impeachment over an influence-peddling scandal involving her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil. Prosecutors demanded 30 years in jail for Park, who was detained for her dismissal of all charges levied against her. A Seoul court will hand down a ruling on the country's first-ever impeached president next month. Jeremy Wade searches for answers in the most remarkable rivers, lakes and seas on the planet to reveal the secrets of these extraordinary places. Tuesdays from 9pm AEST. Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) holds a welcome ceremony for visiting Cameroonian President Paul Biya before their talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 22, 2018. (Xinhua/Li Tao) BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- China and Cameroon on Thursday agreed to give full play to their sound friendship and great potential for cooperation to further advance bilateral relationship. The statement came as Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with his Cameroonian counterpart Paul Biya at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Calling Biya "a senior African leader and an old friend of China," Xi said Cameroon is an important partner of China in Africa. The two countries have respected each other, treated each other equally and supported each other on issues concerning core interest and major concerns since the two forged diplomatic ties 47 years ago, said Xi. Biya is the first African president to visit China this year and the first foreign head of state to visit after the annual sessions of China's National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Xi called on China and Cameroon to maintain exchanges at all levels and continue to support each other on core interests and major concerns. China supports Cameroon in choosing its own path of development and speeding up its process of industrialization, said Xi. China encourages the two countries to expand trade and enhance cooperation in major areas, and more Chinese enterprises to invest there, he said. He also called on both countries to intensify people-to-people exchanges. China is ready to work with Cameroon in the areas of peace, security and international affairs to protect the interests of African countries and other developing countries, Xi told Biya. He encourages Cameroon to take an active part in China's Belt and Road Initiative and work with China to promote the construction of a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation, and build a community with a shared future. China has upheld justice and pursued shared interests and built relations with Africa based on sincerity, affinity and good faith, he said. China would always stand by developing countries and be their sincere friend and reliable partner, no matter how the international situation changed or how China developed, Xi told Biya. Biya said China's long-term assistance to Cameroon has promoted Cameroon's economic and social development and directly benefited Cameroonian people. Cameroon is committed to enhancing strategic cooperation with China and welcomes more investment from China in industry, agriculture, energy, transportation, housing and new technology, he said. Cameroon spoke highly of the Belt and Road Initiative and supported cooperation within the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, Biya said. He said that Cameroon firmly adheres to the one-China policy and is willing to cooperate with China within in the United Nations and other multilateral frameworks. After the talks, the two presidents witnessed the signing of agreements on economic and technological cooperation, human resources development, infrastructural construction and industrial cooperation. Biya is paying a state visit to China from Thursday to Saturday at the invitation of Xi. Chinese President Xi Jinping (2nd R) and his wife Peng Liyuan (1st R) pose for a photo with visiting Cameroonian President Paul Biya (2nd L) and his wife in Beijing, capital of China, March 22, 2018. Xi Jinping held talks with his Cameroonian counterpart Paul Biya at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Thursday. (Xinhua/Li Xueren) Former Jiangsu vice governor sentenced to 12 years in prison for graft Li Yunfeng, former executive vice governor of Jiangsu Province, was sentenced to 12 years in prison Thursday for taking bribes of over 14 million yuan (2.2 million U.S. dollars). Li Yunfeng, former executive vice governor of Jiangsu Province, appearing court in Heze, Shandong Province, March 22, 2018. Li has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for taking bribes of over 14 million yuan (2.2 million U.S. dollars).[Photo: weibo.com] His illegal gains will be retrieved and turned in to national treasury. He was also fined 1.5 million yuan, according to a statement by a court in the city of Heze, Shandong Province. The court found that between 2003 and 2014, Li took advantage of his various posts to provide help in construction project contracting, project planning and personnel promotion for certain companies and individuals. In return, he accepted gifts and money worth over 14.77 million yuan, either by himself or through "specific affiliated persons," it said. The statement said the court handed down the sentence while taking into consideration the fact that Li confessed to his crimes, showed repentance and was cooperative in returning all his illegal gains. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Delhi police resorted to lathicharge and water cannons to keep back scores of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students and JNUs Teachers Association participating in a long march to the parliament. The long march which began at 2 pm from JNU North Gate was carried out to "ensure that the continuing injustices in JNU and across universities are put to a halt". WATCH VIDEO: Delhi police lathicharge, arrest JNU students during long march to parliament The participants of the march were lathi-charged mid-way, near INA market. According to sources, JNUSU president Geeta Kumari and vice-president Simone Zoya were among who got injured in the lathicharge. Numerous students have been lathi-charged by the Delhi police, and many of them are severely injured. Students were peacefully marching to the sansad, asserted a JNU student. Unarmed students hit with water canon and then lathicharged. 8 women students brutally beaten up and detained! This is the might of @DelhiPolice! Can only attack students marching peacefully through the city! Shame!#StudentsLongMarch pic.twitter.com/ycjbAME2i4 Preeti Gulati (@preetigulati28) March 23, 2018 "Brutal lathi charge again on peacefully protesting students. This is what you get for demanding your right to education. Same Delhi Police which doesn't act against Atul Johri, can't find Najeeb attacks students demanding education. Modi Sarkar, shame! #StudentsLongMarch," tweeted Umar Khalid. By Associated Press LOS ANGELES: A former Playboy model apologized to first lady Melania Trump for a 10-month affair she claims she had with President Donald Trump that started with him offering her money after the first time they had sex. During an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper that aired Thursday night, Karen McDougal said Trump tried to pay her after their first sexual tryst at a bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 2006. "Well, after we had been intimate, he, he tried to pay me. And I actually didn't know how to take that," she said. "But I looked at him and I said, 'That's not me. I'm not that kind of girl.'" She cried on the way home and didn't think she would see him again, but agreed to go on other dates with him after he called her back, she said. McDougal repeatedly described Trump as "very charming" and "sweet." McDougal said she continued the relationship with Trump for about 10 months and broke it off in April 2007 because she felt guilty. She recalled traveling to meet Trump at his properties in New York, New Jersey and California and said she had sex with him "many dozens of times." McDougal had feelings for Trump, but the affair was "just tearing me apart," she said. "There was a real relationship there. There were real feelings," she said. "He would call me baby or he would call me beautiful Karen." Trump married his current wife, Melania Trump, in 2005, and their son, Barron, was born in 2006. Speaking to CNN which her attorney has said would be her only interview about the relationship McDougal apologized when she was asked what she would say to Melania Trump. "What can you say except, I'm sorry?" McDougal said. "I'm sorry. I wouldn't want it done to me." McDougal said she never wanted to discuss her relationship and repeatedly rebuffed inquiries from reporters about the alleged affair. But after the story became public, she wanted to get out and tell her side of what happened, she said. The White House has said Trump denies having an affair with McDougal and did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the interview Thursday night. On Tuesday, she filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles against the company that owns the supermarket tabloid National Enquirer, which she said paid her $150,000 during the presidential campaign for the rights to her story of an affair, but never ran the story. McDougal's lawsuit, which asks a judge to invalidate the contract, alleges that Trump's attorney, Michael Cohen, was secretly involved in her discussions with the tabloid's parent company, American Media, Inc. The company has said that McDougal has been allowed to speak about her relationship since 2016 and the contract gave them discretion over whether to publish the story. A strict regulation on students' intimate interactions published by a university in northeast Chinas Heilongjiang Province has incurred backlash from the public since it was spread on Chinese social media. A cartoon pictures shows the intimate interaction among college students. [Photo: qlwb.com.cn] Netizens on Chinas Twitter-like Weibo shared the regulation on Monday, showing Qiqihar Institute of Engineering intervening in communication between male and female students, even including talks in the hallways. If the students are found to have "misbehaved", they will be recorded on video and deducted credits. An anonymous student told Shanghai-based media The Paper that they cannot display intimate behaviors, though the university claimed they do not impose any restrictions on students' interactions. "Hand-holding has been classified as causing a negative influence (to others). There were students being punished once in a while," the anonymous student said. A student disciplinary regulation found at the university's official website, implemented in July 2012, declared that students who display illicit cohabitation or sexual relationships will be expelled from the school. The university told CGTN Digital that they are still figuring out the case and cannot disclose the result yet. Some regulations published by a few Chinese schools were criticized by the public . A high school in east China's Zhejiang Province regulated students' intimate interactions, including students of the same gender. Another high school in southwest China's Yunnan Province expelled two students who blew bubbles and threw paper planes on campus due to safety regulations. However, the regulations focusing on expelling college and university students released by Chinas Ministry of Education did not include intervening in students' social interactions. Chinese attitude towards sex has changed in recent years. A marriage and relationship report released in 2016 by Peking University and dating website Baihe showed that Chinese people born after 1995 had their first sexual encounter at 17 on average, four-and-a-half years earlier than people born in the 1980s. Many schools have changed its regulations about students' intimate interactions in recent years. They've tried to protect and guide students to establish a healthy view on marriage and love. China's famous Fudan University softened its rule in 2017 from expelling students who had sex before marriage to giving them warnings depending on the severity of the case. For Subscribers Middletown pet owner wants action to reduce coyotes on Aquidneck Island There are just too many coyotes on heavily populated Aquidneck Island and they should be removed, says Suzanne Saraniti. Here's what the experts say. Alibaba-run Tmall Global plans to open six new procurement centers around the world to help overseas vendors better satisfy Chinese consumers needs for imported goods, Tmall President Jing Jie said on March 21, Beijing Business Daily reported. The six centers will be established in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, as well as regions in North America, Europe and Oceania, Jing clarified at an annual global partners summit of Tmall Global held in Hangzhou. At the summit, Tmall Global signed annual procurement plans with representatives from Australia, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand. The platform will also increase the use of bonded warehouses, which will store goods without imported duties until they are dispatched, with the aim of reducing the cost for vendors that are looking to get into the Chinese market, Jing disclosed. Tmall Global already provides platforms for more than 18,000 brands from 74 countries and regions, according to statistics. Chinas Ambassador to the UK, HE Liu Xiaoming, and more than 150 Chinese investors attended a reception at City Hall in London to strengthen trade and investment links. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan hailed the special relationship between London and China in a speech. Attendees include investors from all sectors to explore further investment opportunities and help Chinese companies looking to expand into London. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan gave speech at the reception. (Photo by Tianxing Bai) China is the second biggest overseas investor into London behind the US, and there was a 255 per cent increase in Chinese foreign direct investment projects to London from 2007 to 2017 according to data from London & Partners. Since 2011, London and Partners has helped almost 200 Chinese companies to set up in London, generating 2,800 jobs. Therefore, China has accounted for 12 per cent of all FDI to London over this period. Recent major Chinese investment projects in London have included Pudong Bank launching its new branch in London (February 2018) and China Mobile launching new businesses in the UK (December 2017) while HNA Airlines announced it will open a London-Changsha route this month in addition to the London-Qingdao route launched by Beijing Capital Airlines. China Central Television is also to launch its European Station in London. At the event, London & Partners and the City of London Corporation also launched a digital hub for the Belt and Road initiative (BRI). The online platform will help to strengthen trade and investment ties between London and China by highlighting areas for collaboration and investment opportunities linked to the Belt and Road initiative. Chinas Ambassador to the UK, HE Liu Xiaoming, gave a speech at the reception. (Photo by Tianxing Bai) The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: Chinese businesses and the thriving Chinese community make a huge contribution to our city. As one of the worlds fastest-growing economies, China is one of the leading sources of investment into the capital. The Belt and Road initiative will unlock a whole new range of opportunities for both London and Chinese businesses and will further strengthen economic and cultural links between our cities. According to recent research, the UK has identified 1.8 billion in additional annual GDP potential associated with the BRI. Chinas Ambassador to the UK, HE Liu Xiaoming said: "China offers opportunities for greater openness and cooperation. Our new measures to deepen reform and new steps to open up further to the world, coupled with the new phase of the China-UK 'Golden Era', will bring unprecedented new opportunities to the world, the UK included. I hope the business communities of China and the UK will match our comparative strengths, work together in tapping the third-country markets and enhance communication and exchanges across the board in order to take our trade and economic cooperation to a new high, enrich our business cooperation and deepen our friendship and mutual trust. Let us join hands to bring out the vim and vigour of London, and write a new splendid chapter of the China-UK 'Golden Era'!" The top sectors for Chinese expansion in London are ICT, the creative industries, financial services and business services. China is also Londons largest international student market, and is projected to be the capitals fastest-growing market for tourism in the coming eight years. By 2025, it is predicted there will be a 103 per cent increase in the number of Chinese tourists into London with 330,000 annual visitors. President Emmerson Mnangagwa has released details about his family that seem to suggest that he had children with First Lady Auxillia when he was still married to his first wife, Jayne, who died in 2002. Mnangagwa, who became president in November after a soft military coup triggered by his sacking from Zanu PF and government, married his first wife Jayne Matarise in September 1973, according to the Head of States website launched yesterday. During this time, Jayne was living with her first cousin Josiah Magama Tongogara, the former supreme military commander of Zanu, the liberation movement that waged a bitter liberation struggle that ushered in independence in 1980. Tongogara was killed in a mysterious car crash in Mozambique, six days after the Lancaster Agreement was signed. Jaynes mother and Tongogaras mother were sisters. She died on January 31, 2002 after a long battle with cervical cancer. The couple was blessed with six children, Farai, Tasiwa, Vimbayi, Tapiwa, Tariro and Emmerson (junior) Tanaka, according to the website. While the website seems to claim that Mnangagwa married Auxillia after the death of Jayne, it does not state when Mnangagwa married her. It is, however, unlikely that it was after Jaynes passing because they had their first child 18 years before Jaynes death. Mnangagwa and Auxillia have been blessed with three children, according to the portal, namely Emmerson (junior), Sean and Collins. Going for instance by the age of Emmerson Junior he was born on December 20, 1984 which means that Mnangagwa started his relationship with Auxillia while still married to Jayne. It is unclear if Jayne was aware of his relationship with Auxillia. Mnangagwa and Auxillias first son, Emmerson Jnr, started studying for his degree in Australia in 2004, two years after his step-mums death, majoring in business finance and marketing but was subsequently deported in 2007 due to pressure from the opposition. After completing his studies, he tied the knot with Leya (nee Travis) at a ceremony attended by the countrys business and political elites. The presidents portal describes him as a father and family man, ED Mnangagwa is dedicated to the education of his family, and has educated all of his children without exception. Most are now employed or run their own businesses and are independent of their father, with degrees ranging from diplomacy, business studies, marketing, law, sound engineering, nursing, creative advertising design, psychology and actuarial science. He has more than a dozen grandchildren and he is very close to all of them. He is known as a unifier in the immediate and extended family, a humble man with a keen sense of humour, he always has time for the children. He is dedicated to his family and to the wider family that is his country, Zimbabwe. Mnangagwas first wife was born in Shurugwi, the fifth child in a family of eight boys and two girls. Emmerson and Jayne had their first child, Farai in 1976 just when the final phase of the armed liberation struggle was gathering momentum, according to the publicly availed information. In 1977, the couple was blessed with their second daughter Tasiwa. Emmerson soon took up his post in Mozambique as the special assistant to the president, while Jayne remained in Zambia taking care of the budding family. She later joined him in Mozambique with the two young children. After independence, Jayne continued to look after the family, choosing to support her husbands political and public life by focusing on running the family farm, and her own business right up to her death, according to information gleaned from the portal. She was known for her dignified reserve and her devotion to her husband and children, according to the portal, featuring beautiful colour palettes and brilliant layout and typography. Zimbabwes new first lady, Auxillia, is a politician in her own right, as well as a trained State security operative and member of Zanu PFs central committee. She holds an MBA from Midlands State University and is currently pursuing a PhD. Her predecessor, Grace Mugabe, is currently mired in a storm over a dodgy PhD she was awarded by the University of Zimbabwe. Until the enthronement of her husband, she had lived quietly but not in seclusion, working hard for her Chirumanzu-Zibagwe constituency, a seat left vacant by her husband after he was appointed vice president. Before she became first lady, she spent a lot of time in her constituency, where she launched a womens bank and several other empowerment projects to help the community. As first lady since November 24, 2017, Auxillia has possessed a mysterious authority, which has compelled people to do her bidding. The soft-spoken and seemingly intelligent first lady, who seems to have a knack for attention, attracted overwhelming support from the corporate sector and charismatic churches when she launched last month her foundation, Angel of Hope, to support cancer patients and bring awareness to the need to combat cervical cancer. United Family International Church leader Emmanuel Makandiwa hogged headlines after he donated $300 000 to the first ladys foundation. It was not made clear by the first lady if this foundation was mooted in honour of Jayne, who died of cervical cancer. Auxillia told the eighth leg of her national cancer awareness campaign in Marondera last month that men must be content with their wives and desist from extra-marital affairs that force women to resort to using herbs on their privates to lure their husbands back. She has spent many hours visiting rural folk, the sick in hospitals, indigent children, the elderly, and the emotionally and physically handicapped. These people seem to interest her as first lady, with her philanthropic work largely hailed as commendable. But critics have said it seems she is being thrust upon Zimbabweans for a national narrative that seems to be a reversal of the post-2014 Grace Mugabe image. Daily News THE Zimbabwe Hospitals Doctors Association (ZHDA) and the Government have reached an agreement on the salary negotiations. The agreement was reached after a meeting was held on Wednesday between consultants representing doctors and Acting President, General Constantine Chiwenga (Retired), who was accompanied by Vice President Kembo Mohadi. The meeting was meant to resolve the issue of the industrial action by doctors, which had stretched for more than three weeks. Doctors downed tools on March 1 after petitioning Government to address their issues, which included allowance payments and provisions of medicine and equipment at hospitals. According to a statement by ZHDA yesterday, Acting President Chiwenga promised the doctors, among other benefits, an increment of on-call allowances from $1, 50 to $5 per hour, an increase in rural medical allowances, to withdraw its statement advising cessation of salaries and ensure that there is no victimisation of doctors. Consultants informed the ZHDA executive that they had met Acting President Chiwenga and VP Mohadi and they resolved to immediately rescind the letter advising cessation of salaries. This means that every doctor on industrial action is to get their full salary. The Acting President also promised to increase our on call allowances from $1,50 to $5 per hour, while there is a road map to ultimately increase it to $10 per hour. This means that from the current $360 per month of on call, interns are set to earn $800 per month of on call allowance, said ZHDA. The association added that Acting President Chiwenga also promised to increase their rural and medical allowances and ensure that there will be no victimisation, salary cuts and repeating of rotations. The leadership agreed that members who already have repeats stretching outside their contracts should be paid for those months. They agreed that hospital administration and procurement should be done by personnel with medical background. The Acting President also agreed to ensure that the vehicle loan scheme will be functional and underway and also ensure that no doctor will go unemployed, said the association. ZHDA applauded the resolutions made by Acting President Chiwenga, saying they were certain that the promises will be fulfilled. We know hes a man of action and hell effect these pledges with utmost good faith. In the same vein, the ZHDA executive would like to thank its consultants for their gesture and efforts to find a solution to the impasse. Their efforts will go a long way in resolving these issues, said the association. ZHDA spokesperson, Dr Mxolisi Ngwenya, yesterday said they consulted their members, who said they are waiting to see the promises in print. Chronicle President Robert Mugabe is now too old to remember anything and government is no longer taking his statements seriously, his successor and long time ally President Emmerson Mnangagwa told guests in Rwanda on Wednesday. Mnangagwa came to power through a military-assisted takeover of government that resulted in the fall of Mugabe and the scattering of the Generation 40 (G40) faction across the globe, but the former president is now throwing salvos at his former comrade, accusing him of ruling the country illegally. Recently, Mugabe told selected journalists that Mnangagwa came to power through a military coup. However, Mnangagwa, whose mission to charm the world has been made lighter by the widespread hate of the former Zimbabwean president, told his guests during his visit to Rwanda where he signed the African Continental Free Trade Area on behalf of Zimbabwe, that he gives little regard to Mugabes rants. He is our founding father. We respect him, he is now 94, he may not remember that he will not cast his vote for me if you ask him today. We still respect him as our founding father and we will not bother because he is old, if you ask him again, he will say no, no, no, I will also vote for ED, said Mnangagwa. During a wide-ranging interview a fortnight ago, Mugabe said he will not vote for Mnangagwa. I would have wanted to support Emmersons bid but through the party system, the system that we have, (but) for one to represent the party, you must be elected by the people. So he should go through an election process, which he hasnt done. After working so many years with him, I didnt think he can be the man to reject an election process, said Mugabe. Despite feigning bravado in the face of Mugabes riveting and revealing rants, Zanu PF has now seemingly pressed the panic baton as it had hoped on harvesting on his support in the Mashonaland provinces to win the forthcoming elections that could be held between June and July this year. The party has threatened to expel its founding father and in the past few weeks, has, through the State-controlled media, gone into overdrive attacking Mugabe and dropping prefixes like comrade. While Zanu PF is apparently in sixes and sevens on the best course of action to take against Mugabe, the opposition is riding on the confusion, with leader of the MDC Alliance Nelson Chamisa claiming that the former president would vote for him in the elections. Mugabe has made it no secret that he has an axe to grind with his former allies, apparently still too rankled that his former right-hand man Mnangagwa turned to be a Brutus who turned against Julius Caesar in the tragic story of the Roman Empire. Mugabe urged the opposition to work closely with the full spectrum of the youths to enable them to take over the governance of the country in the interest of generational renewal whose time he said has come. Dont oppress them; make sure they are not harassed. I know they will be harassed and some arrested but empower them mentally to fight for what is right, Mugabe said. Speaking to the SABC in an interview on Monday, Chamisa said given his deep-seated grievances, there was no way Mugabe would vote for Zanu PF. The good thing in this election is that for the first time in the history of this country, Mugabe is not going to vote for Zanu PF. Not only that, Mugabe is going to vote for the opposition and the biggest question is which opposition. On that the jury is still out, but I suspect he is going to vote MDC, said Chamisa. Daily News A 31-year-old Harare woman has been jailed 20 years effective for facilitating the trafficking of five Zimbabwean women to Kuwait where they were turned into slaves and prostitutes. Norest Maruma, the ring leader of the trafficking gang, was in December convicted on five counts of contravening the Trafficking in Persons Act by magistrate Mr Lazini Ncube who could not pass sentence because his jurisdiction is limited. In Zimbabwe, crimes of this nature attract a penal provision of life imprisonment or more than 10 years per count. This prompted Mr Ncube to refer the matter to the High Court for sentencing where Justice Tawanda Chitapi yesterday slapped her with a combined 50 years in jail after sentencing her to 10 years in prison on each count. However, counts one to three are to run concurrently as well as four and five which are also going to run concurrently, leaving her with a 20-year jail term. When he convicted her, Mr Ncube ruled that there were no special circumstances in her case to warrant the court to disregard the mandatory sentence. In his ruling, Mr Ncube said Maruma, in submitting special circumstances, said she was also a victim of human trafficking. It is clear that the victims were trafficked on different dates and for money, he said. The fact that she was a victim who turned perpetrator is aggravating, he said. Maruma is the first person to be sent to jail in the Kuwait human trafficking saga that left several women stranded in March 2016 after being lured to the Middle East country on the pretext that they were going to be offered lucrative jobs. Maruma acted as a local agent. Prosecutor Ms Francesca Mukumbiri said Maruma trafficked eight people, but the State only managed to get hold of five. One of the victims narrated to the court how she worked with another woman from another African country as slaves, but the woman later died. She told the court that their master kept the corpse in the house. In aggravation, Ms Mukumbiri said Marumas moral blameworthiness was high taking into account that she was once a victim of human trafficking before she was roped in as an agent by the syndicate. After she had also been duped, she went further to recruit other unsuspecting victims to Kuwait promising them jobs as waitresses only for them to discover that they had been duped after being placed in refrigerated rooms in Kuwait. After she trafficked the women, they called her for help, but she threatened them saying they should continue working. She met some of her victims at the embassy who beat her up and instead of being apologetic, she told them that there was nothing special about being trafficked because even rotten meat is sold. Some of the victims were forced into prostitution and they are suffering the after effects, which include trauma and diseases, Ms Mukumbiri said. Ms Mukumbiri said, Your Worship, the offence she committed is serious and she deserves to be severely punished. In 2014, a 62-year-old cross-border trader, Jessica Mahuni, who recruited two Zimbabwean women to work in Angola before forcing them into prostitution was jailed for one-and-a-half years. Mahuni was given a lighter sentence because the Trafficking in Persons Act had not been enacted then and she was convicted of violating Section 83 of the Criminal Codification and Reform Act, which prohibits leaving the country with the intention that the other person may become a prostitute. Ms Mukumbiri proved that between December 2015 and March 2016, Maruma unlawfully and intentionally recruited unsuspecting victims to Kuwait using facebook and WhatsApp. She misrepresented to the complainants that housemaids in Kuwait were paid $750, before sending them pictures of some girls she said were well paid in Kuwait. The victims sent their medical examinations and police clearance to Maruma and communication was through the WhatsApp number. Soon after the victims arrived in Kuwait, their passports were taken away by their employers and they fell into slavery and exploitation. They would work for more than 22 hours a day without rest and were called Khadama, which means slave. They were not allowed to communicate with anyone. Herald All companies and individuals that were recently named by Government for allegedly externalising funds and assets were contacted by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to explain their transactions, but failed and will soon have their day in court, a Cabinet minister has said. On Monday, President Mnangagwa published a list of 1 844 alleged externalisers who failed to return an estimated $1 billion after the expiry of a three-month amnesty that ran from December 1 last year. However, close to $600 million has so far been recovered. Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa yesterday said those implicated were individually contacted by the central bank, but for reasons best known to them failed to respond. He said as far as he was concerned, no one is disputing the facts presented by RBZ. There cannot be an industry-wide complaint on the list; each matter has to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis because their circumstances differ with each individual case. From what I understand, they were each individually contacted and informed and told that they had to respond, but they didnt for reasons best known to them, said Minister Chinamasa. Now, lets take it where we are: from my information, they is no one who is disputing the facts of the matter; they are actually pleading with the Reserve Bank. Government has no intention for any innocent person to be punished. Those who have queries are free to write to the RBZ to explain that the facts are not true. Minister Chinamasa indicated that those implicated in breaking the law will be referred for prosecution. The law is clear. Some are even questioning the legality of repatriating funds, but anyone who thinks they can export and are not legally obligated to repatriate the proceeds can have their day in court. If someone was given foreign currency to import and they have nothing to show for it and they feel that they are not accountable, they can say so in court. If they get cash from our banks and deposit the same money in foreign banks without informing the central bank, let them have their day in court, he said. Cases involving externalisation, he added, fall under the remit of international anti-money laundering legislation, whose enforcement is done under the auspices of the United Nations Security Council. Zimbabwe, which is a member of the Eastern and Southern African Money Laundering Group, domesticated the international law against money laundering through enacting the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act in June 2013. In 2014, penalties for breaching for the law were reviewed from $600 to $500 000 through Statutory Instrument 2 of 2014. Yesterday, Minister Chinamasa intimated that some foreign banks had red-flagged some of the cases. Banks are required to inform of suspicious deposits, which means banks outside Zimbabwe are obligated under international law to inform the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. We are similarly required to do that for banks outside Zimbabwe, he said. According to Minister Chinamasa, there was need for individuals and companies to abide by the law and restore order from the previous chaos. He also indicated that those who feel that they are some names that need to be included on the list, are supposed to take the initiative and raise the issue with the authorities in their personal capacity. The list that was published on Monday showed that the country was prejudiced through non-repatriation of export proceeds, payment of imports not received in Zimbabwe and funds banked in foreign financial institutions under questionable circumstances. Herald Q: What role have you played in the formation of the National Patriotic Front, the new opposition party led by Retired Brigadier-General Ambrose Mutinhiri? Are you a member? Is the former first lady a member? A: Ive had quite a number of groups coming here (Blue Roof) and seeking my views. I had Mai (Joice) Mujuru earlier on introduced by Father (Fidelis) Mukonori. She came to discuss the past and then she made reference to the fact that all that was happening against her during her time with us when she was vice-president was meant to create a place for Mnangagwa, and she knew that is was coming to this, now that he is at the top. I said to her, well, if you stand for that which is right, proper, legal and constitutional, go out, find some of our young men and young women who stand for it, enrol them, there is nothing wrong about it. When she left here, she was stoned in Glen Norah and Glen View. She sustained a bruised cheek after being hit with a stone. Thats very bad. Q: Who else has come to see you? A: Ive also had the likes of (Walter) Mzembi and (Makhosini) Hlongwane and they came and I think they had come through the (government) system and they had informed the system that they were coming to discuss with me. They thought what should happen is an internal dialogue. I said fine, what internal dialogue? They said, well, internal dialogue with the President, with ED. I said just that? They said, well, yes. Q: Tell us about Mutinhiris visit. A: Then I also had Ambrose Mutinhiri who said he thinks the solution is establishing a new party. I said on what principle? He said first, to correct what has happened. I said fine. To put paid to all falsehoods and hypocrisies that have emerged, people saying they are correcting the wrong that is surrounding the legacy of the president and at the same time they are taking action to do down that president. That evil contradiction must go. If we are supporting the president, let us say so in word and deed and not pretend to be doing so in order to cover our illicit activities against the president. Q: Are you saying Mutinhiri came just to consult? A: Yes, to consult, and I said fine, if youre along those lines as you describe them Ill support you. Q: Is it correct to say youre a member of the National Patriotic Front? A: No. Q: If Mutinhiri and others get to launch the party and invite you to be a guest at the function, would you attend the event? A: I would have to think twice before I can go because there may be others who may come and perhaps (in that case) I think I better not go. Q: Is the former first lady a member of the National Patriotic Party? A: No, shes not. Q: In that connection, we also want to know this: a statement issued by Jealousy Mawarire indicated that the idea of the formation of the party emerged in the middle of the November coup. There is also the insinuation that the people who have formed the new party were consulting you in the middle of the coup. Is that true? A: In the middle of the coup? No. Q: At what point, during the coup, did you get to know as commander-in-chief that the military was in the streets and yet you had not deployed it? A: I went for a graduation (ceremony) and the boys (intelligence) came and surrounded me and said we (the Central Intelligence Organisation) are being beaten up. I said ah all is well, Ive gone to the university and I havent seen anything. All the cars had been removed from the road and it was absolutely quiet. Thats when the boys (CIO) told me, that everything was being taken away from them. And that they had been beaten up. Q: So the CIO were being intimidated even before the coup? A: Yes, before. To clear the way. Q: On that Monday when General Chiwenga made a statement, what did you think about it? Did you take it as seriously as the public did? A: I thought at least Chiwenga would have informed me that they (the military) were having such and such a problem. Q: So you thought Chiwenga would inform you? A: Yes, to inform me what dissatisfaction they had. And at that point I said, well, were prepared to discuss. Q: You thought on that Monday Chiwenga would have discussed matters with you, and then on Tuesday you went to cabinet and tanks were already moving and the public was taking pictures and posting them on social media. Were you briefed by your security apparatus what exactly was happening at that point? A: They said that the tanks are moving to another destination, to Manicaland somewhere. Q: The then South African president Jacob Zuma told the world, as the situation unfolded, that I have spoken to president Mugabe, he is fine but is restricted. Those were Zumas words. At that point, did you ask for help from president Zuma? A: No. Q: When the South African delegation, comprising ministers, came to Harare, did you have an opportunity to meet them separately? A: No. We met them together with the commanders. Q: South Africa is a neighbouring country and you were under siege. Why didnt you seek help from president Zuma? A: They (South Africans) had spoken to the commanders and they had promised that they wouldnt stage a coup. Q: But did any regional leaders show concern about the coup that was unfolding? What was the attitude of the regional leaders, were they saying you should solve the matter internally or were they willing to come in? Do you feel betrayed by your regional peers? A: In a sense, yes. But when you look at their conditions, except for South Africa, they havent got the capacity to intervene, but South Africa could have done much more. It did not have to send an army, but just to engage. You see this group that came here, the (South African) ministers, they gave a false impression that all was okay (and that) they had spoken not just to us but also to the soldiers. If they had spoken to the soldiers, and then gave out that there was no need for intervention because they had been assured by both sides, then the other countries just sat on their laurels and they said ah well South Africa says theres no need (to intervene). Q: You read a televised statement and most people assumed you would tender your resignation that night. Its now called the Asante sana statement. You did not resign at that stage. Was there an intention to resign at that point? A: No. Q: Were you toppled through a military coup? A: Yes. What you didnt know, Father (Fidelis) Mukonori knelt on his knees, and moved on his knees towards me, begging me to resign. Q: Did Mukonori say who had sent him? A: No, he was just intervening. Q: How many people were killed during the coup? Q: In the aftermath of what has happened and in view of your complaints, how do you think the situation can be corrected? A: It is quite clear. Those who have created it have the responsibility to reverse it. If they dont want to reverse it, it means they want the situation to continue, which I think is the case. They would want us perhaps to get to the national election when the environment is still very congested with fear, some people still hiding, displaced. But I dont see the environment of campaigning being favourable to everybody. Q: In that case, do you think the nation is ready for elections? A: No. We are not. Q: Do you feel betrayed by Mnangagwa whom you worked with for over 50 years? A: Oh yes its a great betrayal. Worse than that of Brutus (Shakespearean character in the play Julius Caesar. Q: But youre the one who had appointed him vice-president. A: Yes, sure. Q: People will ask why you appointed him if you didnt trust him. A: Some developments occur after a person has been put in place. You know, even in our culture, when someone whos ordinary is made a chief, and once he gets into position ah ah, many people start quarrelling hes taking out cattle, hes taking our wives. Then you begin to wonder: but this is the man who was very honest and whom the people chose to be their chief. So those things happen. People get the taste of power and the taste of power then destroys an individual. You think that you now have some glory that you never had before. Q: When you say Mnangagwa rose to power unconstitutionally, what exactly are you referring to? A: He was not elected. Its quite clear. There has not been any election and we dont like it that way. Q: When it comes to elections, you and your government were repeatedly accused of stealing elections. A: As for stealing elections, no. The losers, the opposition, will never ever accept the defeat. It doesnt matter, in Africa its now accepted that when the opposition loses, it never accepts defeat. Its not like Europe, no. We must always find some reason. Ah, we were cheated here, ah. Its like that, right throughout. Q: But people say the MDC actually won the 2008 election and that Morgan Tsvangirai had won outright but was cheated by you. A: The 2008 election? Yes, yes, he won. We didnt dispute that. He won but the constitution says if you are contestants who are more than two, you must win by 50 plus one. Q: Are you saying the oppositions claim that Tsvangirai garnered much more than the required 50 plus one is untrue? A: Ah no. Ah no. It was 47% to 43%. We admit we had been defeated. Q: There was a story which revealed that after the first round of the 2008 presidential election when you had been outpolled by Tsvangirai you actually said you were ready to retire. In fact, your former intelligence minister Didymus Mutasa told journalists that you had conceded defeat but were blocked by the military from stepping down. How true is this? A: Ah no. Ah no. Mutasa is lying. We all in the party (Zanu PF) said theres got to be a repeat in accordance with the constitution. Q: If Tsvangirai had won 50 plus one, would you have conceded defeat? A: Of course. Q: But a lot of opposition supporters were killed in the run-off. A: In the run-off? No. In the run-off Tsvangirai withdrew. Q: Tsvangirai said he withdrew because terrible violence was unleashed on his supporters, people were killed. A: No, he knew we would be better. Do you know why we lost 2008 (the first round)? Again, a disease amongst us: bhora musango. The likes of (General) Mujuru were fed up with me, they said I was preventing them from benefitting from companies, so they said lets get rid of Mugabe. Our supporters were told ah, you dont have to vote for the president. Q: Which brings us to General Solomon Mujurus death. People think it had something to do with Zanu PF succession issues. A: It was just a case of someone dying. He just died. And what is fortunate for the party is that it happened away, on his farm. Q: So you think his death was an accident? A: Some say some Israeli (business associates) who had issues with him. Q: Oxford researcher Miles Tendi says General Mujuru was killed by military intelligence. A: No. Ah, he was a terrible guy. Very selfish. And a smoker. A smoker, I think this is what killed him. In Geneva (Switzerland), we burnt down a hotel and it was Mujuru again. Well, we managed to avoid trial, but it was his smoking that almost got us killed in a hotel. He was a careless smoker. An investigation established that the fire started in his room. But we denied it and said no no. Q: Thousands of people were killed during Gukurahundi. You have come out and said it was a moment of madness. How did the atrocities come about and what can the nation do to move forward? A: But that one, if we are to tell the truth, its the Ndebeles and Zapu and Zipra who should bear the blame. We had that election, in 1980, the first one, and we won, we had 57 seats and Zapu had 20. (Joshua) Nkomo actually wept dearly. They had operated in Angolaremember they had gone to Angolathey said lets do in Zimbabwe what the MPLA has done; if we lose we will have Zero Hour. And they lost. So what happened? There was a ship of arms received by (the then Tanzanian president Julius) Nyerere in Dar es Salaam port, it came on Tazara (Tanzania-Zambia Railway). Because KK (the then Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda) preferred Nkomo to me, so KK passed on the arms, from the Soviet Union, to Zapu. But now after independence! So at Hwange Dumiso (Zipra intelligence supremo Dabengwa) had made arrangements underground to hide the arms. When the second shipment came, Nyerere then called me and said Robert, whats this? This is a second ship. Then he said ask KK. I asked Kaunda, you know Kaunda is a very soft man. He said ah, my brother, if I wronged you I did so because the arms addressed to Zapu were always going to Zapu from the Soviet Union. I said but KK, we are now independent. He said yes Im sorry and I wont do it again. But the ship came and it was received by Dumiso and once again the arms were hidden in Hwange. Zipra had pledged 12 000 war veterans to join the integrated army. They left out some of their experts and in their place, because they had promised 12 000, they put mujibhas (wartime runners) to fill in those places in the army. The mujibhas were trained and they started putting on uniforms and they started earning as trained soldiers. Nothing was happening to the well-trained ones who had been left out. And they saw the mujibhas take their place for a long time and they said ah no we cant continue like this. So some amongst them came to us, came to ED and reported that this is the arrangements we had, we put mujibhas in our place and we were left out. (They said) we had arms, we hid arms here and there in Hwange. So ED and (CIO director David) Stannard went and discovered these guns. Thats why Dumiso was arrested, thats why he went to prison, that is why Dumiso and ED will never work together. So Dumiso was arrested. But they had already given a few weapons to some individuals who now said ah is this what has happened, we have been discovered. They started shooting in Matabeleland South and then we said okay we had a Fifth Brigade trained by North Koreans. So we said, fine, face them, you go into Matabeleland South. Q: Did you give the Fifth Brigade carte blanche to kill people? A: Ah no, of course you never give. You know soldiers will always be soldiers, the violence will always happen. Q: But do you regret the situation, with the benefit of hindsight? A: Naturally the innocent people, yes. But what I dont accept is that we are totally to blame. Ah ah. Q: Do you think the state has an obligation to those who lost their families and suffered loss during Gukurahundi? Does the state have an obligation to them? A: The innocent ones. Even if they lost their lives during (Rhodesian prime minister Ian) Smiths time, we have an obligation, yes. Q: What can be done to prevent such atrocities from recurring? A: We have long said let them (the victims) be known. We asked Sekeramayi to organise so that those who have been affected, those whose lives and children have beenwe get to know. But that has not been done. Q: But you commissioned an official inquiry into Gukurahundi. Why was the report never made public? The Chihambakwe Commission report. It was never published and people out there say its because it had evidence that atrocities were committed. Secondly, Mnangagwa says he was not to blame for Gukurahundi because he was not prime minister, he was not the minister of defence, and that he was not carrying a gun. Hes basically saying its your issue, not my issue. A: Ah, but you know he was the minister of intelligence, hes the one with Stannard, the two of them, who led that and who even led Gukurahundi. I know one of the vehicles, Dabengwas vehicle, which they blasted, they said hes carrying arms. Q: You were not to blame for Gukurahundi? A: Ah but yes, of course, they got instructions from us. But we cant now say the fault is with so and so and so. The fault is with the government and those it employed. Q: Do you feel that victims and their families should be compensated? A: Getting victims is a process which must be done thoroughly because many would come and claim. Q: Do you acknowledge that 20 000 people were killed during Gukurahundi? A: Ah no. I doubt the number. I doubt the number definitely, because it (the Fifth Brigade) was now pursuing just individuals who had guns. But it could be, because you do get some people with guns just being reckless, and we are seeing it now. Reckless, they get to a place and they say what are you people saying and they start shooting there. Q: People say you brought the military into politics and what has happened to you is a logical culmination of that. What is your view on this? A: Ah, we never said they should come into politics. We always said the gun should be led by politics. Theyve come into politics now. Q: If you saw the military meddling in politics, why didnt you take decisive action to thwart them? Did you see the coup coming? A: No I never saw it. With the education we had given them. This was the work of two people, of General Chiwenga and ED. And theyve actually forced other people into it. Q: People expected you to go and console Tsvangirais family upon his passing but you did not. A: Well, we have not been moving. But we wrote a letter of condolence. I worked with Tsvangirai, he was prime minister then. We were good friends and even as he was in hospital we gave him some money for his cure. We mentioned it in the letter. Q: The state media says you want to receive your pension in cash through CBZ Bank. Do you have an account there and is that the correct position? A: I want to correct one thing: that we demanded it to be in dollars. CBZ is our banker and when Dr (Mariyawanda) Nzuwah (the then head of the Civil Service Commission) came and we did the benefits according to the constitution, he said do you prefer your package in cash or we can deposit it into your account? We said in cash. We didnt demand. We would never demand. Q: Some people are saying you should be like Zuma who has expressed support for his successor President Cyril Ramaphosa. In other words, they say you must support Mnangagwa. A: I said, well, if she (Grace) agrees, I can get another six (wives) and have seven like Zuma. Then I have my Indian friends in Dubai, they can come and be my Guptas. Laughs. But in truth, I can be like Zuma if ED is like Ramaphosa. Laughs. And he (ED) cant be like Ramaphosa as things are now. I suppose by reverse he can because Ramaphosa was elected and we saw the election. And we saw it was quite tight with Mama Zuma, the lead was only 200 (votes). But what was our lead? Laughs. Q: Do you have 21 farms? This would be hypocritical for a man who always spoke about one man one farm. A: Where are the farms? I dont have them. I got a farm in Norton, Highfield Farm. I bought it, its sandy but it has one virtue, its close to the dam. But during a season like this one, you get nothing because its just water flowing on it. I built Alpha Omega dairy (in Mazowe), that is all. Q: So you dont have other farms? A: That is all I have. The others belong to my children and relatives. She (Grace) has, naturally, some land around the childrens home, but as for me that is all I have. Q: You have been accused of failing to take action against corrupt ministers and government officials during your time in office. A: But you know, proving corruption is a difficult process. Youve got to try people, and to find them guilty is not very easy. Its not just ministers, even in the private sector, its rife. Q: Lastly, why did you prefer to stay long in power? A: I always listened to the people. The people still wanted me. And one other thing is I also looked at my circumstances. Nkomo is no more, (Simon) Muzenda, (Joseph) Msika, they are all gone. If I go, who would keep the party intact? Zimbabwe Independent 45 years after the artists death, Tate Modern stages its first ever solo exhibition of Pablo Picassos work on 8th March to 9 September 2018. The EY Exhibition: Picasso 1932 Love, Fame, Tragedy takes visitors on a month-by-month journey through 1932, a time so pivotal in Picassos life and work that it has been called his year of wonders. The EY Exhibition Picasso 1932 Love, Fame, TragedyPhoto by Tianxing Bai More than 100 outstanding paintings, sculptures and works on paper demonstrate his prolific and restlessly inventive character, stripping away common myths to reveal the man and the artist in his full complexity and richness. 1932 was an extraordinary year for Picasso, even by his own standards. His paintings reached a new level of sensuality and he cemented his celebrity status as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. Over the course of this year he created some of his best loved works, including Nude Woman in a Red Armchair, an anchor point of Tates collection, confident colour-saturated portraits and Surrealist experiments, including 13 seminal ink drawings of the Crucifixion. His virtuoso paintings also riffed on the voluptuous sculptures he had produced some months before at his new country estate. In his personal life, throughout 1932 Picasso kept a delicate balance between tending to his wife Olga Picasso (nee Khokhlova) and their 11-year-old son Paulo, and his passionate relationship with Marie-Therese Walter. The exhibition brings these complex artistic and personal dynamics to life with an unprecedented range of loans from collections around the world. Achim Borchardt-Hume, Director of Exhibitions, Tate Modern, and co-curator of the exhibition said:Picasso famously described painting as just another form of keeping a diary. This exhibition invites you to get close to the artist, to his ways of thinking and working, and to the tribulations of his personal life at a pivotal moment in his career. Visitors will be able to walk through 12 months of Picassos life and creative decision-making, to see many of his most ground-breaking and best-loved works in a surprising new light.Tianxing Bai Lava Moving 400 Feet an Hour as It Makes Way to the Sea (Newser) A renowned jockey who was among the best in Pennsylvania history died Thursday of injuries suffered in a racing accident, the AP reports. Parx Racing announced the death of Jose Flores, 56, who was racing Monday at the suburban Philadelphia track when his horse went down and Flores was thrown off. The jockey hit the ground headfirst and suffered a massive trauma. He was removed from life support Thursday afternoon. Flores won 4,650 races in a career that spanned more than three decades. He was the top career earner at Parx, formerly known as Philadelphia Park. TMZ calls him "legendary." story continues below "It's unbelievable, just sickening," Scott Lake, the top trainer at Parx, who has known Flores since 1991, told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "He was just tremendous, a nice guy, always a professional." Flores' mounts earned $64 million in nearly 29,000 career starts, according to the Equibase thoroughbred database. Parx called Flores an "outstanding jockey" and expressed condolences to his family. The Jockeys' Guild said Flores is the 157th jockey to die in a racing accident in unofficial records going back to 1940. The group said that before Flores, it had no record of a jockey ever being killed in an accident at a Pennsylvania track. The Inquirer says there was "absolutely no warning" before the horse, Love Rules, went down. Flores is survived by a wife and three sons. (Read more horse racing stories.) (Newser) President Trump is getting his third national security adviser in the first 14 months of his presidency, Reuters reports. Current national security adviser Lt. Gen. HR McMaster is resigning, to be replaced by John Bolton on April 9. "I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend," Trump tweeted Thursday. McMaster, who replaced Michael Flynn as national security adviser, is also resigning from the military, the New York Times reports. While McMaster and Trump butted heads both publicly and privately during his tenure at the White House, officials say McMaster's resignation is amicable and has been in the works for weeks. Officials say Trump wanted to finish a shakeup of his national security team before a planned meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong-un. story continues below McMaster's replacement was US ambassador to the UN under the second Bush administration and is "one of the most radically hawkish voices in American foreign policy," according to a Vox explainer on Bolton. The incoming national security adviser has said the US should declare war on both North Korea and Iran. Bolton, notably, has also been a longtime contributor on Fox News. In the past, he's been accused of abusing his subordinates and manipulating US intelligence ahead of the Iraq War and has connections to anti-Muslim groups. His appointment to national security adviser was met with concern from some areas. I operate on the assumption that John Bolton should be kept as far away from the levers of foreign policy as possible, says the vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at the libertarian Cato Institute. (Read more HR McMaster stories.) (Newser) The students in Florida pushing for an end to gun violence after the Parkland mass shooting remind Bill Murray of the students who pushed for an end to the Vietnam War half a century ago. "It really was the students that began the end of the Vietnam War," the actor writes in an NBC op-ed. "It was the students who made all the news, and that noise started, and then the movement wouldn't stop. I think, maybe, this noise that those students in Florida are makinghere, todaywill do something of the same nature." "For students to be worried about what could happen to them at school, that makes for a horrible moment," Murray says. "It's just a horrible place for us to be at." story continues below Murray praises the idealism of students like the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School survivors, who joined gun control protests within days of the shooting that killed 17 staff and students. "The thing that's so powerful about students is that, when you haven't had your idealism broken yet, you're able to speak from a place that has no confusion, where there is a clear set of values," he says, though he believes that idealism survives in everybody's conscience. "Sometimes it's just a whisper, but, in some people, it's a shout," he says. Click for the full column. Murray is one of many celebrities supporting Saturday's March for Our Lives anti-gun violence event, CNN reports. The protest, led by Parkland survivors, will involve a rally in Washington, DC, and sister protests in hundreds of other cities. (Read more Bill Murray stories.) (Newser) "'Normal' life for me will probably never be the same" but "I want people to focus on the investigationnot the police officer who was unfortunate enough to be caught up in it." Per the Guardian, that was the message from British police officer Nick Bailey Thursday following his release from the hospital almost three weeks after he rushed to help former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, who were poisoned with a Russian nerve agent. Later, it emerged a second police officer is being treated for minor symptoms, including skin irritation, after contact with an object believed to have had "secondary contamination" from the nerve agent, reports the Telegraph. Bailey will continue to receive intensive occupational therapy and psychotherapy, but he's lucky compared to Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter, Yulia. story continues below The two remain in critical but stable condition at a hospital in Salisbury. As part of a court decision Thursday to allow their blood to be tested for traces of chemical weapons by inspectors, it was revealed the pair are "heavily sedated" and may have suffered permanent brain damage; "medical tests indicate that their mental capacity might be compromised to an unknown and so far unascertained degree" and "the precise effect of their exposure on their long-term health remains unclear." At present, Skripal is "unable to communicate in any way" and Yulia is "unable to communicate in any meaningful way," court documents read, per ABC News. At a meeting Thursday, 28 EU leaders agreed "there is no plausible alternative explanation" other than that Russia ordered the attack, per NPR. (Read more Sergei Skripal stories.) (Newser) A Florida woman who attacked her husband for forgetting their wedding anniversary has been charged with domestic battery, police in Pasco County say. Police say 35-year-old Zephyrhills resident Carol Stone "smacked the victim multiple times" in the head and face, leaving red marks, and pushed him to the ground in what started out as a verbal argument about his failure to acknowledge the anniversary, Fox 13 reports. story continues below The husband recorded the altercation on his cellphone and Stone was arrested on a misdemeanor domestic battery charge after he showed police the footage Wednesday, reports the Tampa Bay Times. Police say Stone admitted that she "flipped" after her husband forgot the date. (This couple ran into trouble at their wedding.) (Newser) Congress gave final approval early Friday to a giant $1.3 trillion spending bill that ends the budget battles for now, but only after late obstacles skirted close to another shutdown as conservatives objected to big outlays on Democratic priorities at a time when Republicans control the House, Senate, and White House. Senate passage shortly after midnight averted a third federal shutdown this year, an outcome both parties wanted to avoid. But in crafting a sweeping deal that busts budget caps, they've stirred conservative opposition and set the contours for the next funding fight ahead of the midterm elections, the AP reports. "Shame, shame. A pox on both Housesand parties," tweeted Sen. Rand Paul. "No one has read it," he added of the 2,200-page bill that was released the night before. "Congress is broken." story continues below The House easily approved the measure Thursday, 256-167, a bipartisan tally that underscored the popularity of the compromise, which funds the government through September. It beefs up military and domestic programs, delivering federal funds to every corner of the country. But action stalled in the Senate as conservatives ran the clock in protest. Then, an unusual glitch arose when Sen. James Risch, an Idaho Republican, wanted to remove a provision to rename a forest in his home state after the late Cecil Andrus, a four-term Democratic governor. Once the opponents relented, the Senate began voting, clearing the package by a 65-32 vote a full day before Friday's midnight deadline to fund the government. (A deal to help "Dreamers" didn't make it into the bill.) (Newser) It's everyone's travel nightmare, but in one passenger's case it (sort of) became a dream come true. The bad-dream part of things for Allison Preiss began Thursday morning at Dulles International Airport, where she says a broken seat on a full United Airlines flight to Austin, Texas, meant the lowest-fare passenger had to give up his or her seat if no one else volunteered to do so for a $1,000 travel voucher, per ABC News. No one apparently did, and Preiss was apparently the passenger who'd paid the least, as she explained in a tweetstorm. "They are kicking me off this flight," she posted. Per NBC Washington, Preiss didn't want to give up her seat because she was headed to a friend's bachelorette party. story continues below After calling United "the WORST" and claiming the airline tried to get her to sign papers saying she willingly gave up her seat, Preiss dug the knife in by referencing some of the airline's recent headline-makers: "On the upside, I wasn't physically dragged off the plane and my dog wasn't killed on board, so I've got that going for me which is nice," she tweeted. After going back and forth with staff on a possible cash reimbursement, United finally offered her a $10,000 travel voucherand two $10 meal vouchers. United confirmed to ABC that "yes, we issued this voucher per our policy." As for Preiss, she calls it "the best flight delay ever" and says she's "pretty pumped" about the voucher. She also noted on Twitter: "I am going to go INSANE at Pizza Hut." (United's plan to give one of its employees $100,000 didn't go over well.) LONDON, March 15 (People's Daily Online) -- Lord Mayor of the City of London, Charles Bowman, is visiting China from 19 to 28 March 2018 to promote trade and investment, and Londons role in the Belt and Road initiative. The Lord Mayor will meet senior members of the Chinese government and business leaders during his visit. The nine day visit, accompanied by senior City figures from sectors such as banking, insurance, accountancy and legal, will include Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing. In Chinas leading tech hub Shenzhen the Lord Mayor will be highlighting the potential for further collaboration in the area of fintech. In addition, he will showcase Londons role in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, a region larger than Wales with a GDP of $1.36 trillion (981 billion) in 2016 and an estimated population of 66.71 million. In Hong Kong the Lord Mayor will be speaking at the GREAT Festival of Innovation, talking about the importance of collaboration between international financial centres, particularly in the Belt and Road initiative. Moving to Shanghai the Lord Mayor will meet the Citys Mayor Ying Yong for a ceremony to re-sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the City of London and Shanghai government. The commitment marks the latest chapter in collaboration between the two cities since the first agreement was signed in 1996. In Beijing, the Lord Mayors final stop in China, he will speak at a forum focussed on the XiongAn New Area- a new economic zone being constructed on the outskirts of Beijing which the Chinese government aims to develop as a world-class digital financial centre. Speaking ahead of his trip, Lord Mayor Charles Bowman, said:The City of London has enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with China. I hope my visit will lead to even closer cooperation in this Golden Era of relations between our two great countries. Following Prime Minister Theresa Mays successful trip earlier this year, a key part of my visit will be promoting Londons role as the natural Western hub of the Belt and Road Initiative, for which firms in the City have much to offer. International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox said:The Great Festival of Innovation is underpinned by a shared desire to build on the success of longstanding trading relationships between Asia and the UK and to stimulate further growth, with the City of London vital for developing the Golden Era of relations between our two countries. (Tianxing Bai) (Newser) Police have not released a 28-minute cellphone recording left by the Austin bomber before his death, but the Austin American-Statesman reports that Mark Conditt offers no motive or remorse for killing two and injuring five. Sources tell the newspaper that the 23-year-old describes himself as a "psychopath" in the recording and acknowledges that his actions took loved ones from their families. "I wish I were sorry, but I'm not," he says. Conditt also says he made a big mistake in using a FedEx Office, where surveillance video allowed police to get his license plate. And he threatened a chilling finale if police closed in: He would go into a crowded McDonald's and detonate a suicide bomb. story continues below Rep. Michael McCaul, who represents the area in Congress, tells CNN that Conditt spoke of employment troubles and other "aggravating factors." One more disturbing detail: McCaul says Conditt had purchased "Slow Down Children at Play" signs, which McCaul thinks means he planned to leave more tripwire bombs in residential areas. Meanwhile, the lack of a motive is playing a role in why authorities generally are not calling him a "terrorist," reports NBC News. By federal definition, a terrorist has a political motive, and Conditt appears to have lacked one. Critics, however, see a double standard at play because Conditt is white. Consider this tweet from Pakistani-born actor and comedian Kumail Nanjiani: "If this terrorist bomber was a brown guy, my mom wouldnt be able to leave her house for a week." (Conditt's pink gloves also played a role in his capture.) (Newser) More than a half-year after Hurricane Harvey slammed into the Texas coast, the extent of the resulting environmental assault is beginning to surface, while questions about the long-term consequences for human health remain unanswered. County, state, and federal records pieced together by the AP and Houston Chronicle reveal more than 100 Harvey-related toxic releases, most never publicized. Nearly half a billion gallons of industrial wastewater mixed with storm water surged out of just one chemical plant in Baytown, east of Houston. Benzene, vinyl chloride, butadiene, and other human carcinogens were among the dozens of tons of industrial toxins released into surrounding neighborhoods and waterways following Harvey's torrential rains. story continues below Only a handful of the industrial spills have been investigated by federal regulators, reporters found. Texas regulators say they've investigated 89 incidents, but have yet to announce any enforcement actions. In comparison, more than a dozen violations were identified and cleanups carried out following 2008's Hurricane Ike in the state. Based on widespread air monitoring, officials repeatedly assured the public that post-Harvey air pollution posed no health threat. But the EPA official in charge now says these general assessments didn't necessarily reflect "hotspots" with potential risk to people. The EPA's acting regional administrator during Harvey said the priority was addressing harms "as quickly as possible as opposed to making announcements." In hindsight, he said, it might not have been a bad idea to inform the public about the worst of "dozens of spills." The AP has much more here. (Read more Hurricane Harvey stories.) (Newser) A 16-year-old girl shot in the head in a school shooting Tuesday in Maryland died Thursday night, the Baltimore Sun reports. Jaelynn Willey was shot by 17-year-old Austin Rollins at Great Mills High School and left brain dead. The sheriff's office says Rollins and Willey had "a prior relationship which recently ended." She died around 11:30pmjust hours after her parents had said they were taking her off life support. It is with heavy hearts and great sadness we provide this update, the sheriffs office says in a statement. According to CNN, Willey was remembered by her uncle as "the most caring, thoughtful, sweet beautiful young lady I have ever met." Rollins died after being shot by a school resource officer. A 14-year-old male student who was shot in the leg was released from the hospital Wednesday. (Read more school shooting stories.) Sorry! This content is not available in your region A model of C929 superjet Chinese and Russian authorities have approved the joint review of the widebody long-haul airliner dubbed CR929, noting that the program has now entered preliminary design phase. The Sino-Russian designed widebody long-haul airliner has been officially named the CR929, while the China-Russian Commercial Aircraft International Corporation has officially commenced operations, Zhao Yuerang, chief manager of Chinas state-owned aerospace manufacturer Comac was quoted as saying by Thepaper.cn on Thursday. According to Thepaper.cn, the CR929 program will go through several stages, including project approval, joint review, preliminary design, manufacturing and final marketing. The program is now entering the preliminary design phase and is expected to produce the airplane within ten years. Arguably the worlds only new wide-body, two-aisle passenger jet to be manufactured by an entity other than Boeing and Airbus, the CR929 external design was unearthed in 2016, after Russian aerospace company United Aircraft Corporation signed a contract with Chinas Comac for designing a wide-body plane, challenging the traditional conglomerates Boeing and Airbus, according to Russian Aviation Insider. Let us know what you're seeing and hearing around the community. Submit here 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. Community Perspective Send Community Perspective submissions by mail (P.O. Box 70710, Fairbanks AK 99707) or via email (letters@newsminer.com). Submissions must be 500 to 750 words. 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Tel Aviv: The direct maiden flight of Air India to Tel Aviv from New Delhi arrived in the city on Thursday, heralding a new chapter in the India-Israel ties and ending a decades-old overfly ban by Saudi Arabia. Flight AI 139 landed at Tel Avivs Ben Gurion airport at 2215 (Israeli time). This is really a historical moment. We are in a new era. I am sure that we will see many more Indian tourists coming to Israel and Israelis would also come to India in much higher numbers, Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin told PTI. He said such a direct link would further strengthen the relationship between the two nations. Saudi Arabias decision to permit Air India to use its airspace has enabled the airline to take a shorter route. It will cover the distance in 7.15 hours, 2.10 hours less than the time taken by the only other airline that flies between the two countriesIsraels national carrier El Al. Many Arab and Islamic nations do not recognise Israel and, therefore, disallow airlines from using their airspace for flight services to that country. On a query over Saudi Arabia allowing Air India to use its airspace, Levin said: We have to very cautious. This is really a first stepa very important one. I hope with times we have more and more normal relation with our neighbour in this region. India played a very important bridge (by introducing this flight over Saudi airspace) not only between India and us but also between Israel and other countries in this region. Terming as historic the moment of arrival of the national carriers maiden flight to Tel Aviv, Indian Ambassador to Israel Pavan Kapoor said a lot of efforts had gone into it over the last two years with a strong vision and support for the initiative from the prime ministers of both the countries. He said the initiative would strengthen the relationship between the two countries in various spheres, including political, trade and cultural. Air India Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Pradeep Kharola said the Air India direct flight has the shortest route connecting New Delhi and Tel Aviv and will bring people of the two countries closer. The flight will operate every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. While the inaugural flight AI 139 left at 6 pm (IST) on Thursday, the scheduled departure will be 4.50 pm IST from March 25 when the summer schedule comes into operation. The state-run carrier will be operating its 256-seater Boeing 787 Dreamliner on this route. Kharola and Israel Ministry of Tourism Director Hassan Madah cut a symbolic cake to mark the start of the direct flight to Israel. Kharola had earlier said the airline anticipates interest from travellers from countries further to the east of India such as Australia. The Air India flew over Oman, Saudi Arabia and Jordan to reach Israel. The permission to fly over Saudi Arabia will save Air India almost 2 hours and 10 minutes compared to the longer route taken by Israels national carrier El Al, which has direct flights between Tel Aviv and Mumbai. El Al takes a circuitous route over the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and then enters India and avoids countries that are on the direct flight path such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. If you ever wonder how popular glass-bottomed bridges are in China, take a look at these pictures. A recently opened walkway has welcomed as many as 20,000 tourists a day who hope to enjoy thrilling scenery at 755 feet high. A set of pictures taken on March 20 show the popular tourist attraction situated in Hebei Province was so busy that one could barely see the sheer drop below. Not for the faint hearted: The world's longest glass-bottomed bridge is loaded with tourists who've come to enjoy the view Spectacular: The bridge, weighing 70 tonnes, is suspended between to cliff faces and paved with 1,077 glass panels The 1,601-foot-long bridge in the Hongyagu Scenic Area opened to the public in December. It is the longest glass bridge in the world and is designed to 'sway a little' when tourists walk on it, according to precious reports on Chinese state media. A spokesperson of the scenic area told MailOnline that bridge is 'very safe', adding that more and more people are visiting the attraction now that the weather is getting warm. The spokesperson said the bridge could support a maximum of 1,000 people. However, to ensure safety the management would only allow 600 tourists to stand on it at any one time. Don't look down! The 1,601-foot-long glass-bottomed bridge opened on December 24 in the Hongyagu Scenic Area in China Daredevils: Tourists jump on the transparent suspension bridge which has been designed to sway 755 feet above the ground On the day the pictures were taken, between 7,000 and 8,000 people crossed the bridge, according to the spokesperson. During the Lunar Chinese New Year last month, up to 20,000 people flocked to the attraction a day. The transparent footpath is 191 feet longer than the previous record holder, which is also in China. The 6.5-foot-wide walkway hangs 755 feet above the ground between two cliffs, roughly the height of a 66-storey building. Record-breaking: The spectacular footpath is the longest glass bridge in the world, breaking the previous record by 191 feet Smile, you're on camera: Tourists pose for photos on the see-through walkway suspended over a beautiful canyon The spectacular tourist attraction is paved with 1,077 glass panels, reported People's Daily Online, citing China Daily. Each of the panels is 1.5 inches thick and the whole bridge weighs 70 tonnes. The most thrilling feature of the bridge could be its 'swaying sensation'. Hebei Bailu Group, the company that built the bridge, told local reporters that they hoped the swinging motion could entertain the visitors as they take in the breath-taking scenery on the vertigo-inducing path. Previously, the world's longest glass bridge measured 1,410 feet long and is situated in the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon in Hunan Province, southern China. After its grand opening in August, 2016, the glass-bottomed bridge was forced to close just 13 days after because of an overwhelming number of tourists. Apparently, thousands of people had flocked to stand on the 984-foot-high structure every day, causing safety concerns. Previously, the world's longest glass bridge (pictured) measured 1,410ft long and is situated in the Zhangjiajie, China The glass-bottomed bridge in Zhangjiajie was forced to close 13 days after its grand opening in 2016 due to safety concerns New Delhi: Veteran Bollywood actress has registered a rape complaint against a Mumbai businessman. The diva, who has been a known face in the industry, has filed the case at the Juhu Police station lately and the accused was arrested on Thursday. According to the reports, the accused was charged under sections 304 D (stalking) and 509 (insulting modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code. The accused was produced in the court on Friday where he was sent to police remand till March 28. Veteran actress rape and Rs 15.5 Crore fraud case: Accused sent to police remand till till 28 March by Mumbai's Esplanade Court. a ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018 aThe complaint was filed yesterday night at Juhu Police Station. The accused has been arrested and produced in local court," DCP Crime Nisar Tamboli told PTI. He further asserted that the case has been handed over to Crime Branch who is investigating the matter further. Notably, the accused has been pleading not guilty in the case. His lawyer has claimed that the case filed against him is false. "The case filed against him is false.A Defence presented before Court that my client & the actress are husband & wife so there's no question of Section 376. If the plaintiff is influential anything can happen in the case," the lawyer told ANI. The case filed against him is false. Defence presented before Court that my client & the actress are husband & wife so there's no question of Section 376. If the plaintiff is influential anything can happen in the case: Lawyer of the accused in veteran actress rape & fraud case pic.twitter.com/2wVNb5Skgu a ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018 Reportedly the actress and the accused had known each other for a while. However, their relationship soured over a dispute after which the accused businessman stalked the actress in an attempt to convince her to talk to him. After failed attempts at convincing the accused to stop stalking, the senior actress decided to file a complaint against him. She also reportedly alleged that the businessman duped her of Rs 15.5 crore. For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: After a long span of silence, social activist Anna Hazare has started an indefinite hunger strike in Delhi yet again. Coinciding with the death anniversary of freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Rajguru, the hunger strike is being carried out nearly seven years after his anti-corruption movement that shook the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. As the strike gathers ground, the question that arises is - will the protest give birth to another Arvind Kejriwal? The protest venue is the same Ramlila Lila Maidan. Only the ruling government at the Centre is different. Last time, it was the UPA government in power. This time, it is Narendra Modis BJP-led government. And familiar faces like Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Puducherry Governor Kiran Bedi along with core members of 2011 protest are not to be seen in the ongoing Hazares fight against corruption. The 80-year-old Hazare sat on a hunger strike against corruption at the Ramlila Maidan in 2011. Thousands supported him. The anti-corruption crusader demanded proper investigation into corruptions cases in the country. Hazare has been pressing for the setting up of the Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in states. He has also been demanding implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report. This time, however, prior to starting the protest, Hazare had categorically said that he did not want another Arvind Kejriwal and banned him from joining the protest. The grand-old activist, learning lessons from the 2011 protest, which was supported by millions across the country, has taken several preventive measures to check that no person or group takes benefit of his anti-corruption protest to fulfil personal political agenda like Bedi and Kejriwal, who left the movement to join mainstream politics. Also, Hazare, who is on protest to highlight farmers issues and to press for a lokayukta in every state, has a complete fresh team from across the country with grassroot connections. The Ramlila Maidan protest this time is being organised by 20 fresh faces selected from 6000 volunteers from across the nation. All the volunteers have submitted an affidavit with Hazare stating that they will never join mainstream politics. To ensure the Centre listens to their voices, Hazare has distributed roles and responsibilities for every volunteer. The 6000 volunteers will be with Hazare till the time protest lasts and ensure people in large numbers join the protest in Delhi. The team has also been given responsibility to motion the protest across the country and raise lokayukta and farmers issue. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Social activist Anna Hazare has started an indefinite hunger strike in Delhi on Friday. The hunger strike is happening nearly seven years after his anti-corruption movement which shook the UPA government. Ram Lila Maidan has been locked in as the venue of the protest, the same location where Hazare had sat on a hunger strike in 2011 in demand for investigation against cases of corruptions. But last time it was the UPA government who were in power, and this time it is Narendra Modi led BJP government. The 80-year-old anti-corruption crusader has been pressing for the setting of the Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in the states. Hazare has been demanding implementation of Swaminathan Commission report. "Anna will first visit the Rajghat and then come to the Ram Lila Maidan, where he will go an indefinite strike," said an aide of Hazare. March 23 is the selected date for the commencement of the protest, the same date when Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged to death, the aide added. Anna Hazare took a recce of the iconic Ram Lila Maidan on Thursday, where thousands of people will join the protest on Friday, organisers claimed. Delhi Police has issued a warning for travelers to avoid taking routes close to the Ram Lila Maidan. Hazare and team visited the Rajghat before marching towards Shaheedi Park to Ram Lila Maidan. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry will not grant minority status to any educational institution on linguistic basis, Minister of State (HRD), Satya Pal Singh informed Rajya Sabha in a written reply on Friday. "The National Commission for Minorities Educational Institutions (NCMEI) gives the minority status to the educational institutions on the basis of six religious communities notified by the Ministry of HRD under the NCMEI Act, 2004-- Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains only," Satyapal Singh said. "Linguistic Minorities do not come under the ambit of the NCMEI Act, 2004. Hence question of empowering any agency to issue minority certificate on linguistic basis does not arise," he added. No minority status to educational institutions on Linguistic basis https://t.co/WcpHyT9IV9 PIB India (@PIB_India) March 23, 2018 Also Read: CBSE to introduce Health and Physical Education programme from session 2018-19 Earlier in January, being asked about government's plan to give minority status based on linguistic, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told Lok Sabha that they have no such plan. "No. Madam," Naqvi was quoted. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Shaheed Diwas or Martyrs Day is observed across the country on March 23 every year. The date marks the death anniversaries of freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru. The three were hanged in Lahore jail on March 23, 1931. The three freedom fighters played a crucial role in helping the country gain independence from the British rule. Although Bhagat Singh was just 23-year-old when he sacrificed his life for the country, his life and freedom struggle continued to inspire and motivate the citizens of the country to this date. Today, on the occasion of 87th Martyrss Day, we bring some lesser known facts about the journey of the unforgettable trio and highlights of what led to their fate. After the death of their beloved and another hero for India, Lala Lajpat Rai, the trio got inspired to fight for freedom. Lala Lajpat Rai lost his life due to injuries while protesting against Simon Commission. In 1928, Chandrashekhar Azad, Rajguru, Sukhdev locked in the idea to get revenge of Lala Rais death. The trio decided to take on the three British officers who were behind the orders of Lathi charging Rai. However, they shot John Saunders by mistake in 1928. Bhagat Singh with ally Batukeshwar Dutt threw crude bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly in Delhi, while protesting against Public Safety Bill and Trade Dispute Act on April 8, 1929. The bombs did not kill anyone but injured a few. The duo did not believe in escaping as they stood there and shouted slogans like Inquilab Zindabad. "It is easy to kill individuals but you cannot kill the ideas. Great empires crumbled while the ideas survived," read one of the pamphlets which Singh threw at the people attending the Legislative Assembly. Bhagat Singh was at first arrested for bombing. Sukhdev and Rajguru were arrested for Lahore conspiracy case in December 1928. Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar were initially supposed to be hanged on March 24 but were hanged a day earlier on March 23, 1931. Their bodies were cremated near Sutlej River. They inspired generations to come with not only their will to fight against the British but with their words too. The youngsters were martyred 16 years before India got Independence and their contribution cannot be measured in words. Here are some famous quotes by Bhagat Singh which still inspire millions: Today in the times of communal fracas, we recall some of the inspirational quotes by Bhagat Singh, who initiated the idea of radical revolution in pre-independence India.Every tiny molecule of Ash is in motion with my heat I am such a Lunatic that I am free even in Jail. They may kill me, but they cannot kill my ideas. They can crush my body, but they will not be able to crush my spirit. It is easy to kill individuals but you cannot kill the ideas. Great empires crumbled while the ideas survived. Any man who stands for progress has to criticize, disbelieve and challenge every item of the old faith. Item by item he has to reason out every nook and corner of the prevailing faith. Love always elevates the character of a man. It never lowers him, provided love be love. Lovers, Lunatics and poets are made of same stuff. I emphasize that I am full of ambition and hope and of full charm of life. But I can renounce all at the time of need, and that is the real sacrifice. The bomb was necessary to awaken England from her dreams. We dropped the bomb on the floor of the assembly chamber to register our protest on behalf of those who had no other means left to give expression to their heart-rending agony. Our sole purpose was to make the deaf hear and give the heedless a timely warning. The aim of life is no more to control the mind, but to develop it harmoniously. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi, along with other party MPs on Friday protested against the Supreme Courts ruling on SC/ST act, demanding Modi government to file a review petition. Earlier on Tuesday, the apex court had laid down new guidelines that protect public servants from immediate arrest after a complaint is filed against them under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Following the SC's ruling, Congress leaders gathered outside the Gandhi Statue in Parliament and shouted slogans: Daliton ke samman mein, Rahul Gandhi maidan mein (Rahul Gandhi fighting for the respect of Dalits). Reacting to the Congresss protest, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said that Rahul Gandhi was misleading the nation while trying to score political points. Rahul Gandhi wants to score political points & mislead on every issue. Govt of India has a clear stand that it is against any kind of atrocities against Dalits, SCs & STs, Kumar said. Earlier on March 21, Rahul Gandhi had accused the "complicit" Modi government of working in favour of anti-Dalit BJP and RSS. The SC/ST Act is the most important instrument to prevent atrocities on Dalits/Adivasis. A complicit Modi Govt failed to defend it in the Supreme Court. The PM must not abdicate his duty in favour of the anti-Dalit mindset of the BJP/RSS, Rahul tweeted. Under the new SC guidelines, the arrest can be made only after a preliminary inquiry conducted by a senior officer, not below the rank of deputy superintendent. The guidelines were aimed at preventing misuse of the Atrocities Act as it was observed that the law has been used to file false complaints to promote caste hatred. To avoid false implication of an innocent, a preliminary enquiry may be conducted by the DSP concerned to find out whether the allegations make out a case under the Atrocities Act and that the allegations are not frivolous or motivated, said a bench of Justices AK Goel and UU Lalit. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: While earlier studies, showcasing several spooky artefacts and mysterious objects had raised controversies over the existence of aliens, Atacama, a mummified skeleton, discovered in Chile's Atacama Desert 15 years ago gave birth to some fresh rumours yet again. The skeleton does not look like anyone we have ever met and is much identical to those fossilised remains of aliens. The 6 inches tall skeletal conundrum has 10 pairs of ribs while the age of its bones was consistent with a child aged 6 to 8 years. "Ata is one of the rarest we have ever observed, being only 6 inches and having this advanced bone age," said co-author Sanchita Bhattacharya, a bioinformatics researcher at the University of California at San Francisco. "This is a super rare human phenotype," Bhattacharya stated. Though average human beings have 12 pairs of ribs rather than 10, further investigations by a group of UFO hunters have left everyone stunned. The story told by its genes showed that its a human fetus, a previously unidentified primate or one with multiple bone disease-associated mutations. The skeleton, dubbed Ata was first discovered in a deserted mining town called La Noria in the year 2013. While It was thought to be an ancient life form, initial analysis conducted in 2012 proved that the skeleton was only about 40 years old. These widespread speculations further drawn attention of senior author Gary Nolan and after a few studies he confirmed that it has human DNA. Also Read: Aliens may cause end of human lives on Earth? Experts warn! Though 8 per cent of Atas DNA did not match with human initially, further analyses with better samples matched up to 98 per cent. There are also reports that Ata was possibly the mummy of an alien. However, the latest findings, based on five years of genomic analysis was first published in the journal Genome Research on Thursday and will further help to diagnose genetic mutation-based cases for living patients. "We were able to look at all the mutations that were in this individual," said Garry Nolan from Stanford University. "And everybody is born with mutations. This person just happened to roll snake eyes. Now we know that there's something about this particular set of genes that leads to rapid bone growth," he added further. Also Read: Aliens lived on Earth 5000 years ago? Newly discovered sculptures leave UFO scientists amazed! (Watch Video) Ata was earlier featured in several Television shows and a documentary, titled Sirius, in which UFO researcher attempts to figure out Ata's origins. However, Nolan and his group are currently gearing up to return to Chile and give Atacama skeleton the burial it deserves." For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: China is likely to impose tariffs on up to USD 3 billion of US imports in retaliation against US tariffs on Chinese goods worth USD 60 billion. China is planning to impose a 15 percent tariff on U.S. products including dried fruit, wine and steel pipes and a 25 percent tariff on pork products and recycled aluminium, the commerce ministry said in a statement on it website. China has assembled a list of 128 U.S. products in total that could be targeted if the two countries are unable to reach an agreement on trade issues, the ministry added. U.S. President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum on Thursday targeting up to $60 billion in Chinese goods with tariffs, but only after a 30-day consultation period that starts once a list is published. Beijings disclosure of its planned retaliation to proposed tariffs on Chinese metal exports to the United States, served as a warning to Washington as both sides brandished their weapons while holding off from starting a full-blown trade war. The commerce ministry said China would implement the measures in two stages: first the 15 percent tariff on 120 products including steel pipes and wine worth USD 977 million and later the higher 25 percent tariff on $1.99 billion of pork and aluminium. We intend to impose tariffs on certain U.S. imports to balance out the losses caused to Chinese interests by the U.S. tariffs on imported steel and aluminium, the ministry said. The ministry added it would take legal action under the framework of the World Trade Organization to maintain the stability of global trading rules. It added, however, it hoped it could resolve issues with the U.S. through dialogue. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Pervez Musharraf, former Pakistan military ruler, is likely to return to the country from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in April, sources said. "Former president (Retd) General Pervez Musharraf would return to Pakistan next month," Iqbal Dar, secretary general of the Pakistan Awami Ittehad (PAI), was quoted as saying by the 'Dawn'. Musharraf, who has been living in Dubai since 2017, has to appear before a special Pakistani court in a high treason case. The 74-year-old retired General was indicted in March 2014 on treason charges. And he has been declared "proclaimed offender" by courts in the treason and the Benazir Bhutto assassination cases. Musharraf imposed emergency in the country, which led to the sacking of over 100 judges and confinement of Supreme Court judges in their houses. The former president, however, was permitted to leave Pakistan on the pretext of medical treatment. Also Read: Pakistan protests as India denies visas for Ajmer Sharif pilgrims He had sought adequate security from the government for his return and his lawyer had moved a petition to the Interior Ministry, stating that the former president faced security threats. The ministry, in its response, had sought the details of Musharraf's travel itinerary and his stay in Pakistan so that necessary fool proof security arrangements can be made for him well in time. On March 16, the special court hearing the treason case against him authorised the government to suspend his passport as well as his computerised national identity card. The court had also directed the Interior Ministry to approach the Interpol for the arrest of the former president. Also Read: India lodges another protest after diplomats harassed in Pakistan PAI is a coalition of 23 political and religious parties led by the former General, and Musharraf ruled Pakistan from 1999 to 2008. (With inputs from agencies) For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Concerns are growing internationally over the future of American tech development, which may be lagging behind due to Chinas robust governance model, a recent cover story of The Economist indicated. The report, published on March 15, suggested that the US is now rattled by the speed of Chinas technological development, because the era of America the brains and China the brawn does not exist anymore, and that the US should face the challenge instead of hiding behind the door of protectionism. Eric Schmidt, former chairman of Alphabet, Googles parent company, has warned that China will overtake the US in AI by 2025. Chinas world-class tech giants, Alibaba and Tencent, valued at some $500 billion, rival Facebook. Also, China has the largest online-payments market (led by JD.com), the fastest Tianhe-2 supercomputer, the most lavish quantum-computing research center, and the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, all which can compete with their American counterparts, according to the report. Meanwhile, the report noted that the heatedly-discussed US-China trade war demonstrated Americas shortsighted vision toward the digital battlefield. The US Congress introduced a bill to stop the government from doing business with two Chinese telecoms firms, Huawei and ZTE, because of alleged intellectual property theft by Chinese companies. Chinas technological rise requires a strategic answer, not a knee-jerk one, it commented. According to Eurasia Group, China has surpassed other countries in terms of active internet-connected devices, with 1.02 billion devices. And CB Insights said that the number of well resourced venture capital raised by tech companies in America and China is fairly close, with $97 billion and $89 billion, respectively. However, with a 42.3% cut of the budget proposal in non-defense discretionary for 2019, the US will be unable to keep up with China. Meanwhile, skilled immigrants are finding it harder to work in America because of the tightening immigration policy. The Economist noted that both sides would be harmed economically and worse off in terms of national security if US President Donald Trump continues to promote protectionism. America is right to worry about China, but for America to turn its back on the things that made it great is no answer, it concluded. An increasing number of outbound tourists have been a major feature of Chinas tourism trends, noted Premier Li Keqiang at a recent press conference on Mar. 20. Chinese tourists spent an average of 5,800 yuan on outbound travel in 2017, up 7 percent over from previous year according to a report co-released by China Tourism Academy and Ctrip, a domestic online travel service provider. Five years ago, the State Council called for actions to streamline administration and delegate power to lower levels. Public security departments later issued new policies to facilitate entry and exit procedures, such as a three-in-one application form and online appointment service. These policies have brought great convenience to Chinese nationals and boosted outbound travel and shopping. The number of tourists who traveled abroad increased to about 130 million in 2017, almost doubling the 2012 figure, noted Premier Li. By 2021, Chinese travelers will spend over $429 billion overseas each year, as CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets forecast. In addition, the UN World Tourism Organization statistics demonstrate that over half of the outbound travel consumption comes from China. Outbound tourism is gradually expanding with the progress of the Belt and Road initiative, and Ctrip will benefit from this trend for sure, said Liang Jianzhang, co-founder of the company. Global tourism revenue reached $5.3 trillion in 2017, accounting for 6.7 percent of the global GDP, quoting the 2018 world tourism forecast report. Liang believed that tourism is expected to occupy a higher percentage and become one of the largest contributors to global economic growth. An expert said that as an emerging industry, tourism remains a significant driving force for consumption upgrades and will further advance the development of the whole industry. Domestic traveling consumption will play a critical role in Chinas economic rise as long as the government sticks to its tax reduction measures and keeps streamlining administration, said Wu Bihu, director of the Center for Recreation and Tourism Research at Peking University. Chinas top legislature recently approved the state institutional reform plan and decided to form a ministry focused on culture and tourism. Many enterprises are swarming into cultural tourism and developing theme resorts and distinctive towns. An integrated development of culture and tourism will satisfy travel demands and also cure growing pains that can be found within cultural tourism development initiatives, Hong Qinghua, the founder of lvmama.com, an online travel service website, told China Youth Online. A ceremony was held on Thursday to unveil a 3-meter-tall statue of popular Japanese movie monster Godzilla in central Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. The statue was created as a symbol of Hibiya Godzilla Square, renovated open space in front of commercial complex Hibiya Chanter. The statue is modeled on the monster featured in "Shin Godzilla," the 29th in the popular movie series, which was released in 2016. It is the largest whole-body, three-dimensional Godzilla statue ever created in Japan. The height of the statue includes a 50-centimeter pedestal. The old Godzilla statue, erected in 1995 in the space, will be transferred to movie theater Toho Cinemas Hibiya, which will open on March 29 in an adjacent area. The theater will be operated by Toho Cinemas Ltd., a subsidiary of movie distributor Toho Co. <9602>. China will take counteractions if US keeps provoking trade war: expert Though China does not want a trade war, it will firmly confront the challenge if the US keeps provoking one, said Bai Ming, deputy director of Chinas Ministry of Commerces International Market Research Institute in an interview with ThePaper.cn. Earlier on Thursday, US President Donald Trump signed a memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to $60 billion worth of imports from China and propose restrictions on Chinese investment in the United States. It is the latest unilateral move by the US that would pose a threat to global trade. The memorandum is based on a so-called Section 301 investigation into alleged Chinese intellectual property and technology transfer practices, launched by the Trump administration in August 2017. The tariffs will target 100 imported Chinese goods in as many as 100 categories, hitting everything from shoes and clothing to consumer electronics. We want no trade war with anyone, but if our hands are forced, we will not quail nor recoil from it, said Hua Chunying, spokesperson of Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Wednesday. According to Bai, China made important initial progress in carrying out the 100-day action plan with the US during 2017, and companies from both countries signed deals worth more than $250 billion dollars during Trump's state visit to China. These are practical and sincere actions taken by China, he added. If the US is not seeing our good intentions and on the other hand making further provocations, we will definitely fight back, with necessary countermeasures, Bai noted. The tariffs are placed under the banner of Chinas unfair practices, but what lies under the tariffs is a protectionist approach, the deputy director explained. Associate researcher Su Qingyi of the Institute of World Economy and Politics under Chinese Academy of Social Sciences told ThePaper.cn that the tariff will definitely bring about negative impacts on Chinese export industry. But it will not be able to narrow the trade balance between China and the US in a way that will be detrimental to China, Su added, saying that in such a case more Chinese enterprises may choose to shift their markets to other countries. Experts analyzed that China would probably take counteractions by imposing high tariffs on the US products that are exported in high volumes to China, for example, soybeans, automobiles and planes. The range is smaller than that of the US, but it centers on agriculture, an industry that has a big influence on the US politics, said Alec Philips, chief US political economist for Goldman Sachs Research. The US has the demand for Chinese imports, but it doesnt manufacture these products, said Cao Dewang, founder and head of the world's top auto glass manufacturer Fuyao Glass, adding that it is the source of the trade balance between the two countries. He believes that the increase in tariffs is not a solution as long as theres demand in the US. Police on Thursday served another arrest warrant on a 27-year-old man over the murder of a high school girl last year - the 10th arrest warrant to be served on the suspect, who has admitted to killing and dismembering nine people at his apartment near Tokyo. Natsumi Kubo, a 17-year-old from Saitama Prefecture, is the last of the nine victims Takahiro Shiraishi has admitted to murdering. No charges have yet been brought against Shiraishi. The police are considering putting him under examination to see if he can be held criminally liable, the sources said. Shiraishi is believed to have approached people who had expressed suicidal thoughts on the internet before luring them to his apartment in Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture. He is suspected of murdering Kubo, a high school senior, and dismembering her body at his apartment sometime after late September 2017, the sources said. - Japan Times Soybeans trade likely to become Chinas first retaliation to U.S. tariffs: expert Experts say China is likely to adopt measures on soybean imports from the U.S. as its first move in retaliation to the latters increasing tariffs on imports from China, Thepaper.cn reported on March 22. Chinas market receives the largest number of US planes and soybeans. Statistics show that 62% of US soybeans ended up in China. On the other hand, what China exports to the US is mostly something they have no comparative advantage in making or do not make at all, said Hua Chunying, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during a press briefing on Wednesday. The US is on the one hand urging China to buy what it wants to sell, while refusing to sell what China wants to buy, Hua noted. She called on the two sides to calm down and have constructive dialogues and consultations in the spirit of equality, and furthermore to consider mutual benefits and mutual respect for the purpose of seeking out a win-win solution. The U.S. President Donald Trump signed on Thursday a memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to 60 billion U.S. dollars of imports from China, despite strong warnings from business groups and trade experts. The American Soybean Association (ASA) expressed concerns about a potential trade war that may inflict heavy losses on the U.S. soybean industry following the U.S. decision to hike tariffs on Chinas steel and aluminum imports, the Financial Times reported. ASA President John Heisdorffer noted that China is the largest buyer of U.S. soybeans in the world. Global competitors in the soybean industry like Brazil and Argentina will be alternatives for China. Also, the potential tariffs would bring US soybean growers a tough life. ASAs worry is not groundless. Nearly 62 percent of U.S. soybeans are exported to China, indicating the U.S. soybean industry will be greatly impaired if China sets a trade barrier on soybeans imported from the U.S. Moreover, soybeans from the U.S. are not irreplaceable to China, as China has been strengthening cooperation with big soybean exporters in South America. For example, China recently increased its purchasing volume of soybeans in Brazil. Chi Jingtao, CEO of COFCO, Chinas leading foodstuffs conglomerate, noted that the company is to raise its purchasing amount of soybeans from 4 to 7.2 million tons from Mato Grosso each year, according to Reuters in November 2017. The Chinese enterprise is also planning to invest $459 million to build 30 grain barns in Brazil. In addition, Chinese enterprises are helping Brazil with infrastructure construction to help the country improve its export capability of soybeans. Longines is expanding its HydroConquest collection this year, offering reimagined variations. These watches feature a bezel enhanced with a coloured ceramic insert adding a touch of brilliance and modern styling. The new models are available in 3 hands/calendar (41 mm and 43 mm) and chronograph (41 mm) versions. Longines HydroConquest collection meets the stardards of divind watches while remaining true to the elegance of the Swiss watchmaker. The distinctive characteristics of this collection include water-resistance to 300 metres, a unidirectional rotating bezel, screw-down crown and case back, crown protection and a double security folding clasp with integrated diving extension. HydroConquest, 3 hands/calendar 41 mm Longines Highly technical and innovative ceramic has been added to the bezel of the new HydroConquest models. Ultra resistant and scratch-resistant, this insert, which matches the colour of the dial, ties together the fully modernized design and sporty silhouette of this collection. The brilliance of the hands and the hour markers adorned with Super-LumiNova stand out in sharp contrast to the dark look of the new grey, black and blue sunray dials. The 3 hands/calendar models are powered by the mechanical self-winding movement Calibre L888.2 (ETA A31.L01), beating at the frequency of 25'200 vibrations per hour and offering a 64-hour power reserve. The chronograph model houses the mechanical self-winding movement with a column-wheel chronograph mechanism Calibre L688.2 (ETA A08.L01) It beats at 28800 vibrations per hour and has a power reserve of 54 hours. HydroConquest, 3 hands/calendar, 43 mm Longines More ergonomic and more comfortable, the strap has also been upgraded, with colours that match the dial, while the metal version combines polished and brushed steel for a truly impressive finish. A few weeks ago Philippe Fischer, Director of the FSRM (Swiss Foundation for Research in Microtechnology), opined that the watch industry version 4.0 would see the major brands manufacturing nothing but unique pieces. While that prospect is still a long way off, an increasing number of watchmakers are bringing out one-of-a-kind watches, and theyre obviously getting results. It is a longstanding tradition for Vacheron Constantin (Les Cabinotiers), Blancpain and Patek Philippe; its an option for Montblanc; a reality for Louis Moinet; and an economic model for Kerbedanz. Even more emerge from the woodwork at the Only Watch auctions every two years. For Hysek, its business as usual. Because the young manufacture is 100% independent, it has no reason to hold back, and regularly accepts commissions for one-off pieces that slip under the media radar. But thats not the case for the Precious Tale. This watch, unveiled at the Baselworld watch fair, was born out of a purely creative impulse. It doesnt even have a buyer yet. Its extremely risky to launch into an endeavour like this without a purchase order, particularly when youre paying up front for the creation of a high jewellery item! Joaillerie dArt no. 01/01 The Precious Tale is an offshoot of the Kalysta collection, Hyseks first collection dedicated 100% to women. There are the obligatory design elements: a jumping hours display at 12 oclock, and minutes indicated by a marquise-cut diamond on the outer edge of the dial. Kalysta Hysek But if this construction already has precious elements, its nothing compared to the gem-setting on the rest of the watch. The Precious Tale is based on the theme of a river of diamonds, which is why the piece is completely paved dial, bezel and bracelet. This kind of stylistic exercise is common for the jewellery watch brands (Chopard and Van Cleef & Arpels, among others), but much rarer for the pure watchmaking houses, particularly those that are 100% independent, for whom the financial risk is considerable. But Hysek has taken the risk, and matched it with unusual creative boldness. The diamond-set portion of the bracelet is completely flexible. It comprises two lateral rails, along which a fine network of flexible chatons extends, embracing a river of diamonds. This precious, pliant wave continues uninterrupted onto the snow-set bezel, with progressively smaller stones, as if the diamonds were flowing naturally from the bracelet onto the bezel, with no technical or stylistic break. On the dial, the Precious Tale tells an Asian version of Romeo and Juliet, symbolised by two wafers of frosted quartz against a bed of diamonds, inside a white gold case. Central tourbillon, corrected and revised by Hysek IO Tourbillon Central Squelette Hysek For men, Hysek has developed a new version of the IO Central Tourbillon Skeleton. Its no ordinary watch. First, it is one of very few to feature a central tourbillon. Next, its a flying tourbillon, with no upper bridge. And, to provide even greater visual access to the in-house calibre, Hysek has also skeletonised the entire movement. But it isnt simply a matter of hollowing out existing components: the whole calibre has been revised and reworked, particularly in terms of how its parts are arranged, in order to give the greatest degree of transparency, before being openworked. A similar exercise has been undertaken with the markers, which are suspended in mid-air, not applied onto a sapphire disc as is more commonly seen. Each index is individually cut out, affixed to a mobile structure and completed with blocks of SuperLumiNova (SLN), cut to the exact dimensions, which guarantees greater luminosity than the usual thin layers of SLN. The superlative IO Central Tourbillon Skeleton, in a limited edition of 88, offers a theatrical, intuitive, creative and original way of reading the time. BALDWINSVILLE, NY -- It's not like the big Anheuser-Busch brewery near Baldwinsville can stop using water altogether. After all, beer itself is more than 90 percent water. But it can cut back. The brewery's parent company, the global beer giant Anheuser-Busch Inbev, is challenging each of its more than 200 breweries worldwide to cut its water use. The challenge came Thursday, recognized as World Water Day, and includes the 12 breweries the company operates in the United States. The A-B-Inbev brewery that cuts back the most gets some perks for its employees, plus a $100,000 grant to be used to improve efficiency at that plant. The company says it's pushing water conservation for the sake of preserving a precious resource. Of course it also helps the bottom line, since the big brewer has to pay for the water it uses. "We're always looking for ways to better was to make use of our natural resources," said Bryan Sullivan, senior general manger at the A-B brewery off Route 31 in the Radisson Business Park. "This is a challenge to see if we can do it even better." The brewery near Baldwinsville is by far New York state's largest, producing about 6 million barrels of beer, malt beverages, ciders and more each year. It is the second biggest consumer of water in Onondaga County each year. It's aiming to cut its water intake at least 10 percent this year, Sullivan said. The brewery uses water for cleaning and rinsing equipment, bottles and cans, maintaining pressure in pipes and tanks, heating and cooling and more. But it has already cut back significantly on water use in recent years, spurred in part by droughts that affected A-B plants in such locations as Los Angeles (where Sullivan once worked) and Cartersville, Ga. With a big pipeline coming from Lake Ontario as its water source, it's unlikely drought is going to affect the Baldwinsville brewery anytime soon. Yet slashing water use has been a priority. In 2004, the Baldwinsville brewery was using about 4.3 million gallons of water per day, according to Michael Hooker, executive director of the Onondaga County Water Authority. By 2011, that had dropped to 1.6 million gallons per day, and ended 2017 at 1.7 million gallons per day. Over that time, the brewery fell from its perch as the No. 1 water user in the OCWA system to No. 2, behind Solvay Paperboard, Hooker said. "There's no question Anheuser-Busch has been working hard to reduce their water use," Hooker said. Sullivan illustrates the drop in water use another way. In 2000, it took the brewer the equivalent of 6.5 12-ounce bottles of water to produce one 12-ounce bottle of beer. In 2010, that had fallen to 4.5 bottles of water for each 12-ounce beer. Now, it's down to the equivalent of 3.2 bottles of water for every bottle of beer. "And we can drop that even more," Sullivan said. Employees have been encouraged to offer their suggestions. The ideas could be as simple as turning nozzles off when they're not in use or finding new ways to recycle the water already in the plant. The winning brewery in the A-B Inbev water challenge should be announced by June. The Baldwinsville brewery employs about 500 workers. It's producing about 65 different products, from standard A-B brands like Budweiser, Bud Light and Michelob Ultra to Lime-A-Rita, Shock Top, "craft" brands like Goose Island and Blue Point and even Teavana, a non-alcohol drink. Anheuser-Busch says it has cut water use across all its U.S. breweries by nearly 50 percent in the past 10 years. Between 2013 and 2015 alone, the brerwery says the water saving could have filled 40 billion beer cans. Don Cazentre writes about craft beer, wine, spirits and beverages for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook. Attica, N.Y. -- Prison escapee David Sweat was caught in a sex act with a woman during visiting hours at Attica Correctional Facility earlier this month. Sweat, 37, was in the visiting area for Attica's Special Housing Unit, where he is being held in solitary confinement, according to the New York Post. A corrections officer spotted him fondling himself through his pants on March 8. He was visiting with his girlfriend, Frances Malanik, who then reached through a window in a metal partition and began touching Sweat, the Post said. Officers immediately ended the visit and escorted Malanik out of the prison. They took Sweat back to his cell. Sweat was hit with disciplinary charges over the incident and had his visiting privileges revoked for 60 days, the Post said. Malanik began writing to Sweat after his escape from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora in 2015. She later began visiting him and eventually moved to Ovid to be closer to him. Last year, Malanik and Sweat hatched a plot to win some extra privileges from prison officials, The New York Times reported. In exchange for detailing how he would escape from Five Points Correctional, where he was being held, Sweat wanted an extra visit each week, the ability to receive food packages and the chance to take photos with Malanik and her 6-year-old daughter. Malanik relayed the message to authorities and officers did meet with Sweat. But instead of granting him the privileges, they transferred him to solitary in Attica. Sweat and another inmate, Richard Matt, escaped Dannemora with the help of a prison employee, Joyce Mitchell. They spent several weeks on the run. Matt was shot and killed June 26, 2015 and police caught Sweat shortly thereafter. Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Google + | 315-454-2112 The 28-day official campaign period for the presidential elections will close on Saturday, allowing 48 hours for reflection before the polls open. Voting will then take place between 9am to 9pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday says Lasheen Ibrahim, chair of the National Electoral Commission (NEC). If a run-off is required, a second round of voting will be held between 24 and 26 April for citizens inside Egypt, says Ibrahim. Not that anyone expects a second vote will be necessary, or that President Al-Sisi will win by anything but a landslide. Political analyst and independent MP Samir Ghattas told Al-Ahram Weekly the interest of the vote does not lie in who will win but in what the results say about the extent to which President Al-Sisi remains popular among the public. The most important thing to follow in next weeks poll is the turnout rather than what the final result will be, political analyst Abdel-Moneim Said said in a TV interview. Said argues a high turnout will come as a blow to those who urged Egyptians to boycott the poll. A large turnout will not only be a setback to the Muslim Brotherhood but a defeat for radical leftists who led the boycott campaign, he says. President Al-Sisi has called upon the public to make their voices heard. What is important is that citizens turn out in large numbers to vote. The message of mass participation will be that Egyptians support their country and its political project. He also vowed the poll will be marked by integrity. The results will be declared in a very transparent way. Said said that while the Ghad Party candidate Moussa Mustafa Moussa had led a good campaign in terms of experience, ambition and achievements Al-Sisi will be the choice of most Egyptians. Ghattas says there are already signs the turnout will be high. There was a record turnout among Egyptian expats when they began voting last week. It was completely surprising to see expats standing in long lines before polling stations in Egyptian embassies and consulates worldwide, waving national flags and holding posters of President Al-Sisi. So many people turned up to vote, embassy staff could not take any breaks, Wael Gad, Egypts ambassador to the UAE, told Al-Ahram. Mubarak Al-Khiring, deputy chairman of the Kuwaiti National Assembly and head of the Egyptian-Kuwaiti Parliamentary Friendship Association, told reporters on Tuesday that it was the first time in my life to see such large numbers of Egyptian expats keen to cast their votes. From what I saw I think President Al-Sisi will gain an overwhelming number of votes. Political commentator Hassan Abu Taleb agrees a massive turnout will send a message to the outside world that Egyptians are favouring moderation and prefer to maintain the status quo for another four years. The high turnout of expats will encourage those at home to head out and vote, he says. It helps overcome election fatigue and the way difficult economic conditions might dissuade many from voting, he argues. I think millions will be mobilised to vote. Ghattas notes that the NECs decision to spread the poll over three days was designed to allow record numbers to vote. MPs are coordinating with political parties and pro-government businessmen to hold large rallies across Egypt. Mohamed Al-Sewidi, head of the majority Support Egypt parliamentary bloc, said all of its 370 MPs will be busy on voting days encouraging citizens to cast their ballots. Essam Khalil, head of the Free Egyptians Party, told the Weekly this vote is a matter of life and death for us. We know President Al-Sisi will win but this is not enough for us. We want huge numbers to turn out and tell the Muslim Brotherhood, those who called for a boycott and the hostile Western media that they no longer have a voice in Egypt. NEC head Ibrahim said the count would begin in the presence of representatives of the two candidates, election monitoring bodies and the media, as soon as polling stations close on Wednesday. The vote will be supervised by 17,000 judges, and 1,558 local journalists and 680 foreign correspondents are expected to cover the ballot. Sources say 30,000 policemen will be mobilised to safeguard polling stations. Major General Mahmoud Tawfik told Al-Ahram on Saturday that Central Security Forces across the country will be on alert to help defuse any attempts to disrupt the poll. Ibrahim says the results of the vote will be announced on 2 April at the latest. *This story was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly Short link: Kaduna state Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, has faulted the statement credited to the founder of Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates, saying that it was wrong for Gate to say that President Buharis Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, ERGP, cannot solve the current Nigerians problems.Recall that Bill Gates had said that, the Nigerian governments economic recovery and growth plan does not reflect the needs of Nigerians.In view of this therefore, Gov Elrufai fielding questions from newsmen in the state house opined, It is not correct to say that the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan does not give primacy to human capital, it is not correct.The plan has enough provision for human capital, it is a Federal Governments plan. What is needed is for states to have similar plans as well as adequate provisions for healthcare and education because the bulk of the burden for healthcare and education really rests on states government.The disease burden of the country is largely at the primary healthcare level and this primary healthcare system is broken completely. We need to rebuild it.The United Nations recommends that we should budget at least 26 percent of our total budget on education, many state governments are doing that or near that.Kaduna State has done averagely 35 percent in the last two years. The World Health Organisation recommends that we budget at least 16 percent of total budget on healthcare, some of our states are doing 12 and 16 percent and so on.Kaduna is doing 16.1 percent, we moved three percent in 2016 to 16 percent today. So, the states government are scaling up their investments in healthcare but we need to do more.This is the message of Gates and Dangote, we need to do much more at the sub-national level.It is not the ERGP that needs adjustments, it is the budgeting that needs to be ramped up in these two key areas because these are where the problems are.If a child losses equality education, he is done for life. If a child doesnt get quality healthcare in the first two years, he is destroyed for life. This is the message that we invest more at the lower level, so that we prevent this disaster from happening. The United Nations (UN) has noted that Boko Haram fighters have stepped up the use of women and girls for suicide bombings.Noting a progress in the war against the jihadist by the four countries of Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon, the UN said while children were deployed in 135 such attacks in 2017 a five-fold increase over the previous year.Therefore, UN Deputy Secretary-General, Ms Amina Mohammed, said it was critical to shore up areas of Lake Chad Basin that have been freed from the grip of Boko Haram terrorists.Mohammed, in a video address to the Security Council, also called for efforts to rebuild the lives of women and girls that had suffered at the hands of the terrorist group.She said recent joint efforts of Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger had resulted in considerable progress in the fight against the extremists.Mohammed, speaking via videoconference from Liberia where she participated in celebrations to mark the end of the UN peacekeeping mission noted the liberation of hostages as well as territorial gains.It is now key to stabilise the areas that have been reclaimed, and that we seize the opportunity to really promote sustainable development, she said.Mohamed was joined by Mohammed Bila, a representative of the Lake Chad Basin Commission based in NDjamena, and Senior Conflict Adviser at Adelphi, Chitra Nagarajan.They painted a picture of the factors behind peoples suffering in the Lake Chad Basin and driving some to terrorism one year after the Council adopted its first resolution on the activities of Boko Haram in the region.Boko Haram, an Islamist militant organisation based in north-east Nigeria, has carried out raids, suicide bombings and kidnappings across the Lake Chad region over the past decade.Their operations have led to displacement, insecurity, destruction of infrastructure and what Mohammed described as a complex and dire humanitarian situation, with nearly 11 million people requiring assistance.The group gained international notoriety in 2014 after abducting more than 270 girls from a Government school in Chibok, Nigeria.It is believed to be behind the kidnapping last month of 110 schoolgirls from the Nigerian town of Dapchi, most of whom were safely returned this week.Overall, Boko Haram has abducted more than 4,000 women and girls, according to the UN deputy chief, who added that those who return to their communities are often stigmatised.As the violation of human rights continues to fuel insecurity in the Lake Chad Basin region, Mohammed said investing in community justice mechanisms would be essential for reconciliation, as well as for ensuring accountability and promoting peace.She stressed the need to incorporate human rights and gender dimensions into activities aimed at countering terrorism or preventing violent extremism.She said the increase in Boko Harams use of women and girls as suicide bombers could be due to a lack of women security officers who could search other women at checkpoints.The UN deputy scribe also called for more international action to support children affected by the upheaval in the region.Also briefing, Nagarajan, who is based in northeast Nigeria, also used her briefing to touch on the gender-related aspects of the crisis and its impact on persons with disabilities.She spoke of how women and girls were pushed into early marriage with combatants, for example, or they fall victim to sexual abuse and exploitation, including at the hands of people who were supposed to protect them.Men and older boys are often the first to flee insecure areas, she said, speaking via videoconference from Maiduguri adding, women and girls were deliberately targeted, killed and forcibly recruited by armed groups.Theyre viewed with suspicion, arrested, and detained by security agencies, and they are involved in fighting, leaving women of all ages, as well as girls, younger boys and older men struggling to cope.Mohammed Bila, a Remote Sensing Expert with the Lake Chad Basin Commission, spoke of how climate change had had an impact on water governance.Bila said the shrinking of Lake Chad had affected communities which depended on its shoreline to grow crops, leading to increased competition for water, accusations of river diversion, loss of livelihoods and social tensions.He told the Council that the environmental monitoring network there was inadequate, sparse, poorly funded and operated, with only one water level measurement station for the entire lake.The environmental challenges facing the Lake Chad basin are interconnected to the challenges of climate change faced by the region of the Sahel of Africa.The Sahel is increasingly facing extreme variability of climate resulting in frequent droughts, short-duration high-intensity rainfall, desertification, water scarcity, land degradation, and ultimately food insecurity.Consequently, addressing the climatic root causes of local challenges through risk assessment and management will require a similar solution at the Sahel regional level, he said. The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Rules and Business, Rep. Emmanuel Orker-Jev, says contrary to insinuations, National Assembly is not a rubber stamp or extension of the Executive.He said that the legislature does not take instructions or guidance from the Executive on any issue, including consideration of annual budget.Orker-Jev told Newsmen in Abuja on Friday that the delay in the passage of the 2018 Appropriation Bill was because the national assembly insisted on proper scrutiny of the proposal.He said that Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) had refused to go before relevant committees of both chambers of the assembly to defend what they put in the budget.According to him, the national assembly is ready to ply its role but the fate of the 2018 Budget is in the hands of the MDAs.The lawmaker said that some MDAs had defended their proposals while others had not, adding that the executive was aware that it had not played its role to facilitate approval of the budget.Only last week, it was reported that the President directed the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF) to direct all the MDAs which had failed to defend their budgets to come and do so.A budget that has not been defended by some agencies cannot be passed like that; we are not rubber stamps, he said.The lawmaker also said that the executive arm of government took its time to ensure that the budget was prepared before sending it the national assembly.Dont forget, the executive arm of government takes all the time they have to prepare the budget and bring it to the national assembly, and then the pressure comes on the assembly.If people get to understand the work of the national assembly, they will be more appreciative.A lot of effort is put into scrutinizing everything that is put forward. You see some items keep coming up in the budget every year, he said.Orker-Jev added that if the budget was not defended, the responsibility that the national assembly is allocated in section 4 of the 1999 Constitution will not be discharged.The parliament passed the National Assembly Budget Research Office (NABRO) Bill.The idea behind that law was that among other things, the legislators will interface with the executive so that by the time the budget comes to the National Assembly, there will be understanding on both sides of the bargain.Therefore, no much time will be taken at arriving at a conclusion.The presidency for some reasons returned that NABRO bill so we are back to square one, where we will have to wait for the executive to take all the time to prepare the budget and present it.I think when the structure of this whole budget thing is put in a better shape we will begin to talk of passing it in time.He said that the national assembly was aware of Nigerians expectations and therefore, urged the people to be patient as the budget would be passed soon.According to him, the national assembly is aware of the expectations of the public. I think that in due course, the budget will be passed.But, the nation is not helpless; the law states that if the budget is not passed you can go for six months to spend based on the estimates of the last budget.So, it is not as if the nation will grind to a halt if the budget is not passed.It is only when the six months elapses and the budget is not in place that the nation will be in trouble because by then everything would have come to a halt. But that is not the case right now.Ultimately, I think we will get to a situation where a budget will start from January and end in December, but we have not had that since the inception of Democracy.We always have it over lapping into the next year.Nothing is lost anyway, apart from the ideal situation of the budget running from January to December.For instance, if the budget is passed in June, its implementation will run till another budget is put in place; so nothing is lost. The Speaker, Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Alhaji Ibrahim Balarabe-Abdullahi, on Friday urged Nigerians to pray for the safe release of Leah Sharibu by Boko Haram.Balarabe-Abdullahi (APC- Umaisha/Ugya) gave the advice in a statement issued by his Press Secretary, Jibrin Gwamna in Keffi.Leah is the only abducted Dapchi schoolgirl yet to be set free by Boko Haram.The lawmaker commended President Muhammadu Buhari for ensuring the release of some of the abducted Dapchi school girls.The speaker said that he received with joy the news of the release of the girls, but urged Nigerians to pray for the safe release of Leah and others still in Boko Haram captivity.He said that the release of the abducted Dapchi girls by Boko Haram testified to the Federal Governments commitment to tackling security challenges in the country including the activities of Boko Haram.The news of the release of the Dapchi girls brought a huge relief to many Nigerians; not only excitement, but hope that the remaining girl and other Nigerians will be released in due course.I commend the Federal Government, the security operatives and all those who helped in one way or the other for a job well done.It has demonstrated that the administration is committed to securing lives and property of its citizens, the statement said.Balarabe-Abdullahi further urged Nigerians to support the present administration in its desire to deliver the dividends of democracy to the electorate.The speaker also advised the people of the state in particular and Nigerians in general, to continue to live in peace with one another irrespective of their ethnic, religious, and political differences. The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has called on the Federal Government to provide adequate security to boarding-schools, especially those in the North-East or run them as day schools.Dr Mike Ike-Ene, Secretary-General of the union, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja, while reacting to the recent release of some abducted Dapchi girls.According to him, it is necessary for the government to put the right security measures in place and not to wait until something happens; the life of any Nigerian child is not worth losing carelessly.He said that the incidence was a lesson to everyone, urging the government to strengthen the security apparatus of the country to prevent future occurrence.I am saying that government should look at our security apparatus; if they cannot ensure 24 hours service of security in our schools in the North-east let them stop boarding schools.Children can come to school from their homes and the moment the students are in the school premises security should be provided until the school closes.The security agencies should also be placed in all the entrance by which people can use to enter the host communities or escape.There must be a proper structure provided for a particular security agency at the security posts.Also, having a particular security agency to be in charge of a particular security post in various schools will help to detect when things are going wrong.The effort will help to reduce the number of victims if there is emergency situation, he said.Ike-Ene noted that in the North-east there was always gap for the girl-child education, saying that this incidence of abduction in schools could put more fear and terror in their lives.His said: even the parents too may now be unwilling to allow their children, especially the female to go to school due to the fear of the unknown.Ike-Ene, however, commended the Federal Government for being proactive in securing the release of the abducted girls from Government Girls Science Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State.He also appealed to the government to use same approach to ensure the release of the remaining girls as well as the other chibok girls.We are still anxious to see the remaining girls, because they are our students; we still want them back. We want to praise this government and we are asking them to do more.On February 19, some school girls were abducted by insurgent groups in Government Girls Science Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State. President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday vowed to sanction the nations security chiefs should there be a repeat of the Dapchi kidnap in any p... President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday vowed to sanction the nations security chiefs should there be a repeat of the Dapchi kidnap in any part of the country. The President also warned that any laxity that leads to abduction will be viewed very strongly. Buhari gave the warning at the State House in Abuja while receiving the freed Dapchi schoolgirls. He warned that the security agencies would not hesitate to deal with those seeking political gains from the abduction. President Buhari told the security agencies to ensure that there is no repeat of students abduction in Nigeria. The Director-General of the Department of State Services, DSS, Lawal Daura, had earlier disclosed that the social media and utterances of those incompetent to speak on the matter almost marred efforts to rescue the girls. The European Union on Friday commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the release of the abducted Dapchi school girls.President Buhari receives released Dapchi School Girls in State HouseThe EU in a statement by its Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ray, expressed relief over the release.The union therefore called for the liberation of other girls in the custody of the Boko HaramWith great relief that we learnt about the release of the majority of the abducted Dapchi girls in Nigeria.They can now return to their families and have the opportunity to rebuild their lives. Yet not we cannot forget that not all were so fortunate.We express our sincere condolences to the families and friends of the girls that lost their lives.We renew our solidarity with all the girls still held captive and call for their liberation, it stated.The EU called on the Federal Government to ensure that urgent measures are taken to avoid repeated abductions and violence.All young people have a right to safe education and the EU will work with Nigeria in supporting efforts to secure this objective, it stated.NAN reports that federal government said friendly countries and international organisations negotiated the release of the schoolgirls.The 105 girls were released on Wednesday, a month after they were abducted by Boko Haram in Dapchi, Yobe State. Speaking a few days before polls are set to open, the sole competitor running against incumbent President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in the country's presidential election maintains he entered the race meaning to win, although he acknowledges many Egyptians still can't recognise his face. Over the past weeks, Cairos streets, highways and public places have been festooned with banners and billboards proclaiming their support for El-Sisi; public declarations of support for Moussa Mostafa Moussa, the head of the Ghad Party, have been harder to spot. But the 65-year-old politician told Ahram Online the competition is serious and "very strong." "We understand we are facing El-Sisi who has popularity; no one is underestimating his weight. I'm entering to win and get more than 50 percent of the votes, but I don't know what the results will be," he said, speaking at his partys headquarters in Downtown Cairo. El-Sisi won a landslide victory with about 97 percent in elections that brought him to office four years ago. Observers say he is likely to win next week's vote by a comfortable margin. In January, Moussa submitted his papers to register as a candidate just minutes before the deadline was set to pass; at that point, El-Sisi was the only other candidate who has successfully submitted his application. Moussa had not publicly declared his intention to run until the day before the deadline, but he said he had netted 47,000 pledges from citizens across the country--well more than the 25,000 endorsements required--and the backing of 27 MPs. "If we do not win, at least we hope we get an acceptable number of votes that would give us the opportunity to perform our patriotic role for the country," he said. Moussa, an architect and a businessman who owns a number of building material companies, is himself a supporter of El-Sisi, and last year founded a campaign comprising several political parties to endorse a second term for the incumbent. His own Ghad Party was organising events to back El-Sisi for a second term until Moussa's surprise presidential bid at the end of the registration period. He had also launched a movement in 2014 to drum up support for El-Sisi, then minister of defence, to run for the presidency in that years election. Now a challenger, Moussa has nonetheless avoided criticising El-Sisi, instead praising the current president's "great achievements" and "undeniable popularity." Should he win, Moussa tells Ahram Online, he would give El-Sisi any official role the current president would like to play to serve the Egyptian people. Saving the vote Moussa says his campaign has been self-funded via a limited budget, having failed to attract a single sponsor. "I'm not saying [El-Sisi's] campaign has spent heavily. He has supporters who organised big conferences and provided him with free advertisements," he said. "I'm new to you. I'm trying hard by myself and putting up banners so people can get to know me. People don't know my face." Despite a flurry of criticism and ridicule directed at his candidacy, which doubters allege is only a face-saving measure to give the upcoming elections a veneer of competition, Moussa says his bid was prompted by what he sees as a "patriotic obligation" to protect the country. He wants to save the vote from being a referendum on a single candidate, after all other credible potential candidates dropped out of the race. A number of other prospective contenders had stated their intention to run earlier this year, but pulled out, with some citing an unfair campaigning environment. "A referendum [one-candidate election] is very dangerous at a time when there are conspiracies against the country. No one will go to vote because it will only be one person," he said. "I'm not a puppet. I have my weight and everyone knows our patriotic role and history. I don't get influenced by anyone. No one dictates us what to do and no one is going to give us something [in return]," he added. Moussa lays the blame on the challengers who dropped out for their withdrawals, saying some either ran in the first place to create "media buzz" or were serving a "systematic agenda to undermine the country." He expects 60 percent of eligible voters will go to the polls from 26-28 March, well more than the 47 percent turnout in the 2014 vote that brought El-Sisi to office. Moussa says his policy platform is mainly economic-oriented and is aimed at improving the living standards of Egyptians struggling with harsh economic reforms, but is reluctant to criticise El-Sisi's policies. He promises to help low-income and farmers, control soaring prices of basic commodities, reopen closed factories and offer citizens shares in national projects and future hospitals and schools the government will build. Should El-Sisi win, Moussa says he will present his programme to the second-term president, so they can work together to carry it out and improve Egyptians lives. Short link: Atangana Kouna, Cameroons former water and energy minister, has been arrested in Nigeria and extradited to Cameroon to face corruption ch... Atangana Kouna, Cameroons former water and energy minister, has been arrested in Nigeria and extradited to Cameroon to face corruption charges. Amid a crackdown on high-level corruption, Atangana was removed from his ministerial position during President Paul Biyas March 2 cabinet reshuffle and was ordered not to leave the country in February. Atangana Kouna is in Cameroon. He was arrested in Nigeria and sent back to Cameroon. He arrived this evening, Reuters quoted a police source as saying. The former minister was reported to have arrived at the international airport in the capital Yaounde at 6:20 pm (1720 GMT) on Thursday and escorted by police officers. However, there was speculation on Thursday that he was arrested as part of an anti-corruption drive known as Operation Sparrowhawk. Also arrested as part of the operation on Monday were a former ministry of public works official, the head of a state company, and the ex-rector of the University of Douala. Nigeria had said it would not be used as a staging post by any dissident to attack the Republic of Cameroon. Mohammed Monguno, national security adviser, at the opening of the 6th session of Cameroon-Nigeria trans-border security committee meeting. He spoke amid local and international outcry over the deportation by Nigeria of 47 Cameroonian Anglophone secessionist campaigners to Cameroon on 26 January. Israelis hacked into President Muhammadu Buharis private e-mail and gave the materials to Cambridge Analytica, a firm hired by former Pre... Israelis hacked into President Muhammadu Buharis private e-mail and gave the materials to Cambridge Analytica, a firm hired by former President Goodluck Jonathan to provide advertisement and marketing services in support of his 2015 re-election campaign.According to a report by The Guardian and Observer, claiming to have spoken to seven individuals with knowledge of Cambridge Analytica and its campaign in Nigeria in early 2015, Senior directors of Cambridge Analytica, including its chief executive Alexander Nix, gave staff instructions to handle material provided by computer hackers in election campaigns in Nigeria and St Kitts and Nevis.They claim there were two episodes in 2015 that alarmed members of staff and led them to refuse to handle the data, which they assumed would have been obtained illegally.SCL Elections, Cambridge Analyticas parent company, denied taking possession of or using hacked or stolen personal information from such individuals for any purpose in either campaign.The revelations are the latest to focus attention on Cambridge Analytica, whose activities are being investigated in the US by the special counsel Robert Mueller as part of his inquiry into possible Russian collusion in the 2016 US presidential election.The firm is under pressure to explain how it came to have unauthorised access to millions of Facebook profiles. Politicians in the US and UK have accused it of giving misleading statements about its work, and the information commissioner has demanded access to the companys databases.Hired by a Nigerian billionaire to support the re-election of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, Cambridge Analytica was paid an estimated 2m to orchestrate a ferocious campaign against his rival, now President Buhari. Jonathan lost out to Buhari in the presidential race. There is no suggestion Jonathan knew of the covert operation.Staff working on the campaign said in early 2015, they met Israeli cybersecurity contractors in Cambridge Analyticas offices in Mayfair, London. Employees said they were told the meeting was arranged by Brittany Kaiser, a senior director at the firm.The Guardian and Observer have been told the Israelis brought a laptop from their office in Tel Aviv and handed employees a USB stick containing what they believed were hacked personal emails.Sources said Nix, who was suspended on Tuesday, and other senior directors told staff to search for incriminating material that could be used to damage opposition candidates, including Buhari.It made everyone feel really uncomfortable, said one source. They wanted people to load it into their email programmes.People freaked out, another employee said. They wanted to have nothing to do with it.One member of the campaign team told The Guardian and Observer that the material they believed had been hacked included Buharis medical records. Im 99% sure of that. Or if they didnt have his medical records they at least had emails that referred to what was going on.When news of the London meeting filtered back to Cambridge Analytica staff working on the ground in Nigeria, it caused panic, the source said. Local security advisers told the firms team to leave the country immediately because if opposition supporters found out, they could turn on them.What is clear is that the security of their employees didnt even seem to have occurred to them, said one former employee. It was a very serious situation and they had to evacuate immediately.An expert had flown in from Israel with a laptop, sources say.And Alexander Nix, Cambridge Analyticas now suspended CEO, and Kaiser, asked employees to take a thumb drive and download the contents on to their own computers.The content was private emails and the information, they were told, related to Buharis financial and medical records.One employee who was present at the London meeting said he had initially assumed the visiting expert was Mossad or Israeli intelligence passing on what he called legtimate information.But he began to realise this wasnt the case, he said, when he saw the reaction of his colleagues. One of them had freaked out, he said. He was like, What the fuck? I dont want anything to do with this.The witnesses are clear at least in their own minds. The information they were shown had come from hackers.In a statement, SCL Elections, the parent company of Cambridge Analytica, confirmed it had been hired in December 2014 in support of the Jonathan campaign.We can confirm that SCL Elections was hired in December 2014 to provide advertising and marketing services in support of the Goodluck Jonathan campaign.Asked specifically about the meetings in which staff described being asked to transfer personal information that they believed had been hacked, the firm said: During an election campaign, it is normal for SCL Elections to meet with vendors seeking to provide services as a subcontractor.SCL Elections did not take possession of or use any personal information from such individuals for any purposes. SCL Elections does not use hacked or stolen data. The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has warned the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, against hounding members of the main opposition p... The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has warned the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, against hounding members of the main opposition party. The PDP specifically frowned at the motion ex-parte filed by the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property seeking the forfeiture of assets allegedly not declared by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu. The partys position is contained in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan on Thursday. The PDP said that while it was in full support of any genuine anti-graft war, the APC-led administrations obsession with Ekweremadu was another clear indication that it was not ready to fight corruption. The party said, The PDP recalls that this government rushed to arraign Senator Ekweremadu and the Senate president, Dr. Bukola Saraki in 2016 on trumped up charges of forgery of Senate Standing Rule, even when there was not even a mention of their names in the contentious police report or Proof of Evidence. It eventually withdrew the charges for lack of merit. The police raided and ransacked Senator Ekweremadus official guest house in Abuja in May 2017 and blamed it on false whistle blowers, whom they charged to court. Nothing has been heard about the trial of the alleged false whistle blowers again. In the current matter, apart from relying on an obsolete law to dabble into the roles of the Code of Conduct Bureau, we are not surprised that the Panel could not carry out a thorough and independent investigation on the purported property of the Senator, but relied on a petition by the former Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice Innocent Umezulike, who is standing corruption trial in several courts, after his removal from office by the National Judicial Council (NJC) in 2017. We recall that the senator accused Umezulike and some politicians of stealing and doctoring his will, inserting non-existent properties or properties that had nothing to do with him. It is also instructive that this calculated smear campaign is in the guise of forfeiture of phantom assets came on the heels of Senator Ekweremadus alarm and scathing criticism of the APC-led administration over the nations deteriorating democracy and in the midst of the ongoing executive-legislature face-off, in which a ranking senator of the APC extraction identified Ekweremadu as a pillar of support to the Senate President. This government and party have a wet appetite for prosecution and media trial of the opposition while investigation is on, but refuses to prosecute its members and friends indicted by even its own presidential or ministerial panels. While members of the opposition are taken to court on stretchers, the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, indicted by both the Senate and a presidential panel only got a pat on the back. The APC Federal Government has failed to prosecute those involved in the Ikoyigate scandal, and the recall of fugitive Abdulrasheed Maina, among others. National Chairman and Presidential aspirant under the platform of the National Action Council (NAC), on Friday declared that former Presid... National Chairman and Presidential aspirant under the platform of the National Action Council (NAC), on Friday declared that former President, Olusegun Obasanjo is the main political problem of Nigeria. Agoro, while addressing a press conference at his Apata, lbadan residence also described Obasanjos Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM) as Coalition of Nigerian Muguns. The NAC National Chairman said only those who could not understand Obasanjos antics to perpetually dominate the Nigerian politics are buying into the idea of his CNM. He, however, challenged Obasanjo to publish details of the 3 million people he claimed had registered with the CNM. Agoro said, Obasanjo is the problem of Nigeria. He brought late YarAdua and failed; he also brought Jonathan and failed, he actively supported President Muhammadu Bihari, who has now disappointed Nigerians. Obasanjo is out again to take Nigerians on a ride with the coalition of Nigerian Muguns that he is packaging. He said he has gathered the list of 3 million Nigerians. I am challenging him to publish the list of the 3 million Nigerians who have joined his coalition before next week Tuesday. Obasanjo rode to the top in his political career. But it appears that his ride has no bus stop and brake. He does not know where to stop. Agoro suggested that Obasanjo, after his presidency should have toed the path of honor like late Nelson Mandela, by quitting partisan politics. He said, Have you heard the immediate past President of the United States, Barack Obama, criticising his successor, Donald Trump, like Obasanjo has been doing since 1999?. Speaking further on the state of the nation, Agoro said both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) do not mean well for Nigerians. The Federal Government yesterday lashed the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for saying the abduction and release of the Dapchi... The Federal Government yesterday lashed the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for saying the abduction and release of the Dapchi schoolgirls was stage-managed.It described the PDP statement as erroneous and extremely dishonourableIn a statement, Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed, said such postulation portrayed the PDP as insensitive, unpatriotic and unworthy party.He said since the release of the Dapchi girls was negotiated by friendly countries and reputable international organisations, it would have taken a conspiracy of global proportion to have stage-managed the adoption and release of the girls.As we have said many times since the abduction of the Dapchi schoolgirls, no government is exempted from its own share of tragedies.What makes the difference is the way such tragedies are managed.Whereas it took the PDP all of 18 days to even acknowledge the abduction of the Chibok girls in 2014, the APC Federal Government acted promptly and responsively when the Dapchi schoolgirls were abducted Feb. 19, hence their quick release, he said.The Minister said it was unfortunate that the PDP that failed as a ruling party had also failed as an opposition party going by its insensitive and crude response to the release of the Dapchi schoolgirls.In its 16 years in power, the PDP redefined governance as cluelessness, massive looting of the public treasury and crude exhibition of power.In its over three years in opposition, the PDP has again shown it does not understand the role of the opposition in a democracy.How then can the PDP convince Nigerians that it has learnt its lessons and that it is ready to rule the country again?Nigerians must say never again to this primitive and soulless party, he said.The minister said further that the Federal Government has not been responding to the amateurish and jejune statements from the PDP.This is precisely because the party has failed to learn the ropes of being an opposition party, even when we have advised them to take a crash course on the role of the opposition in a democracy.We broke our own rules this time because the PDP over-reached itself and scored an own goal at a time it could simply have congratulated the government and people of Nigeria on the release of the girls or just keep quiet, he said.Mohammed assured Nigerians that the Government would intensify the ongoing efforts to secure the release of the remaining Chibok girls and return them safely to their families.The PDP took a swipe at the Presidency, saying the abduction and the release of the girls were stage-managed for political purposesNational Chairman Uche Secondus and National Publicity Secretary Kola Ologbondiyan at different news conferences on Wednesday, demanded the probe, arrest and prosecution of all those involved in the alleged sagaSpeakers of Houses of Assembly yesterday called for the intensification of efforts by security agencies to secure lives and property of all Nigerians.While commending the Federal government for its swift action over the abducted girls, they noted that lives of every Nigerian must be sacrosanct and adequately protected by the government.Rising from its 2018 first quarter general meeting in Gusau, the Zamfara State yesterday, the Speakers stated: The Conference appealed to the relevant security agencies to intensify their efforts with a view to curbing the nefarious activities of the criminally-minded people who have been terrorizing the innocent people across the country.In the communique signed by Caretaker Chairman and Speaker of Kebbi State House of Assembly, Abdulmumin Kamba, President Muhammadu Buhari was urged to ensure speedy assent to the Amendment Bills, when transmitted by the National Assembly.Though President Buhari had already refused assent to Electoral Act amendment Bill (Election sequence) the Speakers commended major stakeholders involved the constitution review exercise for being patriotic in passing the amendments. President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday interacted with the recently rescued Dapchi schoolgirls and advised them to pursue their dreams without fear.The President assured them of their safety and that efforts are on to also rescue the remaining Chibok girls and other Nigerians in captivity of the terrorists.The girls were released on Wednesday, after members of the outlawed Boko Haram group abducted them from the Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, in Yobe State on February 19.President Buhari receives released Dapchi School Girls in State HouseTo the rescued students, we want to reassure you as our daughters that you will freely live and pursue your dreams in Nigeria of peace and order, without fear of violence or molestation.While parents of the Dapchi girls rejoice because of the reunion with their children, I want to appeal to the Chibok Community never to lose hope or to despair.We are determined as never before, to bring back our remaining Chibok daughters and this, we must accomplish and that will be soon, by Gods grace, he added.The delighted President formally announced that 105 Dapchi schoolgirls and two others previously abducted by the insurgents were unconditionally released by their abductors.He noted that the development which he described as cheering and hearty signifies the commitment of his administration to the security and well-being of all Nigerians.President Buhari further recalled his visit to Yobe State last week during which he sympathised with the parents, families, and people of the state on the tragic abduction of the students in Dapchi.He added that he had made a solemn pledge on my word of honour that the Federal Government would do everything possible to ensure the unconditional release of the girls.We are never in doubt about our focus and direction since the assumption of this administration security, anti-corruption and revamping of our economy are the main focus of our government.We reached out to our contacts at home and abroad, we embarked on backchannel shuttles with a clear view to bringing to an end this tragedy.We entered into negotiations solely to make sure that no single girl was hurt. This strategy paid off as the girls have been released without any incidents, the President added. Lawal Daura, director-general of the Department of State Services (DSS), says the Dapchi schoolgirls released by Boko Haram insurgents did... Lawal Daura, director-general of the Department of State Services (DSS), says the Dapchi schoolgirls released by Boko Haram insurgents did not take their bath while in captivity. Daura disclosed this while presenting the girls to President Muhammadu Buhari at the preisdential villa in Abuja on Friday. The girls were abducted on February 19 and released on March 21. The DSS DG also said the victims had been medically examined, while those with ailments had been treated. He said four of the girls had broken limbs. On release, the victims were taken into the DSS medical facility and are put through programmes to give them mental stability, he said. As such, they are given psychological mental evaluation conducted by trained specialists. About four who were discovered to have broken limbs and were sent for X-ray. Almost all of them had one skin infection or the other having not taken bath for over a month. They have been medically examined, and those with ailments were treated The measures are to ensure that they are in good health. Daura said the only condition demanded by Boko Haram was a ceasefire to enable them return the girls. The insurgents only condition was the demand for cessation of hostilities and temporary ceasefire to enable them return the girls at the point they picked them, he said. They required assurances that the government security forces would keep to this Mr. President, in view of the nations experience through these years of insurgency, it is humbly suggested that efforts be sustained towards. Ensuring the release of all abducted persons in the north-east theatre of operation. Improve the strategic plan for the safety of schools in vulnerable locations, using all available national assets. President Buhari this morning gave reasons why his government had negotiations with Boko Haram leaders for the release of the Dapchi schoo... President Buhari this morning gave reasons why his government had negotiations with Boko Haram leaders for the release of the Dapchi school girls. Speaking when he received the girls in the state house earlier today, President Buhari said''We entered into negotiations solely to make sure that no single girl was hurt. This strategy paid off as the girls have been released without any incidents''. On Thursday, Adebayo Shittu, minister of communications, fired Victor Oluwadamilare, his special assistant on media and Imam Tajudeen, his... On Thursday, Adebayo Shittu, minister of communications, fired Victor Oluwadamilare, his special assistant on media and Imam Tajudeen, his special assistant on special duties. Although the minister did not make public the reason for the action, he warned those who have dealings with him against associating with the aides. Hours before the sack was announced, a letter written by Oluwadamilare trended on social media. Oluwadamilare levelled many allegations against the minister, accusing him of acquiring over 20 houses in the last three years. He said Shittu had not paid his emoluments since 2015. Below is the letter: REQUEST FOR MY ACCUMULATED EMOLUMENTS RE:REQUEST FOR MY ACCUMULATED EMOLUMENTS I am writing on behalf of myself and my colleague, Sheik Tajudeen Imam, Special Assistant (Special Duties), renowned Muslim Cleric and leader, whom you appointed to assist you 25 months ago. I am constrained, once again, to formally request for the payment of my accumulated emoluments totaling FOURTEEN MILLION NAIRA (N14million), due at the end of March, 2018, from you. APPOINTMENT AS SPECIAL ASSISTANT (MEDIA) TO THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS, stated among others in paragraph 3 that: Your monthly emolument will be decided in line with the existing practice. (Annexure 1) You will recall that your letter referenced HMC/026/Vol. 11/17, dated 23rd November, 2015 and titled:APPOINTMENT AS SPECIAL ASSISTANT (MEDIA) TO THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS, stated among others in paragraph 3 that: Your monthly emolument will be decided in line with the existing practice.(Annexure 1) Indeed, I got several feedbacks on your promise to address the issue, but, after many months nothing happened! Sir, for many months, running into years despite many verbal reminders, nothing has been done on this matteryou gave many promises which never materialised. I was forced to mention the issue of non-payment of my emoluments to a number of your friends and close associates, who promised to talk to you on the imperative of paying the emoluments of your aides.Indeed, I got several feedbacks on your promise to address the issue, but, after many months nothing happened! WHY THIS LETTER ADEBAYO SHITTU MEDIA OFFICE (Annexure 3) in Ibadan. My personal office, 36 Ososami Street, off Oke-Ado, Ibadan, was made available to the media office for your 2019 gubernatorial ambition at no cost to you. Prior to your appointment as Minister of Communications by President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, via a letter dated 16th November, 2015 with reference no. SGF.12/S.6/XI/808 (Annexure 2), I had set up what I called:ADEBAYO SHITTU MEDIA OFFICE (Annexure 3) in Ibadan.My personal office, 36 Ososami Street, off Oke-Ado, Ibadan, was made available to the media office for your 2019 gubernatorial ambition at no cost to you. I was the Chairman and convener, for which I spent my personal resources. Some of the members are: I did not stop at that, I recruited and enlisted the support of seasoned journalists and experienced media managers, to coordinate and chart a media plan for your political ambition, ahead of your other competitors.I was the Chairman and convener, for which I spent my personal resources.Some of the members are: i) Dele Ogunsola ii) Wale Adele iii) Bola Ogunlayi iv) Tawfiq Akinwale v) Marouf Yusuf vi) Femi Popoola vii) Winlade Adisa Following your unexpected and dramatic nomination and eventual appointment, you called me on phone one Saturday in November, 2015 and requested that I should liaise with members of the Adebayo Shittu Media Office to nominate one of us to be appointed as SA Media for your new appointment then. At the end of extensive deliberations, the group unanimously settled for me and my name was officially sent to you. This formed the basis of my appointment as Special Assistant (Media), alongside other aides appointed then in November, 2015. So, I represented a formidable group and other interests. An emergency meeting of the group was promptly held.At the end of extensive deliberations, the group unanimously settled for me and my name was officially sent to you.This formed the basis of my appointment as Special Assistant (Media), alongside other aides appointed then in November, 2015. So, I represented a formidable group and other interests. If I was so appointed, and having worked conscientiously with considerable impact on your tenure in office in the past 27 months and some weeks, it is imperative that I should be remunerated commensurably genuinely in line with the existing practice. WHAT IS THE EXISTING PRACTICE? The existing practice copiously referred to in my letter of appointment (Annexure 1) could not be in the realm of individual whims and caprices, as the matter is a settled issue in the Federal Civil Service rule and procedure in Nigeria. RE: APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL ASSISTANTS AND PERSONAL ASSISTANTS, addressed to All Honourable Ministers, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and all Federal Permanent Secretaries, it stated that the Special Assistant to the Ministers should be on Grade Level 16 Step 4. Other Associated Allowances were also clearly stated. According to a subsisting Federal Government circular from the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation with Ref. NO.SGF.12/5.6/1.1/23 (Annexure 4) titled:RE:APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL ASSISTANTS AND PERSONAL ASSISTANTS, addressed to All Honourable Ministers, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and all Federal Permanent Secretaries, it stated that the Special Assistant to the Ministers should be on Grade Level 16 Step 4.Other Associated Allowances were also clearly stated. This is inclusive of two Domestic Servants, who are expected to be on Level 3 step 8, according to a Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS), prepared by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (Annexure 5). In summary, the total emoluments due to me as a duly appointed Special Assistant amounted to N252, 300. 41 per month.This is inclusive of two Domestic Servants, who are expected to be on Level 3 step 8, according to a Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS), prepared by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (Annexure 5). THE DEBT BURDEN Sir, be informed that your inability or inhuman refusal to arrange for prompt payment of my emoluments for over two years, no doubt, has not only made life very uncomfortable for me and my household, but had equally made me a laughing stock among my contemporaries and media practitioners. Even though, principal officers of the Ministry, at the inception of your tenure made spirited efforts to convince you on the existing practice of settling SAs emoluments, you apparently refused bluntly. Conversely, while you deliberately made me to suffer working for you under the most excruciating condition of deprivation, you have been living in indescribable opulence. Some of them are: Your obvious insensitivity and lack of compassion for me and my other colleagues have done incalculable damages to our persons and families.Some of them are: i) My health has deteriorated badly because I could not adequately finance my medical upkeep ii) I have been a squatter in Abuja since 2016, having lived in a hotel for many months with outstanding debts till date. iii) For close to one year now, there has been an unresolved feud with my wife because of my inability to effectively fulfil my marital responsibilities and family upkeep. iv) My first daughter, from all indications, may not be able to enlist in the NYSC Scheme in April, 2018 because of my failure to adequately fund her education. v) My second daughter had lost one calendar year in the University because of my inability to pay her school fees and other incidentals as at when due. vi) My other children of school age, have been traumatized and discouraged in their educational pursuit because of the irregularity in the payment of their school fees, with its attendant backslash. vii) Your conduct has made me a perpetual debtor, with over N3million debt hanging over my neck from sundry creditors. It is evident to all that your life has witnessed unprecedented turn-around, albeit illicitly, considering the thrust and mission of the Buhari Administration on corruption in public offices. The irony of the above situation is that while you effectuated stagnation in my life and development (and that of others) by your deliberate ploy and insensitivity, you were doing well for yourself and your family.It is evident to all that your life has witnessed unprecedented turn-around, albeit illicitly, considering the thrust and mission of the Buhari Administration on corruption in public offices. You have bought over 25 luxury vehicles for yourself, family members, concubines and cronies, outside the eight official vehicles attached to your office. Thus, in a space of 29 months in office and from ground zero in 2015, you now have no fewer than 12 luxury houses in Abuja, Lagos and Ibadan and a few months ago, you bought a brand new N93 million Printing Press.You have bought over 25 luxury vehicles for yourself, family members, concubines and cronies, outside the eight official vehicles attached to your office. are currently scattered all over Oyo State! In the same vein, you have expended substantial amount of money, far above your legitimate earnings as a Minister in the Buhari Administration, on your gubernatorial ambition in Oyo State, while you have equally sponsored no fewer than 22 members of your family and cronies including under-aged children to the Holy Land in Saudi Arabia and lesser Hajj (Umrah) pilgrimage. Of course, everyone in Oyo State knows about your investments that run into hundreds of millions of naira, in your less than three years in the officetheseare currently scattered all over Oyo State! resources at your disposal in less than 30 months as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, my concern is that what is good for the goose is also good for the gander. My belief, in this regard, is that a sincere leader should grow up with his followers legitimately. Ironically however, you are shockingly unperturbed by whatever happens to your aides, making the welfare of those who work with you a nullity. While it is your right to do whatever you like with such stupendousresources at your disposal in less than 30 months as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, my concern is that what is good for the goose is also good for the gander. My belief, in this regard, is that a sincere leader should grow up with his followers legitimately. Ironically however, you are shockingly unperturbed by whatever happens to your aides, making the welfare of those who work with you a nullity. You did not only mess us up by dashing our hopes and aspirations, you inflicted on us injuries that are of permanent nature and of odious dimension. You bruised our psyche, you rubbished our ego, you wasted our time, you exposed us to hardship, you almost destroyed our humanity, you reduced our worth before our wives, children and acquaintances and above all, if not for God, you almost turned us to beggars in Abuja. The hope of working with you to properly project you and Oyo State at the Federal Executive Council that came with nostalgic feelings has been dashed.You did not only mess us up by dashing our hopes and aspirations, you inflicted on us injuries that are of permanent nature and of odious dimension.You bruised our psyche, you rubbished our ego, you wasted our time, you exposed us to hardship, you almost destroyed our humanity, you reduced our worth before our wives, children and acquaintances and above all, if not for God, you almost turned us to beggars in Abuja. While we were suffering under your gross insensitivity and primitive meanness, your sing-song and alibi to the unsuspecting public, both in Abuja and Oyo State, has been that we collect estacode even if you are not paying salary. Your insidious wickedness was so brazen, and, it is a provocative travesty that would make the globally condemned experience of blacks in Apartheid South Africa a childs play. THE WAY FORWARD You may wish to note, sir, that there are two payments made to me which could be linked to you in respect of my outstanding emoluments. Tuesday, February 6, 2018, the sum of N500,000 was transferred to my Access Bank Account under the name of Ademola Lawal. Tuesday, February 6, 2018, the sum of N500,000 was transferred to my Access Bank Account by one SAADU A. SADIQ & SONS. With this development, you have paid me the sum of N1million, out of my accumulated emoluments till date, remaining the sum of N13million at the rate of N500,000 per month. To all intents and purposes, my demand for N500,000 monthly payment may seem incongruent to the provisions of the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS) and the Federal Government Circular (Annexure 4 & 5), but it subsists when one considers the following: i) Your body language and subsequent reactions showed that you have a clandestine motive to deny us our entitlements. ii) The letter written to me by your former Special Assistant (Admin), Mr David A. Awotunde, titled: PAYMENT OF MONHTLY EMOLUMENT TO HONOURABLE MINISTERS AIDES and dated 10th June, 2016 (Annexture 6), is quite instructive. It is strange and curious that you could succumb to the evil machinations of the spin doctors around you then, who suggested that you should convert a N3million largesse shared by your aides at that point in time into N100,000 monthly emolument for a few of us. Not only that the said money was paid in advance to cater for the months up till April. Isnt that novel and ridiculously curious? I discountenanced the letter and its content because of its inconsistencies.It is strange and curious that you could succumb to the evil machinations of the spin doctors around you then, who suggested that you should convert a N3million largesse shared by your aides at that point in time into N100,000 monthly emolument for a few of us.Not only that the said money was paid in advance to cater for the months up till April.Isnt that novel and ridiculously curious? This suggestion, and on the basis of the fact that I learnt you are currently computing how much is due to me, is a wish that could not stand the test of time as my entitlements in this regard do not fall within your whims and caprices, and, no matter how powerful you think you are now because of your timed appointment, it will be an exercise in futility. The innuendoes contained in the said letter to the effect that I was entitled to N100,000 monthly is not only laughable as a notable professional and graduate of more than THREE DECADES, but also an embarrassment to your person and the totality of the Federal Government.This suggestion, and on the basis of the fact that I learnt you are currently computing how much is due to me, is a wish that could not stand the test of time as my entitlements in this regard do not fall within your whims and caprices, and, no matter how powerful you think you are now because of your timed appointment, it will be an exercise in futility. I believe you are well aware that it is customary for political office holders to enjoy Severance Allowance which varies from 200 300% of Annual Basic Salary. The allowance is usually pro-rated after a minimum of two years tenure. Undoubtedly, when all these factors and others which Im holding back, are put in perspective, my demand for N500,000 monthly emolument should be regarded as very modest. BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE Since there is A time to keep silence, And a time to speak, I had the rare grace of keeping silent in the face of your inhuman and unwarranted tyranny for almost 28 months, but the time to speak out for my entitlements is NOW. It is quite regrettable that you have manifested in all your relationships with many of those who helped build you up to where you are today reveling as a lord and conqueror with unbridled abandonment. It is disappointingly befuddling that you have become the ironical epitome of Mayor La Guardia who once said that anyone, who extends his hand of fellowship to me, stands the risk of losing a few fingers. Thus, while you have been living in sudden and extremely outrageous opulence as a public servant at the expense of your dutiful and hardworking aides, you seemingly forget your pitiable socio-economic status and experience in Oyo State before you got this job as you have all of a sudden become insulated to common sense, justice and fairness, the mantra on which many people sheepishly believed in you in your struggling daysincluding myself. It is quite bewildering that the fact that you collect your salary every month and regularly does not strike any right cord in you that your aides too deserve a better life by way of their own legitimate emoluments. FACT SHEET Yet, you inhumanly find it very convenient to ignore the legitimate entitlements of your aides! In this regard, be informed that you are like an ostrich that buries his head in the sand in delusion that it has hidden itself from the prying eyes of the public. Hon. Minister, since your inauguration you have collected over N50 MILLION as salary, travelling expenses on the coffers of the Ministry runs into several millions of naira, while you have collected estacodes in excess of $800,000little wonder, youre derisively referred to as ESTACODE MINISTER in the Presidency.Yet, you inhumanly find it very convenient to ignore the legitimate entitlements of your aides! In this regard, be informed that you are like an ostrich that buries his head in the sand in delusion that it has hidden itself from the prying eyes of the public. It is regrettable that as a member of the Nigerian Bar, justice, fairness and equity, the tenets on which the noble profession is pillared, do not matter to you; as a supposed staunch Muslim, fear of God is a strange word to youyou have indeed proved that you are a wolf in sheepskin, particularly to the unsuspecting members of your Islamic Faith and other Nigerians, who erroneously see you in the mould of President Muhammadu Buhari. Unfortunately too, as a Chief of Olubadan, the famed Yoruba family values have taken a flight into oblivion in your scheme of things just because you are in a most ephemeral position as an appointee of His Excellency, President Buhari, a globally acclaimed leader of impeccable character and pedigree. More disturbingly, your proclivity and debasement of humanity via your unprecedented maltreatment of your appointed aides has become falteringly odious as a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) with the change mantra; as a member of the Federal Executive Council, your fraudulent practices is novel and as a Community Leader, deceit is your way of life. The view that your conduct is a disgrace to Islam and mentoring in Nigeria is only an attestation to your greed, insensitivity, vindictiveness, avarice, wickedness and above all, self-centredness. Dear Minister, after all said and done, I have one advice for you. Please, it will be in your best interest not to play to the gallery and listen to the counsels of your spin doctors to either ignore me or take me on. The best and dignified way out for you on this issue of my outstanding entitlements is to access funds from your various sudden investments and pay me in full. Like the celebrated former Lagos State governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, once said, I hope my loyalty will not be put to test. In the same vein, I hope my resolve to collect my entitlements in full will not be put to test by you. Any grandstanding in this matter, to say the least, will be embarrassingly suffocating, as I will leave no stone unturned to retrieve my emoluments in full. Enough should be enough for the WISE. Yours, Victor OluwadamilareMarch 12, 2018 Chief Abdur-Raheem Adebayo Shittu Hon. Minister of Communications Federal Ministry of Communications, Federal Secretariat, Abuja. Dear Sir, REQUEST FOR MY ACCUMULATED EMOLUMENTS RE:REQUEST FOR MY ACCUMULATED EMOLUMENTS I am writing on behalf of myself and my colleague, Sheik Tajudeen Imam, Special Assistant (Special Duties), renowned Muslim Cleric and leader, whom you appointed to assist you 25 months ago. I am constrained, once again, to formally request for the payment of my accumulated emoluments totaling FOURTEEN MILLION NAIRA (N14million), due at the end of March, 2018, from you. APPOINTMENT AS SPECIAL ASSISTANT (MEDIA) TO THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS, stated among others in paragraph 3 that: Your monthly emolument will be decided in line with the existing practice. (Annexure 1) You will recall that your letter referenced HMC/026/Vol. 11/17, dated 23rd November, 2015 and titled:APPOINTMENT AS SPECIAL ASSISTANT (MEDIA) TO THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS, stated among others in paragraph 3 that: Your monthly emolument will be decided in line with the existing practice.(Annexure 1) Indeed, I got several feedbacks on your promise to address the issue, but, after many months nothing happened! Sir, for many months, running into years despite many verbal reminders, nothing has been done on this matteryou gave many promises which never materialised. I was forced to mention the issue of non-payment of my emoluments to a number of your friends and close associates, who promised to talk to you on the imperative of paying the emoluments of your aides.Indeed, I got several feedbacks on your promise to address the issue, but, after many months nothing happened! WHY THIS LETTER ADEBAYO SHITTU MEDIA OFFICE (Annexure 3) in Ibadan. My personal office, 36 Ososami Street, off Oke-Ado, Ibadan, was made available to the media office for your 2019 gubernatorial ambition at no cost to you. Prior to your appointment as Minister of Communications by President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, via a letter dated 16th November, 2015 with reference no. SGF.12/S.6/XI/808 (Annexure 2), I had set up what I called:ADEBAYO SHITTU MEDIA OFFICE (Annexure 3) in Ibadan.My personal office, 36 Ososami Street, off Oke-Ado, Ibadan, was made available to the media office for your 2019 gubernatorial ambition at no cost to you. I was the Chairman and convener, for which I spent my personal resources. Some of the members are: I did not stop at that, I recruited and enlisted the support of seasoned journalists and experienced media managers, to coordinate and chart a media plan for your political ambition, ahead of your other competitors.I was the Chairman and convener, for which I spent my personal resources.Some of the members are: i) Dele Ogunsola ii) Wale Adele iii) Bola Ogunlayi iv) Tawfiq Akinwale v) Marouf Yusuf vi) Femi Popoola vii) Winlade Adisa Following your unexpected and dramatic nomination and eventual appointment, you called me on phone one Saturday in November, 2015 and requested that I should liaise with members of the Adebayo Shittu Media Office to nominate one of us to be appointed as SA Media for your new appointment then. At the end of extensive deliberations, the group unanimously settled for me and my name was officially sent to you. This formed the basis of my appointment as Special Assistant (Media), alongside other aides appointed then in November, 2015. So, I represented a formidable group and other interests. An emergency meeting of the group was promptly held.At the end of extensive deliberations, the group unanimously settled for me and my name was officially sent to you.This formed the basis of my appointment as Special Assistant (Media), alongside other aides appointed then in November, 2015. So, I represented a formidable group and other interests. If I was so appointed, and having worked conscientiously with considerable impact on your tenure in office in the past 27 months and some weeks, it is imperative that I should be remunerated commensurably genuinely in line with the existing practice. WHAT IS THE EXISTING PRACTICE? The existing practice copiously referred to in my letter of appointment (Annexure 1) could not be in the realm of individual whims and caprices, as the matter is a settled issue in the Federal Civil Service rule and procedure in Nigeria. RE: APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL ASSISTANTS AND PERSONAL ASSISTANTS, addressed to All Honourable Ministers, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and all Federal Permanent Secretaries, it stated that the Special Assistant to the Ministers should be on Grade Level 16 Step 4. Other Associated Allowances were also clearly stated. According to a subsisting Federal Government circular from the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation with Ref. NO.SGF.12/5.6/1.1/23 (Annexure 4) titled:RE:APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL ASSISTANTS AND PERSONAL ASSISTANTS, addressed to All Honourable Ministers, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and all Federal Permanent Secretaries, it stated that the Special Assistant to the Ministers should be on Grade Level 16 Step 4.Other Associated Allowances were also clearly stated. This is inclusive of two Domestic Servants, who are expected to be on Level 3 step 8, according to a Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS), prepared by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (Annexure 5). In summary, the total emoluments due to me as a duly appointed Special Assistant amounted to N252, 300. 41 per month.This is inclusive of two Domestic Servants, who are expected to be on Level 3 step 8, according to a Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS), prepared by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (Annexure 5). THE DEBT BURDEN Sir, be informed that your inability or inhuman refusal to arrange for prompt payment of my emoluments for over two years, no doubt, has not only made life very uncomfortable for me and my household, but had equally made me a laughing stock among my contemporaries and media practitioners. Even though, principal officers of the Ministry, at the inception of your tenure made spirited efforts to convince you on the existing practice of settling SAs emoluments, you apparently refused bluntly. Conversely, while you deliberately made me to suffer working for you under the most excruciating condition of deprivation, you have been living in indescribable opulence. Some of them are: Your obvious insensitivity and lack of compassion for me and my other colleagues have done incalculable damages to our persons and families.Some of them are: i) My health has deteriorated badly because I could not adequately finance my medical upkeep ii) I have been a squatter in Abuja since 2016, having lived in a hotel for many months with outstanding debts till date. iii) For close to one year now, there has been an unresolved feud with my wife because of my inability to effectively fulfil my marital responsibilities and family upkeep. iv) My first daughter, from all indications, may not be able to enlist in the NYSC Scheme in April, 2018 because of my failure to adequately fund her education. v) My second daughter had lost one calendar year in the University because of my inability to pay her school fees and other incidentals as at when due. vi) My other children of school age, have been traumatized and discouraged in their educational pursuit because of the irregularity in the payment of their school fees, with its attendant backslash. vii) Your conduct has made me a perpetual debtor, with over N3million debt hanging over my neck from sundry creditors. It is evident to all that your life has witnessed unprecedented turn-around, albeit illicitly, considering the thrust and mission of the Buhari Administration on corruption in public offices. The irony of the above situation is that while you effectuated stagnation in my life and development (and that of others) by your deliberate ploy and insensitivity, you were doing well for yourself and your family.It is evident to all that your life has witnessed unprecedented turn-around, albeit illicitly, considering the thrust and mission of the Buhari Administration on corruption in public offices. You have bought over 25 luxury vehicles for yourself, family members, concubines and cronies, outside the eight official vehicles attached to your office. Thus, in a space of 29 months in office and from ground zero in 2015, you now have no fewer than 12 luxury houses in Abuja, Lagos and Ibadan and a few months ago, you bought a brand new N93 million Printing Press.You have bought over 25 luxury vehicles for yourself, family members, concubines and cronies, outside the eight official vehicles attached to your office. are currently scattered all over Oyo State! In the same vein, you have expended substantial amount of money, far above your legitimate earnings as a Minister in the Buhari Administration, on your gubernatorial ambition in Oyo State, while you have equally sponsored no fewer than 22 members of your family and cronies including under-aged children to the Holy Land in Saudi Arabia and lesser Hajj (Umrah) pilgrimage. Of course, everyone in Oyo State knows about your investments that run into hundreds of millions of naira, in your less than three years in the officetheseare currently scattered all over Oyo State! resources at your disposal in less than 30 months as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, my concern is that what is good for the goose is also good for the gander. My belief, in this regard, is that a sincere leader should grow up with his followers legitimately. Ironically however, you are shockingly unperturbed by whatever happens to your aides, making the welfare of those who work with you a nullity. While it is your right to do whatever you like with such stupendousresources at your disposal in less than 30 months as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, my concern is that what is good for the goose is also good for the gander. My belief, in this regard, is that a sincere leader should grow up with his followers legitimately. Ironically however, you are shockingly unperturbed by whatever happens to your aides, making the welfare of those who work with you a nullity. You did not only mess us up by dashing our hopes and aspirations, you inflicted on us injuries that are of permanent nature and of odious dimension. You bruised our psyche, you rubbished our ego, you wasted our time, you exposed us to hardship, you almost destroyed our humanity, you reduced our worth before our wives, children and acquaintances and above all, if not for God, you almost turned us to beggars in Abuja. The hope of working with you to properly project you and Oyo State at the Federal Executive Council that came with nostalgic feelings has been dashed.You did not only mess us up by dashing our hopes and aspirations, you inflicted on us injuries that are of permanent nature and of odious dimension.You bruised our psyche, you rubbished our ego, you wasted our time, you exposed us to hardship, you almost destroyed our humanity, you reduced our worth before our wives, children and acquaintances and above all, if not for God, you almost turned us to beggars in Abuja. While we were suffering under your gross insensitivity and primitive meanness, your sing-song and alibi to the unsuspecting public, both in Abuja and Oyo State, has been that we collect estacode even if you are not paying salary. Your insidious wickedness was so brazen, and, it is a provocative travesty that would make the globally condemned experience of blacks in Apartheid South Africa a childs play. THE WAY FORWARD You may wish to note, sir, that there are two payments made to me which could be linked to you in respect of my outstanding emoluments. Tuesday, February 6, 2018, the sum of N500,000 was transferred to my Access Bank Account under the name of Ademola Lawal. Tuesday, February 6, 2018, the sum of N500,000 was transferred to my Access Bank Account by one SAADU A. SADIQ & SONS. With this development, you have paid me the sum of N1million, out of my accumulated emoluments till date, remaining the sum of N13million at the rate of N500,000 per month. To all intents and purposes, my demand for N500,000 monthly payment may seem incongruent to the provisions of the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS) and the Federal Government Circular (Annexure 4 & 5), but it subsists when one considers the following: i) Your body language and subsequent reactions showed that you have a clandestine motive to deny us our entitlements. ii) The letter written to me by your former Special Assistant (Admin), Mr David A. Awotunde, titled: PAYMENT OF MONHTLY EMOLUMENT TO HONOURABLE MINISTERS AIDES and dated 10th June, 2016 (Annexture 6), is quite instructive. It is strange and curious that you could succumb to the evil machinations of the spin doctors around you then, who suggested that you should convert a N3million largesse shared by your aides at that point in time into N100,000 monthly emolument for a few of us. Not only that the said money was paid in advance to cater for the months up till April. Isnt that novel and ridiculously curious? I discountenanced the letter and its content because of its inconsistencies.It is strange and curious that you could succumb to the evil machinations of the spin doctors around you then, who suggested that you should convert a N3million largesse shared by your aides at that point in time into N100,000 monthly emolument for a few of us.Not only that the said money was paid in advance to cater for the months up till April.Isnt that novel and ridiculously curious? This suggestion, and on the basis of the fact that I learnt you are currently computing how much is due to me, is a wish that could not stand the test of time as my entitlements in this regard do not fall within your whims and caprices, and, no matter how powerful you think you are now because of your timed appointment, it will be an exercise in futility. The innuendoes contained in the said letter to the effect that I was entitled to N100,000 monthly is not only laughable as a notable professional and graduate of more than THREE DECADES, but also an embarrassment to your person and the totality of the Federal Government.This suggestion, and on the basis of the fact that I learnt you are currently computing how much is due to me, is a wish that could not stand the test of time as my entitlements in this regard do not fall within your whims and caprices, and, no matter how powerful you think you are now because of your timed appointment, it will be an exercise in futility. I believe you are well aware that it is customary for political office holders to enjoy Severance Allowance which varies from 200 300% of Annual Basic Salary. The allowance is usually pro-rated after a minimum of two years tenure. Undoubtedly, when all these factors and others which Im holding back, are put in perspective, my demand for N500,000 monthly emolument should be regarded as very modest. BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE Since there is A time to keep silence, And a time to speak, I had the rare grace of keeping silent in the face of your inhuman and unwarranted tyranny for almost 28 months, but the time to speak out for my entitlements is NOW. It is quite regrettable that you have manifested in all your relationships with many of those who helped build you up to where you are today reveling as a lord and conqueror with unbridled abandonment. It is disappointingly befuddling that you have become the ironical epitome of Mayor La Guardia who once said that anyone, who extends his hand of fellowship to me, stands the risk of losing a few fingers. Thus, while you have been living in sudden and extremely outrageous opulence as a public servant at the expense of your dutiful and hardworking aides, you seemingly forget your pitiable socio-economic status and experience in Oyo State before you got this job as you have all of a sudden become insulated to common sense, justice and fairness, the mantra on which many people sheepishly believed in you in your struggling daysincluding myself. It is quite bewildering that the fact that you collect your salary every month and regularly does not strike any right cord in you that your aides too deserve a better life by way of their own legitimate emoluments. FACT SHEET Yet, you inhumanly find it very convenient to ignore the legitimate entitlements of your aides! In this regard, be informed that you are like an ostrich that buries his head in the sand in delusion that it has hidden itself from the prying eyes of the public. Hon. Minister, since your inauguration you have collected over N50 MILLION as salary, travelling expenses on the coffers of the Ministry runs into several millions of naira, while you have collected estacodes in excess of $800,000little wonder, youre derisively referred to as ESTACODE MINISTER in the Presidency.Yet, you inhumanly find it very convenient to ignore the legitimate entitlements of your aides! In this regard, be informed that you are like an ostrich that buries his head in the sand in delusion that it has hidden itself from the prying eyes of the public. It is regrettable that as a member of the Nigerian Bar, justice, fairness and equity, the tenets on which the noble profession is pillared, do not matter to you; as a supposed staunch Muslim, fear of God is a strange word to youyou have indeed proved that you are a wolf in sheepskin, particularly to the unsuspecting members of your Islamic Faith and other Nigerians, who erroneously see you in the mould of President Muhammadu Buhari. Unfortunately too, as a Chief of Olubadan, the famed Yoruba family values have taken a flight into oblivion in your scheme of things just because you are in a most ephemeral position as an appointee of His Excellency, President Buhari, a globally acclaimed leader of impeccable character and pedigree. More disturbingly, your proclivity and debasement of humanity via your unprecedented maltreatment of your appointed aides has become falteringly odious as a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) with the change mantra; as a member of the Federal Executive Council, your fraudulent practices is novel and as a Community Leader, deceit is your way of life. The view that your conduct is a disgrace to Islam and mentoring in Nigeria is only an attestation to your greed, insensitivity, vindictiveness, avarice, wickedness and above all, self-centredness. Dear Minister, after all said and done, I have one advice for you. Please, it will be in your best interest not to play to the gallery and listen to the counsels of your spin doctors to either ignore me or take me on. The best and dignified way out for you on this issue of my outstanding entitlements is to access funds from your various sudden investments and pay me in full. Like the celebrated former Lagos State governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, once said, I hope my loyalty will not be put to test. In the same vein, I hope my resolve to collect my entitlements in full will not be put to test by you. Any grandstanding in this matter, to say the least, will be embarrassingly suffocating, as I will leave no stone unturned to retrieve my emoluments in full. Enough should be enough for the WISE. Yours, An emergency medical technician for a private ambulance company faces theft and forgery charges after Hillsdale police say he stole blank checks from a woman during transport from a hospital, authorities said. Eric Fernandez, 32, of Bloomfield, signed the stolen checks in the patient's name and deposited them with the help of a woman he lives with, according to Hillsdale Police Chief Robert Francaviglia. The theft occurred in early December, police said. The woman called police to say two checks were stolen from her belongings and deposited, police said. "The resident believed the that the checks were stolen while she was being transported home from the hospital via private ambulance service," Francaviglia said in a statement. Police zeroed in on Fernandez, who was working as an EMT during the woman's ambulance ride, the chief said. Fernandez allegedly "completed and signed the checks pretending to be the resident," Francaviglia said. The checks were deposited into an account belonging to Karian Persaud, 31, of Bloomfield, Francaviglia said. Fernandez and Persaud live together in the 500 block of Bloomfield Avenue in Bloomfield, police said. Fernandez was charged with third-degree forgery, third-degree uttering a forged document and theft. Persaud was charged with third-degree uttering a forged document and third-degree theft by deception, police said. Police did not release the name of the ambulance company Fernandez worked for, how long he has been working there or the status of his employment. Public records show Fernandez has arrests in two states dating back five years. In January 2013, he was charged with two counts of retail theft in Palm Beach County, Florida. The charges were later dropped by the prosecutor, records show. In May 2016, Fernandez was sentenced to up to three years in prison for a burglary in Union County, records show. In October 2017, Fernandez was sentenced to up to 18 months for fraudulent use of a credit card in Monmouth County, records show. Neither state nor county jail records show when Fernandez was last released from custody. Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Less than two weeks after the return of Sudans ambassador to Cairo following his recall to Khartoum for consultations, Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir arrived in Egypts capital for talks with President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi. According to an Egyptian government source, Al-Bashirs visit followed an invitation extended by Al-Sisi via General Intelligence chief Abbas Kamel who visited Khartoum last week. I guess it is very obvious there is an attempt to push contacts so as to ensure pending issues are addressed on a systematic basis.Where these talks will lead has yet to be seen. We do not expect fast progress on any of the files, but slow progress is not such a bad idea for now, he said. Officials in both capitals acknowledge the list of differences between Cairo and Khartoum is long. Red Sea security, and managing trilateral negotiations over the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) which bring together Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, are among Cairos priorities. Egypt has not concealed its dismay with the way Sudan has positioned itself alongside Ethiopia in the trilateral talks despite Addis Ababas refusal to accommodate Egypts worries about the impact of the dam on its water needs. Construction work on the dam is nearing completion and Cairo expects Ethiopia to begin filling its 75 billion cubic metre capacity reservoir towards the end of this year. We have a crisis plan should Ethiopia withhold more water than we expect but we are still hoping for a better deal which should be possible if we can secure the support of Sudan, said an Egyptian government source. Speaking after a meeting between Al-Sisi and Al-Bashir in Cairo on Monday informed sources said no Sudanese promises were forthcoming on the issue, though Khartoum did say it would try to encourage Ethiopia to be more sensitive towards Egypts worries. A ministerial meeting of representatives from the three countries is due to be held in Ethiopia between 5 and 6 April. On Red Sea security, Sudan has yet to firmly decline an offer from Turkey to pursue joint Turkish-Sudanese military cooperation with a possible Turkish base in Sudan overlooking the Red Sea. An informed Cairo-based foreign diplomat said Sudan remains open to the Turkish offer. There is so much foreign military presence around the Red Sea, some of it Arab, some of it not, and it is not all base located. Turkey and Iran have a direct and indirect presence. Understandably, this is not to the liking of Egypt and it makes sense for Egypt to try to limit this trend, he argued. Sudan has long expressed concern over the level of cooperation between Cairo and Juba. Egypt made no promises to reduce its levels of cooperation with South Sudan. Egypt and Sudan agreed during last months 2+2 meeting of foreign ministers and chiefs of intelligence to discuss strategic matters related to Red Sea security measures and during their talks in Cairo on Monday Al-Sisi and Al-Bashir agreed in principle to resume security and military consultations soon. A Sudanese source said Khartoum would host a new round of 2+2 consultations and expected other meetings to follow. In a press statement on Monday afternoon Al-Sisi announced that he agreed with Al-Bashir the two countries should resume suspended meetings of joint committees on political consultations, security, cooperation and technical management of Nile water. The two leaders also announced they would work on connecting their countries electricity grids and railways. Al-Sisi and Al-Bashir also agreed to resume cooperation on border management. According to sources on both sides, this will reduce the border infiltration both countries complain about though it will do little to resolve the long running dispute over the Halayeb Triangle. The Egyptians and Sudanese are historically one people. Of course we are two countries each with its own borders and flag but we remain one people, Al-Bashir said during the joint press statements he made with Al-Sisi at the presidential headquarters in Heliopolis on Monday. There was no shortage of niceties during the two appearances Al-Sisi and Al-Bashir made on Monday, one before and the other after their talks. Al-Sisi addressed Al-Bashir as a dear friend and kind visitor. He qualified the relations between the peoples of Egypt and Sudan as sacred. Al-Bashir said that Egypt is his second country and Sudan the second country of President Al-Sisi where he is always welcomed. A statement issued by the press office of the presidency in Egypt said that officials in both countries would work to schedule the convening of the next Joint High Committee. The last time the committee chaired by both presidents met was in Sudan in 2016. President Al-Sisi received the Sudanese president on his arrival to Cairo International Airport, and escorted him to the airport on his return to Khartoum. *This story was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly Short link: Camden officials are hoping to find the two people who ran into a burning building near Rutgers-Camden's campus overnight, risking their lives to save a 90-year-old man from the flames. The two unidentified men, who some say may have been Rutgers-Camden students, took that risk early Friday morning while flames were engulfing the upper part of a Cooper Street duplex, officials said. They were able to pull the 90-year-old man from his home just before firefighters arrived at the scene. The man's son, a 63-year-old resident in a third floor bedroom, died in the fire. His name has not been released. "It's an unfortunate situation for us," Camden Mayor Frank Moran said, addressing members of the press gathered outside of the city home around noon Friday. The Cooper Street building where a fire that left one man dead broke out early Friday morning. The fire remains under investigation, but does not appear suspicious, he said. The fire department received the report of the blaze around 12:13 a.m., and had it under control about a half hour later, Camden fire Chief Michael Harper said. Two Rutgers-Camden students were evacuated from the attached residence, Harper said. They will be able to return to the building Friday night, as that half was not significantly damaged. The unit where the 90-year-old man lived with his son, however, sustained extensive damage, he said. Camden Fire Chief Michael Harper (center) speaks to the press along with Camden Mayor Frank Moran (left) outside of the Cooper Street home where a man died in a fire early Friday morning. Harper said city officials want to find the rescuers to thank them for their efforts. "For not thinking of themselves, and for thinking of someone else. That was remarkable," he said. He said he also wants to make sure the two individuals are okay, and didn't sustain any injuries. The smoke began mostly on the third floor, which mitigated some of the risk of pulling the man from a different part of the home. "But it's still a dangerous operation for anybody to do," Harper said. Mary Beth Daisey, associate chancellor of student affairs at Rutgers-Camden, said that some students who live in the campus apartments across the street witnessed the flames and called police. They then went outside and started throwing rocks at the windows, hoping to alert anyone inside to the flames. She said it's not clear if the two men who ran into the building are students, but said they appeared to be student-aged. The university is reaching out to its student body via email and social media to ask for more information. Anyone with information about the rescuers may contact the Camden Fire Department, Rutgers-Camden or Moran's office. Amanda Hoover can be reached at ahoover@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandahoovernj. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips A New York City council member introduced a bill earlier this week that would ban smoking while walking on all sidewalks controlled by the Department of Transportation and Department of Parks and Recreation, according to a ABC 7 report. City Council member Peter Koo introduced the bill Thursday. While the bill would ban smoking on "adjoining parks, squares and public places, pedestrian pathways through parks, and parking lots," it would only be in effect when people are walking and smoking, ABC reported. It does not legislate people who are standing and smoking, according to the report. "In a perfect world, every smoker would have the self-awareness to realize that smoking and walking down a crowded sidewalk subjects everyone behind you to breathing in the fumes," Koo said in a statement. "Unfortunately, we've all had the experience of getting stuck behind a smoker while walking down a crowded city sidewalk. If you want to smoke, stand off to the side." While not related, the bill coincides with a trend in New Jersey. More than a dozen Jersey Shore towns have banned smoking in some capacity in the last several years. Towns where smoking is banned include Beach Haven, Belmar, Cape May Point, Harvey Cedars, Long Beach Township, Long Branch, Seaside Park, Ship Bottom, Spring Lake and Ocean City, according to previous reporting by NJ Advance Media. It is not just the Shore towns that have taken an initiative to curb smoking in public spaces. In 2013, Jersey City joined eight other Hudson County municipalities in prohibiting smoking from public parks. Joe Atmonavage may be reached at jatmonavage@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jatmonavageNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook Nearly 16 years after fleeing to Morocco after he was indicted in connection with a $2.8 million bank fraud, a now 49-year-old man is in federal custody. Steven Nacim agreed to surrender to the FBI on Friday morning after flying back to the U.S. and is set to appear in federal court in the city this afternoon, authorities announced. @FBINewark arrested fugitive Steven Nacim who was wanted since 2002 for wire and bank fraud. pic.twitter.com/EBLHeEBVXk FBI Newark (@FBINewark) March 23, 2018 Officials issued a warrant was for Nacim on on July 31, 2002 after a federal grand jury indicted him on charges of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Moroccan authorities verified to the FBI over the years that Nacim was there, but the U.S. doesnt have an extradition treaty with that country. He stayed out of trouble while in Morocco and eventually agreed to turn himself in, the FBI said. "Over the years we had contact with him to remind him he was still wanted in the U.S," FBI special agent Ed Koby said. Nacim and others allegedly bought computers and computer-related merchandise from businesses in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and California with checks that wound up bouncing or on credit.' Nacim and his partners then shipped the merchandise to Morocco, authorities allege. Some of the businesses lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. They ran a business called "Computers 3000" that operated here and in Casablanca, Morocco, according to the FBI. Nacim, who formerly lived in Bergen County, is a naturalized U.S. citizen. His alleged co-conspirator, Abdesslem Reda El Cohen, 37, is still being sought by the FBI. He is thought to be in Morocco. Abdesslem Reda El Cohen was in 2004 sentenced to 10 months in prison but boarded a plane before his report date, according to the FBI. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. -- An idea years in the making may finally become reality: an easy, 10-minute ferry ride straight to Manhattan from the Peninsula City. The city is set to meet with the Port Authority next week to negotiate the terms of a lease for land owned by the bi-state agency on the former Military Ocean Terminal. Davis is hopeful a ferry terminal will be operational by September, but expects it to be completed by the end of the year. "If I had my way it would be September, but I'm thinking it will hopefully be by the end of this year," he said. "I can push things through and get things working, and my ultimate goal would be September, but we have to go out to bid ... you're talking June before we can even announce a ferry operator." "But... we've finally gotten to the point where the Port Authority is in agreement: that a ferry is conducive to the city of Bayonne," he added. The Port Authority has sent the city a terms sheet that "essentially provides the requirements for them being able to lease the land and operate the ferry from that particular piece of land," said Steven Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority. In a meeting scheduled for next week, officials on both sides of the deal will iron out the lease. The ferry would be located roughly a mile east of Route 440 on the southern shoreline of the former MOT -- a man made peninsula jutting into the New York harbor -- on land owned by the Port Authority at 51 Port Terminal Blvd. After the Port Authority and city have hashed the details of the lease, City Hall will issue a request for proposals from potential ferry operators to build and run the terminal. The RFP is expected to be released next month and submissions will be due later this spring. The city conducted an impact study last year of residents and businesses and concluded that there is a significant demand for the ferry in the city. The city has been working for years to bring a ferry to Bayonne, which would open up a seamless route to Manhattan's Battery Park. But it hadn't seriously discussed it with the Port Authority until February 2017. The ferry would provide a quick and easy commute to Manhattan for Bayonne residents, especially those who will live in the hundreds of new residential units under construction at the former military base. The potential for a ferry comes on the heels of a recent series of new residential and commercial developments on MOT, which has largely remained barren since the city acquired the property in 1999. "This becomes a game changer for the city, especially on the base," Davis said. "You have all of this development that's going to go up on the base, and for people that commute to New York -- depending on where they live -- it's a two-minute shuttle ride to where they can get on a ferry and be in Manhattan." The city, meanwhile, has bigger ideas in mind to add waterway transportation for residents. Davis has inquired with nearby cities about establishing a ferry route to the southern portion of the city, near Dennis Collins Park. Staten Island last year proposed building a gondola alongside the Bayonne Bridge that would drop commuters off in the city's first ward. "As soon as this ferry is signed, sealed and delivered, I start the second one," Davis said. Corey W. McDonald may be reached at cmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @coreymacc. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook. UPDATE: Employees at Hudson County Plaza were allowed back into the building at 1:50 p.m. after the package was deemed safe by the Jersey City Bomb Squad. The Hudson County Plaza building has been evacuated at 1:20 p.m. today after a "suspicious package" was delivered there, people at the scene said. The building, at 257 Cornelison Ave., houses many of the county's offices, including the Sheriff's Office. It is believed that package was delivered the records room on the fourth floor. Law enforcement officials did not immediately respond to provide any details on the incident. JERSEY CITY -- A man facing two counts of death by auto was drunk and driving recklessly when he caused the Jersey City crash that claimed the lives of two Union City residents last month, authorities said. Alex Torres, 32, of Union City, was driving with a suspended license on Feb. 11 at the time of the crash that killed Mario Guevara, 25, and Heather Acosta, 24, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez announced today. Torres surrendered to police Tuesday afternoon and made his first court appearance on the charges today. During the hearing, Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Lynne Seborowski said Torres' blood alcohol concentration showed he was intoxicated at the time of the crash. Torres is also charged with three counts of assault by auto for three others who were injured in the two-car crash at 3:20 a.m. on Tonnelle Avenue between Manhattan Avenue and North Street. He entered a not guilty plea during today's proceeding. Responding police officers found the white 2006 Honda Accord driven by Torres flipped on its roof. The other vehicle involved in the crash, a red Toyota Corolla, was on the sidewalk, authorities said. Guevara and Acosta, the backseat passengers in the Toyota, were pronounced dead at the scene. The drivers and front seat passengers of both vehicles were taken to a local hospital for treatment. When Torres appeared in Criminal Justice Reform Court this afternoon via video link from Hudson County jail, the state did no move to detain him through the course of his prosecution. Seborowski noted that Torres' public safety assessment indicates he poses the lowest possible risk of failing to appear for court hearings or engaging in criminal activity if released pending trial. She said he has no criminal record and that a detention motion "would not be fruitful" when argued before a judge. Torres will be released with conditions of supervision including reporting to pretrial services every week, alternating between reporting by phone and in person. As conditions of his release, he was ordered not to drive and to refrain from excessive use of alcohol. At the hearing, Hudson County Superior Court Judge Nesle Rodriguez also ordered Torres to have no contact with those who survived the crash and no contact with family members of those who died. Torres' license was suspended for failing to pay a parking ticket and for failing to turn in the license plates of a vehicle he sold, according to his lawyer, Edward J. Mullins III. The attorney said Torres' license has since been reinstated and asked Rodriguez to allow his client to drive to and from his job at a Secaucus warehouse. The judge told Mullens to provide proof that the license has been restored and she would consider it. Mullens also said Torres' supervisor at work is the uncle of one of the victims. The judge told Mullens that if he could show that Torres could work without coming into contact with the uncle, she would consider that as well. A family member of one of the victims was in court for the hearing but he chose not to comment. Torres' next hearing is scheduled for Friday before Hudson County Superior Court Judge Paul DePascale in the Hudson County Administration Building in Jersey City. BAYONNE -- Police arrested and charged a man involved in a number of burglaries of delis and convenience stores over a two-week span this month, authorities said. On Wednesday, police arrested Mina Demain, 35, of Avenue E, after an investigation by city detectives found he had broken into a number of stores on Kennedy Boulevard and one on Avenue C, police said. On March 2, Demain first burglarized the Fresh Mart at 650 Kennedy Blvd, police say. Then, on March 13, he hit the Tigers Deli and A Sharp Deli on Kennedy Boulevard and Avenue C, respectively; and, five days later, he burglarized the A&D Family Deli, authorities said. In all of the incidents, the 35-year-old used a prying tool to enter the locations through the front door. He left with cash and lottery tickets. He was arrested yesterday after fleeing through the back of his residence when police knocked on his front door, authorities said. Demain was charged with three counts of burglary and theft and one count of attempted burglary -- he failed to gain entry into A Sharp Deli -- police said. "A well executed and determined investigation led to the swift apprehension of an individual adversely effecting the quality of life enjoyed by the citizens of Bayonne and Bayonne's business owners," Lt. Eric Amato said. Corey W. McDonald may be reached at cmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @coreymacc. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook. JERSEY CITY -- A Union City man charged with sexually assaulting his nieces last week now faces charges that he molested his own daughters, authorities say. On Saturday, the 42-year-old was charged with sexual assault by contact, endangering the welfare of a child and two counts of aggravated sexual assault regarding his 16-year-old niece when she was 5 and 6 years old, the criminal complaint says. He was also charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault by contact and endangering the welfare of an 11-year-old niece when she was 10 years old, the complaint says. Those charges were filed after one of the nieces participating in a school abuse workshop said her uncle had abused her. She later told detectives that she believes the defendant also touched her cousins, the defendant's daughters, the complaint says. That led Hudson County Prosecutor's Office Special Victims Unit detectives to continue the investigation and file the additional charges. When they spoke to the daughters, they said their father had touched them inappropriately, the complaint says. On Tuesday, he was charged with two counts of aggravated criminal sexual contact and endangering the welfare of one of his daughters when she was 15, the complaint says. Finally, he was charged with sexual assault by contact and endangering the welfare of a second daughter when she was 9, the complaint says. The man's identity is being withheld to shield the identity of the alleged victims. The 42-year-old made his first appearance on the charges related to his daughters yesterday in Criminal Justice Reform Court via video link from Hudson County jail in Kearny. He appeared in CJRC on the charges related to his nieces on Wednesday. At the hearing, the state moved to detain the defendant through the course of his prosecution and a detention hearing was scheduled. JERSEY CITY A 21-year-old Jersey City man who accidentally shot an innocent bystander in the back of the head during a shootout was sentenced to 16 years in prison today. James Wheeler pleaded guilty to the aggravated manslaughter of Larry Darnell Freeman, 50, who was shot on Sackett Street between Atlantic Street and Bramhall Avenue on May 27, 2015 while the father of five was working on a car. "This is truly a tragic incident that culminated in the death of a completely innocent man," said Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Adam Salzer, who called Freeman a good, had-working man who had overcome disabilities. Defense attorney Wanda Akin said the fatal shooting was retaliation and that Wheeler had been chased and shot at earlier that day. "This was a shootout that is all too common among young African-American men who are perpetrators and victims of gun violence, not only in Hudson County but across the country," Akin said. Akin said Wheeler has an 11th grade education and that he and his five siblings were removed from their home as children by the Division of Youth and Family Service due to conditions there. She said her client admitted being "on pills and weed" on the day of the shooting. Marion Freeman told Hudson County Superior Court Judge Vincent Militello that words cannot describe the pain and anguish her family has been through since her brother was killed. "The defendant's decision to take the life of a human being with no regard for the effects it would have on others is unimaginable," the sister said. "The sentence certainly will not bring Larry back, but it is our hope that it will deter the defendant from committing such a horrendous crime again." Salzer noted that Wheeler was arrested nine times as a juvenile and adjudicated delinquent in eight of those cases. He said Wheeler didn't have an adult record because he was only 18 at the time of the shooting. Wheeler apologized to the victim's family before being sentenced. "I made a poor decision," Wheeler said. "Unfortunately, I made a bad mistake. I'll take the consequences like a man and do my time and I hope the family can find it in their hearts to forgive me." In sentencing Wheeler per the plea agreement, Militello noted that he put "tremendous weight" on the need to deter Wheeler from committing additional crimes. Wheeler and Marquis Allen, 20, where originally charged with Freeman's murder. Allen pleaded guilty to a firearm offense and was sentenced to seven years in prison this afternoon. Wheeler must serve nearly 14 years of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole. He has more than 1,000 days of jail credit. JERSEY CITY -- When Froylan Lopez found his friend knocked out and bleeding on a Jersey City street in December 2015, he made a fatal mistake that cost one man his life and 40 years of his own. Believing that Troy Brandon -- the man who was standing over his injured friend -- had carried out the attack, Lopez went back to his SUV and got a knife. He couldn't have been more wrong. Troy Brandon was not to blame for the violence -- he was merely a good Samaritan who dialed 911 and waited with the injured stranger while an ambulance rushed to the scene. Brandon, 26, only made it a few steps after Lopez plunged the knife into his chest piercing his heart, lung, and aorta on Dec. 5, 2015 at Monticello and Storms avenues. Today, Lopez, 30, was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the slaying and must serve more than 38 years of the term before becoming eligible for parole. A jury convicted him on Dec. 14, eight days after the trial began. When given the opportunity, Lopez spoke through a Spanish translator saying: "I am innocent. I didn't commit that crime. I didn't do it." "You received a fair trial before a jury of your peers," Hudson County Superior Court Judge John Young replied. "They didn't agree with you. I don't agree with you." The judge noted that the entire crime was captured on video. The footage also captured an unidentified man knocking out Lopez's friend and walking away before Brandon arrived. The judge said that denying his guilt in the face of the evidence "shows no remorse and is regretful." Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Leo Hernandez said Brandon came across a stranger in need and did what a good person would do -- he called 911. "Unfortunately, as we know, those responders came eventually for Troy, as he was found lying in a pool of his own blood after he was viciously attacked by the defendant. "He did what was right and he paid with his life," Hernandez added. Hernandez noted that Lopez is a native of Honduras and is in the United States illegally. He said many in Honduras would give all they have to come to the U.S. to make better lives for themselves, but Lopez came bringing violence and death. "Some people in this country want to build walls," the prosecutor said. "I don't know how effective those walls will be, but the walls this defendant will see for the next couple of decades will protect the people of New Jersey from his violent acts." Brandon's sister addressed the court tearfully saying she remembered the joy she felt when she was told she was going to be a big sister prior to her brother's birth. She spoke of the call telling her to get to the hospital quickly on the night he died. "I don't like to use the word hate but this is one time I can honestly say that's what I have," said Terina Brandon. "The pain I feel, you and your family will never understand... From the first time I looked at you in court and at every hearing until today, you have not shown no sign of remorse... You have no mercy." After Terina Brandon finished her statement, Young addressed the sister saying: "Please accept my condolences. Your brother died doing everything right." As Lopez was being led from court by sheriff's officers, the killer gave two thumbs up. Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met on Friday with his Indian counterpart, Minister Sushma Swaraj, in New Delhi where they discussed ways to boost bilateral cooperation in all fields between the two countries, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced. During the meeting, the two ministers signed two general framework agreements, one for political and the other for economic cooperation between the two countries. Egyptian-Indian economic cooperation was a central focus of the meeting, with Minister Shoukry inviting Indian investments into ongoing Egyptian endeavors such as the Suez Canal development project. The two ministers also discussed developments in ongoing war on terrorism, as well as regional developments in the Middle East, especially in Syria as well the status of the peace process between the Israelis and Palestinians. Minister Shoukry also expressed that Egypt was looking forward to the visit of Indian PM Narendra Modi to Egypt. Modi was invited to visit Egypt by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi during the latter's visit to India in September 2016. From her side, India's FM Swaraj welcomed the visit of FM Shoukry to New Delhi. Minister Shoukry is currently in New Delhi to head Egypt's delegation to the 7th session of the joint Egyptian-Indian committee. Short link: JERSEY CITY Metropolitan AME Zion Church will honor Martin Luther King Jr. on the 50th anniversary of his appearance at that church in 1968, days before his assassination. The civil rights leader spoke to 2,000 inside the Bergen Avenue church on March 27, 1968 as part of a tour of New Jersey intended to garner support for his "Poor People's Campaign." The campaign was going to launch that April with a march in Washington, D.C. King used the speech to protest the war in Vietnam and pledge non-violent activism. The Rev. Nathaniel B. Legay, the church's pastor, said he hopes Tuesday's event will inspire young people to learn more about King. "We just really want to make sure young people are exposed to the information about him," Legay said. Saint Peter's University, which granted King an honorary doctor of law degree in 1965, and Jersey City's cultural affairs department are co-sponsoring the three-hour event, which will begin at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, March 27 at Metropolitan AME Zion Church, 597 Bergen Ave. The public is invited. Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook. After the yearlong battle by The Jersey Journal to obtain the $1.5 million-plus legal settlement between the city of Bayonne and a family pepper-sprayed by police, one question persists. Why did Bayonne and its insurer spend 12 months and tens of thousands of public dollars trying to keep the details of a taxpayer-funded legal settlement away from the public's eyes? The parties responsible for answering those questions aren't talking emails seeking comment from the lawyers who argued that the settlement should remain private were not answered. But outside observers say there is a larger effort by public entities statewide to keep legal settlements like the one involving the Walsh family under wraps. "It's reprehensible and against public policy," said John Paff, a fervent public-records requester who lives in Cumberland County. "The whole purpose is to suppress the truth." WALSH CASE The Walsh settlement dates back to a November 2014 federal lawsuit filed against Bayonne and its police department by Brandon and his mother, Kathy, Walsh and other members of their family. They asserted that when police arrested Brandon Walsh at their home 11 months prior, beating him with a flashlight, cops also pepper-sprayed Kathy Walsh and the chemical irritant spread to other family members in the house, making everyone, even the family dog, sick. After the family settled with Bayonne in March 2017, The Jersey Journal filed an Open Public Records Act request for the document. Bayonne denied this newspaper's request. For the next year, the two sides met in federal and county courtrooms, with Bayonne and attorneys for New Jersey Intergovernmental Insurance Fund, the city's insurer. A Hudson County Superior Court judge ordered Bayonne and NJIIF to release the settlement, an order the two parties appealed. They argued that the federal judge overseeing the Walsh case had sealed it. After the state Supreme Court declined to hear the parties' appeal, the city last Friday emailed a redacted copy of the agreement to lawyers for The Jersey Journal. The settlement shows at least $1 million was paid to the Walsh family and their attorney and $551,000 will be paid to Brandon Walsh over the next 25 years. Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis said NJIIF led the charge to keep the Walsh settlement confidential. Emails seeking comment from Eric J. Nemeth, general counsel for NJIIF, and Daniel M. Santarsiero, who argued in court on NJIIF's behalf in the Walsh settlement case, were not returned. A phone call seeking comment from Michael Kronyak, the NJIIF chair, was not returned. In its 2015 audit, NJIIF reported receiving $632,655 from Bayonne and $8.6 million total from 20 municipalities. In court, Santarsiero argued that releasing details of the settlement would put the Walsh family at risk, especially two children who were plaintiffs in the federal suit. Paff said he believes NJIIF is exhibiting a pattern. "This is the second time I've seen this insurance fund involved in legal matters I believe are excessive," he said. "I have no idea why they're so hell bent on it." 'THE PUBLIC SHOULD KNOW' The first case Paff is referring to began with a 2012 incident in Roselle Park. An off-duty cop verbally sparred with a woman, Lorraine Selecky, at a Redbox DVD rental kiosk in a 7-Eleven parking lot in that Union County borough. After receiving a summons in the mail from that officer accusing her of parking in a handicapped spot Selecky was eventually acquitted Selecky sued Roselle Park for violating her civil rights. The two sides settled and Selecky received $15,000 from NJIIF, Roselle Park's insurer. The settlement agreement included a confidentiality clause. Despite that clause, the settlement remained a public document. Paff received a copy and he posted it on his blog, leading to a story in the Star-Ledger about the episode. The newspaper spoke to Selecky and her attorney, Joel Rachmiel. NJIIF sued Selecky and Rachmiel, claiming the two violated the confidentiality clause. NJIIF, which wanted 50 percent of the settlement amount returned, lost at the trial and appellate levels when Rachmiel argued he and Selecky discussed only the initial municipal matter, not the subsequent lawsuit, with the Ledger reporter. Rachmiel told The Jersey Journal NJIIF's pursuit of him and Selecky and its legal fight over the Walsh settlement amount to "a waste of money." Settlements involving taxpayer dollars or public employees deserve scrutiny, he said. "If there are bad cops out there, or public employees doing bad things, the public should know," Rachmiel said. MONMOUTH COUNTY CASE Paff himself was involved in a case that led state judges to rule that OPRA can trump a public entity's wish to keep a legal settlement confidential. In 2005, Monmouth County employee Carol Melnick sued that county's freeholder board and county employees, alleging sexual discrimination. The parties settled in 2007 and included in the agreement a confidentiality clause. Paff and the Asbury Park Press sued to get the agreement. They lost at the trial level but an appellate panel in 2009 ruled in their favor, a decision affirmed unanimously in 2010 by the state Supreme Court. The judges dismissed the county's argument that the confidentiality clause in the agreement made it exempt from OPRA. "A former county employee chose to file a public action -- a complaint against the county which was available to the public," the judges said. "Had the matter not settled, the lawsuit would have unfolded in a public trial, and any outcome would have been revealed in open court. To expect privacy in the outcome of a lawsuit against the county, then, is hardly reasonable and runs counter to OPRA's core concern of transparency in government." Paff said he doesn't understand why, knowing the details of that case, any lawyer would fight a newspaper's effort to obtain a legal settlement involving taxpayer dollars. John Leubsdorf, a professor at Rutgers Law School, offered one potential explanation. "It's possible they don't want to encourage other, similar claims," Leubsdorf said. Asked for his own best guess, Paff said NJIIF's argument likely boils down to this: "We have a lot of money and we're going to litigate because we can." Attorney Walter Luers told The Jersey Journal even just the amount of a settlement can tell the public a lot of a given case. Luers, who is also president of the New Jersey Foundation for Open Government, concentrates on matters involving the state's public-records and public-meetings laws. "A settlement that's $1.5 million at least shows that something happened here. You don't pay $1.5 million on frivolous claims," Luers said. "So we know that something happened here. And it's bad press, it's bad PR, it may encourage other attorneys to be more aggressive. It may encourage other attorneys to push the envelope a little more." Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook. NORTH BERGEN -- A 57-year-old woman who died in a house fire Wednesday afternoon had gone back inside the building to rescue her missing dog, neighbors said. Kimberly Henson was found dead on the second floor of 1502 43rd St. after the 4:30 p.m. blaze was extinguished, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez announced. The fire grew to two alarms and firefighters from Jersey City, Hoboken, and the North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue assisted in extinguishing the blaze. Henson was found near her dog, who was also dead, inside the building -- the only legal rooming house in North Bergen -- near Grand Avenue. Outside the two-story building on Thursday afternoon, residents were growing frustrated that they were unable to go back inside the charred out home to collect their belongings. Building officials told a group gathering outside that the building was "unsafe." A structural engineer was assessing the building. A displaced resident, who did not provide his name, said he had just arrived home when the fire started. Henson had already been outside but ran back inside, likely to find her dog. "I don't know why she went back in," he said. "You could see how bad it is." The man said it appeared that something on the first floor caught fire and other residents tried to put it out themselves. The object that had been burning was moved from one room to another, causing the fire to quickly spread, he said. About a dozen people we displaced by the fire. The fire also caused heavy damage to the two neighboring buildings. The fire does not appear to be suspicious and no arrests have been made. The prosecutor's homicide unit is investigating the incident with the North Bergen Police Department, the North Hudson Regional Fire Department and the New Jersey State Division of Fire Safety. Anyone with information is asked to call 201-915-1345. Caitlin Mota may be reached at cmota@jjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitlin_mota. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook. Doctors would decide which patients should use marijuana as medicine instead of being limited by a narrow list of eligible diseases set by law, under a sweeping medical marijuana overhaul approved by a state Assembly panel Thursday. The measure that cleared the Assembly Health Committee would also allow registered patients to buy up to four ounces of cannabis, or twice as much as they are permitted to obtain now. It would also allow 12 cultivators and 40 dispensaries instead of the existing six, which are permitted to both grow and sell, according to the bill. The dispensaries and cultivators would be divided evenly in the northern, central and southern regions of the state, including the six who are already licensed to grow and sell. Many of the changes contained in the bill are under consideration by the Murphy administration, which is winding down a 60-day audit of the state medical marijuana program. Gov. Phil Murphy is expected within the next week to announce major rule changes to make cannabis more accessible, in response to years-old criticisms the Christie administration had imposed too many barriers to limit participation. The bill (A3740/A3437) is a mash-up of a measure (A3437) sponsored by Assemblymen Reed Gusciora, D-Mercer, and Tim Eustace, D-Bergen, and that of Assemblyman Herb Conaway, D-Burlington, who chairs the health committee. One of the major differences between the two is Conaway's bill repeals the list of qualifying conditions. "We are putting patients and physicians in control," said Conaway, who is a medical doctor. "I'm also hopeful with better access, we will be able to de-escalate (the use of) opioids and reduce risk of unintended addiction and death." The state medicinal marijuana program serves 18,220 patients, who rely on five alternative treatment centers that both grow and sell cannabis. A sixth, Harmony Foundation, is expected to open in Secaucus sometime in the spring -- seven years after the state approved the dispensary's application. Advocates of the program say enrollment has been suppressed in many ways, but largely by not including chronic pain as a qualifying condition. A medical advisory panel last year recommended the Christie administration allow chronic pain, anxiety, and Tourette syndrome, but the health department never approved the expanded list. The bill also would: Abolish the public listing of physicians registered with the program; Slash the cost of patient registration from $200 every two years to $50, and charge indigent patients $10 instead of $20. Reverse the rule limiting the sale of edible cannabis products to minors; Permit a pediatrician alone to recommend a minor for the program, dismissing a requirement that a psychiatrist also must sign off; Require doctors to report patients to the state's prescription monitoring program to track usage. Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi, R-Bergen, abstained from voting because the committee had little time to review the revised legislation that was presented minutes before the hearing began. "For an issue this important, lets do this right," she said. Assemblyman Joe Danielson, D-Somerset, voted yes, but with reservations. "There's an undeniable need for the benefits of this product," Danielson said. But said he was troubled that the work that goes in a laboratory making extracts and edibles is not regulated. "Unlike the pharmaceutical industry, there are no standards." The bill, which cleared the committee 6-2 with two abstentions, must pass the full Assembly, then repeat the process in the Senate before it gets to the governor's desk. If Murphy signs it, the law would take effect within 90 days. Murphy campaigned on a platform to legalize and tax recreational marjuana, but he's made improving the medicinal program his first priority. NJ Advance Media Staff Writer Payton Guion contributed to this report. Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. Scott L. Mielentz used to be a hardworking IT guy who was engaged with his family and liked to go to the beach. But after PTSD from his Army days and physical injuries caught up with him, the father of two became a self-described "loner" who suffered from hallucinations, anxiety and depression, according to information found in public records. Scott Mielentz Mielentz, 56, stormed a Panera Bread restaurant in Princeton with a gun Tuesday morning and, hours after everyone in the restaurant had fled, was shot to death by police. Documents filed in an ongoing bankruptcy case revealed that the Lawrenceville man who caused dozens of cops and negotiators to descend on the bustling street, prompting businesses to close and schools to shelter-in-place, was buried in debt and suffering from mental health problems. Members of his immediate family either declined to comment, did not respond or could not be reached. He previously lived with his daughter in Newtown, Pennsylvania, but had been staying for about two months at a home on Princeton Pike in Lawrence, records show. At the house Thursday his roommate, who declined to give his name, said Mielentz kept to himself. It's similar to what Mielentz said of himself in his 2014 application for disability benefits, in which he described avoiding social situations and keeping to himself as he dealt with constant pain, anxiety and depression. The application, which includes statements from Mielentz and his estranged wife, was included in bankruptcy filings because the government said he was overpaid benefits. Mielentz, his wife and his attorney described how he spent 20 years doing contracted IT work for companies including NESCO and Bank of America, though his physical and mental health deteriorated around 2010, affecting his ability to work. Mielentz said in his deposition that he had been "in a psychiatric ward for a bit of time," but did not elaborate. Attorney Patricia Mayer, who declined to comment, wrote in documents that he served in the Army Rangers in Laos in the late 1970s and "suffers from hallucinations, flashbacks and anxiety related to that time in the service." However, the Vietnam War ended in 1975. Mielentz could have been enlisted at 18 in 1979, but Army Ranger training takes a substanital amount of time. NJ Advance Media has sought military records to confirm his service, but they have yet to be provided. In his application for disability benefits, Mielentz said he had herniated discs and degenerative disc disease that made it hard to do activities or even sleep for more than a few hours. He also described cognitive issues, including an inability to concentrate, handle stress, or remember things. He wrote that it changed his ability to socialize. Screengrab from U.S. District Court documents His wife described him as depressed, anxious, unmotivated and in constant pain. "Before he worked all the time, more interested in family, not now," she wrote. "Lost interest." The application makes no mention of Mielentz being violent or even aggressive. His wife answered a question about his reactions to authority by saying he could get "agitated" or "unnerved." U.S. District Court documents She also wrote that his mental health issues meant he began to have "no common sense" with money and couldn't pay bills because it scared him to "see [the money] go." Court records show Mielentz had serious financial problems, owing a total of $122,498 in credit card and medical bills, student loans and back taxes when he filed for bankruptcy in 2016. He had also filed for bankruptcy when he lived in Jupiter, Florida in 2003. Among his creditors was the Social Security Administration, which sued him to make sure they got back the $29,562 in benefits they paid him after he had gone back to work. He maintained that he informed the government on three occasions that he was working, but the payments continued. They settled on a deal that had him paying $4,562 in $100 monthly installments. Meanwhile, the Attorney General's Office remains tight-lipped about the circumstances that led to Mielentz's death. Citing the ongoing investigation, a spokesman for the office declined to answer questions Friday about which law enforcement agency fired the shot, and what actions by Mielentz caused an officer to fire on him. The Attorney General's Office's Shooting Response team is conducting the deadly force investigation, as it does whenever the officer who fired is a county, state or federal officer, as opposed to a municipal officer. On Thursday morning, the shopping area across Nassau Street from the Princeton campus seemed back to normal, though the windows of the closed Panera were covered in paper to prevent anyone from looking inside. Mielentz entered the eatery with a gun around 10 a.m. Tuesday and staff and customers fled out a back door, authorities said. None were injured. Within minutes, the street was shut down and police were crouched behind vehicles with guns drawn on the restaurant. The Attorney General's Office said negotiators tried to get him to surrender, but did not say if they were able to speak to him by phone or any other means. The Panera Bread remained closed Friday. A message on the restaurant's voicemail said they were working to reopen as soon as possible. Reporter Olivia Rizzo contributed to this story. This story was updated to reflect that there are questions about Mielentz's military service record. Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Inspired by the heroism of the rescue workers who responded when the planes hit the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, Kerry Ann Mansueto set out 15 years ago to become the first female career firefighter in Carteret. When the terrorists attacked, Mansueto was attending a meeting at the World Trade Center as a marketing director contracted with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. She escaped, but several of her colleagues died. But she says her dream quickly became a nightmare: Seven years of relentless harassment and hostility from male colleagues in a Carteret firehouse. Unwanted sexual advances. A texted photo of male genitalia. And then something even more alarming -- a firecall in 2010 when, she says, her fellow crewmen abandoned her in a burning building. Mansueto, a volunteer firefighter, left the Carteret fire department before she even had a chance to become a career, or paid, firefighter. She filed a discrimination lawsuit against the Middlesex County borough in 2011, winning $1.1 million in a settlement. Details of her time in the department were revealed in the lawsuit, but Mansueto has been wary of giving a full account of her story -- until now. Kerry Mansueto, center, at the scene of a fire in Carteret on Nov. 3, 2010. (Courtesy of Kerry Mansueto) Emboldened by the #MeToo movement, the 44-year-old contacted NJ Advance Media to tell her experience of trying to succeed in a predominantly male environment and the outright aggression, opposition and relentless harassment she said she encountered every step of the way. "People have no idea what actually takes place in the fire house," Mansueto said. "You wouldn't even believe if I told you the reality of what takes place in a fire house." The harassment drove her out of firefighting and forced her to abandon her desire to turn her 9/11 experience into something positive, she said. "I was just so devastated, so heartbroken," Mansueto said. "To just know that everything -- everything that I went through, everything that I fought for, everything that I lost -- was for nothing." Hostile work environment In a recent, two-hour interview, Mansueto spoke forcefully about her path to serving as a career firefighter and the brutal harassment that stood in her way. Mansueto started as a volunteer with the Carteret department in 2003. But almost from the start, she said, she encountered a hostile environment. Kerry Mansueto speaks at her attorney's office in Nutley. (Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) The harassment began in June 2004, when an EMT at the firehouse commented in explicit terms about sexual things he wanted to do to her, Mansueto said. After he continued to harass her for several months, she said she filed a formal complaint with the fire department, and an investigation conducted by Carteret was inconclusive. Eventually, between seven and 10 career firefighters out of roughly 25 participated in the harassment, Mansueto said. There were no female firefighters on the career side of the department while Mansueto served there. Even now, there are no female career firefighters in Carteret, the borough attorney said. Mansueto described a boy's club atmosphere at the firehouse, which had not been outfitted for a female firefighter. The firefighters used to walk around in their underwear and cut out naked pictures of women and put them in the bathroom, she said. "They wear you down," she said. "I went in confident. ... By the time I walked out of there, I was beaten down. I had no self-esteem." In November 2010, she said she was left in a house that was on fire when the other firefighters left the building through a back route and did not tell her they were leaving. They were on a different floor from her, she said, and didn't blow a horn like they normally do when they evacuate. "I think that they just didn't want a girl in their department, and I think ... they saw an opportunity to either scare me to death, injure me or just convince me that I should just not take this career job," Mansueto said. Carteret Mayor Daniel Reiman in 2014 said an investigation had found no credible evidence that "a firefighter ever left another firefighter inside a burning building." Soon after the house fire, Mansueto said the mayor's office called her to schedule an interview for a career firefighting position. She said she decided she could not handle continuing to work in the department, turned down the meeting and later filed a lawsuit. "I just wanted to be a firefighter, that was it. I just wanted to be treated fairly, that was it," Mansueto said. Mansueto's lawsuit alleged firefighters and EMTs exchanged rumors about her sex life and accused her of having sexual relationships with various men. She also claimed her application to become a part-time EMT was needlessly delayed and that firefighters and EMTs purposely discredited her. The harassment took its toll, she said. By the time the settlement was reached, Mansueto said her marriage had disintegrated and she was struggling to find other work. She eventually earned a second master's degree in healthcare administration and entered that field. Only 1 firefighter has been punished In the settlement Mansueto reached with Cartertet in 2014, the borough agreed to pay $1.1 million and to discipline four firefighters accused of harassment. The settlement agreement did not identify the firefighters, and Mansueto declined to name them. Carteret's insurance carrier paid Mansueto $664,863. Her attorneys received $407,636, and her counseling service received $27,500 for medical fees. More than three years after the settlement took effect, the terms have not fully been enacted. One of the four firefighters served a suspension, another is appealing his termination and two others have not yet had disciplinary hearings, the borough attorney, Robert Bergen, said in an interview. The firefighter who was suspended served his 180-day suspension beginning in 2015, and his salary decreased from $97,329 to $66,352, Bergen said. A hearing officer recommended a second firefighter's employment be terminated, Bergen said. He said a state trial in that firefighter's appeal is scheduled for the coming months. Carteret is seeking to terminate the other two firefighters who were supposed to be disciplined, but Bergen said the borough was waiting to see how the state rules in the appeal of the other firefighter before proceeding. The other two hearings are "in the process of being scheduled," Bergen said, but he declined to specify when they will happen. Carteret Fire Chief Mark Hruska, who was the president of Carteret's FMBA Union when Mansueto worked there, deferred comment to Bergen. An attorney listed in the settlement agreement for the firefighters, Susan K. O'Connor, did not respond to requests for comment. It's not "ideal" that the Carteret firefighter's disciplinary process has taken this long, but it's also "not unusual," said Jim Cooney, a professor at Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations and an attorney who handled public sector civil service cases. The settlement also required Carteret to "exercise its best efforts" to implement biannual harassment and discrimination training. The training is now offered every other year, but is not written into any borough policy, Bergen said. An outside attorney, Mark Kluger of Tinton Falls-based Kluger and Healey LLC, confirmed he provides this training to the borough every other year. These days, Mansueto said she chooses not to think much about the firefighters who have not been disciplined. "It is not my place to judge them, nor punish them," she said. "In fact, every evening when I pray, I pray for every one of them, and I thank God for my experience." She said she is now speaking out about her time as a firefighter because she wants other women in public service industries to know help is available for people who are used to aiding others. "I was in an industry where we are the help," Mansueto said. "... There needs to be hope for women that are out there that are in industries such as this." Marisa Iati may be reached at miati@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Iati or on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Follow Sara Jerde on Twitter @SaraJerde. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips A police sergeant is facing criminal charges after he pointed his gun at the head of a recruit, authorities said. The arrest of Sgt. Matthew Brady on aggravated assault charges stems from a Nov. 15, 2016, incident in which Class One Officer Thomas Schiermeyer asked Brady a question while Schiermeyer and other police recruits were filing out paperwork inside the Seaside Park Municipal Building, Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato and Seaside Heights Police Chief Murphy Larkin said in a statement Thursday. The incident was brought to the attention of the Internal Affairs Unit of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office by members of the Seaside Park Police Department, authorities said. Brady was processed on a summons and released. He is suspended without pay from the Seaside Park Police Department. Larkin did not return a call immediately seeking comment. Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AllisonPries. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Two days after a nor'easter hit the state for the fourth time in a month, about 15,000 homes and businesses primarily in South Jersey remain without power Friday though most could be restored by midnight. The 9,000 customers who had their power go out during the storm on Wednesday are top priority, Atlantic City Electric spokesman Frank Tedesco said. The 6,000 who faced lost power following the storm may have to wait a little bit longer. "The majority of outages we've seen after the storm passes were from weakened trees, tree branches that continued to fall on our infrastructure," Tedesco said. "That requires rebuilding infrastructure, we have to prioritize restoration efforts." He said Atlantic City Electric crews are working 12- to 16-hour shifts. About 2,000 workers, including some from out of state, are assisting in the restoration efforts. Delmarva, PECO, PSE&G, and JCP&L are among the sister utility companies lending a hand to Atlantic City Electric crews on Friday, he said. "We expect to make great progress and restoration today," Tedesco said. Major tree damage, broken poles and downed wires are some challenges crews face as they repair local energy grids. (Courtesy Atlantic City Electric) Some customers like Shoanne Courtade in the Laurel Lake section of Commercial Township in Cumberland County have been frustrated by the progress. "I get why it took long to get (power) back up since it is a town in the woods," said Courtade. "But like myself, I am seeing many people angry at customer service giving multiple ETA's for when it will return, insisting it was back on at some point." Courtade has been without power since 3 a.m. Thursday. She said crews were working on downed wires Friday morning, though the live wires have been on the ground since Wednesday afternoon. Customers are encouraged to continue reporting power outages and downed wires to Atlantic City Electric using the website, mobile app or contact the company at 1-800-833-7476. Loading... To report downed wires or power outages and track outages live: PSE&G: Call the utility's customer Service line at 1-800-436-PSEG. Click here to view the company's live outage map. JCP&L: Call 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877) or click "Report Outage" link on www.jcp-l.com. In the event of downed wires, customers should immediately contact the utility or their local police or fire department. Click here to view JCP&L's live outage map. Atlantic City Electric: Customers can report outages by calling 1-800-833-7476, visiting www.atlanticcityelectric.com or through the utility's mobile app, available for download here. Click here to view ACE's live power outage map. Rockland Electric Co: The utility, which serves customers in northern Passaic and Bergen Counties, can be reached at 1-877-434-4100. To view Rockland Electric's live outage map, click here. Sophie Nieto-Munoz may be reached at snietomunoz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her at @snietomunoz. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Imagine walking down the aisle at your local Walmart and finding a robot in addition to that box of macaroni and cheese or flashlight you came in the store to buy. Walmart has begun testing 6-foot-tall robots that can identify missing, misplaced, mislabeled or mispriced items at stores in Arkansas, Pennsylvania and California and will eventually expand the testing to 50 other locations. Walmart has begun testing shelf-scanning robots at several stores The information is then passed along to stock-shelving employees who will correct the mistakes. Jeremy King, chief technology officer for Walmart U.S. and e-commerce, told Reuters that the robots are 50 percent more productive than their employees and can scan shelves three times faster. However, he insists that the robots wont take the place of any of their workers. 'If you are running up and down the aisle and you want to decide if we are out of Cheerios or not, a human doesn't do that job very well, and they don't like it," King said. A release from Walmart states the robot will free up time for its associates to "focus on what they tell us are the most important and exciting parts of working at Walmart - serving customers and selling merchandise." No word yet on whether or not any New Jersey stores are among the 50 locations where the robots will be tested next. The retail giant recently announced that it will be shuttering one of its stores in Hunterdon County. This week on "Overgrown Man-Child Weekly" we'll discuss the president and his burning desire to reignite the failed drug war by imposing capitol punishment on drug dealers. President Trump, who never met a briefing paper he couldn't ignore, has convinced himself that the opioid epidemic is the direct result of blood thirsty drug dealers forcing their poison into our red, white and blue veins. His solution is to establish roving death squads to apprehend, try and execute said dealers on the spot, just like they do in the Philippines and wherever Judge Dredd is from. At least that's what I think he said, I didn't watch they whole thing. (Update: Nevermind the whole death squad thing, he just wants to give drug dealers the death penalty. I googled it.) It's a plan hatched by the mind of an eleven year old and has zero chance of working for a number of reasons. First and foremost it completely ignores the source of the opioid epidemic currently ravaging the country. 4 out of 5 opioid addicts became addicted through legally prescribed pills. The relentless marketing of these drugs has resulted in wide spread over prescription in the name of pain reduction. For years now doctors, some of whom are unscrupulous and completely aware of what they're doing, have been handing out opioids like the lollipops on the reception desk. Patients get addicted to the pills, which the drug companies marketed as safe and addiction resistant, and when the money or supply run out they move onto much cheaper and just as readily available heroin. Wide variations in purity and potency lead to thousands of overdoses daily. The lucky ones survive and statistically speaking will go on to overdose again. 66,000 people will overdose this year and not come back. The place to start is not with the drug dealers, who will always be there to supply the drugs as long as there is a demand, but at the source of the demand, the pill mills and drug companies that enable them. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. In his first interview with the press since he took office in 2016, Egyptian Minister of Interior Magdy Abdel-Ghafar announced that that from 2014 to 2017 Egyptian security forces arrested 19,108 terrorist elements with huge quantities of weapons and ammunitions. In the interview with weekly Al-Ahram Al-Arabi magazine, Abdel-Ghafar also revealed that terrorist attacks notably reduced from 481 in 2014 to only 22 in 2017 in Egypt. He also added that in the previous four years, the Egyptian security forces, in cooperation with other security services both domestic and abroad, managed to conduct preemptive security strikes that enabled them to destroy 992 terrorist hideouts and to confiscate 2322 different weapons as well hundreds of thousands of pieces of munitions. The minister also added that the security forces were able to confiscate 1511 explosive belts and explosive devices. "We cannot depend solely on the security confrontation to terrorism, the responsibility goes to the state's institutions to raise the awareness of the citizens especially the youth to protect them from radicalism," the minister said in the interview. Speaking about next weeks presidential election, which he described as a major global event, the minister said that a comprehensive plan has been put to secure the elections, and to guarantee the process will be successful nationwide, through facilitating and providing voters with all security, support and safety. "Terrorists, Lies and plots" Abdel-Ghaffar described terrorism as the most dangerous phenomenon and said that many European countries have been subject to terrorist attacks on their territory, committed by their citizens, who have joined terrorist groups in conflict zones in the region. With the success in combating these groups in Syria and Iraq, and the loss of those territories, as well as the fleeing of these groups' members to their home countries or to neighbouring countries, the threats and danger of possible attacks are increasing, the minister said, therefore the ministry is taking preemptive procedures to guarantee those elements will not infiltrate Egypt. The minister also said that Egypt had discovered a hostile plot that aims to defame the image of the country, and is being conducted by Muslim Brotherhood fugitives in Qatar and Turkey. Abdel-Ghaffar said that information had revealed that a plan aimed at fomenting a state of anger among citizens, as well as broadcasting false news and creating crises via the media, and included a number of Brotherhood-affiliated TV channels and websites. The leadership of the media committee for the plan is present in Qatar and Turkey, the minister said, and these leaders are fugitives. The government has arrested elements inside Egypt who are carrying out the plans of fugitive Brotherhood leaders and taken legal procedures against them, Abdel-Ghaffar said. "All procedures are taken in accordance with the constitution and law as well human rights principles," he asserted. Egypt and human rights Abdel-Ghaffar said that his ministry had revealed the falsehood of allegations by the Brotherhood claiming the existence of human rights violations, and forced disappearance of young Egyptians. The allegations aim at distorting Egypt's image in the international arena, he said, and claim that security institutions are involved in such acts; however he said these lies had been covered, referring to examples including the incident of Zobaida Ibrahim Younis, which he said had not been tortured or forcibly disappeared, as had been claimed. Abdel-Ghaffar also referred to the escalation by some international organisations that claim to have reports on human rights conditions in Egypt, also comes amid the suspected role of these organisations, and what he described as their link to the terrorist Brotherhood group, which aims at obstructing the success of Egypt internally and internationally. The minister said that a number of procedures had been taken to improve the human rights system in the ministry, including establishing a human rights department, raising awareness among the ministry's employees, and intensifying surveillance on police stations and other places where detainees were held.Abdel-Ghafar also stressed that the ministry has not taken any exceptional procedures during the fight against terrorism. Illegal migration and human trafficking Concerning undocumented immigration, Minister Abdel-Ghafer announced that a new department has been founded to fight human trafficking. He also stated that from 2017 till today, 103 cases of undocumented immigration were foiled in Egypt as well 361 cases of illegal crossing of Egyptian borders, and 4419 non-legal migrants have been arrested from different nationalities. He also added the phenomenon of undocumented migration by sea from Egyptian shores has stopped thanks to a 2016 law that criminalized such activities with penalties ranging from a fine of EGP 200 all the way up to life imprisonment. Short link: NORTH BETHESDA, Md. -- When Jordan Klepper, the host of Comedy Central's "The Opposition," wanted to focus his show on gun control in advance of Saturday's march on Washington, he chose to interview some high school students and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker. "He's passionate about this topic and has been for some time," Klepper said in an interview after the taping. "What is so important right now is just trying to talk to somebody who's actively trying to keep this issue in the public's eye and trying to make something happen. "For us, when we were talking about how do we discuss this issue, Cory Booker was one of the first guys who jumped into our minds." That's how Booker, D-N.J., joined Klepper Thursday in a kid's room in this Washington suburb. Klepper sat in a chair in front of train posters. Booker got the bed. A group of high school students squeezed in on the floor. Klepper, who satirizes conservatives on his show, began by asking Booker to deliver this message to the students: "Can you just tell them this is a fad?" Booker said it was anything but. "Change has never in history come from Washington, it's come to Washington," Booker said, "People that marched and demonstrated brought change to Washington." The show's producers chose this particular location because it was the home of a high school senior who joined her classmates and used social media to find hundreds of beds for Saturday's student marchers. The demonstration was organized in the wake of the mass shooting at a South Florida high school last month. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York likened the protest to the anti-Vietnam War marches more than four decades earlier. "You're seeing the same energy with the young people today," Schumer said. Tonight's opponent Senator @CoryBooker will help us #ChaperoneDemocracy this weekend at the #MarchForOurLives . We'll see what he cares more about: gun control or proving that adults rule and kids drool. pic.twitter.com/0Y7BO0dxoU The Opposition w/ Jordan Klepper (@Klepper) March 22, 2018 Booker has been a leader of efforts to enact stronger gun laws, joining a Senate Democratic filibuster in June 2016 to force votes on such measures, and taking to the Senate floor last month to demand action. "To not act is to be complicit in the continued violence," he admonished his colleagues. Despite mass shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland and in Las Vegas last fall, congressional Republicans have refused to even consider legislation strongly favored by Americans, such as requiring background checks for purchases at gun shows and over the Internet. On the other hand, after the National Rifle Association spent $55 million to elect Donald Trump and keep Republican majorities in Congress, the GOP-controlled House voted to overrule state laws on concealed weapons permits. They also voted to prevent the Department of Veterans Affairs from reporting veterans deemed mentally incompetent to the database used for background checks. "A lot of the time, people in power often don't represent the views -- Republican or Democrat -- of the majority of their citizens," Booker said. "This is a time when the people want change." In a Quinnipiac University poll released last month, 97 percent of U.S. voters supported universal background checks, 67 percent backed a ban on military-style assault weapons, and 66 percent called for tougher gun laws. But they haven't voted that way. A majority, 54 percent, said they could support candidates even if they disagreed with their positions on gun rights. Just over one-third, 34 percent, said they could not. "I'm hopeful this election in November is going to be a referendum," Booker said. "If you are a person standing up and blocking, if you're in Congress right now and your blocking what 90 percent of Americans want, some of these common sense things, then you need to be voted out of office." Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. After lawmakers struck a deal with Gov. Chris Christie to cut New Jersey's sales tax in exchange for a big increase in the gas tax, Wall Street rating agencies warned the lost revenue would put the state in a financial jam and called it a "negative" for the state's credit outlook. On Thursday, one of those agencies called Gov. Phil Murphy's budget proposal to reverse his predecessor's tax cut and collect another $581 million a year "a positive step" for cash-starved state coffers. Fitch Ratings, in the first credit analysis of Murphy's inaugural state budget, praised such "fiscally prudent proposals" as reducing one-shot, or non-recurring, revenue sources, bolstering state surpluses and increased funding to the school funding formula in pursuit of full funding. Murphy's budget proposes to spend $37.4 billion, including $3.2 billion on employee pensions and $3.4 billion on health care while raising the property tax gross income tax deduction and creating a childcare tax credit. Murphy's new and increased spending initiatives are underwritten largely by natural growth in tax collections, an increase to taxes on millionaires and the return to a 7 percent sales tax. He's also proposing to tax carried interest, close corporate tax loopholes through combined reporting and legalize and tax marijuana. Fitch's analysts warned that tapping these sources of revenue now means the state won't have much flexibility to find new money later in the event of a downturn. Plus, even though Murphy wants to lift the state's reserves to more than $700 million, that's well below what experts recommend as a cushion. And despite the billions his budget recommends putting toward active and retiree employees' health care and pensions, analysts advised it's not enough to avoid piling on new unfunded liabilities. Following the path set by Christie, Murphy is contributing to the pension fund 60 percent of what's recommended by actuaries. Christie was raising payments by one-tenth of the actuarial recommendation each year. "Despite the $691 million increase to the pension contribution, Fitch would expect further deterioration in the funded condition of the plans over the near term as the contribution remains well below the (recommended contribution)," the analysis said. "Escalating pension and (medical) liabilities are expected to remain negative rating factors absent further policy action that reduces the liabilities, forestalling improvement in the state's (issuer default rating)." A 28-year-old New Jersey man whose mysterious disappearance sparked a wide search and outpouring of support for his family, has been found dead in Maryland, authorities said Friday. David Gipson Smith went missing from New Jersey in August. He was found dead in Maryland, police say. (Facebook) The body of David Gipson Smith was discovered by hikers Feb. 25 in northern Maryland about 100 miles from where he was last seen, according to the Howard County Police Department. Police said hikers found Smith's remains in Green Ridge State Forest in Flintstone in Allegheny County. The Maryland State Medical Examiner's Office ruled his cause of death as "undetermined," police said. Officials could also not say how long Smith, who they say was identified through dental records, had been dead. Smith, of Pilesgrove Township, is the son of Sharptown Church's Senior Pastor Doug Smith and his wife, Julie. Late Friday afternoon, the Smith family released a statement thanking those who have stood by them. "We want to express our sincere appreciation for each person in our church and community that (has) offered support and prayer since we learned of David's disappearance. The support of our church family at Sharptown Church and beyond have carried us. "As confirmation of David's death became public ... you have surrounded us with your love and prayers. Our words are inadequate to express our appreciation," the statement said. Smith disappeared Aug. 6, 2017. His parents had believed he was moving out to live nearby with a coworker, but it turned out he had gone to visit a woman he had known since 2016 in Howard County, west of Baltimore. That woman was busy and introduced David to one of her friends, according to Doug Smith. When he didn't return home and didn't respond to calls, his family notified Howard County Police that he was missing. The family says from what they have pieced together, David went with the second woman to a rural property in Lisbon, Maryland, also in Howard County, where she left him on Aug. 6, the place he was last seen. Today the Howard County Police Department and Maryland State Police came to the Smith home to inform them that David's... Posted by David Gipson Smith Memorial Page on Friday, March 23, 2018 Police said they conducted a "large-scale land and air search" of the area where he was last seen in Woodbine, Maryland. The church and local community in Salem County and beyond spread the word seeking information about David through social media and even made the trek to Maryland, distributing posters seeking information on his whereabouts. Smith's family said last fall that his disappearance came just at a time when David was making tremendous strides in battling his addiction to alcohol. "He got his life together and was moving in the right direction," Doug Smith said in October, adding, "any mom and dad who (have) a child who battles an addiction knows that a relapse is a possibility." Howard County police said they believed Smith had used drugs, possibly heroin, prior to his disappearance. On Oct. 30, hundreds gathered at Sharptown Church in Pilesgrove for a candlelight vigil for David. "It is nothing short of remarkable," Doug Smith said of the support shown at that event. A memorial service for David Smith will be held at Sharptown Church at a time yet to be determined. The Smith family also singled out Salem County Prosecutor John T. Lenahan, Sheriff Chuck Miller and Pennsville Chief of Police Allen J. Cummings for their "remarkable" help. A Howard County police spokesperson said the investigation into Smith's disappearance and death is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to contact authorities at 410-313-STOP or HCPDcrimetips@howardcountymd.gov. Bill Gallo Jr. may be reached at bgallo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Bill Gallo Jr. on Twitter @bgallojr. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips An Elizabeth tavern owner accused of biting his girlfriend's back during a fight appeared in court Thursday and was -- perhaps surprisingly -- released to the custody of her ex-husband. Michael Santos, the owner of Nugent's Tavern, an institution on Newark Avenue for the past 85 years, also had an arsenal at his apartment, with police seizing 16 handguns, 15 rifles and eight shotguns, Assistant Union County Prosecutor Karyn Weingarten said during a detention hearing. One of the rifles, a Ruger Mini-14, is on the list of banned assault weapons in New Jersey, police said. Michael Santos, left, the owner of Nugent's Tavern in Elizabeth, appears in Superior Court in Elizabeth for a detention hearing. His attorney Michael Campagna, is seated right. Santos, was arrested on Friday after police, responding to a call of a domestic dispute, found dozens of guns at his home, including an assault weapon banned in New Jersey, police said. (Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) Santos, 43, was charged with assault, terroristic threats, resisting arrest and unlawful possession of a weapon after the Sheridan Avenue apartment altercation shortly before dawn on Friday. Six of the handguns were not registered to Santos, Weingarten said. Union County Superior Court Judge Lara DiFabrizio let Santos out of jail on the condition that he remain under house arrest at the Clark home of the ex-husband of his alleged victim. He will wear an ankle bracelet to monitor, and he is not allowed to have contact with the alleged victim. Superior Court Judge Lara DiFrabrizio addresses the court. Michael Santos, the owner of Nugent's Tavern in Elizabeth, appears in Superior Court in Elizabeth for a detention hearing. Santos, was arrested on Friday after police, responding to a call of a domestic dispute, found dozens of guns at his home, including an assault weapon banned in New Jersey. (Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) Police responded to Santos' apartment after a downstairs neighbor called them to report that Santos had threatened to shoot him and that Santos' girlfriend might be in danger. In arguing for Santos' detention, Weingarten told DiFabrizio that she is concerned for the safety of the victim and the neighbor. "She's already intimidated," Weingarten said. "That will only be worse if (Santos) gets released." Santos' attorney, Michael Campagna, said his client's relationship with the woman is "different" and it sometimes gets "volatile." But, Campagna said, she is an integral part of Santos' life and has managed the bar in his absence. The woman was present at the hearing. From left to right: Michael Santos, attorney Michael Campagna and Assistant Union County Prosecutor Karyn Weingarten. (Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) Reading character letters submitted on Santos' behalf, Campagna said his client has deep ties to the community and runs fundraisers at his bar for police and the less fortunate. He "shows integrity and is loyal to his employees," one letter stated. Santos is "ambitious and hardworking," read another. "A non-violent person." Santos has a clean record, Campagna said. "The offense here was nothing more than yelling back and forth," Campagna said. DiFabrizio, the judge, responded, "the bite marks on the back are not a concern? It's more than just yelling back and forth." The victim's ex-husband testified at the hearing, saying Santos is "a good guy" who is a "positive influence" on his son. "He's become like part of my family," the ex-husband said. Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips By Jennifer Larino, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune With coastal land loss eating away at Louisianas footprint and flooding intensifying in urban areas, New Orleans can use all the help it can get to better learn how to live and work with water. A new round of New Orleans water startups and nonprofits hope their ideas will lead the way. Water Block, a startup developing a tool to help communities mobilize data and steer storm water management investments in their area, on Wednesday evening (March 21) won a $10,000 investment at The Water Challenge, an annual pitch event that is part of New Orleans Entrepreneur Week. Water Block was chosen from a group of 10 startups and nonprofits that took to a stage to convince a panel of judges why their idea deserved a share of the $15,000 cash prize pool. Here is a closer look at the event, the winners and some of the ideas that were pitched. What is The Water Challenge? The Water Challenge, now in its eighth year, is a pitch event presented by Greater New Orleans Foundation and supported by Propeller, a business accelerator with a shared workspace on Washington Avenue near Broad Street. The pitch, one of several that takes place during New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, which runs through Friday (March 23), focuses on startups trying to solve the regions most pressing water issues. A panel of experts listens to concepts and picks the one they think has the most impact and is viable. The event hands out four different cash funding prizes to startups, including: $500 for the fan favorite, which the audience votes for over text. Who are past Water Challenge winners? Last year's Water Challenge winner was Bluefin Data, which is developing an electronic reporting system to help the seafood industry more easily report data on fishing trips to government regulators. ORA Estuaries, which is developing technology to grow oyster reefs into living coastal protection infrastructure, won the 2014 challenge as well as The Big Idea in 2015 (pictured above), a marquee pitch event at previous New Orleans Entrepreneur Week events. (The Coulter IDEAPitch will close out the week on Friday evening this year instead of The Big Idea. Read more about the IDEAPitch.) This years participants included: 5/2/5 Systems What companies were finalists this year? The Water Challenge panel chose three finalists Wednesday after a round of quick pitches: Native Roots Nursery, New Orleans Stormwater Training Corps and Water Block. Water Block received the top $10,000 prize. New Orleans Stormwater Training Corps won both the $500 fan favorite prize and the $2,500 pre-revenue prize. Native Roots Nursery won the $2,500 nonprofit prize. Here is a close look at The Water Challenge finalists. Native Roots Nursery Founder: Katie Brasted (pictured above) Concept: A nursery project overseen by the Woodlands Conservancy that grows native tree seedlings with the help of students involved in its accompanying service learning program. Traction: The program planted hundreds of seedlings with the help of 205 students in 2017. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Customers: Brasted said the nursery would look to sell to both residential customers looking for native plants for landscaping as well as coastal restoration projects that involve tree planting. Next step: Scaling the operation. Brasted said the project needs to build a working nursery with an irrigation system in order to bring healthy seedlings to market. Quote: "We want to build roots to resiliency for future generations," Brasted said. New Orleans Stormwater Training Corps Founders: Dan Johnson, Oji Alexander, Monique Pilie Concept: A job training program that provides hands-on training to New Orleans youth in installing residential stormwater management systems (think French drains, rain gardens and native plants) for homeowners in the area. Background: The corps is a collaboration from Louisiana Green Corps, a job training program provided for opportunity youth; Home by Hand, a nonprofit housing developer focused on building storm-resistant homes for low- to moderate-income families; and Greenman Dan, a landscaping company that specializes in rainwater management solutions. Traction: The corps has already trained 60 young adults. It expects to sell and install 16 stormwater management system in 2017, generating about $40,000 in revenue. Impact: Monique Pilie said the corps participants -- primarily young New Orleans adults who do not have a job and are not in school -- earn $12-$17 an hour and earn a range of certifications that make them attractive to potential employers, including a TWIC card and forklift operating certification. Quote: "We want our students to be able to earn a living wage," Pilie said. Water Block Founders: Atianna Cordova and Kristen Lonon Concept: A web-based tool that gathers feedback from community members to determine the best locations for stormwater management projects in their neighborhood. Background: Design Jones LLC, a landscape architectural firm based in the Lower 9th Ward, is helping to develop the tool. The firm has worked on a range of urban design and landscaping projects in New Orleans, Key West, St. Louis, Baltimore and Cleveland. Traction: Water Block is still under development, but they will be running a pilot this year in Gentilly. A number of water management projects are planned there, including the Mirabeau Water Garden, which will convert a 25-acre site into a place to store and filter stormwater. Challenge: Communities of color have long been left out of environmental conversations, Cordova and Lonon said. It will take time and education to reverse that, but they said government officials have expressed interest in a data-based approach. Quote: "Water Block adds people to the science of water collection," Lonon said. Read more about New Orleans Entrepreneur Week. This year's New Orleans Entrepreneur Week will end Friday with the Coulter IDEAPitch, which showcases the city's most viable up-and-coming startups. Read more about the IDEAPitch finalists. Still learning what New Orleans Entpreneur Week is? Here's a primer. Libyan military officers representing the army of General Khalifa Haftar and the Sarraj government have agreed to hold another meeting soon to discuss the unification of the Libyan army, after the sixth round of talks on the subject concluded in Cairo this week. According to a statement issued on Tuesday following the conclusion of their talks, the Libyan military officers agreed to have a new round of talks in the nearest possible time, to discuss the unification of the Libyan armed forces in order to make it capable of facing terrorism, illegal migration, organised crime, or any other threat to Libya's stability. The statement added that the unification of the Libyan armed forces would be a solid prelude for a political settlement in the war-torn country. The sixth round of meetings, which began last Friday, were hosted by the Egyptian committee on Libyan affairs, which has hosted previous five rounds of meetings. Egypt has been calling for the implementation of the Skhirat agreement, which was signed in December 2015 and calls on Libyas rival governments in Tobruk and Tripoli to establish a national unity administration. Short link: If you've been holding on to a Toys R Us gift card or store credit, it's time to cash it in, advises Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry. The recently announced closures of the retail giant's U.S. stores, including six located in Louisiana, prompted Landry to issue a news release urging consumers to use any store credits or rewards before April 15. Toys R Us announced earlier this month that the company plans to liquidate and close all of its U.S. stores. Babies R Us and Toys R Us in Metairie and a Toys R Us in Slidell are the remaining locations in the metro New Orleans area. Landry said the store's restructuring plans gives consumers until April 15 to use their gift cards, Rewards Dollars, Endless Earnings, and store credits. "Since the stores likely will not restock inventory, it is probably a good idea to use these as soon as possible, whether in-store or online," Landry stated in the news release. He also advised consumers to choose their products "wisely" as most purchases from a company that's going out of business are usually final sales and are not eligible for return or refund. "And please ask about return and refund policies before making any future purchases from Toys R Us," Landry stated. Amazon said to be eyeing some empty Toys 'R' Us stores Dear Sam: When do you know it's the right time to leave your company? I have been really struggling with the decision to go to a bigger company where I would have more opportunities for advancement. I truly enjoy working at my current company and love what I do, but I feel guilty for even thinking about moving on only after 9 months. What should I consider before accepting this new job? - Kate Dear Kate: While the allure of more opportunities can be tempting, quitting your job can be a scary prospect! There are many factors to consider and the decision will require you to do some honest self-examination. Before jumping ship, take time to make a list of pros and cons for each position to see if the reasons to stay outweigh the reasons to go. When comparing the two, consider not only the salary, but the work environment, flexibility, and benefits, in addition to the job responsibilities. Also, remember that any new opportunity worth considering should add value to your life in multiple areas, including improving your ability to be creative, to grow personally and professionally, and to enhance your network. Even though there could be some benefits to working for a larger company, consider the following as well: First ... are you certain there are no opportunities for advancement within your current company? If you're feeling unfulfilled or underutilized in your role, perhaps you could have a conversation with your supervisor to see if you could take on some additional responsibility or if you could participate in some professional development trainings to grow your skill set. With some additional creative freedom, you may be able to increase your sense of achievement at work, and your added skills may even open some doors to a promotion. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up If your current salary is your main pain point, it could be worth a shot to try and renegotiate your pay. Before discussing a pay increase with your supervisor, do some research about salary levels for your position in similar companies in the same region to determine if your salary is in line with your industry, job and experience. Salary comparison websites such as Payscale.com and Salary.com can give you an idea of pay ranges for your job title or job duties based on geographic region. To compare salaries for job titles at your specific company, you can explore Glassdoor.com, and you can look at job listings on your company's website for clues as to what someone hired in your role today would make. (Important note: If your employer is unable to offer you more money, you could also try to renegotiate additional benefits, such as vacation time, paid parental leave, sick leave, flexible work time, telecommuting and more). If renegotiating your position or salary at your current company is not an option and you decide it is in your best interest to move on, it is important to leave on a good note so that you can maintain positive relationships with your colleagues and supervisors. When resigning, try to do so professionally and honorably by giving adequate notice (typically at least two weeks), by writing a formal resignation letter and by offering to help during the transition. Finally, while leaving after 9 months isn't ideal, it should not affect your career trajectory in the long run. It is best not to have months listed on your resume (only years), so formatting your resume should not be an issue in the future. As long as you are comfortable talking about your reasons for leaving your current position in future interviews, I would not let your length of tenure impact your decision to stay or move on. Even if you love your job, it's pretty normal to question if you'd be better off somewhere else. Ultimately, the decision is a personal one based on your values, priorities and circumstances. By doing your research and strategically evaluating both options, you will hopefully come to the decision that is best for you! Samantha Nolan is a Certified Professional Resume Writer and owner of Nolan Branding, a full-service resume writing firm. Do you have a resume or job search question for Dear Sam? Reach Samantha at dearsam@nolanbranding.com. For more about Sam's resume writing services, visit www.nolanbranding.com or call 614-570-3442 or 1-888-952-3928. Meet us on Facebook, live on Thursdays at 12:15 p.m. EDT, for an extended discussion of this week's Dear Sam topic! A man accused of opening fire on two people last month in the 7th Ward, killing a young woman and wounding a teenage boy, was himself the victim of a shooting 10 days earlier in the same block, according to a warrant for his arrest. Alexis Banks, 20, was killed in the Feb. 16 shooting, and a 16-year-old boy was critically wounded, New Orleans police have said. Police arrested Freddie Ladd, 33, in the case on Wednesday (March 21) and booked him on suspicion of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. A warrant for Ladd's arrest states NOPD investigators received information after the Feb. 18 double shooting that a man spotted holding a gun just before gunfire broke out in the same location as the homicide was someone known as "Fred." A witness told police the same "Fred" was the victim of a shooting about a week earlier, also in the 2100 block of Pauger Street, the warrant states. After searching NOPD's records, homicide investigators learned "Freddie Ladd" had been shot Feb. 6 in the same block as the Feb. 16 double shooting, the warrant said. An eyewitness who was shown a six-person line-up also identified Ladd as the gunman, the warrant states. A different NOPD warrant for Ladd's arrest obtained Feb. 7, the day after Ladd was shot, states that Ladd was treated at the hospital the previous day for six gunshot wounds; three wounds in his left leg, two in his back and one on his side. Police had obtained that warrant because while at the hospital, Ladd was found to be in possession of cocaine: a medical assistant found a clear baggie that contained five smaller baggies, each of which contained a "piece" of crack cocaine. While the warrant was signed on Feb. 7, Ladd was not arrested on the cocaine charge until he was booked Wednesday with the murder and attempted murder charges. Ladd, whose address is listed in the 2600 block of Pauger Street, was on probation at the time of his arrest for a previous shooting that involved a teenage victim. The Feb. 16 homicide occurred almost exactly five years after a 7th Ward shooting in which Ladd pleaded guilty. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up In that shooting, reported Feb. 14, 2013, Ladd was accused of opening fire on a group of people gathered on a front porch, striking a 16-year-old girl in the legs as she ran inside. According to a previous NOLA.com|The Times-Picayune report, an arrest warrant for Ladd said he was targeting the man who lived in the home, in the 1800 block of Old Prieur Street. The intended target told police that the gunman, whom he knew only as "Fred," had been trying to kill him for several years, according to the warrant. Ladd was arrested in the shooting in March 2013 and indicted two months later with attempted first-degree murder, court records show. He pleaded guilty in December 2015 to an amended charge of second-degree battery and received a five-year suspended sentence with five years of active probation, with credit for time served. Thursday evening, Ladd remained in the Orleans Justice Center jail with his bond set at $402,500, including $250,000 for the murder charge and $150,000 for the attempted murder charge. He was also booked with possession of crack cocaine and simple criminal damage to property in separate cases, and with a probation violation connected with the 2013 shooting, according to Orleans Parish court records. Details of the criminal damage charge were not immediately available. New Orleans murder map 2018 A man convicted in a 2013 shooting in the 7th Ward is now accused in a February fatal double shooting, also in the 7th Ward, that killed 19-year-old Alexis Banks and critically injured a 16-year-old boy, according to Orleans Parish court records. Freddie Ladd, 33, was booked Wednesday (March 21) with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder in the Feb. 16 fatal shooting in the 2100 block of Pauger Street, jail and court records show. Banks was pronounced dead at the scene on Pauger Street near North Villere Street. The 16-year-old was taken to a local hospital, where he was listed in critical condition, police said in a preliminary report released the following morning. At the scene, family members of Banks said she and the 16-year-old victim were related. Banks' uncle, Jackie Fleury, said Banks was visiting her relative, who lives in the neighborhood, when they both were shot. At least 12 to 15 investigators gathered on Pauger Street that night, many of them examining the area around a large apartment building. Roughly 15 evidence cones were placed in a narrow side yard next to the building, while dozens of cones dotted a nearby section of sidewalk. The Feb. 16 homicide occurred almost exactly five years after a 7th Ward shooting in which Ladd pleaded guilty. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up In that shooting, reported Feb. 14, 2013, Ladd was accused of opening fire on a group of people gathered on a front porch, striking a 16-year-old girl in the legs as she ran inside. According to a previous report by NOLA.com|The Times-Picayune report, an arrest warrant for Ladd said he was targeting the man who lived in the home, in the 1800 block of Old Prieur Street. The intended target told police that the gunman, whom he knew only as "Fred," had been trying to kill him for several years, according to the warrant. Ladd was arrested in the shooting in March 2013 and indicted two months later with attempted first-degree murder, court records show. He pleaded guilty in December 2015 to an amended charge of second-degree battery and received a five-year suspended sentence with five years of active probation, with credit for time served. Thursday evening, Ladd remained in the Orleans Justice Center jail with his bond set at $402,500, including $250,000 for the murder charge and $150,000 for the attempted murder charge. He was also booked with possession of crack cocaine and simple criminal damage to property in separate cases, and with a probation violation connected with the 2013 shooting, according to Orleans Parish court records. A New Orleans criminal defense attorney has pleaded guilty to bank theft in federal court, according to the U.S. Attorney Duane Evans. Hilliard Fazande III, 50, opened a bank account at the Whitney branch at 3001 Holiday Drive in New Orleans on October 26, 2015. Five days later, he endorsed and cashed a $387,000 cashier's check into his freshly minted account, according to court documents. On October 31, he presented a teller at another Whitney branch in Belle Chasse with a $5,000 check, despite knowing he did not have the funds to cover the transaction. He then made a $5,000 cash withdrawal from the account, the documents continue. A Whitney employee contacted him days later with news that the $387,000 check was counterfeit and that must return the withdrawn $5,000. Fazande never returned the money, nor did he return any calls from Whitney, documents said. Fazande was originally charged on November 22, 2017, but pleaded guilty Thursday (March 22). He now faces up to ten years in prison, followed by up to three years of supervision, and a $250,000 fine. U.S. District Court Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown will hand down his sentence on June 28, 2018. As of March 23, the day Fazande pleaded guilty to bank theft, he was eligible to practice law in Louisiana, according to the bar website. The Louisiana Bar Association did not immediately respond when asked if that status will be changed by the guilty plea. Fazande has been a member of the Louisiana bar since 2000, but he was temporarily suspended from the practicing in June for failing to keep up with continuing education requirements, according the bar website. A New Orleans police officer fired based on claims he lied to internal investigators won his job back but was still disciplined for failing to report to his supervisor that a fellow officer in 2015 hit someone who was in handcuffs, records show. The New Orleans Civil Service Commission on Tuesday (March 20) published its ruling that Officer Christopher Jennings should not have lost his job because it could not be proved he lied but deserved a five-day suspension for his role in the September 2015 incident at NOPD's 8th District station in the French Quarter. Jennings was one of three officers fired after the NOPD said Officer Alfred Moran struck a handcuffed man who had been sitting on a bench inside the Royal Street station. The handcuffed man had been arrested for public intoxication shortly before midnight Sept. 30 and was arguing with Moran before Moran struck him - and encounter that was captured on body-worn cameras. Moran, who had a history complaints from citizens, was fired, along with Jennings and Lewis Simmons. Another officer, Jeffery Tyler, was suspended after NOPD deemed he answered questions truthfully but failed to report the use-of-force. Jennings and Simmons also failed to report the incident to their supervisors, as required by department policy, the NOPD said in June 2016. The commission found NOPD's "circumstantial evidence" that Jennings lied about seeing Moran strike the handcuffed man did not meet its burden of proof to merit his dismissal. The five-day suspension for violating NOPD's use of force policy, which requires officers to intervene and report unnecessary uses of force, should be reflected in Jennings' personnel record, the ruling states. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up "This was a difficult case," the rulings states. Donovan Livaccari, who represented Jennings in his appeal, said Jennings is "excited to get back to work." Jennings is well respected, Livaccari said, and had a "spotless" personnel record in his seven years of service with NOPD prior to the September 2015 incident. "I think the civil service commission clearly did the right thing, and the City of New Orleans is a beneficiary of that decision," Livaccari said. The NOPD became aware of Moran's actions during a supervisor's routine review of body-worn camera footage, an NOPD spokesman said in 2016, when the department announced the firings. The handcuffed man did not require hospitalization, the department has said, and the department's internal investigation, along with a consultation with the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office, did not find enough evidence to pursue criminal charges against any of the officers. The National Marine Fisheries Service on Wednesday (March 21) granted a waiver to two proposed Mississippi River diversions from provisions of a federal law that protects bottlenose dolphins and other species from harm. The waiver will allow construction of the proposed Mid-Barataria and Mid-Breton sediment diversions and the proposed Calcasieu Ship Channel Salinity Control Measures to advance without having to comply with parts of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The projects are part of the state's plan to reduce coastal land loss. The action was immediately praised by U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who helped get the waiver for the three projects without further study of whether they would harm marine mammals. "This is a step towards restoring and protecting Louisiana's coastline," Cassidy said in a news release. "I appreciate the administration paving the way for these improvements." The fisheries service, part of the Department of Commerce, oversees ocean fishing and environmental issues, including marine mammals. In documents released with the one-paragraph waiver, fisheries service officials explained that Congress had directed them to issue the waiver without following any of the provisions that are aimed at protecting endangered and threatened marine mammal species from death, injury or health effects. Those provisions include requirements that an environmental impact statement first be conducted and that public hearings be held before a waiver is approved. The agency did consult with the federal Marine Mammal Commission, which issued a 3-page letter that also explained its ability to comment on the waiver was limited by congressional action. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, actions are considered a prohibited "taking" if they could kill or affect an animal's health, including a species' ability to reproduce, unless the fisheries service determines that the actions do not cause significant problems or are required for more important environmental reasons. In the aftermath of the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, about 35 percent of the dolphins in Barataria Bay died, and 46 percent of remaining female dolphins had experienced reproductive failures since the spill, including abortions or stillborn calves, according to a Feb. 5, 2018, letter from the federal Marine Mammal Commission. The Army Corps of Engineers was warned in 2015 by the fisheries service that the proposed sediment diversions have the potential of interfering with the recovery of bottlenose dolphin populations that lived in Barataria Bay and Breton Sound, and that had been decimated by the BP spill. Scientists estimated that in 2015 there remained less than 2,000 dolphins in Barataria Bay and less than 800 dolphins in Breton Sound. The commission letter was written to the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group, which is overseeing restoration plans that will be paid for by oil spill Natural Resource Damage Assessment money. The federal Oil Pollution Act, which required the damage assessment, also requires that natural resources damaged by spills be restored. The trustee group on Tuesday issued a third update of its restoration plans that includes the Mid-Barataria diversion. The state's coastal Master Plan also includes the Mid-Breton diversion, which is being partly funded with other money from the BP spill. Environmental news in your inbox Stay up-to-date on the latest on Louisiana's coast and the environment. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up State officials have been concerned since 2015 that the dolphin issue would at least delay the federal permitting process for the Mid-Barataria diversion, which the state hopes to begin building in 2020. That's when the fisheries service told the corps that the additional freshwater added to the Barataria Basin might be a problem. The diversion is proposed to funnel as much as 75,000 cubic feet per second of water and sediment during high river periods. In its 2015 letter to the corps, the fisheries service explained that dolphins are typically found in water with salinity levels ranging from 20 to 35 parts per thousand. In Barataria Bay, salinity levels greater than eight parts per thousand were found to be critical for suitable dolphin habitat. Levels lower than that for as short a period as a few days or a week can cause significant health issues or death, the letter said. "The proposed Barataria Bay and Breton Sound Mississippi River diversions are expected to reduce salinity to less than 4 ppt (parts per thousand) throughout the majority of the resident dolphin habitat for more than four months of the year, depending on the diversion scenario," the letter said. "The extent of the freshwater would essentially eliminate suitable estuarine and nearshore coastal habitats for the Barataria Bay and Mississippi River Delta dolphin stocks." But some environmentalists supporting the state's diversion projects point out that before the Mississippi River was leveed through south Louisiana, wetlands covered most of Batataria Bay and the water was much fresher. There likely were fewer dolphins living in the bay then. The Barataria Bay only became open water in the 1850s and 1860s, they point out. The Army Corps of Engineers, in part because of the dolphin issue, has said the permitting process for the Barataria diversion will likely take until 2022, and even longer for the Breton project, whose planning is not as far along. The waiver provision required by Congress does requires the state, in consultation with the secretary of the Department of Commerce, to minimize impacts on marine mammal species and population stocks, and to monitor and evaluate the impacts of the projects on those species. In a notice published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, the fisheries service said it already has begun a coordinated series of studies with state officials aimed at both minimizing impacts and monitoring. The notice also points out that the waiver does not extend to the other federal permits that the state must receive before building the three projects, including those required by the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act. However, state officials have also been lobbying Congress and the White House to speed or short-circuit those permits. State officials point out that the federal permitting laws are largely aimed at preventing damage to natural resources by actions that generally fall in the category of commerce, such as draining wetlands to build subdivisions, or dredging canals for oil and gas or other purposes. The diversions and the Calcasieu saltwater project, they argue, are designed to repair natural resource damage, and should not receive the same scrutiny. The real Easter bunny has to get a good night's sleep on March 31, for obvious reasons. But the band of pretend cottontails who comprise the Bunarchy costumed bar crawl plan to spend the evening drinking and dancing and hopping from place to place in the Marigny. NOLA Bunarchy began 10 years back, when founder Dan Sheridan borrowed the idea from a similar event in Detroit, which he believes was inspired by some sort of psychedelic bunny gathering at the Burning Man art fest in Nevada. Needless to say, Bunarchy blended with the Crescent City aesthetic rather perfectly. Bunnies may be cute, but they are also known to be an invasive species. Sure enough, over the past decade, Sheridan's bar crawl has grown from 40 participants to 400. This year, the progressive party has been streamlined from six stops to four. The herd (yes, a group of rabbits is called a herd, though we wish it were called a "twitch" or a "promiscuity") will gather at the following holes: Marie's Bar Note: There is no map, because if you can't follow 400 rabbits from Marie's to the Allways Lounge, then you need to turn in your go cup right now. If you'd like to join the bar crawl officially and receive a custom beer cozy and hand-made wooden medallion, the fee is a mere $10, with proceeds to benefit the LASPCA. Last year, Sheridan said, Bunarchy donated about $1,000 to good causes. If your nose is twitching for more information here's a link to the Bunarchy Facebook page. Doug MacCash has the best job in the world, covering art, music, and culture in New Orleans. Contact him via email at dmaccash@nola.com. Follow him on Twitter at Doug MacCash and on Facebook at Douglas James MacCash. As always, please add your point of view to the comment stream. Tom Amoss believes in fate, and he hopes it is riding alongside jockey James Graham on the back of Lone Sailor in the Louisiana Derby on Saturday at Fair Grounds Race Course. Lone Sailor is a long shot in the 105th running of the Grade II stakes race for 3-year-old colts, the premier race at the venerable track's 2017-2018 meet. But as the lone entry from Tom and Gayle Benson's GMB Racing Stable, he'll be the sentimental favorite among the crowd, many of which were fans of the longtime owner of the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans, who died last week at age 90. Lone Sailor's connections are hoping he can reprise the racing magic of GMB predecessors, Mo Tom and Tom's Ready, and earn entry in the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May. The winner and runner-up of the Louisiana Derby will earn 100 and 40 qualifying points, respectively, in the Kentucky Derby points standings for the May 5 race at Churchill Downs. "In my 30-plus years training horses, I've seen many instances where karma, fate, whatever you want to call it, plays a role in the race," said Amoss, the New Orleans native who has never won the Louisiana Derby during his successful racing career. "I'm certainly hoping that that is the case and an advantage for us. For the crowd that comes out, whether they place a bet on Lone Sailor or not, they'll certainly be rooting for him. I look forward to that." Lone Sailor will need every advantage he can muster to upset the competitive field of 10 3-year-olds, which includes Risen Star Stakes winner, Bravazo, and Southwest Stakes champion, My Boy Jack. With the Risen Star's second- and third-place finishers, Snapper Sinclair and Noble Indy, also in the field, it's easy to see why Lone Sailor has been installed as a 20-1 long shot. Lone Sailor, who was named after a U.S. Navy distinguished service award that Benson received in 2007, has won just one of seven career starts but is coming off an impressive second-place finish to another Louisiana Derby entrant, Dark Templar, in an allowance race at Fair Grounds on Feb. 19. Despite a slow pace, Lone Sailor closed from last to second, a positive sign for Amoss. "We took the blinkers off, and he came through with a big race," Amoss said. "Lone Sailor has always shown great physical talent, he just hasn't always put it together mentally in his races. He was very focused (Feb. 19) and ran his race." Lone Sailor's chances in the Louisiana Derby will be enhanced if the pace is hot and a speed duel for the lead materializes early. Bravazo, Snapper Sinclair, Retirement Fund, Hyndford and Dark Templar all appear to prefer to set the pace or run just off it, which could set the table for a closer like Lone Sailor or My Boy Jack. "Bravazo is the horse to beat," Amoss said. "He drew the rail and will have the shortest trip around the track. But if what the past performances show holds true for the Louisiana Derby, it's going to be a fast pace up front, and it could set up for horses that like to conserve their energy early and close. And one of those horses is Lone Sailor." My Boy Jack, the 5-2 morning line favorite, is another closer, who should be running late in the Fair Grounds stretch. He ran down a field of 10 to win the Southwest Stakes by four lengths on Feb. 19 at Oaklawn Park. The dark brown son of Creative Cause has hit the board in six of eight career starts and earned $425,145. He is trained by Keith Desormeaux and will be ridden by Kent Desormeaux, the brothers from the Cajun country village of Maurice. "I live in California, but I'm 100 percent Louisiana-bred," Desormeaux told Fair Grounds publicists this week. "As soon as he crossed the wire in Arkansas, we started thinking about our next move. The Louisiana Derby is equal weights and there are twice as many points offered. It gives us an extra week (to train) and $1 million is a monster pot." The Louisiana Derby highlights an impressive card of six stakes races, including three other Grade II events: The New Orleans Handicap; the Muniz Memorial Handicap; and the Fair Grounds Oaks. The Oaks is the Fair Grounds meet's top race for 3-year-old fillies. The winner of the $400,000 Grade II event earns 40 qualifying points for the Kentucky Oaks on May 4 at Churchill Downs. The Bret Calhoun-trained Classy Act is the 5-2 favorite in a wide-open field of nine. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi visited an air base in North Sinai on Friday, meeting members of the Egyptian armed forces and police who are taking part in the counter-terrorism initiative Operation Sinai 2018. According to a military statement, the Egyptian president expressed his total appreciation for the national role of the Egyptian armed forces and police force in fighting terrorism in North Sinai. He also praised the cooperation between the two institutions. "Hopefully we will come here again soon to celebrate the victory over the terrorists of this era," El-Sisi told officers and soldiers at the air base, according to the statement. He also revealed that the government had finished establishing a civilian airport in Sinai as part of its plan to develop the peninsula. The president was accompanied in his visit by Interior Minister Magdy Abdel-Ghaffar, Defence Minister Sedky Sobhi, and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Mohamed Farid, as well as other military officials. El-Sisi had breakfast with the troops at the air base and joined them for the Friday communal prayer. Operation Sinai 2018 was launched on 9 February, and involves land, naval and air forces, as well as the police and border guards. It targets terrorist and criminal elements and organisations in northern and central Sinai, as well as parts of the Nile Delta and the Western Desert, the military has said. Short link: Cruising can mean a couple of things. There's cruising around in a classic car and enjoying the stares. Then there's cruising on the water and enjoying that wind in your hair and the sun on your shoulders. If you'd like to combine those two things, you need to become friends with Brian and Michelle Falgout of Belle Chasse. You might have seen the couple cruising around town in their homemade Boat Car (marked on the side with #boatcarfun) because they don't just stay on the West Bank. No, they love tooling around all over the place, cranking up their '80s and '90s tunes at full blast and waving at all the gawkers and people who look like they just had their day made by seeing the Boat Car in action. So what the heck is the Boat Car? Brian, who is a mechanic by trade, said it's actually a boat (a Manatee, to be exact) fitted on top of a Chevy pickup truck chassis. It's got blinkers, brake lights, seat belts, insurance. So completely street legal, right! Yes, sure. Is speed measured in knots or miles per hour? "That depends on what the cop asks me,'' Brian said. And by the way, the only time they've been pulled over is by an officer in Gulfport, Mississippi who asked them to turn down the tunes a bit. And why do this? "I grew up with my dad building hot rods and street rods,'' Brian said. He had the boat and wasn't doing anything with it, and told Michelle he thought he ought to put it on top of a pickup and go riding around for fun. "I said, 'You're crazy,''' Michelle said. (Note: Michelle is a controller and an accountant.) So now, Brian's job is driving the Boat Car. Michelle's job is boogying in the front seat. Lots of folks want to know if they can rent the Boat Car. Or if the Boat Car does Uber. For now, the Falgouts are mainly interested in driving their friends around and having the time of their lives, but they're thinking about it. They recently came down to the NOLA.com offices and drove a couple of us around the French Quarter, including two trips down Bourbon Street. One motorist rolled down and his window and asked, "Can we switch cars?'' Watch this video from Facebook. Another day, another government shutdown looming. The House voted 256-167 Thursday (March 22) for a $1.3 trillion appropriations bill, sending it to the Senate for consideration in the hours just after current federal funding expires. Among Louisianians in the House, Cedric Richmond and Steve Scalise -- the most liberal and one of its most conservative members -- voted for the bill. The other four voted against it. The bill represents an attempt to fund the government through the Sept. 30, the end of fiscal 2018. That's a break from Congress' practice of acting on stop-gap continuing resolutions that last just a few weeks. Despite the longer-term view, the measure was published barely 16 hours before the vote, leaving members little time to read its 2,232 pages. The non-partisan Federal Budget Group said it: "Provides the biggest year-over-year increase in defense funding in 15 years. Combined with FY2018 funding previously approved by Congress for missile defense and disaster response, the Defense Department will receive more than $61 billion over the 2017 enacted level. Republicans voted 145-90 for the bill. Democrats favored it 111-77. Here's how members of Louisiana's delegation voted, and, in the case of those who made public statements, what they said: 1st District Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson -- Yes. "Today the House took action to fund President Trump's priorities and implement the conservative agenda items we ran on. After years of decline under President Obama, we finally restore our military with the tools they need to confront the threats we face and keep us safe here at home. Additionally, we provide our men and women in uniform with a much-deserved pay raise, and ensure they are cared for when they come home by implementing reforms at the [Veterans Administration]. Importantly, we also protect our homeland by funding construction of 100 miles of the border wall and bolstering our security at the border to stop criminals and drugs from entering our country. With that, we provide a significant increase in resources to combat the deadly opioid crisis that is crippling our country so we can help those who are struggling. Now, the Senate must act to send this bill to President Trump's desk so he can sign it into law and start tackling these important issues we face." 2nd District Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans -- Yes. As chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Richmond said: "Today, Congress passed a $1.3 trillion spending bill that funds our government through the end of the fiscal year and provides meaningful investments across the country and around the world. I am proud of all 48 members of the Congressional Black Caucus who worked hard on various congressional committees to secure funding for policies and programs that help all communities - rich and poor, black and white, urban and rural." 3rd District Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Port Barre -- No. "While I fully support efforts to rebuild America's military and secure our border, we are a nation that is $20 trillion in debt. This $1.3 trillion omnibus represents a massive increase in wasteful spending and government entitlement programs. We must restore fiscal order and take action to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government. This bill reflects a level of liberal ideology and deficit spending that I cannot in good conscience support." 4th District Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Benton -- No. "There is no way, in good conscience, I could vote for the omnibus spending bill because its content, and the process behind it, violates our most basic responsibilities and our principles. First, the idea that we could digest 2,232 pages of bill text appropriating all of the funding for the federal government in less than 24 hours is absurd and eerily similar to the 'we must pass it to see what's in it' Obamacare debacle. What we were able to review in the short time before the vote, however, is of grave concern. This package does little to fund our border security efforts, places no restrictions on dangerous sanctuary cities, allows funding for Planned Parenthood and leaves Obamacare completely intact. 5th District Rep. Ralph Abraham, R-Alto -- No. "This 2,200-page omnibus dropped less than a day before we voted on it, and no one could possibly have read it all in that amount of time. I do know enough to see that it breaks budget compromise we struck last month by tacking on billions in extra spending on pet projects, rather than focusing on the money our military and border security need. Dropping a $1.3 trillion spending bill -- one that breaks a deal we struck just last month -- hours before it needs to pass is an irresponsible way to govern, and that's why I voted against it." 6th District Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge -- No. The bill now heads to the Senate for a vote possibly early Saturday, after the current spending resolution expires Friday at midnight. Louisiana's Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy, both Republicans, chafed at the process. Other choice words from Kennedy: "This is a Great Dane-sized whiz down the leg of every taxpayer. ... Everyone who participates in this process ought to put a bag over their heads." "I think the whole process sucks. ... I think whoever designed this isn't qualified to run a food truck ...We'll probably get a memo on it tomorrow written in Swahili." Is there an alternative? he was asked. "You say the alternative. I don't even know the 'ternative.'" . . . . . . . Drew Broach covers Jefferson Parish politics and Louisiana interests in Congress, plus other odds and ends, for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Email: dbroach@nola.com. Facebook: Drew Broach TP. Twitter: drewbroach1. Google+: Drew Broach. A "right to try" bill letting terminally ill patients bypass the Food and Drug Administration to use experimental medication has passed the House on its second try. All Louisiana representatives voted for the bill except Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, who switched from "yes" in a procedural vote nine days ago to "no" Wednesday night (March 21). Said Richmond: "My main priority has always been giving patients with no other option a glimmer of hope. However, since the initial vote, I heard from a number of constituents and organizations representing patients who had serious concerns that this bill undermines that goal. They made a compelling argument that, in spite of the way it was marketed, this bill fails to deliver more access to patients and makes them less safe." Republican President Donald Trump asked Congress in his State of the Union address to pass the bill. GOP members of the House voted 232-2 for it, Democrats 35-147. It now goes to the Senate. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, the House majority whip, hailed House passage of the measure. He said it "gives terminally ill patients the freedom to try experimental drugs that might extend their life in a safe and dignified way." . . . . . . . Drew Broach covers Jefferson Parish politics and Louisiana interests in Congress, plus other odds and ends, for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Email: dbroach@nola.com. Facebook: Drew Broach TP. Twitter: drewbroach1. Google+: Drew Broach. Evelene Thornton of Pearl River has been busy posting fliers everywhere about the disappearance of her grandson, Tony "Tiger" Bennett, who was last seen in December in Slidell. In her heart, Thornton knows he's dead. "I know my boy's been murdered," she said Friday (March 23). "I know he has. I know he's in heaven." Thornton said her grandson, 40, called her Dec. 8 from the Wingate Motel on Gause Boulevard in Slidell, though she said he wasn't staying there. "My boy wasn't on drugs, wasn't on nothing," Thornton said. "I told him I loved him. He told me he loved me." That was the last conversation she would have with Bennett. Thornton said she raised Bennett like her own son and that he often stayed at her home. He has five children and two grandchildren, she said. She acknowledged her grandson's background may have caught up with him. He has a lengthy history of arrests and guilty pleas, including drug charges, theft and battery on a police officer, according to records in state court in Covington. Bennett had been released from jail in Mississippi less than two weeks before he disappeared, Thornton said. He was arrested on a drug charge there, she said. On March 23, authorities announced that foul play may have been involved Thornton's disappearance. St. Tammany top stories in your inbox A weekly guide to the biggest news in St. Tammany. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Slidell police said they have been searching for Bennett since he was reported missing Dec. 13. Asked what led investigators to suspect foul play, police spokesman Detective Daniel Seuzeneau said, "The circumstances behind his disappearance are very suspicious. I don't want to elaborate any more than that." Bennett was last seen alive at Motel 6 at 136 Taos St. on Dec. 13 around 6 a.m., police said. Authorities ask that anyone with information contact Slidell Police at 985-646-4347 or Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111. If foul play is involved, and the person responsible for the crime is arrested, a tipster could be eligible for a cash reward up to $5,000, police said. Bennett's family also is offering a $5,000 reward, Thornton said. "I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, my son is gone," she said. She implored anyone with information to come forward. "It's so hard on us." Amid concerns that the closure of two major retail outlets in Mandeville will take a bite out of the city government's sales tax revenues, a divided City Council Thursday night (March 22) signaled its intent to increase property taxes. The council, by a 3-2 vote, approved a resolution supporting in principle a "roll forward" of property taxes to an unspecified level. While the resolution does not mention actual rates, city officials said if the millage was raised to the legal maximum allowed, annual property taxes on a $200,000 home would increase by about $100. But the council noted that it has not yet zeroed in on what the new rate should be and stressed that the resolution was only to express the panel's intent and not to actually impose the increase. The resolution was drafted at the behest of the Mandeville Financial Oversight Committee, which was tasked with researching the city's property taxes. The committee recommended a roll forward of the city property millage. The pending closures of the Kmart and Winn-Dixie stores in Mandeville will reduce city sales tax revenues by about $500,000 a year, officials said. It is unclear if or when the retail space occupied by the stores will be returned to commerce, leaving the city's future cash flow uncertain. But while the resolution prompted a long and at times heated discussion during Thursday's meeting, city officials pointed out that it does not have the force of law. In order for the taxes to be rolled forward, an ordinance to formally reset the millage would have to be approved by the council. "I hate to say it, but this vote means nothing," Mayor Donald Villere said. St. Tammany top stories in your inbox A weekly guide to the biggest news in St. Tammany. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Villere and Councilman Clay Madden sparred over whether the city administration had provided the financial committee enough information to make its decision on the tax issue. Madden said he initially supported the committee's decision to roll forward the millage, but changed his mind after hearing from his constituents. He and Councilman David Ellis voted against the resolution. Ellis said he feels the city can remain on sound financial footing even with the loss of sales tax revenue. And, he said the government should not rush to roll forward the millage. "The bottom line is that the city doesn't need this money now," he said in a statement released after the meeting. "Even with the projected sales tax reduction because of Kmart and Winn Dixie, we are more than adequately funded to provide the same level of service we already do." City officials said they plan to revisit the property tax issue and make a final decision at a later date. Villere said Friday that the city needs more information before a decision can be reached on exactly how the millage issue will be resolved. "We have enough money now," he said. "We want to be in a position to protect that millage for the future." Louisiana law requires parish assessors to re-evaluate all property every four years to reflect changes in fair market value. When property values increase, state law mandates that government agencies reduce, or "roll back," their tax rates to a level that generates the same amount of revenue as the previous year. However, the law then lets agencies roll forward the rates to the higher level and collect the extra revenue. A Ponchatoula woman faces up to 60 years in prison under the state's habitual offender law after a St. Tammany Parish jury found her guilty of DWI for the fifth time, North Shore District Attorney Warren Montgomery reported. Hollie Ramirez-Power, 37, is set to be sentenced by District Judge William Burris Thursday (March 29). Ramirez-Power was found guilty Wednesday (March 21) of DWI in an incident on Dec. 30, 2016, when the vehicle she was driving swerved while on Louisiana 22 in Madisonville and nearly struck several parked cars. She then swerved into oncoming traffic, Montgomery's office said in a news release. She has four prior convictions for DWI, two prior convictions for vehicular negligent injury and two prior convictions for possession of illegal drugs. She also has a separate pending DWI case, according to the District Attorney's news release. The DWI conviction carries a prison sentence of 10 to 30 years. Under the state's habitual offender law, Ramirez-Power would face a sentence of 20 to 60 years, Montgomery's office reported. Assistant District Attorneys William Macke and Roy Burns III prosecuted the case. A St. Tammany Parish grand jury has indicted a Tennessee man with careless operation of a vehicle which resulted in a crash last year in which another driver was killed. North Shore District Attorney Warren Montgomery's office said that Curtis Osko, 31, of Indian Mound, Tennessee, was indicted Thursday (March 22). Osko was driving on Louisiana 1088 on April 19, 2017, when he fell asleep and lost control of his vehicle, Montgomery's office said. The vehicle crashed into another vehicle driven by James L. Bergeron, who died of injuries sustained in the crash, Montgomery's office said in a news release. Egypt opened the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on Friday for humanitarian cases for a period of two days, the Palestinian embassy in Cairo said. This is the third opening of the border crossing this year so far. The north Sinai crossing is the major gateway to the outside world for 1.8 million Palestinians living in the besieged coastal enclave, as it is the only border not controlled by Israel. Egypt has largely kept the border closed in recent years due to security concerns, following the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Palestinian rivals Hamas and Fatah agreed to hand over responsibility for the Rafah crossing to a unity government as part of an Egyptian-brokered reconciliation deal in October 2017 but the deal soon collapsed. Short link: The state will soon be pushing the locally elected officials of Powhatan out of the way to administer the finances of the northwest Louisiana village that in mid-July had only $105 in its general fund and is hiring a cop to drum up some money from Egypt's Al-Azhar strongly condemned a deadly hostage-taking incident in southern France on Friday, a statement by the world's largest Sunni institution reads. On Friday morning, an armed man took a number of people hostage in a supermarket in the small town of Trebes near Toulouse, killing three people and injuring about a dozen others before shot being dead by police, Reuters reported. "Targeting and killing innocents, taking them as hostages, and terrorising people are cowardly acts and despicable crimes that are rejected by all religions and human principles," Al-Azhar said in its statement. Al-Azhar extended its condolences to the people and the government of France, and to the families of the injured, wishing them speedy recovery. French President Emmanuel Macron has said the incident appeared to be a terror attack. Short link: Egyptian Interior Minister Magdy Abdel-Ghaffar said on Thursday that Egypt has discovered a hostile plot that aims to defame the image of the country, and is being conducted by Muslim Brotherhood fugitives in Qatar and Turkey. The minister made the reports public in a wide-ranging interview wtih Al-Ahram magazine, published on Thursday, where he also spoke about securing the upcoming presidential elections, terrorism, human rights, and illegal migration. Abdel-Ghaffar said that information had revealed that a plan aimed at fomenting a state of anger among citizens, as well as broadcasting false news and creating crises via the media, and included a number of TV channels and websites, which are affiliated with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhod group. The leadership of the Brotherhood media committee for the plan is present in Qatar and Turkey, the minister said, and these leaders are fugitives. The government has arrested those elements inside Egypt who are implementing the plans of fugitive Brotherhood leaders and has taken legal procedures against them , he said. The Muslim Brotherhood group was designated a terrorist entity by Egypt in 2013. Read more of the minister's comments here Short link: Mar 23, 2018 JB The entire Tamil film industry has been going through a tough situation, which has kept many shootings stalled. Nevertheless, its a beautiful scenario to see how well united the industry is coherent to. Especially, Mr. Chandramouli team has been so much illustrious to such paradigms for honouring the conditions imposed by Tamil Film Producer Council. Yes, the entire team of Mr. Chandramouli is on the seventh heaven for wrapping up the shooting now. Sharing the great news producer G Dhananjayan says, If not for the perfect planning, well execution and great cooperation by entire team, this would have not been possible. The entire team of Mr. Chandramouli has been vigorously exhibiting high level enthusiasms and energy from the commencement of project. With Tamil Film Producer Council placing a condition to stall the outdoor shooting from today, the entire team worked hotfooted. We are so much happy as a team to get the project completed as planned on time. These days, making a multi-starrer film within restricted time factors isnt an easy task. The film involves big names like Karthik, Gautham Karthik, Regina Cassandra, Satish, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, director Mahendran, director Ahathian and everyone, who are busy with their other project. Click the Movie button below for more info: Mr. Chandramouli Kurdish militant PKK group is withdrawing from Iraq's Sinjar, the Firat news agency, which is close to the PKK, said on Friday, citing a statement by the KCK umbrella group, after Turkey threatened military action there. "Guerrilla forces intervened in Sinjar in order to rescue the Yazidis from genocide. With the confidence of reaching this goal, guerrillas are withdrawing from Sinjar," KCK said in a statement on Friday, the Firat news agency reported. KCK is an umbrella group that includes the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party), PYD (Democratic Union Party), PJAK (Kurdistan Free Life Party), and PCDK (Kurdistan Democratic Solution Party). Short link: Roseburg, OR (97470) Today Cloudy early with peeks of sunshine expected late. High 83F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Mostly clear. Low 51F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. The leaders of several EU countries said they are pondering whether to expel Russian diplomats or take other steps to support Britain following a nerve agent attack on a former spy. European Union leaders returned to summit talks on Friday after uniting behind British Prime Minister Theresa May in blaming Russia for the attack in England, and agreeing to recall the bloc's ambassador to Moscow for consultations. Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats they said were spies, and has been pressing EU allies to follow suit despite Moscow's warning against confrontational steps. The leaders of former communist member states the Czech Republic and Lithuania as well as Denmark and Ireland said they were considering further unilateral steps, including expelling diplomats. "I think national measures will be applied already starting from next week... from a lot of countries," Lithuania's outspoken President Dalia Grybauskaite said before joining the second and last day of the summit in Brussels. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis told the CTK news agency that Prague may expel several Russian diplomats over the poisoining of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. "Yes, we will probably move in this direction," Babis said, adding he will discuss expulsions with his cabinet members on Monday. Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said his government would decide early next week whether to expel diplomats following a security assessment. "We are not going to randomly expel people who are genuine diplomats," Varadkar told reporters. Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said his government heard the "strong signal" from the bloc's leaders who agreed with Britain's assessment that Russia was to blame for the attack. He said he would hold consultations with members of his government. "My government will then in the next coming days very seriously consider to take further steps," Rasmussen said. A French presidency source said Thursday that Paris was also ready to act. The poisoning has heightened worries across Europe about Russian meddling -- from repeated cyber attacks to what the EU has called an "orchestrated strategy" of disinformation aimed at destabilising the bloc. During a visit to Hanoi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that British officials "are feverishly trying to force allies to take confrontational steps". Lavrov, quoted by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, said London was trying to make the "crisis as deep as possible". Short link: Support for tougher gun control laws is soaring in the United States, according to a new poll that found a majority of gun owners and half of Republicans favor new laws to address gun violence in the weeks after a Florida school shooting left 17 dead and sparked nationwide protests. The poll, conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, found that nearly 7 in 10 adults now favor stricter gun control measures. Thats the strongest level of support since The Associated Press first asked the question five years ago. The new poll also found that nearly half of Americans do not expect elected officials to take action. It feels hopeless, said 30-year-old Elizabeth Tageson-Bedwin, of Durham, North Carolina, a self-described Republican who teaches 7th grade English. Considering recent events, gun control in this country needs to be stricter and it can be without infringing on anyones rights. Overall, 69 percent of Americans think gun laws in the United States should be made stricter. Thats up from 61 percent who said the same in October of 2016 and 55 percent when the AP first asked the question in October of 2013. Overall, 90 percent of Democrats, 54 percent of gun owners and 50 percent of Republicans now favor stricter gun control laws. Sixty percent believe that making it harder to legally obtain a gun would result in fewer mass shootings; just 49 percent said the same in the 2016 poll. The new poll finds support for specific gun control measures even among those who bristle at the term gun control. Thats what Hitler did, said Flora McIntyre, of Simi Valley, California, repeating a common, but inaccurate, line of criticism against gun control measures. Hitler made everyone register their guns. Then he came and collected all the guns. But when asked about specific gun control prescriptions, the 82-year-old retired nurse, who said she owns a rifle and a .44 Magnum, said she favored stronger background checks and limits on the number of bullets allowed in a gun magazine. She also opposes President Donald Trumps plan to give guns to trained teachers. The poll shows that McIntyre is not alone. More than 8 in 10 Americans favor a federal law preventing mentally ill people from purchasing guns, along with a federal law expanding background check requirements to include gun shows and private sales. Nearly 8 in 10 favor allowing courts to prevent people from owning guns if considered a danger to themselves or others, even if they have not been convicted of a crime. And 7 in 10 favor a nationwide ban on devices known as bump stocks that allow semi-automatic guns to function like automatic guns. Nearly 6 in 10 favor a nationwide ban on AR-15-style rifles. They should take them off the market. Too much power right there, 25-year-old Sedrick Clark, of St. Louis Missouri, said of AR-15s. Clark, a self-described Republican, said he recently purchased a handgun for protection. But he said hed support police efforts to go door-to-door to confiscate dirty guns from convicted felons and others who shouldnt have them. I know Trump would do it, Clark said, praising the Republican president. Americans have mixed views on whether they expect any elected leaders to enact tougher gun control laws in the next year. The Florida legislature passed a law earlier in the month to raise the minimum age to purchase a firearm to 21. The law also extended the waiting period to three days, banned bump stocks, funded more school police officers and mental health services, and allowed certain staff members to carry guns in schools. Congress, however, has yet to adopt new gun control measures that would apply to the rest of the country. Just over half of Americans 51 percent expect elected officials to tighten gun laws, while 42 percent expect no changes; another 6 percent expect gun laws to be made less strict. Nearly two-thirds of Republicans, but less than half of Democrats, predict gun laws will be made stricter. Democrat Cody Campbell, a 42-year-old IT worker from Atlanta, suggested that the financial impact of the gun industry would prevent meaningful change. Here in the U.S., its all about the money, and guns are a big part of how we make money, said Campbell, a gun owner who supports stronger gun control. In Florida, not far from where a 19-year-old gunman killed 17 people and wounded 17 others last month, 50-year-old John Karnosh said hes favored stricter gun control measures since the 1999 school shooting in Colorados Columbine High School that left 15 dead. All this time has passed and still nothing has changed, said Karnosh, a gun owner from Miramar, Florida, who is not registered with either party. I live in the same county, down the street from Parkland. I see what these kids are doing. If anyone can build a movement for change, these kids will do it. Short link: At the just-concluded World Customs Organisation (WCO) conference in Kampala, Uganda Revenue Authority boss Doris Akol could not hide her delight that the high-level meeting was hosted by Uganda. This shows our customs processes are firm, she told reporters. Ugandas Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) programme is the most mature in Africa and explains why we were chosen to host this conference, Akol said. President Museveni greets WCO secretary general Kunia Mukiriya. Looking on are minister for investment Evelyn Anite (2nd R) and URA boss Doris Akol The meeting focused on AEOs, a programme that gives privilege to importers and exporters for being tax compliant by allowing them to pass through customs check-points without delays and heavy checking. There are 56 companies that Uganda has granted this privilege. Together, the companies contribute 28 per cent of international taxes URA collects. Jennifer Mwijukye, chief executive at the clearing firm Unifreight Uganda, said: Regional collaboration brought about by AEOs has led to commercial benefits like preferential treatment extended to AEO members which leads to saving time that has a financial outcome. While it used to take up to 20 days for a trader to receive their goods from Mombasa, it now takes just about eight days. But as customs processes improve, there are questions over local capacity as the bulk of this trade seems to be increasingly one-way imports. Ugandas trade deficit stands at $2.3 billion, according to recent figures one of the worst in the region. Limited local enterprises that participate in global trade also means dismal taxes collected. President Museveni said at the conference that Africa had been kept out of the global trade but now it was ready to take part. The continent still contributes just three per cent of all the global trade. Uganda and other EAC partner states, signed a mutual recognition agreement with the South Korean tax authority such that AEOs that export to or transport goods from Seoul are given the same privilege. Looking at export and import figures, the deal is tilted in favour of South Korea. Official figures show that Uganda imported goods worth $31 million from South Korea while it exported only $260,000 in 2017. Uganda has made huge progress in customs modernisation. Uganda has supported it from the top level. I hope we find it helpful to get the opportunity for more investment, said WCO secretary general Mikuriya Kunio. In the three months to November, 2017, the goods account deficit deteriorated by 39.5% to $548.7 million, according to Bank of Uganda. This was because export earnings improved only marginally while import bills increased significantly. According to Bank of Uganda (BoU), total government revenue during the first months of 2017/18 was between Shs 5.7 trillion Shs 893 billion lower than the amount programmed in the approved budget. Domestic revenues amounted to Shs 5.4 trillion, which was also less than the approved budget amount by Shs 193.2 billion, said BoU. amwesigwa@observer.ug Buganda kingdom premier Charles Peter Mayiga has applauded proprietors of Buddo secondary school for providing quality education, noting that education is the only treasure one can give a child. While visiting the school this week during his routine tours across the kingdom, Mayiga said education is an indispensable requirement in the socio-economic development of any nation. Buganda kingdom premier Charles Peter Mayiga "Investing in high quality education guarantees the eradication of poverty and Ugandans must ensure collective responsibility towards this venture," Mayiga said. "To you students, you must read hard, the biggest treasure you will have on earth is education, not the expensive car or building your parents have. Mayiga thanked Buddo SS especially for their folk song that he used during his famous Ettoffaali fundraising campaign. I thank Muwonge [school head] and his staff for the work well done here in Buddo. I used to think this school is not as big as what I see now, I am happy to see that students have enough ambiances than other city schools that are in small spaces, he said. Mayiga advised the students to learn their mother tongue and said that just like made trees cannot stand without roots, so do people. "You must have dream, for me I started to think about being a lawyer when I was in primary six; so, for you it is not late, you should picture in mind what you want to be in future and do the right things at the right time in the right place, he advised. He noted that government schools cannot solely provide quality education, thus the need for private players to offer a hand. alfredodcho@gmail.com On Thursday last week, FDCs Paul Mwiru was declared winner of the Jinja Municipality East by-election having defeated Nathan Igeme Nabeta, the NRM candidate, with 6,654 against 5,043 votes in a closely fought poll that attracted six other candidates. This was the fourth time the two were facing off. And if NRM, which has decided to challenge the result in court gets its way, there might be a fifth face-off ahead. Sulaiman Kakaire & Baker Batte Lule examine the factors behind this result and why the ruling party wont concede defeat. Paul Mwiru (L) and lawyer Paul Walubiru at court recently There have been by-elections in the past where the ruling political party congratulated the winning opposition candidate and got on with it. But thats not the case for the closely-fought Jinja Municipality East by-election, won by FDCs Paul Mwiru, who edged NRMs Nathan Igeme Nabeta by 1,611 votes. NRM Secretary General Justine Kasule Lumumba wasted no time dismissing the outcome, citing malpractices. In a statement issued one day after the election, Lumumba said the by-election was riddled with various electoral malpractices. Lumumba said NRM had evidence of multiple voting, voter bribery, intimidation of voters and acts of violence. We are in possession of evidence of multiple voting of known members of the opposition at various polling stations, Lumumba told journalists. We have evidence of opposition teams dishing out money in the vicinity of polling stations. Lumumba added: Known NRM supporters were warned of dire consequences should NRM emerge victorious; goons were stationed at residences of many NRM supporters to scare them away from polling stations. NRM further charged that the chairman of its election taskforce had been roughed up and windscreens of their buses smashed by opposition supporters. During a briefing on cabinet decisions at the Uganda Media Centre on Tuesday, information minister Frank Tumwebaze said Lumumba had briefed ministers on the legal action the party intends to take. However, victorious Mwirus supporters insist their NRM opponents have no case. Campaign manager Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda, the Kira Municipality MP, says in an article published by this newspaper, that the election was framed as an opinion poll on President Musevenis popularity in the aftermath of the constitutional amendment that removed presidential age limits. Dethroning one of the 317 MPs [who voted for the amendment] would mean that the big man has no capacity to offer political protection, Ssemujju writes. Those who ate his money must now account for it. Court, therefore, becomes the perfect excuse. Notwithstanding Ssemujjus take, a journalist who covered the election and spoke on condition of anonymity said some of Lumumbas claims hold water. The journalist said he had witnessed incidents at Main Street primary school polling station, where opposition youths attempted to prevent those perceived to be NRM supporters from proceeding to vote. Nevertheless, Mwirus camp has even greater grievances of its own, despite emerging victorious. For instance, their campaign offices were raided by soldiers and many of their supporters arrested two days before the election. The invaders wore the NRM candidates black T-shirts. It is these NRM youths who read out names of those meant to be arrested. In fact, when nearly everybody had been picked and loaded on a police truck, they demanded that one Med who was in charge of our vote protection team, be produced. When he emerged from our party office and was loaded on the truck, they jubilated and drove away, Ssemujju says. Reacting to the arrests, Mwiru said on television soon after he was declared winner, that if the election had been too close as the last previous one, his camp might have rued the many votes from his detained supporters. Bugweri county MP Abdu Katuntu, who was the only opposition MP in Busoga before Mwirus election, has laughed off Lumumbas threat of legal action. It is funny for the NRM to accuse us of voter bribery. Why cant people for once accept that passing the constitutional amendment was an unpopular act? Or President Museveni appearing at a rally and stating that send me a sleeping MP [worked against them]? Why does he want Busoga to send the worst yet he wants quality for other areas? Well, they responded to them and now they are engaging in blame games, Katuntu said. Lamenting that close to Shs 5 billion might have been consumed in this election, the MP added that in the first place, it had come about because of the NRM governments failure to organise the earlier one in accordance with the law. Putting the race into context, Crispy Kaheru, the coordinator of Citizens Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda, said it was one of the most hotly contested elections in recent years. This election reflected the national mood. Candidates were talking about the proposed referendum, the age limit debate, and the critical national issues rather than the local issues affecting Jinja East as a constituency, he said. Kaheru added that the level of policing went beyond what had been witnessed elsewhere. The law stipulates that a polling station shouldnt have more than one security officer but we saw up to even 30 security agents manning just one polling station, he said. United opposition Notwithstanding NRMs grievances, Mwirus victory has been acknowledged as triumph for a united opposition front. The MP-elect had a task on his hands to unite FDC voters, some of whom accuse him of refusing to identify with the defiance tendency in the party, which is associated with former leader Dr Kizza Besigye. Having achieved that, he also won the support of other opposition political parties, especially DP, particularly their potential candidate Alex Mufumbiro, who ran in the 2011 election and 2012 by-election. Mwiru reached out to his colleagues in the DP who convinced the DP leadership not to have a candidate, Ssemujju said. Mufumbiro campaigned for Nabeta in 2016 but fell out with him soon thereafter. With DP on board, Ssemujju was deputised as head of the Mwiru taskforce by DPs Samuel Walter Lubega, who led the door-to-door campaign strategy. In the end, the real management of the campaign was done by mainly the DP group headed by Kenneth Kakande, Samuel Walter Lubega, Derrick Mutema and John Mary Ssebuwufu, Ssemujju admitted. Other DP leaders such as Joseph Mutebi Balikuddembe, Dr Lulume Bayiga and Muwanga Kivumbi happily served as polling agents or supervisors during the election. FDC wrangle Although Mwirus structures dwarfed the internal problems within his party, a few days to the election, one group still managed to stir the waters; petitioning FDC headquarters to complain about DPs deep involvement. FDC leader Patrick Oboi Amuriat convened a quick meeting of his partys working committee. As things dragged on, secretary for mobilisation, Ingrid Turinawe reportedly said: What do you lose if they are helping you to win? Amuriat chipped in: First, Mwiru is our candidate. Secondly, we are not going to use this campaign to solve our internal wrangles. Said Ssemujju: In fact, Amuriat was uncompromising. He said we cant encourage indiscipline. You have a group of 20 who during the campaign come to blackmail a candidate. We must take a decision. But I said that we can still speak to them. Eventually, the group was persuaded to quietly stand with Mwiru. NRM falls apart As the opposition was galvanising its house, Nabetas camp was falling apart. Although NRM chairman President Museveni had attempted to reconcile Nabetas group and a hostile faction loyal to Jinja Municipality West MP Moses Balyeku, this pledge of solidarity was suspect. You cannot make Balyeku lead a taskforce to fight for Nabeta yet it is the same Balyeku who has previously fought him, remarked an MP from eastern Uganda. Other factors Notwithstanding the fact that by-elections tend to have low voter turnout, a heavy downpour that started in the wee hours of Election day partly explained the small numbers here. The constituency has about 29,000 voters but only 11,958 turned up to vote. According to Ssemujju, many NRM supporters couldnt brave the rain to go and vote. Many are used to being transported by the party to attend rallies and with such rain they couldnt come, he said. For Shawn Mubiru, a member of the Mwiru taskforce, the use of recognisable faces such as Kizza Besigye, Mugisha Muntu, Patrick Oboi Amuriat, Nathan Nandala-Mafabi, Cecilia Ogwal, Winnie Kiiza, Robert Kyagulanyi, Norbert Mao, Erias Lukwago, Asuman Basalirwa, Ken Lukyamuzi and Betty Nambooze, among others, helped galvanise and energise Mwirus support base. skakaire@observer.ug BerlinRosen has picked up a contract to provide media relations and strategic communications services to the Cambodian National Rescue Movement, an exiled group formed in January to promote free and fair elections in its homeland. Reuters reported that Cambodia's Supreme Court dissolved the Cambodian National Rescue Party, which was the major opposition party to the country's long-time prime minister Hun Sen, and jailed its leadership. New York-based BR began work for Paris-based CNRM March 6 in a program that will include messaging, fact sheets/backgrounders, press releases, op-eds, "explainer pieces," videos (shot outside of Cambodia), digital strategic guidance, website development and meetings with leaders in the US. BR's representation does not include lobbying, though the firm may engage in political activities in its role as consultant. The public affairs firm is to receive a $250K fee for its services, which will run through Aug. 10. For the second time in the last year, Facebook has found itself in the reputational crosshairs after it was revealed that data analysis and political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica had improperly collected the private data of 50 million of the sites users without their permission, once again positioning the social media giant in the unwitting role of disinformation specialist. With pressure mounting on the site to win back users trust and assuage fears regarding potential future breaches, its clear this issue signals not only a decisive turning point for Facebook but for conversations regarding data security in the U.S. as well. The data firm, which is an offshoot of research company SCL Group, was formed in 2013 by former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and billionaire conservative donor Robert Mercer. It has performed political consulting work around the world, including the Brexit campaign and last years controversial presidential elections in Kenya. Bannon allegedly introduced Cambridge Analyticas services to the Trump camp in 2015 after it had initially worked for Ted Cruzs presidential bid the year prior. It was during this time that the company allegedly began testing slogans such as drain the swamp and build the wall with audiences, phrases that later become staples of the Trump narrative.The shadowy London-based firm relied on psychographic profiling techniques that could allegedly identify and target individual voters on behalf of its clients. How the company acquired the data pool it needed to put those concepts into practice for the 2016 election, however, is the source of its subsequent controversy. Christopher Wylie, a former Cambridge Analytica research director turned whistleblower, detailed to the New York Times in March how the firm relied on a personality app developed by an outside researcher that collected Facebook users personal information. Paying several hundred thousand of the sites users in early 2014 to take a personality test under the guise of a fake academic study, the app that participants downloaded gathered information not only on them but on their contacts as well, surreptitiously harvesting a trove of more than 50 million Facebook accounts without users knowledge or consent. Cambridge Analytica then used this illicitly obtained dataset to build profiles on persuadable voters and then pitched them Trump-related materials. The ensuing Times story has left Facebook dealing with a rapidly intensifying crisis, with the sheer number of forces now aligned against the social media giant making it increasingly difficult to find improved footing and manage the conversation. The Federal Trade Commission this week announced that it has opened an investigation into Facebooks handling of user data, and theres a growing consensus on Capitol Hill that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg should testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Facebooks stocks plummeted a day after news of the controversy broke, falling $37 billion in a 24-hour period. Some lawmakers will no doubt propose changing guidelines for how data is regulated on the social site, just as they did after it was discovered that Russia-backed outfits placed political ads across social media platforms in an effort to spread disinformation and foment dissent in the months leading up to the 2016 presidential election. But arguably the greatest blowback Facebook has received has come from the public, with the hashtag #DeleteFacebook trending on social media channels as scores of the sites former loyalists now advocate abandoning the platform altogether over its failures to keep users data safe. Trust in the site has faltered, among the media, the government, and the legion of users and marketers who use it. The underlying message is clear: Facebook has lost control of its platform. A deficit of trust The Cambridge Analytica controversy has kicked off a debate that intersects at a crossroads of modern political campaign tactics, digital marketing technology and a dialogue regarding social privacy and how Internet platforms treat user data. It deserves to be said that while Facebooks crisis has effectively been treated as a data breach, what it really constitutes is a breach of trust. Data is digital marketings lynchpin. Facebook, for all intents and purposes, is in the data sharing business. APIs are the platforms foundation; the site collects data on its users for the sake of selling ads. The level of information Facebook possesses on its users is vast, and the unusually high quality of that data, coupled with the length of time users spend on the site and the sheer reach it has Facebook is one of the most heavily trafficked sites in the world, with more than two billion active monthly users, according to a Q4 2017 Statista forecast is a reflection of its position in todays digital ad market. Its little wonder why such an ecosystem would be a prime target to have its data poached. Michael Priem Facebook is being vilified for something they werent first-party to, said Michael Priem, founder and CEO of Minneapolis-based advertising firm Modern Impact, which specializes in omni-channel marketing, traditional advertising and machine learning for programmatic advertising. The technology Cambridge Analytica used is utilized heavily across the web. The idea of audience segmentation is nothing novel or new. Other credible companies use it all the time. Because it happened on Facebook, however, it causes us to question whats private and whats not when Im logged in to whats perceived to be safely guarded information. The reality is, this couldve happened to any publisher, and part of the reason Facebook has been put in the limelight is because of how pervasive it is and how well theyve done with validating their user data. Consumers will tell you they value their privacy online, but our behaviors regularly belie those claims. We routinely hand over credit card and banking information to make purchases without a second thought, readily publish our political opinions, employment history, relatives names, shopping habits and advocate for beloved brands, yet appear incredulous when we discover that the data trail weve left behind is precisely the reason why were allowed to roam across these channels for free. It appears that we couldnt do without these social tools today if we wanted to: Facebook is now Americans number-one source for daily news, beating out Fox News, ABC, CNN, CBS and NBC, according to a recent survey by San Francisco-based tech PR firm Bospar. A deeply laid subtext to the Cambridge Analytica story reveals that these technologies themselves might be less the problem than the fact that theyre influencing and changing our behaviors faster than we, or our lawmakers, can comprehend. We use Facebook as a platform for social sharing. As consumers, we live in a world where we expect a lot of things for free. When we have those expectations, we push publishers to create a different economic currency, which has become the advertising currency that companies like Cambridge Analytica use to deploy technology to create audience segments, Priem said. The bigger question centers on the safe havens of our private and public lives. We feel we have this sense of privacy thats basically implied in certain areas of the digital world, and dont like the fact that our data can be used to send targeted messages, when its no different than being inside a store and being captured on video. In reality, there are a number of privacy protections online, but we dont have a very good idea of whats being collected and whats being used. My fear is that we, as consumers, have a deep misunderstanding of what marketers are doing and this causes a deep deficit of trust, and were quick to vilify the technology when the reality is theres not enough conversation happening around the risk consumers face when were in the public domain. Silence, mixed messaging becomes the story It doesnt help that Facebooks initial response in navigating the backlash arguably made the crisis worse. As it turns out, Facebook knew about the Cambridge Analytica leak as far back as 2015, and demanded the firm delete the trove of data it had obtained it appears the company didnt comply with those orders but the site never disclosed that action to the public. The year prior, Facebook also began rolling back the access allowances it had previously granted third-party app publishers to users content, but most of us didnt know about that until now either. Then there was the mixed messaging: Facebook initially downplayed Cambridge Analyticas breach, then backpedaled in light of the pending Times story, referring to the firms actions as a scam and a fraud in a perfunctory press statement. Facebook has since announced that it has banned Cambridge Analytica from its platform and has demanded an internal audit of the companys data, but it all comes as a bit little, a bit late. Its been a multiphasic train wreck. Each day its been another disaster, said Curtis Sparrer, co-founder and principal of Bospar. In a crisis like this we recommend that clients come forward and scoop the journalists. I rarely think press conferences are a good idea, but here a rip-the-Band-Aid-off approach wouldve been a good thing. An excess of candor is needed. Theyve hurt themselves in a variety of ways, they have not responded adequately, and theres been a lot of reporting about Facebooks heavy-handed approach to this that has turned peoples stomachs. Surprisingly absent in this response was Zuckerberg himself, who finally ended his silence during a March 21 CNN exclusive, four days after the Times story broke. Zuckerberg, who isnt known for his press interviews, said hed be happy to testify before Congress if its the right thing to do. In a blog post the following morning, the Facebook chief outlined new steps the company was taking to protect its users data, mandating tighter scrutiny for app developers and setting new restrictions on the data that developers are allowed to access. This is all welcome information, if for any reason that, until now, it had remained unknown what Facebook and its founder had been doing behind the scenes ever since the company was made aware of these problems three years ago. Curtis Sparrer Thats going to be something were going to have to get some clarity on, Sparrer said. Anytime were left wondering why someones staying silent, people start taking guesses that there might be something worse that hes hiding, and your absence becomes the story. You need to explain how youre going to solve the problem and show how [Zuckerberg] will handle this as a leader, because the question now is whether he can he do it. The New York Times report puts Facebook in crisis mode for the second time in the last year, coming after the role that site played during the 2016 election by circulating fake content over its news feed and selling political ads to Russia-backed companies. And changes to Facebooks algorithms in recent months, which now emphasize content posted by users contacts, has hampered its value as a publishing platform among third-party sites that depend on the site for routing organic traffic to their published content. Reports are now surfacing regarding tensions inside the social media giant as a result, with chief information security officer Alex Stamos, a former Yahoo exec, announcing his forthcoming departure. One cant help but wonder how permanent the fallout will be, and whether the companys golden days are now sailing somewhere in the recent past. One might also wonder if this crisis could influence the other victim in this story Facebooks users to begin considering the role our choices play in the digital realm as well. Steve Bannon While a story in the New York Post claimed that Steve Bannon was angling to buy Newsweek, a statement from Newsweek Media Group says that the magazine is not for sale. Bannon has repeatedly indicated his interest in buying a name-brand media outlet since he was allegedly pushed out of Breitbart News in January. But NMG says that interest has not resulted in any negotiations between Bannon and the company. "No executives of NMG ever met with Bannon nor is the company interested in meeting Bannon," an NMG statement released Thursday night said. The statement also said the company was financially healthy and that the number of journalists working at Newsweek had nearly doubled in the past year, though staff has been reduced on other NMG websites. Newsweek has been the scene of considerable controversy recently, with several high-level editors and reporters being fired over the magazines reporting about NMGs financial ties with Olivet University, a small Christian college founded in 2004 by Korean pastor David Jang. Judy Woodruff PBS NewsHour has named managing editor Judy Woodruff solo anchor of the broadcast. Woodruff, who re-joined the NewsHour in 2007 as a senior correspondent, was named one of the NewsHours rotating anchors in 2011. In 2013, she and the late Gwen Ifill were named co-anchors and managing editors of the program, the first time in history two women were the co-anchor team for a national nightly news broadcast. Woodruff anchored CNNs Inside Politics for 12 years and served as chief Washington correspondent for The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, among many other positions. Under the leadership of Woodruff and PBS NewsHour executive producer Sara Just, the program saw a 12% increase in its average nightly total audience in 2017 compared to 2016, at 1.9 million viewers. NewsHour has also brought on Amna Nawaz, who will substitute at the anchor desk as well as covering a wide range of topics, and Nick Schifrin, who will serve as foreign affairs and defense correspondent, beginning later this spring. Emilio Gutierrez-Soto The National Press Club, its nonprofit Journalism Institute and 15 other professional journalism organizations filed a friend-of-the-court brief March 19 before the Board of Immigration Appeals in support of Mexican journalist Emilio Gutierrez-Soto's asylum case. Gutierrez, winner of the Press Club's 2017 John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award, sought asylum in the U.S. after his reporting on official corruption made him the target of death threats in his home country. He has been detained indefinitely, along with his son, Oscar, by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in El Paso, TX. "Dispatching Emilio Gutierrez-Soto and his son to almost certain death upon their return to Mexico would send a clear signal to corrupt government officials around the world, and to the journalists working abroad, that Freedom of the Press is now a diminished public policy in this country," the Press Club argues in the brief. On March 6, the Rutgers University Law School's human-rights clinic filed a writ of habeas corpus for the Gutierrezes' release. The federal court in El Paso has given the government until April 6 to respond. suspect blew himself up. READ: Suspected Austin Serial Bomber Dead After Confrontation With Police In a report from the Associated Press, 26-year-old Collin Thomas, who is black, was returning to the house he and another man shared with serial bombing suspect Mark Conditt, when a group of officers flew at him. According to Thomas mother Jennifer Withers, her son was questioned about the bombings and was released after Conditt died. The other roommate that lived with Thomas and Withers was also brought in and questioned. Anna Sabana, a spokesperson for Austin Police said that neither roommate had been charged in regards to the bombings. The house that the three lived in was being renovated by Conditt and his father. Withers said that Thomas and Conditt seemed to get along fine, adding Collin said they all would sit around and chat and talk. Conditt was responsible for five bombs that have killed two people and injured four others throughout Austin, Texas. A standoff occurred between the 24-year-old white male and officers at a hotel in Round Rock, Texas, where he ended up detonating a bomb inside his vehicle and killing himself. The Austin police and the FBI had been trying to track Conditt since March 2 when his first bomb detonated. Source: AP News Opalesque Industry Update - Privium Fund Management announced that SystematicEdge is launching their Systematic Multi-Asset Class strategy on our SFC regulated platform based in Hong Kong. SystematicEdge is an investment solutions firm that specializes in systematic, multi-asset class strategies. They use their 25 years of industry experience and the latest technology to optimize risk adjusted returns and drastically compress costs. Alain Groshens is the Founder of SystematicEdge and for the past 25 years he has been directly in charge of multi-asset portfolio management and head of trading divisions for major European Investment Banks, accountable for generating returns and managing risks. He explained "We created SystematicEdge because we could not find a safe, transparent, liquid, institutional level offering to manage our own money. So, for the past 2 years we have been managing our family's portfolio using our systematic multi-asset class offering that has delivered on its objective of double-digit annualized returns with single digit volatility. We are now opening the offering to external investors." Privium Fund Management's CEO Clayton Heijman said "We are excited to be able to offer such an innovative systematic, multi-asset class investment solution on our infrastructure. The systematic, multi-asset space is where we see a lot of demand, and there is very little offering of this calibre. We have already received a lot of interest for this strategy." SystematicEdge's investment objective is twofold: Long term capital preservation Double digit annualized returns with single digit volatility They believe financial services are at an inflection point, and they are focused on leveraging new technologies coupled with Quantitative Research to offer compelling investment solutions while compressing costs. Their clients are Family Offices, Asset Managers, Life Insurance, Private Banks and other Professional Investors seeking to invest in the next generation of efficient investment solutions. Hotel Business News and Analytics Important! This article is written by orangesmile.com editors and is protected by copyright law. The article can only be re-used with a direct link to www.orangesmile.com NEWS BLOCKS: Another Successful Year for British Tourism Last year was definitely a great one for hotels in the UK. They managed to set a record in terms of international arrivals to the country that added 4.6% to 40.3 million in total. That is significantly more than a year ago when 38.5 million travelers visited the country. There are several reasons for such success and, surprisingly, Brexit is one of them. The vote to leave the EU has had a negative impact on the British pound, making the country more affordable for foreign guests. Many European tourists chose to spend their vacations in the UK. Therefore, there has been a steady growth in arrivals from such European countries as Germany, Spain, France, Romania, and Ireland. The number of visitors from Australia and the United States was skyrocketing in 2017. Not only hotels in London enjoy higher revenues and more customers but also regional cities across the UK. Such events as The British Tourism & Travel Show that took place in Birmingham this week only help to promote the country and to attract more guests. Naturally, Birmingham hotels already benefited from this event as numerous visitors arrived in the city, including key industry players, tourism boards, media, and many more. To keep the demand for vacation in the British Isles steady, travel authorities think of diversifying their offers and developing new programs and travel routes that would be appealing to visitors from all over the world. Regional cities and towns also introduce their own programs, advertise key attractions, and promote authentic experiences that they can offer. For example, Visit Scotland has declared 2018 the Year of young people. The country has prepared a whole range of activities that would fascinate and entertain young travelers, such as festivals, various events, road trips, and many more. Visit Scotland underline that they address not only people who are young of age but also those who feel young at heart. Tourism Ireland has a similar program, Wild Atlantic Way. It is focused on coastal adventures, including the longest coastal drive in the world, but also covers a number of other activities in six regions of the country. The program prepared by the Whales is called the Year of the Sea and covers national coastal routes, visits to castles, and exploration of mountain regions. To make 2018 another successful year for the tourism industry of the UK, the countrys authorities plan to promote group travel and use more marketing channels on the social media to advertise different parts of the UK for both domestic and international visitors. They will also pay more attention to such emerging types of tourism as eco-tourism and adventure tourism. 23.03.2018Stay in touch with the latest news of a worldwide hotel industry. All up-to-date analytics, reports , and news about hotel business trends on OrangeSmile.com. Residents of downtown Portland's Ladd Tower last year started noticing a growing number of strangers in their building's lobby and elevators, often with luggage in tow. They arrived at a time when residents were already on edge over a series of break-ins, and crime prevention officials had warned them to watch out for unfamiliar people. It wasn't clear where they were coming from until residents found the building listed on the website Stay Alfred, which rents out vacant apartments to travelers. "I signed up to live in a home, not a hotel," said Lisa Cox, a resident of the building. "Holland Residential has turned this into a hotel without me even knowing." Ladd Tower, owned by Holland, isn't alone. The owners of a handful of high-end apartment buildings are now offering rooms to rent by the night through Stay Alfred and a Portland-based competitor, Vacasa. It's part of a small but growing industry that allows building owners to make money off of empty units, even as the city's housing shortage pushes rents and home prices to record levels. And while the city generally allows this kind of short-term rental in commercial zones, many of these high-rise apartments appear to be violating city code because they lack a required permit. In recent years, Portland has enjoyed high demand for lodging near the downtown core. That's resulted in the construction of thousands of new hotel rooms. Meanwhile, consumers are increasingly comfortable with online vacation rentals, and listings emphasize that this is not just an Airbnb; the rooms come with housekeeping services, and you won't find any of the primary resident's belongings, because there's no one living in the unit. That's given developers an opportunity to earn a steady stream of income after a building first opens and most of its units are still sitting empty. But the phenomenon has also grown in long-established apartment buildings like Ladd, which was completed in 2009. Residents say the vacation rentals have undermined whatever leverage they have with landlords. The rentals are allowed in places like downtown and the Pearl District, where the buildings aren't in residential zones. Both Stay Alfred and Vacasa remit thousands of dollars in lodging taxes from guests, and they hold required business licenses. But city officials say those units are subject to a stricter section of the state building code that governs hotels and motels. Compliance requires a city inspection and permit, and most such rentals don't have one, putting them in apparent violation of city code. While Portland officials have cracked down on owners of single-family houses that violate the city's regulations, rentals in downtown high-rises have attracted less attention. One of the largest is the Park Avenue West Tower, a 30-story skyscraper completed in 2016. At least 20 of its 202 apartment units are available as vacation rentals, including six that are available as a block for large groups. Rooms are similarly advertised at several buildings in the Pearl District, including Asa Flats & Lofts, Block 17 and NV. The owners of NV said Stay Alfred's lease for the single short-term rental in the building would not be renewed when it expires in May. Portland regulators were aware of plans to operate part of the building as a mini-hotel. Stay Alfred and Vacasa sought permission to rent out the rooms nightly, said Vanessa Sturgeon, the president of TMT Development, which owns Park Avenue West. But the companies never finished the process. Sturgeon blamed a backlog at the city's permit office combined with confusion among city employees about what the permits require. "The city was unable to articulate their own process for getting the permitting done because it was a new process. Every time Vacasa would approach them, or Stay Alfred, they would get a different answer," Sturgeon said. "We were specifically told to wait to submit until the city had their process ironed out." Bureau of Development Services officials said there's no record of any such guidance. "They should get into compliance," said David Austin, the bureau's spokesman. "If we get complaints, we'll investigate." Scott Breon, a Vacasa executive in charge of revenue, said the company's permit application for Park Avenue West was delayed due to a mistyped email addess. "As soon as it was brought to our attention, we took action and the permit is in process with the city," Breon said in an email. "The employee responsible for the oversight has been held accountable." Two other apartment complexes with vacation rentals managed by Vacasa, Q21 in Northwest Portland and Dorian in Apartments in Southeast Portland, have secured the necessary permits for about 20 short-term rentals on the site. Stay Alfred told The Oregonian/OregonLive it would secure the necessary permits. "All of these buildings are either close to or in the process of being fully permitted," Nancy Allen, the company's vice president for real estate, said in a statement. She said the buildings should be properly permitted within five weeks. The upgrades required at the apartment buildings would likely be minimal, said Michael Liefeld, the development services bureau's enforcement manager, since large new apartment buildings already have sufficiently wide corridors and have fire sprinklers. Nonetheless, the city hasn't slapped the operators with fines or even warnings. That's because the Bureau of Development Services typically only investigates in response to a complaint. Inspectors with the bureau have been busy with complaints against owners of single-family houses they listed illegally on sites like Airbnb. In some cases, that's resulted in large fines. The largest was a $52,000 fine against an Airbnb operator who advertised a house in the middle of a single-family neighborhood as the perfect venue for a boisterous bachelor party. But when the illegal rental is tucked on an upper floor of a high-end apartment building, a complaint appears less likely. None of the units reviewed by The Oregonian/OregonLive have been the subject of a complaint, Liefeld said. The city has also preferred to enact change by negotiating with the short-term rental websites that facilitate them. It recently struck an agreement with HomeAway, one major operator of such a website, which would help the city find operators who aren't licensed or aren't paying taxes. "With the limited bandwidth we have to do enforcement activities, we're focused on a bigger settlement with some of the bigger marketplaces," said Marshall Runkel, chief of staff for Portland Commissioner Chloe Eudaly. "If your business plan is not being in compliance with local regulations, I don't think that's a long-term recipe for success." Residents of buildings that now have a side gig as hotel say they haven't complained largely because they didn't know where to direct their ire. Cox, who's lived in the Ladd Tower since shortly after it opened, said longtime residents had raised questions about the rentals with city crime prevention coordinators and the police bureau, but not with the development bureau. Residents of such buildings, meanwhile, say they are increasingly concerned about the comings and goings of travelers. Jenna Mills, who said she's lived in the Ladd Tower for seven years, said she increasingly runs into strangers in parts of the buildings that are supposed to be locked up including a time when she had to leave her apartment suddenly because her dog had become ill. "It's not exactly comfortable to get into your elevator in your pajamas and there's five guys you've never seen before," she said. "And then you find out they don't even live there." After this story was published, Holland Residential regional property manager Josh Adams said the company was unaware the building's three units leased to Stay Alfred were being offered as vacation rentals until several months ago. He said his company believed the units would be used as corporate rentals for business travelers. "It's not meant to be an Airbnb," Adams said. He added Holland would be talking to Stay Alfred about returning to a corporate lease model or terminating the lease. -- Elliot Njus enjus@oregonian.com 503-294-5034 @enjus Nike said Thursday it has put a stop to falling sales in North America and forecast a return to growth by summer. The company issued quarterly results that delighted investors and sent Nike stock up nearly 6 percent in after-hours trading. Significant uncertainty remains, though, as Nike copes with the fallout from unspecified conduct that prompted the exit of two top executives last week. Chief executive Mark Parker addressed the crisis publicly for the first time Thursday, referencing "behavioral issues that are inconsistent with Nike's values of inclusivity, respect and empowerment." "I'm committed to ensure that we have an environment where every Nike employee can have a positive experience and reach their full potential," Parker said at the beginning of Nike's quarterly earnings call with Wall Street analysts. Additionally, Nike and other major importers could be upended by $50 billion in tariffs President Donald Trump imposed Thursday on China. Nike has warned the tariffs could temporarily disrupt its manufacturing. A trade war with China could bring additional turmoil in one of Nike's largest markets. Nike was silent on trade matters Thursday, though. After his opening remarks, Parker focused narrowly on the company's quarterly results and an improved forecast, which the company attributed to its new sales strategy. Nike has promised more rapid product introduction and tighter connection with consumers. After weathering disappointing results recently in North America, Parker said the company anticipates a "significant reversal" over the next two quarters. He said North American sales will be flat this quarter and resume growing after that. "It's becoming increasingly clear that the closer we connect our strong brand to consumers in the marketplace, the greater the returns," Parker told analysts. Nike reported $9.0 billion in revenue for its fiscal third quarter, up 6.5 percent from a year earlier. The company forecast growth near 10 percent in the current growth and similar growth in its next fiscal year. One-time charges from the federal tax overhaul approved in December pushed Nike into the red for the quarter, posting a loss of $921 million, or 57 cents a share. Nominally, that's Nike's first quarterly loss in nearly 20 years. Without a one-time, $1.25-a-share charge related to the tax changes, however, Nike said it beat its profit forecasts. The company said the federal tax overhaul will have a neutral or slightly positive effect on its profits beginning with its next fiscal year. Nike shares fell nearly 3 percent Thursday, joining a broad market decline triggered by Trump's tariffs. The stock rebounded after-hours, though, after investors got a look at Nike's quarterly numbers, and shares jumped $3.83 to $68.25. Oregon's largest company has been under a cloud since brand President Trevor Edwards abruptly announced his retirement last Thursday. He had been widely viewed as having an inside track to the CEO post but abruptly left his job last week. Parker told employees the company had heard "reports of behavior occurring within our organization that do not reflect our core values of inclusivity, respect and empowerment," though Nike said there hadn't been direct accusations against Edwards. A day after Edwards' exit, Nike acknowledged that a vice president named Jayme Martin had also left the company. Parker has committed to continue running the company through 2020 and said Thursday that Nike will continue working to "evolve" in search of a welcoming environment for all its employees. "We have a deep leadership bench at Nike," Parker said, "and I'm confident that our restructured leadership team will continue to strengthen our culture." -- Mike Rogoway; twitter: @rogoway; 503-294-7699 The Portland City Council is considering whether to allow a building up to 200 feet tall on a vacant block in Old Town Chinatown that's currently a surface parking lot. Mayor Ted Wheeler had proposed to raise the height on the block bounded by Northwest Davis and Couch streets and Fourth and Fifth avenues to 160 feet on its west half and 125 on its east half. The owner of the lot, Guardian Real Estate Services, on Thursday asked the council to go even further, raising the allowable height to 200 feet on the west side of the site. Company President Tom Brenneke said a housing development isn't feasible with lower height limits and said the parcel is profitable as a parking lot and by implication could stay that way for a while. Previous development proposals for the site, including an Uwajimaya Asian grocery store, foundered under the existing 100-foot height limit. Members of the city's Historic Landmarks Commission, which would eventually weigh in on the design of any building on the site, said they opposed raising the height limits because it could erode the integrity of the 10-block New Chinatown/Japantown Historic District, which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1989. "We all want to see development on a surface parking lot, especially in a historic district," said Kristen Minor, vice chair of the commission. "This has really been a blight, and we would like to see it filled. The height amendment, though it is reduced on the half block, is still out of scale with the historic contributing buildings." The Old Town Chinatown Community Association supported the 200-foot height if it led to a development that includes affordable and median-priced housing, saying it was convinced redevelopment wouldn't be possible at lower heights, said Chair Helen Ying. "At this time, the way Chinatown and Japantown is, even my own children have a hard time wanting to come into the area," Ying said. "That does not help to pay respect to the community. We need to find a way to make this area thrive and be economically viable for the Chinese business there." The council will revisit the issue at 2 p.m. on April 4. -- Elliot Njus enjus@oregonian.com 503-294-5034 @enjus Each year, Oregon PERS releases an updated database of retiree benefits to The Oregonian/OregonLive under a legal settlement the two organizations reached in 2011. PERS had stopped releasing that information in 2002, arguing that the information was exempt from disclosure under public records law, citing privacy concerns. The newly updated database covers 129,544 people receiving pension benefits as of Jan. 1, 2018. The system has a new top recipient of retiree benefits, clocking in at more than $900,000 per year. The Oregon Public Employees Retirement System faces a $22 billion funding deficit, causing school districts and other public bodies around Oregon to grapple with how to fund services vs. their PERS obligations. Read The Oregonian/OregonLive's extensive coverage here. -- The Oregonian/OregonLive Tillamook County Creamery Association is still buying milk from Lost Valley Farm, despite saying it ended its contract with the embattled mega-dairy. A spokeswoman for Tillamook, the maker of Tillamook cheese, said that it is better for the cows and environment to keep a relationship with the dairy, which was accused by the state of flouting its responsibility to manage wastewater and manure for nearly the entire time it has been in operation. Tillamook buys the bulk of milk produced in Boardman, where it is partial owner of a dairy processing plant. Spokeswoman Tori Harms said the dairy product giant is still evaluating a future business deal with Lost Valley. Lost Valley Ranch was sued in February by the Oregon Department of Agriculture to temporarily stop it from generating any wastewater. Wednesday, the state settled with the 17,000-cow dairy on the conditions that Lost Valley severely limit how much wastewater it creates, remove 24.4 million gallons of liquid manure from its overloaded storage facilities by summer and comply with the terms of its state permits, such as notifying the state if there is a wastewater or manure spill. California dairyman Greg te Velde, 60, bought the 7,288-acre ranch permitted to house 30,000 cows, in early 2016. Within months of opening, Lost Valley was dinged for violating its permits. From there, the operation racked up several violations and a fine before the state finally tried to stop his ranch from continuing. Te Velde is also being sued by at least four companies that helped build and run the farm. He pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamines in Washington last year. In the midst of these lawsuits, Tillamook announced it had terminated its contract with Lost Valley, removing the bulk, if not all, of Lost Valley's business. However, it appears that did not stop Tillamook from paying te Velde and using Lost Valley's milk. "On a temporary basis, we continue to receive and pay for milk from the farm and are conducting extra testing to ensure the milk quality continues to meet our high standards," Harms said. -- Molly Harbarger mharbarger@oregonian.com 503-294-5923 @MollyHarbarger Are you ready to show off your cat's safe outdoor haven? The Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon and the Audubon Society of Portland are looking for good examples of enclosed cat patios, called "catios," in the Portland-area to be part of the sixth annual Catio Tour on Saturday, Sept. 8. The groups, devoted to protecting felines and wildlife, are looking for simple to spectacular catio examples. Visit catssafeathome.org/catio-host to submit your catio for consideration by June 9. Tickets to the event will be available in June. Announcements and updates are posted at facebook.com/catssafeathome/ The well-attended event hopes to inspire cat owners to build or buy a screen-in, backyard pet playground. Tour goers will hear that free-roaming cats can get into a lot of trouble and housebound cats can get bored. A cat patio lets frisky felines exercise, play out hunting instincts and snooze in the sun safely. They can't bother birds, and dogs, cars and other outdoor hazards can't harm them. "Catios have grown in popularity," says Meg Viezbicke of the Cats Safe at Home campaign, founded by the local Audubon Society, Feral Cat Coalition and the Animal Services of Multnomah and Washington counties. "Portland's tour has inspired Seattle, Santa Cruz and Austin in running their own tours." The screened spaces can be elaborate, freestanding structures outfitted with sunbathing perches, ramps and spiral staircases or a series of inexpensive wire cubes. A catio on a previous tour was created entirely from salvaged bricks and repurposed materials from Goodwill and the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Hosts will need to be present for the one-day event, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., to answer questions. Volunteers and staff will oversee set up and guest check-in and give out tour information. If you're thinking of an outdoor haven for your cat, here are tips on building a catio. A suggestion: Just like you, cats like ventilation and a view of the outdoors. Add toys, a litter box and monitor the weather: You might need a fan in the summer or a heater in the winter. -- Janet Eastman jeastman@oregonian.com 503-799-8739 @janeteastman A 22-year-old man has been indicted on criminal charges related to allegedly crashing into an off-duty Tigard police officer in December. Darby A. McBride was booked into the Washington County Jail on Wednesday and faces charges of third-degree assault, second-degree criminal mischief and reckless driving. He is accused of rear-ending Matthew Barbee, 39, on Dec. 14 while the officer was stopped along U.S. 26 in Hillsboro awaiting roadside assistance, authorities said. Tigard police previously reported that McBride was intoxicated during the crash. An investigation of the crash couldn't determine definitively that McBride was drunk during the crash, according to Lt. Henry Reimann, a Hillsboro police spokesman. Barbee sustained serious head and neck trauma in the crash and was hospitalized for weeks. He has since been released from the hospital. Tigard police spokesman Jim Wolf didn't know when Barbee, an 11-year department veteran, is expected to return to duty. -- Everton Bailey Jr. ebailey@oregonian.com 503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey Amazing what you can pull off as Oregon's secretary of state when you take the job personally. Before Dennis Richardson won election 16 months ago and took charge of the audits division, he'd never read a performance audit from beginning to end. Heck, Richardson said last winter, "I had only been in this office twice. You don't know what you don't know." During the campaign, Richardson, 68, demanded an audit of the state's Department of Human Services. You don't know what you're talking about, staff would eventually tell him. The agency has 100 programs, and you can't audit 'em all. Focus, dude. Fine, Richardson said: "I want to focus on where there is the greatest vulnerability: adoption and foster care. I've personally been involved with both." As Richardson - the first Republican to win statewide office in Oregon since 2002 - notes, the DHS audit was already scheduled when he arrived, but not fully scoped. He aimed the audit at foster care, and pushed for aggressive, unapologetic analysis. The audit team interviewed 240 people. It totaled up the $39 million the agency has paid out in legal settlements for abuse and neglect cases since 2006. And since the audit's devastating conclusions were released on Jan 31, Oregon's child-welfare system has remained fixed in the political spotlight, in no small part because state Rep. Knute Buehler, the lead Republican candidate for governor, has called for a $50 million infusion to stabilize the program. Money alone won't stop the bleeding at an agency plagued, auditors said, by "chronic understaffing, overwhelming workloads, high turnover, and a large proportion of inexperienced staff." Money alone can't address the crisis in attitude that auditors confronted in "dozens of managers and other staff (regarding) DHS's failed programs and initiatives. "Many named other individuals and programs who, in their view, have noteworthy shortcomings. None were willing to take responsibility for the conditions they described, even in programs they directly oversaw, and none viewed themselves as direct contributors to an atmosphere of blame and distrust." Whoa. Richardson said the problems in Oregon's child welfare system became personal for him in 1990, when a court-appointed special advocate introduced him to a 9-year-old girl named Mary. Her mother had Huntington's chorea, which Richardson describes as "a genetic death sentence." The girl needed sanctuary. She also needed sisters, and Dennis and Cathy Richardson had seven daughters in their Central Point home. "Mary had been in multiple foster homes, and had suffered some major" - a painful pause, here - "challenges that were brought into our home," Richardson says. "As a large and united family, we were able to overcome all of those. "But it took nine months before she could join our family, and a year for the adoption to go through. Many potential foster families are driven away by the perception that you're treated like a criminal who has to prove their innocence before you can become a foster parent." The child welfare audit was also informed by Richardson's dozen years in the Legislature. Far too often, he knows, information is provided, and agendas shaped, by lobbyists, not auditors. When state-office holders all hail from the same party, the most contentious issues often go unexamined. The usual sacred cows have open range. Richardson still has his moments. He can be clumsy and obnoxious in his famous newsletters. In January's special election, he encouraged voters to follow the advice of his campaign consultant, Rep. Julie Parrish, and reject Measure 101 to rein in the Oregon Health Authority's "wasteful and incompetent spending." And, no, we don't need the secretary of state's counsel on gays, lesbians and same-sex marriage. But give the man credit. He's not defensive about what he doesn't know. His politics, he argues, have been "naturally tempered" by the demands of the office. "I was a state representative for a rural district in southern Oregon for 12 years," he reminds us. "My dad was Archie Bunker, and my mom was Edith. I've spent many recent days in north Portland, meeting with under-represented populations, trying to gain a cultural competence I never needed representing that district in southern Oregon." He still has work to do. But at the very least, Richardson's signature is firmly set on an audit that is not only a public service, but a dramatic call to action for each of its readers. -- Steve Duin stephen.b.duin@gmail.com Updated at 11:25 a.m. April 9, 2018* A Dallas-based journalist for Vanity Fair and MSNBC posted an Oregon lawmaker's personal information online early Friday morning, as a tit for tat after the lawmaker posted information about supporters of an initiative to ban assault weapon sales in the state. Kurt Eichenwald launched an extensive Twitter tirade against Rep. Bill Post, a Republican from Keizer, just before 9 a.m. PST. Eichenwald posted a news story about Post's decision earlier this week to share phone numbers and home addresses of three Portland clergy leading an effort to ban sales of assault weapons in Oregon on Facebook. "Where do the psychos come from?" Eichenwald wrote on Twitter. "This is what happens when the GOP throws open the doors to the mental ward and invites the patients to be their standard bearers." Post encouraged members of a pro-gun rights Facebook group on Wednesday to contact the initiative supporters and share their information with others. A rabbi and pastor told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Thursday that they had been wondering why they were receiving phone calls, emails and online messages from gun rights supporters. Their information that Post shared came from a publicly available state database. Republican lawmaker posts info on supporters of plan to ban assault weapon sales in Oregon Eichenwald went a step further on Friday, posting Post's home address and portions of his social security number and phone number for Eichenwald's 454,000 Twitter followers and countless others to see. Eichenwald quickly deleted the information, saying he'd made his point. Eichenwald could not immediately be reached for comment. But in emails to The Oregonian/OregonLive in early April, Eichenwald said he only published the first three digits of Post's social security number and phone number. Eichenwald wrote to Post that it "took me 25 seconds to get all the information about you, your wife, your son (tell him happy 25th), your neighbors etc. Don't bring a knife to a bazooka fight." Post could not immediately be reached on Friday morning regarding the impact of Eichenwald's posting of his information, a tactic known as "doxing." Supporters only recently launched the effort to get the proposed initiative to ban the manufacture and sale of assault weapons and large capacity magazines in Oregon on the ballot. They must collect more than 88,000 signatures by July 6 to get it on the ballot for the November election, and they plan to gather signatures at the Portland March for Our Lives event this weekend. Under the plan, which would take effect in 2019, assault weapons would be broadly defined as certain semiautomatic rifles and pistols that can accommodate detachable magazines and have other military style features such as a collapsible stock or grenade launcher. It would also cover semiautomatic shotguns if they have fixed magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition, can accommodate a detachable magazine or have other features. Military and law enforcement employees who are required to carry firearms would be exempt, as would retailers and manufacturers who sell the weapons to those agencies. The ban would also cover sales of magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition. People who already own these weapons would be allowed to keep them, if they register them and pass a criminal background check. -- Hillary Borrud 503-294-4034; @hborrud *This post has been updated to reflect information provided by Kurt Eichenwald. A Republican lawmaker from Keizer is encouraging gun rights supporters to personally contact three Portland clergy leading an initiative campaign to ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines in Oregon. "Should anyone want to make a phone call or send a note...." Rep. Bill Post wrote on Facebook Wednesday morning, above a photo of the phone numbers and home addresses of the three chief petitioners for the initiative displayed in a state database. "Feel free to right click and save the picture then share everywhere." Post, who described the initiative as a "gun confiscation ballot measure," declined to say why he felt it necessary to post the information to a Facebook group called The Heirs of Patrick Henry, Northwest. "Knowledge is power," Post said in a phone call Thursday afternoon. He said he had called the petitioners and left voicemails about the initiative, but declined to share his message, saying it was "between me and them." One of the petitioners, Rabbi Michael Cahana of Congregation Beth Israel, said he was wondering why he received "quite a number of calls on my cell phone." The people he spoke with were mostly polite and "certainly shared their views" on the firearms proposal, Cahana said. Comments that arrived via email and Facebook were "not so polite." Cahana and the two other petitioners, Rev. Alcena Boozer of St. Philip the Deacon Episcopal Church and Pastor W. J. Mark Knutson of Augustana Lutheran Church, filed the initiative this week and must collect more than 88,000 signatures by July 6 to get it on the ballot for the November election. The Facebook group, which has about 1,000 members, organized a rally outside the Oregon Capitol in early 2015 as lawmakers prepared to take up the first major gun bill in more than a decade. The legislation to require background checks for private gun sales ultimately passed the Legislature and Gov. Kate Brown signed it into law. As for the new gun proposal, it would ban the manufacture and sale of assault weapons and large capacity magazines in Oregon starting in 2019. Military and law enforcement employees who are required to carry firearms would be exempt, as would retailers and manufacturers who sell the weapons to those agencies. For others, possession of the weapons would be a Class B felony. The proposal defines assault weapons as certain semiautomatic rifles and pistols that can accommodate detachable magazines and have other military style features such as a collapsible stock or grenade launcher. Semiautomatic shotguns would also fall under the definition if they have fixed magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition, can accommodate a detachable magazine or have other features. Sales of magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition would also be banned. People who already own these weapons would be allowed to keep them, if they register them and pass a criminal background check. Although Post said he was against the assault weapons ban, he said it could be a good thing for gun rights supporters and Republicans if it gets on the ballot. "Please put it on the ballot," Post said. "It will be the greatest red wave in Oregon's history." -- Hillary Borrud 503-294-4034; @hborrud Authorities are asking for help finding an inmate who escaped from Multnomah County custody and has been on the loose for almost 24 hours. Scott M. Smith (MCSO) Scott M. Smith stole an Oregon Department of Transportation truck while working as part of a cleanup crew Thursday in Northeast Portland, according to the county Sheriff's Office. The truck "was reportedly left unlocked and running at the time of the theft," the agency said. Smith, a 25-year-old Portland resident, is accused of stealing the truck from the 9400 block of Hancock Drive early Thursday afternoon, the Sheriff's Office said. Authorities found the truck outside a home Smith is associated with on Northeast 52nd Avenue, according to a Sheriff's Office spokesman. They searched the home but didn't find him. He was last seen wearing a green jacket, tan Carhartt pants and black work boots, according to the Sheriff's Office. He's 6-foot-1 and 150 lbs., and he has brown hair and blue eyes. He has tattoos, including some on his neck. Records show Smith was booked into Multnomah County custody in January. The Sheriff's Office said he was serving a 90-day parole violation sanction in an identity theft case. Crime Stoppers of Oregon is offering a reward for information reported to the nonprofit that leads to an arrest in the case. Crime Stoppers didn't specify the amount, but a Sheriff's Office spokesman said the nonprofit usually offers an amount up to $1,000 in cases that aren't homicides. Smith's projected release date is listed in jail records as April 21. The Sheriff's Office advises anyone who sees Smith or has information about his location to call 911. People shouldn't approach him, the agency said. People can submit anonymous tips online or by calling 503-823-4357. Jim Ryan jryan@oregonian.com 503-221-8005; @Jimryan015 Authorities have a warrant out for the arrest of Clayborn Collins, the former leader of the North Portland nonprofit Emmanuel Community Services. A Multnomah County grand jury indicted Collins earlier this month on one count of first-degree aggravated theft, alleging that he stole more than $50,000 belonging to Emmanuel Community Services in 2016 or early 2017. The organization aimed to help women, children and domestic violence victims and also operated a homeless shelter for mothers. It was linked with the North Portland church Emmanuel Temple at 1033 N. Sumner St. The nonprofit now appears defunct. A telephone associated with the agency is disconnected, and the Internal Revenue Service revoked its tax-deductible status in 2016, according to state records. Police spokesman Sgt. Pete Simpson said he cant share any information about the criminal case because the investigation continues. Collins, 50, was still wanted as of Friday, he said. Collins, the nonprofit's chief executive officer, was the subject of a 2014 investigation by The Oregonian/OregonLive that found he had lied on his resume by falsely claiming he earned both a doctorate and a master's degree from the prestigious London School of Economics and Political Science. Collins also had an unflattering past: Two girlfriends got restraining orders against him. He also had been convicted of theft, forgery and a gun-related crime. Within a week of the newsroom's investigation, Collins took a leave of absence from his job. He ultimately stepped down, but it's not clear when. He apparently retained ties to the church or its nonprofit into 2017. Just as prosecutors say Collins alleged theft began in August 2016, the Oregon Department of Justice wrote a letter to Emmanuel Community Services stating that the state had serious concerns about its operation and future because of its governance and oversight. One big step, the state recommended at the time, was disassociating from its former executive director. -- Aimee Green A Multnomah County grand jury found no criminal wrongdoing by two Portland police officers who exchanged gunshots with a suspected burglar holed up in the Goose Hollow neighborhood earlier this month, according to the district attorney's office. Officers Darrel Shaw and Joseph Webber fired at Sarah Michelle Brown on March 8 in the 800 block of Southwest King Avenue, police said. Webber has served 13 years with the Police Bureau and Shaw has served 24 years. Sarah Michelle Brown The night before, police had responded to the same area on a report of an unknown person entering a home, but found no one. They returned to the home at 3:25 a.m. to investigate a report of a burglary in progress, according to Sgt. Chris Burley, a police spokesman. This time, with the help of police dogs, officers found Brown hiding beneath a porch, prompting an extensive standoff. During an exchange of gunfire with the officers, Brown, 26, suffered gunshot wounds to her hand and leg, according to her defense lawyer. She initially was arrested on one count of attempted aggravated murder, accused of trying to kill a third Portland police officer, Torrey R. Streed, according to court papers. The grand jury has now returned an indictment against Brown, charging her with nine counts of attempted aggravated murder with a firearm, five counts of unlawful use of a weapon, five counts of menacing, two counts of first-degree burglary, two counts of second-degree theft and one count each of recklessly endangering another, first-degree theft and unlawful entry into a motor vehicle. Brown is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment March 30. Brown's court-appointed lawyer, DeAnna M. Horne, this week alerted the court of her concern that Brown is unable to assist in her own defense because of mental illness and has requested a hearing to address the question. Her lawyer believes Brown can't understand the proceedings against her based on her discussions with Brown, Brown's family and with staff in the Multnomah County Detention Center's psychiatry ward where Brown is being held, according to court papers. Under a newly adopted law, Senate Bill 505, the District Attorney's Office recorded the grand jury proceeding and the recording will be provided to Brown's defense lawyer. Multnomah County District Attorney's Office typically releases grand jury transcripts in officer-involved shootings shortly after grand jury decisions on officer conduct in the cases. This time, it won't release the grand jury recording publicly as Brown's criminal prosecution is pending. -- Maxine Bernstein mbernstein@oregonian.com 503-221-8212 @maxoregonian An Oregon Supreme Court ruling Thursday made it tougher for prosecutors to lock up lower-level drug dealers and could halve the time some of them stay in prison. The high court found that a strategy used by prosecutors to get stiffer sentences -- proving dealers intended to sell drugs even if they hadnt sold any yet -- wasnt good enough. Prosecutors must prove a defendant actually sold drugs or brokered a deal to sell drugs through a verbal agreement, a text message or other interaction, the court said. The ruling means a significant number of defendants convicted of delivery of methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine or other serious drugs could avoid prison or get reduced prison time depending on their criminal histories. The exact number of criminal defendants who will be impacted is unclear. Defendants who would have received prison terms ranging from 10 months to 1 1/2 years now likely will get probation, said Portland defense attorney Ryan Scott. Those who faced about 1 1/2 years to 2 1/2 years in prison now likely will get less than a year in prison, Scott said. In making its decision, the Supreme Court ruled specifically on the case of Gregory Dandra Stewart. According to a Supreme Court summary of the case: Gregory Stewart In April 2015, Stewart knocked on the door of a Salem womans apartment and she let him in because she thought he looked familiar. At some point, the woman realized she didnt know Stewart. During Stewarts stay, he used sandwich bags from her kitchen to divide up a white powdery substance and asked her if she knew anyone who wanted to buy some because he needed to make some money, the woman later told police. Stewart left, the woman called 911 and police arrested him nearby. A Marion County Circuit Court jury found Stewart, then 33, guilty of delivery of a controlled substance "with consideration" -- meaning he had intended to sell drugs. But the Supreme Court said Stewart simply asking the woman if she knew anyone who wanted to buy drugs wasnt enough to warrant the for consideration tag. The high court ruled that Stewart must be re-sentenced. That means, given Stewart's previous criminal history, Oregon sentencing guidelines call for less than a year in prison when he's resentenced compared to two to 2 1/2 years during his first sentencing. Stewart's original sentence was doubled based on an unrelated "aggravating factor" and he received five years in prison. He now faces just under two years of prison, said his lawyer. Stewart, whose earliest release date had been listed as May 2020, is expected to be released soon with time served. Its unclear if the Supreme Court decision will have a sweeping effect on drug cases in Multnomah County because the county already allows some lower-level drug dealers to avoid prison if they undergo an intensive probation program designed to connect them with drug treatment, housing and other support. Prosecutor J.R. Ujifusa, who heads the drug unit of the Multnomah County District Attorneys Office, said his team will analyze the ruling to see how it might affect sentences in the Portland area. Kali Montague, the Salem-based public defender who handled Stewarts appeal, said probation is the right choice for many low-level drug crime defendants. They could be people who wanted to make a little money or share drugs with a few friends, not big-time dealers, Montague said. Its much more of a minor offense, and probation should be able to reform the person, Montague said. We do not want to punish people for their thoughts, which is essentially what was occurring for Mr. Stewart prior to this decision, she said. That is, he was being punished more harshly for expressing his desire or wish to find someone to buy the drugs. But he did not actually sell the drugs or have an arrangement to sell the drugs. The changes in sentencing shouldn't affect all lower-level drug dealers, including those caught trying to sell drugs within 1,000 feet of a school, because that's classified as a different crime. Read the Supreme Court's opinion here. -- Aimee Green Thousands are expected to flock to Portland on Saturday as the local iteration of the national, student-led March for Our Lives draws protesters lobbying for gun reform. The series of marches is just the latest such event meant to pressure lawmakers at the state and national level to draft legislation to address gun violence. Cities across Oregon and southwest Washington will play host to at least 21 such protests on Saturday. In Portland, things kick off at 10 a.m. at the North Park Blocks with a rally. Student leaders will speak before ushering participants to march south and across Burnside Street. The half-mile route will end at Pioneer Courthouse Square, where the crowd is estimated to finish marching around noon. That's when Portugal. The Man will take the stage in the midst of a final rally to cap off the afternoon. According to the Facebook event page, approximately 7,500 people have signified they'll attend with another 13,000 or so interested in going. Organizers are urging attendees to take the MAX. Between arrivals, the march proper and crowds dispersing afterward, downtown Portland between Powell's Books, the MAX station at Fifth Avenue and Couch Street and the surrounding area will effectively be blocked to traffic from just before 9:30 a.m. until at least an hour after the rally ends at 2 p.m. The Portland demonstration, like those around the country, signify a wave of youth activism that's seen students many of whom are too young to vote in this year's midterm elections mobilize around a single cause. "We are in this for the long haul. We know what it will take and we are ready for that battle. Do not continue to chide us for being children. Stop telling us that we do not understand what we are talking about. We know what we are talking about," Portland organizers wrote in a guest commentary to The Oregonian/OregonLive. Organizers of marches across the state and country have also encouraged participants to craft signs and posters to carry during the event. Demonstrations in the wake of the Parkland shooting will continue next month, when a National High School walkout is slated for April 20, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting in Colorado. Unlike the March 14 school walkouts, which mostly called for a 17-minute moment of silence for Parkland victims, the April event begins at 10 a.m. and directs students to leave school for the day. --Eder Campuzano | 503.221.4344 ecampuzano@oregonian.com Nearly a million travelers are expected to traverse the concourses at Portland International Airport during the next two weeks as spring break hits Oregon and Washington schools. The Port of Portland, which owns and operates PDX, said it expects an 8 percent increase in travelers Friday and on other peak travel days like March 28 to 30, as families try to reach their destinations. With 55,000 travelers milling around the Stumptown, Pok Pok and Laurelwood Brewing airport outposts on these busy days, it'll be a bit tight. Total spring break travelers are expected to top 960,000 during the next two weeks. Here are some tips from Port officials to streamline the busy travel days: - Plan your parking: If you're not being dropped off at the airport, taking the MAX or using a taxi, shuttle or ride-hailing service like Uber or Lyft, check parking availability online at pdx.com. The airport also uses digital signs on the approach to the terminal to indicate parking availability. - Pack wisely: Don't bring items banned by the Transportation Safety Administration. You can check out a full list at tsa.gov. - Get there early: Airport officials suggest getting to the airport at least two hours early for flights before 8 a.m. or between 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Otherwise, travelers should allow for about 90 minutes to get through security and to their gates. - Keep pets in carriers: If you are bringing a pet, keep the animal in their carrier. There is a designated "pet relief area" on the other side of security in the Concourse Connector. Follow the signs. -- Andrew Theen atheen@oregonian.com 503-294-4026 @andrewtheen Authorities say two people were injured in an explosion at the HP Inc. campus in Corvallis. The Gazette-Times reports that firefighters responded at about 3:30 p.m. Thursday to reports of an explosion on the high-tech campus. Corvallis Fire Department spokesman Jim Patton says a hydrogen generator exploded inside a laboratory. He did not know what caused the generator to explode. Patton says the damage was contained to the room where the explosion occurred. He says there was no fire and no toxic or unsafe materials were released. Patton says paramedics took two people to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center. No information was immediately available on their identities or the extent of their injuries. -- The Associated Press Hate crimes in Los Angeles last year increased significantly from 2016, according to new statistics from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). In 2017, a total 254 crimes were reported to be motivated by bias toward a group or person, which was an 10.9 increase over 2016's 229 crimes. With a "vast majority" of these offenses taking the form of vandalism, the LAPD says the two most common crimes were fueled by hate toward race/ethnicity (115) and sexual orientation (70). The report also says there were 23 crimes directed toward the transgender community in 2017, compared to eight during 2016. While local to LA, this information reflects the greater violence that affected the U.S. last year, which in some instances became deadly. The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) released in 2017 a mid-year report, called A Crisis Of Hate, detailing every anti-LGBTQ homicide on-record. "As of August 23rd, 2017, NCAVP has recorded reports of 36 hate violence related homicides of LGBTQ and HIV affected people, the highest number ever recorded by NCAVP," the report says. "This number represents a 29% increase in single incident reports from 2016." Since releasing their findings, the NCAVP found hate homicides continue to flourish across the nation through the remaining year. A total of 52 anti-LGBTQ homicides were filed in 2017, which represents a 86 percent increase in single incident reports from 2016. "In 2017, there was one homicide of an LGBTQ person in the U.S. each week," the NCAVP says. Of course, not all hate crimes are reported. According to a report by the U.S. government's Bureau of Justice Statistics, "More than half of the 250,000 hate crimes that took place each year between 2004 and 2015 were not reported to the police." A Crisis Of Hate, indeed. Photo via Getty On Thursday, Mark Zuckerberg finally addressed the news, broken days earlier by the New York Times and The Guardian, that consulting firm Cambridge Analytica had acquired data on more than 50 million Facebook users without their consent years ago. In (what else?) a Facebook post, Zuckerberg wrote, "We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can't then we don't deserve to serve you." Related | How Facebook Became a Key Weapon in Trump's Presidential Win He then gave a timeline of events related to the "breach," starting in 2007 when Zuckerberg dropped the "The" and Facebook became more or less the social platform we know it as today. Jumping forward to 2013, Zuckerberg explains how a personality quiz app made by Cambridge University researcher Aleksandr Kogan became the access point through which Kogan (and possibly others?) mined the data of the 300,000 people that downloaded it and tens of millions of their friends. After apologizing, Zuckerberg outlined the steps Facebook has taken in the past and will take in the near future to protect its users' data. Facebook mostly stopped users from being able to share their friends' data with third-party apps in 2014, and says it will now "conduct a full audit of any app with suspicious activity," which is vaguely reassuring. It will will also remove developers' access to the data of users who haven't interacted with their app after 3 months, and will install a more visible tool at the top of the News Feed, making it clearer to users which apps they've given access to (and an easy way to take that access back). Zuckerberg also said that he's "happy" to testify before Congress, "if it's the right thing to do." Zuckerberg's post and ensuing media apology tour (talking to CNN, the NYT, Recode and Wired to start) marked far more transparency from the boy-genius CEO than we've seen in the past, forced as he was to step up by public pressure. Being rubbed the wrong way by Zuckerberg is something of a national pasttime (helped in no part by his abrasive, 19-year-old behavior he can't live down), and his apology was met with well, resistance: Zuckerberg's awkwardness during interviews and insistence on referring to the college kid he was when he started Facebook fourteen years ago and not the 33-year-old, seasoned CEO that he is now, not only don't play well with the public, but overshadow the very powerful space he inhibits. "I'm really sorry that this happened," Zuckerberg told CNN's Laurie Segall. "I started this when I was so young and inexperienced. I made technical errors and business errors. I hired the wrong people. I trusted the wrong people. I've probably launched more products that have failed than most people will in their lifetime." Zuckerberg repeated that stance in an interview with the New York Times. When asked by Kevin Roose if he feels "any guilt about the role Facebook is playing in the world," Zuckerberg said," If you had asked me, when I got started with Facebook, if one of the central things I'd need to work on now is preventing governments from interfering in each other's elections, there's no way I thought that's what I'd be doing, if we talked in 2004 in my dorm room. I don't know that it's possible to know every issue that you're going to face down the road. But we have a real responsibility to take all these issues seriously as they come up, and work with experts and people around the world to make sure we solve them, and do a good job for our community." As CNN's Brian Stelter (and others) have pointed out, Zuckerberg's influence has far outpaced his dorm room dreams, and it's fair that the public demands he reckon with that, immediately. Big data and mass surveillance are features of an authoritarian state Americans have feared for decades, and yet, now that they're here, we're mostly inclined to look the other way. There is so much information to sift through, so many 100-page Terms and Conditions to accept, and unique passwords to remember, and privacy settings to adjust, and laptop cameras to tape over, that at some point we're overwhelmed enough to decide to just move forward (and take that fun personality quiz, even if you're not quite sure who made it and why they need access to all your data), trusting that data gatekeepers like Zuckerberg, at the very least, have the best intentions of their shareholders in mind. Moments like the Cambridge Analytica drama may seem scandalous, but it wasn't necessarily illegal practices that got us here. Data collection and transfer is the very fabric of Facebook's business strategy the foundation upon which it rests. Facebook and its ilk are only as successful as their users are willing to share the details of their lives online. And despite headlines blaring that Facebook's stock lost billions in value over the breach, not everyone is so sure the company won't bounce back just fine. Mega-influencers may be able to take down your platform with their casual disapproval, but the nefarious exploitation of the public's data? Not so much. One anonymous advertising insider even told CNBC that the only reason advertisers would pull out of Facebook, aside from a mass exodus of users (which given that the platform has become a near-integral part of the lives and businesses of billions around the world seems unlikely), is if new data protections made it harder for advertisers to target users. Companies and the people that run them make mistakes, and Zuckerberg's shrugging insistence that it would be impossible for anyone in his position to get things right indicate that he's not going to become the charismatic social leader the size of his platform seems to demand. And as Robinson Meyer points out at The Atlantic, despite calls for his resignation, "the only person with the power to fire Zuckerberg is Zuckerberg himself." So where does that leave us? Technology is ultimately only as ethical, or empathetic, or conscientious as the people who develop it. There will be more data breaches, if not with Facebook explicitly than in some other capacity, just as there will always be hackers looking for holes in the system. When Segall asked him about the possibility of continued election meddling, Zuckerberg said, "I'm sure someone's trying. I'm sure that there's v2, version two, of whatever the Russian effort was in 2016, I'm sure they're working on that. And there are going to be some new tactics that we need to make sure that we observe and get in front of." For those of us who've grown up on the Internet, the question has always been when, not if, our data would be exploited. The issue we should be thinking about is not the inherent vulnerability in turning over the most personal details of your life to a mega-corporation, but why we were so easily influenced by the cheap propaganda that data was used to create. That's on us not Zuckerberg. Photo via Getty News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism. The Ranking Member of Parliaments Finance Committee, Cassiel Ato Forson, has advised the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and government to ensure that it does not ceded the financial sector to foreigners. Government should make sure that going forward they dont end up ceding the financial sector to foreigners because the way they are going they will end up ceding the financial sector to foreigners, I dont think that is good for this country. It is not the way we want to go, because clearly when we create good economy and good environment, we want the ordinary Ghanaian to benefit, so whats the point if we create a sound financial sector and ordinary Ghanaian business man is not benefiting , so there may be issues, he said. His comments follows the recent announcement by the BoG that it is appointed KPMG as the administrators of indigenous bank, uniBank, following various regulatory infractions and the banks precarious financial position. According to Mr. Forson, the Minority is disappointed because: We believe that government has a responsibility in ensuring that there is indigenous Ghanaian participation in the banking sector, supervising the collapse of three indigenous banks within a spate of three months is shocking and alarming. Furthermore, he indicated that in other jurisdictions, the state has come out to support these ailing banks and strongly believe that the state could have acted better. The key point is simple, the cost in terms of how much you will need to resolve the issue in this financial sector is sometimes more costly than allowing the bank to operate and guiding them through corporate governance and giving them some liquidity support, he noted. He also explained that for instance the tax payer is going to pay GH2billion for the purposes of the collapse of two small banks in the case of UT and Capital Bank representing about 1percentage of GDP. My concern is that this will mean that going forward taxes are going to be raised and the proceeds are going to be used to service the debt. In the case of uniBank, they are the size of the two banks put together [UT and Capital bank], in fact it is the largest indigenous private bank in Ghana and it has also gone down, so if the two put together is about GH2billion, then be ready to shoulder another burden of GH2billion. So put together, you are talking of GH4billion representing two percentage of GDP; the tax burden is going to increase. Mr Ato Forson, a former Deputy Finance Minister under the previous administration, also accused the central bank of cherry picking in the case of uniBank, since with the previous two banks [UT and Capital banks] it was not elaborate as this current one. He also stated that Parliament will summon the Finance Minister and the BoG Governor to the House before it rises, to seek further clarification and detailed information on why Unibank was up for administration. Background The Bank of Ghana (BOG) on Tuesday announced that uniBank Ghana Limited (UniBank) has been placed under administration. The appointment of an official administrator, according to the central bank, is aimed at saving uniBank from imminent collapse. In a press conference addressed by the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Kwamina Yedu Addison, he said: The Central bank in exercise of its powers under Sections 107 and 108 of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930) the Bank of Ghana has, effective today 20th March 2018, appointed KPMG as Official Administrator for UniBank Ghana Limited (UniBank). Section 107 of Act 930 empowers the Bank of Ghana to appoint an Official Administrator to take official control of a bank when its capital adequacy ratio (CAR) has fallen below 50% of the required minimum of 10% (i.e. below 5%). Mr. Addison commenting on whether or not UniBank will be returned to its owners said, under section 108 of Act 930, the Official Administrator is authorized to exercise a variety of powers to rehabilitate and return the bank to regulatory compliance within a period of six months, at the end of which the bank will be returned to private ownership and management. Again, the appointment of the administrator, according to the BOG, will prevent potential losses to depositors and other creditors, and ensure that the financial condition of the bank does not create further risks for the entire financial system. Source: thebftonline.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 A group which calls itself the Economic Fighters League has threatened to storm Parliament, Friday March 23, over the supposed establishment of a US Military base in Ghana. According to them, the move by government is a great threat to the countrys dignity and sovereignty and hence should be strongly opposed. To register their resistance, they will, per a statement released Thursday March 22, storm Parliament in red and black clothes, an action they believe will coerce the legislators to rethink their decision of effecting the agreement. The Economic Fighters League, calls on all Ghanaians to storm Parliament this Friday in Red or Black to register our resistance to the intended US Military Occupation of Ghana. Time is 9am sharp, a portion of the statement read. They urged all Ghanaians to participate in the protest, taking along the Ghana flag and any loud instruments to play. There is nothing to fear about storming Parliament on Friday. You are a citizen of Ghana and you have the right to go to Parliament to observe your MP's from the public gallery. Be disciplined and co-operate fully with the Security at Parliament. Remember that this is about the Sovereignty of your country. Treat this with all the seriousness that it deserves. Come with your Ghana Flags if you have, and with any loud instruments you can play, the statement added. Source: Ghanaweb.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 The Minister of Works & Housing and Member of Parliament (MP) for Abuakwa South, Samuel Atta Akyea, has given assurance that that his ministry would continue to engage Ghanaian engineers. Atta Akyea disclosed this when he delivered a keynote address at the opening ceremony of the ongoing 50thAnniversary and the 2018 Engineering Week Celebration held at the International Students Guest Centre (ISGC), Teiman, near Abokobi, Accra on Tuesday, March 20, 2018. I never said I would not hire Ghanaian engineers. What I said was that H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addos presidency would not reward mediocrity, the Minister said. The Works and Housing Minister, however, said any engineer that would inflate figures and do shoddy works would be sanctioned and if they are of criminal nature they would be prosecuted. The chairperson of the ceremony, Ing Mrs Carlien Bou-Chedid, President of the Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE), in her address, was in full support of the Ministers call for sanction. Adherence to the code of ethics must be taken seriously. This year, we have had the unfortunate duty of sanctioning three of our members by suspending them and withdrawing their licenses for one year. Justice Anin Yeboah, a Supreme Court Judge, who represented the Chief Justice, Her Ladyship Justice Sophia Akuffo, also called on engineers in the country to support the development of the nation because it cannot develop without engineers. He also called on the leadership of the GhIE to enforce their rules and regulations and crack the whip on wrongdoers. The week-long celebration and the year-long Golden Jubilee anniversary celebration are proudly supported by Tullow Oil, VRA, G&J Technical Services Ltd, Bui Power Authority, Ghana Gas, GHACEM and others, which mounted state-of-the-art exhibition stands for the participants. 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 A majority voice vote, on the floor of Parliament, Thursday, was enough to ensure the safe approval of the 2018 program of activities of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC). This follows the adoption of the report of the Select Committee on Mines and Energy on the corporations program of activities by the legislature. Key among the program of activities of the corporation for the fiscal year include the construction of a corporate head office in Accra at a total estimated cost of US$20.0 million; the construction of a corporate operational head office in Takoradi at a cost of US$10.0 million; and the refurbishment of the Petroleum House (Head Office) at a cost of US$13.4 million. The Corporation has allocated an amount of US$15million for its Research and Technology (RAT) project which is expected to offer an electronic storage center for GNPCs geosciences, engineering and production data; a core and tapes storage facility; various physical, chemical and research laboratories as well as offices for the RAT staff. Further to that the corporation has earmarked an amount of US$1.50million to convert its Club House at Community 3 in Tema into an ultra-modern clinic with a resident doctor to safeguard staff health and wellbeing. The corporation has also allocated an amount of US$1.89million to redevelop its Beach Road property into a facility to house staff working visit to Takoradi to serve as a transit quarters for staff on transfer to Takoradi or undertaking offshore duties. The above mentioned projects, according to the oil exploration, development and production company, will be funded from a US$75 million loan facility it is seeking from Societe Generale. In addition to that, GNPC plans to enter into a tripartite arrangement with the Ghana Navy and a third-party investor to acquire a total of six (6) patrol vessels at an estimated cost of US$45million to provide security services for its offshore activities. That notwithstanding, the corporation has earmarked an amount of US$24.78million to effect payment of critical debt for its subsidiary company, Prestea Sankofa Gold Limited and thereafter dispose of the company. But the investments the corporation intends carrying out for the year 2018 did not escape criticisms from the Minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament (MPs). The group accused the corporation of inflating project prices much at the expense of the tax payer. The Ranking Member of the Finance Committee and Spokesperson for the Minority on Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, interacting with journalists moments after the adoption of the report of the Select Committee on Mines and Energy on the 2018 program of activities of the GNPC urged the public to show much concern about the activities of the corporation. He said it beats his imagination for the corporation to earmark US$10million for the construction of a corporate operations head office in Takoradi, noting that there is no building facility in the oil city that would cost such an amount. He is also wondering why the corporation would veer off its core mandate and invest in mining. Hon. Ato Forson do not also understand why the corporation would want to spend US$45million to procure vessels to monitor its offshore activities. The corporation has for the past three years been accused of veering off its core mandate to invest in some other unprofitable businesses. For instance, in 2016, the corporation came under strong public criticism for its guarantee and support for projects deemed not part of its core mandate such as the US$550million Quantum Power Re-gasification project and the US$100million Karpower project. In 2017, the GNPC again came under public scrutiny, especially, from the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) for investing its proceeds in non-core business of the industry key amongst them was the financing of the Western Corridor Road. An amount of US$356.43million is expected to be received by the GNPC for the year 2018. The sources of the revenue include incomes from the Jubilee, TEN and Sankofa-Gye-Nyame Fields and others sources such as Training and Technology Grants and investments. The Corporation however, requires a total of US$986.13million for implementation of its program of activities for the year, leaving a funding gap of US$629.70 that would be financed by cash balance of US$64.89 million brought forward from 2017 and a loan of US$564.81 million. Source: kasapafmonline.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 A communication team member of the opposition, National Democratic Congress (NDC) has cautioned government to do a strict scrutiny of the military cooperation agreement between Ghana and the United States. The reason, Jean Marie speaking on Adom FM said the conditions in the agreement which were approved by Cabinet are not favourable to Ghana. Many Ghanaians are apprehensive about the military agreement between Ghana and the USA. The agreement, among other things, will allow the U.S. government to have access to Ghanaian military facilities and also grant them widespread tax exemptions. A clause in the agreement granting U.S. Military Contractors unimpeded access has been a major source of concern for security experts. This, according to the Minority in Parliament amounts to mortgaging the sovereignty of the country to the Americans. Jean Marie said the Akufo-Addo led government is putting Ghanaians at risk. According to her, the Americans can even bring bombs or cocaine to Ghana without the knowledge of the security due to clauses in the agreement. If these soldiers rape any citizen of Ghana, we cant arrest him because of the clause. I think Cabinet did not do a good job, she added. The NDC woman said the Akufo-Add-led government has proven that it is ready to mortgage Ghana for just $20 million. Jean Marie said her party is backing the Minority in Parliament to do everything possible to block the agreement on grounds that Ghana will surrender her sovereignty under the terms of the deal. In a quick rebuttal, a member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Naa Torshie described as hypocritical the position taken by the NDC. She noted that, the same agreement was signed by the erstwhile Mahama government in 2015 thus could not fathom why the Minority in Parliament are making ugly noises. The NDC Minority in Parliament is good at propaganda so Im not surprised about their behavior she stressed Naa Torshie appealed for calm as the government work to improve their socio-economic conditions. Source: adomonline.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 An Accra-based legal practitioner, Nana Adjei Ampofo, says he is heading to the Supreme Court next week to challenge the proposed Ghana-United States military deal. "Everything is ready and by next week Wednesday, the writ would be filed at the Supreme Court, "he told Graphic Online's Kwame Asare Boadu in Accra today, (March 23). Nana Ampofo, a former Omanhene of Goaso, said the agreement which the Ghana government was bent on carrying through, was an affront to the security and integrity of the nation. "It [agreement] will jeopardise our security and it is an affront to the dignity of Ghana as a whole," he said. Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul has disclosed how the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in 1998 and 2015 signed two major joint military agreements with the United States Armed Forces on behalf of Ghana without parliamentary approvals. Mr. Nitiwul was addressing the media yesterday at the ministry in Accra to set the records straight on an allegation by the minority NDC in parliament and a section of the public that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has agreed with the US Armed Forces to establish a military base in Ghana precisely at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA). Present was the Minister of Information, Mustapha Hamid. According to him, there is no agreement between the US and Ghana for the establishment of any military base in the country. Mr. Nitiwul said that there is only an agreement between the Government of Ghana and the Government of the United States of America on defence cooperation, status of the United States Forces and use of agreed facilities. That agreement, the minister explained, is premised on two earlier agreements signed by the NDC in 1998 and 2015 (without parliamentary approvals) and input from relevant authorities in Ghana such as the Ministry of Finance and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA). He said the two earlier agreements, signed on February 24, 1998 under the Rawlings administration and April 28, 2015 during the erstwhile President Mahamas NDC administration, were the premises on which the US based its argument for the current agreement which is generating a heated public debate. According to Mr. Nitiwul, Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Minister under the Mahama administration, Hannah Tetteh, signed the 2015 agreement in Stuggart, Germany, and later in Accra in complete secrecy. The Americans also premised their argument on a document called Acquisition And Cross-Servicing Agreement that we signed in Stuggart, Germany. Of course, you all know this agreement, this is the first time we are all seeing it. Its alien to us; it never went to parliament; its alien to us all, he asserted. Its like Gitmo 2. Why sign without bringing it to the people of Ghana? he quizzed, whilst pointing out that all the NDC sought to do was enter into such agreements under darkness and secrecy. According to the defence minister, the previous agreements were purely on the orders of the US without Ghana having a say and that they made provisions for US Armed Forces, who would come into the country to move about freely with their guns, use their driving licences from the States without consulting the DVLA and also have tax waivers, among others. Clean Up Upon assuming office, and having realized the nature of the previous agreements and the fact that they were not in the interest of the people of Ghana, Mr Nitiwul said he made a proposal to the US for some key changes to be effected in the current agreement which would inure to the benefit of the people of Ghana. Following that, according to him, a meeting was arranged between the US Army and the Ghana Armed Forces in September 2017 where the issues raised were addressed, and subsequently, he had to send a memo to Cabinet seeking approval for the current agreement to be sent to parliament for some key authorities in Ghana to make their inputs into it. He wondered how the NDC could claim that the government was acting in secrecy over the matter when a memo to that effect was circulated and it is currently in parliament. Also, he argued that it would have been out of protocol and international relations for Ghana to turn down the 2015 Hannah Tetteh Agreement. Meanwhile, the defence minister has pointed out that the agreement with the US is not peculiar to Ghana, claiming that America has it with about 52 countries worldwide including Senegal, Kenya, Nigeria, UK, South Korea, among others. He urged Ghanaians not to fall for the NDCs propaganda while indicating that there was no reason to panic. 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 A document available to the media indicates that, the Government of Ghana has sent to Parliament for approval, a Memorandum of Understanding on defence cooperation between Ghana and the United States, that will give the Americans some space in the country to set up a camp for its military forces. As part of the agreement, the US will among other things, be exempted from paying tax on equipment to be brought into Ghana and will also be given the opportunity to set up a telecommunication service on a radio spectrum given to them for free by the government. Speaking to the issue on Happy FM, Deputy Information Minister, Ama Dokuaa Asiamah Agyei says Ghanaians must discuss the issue with their various Members of Parliament for better understanding. Go and discuss with your MPs if you dont understand, she stated. This information was available to the Attorney General, we did not understand some of the proposals by the Americans, so the Attorney General refused some of the proposals they brought on the table, she added. She also debunked allegations that government took money for the negotiation - If anyone has information that we have taken money from the Americans to make their proposal a reality, they should come out and protest. She added that, although the US government has brought a proposal which some Ghanaians dont understand, parliament will decide on the issue. Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/ Twitter: @Washman5/ Instagram: Ambrose_wash 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 Audio Attachment: Listen to Kwesi Pratt Jnr. on Peace FM's 'kokrokoo' Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr. has said that Ghana will not enjoy its peace as it has now when the United States (US) military is given the mandate to build a base in the country. To him, all countries that have an American military base do not experience any form of peace, therefore they must not be given the go ahead to perform such a task. There is nowhere in the world that Americans have created its military base that peace have prevailed, there is stability, there is peace and there are no terrorist attacks, nowhere in the world . . . there is instability, there is terrorist attack, there is turmoil everywhere, anywhere that there is a US Military base, he noted. Speaking on Peace FMs 'Kokrokoo' programme, Kwesi Pratt Jnr. indicated that in this particular case, Ghanaian soldiers are being treated as inferior to the soldiers of the United State soldiers, Ghanaian soldiers dont have the same privileges and rights being conferred on US soldiers. He said what disturbed him most on this matter was that some claim we should look at the amount involved than the many agitations, but he believes we should be much concerned of our national sovereignty. National sovereignty is not for sale and cannot be for sale at any price . . ., he fumed. According to Kwesi Pratt Jnr., listening to the Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwuls explanation to the issue filled his heart with much sorrow, as it clearly portrayed how naive he was on the deal. I think it is almost reckless that we are able to sign an agreement that places no restriction on the type of weapons which come into our country, he stated. He said he was so surprised that Ghanaian MPs who are being mocked at by the US government are going to approve an agreement that gives US soldiers more pivileges than Members of Parliament. Source: Elizabeth Semiheva Bedi/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 Member of Parliament (MP) for Ledzokuku constituency, Dr Bernard Oko-Boye has emphatically stated that Ex-President John Dramani Mahama and his Foreign Affairs Minister, Hannah Tetteh should be blamed if there is any cause for alarm surrounding the Ghana/US military co-operation agreement . According to him, aside the 1998 agreement, Ex-President John Dramani Mahama and Hannah Tetteh in 2015 secretely signed an agreement with the documents they are condemning today without the concern of any citizen, not even Ministers of their regime. How can you[NDC] sign a secret agreement with a foreign body that its soldiers can come here when Ghanaians have no chance to look at it, not even Ministers of their government heard about it, he said on Peace FMs Kokrokoo programme. This is just a strategy they [members of the NDC] have adopted to paint the government corrupt when they are the cause of our suffering today, he noted. Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul has disclosed how the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in 1998 and 2015 signed two major joint military agreements with the United States Armed Forces on behalf of Ghana without parliamentary approvals. Mr. Nitiwul was addressing the media Wednesday at the ministry in Accra to set the records straight on an allegation by the minority NDC in parliament and a section of the public that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has agreed with the US Armed Forces to establish a military base in Ghana precisely at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA). Present was the Minister of Information, Mustapha Hamid. According to him, there is no agreement between the US and Ghana for the establishment of any military base in the country. Mr. Nitiwul said that there is only an agreement between the Government of Ghana and the Government of the United States of America on defence cooperation, status of the United States Forces and use of agreed facilities. Source: Elizabeth Semiheva Bedi/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 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. Good Friday Morning, Fellow Seekers. An already bitter partisan spat over a Republican-backed push to impeach four state Supreme Court justices has taken another nasty turn. On Friday, Pennsylvania Democrats launched an online pressure campaign to get GOP leaders to abandon an emerging effort to punish four Democratic justices who voted to toss the state's congressional map. Two, statewide digital advertising campaigns target GOP gubernatorial candidates Scott Wagner and Paul Mango; as well as state House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, and Rep. Kris Dush, R-Jefferson, the main House architect of the impeachment drive. The twin petition drives, similar to most because they harvest voters' personal information, call on Republicans to drop efforts to 'rig' the 2018 mid-term and general elections. In a statement, Beth Melena, a spokeswoman for the state party accused Republicans of "wasting their time and resources on last ditch efforts to rig elections in their favor. The "Republicans' call to impeach our democratically-elected justices is a disgusting attack on our independent judiciary, rule of law, and fair and free elections," Melena said. "Pennsylvanians have had enough of Republicans' continued attempts to rig the system to protect special interests and their big donors rather than the people." In a statement, House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana, who is not running for re-election said that while he believes "the state Supreme Court's decision to draw and implement their own congressional redistricting map is wrong, disagreement over the outcome of any particular case should not be grounds for impeachment." *A spokesman for Turzai, echoed that sentiment (updated). Andrew Romeo, a spokesman for Wagner, said in an email that while his boss "thinks that the Supreme Court's decision to trample on the Constitution and draw their own maps justifies the House moving forward with the process. "However, he is not saying how he would vote on the matter because he would be a potential juror in the case. He will make his decision based on the information presented to him by the House," Romeo said. Mango's spokesman, Matt Beynon, was similarly critical, writing in an email that, "the extreme partisanship shown by the Democrat Supreme Court overstepping its bounds epitomizes the Harrisburg swamp. The notion that we are still fighting over congressional district lines eight years after the last census is another example of Harrisburg's dysfunction and lack of leadership by Tom Wolf and Scott Wagner." The Democrats' petition drive came even as state Supreme Court Justice Thomas Saylor, a Republican who dissented in the decision to overturn the maps, released a scathing statement calling the impeachment drive an attack on the independence of the judiciary. "Threats of impeachment directed against Justices because of their decision in a particular case are an attack upon an independent judiciary, which is an essential component of our constitutional plan of government," Saylor wrote. Pa. Supreme Court Chief Justice to impeachment lawmakers: "Threats of impeachment directed against Justices because of their decision in a particular case are an attack upon an independent judiciary, which is an essential component of our constitutional plan of government. pic.twitter.com/JgnjOHw4Bl ByJohnLMicek (@ByJohnLMicek) March 22, 2018 The rest of the day's news starts now. Know why state Rep. Nick Miccarelli, R-Delaware, isn't resigning? It's so he can pad his pension, PennLive's Jan Murphy reports. Aryanna Berringer, of Westmoreland County, has dropped out of the Democratic race for LG. This means there's now only roughly 2,349 people in that race. Republican Joe Vodvarka has withdrawn from the GOP race for U.S. Senate after facing challenges to his nominating petitions, The Morning Call reports. Gov. Tom Wolf has named a replacement for retiring Pa. State Police boss Tyree Blocker. Even as he tries to clean up Philly's corrupt image, Mayor Jim Kenney is keeping shtum on how much the city spent on the Iggles' victory parade, The Inquirer reports. The Heinz History Center wants to demolish a 148-year-old building in Pittsburgh's Strip District, which does not seem very historic-minded. Here's a special #York Instagram of the Day. Our most profound condolences to the city and the families who are grieving today. Gov. Tom Wolf has extended the deadline to withdraw from the primary ballot - onaccounta the snow, PoliticsPA reports. WolfWatch. Gov. Tom Wolf has no public schedule today. Heavy Rotation. Here's a little something to get your Friday morning going. And now you're up to date. PARIS -- A gunman walked into a rural French supermarket, opened fire and took hostages on Friday morning, in another apparent incident in the country that has borne the brunt of Europe's recent struggle with terrorist violence. The suspected gunman was killed when police stormed the building, the Associated Press reports. According to police sources cited in French media, at least two people were killed in the incident in the small southwestern French town of Trebes, not far from Toulouse. The Paris prosecutor's office, which handles terrorism cases nationwide, quickly opened an investigation into the ongoing incident. "All the information we have at our disposal leads us to believe it would seem to be a terrorist act," said French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, speaking to reporters early Friday afternoon, from the eastern French city of Mulhouse. According to French media reports, the attacker claimed to be connected to the Islamic State, but any connection is unconfirmed. Although other previous terrorist attacks in France have been undertaken by operatives of the Islamic State, a number of others have been carried out by so-called "lone wolf" attackers inspired by the group, and whose connection is ultimately impossible to verify. The identity of the Trebes attacker remains unknown. The hostage attack in Trebes followed an earlier incident on Friday morning, in which a man opened fire on a group of four members of France's national C.R.S. police force in the nearby city of Carcassonne, wounding one of the officers. The connection between the two events, if any, was not immediately clear. For French authorities, what was particularly alarming about the events on Friday morning was that the area targeted was quiet and provincial, far from the big cities that have typically attracted terrorist violence in the past. "This can strike no matter where, no matter when, no matter how," said Yves Lefebvre, the head of France's SGP police union, speaking on Europe 1 radio. In any case, a hostage scenario at a supermarket immediately recalled the January 2015 anti-Semitic attack on the Hyper Cacher kosher supermarket outside Paris, in which four people were killed. In that case, the perpetrator - in a posthumously released video - had also declared his allegiance to the Islamic State, but his contacts with the terror organization before the Hyper Cacher attack were unclear. In recent years, France has borne the lion's share of Europe's struggle with terrorist violence. Since January 2015, around 230 people have been killed in a string of attacks that included the deadly Islamic State-orchestrated assault on Paris in November 2015 as well as the July 2016 truck attack on seaside promenade in Nice, where a driver plowed through crowds gathered to celebrate Bastille Day, France's national holiday. Although the Nice attack was the last major assault on French soil to claim dozens of casualties, smaller-scale terrorist incidents have continued in the years since, and the French government regularly reports foiled terrorist plots. Update: The girl has died A 16-year-old girl shot Tuesday in a southern Maryland high school by a fellow student is brain dead and was taken off life support Thursday night, her family said at a brief news conference. Jaelynn Willey was shot in the head in a hallway just before classes began about 7:55 a.m. at Great Mills High School, according to the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office and the girl's family. She had been targeted by Austin Wyatt Rollins, 17, after the couple recently ended their relationship, according to previous statements from the sheriff's office. "My daughter was hurt by a boy who shot her in the head and took everything from us," said her mother, Melissa Willey. The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office says Jaelynn Willey was targeted by her ex-boyfriend at Great Mills High School in southern Maryland. "She is brain dead. She has no life left in her," she said, standing beside her husband, Daniel, and carrying one of their younger children in her arms. Willey's family spoke Thursday night at the University of Maryland Prince George's Hospital Center, where she had been brought for treatment after the shooting. She is one of nine children. An uncle, Timothy Cormier, on Wednesday described Willey as an "amazing young lady, whose peaceful presence and love of her fellow students and family" is well-known at the school. She was a dedicated student and swimmer, he said. Rollins was killed after school resource officer Blaine Gaskill confronted the teen as students and staff scrambled for cover. The sheriff's office said Wednesday that Gaskill fired one shot at Rollins, "who simultaneously fired a shot as well." "Rollins sustained a life-threatening injury in the exchange," the department said. Rollins used a Glock handgun legally owned by his father, according to the sheriff's office. Attempts to reach Rollins' parents have been unsuccessful. Desmond Barnes, 14, who also was in the hallway, was wounded by Rollins but was released Wednesday from MedStar St. Mary's Hospital after surgery on his thigh, officials said. His mother, Kimberly Dennis, said in a statement Thursday evening that "our entire family is eternally grateful that Desmond is alive, doing well and in good spirits. He is an amazing testimony." "We remain deeply saddened and shocked by this shooting incident and continue to pray for the other victim and her family during this difficult time. We are also praying for the entire Great Mills High School family and young people around this country. As a community and nation, we must continue to work and fight for a world that is safe for our children," she said. School officials said Wednesday that Great Mills will be closed through the end of the week to assist law enforcement efforts. The school is scheduled to reopen April 2, after spring break. The shooting at the high school 70 miles south of the District of Columbia thrust the close-knit St. Mary's County community into the national debate over gun control and whether teachers should be armed and more armed officers added to improve safety. The shooting occurred on the cusp of Saturday's March for Our Lives, a rally against gun violence sparked by the Florida school shooting last month that left 17 people dead. The Great Mills shooting prompted a lockdown and evacuation at the school of more than 1,600 students. Authorities praised Gaskill, who has been a resource officer at the high school since August, for his quick reaction. Details of Rollins's life remained sparse, though the sheriff's office said it hadn't "uncovered any public social media posts/threats made by Rollins." Friends and neighbors described him as a friendly, happy teenager who liked to play ball, skateboard and hang out with friends. Dan Soulier liked to fight fires. But what he liked even more, was trying to prevent them in the first place. "Everyone who knew him, knew about his passion for fire prevention," said Fairview Township Fire Chief Chris Weidenhammer. Soulier started his firefighting career Camp Hill as a volunteer, then worked 30 years at Harrisburg Fire Department, retiring as chief in 2009. After retirement, Soulier joined the Fairview Township Fire Department, where he continued riding a fire truck into December even after receiving a devastating diagnosis of stage-four lung cancer 14 months ago. As Soulier's health declined last weekend, his colleagues in Fairview Township arranged to transport him to the hospice home. A rescue fire truck lead the procession Tuesday, followed by an ambulance, and the fire chief in his vehicle. They drove through Harrisburg for Soulier's final ride, passing by Soulier's old fire station, where a row of firefighters saluted as they drove by. Soulier, 63, died the next day. While it's unclear what caused Soulier's cancer, "there's a very good possibility," it was related to on the job exposure, said former Harrisburg Fire Chief Donald Konkle, who picked Soulier as his deputy chief. As executive director of the Pennsylvania Fire and Emergency Service Institute, Konkle said they've been studying high cancer rates among firefighters and developing new recommendations to help protect firefighters. In addition to known risks, new research is showing that soot and other carcinogens can be absorbed through the skin, potentially creating seeds for later disease, Konkle said. This month, the Washintgon Post reported that a bill to create a national registry of firefighters diagnosed with cancer was introduced to help track and research the issue. Last year, the newspaper reported, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation added names of firefighters who died of cancer to its memorial honoring line-of-duty deaths. "It is a high-risk occupation similar to coal mining," said Soulier's brother Fred Soulier. "It's been a very, very emotional week." The Soulier brothers both were hired by Harrisburg in 1979 and both worked three decades in the city. They worked opposite shifts, which allowed them to cover for each other if they needed time off. Former Chief Konkle said he took notice of Soulier early-on for his innovative ideas and strong work ethic. "He worked really well with others and worked as hard as necessary to get things done," Konkle said. "As an administrator, he was just tireless. He came in early and left late." Among Soulier's accomplishments in Harrisburg were developing a regional program to deter juvenile fire setting, helping to establish the Lochiel Emerald Society Pipe and Drum band and producing informative "Engine 21" segments on fire safety with a local television station. He barely made it to the studio for one episode in 2009 after his beloved old Jeep got a flat tire in the snow, according to his post on Facebook. He and his son hurriedly fixed the flat in 22-degree weather and he rushed to the studio, where he planned to start a Christmas tree on fire as part of his educational program. But the tree wouldn't catch fire, even after Soulier doused it with motor oil and paint thinner. "It sizzled like a hamburger and that was about it," he wrote. Afterward, Soulier consoled himself by remembering a Jeep for sale in a car lot that had caught his eye. He was a huge fan of Jeeps. "Ninety minutes later," he wrote on Facebook, "I'm the proud owner of a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo Sport SUV." Soulier volunteered for the Pennsylvania State Fire Museum, and liked to bring his Husky named Buddy along. He also frequently brought Buddy with him to the fire station At Fairview Township, Soulier established a regular educational program for the West Shore School District. While many fire departments devote a week in October to fire prevention education and strategies, Soulier "believed it in year-round," Weidenhammer said. "He formed a special bond with the students and teachers." The kids recently made a foot-high tall stack get-well cards for Soulier that Weidenhammer delivered. At Soulier's urging, the township also bought a fire prevention trailer that has been toured by more than 20,000 people. Soulier served as a mentor to the other firefighters in the township, and acted as s sounding board for the chief. "I called Dan all the time for advice," Weidenhammer said. "If you looked at him, you might think he's a gruff guy. But he was one of the kindest people you could meet. He cared about everyone and took the younger guys under his wing." Although Soulier originally was given a dire diagnosis of only three months to live, he survived much longer allowing him to attend a family baptism and his son's recent wedding. "He didn't want to give up," Weidenhammer said. "We like to say he was given bonus days." Soulier's three adult children now work in public service, career choices that made Soulier very proud, Weidenhammer said. One son works for a helicopter ambulance, another son is a firefighter and his daughter is a state trooper in Maryland. Soulier also leaves behind his wife Joann and three siblings, Frank, Mary and Fred. They are planning a celebration of Dan's life and community service in the summer. An intellectually disabled Halifax man apologized Thursday as he was sentenced to state prison for molesting two girls, ages 12 and 13. "I'm ashamed of myself," Broc Ferguson, now 22, told Dauphin County Judge Deborah E. Curcillo before she imposed his 2 1/2- to 5-year jail term under a plea deal. This was a case where everyone involved felt bad, especially Ferguson's mother who sobbed quietly throughout the sentencing hearing. Ferguson was arrested in mid-2016 on charges that he had sexual contact with both girls during independent incidents that summer in the Elizabethville park. He pleaded guilty to the charges this past December. Deputy District Attorney Katie Adam said the plea deal was endorsed by the victims and their family members. She said the agreement "struck the appropriate balance" that took into account Ferguson's disability and the fact that no force was used. Another factor, Adam said, was that Ferguson and the girls were friends. She told Curcillo that despite the age difference Ferguson's intellectual disability "puts him and the victims in the same peer group as far as mental capacity." The girls and their families didn't attend the hearing. Adam told the judge the girls "want me to tell you that they are OK with the (plea deal) and they are apologetic to Broc that he got in trouble." First Assistant Public Defender Mary Klatt said Ferguson isn't your typical sex offender. "He has a very supportive family and I have to tell you they're very devastated by this," she said. Ferguson said he has participated in programs while in prison that equip him to be a "better decision-maker." "I will not ever commit this crime again," he promised. If he does, the consequences will be dire. Adam told him a conviction for another sex crime would trigger a mandatory prison sentence of at least 25 years. His current convictions require Ferguson to register with state police as a sex offender for life. Months before 17 students were killed by a gunman at a Florida high school, officials at a central Pennsylvania school district installed a unique last-ditch defense against an active shooting incident. Since last fall, all 200 classrooms at Blue Mountain School District in Orwigsburg have been equipped with buckets of rocks. River rocks, to be exact. Before you give out a depressed chuckle, consider this. Blue Mountain Superintendent David Helsel told Reuters Friday that those rock buckets represent exactly the kind of desperation defenses recommended by experts in dealing with mass shootings. Helsel said he got the idea from the widely-respected ALICE active shooter defense program. ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate. Indeed, the rocks do fit into the "counter" part of the ALICE equation. ALICE recommends that instead of freezing during an active shooter event, people who have no avenue to escape should pummel the gunman with whatever might come to hand. The idea is to create distractions, put the gunman off kilter and spoil his aim. That is, of course, a defense of absolute last resort. ALICE doesn't advise fighting active shooters if there are any other viable options. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security offers similar advice. In dire straits, it recommends displaying physical aggression, throwing objects at the shooter and trying to disable him. Helsel explained the bucket of rocks defense employed by his Schuylkill County district when he testified before the state House last week. "We didn't want our students to be helpless victims," he told Reuters. "River stones were my idea. I thought they would be more effective than throwing books or book bags or staplers." The swift action of a lone school resource officer during Tuesday's shooting incident at a Maryland High School confirmed for one gubernatorial candidate that his plan for making schools safer is the right one. If the armed officer Blaine Gaskill had not been there to immediately confront 17-year-old shooter Austin Wyatt Rollins after he shot two students, wounding them both, it's possible more people could have been injured or killed, said Sen. Scott Wagner, R-York County. Wagner, one of three candidates seeking the GOP nomination for governor, wants to put an armed security guard in every school building in Pennsylvania. And he is calling for the state to pick up the hefty cost. Wagner is convinced the state can find the money to cover that cost by selling off the state liquor stores or redirecting money in the budget that is being spent for something else. While he didn't offer any estimate on what this proposal might cost, it could be as much as $192 million annually if it follows the same guidelines as an existing program. Currently, schools can apply for a $60,000 maximum grant to pay for a school resource officer through a $3.9 million targeted grant program administered by the state Department of Education's Office of Safe Schools. That grant program was created in the aftermath of the school shooting massacre in Newtown, Conn., in December 2012. Wagner's Republican opponents Paul Mango and Laura Ellsworth have other ideas for keeping kids safe at school. Mango calls for better mental health screenings, allowing schools to put forward safety plans, precluding people with mental illness from owning firearms, and improving the information sharing between all levels of government "to stop any perpetrator from slipping through the cracks," said his spokesman Matt Beynon. "Paul Mango has been clear throughout this campaign that we need to better protect our kids because the last place a child should ever be threatened is in the confines of their school," Beynon said. Ellsworth has called for installing building access controls such as metal detectors or cardswipes to control entry to school buildings. In fact, she started a GoFundMe page immediately after last month's Parkland school shooting in Florida to raise money to help schools defray the cost of installing those devices. All three Republican candidates have said they could support controversial Senate-passed legislation that allows school districts to permit teachers to carry firearms on the school campus. Despite his vote for that bill, Wagner said putting an armed officer in every school eliminates the need for arming teachers, which educators have told him they oppose. "At the end of the day, teachers are there to teach. They didn't go to school or go to college to get teaching degrees to be armed teacher to be able to save themselves and save children from some type of incident like this," Wagner said. Gov. Tom Wolf opposes the idea of arming teachers. He said he would veto that Senate-passed bill if it reaches his desk. Last week, Wolf announced the creation of a School Safety Task Force that he and state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale are co-chairing that will bring together government, school, law enforcement, and community members to talk about ways to improve school safety and security. Among the governor's priorities for the task force include determining if more funding is needed for security and safety personnel in addition to mandating active shooter training, anonymous reporting of suspicious activity, and physical and mental health programs and information sharing. The task force is holding regional meetings to gather input and invites the public to share their suggestions. Ellsworth and Wagner slammed Wolf for taking too timid of an approach to addressing school safety. The Maryland school shooting "reinforces the urgency with which I have called upon Governor Wolf to increase security precautions at all Pennsylvania schools," Ellsworth said. "We cannot wait six weeks or six months to take action. This is not an election issue. This involves the safety of our children and it should already be underway in Pennsylvania." Instead of forming a task force, Wagner said Wolf should be calling a special session of the Legislature to address this issue. "The time is now for action," he said. "We should act on what's happening." Wolf spokesman J.J. Abbott ignored a request for comment about Wagner's suggestion of calling a special session and said the governor has put a priority on listening to input the task force receives from people on the front lines to identify solutions. Abbott responded to Wagner's criticism of the governor by pointing out the issue of school safety has only been an issue for him during his gubernatorial campaign and has not been one that Wagner focused on in his capacity as a senator based on a review of news releases on his senatorial website. "Scott Wagner is the worst kind of Harrisburg politician, using a tragedy to score political points," said Beth Melena, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee. "If Scott Wagner really wanted to improve school safety, he would have voted to fund the school safety initiative in last year's budget." State Attorney General Josh Shapiro is calling on members of the state House of Representatives to reject resolutions that seeks the impeachment of four Democratic justices on the state Supreme Court over how they ruled in a congressional redistricting case. In a statement issued on Thursday in response to Tuesday's introduction of the impeachment resolutions supported by 12 conservative GOP lawmakers, Shapiro said "to impeach select state Supreme Court Justices because of a legal decision is ill-conceived and dangerous for our democracy." The lawmakers argue in the resolutions that seek impeachment of justices David Wecht, Debra Todd, Christine Donohue and Kevin Dougherty that the justices overstepped their authority and acted improperly through their rulings by giving lawmakers insufficient time to enact a new district map and then produced a court-drawn map. Shapiro, a Democrat, said impeachment is "a serious and rarely used tool that is reserved for misbehavior in office, rather than opposition to a justice's legal opinion." He went on to point out that the courts have handed down opinions during his time as attorney general that he opposed but he trusts that they were rendered by the courts "on integrity and based on the law." Shapiro said, "The independence of the judiciary is at stake and I would urge clear-thinking members of both parties in the state House to reject this effort." Earlier on Thursday, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Saylor, a Republican, called the impeachment threats directed at justices over their decision in a case "an attack upon an independent judiciary, which is an essential component of our constitutional plan of government." None of the House Republican leaders are among those who signed on to the resolutions. In fact, in a statement, House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana County, said, "While I believe the state Supreme Court's decision to draw and implement their own congressional redistricting map is wrong, disagreement over the outcome of any particular case should not be grounds for impeachment." The resolutions were introduced a day after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied a bid by House and Senate GOP leaders to block the court-drawn map. That same day a three-judge panel threw out a separate challenge to the map by eight Republican congressmen and two GOP state senators. That leaves the court-drawn map as the one to be used in this year's congressional elections. *This story was updated to include the statement from House Majority Leader Dave Reed. It previously incorrectly identified that statement as coming from Speaker Mike Turzai. The introduction of resolutions that have the support of 12 GOP lawmakers to impeach four Democratic justices on the seven-member state Supreme Court over their rulings in a congressional redistricting case is not sitting well with the state's top jurist. Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Saylor, a Republican, released a statement on Thursday about the resolutions. He said, "As Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, I am very concerned by the reported filing of impeachment resolutions against justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania related to the Court's decision about congressional redistricting. "Threats of impeachment directed against justices because of their decision in a particular case are an attack upon an independent judiciary, which is an essential component of our constitutional plan of government." The resolutions seek impeachment of justices David Wecht , Debra Todd , Christine Donohue and Kevin Dougherty who the lawmakers argue acted improperly through their rulings that gave lawmakers about three weeks to enact a new district map and then produced a court-drawn map. The co-sponsors are among the House's more conservative Republicans, and so far no members of the GOP leadership have signed on. If the 203-member House votes to impeach, the two-thirds of senators in attendance must agree to convict in order to remove the official. House GOP spokesman Steve Miskin said such a decision to hold an impeachment vote is not one that is taken lightly and to date, the leaders have had no discussions about it. The last judge to be impeached in Pennsylvania was Supreme Court Justice Rolf Larsen in 1994 following his conviction for conspiring to obtain drugs via fraudulent prescriptions. Prior to Larsen's impeachment, the last state official to be removed via that process was Thomas Cooper, a county judge accused of "injudicious conduct," in 1811. Nicholas More, a judge who was removed in 1685, has the distinction of being the first judge in all of the American colonies and the first provincial official in Pennsylvania to be impeached. This Feb. 13, 2018, image released by Japan's Ministry of Defense shows what it says is the Belize-flagged tanker Wan Heng 11 next to the North Korean-flagged Rye Song Gang 1 in the East China Sea carrying out a suspected banned Auship-to-shipAu transfer. Company records and shipping databases show the owner of the Wan Heng 11 has links to Hong Kong, underscoring concerns that the southern Chinese city is a nexus in North KoreaAos underground business network. (Ministry of Defense via AP) Construction is underway on 27 new rental apartments that are going in on the top two floors of the City Centre building in downtown Penticton. Princeton resident Kathy Simpkins and her 53 million year old discovery of a fossil which has scientists identifying two new species of fossil insects called scorpionflies which highlight a connection between Canada and Russia going back millions of years. The new Bombardier CS300 sits in the hangar before its maiden test flight in Mirabel, Que., on February 27, 2015. Aircraft giant Boeing will not appeal a ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission that allows its Canadian rival Bombardier to sell its newest commercial jets without heavy duties.Boeing launched a trade case with the independent International Trade Commission last April, arguing that governments in Canada and Britain subsidized development of Bombardier's C Series commercial jets and allowed the Montreal-based company to sell it at unfairly low prices. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz A natural gas refuelling port is seen on a vehicle at the Vancouver Board of Trade energy forum, in Vancouver in an October 8, 2014, file photo. Western Canada's natural gas industry is welcoming B.C. government tax incentives aimed at jump-starting the much-delayed West Coast LNG industry.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck In this March 21, 2018, photo, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., walks to the Senate floor for a vote with accompanying reporters, on Capitol Hill in Washington. As the Senate gets closer to another government funding deadline, Paul is protesting the pending $1.3 trillion spending bill, which he has called "budget-busting." (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) FILE - In this Feb. 24, 2017, file photo, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Oxon Hill, Md. President Donald is replacing National security adviser H.R. McMaster with Bolton. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) This image released by the FBI is the wanted posted for 9 Iranians that took part in a government-sponsored hacking scheme that pilfered sensitive information from hundreds of universities, private companies and government agencies. (FBI via AP) JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) The bodies of two experienced mountain climbers who are presumed dead likely wont be recovered for months, a spokeswoman for the Alaska State Troopers said. Megan Peters said summer is the soonest that authorities could launch a recovery effort in southeast Alaska, though even that depends on snow and ice conditions and the risk to crew members. We like to be able to provide closure to families also, Peters said. There are times where unfortunately were just not able to do so. The agency said earlier this week that George Ryan Johnson of Junea... Guyana's government gets F' grade for handling oil and gas sector Jagdeo By Kaieter News GEORGETOWN Petroleumworld 03 23 2018 Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday gave the David Grangerled administration an F' grade for failing to implement much-needed initiatives in the oil and gas sector, almost three years into their term. At a press conference yesterday, Jagdeo dismissed Wednesday's special caucus organized by the Government with oil experts, including British expert Sir Paul Collier, as a publicity stunt. During the meeting, President Granger outlined Government's vision for the sector. The big vision that the President lays out for oil and gas sector We need to educate ourselves, work on a framework and protect our resources, and on all three points that he made they have received an F grade on everyone of them, Jagdeo stated. Jagdeo pointed out that the Petroleum Commission, the Sovereign Wealth Fund and a plan for the future oil resources have not been established. This framework should have been in place, Jagdeo pointed out. He indicated that the Government has been slow to implement the framework hence, the Ministry of Finance was upset when the US Ambassador, Perry Holloway raised questions about the establishment of the Sovereign Wealth Fund. The President woke up a week ago, organized this [meeting] and realized that we need the organization and the structure to manage the [oil] resource. What have we been doing for three years as a country? Jagdeo questioned. The Opposition Leader pointed out that Wednesday's caucus was part of the Government's plan to educate Cabinet Members, but noted that cabinet members are now educating themselves after signing a post-oil discovery contract with ExxonMobil and its partners that will remain in place for the next 40 years. It is a public relations show, because even if the people bring the best practices from around the world and speak to this Cabinet about it, there is no guarantee that they will implement any of those things, because they have been given world class advice prior to this and they have until now ignored it. There is absolutely no guarantee. It is a show. They are just parading the people to say they are doing something about the sector, Jagdeo stated. The Opposition Leader made the case of Dr. Jan Mangal, who is Petroleum Advisor to President David Granger and whose services are being paid by the Inter-American Development Bank. Jagdeo noted that Dr. Mangal has already advised that the remaining oil blocks should be auctioned and he was excluded while he was advisor from the negotiations with ExxonMobil. While the president is looking to international experts, Jagdeo pointed out that the Government has not held meaningful consultations locally with the opposition and civil society. Story from Kaieter News Kaieteurnewsonline.com 03 23 2018 Copyright 1999-2018 Petroleumworld or respective author or news agency. All rights reserved. We welcome the use of Petroleumworld (PW) stories by anyone provided it mentions Petroleumworld.com as the source. Other stories you have to get authorization by its authors. Internet web links to http://www.petroleumworld.com are appreciated. Petroleumworld welcomes your feedback and comments, share your thoughts on this article, your feedback is important to us! We invite all our readers to share with us their views and comments about this article. Write to editor@petroleumworld.com By using this link, you agree to allow PW to publish your comments on our letters page. Any question or suggestions, please write to: editor@petroleumworld.com Best Viewed with IE 5.01+ Windows NT 4.0, '95, '98,ME,XP, Vista, Windows 7,8,10 +/ 800x600 pixels Guyana wants renegotiation not scrapping of oil contracts, Prof. Collier, misunderstood the issue - Attorney-at-Law, Melinda Janki By Kaieter News GEORGETOWN Petroleumworld 03 23 2018 The recently held ministerial caucus has earned the Government scathing criticisms, on two particular grounds. The first is that many critics are of the belief that a forum which speaks to the protection and proper management of Guyana's oil wealth should include as many stakeholders as possible. The second point of contention was in relation to comments by world-renowned expert and Professor of Economics, Sir Paul Collier. Regardless of what flaws it may possess, Sir Paul opined that it would be absolutely disastrous if Guyana were to tear up the ExxonMobil contract. He said, If you tear this contract up, nobody else will come The Professor also stated that it would destroy Guyana's credibility while having deep implications for the investment climate. While consideration must be given to the Professor's position, there are several locals who could not agree with Collier's position. Chartered Accountant and Attorney-at-Law, Christopher Ram told this newspaper yesterday that he does not share Collier's view at all. Ram said, I reject the statement with regard to scrapping contracts. Nobody said anything about that and so it is a red herring. What we are saying is that the contract should be renegotiated and there is sufficient ground for this to happen. At best, I would ask that the government takes the position from those individuals like Collier as just one set of views and not as some divine edict. Attorney-at-Law, Melinda Janki was also asked to give her take on Collier's comments. She found it impossible to concur with the Professor's statements. The International lawyer said, No. With all due respect to Paul Collier, I think he has misunderstood the issue. I am quite sure that he is not aware of the legal challenges to this deal or that there are various legal grounds for challenging this proposed oil production. She added, I am certain Paul Collier would agree with me that it is essential for the Government of Guyana and the oil companies to respect the rule of law and to comply with all of Guyana's laws. Janki, who has worked as an in-house lawyer for British Petroleum (BP), insisted that all oil activities should be halted until it is clear that the government and the oil companies are fully complying with the law. Story from Kaieter News Kaieteurnewsonline.com 03 23 2018 Copyright 1999-2018 Petroleumworld or respective author or news agency. All rights reserved. We welcome the use of Petroleumworld (PW) stories by anyone provided it mentions Petroleumworld.com as the source. Other stories you have to get authorization by its authors. Internet web links to http://www.petroleumworld.com are appreciated. Petroleumworld welcomes your feedback and comments, share your thoughts on this article, your feedback is important to us! We invite all our readers to share with us their views and comments about this article. Write to editor@petroleumworld.com By using this link, you agree to allow PW to publish your comments on our letters page. Any question or suggestions, please write to: editor@petroleumworld.com Best Viewed with IE 5.01+ Windows NT 4.0, '95, '98,ME,XP, Vista, Windows 7,8,10 +/ 800x600 pixels Mexico populist presidential candidate says may roll back energy reform if elected By Daina Beth Solomon MEXICO CITY Petroleumworld 03 23 2018 The leftist front-runner in Mexico's presidential race said on Wednesday that if elected he would consider passing laws to roll back the opening up of the country's oil and gas sector, the centerpiece of the current government's economic agenda. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, making his third presidential bid in the July 1 election, also pledged to cut violent crime by as much as half in a televised debate late on Wednesday ahead of the formal launch of the election campaign next week. The 64-year-old former Mexico City mayor is leading in major polls, but has spooked investors with threats to revoke oil contracts issued by President Enrique Pena Nieto's administration by subjecting them to review. Pena Nieto, whose Institutional Revolutionary Party has ruled Mexico for most of the last 100 years, is barred by law from seeking a second six-year presidential term. The current government forecasts that, as a result of Pena Nieto's 2013-2014 energy reform, some of the world's largest oil companies will ultimately invest tens of billions in Mexico if they succeed in extraction efforts. Lopez Obrador attacked the reforms in the TV debate with journalists, and called for public input to develop a plan prioritizing national over foreign interests. If the energy reform doesn't suit us...even if it takes time we will start a legal process to modify the laws, he said. Even if it takes us the entire six-year term. He added that he would consult the people on reforms enacted by the current administration, including those on energy and education. They are governing with recipes sent from abroad...the reforms don't have to do with our own needs, he said. Lopez Obrador also said he would reduce violent crime nationwide, including homicides, robberies and kidnappings, by 30-50 percent. China's oil futures to be launch on Monday, will be frazzle or dazzle for foreign traders? By Josephine Mason, Meng Meng BEIJING Petroleumworld 03 23 2018 China's crude oil futures, to be launched on Monday, will be a major step in Beijing's years-long push to win greater sway over oil pricing, but for western traders it will likely bring frustration as well as opportunity. Shanghai Crude aims to rival the world's two crude benchmarks, luring overseas traders with the promise of a deep pool of liquidity and the chance for arbitrage between Asian, U.S. and European markets. However, the contract will also come with quirks that traders used to London's Brent or U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) may find less appealing, including shorter business hours, unique Chinese trading habits and extended holiday breaks. Yuan-denominated trading and a blend of new rules and regulatory burdens will also likely hamper initial take-up on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE), executives at a dozen banks and brokers and experts involved in the launch told Reuters. The rules around trading methodology will be unfamiliar for western houses, said John Browning, chief operating officer of Hong Kong-based futures broker Bands Financial Ltd, which is an approved overseas intermediary for the INE. They'll have to get to grips with a different set of trading parameters, including initial margin calculation, rolling between months, order cancellations ratios, etc. It's all very different. So far, China has opened more than 6,000 trading accounts, including the country's oil majors and about 150 brokerages. Ten foreign intermediaries have registered, including J.P.Morgan, Bands Financial, Straits Financial Services and other Hong Kong based affliates of domestic brokerages. Last-minute changes are still being made to entice overseas users. On Tuesday, the government said it would waive income taxes for foreign investors for the first three years. CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS Specific issues for traders include Shanghai's shorter trading hours, split into three slots, with the afternoon session ending at 3:00 p.m. local time (0700 GMT), just before London ramps up. Although the exchange will have an overnight trading session to match late European and early U.S. trading, it will close for more than six hours before trade resumes in Beijing. This could mean the contract risks having to play catch-up each morning to the moods and swings of Europe and America, rather than setting its own price, several senior futures traders said. Chinese trading habits may also be a shock to foreign users, they said. Chinese commodity futures investors do not typically trade steadily over the months, but instead pick specific months in which they deal, due to a different cost structure. That could complicate efforts to trade spreads between Brent, WTI and Shanghai. These and other factors mean the contract may have a hard time building correlations with Brent and WTI that would make arbitrage possible, said Albert Helmig, chief executive of financial consultancy Grey House and a former vice chairman of NYMEX. It's a China market, with Chinese characteristics, said Helmig. For an EXPLAINER on market concerns, click on For a FACTBOX on contract details, specification, click on FUTURE PLANS Still, China offers the potential for a deep, liquid market, buoyed by an explosion of interest from mom-and-pop investors that has supported its vast commodities derivative markets from apples to iron ore in Shanghai, Zhengzhou and Dalian. In 2017, the total traded value of ShFE's steel derivatives contracts was $4.4 trillion from domestic investors. This compares with global turnover of more than $10 trillion in international oil futures, the world's biggest commodity market. Previous attempts at an Asia benchmark have foundered. Contracts set up by the Dubai Mercantile Exchange a decade ago have not matched Brent or WTI, traded on the Intercontinental Exchange and the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) owned by CME Group. China hopes it can do better: with state-controlled oil majors like PetroChina and Sinopec expected to provide liquidity, analysts said the contract has a chance of succeeding even if it faces short-term caution. Launching a new exchange is enormously complex, so if the initial uptake for the contract isn't that strong, it isn't necessarily a bad thing, said Bands' Browning. Brent spreads up again for second half of 2018: Kemp By John Kemp LONDON Petroleumworld 03 23 2018 Brent calendar spreads have risen significantly over the last week, erasing an earlier decline and indicating traders have become more bullish about the outlook for the oil market later this year. The Brent calendar spread for the second half of 2018, which measures the difference in price between futures for delivery in June and December, has climbed to more than $2.50 per barrel from $1.65 on March 13. Calendar spreads reflect expectations about the balance between supply and demand in the physical market, and are seen by many traders and investors as a more useful signal than spot prices. The relationship between spreads and inventories was identified by economist Holbrook Working in the grain market ("Price relations between July and September wheat futures at Chicago since 1885 here , Working, 1933). But similar relationships between spreads and inventories exist in other commodities including Brent crude. By convention, calendar spreads are normally expressed as the price of the nearer futures contract minus the price of the contract with longer until expiry. Negative spreads, known as contango, when the price of the nearby contract is below the longer-dated one, are correlated with high and rising inventories, when production exceeds consumption. Positive spreads, termed backwardation, when the price of the nearby contract is above the longer-dated one, are correlated with low and falling inventories, when production falls short of consumption. For the last quarter of a century, Brent crude futures have cycled between contango and backwardation as the global oil market has alternated between periods of over- and under-supply. Brent calendar spreads have been one of the most useful and reliable indicators of the changing balance in the global oil market tmsnrt.rs/2Ge1dRq. EPICYCLES The Brent spreads have been gradually moving from contango to backwardation since early 2015 or early 2016 as the oil market has gradually rebalanced after the slump in 2014/15. Recently, however, the calendar spreads appeared to peak and start softening, coinciding with a downturn in spot prices. Traders and investors seemed to react to an unexpected surge in crude and condensates output from U.S. shale producers. Forecasts showed additional production from the United States as well as Brazil, Canada and Norway would be more than enough to meet the increase in oil consumption this year. Hedge funds and other financial investors have been gradually reducing their bullish positions in crude oil over the last seven weeks, intensifying the downward pressure on spreads and spot prices. But in the last week, both spreads and spot prices have rallied sharply tmsnrt.rs/2pxje2V , regaining most of the ground lost during February and March, suggesting a return to a more bullish sentiment or at least a tempering of bearishness. Oil prices and spreads do not rise and fall in straight lines or even in a simple cyclical pattern. In addition to the main cycle, there are smaller epicycles operating at various time-scales from months to weeks, days or even minutes and seconds. The weakening of the spread since early February appears to have been one of those epicycles within the framework of a larger cyclical upswing, but that epicycle seems to have reversed course over the last week. The reasons are not entirely clear, but could include rising tensions between the United States and Iran, OPEC discussions to tighten its inventory target, or another factor entirely. Some epicycles arise from within the market itself, rather than as a result of fundamental external factors, as prices move in response to the accumulation and liquidation of positions by traders. The bigger question is whether the oil market is still tightening - or whether the rise in prices since June 2017 has already done enough to ensure supply will match demand for the rest of 2018 and into 2019. Eletropaulo to raise $500 mln for investment, pay debt By Reuters SAO PAULO Petroleumworld 03 23 2018 Brazil's Eletropaulo , the country's largest power distribution company, plans to raise $500 million for investments and debt repayment, according to documents seen by Reuters on Thursday. The company, whose two largest shareholders are Brazil's development bank BNDES and U.S. power company AES Corp, plans to set up a subsidiary abroad as a vehicle to tap international capital markets, according to documents the firm sent to Brazil's power sector regulator, Aneel. Eletropaulo needs Aneel's authorization to establish the subsidiary, which would issue the bonds and send the proceeds to the parent company in Brazil. Once capitalized, Eletropaulo would use the proceeds to fund investments in power distribution and to pay back debt, said the company in the document requesting permission to set up the subsidiary. Eletropaulo replied to an inquiry from Reuters regarding the plan saying there was no definition, at this time, regarding the transaction. According to the documents, the company expects to amortize around 1 billion reais ($303.29 million) in debt by 2019 if the capitalization plan goes ahead. $1 = 3.2972 reais S. Arabia has options if U.S. walks from nuclear power deal -minister al-Falih By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON Petroleumworld 03 23 2018 Saudi Arabia has international partners it can work with if the United States walks away from a potential deal on nuclear power technology over concerns about nuclear proliferation, Khalid al-Falih, the kingdom's energy minister, said in an interview on Thursday. If the U.S. is not with us, they will lose the opportunity to influence the program in a positive way, Falih said after he and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met this week with President Donald Trump, Energy Secretary Rick Perry and other officials on a range of issues. Perry has been quietly working with Saudi Arabia on a civilian nuclear agreement that could allow the kingdom to enrich uranium and reprocess plutonium, technologies that nonproliferation advocates worry could one day be covertly altered to produce fissile material for nuclear weapons. The kingdom is also in talks with companies from Russia, China, South Korea and other countries as the race to build two reactors in Saudi Arabia heats up. Saudi Arabia has said it needs nuclear power to move away from burning crude oil to generate electricity and to diversify its economy. Earlier this month, its cabinet approved a national policy program that limits nuclear activities to peaceful purposes. Perry hopes Saudi Arabia will buy nuclear power technology from U.S. companies, including Westinghouse, which went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy this year and abandoned plans to build two advanced AP1000 reactors in the United States. But Salman raised concerns when he told CBS in an interview on Sunday that the kingdom will develop nuclear weapons if its archrival Iran does so. Some members of the U.S. Congress worry the Trump administration is moving too quickly on a deal that could relax nonproliferation standards and one day help lead to a nuclear arms race across the Middle East. If Saudi Arabia signs a deal that relaxes the safeguards, the UAE could be free to break its own deal it signed with Washington years ago and enrich uranium. The UAE deal contained the gold standard in such 123 nuclear agreements, because it contains the safeguards. On Wednesday, lawmakers from both parties in the U.S. House introduced a bill that would reform U.S. law to ensure that partners on nuclear energy abandon the pursuit of enriching uranium and reprocessing plutonium. The bill would also harden congressional approval of civilian nuclear deals. Falih said he was hopeful for a deal with Washington. It will be natural for the United States to be with us and to provide us not only with technology, but to help us with the fuel cycle and the monitoring, and make sure we do it to the highest standard. But the kingdom has generous uranium resources it wants to develop. It's not natural for us to bring enriched uranium from a foreign country to fuel our reactors, Falih said. The irony is that if the U.S. chooses not to (seal a deal) then somebody else will and we are fortunate to have many other alternative sources that have agreed to work with us and they will be competing for our program, Falih said. In that case, the U.S. will not have a seat at the table, he said. Perry stuck a similar chord in comments during a congressional hearing on nuclear deals this week. It appears to me, either Russia or China is going to be a partner in building civil nuclear capability in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, if the United States does not. Some nuclear analysts believe it is unlikely that the Saudis would choose to work with Russia because it has partnerships with nuclear projects in Iran. China should import more U.S. Gas to cut trade gap - Wilbur Ross Bloomberg China is already the third-biggest importer of U.S. LNG. State-owned CNPC inked the first long-term deal with Cheniere - Play Video By Ryan Collins, Scarlet Fu, and Julia Chatterley HOUSTON/NEW YORK Petroleumworld 03 23 2018 What would it take for China to reduce its trade gap with the U.S.? Buy more natural gas, for a start, says Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. Diverting its purchases from other countries to America would be the simplest solution, Ross said during an interview with Bloomberg TV after President Donald Trump ordered tariffs on at least $50 billion in Chinese imports. Buying more U.S. liquefied natural gas would be a step in that direction, he said. China needs to import very, very large amounts of LNG and from their point it would be very logical to import more of it from us, if for no reason other than to diversify their sources of supply, Ross said. It would also have the side effect of reducing the deficit. Though LNG imports may help the deficit, which reached $375 billion last year, they are unlikely to put a big dent in it, Anastacia Dialynas, analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said in a research note. Chinese LNG imports may grow to 82 million tons by 2030; if the country bought all of that from the U.S., it could contribute almost $28 billion to the trade balance. But that's unlikely because China already has commitments for most of their gas with other suppliers. Only 40 million tons of China's 2030 imports aren't already under contract, amounting to just $13.5 billion in revenue at current prices, according to BNEF. So can LNG shipments solve the U.S.-China trade deficit? No. Could they help? Yes. Will they increase? Probably, Dialynas said. U.S. exporters are already courting Chinese buyers, and China is looking to diversify from Australia and Qatar, its current primary suppliers. China is already the third-biggest importer of U.S. LNG, behind only Mexico and South Korea. In February, Cheniere Energy Inc. became the first U.S. gas exporter to sign a long-term deal with China, agreeing to supply China National Petroleum Corp. with 1.2 million metric tons a year through 2043. Deal to build civilian reactors in S. Arabia a plus for U.S. companies. Pass, benefits China, Russia - Perry Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg Energy Secretary Rick Perry says U.S.'s pass on saudi reactors benefits China, Russia. Perry asked by Senate panel about Saudi enrichment. By Ari Natter WASHINGTON Petroleumworld 03 23 2018 A U.S. failure to build civilian nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia may allow countries that lack nuclear proliferation standards to step in, Energy Secretary Rick Perry told lawmakers. Perry, testifying Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee, was asked about reports the U.S. is considering a nuclear technology-sharing agreement that wouldn't prohibit the Saudis from enriching nuclear fuel into weapons-grade materials. "I think it's really important to look at each of these agreements not in a vacuum," Perry said, without confirming whether the U.S. was considering such a deal. "I always remind people that the alternative is no good -- if Russia, China are who is going to be chosen to do the civil nuclear projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, there will be no oversight." Eager to extend a lifeline to Westinghouse Electric Co. , Exelon Corp. and other U.S. companies hurt by a domestic downturn in nuclear power plant construction, the Trump administration is in negotiations with the Saudi government as it seeks to build as many as 16 new reactors in the kingdom. Bloomberg first reported the White House was considering an agreement that lacked the so-called "gold standard" agreed to by the United Arab Emirates , prohibiting the enrichment and reprocessing of nuclear fuel and waste. Perry told the senators that a U.S. deal with the Saudis would not only involve American workers and technology but also provide oversight by the International Atomic Energy Agency . Read a QuickTake on why oil-rich Saudi Arabia is turning to nuclear po wer Such a deal has been criticized by influential lawmakers and nuclear proliferation experts, and recent remarks by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that the kingdom would develop a nuclear weapon if Iran did has further set off alarm bells. "I think the proliferation dangers are so great that we should be able to wield all of the influence we have which goes way beyond just this one transaction to insist that same standards we applied to the Emirates," said Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on panel, who noted that he and many others" would oppose a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that allows enrichment of uranium. There should be no difference." In an interview Thursday with Bloomberg Television, Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih said negotiations with the U.S. have been "very constructive" and that "our counterparts from the American side have been understanding of the kingdom's situation." The kingdom will be fully compliant with international treaties and regulations and its nuclear program will be subject to international inspection, he said. "We want the best technology providers to be with us and the U.S. is on that list," he said. "We hope that the U.S. will join us and be part of the competition that is taking place later on this year and will be with us for the long term." Iran Ties In testimony before a House Armed Services panel Wednesday, Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, said the Saudis were unlikely to buy reactors from Russia because of the country's closeness with Iran, and that export reactors made by China and France have yet to operate and are behind schedule and over budget where they are being built. Instead, Sokolski said, reactors made by South Korea are most likely to win the bid, but since they contain American technical content, Korean officials believe they cannot export it to the kingdom unless the Saudis reach a cooperation agreement with the U.S. "Washington has serious leverage over Seoul and what nonproliferation conditions it might chose to place on its Middle Eastern nuclear exports," Sokolski said in his written testimony. "It would be remarkable if our government chose not to use this leverage." Mayor Jim Kenney said he would release the bill for the Super Bowl parade a week or two after the event. That was six weeks ago. Read more Mayor Kenney is testing Clout's patience a bit this week, so we feel obliged to give him a quick body check. On Feb. 9, during a postmortem news conference on the Eagles Super Bowl parade, we asked how much of the parade bill was being picked up by taxpayers. Kenney said the team and the city had not agreed beforehand on how to split up the costs, which were still being calculated at the time. He said the estimated price to taxpayers would be released within a week or two. Yet here we are six weeks later. What's the deal, Mayor? "We're in discussions with the Eagles, and we'll be releasing the cost figures once those discussions conclude," Kenney spokesman Mike Dunn said. The Eagles didn't respond to a request for a comment on the discussions. This is all a little ironic given that, as a councilman, Kenney slammed Mayor Michael Nutter for boasting about his administration's transparency while his underlings worked behind the scenes to clamp down on the flow of information. "It has evolved from transparency to translucency," Kenney told the Daily News in 2013. "It's like putting Vaseline on glasses. You can see the light, but you can't see what you're looking at." For the record, it took Nutter less than two weeks to disclose the cost of the Phillies World Series parade to taxpayers. It topped $1 million. Hey, the Eagles parade was a blast. We were there. We had enormous fun, along with hundreds of thousands of other fans. But we'd like to know how much it cost us. Is that too much to ask? Hopefully, we'll have an answer for you before the next parade following Super Bowl LIII 2019. Pa. candidate had property tax break in another state till we called Despite raising a record amount of money for his campaign, Jon Ossoff lost his bid for Congress in Georgia earlier this year. One possible reason, according to pundits: Ossoff was branded a carpetbagger. Could the same allegations be a liability for Scott Wallace, the party-backed Democrat trying to unseat U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in Bucks County? Wallace lived in the D.C. region while he and his wife led the Wallace Global Fund, a charitable organization supporting the environment and other liberal causes. Though Wallace is originally from Bucks County, the National Republican Congressional Committee has dubbed him a "multimillionaire Washington insider." A memo for a poll conducted on behalf of Rachel Reddick, one of Wallace's primary opponents, also claimed that his "carpetbagging causes major concerns" among voters. Now Clout has learned that Wallace had a homestead tax credit on his house in Maryland since 2009 until we asked him about it last week. Homestead credits are property tax breaks for people's primary residences. Eric Nagy, a spokesman for Wallace's campaign, said the Wallaces pre-paid this year's real estate taxes back in June, which is before they "moved full-time" to Bucks. He said it was an "oversight" that Wallace received the credit this year. He refunded $692 to the state after our inquiry. "Scott Wallace lives in the very same Bucks County house he was born in," added Nagy. "It's always been a big part of his life. His children's height marks are right next to his on the kitchen wall." Fitzpatrick, a Bucks native, previously resided in D.C. too, as well as California, while he worked for the FBI. In fact, he was accused of "carpetbagging" in the 2016 election but won anyway. Get ready for a ward battle between two Council members A coming brawl for ward leader in Northwest Philadelphia is giving us deja vu. In 2016, the captains of two factions within the city's Democratic Party faced off in a congressional primary: Dwight Evans and Chaka Fattah. Evans was victorious in no small part because he is a leading figure in the Northwest Coalition, a powerful alliance of African American politicians, along with former Councilwoman Marian Tasco. Fattah, then the boss of his own mini-political machine, was defeated and sent to prison for corruption soon after. This spring, prepare for a rematch between the two teams: Councilman Derek Green, a member of Evans' coalition, is interested in running for leader of the city's 22nd Ward if the incumbent chooses not to run reelection. So is Councilwoman Cindy Bass, a former aide to Fattah. Green said he wants to be ward leader in order to bring best practices that he's seen across the city back to the 22nd. Bass said she wants to keep turnout high in the area and help other wards duplicate its success. There may be another reason the two lawmakers want the job: The 22nd is one of the top vote-getting wards in the city, which could be helpful for either pol. Green, an at-large Council member, could face stiff competition in a crowded 2019 election. Some potential candidates are also rumored to be eyeing Bass' seat on City Council. Bass denied that 2019 or 2016, for that matter has anything to do with her interest in the ward leader position. Green likewise said he had his eye on the seat for years. Bass said "there wouldn't be a race" if the incumbent ward leader wasn't expected to step down: "It has a whole lot more to do with that and a whole less to do with people's grudges." But one local political insider said the legislators may be fighting for control of the ward because a detente never took place between Team Evans and Team Fattah: "Here in Philadelphia, we carry slights, real or perceived, for generations." BELLEFONTE, Pa. Prosecutors on Friday launched their second bid to force 11 Pennsylvania State University fraternity members to stand trial for the 2017 booze-fueled death of sophomore pledge Tim Piazza, as a top state lawmaker unveiled a proposal to punish hazing with tough jail terms. "We are here to make sure this never happens again," said Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, announcing details of the Timothy J. Piazza Anti-Hazing Law at the foot of the Centre County Courthouse during a break in the proceedings. Among other things, the bill would upgrade hazing resulting in injury from a summary offense typically punishable with a fine to a misdemeanor or felony carrying penalties of up to seven years in prison. Corman, a Centre County Republican, was joined at the conference by Piazza's parents and Penn State president Eric Barron, whose staff helped craft the bill. The senator said he hopes to push it through the Senate next month. Piazza, 19, a sophomore from Hunterdon County, New Jersey, died in February 2017 from injuries he suffered after drinking copious amounts of alcohol during a pledge ritual party at Beta Theta Pi. In a stupor, he fell down stairs and was left unattended for hours. His death days later and the subsequent charges have drawn national attention and led to a crackdown on Greek life at Penn State's flagship campus. None of the defendants was in court Friday, as prosecutors sought for the second time in a year to persuade Centre County Judge Allen Sinclair to hold them for trial on charges that range from involuntary manslaughter to hazing. Sinclair has set aside six days for the hearing, which could tread much of the same ground as last year's multiday proceeding. From the outset Friday, defense lawyers were angling to prevent that. Brian Zarallo, a longtime Philadelphia assistant district attorney who joined the Attorney General's Office this year, told the judge that the prosecution would present a streamlined case, including about two hours of surveillance video from the State College house on the night Pizza suffered his fatal injuries. Despite objections from the defense, Sinclair told him to proceed. "I'll make the decision if I've seen too much already," he said. All of the testimony Friday morning came from forensic pathologist Harry Kamerow, who described Piazza's head and spleen injuries, which he said resulted from a fall while the young man was severely intoxicated. Asked by prosecutors, the pathologist said Piazza would have had a better chance to survive if he had received medical attention sooner. But the doctor said he could not pinpoint how much sooner that should have been. "He starts out with an eminently treatable injury if he gets medical intervention," Kamerow said, noting that Piazza's shattered spleen caused his stomach to fill with blood. Defense lawyers questioned whether college students who had been drinking had the ability to detect that Piazza was severely injured. Men age 19 or 20 "are not in a position to make a medical diagnosis of a spleen injury," argued Frank Fina, who is representing Brendan Young, fraternity president. In the afternoon, State College Police Detective David Scicchitano testified about how deleted video footage from the fraternity house basement, on the night Piazza drank there, was recovered. He also reviewed text messages among fraternity members about prior parties and reviewed the layout of the Beta Theta Pi house. Prosecutors showed a series of pictures of the house, including a shot of the red-carpeted basement stairs that Piazza fell down the night of the party. Scicchitano is expected to take the stand again when testimony resumes on Monday. The hearing last summer culminated with a surprising Sept. 1 ruling by Sinclair to throw out the most serious felony charges against eight of the fraternity members and remove all charges against four others. Then-Centre County Prosecutor Stacy Parks Miller refiled the charges in October and charged 12 additional members of the fraternity in Piazza's death after recovering footage from a basement video camera, for a total of 26. After she lost a bid for reelection, new Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna, citing a conflict of interest, asked the Attorney General's Office to take the case. Attorney General Josh Shapiro declined this month to press aggravated-assault charges against the fraternity members, but charged five of them with involuntary manslaughter. In addition to the 11 facing the hearing Friday, three others previously waived their right to a preliminary hearing and were held for trial. The 12 others charged will face a preliminary hearing in May. The Piazzas' relationship with Penn State has been strained since their son's death, but Jim Piazza, speaking at the news conference outside the courthouse, thanked Barron for his "unwavering support" of the hazing bill. Under the legislation, hazing that results in serious bodily injury or death would be a third-degree felony, while hazing that leads to less serious bodily injury would be upgraded to a third-degree misdemeanor. The legislation also would hold organizations, such as fraternities, responsible for hazing and would require the groups to forfeit property used in the offense. That could put expensive fraternity houses on some campuses in the crosshairs if a hazing event occurs there. It also would require secondary schools and colleges to adopt a written policy against hazing and keep annual reports on offenses committed. Philadelphia School District Superintendent William Hite, and CFO Uri Monson. Monson says city investments will result in a five-year plan that projects no deficits for the first time in years. Read more With the promise of a massive cash infusion from the city, the School Reform Commission on Thursday green-lighted the broad outlines of a proposed $3.2 billion budget for next year that would include new spending on additional teachers, supports for struggling students, and building repairs. It is a vastly different picture from last year, when officials projected a budget gap of hundreds of millions of dollars over five years. The Philadelphia School District's lame-duck governing body lacks the ability to raise its own revenues. Those are rising at a slower pace than its fixed costs. But in the wake of moving for local control of the district, Mayor Kenney pledged to cover its deficits and this month proposed raising nearly $1 billion for the school system via a property-tax hike and other measures. As a result, the school system is certain it can sustain its current level of spending and even planning to make some badly-needed investments, said chief financial officer Uri Monson. "I don't think I ever thought I'd see this," Monson said of the healthy budget picture. "You can see what the city commitment would do for us." Schools chief William R. Hite Jr. said the district was "in the strongest academic and financial position it has been in since I became superintendent." The SRC, which will cease to exist June 30, voted unanimously to adopt the so-called lump-sum budget, which contains the amount the district plans to spend next year but does not commit to details about it. The spending plan covers 130,000 students in traditional public schools and 75,000 in charters. "Mayor Kenney's school funding plan is the next critical step to controlling our future," Hite said. "It builds on our progress, ends the cycle of budget gaps and ensures future fiscal stability. Right now, we are making progress and creating the conditions for greater academic growth and more equitable educational opportunities for more students." Overall, the schools' budget expenditures are expected to jump 5.3 percent, to $3.1 billion. The budget does not anticipate any school closures for 2018-19. Among the new investments proposed in the budget are: an expansion of the district's early literacy effort, previously focused on kindergartners through third graders, to add fourth- and fifth-grade supports; classroom modernization work at 11 schools; new special education, music and English for Speakers of Other Languages teachers; more money for art and music supplies; and more financial support for struggling schools and students. The total value of that new spending is about $235 million over five years, but it will cost the district $335 million in that time frame, as charter payments rise when the district spends more money on its own schools. The district is also upping its capital outlay. The school system had planned to spend $200 million annually to fix aging buildings which, according to a 2017 study, require $4.5 billion in work over a decade. But now, it plans to spend $250 million each year as a result of the city's pledged money and the school system's improved bond ratings. The bulk of the increase to the district's budget, however, comes in other areas: from increases in payments to charter schools (by $79 million, to nearly $984 million), debt service (by $25 million, to $301 million), salaries (by $19 million, to $833 million). Pension costs have also soared over the last five years, as they have for all Pennsylvania districts pension costs will have risen 500 percent between 2011 and 2023, to over $300 million by 2023. Officials acknowledged that risks were built into the spending plan. Most significantly, City Council has already balked at Kenney's proposal to raise property taxes. But Monson also flagged as possible problems the supposition that the governor's proposed spending for Philadelphia does not pass, the specter of increases in the state teachers' retirement system contributions, and changes to the charter school funding formula that might affect the district. City officials tweaked their school funding package on Thursday, lowering Kenney's proposed property tax increase to 4.1 percent from his initial call for a 6 percent hike. Officials credited a new round of property assessments they said resulted in an 11 percent increase in total property value. They promised to release details on the increase in assessment in the coming weeks. Thursday's school budget proposal is just the first in the district's budget calendar. School principals must complete individual budgets; the SRC is scheduled to hold a budget hearing April 19, take its case to City Council on May 9, and adopt its budget May 24. Staff writer Claudia Vargas contributed to this article. Jeff Garlin (left) as Murray Goldberg and Sean Giambrone as Adam Goldberg in a scene set in the 1980s Walnut Street Theatre in the ABC comedy The Goldbergs. Read more The Walnut Theatre Company will be playing its 1980s self in the next episode of the ABC comedy hit The Goldbergs. As the world knows, The Goldbergs is based on show creator Adam F. Goldberg's 1980s growing-up years in Philadelphia. Titled "Colors," the episode is scheduled to air 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 28. It tells of how Goldberg's drama teacher, Susan Cinoman (played by Ana Gasteyer), created a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The Walnut is doing a production of Joseph (as it really did in 1989), and young Adam begs and begs until he gets to go. Grown-up Adam has often cited Cinoman, who herself went on to be a playwright and screenwriter, as an early formative influence. "Colors" also honors the 70th birthday of Joseph composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, which fell on March 22. Goldberg asked the Walnut for '80s photographs to make it real. In a statement, Goldberg called the Walnut Street Theatre "my version of Broadway right here in Philadelphia. I was a bona fide theater geek and forced my parents to get season tickets. I still have my "Playbill" collection from every play and musical I went to see there." He also recounted a 1996 fundraiser by the Philadelphia Young Playwrights that featured an entire night of his one-act plays: "It was then that I knew I wanted to dedicate my life to writing scripts." Bernard Havard, president and producing artistic director at the Walnut, said he was thrilled to be part of the episode and that "we hope to inspire countless more generations of young theater lovers, just like Adam Goldberg." The Walnut will also honor Webber with his romantic musical Tell Me On A Sunday in its Independence Studio on 3 (April 10-June 10). Short Editions Short Story Dispenser offers one-, three-, and five-minute stories at the touch of a button. In collaboration with the Free Library of Philadelphia, three are headed to locations across the city. Read more Like picking up a pack of Oreos from the cafeteria vending machine, a new kiosk concept in partnership with the Free Library of Philadelphia will allow visitors to obtain short stories at the touch of a button. Announced Thursday as part of the Public Library Association's 2018 conference, Philadelphia was selected as one of four cities to receive a grant for Short Story Dispensers. The thin, sleek 5-foot-tall kiosks will be at three yet-to-be-determined locations throughout the city. Each will offer one-, three-, and five-minute stories from a range of 20 genres. Stories will be spit out like an ATM receipt to users and for free on eco-friendly paper. The initiative, funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and in partnership with the publisher Short Edition, is intended to promote reading throughout the city. "It creates the idea of libraries without walls and allows us to really embed ourselves all throughout the community," says Pam Smith, president of the Public Library Association. "People are busy, but this combines both technology and reading in short doses, and people love that." Launched in France in 2015, Short Story Dispensers are a product of Short Edition, whose community of writers provides all of the stories for each kiosk. A publisher of nearly 8,000 authors, the start-up company sought to bring literature to unexpected places like airports, train stations, shopping centers, and hospitals. People could engage in reading during unfavorable wait-times, turning what are often frustrating experiences into positive ones. Short Story Dispensaries are currently in more than 150 locations across six continents. Now, Short Edition is teaming up with public libraries, including the Free Library of Philadelphia as well as those in Ohio, South Carolina, and Kansas, to grow the initiative. "We believe, like food and housing, literature and culture should be accessible to all," says Loic Giraud, Short Edition's business developer. Andrew Nurkin, the Free Library of Philadelphia's deputy director of enrichment and civic engagement, notes that the locations for the dispensers in Philadelphia are still being worked out, but talks with places like the Philadelphia International Airport are already well underway. "I'm most excited for the surprise aspect and to watch people find joy and engage in the written word outside of a traditional setting," says Nurkin. As the program moves forward, it will also serve to encourage writers to share their work through Short Edition's digital content program. Currently in France, anyone can submit a written story to be reviewed by a team of Short Edition judges. As many as 150 short stories are submitted per day, from which the team chooses the best to put into the dispensary catalog. It's this database of 100,000 stories that the Free Library of Philadelphia will use to curate the 2,000 selections that go into each Philly kiosk. "It's amazing you'll never receive the same story in the same day," says Nurkin. Beyond France, upcoming writing competitions will soon open up Short Edition's digital content platform to the public both here in Philly and across the U.S. Anyone is invited to become an author and submit work, and those whose stories make the cut will land a spot in the dispensaries. "Our mission is to spread the joy of literacy to everyone," says Giraud. "We want to welcome authors from across the world to create the natural conversations and connections that stem from reading." Harris Dickinson (left) as John Paul Getty III and Donald Sutherland as John Paul Getty in a scene from Sundays premiere of Trust, a new FX anthology series about the Getty family and its fortunes whose first season focuses on the younger Gettys 1973 kidnapping Read more Do not even think about trash-talking John Paul Getty to Donald Sutherland. The actor plays the late billionaire in Trust, a new FX drama about the Gettys whose 10-episode first season, premiering at 10 p.m. Sunday, focuses on the 1973 kidnapping of Getty's teenage grandson and namesake, John Paul Getty III (Harris Dickinson), and on the elder Getty's reluctance to part with a penny of his fortune to ransom him. It's a story told, somewhat differently, in Ridley Scott's recent film All the Money in the World, in which Christopher Plummer was brought in only weeks before the film's release to replace Kevin Spacey as Getty, delivering, in a nine-day reshoot, an Oscar-nominated performance as a man who seemed irredeemable, a miser who withheld both love and money from his unhappy family. That's not how Sutherland sees the man once called the richest in the world, and who kept a pay phone at his Surrey estate, where he also apparently housed a virtual harem of mistresses and at least one pet lion. (More about the lion in a bit.) Which doesn't mean the actor is disappointed in his own children, who include Designated Survivor star Kiefer Sutherland. "My kids have turned out fine," Sutherland said, laughing. "But it's in spite of, not because of," any interference of his. Trust controversy One of Getty III's sisters, Ariadne Getty, has claimed, through her lawyer, that Trust, which depicts her brother (known as Paul) as being initially culpable in his own kidnapping, defames her family, and she has threatened legal action, according to the Hollywood Reporter. It could be familiar territory for FX, already facing a lawsuit from 101-year-old Hollywood legend Olivia de Havilland over her depiction in Ryan Murphy's Feud: Bette and Joan. Asked about the discrepancies in that story between the FX version and Scott's film, Trust writer and executive producer Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire) cited his research. Two-time Oscar-winner Hilary Swank, who's playing the kidnapped Paul's mother, Gail Getty easily the most sympathetic character in either version of the story hadn't seen Scott's film when we spoke in January, and said she'd never met the woman she's playing. Directing the lion Shakespeare didn't write scenes requiring real lions, though. So the scene was filmed with the actors at Hatfield House, about 21 miles north of London, "with me playing the lion," Boyle said. Then he traveled to a place outside Oxford where a lion could be filmed in a circus cage against a green screen. Swanks return to TV For Swank, who hasn't done a TV series since her character was written out of Beverly Hills, 90210 20 years ago (and whose career has worked out just fine since then, thank you), a show like Trust, in which she appears in eight of the 10 episodes, felt like a good fit. And as someone who didn't come from much money herself, she found she could identify with Gail, who only married into it, and who didn't have the means, once divorced, to pay her son's debts, much less his ransom. Trust. 10 p.m. Sunday, FX. Premiere runs 86 minutes. Always take precautions to make sure you are giving the right dose of medicine, at the right time, to the right person. Read more Medication errors can happen to any of us. You may be responsible for administering medicine to your children, parents, pets, and even yourself all requiring different drugs and doses. A simple moment's distraction can cause a mix-up, which could be potentially dangerous. In these situations, the Poison Control Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is here to help. A specially trained pharmacist or nurse can quickly and competently assess any risk and guide you through this sometimes scary situation. The Poison Control Center at Children's receives nearly 7,000 calls a year about medication errors. The most common involve someone taking their medication twice, taking another person's medication, or administering the wrong medication to another person. Most often, these sorts of errors can be safely managed at home with guidance and follow-up from the poison center, but some medications, when taken inappropriately, may rise to the level of being life-threatening and require a trip to the emergency department. Medications which affect blood sugar, blood pressure, or narcotics may be particularly dangerous. Call right away, don't take a "wait and see" approach. Just as important, don't rush off to the ED, or try to make yourself or someone vomit. Call 911 if an individual has passed out or stopped breathing. Frequently, the dispatcher will patch calls into us for expert guidance to EMS and family members. So how can you stay safe and smart while managing medication administration? Here are a few tips which pharmacists advise and nurses employ when administering medications to their patients: Before giving or taking a medication, here's what you should check: Right drug? Make sure you're giving the medication to the person whose name is on the bottle. Use extra caution if, for instance, a parent and child have the same first name. Confirm whether it's the right formulation such as tablet, capsule, or liquid. Right dose? Read directions carefully each and every time. Pay close attention to doses that include decimals: 0.5 mL can be mistaken for 5 mL Do not use kitchen spoons to measure doses. Use the dosing tool provided for accuracy. Right time? Double-check how often to give the medication. Use a schedule or medication log to track when a dose is due and was given. Ear drops and eye drops may be mistaken for one another; be cautious. Some additional steps to help ensure safety around medications are to store them out of reach of children and pets. Also, dispose of unused medications when they no longer are needed, in order to keep them out of the wrong hands. Ask your pharmacist, or the poison center how to safely dispose of medicines. Never share medications. For any questions, call the Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222. In case of an emergency, call 911. Duong, a Pharm.D. candidate from Temple University, wrote this with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Poison Control Center. It is National Poison Prevention Week. You can follow coverage on social media by searching for #PoisonHelp, #PreventPoison, and #NPPW18 on Twitter or liking the Poison Control Center's Facebook page. The Civil War marked both the emancipation of enslaved African Americans and the first time black men, some recently liberated from the South, others who had long been free in the North, were recruited to serve in the U.S. military. But these soldiers more than 179,000 African American men served in the Union Army would also enter the history books in a way that has received less attention than has been paid to their battlefield courage. Struck down by disease far more frequently than their white comrades, with nearly double the death rate, black soldiers who joined the U.S. Colored Troops would prove pivotal to medicine's understanding of the greatest public health crisis in the young nation's history. "The sheer number of casualties, the very unprepared medical establishment at the outset of the war, and the necessity of that establishment to evolve very quickly to deal not only with mass casualties but to quickly understand what's really going on in human bodies that get diseased and wounded was pressing," said Robert Hicks, director of the Mutter Museum. The story of black Union soldiers is a key part of a permanent exhibition at the Mutter that Hicks spearheaded, "Broken Bodies, Suffering Spirits: Injury, Death, and Healing in Civil War Philadelphia." Though the city never saw any Civil War battles, it did host tens of thousands of wounded and sick soldiers, brought to Philadelphia hospitals for care. The exhibition also looks at what it was like to provide that care, with artifacts and information about not only doctors but also the many local women who volunteered at the hospitals. In the course of compiling the exhibit, "I became fascinated with the issue of black soldiers as a social experiment and the largely untold and unknown story about their progress through the war as patients," Hicks explained. Poor treatment, high mortality Following the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln authorized the recruitment of African Americans into the Union Army. The first encampment for training black troops was Camp William Penn, located in what is now Cheltenham. >>Read more: Forced sterilizations targeted Americans of color, leaving a lasting impact Opened in June 26, 1863, the camp the only one set up exclusively to train black troops was fully operational by Independence Day. Eventually, about 11,000 men passed through the gates of the camp. Of these, about 1,000 would be killed in action or die of disease. "Black troops were susceptible to everything from smallpox to typhus to lung infections," said Hicks. "They died at almost twice the rate of white soldiers, with a 5 percent mortality rate compared with 2.9 percent among white troops." Smallpox was six to seven times more prevalent among black soldiers than white, scurvy was five times higher, while lung inflammation and bronchial diseases were two to five times higher. Death rates from syphilis were lower for black soldiers than for whites, but acute diarrhea was higher in black troops. "Everyone understood a wound is a wound. But when it came to disease, that was a different question, and the Union Army learned that mortality for black soldiers from disease was much higher than whites," said Hicks. Understanding why black soldiers were so much more vulnerable to disease puzzled some white Union doctors, but is stunningly obvious now. Medical care in that era wasn't particularly good for anyone, but white doctors who had never treated black patients could be particularly ineffective. "Doctors were trained to appreciate a person's physical appearance, their ancestry, their education, the place where they grew up, and their moral qualities when considering the sum total of human physiology," Hicks said. All of which was useless in understanding the real problems black troops faced. For one thing, black troops who had been on plantations as slaves never had the chance to develop immunities to diseases that white troops had encountered in towns and cities earlier in life. But there was more. On top of the poor equipment and supplies they were given, black regiments often had fewer physicians attached per regiment (about 1,000 men at full strength), compared with white regiments. "Black troops were regarded as second-class citizens," said Hicks, "and often received lesser quality of equipment and clothing, and maybe only one doctor per regiment." Fatalities from battle injuries were something of an equalizer, standing at 14.3 percent for both blacks and whites. Unlike care for illness, which was segregated, all wounded men were rushed to common aid stations and common field hospitals. However, black soldiers needing additional care were taken to segregated hospitals, which were often less clean and well-supplied, noted Hicks. "So if you're wounded in fighting you're likely to get the same medical attention, white or black, but if it's long-term medical care, it's a different story," he said. The racism of the time also was reflected in who got to serve as surgeons on the battlefield. Although several black doctors volunteered for the posts, white doctors refused to work with them, and they often ended up serving with distinction in freedmen's hospitals set up during the war. A lingering legacy The legacy of Civil War medicine stretched far into the 20th century. During the war, the U.S. Sanitary Commission supplied all black and white soldiers with kits that included questionnaires on parentage and education, as well as physical measurements including lung capacity, which was shown to be less in black soldiers. "Two reports were issued, the first said that performance of black and white troops in all respects was the same, while the second report, leaning on lung capacity measured on a medical instrument called a spirometer, said that blacks had lesser capacity to endure the rigors of a military campaign," Hicks said. Plantation doctors had used the spirometer on black slaves to prove that they were weaker than their white owners. The second report's finding validated this racist view and was selected as the first public health record of African Americans in this country. "Based on this report, every time war happened through World War II, the top brass asked the same questions: What about these soldiers, can they fight? Do they have the intellectual capacity and stamina to be good soldiers?" Hicks said. After the Civil War, there were a few white doctors whose experiences with black soldiers inspired them to set aside their biases. "The overlay of prejudice is very strong if that's what you hear in your education and your church; it's hard to step aside and look at the matter very scientifically," Hicks said. "Yet there are those who had ongoing and direct contact with black soldiers and their performance during the war, who realized that they performed very well and they get sick like everybody else." On April 21 at 11 a.m., Hicks will join Mayor Kenney, U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans (D., Pa.), and other politicians, historians and Civil War reenactors at the Philadelphia National Cemetery, to unveil an informational panel erected by the Veterans Administration that celebrates the achievements of the U.S.C.T, the training camp at nearby Camp William Penn, and those who died in sacrifice to the preservation of the Union. For more information, email pt@usct.org or call (215) 885-2258. The Mutter Museum, at 19 S. 22nd St. in Philadelphia, is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For more information, go to muttermuseum.org or call 215-560-8564. mice30@comcast.net Shakira Wilson-Burroughs, sister of slain Sgt. Robert Wilson III, and Constance Wilson, their grandmother, at the home in West Philadelphia where they previously met with District Attorney Larry Krasner. JOSE F. MORENO / Staff Photographer Read more When the new district attorney came to Constance Wilson's West Philadelphia rowhouse last month, about 25 of her relatives and friends were gathered inside, sitting on couches and chairs, standing by windows and walls. For three years, the two men charged with killing Wilson's grandson Sgt. Robert Wilson III had been awaiting a death penalty trial. He was shot dead in 2015 trying to stop a robbery at a North Philadelphia GameStop, an action the police commissioner and the mayor described as heroic. But District Attorney Larry Krasner had campaigned on a promise never to seek capital punishment, and Constance Wilson and her supporters wanted to know whether his office would continue to seek the death penalty. To their dismay, Krasner who brought with him several top staffers seemed to dance around a firm position for two hours, Wilson recalled Thursday. He seemed standoffish, almost nonchalant, she said, acting as if he'd shown up simply to say that he had done so. "He never gave any direct answers," said Wilson, 76. Her granddaughter, Shaki'ra Wilson-Burroughs, 35, was more blunt. "It feels like he's favoring the criminals," she said. "It doesn't seem like he's advocating for the victims." The prosecution of the alleged gunmen, Ramone Williams and Carlton Hipps, represents a political quandary for Krasner. Wilson's family and the police favor the death penalty, while Krasner's liberal supporters hope the self-styled reformer sticks to his word. Now the city's top prosecutor finally may have to make his choice. The case is due for a status update Wednesday in which prosecutors could say whether they will pursue capital punishment. The trial is scheduled to begin next month. Through a representative, Krasner declined to be interviewed about the case. In a statement, the representative said that the case remains under review and that the office "is committed to finding justice for the Wilson family." Krasner said on the campaign trail that he would never seek the death penalty because it is a waste of resources and does not deter crime. Capital punishment is legal in Pennsylvania, but no inmate has been executed since 1999, and Gov. Wolf placed a moratorium on executions in 2015. Sgt. Wilson's relatives are bracing for the death penalty to be taken off the table. They said Krasner told them at the grandmother's home that an internal committee at his office would have to vote on the potential penalty. But when they asked who was on the committee, said Wilson-Burroughs, he offered no names. They also asked to address the committee before it made its decision. According to the Wilson family, Krasner's victim advocate, Movita Johnson-Harrell, said at the meeting that she would do so for them. The relatives said they had never met her before, and have not heard from her since. "It just seems like we were on track," said Wilson-Burroughs. "This is [like] starting over." Sgt. Wilson, 30, an eight-year veteran of the force, was widely praised as a hero after he was shot dead on March 5, 2015, inside a GameStop at 2101 W. Lehigh Ave. He had stopped at the store while on duty to buy a video game for his son. Brothers Williams and Hipps, according to prosecutors, came in after Wilson, hoping to rob the store. When they saw the officer in uniform, authorities have said, the men pulled their guns and started shooting. The crime was captured on surveillance video. Wilson fired back but several bullets struck him. Both alleged shooters were arrested nearby; Wilson was declared dead at Temple University Hospital. Then-Commissioner Charles Ramsey said at Wilson's funeral: "I have never witnessed an act of bravery like that I saw that day. Never. It's one of the bravest days we've ever seen anyone live." The Police Department's medal of valor was renamed in memory of Wilson, and his badge number 9990 was retired. Wilson-Burroughs on Thursday wore a T-shirt with those bold blue numerals. She believes that her brother's killers deserve the most serious punishment allowed by law because of the nature of the crime: the deliberate targeting of an officer. "They took my brother's life and didn't think twice about it," she said. "They could've left [the store]. It's a capital crime." Police Commissioner Richard Ross said Thursday that he agrees. He declined to comment further. John McNesby, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, the police officers union, said Friday: "If there's ever a case for capital punishment, this would be it." Constance Wilson said she thinks Krasner should pass the case to Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro because Michael Coard, a defense lawyer in the case, has been a prominent Krasner supporter and was on his transition team. Krasner, Wilson said, "is friends with the enemy." She questioned whether the district attorney would be impartial, given the circumstances. West Chester lawyer Samuel C. Stretton, an expert in judicial ethics who also has an office in Center City, said in an interview that many prosecutors and defense lawyers in Philadelphia know each other. As long as they communicate about cases within official channels, it's generally not considered a conflict to face a friend or former partner, he said. Wilson-Burroughs said she told Krasner about her discomfort with the direction he seemed to want to take the case. Three years after her brother's death, she is frustrated. "It seems like everything is kept hush-hush," she said. "We're not getting anything from them." Congress did not include the undocumented immigrants known as the Dreamers in its $1.3 trillion spending bill. Read more Allotting $1.3 trillion to keep America running, Congress on Wednesday declined to consider a group that has been awaiting relief for what to them seems like forever: the "Dreamers." Specifically, when Congress unveiled an omnibus budget to allow the government to function through September, it did not include language or money to support the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which protects the young undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers from deportation. "This was the chance for Congress to help the Dreamers, to bet on America, and they missed it," said W. John Yahya Vandenberg, head of the Philadelphia chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. "It's shameful for both political parties." The move or lack of one wasn't unexpected for immigrants and their advocates in the Philadelphia area, all of whom have lived in a frustrating limbo, wondering whether young people in the process of building lives here will be forced to abandon America and its shining promises, then return to countries they don't know, to face futures for which they couldn't possibly have planned. Depending on how you count them, there are 700,000 to 800,000 Dreamers. Nearly 80 percent of them are from Mexico, according to the Pew Research Center. Their average age is 24. The majority are female (53 percent). Most are single (83 percent). "This isn't a surprise," said Carlos Castro Miranda, 24, of Queen Village, a Dreamer whose parents brought him to the United States from Honduras when he was 8. "That's not to say it isn't disappointing," added Miranda, who works in digital marketing for a local advertising agency. "Congress is really wishy-washy. You can never really trust politicians. They cave under pressure." Sundrop Carter, executive director of the Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition in Center City, continued the criticism of Congress, saying it "lost its political will and punted, keeping our broken immigration system in place." "The headline today is, 'Congress Continues Not to Act.'" That's not entirely accurate. Congress did set aside $1.6 billion for border security technologies not including a concrete wall on the Mexican border, which was seen as a defeat for President Trump, who ran for office promising such an obstruction to keep people from getting into the U.S. "Once again, we dodged a last-minute push to include a no-strings amnesty for DACA recipients in the $1.3 trillion spending package,," he wrote in a blog on Wednesday. Chmielenski was echoing a long-held Republican sentiment that President Obama overreached when he set up the DACA program. That thinking dovetails with Trump's. The president has sought to limit family-based immigration, as well as the lottery system that allows some people from other nations to settle here. He has been a loud proponent of increasing border forces, along with the number of immigrant enforcement agents. Immigration advocates say that Trump and his Justice Department have ratcheted up fear in immigrant communities as ICE raids to deport people have increased under his administration. The crisis began last September, when Trump announced that he was ending DACA. The program keeps recipients from being deported through deferred action, which has to be approved every two years, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. It does not provide lawful status or a path to citizenship. He declared a six-month delay to allow Congress to act on his decision. But several federal judges ruled that Trump's rationale for ending DACA was flawed, and all existing DACA permits were ordered to be renewed. This means that for the time being, the government must accept DACA renewals, although it can't process new DACA applications. Then, late last month, the U.S. Supreme Court declined the Trump administration's request to take up the question of whether the judges' findings were correct. In recent parries with Democrats, Trump said he would offer three years of DACA protection in exchange for $25 billion for the wall. Democrats demurred, saying they wanted a path to citizenship for 1.8 million immigrants. Trump demurred. The haggling continued, resulting in both the wall and DACA being left out of final consideration by Congress, expected to complete voting on the bill Friday. While they suffered yet another setback, the Dreamers are not without hope, advocates said. "This certainly doesn't mean the end of DACA," said Sarah Paoletti, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert on human rights. She said there's still a chance that Congress can take up a separate "clean" bill to deal with Dreamers once and for all. J. Kevin Appleby, policy director for the Center for Migrations Studies, a New York think tank, said that Democrats may prove to "have a stronger hand" in Congress after the midterm elections in November to finally help Dreamers. Just don't lose hope, said Miranda, the Queen Village Dreamer. "We must continue to rally, to pressure politicians, to have our voices heard," he said. "There is no 'woe is me.' The government wants us to be afraid so we'll accept the first concession they offer." And, Carter of PICC warned, it's not just Dreamers who need to worry. "For us," she said, "this is about the Trump administration attacking anything that has to do with immigrants." Kevin Wernik and his horse Joey are best friends, Kevin pays for all of Joey's expenses, and the duo have started a non-profit that buys teddy bears for hospital patients, they are shown here at the Seahorse Farm in Cape May, New Jersey, Monday, March 19, 2018. JESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer. Read more The old fella lives barefoot by the beach, limping down the home stretch of a long life in the raggedy brown coat his parents gave him back in South Dakota. One former owner said Joe N Trouble earned the "trouble" part, but mostly because he was "so darn curious." Curiosity nearly got him one day, when he jumped a fence and a pole almost piked his cavernous horse heart. Most called him Joey: the brave ones who clung to his reins when he was a younger, faster horse, like his mother; all the folks who pointed him straight between the pines on lazy rides; and eventually, people such as Kevin Wernik, who just needed Joey to be there. "When I first met him, I think some kind of bond formed, and when I thought he didn't have a home anymore, I thought I had to do something," Wernik said outside Joey's stall in Cape May. Wernik, 43, has worked as a prison guard at Bayside State Prison for nearly 20 years, and when he first met Joey in 2009, he said, he was lonely, somewhat down, and a bit angry after a difficult breakup. Joey belonged to the Lightfoot family back then, the only horse in a small, mossy pasture on Route 47 in Maurice River Township, Cumberland County. Wernik, of Del Haven, passed Joey on his daily commute, and that horse by the fence brought him a few peaceful seconds he carried into prison, where peace finds little purchase. The two strangers had something in common. Joey was born to be fast out in the Black Hills. Wernick was a track and cross-country star at Lower Cape May Regional High School. He ran a 4:35 mile "many moons ago." He gave Joey an apple one night and got shocked by the electric fence, but he kept on bringing the apples and their bond grew with each bite. "I'm telling you, I knew nothing about horses," he said. One day in 2012, Joey wasn't at the fence, waiting for his apple. The Lightfoots had bad news. "They told me they couldn't afford him anymore," Wernik said. His decisions that day felt guided by fate, not common sense. He was going to buy a horse. Joey had been sent back to Tiffany Cox, a former owner who lived a few miles away. She also had bad news. Joey had been sold, and Wernik was left with nothing more than Cox's promise that she'd call if the deal fell through. "My eyes were tearing up," he recalled. Joey was worth more than money to him, but when Cox later called him, she said $500 would cut it. One of the ways Wernik has tried to explain his bond with Joey is through the Follow the Apple Foundation, a nonprofit he started and funds by selling Joey's bagged manure at roadside stands. He donated the first $475 to various nonprofits and has enlisted colleagues from the prison to help hand out teddy bears at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in North Philly. Wernik has sold 4,366 bags of manure so far at $2 to $3 apiece. Joey can fill a five-gallon bucket a day. None of the manure money goes to Joey's care. Wernik's prison job pays those bills. He and Joey have bounced from barn to barn because of costs. Joey is living at the Sea Horse Farm now, where the owner has dubbed him "Mr. Patient" because he never squabbles over pecking orders with other horses. Wernik visits him every day, often before and after work. They take a lot of selfies. "Some people get it, some don't," he said. Wernik thinks his father, Bob, nailed it when he said, "You thought Joey needed you, but you needed Joey." On a recent weekday morning, the sunbeams angling into Joey's stall made the dust sparkle all around his saggy back and the white star and stripe marking on his face. Joey still likes to roll in dirt. Across the barn, another horse was getting new shoes and neighed. Joey neighed, too, as if to say, "Hey, I hear you. You'll be fine." Joey will be 30 in May. He doesn't wear shoes anymore because Wernik doesn't ride him. "He's, like, retired, kind of," he said. Joey's registration papers hold a few clues to his past. He was born on May 27, 1988, the son of Bear N Trouble, a stallion owned by a real "South Dakota buckaroo" from Rapid City, and Triple None, a mare that belonged to a rancher in Custer. Larry Fiala paid $7,500 for Triple None in New Mexico, one of about 400 hundred horses he has raised on his 160-acre ranch. Fiala didn't recall Joe N Trouble, but made a guess about his makeup because of who his "mama" was. "Triple None had about a dozen colts, and most of them ran real fast," Fiala said by phone. Joey is a quarter horse, "more of a fullback than a scatback," Fiala said, bred to race shorter distances popular in the Midwest and the South. It's unclear how Joey came to New Jersey, but a woman who bought him here in 2003 said he was the best thing that came out of a bad relationship. She asked that her name not be used because of that breakup, but said Joey will always be beloved. "I knew he had some pretty good bloodlines," the woman said. "There was nothing much he was afraid of. He'd do everything you asked of him." Joey, the woman said, used to compete in "Western Pleasure" competitions at 4-H fairs. Those competitions are more about style and manners than speed, and Joey excelled after nearly impaling himself on a fence. "Joey didn't have a mean bone in his body," she said. "He was a very, very sweet boy." When Cox bought Joey, he didn't stick around long. She sold him to a woman who wanted a horse to comfort her blind husband. That suited Joey just fine. "Joey was good to him," Cox said. When that man died, Joey went to the Lightfoots. "I bought Joey for my wife. She was real sick," Gary Lightfoot said last week by the little green barn he'd built for Joey years ago. "She'd go out there and go pet him and it would help her. That's how it went. It was a real weird thing. Real nice horse." When it came time for Wernik to take Joey, Cox wasn't nervous that he didn't know squat about horses. "I knew Joey would teach him well," she said. Wernik hasn't set up a way for people to donate yet besides buying manure, but sometimes the honor boxes are filled with more cash than they should be. He chalks that up to Joey, too. "Joey can't jump and I don't know how to ride," he said. "We make a good team, I think." When asked how long a horse such as Joey could live, Wernik said he knew. His eyes said it, too. Quarter horses usually live to 30. Wernik said he'll keep bringing his buddy apples. He'll dump buckets into bags to buy teddy bears and limp on with his best friend, long after Joey has crossed the finish line. "Joey unlocked something inside of me, and that won't change," Wernik said. "We found our path together. We found our purpose." If there were ever any checks on the erratic, impulsive Trump foreign policy, they nearly vanished last week. President Trump's replacement of national security adviser H.R. McMaster with the uber-hawkish John Bolton practically guarantees that the president will walk away from the Iran nuclear deal in May. And Bolton's call for a preemptive attack on North Korea makes any prospects for a Trump-Kim Jong Un summit look slimmer than they already were. Yet, the scariest thing about Bolton is this: His deep belief in military action will strengthen the president's most macho instincts. Especially since Trump just dumped Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in favor of another uber-hawk, ex-CIA Director Mike Pompeo. Standing alone in the breach is Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, no wimp on using force, but a believer in trying all other options first. But Mattis is now bereft of cabinet allies. We are about to see the real Donald Trump, unchained, in the foreign-policy arena flexing his muscles at the world (minus Vladimir Putin). Barring some unexpected event GOP senators waking up at the prospect of war? the cost to America will be high. Of course, if history is any guide, Bolton might self-destruct. When he served in government, the walrus-mustachioed lawyer was so hard to work with that GOP senators blocked his confirmation as ambassador to the United Nations. (President George W. Bush gave him a recess appointment.) When he held a senior post at the State Department, Bolton clashed repeatedly with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and ultimately broke with Bush, whom he considered insufficiently hawkish. But if he and Trump bond, Bolton's America First philosophy could give shape and consistency to Trump's most reckless instincts. Bolton is a more serious and well-disciplined version of the chaotic former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, or the president's first national security adviser, the wacko Mike Flynn. They, too, tried to channel the president's go-it-alone impulses, but neither was skillful enough. Along comes Bolton, who believes there is a yawning divide between "Americanists" and "globalists" (a term Bannon also used) who seek to tie the United States down, as the Lilliputians did to Gulliver. In a speech in 2000 to the American Enterprise Institute, Bolton laid out how globalists seek to prevent America from using military force. He railed at all international organizations, multilateral treaties, the United Nations, nongovernmental and human-rights organizations, and any accord that constrained American power. "The costs to the United States are far too great," he proclaimed. So, it's no surprise that Bolton disdains the Iran nuclear accord and opposes negotiations with North Korea. Talks are not only useless, but should take a backseat to force. One can assume the president approves of his new adviser's ideas on how to exit the Iran nuclear deal. In March 2015, Bolton wrote an op-ed in the New York Times titled "To stop Iran's bomb, bomb Iran." It called on the Obama administration to bomb Iran's Natanz and Fordow uranium installations. Last year, he wrote a detailed strategy in the National Review for quitting the Iran nuclear deal (which Trump is considering doing by a May 12 deadline). Besides renewing sanctions, the plan includes many elements aimed at facilitating regime change in Tehran. (Never mind that U.S. efforts at "regime change" boomeranged in the Iraq war that Bolton supported, and won't suceed in Iran.) No surprise, Bolton totally downplays the consequences of trashing the deal, which would leave Tehran free to immediately advance toward nuclear breakout capacity. Nor does he mention that renewal of sanctions would lead to a clash with our European allies, who are party to the deal and want it to continue. Or that it's awfully risky to put Iran back on the path to the bomb just when Trump is preparing to meet with the leader of North Korea. Of course, Bolton is just as opposed to any deal with Pyongyang and just as willing to use force to try to end the North Korean nuclear program. Consequences be damned. "It is perfectly legitimate for the United States to respond to North Korea's nuclear weapons by striking first," he wrote in the Wall Street Journal in February. "Given the gaps in U.S. intelligence about North Korea, we should not wait until the very last minute," he added. Pompeo echoes Bolton. He wants to roll back "the disastrous deal" with Iran, and said last year, on Fox News, that the only diplomatic option left with North Korea was "to end the regime." No details on how this plan comes to fruition. Nor do Bolton and Pompeo dwell on the likely hundreds of thousands of dead South Koreans and U.S. troops in case of war with Pyongyang. Until now, threats of preemptive war appeared to be pressure tactics aimed to squeeze and limit Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs. But the new Trump-Bolton-Pompeo troika seems committed to Iraq-like fantasies that war can solve all. Unless Mattis or supine GOP legislators raise some roadblocks, this troika is heading for trouble. Expect a very difficult foreign-policy spring. trubin@phillynews.com; @trudyrubin HARRISBURG Facing allegations that he sexually or physically abused two women, State Rep. Nick Miccarelli on Wednesday announced he will not seek reelection and instead will leave office when his term ends later this year. Miccarelli, 35, a Republican from Delaware County who had previously vowed to run for office while fighting to clear his name, said he made the decision "after much personal reflection and consultation" with family and legislative staff and colleagues. "My decision not to seek re-election should in no way be misconstrued by the public or misrepresented by the media as any admission of wrongdoing on my part," Miccarelli said in a statement. "I intend to continue to work to clear my good name and reputation and put this current controversial situation behind me, once and for all." He said withdrawing his name from the ballot for the May 15 primary was in "the best interests of me and my family to move on to the next chapter in our lives." Terry Mutchler, a lawyer for the two women who have accused Miccarelli, called the decision to forgo reelection "a good first step but it's not enough." "With these types of serious assertions of domestic violence and sexual assault, Rep. Miccarelli should heed the call of his own leadership and step down immediately," she said. House GOP leaders, in an extraordinary step, called on Miccarelli to step down shortly after the Inquirer and Daily News and the Caucus reported on the allegations late last month. Gov. Wolf also has said Miccarelli, a state representative since 2009, should resign. House lawyers last week completed their investigation into the women's allegations and forwarded their findings to the Dauphin County District Attorney's Office. The chamber's report found the two women credible, according to portions of the document obtained by the newspapers. The women one a political consultant and the other a Republican state legislator from Luzerne County accused Miccarelli of sexual or physical abuse in a confidential complaint filed last month with top House lawyers. Both women dated Miccarelli. The legislator, Rep. Tarah Toohil, said Miccarelli hit, kicked, and pinched her during their relationship in 2012 and said that during one argument, he brandished a gun and threatened to kill them both. After coming forward with the allegations, Toohil was granted a restraining order this month against Miccarelli. The other woman, who has asked to remain anonymous, says Miccarelli forced her to have sex after the two ended their relationship in 2014. In a written statement Wednesday, the second woman called on Miccarelli to step down before his term ends. "Rep. Miccarelli's decision to not seek re-election has moved us one step towards making myself and other women safer. But it is not enough. He remains in the House of Representatives where Speaker Mike Turzai has failed to even remove him from his committee assignments, despite his House finding our assertions credible," she stated. "I again call on him to immediately resign and I am continuing to move forward with the process to pursue criminal charges against Rep. Miccarelli." Miccarelli has repeatedly and strenuously denied the allegations. The Iraq war veteran, who got married last month, has called the accusations part of a political or personal smear campaign against him. G. Terry Madonna, a political science professor at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, said he was not surprised at Miccarelli's decision to not seek reelection given the media coverage of the case and pressure to quit. "The real question is whether there will be pressure on him to leave immediately," Madonna said. Steve Miskin, a spokesman for House Republicans, said: "We still believe he should resign." Miskin said he was not aware of any conversations House leaders may have had with Miccarelli since calling for his resignation. Miccarelli's decision to withdraw his name from the May primary ballot leaves Republican leaders in a bind. They will have to scramble to find a candidate to mount a write-in campaign, political officials said. Delaware County GOP Chairman Andrew Reilly said in an interview Wednesday that he was aware Miccarelli had been in ongoing talks in recent weeks with local Republican leaders to determine whether it was "wise to simultaneously run a political campaign while fighting to clear his name." Asked whether he believed Miccarelli should resign immediately, Reilly said: "If the facts are true, then Nick or anyone else who was guilty of that conduct is unfit to serve. But I don't know whether the facts are true that is something the process will have to bear out." Businessman Tom Steyer listens during an E-Cigarette Education Awareness Forum at McClatchy High School in Sacramento, Calif., on January 20, 2016. Read more Puppet master or politician? Democratic megadonor Tom Steyer fancies himself as neither, despite the tens of millions of dollars he's pumping into American political campaigns, the national advertising war he's openly waging against President Donald Trump and the 30-city town hall tour he brought to the Washington, D.C., region this week. Steyer, a hedge-fund-manager-turned-environmentalist who hails from California, is the closest thing Democrats have to the Republican-backing Koch brothers. His recent political contributions eclipse even those of liberal billionaire George Soros. He plans to spend $30 million on the 2018 midterms alone, and his NextGen America super PAC has been a juggernaut for left-leaning candidates in recent years. After a town hall meeting in Largo, Md., on Tuesday one of the early stops on his anti-Trump "Need to Impeach" tour Steyer acknowledged he's spending a lot of money, just as the Kochs, casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and others on the right are. But Steyer sees himself as a different kind of billionaire bankroller: someone who's opened himself up to the proletariat instead of cloistering himself in the comfort of exclusive gatherings packed with 1 percenters. Indeed, in Largo and at a second stop that day in Arlington, Virginia, Steyer treated his supporters like old friends: he shook hands, patted backs, smiled for pictures and laughed at their jokes. He says he's tried to be as transparent as possible under a set of federal rules particularly those that spring from the Supreme Court's Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision that allow vast sums of money to be spent, sometimes without public disclosure, on politics. "I'm sitting here talking to you, talking to them, sitting here on TV saying, 'This is me,'" Steyer told the Center for Public Integrity. "We're not shy about it. You should try and call up the Koch brothers to get a lengthy interview to hear what they're really thinking." Steyer also says he's different from his big-spending Republican counterparts because he's not personally benefiting from his high-dollar media blitz and campaign expenditures. "We're attempting to stand up for the rights of broadly speaking Americans," Steyer said. "It's not going to profit me in any way, shape or form. As opposed to me working my ass off to change regulations or change laws or improve my tax status, there's no instance of my ever having done that." David Dziok, a spokesman for Koch Companies Public Sector, said his bosses have a track record of opposing policies that would benefit their bottom line. His evidence: earlier this month, Charles Koch penned an op-ed for The Washington Post blasting import tariffs, including those on steel, "which would be to our immediate and financial benefit." Among its myriad endeavors, Koch Industries is involved in the steel industry. In the recent tax debate, the Koch brothers came out early against the U.S. House's proposed border adjustment tax, which would have significantly benefited business, and they successfully lobbied for the repeal of direct ethanol subsidies, despite being one of the largest ethanol producers in the nation, Dziok said. "Such irresponsible claims only add to a public discourse that's already too careless," Dziok said of Steyer's remarks. Steyer has taken his "Need to Impeach" Trump message and his personal brand to national audiences in slick television and digital commercials. Despite significantly raising his profile through a push for Congress to put Trump on trial, Steyer has said he's not running for office anytime soon. Still, he and his staff there are 41 employees on Steyer's "Need to Impeach" team alone, an aide confirmed seemed to be working out of the playbook of a politician in full-on campaign mode during the two events he conducted in the Washington, D.C. area on Tuesday. Steyer started both his Largo, Maryland, and Arlington, Virginia, gatherings with a moment of silence for the victims of the shooting earlier in the day at Great Mills High School in Maryland. Wearing cowboy boots and a blazer atop a sweater and dress shirt, he leaned forward when his audience members were talking, and he scribbled notes when they made a point he liked. He remembered their names and made sure to acknowledge them Kia, Gregor, Reta, Bob, among others after they finished speaking. He commiserated when they asked questions, such as, "Why aren't more Democrats standing up to President Trump?" and, "Would Mike Pence really be a better president if Trump is removed from office?" He exchanged affable banter with anyone who wanted to speak to him individually afterward. A staffer said the town hall meetings were giving Steyer a chance to hear from his "constituents," a word that telegraphs implicit leadership. And like a politician, Steyer sought out two distinct audiences that are both crucial to Democrats' fortunes at the ballot box: a group of mostly African-Americans in Largo, and mostly white, upper-middle-class residents of Northern Virginia. Steyer's refrain was largely the same with both groups: "We're here to discuss impeaching a dangerous and lawless president," and only a groundswell of angry voters will convince Congress to take that step. (The White House didn't respond to a request for comment about Steyer on Wednesday.) But the gatherings themselves were worlds apart, even though they were in the same metropolitan area. Steyer's Largo event was billed as a "luncheon" with NAACP leaders and "campaign supporters." It was tucked in the back corner of a nondescript, bifurcated ballroom on the ground floor of a DoubleTree by Hilton. Fewer than 20 people attended the event possibly because a staffer initially gave a number of guests the address of the wrong hotel. Several people had to be rerouted. As Democrats grapple with one of their biggest challenges connecting with and mobilizing African-American voters, a key part of their base Steyer appealed to the exasperation and skepticism expressed by some people in Largo. "Most Democratic elected officials are saying, 'It's inconvenient at this point to bring (impeachment) up," Steyer said. "Looking at a room with a lot of African-Americans in it, we all know that the history was that people did not bring up the human rights and the civil rights for African-Americans for centuries because it was 'inconvenient' and not politically expedient." His message was well-received. Several people took photos with Steyer after the event ended. The guests picked out a boxed meal from a table in the hallway as they left; few stuck around to eat together. A staffer called a homeless shelter and offered to deliver about 25 lunches that weren't going to be used because the crowd was smaller than anticipated. If Steyer was disappointed in the turnout, he didn't show it. About six hours later in Arlington, Virginia, more than 70 people packed the Capitol View Room on the 14th floor of a DoubleTree by Hilton, overlooking Washington, D.C. The audience was mostly white. Wine, beer, artisan cheeses and other hors d'oeuvres were offered. Steyer received a standing ovation when he entered the room at the hotel in Arlington. More than an hour after he began speaking, at least half a dozen audience members still had their hands raised to ask him questions. Janice Brangman, one of the few African-American women who attended the Virginia event, told Steyer his impeachment plan didn't go far enough at rooting out problems in American politics. "There's millions of Americans that do not have a president right now because he doesn't represent any of us that think different from him," Brangman said. "Impeachment is too nice." Steyer grinned and continued taking stock of the frustration in the room. Next up for Steyer: he plans to attend an anti-gun March for Our Lives event organized by high school students Saturday in Orange County, California, an aide confirmed. Steyer's next public meeting is scheduled for April 11 in Oakland, California. The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit investigative news organization in Washington, D.C. Elaine K. Coate, 90, a retired social services executive, died March 17 at Hahnemann University Hospital. Ms. Coate, who lived most recently at the Watermark, was executive director of the Friends Association for Care and Protection of Children, a Quaker social services agency formerly known as the Friends Shelter for Girls, from 1975 to 1992, and served on the group's board for seven years before that. She also worked as a civic and political leader, serving as Democratic Committee chairwoman in Radnor Township, and advocating in Harrisburg for various children's issues. "She was the 'cool mom' who was really supportive, particularly of young women," said her daughter Cathryn Coate. "She would go up and down the street and grab them and say, 'Go to a better college, get a master's degree, further your career.' " Born in Philadelphia and raised in Mount Airy and Abington, she became a Quaker at age 15. She graduated from Abington Friends School and earned a bachelor's degree in English from Earlham College in Richmond, Ind. She traveled extensively, said her daughter, and was an "avid bird-watcher, camper, poet, rock collector, and lover of music, especially Charlie Parker and Pink Floyd. She could identify nearly every plant and tree in the woods and recite Walt Whitman by heart." Ms. Coate and her husband, James M. Coate, raised their family in Rosemont and then Malvern. After his death in 2013, she moved to the Watermark. She was predeceased by daughter Cecelia "Cissy" Coate. In addition to daughter Cathryn, she is survived by sons James Jr. and Robert, six grandchildren, a great-grandson, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. A Quaker memorial service will be Sunday, May 13 at 3 p.m. at Valley Friends Meeting, 1121 Old Eagle School Road in Wayne. Contributions in her memory can be made to Cape May Bird Observatory, 701 E. Lake Drive, Cape May Point, N.J. 08212. Candidate for New York governor Cynthia Nixon speaks during her first campaign stop at the Bethesda Healing Center church, Tuesday March 20, 2018, in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn in New York. Nixon will challenge New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for the Democratic nomination. Read more When Cynthia Nixon announced her campaign for New York governor, many scoffed at yet another celebrity candidate in an age that's already full of them. But Nixon may be less an example of how stars seeking a career change are doomed to fall short, and more a model for how they can succeed. With President Trump smashing china in the Oval Office, it's no wonder some think the country suffers from too much puffery and too little policy-making. Speculation about an Oprah Winfrey run for president was met with as many sneers as cheers a few months ago, and when Nixon entered the fray, webizens seized on a Sex and the City trope straightaway. The internet couldn't help but wonder: Was she a viable candidate? Carrie Bradshaw's episodic typewriter-ready musings have an air of cliche that observers appear eager to apply to the political aspirations of the woman who played her confidante Miranda Hobbes for so many years. The same skepticism comes through in many of the articles covering Nixon's campaign. But that underestimates Nixon. First, she has positioned herself as an outsider. Albany, she says, swarms with cronies of "millionaires, billionaires and corporations." That rhetoric recalls Bernie Sanders, and it also recalls Trump. Nixon has identified a swamp, and because she has spent her whole life a couple hundred miles south of Albany, she thinks she has enough distance to drain it. Also like Trump, Nixon is trading on her celebrity status (she looks an awful lot like Miranda Hobbes while strutting down the sidewalks in her inaugural ad), and she knows how to stage a spectacle. That means riding the embattled subway to a launch event and griping about "Cuomo's MTA" when it lands her there late. And it means responding to Christine Quinn's calling her an "unqualified lesbian" with a cheeky tweet and then reprising it at a campaign party at the Stonewall Inn. These choices certainly make strategic sense. Nixon's focus on capitalism run amok has piqued the interest of some prominent New Yorkers with far-left sensibilities, and her cachet as the star of a show popular among mainstream progressive women should win her a sizable portion of the Clintonite crowd. But more important than whether Nixon can win is whether she should whether she has the liberal bona fides to bolster her acting acclaim, or the governing chops to lead a state of almost 20 million people. Trump is the obvious cautionary tale here. He won by selling the American people something he couldn't deliver and may never have even believed in. In contrast, for someone who won her fame pretending to be other people, Nixon radiates genuineness. Billionaire is Trump's brand, but he didn't make that money himself, and his bountiful debt along with his bankruptcy filings suggest that he ran his business only marginally better than he has run the country. Nixon tells a story that feels a whole lot realer than a sitcom. She was born in New York and grew up in a fifth-floor walk-up with a single mom. She went to public school in the city, and she sends her kids to public school, too. She knows the trains don't work because she's been taking them for a while. Winfrey, of course, had a compelling story, too, and still many Democrats flinched at the idea of her omnipresent face becoming the face of their party. But that's because Winfrey has been so busy promoting people and products throughout her life that a list of her purported viewpoints looks more like a pick-and-choose catalog than a coherent platform. And some of the products in that catalog, liberals probably wouldn't buy her peddling of pseudoscience chief among them. Nixon, though, has built a consistent progressive profile. She has flung herself into the advocacy arena time and time again, including her 2003 arrest outside City Hall protesting proposed cuts to public education and her role on Bill de Blasio's advisory board to forge public-private partnerships that offered New Yorkers essential services in areas such as mental health and immigration. Plus, Nixon is a local candidate running for state office: She can't claim that the experience she has earned qualifies her to run the country. But she sure can claim she has a handle on how New York works. We often treat celebrities in politics as beautiful but blank slates onto which we project our own desires. Occasionally, though, one comes along who has already filled the slate for herself. Nixon is no superhero she hasn't even played one on TV and she may struggle as much as any candidate to straddle the space between New York City and the very different world that lies to the north. But she's not just Miranda Hobbes, either. Molly Roberts works in the Washington Post's opinion section, where this piece originally appeared. @mollylroberts Women had a profound impact on the Revolutionary War and helped shape the identity and voice of the United States in the midst of its early, turbulent years. Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson, for example, broke ground as one of the first prominent women in the country's literary scene, composing poems that captured the idealism behind the United States' founding. While she was widely respected for her talent and patriotism, her reputation suffered a blow during the Revolution due to the activities of her loyalist husband, Henry Hugh Fergusson. Elizabeth was born to Thomas and Anne Diggs Graeme on Feb. 3, 1737. As a widely respected and successful physician, Thomas was active in Philadelphia's top social and political circles, which influenced Elizabeth's upbringing. As a young adult, she grew enamored with Benjamin Franklin's son William, entering into an engagement with him in 1756. The relationship fell apart, however, thanks largely to a feud between her father and the elder Franklin. In the 1760s, Elizabeth traveled to England, meeting prominent families and attending salons. Upon her return, she began throwing salons of her own at her family's estate near Horsham, attracting a number of prominent cultural and political figures, including Benjamin West, Francis Hopkins, and Benjamin Rush. As an energetic participant in the region's intellectual circles, Elizabeth saw her literary fame begin to grow. Her poetry expressed a number of ideas and philosophies popular with the movement for independence. Take, for example, these lines from her poem "The Dream": "My Pennsylvania flourishd fair to view; Divinely Waterd with Celestial Dew. No cramping Bigot dard prescribe harsh Rules From the proud Customs of Tyranic Schools" But Elizabeth's pride in this "Divinely Waterd" land and her distaste for the "harsh Rules" of tyrants would be called into question after Henry Hugh Fergusson entered her life. She met Henry at one of her salons and developed a relationship with him shortly afterward. Against her father's wishes, she married him in 1772. In the years leading up to the Revolution, Henry began working in various posts within the British government, regularly sailing across the Atlantic on official business. He traveled abroad in September 1775, shortly after war had broken out in the colonies. Two years passed before Henry returned to the colonies, publicly affirming his allegiance to the British government. He worked for the British forces during the war, most infamously as the commissary of American prisoners. Though aware of his wife's political leanings, Henry nonetheless sought to leverage Elizabeth for the loyalist cause. He had her deliver a letter written by the Rev. Jacob Duche to George Washington seeking his disavowal of independence. Duche's plea offers a pessimistic view of the war's outcome: "How unequal the contest! How fruitless the expence of blood! Under so many discouraging circumstances, can Virtue, can Honour, can the Love of your Country, prompt you to proceed?" In 1778, colonial authorities in Pennsylvania enacted confiscation laws that required loyalists to renounce their allegiance or have their property seized and potentially face capital punishment. Declared a traitor, Henry fled, leading to the confiscation of Elizabeth's estate. The two saw each other only once more, in New Jersey, before Henry permanently left for Britain, ending the marriage. After a legal battle, Elizabeth regained her land in 1781, no doubt thanks to her pro-independence bona fides, which were readily apparent in her published work. She spent much of the remainder of her life at her estate near Horsham, continuing to publish everything from essays on current events to poetry. She passed away on Feb. 23, 1801. Patrick Glennon is a communications officer at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. pglennon@hsp.org A Lee County deputy shot a man on Pine Island Thursday after the deputy was stabbed while answering a public assistance call in Bokeelia. The deputy, who was not named, was attacked in the 16000 block of Aura Lane by a man wielding a knife, officials said. The deputys injuries were non-life-threatening. The individual who was shot for airlifted to a local hospital for treatment. His condition was not known. At approximately 1:33 p.m. today our deputy dispatched to 16129 Aura Lane regarding a public assistance call, Undersheriff Carmine Marceno of the Lee County Sheriff Office said. Upon our arrival our deputy spoke with a male suspect. Shortly after speaking to that suspect he began to attack our deputy with a knife subsequently stabbing our deputy. Our deputy, in fear for his life and safety, discharged his firearm, striking the suspect. Our deputy has non life threatening injuries; he was transported to a local hospital. The suspect was flighted to a local hospital with unknown injuries. The agencys Major Crime Unit has assumed the investigation. No other details were released. Because this is an open, active investigation I cant answer any questions, Marceno said. LCSO: Deputy attacked by man with a knife in Bokeelia By Staff | Mar 22, 2018 A Lee County deputy shot a man on Pine Island Thursday after the deputy was stabbed while answering a public assistance call in Bokeelia. The deputy, who was not named, was attacked in the 16000 block of Aura Lane by a man wielding a knife, officials said. The deputys injuries were non-life-threatening. The individual who was shot for airlifted to a local hospital for treatment. His condition was not known. At approximately 1:33 p.m. today our deputy dispatched to 16129 Aura Lane regarding a public assistance call, Undersheriff Carmine Marceno of the Lee County Sheriff Office said. Upon our arrival our deputy spoke with a male suspect. Shortly after speaking to that suspect he began to attack our deputy with a knife subsequently stabbing our deputy. Our deputy, in fear for his life and safety, discharged his firearm, striking the suspect. Our deputy has non life threatening injuries; he was transported to a local hospital. The suspect was flighted to a local hospital with unknown injuries. The agencys Major Crime Unit has assumed the investigation. No other details were released. Because this is an open, active investigation I cant answer any questions, Marceno said. News from around the region Island server beneficiary of Tip Challenge pleblanc@breezenewspapers.com Islander Stephen Longest is one of many happy recipients of the "Tip ... Medal of Honor recipients family supports memorial for veterans on Fort Myers Beach This August will mark 75 years since Sgt. Charles Andrew MacGillivary was distinguished with the Medal of Honor by ... Cape Council talks taxes Cape Coral City Council made significant changes to the city's mowing program Monday, changing the number of mows ... There was a time when police departments handed officers a gun, a badge and the keys to a squad car and considered them fit for duty. But ask any police officer now, and theyll likely tell you law enforcement isnt so easy in todays complicated world. The job can be rough, and the hours can be long; and as 30-year law enforcement veteran, Lt. Patrick Martin, says, There arent always a lot of thankyous that come with it. In this demanding environment, law enforcement officers need more than three things to survive notes Martin, director of training for corrections and specialized law enforcement at Milwaukee Area Technical College. Officers also require regular training and reliable gear. During Martins tenure at the Greenfield Police Department, which is nestled in a suburb of Milwaukee--an area that holds the distinction as being one of the most violent citys in the nation, he handled everything from patrol stops to domestic situations to homicides. He also worked at all levels in the department, from patrol officer to detective to motorcycle officer to SWAT team leader. He acquired many skills along the way, but one thing he learned was that regular training is the key to a successful outcome, especially in SWAT callouts. We were successful because we trained. We prepared, we gathered intel, we planned, and we trained. And, we trained hard, he says. He adds, I know officers who have died because of a lack of training. I also know officers who have lived because of training. But training has changed a bit in the last three decades, he adds. Though most citizens think very highly of those here to protect and serve, there are also those who express a growing mistrust in police. This fact, and escalating violence across the country, has led to changes in the way officers train, and in the gear, they require. He explains officers once were taught to hold the perimeter till SWAT teams arrived, but now departments expect single officers to run into dangerous situations. Departments once trained for events involving a single suspect, but many now train for situations involving multiple attackers. While training in hard skills like defensive tactics, firearms, and less-lethal maneuvers has always existed, departments now supplement this education with training in soft skills like communication, ethical decision making and mediation. And, all are important, stresses Martin. We must continually ask ourselves how we can make training better, he says. Realism in training is important. Officers are not out there just doing a job, they must be able to communicate with people, and be able to adapt. We expect a lot more of officers than we used to, they are not just driving around in a car taking calls, they are talking to community groups, handling crowds and working foot patrol to bicycle patrol to motorcycle patrol. There is a lot put on them and they need to train for it. As these changes have occurred, Martin stresses equipment needs have also evolved. Departments now supply officers with bullet-resistant vests, body cams, Tasers, patrol rifles, plate carriers, bullet-resistant helmets, and even medical supplies. With these changes, a few questions arise as officers consider the gear they carry, says Martin. He notes officers should be asking a few key questions before adding any gear, from a gun to a timepiece. 1. Is it necessary? In other words, is it more than just something that is cool to have? Officers are adding more and more gear to their duty belts, their uniforms and on their bodies, they must determine what is or isnt necessary, Martin says. 2. Does it work? In other words, does it do what it is intended to do? Will it work, even if you havent touched it in months? Will it work even if its sits in your pocket or, in the case of a timepiece, on your arm? Will it be ready to use when you are? Is it easy to use? 3. Does it offer the features you really need? How will this equipment enhance your ability to do your job? 4. Can it withstand the rigors of law enforcement? If you work in Florida, will it stand up to the heat and humidity? If you work in a coastal community, does it stand up to the salt? If you work in Wisconsin, can it withstand snow and rain? Will it work if you are on a horse or riding a motorcycle or in a boat? Martin asks. It has to work in all of these situations. The G-Shock GG1000-1A5 timepiece rises to the task in all areas. Casio realizes that every officer requires a dependable timepiece, and the G-Shock GG1000-1A5 is that timepiece. This top-of-the-line watch, the latest edition to the companys Mudmaster series, is the ultimate in tough, durability and reliability, and it meets all of Martins recommended equipment requirements. Is it necessary? Timekeeping is a critical aspect of the job. Officers use a timepiece to note everything from the time of a traffic stop to the time it took to complete a required training task. Timepieces are used to check how long an officers partner has been gone or how long it took a suspect to answer the door. Does it work? The G-Shock GG1000-1A5 timepiece features a mud-resistant and 200M water-resistant construction to keep it ticking in the harshest of weather, from the side of the road to the tactical shoot house. Its construction keeps water and mud out while maintaining the timepieces functionality. It has been designed with multiple gaskets on the pipes, which guide its buttons and shafts to keep rain, water, mud, and sludge from damaging its insides. Does it offer the features you need? The G-Shock GG1000-1A5 timepiece is designed with the law enforcement officer in mind. It has a digital compass to help them navigate new locations, five daily alarms to get them where they need to be on time, a stopwatch to time drills, a thermometer to note temperature and 31 time zones. The timepiece even has oversized, non-slip buttons with a checkered finish for non-slip operation, allowing officers to operate the watch even while wearing gloves. Its large watch face comes in handy in low-lit areas. Seeing the G-Shock GG1000-1A5 timepiece in the dark is made easy with a face that is illuminated by a Super Illuminator for optimum brightness, an auto-LED light and large Arabian numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9 oclock. Can it withstand the rigors of law enforcement? Casio realizes that when duty gets tough, officers expect their timepiece to get tougher. The G-Shock GG1000-1A5 timepiece meets these demands with a hollow-structured case, all-directional coating and cushioning material to provide shock resistance. Whether firing weapons at the range, crawling through the gravel in a shoot house or using a ram to gain entry during a SWAT call, this watch will hold up. Though the first four attributes are most important, Casio also understands that officers want their equipment to look nice. For this reason, the G-Shock GG1000-1A5 timepiece offers more than just functionality and durability, it also makes a statement with a sleek professional design. The timepiece has a tactical, sporty look with a band that resembles the texture of a cloth band and commanding hour and minute hands shaped with points to resemble warning markers. In a world where seconds count, officers cannot afford for their timepiece to fail. Casio has worked to ensure its G-Shock GG1000-1A5 timepiece answers yes to all of Martins questions for gear. Yes, it is necessary. Yes, it works. Yes, it offers the features officers really need. And yes, it can withstand the rigors of law enforcement. A man reportedly passed a trooper while driving his Dodge Hellcat at 160 miles per hour. Photo: Indiana State Police A Wisconsin man landed in the LaPorte County Jail after police say he was going 160 mph on the Indiana Toll Road, reports WTHR. Police say the Orange Dodge Challenger Hellcat passed an Indiana State trooper at a high rate of speed Tuesday night. Another trooper eventually stopped him. The driver of the Hellcat, identified as J. Jesus Duran Sandoval, age 38 of Lake Geneva, WI, was allegedly driving on an expired driver's license. Sandoval told police he was driving a bit more than 160 miles per hour and just trying to get to Maryland. He was arrested on a preliminary charge of Reckless Driving and taken to the LaPorte County Jail. The names of the two officers who shot Stephon Clark in Sacramento on Sunday were released Friday by a prominent civil rights attorney in Oakland. They are receiving death threats, according to ABC News. A representative from the law office of John Burris in Oakland named the two officers. The Sacramento Police Department declined to confirm the names. Department spokeswoman Officer Linda Matthew said the officers involved in the shooting have received "numerous" threats. "Based on the threats we do know about, it would be careless of us at this point to release the names," Matthew told the Sacramento Bee. Tonight comes word that General McMaster will be departing as National Security Advisor to President Trump. I think General McMasters departure is a loss. I am sorry to see him go. He is an exemplary military man and great patriot. I wish President Trump had gelled with him, but I understand that he did not. General McMaster is to be replaced as National Security Advisor by John Bolton. I dont think anyone outside his immediate family admires John Bolton more than I do. I have sought out Ambassador Bolton on a couple of occasions to get photos with him. I think a friend snapped the photo at the right for me when Ambassador Bolton came to town in February 2012 to speak on behalf of Mitt Romney. He took the time to make a memorable appearance before our chapter of the Republican Jewish Coalition. This was my account: Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton appeared at a special event held by our local Minnesota chapter of the Republican Jewish Coalition at the Parker Rosen law firm in downtown Minneapolis last night. Announced 48 hours in advance of his appearance, the event was the most successful in the history of our small chapter. Ambassador Bolton drew a crowd to excess capacity. Included among the dignitaries who welcomed him were former Minnesota Senators Rudy Boschwitz and Norm Coleman as well as Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Zellers. In this crowd, John Bolton is something of a rock star. We remember his successful work in the administration of the first President Bush to overturn the UNs vile Zionism is a form of racism resolution. (See pages 40-43 of his memoir, Surrender Is Not an Option.) We remember the Democrats remorseless campaign of defamation against him to prevent his confirmation as our ambassador to the United Nations upon his appointment by the second President Bush. (I wrote about the role of the New York Times in this campaign at the time in Deja vu, all over again.) We remember his stalwart representation of the United States at the United Nations following his recess appointment by the second President Bush. We love this guy. The occasion of Ambassador Boltons appearance was the Minnesota caucuses that take place tonight; Bolton is supporting Mitt Romney and spoke on his behalf last night. He invoked his solid conservative credentials, going back to his leafleting at age 15 for Barry Goldwater in 1964, to vouch for Romneys conservatism. I was struck most of all by the seriousness of his approach to the question. He spoke at length about the peril in which President Obamas diplomacy of weakness has placed us in the Middle East, with special reference to the 19 Americans now held for trial in Egypt and, of course, Iran. Bolton said we were close to a hostage situation with respect to the Americans held in Egypt. He stated that he thought Iran could produce a nuclear weapon before the end of the year and that the Obama administration was applying pressure mercilessly to Israel to prevent military action against Iran. Those of us who came in with worries on our mind left with a few we hadnt come in with by the time he was done. It was a powerful, powerful presentation. Bolton is a man who commanded the respect and elicited the warmth of this crowd, even those who did not necessarily or entirely agree with him on Romney. He is by far the most powerful advocate of Romney whom I have heard this campaign season and he is, in any event, a great American who deserves the attention of his fellow conservatives and fellow Republicans. Some have speculated that the imminent departure of Rex Tillerson and General McMaster as Secretary of State and as National Security Advisor, respectively, foreshadows our exit from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action putting Iran setting Irans timetable to the authorized development of nuclear weapons, among other things. This past Tuesday The Israel Projects Omri Ceren disseminated this backgrounder on the subject. I thought readers might find his backgrounder of particular interest today. Lightly edited and footnotes omitted, this is it: On January 12 President Trump started a 120-day clock on the US withdrawing from the Iran deal, unless both Congress and the EU3 Britain, France, and Germany fixed the Iran deal by adding new conditions that: 1st eliminate the sunset expiration dates, 2nd prohibit ballistic missile development, 3rd secure IAEA access to military facilities. The clock expires on May 12. A fix means building the new condition into the deal. So, for example, the ballistic missile fix says if Iran tests a prohibited missile its just like Iran testing a prohibited centrifuge: it would be a formal violation of the deal and so the specific sanctions lifted by the deal would be restored. Generic new pressure in the general area of a condition doesnt meet what the president called for. So for example, imposing new sanctions outside of the deal in response to ballistic missile development doesnt count as a fix. There is a precise policy reason why the fixes have to be that way. In Trump administration shorthand the deal was too much for too little: it locked up the Wests most effective sanctions but did not prohibit Iran from engaging in critical nuclear-related and malign activities, leaving the West with no robust non-military options against those activities. The fixes would apply the powerful pre-deal sanctions in response to those activities. The US negotiating team has had three specific meetings with their EU3 counterparts to secure the fixes. The most recent was a week ago yesterday in Berlin. Public reports and European behavior suggest significant gaps remain. On ballistic missiles, the Europeans are floating a proposal to impose new sanctions outside the deal. On sunsets, the parties are reportedly even farther apart. Momentum had already shifted toward an exit before the latest talks, and planning is underway for implementing such a nix. The AP reported a week ago yesterday that gaps are so significant the administration might withdraw even before the clock expires on May 12. The Washington Post reported this week that plans for an exit are being drawn up inside and outside the administration. Key parts: (1) Inside the administration the White House and State Department are working on rollout logistics and the Treasury Department is mapping how sanctions would be restored: The State Department and the National Security Council have begun developing a diplomatic, economic and strategic communications strategy for pulling out of the deal, reimposing sanctions and dealing with potential responses from Europe, China, Russia and Iran The Treasury Department is working on the logistics of snapping back various sanctions, including restoring Obama-era executive orders that the deal rescinded. A treasury official told me the department will be prepared to implement any decision made by the president (2) Outside the administration FDD held an expert forum and produced a memo on post-nix scenarios that the administration is evaluating. The memo concludes European companies will have to comply with the restored sanctions and calls for a range of additional moves: The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a think tank that enjoys unique influence with the Trump administration, recently convened a group of about 20 senior Iran and non-proliferation experts to game out scenarios, the results of which were compiled in a memo The memo the FDD prepared, which has been shared with State, NSC and Treasury maps out probable responses from the Europeans, Russians and Chinese. The Europeans are likely to go along with new sanctions out of economic pragmatism, the memo argues, but they could opt to join with Iran to resist the sanctions and diplomatically condemn the United States. The memo calls for regional preparation with Gulf allies and Israel, to provide alternatives for Iranian oil and to prepare for increased Iranian mischief around the Middle East. Ammo Grrrll revises James Carville (whodat?!) in ITS THE ARROGANCE, STUPID! Thank you, Ammo Grrrll, I needed this: All of a sudden white women, who were going to vote for me and frankly standing up to the men in their lives and the men in their workplaces, were being told, Shes going to jail. You dont want to vote for her. Its terrible, you cant vote for that. So, it just stopped my momentumI was winning, and I thought I had fought my way back in the ten days from that letter until the election. I fell a little bit short. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Participation Trophy Candidate for President and current mental patient. Hillary, seriously, we cant take much more. Reach deep down and find a little dignity. Apparently, nobody told you the Deplorable Speech probably lost you ten million votes. Minimum. Lets see if the Dumb Racist Red States Full of Idiot White Women Speech can outdo that! Let us count all the ways in which you are wrong. Or most of them I only have so much time in my day before I have to trudge whitely into the kitchen in my bare feet to make food for my husband, lest he beat me. Okay, first of all, you arrogant snot, you did not fall a little bit short in your second run at the Presidency; Trump ate your lunch. Where you fell was into your van and right after delivering these shameful remarks in a foreign country, you almost fell downstairs. Twice. And then you fractured your wrist allegedly falling in the bathtub because the negligent Indians failed to force two burly toxic males to stand by to forklift you out of the tub. That would be some tough duty with a high rate of PTSD. Secondly, maybe you havent heard, but theres a SECRET ballot. All those intimidated, empty-headed white women could vote however they pleased their icky spouses and male workmates be damned. Thirdly, heres the truth, Mrs. Clinton, and, if no one else will say it, I will: as some sort of shining example of a white woman standing up to the men in their lives, you are a total, pathetic failure. Gennifer Flowers wasnt enough to kick Bill to the curb? Cigars in the Oval Office with a woman six years older than Chelsea didnt frost your cupcake? You better put some ice on that! ring any bells? Five trips on The Lolita Express? You are STILL married to the bum, for the love of Pete. Yeah, GREAT standing up, kiddo. And you had the temerity to mock Tammy Wynette for Stand By Your Man? A lot of women stick with hounds because they have no choice no money, a bunch of kids and no prospects. You have a law degree, and half of marital assets totaling a billion dollars, give or take. But you needed Bills clout to continue your Long Shoeless Lurch to the top of the political heap. The women who DID vote for you do not need to stand up to the men in their lives because most dont have any men in their lives. Who is your base, besides hard-core leftists? A lot of single women, including unmarried mothers who consider Big Sugar Daddy Welfare (taxpayers, really) to be their man. Women with other women as their partners. Celebrities who change partners as often as they change movie roles. Self-important harridans married to wussie sorta-men who barely count as males. We married white women were totally enamored of you until we were being told that you were going to jail? So you are saying that we married white women dont follow Twitter or navigate the Internet or read the newspapers or watch TV to get our news? We just sit there looking pretty and pale until we are told by our menfolk what to think. Ive never heard anything more sexist from a MAN. Although you could be right, because I have no opinions, no issues I care about until I get my marching orders from Mr. AG. He assures me that we BOTH care about secure borders, vetted fake refugees, vetted fake Dreamers, Israel, free speech, religious freedom and Second Amendment rights. You were 0 for 7 on those. You opposed Voter I.D. You were too cowardly to say All Lives Matter. You favor abortion up until labor pains are 3 minutes apart, possibly beyond. And we havent even gotten to Benghazi, uranium saleswoman of the month, or your personal qualities yet. I was NEVER going to vote for you. NEVER. I didnt even like you when I was a Democrat. George W. Bush said after candidate Trumps attacks on low-energy Jeb! that Donald, you cant insult your way to the Presidency. That turned out to be wrong. But, Hillary, you would do well to heed that advice. You cant insult half the ELECTORATE to a third bite at the apple. Oh, how we wish you could! I would love to see President Trump (how that must rankle to see that in print every day) take you on again. And I especially would love to see a real down-and-dirty catfight in the Democratic primary you and Bernie and Kamala and the Indian Maiden on the Land O Lakes Butter Box all scratching and biting and hissing for the right to see who will lose to The Donald again. Popcorn City! One would think that these wretched remarks about white women would constitute the low point of your analysis of how you lost the election. But one would be wrong. These were nothing compared to the boring, repetitive, infuriating slander that Red State residents are racists. And Unreliable Confused Racists, at that, who voted TWICE for that Black guy you lost to and then suddenly smacked their foreheads and remembered that they were bigots. Though how voting for the OTHER white person in the race constitutes racism is a real poser. Nice touch, also, to claim that Red Staters hate East Indians. Your Indian audience might have heard of Nikki Haley, who has a much better chance of being the first woman President than you do. Boy, is your shtick getting old, lady. Plus, I just have to say that whoever you have now as a Wardrobe Consultant must be a vicious plant from Ivankas fashion house. I did not think it was possible to find a more unflattering garment than that carpet remnant pants suit. But the billowy maternity dress over the pedal pushers beat that all hollow. Cultural appropriation, anyone? Whats next hoop earrings? (Run, kids! Find your PlayDoh and plush toys!) Hillary, I am going to end with a humane plea, a prayer, for you to stop humiliating yourself, take up a hobby you seem a natural for snow-boarding and enjoy your grandchildren. Let me express it more elegantly by plagiarizing. I say, if one is going to plagiarize, one should steal from the best. I offer to Hillary the severely-truncated words of Oliver Cromwell in his speech to the House of Commons April 20, 1653 on the occasion of the Dissolution of the Long Parliament. Its been 365 years, and I can no way improve on it. I am also taking the liberty of changing the plural aimed at the members of Parliament into the singular aimed at Mrs. Clinton. Oliver, forgive me; its in a good cause! Ye are a mercenary wretch, and would, like Esau sell your country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas betray your God for a few pieces of money.ye are grown intolerably odious to the whole nation. You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately Depart, I say; and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go! Momentum is building against the renomination of Chai Feldblum as an EEOC commissioner. Glenn Beck has attacked the nomination. Various conservative organizations have called on their members to contact the White House to express opposition. The American Family Association, with Sandy Rios in the lead, has a petition opposing the nomination with more than 80,000 signatures. You can sign it by going here. With the nomination on the rocks, Carrie Lukas, president of the Independent Womens Forum, has written an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal urging conservatives to support it. She notes that Feldblum is part of a three-person slate of nominees that includes two Republicans. If the slate goes through, Republicans will go from a minority on the Commission (one member out of three) to a majority (three members out of five). Then, Lukas argues, they can reform the EEOC along conservative lines. The argument has surface appeal. However, conservatives, and especially social conservatives, should reject it for three reasons. First, Chai Feldblum is not an ordinary progressive. Shes the architect of the Obama administrations hyper-aggressive LGBT policy. Years ago, she declared war on religious freedom by rejecting the idea that religious liberty can ever be upheld when it stands as obstacle to gay dignity. The EEOC has made good on her declaration. For example, it has tried to render the Religious Freedom Restoration Act essentially a dead letter (through a procedural argument that even a leftist court of appeals panel dismissed) and has rejected efforts to balance gay rights and religious rights. Moreover, Feldblums confirmation would carry over well into the next administration. If that administration is a Democratic one, she will almost certainly become EEOC chair. Then, she will push the EEOC even further to the left. Thats why Christian Adams says that, for the left, Chai Feldblum is worth three Republicans. Second, Republicans should be able to confirm two Republican commissioners without accepting Feldblum. Confirmation requires only 50 votes. The GOP has those votes. Thus, it doesnt need to make deals to confirm nominees. Its true that the Democrats have taken advantage of stalling tactics. But Senate Republicans can overcome these tactics by adjusting the rules and working more days. Harry Reid adjusted far more venerable rules than the 30 hours of debate requirement the Dems are using now. Reid wouldnt stand for obstruction and Republicans shouldnt either. It would also help if the Senate worked more days a week. Not working more prevents nominees from being confirmed while at the same time enabling vulnerable Senate Democrats to go home and campaign. (The Dems are defending many more seats than the Republicans this year). Lukas, in essence, is calling on Senators like Mike Lee to set aside their principles to confirm Feldblum because the Senate leadership is unwilling to play hardball. It accuses him (though not by name) of standing in the way of a new day at the EEOC. This is unfair to Senator Lee. Its the Senate leadership thats standing in the way. Third, even if two Republicans arent added to the Commission, the administration can go a long way towards blocking EEOC overreach by firing Feldblum when her term ends in July. Lukas says Feldblum will be able to remain in that position as a holdover. Even if thats the case, Trump has the authority to sack her. Having fired so many friendly figures, Trump should have no compunction about firing a hostile one. Lets not forget that Feldblum, in an act of defiance, took the presidents picture down from her office wall. With Feldblum gone, the EEOC would have only two commissioners another left-winger and a solid conservative. In that state, and once a new General Counsel is confirmed, it would likely do no new mischief. Conservatives shouldnt have to endure another term of Chai Feldblum, architect of Obamas LBGT agenda and scorched earth warrior against all who resist it, because the Senate leadership wont play hardball. And even if the leadership cant be roused to do so, the EEOC can be reined in by the sacking of Feldblum when her term expires and the confirmation of President Trumps nominee for General Counsel. Thus, conservatives should keep opposing Feldblums nomination. BANGALORE, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Canadian International School (CIS) celebrated its 22 years with a festive atmosphere throughout the school. CIS dedicated the day to celebrating this milestone by hosting several events for the students and faculty. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/638328/CIS_Logo.jpg ) As the first truly international school in Bangalore, CIS has been celebrating several milestones over the past 22 years. Amongst those achievements are, being the first school in Bangalore to offer the IB Diploma, becoming the first fully iPad integrated school in South India, as well as being India's 1st fully solar powered school. Another achievement CIS recently obtained was being recognized as India's 1st Apple Distinguished School in November 2017. With a lot to speak about as a school, CIS continues to aspire to be one of the best schools in the world. With the vision to provide excellence in international education, CIS has been successful in imparting quality education by nurturing potential, developing life-long skills and preparing students for an ever-changing global community. To celebrate its 22 years today, CIS hosted a 22 years-themed day with a centerpiece photo booth that was open to students, faculty, as well as the CIS community. Students and teachers got together to celebrate the occasion. Fun activities like hand painting and wishing CIS a 'Happy Birthday' continued throughout the day. Small giveaways were also distributed around the school. "These 22 years have been a truly great achievement for us. I have seen the school grow to a stage where I am incredibly honoured by where we stand today. We have had so many highlights throughout the years including most recently being awarded India's 1st Apple Distinguished School. I am proud of what the school has achieved and proud to continue to aim for excellence in the coming years," said Shweta Sastri, Executive Director of Canadian International School, Bangalore. "CIS hosted a fantastic celebration today. It feels great to be part of such a diverse and inclusive community," said a parent. CIS has built a strong foundation over the past 22 years. The day celebrated unity amongst a diverse crowd in a truly international setting. About Canadian International School Canadian International School is a culturally-rich mosaic serving each student by providing a world-class international education, nurturing potential, developing life-long skills and preparing students for an ever-changing global community. As India's 1st Apple Distinguished School, Canadian International School has continued to deliver a very high standard of education with an array of subject choices and activities tailored to students' interests, aligned with a very high level of care in a warm, friendly and non-threatening environment. It follows internationally recognized curricula - IB (Grades 11 & 12), IGCSE (Grades 9 -10), Cambridge Secondary 1 (Grades 6 - 8), Cambridge Primary and Montessori (Pre K to Grade 5) and employs a majority of foreign-trained, experienced teachers. Media Contact: Amala Warrick [email protected] +91-9008607755 Canadian International School SOURCE Canadian International School HYDERABAD, India, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Adapting to the changing logistics structure in the post-GST environment, Gati has taken a series of major network improvisations and combined it with an enhanced product portfolio to cater to the evolving needs of its customers across industry verticals. (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/591143/GATI_Logo.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/657990/Kolkata_Train_Flag_Off.jpg ) Gati KWE is undertaking significant expansions across eight critical logistics nodes namely Noida, Kolkata , New Delhi , Bangalore , Mumbai , Ahmedabad, Nagpur & Ambala adding up to 8 lac sq. ft. This will result in the two-fold plus increase in the distribution and warehousing capacities at these vital supply chain demand points. , , , , Ahmedabad, Nagpur & Ambala adding up to 8 lac sq. ft. This will result in the two-fold plus increase in the distribution and warehousing capacities at these vital supply chain demand points. 80 new operating units have been added in last mile operations to add onto the reach over the last quarter. Gati KWE has recently purchased 125 new trucks in March and is further looking at fuel efficient electric vehicles on a pilot basis for intra-city service operations in the next quarter. Direct delivery pin codes have increased tremendously by 500 numbers, which reduces the transit time to these pincodes by 2-3 days and enhances the serviceable network for its ecommerce customers. Gati KWE, now through combination of its superior ground infrastructure and air network, promises next day and same day delivery to a 100 km radius around eight metro locations - New Delhi , Mumbai , Kolkata , Chennai , Hyderabad , Pune , Bengaluru and Ahmedabad. With six new additions, Gati KWE's 36 air operating centers now deliver anywhere across the rest of the country in 24 to 72 hrs. , , , , , , Bengaluru and Ahmedabad. With six new additions, Gati KWE's 36 air operating centers now deliver anywhere across the rest of the country in 24 to 72 hrs. Gati KWE's kiosk network increased by around 50% and coupled with other measures, resulted in an increased demand in the B2C segment of the retail business. Extending its leadership as a truly multi-modal player, Gati has been awarded a new train lease tender by the Indian Railways for the Kolkata - Mumbai - Kolkata rail route starting with a 700+ tonnes capacity in a round trip. The train has been flagged off on 22nd March, 2018. In the context of changing logistics needs triggered by GST reorganization, Gati KWE has launched M-VATS (Managed - Value Added Transportation Services) as an additional service for point-to-point transportation and multi-point milkrun drop-offs. With this launch, Gati is set to participate in a 5,000 crore market segment of niche value added transportation in defined lanes, within the larger FTL transportation sector. Gati KWE's vast B2B customer base now has the option of using India's most preferred logistics company for its traditional transportation requirements with the added benefit of 24x7 Customer Care, 365 Days Reliability, Real Time Tracking, Zero Transhipment | Zero Damage, Fresh Fleet with Secure Seal, Double Driver, and all of this with a pricing which is predictable even in peak seasons. Mr. Mahendra Agarwal, Founder & CEO, said, "Gati, since its first route in 1989 between Chennai and Hyderabad, has today emerged into a logistics powerhouse that businesses across India and outside rely on for their end to end supply chain solutions. It's traditional express distribution strengths stands vastly augmented with significant portfolio expansion now covering warehousing solutions, e-commerce operations, value added transportation, freight forwarding, cold chain solutions and trade inventory management." About Gati Ltd.: Gati Limited (http://www.gati.com) is a pioneer and leader in Express Distribution and Supply Chain Solutions in India and delivers over 6 mn packages a month. Gati started in 1989 as a cargo management company and expanded to serving complex business solutions in Air & Surface Distribution, e-commerce logistics, Warehousing, Freight Forwarding and Cold Chain. Gati has now grown into an organization with more than 5,000 business partners and a network reach of 672 out of total 676 districts in India. Gati has a 5,000 plus fleet including refrigerated vehicles and world class warehousing facilities across India. Gati has a strong market presence in the Asia Pacific region and South Asian countries. Gati has offices in India, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Nepal and Thailand. Media Contact: Dharmesh Meena, [email protected], +91-7337383727, Head - Marketing & Corporate Communications, Gati Limited SOURCE Gati Limited New trade show brings the leading pro-AV and integrated experience technologies to one of the world's most exciting emerging markets FAIRFAX, Virginia, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AVIXA, the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association, in partnership with InfoCommAsia Pte Ltd, is pleased to announce it will debut its InfoComm Southeast Asia show May 15-17, 2019, at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC). "Southeast Asia is one of the largest and most exciting emerging economic blocs in the world," said Richard Tan, Executive Director of InfoCommAsia. "It has always been our mission to help our partners open doors to new and emerging markets. In addition to our more established shows in China and India, which have seen great success year after year, we are confident that our new platform in Southeast Asia will achieve that same success. We see a lot of market potential in the region." Comprising Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, the Southeast Asia region is currently the seventh-largest economy in the world and is projected to be the fourth largest by 2050, according to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It is united politically and economically via ASEAN, which has pushed hard collectively in recent years to accelerate economic development and break down trade barriers. To that end, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) was formed with the goal of developing a single market. According to a study by the Asian Development Bank and International Labour Organisation, up to 14 million jobs could be generated within ASEAN by 2025. With the addition of InfoComm Southeast Asia, AVIXA now hosts four shows in Asia-Pacific, including Beijing InfoComm China, Chengdu InfoComm China, and InfoComm India. The Bangkok show will feature an exhibition showcasing world-class pro-AV and experiential communications technologies, as well as an education summit with extensive learning opportunities. According to AVIXA's 2017 AV Industry Outlook and Trends Analysis Asia-Pacific, the East Asian pro-AV market's value will increase by about 35 percent between 2016 and 2022. The industry was projected at $17.7 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $23.3 billion in 2022. China's One Belt, One Road initiative, a massive investment in development of infrastructure and trade routes across Europe and Asia-Pacific, is prompting economic growth in Asia-Pacific. Between 2013 and 2016, roughly $60 billion was spent under the initiative, and the Chinese government plans to spend up to $150 billion per year for the next five years. "AVIXA is continually evaluating burgeoning pro-AV markets where support and resources can help spur growth," said AVIXA Chief Executive Officer David Labuskes, CTS, CAE, RCDD. "A show in Southeast Asia represents a big step in that direction by providing a platform for the latest in transformative pro-AV technology, industry best practices, and thought leadership. We're excited to see this region grow so dramatically and impact the overall progression of the AV industry globally." The inaugural InfoComm Southeast Asia will run May 15-17, 2019, at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC). For more information, visit www.infocomm-sea.com. About AVIXA AVIXA is the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association, producer of InfoComm trade shows around the world, co-owner of Integrated Systems Europe, and the international trade association representing the audiovisual industry. Established in 1939, AVIXA has more than 5,400 members, including manufacturers, systems integrators, dealers and distributors, consultants, programmers, live events companies, technology managers, content producers, and multimedia professionals from more than 80 countries. AVIXA members create integrated AV experiences that deliver outcomes for end users. AVIXA is a hub for professional collaboration, information, and community, and the leading resource for AV standards, certification, training, market intelligence and thought leadership. Additional information is available at avixa.org. About InfoCommAsia InfoCommAsia Pte Ltd extends its influence through three marquee shows: Beijing InfoComm China, Chengdu InfoComm China, InfoComm India, and InfoComm Southeast Asia. Each show comprises an exhibition that showcases the world's most cutting-edge and in-demand inventions, and a summit that presents learning opportunities. Bringing together industry players and top-level decision-makers from across all industries, the shows enable industry players to tap into the vast potential presented by the pro-AV and integrated experience technology markets of each country and region. Additional information is available at: PRESS CONTACTS: Krystle Murphy, Communications Manager, AVIXA Email: [email protected] Phone: +1.703.279-6366 David Lim, Senior Director, InfoCommAsia Pte Ltd Email: [email protected] Phone: +65 9683 5275 SOURCE AVIXA NEW DELHI, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- O.P. Jindal Global University secures the Diamond Rating Former President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, launched the QS I-Gauge, India's first nationwide higher education rating system for Indian universities and colleges. (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/658048/O_P_Jindal_QS_I_Gauge_Diamond_Rating.jpg ) Speaking on the occasion, Shri Pranab Mukherjee emphasized the importance of globally-benchmarked quality assurance systems. Referring to the importance of rankings, he said, "It does not create excellence but it recognizes, identifies, and introduces the existing talent to the world and to the larger society, and that brings huge consequential benefits. But you shall have to keep in mind that quality is of primary importance in education." Reiterating the importance of rankings and ratings, Shri Mukherjee said, "Many of our institutions have these talents but sometimes they do not adopt the system though they are aware of it's importance. It does not add to their capacities or excellence but it helps them to have connections outside. We are living in a globalized world. We cannot live in isolation and we must prepare ourselves to be communicative to the globalised world," he further emphasised. Recognizing the commitment to academic excellence, O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) was awarded the Diamond Rating by QS I-Gauge at that event. The announcement was made in the presence of Shri Pranab Mukherjee and Dr. Virander Chauhan, Chairman, National Assessment & Accreditation Council (NAAC) on 21st March. In 2017, JGU was ranked among the Top 10 Private Institutions in India by QS BRICS University Rankings and Top 300 in the BRICS countries. Referring to the milestones that JGU covered, the Founding Vice Chancellor Prof. (Dr) C Raj Kumar said, "I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate each and every member of the JGU family for being awarded with not one but two laurels on the same day. The autonomous status by the UGC and QS Diamond Rating are remarkable milestones, which will expedite our endeavour to underline India's exemplary contribution to the global higher education and nurturing the leaders of tomorrow. Receiving the recognition from the Former President of India was indeed a matter of great honour for us." Explaining the practices of the QS I-Gauge ranking system, Mr Ben Sowter, Director, QS Ltd., UK said, "We believe we will be able to surface the excellence that is developing in India in a much broader variety in ways than any existing exercise captures. We hope it will also empower colleges and universities here in India to develop more robust data collection and reporting capabilities that may go well beyond the QS I-Gauge context and help them diagnose their performance and improve in a variety of different ways." Consisting of seven primary categories and five secondary categories, ranging from Teaching and Learning, Employability and Social Responsibility to Research and Innovation, the QS I-GAUGE rating provides a unique 360-degree perspective of Indian institutions of higher learning. Each rating produced by QS I-GAUGE is strictly monitored and supervised by the QS Intelligence Unit in London. This is the same team that produces the authoritative rankings as well as the globally recognized QS Stars university ratings system. The rigor and integrity of QS ratings are guided by an International Advisory Board, which comprises of luminaries in the higher education field - from both India and overseas. Many distinguished academics attend the launch of QS I-Gauge event. About O.P. Jindal Global University: A non-profit global university established by the Government of Haryana, O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) is recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC). JGU was established as a philanthropic initiative of its Founding Chancellor, Mr. Naveen Jindal, in memory of his father, Mr O.P. Jindal. JGU has been awarded the highest grade 'A' by the National Accreditation & Assessment Council (NAAC). JGU is one of the few universities in Asia maintaining a 1:13 faculty-student ratio and appointing faculty members from India and different parts of the world with outstanding academic qualifications and experience. A research-intensive university, JGU is deeply committed to its core institutional values of inter-disciplinary and innovative pedagogy; pluralism and rigorous scholarship; as well as globalism and international engagement. JGU has established eight schools: Jindal Global Law School (JGLS), Jindal Global Business School (JGBS), Jindal School of International Affairs (JSIA), Jindal School of Government and Public Policy (JSGP), Jindal School of Liberal Arts & Humanities (JSLH), Jindal School of Journalism & Communication (JSJC), Jindal School of Art & Architecture (JSAA) and Jindal School of Banking & Finance (JSBF). For more information please refer to - http://www.jgu.edu.in/. Media Contact: Devadeep Konwar [email protected] +91-7027850344, Assistant Director Communication and Public Affairs O.P. Jindal Global University SOURCE O.P. Jindal Global University (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/655919/LOreal_Foundation_UNESCO.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/655920/LOreal_Foundation_UNESCO.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/655921/LOreal_Foundation_UNESCO.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/655922/LOreal_Foundation_UNESCO.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/655923/LOreal_Foundation_UNESCO.jpg ) 25 eminent male scientists have already committed to the initiative, such as mathematician Cedric Villani, geneticist Axel Kahn, Etienne Klein, Research Director at the CEA (French Atomic Energy Commission), and Mouin Hamze, Secretary General of the CNRS (French National Council for Scientific Research) in Lebanon. More information here. UNDER-REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN POSES QUALITY ISSUES IN RESEARCH Over the past 20 years, the percentage of women working in science has increased by about 12%, but it remains too low: less than 30%[1] of researchers are women. The glass ceiling still exists; women hold only 11 % of academic leadership positions in Europe. And only 3% of Nobel Prizes for Science have ever been awarded to women. This under-representation of women impacts the very quality of scientific research. For example, studies show that the lack of diversity in the sector of artificial intelligence has led to the development of software that reproduces, or even magnifies stereotypes, especially those related to gender.[2] A COALITION OF ALLIES TO CHANGE THE FACE OF SCIENCE To encourage collaboration between women and men, the L'Oreal Foundation and UNESCO are launching a new initiative called "Men for Women in Science". Male scientists were invited to sign a Charter of clear and measurable Commitments with the following objectives: Promoting access to research funding for women Providing equal recruitment opportunities Striving to achieve a better balance in publications and copyrights. "We want to accelerate change towards improved gender balance and effectiveness in science, in order to help advance scientific understanding for the benefit of all and better address the challenges facing today's world," says Jean-Paul Agon, President of the L'Oreal Foundation. Lear more about the L'Oreal Foundation For Women in Science report here 1. UNESCO Science Report: Towards 2030 (2015). 2. "Semantics derived automatically from language corpora contain human-like biases", Aylin Caliskan, Joanna J. Bryson, Arvind Narayanan, revue Science (April 14, 2017). SOURCE LOreal Foundation CHANGZHOU, China, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 21, 2018, Trina Solar Limited ("Trina Solar" or the "Company"), a leading total solutions provider for solar energy, launched a new smart PV solution, TrinaPro, at its global headquarters in Changzhou, China. TrinaPro is designed for utility-scale ground mounted PV systems. It is the result of Trina Solar's full cooperation agreement with Huawei Technologies Co., LTD, Sungrow Power Supply Co., LTD, as well as its strategic cooperation agreement with Nclave Renewable S.L., respectively. TrinaPro is the first smart PV solution with an optimized combination of Trina Solar's industry-leading solar modules, state-of-the-art solar tracker systems or floating systems, and world-class inverters. As a new value-added product, TrinaPro is characterized by premium components, optimized system integration and smart O&M interconnection. TrinaPro includes both ground-mounted solutions and floating solutions. The ground-mounted solution features a state-of-the-art solar tracker system, which will help improve energy gain by 10%-30%. The floating solution will cover several application scenarios such as reservoirs, lakes, beaches, etc. With the optimized matching among components and "Edge Computing" algorithm integration, TrinaPro can improve system stability with higher power generation and lower BOS cost in order to reduce system LCOE. Furthermore, with the interconnection between the "Edge Computing" algorithm and a smart O&M system on a cloud platform, TrinaPro is empowered to analyze and process data from the cloud, to optimize the system's operational model and ensure the system runs smoothly and efficiently. Gao Jifan, Chairman and CEO of Trina Solar, delivered his speech at the global launch event, where he stated, "Although solar power is a junior participant in the energy industry, it is one of the major powers to drive the future development of the whole industry." Yin Rongfang, VP of Trina Solar & President of Global Sales, and President of Overseas Commercial & Residential Solutions, outlined that "by the optimized combination in terms of improving power generation, lowering system LCOE and integrating smart O&M systems, TrinaPro will help its clients to reach higher return on investment." About Trina Solar Limited Trina Solar is a leading global total solutions provider for solar energy. Founded in 1997 as a PV system integrator, Trina Solar today drives smart energy together with installers, distributors, utilities and developers worldwide. The company's industry-leading position is based on innovation excellence, superior product quality, vertically integrated capabilities and environmental stewardship. For more information, please visit www.trinasolar.com. SOURCE Trina Solar Limited (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 ) Browse 67 market data Tables and 23 Figures spread through 132 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Urgent Care Center Market" " https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/urgent-care-center-market-197843477.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report The key factors driving the growth of this market are the affordable care and shorter waiting periods offered by urgent care centers, growing investments in urgent care, increasing geriatric population, and strategic developments between urgent care providers and hospitals. By service, the acute illness treatment segment is expected to account for the largest share of the market in 2018 On the basis of services, the Urgent Care Center Market is broadly segmented into acute illness treatment, trauma/injury treatment, physical examinations, immunization & vaccination, and other services (diagnostics, telemedicine, travel, & occupational medicine). In 2018, the acute illness treatment segment is expected to account for the largest share of this market. The high growth in this segment can be attributed to the increasing number of influenza-like illnesses coupled with the immediately accessible urgent care services. Ask for PDF Brochure @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=197843477 By ownership, the corporate-owned urgent care centers are expected to command the largest share of the market in 2018 On the basis of ownership, the market has been segmented into hospital-owned (large hospitals, medium-sized hospitals, and small hospitals), physician-owned (single-physician and multiple-physician), corporate-owned, and other centers. The corporate-owned segment is expected to command the largest share of the market in 2018. The large share and high growth of this segment can be attributed to the rising investments in the urgent care platforms owing to their high revenue generating capability. North America to dominate the market in 2018 North America is expected to account for the largest share of the Urgent Care Center Market in 2018, followed by Europe. North America is also estimated to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The large share and high growth in this region can be attributed to the growing geriatric population in the region, the affordability and promptness of urgent care services, and the inception of specialty urgent care. Concentra (US), MedExpress (US), American Family Care (US), NextCare Holdings (US), and FastMed Urgent Care (US) are the key players in the Urgent Care Center Market. Other players involved in this market are CityMD (US), CareNow Urgent Care (US), GoHealth Urgent Care (US), HCA Healthcare UK (UK), Columbia Asia Hospitals (India), International SOS (China), and St. Joseph's Health Care London (Canada). Know more about the Urgent Care Center Market https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/urgent-care-center-market-197843477.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 5000 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Salgarkar MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets SOURCE MarketsandMarkets NEW DELHI, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- - Newly appointed CEO and Head of Content to lead charge as VICE India launches with full suite of offerings, from engaging local content geared toward young people to full-scale creative offerings - Virtue Worldwide offerings, including new partnership with PepsiCo, to bring innovative branded multiplatform content to the region As it prepares to launch its full-scale operation in April, VICE India today announced the appointment of Chanpreet Arora as Chief Executive Officer and Samira Kanwar as Head of Content. Arora and Kanwar will lead the charge as VICE India officially goes live next month. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/658041/VICE_India_Logo.jpg ) VICE India is a full-scale media company with content at its centre and a multi-platform distribution plan - producing scripted, film, news and culture content from India for television, SVOD, OTT and digital platforms. VICE India also today announced a partnership with PepsiCo brand Mountain Dew, a collaboration that will explore the journey of a real-life hero Arjun Vajpai as he attempts to climb Mt. Kangchenjunga - one of the most difficult summits to conquer. VICE India has already assembled more than 40 of the best young journalists, editors, producers and creatives in India to focus on content production, editorial, creative services and content distribution. A local, young and experienced leadership team, deeply embedded in the culture of India, has been put in place to guide the operations in the country. "We are committed to building a company that speaks to a generation that is defining today's cultural conversation in India and that is based on values of empathy, equality and inclusion. All our decisions, including choice of partners, must reflect this core belief," says Chanpreet Arora, CEO for VICE India, based out of the VICE Delhi office. In a country where 4.3X growth in online video consumption in the last year came from smaller cities that have a population of between 100,000 and one million, demand for video is very high, and VICE India's planned local content will span conversations across topics like food, music, sex, identity, nightlife, arts, politics, literature, and comedy, showcasing the realities and diverse aspects of India without conforming to the boundaries set by multiple languages or cultures. "Content sits at the centre of everything we do. We hope to create content and experiences that matter to India's youth irrespective of the language or regions we come from. VICE India will be a platform for young people to speak up, be heard and also feel at home with about their own identities and ideas," says Samira Kanwar, Head of Content for VICE India, based out of the VICE Mumbai office. VICE India will offer the full suite of creative offerings, including Virtue Worldwide, the creative agency born out of VICE. On the heels of work with partner PepsiCo, VICE India will seek out additional clients to bring its unique and authentic storytelling to the region. "We are excited to be the first to work with VICE India that aims to be the vehicle and voice for the Indian youth. This partnership represents the convergence of two brands coming together to tell an inspiring story of courage to millions of young consumers across the country," says Naseeb Puri-Associate Director-Mountain Dew, PepsiCo India. "We are happy partnering with PepsiCo on one of our first content pieces in India so that the stories we want to tell reach out to the country with the help of one of India's biggest and most recognisable brands," says Chanpreet Arora. Around the globe, VICE and Virtue Worldwide have provided creative content for several of the world's leading brands, including ABInBev, Samsung, Uber, Airbnb and Google, among others. The launch of VICE India also represents the culmination of cross-functional planning between VICE and The Times of India Group, both of which share in the VICE India joint venture. Hosi Simon, CEO of VICE Asia Pacific adds, "VICE India's goal is to be deeply locally relevant for youth across all parts and cultures of India. We are very thankful for our partnership with The Times of India, led by Times Bridge. Together, we have architected as ambitious a launch as VICE has put together anywhere in the world." Rishi Jaitly, CEO of Times Bridge, the arm of The Times Group which invests in and provides strategic market enablement for big, global ideas committed to India - including the likes of Airbnb, Coursera, Houzz, MUBI, Thrive and Uber - added, "The launch of VICE India's digital platform is poised to delight millennial and Gen Z audiences across the country from Day 1; the stories and experiences produced by VICE India will engage youth culture here in a manner not previously seen. We're proud of our team and look forward to a breakthrough 2018." About VICE VICE is the world's leading youth media brand. Launched in 1994, VICE is on pace to bring its award-winning programming to over 80 territories worldwide by Q1 2018 across mobile, digital, and linear platforms. VICE operates an expanding international network of digital channels; a television and feature film production studio; an Emmy-nominated international television network, VICELAND; an Emmy-nominated weekly newsmagazine show on HBO; a nightly news series on HBO; an in-house creative services agencies and branded studio; a magazine; and a record label; VICE's award-winning programming has been recognized by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Peabody Awards, Sundance Film Festival, PEN Center, Cannes Lions, Frontline Club, Knight Foundation, American Society of Magazine Editors, LA Press Club, James Beard awards, and Webby Awards, among others. Media Contact: Ishita Pilani [email protected] +91-9811337345 Brand Manager VICE India SOURCE VICE India The first intelligent production line for large-scale structural components in the industry, it can produce over 20 types of products. At 100-meters long, the line has 168 anchor points on a flexible pallet that can lock every single workpiece accurately in place to smoothly complete the 18 assembly steps necessary to assemble a crane turntable. An intelligent rail-guided vehicle (RGV) carrying the pallet can automatically dock with a welding workstation to complete the production process with an accuracy of 0.01 degree. Each technician on the line can manage 10 machines, with annual operation mileage of 1,933 kilometers (1,201 miles). "The completion of our new intelligent production line affirms XCMG's position as a world leader in construction machinery manufacturing," said Wang Min, Chairman and President of XCMG. "In order to lead in the era of IM, making strategic investments now is key. Any companies that ignore this manufacturing revolution will not have a future." XCMG's new production line marks a milestone in the multi-variety, limited quantity and discrete manufacturing industry's exploration of IM. In 2017, China was the world's largest industrial robot application market with annual sales exceeding 120,000, which were about 1/3 of global production. At the same time, China has been the world's largest consumer of numerical control machine tools for nine years in a row, and 50 percent of the world's production volume is installed in Chinese factories. In the past two years, the average production efficiency of Chinese factories has improved by 30 percent and energy efficiency has increased by 10 percent. About XCMG XCMG is a multinational heavy machinery manufacturing company with a history of 74 years. It currently ranks eighth in the world's construction machinery industry. The company exports to more than 177 countries and regions around the world. For more information, please visit: www.xcmg.com, or XCMG pages on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Instagram. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/658077/XCMG.jpg SOURCE XCMG HONG KONG, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CITIC Telecom CPC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CITIC Telecom International Holdings Limited (SEHK: 1883), is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. James Halberstadt as Managing Director, Europe effective 5 March, 2018. Mr. Stephen Ho, CEO of CITIC Telecom CPC said, "I am delighted to welcome James as the new Managing Director of CITIC Telecom CPC Europe. This leadership role is a significant step toward maintaining the Company's competitiveness. It is important for CITIC Telecom CPC to maintain a strong, energetic and integrated management team in Europe, and I believe that James is well-prepared to build on the current foundation and strengthen our operations overall." Mr. James Halberstadt has solid experience in the European telecom market and possesses strong commercial acumen and broad technical knowledge. His extensive career as a technology executive includes over 15 years of commercial and marketing experience. An expert in developing and executing strategies for high-growth businesses, as well as the acquisition and management of top tier named customer accounts. His ability to see the big picture, from crucial technical details to macro strategic perspectives, will be invaluable to CITIC Telecom CPC's customers. Mr. Halberstadt said, "I am very excited at the prospect of leading CITIC Telecom CPC Europe as our Company continues to grow across the European and CIS markets. I look forward to working closely with our European Management Team and my many colleagues in both Europe and Asia Pacific to further expand our business. I am confident our teamwork will help the Company ascend to even higher levels of success." In addition to extensive technical knowledge, Mr. Halberstadt also possesses various language competencies, including French, German, and Spanish, skills which greatly support him to serve as a versatile leader for CITIC Telecom CPC Europe. CITIC Telecom CPC also announced the completion of name changes for 13 business entities that were acquired with Linx Telecommunications B.V. Added Mr. Ho: "With James on board, and the name change completion for various business entities across our European and CIS markets, including locations within the 'One Belt One Road framework,' we are in an excellent position to move forward on our vision of 'Connecting the World to Digital Silk Road'." * Please click here for full details. Media Contacts: Micty Wong (HQ) +852-2170-7511 micty.wong@citictel-cpc.com Rowena Leung (Asia) +852-2170-7536 rowena.leung@citictel-cpc.com Kristin Westdijk (Europe) +31-(0)-205-672-004 kristin.westdijk@citictel-cpc.com SOURCE CITIC Telecom International CPC Limited - Meets Emerging Demands for Cross-Border Data Security SYDNEY, March 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Intralinks, a leading financial technology provider for the global banking, deal making and capital markets communities, today announces its strategic investment in Asia Pacific, as the company deploys its Distributed Content Node technology in Australia. Furthering the Intralinks Platform expansion in Germany, this innovative technology will benefit customers of Intralinks' market-leading VDR by providing faster access speed with the added confidence of having their data processed and stored in-region. This deployment comes as Intralinks continues to experience high growth rates in the Asia Pacific region. "Asia Pacific is a strategically important geography for Intralinks," said Leif O'Leary, Chief Executive Officer, Intralinks. "As data sovereignty regulations such as The Notifiable Data Breaches scheme, associated to those governed by The Federal Privacy Act 1988, come into effect it is evident that regulators are becoming stringent in their enforcement. Governments are making relentless efforts to make their citizens conscious of their rights and responsibilities. It has resulted in our customers mulling over data privacy more seriously than ever before. These regulations join others from all over the world, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe, and task all global organisations with the unwavering duty of protecting personal information." The Intralinks Trust Perimeter allows Intralinks customers to "Choose Their Own Perimeter," controlling the flow of information as it moves around the world, while meeting growing regulatory compliance demands. Intralinks provides its customers with a number of capabilities to empower them not only to work more productively but also to provide security standards that are essential for protecting customer information (including Personal Information) to ensure successful compliance with applicable regulatory requirements. Intralinks has created an industry-leading platform architecture, which includes advanced technology like the Distributed Content Node, which has recently been deployed in Australia. Content Node technology provides customers with complete control over the location of their data. It means Intralinks' customers' most valuable data does not need to leave the Asia Pacific region. As part of the Intralinks Trust Perimeter, Intralinks customers can determine: Where their encryption keys reside: Intralinks was the first-to-market the groundbreaking technology of Customer Managed Encryption Keys (CMK). This provides customers with full and sole control over the ability to manage the encryption keys that are used to protect their proprietary and confidential data in the cloud. Intralinks customers have exclusive right to determine the location of their encryption keys. Intralinks was the first-to-market the groundbreaking technology of Customer Managed Encryption Keys (CMK). This provides customers with full and sole control over the ability to manage the encryption keys that are used to protect their proprietary and confidential data in the cloud. Intralinks customers have exclusive right to determine the location of their encryption keys. How sensitive and confidential information is consumed, downloaded and edited at the file level, around the world: Intralinks' Information Rights Management (IRM) protects customers' sensitive files wherever they are in the world, and on any device. IRM attaches special controls to files that not only regulates their sharing but also facilitates their tracking and monitoring, and also assists in the ultimate revocation of the files as and when needed by the customer. It offers plugin-free security which not only protects the file when it is at rest but also travels with the document wherever it goes. "Businesses need to know how they can retain control over their information once it leaves the traditional firewall. The Intralinks Trust Perimeter gives customers what they need to define a new, global perimeter around their information, while meeting rigorous data protection standards globally," concludes O'Leary. More than 15,000 businesses globally have relied on Intralinks to protect their most mission-critical and high-risk information and over 80% of information held on the Intralinks platform is classified as highly sensitive. In Intralinks' 22-year history, over 4.1 million business users across the world have used the platform. Availability Intralinks Distributed Content Node service in Australia is generally available for Intralinks' customers running strategic transactions. See how Distributed Content Node technology works to satisfy data sovereignty requirements. Read about how our clients can create a customised Intralinks Trust Perimeter for comprehensive data security. Interview requests: Allan Robertson, senior vice president, Asia Pacific, Intralinks, is available for interview/comments/questions on 28, 29 March and 3, 4 April. Please contact the below to organise. Contacts: Michael Gencher Recognition PR +61-2-9252-2266 michael_gencher@recognition.com.au About Intralinks Intralinks is a leading financial technology provider for the global banking, deal making and capital markets communities. As pioneers of the virtual data room, our technology enables and secures the flow of information, empowering our customers to work more productively and with complete confidence. Intralinks facilitates strategic initiatives such as mergers and acquisitions, capital raising and investor reporting. Our solutions enhance these activities by streamlining operations, reducing risk, improving client experiences and increasing visibility. We've earned the trust and business of more than 99 percent of the Fortune 1000 and have executed over $34.7 trillion worth of financial transactions on our platform. For more information, visit www.intralinks.com. Related Links http://www.intralinks.com SOURCE Intralinks LONDON SW QW, Sweden, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Kindred Group yesterday received a positive ruling in the Belgian Constitutional Court cancelling the imposed VAT on online gambling. Kindred remains committed to a sustainable regulation and sees the ruling as positive for consumer protection. Kindred Group (previously Unibet Group) has challenged the imposed VAT on online gambling for being unfair, undermining policy objectives and lowering channelisation with lower consumer protection as a result. Yesterday's ruling in the Belgian Constitutional Court cancelling the VAT on online gambling is therefore welcomed by Kindred. The ruling also points out the inherent incompatibility between consumer protection and tax revenue objectives, especially when products (lotteries vs other products) and channels (retail vs online) are treated differently. For any gambling policy to succeed and with the "better offer one click away", locally regulated online operators must be able to provide services of equivalent value to end consumers as services provided by competitors in the global digital world. Kindred remains a strong advocate of sustainable regulation based upon a borderless digital market and channelling consumer demand to licensed offerings. We look forward to working with national and international policy makers and regulators to ensure gaming policy is sustainable and fact based. This information is such that Kindred Group plc is required to disclose under the EU Directive of Market Abuse Regulation. For more information: Ewout Keuleers General Counsel Kindred Group +44-7810-206175 ewout.keuleers@kindredgroup.com This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/kindred-group/r/kindred-wins-vat-case-in-belgium,c2479234 The following files are available for download: SOURCE Kindred Group LONDON, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Fineqia International Inc., (the "Company" or "Fineqia") (CSE: FNQ) (OTC: FNQQF) (Frankfurt: FNQA) is delighted to announce that The Field offering, available on the platform of its U.K. subsidiary Fineqia Ltd, has been fully subscribed. The Field, an action-drama and independent picture set on the streets of New Delhi, India, previously raised approximately US$2.3 million and connected with the Fineqia platform to help raise the remaining funds to help take the movie to completion. With the offering now fully subscribed, The Field - starring Canadian Hollywood Actor Brendan Fraser and Indian film stars Prem Chopra and Ronit Roy - is able to finish production and is set for release later this year. "We are absolutely thrilled with the news and the outpouring of support we have received for The Field," said The Field's Director, Rohit Batra. "Through Fineqia, we have been able to successfully raise the funds we need to showcase The Field to a global audience - we couldn't be more excited." "We couldn't be happier for Rohit and The Field to achieve their goal with us" said Fineqia CEO and Founder, Bundeep Singh Rangar. "Fineqia will continue to put out carefully chosen, high-quality deals to engage our investors and promote financial democratisation." The minimum amount to be raised on the Fineqia platform was US$100,000 for 40% of 1 unit of equity in The Field LLC, a California limited company. This amount has now been met to complete the full US$100,000 for which Fineqia Ltd received a placement fee. Eligible investors can find further information about The Field and Fineqia at http://www.fineqia.com. About Fineqia Limited Fineqia provides a platform and associated services to support security issuances and manage administration of equity and debt securities. It acts as a broker bringing an issuing company's securities to market, distributing and marketing them as well as transparently highlighting the risks and objectively outlining opportunities involved. It recently announced the incorporation of blockchain technologies to achieve these objectives. For more information visit http://www.fineqia.com. Residents of Canadian jurisdictions are not able to subscribe for equity or debt securities on the Fineqia platform unless and until Fineqia has become registered in the Canadian jurisdiction as a dealer under applicable securities laws. Investors resident in other jurisdictions outside of the European Union may also be restricted from participating in offerings on the Fineqia platform. We will allow for participation of investors resident outside of the European Union when Fineqia has received the requisite regulatory approvals. RISK WARNING Investing in start-ups and early stage businesses involves risks, including illiquidity, lack of dividends, loss of investment and dilution, and it should be done only as part of a diversified portfolio. Fineqia Ltd is targeted exclusively at investors who are sufficiently sophisticated to understand these risks and make their own investment decisions. You will only be able to invest via Fineqia Ltd once you are registered as sufficiently sophisticated. This page is communicated by Fineqia Ltd and has been approved as a financial promotion by Kession Capital Ltd. Fineqia Ltd, is an appointed representative of Kession Capital Ltd who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Investment are not offers of guaranteed returns and investments can only be made by members via Fineqia Ltd on the basis of information provided in the pitches by the companies concerned. Fineqia Ltd takes no responsibility for this information or for any recommendations or opinions made by the companies. Your capital is at risk. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Some statements in this release may contain forward-looking information (as defined under applicable Canadian securities laws) ("forward-looking statements"). All statements, other than of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that Fineqia (the "Company") believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements regarding potential acquisitions and financings) are forward-looking statements. 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Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made except as may be required by applicable securities laws. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement except to the extent required by applicable securities laws. Fineqia Limited (FRN: 757772) is an appointed representative of Kession Capital Limited (FRN: 582160), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. Bundeep Singh Rangar, Chief Executive Officer, T: +44-203-500-3462, E: info@fineqia.com, W: http://www.fineqia.com SOURCE Fineqia International Inc. openSUSE Security Update: Security update for the Linux Kernel ______________________________________________________________________________ Announcement ID: openSUSE-SU-2018:0781-1 Rating: important References: #1006867 #1012382 #1015342 #1015343 #1020645 #1022607 #1027054 #1031717 #1033587 #1034503 #103998_FIXME #1042286 #1043441 #1043725 #1043726 #1062840 #1065600 #1065615 #1066223 #1067118 #1068032 #1068569 #1069135 #1070404 #1071306 #1071892 #1072363 #1072689 #1072739 #1072865 #1073401 #1073407 #1074198 #1074426 #1075087 #1076282 #1076693 #1076760 #1076982 #1077241 #1077285 #1077560 #1078583 #1078672 #1078673 #1079029 #1079038 #1079313 #1079384 #1079609 #1079886 #1079989 #1080014 #1080263 #1080321 #1080344 #1080364 #1080384 #1080464 #1080533 #1080656 #1080774 #1080813 #1080851 #1081134 #1081431 #1081436 #1081437 #1081491 #1081498 #1081500 #1081512 #1081514 #1081681 #1081735 #1082089 #1082223 #1082299 #1082373 #1082478 #1082632 #1082795 #1082864 #1082897 #1082979 #1082993 #1083048 #1083086 #1083223 #1083387 #1083409 #1083494 #1083548 #1083750 #1083770 #1084041 #1084397 #1084427 #1084610 #1084772 #1084888 #1084926 #1084928 #1084967 #1085011 #1085015 #1085045 #1085047 #1085050 #1085053 #1085054 #1085056 #1085107 #1085224 #1085239 #863764 #966170 #966172 #966328 #975772 #983145 Cross-References: CVE-2017-13166 CVE-2017-15951 CVE-2017-16644 CVE-2017-16912 CVE-2017-16913 CVE-2017-17975 CVE-2017-18174 CVE-2017-18208 CVE-2018-1000026 CVE-2018-1068 CVE-2018-8087 Affected Products: openSUSE Leap 42.3 ______________________________________________________________________________ An update that solves 11 vulnerabilities and has 110 fixes is now available. Description: The openSUSE Leap 42.3 kernel was updated to 4.4.120 to receive various security and bugfixes. The following security bugs were fixed: - CVE-2018-8087: Memory leak in the hwsim_new_radio_nl function in drivers/net/wireless/mac80211_hwsim.c allowed local users to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) by triggering an out-of-array error case (bnc#1085053). - CVE-2017-13166: An elevation of privilege vulnerability in the v4l2 video driver was fixed. (bnc#1072865). - CVE-2017-18208: The madvise_willneed function in mm/madvise.c in the Linux kernel allowed local users to cause a denial of service (infinite loop) by triggering use of MADVISE_WILLNEED for a DAX mapping (bnc#1083494). - CVE-2017-17975: Use-after-free in the usbtv_probe function in drivers/media/usb/usbtv/usbtv-core.c allowed attackers to cause a denial of service (system crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact by triggering failure of audio registration, because a kfree of the usbtv data structure occurs during a usbtv_video_free call, but the usbtv_video_fail label's code attempts to both access and free this data structure (bnc#1074426). - CVE-2017-16644: The hdpvr_probe function in drivers/media/usb/hdpvr/hdpvr-core.c allowed local users to cause a denial of service (improper error handling and system crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted USB device (bnc#1067118). - CVE-2017-15951: The KEYS subsystem in did not correctly synchronize the actions of updating versus finding a key in the "negative" state to avoid a race condition, which allowed local users to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via crafted system calls (bnc#1062840 bnc#1065615). - CVE-2018-1000026: A insufficient input validation vulnerability in the bnx2x network card driver could result in DoS: Network card firmware assertion takes card off-line. This attack appear to be exploitable via an attacker that must pass a very large, specially crafted packet to the bnx2x card. This could be done from an untrusted guest VM. (bnc#1079384). - CVE-2017-18174: In the amd_gpio_remove function in drivers/pinctrl/pinctrl-amd.c calls the pinctrl_unregister function, which could lead to a double free (bnc#1080533). - CVE-2017-16912: The "get_pipe()" function (drivers/usb/usbip/stub_rx.c) allowed attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds read) via a specially crafted USB over IP packet (bnc#1078673). - CVE-2017-16913: The "stub_recv_cmd_submit()" function (drivers/usb/usbip/stub_rx.c) when handling CMD_SUBMIT packets allowed attackers to cause a denial of service (arbitrary memory allocation) via a specially crafted USB over IP packet (bnc#1078672). - CVE-2018-1068: Insufficient user provided offset checking in the ebtables compat code allowed local attackers to overwrite kernel memory and potentially execute code. (bsc#1085107) The following non-security bugs were fixed: - acpi / bus: Leave modalias empty for devices which are not present (bnc#1012382). - acpi, nfit: fix health event notification (FATE#321135, FATE#321217, FATE#321256, FATE#321391, FATE#321393). - acpi, nfit: fix register dimm error handling (FATE#321135, FATE#321217, FATE#321256, FATE#321391, FATE#321393). - acpi: sbshc: remove raw pointer from printk() message (bnc#1012382). - Add delay-init quirk for Corsair K70 RGB keyboards (bnc#1012382). - ahci: Add Intel Cannon Lake PCH-H PCI ID (bnc#1012382). - ahci: Add PCI ids for Intel Bay Trail, Cherry Trail and Apollo Lake AHCI (bnc#1012382). - ahci: Annotate PCI ids for mobile Intel chipsets as such (bnc#1012382). - alpha: fix crash if pthread_create races with signal delivery (bnc#1012382). - alpha: fix reboot on Avanti platform (bnc#1012382). - alsa: hda/ca0132 - fix possible NULL pointer use (bnc#1012382). - alsa: hda - Fix headset mic detection problem for two Dell machines (bnc#1012382). - alsa: hda/realtek - Add headset mode support for Dell laptop (bsc#1031717). - alsa: hda/realtek: PCI quirk for Fujitsu U7x7 (bnc#1012382). - alsa: hda - Reduce the suspend time consumption for ALC256 (bsc#1031717). - alsa: hda - Use IS_REACHABLE() for dependency on input (bsc#1031717). - alsa: seq: Fix racy pool initializations (bnc#1012382). - alsa: seq: Fix regression by incorrect ioctl_mutex usages (bnc#1012382). - alsa: usb-audio: add implicit fb quirk for Behringer UFX1204 (bnc#1012382). - alsa: usb-audio: Fix UAC2 get_ctl request with a RANGE attribute (bnc#1012382). - amd-xgbe: Fix unused suspend handlers build warning (bnc#1012382). - arm64: add PTE_ADDR_MASK (bsc#1068032). - arm64: barrier: Add CSDB macros to control data-value prediction (bsc#1068032). - arm64: define BUG() instruction without CONFIG_BUG (bnc#1012382). - arm64: Disable unhandled signal log messages by default (bnc#1012382). - arm64: dts: add #cooling-cells to CPU nodes (bnc#1012382). - arm64: entry: Apply BP hardening for high-priority synchronous exceptions (bsc#1068032). - arm64: entry: Apply BP hardening for suspicious interrupts from EL0 (bsc#1068032). - arm64: entry: Ensure branch through syscall table is bounded under speculation (bsc#1068032). - arm64: entry: Reword comment about post_ttbr_update_workaround (bsc#1068032). - arm64: Force KPTI to be disabled on Cavium ThunderX (bsc#1068032). - arm64: futex: Mask __user pointers prior to dereference (bsc#1068032). - arm64: idmap: Use "awx" flags for .idmap.text .pushsection directives (bsc#1068032). - arm64: Implement array_index_mask_nospec() (bsc#1068032). - arm64: Kconfig: select COMPAT_BINFMT_ELF only when BINFMT_ELF is set (bnc#1012382). - arm64: kpti: Add ->enable callback to remap swapper using nG mappings (bsc#1068032). - arm64: kpti: Make use of nG dependent on arm64_kernel_unmapped_at_el0() (bsc#1068032). - arm64: Make USER_DS an inclusive limit (bsc#1068032). - arm64: mm: Permit transitioning from Global to Non-Global without BBM (bsc#1068032). - arm64: move TASK_* definitions to (bsc#1068032). - arm64: Run enable method for errata work arounds on late CPUs (bsc#1085045). - arm64: uaccess: Do not bother eliding access_ok checks in __{get, put}_user (bsc#1068032). - arm64: uaccess: Mask __user pointers for __arch_{clear, copy_*}_user (bsc#1068032). - arm64: uaccess: Prevent speculative use of the current addr_limit (bsc#1068032). - arm64: Use pointer masking to limit uaccess speculation (bsc#1068032). - arm: 8731/1: Fix csum_partial_copy_from_user() stack mismatch (bnc#1012382). - arm: AM33xx: PRM: Remove am33xx_pwrdm_read_prev_pwrst function (bnc#1012382). - arm: dts: am4372: Correct the interrupts_properties of McASP (bnc#1012382). - arm: dts: Fix omap4 hang with GPS connected to USB by using wakeupgen (bnc#1012382). - arm: dts: ls1021a: fix incorrect clock references (bnc#1012382). - arm: dts: s5pv210: add interrupt-parent for ohci (bnc#1012382). - arm: dts: STi: Add gpio polarity for "hdmi,hpd-gpio" property (bnc#1012382). - arm: kvm: Fix SMCCC handling of unimplemented SMC/HVC calls (bnc#1012382). - arm: OMAP2+: Fix SRAM virt to phys translation for save_secure_ram_context (bnc#1012382). - arm: omap2: hide omap3_save_secure_ram on non-OMAP3 builds (git-fixes). - arm: pxa/tosa-bt: add MODULE_LICENSE tag (bnc#1012382). - arm: spear13xx: Fix dmas cells (bnc#1012382). - arm: spear13xx: Fix spics gpio controller's warning (bnc#1012382). - arm: spear600: Add missing interrupt-parent of rtc (bnc#1012382). - arm: tegra: select USB_ULPI from EHCI rather than platform (bnc#1012382). - asoc: au1x: Fix timeout tests in au1xac97c_ac97_read() (bsc#1031717). - asoc: Intel: Kconfig: fix build when ACPI is not enabled (bnc#1012382). - asoc: Intel: sst: Fix the return value of 'sst_send_byte_stream_mrfld()' (bsc#1031717). - asoc: mediatek: add i2c dependency (bnc#1012382). - asoc: nuc900: Fix a loop timeout test (bsc#1031717). - asoc: pcm512x: add missing MODULE_DESCRIPTION/AUTHOR/LICENSE (bnc#1012382). - asoc: rockchip: disable clock on error (bnc#1012382). - asoc: rsnd: avoid duplicate free_irq() (bnc#1012382). - asoc: rsnd: do not call free_irq() on Parent SSI (bnc#1012382). - asoc: simple-card: Fix misleading error message (bnc#1012382). - asoc: ux500: add MODULE_LICENSE tag (bnc#1012382). - ata: ahci_xgene: free structure returned by acpi_get_object_info() (bsc#1082979). - ata: pata_artop: remove redundant initialization of pio (bsc#1082979). - ata: sata_dwc_460ex: remove incorrect locking (bsc#1082979). - b2c2: flexcop: avoid unused function warnings (bnc#1012382). - binder: add missing binder_unlock() (bnc#1012382). - binder: check for binder_thread allocation failure in binder_poll() (bnc#1012382). - binfmt_elf: compat: avoid unused function warning (bnc#1012382). - blacklist acb1feab320e powerpc/64: Do not trace irqs-off at interrupt return to soft-disabled context - blacklist.conf: blacklist too intrusive patches (bsc#1082979) - blacklist.conf: commit fd5f7cde1b85d4c8e09 ("printk: Never set console_may_schedule in console_trylock()") - blk-mq: add warning to __blk_mq_run_hw_queue() for ints disabled (bsc#1084772). - blk-mq: stop 'delayed_run_work' in blk_mq_stop_hw_queue() (bsc#1084967). - blk-mq: turn WARN_ON in __blk_mq_run_hw_queue into printk (bsc#1084772). - blktrace: fix unlocked registration of tracepoints (bnc#1012382). - block: fix an error code in add_partition() (bsc#1082979). - block: Fix __bio_integrity_endio() documentation (bsc#1082979). - bluetooth: btsdio: Do not bind to non-removable BCM43341 (bnc#1012382). - bluetooth: btusb: Restore QCA Rome suspend/resume fix with a "rewritten" version (bnc#1012382). - bnx2x: Improve reliability in case of nested PCI errors (bnc#1012382). - bnxt_en: Fix the 'Invalid VF' id check in bnxt_vf_ndo_prep routine (bnc#1012382). - bpf: arsh is not supported in 32 bit alu thus reject it (bnc#1012382). - bpf: avoid false sharing of map refcount with max_entries (bnc#1012382). - bpf: fix 32-bit divide by zero (bnc#1012382). - bpf: fix bpf_tail_call() x64 JIT (bnc#1012382). - bpf: fix divides by zero (bnc#1012382). - bpf: introduce BPF_JIT_ALWAYS_ON config (bnc#1012382). - bpf: reject stores into ctx via st and xadd (bnc#1012382). - bridge: implement missing ndo_uninit() (bsc#1042286). - bridge: move bridge multicast cleanup to ndo_uninit (bsc#1042286). - btrfs: copy fsid to super_block s_uuid (bsc#1080774). - btrfs: fix crash due to not cleaning up tree log block's dirty bits (bnc#1012382). - btrfs: fix deadlock in run_delalloc_nocow (bnc#1012382). - btrfs: fix deadlock when writing out space cache (bnc#1012382). - btrfs: Fix possible off-by-one in btrfs_search_path_in_tree (bnc#1012382). - btrfs: Fix quota reservation leak on preallocated files (bsc#1079989). - btrfs: fix unexpected -EEXIST when creating new inode (bnc#1012382). - btrfs: Handle btrfs_set_extent_delalloc failure in fixup worker (bnc#1012382). - can: flex_can: Correct the checking for frame length in flexcan_start_xmit() (bnc#1012382). - cdrom: turn off autoclose by default (bsc#1080813). - ceph: fix incorrect snaprealm when adding caps (bsc#1081735). - ceph: fix un-balanced fsc->writeback_count update (bsc#1081735). - cfg80211: check dev_set_name() return value (bnc#1012382). - cfg80211: fix cfg80211_beacon_dup (bnc#1012382). - cifs: dump IPC tcon in debug proc file (bsc#1071306). - cifs: Fix autonegotiate security settings mismatch (bnc#1012382). - cifs: Fix missing put_xid in cifs_file_strict_mmap (bnc#1012382). - cifs: make IPC a regular tcon (bsc#1071306). - cifs: use tcon_ipc instead of use_ipc parameter of SMB2_ioctl (bsc#1071306). - cifs: zero sensitive data when freeing (bnc#1012382). - clk: fix a panic error caused by accessing NULL pointer (bnc#1012382). - console/dummy: leave .con_font_get set to NULL (bnc#1012382). - cpufreq: Add Loongson machine dependencies (bnc#1012382). - crypto: aesni - handle zero length dst buffer (bnc#1012382). - crypto: af_alg - whitelist mask and type (bnc#1012382). - crypto: caam - fix endless loop when DECO acquire fails (bnc#1012382). - crypto: cryptd - pass through absence of ->setkey() (bnc#1012382). - crypto: hash - introduce crypto_hash_alg_has_setkey() (bnc#1012382). - crypto: poly1305 - remove ->setkey() method (bnc#1012382). - crypto: s5p-sss - Fix kernel Oops in AES-ECB mode (bnc#1012382). - crypto: tcrypt - fix S/G table for test_aead_speed() (bnc#1012382). - crypto: x86/twofish-3way - Fix %rbp usage (bnc#1012382). - cw1200: fix bogus maybe-uninitialized warning (bnc#1012382). - dccp: limit sk_filter trim to payload (bsc#1042286). - dell-wmi, dell-laptop: depends DMI (bnc#1012382). - direct-io: Fix sleep in atomic due to sync AIO (bsc#1084888). - dlm: fix double list_del() (bsc#1082795). - dlm: fix NULL pointer dereference in send_to_sock() (bsc#1082795). - dmaengine: at_hdmac: fix potential NULL pointer dereference in atc_prep_dma_interleaved (bnc#1012382). - dmaengine: dmatest: fix container_of member in dmatest_callback (bnc#1012382). - dmaengine: ioat: Fix error handling path (bnc#1012382). - dmaengine: jz4740: disable/unprepare clk if probe fails (bnc#1012382). - dmaengine: zx: fix build warning (bnc#1012382). - dm: correctly handle chained bios in dec_pending() (bnc#1012382). - dn_getsockoptdecnet: move nf_{get/set}sockopt outside sock lock (bnc#1012382). - do not put symlink bodies in pagecache into highmem (bnc#1012382). - dpt_i2o: fix build warning (bnc#1012382). - driver-core: use 'dev' argument in dev_dbg_ratelimited stub (bnc#1012382). - drivers: hv: balloon: Correctly update onlined page count (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - drivers: hv: balloon: Initialize last_post_time on startup (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - drivers: hv: balloon: Show the max dynamic memory assigned (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - drivers: hv: kvp: Use MAX_ADAPTER_ID_SIZE for translating adapter id (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - drivers: hv: Turn off write permission on the hypercall page (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - drivers: hv: vmbus: Fix rescind handling (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - drivers: hv: vmbus: Fix rescind handling issues (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - drivers/net: fix eisa_driver probe section mismatch (bnc#1012382). - drm/amdgpu: Avoid leaking PM domain on driver unbind (v2) (bnc#1012382). - drm/amdgpu: Fix SDMA load/unload sequence on HWS disabled mode (bnc#1012382). - drm/amdkfd: Fix SDMA oversubsription handling (bnc#1012382). - drm/amdkfd: Fix SDMA ring buffer size calculation (bnc#1012382). - drm/armada: fix leak of crtc structure (bnc#1012382). - drm/edid: Add 6 bpc quirk for CPT panel in Asus UX303LA (bnc#1012382). - drm/gma500: remove helper function (bnc#1012382). - drm/gma500: Sanity-check pipe index (bnc#1012382). - drm/nouveau: hide gcc-4.9 -Wmaybe-uninitialized (bnc#1012382). - drm/nouveau/pci: do a msi rearm on init (bnc#1012382). - drm/radeon: adjust tested variable (bnc#1012382). - drm: rcar-du: Fix race condition when disabling planes at CRTC stop (bnc#1012382). - drm: rcar-du: Use the VBK interrupt for vblank events (bnc#1012382). - drm: Require __GFP_NOFAIL for the legacy drm_modeset_lock_all (bnc#1012382). - drm/ttm: check the return value of kzalloc (bnc#1012382). - drm/vmwgfx: use *_32_bits() macros (bnc#1012382). - e1000: fix disabling already-disabled warning (bnc#1012382). - edac, octeon: Fix an uninitialized variable warning (bnc#1012382). - em28xx: only use mt9v011 if camera support is enabled (bnc#1012382). - enable DST_CACHE in non-vanilla configs except s390x/zfcpdump - ext4: correct documentation for grpid mount option (bnc#1012382). - ext4: do not unnecessarily allocate buffer in recently_deleted() (bsc#1080344). - ext4: Fix data exposure after failed AIO DIO (bsc#1069135 bsc#1082864). - ext4: save error to disk in __ext4_grp_locked_error() (bnc#1012382). - f2fs: fix a bug caused by NULL extent tree (bsc#1082478). Does not affect SLE release but should be merged into leap updates - fbdev: auo_k190x: avoid unused function warnings (bnc#1012382). - fbdev: s6e8ax0: avoid unused function warnings (bnc#1012382). - fbdev: sis: enforce selection of at least one backend (bnc#1012382). - fbdev: sm712fb: avoid unused function warnings (bnc#1012382). - fs: Avoid invalidation in interrupt context in dio_complete() (bsc#1073407 bsc#1069135). - fs: Fix page cache inconsistency when mixing buffered and AIO DIO (bsc#1073407 bsc#1069135). - fs: invalidate page cache after end_io() in dio completion (bsc#1073407 bsc#1069135). - ftrace: Remove incorrect setting of glob search field (bnc#1012382). - geneve: fix populating tclass in geneve_get_v6_dst (bsc#1042286). - genirq/msi: Add stubs for get_cached_msi_msg/pci_write_msi_msg (bnc#1012382). - genirq/msi: Fix populating multiple interrupts (bsc#1085047). - genirq: Restore trigger settings in irq_modify_status() (bsc#1085056). - genksyms: Fix segfault with invalid declarations (bnc#1012382). - gianfar: fix a flooded alignment reports because of padding issue (bnc#1012382). - go7007: add MEDIA_CAMERA_SUPPORT dependency (bnc#1012382). - gpio: ath79: add missing MODULE_DESCRIPTION/LICENSE (bnc#1012382). - gpio: intel-mid: Fix build warning when !CONFIG_PM (bnc#1012382). - gpio: iop: add missing MODULE_DESCRIPTION/AUTHOR/LICENSE (bnc#1012382). - gpio: xgene: mark PM functions as __maybe_unused (bnc#1012382). - grace: replace BUG_ON by WARN_ONCE in exit_net hook (bnc#1012382). - gre: build header correctly for collect metadata tunnels (bsc#1042286). - gre: do not assign header_ops in collect metadata mode (bsc#1042286). - gre: do not keep the GRE header around in collect medata mode (bsc#1042286). - gre: reject GUE and FOU in collect metadata mode (bsc#1042286). - hdpvr: hide unused variable (bnc#1012382). - hid: quirks: Fix keyboard + touchpad on Toshiba Click Mini not working (bnc#1012382). - hippi: Fix a Fix a possible sleep-in-atomic bug in rr_close (bnc#1012382). - hrtimer: Ensure POSIX compliance (relative CLOCK_REALTIME hrtimers) (bnc#1012382). - hv_netvsc: Add ethtool handler to set and get TCP hash levels (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: Add ethtool handler to set and get UDP hash levels (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: Add initialization of tx_table in netvsc_device_add() (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: Change the hash level variable to bit flags (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: Clean up an unused parameter in rndis_filter_set_rss_param() (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: Clean up unused parameter from netvsc_get_hash() (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: Clean up unused parameter from netvsc_get_rss_hash_opts() (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: copy_to_send buf can be void (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: do not need local xmit_more (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: drop unused macros (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: empty current transmit aggregation if flow blocked (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: Fix rndis_filter_close error during netvsc_remove (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: fix send buffer failure on MTU change (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: Fix the channel limit in netvsc_set_rxfh() (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: Fix the real number of queues of non-vRSS cases (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: Fix the receive buffer size limit (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: Fix the TX/RX buffer default sizes (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: hide warnings about uninitialized/missing rndis device (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: make const array ver_list static, reduces object code size (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: optimize initialization of RNDIS header (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: pass netvsc_device to receive callback (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: remove open_cnt reference count (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: Rename ind_table to rx_table (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: Rename tx_send_table to tx_table (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: replace divide with mask when computing padding (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: report stop_queue and wake_queue (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: simplify function args in receive status path (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: Simplify the limit check in netvsc_set_channels() (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv_netvsc: track memory allocation failures in ethtool stats (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hv: preserve kabi by keeping hv_do_hypercall (bnc#1082632). - hwmon: (pmbus) Use 64bit math for DIRECT format values (bnc#1012382). - hwrng: exynos - use __maybe_unused to hide pm functions (bnc#1012382). - hyper-v: trace vmbus_ongpadl_created() (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hyper-v: trace vmbus_ongpadl_torndown() (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hyper-v: trace vmbus_on_message() (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hyper-v: trace vmbus_on_msg_dpc() (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hyper-v: trace vmbus_onoffer() (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hyper-v: trace vmbus_onoffer_rescind() (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hyper-v: trace vmbus_onopen_result() (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hyper-v: trace vmbus_onversion_response() (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - hyper-v: Use fast hypercall for HVCALL_SIGNAL_EVENT (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - i2c: remove __init from i2c_register_board_info() (bnc#1012382). - ib/hfi1: Fix for potential refcount leak in hfi1_open_file() (FATE#321231 FATE#321473). - ib/iser: Handle lack of memory management extentions correctly (bsc#1082979). - ib/mlx4: Fix incorrectly releasing steerable UD QPs when have only ETH ports (bnc#1012382). - ib/mlx4: Fix mlx4_ib_alloc_mr error flow (bnc#1012382). - ibmvnic: Account for VLAN header length in TX buffers (bsc#1085239). - ibmvnic: Account for VLAN tag in L2 Header descriptor (bsc#1085239). - ibmvnic: Allocate max queues stats buffers (bsc#1081498). - ibmvnic: Allocate statistics buffers during probe (bsc#1082993). - ibmvnic: Check for NULL skb's in NAPI poll routine (bsc#1081134, git-fixes). - ibmvnic: Clean RX pool buffers during device close (bsc#1081134). - ibmvnic: Clean up device close (bsc#1084610). - ibmvnic: Correct goto target for tx irq initialization failure (bsc#1082223). - ibmvnic: Do not attempt to login if RX or TX queues are not allocated (bsc#1082993). - ibmvnic: Do not disable device during failover or partition migration (bsc#1084610). - ibmvnic: Ensure that buffers are NULL after free (bsc#1080014). - ibmvnic: Fix early release of login buffer (bsc#1081134, git-fixes). - ibmvnic: fix empty firmware version and errors cleanup (bsc#1079038). - ibmvnic: Fix login buffer memory leaks (bsc#1081134). - ibmvnic: Fix NAPI structures memory leak (bsc#1081134). - ibmvnic: Fix recent errata commit (bsc#1085239). - ibmvnic: Fix rx queue cleanup for non-fatal resets (bsc#1080014). - ibmvnic: Fix TX descriptor tracking again (bsc#1082993). - ibmvnic: Fix TX descriptor tracking (bsc#1081491). - ibmvnic: Free and re-allocate scrqs when tx/rx scrqs change (bsc#1081498). - ibmvnic: Free RX socket buffer in case of adapter error (bsc#1081134). - ibmvnic: Generalize TX pool structure (bsc#1085224). - ibmvnic: Handle TSO backing device errata (bsc#1085239). - ibmvnic: Harden TX/RX pool cleaning (bsc#1082993). - ibmvnic: Improve TX buffer accounting (bsc#1085224). - ibmvnic: Keep track of supplementary TX descriptors (bsc#1081491). - ibmvnic: Make napi usage dynamic (bsc#1081498). - ibmvnic: Move active sub-crq count settings (bsc#1081498). - ibmvnic: Pad small packets to minimum MTU size (bsc#1085239). - ibmvnic: queue reset when CRQ gets closed during reset (bsc#1080263). - ibmvnic: Remove skb->protocol checks in ibmvnic_xmit (bsc#1080384). - ibmvnic: Rename active queue count variables (bsc#1081498). - ibmvnic: Reorganize device close (bsc#1084610). - ibmvnic: Report queue stops and restarts as debug output (bsc#1082993). - ibmvnic: Reset long term map ID counter (bsc#1080364). - ibmvnic: Split counters for scrq/pools/napi (bsc#1082223). - ibmvnic: Update and clean up reset TX pool routine (bsc#1085224). - ibmvnic: Update release RX pool routine (bsc#1085224). - ibmvnic: Update TX and TX completion routines (bsc#1085224). - ibmvnic: Update TX pool initialization routine (bsc#1085224). - ibmvnic: Wait until reset is complete to set carrier on (bsc#1081134). - ib/srpt: Remove an unused structure member (bsc#1082979). - idle: i7300: add PCI dependency (bnc#1012382). - igb: Free IRQs when device is hotplugged (bnc#1012382). - iio: adc: axp288: remove redundant duplicate const on axp288_adc_channels (bnc#1012382). - iio: adis_lib: Initialize trigger before requesting interrupt (bnc#1012382). - iio: buffer: check if a buffer has been set up when poll is called (bnc#1012382). - input: tca8418_keypad - hide gcc-4.9 -Wmaybe-uninitialized warning (bnc#1012382). - input: tca8418_keypad - remove double read of key event register (git-fixes). - iommu/amd: Add align parameter to alloc_irq_index() (bsc#975772). - iommu/amd: Enforce alignment for MSI IRQs (bsc#975772). - iommu/amd: Fix alloc_irq_index() increment (bsc#975772). - iommu/amd: Limit the IOVA page range to the specified addresses (fate#321026). - iommu/arm-smmu-v3: Cope with duplicated Stream IDs (bsc#1084926). - iommu/iova: Fix underflow bug in __alloc_and_insert_iova_range (bsc#1084928). - iommu/vt-d: Use domain instead of cache fetching (bsc#975772). - ip6: add ip6_make_flowinfo helper (bsc#1042286). - ip6mr: fix stale iterator (bnc#1012382). - ipc/msg: introduce msgctl(MSG_STAT_ANY) (bsc#1072689). - ipc/sem: introduce semctl(SEM_STAT_ANY) (bsc#1072689). - ipc/shm: introduce shmctl(SHM_STAT_ANY) (bsc#1072689). - ip_tunnel: fix preempt warning in ip tunnel creation/updating (bnc#1012382). - ip_tunnel: replace dst_cache with generic implementation (bnc#1012382). - ipv4: allow local fragmentation in ip_finish_output_gso() (bsc#1042286). - ipv4: fix checksum annotation in udp4_csum_init (bsc#1042286). - ipv4: ipconfig: avoid unused ic_proto_used symbol (bnc#1012382). - ipv4: update comment to document GSO fragmentation cases (bsc#1042286). - ipv6: datagram: Refactor dst lookup and update codes to a new function (bsc#1042286). - ipv6: datagram: Refactor flowi6 init codes to a new function (bsc#1042286). - ipv6: datagram: Update dst cache of a connected datagram sk during pmtu update (bsc#1042286). - ipv6: fix checksum annotation in udp6_csum_init (bsc#1042286). - ipv6: icmp6: Allow icmp messages to be looped back (bnc#1012382). - ipv6/ila: fix nlsize calculation for lwtunnel (bsc#1042286). - ipv6: remove unused in6_addr struct (bsc#1042286). - ipv6: tcp: fix endianness annotation in tcp_v6_send_response (bsc#1042286). - ipv6: udp: Do a route lookup and update during release_cb (bsc#1042286). - ipvlan: Add the skb->mark as flow4's member to lookup route (bnc#1012382). - ipvlan: fix multicast processing (bsc#1042286). - ipvlan: fix various issues in ipvlan_process_multicast() (bsc#1042286). - irqchip/gic-v3: Use wmb() instead of smb_wmb() in gic_raise_softirq() (bnc#1012382). - isdn: eicon: reduce stack size of sig_ind function (bnc#1012382). - isdn: icn: remove a #warning (bnc#1012382). - isdn: sc: work around type mismatch warning (bnc#1012382). - jffs2: Fix use-after-free bug in jffs2_iget()'s error handling path (git-fixes). - kABI: protect struct cpuinfo_x86 (kabi). - kABI: protect struct ethtool_link_settings (bsc#1085050). - kABI: protect struct ip_tunnel and reintroduce ip_tunnel_dst_reset_all (kabi). - kABI: reintroduce crypto_poly1305_setkey (kabi). - kabi: restore kabi after "net: replace dst_cache ip6_tunnel implementation with the generic one" (bsc#1082897). - kabi: restore nft_set_elem_destroy() signature (bsc#1042286). - kabi: restore rhashtable_insert_slow() signature (bsc#1042286). - kabi/severities: add sclp to KABI ignore list - kabi/severities: add __x86_indirect_thunk_rsp - kabi/severities: as per bsc#1068569 we can ignore XFS kabi The gods have spoken, let there be light. - kabi/severities: Ignore kvm for KABI severities - kabi: uninline sk_receive_skb() (bsc#1042286). - kaiser: fix compile error without vsyscall (bnc#1012382). - kaiser: fix intel_bts perf crashes (bnc#1012382). - kasan: rework Kconfig settings (bnc#1012382). - kernel/async.c: revert "async: simplify lowest_in_progress()" (bnc#1012382). - kernel: fix rwlock implementation (bnc#1079886, LTC#164371). - kernfs: fix regression in kernfs_fop_write caused by wrong type (bnc#1012382). - keys: encrypted: fix buffer overread in valid_master_desc() (bnc#1012382). - kmemleak: add scheduling point to kmemleak_scan() (bnc#1012382). - kvm: add X86_LOCAL_APIC dependency (bnc#1012382). - kvm: ARM64: fix phy counter access failure in guest (bsc#1085015). - kvm: arm/arm64: Check pagesize when allocating a hugepage at Stage 2 (bsc#1079029). - kvm: nVMX: Fix kernel panics induced by illegal INVEPT/INVVPID types (bnc#1012382). - kvm: nVMX: Fix races when sending nested PI while dest enters/leaves L2 (bnc#1012382). - kvm: nVMX: invvpid handling improvements (bnc#1012382). - kvm: nVMX: kmap() can't fail (bnc#1012382). - kvm: nVMX: vmx_complete_nested_posted_interrupt() can't fail (bnc#1012382). - kvm: PPC: Book3S PR: Fix svcpu copying with preemption enabled (bsc#1066223). - kvm: s390: Add operation exception interception handler (FATE#324070, LTC#158959). - kvm: s390: Add sthyi emulation (FATE#324070, LTC#158959). - kvm: s390: Enable all facility bits that are known good for passthrough (FATE#324071, LTC#158956). - kvm: s390: Extend diag 204 fields (FATE#324070, LTC#158959). - kvm: s390: Fix STHYI buffer alignment for diag224 (FATE#324070, LTC#158959). - kvm: s390: instruction-execution-protection support (LTC#162428). - kvm: s390: Introduce BCD Vector Instructions to the guest (FATE#324072, LTC#158953). - kvm: s390: Introduce Vector Enhancements facility 1 to the guest (FATE#324072, LTC#158953). - kvm: s390: Limit sthyi execution (FATE#324070, LTC#158959). - kvm: s390: Populate mask of non-hypervisor managed facility bits (FATE#324071, LTC#158956). - kvm: VMX: clean up declaration of VPID/EPT invalidation types (bnc#1012382). - kvm: VMX: Fix rflags cache during vCPU reset (bnc#1012382). - kvm: VMX: Make indirect call speculation safe (bnc#1012382). - kvm: x86: Do not re-execute instruction when not passing CR2 value (bnc#1012382). - kvm: x86: emulator: Return to user-mode on L1 CPL=0 emulation failure (bnc#1012382). - kvm: x86: fix escape of guest dr6 to the host (bnc#1012382). - kvm: X86: Fix operand/address-size during instruction decoding (bnc#1012382). - kvm: x86: ioapic: Clear Remote IRR when entry is switched to edge-triggered (bnc#1012382). - kvm: x86: ioapic: Fix level-triggered EOI and IOAPIC reconfigure race (bnc#1012382). - kvm: x86: ioapic: Preserve read-only values in the redirection table (bnc#1012382). - kvm: x86: Make indirect calls in emulator speculation safe (bnc#1012382). - kvm/x86: Reduce retpoline performance impact in slot_handle_level_range(), by always inlining iterator helper methods (bnc#1012382). - l2tp: fix use-after-free during module unload (bsc#1042286). - led: core: Fix brightness setting when setting delay_off=0 (bnc#1012382). - leds: do not overflow sysfs buffer in led_trigger_show (bsc#1080464). - libceph: check kstrndup() return value (bsc#1081735). - lib/mpi: Fix umul_ppmm() for MIPS64r6 (bnc#1012382). - lib/uuid.c: introduce a few more generic helpers (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - lib/uuid.c: use correct offset in uuid parser (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - livepatch: introduce shadow variable API (bsc#1082299 fate#313296). Shadow variables support. - livepatch: __kgr_shadow_get_or_alloc() is local to shadow.c (bsc#1082299 fate#313296). Shadow variables support. - lockd: fix "list_add double add" caused by legacy signal interface (bnc#1012382). - loop: fix concurrent lo_open/lo_release (bnc#1012382). - mac80211: fix the update of path metric for RANN frame (bnc#1012382). - mac80211: mesh: drop frames appearing to be from us (bnc#1012382). - Make DST_CACHE a silent config option (bnc#1012382). - mdio-sun4i: Fix a memory leak (bnc#1012382). - md/raid1: Use a new variable to count flighting sync requests(bsc#1083048) - media: cxusb, dib0700: ignore XC2028_I2C_FLUSH (bnc#1012382). - media: dvb-usb-v2: lmedm04: Improve logic checking of warm start (bnc#1012382). - media: dvb-usb-v2: lmedm04: move ts2020 attach to dm04_lme2510_tuner (bnc#1012382). - media: r820t: fix r820t_write_reg for KASAN (bnc#1012382). - media: s5k6aa: describe some function parameters (bnc#1012382). - media: soc_camera: soc_scale_crop: add missing MODULE_DESCRIPTION/AUTHOR/LICENSE (bnc#1012382). - media: ts2020: avoid integer overflows on 32 bit machines (bnc#1012382). - media: usbtv: add a new usbid (bnc#1012382). - media: v4l2-compat-ioctl32.c: add missing VIDIOC_PREPARE_BUF (bnc#1012382). - media: v4l2-compat-ioctl32.c: avoid sizeof(type) (bnc#1012382). - media: v4l2-compat-ioctl32.c: copy clip list in put_v4l2_window32 (bnc#1012382). - media: v4l2-compat-ioctl32.c: copy m.userptr in put_v4l2_plane32 (bnc#1012382). - media: v4l2-compat-ioctl32.c: do not copy back the result for certain errors (bnc#1012382). - media: v4l2-compat-ioctl32.c: drop pr_info for unknown buffer type (bnc#1012382). - media: v4l2-compat-ioctl32.c: fix ctrl_is_pointer (bnc#1012382). - media: v4l2-compat-ioctl32.c: fix the indentation (bnc#1012382). - media: v4l2-compat-ioctl32.c: make ctrl_is_pointer work for subdevs (bnc#1012382). - media: v4l2-compat-ioctl32.c: move 'helper' functions to __get/put_v4l2_format32 (bnc#1012382). - media: v4l2-compat-ioctl32: Copy v4l2_window->global_alpha (bnc#1012382). - media: v4l2-compat-ioctl32.c: refactor compat ioctl32 logic (bnc#1012382). - media: v4l2-ioctl.c: do not copy back the result for -ENOTTY (bnc#1012382). - MIPS: Implement __multi3 for GCC7 MIPS64r6 builds (bnc#1012382). - mmc: bcm2835: Do not overwrite max frequency unconditionally (bsc#983145, git-fixes). - mm/early_ioremap: Fix boot hang with earlyprintk=efi,keep (bnc#1012382). - mm: hide a #warning for COMPILE_TEST (bnc#1012382). - mm/kmemleak.c: make cond_resched() rate-limiting more efficient (git-fixes). - mm: pin address_space before dereferencing it while isolating an LRU page (bnc#1081500). - mm,vmscan: Make unregister_shrinker() no-op if register_shrinker() failed (bnc#1012382). - mn10300/misalignment: Use SIGSEGV SEGV_MAPERR to report a failed user copy (bnc#1012382). - modsign: hide openssl output in silent builds (bnc#1012382). - module/retpoline: Warn about missing retpoline in module (bnc#1012382). - mpt3sas: Do not mark fw_event workqueue as WQ_MEM_RECLAIM (bsc#1078583). - mptfusion: hide unused seq_mpt_print_ioc_summary function (bnc#1012382). - mtd: cfi: convert inline functions to macros (bnc#1012382). - mtd: cfi: enforce valid geometry configuration (bnc#1012382). - mtd: ichxrom: maybe-uninitialized with gcc-4.9 (bnc#1012382). - mtd: maps: add __init attribute (bnc#1012382). - mtd: nand: brcmnand: Disable prefetch by default (bnc#1012382). - mtd: nand: denali_pci: add missing MODULE_DESCRIPTION/AUTHOR/LICENSE (bnc#1012382). - mtd: nand: Fix nand_do_read_oob() return value (bnc#1012382). - mtd: nand: gpmi: Fix failure when a erased page has a bitflip at BBM (bnc#1012382). - mtd: nand: sunxi: Fix ECC strength choice (bnc#1012382). - mtd: sh_flctl: pass FIFO as physical address (bnc#1012382). - mvpp2: fix multicast address filter (bnc#1012382). - ncpfs: fix unused variable warning (bnc#1012382). - ncr5380: shut up gcc indentation warning (bnc#1012382). - net: add dst_cache support (bnc#1012382). - net: arc_emac: fix arc_emac_rx() error paths (bnc#1012382). - net: avoid skb_warn_bad_offload on IS_ERR (bnc#1012382). - net: cdc_ncm: initialize drvflags before usage (bnc#1012382). - net: dst_cache_per_cpu_dst_set() can be static (bnc#1012382). - net: ena: add detection and recovery mechanism for handling missed/misrouted MSI-X (bsc#1083548). - net: ena: add new admin define for future support of IPv6 RSS (bsc#1083548). - net: ena: add power management ops to the ENA driver (bsc#1083548). - net: ena: add statistics for missed tx packets (bsc#1083548). - net: ena: fix error handling in ena_down() sequence (bsc#1083548). - net: ena: fix race condition between device reset and link up setup (bsc#1083548). - net: ena: fix rare kernel crash when bar memory remap fails (bsc#1083548). - net: ena: fix wrong max Tx/Rx queues on ethtool (bsc#1083548). - net: ena: improve ENA driver boot time (bsc#1083548). - net: ena: increase ena driver version to 1.3.0 (bsc#1083548). - net: ena: increase ena driver version to 1.5.0 (bsc#1083548). - net: ena: reduce the severity of some printouts (bsc#1083548). - net: ena: remove legacy suspend suspend/resume support (bsc#1083548). - net: ena: Remove redundant unlikely() (bsc#1083548). - net: ena: unmask MSI-X only after device initialization is completed (bsc#1083548). - net: ethernet: cavium: Correct Cavium Thunderx NIC driver names accordingly to module name (bsc#1085011). - net: ethernet: xilinx: Mark XILINX_LL_TEMAC broken on 64-bit (bnc#1012382). - net: ethtool: Add back transceiver type (bsc#1085050). - net: ethtool: remove error check for legacy setting transceiver type (bsc#1085050). - netfilter: drop outermost socket lock in getsockopt() (bnc#1012382). - netfilter: ebtables: CONFIG_COMPAT: do not trust userland offsets (bsc#1085107). - netfilter: ebtables: fix erroneous reject of last rule (bsc#1085107). - netfilter: ipt_CLUSTERIP: fix out-of-bounds accesses in clusterip_tg_check() (bnc#1012382). - netfilter: ipvs: avoid unused variable warnings (bnc#1012382). - netfilter: nf_queue: Make the queue_handler pernet (bnc#1012382). - netfilter: nf_tables: fix a wrong check to skip the inactive rules (bsc#1042286). - netfilter: nf_tables: fix inconsistent element expiration calculation (bsc#1042286). - netfilter: nf_tables: fix *leak* when expr clone fail (bsc#1042286). - netfilter: nf_tables: fix race when create new element in dynset (bsc#1042286). - netfilter: on sockopt() acquire sock lock only in the required scope (bnc#1012382). - netfilter: tee: select NF_DUP_IPV6 unconditionally (bsc#1042286). - netfilter: x_tables: avoid out-of-bounds reads in xt_request_find_{match|target} (bnc#1012382). - netfilter: x_tables: fix int overflow in xt_alloc_table_info() (bnc#1012382). - netfilter: xt_RATEEST: acquire xt_rateest_mutex for hash insert (bnc#1012382). - netfilter: xt_socket: fix transparent match for IPv6 request sockets (bsc#1042286). - net: gianfar_ptp: move set_fipers() to spinlock protecting area (bnc#1012382). - net: hns: add ACPI mode support for ethtool -p (bsc#1084041). - net: hp100: remove unnecessary #ifdefs (bnc#1012382). - net: igmp: add a missing rcu locking section (bnc#1012382). - net/ipv4: Introduce IPSKB_FRAG_SEGS bit to inet_skb_parm.flags (bsc#1042286). - netlink: fix nla_put_{u8,u16,u32} for KASAN (bnc#1012382). - net/mlx5e: Fix loopback self test when GRO is off (bsc#1015342 FATE#321688 bsc#1015343 FATE#321689). - net/mlx5e: Fix wrong delay calculation for overflow check scheduling (bsc#966170 FATE#320225 bsc#966172 FATE#320226). - net/mlx5e: Verify inline header size do not exceed SKB linear size (bsc#1015342 FATE#321688 bsc#1015343 FATE#321689). - net/mlx5: Use 128B cacheline size for 128B or larger cachelines (bsc#1015342 FATE#321688 bsc#1015343 FATE#321689). - net: phy: Keep reporting transceiver type (bsc#1085050). - net: replace dst_cache ip6_tunnel implementation with the generic one (bnc#1012382). - net_sched: red: Avoid devision by zero (bnc#1012382). - net_sched: red: Avoid illegal values (bnc#1012382). - net/smc: fix NULL pointer dereference on sock_create_kern() error path (bsc#1082979). - netvsc: allow controlling send/recv buffer size (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - netvsc: allow driver to be removed even if VF is present (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - netvsc: check error return when restoring channels and mtu (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - netvsc: cleanup datapath switch (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - netvsc: do not signal host twice if empty (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - netvsc: fix deadlock betwen link status and removal (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - netvsc: increase default receive buffer size (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - netvsc: keep track of some non-fatal overload conditions (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - netvsc: no need to allocate send/receive on numa node (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - netvsc: propagate MAC address change to VF slave (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - netvsc: remove unnecessary cast of void pointer (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - netvsc: remove unnecessary check for NULL hdr (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - netvsc: whitespace cleanup (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - net: vxlan: lwt: Fix vxlan local traffic (bsc#1042286). - net: vxlan: lwt: Use source ip address during route lookup (bsc#1042286). - NFS: commit direct writes even if they fail partially (bnc#1012382). - nfsd: check for use of the closed special stateid (bnc#1012382). - nfsd: CLOSE SHOULD return the invalid special stateid for NFSv4.x (x>0) (bnc#1012382). - nfsd: Ensure we check stateid validity in the seqid operation checks (bnc#1012382). - nfs: Do not convert nfs_idmap_cache_timeout to jiffies (git-fixes). - nfs: fix a deadlock in nfs client initialization (bsc#1074198). - nfs/pnfs: fix nfs_direct_req ref leak when i/o falls back to the mds (bnc#1012382). - NFS: reject request for id_legacy key without auxdata (bnc#1012382). - NFS: Trunking detection should handle ERESTARTSYS/EINTR (bsc#1074198). - nvme_fc: cleanup io completion (bsc#1079609). - nvme_fc: correct abort race condition on resets (bsc#1079609). - nvme_fc: fix abort race on teardown with lld reject (bsc#1083750). - nvme_fc: fix ctrl create failures racing with workq items (bsc#1076982). - nvme_fc: io timeout should defer abort to ctrl reset (bsc#1085054). - nvme-fc: kick admin requeue list on disconnect (bsc#1077241). - nvme_fc: minor fixes on sqsize (bsc#1076760). - nvme_fc: on remoteport reuse, set new nport_id and role (bsc#1076760). - nvme_fc: rework sqsize handling (bsc#1076760). - nvme: Fix managing degraded controllers (bnc#1012382). - nvme: Fix setting logical block format when revalidating (bsc#1079313). - nvme: only start KATO if the controller is live (bsc#1083387). - nvme-pci: clean up CMB initialization (bsc#1082979). - nvme-pci: clean up SMBSZ bit definitions (bsc#1082979). - nvme-pci: consistencly use ctrl->device for logging (bsc#1082979). - nvme-pci: fix typos in comments (bsc#1082979). - nvme-pci: Remap CMB SQ entries on every controller reset (bsc#1082979). - nvme-pci: Use PCI bus address for data/queues in CMB (bsc#1082979). - nvme: Quirks for PM1725 controllers (bsc#1082979). - nvme_rdma: clear NVME_RDMA_Q_LIVE bit if reconnect fails (bsc#1083770). - nvme-rdma: fix concurrent reset and reconnect (bsc#1082979). - nvme: remove nvme_revalidate_ns (bsc#1079313). - ocfs2: return error when we attempt to access a dirty bh in jbd2 (bsc#1070404). - openvswitch: fix the incorrect flow action alloc size (bnc#1012382). - ovl: fix failure to fsync lower dir (bnc#1012382). - ovs/geneve: fix rtnl notifications on iface deletion (bsc#1042286). - ovs/gre: fix rtnl notifications on iface deletion (bsc#1042286). - ovs/gre,geneve: fix error path when creating an iface (bsc#1042286). - ovs/vxlan: fix rtnl notifications on iface deletion (bsc#1042286). - PCI/ASPM: Do not retrain link if ASPM not possible (bnc#1071892). - PCI: hv: Do not sleep in compose_msi_msg() (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - PCI: keystone: Fix interrupt-controller-node lookup (bnc#1012382). - PCI/MSI: Fix msi_desc->affinity memory leak when freeing MSI IRQs (bsc#1082979). - perf bench numa: Fixup discontiguous/sparse numa nodes (bnc#1012382). - perf top: Fix window dimensions change handling (bnc#1012382). - perf/x86: Shut up false-positive -Wmaybe-uninitialized warning (bnc#1012382). - pinctrl: sunxi: Fix A80 interrupt pin bank (bnc#1012382). - pktcdvd: Fix pkt_setup_dev() error path (bnc#1012382). - platform/x86: intel_mid_thermal: Fix suspend handlers unused warning (bnc#1012382). - PM / devfreq: Propagate error from devfreq_add_device() (bnc#1012382). - PM / wakeirq: Fix unbalanced IRQ enable for wakeirq (bsc#1031717). - posix-timer: Properly check sigevent->sigev_notify (bnc#1012382). - power: bq27xxx_battery: mark some symbols __maybe_unused (bnc#1012382). - powerpc/64: Fix flush_(d|i)cache_range() called from modules (FATE#315275 LTC#103998 bnc#1012382 bnc#863764). - powerpc/64s: Fix RFI flush dependency on HARDLOCKUP_DETECTOR (bnc#1012382). - powerpc/64s: Improve RFI L1-D cache flush fallback (bsc#1068032, bsc#1075087). - powerpc: Do not preempt_disable() in show_cpuinfo() (bsc#1066223). - powerpc/numa: Ensure nodes initialized for hotplug (FATE#322022, bsc#1081514). - powerpc/numa: Invalidate numa_cpu_lookup_table on cpu remove (bsc#1081512). - powerpc/numa: Use ibm,max-associativity-domains to discover possible nodes (FATE#322022, bsc#1081514). - powerpc/perf: Fix oops when grouping different pmu events (bnc#1012382). - powerpc/powernv: Fix MCE handler to avoid trashing CR0/CR1 registers (bsc#1066223). - powerpc/powernv: Move IDLE_STATE_ENTER_SEQ macro to cpuidle.h (bsc#1066223). - powerpc/powernv: Support firmware disable of RFI flush (bsc#1068032, bsc#1075087). - powerpc/pseries: Fix cpu hotplug crash with memoryless nodes (FATE#322022, bsc#1081514). - powerpc/pseries: Support firmware disable of RFI flush (bsc#1068032, bsc#1075087). - powerpc: Simplify module TOC handling (bnc#1012382). - power: reset: zx-reboot: add missing MODULE_DESCRIPTION/AUTHOR/LICENSE (bnc#1012382). - profile: hide unused functions when !CONFIG_PROC_FS (bnc#1012382). - Provide a function to create a NUL-terminated string from unterminated data (bnc#1012382). - pwc: hide unused label (bnc#1012382). - qla2xxx: Add changes for devloss timeout in driver (bsc#1084427). - qla2xxx: Add FC-NVMe abort processing (bsc#1084427). - qla2xxx: asynchronous pci probing (bsc#1034503). - qla2xxx: Cleanup code to improve FC-NVMe error handling (bsc#1084427). - qla2xxx: Convert QLA_TGT_ABTS to TARGET_SCF_LOOKUP_LUN_FROM_TAG (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - qla2xxx: do not check login_state if no loop id is assigned (bsc#1081681). - qla2xxx: ensure async flags are reset correctly (bsc#1081681). - qla2xxx: Fix Async GPN_FT for FCP and FC-NVMe scan (bsc#1084427). - qla2xxx: Fix FC-NVMe IO abort during driver reset (bsc#1084427). - qla2xxx: Fix incorrect tcm_qla2xxx_free_cmd use during TMR ABORT (v2) (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - qla2xxx: Fix n2n_ae flag to prevent dev_loss on PDB change (bsc#1084427). - qla2xxx: Fix NVMe entry_type for iocb packet on BE system (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - qla2xxx: Fix retry for PRLI RJT with reason of BUSY (bsc#1084427). - qla2xxx: Fixup locking for session deletion (bsc#1081681). - qla2xxx: Remove nvme_done_list (bsc#1084427). - qla2xxx: Remove unneeded message and minor cleanup for FC-NVMe (bsc#1084427). - qla2xxx: remove use of FC-specific error codes (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - qla2xxx: Restore ZIO threshold setting (bsc#1084427). - qla2xxx: Return busy if rport going away (bsc#1084427). - qla2xxx: Set IIDMA and fcport state before qla_nvme_register_remote() (bsc#1084427). - qla2xxx: Update driver version to 10.00.00.06-k (bsc#1084427). - qlax2xxx: Drop SUSE-specific qla2xxx patches (bsc#1043726) - qlcnic: fix deadlock bug (bnc#1012382). - r8169: fix RTL8168EP take too long to complete driver initialization (bnc#1012382). - RDMA/cma: Make sure that PSN is not over max allowed (bnc#1012382). - RDMA/uverbs: Protect from command mask overflow (bsc#1082979). - reiserfs: avoid a -Wmaybe-uninitialized warning (bnc#1012382). - Revert "Bluetooth: btusb: fix QCA Rome suspend/resume" (bnc#1012382). - Revert "bpf: avoid false sharing of map refcount with max_entries" (kabi). - Revert "netfilter: nf_queue: Make the queue_handler pernet" (kabi). - Revert "net: replace dst_cache ip6_tunnel implementation with the generic one" (kabi bnc#1082897). - Revert "power: bq27xxx_battery: Remove unneeded dependency in Kconfig" (bnc#1012382). - Revert "powerpc: Simplify module TOC handling" (kabi). - Revert SUSE-specific qla2xxx patch 'Add module parameter for interrupt mode' (bsc#1043726) - Revert "x86/entry/64: Separate cpu_current_top_of_stack from TSS.sp0" - Revert "x86/entry/64: Use a per-CPU trampoline stack for IDT entries" - rfi-flush: Move the logic to avoid a redo into the debugfs code (bsc#1068032, bsc#1075087). - rfi-flush: Switch to new linear fallback flush (bsc#1068032, bsc#1075087). - rhashtable: add rhashtable_lookup_get_insert_key() (bsc#1042286). - rtc-opal: Fix handling of firmware error codes, prevent busy loops (bnc#1012382). - rtlwifi: fix gcc-6 indentation warning (bnc#1012382). - rtlwifi: rtl8821ae: Fix connection lost problem correctly (bnc#1012382). - s390: add no-execute support (FATE#324087, LTC#158827). - s390/dasd: fix handling of internal requests (bsc#1080321). - s390/dasd: fix wrongly assigned configuration data (bnc#1012382). - s390/dasd: prevent prefix I/O error (bnc#1012382). - s390: fix handling of -1 in set{,fs}[gu]id16 syscalls (bnc#1012382). - s390: hypfs: Move diag implementation and data definitions (FATE#324070, LTC#158959). - s390: kvm: Cpu model support for msa6, msa7 and msa8 (FATE#324069, LTC#159031). - s390: Make cpc_name accessible (FATE#324070, LTC#158959). - s390: Make diag224 public (FATE#324070, LTC#158959). - s390/mem_detect: use unsigned longs (FATE#324071, LTC#158956). - s390/mm: align swapper_pg_dir to 16k (FATE#324087, LTC#158827). - s390/mm: always use PAGE_KERNEL when mapping pages (FATE#324087, LTC#158827). - s390/noexec: execute kexec datamover without DAT (FATE#324087, LTC#158827). - s390/oprofile: fix address range for asynchronous stack (bsc#1082979). - s390/pageattr: allow kernel page table splitting (FATE#324087, LTC#158827). - s390/pageattr: avoid unnecessary page table splitting (FATE#324087, LTC#158827). - s390/pageattr: handle numpages parameter correctly (FATE#324087, LTC#158827). - s390/pci_dma: improve lazy flush for unmap (bnc#1079886, LTC#163393). - s390/pci_dma: improve map_sg (bnc#1079886, LTC#163393). - s390/pci_dma: make lazy flush independent from the tlb_refresh bit (bnc#1079886, LTC#163393). - s390/pci_dma: remove dma address range check (bnc#1079886, LTC#163393). - s390/pci_dma: simplify dma address calculation (bnc#1079886, LTC#163393). - s390/pci_dma: split dma_update_trans (bnc#1079886, LTC#163393). - s390/pci: fix dma address calculation in map_sg (bnc#1079886, LTC#163393). - s390/pci: handle insufficient resources during dma tlb flush (bnc#1079886, LTC#163393). - s390/pgtable: introduce and use generic csp inline asm (FATE#324087, LTC#158827). - s390/pgtable: make pmd and pud helper functions available (FATE#324087, LTC#158827). - s390/qeth: fix underestimated count of buffer elements (bnc#1082089, LTC#164529). - s390: report new vector facilities (FATE#324088, LTC#158828). - s390/sclp: Add hmfai field (FATE#324071, LTC#158956). - s390/vmem: align segment and region tables to 16k (FATE#324087, LTC#158827). - s390/vmem: introduce and use SEGMENT_KERNEL and REGION3_KERNEL (FATE#324087, LTC#158827). - s390/vmem: simplify vmem code for read-only mappings (FATE#324087, LTC#158827). - sched/rt: Up the root domain ref count when passing it around via IPIs (bnc#1012382). - sched/rt: Use container_of() to get root domain in rto_push_irq_work_func() (bnc#1012382). - scripts/kernel-doc: Do not fail with status != 0 if error encountered with -none (bnc#1012382). - scsi: aacraid: Fix hang in kdump (bsc#1022607, FATE#321673). - scsi: aacraid: Prevent crash in case of free interrupt during scsi EH path (bnc#1012382). - scsi: advansys: fix build warning for PCI=n (bnc#1012382). - scsi: advansys: fix uninitialized data access (bnc#1012382). - scsi: do not look for NULL devices handlers by name (bsc#1082373). - scsi: fas216: fix sense buffer initialization (bsc#1082979). - scsi: fdomain: drop fdomain_pci_tbl when built-in (bnc#1012382). - scsi: hisi_sas: directly attached disk LED feature for v2 hw (bsc#1083409). - scsi: ibmvfc: fix misdefined reserved field in ibmvfc_fcp_rsp_info (bnc#1012382). - SCSI: initio: remove duplicate module device table (bnc#1012382 bsc#1082979). - SCSI: initio: remove duplicate module device table (bsc#1082979). - scsi: libsas: fix error when getting phy events (bsc#1082979). - scsi: libsas: fix memory leak in sas_smp_get_phy_events() (bsc#1082979). - scsi: lpfc: Add WQ Full Logic for NVME Target (bsc#1080656). - scsi: lpfc: Allow set of maximum outstanding SCSI cmd limit for a target (bsc#1080656). - scsi: lpfc: Beef up stat counters for debug (bsc#1076693). - scsi: lpfc: correct debug counters for abort (bsc#1080656). - scsi: lpfc: do not dereference localport before it has been null checked (bsc#1076693). - scsi: lpfc: Do not return internal MBXERR_ERROR code from probe function (bsc#1082979). - scsi: lpfc: fix a couple of minor indentation issues (bsc#1076693). - scsi: lpfc: Fix -EOVERFLOW behavior for NVMET and defer_rcv (bsc#1076693). - scsi: lpfc: Fix header inclusion in lpfc_nvmet (bsc#1080656). - scsi: lpfc: Fix infinite wait when driver unregisters a remote NVME port (bsc#1076693). - scsi: lpfc: Fix IO failure during hba reset testing with nvme io (bsc#1080656). - scsi: lpfc: Fix issue_lip if link is disabled (bsc#1080656). - scsi: lpfc: Fix issues connecting with nvme initiator (bsc#1076693). - scsi: lpfc: Fix nonrecovery of NVME controller after cable swap (bsc#1080656). - scsi: lpfc: Fix PRLI handling when topology type changes (bsc#1080656). - scsi: lpfc: Fix receive PRLI handling (bsc#1076693). - scsi: lpfc: Fix RQ empty firmware trap (bsc#1080656). - scsi: lpfc: Fix SCSI io host reset causing kernel crash (bsc#1080656). - scsi: lpfc: Fix SCSI LUN discovery when SCSI and NVME enabled (bsc#1076693). - scsi: lpfc: Fix soft lockup in lpfc worker thread during LIP testing (bsc#1080656). - scsi: lpfc: Increase CQ and WQ sizes for SCSI (bsc#1080656). - scsi: lpfc: Increase SCSI CQ and WQ sizes (bsc#1076693). - scsi: lpfc: Indicate CONF support in NVMe PRLI (bsc#1080656). - scsi: lpfc: move placement of target destroy on driver detach (bsc#1080656). - scsi: lpfc: Treat SCSI Write operation Underruns as an error (bsc#1080656). - scsi: lpfc: Update 11.4.0.7 modified files for 2018 Copyright (bsc#1080656). - scsi: lpfc: update driver version to 11.4.0.6 (bsc#1076693). - scsi: lpfc: update driver version to 11.4.0.7 (bsc#1080656). - scsi: lpfc: Validate adapter support for SRIU option (bsc#1080656). - scsi: mvumi: use __maybe_unused to hide pm functions (bnc#1012382). - scsi: qla2xxx: Ability to process multiple SGEs in Command SGL for CT passthrough commands (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Accelerate SCSI BUSY status generation in target mode (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Add ability to autodetect SFP type (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Add ability to send PRLO (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Add ability to use GPNFT/GNNFT for RSCN handling (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Add ATIO-Q processing for INTx mode (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Add boundary checks for exchanges to be offloaded (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Add command completion for error path (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Add debug knob for user control workload (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Add debug logging routine for qpair (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Added change to enable ZIO for FC-NVMe devices (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Add FC-NVMe command handling (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Add FC-NVMe F/W initialization and transport registration (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Add FC-NVMe port discovery and PRLI handling (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Add function call to qpair for door bell (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Add fw_started flags to qpair (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Add lock protection around host lookup (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Add LR distance support from nvram bit (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: add missing includes for qla_isr (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Add option for use reserve exch for ELS (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Add ql2xiniexchg parameter (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Add retry limit for fabric scan logic (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Add support for minimum link speed (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Add switch command to simplify fabric discovery (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Add timeout ability to wait_for_sess_deletion() (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Add XCB counters to debugfs (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Allow ABTS, PURX, RIDA on ATIOQ for ISP83XX/27XX (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Allow MBC_GET_PORT_DATABASE to query and save the port states (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Allow relogin and session creation after reset (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Allow SNS fabric login to be retried (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Allow target mode to accept PRLI in dual mode (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: avoid unused-function warning (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Change ha->wq max_active value to default (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Changes to support N2N logins (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Chip reset uses wrong lock during IO flush (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Cleanup FC-NVMe code (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Cleanup NPIV host in target mode during config teardown (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Clear fc4f_nvme flag (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Clear loop id after delete (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Combine Active command arrays (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Convert 32-bit LUN usage to 64-bit (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Defer processing of GS IOCB calls (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Delay loop id allocation at login (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Do not call abort handler function during chip reset (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Do not call dma_free_coherent with IRQ disabled (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: do not include (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Enable Async TMF processing (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Enable ATIO interrupt handshake for ISP27XX (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Enable Target Multi Queue (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix abort command deadlock due to spinlock (FATE#320146, bsc#966328). - scsi: qla2xxx: fix a bunch of typos and spelling mistakes (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix a locking imbalance in qlt_24xx_handle_els() (bsc#1082979). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix compile warning (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix FC-NVMe LUN discovery (bsc#1083223). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix Firmware dump size for Extended login and Exchange Offload (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix GPNFT/GNNFT error handling (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix gpnid error processing (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix incorrect handle for abort IOCB (bsc#1082979). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix login state machine freeze (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix login state machine stuck at GPDB (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix logo flag for qlt_free_session_done() (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix mailbox failure while deleting Queue pairs (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix memory leak in dual/target mode (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix NPIV host cleanup in target mode (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix NPIV host enable after chip reset (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix NULL pointer access for fcport structure (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix NULL pointer crash due to active timer for ABTS (bsc#1082979). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix NULL pointer crash due to probe failure (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix oops in qla2x00_probe_one error path (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix PRLI state check (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix queue ID for async abort with Multiqueue (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix recursion while sending terminate exchange (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix Relogin being triggered too fast (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix re-login for Nport Handle in use (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix remoteport disconnect for FC-NVMe (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix scan state field for fcport (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix session cleanup for N2N (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix slow mem alloc behind lock (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix smatch warning in qla25xx_delete_{rsp|req}_que (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: fix spelling mistake of variable sfp_additonal_info (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix system crash for Notify ack timeout handling (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix system crash in qlt_plogi_ack_unref (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix system crash while triggering FW dump (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix system panic due to pointer access problem (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix target multiqueue configuration (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix task mgmt handling for NPIV (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix warning during port_name debug print (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix warning for code intentation in __qla24xx_handle_gpdb_event() (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix warning in qla2x00_async_iocb_timeout() (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Fix WWPN/WWNN in debug message (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Handle PCIe error for driver (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Include Exchange offload/Extended Login into FW dump (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Increase ql2xmaxqdepth to 64 (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Increase verbosity of debug messages logged (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Migrate switch registration commands away from mailbox interface (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: move fields from qla_hw_data to qla_qpair (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Move function prototype to correct header (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Move logging default mask to execute once only (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Move session delete to driver work queue (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Move target stat counters from vha to qpair (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Move work element processing out of DPC thread (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Off by one in qlt_ctio_to_cmd() (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Preparation for Target MQ (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Prevent multiple active discovery commands per session (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Prevent relogin trigger from sending too many commands (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Prevent sp->free null/uninitialized pointer dereference (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Print correct mailbox registers in failed summary (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Properly extract ADISC error codes (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Protect access to qpair members with qpair->qp_lock (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Query FC4 type during RSCN processing (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Recheck session state after RSCN (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770) - scsi: qla2xxx: Reduce the use of terminate exchange (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Reduce trace noise for Async Events (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Reinstate module parameter ql2xenablemsix (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Relogin to target port on a cable swap (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Remove aborting ELS IOCB call issued as part of timeout (FATE#320146, bsc#966328). - scsi: qla2xxx: Remove an unused structure member (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Remove datasegs_per_cmd and datasegs_per_cont field (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Remove extra register read (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Remove extra register read (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Remove FC_NO_LOOP_ID for FCP and FC-NVMe Discovery (bsc#1084397). - scsi: qla2xxx: Remove potential macro parameter side-effect in ql_dump_regs() (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: remove redundant assignment of d (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: remove redundant null check on tgt (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Remove redundant wait when target is stopped (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Remove session creation redundant code (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Remove unused argument from qlt_schedule_sess_for_deletion() (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Remove unused irq_cmd_count field (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Remove unused tgt_enable_64bit_addr flag (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: remove writeq/readq function definitions (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Replace fcport alloc with qla2x00_alloc_fcport (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Replace GPDB with async ADISC command (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Reset the logo flag, after target re-login (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Retry switch command on time out (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Send FC4 type NVMe to the management server (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Serialize GPNID for multiple RSCN (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Serialize session deletion by using work_lock (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Serialize session free in qlt_free_session_done (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Simpify unregistration of FC-NVMe local/remote ports (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Skip IRQ affinity for Target QPairs (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Skip zero queue count entry during FW dump capture (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Suppress a kernel complaint in qla_init_base_qpair() (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Tweak resource count dump (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Update Driver version to 10.00.00.00-k (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Update driver version to 10.00.00.01-k (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Update driver version to 10.00.00.02-k (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Update driver version to 10.00.00.03-k (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Update driver version to 10.00.00.04-k (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Update driver version to 10.00.00.05-k (bsc#1081681). - scsi: qla2xxx: Update driver version to 9.01.00.00-k (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Update fw_started flags at qpair creation (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Use BIT_6 to acquire FAWWPN from switch (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770) - scsi: qla2xxx: Use chip reset to bring down laser on unload (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: use dma_mapping_error to check map errors (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Use FC-NVMe FC4 type for FDMI registration (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Use IOCB path to submit Control VP MBX command (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Use known NPort ID for Management Server login (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Use ql2xnvmeenable to enable Q-Pair for FC-NVMe (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: use shadow register for ISP27XX (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Use shadow register for ISP27XX (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: qla2xxx: Use sp->free instead of hard coded call (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - scsi: ses: do not get power status of SES device slot on probe (bsc#1082979). - scsi: sim710: fix build warning (bnc#1012382). - scsi: sr: workaround VMware ESXi cdrom emulation bug (bsc#1080813). - scsi: storvsc: Fix scsi_cmd error assignments in storvsc_handle_error (bnc#1012382). - scsi: storvsc: remove unnecessary channel inbound lock (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - scsi: sun_esp: fix device reference leaks (bsc#1082979). - scsi: tcm_qla2xxx: Do not allow aborted cmd to advance (bsc#1043725,FATE#324770). - scsi: ufs: ufshcd: fix potential NULL pointer dereference in ufshcd_config_vreg (bnc#1012382). - sctp: make use of pre-calculated len (bnc#1012382). - selinux: ensure the context is NUL terminated in security_context_to_sid_core() (bnc#1012382). - selinux: general protection fault in sock_has_perm (bnc#1012382). - selinux: skip bounded transition processing if the policy isn't loaded (bnc#1012382). - serial: 8250_mid: fix broken DMA dependency (bnc#1012382). - serial: 8250_uniphier: fix error return code in uniphier_uart_probe() (bsc#1031717). - serial: imx: Only wakeup via RTSDEN bit if the system has RTS/CTS (bnc#1012382). - series.conf: disable qla2xxx patches (bsc#1043725) - sget(): handle failures of register_shrinker() (bnc#1012382). - signal/openrisc: Fix do_unaligned_access to send the proper signal (bnc#1012382). - signal/sh: Ensure si_signo is initialized in do_divide_error (bnc#1012382). - SolutionEngine771x: fix Ether platform data (bnc#1012382). - spi: atmel: fixed spin_lock usage inside atmel_spi_remove (bnc#1012382). - spi: imx: do not access registers while clocks disabled (bnc#1012382). - spi: sun4i: disable clocks in the remove function (bnc#1012382). - ssb: mark ssb_bus_register as __maybe_unused (bnc#1012382). - staging: android: ashmem: Fix a race condition in pin ioctls (bnc#1012382). - staging: iio: adc: ad7192: fix external frequency setting (bnc#1012382). - staging: rtl8188eu: Fix incorrect response to SIOCGIWESSID (bnc#1012382). - staging: ste_rmi4: avoid unused function warnings (bnc#1012382). - staging: unisys: visorinput depends on INPUT (bnc#1012382). - staging: wilc1000: fix kbuild test robot error (bnc#1012382). - SUNRPC: Allow connect to return EHOSTUNREACH (bnc#1012382). - target: Add support for TMR percpu reference counting (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - target: Add TARGET_SCF_LOOKUP_LUN_FROM_TAG support for ABORT_TASK (bsc#1043726,FATE#324770). - tc1100-wmi: fix build warning when CONFIG_PM not enabled (bnc#1012382). - tc358743: fix register i2c_rd/wr function fix (git-fixes). - tc358743: fix register i2c_rd/wr functions (bnc#1012382). - tcp: do not set rtt_min to 1 (bsc#1042286). - tcp: release sk_frag.page in tcp_disconnect (bnc#1012382). - test_bpf: fix the dummy skb after dissector changes (bsc#1042286). - tg3: Add workaround to restrict 5762 MRRS to 2048 (bnc#1012382). - tg3: Enable PHY reset in MTU change path for 5720 (bnc#1012382). - thermal: fix INTEL_SOC_DTS_IOSF_CORE dependencies (bnc#1012382). - thermal: spear: use __maybe_unused for PM functions (bnc#1012382). - tlan: avoid unused label with PCI=n (bnc#1012382). - tools build: Add tools tree support for 'make -s' (bnc#1012382). - tpm-dev-common: Reject too short writes (bsc#1020645, git-fixes). - tpm: fix potential buffer overruns caused by bit glitches on the bus (bsc#1020645, git-fixes). - tpm_i2c_infineon: fix potential buffer overruns caused by bit glitches on the bus (bsc#1020645, git-fixes). - tpm_i2c_nuvoton: fix potential buffer overruns caused by bit glitches on the bus (bsc#1020645, git-fixes). - tpm: st33zp24: fix potential buffer overruns caused by bit glitches on the bus (bsc#1020645, git-fixes). - tpm_tis: fix potential buffer overruns caused by bit glitches on the bus (bsc#1020645, git-fixes). - tty: cyclades: cyz_interrupt is only used for PCI (bnc#1012382). - tty: hvc_xen: hide xen_console_remove when unused (bnc#1012382). - tty: mxser: Remove ASYNC_CLOSING (bnc#1072363). - ubi: block: Fix locking for idr_alloc/idr_remove (bnc#1012382). - udp: restore UDPlite many-cast delivery (bsc#1042286). - usb: build drivers/usb/common/ when USB_SUPPORT is set (bnc#1012382). - USB: cdc-acm: Do not log urb submission errors on disconnect (bnc#1012382). - USB: cdc_subset: only build when one driver is enabled (bnc#1012382). - usb: dwc3: gadget: Set maxpacket size for ep0 IN (bnc#1012382). - usb: f_fs: Prevent gadget unbind if it is already unbound (bnc#1012382). - usb: gadget: do not dereference g until after it has been null checked (bnc#1012382). - usb: gadget: f_fs: Process all descriptors during bind (bnc#1012382). - usb: gadget: uvc: Missing files for configfs interface (bnc#1012382). - usbip: fix 3eee23c3ec14 tcp_socket address still in the status file (bnc#1012382). - usbip: keep usbip_device sockfd state in sync with tcp_socket (bnc#1012382). - usbip: list: do not list devices attached to vhci_hcd (bnc#1012382). - usbip: prevent bind loops on devices attached to vhci_hcd (bnc#1012382). - usbip: vhci_hcd: clear just the USB_PORT_STAT_POWER bit (bnc#1012382). - usb: ldusb: add PIDs for new CASSY devices supported by this driver (bnc#1012382). - usb: musb/ux500: remove duplicate check for dma_is_compatible (bnc#1012382). - usb: ohci: Proper handling of ed_rm_list to handle race condition between usb_kill_urb() and finish_unlinks() (bnc#1012382). - usb: option: Add support for FS040U modem (bnc#1012382). - usb: phy: msm add regulator dependency (bnc#1012382). - usb: renesas_usbhs: missed the "running" flag in usb_dmac with rx path (bnc#1012382). - USB: serial: io_edgeport: fix possible sleep-in-atomic (bnc#1012382). - USB: serial: pl2303: new device id for Chilitag (bnc#1012382). - USB: serial: simple: add Motorola Tetra driver (bnc#1012382). - usb: uas: unconditionally bring back host after reset (bnc#1012382). - v4l: remove MEDIA_TUNER dependency for VIDEO_TUNER (bnc#1012382). - vb2: V4L2_BUF_FLAG_DONE is set after DQBUF (bnc#1012382). - vfs: do not do RCU lookup of empty pathnames (bnc#1012382). - vhost_net: stop device during reset owner (bnc#1012382). - video: fbdev: atmel_lcdfb: fix display-timings lookup (bnc#1012382). - video: fbdev/mmp: add MODULE_LICENSE (bnc#1012382). - video: fbdev: sis: remove unused variable (bnc#1012382). - video: fbdev: via: remove possibly unused variables (bnc#1012382). - video: Use bool instead int pointer for get_opt_bool() argument (bnc#1012382). - virtio_balloon: prevent uninitialized variable use (bnc#1012382). - vmbus: add per-channel sysfs info (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - vmbus: add prefetch to ring buffer iterator (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - vmbus: do not acquire the mutex in vmbus_hvsock_device_unregister() (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - vmbus: drop unused ring_buffer_info elements (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - vmbus: eliminate duplicate cached index (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - vmbus: hvsock: add proper sync for vmbus_hvsock_device_unregister() (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - vmbus: initialize reserved fields in messages (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - vmbus: make channel_message table constant (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - vmbus: more host signalling avoidance (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - vmbus: refactor hv_signal_on_read (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - vmbus: remove unused vmbus_sendpacket_ctl (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - vmbus: remove unused vmbus_sendpacket_multipagebuffer (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - vmbus: remove unused vmubs_sendpacket_pagebuffer_ctl (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - vmbus: Reuse uuid_le_to_bin() helper (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - vmbus: simplify hv_ringbuffer_read (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - vmbus: unregister device_obj->channels_kset (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - vmxnet3: prevent building with 64K pages (bnc#1012382). - vxlan: consolidate csum flag handling (bsc#1042286). - vxlan: consolidate output route calculation (bsc#1042286). - vxlan: consolidate vxlan_xmit_skb and vxlan6_xmit_skb (bsc#1042286). - vxlan: do not allow overwrite of config src addr (bsc#1042286). - watchdog: imx2_wdt: restore previous timeout after suspend+resume (bnc#1012382). - wireless: cw1200: use __maybe_unused to hide pm functions_ (bnc#1012382). - x86: add MULTIUSER dependency for KVM (bnc#1012382). - x86/asm: Fix inline asm call constraints for GCC 4.4 (bnc#1012382). - x86/boot: Avoid warning for zero-filling .bss (bnc#1012382). - x86: bpf_jit: small optimization in emit_bpf_tail_call() (bnc#1012382). - x86/bugs: Drop one "mitigation" from dmesg (bnc#1012382). - x86/build: Silence the build with "make -s" (bnc#1012382). - x86/cpu/bugs: Make retpoline module warning conditional (bnc#1012382). - x86/cpu: Change type of x86_cache_size variable to unsigned int (bnc#1012382). - x86/entry/64: Separate cpu_current_top_of_stack from TSS.sp0 (bsc#1077560). - x86/entry/64: Use a per-CPU trampoline stack for IDT entries (bsc#1077560). - x86: fix build warnign with 32-bit PAE (bnc#1012382). - x86/fpu/math-emu: Fix possible uninitialized variable use (bnc#1012382). - x86/hyperv: Implement hv_get_tsc_page() (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - x86/hyper-v: include hyperv/ only when CONFIG_HYPERV is set (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - x86/hyper-v: Introduce fast hypercall implementation (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - x86/hyper-v: Make hv_do_hypercall() inline (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - x86/hyperv: Move TSC reading method to asm/mshyperv.h (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - x86/kaiser: fix build error with KASAN && !FUNCTION_GRAPH_TRACER (bnc#1012382). - x86/kvm/vmx: do not use vm-exit instruction length for fast MMIO when running nested (bsc#1081431). - x86/mce: Pin the timer when modifying (bsc#1080851,1076282). - x86/microcode/AMD: Change load_microcode_amd()'s param to bool to fix preemptibility bug (bnc#1012382). - x86/microcode/AMD: Do not load when running on a hypervisor (bnc#1012382). - x86/microcode/AMD: Do not load when running on a hypervisor (bsc#1081436 bsc#1081437). - x86/microcode: Do the family check first (bnc#1012382). - x86/microcode: Do the family check first (bsc#1081436 bsc#1081437). - x86/mm/kmmio: Fix mmiotrace for page unaligned addresses (bnc#1012382). - x86/mm/pkeys: Fix fill_sig_info_pkey (fate#321300). - x86/nospec: Fix header guards names (bnc#1012382). - x86/oprofile: Fix bogus GCC-8 warning in nmi_setup() (bnc#1012382). - x86/paravirt: Remove 'noreplace-paravirt' cmdline option (bnc#1012382). - x86/platform: Add PCI dependency for PUNIT_ATOM_DEBUG (bnc#1012382). - x86/platform/olpc: Fix resume handler build warning (bnc#1012382). - x86/pti: Make unpoison of pgd for trusted boot work for real (bnc#1012382). - x86/ras/inject: Make it depend on X86_LOCAL_APIC=y (bnc#1012382). - x86/retpoline: Avoid retpolines for built-in __init functions (bnc#1012382). - x86/retpoline/hyperv: Convert assembler indirect jumps (fate#315887, bsc#1082632). - x86/retpoline: Remove the esp/rsp thunk (bnc#1012382). - x86/spectre: Check CONFIG_RETPOLINE in command line parser (bnc#1012382). - x86/spectre: Fix an error message (git-fixes). - x86/spectre: Fix spelling mistake: "vunerable"-> "vulnerable" (bnc#1012382). - x86/spectre: Remove the out-of-tree RSB stuffing - x86/spectre: Simplify spectre_v2 command line parsing (bnc#1012382). - x86/speculation: Fix typo IBRS_ATT, which should be IBRS_ALL (bnc#1012382). - x86/xen: Zero MSR_IA32_SPEC_CTRL before suspend (bnc#1065600). - xen/gntdev: Fix off-by-one error when unmapping with holes (bnc#1012382). - xen/gntdev: Fix partial gntdev_mmap() cleanup (bnc#1012382). - xen-netfront: enable device after manual module load (bnc#1012382). - xen-netfront: remove warning when unloading module (bnc#1012382). - xen: XEN_ACPI_PROCESSOR is Dom0-only (bnc#1012382). - xfrm: check id proto in validate_tmpl() (bnc#1012382). - xfrm: Fix stack-out-of-bounds read on socket policy lookup (bnc#1012382). - xfrm: Fix stack-out-of-bounds with misconfigured transport mode policies (bnc#1012382). - xfrm_user: propagate sec ctx allocation errors (bsc#1042286). - xfs: do not chain ioends during writepage submission (bsc#1077285 bsc#1043441). - xfs: factor mapping out of xfs_do_writepage (bsc#1077285 bsc#1043441). - xfs: Introduce writeback context for writepages (bsc#1077285 bsc#1043441). - xfs: ioends require logically contiguous file offsets (bsc#1077285 bsc#1043441). - xfs: quota: check result of register_shrinker() (bnc#1012382). - xfs: quota: fix missed destroy of qi_tree_lock (bnc#1012382). - xfs: remove nonblocking mode from xfs_vm_writepage (bsc#1077285 bsc#1043441). - xfs: remove xfs_cancel_ioend (bsc#1077285 bsc#1043441). - xfs: stop searching for free slots in an inode chunk when there are none (bsc#1072739). - xfs: toggle readonly state around xfs_log_mount_finish (bsc#1073401). - xfs: ubsan fixes (bnc#1012382). - xfs: write unmount record for ro mounts (bsc#1073401). - xfs: xfs_cluster_write is redundant (bsc#1077285 bsc#1043441). - xtensa: fix futex_atomic_cmpxchg_inatomic (bnc#1012382). - zram: fix operator precedence to get offset (bsc#1082979). Patch Instructions: To install this openSUSE Security Update use the SUSE recommended installation methods like YaST online_update or "zypper patch". Alternatively you can run the command listed for your product: - openSUSE Leap 42.3: zypper in -t patch openSUSE-2018-292=1 Package List: - openSUSE Leap 42.3 (noarch): kernel-devel-4.4.120-45.1 kernel-docs-4.4.120-45.2 kernel-docs-html-4.4.120-45.2 kernel-docs-pdf-4.4.120-45.2 kernel-macros-4.4.120-45.1 kernel-source-4.4.120-45.1 kernel-source-vanilla-4.4.120-45.1 - openSUSE Leap 42.3 (x86_64): kernel-debug-4.4.120-45.1 kernel-debug-base-4.4.120-45.1 kernel-debug-base-debuginfo-4.4.120-45.1 kernel-debug-debuginfo-4.4.120-45.1 kernel-debug-debugsource-4.4.120-45.1 kernel-debug-devel-4.4.120-45.1 kernel-debug-devel-debuginfo-4.4.120-45.1 kernel-default-4.4.120-45.1 kernel-default-base-4.4.120-45.1 kernel-default-base-debuginfo-4.4.120-45.1 kernel-default-debuginfo-4.4.120-45.1 kernel-default-debugsource-4.4.120-45.1 kernel-default-devel-4.4.120-45.1 kernel-obs-build-4.4.120-45.2 kernel-obs-build-debugsource-4.4.120-45.2 kernel-obs-qa-4.4.120-45.1 kernel-syms-4.4.120-45.1 kernel-vanilla-4.4.120-45.1 kernel-vanilla-base-4.4.120-45.1 kernel-vanilla-base-debuginfo-4.4.120-45.1 kernel-vanilla-debuginfo-4.4.120-45.1 kernel-vanilla-debugsource-4.4.120-45.1 kernel-vanilla-devel-4.4.120-45.1 kselftests-kmp-debug-4.4.120-45.1 kselftests-kmp-debug-debuginfo-4.4.120-45.1 kselftests-kmp-default-4.4.120-45.1 kselftests-kmp-default-debuginfo-4.4.120-45.1 kselftests-kmp-vanilla-4.4.120-45.1 kselftests-kmp-vanilla-debuginfo-4.4.120-45.1 References: https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-13166.html https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-15951.html https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-16644.html https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-16912.html https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-16913.html https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-17975.html https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-18174.html https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-18208.html https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2018-1000026.html https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2018-1068.html https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2018-8087.html https://bugzilla.suse.com/1006867 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1012382 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1015342 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1015343 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1020645 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1022607 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1027054 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1031717 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1033587 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1034503 https://bugzilla.suse.com/103998_FIXME https://bugzilla.suse.com/1042286 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1043441 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1043725 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1043726 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1062840 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1065600 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1065615 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1066223 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1067118 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1068032 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1068569 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1069135 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1070404 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1071306 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1071892 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1072363 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1072689 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1072739 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1072865 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1073401 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1073407 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1074198 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1074426 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1075087 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1076282 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1076693 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1076760 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1076982 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1077241 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1077285 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1077560 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1078583 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1078672 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1078673 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1079029 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1079038 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1079313 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1079384 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1079609 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1079886 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1079989 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1080014 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1080263 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1080321 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1080344 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1080364 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1080384 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1080464 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1080533 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1080656 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1080774 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1080813 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1080851 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1081134 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1081431 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1081436 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1081437 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1081491 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1081498 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1081500 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1081512 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1081514 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1081681 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1081735 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1082089 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1082223 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1082299 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1082373 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1082478 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1082632 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1082795 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1082864 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1082897 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1082979 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1082993 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1083048 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1083086 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1083223 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1083387 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1083409 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1083494 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1083548 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1083750 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1083770 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1084041 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1084397 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1084427 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1084610 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1084772 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1084888 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1084926 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1084928 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1084967 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1085011 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1085015 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1085045 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1085047 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1085050 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1085053 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1085054 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1085056 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1085107 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1085224 https://bugzilla.suse.com/1085239 https://bugzilla.suse.com/863764 https://bugzilla.suse.com/966170 https://bugzilla.suse.com/966172 https://bugzilla.suse.com/966328 https://bugzilla.suse.com/975772 https://bugzilla.suse.com/983145 -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-security-announce+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-security-announce+help@opensuse.org Liu Hong, president of Dalian University of Foreign Languages and a deputy to the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) proposed that Taiyanggou Culture Industrial Park in Lushunkou district of Dalian, Liaoning province, should promote its development through military-civilian integration. The park is one of the nationwide special towns that boast the most number of historical sites. It is a provincial-level culture industrial zone, with 353 Russian and Japanese buildings, most of which are military properties. The old buildings are valuable resources for the development of the culture industry in Dalian, said Liu. She suggested that the park should be included in the national list of military-civilian integration innovative zones. The local government can work with the military in protection, restoration and development of the buildings, she said. The military can fully use its advantages in talents and resource to help develop innovative cultural projects and conduct historical and architectural research, she added. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano in Beijing on Wednesday and said China will cooperate more with the Philippines in the future. "Compared to the US Asia- Pacific policy which focuses on security issues and creates conflicts, China's policy which sticks to development will become more and more popular," Xu Liping, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times. "The China-Philippine relationship is a model for other countries in the region." Under the correct and powerful guidance of both leaders, China-Philippine ties have entered their best period in recent years, in line with the common interests of both countries and peoples, Wang said at the meeting, the Xinhua News Agency reported. Both sides agreed to continue to uphold and maintain the most important experience of China-Philippine relations, which is to properly handle the South China Sea issue through consultation and negotiation, vigorously maintain the big picture of bilateral ties and create a good atmosphere for expanding bilateral cooperation, according to Wang. "The US Asia-Pacific policy is guided by the security and strategic interests of the US, but China's policy is guided by economic development for both sides," Xu said, "and that's why cooperation with China will bring real benefit and real peace." China is ready to advance cooperation with the Philippines under the Belt and Road initiative in people-to-people exchanges, maritime dialogue and cooperation, and regional integration, said Wang. The Central Bank of the Philippines said in a statement Monday that it was all set for the issuance of its inaugural 1.46 billion yuan ($230 million) of panda bonds, or yuan-denominated debts sold by foreign issuers in China, Xinhua reported. Masterforex-V Tells You What You Dont Know About Bitcoin How do you treat Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies? Usually, those who ask you this question expect you to be either pessimistic or optimistic on the future of digital currencies, ICO and blockchain. The thing is, when it comes to the cryptocurrency world its not just black and white. Its way more diverse and complicated than it seems. Thats why the right answer to this question is neither pessimist nor optimist but rather realist. The thing is, quite a lot has been said and written about digital currencies. But all of them basically keep on pondering upon the same questions, quoting the same sources, and analyzing the same charts while many of the facts related to this world remain unnoticed. Most of those experts focus on certain relatively short-term periods of time and compare them against one another while reading the charts. But they dont want to look at the bigger picture. For example, they dont dare compare those periods against various periods of human history (say, hundreds and even thousands of years ago). Masterforex-V Academy experts seem to be the first ones who have offered a brave and unusual but highly productive look at the past, the present and the future of the cryptocurrency market. By the way, Masterforex-V Academy has always been known for highly efficient solutions for forex and other financial markets. The most significant thing is that this is a practical guide rather than theory. This guide teaches traders and investors how to profit from Bitcoin and other popular altcoins. In particular, Masterforex-V Academy has been working on a new book. However, they decided to start publishing this book chapter by chapter as they create it instead of waiting for the entire book to be completed. The first chapter is already released and is available for free on the academys official website. The first chapter is dedicated to the reasons why BTC is unbeatable and why the Federal Reserve actually needs cryptocurrencies. In this chapter, you will get familiar with the reasoning of those who think digital currencies are a global scam and those who call them the money of the future that will be valued higher than gold. However, this is not about simply enumerating those facts and figures but reasoning them and making conclusions. Having emerged as a financial pyramid, Bitcoin has evolved into a powerful financial asset with a promising future and powerful patrons. However, in order to arrive at such a conclusion, the authors had to analyze and structure the evolution path of Bitcoin, to define the key development stages (which is something no one has done before). By following the path of logic, they naturally came to those who are the real patrons of the cryptocurrency market backing its long-term success in the future. Chances are, some readers will blame the authors for coming up with another conspiracy theory. But at the end of the day, its up to you to decide who is right. At least, the authors have been doing their best to offer the reader as many proofs as possible. So why dont those mighty patrons stop the stream of negative thoughts about Bitcoin and altcoins as well as ICOs and other stuff related to cryptocurrencies? You will find the answer in the mentioned chapter. Some other questions to be answered are: Why are anonymous cryptocurrency users nothing a myth? Why are international regulators actually interested in the spread of cryptocurrencies? How is the ban of cryptocurrency-related Facebook and Google ads going to contribute to the popularization of cryptocurrency? You can find the answers to these and some other questions here: You are free to discuss this article here: forum for traders and investors 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 Mumbai, March 19 : Sanjana Sanghi has been finalised to star opposite actor Sushant Singh Rajput in the Hindi adaptation of the 2014 hit Hollywood film "The Fault In Our Stars". Presented and produced by Fox Star Studios, the shoot will begin by mid 2018. Casting director Mukesh Chhabra will make his debut as a director with this film. Oscar winner A.R. Rahman is also on board to compose the music for the romance drama. "I met Sanjana first during the casting of 'Rockstar'. She was a young and dynamic girl with great energy. After a few years she reconnected for a few ad casting jobs -- she came across as a mature young lady and to my surprise she was a fabulous actor," Chhabra said in a statement. "I was instantly sure that I would love to make a film with her one day. Once 'The Fault in Our Stars' script was ready, she fitted right in, the perfect face. Well, I can't wait to create magic with this talented girl," he added. Rucha Pathak, Chief Creative Officer, Fox Star Studios, said: "Mukesh called me out of the blue one day to meet her... and she had a striking and yet innocent personality but what really caught my attention was when Mukesh screen tested her. "She nailed it in her audition and we knew right away she was our leading lady. Looking forward to launching this talented young lady in Mukesh's directorial debut." "The Fault In Our Stars" is based on John Green's bestselling novel. The Hollywood film features Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort. Washington, March 20 : The US Treasury slapped sanctions on Monday on four current and former senior Venezuelan officials, accusing them of alleged economic mismanagement and corruption. The designated individuals include a director of the country's National Bank of Housing and Habitat, the head of the body that oversees price controls in Venezuela, the head of the National Treasury of Venezuela, and the former President of the Board of Directors of the Venezuelan Institute of Social Security. As a result of the punishment, all assets of the designated persons that are subject to US jurisdiction are frozen and US persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them, reports Xinhua. The Treasury's announcement followed an executive order from US President Donald Trump earlier in the day prohibiting US transactions with Venezuela's digital currency, a move to further block the South American country's access to US financial market. Trump said in the executive order that the new move was to counter the latest attempt from the Maduro administration "to circumvent US sanctions." In late February, Venezuela launched the pre-sale of its own cryptocurrency, a type of digital or virtual currency, backed by its crude oil reserves, as a new financing option against financial sanctions imposed by Washington, which forbid US businesses from lending to the Venezuelan government or the state-run oil and gas company PDVSA. The US Treasury Department said earlier that the digital currency could violate the sanctions against Venezuela, warning investors who acquire it of legal consequences. Jakarta, March 20 : Dozens of protesters gathered outside the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Jakarta on Tuesday to protest the execution of an Indonesian man, who had been sentenced to death in 2008. Muhammad Zaini Misrin, who worked as a driver for Saudi Arabia's Abdullah bin Umar Muhammad Al Sindy, was arrested in 2004 for killing his employer and sentenced to death in November 2008. He was executed on Sunday and Jakarta was informed about it only after the execution was over, Efe news reported. The demonstrators alleged that the Saudi Arabian authorities had forced Misrin to confess and accused them of not giving him a fair hearing. Since 2015, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and the Indonesian consulate in Saudi Arabia had on several occasions sought clemency for Misrin as well as a judicial revision of the case. Indonesian civil society groups, who had organised Tuesday's protest, also urged the government to use diplomatic channels to free hundreds of Indonesians facing capital punishment around the world and also impose a moratorium on the death penalty in Indonesia. "The fact that Indonesia applies the death penalty will only make it more difficult for our diplomats to negotiate and defend Indonesian emigrants," non-profit LBH Masyarakat's head Ricky Gunawan said. Indonesia imposes the death penalty for crimes related to drug trafficking, murder and terrorism. Yangon, March 21 : Myanmar President U. Htin Kyaw has resigned, it was announced on Wednesday. First Vice President U. Myint Swe will serve as acting President until Parliament elects a new President, The announcement was made by U. Zaw Htay, Director-General of the President's Office, Xinhua news agency reported. According to the Constitution, the presidential vacancy must be filled within seven days. Kyaw has cited health issues to resign. Htay added that Kyaw, who underwent medical treatment in Singapore in January, insisted on quitting. Kyaw, 72, was elected President in March 2016 after Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won the 2015 general election. Myanmar Parliament Speaker U. Win Myint has also resigned from his position after two years of service, Deputy Speaker T. Khun Myat told Parliament on Wednesday. Myint was elected the Speaker in Febuary 2016. Agra, March 21 : Green activists in Agra on Wednesday warned of a steadily diminishing green cover in the Taj city, with one expert blaming monkeys for it. The Supreme Court has been repeatedly asking authorities since 1996 to intensify efforts to develop a green belt to contain air pollution in Agra, India's most popular tourist destination. The International Day of Forests is celebrated on March 21 to increase awareness level and inculcate values relating to forests. At a round table held on Wednesday here, environmentalists expressed concern over the latest trend of developing concrete jungles where once green forests existed. "From Vrindavan to Agra, there were 12 big forests in the Braj area. But now only their names remain. The green patches have turned brown, yellow and grey," said Shravan Kumar Singh of the Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society. Murari Lal Goswami, a retired Uttar Pradesh Forest Department official, said the builders and corrupt government officials had colluded to gobble up huge chunks of forest land. "Illegal felling of trees continues along the Yamuna," he said. Surendra Sharma of the Agra Hotels and Restaurants Association said the continuous construction of roads, expressways, flyovers and other projects had taken a heavy toll on green cover, specially trees. Despite the Supreme Court direction on developing a green belt around Agra, home to the Taj Mahal, no work had been done, he alleged. One expert, K.P. Singh, noted that instead of increasing the forest cover area, the percentage had fallen to around 7 per cent against the national standard of 33 per cent. The loss of green cover had affected the rainfall pattern, reducing the number of rainy days in Agra. Green activist Devashish Bhattacharya said: "Agra was being ruined by so-called development. The alarming fall in the green cover due to negligence and corrupt ways of the bureaucracy will prove suicidal." Himani Dixit, en eminent horticulturist promoting tree plantation in Agra, said monkeys too were to blame. "The monkeys are a big nuisance. We keep planting saplings all over but find the next day that the monkeys have uprooted them all. To promote green culture in the city, we will need to contain the monkey population." New Delhi, March 22 : Parliament on Thursday passed The Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill which seeks to empower the government to fix the period of maternity leave and the tax-free gratuity amount with an executive order. The Bill got Parliament's approval after it was passed by the Rajya Sabha through a voice vote. It was passed amid a din by the Lok Sabha on March 15. After the passage of the Bill in Parliament, the government will be able to enhance the ceiling of tax-free gratuity to Rs 20 lakh from the existing Rs 10 lakh for employees under the Payment of Gratuity Act. Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar moved The Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017, which was passed by a voice vote without any discussion. "I would urge the chair to pass the Bill without discussion," said Gangwar while moving the Bill. The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 allows for the payment of gratuity to employees in any establishment, factory, mine, oil field, plantation, port, railways, company, or shop employing 10 or more workers. Employees are paid gratuity if they have provided at least five years of continuous service at the time of termination. This Bill empowers the Central government to notify the period of maternity leave eligible for qualifying as continuous service and determine the amount of gratuity available to employees. The maximum maternity leave, for the purpose of calculating continuous service under the Act, was based on the maternity leave provided under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961. The maximum maternity leave under the 1961 Act was changed from 12 weeks to 26 weeks by the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017. The Bill removes the reference to 12 weeks and empowers the Central government to notify the maximum maternity leave. Under the Act, the maximum amount of gratuity payable to an employee cannot exceed Rs 10 lakh. The Bill removes the existing ceiling and states that the ceiling may be notified by the Central government. The picture shows the Chinese Red Arrow HJ-10A Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) system at the IQDEX-2018 exhibition in Baghdad, Iraq. BAGHDAD, IRAQ, Mar. 23 (ChinaMil) -- The China North Industries Corp. (NORINCO), a Chinese military trade enterprise, brought the Chinese HJ-10A (Red Arrow-10A) anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) system, which is extremely rare in the Middle East's weapon market, to the sixth International Defense Exhibition (IQDEX-2018) in Baghdad, Iraq, for the first time. A few days ago, Iraqi media disclosed photos of Chinese HJ-10A ATGM system online. Unlike the HJ-10A ATGM system unveiled by the NORINCO during the Zhuhai Air Show in 2016, the HJ-10A ATGM system exhibited in the Middle East uses the export version big 4X4 wheel chassis. Compared with the tracked chassis version of HJ-10A ATGM system, the passability of the wheeled chassis one is apparently inferior, but the overall cost should be lower. The Chinese HJ-10A ATGM system is a heavy-duty, fiber-optic guided anti-tank missile, and its launching vehicle has an elevating mast-type photoelectric sighting system that can detect and lock the hostile armored vehicles as far as possible. The Chinese HJ-10A anti-tank guided missile is connected to the launching vehicle with a fine fiber and has the farthest firing range at about 10 kilometers and the largest penetration depth in the its anti-tank guided missile family. The HJ-10A ATGM system, commissioned in the Chinese PLA Army not long ago, is a newest member of China's export-oriented anti-tank missile family. The picture shows the tracked chassis version of Chinese HJ-10A anti-tank missile system at the Zhuhai Air Show in 2016, China. New Delhi, March 22 : Reiterating its allegations of Congress's links to political data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica (CA), the BJP on Thursday claimed that the firm was involved in Rahul Gandhi's social media campaign and there had been meetings too in this regard. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also questioned the silence of the Congress President for more than five months over media reports that claimed his party had roped in CA as 'Brahmashtra' to counter Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019. "The report in this regard was first published on October 9, 2017 and the party maintained silence until I raised the issue on Wednesday. They denied the allegations when they found themselves in trouble after the issue was brought to the fore," Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said at a press conference. The minister, accepting full responsibility, said that CA had been managing the social media campaign for Rahul Gandhi and there had been meetings also in this connection. "The Congress cannot run away from this fact. If the Congress maintains a conspicuous silence on such an important news of the involvement of a dubious social media company and does not counter it, then I am sorry. They don't have any right to run the country," he said. The Congress on Wednesday denied links to CA that has been accused of stealing data to allegedly influence the electoral process. Prasad also claimed that that the Congress took services of CA in Gujarat Assembly polls. "They used CA in Gujarat and it was clear from the Congress's pattern of contesting the election," he said. He also refuted Gandhi's allegation that by raking up CA issue, Modi government was trying to divert public attention from its "lie about the fate of 39 Indians killed in Iraq". "We expect that Rahul Gandhi would not indulge in politics over deaths. He should respond to the allegations which are of serious nature," he said. Gandhi's remarks came a day after Information and Technology Minister accused the Congress of compromising national security by roping in Cambridge Analytica to run its 2019 election campaign. He alleged that the firm had been found involved in data manipulation and warned that any attempt to misuse social media to influence India's electoral process would not be tolerated. Prasad said that the analytics firm was accused of using bribes and sex workers to entrap politicians and stealing data from Facebook. Bangkok, March 22 : At least 18 people died and 32 were injured in a bus crash in northeastern Thailand, officials said on Thursday. The accident occurred on Wednesday night on a bend with a steep slope in the district of Wang Nam Khieo, Nakhon Ratchasima province, a spokesperson for the Department of Disaster Prevention told Efe news. According to the official, the bus driver lost control of the vehicle causing it to cross the opposite lane and come off the road. The bus was carrying 50 people, 16 of whom died on the spot and two others at the hospital. The bus had been chartered by a group of tourists from the province of Kalasin and was returning home from the coastal province of Chantaburi. According to the World Health Organisation, Thailand's roads are the second most dangerous in the world, and about 24,000 people die in road accidents in the country each year. Seoul, March 23 : A South Korean court on Thursday issued a warrant to arrest former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak over a series of corruption charges. The Seoul Central District Court decided to put Lee, who served his five-year presidential term through early 2013, under custody as he denied almost all of alleged wrongdoings, reports Xinhua. The denial raised a possibility for destroying evidence and several of Lee's offences were justifiable, the court was quoted as saying. Lee posted a message in his social media account after the arrest decision, saying he was responsible for everything though he tried his best during his presidency. Lee was summoned last week for questioning and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office requested a warrant on Monday to arrest him for multiple charges, including bribery, embezzlement, tax evasion and slush fund creation. The former president refused to present himself in the court to be arraigned, saying he already clarified his position while being grilled by prosecutors. The court made the detention decision by examining documentary evidences and testimonies provided by prosecutors. Lee had awaited the court's decision at home in central Seoul. Investigators would soon take him to a detention centre in southern Seoul. Lee's arrest came about a year after former President Park Geun-hye, Lee's successor, was detained last March after her impeachment over an influence-peddling scandal involving her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil. Prosecutors demanded 30 years in jail for Park, who was detained for her dismissal of all charges levied against her. A Seoul court will hand down a ruling on the country's first-ever impeached president next month. Washington, March 23 : The US House of Representatives passed a $1.3 trillion spending bill on Thursday that would fund federal agencies through September and avert a government shutdown. In a 256-167 vote, the Republican-led chamber sent the compromise measure to the Senate, which must pass it before current funding expires late Friday night, reports Xinhua. "The House just voted to rebuild our military, secure our borders and give our service members their largest pay raise in eight years," House Speaker Paul Ryan said following the vote. Though the bill had broad bipartisan support in the House, several members of the hardline conservative House Freedom Caucus voiced their opposition, while some Democrats rejected it for that it fails to address legal status of recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or the so-called "Dreamers." The legislation passed less than 24 hours after the 2,300-page bipartisan, omnibus bill was made public. The spending package allows big spending increases for defence and domestic programmes, while adding money for infrastructure projects, veterans and measures to combat the opioid crisis, among other programmes. It also includes measures meant to strengthen gun sale background checks and improve school safety. But the bill also provides $1.6 billion -- far short of what the Trump administration has sought -- for border security measures, including construction of a border wall with Mexico. However, Mick Mulvaney, the director of the US Office of Management and Budget, told reporters on Thursday that the president will sign the bill if it reaches his desk. He admitted that the bill was not perfect and was not exactly what the White House wanted but that would fund the president's priorities. The time for the Senate vote is tight. If no senator objects, the Senate could act quickly to pass the measure, to clear the way for Trump to sign it. Washington, March 23 : Outgoing US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Washington a "very mean-spirited town" in his farewell address to State Department staff, the media reported. "This can be a very mean spirited town," CNN quoted Tillerson as saying on Thursday, as staff present at his remarks laughed and clapped. "But you don't have to choose to participate in that." In Tillerson's brief speech ahead of his official departure at the end of the month, he asked State Department employees to hold on to their integrity. "It belongs to you,... Only you can relinquish it or allow it to be compromised," the 65-year-old former ExxonMobil CEO said. President Donald Trump announced the Tillerson's firing last week after a 13 month stint in office, and named Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Mike Pompeo, who a faces Senate confirmation hearing tentatively set for April 12, as his successor. Tillerson's tenure was marked by plummeting morale and multiple vacancies in important posts, as the Trump administration moved to slash the agency's budget and move decision making on many high-profile issues to the Pentagon or the White House, CNN reported. But the 69th Secretary of State got sustained applause from staff, who clapped solidly for many minutes after Tillerson finished his remarks and while he slowly worked his way toward the exit, shaking dozens of hands as he departed. State Department officials said he was leaving directly for Texas. Tillerson mentioned Trump only once in his remarks, in passing and not by name, as he told staffers about preparing background materials "that were first the basis for discussions at the National Security Council and ultimately with the President". New Delhi, March 23 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid tributes to Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev to mark Martyrs' Day and said that they "sacrificed their lives so that others can live a life of freedom and dignity". "The martyrdom of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev was a watershed moment in our history. Every Indian is proud that these three great men belong to our land," Modi tweeted. It was on this day that Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were executed after they were sentenced to death in the Lahore conspiracy case. He also remembered politician and activist Ram Manohar Lohia on his birth anniversary and described him as "one of the most remarkable personalities of 20th century India". "He combined scholarly zeal with a penchant for grassroot level politics. His rich thoughts continue to shape socio-political discourse. I bow to Dr. Lohia on his Jayanti," he tweeted. New Delhi, March 23 : A mention of Rampur may remind you of the famous Rampuri chhuri -- the switchblade Bollywood villains of a certain vintage proudly flaunted. But a taste of this Uttar Pradesh town's cuisine will leave millennials quite surprised. Of late, many hotels have started to showcase this delectable cuisine and one such ongoing fiesta is "Dine Like Royals" at K3, JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocity, from March 16 to March 26. For non-vegetarians, the cuisine is a delight all the way. But vegetarians won't go hungry either. Whisked, stirred, pounded and cooked by a team of third-generation cooks from the royal kitchens of the Nawabs of Rampur and chefs at the hotel, the mouth-watering traditional Rampur delicacies are characterised by the use of dry spices, or "khada masala" (black and white peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon or cassia bark, mace, black and green cardamom pods, bay leaf, cumin and coriander), which lend the dishes a unique flavour. Chef Suroor, who is among the team of "magicians" cooking up the delicacies at the restaurant, told IANS: "The cuisine was unheard of earlier -- or very few knew about it -- as the nawabs at the time did not want the food that they enjoyed to be had by all and become common. "They wanted it to remain unique... for their palettes only. People came to know about the wonders of the cuisine when they found documented recipes in the library of Rampur." Munch on the kachche gosht ki tikia (minced mutton tikka) and the fish anjeer tikka (fish and fig tika) while sipping on the Rampuri punch -- a summer cocktail comprising Rampuri spices, and a strong shot of vodka. The combination will prepare you for the rich and heavy main course dish -- tar qorma. The word tar (wire) has been given as the consistency of the curry is like that of a wire when you slide out the spoon from the dish. Not too soft, nor too chewy, the mutton which had soaked in the flavourful spices was cooked perfectly and was not even as spicy as it looked. "The speciality of the spices is that all of them are hand-pounded. None of them comes from the market," Chef Suroor explained. I would highly recommend the fish and fig tikka as it was a lovely amalgamation of fig with the spices and was melt-in-the-mouth soft. The taste of fig is not so strong if that is what you fear. Don't forget to try it with the garlic-yellow chilli dip. The yellow chilli is specific to Rampur and is hotter than the green chili that you get in the market. However, it is not as hot as the "bhut jolokia" found in the northeast Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland and Manipur. The keema aloo dish is dry and looks like minced soya bean, but like they say, "Never judge a book by its cover" -- it was delicious and I could not help but lap it up with a sheer maal roti which is very different from its usual Mughlai-style preparation. In the vegetarian section, the rich and heavy paneer shorma and the brinjal dish should be tried out even if you're partial to the non-vegetarian menu. For dessert, go for gulatthi (a cousin of kheer and phirni) and adrak ka halwa -- a sweet made of minced ginger. It warms up the stomach a bit, so the chef said it's a perfect winter delight. The price tag for the menu may seem overpriced to some, but for those who like to experiment with their taste-buds, it's a must-try. FAQs Where: K3 at JW Marriott New Delhi Aerocit, Asset Area 4, Hospitality District, Delhi Aerocity, New Delhi 110037 When: Lunch: 12.30 pm to 3 pm; Dinner: 7 pm to 11 pm Cost: Lunch: Rs 2,550 plus taxes, Dinner: Rs 3,350 plus taxes; both include the mocktail and cocktail menu (Kishori Sud was at K3 JW Marriott at its invitation. She can be contacted at kishori.s@ians.in) Rio De Janeiro, March 23 : Brazil's Supreme Federal Court granted former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva temporary jail relief until April. To prevent his possible arrest, Lula's defence team filed a pre-emptive habeas corpus request to the Supreme Court so that he could remain free until all possible appeals about his case are judged, Xinhua News Agency reported. The Supreme Court voted to analyse the request on Thursday. An actual analysis of the request was postponed to April 4. Under Brazilian law, which requests defendants to serve their sentence after the second trial, Lula should have already been arrested because his conviction was upheld. Lula was found guilty of corruption and money laundering in the first trial in 2017 and was sentenced to prison for nine and a half years. On January 24, an appeals court rejected a motion to overturn his conviction for money laundering and accepting bribes. The court also stiffened his initial nine-year sentence to more than 12 years. Lula had earlier announced his decision to run again for President in October and was the front-runner in previous opinion polls, despite facing the 12-year sentence. However, political analysts say Lula's conviction means he is likely to be barred from participating in the Presidential campaign, whether he is jailed or not. New Delhi, March 23 : The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on Friday following protests by opposition MPs. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan again could not take up the no-confidence motion in the din. Protests started as soon as the House met with members from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the AIADMK trooping near the Speaker's podium. Congress members protested from their seats over the Supreme Court verdict on the SC/ST Act. Speaker Mahajan paid tributes to freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev who were hanged on this day in 1931. As the din continued, the Speaker adjourned the House till noon. The scene was no different when it met again, with Mahajan urging the protesting members to return to their seats so that the no-confidence motion could be taken up. As the protests continued, Mahajan announced that March 26 will be a holiday on account of Ram Navami, before adjourning the House for the day. Half-way through the second half of the Budget Session, the Lok Sabha has been witnessing a washout, with not even the Question Hour being taken up on any day. The Lower House also passed the Budget and a few bills amid the uproar. The second half of the Budget session started on March 5 and is set to conclude on April 6. Brussels, March 23 : The EU has recalled its ambassador from Moscow after leaders on the continent sided with Britain over the poisoning of a former Russian double agent in the UK, saying it was "highly likely" Moscow was responsible for the attack. Following a summit in Brussels on Thursday to discuss the response to the Salisbury nerve agent attack, the European Council of EU leaders agreed "there was no plausible alternative explanation", the BBC reported. "We stand in unqualified solidarity with the UK in the face of this grave challenge to our shared security," the statement by the European Council said. British leader Theresa May said the Salisbury poisoning was "part of a pattern of Russian aggression against Europe". Moscow denies responsibility for the attack on ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. They remain in a critical but stable condition after the attack on March 4. The EU said its ambassador to Russia was recalled "for consultations". European Council's President Donald Tusk tweeted that all leaders agreed Russia's responsibility for the attack was highly likely. France, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were reportedly considering expelling Russian diplomats as requested by the UK government, in a coordinated strike against Moscow, according to a Guardian report. Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said: "All of us, we are considering such measures." She added that she had not congratulated Putin on his re-election. On Thursday night, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the EU ambassador to Russia was being recalled to consult with Brussels over the Salisbury attack. Rutte characterised this as a "measure" rather than a formal "sanction" against Moscow. Britain had expelled 23 Russian diplomats in retaliation for the nerve agent attack. In the run-up to Thursday's summit, British officials shared intelligence with their EU counterparts about the issue. Theresa May also met German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron in Brussels and a spokesperson of Downing 10 claimed that "the UK, Germany and France reaffirmed that there is no plausible explanation other than that the Russian state was responsible". The three leaders agreed on "the importance of sending a strong European message in response to Russia's actions and agreed to remain in close contact in coming days," a spokesperson was quoted as saying. A court on Thursday reviews an arrest warrant for former President Lee Myung-bak, but Lee will not be attending the hearing, his attorney said. The lawyer said Lee has already "thoroughly clarified his stance to prosecutors." Usually defendants appear at hearings reviewing their arrest warrants in order to plead their case, but this is not obligatory. The decision is expected late Thursday night or early Friday morning. Lee faces multiple charges, including bribery, and prosecutors have submitted a huge file of documents arguing for his arrest. Defendants who opt out of the hearing usually await the outcome at the prosecutors' office, but Lee may stay at home taking advantage of his privileges as a former president. Ex-President Park Geun-hye waited at the prosecutors' office for almost nine hours in March of last year before she was sent to a remand jail. Bengaluru, March 23 : Seven India-based inventors are among the finalists who will vie for $500,000 in prize money and in-kind support in a global competition of hardware-led social innovation. The finalists of the 2018 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Innovation Showcase (ISHOW) will present their design prototypes in Bengaluru on April 5, ASME said in a statement. The finalists built innovative design prototypes for diabetes, foetal monitoring, the visually impaired, oral cancer and irrigation, among others. "They are the first regional finalists selected from over 150 entries worldwide," the statement added. Among the finalists is Vinayak Nandalike from Bengaluru who invented "Sparsh", a multi-parameter, portable, hand-held medical device that helps clinicians screen diabetic patients for symptoms of peripheral neuropathy. Tarun Bothra of Ahmedabad who developed Saathi, a biodegradable sanitary pad made from banana fiber, one of the most absorbent and abundant natural fibers in India, is also among the finalists. Also in the list is Balaji Teegala of Hyderabad who developed a foetal monitoring technology that makes it possible to record, collect and share foetal data with clinicians for timely interventions in remote locations. The winners selected in Bengaluru and two other ISHOW events in Nairobi (May 10) and Washington (June 21) will share $500,000 in seed grants, technical assistance, design and engineering reviews and access to ISHOW's partnership network, it added. "ASME originally created ISHOW after our research showed an urgent need to support hardware innovators seeking to enter global markets and make a societal impact," said Charla K. Wise, President of ASME. "We believe this year's entries all have the potential to address some of the most vexing issues faced by humankind," Wise said. ASME said it received more than 150 submissions vying for the $500,000 in cash and in-kind prizes that the organisation has offered to help bring socially innovative hardware-led solutions to market. Mumbai, March 23 : Megastar Amitabh Bachchan wishes his long-delayed movie "Shoebite", which got caught in a tiff between Percept Picture Company and UTV, gets a chance to see the light of the day. On Friday, a Twitter user made a request to Big B: "We want this movie 'Shoebite' to be released. Please do something UTV, I'm sure that with a little effort it can happen." To this, Amitabh wrote: "Yes... put aside the internal debate, issues, or personal view points and give this labour of love from Shoojit Sircar a chance for others to appreciate this novel story and film... Please." Sircar had taken "Shoebite" to production house UTV after it could not release with Percept Picture Company. Percept Picture Company then filed a lawsuit against UTV to stall the release which was later dismissed. Sircar had later blamed the producers of the film UTV Disney for the way they had handled the film. The film is the story of a man named John Pereira, who in his early 60s, sets out on a journey of self-discovery. Its cast also has Sarika, Dia Mirza, Jimmy Sheirgill and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. In 2016, Sircar had said he has "moved on". "We are making films and we are still trying if something can happen (about 'Shoebite') but I think that I am repaying back Mr. Bachchan with 'Piku' or even 'Pink' as we could not do that film and that film could not release. So this is my debt that I am repaying him," he said of the two movies which he made with Big B and which were hits. New Delhi, March 23 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday welcomed the Delhi High Court verdict that set aside the EC recommendation disqualifying 20 AAP MLAs in an office-of-profit case, saying truth has won. "Truth has been victorious. The elected representatives of Delhi were disqualified wrongly. The High Court has provided justice to the people of Delhi. It's a big win for people. Congratulations to the people of Delhi," Kejriwal tweeted. The Chief Minister reacted after the court asked the Election Commission to hear the case afresh because the MLAs were not given proper hearing before the poll panel decided on their disqualification. The MLAs were disqualified on charges of holding office-of-profit when they were appointed Parliamentary Secretaries. New Delhi : Beijing, March (23) China on Friday welcome Maldivian President's Abdulla Yameen's decision to lift the state of Emergency and hoped the government and the opposition will solve the crisis jointly through dialogue. On February 5, Yameen had imposed Emergency in the Maldives, arresting the Supreme Court judges, a former president and opposition party leaders after the apex court issued an order that could have ousted the President. Yameen ended the 45-day Emergency on Thursday only after slapping terrorism charges against former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Supreme Court's Chief Justice and a judge. "China welcomes the Maldives lifting the Emergency and restoring normal social order," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said here. "We believe the Maldives' government and the political parties have the wisdom and capability to properly resolve their differences through dialogue and consultation and restore political stability and social harmony of the Maldives," Hua added. The crisis erupted when the apex court gave a judgment, asking the Yameen government to free political prisoners, and reinstate 12 parliamentarians from the opposition party led by Mohamed Nasheed who lives in exile. China had warned against any interference by India in the Maldivian crisis when New Delhi asked Yameen to abide by the court order. Yameen is considered pro-Beijing. Last year, he signed a free-trade agreement with China, which breezed through the Maldivian Parliament with almost no debate or discussion. In fact, Yameen sent his envoy to Beijing and Islamabad to apprise them of the political situation. His main political rival, Nasheed, is considered close to India. China over the years has invested heavily in the atoll nation, strategically located in the Indian Ocean. Kolkata, March 23 : Confirming that rallies with the tradition of carrying arms would be taken out in certain parts of West Bengal on Ram Navmi this year, state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh on Friday said his party is planning to celebrate the occasion in a bigger and much more grandiose manner compared to the last time. Taking a dig at the ruling Trinamool Congress, Ghosh said the people who have so far opposed the celebrations are now eager to observe Ram Navmi to gain the support of the majority of the people. "This year Ram Navmi celebration would be bigger and more grand compared to last year. In Kolkata alone there would be five or six major rallies. Along with the prominent cities and district headquarters, rallies would be taken out in villages with equal vigour," Ghosh told IANS over phone. "Now there is competition as the Trinamool has jumped into celebrating the occasion this year. Ram Navmi, that wasn't popular in Bengal not so long ago, is going to become one of the biggest festivals here," he said. The state BJP chief, who will himself take part in a rally in West Midnapore district's Kharagpur, confirmed that there would be some rallies with "traditional Hindu weapons" but did not reveal their location and numbers. "There would be rallies both with arms and without arms. It would be decided by the local party leadership and the organisations concerned who would hold the rallies. If the administration tries to forcibly stop the rallies, clashes may occur," he warned. Ghosh's comments came on a day when the BJP's local unit brought out preparatory rallies for Ram Navmi in West Midnapore where a person was seen brandishing a sword while another rally by the Hindu Jagran Manch in Birbhum district's Suri saw people carrying tridents while chanting the name of Lord Ram. A few days ago, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee eased the blanket ban on carrying weapons in public, stating that organisations celebrating Ram Navmi for more than a decade would be given special permission to carry arms. Stating that the idea of carrying arms is evoked from centuries old religious beliefs, Ghosh claimed that Banerjee eased the blanket ban for her political benefit as she understood that her government's directive would displease a lot of people. "I think she did this because she clearly understood that people are not bothered about her government's ban. These are age-old traditions and had been going on long before this government came to power. They have no right to impose a ban on people's religious beliefs and practices. "She is trying to bring people close to her by partially lifting the ban," he said New Delhi, March 23 : Even as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections in January saw an improvement over the previous two months, the government on Friday said it was taking several steps to check evasion and encourage voluntary compliance. The government is also working towards educating taxpayers about the new tax regime, Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla told the Lok Sabha in a written reply. "The steps include introduction of e-way bill, simplification of measures for filing tax returns, steps to capture invoice details of transactions so that the same could be matched with credit taken, and verification of transition credit availed by tax payers," he said. As per the government data shared in Parliament, GST collections in January were Rs 88,929 crore against Rs 83,716 in December and Rs 85,931 crore in November. November saw a sharp fall of around 10 per cent in the collections over October when it was Rs 95,132 crore, the highest since the GST was implemented. New Delhi, March 23 : Designers like Samant Chauhan, Charu Parashar and many more will be part of Rasleela Bridal Fashion Week (RBFW) that will take place in Canada and will later move to the US. RBFW, a four-day event, will start with the cream de la cream attendees from Lower Mainland in Vancouver to the VIP reception and sit-down dinner on April 14 at Fairmont Waterfront. It will then move to Surrey and Dallas in the US. Some of the Indian designer brands that will participate are Saaj by Ankita, Royal Fables, Amber Paridi, Amadi Couture and Deepak Bajaj. Wedding vendors from Canada and overseas will be at their individual stalls for a meet and greet, before the fashion show and dinner. "With Canada's Government's support, BWV will have leading bridal designers and jewellers from Canada, USA, UK, UAE, India and Pakistan showcasing their collection on ramp, with trade. We will have exhibition space, where designers and wedding vendors will exhibit in stalls. "It is designed keeping in mind the multi-cultural wedding industry of Canada. This will bring all leading wedding vendors from all cultures under one umbrella," Parvesh Kumar founder of the fashion week, said in a statement. New Delhi, March 23 : Social activist Anna Hazare launched a fresh anti-corruption agitation with an indefinite fast here on Friday and vowed it to continue it till the Modi government comes up with an action plan on Lokpal appointment, remunerative crop prices and election reforms. "I have written 43 letters to the Modi government in the last four years but did not get any reply. So I have been forced to sit on an indefinite fast," he said soon after he started his hunger strike at the sprawling Ramlila Maidan here after paying tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat. The activist, who held a major agitation in 2011 against corruption catching the imagination of Indians, said Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and some ministers from Maharashtra met him on Thursday and gave certain assurances. "They said the government will look into our concerns. But I said I don't trust you. How many promises you have fulfilled so far? Nothing," he said. Hazare said he would hold discussions with the government during the agitation but his indefinite hunger strike, called 'Satyagraha', would continue "till the government comes out with a concrete action plan". The anti-corruption activist said the agitation had begun on March 23 -- the day Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged during British rule. "They laid down their lives not just for independence from British but for democratic rule as well. But what happened? Democracy has not been established in our country yet," he said. Hazare has been pressing for setting up a Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in the states to probe corruption cases, bring in new electoral reforms and implementation of the M.S. Swaminathan Committee report to address the agrarian crisis in the country. "The farmers in the country are in distress as they are not getting remunerative prices and the government is not acting to ensure fair prices," he told the gathering comprising of mostly of farmers. According to police, the agitation witnessed participation of about 5,000-6,000 people, mainly from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Assam. Hazare took a dig at the Modi government for creating hurdles for farmers wanting to join him. "They have stopped trains and buses so that people who want to join us don't reach here. But it will not deter us." A Maharashtra farmer from Ahmednagar, Popatrao Sathe, said people from his area were not allowed to board the train by police at Bhusawal on Thursday night. Some farmers said they dodged the police and made it to Delhi. "We removed all banners from the buses we were in and remained quiet throughout the journey. Police let us go assuming we were regular passengers," said Kanaihya Sharma, a farmer from Jaipur. Rakesh Pegu from Assam's Madhuli said he was compelled to participate in the agitation as the livelihood of farmers was at risk due to consistent incidences of price fall. Hazare said the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), which decides prices for 23 crops, should be made autonomous for fair price fixation. Currently, the Central government controls the CACP and cuts the fair price rates suggested by states by 30-35 per cent, he said. "I will prefer dying for the nation than by heart attack," said the 80-year-old activist, whose 2011 agitation gave birth to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) now ruling in Delhi. While thanking former Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde for being with him since 2011, Hazare said "I am thankful to him for being with us today. There was a team in 2011. Later many became ministers, Chief Ministers and Governors. But Hegde remained with us." Hyderabad, March 23 : The Telangana government on Friday reduced Value-Added Tax (VAT) on Air Turbine Fuel (ATF) from 16 per cent to 1 per cent. Industry minister K.T. Rama Rao made the announcement at an event organised to mark completion of 10 years of the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. He said the decision would come into effect immediately, adding this would help increase air connectivity and attract more international carriers to Hyderabad. Rama Rao, also the son of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, said the government had promised this to Civil Aviation Secretary R.N. Choubey at 'Wings India 2018' held here earlier this month. Choubey stated at 'Wings India' that VAT on ATF was over 50 per cent of total operating cost of domestic carriers and this was 70 per cent higher than the global average. Rama Rao said the development of India's first Greenfield airport by GMR Group was the most remarkable and inspiring story. He said the most modern airport was the shining example of what Telangana and Hyderabad stand for. "Hyderabad airport is the brand ambassador of our ambition to position Hyderabad as the global city," he said. The Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone for an exhibition cum convention centre. Rama Rao said the convention centre with 12,000 capacity would be India's largest facility and would be the destination for meetings, conventions and exhibitions. The government also announced metro rail to further boost the connectivity to the airport, located about 30 km from the city. Rama Rao said 'Hyderabad Metro Airport Express' was estimated to cost Rs 4,650 crore. Paris, March 23 : Two people were killed and some others were taken hostage by an armed gunman at a supermarket in a southern French town on Friday, in what officials are treating as an act of terror. The incident unfolded in the morning at a Super U supermarket in Trebes town, where the attacker opened fire. A spokesman for France's Interior Ministry confirmed the deaths, CNN reported. Reports said the gunman pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terror group. TrAbes Mayor Eric Menassi told BFM TV that the gunman was now alone in the shop with one police officer, after other hostages were freed. The incident appeared to be linked to an attack earlier in the day, in which a man shot at four police officers in the city of Carcassonne. The driver also tried to ram the officers over as they were out jogging. One of the police officers was injured. The suspect, reportedly known to French intelligence services, was said to be heavily armed and asking for the release of Salah Abdeslam, the key surviving suspect in the 2015 Paris attacks, which killed 130 people. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Twitter that all information about the supermarket attack pointed to "an act of terror", while the Paris prosecutor's office said it was opening an investigation into a "terrorist act", as well as murder and attempted murder. President Emmanuel Macron is in Brussels and is expected to speak later in the day. France has been hit with several deadly terror attacks since 2015 and has been on high alert since. A state of emergency put in place after the 2015 attacks in Paris was lifted in October. In Thursday's farewell remarks to State Department staff, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson asked American diplomats and civil servants to be respectful to each other and to carry on the priorities of U.S. national security. "I'd like to ask each of you undertake to ensure one act of kindness each day towards another person. This can be a very mean-spirited town," said Tillerson to laughs and applause from department employees. "But you don't have to choose to participate in that." Tillerson did not mention President Donald Trump, who fired him unceremoniously last Tuesday just hours after the top diplomat returned to Washington from a five-nation tour of Africa. Tillerson maintains the title of secretary of state until his commission terminates at midnight March 31. "Treat each other with respect, regardless of the job title," he told the department staff. "Never lose sight of your most valuable asset: your personal integrity." Employees gathered in the lobby of the building Thursday to hear Tillerson's farewell remarks. Standing behind him were Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Tom Shannon, spokeswoman Heather Nauert and Ambassador-at-large for Counterterrorism Nathan Sales. "I appreciate the secretary's highlighting the diplomatic work that State Department employees do every day, and the importance of accountability and respect in the workplace," one employee told VOA. Another said, "I was encouraged by the secretary's references to the diligence and devotion career employees have to the State Department's mission, and to being guided by our values and integrity." Tillerson said he had compiled material and provided "updates of how tactics may need to adjust to current circumstances" for his nominated successor, CIA Director Mike Pompeo, in order to ensure a smooth transition. Though "all the policies and the strategy should never change, we must constantly review how the tactics are delivering on the objectives," Tillerson said. "The country faces many challenges -- in some instances, perplexing foreign affairs relationships, in another instance, serious national security threats." New Delhi, March 23 : The Supreme Court was on Friday told that a mosque will remain a place of worship even after it has been desecrated and destroyed through a "barbaric act." "A mosque will remain a place of worship even after it has been destroyed," senior counsel Rajeev Dhavan told the bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice S. Abdul Nazeer, hearing a batch of cross petitions challenging a 2010 Allahabad High Court verdict on the Ayodhya title suit. "It is quite a different matter to say that an area has been acquired and quite another to say mosque is not a mosque forever," Dhavan said. Dhavan appeared for the main petitioner, Mohammad Siddiqui, now being represented by legal heirs. The bench is hearing arguments on the plea to revisit 1994 top court judgment which had said that the mosque was not was not an essential part of Islamic religious practice and that namaz could be offered anywhere, even in open places. Describing the December 6, 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid as a "barbaric act", Dhavan said: "What was desecrated was a mosque and what court is being asked to is to protect the idols (of Ram Lalla)." Telling the court that the government can acquire the place of worship, Dhavan said: "It is abundantly clear that a mosque should be treated as equal any temple" and "Ramjanmabhoomiu is equal to mosque". Referring to "two powerful Rath Yatras" led by senior BJP leader L.K. Advani, Dhavan told the bench that "there was strident, calculated and deliberate attempt to destroy Babri Masjid". Senior counsel K. Parasaran, appearing on the other side, said that the 1994 top court observation that a mosque was not an essential part of Islamic religious practice and namaz could be offered anywhere was in the context of acquisition proceedings. At this, the bench said that if it decides to revisit the 1994 judgment, then it would be on the principle whether mosque was an integral part of Islamic religious practice. In the last hearing of the matter on March 14, Dhavan had told the court that if the positrion in the 1994 judgement was to accepted then except for Makkah, Madinah and Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, rest of the mosques will be of no consequence to Muslims. On the next hearing on April 5, Dhavan will address the court on what mosque means to Islam. Mumbai, March 23 : In an unprecedented development, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday stumped the opposition by moving a 'confidence motion' in favour of Speaker Haribhau Bagade which was passed by a voice vote in the state assembly. The opposition Congress and Nationalist Congress Party -- which submitted a notice for bringing a 'no-confidence move' against the Speaker on March 5, alleging him of bias in conducting the house proceedings -- were caught completely unawares and vehemently protested. However, Fadnavis defended the move citing a precedent set in July 2006 when then Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh moved a motion that the House expresses 'confidence in the council of ministers' after the then opposition moved a 'no-confidence' motion against his government. "There is a precedent for such a confidence motion... We have adhered to the rules. What was legal then is legal and correct in the procedure even now. The proceedings of the Assembly are as per rules so the no-confidence motion (against the Speaker) cannot be taken up," Fadnavis said amidst a huge uproar in the House. The developments followed after the Chief Minister abruptly got up and moved the 'confidence motion' in favour of the Speaker. "The Legislative Assembly expresses confidence in Speaker Haribhau Bagade," said the motion which was seconded by ruling ally Shiv Sena's PWD Minister Eknath Shinde and put to vote. The presiding officer, Sudhakar Deshmukh (in the chair at that time), put the motion to vote and it was passed by a voice vote, after which the House was adjourned for 15 minutes. The opposition parties' members were left shell-shocked as they did not get an opportunity to speak, especially since they had been demanding for the past two days that the 'no-confidence' motion against the Speaker be admitted and taken up for a debate. Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil sought to know why the opposition's notice of 'no-confidence' was not taken up in the day's agenda despite it being submitted on March 5 and the 14-day processing period was completed. As the opposition members protested loudly, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party members raised slogans of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Vande Mataram', while the House continued with other businesses of the day. Later, a delegation of opposition leaders including Vikhe-Patil, former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, ex-ministers Naseem Khan (all Congress) and former Speaker Dilip Walse-Patil and ex-minister Jayant Patil (of NCP) met Governor C.V. Rao and apprised him of the developments. "How can this happen when the matter (of 'confidence motion') was not even listed in the day's agenda... and suddenly, the CM moves the 'confidence motion' in the House," Vikhe-Patil said. "We had given the notice of 'no confidence' on March 5 and 14 working days had passed... We wanted to take up the matter, but before we could even speak, the 'confidence motion' was moved." On the issue of the precedent cited by Fadnavis, former Speaker and NCP leader explained that at that time, the 'no confidence motion' was against the government and not against the Speaker. "In the current case, he (Bagade) is the Speaker, so there is no question of a confidence motion... Even though we don't have the requisite numbers, we wanted to express our sentiments through the 'no confidence' motion. This has never happened in the parliamentary history of Maharashtra," Walse-Patil said. Ranchi, March 23 : A Ranchi court on Friday convicted Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) legislator Amit Mahto and pronounced a two-year jail term for him in a case over beating up of a government official. Following his conviction, he is likely to lose the membership of state assembly. The charges against Amit Mahto are that he and his supporters beat up a government officials in 2006 and obstructed official work. Ranchi District Court judge Diwakar Pandey delivered verdict in the 12-year-old case. Later in the day, the court granted bail to the JMM legislator. As per constitutional norms, he could lose his membership of the House, like two other Jharkhand legislators lost membership after conviction in different cases. JMM legislator Yogendra Mahto was sentenced by a Ramgarh court for two years and he lost his membership. All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) legislator Kamal Kishore Bhagat also lost his membership after being convicted in a case. New Delhi, March 23 : British TV host Anita Rani, whose roots lie in India, says she finds Delhi a phenomenal and exotic city for its incredible history. Rani, who has a broadcasting degree from the University of Leeds, was born in Bradford to a Sikh mother and Hindu father. "I absolutely love Delhi. The city is phenomenal and it is exotic with an incredible history. Not to forget, it has some of the best foods on the planet," Rani told IANS. Rani, who presents Sony BBC Earth's new show "World's Busiest Cities", feels Delhi also has "some of the best foods on the planet". "My visit to Asia's largest fruits and the vegetable market at 4 a.m. in the morning will be one of the fondest memories of Delhi. I was fascinated by the 'mosambi' fruit and to see the whole of 'mosambi' coming from this one place to Delhi," she added. One of the episodes of "World's Busiest Cities" is around Delhi, and showcases the secret systems keeping world's most crowded, complicated and chaotic cities functioning smoothly. On her love for the city, Rani said: "Another fond memory was my visit to the langar at Gurudwara Bangla Sahib. I got a chance to offer my services there who were preparing food for thousands of people and to see how that system functions was amazing. "It is always great to come and visit India. The people here are some of the most generous and open-hearted people you'll ever meet." Rani has worked as a researcher for BBC and has also hosted a number of landmark shows such as "World's Busiest Railway" in 2015, "India on Four Wheels" and "My Family, Partition and Me: India 1947". New Delhi, March 23 : In yet another case of bank fraud, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday filed a case against 31 persons, including a General Manager of IDBI Bank, for allegedly defrauding the lender of Rs 445 crore, given out as loans which have since turned bad. On a complaint of the IDBI Bank, a case has been registered against General Manager Battu Rama Rao, former Chief General Manager R. Damodaran, 21 aggregator groups and bank panel valuers for cheating the bank of Rs 445.32 crore by availing Kisan Credit Cards (KCCs) and pisciculture loans on the basis of fake documents and overvalued collateral property, a CBI official said. The bank had complained to the CBI on December 14 last year disclosing that it had sacked Rao. The bank alleged that about 220 borrowers consisting of 21 aggregator groups connived with Rao, who was posted at IDBI Bank's Basheerabagh branch in Hyderabad and Damodaran in Chennai, and the bank panel valuers availed KCC and pisciculture loans and other credit facilities through 220 loan accounts from different branches of IDBI. The loans were disbursed during 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12. The bank said that the total loan taken by the 21 aggregators was Rs 192.98 crore for which they submitted fake documents and overvalued collateral property. The bank declared the loan accounts as Non-Performing Asstes (NPAs) on different dates. According to the bank's complaint, the total outstanding on the 220 borrowers till September 30, 2017 was Rs 445.32 crore. In its complaint, the bank said that the fraud came to notice after an internal inquiry found that there was no fish cultivation and the borrowers, who belong to East Godavari, West Godavari and Krishna districts of Andhra Pradesh and Adilabad district in Telangana, either used the loan amounts for other purposes or transferred to their individual savings accounts. The complaint also alleged that the borrowers belonged to areas where the "business of pisciculture or any other fish farming activities are not undertaken in the lands shown in ther loan application forms". The bank also alleged that the aggregators and the borrowers, with the connivance of bank panel valuers defrauded the bank by submitting "inflated and unrealistic valuations of collateral securities" offered by the aggregators. Private persons named in the FIR include M.L. Rao of Adilakshmi Group, Samayamanthula Sudhakar of S. Sudhakar Group, Nadimpalli Venkata Subba Raju of N.V. Subba Raju Group, Nadimpally Rama Raju, K.S.V. Prasada Raju, T.C. Venkateswara Rao, P.S. Chowdhary and B.C. Reddy, among others. The CBI has also charged seven bank panel valuers under the sections for criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and criminal misconduct. New Delhi, March 23 : The impasse in both the Houses of Parliament continued on Friday and Parliament failed to transact any business for the 15th consecutive working day. Meanwhile, the Congress too tabled in the Lok Sabha a notice for no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government. "This House expresses no confidence in the Council of Ministers," read the notice tabled by Mallikarjun Kharge, the Leader of Congress in the lower House. Already, the TDP and YSR Congress Party have filed notices for no-confidence motion against the government over the issue of special category status for Andhra Pradesh, but they have not been taken up due to continued disruption of the House. On Friday too, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan could not take up the no-confidence motion in the din. Protests started as soon as the House met with members from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the AIADMK trooping near the Speaker's podium. Congress members protested from their seats over the Supreme Court verdict on the SC/ST Act. The AIADMK and the TRS have been paralysing the House with protests, pressing for their demands for setting of Cauvery Water Management Board and increase in the reservation quota for jobs in Telangana. As the din continued, the Speaker adjourned the House till noon. The scene was no different when it met again, with Mahajan urging the protesting members to return to their seats so that the no-confidence motion could be taken up. As the protests continued, Mahajan announced that March 26 will be a holiday on account of Ram Navami, before adjourning the House for the day. The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day amid vociferous protests by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the AIADMK and the Congress on different issues. Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu urged the government to reach out to the agitating parties and also asked "all sections of the House" to introspect and let the House function. Soon after the House met, Naidu expressed his anguish over the continued disruption and hoped it would function from Monday as there was a long list of pending Bills before adjourning the proceedings for the day. "We have a long list of business. I hope the Parliamentary Affairs Minister and the government will also take into confidence the members of different political parties and come to some understanding by Monday. At least the House should run and have all this business," the Chairman said. Earlier in the day, Naidu said: "Today (Friday) we are completing three weeks (of logjam). During my long stint in public life, I have seen very few distressing events as the present one. Rajya Sabha, the House of elders, could not discharge the mandated duties for three weeks. As the Chairman, I tried everything that I could but no result. "All sections of the House need to introspect as to why as the Upper House of Parliament, we have let down the people of the country for three long weeks." Naidu said that persisting with disruptions for three weeks had no justification. He said he had been getting queries from the public as to why the House was not being adjourned sine die. "Will the next week be any different? I am sad to note that I would not like to hazard any guess. I leave it to the leaders and honourable members of Parliament of all sides to reflect and decide if you are going to change for better... It is for you to rekindle the hope. You have to decide," the Chairman said. After the laying of papers, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel listed the details of the pending Bills for passing and discussion next week. No sooner had the Chairman finished when the TDP, the AIADMK and the Congress members stormed near the Chair shouting slogans and holding placards. Naidu urged the members to return to their seats but that went unheard. "What is going on? 'Ye koi bazar nahi hai, ye Parliament hai' (This is not a market, this is Parliament). How long you will do it? How will you justify this? People are deeply disturbed," he said before adjourning the House. The Upper House has witnessed disruptions over different issues including demands for special status to Andhra Pradesh, setting up of the Cauvery Management Board and the multi-thousand crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud since March 5 when Parliament reassembled for the budget session after recess. The TDP is demanding special status to Andhra Pradesh while the AIADMK members are asking for constitution of Cauvery Management Board to manage water distribution between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The Congress and other opposition parties are demanding discussion on the PNB fraud under the adjournment motion. Earlier, both Houses paid tributes to freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev who were hanged on this day in 1931. The second half of the Budget session started on March 5 and is set to conclude on April 6. Beijing, March 23 : About 350 Chinese companies on Friday attended a seminar about the opportunities to invest in India's electronics sector. The event was organised in the city of Shenzhen, also called China's Silicon Valley. Ajay Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, made a strong push for Chinese electronics firms moving to India and taking advantage of the phased manufacturing programme introduced by the Indian government. Speaking at the event, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India, Amit Narang, emphasised how the leaders of India and China believe that when it comes to Sino-Indian relations, 1 plus 1 is equivalent to 11. "This highlights the complementarity between Indian and Chinese companies, taking advantage of which Chinese companies should invest in India," an official statement quoted Narang as saying. Fiona Li from Huawei Co Ltd shared the company's experience of investing successfully in India. Representatives from Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Nagaland participated in the event. New Delhi, March 23 : Indian-origin Canadian YouTube sensation, comedian and author Lilly Singh, also an Unicef Goodwill Ambassador, says people owe all children the chance to go to school. Lilly's new campaign, which released on YouTube in India on Friday, gives viewers access to an exclusive YouTube playlist curated by Lilly to help engage and educate viewers about the impact of girls' education. This new playlist spotlights organisations focused on girls education in India, and points viewers to a website where they can learn more about the cause and donate directly to Unicef India. "When I visited Madhya Pradesh, district Harda in India last summer on my first Unicef field visit, I saw firsthand how access to education changed the outlooks for children and their families. We owe all children the chance to go to school," Lilly said in a statement. "When I returned home, I committed to help champion their cause on my own and with every resource available to me. I'm honoured to work with Unicef and grateful to YouTube for partnering with me to advocate for children's access to education and to spread awareness about why it's essential for local communities, India and the world," she added. Julia Paige, Director, YouTube Impact Lab, said: "We are absolutely thrilled to be supporting Lilly in her work to champion girls' education in India." MedellAn (Colombia), March 23 : The world's leading experts said on said that biodiversity continues to decline in every region, significantly reducing nature's capacity to contribute to people's well-being. This alarming trend endangers economies, livelihoods, food security and the quality of life of people everywhere, according to four landmark science reports released here, written by more than 550 leading experts from over 100 countries. The result of three years of work, the four regional assessments of biodiversity and ecosystem services cover the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Africa, as well as Europe and Central Asia -- the entire planet except the poles and the open oceans. The assessment reports were approved by the 129-member Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) in this Colombian town at the sixth session of its Plenary. "The best available evidence, gathered by the world's leading experts, points us now to a single conclusion: we must act to halt and reverse the unsustainable use of nature -- or risk not only the future we want, but even the lives we currently lead," Chair of IPBES Sir Robert Watson said in a statement. "Fortunately, the evidence also shows that we know how to protect and partially restore our vital natural assets." The extensively peer-reviewed IPBES assessment reports focus on providing answers to key questions for each of the four regions, including: why is biodiversity important, where are we making progress, what are the main threats and opportunities for biodiversity and how can we adjust our policies and institutions for a more sustainable future? In every region, with the exception of a number of positive examples where lessons can be learned, biodiversity and nature's capacity to contribute to people are being degraded, reduced and lost due to a number of common pressures. Those pressures are habitat stress; overexploitation and unsustainable use of natural resources; air, land and water pollution; increasing numbers and impact of invasive alien species and climate change, among others. "Africa is extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and this is going to have severe consequences for economically marginalized populations. By 2100, climate change could also result in the loss of more than half of African birds and mammal species, a 20-30 per cent decline in the productivity of Africa's lakes and significant loss of African plant species," says a report. The report adds that approximately 500,000 square kilometres of African land is already estimated to have been degraded by overexploitation of natural resources, erosion, salinization and pollution, resulting in significant loss of nature's contributions to people. A report specific to Asia-Pacific says biodiversity and ecosystem services contributed to rapid average annual economic growth of 7.6 per cent from 1990 to 2010 in the Asia-Pacific region, benefiting its more than 4.5 billion people. "This growth, in turn, has had varying impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services," said Madhav Karki, co-chair of the Asia-Pacific assessment, with Sonali Senaratna Sellamuttu. "The region's biodiversity faces unprecedented threats, from extreme weather events and sea level rise, to invasive alien species, agricultural intensification and increasing waste and pollution." The report says that although there has been an overall decline in biodiversity, there have also been some important biodiversity successes including, for example, increase in protected areas. Over the past 25 years, marine protected areas in the region increased by almost 14 per cent and terrestrial protected area by 0.3 per cent. Forest cover increased by 2.5 per cent, with the highest increases in North East Asia (22.9 per cent) and by South Asia (5.8 per cent). There are concerns, however, that these efforts are insufficient to halt the loss of biodiversity and the decline in the value of nature's contributions to people in the region. Sounding an alarming note, the report says climate change is also impacting species distributions, population sizes, and the timing of reproduction and migration. Increased frequencies of pest and disease outbreaks resulting from these changes may have additional negative effects on agricultural production and human well-being, with impacts projected to worsen. New Delhi, March 23 : Communications Minister Manoj Sinha on Friday said fair and healthy competition in the long run benefits businesses as well as consumers and the economy as a whole. Delivering the valedictory address at the International Competition Network (ICN)'s 17th Annual Conference 2018, the Minister said competition is a catalyst for change and when it works well, the consumers are well informed as well as fully empowered. Stating that competition has a positive impact on the economy at large, the Minister said: "Fair competition also leads to innovation because if a company is the sole player in a monopolistic market, there is hardly any rational or incentive for it to innovate and drive improvements in its products and services." Sinha added that collective enforcement is the need of the hour in the globalised world. The three-day ICN Annual Conference was organised by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) from March 21-23 in the national capital which brought together more than 520 delegates from 73 countries. McMaster said in a statement, "After 34 years of service to our nation, I am requesting retirement from the U.S. Army effective this summer, after which I will leave public service." A White House official said Trump and McMaster "mutually agreed" that the career military officer would resign his post and retire. "The two have been discussing this for some time," according to the official. "The timeline was expedited as they both felt it was important to have the new team in place, instead of constant speculation. This was not related to any one moment or incident, rather it was the result of ongoing conversations between the two." In a tweet Thursday evening, Trump announced that Army Lt. General H.R. McMaster will be succeeded by John Bolton, who is a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and currently an analyst on the conservative Fox News Channel. U.S. President Donald Trump is replacing his national security adviser, the latest in a number of recent high-level staff changes coming 14 months into his term. Released in a Tweet Trump, in his statement released at the time of his tweet, said the career military officer had helped "develop our America First National Security Strategy, revitalize our alliances in the Middle East, smash ISIS, bring North Korea to the table, and strengthen our nations prosperity. This work and those achievements will ensure that America builds on its economic and military advantages." White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, who is a retired army general, said McMaster had developed options for the president and ensured that those options were presented "fully and fairly." Bolton, who also was Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security from 2001-2005, is regarded as a hardliner and interventionist on matters of foreign policy and defense. He has recently advocated a first strike on North Korea and pulling out of the nuclear deal with Iran. In an interview on Fox News shortly after the announcement, Bolton said a national security adviser should make sure "the president has the full range of options presented to him." But when the decision is made by the president, the national security adviser should be the main implementer and not "sit on" decisions they dont like, he added. Bolton "is one of the strongest voices and experts on the full range of national security issues and challenges facing the country," according to a White House statement. Bolton has long been a polarizing figure in Washington and there was near instantaneous strong emotional reaction on social media. Immediate Reaction President and CEO Michael Breen of the Truman Project, a nonprofit that advocates on national security and foreign policy issues, said in a statement, "John Boltons consistent, public, and remarkably unashamed response to nearly every international crisis -- including Iraq in 2002 and both Iran and North Korea at present -- has been to call for war. He will now serve a president desperately lacking in impulse control, judgment, and national security experience." Others also are lamenting the choice. Fans of Bolton's tough talk are rejoicing, however, including thriller novelist Brad Thor. James Carafano of the conservative Heritage Foundation said Bolton would be a strong adviser to the Trump administration, which must determine the future of the Iran nuclear deal and the possibility of upcoming talks with North Korea. Carafano said Trump's national security team during the administrations first year "ably handled both crisis and long-term planning. In particular they produced a sound national security strategy and policies to deal with all the major security challenges. General McMaster was a key part of that team and we should all be grateful for his service." He said Bolton would also be a strong supporter for the badly needed reforms at the UN being advanced by current U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley. Bolton had been mentioned as a possible secretary of state after Trump's surprise election victory in 2016. But news reports quoted Trump associates speculating that it was the former diplomats bristle-brush white mustache, not his credentials, that had disqualified him. There had been renewed speculation in recent months that Bolton might finally earn a place in the president's inner orbit and replace either Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (who is being succeeded by Mike Pompeo, who is currently the director of the Central Intelligence Agency) or McMaster. Asked last week whether there might be more changes after five high-profile departures in a two-week period, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders noted that Kelly had spoken with staff and assured them there were "no immediate personnel changes at this time." McMaster is to stay on until mid-April "to ensure a smooth transition," a White House official said. New Delhi, March 23 : The CISF has caught a Canadian national for entering the airport here on a fake ticket, an official said on Friday. Kushminder Singh Bains was held on Thursday after Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel noticed him roaming suspiciously around the check-in area and "trying to go out of the terminal building of the Indira Gandhi International Airport. "On enquiry, Bains revealed that he gained access to the terminal building on a cancelled ticket of a flight bound for Toronto to see off his grandmother," CISF Assistant Inspector General Hemendra Singh said. Bains has been handed over to Delhi Police for further legal action. New Delhi, March 23 : The Delhi Police on Friday ordered a lathi charge here on thousands of JNU students and teachers, who were marching towards Parliament protesting against removal of several department heads and a coordinator for not complying with the universitys new attendance rules. The police action took place this afternoon in south Delhi's INA area when the demonstrators, belonging to the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students' union and teachers' association clashed with the police, who tried to stop their march, calling it violation of law. In the melee, several demonstrators and media persons suffered injuries as the police initially used water cannons to stop their movement followed by a lathi charge. According to the demonstrators, the police were stopping them from marching towards Parliament as they were not granted permission for the protest programme. "As per schedule, we organised a 'padyatra' (walk) to Parliament. But the police stopped us at INA. They told us that we have permission to protest only at INA and that moving towards Parliament without prior permission is illegal," a demonstrator said. Senior Delhi Police officials could not be reached over phone for their comments on the clash. The JNU teachers are protesting against the removal of several department heads and a coordinator for not complying with the university's new attendance rules, and a number of them are on a hunger strike. The association said the university's administration has not reached out to the faculty members who have been on the hunger strike for the past three days. It has also demanded that the management withdraw its notification removing the department heads and other circulars issued without consulting relevant university authorities. The association also criticised the JNU administration over what it called "selective inaction" by the university against a professor accused of sexual harassment. Paris, March 23 : A gunman was shot dead after killing at least two people in a hostage situation at a supermarket in a southern French town on Friday in what officials treated as "an act of terror". The incident unfolded in the morning at a Super U supermarket in Trebes town where the attacker opened fire and held several people hostage. Police stormed into the supermarket leading to a standoff that lasted about three hours, CNN reported. Reports said the gunman, who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terror group, killed two hostages before he was shot dead by the police. "The hostage-taker has been shot down," Interior Minister GArard Collomb said on his Twitter account. Later in a press conference, Collomb identified the alleged assailant as a 26-year-old common criminal and small-time drug dealer. Earlier in the day the same man had shot at a group of police officers in city of Carcassonne, injuring one. The gunman, believed to be a Moroccan and reportedly known to French intelligence services, was said to be heavily armed and asked for the release of Salah Abdeslam, the key surviving suspect in the 2015 Paris attacks which killed 130 people. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Twitter that all information about the supermarket attack pointed to "an act of terror". The Paris prosecutor's office said it was opening an investigation into a "terrorist act", as well as murder and attempted murder. French President Emmanuel Macron, who was in Brussels at an EU leaders' summit, described the hostage incident as a "terror attack" and said he would return to the country promptly. "Everything leads us to believe that it is indeed a terror attack which is, as I said, still ongoing. The police ... intervened in a very coordinated manner after what was first an attack against police officers," Macron said at a press conference alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel. France has been hit with several deadly terror attacks since 2015 and has been on high alert since. A state of Emergency put in place after the 2015 attacks in Paris was lifted in October. Thiruvananthapuram, March 23 : Left Front-backed candidate M.P. Veerendra Kumar on Friday won the Rajya Sabha by-election from Kerala by securing a huge margin against Congress candidate Babu Prasad. Kumar, who resigned the seat in the Rajya Sabha after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar joined hands with the BJP, contested the seat after shifting from the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). The 80-year-old Kumar, a former Union Minister and newspaper baron, secured 89 votes as against 40 that Babu Prasad got. Counting that was supposed to begin at 5 p.m, took place after a delay of 50 minutes with the UDF leaders complaining that as per the guidelines three parties -- Communist Party of India, NCP and Janata Dal-United -- failed to appoint their agents and that their votes should not be counted. In the 140-member house, one seat is vacant following the death of a legislator. One vote of the LDF was declared invalid. Six legislators of the Kerala Congress (Mani), who currently sit as an independent block, the lone BJP legislator O. Rajagopal and independent legislator P.C. George did not vote. The LDF met here early this month and offered the seat which Kumar himself had resigned in December, after his party JD-U decided to end its alliance with the Congress-led UDF. Kumar and his party remained part of the LDF till 2009 but shifted to the UDF camp after he was denied his sitting Lok Sabha seat of Kozhikode. His party nominee was given a Cabinet post when the Oommen Chandy government assumed office in 2011. Kumar lost the 2014 Lok Sabha polls by over one lakh votes and since then he was unhappy with the UDF too. However, the UDF kept him happy by offering him a Rajya Sabha seat in 2016. wHEN he decided to quit the UDF, he put in his resignation in December last year. "More than winning, I am happy that I am back with the LDF," said Kumar soon after arriving at the CPI-M headquarters here and was greeted by General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and state party secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. Shillong, March 23 : Champion Sangma, "Chairman" of the outlawed Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA), a rebel group fighting for a Garoland in western Meghalaya, walked out of jail on Friday after the Supreme Court ordered his release. "He (Champion) was released (from Shillong district jail) this afternoon. He is with his relatives now," Sangma's legal counsel Sujit Dey told IANS. On Tuesday, a division bench of the Supreme Court comprised of Justices A.K. Sikri and Ashok Bhushan, while passing the order on a writ petition filed by Sangma against the state, set aside the order passed by the additional district magistrate (judicial) allowing an application made by the prosecution against Sangma's release. The bench noted that the application for the rejection of Sangma's bail application was defective as Sangma had never filed any bail application. Sangma, one of the most-wanted Garo rebel leaders, was arrested from Umkrem Pyrwdiwah axis on the edge of the India-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya`s East Khasi Hills district on July 30, 2012. Prior to his arrest by Meghalaya Police, the GNLA Chairman was captured by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) commandos on November 23, 2011 from his hideout at Haluaghat in Bangladesh`s Mymensingh district. Sangma is accused in over 30 criminal cases. In 2011, a first information report was filed against him but Sangma was not arrested because he was on the run, according to the prosecution. Sangma was declared an absconder and a chargesheet was filed in 2012. He moved the Supreme Court alleging that the police had implicated him in different cases. Sangma, a former Deputy Superintendent of Police, deserted Meghalaya Police and floated the outlawed GNLA in November 2009 for a separate Garoland to be carved out of Meghalaya. The Centre has declared the GNLA as a "terrorist organisation" under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. New Delhi, March 23 : Going by the defiance of the ancient disease despite advancements in medical science, the bacteria may persist in several Indians even beyond 2025 -- the deadline set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to eradicate tuberculosis from the country. Day before the World Tuberculosis Day on March 24, the Prime Minister set the deadline to eradicate the epidemic from India, which accounts for 25 per cent of the global tuberculosis cases. This is five years ahead of the 2030 deadline set by other countries. "Globally, TB incidence is falling at about 2 per cent per year. This needs to accelerate to a 4-5 per cent annual decline to reach the 2020 milestones of the 'End TB Strategy'. Ending the TB epidemic by 2030 is among the health targets of the Sustainable Development Goals," said World Health Organization (WHO) on its website. TB is one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide. In 2016, 10.4 million people fell ill with TB and 1.7 million died. Over 95 per cent of TB deaths occur in low-income and middle-income countries. Seven countries account for 64 per cent of the total, with India leading the count, as per WHO. While the Indian government has given itself an ambitious target and taken several steps to reach it, including jail terms for doctors, hospitals and chemists if they fail to report TB cases, the country is facing the threat of rise in multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Though the number of new cases has been falling for some years, multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) remains a public health crisis and a health security threat. "India accounts for about a quarter of the global TB burden. Worldwide India is the country with the highest burden of both TB and MDR TB. Over the period of years, it is observed that not all tuberculosis cases are new patients. Significant patients present to us with recurrence or relapse of tubercular infection," said Dr Sandeep Nayar, Senior Consultant and HOD, Respiratory Department, BLK Super Speciality Hospital. However, tuberculosis is curable and preventable. "The treatment is a lengthy one but most patients who take medications in a proper way can beat the disease effectively," said Dr Puneet Khanna, Senior Consultant & Head, Respiratory Medicine Intervention Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine, Aakash Healthcare Super Speciality Hospital. The disease spreads through air and the symptoms include cough, fever, weight loss, chest pain, and fatigue. "Early diagnosis can cure TB completely. The complete course of TB treatment is minimum 6 months. In certain cases, patients do not respond to the commonly used TB treatment. There is an increase in MDR TB patients in last few years. Prevalence of MDR TB is almost 4-7 per cent," said Dr Salil Bendre, Chest Physician, Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital. Tuberculosis is one of the oldest and serious illnesses known to mankind, which, despite advances in medicine and vaccination, continues to cause high mortality. "We are already seeing a rise in the number of Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) and Extremely Drug Resistant (XDR)-tuberculosis. Such cases are extremely difficult to treat and are a major cause of mortality," said Dr Pradeep Mahajan, Regenerative Medicine Researcher, StemRx Bioscience Solutions Pvt Ltd. "The need of the hour is newer treatment modalities that target the disease from an unconventional angle. Cell-based therapy/ immunotherapy is one such modality wherein cells from ones' own body may be used to treat TB," said Mahajan. Dr Animesh Arya, Sr Consultant in Respiratory Medicine, Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute said, "It is advisable to maintain a good immunity and avoid coming into contact with people having tuberculosis. Few basic hygiene practices should be adopted like covering their mouth while coughing, refrain from spitting in public areas and to follow proper medication regimen." Further, as per Dr Sweta Gupta Clinical Director and Sr Consultant - Fertility Solutions, Medicover Fertility, tuberculosis causes tubal damage, resulting in rigid, pipe-like tubes which further impairs transport of egg from the ovary. When endometrium is damaged due to TB, it may lead to recurrent implantation failure, miscarriage, and recurrent pregnancy loss. Kochi, March 23 : Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Friday batted for the country to have a revolution in education and skill building and bringing talent back from abroad. Currently teaching finance at University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, Rajan said: "We are not as global as we should be". "Too many of our people are too poorly educated or skilled to compete in a globalised tech-enabled economy. If we don't do that we will end up with a two-tier economy of a few 'haves' and a vast population of 'have-nots', which is neither socially stable nor desirable," said Rajan during a keynote address outlining his vision for India at the #FUTURE Global Digital Summit organiSed by the Kerala government here. Accelerating the pace of growth and technology adoption was what he emphasised on during his half-hour talk. "Even as we improve infrastructure and logistics through the massive investments that we envisage, we have to recognise that the export-led growth path is closing quickly, partly as a result of political movements in the West to build tariff walls, and partly because technology is allowing them to bring back the jobs into their country through customised machine-based programmes utilising less labour," he said. He also warned that the global economic recovery is likely to be hit if the trade war intensifies between the US and China and wished better sense prevails. According to him, politics is one of the reasons that change does not happen fast enough. "Any change hurts the incumbents and those incumbents strike back. Today the mood against trade is often really a disguised move against technology. You can't proceed against technology, but you can against trade. Ultimately the cause is the loss of jobs." "India needs to join the global supply chains sooner rather than later, so we have positions there that we can defend," he said, adding that "we need to keep a focused tariff regime to be able to do so". New Delhi, March 23 : Police on Friday used water-cannon guns and batons to stop a march to Parliament by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students and teachers, demanding the arrest of a professor accused of sexual harassment and protesting the privatisation of education and compulsory attendance rules. The rally of around 500 students and teachers from the JNU campus was halted near INA Market in south Delhi where barricades were created to stop the protestors from marching ahead. Police said the protestors didn't have permission to take out the demonstration and were asked to return to the campus. However, they didn't relent and started storming the barricades, a police officer said, adding the police then used batons and water cannons to disperse the protestors. "Several people were injured in police action," the officer said. The JNU Students Union which had called for the march alleged that some women students were manhandled by police and their clothes were even torn. Congress MP Sushmita Dev and CPI-M leader Brinda Karat also joined the protesting teachers and students. "We are supporting the movement, be it sexual harassment case or educative reforms. The authorities don't understand that attendance cannot be a parameter to judge a scholar or a researcher's academic capabilities," Dev said. Brinda Karat said it was "shameful" for JNU Vice Chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar was supporting an accused in sexual harassment cases "who has got eight complaints against him". "The students took to streets because they got no justice from the university," Karat said. The university teachers and students have been protesting for the past many days over several issues and have been demanding the removal of the accused professor. The professor was arrested on Tuesday but was released on bail hours later. He has claimed innocence, alleging that complaints against him was a political conspiracy to tarnish his image. On Monday, the students clashed with the cops near Vasant Kunj police station. They have refused to attend classes until action was taken against Professor Atul Johri of the Department of Life Sciences. The teachers are also protesting against the removal of several department heads and a coordinator for not complying with the university's new attendance rules. A number of them are on a hunger strike. The association said the university's administration has not reached out to the faculty members who have been on the hunger strike for the past three days. They have demanded immediate withdrawal of notifications replacing chairpersons who were opposed to implementing compulsory attendance. Lucknow, March 23 : In a nail biting finish, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to get all its nine candidates in the Rajya Sabha polls elected from Uttar Pradesh on Friday. Soon after the results were clear, state BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey said it was a victory of democracy and would boost development-oriented politics in the state. The BJP candidates were Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, national general secretary Anil Jain, spokesman GVL Narasimha Rao, Vijay Pal Tomar, Kanta Kardam, Ashok Bajpai, Harnath Yadav, Sakaldeep Rajbhar and Anil Agarwal. Samajwadi Party (SP)'s Jaya Bachchan was also elected to the upper House for her straight fourth term. The victory of all the nine BJP candidates is being seen in political circles, especially in the ruling party, as a sweet revenge over the sudden coming together of the arch rivals SP and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which together defeated the BJP in the recent Phulpur and Gorakhpur parliamentary bypolls. Mayawati was heavily depending on the SP's nine votes, Congress's seven and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD)'s one vote and was expecting that with the help of "secular forces", she would be able to push her lone candidate Bhim Rao Ambedkar to the finishing line. Her own party legislator Anil Singh, however, threw a spanner in her calculations as he voted on the voice of the "antaratma" (inner voice) and sided with the BJP. BSP legislator Mukhtar Ansari was also barred by the Allahabad High Court from taking part in the poll process, making the BSP poorer by another vote. SP MLA Hari Om Yadav also could not vote for being in jail. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath camped in the Vidhan Sabha building all through the day monitoring the voting and was reportedly working the wires to ensure that "all was going as planned". SP's Aman Mani Tripathi also sided with the BJP, but Kunda legislator Raghuraj Pratap Singh aka Raja Bhaiyya, however, declared that he had voted with the SP. His hatred for Mayawati, who jailed him and his father during one of her tenures, is well known. He said he was voting for the SP and not the BSP candidate. His meeting after the vote with the Chief Minister, however, triggered speculations on whether he had switched loyalties. But, this was not to be, finally. Counting of votes was earlier held up for two hours after complaints were raised on balloting process. The voting began earlier in the day at 9.00 a.m and 400 legislators cast their votes up to 4.00 p.m. Uttar Pradesh Assembly has 403 members. Apart from Mukhtar Ansari and Hari Om Yadav who could not vote for being in jail, there was also no one to vote from the Noorpur assembly seat in Bijnore, as it lies vacant following the death of BJP MLA Lokendra Pratap Singh. The Congress and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) had extended their support to BSP candidate Bhim Rao Ambedkar. Like BSP's Anil Singh, Nishad Party legislator Vijay Mishra and SP's Nitin Agarwal also openly broke ranks with their parties and voted for the BJP. All four legislators of the Suhaildev Bahujan Samaj Party (SBSP) which is an ally of the BJP voted for it. Travel Insured International is excited to announce they have been named a Best Place to Work in Connecticut by The Hartford Business Journal! This thirteenth annual program was created by the Hartford Business Journal and Best Companies Group. This survey and awards program was designed to identify, recognize, and honor the best employers in Connecticut, benefiting the states economy, workforce, and businesses. The list is made up of 45 companies split into two categories: 27 small/medium-sized companies (15-199 US employees) and 18 large-sized companies (200 or more US employees). Travel Insured International has been named Best Place to Work in Connecticut in the small/medium category. Companies from across the state entered the two-part survey process including fulfillment of a full set of prerequisites to determine the Best Places to Work in Connecticut. The first part consisted of evaluating each companys workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems, and demographics. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final ranking. Best Companies Group managed the overall registration and survey process in Connecticut, analyzed the data, and determined the final rankings. The ranked companies were recognized at a special awards ceremony in February, and the actual rankings will can be viewed in the March issue of the Hartford Business Journal here. TIIs achievement of this award was the result of the hard work, inspiration, and dedication of its employees and supports Crum & Forsters top company goal of being a great place to work. About Travel Insured: Founded in 1994 by Peter Gehris, Travel Insured International is one of the leading travel insurance providers, offering the highest quality worldwide travel insurance protection for over 20 years. Located in Glastonbury, Connecticut, the company offers an array of travel insurance protection benefits including Emergency Assistance and Evacuation, Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption Protection, Medical Insurance, Baggage Insurance, Airline Ticket Protection, and more. Travel Insured maintains relationships with specialty travel providers and tour operators, as well as provides 24/7 insurance assistance that allows you to travel relaxed, travel secure, and travel insured. Travel Insured International 855 Winding Brook Drive Glastonbury, CT Former president Lee Myung-bak was arrested just after the midnight Thursday on charges of corruption. A court approved the arrest warrant eight days after he was grilled by prosecutors over allegations of bribery, embezzlement and amassing illegal slush funds. Lee is the fourth former president to be arrested. Prosecutors escorted him from his grace-and-favor residence in Gangnam late Thursday night and transported him to a remand jail on the outskirts of Seoul. He is being held in a different remand jail from the one where his successor Park Geun-hye awaits sentencing for corruption and abuse of power. Seoul Central District Court judge Park Beom-seok, who reviewed the arrest warrant, said there was a risk of "destruction of evidence considering the gravity of the crime and circumstances revealed during the investigation" that justify Lee's confinement. Lakewood: Reggie and Anita's Camelot: a little book about a truly blessed paradise, a place of solace for two people who are eternal soul mates. Lakewood: Reggie and Anita's Camelot is the creation of published author, Reggie Hill. Reggie and his wife, Anita, attended school together from First Grade to graduation. They were married forty-seven years ago when Reggie served in the US Army Security Agency. They spent their first two years of marriage in Japan. They loved the culture and Japanese people. Anita has been a teacher, banker, and real estate professional. Reggie has had successful careers as a technology consultant, professor, and financial advisor. Anita's hobbies are growing orchids and bird watching. Reggie enjoys fishing, writing poetry, and, as of late, learning how to play the mandolin and banjo. They enjoy dividing their time between their farm, Lakewood, in the North Carolina Piedmont and their stone cottage, Cranberry, in the North Carolina Mountains. Both Reggie and Anita love to travel. They have taken many wonderful and memorable trips over the years. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Reggie Hills new book unveils a place of precious dreams and memories. The author sincerely hopes that this little book brings you peace and solace in this wonderful, but sometimes hectic, world and you can share in experiencing the magic of Lakewood. Lakewood is about the wonderful place that Reggie and Anita call home. This special place was passed to Reggie and Anita from Reggies mother who inherited it from her wonderful grandparents. Lakewood is not just a pristine lake surrounded by a mixture of beautiful trees and rolling pasture. It is a place of solace and a dream. Over the past thirty-seven years, Reggie and Anita have shared Lakewood with family and friends. They have built lasting memories and had wonderful adventures. Lakewood: Reggie and Anita's Camelot recounts their memorable experiences with wild animals, pets, and everything the couple experienced at their home. View a synopsis of Lakewood: Reggie and Anita's Camelot on YouTube. Consumers can purchase Lakewood: Reggie and Anita's Camelot at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about Lakewood: Reggie and Anita's Camelot, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hodnett Cooper Real Estate is pleased to announce that Melanie Barger has recently joined the team of professionals at the St. Simons Island Ocean Boulevard location. Barger is a newly licensed professional, but began her real estate career in 2016, as the Executive Assistant to Roy Hodnett, founder of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hodnett Cooper Real Estate. Since childhood, Melanie Barger has loved introducing people to the beauty of the Golden Isles and is now excited to share the many special features of the area with her clients in a new setting, as a licensed REALTOR. Barger has extensive background in art and finance which she puts to use for her clients balancing the dream of the potential of a property with the reality of the value. Pat Cooper, President and Broker of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hodnett Cooper Real Estate, shared, Working with Melanie these past few years has been wonderful. Her attention to detail and commitment to a job well done is unsurpassed. Im excited to see her begin and grow her real estate sales career with us. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hodnett Cooper Real Estate, which is independently owned and operated, became a member of the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices brokerage network, operated by HSF Affiliates LLC, earlier this year. Since that time, it has earned a host of honors and welcomed several new professionals to the highly successful real estate team. About Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hodnett Cooper Real Estate Hodnett Cooper Real Estate is a family-owned and operated company with three offices throughout the Golden Isles offering a full range of real estate services including real estate sales, residential rentals, property management and commercial sales. The brokerage is the premier real estate company in southeast coastal Georgia with a professional and diverse team of agents. Visit http://www.BHHSHodnettCooper.com. About Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, based in Irvine, CA, is a brand-new real estate brokerage network built for a new era in residential real estate. The network, among the few organizations entrusted to use the world-renowned Berkshire Hathaway name, brings to the real estate market a definitive mark of trust, integrity, stability and longevity. About HSF Affiliates LLC Irvine, CA-based HSF Affiliates LLC operates Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Prudential Real Estate and Real Living Real Estate franchise networks. The company is a joint venture of which HomeServices of America, Inc., the nations second-largest, full-service residential brokerage firm, is a majority owner. HomeServices of America is an affiliate of world-renowned Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Contact: Catherine Maybank (912) 638-5450 catherine(at)hcrega(dot)com Machu Picchu, Iguassu Falls, and the Atacama Desert are just some of the wonders on offer. These quick, affordable trips are ideal for travellers wanting to see South Americas best sights in a short period of time. Globetrotters feeling the rhythms of Latin America in 2018 will save up to $1160 US on Goways extensive range of Wonders South America tours. Showcasing South Americas most popular countries, with itineraries built around the sights and cities Globetrotters want to see, Wonders is Goways exclusive collection of locally escorted, mid-priced South America vacations focusing on Peru, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, and Ecuador. Itineraries range in length from the 6-day Wonders of Chile, up to 9-day packages combining two or three countries. These include the classic itinerary linking Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aires via Iguassu Falls. These quick, affordable trips are ideal for travellers wanting to see South Americas best sights in a short period of time. A Wonders trip might mean embarking on a classic first-time South America itinerary such as Cuzco and the Sacred Valley en route to Machu Picchu, or it may connect two must-see sights such as Machu Picchu and Iguassu Falls. Adventurous travellers can even choose to go off the popular tourist paths and explore the outdoors in Ecuador or Chile. Globetrotters booking by March 31, 2018 will enjoy savings of up to $1160 US on selected departures across all five Wonders itineraries. Included is all mid-range accommodation, shared transfers, tours as per the itinerary, all entrance fees, English speaking guides, all breakfasts, and some lunches. Eligible departures vary by itinerary, but are available throughout 2018, with final departures on November 10, 2018. Since 1970, Goway has been providing unforgettable travel experiences to Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Central & South America, Idyllic Island destinations and Europe. Today Goway is recognized as one of North America's leading travel companies for individuals, families and groups to select exotic destinations around the globe. Goway has offices in Toronto, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Manila, and Sydney, Australia. For reservations and information, visit http://www.goway.com, or call 1-800-387-8850. Another major advertising platform recognized TurnKey Marketing for excellence in ROI driven marketing. This time, it was for automotive advertising and increasing returns from Facebook advertising for car dealerships anywhere from 2x to 3x ROI. This was the first Facebook Success Story, aka case study, that Facebook has published about an automotive digital marketing agency. Were thrilled to have not just been recognized but being the first automotive ad agency that Facebook chose to feature is a testament to our companys effectiveness for our clients. We are very appreciative of our strong partnership with Facebook, said Drake Baerresen, CMO of TurnKey Marketing. He went on to say, We have a world class team that executes TurnKey Marketings social strategy, I am very proud of our social media team. As Facebooks advertising platform becomes more elaborate, it is important that the core purpose of advertising be fulfilled and not lost in the growing complexity. For automotive dealerships, the core purpose is measurable and transparent ROI. Its absolutely imperative that dealerships can establish a clear ROI on their social advertising. An era of measurable ROI has been ushered in so that dealerships dont get caught up in agency jargon and acronyms with unclear meaning. Instead, dealers can measure how many vehicles they are selling and service business they are generating from Facebook advertising down to the transaction amount. One of the items that made this automotive Facebook Success Story so interesting is how TurnKey Marketing harnessed enhanced data from Oracle and integrated it with dealership data. This sophisticated usage of data caused results to grow exponentially when compared to stand alone data uses. This usage of data and true ROI metrics is just the tip of the iceberg for dealers as TurnKey Marketing continues to find new ways to grow dealership ROI through social marketing and advertising. Learn more about TurnKey Marketing by visiting https://www.tkmkt.com or call (866) 476-7748 or view this Facebook Success Story at https://www.tkmkt.com/turnkey-marketing-facebook-success-story. Cerasis Enterprise Parcel Management Interface The heart of this partnership is providing a holistic over-the-road transportation management solution for shippers. For two decades, Cerasis has continually looked at how we may provide more value for shippers by looking at how technology can aid shippers in reaching overall transportation goals. North American third party logistics (3PL) company, Cerasis, in partnership with Pierbridge, a leading transportation management software development company, announces the addition of multi-parcel carrier shipping management to the Cerasis Rater, a web-based transportation management system (TMS). The addition of multi-carrier shipping options for the parcel mode now empowers shippers to manage transportation of all over-the-road transportation modes within one web-based portal. The Cerasis Rater has supported the ability to manage transportation by processing shipments in the Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) and Full Truckload (FT) transportation modes, and some limited parcel carrier shipping functionality for the last 20 years. Now more multi-parcel carrier options are available, including the big 3 parcel carriers, UPS, FedEx, and the United States Postal Service, as well as regional parcel carriers such as LSO, and same-day delivery services such as Deliv. This mirrors Cerasis longstanding goal of providing shippers with more transportation choices. The power of shippers having over-the-road mode choice within one portal gives them the ability to choose the best carrier for that specific shipment. Within the web-based TMS, the Cerasis Rater, shippers can choose multi-modal carriers based on cost, limit of liability, and transit time. In a first-of-its-kind offering within one TMS, shippers may, in real-time, compare multi-parcel carrier shipping information, such as costs or transit time, to multi-LTL carrier shipping information. Shippers may then choose to move freight with either option depending on what is best for the shipper at that time. The TMS allows the shipper to then book the freight no matter what mode, ensuring that transportation management goals are met. Full features of the multi-parcel carrier shipping solution: Choose from multiple parcel carriers by price and transit time Compare parcel and LTL modes per 100 weight in real-time and choose which is best for your shipment Configure shipping & handling costs in admin mode to ensure proper shipping & handling costs for your customer are added to each shipment In addition to offering all over-the-road modes with the addition of enterprise ground parcel management, Transtream provides access to intercontinental and international air freight services in the Cerasis Rater The new multi-parcel carrier shipping solution within the Cerasis Rater is powered by Pierbridges Transtream technology. Transtream automates cartonization, rating, routing, shipping, tracking, and returns for hundreds of carrier services. "Controlling shipping costs is now a board-level concern, especially with the growth of eCommerce," said Pierbridge CEO Bob Malley. Our partnership with Cerasis will provide Transtream users with more choices to ship anywhere, from anywhere, by any carrier. Cerasis transportation management system technology, expertise, and brokerage services will be a very welcome addition to Transtream's portfolio of carrier services." The partnership of Cerasis and Pierbridge makes natural sense. Both companies are founded on the vision of utilizing technology to solve complex transportation management problems and a shared value of continuous improvement to respond to market demands and user feedback to improve proprietary technology platforms that enable shippers to reduce costs in transportation, a budget which can make up a large majority of supply chain budgets, as well as aid shippers in reducing soft costs by gaining efficiency in shipping processes as well as reduce overall and costly errors. At the heart of this partnership with Pierbridge is providing a holistic over-the-road transportation management solution for shippers in North America, said Steve Ludvigson, co-founder and President of Cerasis. For more than two decades, Cerasis has continually looked at how we may provide more value for shippers by looking at how technology can aid shippers in reaching overall transportation and supply chain goals. The now more robust transportation management technology offering, with the introduction of multi-parcel carrier shipping solutions in this partnership with Pierbridge, powered by Transtream, accompanies the existing transportation technology solutions offered by Cerasis to include: eCommerce solutions for parcel and LTL Transportation visibility thru tracking and automatic alerts Robust reporting and analytics Enterprise visibility and control for cost compliance measures & management Mobile application support Transportation accounting (auditing, invoice consolidation, online access) Carrier rate negotiation and maintenance Connect services to include integration into other supply chain technology, API, web services, and EDI Shippers now have more control, visibility, and management when it comes to transportation management for all over-the-road modes with the Cerasis Rater inclusion of the innovative multi-parcel carrier shipping solution in partnership with Pierbridge, powered by Transtream. Shippers may request a demo of the Cerasis Rater or ask to speak to an Account Executive by visiting Cerasis.com. About Cerasis Founded in 1997, Cerasis is a North American third party logistics company offering transportation management technology solutions & services. The proprietary transportation management system, the Cerasis Rater, allows shippers a web-based portal to book shipments for the over-the-road transportation modes less-than-truckload (LTL), full truckload, and parcel, also known as small package. The Cerasis Rater provides access to invoices online, transportation reports, analytics, and multi-shipping location control. In addition to world class proprietary transportation management technology, Cerasis provides transportation management services with freight claims management, carrier relations management, invoice auditing, and account management for guidance on continuous improvement. About Pierbridge, Inc. Founded in 2004 by an experienced executive team with a proven track record of success in the transportation software industry, Pierbridge is now a global organization with offices in North America, UK, and Europe. Pierbridges Transtream technology powers some of the largest shipping operations in the world. Pierbridge is the only transportation management software that has earned both FedEx Diamond and UPS ConnectShip Platinum partner status for the last three years, in recognition of product excellence and customer adoption. For more information about Pierbridge, visit http://www.pierbridge.com Remarkable architecture, exceptional travel, crave-worthy design and curated fashion ICONIC, the new digital magazine celebrates the art of living beautifully. Features will uncover the stories behind the designers, chefs, hoteliers, innovators and thought leaders. The publication will show the twists and turns of road-trekking through the Canadian Rockies, the lush delicacies at a Bangalore spa and what the ideal art is for dark walls among many other stories. At the helm is industry leader Renee Dee. With more than 30 years of marketing, media and sales success, Dee is an innovator, entrepreneur and trendsetter. ICONIC was born by Dees desire to evolve the media landscape with an innovative approach to audience development with smart, sophisticated content that meets a gap she sees in the market. Dee founded and was the publisher of Arizona Foothills Magazine, her passionate pursuit for ten years. Dee has worked with Porter Novelli, NBC Today Show, Meredith Corporation and others important companies. Dee is enthusiastic about growing businesses through strategic execution, branding, marketing and building an extraordinary team. In addition to her solid business experience, she is passionate about community philanthropy and has received a number of awards and accolades for her service in multiple communities. There is no shortage of passion here, said Dee. After much thought and research, we made the commitment to produce an online magazine that is a game changer for the community and industry. We are excited to launch ICONIC, which will be inspirational, educational and enticing to create reader engagement on a powerful platform. Even more we will be transparent with our numbers, with the industrys top auditing service on board from day one, and editorial integrity is our daily mantra. With new content published daily, ICONIC will give readers insight into design, architecture, style, cuisine, travel and smart narrative on happenings and people. The editorial team will take deep dives to research and uncover hidden secrets, ask provocative questions and celebrate what makes life beautiful. The Iconic Craves will show readers curated items that the editorial team is craving. With beautiful magazine design and stunning photography, the publication will showcase for its readers how to embrace lifes luxuries and live beautifully. Visit https://iconiclife.com/ to read the stories. About ICONIC ICONIC celebrates the art of living beautifully with features on exceptional design, architecture, style, cuisine, travel and living your best life. ICONIC showcases the vibrant people behind the products, the dreams behind the designs and the innovation behind inspiring ideas. ICONICs content is chic, clever and curated for a sophisticated, affluent audience with a penchant for all things stylish and being in the know. For up to date stories and content visit https://iconiclife.com/ or follow the magazine on social media @youriconiclife . Kibler & Kirch owner Jeremiah Young designed news signature pieces for Old Hickory Furniture Company that won his Montana firm Best Interior Design at the Western Design Conference. Its an incredible honor to share in the future direction of this iconic brand, says Young. Old Hickory Furniture Company, the anchor of rustic style, is on the verge of revitalizing its classic image within the interior design world. Welcoming designer Jeremiah Young, owner and design director of venerable Montana interior design firm Kibler & Kirch, as its new creative director, the Indiana maker of handcrafted hickory furniture is forging a bridge with contemporary interior design needs with new furniture designs that are both enduring and fresh. The collaboration began with new pieces Young created for the 2017 Western Design Conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where Kibler & Kirch won the Best Interior Design award for its room in the Designer Show House. That success sparked interest in Young and Old Hickory to pursue a more formal arrangement. Founded in 1899, the Shelbyville, Indiana-based Old Hickory Furniture Company is the American hallmark of rustic style from the Great Camps in the East to the historic lodges of Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks. Popularized for its stylish comfort and durability, Old Hickory products endure in famous interiors from the presidential retreat Camp David and the great dining hall of the Old Faithful Inn to, more recently, the homes of Oprah Winfrey and Robert Redford. And the process of handcrafting each piece of furniture remains very much the same as more than a century ago. Attention to detail, the careful matching of parts, the individual assembly of each piece with mortise and tenon and the meticulous hand-weaving process combine to ensure Old Hickory continues to deliver unmatched quality. Welcoming Jeremiah Young to the Old Hickory team is an exciting partnership that will allow our craftsmen to add more creative signatures to our classic portfolio, says Bob Morrison, Old Hickorys vice president of sales and marketing. As Creative Director, Jeremiah Young will match his design vision with the expert craftsmanship of Old Hickory, providing new collaboration with interior design clients in creating custom furnishings and refreshing signature collections that will be available to customers in the marketplace. Youngs Kibler & Kirch, based in Red Lodge and Billings, Montana, embraces a design philosophy of creating inviting, quality interiors that stand the test of time, an easy fit with the legacy Old Hickory brand, which the firm has often sourced for Kibler & Kirchs mountain homes. Its an incredible honor to be asked to share in the future direction of this iconic brand, says Young with reverence. I know I can add to what Old Hickory does well, but I want to be thoughtful moving forward. A company doesnt stay in business for over a century by trying to be flashy - relevant, yes, and flexible - but timelessness will always be the filter. Jeremiah Young and Old Hickory unveiled their first collaboration at last Septembers Western Design Conference in Jackson Hole, where the prototypes that helped secure the Best Interior Design win for Kibler & Kirch included four pieces: a Molesworth-inspired wingback chair, a table inspired by Navajo blanket designs, a show cabinet, and a carefully scaled secretarys desk. Young is in the process of drawing new prototypes for introduction later this year. As early as the upcoming High Point Market in North Carolina in April, Young and Old Hickory will add new signatures to the historic furniture makers showroom. The partnership is a sign that Old Hickory can honor its roots while looking ahead to the future. For more information on Old Hickory Furniture Company, visit http://www.oldhickory.com. About Jeremiah Youngs Kibler & Kirch: Annually recognized on Mountain Living magazines Top Mountain Designers list, Kibler & Kirch resonates with a distinctive and distinctly Western style through the various branches of the business. Its Billings showroom represents more than 100 companies a carefully curated collection of furnishings and decor ranging from rustic to refined. And the talented design staff brings those resources and deep connections with regional artists and artisans to bear on crafting interiors for clients who range from young professionals and just-marrieds to second-home owners creating luxurious turn-key Rocky Mountain dream home projects. Always, Young and his Kibler & Kirch team create comfortably tasteful living where the spirit of the West meets modern treasures that are built to last. For more information, visit http://www.kiblerandkirch.com. Media Contact: Anne McGregor Parsons, Word PR + Marketing, anne(at)wordprmarketing(dot)com, 307.734.5335 The Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA) Puget Sound Chapters educational session, Avoid the Technology Shiny Object Syndrome and Ensure ROI, will be held on April 10, 2018 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Maggianos Little Italy in Bellevue, Wash. The session will be led by Tim Goggin, CEO of Sappington, an agency that guides leaders in established companies during times of significant technology change. It might sound funny, but the technology shiny object syndrome is a real thing in business, and that includes construction companies. It wastes time, money, and peoples energy, says Goggin. The good news is that it doesnt have to happenand the finance leader is the right person to save the day. According to Goggin, in this world of digital transformation, if construction companies are all over the place when it comes to tech and software investmentsand do not have a clear strategy or plan for how technology will support the business objectivesthey will find it difficult to succeed. During the session, Goggin will share a proven approach for how to ensure a company is on the right path to becoming a connected construction organization. Participants will walk away with ideas to implement, and share with their leaders, and gain tangible tools to make transformation less stressful and more successful. As tax advisors here in San Francisco, we see a lot of frustration with not just the complexity of the tax laws but with the smoke and mirrors of the tax services during tax season. Safe Harbor LLP, recognized as one of the leading accounting firms in San Francisco for tax preparation for both individuals and businesses, is proud to announce a lively post to its blog on the subject of how to choose the best tax service for tax preparation in San Francisco. The secret, in short, is to be systematic and not be fooled by fancy downtown offices. As tax advisors here in San Francisco, we see a lot of frustration with not just the complexity of the tax laws but with the smoke and mirrors of the tax services during tax season, explained Chun Wong, Managing Partner at Safe Harbor LLP. A big, fancy downtown San Francisco office may have little to do with the quality of the tax accounting work; accordingly, our lively blog post helps people think about what would be the best tax service for their own individual needs. To view the post on selecting the best tax service, visit http://www.safeharborcpa.com/individual-tax-preparation-in-san-francisco-choosing-the-best-tax-service-for-2018/. Those persons who are still seeking a tax preparation service should also peruse the page at http://www.safeharborcpa.com/individual-income-tax/, and reach out for a confidential consultation, as no two situations are alike. BEING SYSTEMATIC ABOUT CHOOSING A TAX PREPARATION SERVICE Here is a summary of this release. First, the post explains the very basic fact that this year the tax deadline is April 17, 2018. That means that only a few short weeks remain before taxes must be filed for individuals, or at least extensions requested. All taxes must be paid in full, regardless of whether the return is finalized or not. Second, the post cautions against the flash of fancy downtown San Francisco offices. The knowledge, reputation, and skill of the tax preparer matter much more than the flash of his or her office. Finally, the post explains that one should choose a tax preparation service not just for the one-time tax event, but for the long-term relationship. Income, assets, and taxes - after all - are not a one-time thing, but a long term financial challenge. Those seeking to learn more are urged to read the blog post, and to reach out to a tax advisor in San Francisco for individual assistance. About Safe Harbor LLP a Professional CPA Firm in San Francisco Safe Harbor LLP is a CPA firm that specializes in accounting and tax services for individuals and businesses throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and greater California. Safe Harbor CPAs helps both individuals and businesses with tax preparation, IRS audit defense, and audited financial statements. The firm prides itself on friendly yet professional service and utilizes state-of-the-art Internet technology to provide quality customer service. Safe Harbor CPA http://www.safeharborcpa.com Tel. 415.742.4249 Dress from Luba "They are internationally recognized for redefining the idea of 'boutique luxury' through their premier destinations-a concept that Luba's business is reflected on every day." says Hannah Payne Denver-based designer Hannah Payne has built her budding apparel line on feminine, fashion forward pieces that empower customers with a premium fit and feel. A portion of every purchase from Luba directly goes towards the ongoing support of LOVE Foundation, a charity founded by Payne to create lasting change for women overcoming the cycle of domestic violence. Crafted in New York and Los Angeles and carried in specialty boutiques throughout the country and online, Luba will be popping up in four Valencia Group hotels, spanning from California to Texas. The April road show series will unveil immersive, one-day only Luba mini boutiques in the lobby lounges of San Jose, CAs Hotel Valencia Santana Row (April 12 from 5:308:30 pm), Houstons Hotel Sorella CITYCENTRE (April 18 from 3-7 pm), The George in College Station, TX (April 19 from 5-8 pm) and San Antonios Hotel Valencia Riverwalk (April 20 from 4-8 pm). A percentage of sales from each event will benefit a local womens shelter, and guests will be treated to complimentary craft cocktails and chef-driven bites while shopping. Payne, a graduate of the prestigious Parsons School of Design in New York, began her career with internships at Vogue and under red carpet fixture Naeem Khan. Payne expresses that she chose to partner with Valencia Group as They are internationally recognized for redefining the idea of 'boutique luxury' through their premier destinations a concept that Lubas business is reflected on every day. The Haute Looks, Cool Pop-Up is one of several signature branded experiences that targets Valencia Groups extensive contingent of female business and leisure travelers. Popular initiatives in the past have included Give Us The Shirt Off Your Back career wear drive-in partnership with Dress for Success. About Valencia Group Houston-based Valencia Group is a fully integrated hospitality company that provides management, development, branding and repositioning services for independent, full-service hotels owned by the company, in addition to third parties. Exceptional service, style and location have become brand trademarks. Earning both national and international recognition for their distinctive designs, amenities and settings, Valencia Group properties are destinations and gathering places within their respective communities, some further benefitting from and enriching their space within the cultural heart of a city. The company continues to forge a niche with hotels that anchor and add value to urban, mixed-use environments, which further support or enhance the guest experience with superior residential, restaurant, retail and office components. The Valencia Group portfolio currently includes the Valencia brands: Hotel Valencia Santana Row in San Jose, CA and Hotel Valencia Riverwalk in San Antonio, TX. The Sorella brand includes Hotel Sorella CITYCENTRE in Houston, TX by developer Midway. Other brands include Midway and Valencia Groups The George in College Station, TX and Midways Hotel Alessandra in Houston, TX. The Court concept brands include Lone Star Court in Austin, TX, Cavalry Court in College Station, TX and Texican Court, coming soon to Irving, TX. For more information, please visit http://www.valenciagroup.com About Luba Luba is a female-empowerment label that offers high-end, quality made garments. It is instantly recognizable through its intricate detailing, unique fabrics, and classic silhouettes creating a utopia of style for the everyday woman. Lubas purpose is to inspire women to be whimsical, thoughtful, strong, and of course feminine. Every piece is created with the highest quality of goods, gives back to women through LOVE Foundation, and is constructed with care in the heart of New York City and Los Angeles. https://shopluba.com Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday unveiled the full contents of a constitutional revision proposed by President Moon Jae-in that would shorten presidents' single term in office but make them re-electable. The draft includes a showdown vote to elect the president and limits the president's authority to appoint officials and issue pardons but is noticeably soft on attempts to curb or devolve his powers in other ways, such as granting the National Assembly authority to nominate the prime minister. Cheong Wa Dae delivered the proposed bill to National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun and the Ministry of Government Legislation. It will formally table the bill after a Cabinet meeting next Monday. But there is no chance of it passing since it requires revising the Constitution with a two-thirds majority, which the ruling party's slim margin will be unable to achieve. The opposition parties oppose the government's plan to put the revision to a referendum to coincide with the regional elections next month, which could damage them at the polls because they could be blamed for resisting much-needed change. Opposition lawmakers accused Moon of violating the Constitution by failing to submit the proposed revision for review by the Ministry of Government Legislation and the Cabinet before announcing it. Cho Kuk, the senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, said, "The time has come to adopt a four-year, two-term presidency to realize responsible politics and stable government." But he added that will not apply to Moon himself. Cheong Wa Dae also wants to reduce the minimum voting age to 18 and introduce a run-off vote to elect a president. If no candidate wins an outright majority, the run-off vote would be held within 14 days and the candidate who wins the most votes becomes president. Also the president would no longer be head of state, the Board of Audit and Inspection would become an independent body, and special pardons granted by the president have to be reviewed by a separate committee. But the revision would not strip presidents of their power to appoint the prime minister, Supreme Court and Constitutional Court chief justices and the head of the BAI. On Tuesday, March 27, 2018, Greenberg Traurig LLPs (GT) global Life Sciences & Medical Technology Group will host its 5th MedTech Partnering Day from 8:30 a.m. 2 p.m. at the firms Boston office. The event connects some of New Englands most innovative emerging medtech companies with strategic partners Medtronic and Baxter to maximize opportunities for collaboration, new business development, and market expansion. The program, supported by MassMEDIC and LB Ventures, includes: State of the MedTech Industry keynote by MassMEDIC President Tom Sommer Company presentations by Medtronic and Baxter Panel discussion focused on innovation and M&A trends Products Liability Update lunch presentation One-on-one meetings between the strategic partners and emerging medtech companies Networking opportunities throughout the day This event is expected to gather more than 75 innovators and leaders from across the medical device and technology industries and features the following GT attorneys: David J. Dykeman, Boston patent attorney and shareholder, co-chair of the firms Life Sciences & Medical Technology Group, and co-chair of the firms Intellectual Property (IP) Group in Boston Wayne H. Elowe, shareholder and co-chair of the Corporate Group in Atlanta Evan C. Holden, shareholder in the firms Pharmaceutical, Medical Device & Health Care Litigation Group in Atlanta Additionally, Terence P. McCourt, managing shareholder of the GTs Boston office, will offer welcome remarks. GTs prior MedTech Partnering Days featured representatives from Boston Scientific, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Philips, Sanofi, Smith & Nephew, and ZOLL Medical Corporation, as well as a range of early-stage companies from at least seven different states and Canada, who met with company executives. About Greenberg Traurigs Life Sciences & Medical Technology Group Greenberg Traurigs Life Sciences & Medical Technology Group advises clients ranging from startups to large multinational public companies to leading research institutions. The groups attorneys work closely with clients, providing innovative legal counsel to help them achieve their objectives from discovery through commercialization and product marketing. About Greenberg Traurigs Boston Office Established in 1999, Greenberg Traurigs Boston office is home to over 70 attorneys practicing in the areas of bankruptcy, corporate, emerging technology, energy, governmental affairs, intellectual property, labor and employment, life sciences and medical technology, litigation, public finance, and real estate. An important contributor to the firm's international platform, the Boston office includes a team of nationally recognized attorneys with both public and private sector experience. The team offers clients the value of decades of legal experience and hands-on knowledge of the local business community, supported by the firm's vast network of global resources. About Greenberg Traurig, LLP Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has more than 2,000 attorneys in 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, was named the largest firm in the U.S. by Law360 in 2017, and is among the Top 20 on the 2017 Am Law Global 100. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law. We want districts who choose Clever to have the option of easily incorporating Edgenuity into their existing technological ecosystem. Edgenuity, a leading provider of online curriculum and instructional services for the K-12 market, has announced a partnership with Clever to simplify online learning for todays students. Students at participating schools can now access Edgenuity through Clevers integrated SSO solution that streamlines the login process to save valuable time for teachers and students. Clever will provide an effective way for students to engage with their personalized, rigorous instruction each day, said Sari Factor, CEO of Edgenuity. We want districts who choose Clever to have the option of easily incorporating Edgenuity into their existing technological ecosystem. Together, Clever and Edgenuity are committed to eliminating obstacles in the way of effective student learning. The new partnership will enable easy set-up of new Edgenuity applications, giving students one-click access to their personalized resources. Additional features of the integration include: Single Sign-on: Students can quickly and easily access Edgenuity from the Clever Portal, where they can engage with their curriculum in a variety of ways. Up-to-Date Information: Student data in Edgenuity is kept up-to-date by syncing Edgenuitys database with the districts student information system via Clever. Easy User Management: When student accounts are created, made inactive or transferred to other schools within the district, those updates are reflected in Edgenuity automatically. Currently, half of U.S. K-12 schools connect on Clevers platform to expand opportunity and access for their students through Clevers simplified login process. About Edgenuity Edgenuity is a leading provider of online curriculum and instructional services for the K-12 market. Nationwide, Edgenuity is in use by more than 20,000 schools, including 20 of the 25 largest school districts, to meet academic goals and improve student outcomes. We offer initial credit courses, honors and Advanced Placement courses, credit recovery, intervention and test readiness. These solutions, in addition to Edgenuitys instructional services and professional development offerings, help students, educators and districts achieve success in their online and blended learning programs. For more information, visit Edgenuity.com. About Clever Clever was founded in 2012 by educators and technologists who knew that widely available educational apps could improve both teaching and learning, but that tools to deploy and secure the applications were simply unavailable. Today, over 300 application partners and half of K-12 schools in the U.S. trust Clever to secure their student data as they adopt learning apps in the classroom. In 2014, Clever won the Crystal Clear award by the Digital Innovation Learning Awards. It is also the trusted provider of the American Federation of Teachers, who uses Clever to secure its own Share my Lesson platform with its teacher members. Backed by Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Partners, Peter Thiels Founders Fund, and GSV Capital, Clever currently has 100 employees and is based in San Francisco, California. For more information visit http://www.clever.com. Snap. Spin. Cash In. GameIQ, the brains behind Spindy, is thrilled to announce the companys partnership with The Goods. The deal-delivering duo is combining forces to offer San Diego businesses the ultimate marketing package, while at the same time delivering high-value, fun opportunities to San Diegans. Starting in March 2018, The Goods will feature Spindy businesses, connecting the people of San Diego with fun opportunities to experience new restaurants, shopping excursions, and activities; and Spindy businesses will get to connect with the 150,000 locals who follow The Goods. When I first learned about Spindys platform and experienced the fun of spinning and getting cash back myself, I immediately thought that this would be a great fit for the audience of The Goods, said Sean Monzet, NBC 7s Director of Integrated Media. Our goal is to provide San Diegans with information to help them enjoy Americas Finest City to the fullest. The partnership with Spindy helps introduce our audience to new restaurants and local merchants while giving them the opportunity to get cash back on their purchases. Spindy is an app that allows business owners to connect with their customers using innovative gamification technology thats setting a whole new standard when it comes to marketing. When the consumer makes a purchase at a participating store, they can upload their receipt to the Spindy app for an opportunity to get cash back. The customer spins a wheel, becoming a player invested in the experience with a chance to receive up to 100% of their purchase. Balazs Wellisch, CEO of GameIQ noted the customer engagement value of Spindy, When people get rewards through us, they are celebrating and high-fiving each other. You dont create that experience with punch cards. Visit http://www.spindyapp.com/thegoods, email marketing(at)spindyapp.com, or call 619-363-4030, to learn more about the partnership. About The Goods The Goods is NBC 7 San Diegos audience reward program, connecting local businesses with its audience, including over 150,000 members who subscribe to receive information about weekend events, special offers, and updates on the local dining scene. Each day, members save big with coupons, deals, and the opportunity to receive cash back with Spindy. About GameIQ GameIQ is the proud originator of Spindy the marketing solution that generates ultimate consumer engagement with every spin. Participating businesses experience 100% conversion with each use, and consumers get to spin to get up to 100% of their purchase. This unique gaming experience is fun for customers, and makes an impression that begs to be shared. Become a participating retailer, or download the app at http://www.spindyapp.com. Oral surgeon in San Francisco Young adults can let personal health issues slide because mom and dad arent there to schedule appointments and take them to a doctor or dentist. San Francisco oral surgeon, Dr. Alex Rabinovich, is proud to release a new blog post for the 20-something generation in the Bay Area focused on responsibly managing wisdom teeth extraction issues. The post argues that managing the time and cost for wisdom teeth removal may be part of being a young adult. Young adults can let personal health issues slide because mom and dad arent there to schedule appointments and take them to a doctor or dentist, explained Dr. Alex Rabinovich. Wisdom teeth need to be evaluated regardless of pain as very often significant damage can be done to gums and adjacent teeth. The best course of action is to have an evaluation with an oral surgeon to determine whether the wisdom teeth can be left alone or need to be removed. This new post addresses the importance of wisdom tooth pain and how to take care of it, up to and including when to consider a wisdom teeth extraction in San Francisco. Interested persons can review the blog post on wisdom teeth removal and associated costs by visiting: http://www.oralsurgery-sf.com/2018/02/cost-wisdom-tooth-removal-met-somehow-leaving-cost/. Those seeking even more information on wisdom teeth removal can visit http://www.oralsurgery-sf.com/wisdom-teeth/, and those who may need dental implants can visit the sister website at http://www.sfdentalimplants.com/our-advantage/. It should be noted that, if required, wisdom teeth extraction can be done painlessly with the patient asleep under general anesthesia, and postoperative discomfort can be reduced significantly with careful surgical technique and Exparel medication. ADULTING IN SAN FRANCISCO: MILLENNIALS MANAGING WISDOM TEETH REMOVAL COSTS Here is the background for this release. San Francisco can have a reputation as a place for youth culture. From the 1960s to the present, young adults have flocked to the Bay Area's most prestigious city for many reasons. Recent young adults, called millennials, have helped create a type of hipster culture in the area. Many could be living away from parents and exercising adult behaviors for the first time. Starting a job and making friends with other grown-ups could be part of the new lifestyle. New responsibilities can take shape such as personally paying for rent, groceries and healthcare. If a young adult did not experience wisdom teeth removal while at home, the cost may fall on their shoulders. Learning to be responsible for tooth pain and scheduling a consultation with a top Bay Area oral surgeon might be a very adult action to take. For this reason, San Francisco oral surgeon Dr. Alex Rabinovich, has released a new blog post specific to young adults. Ignoring pain from wisdom teeth could cause health problems. San Francisco Bay Area millennials managing adulthood for the first time may need to consider the long-term effects of avoiding a responsibility such as wisdom tooth extraction. Instead, scheduling a quick consult with a skilled oral surgeon can be a mature choice. If the cost of wisdom teeth removal is a concern, various billing plans can help make monthly payments affordable. Young adults still under the health plans of parents can find wisdom tooth removal cheaper than expected. Millennials in the San Francisco may still have growing up to do. Taking responsibility for oral health by scheduling a consult for removing wisdom teeth may be part of the path to responsible adulthood. ABOUT ORAL SURGERY SAN FRANCISCO Oral Surgery San Francisco is located in the Financial District of the City. Under the direction of Dr. Alex Rabinovich, a Board Certified Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon specializing in the field of oral surgery. This additional training, along with his years of experience, sets Alex Rabinovich MD DDS apart from the growing number of general dentists offering oral surgery and other dental procedures. The cost of oral surgery can expensive and the clinic accepted over forty types of insurance plans from Bay Area employers. Procedures include wisdom teeth extraction, jaw surgery and dental implants. Oral Surgery San Francisco serves all neighborhoods in the city of San Francisco including Pacific Heights, Russian Hill and Noe Valley. Contact Media Relations Tel. (415) 817-9991 San Benito, Harlingen, Brownsville Car Accident Attorneys Working as we do with the hard-working residents of Brownsville, Harlingen, San Benito, and all of Cameron County, we highly value our client's security. The Villarreal Law Firm, one of the leading teams of car accident attorneys serving Brownsville, Harlingen, San Benito and all of Cameron County, Texas, is proud to announce its website transition to the secure "https" format on the world wide web. The transition is part of an ambitious website upgrade project. "Working as we do with the hard-working residents of Brownsville, Harlingen, San Benito, and all of Cameron County, we highly value our client's security," explained attorney Javier Villarreal, managing partner at the law firm. "By transitioning our website to the more secure 'https' format, we are helping to safeguard information on the website. The last things someone who is searching for a car accident attorney in Brownsville, Harlingen, or San Benito needs is a website security issue." A TRANSITION TO A BETTER WEBSITE The new "https" website is a relatively invisible transition to the average searcher. For example, a search on Google or Bing for "Brownsville Car Accident Attorney" may bring up the website's home page at https://www.jvlawfirm.net/ which replaces the older non-secure "http" format. Or, a search for either "Harlingen Auto Accident Attorney" or "San Benito Personal Injury Attorney" might take one to either https://www.jvlawfirm.net/practice-items/auto-accidents/ or https://www.jvlawfirm.net/practice-items/personal-injury/. Finally, it should be noted as part of the transition that the firm has a new "site map" at https://www.jvlawfirm.net/directions/. Any person seeking a personal injury attorney, of course, is advised to visit the website first and then reach out for a consultation with an attorney. ABOUT THE VILLARREAL LAW FIRM The law firm of Javier Villarreal offers a team of attorneys, considered among the best personal injury attorneys in Brownsville, Texas, and surrounding cities in Cameron County. Whether a person is looking for an auto or car accident attorney, a lawyer with deep experience in trucking accidents and litigation (including 18 wheelers), or a lawyer for injuries that resulted from motorcycles, boating, or other forms of accidents (including slip and fall), the Villarreal team of attorneys can help. The attorneys fight for client rights throughout Cameron County - and are known as the top personal injury lawyers in Brownsville and Harlingen, from Los Fresnos to San Benito, and in all of South Padre Island. Web. https://www.jvlawfirm.net/ Tel. 956-544-4444. Bureau of Automotive Repair letters can seem to have a rather harsh emphasis. Automotive Defense Specialists, a law firm of defense attorneys working against the Bureau of Automotive Repair and in favor of SMOG and STAR station owners in California, is proud to announce a new blog post. The post focuses on the important, though nuanced, issue of tone. Bureau of Automotive Repair letters can seem to have a rather harsh emphasis. If a mom and pop auto shop has received a SMOG citation letter or potential violation in the state's STAR program, it can feel like theyve already been tried in court, explained attorney William Ferreira of Automotive Defense Specialists. We can help defend against the accusation and help get auto shops the respect they deserve. To review the new Automotive Defense blog post for STAR program citation go to http://automotivedefense.com/tag/bureau-of-automotive-repair-defense/. The post explains that an accusation letter from the Bureau of Automotive Repair may not be the end of a valuable SMOG program for an auto shop. An auto repair fraud letter or violation notice can be handled by an expert auto defense attorney. Interested persons searching to learn more about lawyers defending against the Bureau of Automotive Repair can visit the home page at http://automotivedefense.com/. To set the narrative in court, it may be important to consult with a SMOG station or STAR program defense lawyer, before dealing with the Bureau of Automotive Repair directly. DECIPHERING THE POINT OF VIEW (POV) OF A STAR PROGRAM CITATION Here is background on this release. Any type of written communication can offer up a particular point of view, or POV. A news article may suggest global warming is real by focusing on data about melting ice caps. An author highlighting superfoods could imply juicing beets and spinach is the best way to be healthy. Both examples might offer a piece of truth, but may not tell the entire story. To make an assumption before facts are completely reviewed can be disrespectful. If an auto repair shop has been sent a STAR program citation, for example, the tone of the letter could appear accusatory. The point of view in a Bureau of Automotive Repair letter can seem as if a SMOG shop or California STAR program participant has already been convicted of a violation before a day in court. For these reasons, Automotive Defense Specialists have announced a recent blog post on the issue of tone. A defense lawyer experienced in legal jargon can change the narrative and help an auto shop get the respect it deserves. ABOUT AUTOMOTIVE DEFENSE SPECIALISTS Automotive Defense Specialists is a top law firm representing auto repair facilities, SMOG check stations, and technicians in every facet of their legal needs including Bureau of Automotive Repair letters, citations, and invalidations. The company offers phone consultations to auto shops, mechanics, technicians and others who are facing disciplinary actions from the California Bureau of Automotive Repair. Web. http://automotivedefense.com/ Tel. (415) 392-2886 Outskirts Press is pleased to announce that one of its authors has been named finalists in the 30th Annual Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Benjamin Franklin Awards. The Denver-based self-publishing service provider, named the No. 1-rated self-publishing company by Top Consumer Reviews, has had numerous award-winning authors in past years. This year, they wish to congratulate author Jeanne Blanchet for making it to the final round in the competition with her historical fiction Man at the Crossroad. Award-winning artist, writer, lecturer and musical performer Jeanne Maxant Blanchet graduated summa cum laude from Northwestern University, earned an M.A. from Arizona State University and a Ph.D. from Hawaii. Memberships include P.E.O., National League of American Pen Women, Phi Beta Kappa, Sun Health Foundation and the American Contract Bridge League. Her artwork appears in public and private collections throughout the U.S. and abroad. Blanchets book Man at the Cross Road is the gripping story of Marcus Casca, the exactor mortis who headed the death squad that crucified Jesus. The Benjamin Franklin Awards are among the most respected book awards in the country and recognize excellence in both editorial and design. The book genres are judged by industry professionals in the library, bookstore, reviewer, designer, publicity and editorial profession. Nearly 1,500 books published in 2017 were submitted for awards in 54 categories, with only three or four books being named as finalists in each. The category winners will be announced during a special IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award ceremony April 6, 2018, at the Sheraton Austin Hotel at the Capitol in Austin, Texas. Winners also receive an engraved crystal trophy. All winners and finalists are announced to the major trade journals and media. Outskirts Press wishes to congratulate Jeanne Blanchet for her compelling book and for this recognition. This title and many others are available from major online retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powells, Books-A-Million and elsewhere not to mention through the Outskirts Press Bookstore at a considerable discount. For more information about Outskirts Press and its self-publishing and book marketing options, visit the companys website, http://www.outskirtspress.com. About Outskirts Press Inc.: Outskirts Press helps authors develop and publish high-quality books by offering exceptional design, printing, publishing, distribution and book marketing services. Top Consumer Reviews ranks Outskirts Press No. 1 because they are passionate about delivering outstanding customer service, affordable pricing, industry-leading royalties, and a team of hands-on, U.S.-based publishing experts. At http://www.outskirtspress.com authors can publish their books, their way, today. Outskirts Press Inc., 10940 S. Parker Road, #515, Parker, CO 80134 http://outskirtspress.com 1-888-OP-BOOKS Noble Systems Noble Systems applauds the recent Court ruling regarding the FCCs interpretation of the TCPA statute, which significantly impacts the industry and daily operations of customer contact teams. Past News Releases RSS Noble Systems Brings Gamification... Noble Systems Brings Customer... Noble Systems Introduces... Noble Systems Corporation, a global leader in omnichannel contact center technology solutions, applauds the recent Court ruling regarding the FCCs interpretation of the TCPA statute, which significantly impacts the industry and daily operations of customer contact teams. Noble Systems has been an advocate for the contact center industry throughout the companys almost 30-year history. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals recently released its long awaited ruling in ACA International v. FCC. In the case, several challenges were made to the FCCs interpretation of the TCPA statute. The Court rejected the FCCs broad interpretation of the definition of an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS). The Court found the FCCs broad interpretation, which would encompass a smartphone, as overreaching. Hence, the Court rejected the assertion that any dialing equipment or device with a potential or future capacity to dial numbers using a random or sequential number generator was an ATDS. In addition, the Court rejected the FCCs arbitrary scheme of a one-call safe harbor when dialing a reassigned number. In another matter, however, the Court declined to vacate the FCCs interpretation of reasonable means of revocation of consent. In an unusual response to the Courts rejection of the FCCs regulations, the FCCs current Chairman supported the ruling. Chairman Ajit Pai stated, Todays unanimous D.C. Circuit decision addresses yet another example of the prior FCCs disregard for the law and regulatory overreach. As the court explains, the agencys 2015 ruling placed every American consumer with a smartphone at substantial risk of violating federal law. Thats why I dissented from the FCCs misguided decision and am pleased that the D.C. Circuit too has rejected it. (Read the Chairmans complete statement.) Noble Systems has advocated for a more balanced interpretation of the TCPA, both directly and in partnership with the Professional Association for Customer Engagement (PACE), and is gratified that the Courts ruling reflects the plain reading of the TCPA statute. The fact that the current FCC leadership is pleased with the D.C. Circuits ruling supports our position that the FCCs past interpretation was overly broad. We will continue to support responsible marketing practices that protect consumers, and hope to see greater cooperation between the FCC and the contact center industry going forward, stated Jim Noble, President and CEO of Noble Systems. Noble Systems will be hosting a webinar on Tuesday, March 27th at 2:00pm EDT with further details on the contents of the Courts ruling. Michele Shuster (a founding partner of the law firm MacMurray and Shuster and PACEs general counsel), Karl Koster (Noble Systems intellectual property and regulatory attorney), and Nick Whisler (Partner at Mac Murray and Shuster), will discuss the impact that this order has for companies managing their customer communications. Interested parties can register for the webinar here: https://tinyurl.com/y9b24shg. About Noble Systems Noble Systems Corporation is a global leader in the customer communications industry, providing innovative solutions for Contact Center, Workforce Management, and Analytics technologies. Tens of thousands of agents at 4,000+ client installations worldwide use Noble platforms to manage millions of customer contacts each day. Noble offers a unified suite of inbound, outbound, and omnichannel contact processing, strategy planning, resource management, and compliance tools for companies of all sizes. Our premise, cloud, and innovative premise/cloud hybrid platforms include ACD, predictive dialing, blended processing, recording and monitoring, IVR, messaging, interaction analytics, and workforce management. With a portfolio of over 160+ patents and growing, Noble leads the way in pioneering solutions for the contact center market. For more information, contact Lee Allum at 1.888.8NOBLE8 or visit http://www.noblesystems.com. Almost weekly, newly-revealed major breaches, hacks, and exposed servers expose the financial and personal data of tens of millions of customers. Every day, leading organizations worldwide trust NuData to protect their customers and preserve their brand integrity. NuData Security, a Mastercard company, announced today that Info Security Products Guide, a respected security research and advisory guide, has named NuDetect a winner in the 14th Annual 2018 Info Security PGs Global Excellence Awards in the categories of Fraud Prevention and Security Products and Solutions for Online and eCommerce. NuData was honored for the effectiveness and global adoptions of NuDetect which enables organizations to immediately identify the high-risk accounts that are most likely to lead to brand damage from fraudulent activity, while enhancing the online interaction experience for good users. The prestigious awards recognize cybersecurity and information technology vendors with innovative, advanced solutions that raise the bar for security, efficiency and growth potential in their markets. Almost weekly, newly-revealed major breaches, hacks, and exposed servers expose the financial and personal data of tens of millions of customers, said Michel Giasson, Co-founder and CEO of NuData Security. And every day, leading organizations worldwide trust NuData to protect their customers and preserve their brand integrity. Were pleased to be honored by Info Security Products Guide and view this recognition as an important validation of our success and the possibilities ahead of us. NuDatas integrated multi-layered solutions protect customers online environments across the complete user session. NuData clients can prevent and block threats that happen at the pre-login stage and during a session, monitoring all activity until the user logs out. This continuous verification offers a better insight into the companys traffic, gives accurate information to make better authentication decisions and provides a seamless experience to legitimate users, without added friction. NuDetect was awarded Gold in the Fraud Prevention category, and Silver in the Security Products and Solutions for Online and eCommerce category. About Info Security PGs Global Excellence Awards Info Security Products Guide sponsors the Global Excellence Awards and plays a vital role in keeping end-users informed of the choices they can make when it comes to protecting their digital resources and assets. It is created expressly for those who are adamant about staying informed of security threats and the preventive measures they can take. They provide a wealth of information about tomorrow's technology today. The 2018 Global Excellence Awards ceremony will be held in San Francisco on April 16, 2018. For more information, visit http://www.infosecurityproductsguide.com/. About NuData NuData Security is a Mastercard company. It helps businesses identify users based on their online interactions and stops all forms of automated fraud. By analyzing over 200 billion events annually, NuData harnesses the power of behavioral and biometric analysis, enabling its clients to identify the human behind the device accurately. This allows clients to verify users before a critical decision, block account takeover, stop automated attacks, and reduce customer insult. NuDatas products are used by some of the biggest brands in the world to prevent fraud while offering a great customer experience. Its National Puppy Day, and many people are celebrating by bringing a new four-legged friend into their family this weekend. If thats you, the Better Business Bureau has some tips to help: Consider the commitment. Dogs can live 15 years, so make sure you can really offer a forever home. Consider your time. Be ready to devote 30-60 minutes a day to pet care, walks, etc. Think about the best way to involve the whole family. Consider your space. Many breeds, larger ones especially, need a lot of room to run and play. Do you have a yard or a nearby park where your new pup can get lots of exercise? Consider your family. If you have young children at home, a puppy may be a handful. A grown dog with a calm temperament might be a better choice. Whether you are buying or adopting, start with BBBs Tips on Buying a Puppy. This information is good for all new dog owners. If you are buying from a breeder, get references from other dog owners, and check BBB.org to read what previous customers have experienced. The American Kennel Club marketplace has only AKC-registered puppies for sale. Adopting a puppy can mean rescuing from your local animal shelter, or taking home a puppy from a friend or neighbor who has a litter to give away. Both of these options give you a chance to meet and play with the puppy first, to make sure its a good match. Check out these tips from the ASPCA, a BBB Accredited Charity, on adopting a puppy. Another option is a breed-specific rescue group, which is particularly good for those who have their heart set on a certain breed, or are limited in some way, such as only low-allergy breeds or small breeds. Check with the local animal shelter for references to reliable rescue groups in your area, or ask friends who have the kind of dog you are looking for. Be very cautious about purchasing a puppy online, and especially from a distant source. Some online sites are puppy mills where dogs live in deplorable conditions and puppies may not be healthy. Unless you have experience with a long-distance breeder, or great references from happy pet owners, you are better off looking closer to home. Some online puppy sites dont actually have puppies at all; they are set up by scammers who will take your money but never ship you a dog. Unless you are absolutely certain about a specific breeder or source, dont buy a puppy you havent seen in person. For more information about puppy scams, go to go.bbb.org/puppyscam. Happy National Puppy Day, and enjoy your new best friend! -30- MEDIA CONTACTS: For more information, journalists for national media outlets should contact Katherine Hutt (212-705-0131) or khutt(at)council.bbb(dot)org. Journalists for local media outlets should contact their regional spokesperson (bbb.org/bbb-locator). ABOUT BBB: For more than 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2016, people turned to BBB more than 167 million times for BBB Business Profiles on more than 5.2 million businesses and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at bbb.org. The Council of Better Business Bureaus is the umbrella organization for the local, independent BBBs in the United States, Canada and Mexico, as well as home to its national and international programs on dispute resolution, advertising review, and industry self-regulation. North Korean media resumed their virulent anti-U.S. propaganda on Thursday, calling the Americans "the most vicious and cunning imperialists in the world" and "brutes in human form." The regime had largely refrained from florid rhetoric against the U.S. since U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The fresh denunciation came after Choe Kang-il, deputy director general for North American affairs at the North Korean Foreign Ministry, attended a meeting with academics and officials from the two Koreas and the U.S. in Helsinki, Finland the previous day. It appears not to have gone according to plan. In an editorial titled "An illusion about imperialism means death," the official Rodong Sinmun said, "The U.S.' chronic aversion and hostility to independent countries can never change, no matter how much time has passed and no matter who holds power" in Washington. "Cunning maneuvers by the U.S. contributed to the collapse of socialist countries in eastern Europe in the past and they have driven many countries like Iraq and Libya into civil wars recently," it added. Hillary Leipold is one of the Mister Rogers Scholarship recipients at Thiel College. "It is a point of great pride that Thiel College was the first institution to recognize Fred Rogers as a visionary educator, Thiel College President Susan Traverso, Ph.D., said. "It is equally gratifying that our College connects our students to a scholarship that bears Fred Rogers name." Thiel College, a leading liberal arts college in northwest Pennsylvania, is directly connected to todays historic first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony for a stamp commemorating televisions most beloved childrens show host Fred Rogers H69. Pittsburgh public television station WQED hosted todays dedication of the stamp in the Fred Rogers Studio. WQED Multimedia Senior Executive Producer Jim Cunningham 77a 1977 graduate of Thiel Collegespoke as part of Fridays proceedings. Cunningham has worked at WQED since 1978. He interned on Mister Rogers Neighborhood then worked on the show and later interviewed Rogers for the station. Thiel College was the first of 40 institutions to award Rogers an honorary degree. Thiel recognized Rogers at Honors Convocation in November 1969, about a year-and-half into his shows 32-year run. It is a point of great pride that Thiel College was the first institution to recognize Fred Rogers as a visionary educator, Thiel College President Susan Traverso, Ph.D., said. I am sure it would be no surprise to the folks who championed his selection 48 years ago that Mr. Rogers remains an icon and a consistent reminder of the benefits of a message of love, tolerance and understanding. It is equally gratifying that our College connects our students to a scholarship that bears Fred Rogers name. Every year, Fred Rogers impact on the world grows exponentially as the students receiving his scholarship stretch their horizons. Along with todays dedication of a commemorative stamp by the U.S. Postal Service, Fred Rogers has returned to the forefront of the national dialogue with the 50th anniversary his television show, Mister Rogers Neighborhood, and the celebration what would have been his 90th birthday this week. A documentary about Rogers releases this summer and two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks will star in an upcoming Rogers biopic. Trustee emeritus James McHugh 62, H02 is a graduate of Thiel College and a Latrobe native. Mr. Rogers legacy is being celebrated and recognized worldwide today. I have had the good fortune to meet Mr. Rogers. Thiel College, having recognized the genius and contribution of Mr. Rogers early in his career, awarded him his first honorary degree in 1969, McHugh said. I read his speech; like so many things he said and did, his words are an ageless lesson for all of us. Rogers address at Thiel was titled Encouraging Creativity. According to the Fred Rogers Archive, the presentation was so popular that to meet the requests for it, they had copies printed in advance for immediate distribution. In his address, he admonished educators and society in general for forcing conformity on children and encouraged understanding and tolerance as children endeavored to find their gifts. Its as if we the educators were saying to the developing person, From now on young people, the way we tell you to do something is the way you must do it or you wont pass. And by the time those children hear 11 or 12 years of that, is it any wonder that they have trouble knowing who they are? he told the audience. One of the major goals of education must be to help students discover a greater awareness of their own unique selves. Only by being aware of our own endowments, can we begin to marvel at the variety which our creator has provided in men, Rogers said. Our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is. That each of us has something which no one else has, or ever will have, something inside which is unique to all time. Its our job to encourage each other to discover that uniqueness and to provide ways of developing its expression. Fred Rogers connection with Thiel continues today. The McFeely Rogers Foundation supports Thiel College student success with the Mister Rogers Scholarship. Two students, Hillary Leipold 18, of Greensburg, Pa., and Tyler Mull 18, of Westmoreland City, Pa., are the current recipients. The McFeely Rogers Foundation also provided financial support for the recently constructed James Pedas Communication Center. In the Pedas Center, a collaborative workspace for students is also named for Rogers. Growing up in his hometown of Latrobe, I always knew who Mr. Rogers was, but I didn't know the impact he would have on my life, Leipold said. Not only was he the hometown hero, he was also one of my personal heroes because of his passion for children, a passion he and I share. Because of this, I was so honored to receive the Mister Rogers Scholarship. Near the collaborative space named for Rogers, an original trolley car from the set of his show is on display. College officials expect to supplement that artifact with additional Rogers memorabilia this spring. Those itemsalong with the trolley carwill be displayed prominently on campus. For the latest news about Thiel College, follow our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/thielcollege. About Thiel College Thiel College 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. A dedicated faculty paired with dynamic research and internship opportunities produce numerous graduate school and job placements. Coeducational from its beginnings, the College remains committed to combining tradition with innovation as it honors its past and celebrates its future. Big Sky Code Camp #HikeCampCode is all about exposing today's youth to the beauty of Montana while teaching them 21st century coding skills. Today, the Big Sky Code Academy announced open registration for it's 1st annual Big Sky Code//Camp. This unique 2 week #HikeCampCode program provides youth ages 13 - 15 the opportunity to spend the first week at the beautiful Mountain Sky Guest Ranch in Emigrant, MT learning to code and working with five river health experts, who will each present a current challenge facing the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. In small groups, Code//Campers will choose a water resource problem to solve and work with their scientist to design and build their solution informed by Big Sky Code Academy's youth focused 20-hour coding curriculum. Their goal: A functional mobile app or game that presents a solution or raises awareness of the issue. Code//Campers will present their ideas (and their working technology) to that same panel of experts, who will provide feedback and judge the solutions. Winners will have their app promoted by the agency whose problem they tackled. In addition to learning new skills, Code//Campers will build relationships with local experts and experience the wilderness in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem as they gain a robust and empathetic appreciation for the natural world they are seeking to protect. In their second week, Code//Campers will enjoy a life changing hiking, camping and backpacking adventure through the breathtaking Beartooth Mountain range, ending with whitewater rafting on the exciting Yellowstone River. During this portion of the camp, Code//Campers will learn from our team of experienced backcountry guides as they prepare to enter the backcountry (Days 1&2), hike and camp in the Beartooth Mountains (Days 2 5), whitewater raft down the Gallatin River (Day 6) before heading home on Day 7. This fun-filled adventure will expose Code//Campers to the natural beauty of Montana while telling stories on the trail, learning about the region and enjoying the serenity of the areas wilderness, all while keeping an eye out for local wildlife! The trip wraps up with a celebratory final banquet with our entire Big Sky Code//Camp staff before heading home. More information can be found here: http://www.bigskycodeacademy.org/youth/hike-camp-code/ AP Team from Texas and Colorado Were extremely proud of each of these projects and the dedicated project teams who have put so much of themselves into every one of these buildings, said Jeff Hansen, AP CEO. - Single-Family Projects up to $100 Million (Preston Garage) Institutional - $5 to $10 Million (Silverthorne Performing Arts Center) Healthcare - $10 to $25 Million (USPI Midland ASC/MOB) Representatives from the company received the award March 21 during ABCs 28th annual Excellence in Construction awards celebration in Long Beach, Calif. Associated Builders and Contractors is proud to honor AP with three best-in-class Excellence in Construction Eagle Awards for their tremendous work in completing each project safely, on time and budget, said 2018 ABC National Chair George R Nash Jr., director of preconstruction at Branch & Associates in Herndon, Va. The dedication to innovation, productivity and world-class craftsmanship demonstrated by AP and its employees produced truly impressive results that any project owner would be proud of. Preston Garage is a 33,000 square foot underground parking garage for a private resident with a capacity for 73 vehicles. One of the teams many complex design issues and challenges with this project involved the 100 subterranean tunnel and corridor that joins the basement of the existing house with the new garage. The team was required to make the new structure for the tunnel fit seamlessly with the existing house structure and the concrete piers. The AP team was able to overcome these design challenges, achieving great success on a very complex structure that in size and scope was equal to a commercial project. Unique to Silverthorne Performing Arts Center was the integration of the visual arts, showcasing local artists work throughout the facility. It also acts as an educational and support center for the Town, giving the community a versatile and functional new space. The project required innovations to the theater aspects to deliver exceptionally functioning performance capabilities, while the construction team overcame the challenges of building in mountain terrain in a congested, tourist location. USPI Midland ASC/MOB provided its own set of location and design difficulties. The new 52,000 square foot fully-furnished medical office building, as well as a 4,160 square foot expansion to USPIs adjacent Texas Surgery Center, faced local labor challenges, requiring AP to assemble a number of risk-management strategies in order to maintain its high standards for quality and safety. The addition and expansion of the ambulatory surgical center was conducted while the center was fully operational, however the AP team implemented innovative solutions allowing them to exceed the expectations of the owner and deliver both facilities well ahead of schedule. Were extremely proud of each of these projects and the dedicated project teams who have put so much of themselves into every one of these buildings, said Jeff Hansen, AP CEO. We are very honored that three of APs projects were selected by ABC to be recognized on the distinguished list of the best projects across the nation. The Excellence in Construction awards program is the industrys leading competition, developed to honor innovative and high-quality merit shop construction projects, with an Eagle Award presented to the top project in each category. The award honors all construction team members, including the contractor, owner, architect and engineer. The winning projects, selected from entries submitted from across the nation, were judged on complexity, attractiveness, unique challenges overcome, completion time, workmanship, innovation, safety and cost. A panel of industry experts served as the competitions judges. This year's panel included representatives from the Building Owners and Managers Association International, the Smithsonian Facilities Construction Division, the Construction Management Association of America, Engineering News-Record, Design-Build Institute of America and various construction-related firms nationwide. About AP Adolfson & Peterson Construction (AP) is a U.S.-based, privately held builder that is consistently ranked among the top 50 construction managers and general contractors in the nation. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the company delivers innovative and collaborative building solutions for clients across the country from its regional offices in Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis and Phoenix. Founded in 1946, AP serves clients in the education, healthcare, commercial, municipal, multifamily, hospitality and senior living market sectors. For more information, visit http://www.a-p.com or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. About ABC Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is a national construction industry trade association established in 1950 that represents more than 21,000 members. Founded on the merit shop philosophy, ABC and its 70 chapters help members develop people, win work and deliver that work safely, ethically and profitably for the betterment of the communities in which ABC and its members work. Visit us at abc.org. North Korea's General Bureau of Reconnaissance repeatedly collected information from South Korea's weather agency before the North torpedoed the Navy corvette Cheonan in March 2010. A Unification Ministry report from 2011 revealed Thursday said hackers from the bureau accessed the website of the Korea Meteorological Administration about 300 times the previous year to browse satellite photos and thermal images, apparently to assist them in planning the attack. An official involved in compiling the report said it was drawn up based on the data provided by the National Intelligence Service. "The time period of North's constant accessing of the website was just before the attack on the Cheonan," he said. "The hackers routed IP addresses through countries in Africa and Central America to bypass security firewalls." The bureau's hackers have been responsible for a string of cyber attacks and wiretapping of communication networks. On this occasion, they seemed to be gathering data about the tidal currents, speeds and directions of flow around Baeknyeong Island from the KMA website the better to plan the attack. You could call it the rise of "slow dating." Since the debut of dating apps Tinder launched in 2012 they've been all about speed, a suitor a second. Once you created an account, your relationship prospects depended almost exclusively on how fast you could move your thumb. Now, that appears to be changing. Time Out New York recently reported on the dating app Once (they're the ones who use the term "slow dating"), which sends users just one match every day. You answer some questions about your preferences in a mate and rate the attractiveness of different profile pictures and the algorithm takes over from there. Then, you have 24 hours to decide whether you're interested. Once has been available in Europe since 2015; it launched in the United States in February 2018 and now has 200,000 US users, according to Time Out New York. But Once is hardly the only app on the market that offers a more curated dating experience. Coffee Meets Bagel, for example, which launched in 2012, presents women with one "bagel" i.e. match a day. (Men receive up to 21 matches every day and select the people they like, so the app chooses women's bagels from among the men who indicated they liked them.) The League, which hit the online-dating scene in 2015, is a more selective dating app for ambitious (or ambitious-seeming) young professionals: You have to give access to your LinkedIn profile and get approved. League members get five matches every day. Then there's dating app Happn, which debuted in 2014 in Paris, and allows you to see people you've crossed paths with (geographically). Users who subscribe to Happn Essential get 10 chances to "Say Hi" to another user every day. The trickle-down continues: As INSIDER's Talia Lakritz reported, matchmaking is trendy again, especially among people who are frustrated by dating apps. Lakritz spoke to E. Jean Carroll, cofounder of Tawkify, a network of "dating concierges," and Carroll told her that the service works at least partly because it "limits your choices." Carroll also said you have double the odds of meeting someone through a matchmaker than through online dating though you have to be in a certain financial position to use one. Tawkify's services range from $99 to $6,000 a year, Lakritz reported. Having too many choices can wind up sabotaging our relationship prospects It's unclear exactly what precipitated this shift. But it's possible that daters and app-developers alike have begun to observe the effects of what social scientists call "choice overload" or the "paradox of choice." The more options you have, research suggests, the less likely you are to make any decision at all. INSIDER's Kristin Salaky reported that having a seemingly infinite pool of potential dates to choose from can change the way we behave in relationships. As soon as a relationship gets rocky, one expert told Salaky, instead of working to repair it, we look to see what else is out there. Helen Fisher, biological anthropologist and chief scientific officer at Match.com, has noticed something similar. The Verge reported that Fisher said the biggest problem with dating apps is "cognitive overload," adding that "the brain is not well built to choose between hundreds or thousands of alternatives." Fisher advises people to stop when they've hit nine matches and consider those. And as most everyone who's used a dating app can attest, you can swipe for hours and match with dozens of people, only to not hear back from anyone or have your conversations peter out. Ashley Fetters, a 26-year-old editor at GQ, told The Atlantic's Julie Beck that "there's an illusion of plentifulness," adding, "It makes it look like the world is full of more single, eager people than it probably is." Having someone restrict your dating options for you may be the smartest decision you can make. On the surface, it doesn't make sense: Aren't you more likely to find your soulmate in a pool of thousands versus a pool of five? Well, maybe not. As couples therapist Esther Perel previously told Business Insider, there's no such thing as "the one." There's someone who suits you well enough and once you decide you're going to be in a relationship with that person, you mold the relationship into something that suits you even better. The incident happened at Okposi Umuoghara in Ezza North Local Government Council of Ebonyi state on Tuesday. Desk Officer in charge of Child Abuse /Maltreatment Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Cecilia Elom told newsmen on Thursday that her outfit rushed to the residence of the creditor, Josephine Nwali at the CAS campus of Ebonyi State University Abakaliki following a tipoff. She said: On reaching the residence, we saw little Uloma Igwe with another seven year- old boy hawking. On interrogation, they confessed to have been lured into hawking by Mrs. Josephine Nwali who they were living with. Ulomas mother, Veronica, informed our officials that she did not even know the woman she gave her child to. Josephine Nwali reportedly admitted to the officials that she had had a business transaction with Veronica Igwe at the Rice Mill Abakaliki in August 2017 during which she was left with the said debt. She then suggested to the debtor to give her one of her daughters in exchange for the money. This is to prevent the collapse of the domestic poultry industry in Ghana. The Minister of State was speaking at the opening session of the 2nd Poultry Value Chain (POVAC) fair held in Sunyani. He said the ban is in response to calls by the domestic poultry actors to disallow the importation of frozen chicken since it is one of the major challenges collapsing the local poultry industry. However, he said that they will not hesitate to reverse the policy if poultry producers do not meet the local demands. Now that we have reduced importation of frozen chicken, domestic producers must be prepared to feed the people. But if we see that it is not working, then we have to reverse it because the government has the responsibility to feed the people as well as support local poultry producers. Ideally, the government would want to feed the consumers with locally-produced chicken. Local producers must cut themselves away from the era of marketing birds with feathers to marketing processed birds and chicken meat products, including sausages and barbecue. We must develop value chains that will make all the difference in our earnings from the poultry industry. And the time to begin to do that is now, he added. According to the Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers (GNAPF), over 135,000 metric tonnes of frozen chicken was imported from the European Zone to Ghana in 2017 representing a 76% increase over 2016 imports; the 2017 frozen chicken imports constituted about 112 million birds. READ ALSO: Kofi Amoabeng promises to bounce back They blamed this situation on the importation of frozen chicken as well as the lack of capital. The minister promised that the government will work tirelessly to ensure that the poultry industry is transformed. While the government will roll out specific interventions to support the smallholder local poultry sector, the Planting for Food and Jobs campaign takes into account reducing the cost of feed inputs which form more than 60% of poultry production costs. The businessman, who is the brother of former President Mahama, sued Mr. Owusu Bempah, along with the Despite Group of Companies owners of private TV station UTV. The plaintiff said Mr. Owusu Bempah was on UTVs morning show on March 3, and made unsubstantiated claims which were defamatory to his reputation. According to him, the Ghana Gas Communications Director accused him of being a thief without having any justifiable cause. In a suit filed at the High Court in Accra on March 22, 2018, Ibrahim Mahama said the accusation has done damage to his reputation as a businessman and is therefore seeking compensation. As a renowned businessman other business entities worldwide would shy away from dealing with the Plaintiff because of the damage caused to his reputation and character as a result of the defamatory statements made by the Defendant, sections of the suit stated. Mr. Mahama is, therefore, praying the court to award damages of GHS2 million against the two defendants, with the claim that the comments by Mr. Owusu Bempah were false and unsubstantiated. These costs are influenced by several factors including location, size, amenities and proximity to facilities such as malls and hospitals among others. Ghanas housing sector is highly unregulated and, thus, homeowners and landlords operate within no established framework and set prices as they deem fit contributing to the widening housing deficit in the country. With an estimated housing deficit ranging between 1.7 and 2 million units, it is important for policy makers and all stakeholders to freely access data that gives an overview of the state of housing in the country. By sharing data it has collated over the years based on transactions on its online platform, meQasa.com aims to help put things in perspective for investors, home seekers, decision-makers and all stakeholders. READ ALSO: Ghana to soon import water meQasa.com has created this useful infographic that gives an overview of the housing sector in the Greater Accra region based on online property search behaviours in 2017. Highlights from the infographic are summarised below: 1. The average cost of houses for sale over the period range between GH449,587 (1bedroom) to GH742,531 (3 bedrooms); 2. Average rent costs in Accra range between GH1,266 (1 bedroom) and GH6,939 (3bedrooms); 3. The most expensive Accra neighbourhoods to buy a plot of land are Cantonments (GH1.08 million) and East Legon (GH1 million) while the cheapest neighbourhoods include Pokuase (GH27,000) and Dodowa (GH12,000); 4. The value of new developments advertised on meQassa.com in 2017 is estimated at $340 million; 5. The value of properties marked as sold on meQasa.com rose from $227 million in 2016 to $362 million in 2017. This marks a 106% increase over the last year; 6. meQasa.coms acquisition of rival Jumia House, the launch of its first housing fair and its partnership with MyJoyOnline.com show the huge potential for marketing real estate; 7. The number of advertisers (agents, developers and homeowners) grew by 45% - 1044 advertisers in 2016 to a total of 1,935 in 2017. The number of paying advertisers on the online platform also increased by over 106%; and 8. Total user sessions or the number of people actively searching for property online (on meQasa.com) increased by 110%. Private sector a rising power in China's anti-poverty war From:ChinaDaily | 2018-03-22 16:21 SHANGHAI - Tan Wansheng, 69, feels lucky to be able to support himself, while many of China's elderly rural residents are normally financially dependent on their children. Tan, from Chaling county in central China's Hunan province, earned 4,000 yuan ($631) last year from growing oranges for Vingoo, a domestic brand of vending machines that offer fresh-squeezed orange juice in 176 Chinese cities. An officially recognized impoverished county, Chaling faced grave challenges in increasing villagers' income, but its cooperation with Vingoo since early 2017 has opened up new possibilities. "Villagers love the project," Tan said. The project, which earns each grower 7,000 yuan a year on average, has lifted 300 families out of poverty in the county, said Zhou Qi, founder of Shanghai Geant Investment Company, which owns Vingoo. "It is part of our corporate social responsibility." The case epitomizes the ever-increasing role of private enterprises in poverty alleviation, one of China's "three tough battles" for the next three years, by virtue of their advantages in emerging industries, such as "New Retail" and e-commerce. Following 40 years of reform and opening up, China has 27 million private enterprises, which contribute more than 60 percent of the country's GDP growth and create more than 80 percent of jobs. Private enterprises are good at designing and implementing targeted projects for poverty reduction and making best use of their limited resources, according to a report on the performance of Chinese enterprises in poverty alleviation published in July. Private entrepreneurs are sensitive about the market, said Tu Jianhua, chairman of the industry and commerce federation in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality. "They bring market-based methods and ideas to the countryside, and better adapt to small rural businesses. What's important is, it's a win-win thing." Engagement in poverty relief facilitates branding, and also results in economic returns due to lower labor costs and resource prices in rural areas, said Zuo Jianming, senior analyst with Orient Securities. Vingoo sells 4 million cups of orange juice per month through terminals at shopping malls, airports and metro stations. After scanning a QR code on the machine, the customer watches the oranges be peeled, squeezed, and the juice delivered just in a minute. "We plan to expand the business to the United States, the Republic of Korea and Australia. My dream is to make Chaling oranges a global brand as famous as Sunkist," Zhou said. Chaling oranges are exceptionally sweet, but many local residents were unaware of their value, he said. Under an agreement with the local government, the company offers training on orange growing and local financial institutions provide farmers with preferential loans to start their businesses. As a result, the yield per acre has more than doubled, Zhou said. The county is ready for a final examination by state poverty alleviation authorities before being removed from the country's list of poor counties. Renowned Chinese economist Li Yining is positive about the potential of private enterprises in fighting poverty, believing they better understand the market. "For example, you cannot only know how to grow vegetables, but also must know where they should go. Private enterprises are better at such market behavior," Li said. China's e-commerce giants, such as Alibaba and JD.com, have been earnestly involved in the sale of farm produce from poor villages, with marketing support and lower or no fees. Alibaba has carried out more than 100 rural projects on its online shopping platform Taobao. It is extending its reach to more fields by committing 10 billion yuan over the next five years in a fund dedicated to poverty eradication. Liu Qiangdong, chairman of JD.com, said the company will focus on branding of farm produce from rural poor. "Without a known brand, the products don't make much profit," he said. YTO Express, a leading courier with 68,000 branches nationwide, helped with sale of farm produce, including kiwifruit, dates and pears, from three poor counties in Shaanxi Province on its online shopping platform. The company worked with local governments to set up new service centers in the counties, which have lowered logistics costs for the products and added a price advantage, said Ye Feng, vice-president of YTO Express. They also offer courier jobs for poor rural youth, Ye said. "They lift themselves out of poverty." The Chinese government has encouraged private companies to help with poverty reduction. In October 2015, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce launched a poverty-relief campaign mobilizing private enterprises. By the end of 2017, the campaign involved 46,200 enterprises, benefiting 51,200 villages. China aims to lift all citizens out of poverty by 2020. As of the end of 2017, the country had 30.46 million poor residents, compared with 98.99 million in 2012, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Mr Mahama was speaking addressing some NDC supporters in the UK. He said that the country is surviving on numerous power plants his administration put in place in the heat of the power crisis. Take Ameri, switch it off; take Karpower, switch it off, take KTPP, switch it off, take Asogli Phase 2, switch it off and see if Ghana wont go back to dumsor. Well go straight back to dumsor, no curve no bend. So how could you have solved dumsor. Show me one megawatt of power that has been added since NPP assumed office. We had a deficit, and today some of these plants we brought are the most efficient and they are working to ensure that we have power. The way they are going, they are likely to run us into dumsor because of this populist reduction in tariffs. The Akufo-Addo-led government has boasted that the inputs they made after assuming office in 2017 has brought dumsor to an end. Presenting the 2018 Budget Statement in Parliament, the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said: We have provided reliable electricity supply. Our SHS students have literally forgotten how to spell dumsor because dumsor is dead. Policemen from the Kwabenya District Police Command spotted a taxi with all male occupants from Atomic Junction area to Ashongman Estate.The police immediately suspected them to be criminals and trailed the taxi to its location. The Police gathered that the suspects have been living in the said rented apartment for some months now, he added.The suspects are often not seen during the day and often move out at night everyday to have fun with friends."Police also discovered that the suspects do not work but lead lavish lifestyles in the area. This prompted the police to raid the said house to arrest the suspects."After interrogation by the Kwabenya Police, the suspects would be handed over to the Cyber Crime Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for further investigations. The General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah said Nana Addo was labelled with accolades by the US Ambassador to Ghana in order for him to sign that 'unfavorable' military deal. In address to party faithful and the media at the NDC Headquarters, Asiedu Nketiah placatory comments by US Ambassador Robert Jackson who described the President as a visionary leader was meant to cajole and soften him to support the deal which would make Ghana a target for terrorists. "Despite the groundswell of public criticism President Akufo-Addo appears to be in an indecent haste to get parliament to ratify it. The minority in Parliament has raised several concerns, so has civil society and well-meaning Ghanaians with vast experience in security and international agreements," he said. The NDC scribe bemoaned that if Ghana accepts the agreement it would amount to a collective betrayal of the AU because as a leading member (of the AU), the country must strive to maintain its sovereignty at all costs. The deal will also see the US avoid taxes on all military equipments they ship to Ghana. This has caused a public outcry as many Ghanaians view the deal as threat to Ghana's sovereignty. READ ALSO: How social media reacted to US military base agreement Ayariga said the money Ghana stands to benefit is not huge and he can pay the government so that we abandon the deal. Ghana's sovereignty is not for sale and promise to pay that amount to government to annul the contract with the United StatesI will pay $20m to save Ghana, he said. The Minister of Defence Dominic Nitiwul has categorically denied that the deal is a shortchange for Ghana and he insists it will help the Ghana Army. According to General Secretary of the party, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, a future NDC government will cancel any military deal with the US if the Akufo-Addo-led government fails to heed numerous calls not to ratify the current controversial defence agreement. Speaking at a press conference at the partys headquarters in Accra on Thursday, 22 March 2018, he said a US military base in Ghana would only make the country a target of terrorists. We wish to state here and now that if President Akufo-Addo and his NPP (New Patriotic Party) administration proceed to ratify the agreement despite all protests and public sentiments, the NDC administration which will assume the reins of government in 2021 will suspend the agreement and initiate a far reaching review of this provision, Mr. Nketia said. He added that existing protocols between the two countries are enough and that Ghana does to need to host US military troops to demonstrate the nations commitment to fighting terrorism. This comes after Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul, stated that it is too late to pull out of the controversial agreement between Ghana and theUS. According to him, previous agreements signed between both countries mean the hands of government are tied on the matter. We have already signed a 1998 agreement, we have signed the 2015 agreement and we have already caught ourselves in this net and we cannot back out because this is just a combination of the two agreements, he said whiles addressing a news conference on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Minority has described the agreement to host US Military troops in Ghana as tantamount to selling Ghanas sovereignty to the United States. Cameroons former water and energy minister, Basile Atangana Kouna, has been arrested in Nigeria amid a crackdown on high-level corruption. Reuters reports that Kouna was arrested on Thursday, March 22, 2018 and was immediately extradited back to Cameroon. Atangana Kouna is in Cameroon. He was arrested in Nigeria and sent back to Cameroon. He arrived this evening, one police source told Reuters. Local media in Cameroon reported that the former minister arrived at the international airport in the capital Yaounde at 6:20 pm (1720 GMT) escorted by police officers. The arrest of Kouna was said to have been made possible with the cooperation of the Nigeria's intelligence and security units. Kouna was sacked by President Paul Biya during the March 2, 2018 cabinet reshuffle. Kouna, according to reports, was facing charges for alleged corrupt practices while in office and he was ordered the previous month not to leave the country after leaving office. An anti-corruption drive known as Operation Sparrowhawk has seen to the arrest of three ex-government officials. Amazon is now America's most desirable place to work. The company topped LinkedIn's Top Companies list for 2018, beating out Alphabet, Google's parent company, which came in first last year. To compile the list, LinkedIn takes into account things like "interest in the company, engagement with the companys employees, job demand and employee retention." That means the study was not based on reputation as gathered by a survey, but instead on how people actually use and interact with companies on LinkedIn. Amazon was chosen for its "endless expansion," both in terms of the business sectors it's moving into and in terms of its customer and revenue growth. LinkedIn notes that it is an exciting, fast-moving, and ambitious company where it is always "Day 1" Amazon speak for staying nimble, fast, and results-oriented. "Day 2 is stasis. Followed by irrelevance. Followed by excruciating, painful decline. Followed by death. And that is why it is always Day 1," Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos once said in a letter to shareholders. Employment is diverse at Amazon. Its Seattle headquarters employs about 40,000 people, but the company also has corporate offices in many major cities across the country. Warehouse employees round out the rest of the workforce, making Amazon the US' second-largest employer at 566,000 strong. Amazon is growing so much and so quickly that it's now looking for a second headquarters. It's narrowed the possibilities down to 20 cities for what has be ome known as its HQ2 project. Amazon has promised a $5 billion investment and 50,000 jobs for wherever HQ2 is built. Employment at Amazon isn't all rainbows and unicorns, however. The company's Day 1 philosophy means that things can change quickly. The company eliminated some positions earlier this year while offering employment elsewhere in the company. It also means that working at Amazon can be demanding. Annie Idibia revealed how she was about to surprise the music icon with the aid of Efe Omorogbe and a couple of other guys. She took to her Instagram stories where she posted how she was able to pull through the surprise getaway, with a video to go with it which showed a visibly happy 2baba! "And he was pleasently surprised. Flew him to Ghana and he no idea. Shout out to @amfrankiej @efeomorogbe @naomibossladythegreat and my @small_god for making it happen," she wrote. Times without numbers, these guys have continued to show that their love keeps growing stronger by the day. Recall back in February 2018, when Annie Idibia posted a video on Instagram where she showed off the breakfast she got served by her husband. ALSO READ:These couples should be your Valentine couple goals It got everyone thinking that these guys just too romantic and still standing strong despite their careers and distractions. Yes guys, distractions like the other time a lady revealed that she slept with 2Face back in 2014 in . Then again, 2Face Idibia and Annie Idibia have a thing for flying out of the country for every celebration. Remember when Annie turned a year older in 2017? 2Face flew the entire family to Dubai for a vacation. China's Huawei provides ICT training program for Indonesian students From:ChinaDaily | 2018-03-22 21:06 JAKARTA - The Indonesian branch of China's technology giant Huawei signed here Thursday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) document of its training program for students of Indonesian vocational schools. The signing was conducted by Huawei Indonesia CEO Liu Haosheng and representatives of 12 vocational schools in the country, witnessed by Charge D'Affaires of Chinese Embassy Sun Weide, Communications and Information (Kominfo) Minister Rudiantara and senior officials of manpower and national education ministries here. Speaking prior to the signing, Liu said the Huawei's information and communications technology (ICT) training program, called SmartGen, would affect at least 1,000 Indonesian vocational school students involved in the program activities. The SmartGen program for Indonesian vocational school students will be conducted through in-class tutoring and in the field, enabling them to directly practice the knowledge they obtain in class with actual situation in the field. Huawei initiated the SmartGen IT training program in Indonesia by embracing seven universities last year for the same purposes. Meanwhile, conveying greetings of Chinese Ambassador Xiao Qian upon the Huawei's training program, Sun Weide expected that students taking part in the program would be able to hone themselves up in IT sector that would eventually support their family and the country in developing the economy. Kominfo Minister Rudiantara praised the program, saying it would greatly help the nation in creating IT talents which are greatly needed due to government's current digital economy drive. He pledged that the program would be fully supported by government's related agencies during the its activities that would run until September. Now the gist is that a South African friend of Small Doctor, Jurjiversal who is said to be an artist too has revealed how Small Doctor and a friend attempted to poison him with a glass of drink while on his visit to Nigeria. Jurjiversal took to his Instagram page on Thursday, March 22, 2018, where he posted quite a long post on how he escaped death twice in the hands of Small doctor and another friend. "Ive been praying against enemy within while I never knew they are the same sets of people. I wine and dine with, I never knew youve been working on my map way before I land in Naija, All I show you was love but all you wish me is death, You already making name for yourself in the industry but still youve been having sleepless night on how to blackmail and get me killed all long while Ive been overseas watching Nat geo wild, I can still remember the statement you made at Unlimited studio few years back that any of your friends that plans to do music and make it big will automatically turn to your no1 enemy, "Right from day one Ive never seen you as a competition and all I always wish you is success but I never knew all you wish for me is death because of the envy and jealousy in you and you not wanting to see another man around you shine. The last time you came to SA for a show, I was the one who drove you in my Mercedes from your Morning side Hotel to your show in Centurion, 2 weeks before I came to Naija you chatted me up which I later called you on phone then you asked me when Ill be back in Naija I told u I should be back in a week to 2 weeks time, the first question you asked me was what am coming to do! You dont even want me to come back home. "On eventually getting to Naija, I sent you messages to let you know Im around but the anger in the way you responded to the Dm(s) is so obvious, Aside that I called u several times and I also contacted one of our friend Ebay to reach you on my behalf but you ignored all my calls which I thought maybe youre busy in studio or something not knowing both of you are into this together, Since then youve been trying everything to avoid seeing me, playing dirty pranks and plotting your evil to the extent that you set people around my hotel to take pictures and make videos of all my activities and moments so bad to the fact that whenever Im chilling with my so called friend Ebay in his area and I ask him like where can I ease myself he will point to a spot which I can use which I never knew someone is there already to capture me while am easing myself for real? ALSO READ: "I was out one day with I was out one day with this my same nigga when he told me that small doctor said we should come block him at my mama house, on getting there, Small doctor sat on his car bonnet, he stand up and walk towards my mama saying Mama Jurji ama ri eni ti o ma ko ko se o rire ninu emi ati omo yin like he will see who will succeed first among him and I repeatedly saying it aloud. I didnt even say a word because I thought he was just being playful because of the mind Ive got for him but and I never knew he meant everything he said that faithful day. "You guys made several attempts on my life but God was just merciful, from the day ebay gave me a poisoned Hennessy at small doctors house to drink to the day you maneuvered dangerously at high speed between two big moving trucks in an attempt to crash side of the car which I was sitting at against the truck. I already know all your evil plans against me which is fueled by envy and hatred but you have failed which still inspired me to write a song and am dropping that song in the next 48 hours 1000 Friends to foe. So you can start posting the photos and videos you captured secretly. You may think you can just do shits like that and go scot free nah believe me, Im just taking my time. You all will get tired I put that on the Bible," he wrote. Police spokesperson SP Ebere Amaraizu, confirmed this in a statement on Thursday, March 22, 2018. The incident reportedly occurred at a village named Obinetiti Isikwe Punch News reports. Hyacinth Ilo, 60, allegedly had an argument with his son, Izuchukwu Ilo. In the ensuing argument over cashew nut ownership between them the father allegedly hit his son with a stick on the back of his head who immediately slumped and died. On noticing that he has died, the father went further to bury him in a shallow grave inside his compound," says Amaraizu in a report. The suspect, Hyacinth Ilo, who is aged 60, is helping police in their investigation according to Punch. ALSO READ: Son kills mum who kept disappearance charm for herself Father sentenced to death for killing daughter's boyfriend In Calabar, Cross River State, Mr. Godwin Elewana, a former employee of the National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has been sentenced to death by hanging for killing his daughter's boyfriend. Punch News confirmed that the convict murdered the victim, Douglas Ojugbo, on March 10, 2015. The father who shot the deceased with a pump-action gun was arraigned on a one-count charge of murder. This is following an incarceration since the year 2016. A statement given by the boyfriend's mother, Mrs. Maria Ojugbo, confirmed that Elewana buried her son in a hope to conceal evidence but an 'intervention by God' had ensured an uncovering of the heinous act. I thank God for doing what should be done. It is stated in the Bible that anyone who kills by the sword, will die by the sword. "Elewana had no reason whatsoever to kill my son in such a manner and conceal the act by burying him. It was Almighty God that gave approval for this judgement," Ojugbo expressed according to Punch. AFP reported that; Nigeria, one of Africa's largest markets, hesitated after objections from business leaders and unions -- a sign that getting the deal through scores of national parliaments may face several hurdles. Albert Muchanga, who is the AU Commissioner for Trade and Industry said: "Some countries have reservations and have not finalised their national consultations. But we shall have another summit in Mauritania in July where we expect countries with reservations to also sign. Nigeria is Africas largest economy and most populous nation. Its decision to withdraw from an agreement that will pull down trade barriers in Africa, was always going to raise plenty of eyebrows. If all 55 African Union member countries eventually sign up, the CFTA will create a bloc with a cumulative GDP of $2.5 trillion (2 trillion euros) and cater to a market of 1.2 billion people. The CFTA will drastically reduce customs and duties and open up Africa for business like perhaps never before. Duties If we remove customs and duties by 2022, the level of intra-African trade will increase by 60 percent, which is very, very significant, Muchanga told AFP in an interview before the summit. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairman of the AU commission, said the: CFTA will make Africa one of the largest economies in the world and enhance its capacity to interact on equal terms with other international economic blocs. The world is changing, and changing at a great speed. International competition is fierce. It leaves no room for the weak. Shocking It is befuddling that Nigeria whose economy tanked in the last couple of years and which has been trying every trick in the book in order to bolster its weak currency and wean itself off crude oil, would pull out of a landmark, historic agreement like the CFTA. It is striking that after preaching diversification since he assumed the reins, President Buhari would shy away from a regional agreement that could potentially open up Nigerias market to the rest of the continent and beyond and improve the nation's balance of trade. So, why did Buhari not sign the CFTA? We will not agree to anything that will undermine local manufacturers and entrepreneurs, or that may lead to Nigeria becoming a dumping ground for finished goods, President Buhari said in his defense. Weak defense It is a weak defense no less. In a global and competitive market, protectionism benefits no one. No country aspires to insularity when theres more to benefit from comparative advantages. In any case, engaging in free trade with the rest of Africa will lead to competition back home and make local producers aspire to quality. The multiplier effect will be jobs and more jobs. Everyone will benefit from a market that is 1.2 billion strong. And with Nigeria possessing a chunk of that market it has more to gain than lose from partaking in the CFTA. Intra-regional trade will probably force us to beef up decaying infrastructure around border cummunities. In the longer term, CFTA will lead to a common air transport market that could drive down airfares in Africa. There are also plans for visa-free travel for Africans across the continent as part of the deal. We shouldnt even be having second thoughts about this as Nigerians. If this takes off without us, we'll be holding the short end of the stick for a while yet. Second chance The good news for Nigeria and Buhari is that we have a second chance to make this right and append our signature on this thing when another summit on the CFTA holds in Mauritania in July. Hopefully, Buhari would have been done with his consultations at the time. Hopefully, his advisers tell him just how daft it was not to sign the CFTA the first time around. Buhari said this in Abuja on Friday, March 23, 2018, while receiving the Dapchi girlswho were recently release by the terror group. According to Punch, the President also said that the release of the students is a proof of his administrations commitment to protect Nigerians. He said We are ready to rehabilitate and integrate such repentant members into the larger society. This country has suffered enough of hostility. Government is, therefore, appealing to all to embrace peace for the overall development of our people and the country. You will recall that on 14th of this month, I paid a visit to Yobe State, during which I sympathised with the parents, families, government and people of the state for the tragic abduction of the students in Dapchi. I made a solemn pledge on my word of honour that this administration would do everything possible to ensure the unconditional release of the girls. I further tasked all the appropriate security agencies to safely bring back the girls. We also reached out to our contacts at home and abroad. We embarked on backchannel shuttles with a clear view to bring to an end this tragedy. We entered into negotiations solely to make sure that no single girl was hurt. This strategy paid off, as the girls have been released without any incidents. Let me reemphasise our administrations commitment to the fight against terrorism and insurgency, and also call on all Nigerians to join in this task, he added. Buhari talks tough President Buhari also threatened to deal with anyonepoliticising security issues. The President also said that the security agencies will deal decisively with anyone found using the misfortune of Nigerians for political gain. He also issued a warning to security chiefs saying that they will be dealt with if any case of abduction occurs again. Presidency talks on Leah The Presidency, in a statement, said that President Buharis administration will not relent in efforts to free Leah Sharibu,the only Dapchi schoolgirl still in Boko Harams captivity. According to Punch, he said that the security agencies will deal decisively with anyone found using the misfortune of Nigerians for political gain. Buhari said this on Friday, March 23, 2018, who were recently released from captivity and their parents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Buhari warns security chiefs The President also issued a warning to security chiefs saying that they will be dealt with if any case of abduction occurs again. ALSO READ: Family sad over Christian Dapchi girl held by Boko Haram He also ordered them to ensure that all schools and students are properly guarded. Buhari vows to free Christian girl held by Boko Haram The Presidency, in a statement issued the presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, said that President Buharis administration will not relent in its efforts to bring Leah Sharibu. Sharibu is the only Dapchi schoolgirl still in captivity safely back home to her parents. Hassan made this known while briefing newsmen at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital (ATBU- TH) Bauchi during her visit to the cholera quarantine ward. According to her, nine people died as a result of cholera outbreak, while Lassa fever claimed five lives. She said since the outbreak of these epidemics, we have had a total of 324 cases of cholera and recorded nine deaths. Right now, the cholera isolation centre is active and we have about 26 patients on admission who are being treated. On Lassa fever, Hassan said there were 44 suspected cases, nine confirmed cases, while five persons had been confirmed dead so far. She stressed the need for proper hygiene and urged residents to avoid open defecation, saying faeces in open places could pass and mix with drinking water which was dangerous to health. She said community volunteers were out on sensitisation to educate the people on hygiene and environmental sanitation, while the state Ministry of Health chlorinated water and decontaminated the environment. ALSO READ:No one knows why Lassa Fever is on the rise in Nigeria According to the commissioner, five local governments affected by the cholera outbreak are Bauchi, Toro, Darazo, Tafawa Balewa and Ganjuwa. She urged the people to come to treatment centres as soon as they started having symptoms of cholera as the treatment was free. The Public Relations Officer of NCS, Mr Joseph Attah, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja. He said the aim of the Strike Force was to block revenue leakages. It been seven weeks now that the Strike Force was Commissioned, only from Lagos axis the team has been able to make some assorted seizures with a Duty Paid Value(DPV) of about N174, 699 million. This seizures includes used cars known as Tokunbo, they have intercepted 14 containers of raw woods. You know exportation of unprocessed woods is prohibited. They also made similar intervention of containers in Tin-Can, Apapa Port, they have been able to intercept items in various Commands, Attah said. He explained that the Strike Force monitors Customs system with a view to tracking the process of clearance whenever it noticed infraction in any Command. Attah said the Strike Force would then send alert to the Command with the view of drawing the attention of the Command to block revenue leakages. He added that the Strike Force had also made interventions in Onni, KLT, Tin-Can, Apapa and Kano. According to him, the duty received on intervention by the Strike Force is put at N156 million. He said the operations of the Strike Force was generally different from that of the Compliance Team that was earlier dissolved by the Service. Attah said with the Strike Force, one does not get to hear complaints about unnecessary blockage at the highways or wrong interception of properly cleared containers. He said this was because the Strike Force activities were heavily driven by intelligence and deployment of ICT. According to him, the Head of the Force, Deputy Comptroller, Abubakar Usman, has warned importers, agents and Customs operatives that business must be done strictly in line with external laws. Attah said to ensure that the Strike Force succeeds, the Comptroller-General of Customs, retired Col. Hameed Ali, had continued to provide all necessary logistics in term of fire power and ICT platform that should be available to them. He said these logistics would enable them view what goes on in the clearance processor. The association said this in a statement signed by Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, Special Assistant Media and Communications to the CAN President, Rev. Samson Ayokunle, in Abuja. Ayokunle said that CAN rejoiced with the families of the schoolgirls released and called on the government for the rescue of Leah Sharibufrom the captivity of the terrorists. We are still crying for the governments intervention and that of relevant security agencies over the callous, ungodly and wicked acts of the Boko Haram terrorists. Leah Sharibu is still being kept in captivity of untold psychological trauma, the life of that innocent girl means a lot to her parents and to so many Nigerians, irrespective of their religious affiliations, he said. Ayokunle also appealed to political leaders to live up to the expectations in the discharge of their official assignments. Police officers rescued the trafficked victims who had reportedly been intimidated with voodoo threats and kept in "squalid conditions in caves". Most of the victims were under the age of 18. The raid was organized by Spanish authorities in conjunction with British and Nigerian enforcement authorities. "The victims, many under the age of 18, were believed to have undergone voodoo 'juju' rituals in Nigeria to force them to comply with orders," reports Reuters. 89 people were arrested in the sex bust including a Nigerian DJ. The unnamed famous Nigerian disc jockey was arrested for his connection to a notorious Nigerian gang responsible for the trafficking of the victims who were smuggled from Nigeria into Spain and forced into sex work. According to a report by the BBC, the Nigerian DJ was arrested while flying back to Spain after recording a music video. He is under suspicion for helping to move victims to Spain and organise sexual exploitation across the country. The gang as members are believed to force the victims into sex work in order to pay off a N15 million (30,000; $37,000; 26,000) debt incurred from smuggling them from Nigeria to Spain via Libya and Italy. Investigations into the gang had started after an underage victim filed a complaint with the police, saying she had been pressured into trafficking by voodoo threats made in Nigeria. With the gang allegedly operating all over the world, Europol's operation was carried out with police from the United Kingdom and Nigeria as 41 houses were searched in 11 Spanish cities and one city in the UK. In February, he was ordered not to leave the country. Atangana Kouna is in Cameroon. He was arrested in Nigeria and sent back to Cameroon. He arrived this evening, one police source, who asked not to be named as he was not authorised to speak tothe press, told Reuters. Vision 4, a private television channel considered allied to Biya, reported that the former minister arrived atthe international airport in the capital Yaounde at 6:20 pm (1720 GMT) escorted by police officers. Another channel, Canal 2 International, also reported his arrest in Nigeria and subsequent extradition back toCameroon. Cameroons government spokesman was not immediately reachable for comment. Neither were officials in neighbouring Nigeria. It was not clear what charges Atangana Kouna was facing, but there was speculation on Thursday that he was arrested as part of an anti-corruption drive known as Operation Sparrowhawk. A former Ministry of Public Works official, the head of a state company, and the ex-rector of the University ofDouala, were arrested as part of the operation on Monday. Cameroons oil wealth has spawned a sprawling political patronage system fueled by revenues from crude exports. Transparency International ranked it 153 out of 180 countries on its annual corruption perceptions index. Biya has ruled virtually by decree since taking over from a retiring predecessor in 1982 and then winning anelection with 99.98 per cent of the vote a year later. Now 85, Biya is expected to again seek re-election in presidential polls later in the year, but he is currentlyfacing some of the biggest challenges to his 35-year rule. Cameroons oil-dependent economy has been crippled by low crude prices. Weather warnings trial a success From:Shine | 2018-03-23 00:29 Trial projects making use of weather data to trigger early warnings have been a success inYangpu and Xuhui districts, according to Shanghai Meteorological Bureau. In Yangpu, where waterlogging in rainy days has been a headache, early warnings have allowedauthorities to take precautions to prevent roads being flooded. In 2017, we released a total of 20 alerts for heavy rain in urban areas. Seven early warnings on waterlogging in Yangpu were triggered, and in fact authorities just dealt with three incidents of waterlogging, said Feng Lei, the city weather bureau's deputy director. We have changed from simply making weather forecast to predicting possible impacts in bad weather, Fengsaid. Its important to take precautions rather than remedies. Xuhui District is connecting weather data into its big data platform, having data from weather, traffic and grassroots information shared and accessible to different departments. We will know under which weather conditions do neighborhoods produce the most domestic waste or in which days do rescue stations receive the most calls from the homeless, Feng said. The trials, still ongoing, are expected to be expanded to other districts, he said. Shanghai Meteorological Bureau has more than 200 weather monitoring spots and two weather radars in Qingpu District and the Pudong New Area. It also has access to airport radar data. Mr Chimele Ogbonna, Vice President of JOHESU, made the disclosure on Thursday in Jos, when he led national officials of the body on a sensitization visit to Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH). Ogbonna said that the health workers had explored all avenues for an amicable settlement of the issues and were left with no other option. This strike is against our wish, but the Federal Government has failed to honour series of agreements with the workers from 2009 to 2017. We have given the Federal Government ultimatum of 30 working days that commenced on March 5 and will end on April 7. If the agreements with JOHESU in 2009, 2014 and 2017 are not honoured, we will embark on an indefinite nationwide strike. The strike will be total and affect all health institutions from federal, state and local governments, he stated. The vice president listed the issues that necessitated the pending industrial action to include failure to adjust CONHESS scale, skipping of CONHESS 10, and non implementation of court judgements. Others, according to him, included same scale promotions aberration, promotions arrears yet unpaid since 2012, skewed appointment of Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) and Chairmen, Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), and many others. He said that JUTH was chosen for the sensitization in the north central because it was considered a very strong hospital in the region.. Ogbonna said that the workers were concerned about the effect of their action on the patients, but said that the federal government was to blame for the action. Dr. Edmund Banwat, JUTH CMD, who received the union leaders, however, appealed to them to reconsider their decision. Labour issues are best resolved by continuous engagement and not confrontation. As you continue to sensitize members, do it with a human face because the health sector deals with life. Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity gave the assurance in a statement in Abuja on Thursday. According to him, Buhari is as committed to the freedom of Sharibu as he was to the girls freedom when all 110 were in the captivity of Boko Haram terrorists. The Buhari administration will not relent in efforts to bring Leah Sharibu safely back home to her parents as it has done for the other girls after she was held back by the terrorists over her decision, as reported, not to convert from Christianity to Islam. President Buhari is fully conscious of his duty under the constitution to protect all Nigerians, irrespective of faith, ethnic background or geopolitical location and will not shirk in this responsibility. The President is equally mindful of the fact that true followers of Islam all over the world respect the injunction that there is no compulsion in religion. To this effect, no one or group can impose its religion on another. His heart goes out to the isolated parents who must watch others rejoice while their own daughter is still away. The lone Dapchi girl, Leah, will not be abandoned, he said According to him, in January alone, the agency seized over 2,593 tons, February over 3,288, while in March only 98.4 tons was seized. Umar explained that from January to date, we seized over 831kgs of Canavis, Cocaine 0.5kgs and Tramadol over 4,848kgs. He added that during their operations the agency seized over 107.7 grams of Diazapam, Pentasosin 150 grams and only 14 grams of Rehynol was intercepted. The commander said that the agency had arrested 122 suspects in connection with the illicit drugs, adding that in January 57 suspects were arrested, February 33 and another 32 from March 1 to date. Umar said out of the 122 suspects that were arrested, 33 were convicted to various jail terms, while the others were still undergoing trial at the Federal High Court in Kano. During this three months period, we were also able to counsel 57 drug users that we arrested and those that were brought by either their parents or guardians, he said. According to him, the command recently arrested two suspected drug traffickers from Niger Republic together with two Nigerians who specialised in trafficking illicit drugs within Nigeria, Niger and other neighbouring Arab countries. The NDLEA commander added that the suspects who were arrested with two land cruiser jeeps were currently facing prosecution. According to him, it is necessary for the government to put the right security measures in place and not to wait until something happens; the life of any Nigerian child is not worth losing carelessly. He said that the incidence was a lesson to everyone, urging the government to strengthen the security apparatus of the country to prevent future occurrence. I am saying that government should look at our security apparatus; if they cannot ensure 24 hours service of security in our schools in the North-east let them stop boarding schools. Children can come to school from their homes and the moment the students are in the school premises security should be provided until the school closes. The security agencies should also be placed in all the entrance by which people can use to enter the host communities or escape. There must be a proper structure provided for a particular security agency at the security posts. Also, having a particular security agency to be in charge of a particular security post in various schools will help to detect when things are going wrong. The effort will help to reduce the number of victims if there is emergency situation, he said. Ike-Ene noted that in the North-east there was always gap for the girl-child education, saying that this incidence of abduction in schools could put more fear and terror in their lives. His said: even the parents too may now be unwilling to allow their children, especially the female to go to school due to the fear of the unknown. Ike-Ene, however, commended the Federal Government for being proactive in securing the release of the abducted girls from Government Girls Science Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State. He also appealed to the government to use same approach to ensure the release of the remaining girls as well as the other chibok girls. We are still anxious to see the remaining girls, because they are our students; we still want them back. We want to praise this government and we are asking them to do more. Obaseki, who was represented by his deputy, Mr Philip Shaibu, gave the advise at the 2rd Founders Day ceremony of the university with the theme: Restructuring the Nigeria tertiary education system to addressing the 21 Century funding challenges. He urged the management, staff and students, to be committed to the highest standards of discipline, hard work, character and service to enhance the common good of all. The governor said that the society out there needed brilliant students for employment, adding that they should see themselves as future leaders, rather than being a disappointment to their parents and the society at large. Obaseki charged the management of the institution and the students to set targets in profound discoveries and break new grounds in learning. Earlier, the Acting Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Emmanuel Aluyor, said that the vision of the university is to become a centre of excellence in quality teaching, research, innovation and community development. Aluyor said that the institutions management would continue to keep to its mandate of no strike by both staff and students, adding that management, in a proactive manner, has put in place proper channels of communication in resolving issues. He said that the university was working towards producing graduates that are self-reliant and employers of labour. Also to be cautioned for sustained meddling in the trial of the former publicity scribe, Chief Olisa Metuh, according to the party, are some officials of the All Progressive Congress (APC). In a statement in Abuja on Thursday by Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, its National Publicity Secretary, PDP urged the Chief Justice of Nigeria to protect the judiciary and the courts from the direct interferences of the officials. It said that the connection between the timing of happenings in Metuhs case and the intrusions of the officials in the entire matter had assumed a worrisome dimension. It pointed out that its members had specifically expressed fear about Metuhs fate before Justice Okon Abang, the judge that had in the past, delivered judgments against the PDP, and were later upturned after much damage. The party said that it found it curious that interferences were manifesting in Metuhs case even after the court had adjourned indefinitely on his application to be allowed to travel to the UK for surgery. It wondered why the court had continued to refuse Metuhs application for medical leave even as his condition had degenerated. According to PDP, it is on record that people facing similar charges at the Federal High Court are granted leave to travel for medical check-ups and other sundry reasons, but Metuhs application has been deferred indefinitely. It decried the current situation where Metuh now had to be brought to court for trial on a hospital stretcher. It said that if the court could not grant Metuh leave for medical treatment, there was no guarantee that he could get justice from the same court. The party alleged that some persons were manipulating issues around the case as a reference point to threaten opposition in the country. It called on the chief justice to take a closer look at the conduct of Metuhs case and take appropriate action to ensure that justice was done at the end of the day. The accused persons, Uzoma Onyeaghara and Ihechiluru Godfrey, were accused of breaking into the agencys office located at Government New Station Layout, Umuahia, on two occasions and removing property belonging to the agency. They, however, pleaded not guilty, when the charges were read to them. The defence counsel, Mr Tony Uzosike, applied for bail for the accused, saying that it was within the discretion of the court to grant them bail. The Prosecuting Police Officer, Mr. Godwin Inyang, however, opposed the bail application, saying that the accused persons were habitual criminals. Inyang also said that such criminal acts were becoming rampant in Umuahia metropolis. He expressed fear that the accused might jump bail and return to the life of criminality. Onyeaghara claimed to be an auto mechanic apprentice while Ihechiluru said he was a mason assistant, adding that he came from a broken home. The Chief Magistrate, Mr Idika Kalu, said that he was worried by the level of decadence in the society, arising from the unwillingness of some youths to engage in useful ventures. Kalu, however, granted them bail in the sum of N200,000 each with a surety in like sum. He said that the sureties must be resident in Umuahia and must be tax payers, who should provide two passport photographs each. He adjourned the case to April 20, 2018, for further hearing. NAN reports that Onyeaghara was apprehended on March 10, while escaping from NAN office, after removing electric wires from the ceiling of the office complex. The killing sparked protest by residents of Ngwo community, near Enugu. The Commands spokesman, SP Ebere Amaraizu, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Thursday that the incident took place at about 10 a.m. on Thursday. NAN reports that it took the intervention of the Commissioner of Police, Mr Mohammed Danmallam and other top functionaries of the state to restore normalcy to the New Market Road. Danmallams arrival saved the situation as commuters were all trapped as angry residents barricaded the New Market Road. Briefing newsmen shortly after calming down the protesters, the commissioner described the incident as unfortunate. He said that the police would not allow anyone to jeopardize the peace in Enugu State. What happened is very unfortunate, especially with the peace we are enjoying in the state. This kind of thing should not be allowed. Investigation has started. We asked people who witnessed what happened to come forward and give us discreet statement, which will help in our investigation. We are assuring them that whoever is involved is going to be brought to book. A witness said that trouble began when a bus driver allegedly stopped and picked a passenger from a spot that was considered unlawful and when NSCDC officials accosted him, he zoomed off. The bus was chased by the NDSDC officials in a tricycle and it burst into flames when it felled into a ditch. The spokesman of the NSCDC, Enugu State Command, SP Denny Iwuchukwu, said no gunshot was fired on the commercial as claimed by the protesters. We have a directive from the state government that nobody should pick passengers along that road. So, when the driver stopped to pick passenger, our operative told him that it was wrong for him to do that. As our man entered the bus, he zoomed off with him. So, other officers on ground chased after him and in the process, the bus fell into the ditch. The minister said that his delegation was in Nigeria to explore new areas of economic cooperation between Nigeria and Switzerland, as more Swiss companies were becoming interested in Nigeria. We currently have about 50 different Swiss companies operating in Nigeria, mainly in Lagos, which have provided about 10,000 job opportunities to Nigerians. The important side of my delegation highlights the interest that Nigeria is currently getting from Swiss companies. There are also new companies on this delegation that have come to see the business and investment opportunities for them in Nigeria, he said. Schneider-Ammann said that his delegation was composed of grand officials, members of parliament representing different Swiss political parties, scientists, representatives of different SwissCantons and companies. The minister expressed optimism that with the successes by long existing Swiss companies in Nigeria, the new companies would also have similar experiences doing business and investing in the country. He said that some of the existing Swiss companies in Nigeria, in spite of the recent challenges in the country, still opened new branches. Schneider-Ammann said the agreement signed by Nigeria and Switzerland on Joint Economic Cooperation would strengthen bilateral trade between both countries in the years ahead. We would continue to encourage our companies to explore the manifold business opportunities between our two countries. We will continue to take positive steps on the institutional levels to deepen the level of our economic relations in the years ahead, he said. The Consul General of Switzerland in Lagos Mr. Yves Nicolet-dit-Felix, also restated the commitment of the Swiss companies to increasing their businesses and investment in Nigeria. African leaders had gathered in Kigali, Rwanda on Wednesday, March 21, 2018 for the extraordinary summit of the African Union to sign a deal (AfCFTA), expected to improve the economic prosperity of the African nations by removing barriers to trade, like tariffs and import quotas, allowing the free flow of goods and services between its members. President Muhammadu Buhari and his South African counterpart, President Cyril Ramaphosa and nine other countries failed to sign the deal, with an excuse to consult more stakeholders on the agreement. Obasanjo, who attended the event criticised African presidents who refused to sign the trade pact, saying their excuse is mere flimsy excuse and criminal. In a video posted by Uganda's TV, NBS Television, Obasanjo said: "It is criminal for any African leader to talk of not understanding what we are going to sign (Free Trade Agreement in Africa) and afford not to be here." I am surprised that any African leader at this point in time will be talking about either not understanding the Continental free trade area or not to support what were going to sign. I see that as criminal. The signing and implementation of the (AfCFTA) will enable a shift from dependence on assistance to increased trade." The establishment of the Free Trade Area will result in the establishment of a market of over one billion two hundred million people, with a combined gross product of over three trillion dollars. That is where our salvation lies, trading amongst ourselves and consequently developing our economies. The agreement will inspire a change a perception of the continent by the rest of the world, he said. President Buhari in a social media post on Friday, March 22, 2018, said he has approved the setting-up of a committee to consult further on the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement. "At the Fed Executive Council Meeting on 21 March 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the setting-up of a Presidential Committee to widen Consultations on the Framework Agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area AfCFTA." "Committee will report back to FEC in 2 weeks," the Twitter post reads. The South African President had said his country needs more time to consult people at home, his Cabinet, partners at the National Economic Development and Labour Council, and finally to consult Parliamentarians and only signed the declaration on the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Netanyahu says Iran should be prevented from acquiring nukes From:Xinhua | 2018-03-22 21:57 Video PlayerClose JERUSALEM, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said here Thursday that Iran should to be prevented from acquiring nuclear weapons. Netanyahu made the remarks when he met with the visiting Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, stressing nowadays Iran threatens not only the Middle East but the entire world. During the meeting, the two sides praised the bilateral relations and discussed advancing bilateral cooperation in technology, innovation and trade. Netanyahu said the two sides have flourishing relations and have been working in many ways to cement and develop in all fields. President Radev visited the cyber center in south Israeli Be'er Sheva on Wednesday, where Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD) Director Yigal Unna gave a briefing on the INCD, including its responsibilities and coordination with other cyber bodies in Israel, the cyber threats and the main efforts in the field. Israel is seizing the future, not only in matters of cyber security but in all matters of technology that will change our lives, said Netanyahu. Israel is at the forefront of all this scientific research and technological know-how, he said. "We're eager to share it with our friends." "We are deeply interested to take the Israeli example to build a society that is both socially engaged and integrated," said Radev. "I mean basically the hi-tech, the cyber security, science and education." The president said he was also interested in diversification of resources. "Another good opportunity is natural gas import and transmission through Bulgaria," said Radev. In addition, he emphasized the cooperation with Israel in the efforts of fighting terrorism. "We have good cooperation in the field of fight against terror, and I would like to stress the important support we received from Israel after the terror act in Sarafovo in 2012," said Radev. Radev noted that the tense situation in the world requires security communities to cooperate with each other, and also the well-established ties in the sphere of defense between the two sides. Amnesty International, in a November 2017 report entitled "We Leave or We Die", labelled such forced displacements crimes against humanity. Here are some of the major evacuations: 2014 onwards: Homs In May 2014, rebels leave their fiefdom in the Old City of Homs, previously known as the "capital of the revolution", after a two-year siege. Bombardments and fighting have devastated the city's historic quarters. This is the first regime-opposition deal to result in a rebel retreat since the war broke out in 2011. Between March and May 2017, thousands of rebels and civilians leave Waer, the last rebel-held neighbourhood of Homs, allowing regime forces to fully retake control of Syria's third-largest city. 2016: Daraya, Moadimayet al-Sham In August 2016 the last rebels evacuate their ex-stronghold Daraya, a town in Damascus province, following a deal with the regime after a brutal four-year government siege and incessant bombardment. The rebels and their families are taken to Idlib and the Syrian army retakes control of Daraya. In September the army evacuates some 300 Daraya inhabitants from neighbouring rebel-held Moadimayet al-Sham, where they had taken refuge three years earlier. UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, criticises the "strategy" of forced displacement of the population and warns "after Daraya we may have other Darayas". 2016: Aleppo Following a suffocating siege and a blistering offensive with barrel bombs, rockets and shells, the Syrian army in December 2016 declares it is in full control of the country's second city, Aleppo. Thousands of rebels and civilians are evacuated under a deal sponsored by Iran, Russia and Turkey. 2017: Wadi Barada In January 2017 the army recaptures Wadi Barada, a flashpoint area that supplies water to Damascus, after rebels agree to withdraw in exchange for an end to a suffocating siege. The regime, backed by Lebanon's pro-Iranian Shiite militia Hezbollah, had been trying to retake the area, just northwest of Damascus, since December 20, 2016. The deal allows some 700 rebels and 1,400 civilians to leave Wadi Barada for Idlib province. 2017: Four towns In April 2017, under a deal sponsored by regime backer Iran and rebel supporter Qatar, nearly 11,000 fighters and civilians leave four besieged areas. This multiple evacuation involves Fuaa and Kafraya, two Shiite areas in Idlib province that are surrounded by rebels. Meanwhile residents leave rebel-held Zabadani and Madaya, besieged by regime troops, which now move in to take control. 2017: Barzeh, Qabun, Tishrin Local television stations carried live coverage as prosecutors escorted him from his home in Seoul and took him to jail shortly after midnight. His arrest came a year after his successor, former President Park Geun-hye, was arrested following her parliamentary impeachment on bribery and other criminal charges. The two former leaders are being held in separate prisons. I consider all this my own fault and feel remorse, Lee, 76, said in a handwritten statement posted on Facebook shortly before his arrest. South Koreas current president, Moon Jae-in, won an election to replace Park last May with promises to root out corrupt ties between politics and business that have bedeviled the country for decades. In recent weeks, state prosecutors have questioned or arrested several of Lees former aides as well as relatives and businessmen as they built their case against the former president. Lee, a former Hyundai executive, has long been dogged by allegations of corruption, and his arrest had been expected since he was summoned and questioned by prosecutors last week. Lee was accused of collecting more than $10 million in bribes from various sources, including Samsung, the countys largest business conglomerate, when he was a presidential candidate and after he took office. Samsung has not commented on the case, although prosecutors have questioned one of its former vice chairmen and raided his home. Prosecutors say that Lee hid his ownership of a lucrative auto parts maker in the name of relatives and embezzled $32 million from the business. Lee was also accused of using his presidential power to help settle a legal case implicating the auto parts company, getting a business conglomerate to pay $5.8 million in lawyer fees, they said. If convicted, Lee could be sentenced to life in prison. Almost all of South Koreas presidents have seen their reputations tarnished toward the end of their tenure or during their retirement because of corruption scandals involving them, their relatives or aides. Lee is the fourth former president to have been arrested on corruption charges since the 1990s. The former military dictator Chun Doo-hwan was sentenced to death and his friend and successor, Roh Tae-woo, was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison on bribery, mutiny and sedition charges in 1996. Both of their sentences were later reduced, and they were pardoned and released in 1997. Park, who succeeded Lee in 2013, became the first South Korean president to be impeached by parliament. That vote in December 2016 followed weeks of huge demonstrations fueled by accusations she was involved in a corruption scandal. She was formally removed from office and arrested last March. Last month, prosecutors asked a Seoul court to sentence Park to 30 years in prison on charges of collecting or demanding $21 million in bribes from big businesses. A three-judge panel is scheduled to announce its ruling on Park on April 6. In the wake of Parks impeachment, critics attributed the recurring corruption scandals at the center of political power in South Korea to what they called the unbridled power of its imperial presidency. On Thursday, Moons government unveiled a bill to revise the constitution to curtail presidential power. In his proposed constitutional revision, Moon suggested that the current, single five-year presidential term be replaced with a four-year term and that the incumbent leader be allowed to seek another term. But Moon cannot benefit from the proposed revision and cannot seek re-election. The proposed revision deprives the president of the right to name the chief of the countrys Constitutional Court, handing that decision over to the courts justices. It also reduced the presidents power in appointing commissioners of the government watchdog Board of Audit and Inspection. It also curtailed the presidents power to grant special pardons, which critics said has long been abused to free business tycoons convicted of bribery and other white-color crimes. But Moon will find it hard to pass his bill through parliament. His governing party has only 121 seats there, well short of the 195 votes needed for a constitutional revision. Even if the bill is approved by lawmakers, it is also subject to referendum. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. On Tuesday, officers in Pear Ridge Drive monitoring the movements of the suspect who is allegedly involved in the slaying of the woman. He tossed away the items in a dumpster. According to Dallas News, a name on the jewelry box was found to be associated with a Dallas address in the 6600 block of Warm Breeze Lane, where Dallas police conducted a welfare check and found Lu Thi Harris, 81, dead of homicidal violence. He was arrested and taken to Dallas Police Station for interrogation where they found more items belonging to the victim. The Pharmacy and Poisons Board has denied reports that an anti-malaria drug has been recalled from the Kenyan market. The Board said Duo-Cotexcin is only under quarantine pending investigations after failing a quality test. No recall or withdrawal is being conducted for the above product. The Pharmacy and Poisons Board is undertaking investigations to ascertain the suspected quality defect on that specific batch No 160621, a statement sent to newsrooms said. On Thursday, an official from the Board had indicated that Duo-Cotexcin would no longer be imported or sold in the Kenyan market. Ms. Jacinter Wasike, Director of Inspection, Surveillance and Enforcement told reporters in Kisumu that the move was due to safety concerns. Speaking during the All Kenyan Moot Court Competition held at KUs Parklands Campus Mr Muigai mentioned that he will be pursuing other interests after his resignation. When my appointment for this morning failed through. I decided to come myself to say goodbye to you the scholarly community of the law. As you must have read in the media after seven years in the state law office, I have moved on to pursue other interests and since I have been associated with this school it was founded. I actually opened this building and I have been associated with the Moot I thought I should say goodbye, he said. Moot court is an extracurricular activity at many law schools in which participants take part in simulated court proceedings. Muigai was joined by Attorney General Paul Kihara who is set to replace him after nomination by President Uhuru Kenyatta. Last month, Mr Kenyatta announced Muigais unexpected resignation during a press conference at State House. The former Emuhaya Constituency parliamentary hopeful had opined in a live Facebook broadcast on Thursday that the Wetangula ouster on Monday was not a Luhya versus Luo affair. Through an official twitter account, the Wetangula-led party said that Mr Simekha was using Nasa Coalition resources as though his, to run the coalition, in the midst of efforts to quell the storm which led to the ouster of Mr Wetangula. You have no jurisdiction to use the Nasa coalition account to give your personal opinion. Stop running NASA affairs with a nest of personal intrigues. Shame, the Ford Kenya tweeted to Nasa account. ALSO READ: The identity of person who conned MPs revealed The ugly spat on twitter comes hours after Raila Odinga, Moses Wetangula and Kalonzo Musyoka held talks on Thursday at a hotel in Nairobi to give way forward after 19 ODM senators unanimously voted to oust Wetangula as the Senate Minority leader. Crisis meeting Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Mr Odinga told the senators to iron out the issues bedeviling the Senate in a retreat and submit their resolutions to the Senate Speaker Mr Kenneth Lusaka. We have had a cordial discussion and we have briefed our senators. They have also briefed us on their issues at the Senate. The final response can be available in the next two weeks, Mr Odinga told a press conference. The former Kakamega Senator, in equal measure, told Wetangulas Ford Kenya, Kalonzos Wiper Democratic Party and Musalias ANC to officially form the new Opposition bloc. Taking on twitter on Friday, Dr Khalwale called upon the Raila Odinga led party to come out clean on whether it had joined the government, chiding the recent decision by the Senator to oust the Ford Kenya party leader. The choreography that played out at yesterdays NASA Senators meeting over Wetangula merely confirmed what some people dont want to admit, that is, the ODM has bolted to government. ANC, Ford Kenya and Wiper must now formalize their status as the opposition, he said. The heavy message from Khalwale comes amid rising concerns over the need to have a retreat by Nasa Senators, to craft yet another resolution, which according to Opposition chief Raila Odinga, would later be communicated to the Senate speaker, Kenneth Lusaka. Mr Odinga on Thursday told a press conference in Nairobi, in which he was accompanied by Mr Wetangula, that the ODM senators would be retreating in the next two weeks to chat a way forward after a seeming blistering ouster of Mr Wetangula as the Senate Minority leader. We have agreed that senators will go on a retreat within the next 14 days and discuss issues regarding the operation within the Senate, how to deal with issues which have been contentious, and report back to the Summit in two weeks, said Mr Odinga, in a press conference which was allegedly boycotted by ANCs Musalia Mudavadi. It is unclear how the senators, who had in open defiance of the Summits position sat and elected Mr Orengo, will reverse the decision during a retreat where they will be the only participants. Arrogant Wetangula Several ODM Senators have said that Mr Wetangula is arrogant, a trait that saw his ouster on Tuesday. Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina hinted that the meeting ordered for by the Nasa Summit chairman Mr Raila Odinga would not do much to salvage his state, after the ouster. We met, we deliberated and agreed that the Senate is an independent institution and we made the decision of retaining Orengo as our elected leader, Narok Senator Ledama ole Kina said as quoted by a local daily. During Thursdays meeting, sources said the senators accused Mr Wetangula of having a condescending attitude, telling him to his face that he had failed them and that he should accept their decision for the good of all. Mr Wetangula is said to have apologised to his colleagues, pleading with them to forgive him if he had hurt them in the course of his duties as their leader. Mr Musyoka told journalists that the coalition was intact despite the differences and dismissed claims that the Uhuru-Raila unity deal, or the dispute over the Senate seat, would split the alliance. At the level of principals, we are all together. We have all restated our unity in Nasa. And if we have taken that position, our MPs and members of county assemblies should stand guided, Mr Musyoka said. Huge pay By virtue of his Senate Minority office, Mr Wetangula, a lawyer by profession, had a government-provided Mercedes Benz car fueled by the government, six police officers two guarding his rural home, two for his Nairobi home and two bodyguards who accompany him besides a driver, at his disposal. Earlier, Mr Wetangula was attracting a monthly pay of Sh765,188 as basic salary, meaning he has been earning Sh143,938 above fellow senators for the last eight months, who earn a monthly salary of Sh621,250. The Bungoma Senator was equally entitled to a premium life insurance, which will now suffer a cut, superior pay package, vehicles, enhanced security and at least nine employees paid for by the government. All these will now go to his Siaya counterpart James Orengo, should the decision made on Tuesday by 19 senators in the Senate remain in force. As Juma's career has continued to shine under President Kenyatta, her husband, Prof Peter Kagwanja has also become an insider in the Jubilee circles as one of the public intellectuals defending the government policy. However, the relationship between Prof Kagwanja and the President had not always been rosy. In 2002 when Kagwanja actively supported Mwai Kibaki, he had penned an academic paper that accused Kenyatta of denouncing Mungiki but covertly supported them. The statement in the publication would later form an integral part of the evidence presented against Kenyatta at the International Criminal Court (ICC). "On March 3, 2002 a Mungiki fundraising in Nyahururu turned into a campaign rally for the young Uhuru Kenyatta as documented by Peter Kagwanja a scholar of Kenyas history, the prosecution told the judges. Indeed when the current President agreed to testify at the ICC in 2011, one of the notable questions from then prosecutor Moreno Ocampo was on the claims made by Kagwanja. "I have no idea what his sources are, and he is best suited to say why he believes so. He did not interview me when doing the article," Kenyatta stated. One of the judges had gone ahead to question the then Deputy President if he had ever sued the author of the controversial article. Kenyatta explained that it was the first time he had learnt of the claims made by Kagwanja but stated he would take the scholar to court. Undervalued and ignored, wetlands are disappearing and drying up in Nepal leaving the communities and wildlife that depend on them exposed in a changing climate A few kilometres north of the Indian border in Kapilvastu district the birthplace of Buddha lies Jagdishpur lake, the largest reservoir in Nepal, and one of the ten wetlands in the country listed under the Ramsar Convention. The lake is home to about 23,000 birds according to the latest surveyprobably the largest single avian population in the country. Local farmer Purnabashi Chaudhary often visits the lake to collect medicinal plants. When we reached the lake in the early afternoon on the first week of February, Chaudhary was resting in the shade of a tree after applying the juice of the Madaar plant to his teeth. It relieves pain, he said, pointing to a shrub nearby. But overgrazing of goats has left very few plants around the lake now. In the early 1970s the reservoir was built to irrigate adjoining paddy fields and later expanded to 225 hectares. This became one of the best habitats for endemic and migratory birds. However, locals were not aware of its importance until recently. People used to think that these birds come every year so whats wrong with killing them for meat, added Khan. This all changed when the local communities came together to control such activities a few years back. But the poaching hasnt stopped completely. Some people still kill birds. If asked not to then they threaten us and say [the birds] are public property, Chaudhary said. Weighty wetlands According to the Ramsar Convention, 2,293 lakes are listed as wetlands of international importance globally, covering 230 million hectares. Listed as the richest ecosystems on earth after tropical rainforests, these wetlands support wild animals and plants, some of which are on the brink of extinction. Jagdishpur hosts not only waterfowl but one-horned rhinos and royal Bengal tigers also use these wetlands as a source of water. Wetlands are also a major source of livelihoods for communities across Nepal. From fish to fodder, drinking water to medicinal plants, communities benefit from the natural wealth of wetlands. We can hardly think of life without this water source as it irrigates our fields, provides water to drink, said Krishna Chaudhary, drinking untreated water from the source of Ghodaghodi lake in Kailali district. We are at the source so I can drink water without treatment, but as you move south, it gets polluted and you cant imagine drinking it, he smiled. Undervalued and ignored Government officials agree that there hasnt been enough done to protect wetlands and it is low priority on their agenda. With increasing population pressure, land degradation, haphazard road construction and unplanned urbanization, there is tremendous pressure on wetlands and we should be more serious about protecting these water bodies which are often termed as the earths kidneys, said Maheshwar Dhakal, joint secretary at the Ministry of Environment and Forests of the Nepal government. With the federal system in place now, we hope that wetlands will receive more attention in future, he added. Nepal promulgated a new constitution in 2015 and decided to establish a federal system, abolishing the monarchy. Under the new constitution, federal governments are now responsible for managing wetlands. Its not about who has been given authority, its about where this falls on their priority list. Wetlands have been thought of as wastelands despite their significant role in ecosystems and encroached or destroyed, said Hem Sagar Baral, Country Manager at Zoological Society of Londons Nepal office and a noted ornithologist in the country. Heaven for birds but till when? My first visit to Nepal was in 1978. I will forever remember the remarkable diversity of bird life that greeted us in the Sal forests of the Terai the feeding parties, seemingly in a hurry, packed full of woodpeckers, drongos, flycatchers, and warblers. Bird after bird was new for me and I was in heaven, wrote Richard Grimmett, who now heads Bird Life Internationals global conservation program, in a book titled, Status of Nepals birds: The National Rest List series. But in last 40 years, things have changed a lot. About 20% of Nepals 878 birds are threatened with extinction, including 37 species which are threatened on a global scale, according to the latest research by Bird Life International and the Zoological Society of London. About 25% of those threatened are wetland birds. This years survey of birds, which is yet to be published, estimates 45,000- 50,000 birds traveled from northern Asia to Nepal this winter traveling from as far away as Siberia. Its hard to count exact numbers but our regular survey shows about 150 species of birds migrate to Nepal in winter every year and about one-third of them are wetland-dependent, said Baral, country manager of Nepal at the Zoological Society of London. But ornithologists have warned that the rapid degradation and deterioration of wetlands may lead to the permanent extinction of several species. Comb Ducks used to be spotted frequently on Ghodaghodi, the largest lake in Kailali district, Nepals far western region. But the species hasnt been recorded in the area for the past twenty years, said Baral. Unlike other species, the Comb Duck wont easily bounce back even if conditions are made favorable, he added. The Comb Duck is listed under category II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), meaning it will soon be threatened with extinction if not protected. Another ornithologist Benj Smelt, who has been doing research on birds in Ghodaghodi, said that once common species like peafowl (Mayur) have almost disappeared and called for authorities to take action before its too late. Human-wildlife conflict Jogilal Dagaura has a contract to raise fish in a small pond on the boundary of Ghodaghodi lake owned by Ghodaghodi Forest Users Group. While his sons sell fish in the market, his job is to guard the lake and protect the fish from birds. Every few minutes he makes a loud sound to distract birds that come to feed in the pond. As we tried to talk to him, he ran to another corner of the lake as he saw some birds trying to catch fish. Its his daily routine. We bring fingerlings and grow in this pond and sell in the market, but its hard to save them from birds, said Dagaura. Birds have become a source of conflict in villages because they eat their crops. In Ghodaghodi lake conservation is a story of happiness and sorrow. On the one hand, communities are happy to help protect the lake and birds, but on the other hand, birds have left them helpless. They eat our crops, which is the only source of food for many of us, as we cant afford to buy food. Its really hard to farm here with birds around, said Deepak Shah, Chairperson of Ghodaghodi Community Forest Users Group. People have been demanding compensation for years, but the government has turned a deaf ear. Who listens to us? A compensation policy would have been very helpful as it would encourage local communities to engage with conservation of lakes and birds, but authorities are not the least bothered about it, added Shah. The Nepal government has a policy to compensate people for the damage caused by wild animals but this doesnt include birds. Deepak Shah thinks that the government is not serious about protecting lakes or forests and the communitys efforts have been undervalued. A few years ago, he said, a boy fell into Ghodaghodi lake while playing and was killed by a crocodile. Villagers dragged his body out of the crocodiles mouth and demanded compensation from the government for his family, but not a single penny was provided. Instead authorities took that wounded crocodile, arranged a veterinary doctor from Kathmandu and put it back in a river nearby after treatment. They didnt even provide transportation to carry the boys dead body to the place of cremation, Shah added. The district administration office said that there is no policy to compensate for such casualties. Despite our commitment and efforts to save the lake, the authorities have not valued our contribution and that has irked the communities. Humans have less value than animals here, he added. Declining fish, worried fishermen About 21 ethnic communities directly depend on the wetlands of Nepal and fishing is one of their major occupations. Its hard to get fish nowadays, wetlands are shrinking or disappearing and there are too many people, said Bimala Bote, a fisherwoman near Jagdishpur lake in Kapilvastu in west Nepal. Its not only in Jagdishpur that fish are declining. Rupa Chaudhary in Maghi village near Ghodaghodi lake in far west had a similar experience. Research shows that fish diversity is declining rapidly in the wetlands of Nepal, especially in the southern plains. In Ghodaghodi lake alone there has been a 50% decline in fish diversity over the last 20 years. Twenty-seven fish species were recorded in 1998, but only 13 species were found in 2017. Fishing communities in the east are equally worried. On the Koshi riverbank, we met Chandan Kumar Mukhiya, a fisherman who feeds his family of four. As fishing became more difficult he opted to take a part-time job as an electrician in Indias capital New Delhi. Fish are declining and some days I have to return home empty-handed. A few years ago it wasnt the case, Mukhiya said. A 2009 study found fish from the wetlands of Koshi Tappu are the most important source of food and income for local people. There are 15 ethnic communities who depend on fishing in the Koshi Tappu wetland alone. In the past, there were few people who used to fish but nowadays everyone is fishing thats why its hard to find fish, added Mukhiya. Wetlands are also the major source of drinking water for wildlife, including rare or endangered species. Wildlife officials said an increasingly dry climate across the country has put wetlands under threat and this will lead to a shortage of water for animals to drink. We have already started pumping groundwater and collecting it in the ponds for wildlife to drink in western Nepal, but increasing dryness may lead to similar conditions in central and eastern Nepal, said Bed Kumar Dhakal, chief warden at Chitwan National Park. We dont have long-term data to help us understand the pattern of change in our wetlands. I think is very important to invest in this so we can make better plans before its too late, he added. According to Nepals Water and Energy Commission Secretariat report, the annual average precipitation over Nepal is decreasing at the rate of 9.8 mm per decade. Deserve better Wetlands are one of the most threatened ecosystems on the planet but the richest in biodiversity. The first thing is to make everyone understand that these are not wastelands and they have a huge role in providing food, water, medicine and many other services as well as maintain ecosystems, said Hem Sagar Baral. As the most undervalued natural resources in the country, they fall prey to any development work, but they need more respect. Our thinking in Nepal needs to change, said Maheshwar Dhakal, joint secretary at the ministry of environment and forests. For us water means rivers flowing from north to south and we hardly consider the small ponds, lakes or marshy lands that provide such an important resource to people. They deserve better respect and better management. Most of the communities we met have plans to attract more tourists and build infrastructure around or inside lake to earn money. We would like to get boats for tourists and generate income, hopefully, we will be doing this by the end of this year, said, Chandan Kumar Bhagat, manager of Barju lake in eastern Nepals Sunsari district. Locals around Jadishpur had similar plans. Conservationists worry tourist activities will damage the habitat of a large number of birds and animals that depend on wetlands. However, locals say that its hard to maintain the lake without funding and promoting tourism will allow them to raise money to protect the wetlands. If there is no benefit for locals in terms of money through tourism then who would be interested in saving these lakes, Bhagat said. Ornithologist Hem Sagar Baral believes the local area can attract more environmentally aware tourists. People go with loudspeakers, dance, and drink and there is no regulatory body to monitor. Such kinds of activities have negative impacts on birds or degrade habitat. There could be a different way to enjoy in these wetlands, he said. We can promote bird watching groups, where people enjoy nature rather than boats. Quality tourism rather than quantity would save biodiversity as well as increase income of communities around, he added. thethirdpole.nets Nepal Editor Ramesh Bhushal and photographer Nabin Baral traveled to several wetlands in Nepals lowlands called Terai to make this multimedia package. This story was produced with support from Internews Earth Journalism Network. This story was first published on thethirdpole.net QUIZ: Guess the Road Songs We can't wait to get back on the road again! Play this quiz and see if how many you can get right! On March 20 Rolls-Royce Power Systems and Force Motors signed an agreement to form Force MTU Power Systems, a 49:51 joint venture based at Chakan near Pune in India which would produce MTUs 10 and 12-cylinder Series 1600 engines for power generation and underfloor rail applications. Serial production is planned ... CHINA: The substantial completion of main construction works for the 26 km Hong Kong section of the 142 km Guangzhou Shenzhen Hong Kong Express Rail Link was marked with a ceremony at Hong Kong West Kowloon Station on March 23. USA: Hopes of progress in the Gateway Programme to build new tunnels between New York and New Jersey were raised on March 22 when $650m of federal funding was directed to Amtraks Northeast Corridor. Moscow court dismisses Telegram users lawsuit against FSB RIA Novosti 14:42 23/03/2018 MOSCOW, March 23 (RAPSI) The Meshchansky District Court of Moscow has dismissed a class action lawsuit filed by users of Telegram messenger against the Federal Security Service (FSB), the press-service of the court has told RAPSI. The lawsuit was dismissed because its content did not prove that contested actions violated rights and freedoms of 36 plaintiffs in this case. According to the plaintiffs, the demand to provide Telegrams keys to the FSB for deciphering is illegal. On March 22, Telegram Messenger LLP filed an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against an 800,000-ruble fine ($14,000) imposed on the company for refusal to provide information on user messages decoding to the FSB. In June 2017, the communications watchdog Roskomnadzor requested Telegram management to comply with the Russian legislation or face blocking of the messenger. Telegram founder Pavel Durov agreed to register the service in Russia. However, he refused to abide by laws incompatible with Telegram privacy policy, Durov wrote on his VKontakte (VK) page in late June. In July, Durov received the FSB requests to provide information for decoding messages of six app users. In September, law enforcement authorities drew up administrative protocols against Telegram because of law violation, as Durov failed to reply for the request. The Meshchansky District Court of Moscow has fined the company 800,000 rubles ($14,000) for refusal to provide FSB with information on message decoding concerning several users. Telegram has been found guilty of failure to store and (or) furnish information on users and their messages to law enforcement agencies. The ruling has become effective. In December, Telegram Messenger LLP filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court of Russia seeking to cancel the Federal Security Services (FSB) decree establishing the procedure for provision of information on decoding of user data. On March 19, the lawsuit was dismissed. Telegram was obliged to comply with the FSB order within 15 days. According to the Federal Law On Information, Information Technologies and the Protection of Information, organizers of information distribution on the Internet must submit information about users and their messages to the authorized governmental bodies conducting investigative activities and ensuring the state security. Russian Tax Service demands $5.8 million from VIM Airlines RIA Novosti, Alexander Tarasenkov 15:33 23/03/2018 MOSCOW, March 23 (RAPSI) The Federal Tax Service of Russia (FTS) has filed an application with the Commercial Court of Tatarstan seeking to include a 333.3-million-ruble debt (5.8 million) of troubled VIM Airlines in the list of creditors' claims, according to court records. The claim was put on hold until April 17. In early March, the republics commercial court dismissed a demand of the local FTS department to declare the air carrier bankrupt. In December 2017, the airlines CEO Vyacheslav Kononenko said that the company is facing a serious problem in that it cant pay salaries because of debts before the FTS reaching 500 million rubles ($8.8 million). According to Kononenko, all funds transferred to the airlines accounts are automatically blocked and transferred to tax authorities. On February 19, the Commercial Court of Tatarstan initiated monitoring procedure against VIM Airlines. A representative of the Russian Credit Bank, which also filed a bankruptcy claim against the airline, said that the company owed it over 100 million rubles ($1.7 million) and that two parties are currently negotiating the settlement. On October 17, 2017, a criminal case was launched over premeditated bankruptcy of VIM Airlines. Investigators believe that certain top managers and owners of the air carrier intentionally made losing bargains in 2016 and 2017 including those aimed at siphoning of assets abroad. The deals led to enormous financial outlay and undoubtedly resulted in the companys failure to pay debts to creditors in full. According to investigators, employees of the VIM Airlines continued to sell tickets to clients despite being aware that the airline was not able to transfer passengers because there were not enough funds to buy fuel. Investigators believe that the employees embezzled more than one million rubles ($17,000). VIM Airlines CEO and chief accountant, Alexander Kochnev and Yekaterina Panteleyeva, have been arrested as part of the case. Co-owners of VIM Airlines Rashid Mursekayev and Svetlana Mursekayeva fled Russia and are currently residing abroad, according to investigators. Allegedly Mursekayev and Kalashnikova fled Russia to hide from investigative authorities. In December, the Basmanny District Court of Moscow issued an arrest warrant for Mursekayev in absentia. Investigators also believe that between 2015 and 2017 the defendants abused their office positions to buy overpriced aviation fuel from companies controlled by Mursekayev. Property details: LAND FOR SALE NEAR LAKE ERWIN & BALDWIN LAKE! Would you like to own property in Californias San Bernardino mountains? Does land in Big Bear Valley interest you? Here is your opportunity to purchase a well positioned lot for a fraction of market value. Located along Avenue B, the lot itself is rectangular in shape and measures approximately 2,500 square feet. Please feel free to drive out and visit the property for yourself prior to bidding. Capitalize on this opportunity now. The economy is on t... Price: $ 455 Seller State of Residence: Wisconsin State/Province: California Zip/Postal Code: 92314 Location: 532**, Milwaukee, Wisconsin You will be redirected to eBay Nearby 92314 Property details: LAND FOR SALE DEADHORSE LAKE AREA Would you like to own property in beautiful Lake county Oregon? 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Search Real Estate , We're sorry, this article is not currently available By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 03/23/2018 ADVERTISEMENT FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. alum Erica Rose and husband Charles Sanders are going to have a baby!Erica revealed she's expecting her first child with Charles via Instagram on Thursday."So excited to announce that we will soon be a family of four! Baby Sanders coming this August," the 34-year-old reality TV star captioned a photo of the couple as well as her 1-year-old daughter Holland from a previous relationship. "#bigsis #twoundertwo #familyoffour."Erica and Charles, a Texas-based independent insurance adjuster for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, got married in December 2017 in front of 300 guests, including many familiar faces from franchise.The pair tied the knot just two short months after getting engaged at the Houston Zoo during Holland's first birthday party.Erica welcomed her baby girl into the world with ex-boyfriend Galen Gentry in September 2016.Erica and Galen began dating in November 2015, and she revealed she was expecting her first child with the lawyer in February 2016. They never got engaged or married, however, and Erica told E! News in September 2017 they had split.But then Charles, whom she's known since high school, came back into her life like a sudden flame. Their romance sparked after Erica messaged Charles on Bumble."[Charles] moved back to Houston from Miami around the same time [I did]. We ran into each other at one of our family's charity events for a Kentucky derby party and we literally have been inseparable since," Eric revealed at the time.Eric previously told Us Weekly she fell in love with her now-husband when they took a vacation to Aspen, CO, together in August 2017."Holland was having altitude sickness and he took care of her," Erica recalled. "I never told a guy I loved him first in my entire life, but I said it then. We were going to bed and I told Holland I loved her and then I said to Charles, 'I love you too.' And he said it back."Erica reportedly said last year it felt "so good" to actually "find true love," especially with someone she's known half of her life.Erica initially vied for the affection of Lorenzo Borghese on 's ninth season. She then competed on the second and third editions of Bachelor Pad and later appeared on VH1's You're Cut Off! reality series.Interested in more news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group 'Is the tech wonder of our times headed for trouble?' asks Ajit Balakrishnan. Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com 'Merkel and Macron warn against perils of digital imperialism'. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief when I read this in the respected and normally balanced British newspaper, The Telegraph, reporting from the World Economic Forum at Davos a few weeks ago: Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany, and Emmanuel Macron, president of France, warning the rest of the countries of Europe 'to prepare a joint defence against digital imperialism warning that the bloc risks being left behind as US corporate giants and the Chinese State fight for dominance over the information revolution'. I needed to not only rub my eyes but also perhaps pour cold water on my head to wake up and tell myself that I was not imagining all this. France, one of the most vicious colonisers of all not so long ago, warning others about a new wave of colonialism? Germany, which spent most of the first half of the 20th century waging two World Wars, warning the world about imperialism? This apparent rant comes on the heels of the European Commission's decision to fine Google a gigantic $2.7 billion for antitrust violations pertaining to its Google Shopping search. According to the European Commission, Google has 'systematically given prominent placement to its own comparison shopping service and demoted rival comparison shopping services in its search results as a result of which rival comparison shopping services appear on average only on page four of Google's search results, and others appear even further down.' In another bewildering twist, and from what I can make of it, at least half of America, the country that created the Internet and promoted it to the rest of the world, seems to be convinced that its presidential election -- the one that made Donald J Trump US president -- was tampered by the Russians using the power of the Internet. As they would have it, but for this tampering by the Russians, Hillary Clinton would have been elected president! Then comes the sad news that Sri Lanka's Buddhists and Muslims are at war with each other and that (this is from the tech enthusiastic site Engadget), 'in an effort to curb extremist violence in Sri Lanka, government officials have ordered some social networks to shut down... the blockage affects Facebook, Instagram, Viber, and WhatsApp, specifically', and, according to Engadget, in the past, Turkey has done similar, censoring tweets and condemning social media as 'the worst menace to society'. 'Late last year, Congo ordered cuts to the Internet and SMS to slow down protesters. And less than a day after that instance, Iranian officials blocked mobile access to Instagram and Telegram.' My poor, weary eyes! By now I have rubbed and rubbed them in a vain attempt to make sense of all this. Is it free speech that is being suppressed, as Engadget speculates, or is it that a small super-Westernised section of society in many different countries that is protesting, or is it that the mere availability of communication channels makes some sections of society make their protests sound disproportionately loud? The Competition Commission of India has also chipped in, after being prodded for almost a decade by courageous Bharat Matrimony, and ruled that Google abused its dominant position and imposed a penalty on Google amounting to 5 per cent of the average revenue generated from India over the three years to FY15, an amount of Rs 1.35 billion, which has to be deposited within 60 days. The CCI explained that the company 'was found to be indulging in practices of search bias and by doing so, it causes harm to its competitors as well as to users'. And to cap it all, Tim Berners-Lee, the man who thought up the idea of the World Wide Web (guys and gals, that's what the 'WWW' in front of your personal or office Web site stands for), writes in Britain's The Guardian newspaper: 'The Web can be weaponised -- and we can't count on big tech to stop it... It's dangerous having a handful of companies control how ideas and opinions are shared. A regulator may be needed.' 'These dominant platforms are able to lock in their position by creating barriers for competitors. They acquire startup challengers, buy up new innovations and hire the industry's top talent.' 'Add to this the competitive advantage that their user data gives them and we can expect the next 20 years to be far less innovative than the last'... 'Today, I want to challenge us all to have greater ambitions for the Web. I want the Web to reflect our hopes and fulfil our dreams, rather than magnify our fears and deepen our divisions'... 'Let's assemble the brightest minds from business, technology, government, civil society, the arts and academia to tackle the threats to the Web's future. At the Web Foundation, we are ready to play our part in this mission and build the Web we all want. Let's work together to make it possible.' Ajit Balakrishnan, chairman and founder of Rediff.com, is the author of The Wave Rider, A Chronicle of the Information Age. You can write to him at ajitb@rediffmail.com US President Donald Trump on Friday imposed $60 billion (Rs 3.9 lakh crore) of tariffs on Chinese imports to punish the country for its unfair seizure of American intellectual property, a move that could escalate the already tense trade relations between the worlds two biggest economies. Trump directed the US trade representative to level tariffs on about $60 billion worth of Chinese imports after a seven-month investigation into the intellectual property theft, which has been a longstanding point of contention in US-China trade relations. We have a tremendous intellectual property theft problem. Its going to make us a much stronger, much richer nation, Trump said. This has been long in the making, Trump told reporters in the White House at the ceremony while signing his memorandums targeting Chinas economic actions. Trumps action comes a day after US Trade Representative concluded its Special 301 investigation against China and presented its report to him. The USTR report concluded that China uses foreign ownership restrictions, including joint venture requirements, equity limitations and other investment restrictions to require or pressure technology transfer from US companies to Chinese entities. This requires taking effective action to confront China over its state-led efforts to force, strong-arm, and even steal US technology and intellectual property, said US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. Years of talking about these problems with China has not worked. The US is committed to using all available tools to respond to Chinas unfair, market-distorting behaviour. Chinas unprecedented and unfair trade practices are a serious challenge not just to the United States, but to our allies and partners around the world, Lighthizer said. Trump said his Section 301 trade action could be about $60 billion. He instructed USTR to publish a proposed list of products and any tariff increases within 15 days and to pursue dispute settlement in the World Trade Organization to address Chinas discriminatory technology licensing practices. He also has directed the Treasury Secretary to address concerns about investment in the US directed or facilitated by China in industries or technologies deemed important to the country. Trump said Americas trade deficit with China was a whopping $504 billion (Rs 32.8 lakh crore) per annum. According to some estimates it is $375 billion. But anyway you look at it, it is the largest deficit of any country in the history of our world. Its out of control, he said. But thats really just a fraction of what were talking about, he said, adding that he has asked China to reduce the trade deficit immediately by $100 billion. Its a lot. That would be anywhere from 25 per cent, depending on the way you figure, to maybe something even more than that. But we have to do that, he said. Reiterating his use of word reciprocal, Trump said it was not good when they charge 25 per cent for a car to go in, and the US charges two per cent for their car to come into the US. Thats how China rebuilt itself. The tremendous money that weve paid since the founding of the World Trade Organization, which has actually been a disaster for us. Its been very unfair to us. The arbitrations are very unfair. The judging has been very unfair. And knowingly, we always have a minority, and its not fair, he said. Trump alleged that China had been indulging in tremendous intellectual property theft worth hundreds of billions of dollars on a yearly basis. Ive spoken to the president. Ive spoken to representatives of China. Weve been dealing with it very seriously, he said. As you know, were renegotiating NAFTA. Well see how that turns out. Many countries are calling to negotiate better trade deals, because they dont want to have to pay the steel and aluminium tariffs, and we are negotiating with various countries, he added. As per the USTR report, China imposes substantial restrictions on, and intervenes in US firms investments and activities, including through restrictions on technology licensing term. These restrictions deprive US technology owners of the ability to bargain and set market-based terms for technology transfer. As a result, US companies seeking to license technologies must do so on terms that unfairly favour Chinese recipients. China conducts and supports unauthorised intrusions into and theft from the computer networks of US companies. These actions provide the Chinese government with unauthorised access to intellectual property, trade secrets, or confidential business information, including technical data, negotiating positions, and sensitive and proprietary internal business communications, and they also support Chinas strategic development goals, including its science and technology advancement, military modernisation and economic development, USTR report concluded. Image: Trump directed the US trade representative to level tariffs on about $60 billion worth of Chinese imports after a seven-month investigation into the intellectual property theft, which has been a longstanding point of contention in US-China trade relations. Photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters Poultry prices are likely to start firming up in the next four weeks, when the examination season gets over and with the onset of summer in April. Poultry prices have declined by as much as 21 per cent since the beginning of February, thanks to a weak seasonal consumer demand and a delay in the onset of summer. Besides, consumers have also stayed away from aggressive buying due to a bird flu scare. Data compiled by poultrybazaar.net, one of Indias leading information dissemination platforms, show that the price of eggs in Delhi declined the most by over 21 per cent to quote at Rs 3.10 apiece early this week, against Rs 3.95 a piece on February 1. In Mumbai, the prices slumped 11 per cent to Rs 3.70 apiece from Rs 4.15 during the same period. Similarly, the price of broiler chicken in Mumbai nosedived 18.6 per cent to the present Rs 57 a kg, compared with Rs 70 on February 1. In Cochin, broiler chicken is currently selling at Rs 60 a kg, against Rs 69 a kg at the beginning of February. The poultry price decline is seasonal. During the ongoing school and college examination period, poultry consumption remains slow. "We expect its normal consumption to return soon after the exam season gets over, said Balram Yadav, managing director, Godrej Agrovet Ltd. Part of the decline in poultry consumption can be attributed to the scare of bird flu or avian influenza (H5N1), which, according to industry sources, erupted in Bengaluru in December last year. Since then, the Government of Maharashtra has issued alerts of its spread across eleven districts and directed officials in the animal husbandry department to collect samples for testing. Incidentally, none of these samples was positive. Avian influenza scare, however, prompted the authorities in Saudi Arabia to suspend the import of poultry products from India, albeit temporarily. Ramesh Khatri, president of the Poultry Federation of India, blames non-governmental organisations' (NGOs') influence on government policies. These foreign-funded NGOs do not want the poultry industry to grow. "They keep creating panic by declaring avian influenza outbreaks at certain farms. "There has been no such outbreak in my view, so the temporary suspension on their import into Saudi Arabia is unwarranted, he said. Meanwhile, poultry prices are likely to start firming up in the next four weeks, when the examination season gets over and with the onset of summer in April. During February and March, we have low poultry consumption. We expect the price of poultry products to start firming up in the second half of April, with onset of summer, said K G Anand, general manager, Venkateshwara Hatcheries. Over the past few years, the demand trend for poultry products has changed with an active participation in promotion from farmers. Compared with earlier, when poultry products were consumed mostly in the winter season, several promotional activities have managed to establish that poultry consumption is beneficial in summer as well. Photograph: Michael Dalder/Reuters Within a week, a government reeling under charges of failing to save such massive loot, being friends and complicit with alleged thieves, allowing PSBs to be bankrupted under its watch, had morphed into the exact opposite: A government of relentless, unforgiving corruption fighters. That's the art of politics by headline management, says Shekhar Gupta. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra D Modi, left, and Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit A Shah. Photograph: Kind courtesy @BJP4India/Twitter Look back at the headlines screaming out of your front pages that caused prime time shout-rage last month. They were all about the nephew-uncle duo of Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, and the money they had stolen from the Punjab National Bank. In their wake, came Vikram Kothari of Rotomac Pens and sundry others, in the sub-Rs 10 billion zone. It seemed there was a run on public sector banks. It wasn't good for a government that came to power on the plank of fighting corruption. Critics and the Congress were mocking Prime Minister Narendra D Modi for claiming to be the chowkidar (watchman) of public money. Commentators were saying the Bharatiya Janata Party had lost its anti-corruption plank, especially as Nirav Modi had featured close to the PM in that Davos group photo. Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi, the names of two other celebrity tax/debt exiles, were added to the latest ones. The doughtiest BJP spokespersons were struggling on television channels. Their argument -- that the theft took place under the United Progressive Alliance in 2011 -- was defeated by the Central Bureau of Investigation's own first information reports. Those headlines were looking ugly. Then it all changed. These headlines died. New ones appeared. No, I am not suggesting that Sridevi's death had something to do with it. That was obviously a pure and tragic coincidence. But the larger change was manmade, or rather BJP-made. So think of the headlines: Did Karti Chidambaram take $700,000 from Indrani and Peter Mukerjea? Did his father help in striking that 'deal'? Karti Chidambaram is denied home-cooked food while in custody, but the judge has allowed him to keep wearing his gold chains, and so on. The discourse has changed. He could have been arrested any of these days over the past several weeks. Please note he wasn't arrested when he was leaving the country, but when he arrived at airport immigration. Because, if you want to control the message, the timing is the thing. This was a sledgehammer blow, but check out the other, more artful stuff that has been happening. After remaining frozen for four years, the appointment of a Lokpal has made a comeback. As expected, the Congress protested and another set of virtuous headlines emerged. Then the latest, at a Cabinet meeting earlier this month, the decision to pass an anti-fugitive law, whereby anybody not responding to enforcement agencies within six weeks will be declared a fugitive. You'd wonder what further difference it would make to Mallya or the jeweller Modi if they were also declared fugitive. Besides, the question we can reasonably ask: Aren't they fugitives already? On another day, I would have dismissed it as 'Law-lipop Politics' (throw in a law when you can't fix a problem). Not now. Because it serves the purpose beautifully. Another set of leaks emerged saying the government may bring in new rules whereby immigration authorities will prevent all wilful defaulters of bank loans from leaving the country. Now, in terms of just legality and fundamental rights, who would decide whether a citizen is a wilful defaulter or if it is a case of business loss? Further, isn't it like the typical old Indian police method of posting cops outside any house that has just been burgled -- never mind that it failed to prevent the burglary? Compare the state of politics today with just a few weeks ago when the BJP was on the ropes. On every television channel, the BJP is back on the offensive and the Congress is defending the Chidambarams. Elsewhere, the editorial commentary and talk is about the Lokpal, the anti-fugitive Bill, and immigration restrictions on defaulters. A new regulator has been announced to oversee the chartered accountants who, in turn, oversee the nationalised banks. These banks have apparently been also ordered to report to the CBI all wilful defaults above Rs 500 million. The CBI also registered a case against the promoters of Simbhaoli Sugars, including Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's son-in-law, for 'loan fraud' on a PSB. Remember, it started with those fat-cat jewellers escaping before all this fortification was put in place, with about Rs 200 billion in all, that one of them featured in that Davos photo and another was addressed by the PM with a familiar 'Mehul Bhai', though in a light-hearted jibe. That was bad news, so forgettable, and forgotten. Within a week, a government reeling under charges of failing to save such massive loot, being friends and complicit with alleged thieves, allowing PSBs to be bankrupted under its watch, had morphed into the exact opposite: A government of relentless, unforgiving corruption fighters. That's the art of politics by headline management. List the big crisis points in the nearly four years of this government and you will see the same strategy at work. The setback in Uri was set right soon enough with highly dramatised 'surgical strikes'. Questioning that would amount to doubting the armed forces so the Opposition also mostly shut up and applauded. When the pain of demonetisation seemed building to unacceptable levels, stories and pictures of several millions of cash found in different parts of the country came up. In the course of time it became evident that most of these pictures of cash-piles were fake. But for the moment, the mood had shifted. The Rohith Vemula suicide saw the scene shift immediately to Jawaharlal Nehru University and registration of sedition cases against 'Bharat tere tukde' speeches allegedly by Kanhaiya Kumar and Umar Khalid although nobody has as yet seen a video with either of them saying it. The crisis in Doklam was a more urgent issue and a simpler method was used: Just 'persuasion' with television channels and newspapers to not make a big deal of it in the national interest. None of our commando-comedians, who sound like they are itching every evening to carry out their own surgical strikes across the Kashmir LoC, even mentioned Doklam. All governments try owning the message, but the Modi-Shah Bharatiya Janata Party has developed it into a fine art. All new headlines conform to the three essential attributes of Brand Modi for the voters: An incorruptible corruption fighter, an unabashed protector of Hindu-ised nationalism, shoulders so broad and chest so wide that no crisis ever brings a crease to his face. Because he knows he has done nothing wrong and that he is unassailable. That's why he has chosen never to respond to any setback. Compare that with Manmohan Singh and his government. It would go into hiding even if it was rumoured that somebody stole tomatoes from a sabzi-wala (vegetable-seller) cart under their watch. They must see the Modi government's performance during its crises with awe, and should also applaud its political genius. By Special Arrangement with ThePrint 'Not many in the country have cottoned on to the precise nature of the deepening hold the BJP has over the majority of the Indian people.' 'The secret is rooted in the fact that the majority of the electorate of this country, composed of Hindus, are for the first time in 70 years feel liberated, without having to conceal their identity as if it is a heinous crime.' 'Modi should not feel shy of proclaiming as the meaning of secularism regard for all religions in proportion to their numbers in tune with the spirit of democracy and adopting it as the State policy,' says B S Raghavan. IMAGE: Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi with Congress President Rahul Gandhi at the Congress steering committee meeting in New Delhi, March 16, 2018. Photograph: Kamal Singh/PTI Photo Congress President Rahul Gandhi's speech at the recent gathering of the faithful is nothing short of an outright declaration of war against the Bharatiya Janata Party, presaging a campaign that will be no-punches-pulled, no-holds-barred and no quarters given or taken. He has gone hammer and tongs at Prime Minister Narendra D Modi, in person, holding him up as a personification of corruption, and BJP President Amit A Shah as a murder accused. He has likened the BJP to the evil-incarnate Kauravas, fighting for power at all costs and by all means, and the Congress as the noble-minded Pandavas, fighting for truth. Obviously, the Congress president has convinced himself, or been convinced, that this is the kind of campaign, hot on the heels of the shock and awe of the phenomenal serial loot of taxpayers' money by Nirav Modi and others of his ilk that is still unravelling, will touch the chords of the mass of electorate and help dislodge the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance from power in the 2019 election to the Lok Sabha. Can it be that Rahul Gandhi has decided to play the cards of corruption and criminalised politics to the hilt in his party's forthcoming campaign? If so, he had better watch out. He may be committing a Himalayan blunder. Indeed, it will be political harakiri. Rahul Gandhi ought not to take voters for fools. Elections all over the country since Independence have been political education for the masses on a vast scale, and by now the average voter has perfected his sense of discernment and native wisdom into a fine art. Neither Rahul Gandhi nor the Congress can make the mud of corruption stick on Modi or the BJP or NDA, in the light of the horrendous scale on which it was practised by the UPA government. Sonia Gandhi's attempt to condemn the NDA government for the handling of the Kashmir situation will also boomerang on the Congress. By now, the whole of India knows that the present pass in Jammu and Kashmir is entirely due to the original sin of the Congress. People in the rest of India, of whatever persuasion, are thoroughly fed up with the duplicitous incompetence of Kashmir politicians and want the Gordian knot cut in a decisive manner. Not many in the country -- and that includes most political parties other than the BJP -- have cottoned on to the precise nature of the deepening hold the BJP is having over the majority of the Indian people. It may look like being based on the planks of development, a stress on inclusiveness (Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas), and its promise of basic minimum needs like housing, toilets, drinking water and so on. A section of urban dwellers may have been taken in by Modi evocatively plugging for smart cities, cashless society, or digital India. Aficionados of management and public administration may be impressed with the progress being made in the laying of roads and rail tracks, as also in project construction. Businesspersons may applaud the country being pushed up by nearly 40 ranks in the ease of doing business. In the overall, there is widespread appreciation for Modi's readiness to take bold decisions and determined pursuit of goals, evidenced by the Goods and Services Tax and demonetisation, and his commitment to bring ease of living within the reach of every citizen. But these are not the unstated secret of his, and his party's, appeal. These are winning him some votes, but not all the votes. Rahul Gandhi, immature in many respects and unversed yet in the art and science of politics and politicking, somehow stumbled on to the hazy glimmerings of the secret when he flaunted his sacred thread and embarked on darshans of deities during his Gujarat campaign. The secret, in short, is rooted in the fact that the majority of the electorate of this country, common, simple, plain folk, composed of Hindus and being proud of that fact and its magnificent heritage, are for the first time in 70 years feeling liberated, without having to conceal their identity as if it is a heinous crime. In the process of liberation, as if a cork in a champagne bottle released, there is occasionally unwelcome fizz from the frenetic, fanatic, fringe, but that is only to be expected. Hitherto, the Hindus in this country had been like flies tightly shut in a bottle, with no place to go other than minuscule Nepal, and were made to grovel under all sorts of guilt complexes and humiliations, while those of other faiths enjoyed, in the name of secularism, unabashed State patronage and were pampered in all manner of unacceptable and inequitable ways to the majority's detriment. For the first time in 70 years, there is a feeling of the balance being redressed. The misguided 'secularists' -- whether among the Hindus or other religions -- are putting up a rearguard action, trying to foul up the atmosphere. The answer to them is not to waver or vacillate in what conduces to the national interest, bearing in mind its demographic profile, but make it unambiguously clear that it is the duty of the minorities to take into account the well-being and happiness of the practitioners of the faith constituting the largest number. That is what the presidents of Russia and the USA, and prime ministers of Australia, Canada, France and other European countries, committed to secularism, have done with respect to their polities and that has in fact helped in keeping those countries free from sectarian violence and brought about social harmony. So, my advice to Narendra D Modi, if he wants to win the coming Lok Sabha election with a percentage of votes and a number of seats larger than those of any government in the past, is that he should not feel shy of proclaiming as the meaning of secularism regard for all religions in proportion to their numbers in tune with the spirit of democracy and adopting it as the State policy. The corollary of this is to go unhesitatingly for legislating a common civil code and abolition of Article 370 of the Constitution and resettling and rehabilitating the Kashmiri Pandits back in the land of their birth and providing them with all means of security, protection and self-defence. The government will find that once it stands up firmly and unyieldingly for the nation, the vested interests, both domestic and foreign, will back off. B S Raghavan is a former member of the Indian Administrative Service who was also the secretary of the National Integration Council during the time of Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi, and worked closely with the freedom heroes. 'Will the liberals explain if minorities are under such a dire threat in India, how come more and more groups want to separate from the majority and want themselves to be declared a minority?' asks Colonel Anil A Athale (retd). IMAGE: Clashes break out in Kalburgi, March 19, 2018, after the Karnataka government announced that the Lingayats would be granted a separate religion. Photograph: PTI Photo Just when one thought that politics in India had reached a nadir, Indian politicians and political parties come up with surprises that takes politics to even lower depths! One is referring to the Karnataka government's move to 'create' a new minority religion out of the Veershaiva Lingayat sect. This short-sighted move has the potential to sow the seeds for future conflict in South India. The parallels to what happened in Punjab need reiteration to warn countrymen of a future threat to internal security. Most Indians will agree that the gravest threat to national security was posed by the Khalistan separatist movement in Punjab in the 1980s. Neither Pakistan nor China has ever posed such a threat. It is universally accepted that the roots of the Khalistani movement lay in the Congress party's encouragement to fundamentalist elements led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in order to defeat the Shiromani Akali Dal in provincial elections. In the space of a few years, the Congress party's creation turned on its creator. Pakistan and Western powers -- keen on the break-up of India -- poured in arms and money to bleed Punjab in a fratricidal conflict that cost over 50,000 lives, both Hindus and Sikhs. The disastrous political game ended up in the tragic Operation Blue Star and then prime minister Indira Gandhi's assassination. Her killing provoked the anti-Sikh pogrom of October 31-November 3, 1984 in which over 5,000 Sikhs were killed in engineered riots. The roots of Hindu-Sikh differences lay in the British colonial policy of divide and rule. By the Sikh Gurudwara Act 1925, the British sowed the seeds of political division between Hindus or Sahajadhari Sikhs and Keshdhari Sikhs. In Punjab and even Sindh, many Hindus even today call themselves Nanak Panthis (followers of Guru Nanak and other Sikh Gurus) and regularly participate in Sikh prayers at gurdwaras. For long it was a tradition in many Hindu families to make the eldest son a Keshdhari Sikh. There have always been a roti-beti relationship between Hindus and Sikhs. The point to note is that once the poison of separatism and political identity was added to this mixture, it gave birth to the tragic conflict in Punjab in which Sikh shrines were destroyed and a permanent damage to the Sikh psyche inflicted. It seems we have not learnt the correct lesson from the Punjab tragedy. It is to be expected that many other sects -- like the Warkari sect in Maharashtra, for example -- may come up with a similar demand. This fascination for minority status raises an important question for professional 'liberals' of the Indian variety. These worthies have been shouting from the rooftops for the last four years that India is turning 'majoritarian' and the minorities are under perpetual threat and subject to discrimination. If this is true, then why are more and more groups clamouring to be declared a 'minority'? Obviously, the Indian Constitutional scheme is such that it assumes majority domination and offers 'special rights' to the minorities. Unfortunately, the good intentions of the founding fathers have ended up in creating a vested interest in separatism. At this rate, over time, India will turn into a nation of minorities. Will the liberals explain if minorities are under such a dire threat in India, how come more and more groups want to separate from the majority and want themselves to be declared a minority? Mayawati was outmanoeuvred by the BJP in the race for the Rajya Sabha in Uttar Pradesh just days after she helped the Samajwadi Party snatch two Lok Sabha seats from the saffron party in bypolls. The Bharatiya Janata Party won 12 of the remaining 25 seats at stake in crucial Rajya Sabha biennial polls in seven states on Friday amid high drama in Uttar Pradesh where it clinched an extra ninth seat overcoming the newfound bonhomie between former arch rivals the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party. For the 59 Rajya Sabha seats to be filled, 33 candidates from 10 states were declared elected unopposed on March 15 with the BJP accounting for 16 of them. Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the winners in the Rajya Sabha polls. "Congratulations to all those elected to the Rajya Sabha from various states and best wishes for their parliamentary career. I hope they effectively voice the aspirations of the states they will represent," he tweeted. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and BJP leader GVL Narsimha Rao, SP's Jaya Bachchan (all from Uttar Pradesh), Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who was backed by ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, and BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar (from Karnataka) were among the prominent winners. Uttar Pradesh In a photo-finish to the keenly watched Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP took a sweet revenge on the opposition by ensuring victory of all its nine candidates, days after it lost two crucial seats in the Lok Sabha bypolls in the state. The remaining seat went to the Samajwadi Party in the polls marred by cross-voting from both the sides, which led to the defeat of the BSP candidate in the prestigeous battle of ballots, touted as a test for the new-found bonhomie between the parties headed by Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati. Besides BJP's prominent winner Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, others who made it to the Upper House of Parliament from the party are Ashok Bajpai, Vijay Pal Singh Tomar, Sakal Deep Rajbhar, Kanta Kardam, Anil Jain, Harnath Singh Yadav, GVL Narasimha Rao and ninth candidate Anil Kumar Agarwal, who pulled off a surpise win with the help of second preference votes. Other candidates, including SP's actor-turned-politician Jaya Bachchan won with the help of first preference votes. Counting of votes in the Rajya Sabha election from Uttar Pradesh began after a two-hour delay as the opposition SP and BSP lodged a complaint with the Election Commission. The opposition parties moved the poll panel against two MLAs who are believed to have cross-voted. The Rajya Sabha results came days after the BJP lost Lok Sabha bypolls to Gorakhpur and Phulpur to a joint force of the SP and the BSP. West Bengal Congress's Abhishek Manu Singhvi and four Trinamool Congress candidates -- Nadimul Haque, Subhasish Chakraborty, Abir Biswas and Santunu Sen -- won the Rajya Sabha election. The TMC supported Singhvi in the Rajya Sabha poll who contested as the fifth candidate as the Congress did not have the strength in the assembly to get its candidate elected. Singhvi secured 47 votes. Nadimul Haque secured 52 votes, Subhasish Chakraborty got 54 votes, Abir Biswas bagged 52 and Santunu Sen secured 51 votes. Left Front-backed CPI-M candidate Rabin Deb lost the poll. He had contested for the fifth seat bagged only 30 votes. It will be the second term for Nadimul Haque in the upper house. Karnataka The ruling Congress in Karnataka bagged three Rajya Sabha seats and the BJP one in the biennial election, amid a boycott of the poll by the Janata Dal-Secular, alleging electoral malpractice. Congress's L Hanumanthaiah, Syed Naseer Hussain and G C Chandrasekhar, and BJP's Rajeev Chandrashekar were declared elected after a complaint by the JDS to the Election Commission caused delay in taking up counting of votes. With its strength in the assembly, the Congress was sure of winning two seats and eyed the third seat and won it with the support of JDS rebels and independents. The fight was for the third seat between the third candidate of the Congress' Chandrasekhar and JDS' B M Farooq, with the ruling party pulling off a bonus victory. Businessman Rajeev Chandrasekhar secured 50 votes, six more than required, with the support from smaller parties and independents. Congress's Chandrasekhar received 46 votes, Hanumanthaiah 44 and Hussain 42. Two votes were declared invalid and two rejected. Telangana In Telangana, Telangana Rashtra Samithi candidates B Prakash, B Lingaiah Yadav and J Santosh Kumar were elected to the Rajya Sabha. The nominee of the main opposition Congress, P Balaram, lost the election. Prakash, Yadav and Santosh Kumar got 33, 32 and 32 votes respectively. Balaram obtained 10 votes, official sources said. In the 119-member house, 117 were eligible voters as two Congress MLAs were expelled from the house recently. BJP (5 MLAs), TDP (3) and CPI-M (1) abstained from voting. Thus the total number of votes was 108. One vote was declared invalid as the MLA, who is an independent, showed his vote to the Congress agent, the sources said. The Congress, whose strength was 17, alleged that seven of its MLAs voted for TRS. The MLAs had allegedly switched loyalty to TRS earlier. Alleging that the MLAs had violated its whip, Congress has complained to election commission about the matter. All Indai Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (seven MLAs) supported the TRS. Jharkhand BJP's Sameer Uranv and Congress' Dheeraj Sahu won the two Rajya Sabha seats from Jharkhand, Returning Officer Vinay Singh said. The BJP's other nominee Pradeep Kumar Sonthalia lost the polls, finishing third, he said. Earlier in the day, counting was interrupted following complaints by the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik and the Congress to the Election Commission. The parties alleged that JVM-P MLA Prakash Ram did not show his ballot paper to JVM-P polling agent Bandhu Tirkey, sources in the Assembly Secretariat here said. However, the counting was started later. The JVM-P has suspended Prakash Ram with immediate effect. In the 80-member Jharkhand assembly, the ruling BJP has 43 MLAs and its ally All Jharkhand Students Union has four legislators. Opposition Congress has seven and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha 18 MLAs. The JVM-P has 2 MLAs and the BSP, MCC, CPIM-L one each. There are three independents. All 80 MLAs cast their votes, according to assembly sources. Kerala M P Veerendra Kumar, the state President of the Janata Dal-United Sharad Yadav faction, was elected to the Rajya Sabha. Kumar, who was supported by ruling Communist Party of India Marxist-led Left Democratic Front, polled 89 votes, while B Babu Prasad the opposition United Democratic Front candidate got 40 votes in the election held to one seat from the state, official sources said. The election was held after the seat fell vacant when Kumar resigned from the Upper House of Parliament as a mark of protest against JD-U leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar joining hands with BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. In the 140-member assembly, the LDF has 90 MLAs while the UDF 41 legislators. One vote of the LDF supported candidate was declared invalid. The Kerala Congress-Mani, which has six MLAs and is keeping an equi-distance from both the fronts, abstained from voting. BJP's lone MLA O Rajagopal and P C George (Ind) also did not cast their franchise. One MLA of UDF ally IUML is on leave as he is unwell. Chhattisgarh BJP national general secretary Saroj Pandey won the lone Rajya Sabha seat for which polling was held in Chhattisgarh, defeating Congress rival Lekhram Sahu. Pandey polled 51 votes, while Sahu secured 36 votes in the election held at the state assembly complex, wherein 87 of the 90 state legislators cast their votes, state Assembly secretary Chandra Shekhar Gangrade, who is also the returning officer, said. The House currently has 49 BJP MLAs, 39 Congress legislators, one BSP member and an independent legislator. Pandey seems to have got all 49 votes of her party MLAs and apparently two more votes from BSP and independent legislators. Sahu bagged 36 votes as the three Congress legislators - Amit Jogi, Shiyaram Kaushik and Rajendra Rai - who are facing disciplinary action for anti-party activities, boycotted the polls and did not vote. While Jogi was expelled from the Congress in 2016, Kaushik and Rai were suspended from the party last year. According to officials, Jogi, Kaushik and Rai are still considered Congress members in the state assembly. In a photo-finish to the keenly watched Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday took a sweet revenge on the opposition by ensuring victory of all its nine candidates, days after it lost two crucial seats in the Lok Sabha bypolls in the state. The remaining seat went to the Samajwadi Party in the polls marred by cross-voting from both the sides, which led to the defeat of the Bahujan Samajwadi Party candidate in the prestigeous battle of ballots, touted as a test for the new-found bonhomie between the parties headed by Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati. Besides BJP's prominent winner Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, others who made it to the Upper House of Parliament from the party are Ashok Bajpai, Vijay Pal Singh Tomar, Sakal Deep Rajbhar, Kanta Kardam, Anil Jain, Harnath Singh Yadav, GVL Narasimha Rao and ninth candidate Anil Kumar Agarwal, who pulled off a surpise win with the help of second preference votes. Other candidates, including SP's actor-turned- politician Jaya Bachchan won with the help of first preference votes. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath told media persons that the BJP's victory in all the nine seats it contested exposed the "opportunistic face" of the SP. "The people of the state have seen the opportunistic face of the SP. It can take votes but not give votes in return," he said, a reference to the SP's victory with the help of BSP votes in the recent Lok Sabha bypolls in Gorakhpur and Phulpur. The chief minister said the SP's "opportunistic character" was not new and that "the people of the state have seen it over the years". Adityanath said it was time to be careful to avoid falling into a deep pit in the future. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, who was BJP's central observer, said with more BJP members in the Rajya Sabha, the government would be able to ensure passage of bills in the Upper House, where the National Democratic Alliance does not enjoy a majority. Counting of votes began after a two-hour delay as the opposition SP and BSP lodged a complaint with the Election Commission. The opposition parties moved the poll panel against two MLAs who are believed to have cross-voted. "We have given a written complaint to the EC that our MLA Anil Singh did not show his vote to the election agent of the party before casting it and we are awaiting a reply from the EC in this regard," Deputy leader of the BSP in the assembly Uma Shankar Singh said. The SP also lodged a similar complaint with regard to MLA Nitin Agarwal, who had switched sides after his father quit the party and joined the BJP recently. "Nitin Agarwal cast his vote without showing it to the election agent and we have demanded the cancellation of his vote," SP MLC Sunil Singh Sajan said. With one BSP MLA believed to have cross-voted and two others in jail being denied permission to vote in the polls, the opposition faced a challenge of numbers to ensure victory for their second candidate. While the ruling BJP was sure of bagging eight of the 10 seats, the SP fielded Jaya Bachchan and the BSP Bhimrao Ambedkar for the remaining two seats. As the parties totted up the numbers, BSP MLA Anil Singh indicated that he had cross-voted in favour of the BJP, saying "I am with Maharaj-ji", a reference to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The Allahabad high court had denied permission to BSP's Mukhtar Ansari, currently lodged in Banda jail, to vote in the polls. And a court in Firozabad had rejected a petition by SP MLA Hariom Yadav, who is in Firozabad jail. The opposition banked heavily on the votes of two independents -- Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya and his close associate and MLA Vinod Saroj. Raja Bhaiya, who has had a rocky relationship with BSP chief Mayawati, had tweeted this morning that he was with "Akhilesh ji" and specified that it did not mean that he was with the BSP. The BSP did not take an adverse view of Raja Bhaiya's comment. "... had he had any reservations he would have said openly," said Uma Shankar Singh. He added that he could not be sure that Anil Singh had voted for the BSP candidate. Adding a tinge of surprise, Raja Bhaiya later met the chief minister, leaving political analysts wondering as to why he met Adityanath. "I discussed issues pertaining to my constituency (Kunda). Every MLA has the right to discussed matters related to his or her constituency with the chief minister," he said. Keeping it ambiguous, Anil Singh said that he had cast his vote and showed it to BSP agent Lalji Verma and the rest could be known from him. "I have cast my vote after showing it to Lalji Verma and he will tell you the details...I am with Maharaj-ji," he said after voting at the Tilak Hall in the Assembly complex. According to Uma Shankar Singh, 17 MLAs of the total 19 BSP legislators had cast their votes by midday and shown them to Verma. The BSP leader exuded confidence that all the nine surplus MLAs of the SP as well as seven of the Congress and one of the RLD have voted in favour of his party candidate. "All the seven Congress MLAs went together to vote, while the SP has given us a list of their loyal MLAs," Uma Shankar Singh said. Independent MLA Aman Mani Tripathi also said he was with "Maharaj ji" and would vote for the BJP. There were 11 candidates for the 10 Rajya Sabha seats and 37 first preference votes were required for victory in each seat. IMAGE: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath flashes the victory sign with newly elected BJP MP's of Rajya Sabha after BJP wins nine seats in UP. Photograph: Nand Kumar/PTI Photo Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accused the opposition of spreading lies against his government due to its increasing "frustration" over electoral losses, and asked Bharatiya Janata Party MPs to use technology effectively to take the truth to the masses. Modi made these remarks at the BJP Parliamentary Party meet in which party chief Amit Shah blamed the opposition for the impasse in Parliament and asked MPs to hold press conferences in the coming three days in their parliamentary constituencies to highlight the matter, party leaders Prakash Javadekar and Anil Baluni told reporters. With the party gearing up for Lok Sabha polls next year, Shah asked MPs to work to strengthen booth-level organisation in their constituencies, asserting that the organisation's work at the booth level, along with BJP's ideology and Modi's leadership, has been a key reason for its success. Baluni also announced that the party will celebrate the period between April 14, the birth anniversary of Dalit icon Bhim Rao Ambedkar, and May 5 as 'gram swaraj abhiyan' by holding a slew of events. It will observe Social Justice Day on April 14, followed by various events to highlight 'Swachh Bharat' and 'Ujjwala' schemes and several other government initiatives. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah during the BJP Parliamentary meeting at party headquarters in New Delhi on Friday. Photograph: Manvender Vashist/PTI Photo In a major relief to the Aam Aadmi Party, the Delhi high court on Friday restored the membership of 20 disqualified MLAs of Delhi's ruling party, quashing the Election Commission recommendation in the office-of-profit case as "vitiated" and in violation of natural justice. The court while setting aside the recommendation and the consequent Presidential order at the same time directed the poll panel to hear the matter afresh, observing no oral hearing was given to the MLAs before disqualifying them as legislators of the Delhi assembly. The disqualification had reduced AAP's strength in the 70-member Delhi assembly from 66 to 46 but it did not pose a threat to the government as it continued to enjoy a majority. A jubilant Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal hailed the reinstatement of the MLAs, saying it was a "victory of truth" even as his party alleged that the EC's recommendation to disqualify 20 of its MLAs was a serious attempt to dislodge an elected government and demanded that the election commissioners either "resign" or "apologise" . "It is a victory of truth. The elected representatives were wrongfully disqualified. The high court has given justice to the people of Delhi. It is their victory. Congratulations to the people of Delhi," Kejriwal tweeted minutes after the HC order. Later, the 20 MLAs met Chief Minister and party chief Arvind Kejriwal at his residence in New Delhi. Hours after the high court order, Delhi assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel allowed the disqualified MLAs to enter the House and take part in the ongoing budget session, following which 10 AAP MLAs attended the session amid chants of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' by fellow legislators. The EC had on January 19 recommended the disqualification of 20 AAP MLAs -- Alka Lamba, Adarsh Shastri, Sanjeev Jha, Rajesh Gupta, Kailash Gahlot, Vijendra Garg, Praveen Kumar, Sharad Kumar, Madan Lal, Shiv Charan Goyal, Sarita Singh, Naresh Yadav, Rajesh Rishi, Anil Kumar, Som Dutt, Avtar Singh, Sukhvir Singh Dala, Manoj Kumar, Nitin Tyagi and Jarnail Singh. President Ram Nath Kovind had accepted the EC's opinion the next day. Remanding the MLAs' plea for being reinstated back to the EC, a bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Chander Shekhar, said, "Opinion of Election Commission of India (given to the President of India) dated January 19, 2018, is vitiated and bad in law for failure to comply with principles of natural justice." The bench, in its 79-page order said that the opinion (of EC) is quashed for "violation of principle of natural justice namely failure to give oral hearing and opportunity to address arguments on merits of the issue". "The order of remand is passed to the Election Commission of India to hear arguments and thereafter decide all the important and seminal issues, like what is meant by expression office-of-profit held under the government...," the court said It asked the EC to "re-examine the factual matrix to decide whether the petitioners (AAP MLAs) had incurred disqualification on appointment as parliamentary secretaries, without being influenced by the earlier order or observations on the said aspect in this order. The judgement was read out by justice Sanjiv Khanna in a jam-packed courtroom, after which the jubilant AAP MLAs, who were present there, congratulated each other. The MLAs, who were appointed parliamentary secretaries, had challenged their disqualification for holding office-of-profit. Saurabh Bharadwaj, the chief spokesperson of the party's Delhi unit, targeted the former election commissioner A K Jyoti and alleged that his decision to disqualify the AAP MLAs was to please the Centre. Party leader Ashutosh alleged that the EC's decision was an attempt to hijack the mandate of the people. If the post of constitutional authority is occupied by pygmies then democracy won't be safe. The EC's decision was a serious attempt to dislodge the duly elected AAP government," he alleged. Mr A K Jyoti and his other two colleagues should introspect, should they not apologies and resign, Ashutosh tweeted. Terming the verdict a "victory of democracy", Chandni Chowk MLA Alka Lamba said, "We are ready for all the challenges and are not afraid of difficulties. But the conspiracies to topple a stable government should stop now." "Be it the Election Commission or those sitting at the central governemnt, this (order) is a message to them. This is the victory of democracy and people from our constituencies," she said. AAP legislator Somnath Bharti said that the order has brought "happiness". "It is a moment of happiness for us. There are still institutions in the country where you can get justice," he said. Reacting to the high court order, Congress's Delhi unit president Ajay Maken tweeted, "We will fight it out in the Election Commission again as these 20 MLAs have enjoyed perks. HC has not disputed or denied this. The HC has just asked ECI to look at it again in the light of natural justice!" During the arguments, the MLAs had requested the court to remand their case back to the poll panel with a direction to hear the matter afresh. They had approached the high court challenging their disqualification after President Kovind gave his assent to the EC's recommendation. Backing its recommendation to the President for AAP MLAs' disqualification, the poll panel had submitted that the legislators cannot claim that they were not holding office-of-profit. It had also claimed that their pleas were not maintainable and were liable to be dismissed. The MLAs are accused of holding offices of profit, as they were appointed parliamentary secretaries to ministers in the Delhi government in March 2015. This was soon after they were elected to the Delhi assembly. In September 2016, the Delhi high court had ruled against their appointment as parliamentary secretaries, after hearing their pleas on a daily basis since February 7. The high court had on January 24 refused to stay the Centre's notification disqualifying them, but had restrained the poll panel from taking any "precipitate measures" such as announcing dates for by polls to fill the vacancies. IMAGE: The 20 AAP MLAs meet Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal at his residence after the Delhi high court provided them a breather. Photograph: Kind courtesy @AamAadmiParty/Twitter Air Indias maiden flight to Israel has landed in Tel Aviv, reducing the travel time substantially after Saudi Arabia for the first time allowed a commercial flight to use its airspace, indicating a thaw in relations between the Arab kingdom and the Jewish state. IMAGE: An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane receives a water cannon salute upon its landing at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel. Photograph: Amir Cohen/Reuters Heralding a new beginning in the people-to-people contact and diplomatic ties between India and Israel, the state-run Air India introduced the direct thrice-a-week flight from New Delhi to Tel Aviv on Thursday. Saudi Arabia permitted the airline to use its airspace, enabling it to take a shorter route, covering the distance in 7.25 hours, about 2.10 hours less as compared to the only other airline that flies between the two countries -- Israels national carrier El Al. Flight AI 139 landed at Tel Avivs Ben Gurion airport at 2215 PM (Israeli time) on Thursday, heralding a new chapter in the India-Israel ties and ending a decades-old overfly ban by Saudi Arabia. This is really a historical moment... We are in a new era. I am sure that we will see many more Indian tourists coming to Israel... and Israelis would also come to India in much higher numbers, Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said. He said such a direct link would further strengthen the relationship between the two nations. The Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement that Israel considers the new route important, noting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raised the matter of the route with his counterpart Narendra Modi when the two met in July in Israel and then in January in India, Haaretz newspaper reported. The ministry said the route would also lower fares and boost investment and tourism from India to Israel. IMAGE: An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane lands at the Ben Gurion International airport. Photograph: Amir Cohen/Reuters Saudi Arabias decision to permit Air India to use its airspace has enabled the airline to take a shorter route. Many Arab and Islamic nations do not recognise Israel and, therefore, disallow airlines from using their airspace for flight services to that country. On a query over Saudi Arabia allowing Air India to use its airspace, Levin said: We have to very cautious. This is really a first step -- a very important one... I hope with time we have more and more normal relation with our neighbour in this region... India played a very important bridge (by introducing this flight over Saudi airspace) not only between India and us but also between Israel and other countries in this region. Terming as historic the moment of arrival of the national carriers maiden flight to Tel Aviv, Indian ambassador to Israel Pavan Kapoor said a lot of efforts had gone into it over the last two years with a strong vision and support for the initiative from the prime ministers of both the countries. He said the initiative would strengthen the relationship between the two countries in various spheres, including political, trade and cultural. Air India Chairman and Managing Director Pradeep Kharola said the Air India direct flight has the shortest route connecting New Delhi and Tel Aviv and will bring people of the two countries closer. IMAGE: Transportation and Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz (centre) poses for a picture during a ceremony marking the arrival of an Air India Boeing 787 plane at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel. Photograph: Amir Cohen/Reuters The flight will operate every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. While the inaugural flight AI 139 left at 6 pm (Indian time) on Thursday, the scheduled departure will be 4.50 pm (Indian time) from March 25 when the summer schedule comes into operation. The state-run carrier will be operating its 256-seater Boeing 787 Dreamliner on this route. Kharola and Israel ministry of tourism director Hassan Madah cut a symbolic cake to mark the start of the direct flight to Israel. Kharola had earlier said the airline anticipates interest from travellers from countries further to the east of India such as Australia. The Air India flew over Oman, Saudi Arabia and Jordan to reach Israel. The permission to fly over Saudi Arabia will save Air India almost 2 hours and 10 minutes compared to the longer route taken by Israels national carrier El Al, which has direct flights between Tel Aviv and Mumbai. El Al takes a circuitous route over the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and then enters India and avoids countries that are on the direct flight path such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Social activist Anna Hazare on Friday started an indefinite hunger strike to press for his demand to appoint a Lokpal at the Centre, nearly seven years after his anti-corruption movement caught the imagination of millions of Indians and shook the then United Progressive Alliance government. He sat on hunger strike at the iconic Ramlila Maidan, the same venue of his protest in 2011. However, this time, his target is expected to be the Narendra Modi-led government. Hazare has been pressing for setting up of the Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in the states, besides implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report, which has suggested ways to address the agrarian distress. On Thursday, he took a round of the Ramlila Maidan, where the organisers claimed that thousands of people will attend the protest. The Delhi Traffic Police has issued an advisory warning to commuters to avoid taking routes towards Aruna Asaf Ali Road, Delhi Gate, Darya Ganj, New Delhi Railway Station, Ajmeri Gate, Paharganj, ITO, Rajghat, Minto Road, Vivekanand Marg, and JLN Marg. Image: Anna Hazare had rocked the UPA government in 2011 when he went on an indefinite hunger strike at Ramlila Maidan, the same venue as his protest starting on Friday. Photograph: Ahmad Masood/Reuters You may not get an invite for Britains Prince Harry and Meghan Markles royal wedding, but that doesnt mean you cant a get a look at the invitations being sent out to the 600 guests for the biggest fancy hat event of the year. Kensington Palace confirmed that formal invitations have been sent by the Prince of Wales, for the May 19 service at St George's Chapel, Windsor. IMAGE: Invitations for Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding in Windsor Castle in May, after they have been printed at the workshop of Barnard and Westwood in London. Photograph: Victoria Jones/Pool/Reuters Some 600 people, including the Royal Family, Markles parents, and the couples friends will attend the church service and lunchtime reception, given by the Queen. The invitations, posted this week, were produced by Barnard and Westwood, which has held the Royal Warrant for Printing & Bookbinding by Appointment to Her Majesty The Queen since 1985, and has a second royal warrant with the Prince of Wales. And the card is truly an example of international diplomacy. The printers have used American ink on English cardstock. IMAGE: Lottie Small uses the die stamping press at the workshop of Barnard and Westwood to print out the 600 wedding invites for the royal wedding. Photograph: Victoria Jones/Pool/Reuters Per a palace press release, The invitation is die-stamped in gold and then burnished. The text on the invitation is also die-stamped. The edges of the invitation are bevelled then gilded. The invitations are also stamped with the Three Feather Badge of The Prince of Wales. Each invitation was printed by Lottie Small, who recently completed her apprenticeship, on a machine from the 1930s that she affectionately nicknamed Maude. WATCH: Lottie using 'Maude' to print the invites Video courtesy: @KensingtonPalace/Twitter The invitations are similar to the ones sent out for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridges wedding in 2011 - although these were in a different font and were issued with the Queens royal cypher. The invitations read: His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales KG KT requests the pleasure of the company of....... at the marriage of His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales with Ms Meghan Markle at St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle on Saturday 19th May, 2018 at 12 Noon followed by a reception at Windsor Castle. IMAGE: Lottie Small cuts the crests being used on the invitations for Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding. The crest on the card is that of the Three Feather Badge of The Prince of Wales. Photograph: Victoria Jones/Pool/Reuters Furthermore, the invitation stipulates a strict dress code with men asked to don military uniform -- likely to be worn by Harry, a former solder who is now Captain General of Royal Marines -- or a morning coat and lounge hat, with women asked to wear a day dress and hat. And just a gentle reminder, the big day is less than two months away, folks. No man is an island... except, perhaps, this man. Meet Mauro Morandi, a 79-year-old, who lives alone on the beautiful Isle of Budelli in Italys Maddalena archipelago. Hes called this slice of paradise his own since 1989, when he departed mainland Italy. The lonely start He arrived at Budelli, located between Corsica and Sardinia, when his catamarans crippled engine forced him towards the islands shores. Disillusioned with modern society, Morandi sold his catamaran, inherited the retiring caretakers shack and never went back to his old life in mainland Italy. Speaking about his early years, Morandi was quoted as saying by CNN Travel, I was a protester in 68. Then I stopped engaging in politics because I realised I was not made for armed conflict, I hate weapons. I started thinking about leaving a society that does not take the individual into account, but thinks only of power and money. Caretaker duties Morandi monitors the upkeep of Budelli and lives in the tumbledown shack the former caretaker had lived in. Morandi said that initially he was standoffish with visitors but mellowed over the years and now gives tours. He added that he lives on the island because he respects nature and laughs at the question of ever returning to the mainland. He does, however, travel to Modena to see his two daughters a few times a year. And while living by ones self can get quite lonely, Morandi spends his time with creative pursuits. He fashions juniper wood into sculptures, finding faces hidden in their nebulous forms. He reads zealously and meditates on the wisdom of Greek philosophers and literary prodigies. Internet craze Another thing Morandi does to pass his time is take beautiful images of the sun rising and setting, the tide lapping over the sand and the stormy skies. And these images he now shares with the world via Instagram and Facebook, all thanks to the Wi-Fi that was installed for the visitors. Speaking of his fame on social media, he said, I just get up in front of the sea to take pictures of the sunrise, have breakfast, I feed the two cats and then the hen, he says. Then I start working on the tablet to process photos, comment and answer questions, given that I have 5,000 Facebook friends. He adds that in the summer, the days are exclusively dedicated to communicating with tourists, who come more than anything else to meet the madman who lives alone on an island. However, in the winter months, visitors remain infrequent during which Morandi spends huge stretches of time alone. Ive never felt loneliness, because Im fine by myself, he insists. Forever a resident of Budelli? Morandi says he would like to remain on the island for the rest of his life. However, Morandis place on Budelli has remained uncertain since the government takeover. In 2016, his right to live on the island was challenged. But a petition protesting this decision got more than 18,000 signatures. He remains in limbo. Time will tell what the future holds for both the Isle of Budelli and its sole resident -- who says he only wants the best for the island. All photographs: @maurodabudelli/Instagram IMAGE: Adjourning Rajya Sabha till Monday, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said past disruptions should not be cited to justify the present wrong. Photograph: PTI Photo Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned for the 15th day on Friday as the stalemate between the Opposition and the government continued for the third week of the second leg of the budget session with ruckus prevailing unabated. While the Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day in less than 20 minutes after it assembled on Friday morning, the Lok Sabha was first adjourned till noon and then for the day after laying of the listed papers. The Lower House also did not take up the no-confidence motion against the government due to the noisy protests. It has been a week since the motion has not been taken up due to the unruly scenes. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had last Friday announced that she had received two notices for the motion but was unable to start the process due to the disruptions. However before they were adjourned on Friday, both the Houses paid glowing tributes to freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, who were hanged on this day 87 years ago by the British rulers. The Rajya Sabha could not transact any business on Friday, as opposition parties continued to create ruckus, forcing the adjournment of proceedings. Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu adjourned the proceedings for the day but not before expressing anguish over the House not functioning since it met on March 5 when the second part of the budget session started. Naidu said past disruptions should not be cited to justify the present wrong and expressed hope that the government will take the opposition into confidence to ensure that the House functions next week. He said it was distressing that the Rajya Sabha has not discharged its mandate for three weeks. People of the country have been let down. Andhra parties, including the Telugu Desam Party, and KVP Ramachandra Rao of the Congress trooped into the Well shouting slogans for special status to the state, while Tamil Nadu parties -- Dravida Munnetra Kazagham and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam -- demanded setting up of the Cauvery management board for river water sharing between riparian states. Congress members too were in the Well raising slogans that the government was against scheduled castes and tribes, in an apparent reference to the recent Supreme Court ruling diluting certain provisions of the Scheduled castes and tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Naidu said he could understand that MPs may resort to disruption for a couple of days to press their issues but persisting with it for three weeks has no justification. Congress members countered this by blaming the government for the stalemate and alleged that it has not engaged with the opposition parties on these matters so far. The Chairman, however, went on to state that while some may cite past instances to justify the present impasse, the three-week long disruption had no justification. How long do you want to justify the present wrong, based on the past, he said. People of the country are aspiring for a change. Should the change not begin from Rajya Sabha. He said people were asking why the House was not being adjourned sine die but added that this was not in his hands. I am pained, I am sad, he said, adding he would not like to hazard a guess about what will happen next week or if you are going to change for better ... If you are not interested in running of this House, it is another matter. When Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel read out the government agenda for next week, Naidu hoped the government will take the opposition into confidence to ensure that the House functions. Naidu said he was willing to allow discussion on any issue the members wanted, but placards, demonstrations and slogan shouting was not justified. He then adjourned the proceedings. The Lok Sabha proceedings were also disrupted again on Friday due to noisy protests by the AIADMK and TRS members, following which Speaker Sumitra Mahajan expressed her inability to take up the notices for no-confidence motion and later adjourned the proceedings for the day. She also announced a holiday for members on Monday on account of Ramnavami on Sunday as many of them had conveyed they would be busy in various related events and would find it difficult to join the House the next day. The House was adjourned till noon soon after it met at 11 am following noisy protests by members of the AIADMK and the TRS over the Cauvery and quota issues respectively. When it reassembled, the protests continued and Mahajan said she cannot not take up the notices for no-confidence motions as the House was not in order. The requisite head-count of members supporting the notices can be done only if they are in their seats, she added. At least 50 members need to support a no-confidence notice for the House to accept it and start a debate. The Speaker said the government had expressed its readiness for a discussion on it. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government enjoys a comfortable majority in the House. The Lok Sabha was then adjourned for the day as the protests continued. This is the third straight week that both the Houses were adjourned without undertaking any significant business, barring the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha. Earlier when the House met for the day, Mahajan paid tributes to Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev - who were hanged on March 23, 1931 by the British. The House observed silence as a mark of respect to the martyrs. Before taking up the question hour, the Speaker urged members to maintain order but those from AIADMK and TRS trooped into the Well holding placards and raising slogans. Congress members too were on their feet protesting against the Supreme Court verdict on the SC/ST Act. It has been demanding that the Centre seek a review of the court order which diluted provisions related to immediate arrest in cases related to atrocities on scheduled castes and tribes. Expelled RJD member Pappu Yadav was seen holding two placards demanding special status for Bihar. The 16-digit randomly generated number by the Aadhaar system was supposed to be introduced by the UIDAI on March 1 and mandatorily deployed by companies using Aadhaar by June 1, reports Mayank Jain. IMAGE: A villager goes through the process of a fingerprint scanner during Unique Identification database system inin Medak district of Andhra Pradesh. Photograph: Krishnendu Halder/Reuters Almost three weeks after the promised release date of the specifications of the much-awaited double-layer virtual ID technology for Aadhaar, the Unique Identification Authority of India is silent on the roll-out. The virtual ID, a 16-digit randomly generated number by the Aadhaar system, was supposed to be introduced by the UIDAI on March 1 and mandatorily deployed by companies using Aadhaar by June 1, according to a circular that announced the launch and was released on January 10 this year. The announcement in January came on the heels of multiple reports about Aadhaar numbers being leaked on government websites and the data being sold for just Rs 500. In the circular, the authority also announced the launch of limited KYC norms, which allow the UIDAI to restrict information flow to private companies and only the required information about a citizen instead of the complete demographic profile is shared. While the two measures were lauded for being forward-looking and having a focus on the security and privacy of the citizen data, both are yet to be seen in action. The UIDAI will be releasing necessary APIs (application programming interface) with implementation by March 1, 2018, the circular said. It said that all authorities should migrate to the new system by June 1, 2018, failing which their authentication services could be discontinued and financial disincentives may be imposed. Finger on the biometric pulse >>UIDAI issued a circular on January 10, promising the launch of a virtual ID for Aadhaar, tokenised systems, and limited KYC >>The authority as well as the government have remained mum on the launch since then and repeated queries have gone unanswered >>Experts claim that the virtual ID layer is important to ensure Aadhaar leaks are plugged, but patchy deployment could mean greater legwork for citizens >>Even limited KYC, which restricts the amount of information shared with a third party, is yet to be launched However, the UIDAI is yet to respond to emails, texts, and phone calls enquiring about the development of the virtual ID layer and when it will be launched. In addition to this, in a question in the Rajya Sabha on March 16 about the launch protocol and expected timelines for the virtual ID layer, the government referred to the January 10 circular in its response. It neither gave details on the introduction of the virtual ID nor provided any timelines for it. An insider said it could come after the launch of the second version of the unified payments platform, which will integrate Aadhaar payments and migrate United Payments Interface payments to the Aadhaar-Enabled Payments System. It is expected to launch after UPI 2.0 because that will finish UPI migration to AEPS. Payments through Aadhaar can happen via VID if accounts are already mapped. But Aadhaar linking with bank accounts and mobile connections are pending and hence that seems to be the impediment, he said. Technology watchers have another bone to pick with. This pertains to the way specifications for the new technology layers are being developed and released for Aadhaar by the UIDAI. The virtual ID specification is once again flawed as it does not consider the concerns of both Aadhaar holders and service providers. One hopes the UIDAI does a proper public consultation before rushing it through, said Kiran Jonalagadda, founder of HasGeek, an organisation which holds tech conferences in the country. Jonalagadda is not the only one who is sceptical about the Virtual ID layer. Even the man who claims to be the inventor of the technology is not convinced if the UIDAI will be able to implement it well. According to Subhashish Banerjee of IIT-Delhi, it was after his paper on virtual ID that the UIDAI considered it a solution to Aadhaar leakages, but says he was kept out of the development process after a preliminary communication. To the best of my knowledge, it was a paper I wrote in 2016 and published in 2017 that gave the UIDAI this idea. The virtual ID is very important as a solution to make everyone safe because Aadhaar leaks keep happening but it remains to be seen if they can deploy it with fine thinking or not, he said. Banerjee said the idea behind VID was to provide a destructible virtual number mapped to Aadhaar and it could be generated and provided to banks, mobile companies, the tax department, etc without sharing the Aadhaar number. This, however, would mean a lot of running around for people, he said. Using it in rural areas is the tricky part. Digital awareness needs to be kept in mind, and if they (the UIDAI) think people will be able to do it by themselves, they are mistaken, he said. The 2017 Super Plunge team. The Saturday event will see the group plunge into the waters off Salty Brine Beach 24 times - once every hour on the hour for an entire day - in benefit of Special Olympics Rhode Island (SORI). The 24th and final super plunge coincides with SORIs annual Torch Run Plunge. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. TWO more candidates have thrown their hats in the ring in the fight to be South Yorkshires first elected mayor. Naveen Judah will stand under the Save Our NHS banner, while Sheffield City Councillor Rob Murphy is the Green Party candidate. Mr Judah (pictured below), an accountant by trade is a current executive member of the National Health Action Party (NHAP) and former chair of Rotherham Healthwatch. He said he believed in Nye Bevans NHS founding principles and was against the privatisation of the NHS. Cllr Murphy (pictured below) will stand for the Greens provided the 8,000 required for the deposit and mailing to electors can be fundraised. A heating engineer and owner of a small business, Cllr Murphy is a long-standing transport campaigner and has called for an end to the Sheffield tree dispute. He said: South Yorkshire needs change. It has been left behind other regions in the UK for far too long. I will change the Town Hall knows best culture here, and bring openess, fairness and real democracy into local government. On transport, support for small businesses and value for money, I have the skills experience and vision to get things done. Already in the running are Lib Dem Hannah Kitching and Yorkshire Partys Mick Bower, while Labour members have until today to pick between Sheffield councillor Ben Curran and Barnsley MP Dan Jarvis. The mayoral vote is on Thursday, May 3. Cyprus-based Karo Resources has signed a $4.2-billion deal with Zimbabwe to develop a platinum mine and refinery in the southern African country, according to a news report. Reuters quoted the countrys mines minister Winston Chitando as saying that the company would start in July, with the first output of platinum group metals expected in 2020. The project, which was first mooted six years ago, would be expected to record an annual output of 1.4 million ounces within three years. "This is the largest investment structure in the country's mining industry in Zimbabwe. The landscape of Zimbabwe's mining industry will never be the same," said Chitando. He also said that Karo was expected to comply with the empowerment law by giving up majority ownership in the project. The mine was located in the Mhondoro-Ngezi platinum belt, west of Harare, where Impala Platinum Holdings has operations, according to Reuters. Zimbabwe holds the world's second-largest platinum deposits after South Africa. Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK, GSK.L) confirmed Friday that it has withdrawn from the process relating to Pfizer Inc.'s (PFE) Consumer Healthcare . Emma Walmsley, Chief Executive Officer, GSK said, "While we will continue to review opportunities that may accelerate our strategy, they must meet our criteria for returns and not compromise our priorities for capital allocation." It was in October 2017 that Pfizer announced that the company was reviewing strategic alternatives for its Consumer Healthcare business. Bloomberg in February this year had reported that GlaxoSmithKline and Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (RBGPF.PK,RB.L) are the companies in race for the consumer business unit, as other pharma giants have withdrawn from the bidding process. On Thursday, Reckitt Benckiser confirmed that it has ended discussions with Pfizer regarding the Consumer Healthcare business, noting that the deal did not fit its acquisition criteria. Pfizer Consumer Healthcare is one of the largest OTC care products businesses in the world with 2016 revenues of approximately $3.4 billion, operating in more than 90 countries globally. In London, GlaxoSmithKline shares were gaining 2.6 percent to trade at 1,307.40 pence. In pre-market activity on the NYSE, Pfizer shares were losing 0.6 percent to $35.40. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News A new survey has found that university students in the United States are using money from their student loans to buy crypto currencies such as Bitcoin. An online survey was conducted by Pollfish for The Student Loan Report, a website that reports on students' debt issues, among 1,000 students. They were asked if they had ever used student loan money to invest in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. One-fifth of those polled said "Yes." The report shows that sometimes, students borrow more than they need for that semester of classes. Once the borrower's college or university's financial aid office uses the necessary financial aid to pay for courses, they send a refund check to the borrower for the balance amount. Essentially, there is no system in place to ensure the debtor is using the leftover money for college living expenses. Therefore, borrowers may spend that money any way they wish, the report says. 21.20 percent of students surveyed said they use the money to invest in virtual currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and many others. Student Loan Report founder Drew Cloud says he is not surprised by the result, as Cryptocurrency was the hottest investment of 2017, especially for young Americans, who would think they can quickly pay off their loan debt with instant returns from investing in cryptos. The survey was conducted between March 16 and March 20. It comes in the backdrop of another recent survey among American adults, which found that only 8 percent of them have invested in a cryptocurrency, majority of whom were youth. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News The Swiss stock market dropped again Friday and ended the week in negative territory. After a weak start, the market staged a recovery in the early afternoon. However, retreated again ahead of the weekend. Trade war concerns sent investors fleeing to safe havens at the end of the trading week, after yesterday's declaration from U.S. President Trump. Trump signed an executive memorandum imposing tariffs on at least $50 billion in Chinese imports. Meanwhile, Beijing has outlined plans to introduce tariffs on U.S. imports. The Swiss Market Index decreased by 0.80 percent Friday and finished at 8,569.08. The SMI ended the trading week with an overall loss of 3.5 percent. The Swiss Leader Index dropped 0.79 percent Friday and the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.77 percent. Travel retailer Dufry weakened by 1.8 percent and at troubled bakery manufacturer Aryzta surrendered 1.6 percent. Zurich Insurance dropped 1.6 percent and Partners Group fell 1.5 percent. Swatch decreased 1.2 percent and Richemont lost 0.9 percent. Credit Suisse finished lower by 1.4 percent and UBS forfeited 0.7 percent. Credit Suisse announced that proposed total compensation for CEO Tidjane Thiam for 2017 would be 9.70 million Swiss francs, 5 percent lower than the prior year. Index heavyweight Novartis declined 1.4 percent. The company plans to file siponimod for US approval in early 2018 after its phase III study showed that it significantly improves outcomes in patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. Nestle closed lower by 0.5 percent and Roche slid 0.2 percent. In the broad market, Interroll sank 10 percent. The warehouse logistics company reported a profit increase for the fiscal year 2017, but margins fell due to higher investments and R & D costs. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Market Analysis Citigroup has become the first major Wall Street bank to impose restriction on sale of guns by its partners. The New York-based bank has announced new commercial firearms policy which prohibits its partners from selling bump stocks or the sale of guns to customers who have not passed a background check or are under 21 years. The policy apply to Citigroup's small business, commercial and institutional clients that borrow funds, use banking services or raise capital through the bank. Citigroup's clients who issue co-brand or private label credit cards through the bank are also required to comply with new policy. The lender plans to have discussions with business partners involved with gun sales to ensure they comply with the new policy. It seems that the bank is even ready to lose customers to implement the new policy. "We know our clients also care about these issues and we have begun to engage with them in the hope that they will adopt these best practices over the coming months. If they opt not to, we will respect their decision and work with them to transition their business away from Citi," wrote Ed Skyler, Executive Vice President, Global Public Affairs, Citigroup. "As an avid outdoorsman and responsible gun owner, I know that some will find our policy too strict while others will find it too lenient," CEO Michael Corbat said. "We don't have the perfect solution to supporting our Constitution while keeping our children and grandchildren safe. Best practices are going to continue to change, and we understand the limitations of our efforts. But we shouldn't let that stop us from doing our part." The bank's new policy change comes just over a month after a gunman killed 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The shooting raised demands for stringent policies over gun control by students at the school and across the nation. Regulators have been asked to pass stringent laws, including banning of assault-style firearms, raise the minimum age to purchase firearms to 21, ban high capacity magazines and bump stocks. Walmart, Dick's Sporting Goods and L.L. Bean announced new restrictions on some gun sales following the incident. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News (Agencia CMA Latam) - The Brazilian government and the state-owned oil company Petrobras are expected to announce in the next few days an agreement on the renegotiation of their transfer of rights deal, said the Minister of Mines and Energy Fernando Coelho Filho. With the potential breakthrough, the Brazilian government can auction off surplus oil this year. "Obviously the result of this agreement will be good for both Petrobras and the Union," said the minister. According to Coelho Filho, since the workgroup was formed, the subject has gone a long way. "We expect that we can reach an agreement soon and maybe announce it in the coming days so that the auction can be done this year." The "transfer of rights" is a system that has given Petrobras the right to explore and produce up to 5 billion barrels of oil and gas in the Brazilian pre-salt layer in exchange for a company reimbursement to the federal government. Contract values, however, are under review, as oil prices fell from almost US$ 100 to about US$ 50 a barrel since the signing of the agreement. Petrobras argues that the government should pay the company to make up for the difference. The government was arguing that he owes nothing to Petrobras and should receive more payments from the company. by Agencia CMA Latam For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com Economic News What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more. (Agencia CMA Latam) - Brazilian power company Eletropaulo received a proposal from Enel Brasil for the 17% stake indirectly held by AES Corporation in the company and regarding Enel's participation in a potential share offer. In a statement, Eletropaulo said that "there is, to date, no definition as to the effective presentation of an offer, nor on structure and volume, or on the adoption of any alternatives proposed to the company." AES Corporation said earlier this year that it reclassified the Eletropaulo as discontinued operations, but did not provide details on a potential sale of its stake in the Brazilian company. One of the alternatives might involve a secondary offering by AES Corp. by Agencia CMA Latam For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com Economic News What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more. In a major relief to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the High Court on Friday set aside the Election Commission recommendation disqualifying 20 ruling party MLAs in an office-of-profit case. The court asked the Election Commission to hear the case afresh because the MLAs were not given proper hearing before the poll panel decided on their disqualification. The case was now referred back to the Election Commission for reconsideration. The MLAs were disqualified for holding office-of-profit when they were appointed Parliamentary Secretaries. Truth has won, says Kejriwal Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday welcomed the Delhi High Court verdict that set aside the EC recommendation disqualifying 20 AAP MLAs in an office-of-profit case, saying truth has won. "Truth has been victorious. The elected representatives of Delhi were disqualified wrongly. The High Court has provided justice to the people of Delhi. It's a big win for people. Congratulations to the people of Delhi," Kejriwal tweeted. The Chief Minister reacted after the court asked the Election Commission to hear the case afresh because the MLAs were not given proper hearing before the poll panel decided on their disqualification. The MLAs were disqualified on charges of holding office-of-profit when they were appointed Parliamentary Secretaries. Re: How conflicts are resolved Let me start first, Im from Falefa. My first recommendation before we roll out our conversation is to keep above the belt not below. I reckon this conflict that has happened sits squarely on the laps of villages from the high chiefs to the pulenuu because thats the centre of any thing that is happening in that village we have rules to follow in every village in Samoa every Monday of the week we have a meeting fono a le nuu to report any soli tulafono and other matters is being discussed and this is to is the right place for this matter to be discussed. For my opinion I hope my village Falefa the chiefs will summon all the tupulaga a Falefa including girls to thrash out the consequence of misbehaving in anything they do e kauvalea ai le nuu ma aiga. I hope our tupulaga from my village will listen to our matai our elders and especially their mums and dads. Cheers, Soifua. Serafi Malo Dear Editor, The reality in our country and its government is that the main cause of all problems that we are facing right now is because of our system of government. Our system of government has been totally ruined by bad leadership such as the Cabinet Handbook 2011 (Cabinet procedure) and the Standing Orders for Parliament that have been established by Prime Minister Tuilaepa and the H.R.P.P. That is the reason why our country and its government are not in good shape at all. As a result, the pathway forward for our country is clearly in darkness. Those two laws, the Cabinet Handbook 2011 (Cabinet procedure) and the Standing Orders for Parliament verify what Afamasaga identified in his article Taxes, Government and the Church. Part III. The underlying message in that series was that the changes then being made on a totally partisan basis to our Constitution and to our electoral system would have the effect of progressively accumulating all political powers in the hands of the ruling party with unfortunate implications for our fledgling democracy. That process is now completed and today, we have one party rule with a mock opposition in a mock parliamentary system with all effective power in the hands of government. Late last year, a brand new Electoral Act 2017 was passed. The old electoral act had done its wrecking job and can be thrown on the scrap heap of history where it belongs. While the old electoral act had already done its wrecking job according to Afamasaga, the Cabinet Handbook 2011 and the Standing Order for Parliament have not. They are still doing their wrecking job in our government systems and our country. The double standard policies in the Cabinet Handbook 2011 and the double standard policies in the Standing Orders for Parliament are the main policies that are doing the wrecking job to our government systems. According to Prime Minister Tuilaepas foreword in the Cabinet Handbook 2011, he said: Our Constitution provides for a parliamentary system of government. Under it, the Cabinet, comprising the Prime Minister and other Ministers, is the central decision-making authority of the executive Government. However, in exercising this power, the Cabinet does not act in a vacuum. The Cabinet is responsible to the Head of State, Parliament and the people. Indeed, as Ministers we are very conscious at all times that ultimately Cabinet is entrusted with this authority by the people through their mandate as expressed through general elections every five years. This mandate by the people is to govern in the best interests of Samoa, and in particular in the maintenance of law and order and peace and security and in the promotion of economic and social development to continually improve the quality of life of everyone. Prime Minister Tuilaepas foreword as mentioned above is not in line with other main policies of the same handbook (Cabinet Handbook 2011) framed by H.R.P.P. In fact the right standard or the only standard that should be followed by everyone in government is the standard highlighted by the Prime Minister in the foreword of the Cabinet Handbook 2011. The standard is the [the mandate by the people is to govern in the best interests of Samoa]. That is people control according to the Constitution of the Independent State of Samoa but not political control by an elected political government according to that elected governments political interests and preferences. However, as I said above, some of the main policies from the Cabinet Handbook 2011 as quoted below are against the right standard because they were based on the H.R.P.P.s political interests and preferences. COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY 1.22 The principle of collective responsibility thus means that all Ministers must stand together as a united front and in solidarity in presenting and defending their decisions, both in Parliament and to the general public. 1.23 If any Minister feels conscientiously unable to support a decision of Cabinet, he or she has one recourse and that is to tender his or her resignation to the Prime Minister. 1.24 All Associate Ministers are also bound by this principle of collective ministerial unity, solidarity and responsibility. MINISTERS AND THE PUBLIC SERVICE 1.38 In return, overall responsibility for the Ministry rests with the Minister. Since the Minister has the last say in making decisions on issues of policy within the Ministry and on the Ministrys general direction, it also falls on him or her to explain and to defend the Ministry before Cabinet, Parliament and the public. 1.39 This includes, should the need arise, defending any official in his or her Ministry, who may be publicly or politically criticized. As a public servant, the official cannot defend himself or herself. It is the Minister who must do so; for it is the Minister who is responsible for the acts of his or her Ministry officials. This is the practical meaning of the principle of ministerial responsibility. 1.41 As private individuals, every person is protected in his or her human rights under the Constitution of Samoa. However, as CEOs in, and employees of, Samoas Public Service, everyone is bound by the ethics of political neutrality, loyalty, integrity and professionalism in serving the Minister and the political Government of the day. Once a Minister or Cabinet has taken a decision all Public Service officials must accept and support that decision and co- operate fully in carrying it out. Those double standard policies as listed above really explain how we have gotten at where we are today. History reveals the truth and the truth is unfolding right now and there will be a lot more to come about the truth. The Cabinet Handbook 2011 was just established in 2011 however the double standard policies in that handbook was a long standing practice in our government for many, many years before 2011. The L.T.R.A 2008 is the product of those double standard policies. The revelation of that finishing product (L.T.R.A 2008) was very shocking because not only that the L.T.R.A 2008 was not done according to the right standard [the mandate by the people is to govern in the best interests of Samoa] but also, we have only been served by the H.R.P.P government with the finishing product that is un-Constitutional without having legal consultations with us about the product. The right services that should be provided by the government for Samoans in relations to the mortgage of lease over customary lands must be started from legal consultations according to the Constitution. The government did not do it. That is the reason why the H.R.P.P government was heavily criticized by the public (Samoans) few years later after enactment of L.T.R.A 2008 but Prime Minister Tuilaepa and H.R.P.P denied it. They defend their political interests and wrongdoings instead of the truth and the right standard, [the mandate by the people is to govern in the best interests of Samoa]. They established the L.T.R.A 2008 in accordance with their double standard policies but not in accordance with the right standard. We will continue tomorrow. Nanai Malonuu Lealaiauloto Nofoaiga Member of Parliament, Olo Fiti Vaai, has challenged Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Maliegaoi, to take him to Court to prove if he is indeed Samoas most wanted blogger, known as O.L.P. Olo issued the challenge in Parliament yesterday. In doing so, Olo again denied that he is the man behind Ole Palemia (O.L.P.), the anonymous online blogger who has developed a reputation for attacking Prime Minister Tuilaepas administration. The issue surfaced during the debate of the Tobacco Control Amendment Bill 2018. Prime Minister Tuilaepa was speaking about mankinds free will to choose between good and evil when he suddenly ventured into the issue of O.L.P. He then accused Levaopolo, which is Olos other matai title, of being "O.L.P." All of you, including Levaopolo, stop it right now, Tuilaepa said. I am telling all of you now, we all know who you are, who are denigrating the Government." I have already directed the Attorney Generals Office and the Police Commissioner (to act). Olo Fiti interjected. He appealed to the Speaker for an opportunity to counter the Prime Minister. But Speaker of Parliament, Leaupepe Toleafoa Fa'afisi, tried to downplay the Prime Ministers allegation. He told the M.P. that the Prime Minister was addressing the issue to Levaopolo not Olo Fiti. But the M.P. was adamant. He said the comments were directed at him and it is not the first time the Prime Minister has made the allegation. Thats when Olo said he is grateful that the truth about the allegation will be revealed in Court. I am thankful that I will be taken to Court so we can clear the air on this matter once and for all, he said. This is not the first time I have been accused of being the anonymous blogger." The allegations may sound comical, but it is not funny. It is not something my constituency and I will take lightly because these are hefty allegations." So I will wait for the Government to take me to Court, given the substantial allegations. Outside of Parliament, the M.P. expressed disappointment about the Prime Ministers comments. I resent his comments. I may be a voice against more of the Governments proposed measures, projects and developments, but that does not necessarily mean I am O.L.P." If I have anything to say, I will say it in Parliament and I dont need to hide behind a secret identity." Also anyone can message the O.L.P. on messenger. So I am waiting for the Government to take me to Court to determine the truth to the unfounded allegations." If no one has told you Mr. Prime Minister, this thing called social media can be accessed by anyone from anywhere else in the World, how certain are you that O.L.P. is in Samoa, said Olo Fiti. He further told the Samoa Observer the actions of the Prime Minister will have an impact on him, given many people have been attacked by O.L.P. online. My life is on the line and so I challenge the Prime Minister, if they have any evidence that its me then take me to Court so I can clear my name. This is nothing to joke about." The Government is seeking to amend the Constitution to add three new members to the Judicial Service Commission (J.S.C.). Currently J.S.C. comprises the Chief Justice, the Attorney General and a representative of the Ministry of Justice. This Bill, if approved into law, the new members will be President of the Land and Titles Court, a retired Supreme Court Judge appointed by the Head of State on the advice of Cabinet, and the Registrar of the Supreme Court as the Secretary of the Commission, who shall have no voting rights. This measure which was tabled for first reading in Parliament, also seeks to amend Article 72(2) and (3) that states no business shall be transacted by the J.S.C. unless any three members appointed are present, and all questions proposed for decision by the Commission shall be decided by a majority of the votes of those members. A meeting of the Judicial Service may be called by any member except the Registrar." The power of appointing, promoting and transferring any judicial officer, other than the Chief Justice, and of dismissing any judicial officer, other than a Judge of the Supreme Court, is hereby vested in the Head of State, acting on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission as may be provided by Act, according to the proposed Bill. According to the memorandum on this measure, the amendments are to provide for a reform to coincide with the reform of the Land and Titles Court as well as other reforms being prepared by the Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration which will be accompanied by Bills to follow this amendment. Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi explained the amendment seeks to improve the work of the Courts. This was part of the inquiry ordered by the Parliament to establish a special Parliamentary Committee to investigate the work and performance of L.T.C. Judges in 2016. He said the proposed amendment of the Constitution is the Cabinets response based on the Parliamentary Committee recommendations which were already approved. You have received the report of the Parliamentary Committee and this is the Cabinets reaction. Member of Parliament, Tafua Malueluea Tafua commended the Government for proposing such an important amendment to the Constitution. I recall in 2016, this was one of the issues discussed in our seminars." And I remember raising the concerns as to how the Lands and Titles seem to lean on individual rights verses communal rights. For example, if one person takes the entire Village Council to Court for not allowing a new denomination in the village." It appeared the Court will always take the side of the one person and does not consider the entire village and their views." So this amendment of the Constitution, allowing additional three members to decide our cases, is relatively important and a very good move, said Tafua. He also pointed out that it has been 55 years since Samoas Independence and yet for the first time, there are three additional seats to assist in the operation of the Court. Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi set the record straight in Parliament yesterday. He made it absolutely clear that he is not the Father of the Nation, as people often address him as. That title is befittingly assumed by the Head of State, Tuilaepa said. He is the Father of Nation. I am the Leader of country. Prime Minister Tuilaepa made the comments during the discussion of a Ministry of Revenue Bill that will increase the cost of food items like imported chicken and the like. The Bill will increase the Customs tariffs for lamb flaps to 20 percent, chicken to 10 percent, and also places an excise tax of 10 percent on turkey tails. The bill was approved during its final reading in Parliament yesterday. The Bill was put through and approved after going through an expedited process. According to Prime Minister Tuilaepa, the bill is critical to address growing health concerns. He said the number of dialysis patients has increased dramatically as a result of eating unhealthy foods. Tuilaepa encouraged Samoans to go back to farming free-range chicken and pigs as opposed to relying on cheap imported chicken. It was at that point that he addressed the issue of people referring to him as being the father of the nation. The Prime Minister said many people think he is a fool because they only use that when they want some money from him. "Members of the public come to see me for everything, he said. They come to me to help them pay the bills, for the faamati and food for their children. They then use this title of the father of the nation as if it is to lure me to help them. Let me make this clear, I am not the father of the nation. Each and every person in Samoa has their own father. By the way, the use of this title for me upset the former Head of State because he is the Father of the Nation. As for people begging him for money, Tuilaepa said he encourages them to work the land. I asked these people, does your family not have a pig farm or a chicken farm? Of course they lie to me. So Mr. Speaker, these people are lazy to go and work the farm and it is our fault because we have been very lenient and not tell them the truth to snap them out of their laziness mode. Tuilaepa added that this is why the Government wants to encourage the use of customary land so that people dont develop that dependency mentality. Member of Parliament, Olo Fiti Vaai, disagreed with the bill. He asked the Government to reconsider their decision on the taxing of imported chicken. Today, the average people can only afford chicken, he said. If it is the health side of things they are worried about, then why was the chicken allowed in the first place? The move to tax frozen chicken is a clear indication the government has no love for the people. Parliament continues on Monday. A new sickness where people have become mentally slow and forgetful was identified in Parliament yesterday. The illness was identified by Member of Parliament, Faumuina Tiatia Liuga, who squarely blamed the heavy consumption of ramen noodles. Speaking in Parliament, the former Cabinet Minister said the high concentration of Monosodium glutamate (M.S.G.) in noodles has led to people becoming slow and some Members of Parliament becoming forgetful. He did not name anyone. But he said these certain Members of Parliament cannot remember what they did in the past. To address the issue, Faumuina urged Parliament to add another tax to noodles. This is one way to encourage healthy eating, taxing and increasing the price. He said the treatment of more than 130 dialysis patients cost the Government $7million. Our people are taken to New Zealand for medical treatment for non-communicable diseases and as a result costing the Government another $10million, he said. And so one way to tackle health issues is tax the food. Faumuina said people become sick from eating too much noodles. This is due to the high sodium which is quite harmful to the health of our people. There are close to 500 people who are borderline on dialysis treatment. This means the number will quintuple and continue to increase. He said this is a relatively important piece of legislation and pledged his support for a healthy Samoa. This should come as a reminder to the families that if you want to continue seeing your loved ones, you should stick to eating healthy. Even children in their 20s are undergoing dialysis treatment. We can ban it (unhealthy food), however that is in violation of peoples right to choose on their own free will, said Fauimuina. He also pointed out the taxes collected from this measure will go into the development of the country and in the end will benefit our people. Last year, National Kidney Foundation General Manager, Mulipola Iose Hazelman, confirmed the huge increase in the number of Samoans undergoing dialysis treatment is alarming. He said there is an increase in end-stage renal disease patients who require dialysis support, the age at onset, survival rates, young dialysis patients and complexity of co-morbidities. And this, he said, should be a wakeup call for Samoa. Manager of Renal Services, Christina Poloai, also expressed similar sentiments. The dialysis started back in 2005 with only five patients, fast forward now, 12 years later, its increased significantly to 103 patients. Its a huge increase, the General Manager told the Samoa Observer yesterday. The last survey indicated the increase was 23 per cent of Samoas population who are either diabetic or hypertension. Eighty per cent of our patients who are on dialysis either started from unmanaged diabetes or unmanaged high blood pressure. He is adamant the numbers would increase. In May 2017, we had to add another shift to meet the demands of the increasing numbers. We have 22 machines. Before we had only three shifts and its now increased to four shifts, said Mulipola. The Samoa Meteorology Division hosted a Career Day yesterday to mark World Meteorological Day at their office in Mulinuu. More than 50 students and teachers from various schools in Apia and invited guests attended. The open day is an opportunity for students to learn as much as they can from those who are experts in the weather division. In Samoa, the celebration of the global theme, Weather Ready-Climate Smart was displayed through presentations on weather, climate, ozone sections and geo-science such as earthquake and tsunamis, earth drilling, geomagnetism, astronomy and oceanography. It was followed by a study tour and discussions between staff and students. Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment C.E.O., Ulu Bismark Crawley acknowledged the support from the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program (S.P.R.E.P.) in supporting the Meteorological Division Career Day. Ulu emphasized on the significance of the meteorological services and the importance for students to consider this field in their studies. Building the capacity in the work place is critical and important for a small and remote country like us, and state-of-the-art development in communications and technology brings the world much closer to Samoas meteorological, geo-science and ozone communities, he said. The Rotary Club of Apia, with the mission making a difference, is walking the talk through lending a helping hand to improve the education of Samoan youth through offering scholarships to tertiary students who are most in need of financial assistance. The year 10 scholarships worth $1,000 each were awarded to National University of Samoa (N.U.S.), for U.S.P. nine scholarships of $1,000 each and three of $500 each were awarded. Don Bosco technical school received 12 scholarships. Rotary President, Louise Main said the scholarships were awarded to students through a rigorous selection process in conjunction with university management, and awarded to students based on continuing good academic performance but facing financial hardships. It is our wish for all the scholarship students to succeed in their studies, and the Rotary assistance is to help those most in need to aw chieve their academic goals for a secure future, said Ms. Main. At their weekly luncheon meeting on Tuesday, held at Tanoa Tusitala, students from N.U.S. and U.S.P. were on hand to meet with the Rotarians to acknowledge their gratitude through awarded scholarships. Part of the scholarship package included donated laptops. The laptops were earmarked for N.U.S. and U.S.P. scholarships. The education sector is a large part of the community development assistance by the Rotary Club. Besides the scholarships Rotary have in the past and continuing to the present coordinate donation of educational books to schools in both Upolu and Savaii. Also on-hand to acknowledge Rotary assistance is Tasman Milo who is the recipient of the R.O.T.A. Pacific Study Tour. Mr. Milo will be heading off to New Zealand on a two-week study tour and familiarisation of the work of Rotary in helping make a difference in the lives of communities. Rotary Club of Apia is part of Rotary International under District 9920. Overseas Rotary Clubs have donated much to help development of Samoan communities. The donated laptops linked to the scholarship wards were from Rotary Clubs of Ashburton and Riccarton. Q: Is Larry Kudlow a good choice as White House economic adviser? Phil Blair, Manpower NO: Economic adviser to the president is a very important job and not one that should be sloughed off to a newscaster with no recent economic experience in the real world. His qualification is he supported Trump early on? Kelly Cunningham, San Diego Institute for Economic Research Advertisement YES: A tremendous advocate for free enterprise and competitiveness, Kudlow is one of the nations finest economic minds who will add substance and style to President Trumps economic team. His ability to promote free-market reforms internally and articulate them externally enhances the Trump administrations economic policies. A former economist under Ronald Reagans presidency, he possesses the knowledge and experience necessary to continue growing the economy and creating jobs through free markets, lower taxes, and less regulation. David Ely, San Diego State University YES: Kudlows experiences at Bear Stearns, the New York Federal Reserve, and the Office of Management and Budget should serve him well as a White House adviser. Given his media experience, he should be adept at communicating the administrations economic policies. His most important role might be as a strong champion for free trade. He could be a needed voice against imposing new tariffs and an advocate for the extension of trade agreements. Gina Champion-Cain, American National Investments YES: Replacing [Gary] Cohn with Kudlow is less about policy change than of personality. Both advisers are free trade proponents. The difference is that Kudlow is adept at bending the narrative in ways that Trump can accept emotionally. That level of personal compatibility may lead to reduced protectionist rhetoric coming out of the White House. If so, that would have a calming effect on markets which would be welcomed by all. Alan Gin, University of San Diego NO: Kudlow is a doctrinaire supply-sider who will push for tax cuts even as the economy is at full employment and as the deficit is exploding. He believes that tax cuts will generate enough revenue to eliminate the deficit. His ideology has led him to misgauge the economy in the past, missing the boom during the Clinton years and the coming of the Great Recession during the Bush Jr., administration. The president needs a realistic assessment of the economy, not a validation of his inclinations. James Hamilton, UC San Diego Advertisement He is not participating this week. Gary London, London Group of Realty Advisors YES: Although I do not think it really matters, as President Trump seems to take only his own advice. I do hope that anyone assuming the position of economic adviser can neuter Peter Navarro, whose views on China and most everything else are economically imprudent. We saw this upfront and personal over his four failed attempts here in San Diego to achieve elective office, espousing similarly economically restrictive platforms. He fits in perfectly with the Trump administration. We can only hope that Larry Kudlow is not such a good fit. Norm Miller, University of San Diego Advertisement YES: Although Kudlow does not have a Ph.D., he is far more qualified than most of Trumps gilded political sycophant Cabinet members. Hopefully, he will stand up to Trump on topics like the ill-conceived tariff proposals. Cohn was a solid and respected adviser, but then Trump does not really want advice as much as someone who parrots his own isolationist and paranoid philosophies toward all prior trade agreements. Jamie Moraga, IntelliSolutions NO: Good news is Kudlow largely supports what Cohn did free trade, strong dollar, no tariffs, and tax cuts. Unfortunately, he is also known for making a few significant incorrect economic predictions including the 2008 Great Recession where he proclaimed in a December 2007 opinion piece that Theres no recession coming. The pessimistas were wrong. Its not going to happen. The White House seems to be a revolving door lately so we shall see how long he lasts or decides to stay. Austin Neudecker, Rev Advertisement NO: Kudlow has relevant experience and expertise (unfortunately, I cannot say that about many other Cabinet appointees). Yet, my principal concerns are his creation/support of the recent tax overhaul (favoring corporate interests and the uber-wealthy) and immediate willingness to abandon his principles and support the presidents dangerous tariffs. Trump continues to show signs that he favors loyalty over divergent/expert opinions. I hope Kudlow will grow a backbone and not capitulate to bad policies. Bob Rauch, R.A. Rauch & Associates YES: Larry Kudlows appointment suggests President Trump will continue to hear conflicting voices in the White House. On trade, Kudlow is more of a free trader who might agree to target China with tariffs. He was a former budget aide to President Ronald Reagan and has urged the Trump administration to pay more attention to rising budget deficits. His addition makes the Trump economic team more solid. Lynn Reaser, Point Loma Nazarene University Advertisement YES: He is a good economist, with an understanding of the fundamentals and principles important to policy. As a proponent of free trade, he will be a counterweight to Peter Navarro, who has promoted the protectionist policies that have emerged from the White House. Kudlow will emphasize policies that promote economic growth. He also is a good communicator, which should support his ability to influence government policymakers and the explanation of policies to the American people. John Sarkisian, Motion Ventures He is not participating this week. Chris Van Gorder, Scripps Healt Advertisement YES: While Larry Kudlow doesnt agree with all of the presidents economic policies tariffs being a notable example the two do appear to share common views on most other economic issues, including Trumps tax policy. More importantly, Kudlow has a longstanding relationship with the president. That could mean he may be able to convince Trump to moderate his views on trade and to focus on the growing budget deficit. Have an idea for an EconoMeter question? Email me at roger.showley@sduniontribune.com Advertisement Business roger.showley@sduniontribune.com; (619) 293-1286; Twitter: @rogershowley Imagine a National City with a vibrant shopping scene, autonomous vehicle parking garages, an entire street of world-class buildings that architecture magazines swoon over and micro-unit apartments that keep rent low for the next generation of professionals. That is the final vision of more than 70 students at the NewSchool of Architecture and Design who spent 20 weeks creating new buildings for roughly 40 city blocks. The intensive project spread out over two semesters equaled 45 build-ready projects for the city, which is one of San Diego Countys poorest communities. Plans were not just wishful fantasies of students. They were designed following criteria in the National City Downtown Specific Plan or master plan with the cooperation of city officials and established architects. The city cant afford the cost of professional designs but having the work done by students means National City now has dozens of free projects to give to developers if it chooses. The project was led by professor Daniela Deutsch, who saw it as a way for students to get experience in the real world while creating something useful for the community. Advertisement Its meeting some very stringent accreditation requirements, said school president Marvin Malecha at a showcase of the projects Wednesday. And its very objective. The students are told to explore, meet the requirements and see what could happen on that site. National City is still deciding what is next for the project, from having students present their visions to the City Council or putting designs on display for residents. The students are on some level idealistic, which can be good and bad, but I think it is more good than bad, said Brad Raulston, the citys deputy city manager. I think with National Citys downtown there is a huge opportunity but you need the vision. We dont have as much creative license as students do. Raulston said he hoped the designs could transfer somehow to the private sector and developers could see it as an opportunity. One of the consultants on the project, Brett Tullis, principal architect at Sillman Wright Architects, said the city was ideal for a makeover. National City is a place that is looking to expand its infrastructure, he said. This is a great way to expand boundaries. Some of the projects: 1515 Roosevelt Avenue by Tyler Napolitano and Alicia Madriago (NewSchool of Architecture and Design ) 1515 Roosevelt Ave. Near Kimball Park, a pyramid-style building designed by Tyler Napolitano, 21, and Alicia Madriago,22, features 10 floors and two underground parking garages. The building is made with concrete and steel and includes 16 townhomes, 28 one-bedroom apartments, 43 two-bedroom apartments and 27 three-bedroom apartments. The first floor is retail on the corner the building off of National City Boulevard. Advertisement Noticing a lack of grocery stores in National City, the mixed-use building also includes a grocery store. Throughout the area, there arent a lot of grocery stores or healthy options, Madriago said. We wanted to take the opportunity to give back to families in the neighborhood surrounding it but also have a healthy option for food in the building. Madriago, of Sacramento, and Napolitano, of Cupertino, said they had not spent a ton of time in National City before the project. But, they said they hoped new projects could showcase the benefits of living there and bring people from other parts of the region to experience it. A rendering of a proposed project at 1149 National Blvd. by NewSchool students Hasan Alsaffar and Phuong Luong. (NewSchool of Architecture and Design ) 1149 National Blvd. Hasan Alsaffar, 24, and Phuong Luong, 22, took a 289,092-square-foot site, which they named National Point, and created a diverse apartment portfolio to house a variety of National City residents. Unit sizes accommodated singles up to a family of five. Advertisement The smallest unit is 323 square feet, with the biggest being a 1,530-square-foot,three-bedroom apartment. Small retail and restaurant space in the building is meant to encourage start-up businesses and young entrepreneurs. A courtyard in the middle of the building encourages the use of public space. A rendering of the site shows a man playing piano in the courtyard, groups of people sitting on the grass and two women doing yoga. Were trying to bring people into the site, and into the park as well, said Alsaffar, who is from Kuwait. The pair also proposed a new train outside the site to help residents connect to the existing 8th Street Station as well as a parking area for autonomous vehicles. Advertisement Rendering of a proposal for 303 National City Blvd (NewSchool of Architecture and Design ) 303 National City Blvd. The project from Chris Butts, 23, and John McMahon, 25, has just about everything jammed into one site a hotel, high-end office space, bars and restaurants, retail space and apartments. The arch to the building is at an optimal angle to capture solar energy. The ground floor of the building opens to a central courtyard to promote public gathering spaces. When we did our research, we realized the residents of downtown National City dont have a lot of outdoor space, Butts said. Thats one of the things that drove our (building) form. Advertisement The pair decided to go without a lot of balconies and terraces for single units, but instead focused on larger gathering places on top floors to encourage a shared community. Waseem Toonsi and Omar Baharth created a building on the corner of Roosevelt Avenue and National City Boulevard that is made up of apartments shaped like hexagons (NewSchool of Architecture and Design ) Roosevelt Avenue & National City Boulevard The most unique looking project came from two students from Saudi Arabia. Waseem Toonsi, 23, and Omar Baharth, 24, created a 16-floor building on the corner of Roosevelt Avenue and National City Boulevard that is made up of hexagon-shaped apartments that give the overall building a futuristic look, much like a space colony. The building jams in 45,000 square feet of commercial space, 58,600 square feet of retail, 68,000 square feet of space for education, and 50,000 square feet of outdoor space. There are 70 studios, 30 one-bedroom apartments, 30 two-bedrooms and 15 three-bedrooms. Advertisement They chose the unique shapes for apartments because they wanted residents to feel like they have their own unit, as the hexagon shape provides space between apartments. But, they acknowledge that it doesnt look like anything in National City. Any city, if you want to improve it, you improve it with architecture, Baharth said. Building called Destination on National by Timothy Hung and Madisson Pullen (NewSchool of Architecture and Design ) W. 5th Street & National City Boulevard Timothy Hung, 27, and Madisson Pullen, 22, said they decided to name their project Destination on National, because they wanted to bring people from surrounding communities to National City. They said their project is easy to access because it is on a main road and near the freeway entrance to Interstate 5. Advertisement It has this prime location to grab everyones attention, Pullen said. The main feature of the building is a half circle of retail on the first few floors. All stores face National City Boulevard. The unique shape, Hung said, will hopefully intrigue passers-by to come and shop. From the core, it seems like pieces are floating out, Hung said. Advertisement Business phillip.molnar@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1891 Twitter: @phillipmolnar Advertisement ALSO San Diegos new single-family homes are pricey, modern and in short supply Tijuana condo craze continues in to 2018 Last years housing market broke records I found my first gray hair when I was 16. (Cool!) By the time I was in my mid-30s, I was coloring my hair dark brown every six to eight weeks. (Not cool.) By my mid-50s, it was every three weeks: Every third week at home; every third week at the salon. (I. Am. So. Over. This.) I had become a slave to my silver roots, having spent thousands of hard-earned dollars and countless hours on the weekends trying to hide the fact that I was getting older. Advertisement But who was I kidding? Did people look at my dark hair and think, Oh, she must be young? Of course not. Yet, the pressure to color it was very real I wasnt immune to societys anti-aging bias baggage. And even my stylist discouraged me against going gray, saying that that if I ever lost my job, Id be a middle-aged woman with silver hair walking into the interview room. (Hey, I work for a newspaper; its a reality.) But then, last April, a series of events hit me like a Snap out of it! slap from Cher in Moonstruck all of her glorious pewter curls included. I decided to quit coloring cold turkey and embraced the external transformation Id been fending off for decades. Little did I know how much going gray would also change how I felt about myself from the inside: The silver lining in dropping the dye was feeling younger than I had in years. Rocking my roots felt risky, adventurous and empowering. My graybre, where the gray ombres into the dark, was technically called my demarcation line. It was also my line in the sand: Yeah, Im old, deal with it. I also had no idea how many women shared my experience until I read Silver Hair: A Handbook, by stylist Lorraine Massey and co-author Michele Bender. (2018, $16.95, Workman Publishing) Massey, who also co-wrote Curly Girl: The Handbook with Bender, will make an appearance in San Diego Monday, at 6 p.m. at the Kearny Mesa salon Me, My Curls And I. Lorraine Massey, author of Silver Hair: A Handbook and an advocate for embracing your natural hair, will be in San Diego Monday, at the Kearny Mesa salon Me, My Curls And I. (Courtesy photo ) Advertisement Heres what I learned from my act of counterintuitive defiance and from reading Silver Hair: A Handbook. More than 75 percent of women color their hair. Trying to calculate the collective cost and all the hours spent in the chair makes my silver scalp explode. Massey attributes the increasing popularity of young women dying their hair silver to pop culture, namely Frozens Elsa and Game of Thrones Daenerys Targaryen. There are worse people to emulate. Look up #grannyhair on social media and you wont find pictures of actual grannies; theyre of young women experimenting with all shades of gray. More than 50, even. Like me, most of the older women interviewed in the book say the biggest surprise about going gray is how emotionally liberating it is. Not doing the expected thing, taking the safe route or conforming like an adult, evokes a freedom that comes with not being an adult. Trust me, few things make you feel that way at 58. Its so much easier to feel and look younger when you are liberated and being your best, truest self, free of societal pressures and contrived beauty standards, Massey said in a recent email. This is what makes us ageless. Talk about liberating, no more dye jobs = more money and woo hoo! free weekends. If that doesnt make you feel more like a kid, nothing will. Silver foxes hear from a lot of women that what theyre doing is brave and that they wish they could do it too, or they cant wait until they can do it. (Do it! Like Massey says, if you dont like it, youre just one box of color away from going back.) Massey tells women that when it comes to hair, focus on what really matters a great cut. My new stylist Alma is not only my biggest going-gray cheerleader, she has also given me the best haircut Ive ever had. Very Miranda Priestly. That is all. Cutting your way to gray gradually chopping off more and more of the over-processed, faded, repeatedly-dyed tresses puts the visual emphasis on your new, shiny locks. Everybody in the pool! Some of us (me) rediscover the beauty of swimming. No more need to fear chlorine, that arch-enemy of expensive dye jobs. Come on in, the waters fine. And so is your hair. A lot of older women told Massey that their gray hair has made them less invisible, with more people complimenting them and flirting with them. It could be the hair or it could be the new-found confidence these women have. Now that would be cool. Lorraine Massey will discuss Silver Hair: A Handbook, hold a Q&A and book signing at 6 p.m. Monday, at Me, My Curls And I, 4885 Ronson Court, Suite B, Kearny Mesa. (619) 200-0054. memycurlsandi.com Editors note: Parente and Massey are scheduled to appear as guests on KPBS radios Midday Edition on Monday at noon. The author makes the case that saying goodbye to the dye has made her feel like a rebel. With the addition of a sassy cut, she also feels younger. (Eduardo Contreras / San Diego Union-Tribune ) Advertisement michele.parente@sduniontribune.com Advertisement Twitter: @sdeditgirl Katherine McGrath, a Broadway veteran and Old Globe associate artist who was a longtime favorite at the Balboa Park theater, died March 17 at a convalescent home in Massachusetts. She was 73. McGrath is remembered for her standout performances in dozens of roles at the Globe, where she first appeared onstage in 1978. She joined the prestigious ranks of the theaters associate artists in the mid-1980s. Among key early roles she played were those of Lady Macbeth in a 1979 Globe production of Macbeth; and as Olivia in Twelfth Night and Mrs. Malaprop in The Rivals (for which she won a Drama-Logue Award) in 1983. In 1984, she appeared as the title character in Sophocles Elektra, said to be the first staging of a Greek tragedy at the Globe. Advertisement And in 1995, she starred as Beatrice opposite future Tony Award winner (and fellow associate artist) Richard Eastons Benedick in a much-admired production of Much Ado About Nothing, directed by then-artistic director Jack OBrien. That year, former Union-Tribune theater critic Welton Jones wrote of her work: During her 17 Globe seasons, Katherine McGrath has edged her way gracefully along the path from mature ingenue to young character woman, with jumps both backward and forward. Her lush Titania in that 1978 Dream is a fond memory but no more so than her sultry wife in A Comedy of Errors the next summer. She plays haughty parts like Lears daughters and matriarchs like the elder sister of Lughnasa with formidable conviction but she also has ditzed it up as Mrs. Malaprop, grown old gallantly as Shirley Valentine and gone middle-class with a vengeance for Alan Ayckbourn. The real value of an artist with the presence and skills of McGrath comes in the way she can nail the small but crucial supporting role. Im thinking of her Emilia in the 1984 Othello, when she somehow became the terrible, condemning conscience of the whole play. McGraths last Globe role was as another great lady of the stage, Sarah Bernhardt, in 2002s Memoirs although she did return in 2006 to greet Balboa Park crowds as Queen Elizabeth during festivities celebrating the Globe and its history. By the time of Memoirs, McGrath already had moved away from her former home of Ocean Beach to New York City. There, she had a long run as Mrs. Paroo in director Susan Stromans Broadway revival of The Music Man. She was later to appear on Broadway again in A Tale of Two Cities (2008) and Billy Elliot: The Musical (in 2011). McGrath was born Dec. 11, 1944, in Winchester, Mass., to Edward J. and Catherine M. McGrath. She was predeceased by her brothers Edward J. and Robert F. McGrath. Advertisement Her longtime friend Lindsay Law wrote in a tribute that, in McGraths senior year of high school, she was preparing to attend the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. Then her drama teacher cast her in Shakespeares Twelfth Night. It was like putting on a dress that fits you right she explained in a 1992 interview. I loved it, and it seemed it would be nice to do something for a living that you loved. She graduated from Marblehead High School in 1962. Law said McGrath then studied acting at the Boston Conservatory and later at the Royal Academy of London. Over the course of her career, she performed at such renowned theaters as the Guthrie in Minneapolis, the Kennedy Center in the nations capital, and the Mark Taper Forum and Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. Advertisement McGrath also had acting credits in such television shows as Cheers, Frasier and Hill Street Blues. But the Globe seemed to hold a special place in her heart. Asked about what it meant to be named an associate artist, McGrath told the Union-Tribune in 1985: I think what it really means is that youre wanted and appreciated. People believe in you, so you work harder not to let them down. Every actor gets nervous on the first day of rehearsal, but here you know youre loved. You know you dont have to prove anything right away. You just need to get to the work. Advertisement Later, as she was preparing to step onto the Broadway stage in The Music Man, McGrath said: I did what I wanted all my life, working at the Globe. You dont make a lot of money, but your soul gets fed. The work is soul food. McGrath, whom Law affectionately refers to as Auntie, is survived by her sister-in-law Nancy McGrath and seven nieces and nephews: Bob McGrath, Peter McGrath, Brian McGrath, Suzanne McGrath Mitchell, Lissa McGrath Millett, John McGrath and Chris McGrath. Services took place earlier this week in Massachusetts. Advertisement Advertisement jim.hebert@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @jimhebert This Saturday, students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., have coordinated a series of nationwide marches to call for action to end gun violence and mass shootings in schools. Events are planned in nearly 840 locations worldwide, including Los Angeles. The hub of march activity will be in Washington, D.C. Here are some basics for the march in L.A. and elsewhere in Southern California: Transportation: Driving downtown is likely to be difficult during the march. Spring Street will be closed between Temple and 7th streets, along with portions of Broadway and other adjacent streets as needed. Advertisement The March for Our Lives in Los Angeles will start at 6th and Spring streets and head toward Grand Park. (Len DeGroot / Los Angeles Times ) The main event: The main march will start with a rally and speaker program. Supporters will assemble at 9 a.m. at 6th and Spring. At 10 a.m., participants will begin marching along both Spring and Broadway toward City Hall and Grand Park. The organization that was behind the L.A. Womens March in January filed the permit for the downtown event. The permit application anticipates 50,000 participants. Are you going to March for Our Lives? We want to hear from you Speakers include Marjory Stoneman Douglas students, celebrities Amy Schumer and Yara Shahidi and Mayor Eric Garcetti. Performers include Charlie Puth, Rita Ora and Leona Lewis. The event is scheduled to wrap up at 1 p.m. Elsewhere in Southern California: Marches and events are planned in numerous places including Santa Ana, Santa Monica, Burbank, Pico Rivera, Manhattan Beach, Huntington Beach and Long Beach. Advertisement Times staff writer Len DeGroot contributed to this report. Joy.Resmovits@LATimes.com @Joy_Resmovits Even as the U.S.-Mexico relationship has endured challenging times under President Donald Trump, Mexicos top diplomat said Thursday that there has been progress on many fronts as the two countries engage on issues such as migratory workers, fighting transnational crime organizations, and crafting policy on Central America. We dont want differences to define the relationship. Well continue to engage and try to make this as strong a relationship as possible, Luis Videgaray told an audience at the University of California at San Diego. A 49-year-old economist who holds a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Videgaray is considered one of the closest advisers to Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who appointed him as foreign minister in January 2017. The secretarys plans in San Diego included a lunch on campus, a meeting with San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, a visit to the San Diego Association of Governments and a discussion with promoters of the CaliBaja binational mega-region. During a half-hour speech and a subsequent question-and-answer session, Videgaray touched on a wide range of topics, from the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement to the need for collaboration against drug trafficking, to the issue of contamination in the Tijuana River watershed that results in closed beaches in southern San Diego County. Advertisement Videgarays visit to the UCSD campus was sponsored by the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies at the School of Global Policy and Strategy. The occasion was the First Annual Distinguished Lecture on U.S.-Mexico Relations. The audience included scholars, public officials, students from Tijuana and San Diego, and Jeffrey Davidow, a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico. The secretarys visit occurred one week after President Trump came to Otay Mesa to inspect prototypes for a border wall he has promised to build on the southern borderand made Mexico foot the bill. Videgaray said he would also be traveling to Otay Mesa, but for a very different purpose: To visit the site of Otay East, a future border crossing that would be financed through tolls and is being planned jointly by the United States and Mexican governments. We believe in the concept of thinning the border, making it thinner so that the border is secure, but at the same time allow for the free flow of people and goods, Videgaray said. We want a border that unites us, not divides us. The secretary drew applause from the audience when he reiterated Mexicos position that we will not pay for any wall. Videgarays visit, is part of his effort and Mexicos effort to reach out to a wide American community, said Davidow, the former U.S. ambassador to Mexico. The relationship is very complicated, he said. Its unclear to me and its unclear to the Mexicans what the goals of the United States are. Mexico has been very clear in its policies, the U.S. has been quite confused. Arturo Sarukhan, a former Mexican ambassador to the United States, said government-to-government relations remain relatively sturdy...largely thanks to the yeomans work by officials and agencies on both sides of the border. But the U.S.-Mexico relationship faces political turbulence not witnessed since the mid-1980s, when clashing geopolitical outlooks regarding Central America and the murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena derailed bilateral ties, he said. A former investment banker, Videgaray initially served as finance minister under Pena Nieto. He resigned from that post in September 2016 after helping arrange a visit by Donald Trump, then the U.S. Republican presidential candidate, to meet with the Mexican presidenta meeting that proved politically unpopular in Mexico. During his talk at UCSD, Videgaray said that since Trump has been in the White House, the Pena Nieto administration has shifted its policy not anchoring our diplomatic efforts only in Washington, and certainly not only in the White House. Advertisement While President Trump has criticized the North American Free Trade Agreement as the worst deal ever, Videgaray said negotiators from Mexico, the United States and Canada have been working hard to renegotiate the agreement. The month of April will be crucial, he said. Videgaray also addressed a touchy bilateral issue affecting relations between the San Diego and Tijuana, that of sewage-contaminated spills in the Tijuana River watershed that cross the international border. For sure, its on my radar, its a big problem, the secretary said. What Mexico should do is rebuild the infrastructure that is broken and creating the problem. Videgaray said he had spoken with Mexicos Finance Minister and he assured me that the funds are there to complete the repair of a sewage line that collapsed last February and led to millions of gallons of sewage spilling into the Tijuana River channel. sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com Advertisement @sandradibble Several years ago, emergency highway call boxes were being phased out across the country, having become largely obsolete thanks to the ubiquitous cellphone. San Diego has joined the trend, but the $1 fee on registered vehicles that paid for the yellow boxes will live on, its use already having been expanded to other public safety services, many of them assisting motorists. Its a government program that grew beyond its original purpose and there have been strong feelings about whether thats been a good thing or not. The call-box system in San Diego was born out of noble intentions in 1986 to help stranded motorists. But within a decade the agency created to oversee the program had collected far more money than was needed to run it. Advertisement The San Diego Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies (San Diego SAFE) came under a harsh spotlight not only because call-box use plummeted, but the growing surplus was being spent on other things. State lawmakers eventually did away with the agency and turned the call-box program over to the San Diego Association of Governments in 2013. SANDAG recently has begun yanking out about two-thirds of the roadside phones all from urban areas reducing the number of call boxes from 1,259 to 379. Officials say the remaining ones will remain in rural areas where cellphone reception is spotty or non-existent. Roadside signs are being installed in place of some of the removed call boxes with a message to call 511 on your cellphone for roadside assistance. Its a sign of the times, SANDAG Vice-Chair and Poway Mayor Steve Vaus said in a statement last week. Most people now own cellphones and dont need a roadside call box in emergencies. The decrease in call volume proves that. It is time to reduce the cost of maintaining call boxes where cellphone signal strength is strong and dependable. San Diego is a bit behind other areas in phasing out call boxes because after SANDAG took over the program, time was needed to assess it. The reduction started in December. According to SANDAG, calls have dropped from 140,000 calls in 1993 to 11,000 in 2017. That latest annual number has been flat for nearly a decade. The precipitous decline started around 1997. Headlines about the demise of call boxes have mimicked the going the way of the Edsel, the iconic automobile that disappeared generations ago. Advertisement Freeway call boxes going the way of landline telephones Freeway Call Boxes Going the Way of Pay Phones Extinct Freeway call boxes are going way of the cassette tape Los Angeles created Californias first call-box system on a 10-mile stretch of freeway in 1962. The phones were solar powered, no less. Advertisement San Diegos program was launched more than two decades later after a terrible incident. A 27-year-old woman was sexually assaulted in 1985 after being stranded on a busy section of Interstate 5 near downtown San Diego. Then-state Sen. Bill Craven of Oceanside pushed through a bill the following year that allowed counties to collect the $1 fee per vehicle through the DMV to install, maintain and operate call boxes. A bidding war over the San Diego contract and a resulting legal dispute delayed the program. When the call boxes came on line in November 1988, SAFE already had built up a healthy reserve. Eventually the decline of call-box use and increasing surplus drew attention to this little-known agency. Both CityBeat and the Union-Tribune wrote extensive stories about the emerging controversy. In 2013, SAFE was sitting on a reserve of about $13 million 15 times its annual operating budget. Advertisement Years earlier, the agency was looking for other ways to spend the money. Cravens legislation allowed spending on additional motorist aid and other services, though some thought SAFE went beyond what was intended. Money went to a firefighting and rescue helicopter, among other things. Such services and hardware may have been popular, but some officials criticized the agencys mission creep. This has become the poster child for a government program that at one time was relevant but, as the world changed and our technology evolved, has become irrelevant, San Diego City Councilwoman Lorie Zapf said in 2011, when she became a SAFE board member. For years, they have been floundering and looking for a justification for their existence. Much of the spending went to rural fire agencies and San Diego city officials complained that their constituents were getting shorted. Advertisement SAFE also took flak for an expensive marketing campaign to make people aware of the 511 system, and for offering to help fund studies on futuristic transportation systems. State legislators stepped in to suspend the fee, but later backed off because it might have required voter approval to reinstate it. Instead, they opted for a bill in 2012 to transfer the responsibility to SANDAG. Supervisor Ron Roberts, who served on both the SANDAG and SAFE boards, opposed the move. He maintained the program would be run more efficiently if left alone and defended spending for things other than call boxes as enhancing public safety. It is unfortunate that a privately operated SAFE board became the victim of the government bureaucracy, Roberts said at the time. Advertisement The executive director of SAFE, a private businessman, had his contract renewed six times without competitive bids. The contract grew even though the call-box systems use contracted. Subsequent legislation was passed in 2015 to further codify that the DMV funding could be used for purposes other than call-box operations, including Freeway Service Patrol, Traveler Information Systems (511), Intelligent Transportation Systems, and other transportation demand management services, according to SANDAG. Those programs also benefit from other state and federal funding. The service patrol assists more than 83,000 motorists a year, according to SANDAG. The agency said $2.9 million was raised by the vehicle registration add-on fee in the 2017 fiscal year. SANDAG said it doesnt have a surplus from the fee. Advertisement SANDAG said it is unaware of any move to curtail the $1 fee on vehicle registrations. So, call boxes may be going the way of the Edsel, but as he Union-Tribune noted in 2012, the fee will motor on. An unauthorized immigrant who was tried twice for allegedly driving while drunk and causing a crash in San Ysidro that seriously injured a 6-year-old boy will not go to trial a third time, a judge ruled Friday. The case against 39-year-old Constantino Banda Acosta, a Mexican citizen who has been deported from the United States more than a dozen times, was dismissed during a morning hearing in Chula Vista Superior Court. On Monday of this week, Judge Stephanie Sontag declared a mistrial in the case after jurors informed her they were unable to reach verdicts on the felony charges, including felony hit and run causing serious injury and driving under the influence of alcohol. In September, a different jury that heard the Banda case announced it was deadlocked on the felony charges, but convicted him on misdemeanor counts of vandalism, battery and driving without a license. Advertisement Sontag sentenced Banda on the three misdemeanor convictions, giving him credit for the more than two years of time he had already served while going through the two trials. Deputy District Attorney Christopher Chandler said immigration authorities placed a hold on Banda so that he is not released from custody before federal prosecutors decide whether to pursue any federal charges. Banda was arrested after the May 6 crash that left then-6-year-old Lennox Lake with serious injuries, including a fractured skull. The boy and his parents were returning home that evening to San Ysidro after a trip to Disneyland. The case drew national interest after federal authorities said Banda had repeatedly crossed the border illegally, adding fuel to the ongoing debate about immigration in the United States. Since 2002, Banda had been deported to Mexico, or allowed to return there voluntarily, 17 times, according to records from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Chandler argued in both trials that Banda was behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Silverado when he ran a stop sign at Dairy Mart Road and Camino de la Plaza and broadsided the Lake familys Honda Accord. Banda was in the drivers seat of the pickup when Border Patrol agents pulled him from the vehicle less than two miles from the crash site. Advertisement Deputy Public Defender Juliana Humphrey contended that it was actually another man, Jorge Adame Ariza, who was driving at the time of the crash. Surveillance video shows Adame behind the wheel of the pickup earlier that evening when the pair left a Chula Vista restaurant. Humphrey has argued that police assumed too quickly that Banda was the driver, and they didnt question Adame until three days after the crash. Chandler has said that Banda and Adame switched seats before the crash because Adame did not have a drivers license. Advertisement Adame, who like Banda was a Mexican citizen in the U.S. illegally, testified that it was Banda who ran a stop sign and struck the Lake familys car. Advertisement dana.littlefield@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @danalittlefield While her family has said Rebecca Zahaus strong Christian faith would have prevented her from taking her own life, her boyfriend testified Thursday that she disliked organized religion. Rebecca was a complicated person, Jonah Shacknai said in court Thursday morning, speaking of the 32-year-old surgical technician whose body was found hanging from a balcony at the Coronado mansion Shacknai once owned. She had a visceral distaste for organized religion, he said. Shacknai was called to testify in San Diego Superior Court by the attorney representing his younger brother in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Zahaus family. Advertisement Zahaus family members disagree with officials findings that she killed herself in 2011. Instead, they allege that Adam Shacknai strangled her after sexually assaulting her and staged the scene to look as though she hanged herself. During his testimony, Jonah Shacknai said he had never seen his brother do anything violent, and it was inconceivable to think he was involved in her death. On July 11, 2011, just two days before Zahaus body was found, Shacknais 6-year-old son Max sustained serious injuries from a fall at the mansion and would later die. County authorities have suggested that Zahau took her own life because she was distraught over being the only adult in the house when the boy fell. 1 / 21 Jonah Shacknai is sworn in before testifying in San Diego Superior Court on day 14 of the civil trial for the wrongful death of Rebecca Zahau, where his younger brother, Adam Shacknai is the defendant. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 2 / 21 Adam Shacknai sits in court as he listens to testimony during the 14th day of the civil trial for the wrongful death of Rebecca Zahau. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 3 / 21 Jonah Shacknai is escorted to the witness stand for his testimony in San Diego Superior Court on day 14 of the civil trial for the wrongful death of Rebecca Zahau, where his younger brother, Adam Shacknai is the defendant. Left to right, Jonah Shacknai, Keith Greer, Dan Webb and Adam Shacknai. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 4 / 21 Jonah Shacknai testifies in San Diego Superior Court about how often the couple took their boat out on the water in San Diego and how Rebecca Zahau helped tie and untie the boat from the cleat on the dock. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 5 / 21 Adam Shackai and his attorney Dan Webb sit at the defense table as attorney Keith Greer cross examines defense witness David Lyle Oleksow on the witness stand. Oleksow is a forensic document examiner. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 6 / 21 While on the witness stand, Jonah Shacknai testifies during cross examine by Keith Greer in San Diego Superior Court about Rebeccas possible knowledge of rope knots. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 7 / 21 While on the witness stand, Jonah Shacknai is asked by the plaintiff to demonstrate how he would tie his boat to the cleat on the dock. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 8 / 21 During the 14th day of the civil trial for the wrongful death of Rebecca Zahau, Mary Zahau-Loehners sits at the plaintiff table as photos of her sister are shown to the jury. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 9 / 21 Adam Shacknai sits in court as he listens to testimony from his brother, Jonah Shacknai on the witness stand during the 14th day of the civil trial for the wrongful death of Rebecca Zahau. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 10 / 21 Jonah Shacknai testifies in San Diego Superior Court on day 14 of the civil trial for the wrongful death of Rebecca Zahau, where his younger brother, Adam Shacknai is the defendant. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 11 / 21 Adam Shacknai sits in court as he listens to testimony from Shelley Webster (criminalist for the Sheriffs office) on the witness stand during the 14th day of the civil trial for the wrongful death of Rebecca Zahau. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 12 / 21 Jonah Shacknai testifies in San Diego Superior Court on day 14 of the civil trial for the wrongful death of Rebecca Zahau, where his younger brother, Adam Shacknai is the defendant. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 13 / 21 Plaintiffs attorney, Keith Greer marks the steak knife before submitting the knife as evidence in the civil trial for the wrongful death of Rebecca Zahau. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 14 / 21 Shelley Webster, a former criminalist with the Sheriffs office and worked on the investigation hods up the steak knife found at the home in Coronado for the jury to view. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 15 / 21 Attorneys Keith Greer (back) and Dan Webb (front) examine the steak knife with Shelley Webster. Webster is a former criminalist from the Sheriffs office who worked on the investigation. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 16 / 21 David Lyle Oleksow, a forensic document examiner testified on Thursday to the accuracy of the comparison of Adam Shackais handwriting to that of the painted note left behind from Rebecca s Zahaus suicide. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 17 / 21 Adam Shacknai sits in court as he listens to testimony from Shelley Webster (criminalist for the Sheriffs office) on the witness stand during the 14th day of the civil trial for the wrongful death of Rebecca Zahau. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 18 / 21 David Lyle Oleksow, a forensic document examiner testified on Thursday to the accuracy of the comparison of Adam Shackais handwriting to that of the painted note left behind from Rebecca s Zahaus suicide. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 19 / 21 During the 14th day of the civil trial for the wrongful death of Rebecca Zahau, Mary Zahau-Loehners sits at the plaintiff table as photos of her sister are shown to the jury. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 20 / 21 Adam Shacknai sits in court as he listens to testimony from his brother, Jonah Shacknai on the witness stand during the 14th day of the civil trial for the wrongful death of Rebecca Zahau. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 21 / 21 David Lyle Oleksow, a forensic document examiner testified on Thursday to the accuracy of the comparison of Adam Shackais handwriting to that of the painted note left behind Rebecca s Zahaus suicide. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) Zahaus mother, Pari Zahau, has disputed that conclusion. She testified earlier in the trial that her daughter would not have killed herself, in part because of her Christian faith and also because she was happy. Jonah Shacknai a wealthy CEO of a pharmaceutical company he founded also painted a picture of a happy life for the couple, who spent most of the year in Phoenix and summers in Coronado. And he said Zahau did not share her mothers religious beliefs. Advertisement He testified that Zahau told him on her first date that she grew up in a strict religious household and had negative experiences with organized religion. Although he believed she was a woman of faith, he said she did not share her views on religion with her parents. Shacknai said Zahau was somewhat familiar with ropes because she used to tie off their boats when they would go out in the bay once or twice a week in the summer. But that was the extent of her rope abilities. Those same ropes were used in her death. Zahaus hands and feet were tied when her body was found hanging from a balcony. Adam Shacknai, a tugboat captain from Memphis who was staying in a guest house on the property, used a kitchen knife to cut Zahaus body down before calling 911. Advertisement Attorney C. Keith Greer, who represents Zahaus family, has said the nautical knots, her menstrual blood on a knife handle and a mysterious message painted on a bedroom, link Adam Shacknai to her death. The message read, She saved him can you save her. Shacknai has denied any involvement in her death. His lawyers have noted that none of Shacknais DNA or fingerprints were found on any pertinent pieces of evidence. Recalling the summer of 2011, Jonah Shacknai said his relationship with his girlfriend was strong, but there had been tension at the house between Zahau and his then 13-year-old daughter. He said there also had been tension between Zahau and Maxs mother, Dina Shacknai, his second wife who also lived in Coronado. Advertisement On the morning of July 11, Shacknai said he had gone to a nearby gym and was planning on a trip to the San Diego Zoo with the family later when he got a call from Zahuas mobile phone. There were no voices, but just commotion in the background. I knew something was wrong, so I ran immediately back to the house, he said. He arrived to find a fire truck and police cars in front of the mansion. Inside, paramedics were tending to Max, who was on the floor and injured from a fall. Advertisement His voice breaking at times, Shacknai said Max was taken to a Coronado hospital and then transported to Radys Childrens Hospital, where he was put in a medically induced coma. Dina Shacknai arrived at the hospital about 5 p.m. By then, Jonah Shacknai had told Zahau that she should not be there when his ex-wife arrived. Shacknai said his brother flew in the next day. The two of them went to dinner with Zahau, an outing the elder brother described as somber, with little talking. Back at the hospital, Shacknai said a doctor gave him and his ex-wife some news he called inappropriately direct. In a best-case scenario, he told them, Max would never walk or talk again. Advertisement It wasnt a surprise, but it was difficult to hear, Shacknai said. I was more hopeful than that. He described Dina Shacknai as hysterical at the prognosis and said she told the doctor it wasnt true. He left a voicemail for Zahau with the news, but said she never called him back. Shacknai said he spent the night of July 12 at the Ronald McDonald House adjacent to Radys and went to check on Max at about 6:30 or 7 a.m. the next morning. Advertisement While in Maxs room, he said he got a text from his brother, telling him to call. He asked me if I was sitting down, and he told me that Rebecca had taken her life, he said. Shacknai said he was speechless. With his son fighting for his life in a hospital bed, he had just learned his girlfriend was dead. A few days later, Max was taken off life support. Advertisement Testimony in the trial is expected to resume Monday. Advertisement 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 Advertisement Twitter: @GaryWarthUT 760-529-4939 It looks like a fish. It swims like a fish. But it isnt a fish. So what is it? Its SoFi, the robotic fish! Developed by researchers at MIT, SoFi is a soft-bodied robot that glides silently through the water with a smooth, undulating motion designed to mimic the movements of real fish. Advertisement It is the first robotic fish to contend with the currents and pressures of an actual ocean setting for an extended period of time. In a study published Wednesday in Science Robotics, the authors describe how SoFi can nimbly navigate a coral reef off Fiji in three dimensions, swimming up, down, left, right and forward, all at the behest of a diver armed with what looks like a Nintendo controller. The authors also report that the robot can handle water depths of about 60 feet, and appears to swim alongside real fish without spooking them. For us, this fish is magical, said Daniela Rus, director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT, who led the work. We imagine someday it might help us uncover more mysteries from the amazing underwater world that we know so little about. SoFi in action, being controlled remotely by a diver using an acoustic communication modem. (Katzschmann et al. / Science Robotics ) SoFi is a fairly small robot, about a foot and a half long and weighing in at just 3.5 pounds. A hydraulic pump moves water in its soft rubber tail from side to side, allowing it to swim in a fish-like motion. Electronics including a Linux PC, along with a fisheye lens, are stored in the robots head. It runs off a small battery similar to what you would find in your smartphone, and in its current iteration it can swim for about 40 minutes at a time. Many of SoFis parts are 3D-printed, making it relatively easy and inexpensive to reproduce. Advertisement The design of SoFi could be easily scaled up or down, Rus said, but if it were bigger it would be harder for a diver to get it into and out of the water, and if it were smaller it would struggle more against currents. Building a robot that can function underwater comes with unique challenges, Rus said. Its electronics need to be housed in watertight compartments that are able to withstand large changes in pressure as the robot moves up and down in the water column. In addition, it needs to have adjustable buoyancy so that it can swim at different depths without floating off to the surface or sinking to the seafloor. Advertisement Communications are also an issue because radio frequencies used to communicate with robots on land dont work in the water. The anatomy of the soft robotic fish SoFi, and the remote control for diver use. (Katzschmann et al. / Science Robotics ) Rus said buoyancy was among the biggest challenges for her team. If you are a diver then you know you let the air out of your dive vest when you go down and put it in when you go up, she said. But sometimes as you go up the air you have expands so you need to let more out. Its really quite tricky. Advertisement To address this issue, the team created what they called a buoyancy control unit, with urethane foam chambers that can change their density by compressing or decompressing air. The communication hurdle was surmounted using ultrasonic signals that allow a diver to operate SoFi with the help of a custom remote control. Using the remote, a diver can be about 50 feet from the robot and still control its movements. Photos of SoFi taken every 2.6 seconds are merged to show its trajectory along a coral reef. (Katzschmann et al. / Science Robotics ) Rus said her group would continue improving on SoFi, including making it swim faster and giving it the ability to transmit video and do more accurate color imaging in the water. She said its possible the robot could learn to recognize specific fish and follow them on its own. Advertisement We could task it to find a crown of thorns or a parrot fish or starfish and have it map the locations of these animals, she said. Rus ultimate goal is to create an instrument that can help biologists study ocean animals in an unobtrusive way. With this robot, I hope we can begin to peek into the secret lives of underwater creatures, she said. Kakani Katija, an engineer at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute who was not involved in the study, said the work is an important contribution to the bio-inspired design research community. Advertisement The potential for studying animal behaviors with robotic mimics is especially exciting, she said. However, Katija added, more work needs to be done to determine whether SoFi can be used as a viable, long-term observational platform in the ocean. Ken Smith, a marine ecologist also at the Monterey Bay institute who didnt work on the study either, agreed. I think this new robotic fish has a lot of potential, being small, nonintrusive, with sufficient power to operate in turbulent waters, he said. Future versions with increased depth capability and longevity would be very valuable to marine scientists studying shallow-water ecosystems. Advertisement deborah.netburn@latimes.com Do you love science? I do! Follow me @DeborahNetburn and like Los Angeles Times Science & Health on Facebook. MORE IN SCIENCE Oceans on ancient Mars may have got an assist from volcanoes Advertisement Scientists fly across the country to see how germs spread on airplanes Erasing Stephen Hawkings disability erases an important part of who he was My bike was stolen on a weekend in early March. It was half my fault, half my husbands fault, and 100 percent the fault of the person who stole it. Left with a lock, a front wheel and a heavy heart, I did the only thing I could think of: I decided to leave the thief a little note. Okay, it was a big note. Armed with yellow paint, I crafted an 8-by-3-foot cardboard sign and hung it across the entire front of my landlords Brooklyn brownstone (with his permission). It said: To the person who stole my bicycle I hope you need it more than I do. Advertisement It was $200 used, and I need it to get to work. I cant afford another one. Next time, steal a hipsters Peugeot. Or not steal! PS: Bring it back. (For those of you who are not into bikes, Peugeots are fancy bikes that can cost thousands of dollars.) I felt a little foolish writing the sign. After all, if my husband and I had spent nearly as much time double securing my bicycle as I did writing the sign, I might not be in the situation. But I knew other peoples bicycles had been stolen in the neighborhood, and the least I could do was acknowledge what had happened. I left it up for seven days. The bike that was given to Needham after hers was stolen. She plans to pass it on to someone who needs it. (Courtesy of Amanda Needham ) The following Wednesday evening, I got the first knock on my door. Standing outside were two young African American men, maybe 24 and 16. One of them was carrying a blue mountain bike fit for a teen. Are you the one who got your bike stolen? asked the guy, who introduced himself as Michael. I had that happen to me as well, and I had this bike lying around, so I figured you might be able to use it. Advertisement I was flustered by the offer and tried to deflect, saying I really appreciated it, but wasnt sure if Id be able to use it. What was clear, however, was that it wasnt about the bicycle, it was about their desire to help. I accepted, touched by the humanity of the gesture. A snowstorm came the next day, and my husband suggested I take the sign down. I refused - my bike was stolen on the weekend, so the sign would stay up until the next weekend. The next Saturday morning, I got a second buzz on the intercom. On my doorstep was a petite, middle-aged Hispanic woman in a pink Gap sweatshirt and leggings. She said she lived in Jersey but worked in the neighborhood and made her husband drive twice around the block so she could fully read my sign. When she read that I needed it to get to work, she made him stop the car to see if there was anything she could do. What kind of bicycle do you need? she asked. I dont know much about bicycles, but if I find one, Ill bring it to you. Advertisement I told her that I had signed up for the CitiBike bike-sharing program as a stopgap, and since it was $14.99 a month, I could use that for now. I told her what mattered most was that she stopped. I thanked her again. I looked up that Peugeot you wrote about and thats an expensive bike! she exclaimed. Yes it is! I laughed in agreement. Then she leaned in and gave me a big hug. Advertisement I was invigorated. This sign was changing things. So much decency was pouring out from such a simple gesture of opening myself up to the universe. The buzzer rang again the moment I got upstairs. Take down the sign, Amanda! my husband yelled after me as I turned to run back down the stairs. This time, it was an energetic, salt-and-pepper haired white guy. Advertisement Is this your sign? he asked. I passed it on the way to my studio, and took a picture, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought I should do something. Thats very kind of you, I said, and explained how Id also received a kids bike and a hug, and what mattered most was that people cared. Well, I posted a picture on Instagram, and a few of us started talking, and I was wondering if I could buy the sign off of you for . . . he pointed to the yellow-letters written on my sign " . . . for $200? I laughed out loud and told him that if he indeed did that, I would most certainly buy a new (used) bicycle with his money. Advertisement Im an art dealer, he explained, and theres definitely some craftsmanship in this sign. His name was Steve Powers, and I told him the sign was his, and that he could auction it for $40,000 for all I cared (as long as I was invited to the party). As we pulled the cardboard away from its string attachments, he said that there was anInstagram conversation going about it. He and Robert Young, an antiques dealer in Britain, had agreed to each purchase an equal share of my sign. The #KarmaCycle had gone global. It was quite a morning. First of all, I had $200 in cash that I actually needed if Id ever be able to afford a new bicycle. But I was also part of a wave of goodness that felt beautiful and real and inspiring. I realized I didnt want it to just stop with me. I went up the street to Court Cycles, the local bicycle store run by JoAnne Nicolosi, a female mechanic and small business owner since 1987. I told her what happened, and asked if she could help me fix up the kids bicycle that Michael gave me and help find it a home. Its just a regular department store kids bike - but I figure someone out there can use it more than I can. Advertisement So thats what were doing. In exchange for fixing it up, I helped set her up on Instagram and Twitter so we could share the story of the #KarmaCycle, and maybe keep it going. Needham is a writer, producer and very effective signmaker who lives in Brooklyn. This piece was adapted with permission from her blog Real Tiny Trumpet, which will continue to track the unfolding narrative of the lost bike that found a little humanity in New York City. A Russian television news reporter has accused a six-time Russian presidential candidate of groping him years ago, and nearly 300 journalists signed a petition Friday against another top Russian lawmaker in a sexual harassment scandal. While pressure is mounting on prominent lawmaker Leonid Slutsky, accused by three women of sexual harassment, a male reporter has come forward with accusations against Slutskys boss, 71-year-old ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky. Zhirinovsky, a veteran of Russian politics, finished a distant third in Russias presidential election Sunday, capturing 5.6 percent of the vote. Renat Davletgildeyev, a respected reporter with Radio Free Europes Current Time TV, said Thursday that Zhirinovsky, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) groped him at an event he covered in 2006 when he was 20. Advertisement Davletgildeyev said on Current Time TV that after groping him, Zhirinovskys entourage offered to have him join the LDPR leader at a private sauna. The journalist said he had shared the story with friends but decided to speak publicly to express solidarity with the three women who have publicly accused Slutsky of sexual misconduct. Zhirinovsky has not commented on the accusation but his son, also a Russian parliament member, denied it and called the comments slander. Slutsky is the chairman of the State Dumas foreign affairs committee, one of the countrys most influential lawmakers. One of his accusers, Farida Rustamova of the BBCs Russian Service, said in a story this month that during a visit to Slutskys office last March, he urged her to dump her fiance, then ran his hand, the flat of his palm, up against my nether region. Slutsky initially mocked the accusations, but later, facing public outrage, said he didnt mean to offend anyone. After the parliaments ethics committee found no violations in his conduct, nearly two dozen media outlets recalled their reporters from the Duma in protest. Even local businesses have joined the boycott: a pub across from the Duma posted a statement on its Instagram page, saying neither Slutsky nor his supporters are welcome. In a bid to raise the pressure on Slutsky, nearly 300 journalists signed a petition on Friday, calling on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to condemn him for his reprehensible abuse of power. A French police officer was hailed as a hero Friday after he persuaded an armed man who had stormed a supermarket and fatally shot at least two people there to let him take the place of one the gunmans hostages. Once inside, the officer was able to leave his cellphone switched on so that emergency responders gathered outside the market in southern France could monitor the activity inside. Fearing that the gunman was about to start shooting his hostages, police stormed the market, shooting and killing him. The officer who had volunteered to be a hostage, identified as 44-year-old Arnaud Beltrame, was seriously injured in the gunfire. In all, three victims were killed and at least 16 were injured in the mayhem, which again raised the specter of terrorism in a country that has been on high alert since a string of Islamic extremist attacks in 2015 and 2016 that killed more than 200 people. Advertisement During the standoff, the gunman pledged allegiance to Islamic State, also known as ISIS, and yelled, Allahu akbar God is great in Arabic as he fired his weapon. ISIS later claimed responsibility for the attack. Authorities described the gunman as a small-time criminal who was known to police. He had no known ties to terrorist groups, they said. But authorities are investigating ISIS claim. Events began to unfold early Friday when anti-terrorist forces scrambled to the Super U supermarket in the sleepy town of Trebesafter a gunman hijacked a car in nearby Carcassonne and shot both occupants, killing one. The man, identified as 26-year-old Redouane Lakdim, drove off in the stolen vehicle and after a few miles tried to ram a group of police officers playing soccer before pulling out a 9-millimeter pistol and opening fire, authorities said. Police said one officer was struck in the chest, the bullet shattering several ribs and puncturing his lung. French police and firefighters secure the entrance to the town of Trebes, in southern France, where an armed man took hostages in a supermarket. (Jean-Paul Bonincontro / Associated Press ) Police said Lakdim then drove to the supermarket, where witnesses told police he ran inside and pledged allegiance to Islamic State. Witness said he yelled, You are killing people in Syria. Now youre going to die, before shooting and killing a store employee and a customer. The gunman, authorities said, demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam, believed to be the only surviving member of the terrorist commando group that carried out a series of shootings and bombings in Paris in November 2015 that left 130 people dead and hundreds more injured. During the four-hour standoff between the gunman and officers with aspecial tactical unit ofthe National Gendarmerie known as GIGN, the gunman agreed to the officers offer to swap places with one of the hostages. Advertisement Interior Minister Gerard Collomb called it an exceptional act of heroism on the officers part and a break in the fast-moving incident. With the officers phone switched on, those outside were able to detect what was going on in the market. Collomb, who visited the scene, said the gunman apparently acted alone. He described the man as a small-time criminal. Collomb said he was known to intelligence services, but there was no suggestion he had been radicalized or was about to carry out a terrorist act. His comments conflicted with initial police reports that the suspect was on a list of those vulnerable to radicalization. A woman who was close to Lakdim was taken into custody for questioning late Friday. French authorities often detain friends and associates of potential terrorism figures for questioning. Advertisement Speaking in Brussels, where he was attending aEuropean Union summit, French President Emmanuel Macron offered his full support to everyone involved in the situation and said he would return to Paris in the coming hours. He also singled out the officer who gave himself up as a hostage. He saved lives and did honor to ... our country, Macron said. He is between life and death, and all our thoughts are with him and his family. The officer was shot several times, including once in the throat, police said. Macron said French officials are investigating Islamic States claim that it was responsible for the attack. France, he said, already had paid a high price in blood for several terrorist attacks. Advertisement Christian Guibbert, a former police officer, was shopping in the supermarket with his wife when he heard shots. He told a French news organization that he hid his wife and several other customers in a walk-in refrigerator in the store before trying to escape through an emergency exit. Guibbert said the gunman had seen him hiding, so he ran. He escaped just as police were arriving. I saw one person on the ground and a person who was extremely excited who had a handgun in one hand and knife in the other and was shouting, Allahu akbar, Guibbert said. He was very agitated. I knew at once it was a terrorist. He shot several times in the air. Willsher is a special correspondent for The Times. Advertisement UPDATES: 1:35 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details 10:40 a.m.: This article was updated with additional details and further comments from Macron as well as a witness. 9:55 a.m.: This article was updated throughout with staff reporting. Advertisement 7:10 a.m.: This article was updated with a police union officials report that the suspect had been fatally shot and comments from French President Emmanuel Macron. 5:15 a.m.: This article was updated with a comment from the prime minister. 4:50 a.m.: This article was updated with one dead in the market. 4:35 a.m.: This article was updated with information from Delanouvelle. Advertisement This article was originally published at 4:15 a.m. A new poll puts Republican John Cox of Rancho Santa Fe in second place in the governors race. If that position holds, he could emerge from the June top two primary to face off with a Democrat in the general election. A Republican on the ballot could help GOP candidates down-ballot in November. Republican businessman John Cox has moved into second place in the race for California governor, taking a slight lead over former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a Democrat, according to a poll released Wednesday evening. The new standings suggests the likelihood of two Democrats facing each other in November under Californias top two runoff system is diminishing. Cox, from Rancho Santa Fe, has support from 14 percent of likely voters, according to research from the Public Policy Institute of California. That puts him well behind Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, who had 28 percent. Cox is just ahead of Villaraigosa, who polled at 12 percent, down 9 percentage points over the past three months. The top two candidates in the June primary will advance to the general election, regardless of party. It corrects the erroneous presumption that many people have seen in the media that it will somehow be two Democrats in the general election, Cox said by phone on Thursday. I dont think that was ever in the cards. That happened in the 2016 Senate race because there was no major Republican who had any major funding whatsoever. Advertisement With nearly seven weeks until vote-by-mail balloting begins, and even longer until the June 5 primary, the poll also found 24 percent of voters dont know who theyll support. Cox has made significant headway in the governors race since January, when a PPIC poll showed him with 7 percent support and narrowly behind Assemblyman Travis Allen, R-Huntington Beach, who was polling at 8 percent. The campaign for second place is now a coin-toss race. Of the two Republicans, Cox has money that makes him GOPs best shot at finishing in the top-two in the primary, said former San Diego Councilman Carl DeMaio, now a conservative talk radio host. Nobody knows who Travis Allen is either, but hes broke, DeMaio said. DeMaio and Cox are working together on an effort to repeal a recent increase in the state gas tax to fund transportation projects. Cox, who made a fortune through a law firm he started and in real estate, put $3 million of his own money into his campaign last year and also raised $518,446 from donors. He said in January hell put in at least $1 million more. Cox previously ran unsuccessfully for office in Illinois, where he grew up. In California, his part-time home since 2007 and his full time-residence since 2011, he is perhaps best known for his efforts to overhaul the states representative democracy through ballot initiatives that failed to get enough signatures to go before voters. His current race is his first in the Golden State. Advertisement Im not only running for governor, but Im interested in reforming the system. If you run for office but dont change the system, theres a limit on how much you can get done, he said. The poll included 1,706 likely voters residing in California. The survey was conducted from March 4 through 18 and has a 3.4 percent margin of error at a 95 percent confidence interval. A 62-year-old lawyer and CPA from Chicago, Cox founded a law firm, now known as Cox, Oakes & Associates Ltd., in 1981 that he says is now worth more than $200 million. He was an executive for a snack food company and is the president, managing member and sole shareholder of Equity Property Management, which oversees his investments. The company operates in Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. Cox previously ran for Congress in Illinois, including races for the House and a brief campaign in 2003 for the U.S. Senate. Barack Obama, then a state senator, won that seat. Advertisement Cox also launched a bid for the GOPs nomination for president in 2008. His campaign was short-lived, but he did receive 39 votes in New Hampshire and 83 in South Carolina primaries. Cox moved to California and has garnered attention for two attempted ballot initiatives, both of which fell short of the required number of signatures needed to go before voters. One would have required state Senate and Assembly members to wear the logos of their donors when they make official appearances, a move akin to plastering race cars with decals from their sponsors. The proposal was a brief viral sensation in 2016. He also has worked on another measure that would divide the state legislature into thousands of tiny districts with jurisdictions the size of a single neighborhood. Cox believed that diluting power would make it financially impossible for moneyed special interests to lobby lawmakers, and that it would only be financially practical to campaign via door-to-door retail politics. Advertisement If your district is only a few thousand people, you dont need money. And if you dont need money to run a campaign, the people who supply the money dont have power, he said. Cox was also a financier for the recall effort against San Diego Mayor Bob Filner during the 2013 sexual harassment scandal that resulted in the politicians resignation. Filner later pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and battery and was sentenced to house arrest and probation. Cox is on the board of the Lincoln Club, a business-driven political group, as well as San Diegos USO. Cox is running on an anti-tax and anti-bureaucracy platform with plans to make it easier to do business particularly to run a small business in the state. Advertisement Youre not going to make long-term changes in inequality through higher taxes and handouts to people, he told the U-T. Thats a prescription for disaster. First of all, we live in a mobile society, as you see, and if you keep raising taxes people just move out. The second thing, it just doesnt work. Just handing out benefits to people isnt going to give them the long-term growth that they need. The best way to achieve long-term growth is with a small business. Tom Shepard, a San Diego political consultant who largely works for Republicans, said that Coxs prospects have improved because there are only two major GOP candidates and a handful of serious Democrats, and Cox has done more than Allen to make himself known. Hes ... running a relatively aggressive campaign pretty early, Shepard said. Hes got a YouTube video out, and I think theyve been doing some social media advertising. But in a state where Democrats have 44.6 percent of the electorate and Republicans 25.4, it will be difficult for a Republican to make it out of the primary, let alone the general, Shepard said. Advertisement Getting Cox or another Republican to finish in the top-two in Junes primary would be a strategic victory for the GOP by giving conservatives a reason to vote for their candidate at the top of the ballot and then, while theyre at polls, vote in down-ballot races as well, Shepard said. John Cox (Silvia Flores / Special to the Los Angeles Times ) Advertisement Twitter: @jptstewart joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com Advertisement (619) 293-1841 Sheriffs detectives were conducting a follow-up investigation today after determining that a pair of bomb threats made against two North County high schools late Thursday night was likely part of a swatting hoax, authorities said. School administrators at Fallbrook High School and Bonsall High School received similar emails around 11:20 p.m. Thursday saying explosive devices had been placed around each campus, San Diego County sheriffs Sgt. Bill Munsch said. The name that appeared in the email address that sent the menacing message was that of a known student. Deputies searched both campuses and the residence where the student lives with his family but found no evidence of bombs or other explosive devices, Munsch said. It was determined the student was not involved and was possibly thevictim of swatting, the sergeant said. Advertisement Swatting is an illegal practice intended to send law enforcement often a SWAT team to a particular place as a prank. The practice is typically used to scare, embarrass or smear the reputation of a target, bu tcan have much more serious consequences. In December, a swatting episode led to the death of an unarmed Kansas man who was shot in front of his home by an officer responding to a false report of a shooting and hostage situation. A Los Angeles man faces a manslaughter charge for allegedly placing the malicious call. On March 14, a SWAT response near San Elijo Park in San Marcos was likely the result of a phony swatting call, authorities said. Law enforcement were told that a woman had been shot inside a home on Clearview Way, but after deputies rushed to the neighborhood and surrounded the dwelling, a man appeared on the balcony and told deputies there had been no shooting. The resident a video-game enthusiast who said he had been victimized by a similar bogus 911 call let the deputies in, and they confirmed that there had been no gunfire and that no one was injured. The bomb threats against Fallbrook and Bonsall high schools came less than 12 hours before law enforcement and education officials were expected to speak out against a recent spate of violent threats against area campuses. At least 20 apparently baseless threats have been made against SanDiego-area schools since the Valentines Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., according to local police and prosecutors. Advertisement Though none of the juvenile perpetrators are believed to have intended to actually carry out school shootings or other types of attacks, the rash of threats has left at least nine local youths facing criminal prosecution. During this mornings briefing, the officials will discuss the increased number of school threats since Feb. 14, the consequences of false threats and the importance of communication among law enforcement agencies,schools, students, parents and the community, according to a statement from the school district. Investigators have served a search warrant seeking clues into the March 15 hit-and-run death of a Subway restaurant employee. Cornilla Martinez was struck while using a crosswalk on Naval Base San Diego, and authorities believe the driver fled the scene. Matinez died hours later at Scripps Mercy Hospital. Federal investigators believe theyve linked a San Diego mans truck to the March 15 hit-and-run death of a woman inside Naval Base San Diego. A brown 2008 Ford F-150 owned by James Brammer, 84, and stored at his Calle Serena residence was identified in a search warrant obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune. Naval Criminal Investigative Services spokesman Ed Buice indicated that the search warrant has been executed but declined to give any more details into the ongoing probe. According to the warrant, investigators were searching for anything that appears to have been used to clean the vehicle or items that have blood or other biological material embedded into them, Brammers cellphone, plus a reclining chair, receipts or packaging material matching what he is believed to have bought on March 15 from the Navy Exchange inside the base. Advertisement Authorities suspect Brammers truck is tied to the death of Cornilla Martinez, 73, an employee of the Subway restaurant inside the Navy Exchange. She left work at around 5 p.m. that day and had entered a crosswalk when she was struck by a Ford F-150 carrying a large chair, according to Command Navy Region Southwest Police. Video surveillance footage obtained from the Valvoline Oil shop on base by investigators showed an F-150 driving through a stop sign without halting, according to the search warrant application. A small woman standing in the crosswalk is seen placing her hands in front of her as the truck came toward her. She fell and the trucks tires rolled on top of and over the female and then drove away, leaving her in the roadway, the warrant states. An ambulance rushed Martinez to Scripps Mercy Hospital but she died 3 hours later. Brammer purchased a reclining chair that day from the exchange and an employee there helped him load it into the truck, according to the search warrant filing. No arrests have been made in the case. Brammer told the San Diego Union-Tribune during a Friday interview at his home that a group of federal investigators arrived there on March 16, impounded his truck and interrogated him about Martinezs death. I wasnt aware that Id hit somebody, said Brammer, a retired electronics technician chief petty officer. They knocked on my door the next morning, half a dozen people investigators from the Navy. Advertisement Brammer said that if his vehicle struck Martinez he never heard the impact because the chair was sliding noisily around in the back of the truck. I wasnt aware that Id hit somebody, he said. Originally from the Philippines, Martinez had worked at the base for 18 years, according to her husband, Andre Ebipane. She was a very sweet woman, said Ebipane during a telephone interview on Friday. She worked hard for many years. Half of the Navy base knew her and loved her. Advertisement A portion of her paychecks always went to her children overseas, he added. A funeral mass for Martinez is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Catherine of Laboure Catholic Church at 4124 Mount Abraham Avenue in San Diego, with her burial to follow. Advertisement Military Videos On Now D-Day paratrooper from Coronado jumps again in France at age 96 On Now Remembering war's fallen, one name at a time On Now In Ramona, an airplane and an aviator provide living lessons on World War II 1:43 On Now Video: Navy's newest vessel sails into San Diego and a new future in surface warfare On Now Video: U.S. Navy files homicide charges over warship collisions On Now Stopping Marine hazing On Now Video: U.S. Navy Air Crew Grounded After Creating Vulgar Sky Drawing On Now Navy says Asia Pacific ship collisions were avoidable On Now Hundreds of recruits get sick at Marine boot camp On Now Cutler Dawson Talks Navy Federal cprine@sduniontribune.com President Trump boasted during the campaign that he has the best words. If the past 14 months in the White House are an indication, he and his team also have the worst spelling. Among the many casualties of Washingtons protocols in the Trump era has been rigorous attention to the accuracy of the printed word whether its the presidents typo-filled tweets or the White Houses error-prone news releases. Special Council is told to find crimes, wether crimes exist or not, Trump wrote on Twitter on Wednesday morning to start off a posting in which he misspelled counsel three times and had five errors in the span of 280 characters. As journalists and others poked fun at the mistakes, the president quickly deleted the tweet and posted an edited version. He successfully changed wether to whether and eliminated an inadvertent repeat of the word the but he failed to correct the three inaccurate references to the title of his nemesis, Robert S. Mueller III. Advertisement If Trump directs Rosenstein to fire the special council, I think we might be ok folks, cracked former U.S. attorney Preet Bharara of New York, whom Trump fired last summer, referring to Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein. Amid all the chaos in the White House including West Wing personnel drama, the Stormy Daniels scandal and Muellers Russia investigation some wayward spellings and inaccurate honorifics might seem minor. But the constant small mistakes which have dogged the Trump White House since the presidents official Inauguration Day poster boasted that no challenge is to great have become, critics say, symbolic of the larger problems with Trumps management style, in particular his lack of attention to detail and the carelessness with which he makes policy decisions. On Monday, for example, the White House rolled out an executive order from Trump aimed at cutting off U.S. investment in Venezuelas digital currency as a way to pinch strongman Nicolas Maduros regime. But in the headline on the public news release, the White House wrote that Trump was taking action to address the situation in America. Freudian slip???? wondered Rosiland Jordan, a reporter for Al Jazeera. It echoes a political quote I tell people a lot from [Ralph Waldo] Emerson: The institution is lengthened by the shadow of one man, said Rick Wilson, a Republican political consultant who has been highly critical of Trump. The sloppiness and the looseness and the chaos and lack of rigor across all areas of Trump world reflect Trump. They do not care. They dont give a damn. But everybody needs an editor. In Trumps world, Air Force One became Air Force Once on the presidents public schedule. The White House sought lasting peach in a news release touting efforts to broker a deal between Israel and Palestinian territories. And another release announced the departure of an East Wing aide to work for Rep. Will Hurd (R-Tex.), who was reincarnated as Rep. Hill in the next sentence. Last week, in a tweet, the commander in chief lauded his visit to the Marine Core Air Station Miramar in San Diego, prompting veterans everywhere to facepalm, according to a headline in the Marine Times. The steady stream of errors has prompted outlets as disparate as People magazine and Fox News to compile the White Houses greatest hits or whiffs, as the case may be. Advertisement Jason Silverstein, a political reporter, had been posting a running list of typos at the New York Daily News, noting in his introduction that Trump was elected to lead, not to proofread. He reached 32 entries before departing the paper last October. Asked Wednesday whether he had a favorite, Silverstein pointed to Trumps tweet in December 2016 in which the president-elect denounced the seizure of a U.S. Navy underwater glider by a Chinese warship as unpresidented. I always told our [editor] that that should be our front-page headline if Trump gets impeached, Silverstein said in an email. Inside the West Wing, however, it was another mistake in January 2017, by a junior White House aide, that caused the most consternation just a week after Trump took office. Announcing the visit to the White House of British Prime Minister Theresa May, the official schedule misspelled her name three times as Teresa May, which the London-based Independent newspaper drolly noted is the stage name of a British pornographic movie actress whose oeuvre includes Whitehouse: The Sex Video and Leather Lust. Advertisement The mistake reverberated throughout the West Wing and prompted then-Chief of Staff Reince Priebus to implement new procedures, building in extra layers of sign-offs before news releases were made public, according to a former White House official familiar with the fallout who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private matters. The main change was that official announcements would have to be cleared by the Office of the Staff Secretary, led by Rob Porter, who resigned last month amid accusations of abuse from two former wives. There was a lot of head-desk, said the former official, when asked how the White House press office reacted to errors that became public. Snarky reaction on Twitter was usually the first indication that something got missed. Even having the staff secretary look at it was not foolproof. Were humans. The mistakes hardly abated. The White House mangled the titles of foreign leaders and their countries. It called Prime Minister Shinzo Abe the president of Japan. After Trump held a high-stakes bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago in July, the White House readout referred to the Republic of China, which is the official name of Taiwan. Xi is the leader of the Peoples Republic of China. In a sign that the sloppiness might be infecting other parts of Washington, tickets to Trumps address to a joint session of Congress in January, distributed by the Office of the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper, touted the State of the Uniom. Advertisement White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders did not respond to a request for comment. Liz Allen, who served as White House deputy communications director under President Barack Obama, said in an interview that the press office under the 44th president sought to be as rigorous as possible. Releases typically were proofread for accuracy and content by at least four or five people. Announcements that dealt with domestic policy issues and foreign affairs were vetted by experts at federal agencies and the National Security Council, she said. We felt a burden and responsibility to get it right, Allen said. We were acutely aware of the integrity of our platform. We took it seriously. No one should meet a higher bar than the White House. They are the ultimate voice. That voice was a bit garbled last month when, according to the White House daily guidance, Trump was planning to address the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxen Hill. Advertisement The proper spelling of the suburban Maryland jurisdiction is Oxon Hill, a mistake made more pronounced by the fact that the Gaylord resort is the home of the National Spelling Bee. Equifax, Wendys, Target, Home Depot, Experian, the National Security Agency, the FBI and the list goes on. Cyber criminals are successfully penetrating even the most high-profile companies and governmental agencies. While these breaches were truly alarming, Paul Keener, academic director for the University of San Diegos master of science in cyber security degrees, warns that what most people forget is that cyber security is ubiquitous; it hits every part of the commerce sector, which means that most companies are targets, he said. A lot of the discussion had been focused on these major attacks, but often times its the smaller businesses that are the easiest targets and theyre typically not staffed to protect themselves. Its the talent shortage that we really should be talking about. In California, cyber crime has been exceptionally rampant. In the most recent annual report on internet crime from the Federal Bureau of Investigations Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), it was reported that in 2016 financial loss from cyber crime exceeded $1.3 billion in the U.S. alone, with California ranking as the most vulnerable state reporting losses of more than $255 million. You dont have to look far to find examples of cyber crime in California. Recently, it was discovered that the personal information of 19 million California voters had been stolen, held in exchange for a ransom request. The Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG) revealed that 1,200 of its locations, including many in California, had been targets of a malware attack in 2016. And in 2017, a subsidiary of the California Association of Brokers was hacked, a victim of malware that was installed onto the companys online payment system. Advertisement While cyber crime intensifies in California and across the country, the qualified cyber security professionals needed to combat this growing threat are glaringly absent. In California alone there are roughly 40,000 unfilled positions and that number is growing daily. In an effort to curb this alarming trend, there has been a push as of late to encourage more individuals to pursue careers in cyber security, where salaries are high and job security is strong. Ashton Mozano, a professor for the master of science in cyber security degree programs at USD, says that there are thousands of $80,000 entry-level jobs available for applicants who have nothing more than an undergraduate degree in computer science or computer engineering. Its true that professionals with an advanced education and years of experience are in high demand and receiving salaries reflective of that demand. In San Francisco, for example, Forbes reported that some chief information security officers are commanding annual salaries of up to $380,000. A report on the best cities for cyber security professionals that looked at data from 221 cities put several California cities in the top 50. And a report by Burning Glass Technologies found that California had the most cyber security job postings of any state, with 28,744 job postings as of 2015. Due to the demand for cyber security professionals several universities across the state have created new cyber security graduate programs. But for prospective students, Keener warns that its important to consider the program curriculum. The vast majority of these masters degree programs are computer science degrees with a few cyber security classes tacked on, he explained. These programs dont teach students how to take their technical knowledge and apply it to business risk. Its a major hole in many of the current degree programs. Up until the last few years training and education for security professionals mostly came from conferences, other attackers, other professionals it was mostly self-learning, Keener said. Cyber security has never been a truly academic discipline. But California is trying to change the conversation. The California Cybersecurity Task Force was formed in 2013, and the Security Operations Center in 2017. In Southern California, the federal government has key military branches such as the U.S. Navys Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) in San Diego. SPAWAR employs roughly 3,390 cyber security professionals alone. Advertisement With the many technology companies located in California that service businesses across the country, and with California already investing heavily in cyber security training and awareness, the state is poised to make a significant impact on security. Still, as a state, California has a long way to go and much work to be done in the fight against cyber crime. Incentivizing a career in the field might be one of the greatest challenges and yet the single greatest opportunity for a state flush with talent. DesMarais is a search engine optimization specialist and consultant working with the University of San Diego. When California Gov. Jerry Brown finished a robot car test drive in 2012, just before legalizing the vehicles, he appeared enamored. Asked what would happen if a robot car ran a red light, Brown said, Well work that out. Thats going to be the easiest problem to work out. Google co-founder Sergey Brin, his host for the excursion, added, Self-driving cars dont run red lights. Half a decade later, the first pedestrian has been killed by a robot car in Arizona. Yet California still has not worked out any real answers to the legal and ethical problems the technology raises. Advertisement Related: The pursuit of driverless cars is worth it for transportation equality Related: The driverless cars revolution must proceed with caution Related: Driverless cars raise so many ethical questions. Here are just a few of them. The hubris of the robot carmakers like Brin has fed the blind enthusiasm of government officials who have embraced the promise of the technology but largely ignored its perils. Ironically, it was an Uber robot car that ran a red light in San Francisco last year that put the company in the cross hairs of California regulators and made its fleet flee to Arizona. Uber had been illegally testing on the streets of San Francisco when online video caught a robot car running a red-light. DMV told the company to stop unless it was willing to report, per state law, how often and why its computers fail. As corporations tend to, Uber has been prioritizing its desire for profits over the safety of the roads and didnt want to be transparent about its problems. I just see this as a race and we need to win, second place is the first loser, is how Ubers then-lead robot car developer Anthony Levandowski put it in a text to the companys CEO in 2016, among the exchanges revealed in a recent lawsuit. Later he added, chillingly, We do need to think through the strategy to take all the short cuts we can find. Advertisement Flash-forward to Tempes unregulated roads Sunday night where a 49-year-old woman paid with her life for Ubers short cuts. Elaine Hertzberg crossed a busy road at 10 p.m. and was killed by a robot car that didnt even apply the brakes. Based on the cars video, I believe an engaged human driver, actively watching the road, with intuition and peripheral vision, would have sensed the likelihood of a pedestrian crossing in a college neighborhood where thats common. A robot has no such sense. California reporting shows most robot cars cannot go more than a few hundred miles without a human driver taking over and, in the best-case scenario, humans need to take the wheel every 5,600 miles. Weather, pedestrians, emergency vehicles, cyclists, and software and hardware failure are among the most common problems reported. Human behavior is a big obstacle. However, at a recent state Senate transportation committee hearing, the only tough questions were aimed at the DMV and why it was slowing the rush to the roads. Advertisement Such pressure is why California is removing its requirement in April that a human driver needs to be in robot cars being tested. Similarly, the Trump administration is fast-tracking robot cars. The U.S. Senate is a hairs breadth away from approving legislation, already passed by the House, that largely gives the engineers carte blanche, but for California Sen. Dianne Feinsteins objection. Hertzbergs death in Arizona should be wake-up call. What do we need to do to develop this technology safely? Full transparency: Every robot car in America should have to report when and how it fails and accidents or incidents that occur that show its computer technology could fail. Uniform federal standards and full disclosure of video and radar data are necessary. Advertisement Human drivers: California should rethink its removal of human drivers from testing. Until the robots are ready, humans must chaperone. Ethics first: Consider the case of the Mercedes programmed to prioritize its occupants lives barreling down a street where a child is running after her ball. Does the car swerve to save the child, as human drivers would, or not the risk the lives of the cars occupants? Carmakers ethical algorithms should be a matter of public record. Government officials, not corporate executives, need to decide under what ethical parameters robot cars operate. Accountability: Robot cars cannot be thrown in jail like drunken or negligent drivers, just reprogrammed. We must preserve the rule of law and create new accountability for corporations whose programming may kill so that humans have control and corporations cannot blame victims and wash their hands of responsibility. Its a new world and we must ensure the values of humanity, not corporate engineers, prevail. Advertisement Court is president of the nonprofit, nonpartisan group Consumer Watchdog. Website: www.consumerwatchdog.org California lawmakers, journalists and other politicos are mourning the death of Nancy McFadden, who was Gov. Jerry Browns top adviser and widely considered the architect of his political comeback. She died Thursday at her Sacramento home after a long battle with ovarian cancer. She was 59. Nancy was the best chief of staff a governor could ever ask for, Brown said in a statement Friday. She understood government and politics, she could manage, she was a diplomat and she was fearless. This is truly a loss for me, for Anne, for our office, for Nancys family and close friends and for all of California. McFadden was Browns longest-serving adviser and Los Angeles Times Sacramento bureau chief John Myers credited her with shaping Browns political agenda in his second go-round as governor. McFadden, a lawyer, has held high-profile positions in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento. She practiced law in Washington before joining Bill Clintons presidential campaign in 1991, the Sacramento Bee reported. After that, she joined the Clinton administration and rose to become general counsel for the Department of Transportation. She then went on to work for Al Gore as his deputy chief of staff. She left Washington in 2000 to join then-Gov. Gray Davis office in Sacramento. During a break from politics, McFadden worked for Pacific Gas & Electric as a high-level executive before she joined Brown to run his campaign for governor in 2011. Her connection to PG&E had raised eyebrows among advocacy groups in 2016, The San Diego Union-Tribune had reported. In January McFadden announced she was stepping away from her state Capitol job to focus on her medical treatment. On Friday, in her absence, admirers from Maria Shriver to Al Gore and journalists up and down the state shared their memories of McFadden on Twitter. Email: luis.gomez@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @RunGomez Read The Conversation on Flipboard. Four new queens will grace the Poway Rodeo. The winners of the Poway Rodeo Queens Pageant were crowned on March 17, following tests on horsemanship, personality, rodeo knowledge, equine knowledge and stage presence. Eleven young women competed for the four titles. The 2018 Poway Rodeo Queens are Rodeo Queen Abby Lehto, Junior Queen Mia DiGiovanni, Young Miss GraceLynn Robbins and Little Princess Jayden Soliz. Lehto, 24, was born and raised in La Mesa. She is a graduate of Point Loma Nazarene University, with a bachelors degree in sociology and criminal justice, and recently began working for the San Diego Sheriffs Department as a dispatcher. Lehto said she was shocked at winning. I couldnt even believe it. Im so excited and honored that they would pick me for that position. This was Lehtos first time competing in the Poway Rodeo Queens Pageant. She previously served as the 2017 Miss Bulls Only Rodeo. DiGiovanni, 14, is a freshman at Valley Center High School. She was the 2017 Valley Center Junior Rodeo Queen. She said she had not expected to win. I tend to not have a lot of confidence in myself, but I put in 100 percent. DiGiovanni also called Poway her second hometown and said the people of Poway have always been there for her and she is honored to represent Poway and the Poway Valley Riders Association. Robbins, 12, is a sixth-grader at Menifee Valley Middle School in Riverside County. She was the 2017 Valley Center Stampede Rodeo Young Miss. I won my last pageant and I loved it so much, I wanted to run for (the Poway Rodeo), she said. Im so excited to represent such a great rodeo. She said that the pageant competition was tough, especially as it was raining during the horsemanship section, but it went by faster than expected and was a lot of fun. Soliz, 8, is a third-grader at Calvin Christian School and lives in Valley Center. She was the 2016 Valley Center Rodeo Little Miss. She said the pageant was a really fun experience and she enjoyed meeting new friends. Her favorite part of the experience was studying for the test, she said, because she found some of the rodeo knowledge very interesting. All four winners said they were looking forward to participating in the Poway Rodeo and enjoyed meeting the other contestants. Email: news@pomeradonews.com White collar criminals often share certain personality traits that make them experts at conning their victims, who often have a hard time seeing their victimizer as a bad person, according to a FBI special agent whose job is to catch them. They are excellent talkers, said FBI Special Agent April French during a March 15 Continuing Education Center class in Poway on white collar crime and public corruption. They are very warm, genuine, have an answer for everything and are pleasant to be around. But their charm and generosity with money and opportunities also keep many of their victims in the dark for quite some time she said, adding that even on the witness stand during a trial the victims often say what a nice person the accused is and express anger toward the prosecution. As for the criminals, they also believe they are smarter than everyone else, are very prideful and have a difficult time admitting their guilt. Many often never do, even when presented with overwhelming evidence of their wrongdoings, she said. They think they can talk their way out of it, French said. I dont care about their gift for gab. I care about the evidence. French said white collar criminals are financially motivated to commit their usually non-violent crimes. They are often business and government professionals who want to obtain or avoid losing money, property or services, or to secure a personal or business advantage. There are many types of white collar crimes, some that target the elderly. These include mortgage and health care fraud. She added that seniors have to be particularly cautious if obtaining a reverse mortgage. There are a lot of shysters out there, she said. You really need to be careful. According to French, some seniors over age 62 who own and occupy their primary residence sell their home to a bank, but they get to continue living in it while using the income because of a reverse mortgage. While this is a good financial move for some seniors, problems occur if they end up working with an unscrupulous individual. You need an independent attorney to review (the transaction), she said. (The attorney) must have nothing to do with the person getting you the loan. You have to also make sure the money goes to you because the chance of getting it back (if stolen) is next to nothing. Other types of white collar crime include financial institution fraud, such as at banks and credit unions; embezzlement; ID theft; bankruptcy fraud; securities and commodities fraud, like Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes and insider trading; corporate fraud, such as inflating the value of a companys stocks; public corruption; fraud against the government; election law violations and other complex financial crimes. French, who works in San Diego, but previously worked in places such as Nevada, said the FBI has more than 700 agents dedicated to investigating public corruption. This includes prison, border and international corruption; anti-trust cases; traditional public corruption such as the Randy Duke Cunningham case (he resigned from Congress in 2005 after pleading guilty to bribery, fraud and tax evasion); fraud against the government and election fraud violations. Some common forms of corruption include bribes, extortion, kickbacks and embezzlement. She said the FBIs top priority is to protect the U.S. against terrorist attack, while its top criminal priority is investigating public corruption. One of the primary areas of concern is identifying corrupt border patrol agents, which French called a very real problem. She said they are not paid a lot, so they are prime targets of those trying to smuggle drugs, people and other items into the United States. Border patrol agents are very poorly paid, (so if offered) three times their salary ... (there is) a lot of reason to commit fraud, French said. While the FBI investigates some cases of election fraud, French said not all types are federal crimes. Some offenders might have broken state or local campaign finance laws, for example. One case she investigated was the Harvey Whittemore election fraud case in Nevada. French said he was a very powerful lobbyist who gave his friends, family members and employees $5,000 if single and $10,000 if married, which in turn they were expected to donate almost all of the gift to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reids campaign. In one day Whittemore gifted more than $133,000, which was to make its way back to Reids campaign. She said that was campaign finance fraud because it is illegal to make a contribution in the name of another. There was no indication Harry Reid knew what Harvey was doing, French added. According to French, there is a massive amount of fraud that occurs and the FBI cannot investigate all of it. The good criminals are fast. They open, close and are gone before (people realize they are victims), she said. French added that investigating a white collar criminal case can easily take at least three years. email: rbnews@pomeradonews.com 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. Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/23/2018 -- The mining industry is expected to witness growth with a single digit CAGR over the next six years on account of the further expanding demand for metal and mineral commodities. Latin America accounted for about 8% of the global mining equipment demand in 2013 and its contribution towards global mining equipment sales was registered at 15% for the same year. The region serves as the prime destination for mining exploration and investment at a global level. The key reason which has accelerated the growth of the Latin American mining equipment market is the enhanced demand for the consumption of natural resources. Presently, the region produces about 45% of the global copper, 21% of the global zinc, 50% of the global silver and 26% of the global molybdenumproduction. In addition, foreign investment, especially from China, US, Canada and Australia, plays a significant role in the growth of the Latin American mining equipment market. Further, other operations such as the Panama Stock Operation (PSO), CSR activities, and introduction of next generation mining equipment such as Autonomous Haulage System (AHS) also serve as driving factors for the growth of the mining equipment market in Latin America. Among these, CSR activities primarily focus on rehabilitation and support programmes, promotion of healthy lifestyle and awareness programmes for the adoption of green technology. However, in the past few years, the mining industry and hence the mining equipment industry has been facing an economic crisis on account of the requirement for budget allocation in the maintenance of the mining industry and equipment, etc. Illegal mining operations at some locations and the risk associated with the mining industry serve as further constraints for the Latin American mining equipment industry.Surging demand and abundant availability of natural resources(including the world's top three metal and mineral reserves of copper, zinc and silver rapid technological advancement, modernization of mining plants, stable legislations with a motivating legal environment, and the efficient budget allocation with aftermarket revenue generation will serve as opportunities for the development of the Latin America mining equipment market. A sample of this report is available upon request @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-la-68 Market segmentation of Latin American mining equipment can be done on the basis of equipment, application and countries. On the basis of equipment, the Latin American mining equipment market includes mineral processing equipment, surface mining equipment, underground mining equipment, mining drills and breakers, crushing and screening equipment, etc. On the basis of applications, the Latin American mining equipment market segmentation includes metal ore mining, coal mining and mineral mining. Chile, being the largest producer of copper, serves as a lucrative market for copper-based mining equipment. Colombia is an active exporter,and is the first Latin American coal-producing country alongwith the production of metals such as gold, silver and platinum and hence is the opportunistic market for the associated mining equipment market. On the basis of countries, the Latin American mining equipment market includes Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Panama, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia and Venezuela. Chile is known for the adoption and introduction of advanced technologies such as autonomous haulage system. Peru is the reserve of key minerals and has been witnessing a surging demand for copper and hence the expansion of the associated mining equipment market. Brazil has an integrated approach for the production and sale of mining equipment. Panama has an active stock operation (PSO) for the support of the mining industry. In line with the positive future of the Latin American mining equipment industry, Peru and Chile are expected to receive double digit foreign investment in $ Bn in the next six years. To view TOC of this report is available upon request @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-la-68 Some of the prominent players of the global mining equipment market include Sandvik AB, Hitachi Construction Machinery, Komatsu Limited, Atlas Copco Ab Joy Global Inc. Breaker Technology, Astec Industries, Bucyrus International, Caterpillar Incorporated, China Coal Energy Company Limited, Tecpalsa, Tecmap, Tiesa and Igaretta. Among these, Komatsu Limited in the whole of Latin America, Tecpalsa in Colombia, Tecmap and Tiesa in Panama and Igaretta in Argentina are active players in the Latin American mining equipment market. Invisible power The impact of engineered nanoparticles on the environment and human health The sky above St. Pancras International Railway Station in London is visible through a glass roof that will never need cleaning. A microscopic layer of nanoparticles on the surface clears grime away without the touch of a human hand. Nanostructures are so small that they are unobservable to the naked eye, yet they are capable of mighty feats. They can make bicycles lighter, decontaminate hazardous waste and fight cancer. And, you eat them, says Mohammed Baalousha, associate professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of South Carolina. Baaloushas research in nanotechnology is largely focused on the environmental fate, behavior and novel applications of engineered nanoparticles like silver and titanium dioxide. The latter, he says, shows up frequently in products sold directly to consumers like toothpaste, sunscreen and food additives. You might have been drinking nanoparticles in your morning coffee. One unique opportunity to observe these extraordinary structures presented itself in the aftermath of a hurricane. Baalousha and his colleagues were able to sample surface waters in South Carolina to search for engineered nanoparticles among naturally occurring particles of similar chemical compositions. Naturally occurring nanoparticles contain natural tracers that we are using to differentiate them from the pure engineered forms, he says. Searching for nanostructures in the natural environment is almost like trying to find a needle in a haystack, he says. Writing papers is nice, but this is the payoff. Baalousha obtained his Ph.D. in environmental biogeochemistry from the University of Bordeaux, France in 2006 and began establishing an international reputation as a leader in the field of nanotechnology before being recruited by Carolina. His journal papers appear in some of the top international environmental science journals, and he currently has 66 publications, six book chapters and two books to his credit. Naturally occurring nanoparticles contain natural tracers that we are using to differentiate them from the pure engineered forms. Mohammed Baalousha He joined the Arnold School of Public Health and the Center for Environmental Nanoscience and Risk at the university in 2014. His initiative established him as an independent and assertive scholar among his colleagues. He received a National Science Foundation CAREER award and was also awarded an NSF EPSCoR fellowship to continue a collaboration with the Pacific Northwest National Lab. Ive witnessed the development and progress of Dr. Baalousha to achieve his career goals and to become a world-leading figure in his area of research, says Jamie Lead, director for the Center for Environmental Nanoscience and Risk. He has worked tirelessly over the years to build up his own research program and his international reputation. Baaloushas most urgent priority is to gain a better understanding of how nanoparticles behave in the natural environment. By observing the existing structures in their natural and engineered forms, he hopes to cultivate a greater awareness of the impact they might have on the environment and human health. Share this Story! Let friends in your social network know what you are reading about In a cosmic tug-of-war between Large and Small Magellanic Clouds two dwarf galaxies orbiting the Milky Way only the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope can see whos winning. As they gravitationally tug at each other, one of these dwarf galaxies has pulled out a huge amount of gas from its companion. Called the Leading Arm, this enormous concentration of gas is being devoured by the Milky Way and feeding new star birth in our Galaxy. But which dwarf galaxy is doing the pulling, and whose gas is now being feasted upon? Space Telescope Science Institute astronomer Andrew Fox and co-authors used Hubbles ultraviolet (UV) vision to chemically analyze the gas in the Leading Arm and determine its origin. Roughly half the size of the Milky Way, the Leading Arm is thought to be about 1 or 2 billion years old. Its name comes from the fact that its leading the motion of the Magellanic Clouds. Theres been a question: did the gas come from the Large Magellanic Cloud or the Small Magellanic Cloud? Dr. Fox said. At first glance, it looks like it tracks back to the Large Magellanic Cloud. But weve approached that question differently, by asking: what is the Leading Arm made of? Does it have the composition of the Large Magellanic Cloud or the composition of the Small Magellanic Cloud? This study is a follow-up to the teams 2013 work, which focused on a trailing feature behind the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. This gas in this ribbon-like structure, called the Magellanic Stream, was found to come from both dwarf galaxies. Now the astronomers wondered about its counterpart, the Leading Arm. Unlike the trailing Magellanic Stream, this tattered and shredded arm has already reached the Milky Way and survived its journey to the Galactic disk. The Leading Arm is a real-time example of gas accretion, the process of gas falling onto galaxies, they said. This is very difficult to see in galaxies outside the Milky Way, because they are too far away and too faint. As Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are in our backyard, we essentially have a front-row seat to view the action, said Dr. Kat Barger, from Texas Christian University. In a new kind of forensics, the study authors used Hubbles UV vision to chemically analyze the gas in the Leading Arm. They observed the light from seven quasars, the bright cores of active galaxies that reside billions of light-years beyond this gas cloud. Using Hubbles Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, they measured how this light filters through the cloud. In particular, they looked for the absorption of UV light by oxygen and sulfur in the cloud. These are good gauges of how many heavier elements reside in the gas. The team then compared Hubbles measurements to hydrogen measurements made by NSFs Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope at the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia, as well as several other radio telescopes. After much analysis, the scientists finally had conclusive chemical fingerprints to match the origin of the Leading Arms gas. Weve found that the gas matches the Small Magellanic Cloud. That indicates the Large Magellanic Cloud is winning the tug-of-war, because it has pulled so much gas out of its smaller neighbor, Dr. Fox said. The findings are published in the Astrophysical Journal. _____ Andrew J. Fox et al. 2018. Chemical Abundances in the Leading Arm of the Magellanic Stream. ApJ 854, 142; doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/aaa9bb An international research team led by a Princeton University scientist has found that the rise in oxygen that occurred about 2.3 billion years ago (Paleoproterozoic era) known as the Great Oxidation Event was much more substantial than previously indicated. Instead of a trickle, it was more like a firehose. It was a major change in the production of oxygen, said Dr. Clara Blattler, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Geosciences at Princeton University. The evidence for the profound upswing in oxygen comes from crystalized sea salt extracted from a 1.2-mile-deep hole called the Onega Parametric Hole on the western shores of Lake Onega in Karelia, Europe. These salt crystals are over a billion years older than any previously discovered salt deposits. The deposits contain halite, which is called rock salt and is chemically identical to table salt or sodium chloride, as well as other salts of calcium, magnesium and potassium. Normally these minerals dissolve easily and would be washed away over time, but in this case they were exceptionally well preserved deep within the Earth. The salt crystals were left behind when ancient seawater evaporated, and they give geologists unprecedented clues to the composition of the oceans and atmosphere on Earth more than 2 billion years ago. The key indication of the increase in oxygen production came from finding that the deposits contained a surprisingly large amount of a component of seawater known as sulfate, which was created when sulfur reacted with oxygen. This is the strongest ever evidence that the ancient seawater from which those minerals precipitated had high sulfate concentrations reaching at least 30% of present-day oceanic sulfate as our estimations indicate, said Dr. Aivo Lepland, from Tallinn University of Technology and the Geological Survey of Norway. This is much higher than previously thought and will require considerable rethinking of the magnitude of oxygenation of Earths 2-billion year old atmosphere-ocean system. Oxygen makes up about 20% of air and is essential for life as we know it. According to geological evidence, oxygen began to show up in the Earths atmosphere between 2.4 and 2.3 billion years ago. Until this study, however, geologists were uncertain whether this buildup in oxygen caused by the growth of cyanobacteria capable of photosynthesis, which involves taking in carbon dioxide and giving off oxygen was a slow event that took millions of years or a more rapid event. It has been hard to test these ideas because we didnt have evidence from that era to tell us about the composition of the atmosphere, Dr. Blattler said. The sea salt crystals from the Onega Parametric Hole provide that evidence. The unique qualities of the sample make them very valuable in piecing together the history of what happened after the Great Oxidation Event, said Dr. John Higgins, of Princeton University. This is a pretty special class of geologic deposits. There has been a lot of debate as to whether the Great Oxidation Event, which is tied to increase and decrease in various chemical signals, represents a big change in oxygen production, or just a threshold that was crossed. The bottom line is that this paper provides evidence that the oxygenation of the Earth across this time period involved a lot of oxygen production. The research will spur the development of new models to explain what happened after the Great Oxidation Event to cause the accumulation of oxygen in the atmosphere, Dr. Blattler said. There may have been important changes in feedback cycles on land or in the oceans, or a large increase in oxygen production by microbes, but either way it was much more dramatic than we had an understanding of before. The teams findings appear in the journal Science. _____ C.L. Blattler et al. Two-billion-year-old evaporites capture Earths great oxidation. Science, published online March 22, 2018; doi: 10.1126/science.aar2687 Petronas upstream ceo Mohd Anuar Taib was quoted as saying that this figure was slightly higher than the budget for upstream expenditure in 2017 but did not give specific comparative figures. While this is still only slightly more than half the MYR48.7bn Petronas spent in 2015, just as the bottom fell out of the oil market, Anuar emphasized the importance of capital discipline and not stressing the market into an undersupply situation. We want the capital discipline. The challenge we have seen in the past is that when everybody starts going for activities at the same time, then the whole supply chain is stretched. That adds to the costs," Anuar said. He said Petronas would drill about 110 to 120 wells this year, and maintain exploration at 23 to 25 wells in Malaysia. Meanwhile, the company was also looking at exploration in Southeast Asia and wanted to develop assets in the region with partners, Anuar said while adding that the firm is also looking at growth opportunities in the Middle East. After oil prices crashed in 2016 Petronas went on a strict austerity drive and said it would slash spending by MYR50bn over the next four years. This in turn has put pressure on Malaysian and regional contractors in the offshore support and supply services industry, many of whom are still languishing with idle capacity or teethering on the edge of survival with massive debts from rapid expansion in the years leading up to the crash. The Antwerp Port Authority sealed deals with Alfaport-VOKA, the representative of the private port community whose support is essential for the project to succeed, and with Techelec, Schneider Electric, ABB, Siemens and Actemium as technical partners to complete the so-called cold ironing installations. Onshore power will enable ships moored in the port to shut down their engines and draw power from the electricity grid, thus helping to reduce emissions of NOx, CO2 and particulates and benefiting the local air quality. With this commitment Antwerp once more confirms its position as the sustainability leader in the Hamburg Le Havre range, the port authority said in a press release. Barges have been able to make use of onshore power in the Antwerp port area for some time now. And our own fleet of service vessels has been using onshore power since the beginning of this year, said port authority ceo Jacques Vandermeiren. But currently there are still not enough facilities for seagoing ships. This is a pity, as onshore power can make a significant contribution to the sustainability transition planned for our port platform. We therefore see the development of onshore power as a strategic priority for the next few years, he concluded. Alfaport-VOKA md Stephan Vanfraechem said: "As a platform from and for the private port sector, we want to bring terminal operators, ship owners and ships agents together to find out how we can achieve an effective use of onshore power. He noted that while ships are increasingly being built with onshore power facilities, their use in the ports is still very limited. At the various links in the chain there are still operational, technical and economic questions. We want to discuss and solve this via this project and thus enable a successful roll out, Vanfraechem emphasised. Press Release March 23, 2018 Sen. Bam to gov't: Protect 1.4M BPO jobs from impending threats A senator reminded relevant government agencies to protect the 1.4 million jobs in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector from identified threats and prepare for the next Senate hearing. "Our resource speakers have identified 3 major threats to jobs in the BPO sector: Artificial Intelligence (A.I.), the tax reform law and the shifting economic policies of other countries. We must prepare for these threats and not be caught flat-footed," said Sen. Bam Aquino, who recently held a second hearing on threats to the BPO sector as the chairman of the Committee on Science and Technology. "Hindi maaaring mawalan ng kabuhayan ang Pilipino, lalo na sa panahon ngayon," he added. During the first Senate hearing on the threat of AI, the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) mentioned that they are anticipating a decline in demand for low-skilled jobs in the IT-BPO industry of about 43,000 jobs by 2022. On the bright side, there is potential to open up 388,000 jobs for mid-skilled tasks, and 309,000 jobs for high-skilled tasks also by 2022, jobs that Sen. Bam hopes the Filipino workforce can be ready for. "The clear solution is to retrain our workers and upgrade their skills to be viable for higher job levels. Our training centers and academic institutions must start offering courses for these higher-skilled BPO jobs. Kailangan din na mayroong scholarships at TESDA vouchers," said Sen. Bam, who also pushed the free college law as principal sponsor in the Senate. However, Sen. Bam says the government agencies are not working quick enough. "I want to see urgency in our agencies to move this forward quickly and with purpose. This is the first time in years that the BPO industry will be at risk. We need to protect our countrymen's jobs," said Sen. Bam. Press Release March 23, 2018 De Lima to LP mayors: Fight recurrence of Marcos-style governance Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has urged municipal mayors belonging to Liberal Party (LP) to not waver in their fight to achieve justice, truth and freedom for the benefit not only of their constituents but also of all the Filipino people. De Lima, a Liberal Party member, said her partymates should share their experiences and learn from each other to improve their service for the public, and resist any temptation or tendencies to allow a repeat of the Marcos-era authoritarianism. "This occasion, with people who share common principles, can also further strengthen our party's resolve for justice and democracy, especially during these challenging times under the Duterte regime," she said in a message read at the recent gathering of LP municipal mayors. Duterte's disregard for human rights and the rule of law is reminiscent of the 21-year authoritarian rule of then President Ferdinand Marcos whose era was marked by rampant human rights violations, oppression and brutality. Under the present administration, De Lima said, thousands of Filipinos, especially among the poor, including young people, were killed, while the rich and those with connections with Malacanang evaded accountability. "The media is oppressed, while fake news is peddled to distort the truth. Citizens are silenced because of the culture of impunity being reinforced by top officials in government," she added. Since the government-led all-out war on illegal drugs has commenced in July last year, an estimate of more than 13,000 people have already been killed - both from legitimate police operations and vigilante-style executions. Duterte also has a sour relationship with the media. In challenging times like these, De Lima pointed out that public servants are expected to speak out at all times against the crooked policies of the administration and stand up against an extremist leader. "Garapalan na ang ginagawa nila. Ipinakulong ang inosente, kinakasuhan ang mga kritiko ng gobyerno, habang pinapalaya ang mga nakikipagsabwatan sa kanilang pansariling agenda. Ngayon nga, pati mastermind ng katiwalian, ginawa na ring testigo ng pamahalaan. Sa lahat ng ito, mananahimik pa rin ba tayo?" she said. "Kaya naman nananatili ang hamon sa atin para magkaisa at kumilos para sa tama at makatarungan. Bilang mga kapwa ko pinuno, bilang kapwa ko Liberal, bilang mga lingkod-bayan, nawa'y magampanan natin ang ating tungkulin hindi lang sa ating nasasakupan, kundi maging sa sambayanan at susunod na henerasyon," she added. Considered as the first prominent political prisoner under the present Duterte regime, De Lima was illegally arrested and unjustly detained on trumped-up drug charges based on manufactured evidence and perjured testimonies of convicted felons. Press Release March 23, 2018 JV: STOP 'FEEDING OUR WOMEN TO THE DOGS' SENATOR JV Ejercito has called on the government to heed the sentiment of the Senate against deploying household workers in countries where their rights are violated and their welfare denied. Ejercito made the call after the Senate on Wednesday adopted Senate Resolution No. 676 which expressed the sense of the Senate that the deployment of overseas Filipino household service workers to countries that do not afford migrants the same rights and work conditions as their nationals and allow withholding of Philippine Passport totally banned. "It's like feeding them (Filipino household workers) to the dogs once they leave our country and this kind of deployment must end today...Our women will never be fully protected for as long as they are viewed upon as 'properties' by their employers and treated as aliens without rights...," he said in a manifestation of support for the resolution. Ejercito also sought for a review, with the Department of Labor and Employment and the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Memorandum of Agreement for Filipino migrant workers in Kuwait, which is currently under negotiation. "Let us not only review our labor policies with Kuwait. But more so with our countries in the Middle East like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Dubai, and other countries where human rights violations on the Filipino workers have been monitored," he said. Press Release March 23, 2018 Legarda Heads PHL Delegation to the 138th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly in Geneva Senator Loren Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committees on Foreign Relations, Finance and Climate Change, is the Head of the Philippine Delegation to the 138th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union from March 24-28, 2018 in Geneva, Switzerland. Legarda will be joined by fellow legislators--Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, Senator Nancy Binay, Deputy House Speaker Raneo Abu, Deputy House Speaker Ferdinand Hernandez, and House Majority Leader Rodolfo Farinas. The agenda of the 138th Assembly of the IPU will cover key global issues such as strengthening the parliamentary contribution to the global compact for migration, sustaining peace as a vehicle for achieving sustainable development, tackling women's underrepresentation in politics, engaging the private sector in the development of renewable energy, and building sustainable and resilient societies. As Head of the Philippine Delegation, Legarda will deliver a speech during the General Debate in Plenary Session: "Strengthening the Global Regime for Migrants and Refugees" on March 26. Prior to that, she will participate in the Forum of Women Parliamentarians and the panel discussion on "Why are women still underrepresented in politics? The root causes and how to address them." "Through our participation in the 138th IPU Assembly, we aim to engage our fellow legislators from around the world on how to address issues that affect our respective nations and the international community as a whole, especially those in the agenda for this year's assembly such as sustainable and resilient development, stronger engagement of women in society and politics, and stronger policies for migrants and refugees. We want to get insights from other parliamentarians as well as share our best practices and model pieces of legislation to them," said Legarda. On the sidelines of the IPU Assembly, Legarda will meet with World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General Robert Azevedo and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Deputy Secretary General Martin Zbinden to submit a notification on the Philippines' ratification of the PH-EFTA Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The PH-EFTA FTA was ratified by President Rodrigo Duterte on December 8, 2017. The Philippine Senate, through the sponsorship of Legarda as Chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, concurred in the President's ratification on March 5, 2018. As a broad-based agreement, the FTA covers trade in goods, trade in services, investment, competition, the protection of intellectual property rights, government procurement, and trade and sustainable development. With the entry into force of the Agreement, the EFTA States will abolish all customs duties on imports of industrial products, including fish and other marine products, originating in the Philippines. The Philippines will gradually eliminate customs duties on industrial products, including fish and other marine products, originating in an EFTA State. The Agreement contains detailed provisions on trade, including some "WTO +" provisions. "Opening markets through Agreements such as this goes hand-in-hand with all the economic reforms and ease of doing business initiatives of the government to project a clear message that the Philippines is, more than ever, ready and 'open for business'," said Legarda. The CBL Corp saga will continue, with the company's voluntary administrators postponing the creditors' watershed meeting to gather more information and hiring Goldman Sachs as an adviser. Auckland-based CBL appointed KordaMentha voluntary administrators on March 2 after the Reserve Bank sought an interim liquidation of its New Zealand supervised arm and the Central Bank of Ireland made a similar move against the insurer's European division. CBL had its stock suspended from the NZX on Feb. 8 amid concerns from NZX Regulation about the information it had given the market, following engagement between it, CBL, the Financial Markets Authority (FMA), the Reserve Bank, and a number of overseas regulators with prudential oversight of CBLs international insurance business. On Feb. 20, CBL Insurance told the Reserve Bank it was continuing to operate despite being below the minimum regulatory solvency level. Today, KordaMentha said it the Auckland High Court had granted it orders extending the date by which it must call the watershed meeting, normally held within 25 working days of the appointment of administrators, to May 11. The second meeting of creditors gives them the choice to resolve that a deed of company arrangement be executed, resolve that the administration should end, or appoint liquidators. KordaMentha must release the watershed report to creditors and the market by May 11, and the meeting must be held by May 18th. The administrators may need to seek a further extension from the Court if it becomes apparent in the coming weeks that further time will be required, they said. The administrators said the extension would give them enough time to review of the financial position of the entities under their control, and the wider CBL Group; analyse realisation options for the group's assets, for which it's appointing Goldman Sachs to advise on options; and consider other relevant factors such as "any transactions that may be scrutinised or claims that may be made." Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank asked for CBL Insurance to be put into interim liquidation because the company paid $55 million to overseas companies in defiance of central bank orders. In an affidavit, the bank's head of prudential supervision Tony Fiennes said the bank believes CBLI has $750 million in assets, mainly in cash and insurance receivables, and there is serious risk the directors could further dispose of those or that overseas creditors could ask for freezing orders. (BusinessDesk) Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: 23rd September 2021 Morning Report Pacific Edge Limited (NZX: PEB) Dual Lists on ASX; Announces Capital Raise to Accelerate Tower Limited (NZX: TWR) Updates Guidance South Port New Zealand Limited (NZX: SPN) 2021 Annual Report 22nd September 2021 Morning Report Kathmandu Holdings Limited (NZX: KMD) FY21 Annual Results Announcement Stride Property Ltd & Stride Investment Management Ltd (NZX: SPG) Update on Demerger and Office Fund 21st September 2021 Morning Report Kiwi Property Group Limited (NZX: KPG) Gives Green Light to Build-to-Rent 20th September 2021 Morning Report Christchurch businessman Paul Hibbs has been sentenced to eight years in jail for defrauding clients of at least $17.5 million through a Ponzi scheme. The sentence, handed down in the Christchurch District Court, includes a minimum non-parole period of four years. Hibbs had pleaded guilty to charges under the Crimes Act including false statements by a promoter, theft by a person in a special relationship, using forged documents and forgery. The Serious Fraud Office said in a statement that Hibbs owned and operated Cameron Gladstone Investments and Hansa, and through these two companies "he provided clients with false investment reports and used their funds for unauthorised activities, which included using the proceeds from sales of clients investments to pay other investors." The white-collar crime investigator also said Hibbs used client money "for business expenses, including paying dividends, and for personal purposes." "The sentence imposed today reflects the very serious nature of the offending," said SFO director Julie Read. Hibbs "deceived his clients in a number of ways resulting in significant monetary losses." Cameron Gladstone Investments was put into liquidation in May last year while liquidators were appointed to Hansa in November 2016. The first liquidators' reports for both companies, from Waterstone Insolvency's Damien Grant and Steven Khov, described the businesses as "Financial Investment/Ponzi scheme". When Hibbs appeared in court in June last year, the SFO said his legitimate businesses developed into a Ponzi scheme where new money is used to pay existing investors in 2008, and that he gave false investment reports to clients and used investors funds for purposes other than required, such as paying other investors. The SFO's statement today gave background to its investigation, saying Hibbs was "employed for a number of years as a private banker, dealing with high net worth individuals, buying and selling shares and managing clients investment portfolios." The SFO said Hibbs left banking in 2002 and incorporated the investment advisory businesses, Cameron Gladstone Investments, and later, Hansa. "Hibbs solicited some of his old banking clients who brought with them their existing portfolios and investments," it said. "Mr Hibbs was not a registered financial services provider." (BusinessDesk) Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: 23rd September 2021 Morning Report Pacific Edge Limited (NZX: PEB) Dual Lists on ASX; Announces Capital Raise to Accelerate Tower Limited (NZX: TWR) Updates Guidance South Port New Zealand Limited (NZX: SPN) 2021 Annual Report 22nd September 2021 Morning Report Kathmandu Holdings Limited (NZX: KMD) FY21 Annual Results Announcement Stride Property Ltd & Stride Investment Management Ltd (NZX: SPG) Update on Demerger and Office Fund 21st September 2021 Morning Report Kiwi Property Group Limited (NZX: KPG) Gives Green Light to Build-to-Rent 20th September 2021 Morning Report Appetite among global fund managers for high-yielding New Zealand stocks has gone on pause for the last three to six months after two to three years of consistent monthly demand, the managing director of Harbour Asset Management, Andrew Bascand, says. Addressing a Russell Investments seminar for large-scale investors in Wellington, Bascand said global demand for New Zealand shares, while very limited as a proportion of their total investments, had been driven by the fact that "every global fund manager worth their salt has launched a global or an Asia-Pacific ETF (exchange-traded fund) targeting yield stocks". Bascand said that it had become commonplace at month's end over the last three to four years to see "implementation of ETF buying from the NZ market; block trades". "It was so predictable that brokers were preparing their books," said Bascand. "What weve observed in the last six months is a complete pause" and "in fact at the end of the last two months, the opposite. At the end of the month, were seeing block-trade selling in yield names." That was particularly noticeable in Sky Network Television shares, which are around 58 percent foreign-owned, he said. "The rules of those funds are such that when a yield falls they need to exit, or when the market cap drops to a certain point. So Sky Network TV, OK profit result but halved its dividend and of course made other strategic announcements. Weve already seen the price Sky Network TV already anticipate this, but this is potentially the first of two or three or four yield stocks in NZ that might anticipate pressure." Sky TV's share price has fallen from $2.80 on Feb. 27, the day before it announced it was halving its interim dividend and slashing prices for its services to respond to competition from online streaming providers. The shares closed at $2.33 today, having traded as low as an all-time low of $2.11 on March 14. Russell Investments analysis of global fund managers' holdings of New Zealand shares showed interest clustered around just 14 stocks, one of which - Xero - has since decamped to the ASX. Other shares favoured by a combination of US, Asia-Pacific and Australian fund managers included Spark, Auckland International Airport. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Fletcher Building, a2 Milk, Ryman Healthcare, Z Energy, and Chorus. Meanwhile, at a similar presentation to clients of Nikko Asset Management in Wellington, Nikko's head of New Zealand equities Stuart Williams cited a catalogue of local "saints and sinners". He identified Metlifecare, Summerset, a2, Restaurant Brands and Mainfreight as showing "quality and structural growth, with supportive demographics underpinning their growth, particularly in an environment of synchronised global growth and favourable food consumption patterns in Asian middle-class markets. Nikko was taking a "cautious market watch" approach to Spark, NZ Refining, Westpac Banking Corp, and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, whose "valuations look toppy here and globally". Despite optimism about a2, he cited valuation concerns as the shares have risen 407 percent in the last year, closing today at $13.73. The recently announced joint venture with Fonterra was "transformational", said Williams in slides for his presentation, offering brand endorsement from the world's largest dairy trader, earnings uplift potential in the Australian and New Zealand markets, strong growth in Chinese market share, and reduced risk, including internalising competitive threats. (BusinessDesk) Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: 23rd September 2021 Morning Report Pacific Edge Limited (NZX: PEB) Dual Lists on ASX; Announces Capital Raise to Accelerate Tower Limited (NZX: TWR) Updates Guidance South Port New Zealand Limited (NZX: SPN) 2021 Annual Report 22nd September 2021 Morning Report Kathmandu Holdings Limited (NZX: KMD) FY21 Annual Results Announcement Stride Property Ltd & Stride Investment Management Ltd (NZX: SPG) Update on Demerger and Office Fund 21st September 2021 Morning Report Kiwi Property Group Limited (NZX: KPG) Gives Green Light to Build-to-Rent 20th September 2021 Morning Report When artist and activist Cynthia Fraula-Hahns friend was battling breast cancer, Fraula-Hahn realized women and men undergoing mastectomies needed a pathway to accepting and even celebrating their bodies in the aftermath of the disease. Impassioned with this idea, Fraula-Hahn created a sculpture of her friend by using a wrapping process with plaster-embedded gauze to create a body cast of the torso. She created several other torsos and painted and embellished them with designs to celebrate each person and their strengths. She invited other local artists to partner with breast cancer survivors to tell their stories in 3D works of art. Now, the American Association for Cancer Research has invited The Bodice Project, Fraula-Hahns local nonprofit organization, to be part of its annual meeting in Chicago in April 2018. Exhibiting at the AACR conference will afford more than 22,000 cancer researchers and the general public the opportunity to view and experience the transformative nature of The Bodice Project sculptures. Fraula-Hahn said it wasnt until seeing all of the artists pieces together at the first gallery show that she and others realized the full impact of the work. She wanted to expand the exhibit, and more artists provided compostitions. Its mind-boggling, it really is-from Shepherdstown to Chicago, said Fraula-Hahn. This is a huge deal for us. This exhibit has a life of its own-it really does. I just had a concept. Fraula-Hahn said the project started out as a fundraiser for Identity Crisis, an annual event in Shepherdstown that raises money for Breast Cancer Awareness-Cumberland Valley. Someone initially suggested putting colorful mannequins in windows in town to raise awareness, according to Fraula-Hahn. I didnt want to work on a mannequin, but my friend offered to let me wrap her instead, she said. Afterwards, she said it was such a moving experience. She had been feeling isolated and said this project gave her a sense of community. That has kept me going the whole time. Mary J.C.Hendrix, president of Shepherd University and a nationally recognized cancer researcher, has acknowledged the exhibits beauty, message and importance during exhibits at Shepherd University. Hendrix, also a board member of the AACR, asked them to send an invitation to Fraula-Hahn to bring the exhibit to Chicago for the annual meeting. Because Mary loved the exhibit, she wanted everyone there, which are researchers, scientists, hospitals, cancer centers, on and on-22,000-plus people-to see our work, said Fraula-Hahn. She wanted us to be there because it brings back the humanity into the cause of breast cancer. Since its inception in 2014, The Bodice Projects mission has gained wide recognition and support throughout the region. There will be a raffle fundraiser to help offset travel costs at Town Run Tap House and Community Pub, located at 202 E. Washington Street in Shepherdstown, from March 6 to April 7. The winner will be announced at the Tap House on April 7 before a live audience at 8 p.m. The Bodice Projects board of directors and friends will be at Town Run Brew Pub that evening at 6:30 p.m. to meet and greet supporters. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at Town Run. The Bodice Project also has a GoFundMe page at gofundme.com/TBPtoChicago. Every $10 donation earns the donor a raffle entry. Presentations at the AACR annual meeting will cover much more than breast cancer, but Fraula-Hahn is excited to be the only art exhibit invited. It is a very special invitation, and were thrilled about it, said Fraula-Hahn. The Bodice Project exhibition in Chicago is not just about having an exhibit. Its about sharing this concept with hospitals, cancer centers and communities. Its about the interaction between the artists and the survivors, creating an impact of what breast cancer looks like through beauty. It brings the conversation to the public in a unique form. Six years ago, storyteller Adam Booth had a vision that he worked to turn into reality. That vision culminated in the Speak Series, which offers a venue for storytelling in Shepherdstown. Booth, a renowned storyteller, has participated in the Series for the past five years, but said this year he plans to take a break. This year, we are offering others the spots to tell their stories, Booth said. This week, Booth was the guest at a storytelling event sponsored by the Bolivar-Harpers Ferry Public Library. He told stories and sang songs for an audience of more than 50 people. At the Bolivar event, Booth promoted the Speak Series, which began this week with a performance by Storyteller-In-Residence Elizabeth Ellis, who kicked off the Series on Tuesday evening at Reynolds Hall. Ellis grew up in the Appalachian Mountains hearing tales from her preacher grandfather, and Irish fairytales from her aunt. While serving as Storyteller-in-Residence, Ellis will also visit local schools and make other public appearances. Other Speak Series storytellers include Motoko, who will tell tales of Asian folklore, Rakugo and Zen tales and personal stories of her childhood in Osaka. She appears at Reynolds Hall on April 10. Following on May 8, is Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo, a storyteller influenced by his musical background. He has presented to over a million people in the U.S. and abroad. June 12 sees Scott Whitehair take the lead. A former boardmember of the National Storytelling Network, Whitehair has been a featured instructor at Hong Kong Story Worthy Week and has taught narrative at All Hallows College in Dublin. Featured on July 12 is Pennsylvanias Dovie Thomason, who has spent a lifetime gathering and weaving traditional tales she first heard as a child with stories from her own life. She will present How the Wild West was Spun. Corinee Stavish is the featured storyteller on Aug. 14. A Detroit Jewish Woman of the Year, she specializes in personal and historical narratives and biblical interpretative tales that are warm and witty. She will present When Good People Do Something, the story of integrity and humanity in World War II-occupied Denmark. Donald Davis follows up on Sept. 11. Hes authored 18 books and more than 40 original recordings. The session on Oct. 9 features Linda Gorham, whose performances are filled with surprising twists and unconventional humor. Megan Wells concludes the 2018 Series on Nov. 13. Wells comes with a repertoire of more than 186 stories. Tickets for each of the evenings events are $12 at the door, and free for Shepherd students who show their IDs. Season tickets can be purchased for $100. All shows are held in Reynolds Hall and begin at 7:30 p.m. each evening. For more information on Speak or to offer support to the Series, visit www.speakstoryseries.com. Browse the library Find insights by keyword or browse our topics and content types. To view upcoming Shoosmiths events click here. While the ruling BJP is assured of eight of 10 Rajya Sabha seats for which voting was underway today, the Samajwadi Party has fielded Jaya Bachchan and the BSP Bhimrao Ambedkar for the remaining two seats. : With one BSP MLA believed to have cross-voted and two others in jail being denied permission to vote in the Rajya Sabha polls, the Opposition today faced a challenge of numbers to ensure victory for their second candidate. As the parties totted their numbers, BSP MLA Anil Singh indicated that he had cross-voted in favour of the BJP, saying "I am with Maharaj-ji", a reference to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The Unnao MLA's vote could be crucial as it gives the BJP the edge in getting a ninth Rajya Sabha seat from Uttar Pradesh. However, reports also said that he met UP CM Yogi Adityanath after casting his vote. The Allahabad High Court has denied permission to BSP's Mukhtar Ansari, currently lodged in Banda jail, to vote in the Rajya Sabha elections. And a court in Firozabad has rejected a petition by SP MLA Hariom Yadav, who is in Firozabad jail. The Opposition is now banking heavily on the two votes of Independents -- Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya and his close associate and MLA Vinod Saroj. Both appeared set to vote for SP's Jaya Bachchan, prompting party chief Akhilesh Yadav to thank Raja Bhaiya and post a picture with him on Twitter. Raja Bhaiya, who has had a rocky relationship with BSP chief Mayawati, had tweeted this morning that he was with "Akhileshji" and specified that it did not mean that he was with the BSP. The BSP did not take an adverse view of Raja Bhaiya's comment. "... had he any reservations he would have said openly," said BSP deputy leader in the Vidhan Sabha Uma Shankar Singh. He added that he could not be sure that Anil Singh had voted for the BSP candidate. Keeping it ambiguous, Anil Singh said that he had cast his vote and showed it to BSP agent Lalji Verma and the rest could be known from him. "I have cast my vote after showing it to Lalji Verma and he will tell you the details... I am with Maharaj-ji (Adityanath)," he said after voting at the Tilak Hall in the Assembly complex. According to Uma Shankar, 17 MLAs of the total 19 BSP legislators had cast their votes by midday and shown them to Verma. The BSP leader exuded confidence that all the nine surplus MLAs of the Samajwadi Party as well as seven of the Congress and one of the RLD have voted in favour of his party candidate. "All the seven Congress MLAs went together to vote, while the SP has given us a list of their loyal MLAs," Uma Shankar said. Independent MLA Aman Mani Tripathi also said he was with 'Maharaj-ji' and would vote for the BJP. There are 11 candidates for 10 Rajya Sabha seats and 37 first preference votes are required for victory in each seat. Since the BJP and its allies have 324 seats in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, the saffron party can easily bag eight of the 10 seats and will still be left with 28 surplus votes as the four-MLA strong Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party has decided to go with the ruling party. "There can be some contest on the ninth seat," a senior UP BJP leader said. BJP candidates in the fray from Uttar Pradesh are Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Ashok Bajpai, Vijay Pal Singh Tomar, Sakal Deep Rajbhar, Kanta Kardam, Anil Jain, Harnath Singh Yadav and G V L Narasimha Rao. This ninth candidate is Anil Kumar Agarwal, a businessman. #undercover police Police officers to go undercover to chase online sexual predators A revision bill will take effect this week to allow a police officer to go undercover when investigating online sex crimes against minors, police said Thursday. The Korea Nation... #BTS BTS reunites with Coldplay in New York In between promoting vaccines and lauding youths at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, it appears K-pop superstars BTS reunited with British rock band Coldplay ahead of the rel... STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- We all have our embarrassing youthful moments: But for the "Jersey Shore" cast, their early 20s full of booze-infused adventure was broadcast all over the world. Thankfully, the Emerson Hill native is now able to laugh at his eccentric antics. The borough native took a look back at his original MTV audition tape, when he rocked sunglasses in florescent lighting, a novelty T-shirt and talked about how "real" he is. "My name is Vinny Guadagnino, yes, it's very Italian and hard to pronounce. I'm from Staten Island, New York, the forgotten borough of New York, which no one cares about yet it's the best [bleeping] people on Earth, like me." "Look at this guy," adds Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, a West Brighton native, as they revisit the footage together. "This guy must be from Staten Island." In the clip, Guadagnino shows off his silver chain, D'Jais VIP card and Jesus tattoo: The trifecta of what his castmates label "guido" perfection. He also hypes his 3.9 GPA in college, saying "he pumps his fists at night and pumps his pencil during the day." (Here's a direct like to the uncensored video. BTW: Yes, there are a few choice words some will find offensive. Please advise or keep scrolling.) Guadagnino's "Shore" mates, "The Situation," Pauly DelVecchio, Jenni "JWoww" Farley, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and Deena Cortese tagged along in poking fun at their beloved house-mate saying that the tan, "juice head" Italians he makes fun of in this clip is exactly what he became years later. "I'm definitely made for this," 2009 Guadagnino said as he wears the glasses that were once on his head. Ha, how right you were, Vin. Who knew this Staten Islander would join the cast of a six season empire, considered to be MTV's highest-rated show. "Who was that guy?" Guadagnino says at the end of his 2009 audition. BTW: There is a ton more where that came from. MTV is going through the biggest blowouts of "Jersey Shore" history tonight, starting at 8 p.m. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. School officials are investigating a mother's claim her fourth-grade son was beaten up by a high school freshman on a school bus headed for the Michael J. Petrides School in Sunnyside. The mother of the fourth-grader, Nekyna Matthews, raised concern that a high school student was even riding the same bus as her son. "If (school officials) were more responsible, the kid would've never been on a bus and this wouldve all been avoided," said Matthews, 27, of New Brighton. Don't Edit Nekyna Matthews, left, with her son, Angel. The incident is under investigation by the city's Department of Education, according to a statement from DOE spokesman Michael Aciman. "We are investigating this troubling incident and will take appropriate follow up action," said Aciman. Nothing is more important to us than ensuring the safety of students who ride on our buses each day. An NYPD spokesman confirmed a report was filed with the Police Department, but no arrests had been made. Don't Edit Nekyna Matthews, left, with her son, Angel. Angel Matthews, 10, said the fight began over a seat on the bus. "He punched me, so I slapped him, and he kept on punching me until we got to school," said Angel. "The bus driver kept on driving and just said 'break it up. " A spokeswoman for Pioneer Buses said the driver ordered the boys to separate, which they did. The driver felt, due to where the fight broke out on the route in relation to the school, it was safer to go straight to Petrides instead of stopping the bus, she said. When they arrived at the school, an administrator who was made aware of the incident by radio was waiting, according to a spokeswoman for Pioneer Buses. Don't Edit Angel Matthews, 10, suffered bruising and swelling to his nose, jaw and lip as a result of the altercation Friday. Angel was seen by a school nurse for bruising and scratches on his face. "When he called me, he's crying on the phone," said Nekyna Matthews. "And I'm trying to tell him to slow down." Matthews said she got to the school as administrators were in the process of pulling up her contact information. She said the dean apologized for the incident, confirming the 14-year-old attends the high school. Don't Edit Advance file photo The teenager has since been removed from the bus, according to the spokeswoman for Pioneer. Typically high school students are given metro cards in lieu of riding the yellow bus, however, there are some routes that service all ages, she said. High school and elementary students are assigned to the same buses for certain routes, depending on the school and the situation, she said. There also are exceptions for high-school students who want to opt out of public transportation, including an order of protection that puts them in harms way; and housing displacement, according to the Department of Education website. Don't Edit Don't Edit Michael J. Petrides in Sunnyside. (Advance file photo) The incident comes about a month after police arrested a high school student for allegedly raping another 17-year-old on school grounds. Patrick Januszewski, of Arthur Avenue in South Beach, was arraigned Feb. 9 on charges of rape, sexual abuse and forcible touching, according to court records. A judge released him on his own recognizance, with a subsequent court date scheduled for April 16. Police said another unrelated rape was reported at the school in January. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- It's a law routinely broken in parking lots across the borough: Illegal use of parking spots reserved for the handicapped. Ex-congressman Michael Grimm was spotted parking in one at a strip mall lot Thursday in New Dorp. The congressional candidate was seen backing in and then getting out of his silver Lexus near his office. Grimm said he was in a hurry and it's "my bad." "In a hurry to drop something off at my office; I did not notice parking in a handicap spot, and if I did -- my bad," Grimm said. A sign which reads, "Warning handicapped parking only. Cars with handicapped plates or valid handicapped parking permits only," can be seen right behind Grimm's car. The blue lines outlining the parking spot on the blacktop are visible through the small amount of slush and ice on the ground. "However, the fact that this warrants a news story proves only that journalism is dead, while the unhealthy obsession with Michael Grimm remains very much alive," he said. Parking in a handicap spot comes with a hefty price tag of $180 -- if caught. "Michael Grimm breaking a law? We're shocked," said a spokesman for Rep. Daniel Donovan upon hearing the news. "It's the same arrogant attitude from a guy who never thinks the rules apply to him. Leopards don't change their spots," they told the Advance. Grimm announced his campaign for Congress in September 2017, hoping to retake the seat the now-Rep. Daniel Donovan filled when he pleaded guilty to tax fraud. He served eight month in federal prison beginning in 2015. According to the New York Times, Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster will be resigning as President Donald Trump's National Security Adviser. Trump will replace McMaster with former UN Ambassador John R. Bolton. McMaster's resignation comes shortly after Trump agreed to an unprecedented meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, leaving critics scratching their heads. Bolton is widely seen as a war hawk and has said the U.S. should declare war on Iran and North Korea. What do you think? PERSPECTIVES McMaster will resign as National Security Adviser and Bolton will replace him. Here's the latest from the New York Times: McMaster was widely seen as one of the adults in Trump's administration. His appointment to the National Security Adviser office reassured many in the establishment -- at least he would temper some of Trump's worst tendencies. With him out, who knows what Trump will be up to. Worse yet, Bolton may be the worst person possible to replace McMaster. Bolton is extremely hawkish and has repeatedly called on the U.S. to go to war against Iran and North Korea. Critics worry that Bolton will only enable Trump's worst tendencies. Here's what one expert told Vox about Bolton: When it comes down to it, McMaster and Trump did not see eye-to-eye on many important issues. They've been clashing over issues like how to deal with Iran, the war in Afghanistan and more since day one. Trump's supporters argue it's better to have someone in office who can actually get along and work with Trump. That person is Bolton. McMaster was no saint either. He was consistently one of the more militant voices in the Trump administration. The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Digital, Inc. property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A 37-year-old man was accused of barricading himself inside an apartment and tossing an air conditioner that hit a police officer at the Richmond Terrace Houses in New Brighton. Christopher Rivera, 37, who is homeless, was arrested on Thursday in connection with the alleged assault where he threw an air conditioner that struck a police officer who suffered pain and a cut on a hand, said a spokesman for the NYPD's Deputy Commissioner of Public Information. The officer, who was treated at the scene, was injured during a standoff that began when Rivera was involved in a dispute with a 58-year-old woman in a fifth-floor apartment at 81 Jersey St. on March 16 at about 7:25 p.m., according to the police spokesman. The woman asked Rivera to leave, but he refused and instead threw various items inside the apartment, according to police. When officers responded, Rivera allegedly locked himself in the apartment and refused to open the door, according to police. The NYPD Hostage Negotiation Team, Technical Assistance Response Unit and Emergency Service Units were called to the scene and officers inflated an airbag in front of the building, according to Advance records. Residents were not allowed to enter the building during the standoff and stood across the street watching the scene unfold, the Advance previously reported. The suspect was taken out in a stretcher around 10 p.m. and transported to Richmond University Medical Center, according to police and Advance records. Rivera has been charged by police with assault, criminal possession of a weapon for flinging the air conditioner, obstructing governmental administration, harassment, criminal mischief and criminal trespass. Police were unable to provide information about how Rivera ended up in the apartment or details about how the air conditioner made contact with the officer. Rivera has over a dozen arrests to his name, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation. Trump trade gambit tests 'friendship' with China's Xi Washington, March 23 (AFP) Mar 23, 2018 Donald Trump may have ripped China over trade Thursday, but the US president pulled his punches to preserve a "friendship" with Xi Jinping that, while it has borne some fruit, may be more imagined than real. Since taking office in January 2017, the 71-year-old salesman-in-chief has boasted about his "great relationship" with world leaders, from Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Russia's Vladimir Putin and Argentina's Mauricio Macri. But perhaps the "greatest" relationship, the one most cherished by this newbie statesman, is the superpowered courtship with the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao. After trashing China for all manner of trade transgressions, Trump veered off message Thursday to issue a telling caveat. "I view them as a friend. I have tremendous respect for President Xi. We have a great relationship. They're helping us a lot in North Korea," he said. "And that's China." Trump's wooing of Xi over chocolate cake at his Mar-a-Lago retreat in Florida, and his treatment of China as a peer -- effectively accepting Beijing's strategic desire for "Great Power Relations" between equals -- did not hurt the US drive to slap tough sanctions on North Korea. Xi signed off on tougher UN measures -- a "favor" from Beijing that coincided with deepening Chinese concerns about Pyongyang's provocative weapons testing. Tellingly, Xi has told interlocutors that he will not introduce the oil embargo that Trump has privately demanded, fearing the North Korean military -- and so the regime -- would collapse. Xi has proven willing to go along with Trump when Chinese interests intersect, but no further. And experts dismiss the idea Xi cares very much for the "chemistry" beyond the opportunity it offers to further his own goals. "Xi is not encumbered by sentimentality," said Ryan Hass, former National Security Council director for China. - Inflection point? - Trade may test that theory and would appear to be one clear point where Xi and Trump's interests diverge. The economy has long been a security issue for Chinese leaders, who must create jobs at a clip to forestall social unrest. Indeed, the threat of retaliation was swift -- Beijing on Friday unveiled a list of potential tariffs on $3 billion worth of US goods, from pork to fruits and wine, that it could impose. According to Hass, Xi will respond "in a way that maximizes the impact of China's response on Trump's base of political support." In short, he will hit Trump where it hurts most. But the seriousness of the feud may depend on what comes next, and if Trump's past form is anything to go by, the bite of these sanctions will be far less painful than the bark. Again and again, his tough-sounding prime time announcements have been diligently watered down by staff operating off-screen and under real-world constraints. Trump's much vaunted global steel tariffs have been followed by carve-outs for Australia, Brazil, Canada, Europe, Mexico, South Korea, New Zealand and others. Trump may bristle, but for the most part has seemed happy to bet big while the cameras are rolling, before cutting his losses when the lights go out. This time around, Trump's advisors had warned of the risks of sanctioning China, but pressed, they came up with a $30 billion sticker price. That became $50 billion by the time it got to the Oval Office and, to the surprise of aides, it became $60 billion when Trump got in front of the cameras. The true price will not be known for at least two weeks, when the US Trade Representative puts forward his final proposals. "It is tempting to guess that the tariffs on Chinese imports will be ultimately as limited, but there is no way to know yet," said PNC Senior International Economist Bill Adams. China's full response is likely to come only when that picture is fleshed out and even then will take into account the fact that the age of Trump has so far been good for business in Beijing and for Xi. Having consolidated power more quickly than any Chinese leader since Deng Xiaoping, he recently secured a second term in office and removed limits on a third. Trump's time in office has seen America in full retreat from Barack Obama's pivot to Asia, with the president questioning treaty alliances with Japan, South Korea and even Australia -- where officials report a stepped increase in Chinese pressure. Xi has also seen notably less push back from Trump over Chinese land grabs in the South China Sea, a gambit seen by Beijing as vital to project power and defending energy supply routes in the event of a military conflict. His goal now is to guide the country through a "new era" of unrivalled global military and economic supremacy. In the grand scheme of US-China relations, there may be much bigger forces at work than any one trade dispute, or any "friendship." Lake Wanaka is in a stunning area of New Zealand and the Breca SwimRun organization held their second event there last weekend - in both a long course and short course format. For those who wanted to have the ultimate challenge and go long that meant 45.5km of running and 8.5km of swimming. The shorter event meant 16km of running and 3.5km of swimming and this year most teams flocked to that offering. According to race director Ben de Rivaz, many long course athletes who raced the 2017 event decided this year to try out the new Breca Bay of Islands SwimRun on April 15 instead. 62 teams total started in Wanaka and Ben de Rivaz is pleased with the signs of the growth in New Zealand. The leading team of Jeff McGrath and Merv Hunger are all business during one of the 18 transitions of the long course. This Kiwi crew also did this race in 2017 and clearly have learned quite a bit from that experience. These shoe flotation devices from NU Complements were spotted on a team before the race. But the team who had them on their shoes did however still wear pull buoys. The views here on the South Island are incredible, but there is work to be done. So head down and swim, swim and swim. Volunteers and exit flags help for sure, and here the leading team is headed towards the next segment. Aussies David Wenham and Angus Rutherford almost ready for the next run. They eventually finished 4th in this race. The chance of getting kicked by a competitor in these races is pretty small and diminishes as the race goes on. Andrew Kerr and Matt Drake apparently came all the way from the UK to compete here, and this clearly is not a vacation. There is always time to check the watches as Kiwis Benjamin Eitelberg and Kris Milne demonstrate. Jeff McGrath and Merv Hunger running on a ridge with no other competitor in sight. At the end they had 11 minutes on the closest competition. A bit of bush whacking does a body good, and it does not seem to slow David Wenham and Angus Rutherford down. Alone with nature. A bag for shoes is rarely a good idea, and to makes things worse for Kiwis Ben Reid and Dan Wallace, the dry bag Ben Reid carried along for the longer swims leaked and became a great drag. Don't be like Ben. :-) The Brit/Kiwi team of James Haslam and Hilary Totty checking out the offerings at this aid station. In the end they were the top mixed team and the 6th team overall. The field in the Sprint race was quite large and early on it was all together. But in most SwimRun races the field spreads out fast. And up, up, up we go. Happy faces everywhere. Aussies Pete Orchard and Anna Barnes on the way to second place in the mixed division in the Sprint race. Aussies Ben Wolstencroft and Dave Provan were chasing the leading long course team all day but in the end had to settle for second place. PHILIPSBURG:--- On Friday, March 16th, 2018, the second St. Maarten Young Professionals Mixer hosted by SHTA and ORCO Bank was held at St. Roses arcade. The second edition of this successful event drew a crowd of 206; well attended by both young professionals and more seasoned young at heart professionals. This years edition also provided the formal kick-off event for UNDPs Small Islands Developing States BuildBackBetter week. The goal for the now Annual Young Professional Mixer is for SHTA and ORCO to provide solid platform for the up and coming generation of Sint Maarten professionals, the idea was launched last year in order to support these budding business talents and to forge their personal networks, exchange knowledge, as well as ideas and to acknowledge their contribution to our society; to share challenges and turn them into opportunities. As the kickoff event for BuildBackBetterWeekSXM, organized by UNDPs Centre of Excellence for Small Island Developing States based on Aruba, in conjunction with SHTA member HBN Law and many other partners, it led another 20 business visitors from Aruba, Curacao and the Netherlands to join the networking. As UNDP's manager of the Centre, Arno Boersma explained: The event was a great starting point for us and a source of inspiration for the days of brainstorming still to come. We sincerely thank SHTA and ORCO Bank for organizing the event, and including our international guests as well. We hope we can jointly provide a forceful platform for innovative and out-of-the-box thinking for a more resilient future for Sint Maarten." Another notable group was the presence of 10 business students from the University of Sint Maarten; in an effort to get acquainted with companies they might work for in the future. USM student Shalewa said It was my first time participating in such an event. Being nervous at first, but in the end it helped me realize what I would like to do with the rest of my life after speaking with 2 young female entrepreneurs. Her mentor Cathy Burns (USM) took charge of introductions. This was a great opportunity to meet fellow minded people in the community. It also helped advance and improve the students skills on networking. St. Roses Arcade assisted in creating a vibrant atmosphere, where DJ CD Rankin provided Sint Maarten sounds to the event; being sure to include hits popular on Aruba and Curacao in order to ensure our visiting delegation felt welcome. SHTA and ORCO Bank would like to thank all attendees and all parties involved for making the second edition of its Young Professional mixer a resounding success. If you are interested in becoming a member of SHTA or participating in the next young professionals mixer please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . PHILIPSBURG:--- On March 7th, 2018 an allegation of inappropriate behavior was launch against a teacher of the Marie Genevieve de Weever School. By request of the Minister as School Board said the teacher was asked to remain at home pending the outcome of an investigation. An inquiry has been completed by the Court of Guardianship and the Public Prosecutors Office where it was determined that the information gathered did not find any evidence that supports the alleged accusation. As such, the teacher was asked to resume their duties on Wednesday, March 21st, 2018. The Minister thanks everyone for their corporation in this investigation as matters related to child safety are considered the highest priority and any alleged accusation is fully investigated. The Minister encourages the healing process to take place in the interest of all concerned. Solar Novus Today Has Been Integrated With Novus Light Technologies Today Visit Novus Light Technologies Today to see all the cutting-edge stories and products that you have come to enjoy on Solar Novus Today. In addition, you will find more information on related light-based technologies. Get the latest solar and renewable energy news delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for the Green Technologies newsletter CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR GREEN TECHNOLOGIES NEWSLETTER New US law changes rules for cross-border data requests Washington, March 23 (AFP) Mar 23, 2018 A measure signed into law Friday by President Donald Trump changes the rules for cross-border law enforcement requests to internet firms and could render moot a long-running court battle between the US government and Microsoft. The CLOUD Act, inserted in a massive spending bill signed by the president, was designed to streamline the process for law enforcement seeking digital evidence, but it has been roundly criticized by civil liberties and digital rights activists. US lawmakers drafted the bill in response to the court battle in which Microsoft refused to turn over the contents of an email account used by a suspected drug trafficker whose data is stored in a cloud computing center in Ireland. The case was argued earlier this year in the Supreme Court, as government attorneys argued that a win for Microsoft could set up a scenario in which police might never be able to access digital evidence because of how it is scatted across the internet "cloud." The legislation -- Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data -- was backed by Microsoft and other major tech companies, which reasoned that it provides a clear legal framework for handing over data both to US authorities and to foreign governments. Microsoft president Brad Smith said in a blog post this week the measure offers "a modern legal framework for how law enforcement agencies can access data across borders," while offering privacy protections. By speeding up the law enforcement process with safeguards, tech firms hoped to stem a trend toward "data localization" in which some countries insist any digital information on their citizens be kept on local soil. The new law enables the US Justice Department to establish agreements with other countries to speed up data requests, bypassing the existing lengthy diplomatic process, by certifying those countries enforce privacy and civil liberties. - Open to abuse? - But some activists said the new law could open the door to increased surveillance and erode protections for human rights activists, journalists and others. With the new law in place, "US and foreign police will have new mechanisms to seize data across the globe," said David Ruiz of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "Your private emails, your online chats, your Facebook, Google, Flickr photos, your Snapchat videos, your private lives online, your moments shared digitally between only those you trust, will be open to foreign law enforcement without a warrant and with few restrictions on using and sharing your information." Critics said the law lacks adequate safeguards against foreign governments' abuse of human rights standards. It "fails to impose limits on foreign governments' real-time collection of communications that mirror those that would be required of the US government," said Robyn Greene of the New America Foundation. "It also does not define what constitutes 'serious crimes' under the bill, and leaves interpretation of that inherently vague concept to the discretion of the foreign government." Some analysts say the new law will enable the Supreme Court to sidestep a difficult choice -- whether to give the US government broad authority to obtain data stored anywhere, or allowing cloud firms to keep data out of reach for law enforcement. But law professor Jennifer Daskal of American University argues the CLOUD Act is positive for privacy and civil liberties. "For the first time, the bill sets up a mechanism for the US government to review what foreign governments do with data once it is turned over," Daskal said in a blog post with Peter Swire of the Georgia Institute of Technology. "This is a privacy win." The post said that "the status quo is not sustainable" because foreign governments have become frustrated by what they see "as an imperialist attempt to insist that foreign governments obtain a warrant issued by a US judge even for data needed in the investigation of local crimes." Poland signs offset deal for US Patriot missiles Warsaw, March 23 (AFP) Mar 23, 2018 Poland has signed an offset deal with the United States ahead of final agreement to buy a Patriot anti-missile system, Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said Friday. The 10-year offset programme, under which US investment in Poland will help compensate for the cost of the purchase, is the last stage before the sale of the Patriots. The minister has said the contract should be signed this month. Pro-government Polish media have reported a date of Wednesday, March 28, for the deal. "The offset agreements for the Wisla programme are signed. The technology transfer... will strengthen the capacity of the Polish defence industry," the minister wrote on Twitter. "This is the final step before signing the contract for the delivery of the Patriot system." The ministry's secretary of state Sebastian Chwalek signed the offset contrat with the US companies Raytheon International and Lockheed Martin Global. State television TVP Info reported NATO member Poland would pay around 1.0 to 1.3 billion euros ($1.2-1.6 billion) for two Patriot batteries and around 200 of the ground-to-air missiles. The offset deals with Raytheon and Lockheed Martin Global are worth a respective 53 million and 172 million euros. The US State Department said in November it had notified Congress of its approval of a larger Poland deal, worth up to $10.5 billion (8.5 billion euros), the first time Warsaw has bought the sophisticated system. Last July, the two sides had signed a memorandum under which delivery would start in 2022 and the system become operational a year later. Washington also agreed the US-Israel SkyCeptor missile system, which is expected to be cheaper but still under development, could be integrated into the Polish deal under a second phase. Last year, NATO deployed four multinational battalions to Poland and the Baltic states as tripwires against possible Russian adventurism. The Patriot is a mobile air-defence system designed to intercept tactical ballistic missiles, low-flying cruise missiles and aircraft via-bp/amj RAYTHEON Iraqi asylum seeker gets life sentence for London Tube bombing London, March 23 (AFP) Mar 23, 2018 An 18-year-old Iraqi asylum seeker on Friday received a life sentence with a minimum 34-year jail term over the botched bombing of a rush-hour London Underground train that injured 30 people. Judge Charles Haddon-Cave said Ahmed Hassan had constructed a homemade bomb "to kill as many members of the British public as possible". "I am satisfied...that the offence of attempted murder of which you have been convicted was an act of terrorism on your part by the use of explosives aimed at advancing a political, religious, ideological or racial cause," said the judge on sentencing. Hassan left the improvised bucket bomb filled with screwdrivers, knives, nuts, bolts and "Mother of Satan" TATP explosives in a carriage carrying 93 passengers on September 15 last year. It partially exploded at Parsons Green Tube station in west London, one stop after he had alighted, triggering a stampede that injured tens of other passengers. The judge at England's Old Bailey central criminal court in London called Hassan a "dangerous and devious individual" who had let down the country that gave him shelter, the foster charity that cared for him and the college he attended. Hassan had benefited from "every kindness" since arriving in the UK in October 2015, yet was consumed with "dark thoughts" against Britain. "One can only imagine the sense of betrayal felt by all those at Barnardo's and Brooklands College whom you duped," said Haddon-Cave. The judge said he believed Hassan had trained with the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group in Iraq, and that he may be older than 18. John Conaghan, from British Transport Police, "thoroughly welcomed" the lengthy sentence. "His appalling attack could have claimed many lives on that busy rush hour train. Thankfully, no one was killed and his imprisonment will prevent him from posing any further threat to the public," he said. Hassan told jurors that he did not intend to hurt people, and that he was "bored and stressed" and wanted to start a fire. "It became kind of a fantasy in my head. I was thinking about it," he said. "I was watching documentaries as well, about fugitives and just the idea of being a fugitive got into my head." - 'Blinding flash' - Prosecutors earlier showed the jury Hassan's online purchase history, which included chemicals, along with security camera footage from the day before the attack showing him buying shrapnel items. Hassan told authorities he was in fear of IS, which he said had taken him by force in Iraq and trained him "how to kill". He was given a home by foster parents Penny and Ron Jones, and studied media and photography at Brooklands College in Weybridge, southwest of London. His college mentor contacted the anti-terror programme Prevent after Hassan said it was his "duty to hate Britain". He assembled the bomb while his elderly foster parents were on holiday, using money from a school prize to buy the chemicals. The partially exploded bomb sent a fireball down the carriage, which left passengers with burns. Commuter Stephen Nash told court that he was on his way to work when he experienced a "blinding flash" before being "engulfed in flames". "I was thrown to the ground," he said. "The flames were overwhelming... It was intense heat, I thought I had lost my ears, I thought my head was on fire." Fellow witness Aimee Colville said she heard a "loud bang" and "cracking" before "a wall of glass came across". Hassan then destroyed his phone and fled to the port town of Dover, where police arrested him. He was carrying more than pound2,000 ($2,800, 2,270 euros) in cash. Russia denies incendiary weapons bombing in Syria: ministry Moscow, March 23 (AFP) Mar 23, 2018 Moscow denied Friday it was bombing Syria's Eastern Ghouta with incendiary weapons after war monitors said Russian air strikes killed 37 civilians in the Arbin area of the rebel enclave. "Russian aviation is not striking residential areas of Eastern Ghouta and especially it is not using incendiary weapons, unlike the US-led international coalition," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement, quoted by TASS state news agency. Russia denies incendiary weapons bombing in Syria Moscow, March 23 (AFP) Mar 23, 2018 Moscow denied Friday it was bombing Syria's Eastern Ghouta with incendiary weapons after war monitors said Russian air strikes killed 37 civilians in the Arbin area of the rebel enclave. "Russian aviation is not striking residential areas of Eastern Ghouta and especially it is not using incendiary weapons, unlike the US-led international coalition," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement. "The statements that swindlers speculating on human grief -- the White Helmets as well as Britain's so-called the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights -- are spreading are glaring lies," the statement said, quoted by TASS state news agency. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said earlier Friday that Russian air strikes killed 37 civilians in the Arbin area of the shrinking rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus overnight. "Russian air strikes and incendiary weapons killed the civilians in a basement from burning or suffocation" late on Thursday before a ceasefire came into effect in the area, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. The Britain-based Observatory says it relies on flight patterns, aircraft involved and ammunition used to determine who carries them out. The White Helmets, a civil defence organisation operating in rebel-held areas, said most of the dead were women and children. More than 1,600 civilians have died in Eastern Ghouta since the regime launched a blistering assault on the last rebel bastion near Damascus on February 18, the Observatory says. PKK says to quit northwest Iraq after Turkish warning Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, March 23 (AFP) Mar 23, 2018 The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) said on Friday it would pull out its fighters from northwestern Iraq after Ankara warned it could launch an attack on their strongholds. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday vowed to expand a military campaign in Syria to other Kurdish-held areas up to the Iraqi border. The KCK, considered the PKK's political branch, said fighters who were deployed in Iraq's Sinjar region to protect the Kurdish-speaking Yazidi minority from the brutality of the Islamic State group would be withdrawn. "We have decided to withdraw our guerrilla forces from Shengal," it said in a statement using another name for Sinjar. "Guerrillas intervened in Shengal in order to rescue the Ezidis (Yazidis) from genocide... With this goal achieved, guerrillas are withdrawing from Shengal," it added. Local sources in the region said the PKK has 2,000 fighters deployed in the Sinjar area. On Monday, Turkish troops and allied Syrian fighters ousted the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia from the city of Afrin in northern Syria after a nearly two-month offensive. Erdogan described Afrin's capture as a "major stage" but said more would follow. "We marked a comma. God willing a full stop will come next," he said. He spoke of a possible operation against PKK camps in the Sinjar region, adding that he had told Iraqi authorities to deal with those camps. "If (Baghdad) cannot, we may turn up in Sinjar suddenly one night and clean up the PKK there," Erdogan said. Outlawed by Ankara, the PKK has waged a bloody insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, and Turkey also considers the YPG a terrorist group. Mali PM in first top-level visit to restive Kidal since 2014 Kidal, Mali, March 23 (AFP) Mar 23, 2018 Mali's Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga made a landmark visit to the restive northern town of Kidal on Friday, the first since 2014 by a head of government to an area still in the hands of former rebels. Five French soldiers were wounded in Kidal on Thursday in a jihadist attack, underscoring the security issues faced by domestic and foreign forces in Mali. The prime minister spent several hours in the city after touching down at a UN base, before heading to Gao, another urban centre rocked by periodic unrest. Appointed in December, Maiga was charged with bolstering security as jihadists mount near-weekly attacks on security forces, raising safety fears ahead of the presidential election in July. The former rebels of the Co-ordination of Movements of Azawad (CMA) provided security for the delegation, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene. The CMA contains members who rose up against the state in order to separate the north from the rest of Mali in 2012, but ultimately signed a peace treaty in 2015 with the aim of reintegrating into the army and accepting a measure of control from Bamako. "The republic will do what it should for all its children. Mali is one and indivisible in its diversity," Maiga said after meeting locals in a city with still strong separatist tendencies. "We are placing a lot of hope in this visit to advance the peace process," said CMA spokesman Mohamed Ag Assaleh. The CMA and similar groups have resisted handing back full control to the government, and clashes with pro-government armed groups have flared despite the ceasefire. Meanwhile, 4,000 French troops are deployed there as part of Operation Barkhane alongside the UN's 12,000-strong MINUSMA peacekeeping operation in Mali to tackle a jihadist insurgency that piggybacked on the 2012 rebellion. The attack on French soldiers on Thursday was claimed by the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM), a jihadist coalition affiliated with Al-Qaeda and led by Tuareg former rebel Iyad Ag Ghaly. No Malian head of government has visited Kidal since 2014 when fighting broke out during a visit by then prime minister Moussa Mara which ended with the army suffering a heavy defeat. Maiga on Tuesday said he would visit "without arrogance, in order to listen, and understand the urgent needs of the population". On Saturday he is due in Timbuktu, another northern city frequently rocked by unrest. Optimization Are you frustrated with a slow pc or a hard disk not performing as it should? Try SLOW-PCfighter to speed up boot time on a slow PC, or try a free scan of FULL-DISKfighter to recover space on a full disk. The latest offering is DRIVERfighter to update your driver updater. Get complete PC optimization and extend the life of your PC with these must-have software tools. The Schism Merkel's Conservatives Divided and Discordant Chancellor Angela Merkel's contentious relationship with her new interior minister, Horst Seehofer, threatens to overshadow her fourth term in office. The two conservative leaders fundamentally disagree about who their constituents should be. Violence Against Women - Women in Egypt Part 1 'As an Egyptian Woman, You Spend Your Entire Life Dealing with Sexual Violence' Sexual harassment is part of everyday life in Egypt and gang rapes continue to shock the country. Where does this excessive violence come from? Women's Rights - Women in Egypt Part 3 'Your Uncle Is a Devil, But You're also Going To Hell' Women are protected under Egyptian laws - but the country's legislation is often merely for the sake of appearances. Miscarriages of justice are rampant under a dictatorship that combines secular and Sharia laws. English22/03/2018 HAMMERING THE MYTH OF AGGRESSION To have any chance of survival, this hammering of the aggression myth into the heads of one whole people /Bosniak/, despite all other arguments, is often supported by brutal historical forgeries national, religious, linguistic and even by the dismantling of the once generally accepted facts. By Nenad Tadic BIJELJINA, March 22 /SRNA/ - It is time the Bosniak politicians and the public finally draw the line and answer the question of all questions paramount for the survival of the country called Bosnia and Herzegovina: Why and how do they plan to live with the /Serb/ aggressors? History does not know of a case where someone wants to co-exist with those they claim committed genocide against them, that they wanted to take away their land, their property, their freedom. What is it that draws Sarajevo politicians to aggressors on Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bosniaks? The kind Bosnian soul? The desire to forgive? Some rational drives? None of the above. The answer is plain and simple there was no aggression whatsoever so you can co-exist with aggressors comfortably, and all the way repeat and politically abuse the propaganda mantra from the war. Not only did none of the Bosniak political or legal experts ever prove that nearly 35 per cent of Serbs from the 1991 census put on aggressors uniforms, nor is it possible to prove /Who could be an aggressor in their own country?/, even the Court of Justice in The Hague dismissed the idea. Only some prominent Bosniak politicians and ethnic and religious associations in the Sarajevo political circles talk about an aggression, keeping the obscure and absurd yet politically piercing theory in the educational and public discourse alive. The Sarajevo Serbs committed an aggression on their fellow-citizens and their fellow-citizens did not commit an aggression on their fellow Serb citizens at the same time? The Serbs from Serbia who were part of the units of Republika Srpska are the proof of aggression but thousands of people from Sandzak or Arab volunteers among the ranks of the then mostly Muslim army /so-called Army of BiH/ were not the aggressors but defenders of BiH? These questions or suggestions, which are more like a psychological test of minimum mental judgement, in a test in psychology and in a lower elementary grade at that, are still pushed by the Bosniak establishment as the key identity symbol a symbol of sacrifice used to draw conclusions of the uniqueness of every kind. The Bosniak cultural association Preporod and the Association for the Protection of the Heritage of the Struggle for BiH conjured up the spirit of the aggressor during a meeting called Aggression on the Truth about the Defence of the Republic of BiH for the umpteenth time. The key-note speaker at the event, who else but Bakir Izetbegovic, rattled out his father Alijas and his own theory about the aggression on BiH, which was carried out by the Serbs above all, that is, the Bosniaks neighbours, together with their brothers from Serbia. To have any chance of survival, this hammering of the aggression myth into the heads of one whole people /Bosniak/, despite all other arguments, is often supported by brutal historical forgeries national, religious, linguistic and even by the dismantling of the once generally accepted facts. In the Bosniak media, ZAVNOBiH /National Antifascist Council for the People's Liberation of Bosnia andHerzegovina/ is given the role of a deity, but the role of the Serbs, without whom it would not exist, is minimised. With time, they even came up with the data that Serbs were Chetniks and that the majority of remaining Serbs were partisans and that 22,000 young Muslim men from the SS Handschar division, who quickly changed either into Ustashas or Home Guard in 1944, are easily turned into the liberators of BiH and Sarajevo. We recently witnessed another specialty which even the famous British comedian Benny Hill would not be ashamed of a growing theory that the Bosnian Serbs are actually the renegades of the Muslim faith. This hammering of the aggression myth into the heads of the Bosniak people and /dishonest/ calls to the aggressors/ to come back and live together again is the biggest obstacle, or better yet, a landmine for every attempt at a productive conversation about anything in BiH. For, aggressors and victims cannot live together even in a myth. Let alone in this and such BiH. /end/ds English22/03/2018 WREATH LAID, ROSES THROWN IN DRINA IN MEMORY OF THE KILLED VISEGRAD, March 22 /SRNA/ - Envoy of the president of Republika Srpska Miladin Dragicevic on Thursday laid a wreath in the memorial complex Stari Brod outside Visegrad where Ustashas of Jure Francetics Black Legion brutally killed 6,000 Serbs from east Bosnia and Herzegovina 76 years ago. In memory of the killed Serbs, roses were thrown in the Drina River by poet Matija Beckovic, chair of the Srpska Government sub-committee in charge of marking significant historical events Velimir Dunjic, deputy chair of the Government committee in charge of nurturing the tradition of liberation wars Dusko Milunovic, MP Vukota Govedarica, mayors of municipalities of Podrinje, Herzegovina and Sarajevo-Romanija region, as well as representatives of associations formed as a result of the defence and liberation war, and citizens from the local places. Before the ceremony, Metropolitan Hrizostom of Dabar-Bosnia and the Serbian Orthodox Church clergy held a memorial service in the Stari Brod memorial complex. They will also consecrate the foundations of the memorial museum in Stari Brod. Ustasha units headed by Jure Francetic launched an offensive in the spring of 1942 with the goal to expel and kill the Serb population from the eastern parts of BiH. Serbs from the area of Sarajevo, Sokolac, Olovo, Kladanj, Rogatica, Han Pijesak and Visegrad set on their way towards the Drina, looking for a refuge in Serbia. The Italian army in Visegrad did not let the people cross the bridge, so the refugees started walking along the river towards the villages Milosevici and Stari Brod, where there was a raft. Ustashas caught up with them and slaughtered the victims in the most monstrous ways. Between mid-March and May 2, 1942 more than 6,000 women, children and the elderly were killed and the most massive slaughter occurred on the Orthodox holiday of Mladenci /Bride and Groom/ on March 22, 1942. In 2008 a monument was erected in Stari Brod and the names of the killed were chiselled in stone. /end/ds English22/03/2018 SRNA News Roundup /II/ - March 22, 2018 REPUBLIKA SRPSKA VISEGRAD - Envoy of the president of Republika Srpska Miladin Dragicevic on Thursday laid a wreath in the memorial complex Stari Brod outside Visegrad where Ustashas of Jure Francetics Black Legion brutally killed 6,000 Serbs from east Bosnia and Herzegovina 76 years ago. In memory of the killed Serbs, roses were thrown in the Drina River by poet Matija Beckovic, chair of the Srpska Government sub-committee in charge of marking significant historical events Velimir Dunjic, deputy chair of the Government committee in charge of nurturing the tradition of liberation wars Dusko Milunovic, MP Vukota Govedarica, mayors of municipalities of Podrinje, Herzegovina and Sarajevo-Romanija region, as well as representatives of associations formed as a result of the defence and liberation war, and citizens from the local places. Before the ceremony, Metropolitan Hrizostom of Dabar-Bosnia and the Serbian Orthodox Church clergy held a memorial service in the Stari Brod memorial complex. BANJALUKA - National Assembly Speaker Nedeljko Cubrilovic said that two-day discussions about two requests for elaboration did not produce any constructive solutions to any of the problems faced by healthcare and pension systems and public enterprises. Deputy Speaker Nenad Stevandic said on Thursday that the basis for a sustainable economic development should be the restructuring of public administration and enterprises. BANJALUKA - Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic told Srna on Thursday that due to the dissatisfaction of refugees and displaced persons from the Federation of BiH who claim the right to ownership over real estate in the cadastral municipalities which are planned to be formed and for which land registers will be replaced, the Government of Republika Srpska will help protect their right to property. BANJALUKA - Republika Srpska exported goods worth BAM588 million in the first two months of 2018, or 22.9 per cent more than in the same period last year, reports the Statistics Institute. BANJALUKA - Average net salary paid out in Republika Srpska in February was BAM841 and was 1.9 per cent higher in nominal figures than in January, reports the Statistics Institute. BANJALUKA - The Public Health Institute of Republika Srpska on Thursday received a report of one more case of morbilli - a pregnant woman from Modrica, the Institute told Srna. BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA BIJELJINA - It is time the Bosniak politicians and the public finally draw the line and answer the question of all questions paramount for the survival of the country called Bosnia and Herzegovina: Why and how do they plan to live with the /Serb/ aggressors? History does not know of a case where someone wants to co-exist with those they claim committed genocide against them, that they wanted to take away their land, their property, their freedom. BELGRADE - General Vinko Pandurevic of the association Honour of the Homeland asserts that the Bosniak leadership under the guise of defence of BiH from a new aggression wants to begin another process of creating a different BiH, which they blame on the leadership of Republika Srpska, because they stand in their way of creating a unitary BiH based on the ideology of the Islamic Declaration. SARAJEVO - Bozo Ljubic, chair of the Croatian National Assembly /HNS/ Main Board, says the Bosniak side openly obstructs the implementation of the letter and spirit of the Constitutional Court decision regarding the Election Law, which may destabilise BiH and could have negative effects on the region as well. SARAJEVO - EUFOR, NATO HQ and the BiH Ministry of Civil Affairs signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday allowing the Ministry to compile video records from the 1990s war made from the air, which will be used for demining purposes. SERBIA BELGRADE - During the 1995 NATO air strikes in Republika Srpska, 58 Serbs were killed and 199 were injured but the most severe consequences of depleted uranium will be suffered by generations for hundreds of years, Milorad Kojic, head of the Centre for Research of War, War Crimes and Search for the Missing of Republika Srpska, stated in Belgrade on Thursday. BELGRADE - Malignant diseases are the most drastic consequences of the NATO air strikes in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, where children are facing the greatest risk due to genetic transmission, according to Zorka Vukmirovic, a retired scientific advisor of the Institute of Physics in Belgrade. BELGRADE - The correlation between the 1999 NATO air strikes on FR Yugoslavia and increased death rates of cancer patients has been determined with high certainty, said Mitar Kovac, head of the Eurasian Security Forum from Belgrade. BELGRADE - Thursday saw the opening of the Car Show and Motorcycle Fair in Belgrade including more than 350 exhibitors from around 20 countries. After Geneva, the Belgrade audience will have a chance to see around 60 new automobiles and motorcycles. ZABALJ - A ground-breaking ceremony for a vegetable conservation plant of the German Mamminger company worth EUR2.5 million which will employ 300 people took place in the settlement of Gospodjinci in the Vojvodina municipality of Zabalj on Thursday. REGION HERCEG NOVI - The authorities of Herceg Novi will stage an opening ceremony of the house of Nobel Laureate Ivo Andric in June and along with repair works, cultural pilot programmes will be held there afterwards, the local administration said on Thursday. /end/ds Whether through mechanical practices or cropping choice, there are many options available for improving soil structure and visitors to Cereals 2018 will be able to see them all in one place. Soil is absolutely vital in arable production, so keeping it in the best possible health is the key to running a productive, profitable and viable business, says Jon Day, event organiser. At Cereals, we want to ensure farmers are armed with all the information they need to boost soil health and maximise profits. There is a lot of momentum gathering around no-till and minimum tillage systems, and there will be plenty on show at this years Cereals Event. One of these is the new Pro-Til Xzact precision strip till seeder from Mzuri. The Pro-Til combines a strip till drill and precision seed drill in one, meaning that all types of arable crops can be sown in just one pass, explains Martin Lole, managing director at Mzuri. This eliminates unnecessary passes and reduces labour and fuel requirements. Less farm traffic in turn means reduced compaction, better structured soils and a healthier root system. Capable of drilling straight into the previous crop residue, the drill has been proven to retain moisture, reduce soil and water erosion, preserve and improve natural soil structure and cut diesel requirement by up to 80% - without yield penalties. Monitoring the quality of soil can be a challenge, so Yara Analytical Services will be back at the Soil Pit with a practical demonstration of how to use field and laboratory measurements to best effect. Managing soil quality starts by measuring each of the soil health properties, says Caroline Hobson, business development coordinator at Yara Analytical Services. Farmers have been visually monitoring their land for many years; spotting areas of compaction, poor drainage, erosion and poor crop growth; but we can also use laboratory analysis to measure three inter-related aspects of soil health; biological, physical and chemical. To further help farmers, Hutchinsons has developed a new Healthy Soils service which looks at a number of areas including cropping and cultivations, soil health and texture and infiltration. The subsequent report brings together the farmers historical knowledge and the agronomists experience to suggest modified farm practices which boost soil organic matter to allow fauna and flora to flourish, explains Andy Hoyles, Hutchinsons nutritional development manager. Delivering a complete service that measures and monitors soil health creates a much better understanding of soils, so that yield and overall farm profitability will benefit for the long term. In a written statement on Animal welfare in the food chain, Lesley Griffiths AM, Cabinet Secretary Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs, announced a 1.1million Food Business Investment scheme package of grant aid for small and medium size slaughterhouses in Wales. Ms Griffiths said: Welfare friendly infrastructure and facilities will be supported and also the installation and upgrading of CCTV monitoring systems. I want to assist Food Business Operators to put systems in place, while legislating for CCTV in slaughterhouses is taking place in England. I want Wales slaughterhouses to be fully prepared as I continue to explore opportunities to legislate in the longer term. BVA and the Veterinary Public Health Association (VPHA) have been campaigning across the UK for mandatory CCTV in slaughterhouses covering all areas where live animals are kept, as well as full and unrestricted 24/7 access to CCTV footage for Official Veterinarians (OVs). Using recent AHDB research which identified significant genetic variations between resistant and non-resistant dairy cattle, AHDB and SRUC intend to develop a national database of genetic evaluations and a new state-of-the-art genomic prediction tool. This will enable farmers to identify natural resistance traits and make informed decisions about which cattle they choose to breed, depending on their resistance to Bovine TB. Combatting Bovine TB is a national priority, manifested by the 100 million spent annually on disease surveillance, monitoring and non-genetic control. If accuracies of genomic predictions were improved, genetic improvement could contribute to a long term reduction of this figure by reducing both infected and infectious animals on farm. Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, reiterated the importance of eradication last week when he announced a review of the 25 year Bovine TB Strategy four years after it was first published. The first of the two projects will be in partnership with the Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIEL) and will focus specifically on dairy cattle. Innovate UK have granted AHDB and CIEL 360,000 of funding, which will enable them to buy the genotyping services required to genotype around 12,000 cattle. The additional funding provided by Innovate UK will allow a far greater number of cattle to be included in the database, ensuring greater accuracy when the improved genomic prediction tool is put into practice says Marco Winters, Head of Animal Genetics for AHDB Dairy. He added, This project has game-changing potential for the dairy industry and is a further demonstration of how the industry is actively using genetics, as part of wider industry initiatives, toward a sustainable livestock sector. The second project, which is being co-funded with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), will build on AHDBs initial research on dairy genetic evaluations but instead focus specifically on beef cattle. This is a slightly more complicated project due to the number of different beef cattle breeds in comparison to dairy cattle, but could reap huge savings for livestock breeders. It's been all go over at the TV3 studios this week with the live semi-finals of Ireland's Got Talent on every night. Throughout the week, six finalists were chosen by the public to perform in the live final on Saturday night's show and today the show announced not one but two wild card acts to join them. They are.... *drumroll* Zacc Milne and Matt Dodd! Dancer Zacc Milne and singing granddad Matt Dodd will join Aaron J Hart, Xquisite, RDC, Double Impact, FKFT and Linda McLoughlin in the final showdown on Saturday. According to the shows producers,"the Irelands Got Talent judges were last night split on who to put through as their Wild Card to Saturday nights Grand Final. Initially, they were split four ways with each judge pushing hard for their own choice, eventually, after much debate they got it down to two. As it became apparent that they were deadlocked on the final two they informed TV3 that they were putting two wild cards through." Commenting on this surprise turn of events, head judge Louis Walsh said, "It was a miracle we even managed to agree on two as there were points in the discussion that got pretty heated but Im delighted we have and were all delighted Matt Dodd and Zacc will be getting a second shot at the title. The truth is Ireland simply has too much talent, its going to be an absolutely incredible final". Irelands Got Talent live Grand Final is on TV tomorrow night, Saturday 24th March at 7.30pm on TV3. TO VIEW MORE NEWS STORY, PLEASE CLICK ON NEWS TAB ON MAIN MENU BAR An increasingly turbulent and unpredictable world, underpinned by climate change trends, ecosystem degradation, disease outbreaks, and geo-political instability, requires new approaches to development to support the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The international aid and development sector often address these types of problems in isolation, rather than as part of an interconnected system. In 2014, The Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) was established as an independent partnership of public and private organizations joining forces and working towards a sustainable and prosperous future for all. GRP believes that resilience underpins the achievement of sustainable development in a rapidly changing world. The partnership uses resilience to understand the drivers and impacts of complex issues to help communities, governments, the private sector, and development and humanitarian organizations ask different questions about the problems they are facing, thereby highlighting novel solutions. From 2014 to 2017 the GRP Secretariat was hosted by KPMG in Nairobi, Kenya. In September 2017, the Stockholm Resilience Centre took over as the new host of the GRP secretariat. The secretariat acts as a support to the entire partnership, including several big actors in the international development sector. This includes convening and catalyzing actions by the partners and implementing specific activities on behalf of the GRP. KPMG will continue as the existing challenge manager for the Round 1 Challenges and the Water Window Challenges. Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money. Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists. Meghana Nakkanti took second place in the Midwest Spelling Bee in Omaha. She missed the word "pious." A few weeks ago, Sidney had a competition generating the sweat and concentration of a chess match, and wrestling. While it did have a physical impact, it was a competition of the mind. It was a competition of understanding of the English language and how words are spelled with the ultimate goal of the national competition in Washington, D.C. A Sidney girl missed that plane ride by one word. Meghana Nakkanti, who defeated last year's Cheyenne County spelling champion, made it to the final two in Omaha this weekend in the regional competition, the Midwest Spelling Bee. She lost to 13-year-old Marrs Magnet Center of Omaha eighth grader Stephanie Lewis. Nakkanti misspelled the word "pious" in the final oral round. Lewis won with the word "leechcraft." Three written rounds narrowed the field from 74 spellers to only seven, four girls and three boys. It took five oral rounds for the field to be reduced to Lewis and Nakkanti. Charlotte Dorwart said Nakkanti is the first Cheyenne County speller to finish this well in her six or seven years of working with the Cheyenne County Spelling Bee. The 89th annual Midwest Spelling Bee was held March 17 at the Omaha Public Schools Teachers Administration Center. The winner receives a paid trip to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May in Washington, D.C. Gov. Pete Ricketts presents a proclamation to local agriculture leaders during the luncheon Wednesday in Sidney. National Agriculture Week was March 18-24, and Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts sees it as a time to celebrate Nebraska as well. "Agriculture is the heart and soul of what we do," Gov. Ricketts said Wednesday. "If we're going to grow Nebraska, we have to grow agriculture." Gov. Ricketts said one in four jobs in Nebraska are agriculture-related. Gov. Ricketts stopped in Sidney for a lunch hosted by the the Cheyenne County Farm Bureau. Following the lunch, the governor, Director of Agriculture Steve Wellman and Farm Bureau representatives toured the Agri-Plastics plant in Sidney. Gov. Ricketts said expanding agriculture has three components: international trade, value-added agriculture and the third is property tax. He said 95 percent of the state's consumers are outside of the borders. "That's why I go out on trade missions. They're great opportunities. By continuing to keep the pressure on, we can open up those markets," he said. He said he met then-candidate Trump in 2016, explaining that the Chinese market was closed to American beef, specifically Nebraska beef. Soon after getting elected, President Trump met with the Chinese president and two months later, Gov. Ricketts was loading the first boxes of Nebraska beef destined for China. He has traveled to China, Japan, the European Union and Canada. He added when he traveled to Canada in 2016, he met with the founders of Agri-Plastics. The company has since expanded, opening its first U.S. plant in Sidney. Following the luncheon, Gov. Ricketts and agriculture representatives toured the Agri-Plastics facility in Sidney. The facility currently has 11 employees with plans to expand to 20. The process involves mixing plastic pellets in a heated form, then a cooling stage. The plant is focused on construction of hutches capable of housing up to six calves. The plant is operating with one machine forming the hutches. More staff are expected to be added as a second machine is assembled. Forrest Hershberger Gov. Pete Ricketts greets North Elementary School fourth grade student Max Green, a local 4-H member, at Agri-Plastics Wednesday. Agri-Plastics markets itself as "designed for farmers by farmers." In 1995, Darren and Rob VanBuuren, third-generation dairy farmers, founded Agri-Plastics. They began experimenting with new designs for hutches with a goal of a healthier design and more comfortable environment for calves, according to the company's website. "We've got five different divisions, but agriculture is 70 percent of our business," he said. Since then, the company has expanded into other product lines including calf milk bars, buckets and rain barrels. "We'll get orders for 30 up to 10,000 (units)," Darren VanBuuren said in the tour of the plant. The Sidney facility sent out its first order last week, he said. The hutches can be easily shipped by truck, fitting 100 units per truck, and are very durable, according to VanBuuren. "The life span is quite long (more than 20 years)," he said. VanBuuren said they plan on bringing in the resin for the forms by rail in the future. The plant is powered by gas and electricity. A grand opening is planned for June. Alice Mae (Bell) Larsen was called to her heavenly home on March 16, 2018. She passed peacefully from this life at her home in Grand Junction, Colorado. She was 93. Funeral services will be on Saturday, March 24, 2018, at 10:00 AM at Martin's Mortuary, 550 North Avenue, Grand Junction, CO 81501. A visitation will be held Wednesday, March 28, 2018 from 1 to 3PM at the Holechek Funeral Home in Sidney, Nebraska, with a graveside service following in the Greenwood Cemetery in Sidney. Memorial contributions may be made to HopeWest of Grand Junction or to the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) c/o Robert Hedrick, Pastor, Grand Junction Local, 333 34 Road, Palisade, CO 81526 You can view the online obituary and share condolences with the family at http://www.holechekfuneralhomes.com Alice was born in a farm house outside of Sidney, Nebraska, to Harvey and Alvina (Schnuelle) Bell. She was the oldest of 7 children and lived much of her youth in various places around Western Nebraska and Southern Missouri. She had a great love for children and chose to be a teacher, teaching in one room schoolhouses in Missouri and Nebraska. She met the love of her life in Gurley, Nebraska and married Lowell Larsen on June 12, 1947. From that time on she dedicated her life to her family and her faith. After Lowell's death in 1971, Alice lived for a while in Missouri, Nebraska and finally settled in Grand Junction, Colorado, to be near her aging parents. She spent many years raising her daughters on Central Orchard Mesa, and eventually moved to Collbran, Colorado to live in a small one room cabin. She then decided to move to Grand Junction again and took up residence with her daughters. She loved to watch the storms across the valley, and write poems, stories, and Bible studies. Her family would like to express their thanks to their family and friends and the staff of HopeWest for the support and comfort provided over the last several months. Alice is survived by her sons, Tom Larsen and David (Kathy) Larsen, her daughters Jeanie and Joanie Larsen, 9 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren, and her sisters Irene (Leslie) Case, Edith (Marvin) Case, Caroline Hedrick, and Lois Bell. She was preceded in death by her husband Lowell, daughter June, and son Tim, her parents, her sister Fern Sarratt, and her brother Johnny Bell. Holechek Funeral Home and Cremations in Sidney is in charge of local arrangements. Amid the arguments and confusion about Spain's veto over Gibraltar during the Brexit transition period in the agreements made by the UK and EU this week, a cross-party delegation of German MPs visited the Rock to find out more about the political and constitutional relationship with the UK and the EU, Gibraltar's economy and the implications of Britain's withdrawal from the European Union. The MPs were from the Saxony-Anhalt parliamentary committee on Federal Affairs, European Affairs and the Media. They were briefed by Gibraltar's deputy chief minister, Dr Joseph Garcia, who also holds the Brexit portfolio, and were given a guided tour of the Rock, its attractions and places of interest. Anyone in Gibraltar on Tuesday evening could have been forgiven for thinking they had been transported into a Star Wars movie, as Luke Skywalker himself (actor Mark Hamill) was in town, accompanied by the 'dancing stormtroopers' Boogie Storm. All was made clear at his appearance in John Mackintosh Square, however, when it was revealed that Mark would be officially opening Gibraltar's latest attraction, the awe-inspiring Skywalk, on Wednesday morning. The Skywalk is a glass-floored walkway, 340 metres above sea level, which is higher than the Shard building in London. It has incredible views over three countries and two continents, and projects out from the Rock to a distance of 6.7 metres at its maximum point. The floor and protective balustrades are made up of four layers of laminated glass, giving a total thickness of 4.2 centimetres. Built on the foundations of an existing base structure dating back to the Second World War, the Skywalk is designed to withstand wind speeds of up to 150 kilometres an hour, and can bear the weight of 340 people, although only 50 are authorised to use it at any time. It is held secure by 70 metres of rock anchors and 30,000 kilos of steel. Gibraltar's chief minister, Fabian Picardo, was at the inauguration and couldn't wait to try the Skywalk for himself, with his wife Justine. He said: At the top of the Rock of Gibraltar, the Skywalk will serve as a stunning attraction for years to come and it is only fitting that Mr Hamill, best known as Luke Skywalker himself, should take the first steps. After the inauguration, Mark Hamill tweeted: Why they would ever invite me to the opening ofsomething called #Skywalk remains a mystery, but it was beyond thrilling to @visit_gibraltar! Stunningly beautiful, marvellous Macaques and truly friendly folks who all got selfies whether they wanted them or not. Just before the inauguration, the Gibraltar authorities announced that entry to the Skywalk will be free of charge to everybody until 1 April. After that, it will be free for local residents but there will be a charge for visitors. The Skywalk will be linked to other popular attractions in Gibraltar such as the Windsor Suspension Bridge and the Apes' Den by walking trails. It is open daily from 7am to 10pm. Further information can be obtained from the website www.skywalk.gi His grandmother was dying and Albert Marques, from California, spent some time visiting her in hospital. On one occasion he found her arguing with a nurse and, to his great surprise, telling her off in Spanish. He remarked on that, and her reply left him speechless: I am Spanish, but I've never spoken in my own language because of the discrimination. THE DOCUMENTARY Title: '1907. Hawai o miseria'. uDirector: Eterio Ortega. Subject: Adaptation of Miguel Alba's book 'SS Heliopolis: la primera inmigracion de andaluces a Hawai (1907)'. Producer: Cedecom. Storyline: Portrayal of the exodus of thousands of Andalusians who in 1907 set off from Malaga to Hawaii in search of a better life. That confession opened up a new world to Marques, one of the descendents of Andalusians who emigrated to Hawaii at the end of the 19th century, because he had no idea of his origins. Now, research by historian Miguel Alba has revealed this story and that of thousands of others who set off from Malaga for Hawaii in 1907 to work in the sugar cane plantations. Sadly, the promise of a fortune and a better world turned into an inferno for many Andalusians, most of whom were from Malaga. Film director Eterio Ortega has made this the subject of his new documentary '1907. Hawai o miseria', ('Hawaii or misery'in English). After spending some time filming in Malaga, he is now putting the finishing touches to the work in the USA. It was in 1907 that the SS Heliopolis left Malaga with the first group of emigrants from Andalucia to Hawaii. They needed labourers for the sugar cane plantations, and they discovered that there were also cane fields in the Guadalhorce valley and on the Malaga coast, so they offered workers free passage and a monthly salary of22 dollars, says Miguel Alba. The promised salary was indeed huge, bearing in mind that many people from Malaga sold all their possessions and raised 6,000 reales, which was the equivalent of about 25 dollars. A lifetime's accumulation of possessions in Spain was worth one month's work in Hawaii. They were living in poverty and that's why many of them left their families and their roots to go to Hawaii, but the conditions on board the ship were dreadful because they were slave ships, says Miguel. The problems actually began in Malaga before the journey started, when they were given rancid food and coffee made with sea water. Of the more than 3,000 who had planned to make the trip, around a thousand left the ship before it had even hoisted its anchor. This is like Andalucia The trip wasn't exactly a pleasure cruise. Nineteen people died and 14 babies were born - many of the women were pregnant and were hoping for a better future for their children - before they arrived in Honolulu. And when they arrived, the conditions on the plantations were nothing like they had imagined: there was segregation, as Albert Marques' grandmother had told him. In the early months many Spanish people fled from Hawaii to California and then sent letters saying This is like our beloved Andalucia, explains Miguel Alba, who is a historian from Malaga and who tells this story in his book 'SS Heliopolis: la primera inmigracion de andaluces a Hawai (1907)', about the first wave of immigration by Andalusian people to Hawaii in 1907. The documentary is based on his book. Around 80 per cent of those Andalusians went to California, explains Miguel, who says there were about 8,000 Spanish people on the first ships which left for Hawaii from Malaga and Vigo. The documentary goes further than the book because an amazing amount of information has been found and generated since it was published, he says. Miguel calculates that these days about one million Americans are the descendents of those pioneers. Many of the first generation died without being able to speak English and the present one, the fourth, is so American that it has no memory of Spanish, he says. With director Eterio Ortega and the Cedecom production company, he is now recording testimony from many people in Hawaii and California who are the descendents of those pioneers who suffered such hardships. In fact, the banks wouldn't even accept money from those exiles so they were forced to keep it at home. But when the crash came in 1929, not only were the Spanish not ruined, but they used the money hidden in their mattresses to buy land and companies. They climbed the social ladder and many of them became respected business owners, says Miguel, putting a happy ending to this bitter history of the sugar cane industry. He hopes the documentary will be premiered in the place where it all began: at the next Malaga Film Festival, to recall the memory of local people who sought a better future a long way away but who never forgot their roots. Adolfo Suarez went down in history as the politician who managed, along with King Juan Carlos, to encourage Spain's diverse political factions - Francoists, conservatives, socialists, communists and nationalists - to come together and create a democratic Spain after the death of the dictator Franco in 1975. In 2014 he did the same thing: he brought together politicians and institutions, with all their differences and quarrels, in this case after his death. All the political groups represented in the Spanish parliament (with the exception of Basque and Catalan nationalist groups Amaiur and Esquerra); the prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, and his cabinet; the opposition leader; the three living former prime ministers of the democracy, Felipe Gonzalez, Jose Maria Aznar and Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero; the former Catalan president, Jordi Pujol, and the then Catalan leader, secession advocate Artur Mas; respectfully filed past the coffin of the man whose example and courage in the face of political adversity they all praised. King Juan Carlos, accompanied by Queen Sofia and the Infanta Elena, visited the chapel of rest in the Spanish parliament where he sat in silence for ten minutes. Juan Carlos, who was to abdicate less than three months later, had explicitly asked for some silent time to pay his last respects to a &ldquoloyal friend&rdquo and &ldquoexceptional collaborator&rdquo. The chapel was also visited by Prince Felipe, who said, &ldquoIt's a great loss for Spain. We have everything to thank him for.&rdquo After the death of Franco, newly crowned King Juan Carlos named Suarez prime minister in 1976 with the responsibility of guiding the country through the Transition to democracy. He oversaw the passing of the Political Reform, which would allow for democratic elections, through parliament. In 1977, against the wishes of the Francoist ranks and the armed forces, Suarez legalised the Communist party. In 1978 the Constitution was approved by referendum and the following year Suarez became Spain's first democratically elected prime minister after his party, the UCD (formed by 15 parties of different ideologies), won the elections. All his success leading up to the elections, however, started to fall apart soon after he had won his seat. In 1980 the PSOE socialist party, led by Felipe Gonzalez, proposed a no confidence motion: it didn't succeed but all the same was a symptom of Suarez's weakening as UCD leader. Internal battles within his party led to his resignation in 1981. Suarez made his last public appearance in 2003 at a PP political rally in Albacete. He made a speech in support of his son, Adolfo Suarez Illana, who was a candidate for president of Castilla-La Mancha. The former prime minister had Alzheimer's disease and signs of his mental deterioration were clear, although it was not announced publicly until 2005. By then he couldn't remember he had been prime minister. In 2008 he was visited by his old friend King Juan Carlos, who presented him with the distinction of the Order of the Golden Fleece, but whom he failed to recognise. Two decades have passed, but Dani Garcia still remembers the moment because it was his first visit to Arzak's restaurant. He ordered one of the most popular dishes on the menu: the 'sorta de cigalas', or 'bundle of crayfish'. The other evening he reconstructed that same dish at a dinner in Marbella, which was held as part of the A Cuatro Manos gastronomy conference so that many of Spain's greatest chefs could pay tribute to Juan Mari Arzak. They had been wanting to do this since 2014, but he was strongly opposed to the idea. It wasn't until last year that they finally convinced him. The date of the dinner, 19 March, coincided with Father's Day in Spain and Arzak, precursor of Basque nouvelle cuisine and recognised as one of the driving forces behind modern Spanish gastronomy, is also considered by many of the Michelin-starred chefs in this country as a true 'aita', which means 'father' in Basque. What is happening today is very moving for us and I am delighted for him because he deserves it. I have experienced his energy all my life and seen how much he loves cooking and the respect he has for his colleagues. What better way could there be to pay tribute to him than for his fellow chefs to hold a party like this? said Elena Arzak, herself a holder of three Michelin stars and the daughter of the famous chef who was the guest of honour at this event. The Tamborrada march of San Sebastian was played to greet the famous Basque chef as he arrived at the dinner The tribute dinner brought together some of the greatest names in world gastronomy: Martin Berasategui, Joan Roca, Quique Dacosta, Angel Leon (three Michelin stars) and Ferran Adria. Also there were Andoni Luis Aduriz, Paco Roncero, Tono Perez, Diego Guerrero, Ramon Freixa, Paco Perez, Francis Paniego, Nacho Manzano, Paco Morales and Pablo Gonzalez (all of whom have two Michelin stars), and Albert Adria, Josean Alija, Marcos Moran, Ricard Camarena and Aitor Arregi, with one star each. All, with the exception of Berasategui and Ferran, put their aprons on to reinterpret Arzak's cuisine in a dish which featured on a menu for nearly 100 diners. They included the chefs and guests of Arzak and of the Dani Garcia Group. Among them were Agatha Ruiz de la Prada and Simoneta Gomez Acebo. Notebook in hand This kitchen in Marbella became the centre of operations for the 20 chefs. They began to arrive on Friday evening, took up their positions and by Sunday some of them were already lighting the cookers. The menu included some of Arzak's favourites such as hake in green sauce, prepared by Joan Roca; pate of scorpionfish from Andoni Luis Aduriz and suckling pig in orange sauce which was prepared by Angel Leon, who is normally known for his seafood dishes. The guest of honour was almost rendered speechless right from the start, when he was greeted upon arrival by the sound of the traditional La Tamborrada march of San Sebastian. He conducted the melody with gusto, just as he does at the doors of his restaurant every 20 January, the day of the patron saint of Donostia. Ferran and Berasategui, his great friends, became quite emotional as they watched. Elena Arzak was moved to tears. Arzak said he felt emotional to be sharing this tribute with his daughter, who is my rock, and admitted that even on such a special night as this he had brought his beloved notebook with him. He takes it everywhere, so he can make notes and not miss a single idea. Of course I've brought it, I couldn't be without it! he said. His visit to Marbella has given him numerous ideas, which is not surprising bearing in mind the talent which had gathered at Dani Garcia's restaurant at the Puente Romano hotel. For the fifth year running, this chef from Marbella brought together his friends and colleagues for a special event. The gastronomic conference has included a tribute night since 2015. The first year it was for the revolutionary Ferran Adria, who was followed by Joel Robuchon in 2016 and Nobu Matsuhisa last year. This time it was Arzak's turn. The standard could not be higher. The Mediterranean Sea is the heart and soul of the new exhibition that opened on Wednesday at the Carmen Thyssen art museum in Malaga. The gallery continues its pledge to deliver quality with this selection of 62 pieces sourced from 33 national and international public and private collections. THE EXHIBITION Title. Mediterranean. An Arcadia Reinvented. From Signac to Picasso. Place. Museo Carmen Thyssen Malaga. C/ Compania, 10. Opening hours. Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 8pm. Closed Monday (except public holidays). Dates. Until 9 September. Sponsor. Fundacion Unicaja. The broad theme of the Mediterranean encompasses almost a century of diverse artists and artisitic sensibilities. The baroness was in Malaga to unveil what is the museum's most eclectic exhibition so far, with paintings, sculptures, sketches and prints. Through this variety, 'Mediterranean...' shows the museum's ambition and potential to bring works loaned by institutions such as thePompidou centre in Paris, and the Reina Sofia museum and the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum in Madrid, as well as the Picasso Museum in Paris. The selection includes not only works by some of the greatest names in the history of art, but also offers a lesser-known side to the artists. There is the classicism painting by sculptor Julio Gonzalez, the almost academic oils by the later unclassifiable Joaquin Torres-Garcia, the fauvist colours of Georges Braque before he became one of the fathers of cubism and the almost psychodelic palette of Joaquin Sorolla, who is associated more with light and serene colours. The visit begins with the sculpture 'The Bronze Age' (1876) by Auguste Rodin and while the highlights of the exhibition include pieces by Emile Bernard, Henri Matisse and Joaquim Sunyer, among others, Pablo Ruiz Picasso plays a starring role. His signature is on 23 of the works which demonstrate his versatility, from sketches on loan from the Malaga birth-house foundation to paintings such as 'Bathers Watching a Plane' from the Paris museum. In the centre of the room is the sculpture by Artistide Maillol, named simply 'Mediterranean', a sea of inspiration for centuries of artists. The Guardia Civil deployed a team of over 30 men to Coin after a mass brawl broke out Thursday afternoon between two gypsy families in the neighbourhood of Fuensanta. Two men from one clan, who are known as "Los Mudos", aged 63 and 50, were killed, while two men, both from separate clans, remain in hospital suffering from knife wounds. Three men were arrested on Friday in connection with the incident. According to locals, the families have a history of conflicts with one another. The brawl has left four cars and one house in the area damaged and several rubbish bins were set on fire. Witnesses saw the use of knives and bats, with some claiming to have seen guns, although these were not used. The police were deployed last night to prevent further fights from breaking out. The agents raided the home of one of the families, which was practically destroyed, and decided to put the families of the men involved under police protection. Residents of Coin described Thursday's events as a "horror", while the families of the fighters said they do not understand what happened. It is believed that it was not the families' intentions for the fight to be so violent and fatal. "The fight was meant to be trivial, one of the 'muos' [member of 'Los Mudos'] was out of line and began insulting people. He insulted one of the kids and they killed him. Things got heated, there was lots of pain and rage," said the local pastor, Bernabe Hernandez. The Qatar Airways flight that will unite Malaga with the capital of Qatar, Doha, will begin to operate from 4 June of this year. It will run four times per week, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, according to travel agencies who have already processed bookings. At the ITB travel fair last week in Berlin, the Qatari airline announced its plans to include the expansion of its services to 16 new destinations during the 2018-2019 holiday season. The President of the Association of Andalusian Travel Agencies (Aedav), Sergio Garcia, confirmed that the first flight was almost fully booked, including its most exclusive class. Friends of mine who live in Qatar have told me that this new connection is very much welcomed there and that this summer the Costa is set to have a huge tourism boost thanks to visiting Arabs. These types of connections are always good news, Garcia said. The seven-hour flight will leave Malaga at 9.15am and will arrive at Doha at 5.15pm local time. The return flight will leave the Qatari capital at 1.20am and arrive back at 8.05am. Initially it will operate until 30 September. The organisation Aula del Mar has warned that the Portuguese Man o' War, a rare jellyfish species whose sting is very painful, has reached the Costa del Sol. Examples have been spotted off La Malagueta beach and along the coast of Marbella, as well as in Cadiz and Huelva. Members of the public are advised not to touch them even if they seem dead; they are very poisonous and give very severe stings, said the organisation. This isn't the first time that this species of jellyfish has been sighted off the Costa del Sol. When they do arrive, it is normally around this time of year. Malaga Airport is going from strength to strength, with 16.1 million seats on sale for this year's high season - 600,000 more than during the same period last year. The Costa del Sol also now has connections to 136 airports around the world without layovers and 4.7 per cent increase in flights landing in Malaga in recent months. Given current projections, the airport hopes to operate 94,000 arrivals and departures during the period. The importance of Malaga Airport is clear not just from the increase in the number of flights but also the increase in new routes and destinations. Qatar Airways has announced a new route linking Malaga with Doha, and the Hungarian airline Wizz Air is due to open new routes to Sofia (Bulgaria) and Katowice (Poland). Flights to European destinations will be the most common during the period, especially to the UK, and specifically London. When David Davis appeared at a press conference in Brussels on Monday, to announce that a Brexit transition deal had been agreed, there was a general acceptance that significant progress had been made. However, Bremain in Spain, a group campaigning for the UK to remain in the E U, claims that British prime minister, Theresa May, has simply boxed herself into a corner. Sue Wilson, Chair of Bremain in Spain, said: The news that nothing will change for those exercising their EU citizenship rights during transition was welcome but there was little else to smile about. Davis implied that all citizens' rights issues were settled. However, the same important issues are outstanding now that were outstanding back in December. Nothing has changed, including the level of insecurity we all feel. On a visit to the Costa del Sol this week, Simon Manley, the British Ambassador to Spain, promised that the government's priority throughout the Brexit negotiations has been, and always will be, the citizens. He also gave his assurance that rights will be maintained throughout the transition period. He claimed that the government had listened to the concerns that have been raised and said that it was those issues which have formed the way in which it has handled the negotiations. The ambassador and regional consul, Charmaine Arbouin, hosted two talks about Brexit on the Costa del Sol on Thursday. The talks are part of the efforts made by the British Embassy and Consulates in Spain to ensure that the concerns residents raised around subjects like residency rights, healthcare and pensions are understood by the UK negotiating team and reflected in their discussions with their EU partners. It's called a transition period because it is taking us from our status as a member state of the EU to a future relationship We reached an agreement that effectively protects the rights of British expats already living here in Spain The meeting, which was held in the Avanto Restaurant in La Cala de Mijas, was chaired by Anne Hernandez, President of Brexpats in Spain, the Mijas-based platform that offers advice and information about the effects of the forthcoming Brexit. The British Ambassador began by thanking Brexpats, in particular for the manner with which they have worked with the embassy from day one, which he said had been genuinely collaborative, transparent and honest. Referring to David Davis and Michel Barnier's press conference in Brussels on Monday, which announced that a Brexit transition deal had been agreed, he claimed that this was a major step forward and significant progress had been made. Back in December, we came to the first big agreement on the terms of our departure from the EU. This was an agreement that, amongst other things, covered the issue of citizens' rights: we reached an agreement that effectively protects the rights of British expats already living here in Spain and Spanish residents in the UK, he said. The ambassador pointed out that once this is turned into a draft legal treaty, it will be the legal basis for continuity of expats rights as residents here in Spain, just as it will be for Spaniards living in the UK. He claimed the government has been working tirelessly on what the British prime minister calls the implementation period, or the transition period, the period that will start when the UK leaves the EU next march and continues until December 2020. It's called a transition period because it is taking us from our status as a member state of the EU to a future relationship with them. That period, to put it very simply, will be a period in which the rules of the EU will continue to be observed in full, he concluded. The second meeting was held in Manilva on Thursday evening, when a panel of experts was set up to answer questions from residents. A new chapter was being written in the ongoing saga of Catalan politics this week with the expected failed attempt to invest a new regional presidential candidate ahead of his possible arrest. Following the resignation of imprisoned Jordi Sanchez as regional MP and candidate to run the regional government, who in turn was only a candidate as preferred option Carles Puigdemont is in self-imposed exile in Belgium to avoid arrest, the Catalan speaker had been considering the name of Jordi Turull as possible candidate as new regional head. Turull is a conservative Catalan separatist, seen as linked to past corruption scandals. He is also being investigated by the Supreme Court in Madrid for his role in last October's declaration of independence but has not been held in jail. On Wednesday the Supreme Court announced that it was summoning Turull and others for today (Friday), raising the spectre that he might be held. This possibility forced the Catalan parliament's speaker to hastily bring forward an investiture debate to Thursday in his belief that if Turull were president he was less likely to be jailed. However the four MPs of radical left-wing CUP, needed to get the vote through, decided last minute not to vote for Turull in the first round, saying his agenda wasn't republican enough for them. Holding the debate means the clock is now ticking on new elections in two months if no president is elected. Turull could have still been voted in in a second round if he were not arrested first and if two CUP regional MPs changed their mind. Spain is throwing its toys out of the pram about Gibraltar again. This Monday, a deal between the EU and the UK concerning the terms of a 21-month transition period was almost agreed upon. But at the time of writing (Thursday morning) the deal has not been finalised because Spain wants assurance that its veto over Gibraltar - made explicit in negotiating guidelines published last April - still stands during the handover period. As I write, EU bosses are therefore busy trying to coax Mariano Rajoy into signing the proposed deal ahead of an EU summit this Friday. Twenty-one months? It seems we're in for almost another two years of fumbling negotiations in which neither side quite knows what they want or what to do. Prepare yourself for yet more pictures of Theresa May and David Davis staring blankly at Michel Barnier and Donald Tusk across meeting tables laden with untouched croissants and orange juice. In a way, it's surprising that Spain needs yet more assurance over Gibraltar. The document awaiting sign-off says that the EU's previous negotiating guidelines, in which Spain was given an explicit veto over the British territory, should be fully respected during the transition period. Notably as regards Gibraltar, it adds for good measure. In other words - no? - Spain still possesses its cherished veto. But as one of the 27 remaining EU member states, Spain already has a say in the terms of any Brexit deal or any transition deal between the EU and the UK. Indeed, the delay in the final sign-off of the terms proposed on Monday is proof of that: if Spain doesn't give its approval, then there is no deal. And that automatically means, of course, that there is no deal concerning Gibraltar, either. David Davis, the UK Brexit secretary, announced this week that he was sure Monday's proposed deal does cover Gibraltar. Naturally, Davis would assume this. As far as the UK is concerned, Gibraltar has been fully British since the Treaty of Utrecht was signed in 1713. Theresa May's government has repeatedly made it clear (I'm paraphrasing) that Gibraltar is as British as Swindon, but with nicer weather. Spain, of course, disputes this, saying that the Treaty of Utrecht did not mention the isthmus - the strip of land that connects Gibraltar with Spain. The latest hiccup can be resolved with the help of the highlight function in Word. Passages in the transition document come in three colours: green, signifying that they've been agreed upon by both the EU and the UK; yellow, meaning that only clarifications are needed; and white, denoting aspects that are awaiting agreement from either or both sides. Currently, the bit about Gibraltar is in white. Hopefully, by the time you read this, it'll be in green, signifying the end of an entirely unnecessary delay. Syracuse, NY -- A Camillus woman turned over a check for $27,609.52 today, making full repayment to the Solvay Elementary Parent Teacher Organization for money she stole over four years. Marie Carlisle, 35, will report to jail tonight to begin her sentence of 16 weekends in jail. She'll also spend five years on probation. Carlisle will be left with a felony on her record: grand larceny. Carlisle was a "trusted friend" of Solvay Elementary parents, who committed an "utter betrayal of that trust," prosecutor Jeffrey Albert said today. Despite Carlisle repaying all the money, the fact she stole from school children warranted the short jail term, Albert said. Carlisle's lawyer, Ben Coffin, handed over the Key Bank check to Albert today, declining further remarks in court. Carlisle also declined comment when asked by the judge. County Court Judge Matthew Doran said the case showed the impact one person's choices can have on so many others. Carlisle stole the money from January 2012 to November 2016, authorities said. A howling good time Author Erin Kelly published the first book in the Tainted Moonlight series in the fall of 2016, introducing readers to an alternate universe where our own Central and Upstate New York is now populated with werewolves and vampires in the aftermath of a supernatural virus. Last month Kelly published the second book in the series, "Captured Moonlight," revisiting the complicated new world that Korban Diego and Sophie Bane must navigate. Kelly planned for Korban and Sophie's story to be a trilogy from the get go, wanting to explore all the possibilities of what it looks like when monsters become real and what it's like to retain a sense of self and even humanity when you become one of those monsters. "The first book, without giving spoilers, is mostly Korban's journey to accept that as a werewolf he can't go back to his life before he was bitten, and he has to come to terms with his new normal. So the heart of the first book is really his personal journey of acceptance. In the second book, Korban continues to learn more about himself and what it means to be a werewolf in this world, and through his acceptance of himself he becomes a stronger man and a wolf. Sophie, who is also a main protagonist in my story, also comes more into her own and discovers that she has more strength than she realizes through her personal journey. Their mutual journeys through Captured Moonlight teach them both invaluable lessons that will continue with them through the rest of the series," Kelly says. For readers who have been impatient waiting for the second book, Kelly hopes to deliver the third and final book of the trilogy later this summer. But the story doesn't end there, Kelly intends to expand the story within the universe she has created, saying, " I have a lot more planned as this series progresses and I look forward to seeing just where these characters lead me to next." "Captured Moonlight" is available through Amazon and you can learn more about Kelly and keep up to date with her local events by visiting her website. Kelly will be one of the authors included in the Spring Local Author Meet and Greet at the Liverpool Public Library on April 8. For a full line up for that event, visit the Library's events calendar. Another side of the story Syracuse University Press published a new book this month offers readers a new point of view of the well-known story of the Oneida Community- a subject about which many books have been published over the past few years alone. Michael Doyle tells the story of Presbyterian minister John W. Mears and his crusade against everything that was sinful, but especially against the local "radical Christian commune." In the prologue of Doyle's book the author explains why attention is owed to the other side of the sometimes salacious story: "His career is illustrative, a case study in zeal. While much has been written of John Humphrey Noyes and the Oneida Community, Mears in particular and other opponents in general have received scant attention. They deserve more, for they are a lively lot, from high-minded clergyman and philosophy professors to scandal-seeking journalists and downright fabulists. Fascinating in their own right they provide, as well, distinctive view of Noyes and Oneida, conveyed often through the sermons, essays, and newspaper accounts of their time." Doyle points out that in his own way, Mears was every bit the dedicated idealist that Noyes was, but in direct opposition of what those ideals were. "The Minister's War" is about exploring this period of time through the context of the era, instead of the way that Doyle knows it can be perceived now. "History may now cast Mears as an unsympathetic prude, and the Oneida Community as a cracked but poignant grasp for Eden..." Doyle says in one part of the book, but the author believes that there is more to the story, and more to Mears. "The Minister's War" is available for purchase through the Syracuse University Press website as well through Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Book events The Liverpool Public Library and the Beauchamp Branch Library will be hosting "Human Library" sessions. The Human Library organization has become a global phenomenon that is interested in creating social change, stating, "The Human Library is designed to build a positive framework for conversations that can challenge stereotypes and prejudices through dialogue. The Human Library is a place where real people are on loan to readers. A place where difficult questions are expected, appreciated and answered." The Liverpool Public Library will be hosting seven community members who will share their expertise in individual or small groups. The sessions are: "Becoming a Global Volunteer," "Using Rock Bottom as a Launchpad to Greatness," "Everything You Ever Wondered About Hypnosis But Didn't Know Who to Ask," "The Cure Is In the Kitchen," "UFOs: Greeting Out of Town Visitors," "How Yoga and Meditation Saved My Life," and "Empowerment Through Triathlon." The sessions will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, April 9. The event is free but readers are encouraged to reserve a time slot through the events calendar. The Beauchamp Library will be hosting the following sesions:"OG's Against Violence," "From Rookie to Seasoned Officer," "Defying All Odds," "The Citizen Rising," "Syracuse Fashion Model and Teacher," "Fighting Fires: Women Can Too!," "A Labor of LOVE," "Passion for Acting," "Giving Back," and "Total Fitness...Mind, Body and Soul." The sessions will be held from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, April 14. This event is also free and encourages readers to register in advance. Have a book to share? Are you a local author or have you come across a book set in Central New York? Tell us about it. Send a brief description of the book and the author and we'll add it as a candidate for coverage. Write us at features@syracuse.com. Jaclyn Schildkraut's two-inch tattoo is holding on to 49 lives. On her wrist, a rainbow heart with the number 49 is connected to a pulse line. Underneath is the date 6-12-16 -- the day of the Orlando mass shooting at Pulse nightclub. "Whenever I'm in a struggle, I look down at my arm and remember they're the reason why I go so hard," Schildkraut said. "Their pulse is on my pulse." This tattoo isn't just symbolic of the lives lost during the Orlando shooting; It symbolizes the work Schildkraut has done for the past 10 years, and hopes to do until the day she dies. Jaclyn Schildkraut is a SUNY Oswego professor in the Public Justice Department. She is also a national expert on mass shooting research. Schildkraut is a SUNY Oswego professor in the Public Justice Department and a national expert on mass shooting research. Four years ago, she received her Ph.D in Criminal Justice from Texas State University. Her dissertation focused on the media's portrayal of mass shootings post Columbine, and she's written 16 other peer-reviewed journals and two books. Schildkraut has been featured in dozens of news outlets -- national and international -- shedding light on campaigns, legislation and system failures. For the last decade, she's been linked to four national shootings, and has absorbed everything there is to know about these crimes. There have been 68 mass shootings so far in 2018, according to the Mass Shooting Tracker. But mass shootings are hard to define. How many people have to be killed? How many have to be injured? What's the difference between a mass shooting and a mass murder? It's hard to communicate this data and that's where Schildkraut comes in. Her job forces her to be surrounded by numbers: Seventeen is the number of people killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Fifty-eight is the number of lives lost in Las Vegas, and the 49 lives lost at the Pulse shooting stares back at her every day from her wrist tattoo. And after every shooting, numbers only get more complicated. Schildkraut says defining these numbers is the easiest part of her job. After a shooting, her phone lights up for hours with press requests. Radio interviews, phone interviews, international interviews. She always says yes to a media request because she's itching to get her word out to as many people as possible. Reporters want her insight to explain what many can't understand. Schildkraut spews out the numbers like it's her phone number. The hard part of her job is being a human. When the cameras go down and the phone stops ringing, reality sets in. Her body finally comes to a halt as her mind dives deep into the lives of each victim. She shuts down for the night and does what anyone else would do: cry. "My main goal is to make sure these victims don't become just a number," she said. "I'm always thinking of their stories because I want to keep that part alive." Jaclyn Schildkraut got a small tattoo on her wrist after the Orlando mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in 2016. Every night, she posts a tribute to a mass shooting victim on her Facebook page. She's working on a piece for the Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, where she'll tell the stories of 35 survivors from Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Las Vegas, and other shootings. Schildkraut is also working with Gov. Andrew Cuomo on his gun violence initiative, which aims to advance the background check system, trace guns, and conduct studies to inform policy makers. Her job covers the heavy research. She's written a book that answers the most-asked questions by reporters and reveals common myths about mass shootings. She's written an article on how media narratives may confuse the public. She then takes what she's studied and turns it into curriculum to teach more than 200 college students in her classes that range from Organized Crime to The Death Penalty. Her passion is palpable and her voice is always stern. But just by looking at her, you may not understand the side effects that come with her job. "There's only so much any one person can take," she said. "I've ended up with secondary trauma and PTSD. I have a lot of the same sensitivities survivors have. When a balloon pops, it freaks me out." Schildkraut's fears also stem from guilt. "Sometimes I feel like if I did more, it would all stop," she said. "If I had that answer I wouldn't be teaching at Oswego, I'd be out there with my cape stopping these shootings." Schildkraut says she still understands her purpose. She stays grounded in research free of political clout and doesn't take a stance on gun control rights. It's a "no end battle," and her job is simple: gather data and share data so people can use it to inform their opinions. And then at night, she will allow herself to feel again -- until she has to take the next call. "I will continue this work until the day I die," she said while looking at her tattoo. "The minute I'm silent is the minute these victims are forgotten and they just become notches in the mass shooting bedpost." Save Save Save Save Save Every year during the month of March, white ribbons and wristbands appear all over the city of Syracuse. They are part of Vera House's 24th annual White Ribbon Campaign, a movement to raise awareness about domestic and sexual violence. On Friday, several hundred survivors and supporters came together in downtown Syracuse for the White Ribbon Campaign Walk, which began in Clinton Square, moved through the Armory Square district and ended at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown where refreshments were served to the crowd. While the crowd marched down the street clad in white ribbons, onlookers waved out of business windows. Participants took turns wrapping ribbons around the trees and lampposts that lined the street. One woman tied her ribbon around a smiling Syracuse Police officer to the cheering of a few people walking near them. A handful of participants carried signs which included phrases like, "Stand With Vera House" and chanted, "Say no, bring peace." A group of six men leading the walk carried a poster with the slogan, "No excuse for abuse." They were followed by a group of about 20 smiling and laughing boys, carrying signs representing the Syracuse City School District. "I think it's a great statement because it's a campaign that's supposed to be organized and run by men," said Vera House board member John Huhtala. "What a great example of a local leader for youth, for other men in the area." There were 356 contributors to the walk's fundraising campaign, which has raised $19,200 with less than one day left to give. All of the money raised towards the $20,000 goal will be put in the general expenses fund, Huhtala said. "I love it. I love just being able to bring awareness and get more people involved to advocate and step up for visibility. It's very important," said Amber Eagan, a counselor at Syracuse Behavioral Healthcare. The White Ribbon Campaign was founded in Canada in 1991 after the University of Montreal massacre of 14 female students by one of their male peers. The awareness campaign about violence against women was founded by men, who encouraged others men and boys to pin on a white ribbon as a personal acknowledgement of the important role men need to play in the efforts to end violence against women. The campaign has spread to over 60 countries. Gail Mallore, a social worker at West Genesee High School, brought a group of students to the walk who raised $400 for Vera House by selling shirts, pins and bracelets. "We have a group of students that feel strongly to raise awareness," Mallore said. Max Boot, a Post columnist, is the Jeane J. Kirkpatrick senior fellow for national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is the author of "The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam." Follow @MaxBoot By Max Boot | The Washington Post Most presidents initially stock their administrations with cronies and ideological purists. Then, after suffering inevitable setbacks, they usher them out in favor of less ideological and more competent professionals. President Donald Trump is doing it in reverse. He is jettisoning anyone who could serve as a break on his extremist tendencies, and replacing them with fire-breathing TV personalities. National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn resigned in protest over Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum; now Trump is adding tariffs on China as well. Cohn is being replaced by former CNBC anchor Lawrence Kudlow. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was fired, in no small part, because he disagreed with the president's desire to destroy the Iran nuclear deal. He is being replaced by CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who twisted his own agency's findings to claim that Russian interference had no impact on the 2016 election. Now Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, one of the military's brightest strategic thinkers, is out as national security adviser. He is being replaced by John Bolton, a Fox TV talking head who is likely to reinforce, rather than rein in, Trump's worst instincts. Admittedly, there was only so much that even McMaster could do. Despite a briefing paper warning Trump "DO NOT CONGRATULATE" Russian leader Vladimir Putin on his rigged election, the president did just that. And despite McMaster's admission that evidence of Russian election interference was "incontrovertible," Trump still appears to doubt it. But McMaster did help convince Trump, against his initial instincts, to endorse NATO's Article 5 mutual-defense provision, to maintain the Iran nuclear deal and to avoid turning over the Afghanistan mission to Erik Prince's mercenaries. Trump obviously nursed a grudge that McMaster didn't let him be as unilateralist as he wants to be, even while McMaster was criticized by old friends for becoming too much of an enabler for Trump. It will probably be years until we learn how much nuttiness McMaster stopped before it saw the light of day. Enter Bolton, who has a well-earned reputation as a wild man. His antipathy toward international treaties and organizations is legendary, and goes well beyond that of ordinary conservatives. He couldn't win confirmation as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the George W. Bush administration -- even from a Republican-controlled Senate. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee heard copious testimony that, as undersecretary of state, Bolton browbeat intelligence analysts into cooking up evidence that Cuba had a biological warfare program and that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction. A senior State Department official and fellow Republican testified that Bolton was a "bully" who was "a quintessential kiss-up, kick-down kind of guy." When he finally went to the U.N. with a recess appointment, Bolton became notorious for making enemies and not influencing other countries. The job of the national security adviser is to coordinate all of the defense and foreign-policy agencies and to get them to work smoothly together. This requires the kind of interpersonal skills that Bolton singularly lacks. The national security system is chaotic enough under Trump; look for it to get worse without McMaster's attempts to impose some discipline. What Bolton lacks in management skills, he more than makes up for with his ideological extremism. A month ago he wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal making the case for a first strike against North Korea: "Pre-emption opponents argue that action is not justified because Pyongyang does not constitute an 'imminent threat.' They are wrong." At least with Bolton on the job, there is less chance of Trump selling out South Korea in one-sided deal with Kim Jong Un. But the chances of failed talks leading the administration to launch a "bloody-nose" strike have gone way up -- and such a strike, in turn, could easily escalate into an all-out war against a nuclear-armed state. North Korea isn't the only country Bolton is eager to fight. He has long been agitating airstrikes against Iran. In January, he wrote another op-ed for the Journal advocating that Trump tear up the nuclear deal without even attempting to renegotiate it: "No fix will remedy the diplomatic Waterloo Mr. Obama negotiated," he wrote. Yet it is not clear how, in the absence of an international agreement, the United States can rein in Iran's nuclear program without risking a war. The imposition of unilateral U.S. sanctions will not apply significant pressure on Tehran, and, as Bolton conceded, there is little chance the Europeans, Russians or Chinese will impose harsher sanctions of their own. That raises the real risk that, before long, the United States could become embroiled in a two-front war against both Iran and North Korea. The only sanity-check remaining in the administration appears to be Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. He has done heroic labor in the administration's first year. But can even Mattis restrain Trump now that the president is surrounding himself with fellow zealots? Climate change may mean more spring snowstorms (Commentary) Christopher D. Travis is a plant scientist, author and activist. Among other things, he is a board member of the Community Folk Art Center. He and his family live in Syracuse. He is a contributing columnist for syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Contact him at chrisdtravis@outlook.com. Spring is here, and with it, snowflakes fill my yard. These small, white flowers, members of the lily family, erupt from small bulbs and decorate our region with delicate, pendulous, bell-like flowers. Of course, right now these sleeping perennials still lie dormant under the snowpack, but keep your eyes peeled, the Snowflake, Leucojum spp., is waiting to push upward through the snow and herald the arrival of spring. The cardinal is back, too. Don't know where he went all winter but Cardinalis cardinalis has returned to out-perform my alarm clock with his twe-twe-twe-twe before the sun crests the horizon. The chickadees, Poecile atricapillus, are back, too. They didn't go far; they were frolicking in my neighbor's yew bush all winter, but they are much livelier these days, filling my window at 6 a.m. with their chick-a-dee-dee-dee. The emergence of new growth, the rebirth of a dormant environment offers a time for hope, a time to slough off the old and appreciate this time of renewal. Much in the way Easter eggs symbolize rebirth, mother nature, in all her splendor, reminds us how intrinsic death, regeneration and renewal is for life on our planet. In the same way the blossoming snowflake pushes through frozen soil and dirty, forgotten snowbanks, a generation of student activists are beginning to push through as a force in our national polity. This blossoming is a renewal of student activism, a new generation of Americans are ready to lend their voices to the conversation, ready to push against an intractable NRA. The student activism evidenced across this country presages a time of change as the fresh and new overtake the old and senescent. Young people across the country are tired of inaction and give us reason to hope for a better future. The Parkland students and their cohort represent the springtime of change in our national dialogue and a blossoming of civic engagement our nation needs. If we are to move forward as a democratic republic, the type of civic engagement exercised by these students will result in a robust and responsive political system. After the snowflakes, and in rapid succession, the beauty of the crocus, the forsythia, the cherry, the magnolia, the lilac and the crabapple soon add their colors to spring. Central New York winters are months of short days and long nights, great for reading books and binge-watching movies, but the call of nature resonates in each of us as buds break and flowers blossom. At long last, our hibernation is over. Just as the slate-gray skies of fall are conducive to romantic melancholy, reflection on what came before, and long walks in the woods amid the scent of decaying leaves, spring blossoms and the return of vibrant colors evoke hopes and dreams for the new year. Change is beautiful, change is messy, and change is not easy. The snowflake, the crocus, the forsythia and their vibrant colors welcome us to spring and lift our spirits. But let us remember spring in Central New York is also mud season -- at least, that's what I call it. You know what I mean: Every trip to the backyard includes several pounds of mud caked to your boots, and mom telling the kids to leave their shoes outside. As exciting as spring is after the long, cold winter, it also promises to be messy. Just as mud cakes everything, so those pushing for change must revel in the beauty of change, recognize mud is everywhere, and they are going to get dirty. The springtime juxtaposition of flower blossom with mud and dirt reminds us: We cannot have one without the other. The Great America depicted on a Norman Rockwell calendar, the same I assume conservatives refer to with their battle cry of "Make America Great Again," was not an America of hardened schools. It was not an America with armed guards in our schools. It was not an America with a school-to-prison pipeline. It was not an America with metal detectors in our schools. In that Great Conservative America of yesteryear, though some seem to have forgotten, duck and cover drills were commonplace, segregation was de facto, and teachers smoked in class. Thank goodness for winter, thank goodness for death and decay, both literal and figurative. Only after the long winter can spring arrive to replace the old with new growth, and the seemingly dead landscape bursts into bloom and changes everything. Take inspiration from the high school students currently driving the debate over gun control and look forward to the blossoming of a new generation of engaged Americans. Happy spring, keep your eyes peeled for snowflake blossoms and make sure you have a good pair of boots. WASHINGTON -- The $1.3 trillion budget bill passed by Congress includes more than $100 million that will be spent in Central New York on items as varied as drones, radars and and buses, according to U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer. The 2,232-page bill, passed by the House on Thursday and by the Senate shortly after midnight Friday, funds the federal government through Sept. 30 and boosts domestic ($52 billion) and military ($66 billion) spending over last year. The budget includes $73 million that will be spent at Lockheed Martin's plant in Salina to pay for the manufacturing of radars for the Army and Marine Corps, Schumer said. The plant at Electronics Park employs about 1,600 people. The Marine Corps will acquire additional AN/TPS-59 radars, a long-range, three-dimensional surveillance radar system. The Army will acquire additional AN/TPQ-53 radars, which can track, detect and identify the source of incoming enemy fire. The military budget also includes $6.8 million to help expand drone training operations at the New York Air National Guard base at Hancock Field in Mattydale, said Schumer, D-N.Y., the Senate Democratic leader who helped negotiate the final budget deal. The money will pay for construction of a new flight training facility for the 174th Attack Wing, which remotely operate MQ-9 Reaper drones out of Hancock Field. On the domestic spending side of the budget, New York will receive an additional $85 million in federal highway funding (on top of $461 million) including an additional $900,000 for projects in the Syracuse area, Schumer said. The state will determine how the money is spent. New York transit agencies will receive an additional $7 million in the budget. About $200,000 will aid Centro, the regional bus company in Central New York, according to Schumer's office. The bill makes $400 million in aid available for discretionary spending on new buses and bus facilities. The money will be awarded through competitive grants. The spending bill also includes $132 million to pay for the second phase of a project to rebuild the Alexandria Bay Port of Entry at the Thousand Islands Bridge along the U.S.-Canadian border. U.S. Rep. John Katko, R-Camillus, who voted to pass the bill in the House, said the measure sets aside money for other federal programs that will ultimately have an impact in Central New York. The budget includes $12.4 million to the U.S. Geological Survey to study harmful algal blooms in lakes nationwide. Katko, eager to address the problem in New York's Finger Lakes, asked for the funding to be increased $1.35 million over last year. Three separate pieces of legislation authored by Katko were ultimately included in the final spending bill. Those bills will: Allow mental health counselors, and marriage and family therapists to be included in Medicare's network of eligible service providers. Until now, Medicare would not allow those providers to bill for their services. Katko said the change will enhance patient access to mental health services. Reauthorize the Direct the Federal Aviation Administration to continue operating a test program for remote air traffic control towers. Contact Mark Weiner anytime: Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751 Washington -- A senator's rivalry with a dead former governor threatened to derail the $1.3 trillion government funding bill that passed the Senate overnight. The trouble began Thursday afternoon when Idaho Sen. James Risch, a Republican, demanded removal of a provision in the bill renaming the White Clouds Wilderness preserve in Idaho. The preserve was set to be renamed in honor of Cecil D. Andrus, a four-term Democratic governor of the state and interior secretary under President Jimmy Carter. Andrus died last year, according to The Washington Post. Risch declined to discuss his objections with reporters, but could be seen in animated and tense talks with Republican leaders in the hours leading up to a vote on the bill. It was unclear exactly what prompted such a strong reaction against the move from Risch, according to CNN. He and Andrus apparently clashed over education funding in the 1980s when Risch served in Idaho's legislature. "Risch is one of the most partisan people I've ever had to deal with," Andrus told The Spokesman-Review newspaper in 2008. "During his time in the legislative leadership, cooperation across the aisle and with the governor's office reached a new low." The renaming provision was not removed and Risch ended up voting against the spending bill, the Post said. Several of Risch's colleagues criticized his attempts to hold up the vote. Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri compared it to a 'Saturday Night Live' sketch. Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee called the episode ridiculous and juvenile. Although the spending bill passed the House and Senate, President Donald Trump tweeted this morning that he was considering a veto over immigration issues the legislation did not address. Trump said he wanted more border wall funding and a deal on protections for undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children. Trump later signed the bill. Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Google + | 315-454-2112 Much has been written about possible Russian meddling in the 2016 Presidential election. Outright election meddling occurred during the Italy's First Republican Parliament elections held on April 18, 1948. This ominous cartoon, entitled "The Menacing Paw," ran in the April 2, 1948 edition of the Post-Standard. Americans worried that a Communist victory in the upcoming Italian elections meant the country would fall under the influence of the Soviet Union. Following a communist coup in Czechoslovakia in February, the United States became alarmed that Italy could possibly fall under the influence of the Soviet Union if the socialists won on election day. With the Cold War heating up, both the United States and the Soviet Union sent bags of money to the Italian political party they favored. (By its own admission, the CIA gave $1 million to Italy's "center parties.") American agencies funded the publishing of books, made numerous short-wave radio broadcasts and wrote millions of letters to help influence the election. In Syracuse, the large Italian-American community was very active in urging relatives still in Italy to vote against communism. On March 20, 1948, at the Lincoln Republican Club, Onondaga County Republican chairman Charles McNett made a community-wide appeal to begin a "concentrated letter-writing campaign" to Italian voters, just before the election. McNett urged local citizens to tell the Italian people what democracy meant to them and encourage them to vote against communism. "All persons having friends or relatives in Italy, including servicemen who made acquaintances in Italy while serving with the armed forces during the war, should join in extending hope and courage to the Italian people," McNett said. "We must tell them that the moral force of democracy is behind them and that they cannot afford to lose Italy's traditions and institutions of liberty and religion in the whirlpool of communism." He set a goal of 25,000 letters to be sent from Onondaga County to Italy by April 4 and even recorded a record at the WOLF radio studios to be played in Italy during the "Voice of America" program. The local Lincoln Republican Club planned to spend $110 to have its letter run in newspapers in Rome, Milan, Turin and Genoa. Three leaders of local Italian-American groups record a disc to be played in Italy during the "Voice of America" program. It was recorded at the WOLF studios. Onondaga County GOP chairman Charles McNett stands in the back. The group's message was hard to miss: "The communists are the deniers of God, family and country. They are seeders of hatred, implacable enemies of Italy. They aim to dismember her and bring her in chains to despotic and imperialistic Russia, which is preparing another catastrophic conflagration." Although the campaign did not come anywhere near meeting their goal of 25,000 letters (6,250 letters were sent to Italy from the Syracuse-area), there was still a great deal of enthusiasm. Helyn Mollica, of James Street, began a one-person campaign to save an entire Italian village, Gattaia, she read about in the "Saturday Evening Post." She read that the village suffered from a lack of food, clothing and shelter and these deprivations seemed to be driving its residents towards voting communist. She wrote a letter to a tenant farmer mentioned in the story and she asked him to have faith in America and democracy. She asked that she spread the message throughout the village. After he responded with a letter of his own about the starvation his neighbors faced, Mollica mailed food and clothing to the village. When asked if her efforts would work, she replied: "Certainly its worth a try. We Americans must do everything in our power to convince Italians turning in desperation to communism that actually there is no need for them to do this." Court attendant Frank Martin, of Hawley Ave., had 200 relatives in Italy. He would mail hundreds of letters and was told by his sister, in the city of Catanzaro, that they were having the desired effect. She said she took a letter of his to an electrical factory and read it to the several hundred employees, all of who promised to vote against communism. (She reported that only "students and illiterate peasants were falling for the communist propaganda.") Mrs. Nicholas Pirro, wife of the county treasurer, made arrangements to have Italian "war brides" prepare scripts and make recordings that would be played on Italian radio stations and in homes. When Syracuse began to slack in its efforts, the village of Solvay began their own efforts. Its campaign was extremely well-organized. For those who did not have the time to write a personal letter, an Italian-American committee produced a form letter that just had to be signed. Italian communists blasted the intrusion and called the letters "blackmail from America," written by Italian-American workers being forced to do so. A group of Syracuse "Italian war bribes" aid in the campaign. They transcribed and read scripts to be played on Italian radio stations and in homes on record players. In Syracuse, a communist handbill was distributed on the North Side asked Syracusans to ignore the letter-writing appeal. It said the aim was to make Italy an American colony. McNett used the handbill to try to rally more support for his campaign and warned that "communism had reared its ugly head in Syracuse." On Sunday, April 18, 1948, election day in Italy, the Herald American ran an interview it conducted with an Italian businessman, Curzio Razzetto, in Syracuse for two weeks on business. He was certain that the communists were probably only going to get 30 percent of the vote and were more than likely headed to defeat. When asked how the "Syracuse correspondence campaign" was received in Italy, Razzetto said it was very effective and "played a major part in changing the situation." It was reported that on that day "Syracuse's Italian-American population hugged their radios intent on reports on a crucial election in their native land." The Christian Democracy party won a sweeping victory and an absolute majority in both chambers of the Italian Parliament. The socialists managed just 31 percent of the vote. In the end, the pro-democracy side won easily, so its difficult to say if the letter-writing campaign made any difference. An Italian visitor in Syracuse joked that Americans were more afraid about the outcome of the election than the Italians were. For the leaders of the groups that started the campaign, though, they were sure they had made an impact. After victory had been ensured, leaders of the campaign planned to celebrate with a dinner or maybe a dance. Bishop Walter Foery wrote a letter of thanks to all the groups who worked on it. "The thousands of letters that were written by our Italian-Americans to their friends in Italy made a definite contribution to the victory that was achieved." This feature is a part of CNY Nostalgia, a section on syracuse.com. Send your ideas and curiosities to Johnathan Croyle: Email | 315-427-3958. Redistricting proposal places Tama County outside Rep. Hinsons district New maps could lead to a remaking of the political landscape in Iowa Tama County included. What is now a quadrant of four U.S. ... ABB wins North Sea shuttle tanker contracts ABB has been awarded a contract by Samsung Heavy Industries to install equipment on two new North Sea shuttle tankers. The two DP2 offshore loading shuttle tankers will feature a range of ABBs power and automation solutions, including the patented power distribution system Onboard DC Grid, the company said. This power system is highly configurable and especially well suited to the integration of variable speed generators, energy storage and new energy sources, such as fuel cells, ABB claimed. The two twin-skeg 125,000 dwt vessels were ordered by AET for a Statoil (tbn - Equinor) charter to operate from Norwegian and UK continental shelf fields to land-based terminals upon their delivery in 2019. These state-of-the art tankers will have a service life of up to 30 years, operating in the harsh winter conditions of the North Sea. They need to be robust, competitive, capable of meeting anticipated environmental regulations and prepared for new energy sources. With ABBs solutions on board, these tankers will be future-proofed for technology and regulations for the years to come, said Juha Koskela, ABB Marine & Ports managing director. A shuttle tanker of similar tonnage would normally use 8,000-9,000 tonnes of fuel a year, while ABBs solution can contribute to annual fuel savings of up to 1,000 tonnes, the company said. The vessels will also be fitted with the patented ABB Ability marine remote diagnostic system. This system will allow reduce service engineer visits by up to 70%, and save maintenance costs by up to 50%, while increasing safety and reliability through extended and predictive monitoring. The power system on board will be controlled by ABBs integrated power and energy management system (PEMS), which will enable generators to run at variable speeds in the optimal way. This contrasts with traditional AC systems, where generators run at fixed maximum speed irrespective of the power demand on board, leading to excessive engine wear and poor fuel efficiency at lower loads. Together with PEMS, ABBs integrated control and monitoring system will enable the crew to operate the vessels while steaming and in DP operations, at the lowest possible specific fuel consumption. The tankers main and auxiliary engines will have a dual-fuel option, which will allow them to operate on LNG, as well as traditional fuel. Twin 2-stroke engines will act as the main source for all power using the Onboard DC Grid shaft generator system for all operational modes. The combination of the Onboard DC Grid system and the 2-stroke engine shaft generator will result in the vessels burning less fuel and generating lower emissions, compared with the more traditional alternative that relies on 4-stroke auxiliary engines, the company claimed. It is clear that the next generation of ships electric, digital, and connected spells a bright future for DC-based electric propulsion, said John Olav Lindtjrn, Global Product Manager for Onboard DC Grid, ABB Marine & Ports. CMP signs largest order for Selektope I-Tech has signed a supply agreement with Chugoku Marine Paints (CMP) for the patented bio-repellent antifouling ingredient, Selektope. This represents the largest ever single order of the technology to-date. The new supply agreement was confirmed in response to increasing demand for CMP marine coatings that contain the antifouling ingredient and includes an option for a further increase in the order value, as required. Philip Chaabane, CEO I-Tech, said: This significant order for Selektope demonstrates how I-Techs antifouling technology is meeting market demand for increased hard fouling prevention performance from marine coatings. For I-Tech, securing this significant supply agreement with one of the major paint manufacturers provides evidence of the major impact that our technology continues to make. With this long-term agreement in place, I-Tech can continue to focus on further improving operations and the strength of the Selektope supply chain to ensure commercial competitiveness for our technology, he said. Hideyuki Tanaka, CMP director & chief of technical and production, said: Securing CMPs commercial relationship with I-Tech to support the strong demand received for Selektope-containing products offered by CMP is of great importance. We look forward to working with I-Tech going into the future. In 2016, CMP launched the first Selektope-containing antifouling coating range onto the market following extensive trialling under two separate brands - SEAFLO NEO CF PREMIUM and SEAFLO NEO-S PREMIUM. SEAFLO NEO CF PREMIUM is based on zinc polymer technology and is a coating with an in-service life exceeding five years, ideal for oceangoing vessels operating worldwide. SEAFLO NEO-S PREMIUM, is based on silyl polymer technology, and specifically targets low activity vessels, such as those static during outfitting in shipyards. In 2017, CMP launched a new product based on hydrolysing technology - SEA GRANDPRIX 880HS PLUS. With this product, CMP guarantees extended static performance of up to 45 days, thanks to the barnacle-repellent boost enabled by Selektope. Hafnia suffers due to downturn Hafnia Tankers generated an operating profit for the 12 months ended 31st December, 2017 of $14.4 mill ($34.4 million for 2016) and a loss of $11.6 mill (profit of $12 mill for 2016). The book value of the fleet, as at the end of last year, was $1,031.2 mill. As of 31st December, Hafnia Tankers had $48.1 mill in cash, $559.7 mill of bank and lease debt and $52.2 mill in working capital, including $31.2 mill in pool working capital. The remaining capex for Vista Shipping, the joint venture with CSSC Shipping, was $71.8 mill. Available undrawn bank financing to fund the Vista newbuildings was $51.8 mill and including cash, the newbuild programme was fully financed. No debt maturities are due before January, 2022, the company said. Hafnia said that the product tanker market weakened during 2017, mainly influenced by a high supply of newbuildings. The fundamental demand for oil products continued to grow, however most of the supply of oil products came from inventories, reducing the demand for transportation thereby causing a weak freight market. At the end of last year, global refined oil inventories fell and were close to their five-year average. This should lead to a better balance between supply of vessels and demand for transportation of refined oil products, Hafnia said. Average gross earnings per day during 2017 were $13,825 per LR1, $13,875 for MRs and $11,700 for SRs (Handies). Commercial manager, Hafnia Managements three pools - LR1, MR, and SR - have 124 ships under management, including future commitments, an increase of 34 over the previous 12 months. As of 31st December, 2017, Hafnia Tankers fleet consisted of 42 vessels. Vista Shipping has four newbuildings to be delivered in 2019 and 2020, with an option for an additional two vessels. SCF resilient in challenging year PAO Sovcomflot (SCF Group) reported a net loss of $113 mill for 2017, compared with a profit of $206.8 mill in the previous year. EBITDA was $544.9 mill, compared with $695 mill for 2016 and the 2017 gross revenue was $1.4 bill, compared to $1.39 bill in 2016. SCF said that 2017 proved to be one of the worst years for the conventional tanker market in the 25 years, with similar conditions experienced to those seen in 2011 and 1992. Conventional tanker freight rates fell by almost 50% year-on-year, reflecting an oversupply of speculative orders following the 2015 market spike, as well as the effect of sustained production cuts by OPEC and other oil producing nations and a backwardation in the oil trade. Set against this background, the Groups TCE revenue declined by only 7.4%, demonstrating the robust nature of its industrial-focused business model, the group claimed. During last year, the Group continued to implement its strategy of expanding the fixed income of the industrial shipping segments of its business with offshore services and gas transportation increasing their revenues by 48.7% and 17.4%, respectively. The total share of Group revenue from industrial shipping activities amounted to 51% of its revenue base in 2017, enabling SCF to achieve a positive operating profit for the year. In line with IFRS accounting standards, the Group recorded a non-monetary charge of $108 mill, reflecting impairment of the fleet and non-operating costs regarding litigation in the English courts, relating to various transactions that took place during 2000 - 2004. Profit before tax, when adjusted for the impairment reserve of the fleet and non-operating costs, amounted to $10.1 mill in 2017, which signified that the Group remained profitable at an operating level, despite the severe market conditions affecting its conventional fleet. Sergey Frank, SCF President and CEO, commented: Despite the very strong headwinds seen in the conventional tanker markets over 2017, with freight rates down by almost 50% reflecting one of the worst years in a quarter of a century, we continued to implement our core strategy of industrialising our business model. Sovcomflots growing industrial portfolio (offshore services and gas transportation) enabled us to remain profitable operationally. Our offshore and gas businesses saw TCE revenues increasing by 48.7% and 17.4%, respectively year-on-year, providing a welcome relief from the difficult conditions facing our conventional tankers. The robust nature of the Groups business model has shown our ability to weather the low point of the shipping cycle. In such a challenging year, I am especially grateful to all my colleagues at sea and ashore for their continued professionalism and dedication, and to our clients and partners around the world for their valued support. Its especially important that, in this extremely challenging year, we continued our commitment to innovation by delivering to our clients some of the most advanced vessels ever constructed, which will contribute to their upstream projects and address some unique operational challenges in the harsh environments. Further, we achieved a significant milestone with the decision to power with LNG our new generation of Ice Class Aframax tankers, setting new standards for emissions and making the tanker industry greener, he said. Evgeniy Ambrosov, SCF senior executive vice president, said: Last year we have delivered several pioneering new vessels, designed in close co-operation with our esteemed strategic charterers, which are destined to become one of the core elements of a unique logistics system for the transportation of hydrocarbons.One such example being the icebreaking LNGC Christophe de Margerie, purpose built to make LNG exports possible from the vast Arctic energy reserves of the Yamal Project in Northern Russia. The newest logistical and technical solutions have been tested by us from the beginning of this century on various successfully operating projects. Elsewhere, three highly sophisticated icebreaking platform supply vessels (IBSVs) were delivered during the year to serve the Sakhalin-2 pproject, continuing our well-established long-term partnership with Sakhalin Energy Investment Company. Another state-of-the art Arctic shuttle tanker for the Novy Port project was delivered to the charterer Gazpromneft, he said. Igor Tonkovidov, executive vice president and COO/CTO of Sovcomflot, said: Sovcomflots stays committed to shipping innovations, which were further enhanced in 2017, with the Group taking the lead amongst tanker owners in delivering a cleaner and safer marine environment. We were delighted to sign an agreement with Shell for the supply of LNG to fuel a new generation of Aframax tankers. These so-called Green Funnel vessels are being pioneered by Sovcomflot and our shipbuilding partners in Russia and South Korea. In 2017 we ordered six such tankers, for delivery between 3Q18 and 1Q19. These vessels were designed to exceed, rather than simply comply with, emissions legislation. Nikolay Kolesnikov, Sovcomflots executive vice president/CFO commented: During 2017, we completed a series of financing deals amounting to $367 mill in total, including a $150 mill tap Eurobond issue, which was well oversubscribed and placed at one of the lowest yields for a global shipping company. Our ability to access competitively-priced domestic and international capital in all market conditions reflects the resilience of Sovcomflots industrial shipping model, which provides good earnings stability and visibility. At the end of the year, we had $8.1 bill of contracted future revenues, a major part of which comes from long-term industrial projects. The Group has maintained its credit ratings with all the three main international rating agencies in 2017 and into the current financial year, he concluded. Wartsila snaps up Transas Acquisitive technology group Wartsila is to purchase Transas for around 210 mill. This move will speed Wartsila along its path towards its Smart Marine Ecosystem vision, the Finnish-based conglomerate said. Established in 1990, Transas is a supplier of marine navigation solutions, including complete bridge systems, digital products and electronic charts. The company is also involved in professional training and simulation services, ship traffic control, as well as monitoring, and support. In addition, Transas uses the latest in machine learning and AI to create a unified cloud-based platform for managing operations across the entire marine ecosystem. Transas current annual net sales are around 140 mill. The company has 22 regional offices worldwide and a distribution network spanning 120 countries. It has a workforce of about 1,000 who will be integrated within Wartsilas Marine Solutions business. The large base of software engineers will play a key role in assisting Wartsila with the development of smart products and a digital platform, the group said. Wartsila also said that this acquisition takes the company a significant step closer to achieving its mission of enabling sustainable societies with smart technologies. It will also speed delivery on the companys promise to disrupt the industry by establishing an ecosystem that is digitally connected across the entire supply chain, through applications that are secure, smart and cloud-based. The transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of this year. Combining Transas with Wartsila will bring the smart marine ecosystem many steps forward. We can now connect Wartsilas product portfolio, the biggest in the marine industry, with ship traffic control, simulators, navigation solutions and fleet operation solutions from Transas. The combined package will further improve the way a vessel can sail in the most cost efficient and environmental friendly way for our customers, said Roger Holm, Wartsila Marine Solutions, president. It is incredibly exciting to have this opportunity to join the Wartsila brand in delivering the future of maritime transport. We share a common vision; one of a safer, more efficient, and more environmentally friendly maritime industry. The Transas team has significant competences in technology, along with a globally recognised leadership position in navigation, simulation and traffic control systems. Adding these to the extensive, world leading Wartsila portfolio of services and products, provides an unparalleled opportunity for a new ecosystem for maritime operations, said Transas CEO, Frank Coles. League of Legends hypes up the gaming fans with an anime-inspired cinematic trailer featuring the new Gun Goddess Miss Fortune skin. The new skin arrives with Patch version 8.6. Gamers had expected to receive the new update earlier this week, but an unforeseen "emergency issue" prompted Riot Games to delay its release globally. The exact details about the problem were not officially disclosed, but according to sources, it could be related to server problems for Japan and Oceania regions. The official announcement did not specify an exact turnaround time and only encouraged users to continuously check the MOBA's Service Status Page for updates. Making Animation A Tradition The latest Ultimate skin is not the first in-game content that received an animation treatment. Sources recall that God Fist Lee Sin was made the star of what looks like a fan-made animation last year. Nevertheless, it is apparent that the Payback is a Goddess anime trailer for the red-haired bounty hunter screams quality. It might even become a thing for the developers to randomly come up with trailers for new content and showcase different animation styles to market the product. Fan Reception Then And Now A few weeks ago, The League of Legends Reddit community closely weighed in their opinions when the Gun Goddess Miss Fortune Ultimate skin debuted. It seems that players are very difficult to please as several complaints were posted regarding the upcoming content. Fans pointed out issues that involve elements such as walking animations, color schemes, and more. Furthermore, despite their mixed opinions, it seems that almost everyone believes that Riot Games did not come up with a design that is as unique as the older Ultimate skins. Meanwhile, there are those who cannot understand why people choose to complain when the skin features four different forms, which come with their respective ability animations and all new weapons. Her various exosuit configurations are showcased during the anime trailer as she shifts into a different one throughout combat. A Little Backstory To keep its fans interested, the developers often include a short description about the Ultimate skins. As expected, it also included one for Gun Goddess Miss Fortune along with the anime trailer. "Ten years ago, a great civil war stretched across the galaxy. A brilliant scientist created blueprints for a superweapon that could end the war: The exosuit. That man was the founder of Fortune Industries. When his comrades discovered the exosuit plans, they wasted no time murdering him. He was survived by his only daughter, who they shot and left for dead," read the description. "Over the years, she acquired four exosuits, became the notorious bounty hunter known as the Gun Goddess, and swore vengeance on these traitors. Now she's ready to collect the debt she's owed," it added. League of Legends players can grab the new skin for 2,775 RP, which is lower than the usual price set by Riot Games for past content releases. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. New evidence on Yellowstone's volcanic activity might shed light on the long-debated theory on the presence of magma plume beneath the national park. The Yellowstone caldera is a complex system of rock formations that sprung after a series of volcanic eruptions some 630,000 million years ago. This is the widely accepted theory, although there are some scientists who argue that the national park sits right on top of a "hot spot." Results of the investigation conducted by Peter Nelson and Stephen Grand from the University of Texas' Jackson School of Geosciences supports the latter theory suggesting a massive magma plume beneath the park's surface. This plume, which is the technical word for a magma foundation, appears to extend as far as Mexico. How Plumes Are Formed In a geographic sense, a plume is an abnormality that exists when the earth's core rises through the mantle forming what it appears to be a foundation of hot magma. The study, which was published in Nature Geoscience, reported that the probability of a magma plume underneath Yellowstone could explain the heat that influences ground activities such as the Boiling River. This latest claim debunks earlier explanations that the heat source is a by-product of lithospheric movements. Nelson and Grand's team gathered seismic data using EarthScope's USArray, which showed a "long, thin, sloping zone" that measured about 72 kilometers long and 55 kilometers wide. Because seismic patterns travel slower in this region of the mantle, it is understandable that it can be up to 800 degrees Celsius higher than its surrounding areas. The emerging image revealed a 350-kilometer cylinder formation that runs all the way to the California-Mexico border. Magma Plumes Around The World Yellowstone is not the only one with suspected magma plume. In fact, the volcanic island of Hawaii is home to a chain of active plumes that date back millions of years ago. In the case of Hawaii, plumes are formed when the ocean plate moves beneath land masses in a process called subduction. Rocks could get in the way during the process, then forming the plumes which are fixated on earth. "There are many suspected plumes, or hot spots, around the Earth. Yellowstone is one of them, but it's a bit more complex," said Michael Poland, a scientist at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. According to Polan, although the science of plumes seems complex, it has always been there posing itself as a natural geographic occurrence. "[Plumes have] no impact on our understanding of how Yellowstone works in terms of eruptive cycles, just their driving forces. It doesn't change our perception of volcanic activity at all," Poland explained. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Researchers from the University of Toronto experiment on a variety of bat species to determine how they adopt food hunting techniques. Krista Patriquin and Rachel Page, the lead researchers of the study, which was published in Science Advances, said that their purpose is to investigate if bats are able to learn food searching from other species (heterospecifics) as fast as they do from their own (conspecifics). The first round of observations was conducted in fringe-lipped bats (Trachops cirrhosus) by using a computer-generated tone that signal food rewards as they were exposed to a different species of bats. The same type of adaptation technique was applied to another set of bats: the White-throated, round-eared bat (Lophostoma silvicolum). "[The fringe-lipped bats] took [sic] longer to recognize this artificially generated sound as a signal for food, presumably because it was not a sound that was familiar to them," Page said. Despite the ability of the bats from the two different species to mimic each other, the scientists learned that bats prefer to thrive alongside bats of the same species. The research concluded that fringe-lipped bats are "consummate learners," who are able to acquire new valuable information from both conspecifics and heterospecifics. Other animals that possess heterospecific learning are wild birds and baby vervet monkeys. Wild birds tend to eavesdrop on other species, while a certain breed of monkeys can recognize signals pertaining to danger. "From a purely scientific perspective, it's interesting to understand how animals learn about the world around them. But it also tells us how bats might learn to adapt to changes in the landscape," Patriquin said. Trial And Error Various sounds were tested to ensure that these are unnatural to the bats. Page's team also wanted to determine if the winged animals will be able to tolerate such sounds as long as they are conditioned there will be a reward. "Each pulse was a high-pitched 'Eeee, eeee'. You could visibly see they were not happy because they would shake their heads in response to the sound," Patriquin said. The study took six months at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Gamboa, Panama. The researchers, together with the bats, were housed in a giant metal cage to prevent disturbances like rain. The ability of bats to evolve in food hunting is crucial for survival especially that their average lifespan takes 40 years. STRI intern Jenna Kohles, a masters' student at the University of Konstanz, commented that these data presents a new insight in understanding how communities of animals can share information from one species to another as their environments and food resources change. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Some pain relievers prescribed for patients suffering from arthritis and other conditions come with unwanted health risk. NSAIDS Findings of a new study on NSAIDs (prescription non-steroidal anti-inflammatory pain relievers), which include prescription-strength naproxen and ibuprofen, suggest that people who take these drugs increase the risk of irregular heartbeat, also known as atrial fibrillation by 18 percent. Atrial Fibrillation Atrial fibrillation can increase a person's risk of stroke, heart failure, and other heart-related complications. "AFib increases a person's risk for stroke by four to five times compared with stroke risk for people who do not have AFib. Strokes caused by complications from AFib tend to be more severe than strokes with other underlying causes," the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Risk factors that can increase an individual's risk of developing irregular heartbeat include age, high blood pressure, heart disease and other chronic conditions, drinking alcohol, obesity and having a family history of this condition. Findings of the new study suggest that use of certain pain relievers is also associated with atrial fibrillation. Link Between NSAIDs And Atrial Fibrillation In the research reported in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, Hui-Ju Tsa, from the National Health Research Institutes in Miaoli, Taiwan, and colleagues looked at the data of more than 57,000 people who were at least 45 years old to find a potential link between use of NSAIDs and the risk of atrial fibrillation. The researchers found that individuals who were taking the nonselective class of NSAIDs, which include ibuprofen, naproxen, or meloxicam, had an 18 percent higher risk of having an irregular heartbeat. Those who were using selective NSAIDs, which include celecoxib, etoricoxib, or rofecoxib, did not show any difference. Use of both the selective and nonselective NSAIDs, however, was linked to 30 percent elevated risk of atrial fibrillation. Doctors Should Be Cautious When Prescribing NSAIDs The researchers said that their findings do not mean that people should be afraid to take NSAID for occasional aches or pains. Nonetheless, they said that doctors should be cautious when prescribing these drugs to individuals who are most at risk for an irregular heartbeat. "NSAID use was associated with an increased risk of AF occurrence among the participants included in our study cohort. Closely monitoring the adverse effects of NSAID treatment on the risk of AF will be important, particularly among individuals at high risk," the researchers wrote in their study, which was published online on March 20. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Trump administration has appointed veteran AIDS expert Robert Redfield as chief of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. CDC Has New Chief Health and Human Services Executive Secretary Alex Azar confirmed Redfield's appointment on Wednesday, highlighting his "pioneering contributions to advance our understanding of HIV/AIDS" at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Azar added that Redfield's experience in heading a network of treatment facilities in Baltimore dedicated to HIV and Hepatitis C makes him a top candidate for the CDC post. Robert Redfield's Stellar Achievements Redfield, a professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, was also a frontrunner for the same position during the term of former president George W. Bush. Azar said Redfield is bound to take his oath in the next few days. Some members of the Congress applauded Redfield's appointment. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland described the new CDC chief as a "deeply experienced and compassionate public health physician." Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend praised Redfield's commitment in addressing the country's opioid epidemic, which is one of CDC's main agenda. Redfield, 66, has long been studying and advocating AIDS/HIV awareness and education, prevention, and treatment. Despite his stellar achievements, Redfield's appointment is shadowed by a history of scientific misconduct that was investigated by the Senate and the military in the 1990s. Redfield's most controversial issues include the mandatory HIV screening in the U.S. military in the 1980s. He was also investigated by the Senate after a certain Kimberly Bergalis contacted the virus from her dentist. Redfield was among the main proponents of required HIV testing in healthcare professionals. A Shadow Of Doubt However, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit consumer protection group based in Washington D.C., urged the White House not to appoint Redfield. CSPI emphasized Redfield's lack of experience in governance and inadequate relationship with public and private health officials that are necessary for the job. "What one wants in a director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a scientist of impeccable scientific integrity. What one would get in Robert Redfield is a sloppy scientist with a long history of scientific misconduct and an extreme religious agenda," CSPI wrote on its website. Former Air Force Lt. Col. Craig Hendrix also questioned Redfield's credibility pertaining to the mass HIV vaccination that resulted in a number of deaths within a few months. "Either he was egregiously sloppy with data or it was fabricated. It was somewhere on that spectrum, both of which were serious and raised questions about his trustworthiness," Hendrix said, who is now the director of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A new study involving human stem cell treatment and rats might potentially be the key to discovering a cure for alcoholism. How They Conducted This Study Researchers at the University of Chile were determined to find a potential treatment for alcoholism. To conduct their study, the researchers turned to lab rats. During a period of up to 17 weeks, the researchers provided the rats with both water and vodka as a daily supply. Each day, the rats consumed the human equivalent of over one bottle of vodka. Although the rats were given a choice of drinking water, they were bred to consume alcohol. After this period of binge drinking, the rats were without any alcohol for two weeks. At the conclusion of this period, the researchers turned to human stem cells as a cure for the rats' alcoholism. The researchers injected the rats with small-sized human mesenchymal stem cells. "Mesenchymal stem cells were separated from fat cells and grown in conditions that reduce their size, facilitating an intravenous administration," professor Yedy Israel told ResearchGate. The Results After the stem cell injection, the lab rats were re-introduced to alcohol. After 48 hours, researchers concluded that the rats were drinking up to 90 percent less alcohol. "This research suggests that the intravenous administration of MSC-spheroids may constitute an effective new approach for the treatment of alcohol-use disorders," the researchers wrote in their published study in Nature. The results revealed that the stem cell injection diminished the brain inflammation and oxidative stress in the alcoholic rats. The Link Between Humans And Rats Although this study seems like a promising opportunity to potentially find a cure for alcoholism, more research is needed. Researchers with this study said that clinical trials with humans must be conducted in order to test to viability of it. This is not the first time that researchers used rats to study alcoholism. In a 2016 study from Purdue and Indiana University, researchers discovered 930 different genes associated with alcoholism that could be used to determine a cure someday. According to the CDC, approximately 88,000 people are lost every year to alcoholism. The disease has shortened the lives of those who died by 30 years. Currently, 17 million adults have an alcohol use disorder. One of the leading aspects of alcoholism is binge drinking, which often involves consuming several alcoholic beverages during a short period. A recent study revealed that American adults consume 17.5 billion drinks every year. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Earlier this March, reports claimed Samsung's forthcoming flagship, the Galaxy Note 9, won't come with an in-display fingerprint sensor. However, recent rumors suggest the South Korean electronics company is indeed planning to include it after all. Ever since Vivo and Synaptics proved it was possible, an in-display fingerprint sensor has been one of the hottest new innovations in smartphone technology. It lets users lay their finger on the screen to unlock the phone, like a scene from a sci-fi film. It doesn't require any separate fingerprint module; the technology is baked right under the screen. Galaxy Note 9 In-Display Fingerprint Sensor Rumors Samsung's most recent phones, the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus, don't come with this kind of technology. Their fingerprint sensors are still rear-mounted, just like on the previous Galaxy S8 models. As a result, there's chatter over whether Samsung will finally introduce the feature in time for the Galaxy Note 9, which Samsung typically releases later in the year. Samsung was reportedly working on the technology for the Galaxy Note 9, but that it was simply too complicated to properly implement. However, as mentioned, Vivo and Synaptics disrupted the smartphone world by introducing a phone that has it working. The production version of that device is poised to launch later this year. Samsung and its Samsung Display division haven't given up, according to a report by The Korea Herald. Sources claim the company is still on track to include a fingerprint system on the Galaxy Note 9, which is expected to launch in April. The report further alleges that Samsung has several ideas on how to implement the technology into the phone and is seriously considering one of those solutions. Samsung is also experiencing delays due to these considerations. "The delay in deciding on the final concept for the Note 9 is due to the work in adopting the in-display fingerprint sensor," said the Korea Herald's source. In-Display Fingerprint Sensor Perhaps Samsung is trying to be extra cautious about the technology. Consumers and critics have yet to actually test the accuracy and safety of an in-display fingerprint sensor. Unlike a standard fingerprint module, it's not certain whether an in-display version can accommodate tasks that have far riskier security implications, such as making an online purchase. These are all factors Samsung has to consider in making the technology possible, and there's simply not enough evidence that in-display fingerprint sensors are as secure as conventional ones. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Barking and Dagenham Council has announced that the planned Made in Dagenham studios will be constructed and operated by US-based studios company by Pacifica Ventures in partnership with Media Content Capital (MCC). Along with12 state-of-the-art sound stages covering 264,000 sq ft the plans from Pacifica Ventures MCC include workshops and warehouses for lighting and grip operations, and at least 95,000 sq ft of production office space; an extensive post-production, visual effects and media technology complex; specially rigged stages for job training programmes with local educational institutions; multi-format large-screen theatre auditorium; a major event centre and large screen auditorium including VR and immersive 3D attractions with studio tours, and retail and dining outlets. Pacifica Ventures currently operates studios in Albuquerque, Connecticut and Sun Center Studios in Philadelphia. Darren Rodwell, the Leader of Barking and Dagenham Council said: I take great pleasure in announcing Pacifica Ventures in partnership with MCC as our preferred partner. In the face of fierce competition, Pacifica Ventures MCC emerged as the clear winner based on their track record and commitment to making the film and television studios a cultural and community asset for the borough, for London and for Britains film industry. The complex will be an exciting new visitor destination too an east end epic that will create thousands of quality jobs and educational opportunities in a huge range of disciplines. I am confident that it will make Barking and Dagenham more famous for films than Fords. Dana Arnold, CEO of Pacifica Ventures, said, We are thrilled to partner with Be First in the creation of a world-class film and television production complex that will become the pride of Dagenham and Greater London. Sasha Shapiro, Managing Director of Media Content Capital, added, We are excited to be making our London production home at the brand-new Dagenham Studios. The announcement was made after Be First, Barking and Dagenham Councils regeneration company, formally announced the competition to find a partner back in February. Film London and property consultants, Lambert Smith Hampton, acted as technical and commercial advisors to the 100 million deal throughout the competition. Pat Hayes, Managing Director of Be First, said: I would like to thank all the bidders for the excellent quality of their submissions. Our team rigorously assessed each but a clear winner emerged. Subject to detailed negotiations and exchange of contracts with Pacifica Ventures MCC we expect construction of the media and TV complex to get underway in 2019. Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: London is a global capital for film with more than 40 film crews on our streets every day. Im delighted that Pacifica Ventures has been announced as the preferred bidder their exceptional track record will further cement the capitals position as a world-leading film-making city. This development will bring hundreds of new jobs to the area from carpenters to camera crew and will bring big Hollywood blockbusters to Barking and Dagenham. Adrian Wootton OBE, Chief Executive of Film London and the British Film Commission, said: This is an exciting development for both London and the UK, bringing as it does new infrastructure and much-needed additional capacity, while also representing a huge vote of confidence in our citys ability to deliver world class content, skills and creativity. Securing major international investment is an incredible success for Barking and Dagenham, and we wholeheartedly congratulate Cllr Darren Rodwell and his team for the leadership and vision they have shown in making this happen. Pacifica Ventures MCC has a significant track record managing major facilities and serving the global industry, and this is vital when it comes to ensuring the new studio thrives. Were looking forward to working with both Pacifica Ventures MCC and Be First to promote the new facilities, bring major titles to east London and, ultimately, champion the capital as the best city in the world to make big-budget film and TV. Chris Berry, Director Head of Media, at LSH commented: "This project has really lit up the imagination. Weve seen mass global interest resulting in three competitive, high quality offers which is a fantastic injection of confidence for the capital. It also marks a significant shift in Londons creative focus from west to east. Share this story An attorney for a Baton Rouge man charged with first-degree murder in the 2012 beating death of his 8-year-old son argued to a state judge Friday that parts of Louisiana's Code of Criminal Procedure dealing with jury selection are unconstitutional. Striking down those portions of the code would prevent racial discrimination in selecting jurors who ultimately will decide the fate of Michael Anthony Robertson, one of his lawyers, Gabe Newland, told District Judge Don Johnson. Evidence of prior abuse against 8-year-old boy, killed in 2012, can be presented to jury at trial of accused killer, Supreme Court rules A jury can hear about all of the prior physical abuse a Baton Rouge man allegedly inflicted on his 8-year-old son including breaking the chi Robertson, 52, is black. He is accused of fatally beating Xzayvion Riley. The boy's mother, Lavaughn Riley, 37, also is charged with first-degree murder in the case and intends to testify against Robertson, who was her boyfriend at the time of their son's death. The East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney's Office is not seeking the death penalty against either defendant. Colin Clark, chief of the Louisiana Attorney General's Office Criminal Appellate Section, argued Friday to Johnson that Robertson's constitutional challenge is premature and should be denied. A trial date has not been set, and Robertson still could waive his right to a jury trial and request a bench trial before Johnson, Clark noted. Johnson took the arguments from Newland and Clark under advisement. Robertson's constitutional challenge deals with so-called peremptory strikes, which can be used by both the prosecution and defense to excuse a potential juror merely because of a suspicion that a particular person would vote against their client. +3 Are Baton Rouge prosecutors tougher on men than women in child death cases? Lawyers representing a Baton Rouge man who is charged with first-degree murder in the 2012 beating death of his 8-year-old son are claiming th Top stories in Baton Rouge in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up In an attempt to stamp out discrimination in the composition of juries, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1986 in Batson v. Kentucky that jurors could not be excused from service because of their race. The high court set up a system by which trial judges could evaluate claims of discrimination and the race-neutral explanations by prosecutors. Newland argued Friday on behalf of Robertson that portions of the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure dealing with peremptory strikes are inconsistent with the Supreme Court's Batson ruling. One specific provision that he cited to Johnson says, No peremptory challenge made by the state shall be based solely upon the race of the juror. Newland and Robertsons other lawyers have argued in court documents that, under such a provision, a prosecutor may successfully remove a juror by offering some race-neutral reasons even if purposeful racial discrimination was a substantial reason for the peremptory challenge. East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore III said after the hearing that it has been the practice of the 19th Judicial District Court's judges to follow the Batson decision "regardless of the alleged inconsistency" between the high court ruling and the Louisiana code. "Judges in Baton Rouge as well as our prosecutors follow the dictates of the Batson decision," Moore said. "We do not exclude jurors for prohibited reasons." Prosecutors have alleged that Xzayvions death was the result of an escalating pattern of physical abuse at the hands of Robertson. The boys mother has admitted in court testimony that she beat her son on a previous occasion. Attorney: Mother of Xzayvion Riley, 8-year-old boy who died after alleged abuse, plans to testify against father A Baton Rouge woman charged with first-degree murder in the 2012 beating death of her 8-year-old son does not have a plea deal with prosecutor Coroners officials found Xzayvion died of overwhelming infection caused by a ruptured bowel from blunt force trauma to his abdomen. An autopsy revealed dozens of external signs of recent and past trauma, including a human bite mark on his stomach. The boys oldest sister reported seeing Robertson bite her brother on a regular basis as a form of discipline, East Baton Rouge Parish sheriffs officials have said. Robertsons attorneys are fighting to keep the bite mark evidence out of the hands of a jury, calling it grossly unreliable and junk science. Embattled 19th Judicial District Court Judge Trudy White, of Baton Rouge, could be moving from the criminal bench where some of her actions have come under intense scrutiny to the civil bench. White took an unexplained three-month leave of absence in late 2016 and early 2017, and more recently came under fire when it was revealed that the man accused in the March 12 killing of Zachary firefighter and reserve police officer Christopher Lawton had a previous bail reduced by the judge in November from $88,000 to $9,000. Albert Franklin is now being held without bail. +9 'Double hero': Zachary reserve officer killed Monday mourned as leader, 'giver,' dedicated family man A Zachary firefighter and reserve police officer was killed Monday night after he was run over by a man he was trying to arrest, becoming the At a special meeting next Wednesday of the full 15-judge 19th JDC, there will be discussion of the "proposed swapping of dockets" between Don Johnson, a former criminal court judge who now sits on the civil bench, and White. However, Chip Moore, a colleague of Johnson and White who sits on the criminal bench and has much more seniority than White, said Thursday he has made it known for some time that he would like to move to the civil bench if the opportunity presents itself. "If I'm given the opportunity I would like to serve the people as a judge in civil court, but I only want to do so if it's what the rest of this body thinks is best," Moore, a 19th JDC judge for 13 years, said in an interview in his office. "I will always defer to the many over my one opinion." Johnson said he prefers not to comment on personnel matters among members of the judiciary. He added he will provide his suggestion to his colleagues at Wednesday's meeting. White did not respond to a request for comment. In the past, Moore said, seniority has ruled when a judge wished to move from one bench to another in the event of a vacancy. "I plan on voicing my concern that we abide by our precedent," he said, while also acknowledging that he is not next in line by seniority among the court's eight criminal court judges. At this point, none of Moore's criminal bench colleagues with more seniority have expressed an interest in moving to the civil bench. Top stories in Baton Rouge in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up William Morvant, the 19th JDC's chief judge and chief civil judge, said next Wednesday's special meeting will be the chance for any of the court's judges to voice their opinions. "Nothing's going to be done until the body of judges discuss it," he said. White, who defeated then-state District Judge Curtis Calloway in a fall 2008 election and took the bench in early 2009, has been a lightning rod for controversy in her time on the 19th JDC. Last March, a month after returning to the bench following a three-month hiatus, White apologized to her colleagues and the public for appearing in a video during her 2014 re-election campaign with a man in an orange prison jumpsuit who promoted her candidacy inside a courtroom. Judge Trudy White apologizes to colleagues for 2014 campaign video State District Judge Trudy White, who returned to the bench in February following an unexplained three-month hiatus, has apologized to her col The man in the video, comedian Jomo Jenkins, exclaimed in the video, "I'm down here at the 19th, but check this out. I ain't gonna be here that long because Judge Trudy White is fixing to send me back home. So if you want somebody to show you some love, vote for Trudy White on November the Fourth." White also drew the ire of a murder victim's family in 2015 when she reduced his killer's unanimous second-degree murder verdict to negligent homicide. A state appeals court in Baton Rouge swiftly reversed the judge and ordered her to sentence Derrick Bland to a mandatory term of life in prison for the 2013 killing of James "Mucci" Stockton. The appellate court called White's overturning of the unanimous jury verdict "clear legal error" and an "injustice." Stockton's family called her actions a "slap in the face." Raymond "TJ" Phillips, 15, was shot and killed Feb. 15 in the parking lot of 5765 Prescott Road. His mother shared this photo with The Advocate. Purchases made via links on our site may earn us an affiliate commission Gov. John Bel Edwards marked the end of the regular session's second week touching on a variety of hot-button issues from armed teachers to abortion. "Louisiana has a tremendous amount of momentum right now," Edwards, a Democrat, said during a press briefing after both chambers had adjourned and most state lawmakers left the State Capitol for the week. He later expressed disappointment in the Legislature's overall productivity to date, commenting that "They're not getting enough done to be fatigued." Here is what Edwards said on four key issues: Abortion Edwards recently said he "would be inclined to sign" such a 15-week ban on abortion if such a proposal made it through the Legislature and to his desk. On Thursday, he stressed that he would need to see exact language. "If the bill hits my desk, I'd be inclined to sign it," Edwards said. "(But) I need to be able to see if it gets to me and what the language is, what amendments are there." Sen. John Milkovich, D-Keithville, has filed a bill similar to legislation recently passed in Mississippi that is currently facing a legal challenge. Senate Bill 181 has not yet been heard in committee. Louisiana currently bans abortion after 20 weeks. Edwards, who highlighted his opposition to abortion during his gubernatorial campaign in 2015, said his support for possibly mimicking the nation's strictest abortion law is in line with his long-standing views. "It's consistent with what I've told the people for 10 years now. I am pro-life," Edwards said. "I have not been visited by any interest group whether it's pro or con and neither has the author of the bill visited with me, so we'll see how it plays out." Edwards declined to speculate on the inevitable lawsuit the state would face if it did implement a 15-week ban. A day after Mississippi's governor signed that state's 15-week ban into law, a judge moved to temporarily block its implementation until a court decision is reached. Abortion-related cases can often take years and can be costly for states. "We'll tend to those issues as they arise," Edwards said. School safety Many ideas have been floated to improve school safety after 17 people were killed in a shooting at a Florida high school last month. Edwards, whose wife is a school teacher, said he has spent the past several weeks meeting with educators, superintendents, school board members, law enforcement leaders and other stakeholders to gather information about ways to make schools safer. The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up One idea he's not in favor of: Arming teachers. At least three bills have been filed this session to set up a pathway to allowing teachers or other personnel carry guns on campus. "I, for one, do not believe it's a good idea to have concealed carry with teachers," Edwards said. "I think we need to focus on other school safety measures, principally around school resource officers making sure we have an adequate number of those in each school and that they are properly trained but we also need to do other things to promote school safety." Edwards said he will continue his information gathering meetings on the topic. "We're going to be working with all of the stakeholder groups and come up with a comprehensive school safety proposal going forward," he said. Gambling Edwards, who has largely side-stepped gaming issues that loom large over the session, said he would sign a bill that could pave the way for a riverboat casino to move from Bossier City to a shallow river in Edwards' home parish. The Senate Judiciary B Committee this week advanced Senate Bill 417, which would authorize a public vote to decide whether the Diamond Jacks Casino and Hotel should move to a site in rural Tangipahoa. Supporters of expanding gambling in Louisiana off to strong start as two key measures advance The Senate Judiciary B Committee on Tuesday approved two floating casino measures: one would allow the casinos to move onto land and have more "I will sign the bill if it hits my desk and give the people of Tangipahoa Parish the opportunity to vote on whether they would want to have that casino," Edwards said. "They will be able to evaluate the impacts." Edwards, who grew up in Tangipahoa Parish and still has many family members who live there including a brother who is the sheriff, indicated he personally supports the idea. "If the election is called, I will vote for it," he said. Constitutional convention Edwards, who has previously said he's open to the idea of a convention to overhaul parts of the state constitution, said he prefers lawmakers back a proposal like House Concurrent Resolution 3 from Rep. Franklin Foil, R-Baton Rouge. Foil's bill would create a study group to evaluate the feasibility of a constitutional convention and best practices for how it should be conducted "That's the route that I'm hoping we go in the short-term," Edwards said. Legislators push calls for constitutional convention to review tax, budget laws A growing chorus at the State Capitol is pushing legislation that could ultimately lead to an overhaul of areas of the state Constitution that He also said he hopes members don't get bogged down in convention talk. "The more we talk about a constitutional convention the less time, attention and energy we put toward the (fiscal) cliff," he said. A split Louisiana Supreme Court on Friday shot down Gov. John Bel Edwards order that bans companies contracting with the state from discriminating against LGBT employees. The 5-2 majority, without comment, refused to hear Edwards' appeal, which essentially nullified his April 13, 2016, executive order. Trial and appellate courts had ruled Edwards overstepped his authority by issuing an order when the Legislature disagreed on the policy of creating a gender identity protection within the states executive branch agencies, including those headed by elected officials, as well as the private companies seeking to do business with state government. Justices Marcus R. Clark, of West Monroe; Scott Crichton, of Shreveport; Greg G. Guidry, of Jefferson Parish; and James Genovese, of Opelousas, were against reconsidering Attorney General Jeff Landry, et al. vs. Gov. John Bel Edwards, et al., Case No. 2017-C-2020. Attorney General Jeff Landry, who had legally challenged the Edwards order, commended the Supreme Courts decision in an email. Hopefully this will end the Governors waste of precious taxpayer resources in defense of his unconstitutional actions. The Governor should live within the constitution; and I will continue to stand for the separation of powers and the rule of law, Landry said. Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette J. Johnson, of New Orleans, wrote in her dissent that the high courts majority held an unreasonably restrictive view of the governor's authority and that their refusal to sort out this issue "may spell doom for longstanding anti-discrimination policies" in other institutions. "I am dismayed that Louisiana finds itself, yet again, on the wrong side of history in a matter of civil rights and social justice," she said. Justice John L. Weimer, of Thibodaux, also would have allowed the high court to review the case but did not issue reasons. The Louisiana Supreme Court counted Justice Jeff Hughes, of Walker, as among three justices who "would grant" a hearing and he wrote that some issues would likely recur and should be addressed now. Hughes said Saturday he should have been more clear. He opposed hearing the LGBT appeal but would have granted a hearing on the ancillary issue of who chooses attorneys to represent the state. While I accept the courts ruling today, I am disappointed in their decision, Edwards said in a prepared statement. That disappointment is only overshadowed by my frustration that the courts believe that discrimination is something we should tolerate in Louisiana. I, for one, do not think discrimination of any kind has a place in our society, much less the workplace. The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Matthew Block, the governor's executive counsel, told The Advocate that the Supreme Court decision puts an end to the legal fight over the governor's order not to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and identification. "We would hope that state contractors wouldnt do that. But theres no executive order in place now that would prevent that," Block said, adding that the Governor's Office would look at asking the Legislature to pass a bill to achieve the same objective. The high courts decision also closes a chapter in an ongoing battle between Edwards, a Democrat, and Landry, a Republican frequently named as a possible challenger in the 2019 gubernatorial election. Protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people have been a particularly hot-button, partisan issue since 2014 when Democratic President Barack Obama issued an order similar to Edwards. After Republican President Donald Trump took office in 2017, he rolled back many of those orders. But Landry said the issue wasnt over sexual orientation. He argued the April 2016 order was invalid because Edwards was essentially making a law that circumvented the Legislatures position on the issue. Fifteen Republican legislators asked Landry to weigh in on which branch of state government has the constitutional authority to add gender identity to the protections in Louisiana anti-discrimination laws. Repeated efforts to pass laws that would protect the rights of LGBT people have failed in the Louisiana Legislature. Landry blocked dozens of legal services contracts that contained the anti-discrimination language for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. +3 Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry rejects contracts that include workplace protections Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry rejected 31 state contracts because they included language that protects gays and lesbians from workpla Nineteenth Judicial District Court Judge Todd Hernandez, of Baton Rouge, ruled in December 2016 that Edwards had violated Louisiana's constitutional separation of powers because the order went around Louisiana legislators. Hernandezs decision was upheld by the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal. Clearly, the Louisiana Legislature and the people of the State of Louisiana have not yet revised the laws and/or the state Constitution to specifically add sexual orientation or gender identity, 1st Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Toni M. Higginbotham, of Baton Rouge, wrote in the opinion upholding the lower court. The push to offer a tax break for the families of private school students and others has hit a major snag in the Legislature. State Sens. Jack Donahue, R-Mandeville and Conrad Appel, R-Metairie, said they are shelving their bills for the regular session because of unexpected cost concerns amid state budget problems. "We can't do it now," Appel said in an interview Friday. "I cannot pass this bill in its current state." Last week Appel and others said they would push bills that would allow families to take advantage of a provision in the federal tax cut law to help offset costs of tuition and other expenses. Louisiana families of private school students could land new benefit from federal tax cuts if law is changed A little-noticed provision in the federal tax cut bill would provide a tax break for families of private school students, and Louisiana lawmak Under the plan, families of private and public school students who pay tuition from kindergarten through 12th grade would be eligible for a major tax break. The benefit would mirror a current one called the Student Tuition Assistance and Revenue Trust program, or START. It allows families to set up state savings accounts for college, including a state income tax deduction, tax-free withdrawals and a state match on dollars invested. The bill was touted as a way to offer relief to families to can pay $22,000 per year for their children to attend private schools, and public schools that charge tuition. Nearly 1 in 5 students in Louisiana attend private schools, about 140,000 students. That is one of the top percentages for private school enrollment in the nation. Lawmakers initially thought the Legislature could authorize new K-12 accounts without a big price-tag. "But there is a state component that creates a fiscal note that causes us problems," Donahue said. "And I guess the truth of it is originally we didn't understand it to work that way." Donahue, former chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said he learned that the legislation would carry significant costs earlier this week. Any bill that carries a pricetag estimates are called fiscal notes faces huge hurdles because the state faces a roughly $700 million shortfall starting July 1. The March 20 fiscal note on Appel's proposal, Senate Bill 379, said the plan "could result in a significant reduction in state revenues due to the potential increase in the number of taxpayers claiming income tax deductions." Exactly what Appel's bill and others would cost is unclear. One estimate is $11 million per year. The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up While Donahue was expected to be a co-sponsor of Appel's bill he also filed his own, Senate Bill 386. Others that are similar include Rep. Franklin Foil, R-Baton Rouge, House Bill 650; Rep. Jerome Zeringue, R-Houma, House Bill 487 and Sen. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge, Senate Bill 448. Foil said Friday he plans to revamp his proposal in hopes of offering families a federal tax break starting with their 2018 returns. "My goal would be to at least get this started this year so that when people file their federal tax returns for 2018 they can take advantage of money they put into the account for federal savings," he said. Foil said his bill may be heard next week in the House Education Committee. Foil and Appel both said efforts to make state income tax changes are crippled by the fact the 2018 regular session is limited to non-fiscal issues. While a special session is possible before June 30, it is unlikely that the governor's call would include tuition tax breaks. The next fiscal session is in 2019. Others said enacting the bills as originally envisioned is more complicated than that. Zeringue could not be reached for comment. Appel said he would be open to any House-passed bill aimed at aiding families. "We want to do it, we are going to do it," he said. "If the House comes up with a better mousetrap . . . we would love to see that and love to see that go forward." The current START program for college savings allows contributions of $2,400 per child for single filers and double that for joint filers. That money is exempt from state income taxes. Tax-free withdrawals of up to $10,000 per year are also allowed. The state had about 56,000 accounts totaling $718 million in 2016, the latest count available. Rep. Larry Bagley, R-Stonewall, weighs in with his personal experience regarding his father's nursing home care, Wednesday, May 10, 2017, during testimony on HB152, which bill sponsor Rep. Tony Bacala, R-Prairieville,said would have reduced nursing home dependency by expanding opportunties for elderly and disabled people to use home and community-based services. After avote by the House Health and Welfare COmmittee, the bill was involuntarily deferred, effectively killing it. Students from St. Amant High School participated in a national school walkout on March 14 at 10 a.m. to honor and pay respects to the lives that were lost in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school shooting. The walkout lasted 17 minutes, one minute for each of the lives lost in the shooting. During the walkout, junior Reace Dedon read aloud articles on each of the 17 people killed that day. Students held signs, wrote letters to Congress and had the opportunity to register to vote for the upcoming midterm election on Nov. 6. Chris Cambre says he was having a bad day Jan. 21 when he posted on social media that he was struggling. The Army combat veteran suffers from anxiety and depression, and his online post and his failure to answer his phone got someone worried enough to call and ask police to do a welfare check. But Cambre's bad day was about to turn far worse. The 48-year-old former military police officer from Pearl River says he was later knocked out, tased, handcuffed and beaten by five St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office deputies, an account backed up by a Pearl River police officer who was at the scene. The Sheriff's Office told Cambre and Pearl River Police Chief JJ Jennings that an internal affairs investigation into the incident found no wrongdoing on the part of the five deputies: Roger Gottardi, Chad Melendez, Chris Harman, Ryan Hopkins and Jason Wilson. But 22nd Judicial District Attorney Warren Montgomery, who has conducted a preliminary investigation, said he has referred the matter to federal authorities "for their determination if there was any possible violation of federal civil rights. Sheriff Randy Smith declined to be interviewed for this story and did not respond to emailed questions. According to the Pearl River Police Department incident report, the Pearl River officer and an emergency medical technician from St. Tammany Fire Protection District No. 11 were sitting with Cambre outside his trailer home trying to persuade him to go to the hospital because of his mental health issues. He did not want to do so, the report says, citing fear that he would lose his job. When Assistant Fire Chief Matt Parrish was notified of his response, he came to the scene and said he thought Cambre needed to be hospitalized, the report says. He told the dispatcher to call the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office for assistance because Cambre had military training "and had previously mentioned suicide by cop," the report says. Five deputies arrived, rifles drawn, and Cambre, who "appeared frightened," lifted his shirt and turned a 360-degree circle, saying, "I don't have any weapons," the report says. The deputies secured their weapons in the Pearl River officer's vehicle. She then told them she was just there for "a welfare check" and that Cambre did not want to go to the hospital. But that's exactly where Cambre ended up that night, bruised and bleeding from a laceration to the side of his face. According to the report, the deputies did not speak to Cambre to gauge his demeanor. Instead, one yelled at him, "I'm tired of dealing with your (double expletive); get down on your knees." Then, "the second deputy immediately deployed his controlled electronic device. Three other deputies simultaneously approached Mr. Cambre from behind on his right side where all five deputies then jumped on Mr. Cambre, while one deputy continuously struck Mr. Cambre with a baton," the report says. Cambre says he remembers hearing the sound of the metal baton being extended before he was struck in the head. He says he was knocked unconscious but came to face-down in the mud as the deputies tased and beat him. All the while, he says, they were yelling at him to stop resisting. "I was thinking to myself, as I'm being tased, 'I can't resist. I can't move,' " he told The Advocate and WWL-TV this week. Cambre was not arrested that night, and no charges were ever filed against him. Jennings, the Pearl River police chief, said he was "shocked and saddened" by what happened to Cambre that night and fears that it might discourage other veterans from reaching out for help. "He wasn't belligerent. He was very calm," Jennings said, admitting he was not at the scene and doesn't know if the deputies saw something other than what was in his officer's report. "I don't understand what he did wrong to be tased or beaten." if the people of Biafra want Republic of Biafra, it will be a reality during my administration. ----Donald Trump Donald Trump I wi... iStock/Thinkstock(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) -- A Tennessee family recently had a run-in with an unexpected visitor while in the Smoky Mountains -- a black bear. The Vastola family claimed to see the bear with their own eyes when it showed up near the front porch of their hotel room at the Quality Inn-Creekside. Hes on our front porch. Mr. Bear is right here, Kim Vastola says in the video she posted on her Facebook page March 14. The Quality Inn-Creekside in downtown Gatlinburg told ABC News that black bears are common to the area, as the hotel sits in the middle of the Smoky Mountains, and about a mile away from the gates to The Great Smoky Mountain National Park. I was shocked first of all. I thought I cannot believe this thing is around people, Vastola told ABC affiliate WATE. The hotel claimed it does warn guests of the possibility of seeing bears in the area. In the second video, taken by Vastolas husband, the bear can be seen walking alongside the hotel carrying a bag. Holy cow," says a man in the video. Michael Butler, CEO of Tennessee Wildlife Federation, told ABC News these encounters are happening more as businesses build near wildlife habitats. And as we build more and more into and next to high-quality wildlife habitat, occurrences like these have become more frequent, Butler said in a statement. This is doubly true in this case because weve seen black bear populations rebounding to healthy levels over the past 30 years. Butler reminds people to never approach any wild animal, and call a wildlife officer if you see one near people. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin EDITORIAL (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, March 23, 2018 08:19 1280 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cb1e5d3 4 Editorial #Editorial,ride-hailing-application,ride-hailing-service,crime,criminals Free Safety is one of the primary considerations when choosing public transportation. The booming ride-hailing business offers consumers a myriad of options, but the recent robbery and murder of a ride-haling passenger in Bogor, West Java, underlines the invaluable price of safety. Within 24 hours after the wedding organizers body was found near a housing complex in Cibinong on Sunday morning, the police in Bogor arrested twins, one of whom is a ride-hailing driver, and named them as suspects. The police say the brothers allegedly strangled their passenger, a South Jakarta resident, to death after she could not withdraw Rp 20 million (US$1,460) from an ATM. Kudos to the police for their rapid response, but the case should put pressure on ride-hailing providers to improve their safety standards as part of their business responsibility, or else they will lose the coveted public confidence. A criminal act involving a driver should also justify stricter supervision on the part of the government to implement its regulation regarding ride-hailing apps. The regulation, which has been revised in compliance with a Supreme Court ruling, requires drivers, among others, to possess a special drivers license for public transportation and to undergo roadworthy tests (KIR), and for ride-hailing service providers to operate under corporate bodies or cooperatives. The latter is aimed at facilitating the mechanism to hold ride-hailing companies responsible for complaints over poor service or crimes involving drivers they have recruited. Perhaps the recent murder could have been prevented if the ride-hailing company had thoroughly scrutinized its applicants during recruitment. Sundays murder is not the first criminal act to have targeted ride-hailing app passengers. Last January, a female passenger was the victim of an armed robbery committed by a ride-hailing driver in Bandung. The police were quick to arrest the driver, who turned out to have misused the account of the real driver after he had been suspended due to multiple violations a few months earlier. The police also arrested a ride-hailing driver early last month for an alleged sexual attack on a female passenger in Bandung and another female passenger reported ridehailing driver to the Makassar Police in October last year for attempted rape. As crimes in general are instigated by intention or opportunity, ride-hailing providers, like taxi companies, have set up a system to prevent both intention and opportunity from arising. But as these several cases have shown, the current system exposes loopholes. For passenger safety reasons, conventional taxi operators bar their drivers from directly contacting customers when it comes to reservations. The operators also select their drivers through tests. Those mechanisms are absent in ride-hailing services. Restricting ride-hailing services due to the crimes perpetrated by a few drivers is by no means wise. Its more important to encourage them to develop apps that ensure passengers safety. The Europalia Arts Festival Indonesia held from Oct. 10, 2017, to Jan. 21, which showcased the varied arts and cultural richness of the archipelago across Europe, is said to be one of the best ever for the biannual arts festival, which was established in Brussels in 1969. "I was reading a Belgian newspaper this week and the artistic director of Europalia from Belgium said he thought that [the Europalia Arts Festival Indonesia] was one of the best ever. When we look at the [visitor] numbers, 600,000, it's huge at a time when people don't go much to exhibitions," Belgian Ambassador to Indonesia Patrick Herman told The Jakarta Post during a reception at his residence in Central Jakarta on Thursday. He said the event was a wonderful setting to showcase the variety and richness of Indonesian culture and arts in Europe. "I think a lot of [the exhibits] were something that [European visitors] had expected; and they loved them. But there were also a lot of artistic expressions that they did not expect at all to see from Indonesia," said Herman. "Because people were expecting [art performances] from Bali and Yogyakarta; and they [also] got [the cultural richness of] Aceh, Papua, Kalimantan, Maluku. It was an incredible introduction to Indonesian arts." Regarding the accomplishment, the cultural director general at the Culture and Education Ministry, Hilmar Farid, told the Post that the event exceeded the target that it had set despite rather limited preparation time. Read also: Indonesian contemporary works, sacred dances enrich Europalia "The result is good considering the preparation and resources that we had. But the important thing is how it will affect Indonesian artists, as we hope that [the event] will be able to provide them with new opportunities," he said, adding that he had heard that some of the artists had indeed made commitments to new projects this year and in 2019. "Though it's still too early to say that [these artists] felt the impact [of Europalia] but it is pointing that way." Other than an opportunity to promote Indonesian arts and culture abroad, Europalia also provided the ministry with a valuable lesson, especially on how to organize a series of a quite complex arts and cultural activities across different places and involving a large number of people. "It's an important experience since we're creating a [cultural activity] platform for Indonesia this year, named Indonesiana, where we work across eight regions," said Hilmar, adding that it would be organized similarly to Europalia. "The venues will be responsible for the execution, while the government will act as a national committee that will distribute the resources and the people. [We will also] invite guests from abroad who will come using their own budgets," he said. Indonesiana is set to highlight a particular form of art expression and art figures in each region. West Sumatra, for example, will host all things related to silat (traditional martial arts), including dance, comic books and films. Surakarta will become the center of gamelan; while Blora, the hometown of one of Indonesia's most acclaimed writers, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, will highlight the country's literature. "We're going to try run Indonesiana this year. Hopefully next year the event will be bigger and we will be more prepared," said Hilmar. Lanvin designer Olivier Lapidus is leaving the French fashion house after just eight months with immediate effect as part of a management shake-up, the firm said on Thursday. Lapidus' departure comes a month after Chinese conglomerate Fosun became the majority shareholder in Lanvin, France's oldest surviving couture label which has been facing financial difficulties. Lanvin chief executive Nicolas Druz is to become the head of Fosun Fashion Group, where he will be responsible for boosting business in Europe, Lanvin said in a statement. Joann Cheng, the chair of both Fosun Fashion Group and Lanvin, is to become chief executive of the 129-year-old French brand on an interim basis until a new CEO is found, it added. Read also: China's European fashion habit moves to the boardroom Lanvin was until now majority-owned by Taiwan-based media magnate Shaw-Lan Wang. The turmoil began in 2015 with the departure of star designer Alber Elbaz after a 14-year run during which the brand became a favourite of the fashion set. The next year the company sank to a loss of 18.3 million euros, its first in a decade. Elbaz was eventually replaced by Bouchra Jarrar, who quit after just 16 months. Wang brought in Lapidus, the son of French fashion designer Ted Lapidus, in 2017. Indonesian Facebook users are choosing to keep their accounts despite recent allegations of unauthorized data harvesting carried out by the social media giant. Febianca Putri, 24, a Jakarta-based writer, said she believed the case was a wake-up call for her to be more careful with social media, but she had no plans to deactivate her account. I will remain on Facebook, because a lot of my friends and relatives are on Facebook. But I will be more vigilant, especially toward unverified apps, said Febianca, who has been on Facebook since 2007. Ririn Herlinawaty, 24, a Bandung Institute of Technology graduate student, said the use of Facebook accounts for political purposes was unexpected. It was a big slap in the face for me and I felt betrayed by the social networks terms and conditions, she said. Read also: #DeleteFacebook movement gains prominent backer The data case came to light when Cambridge Analytica, a United Kingdom firm linked to Donald Trumps 2016 presidential campaign, was found to have allegedly misused the data of 50 million users for political purposes. I am actually fine if Facebook used my profile and other personal data for commercial purposes. But for politics? Thats what I fear, Ririn said, adding that she was unsure whether she would deactivate her account. Following the allegations of data harvesting, a global movement to boycott Facebook began, with hashtags #DeleteFacebook and #BoycottFacebooktrending on the internet. The movement has generated debate among Indonesian social media users. Those in the boycott camp, citing the rampant spread of fake news on Facebook, reasoned that other social media platforms had long taken over Facebook as the platform of choice. Its too late for me. I deactivated my FB account two years ago, when hoaxes were booming, said Twitter user @SayaIbuID on Wednesday. However, many users vowed to not let go of their accounts. Twitter user@bobwiratama tweeted, Why #DeleteFacebook? Besides, they provide the option of setting up privacy preferences. Another Twitter user, @RickoBRN, said he needed Facebook for his online business. [] we can meet people who have the same hobby. Why, then, do we have to #DeleteFacebook? he said on Tuesday. Nukman Luthfie, the founder of the Social Media Literacy Institution, said he believed the case in the United States would not significantly impact Indonesian users, reasoning that there was no evidence to suggest that data harvesting took place in the country. Hence, it wont concern Indonesian users. Besides, lots of users still see the platform as their main source of nostalgic memories, he said. Indonesia has the fourth-highest number of Facebook users in the world. As of January, Indonesia recorded 130 million accounts 6 percent of the global population of Facebook users according to market statistics portal Statista. As the third-largest democracy in the world, Indonesia was more vulnerable to smear campaigns, said digital rights group Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet). Read also: Data protection legal framework: A priority agenda Data breaches for political purposes might happen in the upcoming regional elections and again during the presidential election next year, said Damar Juniarto, the groups regional coordinator. Thus, the government should be looking to expedite deliberation of a data protection law. In response to the data case, the government had taken preventive measures, including assessing the behavior of Indonesian users on the platform, said Anton Setiyawan, the spokesman of the newly established National Cyber and Encryption Agency. We have been looking into how Indonesian users respond to one political issue and how they transform it into action, Anton said. Meanwhile, Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara said his ministry had yet to find cases of data hijacking in the country. I urge the public to consider this scandal as a wake-up call on the importance of data privacy, he told The Jakarta Post. (srs) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, March 23, 2018 16:40 1280 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cb3c8e2 1 City Green-Pramuka-City,ojek-service,assault-case Free Approximately a hundred app-based ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers gathered at the Green Pramuka City apartment complex in Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday, demanding an explanation for an alleged assault by a security guard against one of their colleagues. Cempaka Putih Police chief Comr. Rosiana Nurwidajati confirmed the incident on Thursday, saying that the drivers had received information about the alleged incident from a WhatsApp group. They came as a show of solidarity, not to partake in violence as they had learned from the Senen incident, Rosiana said as quoted by kompas.com, referring to an incident in Senen last month in which a mob of online ojek drivers destroyed a car and beat up its driver. The drivers dispersed after receiving information from an ojek driver and a security guard posted at the Cempaka Putih Police headquarters. The police said the incident started when the driver was reprimanded by the security guard three times for stopping in a no-parking zone at the apartment entrance. The security guard allegedly punched the driver in the nose twice after being incensed that his warnings went unheeded. The driver then reported the alleged assault to the police, who charged the security guard as a suspect. (jlm) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Agnes Anya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, March 23, 2018 16:24 1280 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cb37c56 1 Politics Africa,Wakanda,Foreign-Affairs-Ministry Free Indonesians, particularly entrepreneurs, should change their perspectives about Africa as the region has emerged as one of the world's potential major markets, a Foreign Ministry official says. "If you think about Africa, you have to remember 'Wakanda' and not 'Gods Must Be Crazy'," Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir, said in a press briefing recently. Wakanda is a fictional country and the home of Marvel's superhero Black Panther. Adapted in a movie titled after the superhero, Wakanda is portrayed as a highly wealthy African nation due to its advanced technological development and rare natural resource, vibranium. Meanwhile, Gods Must Be Crazy is a 1990s movie set in Kenya, the film depicts life for African people when the region was still underdeveloped. Arrmanatha said that Wakanda's potential was the true picture of the current condition of African countries. He called on Indonesian businesspeople to start exploring opportunities to establish trade and economic cooperation with African countries. He also encouraged them to take advantage of the upcoming Indonesia-Africa Forum (IAF), which will be held in Bali on April 10 and 11, to broaden their views on partnership potential with African countries. The IAF, which is the first economic forum between the nations after more than six decades of close political rapport, will feature 550 representatives of government, state-owned enterprises, and private sector businesses from Indonesia and 53 African countries. Similarly, Daniel Tumpal Simandjuntak, the ministry's director for African affairs, said that most Indonesian entrepreneurs did not realize the trade and economic opportunities in Africa because they thought it was a region full of conflicts. In fact, with its considerable population of young people, African nations were suitable for partnerships on information technology-based services, he added. Kenya, for instance, has potential for development of e-commerce technology, Tumpal told The Jakarta Post after the briefing. (dmr) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, March 23, 2018 17:49 1280 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cb3f50c 1 City Mother,child-abuse Free The foster mother whose allegedly abusive approach to her five children while staying in star hotels said she could live in the hotels for 10 years as she had received many hotel vouchers from her clients. The 60-year-old woman claimed she could heal people supernaturally, and many came to her for that service. I healed people, then they gave me hotel vouchers that I could not use [given the large amount the vouchers], she said at the Jakarta Police headquarters on Thursday, as quoted by kompas.com. She also claimed that the money she got from being a supernatural healer allowed her to take her adopted children to other places for vacation. She was previously reported to the police by the Indonesian Child Protection Institute (LPAI) as it received reports about her abusive behavior toward her five adopted children the oldest being 14 years old and the youngest 8. In late February, the police apprehended the woman at the five-star Le Meridien Hotel in Central Jakarta. Over the past 10 years, the woman and her adopted children had lived in three different hotels, namely Le Meridien, Twin Plaza Hotel in Slipi, West Jakarta, and Menara Peninsula Hotel nearby. Central Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Roma Hutajulu said earlier the children were not sent to school. The police arrested the mother in a hotel room after one of her children ran away to his former nanny. The child told his former nanny that he and his four adopted siblings had endured abusive parenting. (vny) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ni Komang Erviani (The Jakarta Post) Denpasar, Bali Fri, March 23, 2018 17:42 1280 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cb3f16d 1 National tourism,volunteer-tourism,voluntourism,bali,Australia,customs-and-excise,CustomsOfficials,donation Free The Australian Consulate-General held a public outreach event for NGOs and civil society in Bali and launched the Australian Governments #smartvolunteering campaign on Thursday amid reports about donated goods from Australia being held at the customs office in Bali. The Consulate-General has posted information on their website about the processes required for importing donated goods into Indonesia. Australias long love affair with the island is manifest in the interest and keenness shown by Australians to help Balinese people and local communities that they see as being disadvantaged or in need, the Australian consul-general, Helena Studdert, said in her opening remarks. The consul-general said the office had received reports about people carrying donated goods being stopped at the airport on arrival, or shipments of donated goods being held up by customs. The goods included: hospital beds, wheelchairs, medical items, computers, clothing, toys or books. Some of them were used goods, some new. The Consulate was involved in a shipment of ambulance litters and CPR equipment being confiscated by customs for over 15 months. The reason given was a lack of proper paperwork, Studdert went on. Studdert also mentioned the global rise in volunteer tourism or voluntourism, citing 2017 UNICEF data indicating that the number of residential care institutions in Cambodia rose by 75 percent between 2005 and 2010. Half of the institutions are in the popular tourist destinations of Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Residential care refers to group living arrangements for children without primary caregivers or whose biological parents are unable to care for them. UNICEF attributed the increase in such institutions to overseas donors. As a result, many centers turn to orphanage tourism to attract more donors, fueling a system that exposes children to risk, the report said. Studdert, however, did not give any examples of such orphanages in Bali. For these reasons, the Australian Government discourages orphanage tourism, including visits and short-term, unskilled volunteering in orphanages, she went on. However, Studdert emphasized that the campaign was not designed to discourage the generosity of spirit that Australians are well known for, but to ensure their volunteering is the right fit. Head of Dissemination and Information Services at Ngurah Rai Customs and Excise office, Teddy Triatmojo, gave a presentation titled Donating Goods into Indonesia What You Need to Know. Teddy took questions and comments from NGOs and members of the Australian community in Bali regarding the challenges of bringing donated goods into Indonesia and Bali particularly. Teddy said goods imported for donation could be exempted from tax. "Basically, the procedure for importing goods for donation is the same as for ordinary import. However, for donating goods, the import tax could be exempted with some conditions," he said. For information about the procedure for importing goods, you can call Contact Center Bravo Bea Cukai on 1500225, or Ngurah Rai Customs Office on 0361 - 9351035 or email kppbc.ngurahrai@customs.go.id. (evi) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Beijing, China Fri, March 23, 2018 11:32 1280 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cb29092 2 Business China,US,trade-war Free China released Friday a list of potential tariffs on $3 billion worth of US goods, from pork to fruits and wine, that it could impose in response to new US trade duties. The commerce ministry warned that a 15 percent tariff on 120 goods worth almost $1 billion -- including fresh fruit, nuts, ginseng and wine -- would be imposed if the United States fails to reach a negotiated agreement. In a second phase, a 25 percent duty would be imposed on a eight goods totalling nearly $2 billion, including pork and aluminium scrap, after "further evaluating the impact of the US measures on China," it said in a statement. The ministry said the list was aimed at offsetting the losses incurred from US tariffs on steel and imports, which are due to take effect on Friday. But the statement also came hours after President Donald Trump announced tariffs on Chinese imports over the "theft" of intellectual property, fuelling fears of a looming trade war. "China and the United States as the world's top two economies, cooperation is the only right choice for the two countries," the commerce ministry statement said. China "urges the US side to resolve the concerns of the Chinese side as soon as possible" through dialogue and "avoid damage to the overall situation of Sino-US cooperation," it said. The list noticeably does not include soybeans, which Chinese state-run newspaper the Global Times had suggested should be targeted by Beijing. It would be a major blow to US farmers, as a third of their soybean exports go to China, in a business worth $14 billion last year. And the political stakes are high: Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the 10 top soybean-producing states in the 2016 election. The United States has decided to exempt the European Union and six other countries from the steel and aluminium tariffs. While China is the world's largest steel producer, it accounts for less than one percent of US imports and sells only 10 percent of its wrought aluminium abroad. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Alfred Cang (Bloomberg) Singapore Fri, March 23, 2018 19:30 1280 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cb46a29 2 Business US,China,Tariff-rise,trade-war,pork Free China struck back at US import tariffs with its own set of reciprocal ones targeting, among other products, pork. The worlds biggest pork producer, consumer and importer is planning a 25 percent tax on US pork imports, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Friday. The tariffs would be in addition to current duties. Chinas plans for reciprocal tariffs on $3 billion on products from pork to wine come in response to steel and aluminum duties ordered by US President Donald Trump earlier this month. Agricultural commodities could be a feature of any ongoing tit-for-tat trade war. China is already investigating sorghum imports from the US and people familiar with the matter said last month that the country was studying the impact of restrictions on US soybeans, used to feed the Asian countrys pigs. China is showing its capacity to fight back, said Monica Tu, an analyst at Shanghai JC Intelligence. The measures arent expected to impact fundamentals a lot, she said, as imports from the US only account for about 14 percent of Chinas purchases. Still, China and Hong Kong combined is the second-biggest market for US pork, according to the US Meat Export Federation. Analysts at Vertical Group said this week that US pork was an easy target for China, citing a decline in its domestic pork and hog prices. The National Pork Producers Council warned that possible Chinese tariffs on US pork could have a significant negative impact on rural America. No one wins in these tit-for-tat trade disputes, least of all the farmers and the consumers, it said in a statement. Market Moves WH Group. the worlds largest pork company, dropped 4.7 percent. The company acquired US pork and hog producer Smithfield Foods in 2013. Shares of Muyuan Foodstuff, the countrys third-biggest pig breeder, rose 0.6 percent. Guangdong Wens Foodstuffs Group, the largest pig breeder, advanced 3.7 percent. New Hope Liuhe, Chinas top animal-feed producer, added 0.1 percent. Jiangxi Zhengbang Technology, a feed producer, increased 2 percent. Soybean meal on Dalian Commodity Exchange climbed as much as 4.3 percent to 3,128 yuan ($494) a metric ton before closing 1.5 percent higher at 3,046 yuan. The surge reflects concerns that an expansion in tariffs could impact the supply of US soybeans to China, according to Tu. A consolidation of Chinas pig industry has seen small farms shut due to environmental concerns, while large-scale operations are expanding. The countrys pork imports are forecast to decline in 2018 as an increase in domestic production reduces the need to buy meat from overseas, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Agnes Anya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, March 23, 2018 20:46 1280 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cb49125 1 World death-row,#DeathPenalty,#SaudiArabia,#MigrantWorkers,migrant-workers Free Five Indonesian migrant workers are facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia after they were found guilty of practicing what Saudi authorities consider magic and sorcery. "Most of them were convicted because they had jimat (traditional amulets) with them, said the Foreign Ministry's Indonesian citizen protection director, Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, recently. Many migrant workers leave Indonesia carrying a jimat as a good luck charm. Jimat came in many different forms: from a hair bundle put into a tiny bag to a Quran verse kept in a wallet, Lalu said. Many Muslims in Indonesia are unorthodox and do not consider jimat to be problematic. However, he said, Saudi authorities found such practices to be shirk (worshiping anyone or anything other than the Almighty God). In Saudi Arabia, this can result in capital punishment. Nonetheless, the regulation is not based on the Quran. Therefore, we usually manage to acquire clemency from the Saudi government, Iqbal said. Indonesian officials usually find it harder to get clemency for those found guilty of a murder case. They could only be freed from the execution charge with clemency given by the victims' family, Iqbal said. Between 2011 and 2018, 102 Indonesians faced death row in Saudi Arabia. Three were executed, 79 were freed from the execution, and 20 are still in the legal process for clemency. Of the 20, five were charged with practicing magic. A total of 583 Indonesian citizens have faced the death penalty abroad. (evi) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Benjamin Harvey (Bloomberg) Istanbul Fri, March 23, 2018 07:02 1280 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cb1d4bc 2 World Recep-Tayyip-Erdogan,Turkey,authoritarian,Facebook Free Turkey, already the worlds leading jailer of journalists, is squeezing what little independence is left out of its battered media. President Recep Tayyip Erdogans government is widening the powers of its aggressive radio and television censor to include the internet just as 81-year-old billionaire Aydin Dogan starts talks to sell Turkeys largest private media company to a group of Erdogan loyalists, ending years of harassment by authorities. The moves come as Erdogan, in power for 15 years, prepares to cement his control with elections next year that will abolish the post of prime minister and codify what is essentially one-man rule. Since a failed coup in 2016, the leader of the Middle Easts largest economy has presided over the rounding up of opponents by the tens of thousands, including workers in every branch of government and leading members of the media, academia and the judiciary. Even Miss Turkey has been dethroned and jailed for criticizing Erdogan on Instagram, while just Thursday an actress was sentenced to 10 months for allegedly insulting him from the stage. This is very much following the Russian model, said Asli Aydintasbas at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Media outlets are all closely affiliated with the government. A few exceptions are tolerated, but marginalized. CNN, Netflix Turkeys latest efforts to control what 80 million citizens are permitted to see on their computer screens and televisions may affect some of the biggest names in American media. The assets Dogan is in negotiations to sell include CNNs Turkish affiliate as well as the countrys leading daily, Hurriyet, and tabloid, Posta. Separately, a law that parliament passed late Wednesday allows the states media watchdog, known as RTUK, to vet online broadcasts and possibly block content of both paid and free streaming services like Netflix and YouTube. A member of RTUKs governing board, Ilhan Tasci, who was appointed by the main opposition party, said vague wording in the legislation means individuals who are supposed to be exempt from oversight may end up being targeted for posting videos on the web without a license. In no developed democracy can the government decide what adults watch, Tasci said by phone. Dogan Holding said in a regulatory filing that its negotiations with Erdogan Demirorens Demiroren Holding AS are based on a market value for the media assets of $890 million, less than a quarter of the groups enterprise value at its peak in the mid-2000s. That was before Dogan was slapped with multibillion-dollar fines and forced to unload some key assets. Shares of Dogan Holding, which also has assets in real estate, manufacturing and energy, soared almost 20 percent to 1.04 liras by 2:47 p.m. in Istanbul on Thursday, after closing 19 percent higher Wednesday. Shares of Hurriyet, Dogan Gazetecilik and magazine publisher Dogan Dergi also jumped almost 20 percent. Tearful Encounter Demirorens previous foray into media ended in tears -- literally. A leaked recording of a phone call with Erdogan in 2014 revealed him crying as the Turkish leader berated him for the political coverage of one of his newspapers. How did I get into this business? Demiroren says on the call. The 79-year-old tycoon made his fortune in industries ranging from energy and construction to industrial metals and tourism. Bahadir Ozgur, who spent 13 years at Dogan newspapers, said the companys problems started in February 2009, when Referans, a business daily that was later shuttered, ran a story about nepotism among Erdogans allies in his ruling, Islamist-rooted AKP party. It was just about how the sons of ministers had climbed the ladders in business, Ozgur said by phone. Dozens of tax inspectors soon paid a visit, resulting in the astronomical fines on the holding company, he said. Ozgur, 41, has been out of work since he quit Dogan in June to protest censorship over Turkeys militarys operation to seize Afrin, Syria, from Kurdish YPG fighters. The Committee to Protect Journalists in December identified 73 jailed Turkish journalists, the most in the world for the second year running. There always was censorship and self-censorship at Dogan, but it was always subtle, pinpointed, he said. For the first time, we were ordered to do this or that story, using this or that term or expression. Not Free HalkTV, operated by the main opposition party, has largely been left alone and Fox TVs nightly news show is by far the most popular and often the most critical, but these examples are outliers. Thousands of people have been legally persecuted for insulting the president and the owners and editorial leadership of opposition newspapers Cumhuriyet, Sozcu, OdaTV, Evrensel and Birgun have all been jailed, detained or are facing trial. Kurdish media outlets have been ordered shuttered by the dozens. An online startup operating from London, Ahval, was banned within months. Turkey has also banned or blocked access at times to Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, as well as the virtual private network services, or VPNs, that allow users to mask their locations and skirt the bans. Wikipedia -- in all languages -- has been blocked for almost a year. For all of these reasons, global rights group Freedom House, based in Washington, changed its ranking for Turkey this year from Partly Free to Not Free for the first time. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, March 23, 2018 15:59 1280 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cb35ab1 4 Business post-border-check,imports,violation,Trade-Ministry,investigation Free The Trade Ministry has found some importers to have misused the post-border check policy implemented in early February. Trade Ministry international trade director general Oke Nurwan said the naughty importers had misused the policy by not including valid documents and making false declarations about the goods they had imported. We are investigating the case. It we find [the importers] guilty, we will punish [them], he said when disseminating the new policy to the Shopping Centers Tenants Association (Hippindo) in Jakarta on Thursday as reported by kontan.co.id. Oke, however, declined to mention the name of the importers, but added that the punishment could be in the form of a warning to revoke their import permits. He assured that the government would maintain the post-border check system, but would improve the policy to prevent any attempts to misuse it. Unlike the border control policy, under which imported goods were checked at ports by officers of the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, under the post-border check policy, the imported goods are checked outside the ports. Meanwhile, Hippindo chairman Budihardjo Iduansyah welcomed the introduction of the post-border check system, saying it was the governments accommodation to the proposal made by the business community. Indonesias Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) deputy chairwoman for international affairs Shinta W. Kamdani said the new system could shorten the import process from two weeks with the old system to one week with the new system. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, March 23, 2018 11:47 1280 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cb2b3b2 1 Business bambang-brodjonegoro,Indonesian-development-forum,economic-disparity Free National Development Planning Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro says the government is working to narrow the economic disparity among the regions as currently, economic activities are mostly centered in Java and Sumatra. We will focus on finding solutions on how to balance economic development between Java and other islands, said Bambang in Jakarta on Thursday when announcing the Indonesian Development Forum (IDF), to be held on July 10-11. In the terms of size, Java is not too big, but in terms of the economic development, the island enjoys the biggest portion. It is unfair for other areas such as Kalimantan and Papua that are larger than Java. Economic activities in Java and Sumatra contribute 80.15 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) with Java topping the chart with 58.49 percent contribution. Meanwhile, eastern Indonesia lags behind despite its potential. Bambang said the forum would discuss several key points to reduce the regional the economic gap -- better connectivity between islands, innovation in local governance, smarter regional funding and unlocking the potential of the digital economy for regional development. The IDF will be attended by representatives of governments, civil society, academics and the private sector. The government aims to reduce the Gini ratio from 0.393 points to 0.36 by 2019. (roi/bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ivany Atina Arbi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, March 23 2018 The future of clean water management in Jakarta is still in limbo as the administration has yet to decide what to do with the contract between its water company and private operators. City water company PAM Jaya, which is set to conclude a 25-year agreement with its partners PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja) and PT Aetra Air Jakarta (Aetra) by 2023, has proposed a new agreement where by both companies will act only as contractors to PAM Jaya. The proposal has raised concerns over accountability and responsibility to improve... Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, March 23, 2018 15:22 1280 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cb35577 1 City Sexual-assault,assistant Free Police arrested on Thursday a man suspected of sexually assaulting his 16-year-old household assistant in Beji, Depok, West Java. The victim reported the assault to the community leader, provoking the anger of local residents. Community unit (RW) 06 leader, Imas, said the same thing had happened a year earlier with another victim. Beji Police chief Comr. Yenny Anggraini said officers had moved quickly to detain the suspect, identified as TM, to avoid vigilante mobs. We have taken the suspect to Beji Police headquarters for further questioning, said Yenny as quoted by Tribunnews.com According to Yenny, the victim had worked at TMs house for three days. The victim recalled the suspect asking them to watch a pornographic movie together. He wanted me to sleep with him, but I refused. He threatened me and confiscated my phone and clothes, but I escaped and told the neighbors. (jlm) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, March 23, 2018 19:25 1280 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cb45dfc 1 City Asma-Dewi,prosecutors,Court Free Prosecutors are set to appeal the South Jakarta District Courts verdict on Asma Dewi, who was found guilty of insulting those in power or legal institutions. The court sentenced Asma on March 15 to five months and 15 days in prison for using the words koplak (loosely translated as "stupid") and edun (loosely translated as "crazy") to criticize the government on Facebook. Prosecutor Dedying W. Atabay assured recently that his team had already filed the appeal on March 19. He argued that the verdict was far lower than the prosecutors' demand of two years in prison and a Rp 300 million (US$21,000) fine. Separately, Asmas lawyer Nurhayati said she would prepare the cross-appeal in response to the prosecutors' move. The prosecutors filed the appeal on March 19, so we will prepare the cross-appeal, Nurhayati said, as quoted by kompas.com. Asma was arrested in September 2017. Her sentence takes into account her detention period, therefore she may walk free. (vny) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, March 23, 2018 12:37 1280 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cb2e40f 1 City expired-food,business,West-Jakarta Free The West Jakarta Police have said the raid on PT Pandawa Rezeki Semesta (PRS), a distributor accused of selling expired food to retailers, in Cengkareng was conducted after they received a tip off from residents about suspicious waste dumped by the company. Head of the West Jakarta Police special crimes unit 2, First Insp. Steven Chang, said the police followed up the report and found the company had thrown away labels of expired products. The director of the company, identified only as RA, 36, who has been named a suspect, told police the expired products would be destroyed. However, in the course of the raid we became suspicious that the workers had changed the labels showing the expiration dates, Steven said on Wednesday, according to kompas.com. During the raid, the police confiscated 96,060 food products, a label printer and a bottle of liquid to remove labels. He added that the company ran its business from several warehouses. The warehouse in Cengkareng was used to change the labels of expired food products, as well as receiving and distributing the products, Steven said. Most of the labels were changed in a warehouse in Jembatan Besi, Tambora, he added. The products were legally imported. The products have been registered and received distribution permits from the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency [BPOM], he said. Besides RA, the police have also named DG, 27, the head of the Cengkareng warehouse, and AH, 33, the head of the Tambora warehouse, as suspects. They have been charged under Law No 18/2012 on food. (cal) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Winda A. Charmila (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, March 23, 2018 18:49 1280 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cb44bfb 1 City app-based-transportation,safety Free Despite their popularity and contribution to the countrys economy, ride-hailing companies are struggling to ensure customer safety, with crimes involving drivers of ride-hailing apps still rampant. Yun Siska Rohani, 29, was found dead on Sunday after she was allegedly murdered by Fadli Nizar Himba, a 28-year-old driver of a ride-hailing vehicle. He was allegedly assisted by his twin brother Fahmi Idris Himba, 28. Siska, who worked as a wedding organizer, ordered the vehicle at midnight from Kosenda Hotel in Kebon Kacang, Central Jakarta, with Harris Hotel in Tebet, South Jakarta, marked as the destination. Instead of transporting her there, Fadli, who was accompanied by his brother, allegedly drove his car to the Jagorawi toll road and robbed her, asking for Rp 20 million (US$1,400). However, after finding that Siska did not have much money in her bank account, Fadli allegedly killed her out of anger and disposed of her body in Cibinong, Bogor, West Java. The suspects were arrested on Monday. Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) chairman Tulus Abadi said that under the current system, if a driver of a ride-hailing vehicle committed a crime, the operator could not be held responsible. Even if the victim sues them, it will be useless because the operators can say they only created the system, while the responsibility for whatever occurs in the field rests on the drivers, Tulus said Thursday. It is very clear that in Siskas case, there is no such thing as customer protection. Surely, criminal acts also happen with conventional taxis. However, they at least have call centers for customers who need an immediate response." It also proved that the operators of the applications did not have clear standards when recruiting drivers, he added. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Adam Haigh (Bloomberg) Tokyo Fri, March 23, 2018 14:02 1280 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cb2fccb 2 Business Asia,stocks,weakening Free Asian stocks followed their US counterparts lower after President Donald Trumps decision to slap tariffs on China heightened concern a trade war could hurt global growth. The yen climbed to its strongest in more than a year. Equity indexes from Tokyo to Shanghai tumbled well over 3 percent. US stock futures also declined, signaling a further retreat for the S&P 500 Index after it tumbled 2.5 percent, the most in six weeks. As investors dumped stocks, they rushed to the safety of Treasuries, where yields dipped below 2.8 percent, and the yen, which jumped past 105 per dollar for the first time since November 2016. Follow live coverage of reaction here. The sell-off began after Trump instructed US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to levy tariffs on at least US$50 billion in Chinese imports. Subsequently, China announced plans for reciprocal tariffs on $3 billion of imports from the US, including products from steel to pork. News that the US is shielding some countries from steel and aluminum tariffs did nothing to lift investor gloom. "The window from coming back from an all-out trade war is still open, but closing fast, and obviously leaves a lot of uncertainty over the next two to three weeks," said Kay Van-Petersen, a Singapore-based global macro strategist with Saxo Capital Markets. It is "classic risk-off for equities today and potentially over the next few days," Van-Petersen said. Eventually it "could open up some interesting opportunities, especially in the credit space and in the consumption-driven sectors," he said. Adding to the image of the ascendance of the "America first" faction, Trump said he is replacing White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster with John Bolton, a controversial foreign-affairs specialist whom the U.S. Senate declined to confirm as President George W. Bushs ambassador to the United Nations. Oil prices climbed amid worries that Bolton would pursue a hard-line stance against Iran. Investor fears of escalating trade tensions are being realized as the U.S. tariffs quickly sparked a reciprocal response from China. Traders had already been bracing for the possibility of slowing growth as the Federal Reserve reiterated its commitment to further interest-rate increases after Wednesdays hike. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Marchio Irfan Gorbiano (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, March 23, 2018 12:00 1280 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cb2bec7 1 Business tax-office,SPT,collection Free The Taxation Directorate General had collected annual tax returns (SPT) from 7.3 million people as of Thursday, 52.14 percent out of this years 14 million target. Tax office spokesman Hestu Yoga Saksama said the latest figure was up by around 20 percent from the same period last year. He added that up to 80 percent of taxpayers had filed their SPT through the tax authoritys online e-filing system. The annual SPT filing deadline for individuals falls on March 31, while institutional taxpayers are expected to file their SPT before the April 30 deadline. Hestu said the tax office had learned from past glitches in the e-filing service, which had prompted the tax office to extend the SPT filing deadline. Weve improved the internet bandwidth and our server capacity, said Hestu in Jakarta on Friday. Hestu said the tax office expected large entries of SPTs on the March 31 deadline. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Steve Holland (Reuters) Washington Fri, March 23, 2018 10:32 1280 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cb2692e 2 World trump,defense,US Free U.S. President Donald Trump shook up his foreign policy team again on Thursday, replacing H.R. McMaster as national security adviser with John Bolton, a hawk who has advocated using military force against North Korea and Iran. The move, announced in a tweet and a White House statement, came little more than a week after Trump fired Rex Tillerson as secretary of state and nominated Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo to replace him. The shake-up shows Trump, in office for 14 months, surrounding himself with advisers more likely to agree with his views and taking his foreign policy in a more hawkish direction. What it means for a prospective summit meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is unclear. The meeting is supposed to happen by the end of May, but an exact time and place have yet to be settled on. Bolton's appointment could doom the already endangered Iran nuclear deal. It could also lead to friction with Trump on how tough to be on Russia, with the president still holding out hope for improved ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The news of Bolton's appointment followed a meeting he had with Trump in the Oval Office. Even Bolton was caught by surprise. I didnt really expect an announcement this afternoon, but its obviously a great honor," he told Fox News after the announcement. "I'm still getting used to it." Bolton, 69, is a Fox News analyst who contemplated a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. He is a familiar figure in Washington, with a walrus-like moustache and hard-charging views on many global challenges. Some members of Congress immediately questioned his selection for the critical position in the White House. This is not a wise choice. Mr. Bolton does not have the temperament or judgment to be an effective national security adviser," Democratic Senator Jack Reed said in a statement. Bolton tweeted on Jan. 11 that time was running out on stopping North Korea's nuclear weapons program. He said: "Weve got to look at the very unattractive choice of using military force to deny them that capability." At a time when Trump has threatened to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, unless Europe agrees to change it, Bolton has tweeted that the deal "needs to be abrogated." He has also called for "effective countermeasures to the cyber war that Russia is engaging." 'STRONG SIGNAL' Elliott Abrams, a senior foreign policy aide to former Republican President George W. Bush, praised Trumps choice, saying Bolton proved when we were both in the Bush administration that he is an excellent and forceful bureaucrat. Whether Bolton, who was U.S. ambassador to the United Nations for Bush, will be able to swallow his own views has been debated by foreign policy experts since he appeared on Trump's radar. His hiring does not require U.S. Senate confirmation. Bolton said in the Fox News interview that his past statements on various issues were behind him and he would be an honest broker ensuring the president sees all the options available to him. "The important thing is what the president says and the advice I give him," he said. Still, analysts said Bolton's views would be influential. Bolton has long been an advocate for pre-emptive military action against North Korea, and his appointment as National Security Adviser is a strong signal that President Trump remains open to these options," said Abraham Denmark, deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia under former President Barack Obama. "We should also expect an even more confrontational approach to China - a trade war may just be the beginning of a broader geopolitical competition, he said. Bonnie Glaser, Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington, said: Bolton has long supported regime change in North Korea and closer ties with Taiwan. Fasten your seat belts. As the State Department's top arms control official under Bush, Bolton was a leading advocate of the 2003 invasion of Iraq - which was later found to have been based on bogus and exaggerated intelligence about President Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction and ties to terrorism. 'MUTUALLY AGREED' McMaster, hired early in Trump's presidency to replace scandal-tarred Michael Flynn as national security adviser, had widely been expected to leave soon. Trump found McMaster's style grating. The two had frequently clashed in meetings and Trump had been looking for a replacement, advisers said. The White House said Trump and McMaster had "mutually agreed" that he would leave. "I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend," Trump's tweet said. "The two have been discussing this for some time. The timeline was expedited as they both felt it was important to have the new team in place, instead of constant speculation. This was not related to any one moment or incident, rather it was the result of ongoing conversations between the two," a senior White House official said. The announcement came a day after Trump was angered by a leak of information from his presidential briefing papers that said he was advised specifically not to congratulate Putin on his disputed election victory. Trump told reporters he had congratulated Putin. McMaster, 55, is to stay on until mid-April. He said in a statement he was also requesting retirement from the U.S. Army, in which he holds the rank of three-star general. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly had been hoping to entice McMaster into another military assignment in order to qualify as a four-star general. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) United Nations, United States Fri, March 23, 2018 08:02 1280 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cb1e4c0 2 World UN,Syria,chemical-attack Free UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres voiced alarm on Wednesday over allegations of chemical attacks in Syria and urged the Security Council to take action to address "such serious crimes." The appeal came after Guterres met on Tuesday with the head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which has investigated more than 70 cases of toxic gas attacks in Syria since 2014. "The secretary-general is alarmed at the persistent allegations of the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic," said a UN statement. While the use of chemical weapons is "unjustifiable and abhorrent," "equally unjustifiable is a lack of response to such use," said the statement. "Impunity cannot prevail with respect to such serious crimes." Guterres renewed a call to the council "to demonstrate unity and resolve on this matter". OPCW chief Ahmet Uzumcu said there had been "several" recent allegations of chemical weapons use in Eastern Ghouta, where the Syrian government is battling to take control over the enclave near Damascus. The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights has said that chlorine has been used as a toxic agent on villages during the government's offensive in Eastern Ghouta. Uzumcu said the experts were looking into allegations of chlorine use that were attributed to the Syrian army and to rebel groups. The OPCW's fact-finding mission for Syria was established in April 2014 to determine whether toxic agents were used as a weapon, but it does not have the mandate to establish who is responsible for its use. The Security Council in 2015 set up a panel to determine who was behind the attacks, but that inquiry ended last year when Russia vetoed the extension of its mandate. Russia maintained that the panel, known as the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM), was biased and unprofessional after it concluded in a report that Syrian forces had used sarin in an attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhun in April last year. Russia has presented a draft resolution to the council that would set up a new panel -- but the United States, Britain and France have rejected the proposal, which they see as a bid to weaken the inquiry. The United States has circulated a rival draft resolution, but Russia has dismissed that proposal as a bid to revive the defunct JIM. UN diplomats are pessimistic about prospects for a compromise after several rounds of negotiations failed to achieve progress. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, March 23, 2018 13:50 1280 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cb2fbde 1 SE Asia Jokowi-administration,ASEAN,office-building Free President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has targeted the construction of the new ASEAN Secretariat building in South Jakarta to be finished by early 2019. Jokowi received a delegation from the ASEAN Secretariat led by Secretary-General Dato Lim Jock Hoi at the Merdeka Palace on Friday. They discussed the new secretariat building that had commenced construction on Jan. 8. " The Indonesian government has worked hard to ensure that the construction of the new ASEAN Secretariat is finished by the beginning of 2019," Jokowi said during the meeting on Friday. The President went on to say that the new building should be fully utilized to accommodate ASEAN meetings in the future. The new ASEAN Secretariat building, located next to the current building, will have two 16-floor towers and cost about Rp 500 billion (US$37.3 million). The construction is expected to take 395 working days. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Lim expressed his gratitude to the Indonesian government for providing the new ASEAN Secretariat building, which will be five-times the size of the current building. He said during the meeting with Jokowi, who was accompanied by Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, they also discussed various ways to make the secretariat more efficient and interactive. "[Jokowi's] message is [...] to make sure that the secretariat is efficient and able to help the membership in giving policy options," Lim said, adding that Jokowi also wished for ASEAN to remain united. (dmr) Bali Safari and Marine Park, part of the Taman Safari Indonesia group, a pioneer of animal theme parks in the country, is cooperating with tech company DSI and Chinese online booking platform CTRIP to boost the number of Chinese tourists to the zoo. A reported 1.97 million Chinese tourists arrived in the country between January and November of last year, making China the country with the biggest contribution of tourists to Indonesia in 2017. As Bali was the most popular destination for Chinese tourists, Bali and Marine Park said it hoped to capitalize on them. Read also: Monthly destination: Bali Ayu Marbun of the zoo's marketing communications section told The Jakarta Post via email that DSI and CTRIP would collaborate with the park to provide Chinese tourists with tickets and packages. CTRIP is set to offer Bali and Marine Park packages on its website and mobile application, while DSI will develop the booking system and provide QR codes and e-vouchers, allowing tourists to easily enter the park. CTRIP regional manager Michelle Sun said the platform would focus on providing more activities for Chinese tourists visiting Indonesia. (jes/wng) Wings Air, a subsidiary of Lion Air Group, is scheduled to launch a new domestic route that connects Surakarta, Central Java, via Adi Soemarmo International Airport, and Tasikmalaya, West Java, via Wiriadinata Airport. Set to operate daily, the round trip will use the ATR 72-500/600 aircraft, with ticket prices starting at Rp 400,000 (US$28). The route will launch on March 28, with the first flight scheduled to take off from Surakarta at 11:25 a.m. and land in Tasikmalaya at 12:20 p.m. The flight from Tasikmalaya to Surakarta takes off at 12:40 p.m. and lands at 1:40 p.m. The total duration of the journey is around an hour. Read also: Wings Air opens second international flight to Sarawak The Surakarta-Tasikmalaya route will strengthen our inter-Java connectivity, Wings Air operational director Redi Irawan said in a press release. We also offer connecting flights from Surakarta to other Indonesian cities, such as Jakarta, Denpasar, Palangkaraya, Lombok, Surabaya, Bandung, Lampung, Banjarmasin, Makassar and Palembang. Additionally, Wings Air will launch a round-trip route on March 25, from Semarang in Central Java to Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara. It is set to be a regular flight. (wir/asw) Brandon Fournier, a labor attorney with Howard Shifman Law Firm and who also works Downriver, was given the Michigan Municipal Leagues Outstanding Service Award during a recent event in Lansing. Fournier serves as the Southgate city attorney and formerly worked as Southgates city administrator before taking the position at the Shifman firm. He was recognized for his longtime assistance with the league, including most recently in the leagues effort on Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) reform. During the pension reform and OPEB negotiations spanning the last year and a half, Brandon has served a critical role for League staff, offering technical expertise and understanding of the legal and practical implications of the policy and legislative reform proposals, said Chris Hackbarth, the leagues director of state and federal affairs. In addition to his work in Southgate, Fournier has served for many years on the leagues internal municipal finance committee. Brandon has attended meetings around the state with League staff on this issue, participated in conference calls, reviewed legislation and drafted language, and been available at all hours of the day, night and weekends, offering his counsel and insight, Hackbarth said. Our efforts to negotiate with the Legislature and Administration on this OPEB issue were significantly enhanced by Brandons efforts. Home >Police Enforcement > Speed Limits/Traps > Towns Seek Speed Trap Cash From Group That Profits From Tickets Which moment from a comic this week caught your interest? Moment and Indie Moment of the Month for Febuary have begun! Vote now or forever hold your peace!!! Your WINNER for MOMENT OF THE WEEK 3/14/18: "He... tried. But they... still killed him. Maybe one day... they'll kill me... too..." - Detective Comics #976 This thread will contain SPOILERS!!! And lots of them. If you haven't read this week's comics yet, go read them before continuing into this thread, or risk being spoiled! PLEASE NOTE!!!!!! ]Remember to include the title and issue number of the comic you are nominating. Otherwise I will be forced to disqualify your nomination, and nobody wants that! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Rules: 1. Each nomination must be a moment in a comic released the week of the thread. This does not include weekly previews, trade paperbacks, or back issue digests. For new comics check out Midtown Comics release dates. 2. Everyone can make ONE nomination. You can either nominate a moment yourself or second/third/fourth/fifth an already existing nomination. However, second/third/fourth/fifth will not count per nominating and thus earn entry above in Top Nominations. You want in that list you must nominate something. 3. It must be an actual moment involving the actions or statements of a comic character in an issue. No "This writer returns to the series", "this artist draws this character", "the book is better", etc. 4. If you want to change your nomination, there are a few factors involved: ---> A) No one can have seconded your nom. ---> B) If it is clear for you to change your nom, you must edit your original post or the new post will be disqualified as being a double nomination. ---> C) You can change your second, third, etc. by editing your original post before the nomination period ends. Moments on the poll do not have to be seconded. If there is room in the poll, moments that were nominated but not seconded will be added based on the order they were nominated. 6. Again, please be specific on the comic title, issue number and moment. Also be clear that you are actually nominating or seconding something ... statements such as "Yeah, that was a cool moment" aren't clear. You must nominate a single moment in the comic and can't nominate the whole issue. Once more, if you dont include the issue and number the moment will not be included. 7. The thread for nominations will go up on Wednesday (new comic day) at 11:00 PM (Central) or when Zechs arrives later that night and posts in the previous week thread announcing voting is closed. The nominations will go until 2:00 PM (Central Time) Sunday Afternoon, or whenever Zechs arrives and will post in the thread stating, Its over. and will start the poll. If a new comic day falls on a holiday week in American, then the thread will be made for that day (be it Tuesday or Thursday). Regardless, nominations will STILL conclude on Saturday deadline. 8. Please be civil when commenting on other people's nominations. But feel free to discuss them in this thread. 9. In case there is debate on WHEN exactly a title came out, http://www.midtowncomics.com or the official websites of said publishers (be it Marvel, DC, Darkhorse, etc.) will be the final word on the quarrel. 10. Any nominations not following the above rules will be disqualified. Unless of course if Zechs, who is feeling sad for the person who missed the rule and might give them time to provide the correction. Then he will pester bk into putting the nomination in the poll. Of course this wouldnt be a problem if Zechs wasnt granted the glorious powers of a moderator, which one day such power will be Zechs, oh yes they will his. 11. If at five nominations are not made, Zechs will choose some, but they will all count as one nomination, not multiple thus making sure balance is preserved. 12. AKA the Rulk rule. If several moments are tied past the deadline of 11:00 PM (Central Time) Wednesday (or holiday date when new comics arrive in the US) or when Zechs arrives that night, then voting will continue on in sudden death for eight more hours, until one is decided. THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE. If one isnt still decided, then Zechs will provide the deciding vote, regardless if he has voted already. So if that isn't enough reason to get a ton of votes on that additional day than you're just dooming yourself to give Zechs another vote. 13. AKA the Hobgoblin rule. Roderick Kingsley Hobgoblin moments when winning for three days straight automatically win the poll. No last day or second voting changes it to troll the ruler of this thread. Only ONE can rule as the Moment of the Week! Top Ten Nominators of All Time... 1.) GLX- (450 Nominations) 2.) Zechs- (442 Nominations) 3.) e_galston- (202 Nominations) 4.) IvCNuB4 - (175 Nominations) 5.) Johnny Smith (174 Nominations) 6.) Kravis (145 Nominations) 7.) Stephen Day- (126 Nominations) 8.) blcdude (109 Nominations) 9.) rdrsfn82- (102 Nominations) 10.) fieldy RICHARDS- (93 Nominations) Honorable Mentions Porcelain38- (92 Nominations) Starlord- (81 Nominations) HNutz (78 Nominations) God-Man (63 Nominations) Nicola Marshall (63 Nominations) BubbaKanoosh- (57 Nominations) DudeistMonk (53 Nominations) Greg- (52 Nominations) Knuckles McSmasher- (44 Nominations) doombug - (43 Nominations) 48THRiLLS- (40 Nominations) Demarcoa (39 Nominations) SilverPhoenix (34 Nominations) guitarsmashley (34 Nominations) TimDrake'sDumbWings- (30 Nominations) Amoebas (29 Nominations) Chap22- (28 Nominations) Mr. Batman- (27 Nominations) Dragavon- (27 Nominations) locuas (26 Nominations) karmakaze (26 Nominations) VinnyPic- (25 Nominations) jephd (22 Nominations) Flynn the Pirate (21 Nominations) habitual- (19 Nominations) Grayson (19 Nominations) Agent Panic (18 Nominations) nietoperz (18 Nominations) PaulSebert (18 Nominations) Glacier16 (18 Nominations) Punchy- (16 Nominations) MrBlack (16 Nominations) OneWhoIsAll (15 Nominations) capjr (12 Nominations) ThatRomanGuy (12 Nominations) MistaT- (12 Nominations) ChurchHatesTucker (12 Nominations) Belle-Tain Summer (13 Nominations) senwolf (12 Nominations) PatricioUPMA (11 Nominations) GOFM - (10 Nominations) Duck Punch (10 Nominations) Peter Parker (10 Nominations) SuperSoldier Washout (9 Nominations) The Great Ghostman (9 Nominations) Octacon (8 Nominations) alaska1125 (8 Nominations) HED (8 Nominations) gavincantdraw (8 Nominations) MarcianTobay (8 Nominations) eypcrew2- (7 Nominations) CammyKnoxville (7 Nominations) Skyrider (7 Nominations) Eli Katz (7 Nominations) Flamebird (7 Nominations) pat (6 Nominations) TheSecondLex (6 Nominations) Juan Cena (6 Nominations) Kid Impulse- (5 Nominations) XtremeX- (5 Nominations) Mammon, Fool Breaker (5 Nominations) Stalzer2002 (5 Nominations) Sully85 (5 Nominations) C-Matty- (4 Nominations) Dum Dum Dugan- (4 Nominations) AMS (4 Nominations) Dalarsco- (4 Nominations) GHERU (4 Nominations) jethawk (4 Nominations) Chessack (4 Nominations) MarvelFan88 (4 Nominations) Ben- (3 Nominations) McKeagan- (3 Nominations) carl999- (3 Nominations) Alex Delarge- (3 Nominations) MrWadeWilsonHimself (3 Nominations) pat (3 Nominations) blastmaster (3 Nominations) thefourthman (3 Nominations) BlueKitKat (3 Nominations) americanslime (3 Nominations) SolRey34 (3 Nominations) GOSD- (3 Nominations) Earth-2 NoctourneM (3 Nominations) MysticKnightJoe (3 Nominations) GratefulFred- (2 Nominations) statnut- (2 Nominations) Dooz - (2 Nominations) Jack Burton- (2 Nominations) Zenguru- (2 Nominations) God Impulse2k1 (2 Nominations) skywatcher (2 Nominations) avengingtitan (2 Nominations) Rebis (2 Nominations) Justin M. Campbell (2 Nominations) PhoenixEquinox (2 Nominations) Timbales (2 Nominations) dairydead (2 Nominations) Lord Solaris (2 Nominations) Aeon Flux (2 Nominations) PinkDaddy (2 Nomination) Ntikrst (2 Nominations) Jude Terror (2 Nominations) Major Tool (2 Nominations) LoatheMe (2 Nominations) Richie Heap (2 Nominations) Chicanery (2 Nominations) syxxpakk (2 Nominations) batarang614 (2 Nominations) Arkanian (2 Nominations) Fifthletter (2 Nominations) ObsceneBinary (2 Nominations) Josh Hartung (2 Nominations) TurboSmurf (2 Nominations) Randy Robertson (2 Nominations) Peter-J-DeadPoole (2 Nominations) GiveWaraChance (2 Nominations) Guderian- (1 Nomination) Black Kryptonite- (1 Nomination) Colonel Angus- (1 Nomination) barrylincoln - (1 Nomination) Dooz Ex Machina- (1 Nomination) Thrillhouse- (1 Nomination) Chesscub- (1 Nomination) TheyShouldBeTheBats- (1 Nomination) The Bass (1 Nomination) GOD Impulse- (1 Nomination) Deadfett (1 Nomination) amalah6 (1 Nomination) Miracloman (1 Nomination) Alex Delarge (1 Nomination) blastmaster (1 Nomination) Jonathan (1 Nomination) NeverReady ( 1 Nomination) DOOP SPEAK (1 Nomination) BlueStreak (1 Nomination) mrorangesoda - (1 Nomination) BAMJoe (1 Nomination) False Prophet (1 Nomination) xaraan (1 Nomination) Holland Oats (1 Nomination) bkthomson (1 Nomination) hatmasta (1 Nomination) TheSecondLex (1 Nomination) Pink Daddy (1 Nomination) Sunless (1 Nomination) Jim Gramm (1 Nomination) tomc (1 Nomination) John Condor (1 Nomination) B1CaNobody (1 Nomination) Socky (1 Nomination) bluemanhattangroup (1 Nomination) TimH (1 Nomination) Bilal Khawaja (1 Nomination) Scintillant-H (1 Nomination) Arkanian (1 Nomination) the_isolator (1 Nomination) Arkanian (1 Nomination) Manuel Prez (1 Nomination) Ameht Dominguez (1 Nomination) James Burke (1 Nomination) Sporkbot (1 Nomination) agf029 (1 Nomination) jay042 (1 Nomination) Draco X (1 Nomination) Hall of Shame sdsichero (-1 Nomination) John Lewis Hawk (-25 Nominations) When I think young adult, I think Frank Miller. Source: Entertainment Weekly Frank Miller is a legend in comics, when he was the creative mind behind Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City, and Ronin. But Miller's career can be broken into two parts: pre-9/11 and post-9/11. The latter half includes Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, Holy Terror, and The Dark Knight III: The Master Race. Now, Miller is adding a Young Adult book to his post-9/11 resume as well. Cursed is an illustrated YA book reimagining of the King Arthur legend from the point of view of 16-year-old Nimue, the woman who first wielded Excalibur and became the all-powerful Lady of the Lake. Miller will provide original full-color and black-and-white illustrations, and Thomas Wheeler will write the book. Cursed is set to be published by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing in the Fall of 2019. That's if the publisher doesn't realize Miller's plan to have Nimue fight Islamic terrorists in Empire City. Highlights include Cellies #1, Mae vol 2 #1, and Green Almonds: Letters from Palestine. Source: Lion Forge Comics APR181631 MAE TP VOL 01 (W/A/CA) Gene Ha Mae's beloved older sister Abbie has been missing for years. But no one could have imagined the truth??that she'd disappeared into a world of epic fantasy. That is, until she returns. (STL080419) SC, 136pgs, FC SRP: $14.99 APR181632 MAE VOL 2 #1 (W/A/CA) Gene Ha Mae, Abbie and Kvido have nearly escaped death countless times, but that won't stop them from taking on the Zemetrasi to rescue their father. When they stumble across Petra Stoneheart, an old friend of Abbie's, Mae starts to learn more about the unfamiliar world she's followed Abbie through and about the sister she's been separated from for years. (STL084642) 32pgs, FC SRP: $3.99 APR181633 CELLIES #1 (W) Joe Flood, Dave Scheidt The newest cell phone, the Sanstar 6, is being released at midnight. The line for the latest and greatest phone is stacked out the door. When the midnight release doesn't go as planned, the staff at Jog Mobile must figure out how to keep the impatient crowd from becoming an angry mob. (STL082160) 710, 32pgs, FC SRP: $3.99 APR181634 ORPHANS GN VOL 01 (W) Roberto Recchioni (A/CA) Emiliano Mammucari After a devastating attack from distant space leaves a large portion of Earth's population in terror and ruin, a band of children are groomed into a unit of perfect soldiers sent to the distant, hostile planet to avert another horrific attack. But when they arrive, they discover dark secrets that Earth governments would prefer remain secret . . . (STL077870) SC, 710, 352pgs, FC SRP: $19.99 APR181635 HUNTERS TP (W) Josh Tierney (A) Various Famed warrior Azarias has gathered a small army of varied adventurers on a quest to gather the dust of a distant island god in order to save the life of their king. Along the way, they encounter numerous beasts and monsters all in the process of gathering artifacts necessary to locate the island god before ultimately defeating it. (STL077865) SC, 69, 232pgs, FC SRP: $19.99 APR181636 GREEN ALMONDS LETTERS FROM PALESTINE GN (W) Anaele Hermans (A/CA) Delphine Hermans A graphic novel of two sisters and their correspondence from Palestine to Belgium. Green Almonds: Letters from Palestine is a personal look into a complex reality, through the prism of the experience of a young woman writing letters to her sister about her feelings and adventures in the occupied territories. (STL077863) SC, 79, 152pgs, FC SRP: $19.99 APR181637 INFINITY 8 HC VOL 01 LOVE AND MUMMIES (W) Lewis Trondheim, Zep (A) Dominique Bertail A far?out, pulpy, sci?fi series of parallel adventures by some of the most popular creators in France, in the tongue?in?cheek tradition of the original Heavy Metal, but for a new generation. Eight different 3?issue miniseries/hardcover collections, all by a different creative team, led by legendary Lewis Trondheim and Olivier Vatine. (STL077867) SC, 104pgs, FC SRP: $19.99 Highlights include Animosity #15, A Walk Through Hell #2, and The Lost City Explorers #1. Source: Aftershock Comics BABYTEETH Vol 2 Trade Paperback / $14.99 / 128 pages / color / on sale 06.13.18 writer: Donny Cates artist: Garry Brown color: Mark Englert letters: Taylor Esposito cover: Garry Brown w/ Mark Englert Collecting the complete second storyarc from the hit AfterShock series, babyteeth! Crazy Warlock dudes, super secret cabals, inter-dimensional portals, new assassins, and the horrors of airline travel with a (demonic hellspawn sent to destroy the universe) baby! PlusMarty, your new favorite demon-racoon-thing friend! An all-new story arc of the critically-acclaimed series BABYTEETH is here! From Donny Cates, writer of Thanos, Dr. Strange, Buzzkill, Paybacks, Rednecks and the break-out hit God Country, comes a pulse-pounding new series with art from THE REVISIONIST's Garry Brown! "This book is going to be the most sought after title of 2017" Rick Shea of Famous Faces & Funnies comic shop A WALK THROUGH HELL #2 / $3.99 / 32 pages / Color / on sale 06.13.18 writer: Garth Ennis artist: Goran Sudzuka colors: Ive Svorcina letters: Ron Steen cover: Andy Clarke w/ Jose Villarrubia SECOND ISSUE! You're an experienced, confident FBI agent, armed and trained for the worst the world has to offer. You're on a routine job in a Long Beach warehouse, not long to go before you clock off for the night. So why are you seeing things that just can't possibly be? Why has your heart stopped beating in your chest? And why are you terrified beyond anything you ever imagined? A new kind of horror story for modern America, written by Garth Ennis (Preacher, The Boys, Crossed) and drawn by Goran Sudzuka (Y: The Last Man, Hellblazer) that HAD to be told at AfterShock! INSEXTS YEAR ONE Hardcover / $44.99 / 290 pages / Color / on sale 06.06.18 writer: Marguerite Bennett artist: Ariela Kristantina color: Bryan Valenza & Jessica Kholinne letters: A Larger World's Troy Peteri cover: Ariela Kristantina Collecting the complete INSEXTS series in one volume! At the dusk of a century, a pair of vengeful Victorian vixens discover a horrifying power that transforms them into rich and strange new creatures. Armed with their dark, evolving forms, they descend into a world of the cultured and occult, with new senses and new sensuality, to forge a life for themselves and the child of their love. This new monthly series is the brainchild of writer Marguerite Bennett (ANIMOSITY, Bombshells and Batwoman) and artist Ariela Kristantina (Wolverines, Deep State), a comic unlike any you've seen before! "This is a series that knows what it's about and revels in it, and I just can't resist!" Marykate Jasper of Comic Book Resources THE LOST CITY EXPLORERS #1 / $3.99 / 32 pages / Color / on sale 06.20.18 Writers: Zack Kaplan Artist: Alvaro Sarraseca Colorist: Chris Blythe Letterer: A Larger World's Troy Peteri Cover A: Rafael La Torre w/ Marcelo Maiolo Cover B: Alvaro Sarraseca w/ Chris Blythe NEW SERIES! Lost cities aren't just the stuff of myths. They exist hidden right under our noses. But when a mysterious expedition is disrupted by supernatural activity, and an antiquities professor goes missing, his teenage daughter and her friends must become underground urban explorers, follow his tracks on a coming-of-age journey through subterranean tunnels, and ultimately find the holy grail of lost city: Atlantis buried right under New York City! Explore science fiction and archeology in this new adventure series by Zack Kaplan (Eclipse, Port of Earth) and Alvaro Sarraseca (Magnus, Turok). BROTHERS DRACUL #3 / $3.99 / 32 pages / Color / on sale 06.20.18 writer: Cullen Bunn artist: Mirko Colak color: Maria Santaolalla letterer: Simon Bowland cover: Mirko Colak w/ Maria Santaolalla Discover the sorrow-filled truth of Vlad's descent to the role of the Impaler! Vlad and his brother Radu have excelled in the art of vampire-slaying. But the vampires have a few tricks of their own. Some of those tricks may shatter Vlad's sanity. From writer Cullen Bunn (DARK ARK, UNHOLY GRAIL, X-Men Blue, Deadpool, Venom) and artist Mirko Colak (UNHOLY GRAIL,The Punisher) comes a tale of brothers and blood that HAD to be told at AfterShock Comics! DARK ARK #7 / $3.99 / 32 pages / Color / on sale 06.06.18 writer: Cullen Bunn artist: Juan Doe letterer: Ryane Hill cover: Juan Doe The monstrous creatures of Shrae's Ark have been tasked with protecting Noah and his flock. But the shocking nature of the creature that plague's Noah may set the monsters of the Dark Ark at each other's throats! From writer Cullen Bunn (X-Men Blue, Deadpool, Venom) and artist Juan Doe (AMERICAN MONSTER, WORLD READER) comes a sinister tale of biblical proportions that HAD to be told at AfterShock Comics. "Bunn, Doe, and Hill are a dream team, each contributing mightily to making this a fantastic book!" Grant Stoye of CourtOfNerds PESTILENCE: A STORY OF SATAN #2 / $3.99 / 32 pages / Color / on sale 06.27.18 writer: Frank Tieri artist: Oleg Okunev colors: Rob Schwager letters: Marshall Dillon cover: Tim Bradstreet As this newest version of the Black Death begins to rise up and become an even deadlier crisis than before, Roderick Helms and the surviving members of Fiat Lux race to stop itbut can they do so while being hunted themselves...by the NEW Fiat Lux? Written by the master of violence, gore, and mayhem, Frank Tieri (Harley Quinn, Marvel vs Capcom, Wolverine, Deadpool), with spectacular art from illustrator Oleg Okunev, and covers by Eisner Award-nominated artist Tim Bradstreet (The Punisher, Hellblazer)! "The truth about the Crusades is finally told and you'd be dead wrong to miss it. Great characters and detailed art make this a must read." Patrick Hayes of SciFiPulse Her Infernal Descent #3 / $3.99 / 32 pages / Color / on sale 06.27.18 Writers: Lonnie Nadler & Zac Thompson Artist: Kyle Charles Colorist: Jordan Boyd Letterer: Ryan Ferrier Cover: Kyle Charles w/ Jordan Boyd Lynn and her favorite writer, AGATHA CHRISTIE, venture into surreal halls of modern art. Welcome to hell's esteemed art gallery! As she descends deeper into the inferno, Lynn's left to wonder if she'll ever find her forsaken family or be doomed to the same fate. Including a surprise appearance by one of the 20th century's most celebrated artists! From the writers of the break-out hit The Dregs and Marvel's Cable, and the artist of Roche Limit, this is HELL like you've never seen before. ANIMOSITY #15 / $3.99 / 32 pages / Color / on sale 06.06.18 writer: Marguerite Bennett artist: Rafael De Latorre color: Rob Schwager letters: Marshall Dillon cover: Rafael De Latorre w/ Marcelo Maiolo With the hideous truth of the Walled City revealed, Sandor must use every ounce of cunning to rescue Jesse from her human captorsbefore the try to "save the world" from the risen Animals... From creator/writer Marguerite Bennett (INSEXTS, Bombshells and Batwoman) with artwork by Rafael De Latorre (SUPERZERO). "Animosity looks to be AfterShock's first true classic, the book that'll put them on the map." Tara Giovannini of IGN ANIMOSITY: EVOLUTION #7 / $3.99 / 32 pages / color / on sale 06.13.18 writer: Marguerite Bennett artist: Eric Gapstur color: Rob Schwager letters: Marshall Dillon cover: Eric Gapstur & Rob Schwager With one crisis defeated, a new nemesis lurks deep beneath the city, poisoning that which no living thing can live withoutwater. From the brilliant mind of creator/writer Marguerite Bennett (INSEXTS, Bombshells and Batwoman) with artwork by SHIPWRECK's Eric GapsturANIMOSITY: EVOLUTION is an exciting new series that expands upon this already amazing world! "AfterShock has earned their reputation for putting out some of the most diverse and entertaining comics in the industry. Animosity is a prime example of this." Steve Gustafson of 411 Mania COLD WAR #5 / $3.99 / 32 pages / Color / on sale 06.06.18 writer: Chris Sebela artist: Hayden Sherman colors: Hayden Sherman letters: Hayden Sherman cover: Hayden Sherman Many of them are dead, the war they're stuck in is still in full swing, but now the Cryonauts are face to face with the most dangerous situation of all: a 16 year old girl named Polly. As the stakes and body count rise, they'll fight to stay alive and uncover just who has thrown them into this bloodbath and why. From Chris Sebela, writer of Blue Beetle, Kiss/Vampirella and Evolution, and Hayden Sherman, artist of The Few and John Carter The End, comes the story that HAD to be told at AfterShock! "...there's no denying the fact Cold War is a new series that flat-out demands your attention!" -Craig Neilson-Adams of BigComicPage BETROTHED #4 / $3.99 / 32 pages / Color / on sale 06.13.18 writer: Sean Lewis artist: Steve Uy letters: Simon Bowland cover: Steve Uy The stunning space opera continues as our heroes land in the great waters of Priam with war on their mind. When a trap is exposed and friends are lost, what will our heroes do to survive? The last issue before the grand finale of the first storyarc exposes more truths and presents more surprises in the exciting world of BETROTHED! From writer Sean Lewis (The Few) and artist Steve Uy (Uncanny X-Men, Avengers Initiative, Grumpy Cat) comes a sci-fi series with a fun mix of Archie and Saga that HAD to be told at AfterShock! ALTERS Vol 2 Trade Paperback / $14.99 / 120 pages / color / on sale 06.20.18 writer: Paul Jenkins artist: Leila Leiz color: Leonardo Paciarotti letterer: Ryane Hill cover: Leila Leiz Collecting the complete second story arc of this hit AfterShock series! With her nemesis, Matter Man, finally under control, Chalice begins a new chapter of her life as spokeswoman and primary recruiter for the Gateway Army. Sensing that time is running out on the safety of the world's newest Alter, Chalice expands her search. But as she closes in, new complications arise: Chalice finds herself juggling impossible responsibilities to her family, her Alters family, and an impoverished, now-homeless family she barely even knows. As past guilts intensify, she must stand fast against the pressure of her new responsibilities, or be consumed. From Paul Jenkins (Wolverine: Origin, Sentry) and Leila Leiz (NVRLND) comes the groundbreaking series that HAD to be told at AFTERSHOCK. "The visuals are beautiful and deserve attention, while the story looks to be addressing something avoided in American society. Overall grade: A." Patrick Hayes of SciFi Pulse FU JITSU Vol 1 Trade Paperback / $14.99 / 128 pages / color / on sale 06.27.18 writer: Jai Nitz artist: Wesley St. Claire colorists: Wesley St. Claire and Maria Santaolalla letterer: Ryane Hill cover: Wesley St. Claire Collecting the first five issue of this hit AfterShock series! Fu Jitsu is the world's smartest boy, and has been for the last hundred years. Wait, what? Fu is an un-aging genius, and has had adventures around the globe and around the galaxy. From Einstein and the Wright brothers, to Gandhi and Johnny Unitas, Fu has met everyone in history while protecting Earth from Robert Wadlow, the world's tallest man, and his dangerous magi-science. Fu exiles himself to Antarctica to try and forget the painful breakup with his ex-girlfriend, Rachel. Meanwhile, Wadlow returns from the far-flung future and sends James Dean, his ultimate assassin, to kill Fu at the South Pole. And you thought your teenage years were tough? From Jai Nitz, the award-winning writer of El Diablo, Sucide Squad Most Wanted and Dream Thief comes this action-packed new series with art from Teen Titans Annual artist Wesley St. Claire! "FU JITSU #1 is an infectious ball of fun. Jai Nitz and Wes St. Claire's sensibility is delightfully off-kilter." Kent Falkenberg of Multiversity Comics Highlights include Kaijumax Season Four #1, Rick & Morty #39, and Ballad Of Sang #4. Source: Oni Press APR181666 SHADOW ROADS #1 (W) Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt (A) A.C. Zamudio, Carlos Zamudio (CA) Carlos Zamudio, A.C. Zamudio The world is thinnest at The Crossroads, a mythical plane that serves as a doorway throughout the universe. It is here that a band of adventurers throughout the Wild West gather, brought together by Gord Cantrell and Abigail Redmayne with a singular purpose: to fight back against the creatures that would endanger the sanctity of all creation. SHADOW ROADS is the set in the world that remains after the conclusion of Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt and Bill Crabtree's critically-acclaimed series, The Sixth Gun. (STL082508) 32pgs, FC SRP: $3.99 APR181668 RICK & MORTY PRESENTS KROMBOPULOUS MICHAEL #1 CVR A (W) Mallory Ortberg (A/CA) CJ Cannon, Nick Filardi Learn the secret stories and hidden pasts of your favorite Rick and Morty characters in Oni Press's new quarterly series of one-shots: RICK AND MORTY PRESENTS! In this issue, writer Mallory Ortberg (co-founder of THE TOAST) joins series artists CJ Cannon and Nick Filardi to tell the tale of KROMBOPULOS MICHAEL, the professional assassin who just loves killin'. Discover the roots of Rick's relationship with the galaxy-trotting killer with no code of ethics: children, animals, old people... it doesn't matter! (STL082515) 710, 40pgs, FC SRP: $4.99 APR181670 KAIJUMAX SEASON 4 #1 (OF 6) (MR) (W/A/CA) Zander Cannon SCALY IS THE NEW BLACK! After murdering her abusive inmate boyfriend and unable to scale back down to human size, former prison physician Dr. Zhang joins a collection of uranium addicts, violent offenders, con artists, and metaphors for human encroachment in the heretofore unseen female wing of Kaijumax. As new and returning kaiju assimilate into their respective species, Zhang struggles to find her place and secure her own safety. Also: Giant Mechs! Tiny Fairies! And... Feng Shui? (STL082514) MATURE THEMES 32pgs, FC (1 of 6) SRP: $3.99 APR181671 RICK & MORTY #39 (W) Kyle Starks, Josh Trujillo (A) Rian Sygh & Various (CA) Marc Ellerby, Sarah Stern In this action-packed issue drawn by guest artist (and former series colorist) Katy Farina, Rick and Morty get arrested for smuggling and are being sent to the worst penal colony in the universe. Can they escape this space paddy wagon before they get locked up forever? Will there be additional shenanigans? You know there will be! Plus: another interconnected backup story by Josh Trujillo and Rii Abrego! (STL082500) 32pgs, FC SRP: $3.99 APR181673 JUNIOR BRAVES OF THE APOCALYPSE GN VOL 02 OUT OF WOODS (W) Michael Tanner, Greg Smith (A/CA) Zach Lehner In a zombie wasteland of unknown origin, Troop 65 marshals onwards in the hopes of finding their families in Seattle, the nearest logical evacuation location. After a difficult journey by land and river, they make a stop in a suburban town that serves as ground zero of a battle between a corporate office that may have caused the apocalypse and the survivors staying in the nearby tribal casino. (STL077935) SC, 192pgs, FC SRP: $14.99 APR181674 JUNIOR BRAVES OF THE APOCALYPSE HC VOL 02 OUT OF WOODS (W) Michael Tanner, Greg Smith (A/CA) Zach Lehner In a zombie wasteland of unknown origin, Troop 65 marshals onwards in the hopes of finding their families in Seattle, the nearest logical evacuation location. After a difficult journey by land and river, they make a stop in a suburban town that serves as ground zero of a battle between a corporate office that may have caused the apocalypse and the survivors staying in a nearby tribal casino. (STL077934) HC, 69, 192pgs, FC SRP: $19.99 APR181675 JUNIOR BRAVES OF THE APOCALYPSE GN VOL 01 BRAVE IS A BRAVE (W) Michael Tanner, Greg Smith (A/CA) Zach Lehner The Junior Braves of Tribe 65 return from a camping trip to find swarms of bloodthirsty mutants have overrun their town, bringing death and destruction everywhere they go! With their families missing and their homes destroyed, these plucky kids must use all their scouting talents, combined smarts, and teamwork to survive the end of the world! JUNIOR BRAVESOF THE APOCALYPSE: A BRAVE IS BRAVE is the beginning of the exciting young adult graphic novel series that is one part THE GOONIES and one part THE WALKING DEAD, full of zombies, adventure, and handy tips for wilderness survivalin a new softcover format! (STL077933) SC, 69, 216pgs, FC SRP: $14.99 APR181677 SIXTH GUN DLX HC VOL 05 (W) Cullen Bunn (A/CA) Brian Hurtt The Sixth Gun Vol. 5 Gunslinger Edition collects issues #42-47 of the story arc "Hell and High Water," as well as five-issue spinoff miniseries "Days of the Dead," featuring guest artist Mike Norton. This oversized deluxe collection includes never before seen artwork, design sketches, cover galleries, an all-new Sixth Gun RPG module, and more, from the Eisner Award-nominated fantasy western epic. Limited to only 500 units, this direct market exclusive Gunslinger Edition also contains a signed tip-in with all the creators, and is presented in a deluxe slipcase and dust jacket featuring new original artwork. (STL077940) HC, 328pgs, FC SRP: $59.99 APR181678 SIXTH GUN GUNSLINGER ED HC VOL 05 (W) Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt (A) Brian Hurtt & Various (CA) Brian Hurtt The Sixth Gun Vol. 5 Gunslinger Edition collects issues #42-47 of the story arc "Hell and High Water," as well as five-issue spinoff miniseries "Days of the Dead," featuring guest artist Mike Norton. This oversized deluxe collection includes never before seen artwork, design sketches, cover galleries, an all-new Sixth Gun RPG module, and more, from the Eisner Award-nominated fantasy western epic. Limited to only 500 units, this direct market exclusive Gunslinger Edition also contains a signed tip-in with all the creators, and is presented in a deluxe slipcase and dust jacket featuring new original artwork. (STL082506) HC, 913, 328pgs, FC SRP: $80.00 APR181679 DAMNED #10 (MR) (W) Cullen Bunn (A/CA) Brian Hurtt There are no girl demons. That's what infernal crime boss Bruno Roarke tells his half-human daughter when she asks, but Maura has enough evil in her heart to change all that. For years, three demon families have feuded for dominance. Now, a fourth player is setting her own schemes into motion. Those schemes don't bode well for anyone else, especially not Eddie and his brother, Morgan. (STL082497) MATURE THEMES 710, 32pgs, FC SRP: $3.99 APR181680 BALLAD OF SANG #4 (OF 5) (MR) (W) Ed Brisson (A/CA) Alessandro Micelli, Shari Chankhamma LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION! The Black-Eyed Bettys captured Sang and Lucy, but THE DANDIES have every intention of cashing in his bounty. While Lucy hatches a plan to get him back, the Dandies aim to finish their blockbuster film... and it doesn't matter to them if Sang survives it. (STL082496) MATURE THEMES 32pgs, FC (4 of 5) SRP: $3.99 APR181681 INVADER ZIM #32 (W) Eric Trueheart (A) Maddie C, Fred Stresing (CA) Maddie C "National Physical Fitness Day" is usually ZIM's (and Dib's) least favorite day. But this year, President Man will be coming to Skool to congratulate the winners! IN PERSON! And ZIM must be one of those winners, so he can kidnap President Man! Thus begins THE BULKENING. Of course, Dib figures out what's going on, and in this case, the only way to defeat ZIM... IS TO GET PHYSICAL. (STL082498) NOTE: Available only in the United States, Canada, and U.S. Territories. 32pgs, FC SRP: $3.99 APR181683 MERMIN GN VOL 05 MAKING WAVES (W/A/CA) Joey Weiser The battle between Mer and Atlantis begins! And while Mermin the merman is at his father's side, the rest of his friends and family are scattered around the battlefield, trying to help in any way they can. Except for Pete, who's about to stage a jailbreak out of Atlantis with a team of Mer-prisoners! Will they make it to Mer in time to stop the war? The thrilling conclusion to the Eisner Award-nominated Mermin series! (STL077938) SC, 69, 168pgs, FC SRP: $12.99 APR181688 BROBOTS HC VOL 03 SHOUJO SHENANIGANS (W) J. Torres (A/CA) Sean Dove The BroBots return in another thrilling, top-billing adventurewith cousins Mary Ann-droid and Barbara Ann-droid in tow! What should be a routine trip to the moon to see pop sensation Starlite quickly turns to disaster when the BroBots discover her in a deep sleep! Waking up is hard to do, but the BroBots are experts at going by the book. But where's the book that tells them how to defeat the giant, evil moon monster putting everyone to sleep? Against their biggest, baddest foe yet, do the BroBotsand their cousinsstand a chance? (STL077931) HC, 69, 40pgs, FC SRP: $12.99 Highlights include Final Street #1, Larks Killer #7, and Malefic Vol 1. Source: Devil's Due Publishing FINAL STREET #1 APR181494 (W) Scott Schmidt (A/CA) Brian Atkins An over-the-top gender reversal comic book tribute to beat'em-up video games like Street Fighter, Double Dragon, and Final Fight. When Sullie's boyfriend Franklin is kidnapped by the vicious Bare Knucklers gang, she and her best friend Kumi hit the deadly streets of Transit City to rescue him. Little do they know they're about to stumble into a much bigger fight. In Shops: Jun 13, 2018 SRP: $3.99 LARKS KILLER #7 APR181495 (W) Bill Willingham (A/CA) Travis Moore "Drunken Master." Good news, bad news time. The good news is magic works in Lark's new world, and even Brenar's mortal wounds can be healed, if you get the victim to the right sorcerer soon enough. The bad news is the only sorcerer they trust in these paranoid times is a drunk. Can Ulmore the Great and Terrible sober up soon enough to save Brenar's life? Plus, a new backup feature: "My Monstrous Life" by Mr. Willingham and art by Shawn McManus! In Shops: Jun 06, 2018 SRP: $3.99 MALEFIC TP VOL 01 DOCTOR WILL SEE YOU NOW APR181496 (W) Dan Schaeffer (A) David Miller (CA) Dan Schaffer The world of Malefic is as wicked as the devil and twice as tricky. Young Dr. Freust, a psychiatrist in a castle full of deranged paranormal mutants, must pit her wits and her sanity in a dangerous game as she takes her deceased father's controversial fringe scientific experiments to unimaginable levels in order to stop the lunatics from taking over the asylum. Malefic combines the storytelling twists of The Twilight Zone with the outrageous sensibilities of American Horror Story. In Shops: Jun 13, 2018 SRP: $27.99 Highlights include Tank Girl All Stars #1, Brother Nash #1, and Prisoner #3. Source: Titan Comics REX ROYD SC (MR) (W) Frankie Boyle (A) Mike Dowling, Budi Setiawan Begun in the pages of Mark Millar's Clint magazine, Rex Royd is Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle's psychedelic magnum opus, brought to life by Mike Dowling (Unfollow) and Budi Setiawan! A trip through the dark side of human nature, in the company of an amoral supergenius and his crew, Rex Royd will blow your mind, reassess your every impulse and action, and change your very future! Includes an astounding 33 never-before- seen pages that conclude the story! (STL083610) MATURE THEMES 112pgs, FC SRP: $16.99 Titan Comics have a tonne of other new comics lined up for June. And it begins with telling the story you never thought needed to be told (and there may still be some discusssion about that), the origin of Tank Girl's Tank. They're also reissuing the classic Dare reworking of Dan Dare by Grant Morrison and Rian Hughes. Launching Konungar War Of Crowns #1 by Sylvain Runberg and Juzhen, Broither Nash by Bridgit O'Connell and a Seveth Doctor Who comic written by the script editor of those years and drawn by the actress who played one of the characters featured... TANK GIRL ALL STARS #1 (OF 4) (W) Alan Martin (A) Brett Parson & Various (CA) Brett Parson An anthology of stories from creators old and new, celebrating the 30th anniversary of Tank Girl! At last it can be told! In this 30th anniversary anthology, we finally reveal the biggest secret in comic history how Tank Girl got her tank the origin story to end all origin stories! This, and a whole bunch of other tales, will be written by series co-creator Alan Martin, with artwork by a host of Tank Girl stalwarts, newbies, and superstar guests, including current artist Brett Parson, and friends from throughout Tank Girl's checkered 30-year lifetime! (STL082519) 32pgs, FC (1 of 4) SRP: $3.99 MIKE HAMMER #1 (W) Mickey Spillane, Max Allan Collins (A) Marcelo Salaza (CA) Robert McGinnis All New Mike Hammer story, from a plot by original creator, Mickey Spillane! From the writer of Quarry and Road to Perdition, Max Allan Collins! (STL082558) 32pgs, FC SRP: $3.99 TYLER CROSS BLACK ROCK HC (W) Fabien Nury (A) Bruno From the writer of The Death of Stalin and Death to the Tsar! A gritty 1950's gangster thriller! Tyler Cross lives his life of the knife edge, but never shows the slightest sign of losing his cool. Guns, drugs, and the occasional well-placed explosive combine with trip-off-the-tongue hardboiled noir dialogue to make this an unforgettable plunge into the dark side of the American dream! (STL083607) FC SRP: $24.99 KONUNGAR WAR OF CROWNS #1 (W) Sylvain Runberg (A) Juzhen (CA) Alex Ronald Gorgeously rendered epic fantasy with duelling brothers at its heart, Konungar is the ultimate fusion of Game of Thrones and Warcraft! (STL082513) FC SRP: $5.99 DARE TP VOL 01 (MR) (W) Grant Morrison (A) Rian Hughes Reprinting the controversial comic strip that brought Dan Dare out of retirement and influenced a generation of creators! Written by comics legend Grant Morrison! Drawn by renowned graphic designer Rian Hughes! Digitally remastered by Hughes from the original artwork, with a brand-new cover! (STL083602) MATURE THEMES 80pgs, FC SRP: $16.99 BROTHER NASH #1 (W/A) Bridgit O'Connell (CA) Sanford Green American Gods meets Preacher and Hellboy on the midnight road to Sacramento! Nash is a trucker, he also sees ghosts, and when the moon is on the rise and violence threatens his friends... He roams as a wolf... As the Highway Beast! When Nash takes on a mysterious hitchhiker heading for Tuscon, he and his friends are dragged headfirst into his biggest and most dangerous adventure yet! (STL082471) MATURE THEMES 68pgs, FC SRP: $6.99 RIVERS OF LONDON WATER WEED #1 (W) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel (A) Christopher Jones The digital and bookstore smash-hit series returns with an all-new miniseries! When two of the less well-behaved river goddesses, Chelsea and Olympia, decide to earn a few quid on the side, Peter Grant and Bev find themselves drawn into a sordid cannabis-smuggling operation, controlled by London's new queenpin of crime the brutal and beautiful Hoodette! (STL082537) 32pgs, FC SRP: $3.99 DOCTOR WHO 7TH #1 (OF 4) (W) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel (A) Christopher Jones (CA) Alice X Zhang From the writers of the fan favourite episode Remembrance of the Daleks, Andrew Cartmel and Ben Aaronovitch (Rivers of London) which celebrates it's 30th anniversary in 2018! Brand new comic adventure featuring the Seventh Doctor as played by Sylvester McCoy and Ace as played by Sophie Aldred! Includes short back-up strip, written by Richard Dinnick (Twelfth Doctor) with art by Jessica Martin (Doctor Who Actress) (STL082549) 32pgs, FC (1 of 4) SRP: $5.99 APR181790 DOCTOR WHO 12TH TIME TRIALS TP VOL 02 (W) Richard Dinnick (A) Andrew Williamson & Various In Bill's first comic adventure, the TARDIS crashes into the heart of a Viking camp! But this is no interactive history lesson, and it seems that a terrifying alien force has taken hold over the icy kingdom. As the snow melts, the Doctor realises that he is about to face an unwelcome face from the past... And in a one-shot adventure, the Doctor takes Bill and Nardole on a trip to an intergalactic supermarket, where they make an unexpected new friend! Collects Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor Year Three #5-7 and #9. (STL082458) SC, 112pgs, FC SRP: $16.99 PRISONER #3 (OF 4) (W) Peter Milligan (A/CA) Colin Lorimer The cult TV series comes to life in a brand new comic series by writer Peter Milligan and artist Colin Lorimer! Timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the first US transmission, this new series transports readers back to the mysterious village where everyone is a number! (STL082652) 32pgs, FC (3 of 4) SRP: $3.99 FIGHTING AMERICAN TIES THAT BIND #4 (OF 4) (W) Gordon Rennie (A/CA) Andie Tong The critically-acclaimed series returns with a brand-new story featuring Fighting American and Speedboy! (STL082447) MATURE THEMES 32pgs, FC (4 of 4) SRP: $3.99 SUPERMANSION TP (MR) (W) Barry Hutchinson (A) Jake Elphick Based on the emmy-nominated web-based animated show, airing on crackle! Aging superhero Titanium Rex, and his has-been team known as the League of Freedom, struggle to stay relevant in a changing world. (STL082518) MATURE THEMES 112pgs, FC SRP: $16.99 PENNY DREADFUL TP VOL 03 (W) Chris King (A) Jesus Hervas Continues the story directly after the shocking events of Penny Dreadful's season three finale! (STL082523) SC, 112pgs, FC SRP: $16.99 ROBOTECH #10 (W) Simon Furman (A) Marco Turini (CA) Simon Roy Secrets and lies kick of the third arc of Robotech! Written by legendary Transformers writer Simon Furman! Breetai is under pressure and Claudia has to deal with a possible traitor... Meanwhile, Rick Hunter gets a massive shock! (STL082531) 32pgs, FC SRP: $3.99 FOREVER FREE #3 (W) Joe Haldeman, Gay Haldeman (A) Marvano The sequel to novelist Joe Haldeman, Gay Haldeman and Marvano's epic science-fiction comic book adaption, The Forever War: forever Free. (STL082449) 64pgs, FC SRP: $5.99 FACTORY TP (MR) (C: 1-0-0) (W/A) Yacine Elghorri Mad Max meets Fallout in the nightmarish vision of life on a dystopian planet! From Alejandro Jodorowsky and Moebius collaborator Yacine "Elgo" Elghorri! A band of mutants slog through the harsh deserts of a dystopian planet in search of the factory The last semblance of civilization left among the wasteland. (STL082461) (C: 1-0-0) MATURE THEMES 104pgs, FC SRP: $16.99 2021 LOST CHILDREN #2 (OF 2) (W) Stephane Betbder (A/CA) Stephane Bervas Escape from New York meets the X-Men! It's 2021, Detroit has seceded from the United States and it's citizens are under the control of a madman with extraordinary abilities. The only hope of retaking the city lies with four superpowered children but their powers come with a price using them means aging prematurely. Can they save the city before their powers use up their lives? (STL082444) 64pgs, FC (2 of 2) SRP: $5.99 SEASON OF THE SNAKE #3 (OF 3) (W) Serge Lehman (A/CA) Marie Michaud Written by award-winning science fiction writer Serge Lehman, creator of the Chimera Brigade. Rich and intricate world, perfect for both science fiction and fantasy fans! In the intersection, order is key. Having connected solar systems to one another through a series of space tunnels, humans have managed to conquer the universe. But long before humans dominated, there were native species, and after thousands of years something is waking up... (STL082452) 72pgs, FC (3 of 3) SRP: $6.99 SKY DOLL SUDRA OVERSIZED SPEC ED HC (W) Alessandro Barbucci, Barbara Canepa (A) Barbara Canepa, Alessandro Barbucci The critically-acclaimed Sky Doll: Sudra in a brand-new, oversized special edition! Will appeal to fans of Jodorowsky and Moebius! A gorgeous exploration of artificial intelligence, religion, love, and what it means to be human. (STL082562) FC SRP: $39.99 ASSASSINS CREED UPRISING TP VOL 03 FINALE (W) Dan Watters, Alex Paknadel (A) Jose Holder The final chapter of the 'Uprising' story, which concludes the Phoenix Project Saga in epic fashion the end of a ten-year storyline from the videogames! Featuring fan-favorite characters Juno, Otso Berg and Black Cross! Time has run out for our modern-day assassins! With a new world order on the horizon, Charlotte and her cell are faced with the biggest threat the brotherhood has ever encountered... and not all of them will survive! (STL082457) 112pgs, FC SRP: $19.99 WARHAMMER 40000 DEATHWATCH #2 (OF 4) (W) Aaron Dembski Bowden (A) Wagner Reis (CA) David Nakayama Written by Black Library superstar Aaron Dembski Bowden! The Deathwatch are the best of the best from all chapters of Space Marines! They alone have the strength of mind and body to battle the alien across the universe, defending humanity frim the Xenos that would destroy them! (STL070784) RES. from Previews Vol. XXVII #12 (DEC171861) 32pgs, FC (2 of 4) SRP: $3.99 WARHAMMER 40000 DEATHWATCH #2 (OF 4) CVR B BETTIN (W) Aaron Dembski Bowden (A) Wagner Reis (CA) Tazio Bettin Written by Black Library superstar Aaron Dembski Bowden! The Deathwatch are the best of the best from all chapters of Space Marines! They alone have the strength of mind and body to battle the alien across the universe, defending humanity frim the Xenos that would destroy them! (STL070785) RES. from Previews Vol. XXVII #12 (DEC171862) 32pgs, FC (2 of 4) SRP: $3.99 BLOODBORNE TP VOL 01 (MR) (W) Ales Kot (A) Piotr Kowalski Written by Image Comics superstar Ales Kot, with artwork by Piotr Kowalski! Awakening in an ancient city plagued by a twisted endemic Where horrific beasts stalk the shadows and the streets run slick with the blood of the damned A nameless hunter embarks on a dangerous quest in search of paleblood... (STL082455) MATURE THEMES 32pgs, FC SRP: $16.99 SEA OF THIEVES #4 (OF 4) (W) Jeremy Whitley (A) Rhoald Marcellius (CA) Iolanda Zanfardino Written by Jeremy Whitley (Princeless, Thor Vs Hulk) and illustrated by Rhoald Marcellius Follow two competing crews of pirates in this epic story based on the shared-world adventure multiplayer game from Rare! (STL082450) 32pgs, FC (4 of 4) SRP: $3.99 DARK SOULS AGE OF FIRE #2 (OF 4) (W) Ryan O'Sullivan (A) Anton Kokarev Direct tie-in to Dark Souls One, debuting on Nintendo Switch and being rereleased on PS4, Xbox One and PC in 2018! Written by superstar writer Ryan O'Sullivan! Return to the very beginning of the Dark Souls story with a dramatic retelling of the legends of Gwyn Lord of Cinder and Knight Artorias! (STL082445) MATURE THEMES 32pgs, FC (2 of 4) SRP: $3.99 APR181816 SOLO STAR WARS STORY OFF COLL ED MAG NEWSTAND ED Experience the early days of Han Solo in this deluxe movie special featuring exciting content themed around the hotly anticipated new film! Features interviews with the cast and crew, behind the scenes images and much more! EssentIal reading for all Star Wars fans! (STL082575) 811, 96pgs, FC SRP: $10.99 APR181817 SOLO STAR WARS STORY OFF COLL ED MAG PX ED Experience the early days of Han Solo in this deluxe movie special featuring exciting content themed around the hotly anticipated new film! Features interviews with the cast and crew, behind the scenes images and much more! EssentIal reading for all Star Wars fans! (STL082576) 811, 96pgs, FC SRP: $10.99 APR181818 SOLO STAR WARS STORY OFF COLL ED HC Experience the early days of Han Solo in this deluxe movie special featuring exciting content themed around the hotly anticipated new film! Features interviews with the cast and crew, behind the scenes images and much more! EssentIal reading for all Star Wars fans! (STL082574) 96pgs, FC SRP: $19.99 APR181819 AVENGERS INFINITY WAR OFF COLL ED MAG NEWSTAND ED A collector's companion celebrating the journey all the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have taken to lead them, and us, to the events of the highly-anticipated Avengers: Infinity War! Featuring interviews with the cast and crew, and amazing behind-the-scenes photos from the must-see movie even of the year! (STL082573) 811, 96pgs, FC SRP: $10.99 APR181820 AVENGERS INFINITY WAR OFF COLL ED MAG PX ED A collector's companion celebrating the journey all the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have taken to lead them, and us, to the events of the highly-anticipated Avengers: Infinity War! Featuring interviews with the cast and crew, and amazing behind-the-scenes photos from the must-see movie even of the year! (STL082598) 811, 96pgs, FC SRP: $10.99 APR181821 AVENGERS INFINITY WAR OFF COLL ED HC A collector's companion celebrating the journey all the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have taken to lead them, and us, to the events of the highly-anticipated Avengers: Infinity War! Featuring interviews with the cast and crew, and amazing behind-the-scenes photos from the must-see movie even of the year! (STL082571) HC, 811, 96pgs, FC SRP: $19.99 Starlin revealed in December he was done with the publisher. Source: Uncle Rich's Rumor Rag Last December, legendary creator Jim Starlin took to Facebook to air his grievances and clear the air about his decision to no longer work for Marvel Comics. Just to set the record straight, Marvel Comics didn't pull me off any books, they just made it clear they weren't interested in using me on any of the tie-in series to the movies or regular series. Even though I lobbied heavily to write the Thanos on-going that task was twice given to other writers, which is Marvel Editorial's right to do. Thanos: The Infinity Siblings, set to release April 4, was to be the first book of a final Thanos trilogy from Starlin, but due to a falling out with the publisher, he decided to not work for them anymore. Well, Starlin is back at Marvel for, at least, the second part of his final Thanos trilogy. Thanos: The Infinity Conflict is an all-new graphic novel that will "have Thanos fighting against his own future..." Part of the second trilogy of Starlin and Davis' Thanos saga, INFINITY CONFLICT takes the Mad Titan on an epic, wild adventure and brings Adam Warlock along for the ride! Armed with the Reality Gem, Thanos is now poised to become the lord of all reality, until he learns that his troublesome brother and time travel aren't the only things that stand in the way of claiming his powerful reign. Who stands against Thanos in this dramatic rebellion? The answer may surprise you... Thanos: The Infinity Conflict, written by Starlin with art by Alan Davis, is set to release November 2018. Pinehurst officials have determined improvements would not be required on Rattlesnake Trail to accommodate additional traffic generated by a n For Subscribers Noem's shift on curriculum highlights disconnect with education dept. Lawmaker says revision process was highjacked by 'leftist bureaucrats' in South Dakota Department of Education. The votes are in! Get a recap of the 2021 Election. The votes are in! Get a recap of the 2021 Election. Subscribe now> Pants confirmed.Senate backs Trudeau governments bill to legalize recreational marijuanaThe Senate has given approval in principle to the Trudeau governments bill to legalize recreational marijuana.Bill C-45 passed at second reading this evening by a vote of 44-29.The approval comes after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reminded the senators that his government was elected on a promise to legalize recreational marijuana.That was seen as a subtle warning that they should not attempt to thwart the will of Canadians or the government they elected.The uncertainty was triggered by Conservative senators, who were hoping to deliver a double-barrelled embarrassment to Trudeau: upending one of his signature election promises, while demonstrating the folly of his efforts to reform the Senate into a less partisan, more independent chamber.Earlier in the day, Trudeau said the criminal cannabis regime has not protected Canadian children, who are among the highest under-age users of marijuana in developed countries, and has put up to $7-billion every year in the pockets of organized crime.Ordinarily, a second reading vote is not a big hurdle and is dispensed with on the basis of a quick voice vote after which the bill is sent to committee for closer scrutiny, witness testimony and any proposed amendments before returning to the Senate for a final debate and vote.But in the case of Bill C-45, the 33 Conservative senators had vowed to vote en masse against it at second reading. It is unlikely that the girl realized the gravity of what she did.It is something that young people do, not thinking of the consequences. Still, the girl needs to be corrected. This is a good time to teach her, and other young people, about what is and is not acceptable to say to others. This is worse than texting her school friends, saying that 'so and so is fat'!I have no doubt that when the police showed up at her door, she was probably in tears. Hopefully, a lesson learned. Besides an apology to the NH school, it would be a good idea for her to write an essay about the power of words. Of course, the essay should be sent to the NH school with the apology.---14-year-old Brantford girl arrested and charged, connection to N.H. school unclear, police say- CPAmerican authorities say a 14-year-old girl in Brantford, Ont., has been charged with threatening a high school in New Hampshire.Police in Hanover, N.H., say they learned about an Instagram post early Tuesday morning that threatened Hanover High School and mentioned a shooting.Hanover police said in a news release they discovered the social media threat came from Brantford, a community of about 97,000 people, 30 kilometres west of Hamilton. Local police arrested the girl, seized electronic devices and are pursuing charges.The girl posted an Instagram message directly to some students at the school, who then shared it with other students, according investigators. It was eventually shared with school officials and police.The message stated "wanting people to get shot," according to Lt. Scott Rathburn of the Hanover police.He said investigators "haven't yet found a connection between the students or Hanover" and the girl, Rathburn told CBC News.Police in Brantford were contacted yesterday and are working "hand in hand" with investigators in Hanover, according to Brantford Police Service spokesperson, Const. Shane Seibert.Seibert said the teen has been charged with with one count of uttering threats to cause bodily harm.He said she was held for a bail hearing. The investigation continues.---According to this article, threats go up after school shootings. Job Title: Project Manager Organisation: Zoe Recruitment (International Experience Required) Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda About US: Zoe Recruitment is an HR consultancy company that exists to contribute to the transformation of productivity and work ethic, by linking talent to business/organizations, and placing people right. At Zoe we believe this then forms the foundation for sustainable business and on a larger scale, economic growth. Zoe would like to recruit for a valuable client, an International Engineering Company. Job Summary: The Project Manager will support an International Engineering Company specializing in roads and water. The candidate should have international experience. Responsibilities: Key Duties andResponsibilities: To be the primary contact for the client By delegation, take responsibility for commitments vis-a-vis the client including service orders, consents, instructions following the quality plan and technical requirements of the contract Prepare and define with the Country Manager the implementation strategy Manage the budget and define the resources to be allocated to the construction site and approve the construction procedures Finalize the optimization phase and completion of construction Define and follow the implementation schedule of the site Daily management of the site and ensure compliance with set objectives (planning, quality assurance plan, HSE plan, Environmental plan ) Validate the quality assurance plan, HSE plan, Environmental plan Manage the construction and ensure to the respect of construction specifications Manage the relationship with the client or the foreman Collaborate with the project management office Prepare technical monthly reports on construction management Recruit site staff Experience: Qualifications, Skills andExperience: The Project Manager should hold a Degree in civil or Structural engineering. Masters degree or equivalent. The applicant should have handled MAJOR public infrastructure projects such as Stadia, Airports, Water Systems, Roads, Hydraulics Etc. International exposure in the construction industry. FIDIC or PREMEVERA or Equivalent. Should be a repatriate Knowledge of HSE (Lead) Knowledge of construction procedures (Lead) Knowledge of norms and regulations (Senior) Budget management (Lead) Construction management (Lead) Communication (Senior) Management of equipment (Senior) Team management (Lead) Client relations (Lead) Mastery MS office tools (Senior) Geotechnical and topographic knowledge (Senior) Organization of work (Lead) How to Apply: All suitably qualified and interested candidates should apply online by clicking on the title link below. th April 2018 Deadline: 5April 2018 Job Title: Senior Registration Assistant Organisation: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Position No.: UNOPS 21 Vacancy Notice No.: 014/2018 Duty Station: Uganda Reports to: Field Officer Position Grade: GL5 About UNHCR: The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. UNHCRs mandate under the Statute of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is to lead and co-ordinate action for international protection to refugees; seek permanent solutions for the problems of refugees and safeguard refugee rights and well-being. UNHCR has an additional mandate concerning issues of statelessness, as it is given a designated role under Article 11 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. Job Summary: The Senior Registration Assistant will be charged with supporting all activities related to registration, which may also include functions related to reception, filing and data management. The incumbent provides counselling to, and responds to queries from, asylum seekers and refugees regarding UNHCRs registration procedures and their rights and entitlements. S/he liaises closely with protection staff and partners to ensure timely identification and referral of persons of concern for protection follow up. The Senior Registration Assistant may assist in compiling and analysing information related to registration activities in the operation. The Senior Registration Assistant may provide interpretation and/or translation services in cases for which s/he has the required language competencies Key Duties and Responsibilities: Provide support in the implementation of registration strategies and methodologies for populations of concern. Carry out registration interviews when required in accordance with registration standards and guidance. Provide counselling to, and responds to queries from, asylum seekers and refugees regarding UNHCRs registration procedures and their rights and entitlements. Maintain accurate and up-to date records and data related to all individual registration cases. The incumbent will also identify persons with specific needs and ensure timely referral to protection follow-up as required. Work closely with protection staff and/or partners in the delivery of assistance and programming, including provision of identity and entitlement documentation. The Senior Registration Assistant will draft correspondence and reports relating to registration activities in the operation, when required Provide statistics and draft reports related to registration data, as requested. Serve as an interpreter and translator when needed. Perform other related duties as required. Key Performance Indicators: UNHCRs Registration Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are implemented in accordance with relevant UNHCR standards and policies. Persons of concern have fair and transparent access to registration procedures. Qualifications, Skills and Experience: The ideal candidate for the United Nations UNHCR Senior Registration Assistant career opportunity should have completed secondary education with post-secondary training/certificate in Social science, Statistics, Mathematics, Information Technology, or related fields. At least five years of relevant job experience. Good computer skills, particularly in data management. Additional training in basic principles of international protection is desired Working knowledge of another relevant UN language is an added advantage Excellent knowledge of English and local language. How to Apply: All interested Ugandan nationals who wish to join the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the aforementioned capacity are encouraged to click on the link below and follow the application instructions after reviewing the job details. Deadline: 28th March 2018 A Florida high school student has been charged as an adult after he allegedly appeared in a video with a gun outside his school, threatening to shoot the principal. Anthony L. Roberson of Riviera Beach is charged with possession of a gun on school property and was being held Thursday on $115,000 bond. The Palm Beach Post reports the 17-year-old William T. Dwyer High School student did a live online video March 6 outside the school while holding a gun, saying he brings it daily. He then made what authorities inferred to be a threat against the principal. The video was reported to the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office, which found a gun at his home the next day. Roberson told investigators he was only kidding. He was arrested Tuesday. (AP) New York Citys buildings regulator launched investigations at more than a dozen Kushner Cos. properties Wednesday following an Associated Press report that the real estate developer routinely filed false paperwork claiming it had zero rent-regulated tenants in its buildings across the city. The Department of Buildings is investigating possible illegal activity involving applications that sought permission to begin construction work at 13 of the developers buildings, according to public records maintained by the regulator. The AP reported Sunday that Kushner Cos. stated in more than 80 permit applications that it had zero rent-regulated tenants in its buildings when it, in fact, had hundreds. The false filings were made while Kushner Cos. was run by Jared Kushner, now senior adviser to his father-in-law, President Donald Trump. The false filings were all signed by a Kushner employee, sometimes by its chief operating officer. None were signed by Jared Kushner himself. The false documents allowed the Kushner Cos. to escape extra scrutiny during construction at 34 of its buildings, many which showed a sharp decline in rent-regulated units following the work. Housing Rights Initiative, a watchdog group that uncovered the false filings, says that made it easier for the Kushner Cos. to harass the low-paying, rent-regulated tenants so they would leave, freeing up apartments for higher-paying tenants. The Kushner Cos. said Wednesday that it is the victim of politically motivated attacks. It said it values and respects its tenants and operates under the highest legal and ethical standards. In earlier statements the company said it outsourced preparation of its permit applications to third parties, and described the wrong information as mistakes or typographical errors. It also said it corrected mistakes as soon as it spotted them. The buildings department confirmed on Wednesday that its building marshals office had launched investigations into possible false paperwork. Our building marshal is a key part of our Tenant Harassment Task Force, spokesman Joseph Soldevere said. And when they inspect a building they look into everything from the roof to the cellar to find illegal construction, and thats what they are doing. The agency has disciplined a contractor involved in false filings at two Kushner buildings, he said. The Kushners Cos. filed more than one permit application at many of the buildings under investigation. At least 10 of the 29 applications under investigation were filed by prior owners. On Monday, the city council launched a joint investigation with Housing Rights Initiative into the false filings. The heads of the joint investigations, Councilman Ritchie Torres, a Democrat, and Housing Rights Initiative founder Aaron Carr, said in a statement that they were encouraged by the buildings department probe, but that more needed to be done. The predatory practices of Kushner Companies is symptomatic of a systemic failure in DOB enforcement, it said. (AP) Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD) Director Yigal Unna on Wednesday, 5 Nissan, hosted visiting Bulgarian President Rumen Radev at the directorates national CERT in Beersheva. They were accompanied by the Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister, senior officials from the presidents office, Israels Ambassador to Bulgaria, Bulgarias Ambassador to Israel and a major delegation of government representatives and business leaders. The visit was the first by a foreign head of state to the national CERT and the cyber park and constitutes a milestone vis-a-vis Beershevas role as the cyber capital of Israel. Director Unna gave a briefing on the INCD including its responsibilities and coordination with other cyber bodies in Israel, the cyber threat and the main efforts in the field. He and the Bulgarian President discussed expanding bilateral development and cooperation in light of the INCDs policy of increasing cooperation with countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The delegation toured the national CERTs facilities including the security operations center which is responsible for monitoring and defending government ministries, the center for cooperation with the Finance Ministry and the Energy Ministrys cyber center for energy and water. The delegation also visited the Beersheva cyber park and observed Israels cyber ecosystem. The park, which is a unique world-class center, includes the national CERT, Ben-Gurion University and approximately 20 companies. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem/ photo credit: Avi Davidi) Israel says it is launching an investigation into Facebook following the scandal involving data mining firm Cambridge Analytica. The Israeli Privacy Protection Authority says Thursday the alleged privacy breach raised the possibility of infringements of Israels privacy law. The law states that personal data may only be used for the purpose for which it was given, with the consent of the individual, the authority says in a statement. The authority says it will investigate whether the personal data of Israelis was illegally used. Facebook has faced a backlash over the scandal. Politicians in the U.S. and Britain have called for the company to explain its data practices in detail. State attorneys general in Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey have opened investigations into the case. And some have rallied to a movement that urges people to delete their Facebook accounts entirely. (AP) M&S boss Steve Rowe says the food business has lots to do and needs 'to change fast' Desperate circumstances require desperate remedies and Marks & Spencer has hit the alarm button again. We shouldnt be surprised that, in choosing a new boss for food, the group opted for Stuart Machin, a veteran of the Asda school of M&S chairman Archie Norman. Machin has had his bumps. He hurriedly left Wesfarmers in Australia after a Tesco-style inflated profits problem, joining Steinhoff in the UK at the very moment the groups South African/German parent became engulfed in an accounting swindle. No one should be over-excited about the Asda pedigree of incomer given the record of another former insider Andy Hornby, who all but broke the bank at HBOS and was tipped unceremoniously out of Boots. The most fascinating aspect of the M&S switch is the tone of chief executive Steve Rowe. His assertion that the food business has lots to do and needs to change fast is unusually blunt. So is the unvarnished departure of Andy Adcock, the director of food who leaves within six weeks. M&S connoisseurs will find all of this bizarre given the increased emphasis on food made by Rowe when he first took over with promises of Simply Food openings and giving over some clothing space to food. Since then same-store food sales have disappointed, expansion scaled back and store closures speeded up. The lacuna for M&S in food is the lack of fresh produce delivery capacity when challengers are going great guns. It is impossible to navigate middle-class suburbs without being stuck behind the Ocado or Tesco vans annoyingly causing obstruction. M&S experimented in four centres with fresh food delivery and discovered the shopping basket is bigger than it thought, making an online offering possible. Certainly, Amazon logistics bolstered by Whole Foods suppliers are enough to frighten anyone into submission. It is not clear that is what Machin is being asked to do. M&S has been able to charge premium prices for better products but that bit of edge is being eaten away by Waitrose but as seriously by Lidl, the cheap retailer which sells faux premium goods and is able to hide its profitability (or lack of it) behind secretive German private ownership. The challenge in retail is keeping up with savvy consumers who have become extraordinarily mercurial. Bringing in outside talent may be just what is needed to support Rowe as keeper of the flame of Britains favourite store chain. But with every lurch one fears the mantle slips a little further. With a market value of 4.3billion Marks is worth less than online clothing maker Asos, food groups Sainsburys and Morrisons, and little more than under-achiever Ocado. Not good. Health risk Life might have been a little easier for Emma Walmsley if Reckitt Benckiser had remained in the auction for Pfizer consumer healthcare which include Advil painkillers, Centrum vitamins and Robitussin cough mixtures. She could have then walked away claiming the price was too high. Now the 14.3billion package must look very tempting for a GlaxoSmithKline chief who climbed to the top with consumer brands. As a one-off deal Walmsley could probably make the case, arguing that the discarded Pfizer brands will enhance earnings from day one. It is not quite as easy as that. Glaxo is lumbered with the legacy of predecessor Sir Andrew Wittys asset swaps with Novartis. If the Swiss firm were to exercise its option to sell Glaxo its 36.5 per cent in a joint consumer healthcare enterprise then Walmsley would have to spend another 8.6billion. That would send borrowing sky high and raise questions as to whether Glaxo could invest sufficiently in a narrower range of new medicines to keep its place among world leaders in pharma and vaccinations. It might even make the case for Neil Woodfords proposed splits. Pass me the Corsodyl mouthwash. Melrose breaches A big fuss at Crest Nicholsons annual meeting, where 28 per cent of shareholders objected to chief executive Stephen Stone moving up to be executive chair for a year, in breach of governance codes. Curious how investors are so tolerant of governance anarchy at GKN predators Melrose where Chris Miller is executive chairman, David Roper executive vice-chairman, and remuneration is off the scale. Sheer hypocrisy. American dream: Glaxo boss Emma Walmsley is keen to expand in the US GlaxoSmithKlineis set for an 14billion swoop on the consumer healthcare arm of a rival as it fights to be a major player in the US. The British firm is in pole position in the race for Pfizer's business, which includes painkiller Advil and Chapstick lip balm. Rivals including Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi and Nestle have pulled out, with Reckitt walking away yesterday. That might help Glaxo drive a hard bargain, although Pfizer says it could still decide not to sell. A takeover is attractive for Glaxo because it would allow it to expand in North America, one of chief executive Emma Walmsley's main aims since taking the reins. But there are concerns about a deal, with investors worried it could distract from Walmsley's mission to revamp Glaxo's drugs arm. Analysts say it could also stretch the firm's finances and threaten the dividend. Walmsley has remained tight-lipped about her intentions. 'You would expect us to have a look at it', the 48-year-old said. 'But, frankly, we don't need to do this deal.' Reckitt, whose brands include Nurofen and Clearasil, said it had wanted to buy just part of the Pfizer consumer healthcare business but had failed to strike a deal. The failure to land a deal is a blow to chief executive Rakesh Kapoor who has long coveted the Pfizer operation as a means to bolster Reckitt's business. Shares in Reckitt rose 4.8 per cent, or 269p, to 5895p however, amid relief it will not be overstretching to complete a deal. Investors appeared less pleased that Glaxo was in poll position. Its shares dipped 1.7 per cent, or 22.4p, to 1273.8p. Russ Mould, an analyst at AJ Bell, said: 'Given the weight of evidence suggests most acquisitions destroy rather than create shareholder value, the market reaction looks very rational. 'Investors need to be wary of firms which make multiple acquisitions, especially if they are big and seen, or described, as transformational, as the scope for something going wrong is considerable. 'This is something for investors in GlaxoSmithKline to bear in mind.' Pfizer said it was looking at its options. 'We have not yet made a decision, but continue to expect to make one in 2018,' it added. A decision to buy Pfizer's takeover arm would be Walmsley's boldest decision yet, after she launched a major overhaul at Glaxo. Since taking over from Sir Andrew Witty a year ago she has vowed to whip the company into shape, poaching star executives from rivals, culling managers and prioritising research to replenish its crucial pipeline of medicines. She he has also backed beefing up Glaxo's consumer healthcare arm. A deal with Pfizer would further increase the company's leading position in the consumer health sector. Glaxo yesterday declined to comment on the talks. Marks & Spencer has parachuted in chairman Archie Norman's former protege to stop the rot at its food business. The High Street stalwart named former Bensons for Beds and Harveys chief executive Stuart Machin managing director for food a new role created as the company fights the onslaught from rivals. Announcing the appointment, chief executive Steve Rowe also outlined plans to cut food prices and overhaul its offer in a bid to win back customers. New M&S food boss Stuart Machin poses with Australian pop star Dannii Minogue The retailer has admitted its food range is too complex, availability too low and food waste too high. Rowe said: 'We face challenges in our food business and we have lots to do to change, fast. Stuart is an excellent addition to our team. 'He gets food retailing and he has first-class experience of driving change in big food retailers. 'At M&S we need to sharpen our prices, improve our products, drive profitability and grow market share. Stuart is the right leader to get on and deliver these changes.' Protege who fought back from scandal When Stuart Machin was picked to be Sainsbury's youngest store director at 27, a rapid rise to the top began. Educated at all-boys' Howard School in Kent, he went on to jobs at Tesco and Asda, where he was singled out by boss Archie Norman as a star of the future. Sure enough, Machin was poached to run Australian supermarket Coles and then Target in 2013. He became well-known Down Under, regularly being snapped at celebrity events. But last year his career almost ended when Target's owner was alleged to have mis-stated accounts. Machin, 49, quit, despite protesting his innocence. Within weeks he back in the UK running Harveys and Bensons for Beds. Norman, now M&S chairman, must have spotted an opportunity to woo back his protege. Machin's appointment comes as M&S undergoes a radical transformation which has so far seen it shut stores, slash hundreds of jobs and bring in new people to revive the brand. M&S has also sold its 27 stores in Hong Kong and Macau to a franchise partner as it focuses its efforts on the UK. It is the latest move in an aggressive push by M&S to fight the growing threat of discounter rivals like Aldi and Lidl. While it has struggled to keep up with the changing tastes in fashion, M&S's food business has been a star performer. Much of this was credited to Rowe who ran the food division before taking over as chief executive. However, in the past year even M&S food has fallen behind competitors. Big Four supermarkets Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons are also implementing strategies to lure customers. Morrisons' plans are paying off after strong sales and profits last year saw it reward investors with a 238million dividend payment. This week Sainsbury's upped the ante and cut prices on hundreds of products including toiletries, veg, meat and ready meals. Machin, who is highly respected in the retail industry, has held top roles at Sainsbury's, Tesco and Asda and spent time heading two of Australia's biggest retail names supermarket Coles and department store chain Target. During his time as operations director at Asda, Machin was mentored by chairman at the time Archie Norman, who now oversees M&S. Former Asda chief executive Andy Clarke described him as 'undoubtedly a talented retailer and probably one of the best operations guys that I've worked with'. Machin will join M&S in late April, replacing Andy Adcock, the director of food. MBABANE The TSC has dismissed the teacher who once ordered primary school pupils to sing Nkosi Sikelela iAfrica. TSC is an acronym of Teaching Service Commission. Bhekisisa Ndlangamandla, who was a teacher at Ntfonjeni National Primary School has been dismissed for among other offences, absenteeism and insubordination. His dismissal, according to a letter written by TSC Executive Secretary Mduduzi Nkambule, was with effect from March 1, 2018. The commission further informed Ndlangamandla to vacate a school house within seven days, in the event he was occupying one. In its ruling the lawyer Simanga Mamba-led commission said the evidence that was brought before it clearly showed that Ndlangamandla was a troublesome person. The message should be clear that there is no room for insubordination, non-preparation and absenteeism in the teaching profession. The commission expresses its disapproval of such conduct from teachers, said the TSC. The TSC mentioned that the exhibited level of insubordination showed that Ndlangamandla was not fit and proper to be part of the teaching service because he failed to obey reasonable instructions from his supervisor. Insubordination is a serious offence and is unacceptable in the workplace because it results into actual work stoppage in the school. The education system in the school becomes hamstrung, observed the commission. The commission pointed out that as a result of Ndlangamandlas actions, many innocent young souls were deprived their constitutional right to learn. Further absenteeism disturbs smooth running of the school and effective teaching and learning, added the commission. European Union member states agreed at a summit on Friday to take additional punitive measures against Russia for a nerve agent attack in Britain, as Moscow accused the bloc of joining a London-driven hate campaign against it. Moscow has denied that it is behind the attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, the first known offensive use of a nerve toxin in Europe since World War Two. But German Chancellor Angela Merkel said evidence of Russian culpability presented by British Prime Minister Theresa May was "very solidly based" and promised new measures after EU leaders agreed late on Thursday to recall their ambassador to Moscow. "Germany and France agree that additional steps, on top of the recall of the ambassador, are necessary," Merkel said at a joint news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron called the attack "unprecedented" and said Europe must respond: "It is an aggression against the security and sovereignty of an ally that is today a member of the European Union. It demands a reaction. This is clear." In a boost for May, the 28-member EU collectively condemned the attack and declared in a Brussels summit statement that it was "highly likely" Moscow was responsible. A British judge said on Thursday that both victims may have suffered brain damage from the attack. A policeman who was hospitalized after discovering the two unconscious on a park bench has now been discharged. "Additional steps are expected as early as Monday at the national level," summit chair Donald Tusk told reporters. TENSIONS The leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and the three Baltic states Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania were among those predicting further expulsions of Russian diplomats from their capitals. However, Boyko Borissov, prime minister of Bulgaria which holds the EU\s rotating presidency, wanted more evidence so that "high probability becomes full probability" of Russian involvement. "I expect very rapid tensions in the coming weeks because many countries will start to recall their ambassadors too. The current times are harder than the Cold War," Borissov said, making clear his discomfort with further measures. Moscow has retaliated against Britain\s move to expel 23 Russians by ordering out the same number of Britons. On Friday, the Russian foreign ministry described the EU allegation as "baseless" and accused the bloc of spurning cooperation with Moscow and joining "another anti-Russian campaign deployed by London and its allies overseas". The expulsion of British diplomats went ahead on Friday, with a convoy of minibuses speeding out of the embassy compound to applause after British embassy staff said their goodbyes in the courtyard under a light snowfall. A special charter flight was to fly the diplomats back to Britain. France\s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, on a visit to Kiev, signaled that Paris was considering expelling Russian diplomats in solidarity with Britain. "You will see," he said. The summit statement hardened previous EU language on Russia\s alleged role as Macron and others helped May to overcome hesitation on the part of some states that feel friendlier to Moscow. Some of them had questioned how definitive Britain\s evidence is. Welcoming the solidarity she secured from the summit, May told reporters on leaving: "The threat from Russia is one that respects no borders and I think it is clear that Russia is challenging the values we share as Europeans and it is right that we stand together in defense of those values." SOURCE: REUTERS Talks between Togo\s ruling party and the opposition resumed on Friday after a month-long pause, with Ghana\s President Nana Akufo-Addo acting as a mediator. After an hour of debate between the two sides, Akufo-Addo decided to move to bilateral talks, meeting first with the ruling party and then with representatives of the opposition, an AFP journalist said. The talks are aimed at resolving a political stand-off that began in August and has seen thousands take to the streets in almost weekly protests against the ruling party. President Faure Gnassingbe, who has been in power since 2005, is under pressure to stand down amid calls for constitutional reform. Talks opened on February 19 but following a second meeting four days later, they were adjourned over what the opposition said was a dispute about Gnassingbe\s candidacy in the 2020 election. Gnassingbe has been in power since 2005, when he took over on the death of his father, General Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled Togo for 38 years. The opposition wants a return to Togo\s 1992 constitution, which set a two-term limit for presidents, applied retroactively, to prevent Gnassingbe standing in 2020 and 2025. The opposition, which had agreed to suspend its mass protests for the duration of the talks, had on March 6 threatened to resume their street demonstrations, accusing the government of not honouring a commitment about preparations for parliamentary elections. SOURCE: AFP [March 23, 2018] Birks launches uplan in Canada Partnered with UnionPay International, the uplan program becomes available for the first time in both North and South America MONTREAL, March 23, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - Birks, Canada's leading luxury fine jewelry brand since 1879 has launched the pilot program uplan in Canada this month. Birks is the first merchant to join the uplan program in both North and South America, which allows Chinese travelers to download QR Codes containing Birks promotions to their mobile devices. Uplan is the world's first open cross-border marketing platform that provides services in the fields of finance, travel and retail. Inspired by new technologies such as Geo-fencing, uplan focuses on accurate marketing and instant discounts for cross-border consumption, permitting cardholders user friendly and upgrading capabilitis. "It is of great significance to the Birks brand to launch uplan said Jean-Christophe Bedos, President and Chief Executive Officer of Birks Group. "As an Internationally growing brand, we believe that uplan will benefit our Chinese customers as we look to align ourselves with these technical capabilities while achieving our expanding objectives." Cardholders will have the ability to utilize uplan by accessing the exclusive QR code gift certificate coupon in the mobile apps of UnionPay International and Chinese issuing banks such as Bank of China and China Merchant Bank. Alternatively, cardholders can receive the gift certificate coupons that could be used at the destination promoted by the apps of UnionPay International's partner travel agencies at the time of booking airlines or hotels. A reminder to cardholders of these discount coupons will also appear when they are in the vicinity of any Birks location. Birks looks forward to aligning issuers, acquirers, travel agencies and merchants into the same industry chain with the ultimate focus of making the shopping experience more user-friendly in Canada. About Birks Group Inc. The Birks story began four centuries ago in Sheffield, England. The brand truly came to life in 1879 when Henry Birks opened a jewellery boutique in the heart of Montreal, Canada. What began as one man's dream became an iconic Canadian brand that is now distributed internationally. Birks collections are inspired by Canadian nature and the brand's rich heritage, offering classic styles with an edgy flair. The Company operates 28 stores under the Birks brand in most major metropolitan markets in Canada. In addition, Birks fine jewellery collections are available through select Mappin & Webb and Goldsmiths locations in the UK, in Mayors stores in the US and at select jewellery retailers across North America. Visit www.birks.com for more information. SOURCE Birks Group Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 22, 2018] DCN to upgrade North Dakota State Internet Network BISMARCK, N.D., March 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As part of a contract extension with the North Dakota Information Technology Department, DCN (Dakota Carrier Network) and its 15 owner companies will upgrade the internet service of all North Dakota K-12 schools, higher education institutions and government to one gigabit by August 2019. The upgraded connection will allow internet traffic over STAGEnet, the states network, to travel faster, ensuring a higher quality experience for students, teachers, state employees and the public. Seth Arndorfer, CEO at DCN (Dakota Carrier Network) speaks during a press conference held at the North Dakota State Capitol on March 22, 2018, to announce a 100-gigabit upgrade to the state's internet network. Multimedia elements accompanying this announcement are available at //www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/67b58af6-a31a-4377-ba17-f0a8dae4f024 http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/d825ec3b-2288-49a7-bbed-1b4cca4ad08c Its an honor for DCN and our 15 owner companies to provide gigabit internet service to every K-12 school in our state, said Seth Arndorfer, DCN CEO. DCN has been keeping North Dakotas public schools connected since 2000 and we know that reliable, fast broadband connectivity is key to keeping our children competitive in our increasingly digital world. We continuously invest in our fiber network and broadband services to ensure that schools, hospitals, homes and businesses across the state have access to the best internet service possible, whether they are in a metro area or one of our many rural communities. Were proud to take this next step in increasing the speed of connectivity for students across the state, as well as in our local and state government offices. One-gigabit internet access at every school in a state is unprecedented, making North Dakota the first in the nation to achieve this milestone. The upgrade agreement was unveiled by Gov. Doug Burgum during a press conference today at the North Dakota State Capitol. North Dakota already ranks high nationally in terms of network connectivity for the K-12 community, and these significant yet cost-neutral upgrades will ensure our schools have the bandwidth and speed they need to prepare students for a 21st century economy impacted by rapid technological change, Burgum said. State and local taxpayers will benefit through a network that makes their governments more efficient and responsive to the communities and citizens they serve. As upgrades are made, websites and applications of North Dakota K-12 schools, higher education institutions and governments will run faster, a result of the increased bandwidth, or capacity, provided through one gigabit internet service. This means a better experience for parents accessing PowerSchool, an online portal to view their childs classroom performance, faster load times of government websites and increased document download speed. About DCN Dakota Carrier Network , created in 1996, is owned by 15 North Dakota-based independent telecommunications companies representing 85 percent of all telephone exchanges in North Dakota and more than 90 percent of the states total surface area. They serve more than 164,000 customers in approximately 250 communities. The DCN companies currently have more than 40,000 miles of fiber optic cable in service. DCNs corporate headquarters is located in Fargo, N.D., and its Network Operations Center (NOC) is located in Bismarck, N.D. DCN owner companies include: BEK Communications, Consolidated Telcom, Dakota Central Telecom, Dickey Rural Communications, Intercommunity Telephone, Midstate Communications, MLGC, North Dakota Telephone, Northwest Communications, Polar Communications, Red River Technologies, Reservation Telephone, SRT Communications, United Communications, and West River Telephone. Media contact: Joanna Drennen jdrennen@dakotacarrier.com 701-323-3034 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 22, 2018] Nokia has filed its annual Form 20-F for 2017 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and published its "Nokia in 2017" annual report Nokia Corporation Stock Exchange Release March 22, 2018 at 19:45 (CET +1) Nokia has filed its annual Form 20-F for 2017 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and published its "Nokia in 2017" annual report Espoo, Finland - Nokia has today filed its annual Form 20-F for 2017 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Additionally, Nokia has published its "Nokia in 2017" annual report, which includes audited financial statements, the annual review by the Board of Directors and Nokia's corporate governance statement. The Form 20-F and "Nokia in 2017" reports will be available in PDF format at http://www.nokia.com/en_int/investors/results-and-reports, along with Nokia's past quarterly and annual financial reports. Shareholders may request a hard copy of the reports free of charge through Nokia's website. The corporate governance statement is available also at http://www.nokia.com/en_int/investors/corporate-governance . About Nokia We create the technology to connect the world. Powered by the research and innovation of Nokia Bell Labs, we serve communications service providers, governments, large enterprises and consumers, with the industry's most complete, end-to-end portfolio of products, services and licensing. Nokia is enabling the infrastructure for 5G and the Internet of Things, and shaping the future of technology to transform the human experience. www.nokia.com Media Enquiries: Nokia Communications Tel. +358 (0) 10 448 4900 Email: press.services@nokia.com Minna Aila, Vice President, Corporate Affairs Attachment: //www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1ef62b58-5a8a-4db7-8ec1-051e2802f3ec [March 22, 2018] Canadian International School Celebrates 22 Years of Excellence BANGALORE, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Canadian International School (CIS) celebrated its 22 years with a festive atmosphere throughout the school. CIS dedicated the day to celebrating this milestone by hosting several events for the students and faculty. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/638328/CIS_Logo.jpg ) As the first truly international school in Bangalore, CIS has been celebrating several milestones over the past 22 years. Amongst those achievements are, being the first school in Bangalore to offer the IB Diploma, becoming the first fully iPad integrated school in South India, as well as being India's 1st fully solar powered school. Another achievement CIS recently obtained was being recognized as India's 1st Apple Distinguished School in November 2017. With a lot to speak about as a school, CIS continues to aspire to be one of the best schools in the world. With the vision to provide excellence in international education, CIS has been successful in imparting quality edcation by nurturing potential, developing life-long skills and preparing students for an ever-changing global community. To celebrate its 22 years today, CIS hosted a 22 years-themed day with a centerpiece photo booth that was open to students, faculty, as well as the CIS community. Students and teachers got together to celebrate the occasion. Fun activities like hand painting and wishing CIS a 'Happy Birthday' continued throughout the day. Small giveaways were also distributed around the school. "These 22 years have been a truly great achievement for us. I have seen the school grow to a stage where I am incredibly honoured by where we stand today. We have had so many highlights throughout the years including most recently being awarded India's 1st Apple Distinguished School. I am proud of what the school has achieved and proud to continue to aim for excellence in the coming years," said Shweta Sastri, Executive Director of Canadian International School, Bangalore. "CIS hosted a fantastic celebration today. It feels great to be part of such a diverse and inclusive community," said a parent. CIS has built a strong foundation over the past 22 years. The day celebrated unity amongst a diverse crowd in a truly international setting. About Canadian International School Canadian International School is a culturally-rich mosaic serving each student by providing a world-class international education, nurturing potential, developing life-long skills and preparing students for an ever-changing global community. As India's 1st Apple Distinguished School, Canadian International School has continued to deliver a very high standard of education with an array of subject choices and activities tailored to students' interests, aligned with a very high level of care in a warm, friendly and non-threatening environment. It follows internationally recognized curricula - IB (Grades 11 & 12), IGCSE (Grades 9 -10), Cambridge Secondary 1 (Grades 6 - 8), Cambridge Primary and Montessori (Pre K to Grade 5) and employs a majority of foreign-trained, experienced teachers. Media Contact: Amala Warrick promotions@cisb.org.in +91-9008607755 Canadian International School [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 22, 2018] NextGenTel Holding ASA Approval of Annual Accounts 2017 OSLO, Norway, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The board of directors of NextGenTel Holding ASA on 22 March, 2018 have approved the annual accounts for 2017. There were only minor changes in the profit for the year as presented in the Q4 2017 financial report, primarily related to income tax expense. The annual general meeting (AGM) will take place Tuesday 24 April 2017 at 15:00 at the company's premises at Harbitzalleen 2A, Skyen, Oslo. A notice for the AGM will be sent to all shareholders and documets related to the AGM, including the annual report for 2017, will be available on the company's investor relations website (www.nextgentelholding.com). Contact: Gaute Wigenstad Krekling Chief Financial Officer (CFO) gaute.wigenstad.krekling@nextgentel.com +47-986-86-973 This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/nextgentel-holding-asa/r/approval-of-annual-accounts-2017,c2478701 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 23, 2018] SWIFT Introduces Universal Real-time Payment Tracking SYDNEY, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SWIFT announces the extension of its gpi Tracker to cover all payment instructions sent across the network, enabling gpi banks to track all their SWIFT payment instructions at all times, and giving them full visibility over all their payments activity. The Tracker, which has been available since May 2017, enables banks that have signed up to the service to track their gpi payments in real-time. From November a unique end-to-end transaction reference will be included in all payment instructions carried between all 11,000 customers on SWIFT at all times, across more than 200 countries and territories. This will give gpi customers full end-to-end tracking of all their payment messages quickly and efficiently, bringing even greater transparency and cost reduction. "The extension of the Tracker to non-gpi payments is a major step forward. It will significantly extend transparency and it will drive more banks to join the service, rapidly making gpi the new normal in cross-border payments", said Navinder Duggal, Group Head of Cash Product Management from DBS, one of the early gpi adopters in Asia. "Enabling end-to-end tracking of all payment instructions through to the end destination is a game-changer," says Lars Sjogren, Global Head of Transaction Banking, Danske Bank "Until last year, it was impossible for banks to gather this information on behalf of their customers, but the introduction of the gpi Tracker has addressed this challenge head on, transforming cross-border payments and dramatically improving the service that banks can offer to their customers in a very cost efficient way." The Tracker automatically provides status updates to all gpi banks involved in any gpi payment chain and allows them to confirm when a payment has been completed. The Tracker also facilitates more accurate reconciliation of payments and invoices, optimises liquidity with improved cash forecasts and reduces exposure to FX risk, with same-day processing of funds in beneficiaries' time zones. As a cloud-based service, the Tracker is available via an API, making it compatible with proprietary banking systems worldwide. "SWIFT gpi has been hugely beneficial for banks and their customers since its launch, but extending this tracking facility across all payments traffic will be truly transformational," says Bill Doran, Head of Oceania at SWIFT. "These expanded tracking capabilities are part of a series of gpi services we will roll out in 2018 to further improve the cross-border payments experience, enable banks to provide a far superior service to their customers and rapidly attract more banks to join." Launched in 2017, gpi already accounts for 10% of SWIFT cross border payment traffic, and is enabling more than a hundred billion dollars to be trnsferred across the world rapidly and securely every day. More than 150 banks, representing over 78% of SWIFT's cross-border payments traffic, have signed up to the service, sending hundreds of thousands of payments daily across 220 country corridors - including major corridors such as USA-China, where gpi already accounts for more than 25% of payment traffic. Nearly 50% of gpi payments are completed in less than 30 minutes, many within seconds. The introduction of the unique end-to-end transaction reference in all payment instructions will be effected through the mandatory annual standards update in November 2018. After this point, all SWIFT customers will be required to include the unique end-to-end transaction reference in their payment instructions, irrespective of whether they are gpi banks and or whether they are executing gpi payments. All regulated financial institutions on SWIFT are eligible to join the gpi. Notes to editors: About gpi The SWIFT global payments innovation (SWIFT gpi) is the largest change in cross-border payments over the last 30 years and is the new standard. SWIFT gpi dramatically improves the customer experience in cross-border payments by increasing their speed, transparency and end-to-end tracking. Hundreds of thousands of cross-border payments are today being sent using the new gpi standard, and payments are made quickly, typically within minutes, even seconds. SWIFT gpi allows corporates to receive an enhanced payments service, with the following key features: Faster, same day use of funds within the time zone of the receiving gpi member Transparency of fees End-to-end payments tracking Remittance information transferred unaltered As an initiative, SWIFT gpi engages the global banking industry and fintech communities to innovate in the area of cross-border payments while reducing their back-office costs. Since its launch in January 2017, gpi has dramatically improved the cross-border payments experience for corporates in over 220 country corridors. Key features of the gpi service include enhanced business rules and a secure tracking database in the cloud accessible via APIs. Thanks to SWIFT gpi, corporates can grow their international business, improve supplier relationships, and achieve greater treasury efficiencies. Overall, nearly 50% of SWIFT gpi payments are credited to end beneficiaries within 30 minutes, and almost 100% of payments within 24 hours. Those that take longer typically involve more complex foreign exchange conversions, compliance checks or regulatory authorisations. In addition to the 150 financial institutions that have adopted gpi, more than 50 payment market infrastructures are already exchanging gpi payments, enabling domestic exchange and tracking. Payment market infrastructures have a critical role to play in facilitating the end-to-end tracking of cross-border payments because as soon as international payments hit the destination country, they are typically cleared through local payment infrastructures. About SWIFT SWIFT is a global member owned cooperative and the world's leading provider of secure financial messaging services. We provide our community with a platform for messaging and standards for communicating, and we offer products and services to facilitate access and integration, identification, analysis and regulatory compliance. Our messaging platform, products and services connect more than 11,000 banking and securities organisations, market infrastructures and corporate customers in more than 200 countries and territories. While SWIFT does not hold funds or manage accounts on behalf of customers, we enable our global community of users to communicate securely, exchanging standardised financial messages in a reliable way, thereby supporting global and local financial flows, as well as trade and commerce all around the world. As their trusted provider, we relentlessly pursue operational excellence; we support our community in addressing cyber threats; and we continually seek ways to lower costs, reduce risks and eliminate operational inefficiencies. Our products and services support our community's access and integration, business intelligence, reference data and financial crime compliance needs. SWIFT also brings the financial community together at global, regional and local levels to shape market practice, define standards and debate issues of mutual interest or concern. SWIFT's strategic five year plan, SWIFT2020, challenges SWIFT to continue investing in the security, reliability and growth of its core messaging platform, while making additional investments in existing services and delivering new and innovative solutions. Headquartered in Belgium, SWIFT's international governance and oversight reinforces the neutral, global character of its cooperative structure. SWIFT's global office network ensures an active presence in all the major financial centres. For more information, visit www.swift.com or follow us on Twitter: @swiftcommunity and LinkedIn: SWIFT. Jaime Lee, +852-2107-8860, jaime.lee@swift.com Logo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20160127/8521600559Logo SOURCE S.W.I.F.T.SCRL [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 23, 2018] Sunlands Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering BEIJING, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Sunlands Online Education Group (NYSE: STG) ("Sunlands" or the "Company"), the leader in China's online post-secondary and professional education, today announced that it has priced its initial public offering of 13,000,000 American Depositary Shares ("ADSs"), representing 520,000 Class A Ordinary Shares of the Company, at US$11.50 per ADS for a total offering size of US$149.5 million, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their option to purchase additional ADSs. The ADSs have been approved for listing on the New York Stock Exchange and are expected to begin trading today Eastern Time under the ticker symbol "STG." The underwriters have been granted an option, exercisable within 30 days from the date of the final prospectus, to purchase up to 1,950,000 additional ADSs at the initial public offering price less the underwriting discount. Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, and Credit Suisse (USA) LLC are acting as joint bookrunners and the representatives of the underwriters, and CLSA Limited is acting as co-manager, for the offering. Sunlands' registration statement relating to the offering has been filed with, and declared effective by, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. The offering of the securities is made only by means of a prospectus forming a part of the effective registration statement. A copy of the prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained by contacting Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC., 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282-2198, Attention: Prospectus Department, telephone: +1 (212) 902 1171, email: prospectus-ny@ny.email.gs.com; J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Attention: Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, telephone: +1-866-803-9204, email: prospectus-eq_fi@jpmchase.com; or Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department at Eleven Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10010-3629, telephone: +1-800-221-1037, email: newyork.prospectus@credit-suisse.com. About Sunlands Online Education Group Sunlands Online Education Group ("Sunlands" or the "Company") (NYSE: STG) is the leader in China's online post-secondary and professional education in terms of gross billings in 2017, according to iResearch. Sunlands offers various degree and diploma-oriented post-secondary courses through its online platforms as well as online professional courses and educational content to help students prepare for professional certification exams and attain professional skills. Students can access its services either through PC or mobile applications. The Company's online platform cultivates a personalized, interactive learning environment by featuring a virtual learning community and a vast library of educational content offerings that adapt to the learning habits of its students. Sunlands offers a unique approach to education research and development that organizes subject content into Learning Outcome Trees, the Company's proprietary knowledge management system. Sunlands has a deep understanding of the educational needs of its prospective students and offers solutions that help them achieve their goals. Safe Harbor Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements made under the "safe harbour" provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "confident" and similar statements. Sunlands may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Any statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Sunlands' beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements that involve factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such factors and risks include, but not limited to the following: Sunlands' goals and strategies; its expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of its brand and services; its ability to retain and increase student enrollments; its ability to offer new courses and educational content; its ability to engage, train and retain new faculty members; its future business development, results of operations and financial condition; its ability to maintain and improve technology infrastructure necessary to operate its business; competition in the online education industry in China; relevant government policies and regulations relating to Sunlands' corporate structure, business and industry; and general economic and business condition in China Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Sunlands' filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release is current as of the date of the press release, and Sunlands does not undertake any obligation to update such information, except as required under applicable law. For more information, please contact: Sunlands Mr. Forrest Wang Vice President of Investor Relations and Strategic Investment ir@sunlands.com Christensen In China Mr. Christian Arnell Phone: +86-10-5900-1548 E-mail: carnell@christensenir.com In US Ms. Linda Bergkamp Phone: +1-480-614-3004 Email: lbergkamp@ChristensenIR.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sunlands-announces-pricing-of-initial-public-offering-300618626.html SOURCE Sunlands Online Education Group [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 23, 2018] Clavister Holding AB Convenes Annual General Meeting, With Proposals for Incentive Schemes and Directed Issue of Warrants STOCKHOLM, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Clavister Holding AB board of directors has resolved to convene an annual general meeting of shareholders to be held on Tuesday, 24 April 2018 with, among other things, proposals on incentive schemes and a directed issue of warrants. Further details on the proposals on incentive schemes, directed issue of warrants and other proposals for the annual general meeting are found in the notice convening the meeting which is found below. The notice is expected to be published in the Swedish Official Gazette (Post- och Inrikes Tidningar) and on the company's website within the next few days. For further information, please contact Hakan Mattisson, CFO for Clavister Group. Notice of the annual general meeting of Clavister Holding AB Clavister Holding AB will hold its annual general meeting on Tuesday, 24 April 2018 at 1:00 PM at the company's offices at Sjogatan 6J in Ornskoldsvik. Right to participate and notice of intention to attend Shareholders wishing to participate in the shareholders' meeting must: 1) be registered as a shareholder in the shareholder register maintained by Euroclear Sweden AB on Wednesday, 18 April 2018; and 2) give notice to the company of their intention to participate not later than Thursday, 19 April 2018. Notice of intention to participate must be given in writing by email to finance@clavister.com or by post to Clavister Holding AB, Sjogatan 6J, 891 60 Ornskoldsvik. Please state in the notice the name or company name, personal ID number or company registration number, address and a daytime telephone number. The notice procedure set forth above also applies to notice of any assistants who will assist the shareholder at the meeting (a maximum of two). Nominee registered shares In order to participate at the meeting, any shareholder who has their shares registered with a nominee must, through the auspices of the nominee, cause the shares to be registered in their own name so that the shareholder is registered in the shareholder register maintained by Euroclear Sweden AB on Wednesday, 18 April 2018. Such registration may be temporary. Proxies and proxy forms Shareholders who are represented through a proxy must issue a written and dated proxy form. Proxy forms are available on the company's website, www.clavister.com. Proxy forms can also be obtained from the company or ordered through the address or email set forth above. In the event the proxy has been issued by a legal entity, a certificate of registration or corresponding authorization document, evidencing that the persons who have signed the proxy form are authorized signatories for the legal entity, must be appended to the proxy form. The proxy form may not be older than one year unless the validity period is stated in the proxy form, however not more than five years from the date of issuance. A copy of the proxy form and any certificate of registration should be sent to the company at the address set forth above in ample time prior to the meeting. The proxy form, in original, and the certificate of registration must also be presented at the meeting. Proposed agenda 1. Opening of the meeting and election of a chairperson for the meeting 2. Preparation and approval of the voting register 3. Election of one or two persons to attest the minutes 4. Determination of whether the meeting was duly convened 5. Approval of the agenda 6. Presentation of the annual report and the auditor's report and the consolidated financial statements and the auditor's report for the group 7. Resolutions regarding: a) adoption of the income statement and balance sheet and the income statement for the group and balance sheet for the group b) allocations regarding the company's profit or loss according to the adopted balance sheet; and c) discharge from liability for the directors and CEO 8. Resolution regarding the number of directors 9. Determination of the fees for the directors and auditors 10. Election of the board of directors and auditors 11. Resolution regarding guidelines for salary and other remuneration to senior management 12. Resolution regarding the issuance of warrants to EIB 13. Resolution regarding long-term incentive program for senior management and key persons 14. Resolution regarding long-term incentive program for the chairperson of the board of directors 15. Closing of the meeting INFORMATION ON THE NOMINATION COMMITTEE The nomination committee has prior to the annual general meeting 2018 consisted of Olof Nord, appointed by Tagehus Holding AB, Peter Lauren, appointed by Litino AB, Jim Carlsson, appointed by Hannu Heinonen, and Peter Dahlander, in the capacity of direct and indirect major shareholder. Olof Nord has been chairman of the nomination committee and Viktor Kovacs has participated in the meetings of the committee in the capacity of chairman of the board of directors of Clavister Holding AB. ITEM 1: OPENING OF THE MEETING AND ELECTION OF THE CHAIRPERSON FOR THE MEETING The nomination committee proposes that Advokat Dennis Westermark be elected chairman of the meeting. ITEM 8: RESOLUTION REGARDING NUMBER OF DIRECTORS The nomination committee proposes that, for the period until the close of the next annual general meeting, the board of directors consist of five (5) directors elected by the shareholders' meeting. ITEM 9: DETERMINATION OF THE FEES FOR THE DIRECTORS AND AUDITORS The nomination committee proposes that, for the period until the next annual general meeting, the directors fees remain unchanged in the amount of SEK 350,000 for the chairperson of the board of directors and SEK 160,000 for each of the other directors who are not employees of the group. In addition, the nomination committee proposes that, for the period until the next annual general meeting, remuneration remain unchanged in the amount of SEK 75,000 to the chairperson of the audit committee and SEK 50,000 to the other members; in the amount of SEK 75,000 to the chairperson of the remuneration committee and SEK 50,000 to the other members; in the amount of SEK 75,000 to the chairperson of the compliance committee and SEK 50,000 to the other members. The nomination committee further proposes that fees be payable to the auditor according to approved invoice. ITEM 10: ELECTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND AUDITORS The nomination committee proposes the reelection of Viktor Kovacs, Bo Askvik and Annika Andersson. In addition, the nomination committee proposes the new election of Jan Frykhammar and Staffan Dahlstrom. Viktor Kovacs is proposed as chairman of the board of directors. Goran Carstedt, Peter Dahlander, Jan Ramkvist and Sigrun Hjelmquist have declined reelection. Information regarding the proposed directors is available on the company's website at www.clavister.com. The nomination committee further proposes that, for the period until the next annual general meeting, the annual general meeting resolve to reelect as auditor the registered accounting firm Ernst & Young AB. Ernst & Young has notified the company that in the event Ernst & Young is reelected, Rickard Grundin will be the auditor in charge. The nomination committee's proposal for auditor corresponds to the recommendation by the audit committee. ITEM 11. RESOLUTION REGARDING GUIDELINES FOR SALARIES AND OTHER REMUNERATION TO SENIOR MANAGEMENT The board of directors proposes that the shareholders' meeting adopt guidelines for salaries and other remuneration to senior management principally as follows: Generally The Clavister group, of which Clavister Holding AB is the parent company (the "Group") shall apply remuneration levels and employment terms and conditions for senior management as required in order to ensure the Group's access to senior management with the necessary expertise and capacity to achieve established targets at costs adapted to the Group. The purpose is to create incentives for senior management to implement strategic plans and provide sound operating results, and to align the interests of senior management with those of the shareholders. Remuneration to senior management may consist of fixed salary, variable remuneration, and long-term equities or share price-related incentive programs, in addition to pensions and other customary benefits. As used in these guidelines, senior management means the CEO and other corporate management of Clavister Holding AB and the CEO and other corporate management of Clavister AB. The guidelines do not include remuneration in the form of fees and other remuneration for board work. Fixed salary The basic premise for remuneration to senior management is that remuneration is payable in the form of a market-based fixed salary and must be individually established based upon the aforementioned principles and each manager's specific expertise. Variable remuneration including equities-related and share price related incentive programs Variable compensation for senior management must be linked to predetermined and measurable targets and performance criteria and intended to promote the Group's long-term creation of value. Variable remuneration which is paid in cash may not exceed 50 per cent of the total remuneration, and is neither a pensionable income nor a basis for holiday pay. Equities-based incentive programs must be approved by the shareholders' meeting of Clavister Holding AB and designed with the purpose of achieving greater community of interest between senior management and the shareholders of Clavister Holding AB. Building up one's own shareholdings in Clavister Holding AB must be promoted. The qualifying period or the period for final acquisition of shares, share options, or other share-related instruments may not be less than three (3) years. Remuneration to board directors Board directors elected by the general meeting may in certain situations receive remuneration or other compensation for work performed for the company in addition to the director's responsibilities as a director. Any such services may be compensated with market-based remuneration that must be approved by the board of directors. Pension benefits Clavister Holding and Clavister AB have a pension policy ("Premium") adopted by the board of directors. The pension terms and conditions of senior management must be on market terms in relation to what generally applies to corresponding positions on the market and individually adapted taking into consideration each manager's specific expertise and adapted to the Group's costs. Pension allocations must be to defined contribution plans. Other benefits Other benefits for senior management may consist of health insurance and other customary benefits. Other benefits may not constitute a significant part of the total remuneration. Salary during the notice of termination period and severance compensation Severance compensation, including fixed salary during the notice of termination period, may not exceed twelve (12) months fixed remuneration. Information regarding previously adopted remuneration programs which have not yet become payable The company has four ongoing incentive programs for the company's employees. Program 2016/2019, covers 530,800 warrants with an exercise price of SEK 72, expiring on June 30, 2019, Program 2017/2020:1, covers 75,000 warrants with an exercise price of SEK 79, expiring on February 28, 2020, Program 2017/2020:2, covers 70,000 warrants with an exercise price of SEK 72, expiring on February 28, 2020, Program 2017/2020:3, covers 300,000 warrants with an exercise price of SEK 30, expiring on June 30, 2020. In addition the subsidiary Clavister AB holds 75,000 warrants from Program 2017/2020 series 1 and 2 which have not been transferred to employees. Disapplying the guidelines The Board of Directors shall be entitled to disapply the guidelines where there is special cause to do so in an individual case. The Board of Directors shall report the cause for disapplying the guidelines at the next annual general meeting. ITEM 12: RESOLUTION REGARDING ISSUANCE OF WARRANTS TO EIB The Board of Directors proposes that the shareholders' meeting resolve to issue warrants primarily in accordance with the following: The Board of Directors proposes that, disapplying shareholders' preemption rights, the shareholders' meeting resolve to carry out an issue of not more than 36,703 warrants each of which entitles the holder to subscribe for one share in the company, entailing that the number of shares in the company may increase by not more than 36,703 and that the share capital may increase by not more than SEK 3,670.30. The right to subscribe for warrants issued in Series 2018/2038 shall vest in the European Investment Bank ("EIB"). The warrants shall be issued without any payment of consideration. Each warrant shall entitle the holder to subscribe for one new share in the company at a subscription price of SEK 0.1 during the period commencing on the date of registration of the warrants with the Swedish Companies Registration Office up to and including April 30, 2038. The background to the share issue, i.e. the reason for the deviation from the shareholders' preferential rights and the basis for the subscription price, is that the company entered into a financing agreement with EIB in December 2017. The financing agreement contains an undertaking for the company to issue warrants to EIB without any payment of consideration in the event the company issues warrants to any third party (a dilution issue). Consequently, the proposal entails that the company is fulfilling its obligation under the agreement. The Board of Director's proposal regarding issuance of warrants under this item 12 on the agenda is conditional on the meeting approving the proposals of long-term incentive programs under items 13 or 14 on the agenda. If the meeting does not approve both the proposals regarding the long-term incentive programs under items 13 and 14 on the agenda (i.e. also if the meeting does not approve any of the proposals) the board may reduce the allotment of warrants to EIB. ITEM 13: RESOLUTION REGARDING LONG-TERM INCENTIVE PROGRAM FOR SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND KEY PERSONS The Board of Directors proposes that the shareholders' meeting resolve to it adopt a long-term incentive program primarily as follows: Reasons for the incentive program The Board of Directors has concluded that it would be to the advantage of the company and its shareholders if senior management and other personnel in the Clavister group were made participatory in the company's growth by being offered the opportunity to acquire warrants in an incentive program. A personal ownership commitment by these people is expected to lead to higher motivation and an increased sense of commonality with the company and a greater interest in the business and growth in profits. In addition, personal ownership will contribute to creating an overall focus by the individual employee. The effects are strengthened by the fact that the program is being implemented on market terms and conditions where the relevant persons participate in share price increases but also take a personal risk by paying a market price for the warrants. Preparation of the matter The proposal to the shareholders' meeting was prepared by the Board of Directors together with external advisors. The cost of the program and valuation of the warrants BDO has carried out a valuation of the theoretical value of the warrants. The theoretical value of the warrants has been calculated applying the customary valuation model (Black & Scholes) in March 2018. According to this valuation, the theoretical value of each warrant is SEK 1. Upon full participation and full subsequent subscription for shares upon exercise of the warrants, the program may entail a dilution of not more than approximately 2.9 per cent based on the number of shares in the company after the implementation of the incentive program. Given that the warrants will be issued on market terms and conditions, no future costs for employer payroll taxes are expected to be borne by the company as a consequence of the warrants. In light of this, there is no need to hedge the program. If the warrants which are proposed to be issued as set forth below had been fully exercised in 2017, the loss per share for the 2017 financial year would have been approximately SEK -2.76 per share instead of SEK -2.85 per share. Miscellaneous In order to receive allotment according to the incentive program, the participants must enter into a rights of first refusal agreement with Clavister AB which primarily entails that Clavister AB is entitled to repurchase the allotted warrants if the participant wishes to assign these or terminates their employment/services in the Clavister Group. The company has four outstanding incentive programs for the company's employees. Program 2016/2019 covers 530,800 warrants with an exercise price of SEK 72 and expires on 30 June 2019; Program 2017/2020:1 covers 75,000 warrants with an exercise price of SEK 79 and expires on 28 February 2020; Program 2017/2020:2 covers 70,000 warrants with an exercise price of SEK 72 and expires on 28 February 2020; and Program 2017/2020:3 covers 300,000 warrants with an exercise price of SEK 30 and expires on 30 June 2020. THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS' PROPOSAL FOR A RESOLUTION TO ISSUE WARRANTS TO A WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY AND TRANSFER OF WARRANTS TO SENIOR MANAGEMENT PERSONS The Board of Directors of the company proposes that the shareholders' meeting resolve to issue and transfer warrants mainly as follows. 1. The company shall issue a maximum of 700,000 warrants where each warrant entitles the holder to subscribe for one new share in the company, as a consequence of which the company's share capital may increase by a maximum of SEK 70,000. 2. Disapplying the shareholders' preemption rights, the right to subscribe for the warrants shall vest in the wholly owned subsidiary Clavister AB for subsequent assignment to senior management and other personnel in the company or its group companies. The Board of Directors has broken down the persons entitled to subscribe into two groups. Group 1 includes the CEO and the Group's senior management group and consists of a maximum of eight individuals. Persons entitled to subscribe in group 1 shall be able to subscribe for, and be allotted, a maximum of 50,000 warrants each. Group 2 includes selected key persons in the company or its group companies and consists of a maximum of 20 individuals. Persons entitled to subscribe in group 2 shall be able to subscribe for, and be allotted, a maximum of 25,000 warrants each. A condition for a participant to be entitled to acquire the warrants is that the participant, at the time of transfer, is employed by the company or one of its group companies and, at the aforementioned time, has not given notice of termination or been terminated from their employment. In the event not all of the warrants are acquired by the persons offered to acquire them, the Board of Directors shall be entitled to offer additional warrants to persons in the above-mentioned categories, however not more than an additional 25,000 per person (i.e. a maximum total of 75,000 warrants to persons in group 1 and a maximum total of 50,000 warrants for persons in group 2). 3. The warrants will be issued without payment of any consideration to Clavister AB. Subscription shall be effected on a subscription list during the period commencing on 26 April 2018 up to and including 10 May 2018. However, the Board of Directors shall be entitled to extend the subscription period. Clavister AB shall, in turn, offer participants in the program to acquire the warrants for a purchase price corresponding to the market value of the warrants calculated upon application of the customary valuation model (Black & Scholes) which, during the month of March 2018, corresponded to SEK 1. To enable newly hired key employees to participate in the program such transfer may be made up until and including December 31, 2018 at which time the warrants also shall have been paid. 4. The warrants are governed by the special terms and conditions for 2018/2021 warrants. The terms and conditions state, among other things, the following. (a) For each warrant, the holder is entitled to subscribe for one share in exchange for payment in cash at a subscription price of SEK 36.30 per share. (b) The subscription price and the number of shares which can be subscribe for on the basis of a warrant may be subject to adjustment in the event of a share split, reverse share split, securities issues, etc. in accordance with customary recalculation conditions. In accordance with customary terms and conditions, it must be possible to exercise the warrants early in the event of, and among other things, compulsory redemption of shares, liquidation, or a merger in which the company is merged into another company. (c) Subscription for shares based upon warrants may take place during a period of 14 calendar days commencing on the day after the company's quarterly report for Q1 2021 has been made public, however commencing not later than 31 May 2021. The Board of Directors submits the following as the reasons for disapplying the shareholders' preemption rights. As reported under the heading "Reasons for the incentive program", the Board of Directors of the company has concluded that it is to the advantage of the company and its shareholders that employees of the company be made participatory in the company's growth by being offered the opportunity to acquire warrants. A personal commitment of senior management and other personnel is expected to lead to increased motivation and an increased sense of commonality with the company and an increased interest in the business and the growth in profits. In addition, a personal ownership contributes to creating an overall focus for the individual employee. The Board of Directors' proposal of a long-term incentive program for senior management and key persons according to this item 13 is conditional on the meeting approving the proposal regarding issuance of warrants to EIB according to item 12 on the agenda. ITEM 14: RESOLUTION REGARDING LONG-TERM INCENTIVE PROGRAM FOR THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS The nomination committee proposes that the shareholders' meeting resolve to adopt an incentive program primarily as follows: Reasons for the incentive program The nomination committee has concluded that it would be to the advantage of the company and its shareholders if the company's chairperson of the Board of Directors, Viktor Kovacs, participated in the growth of the company by being offered the opportunity to acquire warrants in an incentive program. A personal ownership commitment by the chairperson of the Board of Directors is expected to lead to increased motivation and an increased sense of commonality with the company and an increased interest in the business and the growth in profits. In addition, personal ownership contributes to creating an overall focus for the employee. The effects are strengthened by the fact that the program is being carried out on market terms and conditions where Kovacs will benefit from price increases, but also take a personal risk by paying the market price for the warrants. Preparation of the matter The proposal to the shareholders' meeting was prepared by the nomination committee together with external advisors and in consultation with the company's major shareholders. The costs of the program and valuation of the warrants BDO has carried out a valuation of the theoretical value of the warrants. The theoretical value of the warrants has been calculated applying the customary valuation model (Black & Scholes) in March 2018. The theoretical value per warrant according to this evaluation is SEK 1. Upon full participation and full subsequent subscription for shares upon exercise of the warrants, the program may entail a dilution of not more than approximately 0.2 per cent based on the number of shares in the company after the implementation of the incentive program. Given that the warrants will be issued on market terms and conditions, no future costs for employer payroll taxes are expected to be borne by the company as a consequence of the warrants. In light of this, there is no need to hedge the program. If the warrants which are proposed to be issued as set forth below and according to the proposal under item 13 on the agenda had been fully exercised in 2017, the loss per share for the 2017 financial year would have been approximately SEK -2.76 per share instead of SEK -2.85 per share. Miscellaneous In order to receive allotment according to the incentive program, Viktor Kovacs must enter into an agreement on rights of first refusal agreement with Clavister AB which primarily entails that the company is entitled to repurchase the allotted warrants if the participant wishes to assign these, or his services for the Clavister Group is terminated. The company has four outstanding incentive programs for the company's employees. Program 2016/2019 covers 530,800 warrants with an exercise price of SEK 72 and expires on 30 June 2019; Program 2017/2020:1 covers 75,000 warrants with an exercise price of SEK 79 and expires on 28 February 2020; Program 2017/2020:2 covers 70,000 warrants with an exercise price of SEK 72 and expires on 28 February 2020; and Program 2017/2020:3 covers 300,000 warrants with an exercise price of SEK 30 and expires on 30 June 2020. THE NOMINATION COMMITTEE'S PROPOSAL FOR A RESOLUTION TO ISSUE WARRANTS TO A WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY AND TRANSFER TO THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS The nomination committee proposes that the shareholders' meeting adopt a resolution to issue and transfer warrants mainly as follows. 1. The company shall issue a maximum of 50,000 warrants where each warrant entitles the holder to subscribe for one new share in the company, as a consequence of which the company's share capital may increase by a maximum of SEK 5,000. Disapplying the shareholders' preemption rights, the right to subscribe for the warrants shall vest in Clavister AB. Clavister AB shall subsequently offer the chairperson of the board of directors, Viktor Kovacs, to acquire the warrants under the terms of this proposal. A condition for this offer is that Viktor Kovacs, at the time of the transfer, is providing ongoing services as a consultant for the company or its group companies and, at the aforementioned time, that this assignment not has been terminated. 2. The warrants will be issued to Clavister AB without payment of any consideration. Subscription shall be effected on a subscription list during the period commencing on 26 April 2018 up to and including 31 May 2018. Clavister AB shall subsequently offer Viktor Kovacs to acquire the warrants for a purchase price corresponding to the market value of the warrants calculated upon application of the customary valuation model (Black & Scholes) which, during the month of March 2018, corresponded to SEK 1. Such transfer must be made no later than on May 31, 2018 at which time the price for the warrants also shall have been paid by the acquirer. 3. The warrants are governed by the special terms and conditions for 2018/2021 warrants. The terms and conditions state, among other things, the following. (a) For each warrant, the holder is entitled to subscribe for one share in exchange for payment in cash at a subscription price of SEK 36.30 per share. (b) The subscription price and the number of shares which can be subscribed for on the basis of a warrant may be subject to adjustment in the event of a share split, reverse share split, securities issues, etc. in accordance with customary recalculation conditions. In accordance with customary terms and conditions, it must be possible to exercise the warrants early in the event of, and among other things, compulsory redemption of shares, liquidation, or a merger in which the company is merged into another company. (c) Subscription for shares based upon warrants may take place during a period of 14 calendar days commencing on the day after the company's quarterly report for Q1 2021 has been made public, however commencing no later than 31 May 2021. The nomination committee submits the following reasons for disapplying the shareholders' preemption rights. In addition to what has been reported under the heading "Reasons for the incentive program", Viktor Kovacs has, besides his position as chairperson of the board, a consultancy contract with the company. In that role he has contributed to the company's development of processes and structures mainly in sales. Hence Viktor Kovacs is a key person in the ongoing transformation of the company from a business development company to more of a process focused company. Hence it is imperative that both the Board of Directors as well as key personnel during this process have a uniform and clear incentive-enhancing ownership commitment with an interest that is parallel to that of the shareholders. An important element in the structuring of the programs is that Viktor Kovacs participate with a certain degree of own risk. The nomination committee's proposal of a long-term incentive program for the chairperson of the Board of Directors according to this item 14 is conditional on the meeting approving the proposal regarding issuance of warrants to EIB according to item 12 on the agenda. Majority rules A valid resolution according to items 13 and 14 requires that the resolution be supported by shareholders holding not less than 9/10 of both the shares cast as well as the shares represented at the meeting. A valid resolution according to item 12 requires the support of shareholders holding not less than 2/3 of both the shares cast as well as the shares represented at the meeting. Information at the meeting The shareholders are reminded of their right to request information from the Board of Directors and the CEO in accordance with Chapter 7, section 32 of the Swedish Companies Act. Documents The complete proposals, along with financial statements and the auditor's report for 2017 will be available at the company and on the company's website www.clavister.com no later than three weeks before the meeting, and will be sent immediately without charge to any shareholders who so request and state their postal address. The documents will also be available at the meeting. Ornskoldsvik, March 2018 Clavister Holding AB (publ) The Board of Directors For more information, please contact: Hakan Mattisson, CFO for Clavister Group +46(0)660-29-92-00 This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/clavister/r/clavister-holding-ab-convenes-annual-general-meeting--with-proposals-for-incentive-schemes-and-direc,c2478835 The following files are available for download: http://mb.cision.com/Main/9441/2478835/810066.pdf PDF View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/clavister-holding-ab-convenes-annual-general-meeting-with-proposals-for-incentive-schemes-and-directed-issue-of-warrants-300618627.html SOURCE Clavister [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 23, 2018] Lite Access Awarded Rural Fibre Optic Deployment Contract from Gigaclear for West Oxfordshire, United Kingdom VANCOUVER, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - LITE ACCESS TECHNOLOGIES INC. (the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: LTE) (OTC PINK: LTCCF) is pleased to announce that Gigaclear plc ("Gigaclear") has awarded the Company a rural fibre optic deployment contract to bring ultrafast, full fibre broadband to up to 10,000 homes in West Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. The total expected value of this award is upwards of $29,000,000 with completion of the works anticipated by the end of 2019. Carlo Shimoon, CEO of Lite Access, stated, "This is a watershed moment for our Company and validates the premium quality of our work and ramp up in the UK over the past year. Our cutting-edge fibre deployment technologies are ideally suited for this rural environment and we expect to expand our strategic relationship with Gigaclear in support of their growing rural fibre coverage. We could not be more excited about this first, of what we expect will be many, opportunities. We are pleased with the direction the Company is heading, our growth potential, and ensuring that we remain a world leader in this industry to unlock the full fibre future in the UK and elsewhere." About Gigaclear Gigaclear is dedicated to building and operating ultrafast, pure Fibre-to-the-Premises broadband networks in rural Britain. It offers Gigabit services to over 60,000 homes and businesses to date across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Gloucestershire, Kent, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Rutland and Worcestershire. Gigaclear builds networks using commercial investment but it has also been awarded contracts in 2017 as part of the Government subsidised BDUK rural broadband programme in Devon, Essex, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Northamptonshire, Somerset and Wiltshire. For more information, refer to Gigaclear's website: https://www.gigaclear.com/ About Lite Access Lite Access Technologies Inc. is a world leader in the use of innovative and proven micro/narrow trenching technologies, alternate methods of deployment and specialist products which transform the cost the network deployment for telecommunications operators. Lite Access has successfully deployed or enabled deployment of thousands of kilometres of broadband networks throughout North America and the United Kingdom as well as South America, Africa, Australia and Asia. As part of its suite of services Lite Access provides clients with integrated solutions or select components for the design and implementation of fibre optic networks. Lite Access' products have been deployed in many high-profile communication networks including Olympic facilities, military and government, numerous communities throughout the United Kingdom, the USA and Canada as well as global telecommunications companies that have adopted Lite Access as the "solution of choice" for the least invasive, most cost effective and future-proof fibre optic connectivity available. Lite Access' installation technology and proprietary products extend a network provider's ability to deliver true broadband connectivity directly to end-users, such as homes, businesses, government and educational institutions, and emergency response facilities. Lite Access remains flexible and innovative in its commitment to provide global clients and partners with the most cost effective and proven fibre connectivity solutions available. Forward Looking Information This news release contains statements that, to the extent they are not recitations of historical fact, may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Lite Access uses words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "likely", "expect", "believe", "intend" and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Any such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by Lite Access in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to Lite Access' expectations and predictions is subject to any number of risks, assumptions and uncertainties. Many factors could cause Lite Access' actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Such factors include, among other things: the projected value of the contract award from Gigaclear, and risks and uncertainties described in Lite Access's most recent Management Discussion & Analysis (MD&A) for the period ended December 31, 2017 which can be accessed at www.sedar.com . The "forward-looking statements" contained herein speak only as of the date of this press release and, unless required by applicable law, Lite Access undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise such information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE Lite Access Technologies Inc [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 23, 2018] OncLive to Focus on Breast Cancer for its Latest State of the Science Summit OncLive, the leading digital provider of resources and information to oncology professionals, announces State of the Summit Science: Breast Cancer, which will take place on March 29 at the Hilton Tampa Downtown in Tampa, Florida, from 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. The event will be chaired by Hatem Soliman, M.D., medical director of the clinical trials office at Moffitt Cancer Center. This educational program is designed for oncology professionals to learn about novel treatment and management approaches in breast cancer. The distinguished faculty will delve into pressing issues facing the breast cancer community. These include treatment in premenopausal patients, ER-positive breast cancer in its early stages, reversing hormone resistance, and triple-negative breast cancer. The program features leading oncologists, who specialize in breast cancer. The presenters for the event are: Heather Han, M.D., research director and medical oncologist, department of breast oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center research director and medical oncologist, department of breast oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center Hung Khong, M.D., medical oncologist, Moffitt Cancer Center medical oncologist, Moffitt Cancer Center Reshma Mahtani, D.O., assistant professor of clinical medicine, division of hematology/oncology, University of Miami Miller Scool of Medicine assistant professor of clinical medicine, division of hematology/oncology, University of Miami Miller Scool of Medicine Mark Pegram, M.D., professor - Med Center Line, medicine-oncology; associate director for clinical research, Stanford Cancer Institute; director, Stanford breast oncology program, Stanford Cancer Institute; co-director, translational oncology research program at Stanford, Stanford Cancer Institute is a premier conference series hosted by OncLive that features medical experts from across the nation. Aiming to discuss current treatment options, each summit integrates academic and community-based physicians and health care professionals from across key disciplines that range from medical and surgical oncology to hematology. Registration is free and open to all health care professionals, and food and beverages will be served. For more information and to register, visit www.onclive.com/meetings/soss or contact Allison Cooper at ACooper@curetoday.com. About OncLive A digital platform of resources for practicing oncologists, OncLive offers oncology professionals information they can use to help provide the best patient care. OncLive.com is the official website for MJH Associates' Oncology Specialty Group, which publishes OncologyLive, Oncology Nursing News and more. MJH Associates is a full-service health care communications company offering education, research and medical media, including curetoday.com and CURE magazine, the largest U.S. consumer publication focused entirely on cancer. Combining science and humanity to make cancer understandable, CURE reaches patients, cancer centers and advocacy groups. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180323005433/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 23, 2018] Top honours for Canadian media students Eight awards handed out at the University of Guelph-Humber's Emerge Media Awards TORONTO, March 23, 2018 /CNW/ - The best of Canadian student media was celebrated at the 2018 Emerge Media Awards. Now in its fourth year, the EMAs showcases the achievements of journalism, media studies and communications students in Canada. Emerge was launched in 2015 as the first and only national post-secondary media awards program in Canada. The awards, administered by the University of Guelph-Humber, recognize the best writing, editing, videography, audio, digital design, communications and public relations done at the post-secondary level. This year, the EMAs attracted more than 250 submissions from universities and colleges from coast to coast. The judging is conducted by an independent panel of industry representatives, including editors, boadcasters, producers, and other media professionals. The winners of the 2018 awards are: Written Word: Josie Kao - University of Toronto - " Data In A Foreign Land" - - " Audio Storytelling: Trent Erickson , Will Gordon , Cameron Honey , Aviva Jacob , Danielle McCreadie , Nermeen Ramadan , Jayde Tynes - University of Kings College - "What If The Halifax Explosion Never Happened?" , , , , , , - - "What If The Halifax Explosion Never Happened?" Videography: Caitlin Taylor , Jennifer Ackerman , Janelle Blakley , Josh Diaz - University of Regina - "Severed" , , , Josh Diaz - - "Severed" Multimedia Production : Jolene Rudisuela , Amy Simpson , Lexi Wright - Mount Royal University - "Closing Midfield" : , , - University - "Closing Midfield" Photography: Cody Bonner - Mohawk College - "From Above" - - "From Above" Public Relations: Jason Lau - McMaster University - " Canada is the world" Jason Lau - - " is the world" Design-Print: Elham Numan , Pearl Cao , Piyumi Konara, Keith Cheng - University of Toronto - "The Varsity Fall Magazine: The Futures Issue" , , Piyumi Konara, - - "The Varsity Fall Magazine: The Futures Issue" Design-Online: Seher Asaf , Francesca Bianco , Sophie Gray , Yusheng Cai , Haley Lewis , Emma Loy , Holly McKenzie-Sutter , Sharon Nadeem , Andrew Seal , Taranjit Singh , Alex Migdal and Anya Zoledziowski - University of British Columbia - Tem:exw: "Stories Of Land" The EMAs are held in conjunction with the Emerge Media Conference in Toronto. The one-day event allows young media professionals to explore and discuss current and emerging trends in the media industry. This year's speakers included Dave Bidini, author, musician and publisher and Angela Misri, Digital Director for the Walrus. About the University of Guelph-Humber Founded in 2002, the University of Guelph-Humber prides itself on its integration of theory and practical education in the classroom. Students earn an honours degree from the University of Guelph and a diploma from Humber College concurrently over four years, in one location. Learn more at guelphhumber.ca. SOURCE University of Guelph-Humber [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 23, 2018] Kada Story Defines Chinese Children's Digital Reading with its First Chinese Elementary Reading Product BEIJING, March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 21, the "2018 Mobile Internet + Children's Reading Summit", co-organized by Kada Story and Dolphin Books, convened in Beijing. In attendance were over a hundred experts from home and abroad, who specialized in children's literature, publication and the internet. They had in-depth discussions on the relationship between elementary reading and children's early education, the role of digital education materials in children's education, as well as the access to and the upgrading of elementary reading facilitated by mobile internet. "Talent Program" Targets Three Challenges in Elementary Reading Kada Story, a pioneering platform for children's digital reading in China, released its customized elementary reading product, the "Talent Program", which is the first Chinese digital reading product for preschool children to be released in the world. Based on the strengths of mobile internet technology, it not only fully combines children's favorite picture books with elementary reading education, but also directly targets the three challenges in elementary reading: "the selection of books", "company and interpretation" and "feedback and assessment". The product provides a packaged solution for young parents in China as they encounter difficulties in their children's early reading. The "Talent Program" is a tailored elementary reading plan for children between the ages of 2-6 years old, based on children's cognitive development patterns and the latest scientific research results in brain science. The selection model was developed by a team of preschool education experts from normal universities. It is deeply rooted in the fundamental logical science of education, constituting a system that covers five aspects including personal growth, social cognition, scientific exploration, basic artistic education and language culture. It consists of works by hundreds of famous Chinese and non-Chinese writers such as Cai Gao, Yang Yongqing, Fang Suzhen, Bao Dongni, Beatrix Potter (UK), Hans Christian Andersen (Denmark) and Guido van Genechten (Belgium). In terms of "company and interpretation", the electric picture books of the "Talent Program" were recorded by national level broadcasters. Integrating picture book reading and audio book listening, the product meets children's needs in ifferent scenarios. In addition, domestic experts and experienced practitioners in children's education were invited to interpret the stories, so as to help parents better learn the background and features of the stories, and facilitate children's understanding of the meaning and knowledge embedded in the stories, thus making parent-child reading more effective. In terms of "feedback and assessment", the product platform forms real-time data reports by tracking children's reading. As the children indulge themselves in the world's literary classics, the parents can learn about the children's progress any time anywhere. Xie Linfei, the founder and CEO of Kada Story, hoped that the "Talent Program" would take the lead in the industry of early education by offering internet products based on the pioneering concept of "elementary reading". She pointed out that the products would stimulate interest in reading for children between 0 and 6, the golden period for brain development. The habit of reading would be cultivated, which would benefit the children throughout their entire lives. It not only helps children form a multi-dimensional understanding of the world, but also equips them with eyes to appreciate beauty and gives them a positive attitude. Lin Wenbao, an honorary professor of National Taitung University and eminent expert of children's literature, illustrated the close relationship between reading and early education from two aspects, "the facts of reading" and "the facts of education". He fully affirms and emphasizes the importance of elementary reading for children between 0 and 6 and how it affects their whole lives. The daily digital reading time of Chinese children grew by 19% in two years Kada Story Big Data Center demonstrated the reality of children's digital reading, based on 700 million data logs on children's reading accumulated over a three-year period. The users are evenly distributed among age groups 0 to 9. Among the active users in 2017, 36% were children between 0 and 3; 39% were between 4 and 6; and 25% were between 6 and 9. It is worth noting that the accumulated daily reading time per capita grew to 24.3 minutes in 2017, a 19% growth in two years. The growth shows parents' increasing acceptance of children's digital reading, signifying the huge potential of the children's digital reading market. In terms of geological distribution, the users no longer concentrate in first and second tier cities, but are rapidly growing in third and fourth tier cities, registering 34% in 2017, up from 26% in 2016. Digital reading provides a new solution to China's problem of uneven reading resources among regions, endowing children in rural areas with access to abundant reading materials. Good Chinese digital reading product gains popularity among overseas Chinese Dr. Wang Jing, chief editor and early reading promoter of Kata Story, said, "Reading digital materials, just as reading physical materials, is an important ability that children should develop in this mobile internet era when information is increasing explosively. Children's digital reading is no longer something of the future. Digital texts have already become influential in children's forming of knowledge and experience system. Children should gain the basic ability of reading digitally and understanding digital texts, whether or not they have time to do so or readily accept digital reading". As of February 2018, Kada Story has users in 160 countries and regions. From a global perspective, good Chinese digital reading products have huge market potential, for they not only meet the needs of Chinese children, but are also accepted and welcomed by overseas users. Kada Story, the organizer of this summit, will continue to be at the forefront of the industry, exploring the field of elementary reading by drawing strengths from the technology and combing children's reading with children's education. We expect to see more original Chinese stories gain renewed vibrancy through our digital reading platform and more excellent children's literary works from all over the world, so that children will have access to abundant classic works of children's literature. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kada-story-defines-chinese-childrens-digital-reading-with-its-first-chinese-elementary-reading-product-300618687.html SOURCE Kada Story [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 23, 2018] INVESTOR ALERT: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP Reminds Investors of an Investigation Involving Possible Securities Fraud Violations by the Board of Directors of Facebook, Inc. Levi & Korsinsky announces it has commenced an investigation of Facebook (News - Alert) , Inc. ("Facebook" or "the Company") (NASADAQGS:FB) concerning possible violations of federal securities laws. On March 17, 2018, The New York Times reported that voter-profiling company Cambridge Analytica ("Cambridge") had "harvested private information from the Facebook profiles of more than 50 million users without their permission making it one of the largest data leaks in the social network's history." The next day, March 18, 2018, the Massachusetts Attorney General said her office was launching an investigation. On March 19, 2018, European Union officials also said they would investigate. Following this news, Facebook shares were down more than 6% uring intraday trading on March 19, 2018. To obtain additional information, go to: http://www.zlkdocs.com/FB-Info-Request-Form-6549 or contact Joseph E. Levi, Esq. either via email at jlevi@levikorsinsky.com or by telephone at (212) 363-7500, toll-free: (877) 363-5972. Levi & Korsinsky is a national firm with offices in New York, California, Connecticut and Washington D.C. The firm's attorneys have extensive expertise in prosecuting securities litigation involving financial fraud, representing investors throughout the nation in securities and shareholder lawsuits. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180323005586/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] You have reached a premium content area of TOL. To read this entire article please login if you are already a TOL subscriber. Not a subscriber? Annual membership costs only $55 per year for individuals ($33 for students) and organizational subscriptions start at $141 per year. Subscribe today for access to: Full access to the website, including premium articles videos, country reports and searchable archives (containing over 25,000 articles). Seen here making it crystal clear to neighborhood kids that his lawn is not to be got on, this is a video of a nunchuck swinging Flash letting his inner ninja shine in the pale gray of a Taylors, South Carolina afternoon. The video starts with him repeatedly failing to kick the nunchucks up into his hand, but once he finally grabs them he really starts swinging. So well the nunchucks actually get pregnant and give birth behind his back. I wish I could say the same thing with my ninja stars -- I'm always losing him. Do you have any idea how much money I've spent at the knife and sword kiosk at the mall? "Your entire allowance?" Since 2011. The only thing that would have made this video better is if his kids were getting off the school bus at the end. Keep going for the video. Thanks to LK, who agrees it's only a matter of time until this guy is touring nearby neighborhoods with his ninja exhibition. Updated, 3/26/2018, 12:20pm PT: President Trump signed the omnibus spending bill after first threatening to veto it (for reasons unrelated to the CLOUD Act) on Friday. EPIC, a digital rights organization, submitted an amicus brief in the related Microsoft vs. Ireland court case that's now being heard by the Supreme court. EPIC believes that law enforcement access to data stored in foreign countries should be obtained under international consensus and comply with human rights norms. Many organizations have endorsed the Madrid Privacy Declaration, which would establish strong international privacy protections for personal data. Original article, 3/23/2018, 8:30am PT: After finally being able to renew and extend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), despite much criticism and controversy, Congress passed yet another warrantless surveillance law called the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act (CLOUD Act) mere months later. The bill, which was added to the omnibus spending bill at the last minute, without any debate, also received support from big technology companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook, and others. The bill is yet to be signed by President Trump. What Is The CLOUD Act? The CLOUD Act will allow foreign law enforcement to request data from American companies, even if the data is hosted on U.S. soil, without obtaining any judicial approval or warrant from a U.S. judge. It will also work in reverse, and it will essentially undo an Appeals Court's ruling in the U.S. that said that law enforcement can't get an American's data if it was stored on servers abroad. It will also do away with the Mutual Legal Assistant Treaty (MLAT), which required foreign powers seeking data to jump through several hoops. First, they had to send a request to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), then the DOJ had to get a judges approval, and then the foreign government would finally be able to get the data from the American tech company. Why Big Tech Supports It As the name suggests, the CLOUD Act seems to have been written on behalf of technology companies, because the law would presumably convince other nations that they dont have to require American tech companies to store their data locally to be able to access their citizens data. The data localization bills came about only after Edward Snowden showed the extent of the NSA's mass surveillance. That revelation gave many governments an excuse to require tech companies to build local data centers presumably for national security purposes. However, some of the first governments to require it were China and Russia, which had at least as big of an interest in more easily obtaining their own citizens data from foreign services as they had in ensuring that foreign services arent backdoored by American intelligence agencies. The U.S. Congress seems to want to fix this situation by giving the foreign powers exactly what they wanted all along: easy access to their citizens' data with no judicial approval (or even any approval from the U.S. government) required. Democratic nations may still be able to require their law enforcement to at least get a warrant from their local judges before requesting someones data from a foreign service, but this will probably not be the case for less democratic ones. Despite all of these issues and the fact that the original MLAT had much stronger human rights protections built into it, U.S. tech companies seem to be calling the CLOUD Act a notable progress to protect consumers rights, perhaps to disguise the fact that its really about potentially saving them billions of dollars by not having to build data centers in other countries. Additionally, if the bill was so good for consumers' rights, then it wouldn't have to be added to the last pages of the must-pass spending bill at the last minute and without any debate in Congress. Consequences Of The CLOUD Act According to the EFF, the bill will: Enable foreign police to collect and wiretap people's communications from U.S. companies, without obtaining a U.S. warrant.Allow foreign nations to demand personal data stored in the United States, without prior review by a judge.Allow the U.S. president to enter "executive agreements" that empower police in foreign nations that have weaker privacy laws than the United States to seize data in the United States while ignoring U.S. privacy laws.Allow foreign police to collect someone's data without notifying them about it.Empower U.S. police to grab any data, regardless if it's a U.S. person's or not, no matter where it is stored Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, who opposed and stalled the bill in the Senate along with Kentucky Senator Rand Paul until it was included in the 2,232-page spending bill, argued the following: Tucked away in the omnibus spending bill is a provision that allows Trump, and any future president, to share Americans private emails and other information with countries he personally likes. That means he can strike deals with Russia or Turkey with nearly zero congressional involvement and no oversight by U.S. courts.This bill contains only toothless provisions on human rights that Trumps cronies can meet by merely checking a box. It is legislative malpractice that Congress, without a minute of Senate debate, is rushing through the CLOUD Act on this must-pass spending bill. How The CLOUD Act Could Be Misused In an example for how the law would work in practice and how it could be misused, the EFF said that British police could ask for chat messages between both a British citizen and an American, if they are investigating the British person. The British authorities would no longer have to notify the U.S. government about this request, as they were supposed to do with the MLAT, nor will they need to obtain judicial review. Foreign countries are supposed to minimize the data they store on Americans, but they could also share it back with the U.S. government, and then that warrantlessly obtained data could be used against the U.S. person in courts. This would be possible because the data will technically come from a different government, and it wouldn't be the U.S. government that obtains it. This could be another way for law enforcement to bypass the Fourth Amendment in the United States. There was already evidence of some back-and-forth sharing between intelligence agencies, in the sense that two countries agree to spy on each others populations and then share the data with each other, because they cant legally spy on their own without too many restrictions. The CLOUD Act could further expand such operations, while also further legalizing this practice. Additionally, as weve seen with FISA, some nations could use this sort of request as a backdoor search on Americans, too. For instance, if Russia was to target a high-profile American citizen, it could request data on Russians speaking to that American citizen, even if they have no interest in those particular Russians. However, this way, they could get the American citizens data, all without a warrant or without U.S. law enforcement even knowing about it, because the CLOUD Act allows foreign nations to go straight to the tech companies to request the data. The CLOUD Act may save companies some money because they wont have to relocate some of their data centers abroad (which was a problem created in the first place by the widespread surveillance of the American government). However, it will likely lead to many abuses by foreign nations, too, or even U.S. local law enforcement. The CLOUD Act hasnt been signed into law yet by President Trump. However, considering its been tacked onto the last few pages of the spending bill, chances are that its passing is now imminent, unless President Trump decides to veto the whole spending bill. After a debate that turned bitterly personal for a few minutes, the Kansas City Council voted Thursday to build a $17.5 million underground garage for the developer of a luxury downtown apartment high rise. As part of the deal, however, the city extracted some concessions from Cordish Companies, including an agreement to convert the Midland office building to 100 apartments for low and moderate income tenants. Craigslist will no longer display personal ads after passage of sex trafficking bill Craigslist will no longer display personal ads on its website after the Senate voted to pass the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act yesterday. The bill means websites will be held liable for hosting sex trafficking content. It will also make it easier for victims of sex trafficking and prosecutors to sue companies that fail to keep exploitative content from their websites. Both Congresswoman Ann Wagner & Sen. Claire McCaskill were instrumental in pushing strict crackdown legislation forward which targeted online outlets . . . And now some of our TKC readers think the Internet is slightly less entertaining because of it. Read more: A Wyandotte County grand jury indicted Schlitterbahn Water Park of Kansas City, Kansas, and former director of operations Tyler Miles with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Caleb Schwab. Both the company and Miles were also charged with injuries sustained by 13 others, including four other children, while riding the water slide. Those charges include aggravated battery, and aggravated endangering a child. A release from the Kansas Attorney General's Office said in addition, Miles was indicted on two counts of interference with law enforcement, and Schlitterbahn was indicted with one count of interference. Tyler Miles was booked in the Wyandotte County Jail Friday morning just before 10 a.m. He was held on $50,000 bond. KCTV5: Schlitterbahn, which is based in Texas, said in a statement Friday that it was "deeply disappointed to learn any individual is being personally charged for the terrible accident on Verruckt."Our review of the facts and circumstances of the accident has never shown any evidence of criminal conduct on the part of anyone." Somewhat reassuring press release news for Friday reveals that if a politicos kid is decapitated . . . People will go to jail.Summary of today's water park scapegoat public shaming . . .Deets:Check thelink round-up in town . . .You decide . . . KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- People living in Waldo are concerned over what they call a growing parking problem. Neighbors told FOX4 outsiders are not only parking illegally in their neighborhood but are also taking spots in front of their homes. "Cordish essentially said, give us $80 million and we'll build you 100 affordable units," said 5th District Council Lady Alissia Canady. Cordish has already said that a 600 square foot unit which rents for $1,320 a month is "affordable" According to the 2016 U.S. Census . . . The KCMO median household income (in 2016 dollars) is $47,489. Cordish is also seeking a 100 percent tax abatement for 25 years on Three Light because it is located in an area declared blighted. The only "compromise" reached yesterday on the Three Light TIF is the moral values of the people we elected. MAYOR SLY & MOST OF THE COUNCIL LOCKED KANSAS CITY INTO BUILDING MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR PARKING GARAGES FOR CORDISH 3, 4, 5 & 6 LIGHT!!! Mayor Sly & most of the council sold out taxpayers to help finance KCMO luxury real estate at a cost of HUNDREDS of millions. The affordable housing that's part of a "compromise" isn't really affordable. Luxury apartments won't have to pay taxes for the next quarter century but City Hall is asking for a regressive sales tax renewal from voters on April 3rd. In one of the most shameful and one-sided deals in the history of Kansas City real estate since the Native Americans roamed The Great Plains . . . City Hall handed over millions of taxpayer dollars to subsidize even more luxury housing in an already glutted downtown market.Sadly, most of the reporting on this topic is nothing more than spin intended to mislead voters.And so we'll offer just a few highlights and quotes from insiders in order for our blog community to better understand the conversation.Kansas City Council voted to build afor the developer of a luxury downtown apartment high rise.What does the term affordable mean? to Cordish?? It's nowhere in any of the legislation that has been published and made available to the public so far.Here's a bit of insight from a witness to these tragic proceedings and the dirty handshake deal committed by Mayor Sly & most of the Council as witnessed by a few protesters.Fun fact, during the conversation, in order to determine affordability, Council Lady Katy Shields kept trying to nail down the local income numbers andknew . . .Again, a local insider reminds us: "220,000 people live in rental housing in Kansas City . . . Sly says "there are 6,000 affordable units in the downtown loop."And sadly, the progress downtown is hard to come by given that the area near the loop is still treated like a disaster zone:Sadly, this atrocity against City Hall coffers was treated like a compromise by MSM.Perspective from an opponent of the project . . .It gets worse . . .Part of the deal attempted to reduce City Hall's commitment to future Cordish downtown real estate development plans . . . The punch line:So while the urban planners and the dweebs at MARC look to crack down on motorists and steal away downtown highways . . . Yesterday City Hall agreed to protect the cars of luxury living space dwellers into the distant future.Review . . .Developing . . . THE AGENDA OF AN UPCOMING KANSAS CITY GUN VIOLENCE CONVERSATION FEATURES MOSTLY PROPONENTS OF 2ND AMENDMENT CRACKDOWN!!! The Jackson County Prosecutors Office, with support from the Prosecutors Against Gun Violence, will hold on April 20, a special daylong discussion called The Realities of Gun Violence in Kansas City: A Community Discussion. The event will be held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Kauffman Foundation Conference Center, 4801 Rockhill Road in Kansas City. Pre-register at this link: Pre-registration Form Right now we have theat a historic discussion that will feature Kansas City elected officials, law enforcement and community leaders talking about gun control.To wit . . .On the bright side and to be fair, there is open registration so proponents of gun rights are free to speak up.First on TKC here's the info just released from Jackson County Prosecutor "Mean" Jean Peters Baker's Office for you to decide . . .Nineteen years ago in a suburban Denver-area high school, two armed youth killed 15 students and teachers and wounded two dozen others. The mass killing at Columbine High School stands today, for many, as the opening wave of school violence that continues to shake our nations conscience.Today, in Kansas City, violence damages our community each day, impacting family, youth, schools, businesses and so many others. Kansas City has long ranked among the nations most violent cities.The event will assemble the voices of gun violences toll from a Columbine survivor to front-line responders to victims left behind to bear the long-term impacts of trauma.Our community must learn to better cope with the daily violence and its enormous impacts on children, families and community, said Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker. Our children bear the greatest burden. Some in urban neighborhoods go to bed despite the sound of gunfire in the night. Others cant help but worry about an unsuspected shooter at school.We must all work together to reduce the level of violence, Baker added. But we also must all make ourselves more aware of the impacts of this level of violence on the institutions of our city, the hospitals, the schools, the businesses and our households.On the anniversary of the Columbine shooting, Samantha Haviland -- who was a 16-year-old student at Columbine on April 20, 1999 and now directs counseling services for Denver Public Schools -- will address the trauma that follows a mass shooting.Other speakers include:-- Dr. Richard Rosenthal, Founders Professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri St. Louis, who will address violence rates here, in St. Louis, in Missouri and across the nation.-- Jennifer Joyce, the former St. Louis Circuit Attorney, who will detail the evolution of Missouri gun laws.-- Surgeons, nurses and educators from Truman Medical Center who will address the stop the bleed campaign by Truman Medical Center. They will address the basics of tourniquets for first responders and the trauma teams response.-- Dr. Joah Williams, Associate Professor at UMKC, on the psychosocial and health consequences of trauma exposure, including the evaluation of traumatic stress prevention and early intervention programs. Dr. Kimberly Randell, a physician at Childrens Mercy Hospital will address the impacts of trauma exposure on families.-- Other local speakers will include organizers of recent student protests against gun violence, and representatives of organizations working to reduce violence in our community.#################Developing . . . The Greek War of Independence inspired many to take up arms and join the struggle. It also captured the hearts and minds of artists at that time and continues to inspire artists to the present day. Among them, French painter Eugene Delacroix is perhaps best-known for Massacre at Chios, the iconic image of the horrific episode in history. In literature and poetry in particular, Dionysios Solomos, the national poet of Greece, comes to mind immediately, as do philhellenes Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Surprisingly, French author Jules Verne, known for his adventure stories and prophetic science fiction in works like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, was also inspired by the Greek War of Independence. In May 1823, Solomos completed the Hymn to Liberty, 158 stanzas, inspired by the 1821 start of the Greek Revolution. The poem was published in Greece in 1824 and throughout Europe one year later. Solomos reputation soon spread throughout Greece and abroad. The Hymn to Liberty was set to music by Nikolaos Mantzaros, and is the longest national anthem in the world by length of text. In 1865, the first three stanzas (and later the first two) officially became the National Anthem of Greece and, from 1966, also that of the Republic of Cyprus. The unfinished epic The Free Besieged (Oi Eleftheroi Poliorkimenoi) by Dionysios Solomos was inspired by the third siege of Missolonghi (18251826), a crucial conflict in the Greek Revolution. It consists of three separate poems in fragmentary form, and though never completed, The Free Besieged is considered one of Solomos greatest poems. The verse drama Hellas by Percy Bysshe Shelley was written in 1821 and published in 1822 by Charles and James Ollier in London. Written while Shelley was living in Pisa, he hoped it would raise money for the Greek War of Independence. The last poem published during Shelleys lifetime, the drama is dedicated, o is xcellency Prince Alexander Mavrocordato late secretary for foreign affairs to the Hospodar of Wallachia the drama of Hellas is inscribed as an imperfect token of the admiration, sympathy, and friendship of the author. Pisa, November 1, 1821. Mavrocordato met Shelley while in Pisa from 1818 to 1821. Written from the Ottoman Sultans point of view, and inspired by Aeschylus Persae, the drama depicts the Sultan Mahmud, who controls the Turkish attacks on Greece, and his restless sleep. Seeking help for his recurring nightmare from the Wandering Jew, Ahasuerus, but the Sultan sinks into despair as he finds himself on the losing side of the war, despite reports of Turkish victories. In between the sections of dialogue, a chorus of enslaved Greek women voice their hope for freedoms victory. Though not directly focused on the Greek Revolution, the chorus expresses a general anti-war sentiment. Shelleys work may be unique with its use of the Sultans Turkish point of view to depict Turkish defeat while also providing the chorus view of the Greek victory. Hellas final chorus is among the most quoted of Shelleys verse: The worlds great age begins anew, The golden years return, The earth doth like a snake renew Her winter weeds outworn: Heaven smiles, and faiths and empires gleam, Like wrecks of a dissolving dream. Oh, cease! must hate and death return? Cease! must men kill and die? Cease! drain not to its dregs the urn Of bitter prophecy. The world is weary of the past, Oh, might it die or rest at last! Jules Vernes adventure novel, The Archipelago on Fire (French: LArchipel en feu, 1884) is set during the Greek War of Independence and was first published in English in 1885 in New York and in London in 1886. The original French version is available on Project Gutenberg. 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: thenationalherald.com HH Sheikh Jaber with other officials at the event. Image: Kuna The fourth phase of Kuwait's The Avenues mall was opened on Thursday, at a function attended and patronised by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al Mubarak Al Hamad Al Sabah. Sheikh Jaber was welcomed at the ceremony venue by Mohammad Abdulaziz Al Shayea, board chairman of Al Mabani Company, owner of the complex, a Kuna report said. The Prime Minister toured the facility's various sections. In a press statement, Sheikh Jaber hailed the new developments in The Avenues, adding that Kuwait is proud of this project. He also stressed on the importance of such projects, executed by the private sector in attracting foreign investments and boosting the country's development plan. US President Donald Trump has announced that the US intended to introduce tariffs on China over its alleged unfair trade practices. The tariffs would cover up to $60 billion of Chinese goods while limits would be placed on its investments in the US. Trump on Thursday directed the US trade representative to level tariffs on Chinese imports following a seven-month investigation into the intellectual property theft, which has been a longstanding point of contention in US-China trade relations. In addition to the tariffs, the US also plans to impose new investment restrictions, take action against China at the World Trade Organization and the Treasury Department also will propose additional measures. "We have a tremendous intellectual property theft problem," Trump said. "It's going to make us a much stronger, much richer nation." The move, which comes on the heels of the administration's steel and aluminum tariffs that also took aim at China, has already been met with threats of retaliation from China and is heightening concerns of a global trade war that could destabilize the global economy -- fears the Trump administration has repeatedly brushed off. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer initiated the investigation in August 2017 at the direction of President Trump. The President has instructed that the appropriate response to Chinas harmful acts, policies and practices should include three separate actions. * Tariffs The president has instructed the trade representative to publish a proposed list of products and any tariff increases within 15 days of todays announcement. After a period of notice and comment, the trade representative will publish a final list of products and tariff increases. * WTO dispute The president has instructed the trade representative to pursue dispute settlement in the World Trade Organization (WTO) to address Chinas discriminatory technology licensing practices. * Investment restrictions The president has directed the Secretary of the Treasury to address concerns about investment in the US directed or facilitated by China in industries or technologies deemed important to the US. President Trump has made it clear we must insist on fair and reciprocal trade with China and strictly enforce our laws against unfair trade. This requires taking effective action to confront China over its state-led efforts to force, strong-arm, and even steal US technology and intellectual property, said Ambassador Lighthizer. Years of talking about these problems with China has not worked. The United States is committed to using all available tools to respond to Chinas unfair, market-distorting behavior. Chinas unprecedented and unfair trade practices are a serious challenge not just to the United States, but to our allies and partners around the world. The Chinese governments technology transfer and intellectual property policies are part of Chinas stated intention of seizing economic leadership in advanced technology as set forth in its industrial plans, such as Made in China 2025. Section 301 is a key enforcement tool that allows the US to address a wide variety of unfair acts, policies, and practices of US trading partners. The investigation of Chinas Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation addresses four categories of acts, policies, and practices of the Government of China that unfairly result in the transfer of technologies and intellectual property from US companies to China. These policies harm US businesses and workers and threaten the long-term competitiveness of the US. USTR staff, with the assistance of dozens of experts from across the Administration, prepared a comprehensive report containing detailed findings. The report supports the following conclusions: China uses foreign ownership restrictions, including joint venture requirements, equity limitations, and other investment restrictions, to require or pressure technology transfer from US companies to Chinese entities. China also uses administrative review and licensing procedures to require or pressure technology transfer, which, inter alia, undermines the value of US investments and technology and weakens the global competitiveness of US firms. China imposes substantial restrictions on, and intervenes in, US firms investments and activities, including through restrictions on technology licensing terms. These restrictions deprive US technology owners of the ability to bargain and set market-based terms for technology transfer. As a result, U.S. companies seeking to license technologies must do so on terms that unfairly favor Chinese recipients. CII Elects New Board, Names Florida SBA Executive Director The Council of Institutional Investors (CII) has elected a new board of directors for 2018-19, and named Ashbel Williams, executive director and CIO, Florida State Board of Administration (SBA), board chair. In keeping with CIIs bylaws, Williams was elected chair by CIIs public fund members. CII is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association of pension funds, other employee benefit funds and endowments, and a leading voice for effective corporate governance and strong shareholder rights. CIIs voting members have collectively more than $3.5 trillion in assets under management. CIIs associate members include a range of asset managers with more than $25 trillion in assets under management. CII members also elected board officers, including co-chairs Mary Francis, corporate secretary and chief governance officer, Chevron Corp.,* and John Keenan, corporate governance analyst, AFSCME Employees Pension Plan. The treasurer is Scott Zdrazil,* senior investment officercorporate governance, Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association. The secretary is Cambria Allen, corporate governance director, UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust. Other members of the CII board for 2018-19 are: Jerry Albright, CIO, Teacher Retirement System of Texas* Ron Baker, interim executive director, Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association* Mary Collins, trustee, District of Columbia Retirement Board Michael Garland, assistant comptroller, corporate governance and responsible investment, New York City Pension Funds Renaye Manley, deputy director, strategic initiatives department, Service Employees International Union (SEIU)* Aeisha Mastagni, portfolio manager, California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) Thomas McIntyre, international representative, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers* Hope Mehlman, chief governance officer and assistant corporate secretary, Regions Financial* Jennifer Peet, corporate governance director, Office of the Oregon Treasurer and Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund* TerriJo Saarela, corporate governance director, State of Wisconsin Investment Board *new board members For more information on related topics, visit the following channels: FLASHBACK FRIDAY GALLERY: 2011 Security Traders Association of Chicago This weeks Flashback Friday looks back to March 2011. Back then U.S. stocks were plunging on geopolitical issues. Investors were worried the situation in oil-rich Saudi Arabia could deteriorate further, adding to the massive ongoing violence in Libya. Selling was based on news reports saying police in Saudi Arabia had fired shots or grenades at anti-government protestors. Protestors had reportedly scheduled a "Day of Rage" similar to the one that occurred in Egypt earlier that year. Saudi Arabia at that time was still condiered the premier oil producer, said Prudential Financial market strategist Quincy Krosby. "You don't know where this Saudi issue is going to go but you do know it's the country that could really cause supply disruptions." Bond prices rose as investors fled to the safety of government-backed investments. Asian markets fell after China reported a surprise trade deficit, as imports outpaced exports in February for the first time in nearly a year. In Europe, the debt crisis made headlines again after credit agency Moody's cut Spain's credit rating. Moody's downgraded Greece's debt another notch earlier this week. Against this backdrop, this was when the Security Traders Association of Chicago mid-winter meeting was not the first one of the year as it is now. Traders Magazine takes a walk back down Memory Lane to the 2011 Mid-Winter Meeting that was held on March 9. Please click here for the images: For more information on related topics, visit the following channels: TA Associates Announces Majority Investment in Confluence TA Associates, a leading global growth private equity firm, recently announced that it has completed a majority investment in Confluence, a global leader in investment data management automation for regulatory, investor communications and performance reporting. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1991, Confluence is a financial services data management software platform that offers mission-critical regulatory, investor communications and performance reporting solutions to the global asset management industry. The company serves several of the top global fund administrators and asset managers, and over 90% of the United States mutual fund market. Confluence is uniquely positioned as the only unified data-driven software platform that enables asset managers and global and regional fund administrators to automate various communications and reporting to shareholders and regulators. The company is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with additional locations in Brussels, Dublin, London, Ho Chi Minh City, Luxembourg and San Francisco. We have closely followed the success and development of Confluence for over a dozen years and have been impressed with the companys long-term vision and global expansion, said Jonathan W. Meeks, a Managing Director at TA Associates who will join the Confluence Board of Directors. Utilizing its proprietary software and service offerings and with a seasoned and talented management team, Confluence has proven its ability to deliver significant operational value to its long-tenured clients, many of which are the worlds top asset managers and fund administrators. It is an honor to be partnering with the entire Confluence team and we look forward to leveraging our deep experience and resources to help the company accelerate its growth. Since our founding, Confluence has strived to create and deliver automated solutions that enable asset managers and third-party administrators to consolidate and leverage data across their business operations, said Mark Evans, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Confluence. TAs investment represents a unique opportunity to partner with a firm that generates key growth initiatives, and maintains a longstanding track record within the financial technology and software sectors. We are very pleased to have TA on board as an investor and look forward to a close collaboration in building significant additional value in Confluence. Confluence estimates the financial services data management software market to be over $1 billion, which includes over $250 million in identifiable whitespace opportunity. In late 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission implemented major initiatives impacting mutual funds, including reporting modernization for investment firms. As a result of these regulatory overhauls, fund administrators and asset managers servicing or managing more than 80% of all 40 Act funds have selected the Confluence platform to prepare and file their SEC modernization filings. As asset managers adjust to comply with the increasing data aggregation and processing requirements, we see this as an attractive time to enter into a niche market at an early stage, said Kenneth T. Schiciano, a Managing Director at TA Associates who will also join the Confluence Board of Directors. Confluence has invested a tremendous amount of time and resources to optimize productivity and control, which we expect will lead to organic growth opportunities to further scale the business. We are delighted that Confluence, which we believe to be the market standard in performance, financial and regulatory reporting, has chosen to partner with TA and look forward to helping the company execute its strategic vision. Goodwin provided legal counsel to TA Associates. Jones Day provided legal counsel and Raymond James served as financial advisor to Confluence. For more information on related topics, visit the following channels: The Monterey County Fair will run from Thursday, Aug. 30-Monday, Sept. 3, 2018. (TRAVPR.COM) USA - March 23rd, 2018 - Monterey, CA, March 23, 2018 The Monterey County Fair announced that the theme for the Aug. 30-Sept. 3, 2018, event will be Shake Your Tail Feathers. The fair also unveiled its official poster for this year's event, featuring chickens in Mardi Gras-style beads, masks and hats and two chickens enjoying a Ferris wheel ride. We are very excited about the 2018 Monterey County Fair theme and dedicate it to our feathered friends at the Fair, says Kelly Violini, Monterey County Fair CEO. We hope that everyone can come out and join us in Shaking a Tail Feather! The artists and graphic designers who collaborated on the poster are Olivia Trinidad and Arnold Ramos of OT Graphic Design of Monterey, which has been doing graphic art and design work for the Monterey County Fair since 2008, including all official posters for the fair since then. They just wanted it to be colorful and fun, with chickens and roosters having fun at the Fair, says Trinidad, who has 20 years of experience in graphic design, about the poster assignment. Its great to be able to do a poster on our own. Usually we work with art we are given, but this time it was my artwork, so we were able to play with it. It was fun and easy. The Monterey County Fair will run from Thursday, Aug. 30-Monday, Sept. 3, 2018, at the Monterey County Fair & Event Center, 2004 Fairground Road, in Monterey. About the Monterey County Fair & Event Center The Monterey County Fair & Event Center is a premier event center set on 22 oak-studded acres with ample parking. It is a state-owned multi-use facility that features four large banquet rooms, two outdoor concert venues, and a variety of outdoor and indoor cost-effective sites ideal for all types of events. It is home of the annual award-winning Monterey County Fair, host to many major and private events on the Central Coast, and the site of the Monterey Bay Race Place, a Satellite Wagering Facility. For more information, contact the Fair Administration Office, at 2004 Fairground Road in Monterey, by calling (831) 372-5863 or go to www.montereycountyfair.com for more information. Monterey County Fair & Event Center 2004 Fairground Road, Monterey, CA 93940 www.montereycountyfair.com montereyfairpr@gmail.com (831) 372-5863 OT Graphic Design PO Box 2454 Monterey CA 93942 Phone: (831) 402-7946 E-mail: olivia@otgraphicdesign.com otgraphicdesign.com Contact: Marci Bracco Cain Chatterbox PR Salinas, CA 93901 (831) 747-7455 http://www.montereycountyfair.com ### gspannu7@gmail.com Jammu, March 23 A pilgrim, on his way to the cave shrine of Mata Vaishnodevi, on Friday died en route in the Trikuta hills of Reasi district, a police official said. Surinder Kumar of Chandigarh, became unconscious at the Poni area in Bhavan, he said. He was shifted to a dispensary, where doctors declared him brought dead, the official said. The body has been sent to the Community Health Center (CHC) at Katra for post-mortem, he said. PTI shalender@tribune.com Mohali, March 22 A team of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday raided the residence of its former Deputy Director Gurnam Singh besides other officials in connection with the money laundering probe in a Rs 600-crore Ponzi scheme. Sources said ED officials raided residences of several officials in Chandigarh and Mohali under provisions of the Money Laundering Act. The residence of advocate Puneet Sharma was also searched. Officials claimed that Gurnam used to take bribe in connivance with Sharma. TNS pardeepdhull@gmail.com London, March 23 Scotland Yard on Friday released CCTV images of a man they suspect for having targeted the turban of a Sikh activist in a racist attack outside Parliament in London last month. Ravneet Pal Singh, South Asia Project Manager for EcoSikh, was in the security queue to enter Portcullis House an extension of the House of Commons complex in Westminster when a man targeted him in what the Metropolitan Police have been investigating as a hate crime. A man who started shouting Muslim go back approached the victim and attempted to remove his turban, grabbing it in his attempt to pull it off the victims head. He was unsuccessful and then made off from the scene. Police attended soon after the attack following reports of an assault, the Met Police said in a statement released one month after the incident. Detectives from Westminster Community Safety Unit (CSU) are investigating and are keen to identify the man shown in CCTV stills released today. He is wanted for questioning in relation to this attack and is described as a white male, 5 ft 10 inches tall of stocky build and short black hair with stubble. He was wearing a dark blue jacket, blue jeans, black shoes and a black backpack, the statement noted. Singh and his colleague Jaspreet Singh, who were on a visit to the UK from India, were at Portcullis House to meet British Sikh MP Tan Dhesi regarding World Sikh Environment Day on March 14 and to discuss the establishment of EcoSikh as an environmental charity in the UK. I am not sure why he was shouting and why he attacked my turban. I was able to prevent my turban coming off and he ran away when I shouted back but it was an extremely distressing experience, Singh had told PTI soon after the attack on February 21. The Metropolitan Police have used the investigation to urge people to come forward to report such crimes. The force said it recognised the impact of hate crime on communities and the hidden nature of the crime, which remains largely under-reported. The MPS [Met Police Service] stands together with policing partners, colleagues and groups to investigate all hate crime allegations, support victims and their families, and bring perpetrators to justice. We would appeal to anyone who witnesses or suffers any hate of any type to immediately report it so that action can quickly be taken and catch those responsible, it said. PTI editorial@tribune.com Rajiv Mahajan NURPUR, MARCH 23 The families of three youths from Kangra district serving in the Merchant Navy, kidnapped for ransom by Nigerian pirates, heaved a sigh of relief on Friday. The Tribune highlighted the plight of Raghbir Singh, a resident of Nagrota Surian in Jawali subdivision and father of one of the abducted youths Sushil Kumar (37), in these columns on Friday. As per reports, Nurpur MLA Rakesh Pathania took up the issue with Union Health Minister JP Nadda after taking note of the plight of the families of the kidnapped youths that appeared in The Tribune. Nadda took up the matter with Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. Pathania told The Tribune that he provided contact numbers and family details of all three abducted Kangra youths to the Union External Affairs Ministry through Nadda. The Ministry of External Affairs after taking up the matter with the Indian embassy in Nigeria rang up the families of the missing youths and assured them of best possible assistance, ensuring their safe return. Sushil Kumar had been working in the Merchant Navy for the past 13 years. Currently, he was working with Max Marine Services in Cortnou Benin. The other kidnapped crew member Pankaj hails from Samloti while Ajay is from Palampur in Kangra district. Meanwhile, Raghubir Singh (62), father of Sushil Kumar, told The Tribune on Friday that he was feeling somewhat relieved and was expecting safe return of his son after receiving a call from the Union External Affairs Ministry. He revealed that on Thursday evening the kidnappers allowed his son to talk to him on mobile. My son told me that kidnappers are giving them a single meal a day. They have threatened to stop feeding them after three days. He also said the kidnappers were demanding ransom for their release, he said. Shanta seeks Swarajs intervention Palampur: Senior BJP leader Shanta Kumar on Friday called on External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and urged her for the release of the three Kangra youths serving in Merchant Navy, who were taken hostage by Nigerian pirates. Shanta said the External Affairs Ministry should take up the matter with the Nigerian government so that efforts were made for the early release of the hostages. He told the minister that the pirates had been demanding a ransom of 11 million Naira. He said the victims families had also approached the owner of the ship, but they had not initiated any action for their release. The families were spending sleeplessnights, therefore, the government should send some officer to Nigeria, the BJP leader said. CM takes up the issue rajivbhatia82@gmail.com Johnson Thomas This sequel to Guillermo del Toro's monsters-versus-biomechanical warriors saga, is visually okay. The scaling is fine too but the action is all jumbled up and the story-telling is entirely flat. The nomenclature used throughout the film is confusing but the good versus evil backbone is entirely steely. This sequel in fact brings nothing new to the table. Characters may have lost their way over time but eventually they come good. The film apes Transformers to such an extent that you forget that they were radically different to begin with. Without Del Toro to give the story more meat, direction and craft, theres little to engage. Knight is more of a handyman. Theres nothing distinctive about his assemblage. Everything in this sequel be it the elements, the characters, the names, the action, etc. seems outlandish. This unnecessary extension of Del Toros lovingly imaginative and detailed fantasy universe fails to even live up to the expectations arisen from the first instalment. The actors do their job but its all so forgettable that you could just walk out of the movie wondering whether you were watching a movie or playing a video-game. Truly ordinary if you ask me! monicakchauhan@gmail.com Tel Aviv, March 23 The direct maiden flight of Air India to Tel Aviv from New Delhi arrived here on Thursday, heralding a new chapter in the India-Israel ties and ending a decades-old overfly ban by Saudi Arabia. Flight AI 139 landed at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport at 2215 (Israeli time). "This is really a historical moment...We are in a new era. I am sure that we will see many more Indian tourists coming to Israel...and Israelis would also come to India in much higher numbers," Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin told PTI. He said such a direct link would further strengthen the relationship between the two nations. Saudi Arabia's decision to permit Air India to use its airspace has enabled the airline to take a shorter route. It will cover the distance in 7.15 hours, 2.10 hours less than the time taken by the only other airline that flies between the two countries -- Israel's national carrier El Al. Many Arab and Islamic nations do not recognise Israel and, therefore, disallow airlines from using their airspace for flight services to that country. On a query over Saudi Arabia allowing Air India to use its airspace, Levin said: "We have to very cautious. This is really a first step -- a very important one... I hope with times we have more and more normal relation with our neighbour in this region....India played a very important bridge (by introducing this flight over Saudi airspace) not only between India and us but also between Israel and other countries in this region." Terming as "historic" the moment of arrival of the national carrier's maiden flight to Tel Aviv, Indian Ambassador to Israel Pavan Kapoor said a lot of efforts had gone into it over the last two years with a strong vision and support for the initiative from the prime ministers of both the countries. He said the initiative would strengthen the relationship between the two countries in various spheres, including political, trade and cultural. Air India Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Pradeep Kharola said the Air India direct flight has the shortest route connecting New Delhi and Tel Aviv and will bring people of the two countries closer. The flight will operate every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. While the inaugural flight AI 139 left at 6 pm IST yesterday, the scheduled departure will be 4.50 pm IST from March 25 when the summer schedule comes into operation. The state-run carrier will be operating its 256-seater Boeing 787 Dreamliner on this route. Kharola and Israel Ministry of Tourism Director Hassan Madah cut a symbolic cake to mark the start of the direct flight to Israel. Kharola had earlier said the airline anticipates interest from travellers from countries further to the east of India such as Australia. The Air India flew over Oman, Saudi Arabia and Jordan to reach Israel. The permission to fly over Saudi Arabia will save Air India almost 2 hours and 10 minutes compared to the longer route taken by Israels national carrier El Al, which has direct flights between Tel Aviv and Mumbai. monicakchauhan@gmail.com New Delhi, March 23 Nearly seven years after Anna Hazare went on a hunger strike demanding the setting up of a Lokpal to probe corruption cases, the social activist on Friday once again sat on an indefinite hunger strike at Ramlila Maidan here pressing for the demand. Hazare reached Ramlila Maidan where thousands of his supporters have gathered. He reached the sprawling ground after paying tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat. Hazare is also demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report to address the agrarian crisis in the country. The activist has been pressing for setting up the Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in the states. His 2011 anti-graft agitation, which gave birth to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) now ruling in Delhi, targeted the UPA. This time his agitation is likely to target the BJP government. Last month, the Gandhian accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of not being interested in the appointment of the Lokpal at the Centre. The veteran anti-corruption crusader said Modi was "never serious about Lokpal". The reason behind the delay in the appointment of a Lokpal, he had pointed out, is because the Prime Minister is afraid that once this becomes a reality his office as well as that of his cabinet members would also come under its purview. Hazare's current 'satyagrah' is also aimed at highlighting the problems faced by the farmers and the need for electoral reforms. Last Sunday, he said he was sitting silent on these issues for the last three years trying to communicate with the BJP-led Central government over them. IANS monicakchauhan@gmail.com Shahira Naim Tribune News Service Lucknow, March 23 Counting of votes for the Rajya Sabha election in Uttar Pradesh began after a two-hour delay, Joint CEO RC Rai informed on Friday. After the announcement of the first Rajya Sabha result declaring Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely a winner, the counting had come to a stop reportedly following BSPs complaint to the Election Commission demanding cancellation of the votes of two rebel candidates SPs Nitin Agarwal and BSPs Anil Singh. According to the BSPs complaint both these MLAs had not shown their vote to their respective partys polling agent. There is also a complaint about the BJP polling agent tearing four ballot papers, added sources. While the votes of these two MLAs have reportedly gone in favour of the BJP it is being claimed that Kailash Nath Sonkar, one of the four MLAs of BJP alliance partner Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj party, has cross voted in favour of the BSP. It was a day of seesaw of fortunes as reports of cross voting from both sides were speculated and some MLAs such as Anil Singh of the BSP left nothing to speculation. BSP MLA from Purwa in Unnao Anil Singh admitted that his vote had gone to Maharaj ji (Yogi Aditynath). Late on Thursday night, Anil Singh was seen heading towards the chief ministers 5 Kalidas road residence for a dinner meeting which made it clear which way his vote would go. Son of former SP leader Naresh Agarwal and Hardoi MLA Nitin Agarwal following his fathers footsteps was a foregone conclusion. Nitin Agarwal had even attended the pre-poll meeting called by CM Yogi at his residence for party MLAs on Thursday. The combined opposition suffered a setback when at the last minute the two jailed MLAs belonging to the SP and the BSP were denied permission to vote at todays crucial Rajya Sabha election. They are BSP MLA Mukhtar Ansari and SP MLA Hariom Yadav. NISHAD party MLA Vijay Misra has been vocal about cross voting in favour of the BJP despite his party being an alliance partner of SP. Independent MLA and murder accused Aman Mani Tripathi also voted for the BJP claiming to have followed the guidelines of Maharaj ji (Yogi Adityanath). Meanwhile, independent MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiyya left everyone guessing till the very last moment today. He had tweeted that he had not changed and neither had his ideology. I am with Akhilesh ji but this does not mean that I am with BSP. I will vote for SP candidate (Jaya Bachchan). Raja Bhaiyyas anti-BSP stand is well-known as he and his father Uday Pratap Singh had been booked under POTA in 2003 by the then Chief Minister Mayawati who accused them of plotting to topple her government. Shortly after Raja Bhaiyyas tweet, SP national president Akhilesh Yadav tweeted, Thank you for supporting Samajwadi Party with his photograph with Raja Bhaiyya. Raja Bhaiyya was one of the last legislators to cast his vote and immediately after casting his vote he proceeded to meet Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath that sent rumour mills spinning. Whether his associate and another independent MLA from Pratgarh, Vinod Saroj, voted for the combined opposition is still not clear. He reportedly told reporters that he follows Raja Bhaiyyas instructions but did not do what he did. The allies of the BJP in UPApna Dal that has nine MLAs and Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party that has four MLAs claim to have voted in favour of the BJP as claimed by their party heads. The 17 BSP MLAs came together to cast their votes and so did the seven Congress MLAs. Jaswant Nagar MLA Shivpal Yadav was the first to cast his vote from the Samajwadi party. A total of 400 of the 403 legislators cast their votes on Friday. One seat is vacant following the death of BJP MLA Lokendra Pratap Singh and two imprisoned MLAs could not vote. Voting ended around 3 pm an hour before the scheduled time. pardeepdhull@gmail.com Beijing, March 23 India is a brother, but China is like a long-lost cousin found, Maldives Ambassador to China Mohamed Faisal has said, asserting that his country would push ahead with Chinese projects despite New Delhis concerns. The Maldives will further embrace Chinese investment but is aware it risks getting caught between China and India, Faisal told the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. China is like a long-lost cousin that we have found, a long-lost cousin who is willing to help us, he said on Thursday after Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen lifted a state of emergency in the troubled South Asian nation after 45 days. India is a brother. We are a family, we may quarrel and we may have arguments but in the end, we will sit down and resolve it, the diplomat said. He claimed that the Maldives has taken a number of projects to India for finance but we did not receive the necessary finance. China, which looks at Maldives as a major participant in its 21st century Maritime Silk Road plan in the Indian Ocean, has made heavy investments in the nation of islands which has 26 tropical atolls and 1,000 small islands. China has put up a staunch defence of Maldives President Abdullah Yameen, stonewalling international pressure and enabling him to stay in power during the current crisis. The picturesque Indian Ocean archipelago was plunged into chaos early last month when the Supreme Court called for the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, ruling that their trials were politically motivated and flawed. The government refused to implement the ruling. Yameen imposed a state of emergency and arrested apex court judges and former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Opposition party leaders in Maldives alleged that China is tacitly backing Yameen, which emboldened him to resort to unconstitutional actions like arresting Supreme Court judges. Former President Mohamed Nasheed who was in exile abroad had called for Indian intervention in Maldives to save the democracy in the island nation. He had alleged that China is indulging in land grabbing, threatening not just the Maldives, but the peace and the stability of the entire region. Faisal said Maldives will not allow any foreign military establishments. Our government has made it very clear that we are not going to allow any kind of military establishments or military undertakings in the Maldives. Not for China, not for any other countries, he said. More than 70 per cent of the Maldives foreign debt is owed to China, but Faisal said it was not having trouble making payments, adding that the country had taken some concessional loans to pay as its tourism market expanded. Right now, its only seven islands that Chinese have invested in, in the tourism sector. For a country with such capacity as China I think it is a very low number it should be more than that. China had expressed interest in building a port in the Maldives, Faisal said, but there was no confirmed plan at present. PTI monicakchauhan@gmail.com Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 23 In a huge relief to 20 AAP MLAs disqualified for allegedly holding office of profit as parliamentary secretaries, the Delhi High Court on Friday quashed the Presidential notification disqualifying them and asked the Election Commission to give them a fresh hearing. Opinion of Election Commission of India (given to the President of India) dated January 19, 2018, is vitiated and bad in law for failure to comply with principles of natural justice, said a Division Bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna, setting aside the ECs recommendation disqualifying the AAP MLAs. The High Court had on January 24 refused to stay the Centres notification disqualifying them, but had restrained the poll panel from announcing polls to fill the vacancies. However, on Friday, it quashed the disqualification notification for violation of principle of natural justice namely failure (of EC) to give oral hearing and opportunity to address arguments on merits of the issue. Now the matter will be heard by the EC afresh. The Bench also asked the EC to re-examine the factual matrix to decide whether the petitioners (AAP MLAs) had incurred disqualification on appointment as parliamentary secretaries, without being influenced by the earlier order or observations on the said aspect in this order. The elected representatives were wrongfully disqualified. The high court has given justice to the people of Delhi. It is their victory. Congratulations to the people of Delhi, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal tweeted. The 20 AAP MLAs whose disqualification has been set aside are: Alka Lamba, Adarsh Shastri, Sanjeev Jha, Rajesh Gupta, Kailash Gahlot, Vijendra Garg, Praveen Kumar, Sharad Kumar, Madan Lal, Shiv Charan Goyal, Sarita Singh, Naresh Yadav, Rajesh Rishi, Anil Kumar, Som Dutt, Avtar Singh, Sukhvir Singh Dala, Manoj Kumar, Nitin Tyagi and Jarnail Singh. They were accused of holding offices of profit as parliamentary secretaries to ministers in Delhi government in March 2015. In September 2016, the High Court had ruled against their appointment as parliamentary secretaries. Under Section 15(1)(a) of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, a person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of the legislative assembly if he holds any office of profit under the government of India, a state or a union territory other than an office protected by law. Section 15(2) of the NCT Act, however, protects ministers from disqualification. According to Section 15(3) of the NCT Act, in case of a dispute over disqualification of an MLA, the issue has to be referred to the President, who is bound by the ECs recommendation in such matters. pardeepdhull@gmail.com Washington, March 23 Pakistan-based Dawood Ibrahim-led terrorist group D-company has diversified in many other fields and built a powerful transnational crime-terror organisation in part from drug proceeds, US lawmakers were told on Friday. Indian underworld don Dawood, wanted in India for a number of terrorist attacks, is now based in Karachi, according to the US and Indian officials. However, Pakistan has denied his presence in the country. Pakistan-based crime-terror group D-company, whose origins lie in India, expanded Karachis historic role as a drug transhipment point, and built a powerful transnational crime-terror organisation in part from drug proceeds, Dr Louise Shelley, Professor at Schar School of Policy and Government at the George Mason University told lawmakers. Shelley claimed that the D-company has diversified. D-company, like Mexican drug organisations, has diversified. They traffic weapons, counterfeit DVDs and provide financial services through their extensive system of hawala operators, he said during a Congressional hearing organised by the Committee on House Financial Services Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance. Indias sustained campaign against Dawood was finally acknowledged by America in 2003 when the US declared him a global terrorist having links with al-Qaeda. He also faces sanctions from the UN under its anti-terror resolution. Vindicating Indias position that Pakistan has been sheltering Dawood, the US had said that he was in Karachi and possessed a Pakistani passport under the individual category. Testifying before the same Congressional sub-committee, Celina B Realuyo, Professor of Practice, William J Perry Centre for Hemispheric Defence Studies, National Defence University, said a number of recent attacks in Kabul were planned and launched from safe havens in Pakistan. The year 2018 has already witnessed many deadly attacks. On January 20, at least 22 persons, including four Americans, were killed during a 12-hour standoff with security forces after gunmen dressed as Army men raided a hotel in Kabul, frequented by many foreigners, he said. On January 27, an attacker detonated explosives in an ambulance in Kabul, killing over 100 people and injuring some 158, according to Afghan officials. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mojahid claimed responsibility for the attack, one week after the attack on the Kabul hotel attack, Realuyo added. In June last year during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to the US, India and the US, in a joint statement after talks between Modi and President Donald Trump, vowed to strengthen cooperation against terror outfits like Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Toiba and D-Company. PTI rchopra@tribunemail.com Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 23 The Supreme Court on Friday pulled up 11 states for not appointed lokayuktas and uplokayuktas, even five years after the enactment of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, and asked their chief secretaries to explain in two weeks as to why they dithered. The chief secretaries of the aforesaid 11 states shall inform the court within two weeks as to whether steps have been taken for appointment of Lokyukta/Uplokayukta and if so the stage thereof. The reasons for non-appointment of Lokayukta/Uplokayukta in the aforesaid states be also laid before the court in the aforesaid affidavit(s) to be filed by the Chief Secretaries, the top court said. The states which have not appointed lokayukta or uplokayukta are: Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh. The chief secretaries of these states have been asked to specify the deadline by which they would appoint a Lokayukta as required under the Act. The order came from a Bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi, which also asked the Odisha Chief Secretary to inform it if Lokayuka and Uplokayukta were functional as there was no information available about any such appointment in the state. Enacted in December 2013, the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act received presidential assent on January 1, 2014, and came into force on January 16, 2014. However, the first Lokpal is yet to be appointed and many stated were also dithering in appointing lokayuktas. The Bench which is seized of a PIL filed by Delhi BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay seeking a direction to states to take necessary measures for effective functioning of Lokayuktas asked his counsel Gopal Shankarnaryanan to name the states which had appointed or not appointed lokayuktas. As Shankarnaryanan said many states had appointed lokayuktas while several others had not, the Bench said, We want the exact figure. This is not the answer we expect from a counsel in a case of such a magnitude. The Bench, which has also been pushing the Centre to appoint a Lokpal, posted the matter further hearing on April 12. Last month, Attorney-General K K Venugopal had told the court that the process for appointing Lokpal at the Centre was on. The selection panel comprising the Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India, Speaker of Lok Sabha met on March but leader of the largest Opposition party Mallikarjun Kharge boycotted it. Terming the Act as an eminently workable piece of legislation, the top court had in 2017 said there was no justification to keep the enforcement of the Lokpal Act suspended till the proposed amendments, including on the issue of the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, were cleared by Parliament. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 23 Family members of workers from Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, who were killed in Iraq, held a protest in Baba Bakala subdivision on Friday. Raising slogans against the government, they carried out a march in various streets of the rural subdivision. They constituted an eight-member committee to put forth their demands. Gurpinder Kaur, sister of deceased Manjinder Singh of Bhoewal village, announced that they would not accept the bodies until the government declares monetary compensation to families of the victims. She said all those who had lost their lives had gone to earn a living for their families and it was the duty of the state to support their families. We wont lodge a violent protest, well just sit peacefully. The Union Government hasnt contacted us yet. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has not replied to us even after repeated attempts to contact and meet her, Gurpinder said. Weve given the government time till Saturday morning to announce compensation to secure the future of families of deceased. If they are not able to do it, well protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday, said Vijay Kumar, Manjinders brother-in-law. On March 20, Sushma Swaraj, speaking in the Rajya Sabha, had said that all 39 Indians who went missing in Mosul in 2014 had been killed by IS militants. (With ANI inputs) editorial@tribune.com Tel Aviv, March 23 Air Indias maiden flight to Israel has landed in Tel Aviv, reducing the travel time substantially after Saudi Arabia for the first time allowed a commercial flight to use its airspace, indicating a thaw in ties between Arab kingdom and the Jewish state. Heralding a new beginning in the people-to-people contact and diplomatic ties between India and Israel, the state-run Air India introduced the direct thrice-a-week flight from New Delhi to Tel Aviv on Thursday. Saudi permitted the airline to use its airspace, enabling it to take a shorter route, covering the distance in 7.25 hours, 2.10 hours less compared to only other airline that flies between the two countries Israels El Al. PTI ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM Washington, March 23 US President Donald Trump today fired his National Security Adviser Lt Gen HR McMaster and replaced him with a conservative hawk and former UN Ambassador John Bolton, the latest high-level shakeup in the chaotic White House. Reports of McMasters ouster had surfaced last week but the White House had dispelled them saying there were no changes at the National Security Council (NSC). Trump, however, took to Twitter today to make the announcement of 69-year-old Boltons appointment. I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, John Bolton will be my new National Security Adviser, Trump said on Twitter. I am very thankful for the service of General H R McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend, Trump said. Boltons appointment does not require US Senate confirmation. He will take the job on April 9. The move, which was sudden but not unexpected, signals a more confrontational approach in American foreign policy at a time when the US president faces mounting challenges, including from Iran and North Korea, the New York Times commented. The appointment of Bolton could lead to dramatic changes in the Trump administrations approach to crises around the world, The Washington Post said. His appointment is certain to scramble the White Houses preparations for a proposed summit by the end of May between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Bolton, known for his walrus moustache, is a fierce North Korea hawk who, in his prolific writings and television commentary, has said that preemptive war would likely be the only way to stop North Korea from obtaining the capability to attack the US with a nuclear missile. McMaster was Trumps second national security adviser after Michael Flynn was dismissed last year for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the US. The NSC is one of the most powerful wings of the White House that drives the administrations national security agenda. The announcement of McMasters ouster, who the White House said had a good working relationship with Trump, is the latest in a string of high-profile White House departures since President Trump took office in January 2017. The announcement came just days after he replaced secretary of state Rex Tillerson with his close ally, CIA Director Mike Pompeo. That move, Trump said, was in preparation for upcoming top-level nuclear talks with North Korean leader Kim. According to a White House official, Trump and McMaster mutually agreed that the latter will resign as the NSA. The two have been discussing this for some time. The timeline was expedited as they both felt it was important to have the new team in place, instead of constant speculation, the official said. PTI A foreign policy hawk John Bolton (pic) has been a foreign policy hawk in Republican circles for decades, having served in the administrations of Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush and George W Bush Bolton served as US Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2005-2006 and as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security from 2001-2005 Bolton, during his tenure at the United Nations, was a leading voice on the need for the Security Council to take strong and meaningful action against international proliferation and terrorism Strong words greet nomination John Boltons appointment as national security adviser provoked strong reactions worldwide on Friday, and few stronger than in the bitterly-divided Middle East. Some commentators saw it as another nail in the coffin of the Obama-era agreement between Iran and world powers to limit Tehrans nuclear ambitions, already cast into grave doubt by Trump himself Others expected Bolton to further undermine any remaining slender hopes of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict emerging in the foreseeable future He has advocated using military force against North Korea and Iran. What it means for a prospective summit meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is unclear Recent tweets of new NSA On North Korea: Its important to stand behind our South Korean allies, but if we pay heed to the lessons of history, talking to #NorthKorea would be fruitless. (February 13) On Russia: There needs to be a strategic response to Russias new nuclear missiles to show our allies in Europe that we will not let #Russia push the US or its allies around. (March 2) On Iran: The #Irannucleardeal was a strategic mistake in 2015. This deal needs to be abrogated and America must craft a new reality that reflects the actions of the Iranian regime. (Jan 29) On the Middle East: The Middle East peace process has long needed clarity and an injection of reality, and Trump has provided it by making the decision to move the US embassy in #Israel to #Jerusalem (Dec 14, 2017) monicakchauhan@gmail.com Washington, March 23 US President Donald Trump on Friday fired National Security Adviser Lt Gen H R McMaster, replacing him with former UN Ambassador John Bolton, the latest high-level shakeup in the White House. Reports of McMaster's ouster had surfaced last week but the White House had dispelled them saying there were no changes at the National Security Council (NSC). Trump, however, took to Twitter today to make an announcement in this regard. "I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, John Bolton will be my new National Security Adviser," Trump said on Twitter. "I am very thankful for the service of General H R McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9," Trump said. McMaster was Trump's second national security adviser after Michael Flynn was dismissed last year for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the US. The NSC is one of the most powerful wing of the White House that drives the administration's national security agenda. The announcement of McMaster's ouster, who the White House said had a "good working relationship" with Trump, is the latest in a string of high-profile White House departures since President Trump took office in January 2017. The announcement came just days after he replaced secretary of state Rex Tillerson with his close ally, CIA Director Mike Pompeo. That move, Trump said, was in preparation for upcoming top-level nuclear talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. According to a White House official, Trump and McMaster mutually agreed that the latter will resign as the National Security Adviser (NSA). He will retire from the US Army after 34 years of distinguished service. "The two have been discussing this for some time. The timeline was expedited as they both felt it was important to have the new team in place, instead of constant speculation. This was not related to any one moment or incident, rather it was the result of ongoing conversations between the two," the official said. Trump and McMaster both released written statements thanking each other, with the president describing McMaster as an architect of his "America First" foreign policy. "He has won many battles and his bravery and toughness are legendary. General McMaster's leadership of the National Security Council staff has helped my administration accomplish great things to bolster America's national security," Trump said. "He helped develop our America First National Security Strategy, revitalise our alliances in the Middle East, smash ISIS, bring North Korea to the table, and strengthen our nation's prosperity. This work and those achievements will ensure that America builds on its economic and military advantages. I thank General McMaster and his family for their service and wish them the very best," Trump said. McMaster said after 34 years of service, he is requesting retirement from the US Army effective this summer after which he will leave public service. "Throughout my career, it has been my greatest privilege to serve alongside extraordinary service members and dedicated civilians. "I am thankful to President Donald J Trump for the opportunity to serve him and our nation as national security adviser. I am grateful for the friendship and support of the members of the National Security Council who worked together to provide the President with the best options to protect and advance our national interests," McMaster said. The White House has described Bolton, who replaces McMaster, as one of the strongest voices and experts on the full range of national security issues and challenges facing the country. Bolton served as US Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2005-2006 and as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security from 2001-2005. Bolton, during his tenure at the United Nations, was a leading voice on the need for the Security Council to take strong and meaningful action against international proliferation and terrorism. Along with France's ambassador, Bolton led the Security Council to approve a unanimous resolution to end the summer 2006 Hezbollah war on Israel, to authorise UN peacekeepers and to create an arms embargo against Hezbollah. He also assembled an international coalition that blocked the bid of Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's Marxist strongman, to join the Security Council. As Under Secretary, he repeatedly advocated tough measures against the nuclear weapons programs of both Iran and North Korea, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction generally. He led negotiations for America to withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty so that the Bush administration could proceed with a national missile-defence programme. PTI gspannu7@gmail.com Trebes (France), March 23 At least three people were killed on Friday in a shooting spree and hostage siege in southern France by a man claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group, security sources told AFP. Security forces killed the gunmanbelieved to be a Moroccan who was on a watchlist of suspected Islamic extremistsafter he carried out three separate attacks in the medieval town of Carcassonne and nearby Trebes. The man first hijacked a car in Carcassonne, killing a passenger and injuring the driver, before shooting a policeman who was out jogging with his colleagues nearby. He then drove to a Super U supermarket in the sleepy town of Trebes and holed up there for more than three hours with hostages, killing at least two people, according to sources. A witness reported that the assailant was armed with knives, a gun and grenades and shouted Allahu Akbar (God is greatest) before going into the supermarket. A man shouted and started firing several times, one shopper at the supermarket told FranceInfo radio station. I saw an open door for a refrigerated area and I told people to come to shelter there, she said. We were 10 people and we got out by the emergency exit at the back. After letting his hostages go, the gunman remained in the store with just one policeman, who along with another officer was shot and injured when anti-terror forces swooped on the building. The killing spree came with France still on high alert after a string of jihadist attacks since 2015. French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to the quick reactions of the emergency services and said he would be returning to Paris from Brussels at the end of an EU summit so he can coordinate the national response. Three helicopters could be seen circling over Trebes, a picturesque medieval town of around 5,000 people, while heavily armed police had closed down roads surrounding the supermarket. The local prosecutors office were treating the incident as a terror attack and said the gunman had claimed to be acting in the name of IS. All the information we currently have leads us to believe it is a terrorist act, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said while on a visit to Mulhouse in eastern France, cutting short the trip. Interior Minister Gerard Collomb was on his way to the scene. The terror attacks in France started in January 2015 with the assault on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead. France also suffered major attacks in Paris in November 2015 when IS jihadists killed 130 people in bombings and shootings at bars, restaurants, the Bataclan concert venue and the national stadium. In July 2016, in another attack claimed by IS, a man drove a truck through revellers celebrating Bastille Day in the Riviera resort of Nice, killing 84 people. A state of emergency put in place just after the Paris attacks was finally lifted in October last year, but soldiers continue to patrol major tourist sites and transport hubs under an anti-terror mission. The attacks were the first deadly assault in France by a suspected jihadist since October, when two young women were stabbed to death outside Marseilles main train station. The area of southwest France where todays shootings took place has been traumatised by Islamic extremism before. In 2012, Mohamed Merah shot dead seven people, including three Jewish schoolchildren, in nearby Toulouse and Montauban. AFP pardeepdhull@gmail.com Washington, March 23 The United States launched on Friday a challenge at the World Trade Organisation against China over intellectual property breaches, a statement said. The United States is taking action at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to address Chinas unfair technology practices that run counter to WTO rules, the statement from the US Trade Representatives office said. US President Donald Trump on Thursday hit China with tariffs on up to USD 60 billion of imports to retaliate against the theft of American intellectual property, ratcheting up trade tensions between the worlds two largest economies. Trump also announced he was directing the USTR to pursue dispute settlement in the WTO to confront China over its policies that result in unfair treatment for US companies and innovators trying to do business in China. China appears to be breaking WTO rules by denying foreign patent holders, including US companies, basic patent rights to stop a Chinese entity from using the technology after a licensing contract ends, said the USTR in its statement. It said China also appears to be breaking WTO rules by imposing contract terms that discriminate against and are less favourable for imported foreign technology. These Chinese policies hurt innovators in the United States and worldwide by interfering with the ability of foreign technology holders to set market-based terms in licensing and other technology-related contracts, said the USTR. China warned the United States on Friday that it was not afraid of a trade war as it threatened tariffs on $3 billion worth of US goods in retaliation over the US measures. The World Trade Organisation is not only a forum for nations to negotiate trade deals, but it is also acts as a court to resolve trade disputes. However Trumps protectionist administration has levelled hostile rhetoric towards the WTO, and has nearly crippled its dispute resolution mechanism be blocking appointment of new judges. AFP Mack has updated its Mack Connect suite of productivity management tools, which it highlighted during a press briefing at the Mid-America Trucking Show, along with introducing an Anthem truck configurator tool and discussing customer experience surveys. The Mack Connect suite of tools, designed to help customers manage productivity and profitability, was officially launched last fall at the same time as the Mack Anthem highway tractor, but was somewhat overshadowed by the truck launch. At the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Kentucky, Mack officials discussed updates. Mack Connect is a suite of tools designed to help customers and drivers manage productivity and profitability. Images: Mack Trucks Mack Connect integrates intelligent software, predictive analytics, and driver assist technologies, many of which were previously available from Mack, into three pillars: connected support, connected business and connected driving. Mack Connect is standard on all the truck maker's models, including the recently launched Anthem. Productivity translates to profitability, and our customers are always seeking the next advantage to gain an edge, said Jonathan Randall, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Mack Trucks North America. With Mack Connect, were providing the tools required for our customers, and their customers, to be successful in todays competitive trucking industry. Some new options added to Mack Connect include Bluetooth connectivity, satellite radio, and Apple Car Play integration. Drivers can also download other applications, including navigation software. Mack Connect also offers several features for safety, including Bendix Wingman Fusion for collision mitigation, adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning. Mack Predictive cruise is also part of Mack Connect, and is available on Mack mDrive-equipped models to help improve fuel efficiency by up to 1%. Mack GuardDog Connect telematics are also integrated into Mack Connect to monitor a trucks performance. The system can track needed maintenance and notify fleets if an issue requires service. Mack GuardDog Connect also enables Mack Over The Air for remote software updates. Data from Macks GuardDog Connect telematics platform is made available to fleet management software providers, allowing customers to choose fleet management software that works for their business, without having to rely on third-party hardware installations. Mack Trucks has expanded its recently launched Mack Trucks Configurator to include the Mack Anthem model. Mack Online Truck Configurator The company has also announced that the Mack Anthem model can be configured using the Mack Trucks Configurator online tool. With the tool, customers can virtually build and customize the Anthem model that best meets the needs of their business. Customers can choose cab design, exterior and interior trims, engines, transmissions and axle choices as well as the uptime services and warranty options they prefer. Customers can print out their completed virtually built Anthem, share on social media, or send directly to a local Mack dealer for additional information and quoting. By prebuilding a truck with the configurator, a customer is already asked several of the starting questions a salesman would need to know in order to build a sales quote, so this is actually a way to shorten the quote process for the customers new Mack Anthem, said Stu Russoli, Mack highway product manager. Its a great way to introduce customers to the new model, and it gets them more excited to take that next step. Mack says its Experieince Managment approach reduced the time it took to address outstanding customer service issues by as much as 50%. Customer Experience Management Mack recently extended its commitment to uptime by incorporating a new process designed to capture customer feedback regarding their service experience. During the first year of using the new Customer Experience Management approach, Mack slashed the time it took to address outstanding customer service issues by as much as 50%. As part of the new process, Mack uses digitally distributed surveys to collect customer feedback during key service touchpoints that impact overall satisfaction, such as communication during the repair process, total time required for a repair, the availability of parts and the likelihood that the customer would recommend working with the service professional who assisted them. Dealers and the Mack uptime organization use that information to help identify the root causes of any issues and improve processes. Surveys are triggered by the Mack Asist web-based service management system, making it easier for customers to respond and giving them a direct line of communication with Mack Trucks and its dealers. The result has been a 40% improvement in response rate, driving improved operations, including an increase in dealership staffing and warranty training for sales representatives, according to Mack. There is great value in capturing the voice of the customer because it allows us to equip ourselves and our dealers with more immediate information to improve our response and therefore increase customer satisfaction, said David Pardue, vice president of connected vehicle and contract services with Mack Trucks. facebook like button Tweet tweet button for twitter TO GO What: ULM Women's Symposium + Networking Social When: Wednesday, March 28, 2018 Time: Symposium - 12:00-5:30 pm, Networking Social- 5:30-7:30 pm Where: Bayou Pointe Student Event Center Tickets: free for ULM students, $20 for ULM faculty and staff, $35 for community Purchase tickets through Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2018-ulm-womens-symposium-tickets-43169935439 or purchase at the door. Students enter CWID as promotional code. Contact info: http://www.ulm.edu/womens-symposium/ Meredith McKinnie, mckinnie@ulm.edu As part of the celebration of Womens History Month, the University of Louisiana Monroe will host the Third Annual ULM Womens Symposium on Wednesday, March 28 at Bayou Pointe Student Event Center. The event will start at noon with lunch and will continue until 5:30 p.m. with a networking social following the symposium. It is my pleasure to invite everyone to the third annual ULM Womens Symposium, said Meredith McKinnie, chair of the ULM Womens Symposium. We all know that mentors are essential for success. At the womens symposium, we are going to have over 30 mentors in one space, there to inform and inspire. These career women are the manifestation of their collegiate efforts. Attendees will see success up close, shake its hand, exchange encouragements, and build a bond with the kind of leaders they hope to become. The womens symposium will feature discussions in a panelist/moderator format. Panelists include university faculty, staff, and prominent leaders within the community. Some of the timely topics will include financial health, diversity and cultural awareness, social media consciousness, overall health and self-care, authentic leadership, and negotiations and communication. The keynote speaker is Meryl Kennedy Farr, president and owner of KenRice Pac and co-owner and CEO of Neighbors, LLC. Farr will speak about paving her path to leadership. ULM will also welcome Taryn C. Branson from the Womens Policy division of the Louisiana Governors office. Branson is a 2011 ULM alumna and will be featured during the opening welcome to the symposium. The symposium will conclude with the prestigious ULM Womens Symposium awards presented to five individuals that have empowered women both personally and professionally. The honorees this year include Cindy Rogers, Linda Holyfield, Kelsea McCrary, Nirali Patel, and Dr. Ron Berry. The overarching theme of the womens symposium this year is WINGS: Women Influencing the Next Generation of Success. The mission of the symposium is to empower, motivate, and encourage girls and women from all backgrounds and all educational and professional levels to pursue their passions and seek leadership roles in their desired career paths. The ULM campus is 64 percent female, an average higher than the UL system average of 60 percent. Thirty percent of those females at ULM are students of color, McKinnie stated. As the landscape becomes more diverse, so should our efforts of inclusion and promotion of one another. This event is an attempt to further that cause, to represent to students and professionals success in every color, gender, socioeconomic background, and professional field. Complete information about the Women's Symposium, including registration, discussion topics, panelists, and more are available at ulm.edu/womens-symposium. Published March 23, 2018 When Syrian refugee Nada came to Istanbul four years ago, she soon found there was one thing she missed more than any other. When I arrived, I couldnt find any Arabic books. I didnt bring any with me, and it was very expensive to buy them from abroad. True to her nature, the young woman who had fled conflict in Syria before striking out on her own in Turkey decided to do something about it. She sourced her first 200 books through donations from abroad and set up her own lending library, initially just for friends. With their encouragement, she expanded her collection and began lending online to other Syrian refugees. I have many books novels, self-improvement, Islamic books, books for children, psychology books and history, Nada, 25, said. For a small annual fee, refugee families on low incomes could read different books each week throughout the year. Turkey is currently host to the worlds largest refugee population, including more than 3.5 million Syrians who fled the countrys seven-year conflict. Over 90 per cent of refugees live outside camps in towns, cities and villages across the country, including some half a million Syrians in Istanbul, Turkeys largest city. Nada was studying psychology at Homs University when the conflict started. As the security situation worsened, she eventually found refuge in Turkey, arriving alone but determined to continue pursuing her dreams. Turkey was perfect for me its modern and open-minded, but Im still accepted here wearing my hijab, she explained. When I came here, doors opened for me. I could study graphic design, start my library project. It was really great. "When I came here, doors opened for me. I could study graphic design, start my library project." It was at a book fair in Istanbul that she also met her business partner and fiance Mohammad, 27, a fellow Syrian refugee from Damascus who fled to Turkey in 2016 after seven months of imprisonment. I was very impressed when I heard about the library project, and I was very impressed with her too! I fell in love, Mohammad said, putting an arm around Nadas shoulder. With a background in marketing, he is now responsible for promoting the online library and the latest additions to their expanding business. Last year the couple opened a small bookstore and cafe in the central Istanbul neighbourhood of Fatih, home to many Syrian refugees. Their regular customers include a Syrian mother who rents childrens books to fulfil her sons insatiable appetite for reading, and a middle-aged Syrian man who works six days a week at a nearby garment factory, and likes to spend several hours each Sunday reading novels while slowly sipping his way through several cups of dark, Turkish coffee. "Syrian people are well educated, they like to read." A customer reads at the Booka book cafe in Istanbul, run by 27-year-old Nadia and her fiance Mohammad. UNHCR/Claire Thomas Syrian refugee Nada holds a creative diary that she designed and published, which she sells in her book cafe in Istanbul where other Syrian refugees come to read, buy and borrow Arabic books. UNHCR/Claire Thomas Nada, 27, and her fiance Mohammad, 25, stand inside a book cafe they run together in Istanbul. Both originally from Syria, they met in Istanbul after Nada started a lending library offering Arabic books to the city's Syrian refugees. UNHCR/Claire Thomas At the end of last year, the business received a start-up grant from UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Nada and Mohammad used the money to buy more books for the library and to publish their first homegrown product a creative diary designed by Nada. The publishing side is hard to start with. It needs a lot of money at the beginning, Nada explained. The grant was very useful, and it gave us a push. When we published our first product, it was like our child. It is our son actually, she said with a laugh. In cooperation with its partners, UNHCR implements livelihood programmes in Turkey, including activities to foster and stimulate refugee entrepreneurship. Start-up grants and other livelihood initiatives are designed to help refugees establish sustainable sources of income in their host communities, thereby reducing their reliance on aid and enabling them to live more dignified lives during their displacement. For Nada, she is happy pursuing her ambitions in graphic design and publishing while also earning a living and bringing some brightness to the lives of her fellow refugees. Syrian people are well educated people, she said. They like to read. In Syria we used to have so many bookstores, and then everything changed. These people moved from Syria and their lives are different here, they have to work long hours. So by doing this project we contribute they can read. Congolese refugee Christine, 52, and her grandson Aluda, 9, sleep in the former market in Cacanda reception centre, northern Angola. UNHCR/Colin Delfosse UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, together with 30 humanitarian partners, is launching today an appeal for US$504 million, to assist the people forced to flee one of the worlds most complex, challenging and forgotten crises in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). By the end of the year, it is estimated that the number of Congolese refugees in the region will reach close to 800,000. The 2018 DRC Regional Refugee Response Plan (Regional RRP) aims to address the challenges and gaps in supporting these refugees and their host communities, in seven neighbouring states, as well as countries in Southern Africa. Unless we act swiftly to avert a slide in standards and conditions, the impact will be disastrous on the already precarious humanitarian situation of the Congolese in the region, warned Ann Encontre, UNHCRs Regional Refugee Coordinator for the DRC situation. Since the start of 2017, over 160,000 Congolese have been forcibly displaced across Africa, due to widespread militia activities, unrest and violence in the DRC a country almost the size of Western Europe. Reaching in total 740,000, the Congolese refugee population is one of the ten largest in the world. Nearly 55 per cent are children, many crossing borders unaccompanied or separated. The funding appeal will focus on the immediate emergency response in Uganda, Zambia and Angola, while preparing for a larger influx in the Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. Widespread support, adequate resources and collaboration are urgently required to avoid more suffering or even loss of life. Now, more than ever, we need to renew our solidarity with the Congolese refugees, added Encontre. Existing camps and sites are saturated, and available basic services are stretched to the limit. The situation adversely affects the most vulnerable, like the numerous women who have been subjected to sexual and gender based violence before and during their flight. In many hosting areas, the refugees have to be relocated to safe spaces, away from the borders. Considerable investment is also needed for new and established settlements, in order to ensure that the Congolese can benefit from adequate medical care, food security, effective water systems and quality education. The pressure is markedly high on areas already welcoming large refugee populations. Uganda, for example, has received over 61,000 Congolese in 2018 due to a recent flare-up in violence at DRCs North Kivu and Ituri provinces with a significant social, economic and environmental impact. Meanwhile, other hosting countries currently experience their own complex social, political or economic crises, affecting different sectors and aspects of refugee protection and livelihoods. The 2018 Regional RRP will give priority to access to territory and refugee protection, response to immediate needs, and partnerships to achieve durable solutions for the Congolese refugees. Inside the DRC, the crisis has led to the internal displacement of 4.5 million people. For more information on this topic, please contact: Svetlana Shuko worked for decades in the local coal plant, earning a pension she hoped would see her through retirement. Now, with armed conflict dividing Ukraine, eight months have passed since the 78-year-old received any cash. Living with cancer and barely able to leave her home in the battered town of Starhonativka, it is only thanks to neighbours and the non-governmental organization Proliska that the pensioner receives help. Back when my husband was alive I was never afraid, says Svetlana, pulling a blanket around her. Shelling has devastated the area since 2014 and is so intense at night that the vibrations wake her from her sleep. Now I worry that if I need to take cover on the floor I will never get up again. "It is really difficult for me to keep going. To receive her pension, Svetlana must visit an office in the town every three months to prove her identity and go through verification procedures as an internally displaced person (IDP) with state authorities. She and her husband moved to Starhonativka more than 20 years ago but never registered as residents. As a result, the pension office classifies her as internally displaced. She finds the journey difficult because of her poor health, so avoids the once-a-day overcrowded buses and hires a taxi instead. I go in the back seat, propped up with pillows. It is really difficult for me to keep going. Renting a taxi costs 800 Ukrainian hryvnya (US$30) for the return journey. That, on top of her medication and living costs, leaves Svetlana with little of her 1,700 hryvnya (US$64) pension, if she is able to collect it at all. Svetlana Shuko can barely leave her bed and struggles to receive her pension. UNHCR/Anastasia Vlasova Svetlana struggles to register for her pension due to poor health. UNHCR/Anastasia Vlasova Inside Svetlana's house which is perched on a small hill that overlooks the town. UNHCR/Anastasia Vlasova Pensioners wait to withdraw their pensions from the state bank in Volnovakha. UNHCR/Anastasia Vlasova Many people endure an agonizing wait for their pensions. UNHCR/Anastasia Vlasova Nelia (left) spent hours waiting beside this mobile bank at Novotroitske checkpoint. UNHCR/Anastasia Vlasova Elderly people cross at Novotroitske checkpoint to withdraw their pensions. UNHCR/Anastasia Vlasova Svetlana is one of nearly 1 million elderly IDPs living in eastern Ukraine who struggle to receive their pensions. Many are too frail or isolated to make the journey to be verified. For those who do, there is the constant worry of shelling, landmines and long queues in freezing temperatures. At Novotroitske checkpoint, where civilians cross into government-controlled territory, a group of elderly women are shivering in the snow. They are hoping to collect their pensions. Ive had no pension since January, says Nelia, 70, from the city of Dokuchaievsk. I used to work in the quarry over there. Now I dont understand why I am not receiving my money. Ive spent two hours waiting at this checkpoint. Savik, who is 74 and from Donetsk, has spent two days waiting to be seen by officials at the Volnovakha pension office. Last night, he slept in a heated tent at the train station in order to keep his place in the queue. I dont understand, he says. We earned this pension. I dont understand. We earned this pension. With a terminal illness and children who fled to Russia after the conflict began, Svetlana is among those who rely on Proliska, a partner of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. They help her to obtain medical treatment, heat her home, cook, clean, and be dealt with quickly at the pension office so that she does not need to endure an agonizing wait. Last year, the NGO with other partners helped UNHCR to provide 60,000 people with winter assistance. However, life remains a challenge for Ukraines elderly IDPs. Svetlanas house is perched on a small hill that overlooks the town. Snow or heavy rain can make travel impossible. When the weather is dry, the car comes up the house, she says. When the weather is bad we just cant go. Two weeks ago, when I fell and broke my arm, an ambulance got stuck in the snow. The doctors had to walk. See also: Winter aid provides lifeline for people in eastern Ukraine Although the shelling fills Svetlana with fear and she is already worried about the month ahead when she will have to renew her registration and travel for another exhausting course of chemotherapy it is the death of her husband two years ago that weighs most heavily on her. We were married for 56 years. We met in Donetsk when the first Sputnik went into space. I went outside on the street and he asked me where I was going. So, we went to the park to watch this little circle in the sky. It used to be so nice, so peaceful and quiet. She sighs. I can never replace him. The Karimis are moving into their new home, lugging a mountain of luggage from a minivan into the ground floor apartment in the seaside town of Heraklion, capital of the Greek island of Crete. On hand to meet the family of seven is a tall, young man with striking features. The 22-year-old, Ali Sher Kashimi is an ethnic Hazara from Afghanistan, just like the asylum seekers he is helping. His role is vital: he is the interpreter who can help them navigate language challenges and make their daily life easier. The Karimis are delighted to find a kinsman with fluent Greek and they pepper him with questions. Without the help of an interpreter like Ali, a refugee who has spent the last decade in Crete, they would find it hard to get by. Its the same for most of the refugees and migrants who arrive by sea as well as for the people who help them, including staff from UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. All the people of concern need interpreters, explains Ali, who is fluent in Urdu, Farsi, Dari and of course Greek. Youre the bridge connecting two nations, adds fellow interpreter and Hazara ethnic, Habibala. The two friends interpret for about 80 of the more than 600 people who have been provided with apartment places and support in Crete under UNHCRs ESTIA accommodation and cash assistance programme, which has helped tens of thousands of people. Ali-Sher Kashimi, 22, is an interpreter and works with the Heraklion Development Agency (HAD). He helps newly arrived refugees navigate language challenges. UNHCR/Markel Redondo Ali-Sher Kashimi, 22, translates for a family that has just arrived to their new home in Heraklion, Crete, in Greece. UNHCR/Markel Redondo Ali-Sher Kashimi, 22, interprets for about 80 of the more than 600 people who have been provided with apartment places and support in Crete. UNHCR/Markel Redondo The EU-funded accommodation scheme did not exist when Ali and Habibala arrived in Greece in 2008. As youngsters, they were taken to Anogia, the first shelter for unaccompanied children in Crete which opened in 2001. Now, they are involved in every step of the process to welcome asylum seekers, starting with arrival. Its very important for the refugees to communicate, Ali notes, as the Karimis explore their apartment with staff from the Heraklion Development Agency (HDA), which is implementing the scheme in Heraklion, Sitia and Chania. HDA employs 11 interpreters, including Ali and Habibala, working in Arabic, Farsi, Dari, Sorani and Urdu. Interpreters with other languages have to be found when necessary. UNHCR also uses interpreters in the rest of the country, working through partners like METAdrasi. In Heraklion, Ali explains how the washing machine works and he tells them where to shop and how to use public transport. They will pay using their cash cards, once Ali has helped them register their address. Social orientation is important and how to function in a new community and adapt to their hosts culture and lifestyle. Many of those arriving have health problems and disabilities, so they need help in explaining to the medics what ails them. Then there is school enrolment, which Ali puts extra value on. "Im helping people to rebuild their lives." The young man, who joined HDA last year and receives a salary, is proud of his work. I feel that I am doing something important. Im helping people to rebuild their lives and that gives me great satisfaction. And he empathizes with them and knows their needs, which is not surprising given the ordeal that he underwent as a child, starting with his familys flight from Jaghori, in the highland Afghan region of Hazarajat, to Quetta in Pakistan to escape escalating fighting with the Taliban and the Afghan government. Life was good for a year or so, but then ethnic tensions and attacks mounted. One day a bomb exploded in a mosque that I had left only five minutes before. About 200 people were killed, Ali recalls. After he was badly beaten up and robbed of his school books by thugs, Ali decided at just 12 years old to flee. He knew where he would go. When I was young, my father used to talk about Greece and he read stories about ancient Greece. It sounded like a nice place, with nice scenery and people, he says. He did not tell anyone of his plan to leave. Accompanied by his uncle, also 12, Ali headed to Iran, calling his tearful and anxious mother from the border town of Zahedan. The journey to the Greek islands was much tougher. They climbed mountains, spent time in detention, begged for food and worked to pay off smugglers. They saw others die en route. With some luck and money wired from home, they joined four adults to buy a dinghy and crossed the straits separating Turkey and Samos Island. Scared of being sent back, they destroyed the boat on the shoreline and headed into town. When they tried to board a ferry without a ticket, the boys were arrested and detained. "I regard the whole of Crete as my home." When the two boys launched a hunger strike, officials accepted an offer by the Anogia home to take them in. They stayed there until coming of age six years later. They learnt Greek, how to cook and socialize and much more. The most important thing that I learned was how to become a good man, how to talk to people and communicate, Ali explains. Now, a funding problem threatens to close Anogia and other shelters despite the growing concern of UNHCR and others. Since leaving Anogia, which he regards as his home village, Ali has found work, made many friends and lives in an apartment with his Romanian girlfriend. Hes very popular, especially in our programme, says an HDA colleague Dimitra Kampeli. He is also taking photography classes and works part-time in a restaurant. Ali has integrated into Heraklion society and he is seen as a local. I regard the whole of Crete as my home, he says. But among all the good that has come his way since his epic journey in 2008, there is one thing missing. I am a refugee, but I want to apply for citizenship, he stresses. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, strongly condemns an arson attack on the Afghan Migrant and Refugee Community centre in central Athens and calls for continuing protection, support and empathy for the tens of thousands of refugees and migrants in Greece. Yesterdays mindless attack on the fifth floor premises of the community centre in the crowded Omonia area of the capital caused some significant material damage, but fortunately there were no injuries. The centre had been full of people, including children, not long before. An extremist group has reportedly claimed responsibility for the racist attack, which came a day after the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. We are very concerned about this brazen attack which targeted vulnerable people in premises located in a busy area of the city. We urge that steps be taken to ensure the protection of refugees and migrants, and those who help them, against racist attacks, said UNHCR Representative in Greece Philippe Leclerc. The centre had been attacked before in 2011. With this new incident, UNHCR is concerned about similar attacks and a discernible rise in anti-immigration sentiment towards refugees and migrants. But the organization remains heartened by the solidarity and support by the vast majority of Greek society for refugees and asylum seekers. Remarks: Registration information for January 2018 and data on space objects that ceased to exist in Earth orbit during that period. (March 23, 2018) -- The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Office of Veteran and Military Affairs was honored to host Chancellor William McRaven this week for a conversation with Air Force and Army cadets and student veterans. Chancellor McRaven joined the cadets and student veterans for a question and answer session, which focused on leadership, education/training and transition. McRaven answered many questions and shared stories from his role as a commander in the military and as chancellor of the UT System. In response to a cadet question about how his earlier experiences shaped his career, the chancellor spoke about the impact his decisions have on people and how he had to learn the lesson that every decision he made had an impact and ramifications on others. There always would be consequences of every decision he would make. He stressed that this lesson helped him much later in life throughout the military and as chancellor. The chancellors words were spot on and his real life leadership experience versus just reading, studying leadership was powerful, said retired Marine and doctoral candidate Micah Wright. The chancellor advised the cadets to leave a place better than how they find it. He also spoke on the importance of taking care of troops, training throughout ones career and education. Army ROTC cadet Jeffrey Prior stated that his biggest takeaway or lesson from the chancellors leadership journey was his story on how the hardest part of being a leader at the start and end his career was most impactful because it ended up being the same thing, setting the standard for your subordinates and understanding/recognizing the power of your authority. AF ROTC cadet Alexis Chavez remarked, He was so personable that he made his stories and leadership lessons immediately relatable to us. Even though he retired as an admiral, he was able to recount stories of when he was a young ensign and how we could learn from his successes and failures. AF ROTC cadre member, Captain Anthony Guajardo stated, What an incredible leader. Admiral McRaven has a tremendous ability to connect with his audience--the lessons that he shared resonated with all of us, even though we are all at different levels and phases of leadership: have dreams, work hard to make your organizations better, take care of your people, and never give up. One of his last bits of wisdom for the cadets and student veterans was to take care of their health, eat well, rest and stay in shape. This week, Chancellor McRaven also delivered special remarks at the Inauguration of President Taylor Eighmy. UTSAs military community is more than 4,200 strong and includes veterans, active duty military members, guard, reserves, ROTC members and their spouses and dependents. UW to Launch Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Management Degree in Fall 2018 UW student Joseph Reinicke, left, and others in the UW Outdoor Programs Summer Outdoor Experience climb at Vedauwoo last year. UW will offer a bachelors degree in outdoor recreation and tourism management beginning this fall. (UW Photo) A new degree program aimed at expanding and diversifying Wyomings economy, retaining enterprising graduates in the state and recruiting highly qualified students to the University of Wyoming will launch in fall 2018, following action by the UW Board of Trustees. The board voted Thursday to approve the new interdisciplinary bachelors degree in outdoor recreation and tourism management, a collaborative effort between UWs Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources and the College of Business. This degree will give students the skills, knowledge and experience needed to find meaningful employment and become leaders in the outdoor recreation and tourism economic sectors, says Dan McCoy, the new degree programs coordinator. This success may, in turn, allow them to reside in Wyoming and help these sectors evolve to meet their full economic potential while enhancing Wyomings ethic of natural resource stewardship. Students in the program will take a core curriculum that includes courses in business fundamentals, recreation and tourism, environment and natural resources, and social science. They then will choose an area of concentration from one of five different options: business and hospitality management; management of recreation resources; cultural and international tourism; outdoor recreation leadership; and creative studies in recreation and tourism. Each student also will participate in a professional semester, in addition to an internship, to gain intensive experience with a Wyoming business or agency. Graduates will be well prepared for jobs in Wyomings extensive tourism industry -- the states second largest economic sector -- as well as in government agencies involved in recreation, tourism and natural resource management. This degree program has been designed with job placement, and the growth and diversification of Wyomings recreation and tourism economy in mind, McCoy says. Industry and government employers have been consulted throughout every stage of degree development, and they will remain involved through guest lectures, student internships, and hosting of professional semester activities and projects. In addition to having the support of the states tourism industry, the new program is backed by Gov. Matt Mead and his Outdoor Recreation Task Force, which sees outdoor recreation and tourism as an important component of efforts to diversify Wyomings economy. The new program will involve phasing in 11 new courses at UW over the next two years, starting with two new classes this fall, although most of the courses in the program already are offered across the university. Plans call for eventually hiring several faculty members. UW expects enrollment in the degree program to start with 50 students in the first year and grow to 150 by the fourth year. Efforts are underway to establish articulation agreements with several Wyoming community colleges, allowing students to begin working toward the bachelors degree before transferring to UW. The new degree program is not without some precedent in UWs history. For about a decade in the 1930s and 40s, UW offered a degree in dude ranching, with training in institutional management, cuisine, animal production, zoology, geology, Western lore, veterinary science and agronomy. And, recreation and tourism were part of a Department of Geography and Recreation in the 1980s and 90s. For more information about the new outdoor recreation and tourism degree, go to www.uwyo.edu/haub/academics/undergraduate-students/bs-in-ortm.html. EXPAND shows oral siponimod (BAF312) is the first potential therapy to meaningfully delay disability progression in typical secondary progressive MS (SPMS) patients Results demonstrate siponimod also had beneficial effects on clinical relapses and MRI disease activity, including brain volume loss (brain shrinkage) Novartis plans to file siponimod for US approval in SPMS in early 2018. Filing for EU approval planned for later in 2018, pending scientific consultation with EMA Basel, March 23, 2018 - Novartis today announced that the full results from the Phase III EXPAND study of oral, once-daily siponimod (BAF312) in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) were published in the peer-reviewed journal The Lancet. These pivotal results show significant reductions in the risk of three- (primary endpoint) and six-month confirmed disability progression with siponimod versus placebo[1] and favorable outcomes in other relevant measures of MS disease activity[1]. If approved, siponimod would be the first disease-modifying therapy to delay disability progression in typical SPMS patients, including many who had reached a non-relapsing stage and high level of disability. SPMS is a form of MS that leads to progressive, irreversible disability, largely independent of relapses[2]. Patients transition to SPMS after an initial phase of relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), the most commonly diagnosed type of MS[3],[4]. There is a high unmet medical need for new treatments that are safe and effective for patients with SPMS[5]. "Today's published, full EXPAND results show that siponimod can delay disability progression in typical established SPMS patients, where other approaches tested so far have been unsuccessful," said Professor Ludwig Kappos, University Hospital Basel and Principal Investigator of EXPAND. "These data are all the more impressive when considering that the majority of patients already had advanced disability when starting treatment in EXPAND." Siponimod is an oral selective modulator of sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptor subtypes one and five (S1P1 and S1P5)[6],[7]. Full data from EXPAND show that siponimod reduced the risk of three-month confirmed disability progression by a statistically significant 21% versus placebo (p=0.013; primary endpoint); efficacy was consistent across many pre-defined sub groups[1]. Other clinically relevant endpoint data show that siponimod, when compared to placebo: Reduced the risk of six-month confirmed disability progression by 26% (p=0.0058)[1] Slowed the rate of brain volume loss by 23% (relative difference; mean across 12 and 24 months, p=0.0002)[1],[8] Limited the increase of T2 lesion volume by approximately 80% (mean over 12 and 24 months, p<0.0001)[1],[8] Reduced annualized relapse rate (ARR) by 55% (p<0.0001)[1] Did not show a significant difference in the Timed 25-Foot Walk test and MS Walking Scale[1] Demonstrated a safety profile that was overall consistent with the known effects of S1P receptor modulation[1] "Novartis is dedicated to advancing MS research and pioneering solutions for people living with SPMS - a complex, debilitating disease," said Danny Bar-Zohar, Global Head, Neuroscience Development for Novartis. "The pivotal EXPAND data provides patients, and the medical community alike, with hope that a much needed, safe and effective treatment option is on the horizon for SPMS, for which treatment options are scarce. We look forward to continuing to work with regulatory agencies to make siponimod available for these patients as fast as possible." Novartis plans to file for regulatory approval of siponimod for SPMS with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in early 2018. Novartis has initiated a scientific advice consultation with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and, pending its outcome, plans to file in Q3 2018. The EXPAND results have previously been presented at scientific congresses. About the EXPAND study The EXPAND study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase III study, comparing the efficacy and safety of siponimod versus placebo in people with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS)[1],[9]. It is the largest randomized, controlled study in SPMS to date, including 1,651 people with SPMS from 31 countries[1],[10]. At the time of the study, individuals enrolled in EXPAND had a mean age of 48 years and had been living with MS for approximately 17 years[1]. Patients had received a diagnosis of SPMS, and also demonstrated progression of disability in the two years prior to study[1],[9]. They also had an Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score between 3.0 and 6.5 inclusive, with a median score of 6.0, which corresponds to the use of a unilateral walking aid (e.g. a cane or a crutch)[1],[9]. Patients were randomized to receive either 2mg siponimod once-daily or placebo, in a 2:1 ratio[1],[9]. Patients continued on siponimod treatment in the open-label, long-term extension part of the study[1]. About siponimod (BAF312) Siponimod is an investigational, selective modulator of specific subtypes of the sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptor[6]. Siponimod binds to the S1P1 sub-receptor on lymphocytes, which prevents them from entering the central nervous system (CNS) of patients with multiple sclerosis[11],[12]. This leads to the anti-inflammatory effects of siponimod[11],[12]. Siponimod also enters the CNS and binds to the S1P5 sub-receptor on specific cells in the CNS (oligodendrocytes and astrocytes)[7]. By binding to these specific receptors, siponimod has the potential to modulate damaging cell activity and helps to reduce the loss of neurological function associated with SPMS[7],[13],[14]. The receptor specificity and pharmacokinetic properties (e.g. the faster elimination compared with first-generation S1P modulators) of siponimod facilitate treatment initiation, while improving its safety and convenience profile[6]. About Multiple Sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disorder of the central nervous system (CNS) that disrupts the normal functioning of the brain, optic nerves and spinal cord through inflammation and tissue loss[15]. The evolution of MS results in an increasing loss of both physical (e.g. walking) and cognitive (e.g. memory) function. There are three main types of MS: relapsing remitting MS (RRMS), secondary progressive MS (SPMS) and primary progressive MS (PPMS)[4]. SPMS is characterized by gradual worsening of neurological function over time[2]. This leads to a progressive accumulation of disability, largely independent of relapses, which can severely affect patients' abilities to carry out everyday activities[2]. It follows an initial phase of RRMS, which accounts for approximately 85% of all MS diagnoses; a quarter of people with RRMS will eventually go on to develop SPMS within 10 years of their initial RRMS diagnosis, rising to more than three-quarters after 30 years[3],[16]. There remains a high unmet need for effective and safe treatments to help delay disability progression in SPMS[5]. MS affects approximately 2.3 million people worldwide[3]. About Novartis in Multiple Sclerosis The Novartis multiple sclerosis (MS) portfolio includes Gilenya (fingolimod, an S1P modulator), which is indicated for relapsing forms of MS and is also in development for pediatric MS. Extavia (interferon beta-1b for subcutaneous injection) is approved in the US for the treatment of relapsing forms of MS. In Europe, Extavia is approved to treat people with relapsing-remitting MS, secondary progressive MS (SPMS) with active disease and people who have had a single clinical event suggestive of MS. Investigational compounds include siponimod (BAF312), under investigation in MS, and ofatumumab (OMB157), a fully human monoclonal antibody in development for relapsing MS. Ofatumumab targets CD20, and is currently being investigated in two Phase III pivotal studies. In the US, the Sandoz Division of Novartis markets Glatopa (glatiramer acetate injection) 20 mg/mL and 40 mg/mL, generic versions of Teva's Copaxone. *Copaxone is a registered trademark of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Disclaimer This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "potential," "can," "will," "plan," "expect," "anticipate," "look forward," "believe," "committed," "investigational," "pipeline," "launch," or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for the investigational or approved products described in this press release, or regarding potential future revenues from such products. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the investigational or approved products described in this press release will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that such products will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, our expectations regarding such products could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; general political and economic conditions; safety, quality or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. About Novartis Novartis provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, cost-saving generic and biosimilar pharmaceuticals and eye care. Novartis has leading positions globally in each of these areas. In 2017, the Group achieved net sales of USD 49.1 billion, while R&D throughout the Group amounted to approximately USD 9.0 billion. Novartis Group companies employ approximately 122,000 full-time-equivalent associates. Novartis products are sold in approximately 155 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com. Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @Novartis at http://twitter.com/novartis For Novartis multimedia content, please visit www.novartis.com/news/media-library For questions about the site or required registration, please contact media.relations@novartis.com References [1] Kappos L et al. Siponimod versus placebo in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis: a double-blinded randomized, phase 3 study. The Lancet. 2018; DOI 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30475-6. [2] MS Society. Secondary Progressive MS (SPMS). https://www.mssociety.org.uk/what-is-ms/types-of-ms/secondary-progressive-spms (link is external). Accessed January 2018. [3] Multiple Sclerosis International Federation. Atlas of MS 2013. http://www.msif.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Atlas-of-MS.pdf (link is external). Accessed January 2018. [4] MS Society. Types of MS. https://www.mssociety.org.uk/what-is-ms/types-of-ms (link is external). Accessed January 2018. [5] Mehr SR, Zimmerman MP. Reviewing the unmet needs of patients with multiple sclerosis. Am Health Drug Benefits. 2015; 8(6): 426-431. [6] Gergely P et al. The selective sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor modulator BAF312 redirects lymphocyte distribution and has species-specific effects on heart rate. Br J Pharmacol. 2012; 167(5): 1035-47. [7] Tavares A et al. Brain distribution of MS565, an imaging analogue of siponimod (BAF312), in non-human primates. Neurology. 2014; 82(10): suppl. P1.168. [8] Kappos L et al. Efficacy of siponimod in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis: results of the Phase 3 study. Plenary session presentation at the 69th American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting; April 22-28, 2017, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Presentation number P4. [9] ClinicalTrials.gov. Exploring the Efficacy and Safety of Siponimod in Patients With Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (EXPAND). https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01665144?term=BAF312+expand&rank=1 (link is external). Accessed January 2018. [10] Kappos L et al. Baseline Subgroup Characteristics of EXPAND: A Phase 3 Study of Siponimod (BAF312) for the Treatment of Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (P3.084). Neurology. 2016; 86(16): suppl. P3.084. [11] Brinkmann V, Billich A, Baumruker T et al. Fingolimod (FTY720): discovery and development of an oral drug to treat multiple sclerosis. Nat Rev Drug Discov 2010; 9(11): 883-97. [12] Chun J, Hartung HP. Mechanism of action of oral fingolimod (FTY720) in multiple sclerosis. Clin Neuropharmacol 2010; 33(2): 91-101. [13] Aslanis V et al. Siponimod (BAF312) (and/or its metabolites) penetrates into the CNS and distributes to white matter areas. Mult Scler J. 2012; 18(10): suppl. P792. [14] Brana C et al. Immunohistochemical detection of sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 and 5 in human multiple sclerosis lesions. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol. 2014; 40(5): 564-78. [15] PubMed Heath. Multiple Sclerosis (MS). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001747/ (link is external). Accessed January 2018. [16] Tremlett H et al. The natural history of secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis. Mult Scler. 2008; 14: 314-324. # # # Novartis Media Relations Central media line: +41 61 324 2200 E-mail: media.relations@novartis.com Eric Althoff Novartis Global Media Relations +41 61 324 7999 (direct) +41 79 593 4202 (mobile) eric.althoff@novartis.com Angela Fiorin Novartis Global Pharma Communications +41 61 324 8631 (direct) +41 79 752 6955 (mobile) angela.fiorin@novartis.com Novartis Investor Relations Central investor relations line: +41 61 324 7944 E-mail: investor.relations@novartis.com On Thursday, the Bishops of Peru released a statement regarding the resignation of the President of Peru. By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp In their statement, the Bishops of Peru recall that it has only been two months since the country was celebrating Pope Francis' visit. Now they are confronting a political crisis which the Bishops state is the "result of systemic corruption caused by the divorce between ethics and politics." A change of command is not enough to resolve the problem, but an ethical and moral recovery at every level because the corruption is robbing the Peruvian people of hope. The Peruvian Bishops also declare that every component of the Peruvian State has the constitutional responsibility of governing. The Bishops hope that whoever will assume leadership will "promote and receive support from every facet of society so that the country will progress towards adopting a pact of governability." They also call on Peruvian citizens who assume political roles to do so as servants of their country, and not for personal interest. By serving the common good before any and all personal interests, "the country can recuperate the ethical and moral values that are inherently Peruvian." In conclusion, quoting Pope Francis' discourse to Peru's civil authorities in January, the Bishops of Peru say that they want to "walk with every citizen in participating vigilantly in the process of promoting life and the democratic institutions of the country, and thus 'forge a Peru that makes room for people of "all bloods", a land and in which the "the promise of Peruvian life" can be achieved.' " SAN DIEGO, March 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A website that offers no cost information about drug addiction treatment HeroinDetoxClinics.com has just completed their page for Fort Myers. Southwest Florida, in particular, Fort Myers in Lee County, is making daily news for the wrong reasons. Heroin and heroin laced with fentanyl has put the county on high alert for local law enforcement and state officials, including the Governor, Rick Scott and the President of the United States, Donald Trump as they have declared rises in deaths and overdoses a national emergency. The new opiate and heroin addiction treatment Fort Myers page explains how Lee County has now taken over as the epicenter of the heroin and opioid epidemic in Southwest Florida. It is now claiming double digit fatalities than Collier County to the south and over four times the death rate over Charlotte County to the north. Staggering numbers that are filtering into main stream America. The heroin drug rehabs located in the city of Fort Myers are noting that most patients are entering due to opiate or heroin addiction. Drug addicts have access to any drug they desire within an hour or less in most cities in the U.S. Fort Myers and Southwest Florida is certainly no exception to the rule as quoted here by Doctor Steven Hill, a drug treatment specialist at SalusCare, a drug treatment facility in Fort Myers. You can be anywhere in Lee County and find the drug within a 3-mile radius. "You can be anywhere in Lee County and find the drug within a 3-mile radius," said Dr. Steven Hill of SalusCare, an addiction treatment center in Fort Myers. Those drugs are prescribed opioids, the illegal re-selling of those opioids and illegal street drugs such as heroin and fentanyl. "For the most part, our community doesnt know how much this is in our backyard. I just know from the shock and awe I get when I do my presentations." The ease of obtaining the heroin or any drug on the street is keeping the EMS response groups super busy and when we add fentanyl and carfentanil to the picture we have instant death besides record numbers of overdoses. It is true that the majority of opioid overdoses are not fatal because of the quick response time of our beloved EMS groups and paramedics. According to the Florida State Medical Examiners Office a record number of Floridians died with opioids in their system last year. As the statistics for overdoses and deaths grow from year to year in Southwest Florida the hope is for a strong plan of attack and the implementation of the plan. It will take a full force effort from local law enforcement to attack the street dealers and flood of drugs into Lee County. It will take Federal and State Officials help and it will take the continued solid work of local EMS groups to keep the breath flowing into the lungs of fallen addicts. Recovering addicts are at greater risk of overdosing, as their bodies have been weaned from the drug's effects, and tolerance to the drug drops. Author: William Leonard Organization: HeroinDetoxClinics.com Address: 27420 Jefferson Ave, Temecula, CA 92590 Phone: 888-325-2454 http://heroindetoxclinics.com/ A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c344e557-bdb0-4459-bb83-49188839c8ad Pope Francis meets delegation of the Council of Churches of South Sudan in the Vatican (ANSA) Pope Francis on Friday received Church representatives from South Sudan who updated him on the situation in the war-torn nation. By Linda Bordoni A delegation of the ecumenical Sudan Council of Churches met with Pope Francis in the Vatican before speaking to the press at the headquarters of the Rome-based SantEgidio Community which is engaged in peace negotiations in the country. Archbishop John Baptist Odama of Gulu in Uganda, who has been involved in mediating between South Sudans warring parties, told Vatican News that Pope Francis was very happy to meet with the ecumenical delegation: Working together as Christians is more important than stressing our differences he said. Uganda receiving South Sudanese refugees Archbishop Odama also explained that Uganda is playing an important role in the region. Uganda in fact currently hosts over a million refugees who have fled South Sudan out of fear of being killed by fighters from either side of the conflict inside South Sudan, as well as out of hunger and lack of social services. Odama pointed out that South Sudan is not only a neighbor, but a brother in need: When your brothers house is burning you should feel concerned; even just to get some water and to pour it over the burning house is a good gesture. Therefore, receiving the refugees who are running, escaping from the war is a sign of our solidarity with South Sudan he said. Pope calling on the world to take action The Archbishop also reflected on the fact that the recent Day of Prayer for Peace for South Sudan and for the Democratic Republic of Congo called for by Pope Francis, was an appeal to humanity to take stock of the fact that one of its parts is suffering and to urge the world to take action together and ask God for a way to stop this war. As human being we are one. If any part in any continent or in any country is suffering, then humanity is suffering he said. The European Union has delivered a sharp rebuke to Turkey over the continued detention if two Greek Army servicemen in a Turkish jail without charge. By John Carr In a statement, the EU said the two Greek soldiers, an officer and a sergeant, were European Union citizens being held illegally after straying over the Turkish border on a routine patrol three weeks ago. Since then they have not been charged, and the Greek government is pressing for their return. The rebuke from Brussels is part of a wider criticism of Turkish policies deemed to be aggressive in the eastern Mediterranean. Turkish warships are hindering international gas prospecting off Cyprus, and sending out what Greece calls aggressive naval patrols in the Aegean Sea. Mexican consulates and embassies worldwide are being swamped by a stampede of would be voters, trying to register in time for Mexico`s July 1st presidential election. By James Blears For the first time ever, Mexicans living outside Mexico, are being allowed to register to vote on foreign soil, to vote in its July 1st presidential election, deciding who will lead the country for the next six years. So far, more than 600,000 people have done just this. But thousands upon thousands more, are still striving to beat the March 31st, non negotiable deadline, set by Mexico`s National Electoral Institute. In 2006, the margin of victory was just 244,000 votes. Six years later it was reported to be less than three and a half million. Yet, there are more than ten million people born in Mexico, over the age of eighteen, living in the United States and many more globally. The fact that this could be a decisive factor is not lost on the Candidates. National Action Party Presidential hopeful Ricardo Anaya, has already and historically held a campaign rally North of the Border, on US soil. Mexican consulates around the world, are seeing a huge surge in registrations to vote. Some in the United States, are struggling to deal with as many as five hundred applications each and every day. By: Dezan Shira & Associates Editor: Koushan Das On March 8, 2018, U.S. imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff of aluminum imports under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 citing national security issues. In a similar move in December 2017, the U.S. Commerce Department increased import duties on steel products specifically from Vietnam that originated from China as they evaded anti-dumping and anti-subsidy rules. The rise in tariffs will impact the steel industry in Vietnam, but steel companies in Vietnam believe that it will not have a major effect on the overall economy. RELATED: Pre-Investment Advisory Services from Dezan Shira & Associates Since March 8, U.S. has granted exemptions to Mexico, Canada, EU, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, and South Korea from the import tariffs. The Vietnamese government is in talks with the U.S. to get an exemption, as Vietnam is a not major market for US steel and aluminum imports. Vietnam ranks as the 12th largest exporter of steel to the U.S. Antidumping and Countervailing Duties On May 21, 2018, the US Commerce Department introduced import duties on Vietnamese steel products that originated in China. Imports of cold-rolled steel from Vietnam increased from US$ 9 million to US$ 215 million annually, while corrosion-resistant steel imports rose from $2 million to US$80 million since 2015, when the US imposed anti-dumping duties on China. Corrosion resistant steel (CORE) from Vietnam, which originated in China, will face anti-dumping duties of 199.43 percent and countervailing duty duties of 39.05 percent. Cold-rolled steel imports will face anti-dumping duties of 199.76 percent and countervailing duties of 256.44 percent. However, importers and exporters can seek an exemption if they can certify that their products are produced from substrate originating in Vietnam or any other country, outside of China. Impact of tariffs The rise in tariffs will affect the local manufacturers, but the impact on the overall economy will be minimal. In 2017, the U.S. accounted for 11.1 percent of Vietnams steel exports, but steel accounted for less than 2 percent of Vietnams total exports. However, the tariff rise will increase competition for local firms, especially in the domestic market. Chinese products meant for the U.S. could easily flow into Vietnam. Overall supply can also increase in Southeast Asia leading to a drop in prices, which can ultimately benefit the end consumers. RELATED: CPTPP Signed: Opportunities for Vietnams Enterprises Products facing tariffs Steel In the steel industry, the following products will face tariffs: Carbon and Alloy Flat Product (Flat Products): Produced by rolling semi-finished steel through varying sets of rolls. Includes sheets, strips, and plates. Carbon and Alloy Long Products (Long Products): Steel products that fall outside the flat products category. Includes bars, rails, rods, and beams. Carbon and Alloy Pipe and Tube Products (Pipe and Tube Products): Either seamless or welded pipe and tube products. Some of these products may include stainless as well as alloy other than stainless. Carbon and Alloy Semi-finished Products (Semi-finished Products): The initial, intermediate solid forms of molten steel, to be re-heated and further forged, rolled, shaped, or otherwise worked into finished steel products. Includes blooms, billets, slabs, ingots, and steel for castings. Stainless Products: Steel products, in flat-rolled, long, pipe and tube, and semi-finished forms, containing at minimum 10.5 percent chromium and, by weight, 1.2 percent or less of carbon, offering better corrosion resistance than other steel. Aluminum In the aluminum industry, following are the products: Unwrought aluminum Aluminum bars, rods, and profiles Aluminum wire Aluminum plates, sheets, and strip, including sheet for aluminum can packaging. Aluminum foil Aluminum tubes and pipes Aluminum tube and pipe fittings Other articles of aluminum: castings Other articles of aluminum: forgings RELATED: Vietnams M&A Market: Opportunities for Foreign Investors Best practices while exporting to the U.S. With the new tariffs in place, Vietnamese exporters should take certain measures to avoid unnecessary penalties. Ensuring the HS classification is correct Exporters should be clear about the HS classification codes that a product has in the U.S., as U.S. customs sometimes inquire about the technical details and manufacturing process to ensure that the correct HS codes are applied. Declaration of the customs value Vietnamese firms need to thoroughly check the contracts, purchase orders, and invoices to ensure that the customs value declared is correct to avoid attracting civil customs penalties. Avoid transshipment In December 2017, the U.S. government increased import duties on steel products from Vietnam that originated from China as they evaded anti-dumping and anti-subsidy rules. Companies in Vietnam should take measures to avoid such issues as the U.S. has started to impose penalties and fines for such actions. RELATED: Market Entry Modes for Vietnam Vietnams steel industry Vietnams steel industry has witnessed rapid growth in the last few years, growing by 21.64 percent from 2013 to 2016. In 2017, the steel production grew by 23.5 percent, while steel consumption grew by 25.7 percent. The rise in production was driven by growing exports to ASEAN countries and domestic consumption. Production in 2017 In 2017, over 22 million tonnes of steel were produced, up 23.5 percent from 2016. Sold volume reached nearly 19 million tons, up 20.7 percent. Trade Steel export revenues in 2017 reached US$3.64 billion, up 45.4 percent from 2016, while imports volumes reached 20 million tons, worth US$10.5 billion, reducing by 14.2 percent by volume but rising by 13.2 percent in value. In the first two months of 2018, the steel exports rose 38.6 percent from the same period last year to 728,000 tonnes. Major export markets In 2017, ASEAN accounted for the majority of Vietnamese steel exports at 59.3 percent. The U.S. was second at 11.1 percent, followed by EU, South Korea, India, Taiwan, and Australia at 9 percent, 5.8 percent, 3.4 percent, 2.25 percent, and 1.88 percent respectively. Forecast The steel industry is forecast to grow by 20 to 22 percent in 2018, according to the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA). In the next decade, the growth will be between 15 and 18 percent. In 2018, the strongest growth will be seen in hot-rolled steel at 154 percent, followed by welded steel pipes, colored galvanized steel, construction steel, and cold rolled steel at 15 percent, 12 percent, 10 percent, and 5 percent respectively. Domestic demand will continue its growth in 2018 at 20 to 22 percent, which can help balance the reduced demand from export markets, especially the U.S. However, domestic firms have to reduce production costs and increase their product quality if it wants to cater to the domestic market, as local firms only account for around half of the overall domestic demand. RELATED: The Guide to Understanding Vietnams Industrial Zones Vietnam U.S. steel trade U.S., the second largest steel export market for Vietnam after ASEAN, accounted for 11.1 percent of the total steel exports in 2017. However, steel imports from Vietnam accounted for only 5 percent of the total U.S. imports in 2017. Based on the small share in total imports, the Vietnamese government is trying to get an exemption from the U.S. The Vietnamese government has highlighted that its steel and aluminum products are intended for use in civil construction, and not for infrastructure or security-defense purposes, hence it poses no risk to national security, the reason stated by the U.S. for increasing its tariffs. 2017 exports The top three exports from Vietnam to the U.S. are the cold-rolled coil (CRC), hot-dipped galvanized coil (HDG), and other metallic-coated coils. CRC exports grew from 33,199 tonnes in 2015 to 155,169 tonnes in 2017, while HDGs volumes grew from 292 tonnes in 2014 to 124,799 tonnes in 2017. Other metallic-coated flat steel exports grew from 181 tonnes in 2013 to 130,440 tonnes in 2017. 2018 exports In the first two months of 2018, Vietnams steel exports to the U.S. doubled compared to same period last year to 124,600 tonnes worth US$104.2 million. RELATED: Vietnam: Minimum Wages on the Rise in 2018 Diversifying exports With the rise in U.S. tariffs, Vietnamese firms will need to diversify its export markets and product portfolio to minimize losses. Almost 60 percent of its steel exports go to the ASEAN market; hence, the U.S. tariffs will not have a major impact on the overall industry. However, local firms have to invest in technology, increase their product quality, and reduce production costs if it wants to access new markets or support domestic industries. Export markets The major export markets for Vietnamese steel are ASEAN, U.S., EU, South Korea, India, Taiwan, and Australia. With the U.S. tariffs in place, local firms have an opportunity to focus on the other markets to offset the reduction in U.S. exports. With numerous FTAs already in effect, and FTAs such as the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) currently under ratification, Vietnam will have increased access to new markets. According to the World Steel Association, steel demand will continue to grow globally in 2018 and Vietnamese firms should focus on the new markets that will open up once the all the FTAs are in place. Growth in Steel Demand EU 1.4 percent Other Europe 5.2 percent NAFTA 1.2 percent CIS 3.8 percent Central and South America 4.7 percent Africa 3.3 percent Middle East 4.8 percent Asia 1.2 percent ASEAN 6.8 percent Domestic market The domestic steel consumption grew by 25.7 percent from 2013 to 2016, making Vietnam the largest consumer among ASEAN countries. In 2018, the domestic demand is predicted to grow by 20 to 22 percent to 27 million tonnes, highest in the region and among the global top 10. However, local firms only meet 40 percent of the domestic demand, which has led to a huge trade deficit. Driven by a rise in urbanization, infrastructural growth, and investments, this supply gap offers an untapped market for the domestic firms. Vietnamese firms such as Formosa, Pomina, Hoa Sen Group, and Hoa Phat Steel, have already taken note of the huge demand and increased their investments in the country. According to the POSCO Research Institute, Vietnams construction industry, which grew by eight percent and accounted for 33.3 percent of the GDP in 2017, will continue to fuel the steel demand. The construction industry already accounts for 93 percent of the overall steel demand in Vietnam and has seen a spending growth of 8.5 percent (CAGR). The construction industry which is forecast to grow at seven percent annually for the next decade, provides huge opportunities for Vietnamese firms, especially for products such as structural steel which is predicted to account for 80 percent of the overall steel demand, reaching 24 million tonnes by 2020. Note: This article was originally published in March 2018. Dezan Shira & Associates Brochure Dezan Shira & Associates is a pan-Asia, multi-disciplinary professional services firm, providing legal, tax and operational advisory to international corporate investors. Operational throughout China, ASEAN and India, our mission is to guide foreign companies through Asias complex regulatory environment and assist them with all aspects of establishing, maintaining and growing their business operations in the region. This brochure provides an overview of the services and expertise Dezan Shira & Associates can provide. An Introduction to Doing Business in Vietnam 2017 An Introduction to Doing Business in Vietnam 2017 will provide readers with an overview of the fundamentals of investing and conducting business in Vietnam. Compiled by Dezan Shira & Associates, a specialist foreign direct investment practice, this guide explains the basics of company establishment, annual compliance, taxation, human resources, payroll, and social insurance in this dynamic country. Managing Contracts and Severance in Vietnam In this issue of Vietnam Briefing, we discuss the prevailing state of labor pools in Vietnam and outline key considerations for those seeking to staff and retain workers in the country. We highlight the increasing demand for skilled labor, provide in depth coverage of existing contract options, and showcase severance liabilities that may arise if workers or employers choose to terminate their contracts. By: Dezan Shira & Associates Editor: Koushan Das Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City ranked among the Global Top 10 in the recently released 2018 JLL Short-Term Momentum Index. Hanoi and HCM city ranked third and sixth respectively. The index tracks a number of factors to identify cities, which possess attributes for success over the short term. RELATED: Pre-Investment Advisory Services from Dezan Shira & Associates JLL Momentum Index The Short-Term Momentum Index identifies urban economies and real estate markets with rapid economic growth. Asia-Pacific cities accounted for 25 of the global top 30, highlighting their rise as destinations for foreign investment, commerce, and innovation. The key factors to calculate the Momentum Index includes: Population Connectivity RE Investment Property Prices Economic Output Corporate Activity Construction Retail Sales RELATED: Vietnams M&A Market: Opportunities for Foreign Investors The Index combines various short-term socio-economic and commercial real estate momentum variables to calculate the rankings: Socio-economic momentum, which accounts for 50 percent of the model, includes variables related to changes in city GDP, population, air passengers, and corporate headquarters presence. It also includes projected changes in GDP, population, retail sales, and FDI. Commercial real estate momentum, which accounts for 50 percent of the model, includes variables related to changes in office net absorption, office construction, office rents, shopping mall construction, retail rents, and hotel rooms. It also includes international retailer presence, home-sharing listings, and changes in direct commercial real estate investment and real estate transparency. RELATED: FDI Opportunities in Vietnam in 2018 HCM City and Hanoi According to the Index, the rapid growth of both the economic hubs, driven by government infrastructure investments, will help them to continue their momentum in the future. Both cities continue to attract significant amounts of FDI and integrate themselves further into the regional and global supply chains, in areas such as high-tech manufacturing. The rapid economic growth in both the cities has led to a growth in income, retail sales, and the number of air passengers. Going forward, the strong investor sentiment will continue to stimulate the growth momentum of the cities. RELATED: CPTPP Signed: Opportunities for Vietnams Enterprises Asia rankings India continues to remain at the top of the Short-Term Momentum rankings. It accounts for four of the top five markets. In addition, Chinese cities account for 11 places of the Global Top 30. Among ASEAN countries, Manila, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Bangkok continue to feature in the top 30, ranking 18th, 23rd, 24th, 26th and 28th respectively. Dezan Shira & Associates Brochure Dezan Shira & Associates is a pan-Asia, multi-disciplinary professional services firm, providing legal, tax and operational advisory to international corporate investors. Operational throughout China, ASEAN and India, our mission is to guide foreign companies through Asias complex regulatory environment and assist them with all aspects of establishing, maintaining and growing their business operations in the region. This brochure provides an overview of the services and expertise Dezan Shira & Associates can provide. An Introduction to Doing Business in Vietnam 2017 An Introduction to Doing Business in Vietnam 2017 will provide readers with an overview of the fundamentals of investing and conducting business in Vietnam. Compiled by Dezan Shira & Associates, a specialist foreign direct investment practice, this guide explains the basics of company establishment, annual compliance, taxation, human resources, payroll, and social insurance in this dynamic country. Managing Contracts and Severance in Vietnam In this issue of Vietnam Briefing, we discuss the prevailing state of labor pools in Vietnam and outline key considerations for those seeking to staff and retain workers in the country. We highlight the increasing demand for skilled labor, provide in depth coverage of existing contract options, and showcase severance liabilities that may arise if workers or employers choose to terminate their contracts. Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May will brief EU leaders on the progress of the investigation into the poisoning of a former Russian spy. (Photo: AFP/Toby Melville) May will brief her colleagues at a Brussels summit on the progress of the investigation into the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury using a deadly Soviet-developed nerve agent. While the US, France and Germany have swung behind London, saying they accept the UK assessment that the Russian state is the only plausible culprit, other EU countries with close links to Moscow, notably Greece and Italy, want a softer line. May will remind her fellow 27 leaders the threat from the east will continue long after Britain leaves the bloc next year. "The challenge of Russia is one that will endure for years to come. As a European democracy the UK will stand shoulder to shoulder with the EU and with NATO to face these threats together. United we will succeed," she is expected to tell them. EU President Donald Tusk said on the eve of the summit that leaders will show "solidarity" with Britain after Salisbury and called the bloc to take practical steps to reinforce our preparedness for future attacks". "CONSEQUENCES" FOR RUSSIA "We need to increase our resilience to hybrid threats, such as undermining trust in our democracies through fake news or election meddling," the former Polish premier added. The poisoning has triggered a furious diplomatic row between London and Moscow, with tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats on both sides, while the Kremlin denies any responsibility and Russian state media have offered numerous alternative explanations for what happened. EU leaders will issue a statement on the Salisbury attack on Thursday, with a draft seen by AFP saying they will "coordinate on the consequences" for Russia but stopping short of blaming Moscow or mentioning sanctions. Some countries are pushing to toughen up the statement to bring it in line with last week's joint declaration by Britain, France Germany and the US pointing the finger at Russia. "There is no plausible alternative explanation. It's not a matter of getting more evidence, but of showing support for this conclusion," one EU diplomat said. But a dissenting rump including Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Austria, keen to preserve their good relations with Moscow, has insisted on the watered-down version, which says only that the EU takes "extremely seriously" London's view Moscow was to blame. The Salisbury incident comes with worries running high across Europe about Russian meddling -- from repeated cyber attacks, particularly in the Baltics, to what the EU has called an "orchestrated strategy" of disinformation aimed at destabilising the bloc. TRADE, FACEBOOK TALKS Britain is understood to be seeking unified backing from the EU at this stage rather than fresh sanctions on Russia - and in any case, it would take time for EU officials to prepare new measures. It is understood that British officials have also been pressing European allies to follow London's lead with their own expulsions of Russian diplomats. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker caused fury among British MEPs this week for what they called the "nauseating" letter he sent to Putin congratulating him on his re-election. Tusk, who often takes a tough line on Russia, said Wednesday he said that he was "not in the mood to celebrate president Putin's reappointment". Aside from Salisbury, the two-day summit will also address the trade spat with the US after President Donald Trump announced steep tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. The EU is lobbying Washington for an exemption but has lined up retaliatory measures, triggering fears of an all-out transatlantic trade war. The leaders will also discuss a scandal over harvested data from Facebook used by a British consulting firm employed by Trump's 2016 campaign team. Tusk said this was "particularly relevant" in the light of broader threats such as election meddling. May will depart the summit on Thursday evening, leaving the remaining 27 on Friday to approve a post-Brexit transition period and adopt guidelines for talks on future relations including a trade deal. The Temple of Literature is a famous tourist destination in Hanoi Hop on Hop off bus service designed by Hanoitourist travel company aims to offer tourists a new and more convenient way to explore Hanois tourist attractions. The bus route connects the Literature of Temple and the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum with other renowned sites around the capital like Hoan Kiem Lake, Ngoc Son Temple, Hoa Lo Prison, the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Quan Thanh Temple, West Lake, Thang Long Royal Citadel and the Hanoi Opera House. Foreign visitors are impressed with Vietnamtourism Hanois free walking tour to discover the beauty of the Hanoi Old Quarter and Thang Long craft village. Meanwhile, Vietravel Hanoi Company launched five free walking tours for foreign tourists and Vietnamese outside Hanoi to explore local morning routine, the West Lake area, northern folk art and weekend activities. Joining APT Travel Companys tour Hanoi Feelings, tourists will have a chance to experience the capitals tangible and intangible values like religious works; ancient houses, streets and villages; traditional arts and quintessence of Hanois cuisine. Travel agencies in Hanoi have joined hands with other localities to develop tours connecting Vietnamese ancient capitals like Phuong Hoang Trung in Nghe An province, Ho citadel in Thanh Hoa province, Hoa Lu in Ninh Binh province, Hung Kings Temple in Phu Tho province and Thang Long citadel in Hanoi. Besides, Hanoi will continue its efforts to improve tourism quality and choose strategic investors for its key tourism development projects in the West Lake, two banks of Red River, Nhat Tan-Noi Bai area and Ba Vi-Suoi Hai national tourism site. Preservation of traditional craft villages like Bat Trang pottery village and Van Phuc silk village will be made in companion with tourism development. As a regional and global attractive destination, Hanoi eyes to welcome 25.4 million tourists, including 5.5 million foreigners, this year. Ban Phuc Nickels fate remains murky A representative of the Son La Department of Industry and Trade told VIR that the mines operation has been suspended since October last year. To date, the department has yet to receive any specific plans to resume the mines operation from the investor. Previously, in October 2017, BPNM officially decided to suspend the operation of Ban Phuc Nickel mine until September 30, 2018 due to the companys massive losses. In 2007, Asian Mineral Resources Limited (AMR), a global mining group listed on the bourse in Toronto, Canada, was granted the licence to exploit and process ores in the Ban Phuc nickel ore mine, which has a reserve of more than 200,000 tonnes of nickel and 18,000 tonnes of copper. As of May 2015, BPNM reported an accumulated loss of $55 million, which increased to $129 million by August 2017. According to the initial plan, AMR will co-operate with domestic enterprise Son La Mechanical Engineering JSC to establish BPNM, with AMR holding 90 per cent, to develop the project which lies 160 kilometres northwest of Hanoi in Son La province. BPNM envisioned starting production in mid-2009. However, due to low market demand, the project halted construction in 2008 to await better market conditions. The project finally started mining and processing activities in May 2013. However, during the operations, the company suffered massive losses as the revenue was not enough to offset operating expenditures. As a result, the investor was forced to suspend the exploitation and processing of nickel, copper, and cobalt at the Ban Phuc mine until September 2018. Five types of sakura were chosen for display in the cultural fair in Haiphong The preparations took long hours before the opening ceremony to keep the sakura fresh and beautiful The transfer would enable PetroVietnam to develop key oil and gas projects (Photo: Nhon Trach 2 thermal power plant) The government office has collected the opinions of ministries and relevant authorities about PetroVietnams proposal to hand over Nhon Trach 3 and 4 thermal power plants to PV Power - the group's power arm. The proposal aims to decrease the capital pressure on PetroVietnam so that it can focus on developing the countrys key oil and gas projects. According to the plan, the two thermal power plants will cover an area of 34 hectares and have a total investment capital of VND33.3 trillion ($1.46 billion), with the production capacity of 750-800MW each. The Nhon Trach 3 power plant will occupy nearly 16.6 hectares, while the second power plant will be spread over an area of 17.4 hectares (excluding the complex area, surface water, and public service buildings). They will use liquefied natural gas (LNG) imported from the Thi Vai storage terminal. Nhon Trach 3 thermal power plant is expected to come into commercial operation in 2020, while Nhon Trach 4 is due for 2012. Once PV Power is approved to receive the projects, it will use VND9.99 trillion ($438.29 million) of equity and VND23.31 trillion ($1.02 billion) from loans to develop the two projects. In 2017, PV Power produced 20.581 million kWh of electricity, earning VND30.98 trillion ($1.36 billion) in revenue and VND2.503 trillion ($109.95 million) in pre-tax profit. This year, the firm expects to generate 21.570 million kWh, and earn VND30.95 trillion ($1.35 billion) in revenue and VND1.91 trillion ($83.9 million) in pre-tax profit. Previously, in February 2017, the prime minister agreed to add the Nhon Trach 3 and 4 projects to the National Power Development Master Plan VII and assign PetroVietnam as the investor of the projects. The PM also asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to additionally approve connecting these projects to the national power grid and asked the authority to urge investors and relevant units to hasten steps to implement power plant projects so that these projects can come into operation on schedule. The Nhon Trach 1 thermal power plant started commercial operation in August 2009 with the capacity of 450MW. Meanwhile, the Nhon Trach 2 thermal power plant was launched in late 2011. As a key national project in the provinces Nhon Trach Power Centre, the power plant has a total capacity of 750 MW and is fuelled by natural gas. PV Power currently has a charter capital of VND21.77 trillion ($955,124 million) and operates eight thermal power plants with a total capacity of 4,208MW. CALGARY, Alberta, March 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO THE U.S.A. NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION TO THE U.S.A. Groundstar Resources Limited (TSXV:GSA) (the Company) is providing an update to its press release dated February 27, 2018 wherein it announced that it was conducting a non-brokered private placement of a maximum of $70,000 aggregate principle amount of convertible debenture units (the Convertible Debenture Units or CDUs) at a price of CAD$1,000 per Convertible Debenture Unit. The Company is announcing that it has amended the terms of the CDUs with respect to the conversion price of same (subject to regulatory approval) and, as a result, the number of warrants issued as part of each CDU, as well as slight delays with respect to the closings of the different offerings described therein. The result is that each CDU will now consist of a debenture in the principal amount of CAD$1,000 (the Convertible Debenture) and bear interest at 12% and include warrants (the Warrants) exercisable into 50,000 common shares in the capital of the Company (the Offering). Each Warrant will be exercisable to acquire one common share in the capital of the Company (each, a Warrant Share) at an exercise price of $0.05 per Warrant Share for a period of two years following the Closing Date (as hereinafter defined). The Convertible Debentures will bear interest from the Closing Date at 12.0% per annum, payable semi- annually on June 30 and December 31 of each year and will expire on the date that is two years from the closing date (the Maturity Date), will be secured by the assets of the Company and be subordinate to any existing secured parties of the Company. The Convertible Debentures are convertible into common shares in the capital of the Company (Debenture Shares) at the option of the holder at any time prior to the close of business on the earlier of: (i) the last business day immediately preceding the Maturity Date; and (ii) the date when the Common Shares are consolidated as set forth below, at a conversion price of $0.02 per Common Share (the Conversion Price), subject to adjustment in certain events. The Company intends to effect a share consolidation of its common shares at a ratio to be determined in order to ensure that the conversion pricing meets the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV). All share prices in this press release are pre-consolidation amounts and will be adjusted in accordance with whatever exchange ratio is ultimately approved by the shareholders of the Company at its next annual meeting of shareholders and any such post-consolidation share price will be compliant with the pricing parameters set forth in the policies of the TSXV. Further, the transactions described herein are subject to all necessary approvals of the TSXV. Subsequent to the issuance of the Convertible Debenture Units, the Company proposes to proceed with an additional financing (the Second Financing) of up to 20 million units in the capital of the Company (the Common Units) at a price of $0.01 per unit, each unit consisting of a common share in the capital of the Company (Common Share) and a common share purchase warrant (a Warrant) for gross proceeds of up to CAD$200,000. Each Warrant will permit the holder to acquire one additional Common Share at a price of $0.05 in the first year from closing and at $0.075 in the second year from closing. Closing the Second Financing is contingent on completion of a proposal to renegotiate the debt due to the Companys major creditors into long-term obligations. Changes in Management and the Board may also occur upon closing. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that demand for the Offering or the Second Financing is greater than anticipated, the Board of Directors of the Company may increase the size of the Offering or the Second Financing to such amount as they may determine in their sole discretion, subject to approval of the TSXV regarding same. In addition, while the Company intends to seek an exemption for the anticipated pricing of the Offering and the Second Financing, the granting of such exemption is subject to approval of the TSXV. The aforementioned financings will be completed in two tranches over the next month, with the Offering expected to close in the near future, possibly in multiple tranches, and the Second Financing expected to close on or about April 15, 2018 (each, a Closing Date). The Company will utilize the net proceeds from the Offering and the Second Financing (collectively, the Financings) for general corporate purposes and to seek different corporate opportunities, which may involve drilling new wells, seeking a farm-in opportunity or acquiring producing assets. The Convertible Debenture Units and Common Units will be issued on a private placement basis in the Provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and such other jurisdictions as the Company may determine in its sole discretion and will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months and a day from the applicable closing date of each tranche of the Financings. Closing of the Financings and the applicable pricing thereof are subject to approval of the TSXV. The Financings are open to all existing shareholders of the Company and such other individuals or entities as the Company may determine in its sole discretion. It is currently anticipated that insiders of the Company will subscribe for a significant amount of the Offering. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act) or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. About Groundstar Resources Limited Incorporated in 1968, Groundstar Resources Limited is a publicly traded oil and gas company actively growing a portfolio targeting producing oil and gas assets with development opportunities and exploration upside. The Companys current portfolio of resource assets provides both near term and longer-term potential. Groundstar is quoted and trades under the ticker symbol GSA on the TSX Venture Exchange. Contact Information: Groundstar Resources Limited, Suite 430, 440 - 2nd Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta T2P 5E9 www.groundstarresources.com Stephen Hughes 587.580.9344 shughes@groundstarresources.com This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including expectations regarding the anticipated closing of the Financings and the timing thereof, the gross proceeds expected to be received in connection therewith, the price at which the securities are being issued and the anticipated use of proceeds from the Financings. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. These statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and may be based on assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to: the risks associated with the oil and gas industry (e.g. operational risks in development, exploration and production; delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures; the uncertainty of reserve and resource estimates; the uncertainty of estimates and projections relating to production, costs and expenses and health, safety and environmental risks), commodity price and exchange rate fluctuation, uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures and uncertainties regarding whether regulatory approval for the Financings will be received and if received, on the timelines expected and at the anticipated pricing, as well as the intended use of the net proceeds of the Financings. The Companys forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligations to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. Tran Van Ninh holds a fiber cement sheet which is used for oysters to cling to live. - Photo tienphong.vn But now environmentalists are worried those who farm this popular seafood in Vung Tau Citys Long Son Commune could be causing harm to both rivers and even peoples health. This is because the material used to make oyster cages is made from fiber cement which, when disposed of in the water, carries a risk. The cement sheets are perfect for farmers to use as the oysters stick to them and they are resistant to water but local authorities are concerned because the material is toxic. Tran Van Ninh, lives in Phuoc Hoa Commune, Tan Thanh District in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, has a large oyster farm in the Cha Va River. After each oyster harvest season, he throws about 6,000 sheets of fiber cement overboard. Ninh said that no local farmers transported the sheets back to the shore. To discharge the fibro-cement sheets, Ninh simply throws them in deep water areas even though he is aware of the risks. "Local authorities told us about the toxicity of fibro cement and that it can pollute the water, Ninh said. But now we havent found any alternative materials so we still resort to fibro cement roofing sheets to raise oysters." Nguyen Van Lich used floating plastic cans to spread fiber cement roofs, which is cut into pieces of about 40sq.cm. It is the place for oysters to cling to live. "Oysters adhere to the pile, they are about 10 days old and as tiny as sesame seeds, only people specialising in the work like us can distinguish, said Lich. Whey they are about three months old, they are as big as half a finger and have a relatively hard shell, the farmer moves the oysters into fibro cement sheets to ensure the density for oysters to grow. According to the Long Son Commune Peoples Committee, there are nearly 600 oyster farming households in the commune with an area of about 90ha. More than 80 per cent of the farmers use fiber cement roofing sheets as a substrate, with about 300,000 pieces of sheet are used each season. After harvest season, which usually lasts about eight months, most of the fibro-cement sheets are dumped into the river. Bui uc Binh, deputy chairman of the Long Son Commune Peoples Committee, told the Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper that since 2008, local residents use the sheets to raise oysters without any concern about to water pollution or consumer health. According to the provincial Department of Fisheries, the dumping of fibro-concrete sheets is the cause of river-bed sedimentation, which changes the flow, causes environmental pollution and direct impacts on water resources for aquaculture, affects the aquaculture production in the area in recent years. The Centre for Environmental Technology under the Viet Nam Institute of Nature and Environment said that fiber cement roofing sheets immersed in water will create sulfur and some other toxic chemicals, polluting the water source, affecting the ecological environment of aquatic and marine species. Provincial authorities encourage people to use other materials such as wood and oyster shell to substitute fibro cement. Fiber sheet is made of cement, silicate mineral fiber and asbestos powder, which is potentially harmful to the environment as well as harmful to human health, said the World Health Organisation (WHO) said. It also causes human diseases when exposed to these toxins through the respiratory and gastrointestinal tract from asbestos-contaminated water. Tested safe Tran Van Cuong, director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said, We have tested oyster samples and they do not manifest any negative signs. But, scientifically, fibro-cement sheets are harmful, so we have advised them not to use these materials as oyster feeders". Tran Van Ky, from the Viet Nam Scientific Association of Food Safety, said fiber sheets had asbestos, a substance that has been warned by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a carcinogen. They can penetrate the respiratory tract, digestive tract due to polluted water and cause some lung and larynx cancer. Incubation period usually lasts 20-30 years, so the first phase is difficult to be recognised. During Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trongs official visit to France during March 25-27, businesses from both countries are expected to sign contracts to import goods and services worth about $20 billion, which would help improve the trade balance between the two countries. This sum will help France reduce its trade deficit towards Vietnam. Two-way trade turnover between the two countries hit $4.62 billion last year, with Vietnam earning an export turnover of $3.02 billion from France, and spending $1.6 billion on importing goods from the European market. Trong will have a meeting with many French industrial developers who are greatly interested in doing business in Vietnam. There are 513 valid French investment projects in Vietnam, a number poised to grow Following the 2013 Vietnam-France strategic partnership, bilateral trade has intensified with an average annual growth of 15 per cent. France is the second largest EU investor in Vietnam after Germany and is among the top 10 overall investors in the country. Currently, Vietnam has 513 valid French investment projects registered at nearly $2 billion. The two countries two-way trade turnover hit $4.62 billion. It has 185 projects amounting to $848 million in Ho Chi Minh City, its largest foreign direct investment (FDI) destination in terms of the number of projects. In 2017, Airbus sold 40 aircrafts to Vietnamese airlines, while GE/Alstom, along with Colas Rail and Thales, signed a contract for EUR190 million ($234.56 million) for the construction of a metro system. Transport and infrastructure, along with the agri-food industry continue to be the focus of French investors. Based on future demand, the emerging industries in Vietnam will be those related to healthcare, environment, and urbanisation. A great number of French firms are operating in Vietnam with high profit. During Trongs visit to France, he is expected to send the strong message that Vietnam will also encourage French firms to come to the country to invest in the sectors of science and technology, space, aviation, high-tech agriculture, culture, and tourism. For example, following its acquisition of Ly Sinh Cong in 2016, Lectra, the French leader in textile technology solutions, established itself in Ho Chi Minh City. The acquisition allowed Lectra to better respond to a growing demand and help Vietnamese companies and locally-established foreign groups to galvanise their production with new technologies. Another example is Schneider Electric, the energy management and automation multinational that completed the construction of its $45-million production centre in Saigon High-Technology Park in 2017. Serving the ASEAN and Australian markets with high-tech products for smart homes, the production centre is one of the largest amongst Schneider Electrics 200 production centers in the world. The overall outlook for Vietnam continues to remain positive, mostly due to a robust global economy, domestic reforms, trade, and a shift towards high-tech industries. During Trongs visit to France, he is expected to send the strong message that Vietnam will also encourage French firms to come to the country to invest in the sectors of science and technology, space, aviation, high-tech agriculture, culture, and tourism. The burning Carina Plaza this morning 577 Investment Corporation, the developer of Carina Plaza Carina Plaza, a project of 577 Investment Corporation, was built on an area of 19,318 square metres on Vo Van Kiet Street in Ho Chi Minh Citys District 8. The total investment was VND927 billion ($40.8 million), including 95 per cent of NBB and 5 per cent from Hung Thanh Co., Ltd. This building was launched in 2012 and was operated by Hung Thanh, a subsidiary of NBB. 577 Investment Corporation was formerly a branch of CIENCO 5 in Binh Thuan province, established under Decision No.4750/QD-TCCB dated November 1, 2004. NBB has set up a joint venture with several enterprises, such as Transport Engineering Consulting JSC No.533, Viet Thanh JSC, Nhip Cau Dia Oc Service JSC, Tam Phu Investment and Contruction Co., Ltd., BOT Rach Mieu Bridge Co., Ltd., and Ninh Thuan Investment and Contruction Development JSC. The major business lines of NBB are real estate development and trade (the core operations), transport infrastructure construction, hydroelectricity and thermo-electricity power plant construction, electricity production, transmission, distribution and trade, mining, ecotourism business. Since its establishment to 2017, 577 Investment Corporation has invested into a dozen real estate projects, including new urban areas and apartment buildings, and owns 370ha of cleared land in five cities and provinces. Some outstanding projects are City Gate Towers, Carina Plaza, NBB2, 3, 4, Diamond Riverside (Ho Chi Minh City), and a villa and resort complex in Quang Ninh and Binh Thuan. Although holding a huge land fund, the business results of NBB are getting increasingly worse. In 2012, the net revenue of the company hit VND1.077 trillion ($47.5 million). After-tax profit was VND289 billion ($12.7 million), which was a significant growth compared to other businesses. However, in 2013, revenue from real estate sharply decreased due to the market freezing over. The net revenue in 2013 declined to VND202.7 billion ($8.93 million), after-tax profit to VND24 billion ($1.06 million), down 91 per cent over 2012. NBB fell into a sharp decline in solvency from 10 times in 2009 to around two times during 2010-2013. According to Viet Capital Securities Company (VCSC), NBB had to pay interest of around VND170 billion ($7.5 million) per year during 2010-2013. Stocks dropping after Carina Plaza fire To tackle these issues, 577 Investment Corporation divested from other business operations to focus on real estate as well as renewed loans and raised equity capital. In 2013 and 2014, NBB issued 36 million shares, raised its charter capital to VND583 billion ($25.7 million) from VND180 billion ($8 million), and welcomed Creed Group (from Japan) as an important partner. Creed Group poured VND600 billion ($26.4 million) into City Gate Towers to gain 80 per cent of the projects total shares. The group also purchased 4.6 million shares of NBB at the price of VND19,800 apiece to invest into the NBB2 and NBB3 projects. 577 Corporation did not gain much revenue from real estate during 2015-2016, as revenue was only VND41.2 billion ($1.8 million) in 2016. In the second quarter of 2017, City Gate Towers went into operation, raised net profit to VND55 billion ($2.4 million), 24 times higher than the same period in the previous year. Right after the fire in Carina Plaza this morning, which killed 13 people and injured 28 more, the shares of NBB have fallen dramatically. The ticker fell 6.9 per cent over a single day to VND23,750, the lowest price within the last two months. This decline resulted in NBB losing over VND170 billion ($7.5 million) in capitalisation in one day. The Oman-Vietnam relations have intensified with the third session of the Joint Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation (JCETC) between the two countries, which took place in Hanoi on March 22, 2018. The two sides have agreed on concrete and practical measures to promote relations in the fields of diplomacy, politics, economics, commerce, education, and technology to create momentum for new growth between the two countries. JCETC was participated in by the Oman Business Delegation headed by Qais Mohammed Al Yousef, president of the Omani Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and 10 enterprises operating in a variety of fields including electrical and electronics equipment manufacturing, construction, hotels and tourism, as well as education, and healthcare, among others. We would like to conduct long-term investment in many sectors in Vietnam, including infrastructure, logistics, education-training, healthcare, and renewable energy, said Abdullah Al Harthy, chairman of Vietnam-Oman Investment Joint Ventures (VOI) Board of Directors. We are quite optimistic about Vietnams prospects and will increase our investment here. Vietnams investment and business climate has greatly improved over the past two years, he continued. The Joint Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation (JCETC) called to upgrade cooperation across all fields The delegation has conducted trade activities and promoted business opportunities, industrial cooperation, and investment with partners in Vietnam.So far, VOI has disbursed more than $200 million during nearly 10 years in Vietnam, becoming a distinctive investment source from the Middle East. At the meeting, VOIs operations were highlighted as a good model of investment from the Sultanate of Oman into Vietnam and a sturdy bridge for economic cooperation between the two countries. With a philosophy of value investing and long-term investment, VOIs key investments are based on the story of Vietnams growth, in key sectors such as energy, sugar, logistics, education, healthcare, agriculture, and consumer goods. Working in a professional way, VOI has grown into an active and responsible investor in important projects with leading Vietnamese partners. Apart from good business initiatives, VOI has been working to deepen the two countries strategic partnership to exceed mere finances by initiatives such as giving scholarships to Van Lang University students. VOI has become one of the largest shareholders of Ho Chi Minh City Infrastructure Investment JSC (CII) with nearly 9.2 per cent of ownership. VOI has also invested in Hau River Water Plant in the southern province of Hau Giang, and Saigon Water Plant in Ho Chi Minh City. In addition, VOI has also invested in a greenfield cocoa project in the Central Highlands region, contributing to Vietnams entry among the world's top cocoa exporters. With the investment potential still largely untapped and the interest of VOI in the Vietnamese market, the deregulation of investment policies will open new prospects for cooperation, contributing to tightening economic relations between Vietnam and Oman, and promoting bilateral relations. According to Vietnams General Statistics Office, two-way trade turnover in 2017 reached nearly $117 million, up 22.2 per cent year-on-year, with Vietnam earning $41 billion from exporting products to Oman, with the main exports being coffee, seafood, and steel. Last year, Vietnam imported goods worth $75.8 million from Oman, up 26.1 per cent year-on-year. Vietnam, RoK resolved to advance relations, photo: VGP Speaking at a press conference the same day to inform outcomes of the talks, President Quang said President Moon and him reached consensus on major orientations of the bilateral ties in the time ahead. They assessed the Vietnam-RoK relationship since the two countries set up diplomatic ties more than 25 years ago, and discussed regional and international issues of shared concern. Host and guest agreed to conduct annual exchanges of high-ranking delegations through flexible forms, while expanding exchanges and cooperation between Government and National agencies, political parties, and localities, focusing on such areas as diplomacy and national defence and security. They agreed to soon approve the Declaration on Joint Vision on Defence Cooperation between the two defence ministries, and reinforce mutual beneficial collaboration in the defence industry. The leaders discussed measures to expand economic partnership, stressing their determination to raise two-way trade to US$100 billion by 2020, along with implementing solutions to balancing the trade. They agreed to encourage cooperation in investment, especially in the support industry, electronics, energy, high technology and infrastructure. President Tran Dai Quang said that the two sides will continue enhancing the quality and efficiency of affiliation in manufacturing, promoting the transfer of technology for the support, automobile, mechanical engineering, and garment and textile industries. They will foster coordination in renewable energy, power safety and power saving solutions, while conducting all-round cooperation in environmental and natural resources protection. Meanwhile, President Moon affirmed that the RoK will increase support for Vietnam in material and spare part manufacturing industries, thus building a sound foundation for trade ties. In the area of development cooperation, leaders of the two countries concurred to bolster affiliation in transport, infrastructure, creating growth-motivating sources such as advanced technology, smart city, as well as exploiting achievements of the fourth industrial revolution. Besides, the RoK will concentrate on investing in the central region of Vietnam through projects in war-era landmine clearance, and the building of hospitals and schools. The two Presidents also outlined orientations for development cooperation as well as affiliation in training, industry, energy, environment, labour, culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchange. The RoK side regarded Vietnam as the countrys largest development assistance partner and pledged to continue its development assistance and preferential, suitable credit loans for Vietnam, particularly in science-technology, infrastructure and smart urban, clean energy, agriculture and rural development, climate change response, personnel training and public administration. The leaders consented to expand cooperation in culture, education and tourism, intensify mutual understanding and trust, and support citizens of the respective countries, while consolidating the social foundation for the bilateral ties. President Moon said the RoK will employ more measures to support and protect multicultural families, helping them have a more stable life. The two sides agreed to enhance cooperation at international forums and stressed the significance of ensuring peace, security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight, and promoting the settlement of disputes and conflicts by peaceful measures, and in line with international law. While showing his joy at fruitful cooperation between the two countries in the recent time, President Quang expressed his belief in a bright future of the bilateral relations. He stressed with the political determination of the two sides senior officials and the support of the two people, the Vietnam-RoK strategic cooperative partnership will continue enjoying a more robust and effective multifaceted -development in the future, for the prosperity of the two nations, the sake of their people, and for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world. For his part, President Moon said his country and Vietnam are very special friends, adding that the similarities in history, culture and society, and traditional exchanges in the past and the people-to-people bonds today have made the two countries become closer. The deep relationship between the two nations laid a foundation for their stronger economic, trade and investment cooperation, and Vietnam has become a key cooperative partner of the RoK and vice versa, he said. Vietnam is also the most important country in the New Southern Policy which is being implemented by the RoK government, he said. Deputy PM, FM Pham Binh Minh and Russian FM Sergey Lavrov sign the Cooperative Plan between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs in 2019-2020 period following their talks in Ha Noi on March 23, 2018. Photo: VGP The aforementioned viewpoint was reached by Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is on an official visit to Viet Nam from March 22 to 23, during their talks in Ha Noi on Friday morning. The two sides reviewed the bilateral cooperation, whilst discussing and agreeing on the key directions and measures aiming to effectively developing the Viet Nam-Russia cooperation for mutual benefits. They agreed to strengthen the exchange of all-level delegations, especially at the high level; maintain and enhance the efficiency of existing cooperation, dialogue and consultation mechanisms; and facilitate the negotiation and signing of new cooperation deals, aiming to create a legal base for bilateral cooperation across spheres. Both sides expressed their satisfaction at the currently effective implementation of the Viet Nam-Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Free Trade Agreement (FTA), thus creating a momentum for economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two nations. They agreed to exert greater efforts to bring two-way trade to US $10 billion by 2020 US$ 3.55 billion in 2017, up 31% compared to 2016. The officials also reached consensus on timely coordination in addressing the issues arising in the implementation process of the Viet Nam-EAEU FTA, seeking to create more favorable conditions for the exchange of goods, services and investments between Viet Nam and Russia. The two sides expressed their pleasure at the enhanced bilateral relations in the fields of defense-security, education-training, science-technology, culture, tourism and humanities, thus contributing to further tightening solidarity and friendship between the two countries people. The two sides consented to organize Year of Viet Nam in Russia and Year of Russia in Viet Nam in 2019 on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Treaty on fundamental principles of the bilateral friendly ties. Deputy PM Minh expressed his thanks to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and functional agencies for creating favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Russia, proposing Russia launch more mechanisms to help them stabilize their lives and uphold their bridging role in the two nations friendship and cooperation. Regarding international and regional issues of mutual concerns, the two side highlighted the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the region, ensuring maritime and over-flight security, safety and freedom as well as respecting diplomatic and legal processes, peacefully addressing disputes on the East Sea in line with the international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Viet Nam and Russia commit to strengthening cooperation at multi-lateral forums at the United Nations and ASEAN, contributing to peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world. The Vietnamese leader congratulated Russia on successful organization of the Presidential election and President Putin for his re-election as the President of the Russian Federation. After the talks, the two sides signed the Cooperative Plan between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs in 2019-2020 period, paving the way for further cooperation in the upcoming time, making contributions to consolidating and enhancing Viet Nam-Russia Strategic Partnership. TRENTON, Ga. and ATLANTA, March 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Colton Moore (https://ColtonMoore.com), the 24-year-old Republican candidate for Georgia State House District 1, is shaking things up for the Republican Party as one of the youngest candidates to run in recent times. Moore has his sights set on unseating incumbent, State Rep. John Deffenbaugh, in the Republican Primary for the District 1 Seat. Critics are concerned about his age, but Moore says he's concerned with the direction of the current Georgia Republican leadership. Moore is distraught that Georgias economic future may be impacted by a new law that would eliminate Deltas $40-million state tax break due to the airline removing a discount previously offered to NRA members. Moore is disappointed by the elimination of the NRA discount. But as a Lifetime NRA member and a Delta Diamond frequent flyer himself, Moore agrees: Its the consumers job to punish the states largest private employer; not the governments. At the forefront of Moores campaign is a return to traditional Georgia conservative Republican politics that encompass things like getting rid of regulations and protecting consumers rights. Moore is worried that Georgia risks being left behind in favor of other states for future economic growth opportunities if changes are not made now. If our State legislators continue to intermix business and politics, well miss out on opportunities like Amazons HQ2, which would bring as many as 50,000 new jobs and billions in economic development, he says. Colton strongly believes it will take more leaders like him to move things along faster than the current legislators. Hes received an invitation to meet Deffenbaugh at the State Capitol March 28-29, where both candidates plan to discuss the best path forward for the district and the state. "To be a loud voice in Dade and Walker county, we need someone who can take a fast pace and fight in the legislature, Moore concludes. Stay up-to-date with Coltons progress and this years election at ColtonMoore.com Media Contact: Colton Moore PO Box 1516 Trenton, GA 30752 (423) 508-2195 colton@coltonmoore.com Marysville police officer Danielle Quain may soon begin working full-time in the five schools that make up Marysville Public Schools. Pending the approval of the school board, Quain will be assigned to school buildings starting April 12 and will continue the school beat through the end of June. Her position is officially designated as a school resource officer. Quain has spent four hours per day inside of Marysville schools since the second week in March, shortly after the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which claimed 17 lives. The Marysville City Council voted unanimously to spend a total of $16,000 on Quains assignment through June 30 at a special meeting on March 20, the same day a school shooting in Maryland left two students injured after the school resource officer shot the gunman. The school district will kick in $11,000 toward the assignment. So far, the city has covered the cost of her deployment. This is something to get us through the school year, said Mayor Dan Damman. Were hoping to sit down with the school board, maybe for a joint meeting, to see what they want to do for the long term. The city council met for a goal session on March 19 to iron out a contract for Quains services with the district. Superintendent Dr. Shawn Wightman and board of education member Kevin Palmateer attended the meeting. The original plan called for the district picking up Quains salary and fringes, a total of $60.87 per hour, for eight hours per day. So far, Public Safety Chief Tom Konik and Assistant Chief Ron Buckmaster have been covering Quains patrol duties, an arrangement the mayor called unsustainable over the long haul. A long-term commitment means bringing in another body, said Damman. Damman asked Wightman if the contract was something he could recommend to his school board. I have to get back with my finance director regarding the budget, said Wightman. Public schools in Michigan are required to be in session 1,098 hours per school year. Quain had already begun making her presence felt in the schools. She has started to make an impact building relationships and already investigating two students and their take-home devices, Wightman said. So shes already helping us out. However, it turned out that the district could only afford to pay Quain for four hours per day. The city stepped in to fill the void. We dont know what this means for the fall, said City Manager Randy Fernandez. Thank you for accommodating us in such a short time, said Palmateer. None of us planned on this. We care about the safety of our children first and foremost. For a time, the department had assigned as many as two officers to work inside the schools: a DARE officer and a resource officer. It ended because of the funding cutbacks, both in the city and the school district, said Chief Konik. Palmateer said Marysville Public Schools faced a cutback of more than $1 million in 2010-2011. Council member Dave Barber urged Wightman to inform the public about the exact nature of the contract. Parents think each school is getting an officer, said Barber. Head that off early. Theres a big difference between five schools sharing one officer and an officer in each building. Wightman said the information campaign had already begun. Jim Bloch is a freelance writer. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com. Andrew David Johnson died unexpectedly on Thursday, September 16, 2021, at the age of 23. A Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 AM on Thursday, September 23, 2021, at Calvary Lutheran Church in Alexandria. Visitation will be held from 4-7 PM on Wednesday, September 22, 2021, at the And English German Sika is pushing ahead with the significant expansion of its plant in Bac Ninh in northern Vietnam, underscoring its commitment to dynamic growth in the country's booming construction market. A state-of-the-art facility for mortar production has come on stream alongside the existing production of concrete admixtures. This most recent investment enables Sika to extend its portfolio of locally manufactured products in the north of the country, and thus reinforce the company's cost structure and competitiveness. More stringent building regulations in Vietnam require the use of ready-mixed mortar, which is one of Sika's strongest product lines. As a result ready-mixed mortar is gaining market share, unlike mortar products that are mixed on the building site. In addition to more stringent regulatory requirements in the construction sector, Vietnam is experiencing a massive construction boom, where rising education and prosperity levels fuel demand for high-quality, high-performance building materials. Mike Campion, Regional Manager Asia/Pacific: "The new mortar facility in Bac Ninh is a targeted investment in the expansion of our production capacity around the Hanoi metropolitan region. It enables us to deliver significantly faster growth in northern Vietnam and optimize our cost structure, with the elimination of long transport distances. Our customers benefit from an enhanced, high-performance portfolio of products that is aligned with building standards, as well as from shorter lead times." CONTINUOUS STRONG MOMENTUM IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY Vietnam's construction sector is expected to grow by 9.6% this year, with annual growth then averaging 7.2% through to 2026. This is being driven by several factors: upcoming infrastructure projects, rapid industrialization, continued urbanization, and a growing tourism sector. A partial relaxation of restrictions on property ownership is also making the construction sector attractive to foreign investors. CONTACT Dominik Slappnig Corporate Communications & Investor Relations +41 58 436 68 21 slappnig.dominik@ch.sika.com SIKA CORPORATE PROFILE Sika is a specialty chemicals company with a leading position in the development and production of systems and products for bonding, sealing, damping, reinforcing and protection in the building sector and automotive industry. Sika has subsidiaries in 101 countries around the world and manufactures in over 200 factories. Its more than 18,000 employees generated annual sales of CHF 6.25 billion in 2017. The media release can be downloaded from the following link: Oslo, March 23, 2018: Scatec Solar ASA ('SSO') calls for the annual general meeting of SSO to be held at Hyres Hus, Stortingsgata 20, 0161 Oslo, Norway on April 23, 2018 at 09:00 (CET). The board has inter alia proposed that the general meeting resolves a dividend of NOK 0.78 per share. Pursuant to the board's proposal, the dividend shall accrue to the Company's shareholders as they appear in the Company's shareholder register in the VPS on April 25, 2018, being the Company's shareholders at the date of the general meeting based on regular T+2 settlement. The Company's shares will trade on Oslo Stock Exchange exclusive the right to receive dividend as from April 24, 2018. The dividend is expected to be paid on or about May 15, 2018. The notice convening the general meeting, including the agenda and the board's proposals to the matters to be dealt with, is enclosed with this notification and will be sent to all shareholders with known addresses. Relevant documents referred to in the notice are made available on www.scatecsolar.com/Investor For further information, please contact: - Mr. Raymond Carlsen, CEO, tel: +47 454 11 280, E-mail: raymond.carlsen@scatecsolar.com - Mr. Mikkel Trud, CFO, tel: +47 976 99 144, E-mail: mikkel.torud@scatecsolar.com About Scatec Solar Scatec Solar is an integrated independent solar power producer, delivering affordable, rapidly deployable and sustainable source of clean energy worldwide. A long term player, Scatec Solar develops, builds, owns, operates and maintains solar power plants, and already has an installation track record of 1,000 MW. Currently, the company is producing electricity from 322 MW of solar power plants in the Czech Republic, South Africa, Rwanda, Honduras and Jordan and another 434 MW are under construction. With an established global presence, the company is growing briskly with a project backlog and pipeline of more than 1.5 GW under development in the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Scatec Solar is headquartered in Oslo, Norway. For more information on Scatec Solar, please visit our home page www.scatecsolar.com This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. Funeral Announcements A daily list of current funeral annoucements as heard on KXRA 1490 AM/100.3 FM News Updates The daily news, sports, and events delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Sports Update This current sports headlines delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Upcoming Events This email is the events of the area delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Breaking News The big news. Sent only as it happens. English Norwegian Today 23 March, Statoil (OSE:STL, NYSE: STO) is presenting its Annual Report and Form 20-F for the year ended 2017, and its sustainability report. In 2017, Statoil delivered record high equity production of 2,080 million barrels of oil equivalent per day and an underlying production growth of more than 6%, driven by continued strong operational performance and new fields starting production. This has, combined with further efficiency improvements, contributed to USD 3.1 billion in free cash flow for the full year and strengthened our financial position. The reserve replacement ratio (RRR) was 150% in 2017, due to sanctioning of new projects and positive reserve revisions on existing fields. "In 2017 we presented our strategy: always safe, high value, low carbon, and we set clear ambitions for the future. We have delivered above and beyond our ambitious targets, and Statoil is now a stronger, more resilient and more competitive company," writes president and CEO of Statoil ASA, Eldar Stre in a letter to fellow shareholders. "We must always be prepared for volatility in our markets. Our improvement work started when prices were still high, and we have used the downturn to reset the company," Stre writes. 2017 saw increased prices and increased margins for the industry. Statoil's average realised liquids price was USD 49.1 per barrel for the year, with oil prices increasing towards the end of the year. Organic capex for 2017 was USD 9.4 billion, a USD 1.6 billion reduction from the initial guiding, achieved through continued efficiency improvements and strong project deliveries. Statoil completed 28 exploration wells in 2017. For the full year, the serious incident frequency came in at 0.6, a positive development from the previous year. "We will use this as inspiration and continue our efforts. The 'I am safety' initiative, launched across the company is an important part of these efforts," Stre says in the letter. Embracing the energy transition The Annual Sustainability Report offers an overview of how Statoil follows up its ambitious sustainability agenda and performance. Sustainability is embedded in Statoil's strategy, and the company is taking actions to develop the business to support the UN sustainability goals and the Paris agreement. In 2017, Statoil launched a new climate roadmap outlining aims to reduce the carbon intensity of its upstream oil and gas portfolio to 8 kg CO2/boe by 2030, achieve annual CO2 emission reductions of 3 million tonnes by 2030 and build an industrial position in profitable new energy of up to 15-20% of capex by 2030. The company will also invest around 25% of research funds into new energy solutions and energy efficiency by 2020. "In Statoil we believe the winners in the energy transition will be the producers which can deliver at low cost and with low carbon emissions. We also believe there are attractive business opportunities in the transition to a low-carbon economy," writes Stre. Statoil reduced its CO2 intensity from our production of oil and gas by 10% year-on-year, from 10kg CO2 per boe to 9kg CO2 per boe. In 2017 we achieved CO2 reductions of 356 000 tonnes. "CO2-emissions from our oil and gas production were reduced with an additional 10% per barrel last year. In the fall 2017 we started production from Dudgeon, and the floating windfarm Hywind. Today, we operate three offshore wind projects in the UK, delivering competitive returns. Statoil will continue its journey from a focused oil and gas to a broad energy company," he continues. The report also shows the robustness of Statoil's portfolio, illustrated by a resilience test using different scenarios from the International Energy Agency. The changes in Statoil's value in the scenarios is mainly driven by different oil and gas price assumptions. Statoil has continued to improve the value and robustness of its portfolio compared to 2016 - reducing the breakeven oil price to USD 21 per barrel for its next generation projects. In 2017 Statoil's total payment to governments was USD 9.6 billion. Statoil's total purchases of goods and services was around USD 18 billion. A PDF copy of both the Sustainability Report and the annual report, may be downloaded from Statoil's website, www.statoil.com, where shareholders may also request a hard copy of the annual report free of charge. *** Contacts Investor relations Peter Hutton, senior vice president +44 7881 918 792 (mobile) Press Bard Glad Pedersen, vice president Media relations +47 918 01 791 (mobile) *** Cautionary Note regarding Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements, particularly regarding Statoil's aims to reduce carbon intensity and achieve emission reduction and plans for capital and research expenditure in new energy. Forward-looking statements reflect current views with respect to future events and are, by their nature, subject to significant risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. *** This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5 -12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. March European Council Meeting : Spanish Press Conference Her Majesty's Government of Gibraltar have said it notes the statements made by Spanish Prime Minister, Snr Rajoy, today. "We further note the statement by Snr Rajoy confirming, as Snr Dastis has, that Spain is not pursuing its claim to sovereignty of Gibraltar in the context of the negotiations on the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union. The United Kingdom has already confirmed it has held individual meetings with all 27 member states in the process of its leaving the European Union. Gibraltar issues have been raised in a number of those meetings with a number of the 27 remaining member states and the EU Institutions. The Government of Gibraltar is fully involved in the process of multilateral negotiations being led by the Prime Minister for the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union. There is no separate bilateral process of talks between the UK and Spain underway. All of these discussions with different Member States are sensitive. We will not be providing a running commentary on any aspect of them." Photo: Bleecker Street/20th Century Fox Spoilers for Unsane below. Just like Rooney Mara before her, Claire Foy now has the distinction of being tapped to play Lisbeth Salander in a Girl-With-Something-Scary adaptation and starring in a lean Steven Soderbergh thriller that mines paranoia about a woman spinning out of control. But is the former queen of The Crown up to the challenge of playing a malcontent Swedish hacker punk? After seeing this weekends Unsane, were glad to report that Foy is indeed ready for her transition from opulent British period dramas to harder-edged material. As Sawyer Valentini, Foy plays a woman on the run from a stalker, who ends up held against her will at a psychiatric care facility. Were left to determine whether her harasser is in fact waiting to capture her or whether shes gone completely out of her mind. Through it all, Foy serves as a kind of collapsing star pulling everything toward her. Her deft navigation between anxiety, terror, doubt, and resolve transfer onto the audience and trap them in the dueling hells of her wrecked brain and the hospital shes imprisoned in. Below, we unpack four key scenes from the movie that prove the former face of The Crown can carry the weight of a horror film on her shoulders. The Doctors Visit The best gift that Soderbergh gives Foy in Unsane are the close-ups. When Sawyer is feeling most trapped, the camera i.e., Soderbergh holding an iPhone sits within inches of her face and captures every frantic twitch. In order for the payoffs to carry any weight in a suspense movie, you have to be invested in the buildup, and watching Sawyer beg her doctor for solitary confinement so she can be kept away from the man she thinks is her stalker demonstrates just how fully the movies tension relies on Foy. Youre seeing the world entirely through her paranoid lens, so her every feeling dictates the tone onscreen. And if you can create an immersive emotional landscape with nothing but your face and an iPhone under your chin, you definitely have the range. Sawyer Gets Her Meds In Foys first face-to-face with the man she claims is her stalker, David (Joshua Leonard), hes going by the name George and working as a hospital orderly administering medication to patients. Sawyer is sure its him, but shes also not really sure of anything maybe shes out of her mind. For his part, George seems like a nice man, but he also seems like a guy pretending to be nice so he can gaslight Sawyer and con everyone around him. This scene is a minefield, and its the moment where Foy is either going to bring you onboard her emotional roller coaster forcing you to question everything just like she does or where youll write the movie off as a fun but thin romp wherein Claire Foy goes full Norma Desmond delusional. The latter is still a great option, but Foy succeeds in establishing the former, raising the movies paranoid stakes from curious to terrifying as you wonder whether or not her stalker is seriously feeding her sedatives and the hospital thats taking care of her is just letting him do it. Once again, her face-acting under jaundiced lighting conditions is something to behold. Every Time She Punches Someone One of the most satisfying things about watching Unsane is watching Claire Foy pop-culture surrogate of the British sovereign haul off and hit people. Multiple times. The novelty of seeing a petite data analyst unload on a hair-trigger is entertaining on its face, but the way it feels so instinctual is what makes it significant. Sawyer lives in state of normalized panic. Shes been suspicious for so long, she doesnt remember how to feel okay, how to feel comfortable in the presence of strangers least of all men. And when her flight instinct isnt viable she clicks right into fight mode. Sawyer is not calmly violent. Shes like an agitated animal lashing out, which makes her reactions desperate and her motivations feel lived-in. Foy knows she is physically nonthreatening, and imbues Sawyer with the anxiety of a woman whos learned the hard way that charm and manipulation have limits, and when you cant talk your way out of a dangerous situation you must be prepared to physically protect yourself from harm. Shes hurting other people, but you can see the reactions are coming from her own pain. The Solitary-Confinement Showdown There are several key scenes that take place in the blue padded solitary-confinement cell where stalker David (she was right! hes really there!) stashes Sawyer to finally get her all to himself. The final confrontation is the more obviously terrifying one, with murder and struggle and physical violence, but their first scene together when all the horrible cards are laid on the table is more interesting. Now that Sawyer knows she isnt losing her mind and that her predator has actually infiltrated the facility where shes being held prisoner, the emotional showdown begins. David insists theyre destined lovers, but instead of shrinking back, Sawyer exercises her pent-up rage by cutting him apart with withering, emasculating insults. The considerably larger Leonard shrinks before Foy as she berates him, enumerating all the things he lacks and all the ways she is, in fact, an unapologetic bitch with no desire to wear the halo hes projected over her head. Foy dares the viewer not to like Sawyer, even as you root for her triumph over her captor, and once she softens David up, she sets up both her last play for freedom (as well as her ascendance to the realm of Final Girl). Up until this scene, Sawyer is reacting to everything around her but when shes got nothing left to lose, she finally becomes proactive in her situation, and morphs into a tiny emotional terror. Photo: Aidan Monaghan/AMC/AMC Film Holdings LLC. Although AMCs The Terror is adapted from Dan Simmonss acclaimed historical novel and executive produced by Ridley Scott, with all the production value that implies, it is less of a drama than a ten-hour nightmare, systematically listing all the different things that could go wrong during a 19th-century sea voyage and then visualizing them. Death by freezing, drowning, falling, suffocation, disease, animal attack: You name it, its here. This makes it sound as if The Terror, which premieres on Monday night, is an unpleasant experience. It is. Oh, believe me, dear reader, it most definitely is. And theres probably too much of it. Two hours, four, even six, sure, but ten? You have to be a masochist to keep coming back. I came back. Showrunners David Kajganich and Soo Hugh take their sweet time relating the story of the H.M.S. Erebus and H.M.S. Terror which, in 1845, got stuck in the North Atlantic ice while traveling the last unexplored portion of the Northwest Passage expending much energy in each episode to detail the dynamics of the crew. John Franklin (Ciaran Hinds), who commands the Erebus, is a likable man but clearly ill-equipped to lead an expedition this complex and important. Franklin got the job because of his social class and connections, not his merit. Francis Crozier (Jared Harris), captain of the Terror, is a superior seaman, but depressed and distant, at times as frigid as the water around them. He lacks people skills, as they say. Hes also Irish, a strike against him in a Navy weighted toward Englishmen. Third in the chain of command is James Fitzjames (Tobias Menzies), a vain twit who recounts the same handful of war stories at officers dinners so often that his colleagues could recite them in their sleep. The series does an excellent job of observing the nuances of hurt and resentment that pass among these stoic, protocol-conscious men. Theres a marvelous moment in the third episode when Crozier suggests a particular response to a crisis to Franklin, whos sitting at a table on the other side of an open doorway, and Franklin responds by casually insulting him; Crozier pauses for a second, then steps through the doorway before politely replying, a simple gesture that makes it seem as if violence is imminent. The growing internal warfare on the ships is amplified by their dire circumstances. These men are trapped, and very soon it feels as if theyre in an icy purgatory, serving time for unknown sins. Misery after misery befalls them, and we see it all enacted in bitter detail. The filmmaking pays attention to the little (often literally) atmospheric details, such as the way that saucer-shaped pieces of ice float atop the gray Atlantic water like transparent lily pads, and the ominously loud creaks and groans of the ships as they float on the ocean, the feeling of collective hopelessness amplified by the way the noises carry in the dry, cold air. Many of the sailors misfortunes are staged in the manner of shocks from a horror movie in the late 70s or early 80s, like the original Alien or John Carpenters remake of The Thing, or a David Cronenberg body-horror special. (We realize that a crewman has fallen ill when he starts coughing, and then a geyser of shockingly red blood erupts from his mouth.) Intimations of the uncanny or supernatural are threaded throughout the series, starting with the opening flash-forward which establishes The Terror as a story being told by someone else, in the manner of a 19-century novel through the middle section, where the crew starts to become worn down and terrified enough to lose their grip on sanity. Theres talk of a monster that lives out on the ice, and in time, we also become convinced that its real. We see images that are probably hallucinations, such as an apparition that appears at the foot of a sick mans bed, and a corpse that floats toward a man whos been lowered alongside a boat in a primitive diving suit, its arms eerily outstretched as if seeking an embrace. This is misery porn, beautifully rendered. Who is the audience for it? Me, obviously. Maybe you, too. This review has been updated to show that The Terror premieres on Monday, March 26, not Sunday. Ken Isaacs, the Trump administration pick to head the international organization that coordinates assistance to migrants worldwide, once wrote on Twitter that Austria and Switzerland should consider building a wall in the Alps to keep refugees out. "#immigration #wall #Austria #Switzerland consider#buildingawall in #Alps to control their borders from refugees," Isaacs tweeted. The tweet is one of more than 140 previously unreported tweets from before Isaacs was nominated reviewed by CNN's KFile. CNN's KFile previously reported on tweets from Isaacs that revealed an extensive history of sharing anti-Muslim sentiment. The screenshots provide the most robust picture of his social media activity and a wider window into his views refugees, Islam and climate change -- issues that would be central to his responsibilities in his potential posting at the United Nations. In several of the newly unearthed tweets, Isaacs shared a post that called climate change a "hoax," shared a story from the conspiracy-peddling website InfoWars about the "Clinton body count," and wrote "#Islam is not peaceful." Isaacs has made his Twitter account private, meaning only those that he allows to follow him can view his page. Screenshots of the tweets were provided to KFile anonymously and independently verified by matching the now-hidden tweets with still public replies from other Twitter users. Isaacs, who works in relief efforts for the Christian non-profit Samaritan's Purse, was nominated in February to serve as director general of the UN's International Organization for Migration, a 169-member group whose mission it is to promote "humane and orderly migration" through assistance to both governments and migrants. Isaacs has come under scrutiny in recent weeks for his social media presence after a report from KFile last week and one from The Washington Post in February revealing he shared anti-Muslim views on social media. In a statement after the February Washington Post report, Isaacs apologized, saying that he "deeply" regretted his comments and adding, "I pledge to hold myself to the highest standards of humanity, human dignity and equality if chosen to lead IOM." According to the Associated Press, he told reports on Monday, "I have re-tweeted many things to stimulate conversation. But at the same time ... have never shown discrimination against anybody, for anything." Issacs did not respond to a request for comment on this story. The State Department has pointed to Issacs' apology and expressed continued support for his nomination. Asked about the newly unearthed tweets, the department pointed to a statement that spokesperson Heather Nauert gave to the Post in February. "Mr. Isaacs has apologized for the comments he posted on his private social media account. We believe that was proper for him to do so," Nauert said. "Mr. Isaacs is committed to helping refugees and has a long history of assisting those who are suffering. We believe that if chosen to lead IOM, he would treat people fairly and with the dignity and respect they deserve. I would refer you to Mr. Isaacs for any information on his statements." Despite the controversy, Isaacs' nomination appears to be moving forward. A website has launched to support his candidacy and his supporters, including New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, have come to his defense. "I've known Ken for more than 15 years, and in that period, I've utterly disagreed with him on politics and utterly admired his humanitarianism," Kristof told the Washington Free Beacon. "He has been tireless in fighting for oppressed and desperate people of every faith and complexion, from Sudan to Iraq, Liberia to Bangladesh." "Far from being an ideologue in his humanitarian work, Ken is a supreme pragmatist in his work to save lives, willing to work with anyone -- even liberal New York Times columnists -- to get the job done." In June, the IOM's members will hold a vote on Isaacs' appointment. He must receive support of two-thirds of its members to get elected. It has been a longstanding practice for members to elect the US-chosen candidate. If elected, Issacs will oversee an organization that is actively involved in resettling refugees, many of them Muslim, who have fled from the war torn regions of Iraq and Syria. Here's a look at what Isaacs shared on Twitter: On refugees: In May 2016, Isaacs responded to a tweet saying refugees should be viewed as an asset saying, "refugees with other worldviews won't be the same as other immigrants." Also in May 2016, Isaacs said that Austria and Switzerland should consider building a wall in the Alps to "control their borders from refugees." On Islam: In May 2017, Isaacs shared a link to an article saying Islam was not a religion of peace and warned that during Ramadan, "Muslims fast, they also blast." In July 2016, after a terrorist attack in Nice, France, Isaacs tweeted out "Nice #Islam is not peaceful" next to a picture from the attack of a covered dead body next to a child's doll. In response to a June 2016 tweet blaming assault rifles for the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Isaacs simply tweeted "#Islam." That same day, in response to another tweet lamenting the attack in Orlando and the frequency of mass shootings, Isaacs again tweeted "#Islam." In September 2016, Isaacs tweeted that "All #Islamic #terrorists literally follow #Islam." In November 2015, Isaacs tweeted, "If Islam is a peaceful religion lets see 2 million Muslims march on Nat Mall condemning jihad, terrorism, & stand for USA." That same month he made similar comments when responding to a tweet from British author Owen Jones, who said it was wrong to equate Islam and terrorism. In March 2017, Isaacs tweeted a link to a meme titled "What Countries Look Like Before And After Islam," which included pictures of Iran and Afghanistan in the 1970s (despite Islam being the majority religion in both countries at that time), as well as a picture of white shoppers in London in 1980, juxtaposed with a picture of women wearing hijabs in 2012. In April 2015, Isaacs responded to a CNN tweet about how Islam was the fastest-growing religion, adding, "does it include forced Islamic conversions." In January 2016, he compared Islam to the People's Temple, a cult founded by Jim Jones responsible for the mass murder-suicide of nearly all of its members in Guyana in 1978. On climate change: In August 2017, Isaacs retweeted a user who said climate change was "a big hoax." A month later, Isaacs dismissed climate science, writing in a tweet saying, "scientists can't predict path of a visible storm yet but certain of manmade climate change. A nutty run on nature." Conspiracies: In August 2016, Isaacs tweeted a link to a conspiracy story from Alex Jones of InfoWars saying Google was hiding "Clinton Body Count" stories, a reference to a fringe conspiracy that Bill and Hillary Clinton are linked to numerous murders over the years. In June 2016, Isaacs shared a tweet pushing a false conspiracy that a United Nations official died the same day he was set to testify against Hillary Clinton and was found with a barbell on his neck. Isaacs also retweeted a June 2017 tweet that promoted a conspiracy theory about the death of Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich. President Donald Trump is weighing a recommendation from his National Security Council that he expel a group of Russian diplomats from the US in response to the poisonings of a former Russian double agent and his daughter in England, a source with knowledge of the situation told CNN. It is believed that the US had been waiting to see what members of the European Council would do, a source with knowledge of the discussions said, and on Friday, 10 European countries announced they would follow the United Kingdom's lead by also expelling Russian diplomats. Germany, France, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Czech, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Ireland and several others will "likely" expel the Russians on Monday, a senior foreign diplomat told CNN. The United Kingdom ordered 23 Russian diplomats back to Moscow last week after the country concluded that Russia was responsible for the poisonings. The National Security Council's recommendation to Trump, made on Friday, comes after a high-level meeting at the White House on Wednesday in which the council drew up a range of options to take action against Russia, according to multiple State Department officials and a source familiar with the discussion. Ultimately, the outcome of that meeting was a recommendation that Trump should expel more Russian diplomats from the US -- an option several sources told CNN was the most severe response under consideration. Trump could act on the recommendation as early as Monday, one source familiar with the decision said. Prior to Wednesday's meeting, one State Department source told CNN the move would be considered a "very serious step," especially given the last round of tit-for-tat expulsions that have left both Russia and the US with significantly smaller diplomatic forces in each other's countries. On Tuesday, one senior State Department official, speaking on background, supported the UK's own decision to kick out 23 Russian diplomats: "We stand in solidarity with our Allies in the United Kingdom, and we fully supported the UK's decision to expel diplomats and take other actions to respond. The United States is considering a range of options to respond to this outrageous incident, both to demonstrate our solidarity with our Ally and to hold Russia accountable for its clear breach of international norms and agreements." Russia and the UK have been embroiled in a bitter diplomatic fight since Russian former double agent Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter, 33-year-old Yulia Skripal, were poisoned in the English cathedral city of Salisbury on March 4. The assault stoked British rage over what UK Prime Minister Theresa May called "a brazen attempt to murder innocent civilians on our soil." May has accused Russia of orchestrating the attack but Russian officials have repeatedly denied carrying out the poisoning. Russian President Vladimir Putin described the accusations as "delirium" on Sunday, in comments after winning another six years as president. New businesses and attractions are coming to downtown Florence. The cities' newest restaurant Big Bad Breakfast just opened a few weeks ago. The Mayor told WAAY 31 anytime a new business opens it only increases the cities' tax revenue. "It dosn't matter how long you are gone you can come back and your right at home here," said Layken Lunsford a former resident of Florence. Lunsford said the city has grown in the year's she's been gone. The Mayor of Florence told us in 2016 the city issued 65 new business licenseses and in 2017 more than 90. Lunsford said, "To see this business and all the businesses doing so well is really a great thing to see." The new restaurant will also be adding a market place, hotel and bowling alley in the area. "We want to bring more people to Florence, Alabama and just see everything downtown," said Lane Austin the owner of Big Bad Breakfast. Florence Lauderdale Tourism estimates once the hotel is open it will bring in an additional $20,000 a year in lodging taxes. The city did not give any tax incentives to the owners of Big Bad Breakfast, but the owners estimate the economic impact could be several million dollars. Ryan Oliva, a visitor in Florence said, "You keep adding to that and it has a great community feel to it." The hotel, market place and bowling alley are expected to open by mid summer. English Danish Release no. 7/2018 Annual General Meeting Notice to convene Annual General Meeting Release no. 7, 2018 Notice to convene Annual General Meeting March 23rd, 2018 According to Art. 8.3 of the Articles of Association, notice is hereby given of the Annual General Meeting of Columbus A/S to be held on: Tuesday 24 April 2018 at 10.00 at Columbus, Lautrupvang 6, 2750 Ballerup, with the following agenda: Board of Directors report on the business of the Company during the past year. Presentation and approval of the annual report. Resolution on the appropriation of profit or covering of loss as recorded in the adopted Annual Report. Proposal from the Board of Directors about amendment of the authorizations in Art. 5 of the Articles of Association. Proposal from the Board of Directors that the general meeting authorizes the Board of Directors for a period of 18 months from the date of the General Meeting to acquire for the Company up to 10 per cent of the Companys share capital against payment which shall not deviate more than 10 per cent up or downwards from the latest listed price of the shares at NASDAQ Copenhagen prior to the acquisition. Proposal from the Board of Directors about new remuneration policy, incl. guidelines for incentive programs, cf. section 139b of the Danish Companies Act. The Board of Directors proposes that company announcements are prepared in English only, cf. Section 4, Art. 4 of Executive Order no. 1173 of 31/10/2017 on issuers' duty to provide information. According to the said section of this Executive Order such decision must be passed by a simple majority and must be entered in the Articles of Association. As a consequence, the Board of Directors proposes to add a new Art. 20 in the Companys Articles of Association with the following wording: "The Company will prepare company announcements in English only, unless the Board of Directors decides otherwise." Election of members of the Board of Directors The Board of Directors proposes that Ib Kune, Sven Madsen and Peter Skov Hansen be re-elected. Deputy Chairman of the Board, Jrgen Cadovius, is not up for re-election. The Board of Directors proposes that Karina Kirk is elected as a new member of the Board of Directors. Karina Kirk meets the definition of independence as set out by the Danish Corporate Governance Committee. Election of one or two state authorized public accountants as auditors. The Board of Dircetors proposes that Deloitte Statsautoriseret Revisionspartnerselskab (CVR no. 33 96 35 56) be re-elected, as recommended by the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee has not been influenced by third parties, and has not been subjected to any agreement with third parties which limits the General Meetings election of certain auditors or auditing firms. Any other business Full wording of proposals Re. item 2: The Board of Directors recommends that the Annual Report be approved. Re. item 3: The Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting approves the Board of Directors proposal for the allocation of profit as stated in the Annual Report for 2017, including distribution of an ordinary dividend to shareholders of DKK 0.125 per share of DKK 1.25 (nom.), corresponding to total dividends of DKK 14,983,204. Re. item 4: The Board of Directors proposes to amend Art. 5.1 to read as follows: "5.1 Until 24th April 2022, the Board of Directors shall be authorized to issue warrants in one or more tranches to employees and members of the Board of Directors of the Company and its subsidiaries of up to DKK 10,000,000 (nominal), corresponding to 8,000,000 shares of DKK 1.25 (nominal). The warrants shall carry the right to subscribe for shares at market price at the time of allocation of the warrants. The Board of Directors recommend that the proposal be approved. Re. item 5: The Board of Directors recommends that the proposed authorization be approved. Re. item 6: The Board of Directors proposal for new remuneration policy, incl. guidelines for incentive programs, cf. Section 139b of the Danish Companies Act is attached. The Board of Directors recommends that the remuneration policy be approved. The revised proposal for new remuneration policy, incl. guidelines for incentive programs, cf. cf. Section 139b of the Danish Companies Act has been prepared taking into account the new Recommendations for Corporate Governance from the Corporate Governance Committee, which came into force for the financial year starting 1 January 2018 or later. Re. item 7: The Board of Directors recommends that the proposal that the company announcements are prepared in English only be approved. Re. item 8: The Board of Directors proposes election of the following Board members: Ib Kune (re-election) Sven Madsen (re-election) Peter Skov Hansen (re-election) Karina Kirk (new Board member) For further information about the individual Board members, please see Appendix 1. Re. item 9: The Board of Directors recommends that Deloitte Statsautoriseret Revisionspartnerselskab be re-elected. Adoption requirements For adoption of the proposals under the items 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9 on the agenda simple majority is required. For adoption of the proposals under the items 5 on the it is required that two-thirds of the votes cast as well as the voting share capital represented at the general meeting assets hereto. In addition, at least half of the share capital must be represented. Registration date The date of registration is Tuesday 17 April 2018, at 23:59 CET. Only shareholders who possess shares in the Company at the expiration of the registration date are entitled to participate and vote at the Annual General Meeting. On expiry of the date of registration, the shares held by each of the Companys shareholders on the date of registration date is determined on the basis of the shares registered in the register of shareholders and duly evidenced notifications to the Company of share acquisitions not yet entered in the register of shareholders, but received by the Company before expiry of the date of registration. Participation is furthermore conditional on the shareholders punctual requisitioning of an admission card as described below. Procedure for participating in and voting at the Companys Annual General Meeting Requisition of admission cards: digitally via the Shareholder Portal on the Companys website: www.columbusglobal.com > Investor by submission of registration form to Computershare A/S, Lottenborgvej 26D, 1st floor, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby (or by fax 4546 0998) The registration form can be downloaded from www.columbusglobal.com > Investor. by written request to the Companys office at Lautrupvang 6, 2750 Ballerup or by e-mail to cgr@columbusglobal.com. Registration must reach Computershare A/S or the Company no later than 20 April 2018 at 23:59 CET. Ordered admission cards will be sent out by e-mail. This requires that your email address is registered on the Shareholder Portal, or that you register your e-mail address when ordering admission card via the Shareholder Portal. After registration, you will receive an electronic admission card. Bring your electronic version on your smartphone or tablet. If you have forgotten your admission card for the general meeting, it can be obtained against presentation of appropriate proof of identification. Ballot papers will be handed out at the entry point at the General Meeting. Proxies: Proxies can be granted: digitally via the shareholder portal on the Companys website: www.columbusglobal.com > Investor by submission of proxy form to Computershare A/S, Lottenborgvej 26D, 1st floor, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby (or by fax 4546 0998) The proxy form can be downloaded from www.columbusglobal.com > Investor. The proxy must reach Computershare A/S no later than 20 April 2018 at 23:59 CET. Postal voting: Postal voting can be done: digitally via the shareholder portal on the Companys website: www.columbusglobal.com > Investor by submission of postal voting form to Computershare A/S, Lottenborgvej 26D, 1st floor, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby (or by fax 4546 0998) The postal voting form can be downloaded from www.columbusglobal.com > Investor.. The postal voting form must reach Computershare A/S no later than 23 April 2018 at 12.00pm CET. Received postal votes cannot be withdrawn. Further information Questions from shareholder regarding the agenda must be submitted in written form to the Company. The share issuing bank is Nordea A/S, through which shareholders may exercise their financial rights. Information from the Company No later than 27 March 2018 the following information will be available to the shareholders at the Companys website www.columbusit.com > Investor : This agenda including the full wording of proposals for the Annual General Meeting The total number of shares and entitled voters at the time of notice to convene the Annual General Meeting The documents which will be presented at the Annual General Meeting, including the audited Annual Report 2017 The forms which must be used when voting by proxy or postal votes By the notice to convene annual general meeting Columbus A/S has registered a share capital of nominal DKK 149,832,040 corresponding to 119,865,632 shares of nominal DKK 1.25. Each share of nominal DKK 1.25 provides 1 vote. Ballerup, 23 March 2018 Board of Directors, Columbus A/S Translation: In the event of any inconsistency between this document and the Danish language version, the Danish language version shall be the governing version. Appendix 1: Election of members to the Board of Directors Election of members to the Board of Directors and recruitment criteria Pursuant to Columbus A/S Articles of Associations, the Board of Directors must consist of 3-7 members to be elected by the general meeting for a term of one year. When nominating new Board members, management experience, professional and financial competencies needed to ensure that the Board has the necessary competencies to be able to manage the interests of the Company and thereby the shareholders are carefully assessed. Besides competencies and qualification, new candidates are selected on the basis of criteria such as the need for seniority, renewal and diversity. The Companys Articles of Association do not include restrictions concering the number of times a member is allowed to be re-elected to the Board of Directors. Seniority in itself is not a crucial criterion, but the Board of Directors finds that long seniority and thereby extensive experience for part of the Board members is highly beneficial to the company. Seniority combined with continuous renewal ensure a broad-based composition of the Board of Directors. Gender, age and nationality are not qualifications alone, but are part of the total assessment of the competencies of a board candidate. Information about proposed candidates Below, competencies and directorships in other companies are described for each of the proposed candidates. It is the Board of Directors assessment that the proposed candidates represent the necessary competencies in the Board of Directors to ensure that the size, composition and competencies of the Board of Directors is such that constructive discussions and efficient decision-making process can be ensured during Board meetings. Ib Kune Born 1943 Chairman of the Board Member of the Board since 2004, re-elected in 2017 Holds an HD Graduate Diploma in Organisation and Management as well as a background as a professional officer (major). Does not fulfill the Committee of Corporate Governance definition of independency Chairman of the Board for: Atea ASA, Consolidated Holdings A/S, Netop Solutions A/S, X-Yacht A/S, Calum Bagsvrdlund K/S, Komplementarselskabet Abyhj ApS, Sparresholm Jagtselskab ApS and Freemantle Ltd. Member of the Board for: Atrium Partner A/S Special competencies: Company management, including management of IT companies, development of and dealing with companies. Sven Madsen Born 1964 Member of the Board since 2007, re-elected in 2017 CFO in Consolidated Holdings A/S Member of the Audit Committee Holds a Graduate Diploma in Financial and Management Accounting and an MSc in Business Economics and Auditing Does not fulfill the Committee of Corporate Governance definition of independency Chairman of the Board for: CHV III ApS Member of the Board for: Atea ASA, Consolidated Holdings A/S, core:workers AB, core:workers Holding A/S, X-Yachts A/S, Netop Solutions A/S, Ejendomsaktieselskabet af 1920 A/S, DAN-Palletiser Holding A/S and DAN-Palletiser Finans A/S. Special competencies: General management, M&A, business development, economic and financial issues. Peter Skov Hansen Born 1951 Member of the Board since 2012, re-elected in 2017 Completed State Authorized Public Accountant education in 1980, registered as non-practicing Chairman of the Audit Committee Fulfills the Committee of Corporate Governance definition of independency Member of the Board for: X-Yachts A/S, Netop Solutions A/S and Robotek Gruppen A/S Special competencies: Business development and financial, accounting and tax related issues. Karina Kirk Born 1971 Nominated as new Board member Owner of KIRK, Executive and board advisory Holds a Master of Science in International Business Administration (1996), NYU Stern School of Business, MBA selected classes (1994), Executive, Board Leadership and Governance (2017) Fulfills the Committee of Corporate Governance definition of independency Karina Kirk has more than 20 years of management experience from the consulting industry holding leading positions in growing and developing management consulting companies as well as being a senior strategy advisor for top management in large corporations in the Nordics. As an advisor, Karinas field of expertise is in particular within commercial leadership, customer centric business development and company transformation in industries such as Transportation, Tele and Finance. Her experience includes Partner in QVARTZ for the last 8 years, a Nordic top-tier strategy and transformation consultancy with global reach as well as partner in Future Lab Business Consulting and consultant in Accenture. Karina owns KIRK advisory and is currently working as independent advisor to management and boards. Chairman of the Board for: Kirk Sikring A/S Special competencies: General management, management of consulting companies, market and customer leadership, business development and business transformation SE_07_2018_Notice_to_convene_annual_general_meeting (CNN) Early Friday morning, the Senate passed a $1.3 trillion spending package that will increase funding for the military and domestic spending and will keep the government funded through the end of September, sending the legislation to the President for his signature house ahead of a midnight deadline. The Senate passed the bill after a whirlwind day where at least two Republican senators held up the legislative process and made it appear unclear whether the bill could pass ahead of the deadline. The bill passed 65-32, averting a potential government shutdown and funding the government through September 30. The House passed the legislation earlier Thursday, voting 256-167 with Democrats and Republicans coming together to pass it less than 24 hours after the 2,300-page bill was made public. The Senate needed unanimous consent -- meaning all members have to agree -- to bring the bill up for a timely vote. If one member objects, it could force the government into a brief shutdown, which is why many congressional observers were watching Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, who forced a brief shutdown last month using a similar procedural maneuver. On Thursday, Paul spent hours criticizing the bill and the process by which the legislation is made public and passed, and appeared to live-tweeting as he scanned the measure. "Page 430 of 'crumni-bus: Good news. The government is going to "earn" $350 million by selling oil from Strategic Petroleum Reserve," he tweeted. "Bad news is the $ won't go to reduce the $21 trillion debt. The $ will be instead be spent elsewhere by the Federal government." Earlier Thursday, Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy asked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell when the Senate would vote -- he smiled and said in front of reporters, "whenever Sen. Paul decides we can." But Paul said Thursday night that Senate leadership should reach out to him if they want to speed the process along. "It's just the way the rules are," he told CNN's Phil Mattingly. "I mean, they will eventually beat me. Time will run out and they will eventually win but if they'd like to do it in a more expeditious fashion, all they've got to do it call me." Paul said he was open to "compromise" but did specify what that would entail, but shortly after he spoke with CNN, Paul and McConnell spoke, a Paul spokesman said. PARIS (AP) - A police union official says officers have stormed a supermarket in southern France and killed a suspect who took hostages there. Yves Lefebvre, secretary general of SGP Police-FO police union, says he doesn't have immediate details on the number of victims from Friday's incident in the town of Trebes. Another police official also confirms the suspect was shot and killed. French national police earlier said at least two people were killed and a dozen wounded in the incident. French President Emmanuel Macron says it looks like a terrorist attack. ___ 2:45 p.m. Police union official Yves Lefebvre says the suspect in hostage-taking situation in southern France has been shot to death by police. The update came minutes after French President Emmanuel Macron said all evidence suggested the hostage-taking and shootings were a terrorist attack. Speaking in Brussels, where he is attending an EU summit, Macron offered his "full support" to everyone involving in the situation. The president said he won't give details on the number of victims "at this stage." Macron said he would return to Paris in the coming hours and will follow closely the situation. ___ 2:15 p.m. The Paris prosecutor's office says the prosecutor who leads the country's counterterrorism office is heading to southern France to oversee the unfolding investigation of a hostage situation at a supermarket. The office of Paris prosecutor Francois Molins would not give details at this stage on the number of victims or the identity of the suspect in the town of Trebes. The school system in the Trebes region says all students are safe and will remain inside schools until further notice. Parents and relatives have been told not to come to pick them up. ___ 1:30 p.m. French national police say two people have been killed and about a dozen wounded in a shooting and hostage-taking in a supermarket in southern France. A spokesman with the national police service told The Associated Press the attacker was still in the supermarket in the town of Trebes, but it was unclear if there were people still inside with him. The spokesman said a police operation to apprehend the assailant is still underway. The spokesman was not authorized to be publicly named. The reason for the shooting and hostage-taking is unclear, as is the identity of the attacker. - By Angela Charlton ___ 1:10 p.m. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe says all information suggests that the shooting inside a supermarket in southern France and the earlier shooting of a police officer "seems to be a terrorist act". Philippe says the hostage situation is ongoing Friday inside the Super-U supermarket in the small town of Trebes. A police official earlier said that one person had been shot dead and another seriously wounded inside the supermarket. ___ 12:50 p.m. French President Emmanuel Macron has asked Interior Minister Gerard Collomb to go to the site of a shooting and hostage-taking in southern France. The incident is continuing inside a supermarket in the small town of Trebes. A police union official said the suspect has shot one person dead and a second is in life-threatening condition. Earlier the suspect shot and wounded a police officer nearby. Anti-terror prosecutors have taken over the investigation. ___ 12:35 p.m. A police union official says a suspect has shot dead one person and seriously wounded another inside a supermarket in the southern French town of Trebes. Yves Lefebvre, secretary general of the SGP Police-FO union, says the suspect earlier fired six shots at police officers who were on their way back from jogging near the city of Carcassonne Friday morning. One police officer was injured in the shoulder but is not in life-threatening condition, Lefebvre said The police officers, based in the southern city of Marseille, were on a temporary mission in Carcassonne, he said. ___ 12:20 p.m. French counterterrorism prosecutors are taking charge of the investigation into the shooting of a police officer in southern France that has led to an apparent hostage-taking at a supermarket. The Paris prosecutor's office said counterterrorism investigators are taking over the probe into the ongoing incident Friday in the town of Trebes, but did not provide details on why. There are unconfirmed media reports that the assailant claimed connections to the Islamic State group. Interior Minister spokesman Frederic Delanouvelle told The Associated Press that there is one suspect and police are trying to subdue him. He provided no details of how many people were inside the supermarket or were believed held hostage. ___ 12:05 p.m. French authorities say a police operation is taking place in a small town in southern France after a police officer was shot and wounded. A suspect has been surrounded at a supermarket in the town of Trebes, south of Toulouse, and might have taken hostages, national police said. The French Interior Ministry said on its Twitter account Friday that police and rescue operations are the priority. Authorities in the Aude region are warning people to avoid the area around the supermarket. (Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) (CNN) -- President Donald Trump threatened Friday to veto the $1.3 trillion spending bill passed by Congress, citing concerns that the legislation does not include a solution for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program or sufficient funding for a border wall. "I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded," Trump tweeted. Trump was fuming about the spending bill, an official said, particularly the news coverage he watched Friday morning that said his immigration priorities won't be fully funded. "He doesn't like it," the official said, who described the President's mood as "venting" more than seriously considering a veto. Spotted in the West Wing Friday morning, White House legislative affairs director Marc Short did not appear alarmed by the President's tweet. "I think we'll be OK," he told CNN. Top White House officials had previously said he would sign the bill. Mick Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, told reporters on Thursday that the bill "funds his (Trump's) priorities." "Let's cut right to the chase: Is the President going to sign the bill? The answer is yes," he said. "Is it perfect? No," Mulvaney added. "Is it exactly what we asked for in the budget? No. Were we ever going to get that? No. That is not how the process works." House Speaker Paul Ryan told reporters Thursday that he spoke to Trump, adding that the President was on board with funding levels for border security included in the spending package. Later that day, Vice President Mike Pence touted that border wall funding during a trip to New Hampshire. "With $1.6 billion included in the spending bill that arrives on President Trump's desk tomorrow, we're going to start to build that wall," he said to applause. Republican Sen. Bob Corker, who voted against the bill, tweeted his support for Trump's veto threat. "Please do, Mr. President. I am just down the street and will bring you a pen. The spending levels without any offsets are grotesque, throwing all of our children under the bus. Totally irresponsible," he said. The bill would increase funding for the military and domestic spending and keep the government funded through the end of September. The President was not deeply engaged in the spending bill process, spending far more time this week focused on other matters. The Senate passed the bill 65-32 after a whirlwind day where at least two Republican senators held up the legislative process, making it unclear whether the bill could pass before the Friday deadline and avert a government shutdown. The House passed the legislation earlier Thursday, voting 256-167 with Democrats and Republicans coming together to back it less than 24 hours after the 2,300-page bill was made public. The massive spending package marks the end of a months-long funding stalemate in which lawmakers were forced to pass one short-term spending bill after another, but it's now unclear whether the President will sign it ahead of the government shutdown deadline at midnight. The-CNN-Wire & 2018 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved. FORM 8.3 PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the "Code") 1. KEY INFORMATION (a) Full name of discloser: OZ Management LP and Och-Ziff Management Europe Ltd (b) Owner or controller of interests and short positions disclosed, if different from 1(a): The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient. For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries must be named. (c) Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant securities this form relates: Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree GVC Holdings plc (d) If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree, state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree: (e) Date position held/dealing undertaken: For an opening position disclosure, state the latest practicable date prior to the disclosure 22 March 2018 (f) In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the discloser making disclosures in respect of any other party to the offer? If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state "N/A" Yes If YES, specify which: Ladbrokes Coral Group plc 2. POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security. (a) Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the dealing (if any) Class of relevant security: Euro 0.01 ordinary (IM00B5VQMV65) Interests Short positions Number % Number % (1) Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: (2) Cash-settled derivatives: 6,090,997 2.007 1,384,606 0.456 (3) Stock-settled derivatives (including options) and agreements to purchase/sell: TOTAL: 6,090,997 2.007 1,384,606 0.456 All interests and all short positions should be disclosed. Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should be given on a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions). (b) Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors' and other employee options) Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription right exists: Details, including nature of the rights concerned and relevant percentages: 3. DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b), (c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security dealt in. The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated. (a) Purchases and sales Class of relevant security Purchase/sale Number of securities Price per unit (b) Cash-settled derivative transactions Class of relevant security Product description e.g. CFD Nature of dealing e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing a long/short position Number of reference securities Price per unit Euro 0.01 ordinary CFD reducing a long position 129,632 GBP 9.46 (c) Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options) (i) Writing, selling, purchasing or varying Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Writing, purchasing, selling, varying etc. Number of securities to which option relates Exercise price per unit Type e.g. American, European etc. Expiry date Option money paid/ received per unit (ii) Exercise Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Exercising/ exercised against Number of securities Exercise price per unit (d) Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities) Class of relevant security Nature of dealing e.g. subscription, conversion Details Price per unit (if applicable) 4. OTHER INFORMATION (a) Indemnity and other dealing arrangements Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or any agreement or understanding, formal or informal, relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the person making the disclosure and any party to the offer or any person acting in concert with a party to the offer: Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should not be included. If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none" (b) Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to options or derivatives Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding, formal or informal, between the person making the disclosure and any other person relating to: (i) the voting rights of any relevant securities under any option; or (ii) the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal of any relevant securities to which any derivative is referenced: If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none" (c) Attachments Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? NO Date of disclosure: 23 March 2018 Contact name: Janine Frederick Telephone number: 02077584420 Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory Information Service. The Panel's Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in relation to the Code's disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129. The Code can be viewed on the Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk. BOULDER, Colo., March 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clip Interactive, LLC (Clip), a leading digital media and marketing technology company, announced today that it intends to enter the public markets with its commercial free radio technology. We believe building our core commercial free radio technology and related business under the framework of a developmental stage public company will broaden our messaging to a wider audience and allow us to scale our business with access to more sources of growth capital that have an interest in our business, stated Jeff Thramann, founder of Clip Interactive. Sirius XM has built a $29B business by giving consumers a paid option to avoid commercials. Yet, to over 270 million radio listeners each week, the appeal of local content and the community tie of local radio remains a preferred audio option. Clip is aggressively working with radio to provide listeners a subscription based commercial free radio option across thousands of the countrys favorite local stations. The product is called Magic. Clip Interactive has a long history of partnering with radio to leverage technology to reinvent the radio listening experience and create advanced marketing technology products for radio advertisers. We have a big vision for how radio wins in the digital world both with listeners and with advertisers. We have deployed large amounts of private capital alongside a talented team of innovators and leaders to position Clip for execution of this vision, said Jeff Thramann. Access to capital in the public markets as we deploy and rapidly scale Magic and our full portfolio of marketing technology products will be critical to efficient execution. In addition to reinventing the listener experience, Clip Interactive is the industry leader in coordinating the placement of digital ads with on-air ads. Clip leverages this core technology along with machine learning algorithms to create the intelligence behind the first marketing technology products that allow radio advertisers to measure audio and digital campaign results in real time, adjust executions, optimize performance, maximize ROI and accurately attribute the impact audio dollars have on a consumers journey to a desired action. Radio has two big challenges. Media consumption is fragmenting as listeners have more content options, and ad dollars are flowing to digital because it is targeted and measured. Clip is addressing both issues by reinventing the radio listening experience and delivering the first comprehensive marketing technology platform that can target and measure like digital, said Michael Lawless, CEO of Clip Interactive. The Company engaged DEVCAP Partners, LLC in October 2017 to assist in arranging the financial, legal and other professionals required to provide the financial analysis, investor presentations and SEC filings to enter the public markets. Clip is now in discussions with several investment bankers and public company oriented outside investors and expects that its public listing will come with a capital infusion from existing shareholders and new investors over the course of the next 2-4 months. We have a full schedule of differentiated product releases starting with Magic, our commercial free radio offering. Magic alone has the capability of being a massive product that can change radio forever, for both the user and the broadcaster, stated Michael Lawless. About Clip Interactive Clip Interactive is a digital media and marketing technology company that is reinventing the audio listening experience and bringing measurement, targeting and attribution to the audio advertiser. For more information, please visit www.clipinteractive.com. As with many fast-growing companies, our growth is dependent upon adequate funding to cover the expenses related to the business. We have been able to obtain this funding to date, however, should we be unable in the future to obtain appropriate funding to pay our expenses and drive growth through a sales effort, our growth, and our financial stability, may be negatively impacted. This Press Release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to our financial condition, results of operations and business. These forward looking statements can be identified by the use of terms such as "believe," "expects," "plan," "intend," "may," "will," "should," "can," or "anticipates," or the negative thereof, or variations thereon, or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause industry trends or our actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by these statements. Important factors that may cause our results to differ from these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: (i) changes in or new government regulations or increased enforcement of the same, (ii) unavailability of desirable acquisitions or inability to complete them, (iii) increased costs, including from increased raw material or energy prices, (iv) changes in general worldwide economic or political conditions, (v) adverse publicity or negative consumer perception regarding our sector in general, (vi) issues with obtaining customers, (vii) litigation and claims, including intellectual property and other types, (viii) disruptions from or following acquisitions including the loss of customers, (ix) increased competition, (x) slow or negative growth in the economy or our sector, (xi) the loss of key personnel or the inability to manage our operations efficiently, (xii) problems with information management systems, manufacturing efficiencies and operations, (xiii) insurance coverage issues, (xiv) the volatility of the stock market generally and of our stock specifically, (xv) increases in the cost of borrowings or unavailability of additional debt or equity capital, or both, or fluctuations in foreign currencies, and (xvi) interruption of business or negative impact on sales and earnings due to acts of God, acts of war, terrorism, bio-terrorism, civil unrest and other factors outside of our control. Contact www.clipinteractive.com kevin.oconnell@gpp.us.com English French Paris, March 23, 2018 LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton announces the availability of its 2017 Reference Document, in accordance with applicable regulations. The French version of this document was filed with the "Autorite des Marches Financiers" (AMF) on March 22, 2018 under the reference D.18-0166. The English translation of this document may be consulted in the Documentation section of the Company's website (www.lvmh.com). This document includes in particular: - the annual financial report; - the report of the Board of Directors on corporate governance; - the statement of auditors' fees; - the description of the stock repurchase program. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Isodiol International Inc. (CSE:ISOL) (OTC:ISOLF) (FSE:LB6A.F) (the Company or Isodiol), a global Bioactive CBD innovator specializing in the development of pharmaceutical and wellness products, is pleased to announce that the Company has signed a letter of intent (LOI) to acquire 100% of KURE Corp, a leading specialty vape retailer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, with locations in the United States and annualized unaudited Fiscal 2018 revenue of $8.8m USD. KURE specializes in the retailing of vaporizers and e-cigarettes, e-juices, and related accessories (kurevapes.com, kuresociety.com). KURE set out to change the current state of the vape shop industry with the introduction of KURE Vaporium & Lounge, a modern and sophisticated retail environment and lounge catering to the vaping community. By elevating the environment and customer experience, KURE has paved a completely new path to the rapidly growing vaping and e-cigarette industry and operates a total of twelve e-juice bars and lounges today, with plans for international expansion. KUREs executives are highly experienced business entrepreneurs that have done a tremendous job in building the KURE brand, said CEO of Isodiol, Marcos Agramont. Not only does this further entrench our footprint in the vaping and e-cigarette industry, but through KURE retail stores, the Company will set up its own distribution channels for its family of brands, including ISO-Sport and Be Tru Wellness. We believe KURE to be the Starbucks of the specialty retail vape industry. The KURE brand has been carefully built thanks to our incredibly loyal customer following. The KURE philosophy is to serve our customers the best selection of vape juices and hardware by the most knowledgeable customer service professionals, our own Kurators, in an unmatched atmosphere in every KURE store. With over 200,000 customer transactions per year and growing, KUREs knowledge base in the vape industry is exceptional. In joining the Isodiol family, we will now be able to provide our devout customers the very best CBD products on the market. We intend to rapidly expand the KURE brand worldwide, said Craig Brewer, Chairman & CEO of KURE Corp. All KURE products are available online and throughout its store locations across the United States. KURE Vaporium & Lounge, KURE Society, Kuriousity, Kurators are all respective trademarks of KURE Corp. Its e-Juices can be purchased pre-bottled or freshly mixed by its staff of Kurators, well-trained and experienced mixologists who can blend over 500,000 unique flavors from the KURE Juice On Tap bar. These KURE e-Juices are skillfully blended and served while customers shop, lounge and enjoy a selection of coffees, beverages, and snacks or simply vape. When we acquired Bradleys Bioscience , we were excited about the prospects of providing safer alternatives to smoking, while at the same time being able to enter a market poised to be worth over $60 billion by 2025, said Agramont. With this partnership, we will further entrench our footprint in this fast-growing industry, and we look forward to the global opportunities it presents for the Company. Once finalized, the terms of this agreement will be defined upon the definitive agreement, which is anticipated by the end of April 2018. About Isodiol International Inc. Isodiol International Inc. is the market leader in pharmaceutical grade phytochemical compounds and the industry leader in the manufacturing and development of CBD consumer products. Isodiol is the pioneer of many firsts for the cannabis industry including commercialization of 99%+ pure, bioactive pharmaceutical grade cannabinoids, micro-encapsulations, and nanotechnology for the highest quality consumable and topical skin care products. Isodiols growth strategy includes the development of over-the-counter and pharmaceutical drugs, expanding its phytoceutical portfolio and will aggressively continue international expansion into Latin America, Asia and Europe. About KURE Corp KURE Corp. ("KURE") is a private company based in Charlotte, North Carolina that specializes in the distribution of vaporizing pens, e-Juices, and related accessories through its specialty retail stores and online distribution. KUREs primary products are its distinct line of custom blended high-end flavored e-Juices, premium KURE brand vaporizers, as well as popular third party brands of advanced hardware and select eLiquids. All KURE products are available online and throughout its many store locations across the United States. KURE Vaporium, KURE Society, Kuriousity, Kurators are all respective trademarks of KURE Corp. KURE's executives and principals are seasoned business entrepreneurs with decades individual expertise in taking start-ups from initial incubation to profitability. KURE's support staff has extensive product distribution and related industry experience. Its e-Juices can be purchased pre-bottled or freshly mixed by its staff of "Kurators", well trained and experienced mixologists who can "blend" over 500,000 unique flavors from the KURE Juice On Tap bar. These KURE e-Juices are skillfully blended and served while customers shop, lounge and enjoy a selection of coffees, beverages, and snacks or simply vape and mingle with other like-minded enthusiasts. Visit kurevapes.com or kuresociety.com. Join Us On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/isodiol/ Twitter: @isodiol ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Marcos Agramont , CEO & Director INVESTOR RELATIONS: Ir@isodiol.com www.isodiol.com Forward-Looking Information: This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to statements regarding the Company's business, products and future the Companys business, its product offerings and plans for sales and marketing. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance and developments to differ materially from those contemplated by these statements depending on, among other things, the risks that the Company's products and plan will vary from those stated in this news release and the Company may not be able to carry out its business plans as expected. Except as required by law, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation, and does not intend, to update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information in this news release. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct and makes no reference to profitability based on sales reported. The statements in this news release are made as of the date of this release. The CSE has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the content of this press release. WATERFORD is in the running for the Best Place to Live in Ireland. The county has had 31 nominations in a competition run by a... IMAGINING Arts was about all we could do over the last 18 months or so, but now we need imagine no more. Celebrating its 20th... WATERFORD is the most sunny city in Ireland and the county is second in the sunshine league, being pipped to first place by our... The 24th of July is a special day for Samaritans. 24/7 is a day we use each year to highlight that we are available... The meeting ended with an understanding Hounsell would take the proposal for Terry McCartney, Tim Antonie and Stephen Sewell to join Myer to the board and get back to Lew. But the billionaire - who owns 43 per cent of Premier, the company behind Just Jeans, Smiggle and Peter Alexander never got his seats. It's understood he never even heard back from Hounsell after their meeting, in what was a sliding-doors moment for Myer. Sol instead learned soon after that Julie Ann Morrison, director of Myers struggling sass & bide label, would join the board. Ugly fight Ever since that snub Lew and Premiers attacks on Hounsell have been unrelenting, turning in to what has arguably become the ugliest fight in corporate Australia, defined by allegations of incompetence, dishonesty and self-interested opportunism. Lew is baying for blood and preparing to call a shareholder meeting to have Hounsell and the board kicked out. Hounsell sacked his chief executive Richard Umbers last month and appointed himself executive chairman, putting the focus in the fight for Myers future squarely on his broad shoulders. Hounsell has zero credibility, says Lew, after Hounsell enthusiastically backed Umbers New Myer strategy and spoke of green shoots appearing in the business only to then oversee two earnings downgrades and then to sack Umbers. If Hounsells out-of-touch incompetence wasnt causing all Myer shareholders significant value destruction, it would be comical, was one recent character assessment. Premier Investments chairman Solomon Lew. Credit:Pat Scala The spat has turned bizarre at times. At one stage Hounsell questioned why, if he was so incompetent, was he once considered as a candidate to lead Premiers board? That never happened, according to Lew, whose camp has been calling Hounsell a liar ever since. If Hounsell is feeling any pressure, its not showing. Im actually enjoying it thoroughly, he told Fairfax Media after handing down a $476 million half-year loss on Wednesday. I just enjoy getting back into business. Im working with a great brand; Ive got a wonderful team of people. And Ive got this bloody will to succeed that Im going to execute on. Blunt style Hounsell's blunt style is a million miles from both Umbers at-times impenetrable management babble and the finger-on-the-pulse industry confidence of veterans like Bernie Brookes and Mark McInnes. Where others shrink in front of a hostile press pack, Hounsell appears to swing with greater conviction at each bouncer delivered his way. "I may not be one of the world's great retailers, but I know how to make money," was the latest of several comments destined for the headlines. Loading His confession of having old-fashioned shopping habits was another gift to reporters, not to mention Lew. Those who have worked closely with Hounsell say hes fiercely competent and a cooled-head under pressure. Hes a quiet and humble person, and it might be easy to underestimate [him], says media entrepreneur and business identity Harold Mitchell, who had Hounsell on the board of his Mitchell Communication Group from 2006 to 2010. I warn people, dont do it - hes very, very capable. Hounsell is a tight operator, but a very collegiate one, says Geoff Dixon, who was Qantas CEO during Hounsells stint on the airlines board. Hes very supportive, and certainly asked questions and got across the brief very well, Dixon says. I think hes not going to take too many backwards steps - thats never been his inclination. Others say the current rough and tumble wouldnt phase Hounsell, who has already been in his fair share of corporate blow-ups and fist fights before he landed at Myer. The Myer camp maintains it was right to reject Premiers request for seats on the board. Premier has too great a conflict of interest as a major competitor to Myer, and with Lew family companies being major suppliers, it says, accusing Lew of trying to take control of Myer without paying a proper take-over premium. Solomon Lew has still not explained what his intentions are for Myer since snapping up 10.8 per cent of the company. And with Hounsells history of defending takeover bids, it was speculated this background was why he was made chairman in the first place. Busy operator Hounsells first stint in the spotlight was as CEO of Arthur Andersen Australia, back when there were the Big Five global accounting firms. He was at the helm in 2002 when clients started leaving Andersen in droves, spooked by the stigma of sharing auditors with the bankrupt US corporation Enron and the collapsed Australian insurer HIH. "Every corporation goes through a period of troubled waters. We are 90-years-old and this is the first [such] period our firm has been through. We will come through, Hounsell said with typical optimism in February that year. There is nothing here out of the ordinary in our day-to-day business. Three months later Anderson was kaput. The Australian arm merged into Ernst & Young, and Hounsell was made a managing partner. Soon after that Hounsell started popping up on boards all over town. He became a director of the explosions specialists Orica and chemicals giant Nufarm in 2004, and in 2005 he was handed the keys to the chairmans lounge with a highly sought-after spot on the board of Qantas. Mining firm PanAust, and Treasury Wine Estates followed. By 2012 Hounsell was so busy that proxy advisors CGI Glass Lewis recommended against his re-election to Qantas board because he was so overcommitted. CGI Glass Lewis also said there was a potential conflict of interest in Qantas buying $327,000 worth of wine from Hounsells Yarra Valley vineyard, Toolangi. An analysis of 1539 ASX company directors by The Age that year found Hounsell was the busiest operator in corporate Australia, jugging five directorships. Hounsells reputation as a corporate fighter and even a bruiser started to form at PanAust, a miner with copper-gold in Laos and a stake in the Frieda River copper-gold project in Papua New Guinea. A week after appointing a new managing director to replace founder Garry Stafford, effectively immediately, Stafford reportedly arrived at the companys Brisbane headquarters with lawyers in tow to discuss his future. There was little discussion on that day in November 2014. Stafford was shown the door and told police would be called if he did not leave. That prompted fury from the PanAusts founding chairman Bob Bryan, who called for Hounsells head to avoid the possibility of a recurrence of this irrational and irresponsible behaviour. Pretty soon it would be Hounsell heading for the door, with the Chinese state-owned investor Guangdong Rising Assets Management launching a takeover bid. It had already lobbed an offer of $2.20 a share a 40 per cent premium to the shareprice and upped it to $2.30 in February 2014. PanAust thought it could do better and was hunting for a higher offer, but the copper price began to fall, cooling the suitors interest and sinking the companys shares to $1.10. A lower bid of $1.71 a share came in the first half of 2015 which Hounsell rejected as opportunistic, before eventually accepting a deal of $1.85 per share. Point end Its not clear if trouble follows Hounsell around, if he follows it, or if those expecting it seek him out. But either way Hounsell soon found himself at the pointy end of one the biggest deals of 2017 as chairman of services company Spotless. What had started as talk of a merger between Spotless and mining and construction contractor Downer was starting to look more like a potential takeover when Hounsell became chairman in February to replace Margaret Jackson, who retired due to health issues. When the $1.27 billion bid offer came in March Honusell rejected it, saying it was opportunistic and designed to take advantage of Spotless low share price. He asked investors to keep faith, saying he could deliver them better value in the long-run. But that didnt stop them selling. Downer steadily chewed up the share registry and in July 2017 Hounsell reluctantly recommended shareholders accept the $1.15 share offer. Garry Hounsell (left) and Richard Umbers at Myer's AGM in November. Credit:Eddie Jim But not before stirring the pot on his way out. New York fund manger Coltrane refused to sell its 10 per cent share, and Hounsell said at the time he wasnt sure what hed do with his Spotless shares either. Simon McKeon, who was on the Spotless board during at the time of Downers takeover attempt, said he did not see Hounsell appear stressed once during the entire saga. Stress is not a word I would use with him, relative to a whole bunch of other people Ive seen in corporate life, says McKeon. I dont think hes the type to lose too much sleep at night he gives it his best shot and then basically moves on to the next battle, he says. Hes just not affected when the sleeves get rolled up and things get tough. Perilous state Hounsell is not responsible for putting Myer in its perilous state. Profits have been falling for the past 20 years. The boom in online shopping and the arrival of Amazon are only the latest structural shifts to challenge its business. Too many stores are underperforming but Myer cant afford to pay landlords to break leases and close them any faster. Four of its 63 are currently slated to shut. Hounsell revealed a $538 million write-down and a $476 million half-year loss on Wednesday. Even without the write-downs, profit fell to $40.1 million, from $62.8 million in the same half last year, while same-store sales fell 3 per cent in the half. Hounsell says his agenda is now firmly on the bottom line and that Myer will do anything that we can make money from. He will start by winning back traditional Myer shoppers who were alienated when Umbers started chasing fashion-forward high-spending customers in 2015. By tearing up the Umbers strategy, Hounsell says Myer will improve prices, products and customer service. It will also return its focus to Myers private brands, which have better margins, but, as Macquarie pointed out, have previously driven customers away. Meanwhile, better service and prices will cost money, and Myers earnings slump and its half-a-billion dollar write-down has put its balance sheet under pressure. Myers debt covenants are also tightening, with the write-down shrinking its net assets from $1 billion to $580 million - just $80 million shy of the minimum demanded by its lenders. Its fixed charges cover ratio fell from 1.8 to 1.65 times, closer to its limit of 1.5 times. Analysts say Myer can not make the investment it needs to improve the business until it lifts these lending restrictions, and the store said it was already in talks with lenders to negotiate more breathing room. Hounsell is also meeting with landlords to negotiate cheaper rent and shorter leases. Casino billionaire James Packer triggered the concern of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull two years ago by sending a series of private emails that hinted at the personal troubles that eventually caused him to step down as a director of Crown Resorts this week. Mr Packer fired off the emails to the Prime Minister with an intensity that prompted worries about his health at a time when he was under pressure in his personal and professional life. There was less concern about the subject matter of the emails, which ranged from his views on foreign policy to his support for Australia becoming a republic, than about the anxiety Mr Packer displayed in his messages to Mr Turnbull. Mr Packer donated $250,000 to the Australian Republican Movement in 2016. Some Crown shareholders were shocked by the sudden resignation of the companys key investor on Wednesday. Others had been concerned years in advance. It is not uncommon for people suffering from a mental illness to experience varying moods. UPDATE: Only 15 of the 150 pilot whales that stranded themselves in the South West of Western Australia have survived so far. Parks and Wildlife parks and business development coordinator Ben Tannock said by late this afternoon trained volunteers and specialist staff would attempt to herd those animals out to deeper water. "It's one of the mysteries of nature," he said. "Hopefully we can save as many as we can, but once they come ashore like that they do deteriorate quite quickly." "Some of the young people getting preyed upon are screaming they don't want to fight and they even run away but the other keeps going after them. "Either that or they just stand there and take the abuse. In the crowd, there's other young people filming it and laughing." After numerous reports made by parents and other users, the account was removed on Thursday. In response to the accounts, Fremantle College principal Myles Draper said he had been made aware of the Instagram pages on Wednesday, and reported them to WA Police and Instagram. "We shouldn't assume students set these pages up, however we are using any resources we have available to determine this," he said. "Some of the sites have been removed and as new sites appear we monitor and report them and work to identify any students who are following the sites. "Any students involved with bullying, cyberbullying or distributing inappropriate content are dealt with through the college's behaviour management processes which could involve the WA Police where appropriate. "We have a strong stance on bullying and work with the school community to teach students about appropriate behaviour and making positive choices." The college sent out an email to parents informing them of the accounts, and reinforced its anti-bullying policy. The reboot. However, another account soon appeared called "freocollegesuprise" [sic], which not only requested students to send in their fighting videos, but naked photos of themselves or others. And Curtin University law lecturer Anna Bunn says the owner of the page could be getting themselves into more trouble than they realise. "It's an increasingly common problem," she said. "Kids post things on social media that are either things like this, or photos and images that are potentially going to cause distress and embarrassment for the people depicted. "And in this kind of case, [it could have] reputational effects for the school. "Let's just say that a teenager was stupid enough to send in a naked photo to someone. "The fact they're a child means consent really means nothing, and whoever receives it even if its been "freely sent" is going to be in trouble for possessing child abuse material, even if the person receiving it is a child themselves. "It can be considered very serious." But Ms Bunn says it's becoming increasingly harder to police, and a legal grey area means it's hard to determine how to crackdown on the account owners. "Of course schools have a duty to keep their children safe but, it doesn't necessarily extend in terms of what they're doing off campus. It is a bit of a grey area. "What students are doing off campus still effects students when they're back at school, so when the students are on the school grounds they have a duty of care, and that may extend to making sure there is efficient supervision to prevent these kinds of things happening. "And also following up with students who have been identified in any videos that come to their attention either in terms of offering them support, or possibly disciplining the ones who have been involved in the fight. "The duty of care only requires schools to do what's reasonable and its accepted that as long as you have sufficient staff supervising, you can't always be everywhere." The youth worker who came across the page agrees with this assessment, and says she has firsthand knowledge of watching the situation escalate. "As a youth worker I found out so much information that sometimes my ears can't actually believe what they are hearing," she said. "I know that this problem is not just within this school. "I believe that violence and bullying is so rife through schools and I am not too sure if local schools have anything in place to deter or prevent this kind of behaviour. But if they do then it isn't working. "It does make it hard for the young people to talk to anyone within the school system as nothing gets done. It is just a suspension and then back to school. Loading "My advice to parents is to really know how your children are. They may tell you they are okay but really ask them, and take the time to pull them aside and ask and listen. Build a relationship with your children where they won't fear coming to you if they need to talk. Be aware of the issues going on within the schools. Don't stand back and let this happen and act like this is normal, because all of this is not normal. It is plain and simply wrong." DALLAS, March 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rocky Mountain High Brands, Inc. (OTCQB:RMHB), a fully reporting consumer goods company specializing in brand development of high-quality, health conscious, cannabidiol (CBD) and hemp-infused products and a naturally high alkaline spring water, announced today that it has named Dean Blythe to its Board of Directors. Michael Welch, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rocky Mountain High Brands, Inc., stated, We are honored to have Dean Blythe join our Board of Directors as we move into this new dawn for Rocky Mountain High Brands. Mr. Blythe brings a wealth of knowledge that will greatly benefit the Company from his experience with NYSE companies. For more information on Mr. Blythe and his background, please refer to the Companys Form 8-K filing: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1670869/000166357718000129/mainbody.htm Welch continued, Over the past several months, the Company accomplished several major significant tasks, which included: Settled a material lawsuit with its original investor Modified its authorized share structure to accommodate funding, growth and acquisitions Entered into a relationship with a new financing partner Filed a registration statement with the SEC which has gone effective Successfully recruited a former Coca-Cola executive as our Chief Commercialization Officer Brought in a new Director of Marketing Entered into the largest sales contract in the history of the Company Created an entirely new brand and developed product line-up Now, with a new financing partner, a new Sales and Marketing team, a new product line launching next week and our new Board, the Company is well-positioned for unlimited success! The Company also announced that it retired a variably-priced convertible note with a non-related third party. The Company used a total of $96,411 from the proceeds of its Equity Financing Agreement to fund the retirement of the note. About Rocky Mountain High Brands: ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH BRANDS, INC., (RMHB) is a publicly-traded brand management company. RMHB specializes in developing, manufacturing, marketing, and distributing high-quality, health conscious, hemp-infused products that span various good for you categories. The Company currently markets a lineup of four naturally flavored hemp-infused functional beverages (Citrus Energy, Black Tea, Mango Energy and Lemonade) and a low-calorie Coconut Lime Energy drink. In addition, the Company offers hemp-infused 2oz. Mango Energy Shots and Mixed Berry Energy Shots. RMHB also bottles and distributes a naturally high alkaline spring water under the name Eagle Spirit Spring Water. In March 2018, the Company is introducing its HEMPd product line to include CBD-infused waters and functional beverages, CBD-infused topicals and CBD-infused nutraceuticals. The Company plans to expand its CBD offerings as new products are developed. For interested investors, our stock symbol is RMHB. For corporate information please visit: RockyMountainHighBrands.com Visit us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rockymountainhighbrands?fref=nf Visit us on Twitter: #GetYourHempOn Visit us at Investors Hangout: http://investorshangout.com/Rocky-Mountain-High-Brands-Inc-RMHB-69150/ Investors Hangout is the only authorized Investors blog page for Rocky Mountain High Brands, Inc. Safe Harbor Act: This release includes forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involves risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the impact of competitive products, the ability to meet customer demand, the ability to manage growth, acquisitions of technology, equipment, or human resources, the effect of economic business conditions and the ability to attract and retain skilled personnel. The Company is not obligated to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release. Contact: Michael Welch, President and Chief Executive Officer michael@rockymountainhighbrands.com Corporate Accounts: John Blackington, Chief Commercialization Officer john@rockymountainhighbrands.com Investor Relations: Mike Elliot CEOLive Media Group Phone: (813) 421-1701 RMHB@ceolive.tv Jack Eversull, President The Eversull Group, Inc. Phone: (972) 571-1624 Fax: (214) 469-2361 jack@theeversullgroup.com A Perth businessman has been sentenced to more than two years in jail after he was found with over $1 million worth of illegally harvested sandalwood. Stephen John Darley, 56, was the sole director of AustOils Pty Ltd in 2013 when 96 tonnes of stolen sandalwood lumber was discovered at properties he controlled and 200 tonnes of sandalwood byproduct was found at his Bibra Lake distillery plant. Some of the 200 tonnes of 'illegally harvested' sandalwood. Credit:WA Police Sandalwood is so valuable even the byproduct, known as spent charge, was worth about $200,000. The District Court of WA heard during sentencing on Friday that Darley disagreed with the state government's strict regulation of the industry, which at the time of his offending limited the total annual harvest to 3000 tonnes. VANCOUVER, B.C., March 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Remote Technologies Ltd. (Global Remote or the Company) (CSE:RGT) (OTCMKTS:RGTZF) (Frankfurt Stock Exchange:GR9) is pleased to announce that it successfully completed its Annual General Meeting (AGM) March 21, 2018 in Vancouver, BC. During the meeting each vote was carried with near unanimous shareholder approval representing a strong confidence in the management and new direction of the company. Some highlights from the AGM include: No share rollback planned for the immediate future While the motion passed, maintaining the flexibility of a potential consolidation in the future, management is pleased to announce that there is no share rollback planned for the foreseeable future. Trading Status, New Name and Symbol Change to CRYP The Company is in the final stages of review and expects to resume trading in the near future as Cryptobloc Technologies Corp. and with the ticker symbol CRYP. These changes will help reflect the increased focus on Blockchain and Cryptocurrency opportunities. 1Linx Acquisition and Handover Completed The Company has been happy to add the 1Linx platform to our portfolio as we move to become a leader in the Blockchain and Cryptocurrency markets. 1Linx is a profitable company that works directly with one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world: Coinbase. Coinbase is a digital currency exchange headquartered in San Francisco, California. They have exchanged over $50 billion in digital and fiat currencies, and have served over 10 million customers. Coinbase brokers exchanges of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin with fiat currencies in 32 countries, and Bitcoin transactions and storage in 190 countries worldwide. Coinbase has most recently made major strides in Europe, as it is the first crypto exchange to obtain a UK BANK account. The Company will be sharing more exciting news in the coming days. About Global Remote Technologies The objective of Global Remote is to develop innovative and forward-looking technologies that improve business practices and reduce operational costs for its clients. The Company is constantly improving its product suite and is investing in blockchain, crypto-security, and crypto-currency systems that are revolutionizing the practices of Global Remotes clients and partners in all industries. While Global Remotes evolution began in the energy sector, with technology products developed for the oil and gas industry, Global Remote now continues its commitment to innovation through involvement in multiple markets. Global Remote operates in rugged locations around the globe, with offices in Canada, Mexico, Oman, and the United States. Global Remote Technologies is a public company, traded in Canada, U.S. and Germany under the symbols CSE: RGT, OTCMKTS:RGTZF and FRA: GR9. On behalf of the Board of Directors Neil Stevenson-Moore, CEO Further information about the Company is available under its profile on the SEDAR website, www.sedar.com, on the CSE website, www.thecse.com, and on its website, www.grtcse.com . Forward-Looking Information: This press release may include forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. The forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the management of the Company, including in regards to the expected benefits of the Companys acquisition of 1Linx, Canadian Securities Exchange acceptance of the Listing Statement and that the halt on trading in the Common Shares will be lifted upon exchange acceptance of the Listing Statement. Although the Companys management believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward- looking information because the Company cannot provide any assurance that it will prove to be correct. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO THE U.S.A. NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION TO THE U.S.A. CALGARY, Alberta, March 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Groundstar Resources Limited (TSXV:GSA) (the Company) is pleased to announce that it has closed on the first tranche of its previously announced non-brokered private placement of a maximum of $70,000 aggregate principle amount of convertible debenture units (the Convertible Debenture Units or CDUs) at a price of CAD$1,000 per Convertible Debenture Unit. The Company issued a total of $35,000 principle amount of CDUs. Each CDU consists of a debenture in the principal amount of CAD$1,000 (the Convertible Debenture) and bears interest at 12% and includes warrants (the Warrants) exercisable into 50,000 common shares in the capital of the Company (the Offering). Each Warrant will be exercisable to acquire one common share in the capital of the Company (each, a Warrant Share) at an exercise price of $0.05 per Warrant Share for a period of two years following the Closing Date (as hereinafter defined). The Convertible Debentures will bear interest from the Closing Date at 12.0% per annum, payable semi- annually on June 30 and December 31 of each year and will expire on the date that is two years from the applicable closing date (the Maturity Date), will be secured by the assets of the Company and be subordinate to any existing secured parties of the Company. The Convertible Debentures are convertible into common shares in the capital of the Company (Debenture Shares) at the option of the holder at any time prior to the close of business on the earlier of: (i) the last business day immediately preceding the Maturity Date; and (ii) the date when the Common Shares are consolidated as set forth below, at a conversion price of $0.02 per Common Share (the Conversion Price), subject to adjustment in certain events. The Company intends to effect a share consolidation of its common shares at a ratio to be determined in order to ensure that the conversion pricing meets the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV). All share prices in this press release are pre-consolidation amounts and will be adjusted in accordance with whatever exchange ratio is ultimately approved by the shareholders of the Company at its next annual meeting of shareholders and any such post-consolidation share price will be compliant with the pricing parameters set forth in the policies of the TSXV. Further, the transactions described herein are subject to all necessary approvals of the TSXV. The Company will utilize the net proceeds from the Offering for general corporate purposes and to seek different corporate opportunities, which may involve drilling new wells, seeking a farm-in opportunity or acquiring producing assets. The Convertible Debenture Units were issued on a private placement basis and are subject to a statutory hold period of four months and a day from today, being July 23, 2018. Closing of the Offering is subject to final approval of the TSXV. In addition, the Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Donald Gordon as a member of the board of directors and as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Gordon holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Business Administration Degree from the University of British Columbia and also has the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Mr. Gordon has over 30 years of experience and expertise in corporate finance analysis, conducting due diligence reviews for regulatory purposes and investment assessment, of public and private companies and has acted as a Consultant and Principal in dozens of reverse takeover transactions on both Canadian Stock Exchanges. Currently he is a Director of numerous public companies and engaged in both public and private company transactions. Following a 17-year career at the Vancouver Stock Exchange mainly as Director Corporate Finance, where he established the Asian Board for listings, Mr. Gordon has been a self-employed consultant to Issuers, Investment Dealers, and stock exchanges since 1999. In the past he served as Senior Advisor to the Canadian National Stock Exchange for 11 years, Executive Director of the Canadian Listed Company Association, an issuer advisory group on regulatory developments, for 14 years, Past President of the Vancouver Society of Financial Analysts, and is currently serving in his 10th year as Director of Truvera Trust Company, a fully licensed trust company. The board welcomes Mr. Gordon and looks forward to a productive relationship moving forward. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act) or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. About Groundstar Resources Limited Incorporated in 1968, Groundstar Resources Limited is a publicly traded oil and gas company actively growing a portfolio targeting producing oil and gas assets with development opportunities and exploration upside. The Companys current portfolio of resource assets provides both near term and longer-term potential. Groundstar is quoted and trades under the ticker symbol GSA on the TSX Venture Exchange. Contact Information: Groundstar Resources Limited, Suite 430, 440 - 2nd Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta T2P 5E9 www.groundstarresources.com Stephen Hughes 587.580.9344 shughes@groundstarresources.com This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including expectations regarding the anticipated closing of the Offering and the timing thereof, the gross proceeds expected to be received in connection therewith, the price at which the securities are being issued and the anticipated use of proceeds from the Offering. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. These statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and may be based on assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to: the risks associated with the oil and gas industry (e.g. operational risks in development, exploration and production; delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures; the uncertainty of reserve and resource estimates; the uncertainty of estimates and projections relating to production, costs and expenses and health, safety and environmental risks), commodity price and exchange rate fluctuation, uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures and uncertainties regarding whether regulatory approval for the Offering will be received and if received, on the timelines expected and at the anticipated pricing, as well as the intended use of the net proceeds of the Offering. The Companys forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligations to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. The World Customs Organization (WCO), supported by United States Customs and Border Protection, recently conducted a successful mission to the Maldives in March 2018. During this visit, the Maldives Customs Service (MCS), led by Chief Customs Officer Mohamed Afzal, provided a comprehensive review of the operational, intelligence and interdiction efforts being made at Velana International Airport. In addition, the Information and Technology (IT) department also provided an in depth look at the current systems in use and their capabilities to support various customs enforcement operations. To further enhance capacity for MCS officers in the passenger processing and interdiction realm, the WCO Asia Pacific Security Project, funded by the Government of Japan, was able to successfully initiate the installation of the passenger targeting Global Travel Assessment System (GTAS). Maldives Customs Service will continue their positive efforts with the airlines and Civil Aviation Authority to receive real-time passenger information and become compliant with UN Security Resolutions. This system allows customs officers to receive advanced passenger information (API) and passenger name record (PNR) to conduct pre-arrival risk assessment of passengers. Training was provided to customs targeting officers as well as the IT support team in order to become self-sufficient in long term use and maintenance of the GTAS system. At the invitation of the Comptroller of Customs, Dr. Geannine Moss, WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya visited Nassau, the Bahamas on 22 March 2018 to attend the launch of the WCO Training Programme for the Bahamas Customs and Excise Department. The Programme, funded by the Inter-American Development Bank, consists of 26 missions over a two-year period and comprises three components: organizational development, human resources and governance. As the Bahamas aims to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) within two years, this Programme is also intended to prepare the country for WTO accession. At the press conference held, Dr. Mikuriya expressed his confidence that the Programme would improve the business environment based on the solid professionalism of Bahamas Customs officers, as previously demonstrated during the WCO IT Conference hosted in Freeport, Grand Bahama in 2015. The Secretary General shared his wish to make the Bahamas a showcase for the Caribbean, one of the regions he had prioritized for the WCOs Capacity Building Strategy. Dr. Moss explained that the objective of this strategic partnership with the WCO is to bring the skills of her Customs staff up to global standards, with a view to contributing to trade facilitation and moving forward with a Single Window environment. Secretary General Mikuriya had an opportunity to observe Customs operations following cargo clearance and valuation at wharfs and at the airport. He hoped that Bahamas Customs could enhance its risk management approach by leveraging the best practices offered by the WCO. LOS ANGELES, March 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CURE Pharmaceutical (CURE or the Company) (OTC:CURR), an innovative drug delivery and development company, today announced that the Company will participate in an educational panel about cannabis science in Hawaii. This Dinner & Dialogue is put on by Lua Ola, Hawaiis leading medical cannabis provider, and will address how to build a pharmaceutical cannabis system in the state. The panel will take place on Tuesday, March 27, in Honolulu, Hawaii. CURE is leveraging the synergism created by combining cannabinoids and terpenes into its advanced oral thin film, CUREfilm, a proprietary polymer and encapsulation platform. CUREs CEO, Robert Davidson will participate on the panel in Hawaii and will discuss the companys pharmaceutical cannabinoid projects. It is essential to share our knowledge and understanding on potential pharmaceutical cannabinoid drug formulations and delivery systems because many medical needs are not currently being met by traditional pharmaceuticals, Davidson said. This panel is made up of some of the leading minds in the field so we can work together to get FDA-approved drugs to market for those who need them. Joining Davidson on this panel are other industry leaders and experts in the medical cannabis industry, including: Tracy Ryan, CEO of CANNAKIDS & Founder of SAVINGSOPHIE.org In addition to being a member of CUREs advisory board, Ryan has dedicated a huge part of her life to educating herself on the medicinal powers of medical marijuana in treating her own daughters disease, as well as all other pediatric and adult cancers, epilepsy, autism, and beyond. In addition to being a member of CUREs advisory board, Ryan has dedicated a huge part of her life to educating herself on the medicinal powers of medical marijuana in treating her own daughters disease, as well as all other pediatric and adult cancers, epilepsy, autism, and beyond. Joshua Crossney, President & Founder of JCANNA, Inc . Crossney is working to bridge the gap between analytical sciences and the medical cannabis industry to help improve the quality of medicinal cannabis products being used by patients. . Crossney is working to bridge the gap between analytical sciences and the medical cannabis industry to help improve the quality of medicinal cannabis products being used by patients. Autumn Karcey, President of Cultivo Inc. Karcey became passionate about creating optimal indoor environments where plants can be grown in a healthy, stable manner, free of pests and pathogens without the use of harmful pesticides and chemicals. Karcey became passionate about creating optimal indoor environments where plants can be grown in a healthy, stable manner, free of pests and pathogens without the use of harmful pesticides and chemicals. Dr. Dedi Meiri from Israel Institute of Technology of Cancer Biology and Cannabinoid Research Dr. Meiri heads the "Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Cannabinoid Research" at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology. His lab investigates the therapeutic potential of Phyto cannabinoids with focus on the antitumor effects of cannabinoids. CURE is sponsoring research in Dr. Meiris lab to understand how varying cannabinoid compounds within cannabis strains can affect various cancer subtypes. The results of the research will be used to predict how to match a cancer subtype with an effective cannabis extract in order to optimize treatment efficacy. About CURE Pharmaceutical CURE Pharmaceutical is a vertically integrated drug delivery and development company committed to improving drug efficacy, safety and the patient experience through its proprietary drug dosage forms and delivery systems. CURE has a full-service cGMP manufacturing facility and is a pioneering developer and manufacturer of a patented and proprietary delivery system (CUREfilm), one of the most advanced oral thin film on the market today. CURE is developing an array of products in cutting-edge delivery platforms and partners with biotech and pharmaceutical companies. CURE has positioned itself to advance numerous therapeutic categories, including the pharmaceutical cannabis sector with partnerships in the U.S., Canada, Israel and Germany, among other markets. The Companys mission is to improve peoples lives by redefining how medicines are delivered and experienced. For more information about CURE Pharmaceutical, please visit its website at www.curepharmaceutical.com. Forward-looking Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of fact, including those statements with respect to the Company's business development, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made and are not guarantees of future performance. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. Media Inquiries: Aaron Wood aaron@cmwmedia.com Telephone: (413) 627-2468 English French CAPGEMINI Societe Europeenne (European Company) with share capital of 1,350,536,264 Registered office at 11, rue de Tilsitt, 75017 Paris (France) 330 703 844 RCS Paris Paris, March 23, 2018 Capgemini Combined Shareholders' Meeting on May 23rd, 2018 Availability of documents relating to the General Meeting The Capgemini Combined Shareholders' Meeting will be held in Paris on Wednesday, May 23rd, 2018, starting at 10:00 am, at Pavillon d'Armenonville, Allee de Longchamp, Bois de Boulogne, 75016 Paris. All the documents and information relating to the General Meeting are available on the website of the company: https://investors.capgemini.com/combined-general-meeting The first notice of meeting (Avis de reunion), which includes the agenda and the text of the draft resolutions presented by the Board of Directors was published in the BALO (Bulletin des Annonces Legales Obligatoires) dated March 23rd, 2018. It includes the instructions for attending and voting and is available online on the Group's website: https://investors.capgemini.com/combined-general-meeting The preparatory documentation will be communicated or disclosed to shareholders according to the legal and regulatory conditions as of today. For more information, please don't hesitate to contact your bank or Capgemini Shareholder Relations Department. o 0 o Unemployment down across western Kentucky in August English French Elis closes the acquisition of BW Textilservice in Germany Saint Cloud, March 23, 2018 - Elis, a leading multi-services group in Europe and Latin America, specializing in the rental and maintenance of professional clothing, textile articles, hygiene and well-being appliances, announces it has closed the acquisition of 100% of BW Textilservice in Germany. BW Textilservice is a family business that operates a laundry in the Stuttgart region. It generated revenues of c. 24 million euros in 2017, entirely in the Healthcare market. Its current manager will remain plant director. With this transaction, Elis enters the Stuttgart region - one of the biggest urban areas in Germany - located in the state of Bade-Wurtemberg, the third-biggest economy and demographic area in the country. BW Textilservice has posted strong revenue growth over the last years, underscoring the Healthcare market's strong potential as well as the favorable positioning of the company in the region. Commenting on this announcement, Xavier Martire, CEO of Elis, said: "The acquisition of BW Textilservice reinforces Elis' presence in the German Healthcare segment, with a high-quality industrial asset. The quick integration of the company and its approximately 500 employees, together with the transfer of know-how, should contribute to Elis' profitable growth trajectory going forward. The German market, the biggest in Europe with turnover of more than 4 billion euros in 2017, remains very fragmented. Elis will therefore aim at further increasing its market share in the country, through both organic and external growth." Contact Nicolas Buron, Investor Relations Director - Phone: +33 1 75 49 98 30 - nicolas.buron@elis.com French English Press Release of 23 March 2018 - 19h00 In accordance with the AFEP/MEDEF Corporate Governance Code HERMES INTERNATIONAL discloses information on all elements, present or deferred, of its Executive Chairmen compensation. Compensation and Benefits in kind Principles Article 17 of the Articles of Association provides that each Executive Chairman shall be entitled to receive a statutory compensation, and possibly an additional compensation, the maximum amount of which is determined by the Shareholders' Ordinary General Meeting with the unanimous approval of the active partners. The active partner determines each year the effective compensation of each of the Executive Chairmen within the limits of these ceilings. The active partner relies on the recommendations made by the Compensation, Appointments and Governance Committee and takes notably into account the Group's achievements for the previous financial year, the strategic issues for its development with a medium to long term perspective, and the competitive environment the Group evolves in. 1. The fixed compensation - or additional compensation under the Articles of Association - was initially set by the Ordinary General Meeting of 31 May 2001, which decided to allocate additional compensation subject to a ceiling of 457,347.05 at that time. This ceiling, which can only be adjusted upwards, is indexed each year to the growth in the consolidated revenue for the previous financial year at constant exchange rates and on the same scope of consolidation, by comparison with revenue for the before to last financial year (which amounts to 2,365,549 for 2018). In compliance with this principle and in order to facilitate the understanding of the Executive Chairmen's additional compensation calculation, before indexation, the Company has always called the additional compensation a "fixed compensation", by analogy with the market practices. 2. The calculation method of the variable compensation - or statutory compensation - under article 17 of the Articles of Association has remained constant since the initial public offering on 3 June 1993. It is capped at 0.20% of the Group's consolidated income before tax in the previous financial year (which amounts to 3,790,153 for 2018). This determination method naturally and transparently leads to a strict variability of the Executive Chairmen's statutory compensation without guarantying any minimum amount. For the sake of clarity, the statutory compensation provided by the Articles is called "variable compensation", by analogy with the market practices. The evolution of the two components of the Executive Chairmen's compensation is based on objective and intelligible quantitative criteria, unaltered for many years, that are public and by nature predefined. 2018 Compensation and benefits in kind At its meeting of 19 March 2018, the Management Board of Emile Hermes SARL decided to set the Executive Chairmen's compensation for 2018 as follows: Fixed compensation (additional compensation) Gross annual amount Variable compensation (compensation provided by the Articles) Gross annual amount Company Emile Hermes SARL 500,000 756,409 Mr. Axel DUMAS 1,470,773 1,622,043 The Management Board wished to strictly apply to the compensation of the Executive Chairman natural person, the principle of variability contained in the provisions of the Articles presented above. Therefore, in compliance with these principles, it decided to make changes to the compensation of Axel DUMAS in 2018 by strictly applying the variation seen between 2016 and 2017 on the two objective quantitative criteria that have served as reference for the Chairmen compensation for many years (under Article 17 of the Articles of Association), namely - the consolidated income before tax and the consolidated revenues of the company. As for Emile Hermes SARL, Executive Chairman legal person, the Management Board decided to limit its compensation to the above indicated amounts. It is recalled that the two Executive Chairmen do not receive any multi-year variable compensation. Mr. Axel DUMAS receives benefits in kind: representation. At the meeting of the Supervisory Board on 20 March 2018, the Compensation, Appointments and Governance Committee stated that it had ascertained that the Executive Chairmen compensation was compliant with the Company's Articles of Association and with the decisions of the active partner. Other components of compensation Pension plans Defined-contribution pension scheme (art 83) Mr. Axel DUMAS is eligible for the top-up defined-contribution pension scheme set up for the benefit of all employees of the Group's French companies that have joined the scheme (Decision of the Supervisory Board of 4 June 2013, approved by the Ordinary General Meeting of 3 June 2014 - 5th resolution - pursuant to Article L 225-40 of the French Commercial Code). Defined-benefit pension scheme (art 39) Mr. Axel DUMAS is also eligible for the top-up pension scheme set up in 1991 for the benefit of the company managers (Decision of the Supervisory Board of 4 June 2013, approved by the Ordinary General Meeting of 3 June 2014 - 5th resolution - pursuant to Article L 225-40 of the French Commercial Code). This pension scheme requires notably as a mandatory precondition that beneficiaries must have reached the end of their professional career with the company, have at least 10 years' seniority and be eligible to draw pension benefits under the basic state compulsory old-age Social Security regime. Assuming all conditions for eligibility are fulfilled, the annual pension of this scheme is calculated on the basis of the average of the final three amounts of annual compensation, and may not exceed an amount of 8 times the annual Social Security ceiling. Deferred compensation obligations The Company has agreed to pay Mr. Axel DUMAS an amount equal to 24 months' total compensation (the sum of his statutory and additional compensations provided by the Articles of Association), should his appointment as an Executive Chairman be terminated (Decision of Supervisory Board of 4 June 2013 approved by the Ordinary General Meeting of 3 June 2014 in a specific resolution - the 10th resolution -pursuant to article L 225-42-1 of the French Commercial Code). Options to subscribe for and to purchase shares - Bonus shares Neither share options (either over newly issued or existing shares) nor free shares were granted to the Chairmen in 2017. The Company's corporate governance practices and all components of the Executive Chairmen's compensation in 2017 will be set out in detail in the Company's 2017 Registration Document. English French MONTREAL, March 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Coalition Quebec meilleure mine, a civil-society mining watchdog, is alerting the public and investors that Nouveau Monde Graphites president and CEO, Mr. Eric Desaulniers, appeared today at the Financial Markets Tribunal in Montreal. The Autorite des marches financiers (AMF or Securities Commission) alleges that Mr. Desaulniers participated in illegal financing activities in violation of Quebecs Securities Act. AMF has identified three cases and up to 17,000$ in alleged illegal financing and is seeking 10,500$ in penalties. Both parties (AMF and the company) were at the Tribunal today to present a settlement agreement. The Tribunal will make a decision about approving, or not, this agreement within the next few months. See full press release in French here http://www.quebecmeilleuremine.org/communique/projet-minier-controvers-saint-michel-des-saints-le-pr-sident-de-nouveau-monde-graphite-s et https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10156159567617836&id=183651392835 For information: Ugo Lapointe, Coalition Quebec meilleure mine et MiningWatch Canada, 514-708-0134 Alexandria, Va., March 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) announces its support for the FY18 omnibus appropriations bill, which passed the U.S. Senate on Thursday, March 22. The bill maintains funding at $2.055 billion for Title II, Part A, which is the only federal funding source dedicated to the preparation, training and support of teachers and principals, and is critical to improving educator quality and boosting student outcomes. The legislation also includes funding increases to other federal education programs important to principals, as well as resources to address school safety issues. The FY18 Omnibus Appropriations bill makes critical investments in education programs that help principals better serve students, said NAESPs executive director, Dr. L. Earl Franks, CAE. The preservation of Title II, Part A funding will help ensure principals continue to have access to high-quality preparation, professional development, and mentorship opportunities. This legislation also gives principals and school personnel additional resources and training to address school violence, and provides increased funding for mental health services for schools. Highlights of the FY18 Omnibus Appropriations Bill Title I Funding increases funding by $300 million to $15.8 billion. increases funding by $300 million to $15.8 billion. Title II, Part A maintains current funding level of $2.055 billion. maintains current funding level of $2.055 billion. Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (Title IV-A) increases funding by $700 million to $1.1 billion. increases funding by $700 million to $1.1 billion. STOP School Violence Act provides $75 million for FY18 and $100 million in subsequent years for school violence prevention and training grants. provides $75 million for FY18 and $100 million in subsequent years for school violence prevention and training grants. IDEA increases funding by $275 million to $12.3 billion. increases funding by $275 million to $12.3 billion. 21st Century Community Learning Centers : increases funding by $20 million to $1.2 billion. : increases funding by $20 million to $1.2 billion. Head Start increases funding by $610 million. ### About NAESP Principals are the primary catalysts for creating lasting foundations for learning. Since 1921, the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) has been the leading advocate for elementary and middle-level principals in the United States and worldwide. NAESP advances the profession by developing policy, advancing advocacy, and providing professional development and resources for instructional leadership, including specialized support and mentoring for early career principals. Key focus areas include pre-K3 education, school safety, technology and digital learning, and effective educator evaluation. For more information about NAESP, please visit www.naesp.org. NAESP administers the National Principals Resource Center, the American Student Council Association, and the President's Education Awards & American Citizenship Awards Programs. Attachment: A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/38ba25f4-6117-4921-80df-d82e31253fac NEW YORK, March 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against WageWorks, Inc. (WageWorks or the Company) (NYSE:WAGE) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Northern District of California, San Jose Division, and docketed under 18-cv-01796, is on behalf of a class consisting of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired common shares of WageWorks between May 5, 2016 and February 28, 2018, both dates inclusive (the Class Period). Plaintiff seeks to recover compensable damages caused by Defendants violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. If you are a shareholder who purchased WageWorks shares between May 5, 2016, and February 28, 2018, both dates inclusive, you have until May 8, 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 the number of shares purchased. [Click here to join this class action] WageWorks, Inc. provides tax-advantaged programs for consumer-directed health, commuter, and other employee spending account benefits, or CDBs, in the United States. The Company operates spending account management programs such as health and dependent care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs), and transit programs. The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Companys business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) there were material weaknesses in WageWorks systems of internal controls and that its practices and controls were ineffective; (ii) WageWorks failed to adequately manage and assess risk relating to certain complex transactions, including certain government contracts; (iii) WageWorks improperly recognized revenue, thereby inflating its earnings and related financial metrics; and (iv) as a result, WageWorks public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. On March 1, 2018, WageWorks issued a press release entitled WageWorks to Delay Form 10K Filing for Fiscal Year 2017, announcing that it was delaying the filing of its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2017, admitting that there were material weaknesses in WageWorks systems of internal controls and that its practices and controls as to its accounting and preparation of earnings disclosures were ineffective. On this news, WageWorks share price fell $9.75, or 18.58%, to close at $42.70 per share on March 1, 2018, on heavy volume. The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris, 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 ORANGE COUNTY, N.Y., March 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On April 2nd and April 4th, the Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters (NRCC) plans to host free information sessions to educate women in the following New York counties: Columbia, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester. These sessions will inform women in the region how they can start a rewarding career as a well-paid Union Carpenter through the Sisters in the Brotherhood (SIB) Pre-Apprenticeship Program. Information sessions will take place on the following dates and times: April 2 nd , 10 a.m. & 5 p.m. Hopewell Junction Office, 10 Corporate Park Drive # A, Hopewell Junction, NY , 10 a.m. & 5 p.m. Hopewell Junction Office, 10 Corporate Park Drive # A, Hopewell Junction, NY April 4th, 10 a.m. & 5 p.m. Northeast Carpenters Apprentice Training Fund, 52 Stone Castle Road, Rock Tavern, NY The session will give Orange County area women the opportunity to learn more about a career in carpentry. This is the SIB pre-apprenticeship programs first year in Orange County. SIB Pre-Apprentice program is a six-week training course that prepares women to become carpenter apprentices. The 40-hour per week course trains women in a variety of in-class curriculum and hands-on training in mathematics, occupational safety and hazards, hand/power tool training and job-site culture. After successful completion of the program, women graduate to the NRCC Apprenticeship program. Susan Schultz, NRCC Sisters in the Brotherhood Chair, actively works to recruit women in the Orange County area and encourages all Orange County area women to attend the information session to learn more about beginning a rewarding career in carpentry. The information session is an essential first step in becoming a Union Carpenter, said Schultz. It prepares women who are interested in carpentry to understand the expectations and requirements of the Pre-Apprentice Program. Women who have graduated from our Sisters in the Brotherhood program are already on the job site and earning a good salary and health and retirement benefits. To find out more about the information session or the SIB Pre-Apprentice Program in Orange County, NY please visit http://www.northeastcarpenters.org/orangecountypreapprentice. About the NRCC The Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters (NRCC) represents nearly 40,000 hardworking men and women in Delaware and New Jersey and portions of Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania. NRCC is one of the largest trade unions on the East Coast. The NRCC equips professional men and women carpenters with the skills, training and quality workmanship that are demanded in today's construction industry. For more information on NRCC, please visit our website: northeastcarpenters.org & like us on social Facebook: facebook.com/NortheastRegionalCouncilofCarpenters; Twitter: @nrccarpenters ; Instagram: @northeastcarpenters; LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/northeastcarpenters; and Snapchat: @nrccarpenters Contact: Tony Bianchini Phone: 609-402-1730 Winterset crushes ADM 60-36 The Winterset Huskies won Fridays non-conference homecoming game against ADM 60-36. The Huskies were opportunistic on Def and specials teams and put us in a position to be successful, said Coach Zach Sweeney. Winterset struck first with a 24 yard touchdown by Hagan Hanselman with... Huskies beat Tigers 3-1 Winterset beat Carroll 3-1 on Thursday night at Winterset High School. Our match-up with Carroll was a game we were looking forward to this season, said Coach Kalie Schult. Carroll has been a competitive team for the past four years and is always a tough... French English MONTREAL, March 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gildan Activewear Inc. (TSX:GIL) (NYSE:GIL) announced today that, in connection with its previously announced normal course issuer bid to purchase for cancellation up to 10,960,391 common shares of the Company (the NCIB), it entered into an automatic share purchase plan (the ASPP) with a designated broker to allow for the purchase of common shares under the NCIB at times when the Company would ordinarily not be permitted to purchase its common shares due to regulatory restrictions or self-imposed blackout periods. Pursuant to the ASPP, before entering into a blackout period, Gildan may, but is not required to, instruct the designated broker to make purchases under the NCIB in accordance with the terms of the ASPP. Such purchases will be determined by the designated broker in its sole discretion based on parameters established by Gildan prior to the blackout period in accordance with the rules of the Toronto Stock Exchange (the TSX), applicable securities laws and the terms of the ASPP. The ASPP has been pre-cleared by the TSX and will be implemented effective March 26, 2018. Outside of the pre-determined blackout periods, common shares may be purchased under the NCIB based on the discretion of the Companys management, in compliance with TSX rules and applicable securities laws. The NCIB commenced on February 27, 2018 and will terminate on February 26, 2019 (or such earlier date as the Company may complete its maximum purchases pursuant to the NCIB). All repurchases made under the ASPP will be included in computing the number of common shares purchased under the NCIB. About Gildan Gildan is a leading manufacturer of everyday basic apparel which markets its products in North America, Europe, AsiaPacific and Latin America, under a diversified portfolio of Company-owned brands, including Gildan, American Apparel, Comfort Colors, Gildan Hammer, Gold Toe, Anvil, Alstyle, Secret, Silks, Kushyfoot, Secret Silky, Therapy Plus, Peds and MediPeds, and under the Under Armour brand through a sock licensing agreement providing exclusive distribution rights in the United States and Canada. Our product offering includes activewear, underwear, socks, hosiery and legwear products sold to a broad range of customers, including wholesale distributors, screenprinters or embellishers, as well as to retailers that sell to consumers through their physical stores and/or ecommerce platforms. In addition, we sell directly to consumers through our own direct-to-consumer platforms. Gildan owns and operates vertically-integrated, large-scale manufacturing facilities which are primarily located in Central America, the Caribbean Basin, North America, and Bangladesh. With over 50,000 employees worldwide Gildan operates with a strong commitment to industry-leading labour and environmental practices throughout its supply chain in accordance with its comprehensive Genuine Responsibility program embedded in the Company's long-term business strategy. More information about the Company and its corporate citizenship practices and initiatives can be found at www.gildancorp.com and www.genuinegildan.com, respectively. Caution concerning forward-looking statements Certain statements included in this press release, including, but not limited to, statements relating to potential purchases of common shares under the NCIB, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Canadian securities legislation and regulations. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of conditional or forward-looking terminology such as may, will, expect, intend, estimate, project, assume, anticipate, plan, foresee, believe or continue or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology. Forward-looking statements, by their nature, are based on assumptions, and are subject to important risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements cannot be relied upon due to, amongst other things, changing external events, market conditions and general uncertainties regarding the business. Actual results may differ materially from results indicated in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those identified in the companys filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the risks described under the Financial risk management, Critical accounting estimates and judgments, and Risks and uncertainties sections of our most recent Managements Discussion and Analysis for a discussion of the various factors that may affect the Companys future results. There can be no assurance that the expectations represented by our forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Unless otherwise stated, the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and we do not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise unless required by applicable legislation or regulation. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Investor inquiries: Sophie Argiriou Vice President, Investor Communications (514) 343-8815 sargiriou@gildan.com Media inquiries: Garry Bell Vice President, Corporate Marketing and Communications (514) 744-8600 gbell@gildan.com The Humane Society of the United States was called in by the Cabarrus County Sheriffs Office to assist in the rescue of nearly 130 animals from a suspected puppy mill in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. The Sheriffs Office served a search and seizure warrant on the property this morning and found approximately 105 dogs, 20 cats and three goats housed in unsafe and unsanitary conditions. Many animals had untreated medical issues, were pregnant and in need of urgent veterinary care. Representatives from Cabarrus Animal Hospital are providing veterinary expertise. popular Ahead of the March For Our Lives, a new report exposes extent of the NRAs huge influence in Washington HOUSTON, March 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GulfMark Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:GLF) announced today that its three months ended December 31, 2017 operating results conference call is scheduled for Thursday, March 29, 2018, at 9:00 a.m. eastern standard time. The conference call will include a discussion by management regarding the Companys results of operations. The Company will issue results for the three months ended December 31, 2017 the evening before the scheduled call. To participate in the teleconference, investors in the U.S. should dial 1-888-317-6003 at least 15 minutes before the start time and when prompted, enter the passcode 6349266. Canada-based callers should dial 1-866-284-3684, and international callers outside of North America should dial +1 412-317-6061. The webcast of the conference call can also be accessed by visiting the Companys website, www.gulfmark.com. A replay of the conference call will be available beginning one hour after the end of the conference call and ending April 5, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. eastern standard time. To access the replay from the U.S. please dial 1-877-344-7529; outside the U.S. please dial +1 412-317-0088. Please reference conference number 10118522. An audio file of the conference call will be available on the companys website approximately one hour after the end of the call. GulfMark Offshore, Inc. provides marine transportation services to the energy industry through a fleet of offshore support vessels serving every major offshore energy industry market in the world. Contact: Sam Rubio Investor Relations E-mail: Sam.Rubio@GulfMark.Com (713) 963-9522 Close Get email notifications on Lisa Neff daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. Whenever Lisa Neff posts new content, you'll get an email delivered to your inbox with a link. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Close Get email notifications on Louis Weisberg daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. Whenever Louis Weisberg posts new content, you'll get an email delivered to your inbox with a link. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. As protests continue to erupt in the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, and across the world in outrage against the horrific shooting of Jacob Bla Read more WiGBits Headline News Would you like to receive our WiGBits? Signup today! WiG Entertainment News Would you like to receive our WiG Entertainment News? Signup today! Digital Issue Would you like to receive our Digital Issue? Signup today! GYUNGGIDO, South Korea, March 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Well-established in the Asian supply chain, Gladcomm Co., Ltd. is now looking to raise its profile in emerging markets such as Africa, Brazil, and Russia, specialising in one-stop manufacturing and related services for the telecommunications and electronics market. Gladcomm was formed in Korea in 2010 and has grown steadily both within Korea and by expansion to China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines. Sourcing and manufacturing will remain based in Asia, but sales will grow through a network of the supply chain with reliable suppliers. With its focus on social responsibility and technical excellence, Gladcomm has achieved recognition as an Innovative Company of Management by the Korean government. In order to raise its profile more globally, the company is now also attending international business fairs in both Europe and the US. Gladcomms business model is primarily B2B as an OEM, EMS suppliers partnered with Asian manufacturers in the telecommunications and electronics sector and also expanded into the electrics sector. Supplying partners have expected consistently high-quality delivered on-time and to specification. As an indication of the scale of operation, Gladcomm would normally operate a minimum order value of $10,000 USD. Our manufacturing chain responds quickly to customer requirements, delivering best-value through proven production capabilities, materials and logistics management. Our experience and skill in this area ensure our complete reliability, says Steve Cho, Founder, and CEO of Gladcomm Co. Ltd. We never compromise on customer satisfaction or safety, and this has maintained our position as the valued partner of about 30 respective companies over the last decade, he adds. Gladcomm is research-driven, devoting around 10% of revenues to Research and Development and is always willing to consider partnerships with other organizations when this is mutually beneficial. For example, Gladcomm has strategic partnerships with Dankuk University and manufacturing solution companies. The company focuses on supporting the telecommunications, electronics market and also expanded to electrics market for various needs of clients, and has developed products such as rapid mobile chargers and a multi-channel wireless microphone with a patent for a multi-channel wireless microphone removing interference" using a revolutionary technology. The slogan is Your reliable manufacturing partner. In order to achieve this Gladcomm has invested in state-of-the-art business and manufacturing software and equipment. It is committed to the Six Sigma (TM) approach. This achieves consistency and quality by identifying and managing-out potential points of failure. A Six Sigma process equates to roughly 3.4 defects per million opportunities for a defect. The companys mission statement is to deliver high quality-services; to be a reliable manufacturing partner; and to demonstrate high social responsibility. For example, investing heavily in staff training and development. Gladcomm always seeks to exceed customer expectations. Gladcomms strategy involves: Meeting client's expectations for consistently high-quality delivered on-time and to specification. Efficient supply chain by concrete co-operation Provision of products of the highest quality Systematization Quick decision making Innovation of supplying system Flexibility and adaptation to circumstances More information on the company, along with details on how to access their manufacturing expertise can be found by visiting http://www.asianmanufacture.com/en/index.asp For more information contact: Address 16-4, Dongbaekjungang-ro 16, Giheung-gu Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea Contact Person Name: Hye Min Kim Phone: +82-31-286-2937 E-mail: sales@gladcomm.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a42952ee-203f-490a-b3a4-91b559e1ace6 New African Centre to study the US A new Centre at Wits University has been established to serve as an intellectual hub for the study of the United States. Named the African Centre for the Study of the United States (ACSUS), the Centre will generate new knowledge of the US in Africa and produce applied knowledge for different sectors. Wits University and partners held a conference to mark this development on 8 March 2018 at the Wits Club, Braamfontein Campus East. Professor Tawana Kupe, Wits Acting Vice-Chancellor and Vice Principal said the Centre has been in the making for two years and fits with the Universitys vision. The new Centre is aligned to the Wits Vision 2022, a strategic framework which aims to solidify the Universitys position as aleading research intensive University. Part of the strategic objectives of ACSUS is to establish an African-based hub for critical thinking and analysis, create a vibrant multi and inter-disciplinary home for collegial and collaborative explorations, says Professor Gilbert Khadiagala, Director of ACSUS. Furthermore, we want to build strategic partnerships with think-tanks, civil society organisations and universities in Africa and the US and provide a base for visiting scholars researching and teaching in relevant areas, adds Khadiagala. The Bergman family, the US Embassy in South Africa and the Ford Foundation are some of the early supporters of the Centre. Speaking at the conference, Charge dAffaires Jessye Lapenn said that the US Mission to South Africa supports ACSUS because Africa matters. She noted six of the worlds ten fastest growing economies are in Africa and that progress towards opening markets for free trade and foreign investment has spurred economic growth, development, and tremendous opportunity across the continent. The United States is very much engaged in Africa today and ACSUS will be a platform to develop the understanding that will advance both American and African priorities, noted Lapenn. Philanthropist and American based Wits alumna, Dr Marion Bergman was in attendance. She commended the inclusive nature of the Centre. There are many things that I like about this Centre. ACSUS is inclusive. It is not a Wits Centre, but an African Centre. That is very attractive for me, said Bergman. Dr Bergman is married to Stanley Bergman, a Wits alumnus and CEO of Henry Schein, Inc. Speaking on behalf of Bergman, David Kochman Vice President for Corporate Affairs at Henry Schein says that their involvement with the Centre is enlightened by self-interest. We, as a company, firmly believe that the success of the global economy is closely linked to the growth and development of the new Africa and Wits is a dynamic shining educational beacon of the entire continent. There is certainly no question that Africas progress is truly extraordinary and that Wits graduates are global leaders that are unlocking Africas potential. Moeletsi Mbeki, Deputy Chairman of the South African Institute of International Affairs and the first private funder of the Centre took delegates down memory lane recounting the shared history between the two countries. We solved the problem of apartheid with the intervention of the US especially in the 1970s and the 1980s. As old partners in eradicating inequality, South Africa and the US have lots to share as they confront modern day challenges, such as economic inequality. ACSUS will officially be launched later this year. NEW YORK MILLS -- New York Mills police confirmed shots fired at Pizza Boys on Clinton Street on Thursday night. Several units responded to the call, which came in around 9:00 p.m. Police say no one was injured, but they are investigating whether or not the shots were intentional. The investigation is ongoing by the New York Mills Police Department. Stay with NEWSChannel 2 for more updates. Culture Hollywood film Dune spotlights the stunning beauty of Abu Dhabi Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to Arrakis the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. China News on Women Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home page US fiscal 2018 budget approved 23 March 2018 Share UPDATED: This story has been updated to include comments from Uranium Producers of America. Both houses of the US Congress have approved an omnibus appropriations bill including USD1.2 billion for nuclear energy. The bill will see the suspension of sales by the Department of Energy (DOE) of surplus uranium to pay for decommissioning work at the former Portsmouth uranium enrichment plant. Senators today approved the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2018, which appropriates some $1.3 trillion of US treasury funds and covers the period to 30 September, by 65 votes to 32. The House of Representatives yesterday approved the act by 256 votes to 167. The bill, which the White House yesterday described as "a win for the American people", can now go to President Donald Trump for signature. The USD1.2 billion for nuclear energy approved by Congress is significantly more than the USD703 million in the president's fiscal 2018 budget request for the Department of Energy. However, requests for appropriations by both the DOE and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to restart licensing activities for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository and establish an interim storage programme for used nuclear fuel are not included in the final version. The NRC receives an appropriation of USD909 million. This includes USD10 million "for activities related to the development of regulatory infrastructure for advanced nuclear technologies". The DOE in February submitted a budget request for fiscal 2019, which begins on 1 October, totalling USD30.6 billion. This includes USD757 million for the Office of Nuclear Energy and USD120 million to restart its application process for Yucca Mountain. The NRC itself put forward a request fiscal 2019 that includes nearly $50 million for work related to the proposed repository. Barter suspended The budget appropriates USD840 million "for Department of Energy expenses necessary in carrying out uranium enrichment facility decontamination and decommissioning, remedial actions." This includes the clean-up of the former Portsmouth gaseous diffusion uranium plant in Piketon, Ohio, which has over recent years received funding from the sale of DOE-held inventories of uranium in a process known as "bartering". DOE had been transferring 2100 tU per year of excess uranium not needed for national security in exchange for services at Portsmouth and also for the downblending of high-enriched uranium. US uranium producers have expressed growing concern about the effects of DOE inventory transfers on the uranium market. In March 2017, the DOE asked for public comment on the effects of transfers of its excess uranium inventory on the country's uranium mining, conversion and enrichment industries. The DOE's request was issued the day after the US Government Accountability Office raised issues related to excess uranium transfers over the previous decade. The inclusion of funds for the Portsmouth decommissioning in the budget means the barter is now suspended until the end of the current bill, on 30 September. Ahead of the congressional votes, US Energy Secretary Rick Perry on 20 March told the Senate Natural Resources Committee that in his opinion the uranium bartering process was poorly designed. "Personally, I'd like to see it stopped completely," he said. "Our efforts should be focused on letting the uranium marketplace work as it should while continuing without disruption the important work that is taking place at the Portsmouth site," he added. The Uranium Producers of America (UPA) organisation, which has previously called on the DOE to halt transfers of federal excess uranium inventory until the uranium market recovers, applauded Congress for the action which the UPA said would keep about 1.6 million pounds of uranium from "flooding" the market in the coming months. "At a time when our industry is providing less than 2% of the fuel needed to power our domestic nuclear reactors, halting Department of Energy uranium transfers is the right policy and we look forward to working with Congress and the Administration on a long-term plan for the inventory as well as other actions to ensure we have a strong and stable domestic industry," the organisation said. Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics IAEA reviews safety at Olkiluoto 3 ahead of start-up 23 March 2018 Share The operator of the first-of-a-kind EPR reactor nearing start-up in Finland has shown a commitment to safety, an expert team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has concluded. The team also identified areas for further enhancements as Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) prepares to put Olkiluoto unit 3 online later this year. The Olkiluoto EPR, pictured in August 2016 (Image: TVO) A Pre-Operational Safety Review Team (Pre-OSART) yesterday concluded an 18-day mission to assess operational safety at the 1600 MWe reactor at Olkiluoto, on Finland's southwestern coast. The 11-member team comprised experts from Belgium, China, France, the UK, the USA as well as IAEA officials. Pre-OSART missions aim to improve operational safety by objectively assessing safety performance using the IAEA's Safety Standards and proposing recommendations for improvement where appropriate. The IAEA said such reviews are "not a regulatory inspection, nor is it a design review or a substitute for an exhaustive assessment of the plant's overall safety status". The review covered the areas of leadership and management for safety; training and qualification; operations; maintenance; technical support; operating experience; radiation protection; chemistry; emergency preparedness and response; accident management; and commissioning. The Pre-OSART mission team identified a number of good practices at Olkiluoto 3 that will be shared with the nuclear industry globally. These include the plant developing and implementing "an efficient system for improving knowledge and skills of staff members". The plant has developed and validated a unique method for performing suspended solids analysis using a microscope, imaging software and a digital camera. TVO has also introduced a system for systematically assessing nuclear safety culture in the plant supplier organisation during construction and commissioning. The mission made several recommendations to improve operational safety at Olkiluoto 3, including plant management setting "appropriate expectations, communicate them to staff and reinforce them in the field". The team also suggested the plant improve the implementation of its foreign material exclusion programme, aimed at preventing potential damage from the introduction of residue, dirt, debris and other substances. In addition, it said fire protection and prevention arrangements at the plant should be enhanced. Team leader Yury Martynenko, Senior Nuclear Safety Officer in the IAEA's Operational Safety Section, said: "Constructing a large, modern nuclear power plant designed for 60 years of operation requires senior leaders to adopt a sustained commitment to nuclear safety for every level of the organisation. The Pre-OSART team has observed that commitment and has been able to offer practical ways in which it can be enhanced." The mission team has submitted a draft report of its finding to the plant management. The management, together with the Finnish nuclear regulator, will be able to comment on the report, a final version of which will be submitted to the Finnish government within three months. Follow-up missions are standard components of the OSART programme and are typically conducted within two years of the initial mission. Olkiluoto 3 plant management said it would address the areas identified for improvements by the Pre-OSART and requested a follow-up OSART mission in about 18 months. Marjo Mustonen, TVO Senior Vice President of Production, said, "Pre-OSART provides a great opportunity to have international top experts come to Olkiluoto to carry out an independent review of the safety of our new plant. Following the principle of continuous improvement, we are going to take the development suggestions made as a result of the process into account in our operation." Under the latest schedule for Olkiluoto 3, grid connection takes place in December, with the start of regular electricity production in May next year. The unit's ramp-up programme will see it produce 2-4 TWh of electricity, at varying power levels between those dates. In March 2017, the IAEA completed an Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) mission to the two operating 880 MWe boiling water reactors at the Olkiluoto plant. That team concluded TVO had demonstrated a strong commitment to safety and noted the plant management's commitment to continuously improving the leadership, motivation and well-being of staff. Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics President Donald Trumps ex-national security advisor John Bolton said Trump may move toward appeasing Iran if he wins a second term. The Times of Israel reports that, speaking to Israeli media, Bolton said Trump wanted to have a meeting with the Iranian leadership to talk about getting a new nuclear deal with Iran. He added, Just as Kim Jong Un played Trump along in the Korea context, I worry that in a second term the Iranians might be able to do the same. Regarding Trumps pledges to continue the containment policy on Iran, Bolton said, He certainly has a lot of different versions of facts. They tend to come and go as they suit him. I found that very frustrating, I think foreign leaders find it frustrating. Id rather have somebody more grounded in reality as president. Email to a friend, Share on Facebook, Share on Twitter, and more: Email Sign Up For Our Free Weekly Newsletter Sign Up Free | The WPJ Weekly Newsletter Relevant real estate news. Actionable market intelligence. Right to your inbox every week. Go Thank you for your interest! You will now be receiving our Weekly Real Estate Newsletter. Real Estate Listings Showcase According to the Miami Association of Realtors, Miami existing condominium and total luxury home sales increased in February 2018.Miami-Dade County existing condominium sales--which are competing with one of the most robust new construction markets in the country -- rose for the fourth consecutive month in February. Miami luxury $1-million-and-up sales jumped 31 percent, from 116 in February 2017 to 152 in February 2018."Miami $1-million-and-up home sales have surged in four of the last five months, a sign of the robust pent-up demand for Miami luxury properties," said George Jalil, a Miami broker and the 2018 MIAMI chairman of the board. "In regards to Miami existing condos, a spike in condo transactions in the $200,000 to $300,000 range fueled another strong month for the sector."Federal tax reform, which was signed into law Dec. 22, sets a deductions cap for income, sales and property taxes at $10,000. The new cap is leading more residents of states with high property values and state income tax to purchase properties in states such as Florida, which has no state income tax and a pro-business tax structure.Miami existing condo sales increased for the fourth consecutive month, rising 3 percent to 983 from 954. The increase was fueled in a surge in entry-level home sales. Existing condo home sales in the $200,000 to $300,000 price range jumped 21.4 percent, from 220 in February 2017 to 267 in February 2018.Single-family home sales decreased 6.9 percent, from 881 to 820. Lack of single-family home supply in mid-price ranges is negatively impacting sales despite strong demand.Total existing Miami-Dade County residential sales decreased 1.7 percent year-over-year from 1,835 to 1,803.Total sales volume for all properties accounted for $864 million last month, up 3.6 percent from $834.1 million a year ago. Sales don't include Miami's multi-billion dollar new construction condo market.Lack of access to mortgage loans continues to inhibit further growth of the existing condominium market. Of the 9,307 condominium buildings in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, only 12 are approved for Federal Housing Administration loans, down from 29 last year, according to Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation and FHA.Total Miami luxury $1-million-and-up sales jumped 31 percent, from 116 in February 2017 to 152 in February 2018.Miami condo luxury sales jumped 30.9 percent, from 55 to 72, in February 2018. Miami condo luxury sales have risen in four out of the last five months (Feb. 2018, Jan. 2018, Dec. 2017 and Oct. 2017).Miami single-family luxury home sales rose 31.1 percent, from 61 to 80. Miami single-family luxury sales have risen in four out of the last five months (Feb. 2018, Jan. 2018, Dec. 2017 and Oct. 2017).Miami-Dade County single-family home prices increased 3.6 percent in February 2018, increasing from $321,000 to $332,500. Miami single-family home prices have risen for 75 consecutive months, a streak spanning more than six years. Existing condo prices rose 4.5 percent, from $220,000 to $230,000 in February. Condo prices have increased in 78 of the last 81 months.According to Freddie Mac, the average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage moved higher for the fifth straight month to 4.33 percent in February (highest since 4.34 percent in April 2014) from 4.03 percent in January. The average commitment rate for all of 2017 was 3.99 percent.Only 7.6 percent of all closed residential sales in Miami were distressed last month, including REO (bank-owned properties) and short sales, compared to 13.3 percent in February 2017. In 2009, distressed sales comprised 70 percent of Miami sales.Total Miami distressed sales declined 43.9 percent year-over-year, from 244 to 137 last month.Short sales and REOs accounted for 1.7 and 5.9 percent, respectively, of total Miami sales in February 2018. Short sale transactions dropped 41.2 percent year-over-year while REOs fell 44.6 percent.Nationally, distressed sales accounted for 4 percent of sales, down from 7 percent a year ago.The median number of days between listing and contract dates for Miami single-family home sales was 46 days, a 24.6 percent decrease from 61 days last year. The median number of days between the listing date and closing date for single-family properties was 94 days, a 16.1 percent decrease from 112 days.The median time to contract for condos stayed even year over year at 83 days. The median number of days between listing date and closing date decreased 3.1 percent to 123 days.The median percent of original list price received for single-family homes was 95.4 percent. The median percent of original list price received for existing condominiums was 93.8 percent.Nationally, total existing-home sales grew 3.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.54 million in February from 5.38 million in January. After last month's increase, sales are now 1.1 percent above a year ago.Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes totaled 18,620 last month, up 3.3 percent compared to February 2017, according to Florida Realtors. Statewide closed condo sales totaled 8,457 last month, up 6.4 percent compared to February 2017.The national median existing-home price for all housing types in February was $241,700, up 5.9 percent from February 2017 ($228,200). February's price increase marks the 72ndstraight month of year-over-year gains.The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes last month was $246,500, up 9.6 percent from the previous year, according to Florida Realtors. The statewide median price for townhouse-condo properties in February was $179,500, up 7.2 percent over the year-ago figure.Miami cash transactions comprised 42.8 percent of February 2018 total closed sales, compared to 47.4 percent last year. Miami cash transactions are almost double the national figure (24 percent).Miami's high percentage of cash sales reflects South Florida's ability to attract a diverse number of international home buyers, who tend to purchase properties in all cash. Miami has a higher percent of cash sales for condos due to lack of financing approvals for buildings.Condominiums comprise a large portion of Miami's cash purchases as 54.2 percent of condo closings were made in cash in January compared to 29.0 percent of single-family home sales.Inventory of single-family homes decreased 2.3 percent in February from 6,489 active listings last year to 6,342 last month. Condominium inventory increased 4.0 percent to 15,902 from 15,289 listings during the same period in 2017.Monthly supply of inventory for single-family homes increased 1.7 percent to 6.0 months, which indicates a seller's market. Existing condominiums have a 14.4-month supply, which indicates a buyer's market. A balanced market between buyers and sellers offers between six and nine months supply of inventory.Total active listings at the end of February increased 2.1 percent year-over-year, from 21,778 to 22.244. Active listings remain about 60 percent below 2008 levels when sales bottomed.New listings of Miami single-family homes increased 11.3 percent to 2,814 from 2,950. New listings of condominiums increased 7.3 percent, from 2,414 to 2,590.Nationally, total housing inventory at the end of February rose 4.6 percent to 1.59 million existing homes available for sale, but is still 8.1 percent lower than a year ago (1.73 million) and has fallen year-over-year for 33 consecutive months. Unsold inventory is at a 3.4-month supply at the current sales pace (3.8 months a year ago). Congressional Democratic leaders have decided that there will be no protection for DACA recipientsthe young undocumented immigrants brought to this country as childrenin the omnibus budget bill that must pass the House and Senate by midnight Friday night. The budget bill, appropriating funds for all major federal agencies for the rest of the current fiscal year, which ends September 30, is the last piece of major legislation that Congress must pass before the November 6 election. It is widely expected that there will be no significant legislative action after that, as all members of the House of Representatives and one-third of the members of the Senate concentrate on their renomination and reelection campaigns. That means if no legal protection for DACA recipients is attached to the budget bill, the issue is likely dead until after the election. President Trump rescinded the executive order establishing the DACA program last year, with the action taking effect two weeks ago, on March 5. But two federal district courts, one in California and one in New York, have blocked this action at least temporarily, issuing orders to the US Customs and Immigration Services to continue renewing two-year work permits for DACA recipients. The Trump administration sought emergency review by the Supreme Court, but the court refused to take the matter up outside the normal appeals process. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is already taking up the California case, and an appeal of the New York decision is likely to be heard by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The delayed action on Trumps rescinding of DACA has given the Democrats a certain political cover, as they can pretend that the issue no longer has the same urgency, since ICE agents are not currently rounding up DACA recipients and deporting them. But an unfavorable appeals court ruling or a change of mind by the Supreme Court could put hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients in immediate danger. Democratic leaders made statements indicating they had decided that it was impossible to reach agreement with the White House over the terms of an extension of DACA protection, and that they had given up trying. Last week a group of 84 House Democrats sent a letter to both the Democratic and Republican leaders arguing for inclusion of protection for DACA recipients in the budget. The small size of the grouponly a minority of the minority in the Housetestifies to the general indifference to the plight of these young immigrants on the part of the US political establishment. They are viewed as a useful prop for electoral purposesfor the Democrats, to pretend to be sympathetic to the concerns of Hispanic and Asian-American voters, for most Republicans, to demonstrate toughness in their appeals to anti-immigrant bigotry. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi summed up the position most cynically Thursday, saying, Theres not a whole lot of reason to negotiateto do anything that is not already covered by the court decision. She defended proceeding with a clean budget billi.e., one that funds the federal government, and particularly the military machine, without any additional non-budgetary provisions like protection for DACA recipients. She argued, It is necessary for us to pass [the omnibus] to defend our country, to invest in our childrens future, to keep America number one in every respect, to do so in a way that creates jobs. On the Senate side, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer rejected one White House proposal, $25 billion for Trumps wall along the US-Mexico border in return for a 30-month extension of DACA protection. While saying he wouldnt negotiate in public, Schumer said, I dont think the wall is border security. We will fight for real border security, not fake border security. Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Schumers deputy, Senate Minority Whip Richard Durbin, was asked whether Democrats were abandoning DACA recipients by not using their leverage in the budget talksthe bill requires the support of at least 10 Democrats in the Senate, and many more than that in the House because of expected defections by ultra-right Republicans. Durbin equated any fight for DACA recipients with shutting down the federal government, and rejected that course. Were not going to have a shutdown, he said, but Im urging leaders to come together and understand theres an emergency here. We have to move on a bipartisan basis. By Monday morning, the well-connected Capitol publication The Hill was reporting that the Democratic leadership had rejected any strategy based on insisting that protection for DACA recipients must be incorporated into the budget bill: The apparent change in strategy has angered immigrant rights advocates in and out of Congress, who want the minority Democrats to use their rare leverage on the enormous government funding packageamong the last must-pass bills of the yearto secure protections for the hundreds of thousands of young immigrants who came to the country illegally as children. Congressional negotiators were expected to release the final text of the budget bill late Monday night, in time for the House to vote final passage on Wednesday, and giving the Senate just two more days to pass the bill and avoid a government shutdown at midnight on Friday night. Typical of Democratic Party thinking was this comment by Representative John Yarmuth of Kentucky, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee and a key participant in the talks. We got about 80 percent of what we were trying to get, and if you cant accept 80 percent, then the system cant function, he said. The budget bill is more likely to be delayed by right-wing Republican efforts to add provisions to the legislation extending the Hyde Amendmentwhich bars the use of federal funds to pay for abortionsto cover subsidies for people who buy individual health care policies under the Affordable Care Act. In effect, such language would prohibit those buying policies on the ACA exchanges from purchasing abortion coverage. Meanwhile a second group of endangered immigrants faced a deadline Monday. The 195,000 Salvadoran immigrants covered by Temporary Protected Status had until Monday to obtain their last renewal of protected status before the program is shut down by the Trump administration in September 2019. The Salvadoran government said only about 125,000 immigrants had filed for renewals, meaning that as many as 70,000 could become subject to immediate deportation. Most immigrants covered by TPS have been living in the United States for more than 20 years and have US citizen children. The Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad is reportedly taking measures to prepare for a US military strike against the capital of Damascus. Washington has escalated its threats of a direct military attack as the Syrian army, backed by Russian air power, has made decisive advances in its siege of the Damascus suburb of eastern Ghouta, one of the last strongholds of the Western-backed Islamist rebels. In the past few days, tens of thousands of civilians have streamed out of the enclave, which has been controlled by the successor to the Syrian Al Qaeda affiliate, the Al Nusra Front, and its allies. Syrian government forces have recovered 80 percent of the area, dividing what remains into three isolated pockets, each of which is surrounded. The imminent fall of eastern Ghouta is unfolding parallel to the overrunning of the Kurdish enclave of Afrin in northwestern Syria by the Turkish army and its proxy ground troops, the so-called Free Syrian Army, which is made up in large part of ISIS and Al Nusra Front fighters. The Turkish victory has sent some quarter of a million people fleeing for their lives. The fall of eastern Ghouta to the Assad government represents a milestone in the failure of the Western-backed and CIA-orchestrated war for regime change initiated by the US and its allies in Syria seven years ago, utilizing Al Qaeda-linked militias as their proxy ground forces. The rebel-held territory has been utilized to launch mortar and rocket attacks on the Syrian capital, as well as to organize car bombings and other acts of terrorism. With the retaking of the area by the government, Washington fears a loss of leverage in its attempt to salvage its regime-change operation by pressuring for the ouster of Assad as part of an internationally brokered political settlement of the Syrian conflict. This is what lies behind the renewed campaign over unsubstantiated allegations of Syrian government forces using chlorine gas bombs in their attack on eastern Ghouta. While Damascus, which carried out the complete destruction of its chemical weapons stockpiles under international supervision, has denied any such attack, leading figures in the Trump administration have issued direct threats of American military retaliation, directed not only against Syria, but its principal military allies, Russia and Iran, as well. Thus, last Thursday, President Donald Trumps National Security Advisor, Gen. H. R. McMaster, delivered a speech at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., insisting, All civilized nations must hold Iran and Russia accountable for their role in enabling atrocities and perpetuating human suffering in Syria. McMaster added, Assad should not have impunity for his crimes, and neither should his sponsors. Similarly, the US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, issued a warning last week to the outlaw Syrian regime, that Washington remains prepared to act if we must. Referring to last years US cruise missile attack on a Syrian airfield, she added: It is not a path we prefer. But it is a path we have demonstrated we will take, and we are prepared to take again. The hypocrisy of the American charges and humanitarian pretensions is shameless, given the massive civilian casualties inflicted by the US militarys sieges of Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq, where relentless air strikes and artillery bombardments inflicted tens of thousands of civilian casualties and reduced entire cities to rubble. And, while condemning and threatening military action against the Syrian government and its allies, Washingtons reaction to the atrocities carried out in Afrin by Turkeywhich like the US has sent troops into Syria illegally, without the permission of the countrys government or any international authorizationhas been decidedly muted, with the State Department merely issuing statements of serious concern. The sentiment within sections of the US military and intelligence apparatus for an escalation of the intervention against the Assad governmentand its ally Russiafound expression in a column published Monday by the Washington Post headlined, Will Trump try to stop Assads chemical weapons use? Written by the newspapers global opinion columnist Josh Rogin, the column warns that Americas credibility is on the line and that If nothing happens before Eastern Ghouta falls, Haley and McMasters bluff will have been called. That spells disaster for upcoming diplomatic standoffs with Assad, Russia and Iran in other parts of Syria. These standoffs are not merely diplomatic, as was made clear in last months US strike on a pro-government force that claimed the lives of a number of Russian military contractors near strategic oil and gas fields in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor. The American military action was in furtherance of Washingtons aim of carving out a US-controlled zone east of the Euphrates River along Syrias borders with Turkey and Iraq. This area, covering nearly a third of Syrias territory, is to be controlled by thousands of US troops along with their main proxy force, the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces, which consists largely of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia. The latest US threats have been taken with deadly seriousness by Moscow. The chief of the Russian militarys general staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, warned that Washington and its proxy Islamist militias were preparing to stage a fake chemical weapons attack to use as a pretext for a US military strike. He warned that any threat to the lives of Russian troops in Syria would be answered with retaliatory measures both over the missiles and carriers that will use them. Asharq al-Awsat, the London-based pan-Arab newspaper controlled by the Saudi regime, published a report citing Western diplomats as saying that the Assad government was taking measures in anticipation of an imminent US attack. It claimed that Russian military personnel had been deployed at critical locations in Damascus in an attempt to deter airstrikes, and that the United Nations had moved some of its staff from areas it feared could be targeted. Amid the threats of a confrontation in Syria between the worlds two major nuclear powers, the overrunning of Afrin by the Turkish military and its allied Syrian Islamist militia has increased the possibility of an unprecedented military clash between two ostensible NATO allies, Turkey and the US. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gloated Monday over the fall of the city of Afrin to Turkish forces the day before, declaring that Kurdish fighters had fled with their tails between their legs. The city was largely abandoned as well by its civilian population, which feared atrocities at the hands of the Turkish military and its allied Al Qaeda-linked militias. These forces systematically looted businesses and homes in the city after conquering it, as well as knocking down a statue in the city center of the ancient mythical figure Kaveh, the blacksmith, who is seen as a symbol of Kurdish struggle against oppression. The events, which have included the flight of some 250,000 people into the countryside without food or refuge, appear to presage a systematic ethnic-cleansing operation, in which Kurds will be permanently driven from their homes and replaced with Syrian Sunni Arab refugees living in Turkey. Turkeys military invasion, dubbed Operation Olive Branch and begun two months ago, is aimed at preventing the establishment of a Syrian-Kurdish autonomous zone on Turkeys southern border. The action was provoked by Washingtons announcement that it intended to continue its occupation of Syrian territory indefinitely and to organize its YPG-dominated proxy forces into a 30,000-strong border security force. The Turkish government views the YPG as an extension of the Turkish Kurdish PKK, against which it has waged a more than three-decades-long counterinsurgency operation. Both Washington and Ankara have formally branded the PKK a terrorist organization. Speaking to an audience of judges and prosecutors in Ankara on Sunday, Erdogan declared that while the capture of Afrin was an important stage of the Turkish operation in Syria, We will continue this process until we have entirely abolished the corridor through Manbij, Ayn al-Arab, Tel-Abyad, Ras al-Ayn and Qamishli. Manbij is a city in Syrias Aleppo province west of the Euphrates River, which is in the hands of both the YPG and US Special Forces troops. The other towns mentioned by Erdogan are located east of the Euphrates, where the Pentagon is attempting to carve out a zone of US control, using the Syrian Kurdish militia as its proxy force. An advance on any of these areas poses a direct confrontation between American and Turkish troops. Donald Trump announced yesterday that the former US ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, will replace Gen. H.R. McMaster as National Security Advisor effective April 9. Trump announced the decision via tweet exactly one week after White House officials leaked McMasters likely removal to the Washington Post. Boltons appointment brings one of the chief architects and advocates of the Iraq War back into the White House, where he last served under the Bush administration from 2005 to 2006. Boltons blatant role in lying to the public, first about the justifications for launching the war and then, as UN ambassador, about the conduct of the war itself, made him one of the most hated figures of the Bush administration. Having gotten his start politically as a lawyer for the tobacco industry and a political protege of the arch-reactionary senator from North Carolina, Jesse Helms, an opponent of racial integration and rabid anti-communist, Bolton received a series of plum positions in the Justice and State Departments as well as the Agency for International Development. Through his belligerent speeches before the UN, Bolton came to epitomize the Iraq war and its criminality. As opposition to the war grew, the Bush administration could not even secure a full Senate vote to confirm Bolton when Bush re-nominated him in November 2006. Bolton was forced into the outer circles of power, relegated to a position at the American Enterprise Institute and as a talking head on Fox News. His political resurrection is a further sign that the Trump administration is assembling a cabinet even more right-wing and militaristic than before the recent reshuffling. In recent weeks, Trump nominated CIA Director Michael Pompeo, a far-right stooge of the Koch brothers, to replace outgoing former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Trumps nominee to take Pompeos place is Gina Haspel, who ran a US black site torture center in Thailand under the Bush administration. Bolton recently advocated for war with North Korea in a February 28, 2018 op-ed in the Wall Street Journal titled The legal case for striking North Korea. Bolton reiterated the doctrine of pre-emptive waroutlawed by the Nuremberg trials of the surviving leadership of Hitlers Third Reichthat the Bush administration used to justify the illegal launching of the War in Iraq: Pre-emption opponents argue that action is not justified because Pyongyang does not constitute an imminent threat. They are wrong. The threat is imminent, and the case against pre-emption rests on the misinterpretation of a standard that derives from prenuclear, pre-ballistic-missile times. Given the gaps in U.S. intelligence about North Korea, we should not wait until the very last minute. President Trump recently announced one-on-one meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un scheduled for May. Trump has dismissed figures like McMaster and Tillerson, both of whom raised opposition to the proposed meeting. Bolton is also a longtime advocate of pre-emptive war against Iran. In 2015, Bolton advocated launching a war against Iran. In a March 26 New York Times op-ed titled, To stop Irans bomb, bomb Iran, Bolton wrote that even absent palpable proof, war was justified because time is terribly short, but a strike can still succeed. In January 2018, Bolton wrote in the Wall Street Journal that the P5+1 deal between the United States along with the other major powers and Iran is a massive strategic blunder, a position shared by Secretary of State nominee Pompeo. In 2017, Bolton advocated ending the One China policy that acknowledges China as the sovereign over Taiwan. Bolton took the position that the US should establish military bases on Taiwan, a position that would likely result in a military confrontation between two nuclear-armed powers. Bolton took a leading role in the Bush administrations efforts to justify the war of aggression against Iraq based on the lie that Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction. As Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security in 2002, he was responsible for promoting forged evidence that Iraq was attempting to buy uranium (yellowcake) from Niger. Like the rest of the Bush administrations pretexts for the war in Iraq, this was a bold-faced lie. Bolton will not only have the ear of President Trump, he will run the National Security Council, which coordinates the policies of the intelligence agencies, the different branches of the armed forces and the State Department. As Vox News wrote, He will present the president with strategic assessments of high-level officials like the secretaries of defense and state, offer his own thinking, and then communicate Trumps ultimate decision to the agencies and work to ensure its implemented. Boltons reemergence within the inner circle of American imperialist decision-making exposes the role played by the Democratic Party since the run-up to the Iraq War, launched 15 years ago this week. At each stage in the preparation, launching, and expansion of the war, the Democratic Party sought to divert mass opposition to war behind its own electoral campaigns, including that of John Kerry in 2004, the 2006 midterm elections, the Barack Obama campaign in 2008, and those of Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primaries and general election of 2016. Despite the fact that the Democratic Party controlled the presidency from 2009 to 2017, not a single leading figure responsible for war crimes, including the CIA officials responsible for torture, have been punished or even fired. Instead, Obama escalated imperialist war around the world. Just this week, the Democratic Party voted for a $1.3 trillion federal budget which includes massive increases in military spending. As a result of the imperialist character of both parties, a detestable figure like John Bolton is able to return to the Oval Office. A recent report demonstrates that the great advances in modern cancer treatment are not equally affordable for all those who need them. Social inequality exacerbates the situation facing poorer cancer sufferers, curtailing their access to the treatment and drugs they must have to survive. A paper released by the Cancer Council of Australia on February 3, Australians living with and beyond Cancer in 2040, shows that a greater proportion of cancer survivors in 2040 will be from those of a high socio-economic position (20 percent more than people of low socio-economic position). This is most probably due to wealthier people having greater access to treatment, and benefitting from earlier detection, better prognosis or being diagnosed with cancers with better survival rates. Other factors are also involved, relating to the life pressures on working class people. That is, poorer prospects of survival from cancer can be directly related to socio-economic disadvantage. Cancer Council CEO Professor Sanchia Aranda told the World Socialist Web Site: The Australian Institute for Health and Welfare produces national data on cancer incidence and mortality. This shows that the age standardised mortality rate for the poorest quintile of Socio Economic Status (SES) is 30 percent higher than for the highest quintile. This equates to about 28,000 deaths in five years that would not occur if everyone had cancer outcomes as good as the highest SES quintile. Aranda said many factors contribute to this difference, and the Cancer Council commissioned work from the team at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute to assess the outcomes further. She said the known factors included higher smoking rates in lower SES groups, contributing to poorer lung cancer outcomes, as well as lower participation in national screening programs and less access to general practitioner (GP) doctors by people with lower SES. We would hypothesise that people who are poor may also be less able to take time off work for tests, and this may contribute to later diagnosis. This will potentially be compounded by lower health literacy, and residence in areas with lower GP density. It will also be likely that people of lower SES are subject to delays in diagnosis, when they cannot bypass the public system by getting a diagnosis from a private specialist. There may also be issues of foregoing parts of treatment, e.g., follow up radiotherapy after surgery, because of the financial burden of out of pocket costs and things like ability to take time off work. Despite supposedly providing affordable and equal access to medical care, the Australian public health system, Medicare, imposes considerable out of pocket costs. Together with employment difficulties, these can have such an adverse effect on cancer patients that they suffer what has been termed financial toxicity, that is, financial distress or hardship experienced as a result of cancer treatment. Aranda added: We have very poor understanding of the true impact of financial toxicity on treatment choices. We know from our survey work with nurse coordinators and oncology social workers that treatment costs are part of patient concerns about treatment decisions. A QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute study published in 2017 outlined that financial problems after cancer diagnosis are a major contributor to poorer quality of life, treatment non-adherence and delayed medical care. (Cancer Forum 2016, Financial Toxicitywhat it is and how to measure it, Louisa Gordon, et al.) The authors found few Australian studies examining the economic burden on patients with cancer. One 2014 study observed changes in employment of 239 colorectal cancer patients and compared findings with a non-cancer control group in middle-aged working adults. The findings showed 27 percent had not returned to work 12 months after their diagnosis, compared with 8 percent leaving work in the matched general population group. In another study, men recently diagnosed with prostate cancer (within 16 months of the survey), reported spending a median $8,000 for their cancer treatment, while 75 percent spent up to $17,000. Twenty percent found the cost of treating their prostate cancer caused them a great deal of distress. The study authors said financial toxicity has two key contributorshigh medical payments and reduced income while being treated or recovering from cancer. They said: Healthcare professionals should understand that poorer health outcomes in their patients may arise, not only from the cancer, but also from the financial fallout from the cancer. They concluded: It can have a very negative impact on quality of life and cause distress. Another Cancer Forum study, Unemployment after cancera hidden driver of financial toxicity, (Bogdam Koczwara Flinders Medical Centre, Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer, South Australia) found that: Loss of work after cancer disproportionally impacts on those already more vulnerable, such as low income employees and the very young, with impact persisting for some for many years. One Australian study of 255 oncology outpatients in two hospitalsmetropolitan and ruralfound that the financial impact of unemployment seemed to be the major driver of financial toxicity. Of these patients, 67 percent reported a change of employment, the most common being reduced hours, retirement or resignation/unemployment and 63 percent reported reduced household income. A Breast Cancer Network of Australia study, The financial impact of breast cancer, surveyed 2,000 women about their out of pocket costs for the first five years after breast cancer diagnosis. It found that these costs were around $3,600 for a woman without private health insurance and around $7,000 for a woman with private health insurance. In other words, taking out increasingly expensive private insurance is no protection against medical costs. While 12 percent of women reported no out of pocket costs, 25 percent reported costs of more than $17,000, and 25 percent of those with private health insurance reported costs of more than $21,000. Further, the study noted that the necessity to take time off work could lead to further financial cost, especially for women who are part of the 38 percent of the Australian workforce who have no paid sick leave entitlements. The survey found that the total number of household hours worked dropped by 50 percent in the first year after a breast cancer diagnosis. In the second year, the number of hours worked remained 13 percent lower than before the breast cancer diagnosis. The study noted: Some women find that paying for cancer treatment and its associated costs pushes them to the brink. A diagnosis of cancer should not be a sentence of financial disaster. High quality, free public treatment and state of the art medication should be made available to all, on the basis of need, not private profit. This means a struggle against entrenched corporate interests for the basic social right to healthcare. The author also recommends: Studies reveal stark health divide in Australia [6 July 2017] Professor Marmots lectures in Australia chart extent of health inequality [21 December 2016] Autoworkers at Fiat Chryslers Warren Stamping Plant in suburban Detroit condemned the campaign to censor the Internet by the US government and tech giants like Google and Facebook. Workers commented Thursday afternoon during their shift change as they stopped to speak with Socialist Equality Party (SEP) campaigners building support for the upcoming meetings, Organizing Resistance to Internet Censorship, sponsored by the World Socialist Web Site (WSWS), the SEP and the International Youth and Student for Social Equality (IYSSE). The first meeting in Detroit will be held at Wayne State University on Tuesday, March 27, followed by a Midwest regional meeting at the university on Sunday, April 22. Campaigners passed out leaflets and used a bullhorn to explain that the ruling class was trying to dictate to workers what news sources they were allowed to read and which ones they were not. Under the guise of fighting fake news and Russian meddling, the campaigners explained, the Democratic Party in particular was trying to crack down on social media to block workers from organizing opposition to social inequality, plummeting living standards and the danger of war. Many workers gave thumbs up as they passed by and made comments like, We have First Amendment rights! and, We agree with you! Several workers, young and old, black and white, posed for photographs holding signs for the meetings to oppose censorship. Preston I think censorship is horrendous, Preston, a veteran Warren Stamping worker who stopped by the WSWS campaign table, said. The Internet is a free press, and it makes them afraid. Everything is being blamed on a conspiracy by Russia. The Democrats and Republicans have a devious plan to suppress freedom of the press. They want to make you feel that if you speak up you will be called a traitor or a Russian. Remarking on the growth of social inequality, he added, If you earn in the top 2 percent of the economy you are inside the fraternity whether you are a Republican or Democrat. Another worker said he is a regular reader of the WSWS and was opposed to the efforts of Google to blacklist the WSWS and other anti-war, socialist and progressive websites. Im concerned about the war in Syria and what would happen if the US clashed with the Russians. It could mean world war. I read your site regularly and distribute articles on the lunch tables inside the plant. Asked about Facebooks plans to promote authoritative news sources, like the New York Times and Washington Post, which boosted lies about weapons of mass destruction to justify the invasion of Iraq 15 years ago, the worker said, I wouldnt listen to those newspapers if they gave me a weather report. Like the saying goes, he added, Truth is the first casualty of war. Campaigners explained that the ruling class was trying to stifle free speech on the Internet because of the growth of the class struggle in the United States and around the world. Teachers in West Virginia, campaigners explained, had used Facebook and other social media to break the grip of the corrupt unions and wage a nine-day strike earlier this month. In 2015, autoworkers at Fiat Chrysler also used social media to circulate articles from the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter to defeat the sellout agreement pushed by the UAW. A worker taking a newsletter responded to the fact that teachers used Facebook to continue their strike in defiance of the unions first back-to-work order. Thats why I keep telling people here: we need to unionize against the union. Chrysler workers take copies of the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter A campaigner pointed out that the UAW was one of the first to use the term fake news, when it attacked the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter for exposing the 2015 sellout contract and assisting Fiat Chrysler workers to initially defeat it by a 2-to-1 marginthe first time a UAW-backed national contract had been rejected in three decades. The same union bureaucrats who were denouncing the WSWS were now caught up in the UAW corruption scandal, which revealed that Fiat Chrysler executives paid $1.5 million in bribes to UAW officials to sign company-friendly labor agreements. Referring to the UAW, a worker said, I hope they all go down. Im sick of the union working against us. Illustrating this point, one passerby who appeared to be a UAW official tried, but failed, to persuade other workers not to the take the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter, saying it was propaganda. He walked away in disgust as workers continued to take newsletters and stop and talk to campaigners. The overwhelming majority of workers responded to the medias argument that opposition in the American working class is a result of Russian interference with a combination of ridicule and anger. They need a bogeyman! one worker commented. Now theyre trying to shut Facebook down too! Speaking to several workers, a campaigner noted that the day before was the 15th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, which was based on the greatest fake news story of all, weapons of mass destruction. One worker responded, Theres a reason you cant pay too much attention to the media and the TV. A lot of what they say is untrue. Thats why you have to do your own research online. The WSWS reporter replied that this was precisely what the corporations and Democratic Party did not want workers to do. There will always be guys, like you guys, who are going to keep pushing against it, he said. A veteran worker said, The government has been lying to us for a long time; thats why people go to the Internet to get alternative news sources. I dont like them trying to censor the Internet. Another worker, who hired into Chrysler in the mid-1990s, said, The ones who control everything are a small minority and they are afraid if they cant control the message people will turn on them. The rich dont only have the money, they have the means to influence people. They use censorship and misinformation. But when the truth gets out people start paying attention. Told about the meetings in Detroit sponsored by the WSWS and SEP to organize resistance to censorship, he said, Im for what you are doing, getting the message out, and Ill join the fight. Jared Jared, a young worker at Warren Stamping, also stopped to speak with the WSWS campaign team. Speaking about the politicians pushing for censorship of the Internet, he remarked, They are slaves to the corporations, not the people. By pushing for the elimination of net neutrality they are making it so companies like Comcast and the cable companies can make more money at our expense. They are pushing really hard for that. He said the Internet was a valuable resource for workers. It makes access to a wide range of views possible for millions of people. The US House of Representatives voted Thursday afternoon to approve the federal budget for the current fiscal year, including a record $695 billion for the Pentagon, the largest amount ever, and more than half the total. The budget passed by a bipartisan vote of 256-167, with majorities of both the Republican and the Democrats supporting it. The margin among Republicans was 145 for and 90 against, with opposition drawn mainly from ultra-right representatives opposed to increases in domestic spending. Given the considerable opposition from the right, final passage of the budget depended on the Democrats delivering at least 70 votes, a hurdle that was cleared easily. The margin among Democrats was 111 to 77, with nominal opposition largely based on the bills failure to address the plight of young immigrants protected from deportation under the DACA program (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), which President Trump terminated last fall, effective March 5, 2018. Two federal judges have blocked Trumps order, at least temporarily, giving the Democrats political cover, since the 700,000 youth and young adults protected by DACA can continue to work and go to school without threat of immediate deportation. That could quickly end, however, with further decisions by the courts, as all the judicial actions are being appealed. The budget bill, also known as the omnibus bill, is the last must-pass legislation for the current session of Congress. In the event that court decisions open the floodgates for mass roundups and deportations of DACA recipients, Congress has effectively decided to do nothing. That led one Democrat opposed to the bill, Representative Luis Gutierrez of Chicago, who is retiring, to declare, Anyone who votes for the omnibus is voting for the deportation of Dreamers and other immigrants. The House voted on the budget less than one day after final agreement between the Trump White House and the top four congressional leadersRepublicans Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan, Democrats Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi. No one in the House could possibly have read the entire 2,232-page bill, whose text was drafted by congressional and White House staff with extensive input from corporate lobbyists and the Pentagon. The Senate will take up the bill as early as Thursday night. Parliamentary procedure could delay a final vote until after the legal deadline of midnight Friday night, leading to a temporary partial shutdown of the federal government, but this would likely be only a matter of hours. The outcome of the final Senate vote is not in doubt. Minority Leader Schumer said Democrats would vote for the bill unanimously. The federal budget reveals the basic political priorities of the Trump administration, the two corporate-controlled parties in Congress, and the US ruling elite as a whole. More than half of the $1.3 trillion in spending will go to the military, some $617 billion to the Pentagon plus an additional $78 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations (the wars in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, etc.), with tens of billions more in spending on police repression and military violence in other federal departments. There was a notable difference in the political posturing of the two capitalist parties. Trump, Ryan and other Republicans condemned the increased spending on domestic programs as the price they had to pay to put through the military spending bonanza. Democrats generally praised the budget deal from the standpoint of the spending on domestic social needsthe better to sell it to the American publicbut they also joined in the Republican hosannas over the boost in military spending. House Speaker Paul Ryan hailed the military spending increase as the largest in 15 years (i.e., since the launching of the Iraq War), and claimed that, despite modest increases in social spending, what this bill is ultimately aboutwhat we fought for for so longis finally giving our military the tools and the resources it needs to do the job. He did not specify what job the military was to undertake, but the Trump administration is preparing feverishly for wars against both Iran and North Korea, while pouring billions into nuclear weapons targeting Russia and China. Trump himself tweeted, Most importantly, got $700 Billion to rebuild our Military, $716 Billion next year ... most ever. Had to waste money on Dem giveaways in order to take care of military pay increase and new equipment. Budget director Mick Mulvaney chimed in, telling reporters at a briefing, In order to get the defense spending, primarily, but all the rest of our priorities funded, we had to give away a lot of stuff that we didnt want to give away. Meanwhile Senate Minority Leader Schumer claimed victory in the increased spending for domestic programs, in contrast to Trumps initial proposal for major, across-the-board cuts. Every bill takes compromise, and there was plenty here, but at the end of the day, we Democrats feel very good because so many of our priorities for the middle class were included, he said. There were numerous policy measures added as riders to the budget bill. One is particularly cruel: it cuts off aid to the Palestinian Authority until the PA stops making support payments to the families of so-called terrorists, those who have been arrested by Israeli troops and police, or who have died in protests or suicide attacks. One of the most contentious provisions was to spend $1.6 billion on border security improvements along the US-Mexico border. Democrats claimed that the money is limited to improvements or extensions of existing fences, not new construction. Even if true, that only demonstrates that Trumps wall is itself not a radical departure from the policies already authorized by Republican and Democratic congresses alike, and put into place by the Obama administration, which detained and deported more immigrants than any previous US government. The immigration issue has been the focal point of much of the political wrangling over the budget, particularly over the past few weeks. The most recent deal offered by Trump would have traded $25 billion for his wall in return for a three-year extension of DACA protection for both the 700,000 young people enrolled in the program and the 1.1 million more who did not enroll because they did not want to reveal their undocumented status to the federal authorities. Ultimately, the Democratic leadership decided to reject such a deal, but the issue became the occasion for a parliamentary move that underscores the utter cynicism of the Democrats on the fate of these young people. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi sent out a letter Wednesday night to the Democratic caucus, urging all Democrats to vote against the procedural motion to bring the budget bill to the floor, citing the failure to incorporate protection for DACA recipients into the legislation. She portrayed such a vote as a fundamental stand on principle. When the procedural motion came to the floor, however, instead of the expected party-line vote, 25 ultra-right Republicans announced their opposition. The motion faced defeat, with only 210 Republicans and one right-wing Democrat, Kyrsten Sinnema of Arizona, voting for it, while 25 Republicans and 187 Democrats planned to vote against. However, five of the Democrats unexpectedly abstained, allowing the procedural motion to pass narrowly, 211-207. Then all five voted against the final passage of the budget, an empty gesture, since they could have defeated it in the procedural vote. There is little doubt that this maneuver was choreographed by Pelosi so that the Democrats could posture as defenders of the DACA youth, while posing no obstacle to enactment of the budget. New York City school bus workers spoke with World Socialist Web Site reporters about the devastating consequences resulting from the unions betrayal of 2013 and the loss of the Employees Protection Provision (EPP). School bus drivers cannot feed their families, especially with prices in New York, John, a driver for 20 years, told the WSWS as he took out his cell phone to do some some quick calculations. Salaries are about $2,600 a month, which is $31,200 a year. The rent in New York is about $1,000 or $1,200 a month, which, using the cheaper number, is $12,000 a year. The cost of food for a person could be $25 to $30 dollars a day, which is $9,125. That is already $21,125, leaving $10,075. But they also need money for the kids and wife. And a car because many live far from the bus yard and it is very difficult to go with the subway. You are maybe not even making a living. Workers also need the same money in retirement. Social Security is not enough to pay the rent. How will they live? They will be homeless. The pension is a Ponzi scheme. The new hires cannot sustain the old ones because the companies dont want to hire as many workers as are leaving and as are needed. So why do we work? Many of these workers are immigrants and for them the answer was that they hoped to maybe save $2,000 a year and be able to retire to their country with some money. In the 2013 strike they had to use up their savings and now cannot keep up. Workers are afraid of striking now because of their past experience under this union. ATU Local 1181 was on strike in 2013 for four weeks before the union sent us back to work. We were worse off. Since the strike, I think maybe 10 or 15 school bus companies went out of business, with the citys low-bid competition for routes driving the bigger companies, which grabbed up more routes, to take away wages and benefits. Yet, even though we are 12,000 school bus workers, the union now treats every company, even every yard as separate groups of just a few hundred that must act separately. Drivers who spoke with the WSWS also reported that the companies have added greater flexibility in work schedules, resulting in even longer hours with no additional pay. Gary, a driver with 11 years, described the situation. The strike was not good for all of us, but it was especially bad for the new drivers. For example, they dont get paid for a snow day. If it snows and the schools are closed we get paid, but the new drivers dont get paid. The new drivers dont get paid for holidays. As a result, the company is short of drivers. Nobody wants to work 14-hour days and not get paid overtime. Although workers have repeatedly voted to give the union authorization to call strikes, the ATU has ignored their demands and kept workers on the job. In late 2015, more than 1,800 workers voted by margins of over 90 percent to strike against Pioneer Transportation and Consolidated Bus Transit. In October 2016, about 900 workers, employed by two of the largest contractors, Jofaz and Y&M, voted to strike against benefit cuts, including increased healthcare costs and reduced holidays. Before the strike was scheduled to begin, however, Teamsters Local 553 and the companies announced an agreement. In each case, the unions kept the workers divided and in the dark, promoting the illusion that they could somehow pressure the Democrats to grant concessions. That has meant the suppression of any actions that could be seen as a challenge to progressive Democratic Mayor Bil de Blasio, who the unions are backing for reelection. In reality, de Blasio has defended the interests of Wall Street, just like his predecessor, billionaire Michael Bloomberg. Workers are furious at the dramatic reduction in their living standards. Wildone, a driver for 11 years, said, The union negotiated this because they are with the company. The union and the company are the same. The union is working for the company and not us workers. He continued, We lost health benefits. Before, we paid $15 in copay for any type of doctor. We now pay $25 for a general physician and $45 for a specialist. We now pay $100 for going to an emergency room when it used to be zero copay. Another driver, Marie, with 12 years, made similar comments. If something goes wrong, the union does nothing, adding that the union tells workers they should be grateful to have a job. If we complain to the union, they tell us, Well, you have 40 hours. The union does nothing to help us. Now, we do not bother to complain to the union, because there is no point to do so. Instead, we complain to each other. Europe Spanish Amazon staff strike A strike by Amazon logistics workers at the San Fernando de Henares facility in Madrid began at 10 p.m. Tuesday night. Around 2,000 members of the CCOO trade union walked out against a new collective bargaining agreement. The previous one expired more than a year ago and with the new contract Amazon is trying to push through a pay cut and reduce enhancements for working weekends and holidays. The logistics centre is the companys biggest and Amazon workers ship out orders to Spain and Europe. There are about 1,100 regular Amazon workers and another 900 who work for temporary agencies on site. The stoppage, which lasted through Thursday, mobilized some 98 percent of employees at the Amazon facility. Air France workers strike Air France workers are striking today for a 6 percent pay increase. Pay has been frozen since 2011 at the part state-owned airline. The company has offered a pay rise of just 1 percent in two instalments tied to productivity. The strike takes place in the midst of mass protests against President Emmanuel Macrons labour reforms The next Air France strike is planned for March 30, as the Easter holidays begin. Strike by public sector workers in Andorra Public sector workers in Andorra went on strike last week, the first major stoppage in the sector since the 1930s, in opposition to government plans to extend the working week. Custom officers, around 80 percent of teachers and other workers set up picket lines. Andorra is a tiny principality between France and Spain with a population of around 77,000. Protest by Croatian telecom workers Workers at the Croatian Telekom (HT) company demonstrated in Zagreb on Saturday to protest wage cuts, and the companys yearly sackings programme. Every year over the last four years the company has laid off 150 workers, half its permanent staff. The company replaces sacked staff with agency workers at lower wages. This year it sacked 50 as well as some managers. HTs parent company is Deutsche Telekom. Cypriot waste plant staff strike Around 80 workers at the Koshi waste plant in the southern coastal port city of Larnaca struck on Monday between 6:30 a.m. and 10 p.m. The company refused to sign a new collective working agreement after the old one expired in December last year. The workers have given the company three weeks to sign the new contract, after which they will take indefinite strike action. Strike by bus drivers in Limassol, Cyprus Around 250 bus drivers employed by Emel, the Limassol bus company, held a 48-hour strike beginning Tuesday. They were seeking restoration of concessions in wages and benefits made in 2014. The members of the Sek trade union confederation gave warning of the strike a month ago and last-minute talks failed. German telecom workers strike Repair, customer services and sales employees at Deutsche Telekom struck in regions with the exception of Saxony, Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Around 3,500 workers were involved in the strike in pursuit of a 5.5 percent pay rise for all 55,000 Deutsche Telekom staff. Public sector workers in Bavaria, Germany strike Public sector workers across Bavaria struck Tuesday to Thursday as part of a series of rolling strikes to be held before Easter. Services hit included public administration, hospitals and childcare. The Verdi union members are fighting for a 6 percent pay rise covering 2.3 million public sector employees. Portuguese teachers strike Teachers in Portugal began a four-day strike on March 13 over career progression and pay scales. Around two-thirds of the workforce, members of the National Federation of Teachers, came out. Swiss United Nations staff strike Staff at the United Nations headquarters based in the Swiss capital of Geneva held a one-day strike on March 16. Out of 10 percent of the 9,500 staff who were balloted, 90 percent voted to strike. They were protesting a 3.5 percent cut in pay, set to rise to 5 percent in June. Strike by bus drivers in Aberdeen, Scotland Bus drivers at First Bus in Aberdeen, Scotland went on strike Monday following a strike on March 16. The action is part of 11 days of action by the Unite union, members who oppose company plans to change break periods. Further strike scheduled by rail guards at two UK rail franchises Rail guards working for South Western Railway are to strike over the Easter period from March 30 to April 3, in opposition to the companys plans to extend the use of driver only operated (DOO) trains. Rail guards at Northern Rail will hold a 24-hour strike on Monday, March 26, followed by a 24-hour strike on Thursday, March 29. DOO threatens 6,000 guards jobs as well as passenger safety. These are the latest strikes in a long-running dispute, which began April 2016. The Rail, Maritime and Transport Union are calling only sporadic, limited strikes at separate private rail franchises and are opposed to mobilizing union members nationally in a joint offensive. Workers at UK arbitration body Acas vote to strike Staff working for UK government reconciliation service Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) have voted by a more than 80 percent majority to strike, in a 65 percent turnout. Management have failed to address concerns of members of the Public and Commercial Services union who are in dispute over a number of issues including their increased workload and lack of resources. Workers in several sectors prepare to strike in Finland Todays proposed strike of shipmates and officers, affecting cargo vessels and ferry services, has been postponed until April 6, following the intervention of the Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. The dispute is over pay and working hours. Around 2,500 electrical workers employed by the Service Sector Employers group (Palta) are threatening to strike for nine days beginning April 9. About 5,000 IT and energy sector workers are set to walk out on March 26. The walkout by members of the Finnish Electrical Workers Union would hit power production. Finance workers are threatening strike action over pay and plans by banks and finance companies to impose weekend working. Members of the Pro trade union working for the OP Financial Group will walk out from March 26 till March 29. Staff at Danske and other banks are threatening to strike between April 9 and 12. Employees at the Nordea Bank in the Nousu trade union may strike from April 3 to 6. Middle East Israeli Civil Administration staff strike Israeli Civil Administration staff responsible for running daily affairs in the West Bank began a strike on March 14 and continued it this week. They are protesting heavy workloads, and the failure of the government to implement promises to improve pensions made three years ago. Africa Continuing protests in neglected northeastern Moroccan city of Jerada Thousands of residents of Jerada marched through the Moroccan city on March 16 in protest at dire living conditions. The city was the centre of the Moroccan coal industry until the mine closed 20 years ago. Many residents try to eke out a living by extracting coal from the abandoned mine to sell to well-off locals known as coal baronsmany of whom are elected officials. Last December, two workers died when a shaft collapsed. Protests, which take place regularly, have been brutally attacked by police. Many of the residents suffer from silicosis due to mining activity. Zimbabwean teachers to join medical staff on strike for wages and conditions Zimbabwean teachers plan to join strikes by hospital doctors, junior doctors and nurses if their demands are not met by the second education semester. Junior doctors, who earn half the poverty datum line (PDL), are demanding that their income be lifted above the poverty level and the implementation of a 2014 agreement. Doctors and nurses followed the juniors on strike as they dont have drugs and the necessary facilities to carry out their jobs. On Tuesday, anaesthesia registrars and other vital staff joined the strike, despite government claims the strike had been called off. Members of seven teachers unions will strike in May to demand the government lifts their earnings above the PDL. They will demonstrate at President Mnangagwas office on March 27. Togo teachers and medical staff strike for better pay and conditions Togo health workers and teachers organised in the Workers Synergy union federation have been on selective strike since February over wages and conditions. The strike continued this week. Health workers havent the necessary equipment to carry out their work in the hospitals. Other workers in the Workers Synergy began national strike action to demand the government release jailed striking teachers. South African toll road workers stop scabbing operation South African tollgate operators, on strike since Monday at the Marianhill toll plaza in KwaZulu-Natal, have stopped a scabbing operation. Pickets turned out at 5 a.m. Monday morning and set up roadblocks with burning tyres at the toll sites in KwaZulu-Natal. Intertoll Africa was given a two-day strike warning on Friday after workers rejected a pay offer put by the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union. The union initially called for a minimum monthly wage of R7,000 and R11,000 for supervisorsthe average pay is R2,900. The company, a subsidiary of Group 5, is offering R3,970 and R7,066 respectively. Around 25 workers maintained the picket at the N3 motorway tollgates, with no tolls in operation at motorways N1, N2 and N4. South African solar energy workers strike against poor wages and benefits Workers employed on a solar energy project are on indefinite strike at Abengoa, South Africa. The National Union of Metalworkers are demanding an increase in wages and allowances. Abengoa is developing alternatives to coal burning at Eskom, South Africas power-generating companya transition that threatens five power plants in Mpumalanga and 30,000 jobs. South African health workers protest pay, conditions and corruption South African workers in health and social development have taken go-slow action for several weeks over pay and working conditions. The National Education Health and Allied Workers Union South Africa has organized a demonstration against corruption this Tuesday in Mahikeng, capital city of North-West Province. Members of the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa will join them. Nigerian general strike threatened over embezzlement of workers contributions Members of Nigerias United Labour Congress (ULC) have threatened a general strike if the government does not investigate the embezzlement of over N30 billion of workers pensions and savings contributions. A whistle-blower leaked that the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), run by government ministers and trade union leaders, has been looted for years. Board members in the period 2012 to 2015 siphoned off N18 billion, (US $50 million) diverting money by e-payment mandate into their own accounts. Nigerias President Muhammadu Buhari commissions the board annually and appointed the president of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, Frank Kokori, as chairman in 2017. Nigerias Labour Minister said, N5bn was taken in one day, thats not the only amount missing. Over N30bn (US $83.3million) cannot be accounted for and the members of the past board participated actively in the looting. The Trust Funds accounts have not been audited for five years. ULC members served on the NSITF board. Kenyan lecturers continue strike while appealing back-to-work order Lecturers at Kenyas universities are continuing their strike despite the Labour Court ordering them back to work on Monday. Workers are challenging the ruling on the grounds they were not present to put their case. The strike of 27,000 university staff and 9,000 lecturers began on March 1, against low salaries and poor facilitiesshutting 33 universities and affecting 600,000 students. The court also demanded that the university vice chancellors put forwardwithin the next 30 daysa counterproposal with the unions on the 2017-21 outstanding collective bargaining agreement. German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivered her first government statement Wednesday following her re-election last week. In her typical lethargic and tedious style, Merkel presented the grand coalitions reactionary programme, which will serve as the basis for the most right-wing government in Germany since the end of World War II. Merkels speech focused on the grand coalitions refugee policy, which is increasingly being borrowed from the demands of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). An exceptional situation as occurred in 2015 should not and cannot be allowed to be repeated, declared Merkel. She then presented a long list of measures aimed at cracking down on refugees and ensuring quicker deportations to the Middle East and North Africa. Europe has to be capable of safeguarding and securing its external borders, intoned Merkel. The formation of a joint border security agency is just as important as the entry and exit register that is now finally being established. Refugees who have no right to protection have to leave our country, Merkel continued, preferably by means of voluntary repatriation programmes, but via state-ordered repatriation if necessary. While the bourgeois media claims otherwise, Merkel came to the defence of Interior Minister Horst Seehofers (Christian Social Union, CSU) anti-Muslim agitation. Seehofer declared last week that Islam does not belong to Germany, which has been historically and culturally shaped by Judaeo-Christian ideas and not Islam. Merkel now agrees with him, stating, There can be absolutely no doubt that our countrys historical influences were Judaism and Christianity. With 4.5 million Muslims living in Germany, Islam has since become part of Germany, she added. But she realised that many people have a problem accepting this thought. And they are fully entitled to do so. The World Socialist Web Site explained at the beginning of this week that the government is stoking a racist atmosphere to enforce its reactionary programme of militarism, social attacks, and the strengthening of the repressive state apparatus against mounting opposition among workers and young people. Merkels government statement, taken as a whole, made this connection clear. On domestic policy, Merkel announced the hiring of 15,000 new police officers and warned everyone to bow before the strong state. The enforcement of the law and legislation requires respect and recognition for those who enforce the law and legislation in this country: police officers, customs officials, judges, law enforcement personnel, public servants in the judiciary in particular, but also in custodial centres and elsewhere. In the area of social policy, Merkel frankly acknowledged that the governments extremely modest promises are not worth the paper they are written on. The planned hiring of 8,000 care workers was justifiably dismissed as a drop in the bucket. On behalf of big business, Merkel appealed for more competitiveness, meaning further attacks on the wages and living standards of the working class throughout Europe. Merkel left no doubt about the fact that the entire budgetary plan for the current legislative period will be subordinated to the grand coalitions plans for a huge programme of rearmament. She declared her support for NATOs goal of spending 2 percent of GDP on the military, which equates to an increase in defence spending of 35 billion annually in the coming years. Germany needs a modern-equipped army able to deploy, she said. The recent report by the parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces made crystal clear that there is much still to be done, even though we carried out a shift in course on defence spending over the past four years. At another point, Merkel claimed that there is not a single member state in NATO that believes Germany spends too much on defence. Concerning the fear of excessive militarisation, this exists nowhere outside of Germany with regard to Germany, she asserted. In reality, Germanys new rearmament offensive, which is comparable only with Hitlers rearmament of the Wehrmacht prior to World War II, will intensify the conflicts between the major powers. Currently, the German ruling class is (for now) relying on the establishment of a common European military great power policy so as to pursue its imperialist ambitions around the world. To defend our sovereignty, our interests, and our values, we need in addition to more permanent and structured cooperation on defence, more joint action on foreign policy, explained Merkel. Because we are under no illusions. The world around us is unpleasant and unpredictable. Today, Europe is surrounded by major conflicts. And it is now necessary to intervene much more forcefully, added Merkel. Iraq must be stabilised. The killing in Syria must be brought to an end and Syrias political future dealt with. Libya must be stabilised and supported, she said. She threatened the United States with countermeasures in the looming trade war. The federal government intends to continue to work for talks with the American administration, but if necessary resort to robust countermeasures. Merkel also gave her backing to London in its aggressive anti-Russian campaign over the Skripal affair. We are on Britains side, and are in solidarity. A lot of evidence points to Russia. ... Responding to interruptions from deputies, Merkel aggressively declared, I would be happy if I did not have to mention Russia at this point, ladies and gentlemen! But we cannot explain away evidence just because we dont want to mention Russia. And thats certainly not whats happening now. The debate on the government statement, which lasted several hours, continued in parliament yesterday and will conclude today, demonstrated that all parliamentary parties agree on the essentials of the grand coalitions reactionary and militarist programme. Deputies from the Free Democrats, Left Party and Greens applauded on several occasions during Merkels speech. The far-right AfDs parliamentary group leader, Alexander Gauland, who as leader of the opposition spoke directly after Merkel, acknowledged that in her speech, the chancellor had for the first time spoken of Germans. This was a victory for the AfD, Gauland boasted. In a fascistic tirade, he blustered about perpetrators, knife killers, and rapists, cited Bismarck, and pushed the anti-refugee and anti-Muslim hysteria to the limit. There is no obligation to diversity and colourfulness and also no obligation for me to share my states territory with foreigners, declared Gauland. Hardly anyone embodies the sharp rightward shift in German capitalist politics more than Gauland. The 77-year-old was a high-level functionary in the CDU for four decades, before co-founding the AfD in 2013. His rise to the position of parliaments far-right hardliner is the direct result of the policies laid out by Merkel in her government speech and supported by all the establishment parties. As in the 1930s, Germanys return to a great-power policy around the world is bound up with the spreading of nationalist and racist propaganda, and the building up of a far-right party. Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor, who shot and killed Justine Ruszczyk Damond last summer, turned himself in on Tuesday after he was charged with murder and manslaughter. Noor has been charged with third-degree murder for perpetrating an eminently dangerous act and evincing depraved mind and second-degree manslaughter for culpable negligence creating unreasonable risk, according to official charging documents released on March 20. Damond was shot on July 15 last year when she called the police to report a possible rape. Noor and his partner Matthew Harrity responded to the call and drove down the alley behind her home in their squad car with the lights off when they say they were startled by a loud noise. Both officers drew their weapons, and Damond, unarmed and in her pajamas, approached the vehicle shortly after. Noor then opened fire from the passenger seat, across his partner, hitting Damond. Damond had called 911 twice before the officers arrived on the scene, where Harrity says they waited two minutes before Noor entered into their computer that they had investigated the incident safely and did not need any assistance. Both officers had their body cameras and dash cam turned off at the time of the shooting. The Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman stated during the charges, There is no evidence that Officer Noor encountered, appreciated, investigated or confirmed a threat that justified the decision to use deadly force. Instead, Officer Noor recklessly and intentionally fired his handgun from the passenger seat, a location at which he would have been less able than Officer Harrity to see and hear events on the other side of the squad car. Freeman also noted that he convened a grand jury to press charges due to the fact that other Minneapolis Police officers would not cooperate with the investigation. The shooting sparked anger throughout Minneapolis and the demand for Mayor Betsy Hodges to step down. Minneapoliss then police chief, Janee Harteau, announced her resignation less than a week after the shooting. Though Noor has been charged with murder and manslaughter, it is still very unlikely that he will be convicted. In fact, killer cops are rarely ever charged. From 2005 to April 2017, only 80 police officers have been charged with murder or manslaughter for killing a civilian, and of those, only 35 percent of them were convicted in the 12-year period. This is infinitesimal when compared to the approximately 1,000 police killings every year in the US. Noor was the first Somali-American police officer in his precinct, and undoubtedly confronted difficulties as a young immigrant from a country devastated by years of war stoked by the US government. He had earned a business degree and worked in property management before joining the Minneapolis Police Department. There is no indication that this was an individual likely to end up senselessly shooting and killing an unarmed person. However, his short time with the police department was evidently enough to turn him into a killer. The ruling class confronts ever growing hostility to and anger at the policies of endless attacks on democratic rights and living standards, along with cuts to the social programs for those affected by lowering living standards. The fact is that the police, regardless of their skin color or national origin, have been trained to see the working-class population as a hostile force and themselves as part of an occupying military force. Contrary to the narrative played out in the mainstream media that the killing of Damond was an uncommon occurrence, where an officer reacts to a situation that isnt threatening them with deadly force, one can read countless stories of police opening fire and killing unarmed workers every day. Police have killed nearly 800 since Damonds death. In fact, just this Sunday, Sacramento police opened fire on 22-year-old Stephon Clark, killing him as he held a cell phone in his own backyard. In a week full of major social and political developments, no single topic has occupied the US media outlets more than the scandal surrounding Facebooks relationship with Cambridge Analytica, the election data company previously associated with former Trump campaign Chairman Steve Bannon. The New York Times has led with the story three out of the last five days and carried at least one front-page story every day this week. The rest of the mainstream press has followed suit, promoting a campaignwithout any evident popular followingfor users to leave the social media company, complete with a ready-made hashtag: #DeleteFacebook. In response to the campaign, Facebooks stock price has fallen by 11 percent, wiping out some $50 billion from the companys market capitalization. The harvesting of the personal information of some 50 million Facebook users by Cambridge Analytica raises serious privacy concerns. But the media firestorm sparked by the synchronized release of the story by the New York Times and the Guardian has far darker and more nefarious motives. Using the election data scandal as a cover, the media, working with the intelligence agencies and leading congressional Democrats, is seeking to create the climate for a crackdown on political opposition on the worlds largest social network. From the standpoint of bourgeois election campaigns, massive data harvesting operations are par for the course. In 2012, the Obama reelection campaign did essentially the same thing as Cambridge Analytica, prompting users to install a Facebook app that harvested the information of users entire contact list, netting up to 190 million profiles. At the time, the practice was not only widely reported, but praised by major news outlets as evidence of the innovative and forward-thinking nature of the campaign. Moreover, despite having access to Cambridge Analyticas massive trove of Facebook information, the Trump campaign did not choose to use the data because it already had access to an even bigger, more comprehensive, and more accurate dataset from the Republican National Committee. Flush with hundreds of millions of dollars in cash, secured from billionaire donors who are wealthier than ever, modern bourgeois election campaigns employ hundreds, or even thousands, of staff members, many with advanced computer science and statistics degrees, to mine, quantify, and analyze private data, with the aim of influencing and shaping voters' political views. These operations massively dwarf the scale of the alleged meddling by Russians in the 2016 presidential election, which, according to a report submitted by Facebook to the Senate Intelligence Committee, consisted of buying some $100,000 of Facebook advertisements both before and after the election. Given the diminutive scale of the role played by Cambridge Analytica in the election campaign, what accounts for the massive campaign in the press for users to Delete Facebook? The real issues underlying the campaign can be seen in another report, published on the front page of the New York Times Wednesday, headlined, Fed Up, Teachers in Oklahoma May Walk Next, warning that the strike movement by educators, which began in West Virginia, risks spreading to Oklahoma, Arizona, and other states. The article notes that several Facebook groups have been pushing for a walkout, and that Rank-and-file teachers have used the social media network to organize outside of the framework of the teachers unions. The growth of working-class opposition is the real target of the media firestorm over Facebooks alleged data lapse. The aim of the press campaign is to create the climate for the introduction of even more explicit censorship measures. In successive interviews responding to the allegations, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, reversing their previous positions, vociferously endorsed a bill working its way through Congress to target foreign meddling in US politics by severely restricting the purchase of political advertisementsone of the few avenues left open to independent news outlets to attract a broader readership on Facebook. Were open to regulation. We work with lawmakers all over the world, Sandberg told CNBC. Zuckerberg, speaking to CNN, said he would love to see regulation targeting Facebook advertisements like those allegedly purchased by Russians. In his CNN interview, Zuckerberg pledged to redouble Facebooks efforts to combat the efforts of folks trying to sow division. He said the company would do a better job of tracing and using AI tools to be able to scan and observe a lot of what is going on. He said that he was open to further government regulation of the company, that is, a greater integration of Facebook with the state and its intelligence agencies. He then went on to say that Facebook now employs 15,000 people working on security and content review, and that this number would rise to 20,000 by the end of the year. This amazing admission means that, based on the companys employee headcount of 25,000 at the beginning of this year, most of the companys employees are engaged in reviewing and censoring user content. From a company nominally dedicated to helping users share information and learn about the world, Facebook is being transformed into an instrument of police repression and censorship. The media is working to create the political climate for the further implementation of mass censorship on the worlds largest social media platform. Behind the scenes, the campaign has been accompanied by the announcement this week by Google of a news initiative aimed at censoring independent news outlets like the World Socialist Web Site and promoting trustworthy news sources such as the New York Times and Washington Post. The announcement marks a significant intensification of measures, beginning with changes in Googles search algorithm last April, that have led to a massive drop in search traffic to left-wing, anti-war, and socialist web sites. Workers entering into struggle to defend their jobs, wages, and working conditions must see the drive toward censorship for what it is: not only an existential threat to their constitutionally protected freedom of expression, but an effort to smash their efforts at self-organization and struggle to break free of the grip of the trade union bureaucracy. We urge all workers and young people who understand the importance of this fight to contact the World Socialist Web Site and join its campaign against Internet censorship. To expose the growing drive toward censorship, and to organize resistance, the World Socialist Web Site, International Youth and Students for Social Equality, and the Socialist Equality Party are holding a series of meetings throughout the US, Organizing Resistance to Internet Censorship and a conference in Detroit on April 22, The resurgence of class struggle and the fight against Internet censorship. We urge all of our readers to attend these meetings, publicize them as widely as possible, and contact the WSWS to organize a meeting in your area. Faced with a spiraling corruption scandal and imminent impeachment, Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned as president Wednesday, one day before a scheduled impeachment vote that would have certainly ended its crisis-ridden government. The trigger for the resignation was the release of footage showing two pro-government congressmen led by Kenji Fujimori, the son of former president Alberto Fujimori and brother of Keiko Fujimori, leader of the main opposition party Fuerza Popular (FP), attempting to convince FP congressman Moises Mamani to vote against the impending impeachment. The reasons for this new attempt to remove Kuczynski from power, as well as the first failed one of December 21, lie in the revelations by executives of the Brazilian multinational Odebrecht that they had bribed virtually the whole Peruvian political establishment for nearly two decades, with Kuczynski being the most obvious case of profiting from a revolving door between government office and private business. Kenji Fujimori led a bloc of dissenting FP congressmen that voted against the first impeachment, defying the orders issued by his sister Keiko to all FP members in Congress, where the party holds an absolute majority. It was later revealed that Kenji had negotiated in secret with Kuczynski to release his father from prison in exchange for the votes needed to forestall impeachment. Fujimoris father was released three days later, after serving only eight years of a 25-year sentence for human rights crimes and corruption committed under his autocratic regime (1990-2000). Since then, Kenji had broken with his sister and FP and established an independent caucus with his bloc of dissenting FP congressmen, becoming the main political ally of the president and accompanying him on tours across the country. In the footagerecorded with a hidden device by MamaniKenji and Congressmen Bienvenido Ramirez and Guillermo Bocangel made clear that if Mamani jumped ship with them and voted against the impeachment, he could profit from investment contracts that the executive power would allocate to Puno, the province he represents. At another point in the video, the presidents personal lawyer arrives and gives Mamani the cellphone number of the minister of production for coordinating the corrupt deal. Fuerza Popular convened a press conference on Monday 20 where it revealed the contents of the tape. With the government in flames after this attack, Keiko Fujimori delivered the final blow, not only to Kuczynskis tottering governmentwith an abysmal approval rating of 19 percentbut also to the political career of her brother Kenji, who on the same day had announced the formation of his own political party with the clear aim of vying with his sister for fujimorista legacy. While Keiko sought to bring down Kuczynskis government in order to stall corruption inquiries over her own Odebrecht-related scandals, there was clearly a consensus among the ruling elite that the 79-year-old former Wall Street operator Kuczynski had become a destabilizing factor for capitalism in Peru. The clearest indication of this was the surge on the Lima stock market Wednesday, after the news that Kuczynski had resigned. The daily Gestion reported that market agents stated that the resignation would calm the political uncertainty and considered it positive that Vice President Martin Vizcarra would take power. From its inception, politicians and the media had predicted that Kuczynskis government would be weak and isolated. He won the 2016 presidential electionsby a margin of just 30,000 votesagainst Keiko Fujimori thanks to the support of the pseudo-left Frente Amplio (FA), then led by Veronika Mendoza and Marco Arana. They backed him as the supposed lesser evil who would block the return to power of the fujimoristas. He had little genuine public support, viewed widely as the gringo who had spent much of his life outside the country, enriching himself on Wall Street, acquiring US citizenship and working for both the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Then, during his first year in office, with a congress firmly dominated by the opposition FP and its revanchist leader Keiko Fujimori, the pseudo-left FA came to the defense of Kuczynski and his ministers, arguing that every attack from the fujimoristas was an attempt to undermine the government and seize power. It was during this time that the followers of Veronika Mendoza decided to split from FA and form their own caucus inside Congress and a movement (Nuevo Peru) toward becoming a new party. They made this move after concluding that Mendoza had become the most visible face of the left inside Peru, due to her having placed third during the last elections, and because FA was led by Marco Arana, whose ecological party Tierra y Libertad formed the backbone of the FA coalition. Nuevo Peru (New Peru, NP) proved to be an even more compromising caucus than Aranas FA. During the first attempt at impeachment, the NP refused to support the measure, arguing that it was an operation mounted by the fujimoristas to overthrow the government and seize power. The abstention by the NPs caucus during the vote, along with the support won through the negotiations with Kenji Fujimori, saved Kuczynski. Three days later, this so-called left caucus expressed shock over the presidents pardoning of Alberto Fujimori, saying he had broken his promise to them (they were reportedly told that Kuczynski wouldnt pardon him) but, revealingly, still refusing to apologize for abstaining in the impeachment vote. However, with popular indignation growing over Fujimoris pardon, particularly among the youth, they began to be seen as the real culprits in the entire affair. Their decision to support the new impeachment process was an attempt to save face after the backlash they suffered for supporting Kuczynski and thereby facilitating Fujimoris pardon. Arana, like Mendoza, backed Kuczynski as the lesser evil in the last elections. Despite being demonized by the right-wing media as a dangerous extremist, he has ma clear his own commitment to stabilizing Peruvian capitalism. During a television interview in which he was asked why he wanted to impeach Kuczynski, he declared bluntly: We need to restore credibility. Vice President Vizcarra is expected to assume the presidency in the coming days. Both the NP and FA will no doubt continue their own integration into the establishment by supporting him against fujimorista aggression. Two Sacramento police officers shot and killed 22-year-old Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man, on Sunday evening. Clark, a father of two, was in the driveway of his grandparents house, where he also lived, when two officers approached from the street with guns drawn and chased him into the backyard. Body camera footage shows that as they rounded the corner they simultaneously unleashed a barrage of gunfire, firing 20 bullets and killing Clark. Police later claimed that Clark was holding a cell phone in his hand when he was killed, which the officers say they mistook for a gun. Clarks young sister was inside the house with his grandparents when police unleashed their hail of bullets. The footage that was released to the media shows that the two police officers did not identify themselves when they started chasing Clark into his backyard. The two officers both shouted show me your hands and, in the same breath, gun as they opened fire. They then continued to hold Clarks body at gunpoint for six minutes as they waited for backup to arrive. No attempt was made by the officers to administer first aid until additional officers arrived on the scene where they then handcuffed his corpse before performing CPR. Clark was pronounced dead at the scene. The Sacramento Police Department released the body cam footage as well as infrared video from a helicopter overhead, in an effort to advance the narrative that Clarks murder was justified. Instead, the footage clearly shows that Clark was unarmed at the time of the shooting, that the police made no attempt to identify themselves and allow him to surrender, and that he was not advancing toward them when they shot him. The helicopter footage begins with the pilot telling the dispatcher, He just broke a window, hes heading south. While the video does not show Clark breaking a window the police later claimed they did not start recording until after the window was broken. It then shows Clark climb over the fence into the adjoining yard, his grandparents. The pilot states that he is running, while the footage shows him walking. Clark also does not appear to be holding anything in either hand. The two officers then appear with guns drawn and chase Clark into the backyard. Clark can be seen in the helicopter footage moving to his left while the officers are leaning around the corner of the house. He was not advancing towards them, but rather appears terrified and disoriented by the sudden attack. The first shots hit Clark and he drops to the ground on his stomach, unmoving, as they fire more shots into his body. After more police arrive one officer tells the other officers on the scene to mute their microphones. Why this was done and what was said is unknown at this time. However, since the police knew at that point that they had killed an unarmed man, it can be reasonably inferred that they wanted to get their stories straight and did not want their conspiracy recorded. This was in all likelihood the point at which they created the story that they mistook Clarks cell phone for a gun. Sacramento police claim that they were responding to a call regarding a suspect breaking into cars. Regardless of whether this is true or not, the footage released clearly shows that lethal force was not justified. The release of the footage of the killing was part of a new policy passed by the city of Sacramento in the wake of the 2016 police murder of Joseph Mann, an unarmed and mentally ill black man who the Sacramento police first attempted to ram with their car before shooting him 18 times. The new policy mandated the use of body cameras by Sacramento police and requires that any video footage of police killings be released within 30 days of the incident. Clarks murder exposes the futility of the various reforms put in place by police departments in the aftermath of mass protests against the police murders of Michael Brown, Freddie Grey, Eric Garner and many others since 2014. In an attempt to corral public outrage against police killings into support for the Democratic party, Black Lives Matter and other activist groups that operate within the partys orbit began pressuring city leaders to introduce measures supposedly intended to reduce the number of police killings. This typically included mandating the use of body cameras, hiring more minority police officers, and setting up various accountability boards made up of city officials to investigate police shootings. In spite of these reforms police killings have continued apace. In 2017 1,147 people were killed by the police, exceeding the number killed in 2016. Stephon Clark was the 263rd person to be killed by police so far this year. Since his murder another 15 individuals have been killed, bringing the total number to 278. Indeed, these statistics illustrate that police officers across the US have been emboldened by the lack of prosecutions. In most cases, charges are never brought but when they are, such as in the case of Freddie Grey, the officers are frequently acquitted by friendly courts. Only in the most extreme cases, such as the 2015 killing of Walter Scott, who was shot in the back and killed by a police officer in broad daylight, are prosecutions successful. Even then, the officer involved in the shooting pled out to lesser federal charges in exchange for state murder charges being dropped. Mark Anthony Conditt, 23, the suspected bomber who had been terrorizing Austin, Texas for the last two weeks, died Wednesday morning when he apparently triggered a bomb as police approached his vehicle. Police officials report that they discovered a 25-minute confession on Conditts cell phone in which he explained how he constructed each of his bombs. According to police, the still unreleased confession does not include any apparent indication of a motive for the deadly bombing spree, nor did the young man indicate why he chose his targets. He explained that he had constructed seven bombs, including the one which he used on himself. Having listened to that recording, he does not at all mention anything about terrorism, nor does he mention anything about hate, Austin police chief Brian Manley told a news conference Wednesday. But instead, it is the outcry of a very challenged young man talking about challenges in his personal life that led him to this point. Despite preliminary speculation by profilers that the bomber might have had military training, based on the sophistication of the devices, Conditt had no experience in the military. The string of bombings beginning March 2 had put the entire city of Austin on edge. Police initially indicated that they were considering the possibility the attacks were racially motivated, as the first two victims, 39-year-old Anthony Stephan House and 17-year-old Draylen Mason, were African American. The third bomb severely injured Esperanza Herrera, a 75-year-old Hispanic woman. However, no discernible pattern emerged, as the next victims were two white men injured in a fourth bombing on Monday after they stepped on a trip wire. Another package exploded in a FedEx processing center southwest of Austin, and a sixth bomb was found before it exploded in a different processing facility. Security camera video of Conditt mailing the two packages, along with earlier security footage of him purchasing supplies for his bombs at a local hardware store, allowed investigators to identify him as a suspect. Once police had identified his phone number, they began to track his cell phone, allowing them to place him at each bombing site, and descend on his location Wednesday morning. Texas Republican representative Michael McCaul told Fox News on Thursday that investigators had found a target list of other addresses Conditt may have been planning to attack at his home in Pflugerville, Texas, a suburb of Austin. McCaul reported that Conditt had used exotic batteries that he ordered online, allowing the investigators to tie the bombs to one person. Initial reports indicate that Conditt had an unassuming and rather typically American childhood growing up in Pflugerville. He was home-schooled by his conservative Christian parents and graduated from high school in 2013. Its a very good family, Mark Roessler a neighbor of Conditts parents told the Washington Post. His father was very friendly and very likable. You can tell he was a loving father, just really enjoying spending a lot of time with his son. Jeremiah Jensen, who had been home-schooled with him, told the New York Times that he had tried to break through Conidtts hard-to-get-through exterior. He could be dominant in conversations, Jensen said. It would seem like he was trying to argue with you and give pushback on things you were trying to say. It didnt have to be serious. He liked to debate. While he was being home-schooled Conditt also attended Austin Community College between 2010 and 2012, but left the school in good standing without graduating. On a blog he produced for one of his courses, Conditt described himself as conservative but not politically inclined. Conditt used the blog to express his opposition to gay marriage and sex offender lists as well as his support for the death penalty. Conditt was hired by Crux Manufacturing, a semiconductor parts manufacturer in Pflugerville, in 2014 when he was 19, but was fired last August because he was not meeting job expectations. He was very quiet and introverted, the business owner told local ABC affiliate KVUE. He would prioritize things in his own way. Our family is a normal family in every way. We love, we pray, and we try to inspire and serve others, a statement released by the Conditt family declared. We had no idea of the darkness Mark must have been in. More may come out in the coming days that will shed light on why Conditt did what he did, presuming that he acted alone. The bombing spree, however, is only the latest in a long line of homicidal actions that point to a deep sickness in American society. Conditts spree has a certain resonance with other attacks, including the mass shooting carried out last year in Las Vegas by Stephen Paddock. Paddock rained a hail of bullets down onto a concert from his hotel window, killing 59 and wounding 527 more. The gunman had no discernible motive and did not know any of his victims. Mass shootings have become an almost weekly event, from domestic murder-suicides to school shootings. Hundreds of thousands of young people and others are expected to participate in demonstrations this weekend to protest school shootings in the wake of the massacre in Parkland, Florida. Democrats and the media are seeking to limit the protests to the framework of gun control. However, the fact that Conditt used bombs instead of guns discredits the notion that the problem of mass killings can be solved through gun control legislation. Even if guns were restricted, damaged and deranged individuals would find other, perhaps even more deadly ways to act out. The phenomenon of mass violence is a social problem. A quarter century of war, record social inequality, the daily brutalization of life, the polluted and violent politics that emanate from every pore of the American ruling class and its institutionssuch manifestations of social disease find reflection in horrors like the Austin bombings. The European Union is recalling its Russian ambassador over the nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in Britain, as the bloc rallied firmly behind the United Kingdom in its worsening diplomatic dispute with Russia. The EU's envoy in Moscow will return "for consultations" while some member states were preparing to follow Britain's lead and expel Russian diplomats over the affair. In a joint statement, EU leaders said they agreed with UK Prime Minister Theresa May that it was "highly likely" that Moscow was responsible for the attack on the Russian former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, southern England, on March 4. The statement added that "there is no plausible alternative explanation." May welcomed the EU's support. "The threat from Russia is one that respects no borders and I think it is clear that Russia is challenging the values we share as Europeans and it is right that we are standing together in defense of those values," May said on Friday. "I think what is crucial, though, is that there (was) recognition around the table last night about the threat that Russia poses," she added. Speaking ahead of Friday's European Council meeting of EU leaders in Brussels, Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: "We agreed as a European Union to express full solidarity with the United Kingdom -- to agree with their assessment as to who is behind the Salisbury attack, and also to recall the EU ambassador to Russia to Brussels for consultations." He added that "individual countries will decide in the coming days whether they want to take additional actions." Ireland, Denmark, Lithuania and the Czech Republic were considering further measures, including the expulsion of diplomats. After meeting with May in Brussels on Thursday night, EU leaders expressed the bloc's "unqualified solidarity with the United Kingdom in the face of this grave challenge to our shared security." According to the UK, the Skripals were exposed to a Soviet-era nerve agent known as Novichok, a colorless, odorless and tasteless liquid described as one of the world's most sophisticated and deadly chemical weapons. Russia has furiously denied claims it was involved in the attack, sparking a diplomatic crisis between the two countries. The Skripals remain hospitalized in a critical condition. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia regretted the European leaders' decision to recall the EU ambassador, adding that his country had not had access to the information on which the decision was based. Asked how Russia would respond if other individual EU nations recalled their ambassadors, Peskov said: "First, we need to wait for any decisions and understand on what basis they were taken. Then we can start talking about something." The UK government expelled 23 Russian diplomats from Britain in the wake of the attack. Russia in turn ordered the expulsion of 23 British diplomats from Moscow, as well as closing the UK consulate in St. Petersburg and the British Council cultural institute in Russia. Further steps Varadkar said Ireland expected to make a formal decision on expulsions early next week. "What we will now consider in the coming days is whether we want to take individual action relating to Russian diplomats in Ireland," he said. "Bear in mind, what the United Kingdom did was to expel 23 diplomats who they believed weren't actually diplomats. So, we would have to do a security assessment -- just like they did -- before that. We're not going to randomly expel people who are genuine diplomats." Danish Prime Minister Lars L-kke Rasmussen told reporters in Brussels that his government would "take into very close consideration" in the coming days whether to take a unilateral step. "I have just briefed my minister of foreign affairs and he will now go to the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Parliament later this morning, and then my government will in the next coming days very, very seriously consider to take further steps," he said. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babi- is moving toward a decision to expel Russian diplomats, his spokeswoman Barbora Peterov- told CNN. Asked in Brussels if Lithuania was also considering expelling Russian diplomats, President Dalia Grybauskaite said: "The united response was yesterday and, from the beginning of next week, a lot of countries will go for our national measures." The European Council said Thursday that member states would have to coordinate on how to proceed following the attack, including what the consequences should be for Russia going forward. "The use of chemical weapons, including the use of any toxic chemicals as weapons under any circumstances, is completely unacceptable, must be systematically and rigorously condemned and constitutes a security threat to us all," its statement said. Speaking to reporters as she arrived in Brussels on Thursday, May said Russia had staged a "brazen and reckless attack" against her country. "It's clear that the Russian threat does not respect borders and indeed the incident in Salisbury was part of a pattern of Russian aggression against Europe and its near neighbors," she said. Varadkar said after the meeting that other countries beside the United Kingdom had shared their intelligence assessments on what happened in Salisbury. In a briefing Friday at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, deputy spokesman Artyom Kozhin said EU condemnation of the incident in Salisbury was "regrettable." Kozhin said the European Council's statement Thursday agreeing with the British assessment of likely Russian responsibility "is in essence an unproven allegation" against Russia. "We are fully prepared to work with the British, but the British side is avoiding cooperation," he said. "We believe that it is possible to continue an exchange of views within the framework of the appropriate international structure, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons." Police officer released from hospital Technical experts from the OPCW have been in Salisbury this week, collecting samples for further analysis. A British court ruled Thursday that they could take blood samples from the Skripals to check against the analysis performed by the UK military's Porton Down research laboratory. "The precise effect of their exposure on their long-term health remains unclear, albeit medical tests indicate that their mental capacity might be compromised to an unknown and so far unascertained degree," Judge David Williams wrote in his judgment allowing access to the Skripals. Court documents quoted an unidentified doctor as saying the Skirpals were both heavily sedated and unable to communicate, and that it was not possible to assess to what extent either would be able to regain mental capacity. A total of 21 people received medical attention after the incident, including Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, who was discharged from the hospital Thursday, according to a statement from Wiltshire Police. Bailey, who became seriously ill after being exposed to the nerve agent, said in a statement that he'd been overwhelmed with messages of support from other officers and the public. "I understand why there is attention on me, but all I have done is represent every police officer who goes out there every day and puts their life at risk," he said. Russia's ambassador to the UK, Alexander Yakovenko, hinted Thursday at possible British involvement in the poisoning, as he questioned how British authorities could have so quickly determined the type of poison used in the attack. WASHINGTON (AP) Congress gave final approval Friday to a giant $1.3 trillion spending bill that ends the budget battles for now, but only after late scuffles and conservatives objected to big outlays on Democratic priorities at a time when Republicans control the House, Senate and White House. Senate passage shortly after midnight averted a third federal shutdown this year, an outcome both parties wanted to avoid. But in crafting a sweeping deal that busts budget caps, theyve stirred conservative opposition and set the contours for the next funding fight ahead of the midterm elections. The House easily approved the measure Thursday, 256-167, a bipartisan tally that underscored the popularity of the compromise, which funds the government through September. It beefs up military and domestic programs, delivering federal funds to every corner of the country. But action stalled in the Senate, as conservatives ran the clock in protest. Then, an unusual glitch arose when Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, wanted to remove a provision to rename a forest in his home state after the late Cecil Andrus, a four-term Democratic governor. At one point, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., stepped forward to declare the entire late-night scene ridiculous. Its juvenile. In the end, Risch lost. But the fight contributed to late-night delays before passage of the massive spending package, Once the opponents relented, the Senate began voting, clearing the package by a 65-32 vote a full day before Fridays midnight deadline to fund the government. Shame, shame. A pox on both Houses - and parties, tweeted Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who spent the afternoon tweeting details found in the 2,200-page bill that was released the night before. No one has read it. Congress is broken. Paul said later he knew he could only delay, but not stop, the outcome and had made his point. The omnibus spending bill was supposed to be an antidote to the stopgap measures Congress has been forced to pass five in this fiscal year alone to keep government temporarily running amid partisan fiscal disputes. Leaders delivered on President Donald Trumps top priorities of boosting Pentagon coffers and starting work on his promised border wall, while compromising with Democrats on funds for road building, child care development, fighting the opioid crisis and more. But the result has been unimaginable to many Republicans after campaigning on spending restraints and balanced budgets. Along with the recent GOP tax cuts law, the bill that stood a foot tall at some lawmakers desks ushers in the return of $1 trillion deficits. Trump only reluctantly backed the bill he would have to sign, according to Republican lawmakers and aides, who acknowledged the deal involved necessary trade-offs for the Democratic votes that were needed for passage despite their majority lock on Congress. Obviously he doesnt like this process its dangerous to put it up to the 11th hour like this, said Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., who opposed the bill and speaks regularly to Trump. The president, and our leadership, and the leadership in the House got together and said, Look, we dont like what the Democrats are doing, we got to fund the government. White House legislative director Marc Short framed it as a compromise. I cant sit here and tell you and your viewers that we love everything in the bill, he said on Fox. But we think that we got many of our priorities funded. Trying to smooth over differences, Republican leaders focused on military increases that were once core to the partys brand as guardians of national security. Vote yes for our military. Vote yes for the safety and the security of this country, said House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., ahead of voting. But even that remained a hard sell. In all, 90 House Republicans, including many from the conservative House Freedom Caucus, voted against the bill, as did two dozen Republicans in the Senate. It was a sign of the entrenched GOP divisions that have made the leaderships job controlling the majority difficult. They will likely repeat in the next budget battle in the fall. Democrats faced their own divisions, particularly after failing to resolve the stalemate over shielding young Dreamer immigrants from deportation as Trumps decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program has left it for the courts to decide. Instead, Trump won $1.6 billion to begin building and replacing segments of the wall along the border with Mexico. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus opposed the bill. Also missing from the package was a renewal of federal insurance subsidies to curb premium costs on the Affordable Care Act exchanges. Trump ended some of those payments as part of his effort to scuttle President Barack Obamas health care law, but Republicans have joined Democrats in trying to revive them. Bipartisan efforts to restore the subsidies, and provide additional help for insurance carriers, foundered over disagreements on how tight abortion restrictions should be on using the money for private insurance plans. Senate Republicans made a last-ditch effort to tuck the insurance provisions into the bill, but Democrats refused to yield on abortion restrictions. Still, Democrats were beyond pleased with the outcome. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., chronicled the partys many gains, and noted they could just have easily withheld votes Republicans needed to avert another shutdown. We chose to use our leverage to help this bill pass, Pelosi said. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said as the minority party in Congress, We feel good. He added, We produced a darn good bill. ___ Associated Press writers Matthew Daly and Jill Colvin contributed to this report. Follow Mascaro on Twitter at https://twitter.com/LisaMascaro and Fram at https://twitter.com/AsFram Jared Kushner, tasked by his boss and father-in-law, President Donald Trump, with mediating Middle East peace early in the administration, has so far staked a bulk of those efforts on the ascendant Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. And according to a new report, the Saudi prince -- known casually by his initials, MBS -- took advantage of that power. When Kushner, Trump's senior aide, made an unannounced trip to Riyadh last year, the Intercept -- citing three sources -- reported Wednesday, MBS told confidants after the meeting that Kushner had discussed Saudi leaders who are disloyal to the crown prince. One person "who talks frequently to confidants of the Saudi and Emirati rulers" told the Intercept that MBS bragged to United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed that Kushner was "in his pocket." The Intercept also reported that Kushner's information on Saudi royals not loyal to MBS was contained in the President's Daily Brief, a document presented to the President every morning. Kushner lost his access to the document earlier this year when new security clearance rules were instituted. Eager to consolidate power and rein in the sprawling orbit of the Saudi royal family and aristocratic class, Prince bin Salman listened intently and a week later cracked down on corruption in the country by imprisoning more than 200 members of the country's ruling class inside the confines of the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh, charging each with corruption. "What we did in Saudi Arabia was extremely necessary," the Saudi crown prince told CBS in his first interview with a Western outlet. "All actions taken were in accordance with existing and published laws." A spokesman for Kushner declined to comment on the allegation. But a spokesman for Kushner's lawyer -- Peter Mirijanian -- slammed the report. "Some questions by the media are so obviously false and ridiculous that they merit no response. This is one," he said. The report comes a month after The Washington Post reported that officials from at least four countries -- Mexico, Israel, China and the United Arab Emirates -- have discussed ways they could use Kushner's intricate business arrangements, lack of experience and financial woes to manipulate the senior White House aide. Mirijanian called the story nothing more than "unnamed sources peddling secondhand hearsay with rank speculation." Kushner and MBS have fostered a close relationship for months, White House officials told CNN, and the top White House aide played a key role when the Saudi prince visited the White House this week. Correctly viewing MBS as ascendant in the Muslim nation, Kushner worked for months earlier in the administration to build close ties with him. And when the prince's 82-year-old father, King Salman, handed over some power earlier this year, the two grew closer. Kushner, in an effort to deepen that bond, took an unannounced trip to Saudi Arabia in October 2017 where he met directly with the crown prince. The two also met on Tuesday night at Kushner's home, the Saudi Embassy said Wednesday. Joined by top White House negotiator Jason Greenblatt, the embassy said "discussion focused on the shared interests of both countries for a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and how best to achieve that." MBS is in the middle of a goodwill tour across the United States. After visiting the White House and meeting with congressional leaders, he is slated to travel to Boston, New York, San Francisco and other American cities to meet with top representatives from the technology, business and education communities in the United States. The trip is part of MBS' campaign to sell the Western world on his view of his country's future. The German clinic where Dr. Janusz Rudzinski works looks more like a country manor than a hospital, less than an hour's drive from Poland, where many of his patients come from. On a bright winter day, he checks in on "Anja," who's just woken up. CNN is not using her real name because the medical procedure she's had is illegal back home in Poland: an abortion. "Basically, as a woman, you have no rights when it comes to reproductive rights," Anja says matter-of-factly, sitting up in her hospital gown. "Because in my country it's illegal to undergo this procedure." Poland has some of the most restrictive laws in Europe when it comes to abortion. An estimated 80,000 Polish women a year go abroad or seek illegal abortions at home, according to Polish women's rights groups. The procedure is legal in only three cases: if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, or if it endangers the life of the mother. Now, the government is pushing through a new bill targeting the third and -- most commonly cited -- reason for abortion: damage to the fetus. Lawmaker Kaja Godek has spearheaded getting the bill through parliament. Now, she wants doctors to stop prenatal screening to prevent what she calls "eugenic abortion." "The original idea behind prenatal tests has been completely distorted," she told lawmakers in January. "Instead of treating and preparing parents and doctors to receive a child and help him, it makes it easier to choose extermination." More than 96% of Poles identify as Catholic and the issue of abortion here is tied not only to religion and the country's resurgent nationalist politics, but also to its history as a formerly communist country. "Under communism, due to a lack of access to contraception, abortion was widely practiced in Poland as a real means of contraception," explains women's rights activist and former politician Barbara Nowacka. "After the fall of communism, the law was tightened and now we face even more draconian measures." In 2015, the Law and Justice Party gained control of the government, ushering in a staunchly Catholic and nationalist agenda. Its lawmakers, urged on by Catholic groups, attempted to impose a total ban on abortion, drafting a law that threatened to imprison women seeking abortions and any doctor who performed the procedure. Tens of thousands took to the streets in protest, unifying women's groups in Poland and prompting protesting women to walk out of Sunday Masses across the country. While the government was forced to retract the proposed law, a new bill was introduced earlier this year, aimed at chipping away at the existing abortion law by eliminating one of the few ways women can legally seek an abortion. Lawmakers will debate this bill on Friday. Women's groups are planning for street protests in 50 cities across the country. Amnesty International says "solidarity demonstrations" will take place in other major European cities. For critics of the bill, like Nowacka, the concern is not just the impact on women, but how it will affect doctors, who will fear being prosecuted. "The underground will grow. Abortion tourism. Women traveling to Czech Republic, Germany, UK and Ukraine, will grow again," she told CNN from her office in Warsaw. "What will have even more impact is that doctors are now afraid to send their patients for prenatal exams and scans." Across the border in Germany, Rudzinski says he gets roughly six Polish patients a week at his clinic, in various stages of pregnancy, seeking an abortion. Half, he says, come to him after botched abortion attempts. He recalled one particularly difficult case. ''A woman called me, saying she has no money and couldn't travel but needs an abortion," Rudzinski said. "She had stuck a wire inside her womb but now had a 40 degrees [Celsius] fever with extreme pain. She called asking me what to do. I told her: You may have sepsis, you need to go to hospital immediately or you will die." For many patients here, Rudzinksi and his clinic are not the first choice. Anja says she attempted to order an abortion pill online from an Indian supplier, but it didn't show up. "Lately, the Polish post hasn't been delivering them," she explains. "They never arrived. By that time, it was several weeks gone. I knew I had to take another step and find a place to undergo the procedure." Rudzinski was recommended to Anja through an underground network of women's rights groups, and she says she's happy to have the procedure with a doctor who can speak her language. Anja already has an 11-month-old daughter with her husband. They plan to travel back to Poland after an overnight stay. She says she wants to have more children in the future but not right now. She also says that after this experience, she doesn't want her little girl to grow up in Poland. Her advice for Polish women seeking an abortion? "I say just go for it and leave this country and travel," she says. "Get this procedure the way it should be done. Not underground. Do not risk your health." John Bolton said on Thursday that his past policy statements are "behind me" and that, after taking over next month as President Donald Trump's national security adviser, "The important thing is what the President says and the advice I give him." But Bolton's history of provocative, often bellicose pronouncements, typically in the form of calls to bomb countries like Iran and North Korea -- along with his unwavering support, before and after, for the 2003 invasion of Iraq -- are impossible to pass off, especially as Trump considers tearing up the Iran nuclear deal and prepares for talks with Pyongyang. What follows is a small sampling of Bolton's rhetoric, dating back to the post-9/11 period. Back then, while working in the Bush administration, Bolton made the case at home and abroad that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction and that the US role in the aftermath of regime change in Iraq would be "fairly minimal." Trump, by the way, has pointed to his own opposition to the Iraq war as evidence of his smarts. Bolton also publicly accused Cuba of providing "dual-use biotechnology to other rogue states." Years later, after leaving his post as ambassador to the UN, he pushed to expand the Iraq War into Iran. More recently, he's pushed for unilateral strikes in Iran and North Korea, while casting doubt on Russia's role in 2016 election-related hacking. He made the case last month for striking North Korea 'first' Citing preemptive strikes by Israel on Syrian (2007) and Iraqi (1981) reactor sites, Bolton in February of this year -- less than four weeks ago -- made a case in the Wall Street Journal for a potential US attack on North Korea: "Pre-emption opponents argue that action is not justified because Pyongyang does not constitute an 'imminent threat.' They are wrong. The threat is imminent, and the case against pre-emption rests on the misinterpretation of a standard that derives from prenuclear, pre-ballistic-missile times. Given the gaps in U.S. intelligence about North Korea, we should not wait until the very last minute. That would risk striking after the North has deliverable nuclear weapons, a much more dangerous situation." He suggested election hacking was a 'false flag operation' designed to frame the Russians In December 2016, Bolton said he wasn't convinced the Russian had a role in pre-election hacking. "It's not at all clear to me just viewing this from the outside that this hacking into the DNC and the RNC computers was not a false flag operation. The question that has to be asked is, why did the Russians run their smart intelligence service against Hillary's server but their dumb intelligence services against the election?" He seems to have changed his mind; is now advocating heavy retaliation In an opinion piece filed after special counsel Robert Mueller returned indictments alleging conspiracy to defraud the US against a group of Russian nationals, Bolton wrote: "One way to (deter Russia) is to engage in a retaliatory cyber campaign against Russia. This effort should not be proportional to what we have just experienced. It should be decidedly disproportionate. The lesson we want Russia (or anyone else) to learn is that the costs to them from future cyberattacks against the United States will be so high that they will simply consign all their cyberwarfare plans to their computer memories to gather electronic dust." He said a diplomatic option for dealing with North Korea was to 'end the regime' Asked by a Fox News host if there were any "diplomatic options" remaining in the nuclear standoff with North Korea, Bolton suggested this: Bolton: "I think the only diplomatic option left is to end the regime in North Korea by effectively having the South take it over. You've got to argue with China--" Fox News host Trish Regan: "That's not really diplomatic! (Laughing) As far as they're concerned." Bolton: "Well, that's their problem, not ours. Anybody who thinks that more diplomacy with North Korea, more sanctions, whether against North Korea, or an effort to apply sanctions against China, is just giving North Korea more time to increase its nuclear arsenal..." He compared -- to laughter and cheers -- former President Barack Obama to a 'Muslim king' In a speech to the American Freedom Alliance conference in August 2016, Bolton drew applause when he said this of Obama at the beginning of a speech on Muslim countries and their politics: "King Abdullah of Jordan, who is not simply the Muslim king of a Muslim country, unlike our president... (laughter and cheers) ... King Abdullah and other political leaders in the Middle East have said this is a civil war within Islam." He desperately wants to scuttle the Iran nuclear deal In Janaury of this year, again in the Wall Street Journal, he argued that the administration take more forceful steps to break the terms of the pact: "Spending the next 120 days negotiating with ourselves will leave the West mired in stasis. Mr. Trump correctly sees Mr. Obama's deal as a massive strategic blunder, but his advisers have inexplicably persuaded him not to withdraw. Last fall, deciding whether to reimpose sanctions and decertify the deal under the Corker-Cardin legislation, the administration also opted to keep the door open to 'fixes' -- a punt on third down. Let's hope Friday's decision is not another punt." He also touched on a common theme in his writing, going back at least to former President George W. Bush's "Axis of Evil" speech, that connects Iran and North Korea: "Little is known, at least publicly, about longstanding Iranian-North Korean cooperation on nuclear and ballistic-missile technology. It is foolish to play down Tehran's threat because of Pyongyang's provocations. They are two sides of the same coin." He took -- and seems to take -- the 'Axis of Evil' line literally Rewind to August 2002 and remarks made during talks between the North and South Koreans, when Bolton defended the expression and insisted "it was factually correct.'' This is from the New York Times report: "In a strongly worded speech, the official, John R. Bolton, the under secretary of state for arms control, cited what he said was 'a hard connection between these regimes -- an "axis" along which flow dangerous weapons and dangerous technology.'" He argued in favor of Brexit, touting the UK's strong negotiating hand Ahead of the Brexit vote in 2016, Bolton wrote in the New York Daily News that the UK would enter potential EU exit negotiations with the upper hand. (Things have been somewhat more difficult than he figured.): "EU stalwarts like German Minister of Finance Wolfgang Sch-uble have tried to scare Britain by proposing obnoxious exit terms. The rhetoric is hollow bluster. The advantages of free trade and easy movement of goods and financial resources between Europe and Britain, whether or not the latter remains part of the former, will dictate that Britain and the EU negotiate Brexit terms that are mutually advantageous. ... There is an inherent economic risk in abandoning arrangements and institutions built up over time. But in the sweep of European history, the EU is a newcomer. It makes sense for Britain exit now rather than wait until disaster strikes." Before the deal was done, he wrote an op-ed calling on the US to bomb Iran Shortly before the framework of the Iran nuclear deal was set in place, Bolton wrote a piece headlined, "To Stop Iran's Bomb, Bomb Iran." He even considered outsourcing the job to Israel: "Time is terribly short, but a strike can still succeed. ... An attack need not destroy all of Iran's nuclear infrastructure, but by breaking key links in the nuclear-fuel cycle, it could set back its program by three to five years. The United States could do a thorough job of destruction, but Israel alone can do what's necessary. Such action should be combined with vigorous American support for Iran's opposition, aimed at regime change in Tehran." He (still) believes leaving Iraq was a worse decision than invading it Bolton became Bush's under secretary of state for arms control and international security in May of 2001 and remained in the job for about four years, during which time the US invaded Iraq under false pretenses, before taking over as ambassador the United Nations via recess appointment. Asked in 2015 about the decision to go to war, here's what he told the Washington Examiner: "I still think the decision to overthrow Saddam was correct. I think decisions made after that decision were wrong, although I think the worst decision made after that was the 2011 decision to withdraw U.S. and coalition forces. The people who say, oh things would have been much better if you didn't overthrow Saddam miss the point that today's Middle East does not flow totally and unchangeably from the decision to overthrow Saddam alone." He wanted to bomb Iran during the Iraq war In 2008, Bolton called for strikes inside Iran as part of a bid to cut off Tehran's aid to insurgents in Iraq. Asked by a Fox News host what he thought would "happen next" if the US attacked, he downplayed the potential for widening the war: "I think the Iranians need to look very carefully at what risk they would run if they were to escalate. The idea here is not to have much larger hostilities, but to stop the Iranians from engaging in the hostilities that they're already doing against us inside Iraq. And they're doing much the same by aiding the Taliban in Afghanistan. So this is not provocative or preemptive, this is entirely responsive on our part." He downplayed the short- and long-term dangers of war in Iraq In the run-up to the Iraq invasion he made the case for regime change to the BBC. Here's one of his arguments in favor: "I think the Iraqi people would be unique in history if they didn't welcome the overthrow of this dictatorial regime. And Iraqi opposition leaders of a variety of positions and views are discussing now what will happen after Saddam Hussein. I expect that the American role actually will be fairly minimal. I think we'll have an important security role. I think concluding the destruction of the weapons of mass destruction themselves will be important. But I think fundamentally the recreation of a hopefully democratic Iraqi government -- that must rest with the Iraqis." President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States is close to striking a trade deal with South Korea, an achievement that would mark an end to the free trade agreement between the two countries. "The deal with South Korea, according to Secretary Ross and Bob Lighthizer, is very close to being finished and we are going to have a wonderful deal with a wonderful ally," Trump said. "We are getting very close to it. It was a deal that was causing a lot of problems for our country in terms of employment and lots of other things." Trump, who made the comments during an event about the newly passed government funding bill, has long complained about the trade deal with South Korea. "It is unacceptable, it is a horrible deal made by Hillary," he said in a Reuters interview, adding, "It's a horrible deal, and we are going to renegotiate that deal or terminate it." Then-secretary of state Hillary Clinton renegotiated the deal in 2012. During the event on Friday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told reporters that they were "relatively close to a pretty comprehensive resolution with the South Korean government." "It will encompass, if it goes through, both the 232s and broader trade issues. And we have hope sometime next week to be able to have a real announcement," Ross said. Former President Jimmy Carter is keeping tabs on the situation in North Korea and is willing to help, if needed. Speaking to CBS News' Jane Pauley, the 93 year-old former president said he received a briefing from the current administration. "I understand what they (North Korea) want and need," Carter told CBS in Georgia earlier this month. "Just this week -- I had a representative from the White House who came down and gave me the latest developments with North Korea." Carter told Pauley he'd be willing to travel to North Korea on the Trump administration's behalf. The former president also told his Sunday school class about the briefing, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported recently. "They came down the day that Kim Jong Un invited Trump to come over. So we had a lot to talk about," he told the class. Carter also told The New York Times last October that he had discussed the possibility of traveling to North Korea with his friend, national security adviser H.R. McMaster. "I told him that I was available if they ever need me," he told the Times. McMaster will be replaced by John Bolton next month. Carter acknowledged in the interview that he has been critical of President Donald Trump's rhetoric surrounding North Korea. "I have had some criticisms of some of the public statements that -- that President Trump has made about -- fire and brimstone and that -- sort of thing being utilized," he told CBS, but added that he welcomed Trump's willingness to meet with Kim Jong Un. The full interview will air Sunday on CBS's "Sunday Morning." Here is a look at the life of his Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, Buddhist spiritual leader of the people of Tibet. Personal: Birth date: July 6, 1935 Birth place: Taktser, Amdo, Eastern Tibet Birth name: Lhamo Dhondup Father: Choekyong Tsering Mother: Dekyi Tsering Education: Geshe Lharampa Degree (Doctorate of Buddhist Philosophy), 1959 Other Facts: The Dalai Lamas are considered the manifestations of the Bodhisattva (Buddha) of Compassion, who chose to reincarnate to serve the people. This Dalai Lama, the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatsois, is the 74th manifestation of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, the enlightened Buddha of compassion. Tibetans normally refer to His Holiness as Yeshe Norbu, the Wishfulfilling Gem, or simply Kundun -- The Presence. Has traveled to numerous countries with a message of religious and cultural tolerance and peace. Awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. Timeline: 1938 - Is taken from his family in Taktser to the Kumbum monastery after a delegation of monks looking for the new Dalai Lama find him. February 22, 1940 - Enthronement ceremony takes place in Lhasa, Tibet. His birth name is forfeited and he assumes the name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso. November 8, 1950 - Chinese soldiers of the People's Liberation Army invade Tibet at Lhasa. November 17, 1950 - The Dalai Lama assumes full political power as Tibetan Head of State and Government ahead of schedule. Investiture is moved up from his 18th birthday as a result of China's invasion of Tibet. 1954-1959 - Participates in unsuccessful peace talks in Beijing with Chinese leaders including Mao Tse-Tung, Chou En-lai and Deng Xiaoping. In 1959, the talks end when the Chinese army forces 80,000 Tibetan refugees into exile. March 17, 1959 - Goes into exile; leaves Lhasa for India dressed as a soldier. April 21, 1959 - Officially takes up residence in exile in Mussoorie, India. 1960 - Dharamsala, India, becomes home to the Dalai Lama and headquarters of the government-in-exile of Tibet. 1963 - Enacts a new Tibetan democratic constitution based on Buddhist principles and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. September 30, 1973 - Meets with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican, the first ever meeting of a pope and a spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists. May 1977 - The Chinese government makes the Dalai Lama a conditional offer, the opportunity to return to Tibet after acceptance of Chinese rule over Tibet. The offer is rejected. August 3, 1979 - Arrives in the United States for a 49-day tour. February 2, 1986 - Meets with Pope John Paul II in New Delhi. September 1987 - Attends the Congressional Human rights Caucus in Washington, DC, and proposes a Five Point Peace Plan for Tibet's future. 1989 - Wins the Nobel Peace Prize for his dedication to the nonviolent liberation of Tibet. April 16, 1991 - White House meeting with President George H. W. Bush, the first ever between the spiritual leader and a president of the United States. May 6, 1993 - Meets with President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore at the White House. September 1995 - Tours the United States urging government involvement with talks with China over Tibetan autonomy. March 27, 1997 - Meets with President Lee Teng-hui of Taiwan in Taipei. December 25, 1997 - Disney, through Touchstone Pictures, releases the biopic "Kundun," directed by Martin Scorsese. November 10, 1998 - Requests assistance in opening official negotiations with China regarding the future of Tibet at a meeting of senior government officials in Washington, DC, that includes President Clinton. The Dalai Lama says that the distrust between himself and China is too great to re-open the talks. May 2001 - Meets with President George W. Bush, Congressional leaders and Secretary of State Colin Powell, among others in Washington, DC. 2002 - Speaks out against China, stating that China should embrace democracy if the country is to be a major world power in the coming years. He also criticizes the United States-led war on terrorism, saying that the use of force to override terrorists overlooks the underlying problems that lead to terrorism. September 2003 - Begins a 16-day tour of the United States in San Francisco. Other cities he visits include New York; Boston; Washington; and Bloomington, Indiana, meeting again with President Bush and Colin Powell. September 19-22, 2004 - Tours South Florida and gives a series of public and private lectures on peace and religious and cultural harmony. Lecture sites include Miami University and Florida International University. November 8, 2005 - Meetings with President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington. September 11, 2006 - Receives honorary Canadian citizenship in a ceremony at Vancouver's GM Place Stadium. February 5, 2007 - The Dalai Lama is named a presidential distinguished professor at Emory University in Atlanta. June 22, 2007 - Appears in the documentary, "Ten Questions for the Dalai Lama," a 2001 interview done in India that shows some of the life and teachings of the Dalai Lama. October 9-31, 2007 - Visits North America. While in Washington, DC, he is awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by President Bush. He later visits Emory University in Atlanta for a conference and installation as a presidential distinguished professor. January 2008 - Calls for peaceful protests during the upcoming Beijing Olympics, to highlight the plight of Tibet. March 18, 2008 - States during an interview that he would step down as leader of Tibetan exiles if violence in Tibet were to get out of control. April 13, 2008 - Arrives in the US for a 10-day tour that makes stops in Seattle, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Hamilton, New York. April 21, 2008 - The Dalai Lama is made an "honorary citizen" of Paris, over the objections of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's political party. May 23, 2008 - Meets with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London. June 12, 2008 - Urges his supporters not to cause trouble when the Olympic torch passes through Tibet; he also reiterates a general plea for his supporters not to target the torch or the Olympic games. October 6, 2009 - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi awards the inaugural Lantos Human Rights Prize to the Dalai Lama, honoring his commitment to ending global injustices. February 18, 2010 - Meets with President Barack Obama at the White House. March 10, 2011 - Announces plans to devolve political power to an elected leader of the Tibetan exile movement. May 29, 2011 - Approves amendments to the exiled constitution, formally removing his political and administrative responsibilities. July 16, 2011 - Meets with President Barack Obama at the White House. May 14, 2012 - Accepts the Templeton Prize, an award worth -1.1 million ($1.77 million) that honors "outstanding individuals who have devoted their talents to expanding our vision of human purpose and ultimate reality." February 21, 2014 - Meets with President Obama at the White House. September 7, 2014 - The German newspaper Die Welt publishes an interview with the Dalai Lama in which he suggests ending the tradition of choosing a spiritual leader for the Tibetan people. The article sparks discussions about whether the Dalai Lama was declaring that he will not be reincarnated. He later clarifies his comments during an interview with the BBC, saying that it is "up to the Tibetan people" whether another Dalai Lama will arise after his death. May 6, 2016 - The New York Times reports the launch of the Atlas of Emotions, a project commissioned by the Dalai Lama. Created by psychologist Paul Ekman for $750,000, it is reportedly a "map of emotions" that aims to help people find inner peace. June 15, 2016 - Meets with President Obama at the White House, his fourth meeting with the US president. March 22, 2018 - Sonam Dagpo, spokesperson for the Central Tibetan Administration announces that the "Dalai Lama will be cutting down his rigorous schedule because he gets tired more easily as he ages....He also doesn't plan on traveling overseas for the rest of the year." NEW YORK (AP) Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is blaming the Republican establishment for Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore's defeat, saying GOP leaders pushed pedophilia accusations against him. Bannon says Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was too quick to back away from Moore, who faced charges of sexually abusing underage girls. Moore, whom Bannon supported, lost in December to Doug Jones, giving Democrats a U.S. Senate seat from Alabama for the first time in a generation. Bannon gave a wide-ranging interview Thursday at the Financial Times' "Future of News" event. The conservative provocateur defended his recent admiring comments about Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, saying the fascist was "evil" but "fascinating." When asked if the world's institutions needed to be "blown up," Bannon responded, "A few of them, certainly." JACKSON, Miss. (AP) Republican Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi on Thursday gave a farewell speech in the U.S. Senate, where he's the longest-serving current member of Congress. "I'm optimistic about the future of our great nation," said Cochran, 80, who is retiring April 1 because of poor health. Cochran served six years in the House before joining the Senate in 1978. He is the 10th longest-serving member of the Senate in history and is serving for the second time as chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. His departure comes as Congress is voting on a product of the committee's work a $1.3 trillion spending bill that puts more money into the military and many domestic programs. Senate colleagues paid tribute to Cochran, with Democrats and Republicans praising him repeatedly as a "gentle persuader" who is civil while working across party lines. "He wrote the book on composure under pressure," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said during the session shown on CSPAN2. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Cochran sought and received his support for Gulf Coast projects after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Years later, Cochran helped the Northeast after Superstorm Sandy. "He had a long memory and knew how to work the legislative process," Schumer said. Democrats and Republicans talked about Cochran's love of music and literature and the genuine interest he showed in meeting people when he traveled to other states and countries. "He was nice to everyone, from the elevator operators to the highest officials around the world," Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said. Nearly three years remain in Cochran's term, and Republican Gov. Phil Bryant on Wednesday appointed Mississippi Agriculture Commissioner Cindy Hyde-Smith to temporarily succeed the senator. A nonpartisan special election will take place in November and the winner will complete Cochran's term, which ends in January 2021. Hyde-Smith, who pledged Tuesday to support President Donald Trump, will face at least two other candidates Democrat Mike Espy, a former U.S. House member who served as President Bill Clinton's first agriculture secretary, and tea party-backed Republican state Sen. Chris McDaniel, who nearly unseated Cochran in a bitter 2014 Republican primary. Hyde-Smith will be the first woman to represent Mississippi in Congress. She served 12 years in the Mississippi Senate as a Democrat before becoming Republican in late 2010 and winning the statewide race for agriculture commissioner in 2011. McDaniel sent a fundraising email Wednesday criticizing Hyde-Smith: "Apparently, McConnell and his cronies would rather have another liberal Democrat in Washington than a principled conservative Republican." Republicans are trying to maintain their thin Senate majority. Although Mississippi is conservative, GOP leaders are wary about splitting the party and losing a seat to a Democrat after something similar happened last year in Alabama. Andy Taggart, an attorney who was chief of staff for Republican Gov. Kirk Fordice in the 1990s, said Wednesday that he might run in the special election to try to prevent either McDaniel or a Democrat from winning. Taggart said McDaniel showed a "lack of respect" for Cochran in the 2014 race. STARKVILLE, Miss. (WTVA) - Board members of OCH Regional Medical Center met Thursday with representatives of three hospital systems looking to affiliate with the Starkville-based hospital. Those representatives were with Baptist Health Systems, North Mississippi Health Systems and University of Mississippi Medical Center, and all three made presentations. "We were looking at what they had to offer and looking at our priorities, at what our expectations and needs are and what system we think could best help fufuill and meet those needs," said hospital CEO Richard Hilton. The board is scheduled to meet with those hospital system representatives again on Tuesday. There's no word on when a decision could be made on hospital affiliation. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Moldy pipes, a tub filled with junk and a mattress trashed. Those are just some of the sub-par living conditions, according to one resident at the Tallahassee Hope Community Center, that she was forced to live in. "I was sleeping in the cafeteria for a month, and the showers were very hazard," said Vanessa Pastoriza, the resident. "And the bathrooms. There was people, you know, messing up the bathrooms. It was very filthy, and they constantly blamed my children for making messes that they didn't even do." Pastoriza, a mother of five, says the living conditions at the Hope Community Center are atrocious. She says she loses sleep due to roaches and bedbugs. And, it's gotten worse over time, the last time she took a shower was more than two weeks ago. "Recently, there's been very cold water, no hot water," she said. Pastoriza and her children moved into the facilities in January of 2018. In addition to the dirty living situations, she says she is regularly discriminated against from employees. "Me and my sister were speaking in Spanish, and a RCS told us not to speak in Spanish," she said. "She said we're in America, so speak English." Pastorizais reported her greivances to the Leon County Health Department in February, and was at that time moved to a shared living area. "We keep catching them in lies," she said. WTXL's cameras were allowed on the premises but not in the living dorms. Hope Community Center Director Sylvia Smith says it's not uncommon for homeless residence shelters to have bedbugs, and that they use a certified vendor to exterminate pests. She also says it's each resident's responsibility to keep the facilities clean. "There are no custodial staff," Smith says. "As I mentioned, housekeeping is a shared responsibility between the residents and the staff. This is a residential facility. So everywhere the residents live is considered a living environment where they are in their own home. So there is no budget for us to clean the residential areas for them." Smith says living quarters for their 180 - 230 residents are inspected daily, and that they use professionals for critical maintenance that cannot be performed by staff. The cafeteria is stocked with cots during temporary emergency situations and food preparation is kept separate. Representatives say that everything is up to par and standard, but these photographs tell a different story. According to Pastoriza, if the Hope Center doesn't clean up their act, "To be honest, that building is a hazard. It won't last." TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A man arrested for trying to steal $5,000 worth of jeans from Dillard's last year has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for a rash of thefts from Walmart stores in Tallahassee. Cameron Eustace, 46, plead guilty to robbery and six counts of petit theft on Wednesday. He was sentenced to 30 years at the Florida Department of Corrections. Eustace has also been labeled a violent career offender. According to court documents, Tallahassee Police were investigating his involvement in multiple thefts from Walmart stores in Tallahassee back in 2016. In fact, Eustace is also suspected in several thefts from Walmart stores in Wakulla County. In each instance, Eustace is said to have threatened store employees when approached about the stolen goods, implying that he was armed. In the case Eustace was sentenced for Wednesday, he was accused of stealing several items from the Walmart on Lagniappe Way to include two youth-sized scooters valued at $249 each. For the case involving an attempted theft at the Dillard's store in Tallahassee, Eustace is set to be in court for a case management hearing on April 4, 2018. Eustace is also due in court the same day for a case management hearing regarding a theft from the Walmart on North Monroe Street that occurred the day after he tried to steal jeans from Dillard's. He is facing multiple counts of grand theft and robbery for the above incidents. Eustace has also been convicted of robbery, grand theft of a motor vehicle, grand theft, carjacking and possession of a controlled substance in the past. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The nation's top law enforcement official was in Tallahassee Thursday to address what the Trump administration has declared a "public health crisis." U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions made it very clear that something has to be done to contain what's being called an "opioid epidemic." He said Florida has seen more than its fair share of overdose deaths, and now is the time to take action. Sessions addressed more than 100 people, many of whom were local and federal law enforcement. He said the President is investing six billion dollars to battle opioid abuse, specifically for treatment and prevention. A new task force and opioid fraud and detection unit have been created in Sessions' first year as U.S. Attorney General. He said there's more to come from the current administration. "President Trump believes our country can break the vicious cycle of drug abuse addiction and overdose that has devastated countless American families, and so do I," said Sessions. "And I believe most law enforcement believe that, too. This administration will continue to use every tool at our disposal to end the crisis." Sessions announced a new initiative Thursday. The DEA will send 250 task force officers across the country to help crack down on those violating drug policies. Sessions praised this district for being a "national leader" in prosecuting professionals, including doctors, for contributing to the epidemic. Tallahassee Police Chief Michael DeLeo, State Attorney Jack Campbell, and Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil were among more than 100 local and federal law enforcement officers at Thursday's event. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-22 21:27:34|Editor: Lifang Video Player Close Indian police and paramilitary officers salute the coffin of policeman Deepak Thusoo who was killed in a gun battle with militants, during his wreath laying ceremony at the police headquarters in Srinagar, summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, March 22, 2018. A fierce gun battle killed five Indian government forces and five militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said Wednesday. (Xinhua/Javed Dar) SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The fierce gunfight in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir ended Thursday with death toll having risen to 10, officials said. The two-day gunfight that began Tuesday claimed lives of five militants, three troopers and two policemen. The gunfight between militants and joint contingents of police and army broke out Tuesday afternoon inside Halmatpora forest area of frontier Kupwara district, about 110 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. "In the gunfight five militants were killed," a senior police official said. "While fighting these militants three troopers and two policemen were also killed." According to Indian army spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia, the wreath laying ceremony of slain troopers was held Thursday at Badami Bagh cantonment in Srinagar. A similar ceremony to pay tributes to slain policemen was held at district police lines in Srinagar. A senior police official S P Pani told reporters the militants killed in the gunfight were foreigners. "It was a very difficult operation in view of thick vegetation and open area," Pani said. "On the basis of material recovered from the site of the gunfight, it looks the slain militants were associated with Lashkar-e-Toiba militant outfit." Militant groups are engaged in a guerilla war with Indian troops in the region since 1989. The militants often carry out attacks on police and army in the region. Gunfight between the two sides takes place intermittently. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-22 21:27:35|Editor: Lifang Video Player Close Cancer survivors pose for photos in a theatrical play in Athens, Greece, March 16, 2018. Nine female cancer survivors would tell on stage their story in a theatrical play staged in Athens this spring to raise awareness to the public. The theatrical play is part of the initiative held by the Center for Support, Education, and Research in Psychosocial Oncology of the Greek Cancer Society. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) by Alexia Vlachou ATHENS, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Nine female cancer survivors would tell on stage their story in a theatrical play staged in Athens this spring to raise awareness to the public. The performance aims to talk openly about the illness and the pain, but above all to transform through art their experience into something beautiful and creative to keep on. "Within an hour one can see the whole dimension of cancer, how it affects the patient, the relatives. It educates the audience, but it helps the actresses who are the living heroes to overcome their problem," Evangelos Filopoulos, president of the Greek Cancer Society told Xinhua. The theatrical play is part of the initiative held by the Center for Support, Education, and Research in Psychosocial Oncology of the Greek Cancer Society. After a year of weekly meetings, interviews and improvisations, these nine women with the support of their clinical psychologist and scientific director of the Center Ioannis Dinos, and the guidance of Greek director Georgia Mavragani performed before an audience. "The theatrical play is the climax of a whole journey that lasted one year through meetings of the director Georgia Mavragani with these women who learned to improvise, to play, to test their body, to trust each other," Dinos stressed. Besides the psychological and social support, the idea was to help cancer survivors to pick up the thread of their life after having all the treatment procedures that helped them overcome the disease. Mavragani decided to undertake the project as she was interested in approaching the disease on stage not with actors but with real cancer survivors. "Cancer disease is something that happens in life, and I try to disconnect it from death," she said. The Greek Cancer Society made an open call to women who had been through breast cancer and who might be interested in participating voluntarily in the project. Some responded directly; others went after their therapists suggested them. It was not an easy journey. During the meetings, the nine women had to recall their memories or bring objects linked to that period of their life to help them build their story in personal or group interviews. "Sometimes it was like a burden, the memory, to go back and dive into that period. But, it was redemption as well," Mara Pavlopoulou told Xinhua. Pavlopoulou was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2011, she was operated, and then three more surgeries followed in 2012 in the knee, in 2013 in the uterus and the last in thyroid in 2015. "They were not all cancer. But when you start, whatever is suspicious you must get it out," she stressed. For all the participants, the theatrical play is redeeming their lives. "We were all together. It did not matter where you had cancer. We all had a common denominator, so we did not have to say much. If I cried, I would not have to apologize. We know why you cry, we know what you remember," she added. "Even though we did not know each other, our common pain united us, because we had to go through the same things," Stella Hatzimichael said. Through the play and the help of their director, the nine cancer survivors expressed their need to talk publicly about the disease. "With my family, we did not talk about it. My siblings were very supportive, but they did not want to discuss it," Pavlopoulou said. According to Dinos, cancer is still a taboo theme in Greece. "It is difficult to overcome it since it is linked to death. Especially, in our times we avoid thinking about death, we want to think positive things," he explained. The feeling of guilt is another factor that oppresses the patient. Mavragani tried to approach the play with that in mind. Fotini Hapsa, another participant of the play agreed. "We should not feel guilty for getting sick. The guilt of the disease is wrong. It is part of our life; we must continue. The illness is part of the life just like joy," she stressed. Hapsa, an architect, joined the group after her therapist advised her to do so. At the beginning, she hesitated, but after the first meeting, she felt connected with the others. "I could not imagine how our meetings could be transformed into a play. It's a difficult project to take nine different stories, connect them and have a nice artistic result. Very impressed with the result," she told Xinhua. According to Pavlopoulou, most of the people who come to watch the play have experienced cancer or have members in their families who have been diagnosed with cancer. "Art helps you communicate, and especially theatre. What you want more when you have a difficult time is to feel relieved to express your pain, your insecurities, but in the end to have hope for you and the audience," Hapsa said. "We are very pleased to present a performance of artistic value that does not dive due to its subject to death and sadness. On the contrary, dives into life, into its difficulties, its strength and strong desire to continue," Mavragani said. The next step for all the parts involved in the project, the patients, the doctors and the art community is to examine new similar projects to benefit more people in need, they said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 03:39:19|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close KUNMING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Despite learning Tamil for just one month, Yang Yuchao has been attracted by its beautiful script and pronunciation. With a history of more than 2,000 years, the Tamil language is spoken in countries including India and Sri Lanka. "It has 247 letters, about ten times that of English. It's difficult to learn but very charming," said Yang, a member of the Bai ethnic group. Interested in languages, he chose Tamil as his major in Yunnan Minzu University (YMU) last year and spent the first half of semester studying the history and culture of South Asian countries. Besides Tamil, the School of South Asia where Yang studies also teaches another six languages including Hindi, Urdu, Nepali and Bengali. The courses are to cater to the growing demand for learning languages as China pushes ahead the Belt and Road Initiative, according to Fang Zhen, dean of the school. The initiative, proposed by China in 2013, aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road trade routes to seek common development and prosperity. "China has been actively expanding economic, trade, education and cultural exchanges with India, Pakistan, and other south Asian countries," Fang said. Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, held the South and Southeast Asia Commodity Expo and Investment Fair last year, with more than 500 billion yuan (79 billion U.S. dollars) in deals signed. In 2017, a total of 18,800 overseas students came to Yunnan to study. Students from South and Southeast Asian countries made up the highest proportion. "To strengthen cooperation with neighboring countries, personnel training is important," Fang said. Founded in 2015, the School of South Asia in YMU aims to serve enterprises and diplomatic institutes between China and South Asian countries. It has 135 students who, besides language skills, also study subjects such as law, international trade and economics, as well as international politics. "We want our students to become well-rounded rather than just a translator. In this way they can play bigger roles in the Belt and Road Initiative," she said. "It's my responsibility to promote Tamil," said Zhang Qi, Tamil language teacher at YMU. Zhang worked at a radio station for two years before pursing her master's degree in Hong Kong. She had been working in Hong Kong for three years when she heard about YMU's recruitment process. "I was impressed by the hardworking students, brand new campus and professional colleagues here, so I left Hong Kong and joined YMU," Zhang said. Yunnan is expected to become an important bridge connecting South and Southeast Asia due partly to its proximity to these areas. In 2013, the province established an advisory committee on the language teaching to further the training of talent. "Graduates from our school will be more competitive in the job market, with the construction of Belt and Road," Yang said. "Government institutes and Chinese enterprises abroad are our targets." Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 04:24:32|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close GENEVA, March 22 (Xinhua) -- An international team of researchers has discovered a new anti-cancer protein that not only prevents the uncontrolled proliferation of cancer cells in the liver, but also serves as a biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of liver cancer, according to a press release by the University of Basel on Thursday. Liver tumors develop from mutated cells that grow and proliferate uncontrollably. Anti-cancer proteins, so-called tumor suppressors, prevent uncontrolled cell growth, but are often defective in cancer cells. The researchers have discovered a new, so far unknown tumor suppressor, the protein LHPP. They have shown that the loss of LHPP promotes tumor growth and reduces the chance of survival of cancer patients. LHPP could therefore potentially be used as a prognostic biomarker. "It is striking that LHPP is present in healthy tissue and completely absent in tumor tissue," says first author Sravanth Hindupur. Re-introduction of the genetic information for LHPP by the researchers prevents the formation of tumors and maintains liver function. Additionally, both disease severity and life expectancy correlate with LHPP levels. With complete loss of the tumor suppressor, cancer patients die on average two years earlier. LHPP is useful as a biomarker to classify tumors. The research has been published in the latest issue of the scientific journal Nature. BRUSSELS, March 22 (Xinhua) -- European Council President Donald Tusk said on Thursday dialogue with the United States is key to avoid protectionism. Tusk made the remarks at a news conference after an European Union summit meeting in Brussels. "We need to avoid protectionism at the global level. This is a major risk for jobs, not only in Europe. In this respect, dialogue with the U.S. is key," he said. Tusk said the EU leaders were waiting for Washington to confirm the news that the EU would be exempted from the U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs which was reportedly disclosed by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. Speaking to the Senate Finance Committee, Lighthizer said on Thursday the U.S. will grant the EU and six other economies a temporary exemption from the steel and aluminum tariffs signed off by President Donald Trump earlier this month. Lighthizer said that there are countries involved in various stages of trade talks with the United States and that the president decided "to pause the imposition of tariffs with respect to those countries." EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said that the EU bloc is "always willing to engage with our American partners, but we do not negotiate anything under pressure or threat." BRUSSELS, March 22 (Xinhua) -- European Council President Donald Tusk said on Thursday the dialogue with the United States is key to avoid protectionism. Tusk made the remarks at a news conference after an EU summit meeting in Brussels. "We need to avoid protectionism at the global level. This is a major risk for jobs, not only in Europe. In this respect, dialogue with the U.S.is key," he said. Tusk said the EU leaders were waiting for Washington to confirm the news that the EU would be exempted from the U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs which was reportedly disclosed by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. Speaking to the Senate Finance Committee, Lighthizer said on Thursday the U.S. will grant the EU and six other economies a temporary exemption from the steel and aluminum tariffs signed off by U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month. Lighthizer said that there are countries involved in various stages of trade talks with the United States and that the president decided "to pause the imposition of tariffs with respect to those countries." "While expecting the US decision on exempting the EU from the proposed tariffs on steel and aluminium, I had decided to move the trade discussion to later this evening," Tusk said. "We will present the EU's approach in more detail tomorrow, following the leaders' debate," he added. The announcement of temporary exemption by Lighthizer followed EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom's trip to Washington for talks with Lighthizer and U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. "We have agreed to launch immediately a process of discussion with President Trump and the Trump Administration on trade issues of common concern, including steel and aluminum, with a view to identifying mutually acceptable outcomes as rapidly as possible," said a joint statement following their meeting. Malmstrom said that the EU bloc is "always willing to engage with our American partners, but we do not negotiate anything under pressure or threat." Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel told reporters that he wanted more details on the exemptions to U.S. tariffs, and was concerned about whether those exemptions were linked to conditions. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Europe were united in support of free trade and rejection of protectionism. French President Emmanuel Macron said he was waiting for a final announcement on U.S. tariffs. In a statement of the summit, the EU said it "reaffirms its commitment to an open and rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core." Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 08:00:08|Editor: Lifang Video Player Close File photo taken on May 16, 2017 shows H.R. McMaster answers questions during a press briefing at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted on March 22, 2018 that John Bolton, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, will replace General H.R. McMaster to be his new national security adviser. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu) WASHINGTON, March 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted on Thursday that John Bolton, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, will replace General H.R. McMaster to be his new national security adviser. Trump added that the announcement will be effective on April 9, when there will be an official contact handover. "I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend," Trump said. Later, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley also tweeted that McMaster's "selfless courage and leadership has inspired all of us. Most of all, thank you for your friendship." The Washington Post reported last week that Trump has decided to sack McMaster, and was "actively" talking about potential replacements. Richard Hass, president of the U.S. think tank Council on Foreign Relations, questioned Bolton's qualifications. "A national security advisor must be an honest broker, ensuring the Potus considers all points of view. Second, he is a counselor with his own views... the obvious question is whether John Bolton has the temperament and the judgment for the job," Hass noted. Bolton, born in 1949, has served the Reagan and Bush administrations. He has been largely known for his hawkish stance. He also strongly lashed out at the United Nations, threatening not to pay for the U.S. dues if his requirements were not met. Trump was said to be "comfortable" with firing McMaster, with whom he has never had personal chemistry. He has also complained that McMaster's briefings went on too long and seemed irrelevant, according to reports. As McMaster has "been on thin ice for months," Trump was said to be willing to take time implementing the move so as to ensure McMaster does not feel "humiliated" and that there is a strong successor to replace him. Although Sarah Sanders, the White House spokesperson, later tweeted that Trump and McMaster "have a good working relationship" and there were no changes at the National Security Committee, Trump has reportedly told White House Chief of Staff John Kelly to help him weigh on replacement options. Thursday's change of personnel marked yet another shakeup in the senior ranks of the Trump administration. Trump earlier announced to fire State Secretary Rex Tillerson, replacing him with Mike Pompeo, the current chief of Central Intelligence Agency. John McEntee, Trump's longtime personal aide, was forced out of the White House after his security clearance was abruptly revoked. Trump recently nominated former TV analyst Larry Kudlow to replace Gary Cohn, his top economic adviser that quit over tariff disagreements with Trump. Trump was also reportedly considering replace Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin with Energy Secretary Rick Perry. Shulkin has ruffled Trump's feathers for his extravagant spending habit and pervasive disorder inside his agency. Other cabinet personnel on the U.S. media's watch list included Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who has shown a clear lacking of preparation in attending CBS's "60 Minutes;" Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, who has created headlines for ordering a dining room set for his office worthy of 31,000 U.S. dollars; Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, traveling in first-class cabins at taxpayer's expense; and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who spent 139,000 U.S. dollars to renovate his office doors. CANBERRA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Northern Australia has been warned to brace for a category three tropical cyclone expected to make landfall over the weekend. Tropical Cyclone Nora formed in the Arfafura Sea, which separates Australia's Northern Territory (NT) and Papua New Guinea (PNG), on Friday morning and was forecast by the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) to transform into a severe system by Saturday. The BOM on Friday issued a warning for the north-east NT and Queensland's north-west coast. If the storm makes landfall on Saturday, it will come exactly one week after the category one Tropical Cyclone Marcus caused widespread damage in the NT as the strongest storm to hit Darwin in 30 years. Rick Threlfall, BOM senior forecaster, said that the storm would intensify rapidly as it moved across the Gulf of Carpentaria; the body of water between the east coast of the NT and west coast of Queensland. "It's in a good position to intensify through today and should become a category two system by this afternoon as it moves over warm waters," Threlfall told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Friday. "It will then turn south east through the Gulf and track towards the coast over the weekend -- right down the middle of the Gulf. "It will become a severe tropical cyclone category three system by Saturday afternoon." Forecasters were unable to predict the path of the cyclone, saying it could hit either Queensland or the NT but did say that both regions could expect severe weather conditions to develop on Friday evening. "We're talking about a severe tropical cyclone, so that means we could see sustained winds around the system of up to 150 kilometers per hour (kmph) and destructive wind gusts would certainly be possible over land as well," BOM's Sam Campbell said. "We're expecting heavy falls to develop during Friday evening but more likely into Saturday morning. "There's also the possibility of some coastal inundation with the storm surge and that's anywhere in the watch area as well." Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 09:45:23|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close WASHINGTON, March 22 (Xinhua) -- China is strongly disappointed and firmly opposes the unilateral trade protectionist action introduced by the Trump administration against Chinese imports, said the Chinese Embassy in the United States on Thursday. "China does not want a trade war with anyone. But China is not afraid of and will not recoil from a trade war," said the embassy in a statement. "If a trade war were initiated by the United States, China would fight to the end to defend its own legitimate interests with all necessary measures," it added. Earlier on Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to 60 billion U.S. dollars worth of imports from China, the latest unilateral move that poses a threat to global trade. "The actions undertaken by the United States are self-defeating," said the statement, warning that they will directly harm the interests of U.S. consumers, companies, and financial markets. "They also jeopardize international trade order and world economic stability," it said. According to estimates by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), a U.S. technology policy think tank, a 25-percent tariff on Chinese information and communications technology (ICT) imports would cost the U.S. economy 332 billion dollars over the next 10 years. "China has demonstrated sincerity in making reasonable suggestions to the United States, and has made great efforts to address the current trade imbalance between China and the United States," said the embassy. "We urge the United States to cease and desist, make cautious decisions, and avoid placing China-U.S. trade relations in danger with the purpose of hurting others that eventually end up hurting itself," it added. Cui Tiankai, Chinese ambassador to the United States, said on Thursday that the accusation of China's intellectual property violations is "groundless" and "a kind of discrimination." "People in China and people in other developing countries are fully capable of innovation," said the ambassador. China encourages innovation and has laws to protect intellectual property rights for both Chinese and foreign companies, said Cui. "We will do our utmost to ensure intellectual property rights are protected whether they are from Chinese companies or American companies," he said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 09:50:23|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations on Thursday urged the international community to help Africa enhance its capacity in maintaining peace and security. Ma Zhaoxu made the appeal at an open meeting of the Security Council on peace and security in Africa: Lake Chad region. He asked the international community to support Africa's counter-terrorism efforts. The United Nations and the international community should provide targeted assistance in terms of technology, training, equipment, logistics and finance, on the basis of respect for the sovereignty and will of the parties concerned, he told the Security Council. He also asked the international community to address the root causes of conflict in Africa, calling for efforts to help promote socioeconomic development in African countries, including those in the Lake Chad region, to eliminate the breeding ground of conflict and extremism. He stressed the importance of giving full play to the role of regional and subregional organizations in conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict reconstruction. He pledged China's continued support for Africa. Aerial photo taken on May 10, 2017 shows the Shennyuxi scenic zone at the Wuxia Gorge of the Yangtze's Three Gorges area in southwest China. (Xinhua/Liu Chan) BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- A week of saving water began in China Thursday, in celebration of this year's World Water Day, taking the country another step closer to realizing the dream of beautiful, green nation. Following the creation of new environmental authorities, China is now better equipped to juggle growth and conservation. "Let saving water be the task of all Chinese," the People's Daily said in a Thursday article. Water shortages are particularly tough for China, as per capita water resources are less than a third of the world average. About two thirds of Chinese cities face water shortages to some extent. To encourage people to think more deeply about their water supply, Binzhou City, Shandong Province on Thursday encouraged citizens to turn off their water for a few hours to find out exactly how a water shortage felt. Children show their paintings themed on saving water at Haizhouwan Central Kindergarten in Lianyungang City, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 22, 2018, on the occasion of World Water Day. (Xinhua/Geng Yuhe) In central China's Hunan province, a data base now allows local river chiefs tasked with fighting water pollution to access a wide range of information to help in their work. Saving water, however, is only one thing China must work on to become a beautiful nation of clean air, clear water and green mountains. A week of saving water is definitely not enough. That will require institutional reform and strong government action. NEW INSTITUTIONS Across the country, river chiefs, bay chiefs and lake chiefs are taking up their posts. Along China's longest inland river, the Tarim, in Xinjiang, 285 river chiefs have been appointed to be directly accountable for the quality of water under their supervision. River chief Wang Jia clears away floating waste on a river in Changxing County, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 12, 2017. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) In Beijing, people are taking selfies in front of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, as it will soon be replaced. New ministries were recently approved by the national legislative session. The Ministry of Ecological Environment will take charge of protection of fresh water, land, air and oceans. The Ministry of Natural Resources will be responsible for making overall planning and overseeing the development and protection of the natural resources. These changes may be answers to long-term issues, including poorly defined government responsibilities, according to Minister of Ecological Environment Li Ganjie. The government has played a dual-role as both competitor and referee for a long time and that problem should now be solved, Li told a press briefing over the weekend. Li's ministry will consolidate powers to prevent pollution and protect the environment that used to be spread among various ministries. AMBITIOUS GOALS New ministries mean more detailed planning, but the journey to sustainable growth still will not be easy. The government will do as much as it can to protect and restore ecosystems. It will set redlines for protection in the whole country. More than 6.6 million hectares of forests will be planted. Crop rotation and fallow land trials will be increased to two million hectares, and all before the end of this year. By 2020, total annual water use should be under 670 billion cubic meters and water use per 10,000 yuan of GDP will be reduced by 23 percent of the 2015 level. In the opinion of Erik Solheim, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, policy makers face either-or paradoxes to a seemingly impossible equation, namely, how to lift tens of millions of people out of poverty while protecting the environment. For large economies, the balance between development and conservation is particularly tricky. GROWING CONFIDENCE Although environmental regulation of factories inevitably leads to pain, many companies have begun to feel the benefit of the new development model. The green development path has helped new energy vehicles in particular, but the effects can be seen across the board. Poten Environment Group, a water treatment firm in Beijing, saw its revenue rise by more than 45 percent from 2012 to 2016, thanks to stricter environmental rules. The level of PM2.5 in Beijing has dropped to its lowest level since 2013 when the national air pollution control campaign began. Across the country, average PM2.5 density in 338 cities fell by 6.5 percent last year. Photo taken on July 11, 2017 shows tourists visiting the Qixing Lake Scenic Area of the Saihanba State Forest Park in Weichang Man and Mongolian Autonomous County of Chengde City, north China's Hebei Province. (Xinhua/Wang Xiao) Li Ganjie said that the target for PM2.5 reduction could be raised as targets are being met faster than expected. "Finally, the world is witnessing what may well turn out to be the definitive how-to guide on building a sustainable economy that works in complete harmony with the environment," Solheim wrote in an article in China Today, a multi-language magazine. "For the larger economies, in most cases wealth has been built on unsustainable growth. That is about to change, and I'm convinced China will now lead the way," he wrote. (By Xinhua writers Cheng Yunjie, Lu Yun and Lou Chen. Guan Guifeng in Beijing also contributes to the story.) YANGON, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The Myanmar parliament is to elect presidential candidates later on Friday to compete for the presidency vacancy left by U Htin Kyaw, who announced resignation on Wednesday for health reasons. According to parliament sources, the presidential electoral college of the House of Representatives will elect a vice president as a candidate to compete with other two existing vice presidents -- U Myint Swe and U Henry Van Thio for presidential run at the parliament. The presidency vacancy shall be filled within seven days after the president announces resignation, according to the constitution. Meanwhile, a day following the resignation of U Win Myint as Speaker of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, U T Khun Myat, his deputy, was elected as new speaker of the House. The current parliament and government began its term of five years from February and April 2016 respectively under the leadership of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) which won the absolute majority of the parliamentary seats in the Nov. 8 general election in 2015. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 10:40:35|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close HONG KONG, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Tracking losses on Wall Street overnight, Hong Kong stocks opened lower at 29,930.23 on Friday, falling more than 3 percent. Market sentiment was affected amid the fear of a global trade war outbreak. U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to 60 billion U.S. dollars worth of imports from China. The Chinese Embassy to the United States said Thursday that it is strongly disappointed and firmly opposes the unilateral trade protectionist action by the Trump administration against Chinese imports. In the morning session, heavyweight HSBC dropped more than 2 percent, Tencent plunged more than 5 percent. ALGIERS, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Algerian Interior Minister Noureddine Bedoui said Thursday that the country's security services have taken steps to crack down on illegal migration networks. Bedoui said at a plenary session of Algeria's National People's Congress that most illegal migrants traveling through Algeria to other countries are foreigners who merely take the country as a transfer station. He also said illegal migration groups are behind this phenomenon and that the security services have dismantled many of them and brought the criminals to justice. "The government is sparing no effort to combat and prevent this phenomenon," the minister said, adding that emergency mechanisms have been put in place, which integrates related sectors and services to prevent young people from risking their lives and embarking on an adventure with disastrous consequences. He added that the security and administrative measures include intensifying security investigations and periodic monitoring of stores selling equipment used to manufacture boats. Bedoui also said the authorities have taken a series of supportive measures for citizens, including improving social welfare in various aspects like employment and housing. He said these moves have generated "very positive results" in the fight against illegal migration and resulted in "a significant decline in attempts of illegal migration." He strongly denounced the criminal migration networks which exploit the migrants and threaten the country's security and stability. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 11:25:41|Editor: Lifang Video Player Close QUITO, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The Colombian government and the rebel group the National Liberation Army (ELN) have agreed to assess the possibility of extending a bilateral ceasefire that expired in January, the two sides said on Thursday in a joint statement. The statement was issued in Quito, Ecuador, where delegations of both sides have been holding peace talks since February 2017 to end a five- decade fighting. The negotiators have agreed that "starting Monday, April 2, we will begin to assess the situation of the temporary, nationwide bilateral ceasefire that ended on Jan. 9," Juan Meriguet, a representative of the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry said. The head of the Colombian government delegation, Gustavo Bell, said he was optimistic the two sides would be able to reach an agreement to extend the ceasefire. "We have reasonable hopes that we can make rapid progress in forging a new agreement," Bell told reporters, adding that the ceasefire is very important for making progress in developing the peace agenda. Fighting broke out again once the ceasefire expired, leading to the suspension of talks, but both the Colombian government and the ELN expressed their willingness to return to the negotiating table. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 11:50:46|Editor: Mengjie Video Player Close BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- China announced Friday that it is considering higher tariffs for imported U.S. products worth about 3 billion U.S. dollars to balance losses caused by the U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from China. This came after the United States, despite worldwide objection, decided to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum, with initial exemptions for Canada and Mexico. The U.S. move, restricting imports on national security grounds, has severely undermined the multilateral trade system led by the World Trade Organization (WTO), disrupted international trade order, and has drawn opposition from other WTO members, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on its website. China will take legal action under the WTO framework and work with other WTO members to safeguard the stability and authority of the multilateral trade rules, it said. According to the ministry's Friday announcement, the measures, or the suspension of tariff concessions, will target 128 U.S. products, including pork, wine, and seamless steel tubes. It will include an additional 15-percent tariff on products including fruit, nuts, wines, and seamless steel tubes, and an additional 25-percent tariff on pork and recycled aluminum products. The measures will be implemented in two stages: in the first stage, the 15-percent tariff will be imposed if the two countries cannot reach an agreement on trade issues within a scheduled time; in the second stage, the 25-percent import tax will be imposed after evaluating the impact caused by the U.S. policies, the ministry said. China has urged the United States to address its concerns as soon as possible, settle disputes through dialogue and consultation, and avoid damaging overall China-U.S. cooperation. In a separate statement, opposing the U.S. tariff plan on imports from China, the MOC Friday urged the United States to apply the brakes and be careful not to put bilateral trade relations in jeopardy, calling the recent U.S. restrictive measures on China "a very bad precedent." Overnight, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to 60 billion dollars of imports from China. The unilateral move triggered a market sell-off, as both countries' stock markets tumbled. It prompted the biggest percentage plunges in Wall Street's three major stock indexes in six weeks, and a 2.78-percent fall at the opening in the Shanghai bourse. MUAR, Malaysia, March 23 (Xinhua) -- More divers are expected to enter a capsized sand dredger on Friday in the Malacca Strait near Malaysia to search for the missing crew members believed to be trapped inside the ship, search and rescue officials said. Divers conducted search inside the ship overnight but had yet to find the missing crew, said Abu Bakar Bin Idris, of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), the country's coast guard. Divers have resumed searching early on Friday after the ship was towed to the shallower waters, now some 1.8 nautical miles from the shore, Abu Bakar told reporters. "We are engaging more divers to conduct the operation, that's why we start early today so we can do more diving... we hope we can find something, at the same time the diving operations are concentrating more on the engine compartment," he said, adding that extra divers will be joining the third day of the search and rescue operations. Two divers entered the ship earlier on Friday, reporting that they still heard knocking sounds, "and we still hope survivors still survive," Abu Bakar said. Tay Yap Leong, commander of Malaysian navy's diving force, said sounds were coming from the bottom of the engine room as well as the bottom part of the accommodation cabins. The divers were facing challenges during the search, including fuel mixing up with sea water and the objects floating inside the ship, said Tay. The Chinese Marine Search and Rescue Center had also sent divers and experts to assist the search and rescue efforts, according to the Chinese embassy in Malaysia. Medical personnel are deployed at sea to provide immediate treatment should any survivors be found. The rescuers would also conduct air and sea search in the nearby waters, said Abu Bakar. Meanwhile, the rescuers are considering cutting open the hull as the last option. Malaysia launched search and rescue operations involving multi-agencies including MMEA, the navy, police after a sand dredging vessel with 18 people onboard capsized Wednesday in the waters off its southern Johor state, leaving at least one dead and 14 crew members missing, including 12 Chinese, one Malaysian and one Indonesian sailors. A 200 million year old sauropod has been diagnosed with osteomyelitis at Lufeng Dinosaur Museum, southwest China's Yunnan Province BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- A 200 million year old sauropod has been diagnosed with osteomyelitis, a severe bone disease, according to a scientific paper published on Thursday. Scientists from China, the United States, Britain and South Africa said study of a Jurassic Lufengosaurus fossil from Lufeng Dinosaur Museum in southwest China's Yunnan Province, suggests it may have had a serious bone infection. The findings were published on Scientific Reports, an online open-access scientific journal. A 200 million year old sauropod has been diagnosed with osteomyelitis at Lufeng Dinosaur Museum, southwest China's Yunnan Province When the dinosaur was excavated in 1997, there was a pathological abnormality on one of its right ribs. A small hole penetrates almost halfway through the rib, said the museum's Wang Yi. "The rim of the penetration is quite smooth, so it is more likely to be caused by some kind of disease, rather than any injury," said paleontologist Xing Lida, lead researcher of the team. According to Xing, traditional bone pathology involves low powered magnification of the bone, but this only shows the external surface of the fossil. "In the case of this rib, the lesion penetrates deep into the bone, so we needed to find a way to see the internal structure before diagnosis," Xing said. A 200 million year old sauropod has been diagnosed with osteomyelitis at Lufeng Dinosaur Museum, southwest China's Yunnan Province Now, 20 years after the dinosaur's discovery, X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) can image the deep structures and reconstruct the cellular structure of the rib. "From micro-CT scanning and reconstruction, we can tell this Lufengosaurus was attacked by a predator and the bite caused osteomyelitis which took its life. It must have suffered a lot before death," said Ran Hao, researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Kunming institute of zoology. "This is the first time that China has found such pathological changes in sauropod dinosaurs. This exciting discovery will aid understanding of how osteomyelitis originated and evolved,"said Xing. This is only the second case of osteomyelitis in a sauropod in the fossil record. The other case comes from a giant titanosaur from Argentina with a bacterial infection of the spine. A 200 million year old sauropod has been diagnosed with osteomyelitis at Lufeng Dinosaur Museum, southwest China's Yunnan Province Lufengosaurus was a herbivore, with a long neck and a small head. At least 16 Early Jurassic dinosaur species have been named after Lufeng and its neighboring area since paleontologist Yang Zhongjian published a paper on Lufengosaurus huenei in 1941. The recent work highlights how the use of micro-CT is revolutionizing the study of the fossil record. "This finding can provide critical insight into palaeo-immunology, behavioral and life history information for dinosaurs, as well as environmental insights into ancient ecosystems," Xing said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 13:20:56|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Congratulations have been pouring in from around the world since Xi Jinping was elected Chinese president by a unanimous vote last week at the annual session of the National People's Congress, China's national legislature. Xi was also unanimously elected chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC). In their congratulatory messages, leaders of foreign countries, political parties and organizations expressed confidence that under Xi's leadership, China will achieve greater prosperity and make more contributions to world peace and development. The following is an edited version of some of the messages. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier extended his best wishes to Xi, saying that he would like to work with Xi to further advance the close and friendly relations between Germany and China. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that in the past few years, the Germany-China comprehensive strategic partnership has provided a stable framework for cooperation between the two countries in various fields. She expressed willingness to work with Xi to continue to deepen cooperation and promote a greater development of the partnership between Germany and China. Merkel also wished Xi a continued success as Chinese president. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said that during Xi's state visit to Finland in April 2017, the two leaders comprehensively planned bilateral cooperation in a wide range of areas. The two sides are negotiating a work plan for advancing the future-oriented new-type cooperative partnership between the two countries, he said, noting that he believed the plan will guide Finland-China pragmatic cooperation and promote cooperation between the two sides. Denmark's Queen Margrethe II extended her sincere congratulations and best wishes to Xi and the Chinese people. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said he deeply believes that in the new era, Xi will continue his untiring effort to bring welfare to his nation. He said he wants to continuously deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries and wishes the great Chinese people happy and well. Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said Xi's election demonstrates Xi's outstanding leadership to realize the country's grand development goals, as well as the trust Chinese people have in him. He believed the Chile-China comprehensive strategic partnership and friendly cooperation would be further expanded and bring more benefits to the two peoples. Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Keith Rowley said under Xi's leadership, China will be increasingly prosperous and strong with extraordinary development achievements. Trinidad and Tobago, and China share mutual trust, mutual respect, mutual benefit, and win-win results, he said, adding that his government is committed to enhancing the friendly relationship between the two countries. President of Guinea-Bissau Jose Mario Vaz said the Chinese people have been sharing weal and woe as well as the same destiny with the Guinean people since the early period of their struggle for national liberation. He said he will spare no effort to work with Xi to jointly develop and consolidate the traditional friendship and mutually supportive and cooperative ties between the two countries and the two peoples to bring benefits to the two peoples. Governor-General of Papua New Guinea Sir Robert Dadae said he believes that under Xi's leadership, the friendly ties between the two countries and the two peoples will be further strengthened in the interests of both sides. President of Montenegro Filip Vujanovic, President of Malta Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca and Chairman of A Just Russia party Sergei Mironov are also among those who sent their congratulatory messages or letters to Xi. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 13:25:58|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close GENEVA, March 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to impose massive tariffs on imports from China could backfire and undercut the multilateral global trade system, trade experts warned Thursday. Despite warnings from business groups and trade experts, Trump on Thursday signed a presidential memorandum that could impose tariffs of up to 60 billion U.S. dollars on imports from China, the latest unilateral move that poses a threat to global trade. Trump has directed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to publish a list of proposed Chinese goods that could be subject to tariffs in 15 days. The U.S. Treasury Department will have 60 days to propose restrictions on Chinese investment in the United States, according to the presidential memorandum. The tariffs "could be about 60 billion" dollars, Trump said Thursday at the White House before signing the memorandum. But a senior White House official told reporters earlier in the day that the number would be close to 50 billion dollars. Wallace Cheng, country director for China with Geneva-based think tank International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), said that the proposed high tariffs targeting Chinese imports are a case of Washington "shooting itself in the foot." "China has plenty of countermeasures with which it could choose to retaliate, for example, cutting orders of Boeing, banning imports of beans and beef, etc," Cheng said. Guoyong Liang, an economic officer at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said that he believes the way to resolve the trade imbalance between China and the United States should be expanding China's imports, rather than to limit China's exports to the United States. "To this end, the two parties need to conduct effective negotiations and make necessary compromises," he said. "Resorting to a trade war will lead to a loss on both sides, and have negative impacts on both economies as well as the global trade system," he added. Noting that the existing multilateral system "provides effective trade remedy measures and dispute settlement mechanisms", he said that members of the World Trade Organization should resolve their disputes within the multilateral framework. The proposed tariff against China came at the end of the USTR's eight-month probe of alleged intellectual property rights violations by China. The probe was launched under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act, which is widely seen as outdated. Liang said that recourse to domestic laws and unilateral measures will threaten the authority and effectiveness of the multilateral trading system, and in the long run harms the stability and growth of the world economy. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 13:30:58|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close TALLINN, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The international community needs a strong China for sustainable global economic growth as well as global peace and stability, said a senior Estonian diplomat Wednesday. "The international community, including Estonia, welcomes China's continuous will to adhere to the principle of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, to keep the peaceful development path and the mutually beneficial strategy of opening-up in developing diplomatic relations and economic and cultural exchanges with other countries," Andres Talvik, counsellor for the political department of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a written interview with Xinhua. "We need a strong China for sustainable global economic growth, China who actively contributes to international efforts in fighting piracy and terrorism and for global peace and stability," said Talvik, who is also national coordinator of Estonia for cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries. On the amendments to the Constitution and election of the new national leadership at China's two sessions which concluded earlier this week, Talvik said "these changes support China's further development and opening, strengthen stability and reflect common aspirations of all the Chinese people to strive for national rejuvenation." "The policy of continuing reforms, reducing bureaucracy and opening China's market wider will positively influence the cooperation between China and Estonia," he said. "China is by far our most important trading partner in Asia and our trade with China is steadily growing," said Talvik. Since the Belt and Road Initiative was launched in 2013, a considerable number of countries and international organizations have endorsed it and showed interest in cooperation, Talvik noted. "The Belt and Road Initiative will see more roads and railways and other infrastructure objects built to accelerate cross-border exchanges, helping to develop and tighten the connectivity of China with its immediate neighbors but also in a wider sense -- connectivity between Asia and Europe," he said. "It helps to advance international cooperation and achieve the common development of all relevant countries for win-win results and mutual benefit," Talvik added. China and Estonia signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation within the framework of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road in 2017. Estonian transport and logistics businesses have high expectations in this regard, according to the counsellor. "Nevertheless, the Belt and Road is not only rails and roads, it also means a wide range of connectivity-related activities, like digital connectivity," Talvik noted. "Estonia will apply its experience in e-governance and IT (Information Technology) and will contribute to development of the Digital Silk Road for information connectivity," he added. KABUL, March 23 (Xinhua) -- At least nine militants of Islamic State (IS) terrorist group have been killed following airstrikes in two Afghan provinces, said command of special forces Friday. "The Afghan Special Operations Forces conducted an airstrike on Thursday, in Dih Bala district, Nangarhar province, against the IS terrorist group. As a result eight IS members were killed," Operational Coordination Group Afghanistan (MoD-OCGA) said in a statement. In neighboring Kunar province, one IS fighter was killed in a similar attack in Chawkay district on the same day, according to the statement. The statement did not provide information about the identity of the killed, saying more details about the targeted militants will be made public soon. The Afghan Special Forces killed over 6,100 militants, injured about 3,200 and detained 443 others throughout 2017. They also destroyed 15 militants' command and control posts and 352 bunkers in different places over the period, according to OCGA. The IS group, which emerged in Nangarhar in early 2015, has yet to make comments on the report. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 13:51:02|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close NEW DELHI, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The 11th round meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on China-India Border Affairs was held here on Thursday and Friday. The Chinese delegation was led by Yi Xianliang, the director general of the Department of Boundary and Oceanic Affairs in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the Indian delegation was led by Pranay Verma, the Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. The two sides reviewed the recent border situation and exchanged views on border control and boosting mutual trust, among others. They vowed to continue enhancing communication and coordination in a constructive manner, strengthen frontier defense exchange and cooperation, push forward the building of trust measures and properly handle the border issues so as to jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas and create favorable conditions for the healthy and stable development of Sino-India relations. SYDNEY, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The HMAS Adelaide, the largest ship in the Royal Australian Navy's fleet, cruised into Melbourne on Friday, creating a spectacular scene for onlookers. After returning from overseas duty, the 230 meter long vessel is in town to resupply this weekend before it continues along the east coast of Australia for training exercises. In total the warship can carry over 100 ground vehicles, up to 18 helicopters and more than 1000 combat ready troops. It is the first time the vessel returns to Melbourne after it was fitted out and completed. Known as a tri-service ship as it operates with navy, army and airforce personal, the HMAS Adelaide specializes in large-scale amphibious assault missions. However, it also serves as a disaster relief vessel and is regularly used for aid support. WASHINGTON, March 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump approved Thursday the suspension of much-criticized tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the European Union (EU) and six other economies. The White House said that tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from EU member states, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and South Korea are suspended until May 1, 2018. "Each of these countries has an important security relationship with the United States," a proclamation from the president said. These suspensions are based on factors including ongoing discussions, according to the White House. Trump will decide whether to continue to exempt these countries from the tariffs by the extended deadline. Amid widespread dissent in business groups and trading partners around the world, Trump signed two weeks ago proclamations to impose tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum, which take effect on Friday. The official announcement followed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer's suggestion earlier Thursday that those economies be exempted. Lighthizer told the Senate Finance Committee that there are countries involved in various stages of trade talks with the United States and that the president decided "to pause the imposition of tariffs with respect to those countries." Since the proposal of the tariffs, many economies have warned Washington that they will retaliate if they are faced with tariffs on metals products. EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said that the economic bloc is "always willing to engage with our American partners, but we do not negotiate anything under pressure or threat." During his presidential campaign, Trump promised to bring down the country's trade deficit, which totaled 566 billion U.S. dollars in 2017. However, economists say that the tariffs are unlikely to bring the U.S. current account in balance as the major cause of the trade imbalance lies in the fact that the U.S. savings are low relative to investment. CANBERRA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- A team of autonomous sea-faring drones that will be used to gather ocean data has been unveiled by Australia's peak scientific body. The devices, known as Saildrones, can remain at sea for up to 12 months at a time. They will be deployed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to measure and monitor the temperature, biota, salinity and ocean carbon of the sea surface. "Our partnership with Saildrone and the Australian Government builds on our investment in marine research infrastructure for the nation and supports CSIRO's strategy for cutting-edge research which facilitates the monitoring and mitigation of climate change," CSIRO Chief Executive Officer Larry Marshall said in a media release on Friday. "The fleet of Saildrones may be small in stature, but their ability to autonomously monitor and collect rich streams of data at sea for up to 12 months makes them truly unique in terms of the value they can deliver industry, the research community and ultimately our biggest customer - the nation." A team of CSIRO technicians has spent the last week equipping the drones with powerful ocean chemistry, meteorological and marine acoustic sensors. Rather than needing to bring the devices back to shore to change equipment or sensors for different purposes, they can be controlled and their systems can be accessed from anywhere in the world using a smartphone. "We have never had an opportunity like this before," CSIRO scientist Bronte Tilbrook said. "By combining advanced sea faring sensing technology, we will be able to capture more data over longer period of time and provide credible information back to government, industry and the community." The drones will be deployed from Tasmania beginning in early April. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 14:26:08|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close HAVANA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- An ambitious cooperation project is underway to transform Santiago de Cuba's port into a modern multipurpose terminal with the involvement of a Chinese company, said a senior Chinese diplomat here Thursday. "With the joint work and efforts of both sides, the project will be a success," Chen Xi, Chinese ambassador to Cuba told local press when visiting the construction site of the port, which is located some 860 km southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. With a loan of 120 million U.S. dollars from China, the two countries are jointly building Cuba's second largest port on the easternmost tip of the Caribbean island. China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC) is in charge of the port's rehabilitation and modernization project, which was launched in 2015 and is currently employing about 200 Chinese and Cuban workers. "For the Chinese government and the companies involved, this is a very important project," said Chen. When completed, the terminal will have a 232-meter-long pier, two warehouses, three multipurpose cranes and a waste treatment plant, which can load and unload some 565,000 tons of merchandise a year. SAN FRANCISCO, March 22 (Xinhua) -- An aerospace company owned by the U.S. northwest state of Alaska will conduct its first commercial rocket launch in the coming weeks, a local daily newspaper reported Thursday. The Alaska Aerospace Corporation (Alaska Aerospace), based in Anchorage, plans to test-launch a commercial rocket from its Pacific Spaceport Complex on Kodiak Island in a couple of weeks, the Anchorage Daily News said. The launch of the rocket, which will not carry a satellite or go into orbit, will be used to test the rocket and gather data for its improvement, the newspaper quoted John Cramer, chief of staff at Alaska Aerospace as saying. Cramer declined to specify the owner of the rocket, only saying it is "a new space company" from California. "When new launch companies start up, they're going to have a number of launches that are tests for the vehicle," Cramer said. "They'll gather just volumes of data to perfect the vehicle to be able to then launch non-test vehicles for payloads." Launches from the Kodiak site are always unmanned, because the facility is not capable of conducting manned flights, Cramer said. Since 1998, Alaska Aerospace has hosted 19 launches from Kodiak, except a failed one in 2014, he said, but all of those were government-related. NEW DELHI, March 23 (Xinhua) -- At least five people were killed and 15 others injured in an explosion inside fireworks factory in India's eastern state of Bihar, officials said Friday. The blast took place inside the factory on Thursday night in Bihar Sharif of Nalanda district about 79 km south of Patna, the capital of Bihar. "Late last night in Khasganj Mohllah, a blast took place inside a fireworks factory, killing five and injuring 15 others," a police official said. "The injured were immediately removed to nearest medical facility and among them seven critical persons have been referred to the Patna Medical College hospital." Local media reports said the factory was operating illegally. The explosion also damaged four nearby buildings, locals said. The district administration has ordered an inquiry into the incident. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 15:21:18|Editor: pengying Video Player Close SANAA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- At least five al-Qaida suspects were killed in an overnight U.S. drone strike on a house in Yemen's central province of Marib, a provincial security official told Xinhua on Friday. The U.S. strike hit the house in a farm in Wadi Abida valley, killing the five suspected militants, the official said on condition of anonymity. Much of Marib territory is under control of the Yemeni internationally-recognized government backed by the Saudi-led coalition forces. This is the latest in a series of U.S. drone strikes targeting al-Qaida suspects in Yemen since U.S. President Donald Trump approved expanded military operations against the group. On Tuesday, a U.S. drone strike killed four members of the the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch in the southwestern province of Hadramout, according to local security officials. The Yemen-based al-Qaida network, mostly operating in eastern and southern provinces, has been responsible for many high-profile attacks against security forces in the country. The Yemen-based al-Qaida, seen by the United States as the global terror network's most dangerous branch, has exploited years of deadly conflicts between the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels to expand its presence. WASHINGTON, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The White House on Thursday announced the departure of National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, making room for hawkish diplomat John Bolton who will undoubtedly add more momentum to the increasingly assertive U.S. foreign policy. Ending weeks-long rumors about McMaster's exit, U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed Thursday that his second national security advisor will be leaving on April 9. But the prospect of packing more hawks into the administration has caused an outcry from the media and politicians who voiced worries that a confrontational foreign policy would mean more volatility for the United States. UNEXPECTED ANNOUNCEMENT At about 4 p.m. (2000 GMT) Thursday, Bolton, who has been rumored for some time as the frontrunner to succeed McMaster, was sighted by the press entering the West Wing of the White House, triggering fresh speculation that the decision to replace McMaster was looming. Shortly after 6 p.m.(2200 GMT), the New York Times first reported McMaster's resignation, which was followed by a confirmation from Trump on Twitter. "I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9," he tweeted. At about 6:30 p.m.(2230 GMT), the White House released a prepared statement on McMaster's departure, with good wishes from Trump, Chief of Staff John Kelly and McMaster. According to a White House official, talks between Trump and McMaster regarding the latter's exit has been going on for a while, and the final decision was not based on any "one moment or incident," but was made after the two decided to end the constant speculation and have a new team in place. Appearing in an interview with Fox TV, Bolton said the decision was finalized in his afternoon meeting at the White House, but he "didn't really expect" the announcement Thursday. Rumors of McMaster's departure have circulated for weeks in Washington, reaching their peak a week ago when Trump ousted his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Trump said after firing Tillerson that he's getting very close to having the cabinet and other things that he wants, hinting at more shakeup in the White House after a tumultuous period that also saw the departure of Communications Director Hope Hicks and Economic Advisor Gary Cohn. But White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has repeatedly refuted the rumor, saying Trump and McMaster enjoyed "a good working relationship." The delayed announcement of McMaster's exit was reportedly due to Trump's intention to "save face" for the three-star general after the exceptionally humiliating firing of Tillerson received strong backlash. There have been talks that McMaster may be promoted to a four-star general in the U.S. Army, or land a high-paying consultant job in the private sector, reports said. In his statement, McMaster said he would be retiring from the army this summer. INCOMING HAWK While McMaster has been widely viewed as a composed and level-headed policy maker in Washington, Bolton has been the subject of much controversy during his political career. Born in 1948, Bolton is a Yale Law School graduate that makes no effort to hide his conservative political stance. He has served as U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2005-2006 and Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security from 2001-2005. The White House said he is "one of the strongest voices and experts on the full range of national security issues and challenges facing the country." But David Rothkopf, a senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a critic of Bolton, said his iconic mustache "is more qualified to be national security adviser than he is." Bolton has been an outspoken critic of the Iranian nuclear deal and of the United Nations, and has been a strong advocate of the Iraq War during former U.S. President George W. Bush's tenure. "The premise of Obama's #IranDeal was that if only the United States showed 'good faith' and dropped our 'harmful intent' toward Iran, they would give up their nuclear program and behave like a normal nation. None of this has happened," he tweeted recently. After retiring from public posts, Bolton accepted positions in the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute and has become a commentator with Fox News. He is also known to be linked with the National Rifle Association. "Few prominent national security figures are as ill-suited to the job of national security adviser as Bolton when you consider his views," Rothkopf said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 16:06:24|Editor: ZD Video Player Close BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy will conduct military training under combat conditions in the South China Sea waters, military sources said Friday. According to the PLA Navy staff department, the training is a routine arrangement as part of the navy's annual training plan to hone the troops' combat capability. It is not aimed at any specific country or target, the office said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 16:11:25|Editor: pengying Video Player Close DUBAI, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The ongoing four-day 12th edition of the Dubai Art Fair is attracting global fans. Labelled "the most diversified art exhibition in the world," the fair is held from March 21 to 24 in Dubai's iconic holiday resort Madinat Jumeirah. This year's Dubai Art showcases a total of 105 galleries from 48 countries and regions. The number of visitors, art buyers and rising talents is expected to peak on the weekend. The exhibition is divided into three parts as "Contemporary Art" "Modern Art" and "Residential Creation". It shows the works of global artists who live in the United Arab Emirates for a short period of time. In addition to gallery works, the fair will hold a series of art lectures and seminars to discuss the cutting-edge trends. Myrna Ayad, director of the fair, said the Dubai Art Fair held for 12 consecutive years proves it a platform for art creation in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. Inspiration and initiatives are here to be inaugurated and announced. Careers embark on a broader international stage from here, and new partnerships and artistic explorations take place, Ayad noted. The Abraaj Group Art Prize will be awarded during the fair, and the winner will receive 100,000 U.S. dollars. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 16:21:28|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close A Chinese crew member receives medical treatment after he was rescued from a capsized sand dredger in Muar of southern Malaysian state of Johor, March 23, 2018. Two Chinese crew were rescued from a sand dredger capsized in the waters near Malaysia, according to the Chinese embassy in Malaysia on Friday. (Xinhua) MUAR, Malaysia, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Two Chinese crew were rescued from a sand dredger capsized in the waters near Malaysia, according to the Chinese embassy in Malaysia on Friday. Divers from Guangdong, China sent by the Chinese Marine Search and Rescue Center, who joined the search and rescue by the Malaysian rescuers, found the two crew members inside the ship, according to the embassy. The two were conscious when found and were brought out of the ship before being sent to the hospital to receive treatment. Malaysia launched search and rescue operations involving multi-agencies including the coast guard, the navy, police after a sand dredging vessel capsized Wednesday in the Malacca Strait off Malaysia's southern Johor state. There were a total of 18 onboard the ship when the incident happened, including 16 Chinese, one Malaysian and one Indonesia. Three Chinese were rescued previously while one was dead. Search and rescue operation are still ongoing for those remain missing. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 17:06:34|Editor: ZD Video Player Close by Xinhua writers Li Ming, Wang Naishui NEW YORK, March 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff plan on imports from China can not solve America's trade deficit problem and will only harm the two sides, a U.S. expert has said. "The actions taken today by the Trump administration pose great danger to China, the United States, and the world economy," Stephen Roach, former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia and senior fellow at Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, told Xinhua on Thursday. Earlier in the day, Trump signed a memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to 60 billion U.S. dollars of imports from China, the latest unilateral move that poses a threat to global trade. WRONG SOLUTION The administration's move was consistent with its long-standing notion of blaming trade deficits for the loss of the country's manufacturing jobs, which in Roach's eyes "reflects a fundamental misunderstanding between cause and effect." "U.S. trade deficits are not the problem. They are, in effect, a symptom of a much bigger problem: A profound shortfall of domestic saving," he said. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, over the first three quarters of 2017, America's net national savings rate -- the combined depreciation-adjusted savings of households, businesses, and the government sector -- averaged 1.9 percent of national income. The reading was less than one-third of the average of 6.3 percent in the final three decades of the 20th century and in fact the lowest savings rate for any leading nation in modern history, Roach noted. The economist explained that "lacking in savings and wanting to consume and grow, the United States must import surplus savings from abroad and then run massive current account and trade deficits to attract the foreign capital." "The trade problem cannot be addressed by tariffs. It is a savings problem that can only be addressed by boosting domestic savings," Roach said, adding that the real solutions should be cutting Federal budget deficits and providing increased savings incentives for American consumers. "The failure to appreciate the link between savings and trade could well go down in history as a major policy blunder for the United States," he said. QUESTIONABLE NUMBERS Data from the U.S. Commerce Department showed that the U.S. goods deficits with China last year registered 375.2 billion dollars, or nearly half of the total trade gap between the U.S. imports and exports, a number Roach thought should be given a second look. "A significant portion of this imbalance reflects measurement problems due to supply chain distortions of final shipments-based trade flows," he said. To further illustrate the problem, the professor took iPhone's global supply chain as an example. China assembles final products like iPhones that have components and parts from many other countries; yet when the final product is shipped to the United States, fully 100 percent of its value is counted as a Chinese import -- well in excess of the actual value-added in China, which for some Apple products has been estimated at around 10 percent, Roach said. According to his research, the supply-chain adjusted bilateral deficit between the United States and China was about 28 percent of the total merchandise imbalance, which he admitted to be a large number, but "a more realistic assessment of the China impact on America's 'trade problem.'" In Roach's view, "this still large share" is a reflection of the dispersion of comparative advantage in the broad mix of America's trading partners as well as the price and cost advantages that accrue to U.S. consumers through international specialization. "For a savings-short U.S. economy, these are the costs that Americans must learn to accept," he said. REASONABLE RESPONSE The Chinese Embassy in the United States, in response to the tariff announcement, said "It is a typical unilateral trade protectionist action. China is strongly disappointed and firmly opposes such an action." "The actions undertaken by the United States are self-defeating. They will directly harm the interests of U.S. consumers, companies, and financial markets. They also jeopardize international trade order and world economic stability," the Chinese embassy said in a statement on Thursday. Roach said that China is well within its rights as a sovereign nation to underscore the consequences that the United States could face, namely a disruption to trade and capital flows between the two countries. He also suggested China frame its response within the structure of the global rules-based system given the significance of the U.S.-China economic relations as well as the huge impact on the world economy. China is America's third largest and most rapidly growing export market, and the United States will suffer as "such an increasingly important source of U.S. external demand becomes a source of vulnerability if those shipments are disrupted," Roach said. Similarly, as the largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury debt, China has an important role to play in funding the increased budget deficits of the Trump administration -- a role that could be seriously questioned as the United States launches a trade war against China, he said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 17:06:34|Editor: ZD Video Player Close NEW HAVEN, United States, March 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs are "counterproductive" to the American economy, said Paul Kennedy, a history professor at Yale University. Trump has taken a simplistic view of the trade relationship, the 72-year-old Kennedy told Xinhua in an exclusive interview on Thursday. He is best known for his 1987 epic book "The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers." NO SIMPLE WIN-LOSE GAME Despite strong warnings from trade experts, Trump on Thursday signed a memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to 60 billion U.S. dollars of imports from China, the latest unilateral move that poses a threat to global trade. The move follows Trump's recent tariff plan on steel and aluminum imports and January's tariffs levied on imported solar panels and washing machines, which have been chided by business groups as an act of protectionism. "The simplistic view of a win-lose in an economic, visible trade of goods would be derided by every economist we know, even by Republican economists," said Kennedy, commenting on the decision of the Republican-backed president. The Yale professor pointed out that, following Trump's logic, China's trade surplus with the United States is because "the Chinese are selling more to us then we're selling to them." But the tariffs "will be more counterproductive than helpful to the American economic position," said the historian, who also specializes in international relations. "There are many, many more workers employed in the use of aluminum and steel than there are in the production of aluminum and steel," said Kennedy. "So for every one American worker who will be pleased at Mr. Trump's announcement of tariffs, there will be ten American workers whose own products in his or her factory will be affected by the cost of the tariff," the scholar added. "It is less of a concern economically really, I think, than it is a concern politically," said Kennedy, emphasizing that it showed "a lack of understanding of the complexity of a relationship." Kennedy noted that Trump regarded relations with other nations as "almost a sort of single win-lose game of chess," while U.S.-China ties are "incredibly important and complicated." TWO ELEPHANTS IN THE JUNGLE In the interview, the British professor noted that Trump's China tariffs were "bad for general U.S.-China understanding," warning that it could cause China to "do some tit-for-tat measures." "Of course, China can think, Chinese officials can think: Which American goods shall we put a tariff on just to hurt them," Kennedy said. In fact, China said Friday that it is considering tariff increase on imports of some products from the United States to make up for losses caused by the U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from China. "China has made clear its position several times that it stands firmly against such unilateral and trade protectionist practices from the U.S. side," an official with the China's Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday. Citing the example of Europe, a potential target of the impending U.S. tariffs and which has already announced it will respond by slapping import duties on a greater number of U.S. products, Kennedy believed that it could make the situation "infinitely complicated." Meanwhile, Kennedy said that as "the two biggest elephants in the jungle" the trade relationship between Washington and Beijing has an impact on all other relationships in the Asia Pacific and other areas. "Each of them has the capacity to do a good contribution to international trade, said Kennedy, "(and) each has a capacity to make it sour, to make it less effective." Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 17:16:35|Editor: ZD Video Player Close GAZA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Palestinians are racing against time to find solutions to the acute water shortage in the Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip before year 2020. The United Nations (UN) has previously warned that Gaza, which mainly relies on its coastal aquifer to secure drinking water to its 2 million people, would be unlivable in 2020 due to shortage of water resources. Palestinians have to improve the deteriorating water situation in Gaza, as fast as they can. A conference in Brussels, co-chaired by the European Union and the Palestinian Authority, mobilized financial support of about 560 million U.S. dollars for the construction of Gaza Central Desalination Plant which will provide a minimum of 55 million cubic meters of safe and clean drinking water per year to the people in dire need. Vice chairman of the Palestinian Water Authority, Ribhi Sheikh, told Xinhua that the desalination plant project is one of the main components of the strategic plan to save the water in Gaza. He explained that the project is based on desalinating the sea water, which in the first phase will produce 55 million cubic meters annually. He points out that water mixing tanks are intended to mix desalinated water with aquifer water in order to reduce groundwater depletion. According to Sheikh, the central desalination plant will serve the entire population of the Gaza Strip, while the project will cost about 650 million dollars. "The international community pledged to provide about 80 percent of the amount," he said. The Palestinian Water Authority has prepared the tender documents and preliminary designs for the project of the plant, expecting to start the project after finalizing some arrangements with donors such as signing the necessary agreements and adopting mechanisms of implementation. The project includes the desalination plant itself, power supply installations to cover energy needs, and the construction of a north-south carrier that will distribute fresh drinking water across Gaza. In addition to the central desalination plant project, three minor desalination plants will be built to produce 13 million cubic meters per year for domestic use. "Solving the water crisis in Gaza before the year 2020 is a great obsession ... this will help solve the water crisis," Sheikh added. The Gaza's coastal aquifer is extremely saline and is currently drying up due to overuse. It suffers from a deficit of 110 million cubic meters per year, with an annual rainfall of no more than 45 million cubic meters, as well as 55 million cubic meters from lateral flow and irrigation water. The overpopulated territory needs 200-220 million cubic meters of water a year. More than 90 percent of the population in Gaza rely on desalinated water as the only source for drinking. There are several sources from which the population can get desalinated water such as government, non-government and private desalination plants. Additionally, home-scale desalination units are widespread. The distribution system of desalinated water is quite complex because it is not well organized or fully supervised by the authorities. "Water situation in Gaza is better now than it was in previous years as several areas are benefiting from desalination substations that provide residents with higher quality water for domestic use," head of Gaza Strip Coastal Municipalities Water Utility, Munther Shublaq, told Xinhua. However, Shublaq said that the improvement is already facing obstacles, notably the power outage and the inability to provide more quantities of water. "Still more than 97 percent of the water in Gaza is not fit for domestic use ... improvement cannot happen before the establishment of the central desalination plant and solving the electricity crisis," he revealed. Gaza has been placed under a tight Israeli blockade since Islamic Hamas movement seized the territory by force after routing forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 17:26:36|Editor: pengying Video Player Close U Win Myint (C), former speaker of the House of Representatives (Lower House), waves to media after attending the electoral session for a vice-president nomination at the House of Representatives (Lower House) in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, March 23, 2018. Myanmar's House of Representatives (Lower House) on Friday elected U Win Myint, former speaker of the House of Representatives (Lower House) as vice president, who will compete with other two existing vice presidents for the presidency vacancy left by U Htin Kyaw, who announced resignation on Wednesday for health reasons. (Xinhua/U Aung) NAY PYI TAW, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's House of Representatives (Lower House) on Friday elected U Win Myint, former speaker of the House of Representatives (Lower House) as vice president, who will compete with other two existing vice presidents for the presidency vacancy left by U Htin Kyaw, who announced resignation on Wednesday for health reasons. The other two existing vice presidents are U Myint Swe and U Henry Van Thio. U Win Myint from Tammwe constituency, Yangon region was elected as vice president by the presidential electoral college of the House of Representatives and will represent the Lower House to take part in the president election next week. U Win Myint beat against U Thaung Aye from Pyawbwe constituency, Mandalay region at a meeting held in Nay Pyi Taw to secure as a candidate for presidential election. The current parliament and government began its term of five years from February and April 2016 respectively under the leadership of the ruling National League for Democracy which won the absolute majority of the parliamentary seats in the 2015 general election. PHNOM PENH, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Friday began the construction of a China-funded national road No. 11 that connects Prey Veng province to Tboung Khmum province in the country's southern part. The construction of the 96.4-km national road, including two bypass roads, will be done by the China Road and Bridge Corporation at a cost of 94.1 million U.S. dollars, a concessional loan from the Chinese government. The project is expected to be completed in 44 months. Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Xiong Bo presided over the groundbreaking ceremony held in Prey Veng province, which was attended by about 7,000 people. Speaking at the event, Hun Sen expressed his gratitude to the government and people of China for having provided grant aid, non-interest loan, and concessional loan to Cambodia for socio-economic development. "China's aid has not only boosted Cambodia's socio-economic development, but also helped strengthen Cambodia's independent foreign policy," he said. Meanwhile, the prime minister said the rise of China does not pose any threats to others, instead, it will benefit other developing countries, including Cambodia. Hun Sen said the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China has been playing a vital role in developing infrastructure in Cambodia and other participating countries. Xiong said all China's aid and concessional loans to Cambodia are sincere and has only one goal: help Cambodia develop more rapidly and improve the living conditions of the Cambodian people. He said China's aid to Cambodia has no strings attached. The ambassador said under the Belt and Road Initiative, there are more and more Chinese investors coming to Cambodia, and they are contributing to developing the economy of Cambodia. WELLINGTON, March 23 (Xinhua) -- A farm manager of New Zealand's Golden Bay has been convicted after being found guilty of ill-treating cows in his care, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) said on Friday. Steven John Wells, 45 years old, a farm manager at Maratoa Farm near Takaka in New Zealand's South Island, was convicted of six counts under the Animal Welfare Act after a four-day trial in the Nelson District Court last week, according to a MPI statement. His offending took place in 2015 and 2016 when he broke the tails of cows, hit them with a metal pipe, kicked them, kneed them, and punched them, it said, adding that Wells will be sentenced on April 30. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 18:16:47|Editor: ZD Video Player Close BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- China supports all efforts that contribute to the peaceful reconstruction and national reconciliation of Afghanistan, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said Friday. Hua made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to a question about China's expectations for the Tashkent Conference on Afghanistan to be held on March 27. China is willing to, along with the international community, continue to offer assistance to and play a constructive role in the realization of Afghanistan's peace, stability and development, Hua said. China attaches great importance to and will support the upcoming conference held by Uzbekistan, said Hua. Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong will lead a delegation to the conference, Hua said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 18:16:47|Editor: ZD Video Player Close A Palestinian boy looks out from a bus window as he waits to enter Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis on March 23, 2018. The Egyptian authorities on Friday temporarily opened the Rafah crossing on the border with the Gaza Strip in both directions for humanitarian cases. (Xinhua/Khaled Omar) GAZA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Egypt on Friday suddenly reopened Rafah crossing point with the Gaza Strip temporarily for two days, according to the Palestinian Authority of Crossings and Borders. The Authority said in an emailed press statement that Egypt informed the Palestinian side overnight that it decided to reopen Rafah crossing point on Friday and Saturday in both directions. The statement said that there are thousands of Palestinians who are in urgent need for travelling to Egypt or abroad for medical treatment, education, business and family affairs and reunification. Control of the Palestinian side of Rafah crossing has been transferred to the Palestinian (National) Authority in November; however, the interior security and the arrangements for travelling are still in the hands of Islamic Hamas movement. Last time that Egypt temporarily reopened Rafah crossing point was in February, when the Palestinians called on Egypt to permanently keep the crossing opened, while Egypt informed the Palestinians that it opens the crossing point depending on the security situation in the Sinai Peninsula. Meanwhile, Egypt allowed on Friday through Rafah crossing point two trucks loaded with fish and dairy products from Egypt into the Gaza Strip, which has been under a tight Israeli blockade since 2007. The United Nations (UN) has previously warned that Gaza, which mainly relies on its coastal aquifer to secure drinking water to its 2 million people, would be unlivable in 2020 due to shortage of water resources. (Xinhua) GAZA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Palestinians are racing against time to find solutions to the acute water shortage in the Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip before year 2020. The United Nations (UN) has previously warned that Gaza, which mainly relies on its coastal aquifer to secure drinking water to its 2 million people, would be unlivable in 2020 due to shortage of water resources. Palestinians have to improve the deteriorating water situation in Gaza, as fast as they can. A conference in Brussels, co-chaired by the European Union and the Palestinian Authority, mobilized financial support of about 560 million U.S. dollars for the construction of Gaza Central Desalination Plant which will provide a minimum of 55 million cubic meters of safe and clean drinking water per year to the people in dire need. Vice chairman of the Palestinian Water Authority, Ribhi Sheikh, told Xinhua that the desalination plant project is one of the main components of the strategic plan to save the water in Gaza. He explained that the project is based on desalinating the sea water, which in the first phase will produce 55 million cubic meters annually. He points out that water mixing tanks are intended to mix desalinated water with aquifer water in order to reduce groundwater depletion. According to Sheikh, the central desalination plant will serve the entire population of the Gaza Strip, while the project will cost about 650 million dollars. "The international community pledged to provide about 80 percent of the amount," he said. The Palestinian Water Authority has prepared the tender documents and preliminary designs for the project of the plant, expecting to start the project after finalizing some arrangements with donors such as signing the necessary agreements and adopting mechanisms of implementation. The project includes the desalination plant itself, power supply installations to cover energy needs, and the construction of a north-south carrier that will distribute fresh drinking water across Gaza. In addition to the central desalination plant project, three minor desalination plants will be built to produce 13 million cubic meters per year for domestic use. "Solving the water crisis in Gaza before the year 2020 is a great obsession ... this will help solve the water crisis," Sheikh added. The Gaza's coastal aquifer is extremely saline and is currently drying up due to overuse. It suffers from a deficit of 110 million cubic meters per year, with an annual rainfall of no more than 45 million cubic meters, as well as 55 million cubic meters from lateral flow and irrigation water. The overpopulated territory needs 200-220 million cubic meters of water a year. More than 90 percent of the population in Gaza rely on desalinated water as the only source for drinking. There are several sources from which the population can get desalinated water such as government, non-government and private desalination plants. Additionally, home-scale desalination units are widespread. The distribution system of desalinated water is quite complex because it is not well organized or fully supervised by the authorities. "Water situation in Gaza is better now than it was in previous years as several areas are benefiting from desalination substations that provide residents with higher quality water for domestic use," head of Gaza Strip Coastal Municipalities Water Utility, Munther Shublaq, told Xinhua. However, Shublaq said that the improvement is already facing obstacles, notably the power outage and the inability to provide more quantities of water. "Still more than 97 percent of the water in Gaza is not fit for domestic use ... improvement cannot happen before the establishment of the central desalination plant and solving the electricity crisis," he revealed. Gaza has been placed under a tight Israeli blockade since Islamic Hamas movement seized the territory by force after routing forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 18:46:50|Editor: pengying Video Player Close JERUSALEM, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Some 61 percent of Israelis believe that moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem will ignite an outbreak of violence against Israel among Palestinians, recent polls reported. Nevertheless, 69 percent of the respondents think that even in light of the expectation of violence, Israel should not ask the United States to postpone the move, according to the monthly Peace Index of the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) and Tel Aviv University published recently. In the Arab public, 77.5 percent favor deferment of relocating the embassy. The index also showed that 59 percent of the Jewish and 75 percent of the Arab public do not believe Prime Minister Netanyahu claimed to be innocent in an ongoing corruption case, despite the fact that the polls indicated that the majority of the public support Netanyahu. The index said that public trust in the professionalism of the law enforcement authorities conducting the investigations on the prime minister is divergent, as 50.5 percent of the Jewish public show trust, while 45.4 percent do not. As for the Attorney-General Mandelblit, who will have to decide whether or not to indict Netanyahu, 56 percent believe that his decision will be professional, while 33 percent disagree. Meanwhile, 42 percent of the public think that Netanyahu should not resign even if he is indicted, the index added. The IDI said that this month's survey was conducted by telephone and internet on March 13-14, involving 600 respondents. KABUL, March 23 (Xinhua) -- At least 71 Taliban militants were killed and 34 others wounded during clashes with Afghan security forces and airstrikes throughout the country within the past 24 hours, Afghan Defense Ministry said Friday. Out of the killed militants were 14 fighters of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, the ministry said in a statement. An additional four militants were arrested after Afghan National Defense and Security Forces launched seven cleanup operations and 70 special operations in nine of the country's 34 provinces, the statement added. Among the arrested militants was a French female fighter affiliated with the IS group who was arrested in Darzab district of northern Jawzjan province on Thursday, according to the statement. Afghan National Army (ANA) Air Force also conducted 70 supportive flights and 14 airstrikes in the period. Several militants' hideouts were destroyed and the security forces also found and seized amount of weapons and ammunition besides defusing dozens of roadside bombs and landmines, the ministry said. Taliban and IS militant groups have yet to make comments on the report. CANBERRA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Australia China Business Council (ACBC) issued a statement on Friday, expressing concerns over the latest imposition of tariff on Chinese products by the U.S. government. "ACBC is deeply concerned by the second round of trade tariffs announced by the U.S. Administration against Chinese imports. The imposition of such trade tariffs will likely slow economic growth and lead to a global trade war impacting all trading nations," the statement said. "There are no winners in a global trade war. In the face of U.S. protectionism and the threat of a global trade war, it is time for clear leadership to guard against economic downturns and to ensure trade remains free and open for the benefit of all, which is especially important for a trading nation like Australia." ACBC highlighted its long history of supporting trade between Australia and China. "For the past 44 years, ACBC has consistently supported bilateral trade and investment between Australia and China. ACBC has been a longstanding advocate for free trade and increased investment which have been the cornerstones of Australia's record breaking 26-year period of economic growth." Meanwhile, the Australian stock market had experienced a steep fall at the news of U.S. tariffs. The S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 116 points, or 2 percent, while the All Ordinaries fell 114 points, or 1.9 percent, to 5,929. "The news around tariffs is not positive for share markets and the lack of specific detail around which goods are going to be included in the current proposal is not positive for market sentiment," said AMP Capital economist Diana Mousina. Around one third of Australia's exports go to China and raw material exports account for most of that, she told the Australian Financial Review. "These materials are then used in China to manufacture goods that may be subject to the proposed U.S. tariffs. So, a trade disagreement between the U.S. and China has the potential to negatively affect Australian commodity demand." EU ambassador to Russia recalled in wake of ex-spy poisoning Source: Xinhua 2018-03-23 19:01:53 BRUSSELS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The European Council has requested Federica Mogherini, the European Union's foreign policy chief, to recall the head of the EU delegation in Russia, the EU's diplomatic service announced Friday. Editor: pengying Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 19:27:01|Editor: pengying Video Player Close Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) shakes hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, on March 23, 2018. (Xinhua/VNA) HANOI, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang and his visiting South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in agreed here on Friday to broaden and deepen the strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries. Vietnam and South Korea will conduct annual exchanges of high-ranking delegations, and bolster cooperation between government agencies, political parties and localities of the two countries in various spheres, especially diplomacy, security and defense, Quang said at a press briefing after the talks between the two presidents. During the talks, the two presidents agreed to soon approve the Declaration on Joint Vision on Defense Cooperation between the two defense ministries, and cement mutual beneficial collaboration in the defense industry. They also agreed to boost economic partnership, striving to increase two-way trade to 100 billion U.S. dollars by 2020, and encourage investment in such fields as supporting industry, high technology, electronics, energy, and infrastructure. Regarding development cooperation, South Korea will center on investing in Vietnam's central region such as clearing war-era landmines and building hospitals and schools. Vietnam is the most important country in South Korea's New Southern Policy, said Moon. Also on Friday, Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee's General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Vietnamese National Assembly's Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan received the South Korea president, respectively. NEW DELHI, March 23 (Xinhua) -- At least 10 people were killed and six others injured Friday after a goods truck hit a passenger vehicle in northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, officials said. The accident took place in Pratapgarh district, about 165 km southeast of Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh. "Today a speeding goods truck hit a tempo traveller carrying devotees in Pratapgarh district killing 10 people and injuring six others," a police official said. "The injured were admitted at the nearest medical facility." Reports said the passenger vehicle was carrying 18 people mostly Hindu devotees from Jaunpur district. The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh has announced a compensation of 3,075 U.S. dollars to each family that has lost member in the accident, besides 750 U.S. dollars for the injured. Police have registered a case and ordered investigations to ascertain reason behind the accident. LONDON, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of people across London could be exposed to worse levels of noise, air quality and traffic congestion by the building of a proposed third runway at Heathrow, already one of the world's busiest airports, a committee of MPs warned Friday. The powerful House of Commons Transport Committee told the government there must be sufficient measures to protect or compensate Londoners affected by the project. In their report the MPs said they recognised the efforts made by the government and Heathrow Airport Ltd to mitigate the significant social and environmental impacts arising from expansion at Heathrow. But they added more safeguards are needed to ensure that the interests of passengers are protected, and the adverse environmental, social and health impacts on affected communities are addressed. Lilian Greenwood, chair of the committee, said the third runway project, is the highest cost expansion option and one of the largest privately financed infrastructure projects anywhere in the world. The MP added that at present, the draft Airports National Policy Statement (NPS), does not guarantee that passengers will be protected from the cost risks associated with the scheme. Greenwood said Transport Secretary Chris Grayling must set out how airport charges at Heathrow will be held down. She said a list of recommendations made by her committee to the government will improve the NPS and reduce the chance of a successful legal challenge. Greenwood said: "The government and Heathrow have made efforts to mitigate the significant impacts, but safeguards on air quality, surface access, connectivity, costs and charges and noise should be strengthened. As a matter of urgency, we also want to see how the government plans to deliver the necessary airspace change. This must all be done before a final NPS is tabled for approval by both Houses of Parliament." The Transport Committee said the government now has the opportunity to make changes to the NPS, before it is laid before both Houses of Parliament for debate. "The Committee accepted there was a case for additional runway capacity, particularly hub capacity and that expansion at Heathrow could deliver the government's strategic objectives for greater connectivity for passengers and freight." LONDON, March 23 (Xinhua) -- A six-week campaign to reduce knife crime among young people was launched Friday by the Home Office, Britain's Interior Ministry. The 2-million-U.S. dollar campaign uses real-life stories of young people who made the decision not to carry knives to highlight the consequences of carrying a knife and to inspire young people to pursue positive alternatives. It will use advertising on social media and digital channels to target 10 to 21 year olds, with a poster campaign in English cities where knife crime is more prevalent. The Home Office worked closely with knife crime victims' families to ensure their insights and expertise were reflected. The launch comes just days after an official report to MPs in the House of Commons revealed that last year nearly 35,000 crimes, the highest number in seven years, were recorded in England and Wales where a knife or sharp instrument was used. During the year there were 215 homicides in which knives or sharp instruments such as broken bottles were used as weapons. The reported cited London as having the highest level of knife crimes in the country, with a rate of 137 crimes for each 100,000 of the population. There were over 12,000 knife crimes recorded in the British capital last year, a 24 percent rise over the previous year. Home Secretary Amber Rudd said: "The emotional stories at the heart of the new Knife Free campaign bring home in powerful fashion just what a far-reaching impact it can have on a young person's life if they make the misguided decision to carry a knife." Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability Victoria Atkins said: "This powerful new campaign will highlight the tragic consequences of carrying a knife and challenge the idea that young people are safer if they carry one." Patrick Green from the charity the Ben Kinsella Trust, said: "We need to do more to help young people understand that carrying a knife doesn't solve anything, in fact all it does is to increase the likelihood that you will be imprisoned, seriously injured or murdered. Introducing young people to the life stories of others who have faced the same challenges but have chosen to live knife free is a powerful way to help them make more positive choices." Under British law it is an offence to carry a knife without good reasons. ROME, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Italy's new parliament, which convened for the first time on Friday, was already at an impasse after talks stalled between the two relative winners of the March 4 general election. The 315-member Senate and the 630-seat Lower House must each elect a speaker -- powerful positions, which act as referees during parliamentary debate -- in what will be two days of vote-taking. Electing the speaker is an initial step in the Italian process of forming a new government, because it shows whether the political forces are capable of agreement. However talks between the two relative winners -- the rightwing, anti-immigrant League and the populist Five Star Movement -- have currently broken down. League leader Matteo Salvini and Five Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio both claim they have a right to be the next prime minister of Italy. The center-left Democratic Party, which suffered a crushing defeat in the national election after five years in government, is staying on the sidelines. Both relative winners have pledged to reverse the current open-door immigration policy, roll back unpopular pension reforms, introduce drastic tax cuts and generous welfare policies, and break European Union rules on public spending if necessary. They were swept to relative victory after an electoral campaign marred by racially motivated attacks on African immigrants amid persistent unemployment of 11 percent and a sluggish economic recovery. In February, an Italian man with links to Salvini's League shot and wounded six Africans in the central city of Macerata, while earlier this month in Florence, another Italian man shot an African street vendor to death. It remains to be seen whether the newly elected members of parliament will be able to reach a result in the two-day vote. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 20:27:10|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday welcomed the Maldives ending its state of emergency, and restoring the normal social order. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks at a routine news briefing after Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen on Thursday lifted the state of emergency after a period of 45 days. "China believes that the Maldivian government and political parties have the wisdom and ability to resolve differences through dialogue and negotiations to jointly maintain the political stability and social harmony of the Maldives," Hua said. LJUBLJANA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- While commenting on the U.S. plans of punitive tariffs on steel and aluminum, the Slovenian major daily "Vecer" (The Evening News) said on Friday the U.S. President Donald Trump "is digging an increasingly deeper ditch between the two coasts of the Atlantic." "Since moving into the White House, Trump has also been ruthlessly extorting EU countries to increase their defence spending," the daily added. Vecer's report comes as EU leaders are meeting in Brussels to discuss topics concerning the complex and disadvantageous global environment for the EU. "On one hand, he is threatening to introduce levies on European steel and on the other he is perversely forcing Europe to buy American steel in the form of arms," Vecer notes in the commentary Alliance of Steel. It says the EU should not live under the illusion that the U.S. under Trump would not resort to similar measures in targetting European democratic forces that object to "the damaging policies of Trump's administration". Early this month, the American Chamber of Commerce in Slovenia (AmCham) has expressed regret about the U.S. administration's plans to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, warning that it would unfairly target European manufacturers and could prompt retaliatory measures from the EU. AmCham Slovenia warns of the risk that the unilateral decisions will harm "cross-atlantic economic and political links, which could jeopardise jobs, investment and security on both sides of the Atlantic. U.S. companies employ more than 4.7 million workers in Europe." Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 20:32:11|Editor: ZD Video Player Close JAKARTA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian youth and sport ministry has striven to include the country's traditional martial art of Pencak Silat into lists of sport played in Olympic. A senior official of the ministry Marheni D. Kusumawati disclosed that currently pencak silat martial art has spread to 93 nations with each of the countries already establishing pencak silat association. However, the official said that there are some requirements that Indonesia has to comply with for the purpose, including administration requirement and technical requirement. To reach the goal, the authorities would use the moment of the 18th Asian Games this year as a stepping stone in efforts to make pencak silat be played in Olympic, she said. "We have taken initiative to share opinion with pencak silat athletes and association of pencak silat to find an accurate strategy for the inclusion of the sport into Olympic," she said. Pencak silat will be played in the upcoming Asian Games which will be held in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta and Palembang city, provincial capital of South Sumatra province from Aug. 18 to Sept. 2 of this year. Pencak silat is a full-body fighting from incorporating strikes, grappling and throwing in addition to weaponry. Every body part of the body is used and subject to attack. COLOMBO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan government will make a further allocation of 192,300 U.S. dollars for the development of tourist police, a minister here said on Friday. Tourism Development Minister John Amaratunga told Xinhua that the government has already allocated Rs. 50 million (320,500 U.S. dollars) last year for developing tourist police, and a further allocation would be made this year to purchase equipment for them. "We need to make Sri Lanka a safer place for tourists," he said. The minister also said the tourist police had a duty to ensure Sri Lanka's image in the international arena as a safe place. There were nearly 500,000 international tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka up to February this year. NAIROBI, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Political talk and activities have declined significantly in Kenya, giving the country a chance to focus on development after grueling elections. There are no political rallies, name-calling among politicians, threats and antagonism and declaration of political ambitions as was in the case in the last few months. All is quiet on the political front, with the situation attributed to the decision by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his main challenger in last year's polls Raila Odinga to make peace two weeks ago. Their talks have lowered political animosity among leaders and citizens, effectively wiping away the toxic environment that had engulfed the East African nation. On social media where there was a lot of negative political talk that fanned ethnicity, Kenyans are now discussing social and economic issues that include crime, poverty and unemployment. "It now time to forge unity and build the country. Time for politicking is over as our leaders Odinga and Kenyatta have shown," George Aladwa, an opposition MP and an ally of Odinga, said. Ruling Jubilee party senator Johnson Sakaja, initially a fierce critic of Odinga, now refers him to a "statesman." He said Odinga and Kenyatta have shown the country the direction it should take. "I attended a meeting with opposition politicians and people lauded us when we declared unity. It showed me Kenyans were tired of negative politics," he said. According to Sakaja, the strength of a country is measured by the actions, programs, policies and the thoughts that are put towards the most vulnerable in society. On Thursday, Kenyatta emphasized that time for politicking was over, noting the unity deal ended the political period. "You saw me meeting with Odinga where we agreed to cool things down and work together for the benefit of citizens. Let us put politics aside and work for the people," he said while opening a road. Issues hogging the talk on the East African social media platforms now include the environment, joblessness, unity, constitution and crime, as politics takes back seat. "One thing that the unity deal has done is to expose the state officials who hoped they'll hide behind the toxic partisanship to evade accountability questions. We should celebrate them," said blogger Dikembe, who supported the opposition. "Clause 24 of the Cybercrime Bill 2017 Contravenes Article 24(2) and 31 of the constitution. Police authorized to conduct a search without a warrant. All Kenyans must defend the constitution," Rein Asamoh, a blogger, tweeted on Friday, with several Kenyans taking the matter up. On the streets Kenya are happy with the turn of events, noting the economy can now improve, creating the much-needed jobs. "I was among the people who were afraid that Odinga and his coalition National Super Alliance was going to escalate rift with Kenyatta making life tough for citizens. The turn of events is good for the country," said Moses Nzando, an insurance agent. The sector was among the worst affected by the lengthy electioneering period, with uptake of policies declining due to despondence. "Any politician who would want to hold rallies now has no good intentions for the country," he said. At the height of the political season last year, George Odongo, a welder, would not miss any opposition rally in Nairobi. "I used to close my business and attend the rallies. Right now I cannot because we have work and I want to grow my business," he said. Henry Wandera, an economics lecturer, noted that leaders have read the mood in the country and complied with it. "People currently want development, peace and unity. They have taken cue from Kenyatta and Odinga and anyone going against it is seen as a traitor. It is a good thing because a country cannot politic forever," he said. He added that the deal would spur economic development and already business people are enjoying the benefits as the political environment remains positive. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 21:02:15|Editor: ZD Video Player Close PARIS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe Friday termed the ongoing hostage-taking in southern France as a "terrorist act." "All the evidences we have suggest that it is a terrorist act," said the prime minister, without giving details on the attack's eventual casualties. According to several French media, the incident began around 11 a.m. local time (1000 GMT) when a man entered a supermarket in Trebes, near Carcassonne in the Aude prefecture in southern France, and gunshots were heard. At least one person, a worker at a supermarket was feared dead in the attack. Several others were injured after the hostage-taker had fired several shots, media reports said. A second person was hurt but his condition was not known, Eric Menassi, Trebes mayor told news channel BFMTV. The hostage-taker, who claimed allegiance to the Islamic State (IS), was now alone with police in the supermarket after all other hostages had been freed, it added. He has called for the release of Salah Abdelslam, an attacker on the Paris attacks of November 2015, BFMTV television channel reported. French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb was rushing to the site. The French anti-terrorism division of the Paris prosecutors had opened an investigation into the taking- hostage incident after the armed man held dozens of captives in a supermarket in France's southern department of Aude, media reported. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 21:07:16|Editor: Mengjie Video Player Close Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, meets with Cameroonian President Paul Biya in Beijing, capital of China, March 23, 2018. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator Li Zhanshu met with Cameroonian President Paul Biya on Friday afternoon. Li, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), said Chinese President Xi Jinping held fruitful talks with Biya on Thursday and they made top-level designs for the development of bilateral relations in the future. Li said China's NPC is willing to have more friendly exchanges with Cameroon's parliament and he called on the two sides to implement the consensus reached by the heads of state. Li expressed his hope that both sides would support each other on political issues, create a better cooperative environment, and have more people-to-people exchanges. Biya congratulates Li Zhanshu on his election as chairman of the Standing Committee of the NPC. Biya spoke highly of China's foreign policy and appreciated China's long-term support for Cameroon, calling for more legislative exchanges between the two countries. BRUSSELS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) is recalling its ambassador to Russia in response to the poisoning of Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal in Britain earlier this month. The European External Action Service announced in a statement on Friday that the European Council has requested Federica Mogherini, the EU foreign policy chief, to recall the head of the EU delegation in Russia who is expected to arrive in Brussels this weekend. The symbolic move came following a discussion Thursday among EU leaders who gathered in Brussels for the bloc's spring summit. NICOSIA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The European Union summit in Brussels has unanimously decided to condemn actions by Turkey aimed at the European Union (EU) member-state Cyprus in a standoff over the exploration of natural gas in the eastern Mediterranean, Cypriot government spokesman Prodromos Prodromou said on Friday. Prodromou told state radio that the decision was in a draft joint statement approved by EU leaders at a dinner on Thursday night, which will be released at the end of the EU summit on Friday. According to an extract from the draft joint statement, the EU summit "urgently calls on Turkey to cease these actions and respect the sovereign rights of Cyprus to explore and exploit its natural resources in accordance with European Union law and international law." A drillship charged by Italian state-controlled ENI company was prevented in February by Turkish warships ostensibly on sea maneuvers from proceeding to a drilling target between the south-eastern shores of Cyprus and Lebanon. Turkey objects to natural gas drilling by Cyprus, claiming that it violates either its own rights or the rights of Turkish Cypriots over Cypriot natural resources. Prodromou said that the EU's positions will be relayed by EU leaders to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan at a meeting scheduled for Monday in Varna, Bulgaria, which holds the current six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. ANKARA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced on Friday the flight ban to northern Iraq's Erbil has been lifted. "Turkey has opened its air space for flights to Erbil as of today. However, there will be no flights to Sulaymaniyah," Yildirim told reporters in capital Ankara. Commercial flights would be available from either Turkey or Europe to Erbil, he added. An international flight ban had been imposed on the Kurdish region after Erbil, the Kurdish Regional Government in Iraq, held an independence referendum last September in defiance of Baghdad's wishes. On March 13, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi also announced the decision to lift the five-month-old flight ban "after local authorities in the Kurdish region handed over control of the two airports to federal authorities." JAKARTA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia is expanding a gas pipe project for households across the country with 500,000 gas-connected families were expected by 2019, an official said on Friday. Ego Syahrial, director general for Oil and Gas at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, said 78,315 gas-connected families across the nation have been targeted this year, making the total gas pipe connection to families to around 350,000 by the end of this year. "This project is aimed at providing clean, affordable, environmental-friendly energy and efficient for the people. It has also been adopted as a national strategic project," he said on the sidelines of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) document signing with representatives of 16 regencies and municipalities. According to Ego, the gas piping project for families would eventually enhance the nation's energy resiliency, accelerate the energy diversification and directly distribute outcomes of development to the people. He added that the gas piping project would averagely cut Indonesian families' monthly allocation for gas expenditure into half. The ministry has allocated some 886 billion rupiah (over 64,000 U.S. dollars) to finance the project this year. SOFIA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarian authorities have arrested a British citizen wanted by Interpol since 2011 for sexual crimes against children in the United States, officials said here on Friday. The investigation, conducted jointly with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's office in Bulgaria, revealed that the suspect changed his name and identity papers, and radically altered his appearance, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. During his detention, the authorities discovered and seized three computers used for downloading and distributing pornographic content with the participation of children who were visibly younger than 10, the statement said. The investigation is going on, it added. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 21:27:24|Editor: pengying Video Player Close Pakistani soldiers march past during the military parade to mark Pakistan's National Day in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan on March 23, 2018. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal) ISLAMABAD, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan celebrated the 78th Republic Day on Friday with traditional zeal and fervor, local media reported. The Pakistan Day is celebrated to mark the Lahore Resolution, also known as Pakistan Resolution, which was passed on March 23, 1940, as a major milestone in the subcontinent's Muslim struggle for an independent state. The day was dawn with 31-gun salute in the capital of Islamabad and 21-gun salute in provincial capitals. The main feature of the day was the military parade in Shakarparian area that lies on a low hill between Islamabad and Rawalpindi city. Troops from various units and formations of the armed forces including Army, Navy and Air Force took part in the parade. Contingents from the armed forces of Turkey, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan also participated in the parade. It is the first time that a contingent from the UAE military paraded along with Pakistan armed forces. On the occasion, the Pakistani military displayed an inventory of modern weapons and arsenal, including tanks, jets, drones and other weapon systems in the parade. Cultural floats of the nation's four provinces also gave a color to the parade. Fighter jets from the army aviation, including F-16 and JF-17 Thunder, and military gunship helicopters presented an air display over the parade ground, while paratroopers jumping out of airplanes was another highlight. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena was the guest of honor at the event whereas Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain was the chief guest of the occasion. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi and Defense Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan also witnessed the parade. Thousands of people, including diplomats from several countries, witnessed the parade amid tight security in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Earlier in the day, special prayers were offered in mosques for the progress, prosperity and solidarity of Pakistan and the national flag was hoisted high on major government and private buildings across the country. Rallies, peace walks, seminars, symposiums and conferences were held in different cities where speakers discussed the role of Pakistan Resolution in the creation of Pakistan. The government also announced a public holiday to mark the day. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 21:47:26|Editor: pengying Video Player Close ANKARA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Turkey is in talks with the U.S. on purchase of Patriot missile defense systems, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday. Speaking at a press conference in Ankara, Hami Aksoy said that Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Umit Yalcin would pay a visit next week to Washington for a face-to-face meeting regarding the missile deal. Aksoy stressed that Turkey continued to establish a NATO-integrated defense system, adding "our consortium with France and Italy over Eurosam (air defense systems) is being carried out in this framework". Turkey signed a 2.5 billion U.S. dollars deal with Russia on purchase of the S-400 anti-ballistic defense systems last year amid criticism and doubts from other NATO allies. Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary-General, described on Feb. 20 Turkey's purchase of Russian S-400 missile systems as "a difficult issue" for the alliance. Some experts said that Turkey's S-400 deal with Russia would further strain ties between Ankara and Washington and could trigger U.S. sanctions on Turkey. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 21:47:26|Editor: Mengjie Video Player Close Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan meets with Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano in Beijing, capital of China, March 23, 2018. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin) BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan met with Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano in Beijing on Friday, calling for enhanced high-level exchanges and pragmatic cooperation. Wang said the annual sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) this year have elected a new state leadership and leadership of the CPPCC National Committee. "We will strive for the realization of the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era," said Wang. The Philippines is a traditional friendly neighbor of China, Wang said. With the guidance of the heads of state of the two countries, the relationship between China and the Philippines has consolidated and deepened, he added. In the new year, the two sides should continue to work together and plan their relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective, so as to fully implement the consensus between the heads of state of the two countries, said Wang. He hoped that China and the Philippines would properly deal with their differences and increase the friendship between the two peoples, building a closer China-ASEAN community of shared future. Cayetano expressed his congratulations on the convening of the annual two sessions, saying the Philippines is willing to work with China to promote development of Philippine-Chinese relations. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 21:47:27|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Education has issued new orders to better regulate university recruitment, vowing to "safeguard fairness in education." The move specifically targets third-party consultancy agencies offering commercial training services to high school students. Apart from the nationwide College Entrance Examination, or gaokao, some top Chinese universities are allowed to organize independent exams to evaluate candidates who have good academic performance in high school or have skills and awards in certain fields. Such exams usually consist of resume screening, written tests, and interviews and are therefore more flexible in appraisal. Students who pass the independent exams have easier application requirements for their preferred universities after sitting the gaokao. Some agencies help applicants manufacture fake application materials to seek an unfair advantage, which undermines university recruitment, according to the ministry. Universities were ordered to improve supervision and evaluation procedures of the independent exams. Students were called on to apply for the universities "based on their true abilities." Universities, commercial agencies, and students who violate the rules will be severely punished, the ministry said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 21:47:27|Editor: pengying Video Player Close KUWAIT CITY, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Kuwait on Friday condemned two terrorist bomb blasts that took place in the cities of Mogadishu and Kabul earlier this week, the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) said. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait affirmed the country's support for Somalia and Afghanistan in measures taken against violence, extremism and terrorism, an official source from the ministry was quoted as saying. He urged the international community to double efforts in facing the hateful phenomenon of terrorism, so people may enjoy safety and stability, expressing condolences to victims' families and wishing the injured quick recovery. At least 14 people were killed and several others injured in a bomb attack outside a popular hotel in Somali capital Mogadishu on Thursday. No group has claimed responsibility for the latest blast but al-Shabaab fighters are often behind such attacks in the country. On Wednesday, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives while walking among a group of people near Kabul University and Ali Abad hospital, killing at least 33 people and injuring 65 others, the Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 22:02:30|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close KUALA LUMPUR, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Bai Tian on Friday expressed his appreciation for Malaysia's all-out efforts in search and rescue for the missing crew of a capsized sand dredger. Malaysia launched search and rescue operations involving multi-agencies, including the coast guard, the navy and police, after a sand dredging vessel capsized Wednesday in the waters off its southern Johor state. There were a total of 18 onboard the ship when the incident happened, including 16 Chinese, one Malaysian and one Indonesia. Three Chinese were rescued while one was dead. Another two Chinese were rescued by divers on Friday after being trapped inside the ship for more than 50 hours. Following the incident, the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia has asked for assistance from various Malaysian ministries and agencies for search and rescue operation, and had received positive responses, said Bai. "We really feel that the Malaysian government has attached great importance to the search and rescue operations. The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) and the Navy immediately sent divers and rescuers with professional equipment by sea and by land overnight to join the operations," he told reporters at the embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Various government ministries have stated that the Malaysian side will do its utmost to find the missing crew, he said, adding that hospitals were instructed to be prepared should survivors be found. At the invitation of the Malaysian side, China has sent rescuers, including divers, to Malaysia to join the operations, Bai said. Rescuers from the two countries cooperated closely in devising the rescue plan and conducting underwater search. "The search and rescue operations have become important practical cooperation between the Chinese and Malaysian maritime rescuers, while demonstrating the friendship between the two countries that we are like family that could go through hardship together," said the ambassador. "I have expressed my appreciation to the various Malaysian agencies for their all-out efforts in the search and rescue. We will continue work closely with the Malaysian government to continue the search," he said. ROME, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Italy's southern regions were gripped in snow, ice and plunging temperatures on Friday, forcing closure of schools in some cities. Bringing heavy winds, snow and rain, the storm raged overnight and continued into the day in some areas. In the Puglia region in the heel of Italy's boot, trucks hauling fresh produce got stuck on the highways and some trains in the Basilicata region were cancelled due to intense snowfall, local media reported. The region's prized olive groves as well as its fruit and vegetable fields have been damaged by the unseasonable cold snap, Coldiretti farmers association told ANSA news agency. The latest wave of adverse weather follows a Siberian cold front Burian that swept through Italy last month. Burian destroyed 20 percent of Italy's vegetable harvest and damaged 25 million olive trees from Puglia to the central Lazio region where Rome is located, according to the Coldiretti website. The current springtime wave of bad weather could place the fruit harvest at risk while drenching the ground, making it impossible to sow certain grains such as corn, according to Coldiretti. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 22:27:35|Editor: pengying Video Player Close DAMASCUS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- An agreement has been reached on Friday for the evacuation of rebels and their families from new areas in the capital Damascus' Eastern Ghouta countryside, according to the state TV. As many as 7,000 rebels and their family members are to leave areas of Jobar, Zamalka, Arbeen, and Ayn Tarma in Eastern Ghouta, and the deal covers the main rebel groups in control of those areas, namely the Failaq al-Rahman, and the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, according to the report. The agreement, which was mediated by the Russians, will also see the release of kidnapped people by the rebels ahead of their evacuation and lists of names will be handed over to the Russian side, the report said. The evacuation will take place on Saturday at 9:30 a.m.(0730 GMT) after the rebels hand over maps of the tunnels they dug and mines they planted in the aforementioned areas. The fresh deal comes a day after the Failaq al-Rahman group declared a unilateral cease-fire to negotiate its withdrawal from the region. The War Media, the media wing of the Syrian army, reported that the Failaq al-Rahman rebels, or the Rahman Legion, declared a cease-fire in the central part of Eastern Ghouta, namely in the areas of Jobar, Zamalka, Ayn Tarma, Hazzeh, and Arbeen, as of midnight Friday. These areas have been the launching pad for the Failaq al-Rahman rebels for firing mortar and rocket shells on the Syria capital of Damascus throughout the last seven years of crisis. This development came as the Syrian army captured the farms of Ayn Tarma on Thursday and advanced toward that area, which is a key stronghold of the Failaq al-Rahman rebels. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said calm prevailed areas under Failaq al-Rahman control in Eastern Ghouta Friday as a delegation of this group held talks with Russians. The negotiation for withdrawal coincided with the evacuation of the Ahrar al-Sham rebels from Harasta city, also a key rebel stronghold in Eastern Ghouta. As many as 1,580 people, including rebels and their families, evacuated Harasta on Thursday evening as hundreds more assembled on Friday to follow lead and evacuate toward rebel-held areas in the northwestern province of Idlib. The Syrian army has already captured over 80 percent of Eastern Ghouta and is closing in on the remaining rebel-held areas amid ongoing military offensive as tens of thousands of civilians have been fleeing Eastern Ghouta toward government-run shelters after the Syrian troops opened several humanitarian corridors upon advancing in Eastern Ghouta. If the evacuation took place as planned, it would be a major victory for the Syrian army and a massive setback for the rebels' presence in Eastern Ghouta, the last remaining threat to the capital. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 22:37:36|Editor: ZD Video Player Close Norwegian Minister of Education and Integration Jan Tore Sanner (C), Minister of Research and Higher Education Iselin Nybo (R) and Minister of Finance Siv Jensen attend a press conference in Olso, Norway, on March 23, 2018. Norway said on Friday it sent a bill to parliament proposing to ban the use of face-covering garments in all kindergartens and educational institutions such as schools, colleges and training centers for newly arrived immigrants. (Xinhua/Liang Youchang) OSLO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Norway said on Friday it sent a bill to parliament proposing to ban the use of face-covering garments in all kindergartens and educational institutions such as schools, colleges and training centers for newly arrived immigrants. The bill on the national ban was presented at a press conference held by the country's education, research and finance ministers. "A ban on face-covering garments will ensure open communication with children, pupils, students and newly arrived immigrants in educational situations. It is crucial for a good learning environment," said Minister of Education and Integration Jan Tore Sanner. The Norwegian government had initially suggested that the ban should apply to the entire educational area and throughout the working hours. But now the bill proposed that the prohibition shall only apply while teaching takes place. The prohibition will apply to both students and employees in educational institutions. For kindergartens, the prohibition will only apply to employees throughout their working hours, as face-covering garments are rarely used by young children. The bill was expected to be passed in parliament as several opposition parties have said they support such a ban. If parliament adopts the proposal, the ban will be introduced from August. "Pupils, students and teachers must be able to see the faces of each other," Minister of Research and Higher Education Iselin Nybo said. "We believe that we have found a good balance between the consideration of a good learning environment and the individual's freedom." Currently such a ban can be implemented locally, as it has already been done by some schools and colleagues in Oslo and its neighboring areas. With a national ban, the government wanted to provide a clearer regulatory framework throughout the country. "Norway can become the first country in the Nordic region to get a national ban on face-covering headgear like burka and niqab in educational environment," said Minister of Finance Siv Jensen. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 22:42:37|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close ISTANBUL, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Friday once again to move militarily against other Syrian towns days after Turkish troops and its allies took control of the Afrin city in northwestern Syria. "Our job will not end in Afrin. We have Idlib and Manbij next," Erdogan said at a rally in Istanbul. The Turkish military has set up several observation posts in Idlib province under a deal with Russia and Iran aimed at ending clashes in Syria, while the United States vowed on Thursday not to leave Manbij, a town under the control of Kurdish militia known as the People's Protection Units (YPG) with a U.S. military presence. Erdogan said he discussed the latest developments in Syria with U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. "We said that we would not take a step back from here and Turkey will continue to protect the victims of the Syrian war," the Turkish president said. Erdogan on Monday threatened to expand military operations into other Kurdish-held areas in northern Syria and northern Iraq, one day after Turkish troops and allied Syrian rebels took over the Afrin city following a two-month operation against the YPG-held district. Erdogan said 3,731 terrorists have been "neutralized" since Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch against the Afrin district on Jan. 20. Ankara is seeking to clear its border area of YPG militants, as it regards them as terrorists, but Washington has used them as a reliable ground force against the Islamic State. NAIROBI, March 23 (Xinhua) -- East Africa's umbrella body of the private sector on Friday called for the review of the East African Community (EAC) Common External Tariff (CET). Lilian Awinja, the Executive Director of the East Africa Business Council (EABC), told a regional forum in Nairobi that the CET is structured under three bands of 25 percent for finished goods, ten percent for intermediate goods and zero percent for raw materials and capital goods. "For the last 12 years of implementation of the EAC CET, it has been evident that the tariff lines need a comprehensive review with a view to align the existing tariff structure and rates with dynamic global trade changes and regional trade environment," Awinja said during the EABC 20th anniversary High Level Conference. EAC members include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan. Awinja urged partner states to consider replacing the existing three-band tariff structure with a four band tariff structure in order to encourage backward and forward value addition in the manufacturing sector. Awinja said that the common external tariff is a very important annex of the EAC Customs Union Protocol as it reflects the tariff structure between the EAC partner states and the rest of the world. She added that the external tariffs were reviewed in 2010 and the three band structure was maintained. "However, each year the partner states through the pre-budget consultations of the EAC ministers of finance have been undertaking annual reviews on specific products," she noted. Awinja noted that these annual reviews have been manifested with either an increase or decrease of duty rates of specific products based on their availability in the region. "The main challenges regarding these reviews have been on how to strike a delicate balance between the several conflicting interests ranging from revenue considerations to support of infant industries," Awinja said. KATHMANDU, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Global Adventure and Mountaineering Conference and Expo (GAMCE)-2018, an international event aimed at promoting Nepal as the adventure hub for Asia, kicked off in Kathmandu on Friday. The-three day event is first of its kind being held in the Himalayan country, which is renowned for adventure tourism due to its prominent peaks. Nepal hosts half of the world's 14 tallest mountains. Organizers - Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), the main tourism promotion body of the country and the House of Rajkarnikar, an event management company - said there are 42 speakers and about 250 participants taking part in the conference while 35 exhibitors are showcasing their adventure gears and travel services in the expo. The event is being organized at a time when various mountaineering expedition groups are preparing to climb the Nepal-based Himalayan mountains. During the inauguration ceremony, NTB Chief Executive Officer Deepak Raj Joshi said Nepal offers variety of experiences in area of adventure tourism and the country has been appealing to global adventure enthusiasts. "Nepal is already in global map of adventure tourism and the future of adventure tourism in the country looks rosy," he said. According to the organizers, they initiated such event considering the tremendous growth of revenue the sector witnessed in recent years. Birendra Rajkarnikar, managing director of House of Rajkarnikar, said they aimed to strengthen the working relations among the Nepali and international stakeholders of adventure tourism with the GAMCE-2018. The organizers said they aimed to develop GAMCE as a market platform for adventure tourism. One of the main reasons behind foreign tourists visiting Nepal is to get involved in adventurous activities, mainly the mountaineering because the country is famous for a large number of Himalayan peaks including the world's highest Mt. Qomolangma. John Pell, so-called "Second Lord of the Manor of Pelham," is believed by many to be the individual depicted on the front of a legal tender United States half dollar minted in small quantities at the Philadelphia Mint in April of 1937. He is shown holding a rope tied to the famed fatt calfe that Jacob Leisler, his heirs and assigns are required to deliver to John Pell, his heirs and assigns, every June 24 forever (if demanded). Periodically, members of the Pell family make a ceremonial demand for delivery of such a fatt calfe from the City of New Rochelle in connection with family reunions and special celebrations. This requirement arises from a sale of lands by John Pell and his wife, Rachel, on September 20, 1689. They sold to Jacob Leisler of New York City 6,000 acres from the lands originally purchased from local Native Americans by Thomas Pell. At the same time they gifted to Leisler another 100 acres for use as church grounds. Leisler reportedly was commissioned to acquire the land on behalf of French Huguenots seeking to relocate to North America, many of whom fled from La Rochelle in France. The land became todays New Rochelle, named in honor of La Rochelle from which many of the Huguenots fled religious persecution by the French Catholics. A condition of the sale in 1689 was that Jacob Leisler, his heirs and assigns should deliver to John Pell his heirs and assigns Lords of the said Manor of Pelham . . . as an Acknowledgment to the said Manor one fatt calfe on every fouer and twentieth day of June Yearly and Every Year forever (if demanded). The story behind the famed New Rochelle Half Dollar that commemorates this annual Acknowledgment is a fascinating one nearly as interesting as the scene depicted on the front of the coin. The half dollar commemorates the 250th anniversary of the settlement of New Rochelle, celebrated in 1938. That event, of course, was of local not national interest. So, just how did it come about that a legal tender coin came to be minted for a local event? The answer is: the affluence and influence of the members of the Westchester County Coin Club of New Rochelle were responsible. The members of that club reportedly exerted pressure on their Congressional Delegation. Consequently, on May 5, 1936, Congress passed legislation calling for not more than 25,000 half dollars to be struck at a single mint. The coins were specifically to be dated 1938 regardless of when they were struck since they were being struck in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the settlement of New Rochelle in 1688. The design process for the coin was painful so painful that it is now legendary. Sculptor Lorillard Wise was selected to design the coin. His design for the front of the coin showed a Native American crouching at the shoreline watching an approaching European ship on the waters with a sunburst on the horizon. His design for the reverse of the coin included the seal of the City of New Rochelle as well as various commemorative and other inscriptions. The Federal Commission on Fine Arts delayed approval of the design and considered criticisms offered by members of the public. Still, it granted formal approval of the design on September 16, 1936. Barely a month later, the Federal Commission on Fine Arts reportedly had second thoughts and reversed itself. Commission Chairman Charles Moore issued a letter dated October 28, 1936 saying: The Commission feel that this work should be placed in the hands of an artist who has had experience in producing designs for medals and coins. An artist named Gertrude K. Lathrop was named to replace sculptor Lorillard Wise. Lathrop was the sculptor of the Albany Charter Half Dollar minted that same year. She quickly produced new designs for the front and back of the coin. She chose a man dressed in an elegant period costume holding a rope tied to the famed fatt calfe. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the design on the front of the coin is the fact that no one knows the identity of the man with the fatt calfe. Most presume it to be John Pell, but Lathrop apparently never said this to be the case. As one author has written: Many people believe that the figure in the late 17th Century costume is meant for John Pell, but this is unconfirmed; the design can be read to mean either that the calf is being brought to Pell by one of Leislers people, or that Pell has just accepted the delivery. Had Ms. Lathrop specifically meant the figure to represent Pell, she doubtless would have said so. Despite such a conclusion, there seems to be fairly strong evidence that the figure on the coin depicts John Pell. Indeed, the sales pamphlet distributed by the New Rochelle Commemorative Coin Committee in connection with New Rochelles 250th anniversary celebration in 1938 states: The obverse of the coin shows Lord Pell receiving the protesting fatt calfe, while the reverse bears a conventionalized fleur-de-lis, flower of France, which appears on the coat-of-arms of old La Rochelle and on the seal of modern New Rochelle. Similarly, an article that appeared in The Pelham Sun at the time noted that six local Pell family members had bought commemorative half dollars and affirmed that the coin depicted delivery of the "fatt calfe" to "their forebear." The full article stated: "Six Pells Buy Pell Coins Six descendants of the Lord John Pell who deeded 6,000 acres to Jacob Leisler for French Huguenot settlers 249 years ago, have purchased commemorative half dollars depicting the delivery of a 'fat calfe' to their forebear, the 250th Anniversary Celebration Committee revealed last week. The Pells are S. H. P. Pell, John Pell, and Howland Pell, of New York City; Herbert C. Pell, of Pellbridge, Hopewell, N.Y.; Clarence C. Pell, of Westbury, L.I., and Mrs. Walden Pell, of Cedarhurst, Long Island. The delivery of the 'calfe' alludes to the reservation Lord Pell made in the deed, 'paying unto the said John Pell his heirs and assignes Lord of the said Manor of Pelham or to the assigns of him or them or their or either of them as an Acknowledgment to the Lord of the said Mannor one fate [sic] calfe on every fouer & twentyth day of June Yearly & Every Year forever (if demanded). . . ." Another local news article published at about the same time also indicated the coin depicts John Pell receiving the fat calf. The article, quoted in full below, stated: " See, e.g., THE COIN COLLECTOR, The New York Sun, Dec. 4, 1937, The obverse of the coin shows Lord Penn [sic] receiving the protesting 'fatt calfe.'" Numerous newspaper articles published throughout the country in 1937 and 1938 affirm that the image depicts John Pell receiving the calf, not a resident of New Rochelle delivering it., Dec. 4, 1937, p. 19, cols. 1-2 (""Gertrude K. Lathrop, sculptor of Albany, is responsible for the design, to picture Lord Pell receiving the protesting 'fatt calfe,' on the obverse. . ."). The reverse of the commemorative coin depicts a stylized fleur de lis a symbol found in the seal of the City of New Rochelle, borrowed from the seal of La Rochelle, France, after which the City of New Rochelle was named. Lathrops designs were approved by the Commission of Fine Arts on February 25, 1937. Despite some news reports at the time suggesting more coins were sold, reliable numismatic authorities indicate that 25,015 half dollars were minted. However, 9,749 coins were never sold to collectors and were returned to the mint for melting, leaving a net mintage of 15,251 (15 of the original coins were reserved for assay). Uncirculated versions of this coin today are worth more than $450 to coin collectors. Obverse of the Half-Dollar Commemorative Coin Depicting John Pell Receiving the "Fatt Calfe" NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge. Reverse of the Half-Dollar Commemorative Coin Depicting Fleur De Lis Representing La Rochelle and New Rochelle NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge. John Pell Who Is Depicted Receiving the Fatt Calfe on the Obverse of the Commemorative Coin. NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge. * * * * * "Commemorative Coin Will Increase In Value After Close of Anniversary Fete ----- Unsold U. S. Half-Dollars Issued to Commemorate 250th Anniversary of the Founding of New Rochelle Will be Melted Up. ----- When the Commemorative half-dollar issued in conjunction with this city's 250th Anniversary celebration is withdrawn from sale, the number of residents of this county who will benefit from its almost certain increase in value will not be in proportion to the large number of its purchasers elsewhere in this country. This condition was revealed by Pitt M. Skipton, chairman of the Commemorative Coin Committee here, in an announcement that 17,000 of the limited issue of 25,000 coins have been sold, and that the unsold copies will be melted when the sale closes after the Anniversary Celebration on the week of June 12 to 18. An experienced numismatist and a director of the Westchester Coin Club, Mr. Skipton asserted that the limited issue, the fact that the coin bears only the date 1938, that it has but one mint, and that unsold copies will not be released to dealers, practically insure an early rise in the value of the half-dollar. Now being sold through local banks at $2.00 each, Mr. Skipton cited the value increase of other limited issues of commemorative coins as an example of what may be expected for the New Rochelle half-dollar. 'A half-dollar issued in 1935 for the 150th anniversary of the City of Hudson, N. Y. now sells for between seven and eight dollars,' he pointed out. 'The Hawaiian half-dollar issued in 1928 to commemorate the sesqui-centennial of discovery of the island by Captain James Cook now sells for between ten and twelve dollars a copy.' Authorized by Congress in 1936, the New Rochelle coin was designed by Gertrude K. Lathrop, member of the National Academy of Design and of the National Sculpture Society. The obverse of the coin shows Lord Penn [sic] receiving the protesting 'fatt calfe,' while the reverse bears a conventionalized fleur-de-lis, flower of France, which appears on the coat-of-arms of old La Rochelle and on the seal of New Rochelle." * * * * * I have written before about the United States half-dollar commemorative coin minted to commemorate the 250th anniversary of New Rochelle celebrated in 1938. See Bell, Blake A., John Pell and the New Rochelle Commemorative Coin Dated 1938, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 7, Feb. 13, 2004, p. 10, col. 1. I also have written extensively about the delivery of the "fatt calfe" to John Pell known as the "Fatt Calfe Ceremony." See, e.g.: Labels: 1937, 1938, 250th Anniversary, Charles Moore, Coin, Commemorative Coin, Fatt Calfe, Federal Commission on Fine Arts, Gertrude K. Lathrop, John Pell, Lorillard Wise, New Rochelle Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 22:47:38|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close PARIS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientist Mee-Mann Chang was honored with the L'Oreal-UNESCO for Women in Science Awards 2018, along with four other women for their ground-breaking discoveries in sciences. At a ceremony held at the UNESCO's headquarters in Paris on Thursday, the 82-year-old female scientist was honored for "her pioneering work on fossil records leading to insights on how aquatic vertebrates adapted to life and land," the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said. Her longstanding commitment has offered China the opportunity to establish itself in the field of paleontology and develop a dynamic research environment that gives birth to new generations of eminent scientists, according to the awards' organizers. Chang is a professor at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences based in Beijing. The Chinese laureate said she is "very honored" to receive this year's UNESCO for Women in Sciences Awards, paying tribute to the efforts of her partners around the world, including Russian and Swedish teachers that helped her at the start of her career six decades ago. The other four scientists honored this year are Heather Zar of South Africa, Caroline Dean of Britain, Amy Austin of Argentina and Janet Rossant of Canada. Each of the five laureates will receive a prize of 100,000 euros (123,250 U.S. dollars). "We are celebrating the 20th anniversary of this award in a historic moment, when the voice of women is better heard ... We live today ... in a world marked by the major technological revolution, and we must rely on collective intelligence, which implies to be able to count on the talents and creativities of women of science," UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said during the awarding ceremony. The L'Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards, given to five people each year, are dedicated to honoring distinguished women scientists and supporting promising young women researchers. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the awards program, a UNESCO partnership with the L'Oreal Foundation. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 22:52:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close HONG KONG, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Each eligible Hong Kong resident will receive a one-off hand-out of 4,000 HK dollars (about 500 U.S. dollars) in a scheme of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) government, an official said on Friday. The Caring and Sharing Scheme will involve about 2.8 million residents and a total of 11 billion HK dollars, said Paul Chan Mo-po, financial secretary of the Hong Kong SAR government. Under the new scheme, an eligible person who does not pay salaries tax will receive 4,000 HK dollars, and one who receives tax concession will get the difference between 4,000 HK dollars and the amount of tax concession received. Eligible people include those who hold a Hong Kong identity card, ordinarily reside in Hong Kong and have reached the age of 18 on or before Dec. 31 this year. They must not own any property in Hong Kong nor receive Comprehensive Social Security Assistance payments, Old Age Allowance, Old Age Living Allowance or Disability Allowance. Chan said people who pay no tax and live in self-owned domestic properties that benefit less than 4,000 HK dollars in rates concession, or those who pay tax but benefit less than 4,000 HK dollars through tax and rates concession in aggregate, can also apply for the balance. Social security recipients who are set to receive extra allowance under the 2018-19 Budget can also receive the difference between 4,000 HK dollars and the extra payments received. Secretary for Labor and Welfare Law Chi-kwong said time is needed to handle the applications. He hoped the payments can be made before next year's budget. (1 U.S. dollar equals to about 7.84 HK dollars) Ni Laixing (C), a Chinese welder poses for a group photo with trainees in Kampala, capital of Uganda, March 21, 2018. The trainees should be able to pass the welding examination after about 50 days of training. (Xinhua/Zhang Gaiping) KAMPALA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- As Uganda gets ready for its initial commercial production of oil from the Albertine region, a Chinese company is training Ugandans to obtain the required welding skills. Before the oil production begins, Uganda is expected to construct a pipeline from Hoima, a municipal town in western Uganda, to Tanga in Tanzania, spanning a distance of 1,445 kilometers. Independent sources say about 1,500 welders will be required to work on the pipeline that will have a capacity of 216,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Uganda hopes to see its maiden commercial oil production while Sunmaker Energy (Uganda) Ltd, a Chinese company, is helping to set the welding ball rolling. Sunmaker has set up a 3-acre oil and gas training institute in the central business district of Uganda's capital, Kampala. The institute is expected to start accepting students next month. Gong Zhiwu, deputy executive director of Sunmaker, said once the school opens, they expect to train more than 4,000 people every year in different disciplines.P "We shall offer short courses for oil and gas operators already in the field. We shall also have courses for new entrants," he said. Local students attend a welding training course in Kampala, capital of Uganda, March 21, 2018. The trainees should be able to pass the welding examination after about 50 days of training. (Xinhua/Zhang Gaiping) The institute will also admit regional students from surrounding countries and internationally recognized certificates will be awarded. The information of the graduates will also be entered into a database for quick reference purposes by the institute. Before Sunmaker opens the institute, it has been offering training to employees of Victoria Engineering. Samuel Nabwiso, 31, has been working for Victoria Engineering over the past five years. "Since a welding expert came from Sunmaker, we have really had our skills improved. Personally, I have learnt new skills of welding pipes and plates and I am sure these will be used to transport oil from Hoima to where it is going to be refined from," Nabwiso told Xinhua on Wednesday. Jalaludin Lugumya, 25, is also grateful for the training. "I am an employee of Victoria Engineering but the training by the new instructor from China is wonderful. We have been taught to fit pipes and plates properly so that after the welding is done, they will be put to the desired shapes without any buckling," Lugumya said. Ni Laixing (2nd, R), a Chinese welder analyses welding samples during a training course in Kampala, capital of Uganda, March 21, 2018. The trainees should be able to pass the welding examination after about 50 days of training. (Xinhua/Zhang Gaiping) "They have also taught us about horizontal welding, something we did not know previously," he added. Ni Laixing, an internationally certified welder from Sunmaker, said after training the students for 50 working days, they will be able to pass international examinations for welders. "We are currently teaching them carbon dioxide welding. This is the basis of all types of welding and once they have mastered it, the rest will be easier to learn," he said. The skills will be used in the manufacturing of products to be used in the oil and gas sector, Ni added. Lydia Efata, the business development manager at Victoria Engineering, is full of praise for what their employees have learnt. "The welders are being taught coded welding as opposed to ordinary welding. The difference between the two welding processes is simply that the coded welding is basically certified welding," she said. "Our welders had last been trained and certified in 2014 and there was a need for upskilling and re-certification," Efata added. However, Efata said that there is still a gap between demand and supply in the Ugandan labor market. The government is taking steps to encourage young people to apply for the required training courses to beef up the number and comply with the requirement of the oil boom, she told Xinhua Wednesday. VIENNA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- As protectionism in the United States is on the rise, the European Union (EU) could turn to enhance economic cooperation with other countries, such as China, an Austrian official has said. Although Washington used to be the driving force behind international economic arrangements, it now appears to be shifting in the opposite direction, Vice President of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber Christoph Matznetter told Xinhua in an interview on Wednesday. The United States is withdrawing from an open market, which is not in its best interests, Matznetter said. In the past several decades, China has achieved remarkable economic development and has become the second largest economy in the world. Beijing has also sent a clear signal that it will put growth quality and efficiency before pace as it enters a new development era. The EU and China should look for closer cooperation without "disruptive" factors from the outside, such as Washington's wrong approach to trade, Matznetter said. Matznetter attended the high-level meeting Communist Party of China in Dialogue with World Political Parties last December in Beijing. He said Chinese President Xi Jinping voiced support for free trade and cooperation instead of protectionism and isolation. "It was clear in certain respects that China is the better partner in many things than some others who focus on a divided world," he said. Matznetter said Austria is preparing to send a large high-level delegation that includes himself to China in April. He said the visit is important because it will help gather consensus in Austria and the EU at large in promoting relations with China. Austria, with an economy heavily relying on exports, is among the countries that prefer to build closer cooperation with China, he said. Austria and China share common values and face similar challenges in developing new technologies, which lays the ground for cooperation, he added. SOFIA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarian authorities have revealed two financially motivated cyber attacks worth 5.2. million U.S. dollars targeting companies overseas, officials said here Friday. In one attack, three million euros (3.7 million dollars) from a "large company" in South Korea were transferred to a bank account in Bulgaria, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. The bank account belonged to a legal entity registered in Bulgaria, owned and managed by a foreign national, the statement said. Bulgarian authorities managed to later return the money to the South Korean company, the statement added. Earlier this year, the country's General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (GDCOC) revealed a cyber attack against a U.S.-registered legal entity, which was deceived into transferring 1.5 million dollars to three bank accounts in Bulgaria instead of to the account of its real counterpart, the statement said. After the crime was discovered, the U.S. company received 600,000 dollars back. The two cyber attacks were revealed as a result of the GDCOC's positive interaction with foreign partner services and the banking sector in Bulgaria, the statement added. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 23:12:43|Editor: Mengjie Video Player Close Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets with Cameroonian President Paul Biya in Beijing, capital of China, March 23, 2018. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Friday met with Cameroonian President Paul Biya, saying that China is willing to help the western African country's sustainable economic development. During their meeting at the Great Hall of the People, Li said both China and Cameroon are developing countries that share common interests in development. China has provided Cameroon with assistance within its capability and never attached any political conditions, Li said. The premier encouraged Chinese enterprises to invest in Cameroon and called for innovative cooperation in areas of infrastructure and construction of industrial parks. Li called on both countries to safeguard liberalization, trade and investment, abide by market principles and business rules and oppose protectionism. Li also hailed the long-term friendship between the two countries, saying that China is ready to boost political mutual trust and beneficial cooperation in the hope of forging ahead bilateral ties. Echoing Li's remarks, Biya said Cameroon appreciated China's great support and assistance in areas of economy, social development and culture. Cameroon will continue to advance friendship and cooperation with China so as to lift bilateral relationship to a new high, he said. Biya is paying a state visit to China from Thursday to Saturday at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Xi held talks with him on Thursday. The two presidents witnessed the signing of agreements on economic and technological cooperation, human resources development, infrastructural construction and industrial cooperation. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 23:17:44|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close Policemen are seen outside a supermarket in Trebes, southern France, on March 23, 2018. The perpetrator of the hostage-taking incident was shot dead in the police raid, according to French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb. He held several hostages early on Friday, causing two persons dead and an officer wounded. (Xinhua/Jose Santos) PARIS, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The perpetrator of the hostage-taking incident at a supermarket in Trebes, southern France, was shot dead in the police raid, French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb confirmed. "The hostage-taker has been killed," the minister said. Anti-terrorism units raided the supermarket where the 26-year-old man, Redouane Lakdim, who claimed he's a Islamic State (IS) soldier, held several hostages early on Friday. Lakdim screamed "Allahu Akbar" (God Greatest) while he stormed the building. He killed two persons and wounded an officer in the hostage-taking which began at around 11 a.m. local time (1000 GMT). According to the minister, the gunman had shot another people dead and injured one when he was stealing the vehicle. He also opened fire at a police officer in Carcasson, about 20 minutes' drive away from Trebes city. Lakdim, with Morrocan origin, had acted alone, the minister said. He was known to police for robbery and drug trafficking, but had no sign of radicalization, Collomb added. He has reportedly asked for the release of Salah Abdeslam, the only surviving suspect in the Paris attacks that claimed 130 victims in November 2015. Earlier in the day, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe described the hostage-taking incident as a "terrorist act." The French anti-terrorism division of the Paris prosecutors has opened an investigation into the attack. WASHINGTON, March 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to veto the 1.3-trillion-U.S.-dollar spending bill just passed by Congress. Trump tweeted that he was considering the move as the 800,000 recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program "have been totally abandoned by Democrats" and his long-promised border wall "is not fully funded." The bill was approved early Friday in the Senate, following its passage through the House Thursday. The White House had said Thursday that Trump would sign it because it "funds his priorities." The federal government will be shut down unless the bill is signed by midnight on March 23. The 2,300-page bipartisan, omnibus bill, which was made public on Wednesday, allows whopping spending increases for defense and domestic programs, while adding money for infrastructure projects, veterans and measures to combat the opioid crisis. It also includes measures to strengthen gun sale background checks and improve school safety. However, it provides only 1.6 billion dollars for border security measures, including construction of a border wall with Mexico. This is far short of what the Trump administration has sought. It also fails to address the legal status of DACA recipients, also known as Dreamers. The DACA program, created during the Obama presidency, was terminated by Trump last fall. OSLO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Norway said on Friday that rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) should be respected, as the Nordic country will not be exempted from new U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminium. "We expect the WTO rules to be respected and that Norway is to be treated equally in this case," Norway's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Soreide told news agency NTB. "Norwegian exports are no threat to the United States. We will convey this clearly to the U.S. today," she said. U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month announced the plans to impose a 25-percent tariff on imported steel and a 10-percent tariff on aluminum, triggering criticism and outrage from its trading partners around the world. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Thursday Washington would grant the European Union (EU) and six other countries a temporary exemption from the steel and aluminum tariffs. It was confirmed by the Norwegian foreign ministry Friday morning that Norway is not on the list, as the six countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and South Korea, according to the local newspaper Aftenposten. "It is serious and worrying that the United States has decided to introduce trade barriers for aluminum and steel," Soreide said. The United States now "sows doubt about respect for the multilateral rule-based trading system," she said. "We expect WTO rules to be respected by all WTO members." ATHENS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Greece's second largest port in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, was sold off in the country's privatization program, a Greek privatization fund announced on Friday. The stock exchange transfer of a 67-percent share in Thessaloniki Port Authority (ThPA) to the South Europe Gateway Thessaloniki Limited consortium was concluded, the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) said in an e-mailed statement. The consortium, comprised of German investment fund Deutsche Invest, FrenchTerminal Link SAS, and Cyprus-based Belterra Investments, has already disbursed 231.9 million euros (286 million U.S. dollars) of the 1.1-billion-euro deal, according to the statement. The concession agreement expires in 2051 under the terms of the international tender. Aris Xenophos, executive chairman of the HRADF board, said the development was a new landmark in Greece's privatization program launched in 2010 under the international bailouts signed to rescue the ailing Greek national economy. "The completion of Thessaloniki Port Authority's concession is a development of particular importance. The port's management by an international consortium is expected to effectuate immediate positive results to the ThPA, while the Greek economy will greatly benefit from the large investments, the development of the port and the creation of jobs," he said, according to HRADF's press release. (1 euro = 1.23 U.S. dollars) Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 23:32:49|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close DAMASCUS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- As many as 120,000 people have so far evacuated rebel-held areas in the Syrian capital Damascus' Eastern Ghouta countryside, a monitor group reported on Friday. The latest batch was a total of 2,450 people that reached government-controlled areas through the Wafidin crossing northeast of Damascus on Friday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The civilians have been fleeing out of Eastern Ghouta since March 14, and the numbers kept increasing whenever the Syrian army captured new areas in that sprawling area. This comes as more areas are falling to the Syrian forces in Eastern Ghouta and rebel groups agree to evacuate their positions to rebel-held areas in the northwestern province of Idlib. The Syrian forces have already captured over 80 percent of that area since unleashing a wide-scale offensive to dislodge the rebels late last month. Eastern Ghouta, a 105-square-km agricultural region consisting of several towns and farmlands, poses the last threat to the capital due to its proximity to government-controlled neighborhoods east of Damascus and ongoing mortar attacks that target residential areas in the capital, pushing people over the edge. Four major rebel groups are currently positioned inside Eastern Ghouta, namely the Islam Army, Failaq al-Rahman, Ahrar al-Sham, and the Levant Liberation Committee, known as the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front. The UN humanitarian agencies have sounded the alarm about the worsening humanitarian situation for 400,000 people in that region, where activists said around 1,000 people have been killed since late last month by the heavy bombardment and military showdown in areas of Eastern Ghouta. KAMPALA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Five people were on Friday charged in Uganda's capital Kampala over the death of a Finnish arms salesman early last month. The five suspects including a senior military intelligence officer appeared before Buganda Chief Magistrate Court for allegedly causing the death of Tuomas Juha Petteri Terasvouri, a salesman of Finland's state-owned arms firm Patria who was found dead in his hotel room in Kampala on Feb. 6. Chief Magistrate James Ereemye Mawanda read the accused four counts of manslaughter, forgery, trafficking in drugs and conspiracy to commit a felony. The prosecutions alleged that the five connived to kill Terasvouri by administering him with narcotic drugs at Pearl of Africa Hotel. The accused have denied the charges. They will on April 5 return to court for mention of their cases. The Finnish Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintila last month said that the Patria had suffered "a loss in its reputation" after a businessman of the company was found dead in the East African country. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 23:52:54|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close CHICAGO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) futures were trading lower on Friday morning with soybeans plunging amid concerns over trade war between the United States and China. As of 1506 GMT, May corn was down 1.5 cents at 3.745 U.S. dollars per bushel, while May wheat was down 3.75 cents at 4.52 dollars and May soybeans down 9.25 cents at 10.205 dollars per bushel. U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to 60 billion U.S. dollars of imports from China, the latest unilateral move that could draw retaliation from China and lead to trade war. The American Soybean Association (ASA) expressed its concern that China may impose tariffs on the oil seeds it sells to China. If that happens, soybean prices would likely fall to lower levels. "There is a real struggle in agriculture to keep everything going right now. It's extremely frustrating to have the administration taking aim at our largest trading partner," said ASA President John Heisdorffer. WASHINGTON, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of Treasury announced Friday that it has imposed sanctions on an Iranian entity and Iranian individuals for "malicious cyber-enabled activities." In a statement, the Treasury said it has imposed sanctions on Mabna Institute, which is accused of performing as "a hacker network that infiltrated hundreds of universities to steal sensitive data" and 10 individuals. The statement claimed the hackers worked at the behest of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Treasury will freeze all assets the organization and individuals may have in the United States and prohibit Americans from doing business with them. Treasury Under Secretary Sigal Mandelker said in the statement that the department will continue to impose sanctions on Iran over "malicious cyber practices." HARARE, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe is expected to have adequate maize stocks to last until the 2019 harvest even though maize production for 2017-18 season will most likely be below-average, according to a U.S. agency. In its latest report, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET) said the country will benefit from high production last season which will avail carry-over stocks into the current season. "National maize production from the 2016-17 cropping season was estimated at 2.16 million metric tonnes or 140 percent above the five-year average. "As a result, national cereal stocks are expected to be atypically above-average for the remainder of the marketing year and into the 2018-19 marketing and consumption year," FEWSNET said. It said formal maize imports will likely be minimal during the February to September 2018 period. The government has assured the nation that despite anticipated poor harvests this season, the Grain Marketing Board has sufficient stocks of the staple grain to meet domestic demand until the 2019 harvest. FEWSNET, however, cautioned that there may be some cereal gap that may necessitate government to consider lifting the ban on maize imports. Although government is still carrying out a crop assessment, maize production in 2018 is expected to be lower than last year due to below-normal rains during the first half of the cropping season and a prolonged and abnormally dry and hot spell in January. FEWSNET said the dry spell, shortage and high cost of crop inputs and a fall armyworm outbreak are some of the factors that will impact on maize production this year. "Fall armyworm infestations have been reported in all provinces during the current 2017-18 cropping season and the pest is expected to be a threat to some surviving crops for the remainder of the cropping season," it said. Following a bumper maize harvest last year, Zimbabwe has managed to restore its 750,000 tonnes strategic grain reserve which had been exhausted due to successive years of droughts. LONDON, March 23 (Xinhua) -- A teenager who had been convicted of planting a bomb on a London tube train last year was sentenced to life-long imprisonment on Friday. The device planted by Ahmed Hassan, 18, described by a judge as "dangerous and devious," partially exploded during London's rush hour in September last year, injuring 51 people. Hassan, an Iraqi asylum seeker in Britain who was found guilty of attempted murder, was ordered to serve a minimum of 34 years. The judge said Hassan planned his attack with "ruthless determination and almost military efficiency while pretending to be a model asylum seeker." British media said the trial heard Hassan blamed Britain for the death of his father in Iraq. Prosecutors at the sentencing hearing said there would have been serious harm if the bomb which was packed with screwdrivers, knives, nuts and bolts had fully detonated. | 2018-03-24 00:17:32|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close by Xinhua writers Wang Ruoyao and Wang Pan GUANGZHOU, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese exporters are upset by a U.S. plan that could impose tariffs on up to 60 billion U.S. dollars of imports from China, calling the move irrational and destructive. U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a memorandum on the plan in a unilateral move that triggered a market sell-off. Trump has directed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to publish a list of proposed Chinese goods that could be subject to tariffs in 15 days, while the U.S. Treasury Department will have 60 days to propose restrictions on Chinese investment in the United States. Some executives of Chinese companies told Xinhua that imposing tariffs might not drive U.S. orders out of China, but may instead cause a temporary shortage of certain commodities in the U.S. market, given that the world's largest economy is not omnipotent in manufacturing. "It is just unbelievable. It will do no good to the United States," said a vice president of a leading Chinese TV set manufacturer, under condition of anonymity. The company, based in south China's Guangdong Province, sold more than 4 million TV sets in the U.S. market in 2017. The United States lacks a complete industrial chain for TV sets, and U.S. brands have their products manufactured in Asia, he said. "The tariffs will lead to rising costs, which will probably be paid by U.S. consumers. The measure will harm the exporter without benefiting the importer." An executive with Changhong, a home appliance manufacturer, said the move would force some small and medium-sized Chinese companies to halt sales in the United States. "However, there are not many suppliers in some niche industries. The United States cannot easily find ideal alternatives in a short time," he said. "If subject to the tariffs, we will hike prices, and tell U.S. customers that they have to pay more because of their president's tariff decision," said a foreign business chief with a Guangdong-based home appliance company. The manufacturer exports products worth around 10 million U.S. dollars to the United States a year, both online and offline, accounting for 9 percent of its export volume. Qi Tonggang, chairman of Qirun, a high-end equipment manufacturer based in east China's Zhejiang Province, worries his company will bear the brunt of the potential tariffs. Qirun was in talks with a U.S. investment company that was considering selling the former's moisture separator reheater, a device that removes moisture from wet steam and reheats the steam, to Europe. "I fear the cooperation will fail. I fear the products we have poured so much money into cannot find a buyer," Qi said. The trade dispute may deal a hard blow to privately owned Chinese high-tech companies, which have not gained a firm foothold in the domestic market while being shackled in the overseas market, Qi said. The executives said some U.S. companies have retreated or will recall their orders from China. However, the attempt to accelerate the process with a massive imposition of tariffs against China will only cause chaos and losses, they said. "'Made in China' is too big to be replaced by one region," said Lin Yiqing, chairman of Qiloo, an east China company that exports shoes to the United States. Lin estimated that at least a third of shoes sold in the United States would still come from China, because other manufacturers cannot provide more. "Therefore, U.S. retailers and customers will be victims of the tariff plan," said Lin. In a statement on potential tariffs against China in mid-March, U.S. Chamber President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue said, "As we're starting to see, tariffs could lead to a destructive trade war with serious consequences for U.S. economic growth and job creation. The livelihood of America's consumers, businesses, farmers, and ranchers are at risk if the administration proceeds with this plan." The U.S. memorandum is based on a Section 301 investigation into alleged Chinese intellectual property and technology transfer practices that was launched by the Trump administration in August 2017. "We firmly oppose it. It is a typical unilateral and protectionist practice," said a spokesperson with China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC). The spokesperson also reiterated China's stance of not wanting or fearing any trade wars. "We have confidence and capability in dealing with any challenges," he added. The MOC urged the United States to "pause on the brink of a precipice" and make prudent decisions so as not to put bilateral trade relations in jeopardy. "It is true that we are Chinese companies, but we supply American companies," said the executive with Changhong. "We hope the United States keeps calm about China's development, which can benefit itself as well," he said. YANGON, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi pledged on Friday government's support for further development of the country's movie industry. At a film academy awards presentation ceremony, Suu Kyi urged artists to work hard in their movie, performing arts and literary industry to represent Myanmar and uplift Myanmar society. On Friday, the Myanmar Motion Picture Association (MMPA) presented a total of 12 film academy awards for the year 2017 to the country's outstanding artists. The film academy awards were presented after scrutiny out of 53 movies produced last year. Union Minister for Information Pe Myint called for promoting the country's motion picture industry, producing better quality movies not only to entertain, but also to educate people through films. Aiming at encouraging domestic film production and improving its quality, the film academy award presentations were held annually since 1952. MADRID, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Supreme Court Judge Pablo Llanera on Friday charged 13 Catalan separatist leaders with rebellion, a crime which carries a possible prison sentence of up to 30 years imprisonment. In total, the Judge ruled that 25 Catalan leaders will face various charges ranging from rebellion, misuse of public funds and disobedience. In a 70-page ruling on the events which led up to the Oct. 1 independence referendum, which was declared illegal by the Spanish Constitutional Court, and the Oct. 27 unilateral declaration of independence, the Judge said the Catalan regional government had been "drawing up a route map for Catalonia's transition process towards becoming an independent country," since 2012. He said the independence "process" had continued, "despite repeated warnings that these parliamentary initiatives were unconstitutional and invalid." The charges were brought against former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont (currently in exile in Belgium) and Jordi Turull, who on Saturday faces a second vote to see if he can become the new Catalan leader after losing a confidence vote on Thursday. Others to face the charges are Puigdemont's former vice-president Oriol Junqueras (who has been in preventive prison since November), the former speaker of the Catalan parliament Carme Forcadell, and Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sanchez, who have spent the past five months in jail facing charges of sedition. One person who did not appear at the court hearing was Marta Rovira, the General Secretary of the Republic Left Party. Rovira, who has also been charged with rebellion, decided to leave the county and take what she described in a letter as "the hard road to exile." It is not yet certain whether the accused will be granted bail or sent to prison to await trial as the Spanish Prosecutor has requested, although if Turull were sent to prison that would make it impossible for him to be elected as Catalan leader on Saturday. LUSAKA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Zambian Vice-President Inonge Wina said Friday that the Zambian government has engaged Canadian mining giant First Quantum Minerals following revelations of underpayment on customs duties. The Zambian vice-president said the revelations of alleged underpayment should not cause alarm as the matter was being handled administratively. She however said when answering questions from lawmakers in parliament that the issues should not have been brought out in the light if all companies in the country were compliant to their tax obligations. Zambia's revenue agency, the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA), has slapped First Quantum Minerals a tax bill of 7.7 billion U.S. dollars for unpaid import duties over a five-year period after an tax assessment. The revenue agency has since announced that it will from March 26 commence audit of all mining firms in the country. But First Quantum Minerals, which operates two large mines in northwestern Zambia, has disputed the tax bill as it said the assessment lacked discernable basis of calculation. A released Chibok girl (R) hugs her relative in Abuja, Nigeria, May 20, 2017. At least 4,000 people in terror group Boko Haram's captivity have so far been rescued by Nigerian government forces, the country's minister of defense said on Thursday. (Xinhua/Olatunji Obasa) by Olatunji Saliu ABUJA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- "We trekked a very long distance... we were kept in a thick forest, we cooked our own food." Those were the words of some of the 104 Nigerian schoolgirls who have just been released by Boko Haram fighters after spending 30 days in the terror group's den. The girls, whose ages range between 11 and 19, were ostensibly looking weak upon their release by Boko Haram early Wednesday. They had been in Boko Haram's captivity since Feb. 19 when the terror group stormed their all-girl college in the northeastern town of Dapchi, forcefully taking away 110 of them. Raking over the ashes of their captivity, one of the girls simply identified as Fasima said five of them, apparently, the very young ones, died of exhaustion on the day of the attack by Boko Haram. On the day of the abduction, outside Dapchi, some of the girls who were already tired and hungry were only given some water, groundnut cake, and soft drinks as they continued the long journey to an unknown destination in the dead of night. "We continued our journey until we got to a place with a big tree, they (the Boko Haram fighters) stopped and we were asked to cook food. It was very dark, so they put on lamps," Fasima recalled. "Then we continued the journey for a long time after eating until we got to a place where there is a river, we came down from the trucks and they asked us to enter some canoes that took us across the river," she said. Later that night, the girls were taken to a house in a small village which they can only see in their minds' eye now but cannot remember the name. They spent the rest of the night there. "The next day, they came to ask us to come out and we were taken to the river and continued the journey until we got to a thick forest area. That was where they kept us and did not change our location since then," Fasima said. According to the girls' narration, none of them was either molested or beaten. The abductors communicated with the girls in Arabic and the local Kanuri language that is spoken in the northern part of Nigeria. Khadija Grema, another released girl, said all the abductors were dark-complexioned and none of them looked like a foreigner, adding that the militants even fed them well. Grema said the captors had told them right from the day they were forcefully taken away that one day they would be free. And freedom came on Wednesday when the Boko Haram fighters brought back the girls to Dapchi town in trucks, the same way they were abducted from their dormitories at the Government Girls Science and Technical College on Feb. 19. The girls were released through back-channel efforts, the Nigerian government said. For the release to work, the government had a clear understanding that violence and confrontation would not be the way out, authorities said, adding during negotiation, the Boko Haram group had insisted on returning the girls to where they were abducted from. Another girl and a boy were also freed along with the 104 schoolgirls. Local media on Thursday reported that another girl was withheld by Boko Haram "for not renouncing her Christian faith." The father of the girl has also confirmed that his daughter was not released by the terror group because "she vehemently insisted on being a Christian." The Nigerian government said it cannot ascertain the death of any girl for now. The 104 schoolgirls and the two others who regained freedom early Wednesday were airlifted to the Nigerian capital city of Abuja through a military transport plane. Dapchi, where the kidnapping took place a month ago, is located 100 kilometers from Damaturu, the capital of the northern state of Yobe. Boko Haram is a Jihadist militant organization based in northeastern Nigeria. The United Nations believes Boko Haram has killed more than 20,000 innocent people since 2009 through terror attacks. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-24 00:33:03|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close GENEVA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Roberto Azevedo on Friday called for restraint and urgent dialogue among members as the best path forward to resolve problems following U.S. moves on steel and aluminum tariffs. "I encourage members to continue working through the WTO's many forums and mechanisms to deal with their concerns and explore potential solutions," said Azevedo in a written statement. His remarks came after U.S. President Donald Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs came in for criticism during a WTO meeting in Geneva, according to trade officials. China and Russia began the debate on the Section 232 investigations, conducted by the U.S. Commerce Department, and on tariffs measures around imports of steel and aluminum, that drew strong responses from WTO members during a Friday meeting of the Council for Trade in Goods. The European Union (EU), Brazil, Japan and Australia, were among those criticizing the U.S. tariffs measures during the debates. U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday approved the suspension of much-criticized tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the EU and six other economies. The White House said that tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from EU member states, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and South Korea are suspended until May 1, 2018. Trump will decide whether to continue to exempt these countries from the tariffs by the extended deadline. Recalling that WTO members on Friday's meeting reviewed and discussed "many of the most pressing trade issues of the moment, including a number of the specific tensions that have arisen between different members in recent weeks", Azevedo estimated that "it is positive to see members continuing to use the WTO as a place to discuss these issues." Azevedo warned that "actions taken outside these collective processes greatly increase the risk of escalation in a confrontation that will have no winners, and which could quickly lead to a less stable trading system." Disrupting trade flows will jeopardize the global economy at a time when economic recovery, though fragile, has been increasingly evident around the world, he noted. The WTO is responsible for overseeing the rules of international commerce and it facilitates trade negotiations among its members, which have increased from 123 in 1994 to 164 in 2018. CHICAGO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. soy growers have voiced their deep concern and opposition to the Trump administration's tariffs on imports from their largest trading partner China, fearing the unilateral move could cost their livelihoods. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to 60 billion U.S. dollars of imports from China, a move that will undoubtedly draw retaliation from China. The American Soybean Association (ASA) immediately issued a statement, describing the move "extremely frustrating" when farm incomes were already down nearly 50 percent from 2013. "Multiple reports indicate the Chinese have U.S. soybeans squarely in their sights for retaliation, and this decision places soybean farmers across the country in financial danger," said ASA President John Heisdorffer in the statement. "There is a real struggle in agriculture to keep everything going right now," he added. "It's extremely frustrating to have the administration taking aim at our largest trading partner." The ASA reiterated its "significant concern" about the potential for China to retaliate against U.S. soybeans as China is the largest purchaser of U.S. soybeans, consuming nearly a third of U.S. production worth 14 billion dollars annually. Meanwhile, Heisdorffer pointed out that American agriculture has "tremendous potential" to improve the trade balance with China. "Soybeans can lead this growth in China, which is projected to significantly increase soybean imports over the next ten years. We should be talking about actions that grow this important market, not risk losing it," said Heisdorffer. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-24 00:53:11|Editor: Lu Hui Video Player Close Delegates attend the 37th session of the UN Human Rights Council at Geneva, Switzerland, on March 23, 2018. The UN Human Rights Council on Friday adopted a China-sponsored resolution titled "promoting mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of human rights," in which states were called to uphold multilateralism and work together to promote mutually beneficial cooperation. (Xinhua/Xu Jinquan) GENEVA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The UN Human Rights Council on Friday adopted a China-sponsored resolution titled "promoting mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of human rights," in which states were called to uphold multilateralism and work together to promote mutually beneficial cooperation. The resolution recognizes the importance of fostering international relations based on mutual respect, fairness, justice and mutually beneficial cooperation, with the aim of building a community of shared future for human beings, in which human rights are enjoyed by all. The resolution calls upon states to strengthen human rights technical assistance and capacity-building through mutually beneficial cooperation, upon the request of and in accordance with the priorities set by the countries concerned. It also reaffirms that the work of the UN Human Rights Council shall be guided by the principles of universality, impartiality, objectivity and non-selectivity, constructive international dialogue and cooperation with a view to enhancing the promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development. "All human rights are universal, indivisible, interrelated, interdependent and mutually reinforcing, and that all human rights must be treated in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing and with the same emphasis," the resolution says. Yu Jianhua, head of the Chinese Mission to the UN headquarters at Geneva, introduced the resolution to the Council, saying that to achieve the goal of universal human rights, all countries need to firmly establish the concept of win-win cooperation. "We live on the same planet, share the common interests, and face the same challenges, and we have become an interdependent community with a shared destiny," he told the Council. CAPE TOWN, March 23 (Xinhua) -- South Africa Friday voiced concern over the United States' refusal to exclude it from the application of tariff duties on steel and aluminium. The imposition of the duties will have a negative impact on productive capacity and jobs in a sector already suffering from global steel overcapacity, South Africa's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said. In addition, South Africa notes with concern the different treatment of trading partners that will affect the competitiveness of South African steel and aluminium products in the United States, the DTI said. U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month announced the signing of a proclamation to impose a 10-percent tariff on aluminium imports and a 25-percent tariff on steel. The proclamation makes provision for country-based exclusions should the U.S. and that country arrive at a satisfactory alternative means to address the threat to so-called U.S. national security. The European Union (EU) and six other countries namely Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and South Korea have been temporary exempted from the tariffs. The South African government said it had made a formal submission to the United States requesting the exclusion from the duties. The U.S. Census Bureau data indicates that in 2017 the United States imported a total of 33.4 million tonnes of steel, including about 330,000 tonnes from South Africa, or less than 1 percent of total U.S. imports. DTI spokesperson Sidwell Medupe has argued that imports from South Africa does not pose a threat to the U.S. national security or industries and that the DTI will pursue further discussions with the United States. JUBA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- China's emergency relief assistance has enhanced the South Sudanese government's ability to reach out to vulnerable people, South Sudan's relief agency said on Friday. Santino Bol Muoter, Deputy Chairperson of South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC), told Xinhua that Beijing's food and non-food contribution last year enabled them to assist tens of thousands of needy people. Last year, China provided tonnes of assistance including rice, tents, mosquito nets and blankets as emergency relief package to the war-torn East African nation. Muoter said the RRC was still holding over 69,000 bags of Chinese rice in its stores and they would be distributed to vulnerable people. "China is one of the friendly countries to South Sudan and we benefit from China in various aid including food aid and other material aid. We are grateful and we thank China for being a good friend especially in this hard time for South Sudan," Muoter said. South Sudan has been embroiled in more than four years of civil strife that has have taken a devastating toll on the people. The UN estimates that 2.3 million South Sudanese have fled into neighboring countries and another 1.9 million were displaced internally. CAIRO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi praised on Friday the efforts of the army and police forces in their fight against terrorism. According to a military statement, Sisi's remarks came during his visit to a military air base in the country's Sinai Peninsula, a hotbed for Islamist terrorists. The major operation, dubbed "Sinai 2018," was launched weeks before Egypt starts its 2018 presidential elections scheduled for late March, when Sisi is expected to make an easy win for a second term due to the lack of strong challengers in the race. During the visit, Sisi met members of the Egyptian armed forces and police who have been taking part in anti-terror military operation recently in Sinai, according to the statement. Sisi expressed high appreciation for the "national role of the Egyptian armed forces and police in fighting terrorism." The Egyptian president also revealed that the government had finished establishing a civilian airport in Sinai that is meant to develop the restive peninsula. Bordering Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip, Egypt's North Sinai province has been the center of terrorist attacks that killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers following the military ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests. Attacks later spread to several other provinces including Cairo and started to target the Coptic minority via church bombings and shootings. Most of the terror attacks were carried out by the so-called Wilayat Sinai (Sinai state or province), a Sinai-based group affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) regional terrorist group. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-24 01:48:19|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close JERUSALEM, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Friday condemned the vicious terrorist attack that took place in France, during which a perpetrator claiming loyalty to the Islamic State killed three people. "The civilized world must unite and act together to defeat terror," Netanyahu said in a statement issued Friday. Three people were killed on Friday when the gunman screaming "Allahu Akbar" shot at police and took hostages in a supermarket in Trebes, southern France. The assailant has been shot dead in the police raid. "On behalf of the Government of Israel, I send condolences to the families of those who were murdered and to the French people," Netanyahu added. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-24 01:48:19|Editor: Mengjie Video Player Close Liu Xianfa (L), Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, and Annalisa Conte, the World Food Programme (WFP) Country Director and Representative for Kenya, shake hands during a handover certificate signing ceremony in Nairobi, Kenya, on March 23, 2018. The World Food Programme on Friday lauded China's financial support toward food and nutrition programs targeting refugees living in Kenya. (Xinhua/Jin Zheng) NAIROBI, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The World Food Programme (WFP) on Friday lauded China's financial support toward food and nutrition programs targeting refugees living in Kenya. Annalisa Conte, the WFP Country Director and Representative for Kenya, thanked China for easing the burden of feeding the refugees amid dwindling funding from external sources. Speaking at a handover certificate signing ceremony on a China-aided food assistance project, Conte said the 5-million-U.S.-dollar contribution from China in 2017 has eased the suffering of the displaced people living in Kenya. "China has made tremendous contribution to WFP in 2017 with this 5 million dollars," Conte said, adding that "the contribution we received from China allowed us not to cut rations." Conte noted that voluntary contributions from governments and private entities have made it possible for WFP to sustain emergency food aid to refugees from strife-torn Horn of African states who have settled in Kenya. "This type of contribution from governments and in the case of China means those refugees will not go hungry for quite some time," said Conte. She was joined by Liu Xianfa, Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, and Guo Ce, Economic and Commercial Counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, during the ceremony. "We are determined to make more contribution to help refugees who live in Kenya," said Liu. Guo said Beijing valued a partnership with WFP to alleviate hunger and malnutrition among vulnerable populations. "The Chinese government would within its capacity continue to support humanitarian programs in Kenya, as well as strengthen our partnership with WFP in fighting hunger," Guo said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-24 02:18:23|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close HANGZHOU, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese tycoon Wu Ying, who was originally given the death penalty for illegal fundraising, had her sentence further reduced to a 25-year jail term at a trial Friday in east China's Zhejiang Province. In 2007, the former chairwoman of Bense Trade Co. Ltd., then aged 26, was convicted of cheating investors out of 380 million yuan (61.1 million U.S. dollars) from May 2005 to January 2007 in private lending scams. The court heard that she amassed her fortune by fabricating facts, deliberately hiding the truth, and promising high returns as an incentive. In 2009, Zhejiang native Wu was initially sentenced to death. Her sentence was reduced to death with a two-year reprieve following a retrial in May 2012. As the reprieve period was expiring, Wu, who is serving time in Zhejiang Provincial Women's Prison in the provincial capital Hangzhou, applied for the trial hoping for another reduction to her sentence. According to the Criminal Law, a criminal serving a stay of execution can apply for a reduction in their penalty to life imprisonment, or even to a 25-year jail term if the person has no record of criminality in jail. Her death sentence was then commuted to life imprisonment in July, 2014. Her case had earlier sparked heated debate over the country's fundraising system, which outlaws all forms of private lending. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks on new Iran strategy at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on Oct. 13, 2017. (Xinhua/Ting Shen) WASHINGTON, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of Treasury announced Friday that it has imposed sanctions on an Iranian entity and Iranian individuals for "malicious cyber-enabled activities." In a statement, the Treasury said it has imposed sanctions on Mabna Institute, which is accused of performing as "a hacker network that infiltrated hundreds of universities to steal sensitive data" and 10 individuals. The statement claimed the hackers worked at the behest of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. File Photo: Members of the Iranian revolutionary guard march during a parade to commemorate the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88), in Tehran September 22, 2011. (Xinhua/REUTERS) The Treasury will freeze all assets the organization and individuals may have in the United States and prohibit Americans from doing business with them. Treasury Under Secretary Sigal Mandelker said in the statement that the department will continue to impose sanctions on Iran over "malicious cyber practices." ADDIS ABABA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed Friday that some 62 Ethiopians were freed from imprisonment in neighboring Kenya. Spokesperson of the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Meles Alem, said that the reported 62 Ethiopians, who were jailed in Kenya's Kikuyu Police station, were freed following negotiations between the Kenyan police and the Ethiopian embassy in Kenya. The ministry, however, did not disclose the reasons for the arrest of Ethiopians in Kenya as well as whether the released individuals would be repatriated home soon. Some Ethiopians have used Kenya, lying on the southern border of Ethiopia, as an immediate transit route to their ultimate destination in South Africa in search of better job opportunities. Ethiopia's foreign ministry recently announced that some 54 individuals had been repatriated from Mozambique following discussions between the Ethiopian embassy in South Africa and the government of Mozambique. The ministry had also previously repatriated close to 150 Ethiopians in another southern African country Zambia. Despite a growing economy and public awareness campaigns on the dangers of human trafficking by the Ethiopian government, it is estimated that thousands of Ethiopians are trafficked to South Africa annually where they are mainly engaged in the informal economy. Human traffickers reportedly use various countries as transit points to smuggle Ethiopians to South Africa, which is home to tens of thousands of both legal and undocumented Ethiopians. According to the Ethiopian foreign ministry, human traffickers charge an average of 3,500 to 4,000 U.S. dollars to smuggle a single individual from Ethiopia to South Africa. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-24 02:58:28|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close BAGHDAD, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Iraq on Friday condemned hostage-taking incident at a supermarket in Trebes, southern France, which killed and wounded several people, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said. "The ministry confirms Iraq's solidarity with France in its efforts to combat terrorism, and extends its sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wishes swift recovery of the wounded," the ministry said in a statement. The ministry renewed Iraq's call for enhancing international coordination and cooperation "to eradicate this dangerous scourge (of terrorism) that threatens the security and stability of the world peoples," the statement said. Earlier in the day, media reports said that a gunman affiliated to Islamic State (IS) group took hostages in a supermarket in Trebes, southern France, and shot dead at least two people and wounded others. File Photo: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton (C) talks with other participants during the United Nations General Assembly, at UN headquarters in New York, on Oct. 16, 2006. (Xinhua Photo/Zhao Peng) WASHINGTON, March 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday that hawkish former diplomat John Bolton would replace three-star general H.R. McMaster as the National Security Adviser. Bolton, born in 1948, graduated from Yale Law School in 1974 with an J.D. degree, was drafted to the military during the final phase of the Vietnam war, but he dodged service by enlisting himself in the Maryland Army National Guard. He later confessed that he "had no desire to die in a Southeast Asian rice paddy," as he considered "the war in Vietnam already lost." After graduating from Yale, Bolton practiced law in Washington D.C. Through the 1980s and 1990s he zig-zagged between public service and the private sector, becoming U.S. States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division under former President Ronald Reagan between 1988-1989. Bolton had his first encounter with the State Department in 1989, when he became the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs. In 2001, under the former president George W. Bush, Bolton assumed his first major diplomatic role as the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs, which focused on the prevention of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. But in his capacity, Bolton has worked against international arms control efforts, citing U.S. national security as a higher priority. In 2005, Bush sought to promote Bolton as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, but faced ferocious opposition from both the Democratic and Republican Parties. Due to his lack of support, Bolton's nomination never cleared in the Senate, and was appointed later to the post while Congress was in recess. As he never gained enough support in Congress, Bolton gave up pursuing a second term in 2006. Bolton returned to the private sector after his resignation, taking on various posts with conservative think tanks, law firms and advocacy groups. His curriculum vitae (CV) includes experience with the American Enterprise Institute and the National Rifle Association. He has also been a regular commentator on conservative TV station Fox. File Photo: U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during "Stop the Iran Deal" rally at West Lawn of the Capitol in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, Sept. 9, 2015. (Xinhua/Bao Dandan) During his tenure in the State Department and post-state department roles, Bolton has been an outspoken critic of the Iranian nuclear deal and of the United Nations, and a staunch supporter of the Iraq War, which drew him fierce criticism. Ann Adams kneels in front of the grave of her son U.S. Army Andrew Baddick in Section 60 on Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery on May 28, 2012 in Virginia. Section 60 is reserved for veterans of the Iraq War and Afghanistan war. (Xinhua/Zhang Jun) "There is no United Nations. There is an international community that occasionally can be led by the only real power left in the world, and that's the United States, when it suits our interests and when we can get others to go along," Bolton said once of the United Nations. His pro-war position has heightened concern among many that the United States may develop an even more aggressive foreign policy, further alienating itself with its allies in Europe and Asia. SKOPJE, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Finding a compromise that would be acceptable for both countries is a must in solving the long-standing name issue between Macedonia and Greece, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and visiting Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias told a joint press conference here on Friday. Both officials noted that the talks between both countries on settling the name issue should be focused on the future of both countries. "We should be determined and take actions that will bring us closer to settling the only open issue between our countries. I'm certain that such approach will lead to a solution that offers sufficient number of arguments for the institutions and opposition of both countries to accept it as dignified for both Macedonia and Greece," Zaev said. Zaev praised the fact that Kotzias' visit here was a rather positive moment, noting during the name negotiation process, both countries had been promoting one European value, namely advancing of the bilateral relations and ties of confidence. On his part, the Greek foreign chief noted that Greece, as a NATO and European Union member, had great responsibility for resolving the name issue while he highlighted the need for finding a compromise that would lead to an acceptable solution for both sides. The same view was voiced also by Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov who told his Greek counterpart that both countries should find a solution which did not harm anyone and opened the doors to the future. "Both countries are interested on finding a solution to this problem which has lasted several years now," he said. Dimitrov also informed that he had ruled out the possibility for the solution to come through a name such as "GornaMakedonija". The Balkan country Macedonia is formally known at the UN as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). Meanwhile, "Macedonia" is also the name of a northern province in Greece. Athens is worried that the use of the same name by the neighboring state could lead to territorial claims. LAGOS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday received over 100 Dapchi girls recently released by Boko Haram abductors. The Nigerian leader also appealed to the parents of the Chibok girls yet to be released not to lose hope as efforts were being intensified to ensure their release. He spoke at a reception in Abuja, the country's capital, organized for over 100 girls and another boy freed by the insurgents. A total of 110 girls were abducted from an all-girl college in the northeastern town of Dapchi on Feb. 19 by Boko Haram. Previous reports said 104 of the schoolgirls were brought back on Wednesday following a negotiation. Another girl and a boy were also freed along with the 104 schoolgirls. The president emphasized his government's determination to fight terrorism and insurgency. He said security services had since been directed to put in measures in all schools vulnerable to attack to ensure the security of students, teachers and school workers. Buhari also said he had tasked all the security agencies to ensure that the country would not witness recurrence of such incidents. TIRANA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The Independent Qualification Commission (IQC) that was set up to vet around 800 judges and prosecutors in Albania's justice system, decided Friday it would dismiss from office Fatos Lulo, a Constitutional Court judge. Lulo's dismissal marks the first results given by the vetting law, the main law of the justice reform package deemed crucial for Albania's integration into the European Union (EU). IQC chairman Genta Tafa said at a Friday session that the IQC had decided to dismiss Lulo from his position at the Constitutional Court after the judge failed to justify his assets, which included 480,000 U.S. dollars to buy an apartment in Canada, and another gift of 100,000 U.S. dollars that his lawyer said he received from his sister. Besides this, Lulo was also accused of not paying his taxes between 1994 and 1997. In a response on Facebook, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama highly praised the IQC decision, saying it was only the beginning of the journey to clean up the Albanian justice system. "All Albanians who strongly support the vetting should feel good today because the start has been good. After 17 judges and prosecutors left before the vetting could start, the process started and the first one who was interrogated couldn't justify his assets and he 'fell'. I am convinced that you haven't seen anything yet," the prime minister wrote after the publication of the IQC decision. The complete verdict will be published within 30 days, after which Lulo can file an appeal. The vetting law is being implemented under the monitoring of international observers. According to the law, there are about 800 judges and prosecutors of the Albanian justice system who will undergo a scanning of their professional and ethical re-evaluation. HELSINKI, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Representatives from the United States and Russia on Friday formulated a joint initiative on the practical navigation in the Bering Strait, said Finland's Ambassador to the Arctic Council Aleksi Harkonen. The initiative was made at a senior Arctic officials' meeting in Levi, a ski resort in the Finnish Arctic municipality Kittila, Harkonen told a press conference. He did not tell any details but said the initiative would be submitted to the International Maritime Organization. Chairman of the meeting, Harkonen cited the move as an example that the Arctic Council so far remains "outside the the impact of the worsened international situation." The two-day convention held in Levi was the second Senior Arctic Officials' meeting during Finland's chairmanship of the Arctic Council. Meteorological cooperation was a highlighted theme at the meeting. The event was preceded by a seminar held by the World Meteorological Organization and the Finnish Meteorological Institute. Harkonen said that Greenland experienced its first bush fires last year, and the melting of the permafrost will affect buildings constructed on the presumption that the ground is frozen. These were given as examples that "warming is twice as fast in the Arctic area." Another theme focused on was connectivity in the Arctic region. Challenges remain in terms of financing the enhanced communication. The Arctic Council sees the future of communication in the area as a public-private joint venture where the Arctic Economic Council has a key role as well. "But connectivity cannot be left to investors alone," Harkonen said. The ambassador said the ongoing change in satellite services opens prospects in the Arctic Area. "Satellite paths have mainly followed the equator and their footprint has hardly exceeded the latitude of 70 degrees north. But new light weight satellites could drastically improve the coverage," he said. The next Senior Arctic Officials' meeting will take place in Rovaniemi, capital of Finnish Lapland area, in autumn 2018. Rebel fighters pray before they are evacuated, outside Harasta in eastern Ghouta, in Damascus, Syria March 23, 2018. (Reuters photo) DAMASCUS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The last batch of rebels and their families have evacuated the city of Harasta in Syrian capital Damascus' Eastern Ghouta countryside on Friday, leaving the city empty of rebels, according to the state TV. The evacuation of rebels and their families from Harasta started on Thursday and ended Friday evening, with a total of 59 buses transporting 3,000 people, including 1,000 rebels. The rebels in Harasta have handed over their heavy weapons to the Syrian army before they left Harasta towards rebel-held areas in the northwestern province of Idlib. The TV aired live footages of the entrance of Harasta with Syrian soldiers, celebrating and chanting for President Bashar al-Assad. The TV titled its coverage as "Harasta is empty of terrorists," as the Syrian government regards most of the rebels as terrorists. Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Syrian forces have controlled 90 percent of Eastern Ghouta, as part of the wide-scale offensive that has been ongoing since late last month to clear this area on the eastern rim of the capital from the rebels. Eastern Ghouta, a 105-square-km agricultural region consisting of several towns and farmlands, poses the last threat to the capital due to its proximity to government-controlled neighborhoods east of Damascus and ongoing mortar attacks that target residential areas in the capital, pushing people over the edge. Four major rebel groups are currently positioned inside Eastern Ghouta, namely the Islam Army, Failaq al-Rahman, Ahrar al-Sham, and the Levant Liberation Committee, known as the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front. LISBON, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Politicians, bankers, businessmen and students gathered in Lisbon on Friday for a conference to discuss Portugal's participation in the Belt and Road Initiative. Addressing the event, Cai Run, China's Ambassador to Portugal, said "Portuguese-Chinese relations are currently the best they've been in history." He highlighted three areas of increased Chinese involvement in Portugal: investment, tourism and higher education. He said the Belt and Road Initiative was "not China's solo show, but a chorus for all participating countries to join in with." Hailing the initiative as "a great platform to promote mutual benefit" and "a new driving force for global economic growth," the Chinese ambassador described Portugal as being "an important spot on the maritime silk road". "China values Portugal's role in the Belt and Road Initiative very highly and is willing to proactively push ahead with increased, pragmatic Chinese and Portuguese cooperation under the BRI framework," he said. The Belt and Road Initiative aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road routes. It comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. Portugal has been pushing for the land-based belt, currently projected to run from Chongqing to Madrid, to be extended into Portugal, specifically as far as the port of Sines, and for Sines to be included in the maritime road. Sines is Portugal's largest and busiest commercial port. In September last year, Portugal and China signed a bilateral agreement aimed at speeding up customs procedures for shipments travelling between Sines and Chinese ports. Portugal is also promoting the viability of Setubal, an under-used port north of Sines and south of Lisbon, and the Beja airbase, an airport 100 km east of Sines. Fernanda Ilheu is president of the board of directors at the New Silk Road Friends Association. "The logical thing is that the inland silk road meets the maritime silk road at Sines in Portugal," Ilheu told Xinhua. Ilheu helped set up the New Silk Road Friends Association in December 2016. "I thought we needed a think tank in Portugal for this initiative, to see how we can jointly build the new silk road with China, mostly the maritime silk road, where we have a lot of experience, tradition and knowledge," said Ilheu. "Portugal needs to focus on this initiative, find out more, promote it and understand how we can cooperate. That's the basis of our association." ROME, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Rome prosecutors have opened an investigation into the possible violation of Italian Facebook users' privacy following a complaint by Italy's consumer rights association Codacons, local media reported Friday. Codacons announced Thursday it sent its complaint to 104 public prosecutors' offices across Italy in the wake of the so-called "datagate" scandal, requesting they probe the U.S. social media giant for possible "illicit treatment of personal information" and "security measures omissions". The group's move came after news broke last weekend that Cambridge Analytica, a British political consultancy and data mining firm with ties to U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, accessed information from 50 million Facebook users without their consent. In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg apologized for what he said was "a breach of trust". On Thursday, the young American CEO was summoned by both the British and the European parliaments for an explanation. "Given the worsening scandal on the misuse of personal data for electoral purposes, we decided to ask magistrates to ascertain whether any such crimes have been committed on Italian territory by Facebook or third parties linked to the social network," said Codacons President Carlo Rienzi. If Rome prosecutors manage to bring a successful case, Zuckerberg or whoever is found responsible could face up to five years in prison under Italian law, according to Codacons. The concern among EU leaders is that the misappropriated data of millions of social media users has been used or could be used to distort public debate and sway elections and referendums. LONDON, March 23 (Xinhua) -- A direct flight between London and Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan province, was launched on Friday. The maiden voyage of flight HU421, which took off from Changsha Huanghua International Airport at 13:15 Beijing time, landed at Heathrow Airport the same day around 17:00 local time. The return flight, with all seats sold out, will leave Heathrow late at night and arrive in Changsha the next day. The Changsha-London route is serviced by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner three times a week -- on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This is Hainan Airlines' second nonstop service to Britain, following the rollout of the Beijing-Manchester service in June 2016. Bao Qifa, chairman of Hainan Airlines, said, "We believe that the air bridge, which symbolizes the friendship between China and Britain, is bound to promote cultural exchanges and to deepen economic and trade cooperation between the two cities at each end of the route." A spokesman of Hainan Airlines said that during following months, the busy Heathrow Airport will see two more new direct service from Chinese cities to London, as the Beijing Capital Airlines will launch its direct service between London and Qingdao on March 26 and the Tianjin Airlines' new service between London and Xi'an will start from May 9. According to a report by the Manchester China Forum and Manchester Airport, since the direct flight between Beijing and Manchester was launched, exports from Northern England to China have almost tripled to 200 million pounds (283 million U.S. dollars) a month, and the amount spent by Chinese tourists in Manchester has doubled to 138 million pounds a year. International carriers operate around 60 flights a week between Britain and China. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-24 04:48:49|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close GENEVA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs on Friday were largely criticized during a World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting in Geneva. The WTO said in a statement that trade representatives of more than 40 members, including the 28 from the European Union (EU), took the floor to warn against U.S. tariff measures, during a meeting of the Council for Trade in Goods. WTO members were concerned that the tariff measures would have repercussions on traders' commercial interests and on the predictability and stability of the rules-based multilateral trading system. Requested by China and Russia, Section 232 investigations, conducted by the U.S. Commerce Department, and measures on imports of steel, were brought to debates on Friday, that drew strong responses from other WTO members. The U.S. proclamation imposes on Friday a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and a 10 percent on aluminum, resorting to 232 investigations. However, Trump approved the suspension of much-criticized tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the EU and six other economies. Chinese representative said the U.S. measure is inconsistent with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the WTO Agreement on Safeguards, calling on the U.S. to refrain from taking unilateral measures, to follow WTO rules and uphold the multilateral trading system. Russia said the new tariffs exceed the bound rates the U.S. had committed to under WTO rules. It sought further clarification on this exemption and how the measure can be justified under WTO rules. The EU, Japan and South Korea were among those criticizing the U.S. tariffs measures during the debates. The EU representative told the meeting that the tariffs could not be justified by a claim to national security, and said the U.S. side was making that claim to keep its industry alive and prosperous. Japan regretted U.S. action, while South Korea demanded cautious use of national security as a reason for trade barriers. In response, the U.S. side said that its Secretary of Commerce, in its 232 investigations, had found that quantities of imports and circumstances of global excess capacity for producing steel and aluminium "threaten to impair the national security". He insisted that tariffs are necessary to address the threat. WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo estimated afterward that "it is positive to see members continuing to use the WTO as a place to discuss these issues." Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-24 05:28:58|Editor: pengying Video Player Close Buses transport rebels and their families as they leave the capital Damascus' Eastern Ghouta countryside, Syria, on March 23, 2018. The Syrian army has seized control of 90 percent of the capital Damascus' Eastern Ghouta area amid rebels' requests to leave under heavy military offensive. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani) DAMASCUS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army has seized control of 90 percent of the capital Damascus' Eastern Ghouta area amid rebels' requests to leave under heavy military offensive. The military offensive, launched by the Syrian army, aimed to wipe out the rebels' presence in Eastern Ghouta, the last remaining threat to the capital. Taking control of Eastern Ghouta would completely secure the capital that has been suffering from the rebels' mortar and rocket attacks for seven years. Several key developments happened on Friday. The city of Harasta, which overlooks the main highway between Damascus and the central and northern region, has been declared rebel-free, after the last batch of rebels and their families left that area towards rebel-held areas in northern Syria. The evacuation from Harasta started on Thursday and ended Friday evening, with a total of 59 buses transporting 3,000 people, including 1,000 rebels and 2,000 of their families. The rebels in Harasta have handed over their heavy weapons to the Syrian army before leaving Harasta towards rebel-held areas in the northwestern province of Idlib. The TV broadcasted live footages of the entrance of Harasta with Syrian soldiers, celebrating and chanting for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The TV titled its coverage as "Harasta is empty of terrorists," as the Syrian government regards most of the rebels as terrorists. Also Friday, an agreement has been reached for the evacuation of rebels and their families from other key areas in Eastern Ghouta. As many as 7,000 rebels and their family members are to leave areas of Jobar, Zamalka, Arbeen, and Ayn Tarma in Eastern Ghouta, and the deal covers the main rebel groups in control of those areas, namely the Failaq al-Rahman, and the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front. The Russian-sponsored agreement will also see the release of kidnapped people by the rebels ahead of their evacuation and lists of names will be handed over to the Russian side, according to the report. The evacuation will take place on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. (0730 GMT) after the rebels hand over maps of the tunnels they dug and mines they planted in the aforementioned areas. The fresh deal comes a day after the Failaq al-Rahman group declared a unilateral ceasefire to negotiate its withdrawal from the region. The War Media, the media wing of the Syrian army, reported that the Failaq al-Rahman rebels, or the Rahman Legion, declared a cease-fire in the central part of Eastern Ghouta as of midnight Friday. These areas have been the launching pad for firing mortar and rocket shells on Damascus throughout the last seven years of crisis. This development came as the Syrian army captured large swathes of Ayn Tarma on Thursday and Friday, which is a key stronghold of the Failaq al-Rahman rebels. Meanwhile, the War Media said a total of 3,500 kidnapped people are expected to be released from the rebel-held Douma district in Eastern Ghouta on Friday night. The 3,500 people have been kidnapped and kept by the rebels in Douma and their release is part of an agreement with the Syrian army that will also see the evacuation of 3,000 people with medical conditions from Douma, according to the report. Douma is controlled by the Jaish al-Islam, or the Islam Army, rebels' group, which has so far been out of other agreements recently reached with other rebel groups in Eastern Ghouta. The Britain-based oppositional watchdog group said Friday that as many as 120,000 people have so far evacuated rebel-held areas in Eastern Ghouta. The latest batch was a total of 2,450 people that reached government-controlled areas through the Wafidin crossing northeast of Damascus on Friday, according to the Observatory. The civilians have been fleeing out of Eastern Ghouta since March 14, and the number kept increasing whenever the Syrian army captured new areas in that sprawling area. Eastern Ghouta, a 105-square-km agricultural region consisting of several towns and farmlands, poses the last threat to the capital due to its proximity to government-controlled neighborhoods east of Damascus and ongoing mortar attacks that target residential areas in the capital, pushing people over the edge. Four major rebel groups are currently positioned inside Eastern Ghouta, namely the Islam Army, Failaq al-Rahman, Ahrar al-Sham, and the Levant Liberation Committee, known as the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front. The UN humanitarian agencies have sounded the alarm about the worsening humanitarian situation for 400,000 people in that region, where activists said around 1,000 people have been killed since late last month by the heavy bombardment and military showdown there. HELSINKI, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Three people have been charged in Uganda for the death of a Finnish businessman in Kampala in early February, the Finnish national broadcaster Yle reported on Friday. The accused had allegedly taken drugs to the man's hotel room, and the substances were reported to be heroine, cocaine and two sorts of pesticide. Charged manslaughter, the three were in detention in Uganda. Two other persons were charged on falsifying a document. They had allegedly created a fake invitation to the man supposedly from the head of the Ugandan internal security service, but it was not. Finnish officials told Yle they would not comment on the reports as the information responsibility is in Uganda. Yle published pictures of the documents of the charges. The death of the Finn made news in Finland as sales leaflets introducing Finnish arms manufacturer Patria were found in his room. Patria admitted the man's authorization to represent Patria had not been properly cleared. Patria has insisted it has no marketing plans for Uganda. A Palestinian girl fills bottles with drinking water from public taps at the al-Nusirat refugee camp in the Gaza strip, on Feb. 10, 2018. (Xinhua/Wissam Nassar) UNITED NATIONS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed gratitude on Friday to the 20 nations who pledged approximately 100 million U.S. dollars for Palestinian refugees to help make up a shortfall in donations from the United States. "The secretary-general is grateful for the generous pledges of approximately 100 million U.S. dollars," said his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, who explained the aid promises were delivered March 15 at an Extraordinary Ministerial Conference in Rome. On Jan. 16, the UN Department of State announced that Washington was withholding aid for the UN Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian refugees. "The (Rome) meeting was an exceptional demonstration of high-level support for UNRWA's mandate and a recognition for the continued necessity of its work in support of over 5.3 million Palestine refugees," Dujarric said. "Almost 20 donors pledged additional contributions, including Qatar, Norway, Turkey, Canada, India, Switzerland and many others," he said. "The pledges made in Rome represent an important first step, yet a lot of work remains to fully close the critical shortfall." In Washington, a U.S. State Department spokeswoman, Helen Nauert, told reporters on Jan. 16, "We committed a voluntary contribution of 60 million U.S. dollars for 2018 so far." "Sixty million is what we have indicated as the first available tranche," she said. "That money is going to sustain schools and health services to ensure that teachers and also health care providers can be paid their salaries." A second tranche of 65 million dollars was being withheld indefinitely, she said, adding only the United States would like to see reforms in the UNRWA operation. However, U.S. President Donald Trump had said in a Jan. 2 tweet that the United States has contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to UNRWA without getting any signs of appreciation or respect. "This is not aimed at punishing anyone," Nauert said. "The U.S. government and the Trump administration believe that there should be more so-called burden sharing to go around." Dujarric, the chief UN spokesman, said: "The secretary-general encourages all member states and the private sector to provide support to UNRWA in order to close the still critical funding shortfall. He reiterates that the services provided by UNRWA to Palestine refugees are essential and contribute to bring stability to the region." ZAGREB, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic strongly condemned terrorism on Friday following a fatal attack in France. "With deep regret I received news of the hostage crisis in the town of Trebes in which, unfortunately, there have been fatalities," Plenkovic said in a letter of condolence to his French counterpart Edouard Philippe. "The Republic of Croatia strongly condemns terrorism and is resolute in the fight against the insane violence which encroaches on the foundations of modern democratic society." He extended condolences to Philippe, the victims' families and citizens affected by the tragic act, according to Croatian news agency HINA. Earlier in the day, a gunman took hostages at a supermarket in southern France, killing three people and wounding 16 others. Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-24 06:29:08|Editor: Lifang Video Player Close Hungarian President Janos Ader (R, Front) and his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda (L, Front) inspect the guard of honor during a welcome ceremony in Veszprem, western Hungary, on March 23, 2018. The development of infrastructure and the creation of energetic security were the major themes of a Hungarian-Polish presidential meeting held in Veszprem, western Hungary on Friday. (Xinhua/Attila Volgyi) VESZPREM, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The development of infrastructure and the creation of energetic security were the major themes of a Hungarian-Polish presidential meeting held in Veszprem, western Hungary on Friday. The themes included the infrastructural developments covering the whole region, the creation of transport corridors and energetic security, as well as the investments related to the Three Seas Initiative, Hungarian President Janos Ader told reporters after meeting with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda. "Concerning the joint infrastructure development, the efforts point to the creation of two major transport corridors with endpoints in Poland and Southern Europe," Ader explained, adding that in relation to these projects, Hungary would have to build one-one sections in the western and eastern part of its territory. "It is the aim of each European country to ensure its gas and oil purchases from multiple sources. For this purpose, they must create the conditions to build wires, inter-connectors, upgrade wires to become bidirectional, and connect different networks," Ader said. Poland has made a big step in this direction by building an LNG terminal in the north, Ader said, adding that it would be great if the LNG terminal was also to be built in Croatia, but the works there have not yet been started. "Strengthening the security of nations in the field of energy is also important, and it would be good to use both the existing infrastructure and build new ones," Duda underlined. If Croatia were to realize a similar investment as the gasport already working in the northern Polish city of Swinoujscie, it would enable the construction of a North-South gas corridor, Duda added, pointing to the fact that the increase of energetic safety was a regional matter of the utmost important, and its proper operations needed inter-connectors to be set up between Poland and the Czech Republic and between Poland and Slovakia as well. About the infrastructural developments of the Three Seas Initiative, the common needs had to be defined, and a joint financial foundation had to be set up to engage the investments of the participating countries, according to Ader. Duda said that it was also important to improve the transport potential of the region, and although the Three Seas Initiative negotiations were moving at a fast rate, some partner countries might have difficulties in financing, thus the creation of a fund that could help implement the initiatives was planned. Regarding the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Ader said that the Hungarian position did not change. Hungary wanted a decision that was in line with EU rules, and met the requirements of energy security, did not apply double standards, and served the member states' interests in energetic security. Duda arrived at the invitation of Ader for the 12th occasion of the Hungarian-Polish Friendship Day, hosted by the city of Veszprem this year. Since 2007, the Hungarian-Polish Friendship Day has been celebrated alternately annually in the two countries in the presence of heads of states, and the representatives of twin cities and friends' associations. Posted Thursday, March 22, 2018 5:47 am Editors Note: The following story was published on Wednesday by Glamour Magazine headquartered in New York City and also reprinted on the website https://www.glamour.com/story/how-two-women-recovered-after-accidental-tragedy. The story as of early Wednesday had garnered heavy readership. Glamour Magazine encouraged the Nisqually Valley News to publish this tragic and inspiring story. One of the photos in the piece is from the files of the Nisqually Valley News. Here I am spinning, four-year-old Easton Miller crooned along to the country song on the radio in the back of his moms Toyota Highlander. Cassie Miller smiled, making the six-mile drive over the rural roads of Tenino, Washington, to pick up her friends son, Wyatt, and drop the boys at preschool on her way to work. But as she pulled into Brynn Johnsons circular driveway and got out, three-year-old Wyatt was throwing a tantrum, screaming, crying, and demanding to not go to school. When his mother went to fetch his car seat, he bolted back into the house. As Brynn went to round up Wyatt, her 17-month-old, Rowyn, ran out to say hello in her turquoise and white polka-dot jammies. Cassie gave her a squeeze on the chin the way she always did she adored the exuberant girl with her blond curls. The chaos continued until Wyatt, still in tears, was finally buckled in next to Easton. We can go now; hell be OK once were on our way, Cassie reassured her friend as she climbed back into the Highlander. Brynn stood outside the house in her white bathrobe and waved goodbye. It was 8:18 a.m. when Cassie put the car in drive, relieved to be getting underway. Then, as she rolled forward, she felt a bump. We both locked eyes in the rearview mirror, says Brynn. Like, what the hell? The bump was Rowyn. Before That Day The friends, both 34 now, cant remember when they met. But it was around the time Cassie moved to Tenino 11 years ago, and eventually Brynn became a fixture in her kitchen doing her hair different cuts, different styles, blond, dark purple, and just about every other color under the sun, she says as they talked away the hours. Brynn was so outgoing she was an easy friend for someone new in town. For her part, Brynn loved the way Cassie cracked her up, how she also seemed to walk through life with steel-toed goodness. Over the years their conversations moved to the SandStone Salon & Spa, where Brynn took a job, and shifted from romance and karaoke to husbands and diapers. Their boys were born nine months apart, and they were both pregnant again on their 30th birthdays, commiserating over having to forgo a proper toast. Soon the clothes Cassie had passed down to Brynn for Wyatt came back to her for new son Logan, whom Rowyn, born eight months earlier, adored. All four kids ended up in daycare with their moms friend Jen Scharber. She would have been the one driving the boys to preschool that crisp fall day when Cassie went to pick up Wyatt, but shed just closed her daycare the month before to work as a paralegal. I often think if Id only kept it open, says Scharber, now 35, would this have ever ? 8:18 A.M. Sept. 16, 2014 To this day no one knows how Rowyn crawled in front of the car or under it shed been several feet away when Cassie last saw her. Brynn thought she was still in the house. But when the two friends realized shed been hit, Brynn scooped her up off the gravel, and Cassie leaped out of the car and called 911. Whoever it was asked me if she was breathing, and Brynn said she didnt know, Cassie says. So I took her. Thats when I noticed all the blood on Brynns white robe. Cassie laid the limp toddler in the grass and started doing CPR, as the operator instructed, until a police officer arrived and took over. Brynn, screaming hysterically, ran inside to rouse her husband, Cody, whod just fallen asleep after his graveyard shift as a road construction foreman. Cassie checked on the boys and told them to stay in the car. Sheriffs deputies, paramedics, and firefighters arrived quickly at the scene. Some continued to try to revive Rowyn while others stretched yellow tape around the circular drive as neighbors and relatives started gathering in the yard. Amid the urgent commotion, Cassie and Brynn found themselves sitting huddled on the grass, clutching each other. We just need to pray for a miracle, they both recall Brynn saying. And they did. They were still together when a firefighter came over and told them that Rowyn was gone. We were just like, No, no, no, Brynn remembers. And I told Cassie right off the bat, Dont blame yourself. Its not your fault. Cassie was in her own world, her thoughts looping maniacally: I cannot have killed Rowyn. This cannot have happened. How can I fix this? I have to fix this. She could barely breathe and sat there rocking back and forth in shock as her fingers curled, clenched like claws, shaking violently. Brynn hugged her friend, still fixated on the idea that things would be OK, that somehow Rowyns terrifyingly still lips would break into a mischievous grin and shed be dancing again. At some point the two women broke apart, and Brynn went to sit with Cody in the ambulance, holding their baby girl for a long, long time, crying. I just couldnt bear to let her go, she says. When it was time to put her in the coroners truck, the truth finally started sinking in. Youre not taking my daughter from me, Brynn wailed. The First Week After Rowyn was driven away, Brynn made it to her bedroom, where she balled up in her closet, knees to her chest, terrified to close her eyes because all she would see was Rowyns lifeless 23-pound body. Neighbors and relatives poured in and out of the house, trying to offer solace, and someone asked Jim Ford, pastor of the New Day Christian Centre, to come by. Ford had never met the family, and when he arrived, relatives were manning the porch like bouncers, asking who he was. Before he could finish answering, Brynn opened the door. I know you, she said and burst into tears. Every day I drive by and see the place where your daughter was killed. Ford was overcome. His own 17-year-old daughter had died in a car accident four years earlier only a quarter of a mile away. We cried and we talked, he says. I told her that its hard to see now, but one day youll know that things are going to be OK. Meanwhile, Cassie had made it home and lay in bed unable to stop sobbing. She kept repeating, I just killed somebodys child, according to Scharber, who tried to comfort her. Cassie also feared the police might come for her, unaware that the sheriffs initial report described Rowyns death as an accident (the final report confirmed the findings four and a half months later). Ford later reached out to Cassie too. My heart just broke for her, he says. I was worried she might start to feel suicidal. All I could do was let her talk, work through it. As Tuesday blurred into Wednesday, then Thursday, the two moms were texting. Even though Brynn reassured her friend that she didnt blame her, Cassie was convinced shed change her mind; I knew that grief has many stages, she says. Brynn could sense Cassies doubt and on Friday decided to visit in person with Cody. Cassie was nervous. She made sure her car was out of the driveway so it wouldnt traumatize them. I didnt want her seeing me because I felt like it would be so painful, she says. But Brynn wasnt having it. I went in, took her hand, and told her, I dont understand it myself, but I love you more now than I did before. If it was anyone else, I would have gotten my gun and killed them. Im glad it was you because I know how much you loved my daughter. Its just a terrible, terrible accident that we both have to live with the rest of our lives. And we can get through this if we do it together. Cody embraced her too. It was very close. It was very comforting, says Cassie. I still felt like they were just in shock and would change their minds with time. But their kindness was unbelievable. There are just no words to really describe how much grace I felt at that time. The First Month The morning of the funeral, Brynn spotted a red-tailed hawk through the damp fog and wondered if it was Rowyn. The sun broke through for the celebration of life that followed, where they released balloons in bright turquoise Rowyns favorite color in her honor. So many people attended, the barn where it was held couldnt hold everyone. It was the second hardest day of my life, says Cassie. Being that person, and being there. Brynn just wanted to open the casket and hold her baby one more time. Afterward Brynn had no idea how to get through the days. There were times when I didnt give a sh-t anymore. Like, what is there to live for? I just lost my daughter, she recalls. Anytime Cody or Wyatt left the house, she worried: It was like, Whos going to go next? And her marriage was strained. Men and women handle grief so differently, she says. I was angry at the situation, and Cody was angry at someone. And probably at me too, though he didnt say it. I mean, I blamed myself. I was standing right there. Ive apologized over and over to my daughter: Why wasnt I holding you? Cody agrees it was tough. Ive never blamed her or Cassie, he says, but I was angry at them. Losing a child is unfathomably devastating, but there is a path for healing, a long tradition of mourning that Brynn learned she could lean on. Cassie, however, was in a no-mans land. There was no Hallmark card to receive, no self-help book to read. She was reckoning with grief and trauma and also social judgment. In the days and weeks following the service, she weathered dark thoughts. Cars were terrifying. Going over a speed bump jolted her back to the accident. But I knew I had to start driving again, she says. A friend helped her trade in the Highlander for another car, and after a couple of sessions of a therapy for trauma, Cassie was taking Easton to school again. When she first spotted Brynn dropping off Wyatt, she kept to herself. She couldnt bear the sight of her grief-stricken friend with no Rowyn bopping around in the back seat. After several days, one morning Brynn just got into Cassies car and said, Im sorry that its so hard for you to see me. Brynn was frustrated, she says now: I felt like it was equally hard for me to see her, but I was making it happen. It was like, Lets just move forward and be OK. I also missed the mom I could just give a hug to in the mornings and chat with after we dropped off the boys. They slowly started doing that again. Endlessly they combed over the details of that abysmal day, trying to fill in the gaps: Where was Kimber, Brynns lab, who was always with Rowyn? How much did the boys see? How did Rowyn get in front of the car? They shared their pain and how hard it was watching everyone go about their normal lives. It was like, Do you not remember that my daughter just died? And, for Cassie, Do you not remember that I just ran over my friends kid? says Brynn. We really confided in each other and became very close. In one of those talks, Cassie said shed been thinking of ways they could honor Rowyn. It was a spark: Brynn came up with the idea of covering the funeral expenses for families whod lost children it had been such a relief when the community did that for her. They decided to call their charity Raise for Rowyn. Three Months After Finding a positive way to leverage their grief gave Brynn and Cassie a path forward, and they worked furiously on their new project. But Cassie was caring for her sick grandmother, and when she passed away, it set her back; her fathers sudden death a year later was even more devastating. Shed already sought counseling, and over time she tried just about every kind of therapy individual, marriage counseling, counseling with Easton, whod become anxious about her well-being, the trauma sessions, and a weeklong intensive program. But nobody could truly relate to her situation. One day in a really dark place, Cassie says, she googled people who accidentally killed other people and came across a site called accidentalimpacts.org. There, for the first time, she found others like her. In post after post, people described how theyd unintentionally caused a death driving, misfiring a gun, making a medical mistake, killing strangers, boyfriends, best friends, a one-year-old baby. Some became shut-ins, but others talked of how theyd managed to move on. I just thought, Wow, says Cassie. I am not alone. Maryann Gray, Ph.D., a former assistant provost at UCLA, started the site in February 2014. To my knowledge, she says theres not a single professional article, or any kind of therapy protocol, theory, or research on this population. There is nothing. Gray, who at 22 accidentally killed a little boy when he darted in front of her car, points out that when a person causes a fatality, they face a profound moral question: How can you be a good person when, no matter how unavoidably it happened, you took a life? She says that although many of the people on the site fear their lives are ruined, this kind of reckoning offers an opportunity to grow and become more compassionate. She says those in despair can, in fact, be happy again. What helps enormously, she says, is kindness and acceptance from other people. Cassie doesnt take the compassion she was shown lightly. If Brynn and her family had blamed me, she says, I would likely not be alive today. I am incredibly grateful for their forgiveness, and Im incredibly sorry for the accident. My heart and mind will struggle with this reality until the day that I die. A Year Later Raise for Rowyn took off beyond anyones expectations. Cassie and Brynn threw their first 5K run and fundraiser, a semi-formal dinner and auction, on April 18, 2015. It seemed as if the whole town came, and they raised $60,000. Right in the middle of the dinner, says Scharber, who is now executive director of the nonprofit, someone said, Did you hear what happened in Marysville? That morning, two hours away, a little girl not yet two years old named Alexa Rae had been accidentally run over by her father in their driveway. It was such an eerily similar story to Rowyns, and the family became the charitys first official beneficiary. Brynn and Cassie essentially paid for the whole funeral and told us to spare no expense, says Alexa Raes mother, Ally Burman, who came to meet the friends in person. They stayed in contact over the next many months as Burmans life unraveled she split from Alexa Raes father and relapsed, after years of sobriety, on heroin. But today, at 27, shes sober, in a new relationship, and expecting a baby girl. If they hadnt come into my life, if I hadnt been able to see that someone had made it through this and done something good from it, she says, breaking down, I dont know if I would have made it through another day. Once they wrapped their arms around me, they were with me, and they still are. Theyre everything. Three Years Later When Brynn is asked about her unwavering forgiveness (and she gets that question often), she has a hard time explaining what seems so natural to her. It was obvious that Cassie would never do this on purpose, she says. And I feel equally to blame. I wish she was paying more attention, but I wish I had been too. Even now, Rowyns loss doesnt seem real to her. Cassie hasnt stopped questioning herself. She never read the final sheriffs report (nor did Brynn) that concluded there was no way she could have seen Rowyn, her being so tiny, over the cars tall hood. But no report or official document can change what happened. I have replayed those moments over and over again, she says. I have struggled with wishing I had picked Rowyn up and handed her to Brynn before getting into the car. I still struggle when I see the clock at 8:18. My therapist used to ask me if I just wanted to punish myself for the rest of my life. And in some ways of course I should, right? But I also have to try to move forward for myself and my family. In an effort to start fresh, Cassie sold her house and moved everyone into a trailer while building a new home. She went from working part-time at Washington States Disability Determination Services to full-time again. Then, in February of last year, she made the agonizing decision to step down from the charity. It was as if she and Brynn were still in that huddle on the grass, hanging on and holding each other up, and she needed to find her own footing. Brynn was upset at first, but she understood. She has her hands full running Raise for Rowyn and taking care of her new daughter, Mynrow, born in 2015. The two friends still see each other whenever they can, and theyre still swapping baby clothes. Cassie just pinned a flower on one of Logans hats and handed it down to Mynrow, Brynn says, laughing. Theres never going to be a moment that I forget Rowyn shes very present in our home. Nor will I ever not think about Cassie. We have both experienced the most traumatic, horrific, life-changing event ever. And we overcame it together and still have remained friends. Its a bond that you dont have with anybody else. To help families who have lost a child, go to raiseforrowyn.org. News Washington, DC - The Department of State has designated Katibat al-Imam al-Bukhari (KIB) as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Section 1(b) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13224. E.O. 13224 imposes strict sanctions on foreign persons determined to have committed, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States. This designation seeks to deny KIB the resources it needs to plan and carry out further terrorist attacks. Among other consequences, all of the groups property and interests in property subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with the group. Katibat al-Imam al-Bukhari is the largest Uzbek fighting force in Syria. The group has played a significant role in the fighting in northwestern Syria, fighting alongside groups including al-Nusrah Front al-Qaidas affiliate in Syria and a State Department designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and SDGT group. In April 2017, KIB published a video showing armed men taking part in clashes, and in December 2015, posted a video of a training camp for children, where children are taught to handle and fire weapons. Arizona News Phoenix, Arizona - U.S. Term Limits (USTL) praises the Arizona Senate Judiciary Committee for passing the resolution applying for a term limits convention. Today's vote was the last committee stop in the Arizona State Legislature. It heads to its final vote on the Senate floor, likely to be scheduled for the first week of April. HCR2024, based on USTL's model legislation, is an application for a convention for the sole purpose of proposing a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on members of Congress. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Darin Mitchell, passed the Arizona House of Representatives last month. Since then, the initiative passed the two required committee stops in the Senate, including the vote today. According to Philip Blumel, President of U.S. Term Limits, We commend the members of the Arizona legislature who support this important term limits legislation. They know that more than 82% of Americans have rejected the career politician model and want to replace it with citizen leadership. The way to achieve this goal is through congressional term limits. The best chance we have of success is through term limits proposal convention applications passed through the state legislatures. According to the last nationwide poll on term limits conducted by McLaughlin & Associates in January 2018, term limits enjoys wide bipartisan support. McLaughlins analysis states, Support for term limits is broad and strong across all political, geographic and demographic groups. An overwhelming 82% of voters approve of a Constitutional Amendment that will place term limits on members of Congress. Once HCR2024 passes the state Senate, Arizona will be included in the 34 states needed to trigger a term limits convention. If accepted, the amendment would need ratification from 38 states to become part of the U.S. Constitution. Latest News Silverton, Colorado - Across the American Wests Rocky and Sierra mountains, miners dug for gold, silver, zinc and lead to make their fortunes in the Gold Rush of the 19th and early 20th centuries. As they burrowed into the mountains seeking thick veins of valuable ore, they tossed tons of rock waste outside their mine entrances. Now, beautiful mountain vistas are marred by mine waste dumps that have turned into eyesores of yellow, orange or white rock piles over time. This hard rock mine waste is not just ugly, it contains materials that can endanger the environment. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a Standard Reference Material (SRM) that not only helps evaluate the environmental challenges posed by the old waste piles, but gives todays mining companies a tool to help ensure efficient and environmentally sound mining practices. Waste piles and the problems they cause are found in mining regions across the globe. Steve Wilson, a chemist with the U.S. Geological Survey (link is external) (USGS), provided one example of how the piles can become dangerous. Water from rain or melting snow mixes with pyrite, known to many as fools gold, and turns the runoff into sulfuric acid that pulls metals such as lead, zinc and copper from the piles of waste. These metals are then carried down mountainsides and eventually into rivers, where they accumulate in the sediment. The new SRM 2780a contains powdered waste from three hard rock mine piles near the former mining boom town of Silverton, Colorado. USGS scientists collected, ground, blended and bottled the waste for NIST. SRM 2780a provides certified values for 35 elements from aluminum to zirconium that are commonly found in the waste rock materialdouble the number of certified elements that were in its popular predecessor (SRM 2780). SRM 2780a also provides values for all but one of the 15 rare earth elements in the lanthanide series (elements 57 through 71 on the periodic table). The more elements with reliable concentrations, the more useful the SRM will be, said NIST analytical chemist John Sieber, the project leader. NIST researchers thoroughly evaluate materials for SRMs using a variety of in-house methods and technologies. Sieber worked with a group of Canadian and U.S. scientists to measure the values assigned to the elements in SRM 2780a. As part of a NIST initiative to increase the number of laboratories that create certified reference materials, Sieber and his colleague, Robert Watters, also worked with the Center for Mineral Technology (CETEM) in Brazil. In parallel to the NIST process, CETEM brought together experts from Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Ireland, Mongolia, Russia and South Africa to test the hard rock mine waste. Combining results from the two projects meant a total of 11 diverse analytical methods contributed to the chemical characterizations and increased the accuracy of the SRM. The additional detailed results may also help geologists and mining engineers better understand the mineralogy and the chemistry involved in the weathering of the mine waste and aid in developing improved mitigation strategies for abandoned mine sites and the reclamation of valuable resources from mine waste material, Sieber said. Scientists typically use SRMs to validate the accuracy of results from their analytical methodstypically a spectrometer calibrated to determine chemical composition. Environmental researchers can use SRM 2780a to learn the contents of hard rock mine waste to determine potential health hazards and to prioritize remediation plans. Mining companies employ the SRM in a variety of ways, such as ensuring that they are accurately tracking and reporting their environmental impacts to regulatory agencies. Yuma News Yuma, Arizona - Arizona Western College students will be logging into a new and improved email system beginning Monday, April 2. During Spring Break, AWCs Information Technology Services and Support (AWC ITSS) staff will be replacing the colleges old server with a modern cloud-based system leveraging Microsoft Office 365. The platform will change the way students, staff, and faculty collaborate with one another, providing new tools for individual and team communications. The new system will provide integrated calendaring and email, support for mobile device access, and more email and document storage. The advantages of moving to the platform that were moving to is that were completely revamping technology and the way we do technology and what students, faculty, and staff have access to. Its all part of a larger initiative, said AWC Chief Information Officer Joe McLain. Students, faculty, and staff will also be able to download five copies of Microsoft Office to use on their personal Windows, Apple, and Android devices. Faculty and staff will transition to the new email system soon, with immediate emphasis on improving the quality of technology provided to students. Students who currently have a ToroMail account will retain the same email addresses. Students will notice their inboxes will be empty when they initially log in to the new server as it is cost prohibitive to migrate the contents of all mailboxes. Student leaders were consulted and made the decision to save the added expense of migrating mailboxes. McLain noted that student leaders have been a great help in partnering with AWC ITSS leadership during this process. Students will be provided the ability to log in to the old email server, so they can forward themselves any emails they would like to keep. By sending specific existing messages to themselves, students have control over exactly what messages they retain. The old system will be accessible for a limited amount of time, after which it will be retired, and the money being spent to maintain it will be allocated to other uses. For regular updates on the email replacement and other service improvements, follow AWC ITSS on social media: Hichki in Hindi means 'hiccup', but this Rani Mukerji starrer has none. The film backed by Yash Raj Films belongs to a different league altogether. And there are ample reasons for it. Director Sidharth P Malhotra takes the audience straight into a middle-class household where veteran actors Supriya Pilgaonkar, Sachin Pilgaonkar play estranged husband and wife blessed with a son and daughter. The story moves smoothly (without any hiccup) as we are introduced to Naina Mathur aka Rani Mukerji. She suffers from Tourette Syndrome, a neurological condition which starts from the onset of childhood and results in several motor tics and at least one vocal tic sounds. As the lead actress suffers from this condition, the society finds it hard to accept her. But here, Naina is shown as a confident, young girl who has ambitions and will try until the end to make her dreams come true. The undying spirit of a person living with a special condition every day yet never makes it an excuse to reach for the stars is what makes 'Hichki' a must watch. Despite having excellent academic qualifications, Naina is shown the exit door every time she sits for a job interview. Well, do I really need to give any reason, why? So, she not only braves all odds to find that one perfect teaching job but also has to bear the temperament of a father, who has separated from the family and still can't come to terms with his daughter's condition. Naina's search for the perfect job finally ends at her own alma mater and from there, her tough life begins. The script has smartly incorporated the Right To Education initiative implemented by the government where kids from the marginalised sections of the society too get access to study in a prestigious school. But is it all hunky-dory? Well, for that you should head to the halls straight away. There are several moments where a teacher-student relationship outshines the characters and you go back in time, thinking about your own school days. Also, the sense of competition between teachers and students is as real as it gets. The class of kids which Naina gets has acted brilliantly and the casting director must be given full marks for it. After 'Black' Rani has once again proved her acting mettle with 'Hichki' which will somewhere pull the right string and touch your hearts. Don't go thinking it's a typical Yash Raj venture. Because with a subject like this, thankfully it's far away from their brand of cinema. Rani's 'Hichki happens to be an adaptation of 2008 Hollywood movie 'Front of the Class' which was based on the book titled 'Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had by Brad Cohen'. (Ratings: 3.5/5 Stars) The first trailer for Tabu and Manoj Bajpayees intriguing new thriller has been released. And looking at the trailer, one can say that it will give new meanings to bad parenting. The trailer shows the couple - Tabu and Manoj holidaying in a resort, who later find out their three-year-old daughter 'Titli' is missing. Annu Kapoor, a Hindi-speaking Mauritian detective of Indian origin arrives to investigate the case and his first suspects are the parents themselves. The 2:09 minute long trailer shows all the three brilliant actors in their top performance. Bollywood trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted the first trailer on his Twitter handle. Three powerhouse actors in one film Tabu. Manoj Bajpayee. Annu Kapoor Trailer of psychological thriller #Missing raises your expectations Mukul Abhyankar directs 6 April 2018 release, tweeted Adarsh. Three powerhouse actors in one film... Tabu. Manoj Bajpayee. Annu Kapoor... Trailer of psychological thriller #Missing raises your expectations... Mukul Abhyankar directs... 6 April 2018 release... Link: https://t.co/R9aGUQkNru taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) March 23, 2018 Earlier, in the day, Manoj Bajpayee took to Twitter and unveiled the first poster of the film. Sharing the poster, Manoj tweeted, Go #MissingThisApril Heres the first poster of the film. In a cinema near you on 6th April 2018. @MissingTheMovie #Tabu @annukapoor_ @Abundantia_Ent @vikramix @neerajpofficial #MukulAbhyankar #SriAdhikariBrothers @FFW_Official @ShitalBhatiaFFW @APMotionPics @RelianceEnt. 'Missing' is directed by Mukul Abhyankar and produced by Abundantia and Neeraj Pandey along with Sri Adhikari Brothers, Anand Pandit Motion Pictures and Manoj Bajpayee Productions. The film will be released on April 6. The film will reunite Tabu and Manoj after eight years on the silver screen. They were last seen together in Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar and Ghaath in 2010. 'Missing' will clash with Irrfan Khan starrer 'Blackmail'. Ben Gurion Airport, Israel: Saudi Arabia opened its airspace for the first time to a commercial flight to Israel with the inauguration on Thursday of an Air India route between New Delhi and Tel Aviv. Air India 139 landed at Tel Avivs Ben Gurion Airport after a flight of over 7-1/2 hours, marking a diplomatic shift for Riyadh that Israel says was fueled by shared concern over Iranian influence in the region. This is a really historic day that follows two years of very, very intensive work, Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said in a radio interview, adding that using Saudi airspace cut travel time to India by around two hours and would reduce ticket prices. Saudi Arabia - birthplace of Islam and home to its holiest shrines - does not recognize Israel. Riyadh has not formally confirmed granting the Air India plane overflight rights. While the move ended a 70-year-old ban on planes flying to or from Israel through Saudi airspace, there is as yet no indication that it will be applied for any Israeli airline. The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner entered Saudi airspace at around 1645 GMT and overflew the kingdom at 40,000 feet for about three hours, coming within 60 km (37 miles) of the capital Riyadh, according to the Flightradar monitoring app. It then crossed over Jordan and the occupied West Bank into Israel. The airliner had earlier flown over Oman, according to Flightradar. Officials from Oman, which also does not recognize Israel, could not be reached for comment. Israels flag carrier El Al, excluded from the Saudi route, says its Indian competitor now has an unfair advantage. El Al currently flies four times a week to the Indian city of Mumbai. Those flights take around 7 hours and 40 minutes, following a Red Sea route that swings toward Ethiopia to avoid Saudi airspace. If El Al planes were to fly on to New Delhi, a destination El Al has said it might be interested in, they would require another two hours - and significantly more fuel. Interviewed on Israels Army Radio, Levin voiced confidence that El Al would eventually be allowed to use Saudi airspace. You know, they said the Saudis wouldnt let any flight pass. So here, the Saudis are permitting it. It is a process, I think. Ultimately this (El Al overflights) will happen too, he said. Asked if any other foreign airlines might follow Air India by opening routes to Tel Aviv over Saudi Arabia, Levin said he has been in negotiations with Singapore Airlines and a carrier from the Philippines, which he did not name. They are certainly showing readiness and desire to fly to Israel, and I dont know if they will also receive permission like the Indian airline, he said. Singapore Airlines did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Saudi officials could not immediately be reached. New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday granted bail to Karti Chidambaram, son of senior Congress leader P Chidamabaram, in the INX Media corruption case. Karti has been granted bail on surety of Rs 10 lakh. The court has said that he cannot travel out of the countr, cannot influence witnesses or close bank accounts during this period. Justice S P Garg had reserved his verdict on March 16 after hearing arguments on behalf of Karti and the CBI which had opposed grant of the relief to him. The investigative agency had contended that he should not be granted bail as he has already destroyed evidence in the case and was an "influential" person. Karti's counsel had argued that no case under the Prevention of Corruption Act was made out against him since the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had neither questioned any public servant, nor made them an accused in the matter. Karti's lawyers had denied allegations of tampering with evidence and added that when the CBI had not sought his further custodial interrogation, why should he be kept in judicial custody. Karti was arrested from Chennai on February 28 by the CBI on his return from the United Kingdom in connection with an FIR lodged on May 15 last year, alleging irregularities in a Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance given to INX Media for receiving funds of about Rs 305 crore from overseas in 2007 when his father was the Union finance minister. The CBI had initially alleged that Karti received Rs 10 lakh as a bribe for facilitating the FIPB clearance to INX Media. It had later revised the figure to USD 1 million (about Rs 6.50 crore at the current exchange rate and Rs 4.5 crore in 2007). The fresh evidence in the case, which triggered Karti's arrest, was based on a statement of Indrani Mukerjea, former director of INX Media (P) Ltd, who recorded it under Section 164 of the CrPC before a magistrate on February 17. Indrani is currently lodged in a Mumbai prison in connection with the case of murder of her daughter Sheena Bora. The high court had on March 9 directed the Enforcement Directorate not to arrest or take any coercive action against Karti in the money laundering case lodged by the agency. The protection was later extended by the court till March 22. Subsequently, the Supreme Court had transferred the ED case to it. With PTI Inputs NEW DELHI: As social reformer Anna Hazare begins his indefinite hunger strike in Delhi from Friday, the Delhi Traffic Police has issued an advisory, warning commuters not to take crowded routes to avoid traffic jams. Commuters have been asked to avoid going towards Aruna Asaf Ali Road, Delhi Gate, Darya Ganj, New Delhi Railway Station, Ajmeri Gate, Paharganj, ITO, Rajghat, Minto Road, Vivekanand Marg, and JLN Marg. Delhi Police said that they gave the permission to the social activist to start his protest after checking all security aspects and making adequate arrangements. Hazare and his supporters will first visit the Rajghat from Maharastra Sadan to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. They will then march to Shaheedi Park to pay tribute to martyrs and then proceed to Ramlila Maidan where he held a massive protest and hunger strike against corruption in 2011. Ahead of the protest, Hazare on Friday blamed the Central government for cancelling trains in which the protestors were heading to Delhi. "You cancelled trains carrying protesters to Delhi, you want to push them to violence. Police force deployed for me as well. I wrote in many letters that I don't need police protection. Your protection won't save me. This sly attitude of the government is not done," Hazare claimed. Hazare has been accusing the Centre of not appointing the Lokpal to investigate the cases of corruption, despite having a law in place. March 23 has been chosen as the date to begin the fast as Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged to death on this day by the British. The organisers are claiming that thousands of people will attend the protest. NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal congratulated the people of Delhi after the High Court on Friday set aside the order by the Election Commission to disqualify 20 AAP MLAs for holding offices of profit. "Truth prevails. The representatives who had been elected by the people of Delhi were ousted in an improper manner. The Delhi High Court has given justice to the people of Delhi. This is a big victory for the people of Delhi. I congratulate the people of Delhi," he tweeted soon after the HC announced its order. Celebrations have begun in the AAP camp with members praising the HC decision. "MLAs were not given a chance to put their point, so now the court has given them a chance to do that. The EC will hear their plea again," AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj said. Holding the notification disqualifying AAP MLAs as bad in law, the HC remanded their plea back to the Election Commission which will hear it again. HC said there was a violation of natural justice and no oral hearing was given to AAP MLAs before disqualifying them as legislators. The MLAs were disqualified by the President on the recommendation by the Election Commission for holding office-of-profit when they were appointed Parliamentary Secretaries. The 20 AAP members will now continue to hold their seats. The EC will have to reconsider the case against the 20 MLAs. The court accepted the AAP's counsel contention that the MLAs were not given a fair chance to make their case. The case pertains to the allegation that the AAP had appointed 21 parliamentary secretaries over and above the Constitutionally sanctioned strength for the cabinet. The AAP had alleged that the MLAs in question had not taken any pecuniary benefit from the appointments, and hence argued that they could not be considered offices of profit. Kochi: Renowned economist and former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan on Friday said that he has not joined microblogging site Twitter as he was not quick to respond to tweets in a few words in 30 seconds. "I don't have time. My sense is that in many of these things, once you start engaging, you have to be consistent. I certainly can't because I don't have the ability to think quickly and respond in you know 20-30 seconds in 140 characters," he said in a lighter note here. Raghuram Rajan said this when asked about his absence in the social media during an interaction with reporters. The former RBI governor Rajan was here to address the Global Digital Summit (#Future), organised by the Kerala government. Paris: At least two people have died and several were injured after a man fired shots and took hostages at a supermarket in southwest France on Friday. The gunman was eventually shot dead after he engaged with security personnel in a gun fight. The unidentified man held hostages in the supermarket and claimed allegiance to the Islamic State, BFM TV quoted French authorities as saying. The Europe 1 radio also confirmed that an individual was holding hostages in the supermarket. #BREAKING At least two dead in French supermarket hostage-taking: security source AFP news agency (@AFP) March 23, 2018 According to AFP, a policeman was shot at in the town of Carcassonne while the gunman fired shots and took several people hostage in the morning hours at a supermarket in the town of Trebes. The man "entered the Super U supermarket at around 11.15 am and fired shots," a source said of the Trebes incident. The local authorities tweeted that the area was out-of-bounds to the public. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has said that initial reports suggest it is a terrorist act. NEW DELHI: Social reformer Anna Hazare on Friday started an indefinite hunger strike at Delhi's Ram Lila Maidan in Delhi, nearly seven years after his anti-corruption movement shook the then Central government led by prime minister Manmohan Singh in 2011. Hitting out at the Narendra Modi led government, Anna called all politicians 'fraud'. "Farmers are suffering and politicians are not capable to rule people. I will fight till the last breath," he said. Earlier in the day, he had blamed the Central government for cancelling trains in which the protestors were heading to Delhi. "You cancelled trains carrying protesters to Delhi, you want to push them to violence. Police force deployed for me as well. I wrote in many letters that I don't need police protection. Your protection won't save me. This sly attitude of the government is not done," Hazare claimed. Hazare has also been accusing the Centre of not appointing the Lokpal to investigate the cases of corruption, despite having a law in place. Before starting his protest, he visited the Rajghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. He then went to Shaheedi Park to pay tribute to martyrs and then proceeded to Ramlila Maidan, the iconic place where he held a massive protest and hunger strike against corruption in 2011. March 23 has been chosen as the date to begin the fast as Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged to death on this day by the British. The organisers are claiming that thousands of people will attend the protest. NEW DELHI: Nearly seven years after his anti-corruption movement shook the then Central government led by prime minister Manmohan Singh, social activist Anna Hazare is set to begin an indefinite hunger strike again on Friday. This time against the Narendra Modi-led BJP government. The strike will be held at the same iconic Ram Lila Maidan in Delhi where the protest was held in 2011. Ahead of the protest, Hazare on Friday blamed the Central government for cancelling trains in which the protestors were heading to Delhi. "You cancelled trains carrying protesters to Delhi, you want to push them to violence. Police force deployed for me as well. I wrote in many letters that I don't need police protection. Your protection won't save me. This sly attitude of the government is not done," Hazare claimed. Hazare has been accusing the Centre of not appointing the Lokpal to investigate the cases of corruption, despite having a law in place. "Anna will first visit the Rajghat and then come to the Ram Lila Maidan, where he will go an indefinite strike," said an aide of Hazare. March 23 has been chosen as the date to begin the fast as Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged to death on this day by the British. The organisers are claiming that thousands of people will attend the protest. In 2011 too, Anna Hazare sat on the hunger strike at the same Ram Lila Maidan and had demanded a Lokpal be set up to investigate cases of corruption. Hazare has been pressing for setting up of the Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in the states, besides implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report, which has suggested ways to address the agrarian distress. The 2011 anti-graft agitation by Hazare, which aimed at the increasing corruption cases that had surfaced during the UPA rule, had received the support of millions of people across the country. Some of the main organisers of that anti-corruption movement later formed the Aam Aadmi Party, which now governs Delhi. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was one of Hazare's key aides. The Delhi Traffic Police has issued an advisory, warning commuters to avoid taking routes towards Aruna Asaf Ali Road, Delhi Gate, Darya Ganj, New Delhi Railway Station, Ajmeri Gate, Paharganj, ITO, Rajghat, Minto Road, Vivekanand Marg, and JLN Marg. Hazare and his supporters will first visit the Rajghat and then they will march to Shaheedi Park and then to Ram Lila Maidan. NEW DELHI: The Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi case will be heard in Supreme Court on April 6, the court said while hearing the final arguments in the case on Friday. The court is hearing 13 appeals filed against the 2010 judgment of the Allahabad High Court in four civil suits. The petitions challenge the high court verdict that mandated a three-way division of the disputed site in Ayodhya. The court had on March 14 dismissed all 32 intervention petitions, including applications of Shyam Benegal, Aparna Sen and Teesta Setalvad, in the dispute case. The top court had then said that pleas of only original parties to the Babri Masjid-Ram temple title dispute will be heard while interventions of unrelated people will be rejected. It had also rejected a plea of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy, seeking to intervene in the case. However, the court ordered the revival of Swamy's disposed plea that had sought enforcement of his fundamental right to worship at Ram Temple in Ayodhya. A special bench of the top court headed by CJI Misra had earlier asked both the parties before the Allahabad High Court to file the English translation of documents exhibited by them. The apex court had also directed its registry to provide copies of video cassettes, which were part of HC records, to parties on actual cost. The bench said that it would hear the appeals on March 14, 2018, and clarified that it never intended to hear the case on a "day-to-day basis". The bench had also added that it would deal with the instant matter as a "pure land dispute". The special bench of the apex court is seized of a total 14 appeals filed against the high court judgement delivered in four civil suits. A three-judge bench of the Allahabad HC, in a 2:1 majority ruling, had in 2010 ordered that the land be partitioned equally among three parties - the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla. NEW DELHI: The Congress on Friday moved a privilege motion against External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for "misleading" Parliament over the death of 39 Indians who killed by terrorist outfit Islamic State after they were kidnapped in Iraq in 2014. "Three Congress MPs from Punjab submitted a privilege motion to Rajya Sabha secretary general. We stated that for four years the country, the House and families of 39 victims killed in Mosul were misled. The government didn't take it seriously as these were poor people," Congress leader PS Bajwa said. The party had issued a three-line whip to all its MPs in the Rajya Sabha asking them to be present in the House at 11 am on Friday in full strength and support the party's stand. The Congress has been seeking to corner the government on some burning issues like PNB scam, the Supreme Court's order on SC/ST Act and the death of 39 Indians who were abducted by ISIS in Iraq. Congress MPs Ambika Soni, Pratap Bajwa and Shamsher Singh Dullo had given the notice for moving a motion against Swaraj in Rajya Sabha. In the notice given under Rule 188 of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Rajya Sabha, they intended to move the motion on the issue of Breach of Parliamentary Privilege. According to the motion, Swaraj, along with her colleague Minister of State for External Affairs General VK Singh (retd), "deliberately misled" the families of the 39 Indians killed in Mosul, on the floor of Parliament and outside. Between June 2014 and March 2018, the minister continued to state as a matter of fact that the individuals were not only alive but that the government was undertaking steps for their release, it read. "On March 18, 2018, the Minister confirmed on the floor of Parliament that the individuals in question had been slain, thereby demonstrating beyond all doubts that the Government had lied to Parliament and nation on a consistent basis. This is a serious breach of Parliamentary privilege and stringent action must be taken against the members for their gross acts of negligence and dereliction of public duty," the motion read. Accusing the central government of trying to suppress the Mosul tragedy, she said it did not talk about it despite several efforts to raise the issue. "We have continuously tried to raise the issue, but Swaraj always said she cannot share the sources nor any document and always claimed that they are alive. The government's efforts to put a cover on the issue led to misconceptions among the families of the deceased," Soni said, adding, "We have come to know from Iraq that they died at least a year ago, but our government has been so insensitive." (With PTI inputs) (Reporting by Kartikeya Sharma) New Delhi: Chief Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat said on Friday that the India's Election Commission had limited engagement with Facebook and therefore, no vulnerability exists here. A whistleblower said earlier this week that Cambridge Analytica, which US President Donald Trump hired for his 2016 election campaign, improperly accessed information on Facebook users to build detailed profiles on American voters. It has been suspected that Indian political parties too may have employed its services to pry on voters. Rawat though has insisted that Facebook has had no access to EC's data and added that relationship with the social media giant has not been suspended as the whole issue regarding a possible data breach wordwide has not been diagnosed and confirmed. He also said that Election Commission is aware of the Cambridge-Analytica Facebook issue and is getting the matter enquired from Enforcement Agencies to double check the possibility of any misuse of data that may have taken place ever. Rawat said that to the best of his knowledge, no such incident imitating what is being reported abroad has come into light in context of the Indian electoral process - either in way of complaint or fact. "Social media is a reality and EC understands it. For this very reason, we have a social media policy and also a social media hub in the Election Commission," he said. "It is a powerful tool to connect with the voters and we will continue to engage people through it with adequate stipulation that data is not breached and misused. And if any incident comes to light then adequate steps will be taken." Rawat also added that the EC has set up a committee to look into legal provision of emerging technological environment so that any attempt to influence Indian elections are nipped in the bud. "We will continue to harvest the potential of new technologies without becoming its victims," he said. He also said that fake news is the emerging challenge in the electoral arena and the EC is determined to ensure that it does not end up manipulating Indian election process. He further added that the Election Commission is concerned about new cybersecurity threat and to understand the emerging challenges, it had held a day-long meeting in March to understand the issue. "Election Commission has already unveiled cybersecurity regulations and we would be interacting with concerned agencies so that mechanisms are in place. Officers were made aware of the new challenges," said Rawat, adding that protecting IT systems is the biggest challenge currently. (This interview was first published on wionews.com) New Delhi: Maintaining that the government is yet to contact them and that their demand for compensation has so far gone unheard, families of the 39 Indian men killed in Iraq have said they will sit on a silent protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday if they are not contacted. The families of the men killed say that they have not been contacted by any government official, including External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. Many have also refused to accept the mortal remains of their kin unless the government provides adequate compensation and government jobs. "Union government has not contacted us yet. Sushma Swaraj has not replied to us even after repeated attempts to contact and meet her," Gurpinder Kaur, sister of Manjinder Singh who was among the 39 killed, told news agency ANI. "We won't do a violent protest, we'll just sit peacefully." Vijay Kumar, who also lost a family member, said that the government has already been told it has time till Saturday to respond. "We've given government time till tomorrow (Saturday) morning to announce a compensation to secure future of families of deceased. If they aren't able to do it then we'll protest at Jantar Mantar," he said. Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday had confirmed that 39 Indians who were missing in Iraq's Mosul since 2014 had been killed by terrorist outfit Islamic State. While the news did come as a shock to family members, they have since also been demanding proofs of identification. "My brother went to Iraq in 2012 where he worked as a carpenter. We had been asking MEA for proof of him being alive or dead. We demand that reports of the DNA test be given to us," Malkit Ram, brother of a Saganandlal who was among the 39 Indians killed in Mosul, said. While most family members threatening to protest are from Punjab and Haryana, they say that they have also contacted families of victims from other states and have been assured support. NEW DELHI: The family of freedom fighter Sukhdev may go on an indefinite hunger strike in New Delhi from Friday to demand that the government formally recognize Sukhdev, Bhagat Singh and Rajguru as martyrs. The protest begins on the 87th death anniversary of the three men, who were hanged by the British. "It has been around 70 years since independence, but they have not been given the status of martyr yet," pointed out a member of Sukhdev's family. Family members of Sukhdev said they would approach the government with their demand. If the government does not agree, they would go on a hunger strike in New Delhi, they said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to them by marking their death anniversary in a morning tweet. "The martyrdom of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru & Sukhdev was a watershed moment in our history. Every Indian is proud that these three great men belong to our land. At the peak of their youth they sacrificed their lives so that others can live a life of freedom and dignity," read PM Modi's tweet. The martyrdom of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru & Sukhdev was a watershed moment in our history. Every Indian is proud that these three great men belong to our land. At the peak of their youth they sacrificed their lives so that others can live a life of freedom and dignity. pic.twitter.com/XatfuPbyNK Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 23, 2018 The three men had been convicted in the Lahore Conspiracy Case, and were hanged for their roles in the 1928 killing of 21-year-old junior British police officer John Saunders. They had shot the wrong man. They had intended to kill a different officer, Superintendent of Police James A Scott, who had led the lathicharge in which independence movement leader Lala Lajpat Rai sustain the injuries he never recovered from and subsequently died of. Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru had been convicted and were hanged together on March 23, 1931 in Lahore. They have since become folk heroes of a sort and have been hailed for their willingness to give up their lives at such a young age. Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev were 23, and Rajguru 22 when they were hanged. They have become cult figures as a byword for valour, and a number of movies and documentaries have been made on them. Their imagery, especially that of Bhagat Singh, also emerges from time to time as an identity assertion by a handful of communities. ISLAMABAD: The controversial China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project cannot progress without Indian cooperation, Pakistan said on Thursday. Stressing the need for strengthening regional cooperation, Islamabad added that India holds the key to peace in South Asia. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Thursday, Pakistan Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal said, The CPEC would bring prosperity to the region, including China and Pakistan, reported Pakistani Daily Dawn. The minister's comments came nearly two weeks after Iran invited Pakistan to become a part of the Chabahar project. The invite was aimed at pressuring Pakistan's policy making apparatus to be part of a corridor that undercuts its geographical advantage. Critising India for alleged short-sighted approach, Iqbal said, CPEC is purely an economic development project that would bring prosperity. India should get benefit from the project rather than pursuing unnecessary criticism. The CPEC would bring prosperity to the region, including China and Pakistan, he added. Transport corridors help connect the countries and play a pivotal role in economic integration, trade development and regional connectivity across the globe, he said. India is opposed to CPEC as it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). CPEC is a crucial part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Repeated invitations from China and Pakistan to other countries in the neighbourhood to join CPEC have so far not received an enthusiastic response. In 2017, China even reached out to India to ensure smooth sailing for the project. Earlier in March, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, during a three-day visit to Pakistan, made a move to placate Pakistan's deep misgivings over India's long-standing involvement in the Chabahar Port project. The Chabahar Port has given India access to Afghanistan and Central Asia. These were regions where it had become unviable for India to interact with since most connectivity options ran through Pakistan, with whom India has perpetually strained relations. In November 2017, India successfully delivered an aid shipment of wheat to Afghanistan through the Chabahar Port. However there are an increasing number of strains on CPEC. These range from protests over Chinese workers being used instead of locals, to rising voices from politicians about the high non-financial costs of CPEC, to questions over whether Chinese companies are operating illegally in Pakistan, to unhappiness over unfavourable terms on some of the infrastructure projects, and repeated attacks on Chinese workers. New Delhi: Unruly scenes of violence broke out on Friday afternoon when a protest march of JNU students and members of JNU Teachers'Association (JNUTU) to Parliament was brought to a halt by Delhi Police. The protestors were demanding suspension of Professor Atul Johri - accused of sexually harassing students. Students and Delhi Police officials clashed around the city's INA Market area after the protestors were asked to halt. To bring the crowd under control, cops had to make use of water cannons but even that did not deter the students from raising slogans, clashing with security officials and from attempting to continue their march towards Parliament. Police said the protestors didn't have permission to take out the demonstration and were asked to return to the campus. However, they didn't relent and started storming the barricades, a police officer said, adding the police then used batons and water cannons to disperse the protestors. "Several people were injured in police action," the officer said. The main cause of their ire has been the fact that Johri has not been suspended by JNU despite serious allegations of sexual misconduct against him. At least eight complaints were filed against Johri who was subsequently arrested on Tuesday and then given bail on the same day. Students have been demanding that he also should be suspended because they claim that is the right procedure followed each time a serious charge is levelled against a staff. The professor in the Department of Life Sciences though claims innocence and his lawyer has said that it is a political conspiracy being hatched against him. He also added that Johri had admonished certain students for having low attendance and it is because of this that these students decided to conspire against him. (With inputs from IANS) New Delhi: After TDP and Jagan Reddy's YSR Congress, the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress on Friday gave a notice for a no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre. According to reports, veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, in a letter to Lok Sabha Secretary General, gave the notice to include no-confidence motion in the list of business on 27th March. "This House expresses a no-confidence in the Council of Ministers of the Narendra Modi government," read the notice tabled by Mallikarjun Kharge, the Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha. Congress Mallikarjun Kharge writes to #LokSabha Secretary General, gives notice to include no-confidence motion in the list of business on 27th March. pic.twitter.com/zLfYxJ6AWK ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018 The N Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP and Jagan Reddy's YSR Congress Party have already filed notices for a no-confidence motion against the Modi government over the issue of special category status for Andhra Pradesh, but they have not been taken up due to continued disruption of the House. The notices for the Motion of No-Confidence had been given by Thota Narasimham of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and YV Subba Reddy of the YSR Congress. The AIADMK and the TRS have been paralysing the proceedings inside the Parliament with protests, pressing for their demands for constituting the Cauvery Water Management Board and raising the reservation quota for jobs in Telangana. Reach out to Opposition to end RS logjam, Naidu urges govt Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu Friday urged the government to reach out to different political parties to end the three-week-long impasse in the Rajya Sabha and hoped that order would be restored in the House from Monday. "We have a long list of business. I hope the Parliamentary Affairs Minister and the government will also take into confidence the members of different political parties and come to some understanding by Monday. At least the House should run and have all this business," Naidu said in the House. "Today (Friday) we are completing three weeks (of logjam). During my long stint in public life, I have seen very few distressing events as the present one. Rajya Sabha, the House of elders, could not discharge the mandated duties for three weeks. As the Chairman, I tried everything that I could but no result," Naidu said earlier. "All sections of the House need to introspect as to why we have let down the people of the country for three long weeks," he added. Naidu said that persisting with disruptions for three weeks had no justification. "I know some of you have to say that it is not the first time such a thing is happening. For how long do you keep justifying the present wrong based on those of the past? People of the country are aspiring for a certain change. Should the change not begin with the Rajya Sabha, the House of elders," he asked. He said he had been getting queries from the public as to why the House was not being adjourned sine die. "Will the next week be any different? I am sad to note that I would not like to hazard any guess. I leave it to the leaders and honourable members of Parliament from all sides to reflect and decide if you are going to change for better... It is for you to rekindle the hope. You have to decide," the Chairman said. (With Agency inputs) New Delhi: The National Cadet Corps (NCC), which operates under the defence ministry, is collecting mobile phone numbers and e-mail addresses of around 15 lakh cadets for the PMO as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to reach out to them soon, official sources said. They said Modi expressed his desire to connect with the cadets when he met NCC Director General Lt Gen B S Sahrawat recently. Last month, Lt Gen Sahrawat sent a communication to all the state directorates of the NCC asking them to collect personal details like mobile phone numbers and e-mail IDs of the cadets, the sources said, adding the data will be sent to the Prime Minister's Office. Though it has not been finalised how the prime minister will connect with the cadets, there are indications that it may be through video conferencing or through 'Narendra Modi app'. The NCC is the largest voluntary youth organisation of the country which was raised in 1948. The sources said the phone numbers and e-mail IDs of around 80 per cent of the cadets have already been collected by the state directorates. They, however, said no instructions have been sent to the cadets to download the 'Narendra Modi app'. The NCC headquarters have also asked the state directorates to separately prepare a list of college students which are part of the NCC. Top headlines on Friday morning: 1. Anna Hazare to begin 'satyagraha' today, accuses Centre of cancelling trains carrying protestors Hazare has been accusing the Centre of not appointing the Lokpal to investigate the cases of corruption, despite having a law in place. Read more 2. Rajya Sabha polls: Voting begins for 25 seats in 6 states; BJP holds edge Rajya Sabha polls: Counting of votes will begin from 5 pm onwards. Read more 3. Trade war begins: US, China impose tariffs on each other The US currently has nearly $500 billion of trade deficit with China. Read more 4. US-China Trade War: Sensex falls over 400 points, Nifty slips below 10,000 Sensex was trading 438.30 points or 1.33 percent down at 32,567.97 while the Nifty plunged 142.10 points or 1.40 percent at 9,972.65. Read more 5. Nalanda: 5 dead, 25 injured in blast at illegal firecracker factory 17 people in critical condition. Read more 6. For the first time, Air India flies to Israel through Saudi Arabian airspace Saudi Arabia - birthplace of Islam and home to its holiest shrines - does not recognize Israel. Read more 7. Give martyr status to Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukdev, family demands Sukhdev's family is set to go on a hunger strike in New Delhi to press the demand. Read more 8. Preity Zinta's recent Instagram post suggests that change is the only constant Preity shared two pictures of her on Instagram, one from the year 2000 and the other from 2018 and sent out a special message to her fans. Read more New Delhi: At a time when social media is a prominent tool in engaging with people at large, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told BJP MPs to have at least 3 lakh followers on their respective Twitter accounts. This has been done to better update people about the achievements of the government and what it plans to do in the time to come. With an eye on Lok Sabha elections next year, the role of social media to reach out to voters was emphasised during BJP's Parliamentary meeting on Friday evening. MPs were reportedly told to reach out to people in their constituencies and make them aware of all that the government has achieved since coming to power in 2014. The significance of social media was especially highlighted and a presentation was also shown to help MPs understand why connecting with voters online was a necessary aspect of contemporary democracies. During the meeting, it was highlighted that 43 BJP MPs do not have a Facebook account and that among those who do, 77 are not verified on the social media platform. BJP's top brass wants to change this as it believes that PM Modi's policies and pro-poor schemes can better reach people if it is spread through the online medium. But expanding presence online is not the only task assigned. MPs have been told to personally visit their respective constituencies as well and inform people about various schemes and policies taken out since 2014. Feedback too is extremely important and the parliamentarians have been told to not just make a list of grievances but also try to solve them. BJP chief Amit Shah also spoke on the occasion and said it is crucial for MPs to hold press conferences in their constituencies and tell people why the ongoing session of Parliament has seen continues disruptions. "Amit ji said all MPs of the party must visit their respective constituencies on this Saturday, Sunday and Monday, and explain to people through programmes and press conferences that who is disrupting Parliament session and why are they doing it," said Union Minister Prakash Javadekar. BJP is not the only party to have begun preparations for the elections next year. Congress too has begun its task of creating a roadmap for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and recently said that poverty, farmer suicides and the economy will be its three focus areas. NEW DELHI: Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of spinning fake news and termed the ruling party 'lying factory'. Rahul launched the scathing attack in connection with the role of Cambridge Analytica, which is under fire over data breach, in Indian politics. Taking to Twitter, Rahul on Friday said: "BJP lying factory at work: Journalist set to break big story on how Cambridge Analytica (CA) was paid to infiltrate and sabotage the Congress in 2012. BJP rushes Cabinet Minister to lie and spin fake news: Congress worked with CA! Real story vanishes." The Congress and the BJP have been accusing each other of hiring the services of the controversial firm accused of data theft. The Congress has been alleging that the BJP hired the company's services in various state polls like in Bihar, Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand and Delhi, besides for its 'Mission 272+' in 2014 general elections. In a multi-pronged attack on the government, Rahul and the entire Congress party have been alleging that the BJP is using the issue as a diversionary tactic to deflect attention from issues such as the death of 39 Indians in captivity in Iraq. The BJP, on the other hand, alleged that the Congress and its chief have hired the services of the company. Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the Congress used the services of CA to influence elections in different states. He alleged that imprints of the controversial British firm were "visible" in the Congress' campaign in Gujarat. It ran a "poisonous and divisive campaign" in the state, he claimed. Prasad had said that the entire social media campaign of Rahul and Congress was managed with the help of Cambridge Analytica. Scientist have finally solved the mystery of 'Ata' the little skeleton with an alien-shaped skull considered to be an extra-terrestrial being for long. Nearly 15 years ago, researchers discovered a mysterious skeleton in the Atacama Desert of Chile in 2003. The skeleton was recovered in a leather pouch, behind an abandoned church. About 15 centimetres tall, the skeleton has an elongated skull, slanted eye sockets making it look like an alien. Dated to approximately 1970s, the skeleton also has just 10 pairs of ribs instead of the usual 12. The skeleton's physical dimensions baffled scientists for long. Now, after five years of examination, a research team unravelled the genetic make-up of Ata. Led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and Stanford University, forensic analysis of the remains revealed they undoubtedly belonged to a human a child aged around six years of age. It belonged to an infant girl with a handful of rare gene mutations linked to dwarfism, deformities and apparent premature aging, said the study in Genome Research. But the researchers admit, it's genetic mutation was previously unkown. Experts previously said that the bones appeared to belong to someone between the ages of six and eight, but this advanced wear on the bones was likely a consequence of the child`s deformities, not a reflection of her actual age. In fact, the study said she likely didn`t live long, and may have been born premature. "Given the size of the specimen and the severity of the mutations... it seems likely the specimen was a pre-term birth," said the study. Researchers now say the skeleton -- which is incredibly intact -- is probably no more than 40 years old. Using DNA extracted from the bone marrow, researchers did a whole-genome analysis which determined that she was South American, "with genetic variations that identified her as being from the Andean region inhabited by the Chilean Chilote Indians," said the report. The child had a never-before seen rib count of 10 pairs. Humans typically have 12 pairs. Senior author Garry Nolan, professor of microbiology and immunology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, said "a relatively short list of mutations in genes known previously to be associated with bone development" were found in genes related to dwarfism, scoliosis, and musculoskeletal abnormalities. Some were previously known to scientists, others were not. Just how the child came to have these genetic flaws is still a mystery, but researchers suggested contamination from a nearby mine could be to blame. "While we can only speculate as to the cause for multiple mutations in Ata`s genome, the specimen was found in La Noria, one of the Atacama Desert`s many abandoned nitrate mining towns, which suggests a possible role for prenatal nitrate exposure leading to DNA damage," said the study. Nolan said the discovery could one day lead to treatments for people with bone problems. "Maybe there`s a way to accelerate bone growth in people who need it, people who have bad breaks," he said. "Nothing like this had been seen before. Certainly, nobody had looked into the genetics of it." For now, though, he urged the skeleton -- which is owned by a Spanish archeological collector -- to be returned to Chile. "I think it should be returned to the country of origin and buried according to the customs of the local people." Since its initial discovery, Ata was sold on to the black market and eventually passed into the hands of a Spanish businessman. SHIMLA: Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi was on Friday rushed back to Delhi after she complained of restlessness late on Thursday night. Senior Medical Superintendent at Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) Hospital Dr Ramesh Chand, who accompanied Sonia Gandhi till Chandigarh, said her condition was stable. Dr Ramesh said he received a call from the doctor accompanying Sonia Gandhi asking for an ambulance for her. But, she soon left in her own car. The ambulance along with a team of doctors joined her entourage on the way. She was reportedly taken to PGI Chandigarh but the doctors who were examining her advised her to be taken to Delhi instead. She took a small halt at Panchkula at around 2.35 am and stayed at a hotel there before she took a special flight to travel to Delhi on Friday morning. Sonia was in Shimla to inspect the under-construction house of her daughter Priyanka Vadra at Chharabra. Priyanka also accompanied Sonia on her brief trip. They had stayed at a five-star luxury hotel, Wildflower Hall, near Charabra. Her health reportedly deteriorated due to cold conditions in Shimla and adjoining areas. New Delhi: Kerala has become the latest state to join issue over the proposed changes to the way the Centre disburses funds to the states. Just hours after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah appealed to his counterparts in the other southern states to raise the issue, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac invited the finance ministers of these states for a meeting on the issue. The meeting is likely to be attended by representatives from the governments of all the southern states, considering they have all at one point or the other expressed grievances with the fact that they earn the bulk of the Centre's tax revenue, but get very little in return. The meeting, if it does take place, is likely to help bring Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on the same page. Maharashtra, Odisha, West Bengal and Punjab are the other states that have been identified by some southern politicians as states that would suffer from the Centre's recommendation to the 15th Finance Commission to use the 2011 census as the basis for devolvement of funds instead of the 1971 census. Over the past week, the southern states have seen rising levels of concern as well as unity over the Centre's recommendation, which had been made without consulting the southern states. The opposition to this move had come on the basis that if there is a move away from the 1971 census numbers that are presently being used, it would cause great financial harm to the southern states. This has compounded already existing grievances that the southern states deliver the majority chunk of tax revenues to the Centre, but get substantially less in return. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Telangana CM Chandrasekhar Rao and Siddarmaiah have all complained that the northern states, especially those in the so-called 'cow belt', get a lot more money from the Centre than they earn in taxes. Not only finance, if the frame of reference is shifted from 1971 to 2011, the southern states stand to lose seats in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to the northern states, as the delimitation would be carried out on the new population figures. The core of this summer of discontent for the south comes from the fact that all of the states in the region have managed to bring population growth to replacement levels. Meanwhile, many of the northern states have made little to no progress on this front since the 1970s. This has meant the population of the northern states has grown faster than that of the southern states, leaving them at a disadvantage when resources are divided on the basis of population. Also, as Siddarmaiah had complained in a column last week, such a move would make all the efforts of the southern states meaningless and, for all practical purposes, penalise their success in implementing Central policies and directives. DMK leader MK Stalin had written letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the CMs of 10 states on the issue. This had come just days after he told reporters that he would support any efforts by the southern states to break away from India over this issue. NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India will engage in a serious rethink of its voter awareness campaigns on Facebook, Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat has said. This may come up for discussion as early as Friday evening, at a meeting of the top officials of the EC, he said. The CEC's statements on the relationship with Facebook came in an interview to The Indian Express. He said the EC is concerned over revelation of the Facebook data breach and the use of this data by outfits like Cambridge Analytica to influence elections in other countries. "Something which can affect the election arena in an adverse manner, like public opinion being moulded. this should concern us and we will take a view on this," Express quoted him saying. "We will be considering this issue in its entire dimension in the Commission meeting," he added. So far, the EC has collaborated actively with the social media giant to run its voter awareness programmes. The platform was viewed as a critical instrument in reaching out to young voters to register and to come out and exercise their vote. The EC's use of social media is not confined to the head office alone. It officials in each state - the Chief Electoral Officers - have over the past decade all been encouraged to conduct outreach programmes and post news on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. On Wednesday, Union IT and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad warned the social media giant against 'data theft'. He said the government would treat the possible use of such data to influence elections in India as a matter of national security. He also warned Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg that the Indian government would summon him to India if found necessary. The Election Commission's review of its truck with Facebook comes at a difficult moment for the social media behemoth. It has bene under constant attack over the past year, especially for the way it had been used to influence US voters in the run-up to the 2016 elections, in which Donald Trump emerged victorious. Manipulations on Facebook have also been blamed for the outcome of the Brexit vote in the UK. New Delhi: Recognising the changing ground realities in the Afghan-Pak region, retired vice admiral Arifullah Hussaini has called for talks with India. Highlighting that his country's relations with the United States has unmistakably strained in recent months, he said stability in the sub-continent largely depends on Indo-Pak relations. The Dawn reported that Hussaini and several other speakers at a seminar titled 'Indian hegemonic design and its implications', called for recognising that conventional tactics used for decades are largely becoming irrelevant in the new international political scenario. "India is a rising power. Their defence budget is going up about seven per cent every year which is about three per cent of their GDP. The US thinks it can counter China by developing India. On the other hand, nobody is ready to listen to the narrative of Pakistan," said the retired vice admiral. "Therefore, it is sensible to bring India to the negotiating table so that both countries discover a peaceful solution to their problems. War is not a favourable option." While the vice admiral did recognise India's growing economic might, he pointed out that the country's focus on developing its military was faulty. "I think India is wasting its money on defence. The future of war does not belong to conventional methods but artificial intelligence. Whosoever uses it well will win. Therefore, we have to learn artificial intelligence," he said. The manner of development work being undertaken in both India and Pakistan too was highlighted. Professor Dr Khalida Ghaus, who was also part of the same seminar, said infrastructure projects in border areas have received special focus in recent Indian budgets. "I have noticed that the Indian budget focuses more on borders, tunnels, defence corridors, infrastructure in Ladakh, Zojila Pass in Jammu and Kashmir and Sela Pass in Arunachal Pradesh," she said, adding that such developments need to be monitored closely. Hasan Habib, former ambassador to China and North Korea, agreed and said also focused on US presence in Afghanistan. "On the western border, it is now getting clearer that the US will not quit Afghanistan. It is a strategic location for them from where they can keep a close eye on China, Russia, Iran and Pakistan," he said. This and the fact that the US had previously asked India to play a greater role in Afghanistan is being looked at with utmost caution by Islamabad. On exepcted lines, most of the analysts agreed that China's help is equipping Pakistan to fast-track its development and modernisation plans. Several even said the competition between India and Pakistan has now become tripartite with the Chinese involvement. China recently sold an advanced missile tracking system to Pakistan in an unprecedented deal. It is clear then that Beijing is looking at propping Pakistan as a formidable adversary to India - a country which is otherwise far ahead in terms of economy and military. NEW DELHI: A certain unity in opinion is developing among the politicians of the southern states of the country. On Friday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah tweeted a simple call to action to the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Puducherry: We need to resist. The point of concern was the Narendra Modi government's recommendation to the 15th Finance Commission to use the 2011 census to determine how much money the Centre will devolve to different state governments. So far, this has been done on the basis of the 1971 census. "Center asks 15th FC to use 2011 census data instead of 1971 census used so far to determine devolution of taxes. This will further affect the interests of the south:we need to resist," read a tweet from Siddaramaiah on Friday morning. He had tagged the Twitter handles of the six other Chief Ministers in his post. He also tagged DMK leader MK Stalin and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on it. Center asks 15th FC to use 2011 census data instead of 1971 census used so far to determine devolution of taxes. This will further affect the interests of the south:we need to resist. @CMOKerala @CMOTamilNadu @ncbn @TelanganaCMO @Dev_Fadnavis @CMPuducherry https://t.co/6EoDp0xClh Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) March 23, 2018 Politicians - both in and out of power - across the southern part of the country are increasingly speaking in one voice against the Centre's recommendation to the Finance Commission. The point of contention is that the southern states have all successfully controlled their populations, while those in the north, especially in the 'cow belt' have not. This means the population of the northern states has grown faster than that of the southern states. If the Centre devolves funds based on the population numbers of 2011, then the percentage of funds that the southern states get would be at odds with their efforts at population control. This controversy is further trouble, coming as it does when the southern Chief Ministers have already been complaining about the existing mismatch in the devolution of Central funds. Telangana CM Chandrasekhar Rao and Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu have both openly complained that the Centre earns much more from their states than it gives back. Siddaramaiah had articulated it differently in a column last week, saying the southern states are in effect subsidising the north. However, these are instances of them complaining about the present state of affairs. The mismatch would become much wider if the Centre's recommendations to the 15th Finance Commission are accepted. Just days ago, DMK leader MK Stalin had written two letters - one to PM Modi and the other to the Chief Ministers of 10 states - raising the issue of the proposed change to the basis for the devolution of funds. Just days before that, he had also said that he would support any attempt by the southern states to break away from India. The use of the 1971 census as the basis for devolution on funds from the Centre was codified by Constitutional amendment in 1976. When that period ran out in 2011, another Constitutional amendment in 2011 retained the 1976 census till 2026. The Modi government's proposal to use the 2011 census is likely to united the southern states, where the BJP is mostly a fringe presence, against the north, on the mandate of which it is in power. New Delhi: Pakistan wants to sort out "as soon as possible" the issue of alleged harassment of diplomats, its High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood said on Friday and asserted that his country desired "peaceful and good-neighbourly" relations with India. Mahmood, who came back to India on Thursday night, a week after he was called to Islamabad for consultations amid the raging row between India and Pakistan over harassment of diplomats, said such issues affect the relations between the two countries. "I discussed this issue (alleged harassment of Pakistani diplomats in India) with our government. We want to sort out this issue as soon as possible because it affects the relations between the countries," the Pakistani envoy said on the sidelines of an event organised to mark 'Pakistan National Day'. Mahmood was called back to Islamabad for consultations after alleged incidents of harassment of its diplomatic staff in New Delhi, with the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson claiming the Indian government failed to take notice of the increasing incidents of intimidation of Pakistani diplomats, their families and staff by its intelligence agencies. India and Pakistan have accused each other of harassing diplomats in Islamabad and New Delhi. During his address at the event, Mahmood said, "Pakistan desired peaceful and good-neighbourly relations with India on the basis of sovereign equality and mutual respect. It was important to resolve all outstanding issues, including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, peacefully through dialogue." He also said that peace was in the mutual interest of both countries and it could only be achieved through diplomacy and dialogue. New Delhi: The nation knows Bhagat Singh as the revolutionary leader who challenged the British and sacrificed his life for the country. But Bhagat Singh was also a fiercely independent thinker, who rejected the mere idea and the existence of God at a time when India was riddled with superstitions and speaking out against God or religion was considered a sin. Just a year before his execution in 1931, during his imprisonment in Lahore jail, Bhagat Singh had a conversation with a fellow inmate, Baba Randhir Singh. Randhir Singh, a religious man and a member of Ghadar Party who was convicted in the first Lahore conspiracy case, tried to incite his belief in God. However, Bhagat Singh did not change his stand and said that he will remain an atheist. Thereafter, Randhir Singh said "You are giddy with fame and have developed an ego which is standing like a black curtain between you and God". In reply to Randhir, the freedom fighter penned an essay titled 'Why I am an atheist', discussing his atheism and how he came to the conclusion about God's non-existence which, he wrote, did not come because of his vanity. Bhagat Singh explained how a religious boy who chanted prayers for hours, became an atheist and also questioned theists about the existence of God. After his execution, the essay was published on September 27, 1931 in Lala Lajpat Rai's English weekly The People. Bhagat Singh began his essay by talking about how people were so quick to assume that his beliefs stemmed out of vanity. He wrote that he had never imagined that his beliefs and opinions on God would garner so much criticism. It is a matter of debate whether my lack of belief in the existence of an Omnipresent, Omniscient God is due to my arrogant pride and vanity. It never occurred to me that sometime in the future I would be involved in polemics of this kind. As a result of some discussions with my friends, I have realised that after having known me for a little time only, some of them have reached a kind of hasty conclusion about me that my atheism is my foolishness and that it is the outcome of my vanity. Once he had come out as an atheist, it was tough for him to deal with questions of faith that were thrown at him. He wrote how his friends believed that the fame he received after the Delhi bombing and Lahore Conspiracy had gone to his head, which led him to dismiss the existence of God an allegation he denied saying that he was an atheist even when he was an unknown name. My friends say that after Delhi bombing and Lahore Conspiracy Case, I rocketed to fame and that this fact has turned my head. Let us discuss why this allegation is incorrect. I did not give up my belief in God after these incidents. I was an atheist even when I was an unknown figure. He then spoke about his duration at the National College, which is where he said he became sceptical about God's existence, despite being a firm believer at the time. He wrote that in spite of growing a beard and 'Kais' a religious custom among the Sikhs his belief in religion as a whole started wavering. In the Non-cooperation days, I got admission to the National College. During my stay in this college, I began thinking over all the religious polemics such that I grew sceptical about the existence of God. In spite of this fact I can say that my belief in God was firm and strong. I grew a beard and Kais (long head of hair as a Sikh religious custom). In spite of this I could not convince myself of the efficacy of Sikh religion or any religion at all, for that matter. But I had an unswerving, unwavering belief in God. However, Bhagat Singh knew that he had turned into an atheist when the entire responsibility of his party fell on his shoulders. This is when, he wrote, he became an avid reader in order to equip himself with knowledge so that he could defend his party against any kind of contemptuous ridicule with logic. His belief during that time underwent a dynamic change and by the end of 1926, he had fully embraced atheism. Till that time I was only a romantic revolutionary, just a follower of our leaders. Then came the time to shoulder the whole responsibility. For some time, a strong opposition put the very existence of the party into danger. Many leaders as well as many enthusiastic comrades began to uphold the party to ridicule. They jeered at us. It was a turning point in my revolutionary career. An incessant desire to study filled my heart. Study more and more, said I to myself so that I might be able to face the arguments of my opponents. My previous beliefs and convictions underwent a radical change. No more mysticism! No more blind faith! Now realism was our mode of thinking. By the end of 1926, I was convinced that the belief in an Almighty, Supreme Being who created, guided and controlled the universe had no sound foundations. In his essay, Bhagat Singh openly proclaims that the origin of faith lies in a man's weakness to stand without any support in the face of obstacles. Beliefs make it easier to go through hardships, even make them pleasant. Man can find a strong support in God and an encouraging consolation in His Name. If you have no belief in Him, then there is no alternative but to depend upon yourself. It is not childs play to stand firm on your feet amid storms and strong winds. He swam against the tide and described the struggles he faced, which he said is what a person goes through when he discards the old and conventional beliefs of God and his power. You go against popular feelings; you criticise a hero, a great man who is generally believed to be above criticism. What happens? No one will answer your arguments in a rational way; rather you will be considered vainglorious. Its reason is mental insipidity. Merciless criticism and independent thinking are the two necessary traits of revolutionary thinking. But, what makes his essay really stand out were two hard-hitting questions that he asks about God's existence: 1. If, as you believe there is an Almighty, Omnipresent, Omniscient God, who created the earth or universe, please let me know, first of all, as to why he created this world? This world which is full of woe and grief, and countless miseries, where not even one person lives in peace. 2. Pray, dont say it is his law. If he's bound by any law, he's not Omnipotent. Dont say it is his pleasure. Nero burnt one Rome. He killed a very limited number of people. Hecaused only a few tragedies, all for his morbid enjoyment. But what is his place in history? Nero: the tyrant, the heartless, the wicked. Concluding his write-up with a well-defended argument, Bhagat Singh urged people to rise above religious convictions and move forward on the path of reality, rather than finding comfort in mystical entity. Society must fight against this belief in God as it fought against idol worship and other narrow conceptions of religion. In this way man will try to stand on his feet. Being realistic, he will have to throw his faith aside and face all adversaries with courage and valour. It is evident from his essay that Bhagat Singh recognised the potentiality of religion as a source of arousing the spirit of patriotism. While he was often torn by serious conflicts about his beliefs, he could find consolation in prayers and meditation while he was in prison. However, rationality overtook self-delusion and Bhagat Singh decided to stand on his own and depend upon the power of his own knowledge. Bhagat Singh termed the identity of God as 'artificial crutches' and embraced liberty as his religion, while socialism became his God and 'Inquilaab Zindabad' his life's motto. He wrote: New Delhi: Hong Kong and mainland Chinese stocks plunged at open Friday on growing fears of a global trade war after Donald Trump imposed billions of dollars of tariffs on Chinese imports and Beijing drew up a list of retaliatory measures. The Hang Seng Index plunged 3.67 percent, or 1,140.82 points, to 29,930.23, while the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.78 percent, or 90.71 points, to 3,172.77 and the Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China`s second exchange, dropped 3.09 percent, or 57.22 points, to 1,792.38. China has announced a list of US goods including pork and aluminium pipe it says may be hit by higher tariffs in response to President Donald Trump's higher import duties on steel and aluminium. Trump signed a presidential memorandum on Thursday that could impose tariffs on up to $60 billion of imports from China, although the measures have a 30-day consultation period. Investors fear that the U.S. measures could escalate into a trade war, with potentially dire consequences for the global economy. Tokyo stocks too opened sharply down Friday, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 index falling three percent on revived trade war fears. Meanwhile, Oil prices recouped overnight losses after Saudi Arabia said that OPEC and Russian-led production curbs introduced in 2017 will need to be extended into 2019. U.S. crude futures were up 1.2 percent at $65.08 per barrel after losing 1.3 percent on Thursday and Brent gained 1 percent to $69.58 per barrel . Other commodities did not fare as well amid the trade war fears, with copper on the London Metal Exchange extending a big overnight drop and falling to a three-month low of $6,640.00 per tonne. With Agency Inputs Srinagar: An FIR was registered against J&K separatist leader Asiya Andrabi, the chairman of banned organisation Dukhtaran-e-Millat, for celebrating Pakistan's National Day on Friday. According to reports, Andrabi and other activists of her outfit were booked on charges of raising anti-national slogans and indulging in unlawful activities. ''We 'have registered a case against Dukhtaran-e-Milat over a video which has gone viral,'' a top police official said. "It has come to our notice that the group's activists have indulged in certain unlawful activities. They have also raised anti-national slogans and have given hate and provocative speeches," he added. Action against Andrabi and others was taken after they organised a gathering to celebrate `Pakistan Day`. Addressing the function, Asiya Andrabi, the chief of the outfit, reportedly said that all Muslims of the sub-continent were Pakistanis on the basis of Islam, faith and the love of the Prophet. The activists also sang Pakistan`s national anthem. (With Agency inputs) SRINAGAR: Separatist and Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief Asiya Andrabi observed Pakistan National Day in Srinagar on Friday. During the event, Asiya Andrabi reportedly said 'all Muslims in the sub-continent are Pakistanis'. "Every Muslim in the sub-continent is a Pakistani on the basis of Islam, Iman (faith), Quran and love for Prophet Muhammad (SAW)," she said. During the event, she along with her supporters also sang Pakistan's national anthem. The event was held at an undisclosed location in Srinagar. As per some videos of the programme, Andrabi can be seen singing praises of Pakistan. Pakistan celebrates March 23 every year as its Republic Day to commemorate the adoption of the first constitution in 1956. It is celebrating its 78th Pakistan Day on Friday with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena as the guest of honour at parade at Shakarparian. This is not the first time that Andrabi has supported Pakistan. In March 2017, she was reportedly caught on camera interacting with terrorists in Pakistan and plotting against India. She was heard saying anti-India comments and were seen to be harming Indian interests in Kashmir. She was even heard in a video saying that she supported the act of her 'so called' brother Hafeez Saeed The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had also in the past termed Dukhtaran-e-Millat, an all-woman outfit based in Kashmir, as a "terrorist" organisation. The NIA made the decision after the outfit openly supported 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermid terrorist Hafiz Muhammad Saeed on several ocassions. Last year, she was seen on a poster of a government campaign - 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' alongside Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and others leading to a controversy. Thiruvananthapuram: Left Front-backed candidate MP Veerendra Kumar on Friday won the Rajya Sabha by-election from Kerala by securing a huge margin against Congress candidate Babu Prasad. Kumar, who resigned the seat in the Rajya Sabha after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar joined hands with the BJP, contested the seat after shifting from the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). The 80-year-old Kumar, a former Union Minister and newspaper baron, secured 89 votes as against 40 that Babu Prasad got. "More than winning, I am happy that I am back with the LDF," said Kumar soon after arriving at the CPI-M headquarters here and was greeted by General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and state party secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. Counting that was supposed to begin at 5 pm took place after a delay of 50 minutes with the UDF leaders complaining that as per the guidelines three parties -- Communist Party of India, NCP and Janata Dal(United) - failed to appoint their agents and that their votes should not be counted. In the 140-member house, one seat is vacant following the death of a legislator. One vote of the LDF was declared invalid. Six legislators of the Kerala Congress (Mani), who currently sit as an independent block, the lone BJP legislator O Rajagopal and independent legislator PC George did not vote. The LDF met here early this month and offered the seat which Kumar himself had resigned in December after his party JD-U decided to end its alliance with the Congress-led UDF. Kumar and his party remained part of the LDF till 2009 but shifted to the UDF camp after he was denied his sitting Lok Sabha seat of Kozhikode. His party nominee was given a Cabinet post when the Oommen Chandy government assumed office in 2011. Kumar lost the 2014 Lok Sabha polls by over one lakh votes and since then he was unhappy with the UDF too. However, the UDF kept him happy by offering him a Rajya Sabha seat in 2016. New Delhi: Mini-ratna speciality alloy maker Mishra Dhatu Nigam (Midhani) initial public offer is closing on Friday. Set up in 1973, the Hyderabad-based Midhani manufactures special steel, super-alloys and the only manufacturer of titanium alloys in the country. The company gets over 65 percent of its customers in the defence ministry and the rest in automobiles and railways. Its products are widely used in the aerospace, power generation, nuclear, defence and other general engineering industries. It is setting up a plant in Rohtak in Haryana and an over Rs 3,500 crore joint venture with Nalco to manufacture aluminium alloys at Nellore in Andhra Pradesh. Here is all you need to know - The MIDHANI IPO was subscribed 64 percent on the second day of bidding on Thursday. - The IPO of the state-owned firm to raise Rs 438 crore received bids for 3,10,74,150 shares against the total issue size of 4,87,08,400 shares, data available with the NSE showed. - The portion set aside for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) was subscribed 1.09 times, non institutional investors 1 percent and retail investors 31 percent. - Through Midhani's Rs 438-crore initial public offer, the government is offloading 26 percent of its holding. - The company has fixed a price band of Rs 87-90 per equity share for the issue that opened on Tuesday (March 21). - The entire proceeds from share sale will go to government. - The share sale will be undertaken on behalf of the President acting through the defence ministry, the company said, adding that 1 percent of the issue is reserved for employees who, along with retail investors, will get a Rs 3 discount from the above price band. - The government will offer 48,708,400 shares or 26 percent of the paid-up equity, while the net offer for the public will constitute 46,835,000 shares or 25 percent. - SBI Caps and IDBI Capital Markets & Securities are the book-running lead managers to the issue. New Delhi: Stock market on Friday opened in the red with the BSE Sensex falling over 400 points and the NSE Nifty cracking the 10,000-mark on growing fears of a global trade war after Donald Trump imposed billions of dollars of tariffs on Chinese imports and Beijing drew up a list of retaliatory measures. At 9.33 am the BSE Sensex was trading 438.30 points or 1.33 percent down at 32,567.97 while the Nifty plunged 142.10 points or 1.40 percent at 9,972.65. All the sectoral indices, led by metal, realty, banking and capital goods stocks, were trading in the red, falling up to 2.77 percent. Top laggards were Yes Bank, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, SBI, Bajaj Auto, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp and L&T, falling by up to 3.08 percent. Hong Kong and mainland Chinese stocks plunged at open Friday. The Hang Seng Index plunged 3.67 percent, or 1,140.82 points, to 29,930.23, while the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.78 percent, or 90.71 points, to 3,172.77 and the Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China`s second exchange, dropped 3.09 percent, or 57.22 points, to 1,792.38. China has announced a list of US goods including pork and aluminium pipe it says may be hit by higher tariffs in response to President Donald Trump's higher import duties on steel and aluminium. Trump signed a presidential memorandum on Thursday that could impose tariffs on up to $60 billion of imports from China, although the measures have a 30-day consultation period. Investors fear that the U.S. measures could escalate into a trade war, with potentially dire consequences for the global economy. Tokyo stocks too opened sharply down Friday, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 index falling three percent on revived trade war fears. With Agency Inputs New Delhi: Rani Mukerji is back on the celluloid with the much-anticipated film 'Hichki' after a brief hiatus. 'Hichki' hit the theatres today and the film promises to be high on emotions with a moderate dose of comedy laced in between. Ritika Handoo of Zeenews.com grabbed the first day, first show ticket. She gave a live tweet review of the film. Check out her Twitter posts right here: Naina Mathur aka Rani Mukerji is the teacher we all need in schools #Hichki Ritika Handoo (@ritikahandoo) March 23, 2018 The kids in #Hichki are equally fab in their parts Ritika Handoo (@ritikahandoo) March 23, 2018 #Hichki will touch your hearts Ritika Handoo (@ritikahandoo) March 23, 2018 After Black #Hichki is another feather in Rani Mukerjis cap Ritika Handoo (@ritikahandoo) March 23, 2018 Rani Mukerji as Naina Mathur will keep you hooked in #Hichki Ritika Handoo (@ritikahandoo) March 23, 2018 #Hichki shows how kids need constant motivation at schools Ritika Handoo (@ritikahandoo) March 23, 2018 Rani Mukerjis act will leave you mighty impressed #Hichki Ritika Handoo (@ritikahandoo) March 23, 2018 #Hichki shows hiccups in life should not pose a road block in achieving your dreams Ritika Handoo (@ritikahandoo) March 23, 2018 Right to Education is for one and sundry. #Hichki Ritika Handoo (@ritikahandoo) March 23, 2018 Importance of student-teacher relationship portrayed brilliantly in #Hichki Ritika Handoo (@ritikahandoo) March 23, 2018 #Hichki looks like a breath of fresh air Ritika Handoo (@ritikahandoo) March 23, 2018 Kids give Rani Mukerji a tough time in #Hichki classroom Ritika Handoo (@ritikahandoo) March 23, 2018 Rani Mukerjis opening act is impressive #Hichki Ritika Handoo (@ritikahandoo) March 23, 2018 #Hichki creates awareness about Tourette Syndrome Ritika Handoo (@ritikahandoo) March 23, 2018 Ever wondered whats your #Hichki? Lets find out now Ritika Handoo (@ritikahandoo) March 23, 2018 The audience is read to watch Rani Mukerjis #Hichki Ritika Handoo (@ritikahandoo) March 23, 2018 #Hichki is helmed by Sidharth P Malhotra and produced by Maneesh Sharma. Ritika Handoo (@ritikahandoo) March 23, 2018 Rani Mukerji returns to the silver screens after a brief hiatus with #Hichki Ritika Handoo (@ritikahandoo) March 23, 2018 Hichki traces the journey of a teacher who suffers from Turrets syndrome. Students make fun of the side-effects of her disease and schools do not agree to hire her. The film celebrates self-belief, the resilience of human spirit and hope. The film is about turning disadvantages into opportunities and staring down at challenges and ultimately winning over them. Wife of filmmaker-producer and Yash Raj scion Aditya Chopra, Rani was last seen as a tough cop in Mardaani in 2014. New Delhi: The co-owner of Kamala Mills Compound, - the site of a devastating fire that claimed the lives of at least 14 people last year, has now approached the Supreme Court challenging his arrest in connection with the case. The top court is scheduled to hear the matter on March 27. In his petition, the co-owner of the Kamala Mills Compound, Ravi Surajmal Bhandari, has called his arrest in the case ''an illegal detention''. He has maintained that he could not be held liable for the Kamala Mills Compound fire tragedy. Bhandari decided to move the top court after getting no relief from the Bombay High Court earlier, as it dismissed his bail application. On January 25, the bail applications of all five accused - Yug Tuli, Yug Pathak, Abhijit Mankar, Jigar Sanghvi and Kripesh Sanghvi were categorically rejected by the Mumbai court. Owing to a massive outcry over violation of building safety norms in the aftermath of the tragic Kamala Mills Compound fire incident in central Mumbai several people were arrested by the Mumbai Police and licenses of several private builders and business complexes were either cancelled or review by the BMC - the city's top civic body. (With ANI Inputs) MUMBAI: Politicians in Maharashtra have been debating on a unique issue - Is it possible kill 3,19,400 rats in just seven days in the Mantralaya? The issue was raised in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday raising questions on how the feat was accomplished. Congress on Friday attacked the Maharashtra government saying even killing rats has become a scam in the state. "The government claims everything is transparent but the fact is that everything is under wraps. There are scams everywhere, even killing rats is now a scam. Senior BJP leader and former Maharashtra minister Eknath Khadse had on Thursday demanded an inquiry into the way a contract to kill rats in Mantralaya (the state secretariat) was executed. "A survey found that there were 3,19,400 rats in Mantralaya. A work order was issued by the General Administration Department. The company was given six months. But it claimed to have killed them in just seven days," Khadse had said. He also added that the BMC took two years to kill six lakh rats. "It is very surprising that this company killed over three lakh rats in just seven days while the BMC took two years to kill six lakh rats. There is a discrepancy in the claim made by the company," he said, demanding an inquiry. From May 3, 2016, to May 9, 2016, 24,000 rats were believed to have been killed just on the ground floor. Of these, 7000 were killed in the north side, 6000 in the south, 5000 in the west and 6000 in the east. Here is a list of how many rats were killed in different parts of the Mantralaya during those 7 days Floors Middle West East First floor 5600 6000 8500 Second floor 5600 7500 6000 Third floor 8000 5000 8000 Fourth floor 5000 5000 8000 Fifth floor 6000 5000 8000 Six floor 6000 8000 8000 Seventh floor 8500 5000 500 Khadse said the calculation means 45,628.57 rats were killed in a day. "Those 0.57 must be the new-born ones," he said, evoking laughter in the House. "It also means the company killed 31.68 rats every minute. Their weight was around 9,125.71 kg and every day one truck was required to take dead rats out of Mantralaya. But it is not known where they were disposed of," he said. MUMBAI: A prominent veteran Bollywood star has alleged that she was raped by a Mumbai-based businessman. She had complained in February 2018 that he was stalking her. She filed a complaint at the Juhu Police Station in Mumbai that he raped her. The businessman was arrested by the police on Thursday night and was sent to police remand till 28 March by Mumbai's Esplanade Court. Following the rape allegations, the case was transferred to the crime branch of the Mumbai Police. Police have registered the case against the businessman under Sections 376, 420, 465, 467, 468, 469, 471 and 504 of the IPC. But the defence lawyer has claimed that the complainant and the accused were married and are husband and wife as per the Nikahnama. As per the lawyers, the veteran actress had been living with the accused for two years and even went for Umrah in November 2017 as a couple. As per the lawyer, she had declared the accused as her husband on the visa as they went for Umrah. This is the latest case of sexual assault or harassment that has turned up in Bollywood circles. Recently, veteran actor Jeetendra had been accused by his cousin of sexual assault when he was 25 years old. While these are outright allegations of molestation and sexual assault, there have been a number of other accusations of sexual harassment by prominent Bollywood faces like Richa Chadda, Kalki Koechlin and Daisy Irani, to name a few. These claims of sexual harassment by leading names in the film industry have come more or less in conjunction with the global #MeToo movement that was sparked by Hollywood star Rose McGowan. The movement had also taken off on the parallel name-and-shame campaign by foreign affairs scholar Christine Fair against members of the academia who had sexually harassed her. This had been met with a similar response within Indian academia, with an anonymous crowd-sourced list of abusers in the Indian higher education setup. New Delhi: Bollywood stunner Jacqueline Fernandez, who will next be seen in Salman Khan starrer 'Race 3' has reportedly suffered an eye injury on the film sets. According to BollywoodLife.com, the actress has been injured and was rushed to the hospital. The report quotes a source from the sets as saying, Jacqueline was immediately rushed to the hospital. Her eye didnt stop bleeding. She is currently under observation and will be discharged only after the doctors treat her eye. The actress is currently shooting for 'Race 3' in Abu Dhabi was supposed to reach Pune for Salman's 'Da-Bangg' Tour. However, with this eye injury, chances of her performing on the dance look highly bleak. Race 3' is helmed by ace choreographer-turned-filmmaker Remo D'Souza and boasts of having an ensemble star cast. Besides Salman, Jacqueline, the film features Daisy Shah, Bobby Deol, Anil Kapoor, Saqib Saleem etc to name a few. The action thriller is the third part of the super hit 'Race' franchise. The two parts had Saif Ali Khan play the male lead. Now, Sallu Bhai has stepped into this shoes and it will be interesting to see how he plays it. The film is produced by Tips Films and Salman Khan Films. It is slated to hit the screens on this Eid. Mumbai: Kangana Ranaut who turned 31 today will be celebrating the special day with her family and friends in Manali. And to mark her 31st birthday, Kangana planted 31 trees last week at her abode in the gorgeous state of Himachal. Check out the pics here shared by her fan club. On her 31st birthday, #KanganaRanaut planted 31 trees in the past week. She will spend a quiet day with friends and family in Manali today..#HappyBirthdayKangana pic.twitter.com/NmFFob6hee Team Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaFanClub) 23 March 2018 Her sister, Rangoli Chandel too shared an image with an adorable message. She tweeted: "On her bday our little Queen gifts herself a greener planet ...May you live long and live a beautiful life .. #HappyBirthdayKanganaRanaut "(sic). On her bday our little Queen gifts herself a greener planet ...May you live long and live a beautiful life .. #HappyBirthdayKanganaRanaut pic.twitter.com/kHipLaaiD9 Rangoli Chandel (@Rangoli_A) 23 March 2018 Kangana is one of the most sought after actresses in Bollywood now. She has three National Film awards to her credit for her performances in Madhur Bhandarkar's Fashion, Vikas Bahl's Queen and Anand L Rai's Tanu Weds Manu Returns. She has two big films in the pipeline - Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi and Mental Hai Kya with her Queen co-star Rajkummar Rao. A few images of Kangana from the sets of Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi has surfaced online and we must confess, she looked absolutely gorgeous in her costumes. In the period film, Kangana essays the role of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi. Here's looking forward to Kangana's upcoming films and wishing her a very Happy Birthday. Mumbai: Pakistani actress Mahira Khan says she felt 'violated' when images of her sharing a cigarette with Indian actor Ranbir Kapoor emerged in the media. Mahira also cited that it was the first time that she was embroiled in a controversy. The 'Humsafar' actress spoke at length about working in Bollywood, the impact of the tensions between India and Pakistan on the countries' film industries, and the controversy, on 'HARDtalk on BBC World News'. Mahira's photograph with Ranbir Kapoor emerged from New York in September last year, months after the actress' Bollywood debut 'Raees' hit the screens. Recounting how it became a 'national topic and debate', she said, "That was the first time in my entire career that I was caught up in a so-called controversy and it was strange because there were so many things in that. One, obviously you feel violated, you are in a personal downtime moment and someone has just photographed you. "Two, obviously there was an uproar, because here I was, someone who is extremely loved in Pakistan, and they sort of keep me up on this pedestal you know, they treat me with a lot of love and a lot of respect. And there are certain things I didn't realise that they don't want to see me do. "At that point yes, it was crazy honestly because it lasted for a while... It was crazy, it was ridiculous." Her film "Raees", starring Bollywood 'Badshah' Shah Rukh Khan, did not get a chance to release in Pakistan. Mahira said she was excited for the film to release in her nation. "I was more excited about 'Raees' being released in Pakistan than anywhere else, because all I wanted was to sit there with my best friends and my child Azlaan and the audience and watch this and I couldn't." The Pakistani censorship board had deemed "Raees" as an "ugly, horrible, unacceptable depiction of Muslims" at the time. Mahira feels had the movie released at any other time, it would not have been banned. "I think their decisions sometimes are based on things that don't even concern the film sometimes. So you know I don't think that was the reason. They said it but I don't know. I don't know if 'Raees' was released today, would it be released," said the 33-year-old actress. The movie, released in January 2017, came just months after bilateral tensions intensified between India and Pakistan over the September 18, 2016 Uri attack that left 19 Indian soldiers dead and the September 28 surgical strikes by India on Pakistan terror camps. After the incident, India's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena gave an ultimatum to Pakistani artistes to leave India. Zindagi channel withdrew telecast of Pakistani shows. And even the Indian Motion Pictures Producers' Association (IMPPA) desisted from allowing Pakistani artistes to work in India. As a result, Mahira couldn't even promote the movie in India. She reflected, "It was a two-way thing. We got stuck under the political fire really, nothing else. But by the way, Pakistan is still showing Indian films, we haven't banned Indian films at all." Mahira is currently filming for 'Saat Din Mohabbat In' and 'Maula Jatt 2'. The episode with Mahira will be aired on March 26. New Delhi: Bollywood's powerhouse of talent, Rani Mukerji who was on a brief sabbatical post pregnancy, is back and how! The actress is now ready to entice her fans with the much-awaited film of 2018, 'Hichki', which releases today. The special screening of the film was held for Bollywood biggies in Mumbai ahead of its release and the actors just can't stop talking about it. Rani, who is known for picking up socially-relevant subjects, has done it yet again. In the film, she plays a teacher, who is suffering from Tourette syndrome, a nervous system disorder involving repetitive movements or unwanted sounds and how she struggles to find herself a perfect job. Talking about Hichki, producer Karan Johar took to Twitter and wrote,"#Hichki takes you back to school and gives you life lessons in such a nuanced and beautiful way! Well done @sidpmalhotra for directing this film with such an assured hand and with such sensitivity! Must watch!!! #hichki." #Hichki takes you back to school and gives you life lessons in such a nuanced and beautiful way! Well done @sidpmalhotra for directing this film with such an assured hand and with such sensitivity! Must watch!!! #hichki Karan Johar (@karanjohar) March 16, 2018 In another tweet, Karan added, "#Hichki is a feel good and extremely sensitive film....addresses a disorder with dignity and strength....#RaniMukerji is the soul and life of this film! She is absolutely brilliant!!!! And reminds you of her exceptional talent again!!!!." #Hichki is a feel good and extremely sensitive film....adresses a disorder with dignity and strength....#RaniMukerji is the soul and life of this film! She is absolutely brilliant!!!! And reminds you of her exceptional talent again!!!! Karan Johar (@karanjohar) March 16, 2018 Actress Madhuri Dixit, who reportedly got teary-eyed while watching Hichki, Instagrammed to say: "Hichki is a moving and heart-warming film helmed by a brilliant story with a wonderful cast. A strong content driven film, very well directed by Siddharth P Malhotra and of course another stupendous performance by Rani. Kudos to Team Yash Raj Films." A post shared by Madhuri Dixit (@madhuridixitnene) on Mar 16, 2018 at 1:18am PDT Aamir too tweeted to say, " Just saw one of the most enjoyable films in a long time! Great story! Amazing performances! Superb film! Thoroughly enjoyed it! It's called HITCHKI. Please don't miss it. Thank you Rani, Siddharth, Neeraj Kabi and the entire cast of young students, you were absolutely amazing. Love. a. Actor Anil Kapoor was the first one to review the film on Twitter, "Watched #Hichki last night and absolutely loved it! The whole team has done an exceptional job especially the kids & #NeerajKabi! And Rani you are my new favourite teacher! Your performance has left me speechless!" Watched #Hichki last night and absolutely loved it! The whole team has done an exceptional job especially the kids & #NeerajKabi! And Rani you are my new favourite teacher! Your performance has left me speechless! pic.twitter.com/Xrxlx62rDg Anil Kapoor (@AnilKapoor) March 12, 2018 Sushmita Sen wrote, "Uffff what a performance #RaniMukerjiChopra Watched #HichkiTheFilm last night & I am in awe of its simplicity while dealing with a sensitive subject like #TouretteSyndrome very well done @sidpmalhotra , entire cast & crew! MUST WATCH with a box of tissues!! #Heartwarming" Uffff what a performance #RaniMukerjiChopra Watched #HichkiTheFilm last night & I am in awe of its simplicity while dealing with a sensitive subject like #TouretteSyndrome very well done @sidpmalhotra , entire cast & crew! MUST WATCH with a box of tissues!! #Heartwarmingpic.twitter.com/5SM0AQPkWD sushmita sen (@thesushmitasen) March 15, 2018 Even Tusshar Kapoor couldn't stop himself from praising the film, taking to Twitter, he wrote, "Rani Mukherjee is flawlessly natural as always & congrats @sidpmalhotra for making a sensitive story so funny and relatable too! #Hichki."#Hichki is an entertaining portrayal of the power of true human spirit! Also, addresses the pitfalls of the traditional education system!" he added. Joining the list of admirers, Shilpa Shetty Kundra too shared her views on Twitter. She wrote, Just watched # Hichki, so inspiring. A splendid and flawless performance by my dearest #RaniMukerji, a difficult subject handled so well by director @sidpmalhotra. Take a bow team #Hichki. Must watch." The film starring Rani Mukerji and directed by Siddharth P Malhotra promises to be high on emotions with a moderate dose of comedy laced in between. New Delhi: While scientists are pushing the boundaries in their search for life beyond Earth and the solar system, an 'alien tomato' has found its way to social media and is creating a frenzy of sorts. An image was posted by Reddit-user CroixBeans, of what looks like a strawberry inside the tomato and has been dubbed 'strawmato', The Sun reported. New post (Bizarre photo of mutant tomato-strawberry alien fruit disgusts internet but would you eat it?) has been published on Best of Borneo Island - https://t.co/Mbxa32OqJx pic.twitter.com/VDyWMxllna Borneo Sights (@BorneoSights) March 21, 2018 Reddit users have commented extensively, applying all sorts of theories, with some saying its the result of a mutant crossbreeding, while some have suggested that it could be extra-terrestrial. According to The Sun, CroixBeans described the texture of the 'strawberry' as soft and slimy and said that 'barely touching it smudged it pretty easily,'. After all the mayhem and bizarre theories, one Reddit user came up with a more plausible explanation: "Its a stuffing tomato, they are bred to be firmer than your typical slicing tomato so they dont disintegrate in the oven," Sporophyte wrote. Adding, "The seeds are meant to pull away from the outside like that, so they can be easily removed." New Delhi: The age-old Hindu festival of 'Chhatt Puja', dedicated to the Sun god and wife Usha is celebrated majorly in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Nepal. The four-day long festival is not just celebrated in the month of October but also in Chaitra maas (March-April). The celebrations take place on Chaitra Shashthi, which takes place after Holi. It is widely known as Chaiti Chhath across the states where it is revered. The devotees observing Chhath are required to keep fast and not even take a sip of water for around 36 hours in one go. On Chaiti Chhatt, devotees in Patna thronged the city ghats and took the holy bath which began with 'Nahay-Khay' on Wednesday. Many bhakts offered prayers to the lord at the time of sunrise and sunset. Chhatt puja is celebrated by devotees in order to thank the god for blessing them well and bestowing all the goodness in life. Like Kartik Chhatt, Chaiti Chhatt is a four-day long festival. Reportedly, parkings are available near gate number 93, around Kurji moth's west side of the road, Boring canal road and Boring Road from Kurji turn. Scheduled parking lot available on the banks of the east road from the Rajapur bridge, inside the Gandhi Maidan, Patna College grounds, Science College ground, under Gangahat bridge, Hathia Bagan, Alamganj Iron Warehouse, Market Committee Katra, Mangal Talab Chowk and City School. According to Timesofindia.com, Patna district administration has given final touches to 15 major ghats in the city. Also, as many as ten ghats have been identified as 'dangerous' for performing the rituals. Digha (gate number 93) and Collectorate ghats are expected to witness the highest number of devotees this year. LUCKNOW: A woman was tied to a tree and mercilessly beaten up in public by her husband for allegedly running away with another man. The incident took place in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr. A small clip of the shocking incident, recorded on a mobile phone, went viral on social media. In the footage, a saree-clad woman is seen tied to a tree. A man -- the alleged husband is flogging her with what seems to be a whip or a deflated tyre. Over 25 people encircle them, none taking any action to stop the husband. The husband, son of a former village panchayat chief, took the extreme step after the woman allegedly ran away with another man. The woman, initially screaming, falls unconscious towards the end. In her complaint to police, the woman reportedly said that she eloped with her neighbour and stayed at the house of one of his relatives in a different village. The couple were later convinced to return to the village, where the panchayat ordered the public flogging. After the incident, the woman was dragged into a room and allegedly molested by several men, including the husband. The Uttar Pradesh police have now arrested both the former panchayat head and his son for the incident. The police have arrested the womans husband, former panchayat head and his son in the matter, said senior police officer Pravin Ranjan Singh. A massive protest was organised by Bangladeshi nationals outside the Pakistan High Commission in London on Sunday. Their demand? An official apology from the Pakistani government for genocide committed by its army during the 1971 liberation war. Bangladeshis maintain that millions were killed and raped by the Pakistani army during their independence struggle. Pakistani security forces have been accused of committing unforgivable crimes including mass murder, ethnic cleansing and genocidal rape. While Pakistan has never apologised, the anger in Bangladesh remains alive as ever - evident from the large group of Bangladeshi protestors in London. "We demand an official apology from the Pakistani government for what they did in Bangladesh during our fight for independence. Pakistani Army committed genocide. It is a fact. But they have never bothered to say sorry," said one of the protestors. Bangladeshi nationals staged a protest outside Pakistan High Commission in London, England demanding an official apology from Pakistan govt for committing 1971 Bangladesh genocide at the hands of Pakistan Army. The demonstration was organized by Bangabandhu Parishad in England. pic.twitter.com/1wdxUVrRRf ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018 The demonstration was organised by the Bangabandhu Parishad and is yet another instance when Pakistan was shamed in a foreign country. World Baloch Organisation and World Sindhi Congress too have organised demonstrations in several countries, each time accusing Pakistan of suppressing their people, denying basic human rights and even resorting to killings, kidnappings and rapes. WBO in particular also recently urged the United Nations Human Rights Commission to look into the matter. WASHINGTON, DC: Donald Trump took the axe to his foreign policy team again on Thursday, firing national security adviser HR McMaster. He named John Bolton, a hawk who has lobbied for military actions against North Korea and Iran, his next pick for the critical job. The move comes just over a week after he fired his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Keeping with his style of firings, Trump announced the top-level personnel change in a tweet. "I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9," read the tweet. I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2018 The move was hardly a surprise, expected as it was for well over a week. This is part of Trump's attempts to take control of his foreign policy away from the team of former military generals who were seen as moderating his mercurial style. McMaster was also among the members of the Trump cabinet who maintained a connect with the policy priorities of the Republican Party. With McMaster's ouster, two of the four retired generals in Trump's team remain. McMaster and his predecessor Michael Flynn are now on the outside of the roller-coaster White House, as General John Kelly (retd) trudges on as White House Chief of Staff and General James Mattis (retd) manages to push forward at the Department of Defence. SEE the full list of high-profile departures from the Trump White House Trump does not need the confirmation of the US Senate to appoint a national security adviser, so he will get to put 69-year-old Bolton on the job with no interference from either the Republicans or Democrats. Bolton is a known hawk who is known to back the typical 1940s 'Big Stick' ideology of using the threat - unspoken or otherwise - of military muscle to force the American way around the world. He has been a long-time advocate of pre-emptive military action against North Korea and Iran, options that the US foreign policy establishment in general balks at. Bolton was also a leading advocate for the Bush administration's war in Iraq, which ended up destabilising the country and created an opening for outfits like the Islamic State. (With inputs from agencies) Terrorist Hafiz Mohammed Saeed is set to take another step forward in the process of mainstreaming himself in Pakistani politics. His newly-launched political party, the Milli Muslim League (MML) is set to release its manifesto for the general elections which are to be held later this year. The release of the manifesto comes after the Islamabad High Court cleared the decks for the Saeed's latest organisation to register itself as a political party. The Election Commission of Pakistan had earlier rejected MML's application. The MML's manifesto may be expected to have the hallmarks of his extremist ideology, not just on Kashmir, but also on other internal hardline policies. Saeed, the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, is known to use the logic of shell companies to continue his terrorist financing and training activities without a break, continuing to change names for his organisation, after the previous one was banned or restrictions were placed on it. To this end, his Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) continued functioning under the name of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) when it was banned. And when restrictions were placed on JuD, many of its activities were subsumed by Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF). The progress of the MML avatar comes after Pakistan, under global pressure, moved to seize all assets and accounts of JuD and FIF. The Election Commission of Pakistan had blocked the MML's registration as a political party on the recommendation of the Interior Ministry. But with the clearance of the court, Saeed now moves closer to mainstreaming his extremism as part of Pakistan politics. Commentators within Pakistan have repeatedly decried the attempts by the military-intelligence establishment to mainstream the extremist assets it has created and fostered over decades as part of an unconventional war strategy, first against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and then against India. New Delhi: A 15-year-old girl in central China has been detained by the police after she reportedly stabbed her father to death following a row they had over her schoolwork. The teen's father beat her and her mother during a dispute over the girl's studies, Thepaper.cn reported, citing a police statement, after which she attacked him. She lost control of her emotions after her father beat her and her mother, the statement said. As per a report in the South China Morning Post, the teenager is a long-time victim of domestic abuse as she failed to live up to her fathers high exceptions on her academic performance. The incident took place on Sunday evening when the father and daughter quarreled over the arrangements of her after-school classes. The father, 44, started beating his daughter and even attacked her mother when she objected to the assault. While the father was beating the mother, the girl took a knife from the living room to stop the assault. Speaking to the police, she recounted the incident saying that she went inside the room where her father had her mother pinned down on the bed and struck his head with the knife sheathed. However, the sheath came off while they struggled and she later stabbed his chest. The teen immediately called for an ambulance and the police. Her father died in the hospital later. As per the report, the girls grandmother and her 40-day-old baby brother were at home at the time of the killing. While her relatives said that she studied hard, her father, who was a Maths teacher at a local school, was never satisfied with her and often beat her. Early last month, she was beaten for lagging behind in her studies. She left home for three days after she was assaulted again later the same month. The total number of battle casualties is more than 10,000 Open source 2,383 Ukrainian soldiers died in battles in Donbas in four years. Iryna Herashchenko, Chairman of Verkhovna Rada, stated at the meeting with the delegation from the Republic of Latvia, as Verkhovna Rada press-office reports. According to her, the total number of battle casualties is more than 10,000. Earlier, the ceasefire has not been violated over the past two days in Donbas, the militants havent shot at Ukrainian positions for the first time within a long period. None of the warring sides opened fire since Thursday morning Open source Over the last 24 hours, the ceasefire has been holding in the war-affected eastern Ukraine. The press center of the HQ of counter-terrorism operation reported this on Friday morning. The Ukrainian government forces have been holding control of the situation in their designated positions. The conflicting sides, thus, live up to the conditions of Minsk agreement about the ceasefire - for the time being. It's been quiet in the combat area for two days now. The International Committee of the Red Cross sent to a convoy with construction materials and medical supplies to Donbas. The press service of Ukraine's State Border Guard reported this on Friday morning. Eleven trucks crossed Novotroitske checkpoint in Donetsk region, reaching the militant-held territory. According to the Border Guard, they carried sand, construction materials and medications with the total weight of 190.4 tons. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union are extending their support to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova to a total of close to 1.1 billion in credit lines and trade finance and 58.3 million in EU grants, UNIAN reports. The EU4Business-EBRD Credit line, a joint EBRD-EU program supported by the EU4Business initiative established in September 2016, has supplied over 60 million in financing to more than 100 Georgian enterprises, the EBRD said in a statement on its website. The EU4Business-EBRD Credit Line is also available in Moldova and is expected to launch soon in Ukraine. The credit line aims to assist local businesses in reaping the benefits associated with their countries free trade agreements with the European Union, the largest trading block in the world. We are delighted to see the first real results of our financing supporting Georgian enterprises. From hazelnut processing to road construction, from promoting local produce to succeeding in overseas markets businesses supported by the program have decided to adopt European standards, and we are happy to contribute to their success, EBRD Director for the Caucasus, Moldova and Belarus Bruni Balvanera said. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development supports companies with required finance through local partner banks, which allows them to invest in efficient machinery and technology. The European Union funds complement investments with technical expertise and provide incentive payments to businesses for successful and profitable operation. Access to knowledge and know-how is another dimension of the EBRD-EU cooperation, with EU financing of 18 million, whereas the EBRD SME Finance and Development Group fosters advisory services for enhanced performance and economic growth in all EU Eastern Partnership nations. Ukraine and the Netherlands signed the Memorandum on mutual understanding in the renewable energy as the press service of the State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving of Ukraine reported. The sides met for signing of the memorandum in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Serhy Savchuk, the Head of the Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving Agency represented Ukraine and Barto Prisma, the Head of the Dutch Enterprise Agency represented the Netherlands. The sides have committed themselves to exchange the information on the best practices of the implementation of 'green' energy and mechanisms of its financing and to provide the development of the business relations between the Ukrainian and Dutch companies for the implementation of the joint investment projects in the sphere of the renewable energy within the signed document. 'The State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving of Ukraine extends the international cooperation. We have the well-established relations with such countries as Finland, Denmark, Slovakia and others. The cooperation with the Netherlands will allow us to attract the Dutch innovations and investments, especially for the projects in the bioenergy', Savchuk noted. It is expected that Ukraine and the Netherlands will cooperate in such issues as the development of the bio-oriented economy, implementation of bioenergy projects, implementation of the reforms of green energy and Ukraine, implementation of the program of the renewable energy SDE+ and others. The royalty rate is to be set at 5% and 10%, with the same rate applied to interest payments. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin and the Finance Minister of Qatar Ali Al-Ahmadi have signed an agreement between the governments of Ukraine and Qatar on the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of income tax evasion, Interfax-Ukraine reports. According to the message published by the finance ministry on Thursday, the avoidance of double taxation of individuals and corporations is going to be achieved through the distribution of taxation of different types of income between Ukraine and Qatar, and through reporting the taxes previously paid within the other country in taxation obligations of a taxpayer. According to the ministrys message, the protocol provides for the 5% taxation of dividends, if the end beneficiary of dividends is a corporation that owns at least 10% of the company paying the dividends and 10% in all other cases. The royalty rate is to be set at 5% and 10%, with the same rate applied to interest payments. According to the finance ministry, Ukraine and Qatar need to finalize internal government procedures that are necessary for the ratification of the protocol. On 13 March, it was reported that Ukraine had signed a According to Russia, Kyiv inflicts losses to its own economy in such way The Foreign Ministry of Russia commented the decision of the government of Ukraine to terminate 'Program of economic cooperation with Russia for 2011-2020' as the press service of the ministry reported. 'The termination of the trade and economy relations with Russia is not replaced by the meager quotas allocated by the EU for the supply of the strategic commodities such as honey, mushrooms, juices, condensed milk, cereals, tomatoes, poultry to the EU. Before our eyes, the de-industrialization of Ukraine takes place. And it seems that will not be the end. The next is the demands of the western curators-benefactors of Ukraine on the increase of the prices of gas for the consumers, lifting of the ban for the sale of the agricultural land, permission for the supply of the round-wood to the EU and so on. In the future Kyiv will be obliged to buy overpriced American liquid shale gas as it happens with the American coal now', the message said. According to Russia's Foreign Ministry, Kyiv inflicts losses to its own economy in such way. 'Refusing from any cooperation with Russia, in fact, the current Ukrainian authorities in the anti-Russian rage itself destroys the heritage from the Soviet Union in the advanced, high-tech branches nuclear industry and energy, missile production, space technology, aviation industry, transport, military-industrial sphere. All these that the Ukrainian people could be proud of', the Foreign Ministry added. As we reported, the government of Ukraine terminated 'Program of economic cooperation of Ukraine and Russia for 2011-2020'. The decision was made on March 21 Over four years of Crimea's occupation by Russia, Ukrainian border guards seized 1,800 faked documents, 89 pieces of firearms, hundreds of ammunition cartridges and other stuff Since February 2014, when Russia illegally annexed Crimea, Ukraine's State Border Guard completed over 3,000 administrative reports and seized more than 2,000 documents - faked or produced with any sort of violations of law. The press center of the Interior Ministry reported that on Friday. 'The State Border Guard confiscated 26 faked documents, 1,800 invalid papers and six documents that belonged to other people,' the authority said. The servicemen also found and seized 89 pieces of firearms and roughly 500 pieces of ammunition, as well as 9 kilograms of drugs. The list of the confiscated property also includes 100 vehicles, which were moved over the administrative border with Ukraine in the breach of the acting legal framework. The amount of the aid to Kyiv grew considerably, compared with that of the previous year Open source The House of Representatives of U.S. Congress has approved the law on budget assignations in 2018. This law stipulates that Ukraine will get 620.7 million U.S. dollars of financial assistance. This is mentioned in the Facebook post of the press service of Ukraine's embassy in the U.S. The amount of the aid to Kyiv grew considerably, compared with that of the previous year. Specifically, the expenses for Ukraine's defense and security increased by 50 million dollars, and now it makes 200 million. The said funds will go to cover the needs of particular projects, such as training servicemen, provision of military vehicles and equipment, defense lethal weaponry, logistical services and the reconnaissance support. Before the consolidated law takes effect, it needs the approval by the Senate and the House of Representatives, and then it should be signed by President. U.S. leader Donald Trump signed the country's 2018 defense budget in December 2017. The document, in particular, foresees that Ukraine would get 350 million dollars of financial aid for the needs of national security and defense, which also includes the provision of defensive lethal arms. The judge also considers another high-profile case, the one about the murder of Ukrainian publicist Oles' Buzyna Shevchenko district court in Kyiv begins to consider the case of Nadiya Savchenko, the Ukrainian MP and former Air Force pilot; as is known, she is charged with preparing a terrorist act and the attempt of coup d'etat. The prosecutors insist that Savchenko should be kept in custody; the defense team demands to release her, saying that the detention is illegal. The judge leading the case will be Yevhen Sydorov, who currently also looks into the case of the murder of Ukrainian publicist Oles' Buzyna. Ukraine's Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko signed the notice of suspicion of Nadiya Savchenko, the MP who was detained in the session hall of the Ukrainian Parliament under charges with preparing a terrorist act and the attempt of coup d'etat. The press service of Prosecutor General's office reported that on Thursday. The scandalous MP was proclaimed a suspect in her lawyer's presence. Immediately after MP stripped Savchenko off the immunity, she was detained and taken to the main office of Ukraine's state security service, the SBU. Nadiya Savchenko was detained right after lifting her immunity by the parliament. She was informed of suspicion and detained in the building of the Verkhovna Rada, 112 Ukraine TV channel reported. Oles' Buzyna was a controversial Ukrainian journalist and writer known for his strong pro-Russian views. He was shot dead not far from his apartment in Kyiv in April 2015. The MP claimed that she personally never transported the weapons from occupied Donbas MP Nadia Savchenko claimed that she never transported the weapons from occupied Donbas to the territory controlled by the Ukrainian government. She claimed this during the court session on the choosing of the restrictive measure for Savchenko as 112 Ukraine broadcasted. 'The weapons that were transported, and I never transported them, however, at the end, the accusation sounded like this, I even did not know which type of the weaponry will be transported, this entire arsenal that you called. And with this entire arsenal, it is possible to win the war', she said. Savchenko also noted that the weapons were transported from occupied Donbas to determine the origin of them. 'To understand whether it was sold from our armament depots that exploded. To understand whether they were made by the militants or it is supplied from Russia. Because the armaments do not end during four years in the place where they have never been', she emphasized. Savchenko assured that if there was a decision to use the weapons in the terrorist attacks, they will never be supplied to the military depots. Also, she expressed the conviction that it is necessary to transport the weapons from the enemy and test it. 'In another way, we will lose', she is sure. The MP also noted that such operations are awfully hard and the contact with the enemy and the particular confidence are needed. 'All accusations that I bought the weapons are totally deceitful, I do not have money for the purchase of such arsenal', Savchenko concluded. On March 22, the Ukrainian parliament lifted the immunity of Nadiya Savchenko. She was detained right after this in the building of the Verkhovna Rada. Later Ukraine's Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko signed the notice of suspicion of Savchenko under charges with preparing a terrorist act and the attempt of coup d'etat. On March 15, Lutsenko claimed during his speech at the parliament that Savchenko personally planned, recruited and ordered how to hold the terrorist attack in the Verkhovna Rada, destroying two lodges, governmental and post, by the combat grenades, bringing down the dome of the Verkhovna Rada by the mortar launchers and killing the survived with the assault rifles. Also, it was reported that non-affiliated MP Nadia Savchenko and Volodymyr Ruban, the Head of 'Officer Corps' planned to attack the cortege of the President of Ukraine with the large caliber sniper rifle. In her turn, Savchenko claimed that she planned only a political provocation. As a result of the fire, almost the entire roof of the transport college was damaged A large-scale fire broke out in the building of the transport college on Thursday, March 22, in the center of Chernivtsi. This was reported by the local news agency Young Bukovyna with reference to the Emergency Service. According to the Chernivtsi Mayor Oleksaiy Kaspruk, several hundred people were evacuated from the college building. It is still unknown what caused the fire, he said. Rescuers are trying to localize the fire. The official said that as a result of the fire, almost the entire roof of the college was damaged. According to preliminary data, there are no casualties due to the fire. As the State Emergency Service noted, a report on the fire in the attic of the college was received at 11:48. As of 13:03, the fire was localized. 16 units of equipment and 61 people of personnel are on the site. The fire extinguishing continues. As it was reported earlier, the fire at Shyroky Lan firing range occurred due to the violation of safety rules, - specifically because the perpetrator poured the flammable liquid into the fire, which resulted in fire spreading from the stove to his clothes and eventually the tent. Ivan Arefyev, the press secretary of the HQ of Ground Troops of Ukraine's Armed Forces in his commentary. MP Nadia Savchenko claimed that she goes on hunger strike from today during the court session on the choosing of the restrictive measure for her as 112 Ukraine broadcasted. The MP also reminded her hunger strike in the Russian prison. 'I go on the hunger strike from today and show once more to all unbelieving; I am recorder by cameras as in the Russian prisons. Only the enemy has the evidence that I starved for 83 days and had six days of dry hunger strike. Now the Ukrainian authority will also have such evidence', she emphasized. On March 22, the Ukrainian parliament lifted the immunity of Nadiya Savchenko. She was detained right after this in the building of the Verkhovna Rada. Later Ukraine's Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko signed the notice of suspicion of Savchenko under charges with preparing a terrorist act and the attempt of coup d'etat. On March 15, Lutsenko claimed during his speech at the parliament that Savchenko personally planned, recruited and ordered how to hold the terrorist attack in the Verkhovna Rada, destroying two lodges, governmental and post, by the combat grenades, bringing down the dome of the Verkhovna Rada by the mortar launchers and killing the survived with the assault rifles. It should be mentioned, that U.S. Congress passed the bill which provides increased financial assistance for Ukraine U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he considers a possibility to veto of the Omnibus Spending Bill for 2018, which provides financial assistance for Ukraine in the amount of more than $620 million. He wrote about that on Twitter. I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 23 2018 . It should be mentioned that U.S. House of Representatives passed the Omnibus Spending Bill for 2018 on March 22. The Bill provides assistance for Ukraine in the amount of $620,7 million. State Committee for Television and Radio-broadcasting of Ukraine expended the list of editions to 165 books, banned to be brought to Ukraine. The website of the agency published the list. Two books by Mykola Azarov, ex-PM of Ukraine of Russian edition Veche - Ukraine in crosshairs. Prime Minister's notes and Maidan's lessons. Ukraine after the revolution. The representatives of the State Committee for Television and Radio-broadcasting state that the content of this books is aimed at the elimination of Ukraines independence, violence propaganda, triggering of inter-ethnic, racial, religious enmity, terrorist attacks, encroachment on human rights and freedoms. Earlier, State Committee for Television and Radio-broadcasting banned nine Russian editions move-in Ukraine. The list comprises books by Zakhar Prilepin, Dmitry Puchkov (nickname Goblin), Aleksandr Dugin, Sergey Dorenko, and Eduard Limonov. The first four helicopters will be passed to the State Emergency Service until the end of 2018 France to pass Ukraine rescuer helicopters for the State Emergency Service. Petro Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine claimed this during the pass of the new equipment to a department of State Emergency Service in Rivne as the presidential press service reported. According to the president, the Memorandum on the purchase of the helicopters will be signed in the near future. 'The first four helicopters, including the medical one for the evacuation of the wounded, will be passed to the State Emergency Service already this year', the president specified. He also promised that the state will offer the significant support of the rescuers for the improvement of their work efficiency. Arsen Avakov, the Interior Minister also reported that today, on March 23. the Interior Ministry of Ukraine and Foreign Ministry of France signed the Statement on intentions toward the development of the bilateral cooperation. It is reported, that Ukraine will get 55 Airbus Helicopters for the needs of the Interior Ministry within the cooperation. 'It is the biggest project between Ukraine and France', Avakov noted. The State Emergency Service, the National Guard, the National Police and State Border Guard Service will get new helicopters. According to Interior Ministry, the helicopters will be of three models, H125 for the work in the high mountains, H145 for wok in the hot climate and H225 with the highest indexes of the speed, flight distance and carrying capacity. Ukraine is on the 30th place out of 50 Open source Armed Forces of Ukraine dropped into the Military Strength Ranking of Global Firepower as one of the best in the world, as Ukraines President Petro Poroshenko said at the briefing in Lutsk. 112 Ukraine broadcasted the event. The finalized ranking, as I was informed recently, was published today, where Ukrainian Armed Forces are enlisted as one of the best armed forces in the world. I stress that when I was elected to the presidency, we did not have the army at all, he said. Ukraine is on the 30th place in the rating of 50 most powerful world armed forces. Experts estimated Ukraines defense budget in $4,880,000,000, the budget of the USA was estimated in $587,800,000,000, Russias budget is $44,600,000,000, Chinas $161,700,000,000 and South Koreas - $43,800,000,000. The total number of Ukraines military servicemen is 1,182 million people, 238 planes, 2,449 tanks, 8,217 armored combat vehicles, 25 marine vessels. There isnt any aircraft carriers and submarines. Ukraines Power Index is 0,5664. Earlier, Victor Muzhenko, Commanding Officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine would receive brand-new antitank weapons system Stugna and Korsar, and T-84 (main battle tank, -ed.) tanks. PLEASE NOTE! Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate! All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited! (One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!) YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS. The temporary free trade agreement (three-year term) between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Iran is expected to be signed by the end of May, Hovhannes Azizyan Armenias deputy minister of economic development and investments, told Armenpress. At the moment the agreement is at inner-state procedures, we are moving forward quite fast. We hope the agreement will be signed by the end of May and will come into force in several months. I am convinced that by the end of year the document will come into force, he said. According to the agreement there will be non-tariff regulation facilitations and reduction of tariffs for a group of products: Armenia is highly interested in the exports of these products. The deputy minister said in some cases the customs duties will decrease by nearly three times. The agreement is about the privileges given to 400-500 goods in both sides. Coming to the Armenian goods, if we look at commodity groups, the talk is about 13-14 group of products, and we are highly interested in the export of these goods, Hovhannes Azizyan said. In particular, the agreement includes products, such as mineral waters, non-alcoholic drinks, chocolate, sweets, textile, jewelry, meat products and etc. As for the non-tariff regulations, they will remove the additional restrictions on the aforementioned products in the Iranian market which is quite protected and directed for boosting the domestic production. Asked whether there are calculations how much will export from Armenia to Iran increase after the agreement comes into force, the deputy minister said: Of course, calculations have been carried out, its impossible to sign a free trade deal without that. According to our estimates it will significantly affect Armenias export to Iran, at this stage I can only say the word significantly. We have quite a great potential in terms of the export of goods presented by us. What we have now is quite the small part of what we plan to export in the future. English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS. EU leaders see no plausible alternative explanation for the Skripal poisoning and are set to recall their ambassador to Russia for consultations, pressured by the UK to hold the Kremlin responsible for it without due process, RT reports. Following talks on Thursday, the leaders of 28 European nations agreed with the British assessment that it was highly likely that Russia was behind this month's poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. The European Council agrees with the United Kingdom governments assessment that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible and that there is no plausible alternative explanation, the member states said in a joint statement. While the EU Council insisted that member states will coordinate on the consequences to be drawn in the light of the answers provided by the Russian authorities, the bloc made a decision to recall its ambassador from Moscow. The EU envoy is being recalled for consultations to Brussels, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said, noting that the measurewas not a sanction, and that the ambassador was not being withdrawn from his post in Moscow. On 4 March 2018, Sergei Skripal, a former Russian intelligence officer, and his daughter Yulia, visiting him from Moscow, were poisoned with an alleged Russia-made nerve agent in Salisbury, England. As of 13 March 2018, they remain critically ill at Salisbury District Hospital. The poisoning is being investigated by British authorities as attempted murder. The United Kingdom believes it is "highly likely" that the Russian government was behind the attack. Russia denies any involvement. English translator/editor: Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS. The heads of the EU state and government urged Turkey to stop illegal actions in Cyprus and Greece, stated in the EU Councils conclusion adopted at the Summit in Brussels, Armenpress reports citing the EU Council website. The European Council strongly condemns Turkey's continued illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea and underlines its full solidarity with Cyprus and Greece. Recalling its conclusions of October 2014 and the Declaration of 21 September 2005, the European Council urgently calls on Turkey to cease these actions and respect the sovereign rights of Cyprus to explore and exploit its natural resources in accordance with EU and International Law, the conclusion says. The EU Council recalled Turkey's obligation to respect international law and good neighbourly relations, and normalize relations with all EU member states including the Republic of Cyprus. In addition, the Council expressed its grave concern over the continued detention of EU citizens in Turkey and called for the swift and positive resolution of these issues in a dialogue with member states. English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS. The high-level meeting dedicated to the preparation of the La Francophonie Economic Forum, which will be held in Armenia on October 10 on the sidelines of the 17 summit of the International Organization of La Francophonie, took place in Paris. The meeting was attended by Armenias foreign minister, chairman of the Francophonie ministerial committee Edward Nalbandian, Henry Rabary Njaka, minister of foreign affairs of Madagascar, which holds the presidency in the International Organization of La Francophonie, Secretary General of La Francophonie Michaelle Jean and Pierre Gattaz, chair of the Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF), the Armenian foreign ministry told Armenpress. Introducing Armenias initiative to hold the Economic Forum, FM Nalbandian said the main goal is to create a permanent network of Francophonie businessmen. The minister said this networks mission will be establishing and developing institutional, professional ties between the entrepreneurs, businessmen of La Francophonie space and the organizations uniting them, promoting favorable conditions for entrepreneurship, boosting mutual investments aimed at the economic development of the Francophonie states. Edward Nalbandian added that the formation of the networks digital platform is also expected as a framework for beneficial exchange and positive experience. Nalbandian highlighted the topics to be discussed at the Forum which are the followings: ensuring sustainable development for implementation of infrastructure programs, improvement of energy, including renewable energy, communication and transportation routes, water resources management, increase of efficiency of agriculture and food industry, promoting the mutual partnership in digital and high technologies, entrepreneur activity of women and youth and professional education. The foreign minister said heads of international and regional economic structures, renowned businessmen from the Francophonie world will be invited to attend the Forum. He also informed that the Economic Forum is expected to be held in Armenias Tsakhkadzor resort town. The meeting participants approved Armenias initiative to organize this Forum and the proposals linked with it and expressed readiness to assist in the organizational works. English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, JANUARY 23, ARMENPRESS. The Union of Cinematographers of Armenia has condemned the banning of Yeva an Armenian-Iranian joint film from screening in Istanbul, Turkey. In a statement, the Union mentioned that Turkish authorities banned the movie at the 16th Filmmor Womens International Film Festival due to the demands of another country Azerbaijan concerning the filming of the movie in part in Artsakh. We are sorry that the Turkish authorities by becoming the direct bearer of Azerbaijans continuous policy with no prospects are inadmissibly politicizing cultural contacts, grossly interfering in international film festivals and are applying restriction measures in the film market concerning censorship and freedom of arts, the statement said. Azerbaijan is continuing to pursue a policy to obstruct any occurrence which has any relations with Artsakh, by not realizing that this policy is doomed and doesnt have a future, while Artsakh is free in realizing its policy, including cultural, the statements further said. The full statement of the Union is available in Armenian. English translator/editor: Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS. The Council of Europes anti-corruption body Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) has published a new report assessing the implementation by Armenia of its earlier recommendations on preventing corruption in respect of members of parliament, judges and prosecutors, the Council of Europe reported. GRECO concludes that Armenia has implemented satisfactorily five of the eighteen recommendations. Of the remaining recommendations, twelve have been partly implemented and one has not been implemented. With respect to members of parliament, GRECO notes that progress has been achieved regarding the transparency of the legislative process in Parliament and measures to implement standards on incompatibilities. Further efforts are required to establish a code of conduct for the members of parliament and to strengthen the mechanism for monitoring members compliance with ethical norms and standards. As far as judges are concerned, GRECO welcomes the constitutional amendments that reformed the judicial self-governance with the establishment of the Supreme Judicial Council. Furthermore, the immunities of judges have been limited to so-called functional immunities. Some progress has been achieved as regards the procedures for recruitment, promotion, dismissal and transfer of judges in that the Supreme Judicial Council has been given the key role. That said, more is expected to be done in relation to dedicated training and counselling of judges and with respect to safeguards against the use of disciplinary proceedings to influence or retaliate against judges. Effective rules against undue interference still have to be put in place. Regarding prosecutors, GRECO welcomes the adoption of the Law on Prosecutors Office; important steps to enhance the recruitment procedures of prosecutors and to strengthen the ethics committee of prosecutors have been made. More measures are necessary to introduce dedicated mandatory training and confidential counselling. GRECO notes that further significant progress is necessary in order to achieve an acceptable level of compliance with the recommendations within the next 18 months. GRECO invites the Head of delegation of Armenia to submit additional information regarding the implementation of the outstanding recommendations by 30 June 2019 at the latest. English translator/editor: Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS. Armenias Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan held a meeting today with the delegation of Sergey Romashov member of the board of directors of VIS, a Russian corporation. Infrastructure development projects in Armenia have been discussed at the meeting. The sides particularly addressed the possibility of involving the Russian corporation in the construction of the Sisian-Kajaran section of the North-South Highway, as well as dam construction projects. The sides agreed to sign a protocol for creating a task force and committee to discuss further steps. Karapetyan stressed that the government is attaching importance to realizing infrastructure programs and is willing to closely cooperate with the Russian corporation, adding that it can be a good public sector private sector cooperation example. English translator/editor: Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan met with the representatives of the Public Council of Armenia on March 23. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Presidents Office, President of the Council Vazgen Manukyan presented the activities of the institution led by him during the previous years. The participants of the meeting also presented to Serzh Sargsyan their concerns and problems in different spheres, as well as their proposals for their solutions. President Serzh Sargsyan spoke about the advantages of the parliamentary system of governance and emphasized that everything will be done to achieve full parliamentary democracy. President Sargsyan assured that wherever he appears in the future he will be glad to continue the cooperation with the Public Council. English translator/editor: Tigran Sirekanyan On the sale front, the ultimate offer that Forest City considered had a lot of contingencies and complexities to it - and the proposed purchase price was less than the stock's 52-week high point. So it's not necessarily shocking that the board rejected the deal. Forest City's REIT conversion two years ago puts limits on asset sales over the next three years. A sale discussion could be different a few years from now, after those constraints have burned off. not Litt's firm but The strategic review began last September, and led to news coverage of two potential transactions, one with Equity Commonwealth, the other with Brookfield Asset Management. (Also see coverage from The transaction that wasn't In a letter to stockholders included in the press release, the company reported on its strategic review, with financial advisors led by Lazard together with Goldman Sachs. Those advisor communicated with over 50 potentially interested buyers at first; 18 parties executed confidentiality agreements. An initial round of bidding led to seven non-binding preliminary indications of interest: five cash offers, plus two "structured, tax-efficient transactions." Then came a second round of bidding with six potentially interested partners/buyers. After narrowing it down to three proposals, "the Board determined to pursue the non-binding proposal to acquire the Company for $26 per share in cash, which was submitted by a large financial investor with a strong track record of executing large, complex real estate and corporate transactions." (Crain's Cleveland Business After doing due diligence, the investor on March 7 offered $24.50 per share in cash, but under significant conditions, including: ending future dividend payments; obtaining certain joint venture partner consents; obtaining certain government consents; and Forest City completing an internal reorganization. The board instead counter-offered a transaction at $25.50 per share in cash with dividends paid through closing, and no conditions with respect to third-party consents or completion of an internal reorganization. The potential buyer then offered $25 per share, but held fast on the dividend issue, and wanted to discuss the third-party consent issues. Talks then broke down, so the board decided to focus on enhancing value, to add new directors and refresh the board. "We expect to deliver strong returns to stockholders over time through (i) leveraging the Company's scale in core, high-barrier-to-entry markets, (ii) taking advantage of embedded growth from the development activities and accretive partner buyouts, (iii) continuing to focus on margin enhancement and (iv) returning additional capital to stockholders via dividend growth and share repurchases," wrote Board Chairman James A. Ratner and Lead Independent Director Scott S. Cowen Share repurchase plan Also, in an effort to enhance value, the board "approved an increase in the Company's existing $100 million share repurchase program to an aggregate total of $400 million." This will allow the board "to take advantage of investment opportunities at times when the Board and Company management believe the market price of the common stock does not accurately reflect the underlying value of the Company; to indicate to investors the Company's confidence in its business; to enhance stockholder value; and to reduce dilution." The review was supposed to end yesterday, but instead the company issued a cryptic press release indicating that the window to add board members would extend a week, but not commenting on the strategic review. That led several observers, including me, to assume the strategic review also would last a week.(Also see coverage from The Real Deal Crain's Cleveland Business , and the Cleveland Plain Dealer In a letter to stockholders included in the press release, the company reported on its strategic review, with financial advisors led by Lazard together with Goldman Sachs. Those advisor communicated with over 50 potentially interested buyers at first; 18 parties executed confidentiality agreements.An initial round of bidding led to seven non-binding preliminary indications of interest: five cash offers, plus two "structured, tax-efficient transactions." Then came a second round of bidding with six potentially interested partners/buyers.After narrowing it down to three proposals, "the Board determined to pursue the non-binding proposal to acquire the Company for $26 per share in cash, which was submitted by a large financial investor with a strong track record of executing large, complex real estate and corporate transactions."(Crain's Cleveland Business suggested that this offer was from Brookfield.)After doing due diligence, the investor on March 7 offered $24.50 per share in cash, but under significant conditions, including: ending future dividend payments; obtaining certain joint venture partner consents; obtaining certain government consents; and Forest City completing an internal reorganization.The board instead counter-offered a transaction at $25.50 per share in cash with dividends paid through closing, and no conditions with respect to third-party consents or completion of an internal reorganization. The potential buyer then offered $25 per share, but held fast on the dividend issue, and wanted to discuss the third-party consent issues.Talks then broke down, so the board decided to focus on enhancing value, to add new directors and refresh the board."We expect to deliver strong returns to stockholders over time through (i) leveraging the Company's scale in core, high-barrier-to-entry markets, (ii) taking advantage of embedded growth from the development activities and accretive partner buyouts, (iii) continuing to focus on margin enhancement and (iv) returning additional capital to stockholders via dividend growth and share repurchases," wrote Board Chairman James A. Ratner and Lead Independent Director Scott S. CowenAlso, in an effort to enhance value, the board "approved an increase in the Company's existing $100 million share repurchase program to an aggregate total of $400 million."This will allow the board "to take advantage of investment opportunities at times when the Board and Company management believe the market price of the common stock does not accurately reflect the underlying value of the Company; to indicate to investors the Company's confidence in its business; to enhance stockholder value; and to reduce dilution." In a bit of a surprise, Forest City Realty Trust (FCRT), the parent of Forest City New York, announced today that its board had concluded its review of strategic alternatives, which could have resulted in a merger, buyout, or partial selloff.But after considering multiple buyout offers, the most serious one with significant constraints, the board decided to enhance shareholder value--to narrow the gap between the stock price and the perceived asset value--via internal changes, notably a new board.This means further reducing the role of the extended Ratner family, which in 2016 gave up a dual-class structure that left that founding family in control of both shares and board. Nine of 13 current directors have agreed to resign from the Board, and the Ratner family will have only two board designees, not four, and one of them must be an independent director (not family).Current Chairman James Ratner, a family member, will be interim Chairman of the Board, but he will resign from the Chairmanship upon appointment of the new Chairman. Thus Forest City, which is on its first non-family CEO, David LaRue, will get its first non-family Chairman of the Board.(In January 2017, Jonathan Litt of Land & Buildings criticized the board for having 11 of 13 directors as "Ratners or legacy Board members handpicked by the Ratners," and said the assets merited a $30 stock price. Today it closed at $21.27.)Update: Michelle Jarboe of The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer commented Also: National Real Estate Investor noted that Evercore ISI analysts had predicted that Forest City "is more likely to remain a publicly-traded entity," given the near-term "frictional costs related to the built-in gains tax on asset sales" and that, as of 1/5/18, "Forest City stock was trading at a discount of 16.63 percent, according to S&P Global Market Intelligences most recent consensus NAV [net asset value] estimate."What does this mean for Forest City New York, led by Bruce Ratner, who left the board in 2016 and has been criticized by hedge fund managers for significant losses on the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park project in Brooklyn and the Ridge Hill retail complex in Yonkers? (Here's my long retrospective on Ratner and Forest City in The Bridge.)Given criticisms of the family-controlled board for giving Ratner a long leash to pursue projects in the past, it's a reasonable bet that Forest City New York will have a shorter leash, with less latitude to pursue ground-up development, though it retains many cash cows.Indeed, real estate analyst Paul Adornato commented, in response to my query, "As for Bruce Ratner and the New York office --that outcome was written long ago and not much influenced by events of the last year in my opinion. That is, large scale development would be phased out in favor of more REIT-like (lower risk and smaller scale) projects."Litt, who's been the toughest of the hedge fund critics, had slammed the board for its "allegiance to the Ratner family and has seemingly engaged in pervasive nepotism at the public shareholders' expense." Notably, the revised board will have seatsfortwo funds with larger positions, Starboard Value, which owns about 3% of company shares, and Scopia Capital Management, which owns 8.3%. (: Litt's firm sold its stake in the third quarter of 2017.)Adornato, who most recently worked for BMO Capital Markets, observed: "The board changes - giving activists more representation (Scopia and Starboard Value) and adding executives known for their shareholder-friendly leadership in times of crisis (Adam Metz)- may buy the company more time to deliver on long-promised improvements in efficiency and profitability. Ultimately the company faces increased scrutiny with more pressure to perform, and less entrenched family/legacy management, not a great place to be considering industry wide headwinds.""I still think sale of the company is the likely outcome," he said, though it would be delayed. PEACEHAVEN, E. SUSSEX, UKIt's not as if adult performer Aaron Cage has had an extensive resume in porn. According to his stats on the Internet Adult Film Database, he's appeared in just 12 features, mostly for Colt Studios, and with just one credit for each year from 2014 to 2016, there's reason to assume that those scenes are leftovers from his "glory days" of 2011-12, though he does appear as Mr. January in Colt's 2018 pin-up calendar. But one "down side" (as the unenlightened would say) to being a hunky bodybuilder who's appeared in gay porn is that one's photosdressed, partly dressed, undressed and hardcoreare on the internet, and it's not called the "World Wide Web" for nothing. "A maths teacher was outed by pupils as a secret Hollywood porn star with the stage name Aaron Cage," reported Neil Syson and Andy Jehring of U.K.'s The Sun earlier today. "Australian body builder Scott Sherwood's double life was revealed when classmates at Peacehaven Community School (PCS) in East Sussex Googled his real name on their lunch break." (AVN has a policy of not revealing adult performers' real names, but sadly, it would be impossible to report this story without doing so. AVN has asked mainstream media to avoid such revelations.) According to the story, Sherwood, a bodybuilder who hails originally from Brisbane, Australia, spent 15 years as a physical trainer, and spent two years as an assistant phys ed teacher at Rodmell Primary School near Lewes before joining the faculty at Peacehaven. But what's particularly troubling about the Sherwood/Cage story is the astounding lack of sex education the Peacehaven students have received, either from school or parents, judging by their (and their parents') reactions to finding out that their "maths" teacher (as the British refer to them) has had sex on camera with other men. "That guy is my maths teacher," one student wrote as a comment to one of Cage's YouTube videos. "His real name is Scott Sherwood. I'm scared." Another simply wrote, "My old maths teacher [four teary emojis] The adults didn't take the news any better, with one mother telling the news site Metro that pupils who had discussed the matter at school had been threatened with detention. "I picked up my 14-year-old niece who was giggling and said, 'My maths teacher is a porno actor,'" the uncle of one student told The Sun. "I couldnt believe my ears, I was furious. They had gathered round in the playground watching one of their phones. As they found this stuff, the crowd got bigger and bigger and they started shouting stuff about Mr. Sherwood." As things stand now, Sherwood, 50, has reportedly been suspended from his teaching duties, though there have been no reports of his having had any inappropriate contacts with his students, who ranged in age from 11 to 16. Moreover, it's clear that Sherwood never intended to make a career of adult acting, having told the Irish publication Gay Community News in 2014, "Porn shouldnt be seen as work. Its a second job at best. Everyone has a shelf-life. Even me. Trends in porn change. ... I see all these 22-year-olds with stars in their eyesthinking this is going to be their career, then finding its all over and having their next career options curtailed." One curtailment, comin' right up! Now that it is fully apparent, to all who have the ability to pay some modicum of attention, that Imposter President Biden has extreme cognitive issues, in addition to being an inveterate liar: Can OUR Republic continue with this Executive Office that has completely failed, so many times, on far too many issues here at this early date in this abysmal presidency? No, Joseph R. Biden is completely unqualified, morally and cognitively, to represent real Americans, and lead this Republic of disparate peoples. Yes, Joseph R. Biden has started whispering again, even softer now than before; so, I know he still cares, plus, OUR media will soon stop reporting on Afghanistan in favor of OUR Socialist ideals. Contact: White House White House Press Office It's an honor to have the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia with us, and his representatives, many of whom I know and I met in May when we were over there, where a promise of $400 billion was made by Saudi Arabia for the purchase of our equipment and other things.And the relationship is probably the strongest it's ever been. We understand each other. Saudi Arabia is a very wealthy nation, and they're going to give the United States some of that wealth, hopefully, in the form of jobs, in the form of the purchase of the finest military equipment anywhere in the world. There's nobody even close.As I said before, when it comes to the missiles and the planes and all of the military equipment, there's nobody that even comes close to us in terms of technology and the quality of the equipment. And Saudi Arabia appreciates that. They've done tests of everything, and they appreciate it, and they understand it very well, probably better than most.So I just want to welcome you. It's a great honor to have you back again. Some tremendous things have happened for you since your last visit to the White House, when you were - when you were the Crown Prince, and now you're beyond the Crown Prince. So I want to just congratulate you. I thought your father made a very wise decision. And I miss your father. A special man. And I know he's coming over soon. But we do miss him. And that was a very incredible two days, and we appreciate the investment in our country. And thank you very much.Thank you, Mr. President. We believe the same. I do believe that the opportunities, it's been huge. And we are trying also to tackle new opportunities to prepare the visit of His Majesty as soon as possible, with the new waves of opportunities in different area. And we believe we can do all the great things together.Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you, everybody.(Inaudible) the school shooting that happened earlier today in Maryland?Terrible. It's a terrible thing. At our South Florida Wildlife Center, we have seen green iguanas shot with crossbows, pellet guns, and hog-tied with their limbs cut off. The male green iguana pictured above was shot five times with arrows. Photo by Deborah Robbins Millman/The HSUS 8.7K shares Wildlife control actions go wrong when they lack justifiable objectives, fail to rely on a science-based approach, and fail the test of humaneness. Weve seen a brutal example of this playing out in South Florida for the last few weeks, courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, which has hired contractors from the University of Florida to go around trapping iguanas and killing them with bolt guns or by smashing in their heads. Its emblematic of the shabby approach that Florida wildlife officials have demonstrated time and time again when it comes to the problem of invasive species in their state, and they need to adopt a new paradigm, one thats scientific, practical, and humane. Florida faces a serious invasive amphibian and reptile challenge, caused primarily by the pet trade. More than 500 non-native fish and wildlife species have been observed in the state, and most of these got into Florida habitats through escape or unauthorized release from pet owners. As a result, there are Burmese pythons in the Everglades, Nile monitor lizards in Cape Coral, and Cuban treefrogs in more than 36 Florida counties. Its the green iguana that is being targeted by the hired guns. This is one of three members of the iguana family established in mainland South Florida (the Mexican spiny-tailed iguana and the black spiny-tailed iguana are the others). Green iguanas have been in South Florida since the 1960s, likely rafting in from native home ranges as a result of hurricanes and other natural events. In the 1980s, the green iguana was top of the charts for the pet reptile trade, and as a result its population rocketed. Then, predictably and inevitably, pet owners began releasing iguanas into the wild when they got too large, too aggressive, or too sick. These former pets, along with escapees and refugees from exotic animal shipments, expanded their hold on areas around southern Floridas bays, canals, ponds, impoundments, and drainage ditches. Iguanas are long-lived and fertile, and in the absence of predators and competitors for food, they are not going away anytime soon. In fact, they may expand northward into the state. But trying to reduce their populations without addressing the root causes of iguana conflicts and population expansion will only result in a continuous cycle of killing. No invasive reptile species has ever been eradicated through such management efforts. What Florida urgently needs is a ban on the purchase, sale, and possession of potentially invasive species in the state, like iguanas, but as of now the state still allows the sale of green iguanas and does not require a permit to possess green iguanas as personal pets, including captured iguanas. Killing iguanas by banging them against a truck or boat is neither humane nor acceptable. Whats more, Florida is making things worse by classifying the iguana as a pest or a nuisance. This encourages members of the public to start their own killing campaigns, often using brutal methods. Already, at our South Florida Wildlife Center, we have seen green iguana patients shot with crossbows, pellet guns, and hog-tied with their limbs cut off. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission needs to adopt a comprehensive and humane program for managing conflicts with iguanas, one that takes into account the biology, habits, and ecology of these species. The best programs are those that combine reproduction inhibition methods, including egg removal with habitat modification and other exclusionary techniques, and public education. Such an approach is not only more humane than killing or depopulation programs, but more efficient and cost- effective in the long-term. What Florida is doing now brings to mind the wry definition of insanity youll see in an internet meme now and then: doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. The family of an elderly man who was caught on camera being abused at a Detroit-area nursing home is suing the facility. Staff members at Autumnwood of Livonia are accused in the lawsuit of abusing now 89 year old Husein Younes, pushing him into his wheelchair, telling him to shut up, and insulting him. The lawsuit says the insults hurled at Mr. Younes were racial in nature, leading the family to believe the abuse was racially motivated. Mr. Younes is Lebanese American. Hidden Camera Catches Abuse in Just 2 Days In 2015, Mr. Younes son, Salim Younes, noticed his father was losing weight and had bumps and bruises all over his body. Mr. Younes also told his son that he was being mistreated. Immediately, Salim Younes questioned Autumnwood staff, who brushed off his injuries as the result of multiple falls. Unsatisfied, Salim Younes installed a hidden camera in his fathers room. Within 2 days, the hidden camera footage revealed over 100 instances of abuse of Husein Younes, including verbal assaults and incredibly aggressive handling of him in and out of his wheelchair. The family went to the nursing home about the abuse in December 2015, not mentioning the existence of the camera and video evidence. According to both the lawsuit and a statement released by Autumnwood, the allegations of abuse were investigated and no proof was found. Mr. Younes was removed from the facility. In May 2016, the family confronted the facility again, this time with a lawsuit and evidence of the abuse in the form of the hidden footage. After news of the case made the national news, Autumnwood of Livonia publicly responded, saying they had fired the employees in the video and had conducted training for existing staff. Cameras in Illinois Nursing Homes Video proof is clearly the best way to confront a nursing home over abuse or neglect of a loved one. Here in Illinois, cameras in nursing home rooms are legal, but there are a list of stipulations that must be met in order for them to be used. Heres what you need to know: The camera must be visible to anyone entering the room Signs must be posted outside the residents room to notify visitors and staff that video recording is in progress A residents roommate, if applicable, must sign an Illinois Department of Health consent form that expressly agrees to allow video and sound recording (roommates have the option to object to the use of video and sound). This form also contains options for certain periods of time in which a roommate requires the camera be turned off. The resident and/or representative assumes all costs for installation, operation, and connectivity relating to the video camera Announcing the use of a camera to all staff and visitors may be enough to deter future abuse, but not always. If a camera is a viable option, the mere existence of one could help protect your loved one. However, some offenders are unable to control their actions and may commit acts of abuse even knowing their actions are being recorded. If you suspect abuse of a loved one in a nursing home, rehabilitation center, or other facility, an experienced nursing home abuse attorney can help. For nearly 3 decades, the elder rights attorneys of Levin & Perconti have successfully helped families like yours not only get answers, but obtain justice. Contact us now for a free and confidential consultation. Over the past few years, you have encountered with the various tides of technological inventions which have changed your life utterly. The artificial intelligence(AI) is the latest entrant in the avalanche of technology which has created some good impacts on your life. Artificial intelligence has made many jobs automated and reduces human labor. So, it can be concluded that artificial intelligence for businesses is beneficial if they want to thrive in the upcoming years. Artificial intelligence has made some revolutionary and ground-breaking changes in the field of the e-commerce industry. Benefits of artificial intelligence in e-commerce are fathomless. A plethora of surveys claimed that 3 out of 4 online retailers in the fashion industry have planned to invest a chunk of money in AI over the next 24 months. So, the inclination towards artificial intelligence in retail businesses can be noticed clearly. But why people in the e-commerce industry are showing their interest in artificial intelligence? Lets dig a deeper and learn more about how artificial industry is transforming e-commerce industry. Getting personalized experience: Artificial Intelligence is happily sharing its expertise in delivering a personalized experience to the customers. AI can easily help online retailers in adding personalized pages to their websites and can also provide them with the personalized recommendations to their visitors. This will not only make buying experience interactive but also uplifts your sale volume. The recommendations are not just based on what your user previously liked or purchased but it also gives an idea of the complementary products that your customers might probably like. So, the application of AI in the retail business is simply commendable. The rise of chatbots to foster customers interaction: As per the survey, nearly 73% customers prefer brands which provide an unparalleled customer support. Though for customer support, users prefer human interaction for a quality, this can be expensive for businesses. With the advent of the chatbot, companies can provide a better customer support to their consumers. According to the reports, at the end of 2020, around 80% of customer interactions will be managed by Artificial Intelligence. Chatbot or chat-robot is a computer program that simulates human conversations, which are often powered and controlled by artificial intelligence. The AI chatbot is basically a virtual help desk which assists the company in providing the answers to their customers queries immediately. This system is available for 24X7 which means the customers can chat with them anytime and from any location in the world and get instantaneous replies from them. With these chatbots, the customers no need to wait for a live support person to answer their calls or queries. So, businesses often consider chatbot as one of the most promising AI platforms. Provides high-end security: The future of e-commerce artificial intelligence is very bright. It is believed that AI will help e-commerce companies to get back their customer loyalty by providing them various preventions against online fraudulent activities. As per a survey report, 13% buyers discard a cart due to security reason. But with the help of Artificial Intelligence in online shopping, e-commerce companies will be able to avail high-end security to their customers. AI will also assist them by providing any inconsistency in purchase behavior and will help them in mitigating fraud transactions. Help them to overcome business challenges: AI is helping e-commerce companies by providing timely intelligence which will help them to solve many difficult challenges. Using artificial intelligence in e-commerce, your marketing and sales team can successfully identify your targeted customers based on previous purchase history, demographics, interests, dislikes, and pain areas. Once you have all this information with you, you can initiate a conversation with your prospective buyer. As you know what he is expecting from your brand, you can successfully convert him into a paying customer. Thus, by providing meaningful solutions, AI is helping online retailers and e-commerce brands to engage their customers in an effective way. Machine learning for better search results: Near about 30% of online customers use an e-commerce stores search feature to find their requirements. So, providing a good search result would become a primary importance for all the online stores and in this context, AI comes in. Online stores are now transforming to machine learning in order to boost search results for consumers. Machine learning in AI can boost search results every time when a user shops on a website. Machine learning also generates a search ranking which helps the e-commerce website to organize search results by importance instead of keyword matching. Advanced sales process: Those days are gone when you used to call people or make a door to door visit to sell your products. Now, in this steep technology era, data plays an imperative role in the growth of any business. Indubitably, e-commerce sector is rich with data and is generating a chunk of data every day. But most of the people dont have an adequate knowledge how to utilize this data effectively. Here, artificial Intelligence plays an important role. It can track and collect every bit of data which is related to your customers order history, predictive analytics, and purchase frequency. By analyzing those data, you can identify when your customer might wish to order next. On the basis of this information, you can make your sales campaign and can increase your sales volume. From the above-mentioned points, it can be concluded that artificial intelligence has made some astounding changes in the field of the e-commerce industry. Artificial intelligence has truly transformed the way e-commerce businesses work by providing tailor-made solutions, personalized customer experience, and uplifting the sales process smartly. Judge William Alsup in San Francisco is presiding over a case in which California cities are suing the big oil companies over the climate-related disasters they're experiencing; Judge Alsup asked for a "tutorial" session in which experts for both sides would be asked to explain the underlying science, something he's done in earlier cases that turned on technical questions, including a DACA case and a case on lidar and self-driving cars. The Verge sent Sarah Jeong, a cyberlawyer/journalist (previously) and science reporter Rachel Becker to the courtroom, and their writeup of the hearing is nothing short of brilliant. The plaintiffs sent a string of eminent climate scientists, while Chevron sent an eminent litigator, Theodore Boutrous, who had really crammed on the 2013 IPCC report, but who knew nothing about climate science in the past five years and wasn't able to answer any of the judge's questions. Judge Alsup had clearly been doing a lot of homework on climate change, and is also refreshingly even puckishly willing to ask questions about anything that crosses his mind, without worrying about sounding dumb. Speaking for Chevron, Boutrous concedes that everything in the IPCC is correct, that climate change is real, and that humans caused it. But Boutrous carefully parses out why none of that means that the oil companies did anything wrong, drawing heavily on the denial and doubt playbook created by Big Tobacco during the fight to establish a link between smoking and cancer. Jeong and Becker really capture the flavor of the exchange and the potential tactical blunder from Chevron is refusing to pony up their own experts. They also note that a bunch of anti-climate-science shills asked for leave to file as amici or to testify, seemingly without luck. It became swiftly apparent that the judge was taking the opportunity to satisfy his curiosity on absolutely anything that had occurred to him, prompting Allen at one point to spread his arms out in a wobbling motion to describe the motion of carbon dioxide molecules when they absorb infrared radiation. At another point, Judge Alsup and Allen went on a long, wandering detour about whether the relationship between two variables was logarithmic or linear. The wide range of questions put Boutrous at a disadvantage. At one point, the judge interrupted him with a question about undersea lava flows and ocean temperatures, citing an interesting "geology show" he had seen on television a few weeks ago. Because this fell far outside the scope of any of the presentations or the IPCC report, his question went unanswered. The unnamed geology show wasn't the only kind of preparation that Alsup had made. He also mentioned that he had rewatched An Inconvenient Truth, and acknowledged that he had been reading several books on climate science and its history, even challenging Boutrous at one point about a scientist that he had left out in his rundown of the history of climate science. "You jumped over 1938. Who was in 1938?" he asked the lawyer. " 1938?" Boutrous asked. "There was a guy named Callendar," Alsup prompted. "The Callendar effect is named after him." Chevron's lawyer, speaking for major oil companies, says climate change is real and it's your fault [Sarah Jeong and Rachel Becker/The Verge] "Every classroom has been equipped with a five-gallon bucket of river stone," says David Helsel, superintendent of the Blue Mountain School District, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. "If an armed intruder attempts to gain entrance into any of our classrooms, they will face a classroom full students armed with rocks and they will be stoned." From WNEP: "At one time I just had the idea of river stone, they`re the right size for hands, you can throw them very hard and they will create or cause pain, which can distract," said Helsel. Helsel says teachers, staff and students were given active shooter training through a program known as ALICE which stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate and they routinely hold evacuation drills for active shooter simulations. But if a teacher decides to lockdown a classroom, there are rocks in a five-gallon bucket kept in every classroom closet that students could throw if shooters get inside. News / Health by Staff Reporter Prominent Gwanda bases activist Bekezela Maduma Fuzwayo on Friday delivered a letter to Health minister Dr David Parirenyatwa in Harare at his offices demanding that he resigns from the post.Fuzwayo shared on Facebook pictures of himself delivering the letter.He also said: "I have just delivered a letter to Minister David Parirenyatwa at his offices demanding that he resigns from his Ministry position due to the failed public health delivery system in the country."If you want to see how this Ministry operates just check the date on the date stamp by the Minister's PA on the letter."I had to go back and demand her to put the correct date on the stamp to which she told me she did it deliberately. Is this how we are treating our people's lives honestly?"See the letter below: News / National by Staff reporter A Bulawayo woman complained that her abusive husband was degrading her dignity by telling their tenants that she was no longer appealing in bed because of her organ which was now "loose and wide open" like a tin.Constance Kuziwa Ndlovu from Nketa 7 complained that her husband Collen Ndlovu, a boiler maker in Botswana was also insulting her in front of their children and neighbours saying he was no longer interested in her.She narrated her ordeal to the Bulawayo Civil Court."I am legally married to Collen Ndlovu and we have two children together aged 11 and one-and-a-half years. My husband, who is working in Botswana, has been physically and emotionally abusing me for the past years."He verbally abuses with obscene language in the presence of our children and neighbours saying he no longer loves me and I should move out of the matrimonial house. Each time he comes back home from Botswana he threatens to sell our matrimonial property. He is also threatening me with unspecified action if I don't move out of the house."He is also in the habit forcing me to sleep with him and after having sex he would tell our tenants that chinhu changu chave gaba (literally meaning her organ was now loose and open like a tin)," complained Constance.Constance's submissions, however, courted Collen's anger who in turn accused her of cheating on him."She is the one abusing me. She once bit me on my shoulder after I confronted her over her infidelity and why she was giving her boyfriend our car. The other day after having sex I brazenly asked her why her organ was so loose since I had been away and she didn't give me satisfactory reasons."I put it to her that it was not supposed to be loose like that if she was not entertaining other men. I had to ask her because muzivi wenzira yeparuware ndiye mufambi wayo (literally meaning he who knows a certain path even on the rock is its regular user or traveller)," said Collen, drawing laughter from the gallery.Collen's sentiments didn't go down well with his wife who also accused him of being sexually attracted to her friends."He is the one disrespecting me by going after my friends. He proposed love to my two friends and he is still bothering them to be in love with him," said Constance.In his ruling the magistrate ordered Collen not to verbally, physically and emotionally abuse his wife. He also ordered him not to send her abusive messages and evict her from the matrimonial home. News / National by Staff reporter CHIPINGE West legislator Adam Chimwamurombe has questioned why newly established ZBC radio station - Khulumani FM - is not broadcasting in Shona, drawing the ire of fellow members of the House of Assembly and the generality of Zimbabweans.The radio station, which was established two weeks ago, broadcasts from Montrose Studios in Bulawayo in seven languages - Ndebele, Xhosa, Venda, Sotho, Tonga, Kalanga and English. It broadcasts to audiences in the Bulawayo Metropolitan Province and surrounding areas within a 40km radius.Its programming is a mixture of talk (40 percent) and music (60 percent).During a question and answer session in the House of Assembly on Wednesday, Chimwamurombe asked the Minister of Media, Information and Broadcasting Services, Ambassador Simon Khaya Moyo, what Government's policy was with regards to the languages that are used in broadcasting.". . . This is in regard to the new Khulumani FM in Bulawayo where seven languages are used. I understand we have 16 national languages in our Constitution and the major ones are Shona and Ndebele. At Khulumani FM, they are using seven and leaving out Shona which is also one of the major languages."Is that not dividing people by having other languages being spoken and leaving out the major languages," asked Chimwamurombe?"Glen Norah legislator Webster Maondera interjected saying his counterpart was misleading the House. Before he could explain further, the acting Speaker shut him up and asked Minister Moyo to respond.Responded Ambassador Moyo: "We've no provision as regards to policy for any language discrimination. All the languages reflected in our Constitution are equal. Therefore, if there's any such situation which I'm not aware of and wasn't aware of, it's a matter which obviously I'll need to investigate and find out why."As for now, the policy is very clear and I hope that gives the Hon Member some comfort in the sense that I'll indeed investigate this development."Thereafter, seasoned comedian Ntando Van Moyo responded to the parliamentarian via his Facebook page saying Khulumani FM's targeted audience were Bulawayo residents, most of whom are Ndebele speaking."Questioning why Khulumani FM doesn't use Shona language in their broadcast is s*****. First, it's called Khulumani not Taurai. We have stations that don't use IsiNdebele and no one gives a rats a**, embrace diversity lekele ubumbulu," he wrote on his Facebook page.When contacted, Ntando added: "On Wednesday, there's a minister (sic) who asked why Khulumani FM uses Ndebele only and he didn't get a clear answer from his counterparts so I took to Facebook as a public sphere to share my opinion and give him a straight forward answer."Khulumani FM's target audience are Bulawayo residents and that's why the station is situated in the city."Ntando, who is the founder of Umahlekisa Comedy Club, was praised by some who supported with his sentiments while others felt there was a need for the station to broadcast in Shona.Backing with the comedian, Blessing Mukonomuwi wrote: ". . . I agree with you, the station is Khulumani not Taurai."Another Facebook user, Evans Fundira, gave reasons why Khulumani FM should also broadcast in Shona."Interesting Ntandoyenkosi, so Al Jazeera is stupid to broadcast in other languages other than Arabic, BBC is stupid too to do it in other languages other than English, but as an entrepreneur, ignoring numbers is also a stupid thing."Hate it or like it, Shonas are many in Zimbabwe, even in Bulawayo. I hope this station (Khulumani FM) is about making money by advertising. If they want to be rich like ZiFM and Star FM they should consider broadcasting in Shona too."Questions sent to ZBC on the matter had not been responded to at the time of print. News / National by Staff reporter South Africa's Home Affairs Minister Mr Malusi Gigaba yesterday made a surprise visit to Beitbridge Border Post following reports of dereliction of duty by immigration officers at the port of entry. Mr Gigaba was accompanied by some senior officials from his ministry.Sources at the border said the minister's visit was in response to a video of one female immigration officer, who was caught on camera while devoting much time on her smartphone rather than clearing travellers.Soon after the video leaked, the female officer and three supervisors were suspended."He arrived at around midday and we are yet to get details of some of his findings though indications are that he discovered that several computers had been tempered with and no biometric information was being captured," said the source.Both Mr Gigaba and the Home Affairs spokesperson, Mr Thabo Mokgola could not be reached for comments.However, he confirmed the visit through his twitter handle."I have just arrived in Musina, Limpopo, for a surprise visit at the Beit Bridge Border Post," he said.Another source, said the minister had also promised to set up a team to probe the state of the computers, which had been tempered with.The Herald is reliably informed that the clearance of travellers entering or leaving South Africa by road through Beitbridge improved last Thursday following the suspension of four immigration officers.Prior to the latest development accessing South Africa by road through Beitbridge had become a nightmare for most travellers.They would spend over three hours to enter or leave the neighbouring country. News / National by Staff reporter President Emmerson Mnangagwa has released details about his family that seem to suggest that he had children with First Lady Auxillia when he was still married to his first wife, Jayne, who died in 2002.Mnangagwa married his first wife Jayne Matarise in September 1973, according to the Head of State's website launched yesterday.During this time, Jayne was living with her first cousin Josiah Magama Tongogara, the former supreme military commander of Zanu, the liberation movement that waged a bitter liberation struggle that ushered in independent in 1980.Jayne's mother and Tongogara's mother were sisters. She died on January 31, 2002 after a long battle with cervical cancer. News / National by Staff reporter FORMER Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (Zipra) liberation struggle fighters are making frantic efforts to recover property worth millions of dollars seized by ex-president Robert Mugabe's regime during the Gukurahundi campaign of the 1980s that left an estimated 20 000 people dead in the Midlands and Matabeleland provinces.The mass killings, described as a genocide by international organisation Genocide Watch, remain a thorny issue in the country that incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa continues to grapple with, more than 30 years on.Nitram Investment Holdings, an investment vehicle owned by Zipra veterans, said the freedom fighters are seeking Mnangagwa's attention to push for the return of their properties confiscated by government. Mugabe was ousted in a military coup last November.The properties were seized under the pretext the government was dismantling Zipra, a move which the Zapu's former military wing described as a serious violation of property rights.Nitram chairperson Mark Mbayiwa told the Zimbabwe Independent that they hope Mnangagwa's administration will correct the injustice.He said Zipra veterans had complied a list of properties they want returned.Mbayiwa said ex-Zipra members met Mnangagwa when he was still Justice minister to present their grievances and are hoping he will act now that he is in charge."We had discussed with him asking him to assist us to regain ownership of the properties and he showed positive stance to us," Mbayiwa said."He had asked us to bring our properties' details and list to him so that he assists us, but he was fired from Zanu-PF and government before he ran away. He returned to take over government and we have continued to engage him. What made us to be soft with him is that he has shown commitment to assist in this issue and our hope is that he will resolve our problem."He said they were also engaging special advisor to the president Christopher Mutsvangwa over the matter.The government confiscated properties, including buildings and farms, claiming they were being used as infrastructure to help an insurgency by Zapu dissidents. Also, 4 000 cattle which were on the farms were taken during the seizures.The properties include Castle Arms Motel, Nest Egg Farm in Bulawayo, Ascot Farm in Solusi, Wood Glen Farm in Nyamandlovu and Hawton Farm in Gweru.Zipra properties taken in Harare are Nijo Farm and Salisbury Motel. Properties in Bulawayo include a four-storey building, Magnet House, currently being used by the Central Intelligence Organisation, Davies Hall being used as Zanu-PF's Bulawayo provincial headquarters, Lundi Hotel, Green Haven a sprawling entertainment facility along Victoria Falls Road and several houses.Mbayiwa said Nitram lost most of the title deeds during the seizures, adding the company was banking on the Mnangagwa administration to assist them regain the documents."These properties were confiscated after claims they were being used to keep firearms used by dissidents who allegedly wanted to overthrow government," he said.Zipra fighters at independence contributed Z$50 each towards the acquisition of assets for self-sustenance and survival after the liberation war. News / National by Staff reporter VILLAGERS in Chitakatira were left shell shocked last week after the body of a 42 year old man was exhumed a week after his burial following revelations that he had been poisoned by his son over inheritance.Allegations are that, Dereck Chitakatira poisoned his father, Lloyd Chitakatira to death during a fasting session by administering rat poison in a bottle of water because he wanted to inherit his father's car.Manicaland Police Spokesperson Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa confirmed the incident.He said: "On March 8 Dereck inserted rat poison into a container and diluted it with water. His father gulped the mixture and instantly became ill."Insp Kakohwa added that both the accused and the deceased went to church for fasting at Mpudzi River on March 8 where they washed themselves in the river and drank water afterwards as part of their church belief."Dereck took advantage of the situation and gave his father some water to drink. It is alleged that he put rat poison into a bottle before he gave his father to drink," said Insp Kakohwa.He consumed the mixture and instantly became ill.Chitakatira was taken to Chitakatira Clinic for treatment but it was too late. He died on March 10.The family members together with the church decided to bury the deceased on March 11 without a post-mortem being conducted.However the body was exhumed after five days and ferried to Mutare General Hospital for post-mortem, which indicated that he died from rat poisoning.Emerging details also indicate that Dereck visited a traditional healer in Burma valley to seek protection from the avenging spirit of his father.The traditional healer reportedly instructed Dereck to write a letter confessing and admitting that he poisoned his father to death over a car and submit it to him for further rituals.It is further alleged that Dereck complied with the instruction and submitted the letter to the traditional healer before he returned home.Sources said despite the traditional healer's promise that nothing was going to haunt him, Dereck could not find peace, as nightmares and suspected visitations by the late father's spirit that are traditionally believed to be caused by an avenging spirit kept haunting him, which prompted family members to take him to the police for further probing.The letter was later handed over to the police on the day that the accused was arrested.In an interview with the Manica Post the widow of the deceased, Special Makunika said: "I was robbed of my husband; I cannot stomach the pain. I am failing to understand what kind of spirit came over my son to do such a heinous thing."She added: "Whenever something like this happens in the community, people always see the widow as an outcast and shun the family."Insp Kakohwa urged members of the public to desist from criminal acts like murder but seek peaceful means to settle misunderstandings, as murder entails a permanent termination of one's life.On March 16, Dereck appeared before Mutare Magistrate Mr Tendai Mahwe, facing a murder charge.He was charged with violating Section 47 of The Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act Chapter 9:23.He was not asked to plead to the murder charges when he appeared in court and was remanded to March 26 without an option of bail. News / National by Staff reporter LEADING mobile network provider, Econet's youth empowerment programme, Elevate Club, in partnership with Africa University launched the Elevate Youth i5 Club at a ceremony held last week at the institution.The launch event formally marked the coming of the Elevate youth programme to Manicaland.Speaking at the event, Econet chief operating officer, Mr Fayaz King, paid tribute to the varsity's efforts to house the Elevate Youth i5 Club which would serve as a satellite of the Elevate youth programme."I am inspired by Africa University's foresight in building the i5 Hub because I believe that the time to invest in the future of our continent is now. Today we are here planting trees, and the shade will be the innovations that you, the youth, will generate," he said.He said Econet chose Africa University because of "the innovation, the talent and the ideas we are convinced are already here". The event was attended by scores of students from Africa University as well as Marymount Teachers College, Mutare Poly and Hartzell High School. Mr King said he believed innovation was everything."You need to innovate and disrupt the current status-quo and find new ways of doing things," he said, challenging the students and young people to take charge of their future and be Africa's next generation of trailblazers.Econet launched Elevate Youth Club early last year in a development aimed to create youth empowerment opportunities by supporting young people with life skills and business mentorship, as well as to equip them with entrepreneurial skills.The University's i5 Hub now home of the Elevate Youth i5 Club on campus was built around the five pillars namely idea generation, incubation, innovation, intellectual property and industrialisation.It was established in September last year in response to the needs of thousands of graduates and enterprising young Zimbabweans in need of the opportunity to bring their ideas to a place where they could be refined, incubated and transformed into implementable business initiatives.Speaking at the same event, AU Vice Chancellor, Professor Munashe Furusa, hailed the partnership between the learning institution and Econet's youth programme saying it was founded on mutual interests between the two organisations."Our partnership with Elevate and Econet is born out of a common interest in impacting and inspiring the future of Africa, which is the youth. Africa University has taken the bold and conscious decision to become the hub of advanced technology and knowledge-generation within Africa and the region. This partnership is inspired by our belief in the future and the renewed optimism and confidence sweeping across Africa," he said. News / National by Staff reporter A SENIOR citizen from Mutare's Sakubva high density suburb is at loggerheads with his wife whom he is accusing of rendering him impotent in bed after ''locking'' his privates some five years ago.Joshua Namate said he has never enjoyed sex and other luxuries associated with their matrimony since his wife, Winnie Namate, locked his privates despite having sired seven children since their marriage in 1976.Namate also accused his wife of bedding other men behind his back.The elderly man bared all at Chief Zimunya's court where his wife had hauled him complaining that he was calling her a witch and responsible for locking his privates."I was locked on my privates and I have never enjoyed sex since then. I am sure that she was the one responsible for rendering me impotent in bed since I once came across some herbs in her possession," he said.Namate said he became aware that his wife had ''centrally locked'' him when he visited some traditional healers in the company of his daughter.He said he once got healed after applying herbs prescribed by a traditional healer."I was given herbs and I got healed within three days of application. I then requested to have sex with my wife and she told me that I was supposed to pay her first. During that time I started seeing behavioural changes in my wife. She started coming home late or sometimes she would sleep out. That alone made me suspect that she was seeing other men. I also came to know that my wife was now into prostitution," he said.Namate also told Chief Zimunya that his wife started forcing him to do all household chores. He also accused his wife of practicing witchcraft."She confessed to me that her gapped-loose teeth were as a result of eating people's flesh," he said.Winnie Namate denied ever locking her husband saying he confessed to have been ''centrally locked'' by a prostitute. She said her husband told her that a prostitute had used urine and other hodgepodges to lock him."The problem started sometime in 2014 when his manhood could no longer erect. He then started accusing me of being responsible. He confessed to me that he had a love affair with another woman. It was that woman who locked him using urine and other assortments. I was working as an assistant accountant during the time he had an affair with the woman," she said.Winnie told Chief Zimunya her husband had literally created a jail at home since she could no longer enjoyed all the liberties that come with marriage.She added that she was no longer allowed to sleep in their bedroom and she would be locked outside the house if she arrives home anytime after 7pm."He is now sharing our bedroom with his brother whom he called from Harare to come and stay at our place. I now sleep in the dining room while he shares the bedroom with his brother. He locks me out of the house if I return home after 7pm saying I should return to my boyfriends," she said.She denied being involved in witchcraft saying she was involved in an accident which saw her losing some of her teeth. Winnie also denied ever being involved in the oldest profession saying the accusations were cooked up to justify her husband's allegations.Chief Zimunya ordered the couple to raise $300 which would be used to travel and consult sangomas on whether Winnie was being into witchcraft or not. They would also use the money to try and help unlock Joshua. News / National by Staff reporter A CHIMANIMANI teacher who allegedly gagged a nine-year-old Grade 3 pupil and raped her before giving her $2 to buy her silence has been hauled before the courts.Daniel Mirisi (42) appeared before Mutare provincial magistrate, Mr Tendai Mahwe last week facing rape charges as defined in Section 65 (1)(a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23.Mr Fletcher Karombe prosecuted.Allegations were that Mirisi who is a teacher at Ngangu Primary School on March 5 called the complainant and three other minors to assist him to carry his groceries from school to his homestead.Soon after arrival at his home, Mirisi dismissed the other two juveniles and gave the third one a 50c bond coin to go and buy some chips for herself."He then invited the minor into his bedroom and raped her once," said Mr Karombe.The minor screamed during the commission of the crime but Mirisi is alleged to have gagged her mouth with a cloth.After committing the offence, Mirisi is further alleged to have given the minor a $2 note as a bribe so that she could not tell anyone about the matter.The minor's grandmother only discovered that the girl had been raped after she found the $2 note in her possession.She cornered her to divulge the information and she subsequently spilled the beans."She narrated that she had been sexually abused and paid $2 to remain silent by her teacher.''The matter was then reported to the police where she was referred to Chipinge Hospital," said Mr Karombe.The case was remanded to March 29.Mirisi was advised to apply for bail at the High Court in Harare. News / National by Staff reporter The cash situation has marginally improved compared to the situation that obtained in the last two years, mainly because of the surge in export receipts, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) says.Zimbabwe has been battling untold paper money shortages since March 2016, resulting in depositors spending nights in queues at banking halls in a desperate bid to better position themselves for the next day. However, a combination of increased exports and efforts by the RBZ to promote the use of plastic money, has seen dire cash demand by depositors largely declining across the country.RBZ deputy governor Dr Kupukile Mlambo says the cash situation has markedly improved, and can only get better in future as more firms turn to the export market. News / National by Staff reporter AFTER spending a decade in prison, a Kwekwe woman has been given a new lease of life.Shylet Sibanda (32) had been confined to the walls of prison for what would appear to be the rest of her life for murder that she committed when she was just 19 years.She was one of the beneficiaries of the special presidential amnesty which saw 87 Chikurubi female prisoners released from prison.A total of 3 000 prisoners were given amnesty which was granted by President Emmerson Mnangagwa this month in the new dispensation."I was only 19 years old when I was sentenced to life imprisonment," said Shylet."My husband is to blame for this misery that I underwent in prison."I helped him kill a man whom I did not know much about. We beat him until he died."My husband is also at Harare Central Prison where he was given a death penalty. He is still there awaiting to be hanged."I left my son at home who was only seven months old," said Shylet.She expressed her joy in being given another chance to meet her family, relatives and friends."I am very happy and I would like to thank the President for giving me this opportunity to meet my families again."Shylet urged people outside prison not to allow anger to control their lives."People outside prison should learn self-control in times of anger."Anger can make you do bad things but self-control is the way to go."Women should empower themselves and use their hands to put food on the table," she said. News / National by Staff reporter A woman vividly remembers gruesomely killing her son after he developed epileptic seizures.The Seventh Day Adventist Molline Gomo says she still sees the images and how it all occurred as if it had happened yesterday.Molline Gomo's life was then confined to prison walls for the rest of her life for murdering her then 18-month-old-son.She was among two women who benefited from the Presidential Amnesty which saw 87 women being freed from Chikurubi Female Prison."The picture is still vivid, clear and fresh in my mind. I see the images everyday at the back of my mind. It was gruesome and horrific, but I do not want to speak of it right now because it will override my happiness," said Molline Gomo, as she hugged and embraced prison officers who congratulated her."I regret being in prison. The past 13 years to me were a waste and I do not want people to envy criminal activities. Handizive mweya wakandipindawo."The 37-year-old said she murdered her son after he developed epileptic seizures while four-months-old. Her mistake, she admitted, is that she failed to share her problems with other people."Sorrows are like water my brother, they can be poured in different vessels to lighten the burden. It is a lesson I have learnt now. My failure to share problems resulted in me killing my son."I was tired of getting in and out of hospital every now and then and I do not know what got into me that I had to kill him. It is just unfortunate that the father of my baby died, but I would have loved to share my life with him."There is a relief in me that is inexplicable. My in-laws, the Banga's, used to visit me when I was locked up. They told me that they had forgiven me and that alone, showed me that there are people who care about others," added Gomo.Gomo, who comes from Kwekwe, said her brother Shingai was on his way to pick her."I will continue going to the SDA church because I want the Lord to lead the way. At the same time my spirit was empowered here in prison. Ndavakugona kusona uye nekugadzira musoro so I am going to buy a sewing machine so that I start from somewhere."The community out there should be able to help offenders. It could be difficult for people to accept that I have been pardoned, but for now that is not the matter with me now, prison experiences will help me fit in society," added Gomo.H-Metro also contacted Gomo's brother, Shingai, who said his happiness was enormous to comprehend that he was reuniting with his "natural blood" after many years."I am happy, as a family we are happy. This joy is unbelievable. As a family we have agreed to support our sister in every way possible so that she fits in society. We remain a Christian family and we know this is the work of the Lord that she is now with us," said Shingai.Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services National Spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Elizabeth Banda said the Presidential Amnesty coming in the month of March is a welcome gesture for all women."The amnesty coming in March is a relief for women. These people have families, they wronged society but they have paid the price in a legal way. Society should help integrate them."They need our support," said Ass Comm Banda. News / National by Staff reporter A CHITUNGWIZA woman has learnt the hard way after siring two children with her half-brother.The relationship between Christine Mudyanengave and Never Chitsiga (27) who have the same mother but different fathers resulted in the birth of two children and this saw the two being locked up in jail for incest.Christine Mudyanengave (21) was sentenced to two years in jail this year in January by Chitungwiza Magistrate Oliver Mudzongachiso.Mudyanengava said she was happy for being pardoned after benefitting from the Presidential amnesty which saw 87 women being pardoned. A total of 3 000 prisoners were pardoned."I am pleased that we are going home today, I have stayed in the prison for a month but it felt like my life had been taken away from me."I am also glad that my child has been given a chance to grow up in good and health environment."It was a difficult situation for me because I came here with my children who are five and three years and the other was a month old by that time. The other child I sired with another man."The other two were sent back home and I was left with the little one."A prison is not a good place especially for children, I felt my child was being punished for the wrong I had done," she said.Mudyanengava explained why she was arrested."I was imprisoned for having sex with my half-brother on January 30 this year."I thought it was joke that was going to jail, I received a shock of my life when the magistrate sentenced me to 24 months."I could not believe that my freedom was taken away from me, at first I did not see anything wrong by sleeping with Never since we thought we were not really related," she said.She said that her life has been changed by staying in the prison."In prison, I met different people with different views in which we encouraged each other to repent from our sins and that has changed my life."I am willing to small businesses like sewing and growing vegetables for selling."My family has forgiven me and I am going back to Chitungwiza where I stay."I don't know if the society is going to take me back but I'm a changed person not going back to an incestuous life again," said Mudyanengava.In Zimbabwe, Section 75(2) (c) of the Criminal (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23 prohibit sex within a degree of relationship. Opinion / Columnist Imagine some man kidnaps your wife for a good four days, you gang up with sympathising villagers and some brave youths to go reclaim your wife, after rescuing her, the kidnapper says he wants to come and negotiate with you to recapture your wife!The kidnapper goes on to brag rudely that the villagers who came demanding the release of your captive wife are aliens who come from another village far beyond the horizon. He continues to brag that the rest of the village supports the continued captivity of your wife in his hands saying that even your wife is actually attempting desperately to escape your house back to his.This is Mr Mugabe for you.Is retirement a curse really? Living to a mature old age of 94, and having worked, saving people in various life changing capacities for more than 70 years is a feat worth reflecting on, celebrating God's providence and waiting to host visitors coming to drink from your deep vault of statesmanship.It's no secret that Mr Mugabe had overstayed in power, to the dismay of both his friends and foes. In his interview with various media houses on Thursday at his opulent mansion in Borrowdale, Harare, he confessed to harbour no more presidential ambitions. But, without the people demanding his departure in November of 2018, Mugabe would still be president today, his wife nowhere far away from the throne either.The truth of the matter is Mr Mugabe is now defacto opposition leader of a definite political party, National Patriotic Front whose PR is played by the flip-flopper general, Jelousy Mawarire. On his micro blogging accounts a few days ago, the fluid Mawarire was at pains distancing his budding political party from the Mugabe family.True, Mr Mugabe has the constitutional right to belong to a political party of his liking. But the habit of hiding his head in the sand and claim not to be playing anything in the formation of the vengeful party is gross nonsense. For the record, Mr Mugabe is still a card carrying member of Zanu-PF. It was his wife who was shown the door, not him.For starters, it did not take Ambrose Mutinhiri 50 hours to appear at Blue Roof with Mr Mugabe after he had tendered his resignation from Parliament and Zanu-PF. Rather, Mutinhiri could have possibly dropped his letter at Parliament buildings before proceeding to Blue Roof to be formally instructed to announce his involvement with the party. And, get this position right here; there is nothing wrong at all in forming a new political party of your own in a constitutional democracy.Neither is there anything wrong at all in visiting a former head of State at your own volition or at his invitation. What is clearly wrong is the insincerity Mr Mugabe is parading by distancing himself from a bitter political party that clearly started at his door step to oppose a party that he led for more than 40 years and showing a clear attempt at destabilising a nation on the mend.If Mr Mugabe is not an NPF functionary, what was the NPF spokesperson doing with teems of journalists at Blue Roof playing their host? Mr Mugabe must value the beauty of retirement and the value of people's patience on him.If he complains that the November marchers were MDC-T people, why did his own party lead proceedings to impeach him? Are MDC-T supporters not part of the people he led during his day in office? Was he a partisan president? If he was, then people were wrong on him for 37 good years! Was he not in office with half his cabinet being MDC-T officials not so long ago?Why did Mr Mugabe tender his resignation to Parliament during impeachment proceedings? If he did it in jest, he must be punished for contempt of Parliament! Well, he told journalists gathered at his home that it was his wife who advised him to resign, so where is his problem now? He must leave President Mnangagwa alone and discuss his domestic problem with his wife. If he wants alternative opinion he can ask his domestic servants.To the President, I applaud his mature response to Mugabe's old-age inspired rants. The current generation knows what to do with their destiny and that destiny is complete without him.The nation does not owe Mugabe anything, if anything; it is him who owes the nation twenty farms and lots of apologies for the little confusion he is cooking up lately. And out of benevolence, the nation has foregone the hefty apologies due to it for all his transgressions at the sunset of his days in power. To err with old age is human.Zimbabweans, let's move forward and reclaim the jewel within us. As for Mugabe, it's memoirs time. Asante Sana. Opinion / Columnist Photocopying of textbooks, especially Literature set books, is illegal and must be stopped. Schools caught photocopying anybody's literary works without permission must be sued and face the long arm of Law.School heads who authorise the buying of a book and run photocopies on their heavy-duty photocopying machines are committing a crime and they know it.This practice which is rampant in many schools countrywide is daylight robbery of an author's intellectual property.It must be treated like theft because it is theft and the Law must not regard this kind of theft with leniency.Theft of intellectual property must be regarded as worse than stalk theft.Stock theft is a serious offence which is punishable by jail terms as long as seven, nine to ten years in Zimbabwe. The reason for this heavy penalty is understandable.If you steal someone's cow or cattle, you are literally stealing their livelihood, thereby directly and instantly impoverishing the cattle owner.What is the difference with an author whose book he or she wrote knowing it must pay him or her?People who are not authors will not understand this.How much effort is put in buying a cow? Compare that with the thoughts distilled and put into a book good enough to be usable in schools.How many hours of mental gymnastics? How many hours of research, drafting and finalising something educationally worthwhile?How many sleepless nights?While all this is going on, the owner of a cow has long forgotten and surrendered his cow to nature to play its role where a neighbour's bull will publicly volunteer to rape your cow. In a few months your cow has a calf.I am sure Zimbabweans are now of age, have seen and learnt a lot and are civilised enough to understand the following facts:Writers are the nerve-centre of the education system.Without writers what do you teach in your schools, colleges and universities?Can we speak ourselves beautifully through to our degrees without books?Why then do we turn around and 'kill' the creators of our teaching and learning materials?While the teachers and lecturers every day bargain, sometimes even go on strike pressing for better salaries, why do they deliberately impoverish their counter-part in educational development by daily photocopying his or her books and making sure they lose out on the returns they expected from their works?Where did this savagery come from? School heads buy buses in their schools but illegally photocopy books to save money at the expense of poor authors? They buy state-of-art photocopiers to rob writers / authors of their intellectual property.They buy suitsall of them, and many of them cars, but they steal from a counter-part in education who wrote a book that must pay him or her. Many school heads drive beautiful school pick-up trucks.There is nothing wrong with that. But where does the savagery to make sure an author gets nothing from his or her book come from?Photocopying books is illegal yes, but does the Law stop illegality and corruption, I ask? Since when? It is people who stop crime and corruption, not the law. Which people?The right people.When things got politically rotten in Zimbabwe over a period of 37 years, it was people who stopped the worst from happening.When the police savaged and rubbished order on Zimbabwean roads, imposing a nightmare on all drivers and driving all tourists mad and forced them to want to go back to their countries tomorrow, it was people who put a stop to that nonsense.The right people.Are there no right people in Zimbabwe now to stop schools and school heads from killing and looting intellectual property from fellow-Zimbabweans who continue to 'die' for this country by waging the war against ignorance and poverty through writing teaching and learning material for schools, colleges and universities?Have you ever wondered why writers in Zimbabwe live or die poor? It is because those who can stop book piracy stand aside and silently watch while education institutions abuse their intellectual property.All Provincial Education Directors, District School Inspectors and School heads can stop this corruption and illegality overnight if they choose to speak and be part of the solution, not part of the problem.This article is a challenge and plea to the above education directors and officers to speak against slanderous photocopying in schools. If they do not, you know what we will do? We will approach those whom we know are good at stopping nonsense in Zimbabwe.They did it in November 2017 and they did it swiftly. Do not say we did not warn you. If our direct masters have failed, we have the right to approach the Ministers of Education, both Primary and Secondary and Tertiary and Higher Education. If that path fails, we all know who will not fail. It is not difficult to identify these selfish and inconsiderate schools and bring them to book.All we need is a letter signed by one with a long signature that ends with a line of many full stops. And this nonsense stops at once in the schools. That signature came to stop nonsense in the country.And no nonsense will hide from its 'healing' line of full stops.We cannot continue to silently watch while intellectual property is vandalised and abused in broad daylight by people who should know better. Writers are business people like all of you business people out there. They want value for their hard work and business and no one has the right to steal their property with immunity. I am prepared to personally write or approach ED himself to do something if that is where this savagery must end. If he has moved mountains before, ED will certainly overnight move these hills and anthills.If he has extinguished inextinguishable fires before, he will surely blow this candle out easily. Opinion / Columnist The Americans are so proud of their Declaration on Independence (DoI); they hold it with such high regard even though it was a document created by a bunch of white supremacists slave owners. The fundamental idea of the declaration was not to allow the British Empire to determine the course of their future. Therefore it is mind boggling why they would assume a high moral ground and try and set conditions and terms for the Zimbabwean elections, something their own DoI is opposed to.Part of America's declaration, made over two hundred years ago reads, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."If the Americans really care about the lives, freedom and happiness of other people around the world, how on earth do they qualify themselves to impose electoral conditions against small developing nations like Zimbabwe? In fact, imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe is a violation of their DoI.The election conditions that the United States of America (USA) has set for Zimbabwe as a pre-requisite for re-engagement are next to impossible as most of them impinge on the sovereignty of our beloved nation.It was reported in some sections of the media that the USA Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senators Chris Coons and Jeff Flake introduced a bill with demands electoral reforms before this year's elections for them to lift sanctions on Zimbabwe.Among other things, the USA demands that the Zimbabwe Election Commission should be replaced and another formed under the consultation of all opposition parties; remove all ex-military employees from handling election business and equal coverage of state media access to all registered parties.Surely, in what capacity is the USA setting such stiff conditions on Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is sovereign State which believes in its self-rule. The setting of such stringent election conditions on the country can probably be an agenda by the USA to try to rig elections in favour of their proxy the MDC-T party.This could also explain why MDC-T leader Nelson Chamisa came up with his Plan and Environment for A Credible Election (PEACE) document which carries similar conditions as those set by the USA.With only less than five months before elections, there is no way the Government can amend and implement some of the reforms that both the MDC Alliance and the USA are clamouring for.Zimbabwe has more than 80 political parties, and the demand by the USA to allow all the players to be covered in the State owned media does not really make sense. There is only one broadcasting television, the ZBC, which is not only responsible for covering political party's events but other events outside politics. In that vein, America has no right to decide on who should be given coverage and who shouldn't.It is really puzzling how the USA would see it fit and proper to set conditions for Zimbabwe's elections when they are in a war of words with Russia which they accuse of meddling in their own 2016 elections. President Donald Trump has been hounded by inquiry after inquiry and has had some of his campaign team members brought before Senatorial commissions for what they term improper interactions with the Russians before the 2016 elections.Among others was the USA's Attorney General Jeff Sessions, an early and prominent supporter of Trump's campaign. In his confirmation hearings, Sessions testified that he did not have communications with Russia.Also on 29 December 2016, the USA government announced a series of punitive measures against Russia. The former USA president Barack Obama administration imposed sanctions on four top officials of Russia's foreign intelligence agency (GRU) and declared persona non grata to 35 Russian diplomats suspected of spying; they were ordered to leave that country within 72 hours.Zimbabwe will proceed with its plans to hold free and fair election, USA can come and observe if they so wish but, we will not bow down to pressure to amend our laws to suit their meddling hand. Opinion / Columnist Members of the United States of America's Senate Foreign Relations Committee Jeff Flake and Chris Coons have demanded that Zimbabwean President Emmesron Mnangagwa and his administration implement a raft of reforms which include apologising for Gukurahundi if the relations between the two nations are to be restored.The US has told Mnangagwa to undertake a "genuine process of national reconciliation up to and including acknowledging and apologising for atrocities in Matabeleland Gukurahundi."The frameworks include unifying the people of Zimbabwe by "acknowledging that human rights have been abused, including during the urban land clearances of Operation Murambatsvina, and the violence perpetrated in the wake of the 2008 election against the opposition and citizens of Zimbabwe."America also demanded that Mnangagwa take "steps to offer redress or compensation to victims of abuses."The framework also spells out that the new administration orders "an immediate inquiry into the disappearance of prominent human rights activists, including Patrick Nabanyama, Itai Dzamara, and Paul Chizuze."Announcing the new measures, Flake said: "President Mnangagwa has signaled his intent to bring about change in Zimbabwe. His words need to be followed by concrete actions."This measure outlines steps that, if taken, would go a long way to demonstrate that President Mnangagwa is earnest in his desire to bring about long-overdue change for the people of Zimbabwe, who suffered under authoritarian rule for far too long.""After 37 years of suffering under the repressive rule of Robert Mugabe, the people of Zimbabwe should be excited about the possibility of a brighter future."America also set pre-election condition for the new administration."The following pre-election conditions are met: '(A) Establishment and public release, without cost, in both paper and digital formats, of a biometric voter registration roll that is endorsed by all registered political parties."(B) An independent electoral management body is selected, the members of which should be nominated by all political parties represented in the parliament of Zimbabwe, and permitted to entirely carry out the functions as signed to it in section 239 of Zimbabwe's 2013 constitution in an entirely independent manner."(C) The Defense Forces of Zimbabwe are neither permitted to actively participate in campaigning for any candidate nor to intimidate voters, and must verifiably and credibly uphold their constitutionally mandated duty to respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of all persons and be non-partisan in character."(D) International observers, including from the United States, the African Union, the Southern African Development Community, and the European Union are permitted to observe the entire electoral process, both prior to, on, and following voting day, including by monitoring polling stations and counting centers, and are able to independently operate in a manner enabling them to access and analyze vote tallying, tabulation, and the transmission and content of voting results."(E) Candidates are allowed free and full access to state media, which must afford equal time and coverage to all registered parties, in an impartial manner, and must be able to campaign in an environment that is free from intimidation and violence.Senator Coons said; "To ensure conditions throughout the country improve, the international community should insist on concrete actions from the new government of Zimbabwe before lifting sanctions and renewing investment in the country."We look forward to visiting Zimbabwe, meeting with its top officials, and assessing the steps they are taking to hold free, fair, and credible elections as well as to advance broader economic and political reforms to improve the lives of all the citizens of Zimbabwe." Opinion / Columnist Sometime ago I became very annoyed while marking a book belonging to one of my learners. I just couldn't stand his ugly handwriting anymore. After trying everything in my power to help him improve or to try and force him to improve, nothing seemed to help. In fact the more i tried to emphasise the need for him to improve it, the handwriting just seemed to get worse. I had written several times in his book "Improve Your Handwriting" and his parents told me on consultation day that they were also very concerned about his ugly handwriting and had encouraged him countless times to improve to no avail.I held his book one afternoon and felt like screaming. I called him to my table and said to him, "My boy, what exactly do you want me to say and do for you to change your handwriting? Please just tell me and I will do it. I have tried to demonstrate to you how to hold a pen, demonstrated how to shape letters, wrote over ten comments in your that you should improve your handwriting, encouraged you and even punished you in a bid to make you change. Please tell me now what I can do to make you make an effort because I really can't stand this handwriting."The boy kept quiet for a while. I felt my patience evaporating quickly and raised my voice starring at his face. "Talk!" I could see that there is something he wanted to say but was scared. I encouraged him to say whatever he wanted to say and I will not get angry at him. I was curious to hear what he seemed to be desiring to say.The learner said. "Sir please don't get angry at me, but I honestly think that we should forget about my handwriting because I also have tried my best to improve but I just can't make it better than this, why don't we just FOCUS ON THE MAIN THING. I mean I am getting excellent marks in all the subjects, isn't that the most important thing you and my parents want? I think I am getting the main thing right and you should not worry too much about my handwriting"I looked straight into his eyes for about five seconds and told him to go and sit down. As the learners went out of the classroom to play I remained alone in the classroom. I looked out through the window as mind went on a far away trip. I remembered one of my former colleagues I had taught with in rural areas over a decade ago. He had probably the worst handwriting I ever seen but has diligently pushed his way into one of the most influential positions in the Ministry of Education (Department of Education). Indeed the guy's handwriting was absolutely hopeless, yet he focused on the main thing: the dream that was burning in his heart. He had a rare determination and ridiculous commitment to his vision, yet what all of us were just concerned with his handwriting. 'The Main Thing,' I thought to myself.My learner had the main thing, distinctions in all his subjects. His end of term school report did not state by which handwriting he had acquired those great marks. His was an outstanding learner, the one who often won some awards during the School's Awards ceremony and very well behaved as well. He probably has even a greater future than I will ever have. However my obsession with his poor handwriting had often drove me crazy.What if I told you that most of the conflicts between spouses, hatred amongst humans and depression have nothing to do with the Main Thing. The grumblings and mumblings in the corridors of most workplaces are about minor things and issues which shouldn't be given so much attention and shouldn't cause all the stress and tension. Your obsession with perfection may make you magnify irrelevant flaws and imperfections of your boss, church, leaders or partner to a point of great frustration and misery, even though they possesses The Main Things (important qualities).This is surely Vanity of vanities says 'The Motivator', what shall it profit a man to be ungrateful of the great things they have because they are focusing on the handwriting? Human beings would enjoy much more fulfilling relationships if they were not obsessed with each other's handwritings. Church members get divided and engage in endless wars with each other, just because of focusing on each other's handwritings. No one is perfect, let's keep our eyes on the Main Thing.After marking that learner's book later that day, he got everything correct on his given work. I nodded my head as I gave him his book back, "The main thing, right?" I said. "Yes, sir Gwizi, this is the main thing" He said confidently.Ladies and gentlemen don't let your obsession with perfection lead you to depression. Don't let the ugliness of the handwriting make you ungrateful of the main thing (most important things or qualities which really matter) #gwizimotivator gwizimotivator@yahoo.com Opinion / Columnist PRESIDENT ED Mnangagwa you erred Sir! In Bindura there is a State University which is headed by arguably the most corrupt Vice Chancellor the world has ever seen or heard of. The various acts of corruption committed by this deceptive character who calls himself a pastor have been covered extensively in the print media. The Financial Gazette has done its bit. Bulawayo24 has also done its fair share of coverage of the corruption of the man. Even the Independent newspaper has also written about the corruption by the same individual. Some forensic accounting report done by the highly reputable Grant Thornton has also revealed the extensive corruption of the man.The same gentleman was not and still is not qualified to head such an institution. He was a dean of a very small faculty at NUST and without even having been appointed a Pro Vice Chancellor he was catapulted to the apex of the Bindura University of Science Education. He has perfected the art of messing up while at the helm of the organization. The forensic accounting report has revealed that he has not only flouted tender procedures in buying and then destroying structures at a place where a library was then constructed partly with money forcibly drawn from University employees. He has also bought himself a Mercedes Benz car that is over USD 10 000 above his limit. He has paid himself over USD 19 000 as domestic workers' allowances which he is not entitled to. He even stole over USD 1500 as cell phone allowances. He has triple dipped fuel entitlements. All that is in the Grant Thornton Report which has been reported on in the media before. He is currently readying himself for delivery of yet another car: Toyota Hilux four wheel drive (all terrain) courtesy of the President's renewal of his contract.Cde President, we are all aware that the former President would appoint incompetent people to key positions to enable him to control them. We also know that the old man would also be ever so happy to discover that his appointees were corrupt for not only would he leave them in their positions but would keep files of their corrupt activities to enable him to use such files as further levers of control. This vice Chancellor was not qualified to start with. Check his initial appointment file in case you are in doubt about that. Not even one port of call endorsed his candidature. It is there in the man's file. That alone would have been pardonable had he acquitted himself well over the years. All he has done is misappropriate University funds and force out those that would not condone his evil deeds. To date, everyone who does not condone his fraudulent actions is not spared regardless of their level with even the Pro Vice Chancellor, the Registrar, two Bursars among the high level staff having been removed for their stance against corruption. I am reliably informed that as soon as His Excellency extended his contract he rushed to suspend five Faculty of Commerce lecturers over some false allegations. These five lecturers are all representatives of academic staff who have always stood for workers.One wonders whether or not His Excellency means it when he says he has zero tolerance for corruption. This vice Chancellor is corrupt yet he appears to be immune to the President's zero tolerance to corruption. Why?The same vice Chancellor not so long ago was the undisputable champion of the "Munhu wese kuna amai" madness. It is a well-known fact. He even printed some t-shirts emblazoned with the face of the former first lady using University funds. The t-shirts are still to be fully disposed of with some colour now splashed over where the portrait of that lady once took pride of place. It is no secret that this man lives by deceptive patronage. Perhaps he has fooled you given he even fools a handful of students that he calls his congregants at the makeshift structure he calls a church.This vice chancellor's wife is still there at the University as a full time member of staff in a part-time programme. In addition to her there are now three of them in the part-time programme who are deemed full time members of staff!The man has taken to boasting about what he claims is a relationship with you and the Honourable Vice President Chiwenga. In suspending the five he said he can do whatever he wants because he is the President's brother! If he is indeed your brother, why was he meddling in G40 business which professionals should steer clear of? He is now doing whatever he feels like because the former Minister of Higher Education made sure that he appointed a Council Chairman who the Minister told to apply for that role as his appointment would be guaranteed. This Chairman does not know how Universities are run. I do not know why he applied for that chairmanship role when he clearly does not know how to lead.This Vice Chancellor will cost you a lot of votes because people will not tell whether you really mean it when you say you want to stamp out corruption when you appear as though you are promoting it by extending contracts of some people who are corrupt and incompetent.The Vice Chancellor has a lady in the Ministry of Higher Education who covers up his soiled tracks. Her name is Mrs Muguti. Check for yourself what role this lady has played in covering up the findings of the investigations on corruption that was done by the Ministry as well as in ensuring that you renew this man's contract.Students are badly treated with some of them even resorting to courts for their rights to be restored. The Ministry is aware of this. That lady Mrs Muguti may have ensured that such reports are not brought to your attention but the matter was covered by a Newsday reporter when the students had sought the help of the Ministry of Higher Education which turned a deaf ear to their plight courtesy of the man's protectors at the Ministry. You could help by transferring this Mrs Muguti to another Ministry and instituting a fresh probe into the corrupt activities of this man when the lady is no longer playing a gatekeeping role.This is the same man who was overseeing the worst scandal ever done by ZIMSEC where his relative was in charge. Yes, they are related. His aunt is married to that man, that is, Dr Mpofu's sister. The Dr Mpofu is also employed at the University and she is a law unto herself just as this man is.Lecturers are being forced to teach in block release programmes against their will and are not paid for teaching in the programmes. One wonders where the money goes. All other Universities in Zimbabwe pay lecturers who would have taught in block release programmes separately. This man has come up with what he terms a work load formula that he claims makes the lecturers teach for free as he collects what the lecturers ought to have been paid.Your Excellency you erred in renewing the Bindura University of Science Education Vice Chancellor's contract of employment. It is not too late to correct a wrong. Perhaps you need to withdraw this offer due to the extensive corruption and bad governance by this man. You may also want to find out why the Anti-Corruption Commission is not investigating him. You may also need to remove the University Council and re-advertise the Council openings. In your appointments, seek to bring in those who are properly qualified to supervise the running of the University. The country is watching and listening. Rhetoric on zero tolerance to corruption need to be backed by action. Actions speak louder than words! Shakila Zareen has a keepsake on the night table beside her bed in her sparse, clean apartment in a suburb of Vancouver. It is a photograph of a young woman with olive skin and thick, black hair. She is wearing a bright yellow dress, long earrings, a matching necklace and ring. She gazes into the camera with a serious, soulful stare. This is what Zareen looked like before her husband shot her in the face in 2012 in Afghanistan. She survived. The story of how she came to Vancouver as a refugee earlier this year is being told for the first time to CBC News and The Current. Zareen was 17 years old when she said her brother-in-law forced her to marry a man many years older. She said the abuse started on her wedding night and continued for months. "From right then and there, he began to beat me and rape me. This became my reality," Zareen said through an interpreter. Eventually, she went to the police for help. She told them about the beatings. She also told them her husband and brother-in-law had links to the Taliban. "The police said to me, 'It's your husband and he really hasn't done anything that awful to you. He hasn't cut off your ear, he hasn't cut off your mouth, he hasn't cut off your nose,'" she said. Zareen left the police feeling no hope. She went to her mother's house. Hours later, Zareen recalled, her husband arrived and shot her. LISTEN to Zareen recount the night her husband shot her: "The bullet that hit me basically took half of my face off," she said. "It was gone my nose, my mouth, my eye, my teeth, my jaw. " According to a report from 2017 in The Guardian, her husband refused requests to talk about the incident. Zareen's brother-in-law told the Guardian she had shot herself. Her husband spent 10 months in prison and was then released. Zareen survived a car ride to Kabul to a hospital. After that, the Indian government became involved and flew her, her mother and younger sister to Delhi. The government paid for Zareen to have a series of surgeries over the next three years. Story continues The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) also certified the trio as refugees and asked the United States to resettle them. In June of 2016, the U.S. granted them conditional approval. Zareen began to dream of a new life half a world away from Afghanistan and safe from her husband. Rejected by the U.S. But a year later, another letter from U.S. immigration arrived. The letter said they had been rejected for "security-related reasons." "I cried and cried and cried," Zareen said. "Why would I possibly not be allowed in any country? I fell into a very, very dark, bad depression." The rejection came six months after U.S. President Donald Trump came to office and introduced new rules suspending the refugee program before it was challenged in the courts. It's not known what the "security-related" issues were in Zareen's case. But she said that ruling also led Sweden to reject her application. The UNHCR decided to refer the file to Canada. Zareen's case moved at what one supporter called "lightning speed." Zareen was interviewed by immigration officials at Canada's High Commission in New Delhi in November in 2017, according to a friend. She, her mother and sister received their visas for Canada within weeks. They arrived in Vancouver on Jan. 30, 2018. In Canada, 'no one makes fun of me' When she lived in India, Zareen rarely removed the bandage she wore over her left eye, fearing ridicule. That changed when she came to live in Canada. "I removed it and I walk proudly," she said. No one makes fun of me here and that is the thing that has given me the most security." The federal government has often boasted of its efforts to help Afghan women and girls both during and after its military involvement ended there. Zareen wants Canadian politicians to know there is still much left to do. 'We want this hatred of women to stop' "I want them to know that life for Afghan women is very hard. I also want them to know that Afghan women are very, very strong. But we want this hatred of women to stop." U.S. lawyer Kimberly Motley, who has worked in Afghanistan representing women since 2008, knows Zareen and her case. She agreed that serious problems still persist there. "When a woman reports being beaten, often the cop will ask what she did wrong and try and return her to him," Motley said. "If she is lucky enough to get to the court system, then it is the judges who are still trying to get them back with the husband." LISTEN to Zareen explain how moving to Canada changed her life: Settling into her new home with her mother and sister, Zareen knows she has a long way to go in building her new life. She is undergoing counselling, trying to learn English and adjusting to her new surroundings. She has lost weight. It still hurts her to eat. When she was asked about why she keeps an old photo of herself from before the shooting, her composure cracked. But she insisted on answering. "I look at it and I think to myself about what I was. I want to see what I was and what I am today," she said. "And I think what type of man would do this to a woman? What type of man could hurt somebody like me?" By Carolina Mandl SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's Cade antitrust watchdog will investigate alleged anticompetitive practices in the credit card business by the country's banks following a complaint by Goldman Sachs-funded Nubank fintech, according to documents on the regulator's website. Nubank accuses Brazil's largest banks, Itau Unibanco Holding SA, Banco Bradesco SA, Banco do Brasil, Banco Santander Brasil and Caixa Economica Federal of trying to block free competition in the credit card business. Nubank complains services offered by banks such as automatic debit of card payments and access to banking statements are being denied or not properly offered. Nubank also accuses the banks of overcharging fintechs for the services. Brazil has a highly concentrated banking system, in which the five largest banks hold 85 percent of total assets. In a statement, Nubank confirmed the complaint and said it expects regulators to encourage competition. Banco do Brasil and Itau Unibanco denied any wrongdoing. Bradesco, Santander, Caixa did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Nubank offers credit cards and checking account to 3 million Brazilian customers, according to the financial startup. It has received regulatory approval to become a bank in January. In March, Nubank said it had raised $150 million in a new financing round led by venture capital firm DST Global Investment Partners. In 2017, Goldman Sachs extended a credit line of 455 million reais ($137.71 million) to fund Nubank. ($1 = 3.3040 reais) (Reporting by Carolina Mandl; Additional reporting by Bruno Federowski and Sandra Maler) It's time to "warrior up," stop polluting the planet and give water the same rights and protections as human beings. That's the message Autumn Peltier, a 13-year-old Canadian, delivered personally to the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday. "Many people don't think water is alive or has a spirit," the Anishinaabe girl from Wikwemikong First Nation told the diplomats gathered in New York City in her speech on World Water Day. "My people believe this to be true. "Our water deserves to be treated as human with human rights. We need to acknowledge our waters with personhood so we can protect our waters." The five-foot tall teen from Manitoulin Island, Ont., stood on a stool behind the podium so she could reach the microphone. She had been invited to speak as the "representative of civil society," joining UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and other international dignitaries for the launch the UN's International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development. "By 2050, at least one in four people will live in a country where the lack of fresh water is chronic or recurrent," Guterres said during his address. States need to better manage and preserve world water resources, he said. More than 2.1 billion people already lack safe drinking water at home, according to UN figures and that includes people in Canada. "No one should have to worry if the water is clean or if they will run out of water," Peltier said in her speech. "No child should grow up not knowing what clean water is or never know what running water is. "We all have a right to this water as we need it not just rich people, all people." Brenden Varma, spokesperson for the president of the General Assembly, said "it's definitely not very common to see a 13-year old girl addressing the 193 member states of the United Nations." "We're used to having world leaders often speaking very bureaucratic language," he said. Story continues Varma said hearing Peltier give such a heartfelt address was a treat for everyone in the room. "We were all very moved," he said. "She was amazing." - WATCH: Rosemary's Barton's interview with Autumn Peltier for The National about what motivates her, and the ups and downs of speaking out on important issues Henk Ovink described Peltier's speech as inspiring and "in our faces as leaders of the world." The special envoy for international water affairs for the Netherlands said collaborating with those who will inherit the Earth is essential. "It's the young that can help us leap forward, so we have to listen to the young and implement their ideas," Ovink said. Peltier told CBC News after her address that she wasn't nervous speaking in front of the General Asembly. "I felt like they all wanted to hear what I had to say, and I felt heard," she said. "It's just a great feeling to be speaking in front of world leaders." She said it took her three days to write the speech, which she very nearly didn't get to deliver. Autumn's mother, Stephanie Peltier, said she was in the middle of an email purge when the UN invitation arrived. "I said this is probably a scam, and I almost deleted it." Then their flight from Toronto to New York was cancelled three times. So she and her mother ended up driving all the way a 15-hour trip. "I am really proud," said Stephanie Peltier, who is a single parent. "I never imagined I'd be sitting here with her speaking at the United Nations." Water advocate This wasn't Peltier's first speech. The resident of the Wikwemikong Unceded Territory has become a well-known advocate for safe drinking water for Indigenous communities and clean waterways in Canada. She attended the 2015 Children's Climate Conference in Sweden, is the only Canadian nominated for the 2017 Children's International Peace Prize, and had a tearful encounter with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2016 where he promised to take steps to protect water in Canada. "We are working to ensure that everyone has access to safe, clean, and reliable drinking water," Louise Blais, deputy ambassador at the Canadian Mission to the UN, told CBC News on Thursday. That includes working with First Nations communities to ensure their water is safe to drink. Blais described Peltier's address as a further "call to action" for nations around the world to protect water for future generations. Experience of a lifetime Peltier herself is a very composed and thoughtful teenager. Her mother says people often aren't sure how to take her. "My mom even used to call her little old woman girl," said Stephanie Peltier. "Sometimes, we joke around and tell her to smile a little." The 13-year old insists she has a social life outside of her activism, but that pollution and water scarcity scare her. "With what Mother Earth is going through right now, imagine that in 10 years," the Anishinaabe teen told the delegates at the UN on Thursday. "Where I come from I am so fortunate I can still drink the water from the lake." She pointed out that many others around the world, and even across Canada, can't do that, including several communities near hers that have had boil-water advisories. "I actually cried about it. And it makes me really mad when I think about it," she said in an interview at her home prior to the UN visit. She has continued to speak out about the problems, even in the face of bullying from some of her peers at school. Her mother has ensured her children follow their traditional path of water protection by instilling a strong sense of identity and culture. Autumn said she was also inspired by her great-aunt Josephine Mandamin, who trekked the shores of all five Great Lakes to bring attention to issues threatening Canada's largest natural resource. "What I've been told through ceremonies is Mother Earth has been surviving for millions of years without us. And it's taken us less than a century to destroy her and Mother Earth doesn't need us, but we need her," she said. Peltier said she has already received a lot of positive feedback from people in the audience at the UN who heard her speech, which she hopes will translate into action. "This was the experience of a lifetime." Peltier left the gathered international dignitaries at the UN with this message: "One day I will be an ancestor, and I want my great-grand-children to know I tried hard to fight so they can have clean drinking water." In Autumn's Words CBC News asked Autumn Peltier what being a water advocate means to her, and what her advice would be for young people who want to follow her example as a "water keeper." Here's what she said: My experience as a water keeper is more of an honour to the water and Mother Earth. Doing this work is very spiritual, and I feel connected to the water in spirit. I also am proud to represent my people, and especially my community. I enjoy meeting new people and travelling to new places and learning about their issues and seeing if I can help in some way. I hope I am making a difference for our future and our great grandchildren. If you want to become a water keeper: - Learn as much as you can from your elders and your teachers. - Learn your history. Learn your language. Listen and ask questions. - Pay attention to the climate and the animals. Have respect for all living things. - Talk with Mother Earth, sit with her and thank her. Make offerings of tobacco, pray and give thanks. - Have fun and be a kid as much as you can. Get your school or class involved in a type of activity to help the land. - Talk to your friends and share ideas. Inspire and encourage others. - If you have a idea, act and make it happen. Don't be shy, there are no rights or wrongs anyone can do this work. - Just do it!!! By Noah Barkin and Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union member states agreed at a summit on Friday to take additional punitive measures against Russia for a nerve agent attack in Britain, as Moscow accused the bloc of joining a London-driven hate campaign against it. Moscow has denied that it is behind the attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, the first known offensive use of a nerve toxin in Europe since World War Two. But German Chancellor Angela Merkel said evidence of Russian culpability presented by British Prime Minister Theresa May was "very solidly based" and promised new measures after EU leaders agreed late on Thursday to recall their ambassador to Moscow. "Germany and France agree that additional steps, on top of the recall of the ambassador, are necessary," Merkel said at a joint news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron called the attack "unprecedented" and said Europe must respond: "It is an aggression against the security and sovereignty of an ally that is today a member of the European Union. It demands a reaction. This is clear." In a boost for May, the 28-member EU collectively condemned the attack and declared in a Brussels summit statement that it was "highly likely" Moscow was responsible. A British judge said on Thursday that both victims may have suffered brain damage from the attack. A policeman who was hospitalised after discovering the two unconscious on a park bench has now been discharged. "Additional steps are expected as early as Monday at the national level," summit chair Donald Tusk told reporters. TENSIONS The leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and the three Baltic states - Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania - were among those predicting further expulsions of Russian diplomats from their capitals. However, Boyko Borissov, prime minister of Bulgaria which holds the EU's rotating presidency, wanted more evidence so that "high probability becomes full probability" of Russian involvement. "I expect very rapid tensions in the coming weeks because many countries will start to recall their ambassadors too. The current times are harder than the Cold War," Borissov said, making clear his discomfort with further measures. Moscow has retaliated against Britain's move to expel 23 Russians by ordering out the same number of Britons. On Friday, the Russian foreign ministry described the EU allegation as "baseless" and accused the bloc of spurning cooperation with Moscow and joining "another anti-Russian campaign deployed by London and its allies overseas". The expulsion of British diplomats went ahead on Friday, with a convoy of minibuses speeding out of the embassy compound to applause after British embassy staff said their goodbyes in the courtyard under a light snowfall. "I welcomed 48 colleagues/families plus 4 dogs. Safe at home," Foreign Office official Simon McDonald said on Twitter after the diplomats arrived back at a British air force base later on Friday. France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, on a visit to Kiev, signalled that Paris was considering expelling Russian diplomats in solidarity with Britain. "You will see," he said. The summit statement hardened previous EU language on Russia's alleged role as Macron and others helped May to overcome hesitation on the part of some states that feel friendlier to Moscow. Some of them had questioned how definitive Britain's evidence is. Welcoming the solidarity she secured from the summit, May told reporters on leaving: "The threat from Russia is one that respects no borders and I think it is clear that Russia is challenging the values we share as Europeans and it is right that we stand together in defence of those values." (Additional reporting by Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber and Dmitry Madorsky in Moscow and Richard Lough, Gabriela Baczynska, Robin Emmott and Elizabeth Piper in Brussels; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Gareth Jones) Nathalie Provost says she wants to honour the students of Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique. That's why Provost, a survivor of the deadly 1989 Polytechnique massacre, is going to Washington, D.C., on Saturday to march alongside thousands of people calling for tighter U.S. gun laws. "I hope that their movement will bear fruit and I'm very happy and moved to be there with them," Provost told Radio-Canada. Tens of thousands of people are expected to march in the U.S. capital on Saturday in support of stricter gun control legislation and an end to gun violence. The March For Our Lives is being led by students and youth from across the U.S., who were pushed to act after a shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla., killed 17 people and injured more than a dozen others last month. Going to the march is "a way to tell them we're with them," said Provost, who is also a spokesperson for the gun control advocacy group Poly Remembers. "If in Quebec, in Canada, we're tired of assault weapons imagine how ordinary citizens in the U.S. must be tired of these attacks and must want to feel real legislative changes." Montrealers to hold their own rally A march is also being held in Montreal on Saturday, in solidarity with the one in Washington. Lexington Vickery, a grade six student at Roslyn elementary school in Westmount, said she organized the march as a way to show that people care. Vickery said schools should be safe places and that people should talk about guns more regularly, not just when there's a shooting. "Our slogan is 'We will remember,'" the 11-year-old said. Participants will meet at Westmount Park United Church at the corner of Lansdowne Avenue and de Maisonneuve Boulevard at 10 a.m. on Saturday, then march to Dawson College. By Fathin Ungku SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Global tech giants including Facebook and Twitter on Thursday expressed concern about a possible Singapore plan to bring in a new law to tackle the threat of fake news, saying sufficient rules are already in place. Officials of Facebook, Twitter and Google attended a parliamentary hearing on how to counter the threat that Singapore said it was particularly vulnerable to due to its size, its role as a global financial hub and its ethnic and religious mix. They were among 79 people asked to speak in parliament over the eight days set for the hearing. The wealthy city state is among the countries looking to introduce legislation, so far unspecified, to rein in fake news, a trend that has stirred concern that such laws could be used to exert government control over the media. "We do not believe that legislation is the best approach to addressing the issue," Alvin Tan, Facebook's head of public policy for Southeast Asia, said in a written submission. "Singapore already has a variety of existing laws and regulations which address hate speech, defamation and the spreading of false news." Singapore ranks 151 among 180 countries rated by the World Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders, a non-government group that promotes freedom of information. Lawmakers in the United States and Europe have called for probes into how Facebook allowed Cambridge Analytica to access data on 50 million users and use it to help the election campaign of U.S. President Donald Trump. Expressing the view that social media networks were not capable of regulating themselves, Singapore's law minister, K Shanmugam, questioned Facebook official Simon Milner over how "one of the world's most competent firms" could have breached users' trust. "Right now, it doesn't feel like it," Milner, the firm's Asia policy chief, responded. He conceded failure to be upfront about the breach of user data, saying, "We had a moral obligation to do it (notify our users)." He added, "As I understand it, there was not a legal obligation." Milner questioned the premise that a legal framework could be used to decide whether information was fake news, however. "How do you define ... what is a deliberate online falsehood and what is not? We are skeptical about that." Microblogging site Twitter also shared concerns about Singapore's plans. "No single company, governmental or non-governmental actor, should be the arbiter of truth," said Kathleen Reen, Twitter's director of Public Policy for Asia Pacific. (Reporting by Fathin Ungku; Editing by Jack Kim and Clarence Fernandez) Earlier this week, it was revealed the federal government directed front-line workers at Service Canada locations to use gender-neutral language when dealing with customers. The move has prompted much controversy. The feds asked workers who handle queries to avoid using terms such as Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss and other gender-specific honorifics. The use of honorifics in client interactions can also be seen as gender specific by a client, the note, dated Jan. 19, says. [Staff] can address the client by their full name or ask how they would prefer to be addressed. The government says the change is being done in conjunction with an update to its IT systems, HuffPost Canada reports. The latter change will involve eliminating previously mandatory fields such as Mothers given name and Fathers given name which it says is intended to make things more inclusive for same-gender families and parents. Under the change, parents would be identified as Parent and Parent instead. An anonymous Service Canada employee told CBC News the directive is already causing confusion and difficult situations. It happens that we talk to people and we ask, What is the name of parent number one? the official said. People do not understand. The suggestions and changes have drawn a lot of criticism on both sides of the issue. The Tories have slammed the move, with Conservative MP Larry Miller saying the Liberals priorities are way out of whack and anybody out there [still has] a mother and a father biologically, according to HuffPost Canada. The publication reports Independent MP Rheal Fortin called the move bordering on hare-brained, and Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said it was ridiculous. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he supports the directive, Huffpost Canada reports. If we want to create a society where we respect everyone, we must give more consideration to individuals who are in minority positions who have experienced a lack of respect for years, he told reporters on Wednesday. Story continues Helen Kennedy, executive director of national LGBTQ human rights organization Egale Canada, also supports the move. But she told the Toronto Star it requires more awareness training and education around non-binary and gender-neutral language in order to work. Kennedy also told CBC News the government directive must also come with training for staff on why its important to properly gender people. Otherwise there will be a state of confusion, she said. Gabrielle Bouchard, the president of Quebecs main womens federation who is transgender also told the Toronto Star the move is a good first step. But she points out many transgender people do not want to stop using terms like Mr., Ms. or other gender-specific honorifics, since they use pronouns like he/him and she/her. What we want isnt the elimination of choice, what we want is to add more choice, she told the publication. In an interview with CBC News on Wednesday, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Jean-Yves Duclos said the directive is confusing and will be corrected so that its clear Service Canada agents have the respectful responsibility to do exactly what they are paid to do. Duclos told CBC News the directive is more about asking Canadians how they want to be addressed and then following that advice. So, what do you think of the federal governments directive? Vote in the poll above and let us know in the comments. With files from HuffPost Canada and CBC News Toronto Mayor John Tory was in Guelph Thursday morning to talk about economic opportunities across the Toronto-Waterloo innovation corridor. Tory was a keynote speaker at the 2018 Regional Economic Summit, which is hosted annually by the Guelph Chamber of Commerce. "Our innovation corridor is home to a diverse, highly educated population and game changing ideas," said Tory in a release when he announced he'd be a speaker. Tory spoke about the importance of collaboration between the Toronto-Waterloo corridor cities, including Guelph. "The notion that you can live in your own little world and say, 'We're just going to be here as Guelph or we're just going to be here as Toronto and we are not going to cooperate with one another' I think those days have pretty much come to an end," he said. However, Tory adds better transit is needed for the cities to work together more efficiently. Heading into the provincial election in June, Tory told CBC News leaders of all parties have taken notice of the Toronto-Waterloo corridor. Iran's supreme leader criticized U.S. involvement in the Middle East, accusing it of sponsoring organizations such as the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) that were responsible for destabilizing the region. Speaking to a large audience gathered at the Shrine of Imam Reza in the northeastern city of Mashhad on Wednesday, Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wished Iranians and celebrants around the world a happy Nowruzthe Persian New Yearand called on citizens to invest in the local economy by purchasing domestically produced goods. He also took the opportunity to condemn an alleged conspiracy by the U.S. and its ally, Israel, which Iran has accused of illegally annexing Palestinian land. Related: How ISIS Got Weapons From the U.S. and Used Them to Take Iraq and Syria Trending: Does Captain America Die in Avengers 4? Chris Evans Says The Film Will Be Steve Rogers Last "The Islamic Republic could diffuse the United States' plan for the region. What was America's plan? The plan was to create venomous, evil, and destructive groups, such as ISIS, to divert nations' attention from the occupying Zionist regime and not to let them think about the Zionist regime. This is the plan we could defuse," Khamenei said. "They claim they were involved in the destruction of ISIS. This is a lie. The policy of the U.S. is to keep ISIS, but under their own thumb. Of course, ISIS, and other such groups, are easy to create for the U.S., but difficult to handle. They want to keep calling the shots with ISIS. Beside the fact that the U.S. is not able to make the region secure," he added. KhameneiNowruz Khamenei.ir Story continues Don't miss: NASA Still Doesn't Have an Administrator 6 Months After Nomination ISIS had its origins in a merger of jihadi Sunni Muslim groups, including Al-Qaeda in Iraq, that spawned in the aftermath of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. What became known as the Islamic State of Iraq waged a violent campaign against U.S. forces, Iraqi troops fighting for the newly installed government, the country's Shiite Muslim majority and the ethnic minorities of Iraq. It spread to Syria in 2013, two years after a mostly Sunni Muslim uprising backed by Western powers, Gulf Arab states and Turkey threatened to overthrow the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a close ally of Iran and Russia. Both the U.S. and Iran have invested heavily in battling ISIS in both Iraq and Syria. However, the dynamics of their separate campaigns differed vastly from country to country. In Iraq, the U.S. and Iran both backed the Iraqi military, but the former also offered assistance to Kurdish forces and the latter bolstered the battle with a majority-Shiite Muslim collective of Iraqi militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces. In Syria, the U.S. supported a mostly Kurdish alliance known as the Syrian Democratic Forces after abandoning an increasingly jihadi Syrian opposition to Assad, while Iran backed both Assad and various local and foreign militias, many of which were also Shiite Muslim. Most popular: J.K. Rowling Accused of Transphobia After Liking Tweet With ISIS largely defeated last year, nations such as Russia, Iran and Syria have accused the U.S. of failing to strike a final blow to the jihadis and maintaining them as a viable actor. The U.S. has vehemently denied this charge and has countered evidence presented to prove it. Iran and Syria have also accused Israel of supporting insurgent groups, including Al-Qaeda affiliates operating near Syria's southwestern Golan Heights region, which was partially occupied and annexed by Israel after a 1967 war. Israel has fought several major conflicts with neighboring Arab nations that support an independent Palestinian state. RTS17H2N Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters In addition to these wars, Israel has also become embroiled in regional struggles for power and has conducted airstrikes targeting the positions of Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah and its Syrian allies. Israel has accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons and, like President Donald Trump, has sought to fix or nix the 2015 agreement signed by the U.S., Iran and five major world powers. Israel has destroyed suspected nuclear sites in Iraq and Syria in the past. The U.S. and Israel, along with Saudi Arabia, have tried to isolate Iran politically and economically as its victories against ISIS helped expand Tehran's influence across the Middle East. With the jihadis defeated, groups like Hezbollah have called for a renewed focus on opposing Israel, leading to new tensions in Syria and Lebanon. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Jah Wobble - The Legend Lives On...Jah Wobble In Betrayal - Virgin Are We Metal ? Acid Cannibals - Why Not Every Night? 7" EP - At War With False Noise THURSDAY, March 22, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- After American women began to adopt annual mammography screening in the 1980s, a very healthy thing happened: the average size of newly discovered breast tumors got smaller. That's the finding from a new look at data on more than 386,000 U.S. women who were diagnosed with breast cancer between 1983 and 2014. The average size of breast tumors at diagnosis fell 23 percent during that time -- from 26 millimeters to 20 millimeters (1.02 to 0.79 inches), the researchers found. That's great news for women, because "in general terms, small breast cancers have a better prognosis than larger ones," explained study co-author Dr. Manon Jenkins, of Weston General Hospital, in Bristol, England. But the news wasn't all upbeat: Not all women have benefited equally from the trend, and in fact, breast tumor size began to creep up again after 2001, the study found. For example, after the introduction of breast cancer screening in the early 1980s, the average breast tumor size fell 27 percent in women aged 70 to 74, but only 10 percent among those 85 and older. Average tumor size remains highest in women older than 85, who are less likely to be screened, the researchers said. And between 2001 and 2014, the average tumor size actually increased slightly -- between 3 percent (for women aged 75 to 79) and 13 percent (for women aged 50 to 54). The findings were to be presented Thursday at the European Breast Cancer Conference in Barcelona, Spain. It's not yet clear whether the recent increase in average breast tumor size will mean more breast cancer deaths, Jenkins and colleagues stressed. But it makes sense that the more screening, the better the survival odds for patients, they added. "Screening aims to detect breast cancers before they are large enough for a woman to feel them," Jenkins explained in a meeting news release. "If that's the case, then the number of large cancers among women who are offered screening should fall and [deaths] should also decline." Two oncologists who weren't involved in the study worry that changes to U.S. mammography guidelines might be contributing to recent increases in breast tumor size. In 2009, the influential U.S. Preventive Services Task Force changed its breast screening guidelines, advising that women have a mammogram once every two years, beginning at age 50 and ending at age 74. The former recommendation had included women aged 40 and over, and advised annual mammograms. Dr. Alice Police directs breast surgery at Northwell Health in Westchester County, N.Y. She believes the "most likely reason" for the recent slight uptick in average tumor size "is that guidelines for screening have changed." "These new guidelines have not been universally accepted, but even a partial acceptance could account for the fact that tumor size is now increasing -- particularly in older patients," Police said. "This would indicate an unfortunate trend towards a later diagnosis for some patients, which could translate into poorer outcomes and a higher mortality rate down the line," Police added. "This disturbing trend could be the result some of us have feared from the new screening guidelines." Dr. Lauren Cassell is chief of breast surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. She hailed mammography screening as "one of the major medical advances of the past 50 years." But she agreed with Police that "it would be a terrible shame if we are picking up tumors that are larger because women are not going for yearly mammograms." In the United States, more than 40,600 women will die from breast cancer this year alone, according to the American Cancer Society. And about 252,700 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed. Study findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. More information The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more on breast cancer screening. FRIDAY, March 23, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Difficulties tied to prostate cancer may not be limited to men. Many wives of men with advanced prostate cancer say their husband's illness has harmed their own health, a new study finds. "Many prostate cancer patients have a hard time, both physically and emotionally. This work shows that this stress can spill over and affect wives and partners," said Hein Van Poppel, a European Association of Urology (EAU) spokesman. "This is good for neither of them. Good mental and emotional health needs to be part of how we judge a treatment, and we need to try to ensure that both patients and their partners get the support they both need," Van Poppel said in an association news release. While the impact of prostate cancer and its treatment on men has been widely studied, there has been little examination of how patients' partners are affected, the association noted. In this study, Danish researchers interviewed 56 women whose husbands had advanced prostate cancer. The men were being treated with hormone therapy meant to reduce production of testosterone. This treatment can lead to fatigue, frailty and loss of sex drive. Forty-six percent of the wives said their health had been affected by their partner's cancer. Additional in-depth interviews with eight of the women revealed that many felt fearful and cut off from others. They were concerned about how their lives would change as their husband's disease progressed. According to study co-leader Jeanne Avlastenok, "Many felt increasingly socially isolated. Their husbands were fatigued both by the illness and by the treatment, which meant that they couldn't socialize as a couple, which made the women feel cut off from social support. "They also gradually developed a real fear of being alone, even within the relationship," added Avlastenok, a registered nurse. "They felt that they had to be strong, which meant that they couldn't share the burden of the illness." The women were also worried about the role change in their relationship. "As their men became less able to fulfill their usual roles, the women had to undertake tasks which had previously fallen to the men. Many of these are simple tasks, but for the women they represented a sea change in the way their lives were structured," Avlastenok said. The study was presented Sunday at the annual EAU meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark. Research presented at meetings should be considered preliminary because it hasn't been peer-reviewed for publication in a medical journal. More information The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more on prostate cancer. THURSDAY, March 22, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Depression can raise your risk of developing an irregular heart rhythm that's been linked to stroke and heart failure, a new study suggests. A person's risk of atrial fibrillation increased by about a third if they either reported symptoms of depression or had been prescribed antidepressants, the investigators found. Previous research has linked fright and anxiety to poor heart health, but this is the first to make a connection between depression and the heart, said lead researcher Dr. Parveen Garg. He's an assistant professor of clinical medicine with the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles. "Our research emphasizes the link between mental health and cardiovascular health," Garg said. "Our mental health and our heart health are very intertwined." At least 2.7 million Americans live with atrial fibrillation, the most common heart rhythm disorder, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). Also known as a-fib, the condition involves a quivering or irregular heartbeat that allows blood to pool and clot in the upper chambers of the heart, which increases stroke risk. Untreated atrial fibrillation doubles the risk of heart-related deaths and is associated with a five-fold increased risk for stroke, the AHA says. It's well understood that stress-inducing emotional states such as fright and anxiety affect heart health, possibly by triggering the body's "fight-or-flight" response, said Dr. Russell Luepker. He's a professor with the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and was not connected with the study. A surge of hormones are released during that response, causing short-term alterations to heart rhythm that could have long-term consequences over time, the researchers said. Depression is another state of emotional distress that has been linked to increases in stress hormones and inflammation. But it has not been linked to heart health because it is more insidious and less obviously stressful than an anxiety attack or fit of rage, Garg explained. To see whether depression hurts heart health, Garg and his colleagues analyzed data on more than 6,600 participants in a long-term, multi-ethnic study of heart health. This study assessed symptoms of depression when participants entered the trial, and also asked whether they were taking antidepressants. The researchers found an increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation during a decade-long follow-up period if the participants reported signs of depression, compared with those having no depression, Garg said. The increased risk held even after researchers controlled for other known risk factors for a-fib, including smoking, obesity and high blood pressure. Luepker, an AHA spokesman, noted that the increased a-fib risk associated with depression was not "enormous." But the study raises enough concern that doctors who want to protect their patients' heart health should keep an eye on their chronic emotional states, Luepker said. "You need to keep an eye on your depressed patients, because it's conceivable they could be at somewhat higher risk for atrial fibrillation," Luepker said. It should be noted that the study only found an association between depression and increased risk of atrial fibrillation. It did not prove cause and effect. Garg was to present the findings Thursday at an AHA meeting, in New Orleans. Research presented at meetings is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. More information The American Heart Association has more about atrial fibrillation. FRIDAY, March 23, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Quicker action to cut fossil fuel emissions and slow climate change could prevent as many as 153 million premature deaths worldwide this century, new research contends. That's how many lives could be saved in 154 of the world's largest cities through immediate action to reduce emissions and limit the global temperature increase to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, instead of delaying the largest reductions, as some countries propose, the researchers said. Taking action sooner rather than later would reduce premature death on all continents, with the biggest impact in Africa and Asia, computer simulations show, according to the researchers. The new study shows the high cost to human life if nations take the lowest-cost approach to reducing emissions, according to study author Drew Shindell. Shindell is a professor of earth sciences at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment, in Durham, N.C. In the lowest-cost approach, fossil fuel emissions would stay higher in the short-term in the hope they could be offset by future reductions. "The lowest-cost approach only looks at how much it will cost to transform the energy sector. It ignores the human cost of more than 150 million lost lives, or the fact that slashing emissions in the near term will reduce long-term climate risk and avoid the need to rely on future carbon dioxide removal," Shindell said in a university news release. "That's a very risky strategy, like buying something on credit and assuming you'll someday have a big enough income to pay it all back," he said. Scientists have lots of historical data on air pollution and can project with "relatively high certainty" how many people would die in a given city under each scenario, Shindell said. Los Angeles and New York are among six cities that could avoid as many as 320,000 premature deaths if international governments reduce carbon and other emissions now, he said. "Hopefully, this information will help policymakers and the public grasp the benefits of accelerating carbon reductions in the near term, in a way that really hits home," Shindell said. The report was published in the March 19 issue of the journal Nature Climate Change. Funding for the study came from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. More information NASA has more on climate change. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram The Committee to Protect Journalists, along with seven other press freedom organizations, today sent a joint letter urging EU diplomats in Malta to monitor the ongoing trial of three suspects arrested in relation to the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The letter calls on the diplomats to monitor court proceedings and ensure they are carried out to international standards. Civil society groups, journalists, and the Caruana Galizia family have raised concerns about the independence of the investigation. The full letter can be read here: Supersonic cruise missile BrahMos was successfully flight-tested for first time with indigenously developed seeker at Pokhran test range, Rajasthan. So far, seeker, a critical technology in missiles was imported from Russia. During the test missile with India-made seeker flew in its designated trajectory and target with pin-point accuracy. Seeker The seeker technology determines the accuracy of missile and is closely guarded secret. The indigenous seeker was developed by Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad, in collaboration with other DRDO labs. It is considered as significant milestone in indigenous missile technology and would reduce import dependence. BrahMos Missile It is supersonic cruise missile developed by joint-venture between Russias Mashinostroyenia and Indias DRDO. It has been named after two rivers Brahmaputra and Moskva (river in western Russia). It is two-stage missile, the first one being solid and the second one ramjet liquid propellant. It operates on fire and forget principal. It is capable of being launched from land, sea, sub-sea and air against sea and land targets. It is capable of carrying warhead of 300 kilogram (both conventional as well as nuclear) and has top supersonic speed of Mach 2.8 to 3 (roughly three times speed of sound). It is hailed as the worlds fastest anti-ship cruise missile in operation. Its range was initially capped at 290 km as per obligations of Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). Since Indias entry into the elite club, its range was extended to 450 km and plan is to increase it to 600km. It is self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift. It is claimed that the missile has strike accuracy rate of 99.99% and it follows a variety of trajectories like high, high-low, low, surface-skim etc. It has been already inducted in Army and Navy. The air-launched version of missile was test-fired recently for the first time from modified Su-30MKI aircraft. India: MPEDA delegation in Russia by Rajulapudi Srinivas March 23,2018 | Source: The Hindu Officials of the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) and exporters will participate in a trade meeting to be held in Russia from Wednesday. The team headed by MPEDA Chairman A. Jayathilak, and comprising Deputy Director Archiman Lahiri and exporters will be part of the delegation from India. Marine exports India had marine exports worth $ 5.7 billion during 2016-17. It targets to achieve exports of $ 6 billion during 2017-18. The country is exporting marine products to the U.S., Vietnam, Europe, Japan, and Russia. The MPEDA is planning to hold meetings with the governments and buyers of various countries where the potential is largely untapped. Export of seafood products is also playing a key role in the countrys Gross Domestic Product (GDP), says an MPEDA official. India, China, Indonesia, Ecuador and other countries are the top marine exporters in the world. The MPEDA officers and exporters will meet the Russian delegation, including government officers and prospective buyers, and discuss the scope for market development, according to an exporter. About 10 marine exporters from India, including one from Andhra Pradesh, are part of the Indian delegation. The deliberations will be on the demand, specifications, quality, price, and other issues, says an official. The Indian delegation, during its stay in Russia, will also meet other stakeholders, the official adds. A.P. top producer In India, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal, Odisha, and Kerala are top producers of marine products. As the contribution of Andhra Pradesh is high, international exporters and buyers from the U.S., Vietnam, Europe, and other countries are focusing on the State, say the officials. The case of how New Delhi was dismissively snubbed by the Abdulla Yameen government in Male on Friday illustrates how any attempt to render advice or to get a neighbouring country to accede to demands or requests is closely tied to the level of leverage and influence a country enjoys regionally. In this case it is clear that India, for all its ambitions to be the principal regional power, has little clout left with the tiniest member of Saarc, with a total population of only five lakhs. On Thursday, the Maldives government lifted the 45-day state of emergency, which was brought on to deal with opponents of the Yameen regime. Parliaments powers were cut during the emergency. The Chief Justice and a Supreme Court judge were imprisoned, and dissidents werent let out of jail despite an earlier court order. President Abdulla Yameen sent special envoys to Beijing, Islamabad and Riyadh to solicit support for his dictatorial rule. Evidently he found comfort. That has enabled him to tell New Delhi off. Indias traditional strong ties with the Maldives, which included a mutually valued security relationship, have been showing signs of wear for some years mainly due to the Chinese seeking to strengthen their position in the Indian Ocean region, where the archipelago nation commands sea lanes and is strategically located. After Beijing and Male signed a free trade agreement in December 2017, and the Maldives agreed to offer 17 islands to China to build observation posts a jejune way to conceal a military buildup Male decided it could disregard Indian concerns with impunity. The Narendra Modi government is loathe to take a more sturdy and consequential line with Male as it seems disinclined to open a fresh front with its powerful northern neighbour after the Doklam standoff with China last year. Its to please Beijing that Delhi also brought the Dalai Lama, living in India, under pressure recently. When the Abdulla Yameen regime announced the end of the emergency, New Delhi welcomed it, although it said many issues remained. Gratuitously, while possessing no bargaining counters, India on Thursday advised the Maldives to ensure credible restoration of the political process as well as the rule of law, before the elections are announced this year. New Delhi further asked Male to restore all articles of the Constitution. The response on Friday was tart. The Maldives as good as told India to mind its own business and not seek to intrude into its internal affairs. Not long ago, in a mocking tone, it had informed New Delhi that the current goings-on within its island territory were as much an internal matter as Kashmir was to India. If Indias working dynamics with China are not of an equal nature, neighbours will act up. The president of Mauritius, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, resigned from the ceremonial position on Saturday, her lawyer said, amid accusations of financial impropriety that triggered a dispute between her and the prime minister. (Photo: AP) Port Louis: The president of Mauritius, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, resigned from the ceremonial position on Saturday, her lawyer said, amid accusations of financial impropriety that triggered a dispute between her and the prime minister. The president's lawyer Yousuf Mohamed told local Radio Plus that she had decided to resign "to prevent a constitutional crisis". "She doesn't want the country ... to suffer. In the country's best interests she has decided to leave," the lawyer said. On Wednesday the president - who denies wrongdoing - rejected calls to resign, saying she was ready to provide evidence in court to debunk the accusations, prompting a rebuke from the prime minister. Gurib-Fakim's resignation letter had been sent to the speaker of parliament and she will leave office on March 23, Mohamed added. The president has been facing growing pressure, including from Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, after a local paper, L'Express, said she had used a credit card issued by an international non-governmental organization to buy clothes and jewellery in Italy and Dubai. The Indian Ocean archipelago markets itself as a bridge between Africa and Asia. Its economy relies on sugar, textiles and tourism but it is trying to develop new sectors like offshore banking, business outsourcing and luxury real estate. Acquisition GSA opens VETS 2 IT services contract The General Services Administration has opened its potential 10-year, $5 billion "VETS 2" IT services contract for business and is ready to accept task orders on the vehicle, GSA has confirmed to Washington Technology. VETS 2 -- short for Veterans Technology Services 2 -- was awarded to 70 companies in October of last year but subsequently was the subject of protests by four disappointed bidders: Async-Nu Microsystems, IronArch Technology, Software Engineering Services Corp. and SysVets. IronArch withdrew its protest from the Government Accountability Office docket on Dec. 29. GAO then denied Software Engineering Services' and SysVets' protests respectively on Feb. 13 and Feb. 16. Async-Nu Microsystems saw its protest dismissed March 9. VETS 2 is the federal government's only governmentwide acquisition vehicle reserved exclusively for service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses. It is the successor to the original VETS vehicle awarded in 2006 to 44 companies, also at a $5 billion ceiling over 10 years. "Like its successful predecessor, VETS 2 provides agencies with access to customized IT solutions from a highly qualified pool of industry partners," said Kay Ely, assistant commissioner of the Office of Information Technology Category at GSA's Federal Acquisition Service. "The original VETS contract helped participating SDVOSB businesses deliver $2.1 billion in services and solutions to the federal government. Wed like to match or exceed that on VETS 2." Task orders will encompass areas such as data management, information and communications technology, IT operations and maintenance, software development, systems design, and new and emerging technologies. GSA received 187 bids for VETS 2. Rada eliminates legislative gap, allows local authorities to ban liquor sales at night Local governments had already practiced such bans but the gaps allowed for these decisions to be overruled in courts. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter Ukraine, the Netherlands launch cooperation in renewable energy The parties agreed on the implementation of joint investment projects. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter Ukrainians abroad are sending more cash home than previously estimated. While the exodus is triggering staff shortages and weighing on economic growth, the central bank reckons those whove left are sending home more cash than previously thought. Therefore, Ukraines loss of millions of workers to labor-starved parts of eastern Europe may not be all bad, Bloomberg suggests. After reviewing its methodology, the bank estimates that $9.3 billion was channeled back to Ukraine last year $2 billion more than it calculated initially. Private transfers are an important source of foreign currency for Ukraine, the bank said, upgrading its reading of last years current-account deficit to 1.9 percent of gross domestic product from 3.7 percent. Theyre significantly higher than foreign direct investment. Read alsoLabor emigration strips Ukraine of UAH 40 bln annually - expertYet with workers continuing to leave for higher wages in countries such as Poland and Slovakia, analysts are keen to remind people of the downsides of mass emigration. Oleksiy Blinov, head of research at the Ukrainian unit of Russias Alfa Bank, says remittances accounting for a larger share of the economy suggests the nation is getting poorer. Kiev-based investment bank Dragon Capital warned of the hit to future growth. Labor migration poses a challenge to the Ukrainian economy, Dragons chief economist, Olena Bilan, said in a research note. A shortage of workers forces domestic companies to increase salaries at an accelerating pace, denting their competitiveness. But as the sums of money arriving back in Ukraine rise, so does eastern Europes demand for human capital. Grappling with the European Unions lowest unemployment rate and 230,000 unfilled positions nationwide, Skoda Auto said its Czech staff will get a salary increase of at least 12 percent this year. For Ukraine, it may be a case of more money, more problems. Groysman calls security services' pressure on business "sabotage against Ukraine" The economic function of security agencies is an absolute rudiment. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter Ukraine to buy French helicopters for emergency services - Poroshenko The first batch is to be supplied as early as this year. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter Ukrainian farmers export over 30 mln tonnes of grain since July 1 Ukrainian agribusinesses in the previous marketing year exported 43.8 million tonnes of grain, which was a record high over Ukraine's independence. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter The ancient spring festival of Nowruz is currently being celebrated around the world, by, among others, Afghans, Azeris, Americans, Chinese, Iraqis, Kurds, Pakistanis, Persians, and the peoples of Central Asia. In a statement on Nowruz, Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan welcomed the arrival of spring by gathering around the Haftsin, cooking, feasting, dancing, singing, and spending time with family and friends. He wished peace, freedom, and prosperity to all. President Donald Trump also wished millions of people around the world a beautiful and blessed Nowruz. But both the Deputy Secretary and the President had special messages for the people of Iran. Deputy Secretary Sullivan said over the past year, he has drawn inspiration from the Iranian people who are making their voices heard by protesting for freedom, dignity and respect for human rights. President Trump praised Iranians for the strength of their culture and resilience, which has allowed them to overcome great challenges throughout their long history. Today, he said, they face another challenge: rulers who serve themselves instead of serving the people. President Trump singled out the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, in particular, for condemnation. The IRGC is not Iranian in name or deed, President Trump said in a Nowruz statement. It is a hostile army that brutalizes and steals from the Iranian people to fund terrorism abroad. Since 2012, the IRGC has spent more than $16 billion of Irans wealth to prop up the Assad regime and support militants and terrorists in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. Meanwhile the average Iranian family is 15 percent poorer today than it was 10 years ago, and 30 percent of Irans youth are unemployed. President Trump also excoriated the IRCG for corruption and mismanagement, and for repressing the Iranian peoples rights to free assembly, access to information and equal opportunity. Despite the oppression they face, President Trump said, Iranians are fighting to reclaim their rights. They long for a spring time of hope, and the United States stands with the Iranian people in their aspirations to connect to the wider world and have a responsible and accountable government that truly serves their nations interests. On behalf of the American people, said President Trump, may light prevail over darkness in this New Year, and may the Iranian people soon enjoy a new day of peace, prosperity and joy. After many meetings and debates, the Chicago delegation succeeded in working with the New York United Federation of Teachers, Local 2 (UFT) to push the AFT to take stronger stands on charter school accountability and school closings though many delegates from Chicago would have liked the language to have been even stronger. Generally speaking, the New York delegation represented organizing charters as the best model for handling their role in reshaping unions, despite the fact that according to many reports few charter schools in New York have been organized as is the case in Chicago. This logic is the same touted by the Progressive Caucus of the AFT. The few that have been organized are a part of the UFT local though they have separate contracts negotiated with the help of UFT. The Chicago delegation reflection the mindset that allowing new charters to continue to proliferate while attempting to organize existing charters is an end game in which public schools and the union lose. Jen Johnson, CTU, Local 1 in Substance Atta Mohammad Noor, the powerful governor of Afghanistans Balkh Province, has agreed to resign, ending a long standoff with the countrys president. Noor, who for months had rejected President Ashraf Ghani's efforts to remove him from office, on March 22 told a rally of supporters that he has decided to step aside now that our demands have been met. "I say goodbye today, but I will still be here and always with my people," Noor said during a rally in the provincial capital, Mazar-e Sharif. "Big political games are ahead, including the elections, and we will be major players," he added. Noor is a leading figure in Jamiat-e Islami, a party that represents Afghanistan's Tajik ethnic group. His resignation will allow his hand-picked successor, parliament member Mohammad Ishaq Rahgozar, to assume the governors position. News agencies reported that under terms of an agreement between the governor and the president, Noor was also allowed to choose a new police chief for Balkh Province, name a new education minister in the national government, and to choose the ambassador to Kazakhstan. The resignation appears to peacefully end a stalemate between Noor, who is known as the "King of the North," and the central government in Kabul. The presidential palace on December 18 announced it had approved the resignation of Noor. However, Noor said he was rescinding a previous offer to resign, claiming Ghani had reneged on the terms of an agreement between the two, and he vowed to fight for his job. That raised fears of potential conflict as the Western-backed government in Kabul has been struggling to fend off the Taliban and other militant groups since the withdrawal of most NATO troops in 2014. Noor is one of several powerful regional and ethnic leaders whom Ghani has struggled to control since he took office after a disputed election in 2014. Observers say the standoff has raised Noors national profile, making him a potential rival to Ghani in the presidential election scheduled for 2019. Afghanistan is also planning to hold parliamentary elections later this year. Balkh remains one of Afghanistans most stable provinces. It profits from its position as a trade route to the former Soviet republics in Central Asia and has not seen as much militant activity than some other regions. With reporting by AFP and Reuters BAGHDAD (Reuters) - It isnt hard to find signs that Iran is winning a proxy war with Saudi Arabia in Iraq. There are the Iraqi Shiite militia who have sworn allegiance to Iran and the politicians beholden to Tehran. There are the Iranian companies that make everything from Baghdads yellow taxis to the refrigerators and air conditioners that flood street markets. And then there are the dates. Iraq was once the worlds biggest producer of the sweet fruit. But decimated by years of neglect and the 1980-88 war with Iran, production has declined to such an extent that imports are now banned to protect the local industry. The government is doing nothing. Iran controls Iraqi politics and the economy That has not stopped smugglers, particularly Iranian producers who hide their dates under cartons of other fruit. Saudi Arabia is also a big producer but the Iranians have cornered the market. Its a blow to national pride which some Iraqis see as emblematic of Irans growing hold on their country. Haqiqat dates are now the best in Iraq, Mehdi Haqiqat, owner of Iranian firm Haqiqat Golden Dates, said by telephone. Three years ago, 20 percent of his dates were sold in Iraq, he said. Now that figure has risen to more than 90 percent. The government is doing nothing. Iran controls Iraqi politics and the economy, said Qusay Hamdan, a trader at a market outside Baghdad. Iraq is one of multiple proxy battlefields as Shiite Muslim Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia seek the upper hand in the Middle East. The regional powerhouses back opposing sides in conflicts in Syria and Yemen. They are also rivals in Lebanon, where Iran exerts influence through the Hezbollah political and military movement which Saudi Arabia considers an enemy. Their rivalry and the regional conflicts have deepened instability in the Middle East and stoked fears in Western capitals including Washington of a direct confrontation between Riyadh and Tehran that might draw in their international allies. COMMERCIAL BATTLES Although Iran fought a war with Iraq from 1980 to 1988, it has a big head start over Saudi Arabia. Riyadh and Baghdad began taking steps towards detente only in 2015, after 25 years of troubled relations starting with late dictator Saddam Husseins invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Iran has been increasing its influence in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam in 2003, and the countries are now close allies. Tehran cemented ties by helping Baghdad to defeat Islamic State, a mutual enemy, and to stifle a push for independence by its Kurdish population. The improvement in relations has enabled Iran to forge ties in many areas, including business. Its the same ploy. Help the Iraqis, then make sure they help you set up legitimate businesses..., said a Western diplomat who has followed Iran closely for years. Iran is now Iraqs top trade partner, with annual turnover of about $12 billion, according to an Iraqi officials. Annual trade between Saudi Arabia and Iraq stands at about $6 billion. Tehran exports foodstuff, livestock, construction material and plastic products to Iraq. Local traders say Iranian food items and inexpensive vehicles, including the yellow taxis that are everywhere in Baghdad, dominate Iraqi markets. Quality is decisive when it comes to dates, according to deputy Agriculture Minister Mahdi al-Qaisi, as are marketing and packaging. Its a process that we are still unable to match so far, he told Reuters. NO LONGER KING OF DATES Iraqi officials say it is impossible to tell how many foreign dates are sold in Iraq because they are brought in illegally. But it is clear Iraq is no longer the king of dates. During its heyday, Iraq produced three quarters of the worlds dates. It now accounts for about five percent of global output and is only the seventh biggest producer, according to the International Nut and Dried Fruit Council Foundation. Iranian dates have the lions share (of those) being marketed inside Iraq compared to the Saudi, Emirates and Kuwaiti dates because Iran has multiple border crossings with Iraq in Kurdistan and the southern provinces, said Abbas al-Quraishi, who advises Iraqs Union of Farmers Cooperatives. Iraqis liking of Iranian dates was evident at a sprawling market outside Baghdad where traders were busy arranging colorful cartons of them in long rows. Some have given up on local dates because they make big profits selling Iranian ones. We dont want the government to end the smuggling. We are selling, said market trader Muhammed Hamid. Three years ago Iraqi dates sold for 3,000 dinars ($2.5) a kilo. Now they sell for 1,000 because of competition from Iran. Nearby lay boxes of dates from Saudi Arabia. Many Iraqi farmers can barely make ends meet. In addition to water shortages and a lack of pesticides, they have to buy gas for generators to keep refrigerators going through Iraqs frequent power cuts, a burden Iranian producers do not face. We suffer from losses of up to 70 percent because of Iranian dates, said farmer Adnan Jaber, 58. Other complain of corruption and bureaucracy. Far removed from regional power struggles, they just want to survive. The government gives us water but its not enough. The pesticide plane comes once a year, said Maitham Kathim, 35. A trade ministry spokesmen said Iraq was doing everything in its power to protect local industry, including subsidies for farmers, but that the country had chosen the path of free markets since Saddams fall. We want the Iraqi citizen to be able to choose the best product and in some cases the local product is not the best, said Mohammed Hanoun, adding that farmers need to depend on themselves and on the private sector. STARTING FROM BEHIND Saudi foreign policy has become more assertive since the rise of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has said he will protect the kingdom from what he calls Tehrans efforts to dominate the Muslim world. Riyadhs attempts to increase influence in Iraq are starting to bear fruit. Petrochemical giant Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) plans to open an office in Iraq and Saudi Arabias Industrialization & Energy Services Co (TAQA) is opening an office in Iraq to boost the presence of the Saudi private sector in Iraq and expand investment. The Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC), an arm of the countrys Public Investment Fund, is looking at farmland investment opportunities. The two countries are discussing a power-grid link initiative and investments in petrochemicals, renewable energy and power generation projects. But Riyadh still has a long way to go to catch up with Tehran in Iraq. Tehran has vast sway over the government, led by fellow Shiites, and trains and funds powerful Shiite militias. Top Iranian commanders could be seen on Iraqi battlefields giving orders in the war against Islamic State. Iraq and Iran have signed $7 billion in contracts in techno-engineering services, the Iranian news agency IRNA said. Private Iranian investors set up a factory in 2014 which produces about 100 automobiles per day. Following Irans help in putting down the Iraqi Kurds push for independence, Iraq is expected to start supplying crude oil for the first time from the Kirkuk fields in Iraqi Kurdistan to a refinery in the Iranian city of Kermanshah. An Iraqi oil official said the initial shipments would start soon and would initially be 40,000 barrels per day. Ten thousand families live under tents or live in ad hoc huts, shacks and hovels across Iran, the Statistical Center of the Islamic Republic announced in a report published on Tuesday, March 20. According to the report, families living in urban areas produce 175,000 tons of waste on average, every week. The state-run Iran Labor News Agency (ILNA) has cited the report as saying, 18,12 million families live in 17,68 million residential units (8,13 million apartments, 9,97 million in houses and 10,000 in huts, hovels, shacks and cabins) in urban areas in Iran. The new report reflects residential situation in 2016; while the problem of people living on the margins of urban areas across the country has been aggravated in recent years and turned into a challenge threatening the whole society. The problem has been so ominous that the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered the three branches of the state to address it. However, almost a year ago, the head of Social Workers Association of the Islamic Republic, Hassan Mousavi Chelak admitted that ten to eleven million people live in unregistered residences in outskirts of the cities in Iran. The statistics so far presented on the number of people living in shacks and under tents on the squalid margins of the cities widely differ with each other in Iran. However, it appears that between eleven to sixteen million people in Iran are currently living in huts and hovels or under tents in squalid suburban areas. Furthermore, in 2015, the deputy director of the Islamic Republics Welfare Organization, Habibollah Masoudi Farid disclosed that there are more than 850 slum cities across the country. These squalid slums are deprived of all urban services. Residents of these slums are most vulnerable people for not having access to most basic sanitation and health facilities as well as social services. Children in these slums are particularly exposed to diseases and suffer from lack of education and proper housing. According to Tehrans reformist MP and member of the parliaments Social Commission, Alireza Mahjoub, Iran's slum population has increased seventeen times in thirty years. Mahjoub has also admitted that the slum population in Iran is still on the rise. He noted that the problem is a result of poor economic conditions forcing people to move to the outskirts of the urban areas, looking for jobs and seeking residence in squalid suburban slums. Tehrans representative to the parliament asserted that no organization has made any plans to tackle the problem, so far. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 24 Trend: Azerbaijans Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Shahin Abdullayev said that Baku is seeking to establish partnerships with Saudi Arabia in the fields of satellites technology, petrochemicals, oil, gas, agriculture and tourism. We launched two satellites and we reached advanced levels in this sector. We aim to be among the top producers of satellite parts, Abdullayev told Asharq Al-Awsat. He said that political ties with Saudi Arabia are excellent and have contributed to economic, trade and investment cooperation in several fields. He added that Azerbaijan is ready to export agricultural products such as wheat, vegetables and fruits, as well as some industrial products to the Kingdom. Azerbaijan has imported huge quantities of Saudi petrochemicals in the past years, he said. He also noted that the tourism sector in Azerbaijan is considered among the significant investment and economic sectors, lauding that 35,000 tourists from Saudi Arabia visited Azerbaijan last year. He noted that Baku wants to increase trade exchange and investment cooperation, which recorded $17 million last year, adding that Azerbaijan government will offer privileges to investors and exemptions from taxes. Abdullayev discussed with Council of Saudi Chambers Chairman Ahmed al-Rajhi possible ways to foster trade and investment cooperation. Rajhi asserted that the Saudi business sector is interested in exploring investment opportunities in Azerbaijan. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 23 Trend: Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 93 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said March 23. Armenias armed forces 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. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 23 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: Throughout 2017, Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk and his team conducted monitoring exercises, providing a continuous review of the situation on the ground related to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, according to OSCEs 2017 report. The Office played an active role in assisting the Chairperson-in-Office and the co-chairs of the Minsk Group (MG) in advancing the peace process, responding quickly to any outbreaks of violence and informing about developments on the ground. Ambassador Kasprzyk continued to look for opportunities to promote further confidence-building measures with the consent of the sides, said the report. With the support of the sides, Ambassador Kasprzyk and his team conducted 24 monitoring exercises, six on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and 18 on the Line of Contact. These activities also enabled representatives of the High-Level Planning Group to visit the region four times, the report reads. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 23 By Ali Gasimov - Trend: As a result of occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory by Armenia, the ecological environment of Sargsang water reservoir in Nagorno-Karabakh has sharply deteriorated, president of the International Eurasia Press Fund (IEPF) Umud Mirzayev said addressing the 8th World Water Forum in Brazil. The resources of the reservoir, which is under Armenias control, are used as a means of political threat. As a result, Azerbaijanis living on the front line, most of whom are refugees and IDPs, face water shortage problem and cannot fully carry out agricultural work, he said. Mirzayev noted that this reservoir was built to provide 96,000 hectares of territories with irrigation water. Therefore, taking into account this urgent humanitarian problem, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a resolution on January 26, 2016 on the immediate withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories and the non-use of water resources as a political tool. However, this resolution hasnt been fulfilled so far, he said. Mirzayev also highlighted the resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2010, recognizing the human right to water and sanitation. Everyone should have a safe and physical opportunity to get water for personal and household use. But today, ignoring international documents, norms and standards aimed at supporting peace, security and sustainable development, Armenia uses water shortage for political interests, Mirzayev said. He went on to add that the current situation cannot become worse than today. The international community must understand this problem and provide every person in the world with clean water, Mirzayev said. IEPF president called on all representatives of civil society, refugees and IDPs, to join efforts and cooperate for turning water into an instrument of peace, not crisis. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 23 By Vugar Imanov Trend: There is no doubt that President Ilham Aliyev will continue his activities in the next seven years thanks to the peoples support, Ramil Gasimov, director of the Azerbaijani Medeniyyet TV channel, told Trend. Presidential election in Azerbaijan is to be held on April 11, 2018, according to an order signed Feb. 5 by the country's President Ilham Aliyev. Gasimov said that all spheres of public life, including culture and art, are intensively developing in independent Azerbaijan as a result of the countrys care and attention. "Our culture and art are being promoted in various countries and we are pleased that in this work the biggest burden accounts for Azerbaijani youth, he said. Today, the youth policy laid by the countrys national leader Heydar Aliyev, successfully continues. Personal awards established by the country's leadership, opportunities given for education abroad, large-scale projects, carried out by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, for young people further increase the responsibility of its representatives." Gasimov said that the results of cultural projects implemented by the state successfully both at the international and local levels are obvious. "If we take into account the scale and diversity of the target audience, it is possible to mention several directions, he said. Of course, one of these directions is authoritative international events that promote the Azerbaijani realities and enhance the country's international image. Humanitarian, cultural and other activities are among those events. Gasimov stressed that such events as the International Music Festival, traditionally held in Azerbaijans Gabala city, the Silk Road International Music Festival in Sheki, the International Mugham Competition, Eurovision song contest 2012 in Baku, created conditions for the promotion of culture. He stressed that Medeniyyet TV channel played a special role in the live broadcast of these events throughout the world and in Azerbaijan. Gasimov said that another direction of the youth policy is revealing and upbringing of young talented people in culture and art, care for young people and supporting them by the state. "The main advantage of this policy - strong spiritual principles, such as education of young people with a modern way of thinking, ready for innovations," he said. The laws "On the establishment of special scholarships for young talents", "On the state care about young talents in Azerbaijan, "On State Youth Policy," "State program aimed at solving social, economic and other problems, development of the talents of gifted adolescents and talented young people" and a number of other legal acts played an important role in the formation of the legislative base in this sphere. Gasimov also noted that his own path, from a young performer to the honorary title of "People's Artist" became possible thanks to this policy. He said that the team of the Medeniyyet TV channel through its programs will make every effort to contribute to the coverage of cultural events, reveal and promote the talented youth and bring the Azerbaijani realities to the world communitys attention. He added that all the abovementioned facts are the results of the policy which is being implemented, and the country's leadership is systematically implementing these actions. "The figures of arts and culture, musicians, by serving people, continue to realize new projects and glorify our country," he said. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 23 By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend: All conditions for voting at the presidential election in Azerbaijan to be held April 11 have been created for those who are in the countrys medical institutions for health reasons, Deputy Healthcare Minister Elsevar Aghayev said March 23 at a conference titled Organization of presidential election in Azerbaijan in places of temporary stay of voters for health reasons. He said that the Healthcare Ministry contributed to the transparent holding of all elections in Azerbaijan. He noted that thousands of people will be in hospitals on the day of the presidential election. Voting stations have been set up for their voting in medical institutions, he said. At the last election, we also created the necessary conditions for the participation of voters in the voting process. He also noted that its necessary to train health workers in connection with the election. Eight candidates were registered to participate in the presidential election in Azerbaijan. As many as 115 international and over 42,000 Azerbaijani observers will monitor the election. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 23 By Vugar Imanov - Trend: Azerbaijan reached many heights in any field of culture, became famous throughout the world for its unique art of mugham and jazz, carpet weaving and painting, literature and cinema, Natig Rasulzade, Azerbaijani writer, screenwriter, honored artist, chevalier of the Shohrat Order, presidential scholar, told Trend. By the decision of ISESCO, which is the structure of science, education and culture of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries, Baku was declared the capital of Islamic culture in 2009, and this year, this honor was granted to the city of Nakhchivan, he said. The prestige and reputation of a country depend on its contribution to the world culture, and Azerbaijan has done a lot for this, he noted. The leadership of Azerbaijan rightly considers culture as one of the main and priority areas in its extensive, multifaceted activity. The development of culture is directly related to the development of such industry as tourism, attraction of as many tourists from all over the world as possible to Azerbaijan, which, in turn, positively affects intensive development of the countrys economy. A lot of objective articles, essays and books have been written about the extensive and fruitful creative work of President Ilham Aliyev, but in my opinion, the book of a famous Azerbaijani writer and publicist Elmira Akhundova Ilham Aliyev. Portrait of a President against the Background of Changes is one of the brightest, most impressive and profound ones in content, Rasulzade noted. Azerbaijan is rich in talents, outstanding personalities, and our people can be proud of them, he added. They all have one thing in common: they are the children of this talented nation which is confidently led to new accomplishments by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, under whose leadership our country becomes increasingly successful, stable, respected and stronger in the whole world. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 23 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: Participating OPEC and non-OPEC producing countries have set a new record in February with their voluntary production adjustments, achieving a level of 138 percent, according to the OPEC-non-OPEC Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC). The Declaration of Cooperation continues to have a transformative effect on the global oil industry. Participating countries, working in concerted action, have once again demonstrated their dedication to expediting the rebalancing of the oil market. This has benefitted a broad range of energy stakeholders, including producers and consumers, as well as the world economy, said a message on the cartels website. Given the success of the Declaration of Cooperation, the JMMC called on participating countries to consider further opportunities to institutionalize their collaboration. The Committee stressed that all participating countries should strive to achieve or exceed full conformity with their voluntary production adjustments. The next meeting of the JMMC will take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in April 2018. OPEC and several other non-OPEC producers have reached an agreement to extend the production deal for a further nine months. This would shift the expiration date of the agreement from March to the end of 2018. The agreement is on the same terms as those agreed in November 2016. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn Baku, Azerbaijan, March 23 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: A motion introduced by the Green group to oppose projects of common interest based on fossil fuels, including the Southern Gas Corridor, envisaging transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe was rejected by a large majority of members of the European Parliament (MEPs) last week (March 14), EUROACTIV reported. The Greens introduced the Motion for a Resolution considering that the majority of gas projects listed in the European Commissions list of Projects of Common Interest (PCI) are incompatible with the commitments made under the Paris Agreement. Krisjanis Karins, a Latvian MEPs who is the EPPs spokesman in the Industry Committee, slammed the attempt of the populist Greens and their followers to block the PCIs. He stated it would have been pure madness to block the projects, and that opposition to the PCIs would mean scrapping the Commissions proposal to invest 873 billion in key projects, many of which are not based on fossil fuels. MEPs cannot cherry-pick with projects they want to oppose, he stated. He explained that the vote would endanger all 173 projects, including a sea connection for renewable energy between Spain and France in the Biscay Gulf, and a project to transport wind-generated industry between Denmark and Germany. The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority projects for the EU and provides for the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region through Georgia and Turkey to Europe. At an initial stage, the gas to be produced as part of the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field is considered as the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor projects. Other sources can also connect to this project at a later stage. As part of the Shah Deniz Stage 2, the gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). Baku, Azerbaijan, March 23 By Fikret Dolukhanov Trend: S&P Global Ratings kept their 'B+' long-term global scale issuer credit rating and 'kzBBB-' long-term Kazakhstan national scale rating on Kazkommertsbank (KKB) on CreditWatch with positive implications, where it was placed on Dec. 22, 2017, the press office of the international rating agency reported. At the same time, the rating agency affirmed the 'B' short-term issuer credit rating and removed it from CreditWatch positive, where it was placed on Dec. 22, 2017, by mistake. The mistake, however, did not affect the ratings on KKB. According to the report, the CreditWatch continues to reflect the still-pending approvals of the merger from the shareholders of KKB and Halyk Bank and the banking regulators of Kazakhstan and Russia, where KKB has a subsidiary. The banks expect to receive shareholder approval for the merger around the end of April 2018. S&P noted that they understand from KKB that preparations for the merger are proceeding according to the planned timeline, with the merger expected to be completed in the second half of 2018. The rating agency has identified and corrected an error in its previous review when it placed its 'B' short-term issuer credit rating on KKB on CreditWatch positive. Raising the short-term rating would have required the rating agency to raise the long-term rating on KKB above 'BB+', a scenario S&P see as highly unlikely in the short term. The agency noted that, in their previous review, they should not have placed the short-term rating on KKB on CreditWatch positive. However, this error has had no impact on the ratings. The S&P intend to resolve the CreditWatch on KKB upon completion of the merger, which they understand is likely to occur in the second half of 2018. At that point, the agency would likely equalize its ratings on KKB with those on Halyk Bank and then withdraw them, since KKB will cease to exist as a separate legal entity. If the merger does not occur, the S&P would likely affirm their ratings on KKB. This could happen if the shareholders of either bank or their regulators do not approve the merger. Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, March 23 By Huseyn Hasanov Trend: President of the Peoples Republic of China Xi Jinping has sent a letter to Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on the occasion of the Novruz holiday (celebrated March 21-22 in Turkmenistan). In his letter, Xi Jinping noted that he is ready to discuss prospective plans for the development of China-Turkmenistan relations and strategic partnership. China pays great attention to building up bilateral relations, according to the letter. Xi Jinping welcomed the intention of Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit to be held in the coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province of China in June. China has been Turkmenistans biggest trade partner over the past five years. As of 2016, about 40 facilities operated in Turkmenistan with the participation of Chinese capital and nearly 70 investment projects worth more than $4 billion and 2.3 billion Chinese yuans were registered. Companies from China are represented in the oil and gas, telecommunications spheres, transportation, agriculture, textile, chemical and food industries, healthcare and construction. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 23 Trend: In recent days, distorted information about allegedly illegal activities of Turkmenistan's border services with respect to the Iranian vessel has spread in the media of Iran and other countries, the embassy of Turkmenistan in Azerbaijan said Merch 23. The Turkmen side states that on March 21, 2018, the border services of Turkmenistan suppressed an attempt to smuggle a large consignment of narcotic drugs by a group of citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran that violated the state border of Turkmenistan on the motorway boat in Turkmenistan's territorial waters, 3-4 km from the coastline of Turkmenistan. During the detention, these smugglers, not submitting to the commands of the border patrol, took provocative actions against the Turkmen border guards, regarded as an encroachment on life, as a result of which violent methods of coercion were applied against violators in strict accordance with the legislation of Turkmenistan. Currently, in the case of the incident, the parties, within the framework of the existing border commissar meetings, take appropriate procedural steps. The Turkmen side, speaking about the above, stresses that any attempts to politicize this issue, from whom they would not proceed, will be regarded as unfriendly towards Turkmenistan and immediately refuted by the Turkmen side. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 23 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: Those who claim that the conduct of the Operation Olive Branch for almost two months demonstrates the weakness of the Turkish army are deeply mistaken, because minimal losses among the civilian population in Syrias Afrin were one of the priorities for Ankara. When compared to the liberation of Iraqs Mosul or Raqqa from the terrorists of the Islamic State group, the difference in the culture of war is visible. There was not a single case of violence by the Turkish Armed Forces not only against civilians, but also militants who surrendered or were taken hostage. Undoubtedly, the next stage of Turkeys actions in Afrin is the creation of infrastructure in the city, in addition, it is expected that some Syrian refugees will return to Afrin. Turkey has also started to establish a city administration, the municipality, the local police and security forces in Afrin. The Operation Olive Branch, which was aimed at ensuring security of the south-western borders of Turkey, was successfully finished. However, this doesnt mean that the fight against terrorism is over. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently said that if the government of Iraq is not able to fight the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the Turkish Armed Forces will launch a military operation in the Sinjar region on their own. Sinjar is a city in the north-west of Iraq, located in the province of Ninawa. It is also the administrative center of the district with the same name. The district borders on the north-west with the territories of Syria, which are controlled by the PYD/YPG forces. Terrorists mainly use this corridor to advance in Iraq and Syria. After Erdogans statement, Arab media reported that Baghdad is ready to cooperate with Ankara in conducting joint military operations against the PKK in the north. However, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said that there is no agreement between Baghdad and Ankara on a joint operation against the PKK in Iraq. Al-Jaafari called on Turkey to withdraw troops from Bashiqa in the province of Ninawa. In fact, a military operation against the PKK in northern Iraq may strengthen the position of the countrys Prime Minister Haider Jawad al-Abadi, who was able to defeat the IS terrorists. Despite that the PKK is a real threat for Iraq as well, the statements of the countrys foreign minister against the backdrop of the forthcoming parliamentary election may be considered quite acceptable. It is obvious that this statement is aimed at the internal audience of Iraq before the parliamentary election scheduled for May 12. It is no secret that after the fall of Saddam Husseins regime, all parliamentary elections in Iraq created many problems that even turned into a Shiite-Sunni confrontation. For example, after the election in late 2005, a civil war began in Iraq. Parliamentary election in Iraq in 2010 intensified the confrontation between the Sunnis and Shiites, and the policy of then-Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who turned away from the Sunni Arabs, led to an increase in unrest. And after the election in 2014, a significant territory of Iraq was captured by the IS. Given the situation in Iraq, as well as the fact that Ankara is aimed at the complete elimination of the PKK, it is possible that Turkey alone will launch a military operation in Sinjar before the parliamentary election in Iraq. Against the background of everything that is taking place, the question arises: why exactly Sinjar was chosen by Turkey to start the operation. Firstly, as is known, Sinjar is the main stronghold of the PKK. Secondly, there is a Turkish military base near Sinjar. Turkey, having launched a military operation in the north of Iraq in the Sinjar area, plans to close the corridor between Syria and Iraq for terrorists. It is possible that as part of the planned military operation in Iraq, the Turkish Armed Forces will clear of the terrorists an eastern Syrian city of Derik in the province of al-Malikiyah. At the same time, one shouldnt forget about Irans position regarding Iraq. If the Turkish Armed Forces start military operation in Iraq, this may also lead to aggravation of relations between Ankara and Tehran. --- Rufiz Hafizoglu is the head of Trend Agency's Arabic news service, follow him on Twitter: @rhafizoglu US President Donald Trump on Thursday (Mar 22) authorised the suspension of controversial tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from key trade partners including the European Union, the White House said, AFP reports. "The tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the following countries are suspended until May 1, 2018," the White House said in a statement, listing EU members states, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and South Korea. Three people were killed in southwestern France on Friday when a gunman held up a car, opened fire on police and then took hostages in a supermarket, Reuters reported. Police later stormed the supermarket in the small town of Trebes and the attacker was killed, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told reporters on site. The attacker was known to authorities for petty crimes but was not considered an Islamist threat, Collomb said, adding that he was believed to have acted alone. More than 240 people have been killed in France in attacks since 2015 by assailants who pledged allegiance to Islamic State or were inspired by the group. Islamic State claimed responsibility for Fridays attack but offered no details. He was known for petty crimes. We had monitored him and thought there was no radicalization, Collomb said, before adding: He was known for possession of drugs, we couldnt have said that he was a radical that would carry out an attack. Collomb said three people were wounded. He said that before the attacker seized hostages he killed one person while stealing a car with a bullet in the head in the nearby historic town of Carcassonne. He then shot at police officers before taking hostages at the supermarket. President Emmanuel Macron said the incident appeared to be a terrorist attack and security forces were securing the area. Trebes Mayor Eric Menassi told LCI TV that the man had entered the Super-U supermarket screaming Allahu Akbar, (God is greatest) Ill kill you all. BFM TV reported that he claimed allegiance to Islamic State Collomb said the man had demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam - the prime surviving suspect in the Islamic State attacks that killed 130 people in Paris in 2015. Abdeslam, a French citizen born and raised in Brussels, went on trial in Belgium last month. He is accused of attempted murder in a terrorist context over a Brussels shootout in March 2016, four months after he fled Paris on the night of the carnage during which his brother was among the suicide bombers. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 23 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: Turkey is creating local police in Syrias Afrin, Turkish media reported March 23 citing military sources. As part of setting up a local police station in Afrin, thousands of people, who will ensure security in 300 settlements liberated in the Afrin district, will be trained. Turkeys Armed Forces and the Free Syrian Army liberated Afrin city from PYD/YPG terrorists March 18. On Jan. 20, the Turkish Armed Forces, together with the Free Syrian Army, launched the Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, Syria. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Baku, Azerbaijan, March 23 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: The Syrians, who had to leave Afrin and move to Turkey, have started to return to their homes, said Hulusi Akar, head of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, the General Staff said in a message March 23. As part of the Operation Olive Branch in Syria, the Turkish Armed Forces paid special attention to ensure that civilians are not injured and historical values are not damaged, according to the message. Turkeys Armed Forces and the Free Syrian Army liberated Afrin city from PYD/YPG terrorists March 18. On Jan. 20, the Turkish Armed Forces, together with the Free Syrian Army, launched the Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, Syria. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he told both U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that Turkey will not step back in Syria, vowing that the ongoing campaign in Afrin will be expanded to other parts of the war-torn country, including Manbij, Hurriyet Daily News reported. Last night I spoke with U.S. President Trump on these issues. I discussed the same things with Putin two days ago. I told them: We wont take steps backward from here. We are on the side of the suffering and the oppressed, Erdogan said in an address at a meeting of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Istanbul on March 23. Erdogan and Trump spoke on the phone late on March 22 about strained ties between Ankara and Washington, particularly troubled due to the U.S.s ongoing partnership with the Peoples Protection Units (YPG) in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria. Turkey considers the YPG to be the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and therefore as a terrorist organization. The Turkish military, along with the Free Syrian Army (FSA), launched Operation Olive Branch against the YPG in Afrin on Jan. 20, and Erdogan vowed that operations will not end in Afrin. Next are Idlib and Manbij. Manbij, a northwestern Syrian town, is particularly important as it is still under the control of the YPG alongside U.S. troops. Turkey has long been urging the U.S. to let the YPG pull back from Manbij to the east of Euphrates amid threats that it will not hesitate to launch an attack on YPG positions even if American troops are present. No withdrawal from Manbij: US However, a senior U.S. official said the U.S. has no intention to leave Manbij, despite Turkeys words. U.S. forces are located in Manbij. We have made it very clear with the Turkish government that we will continue to operate there, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said at a press conference in response to a question about the U.S.s stance on Manbij. Nauert also said talks with Ankara have not been concluded and Washington is willing to continue conversations, referring to the three technical committees formed by Turkey and the U.S. to solve contentious issues between the two countries. Turkish and American delegations met in Washington on March 8 and 9 to find a way to resolve the Manbij problem but the dismissal of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has caused uncertainty about how the two countries will proceed. Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Umit Yalchin is expected to travel to the U.S. to meet his counterpart John Sullivan next week. More than 3,700 terrorists neutralized Meanwhile, Erdogan stated that Turkeys operations against the PKK and YPG are ongoing in various parts of Syria and Iraq and the number of neutralized terrorists in Syria since Jan. 20 exceeds 3,700. We will continue. We previously struck them through the Euphrates Shield Operation. And 160,000 [Syrian] brothers and sisters were able to return to their homes in an area of 2,000 square kilometers thanks to that operation. This piece of land is now under our control and locals are returning to their homes, he said. Strategic partnership In a statement issued after Erdogans phonecall with Trump, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin stated that two leaders discussed bilateral relations and regional issues. Our president held a phone conversation with U.S. President Trump. Bilateral and regional topics were discussed in the conversation, Kalin said in a written statement. Both leaders agreed to continue collaboration for common strategic goals and resolve issues that negatively affect bilateral relations, he added in a statement issued later on March 22. The importance of strengthening relations between the two NATO allies and strategic partners was discussed, Kalin said. Former United Nations ambassador and stalwart Republican hawk John Bolton will replace Gen. HR McMaster as the national security adviser on April 9, President Trump has announced, RT reports. Announcing his decision, Trump thanked Herbert Raymond McMaster for his service, praising his outstanding job in his role as the National Security Advisor. McMaster will always remain my friend, the US president tweeted. After thirty-four years of service to our nation, I am requesting retirement from the US Army effective this summer after which I will leave public service. Throughout my career it has been my greatest privilege to serve alongside extraordinary servicemembers and dedicated civilians, McMaster said in a statement. Trump reciprocated, noting that the general served his country with distinction for more than three decades. General McMasters leadership of the National Security Council staff has helped my administration accomplish great things to bolster Americas national security, the president said in a statement. The White House has emphasized that Trumps move to relieve the general of his duties was a mutually-agreed decision. This was not related to any one moment or incident, rather it was the result of ongoing conversations between the two, a WH official outlined. The State Department said on Thursday that it had approved the sale of an estimated $670 million in anti-tank missiles to Saudi Arabia, just hours after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Pentagon leaders to discuss the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen, New York Times reports. The proposed package includes up to 6,700 missiles made by Raytheon, as well as spare parts for American-made tanks and helicopters that Saudi Arabia already owns. The proposed sale is bound to be questioned by Congress, where the Senate this week rejected a bipartisan effort to halt American military support for the bombing campaign in Yemen. The Trump administration strenuously protested the effort, and sent Pentagon and State Department officials to Capitol Hill last week to lobby against its passage. In the end, the administration prevailed, and lawmakers from both parties shelved the measure for further debate by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. That it got that far demonstrates the increased frustration by Republicans and Democrats over Washingtons support for the Saudi campaign against Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, which has been roundly criticized by human rights organizations because of the large number of civilian casualties. The State Department said in a statement that it had notified Congress on Thursday of the proposed arms sale. Lawmakers have 30 days to try to stop it. US President Donald Trump has signed a $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill that he threatened earlier in the day to veto. The bill was passed by Congress early Friday in order to prevent a government shutdown at midnight, Sputnik reported. Trump told Congressional leadership on Friday that he would sign the spending bill despite the tweeted threat, according to reports. Trump complained about the process of passing the bill at the signing ceremony, pointing to the 2,200 pages next to the podium and saying, "It's just a series of documents nobody has had time to read." "As a matter of national security, I've signed this omnibus billwe were forced to, for the military. But I'll never do it again. Nobody read it. It's a few hours old." Trump repeatedly invoked the need to rebuild the US armed forces to defend his signing of a bill that he was unhappy with. "For the last 8 years, deep defenses cuts have undermined our national security hollowed our readiness as a military unit and put America at really grave risk," he said. The president accused Congressional Democrats of putting up "tremendous" opposition to military spending, and complained that he had to trade increased military spending with "wasted" money for Democratic projects. Trump called on Congress to end the fillibuster rule, saying without it, budget measures would "get done like magic." The president continued to blame Democrats for not passing legislation on immigration, even though Senate Republicans have prevented Democrats from bringing a bill to the floor for a vote. "We wanted to include DACA in this bill," he said, but "the Democrats would not do it." However, US Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), asked for consent that the Senate pass the Dream Act on March 22. "All in all there were six different bipartisan proposals offered to President Trump to solve the problem he created by eliminating DACA. He rejected every single one of them. He sent to the floor of the Senate a bill offered by Senator Grassley of Iowa. Senator Grassley's bill embodied the President's approach to this," said Durbin on Thursday. "How many votes did the president's proposal get? The president's immigration proposal 39. The president got 39. It was kind of a shock that the president's own party didn't support the president's bill, at least not all of them." The White House has said Trump remains concerned about the national debt, which has grown from $20 trillion as of September 8 of last year to $21 trillion as of March 16, the Washington Examiner reported. The Trump administration has secured about $1.6 billion for the border wall, but Trump said "we're not happy" that so little was allocated for one of his key campaign promises. During the campaign, Trump promised the Mexican government would pay for the cost to build a wall. For her part, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, called the money a "down payment" on the wall. Dupa inscrierea pe site-ul HotNews.ro, poti deschide sectiunea MyHotNews ca sa completezi sau sa schimbi profilul de utilizator. Atentie! Logarea pe site se face cu adresa de email, nu cu nickname-ul. Adresa ta de email va ramane confidentiala si nu va fi niciodata data unor terte persoane sau institutii. Inainte de a te inscrie pe site te rugam sa parcurgi termenii si conditiile atasate unui cont HotNews.ro. KYODO NEWS - Mar 23, 2018 - 11:12 | Feature, All Prince Akishino and his wife Princess Kiko are planning to make an official visit to Hawaii in June to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to the country, the Imperial Household Agency said Friday. During a trip that will last about one week, the prince, the younger son of Emperor Akihito, is expected to deliver a speech at a ceremony on June 7 to mark the arrival of the first group of Japanese immigrants in 1868. On June 6, the couple is set to attend an event to be organized by the Association of Nikkei & Japanese Abroad, a Yokohama-based organization connecting people of Japanese descent abroad with Japan. The prince and the princess are expected to interact with people of Japanese descent in Hawaii as they did during their visit to Brazil in 2015 and in Chile from late September to early October last year. Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko have placed great importance on exchanges with people of Japanese descent living overseas and their activities have already been taken over by Crown Prince Naruhito and Prince Akishino. Emperor Akihito will abdicate on April 30, 2019, and the crown prince will succeed the Chrysanthemum throne the next day while Prince Akishino will become "koshi," or first in line to the throne. The abdication comes after the 84-year-old emperor signaled his wish to step down, citing his advanced age and weakening health. KYODO NEWS - Mar 23, 2018 - 10:26 | All, World President Donald Trump on Thursday announced tariffs on about $60 billion of imports from China in response to what the United States sees as China's unfair trading and investment practices including alleged intellectual property and technology theft. Under the retaliatory action, Washington will levy 25 percent additional tariffs on a range of products in the aerospace, information communication technology and machinery sectors that it views as supported by an unfair industrial policy. The administration also plans to restrict Chinese investment in the United States in sensitive U.S. technology and confront what it views as China's discriminatory technology licensing practices through a World Trade Organization dispute proceeding. "We're going to be doing a Section 301 trade action," Trump told reporters at the White House as he called for "reciprocal" trade with China. "It could be about $60 billion." The set of measures came ahead of the launch Friday of stiff tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum, an action that apparently targets China as the administration prods the country to reduce its excess capacity -- and exports -- in these metals. Given the series of actions, trade friction between the world's two largest economies is likely to intensify, with Beijing vowing retaliatory steps against Washington. China condemned Thursday's announcement, calling it "a typical unilateral trade protectionist action." "China does not want a trade war with anyone. But China is not afraid of and will not recoil from a trade war," the Chinese Embassy in the United States said in a statement. "If a trade war were initiated by the U.S., China would fight to the end to defend its own legitimate interests with all necessary measures." Trump criticized the United States' $375 billion goods trade deficit with China last year as "the largest deficit of any country in the history of the world." Trump also rebuked Beijing for "tremendous intellectual property theft" that he said costs Washington "hundreds of billions of dollars" on a yearly basis. The president directed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to publish a list of Chinese products that will be subject to tariffs in 15 days, according to the White House. A senior White House official said the tariffs cover about 1,300 items. Trump directed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to propose restrictions on Chinese investment in the United States in 60 days. Trump urged Lighthizer to cooperate with other WTO members to address China's trade practices, a call that could lead to joint action with Japan and the European Union at the Geneva-based global trade watchdog. Citing estimates, the senior White House official said the U.S. trade deficit results in 2 million more jobs in China and 2 million fewer in the United States. "They have benefited far more from this relationship than we have," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "What the United States is doing is simply strategically defending itself against this particular form of economic aggression." Another senior U.S. official said, "The end objective of this is to get China to modify its unfair trading practices." KYODO NEWS - Mar 23, 2018 - 14:31 | Feature, All Tokyo Customs and the conservation group WWF Japan launched a campaign Friday to warn foreign visitors about traveling with souvenirs made from ivory, notifying them that it is illegal to depart with such products. Mascots representing both customs and WWF Japan handed out stickers in the departure lobby of Haneda airport in front of panels adorned with the question: "Are those souvenirs okay?" in Japanese and Chinese. A total of 2.4 tons of ivory products were illegally exported from Japan between 2011 and 2016, with much of it discovered as it was being carried into China, according to the group. "China is strengthening its crackdown on ivory imports," a WWF official said. Undercover investigations by the conservation organization revealed more than 70 percent of 430 targeted antique shops in Japan told customers they can depart the country while carrying ivory products, according to WWF Japan. Japan has maintained a domestic ivory market, saying trading within the country is unrelated to poaching. But it imposed stricter rules last year, requiring ivory dealers to register with the government in the face of criticism that it is a hotbed of illegal ivory exports. (Photo courtesy of WWF Japan) The international ivory trade is banned under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, and Japan is a signatory to the agreement. Over 20,000 African elephants are estimated to be poached for their ivory annually. In 2016, CITES adopted a resolution calling on all signatories to shut down their domestic ivory markets in an attempt to curb the mass poaching. However, the Adani Group has taken the dispute regarding the delay in completion for arbitration and has argued that the first phase could be fully operationalised only by 2024. The budget once again funds Planned Parenthood with $500 Million - an item that is stirring consternation back home among Republican voters. This latest massive omnibus spending bill represents everything that is wrong with Washington. Any semblance of the regular order budget process has been ignored in favor of funding by crisis, as Congress has again failed to perform one of its most important functions: oversight. Rather than being cut, reformed, or eliminated, programs that are wasteful, inefficient, or inappropriate will receive tens of billions of dollars in additional funding. Congress should reject this bill and start over with the goal of achieving meaningful reforms through an open, transparent, and accountable budget process. Americas taxpayers deserve better than another bloated spending bill that pushes much-needed reforms further down the road. Here's what the conservative Washington DC think tank Heritage Foundation said about it : WASHINGTON DC - President Donald Trump signed a $1.5 Trillion Omnibus spending bill Friday after threatening to veto it earlier. Seven Illinois Democrats crossed the aisle to join six Republican House members to send the controversial budget to the U.S. Senate. Both Democrats Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth supported sending the measure onto the President. Congressman Randy Hultgren (IL-14) explained his reasons for supporting the bill despite the Planned Parenthood item. "I have fought long and hard against taxpayer funding for the country's largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, and I voted for the earlier House version of the omnibus bill which defunded Planned Parenthood and all abortion providers," Hultgren said in a statement to Illinois Review. "Unfortunately, the Senate objected to this language. I was encouraged that this final omnibus package contains all existing pro-life provisions, including the Hyde and Helms Amendments which explicitly prohibit the use of taxpayer dollars for abortion in federal grants--like those used by Planned Parenthood--and it prevents efforts to roll back the administrations expanded Mexico City policy. I am a proud cosponsor of H.R. 217, the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act, which prevents federal tax dollars from going to organizations that perform abortions, including Planned Parenthood, and I urge its passage into law." Republican Congressman Peter Roskam's (IL-6) office explained similarly. "This bill wasnt a perfect bill, but it had some good and necessary things in it... And, as you know, Congressman Roskam has a very strong and proven pro-life record," spokesperson Veronica Vera wrote in a statement. "Regarding this specifically, the omnibus maintains long-standing pro-life riders such as the Hyde, Helms and Dornan (DC Hyde) amendments, among others. Additionally, in Division H (Labor, HHS), the Title X and Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) programs remain funded at FY17 levels ($286 million and $101 million respectively)." Only one Illinois Republican Congressman - Darin LaHood (IL-18) - opposed the bill. He was joined in opposition by strange bedfellows: Democrats Bobby Rush, Luis Gutierrez, Danny Davis and Jan Schakowsky. AYES: Bost Bustos Davis, Rodney Foster Hultgren Lipinski Kristnamoorthi Kinzinger Kelly Schneider Quigley Roskam Shimkus NAYS: Rush Gutierrez Davis, Danny Schakowsky LaHood Republican Democrat Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt pushed back against criticism of his Italy trip in a radio interview on Thursday. Pruitt said he took official meetings during the entire four-day trip to Italy for the G7 environmental summit in June of last year. "These are very important meetings that take place, it's an obligation I have to participate and so I'm a little bit dumbfounded by the kind of media narrative that these things are somehow not the focus, they've always been the focus," Pruitt told a host on CBS radio in St. Louis on Thursday. Documents released earlier this week show that the cost of the trip was $30,000 more than previously reported, bringing the total to around $120,000. An EPA document showed that the cost of travel for Pruitt's security detail was $30,559 the week of the trip. Previously released travel documents show that the EPA paid almost $90,000 for Pruitt and his staff to travel to Italy for meetings around the summit. The cost includes $36,000 for Pruitt and his staff to take a military jet from Cincinnati to New York so he could make his flight to Rome. The military flight was requested by the White House so Pruitt could join President Donald Trump at an event in Cincinnati, according to an ethics waiver. The nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog group the Environmental Integrity Project obtained both sets of documents through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and subsequent lawsuit, which were reviewed by ABC News. ABC News has exclusively obtained a photo of Pruitt disembarking a military jet at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport in June 2017. After the meetings and the first day of the summit, Pruitt returned to Washington, D.C., to attend a cabinet meeting at the White House. "This was a four-day exercise of focused efforts on decisions the United States had made on an international agreement that had a significant impact on this country," Pruitt said in the interview Thursday. Audio of the KMOX interview was provided to ABC News by the Sierra Club. The cost of Pruitt's travel for all of last year is under investigation by the EPA inspector general. The EPA has previously confirmed that Pruitt and his security detail fly first class for security reasons, citing the need to evacuate him quickly in the case of a threat. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. There were no Republican candidates for the countywide offices on the Democrat-dominated county's 2018 primary ballot. Morrison did not mention in his statement the $50,000 Cook County GOP received from the Rauner campaign two weeks before the primary, nor the $25,000 Cook County GOP received from the Illinois Republican Party last fall. Most of the $75,000 remains in the Cook County GOP account after the primary. Governor Rauner has fought tirelessly to rebuild the Republican Party in Illinois and fight one party rule in Springfield, and I look forward to him leading the Republican ticket in November. In Morrison's statement, he called for unity within the Cook County GOP, which split between Rauner and state Rep. Jeanne Ives, who challenged Rauner in the primary. With the spirited primary election now behind us, it is important in the coming days that all of the Republican Party, from our elected officials to our candidates and our voters, come together and turn our focus on helping to reform our broken system of government. Aware Ives' faithful supporters are contemplating a #NeverRauner movement in the fall, Morrison cautioned against such a plan. Ives supporters point to Rauner's rejection point after point of the Illinois Republican Party platform during his first term as governor. "Not supporting one candidate also hurts each and every candidate on the ballot. In order to achieve reform we must elect Republicans up and down the ticket in November, he said. Illinois Review asked the chairman why conservative Republicans should support Rauner in the fall. "Governor Rauner is going to focus on the issues that unite Republicans like lower taxes, cutting red tape, ending corruption, and getting term limits for career politicians. One fact remains, Illinois is where it is because of decades of democrat one party control of Illinois fiscal policy," Morrison said. "We agree on so many of the big things(Im thinking of Regans rule here), and its time to come together around those to defeat JB Pritzker." While some Republicans disagree with Governor Rauner on certain issues, those same Republicans disagree with JB Pritzker on *every* issue. "The day after he won the Democratic primary, JB Pritzker announced he wants to lay out a progressive income tax right away if hes elected Governor, and thats just the start. The truth is that Pritzker wants to implement a liberal socialist dreamland in Illinois, with no mention of how it could ever be paid for." Morrison went on. "If JB wins in November, that liberal 'socialist' dreamland will be in place for the next 12 years when JB Pritzker has a seat at the table to draw the map. Without question, JB Pritzker will allow The Democrats to draw the legislative map, and if that happens, Illinois has no chance. Thats why conservatives and independents alike should vote for Governor Rauner. "We have to give Illinois a chance by defeating JB Pritzker, holding the line and taking backing more seats to end one party rule in Illinois. In the end it is about pragmatism and having a seat at the table. Governor Rauner provides us that seat, if JB wins it assures us that conservatives will have ZERO representation." "A seat at the table" - the same argument conservatives were given for Rauner in 2014. 2018 Government Eagle Award Winner Rep. Will Hurd: Making modernization possible The first time Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) realized the depth of the federal governments IT problems was shortly after he arrived on Capitol Hill in 2015. He was being briefed by staffers from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committees IT Subcommittee in advance of a hearing on the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014. New to Congress, Hurd asked for background on what the bill did. They told him that the government needed standards for collecting information about its online payments and expenditures. Hurd, a computer science major who had served as a senior adviser to cybersecurity firm FusionX before being elected to Congress, was stunned. There wasnt already a standard in place to collect that kind of data? Thats 101, Hurd said. How do you know how much youre spending or how much it costs? That was the first time I was like, What the hell? The episode served as a wake-up call and helped kick off a two-year legislative odyssey for Hurd that ended with the passage of the Modernizing Government Technology Act in December 2017. The law gives CIOs the ability to create working capital funds at their agencies to address long-standing IT modernization needs not covered by normal appropriations. It also authorized a $500 million Technology Modernization Fund to be managed by the General Services Administration, with agencies submitting proposals and competing for funding. In less than three years on the job, Hurd has carved out a role in Congress as a leading voice on government technology issues and someone who is willing to work across party lines. In a town defined by its ability to make virtually any issue partisan or ideological, the MGT Act drew broad bipartisan support from both the Obama and Trump administrations, Republican leaders and tech-minded Democratic members of Congress such as Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) and Ted Lieu (D-Calif.). Hurds passion for the subject is real. He often jokes that when he returns home to his district near San Antonio, there are never any activists holding up signs angrily demanding IT procurement reform. It was his work conducting oversight of the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act that opened his eyes to the extent to which federal CIOs still lacked visibility into and control over their own IT budgets. In Hurds view, he couldnt hold agency CIOs accountable if they didnt have the tools they needed to do their job. That toolkit starts with budgetary flexibility and a system that doesnt punish agencies when they implement more efficient IT. Under the MGT Act, when an agency upgrades its technology infrastructure and saves money, those savings can be used to fund future projects. Thats why I think the [law] is so important, to give the CIO the ability to modernize and not be negatively impacted for modernizing, Hurd said. If you save money [in government], money gets taken away oftentimes. Therefore, you dont do things that will ultimately save you money. 2018 Industry Eagle Award Winner Dave Wajsgras: Under the radar, reimagining cyber Raytheon is best known as a defense contractor. In the federal IT space, however, the firm has a low profile that belies its massive role. Dave Wajsgras is working to change that. Were known as the largest missile maker in the world, he told FCW. Our strategic focus is to also become known as a world-class fed IT and cybersecurity solutions provider. As president of Raytheons Intelligence, Information and Services, Wajsgras leads a $6 billion business with more than 16,000 employees, most in the Washington, D.C., area. His team delivers the Department of Homeland Securitys Development, Operations and Maintenance program, which protects vast swaths of the .gov domain, and last year upgraded the Joint Polar Satellite Systems Common Ground System, almost doubling the speed at which the National Weather Service can get observation data. Then there is a broad range of work, much of it classified, for the defense and intelligence agencies that have been Raytheon customers for decades. That classified work is one reason IIS remains somewhat under the radar, Wajsgras said. A larger factor, however, might be the way the company spun IT and cybersecurity services out of its traditional security offerings. Much like Amazon leveraged the infrastructure it built to power its retail business into a cloud services colossus, Raytheon has taken the software and solutions it developed to harden its weapons, space and command-and-control systems and is using them to position IIS as an industry leader in cybersecurity, analytics and automation. About a decade ago, we saw that what we delivered as IT mission solutionswas becoming a much broader area of focus for our customer base, Wajsgras said. IIS was formed to begin to offer these solutions to our customers as a separate and distinct service offering. The fact that Raytheons cybersecurity expertise was born out of its mission systems brings other benefits as well. CIOs or CISOs are getting much more involved on the mission side, Wajsgras said, and that integration comes naturally to IIS. The strategy we embarked on a few years ago is really converging. That aptitude for taking the long view also shows in Wajsgras focus on workforce development. Although IIS does not have any noticeable talent shortfalls today, he said proudly, this war for talent is only going to get greater. So IIS looks nationwide for promising talent, and Wajsgras is a key supporter of the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, which focuses on identifying young talent and showcasing opportunities in government IT. Yet the workforce is just one facet of the rapidly shifting cyber landscape that Wajsgras wants to see Raytheon master. Its a very complicated business, with a very broad portfolio of capabilities, he said, but that complexity is part of the appeal. We offer, I believe, the broadest solution set of any IT or cyber company. Over the years, Wajsgras said, Ive had 19 different jobs. This is the most challenging and rewarding role Ive had in my entire career. Law Enforcement U.S. indicts Iranian hackers Federal officials announced indictments and sanctions in a hacking prosecution involving the theft of $4.2 billion in research data and intellectual property by individuals linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard. In a joint press conference held March 23, officials from the Departments of Justice and Treasury, led by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, announced charges against the Mabna Institute and nine individuals for computer fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy and identity theft for a multiyear campaign that included stealing 31.5 terabytes and $4.2 billion of research data and intellectual property from universities in the United States and around the world. According to officials, the group pilfered data from 320 research universities, 144 of which are located in the U.S., on behalf of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, a powerful branch of the Iranian military. Treasury officials announced economic sanctions on Mabna and 10 individuals for the same offenses. According to the indictment, the group also compromised the computer systems of "at least five U.S. federal and state government agencies, at least 36 private sector companies, and at least two non-governmental organizations" though it's not clear to what extent those systems were breached or what if any data was stolen. The Department of Labor, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Hawaii, Indiana and the United Nations are listed as victims. The indictments mean the individuals will be subject to extradition to the U.S. in over 100 countries, while the sanctions could significantly limit their ability to do business outside of Iranian borders. "When hackers gain unlawful access to computers, it can take them only a few minutes to steal discoveries that were produced by many years of work and many millions of dollars of investment," said Rosenstein. "That type of activity does not just cause economic harm, it also threatens America's national security." According to the indictment, the group used a mix of online research, spear phishing, stolen account credentials and social engineering to target 3,768 university professors and approximately 8,000 email accounts in order to steal intellectual property and research data. The indictment alleges the stolen data was turned over to the Revolutionary Guard Corps and used to benefit Iranian private businesses. White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Rob Joyce called on other nations to "follow suit and impose costs" on Iran. Following the press conference, the United Kingdom's National Cyber Security Centre assessed with "high confidence" that Mabna Institute and the Iranian government were behind the attacks. The announcements continue a pattern of U.S. intelligence and law enforcement's "name and shame" strategy against state-sponsored hacking operations. Top national security officials in the Trump administration have increasingly relied on the tactic over the past year, saying that calling out countries on the world stage strips them of plausible deniability and puts international pressure on them to stay within established norms. "It is vitally important that we back the emerging consensus regarding norms of state behavior with action, which is exactly what the government has done today," said Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.), co-chair of the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus. "The world of these hackers has just gotten much smaller thanks to [what] awaits them in an American courtroom." David Bowdich, deputy director of the FBI, indicated that the individuals were not Iranian government officials or intelligence operatives, but rather private government contractors "hacking at the behest" of the Iranian military. That led some former intelligence officials to question whether the U.S. was opening the door for other countries to take similar actions against contractors who work for the U.S. government. Jake Williams, a cybersecurity expert and Army veteran, spoke out against the moves on Twitter, saying the U.S. itself may be crossing a line by charging private contractors that work on behalf of their governments. "Mabna Institute is as much a [government]-controlled entity as Booz Allen [Hamilton] is over here in the U.S.," said Williams. "We're charging [government] hackers and government contractors. Speak out against this now or shut up when it happens to us." Rivalries -- whether a great sport rivalry, such as the Lakers and Celtics, or a business rivalry, such as Coca Cola and Pepsi -- make the world an exciting place. Detroit is home to a historic competition, too: Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) and General Motors (NYSE: GM) are neck and neck in so many ways, their decades-long rivalry is awesome to watch. But Detroit's largest automaker, General Motors, has been crushing Ford in an increasingly important market: China. And the results so far in 2018 are ugly. By the numbers Let me preface these sales figures by noting that General Motors entered China long before Ford -- admittedly a mistake on Ford's part -- and the gap between the two in the world's largest automotive market is only getting larger. General Motors posted a 7.8% sales gain in China during February. That sales gain seems even better when you consider that February had fewer selling days due to the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday occurring last month versus January in 2017. The unequal comparison was a primary reason China's overall light-vehicle deliveries declined 9.6% in February from the prior year. General Motors' Chevrolet Volt in front of traditional Chinese architecture. Image source: General Motors. If you wonder what a bad month looks like -- considering GM's 7.8% gain was a good result -- look no further than Ford's continued sales slump. Ford's China deliveries plunged 30% in February from a year ago, and failed to notch even 50,000 units. Even if you combine Ford's first two months in China, to help balance out the Lunar New Year holiday shift between 2017 and 2018, the automaker's sales still plunged 23%. In other words, General Motors sold more vehicles in China during February alone than Ford has year to date -- more than twice as many. When speaking to Reuters about Ford's relationship with its joint ventures, Peter Fleet, head of Ford's Asia-Pacific operations, had this to say: "I think our partnerships are in good shape, and I want them to be even better." But he cautioned, "This year will be a bit like going through a tunnel," adding, "We have to get through 2018." Story continues Graphic showing Ford sales in China stalling since 2015. Data source: Ford sales press releases. Chart by author. Light at the end of the tunnel Now more than ever, automakers need China to become not only a growth story but a stronger generator of profits; despite the fact that China's new-vehicle market is already larger than the domestic one, the U.S. remains far more profitable. But as China's middle class grows and demands SUVs, which are more profitable for automakers, Ford knows it's time to double down on its plans to expand in China. To that end, it has announced its China 2025 Plan. Ford's plan in China calls for more than 50 all-new vehicles to be introduced by the end of 2025. Of those, eight will be all-new SUVs and 15 all-new electric vehicles (EV), as Ford prepares to capitalize on China's pollution problem and the government's incentives for EV sales. As the lucrative U.S. new-vehicle market plateaus, Ford needs 2019 to get here in a hurry in hopes that a fresher vehicle lineup can help reignite growth in a region where GM dominates Detroit and Japanese automakers. Ford also needs its Lincoln luxury brand to gain traction in China to help create a more profitable growth story -- thus far the Chinese view the Lincoln brand more highly than we do in the States. For now, despite an intense rivalry between General Motors and Ford in almost every aspect, GM is killing Ford in China. If that doesn't change, it will be a serious hurdle for Ford's bull thesis. More From The Motley Fool Daniel Miller owns shares of Ford and General Motors. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Ford. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. NEW YORK - What little national media attention paid to Tuesday's primary results were for the most part negative, with a focus on two billionaires battling it out in the fall and the race being the most expensive in history. Ironic that would be the focus on a state that boasts one of the worst fiscal conditions in the nation. Here's an analysis given on Fox News about Governor Rauner being "without a party." Watch the latest video at foxnews.com Marines with 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, board an MV-22B Osprey during Amphibious Squadron MEU Integration Training June 19, 2013. Kris Osborn Security, The Marine Corps is now arming its Osprey tiltrotor aircraft with a range of weapons to enable its assault support and escort missions in increasingly high-threat combat environments. This Might be the Marines Ultimate Weapon: Osprey's Armed with Lots of Firepower Adding weapons to the Osprey would naturally allow the aircraft to better defend itself should it come under attack from small arms fire, missiles or surface rockets while conducting transport missions; in addition, precision fire will enable the Osprey to support amphibious operations with suppressive or offensive fire as Marines approach enemy territory. Furthermore, weapons will better facilitate an Osprey-centric tactic known as "Mounted Vertical Maneuver" wherein the tiltrotor uses its airplane speeds and helicopter hover and maneuver technology to transport weapons such as mobile mortars and light vehicles, supplies and Marines behind enemy lines for a range of combat missions -- to include surprise attacks. The Marine Corps is now arming its Osprey tiltrotor aircraft with a range of weapons to enable its assault support and escort missions in increasingly high-threat combat environments. Rockets, guns and missiles are among the weapons now under consideration, as the Corps examines requirements for an all-quadrant weapons application versus other possible configurations such as purely "forward firing" weapons. The current requirement is for an allquadrant weapons system. We are re-examining that requirementwe may find that initially, forward firing weapons could bridge the escort gap until we get a new rotary wing or tiltotor attack platform, with comparable range and speed to the Osprey, Capt. Sarah Burns, Marine Corps Aviation, told Warrior Maven in a statement. Recommended: A New Report Reveals Why There Won't Be Any 'New' F-22 Raptors Recommended: How an Old F-15 Might Kill Russias New Stealth Fighter Story continues Recommended: How China Plans to Win a War Against the U.S. Navy Some weapons, possibly including Hydra 2.75inch folding fin laser guided rockets or .50-cal and 7.62mm guns, have been fired as a proof of concept, Burns said. Further testing would have to be done to ensure we could properly integrate them, she added. All weapons under consideration have already been fired in combat by some type of aircraft, however additional testing and assessment of the weapons and their supporting systems are necessary to take the integration to the next step. We want to arm the MV-22B because there is a gap in escort capability. With the right weapons and associated systems, armed MV-22Bs will be able to escort other Ospreys performing the traditional personnel transport role, Burns added. The Hydra 2.75inch rockets, called the Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System (APKWS), have been fired in combat on a range of Army and Marine Corps helicopters; they offer an alternative to a larger Hellfire missiles when smaller, fast-moving targets need to be attacked with less potential damage to a surrounding area. Over the years, the weapon has been fired from AH-64 Apaches, Navy Fire Scout Drones, Marine Corps UH-1Ys, A-10s, MH-60s Navy helicopters and Air Force F-16s, among others. Bell-Boeing designed a special pylon on the side of the aircraft to ensure common weapons carriage. The Corps is now considering questions such as the needed stand-off distance and level of lethality. Adding weapons to the Osprey would naturally allow the aircraft to better defend itself should it come under attack from small arms fire, missiles or surface rockets while conducting transport missions; in addition, precision fire will enable the Osprey to support amphibious operations with suppressive or offensive fire as Marines approach enemy territory. Furthermore, weapons will better facilitate an Osprey-centric tactic known as "Mounted Vertical Maneuver" wherein the tiltrotor uses its airplane speeds and helicopter hover and maneuver technology to transport weapons such as mobile mortars and light vehicles, supplies and Marines behind enemy lines for a range of combat missions -- to include surprise attacks. Also, while arming the Osprey is primarily oriented toward supporting escort and maneuver operations, there are without question a few combat engagements the aircraft could easily find itself in while conducting these missions. For example, an armed Osprey would be better positioned to prevent or stop swarming small boat attack wherein enemy surface vessels attacked the aircraft. An Osprey with weapons could also thwart enemy ground attacks from RPGs, MANPADS or small arms fire. Finally, given the fast pace of Marine Corps and Navy amphibious operations strategy evolution, armed Ospreys could support amphibious assaults by transporting Marines to combat across wider swaths of combat areas. New Osprey Intelligence System - Sustainment to 2060 Overall, the Marine Corps is accelerating a massive modernization and readiness overhaul of its MV-22 Osprey to upgrade sensors, add weapons, sustain the fleet and broaden the mission scope -- as part of an effort to extend the life of the aircraft to 2060. We plan to have the MV-22B Osprey for at least the next 40 years, Burns said. While first emerging nearly two decades ago, the Osprey tiltrotor aircraft has seen an unprecedented uptick in deployments, mission scope and operational tempo. Other elements of Osprey modernization include improved sensors, mapping and digital connectivity, greater speed and hover ability, better cargo and payload capacity, next-generation avionics and new survivability systems to defend against incoming missiles and small arms fire. The 2018 Marine Aviation Plan specifies that the CC-RAM program includes more than 75 V-22 aircraft configurations, identified in part by a now completed Mv-22 Operational Independent Readiness Review. CC-RAM calls for improvements to the Ospreys Multi-Spectral Sensor, computer system, infra-red suppressor technology, generators and landing gear control units, the aviation plan specifies. As part of this long-term Osprey modernization trajectory, the Marines are now integrating a Command and Control system called Digital Interoperability (DI). This uses data links, radio connectivity and an Iridium Antenna to provide combat-relevant intelligence data and C4ISR information in real-time to Marines - while in-flight on a mission. In addition, the Osprey is being developed as a tanker aircraft able to perform aerial refueling missions; the idea is to transport fuel and use a probe technology to deliver fuel to key aircraft such as an F/A-18 or F-35C. The V-22 Aerial Refueling System will also be able to refuel other aircraft such as the CH-53E/K, AV-8B Harrier jet and other V-22s, Corps officials said. Fielding of the full capable system will be in 2019. This system will be able to refuel all MAGTF (Marine Corps Air Ground Task Force) aerial refuel capable aircraft with approximately 10,000 pounds of fuel per each VARS-equipped V-22, the 2018 Marine Aviation Plan states. Due to its tiltrotor configuration, the Osprey can hover in helicopter mode for close-in surveillance and vertical landings for things like delivering forces, equipment and supplies all while being able to transition into airplane mode and hit fixed-wing aircraft speeds. This gives the aircraft an ability to travel up 450 nautical miles to and from a location on a single tank of fuel, Corps officials said. The Osprey can hit maximum speeds of 280 Knots, and can transport a crew of Marines or a few Marines with an Internally Transportable Vehicle. Corps developers also emphasize that the V-22 modernization effort will incorporate new technologies emerging from the fast-moving Future Vertical Lift program; this could likely include the integration of newer lightweight composite materials, next-generation sensors and various kinds of weapons, C4ISR systems and targeting technologies. Fast-moving iterations of Artificial Intelligence are also likely to figure prominently in future V-22 upgrades. This could include advanced algorithms able to organize and present sensor data, targeting information or navigational details for Marines in-flight. While the modernization and sustainment overhaul bring the promise of continued relevance and combat effectiveness for the Opsrey, the effort is of course not without challenges. The Corps plan cites concerns about an ability to properly maintain the depot supply chain ability to service the platform in a timely manner, and many over the years have raised the question of just how much a legacy platform can be upgraded before a new model is needed. Interestingly, as is the case with the Air Force B-52 and Army Chinook, a wide ranging host of upgrades have kept the platforms functional and relevant to a modern threat environment for decades. The Air Force plans to fly its Vietnam era B-52 bomber weill into the 2050s, and the Army's Chinook is slated to fly for 100 years -- from 1960 to 2060 -- according to service modernization experts and program managers. The common thread here is that airframes themselves, while often in need of enhancements and reinforcements, often remain viable if not highly effective for decades. The Osprey therefore, by comparison, is much newer than the B-52 or Chinook, to be sure. This is a key reason why Burns emphasized the "common" aspect of CC-RAM, as the idea is to lay the technical foundation such that the existing platform can quickly embrace new technologies as they emerge. This approach, widely mirrored these days throughout the DoD acquisition community, seeks to architect systems according to a set of common, non-proprietary standards such that it helps establish a new, more efficient paradigm for modernization. At the same time, there is also broad consensus that there are limits to how much existing platforms can be modernized before a new aircraft is needed; this is a key reason why the Army is now vigorously immersed in its Future Vertical Lift program which, among other things, is currently advancing a new generation of tiltrotor technology. Furthermore, new airframe designs could, in many ways, be better suited to accommodate new weapons, C4ISR technologies, sensors, protection systems and avionics. The contours and structure of a new airframe itself could also bring new radar signature reducing properties as well as new mission and crew options. Overall, the Marine Corps is accelerating a massive modernization and readiness overhaul of its MV-22 Osprey to upgrade sensors, add weapons, sustain the fleet and broaden the mission scope -- as part of an effort to extend the life of the aircraft to 2060. We plan to have the MV-22B Osprey for at least the next 40 years, Capt. Sarah Burns, Marine Corps Aviation spokeswoman, told Warrior Maven. While first emerging nearly two decades ago, the Osprey tiltrotor aircraft has seen an unprecedented uptick in deployments, mission scope and operational tempo. This first appeared in WarriorMaven here. Read full article By Ricardo Brito BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian prosecutors on Wednesday said they had opened an investigation into whether London-based political consultancy Cambridge Analytica acted illegally in Brazil, as controversy over the firm's data harvesting practices spreads across the globe. Prosecutors for Brazil's Federal District, which includes Brasilia, the capital, said in a written statement that they will look into whether the firm, through its partnership with Sao Paulo-based consulting group A Ponte Estrategia Planejamento e Pesquisa LTDA, illegally used the data of millions of Brazilians to create psychographic profiles. Calls to CA Ponte, as the partnership is called, were not answered. Prosecutors from a specialized data unit will look into whether there were security breaches that allowed the firm to illegally access personal data. Regulators and lawmakers in the United States and Europe have demanded an explanation of how the consulting firm, which worked on U.S. President Donald Trump's election campaign, gained access to data on 50 million Facebook Inc users in order to build voter profiles. Reports on Monday said that the firm may have improperly gained access to the data, and Cambridge Analytica has since suspended its chief executive Alexander Nix, while Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said his company made mistakes in its handling of user data. By many measures, Brazil is Facebook's third largest market. (Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Writing by Gram Slattery; Editing by Leslie Adler and James Dalgleish) WILL COUNTY - The Illinois chairman of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly resigned from her post this week after Bruce Rauner won the Illinois GOP gubernatorial primary. Bolton has been chairman of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Illinois since 2017. Before becoming chairman, she served as the organization's Will County vice-chairman, then chairman. She also served as national committeewoman representing Illinois to the group's national convention. Bolton says her goal was to get more Hispanics involved in Illinois Republican politics because Hispanics are "conservative in our core - that's what we are. We need candidates with conservative values and people of faith, based on those values," she said. She says she left the Democrat Party several years ago - despite her father being active in the party - because she couldn't support the party's values. "That's why I became a Republican," she said. Being fluent in both English and Spanish, Bolton said she can talk to the people, and share her desire and passion. Her strong motivation and energy won her a leadership role in the state's effort for Donald Trump. "I was the evangelical coalition coordinator for Trump in Illinois," she said. "I was originally for Cruz and was almost a #Never Trumper, but my mother and other circumstances changed my mind. I am proud of helping Donald Trump be elected." Bolton said she hopes to continue promoting conservative values she holds dear, but not in a position to promote someone that doesn't agree with her dearly-held values. Her resignation letter to the organization reads: Dear Friends, It is with much thought and prayer like everything I do that I officially resign my position as chairman of the RNHA of Illinois. As someone, like my son told me last night "is guided by a moral compass to be your guiding light" I cannot in good conscience support Rauner. I only support people of values, which I find him devoid of. It was those values that turned me away from the Democrat party and the very reason I became a proud REPUBLICAN! Just so everyone is clear, I stopped supporting him the day he was the second biggest donor to Planned Parenthood. Everything that happened after, like the the signing of the horrific HB40, and the rest of his betrayal of the conservative base just confirmed my decision. I do not work for "a few pieces of silver." For me it's always been for much more. It's been for a cause, a vision, and at this time it's blurry. I personally thank you All and pray nothing but the Lord's blessings for you and your family. FILE PHOTO: A Bombardier logo is seen at the Bombardier plant in Belfast, Northern Ireland January 26, 2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne By Allison Lampert and David Ljunggren MONTREAL, OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada on Friday welcomed as a "positive development" in its long ties with Boeing (BA.N) a decision by the U.S. planemaker to end a trade dispute over sales of Bombardier (BBDb.TO) CSeries jets in the United States. Boeing said late on Thursday it will not appeal a U.S. trade commission ruling that allows Bombardier to sell its CSeries in the United States without hefty duties. A Boeing spokesman did not give a reason. The decision "represents a positive development in the longstanding relationship between Canada and Boeing," Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland said in a statement, in a sign of warming by the country's Liberal government toward the planemaker after tensions over the Bombardier dispute. It was not clear how Boeing's decision might affect its chances in a Canadian competition to order fighter jets worth between C$15 billion ($11.68 billion) and $C19 billion. Representatives for Canada's Procurement Minister Carla Qualtrough and Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan - who share responsibility for buying military equipment - did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Ottawa has said bids will be evaluated in part by whether firms have caused any past economic damage to Canada - a clear reference to the U.S. planemaker. In its case against Bombardier, Boeing had argued the CSeries benefited from unfair subsidies and was sold below cost to American carriers, heightening trade tensions between the planemaker, the United States and its allies Canada and the United Kingdom. The wings for the 110-130 seat jet are produced in Belfast. "Boeing should feel suitably chastened that their bullying approach was justly and robustly rejected," said Gavin Robinson, a lawmaker from Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, in a statement on Friday. Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenberg told Reuters earlier this month it would sue Bombardier again if provoked to do so by what it deems unfair pricing, but trade analysts have also said the planemaker seemed anxious to smooth over the dispute. Story continues U.S. aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia said the trade dispute might not generate long-term damage for Boeing. "I think mistakes were made," he said. "But there aren't a lot of alternatives. And memories aren't that long in aerospace and politics." Earlier in the day, Bombardier said in a statement it was happy that Boeing's "meritless claim" had "come to an end." Airbus SE (AIR.PA) has agreed to take a majority stake in the CSeries in a deal expected to close later this year, while Boeing is in tie-up talks with Bombardier's Brazilian rival Embraer SA (EMBR3.SA). (Reporting by Allison Lampert and David Ljunggren; Additional reporting by Tim Hepher in Paris and Conor Humphries in Dublin; Editing by Susan Thomas and Frances Kerry) Good morning. When I wrote last month that Facebook would be the biggest loser in the Russian melee, I didnt imagine it would be this bad. But over the last weekwhile I was enjoying a break from this newsletterthe social network company lost about 10% of its value, or $50 billion. Mark Zuckerberg weighed in yesterday afternoon with a blog post that you can read here. We have a responsibility to protect your data, he wrote, and if we cant, then we dont deserve to serve you. Problem is, thats a responsibility Facebook has had since day one, and Zuckerbergs increasingly frequent mea culpas keep coming days late and mega-dollars short. If your memory needs refreshing, the folks at Fast Company did a nice summary of 15 years worth of Zuckerberg apologies here. Most of yesterdays post was devoted to defending Facebooks response over the last three years to abuses by Cambridge Analytica. But of course, Facebook didnt ban Cambridge Analytica from its platform until Fridayand then only in response to newspaper inquiries. Thats not likely to convince anyone that the CEO has turned over a new leaf, or to slow the anti-Facebook bandwagon. As one commenter on the post put it: So basically you knew this shit was going on years ago and NOW since youve been caught with your pants down, this is your response? Pathetic. If Zuckerberg really has had a change of heart, and wants to be taken seriously, hell have to do more than write a defensive-sounding blog post. Among other things, hes going to be called to testify to Congress, and he would be wise not to send his lawyer in his place, as he did last year. The bigger problem is that Facebooks entire business model is based on selling peoples dataand not always in ways that those people approve of, or have agreed to. A true fix to the problem could also tank the companys revenue. Thats why this weeks stock price swoon probably will not be the last. By the way, among those joining the #deletefacebook campaign this week was Brian Acton, who made a fortune cofounding and then selling WhatsApp to Facebook. Story continues More news below. Top News GSK and Pfizer GlaxoSmithKline has beaten a rival bid from Reckitt Benckiser for Pfizers healthcare business, according to a Financial Times report. The business, which includes products such as Advil painkillers and Centrum multivitamins, may be worth up to $20 billion, Pfizer hopes. Its not clear if there were other bidders. GSK shares rose on the news, while Reckitts fell. FT Naspers and Tencent South Africas Naspers is selling 6% of its stake in the Chinese tech giant Tencenta cash-in thats worth a cool $10.6 billion. The media group has a 33.2% stake in Tencent, which will fall to 31.2%. Naspers made a very smart decision back in 2001 to put $32 million into the Chinese firm, giving it a stake that now has a value of $175 billion. Naspers said it will use the cash to reinforce [its] balance sheet and to invest in other things, like food delivery and fintech. Naspers YouTube vs. Guns YouTube has quietly introduced a ban on videos promoting or linking to sites that sell firearms and things like bump stocks. Its also banned videos that show people how to assemble firearms. While weve long prohibited the sale of firearms, we recently notified creators of updates we will be making around content promoting the sale or manufacture of firearms and their accessories, the Google-owned platform said. Gun enthusiasts are not pleased. Bloomberg Musks Green Light Teslas shareholders have approved Elon Musks controversial pay deal, which will see the CEO collect up to $2.6 billion if the company hits a series of valuation and sales targets. It also ensures that Musk will stay at the helm of Tesla for the next decade. The package attracted criticism from some investor groups over its size. The news of the approval sent Teslas shares up 3%. BBC Around the Water Cooler The Schrems Effect Bloomberg has a pithy profile of Max Schrems, the young Austrian lawyer who has done more than any other individual to get companies such as Facebookand really, Facebook in particularto change their ways on the privacy front. It was Schrems who was responsible for sinking the transatlantic Safe Harbor data-sharing agreement, and hes preparing fresh suits under his newly crowdfunded None of Your Business (NOYB) organization, once Europes new GDPR data protection law comes into effect in late May. Bloomberg African Single Currency South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has backed the idea of a pan-African single currency. Ramaphosa said the move would help the continent wean itself off foreign currency. We must rid ourselves of this colonial mentality that demands we rely on other peoples currency. Perhaps the day, the hour and the moment could have arrived for us to create a single African currency. Our focus should not be on our individual countries but the continent as a whole to unlock great opportunities and capabilities, he told a meeting of the African Continental Free Trade Area business forum. Independent Online Cryptocurrency Scrutiny The U.K. government is launching a task force to examine the risks and benefits of cryptocurrencies. The group will include the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority. Chancellor Philip Hammond said he is committed to helping the sector grow and flourish. The U.K. and Australia have also signed a fintech bridge agreement to let each others companies more easily access each others markets. CNBC Sessions Probe Before being sacked by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe reportedly authorized an investigation into whether Sessions lied to Congress. According to the Justice Department, Sessions didnt know about the probe when he decided to fire McCabe. The investigation apparently ended without criminal charges. NBC This edition of CEO Daily was edited by David Meyer. Find previous editions here, and sign up for other Fortune newsletters here. MEET vs. WDAY: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now? MEET vs. WDAY: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option? The past couple of years has been a rough ride for GoPro, Inc. GPRO and its troubles are far from ending. The leading manufacturer of the world's most handy camera and related accessories has seen its shares fall almost 34% year to date, underperforming the industrys growth of around 6% by a huge margin. The companys underperformance, in part, can be attributed to repeated operational stumbles, multiple layoffs, decaying fundamentals and macroeconomic woes. The company has been grappling with sluggish demand for its Hero cameras amid stiff competition from lower-priced action camera alternatives. Moreover, in light of the companys dismal fourth-quarter 2017 results, the management anticipates its revenues to decline further in 2018 and incur a net loss for the full year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 earnings has moved south over the past couple of months, from earnings of 4 cents to a loss of 37 cents. This indicates extremely bearish sentiments surrounding this Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) stock, mirrored by eight downward estimate revisions versus none upward. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here. Factors Troubling GoPro Of late, GoPros market share has been threatened by lower-cost alternatives from established industry players like Sony Corp. SNE, Nikon Corp. NINOY and new entrants. For instance, the launch of Google clips which has a 12-megapixel sensor and a 130-degree field-of-view lens has enabled Alphabet GOOGL to penetrate into capture devices market, thus pushing the level of competition a notch higher. Another such product having features similar to GoPros Fusion is Sonys action camera RX0. We believe that increasing commoditization of action cameras is hurting the companys premium brand image, and pressurizing prices and margins. Also, high product concentration risk and product cannibalization are persistent demand issues, which are likely to drag down the companys top- line growth in coming times, even as it strives to find explore revenue streams. Story continues Price reductions have also affected the top line in recent times, despite strong marketing support for key products. Late in 2017, GoPro slashed prices for the Hero 5 Black and Hero 5 Session cameras. It also cut the price of its latest camera, HERO 6 Black, to $399 from $499. The constrained demand and price cuts are likely to impact the top line in the coming quarters as well. Furthermore, in recent years, the company has struggled with multiple operational stumbles including product recalls and messed up launches. Also, the company is shutting its drone business. Not a long while ago, GoPro had hoped Karma would help revive the companys fortunes and stoke growth for the beleaguered action camera company. Karma witnessed a roller-coaster ride, punctuated mostly by lows rather than highs, thanks to problems like production delays and recall of 2,500 units due to a battery issue. Will the Stock Rebound Any Time Soon? GoPro remains committed toward regaining its growth momentum, backed by its camera portfolio, a smooth distribution channel, and interesting products like Fusion. Fusion is a waterproof, mountable 5.2K spherical camera that the company launched last year. GoPro is focused on intense restructuring, streamlining its supply chain and expanding its market. As a result, its significant investments toward its expansion plans in Asia, China and Japan and counter the aforesaid challenges might take some more time to deliver credible top-line growth. For 2018, the company has a target to limit operating expenses to below $400 million compared with $476 million incurred in 2017. A large part of the reduction can be attributed to the companys decision of exiting its drone business and reducing employee headcount. The companys turnaround efforts might yield results in the long run. But for now, it appears that investors dont believe GoPros initiatives can outweigh soft demand and operational weakness that the company is struggling with. Will You Make a Fortune on the Shift to Electric Cars? Here's another stock idea to consider. Much like petroleum 150 years ago, lithium power may soon shake the world, creating millionaires and reshaping geo-politics. Soon electric vehicles (EVs) may be cheaper than gas guzzlers. Some are already reaching 265 miles on a single charge. With battery prices plummeting and charging stations set to multiply, one company stands out as the #1 stock to buy according to Zacks research. It's not the one you think. See This Ticker Free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Nikon Corp. (NINOY) : Free Stock Analysis Report Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Sony Corporation (SNE) : Free Stock Analysis Report GoPro, Inc. (GPRO) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research March 22 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - President Trump on Thursday plans to announce at least $50 billion worth of annual tariffs and other penalties on China for its theft of technology and trade secrets, which administration officials say has robbed American companies of billions of dollars in revenue and killed thousands of jobs. http://nyti.ms/2pvJTNC - Facebook Inc's chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, on Wednesday publicly addressed for the first time the misuse of data belonging to 50 million users of the social network and described the steps the company would take to safeguard the information of its more than two billion monthly users. http://nyti.ms/2pvElmV - Swiss prosecutors said on Wednesday they had opened a criminal investigation into a tax case involving the French luxury group Kering SA, widening the legal scrutiny of its tax practices in Europe. http://nyti.ms/2pyS9fx - On Wednesday, in meetings with employees and a news release, Meredith Corporation said it planned to sell four former Time Inc titles, dealing yet another blow to the once-mighty magazine empire. http://nyti.ms/2GQiQVs (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom) Motley Fool Fuel-cell stocks were higher today, with Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG), Bloom Energy (NYSE: BE), and FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ: FCEL) gaining 3.2%, 5.6%, and 11.4%, respectively as of 1 p.m. EDT. With more and more carmakers investing in hydrogen fuel-cell technology, investors in fuel-cell stocks are getting increasingly upbeat about the prospects. A report from Reuters this morning revealed how some of the auto giants from across the world are looking beyond battery-electric vehicles and investing in hydrogen, which appears to be pumping interest in hydrogen fuel-cell stocks. FILE PHOTO: Shadow of worker is seen next to logo of Russia's Rosneft oil company at central processing facility of Rosneft-owned Priobskoye oil field outside Nefteyugansk The shadow of a worker is seen next to the logo of Russia's Rosneft oil company at the central processing facility of the Rosneft-owned Priobskoye oil field outside the city of Nefteyugansk, Russia, August 4, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/Files By Denis Pinchuk MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's state oil company Rosneft and Italy's Eni did not make a commercial oil discovery in the Black Sea as the well they were drilling proved to be dry, a source close to the operations told Reuters on Wednesday. Rosneft chief executive, Igor Sechin, has partnered with a number of foreign companies to develop Russia's offshore regions, though western sanctions have forced some of its partners such as ExxonMobil to suspend projects. Sechin has counted on the Black Sea as an area with high potential and any discovery would help send a message that the sanctions will not seriously hamper Rosneft's global standing or cooperation with other global players. But the well, "Maria-1", which Rosneft and Eni started to drill in December, did not bring the desired results, a source close to operations said. Rosneft had planned a second well if the first showed hydrocarbon potential. "There will be nothing. Nothing was found," the source familiar with the operation said. "Demobilisation (of equipment) has started." Eni, which holds a 33.33 percent stake in the Zapadno-Chernomorskaya project, declined to comment. In the Black Sea, Rosneft faces a technically challenging project. "Not a single well has been drilled in the deep water Russian offshore (in the Black Sea)," Sechin said back in December. The ultra-deep-water prospecting and appraisal well was drilled using the Scarabeo-9 rig and Rosneft said this week it had a target depth of 6,126 metres. CHALLENGING PROJECT Contrary to previous statements when Rosneft has discovered oil, on Wednesday the company confirmed that drilling was complete and referred only to finding a "carbonate structure". "As a result of the work, a unique carbonate structure... was discovered, which is a fractured reservoir that is highly likely to contain hydrocarbons," Rosneft said, without giving details of how much or what type of hydrocarbons the structure may contain. Story continues "The obtained results inspire confidence in the discovery of large oil and gas deposits in the Russian area of the Black Sea," Rosneft said, adding that it will now carefully study the material received by the drilling. The wording contrasts with Rosneft's statement following the completion of drilling on the first well in its Kara Sea project in September 2014. Back then, Rosneft reported it found oil and Sechin took a group of reporters and TV crews to the Kara Sea. Valery Nesterov, an analyst with Sberbank CIB, said that given there was no information about any oil flow from the "Maria-1" well, Rosneft may need additional drilling. "The issue of carbonate structures is a high oil movement inside a layer," Nesterov said. The high movement means that oil can migrate from one part of the structure to another and can be hard to track, if at all. According to ThomsonReuters tracking data, the Scarabeo-9 rig started to move to the Romanian port of Constanta on March 19 and is expected to arrive there on March 24. Eni, in contrast to its global peers, does not yet have any oil producing projects in Russia and has teamed up with Rosneft in the Black Sea and the Barents Sea in Russia's Arctic. Nesterov said that it was important to note that Eni has not pulled out of the partnership with Rosneft, despite what he described as 'not very active' cooperation. "Eni does not announce the exit and this is positive," he said. Rosneft said last December that oil resources in the licence area in the Black Sea were estimated at over 570 million tonnes, or equal to more than two years of Rosneft's current oil production. The partnership has yet to begin drilling in the Barents Sea. (Reporting by Denis Pinchuk; additional reporting by Gleb Stolyarov in MOSCOW and Giancarlo Navach in MILAN; editing by Elaine Hardcastle) An employee views the Port of Shanghai from an office window, January 19, 2011. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/Files WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will sign a presidential memorandum on Thursday to potentially slap tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese imports over forced transfer of intellectual property, a senior White House official said. Trump will sign the memorandum at 12:30 p.m. EDT (1630 GMT) at the White House. The directive will open a consultation period by the U.S. Trade Representative's office to look at a list of Chinese products that could be targeted, Everett Eissenstat, deputy director of the National Economic Council, told reporters. In addition, Trump will also direct the U.S. Treasury to propose measures that could restrict Chinese investments in the United States, Eissenstat said. The tariffs and investment restrictions will be imposed under the U.S. Trade Representative's "Section 301" investigation into alleged misappropriation of U.S. intellectual property by China. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton and David Chance; Editing by James Dalgleish and Paul Simao) National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster has resigned from his position in the Trump administration, the latest shake up of high-ranking officials within the White House. Trump announced on Thursday that John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, will assume the role on April 9. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend, Trump wrote in a message on Twitter. The news comes after President Donald Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson earlier in March. McMaster and Trump have reportedly not seen eye-to-eye on various issues either. The three-star Army general told an audience at a Munich Security Conference last month that evidence of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election is indisputable, and referring to the indictment of 13 Russians said, with the FBI indictment, the evidence is now incontrovertible. The president responded in a tweet, saying his top aide did not include all the details. General McMaster forgot to say that the results of the 2016 election were not impacted or changed by the Russians and that the only Collusion was between Russia and Crooked H, the DNC and the Dems," Trump wrote. McMaster became national security adviser in February 2017 following the resignation of Michael Flynn. He previously led the Army Capabilities Integration Center before his appointment, and served in the Persian Gulf War and those in Iraq and Afghanistan. The president hinted at potential forthcoming changes to his Cabinet following the announcement of Tillersons ouster. "I've gotten to know a lot of people very well over the last year," Trump told reporters at the White House, "and I'm really at a point where we're getting very close to having the Cabinet and other things that I want." Sources told Fox News other departures from the administration could include Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin and Chief of Staff John Kelly. Related Articles (Adds background, quotes) ANKARA, March 21 (Reuters) - Turkey and the United States have reached an understanding, but not full agreement, about stabilising the town of Manbij and other areas of Kurdish-controlled northern Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday. Turkey, which on Sunday stormed the northern Syrian town of Afrin after a two-month offensive against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, has repeatedly threatened to push its operations further east to Manbij where U.S. troops are stationed. Expanding Turkey's military campaign into the much larger Kurdish-held territory further east, which President Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to do, would risk confrontation between the NATO allies who have been at loggerheads over the U.S. policy in Syria and other issues. Speaking at a news conference in Ankara, Cavusoglu denied media reports that Ankara and Washington had agreed a deal on the fate of Manbij, 100 km (60 miles) east of Afrin. "We said we reached an understanding, which is mainly that Syria's Manbij and the east of the Euphrates be stabilised. We said we reached an understanding, not an agreement," he said. Ankara was seeking an agreement with Washington over who will secure Manbij after the YPG, which Turkey considers a terrorist organisation, withdraws from the area. Pulling out only from Manbij would not be enough, Cavusoglu said. "The YPG will withdraw from these areas, like Manbij for example. We will work together for the security of these areas. "Manbij is, of course, not enough. First, the YPG will leave and the people of Manbij will govern it. The security of the area will be ensured. We will apply the Manbij model to other areas controlled by the YPG as well," he said. Turkey considers the YPG to be an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long insurgency against the state, and has been infuriated by the support Washington has provided the Syrian Kurdish fighters. The issue caused a crisis between the NATO allies. Outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had taken a leading role in recent weeks to resolve the dispute, promising to find a solution for Manbij during a visit to Turkey last month. However Turkey said U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement that he was removing Tillerson from office may delay a potential deal between Ankara and Washington. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Ece Toksabay Editing by Dominic Evans) By Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Thursday it had approved the possible sale to Saudi Arabia of TOW anti-tank missiles, part of a bigger $1 billion package that also includes helicopter maintenance and spare parts for military vehicles. The department said it had notified the U.S. Congress on Thursday of the possible sale, which kick-starts a formal congressional review process. Saudi Arabia requested to buy 6,600 TOW missiles and an additional 96 for training for a total of $670 million, the State Department said in a statement. The proposed sale would improve the security of an important ally in the Middle East, it added. "The proposed sale of TOW 2B missiles and technical support will advance Saudi Arabia's efforts to develop an integrated ground defence capability," the department said. In addition, the State Department said it had also approved the possible sale worth $300 million of parts for Saudi Arabia's fleet of Abrams tanks and armoured vehicles. Furthermore, it also gave the green light for the proposed sale of equipment and services worth $106.8 million for Saudi Arabia's fleet of military helicopters The announcements came days after U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House, crediting U.S. defence sales to the Saudis with boosting American jobs. Earlier on Thursday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis told Prince Mohammed there was an urgent need to find a political solution to Riyadh's campaign in Yemen's war. The conflict has displaced more than 2 million people and driven the country to the verge of widespread famine. On Tuesday the U.S. Senate killed a resolution seeking an end to U.S. support for Saudi Arabia's involvement in Yemen. (Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Sandra Maler and Cynthia Osterman) The German parliament has approved plans to extend the country's military mission in Afghanistan. A majority of lawmakers voted to approve a bill raising the maximum number of German troops deployed in Afghanistan as part of NATOs Resolute Support mission by one-third to 1,300. The decision comes as the Western-backed government in Kabul is struggling to fend off the Taliban and other militant groups since the withdrawal of most NATO troops in 2014. Earlier this month, Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said that the German troop increase should be matched with accelerated reforms by the Afghan government. She also warned that the militarys mission in Afghanistan would likely extend for some time, saying, "We need patience and a long breath, without question." Germany has contributed to NATO missions in Afghanistan for the past 17 years. The German military has its headquarters in Afghanistan in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif and a large base near Kunduz. Based on reporting by dpa WASHINGTON -- Top Afghan officials see a genuine chance for peace with elements of the Taliban and the Haqqani network but worry the latest efforts at reconciliation could be undermined both by internal rivals and by Pakistan and other foreign influences. Afghan officials believe the insurgent leaders who seek to make a deal are being threatened and that some have already been forced to back away following threats to their families. "It's not a theoretical threat. It is real," Afghan National Security Adviser Mohammad Haneef Atmar said on March 22 during a visit to Washington for meetings with U.S. officials. "There are brave leaders who would run the risk," Atmar said. "They're asking for a process by which they and their families are protected to engage in peace." Atmar described efforts to accommodate these Taliban and Haqqani leaders as sensitive, explaining it has long been standard practice for the families of influential officials to be held in other locations as a sort of collateral. "That is the way they are to be trusted," he said. Possible Solution One possible solution could involve Saudi Arabia, which has indicated it is interested in supporting both Afghanistan and the larger U.S. strategy in South Asia. "They want to be better aligned with us," Chief Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said on March 22, following meetings between U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The extent to which the Saudis are willing to go is not clear, though White said there seemed to be a willingness to at least host talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, if not do more to ensure the safety of Taliban families. "Not necessarily specifically safe haven," White said of what was discussed. "But talking about [how] we will look at ways to help facilitate a political reconciliation with those Taliban members who are willing to talk." But some of the challenges that could stand in the way of reconciliation may be even trickier. One of those is Pakistan, which has come under repeated criticism from both Kabul and Washington for failing to take decisive action against terrorist elements aiming to destabilize the region, including the Taliban and Haqqani network. Back in January, the U.S. suspended $1.9 billion in assistance to Islamabad for what senior administration officials described as a lack of commitment. Pakistan Action Afghan officials say they have yet to see any improvement, indicating the action Pakistan has taken against terrorists is often less than helpful. "We haven't had any positive response from Pakistan as yet, not any change in the policy they are pursuing," Afghan National Security Adviser Atmar said during a speech on March 22 at the U.S. Institute for Peace. Instead, Atmar accused Pakistan of pressuring, and even attacking, elements of the Afghan Taliban who are willing to negotiate in good faith. "We do have Taliban leaders who are working for peace now who are wounded, who were attacked in Pakistan," Atmar said. VOA sought comment from Pakistani officials, who have yet to respond. Further complicating matters, top Afghan officials contend outside powers like Russia have been willing to play some terrorist groups off against one another, for example arming the Taliban under the guise of having the Taliban take on terrorists from the Islamic State group. U.S. military officials have raised similar concerns. But Atmar said that despite Moscow's assurances that it is not providing weapons to the Taliban, "we would like to see that in practice." -- Voice Of America As astounding as it may sound to those familiar with Turkmenistan's previous parliamentary elections, it's true: For once, there's something interesting about the Turkmen parliamentary elections. The voting is scheduled for March 25. Turkmenistan's Central Election Commission has registered 284 candidates to compete for the 125 seats in Turkmenistan's Mejlis (parliament). Most of the candidates are from the three registered political parties -- the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan (DPT, formerly the Communist Party); the Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, founded in 2012; and, making its first appearance in parliamentary elections, the Agrarian Party, founded in 2014 -- although public initiative groups are fielding a small number of candidates. The latter two parties were arguably formed to create the illusion of multiparty elections. Both parties support President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov's policies. Neither has proposed any initiatives and, in fact, the two parties are rarely mentioned at all in state media except at election time. The same is true of the DPT. Turkmenistan's parliamentary elections have been a farce from the start. The first elections in December 1994, three years after Turkmenistan became independent, featured 51 candidates running for 50 seats; the last parliamentary elections, in December 2013, had 283 candidates, 99 of them from the DPT, running for 125 seats. It makes little difference who wins seats, since Turkmenistan's parliament is a rubber-stamp body for the country's president; and the current parliament was lowered in status after the presidential election in February 2018. The higher legislative body, such as it is, in Turkmenistan at the moment is the Council of Elders, though a subsequent decree from Berdymukhammedov made it possible for younger people to join the council. RFE/RL's Turkmen Service, known locally as Azatlyk, has been interviewing citizens in Turkmenistan about parliamentary elections for many years; and it has become apparent that most, nearly all, know little or nothing about the people running in their districts or any other districts. That is where these elections are different. Because there is one candidate this time whom most citizens in Turkmenistan probably do know: Serdar Berdymukhammedov, President Berdymukhammedov's only son. Serdar, 36, is already a member of Turkmenistan's parliament. He won a seat in snap elections on November 20, 2016. The brief announcement of those impending by-elections was made on November 18 and did not include the names of the candidates who left their seats or why they were leaving; nor did it include any information about who was running for the vacant seats. It was not until November 23 that state media reported that the younger Berdymukhammedov had won the seat in the Dushak voting district of Ahal Province. Serdar is running to reclaim that seat on March 25, and there is very little doubt he will win. But there's more. Serdar was just in Astana, Kazakhstan, at the same time Kazakhstan's capital was hosting the first summit of Central Asian leaders. President Berdymukhammedov did not attend -- he went to Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates instead -- and instead sent the speaker of parliament, Akja Nurberdieva, in his place. If there were any photos of Nurberdieva in Astana, they were not widely distributed; but there were photos of Serdar meeting with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev. According to Turkmenistan's constitution, the speaker of the parliament is the second-highest post in the government, the person who takes over as president if the serving president is unable to perform the duties of office. Nurberdieva has served as speaker of parliament, officially, since February 23, 2007 (acting speaker from December 22, 2006), an impressive term considering that most high-level Turkmen officials rarely last more than a couple of years, and often much less than that. Nurbedieva is or will turn 61 years old this year, four years older than the minimum retirement age for women in Turkmenistan. Should she vacate her post, it would clear the way for Serdar to become speaker of parliament -- thus becoming the constitutional successor to the president, his father. Admittedly, it did not work out that way when independent Turkmenistan's first president, Saparmurat Niyazov, died. The announcement of Niyazov's death on December 21, 2006, was soon followed by news that then-speaker of parliament Ovezgeldy Ataev had been arrested. Ataev was later charged with inciting interethnic rivalries and sentenced to prison. Serdar Berdymukhammedov, at the moment, would seem to be better positioned for assuming control if his father became ill or died suddenly. Those following Turkmen state media in recent months will be aware of the growing exposure Serdar has been receiving. There is one more interesting aspect to these upcoming parliamentary elections. They are not being held in December, as all the previous five parliamentary elections have been (1994, 1999, 2004, 2008, and 2013). No reason has been given for the change; but with Turkmenistan facing the worst economic crisis in its 26-year history, there might be a desire to get the elections over before major changes -- possibly a long-overdue currency devaluation, for example -- are implemented. (The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect the views of RFE/RL) Ten women from countries including Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, and Kosovo are being honored with the U.S. State Department's International Women of Courage Award (IWOC) for 2018. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan will host the annual IWOC ceremony on March 23. First Lady Melania Trump is to deliver remarks at the ceremony. The award is presented annually to women from around the world who have shown leadership, courage, resourcefulness, and willingness to sacrifice for others, especially in promoting women's rights. The 2018 awardees include: Roya Sadat of Afghanistan is a well-known rights defender who uses television and cinema to tell stories of Afghan women and girls despite enormous personal risks linked to cultural, bureaucratic, and financial obstacles. Aiman Omarova of Kazakhstan is a prominent lawyer who specializes in sexual abuse crimes committed against women and children, and works with political and rights detainees. Feride Rushiti of Kosovo is the founder and executive director of the Kosovo Center for the Rehabilitation of Torture Victims, whose activism led to a landmark government ruling on awarding pensions to victims of Kosovo wartime sexual violence. The other seven are Aura Elena Farfan of Guatemala, Julissa Villlanueva of Honduras, Aliyah Khalaf Saleh of Iraq, Maria Elena Berini of Italy, L'Malouma Said of Mauritania, Godelive Mukasarasi of Rwanda, and Sirikan Charoensiri of Thailand. CORRECTION: This article has been amended to reflect the fact that the 10 women in question are awardees, not finalists. Cybersecurity partnerships: Strength in numbers As the public sector wrestles with improving cybersecurity, some organizations are pooling their strengths and forming partnerships to better share threat information and provide tactical cybersecurity training to IT staff. In North Carolina, the Department of Public Safety is partnering with the Department of Information Technology to form the Information Sharing and Analysis Center. Housed in the state's Bureau of Investigation, ISSAC will promote cyber awareness and information sharing, providing actionable cyber intelligence to private- and public-sector partners and citizens. ISSAC will work with a number of federal, state and local partners including the North Carolina National Guard, Department of Homeland Security, FBI, U.S. Secret Service, Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center, the State Bureau of Investigation and others. Recent ransomware attacks like the one in Mecklenburg County in December 2017 and another in Davidson County this February highlight the need for a coordinated response to such threats, state officials said. This effort will help us to better guard against cyber threats and to increase information sharing of threat vectors and cyber actor actions across multiple state entities and boundaries," N.C. Department of Information Technology Secretary Eric Boyette said. "With the increased coordination and sharing of information will come an increase in the speed with which we can detect, identify and recover from cyber incidents. The secure campus enterprise Cybersecurity information sharing across university enterprise networks will be easier with the launch of OmniSOC, a cybersecurity operations center that will provide real-time intelligence sharing and threat analysis for its five university members. A joint initiative of Indiana University, Northwestern University, Purdue University, Rutgers University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, OmniSOC's goal is "to help higher education institutions reduce the time from first awareness of a cyber security threat anywhere to mitigation everywhere for members," according to a news announcement. Operating out of Indiana University, OmniSOC combines real-time security data feeds from its member campuses with governmental and corporate security subscriptions, and uses that information to identify suspicious and malicious activity, officials said. It then provides rapid incident response based on both human analysis and machine learning. OmniSOC uses the Elastic Stack security analytics platform, a system for ingesting, correlating and analyzing vast quantities of information to detect cyber threats. "With tens of thousands of students, faculty and staff, university campuses are really like small cities, with sensitive data and powerful computing systems that are coveted by cyber criminals," Tom Davis, OmniSOC founding executive director and chief information security officer, said in a statement. "While campus-by-campus approaches are essential, they are not sufficient for the sophistication of modern cyber risks." "Higher education is for the most part an open environment, so we often see cyber crimes that others have not," Purdue University Chief Information Security Officer Greg Hedrick said. "By allowing us to monitor across higher education, OmniSOC helps to improve our capabilities to identify and react more quickly to these bad actors. My hope is that this information can be shared with others outside of our community in order to protect the entire ecosystem." OmniSOC plans to scale up services and expand its membership to other universities. Better cyber awareness To tackle training and education, the University of West Florida's Center for Cybersecurity is partnering with the Florida Agency for State Technology to better prepare state personnel to detect and protect against emerging cyber threats. The program will offer hands-on training and educational courses using face-to-face, online and remote delivery, and will provide competency-based certifications to prepare state personnel for core cybersecurity work roles. Initial training for IT staff began March 20 at the Florida Department of Revenue, focusing on cybersecurity awareness and fundamentals and will eventually cover cybersecurity incident management, network defense, operating system hardening, risk management, cloud security and other emerging topics. The Florida Cyber Range and UWF Cybersecurity for All program will be used to provide training. The cyber range is a high-fidelity training environment can emulate the internet, replicate websites, integrate social media and support dynamic interjection of vulnerabilities. The program provides training on emerging topics via an online learning environment, customizable modules and hands-on activities using the cyber range. As the threats evolve, we must continue to train our information security and technology resources," AST Executive Director and State CIO Eric Larson said. "We hope our partnership with UWF will serve as a model for other states to not only provide advanced cyber training, but to offer on-going educational opportunities for state employees. Rhea Kelly, executive editor at Campus Technology, a sibling site to GCN, contributed to this story. Atlanta is the latest ransomware victim Following am early-morning ransomware attack on March 22 that encrypted data across computers in Atlanta's city government offices, the city is working with the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Microsoft and Cisco's incident cybersecurity response teams to determine the extent of the attack and unlock the computers. The attack seems to have affected internal systems, and some customer-facing applications residents use to pay bills and access to court related information, city officials said. The ransomware message demanded $51,000, or $6,800 to unlock each affected computer, according to a report from Atlanta NBC affiliate WXIA. At a late-afternoon press conference, the city's newly appointed Chief Operating Officer Richard Cox said several city departments had been affected, but not those related to public safety, water or payroll. Mayor Keisha Bottoms said the city has not yet determined if employee data has been compromised; she advised workers to be extra cautious, and proactively monitor their personal bank accounts. Likewise, anyone who has paid bills to the city of Atlanta or received payments, such as retirees, should be vigilant while the investigation is ongoing, she said. The city's cloud-first strategy mitigated some of the effects of the attack, Interim CIO Daphne Rackley said. Atlanta has been migrating some of its major systems to the cloud to increase their security. When asked about a remedy or workaround during this incident, Rackley again pointed to the cloud. "We do have a cloud strategy in place, so as we look to move critical systems to another infrastructure that is more secure and clean we are doing that, taking those steps." The city has implemented business continuity measures and has backups that will help it with restoration, she said. It is relying on the expertise of its federal and industry partners. And while Rackley was unable to release much information regarding the attack and ongoing investigation, she did emphasize that the city went public with the news the same day of the attack, unlike many companies that suffer breaches but only notify victims days or weeks later. Not all the city's networks seem to be affected, but some agencies were taking extra precautions. Workers at city hall were instructed not to turn on their computers or log into their workstations on Friday, AJC.com reported. Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has taken down its Wi-Fi network and parts of its website "out of an abundance of caution," an airport spokesman said Friday, March 23. Although the airport was not affected by the attack discovered Thursday, we dont want to open up the airport to any possible cyberattack, he told the AP. Emergency services and 911 were not affected, Chief of Police Erika Shields said at the Thursday afternoon press conference. However, the police department, "out of an abundance of caution, reverted back to doing our reporting on paper so that we would not unnecessarily compromise any existing systems," she said. Other than "not being able to spend time on the internet," the police department systems are still operational, she added. As the officials who spoke at the mayor's press conference repeatedly said, Atlanta is not alone in falling victim to ransomware. In February, the WannaCry ransomware virus made its way onto about 160 computers in 11 different Connecticut government agencies, according to Mark Raymond, the states CIO. Other government victims include the Carroll County, Ark., Sheriff's Office, Montgomery County, Ala., and Mecklenburg County, N.C., which was attacked a second time after it refused to pay an initial ransom. A hacker group called TheDarkOverlord has even been trying to sell private records extorted from almost 100 schools and businesses. "Its not that the government is more susceptible to these types of attacks than the private sector, but that theyre a bigger target," Blue Ridge Networks ' Chief Operations Officer Maureen Gray said. "Government systems have to be accessible to the public, for instance, to pay fees or find information. These public-facing networks must be better protected so that vulnerabilities there dont affect more sensitive information on other systems," she said. While government and industry cybersecurity experts have advocated hardening systems with continuous monitoring, intrusion detection technology and patch management, these approaches "invite the sort of reactive 'fire drill' mentality were seeing now," Gray said. A zero-trust stance, however, would help agencies proactively secure their networks because it "assumes everything on their systems is already compromised and blocks unacceptable actions." Oregon governor signs data breach law This article originally appeared in Stateline, an initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts. Oregon Democratic Gov. Kate Brown has signed a measure into law that would toughen the states consumer data breach laws. The legislation, which is set to take effect in June, would require that residents be notified within 45 days after a data breach has been discovered, unless doing so would impede a law enforcement investigation. The measure also would prohibit credit reporting agencies from charging a fee to residents who want to freeze or unfreeze their credit reports. Legislators in a number of states are trying to beef up consumer protections, in the wake of last years massive Equifax breach that exposed the personal data of nearly 148 million Americans. At least 29 states are taking up consumer security breach notification bills this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In more than a dozen states, measures would require residents to be notified within a given time, from 48 hours up to 60 days. And at least 100 bills have been filed in more than half the states to lower or eliminate credit report freeze fees charged to consumers, according to the Consumer Data Industry Association, a trade group representing consumer reporting agencies. Earlier this month, Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, signed a no-fee credit freeze bill into law. Forty-eight states and Washington, D.C., have security breach notification laws, most of which apply to the private sector and to government. But the laws vary considerably, from when affected victims must be notified to what is considered personal information. Last year, there were a record 1,579 data breaches in the United States, a nearly 45 percent hike over the previous year, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit that helps victims of identity theft and promotes public awareness. TORONTO, March 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VitalHub Corp. (the Company or VitalHub) (TSXV:VHI) is pleased to announce subsidiary company B Sharps Sri Lankan development arm "B Sharp Lanka" is in the process of renaming itself VitalHub (Pvt) Ltd. This change in name reflects a shift toward developing and servicing the entire group of VitalHub companies and product offering, beyond the B Sharp product sets. B Sharp Lanka was established in 2008 by Vijit Coomara, who was Co-Founder and CTO of B Sharp Technologies, and is currently VitalHubs EVP of Technology. B Sharp Lanka is an established group of 30 professional IT software developers, highly experienced in the development of large electronic health record systems and solutions serving the mental health sector. B Sharp Lanka has worked closely and cohesively with B Sharp since its inception, and will be valuable to VitalHubs M&A and Blockchain strategies. The available expertise and skill of Sri Lankas development sectors is globally recognized, and is a driving factor behind the sectors strong continued growth. Sri Lanka's information technology and business process outsourcing sector tripled exports and doubled the workforce in a little over five years. According to the Sri Lanka Association of Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM), export revenues grew to an estimated $858 million in 2016. The sector grew by 120 percent over the past five years making it one of the highest growth areas in the economy and is the fifth largest export segment. (From Export.gov, 8/9/17) VitalHub intends on continuing to support this growth, as it takes advantage of established, highly-skilled development resources at meaningful cost-savings. VitalHubs offshore development hub holds significant strategic value, enabling cost-effective development that is essential to VitalHubs overall M&A integration strategy. Additionally, as VitalHub builds on the strength of its WellLinc blockchain product offering, the Company intends to form a healthcare blockchain-centric development group as a part of its Sri Lankan division. This will allow the Company to jointly develop and market Blockchain solutions in partnership with VitalHubs established Blockchain development team. This will allow the Company to greatly save on the considerable costs associated with Blockchain development. Since 2008, we have built a strong foundation in healthcare-centric domain expertise, and we believe we are positioned and ready to grow to the next level, said Dilan Rajapakse, General Manager of B Sharp Lanka. "The technology sector is a key ingredient in Sri Lankas economic growth strategy. We are excited to continue working with VitalHub, as we see the opportunity to grow our footprint in the Sri Lankan marketplace, and continue to expand our influence and excellence globally." "A key ingredient of the B Sharp acquisition was the obtainment of a high-experienced and established healthcare-centric, cost-effective development team, said Dan Matlow, CEO of VitalHub. This is an extremely important component in both our M&A strategy, as well as our growth Blockchain strategy. We are very impressed as to the quality of work our Sri Lankan division produces, and look forward to their expansion in the future." ABOUT VITALHUB: VitalHub uses web, mobile, and Blockchain technology to create disruptive SaaS-based healthcare applications that solve industry-wide problems. VitalHub's aim is to create high-value, secured solutions that enable broad interoperability among existing health data systems. VitalHub is primarily focused on working with organizations in the Mental Health and Long-Term Care space, to further extend organization's applications across the continuum of care, powered by the security, efficiency, and trust of Blockchain technology. The Company has a robust two-pronged growth strategy, targeting organic growth opportunities within its product suite, and pursuing an aggressive M&A plan. Currently, VitalHub serves 200+ clients across North America. VitalHub is based in Toronto, Canada, with an offshore development hub in Sri Lanka. The Company is publicly traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "VHI". CAUTIONARY STATEMENT The TSX Venture Exchange has in no way passed upon the merits of the transactions and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. CONTACT INFORMATION Dan Matlow Chief Executive Officer, Director (416) 727-9061 dan.matlow@vitalhub.com Bermuda, 23 March 2018 - On 22 March 2018, the board of directors of Hoegh LNG Holdings Ltd. (Hoegh LNG) approved the 2017 annual financial statements prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The statements are in accordance with the preliminary 2017 annual financial statements published on 28 February 2018. The annual report 2017 will be made available on Hoegh LNG's web site www.hoeghlng.com in April 2018. Hoegh LNG's annual general meeting will be held on 6 June 2018. * * * About Hoegh LNG: Hoegh LNG provides floating energy solutions and operates world-wide with a leading position as owner and operator of floating LNG import terminals; floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), and is one of the most experienced operators of LNG Carriers (LNGCs). Hoegh LNG's vision is to be the industry leader of floating LNG solutions and the strategy is to continue to focus its growth plans in the FSRU market, with the objective of securing long-term contracts with strong counterparties at attractive returns. Hoegh LNG is a Bermuda based company with established presence in Norway, Singapore, the UK, USA, South Korea, Indonesia, Lithuania, Egypt, Colombia, China and Turkey. The company employs approximately 125 office staff and 500 seafarers. Contacts: Sveinung J. S. Sthle, President and Chief Executive Officer, Telephone +47 975 57 402 Steffen Freid, Chief Financial Officer, Telephone +47 975 57 406 Erik Folkeson, Head of IR, Telephone +47 414 21 769 This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act or the Continuing Obligations of Oslo Brs. Head of Space Affairs at the Ministry of the Economy, Marc Serres, has been appointed Vice-Chairman of the ESA Council for the remaining mandate of the current chairship until 30 June 2019. As the first Vice-Chairman of the ESA Council from Luxembourg, he replaces Otylia Trzaskalska-Stroinska, Deputy Director, Innovation Department at the Ministry of the Development of the Republic of Poland after her resignation. Marc Serres graduated with a PhD in Engineering in 2000 at the Catholic University of Louvain. He started his professional carrier in the satellite communications antenna manufacturing industry. Prior to his current position at the Ministry of the Economy, he managed the relationship with ESA for 8 years at the Ministry of Higher Education and Research. The ESA Council is the main governing body of the European Space Agency, representing the Member States either at Ministerial or delegate Level. The Council defines the basic policy guidelines and determines the directions of development of the European Space Agency and the European space industry. At present the agency has 22 member states. Luxembourg officially became a member state of ESA in 2005. At the preceding step to position the country in the space sector, Luxembourg entered into space in 1985 through the creation of the Societe Europeenne des Satellites (SES). The last step taken by the Luxembourg government has been to position the country as a pioneer in the development of the space resources economy under the branding SpaceResources.lu. Luxembourg collaborates with ESA on activities concerning missions to the asteroids, related technologies and space resources exploration and utilization. Press release by the Ministry of the Economy 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 HBCU settlement pending, but lawmakers say its not enough Historically black colleges and universities in Maryland would receive up to $56.9 million annually under legislation, sponsors say, that would restore years of underfunding and program duplication by the state but is unlikely to pass. Proponents of the measure have rejected, as too little, a Feb. 7 offer from Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of a total of $100 million over the next 10 years to a coalition of historically black colleges and universities. ADVERTISEMENT A group of alumni in 2006 sued the state for creating programs at other public institutions that copied and drew students away from similar programs at Marylands historically black schools, such as an accelerated MBA program at Morgan State University and a masters in computer science at Bowie State University. Efforts to mediate have failed. In 2013, U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Blake ruled that Maryland violated the constitutional rights of students at the states four black institutions by duplicating their programs at traditionally white schools. In 2015, Blake proposed that the state establish high-demand programs at the four historically black institutions to attract more diverse students and help with desegregation. In 2016, mediation between the state and the coalition failed. In 2017, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, a Democrat, and Hogan appealed the 2013 decision. Delegate Nick Mosby, D-Baltimore, said this amount is nowhere near enough for the amount of funding needed for these schools. ADVERTISEMENT The states $100 million offer basically equates to about $2.5 million per institution for the next 10 years and unfortunately that is throwing peanuts at a very gigantic problem, said Mosby, who is sponsoring the House legislation. Senate bill sponsor Sen. Joan Carter Conway, D-Baltimore, told Capital News Service this would not be acceptable, because the state owes historically black institutions around $2.5 billion to $3 billion. Conway also said if the amount had been offered as a lump sum of $100 million, then that could change the situation, but spread over time, the amount seems unjust. A pair of matched bills was introduced in the Senate on Jan. 30 and in the House on Feb. 8 but no progress has been made since then. Conway is sponsoring Senate bill 252 and Mosby is sponsoring House bill 450. Similar legislation has been introduced in years past, but was not approved. Conway also introduced Senate bill 827, paired with a bill from Delegate Charles Sydnor III D- Baltimore County, House bill 1062 _ emergency legislation to appoint a special adviser who would develop a remedial plan based on the lawsuit against the state. Delegate Michael Jackson, D-Calvert and Prince Georges, with House bill 1819 and Sen. Barbara Robinson, D-Baltimore, with Senate bill 615, also introduced paired legislation to establish a cybersecurity program at Coppin State and Morgan State that could not be duplicated by other institutions in the state. Both bills continue to work their way through the legislative session. Altogether, these bills would require the state to ensure funding and equity so that the four historically black institutions _ Bowie State University, Morgan State University, Coppin State University and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore _ are comparable and competitive to what are known as the states public traditionally white institutions. The Rev. Kobi Little, chairman of the Political Action Committee for the Maryland State Conference of the NAACP, who spoke at the Feb. 8 hearing, said progress in education equity is needed. We see this as an education issue but also as an economic justice issue, Little told lawmakers. This, my friends, is one of your Martin Luther King moments. It is an opportunity for you to do the right thing. Conway said she doubted the bills would make progress in the General Assembly. This legislature has never been one to do the correct thing for these schools, Conway told Capital News Service. Morgan State President David Wilson, who testified at the Senate bill hearing on Jan. 30, said students ability to pay is a big issue at his school. Lack of financial aid is the greatest barrier to getting students across the finish line in record time, said Wilson. Financial aid would alleviate the barrier of students who simply dont have the money to keep going in college. Wilson told Capital News Service that at Morgan State, 90 percent of students receive financial aid and 56 percent qualify for the Pell Grant, a government subsidy that helps students pay for college. He also said that 36 percent receive the maximum amount from the Pell Grant, which means that families cant contribute anything to their childs education. Wilson also said many students maintain a recurring cycle of dropping out of school to work a semester and then coming back to continue their degree. Students like Ryan Washington, a senior at Bowie State, told Capital News Service that more money donated to historically black colleges and universities would help students to pursue careers _ especially ones that dont have the same resources as traditionally white institutions. More programs, more development on campus and more buildings offering more experience to students, Washington said. If the funding legislation passes, schools payments would start at $4.9 million for the 2019 fiscal year and increase annually. By the 2022 fiscal year, the four historically black institutions would receive a total of $56.9 million each year. This bill would also establish certain student and faculty ratios. Former NAACP Political Action Chair Marvin Cheatham Sr. said he is doing everything he can to help pass the bill. This has to do with what is in the best interest for students, he told Capital News Service. Cheatham also said in his testimony on Feb. 8 that $100 million doesnt come close to whats needed for HBIs. Ill never, ever stop filing it until its rectified, said Conway, who named the legislation The Blount-Rawlings-Britt HBI Comparability Program Bill in honor of its original creators, former lawmakers Sen. Clarence Blount, D-Baltimore, Delegate Pete Rawlings, D-Baltimore, and Sen. Gwendolyn Britt, D-Prince Georges, who are all deceased. I intend to file it every year (until) we fix it. Hogans office declined to comment outside of his Feb. 7 letter, citing the pending legal matter, a representative told Capital News Service on Friday. United States President Donald Trump has signed an order calling for up to $60 billion in new tariffs on Chinese imports. The order seeks to punish China for, in his words, the theft of American intellectual property, including inventions and research. The action also calls for restrictions on the transfer of technology to China. Robert Lighthizer is the U.S. Trade Representative. He said that intellectual property is an important part of the trade problem with China. Our view is that we have a very serious problem of losing our intellectual property which is really the biggest single advantage of the American economy, in my opinion, is our intellectual property and our ability to generate new intellectual property. Trump blamed the trade imbalance between the two countries for the loss of American jobs. He said, It is the largest deficit of any country in the history of our world. Chinas trade surplus with the U.S. last year was about $375 billion. Trump said that with the increased tariffs he hopes to cut the trade deficit with China by $100 billion. The administration said the president will direct the U.S. trade office to publish a list of proposed tariffs for public comment within 15 days. The Treasury Department will also come up with a list of restrictions on Chinese investment. Ahead of Trumps announcement, China warned that it will take all necessary measures to defend itself. The actions raised the possibility of a trade war between the two biggest economies and sent global stock markets lower. China reacts Chinese officials say the U.S. trade deficit with China is the result of U.S. trade policy. Chinese officials note that the U.S. bars the export of many high-technology products. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the products traded have unequal values. She said, How many soybeans should China buy that are equal to one Boeing aircraft? Or, if China buys a certain number of Boeing aircraft should the U.S. buy an equal number of C919s (Chinese aircraft)? U.S. agriculture exports to China are almost $20 billion. Most of that number is shipments of soybean. If China were to target soybeans, it would hurt farm states like Iowa, the home state of U.S. Ambassador to China, Terry Branstad. Boeing has said it expects China to buy aircraft worth $1.1 trillion by 2036. But China is also developing its own C919 passenger plane. The Chinese foreign ministry added that it hopes to hold useful talks with the U.S. Hua said the goal is to reach what she called a win-win solution to settle trade issues. Concerns over a trade war increase Mary Lovely is an expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. She told the AP the possible tariffs are a very big deal. She said, The Chinese see them as a major threat and do not want a costly trade war. American businesses, including Walmart, Apple and other technology companies, also oppose a trade war. Forty-five American trade associations warned that tariffs will raise the price of goods for Americans, hurt jobs and financial markets. Scott Kennedy is with the Centers for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. He told VOA, over the short-term, that is true. But, if such a policy could get China to reduce its barriers to trade, American buyers and businesses would gain while increased trade would also be good for China. Trump said Thursdays action would be one of many. The U.S. recently placed tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum imports. Some countries, including Canada and Mexico, are not subject to the new taxes. Im Mario Ritter. Steve Herman reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted it for VOA Learning English with additional AP and Reuters material. Hai Do was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story intellectual property n. property such as inventions, research and media that carry rights for the owner to use, sell or gain from the property transfer v. to hand over, to move from one place to another tremendous adj. very much unilateral adj. something done by only one side obligations n. things required by rule or law tariffs n. taxes on imported or exported good or services We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has admitted the company made mistakes in dealing with the private data of its users. In a Facebook post Wednesday, Zuckerberg apologized and said the social media service is already taking steps to prevent misuse of user data in the future. The good news is that the most important actions to prevent this from happening again today, we have already taken years ago, Zuckerberg said. But we also made mistakes, there's more to do, and we need to step up and do it. The apology came after news reports said a British company was able to secretly collect private information on more than 50 million Facebook users. The information was reportedly given to the company, Cambridge Analytica, by a researcher at Cambridge University named Alexksandr Kogan. Facebook says Kogan gathered the private data in 2013 through an app that asked users a series of questions for what was described as a personality test. Zuckerberg said about 300,000 Facebook users signed up to use the app. Kogan collected information from those users and their Facebook friends. Reports say he later shared that information with Cambridge Analytica, without the users approval. The company uses a method known as psychographs. This uses information about a persons behavior to influence their decisions. Cambridge Analytica data was used during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The company worked for then-candidate Donald Trump. However, a Trump campaign official said the campaign used Republican data sources, not Cambridge Analytica, for voter information. Zuckerberg says the company took action in 2014 to prevent app developers from abusing Facebook users data. One of the main measures prevented apps from collecting data about a persons Facebook friends unless a friend also used the app. He said that since 2014, Facebook has required app developers to get approval from Facebook before they request any sensitive data from people. When the company learned from reporters in 2015 that Kogan had shared the data with Cambridge Analytica, Zuckerberg said Facebook immediately banned Kogans app. It also sought confirmation from Kogan and Cambridge Analytica that all the private data had been deleted from its records. At the time, Zuckerberg said Cambridge Analytica confirmed the deletions. But he said he learned through news reports that the deletions may not have happened. When he found this out, he said he banned the company from using any Facebook services and launched a new investigation to find out what happened. This was a breach of trust between Kogan, Cambridge Analytica and Facebook, he wrote in his Facebook post. But it was also a breach of trust between Facebook and the people who share their data with us and expect us to protect it. We need to fix that. Zuckerberg also spoke to the New York Times newspaper. He said he now believes Facebook clearly should have demanded more proof that the data had been deleted. Zuckerberg also told the Times that since founding Facebook in 2004, he [has] made all kinds of different mistakes, both technical- and business-related. In an interview with CNN, Zuckerberg said he was sorry that Facebook users have to deal with the issue and admitted making other mistakes. Zuckerberg said he had "probably launched more products that have failed than most people will in their lifetime." But he added that he has learned a lot from his mistakes. "That's the commitment that I try to have inside our company, and for our community." Zuckerberg said Facebook plans to complete a full investigation into whether the data has been deleted and to identify any wrongdoing at Cambridge Analytica. He added that British officials are also looking into the companys actions. Several U.S. lawmakers have said they plan to call on Zuckerberg to appear in Congress to answer questions about privacy issues. One of Facebooks critics over data privacy is Brian Acton, the co-founder of WhatsApp. Facebook bought the company in 2014 for at least $16 billion. Acton wrote a short message on Twitter this week urging people to stop using Facebook. It is time. #deletefacebook, his post said. Acton announced last year he was leaving WhatsApp to start his own foundation. Facebooks financial health has suffered greatly since news of the privacy issue broke. Reuters news agency says the company has lost more than $50 billion in market value since last Friday. Im Bryan Lynn. Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story app n. computer program that performs a special function personality n. set of emotional qualities, ways of behaving, etc., that makes a person different from other people sensitive adj. highly personal delete v. to remove (something, such as words, pictures, or computer files) from a document, recording, computer, etc. breach n. action that breaks a rule, agreement, or law commitment n. promise or firm decision to do something foundation n. an organization that is created and supported with money that people give in order to do something that helps society In 2003, the United States military launched an operation against forces loyal to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Two days before U.S. President George W. Bush approved plans for the attack, his national security advisor, Condoleezza Rice, contacted the Russian government. Russian officials raised objections and offered arguments against the invasion of Iraq. But even though we disapproved, we didnt leak what Rice told us, or what was planned, a government insider noted. The insider said the discussions show how tense relations between the two sides are now. His comments came after Britain accused the Russian government of approving the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in Britain. The insider said Russian leader Vladimir Putin now believes relations between Russia and the West are permanently damaged and cannot be repaired. Back then in 2003, even though relations between us were strained, there remained a level of trust, the insider said. There is none now there is zero trust between Russia and the West. He rejected the British claims of the Russian leadership approving a nerve-agent attack on former spy Sergei Skripal. The Russian insider spoke to VOA on the condition that his name not be used in this report. The man occupied a leadership position in the government of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin. He then became an important member of the team of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He remains connected to the Russian government, but no longer has an official position. Disagreements between Russia and the West The insider does not expect an improvement in relations between his country and the West any time soon. His comments are like those of the Russian president. They suggest that any attempt to reset ties is unlikely during Putins next term in office. He (Putin) doesn't think it is possible and he has given up trying, the insider said. He pointed to the expansion of NATO to parts of the former Soviet Union as a critical event in the relationship. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania all joined the alliance in 2004. Another major event, he said, came with Western objections to Russia establishing closer ties with other former Soviet republics. This led to a face-to-face argument between Putin and Condoleezza Rice during a 2006 meeting. By that time, Rice was the U.S. Secretary of State. She told Putin the former Soviet republics were now independent states and should make their own decisions without what she saw as Russian threats. Then came the political unrest in Ukraine in late 2013 and early 2014. It led to the ouster of the countrys president, Viktor Yanukovych, a Putin ally. Russian officials blame western governments for inciting what is now called the Maidan unrest. They deny those protests were a popular uprising against Yanukovych. Now what? the Russian insider asked. The Ukraine problem wont be solved for a century, the conflict in the Donbas region will remain frozen and Crimea will remain Russian. And so are we going to remain hostile to each other two nuclear-armed nations with their missiles pointed at each other? That is very dangerous, he said. A return to the Cold War? Russian officials blame the West for the worsening relationship. They are comparing it to the Cold War when western countries were competing against the Soviet Union and its allies. Officials say the return to Cold War-like relations and the sense of pessimism show just how difficult it will be to repair ties. They say the United States and Europe are likely to remain unfriendly as Russia reacts to what it sees as a U.S.-led plot to limit its influence. For example, Russia is active in Syria and has tried to influence events in the Middle East. Some people in the Kremlin hoped it would be different with [U.S. President] Donald Trump. But I wasnt holding my breath, the insider said. The Skripal poisoning Earlier this week, Britains Daily Telegraph newspaper published an opinion piece by British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. He wrote about the Skripal poisoning. Johnson described the nerve-agent attack in Salisbury, England as one in a long line of hostile Russian acts towards the West. On Monday, European Union foreign ministers expressed their support of Britain over the nerve-agent attack. They called on Russia to provide urgent answers to questions raised by the British government. The ministers stopped short of backing Britains claim that Russia was responsible for the attack. However, they said took the British findings extremely seriously. Among other aggressive behavior, say Western officials, is Russian involvement in Western politics and elections, such as the 2016 U.S. presidential election. They point to Russian financing and support of populist parties and increasing use of social media campaigns as part of an effort to weaken the European Union. On March 15, the Trump administration blamed Russian agents for carrying out a series of attacks on computers and computer systems. They say these cyber attackers targeted American and European nuclear power stations and other utility infrastructure. Im Lucija Millonig. And I'm Bryan Lynn. Jamie Dettmer reported this story for VOANews.com. George Grow adapted his report for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story though adj. short for although strained adj. involving or related to stretching or pulling something region n. an area pessimism n. a belief that bad things will happen in the future Kremlin n. the name for the headquarters of the Russian government utility adj. of or involving a public service, such as lighting, power or water infrastructure n. the system of public works (workers, buildings or equipment) for a country We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. 6 hours ago Beleagured Lordstown Motors May Be Showing Green Shoots, But Use Caution I'm not usually interested in beaten-down companies, especially those whose injuries are largely self-inflicted, but Lordstown Motors (NASDAQ: RIDE), which caused its own stumbles, may be showing signs of life. The electric vehicle maker went public via a SPAC in August, 2020. Read Article China Hydroelectric Corporation is a developer, owner and operator of small hydroelectric power projects in China. The projects are located in Zhejiang, Fujian, Yunnan and Sichuan. As of December 31, 2012, wholly owns 22 operating hydroelectric power projects and have controlling interests in three operating hydroelectric power projects. In March 2012, the Company sold 100% of the Yuanping hydroelectric power project. In April 2013, the Company sold the Yuheng hydroelectric power project, a 30 megawatt (MW) project located in Fujian province. In July 2014, the Company announced that it has completed the merger with CPT Wyndham Sub Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of CPT Wyndham Holdings Ltd. Read More Wall Street analysts have given Botswana Diamonds a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but Botswana Diamonds wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. Toyota Motor Corp. engages in the manufacture and sale of motor vehicles and parts. It operates through the following segments: Automotive, Financial Services, and All Other. The Automotive segment designs, manufactures, assembles and sells passenger cars, minivans, trucks, and related vehicle parts and accessories. It is also involved in the development of intelligent transport systems. The Financial Services segment offers purchase or lease financing to Toyota vehicle dealers and customers. It also provides retail leasing through lease contracts purchase by dealers. The All Others segment deals with the design and manufacture and sale of housing, telecommunications and other businesses. The company was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda on August 28, 1937 and is headquartered in Toyota, Japan. Read More The Weir Group PLC produces and sells highly engineered original equipment. It operates in two segments, Minerals and ESCO. The Minerals segment offers slurry handling equipment and associated aftermarket support services for abrasive high-wear applications used in the mining and oil sands markets. The ESCO segment provides ground engaging tools for surface mining and infrastructure. The company offers its products under the Accumin, Aspir, Cavex, Delta Industrial, Enduron, Floway, GEHO, Gemex, Hydrau-Flo, Isodry, Isogate, Lewis, Linatex, Multiflo, Synertrex, Trio, Vulco, FusionCast, and Warman brands. It operates in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific, Australia, South America, the Middle East, Europe, and FSU. The Weir Group PLC was founded in 1871 and is headquartered in Glasgow, the United Kingdom. Read More African leaders signed what is being called the largest free trade agreement since the creation of the World Trade Organization. The deal creates a continental market of 1.2 billion people, with a combined gross domestic product of more than USD3.4 trillion. A major goal is to boost intra-African trade and rely less on the volatility of commodity prices that affect many exports. The aim is to have agreement, signed by 44 of the African Unions 55 member states, enter into force by the end of this year, said the chair of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat. States now must ratify the deal, but the number of countries needed to put the agreement into force has not yet been agreed upon. Our peoples, our business community and our youth in particular cannot wait any longer to see the lifting of the barriers that divide our continent, hinder its economic takeoff and perpetuate misery, even though Africa is abundantly endowed with wealth, Mahamat said. He urged strong follow-up to confound those who, outside Africa, continue to think, with barely concealed condescension, that our decisions will never materialize. Concerns remain. The president of Nigeria, one of Africas largest economies, skipped the summit amid trade unions objections. We will not agree to anything that will undermine local manufacturers and entrepreneurs, or that may lead to Nigeria becoming a dumping ground for finished goods, President Muhammadu Buhari said through his office. And while Africas largest economies are expected to benefit most from the deal that progressively eliminates tariffs and other trade barriers, some of them worry that more people from poorer countries will migrate their way. But some of the continents strongest and fastest-growing economies, including Ghana, Kenya and Ethiopia, signed the deal. South Africas new president has expressed support but his signing was not announced during the event. Africa is stronger when we work together, said Nigers President Mahamadou Issoufou, who led the free trade effort. AP The government is planning to build not just a nursing home for elderly people on Hengqin island, as was revealed previously, but a neighborhood dedicated to the senior citizens. The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam, went yesterday to the Legislative Assembly (AL) for a meeting dominated by elderly-related issues. We have an idea maybe we can use Hengqin island to build a all area or a neighborhood for the elderly, Tam said. We are still waiting for the master plan for the Greater Bay [area] but maybe we can even have more space in other [neighboring] regions to do this job. The focus is to work in favor of a decent life for the senior citizens, Tam explained. In the future, and if that is the wish of the elderlies, they can live in mainland China, at one of the nine regions of the Greater Bay Area. People might consider this as an option, Tam said, noting that mainland life is cheaper and nursing homes have great quality and are very well equipped. The secretary presented statistical data on the current occupancy of the elderly homes existing in the region. In Macau there are currently 21 homes and from those, 11 are subsidized by the government, presenting a total of 2015 beds in total, the secretary said. There are currently 1,514 elderlies that are housed in those places, which means that the occupancy is currently at 71 percent. For private houses it [the occupancy rate] is 85 percent, so generally I would say that there is still space to house more people. Ho Ion Sang immediately queried the data. Seventy percent occupancy? So why is it needed to wait for more than a year to be accepted in a home? he asked, giving as an example the elderly home located in the Areia Preta district. In addition Ho said, In the private [sector the homes] cost as much as MOP10,000 and these nursing homes do not provide a large number of the services [needed]. How are we going to solve this [problem]? Is the government going to give subsidies to the families take care of their elderlies? Ho asked. Ella Lei was in agreement, noting that she has received many complaints from citizens about the long wait to access such facilities, always over one year. Agnes Lam recalled the huge amount of money that the government has been spending on elderly activity centers, money that according to Lam could be put to better use in daycare centers that are very different from activity centers as well as in keeping the elderlies in their own homes. According to Lam, the government can provide a range of services [to the elderly] through the daycare centers avoiding that the elderlies rush to queue up in the hospitals and healthcare centers, adding, Neighborhood clinics also can provide these services. Explaining the figures aired by Tam, the director of the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) Vong Yim Mui said that the formalities take some time but she guarantees that everyday that are new vacancies opening. We are trying to make use of the facilities we have as much as possible, she added. This year we will have another large size home opening that will feature [another] 300 bed spaces, additionally, there will be two more until 2020 with another 300 beds in total. The director of the IAS also noted that the government is doing all that is possible to find more places to install homes and recalled that in the neighboring region of Hong Kong, the waiting period is of three years or more, noting that the IAS will continue to provide all support to the families and elderlies while they are waiting for their vacancy in a home. Mainland is exception for govt contribution to pensions During yesterdays session, lawmaker Ho Ion Sang questioned the government on the special exception granted to pensioners residing in mainland, who may still receive the governments contribution to the individual providence accounts of the residents. The law states that in order to be eligible to receive such special granting from the government, residents of Macau need to be in the MSAR for a period of at least 183 days in a year. An exception was considered on such regulations to allow Macau permanent residents that are living in the mainland to continue to receive the payments even if they do not spend such time (or any time) in the territory. According to Ho, who cited unhappy citizens that seek his help, other residents in the same situation but currently residing in Hong Kong or Taiwan cannot benefit from such an exception, which is only granted to the mainland. Ho urged the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture to explain why this special treatment is granted only to the mainland. Tam replied by saying that over 40 percent of the population of Macau was born in the mainland, which reflects the close bonds [between the two]. According to Chinese traditions noted in the quote, fallen leaves return to the roots, it is natural that these people want to return to their birthplace after they retire. Ho was not pleased with the reply noting, We must review this. We must include all of China. We are in a policy of full integration, he argued. New system to ease F &B licensing issues THE DIRECTOR of the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau (SAFP), Kou Peng Kuan, said that in reviewing of the laws that regulate the licensing Food and Beverage (F&B) establishments, the bureau is implementing a new system of temporary licenses that will allow establishments to start operating conditionally while the licensing process is ongoing. Responding to an outcry over a ninefold hike in non-resident delivery charges, the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture may have been confident last week that his behind-closed-doors assurance to domestic helpers would quell the brewing discord over the issue. Alexis Tam may have thought his concession, a threefold hike for some of the lowest earners in Macau, was the ideal compromise between dissatisfied migrant worker groups and a Health Bureau intent on raising the charges. But his intervention has raised far more questions than it could possibly answer. Under the proposals latest incarnation, non-resident expectant mothers who face financial difficulties will be asked to pay a discounted rate for delivery services at the public hospital. If implemented, the proposal would affect an unknown fraction of the approximately 200 non-resident mothers who give birth at the public hospital each year, according to official statistics. The 200 non-resident mothers account for just 8 percent of all pregnant women served by the hospital. Migrant worker groups welcomed the partial exemption, without which their members would have faced charges equal to up to four months salary, depending on the delivery procedure. But for lawyer Sergio de Almeida Correia, the move is still highly discriminatory and possibly unprecedented. A HOUSE DIVIDED The public sector is also divided over the proposal as several entities have offered contradictory accounts of what it will entail and presented markedly different visions for its implementation. It began with a statement from the Health Bureau in late February which revealed that non-resident expectant mothers would soon have to pay fees nine times higher than the current rate for giving birth at the public hospital. This prompted an outcry from migrant worker groups who claimed that the move was discriminatory, cruel and would cause some women to opt for cheaper, unsafe deliveries. Then Secretary Tam, meeting with several of the groups, advanced that the ninefold increase was never intended to be applied to domestic workers and promised that they would face a threefold hike instead. But a statement released by the Secretarys Office earlier this week seemed to acknowledge that the decision to exempt some non-resident workers had come about in response to public opinion. It said that the Secretary, after consideration and consultation with local organizations, had decided to lower the increase in delivery charges not just for domestic helpers, but for all low-income non-resident workers. There are ever more questions to be answered at this critical juncture in the policys formulation and ever fewer government representatives willing to answer them. Replying to a Times enquiry, the Health Bureau said this week that it was unwilling to comment further on the proposal. The Office of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture did not reply at all. PROMISED TOO MANY, TOO MUCH At the center of the confusion is Secretary Tam. His promise to migrant workers initially caused several days of uncertainty as the media attempted to verify his comments with representatives of government departments who were themselves unsure of them. I wonder if there is any plan from Secretary Alexis Tam, because the image that comes out after everything that was written by the Health Bureau and said by the Secretary is that we are facing a movement of total indefiniteness [uncertainty], Correia told the Times this week. Correias comments bring to mind a 2016 evaluation of the social affairs commentator Larry So, who said that Tam had promised too much [] and now cant live up to those promises. I sincerely hope that he thinks before he speaks [in future], added So at the time. In fact, he should think twice. Speaking to the Times yesterday, So said that he still holds this view. To a certain extent, he [Tam] has promised quite a lot without much thought behind it. He is trying to make a sound bite, [but] behind the sound bite there needs to be more detail, he said. Tam needs to be more transparent. UNANSWERED QUESTIONS As to what constitutes low- income, the government has not disclosed the threshold level, nor specified whether it will be applied to income alone, or some combination of income and savings. It is also unclear whether the means testing will only reflect the mothers financial situation, or whether the income or capital of a spouse will also be taken into consideration. What is known from the Secretarys comments is that non-resident workers with financial difficulties would have to apply to the Health Bureau and the Social Welfare Bureau in order to benefit from the lower rates. This means that the situation of applicants and their entitlement to reduced hospital charges is likely to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. For Correia, the policy raises larger questions about the future of Macaus healthcare. He said the discriminatory approach threatened to affect more than pricing at the public hospital, and could even affect the availability of medicines and quality of medical care. HEALTHCARE FOR ALL, FREE OF CHARGE It is also not known whether low-earning non-residents would actually be charged one-third of the cost borne by other non-residents, or whether they would be charged the full amount with the government covering the two-thirds balance. There is an important difference. While the governments of many jurisdictions subsidize important services in health and education for those without the means to pay for them, charging different rates to people who hold the same legal status in Macau (all of whom are non-residents) constitutes discrimination. This can be avoided only if all non-residents are charged the same amount, with the government stepping in to to cover the financial difference between a default rate and a reduced rate for low-earners. Unless this is the case, Tams amendment to the Health Bureaus proposal may breach several international agreements. For example, it may be in contravention of at least the spirit of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to which the Macau SAR is a party. Article 2 of the Covenant states that parties should guarantee such rights without discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. The article continues with a proviso that, developing countries, with due regard to human rights and their national economy, may determine to what extent they would guarantee the economic rights recognized in the present Covenant to non-nationals but makes no mention of intra-group discrimination among non-nationals. Further, a 2001 report submitted to the United Nations International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination by China, but based on information supplied by Macau states that the MSAR will guarantee universal and free health care for the entire population of Macau as per Decree-Law 24/86/M. It also specifies that health care should be free of charge for certain groups of people including pregnant women and that emergency health care provided at the Conde S Januario Hospital (a public hospital) is completely free of charge. Correia told the Times that in his opinion the price should be the same for everybody and the government should pay the difference for those who cannot afford it. Though the principle should be [that] those who can [pay], pay according to their earnings, he continued, in Macau, according to the reports sent by China to international organizations, access to health services [is] free to [the whole] population. The MSAR raised the Base Rate of the Discount Window by 25 basis points to 2.0 percent yesterday, the Monetary Authority of Macao said. As the pataca is linked to the Hong Kong dollar, the movements of policy rates in Hong Kong and Macau should be basically consistent in order to maintain the effective operation of the linked exchange rate system, it said in a statement. Therefore, Macau banks will adjust their deposit and lending rates at the retail level, according to market developments. Meanwhile, local banks should assess the impacts of interest-rate adjustments on their operating positions and properly manage the potential risk, the statement said. Arts Festival shows to have additional performances Some shows included in the 29th Macau Arts Festival will have additional performances, the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) announced yesterday. According to the IC, additional performances will be offered for the most sought-after shows, namely Sunset at the Shipyards, Migration, Sponge and When All Was Green, which will be on sale from 10 a.m. on Sunday. The Arts Festival will be held from April 27 to May 31. Bidding opens for Customs office refurbishment Bidding for a project to refurbish the office of the Customs Services Maritime Inspection Department opened this week. The Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau received 24 bids for the project, which is expected to start in the third quarter of this year and last up to 300 working days. The office is a six-story building at Ilha Verde. The works will consist mainly of changing tiles and reinstalling some equipment and facilities. Greater protection sought for Lai Chi Vun shipyards The Association of Synergy of Macao has delivered its opinion regarding the evaluation of the classification of Lai Chi Vun shipyards. The association is proposing that the government should list the mountain and water bodies near the Lai Chi Vun shipyards as a buffer area in order to protect these mountain and water areas and to protect the shipyard area as a whole. The association also recommends that the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau establish a maintenance and renovation plan together with the Cultural Affairs Bureau regarding cultural relics and architecture. The plot of the popular political thriller is well known: simply put, it delves into a conspiracy to install a puppet leader in a state in order to serve an external power. It was staged in the early Cold War years between the USA and the then-USSR. We are witnessing our own version of the plot in Macaus shadowy works concerning the installation of the next Chief Executive. Thus, Ho Iat Seng. The highest-ranking Macau delegate to the National Peoples Congress (NPC) said in a fashion, that he will be running for CE (in 2019): I wont deny it. The local intelligentsia took it as a nod from Beijing or at least from the most conservative wing in the higher echelons of the one-party government that rules China when it comes to controlling Macau. Moreover, Ho announced it in Beijing on the sidelines of the 13th NPC session where he was elected for the respective standing committee, which provided an aura of gravitas to the putative candidacy. In the shadows and silhouettes of power plays, Ho Iat Seng seems for the first time in years prepared (or empowered) to run for the job. This week, he actually went the extra mile in the theatrics of politics: he spoke unusually vigorously against the visits of secretaries of the local executive to Beijing during the two sessions (NPC and CPPCC), considering them inappropriate, according to media dispatches from Beijing. [The Macau secretaries] ended up visiting ministry and commission officials [in Beijing] merely for the sake of doing so. They achieved nothing, he said as a reprimand. (The secretaries that travelled to Beijing were Lionel Leong, Alexis Tam and Wong Sio Chak, precisely the names that are being proffered as possible candidates; more so the first one.) Hoje Macau newspaper interpreted Hos words on a front page this week as Chiefesque messages. And rightly so. In politics what matters is what it appears to be. The question is what is Hos mandate from Heaven (if he has one)? The four years Ho Iat Seng presided over the Legislative Assembly (AL) went practically unnoticed. He was not a commanding voice in the presidents seat and he was never a counterbalance to the executive like others before him. Under him, the AL was a pure rubber-stamp legislature. When faced with a real political issue (the suspension proposal of elected lawmaker Sulu Sou and the sad episodes that followed at the Nam Van Lakes house), he was involved in, or at least allowed, each of the controversial procedures that led to the unprecedented vote to suspend the young and promising legislator from the AL. By doing so, Ho Iat Seng showed little respect for the rule of law in a position where he should have been its ultimate guardian. His mandate would be from those in Beijing who dread the autonomy of Macau and the freedoms of the current system, and dream of 2049 coming next year. Who will he be serving, then? A Malaysian police investigator said yesterday the absence of four North Korean suspects believed to have orchestrated the killing of their leaders half brother didnt cause prejudice against the two women who are on trial. Defense lawyers say Doan Thi Huong of Vietnam and Siti Aisyah of Indonesia are scapegoats in the death of Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpurs airport on Feb. 13 last year. Prosecutors say four North Korean suspects recruited the women and provided them with the banned VX nerve agent used to kill Kim before fleeing the country on the same day. Chief police investigator Wan Azirul Nizam Che Wan Aziz disagreed that the absence of the four North Koreans had caused prejudice. Because in this case, the perpetrators who committed the killing are the two accused, he told the court. He denied that police didnt take adequate measures to pursue the four men nor that his investigations were incomplete without the testimony of the North Koreans. He said Interpol had issued an alert for the four men to be arrested based on Malaysias request. The court has heard that the women thought they were playing a harmless prank for a hidden camera show but prosecutors contend the women knew they were handling poison. The two women were charged to have common intention with the four North Koreans to murder Kim. They could face the death penalty if convicted, but not if they lacked intent to kill. Defense lawyers, who are cross-examining Wan Azirul, sought to show that the police official was biased and sloppy in his investigations and failed to probe aspects that could bolster the womens defense that they had no intent to kill Kim. They also challenged Wan Aziruls earlier testimony that Huong was aggressive when she smeared Kims face with VX and that she had walked very quickly to the washroom after that, saying that he wasnt an expert in human behavior. The investigation was incomplete, biased and one-sided. The real culprits have left and efforts to bring them back or find them were zero. At the end of the day, my client is a scapegoat, Huongs lawyer Naran Singh told The Associated Press. Singh said the four men should be the ones in the dock, and the two women should be prosecution witnesses against them. Salim Bashir, another lawyer for Huong, said the fact that security videos showed Huong appeared to be touching her hair briefly after approaching Kim and going to a toilet farther away to wash her hands showed an innocent mind and not the conduct of someone who knew she had poison on her hand. The trial resumes April 2. Kim, the eldest son in the family that has ruled North Korea since its founding, had been living abroad for years after falling out of favor. It is thought he was assassinated because he was perceived to be a threat to the rule of his half brother, Kim Jong Un. Malaysian officials have never officially accused North Korea of involvement in Kims death and have made it clear they dont want the trial politicized. AP In the dead of night last month, two tanker ships pulled alongside each other in the East China Sea. One was a North Korean vessel, the other was the Belize-flagged Wan Heng 11. Lights on both ships were blazing, arousing a Japanese spy planes suspicion they were carrying out a ship- to-ship transfer banned under United Nations sanctions imposed over North Koreas nuclear weapons program. Records for the Wan Heng and a number of other ships identified in recent U.N. and U.S. sanctions blacklists and Japanese surveillance reports reveal ties to Hong Kong through front companies based here. The findings underscore rising concern over the southern Chinese financial capitals role as a nexus for North Koreas underground business network, which has led the U.S. government to urge Hong Kong authorities to crack down. The corporate registration agents that set up these front companies present a key vulnerability in the implementation of financial sanctions, said a report by the United Nations Panel of Experts on North Korean sanctions released on March 16. Researchers say North Korea relies on front companies acting as middlemen to mask its overseas trading links, many of which involve China. Successively tighter rounds of sanctions aim to deprive North Korea of key sources of revenue by choking off its ability to smuggle exports, including through oil transfers between ships on the high seas. Hong Kong, an Asian business hub, is staying highly vigilant about activities and suspected cases of sanctions violations and is looking into the cases involving Hong Kong-registered companies, the government said in a statement. The city often tops business and economic freedom rankings, based on criteria that include ease of setting up business. That can also facilitate illicit dealings. The city hosts a vast industry of company formation experts who can register corporations quickly and with minimum information from their clients. Many operate out of anonymous, one-room offices with as little as a single employee. They promise to set up a firm within a day for clients who can apply online if theyre not in Hong Kong. Out of 11 companies based outside North Korean named in a U.S. Treasury sanctions list last month, two each were in China and Taiwan and one each in Singapore and Panama. The remaining five were in Hong Kong. The U.N. report said separate investigations of a Singaporean company and Glocom, identified as North Korean military equipment supplier, found evasion tactics included the use of Hong Kong front companies. Hong Kong has imposed new rules aimed at preventing money laundering that took effect this month that require licensing of corporate registration agents. Companies also must now identify and disclose their beneficial owners, but only to law enforcement authorities. Its not unusual in itself for a company to operate out of secretarial office, said David Webb, a Hong Kong corporate governance activist. But he says lax corporate disclosure rules give Hong Kong a sort of Monaco of the East image, as a funny place for shady people. A review of Hong Kong company filings and shipping databases revealed a murky web of company names and employees working out of a variety of unlikely locations. One U.S.-sanctioned company, Liberty Shipping Co., shared an address with its registration firm in Hong Kongs Wan Chai district. A woman at the office, which had yet another name on the door, said it had ceased doing business with Liberty Shipping and didnt have contact information. She added that it dealt with the company through an intermediary she wouldnt name. Liberty Shippings annual return showed that its director lived in Dalian in Chinas northeast but didnt provide a phone number. In the Wan Hengs case, shipping databases give the rusty tankers registered owner and commercial manager as Zhejiang Wanheng Shipping Co., with a care-of address for an apparently related company, Hong Kong Wanheng International Trading Ltd., at an apartment in The Beaumont, a suburban luxury apartment development. No one answered the apartments buzzer on a recent visit. Corporate registration records gave a second office address in Hong Kongs North Point neighborhood. A woman who answered the office door, which didnt have a sign, said Wanhengs director, Yip Kwok-man, was not in. He just uses the office as a nameplate. Its not convenient to give you any more information, she said, refusing to provide her name, adding that she and three other women in the office werent his staff. A woman listed as Wanhengs company secretary said she was recruited by a friend. But she said she didnt work for the company anymore because it was too much hassle, without being more specific. Yips home address in Wanhengs annual return turned out to be a modest one-bedroom unit in an aging public housing complex in the citys Tsing Yi suburb. No one was home when the AP visited and a neighbor said the resident there had a different surname. A further search of records found a second address for Yip in an upscale waterfront apartment block in the Sai Wan Ho district. A man who answered the intercom didnt respond when asked in both Mandarin and Cantonese whether Yip Kwok- man was there.Kelvin Chan, Hong Kong, AP The Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) hopes that a breakthrough can occur regarding goods transactions from Portuguese- speaking countries to mainland China within this year, IPIM executive director Gloria Batalha Ung said yesterday, on the sidelines of the celebration ceremony of the two-year anniversary of the Portuguese-speaking Countries Food Products Exhibition Centre. According to Ung, many food products from Portuguese- speaking countries are already available for purchase in mainland China. However, the Macau trade authority hopes to expand the number of avenues for traders of these products. In particular, the Macau government expects food products from these countries to directly reach mainland Chinas business operators online. There are no problems for these goods, which are in the tax-free warehouse in mainland China, to be used in e-commerce. We hope that there can be a breakthrough this year, in terms of B2C, said Ung, adding we started negotiations last year. Up until now, food products including wine, chocolate cookies, and olive oil from Portuguese-speaking countries have registered strong sales in mainland China, Ung revealed. We have been discussing a quarantine and inspection method, said Ung, indicating that the Macau government is expending efforts to make it possible for these goods to only go through the government authoritys inspections and other administrative procedures. Regarding the food exhibition center, so far, over 25,000 food products are included in the Portuguese-speaking countries food products online system. Many of them are from Portugal and Brazil, Ung said, 36 percent are products from Portugal. Over 3,000 food products have been collected at the exhibition center, with over 1,200 products displayed daily. In total, Macau has seven Portuguese-speaking countries food products in exhibition centers; mainland China has 23. It is not just about the products themselves. There is also information and stories about the producers, Ung explained, adding that all these aspects are included in the foods descriptions. This year, IPIM will launch a promotional program related to offline services concerning these products. Promotional activities in local communities will also be arranged in Macau. In the mainland, business-matching fairs have been planned, together with exhibitions. Regarding these promotional activities in local communities, Ung noted that a number of activities, including cooking classes featuring Portuguese-speaking countries styled cuisine, would be offered to local communities. During the ceremony, three business agreements were signed among a number of business operators. Sam Zhong, representative of Qiaqun Imported Commodity Street, one of the companies that signed business agreements yesterday, said that Macau, through its Portuguese-speaking countries food products showrooms, can provide companies with the latest information about recent goods. When talking about the mainland market, Zhong said that in mainland China, the market share of wines from Portugal is growing year by year because its quality and prices are competitive. The first Portuguese-speaking Countries Food Products Exhibition Center opened on March 31 2016, in the Tap Seac Square business centre, occupying an area of 390 square meters. Philippine police said they killed 13 drug suspects and arrested more than 100 suspected dealers and criminals in 24 hours of raids in a province with a record of bloody crackdowns. The suspects were killed in gunbattles with police in a city and eight towns in Bulacan province just north of Manila, said police Senior Superintendent Romeo Caramat Jr. More than 70 raids were launched in Bulacan on Wednesday, leading to the arrests of 109 people, including 92 suspected drug dealers and users, he said. The latest violence raises the death toll in President Rodrigo Dutertes anti-drug crackdown to 4,239 since it was launched in July 2016, with more than 131,500 others arrested. Governments led by the United States and the EU have expressed alarm and called on the Philippines to take steps to halt the bloodshed. Human rights groups have cited much higher death tolls and called for an independent investigation, including by the United Nations. Duterte has lashed out at critics and declared last week that the Philippines was backing out of the International Criminal Court, where hes facing a possible complaint for the thousands of killings. In the raids, police seized more than 250 small packets of methamphetamine, marijuana and 19 firearms, including a rifle and a shotgun, police said. A similar crackdown in the province in August left 32 alleged drug offenders dead in the highest single-day toll in the nearly two years of the crackdown. Last month, Bulacan police killed 10 drug suspects in a 24-hour sweep. AP We often find clients arriving from overseas are absolutely shocked at the property prices in Macau. A look of disbelief is often followed by a phrase like I could buy a mansion back home with that money! Although our Hong Kong cousin over the pond gets most of the limelight for ranking as the most expensive real estate market in the world for seven years in a row (by the Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey), Macaus property prices are still astronomical relative to most foreign markets. The question is Why? The most obvious answer is pure supply and demand. Macau is a very small place filled with a lot of people. According to DSEC, Macaus population was around 653,000 at end-2017, all squeezed into an area of about 30.5 km2. To add to this, developable land is further limited by two major factors. Firstly, large areas around the island of Coloane are protected by the government and cannot be developed, at least for the time being. Secondly, the government is making an effort to increase the stock of public housing, which further squeezes land space available to the private market and arguably puts more pressure on prices. The few parcels of land that are available for development are sold to developers usually on a tender at soaring prices, which is also reflected in the individual pre-sales unit prices down the line. Another factor that cannot be ignored is the amount of speculative money that has come into the market. To exemplify this phenomenon, on December 15, 2017 Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On announced that the government will introduce further cooling measures from tightening mortgages to possible new taxation standards for empty flats and homeowners with multiple flats. The markets response to this in general has been to buy now, not later. The level of speculation is further spurred on by the expectation that the imminent opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge will further boost the market. Although an infrastructural project of that scale will no doubt have an impact on the market, investors should be cautioned against over-optimism as the long-term effects are yet to be determined. Although there are many more nuances and dimensions to the equation, Macaus astronomical property prices can be boiled down to these factors limited land, dense population, tightly controlled land development plans and ongoing speculation. Plus of course, a healthy number of wealthy residents willing to pay these prices! Sam Lee is a marketing manager and property consultant at JML Property. JML was established in 1994 and offers Investment Property & Homes. It specializes in managing properties for owners and investors, and providing attractive and comfortable homes for tenants. www.JMLProperty.com info@JMLProperty.com A senior U.S. diplomat said at an event in Taipei that the United States wishes to bolster Taiwans ability to defend its democracy after President Donald Trump signed a new law promoting official exchanges between the two sides that has drawn protests from Beijing. We wish to strengthen our ties with the Taiwan people and to bolster Taiwans ability to defend its democracy, said State Department official Alex Wong. Our commitment to these goals has never been stronger. Speaking at a dinner with the American Chamber of Commerce, Wong was joined by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who expressed gratitude for Trumps signing of the new Taiwan Travel Act and also noted the presidents approval last year of a USD1.4 billion arms sale to the island. The announcement of a major arms sale last year within the first five months of President Trumps administration showcased the United States unwavering commitment to Taiwans continued safety and security, Tsai said. Taiwans defense minister earlier announced that Chinas sole operating aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, had been spotted entering the Taiwan Strait separating the sides on Tuesday. The defense minister, Yen Teh-fa, told a legislative hearing that Taiwans armed forces were monitoring the situation but declined to give further details. The 60,000-ton craft commissioned in 2012 has been conducting military operations in the East China Sea in recent days, Yen said. The Liaoning has previously transited the heavily trafficked 160 kilometer-wide Taiwan Strait. Wongs visit to Taiwan drew new criticism on Wednesday from China, which claims the self-ruled island as its own and has sought to isolate it diplomatically. China has already lodged a protest over the new Taiwan Travel Act, saying it violates U.S. commitments not to restore formal exchanges severed when Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979. AP Possessing the most vines and vineyards amongst all wine-producing countries in the world, Spain is, somewhat counter-intuitively, just the third largest by volume. This curious discrepancy is largely due to Spains climatic conditions as well as its unwavering loyalty to gnarly old vines. A sizeable part of the country is semi-arid and, unlike New World countries, 30-year-old vines are hardly considered old vines in Spain. With the en primeur allocation system in place and shareholders in New York to answer to, top Bordeaux estates often have to replace old vines with new plantings so as to maintain production level; Spaniards can afford to take their time after all, who would object to concentrated wines from old vines? These factors, coupled with the countrys idiosyncratic elaboracion (wine maturation) system, whereby producers traditionally release their wines only when they are ready to be consumed, are music to the ears of savvy oenophiles. To the neutrals, it is almost unfair that Spanish wines do not command prices that their quality deserves. All Old World wine-producing countries are in various degrees subject to the strictures of heritage and tradition, e.g. the birth of Super Tuscans and IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) was not without controversy. Yet, the Italian precedent may have given Spain additional confidence to legislate proactively culminating in the creation of VP (Vino de Pago) classification in 2003. Unlike DO (Denominacion de Origen) and DOCa (Denominacion de Origen Calificada), which apply to the entire region and sanction certain grape varieties and wine styles, VP concerns only individual estates and vineyards, which must be limited in size and able to demonstrate unique characteristics, whilst abiding by requirements as stringent as a DOCa. VP is particularly useful for high quality wines produced outside of the DO, DOCa and VT (Vino de la Tierra) framework, and indeed producers from lesser-known wine regions, e.g. Aragon, Castilla-La Mancha, Navarra and Valencia, which currently constitute the entirety of VP producers. Detractors are quick to point out, however, that many VP estates tend to focus on international varieties, and that it is unclear whether VP sits below, on a par with or above DOCa. The PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) classification under EU law, indeed DOP (Denominacion de Origen Protegida) in Spain, encompasses VP, DOCa and DO. It would appear that VP sits on a par with, or slightly above, DOCa. A monopole of Bodega Otazu, Pago de Otazu DOP is an estate-specific VP situated in Cuenca de Pamplona, Navarra. The viticultural history of Pago de Otazu, Spains northernmost VP, can be traced back to the 12th century. Samples provided by Imperial Wine Cellar International Ltd., exclusive importer of Bodega Otazu in the Greater China region; E: jackalyap@imperialwinecellar.com; T: +852 9626 3125 Bodega Otazu Senorio de Otazu Chardonnay Fermentado en Barrica 2009 A single-varietal Chardonnay aged for nine months in barrel and 18 months in bottle. Radiant citrine with brilliant yellow diamond reflex, the exuberant nose offers nectarine, green almond, salted butter, crushed rock and acacia. Anchored by rounded acidity and firm minerality, the delectable palate delivers dried apricot, oregano, pine nut, creme bavaroise and rock salt. Full-bodied at 14 percent, the creamy entry continues through a saline mid-palate, leading to a nutty finish. A gourmands philtre, equals to a solid Saint-Aubin Premier Cru. Merely 6,000bts produced. Bodega Otazu Senorio de Otazu Tinto 2009 A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo and Merlot aged for 16 months and barrel and 36 months in bottle. Reddish black with carmine-maroon rim, the aromatic nose presents blackberry, clove, caffe espresso, leather and charcoal. Buttressed by abundant acidity and tasty tannins, the potent palate furnishes chokeberry, black pepper, liquorice, pu-erh and cigar ash. Full-bodied at 14.5 percent, the dense entry persists through a muscular mid-palate, leading to smoky finish. Masculinity in a bottle, the natural partner of embutido. Merely 18,000bts produced. Bodega Otazu Altar 2008 A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo and Merlot aged for 18 months in barrel and 40 months in bottle. Saturated garnet with carnelian-crimson rim, the scented nose reveals boysenberry, mulberry, spice box, coffea arabica, tobacco and peach blossom. Underpinned by ultra-fine tannins and ebullient acidity, the urbane palate unveils blackberry, cassis, allspice, Keemum red tea, cocoa and sandalwood. Medium-full bodied at an unobtrusive 14.5 percent, the poised entry evolves into a melodious mid-palate, leading to a lingering finish. A statement wine, rivals the finest of Rioja. Merely 8,000bts produced. Jacky I.F. Cheong is a legal professional by day and columnist by night. Having spent his formative years in Britain, France, and Germany, he regularly writes about wine, fine arts, classical music, and politics in several languages Chinese state media will be getting more propaganda now that the Communist Party has announced it will be in direct control of broadcasters and the regulators of everything from movies and TV to books and radio programs. The move is part of a push by President Xi Jinping emboldened by the removal of term limits on his time in office to tighten party supervision over broad swaths of Chinese public life as he pushes for what he calls unity in thought among officials and citizens. Analysts say having direct oversight of the media will help the party hammer home its message domestically and also work to improve its image internationally. Its one vast effort to get everybody thinking together, said David Zweig, director of the Center on Chinas Transnational Relations at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Under the plan announced this week, China Radio International, China National Radio and China Central Television, along with its international broadcast arm, China Global Television Network, will be merged into a new body with a name that translates to Voice of China. The governments regulator of the press and print publications, radio, film and television will cease to exist and its responsibilities and resources will be transferred to the partys Central Propaganda Department, along with control over the film industry, including the import and export of movies. The new bodys chief responsibilities include implementing the partys propaganda guidelines and policies, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The Communist Party newspaper Global Times quoted government expert Feng Yue of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences as saying the move will concentrate the resources and authority to improve Chinas influence overseas and promote Chinas international image. While Chinese media consumers have grown increasingly apolitical with an ever-expanding range of options, from foreign television shows to video games and online shopping, Xi has been steadily increasing the role of the party in the lives of many through new or newly invigorated branch committees in schools, offices and factories. That could leave ordinary Chinese with little choice but to become active consumers of propaganda, Zweig said. Writing on the website of the China Media Project at the University of Hong Kong, editor David Bandurski said the change gave the Propaganda Department which formerly provided broad overall guidance of the media message direct control over output. And that is largely the point that comes through here the tighter, more centralized control of media and ideology, Bandurski said. As its name suggests, the new media monolith appears modeled on outlets such as the U.S.s Voice of America or Russias Russia Today, now known simply as RT. AP (HealthDay)Piling on pounds is bad for your health from head to toe. So say Korean researchers, who report that unhealthy weight gain ups a person's odds for disfiguring toenail fungal infections. In fact, people who are statistically obese have more than double the rate of the infection, known as onychomycosis, compared to slim people, the study of nearly 9 million adults found. Any unhealthy increase in weight was "associated with an increased incidence of onychomycosis," concluded the team led by Dr. Ji Hyun Lee, of the Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine in Seoul. U.S. dermatologists said the finding isn't surprising. "I definitely tend to see onychomycosis more in overweight patients and prediabetic and diabetic patients," said Dr. Michele Green, a dermatologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. She noted that the infection is "extremely common." It can also be "debilitating," Green added, "since for some patients it can be very painful and lead to having other co-infections." In advanced cases, onychomycosis also necessitates the use of painful medicinal injections around the nail bed. Dr. Victoria Sharon directs dermatologic surgery at Northwell Health in Great Neck, N.Y. She said some studies have estimated that up to a quarter of U.S. adults live with onychomycosis. "In the majority of cases, onychomycosis is not life-threatening and is often asymptomatic [symptomless], with patients being most bothered by the unsightly look of their nails," Sharon noted. In the new study, Lee's group examined the health records of millions of South Koreans over age 20. The researchers looked specifically at changes in the individuals' weight between 2005 and 2012, as well as their incidence of onychomycosis. The study found that the odds of developing the toenail infection rose as weight increased. Among slim peoplethose with a body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 or lowerthere were just 12.5 cases of the infection per 1,000 people. But among the statistically obesepeople with a BMI of 30 or morethat number rose to 29.7 cases per 1,000, more than a doubling of the rate. Of course, the best way to reduce your risk of onychomycosis is to stay slim, or slim down if you're already overweight. But Green stressed that there are effective treatments if the fungal infection strikes. "The best treatments start when you catch it early and you can use topicals such as Penlac nail lacquer or Jublia," she said. "More severe cases require oral antifungal drugs such as Lamisil for at least three months to treat these nail fungal infections." The new study was published in the March issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Explore further Laser plus topical antifungal effective for onychomycosis More information: Michele Green, M.D., dermatologist, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City; Victoria Sharon, M.D., director, dermatologic surgery and dermato-oncology, Northwell Health, Great Neck, N.Y.; March 2018 Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology Michele Green, M.D., dermatologist, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City; Victoria Sharon, M.D., director, dermatologic surgery and dermato-oncology, Northwell Health, Great Neck, N.Y.; March 2018 Find out more about onychomycosis at the American Academy of Dermatology. Journal information: Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology Copyright 2018 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Credit: CC0 Public Domain Well, well, well. The ball has been knocked roundly into your court, gentlemen. Someday soon, you will be able to do more than just shrug on a raincoat and consider it doing your part to prevent unwanted pregnancy. A birth-control pill for men has (finally!) been developed, and could hit the market in five years. UW School of Medicine endocrinologist Dr. Stephanie Page presented her research recently at the Endocrine Society's meeting in Chicago. "My hero!" I told Page when we spoke. "I like the sound of that," she said. Page studied 83 men who took the oral contraceptivecalled dimethandrolone undecanoate, or DMAUfor a month, which resulted in a drop in their testosterone levels, as well as two hormones required for sperm production. There were also few side effects, and liver and kidney functions weren't impaired. Page made clear that this was "an early-phase study" that showed that when men took the prototype pill for a month, "We see the changes in their hormones that we think will be effective as we move along in the development. "We haven't proved that over 10 years it is going to be safe," Page added. "But we are hopeful." Participants had a slight decrease in their HDL, or "good" cholesterol, andin a stroke of smirk-worthy karmaa slight weight gain. This is much more acceptable than when the World Health Organization in 2016 commissioned a trial of a two-hormone injection designed to lower sperm count. Even though the results were 96 percent effective in preventing pregnancies, the second stage of the trial was stopped after men suffered severe acne and mood swings. One man developed severe depression, and another tried to commit suicide. So it was left to women to suffer sore boobs; mood swings; weight gain; inserting rubber cups filled with cold gel into ourselves; and having tiny metal objects implanted in our uteruses because, well, we're not babies. We just make them. "That's your quote, not mine," Page said. Noted. In the time she has been working on the pillher report was co-authored by Christina Wang of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, CaliforniaPage has had plenty of people ask, "Are men going to use a birth-control pill?" "There is a lot of misconception," she said. "Men are interested in contraception, but they just don't have the options." There are men in stable relationships with partners who can't use birth control. Single men who want to controlhow did Page put it? - "their own fertility." There are married men who want to space their children, "and men who want to share the burden," Page said. "I think we're selling men short when we say men don't want to do this," she said. "The only options men have are vasectomies and the condom, which was invented more than 300 years ago. They're great for sexual health, but they are not great contraceptives." One of Page's goals is to develop a contraceptive for men that will give them a health benefit, as women's have been shown to reduce the risk of uterine cancer. "That would be ideal," she said. My goal? That, when faced with men wanting birth-control pills, lawmakers will see the cruelty in having made it so hard for women to get them for so very long, beg for our forgiveness, and reimburse us for decades spent being responsible human beings. Just last fall, the Trump administration announced a rule that allowed employers to opt out of paying for birth control through company insurance plans, effectively putting 62 million women at risk of unwanted pregnancy. The rule eliminated a provision in the Affordable Care Act that saw birth control as preventive health care. It may just take men wanting birth-control pills for those in Washington, D.C., to see that paying for contraception doesn't mean underwriting orgasms. Birth control is part of basic health carefor all. "I think with regards to things like lawmakers and funding," Page said, "we have got to hope by the time this gets to the market, our lawmakers will be a little more forward-thinking in understanding what health is to our society. "This is for our daughters and our sons," she said. "This is for our society. We're all in this together." That's your quote, I told her. And mine. Explore further Dimethandrolone undecanoate shows promise as a male birth control pill 2018 The Seattle Times Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. At the 47th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR), held in conjunction with the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research (CADR), Prescott McWilliams, United States Air Force, San Antonio, Texas and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), Postgraduate Dental College (PDC), presented a poster titled "Effect of Deployment on Use of E-Cigarettes in U.S. Military." The AADR/CADR Annual Meeting is in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., USA from March 21-24, 2018. Little research has examined a potential association between military deployment and e-cigarette use. "Our objective was to develop an understanding of how military deployment affects the e-cigarette habit and its associated behaviors among a sample of Army and Air Force service members," said McWilliams. Information on the prevalence, perception and use of e-cigarettes, in addition to history of deployment, was obtained using data from the "Tobacco Use Among Service Members" survey sponsored by the Murtha Cancer Center and the Air Force Postgraduate Dental School within the USU PDC. In the study population of 2,500 participants, 45% had deployed, 14% had used e-cigarettes, with 5.7% experiencing both. Most users (67%) considered e-cigarettes to be less harmful than traditional cigarettes. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, being deployed to a combat unit was associated with lower odds of using e-cigarettes. Stratified analyses by perception of harm showed that soldiers deployed to combat units who perceived e-cigarettes to be less harmful than traditional cigarettes had a 61% reduction in risk of using E-cigarettes. McWilliams reported that being deployed to a combat unit was associated with lower odds of e-cigarette use, particularly among those with less perceived harm. These results demonstrate the need for better understanding the health effects associated with e-cigarettes and the development of targeted cessation/educational campaigns. Future research may include an analysis to identify factors associated with decreased e-cigarette use among those deployed to combat units. Explore further Access and utilization of dental services for Medicaid children 2013-2015 Provided by International & American Associations for Dental Research At the 47th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR), held in conjunction with the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research (CADR), Chad Lowell Wagner, University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, Minneapolis, presented a poster titled "Effect of an Opioid Prescribing Protocol on Provider Prescribing Behavior." The AADR/CADR Annual Meeting is in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. from March 21-24, 2018. Opioid abuse continues to cause harm on epidemic proportions. Dental providers are leading prescribers, specifically to individuals under 18 years of age. To address this issue the University of Minnesota Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery implemented an opioid prescribing protocol for the treatment of post-surgical pain. A retrospective analysis was used to evaluate the use of opioid analgesics at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, prior to and following implementation of the opioid prescribing protocol. "Our retrospective analysis compares the number of total opioid prescriptions and the number of tablets per prescription in the previous 10 quarters prescribed by the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry," said Wagner. Prescription data was collected from institutional electronic health record software for FDA schedule opioids written within the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry and statistical analysis was completed. The University of Minnesota School of Dentistry wrote 5,279 opioid prescriptions across all departments in the five quarters prior to the introduction of the opioid protocol on October 1, 2016. The five quarters following the introduction of the Opioid Prescribing Protocol in February 2016, 2,792 opioid prescriptions were writtena 47.1% overall decrease in number of opioid prescriptions written. "There has been a linear decrease in the number of opioid prescriptions written since the introduction of the protocol in first quarter of 2016," said Wagner. "Our results support the hypothesis that an opioid prescribing protocol would be successful in decreasing the total number of opioid prescriptions written and number of tablets dispensed per prescription while appropriately addressing postoperative pain." Explore further Most ophthalmologists write few opioid prescriptions Provided by International & American Associations for Dental Research At the 47th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR), held in conjunction with the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research (CADR), Hyun Hong, The Dental College of Georgia at Augusta University, presented a poster titled "Investigating the Enigmatic Link Between Periodontal Inflammation and Retinal Degeneration." The AADR/CADR Annual Meeting is in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., USA from March 21-24, 2018. Many clinical studies link Chronic Periodontitis (CP) to various systemic disorders and lately age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of irreversible vision loss in elderly, is found to be associated with periodontal disease. The keystone oral-pathobiont and one of the major causative organism for CP, Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg), has been identified with the ability to invade epithelial, fibroblasts and dendritic cells. "Our study was designed with an objective to interrogate the role of Pg and its fimbriae-mediated infection of human retinal-pigment epithelial cells and retro-orbitally injected mice retina, thus revealing possible molecular links between CP and AMD," said Hyun Hong (Predoctoral dental student, Summer Research Program, Dental College of Georgia) and Dr. Pachiappan Arjunan, the Principal Investigator, who directed this study (Assistant Professor, Department of Periodontics, Dental College of Georgia, Augusta University). Human retinal-pigment epithelial cells were infected with Pg and its isogenic mutant strains and genes were analyzed by qPCR. The results showed that human retinal-pigment epithelial cells take up Pg381 and that qPCR shows a significant increase in expression levels of genes, important in immunosuppression and angiogenesis/neo-vascularization markers compared with uninfected control. Certain complement regulatory-related genes were upregulated, while others were downregulated. In a mouse model, AMD-related effects on mouse retinae were induced by Pg-injection compared to control group. Dr. Arjunan states that, "This is the first study to demonstrate the link between oral pathobiont infection and AMD pathogenesis and that Pg can invade human retinal-pigment epithelial cells & elevate AMD-related genes which might be the target molecules for both diseases". Further, successive ongoing studies in Dr. Arjunan's laboratory in collaboration with Dr. Christopher W Cutler (Professor and Chair, Department of Periodontics, Dental collage of Georgia, Augusta University), could distinguish specific causal role of Pg in AMD pathogenesis. The first part of this work will be published very soon, he added. This work was funded by the Department of Periodontics, Dental College of Georgia, Augusta University and seeks additional funding support from National Institutes of Health (NIH) to accomplish the objective of this innovative study. Explore further Study suggests stem cells may repair dying retinal cells More information: This is a summary of poster #1353 titled "Investigating the Enigmatic Link Between Periodontal Inflammation and Retinal Degeneration" presented by Hyun Hong on Friday, March 23 Provided by International & American Associations for Dental Research The week started strangely. On Monday morning, the author of a new book on transgender identity emailed me, asking about my research (I don't have any). She'd read my comments in The Daily Mail about an abstract from a meeting identifying gene variants associated with transgender identity in a handful of people. But the writer, with whom I hadn't communicated, didn't name the researcher. So people thought it was me. Soon, Google Alerts sent me the full version of the article in The Times, by Oliver Moody, and then I recalled having emailed with him. (This is the Times of London; the New York Times rejects anything I send.) Since then I've been quoted in several outlets with whom I never corresponded such is the nature of echo-chamber journalism these days and I've had requests from people seeking genetic testing for transgender identity. It's way too soon! How Hype is Born I deduced that Mr. Moody had contacted me after reading "Is Transgender Identity Inherited?" here at DNA Science from about a year ago, or had heard an NPR interview follow-up. The end of my post states that "a genomewide SNP screen, or even genome sequencing, might one day identify a genetic 'signature' for individuals more likely to identify as transgender." In the new abstract, "Understanding the Genetic Basis of Transgender Identity," presented at the Society for Reproductive Investigation's annual meeting in San Diego March 6-10, J. Graham Theisen, MD, from the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University and colleagues described a strategy midway between my suggestions. They sequenced exomes (protein-encoding portions of the genome) of 30 individuals who identify as transgender. When Mr. Moody sent me the abstract last month, I was ready to tear it apart but I was impressed. Hence my quote, "These are highly reputable folks going about this exactly the right way, searching the genomes of transgender people to highlight which genes they have variants in. It lends legitimacy, if that needs to be added, that transgender is not a choice but a way of being." Alas, despite Mr. Moody's emphasis on the preliminary nature of the findings, and a spot-on lede ("Transgender men and women may carry genetic variants that influence their gender identity, a study suggests,") his article fell victim to hyped editorial packaging. The headline "Science pinpoints DNA behind gender identity" is absolutely untrue. Worse is the image beneath the headline of a stereotypical bespectacled, lab-coated old white dude pointing seriously to a DNA sequencing gel, with the caption "The DNA of those with gender dysphoria was found to have nine variants that may cause the condition." Cause? I don't think so. And the project leader, Dr. Theisen, actually looks like a young Chris Reeve (aka Superman), not the older guy. Looking for Genetic Clues in 30 Individuals The researchers sequenced the exomes of 14 female-to-male and 16 male-to-female people identifying as transgender. In the "round-up-the-usual-suspects" approach used for various types of genome-wide studies, the investigators began with variants of a logical group of candidate genes (which regulate steroid metabolism in the brain during development) and are rare (fewer than 1 in 10,000 individuals) in the general population. A database called ExAC compiles gene variant frequencies from many research groups. Would the selected rare gene variants show up among the participants, and if so, would that trend persist in a much larger group? Then those variants might be associated with some aspects of transgender identity. But it's a long way from association to correlation to causation. Some comments from readers of the Times piece pointed out the small sample, but conducting a pilot study is how science works. Funding agencies aren't about to fork over the pounds or dollars for a large-scale investigation without a preliminary look-see. The team whittled down 120,000 genetic variants of possible interest among the participants, then selected 30 variants, representing 20 genes, for further investigation (the exact figures haven't been analyzed yet). Eleven of the variants changed one amino acid in the encoded protein to another (a missense mutation), and 9 variants were deemed "pathogenic" for neurological development and/or sex steroid metabolism adding up to the 20 of interest. "Pathogenic" is genetics jargon for a gene variant that has an effectit doesn't mean that transgender identity is a disease. I have a few pathogenic gene variants myself we all do. Most are recessive and present in only one copy (heterozygous) so are never noticed. The researchers are still re-sequencing the candidate genes for confirmation, but so far only 2 variants are present in two copies (homozygous) in anyone. The conclusion is clear: "We identified genetic variants in 20 genes that may play a role in transgender identity." But it is still a powerful statement, for it lends justification to the idea that identifying as transgender is neither a mental illness nor a lifestyle choice it is a variation on the theme of being human, as we all are in one way or another. Dr. Theisen cautions, "Our research is still preliminary in nature, and we are a very long way from knowing what (if any) significance our findings have. The DNA of any randomly chosen individual will contain unique variants, and as a result, identifying variants alone is not sufficient to make any claims regarding causation of, or even relation to, a given phenotype. Therefore, we have not yet identified any particular genes or genetic variants that we know to be involved in the development of transgender identity, though that is the eventual goal of our research." The Bigger Picture I'm not an expert on gender issues by any means, despite my being quoted this week in Gay Times and LGBTQ Nation. But I think and write a lot about genetic information. Would genetic testing for transgender identity do harm or good? Consider the categories of DNA tests: ancestry, forensics, health, and traits. Ancestry and forensics aren't relevant, so that leaves health-related genetic tests and traits. If Dr. Theisen's team or another validates a panel of gene variants associated with transgender identity in a larger population, a few things could happen. Companies will spring up, like mushrooms after a spring rain, to package and pitch products to consumers. This could happen with more thought to economics than to the potential problems that might arise, such as a parent sending off a spit sample from a young child convinced she is a he or vice versa. Then, with more research, if the association becomes a correlation or even a cause (such as zeroing in on a particular mutation), might health insurers cover a greater variety of transitioning-related procedures? Again, it's economics versus consequences. Could expanded insurance coverage medicalize transgender identity, and would that counter the change of "gender identity disorder" to "gender dysphoria" in the 2013 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)? The new designation denotes individuals who are distressed by the mismatch between their gender identity and anatomy, but it keeps others who identify as transgender out from under the psychiatric umbrella. A better alternative would be for DNA tests for transgender identity to fall into the category of what direct-to-consumer genetic testing company 23andMe lists as, simply, traits. Their offerings are both popular and ridiculously obvious, like eye color, freckles, dimples, cleft chin, unibrow, and hair color, loss, and texture. Findings support what a person already knows from looking in the mirror. Isn't the same true of gender identity? Won't a profile of gene variants only confirm what a person already knows? I eagerly await publication of the full paper on the work from Dr. Theisen and colleagues. Explore further Medicine alone does not completely suppress testosterone levels among transgender women This story is republished courtesy of PLOS Blogs: blogs.plos.org. Cancer patients in Europe can now receive a life-extending drug invented and developed by scientists at Newcastle University. Women with recurrent ovarian cancer have been given access to the pioneering treatment, Rubraca, following approval of the drug by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). This allows the drug to be available on the European market. Rubraca has been approved for ovarian cancer patients with a faulty BRCA gene. First discovered approximately 20 years ago, it came out of research initiated at Newcastle University, UK, by Cancer Research UK-funded scientists. If approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the Scottish Medicines Consortium, it will allow ovarian cancer patients in the UK with a BRCA gene mutation to access the new treatment. Success of treatment Studies have shown that the oral medication has a high success rate as 54% of women on clinical trials had complete or partial shrinkage of their tumour for an average of 9.2 months. Ruth Plummer, Clinical Professor of Experimental Medicine at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research, Newcastle University, was the first clinician to prescribe Rubraca. Professor Plummer, who is also Consultant Medical Oncologist at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "It is very exciting and the culmination of many years of research from a team here in Newcastle, and in collaborations with others, that Rubraca has been licensed by the EMA. "It means this drug, which prolongs patients' lives, will become available to patients across Europe." Rubraca, also known as rucaparib, is a class of drug called a PARP inhibitor which exploits a defect in the cancer cell's ability to repair normal wear and tear to its DNA to kill the tumour cells without unduly harming healthy cells. The EMA has approved the use of the drug for women with ovarian cancer who have been treated with two or more chemotherapies and whose tumours have a BRCA mutation. This follows last year's approval in the USA by the Food and Drug Administration. Ovarian cancer diagnosis Each year, around 7,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer across the UK and one in 50 women will develop the disease at some point in their life. Around 15% to 20% of women with ovarian cancer will have a BRCA gene mutation, putting them at increased risk of developing other cancers and a 50% risk of passing the faulty gene to their children. Dr. Yvette Drew, Senior Lecturer at Newcastle University and Honorary Consultant in Medical Oncology at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, has led the clinical development of Rubraca in ovarian cancer in the North East. She said: "Rubraca is a well-tolerated oral drug, allowing women to have a better quality of life for longer without debilitating side-effects that are often seen with chemotherapy. "The approval of this medication is a great testament to the work of the Newcastle University team and is an example of what can be achieved when scientists and oncologists work together to target a specific type of cancer at the molecular level." Newcastle University researchersProfessors Hilary Calvert, Nicola Curtin, Barbara Durkacz, Bernard Golding, Roger Griffin, Herbie Newell and Ruth Plummerwere part of a multi-disciplinary team that discovered and developed Rubraca. Sir Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK's chief executive, said: "We're delighted that Rubraca has been licensed for use by the EMA, particularly when Cancer Research UK-funded scientists working at Newcastle University discovered and developed the drug in the early 1990s in collaboration with industry partners. "The drugone of an exciting group of drugs that exploit the weaknesses cancer cells have in repairing damaged DNAwill offer new hope to women with advanced ovarian cancer. "We hope it could one day treat other cancer types and clinical trials are underway to discover its potential. Our partnerships with academia and industry are helping us bring more new treatments to patients, accelerating our efforts to beat cancer sooner." Patient's story Susan Ross has been on Rubraca under Dr. Drew's care at the Freeman Hospital's Northern Centre for Cancer Care in Newcastle for more than two years and is living life to the full. The 60-year-old, of Whitley Bay, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer with a BRCA gene mutation over 10 years ago and says she feels great after being given the drug as part of a clinical trial. Susan has been on Rubraca since December 2015 when her ovarian cancer returned and was not operable. Her tumour has shrunk completely and she continues to receive the treatment as part of a clinical trial. She said: "It is wonderful that Rubraca has been given EMA approval and women in Europe eligible for this treatment will be able to receive it. "I feel the best I've felt since before my ovarian cancer diagnosis in 2007. I have my life back and I've been to far afield countries like Australia and Japan. "The team at Newcastle University should be very proud of what they have achieved as Rubraca is offering hope to ovarian cancer patients with the BRCA gene mutation that they can live their life well. "I would like to thank all those who have been involved in Rubraca's development and to the clinical team who have looked after me so well." Susan underwent four operations and three rounds of chemotherapy before being enrolled on the clinical trial. She continues to be closely monitored with regular CT scans. History of Rubraca Newcastle University has been instrumental in the development of Rubraca. The project that led to its discovery was among the first of Newcastle Cancer Drug Discovery Group that started at the University, involving the Northern Institute for Cancer Research and School of Chemistry. A team of Cancer Research UK-funded scientists at the University contributed to the discovery of the treatment from an idea of a cancer drug target, which moved through chemistry and laboratory science and finally clinical trials of Rubraca began. Scientists at the School of Chemistry and Northern Institute for Cancer Research started their research on inhibitors of DNA repair enzymes, including an enzyme called poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP-1). It was later established that inhibiting PARP-1 was particularly effective in treating tumours with a mutated BRCA gene. Finding an inhibitor of this enzyme relied on finding a molecule that would displace PARP-1's natural chemical substrate. A key step in this process was established at the School of Chemistry, where a way to mimic the natural substrate leading to compounds that inhibited the enzyme was found. Experts at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research helped to develop the drug and the first clinical trial of Rubraca was conducted in Newcastle in 2003, and further clinical trials followed. Explore further Ovarian cancer patients get access to life-extending drug At the 47th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR), held in conjunction with the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research (CADR), Veerasathpurush Allareddy, University of Iowa, College of Dentistry & Dental Clinics, Iowa City, presented a poster titled "Opioid Abuse/Dependence in Those Hospitalized Due to Periapical Abscess." The AADR/CADR Annual Meeting is in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. from March 21-24, 2018. Opioid abuse/dependence (OAD) is an emerging public health crisis in the USA. The objective of this study was to estimate the nationwide prevalence of OAD in those hospitalized due to periapical abscess in the U.S., testing the hypothesis that a mix of patient and geography related factors are associated with OAD in this cohort. Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample for years 2012 to 2014, all patients that were hospitalized due to periapical abscess were selected for analysis. OAD was identified and used as the outcome variable, and a mix of patient and geographic factors were used as independent variables. During the study period 30,040 patients were hospitalized due to periapical abscess1.5% of these had OAD. Those aged 18 to 29 years were associated with higher odds for OAD compared to those aged 45 to 64 years. Blacks were associated with lower odds for OAD compared to Whites and those covered by Medicare, Medicaid and Uninsured were associated with higher odds for OAD compared to those covered by private insurance. Odds of OAD increased with co-morbid burden but there were no significant variations in OAD across geographic regions of USA and by hospital location/teaching status. Household income levels and gender were also not significantly associated with OAD. "From this study," said Veerasathpurush Allareddy, "we see that the high risk groups that are likely to have OAD were identified amongst those hospitalized due to periapical abscess." The study findings are based on the Nationwide Inpatient Sample which is sponsored by the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Explore further Opioid prescribing patterns of oral and maxillofacial surgeons: A nationwide survey Provided by International & American Associations for Dental Research A commonly cited statistic that 60 to 90 percent of gender dysphoric children grow up not to be transgender is based on studies that are deeply flawed. Credit: Shutterstock A few decades ago, sexologist Ray Blanchard suggested that trans lesbianstrans women who are solely attracted to other womenwere in fact men whose misguided heterosexuality led them to be aroused by the thought of being women. Blanchard's theory has since been put to rest by careful analyses and scientific studies. Despite being discredited, the theory remains popular among opponents of transgender rights. Another idea is now making the rounds in anti-trans circles: "Rapid-onset gender dysphoria." The theory suggests that youngsters are being misled into claiming a trans identity before they truly understand what that means. They are supposedly influenced by the internet, social media and peers. It is presented as a critique of the gender-affirmative model of therapy, which encourages supporting the child through their journey of exploration and affirmation of their gender identities, without expectations as to the result. Debra Soh and Barbara Kay's recent pieces in The Globe and Mail and National Post bring this previously underground notion into the mainstream. They claim that rapid-onset gender dysphoria contradicts gender-affirmative care, which they misleadingly portray as pushing children to transition. This idea shares much in common with that of Blanchard's earlier theory. It conveniently pulls on heartstrings by calling us to defend our children, much as Blanchard's work appealed to our sexual puritanism. It distinguishes "good," true transgender people from "bad," fake trans people, allowing proponents to claim that they have nothing against trans peoplewell, at least the real ones. Theories which rely on the idea of "contagion" in order to invalidate marginalised identities are not new. The same has happened with other marginalised groups, such as gay, lesbian and bisexual people. Young people were thought to be misled by the "gay agenda" into mistakenly and rashly claiming a queer identity. The idea of rapid-onset gender dysphoria gives ammunition to those who are eager to oppose gender-affirmative policies. Best explained by transphobia and research study biases, it does not withstand scrutiny. Those who push the idea of rapid-onset gender dysphoria misrepresent the quality and extent of available science and the structure of gender-affirmative therapies. They say that 60 to 90 per cent of transgender children grow up not to be transgender. This is false. Flawed research The statistic that 60 to 90 per cent of gender dysphoric children grow up not to be transgender is based on studies that are deeply flawed. This body of research is known as "desistance research." Children who have met diagnostic criteria for gender dysphoria are enrolled in a study. After a number of years, they are reassessed to see if they are still trans. If they are, they are said to have persisted with their transgender identity. If they aren't, they are said to have "desisted" from that identity. The aim of the research is to estimate the number of transgender children who will grow up to be transgender adults. Desistance research uses outdated diagnostic criteria crafted in the 1980s and '90s that don't reflect current science. It has included many children who aren't trans at all in research studies. In some studies, as many as 25 per cent and 40 per cent of children didn't meet the criteria for diagnosis but were nonetheless included and later counted as not growing up to be trans. According to Dr. Kristina Olson, who offers careful criticisms of the studies, as many as 90 per cent of these children probably would have shown themselves not to be trans had researchers simply asked them: "Are you a boy/girl?" This is one of the indicators used today to tell whether a child is trans or simply gender non-conforming. And the 40 per cent of children who simply refused to participate were assumed by the researchers to no longer to be trans. The statistic is simply out of sync with the current state of scientific knowledge on trans children. As the mental health director of the University of California at San Francisco Child and Adolescent Gender Center, Diane Ehrensaft, points out in a peer-reviewed article, experienced therapists are typically capable of telling whether a young child is transgender though perhaps not at first glance. Parents march in the Pride Parade in Stockholm, Sweden, July 2016. Credit: Shutterstock Rapid-onset gender dysphoria There is one research study that seeks to document the existence of rapid-onset gender dysphoria. This too is riddled with flaws. The study was based on parental reporting and the participants came from websites where reports of rapid-onset gender dysphoria had cropped up. It was heavily biased towards specific groups and in no way can be said to be representative of the general population. Ultimately, the study tells us less about trans teenagers than it does about the parents being surveyed. The fact that there are more children who were assigned female at birth in the pool of children said to have rapid-onset gender dysphoria is used as evidence that it is not a natural phenomenon, but rather reveals that young girls are fleeing their womanhood under the pressure of misogyny or peer pressure. That most of the children surveyed were said to be girls can, however, be explained by other facts including the fact that gender non-conformity among men is more likely to prompt consultation at a gender identity clinic. Furthermore, gender non-conforming girls have been historically underrepresented in clinics despite the ratio of trans men to trans women being roughly 50-50 in adulthood. Changes in referral patterns could just be a regression toward the mean. More and more teenagers are coming out. This is neither a surprise nor is it bad. Coming out, almost universally, carries not only some degree of personal stress but requires one to openly confront societal prejudices. As trans realities become more and more widely known, it becomes easier for trans people to understand their internal turmoil and open up about the fact that they are, indeed, trans. As we make friends who are trans, they help us understand ourselves and support us through the coming-out process. We should rejoice in the fact that trans visibility is helping more people realize they are trans ourselves included, a few years ago. Gender-affirmative therapy The goal of gender-affirmative therapy is not transition, contrary to what proponents of rapid-onset gender dysphoria claim. The goal is to "listen to the child and decipher with the help of parents or caregivers what the child is communicating about both gender identity and gender expression." Instead of encouraging the child not to be transgender and risking pushing them back into the closet, therapists seek to support the child and their parents throughout the process of exploring gender. They remain neutral with regards to whether the child should be trans or not. And as for gender non-conforming behaviour like cross-dressing which some therapists seek to discourage, why not just let the child express themselves freely? Maybe they are not trans. Maybe they just want to wear those clothes and play with those toys. Often you can tell just by listening to the child, though they may not say it in easy-to-understand terms. Follow the child Gender non-conforming children aren't all being treated alike, contrary to what Debra Soh's op-ed claims. Transgender children aren't treated the same as cisgender (non-transgender) children by gender-affirmative therapists. And transgender children aren't all being treated alike either, because each has different desires and different needs. Gender-affirmative therapy's motto is: "Follow the child." If that means following them to social transition and, in due time, medical transition, then so be it. But only if that's what they truly want. Transgender children are in good hands. Therapists aren't acting hastily in ignorance of scientific evidence. On the contrary, their approach is one that's been built over decades of research and of following trans children. The unfounded idea of rapid-onset gender dysphoria is a poor attempt at manufacturing a new moral panic based on the same old idea of "contagion" over children who couldn't be in safer hands. Explore further Many parents would support transgender teen's transition This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. ARCHIVED - Tourism was responsible for 14.9 per cent of the GDP of Spain in 2017 15.1 per cent of the countrys jobs also depended directly or indirectly on the sector During 2017 the value of tourism to the Spanish economy rose by 5.7 per cent to 172,900 million euros, according to figures published this week by the World Travel & Tourism Council, meaning that the sector was responsible for as much as 14.9 per cent of the national GDP. This is considerably higher than the worldwide average of 10.4 per cent of GDP (the sector generated economic activity of 6.7 billion euros all over the planet last year, following a raise of 4.6 per cent). At the same time, the WTTC reports that in this country 2.8 million jobs depended on tourism, either directly or indirectly: that equates to 15.1 per cent of all employment in this country, and within the total figure 930,500 were directly related to tourism. In other words, almost one in 20 of all people working in this country do so within the tourism sector, while the direct contribution to GDP amounted to 62,400 million euros, or 5.4 per cent of GDP. The continuing boom in the Spanish tourism industry is doubtless due in part to the reluctance of international travellers to journey to the politically unstable region of north Africa in recent years, although it can also be attributed to the infrastructures and tourism quality which have been built up over the last 50 years. But Gloria Guevara, the president of the WTTC, warns that the sector must not rest on its laurels and should continue to invest in improving infrastructures and diversify the tourist attractions, particularly with regard to shopping tourism. At the same time it is important to ensure that growth in tourism is sustainable, she adds, underlining the need to guard against outbreaks of anti-tourist feelings such as those which were in evidence last summer in Barcelona. This is particularly necessary now that travellers are beginning to return to northern Africa: last year tourist activity in that region grew by 22.6 per cent, while in Europe the increase was just 4.8 per cent. Despite these warning, though, the WTTCs forecast for 2018 is that tourism in Spain will grow by another 2.9 per cent, while in the longer term average growth of 2.3 per cent per annum is predicted for the next ten years. Follow Murcia Today on Facebook to keep up to date with all the latest news, events and information in the Murcia region: https://www.facebook.com/MurciaToday/. --> The Seoul Metropolitan Government in South Korea will introduce an initiative to force employees to leave work on time, the BBC reported. According to the government, it is trying to stop a culture of working overtime. The report stated that government employees in South Korea work an average of 2,739 hours a year, which is about 1,000 hours more than workers in other developed countries. Seouls shutdown initiative will roll out in phases over the next three months. Phase one will power down office computers at 20:00 on Fridays. Phase two starts in April, and employees will have their computers turned off at 19:30 on the second and fourth Friday of the month. In phase three in May, computers will be shut off at 19:00 every Friday. Exemptions may be provided, with 67.1% of government workers asking to be exempt. Now read: 5G launches at the Winter Olympics in South Korea Human Rights Day, Mark Kingon, Taxi Strike, and Bafana Bafana were the top searches on Google in South Africa this week. The trending searches in the week were: Monday: Human Rights Day, Steve Komphela, Taxi Strike. Human Rights Day, Steve Komphela, Taxi Strike. Tuesday: Human Rights Day, Mark Kingon. Human Rights Day, Mark Kingon. Wednesday: Human Rights Day. Other terms to trend during the week included Bafana Bafana, as they beat Angola on penalties in the Four Nations tournament. Floyd Shivambu, after the EFF vice president accosted a journalist outside parliament, also trended. YEREVAN. The company, to which is the Armenian bus that crashed in Russia belongs, has provided sketchy information about the accident. Armenian News-NEWS.am managed to establish contact with the companys Yerevan office two days after the collision. No one from this company answered the phone calls for the past two days, and the office was closed on the day of the accident. The guilty in the crash was the vehicle that went onto the opposite lane, they said from the office, but did not provide other information. To the clarifying question as to whether the truck driver was at fault, they gave a positive response from the company. But immediately after the accident, the Russian side had announced that, according to preliminary information, the cause of this crash was the bus going onto the opposite lane. As reported earlier, a passenger bus heading from Yerevan to Moscow and a truck collided on Tuesday morning, on an interstate highway in Russia. Two people died and nine others were injured in the crash. Armenia PM sends congratulatory message to Catholicos Patriarch of Armenian Catholic Church Armenia Emergency Situations Ministry: Iranians didn't participate in putting out fire near park Armenian lawyer: I won't force my employees to get PCR test for COVID-19 and will protect their rights in court Armenia PM sacks Public Council Secretariat chief Armenian man charged under organizing of illegal migration in Russia shows up to Armenia police station France FM to meet with US counterpart Armenia justice minister introduces newly appointed head of Penitentiary Service Digest: US Congress demands Armenian POWs release in Baku, more on COVID-19 vaccination in Armenia Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani Prosecutors General meet in Kazakhstan Russia ambassador to Armenia underscores continued development of multipolar cooperation bridges Armenia peacekeepers in Kosovo mark Independence Day anniversary US Under Secretary of State: We look forward to progress, including via OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair mechanism Azerbaijan FM declares country's willingness to normalize relations with Armenia US, Russia start talks over sustainable development at level of business Mirziyoyev: Uzbekistan-Armenia cooperation will continue to consistently develop Tehran says Georgia border guards' conduct against Iran citizens is unacceptable Karabakh emergency service: Remains of another fallen soldier found Iranian president invites Turkish counterpart to Iran for official visit Dollar continues dropping in Armenia 21st Catholicos Patriarch of Catholic Armenians elected Biden plans to attend G20 summit in Rome 4 new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh Baku fires at Iranian helicopter Armenia Ombudsman assesses observation of Russian State Duma elections Armenia health minister: There is differentiated attitude towards COVID-19 vaccines EU envoy reaffirms their continued assistance to democratic reforms in Armenia Biden's advisor and Erdogan's spokesperson discuss situation in Caucasus after 44-day war Poland to install 250 American Abrams tanks in east of country Armenia parliament opposition faction leader: Azerbaijan, Turkey have no desire to build their policy on logic of peace Turkey sends several thousand more troops to Syria EU urges Iranian foreign minister to resume talks on Tehran's nuclear dossier Syrian citizen arrested in absentia for murder of Russian military pilot in Syria Criminal case filed for writing insulting comment under Armenia PM's photo on Facebook Chronicles of Aurora to leave Yerevans Matenadaran for first time to be displayed at San Lazzaro Island in Venice Armavir Province grape growers protesting outside Armenia government building Health minister talks about getting 3rd dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Armenia Georgia PM to Armenia counterpart: Existing challenges make cooperation between our countries more significant Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan FMs to meet in Tehran Armenia State Revenue Committee chief meets with US embassy drug enforcement program new director Armenia, Nicaragua FMs highlight interest to deepen cooperation within international platforms La Francophonie Secretary General: I reaffirm readiness to support Armenia initiatives Armenia, France FMs meet in New York, discuss prospects for settlement of Karabakh conflict Armenia Syunik Province governors wanted son turns himself in, is taken to prison 939 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia US welcomes China decision to stop building coal-burning power plants abroad US Congress demands release of all Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan FMs discuss rich agenda of Armenia-Greece relations Serbia to open diplomatic mission in Armenia Tiger kills shepherd in India right before the eyes of other shepherds Newspaper: Whose interests Armenia current government serves? Newspaper: Ex-Presidents Kocharyan, Sargsyan were invited to Armenia Independence Day anniversary event Armenia FM to Austrian counterpart: Armenian heritage of Artsakh urgently needs to be in international community's focus Armenia opposition MP: No protection of public interests mentioned in administrative-territorial division law Analyst: Presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan know the price for new and possible escalation Embassy of Iran in Armenia on situation regarding Iranian truck drivers detained in Azerbaijan Armenian and Slovenian FMs discuss pressing regional and international issues Armenia Parliament Speaker receives congratulatory messages from Iranian and Indian counterparts His Holiness Karekin II receives Samvel Karapetyan and participants of Armenian Business Forum 2021 Armenia MOD chairs consultation devoted to army's preparations for winter Driver dies in gorge after driving off Armenias Kapan-Kajaran road Armenia FM meets with Polish counterpart Armenia ruling party MP on reason why military parade was not held on Independence Day Armenia and Lithuania FMs meet in New York Criminal found at Armenia's border crossing point, was wanted by Greek law-enforcement authorities for 1 year Armenia Supreme Judicial Council members receive Swedish National Courts Administration delegation Level of Armenia's Lake Sevan drops 1 cm in period between September 13 and 19 Azerbaijan FM demands that counterparts of VUAM "exert pressure on Armenia" OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs planning to resume talks with Azerbaijani and Armenian FMs Digest: Blinken, Cavusoglu discuss Karabakh, Russia peacekeepers remove Artsakh flag from monastery Analyst: It's fundamentally important for Russia to maintain role of mediator between Yerevan and Baku Armenia and Karabakh territorial administration ministers discuss administrative-territorial reforms in Artsakh Tajikistan President congratulates Armenia PM on 30th anniversary of Independence Iran-Armenia Chamber of Commerce chairman visits Embassy of Armenia Dollar still going down in Armenia Armenian ruling party MP: Erdogan's demand for corridor is not ruled out, but Armenia granting it is ruled out Armenia drops 4 spots in Freedom House ranking of internet freedom Armenia's Assyrian community protesting against Dimitrov village's "enlargement" in front of parliament building US House of Representatives to vote on release of Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan Analyst: Russia is much more involved in Karabakh conflict now than it was before September 27, 2020 Ukraine President congratulates Armenian counterpart on 30th anniversary of Armenia's Independence YEREVAN. If Baku is seriously concerned about water access issues, it can discuss that with Stepanakert. Tigran Balayan, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Armenia, stated about the aforementioned, commentingat the request of Armenian News-NEWS.amon the accusations by an Azerbaijan MFA representative. In all likelihood, they celebrate Nowruz too much at the Azerbaijan MFA and abuse alcoholic drinks at workplace; the Baku officials comments have no other explanation, Balayan said. If matters in connection with ensuring water accessibility and management of water resources seriously interest Baku, then they can discuss them with Stepanakert, which has repeatedly expressed such readiness. I believe Stepanakert is still ready to collaborate in this domain. The Azerbaijani MFA representative on Thursday made use of this topic to accuse Armenia. Despite its concern over water issues, Azerbaijan refuses to discuss this matter with the authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh). Finish police are conducting operation to detain an armed man, who entered the school in the city of Oulu, Finland on Friday, Yle reported. According to the source, the individual went to school with a gan. Police officers are now checking the school and its surroundings. During the operation, students were told to follow orders from the police. The Latvian Parliament unanimously voted in favor of Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement at first reading, Latvian MP, head of Latvia-Armenia friendship group Sergey Potapkin told Vice President of the National Assembly of Armenia Eduard Sharmazanov. Sharmazanov informed that the second reading of the agreement will take place in April. If Baku is seriously concerned about water access issues, it can discuss that with Stepanakert, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Armenia, Tigran Balayan stated. In all likelihood, they celebrate Nowruz too much at the Azerbaijan MFA and abuse alcoholic drinks at workplace; the Baku officials comments have no other explanation, Balayan said. If matters in connection with ensuring water accessibility and management of water resources seriously interest Baku, then they can discuss them with Stepanakert, which has repeatedly expressed such readiness. I believe Stepanakert is still ready to collaborate in this domain. The US has dropped charges against 11 of the 15 bodyguards for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who were indicted after a brawl with protesters outside the country's embassy in Washington last May, a spokesperson for the US Attorney in DC noted. "The decisions were made after further review of evidence in the case that raised questions about the identification of individuals," a source familiar told CNN. Rescue Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Armenia received a call, noting that the sound and fire alarm systems had gone off in a post office in Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin) town, in the Armavir Province. It was found out that an unidentified person-or persons-had entered the post office through the window, and stolen computer monitors, processors and money. As a result of the talks in Brussels between the leaders of European Union (EU) countries, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven announced that a decision was made at the summit to recall the EU ambassador to Russia. In addition, the source confirmed that, following the example of the British authorities, some EU countries may even expel the Russian diplomats in their land, over the Skripal poisoning case. Blogger Alexander Lapshin will pay a visit to Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia, to take part in the 5th professional In Tour Expo 2018 international tourism exhibition. I shall present the To Baku in Lapshins Footsteps creators program. The program includes [Azerbaijan First Lady] Mehriban Aliyevas flight on private plane, all inclusive recreation at Kurdahan prison [in Azerbaijan] and the [Azerbaijan capital city] Baku Court on Grave Crimes. The price of the tour is contractual, he informed on his Facebook page, as a joke. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozys lawyer Thierry Herzog said he would prove the innocence of his client, AP reported. Im going to bring evidence proving his innocence. And well see who are the criminals, the thugs, the murderers, the thieves, he said. US President Donald Trump has suspended tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the US key trade partners, AFP said referring to White House administration report. The tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the following countries are suspended until May 1, 2018," the statement said, listing Australian, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, South Korea and EU member countries. According to the statement, the administration will closely monitor imports of steel and aluminum from exempted countries. Grandmaster (GM) Levon Aronian (Armenia) once again suffered a defeat against GM Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) during the tenth round of the Candidates Tournament 2018, which kicked off in Berlin. Aronian has 3.5 points so far, and he rounds up the bottom of the current standings. A man, who had taken hostages at the supermarket in Trebes and claimed allegiance to Islamic State, has been shot dead by police, Telegraph reported. According to the source, the attacker is 25-year-old Moroccan national. At least three people were killed as the result of the attack. As reported earlier, the mayor of Trebes, Eric Menassi said that hostages have been freed. One of the witnesses said the attacker shouted Allahu Akbar, (God is greatest) Ill kill you all. The attacker claimed allegiance to Islamic State and demanded to release Salah Abdeslam, the only surviving suspect of the 2015 Paris attacks. Earlier on Friday, the same individual followed the group of police officers and opened fire in the neighboring city of Carcassonne, BFMTV said. Home | News | General | Genevieve Nnaji shares cute hang out pictures with her dad With the whole waves the Black Panther movie made on internet, it will actually be a taboo if one didn't make any effort to see it. Nollywood actress Genevieve Nnaji didn't miss out in the fun as she went to see the popular movie alongside with her father. The father who seems to be on a visit in his daughter's house is actually having the fun of his life as Genevieve is putting up all daughter goals to make sure his visit is an exciting one. Beautiful Genevieve has shared adorable picture of herself and dad as she captions it that her father is going to show the Wakadians the real Nzeobi. READ ALSO: Geneveive Nnaji looks stunning in these beautiful photos She wrote: "Look whos going to the cinema to show the #wakandians who their #NzeObi is" PAY ATTENTION: Get best news on Nigeria's #1 news app The Nollywood actress who was born on 3rd May 1979, has made great wave in her career, with so many awards in her name. She won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a leading role in 2005, making her the first actress to win the award. The Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2011 honored her as a member of the Order of Nigerian government for her contribution to Nollywood. Nnaji was born in Mbaise, Imo State, Nigeria but grew up in Lagos, she was the fourth of eight children and was brought up in a middle class environment. Her father worked as an engineer and her mother as a nursery teacher. She attended Methodist Girls College Yaba, Lagos, before transferring into the University of Lagos where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in creative arts. Omoni Oboli Interview: About the Nigerian Movie Industry | Star Chat - NAIJ.com TV [embedded content] Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | Again, 149 Nigerian deportees arrive from Libya By Bose Adelaja A batch of 149 Nigerians deported from Libya, Thursday, arrived Lagos aboard a chartered BURAQ Airline. Libya returnees on arrival at the Port Harcourt International Airport Sunday. Photo: Nwankpa Chijioke The chartered flight with registration number 5A-DMG landed at about 10:45 pm at the NAHCO Tarmac of the Murtala Muhammad International Airport MMIA, Lagos. The deportees include 107 male adults, 37 female adults including a medical case, 4 female children and 1 female infant just as they were handed over to National Emergency Management Agency NEMA, by Mr AbrhamTamrat, the Programme Managerof nternational Organisation of Migrants IOM, Lagos. On arrival, they were received by the South West Zonal Coordinator of NEMA, Yakubu Suleiman. The Coordinator admonished the Returnees to shun the urge of seeking greener pasture where it does not exist. He pointed out that all nations in the world are facing various challenges as a result of global economic meltdown and that due to ingenuity of the present Federal Government that has overcame the recession while most countries that Nigerians are craving to run to are still grappling with the same economic and social issues worst than that of Nigeria Nigeria has more than enough resources that can cater for our needs but it is left for every one of us to tap from y these abundant tedources. He assured them that governments at Federal and State levels have lots of incentives for the returnees for their rehabilitations and reintegration to compliment European Union and IOM All were given a fully airtime recharge handset courtesy of the Offices of The Senior Special Assistant on SDG and Diaspora/Foreign Affairs. Other agencies present were the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the Nigeria Police Force and officials and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). This brought the total number of the Returnees to 301 within a space of a week. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | Omotola Jalade Ekeinde celebrates husband's 50th birthday as they mark their 22nd anniversary together Captain Matthew Ekeinde turns 50 today March 23, 2018 and several people have taken to social media to celebrate him including his wife, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde. Veteran Nollywood actress, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, has cause to celebrate once again. Not only is it her husband's birthday but also their 22nd wedding anniversary. The couple who are blessed with 4 beautiful children are considered one of Nigeria's finest celebrity couples. Her husband, Captain Matthew Ekeinde turned 50. To add to the celebration is the fact that their wedding anniversary also falls on the same day as his birthday. The couple who have been married since 1996 are celebrating their 22nd year together as husband and wife. Sharing some photos and a video of them together on her Instagram, she accompanied it with a beautiful message showering her man with lovely accolades: Happy 50th to A Unique, Different, One in a Lifetime Man. King Matthew Ekeinde. President of Aquatic Jungle Inc. Capt of Many planes and My heart. I usually forget it's Our Wedding Anniversary too...WOW! 22years! Thanks for My wakeup Gifts Hb! This picture captures How we started and where we still are. In his presence. I love you Honeyboy. #Happybirthday #happyanniversary to Us. " READ ALSO: Tonto Dikeh flaunts incredible new curves after cosmetic surgery READ ALSO: Creativity! Nigerian man discovers how to use banana stem for chair Recall Omotola wowed the internet with her lavish 5-day 40th birthday celebration. She left her fans and the entire internet stunned with the birthday ceremony which witnessed the creme dela creme of the Nigerian society. With such a grand birthday celebration, we can only imagine what the curvaceous actress has planned for her husband. PAY ATTENTION: Read best news on Nigeria's #1 news app Who should a man love more; his wife or the mother? on NAIJ.com TV: [embedded content] Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... A Minister at APLF Redwood Comment Tanners do not get to meet government ministers very often. When they do, they often find the politicians to be arrogant or ignorant, quite often both. By comparison, meeting His Excellency Dr. Arkebe Oqubay was a delight for all those who attended his press conference or his talk at APLF Hong Kong. He spoke with clarity about the business situation in Ethiopia, clearly understanding the global leather industry, and stepped forward afterwards happy to meet and talk to any interested individuals who wanted more information. Getting him to the fair was a big achievement for the organisers of APLF Leather. Ethiopia is vital in the development of the leather industry in Africa. Progress in all things, leather stalled some decades ago in sub-Saharan Africa but, for the last few years, the Ethiopian leather industry has been on the move with new tanneries and footwear plants. Dr. Arkebe Oqubay is a Minister and Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia having first become well known for his transformative period as mayor of Addis Ababa during 2003 2005. For leather people with experience of travelling to Ethiopia over the last three decades, it had been depressing to see the infrastructure crumbling away at the very moment China started to accelerate. So, the early years of the new millennium were vital in creating the turnaround that has given Ethiopia 15 years of GDP growth of 11% per annum, and Addis was always going to be the engine. From the presentation it was clear that Ethiopia has put in place, or is close to completing, many elements that worry industrialists such as power, transport and finance. He indicated that he wants the industry to be a sustainable one and agreed that an element of retro-fit was required to get this on path. This is a significant task as often in emerging markets the concept of the polluter paying is not accepted. Hopefully, the investors from India and China who have built new tanneries in Ethiopia have not done so in order to escape the increasing environmental pressures at home. There are good reasons to invest in Ethiopia, as was well laid out. The new railway to the coast, and an allied road structure will make exporting affordable and reliable. The light railway already working in the capital and many thousands of kilometers across the country. The Ethiopian airline is the best in Africa. Power is amongst the cheapest and greenest in the world. With 100 million people there is a good supply of labour, all with basic education, and there is a solid structure of technical education and training now in place. That same 100 million people offer another benefit for the investor and huge future market that will quickly spread across Africa. The concept of making in a low-cost environment to feed the hungry mouths of U.S. and EU consumers is declining in relevance. Think instead of where you can fly to in three or four hours from Addis in terms of future potential. One unspoken issue of importance is politics. Ethiopia has been stable since the fall of President Mengistu in the early 1990s, a process that Arkebe Oqubay was very much involved in. In the last three years that stability has looked a little fragile and Ethiopia is currently looking to find a new Prime Minister from amongst the complex factions that form the ruling coalition. Hopefully, they can find someone like Dr. Oqubay who is so straightforward and clear about the process to maintain progress, creating new jobs, and making sure that benefits filter into all regions of society. Leather and the leather using industries have a very important part to play in making Ethiopia truly sustainable. Dr Mike Redwood March 21, 2018 mike@internationalleathermaker.com Follow Dr Mike Redwood on twitter: @michaelredwood Publication and Copyright of "Redwood Comment" remains with the publishers of International Leather Maker. The articles cannot be reproduced in any way without the express permission of the publisher. Home | News | General | From Chibok to Dapchi: How Buhari is putting smiles on the faces of the kidnapped girls and their parents The Boko Haram insurgents have been perpetrating terrorist activities in the country for more than a decade. However, the activities of the insurgents became full flown during the administration of former president Goodluck Jonathan, especially with the kidnap of more than 200 school girls in a government secondary boarding school in Chibok, Borno state in 2014. The kidnap, which drew international attention, led to the formation of a movement tagged Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) which has been at the forefront of pressuring the government to ensure the release of the girls, now widely referred to as Chibok girls. In the buildup to the 2015 presidential election, President Buhari, then the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), made security one of the cardinal parts of his manifesto, particularly promising to defeat Boko Haram and ensure the release of the Chibok girls. READ ALSO: Breaking: President Buhari receives Dapchi schoolgirls in Aso Rock (video) Two years into his administration, how far has Buhari fared in fulfilling his promise? In October 2016, news broke out that twenty-one of the more than 200 Nigerian Chibok girls had been released. On the 13th of October of the same year, the presidency confirmed the release of the girls. The Nigerian government said the release of the girls was an outcome of negotiations between the administration and the Boko Haram brokered by the International Red Cross and the Swiss government. President Buhari and his vice, Yemi Osinbajo, received the released 21 Chibok girls at the presidential villa In May 2017, the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration also secured the release of another 82 Chibok girls from the captivity of the dreaded terrorist group. President Buhari addressing the 82 Chibok girls released by Boko Haram. President Buhari later invited the girls and their parents/families to the presidential villa. He expressed his happiness for their safe return, saying they have seen the worst that the world has to offer. It is now time for them to experience the best. The president assured the released girls that the presidency will personally supervise the performance of those entrusted with their welfare and promised that his office will monitor the commitments made by the federal government on the girls health, education, security and general well-being. Some of the girls were later reportedly sent to the United States and other countries to further their education. In February 3, 2017, the theatre commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj-Gen Rogers Nicholas declared that it had completely defeated the Boko Haram insurgents. The news was received with mixed feelings; while some believed the theatre commanders statement, some said time will tell, whether or not the insurgents have been completely defeated. Unfortunately, in late February, weeks after the commanders statement, the insurgents struck again. They kidnapped about 110 female students of Government Girls Secondary School at Dapchi town in Bursari local government area of Yobe state. President Buhari would later visit Dapchi to address the parents of the kidnapped girls and assure them of his commitment to secure the release of the girls. He expressed sadness over the latest abduction reiterated his promise to end the insurgency. His words: Boko Haram was in control of many local councils in Borno and some parts of Yobe state before we came. Now it has resorted to using young girls for s*uicide missions in mosques, churches and motor parks. We will not spare their members. We will ensure that Boko Haram meets its waterloo. By the will of God, I have directed the police and reinforced them, and the army and air force to keep searching until the children are returned alive. In the early morning of Wednesday, March 21, the insurgents eventually released the about 100 of the kidnapped Dapchi girls. While some praised President Buhari for the release of the girls and asked him to ensure the release of the remaining girls (both Dapchi and Chibok), some were of the opinion that the president did not deserve commendation. To the latter, the president should have ensured that the incident did not happen at all. Today, Friday, March 23, President Buhari received the released Dapchi at the presidential villa. President Buhari receives the newly released Dapchi school girls and one boy Addressing the children and their parents, President Buhari noted that he has fulfilled the promise he made while he visited the parents at Dapchi. He explained that his administration "entered into negotiations solely to make sure that no single girl was hurt." According to the president, the "strategy paid off as the girls have been released without any incidents." His speech in part: "Let me reemphasize our Administrations commitment to the fight against terrorism and insurgency, and also call on all Nigerians, to join in this task. The security services have since been directed to put in place further measures around all schools vulnerable to attacks to ensure the safety of our pupils/students and teachers and school workers. "I have tasked all the security agencies to work to ensure that we do not witness any recurrence of these incidents. Security Chiefs have been warned in clear terms that any lapse on their part will be viewed seriously. "To the rescued students, we want to reassure you as our daughters, that you will freely live and pursue your dreams in Nigeria of peace and order, without fear of violence or molestation. "While parents of the Dapchi girls rejoice because of the reunion with their children, I want to appeal to the Chibok Community never to lose hope or to despair. We are determined as never before, to bring back our remaining Chibok daughters. And this, we must accomplish. And that will be soon by Gods grace." Will the president be able to fulfil his promise by securing the release of the remaining Chibok and Dapchi girls? Will he be able to completely defeat the Boko Haram insurgents as promised during the 2015 presidential campaign? Only time will tell. Street Gist: Mixed reactions trail Boko Haram's release of Dapchi Girls on NAIJ.com TV [embedded content] Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | We are disappointed over one of Dapchi schoolgirls that was left behind in captivity - CAN - The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has condemned the politicization of the abduction and release of the innocent Dapchi schoolgirls - CAN has expressed dissatisfaction over one of them that was left behind simply because of her Christian faith - The association, however, demanded release of the names of five them that reportedly died in captivity The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on Friday, March 23, called on the federal government to set up a high power judicial panel to investigate the abduction of the school girls with a view to unmasking those behind the abduction and make them face the full wrath of the law. The CAN called on the federal government to set up a high power judicial panel to investigate the abduction of the school girls with a view to unmasking those behind the abduction and make them face the full wrath of the law. READ ALSO: President Buhari's speech as he receives Dapchi schoolgirls Vanguard reports that CAN also demanded release of the names of the five girls that reportedly died in captivity, saying that compensation be paid to the bereaved parents. According to a statement by Pastor Bayo Oladeji, the media adviser to the association, president condemned the political statements and intrigues that have trailed the return of the school girls. The statement read: ''CAN rejoices with the families of 104 Dapchi schoolgirls who regained their freedom from the captivity of the Boko Haram terrorists after the intervention of the federal government. ''The association, is however, deeply worried, surprised and disappointed that not all the girls were rescue and indeed, that one of them was left behind simply because of her Christian faith. ''CAN condemns in strong terms the politicization of the abduction and release of the innocent Dapchi schoolgirls, appealing to politicians to live up to the expectation in the discharge of their official assignments. ''The federal government should set up a high power judicial panel to investigate the abduction of the school girls with a view to unmasking those behind the abduction and make them face the full wrath of the law; ''The report of the panel purportedly set up by the presidency to investigate the abduction should be released immediately to the public; ''The national assembly should conduct a public hearing on the Dapchi abduction saga to expose any cover up. PAY ATTENTION:Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app ''The federal government should name the five students said to have died while in captivity with compensation paid to the bereaved parents. ''We also demand the immediate release of the remaining Chibok girls the Boko Haram captivity and reunion with their families. ''We once again demand a total re-organisation of the security agencies aligned with professionalism that will make them respond rapidly to security challenges in any part of the country. We desire a proactive security system. Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had reported that Sources involved in the talks that led to the release of the Dapchi schoolgirls have disclosed that powerful forces within the government, opposition and certain elements outside the country, nearly frustrated the negotiations. The unnamed individuals wanted to make the Dapchi girls abduction a campaign issue in the coming months. Mixed reactions trail Boko Haram's release of Dapchi girls - on NAIJ.com Street Gist: [embedded content] Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | Boko Haram: Police to set up explosive ordinance training school in Borno - The Nigeria police is gearing up to set up an Explosive Ordinance (EOD) training school in Borno state - The move is geared towards curbing indiscriminate Improvised Explosive Device attacks by Boko Haram insurgents - Work has already started on the project The Nigeria Police Force would set up an Explosive Ordinance (EOD) training school in Borno to check indiscriminate Improvised Explosive Device attacks by Boko Haram insurgents in the state. Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Kpotum-Idris made this known on Thursday, March 22, during an interactive session with officers and men of the Borno state police command in Maiduguri. IGP Idris used the opportunity of the visit to pay homage to the Shehu of Borno. Photo credit: Babusu READ ALSO: Police releases phone numbers of state commissioners nationwide Idris said that the school would be sited in Maiduguri, adding that work had already stated on the project which is currently at an advanced stage. We have deployed additional unit and sniffer dogs to Maiduguri to guard against suici*e bomb attacks and to ensure enhance security, he said. He disclosed that the police had also embarked on the rehabilitation of the Mobile Police Force training school, Gwoza. The IG assured that outstanding allowances would be paid to officers and men engaged in special assignments, as soon as the 2018 budget is passed. He also reiterated the commitment of the police high command towards providing modern equipment to officers and men of the force as well improve their welfare. While commending the officers and men of the command for their commitment and outstanding performance, Idris urged them to sustain the tempo. He also commended Governor Kashim Shettima, and the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Garbai for their numerous support to the police, noting that such support contributed towards the success of the police operations in the state. Also, speaking the Borno Commissioner of Police, Mr Damian Chukwu, commended the IG for the visit as well as his numerous support in terms of equipment supply to the command. Chukwu listed some of the equipment supplied to the command to include five Armoured Personnel Carriers, three Armoured Personnel Vehicles, sniffer dogs among others. He disclosed that the command had deployed 500 policemen to the counter-insurgency operation, adding that more personnel were deployed to liberated communities as part of stabilisation and peace restoration process. He added that the command had also adopted effective measures to curtail suici*e bombing, cattle rustling, drug abuse and gender base violence, as well as cases of assault. The commissioner also said the command was working in collaboration with the military and other security agencies to protect lives and property in the state. The IGP is billed to visit Gwoza, Uba as well as some communities liberated form the Boko Haram terrorist group during his visit to the state. Meanwhile, the Benue police command has debunked an online newspaper report that suggested special forces have been withdrawn from the theatre of operation in the state. In a statement sent to NAIJ.com on Sunday, February 25, the commissioner of police in the state, Fatai Owoseni, described the report as false. He said, rather, the Inspector General of Police has continued to reinforce the command with personnel and material resources as it becomes operationally expedient. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app If any police officer misbehaves with you, call any of these numbers on NAIJ.com TV [embedded content] Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... National Chairman and Presidential aspirant under the platform of the National Action Council (NAC), on Friday declared that former President, Olusegun Obasanjo is the main political problem of Nigeria. Agoro, while addressing a press conference at his Apata, lbadan residence also described Obasanjos Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM) as Coalition of Nigerian Muguns. The NAC National Chairman said only those who could not understand Obasanjos antics to perpetually dominate the Nigerian politics are buying into the idea of his CNM. He, however, challenged Obasanjo to publish details of the 3 million people he claimed had registered with the CNM. Agoro said, Obasanjo is the problem of Nigeria. He brought late YarAdua and failed; he also brought Jonathan and failed, he actively supported President Muhammadu Bihari, who has now disappointed Nigerians. Obasanjo is out again to take Nigerians on a ride with the coalition of Nigerian Muguns that he is packaging. He said he has gathered the list of 3 million Nigerians. I am challenging him to publish the list of the 3 million Nigerians who have joined his coalition before next week Tuesday. Obasanjo rode to the top in his political career. But it appears that his ride has no bus stop and brake. He does not know where to stop. Agoro suggested that Obasanjo, after his presidency should have toed the path of honor like late Nelson Mandela, by quitting partisan politics. He said, Have you heard the immediate past President of the United States, Barack Obama, criticising his successor, Donald Trump, like Obasanjo has been doing since 1999?. Speaking further on the state of the nation, Agoro said both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) do not mean well for Nigerians. He revealed that he decided to contest the 2019 presidential election to repair all the damages done to the country by both PDP and APC. Home | News | General | Breaking: Court throws out charges against Justice Ngwuta The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Friday, March 23, discharged a Supreme Court judge, Justice Sylvester Ngwuta of the 13-count charge preferred against him by the federal government in 2016. Delivering a ruling, Justice John Tsoho held that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the case. Tsoho also held that the condition precedent for charging a judicial officer to court was not complied with. He said the precedent was that any judicial officer accused of a wrong doing must first be reported to the National Judicial Council (NJC), before being charged to court. Tsoho said that the condition was not followed before the charges were filed against Ngwuta, adding that the proceedings so far conducted in the case remained null and void. READ ALSO: Anambra guber: Obiano to face Tribunal on April 17 The court holds that the condition precedent to filing of the charge against the applicant (Ngwuta) was not fulfilled. Consequently, the jurisdiction of this court to try same was not properly invoked. Therefore, the proceedings taken so far herein are declared a nullity, the charge is struck out and the applicant discharged, Tsoho ruled. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)reports that Ngwuta was charged following a raid on his house and some other judges by operatives of the Department of State Security Services, (DSS). He was arraigned on charges of Money Laundering and possession of multiple international passports. In the course of the trial, Counsel to the defendant, Mr Kanu Agabi, (SAN) filed an application seeking an order of the court dismissing the matter for lack of jurisdiction. Agabi argued that the condition-precedent for the invocation of the jurisdiction of the court as set by the Court of Appeal was not followed. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app Speaking with newsmen after the session, Mrs Olufemi Fatunde, the Prosecuting Counsel said a petition would be duly sent to the NJC to formally place Ngwutas alleged misconduct before the council. She said it was indeed incumbent on the prosecution to follow the proper procedure for charging a judicial officer to court. NAIJ.com earlier reported that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned Justice Mohammed Yinusa before a Lagos high court sitting in Ikeja. He was arraigned on a five count charge alongside Esther Agbo, a staff of the law firm of a senior advocate of Nigeria, Rickey Tarfa. The EFCC stage a walk against corruption - on NAIJ.com TV [embedded content] Source: Naija.ng CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Proven guilty before the crime? China using big data to detain suspicious individuals before any crime is even committed Chinese citizens are already under an enormous amount of pressure to fall in line as it is, what with all of the surveillance going on inside of the countrys borders, but now the Chinese government have taken things one step further yet again. Based on a report unearthed by Human Rights Watch, China now has a fully-functional real-time system that marks suspicious individuals and arrest them shortly thereafter before theyve even committed any crimes. This system, reportedly dubbed the Integrated Joint Operations Platform (IJOP), uses big data to perform its pre-programmed tasks. It takes data from various banking records, facial-recognition cameras, license plate cameras, police check points, police reports, and even Wi-Fi internet sniffers in order to make any decisions regarding suspect individuals. According to a report, the system can see all of the activity of Chinas citizens and immediately flag anything thats suspicious, such as a huge purchase of fertilizer all at one time, then notify the police. They are then expected to respond to the suspicious activity flagged on the same day, and are authorized to act based on what they do find. According to Maya Wang, a senior China researchers at Human Rights Watch, her organization has been able to document the connection between detentions and so-called big data programs. We are no longer saying that mass surveillance is deeply and widely intrusive when it comes to privacy rights, which of course is a big alarm, she explained. It goes further than that. People are being detained in an arbitrary manner because they are put in these political-education facilities. The system, which has been deployed and in use already in Chinas far Western Xinjiang region, is reportedly meant to be implemented on political education centers. But the methods being applied in these facilities arent geared towards any real education at all, according to reports. It is said that the re-education involves forcibly detaining people for months on end, even when no charges have been pressed against them, just so they can be inculcated in political doctrine thats deemed acceptable by the Chinese state. Though largely unreliable and, according to Wang, often exacerbates some of the biases, China has already decided to put a lot of trust in this new system. Its built upon ideas of Chinese police theorists, who have identified certain extremist behaviors, which include if you store a large amount of food in your home, if your child suddenly quits school and so on, she said. When a computer is trained on how to search for these particular parameters, youll end up with a big data program modeled upon pretty racist ideas about peaceful behaviors that are part of a Uyghur identity. The Uyghurs are a Turkic ethnic group living in East and Central Asia that are prone to discrimination in the region. Although considered a massive violation of human rights and privacy to citizens who are living in many developed countries, this latest move by China can be considered business as usual. A similar system was already in place even before this new one was implemented. The only difference here is, now theyre doing it with the help of technology. One police officer named Xu Linglei, who took part in an interview with the Chinese Nanfang magazine, remarked that the system is working perfectly for what it was designed for. Before the application of big data, police often only arrested people after they had committed wrongdoings and the victims suffered a losses as a result, he stated. Now, relying on information technology, then can take preventive measures in advance. Could you live in such a society? Would you like to see something similar implemented where you live? See other ways that human rights and privacy get violated in PrivacyWatch.news. Sources include: TheGlobeandMail.com Reuters.com shawn bb i love you but The whole reason I wrote this song was to be like, at the end, Its not in my blood to do that. i dont think thats how anxiety works hun bun Reply Thread Link When is he going to fist me Reply Thread Link Love yourself sis Also he probably wants to be fisted more than anything Edited at 2018-03-22 11:34 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link True. I can Treat Him Better and show him a little Mercy. Hope I wont leave him in Stiches. Reply Parent Thread Link People need to stop comparing being sad or being anxious for a bit to actual depression and anxiety issues Reply Thread Link It seems like celebrities talking about anxiety is trendy and makes them ~relatable Reply Parent Thread Link I'm always a bit confused about celebrities talking about mental health. The good thing is that they do help in removing the stigma related to mental health. The bad thing is often they come across a bit exploitative and fake. But I'd rather take things at face value, because entertainment business can be shitty for your mental health Reply Parent Thread Link SEND NUDES Reply Thread Link Didnt he say that he was considered for the lead role in Love, Simon in an interview today? Anyways his new song sounds very Babys First James Bay (which is funny bc James Bay is basic af anyways) Reply Thread Link The host then asks Shawn if the rumours of him auditioning for the lead character are true, to which the Canadian singer/songwriter responds: I wouldve loved to. Unfortunately, timing didnt work out. It wouldve been amazing! http://www.gaytimes.co.uk/culture/102222/shawn-mendes-nearly-auditioned-for-lead-role-love-simon/ I found this: Reply Parent Thread Link I thought all you faggots knew better than to fall under the spell of another white twink BUT I GUESS I WAS WRONG Reply Thread Link sis, this comment is a mess even for you. even i wouldn't throw that word around being gay. Reply Parent Thread Link sis, you know I love you, but Im not really here for you trying to police my usage of the word. If you dont like it thats completely your choice, but you shouldnt come for another homosexual who chooses to utilize it. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Ugh, I don't know how that person hasn't been banned yet. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link i don't mind the word tbh. I guess a grew a thick skin from when i was younger, and it's sort of normal vernacular amongst my gay friends. Within reason, i guess. Reply Parent Thread Link Oop. Wig. We need more latino twunks but wherearethey.gif Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I would like to be excluded from this narrative Reply Parent Thread Link no Reply Parent Thread Link He looks like Luke from Modern Family idk how people find him cute. Reply Thread Link IDontKnowHer.gif, #AskingForAFriend , did this guy peak with Stitches? Reply Thread Link Every follow up song from him has sounded like Stitches 2.0 but theyve all been decently successful bc they payola the shit out of them on radio and he discounts them for six months at a time on iTunes so he eventually hits the Billboard Top 20 Reply Parent Thread Link I finally believe he's straight. No gay man in this entire world would ever said something so TRAGIC like "I wanted to make a Kings of Leon record". You straights can keep him! Reply Thread Link he needs to go official with charlie puth, pop power couple Reply Thread Link *power bottoms Reply Parent Thread Link what is he even saying here? Reply Thread Link Being gay and in the closet has given him anxiety. Basically what Jennifer Garner said in Love, Simon. Bloop. Reply Parent Thread Link I like the song Reply Thread Link Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in Hello! Your entry got to top-25 of the most popular entries in LiveJournal!Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ Reply Thread Link Before my first (of many) panic attacks I always thought I was a calm person, cool as a cucumber, but my developing anxiety issues really made me become retrospective and realize a lot of the way I was growing up was due to anxiety. Reply Thread Link Wow this post is a mess. Id cum on his face tho. Reply Thread Link lmaooooo Reply Parent Thread Link Within hours of Mississippi passing a 15-week abortion ban, Ohio lawmakers introduced a bill that would ban *all* abortions, including in cases of rape and incest and to save a womans life. Its written such that women could face charges. https://t.co/rWn6xPpglT pic.twitter.com/293TnydQug Lauren Kelley (@lauren_kelley) March 20, 2018 Two Republican Ohio Lawmakers have introduced Housebill 565 that would outright ban all abortion in the state, including cases of rape, incest, or when the pregnant life is in danger. The bill makes an "unborn human" a person under Ohio's criminal code regarding murder, manslaughter and homocide, and allows for wrongful death lawsuits. Rep. Ron Hood (R), one of the bill's sponsors, said it would be up to the prosecutur to decide what punishment to seek and who to charge. This means pregnant women seeking abortions could be charged with a crime. Lawmakers also hope this bill will be rejected on consitutional grounds so they can appeal and make the Ohio Supreme Court review their past decisions on abortion, or the Supreme Court itself potentially overturning Roe vs. Wade. Eighteen co-sponsors, marking twenty, currently support the bill. Ohio lawmakers have passed twenty anti-abortion restrictions since 2010. Hood said: "I believe life begins at conception so the goal of this bill is to first of all continue to get the word out that life does begin at conception and move the debate in that direction, and to protect unborn Ohioans from being aborted." Rep. Nino Vitale (R), said the absence of exceptions for the mother's life is to "save them both" and claimed the bill still provides immunity for physicians who directly/indirectly cause the death of a fetus. He (Vitale) also said, "Life isn't always giving us things by our choice and I don't want to put a woman through a second trauma after she's been through such an awful first one." NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio said the bill would allow doctors to be charged with murder, punishable by life in person or the death penalty. Executive Director Kellie Copeland said in a statement, "Anti-choice extremists from the Ohio Statehouse to the White House are lining up their dominoes to topple Roe v. Wade and punish those who seek or provide abortion care."The bill is still gathering support. But in another state, earlier... Less then a day before the bill in Ohio was introduced, Mississippi passed Housebill 1510, banning nearly all abortions after 15 weeks. This bill also includes no exceptions for incest or rape. The only exceptions are if there are health problems with the fetus, making it incompatiable with life at full term, or if the mother's life or "major bodily function" is threatened by the pregnancy. Mississippi has the highest infant mortality and premature death rates in the country, with the worst child clinical care and highest teen pregnancy. The bill was passsed by Republican Governor Phil Bryant, who promised in 2014 that, [his] goal is to end abortion in Mississippi. The state has only abortion clinic, the Jackson Women's Health Organization. The Center for Reproductive Rights sued to block the bill, saying it violates constitutional precedent and on March 20th U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves blocked the bill for ten days. This will allow time for the court to consider further action. Ohio and Missisippi aren't alone states like South Dakota don't have any clinics that allow for second-term abortions at all. In 2013, Arkansas attempted an abortion ban at 12 weeks. Mississippi now has the most strict abortion limit in the country while Ohio's bill looms, but another limit is on the horizon... Kentucky legislature is currently looking at Housebill 454, an 11 week ban for abortions that involve "bodily dismemberment, crushing, or human vivisection of the unborn child" (While this is referencing D&E - dilation and evacuation abortions, versus more common vacuum aspiration ones the language is vague, which could make a dangerous precedent even worse). Pro-life Democrat incumbent Dan Lipinksi won the Illinois primary against progressive newcomer Marie Newman Tuesday night. Lipinksi is the pro-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus and was endorsed by his party. He was supported by the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List. including cases of rape, incest, or when the pregnant life is in danger. The bill makes an "unborn human" a person under Ohio's criminal code regarding murder, manslaughter and homocide, and allows for wrongful death lawsuits.This means pregnant women seeking abortions could be charged with a crime. Lawmakers also hope this bill will be rejected on consitutional grounds so they can appeal and make the Ohio Supreme Court review their past decisions on abortion, or the Supreme Court itself potentially overturning Roe vs. Wade. Eighteen co-sponsors, marking twenty, currently support the bill. Ohio lawmakers have passed twenty anti-abortion restrictions since 2010.Rep. Nino Vitale (R), said the absence of exceptions for the mother's life is to "save them both" and claimed the bill still provides immunity for physicians who directly/indirectly cause the death of a fetus.Executive Director Kellie Copeland said in a statement,The bill is still gathering support. But in another state, earlier...This bill also includes no exceptions for incest or rape. The only exceptions are if there are health problems with the fetus, making it incompatiable with life at full term, or if the mother's life or "major bodily function" is threatened by the pregnancy.with the worst child clinical care and highest teen pregnancy. The bill was passsed by Republican Governor Phil Bryant, who promised in 2014 that,The state has only abortion clinic, the Jackson Women's Health Organization.This will allow time for the court to consider further action. states like South Dakota don't have any clinics that allow for second-term abortions at all. In 2013, Arkansas attempted an abortion ban at 12 weeks. Mississippi now has the most strict abortion limit in the country while Ohio's bill looms, but another limit is on the horizon...(While this is referencing D&E - dilation and evacuation abortions, versus more common vacuum aspiration ones the language is vague, which could make a dangerous precedent even worse).Lipinksi is the pro-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus and was endorsed by his party. He was supported by the anti-abortion group Unconstitutional. I cant believe this is real. https://t.co/lJOODcJJ0A Danielle Brooks (@thedanieb) March 22, 2018 Mississippi has ONE abortion clinic. One abortion clinic in the entire state. Imagine if there was only ONE dentist in an entire state. Or one orthopedic surgeon. Mississippi governor signs nation's strictest abortion policy into lawhttps://t.co/Wp57iRxFBD Rhea Butcher (@RheaButcher) March 19, 2018 This makes me so sad. Mississippi also has the highest teen pregnancy rates too. We arent taught Sex Ed in school and our access to contraception is difficult and they STILL dont see an issue with making it harder to have an abortion?? https://t.co/fQO082G4WK Tess Holliday (@Tess_Holliday) March 20, 2018 A Federal Court Has Blocked Mississippis 15-Week Abortion Ban https://t.co/emNZ3WMXX1 Russ Rankin (@russrankinNJD) March 21, 2018 Judge blocks Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks https://t.co/fDTnoJIO2M alysia reiner (@alysiareiner) March 22, 2018 This is dangerous and unconstitutional. The women of Mississippi should have access locally to safe and legal options. https://t.co/77ccWsLB13 Bridget Moynahan (@bridgetmoynahan) March 20, 2018 @NancyPelosi Why are you endorsing a Democrat for Congress in Illinois who thinks birth control is an abortion inducing drug ? #RoseArmy supports #MarieNewman #Congress #Illinois rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) March 19, 2018 yup, its still the dark ages in Mississippi, for women anyway. Kristin Bauer (@BauervanStraten) March 9, 2018 Mississippi signed the toughest abortion law in the U.S., and opponents are already suing https://t.co/0TXSFXQp3x #tictocnews pic.twitter.com/r3PxTtKIZN TicToc by Bloomberg (@tictoc) March 20, 2018 Gov. Phil Bryant (R-Miss.) says he is saving the unborn, but abortion rights advocates say Mississippis restrictive ban will hurt low-income women and children and threaten Roe v. Wade. pic.twitter.com/LVq3onnjmv On the same day that Mississippi governor Phil Bryant signed a bill into law officially banning most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, two Republican lawmakers in Ohio are proposing legislation that could ban abortions completely in the state. https://t.co/jRxDq6kI64 Teen Vogue (@TeenVogue) March 20, 2018 mississippi's 15-week abortion ban was quite literally written by a hate group and is an overt attempt to further eliminate already clawed-back abortion access. 20-week bans punish a group which includes the most desperate pregnant people; 15-wk band expand the pool dramatically. kill tim faust (@crulge) March 20, 2018 #Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed into law a bill that prevents women from getting #abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Pregnancies resulting from rape and incest aren't exempted. https://t.co/USttmGZqJB Brittany Noble-Jones (@noblejonesontv) March 20, 2018 This is not only patently unconstitutional, its unsafe for patients needing abortion care, particularly in a state with some of the highest maternal mortality rates. Shame on the politicians of Mississippi. Anti-abortion laws are dangerous to public health and womens lives. https://t.co/hms5CV2FI8 Dr. Daniel Grossman (@DrDGrossman) March 19, 2018 Mississippi: passes most restrictive US abortion law to "protect women and children" Also Mississippi: - hasn't passed Medicaid Expansion, which would protect 1000s of women and children. - rejected 90%+ of #TANF applicants, a program that protects women and children. Salaam Bhatti (@salawm) March 9, 2018 Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban is just one of a wave of new anti-abortion efforts https://t.co/XTeOJrbDKH Anna North (@annanorthtweets) March 22, 2018 A federal judge has temporarily blocked a new Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks https://t.co/c3OAMOJ7nm @nbcnewyork PPNYC Action Fund (@PPNYCAction) March 21, 2018 Mississippi's abortion ban has been called the "most restrictive in the nation"but other states are already in the process of passing even harsher restrictions https://t.co/HfRDBbVQGT Broadly (@broadly) March 22, 2018 Due to its incredibly lax gun laws, Mississippi had the 4th highest number of gun deaths per capita among states in 2016, and the highest rate of crime gun exports among states. But do go on about being pro-life... https://t.co/r8cwUWW0A7 Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 19, 2018 Kevin D. Williamson once tweeted that women who have abortions should be executed, and The Atlantic just hired him https://t.co/sPNZKLih7c Sarah Jones (@onesarahjones) March 22, 2018 She was 13. Prom. High school graduation. Her first job. Meeting her special someone. College. These are all experiences, memories a gun took from her, her loved ones. Gun reform isnt about taking guns away. Its about not taking people away.https://t.co/prbEs26fMf Abdul El-Sayed (@AbdulElSayed) March 21, 2018 An anti-abortion group helped Dan Lipinski to victorynow they're going after other pro-life Democrats https://t.co/9nO4p37OIy pic.twitter.com/PAA5qNFZH8 Newsweek (@Newsweek) March 22, 2018 Hey Ohioans. Here are the numbers to call the reps sponsoring Ohios recent ban on all abortions. If you think its a bad idea, please call and tell them. https://t.co/xAY5N57Mho Celeste Ng (@pronounced_ing) March 22, 2018 Oh god, seeing that show for the first time (and second time, too, lbr) absolutely wrecked me. Started crying at "Days and Days" and continued all the way through to the end. "Telephone Wire" will make me cry sometimes just listening to the song, lol. I could see an argument either way for taking your parents, but I get your hesitation. Reply Parent Thread Link This comment just made me google the show. My gf is writing her thesis on Fun Home (and other queer comics) so Im going to take her so thanks! (/csb) Reply Parent Thread Link Ooooh no re: your evil former boss. :/ Yeah, the way everyone talks about it is very OTT, so I am trying to keep my expectations in a neutral place. Reply Parent Thread Link The best play I saw was Constellations with Rafe Spall and Sally Hawkins. An absolute masterpiece. It was about love and death and quantum theory. I think about it all the time, own the play text, wish i could see it again. With that cast pref. Reply Thread Link so stoked to see love of my life denise gough (voice of yennefer in the witcher 3) in an ontd post i don't care for theater, but i'd make an exception for bae. Reply Thread Link its a classic, and the cast looks excellent. on a lighter note, i was scrolling past & thought i saw mac from always sunny in the cast pic Reply Thread Link I love Andrew Garfield despite all his issues tbh. Reply Thread Link me too. he's a great actor Reply Parent Thread Link After 10 years, I finally get to see Bon iver live this May and that was on my "artists to see before I die" list. I know a lot of ONTD hate him, but Bon Iver's music has helped me with depression and anxiety. So that live show will undoubtedly mean the most to me. Reply Thread Link Oh man, I saw Bon Iver a few years ago and he was incredible (opening with Woods gave me chills), so I can't imagine how meaningful that must have been for you. Reply Parent Thread Link I havent seen him yet lol the concert is in May at a small intimate theatre and I know I should keep my expectations down but Im almost certain that he wont let me down. I doubt hed play my favorite song but thats okay lol Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I saw him live a few months ago and he sounds SO good live, youre going to have a great time. Reply Parent Thread Link I'd love to see this because I like the cast but I will never be able to get up there. Give me a recording. Reply Thread Link There was one floating around of the London cast but I think YT took it down Reply Parent Thread Link Pretty much any concerts from my faves. Bruce Springsteen (a bunch of times), The Jayhawks, I saw David Bowie on his last tour, I saw Doves exactly once before they disbanded (RIP). oh! and given my icon, I can't ignore the Police reunion tour that I got to see, which was fucking awesome. Edited at 2018-03-23 04:39 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link Good thing there is a new season of drag race to help Andrew stay in character Reply Thread Link I lol'd. Reply Parent Thread Link I saw this play in NYC back when Zachary Quinto and Christian Borle were doing it. Christian was PHENOMENAL. Zoe Kazan played Hannah and it's the only thing I've ever liked her in. Reply Thread Link My prof saw this and he said it was really good except that Andrew Garfield is really bad in the beginning, but that he gets better as it goes on. Reply Thread Link I saw this in London and it moved me 100%. I'd want to see Lee Pace in it (rather than Russell Tovey) but I'm not in a rush to go with 95% being the same. Reply Thread Link i cried when i saw 'wicked' on broadway in high school Reply Thread Link My sister and I went to Wicked this summer and were sitting near a class of highschoolers, and the girl right behind us was just completely losing it near the end and audibly sobbing, it was cute lol Reply Parent Thread Link my bff is going to go see this and I'm so envious. I've never been to New York and my exposure to live theater is limited to whatever tours, but it's always an incredible experience. And Lee Pace!! though man, I bet it is draining for everyone involved, being such an incredibly long play Reply Thread Link They address it a bit in the interview, but I can't even imagine how tiring it is to do. I'm dreading the length and I am only going to be watching, lol. Reply Parent Thread Link both of these seem like stupid, snobby decisions Reply Thread Link It's France so I'm not surprised. Reply Parent Thread Link sounds like the french film industry. Reply Parent Thread Link This is the same organization that turned away women wearing flat shoes on the red carpet. Reply Parent Thread Link oh my god, that's evil Reply Parent Thread Link fuck them tbh Reply Parent Thread Link it's very old man yells at clouds on their part. Reply Parent Thread Link lol they sound rlly uptight. Reply Thread Link Cinephiles and their anti-Netflix campaigns are so fucking stupid. God forbid people who dont have art theaters in their towns are able to see smaller movies. Reply Thread Link honestly ia. 99% of people who see these movies on netflix would never watch it in theaters. like do yall not want people seeing your shit or what? Reply Parent Thread Link mte. how many people would have paid $10-20 to see a movie like Mudbound even if it was playing near them? Netflix is a good way for smaller films to find an audience without flopping in theaters first. Reply Parent Thread Link they actually don't. people are very snob about art and who should have access to it Reply Parent Thread Link Idk, I don't really like Netflix's model either. I would have loved to have seen Okja in theaters - and I would have, even if it was on Netflix day-and-date. There's no reason they can't figure out a model where a movie's on Netflix right away or after a week or two and still put it on a couple hundred screens. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link this Reply Parent Thread Link watch them have the latest Woody Allen in the Competition Reply Thread Link the selfie thing is just dumb, but i agree with the netflix thing. if they're not willing to release their films in cinemas, good on cannes for sticking to their own rules & principles as well. Reply Thread Link IA, I wish Netflix could find a medium like Amazon. Annihilation wasn't fully a Netflix movie but I was sad I was only able to see it on my tv because the theater experience must've been amazing Reply Parent Thread Link It was amazing tbh. Reply Parent Thread Link Annihilation was a great movie to see in theaters. Reply Parent Thread Link mte, as below, even amazon releases their shit into theaters Reply Parent Thread Link there are all these gorgeous old movie theaters (some abandoned, some restored) in downtown la and i always thought it would be really cool for netflix to buy one ("netflix theater" or whatever) and have binge screenings for certain really popular netflix shows. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link i think one problem with Netflix is also that even if it is pretty much worldwide available now, they don't have subtitles (nor dub audio) available. idk how it is in other countries but I have yet to find anything on my netflix that has subtitles in my language, my only options are english and maybe italian (also japanese for some anime) and that's it. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Cannes has got to be the most pretentious of all these festivals. I like seeing the red carpet pics, of course, but so many dumb rules. Reply Thread Link mte even Amazon releases stuff in theaters did you watch It Follows??? Reply Parent Thread Link No, but my husband and I usually stay in and watch a movie on Friday nights, so I think we will watch it tonight. I will report back! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link opps I meant to reply about the releasing in theaters above you lol Reply Parent Thread Link Cannes is like the Oscars of film festivals, so you have to expect them to be the most extra. They also changed the press screenings from the morning before the premiere to be shown at the same time as the premiere. So no advance notice from the critics before a film screens at its premiere. All the reactions will come out at the same time now. That won't make the filmmakers more nervous, not at all. Reply Parent Thread Link fucking lame Reply Thread Link Cannes yelling at kids to get off their lawn. Reply Thread Link The selfie rule doesn't bother me but the reasoning is snobby. It would make more sense to say that they want to keep the Red Carpet moving and allow professional photographers a chance to get pictures without phones in them. I'd get that. But just saying it's gauche is not cool. Reply Thread Link The film industry is shook Netflix is coming for their prestige so they're trying really hard to ban them, but it doesn't look like Netflix cares. I wouldn't be surprised if theatrical releases become obsolete in the future. Reply Thread Link thierry gotta go. ten bucks say competition lineup will be 90% comprised of male directors who already shown in comp before with maybe one or two women to avoid getting shit from the press (but not claire denis). Edited at 2018-03-23 07:00 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link Basically pretentious asswaffles who live in big cities and can see almost any movie whenever they want because they have lots of options think streaming is ~ruining the cinematic experience~ and conveniently forget that 95% of the population of the rest of the world will never get to see those same movies. Edited at 2018-03-23 07:04 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link I thought she was holding a digital camera in that photo lol Reply Thread Link Good Why are ppl so happy turning everything so homogenous to not be snobby Cannes are supppsed to be glam and pretentious Reply Thread Link st mathilda's from cracks!!! btw kate winslet looks like she's a 40yr old pretending to be 17 in that gif. it's weirding me out.. Reply Thread Link I saw the movie of Cracks before reading the book, and I had no idea it was originally set in South Africa. I assumed it was just Britain like the film, but then they're like "and then we strolled out onto the Veldt" and I'm like "......hwhat" Reply Parent Thread Link Cracks is a book?? I've only seen the film and i HATED it. Is the book better? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I think that's part of what made her look so much like young Anne Perry. Reply Parent Thread Link yass cracks, the filming locations looked beautiful <3 Reply Parent Thread Link Miss Cackle's!!! She always kinda looked like my grandma too so I loved it more lol. Edited at 2018-03-23 07:31 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link yesssssssss Reply Parent Thread Link Truly, the only choice. :-) Reply Parent Thread Link I am still bitter I didn't get the Madeline wooden dollhouse I asked for in 2001. Reply Parent Thread Link The first thing that comes to mind is Lowood from Jane Eyre, but I guess that's not actually a place one would want to go. Reply Thread Link oh how i wept for poor Helen at like 15 when I read it loool Reply Parent Thread Link im rereading it and am just like burn the whole school to the ground Reply Parent Thread Link when i was growing up i used to want to go to boarding school so badly lol. Reply Thread Link I probably wouldn't mind like, Hogwarts, but real boarding school sounds dreadful to me. like I can't think of a single feature that would appeal to me lol Reply Parent Thread Link Having a roommate would be a no. I dont like sharing my space. Reply Parent Thread Link Ditto... it seemed so sophisticated and exciting. Reply Parent Thread Link Same, I always wants to go to the Chalet School in Switzerland Reply Parent Thread Link same or a private school with a uniform. lol Reply Parent Thread Expand Link What a heartwarming post, and I say this without sarcasm. When I was a baby I wanted to go to Breaker High because ON A BOAT. Reply Thread Link Miss Minchin's school for girls was the first thing that came to mind. Not that I'd want to go there it was just the first school that popped into my head. Edited at 2018-03-23 08:00 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link LOL same here. To be fair, I did want to live in the attic with Sara and Becky. I had the VHS that came with a replica of the locket and I used to pretend I was an orphan. Kids are weird. Reply Parent Thread Link omg me too!! Reply Parent Thread Link oh man when I was in high school I was completely obsessed with Heavenly Creatures. I'm still mad at Kate Winslet for being a jerk because she was my favorite actress for many of my younger years Reply Thread Link Oh man when I was younger I could not get enough of reading about Malory Towers. I borrowed every book from the library. All I wanted was to be a student at that school. St Trinians was also a dream until I went to high school and it turned out to be an almost real-life version of St Trinians with all the shit that went on there. Also, on St Trinians, the Great Train Robbery movie is the best but the 2007 re-boot version is underrated af and I always watch it at Christmas. Reply Thread Link Malory towers was everything. Fuck that bitch Gwen though. Shame Enid Blyton is the worst Reply Parent Thread Link I mean, Hogwarts is the obvious choice. I remember being so disappointed when I found out later in life that JKR didn't come up with the boarding school system and the houses and common rooms etc... it just seemed so magical and foreign to me as a kid lol Also, I went to an all-girls school irl and it wasn't that special. As far as I can tell. Reply Thread Link you didn't know about boarding schools and houses before hp? Reply Parent Thread Link It's not a thing in my country, so no. (Boarding schools, yes, but they are extremely rare and work differently.) *I should add that I think the worldwide success of HP was actually partially based on kids like me finding everything in the books even more magical than ppl from the UK would. Edited at 2018-03-23 08:10 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I didn't either and I'm American. I'm from one of the square states in the middle, though, very tiny town where everyone went to public high school. The only private high schools were Catholic schools, and there were no boarding aspects to any of them. Reply Parent Thread Link Hogwarts is so full of risks though, and is there wifi. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link lmao i'm not from the uk either and i felt the same way about hogwarts! when i found out apparently all boarding schools there have houses and points systems and prefects i was like '...oh' Edited at 2018-03-23 10:35 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link I wanted a uniform like Madeleine's so bad, I would rock that yellow hat. Reply Parent Thread Link I love St Trinians. I also love that you can see the 10th Doctor and the 13th Doctor in the same movie. And my trashy bbs Girls Aloud! Heavenly Creatures is great. Kate Winslet really does look like Anne Perry. Speaking of, I saw that she's got another book out. I fucking hate that a real life murderer makes money out of writing murder mysteries. Also the Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is gr9. In general I love boarding school stories because they gay af. Reply Thread Link I fucking hate that a real life murderer makes money out of writing murder mysteries. what the fuck, brb google Reply Parent Thread Link Apparently nobody knew that she had changed her name to Anne Perry until Heavenly Creatures was coming out. I read Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century and it was one of the best true crime books I've ever read. Reply Parent Thread Link This entry got me curious and goggling Anne Perry, and honestly she came off as sooo creepy to me in a YouTube clip where shes talking about the murder. When you think of how brutal it actually must have been to pin someone down and beat them to death with a rock, it was so strange how cold and detached she seemed when she was saying oh she was awake (when asked if Paulines mother was awake or not at the time of the murder) almost like it was no big deal. Something about her really gave me the creeps Reply Parent Thread Expand Link ooo i went to a girls' school. honestly so glad i didn't have to bother w teen boys Reply Thread Link I think that's why I liked girl school fiction as a kid. I liked the idea of not having to worry about what to wear or boy proximity. Reply Parent Thread Link yeah i'm glad we had uniforms as well. i mean, we all made a huge effort on non-uniform days but getting to wear the same thing all week was a blessing in disguise. also i'm gay so lmao i never have to deal w men either Reply Parent Thread Link Same. As a girl I didnt understand why my mom wanted me to go there so bad and I was disappointed but in hindsight I am so grateful and happy about it. I also think it absolutely informed my feminist agenda to not have to deal with boys during my education Reply Parent Thread Link i used to fear boarding schools because my mom would constantly threaten to send me in one lol. i was intrigued by the all-girls school in lost and delirious Reply Thread Link They filmed huge parts of Lost and Delirious at my university. Sadly, in real life there are men. Reply Parent Thread Link i love what meghan is wearing Reply Thread Link I bet Kate has this baby by mid-April. And Edited at 2018-03-23 08:23 pm (UTC) Those commemorative plates and cups look really pretty. And Meghan looks great today!I bet Kate has this baby by mid-April.And someone on Tumblr is directly calling out the tinhatters and it's fucking amazing. Reply Thread Link The wedding china is cute in an Etsy-sort of way. If we're guessing due dates, I'm going with April 5th for the new baby and Mary Alice for the name. Meghan really has that adoring look down pat. Reply Thread Link LOL, my first guess was April 3rd (and I'm hoping for either Alice or Victoria - although I'm leaning towards the latter. And Arthur for a boy, tbh). Edited at 2018-03-23 08:11 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link arthur for a boy is my pick too. there really arent many options that arent already taken. looking at names of british princes since great britain was established, the only unused first names are; Frederick Ernest Augustus Adolphus Octavius Alfred Albert Arthur Leopold John most of those are germanic af, and john is seen as a bad luck name. arthur is really the best and cutest option tbh Reply Parent Thread Expand Link girl: alice with victoria as one of the middle names or nevaeh. boy: arthur, frederick, or blayden. Reply Parent Thread Link Arthur Francis Phillip for a boy, Victoria Mary Catherine for a girl Reply Parent Thread Link meghan has so much..idek what it is. vitality? she just seems to be so full of life in a way that's really attractive. her eyes are always sparkling or something, it seems. Reply Thread Link I agree! Reply Parent Thread Link And before some of the haters say anything, as a person who's been aware of her for years from watching Suits, that's how she's always been. It's actually why some fans of hers aren't thrilled about the marriage because they're worried about the Royal Family sucking the soul out of her. Reply Parent Thread Link It really shows in these pics. My first thought was 'she brings the life.' Reply Parent Thread Link That's some fugly China. Reply Thread Link I collect Diana and pre Diana royal memorabilia (both humorously and unironically)... I have a couple of spoons, a biscuit box, a mug, an egg holder. Theyre all gifts from friends which adds to the charm for me. I really like these and wonder if they will stop selling them at some point? Would like to get the mug its so pretty Reply Thread Link I got the Diana and Charles mug in a thrift shop a couple of years back. But not the nice one -- the creepy one with their pictures on it. Reply Parent Thread Link i have a coin set from c&d wedding and i think a medallion or some shit? i need to find it. i'm a mug person, so i want to get my hands on one for h&m. Reply Parent Thread Link My dad is English and has a commemorative plate for Charles and Diana's wedding that his parents sent him (he was already married to my mom and living in the US at the time). Reply Thread Link I want to see a prince (or even better, princess) with gauges and tattoos and an undercut. The pearl-clutching would be great. Reply Thread Link I think Kate has the baby in the final week of April. Yesterday was her last official engagement before maternity leave and I think that with George and Charlotte it was like a month after her final engagement before she gave birth. Reply Thread Link She's done more engagements this pregnancy than during her previous pregnancies and when William knighted Ringo Starr earlier this week, he told him that Kate's "due any any day now". Guessing this baby's coming in the next two or three weeks. Plus, I think Harry and Meghan's wedding would have been pushed back to June if she was due late April. Edited at 2018-03-23 08:14 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link I wonder if this pregnancy was easier for her than previous ones. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I wish the wedding was already over because all the buzz surrounding these mediocre people and the hype around this woman is very stupid. Lets praise her for what... Being born non-white and having marriage into an obsolete institution as her biggest life accomplishment? Reply Thread Link People like a spectacle and a day off work. Reply Parent Thread Link iirc isn't it not going to be a bank holiday? Reply Parent Thread Link yeah i mean i love a good wedding, and i won't even lie that i've been keeping track of her outfits, cause she has seriously good taste in coats but... this isn't a win for anyone except that a racist and imperialist institution gets to keep pretending that they have any relevance in 2018. they get to look progressive and pretend that they're contributing to the world. when its like?? you can visit as many non-profit, at-risk, low-income, hospital, whatever-the-fuck events you want and it'll never erase the blood on your hands. you earned that. and if these new royals really cared and understood that, they wouldn't try to continually ask the public to buy into their image. and as a biracial woman, who clearly has experienced racism (and who has a degree in international relations from northwestern, so i would imagine not entirely ignorant to the role and history of the british empire destabilizing much of the world) i def judge her for so enthusiastically jumping into bed with them. and it bothers me that a lot of the people i talk to irl don't want to have that conversation. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link For some reason RD was being relatively "nice" about her outfit today. I don't know what's up. Reply Thread Link The interest in Meghan and the pairing from people who aren't normally interested in the Royal family has meant their board has become known to a lot more people and let's just say they've been getting called out around online as a bunch of hateful racists. I don't think the moderators like having the reputation. Reply Parent Thread Link which is hilarious because they pride themselves on being assholes and calling kids autistic and being racist any other time but suddenly now that theyre getting actual attention, theyre trying to play nice Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Royal round up posts are nice and will guarantee your posts accepted by the waaaaaay. Reply Thread Link I made a quasi-round up royal post the other day. Lol Good to know! Reply Parent Thread Link i love her purse. Reply Thread Link Shes really pretty Reply Thread Link Mariah is skinny. Fuck Nate Parker and blue lives. Reply Thread Link MTE Reply Parent Thread Link When will he direct his funeral tho Reply Thread Link omg lmao but ia Reply Parent Thread Link lmaooooooooooooo Reply Parent Thread Link for real! lolol Reply Parent Thread Link lol right?! Reply Parent Thread Link hollywood execs pretending like they give a single fuck about women... news at 11 Reply Thread Link fuck nate parker Reply Thread Link Hey Hollywood, try not working with rapists sometime. Hey Hollywood, try not working with rapists sometime. Reply Thread Link I dont know how he has a career but then I remember Cosby got away with it Reply Parent Thread Link Keep it Reply Thread Link LAPD, specifically?? ...he...he think it's a good idea to stage a 'comeback' of sorts with a #BlueLivesMatter -esque story?? About the damn, specifically?? Reply Thread Link Support from white men first. Maybe he can get Sean Penn involved. Reply Parent Thread Link This man is already working again and yet hoteps have the nerve to tell me about his "destroyed" career and so-called double standards Reply Thread Link I loved how they kept going on and on about that while completely ignoring Barry Jenkins, Ryan Coogler, and even Spike Lee lol. Reply Parent Thread Link I saw a couple of people basically say that Hollywood likes Barry because his film (Moonlight) was pandering to the agenda of emasculating black men through promoting homosexuality. People are really out here with the smallest amount of sense or logic possible. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Welp. He just had to lay low for about a year and a half. Fuck this industry. Reply Thread Link so he didn't even have to wait more than two years rme also i actually watched birth of a nation and it really is a bad movie. like, ignoring the shit with nate parker there were so many odd script and directorial choices. i can't believe it got so many raves when it originally premiered at sundance. Edited at 2018-03-23 07:54 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link Right?? I couldn't believe how heavy-handed the portrayal of Nat Turner was; Parker literally turned himself into a Christ figure. Not to mention, y'know, the made-up rapes. Reply Parent Thread Link A rapist adding rape to a story is just on another level. Reply Parent Thread Link the promo tour for this is gonna be a nightmare. Reply Thread Link Fuck Nate Parker and fuck the LAPD. Reply Thread Link Go the fuck away, rapist. Reply Thread Link keep it Reply Thread Link Report Warns Some States Falling Behind on Electrical Safety NFPA noted that from 2010 to 2014, an annual average of more than 61,000 fires in the United States were attributed to electrical failures or malfunctions, causing more than $2 billion in losses and killing an average of 432 people each year. A new report from the NFPA Fire & Life Safety Policy Institute, "Falling Behind on Electrical Safety," warns that about one-third of the states are skipping one or more updates of NFPA 70: National Electrical Code, and other states are amending the code to remove safety requirements. This means many homes, schools, and businesses are not taking advantage of the advances in safety offered by each NEC update and may ultimately stall the fight against electrical fires and injuries, according to the report. It reveals wide variations in state adoptions of NEC and neglect of electrical safety, which raises risks for first responders and workers, according to NFPA. The association noted that from 2010 to 2014, an annual average of more than 61,000 fires in the United States were attributed to electrical failures or malfunctions, causing more than $2 billion in losses and killing an average of 432 people each year. Updates made to the NEC every three years help drive those numbers down by incorporating advances in knowledge and technology, such as the requirement to use arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs), ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs), and tamper-resistant receptacles. Updates also include provisions to decrease the risk of arc flashes from high-voltage electrical equipment and requirements for the rapid shutdown of photovoltaic (PV) systems to protect firefighters who may need to access locations charged with photovoltaics. A graph showing slowest and fastest adopters of the four most recent versions of the NEC indicates California, Florida, Louisiana, Virginia, and Pennsylvania are the slowest five states. "The longer states wait to adopt, the longer they delay or fall behind in advancing electrical safety. This flatly goes against public expectations," said NFPA Fire & Life Safety Policy Institute Director Meghan Housewright, referring to a 2017 NFPA survey of U.S. consumers showing more than 80 percent of U.S. residents expect government to adopt and enforce up-to-date safety codes. Two Chinese sailors were rescued alive Friday from the engine room of a sand dredger two days after the vessel capsized off Malaysia, while 12 others remain missing, an official said. The rescued crew were "conscious but weak", said coastguard official Sanifah Yusof, after being trapped in the JBB Rong Chang 8 since it overturned Wednesday. Twelve other sailors -- 10 Chinese, one Malaysian and one Indonesian -- remain missing. One Chinese sailor was killed and three others were rescued alive when the Chinese-owned boat first flipped over. The boat had stayed afloat despite capsizing and hopes were raised that some of the missing had survived after divers heard sounds from inside the hull. Divers rescued the two Chinese sailors on Friday afternoon, said Sanifah. "We found two victims who are alive, they are Chinese citizens, and they were taken to Muar hospital," he told AFP. Muar is a coastal town close to where the accident happened. "We still have hope that everybody is alive," he said, adding the rescue operation would continue into the evening. It was not clear what caused the accident and the weather in the area was fine at the time. Dredging sand from coastal areas is a booming and lucrative business. The sand is shipped to wealthy land-scarce areas such as Singapore for reclamation and construction work. But environmentalists have long argued that the practice damages local communities and ecosystems. Last year two foreign vessels manned by Chinese crew were seized off Malaysia's west coast for allegedly conducting illegal sand-dredging. Shanghai, 22 March 2018 ONYX Hospitality Group, one of the regions leading hotel management companies, is enhancing its commitment to China by strengthening its Shanghai-based team structure. In addition to creating a new Greater China regional base in Shanghai, the company has appointed Gina Wo to a newly-created role as Senior Vice President and Head of Greater China, effective 26 March 2018. Joining ONYX Hospitality Group after over 16 years at InterContinental Hotels Group, Gina will oversee all aspects of the companys ongoing growth and expansion in one of the worlds fastest growing economies. To be based in Shanghai and reporting directly to President and CEO Douglas Martell, Gina will focus on further growth through the localisation of the companys long-term strategic road map, to solidify the positioning of ONYX Hospitality Group as the hospitality player of choice among travellers, team members, investors and partners in the Greater China region. One of Ginas first priorities at ONYX Hospitality Group would be to increase the companys corporate talent capabilities in Greater China by reviewing the existing manning and structure, as well as strengthening the companys regional operations, hotel openings and commercial expertise in order to ensure its sustained and continued growth in line with robust portfolio expansion in the coming years. The Shanghai regional headquarters will be complemented by a satellite office in Hong Kong, with team members dedicated to supporting the companys Hong Kong presence. This strategic move follows significant recent China development wins for ONYX Hospitality Group, including a China-wide strategic partnership with Sincere Holdings Group for both companies to exclusively develop and open multiple Shama serviced apartment properties across 12 key cities across China. Amari, the companys flagship hotel brand, also launched its first hotel in China in 2017 with the opening of Amari Yangshuo in Guilin. The importance of China goes far beyond the market being a huge growth destination for new properties, as the country is also one of our top source markets for travellers to our hotels across the Asia-Pacific region, said Douglas Martell, President & CEO, ONYX Hospitality Group. Gina comes to ONYX Hospitality Group following an illustrious tenure at IHG, and I am confident that with her combined development and operational expertise, leadership strengths and wealth of industry contacts, she will lead us towards greater success in China. Based in Bangkok, ONYX Hospitality Group has a growing regional portfolio of 45 operating properties across three core brands in eight countries. The Group has a robust development pipeline of over 20 new properties in markets such as China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Australia, and has set a target of having 99 hotels open by 2024 as part of its journey towards being the best medium-sized hospitality player in the region. You've no doubt heard the buzz about smart speakers. Why else would you be reading this article? A few years ago, if you wanted a smart speaker with a hands-free digital assistant, there was only one option. The Amazon Echo was one-of-a-kind when it debuted in November 2014, and it launched into uncharted waters unsure if it would find a home with consumers. But it was a smash hit, and was quickly followed up by the Google Home and a slew of third-party devices with Alexa or Google Assistant built in. Even Apple finally joined the party with the HomePod in early February. Now, if you want to buy a smart speaker, you've got to choose which is the right one for you and your home. The best option will depend a lot on how you plan to use your smart speaker, and each has its own strengths and weaknesses. For instance, someone with a lot of smart devices may want the speaker that is compatible with the most smart gadgets. On the other hand, if you primarily want to listen to music hands-free or use your smart speaker as a virtual assistant, you may be better off with different options. I have used all of these devices both in the office and at my apartment to really understand the strengths and weaknesses of each. Believe menot one of them is perfect (yet). So it really does make a difference which one you choose to bring in to your home. Amazon Echo Price: $99.99 The Amazon Echo was the first of its kind. And now it boasts the largest lineup of smart speaker options, including the only smart speakers with display screens. Having been on the market for nearly four years, the Echo lineup features a highly intelligent smart assistant: Alexa. Interacting with Alexa is pretty intuitive, as she understands most direct questions. Plus, if you're a Prime member, you can ask Alexa to make purchases or simply add items to a dedicated shopping list for review later on. The Amazon Echo lineupwhich consists of the Echo Dot ($49.99), the Echo ($99.99), the Echo Plus ($149.99), the Echo Spot ($129.99), and the Echo Show ($229.99)can perform a host of basic functions. There are also hundreds of devices that work with Alexa, allowing you to use voice commands for smart lights, switches, robot vacuums, and other smart devices and services like Uber and Domino's. And if you have the Spot or Show, you can even view live feeds from security cameras and video doorbells. Amazon also rolled out calling with Alexa last year. Not only can you call anyone with an Echo or the Alexa app, but you can call actual phone numbers as well, all for free. There is even a drop-in feature that allows you to automatically connect with approved devices to check in on loved ones. This is especially great for older adults to have in their homes. (Note: this feature does not currently support emergency calling, despite rumors that Alex can call 911 for you.) * Pros: Most versatile option, works with thousands of products, affordable, hands-free calling, interchangeable shells * Cons: Speakers are not the best, Alexa can be glitchy periodically, not as customizable as the Google Home, uses Bing for search Who should buy an Echo? Anyone! This lineup of smart speakers is intuitive enough to use that you don't need to be tech-savvy to enjoy a large number of Alexa's capabilities. It's perfect for families with young kids as well as older adults. Amazon Prime members will benefit from making shopping lists and ordering right through Alexa. And if you have (or want) a smart home, the Echo lineup will serve you well when it comes to connecting with your devices. Find your perfect Amazon Echo Google Home Price: $129.99 The Google Home was released in November 2012, two years after the Echo. Not only did this give Google time to see how the Echo was received, but it let them spot areas where they could improve on Amazon's design and features. With the Echo, you often have to use very specific commands to execute key tasks, but Google Assistant understands more conversational language. It even remembers your last question, allowing you to ask follow-up questions without completely restating them. What really sets the Google Home apart from the Echo is the ability to customize command phrases and responses, which requires a little more elbow grease to get set up but also opens up a lot of potential for things only the Google Home can do. You can also buy things online, and from a wider variety of retailers than Echo, which only uses Amazon (obviously). * Pros: Most intuitive smart assistant, customizable skills, interchangeable shells, affordable options, uses Google Search * Cons: Requires more hands-on setup for customization, not as many compatible apps and devices (yet) as the Echo, more expensive Who should buy a Google Home? Anyone, but especially people who want more control over their smart speaker. Android users and people who own Chromebooks, Google phones, or Chromecasts would also be smart to choose this over the Echo or HomePod, as it will play nice with all of these devices. This is also a great speaker to pair with many smart home devices, but the options are not yet as robust as they are with the Echo. Bring a Google Home into your home Apple HomePod Price: $349.99 The first time I used the HomePod, which came out in February 2018, my very first thought was "this thing sounds incredible." When you play a track in any genre, the result is rich, balanced sound. It also gets veryloud (without losing quality). Playing at a normal volume on one end of my apartment, I could hear my music perfectly from the other end, about 35-40 feet and a couple walls. Siri even warns you when you ask her to turn up to full volume, which is nice of her. But, that's really all the HomePod brings to the table. In terms of smart voice assistants, the HomePod barely qualifies to be categorized with the Echo and Google Home. Siri leaves a lot to be desired and struggles to answer even basic questions, often claiming she doesn't know how to do what you've asked. And despite its best feature being its sound quality, Apple, true to form, does not play well with other services. This means you can listen to iTunes all day long, but you can't connect the speaker to other apps, such as Spotify and Pandora. The workaround is to Airplay them to the HomePod from your phone, tablet, or Mac computer. But when you do this, you can't ask Siri to play a specific song or playlist unless it's through iTunes, taking away some of the magic of having a hands-free speaker. * Pros: Best for listening to music, great for Apple lovers, works with Home Kit-compatible devices * Cons: Most expensive, most limited services, Siri isn't as smart as Alexa or Google Assistant, doesn't work with Android or Bluetooth Who should buy an Apple HomePod? Apple lovers! If you already own Apple products, and also love listening to music, the HomePod may be right for you. But, if you're after a smart assistant that facilitates daily tasks via voice commands, this might not be your smart speaker soul mate. Smart home enthusiasts who use Home Kit would also likely find this a good investment, but actual capabilities of the HomePod to interact with other smart devices are not yet fully developed. Get your own Apple HomePod from Apple in Space Gray or White Prices are accurate at the time of publication, but may change over time. 2018 USA Today Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Study originating in international collaboration reveals that triclosan inhibits enzymes essential to survival of malaria parasite in two key stages of its lifecycle in humans . Credit: FAPESP A study conducted at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil shows that triclosan, an antimicrobial compound used in soap, toothpaste, deodorant and many other products, can inhibit target genes in the malaria parasite during two crucial stages of its life cycle in humansthe hepatic stage, when it reproduces in the host's liver cells, and the erythrocytic stage, when it infects red blood cells. The study was supported by the Sao Paulo Research FoundationFAPESP and conducted in collaboration with the Universities of Cambridge and Manchester in England, the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, and the University of Sao Paulo (USP) in Brazil. Results have recently been published in Scientific Reports. In the article, the authors note that triclosan has been used for 40 years and is considered safe by health authorities. The fact that the substance combats even parasites resistant to the drugs currently used to treat malaria, as the study showed, makes it "an exciting candidate for further development as a dual specificity antimalarial, which could target both the liver and blood stages of the parasite." "The compound itself could be a therapeutic option, but I believe it would be more worthwhile to develop analogous molecules with minor structural alterations that could make it even more effective against the parasite," said Elizabeth Bilsland, a professor in the Structural & Functional Biology Department of UNICAMP's Biology Institute and co-principal investigator for the project. Caused by protozoans of the genus Plasmodium, malaria kills over half a million people per year worldwide, the vast majority in Africa. Approximately 90% of fatal cases are attributed to infection by P. falciparum. In Brazil, 85% of all malaria cases are caused by P. vivax, which induces milder symptoms but can remain dormant in the liver for years, triggering fresh bouts of malaria and hindering eradication of the disease by lengthening the time during which the infected host remains contagious. Tafenoquine and primaquine are the main drugs currently used to treat the hepatic stage of P. vivax malaria, in association with other medications that attack the parasite in the erythrocytic stage. However, approximately 10% of those infected have a mutation in the gene that encodes the enzyme G6PD and suffer severe side effects during treatment with tafenoquine or primaquine. In the worst cases, hemolysis (destruction of red blood cells) may occur, and this can be fatal. "The development of new drugs that can attack P. vivax in both the hepatic and erythrocytic stages is urgently needed, since there are reports of parasites resistant to each of the antimalarial drugs on the market," Bilsland said. "If there are different targets, they'll be less likely to develop drug resistance." Action mechanism According to research reported in the scientific literature for 2001, triclosan inhibits the action in Plasmodium of an enzyme called FAS-II. The substance was also shown to have cured mice with malaria. However, subsequent studies showed that this enzyme is not essential to the parasite's growth in culture. As Bilsland explained, the tests had been performed with parasites in the erythrocytic stage. "Actually, FAS-II is only important to the parasite's survival in the hepatic stage. Now, we've shown through experiments using yeast that triclosan also inhibits the enzyme DHFR, an essential target for the erythrocytic stage of the parasite," she said. The discovery of triclosan's second action mechanism by the groups at UNICAMP, Manchester and Cambridge happened almost by chance while they were conducting a large-scale screening of compounds approved for human use by the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA), in search of drugs that could inhibit the enzyme DHFR in Plasmodium. "We've developed a method whereby we replace yeast genes with human genes or with target genes in parasites that cause diseases like malaria, Chagas and schistosomiasis. We label our strains with different colored fluorescent proteins, so we know red is yeast with a human gene, for example, while blue stands for a Plasmodium gene, green for a Trypanosoma gene, and yellow for a Schistosoma gene," Bilsland said. The method enables the researchers to grow different strains of modified yeast in single wells of microtiter trays with hundreds of wells and treat them simultaneously with thousands of drugs, she added, thanks to a "robot scientist" called Eve developed by Professor Ross King at the University of Manchester. "We observed cases in which the yeast with a Plasmodium gene died and the one with a human gene survived, and in this way, we screened compounds with specific antiparasitic action. Triclosan gave the best results, with both normal and drug-resistant DHFR," Bilsland explained. Several biochemical assays, computer simulations and experiments with yeast were performed to validate triclosan's action against DHFR. The results showed that the substance was effective even against parasites resistant to pyrimethamine, a recognized DHFR inhibitor used in malaria prevention and treatment. "We also showed that triclosan has 20 times greater affinity for the parasite's enzyme than for the human equivalent, a key feature in a candidate drug," Bilsland said. The Synthetic Biology Laboratory where tests were performed to optimize triclosan as an antimalarial was set up at UNICAMP with support from FAPESP's Young Investigator Awards program. Humanized yeast One of the advantages of using modified yeast as an experimental model is that it avoids the need to grow parasites in vitro, which, according to Bilsland, is virtually impossible in the case of P. vivax. "It doesn't grow under laboratory conditions, so you have to take blood samples from infected patients and do the assays in situ [in the Amazon for Brazilian research]. You have at most one or two days for that," she said. The same method has been used to look for new compounds capable of inhibiting the expression of important genes in parasites such as Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas disease), T. brucei (sleeping sickness) and Brugia malayi (elephantiasis), as well as bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus. Another research line pursued by the UNICAMP group consists of trying to modify the characteristics of yeast plasma membranes so they more closely resemble human cell membranes. "The idea in this case is to investigate how drugs enter and exit the human central nervous system," Bilsland said. "This knowledge is important for the development of drugs to treat neurodegenerative diseases as well as the cerebral stage of malaria or sleeping sickness, which is the most lethal." More information: Elizabeth Bilsland et al, Plasmodium dihydrofolate reductase is a second enzyme target for the antimalarial action of triclosan, Scientific Reports (2018). Journal information: Scientific Reports Elizabeth Bilsland et al, Plasmodium dihydrofolate reductase is a second enzyme target for the antimalarial action of triclosan,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-19549-x Schematic Diagram for OM Instrument: Seven pulsed lasers sequentially illuminate the compressed breast; transmitted light is detected by the 8-channel SiPM probe and the TDC acquires the signal. Credit: Edoardo Ferocino Optical Mammography, or OM, which uses harmless red or infrared light, has been developed for use in conjunction with X-rays for diagnosis or monitoring in cases demanding repeated imaging where high amounts of ionizing radiation should be avoided. At the OSA Biophotonics Congress: Biomedical Optics meeting, held 3-6 April in Hollywood, Florida, USA, researchers from Milan, Italy, will report an advance in instrument development that increases the sensitivity of OM by as much as 1000-fold. In 2012, the most recent year for which data is available, more than 1.7 million women worldwide were diagnosed with breast cancer. Many of these diagnoses are made using X-ray mammography. Although standard and widely used, X-ray imaging for breast cancer suffers from both low sensitivity (50-75%) and the use of ionizing radiation that cannot be considered completely safe. The newly-developed instrument replaces two photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) of existing instruments with an eight-channel probe involving silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) and a multichannel time-to-digital converter. These changes eliminate a time-wasting pre-scan step that was required to avoid damage to the PMTs. In addition to increased sensitivity, the new instrument is both more robust and cheaper. While X-ray mammography is widely used and is still the recommended method for routine screenings, its use is limited by the patient's age, weight or body mass index, whether or not hormone replacement therapy is being used, and other issues. In addition, its accuracyparticularly when used in younger womenhas been called into question. Other imaging techniques, such as MRI and ultrasound, are sometimes suggested, but neither is an effective replacement for X-ray mammography. Optical imaging methods, on the other hand, have attracted increasing interest for breast cancer diagnosis since both visible and infrared light are highly sensitive to blood volume and oxygenation. Tumors are characterized by a high volume of blood due to the increased vascularization that occurs as tumors grow. OM can be used to measure blood volume, oxygenation, lipid, water and collagen content for a suspicious area identified through standard X-ray imaging. Collagen measurements are particularly important since this species is known to be involved in the onset and progression of breast cancer. One major disadvantage to OM imaging is the poor spatial resolution that has been achieved to date. Breast cancer tumors larger than 1 centimeter are very dangerous and more likely to lead to death, so a successful screening technique must be able to resolve smaller lesions. This remains a problem with OM imaging as a stand-alone technique, but combining OM with other imaging methods shows some promise. A possible advantage to OM, however, is that only gentle pressure need be applied to the breast tissue, in stark contrast to the standard technique for X-ray imaging. In fact, breast compression tends to reduce blood volume in the tissue, which would interfere with the OM image, so some three-dimensional OM detectors being developed use no compression at all but, rather, surround the breast tissue with rings of light sources and detectors. While poor spatial resolution of OM methods remains a challenge, the method does show promise for use in pre-surgical chemotherapy. As Edoardo Ferocino, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, co-author of the work explains, "This technique is able to provide information on the outcome of chemotherapy just weeks after beginning treatment, or possibly even sooner." Ferocino's group is planning clinical studies to explore the use of OM to monitor and predict the outcome of chemotherapy. The investigators in Milan are working with a larger consortium on a project known as SOLUS, "Smart Optical and Ultrasound Diagnostics of Breast Cancer." This project is funded by the European Union through the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program and aims to combine optical imaging methods with ultrasound to improve specificity in the diagnosis of breast cancer. Explore further How advanced imaging technologies will prevent unnecessary breast tissue biopsies Credit: University of Guelph Climate change and other environmental factors are more threatening to fish diversity than predators, according to new research from the University of Guelph. It is a surprising and important finding, as humans rely upon freshwater lakes for more than one-fifth of their protein needs worldwide, says lead author Prof. Andrew MacDougall in U of G's Department of Integrative Biology. "Freshwater is a huge source of food for people, including Ontario's Great Lakes," he said. Lakes, rivers and streams cover less than one per cent of Earth's surface but provide 12 per cent of human fish consumption, MacDougall said. The findings, published this month in the journal Nature Communications, may offer ideas for resource managers to better protect all-important species diversity in lakes around the world, MacDougall said. His international research team included U of G biologist Prof. Kevin McCann and scientists in Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Australia, the United States and Japan. The research team modelled prey-predator interactions and environmental factors, such as lake size, temperature and water quality. The scientists used information compiled earlier by the Ontario government on more than 700 lakes in the Great Lakes watershed. Credit: University of Guelph The team found that species diversity depends more on "bottom-up" environmental factors than on "top-down" interactions, or which fish species eats what - a result that surprised MacDougall. He said food chain interactions among organisms are still important. "All lakes have big predators, and predators always kill lots of fish that they consume," said MacDougall. "But the strength and degree of the interactions seems to depend fully on environment. The interactions are never independent of lake conditions." He said resource managers need to pay attention to physical conditions, including lake warming caused by climate change and water quality impacts of human activities such as farming. The authors say the paper's findings set a baseline for species diversity in southern Ontario lakes. That will help resource managers monitor or predict those effects as well as the impacts of other changes such as introduction of invasive species. Many freshwater fish species in Canada and abroad are already endangered by human-caused environmental changes, said McCann. "There's a looming threat of loss of species." He said the study shows how so-called big data can help detect patterns in complicated ecosystems and how precision agriculture - including more targeted use of crop fertilizersmay lessen pollutants entering lakes and streams. Big data and precision agriculture are key aspects of the University's Food from Thought project, which aims to help find sustainable ways to feed Earth's growing human population. McCann co-leads that project, launched in 2016. U of G researchers in the new study were supported by funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and from the Canada First Excellence Research Fund for the Food from Thought project. Explore further Climate change, species invasions harming popular native fish in Ontario lakes Researchers counting Blue Sheep. Credit: INASP The snow leopard is a mammal species of the cat family found at high altitudes in Nepal and other countries around the Himalayan range. However, it has been included in the vulnerable category of IUCN Red list of threatened species in recent years for various reasons. A recent research article published in the journal Banko Janakari suggests that the snow leopard density in the Manaslu region of the country is low despite abundant prey density and cooperation from humans in its conservation. "We conducted the research in the Manaslu conservation areas because there had been limited studies in this region in the past," says Bishnu Devkota, lead author of the article. "Our research re-established the generally accepted and proven fact that the snow leopard population is dwindling in protected and unprotected regions of Nepal." The study, which was carried out by laying 14 transects with a total distance of 8.12 kilometres in the Manaslu Conservation Area located in Gorkha district, 200km north-west of the capital Kathmandu, found 3.57 signs per kilometre which indicates a low snow leopard density. "It is difficult to spot the snow leopard directly as it is a shy animal. We estimated the abundance of snow leopards in a particular area by observing their signs such as scats, pugmarks and scrapes," explains Devkota. "However, the population of the prey species was high enough to support a larger population of snow leopard," he adds. Blue sheep, Himalayan Tahr, musk deer, Himalayan marmot (Marmota himalayana), Himalayan serow, hare (Lepus oiostolus), Royle's pika (Ochotona roylei) and impeyan pheasant (Lophophorus impejanus) were found to be the main prey species for snow leopard in Manaslu region. High prey density also meant human-animal conflict in the region. "The locals of the region took the snow leopard as the pet of gods, and they were very cooperative in the conservation of snow leopard," says Mr Devkota. However, conservationists cannot fully rely on the present behaviour of the locals towards the snow leopard for sustainable conservation. "At present, probably due to ample presence of food in the wild, the snow leopard is not a threat to the domesticated livestock. However, if snow leopards start attacking the livestock, then it is likely that the locals will turn against conservation efforts of snow leopards," says Devkota. The study was conducted in Chhekampar Village Development Committee in northern Gorkha district, which falls in the Manaslu conservation area. The conservation area was closed to foreign tourists until 1991. Following the opening up of the conservation area for tourists, many tourists have been visiting the area. The snow leopard, along with other wild animals, is one of the attractions for tourists visiting the area. Mr Devkota says further research is required in the region, which can take the findings of the present research as base data, and also plan for incentive programmes to maintain the positive attitude of locals towards snow leopard conservation. Explore further Snow leopard and Himalayan wolf diets are about one-quarter livestock More information: B. P. Devkota et al. Abundance of snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and its wild prey in Chhekampar VDC, Manaslu Conservation Area, Nepal, Banko Janakari (2017). B. P. Devkota et al. Abundance of snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and its wild prey in Chhekampar VDC, Manaslu Conservation Area, Nepal,(2017). DOI: 10.3126/banko.v27i1.18545 Provided by INASP Credit: Marcin Szczepanski/University of Michigan At first glance, it seems like an unlikely pairing: How could economists conceivably help decipher what caused the public health crisis in Flint, Michigan, in 2014-15? Statistical analysis, that's how. Sammy Zahran, an associate professor in Colorado State University's Department of Economics, calls it "econometrics." In a recent interview, he retraced the steps he and his coauthors took to determine that the outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in Flint was caused by a change in the city's water source. Zahran was the lead author of an article about that conclusion published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in February. CSU Economics Professor David Mushinski was a co-author. About Legionnaires' disease Legionnaires' disease, a severe type of pneumonia, is a relatively rare illness that is more prevalent in developing countries than in Flint, which might typically see a handful of cases in any given year, Zahran says. In this case, it sickened scores of people and was linked to the deaths of 12. Flint, which had been buying Lake Huron water from the city of Detroit, switched its water supply to its backup source, the Flint River, in April 2014 to save money. The following August, Flint officials issued a water boiling advisory in response to tests showing there was coliform bacteria in the water. Zahran, left, and Mushinski discuss some of the equations they used in their analysis. Credit: Xavier Hadley/Colorado State University But the city's water source was not switched back to Detroit's until October 2015, after elevated levels of lead were detected in the waterand local children. In his analysis, Zahran examined how the incidence of Legionnaires' disease fluctuated across these moments. He and Mushinski looked at all 833 cases of the disease that occurred in a three-county area in and around Flint from 2010 to 2016. They obtained patients' addresses and the date they reported symptoms. Establishing the cause Zahran and Mushinski charted those figures and discovered that the incidence of Legionnaires' spiked after Flint switched its water supply to the Flint River, before the water boiling advisory was issued. They found that the odds of getting the disease increased tenfold after the move was made. The incidence of the disease then dipped some, to only about 5.8 times the average level, after the city's advisory. Sales of bottled water went up, and water meter data shows that consumption went down, probably because people were reluctant to use the water even if it was boiled. But the incidence of Legionnaires' did not return to historically normal levels until after the city returned to Detroit-supplied water, more than a year later. "This is what economists can do with data," Zahran says. "One can restitch the story with the power of statistics and econometrics. If you're careful about finding the right analytical moments, you can detail out an autopsy of what happened and why." Credit: Marcin Szczepanski/University of Michigan A thorough process Zahran and Mushinski were meticulous in their analysis, chronicling the incidence of the disease for thousands of neighborhoods, week by week, and comparing it to a control group outside the affected area. Zahran created a PowerPoint detailing his approach, including lengthy, dense statistical formulas. He controlled for variables that could affect the probability of Legionnaires' appearing in a neighborhood in any given week, such as temperature, humidity and residents' age and income level. Zahran also charted chlorine levels in the water, because the local water treatment facility was adding extra chlorine to the Flint River water to combat its high levels of bacteria, he says. Zahran found that chlorine levels were all over the map when the city was using the alternate water source, and he suspects chloride was eating away at the inside of water pipesreleasing lead in some cases. He established a correlation between the incidence of Legionnaires' and chlorine levels: The lower the level of chlorine, the higher the odds of getting the disease, and vice versa. He even tested a competing theory that the Legionnaires' outbreak could have been caused by a contaminated water tower at a local hospital. In one exercise, Zahran removed all cases of the disease that could have been caused by water at the hospital. Even without those cases, his calculations still yielded a significantly higher probability of getting Legionnaires' disease during the period that Flint River water was being used by the city. Credit: Colorado State University Disease among commuters Zahran and Mushinski also examined areas around Flint to see if commuters who were drinking Flint water during the day at work also had an elevated risk of contracting Legionnaires' during that period. (The disease is not contagious and can't be transferred from one person to another.) Indeed, locations with higher numbers of commuters also displayed a higher incidence of Legionnaires'. Zahran says one takeaway from his team's study was that public officials should take residents' complaints seriously. "Ultimately, this is a story about human beings," Zahran says. "Within weeks of the water switch, people were complaining about the color and odor of the water, and they were largely ignored. If we had acted on the citizens' reactions, we might have averted this situation." It's also a story about how an unexpected department in the College of Liberal ArtsEconomicscan lend its expertise to a public health crisis and other issues facing society. "Economics can be used to solve real-world problems," Zahran says. "It's through these tools that we can see the sequence of events that led to this catastrophe." "This work illustrates the relevance and power of economics and econometrics in providing a toolset to model the lived experiences of individuals, thus extending beyond the classroom relationships between prices and quantities of economic goods," said Anita Pena, chair of the Department of Economics. "These colleagues have embraced synergies across disciplinary boundaries in order to inform public health and policy, and to better understand impacts of environment on wellbeing." Explore further Researchers move forward on study on Flint water, health More information: Sammy Zahran et al. Assessment of the Legionnaires' disease outbreak in Flint, Michigan, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2018). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Sammy Zahran et al. Assessment of the Legionnaires' disease outbreak in Flint, Michigan,(2018). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1718679115 Credit: CC0 Public Domain The murky ecosystem of ransomware payments comes into focus in new research led by Damon McCoy, an assistant professor of computer science and engineering at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering. Ransomware attacks, which encrypt and hold a computer user's files hostage in exchange for payment, extort millions of dollars from individuals each month, and comprise one of the fastest-growing forms of cyber attack. In a paper slated for presentation at the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy in May, McCoy and a team including researchers from the University of California, San Diego; Princeton University; Google; and the blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis provide the first detailed account of the ransomware payment ecosystem, from initial attack to cash-out. Key findings include the discovery that South Koreans are disproportionately impacted by ransomware campaigns, with analysis revealing that $2.5 million of the $16 million in ransomware payments tracked by the researchers was paid in South Korea. The paper's authors call for additional research to determine the reason that so many South Koreans are victimized and how they can be protected. The team also found that most ransomware operators used a Russian bitcoin exchange, BTC-E, to convert bitcoin to fiat currencies. (BTC-E has since been seized by the FBI.) The researchers estimate that at least 20,000 individuals made ransomware payments over the past two years, at a confirmed cost of $16 million, although the actual payment total is likely far higher. McCoy and his collaborators took advantage of the public nature of the bitcoin blockchain technology to trace ransom payments over a two-year period. Bitcoins are the most common currency of ransomware payments, and because most victims do not own them, the initial bitcoin purchase provides a starting point for tracking payments. Each ransomware victim is often given a unique payment address that directs to a bitcoin wallet where the ransom is collected. The research team tapped public reports of ransomware attacks to identify these addresses and correlate them with blockchain transactions. To boost the number of transactions available for analysis, the team also executed real ransomware binaries in a controlled experimental environment, essentially becoming victims themselves and making micropayments to real ransom wallets in order to follow the bitcoin trail. "Ransomware operators ultimately direct bitcoin to a central account that they cash out periodically, and by injecting a little bit of our own money into the larger flow we could identify those central accounts, see the other payments flowing in, and begin to understand the number of victims and the amount of money being collected," McCoy said. The research team acknowledged that ethical issues prevent exploration of certain aspects of the ransomware ecosystem, including determining the percentage of victims who actually pay to recover their files. McCoy explained that despite having the ability to check for activity connected to a specific payment address, doing so would effectively "start the clock" and potentially cause victims to either pay a double ransom or lose the opportunity to recover their files altogether. Criminal use of cryptocurrencies is one of McCoy's research focuses. He and fellow researchers previously tracked human traffickers through their use of Bitcoin advertising. Explore further Hackers demanding bitcoin ransom attack Atlanta city computers Facebook data has been used for years on political campaigns, but members of Barack Obama's team deny obtaining people's information without consent The use of Facebook data to target voters has triggered global outrage with the Cambridge Analytica scandal. But the concept is nothing new: Barack Obama made extensive use of the social network in 2008 and stepped up "micro-targeting" in his 2012 re-election effort. The unauthorized gathering of data on 50 million Facebook users by a British consulting firm that worked for Donald Trump has sparked intense debate on how politicians and marketersappropriately or notuse such personal information. But Cambridge Analytica, the firm at the center of the firestorm, has stressed it is far from alone in using data gleaned online to precisely target voters. "Obama's 2008 campaign was famously data-driven, pioneered micro-targeting in 2012, talking to people specifically based on the issues they care about," the British firm said on Twitter. Former members of the Obama team fiercely dispute any comparison to the Cambridge Analytica case, in which an academic researcher is accused of scooping up a massive trove of data without consent using a Facebook personality quiz, and transferring it improperly to the firm. "How dare you!" tweeted Michael Simon, who headed Obama's micro-targeting team in 2008, in response to the firm. "We didn't steal private Facebook profile data from voters under false pretenses. OFA (Obama's campaign) voluntarily solicited opinions of hundreds of thousands of voters. We didn't commit theft to do our groundbreaking work." Jeremy Bird, a member of the 2012 Obama team, echoed those sentiments, warning: "Do not use the Obama campaign to justify your shady business." But while Cambridge Analytica's methods for acquiring data are in dispute, the underlying goalusing social media to take the pulse of voters and find those who are persuadablewas common to both campaigns. So-called micro-targeting, which borrows techniques from the marketing world, is as much about mobilizing voters and getting them to the polls as about changing minds. And micro-targeting long pre-dates the internet, with campaigns as early as 1976 using this method, according to Victoria Farrar-Myers, a political scientist and researcher at Southern Methodist University. Everyone who uses social media makes a decision to share some personal information, she says, although they "may not be fully aware of how people can utilize that." "Being able to micro-target a voter down to what magazine they read and what issues might make them turn out does have an advantage for a candidate when they're running for an election." Analysts say the firestorm over data hijacking has helped users wake up to how social media information is used by marketers and others "The Trump campaign did quite a good job at micro-targeting," she said, noting that it put a heavy focus on seemingly marginal localities that were identified as potentially winnable thanks to socal media, and ended up tipping Republican. According to documents released by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Trump's new choice of national security advisor John Bolton also hired Cambridge Analytica to conduct profiling work for his Super PAC fundraising group in support of Republican congressional candidates. Waking up to problem What remains unclear is whether the techniques made a difference in the 2016 US election. Chirag Shah, a Rutgers University professor of information and computer science, said the data gleaned could have been instrumental to Trump's campaign. "We know from other applications, not just in the political domain, but also all kinds of marketing commercialization domains that these things are very, very instrumental," Shah said. "It is however speculative to say this really change the outcome of the election. All we can say is that, yes there were people who were influenced or targeted using this data." Experts also stress that neither the Obama nor the Trump campaign broke any laws on the protection of private dataor even Facebook's internal ruleswhich were tightened in 2015 to prevent developers from collecting people's data without explicit consent. Shah noted the concerns about improper use of personal data are not new. "The problem is once people access the data from Facebook, for which they often pay, that data is out of Facebook's hands and out of Facebook's users hands. "And there's no way that Facebook will be able to track all of the data being shared by third parties, fourth parties." Rayid Ghani, a University of Chicago researcher who was chief scientist for the 2012 Obama campaign, defended his team's use of Facebook data while arguing for a need for better information that would allow users to know when and how their personal information is collected. "The public needs to be aware of what data is being collected about them, what it is being used for, who it is shared/sold to, and what they're doing with it," Ghani said in a Medium blog post. "We need to push corporations to make their privacy policies and terms of use more human-friendly, and less fine-print. " Explore further Cambridge Analytica: firm at the heart of Facebook scandal 2018 AFP Facebook had only 20 million users when it opened up its budding platform to outside app developers in 2007, giving them much-needed access to the social network's growing web of friends and family. The developers built online games, quizzes and dating apps that gave people even more reasons to join Facebook. It proved a turning point for the company, sparking runaway growth that saw Facebook add an average of 200 million users a year en route to becoming the world's biggest and most powerful social network. It also entrusted outside developers with Facebook's treasure trove of personal data, showing where users lived, where they went to school and what, if any, political affiliations they had. The consequences of that shift are now coming into sharper view amid a growing scandal over Cambridge Analytica, a data analytics firm tied to the Donald Trump presidential campaign that accessed details from 50 million Facebook users without their knowledge in an attempt to influence voters. Revelation of the scandal, which was first reported by the New York Times and the British newspaper the Observer over the weekend, resulted in news Tuesday that the chief executive of Cambridge Analytica, Alexander Nix, had been suspended. Facebook is also the subject of a new probe by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to see if it mishandled private user data and a joint investigation from attorneys general Maura Healey of Massachusetts and Eric Schneiderman of New York. Authorities will likely want to know how much information Facebook provides to outside app developers and what role, if any, the social network has in enabling unauthorized third parties to gain access to that data, experts say. "App integration allowed people to do things like play Scrabble online with their old high school friends on the other side of the country and it allowed user growth to increase a lot," Heather Antoine, a Beverly Hills attorney who specializes in internet and privacy law, said of the company's new tack in 2007. "It didn't start with a malicious intent, and I still don't know if Facebook has any malicious intent, but other people did and they found loopholes to get data." Cambridge Analytica, a company owned by conservative billionaire Robert Mercer, is accused of receiving the data from University of Cambridge psychology professor Aleksandr Kogan. He had developed a personality quiz app for Facebook called "thisisyourdigitallife," which was downloaded 270,000 times by Facebook users in 2013. At the time, Kogan could glean information from those users' contacts, leading to additional information from millions more accounts. Kogan had permission to obtain the data, but is accused of violating Facebook rules when he passed the information to a third party, Cambridge Analytica, for money. Facebook knew about the breach in 2015 and demanded that Cambridge Analytica destroy the datasomething the firm says it did. However, former employees of Cambridge Analytica say the company still has some of the data and that Facebook never bothered to verify that it had been deleted. Their claims, if proved correct, suggest there are few consequences to ignoring Facebook's terms of service about receiving data. Cambridge Analytica was only suspended from Facebook on Friday, two years after the social media giant knew about the violation. The controversy has raised suspicions that more Facebook data has been passed to third parties than the company is willing to acknowledgea potentially vast market that has spread to the so-called dark web, where stolen information and identities are exchanged. Facebook accounts were selling for $5.20 apiece on the dark web last month, more than three times the price for Twitter accounts, according to Top10VPN, a site that tracks online secuity tools. Sandy Parakilas, a former Facebook employee whose job used to entail policing data breaches by third-party developers, said the spread of ill-gotten user information was rampant. "Once the data left Facebook servers, there was not any control, and there was no insight into what was going on," Parakilas, who served at his position for two years starting in 2011, told the Guardian. "It has been painful watching," he added, "because I know that they could have prevented it." Parakilas alleges that Facebook turned a blind eye because the company felt willful ignorance of the problem would diminish legal liability. Despite that, it was becoming increasingly apparent that a black market existed for Facebook user data, he said. "We also do a variety of manual and automated checks to ensure compliance with our policies," a Facebook spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement Tuesday. "These include steps such as random audits of existing apps along with the regular and proactive monitoring of apps." Now that Facebook has amassed more then 2 billion users, it has less incentive to share its most valuable user data. By keeping that information close, the company can bolster its own ad business and reduce the risk of security breaches. The shift was necessary because Facebook had been under fire for sharing data with third parties long before the Cambridge Analytica scandal. In 2011, Facebook settled with the FTC and entered a consent decree after the regulator ruled that the company had deceived its users about privacy claims. "Facebook had a 'Verified Apps' program and claimed it certified the security of participating apps. It didn't," the FTC said at the time. While the breadth of data now available to app developers is diminished, experts say it has only increased for Facebook. That includes tracking users' locations, their payments and "activities on and off Facebook from third-party partners," according to the company's data policy. "They're still collecting tons of information from us," said Betsy Sigman, a professor at Georgetown's McDonough School of Business. "And they're sharing it all over the place and making money. It's the greatest registry the world has ever seen." Explore further US FTC probing Facebook data scandal: media 2018 Los Angeles Times Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Mark Zuckerberg apologizedbut you had to wait for it. Hours after posting a mea culpa on his Facebook page that Facebook users complained fell far short, the beleaguered Facebook CEO took to traditional media to say the words he couldn't bring himself to say earlier in the day: "I'm sorry." In his first public address of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the Facebook CEO also didn't say a lot of other things that Facebook users wanted to hear about the pilfering of sensitive information from tens of millions of them. For example, Zuckerberg didn't explain why Facebook tried to stop publication of news articles informing the public of the breach. He also did not say why Facebook didn't notify its users about the breach when it learned of it in 2015. And he stopped short of apologizing to users. Instead, he framed Facebook as the victim of the breach by "bad actors," not the company whose policies allowed it to happen in the first place. Zuckerberg did concede that Facebook had breached the trust of its 2 billion users. And he promised to fix it. "We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can't then we don't deserve to serve you," he said. In interviews with CNN and tech news outlet Recode that aired later in the day, Zuckerberg said the words everyone wanted to hear. "We let the community down and I feel really bad and I'm sorry about that," he told Recode. Mike Chapple, associate teaching professor of IT, Analytics, and Operations in the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business, says Zuckerberg omitted some critical information. "Facebook did not make any commitment to be transparent about what has already occurred," Chapple said in an email. "If Facebook truly wants to repair this breach of trust, they can begin with full disclosure about their past information sharing practices." By and large, users were unimpressed and underwhelmed, having become painfully aware in recent days that Facebook allowed third parties to access massive amounts of their personal information, didn't adequately monitor how those parties were using the data and then were slow to address abuses they did find. Danasia Fantastic, who runs a lifestyle website for millennial women TheUrbanRealist.com, says she's tempted to delete her Facebook account over the data leak and Facebook's handling of it. "Someone needs to serve time over this or at least be fined," Fantastic said. "If there's a class action suit filed, I'm signing up." The comments on Zuckerberg's Facebook post, which exceeded 13,000, showed the same level of frustration. "As a long-time user of your platform I'm simply concerned that this is too little, too late," one user wrote. "The data collected from your users never should have happened in the first place. Your companyand industryclearly cannot police itself," wrote another. Someone fumed: "So basically you knew this s- was going on years ago and NOW since you've been caught with your pants down, this is your response? Pathetic. I really do hope Congress makes you testify." "This response falls far short Mark. You're still not being honest with the American people. There is no way you didn't know they had our data," called out another. Zuckerberg told the New York Times on Wednesday that he's taking the #DeleteFacebook hashtag seriously. "I don't think we've seen a meaningful number of people act on that, but, you know, it's not good," he said. "I think it's a clear signal that this is a major trust issue for people, and I understand that. And whether people delete their app over it or just don't feel good about using Facebook, that's a big issue that I think we have a responsibility to rectify." Zuckerberg's remarks were his first since bombshell reports from the New York Times and the Guardian's The Observer alleged British data analysis firm Cambridge Analytica improperly obtained and retained the personal information of 50 million Facebook users without their permission30 million of them with enough details to match users to other records and build profiles of them. Cambridge Analytica has ties to President Trump's 2016 campaign. Facebook's two top executivesZuckerberg and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandbergwere criticized for remaining silent for days after the news broke. Explore further UK lawmaker: Facebook misled Parliament over data leak risk 2018 USA Today Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Australian frog cells have been successfully frozen and re-grown in culture, offering hope of a new technique to safeguard endangered amphibians. Credit: University of Melbourne For the first time, Australian frog cells have been successfully frozen and re-grown in culture, offering hope of a new technique to safeguard endangered amphibians. Around the world and in Australia around 32 per cent of amphibians, including frogs, toads and salamanders, are classed as being under immediate threat from extinction. The main drivers of this crisis are reported as human activity and spread of the chytrid fungus. University of Melbourne researcher Richard Mollard, from the Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, conducted the work and said freezing tissue, or cryobanking, offers a new technique to safeguard endangered species. "Amphibian cell culture has only been achieved a handful of times in the world, with most cell culture focussing on mammalian cells. Freezing and subsequent culture of frog cells is even rarer," Dr. Mollard said. "We now have proof of principle that frog cells can be frozen, thawed and re-grown, while maintaining the structure of their chromosomes. "This is important because maintaining these genetic structures allows the cells to be used for assisted reproduction techniques if needed. That is, the cells can be used for exploring somatic cell nuclear transfer, or cloning, and gamete production for IVF." Dr. Mollard said there are currently 950 amphibian species at immediate risk of extinction. "Conservation programs involving habitat conservation, assisted reproduction and breeding programs have all demonstrated success, protecting many threatened species from extinction," he said. "Unfortunately, there are currently only enough resources for captive breeding programs for 50 species. So cryobanking cells from the remaining 900 species could safeguard them before it is too late." Dr. Mollard used tissue from non-endangered frog species in a proof-of-principle study to freeze them with liquid nitrogen, thaw and re-culture them for at least two weeks to confirm that chromosomes had not degraded during this process. "The benefit of this technique is that it doesn't need whole frogs from the wild to do the cultures," Dr. Mollard said. "Small toe clippings are often already taken to track important amphibians in the wild. So we can use tissue taken for this purpose to cryobank endangered species. We can also take tissue from frogs that will be euthanised due to sickness or injury." Dr. Mollard said this technique would be used to safeguard the cells of frogs under environmental pressures from increasing urbanisation, and logging and mining zones. "It will hopefully be beneficial for researchers, Zoos and conservationists." Explore further Scientists establish cell cultures of endangered frog This boulder in the gravel pit Rehbach in Saxony, Germany, was transported from Scandinavia by glaciers 450,000 years ago. Credit: MPI f. Evolutionary Anthropology The timing of the Middle Pleistocene glacial-interglacial cycles and the feedback mechanisms between climatic shifts and earth-surface processes are still poorly understood. This is largely due to the fact that chronological data of sediment archives representing periglacial, but also potentially warmer climate periods, are very sparse until now. "The Quaternary sediments in central Germany are perfect archives to understand the climate shifts that occurred in the region during the last 450,000 years", says co-author Tobias Lauer, a geochronologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. "This is because all sediments representing the ice advances and retreats of Scandinavian glaciers into Europe are preserved here." The sediments in the region, and especially in the area around the city Leipzig, are extremely well documented due to tens of thousands of drillings over the past few decades and open pits related to brown-coal mining. Especially relevant are the river deposits of local rivers like the Weisse Elster and the Saale, which are preserved between the moraines of the so-called "Elsterian" and "Saalian" ice advances. "Especially the timing of the first major glaciation has been highly debated within the scientific community during the last few decades", says Lauer. "By dating the river deposits systematically we found that the first ice coverage of central Germany during the Elsterian glaciation (named after the river Elster) occurred during marine isotope stage 12, likely about 450,000 years ago, which is 100,000 years earlier than previously thought." To obtain these dates the researchers used luminescence dating, a technology that determines how long ago mineral grains were last exposed to sunlight or heat. The scientists recovered this 400,000-year-old stone tool ("scraper") from the gravel pit Schladebach in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, during sampling for luminescense dating. Credit: MPI f. Evolutionary Anthropology Tools from the Paleolithic The river deposits also contain Lower- and Middle Paleolithic stone artefacts yielding important information on early human dispersal in central Europe. "The first traces of human Lower Paleolithic occupation in the area date back to about 400,000 years and are connected most probably to the interglacial period following the first major glaciation", says co-author Marcel Weiss, an archeologist at the Leipzig Max Planck Institute. "These traces are evidenced by more than 6,000 Lower Paleolithic stone artefacts that had been recovered from the gravel pits of Wallendorf and Schladebach in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany." Middle Paleolithic stone artefacts from the same region are correlated with river deposits dated between 300,000 and 200,000 years ago and are associated with Neanderthals. The Pleistocene river gravel deposits from the top of the sequence in the former brown-coal mine Zwenkau, which is located south of Leipzig in Saxony, yielded the oldest Middle Paleolithic artefacts. This artefact inventory, the stone tool assemblage of "Eythra", is known for its numerous handaxes and dates back to about 280,000 years ago. The youngest sediments from which the researchers obtained the new dates belong to the so-called Saalian glaciation (named after the river Saale). The southernmost ice advance of Scandinavian glaciers into Central Germany occurred about 150,000 years ago. Impact on future research "Our dates will have a major impact on the understanding of the timing of glacial cycles and climatic shifts of ice-age Europe", say the authors. "The first major glaciation had a huge impact on the environment and re-modeled the entire landscape. The newly determined ages of the Lower and Middle Paleolithic artefacts will help us in the future to reconstruct the ways in which humans populated or re-populated central Germany and central Europe following this major climatic impact." The new data will also enable scientists to look further into questions regarding the ways humans adapted and reacted to the climatic shifts between cold glacials and warm interglacials during the Middle Pleistocene between roughly 450.000 to 150.000 years ago. The study is published in Scientific Reports. Explore further Giant handaxes suggest that different groups of early humans coexisted in ancient Europe Credit: CC0 Public Domain The Google Assistant can now help you pay back the money you owe a friend. Google announced that starting today you'll be able to send or request money from the contacts on your Android device or iPhone, via a voice command along the lines of "Hey Google, send Janie $15 for lunch today." Similar peer-to-peer functionality will be coming to Google Home or other smart speakers with the Google Assistant in the coming months, Google says. Google is actually playing catchup to Apple, which has been letting you make such payments through Siri since late last year. But Google is ahead of Amazon, which is expected to similarly let Alexa handle such friend-to-friend cash transactions. Of course, the P2P payments space is already crowded through the likes of Square, Venmo, Zelle and PayPal. Google's new feature is tied to Google Pay, a brand created recently out of what had been Android Pay and Google Wallet. Google has a long and somewhat confusing history in the payment space. You'll be prompted to sign up for Google Pay and link a debit card (if you haven't already), the first time you try to send or request money through the Assistant. You can't do everything by voice however; you'll have to authenticate any transactions through your Google account password or fingerprint. According to Google, funds will be transferred almost instantaneously, even if your pal doesn't have a Google Pay account. If they do have the Google Pay app, he or she will receive an email, text, or notification alerting them that they can cash out. Recipients of a transfer who don't have an account will be prompted to create one to claim the funds. You can send up to $9,999 in a single transaction or up to $10,000 within a seven days period. If you live in Florida, you can send up to $3,000 every 24 hours. Explore further Google offers mail payment service in the UK 2018 USA Today Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Google is using its logo Thursday to honor a pioneer in geochemistry. The company's latest doodle pays tribute to Katsuko Saruhashi, born on this day 98 years ago in Japan. Saruhashi is credited with creating a table bearing her name accurately measuring the amount of carbonic acid in water based on its temperature, pH level and chlorinity. The table has served as a critical tool for oceanographers. Saruhashi also developed a technique to trace how radioactive fallout travels across oceans. Google's doodle features an image of Saruhashi with an oceanic backdrop to symbolize her achievements. Saruhashi was not only the first woman earn a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Tokyo in 1957, but the first woman elected to the Science Council of Japan. She also started the Saruhashi Prize in 1981, which recognizes female scientists for research in natural sciences. Explore further Google tips hat to Charlie Chaplin with video doodle 2018 USA Today Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Credit: Wikipedia Students classed as less able are being hindered by being grouped into ability-based sets, according to new research published today in the Cambridge Journal of Education. Teachers' expectations of pupils in lower sets, which are based on their prior academic record and closely tied to the belief that their behaviour will be more challenging, could instil a damaging 'culture of dependency' on teachers among these groups. Researchers used questionnaire data generated from almost 600 Maths and English teachers based in 82 UK secondary schools, alongside interviews with teachers, to understand how grouping students into sets influenced the independence of lower attaining students. They found that 70% of studied teachers modified their teaching methods to match students' prior attainment. Students in lower sets typically faced a reduced curriculum based on more structural, repetitive tasks, and more one-to-one time with teachers. Teachers of these pupils were often reluctant to risk overstretching them by teaching overly complex content. As lead author of the article, Dr Anna Mazenod from the UCL Institute of Education in the UK, explains: "Our findings suggest that secondary school students in the so-called bottom sets may be unintentionally encouraged to remain more dependent on their teachers in comparison with their peers in higher sets. "Teachers tend to perceive bottom-set students as more 'dependent learners', and may not build in scope to allow for students to develop their independent learning skills. This can hinder students in making the most of learning opportunities in their ongoing education, as independence is a key component of successful learning. "From a social justice perspective, our findings raise the concern that such approaches could impede an independent learner identity being a goal for all students." As many of the studied teachers recognized, labelling certain students as lower attaining and placing them in numbered sets could also harm their self-confidence, and restrict their learning opportunities. One teacher claimed, 'if you get put in a Set 6 class, you get treated like a Set 6 pupil'. "Teachers have to strike a careful balance between directing students in their learning and enabling students to become independent learners," added Mazenod. "We suggest that schools that adopt attainment grouping carefully consider whether equality of opportunity and high expectations are being adequately targeted at their lower set pupils, and whether their grouping could be improved to better support attainment and engagement for all." Explore further Web-based teaching can improve science understanding for struggling pupils More information: Anna Mazenod et al, Nurturing learning or encouraging dependency? Teacher constructions of students in lower attainment groups in English secondary schools, Cambridge Journal of Education (2018). Anna Mazenod et al, Nurturing learning or encouraging dependency? Teacher constructions of students in lower attainment groups in English secondary schools,(2018). DOI: 10.1080/0305764X.2018.1441372 The US Treasury Department accuses Iran's Mabna Institute of cyber intrusions into the computer systems of 144 US universities, and 176 universities in 21 foreign countries The United States unveiled charges on Friday against nine Iranians for their alleged involvement in a massive state-sponsored hacking scheme which targeted hundreds of universities in the US and abroad and stole "valuable intellectual property and data." Ten Iranians were also hit with sanctions along with an Iranian company, the Mabna Institute, which engaged in computer hacking on behalf of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the US Treasury Department said. The two founders of the Mabna Institute, Gholamreza Rafatnejad, 38, and Ehsan Mohammadi, 37, were among the nine Iranians indicted in New York and whose assets are subject to US seizure. Since 2013, the Mabna Institute carried out cyber intrusions into the computer systems of 144 US universities, the Treasury Department said, and 176 universities in 21 foreign countries. Mabna Institute employees and contractors "engaged in the theft of valuable intellectual property and data from hundreds of US and third-country universities... for private financial gain," it said. "For many of these intrusions, the defendants acted at the behest of the Iranian government and, specifically, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps," Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said. The US Department of Labor, the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, dozens of private firms and non-governmental organizations such as the United Nations Children's Fund were also allegedly targeted. Geoffrey Berman, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the Iranians conducted spearphishing attacks designed to steal passwords from email accounts in one of the "largest state-sponsored" hacking schemes ever uncovered. 8,000 accounts compromised The email accounts of more than 100,000 university professors worldwide were targeted, Berman said, and about 8,000 accounts were compromised. He said 31 terabytesabout 15 billion pagesof academic data and intellectual property were stolen. This included "research, and other academic data and documents, including, among other things, academic journals, theses, dissertations, and electronic books," the Justice Department said. "The defendants targeted data across all fields of research and academic disciplines, including science and technology, engineering, social sciences, medical, and other professional fields," it said. David Bowdich, deputy director of the FBI, said the defendants are in Iran and "apprehending these individuals presents a challenge." "(But) the long arm of the law reaches worldwide," he said. "You cannot hide behind a keyboard half way around the world and expect not to be held to account," Berman said. One of the 10 Iranians subject to sanctions, Behzad Mesri, was already indicted in November 2017 in connection with the theft of scripts and plot summaries for HBO's "Game of Thrones," and for trying to extort $6 million in Bitcoin out of the network. The Justice Department said that besides targeting university professors in the United States, the hackers also compromised accounts in Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Rafatnejad, Mohammadi and the seven other Mabna Institute employees or contractors were charged with identity theft, conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and other crimes. 2018 AFP What might be achieved from the proposed walkout is difficult to predict. Credit: Shutterstock Australia's early childhood educators, including those working in community and private childcare centres, will walk off the job on March 27 to demand better pay. Some centres will be closed for the whole day and parents will be asked to keep their children at home. This scale of action will no doubt come at a cost to the economy and cause substantial inconvenience to thousands of families. It's part of a long-running equal pay campaign. Early childhood educators are among the lowest-paid Australians, with many taking on a second job for a supplementary income. Many leave the sector altogether with low pay identified as the central reason for doing so. This means the sector loses skilled workers at a time when its workforce should be growing in size. Many would agree current wage levels don't reflect the importance of caring for and educating children. Positive outcomes for children's development and emotional security have significant implications for the welfare of families and future economic prosperity. Low pay Reasons for low pay in the early childhood sector include a high proportion of female workers, the dependency of educators on modern awards that set minimum standards of pay and conditions, and various funding models that operate in the sector. Certificate III qualified educators receive A$809 per week before tax, which is around half the average weekly earnings for all occupations. There is little difference between educator pay rates under the Children's Services Award, which covers the majority of workers, and the Australian national minimum wage of $18.29 per hour before tax. Some educators leave for better paid and less challenging work elsewhere, often without the requirement for qualifications. For example, educators can earn more money doing night retail work than in the work they are qualified to undertake. Low wages also contribute to early childhood work being viewed not as a long-term career path, but a temporary employment solution. Our own study of 85 educators in nine long daycare centres (places where children can be cared for throughout the full day) in Queensland showed educators got significant satisfaction from their work with children. But their continued employment in the sector relied on supplementary income to cover life's necessities. For some, their wages were supplemented by a partner who earned a higher income. Others received financial assistance from their parents or worked a second job. Those without additional financial support struggled and were more likely to consider leaving the sector. Women's work Like many other countries, Australia's early childhood workforce is female dominated, consisting of more than 90% women. Working with young children is often perceived as similar to mothering and something instinctive and enjoyable to women. This view is perpetuated by government, the broader community, and, sometimes, educators themselves. There is a tendency to preference the needs of children and families above childcare employees. This has been seen in responses to calls for increased wages, where public and political concern has focused on the consequent increased cost to parents using early childhood services. Industrial issues More than 70% of early childhood educators are award dependent, compared to only 20% of the broader Australian workforce. This means most educators are paid close to the minimum wage, with low variability in pay. Although some employers attempt to pay more, it's rare for wages to exceed the award by more than 10%. The ability for educators to increase their earnings is further reduced by a relatively flat career structure. Length of service is not reflected in salary. Also, opportunities for collective bargaining are restricted by a fragmented sector characterised by numerous single operators with a small number of employees. Degree-qualified early childhood teachers are particularly disadvantaged. In most states and territories, preschool teachers' pay is comparable to that of school teachers, but the same teacher leading a preschool program in a long daycare centre could be paid A$7-8 less per hour. This reflects a difference of more than A$13,000 per year. Funding models Although educator wages are low, they represent around 70% of operating costs for providers. The ability to pay educators more depends on the the budget of a given service. Early childhood services in Australia gain income through parent fees and government funding. Different financial models are used for different service types. Standalone preschools receive "supply-side funding", where money flows to the service mainly from government and is linked to operational costs such as the wages of qualified teachers and educators. In contrast, long daycare services are subject to "demand-side funding". In this model, there is no operational subsidy for providers. Instead, funding is linked to parent fees and designed to offset the cost of care for individual families. These funding systems mean any wage increase in a preschool is largely funded by government, with reduced impact on parent fees. But in long day care, wage increases are more likely to require increased parent fees. Where to next for the early childhood sector? The current Australian government maintains that wages are a matter for employers and employees. Unions and some employers argue there should be greater public investment in education and care to enable an urgent increase to wages. Based on our research, and an understanding of the Australian education and care sector, improving wages is a shared responsibility. Employers clearly have a significant responsibility toward their employees and some could do better. There is also a need for greater investment from government. There are lessons to be learnt from national and international examples. In Queensland, the Kindergarten Funding Scheme offers a per-child subsidy to support the delivery of a quality preschool education program delivered by a qualified teacher in long day care. Canada has recently introduced an early childhood wage enhancement program. In New Zealand, funding incentives have been rolled out for early childhood services with highly qualified educators. What might be achieved from the proposed walkout is difficult to predict. At the very least, the action is likely to build awareness of longstanding challenges in early childhood education. It might also secure broader community support for wages and conditions that reflect the importance and complexity of early education work. Explore further What Australia can learn from Fiji in reducing the working poor This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Using the coccolithophore Emiliana huxleyi the researchers were able to determine the salinity of the Northern Aegean Sea some 11,000 to 5,000 years ago. Credit: Jorg Bollmann Around 7,600 years ago, the emergence of agricultural settlements in Southeastern Europe and subsequent progress of civilization suddenly came to a standstill. This was most likely caused by an abrupt sea level rise in the northern Aegean Sea. Researchers of the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, the Goethe University in Frankfurt and the University of Toronto have now detected evidence of this oceanographic event and an earlier sudden sea-level rise in the fossils of tiny calcifying marine algae preserved in seafloor sediments in the Aegean Sea. The impact of these events on historical societal development emphasizes the potential economic and social consequences of a future rise in sea levels due to global climate change, the researchers write in the study recently published in the journal Scientific Reports. Originating in the Middle East, the Neolithic Age witnessed one of the most significant upheavals of civilization in human history: the transition from a culture of hunter-gatherers to an agricultural and sedentary lifestyle. During the Neolithic revolution, agricultural societies also began to spread toward Southeastern Europe. However, archeological digs show that the development of settlements temporarily declined about 7,600 years ago. Researchers from Frankfurt have now identified one of the likely causes for this. "Approximately 7,600 years ago, the sea level must have risen abruptly in the Mediterranean regions bordering Southeastern Europe. The northern Aegean, the Marmara Sea and the Black Sea recorded an increase of more than one meter. This led to the flooding of low-lying coastal areas that would have been ideal areas for settlement," says lead author Professor Dr. Jens Herrle of the German Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre and Goethe University. The new study is based on a sediment core from the ocean floor of the northern Aegean Sea, which allowed Herrle and his collaborators to reconstruct the level of salinity in this part of the Mediterranean between 11,000 and 5,000 years ago. The ocean floor is richly abundant in tiny fossils of the calcified algae species Emiliania huxleyi. Viewed up-close under a scanning electron microscope, size changes in these algae preserved a signal of the level of salinity in the surface water of the Aegean during their lifetime. "These calcifying algae evidence two rapid decreases in the salt content, at approximately 8,400 and again 7,600 years ago, which can only be explained by the fact that a higher volume of low-saline surface water flowed from the Black Sea into the northern Aegean at these times. A prerequisite for this is a rapid rise in sea levels that would lead to an increased outflow of surface water in this direction. The source of this may have been Lake Agassiz in North America. This glacial meltwater lake was enclosed in ice and experienced a massive breach during this period, which emptied an enormous volume of water into the ocean," explains Herrle. The new evidence supports a conclusion of extensive flooding along the edges of the northeastern Mediterranean, coinciding with two standstills in the Neolithic revolution. The earlier change in sea-level approximately 8,400 years ago highlighted by the new salinity record coincides with archeological dates suggesting that settlement on low-lying areas had already been significantly impeded by rising sea levels and the subsequent climatic changes. The renewed rise in sea levels 800 years later likely further hampered the transition to agricultural communities. "Our results show that the timing and severity of past fluctuations in sea level has already had a significant effect on human history during its early agricultural development," explains Herrle in closing. "Due to climate change, we expect global sea levels to rise by up to one meter over the next 100 years. Millions of people could thus be displaced from coastal regions, with severe social and economic consequences." Explore further The Arctic: Interglacial period with a break More information: Jens O. Herrle et al, Black Sea outflow response to Holocene meltwater events, Scientific Reports (2018). Journal information: Scientific Reports Jens O. Herrle et al, Black Sea outflow response to Holocene meltwater events,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-22453-z In an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease, finding the exact source as quickly as possible is essential to preventing further infections. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich have now developed a rapid test that detects Legionella pneumophila in about 35 minutes. The picture shows first author Catharina Kober with a LegioTyper-chip at the MCR microarray analysis platform. Credit: Jonas Bemetz / TUM In an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease, finding the exact source as quickly as possible is essential to preventing further infections. To date, a standard analysis takes days. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich have now developed a rapid test that achieves the same result in about 35 minutes. Legionella are rod-shaped bacteria that can cause life-threatening pneumonia in humans. They multiply in warm water and can be dispersed into the air via cooling towers, evaporative recooling systems and hot water systems. The most dangerous among the almost 50 species of Legionella is Legionella pneumophila. It is responsible for 80 percent of all infections. When an outbreak occurs, the source of the germs must be identified as soon as possible to prevent further infections. Similar to a paternity test, the origin of the outbreak is confirmed when the germs in the process water of a technical system exactly match those identified in the patient. However, often numerous systems must be tested in the process, and the requisite cultivation for the test takes around ten days. Faster detection with antibodies Meanwhile, there is a rapid urine test for detecting the Legionella pathogen in the clinic. "Unfortunately, this quick test serves only as a first indication and is not suitable for screening the water of technical systems," says PD Dr. Michael Seidel, head of the research group at the Chair of Analytical Chemistry and Water Chemistry of the Technical University of Munich. The team of scientists thus developed a measuring chip in the context of the "LegioTyper" project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. This chip not only detects the dangerous pathogen Legionella pneumophila but also identifies which of the approximately 20 subtypes is present. The most dangerous among the almost 50 species of Legionella is Legionella pneumophila. It is responsible for 80 percent of all infections. The picture shows the sensor image of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1, strain Bellingham-1. Credit: Catharina Kober / TUM Fast, inexpensive and versatile The foil-based measuring chip uses the microarray analysis platform MCR of the Munich company GWK GmbH. Using 20 different antibodies, the system provides a complete analysis within 34 minutes. "Compared to previous measurements, the new method not only provides a huge speed advantage," says Michael Seidel, "but is also so cheap that we can use the chip in one-time applications." The system can be deployed for environmental hygiene as well as clinical diagnostics. In combination with a second, DNA-based method, the system can even distinguish between dead and living Legionella pathogens. This allows the success of disinfection measures to be monitored. The project participants will present their system to the public for the first time at the Analytica 2018 trade fair in Munich (Hall 3, Booth 315). Explore further Investigators identify optimal conditions for growth of Legionella bacteria More information: Catharina Kober et al, Quantification of viable and non-viable Legionella spp. by heterogeneous asymmetric recombinase polymerase amplification (haRPA) on a flow-based chemiluminescence microarray, Biosensors and Bioelectronics (2017). Journal information: Biosensors and Bioelectronics Catharina Kober et al, Quantification of viable and non-viable Legionella spp. by heterogeneous asymmetric recombinase polymerase amplification (haRPA) on a flow-based chemiluminescence microarray,(2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2017.08.053 Postdoc Brandon Scott, right, and doctoral student Elizabeth Bailey prepare to visualize the molecular dynamics of live cells. Credit: South Dakota State University Scientists have a better understanding of a mechanism that allows cells to internalize beneficial nutrients and not-so-beneficial viruses, thanks to collaboration among researchers from two South Dakota universities and the National Institutes of Health. South Dakota State University associate professor Adam Hoppe, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology professor Steve Smith and NIH scientists Justin Taraska and Kem Sochacki combined three unique types of microscopy to track how a protein called clathrin triggers cell membrane bending. They found that clathrin, which creates a honeycomb shaped scaffold on the cell membrane, has an unexpected amount of plasticity when pinching off small portions of the cell membrane. Their work was published in the Jan. 29, 2018, issue of Nature Communications. Hoppe and Smith work collaboratively through the South Dakota BioSystems Networks and Translational Research (BioSNTR) center, which is funded through the South Dakota Research Innovation Center program and the National Science Foundation's Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. A greater understanding of how cells internalize material will help BioSNTR researchers working with Sioux Falls-based SAB Biotheraputics to develop new alternative treatments for influenza. The contributions of NIH scientists Justin Taraska and Kem Sochacki in Bethesda, Maryland, were made possible through a federally funded intramural research program. "It was an awesome team science effort and an important model for success," said Hoppe, a cell biologist and BioSNTR director. His research focuses on developing antiviral and anticancer therapeutics. "This is a fundamental 'how does the cell work' kind of question that has radiating impacts on a multitude of disease processes and important physiological functions in plants, animals and humans," Hoppe explained. "The process, known as endocytosis, is one of the main mechanisms by which cells internalize material from the environment and remodel their surfaces." Hoppe and his team essentially filmed live cells internalizing their own membrane using fluorescence on a nanoscale. Then they used a laser beam to differentiate horizontal and vertical orientations and chemically froze the cells at various stages to capture high-resolution images of membrane bending. "Endocytosis in human cells is primarily driven by clathrin, which forms a honeycomb lattice that grabs a piece of membrane and pulls it inside the cell. Viruses hijack this process to get into cells; it's also how many drugs are delivered into a cell," explained Taraska, a senior investigator in the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Imaging at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the NIH. He and his team scanned the cells using super resolution light imaging with fluorescence and electron microscopy, correlating the two by laying one image on top of the other. Smith, a physicist and director of the SD Mines nanoscience and nanoengineering program, said, "This a big technical accomplishment. Three teams separated by thousands of miles examined the same cell, down to the nanometer level that's an incredible accomplishment!" He and his team used atomic force microscopy to precisely measure the clathrin structure and resulting vesicles, including their height and diameter. Each cell had 50 to 100 vesicles. The three-pronged approach gave the researchers confidence in their findingsand their collaboration is continuing. "This collaboration was unique, combining three advanced techniques and taking advantage of everyone's unique expertise," Taraska said. "It worked because everyone was sharing and coming together to tackle a single important problem." Smith agreed, "BioSNTR brings people together with different kinds of tools and expertise to shed light on processes that we don't understand. It's about forming a team and giving them a mission." Explore further The stiffness of cell plasma membranes affects nanomedicine uptake More information: Brandon L. Scott et al. Membrane bending occurs at all stages of clathrin-coat assembly and defines endocytic dynamics, Nature Communications (2018). Journal information: Nature Communications Brandon L. Scott et al. Membrane bending occurs at all stages of clathrin-coat assembly and defines endocytic dynamics,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-02818-8 When it comes to tech, the most buzzed-about companies often raise big investmentsand big questions. That's been the case with Magic Leap, the Plantation-based augmented reality company whose wunderkind status has resulted in more than $2 billion in investmentand a slew of legal disputes. In the past six months, Magic Leap announced it had raised $502 million from Singapore's wealth fund; an unstated amount from German publisher Axel Springer; and, earlier this month, $461 million from Saudi Arabia's national investment fund and other unnamed investors. That brings their total reported investment to $2.3 billion, including incentives from the state and Broward County. For a company whose goal is to literally transform how everyone sees the world, the hype makes sense. The company also recently showed off its new partnership with the NBA, whose fans will be able to interact with live stats and commentary as they watch a game on a Magic Leap headset. A few weeks later, the Royal Shakespeare Company in London said it was partnering with Magic Leap on a project to "change the way audiences experience theatre," according to the theater troupe's website. And in December, Magic Leap finally unveiled its long-anticipated Magic Leap One "creator edition" headset for developers, allowing any company to create content that a user can experience as lifelike. Then there's the less favorable news. Magic Leap now finds itself in yet another legal quagmire, this time with its senior director of global security. Recently, the company filed for a declaratory judgment against the director, claiming he planned to use a whistle-blower complaint to "extort" the company by accusing it of stealing technology from Microsoft. That dispute is the latest in a series of legal complexities. In October, the company filed a report with the Plantation Police Department alleging Magic Leap had been defrauded by a recruiting firm, according to a report in Business Insider. And in 2017, Magic Leap settled a harassment suit brought by a former employee who alleged a company culture rife with sexism. All the while, the company has displayed an aggressive penchant for secrecy and has pushed back release datesraising further questions. Experts disagree about whether Magic Leap's issues are red flags or whether they are simply growing pains. "These things happen ... the bigger the company, the bigger the liabilities," Joe Russo, head of Palm Beach Tech, a nonprofit tech trade organization, said in an email. The technology press has been more skeptical. "Many details (about Magic Leap's product) remain unclear," Romain Dillet of TechCrunch wrote in February. "For instance, the company hasn't shared anything about pricing and software features. It's hard to grasp the use case of the device without this information." Magic Leap's fate is more than simply a topic of tech gossip. Florida taxpayers plan to invest more than $8 million in Magic Leap through tax breaks and incentives from the state and the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, an economic development agency. The Alliance does not see anything to be worried about. "Magic Leap's presence is extremely valuable to our community," Bob Swindell, president and CEO of the Alliance, said in an emailed statement to the Herald. He noted that they had just participated in a tech hiring event at Nova Southeastern University. He did not address Magic Leap's legal issues. A spokesperson for the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity declined to comment on any of the recent developments, other than to say that Magic Leap had submitted required paperwork documenting progress toward meeting its goals for incentives. The documents, submitted on time, are still under review by an auditor. Magic Leap has created dozens of high-paying tech jobs in a state where the annual median family income is less than $59,000. Many employees have moved from across the countryand the worldto Plantation, once known mostly for its giant mall, just to be part of Magic Leap's story. Patrick McKenna, a venture capitalist now based in Miami who recently touted the area as a tech destination in a New York Times article, said Magic Leap has shown "that an innovative technology company can raise large sums of money and attract world class talent to South Florida." But the mixed signals it's sending were recently on display at a pitch event hosted by Wynwood's The LAB. A Magic Leap employee served as a judge on the pitch panelon the condition that she not discuss the company, and that the LAB neither promote Magic Leap nor use its logo. Ironically, Magic Leap has been most forthcoming about what is happening inside the company in legal documents. In the Feb. 28 filing for judgment against its security director, Magic Leap maintains that the director, Todd Keil, had planned to submit a complaint alleging Magic Leap management rejected his recommendation that Microsoft HoloLens devicesdirect competitors to Magic Leap's reality-shaping headsetsdelivered to Plantation be confiscated and returned. Keil also planned to allege he was told by a senior manager that Magic Leap would retain possession of a HoloLens device, Magic Leap says. And Keil planned to argue Magic Leap's conduct violated the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act, the filing states. Magic Leap says each of these accusations is false, and that Keil was simply retaliating for his poor performance reviews. In a brief phone interview, Keil said he has an agreement in place with Magic Leap that stipulates he cannot discuss the dispute. He said he has been with the company for two and a half years, and had moved to Florida from Texas, where he has since returned. A representative for Magic Leap did not respond to an inquiry asking whether Keil is still employed. Mike Lingle, a managing partner at Miami's 10xU startup advisory who has consulted for many South Florida tech companies, says there is reason to continue asking questions about what's going on in Plantation. "They've raised way too much money for a company with no product and no revenue," he said in an email. "This leads people to behave strangely. I'm actually surprised that more cash hasn't walked out the door." The secrecy around the company could cripple its chance for success, he said. "Look at how much trouble Google had launching Glass, and they did everything right," he said, referring to a technology Google ultimately pulled from retail shelves. "Customers need to be involved in the development process, especially when you're asking them to change their behavior. Secrecy kills startups." As it happens, a video interview posted in which a new Magic Leap employee speaks highly of the company was pulled down within 24 hours of going live. According to a report by Next Reality, a website that covers the futuristic augmented reality technology Magic Leap works on, a Plantation-based employee named Necole Pynn discussed in the video how Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz's 2013 Ted Talk ultimately led her to join the company. "I started doing research when I first applied for the job," she said, according to Next Reality. "I started looking into some of the people who worked there, and I realized that so many of my creative heroes work in this company." Next Reality Editor Adario Strange said it is ironic the video "disappeared" so quickly. "It was easily the most full throated and glowing review of the company's culture I've seen, so it might have helped Magic Leap to allow her voice to be more widely heard," he said in an email. The company that posted the video, Trench Media, could not be reached for comment. Magic Leap did not respond to a request for comment. Strange believes the excitement surrounding Magic Leap may have caused expectations to outpace reality. "If the Magic Leap One isn't several orders of magnitude better than Microsoft's HoloLens, there may be a good deal of disappointment after so many years of anticipation," he said. "Personally, I'm hoping it lives up to the hype." Strange believes many startups like Magic Leap inevitably go through "learning experiences" as they attempt to establish a healthy and productive culture. "In that respect, there's a certain amount of margin of error to be expected," he said. But its other issues cannot be ignored. "Some of the allegations that have been reported are troubling for such an incredibly well funded company," he said. Explore further Google-backed Magic Leap alleges workers stole its secrets 2018 Miami Herald Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The front aspect of the artifact. Credit: The Egypt Centre, Swansea University Swansea University Egyptology lecturer Dr Ken Griffin has found a depiction of one of the most famous pharaoh's in history Hatshepsut (one of only a handful of female pharaohs) on an object in the Egypt Centre stores, which had been chosen for an object handling session. The opportunity to handle genuine Egyptian artefacts is provided by the Egypt Centre to students studying Egyptology at Swansea University. During a recent handling session for an Egyptian Art and Architecture module Dr Kenneth Griffin, from the University's Department of Classics, Ancient History and Egyptology, noticed that one of the objects chosen was much more interesting than initially thought. Consisting of two irregularly shaped limestone fragments that have been glued together, the object had been kept in storage for over twenty years and was requested for the handling session based only on an old black and white photograph. The front side depicts the head of a figure whose face is unfortunately missing, with the remains of a fan directly behind. Traces of hieroglyphs are also present above the head. The iconography of the piece indicates that it represents a ruler of Egypt, particularly with the presence of the uraeus (cobra) on the forehead of the figure. Who is this mysterious pharaoh and where did the fragment originate from? A search of the Egypt Centre records provides no information on the original provenance or find spot of the object. What is known is that it came to Swansea in 1971 as part of the distribution of objects belonging to Sir Henry Wellcome (1853-1936), the pharmaceutical entrepreneur based in London. The fragments are less than 5cm thick and had clearly been removed from the wall of a temple or tomb, as can be seen from the cut marks on the back. Having visited Egypt on over fifty occasions, Dr Griffin quickly recognised the iconography as being similar to reliefs within the temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri (Luxor), which was constructed during the height of the New Kingdom. In particular, the treatment of the hair, the fillet headband with twisted uraeus, and the decoration of the fan are all well-known at Deir el-Bahri. Most importantly, the hieroglyphs above the headpart of a formulaic text attested elsewhere at the templeuse a feminine pronoun, a clear indication that the figure is female. Rear aspect of the artifact. Credit: The Egypt Centre, Swansea University Hatshepsut was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty (c.1478-1458 BC) and one of only a handful of women to have held this position. Early in her reign she was represented as a female wearing a long dress, but she gradually took on more masculine traits, including being depicted with a beard. The reign of Hatshepsut was one of peace and prosperity, which allowed her to construct monuments throughout Egypt. Her memorial temple at Deir el-Bahri, built to celebrate and maintain her cult, is a masterpiece of Egyptian architecture. Many fragments were taken from this site during the late nineteenth century, before the temple was excavated by the Egypt Exploration Fund (now Egypt Exploration Society) between 1902-1909. Since 1961 the Polish Archaeological Mission to Egypt has been excavating, restoring, and recording the temple. Yet the mystery of the precious find doesn't end there. On the rear of the upper fragment, the head of a man with a short beard is depicted. Initially there was no explanation for this, but it is now clear that the upper fragment had been removed and recarved in more recent times in order to complete the face of the lower fragment. The replacement of the fragment below the figure would also explain the unusual cut of the upper fragment. This was probably done by an antiques dealer, auctioneer, or even the previous owner of the piece in order to increase its value and attractiveness. It was eventually decided at an unknown date to glue the fragments together in the original layout, which is how they now appear. While Deir el-Bahri seems the most likely provenance for this artefact, further research is needed in order to confirm this and it may even be possible to one day determine the exact spot the fragments originated from. Given the importance of the object, the head of Hatshepsut has now been placed on display in a prominent position within the House of Life at the Egypt Centre so that the relief can be appreciated by visitors to the Centre. Dr Griffin said: "The Egypt Centre is a wonderful resource and is certainly one of the major factors in attracting students to study Egyptology at Swansea University". "The identification of the object as depicting Hatshepsut caused great excitement amongst the students. After all, it was only through conducting handling sessions for them that this discovery came to light". "While most of the students have never visited Egypt before, the handling sessions help to bring Egypt to them". Explore further Parts of Ramses II statue found in southern Egypt In this Feb. 23, 2018, file photo, Nissan Motor Co.'s Easy Ride robo-vehicle moves during a test ride in Yokohama, near Tokyo. Nissan's chief planning officer said Friday the Japanese automaker does not plan to change its road tests for self-driving vehicles after the recent fatal accident of an Uber autonomous vehicle. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File) Nissan's chief planning officer said Friday the Japanese automaker does not plan to change its road tests for self-driving vehicles after the recent fatal accident of an Uber autonomous vehicle. Some fear a setback for the technology after a pedestrian was killed Sunday night in a crash involving a self-driving Uber SUV in the U.S., the first death involving a fully autonomous test vehicle. Uber immediately suspended all road-testing of such autos in the Phoenix area, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto. The ride-sharing company has been testing self-driving vehicles for months as it competes with other technology companies and automakers like Ford and General Motors. Philippe Klein, the chief planning officer at Nissan, said the automaker is ensuring its tests are safe. He said specially trained drivers keep their hands on the wheel on such vehicles, prepared to "take over the car" to ensure the "highest possible safety" in its tests. The Uber crash is still under investigation. Toyota Motor Corp., which is working with Uber on driverless systems, said in a statement earlier this week it has halted automated-driving tests in the U.S. because of the possible "emotional effect on its test drivers." Toyota said it did not know the specifics of the accident or its causes. Honda Motor Co. has declined comment on the accident but said it was not changing its work on developing self-driving technology. Tokyo-based Honda's autonomous drive technology differs from that used by Uber. Nissan has been conducting autonomous driving tests in London, Tokyo and California. The company, which has an alliance with Renault SA of France and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. of Japan, has been aggressive in pursuing the technology. Nissan Chief Planning Officer Philippe Klein speaks to journalists during a media roundtable at Nissan headquarters Friday March 23, 2018 in Yokohama, near Tokyo. Nissan's chief planning officer said Friday the Japanese automaker does not plan to change its road tests for self-driving vehicles after the recent fatal accident of an Uber autonomous vehicle. (AP Photo/Yuri Kageyama) Nissan said Friday that it plans to equip 20 models in 20 markets with autonomous driving technology by fiscal 2022, one of the pillars of a strategy launched last year. Driverless cars are still not allowed on public roads in Japan, although its major automakers are all working on the technology. Vehicles now sold commercially will stop on their own before a crash or automatically remain inside lanes during highway driving, but drivers must be present and keep their hands on the wheel. Nissanwhich makes the best-selling EV the Leaf, the March subcompact and Infiniti luxury modelssaid Friday it aims to sell 1 million electrified vehicles a year by fiscal 2022. Electrified vehicles refer to both pure electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles that have both an electric motor and a gasoline engine and other green vehicles like plug-ins. Klein declined to give a breakdown of the electrified models planned but he said that fuel cells, which run on hydrogen fuel, were too costly to be practical anytime soon. Explore further Toyota suspends self-driving car tests after Uber death 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. David Tobin took to the stage at a recent technology conference in downtown Los Angeles, asked the 500 attendees to close their eyes, and turned up the sound so they could sample his wares: a textured, layered soundscape that he calls an "audiojack." A thousand eyes clamped shut as they collectively heard a ball thudding into a glove. A cracking bat. Fans roaring with approval. "How does what you're hearing make you feel? What does it make you remember? There are no right or wrong answers," Tobin told the group, who'd gathered for demonstrations and discussions on how technology can improve the lives of our rapidly aging population. "It's all up to you to imagine," he said. Taking back our imaginations from an onslaught of words, images, video and other stimuli is Tobin's goal with his business, Audiojack, so named, he says, because he hopes listeners will get "jacked" by the sounds. A former television producer and one-time manager of the famous Roxy Theater on Hollywood's Sunset Strip, Tobin happened on the idea by accident. After a friend gave him a hard drive that contained a folder of sound effects. Just for fun, Tobin mixed them with no apparent plot or structure, leaving out any human voices. He found that friends who listened to his creation started "putting together a story instantly because your brain associates the sound with memory," he said. Next he shared it with his mother, a teacher, who brought it into her classroom and saw that kids seemed particularly engaged after a listening session. When a friend sampled it for his mother, who in turn played the soundscape for dementia patients she cared for at a senior center, Tobin began to realize he'd made something that had broad appeal and a useful application. Senior citizens with even the most advanced memory loss have powerfully responded to his product. One elderly listener who'd not spoken a complete sentence in weeks was able to articulate memories triggered by the sound of cooking breakfast or of a tiger in the wild. Tobin received similar encouragement from educators and students at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Mass., who asked him to make more audiojacks, and even invited him in for a group session. Students worked in an on-campus studio to make their own "movie for the mind." Tobin has not yet conducted formal research into the efficacy of his sound recordings, but researchers in Canada have found that aural stimulation engages older people with memory loss, helping them to be more connected to their surroundings. More well-understood are the benefits of music therapy, which has been shown in extensive patient studies at Harvard University and Oxford University to achieve reduced stress, and improved mood and social function, as well as regulated heartbeat and breathing. One program, SingFit, offers music playlists with lyric prompts specially designed to engage older people and others with traumatic brain injury. Audiojack can cite one study by George Mason University that shows improved brain function for people with moderate to severe dementia who used the program over a four-month period. Fernando Roman at the city-funded Echo Park Senior Center just outside downtown Los Angeles has seen this with his work. During the sessions he holds every few weeks, he hands out paper to each attendee, makes sure the room is quiet, and afterward asks them to share what images and feelings the soundscapes have stirred up. Though they're far from the Siberian tundra, much less the woods, the seniors listen and reflect. "They get to see the wide range of where everyone's mind is at," Roman said. The fact that there are no spoken words makes it accessible to his multi-lingual clientele, too. Art teacher Michele Mazzei at Edison High School in Fresno, Calif., has seen particular impact with all of her students, but particularly one boy with autism. Typically, he was silent, she said, but when she played one of Tobin's creations, he instantly responded. "He perked up, spoke, and pointed out what he heard," she said. "It got him to be part of something." Tobin sells the audiojacks for institutional use with lesson plans and prompts, but it's also available to individual users in mobile app form. There's one free available in each category, and an annual subscription costs $14.99. Lately, he said, he's seen a surge in downloads and mail from users who like listening to them for no other reason than to space out. Consider it an active form of meditation, where you can choose to imagine any visuals you like or none at all. Tobin considers it the antithesis to virtual reality, another popular form of tech-mediated experience. "VR is so stimulating," he said. "You're locked in, your eyes are peeled, you can't get away from it. Here, you close your eyes and do it on your terms." Explore further Three little letters that could make you a big hero at the beach this summer: CPR Tribune Interactive Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. SOS-emission light curve. Credit: Vladimir Lipunov One of the MASTER Global Robotic Net telescopes (MSU) located on Tenerife (Spain, Canary Islands) helped astronomers observe the gamma-ray burst caused by the collapse of a star and the formation of a black hole in its place. Standard telescopes are unable to point to gamma-ray bursts error-boxes fast enough to monitor the change in its brightness and obtain any information about its source. The scientists dedicated the new object to the physicist Stephen Hawking, and reported the finding in The Astronomer's Telegram. Gamma-ray bursts are registered by space observatories daily. These energy outbursts follow the collisions of neutron stars or the collapse of a massive star into a neutron star, a quark or a black hole. Huge amounts of energy are released in these cases, and telescopes can detect gamma-ray bursts even if they happen millions or even billions of light years away from the Earth. Gamma-ray bursts last from several milliseconds to dozens of seconds and are registered in different ranges. "The main task of MASTER Global Robotic Net is to see the early optic emission until the burst fades down. In the optical range, we saw the whole event from the beginning to end. This is a rare occasion that happens only twice or thrice a year, and as a rule, such observations are carried out using MASTER robotic telescopes," said Vladimir Lipunov, Professor of the Faculty of Physics at MSU and the Head of MASTER Global Robotic Net. Astronomers also managed to obtain the light curve of the gamma-ray burst (it was assigned the code GRB180316A) and to calculate its exact coordinates. The light curve met the ideal shape noticed in several different gamma-ray bursts and named SOS-emission (Smooth Optical Self-similar Emission) in 2017. The name is a reference to the source of such a gamma-ray burstthe death of a star. The advantages of the MASTER system compared to similar ones lies in the quality of the mathematical software (MASTER-robot), the number of telescopes, and their locations (eight units are situated in different parts of Eurasia, in South America, in the south of Africa, and on the Canary Islands). Another feature is the targeting system that allows the telescopes to quickly focus on gamma-ray bursts' optical counterparts, sources of gravitation waves, high-energy neutrinos, ultrahigh energy bursts, and other events. All these factors create the best conditions for the observation of gamma-ray bursts in the optical range. The MSU MASTER telescope. Credit: Vladimir Lipunov The MSU MASTER telescope. Credit: Vladimir Lipunov Explore further A gamma ray burst observed in unprecedented detail Following its arrival at Russias Plesetsk launch site, the Copernicus Sentinel-3B satellite has been removed from its transport container. The satellite will now be prepared for liftoff, scheduled for 25 April 2018. Its identical twin, Sentinel-3A, has been in orbit since February 2016. The two-satellite constellation offers optimum global coverage and data delivery. The mission has been designed to measure systematically Earths oceans, land, ice and atmosphere to monitor and understand large-scale global dynamics. It will provide essential information in near-real time for ocean and weather forecasting. Credit: European Space Agency With the Sentinel-3B satellite now at the Plesetsk launch site in Russia and liftoff set for 25 April, engineers are steaming ahead with the task of getting Europe's next Copernicus satellite ready for its journey into orbit. After arriving at the launch site on 18 March, the satellite has been taken out of its transport container and is being set up for testing. Kristof Gantois, ESA's Sentinel-3 engineering manager, said, "The satellite's journey from France was hampered slightly by the freezing winter weather here in Russia, but it's now safe in the milder cleanroom environment. "With the aid of a crane, our baby has been removed from its transport container. We have also been very busy unpacking the array of equipment we need to test the satellite and make it ready to join its Rockot launcher." Sentinel-3B will join its twin, Sentinel-3A, in orbit. The pairing of identical satellites provides the best coverage and data delivery for Europe's Copernicus programme the largest environmental monitoring programme in the world. The satellites carry the same suite of cutting-edge instruments to measure oceans, land, ice and atmosphere. Feeding a new generation of data products, the Sentinel-3 mission is at the heart of operational oceanography. Following its arrival at Russias Plesetsk launch site, the Copernicus Sentinel-3B satellite has been removed from its transport container. The satellite will now be prepared for liftoff, scheduled for 25 April 2018. Its identical twin, Sentinel-3A, has been in orbit since February 2016. The two-satellite constellation offers optimum global coverage and data delivery. The mission has been designed to measure systematically Earths oceans, land, ice and atmosphere to monitor and understand large-scale global dynamics. It will provide essential information in near-real time for ocean and weather forecasting. Credit: European Space Agency For example, it provides measurements to monitor aquatic biological productivity and marine pollution, to map sea-level change and to forecast the sea state for efficient and safe ship routeing. As well as measuring the oceans, the mission also delivers unique and timely information about changing land cover, vegetation, urban heat islands, and for tracking wildfires. The Sentinel-3B will be lofted into orbit on a Rockot launcher on 25 April at 17:57 GMT (19:57 CEST). Explore further The heat is on for Sentinel-3B Neolithic Corded ware pottery recovered in Southern Finland. Credit: Elisabeth Holmqvist-Sipila Researchers at the archaeology laboratory have determined the origin and trajectories of clay pottery from nearly 5000 years ago. During the Corded Ware Culture period, Finland, Estonia and Sweden produced skilful female artisans who learned to create fashionable and innovative pottery in the eastern region of the Gulf of Finland. The Baltic Sea countries also had a close network for trade in pottery. Was it the fine pottery itself, or the artisans who made it, that moved around the Baltic Sea region during the Corded Ware Culture of late Neolithic period? Are the archaeological artefacts found in Finland imported goods or were they made out of Finnish clay by artisans who had mastered the new technology? These are the questions researchers are trying to answer in the most extensive original study of archaeological ceramics ever undertaken in the Nordic countries. Researchers mapped the arrival routes of pottery and people representing the Corded Ware Culture complex (c. 2900-2300 BCE) into the Nordic countries by identifying the areas where the pottery was made. Corded Ware pottery was very different from earlier Stone Age pottery. It represented a new technology and style, and as a new innovation, used crushed ceramicsor broken potterymixed in with the clay. Eastern influences fashionable in Sweden Finland, Estonia and Sweden had at least five different manufacturing areas for Corded Ware pottery which engaged in active pottery trade across the Baltic Sea approximately 5000 years ago. Hame in Southern Finland had a manufacturing hub of Corded Ware pottery which can be described as quasi-industrial in Neolithic terms, and spread its products along the Finnish coast and into Estonia. Traditionally, Swedish archaeologists have assumed that Corded Ware pottery arrived in Sweden from the south. However, it now seems clear that that eastern influences were particularly fashionable during the Neolithic, and both pottery and people belonging to this culture arrived first in Eastern Sweden from Finland and Estonia. This was not a one-way, one-time event: There were many active contacts in all directions across the Baltic Sea during the period, shown by the fact that pottery that was manufactured in Sweden over time turn up in Finland and Estonia. Micrograph of crushed pottery mixed with the clay mass of a Corded Ware pot. Credit: Elisabeth Holmqvist-Sipila In traditional societies, it is usually women who produce pottery, and it is also common for women to relocate upon marriage. Corded Ware burials show that females were more likely to receive pottery as burial gifts, and analyses from European cemeteries show that the women were more likely to relocate during their lifetime. It is likely that the first Corded Ware Culture artisans to arrive at the Fenno-Baltic and Swedish coasts were women who had learned their craft at their place of birth. They would have begun to use the clay available at their new home, but they mixed it with crushed pieces of pottery they had brought with them. Perhaps this was a way to preserve the older pottery made in their previous homelands, thus maintaining a symbolic connection to their families and the members of their former communities in their everyday lives. The study posits that skilled female artisans arrived in Sweden particularly from Estonia and Finland, as both the geochemical origin and cultural links of the imported pottery indicates a connection to the region. Cultural similarities in turn link the first Corded Ware communities in Finland and Estonia to the eastern part of the Bay of Finland, present day Russia. The exchange network also suggests that even during the Stone Age, the Baltic Sea was less an obstacle and more a connection between communities, attaching Finland to a broader European culture. Map of neolithic pottery exchange network in the Baltic Sea region. Credit: Elisabeth Holmqvist-Sipila International Stone Age phenomena are inscribed in pottery The study examined clay pottery from 24 archaeological sites in Finland, Estonia and Sweden. The goal was to determine the geochemical composition and geological origin of Corded Ware pottery, i.e., where the clay came from. The project involved international and cross-disciplinary cooperation between the group of archaeologists from Finland, Sweden and Estonia and material physicists. Funded by the Academy of Finland, the research project was headed by Elisabeth Holmqvist-Sipila, who works at the University of Helsinki's archaeology laboratory. "International prehistoric phenomena may be apparent in everyday objects, such as dishware and the old pottery fragments crushed into the clay they were made with," says Holmqvist-Sipila. "Pottery was so important to its owner that it would be carried along on long journeys. Now, thousands of years later, when most things have turned into dust, it is these objects that tell the story of the routes taken by people and their belongings." The results of the research were published on 5 February 2018 in the esteemed Journal of Archaeological Science. Explore further Domestic goat dating back to the Neolithic Corded Ware period identified in Finland More information: Elisabeth Holmqvist et al, Tracing grog and pots to reveal neolithic Corded Ware Culture contacts in the Baltic Sea region (SEM-EDS, PIXE), Journal of Archaeological Science (2018). Journal information: Journal of Archaeological Science Elisabeth Holmqvist et al, Tracing grog and pots to reveal neolithic Corded Ware Culture contacts in the Baltic Sea region (SEM-EDS, PIXE),(2018). DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2017.12.009 Pedestrians pass the shared building which houses the offices of Cambridge Analytica in central London on March 21, 2018 British regulators on Friday began searching the London offices of Cambridge Analytica (CA), the scandal-hit communications firm at the heart of the Facebook data scandal, shortly after a judge approved a search warrant. Around 18 enforcement agents from the office of Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham entered the company's London headquarters at around 8pm (2000 GMT) to execute the warrant. Britain's High Court granted the raid request less than an hour earlier, as Denham investigates claims that Cambridge Analytica may have illegally harvested Facebook data for political ends. A full explanation of the legal ruling by Judge Anthony James Leonard will be issued on Tuesday, according to the court. "We're pleased with the decision of the judge," Denham's office said on Twitter. "This is just one part of a larger investigation into the use of personal data and analytics for political purposes," it added in a statement. "As you will expect, we will now need to collect, assess and consider the evidence before coming to any conclusions." The data watchdog's probe comes amid whistleblower accusations that CA, hired by Donald Trump during his primary campaign, illegally mined tens of millions of users' Facebook data and then used it to target potential voters. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been forced to issue a statement outlining his firm's role in the scandal and apologised to its billions of users for the breach Its chief executive Alexander Nix has been suspended following the revelations and a further sting by Britain's Channel 4 News in which he boasts about entrapping politicians and secretly operating in elections around the world through shadowy front companies. He has been called to reappear before British lawmakers to explain "inconsistencies" in past testimony about the firm's use of the data. Meanwhile Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been forced to issue a statement outlining his firm's role in the scandal and apologised Wednesday to its billions of users for the breach. The company has seen its stock market value plunge by around $75 million amid the crisis, as shares closed the week down 13 percenttheir worst seven days since July 2012. Cambridge Analytica denies any wrongdoing, and said Friday it was undertaking an independent third-party audit to verify that it no longer holds any of the mined data. "As anyone who is familiar with our staff and work can testify, we in no way resemble the politically-motivated and unethical company that some have sought to portray," acting CEO Alexander Tayler said in a statement. He apologised for the firm's involvement, but said it had licensed the data from a research company that "had not received consent from most respondents". Overview of the Cambridge Analytica company, its investors, missions and strategy "The company (CA) believed that the data had been obtained in line with Facebook's terms of service and data protection laws," Tayler said. Aleksandr Kogan, a University of Cambridge psychologist, created a personality prediction app that harvested the data of 270,000 people who had downloaded itas well as scooping up the information of their friends. That was possible under Facebook's rules at the time. Kogan this week claimed he is being unfairly blamed. "I'm being basically used as a scapegoat by both Facebook and Cambridge Analytica," he said in interviews Wednesday. "We thought we were acting perfectly appropriately. "We were assured by Cambridge Analytica that everything was perfectly legal and within the terms of service" of Facebook, he added. Explore further EU lawmakers, UK regulator press Facebook on data breach 2018 AFP 4 Jobs That Might Go Extinct in Singapore in the Near Future Dinosaurs, the dodo and dumbphones have one thing in common: theyre gone and theyre never coming back. But the same could be true of your job. Thanks to the relentless march of progress, some jobs and industries are on an unstoppable decline. If you are working as one of the following, you might want to use those SkillsFuture credits and train yourself for another job before its too late. Property agent Unless youre already a multi-millionaire star agent with an entire team under your wing, your life as a property agent is going to get a lot tougher in the coming years. Even without taking into account the years-long property slump that has been brought about by the cooling measures and has been eating into agents fees, property agents jobs are threatened by the fact that Singaporeans are now more and more inclined to DIY their own property transactions. Thanks to the ubiquity of property listing websites, buyers and sellers no longer need agents to link them up with interested parties. And now that HDBs Resale Portal has been launched, agents will no longer be needed to handle the bulk of the paperwork and timeline monitoring in HDB transactions. Taxi driver Driving a taxi has long been middle-aged Singaporeans back up plan after getting retrenched from their jobs. But right now, you yourself probably no longer take taxis thanks to Grab and Uber. Competition from the ride sharing apps has forced more taxi drivers to give up their jobs or go over to the dark side by joining Grab and Uber themselves. For those who dont have a taxi drivers vocational licence, it is no longer worth the time, effort and money to obtain one when you can become a Grab or Uber driver in less time. (Grab claims you can get the Private Hire Car Drivers Vocational Licence in 3-5 weeks, while a Taxi Drivers Vocational Licence typically takes 6 weeks.) Travel agent Its surprising quite a few travel agencies are still (barely) hanging on, because their services are about as obsolete as MSN Messenger. Story continues Singaporeans are now very used to doing their own travel research online and booking their own accommodation, flight tickets and activities independently. Not only can you find better deals on the Internet, theyre cheaper too, as you wont have to pay a cut of the agents fees. The struggle is real for many travel agencies in Singapore, with a few high profile closures that have left travellers in a lurch. That doesnt mean the travel industry is completely dead though, as online agencies like Zuji seem to be doing well. But the traditional model of brick and mortar agencies who put together packages for their clients is one that will be soon laid to rest. Bus driver Singapore aims to become a pioneer in driverless technology, and based on the driving standards on local roads, I cant say Im complaining. But there will be some casualties. Because once driverless buses become the norm in Singapore, there are going to be a lot of retrenchments. The vast majority of Singapores public bus drivers being foreign, this may not be such a big problem for the local workforce, but career drivers might want to consider looking for work in other areas instead. Are you worried that your job will be become obsolete? Tell us why in the comments. The post 4 Jobs That Might Go Extinct in Singapore in the Near Future appeared first on the MoneySmart blog. MoneySmart.sg helps you maximize your money. Like us on Facebook to keep up to date with our latest news and articles. Compare and shop for the best deals on Loans, Insurance and Credit Cards on our site now! More From MoneySmart Japan FSA ICO Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has received a formal warning from Japans Financial Services Agency (FSA) for operating in the country without registering with the regulatory agency as a cryptocurrency trading platform. In a letter dated March 23 and addressed to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, the FSA warned the exchange operator to cease operating in Japan without a license. The company had said it intends to seek FSA licensure, but it had already moved staff into Tokyo and had allowed Japanese residents to trade on the exchange, which currently only offers cryptocurrency-to-cryptocurrency trading pairs. Nikkei had reported Thursday that the FSA would issue a formal warning to Binance, a report that Zhao lambasted as irresponsible journalism on Twitter. Zhao confirmed that the exchange had received the FSAs letter and said that its lawyers are in contact with the FSA and will find a solution. We received a simple letter from JFSA about an hour ago. Our lawyers called JFSA immediately, and will find a solution. Protecting user interests is our top priority. CZ (not giving crypto away) (@cz_binance) March 23, 2018 Meanwhile, Binance also announced that it will open an office in the European island nation of Malta. Until now, Binance has been based in Hong Kong, another locality where it has clashed with securities regulators. In Malta, Binance plans to open its first fiat-to-cryptocurrency trading pairs, a move that will further cement its status as one of the worlds most popular cryptocurrency exchanges. At present, Binance ranks as the largest trading platform, with a 24-hour trading volume of just under $1.6 billion, according to CoinMarketCap data. We are very confident we can announce a banking partnership there soon, Zhao told Bloomberg. Malta is very progressive when it comes to crypto and fintech. Story continues Zhao further told the publication that he had been invited by Maltas government to review an upcoming bill intended to create a favorable climate for cryptocurrency companies part of the countrys recent push to attract fintech startups. Welcome to #Malta @binance, Joseph Muscat, the countrys prime minister, tweeted on Friday. We aim to be the global trailblazers in the regulation of blockchain-based businesses. The pivot to Malta is the latest in a flurry of announcements for Binance, who also recently unveiled plans to build a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange (DEX) that will operate alongside its centralized order-book platform. Featured image from Shutterstock. The post Binance Receives Formal Warning from Japan, Plans to Move Office in Malta appeared first on CCN. Russia on Friday accused Britain of trying to force its allies to take "confrontational steps" after EU member states decided to recall the bloc's envoy from Moscow and mulled further diplomatic action over a nerve attack row. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hit out at Britain for garnering EU support over the poisoning of a former double agent, suggesting that London's focus was now on making "the crisis with Russia as deep as possible". Diplomatic pressure is growing on Moscow over its role in the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury in early March. The European Union is recalling its ambassador to Moscow for consultations and a number of member states are considering whether to follow Britain's lead and expel Russian intelligence agents posing as diplomats. "As for the decision taken, we regret in this context that again such decisions are taken using the wording 'highly likely'," President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "We don't agree with this and we repeat again that Russia absolutely definitely has nothing to do with the Skripal case." Russia's top diplomat Lavrov accused Britain of "feverishly trying to force allies to take confrontational steps". "We still do not see any facts," state news agency RIA Novosti quoted him as saying on a visit to Hanoi. "The absence of which makes one think that all of this is a provocation, the investigation has not even been finished yet." The Russian foreign ministry said it regretted "the European Union opted to take its cue from yet another anti-Russian campaign unleashed by London and its allies across the ocean." In a televised address, Putin thanked Russians for giving him the "highest level of support in the history of our country" in Sunday's elections and urged the nation to come together amid the "difficult internal and external challenges we face." - 'Attack on EU sovereignty' - French President Emmanuel Macron said in Brussels that "we see this attack as a serious challenge to our security and as an attack on European sovereignty." He told a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that "it calls for a coordinated, determined response from the European Union and its member states." Merkel said further steps were "necessary" to respond to the attack. Latvia said it would expel "one or several" Russian diplomats while EU President Donald Tusk said more moves were expected as early as Monday May briefed other EU leaders on the probe into the Salisbury attack over a summit dinner on Thursday. She managed to overcome reluctance from countries such as Greece and Italy to jeopardise close Kremlin ties and persuaded them to back Britain's conclusion that Moscow was to blame. Merkel said May had shared "certain findings" that left little doubt Moscow was behind the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since World War II. "We believe that the analyses are already very well-founded and this has not been questioned by anyone," Merkel said. She backed further action from EU states, saying: "We agreed -- Germany and France at least -- that such reactions are still necessary in addition to recalling the ambassador." European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said the ambassador's recall was an "extraordinary measure" never before taken by the bloc. But divisions remain over how far to go, with Austria already ruling out expelling diplomats. Tusk said it was not clear how many countries would join the expulsions. "More than one but I don't think that it will be the whole group," he said. The leaders of the Czech Republic, Denmark and Ireland all said they were considering further unilateral steps, including expelling diplomats. - Diplomats leave Moscow - Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats they said were spies, and Russia responded in kind, also halting the activities of the British Council cultural and educational organisation. On Friday afternoon British diplomats left the Moscow mission in several minibuses as remaining diplomatic staff sent them off with a round of applause, Russian television showed. The Kremlin has angrily rejected Britain's claims and Russian officials have offered numerous alternative explanations, including that London directed the attack itself or that Washington may have been involved. The Skripals are both in a coma after being found collapsed on a park bench, although a policeman who was also contaminated was released from hospital on Thursday. (Yahoo News Singapore file photo) To carry out maintenance work, the Bukit Panjang Light Rail Transit (BPLRT) will be closed every Sunday from 15 April to 24 June, said SMRT on Friday (23 March). The announcement comes a day after the rail operator announced that all 35 MRT stations on the East-West Line will continue to close earlier and open later during weekends in April. During the BPLRTs closure on the 11 Sundays, shuttle buses which run parallel to the network will be available for commuters. SMRT added that more information on these services will be announced soon. As part of preventive maintenance for the ageing system, the work will include the replacement of sections of the power rails to improve the robustness of the current power rail system, and the replacement of track switch components which control train movement along the tracks. The rail operator will also step up on-going replacement of parts of the doors and propulsion systems on LRT trains when services are not running on Sundays. Roger Lim, Vice President for Circle Line and BPLRT, said the BPLRT system is approaching its 20-year mark and renewal works by equipment supplier Bombardier are expected to commence within the first half of this year. He added that as the BPLRT operates for 20 hours each day, intensive maintenance works such as the replacement of sections of the power rails are not possible with the short two to three-hour engineering window between services. Closing the network on Sundays will improve the productivity of our maintenance teams, and allow these works to be completed sooner. We seek commuters patience and understanding over the next three months as we strive to improve BPLRT service, he said. In a bid to facilitate track maintenance and renewal work, the BPLRT began service at 7am instead of 5.30am every Sunday from 12 November to 31 December last year. The extra time, said SMRT, allowed the BPLRT maintenance crew to accelerate replacement of ageing rail mounting frames and rail expansion joints as well as complete hot-spot replacement of track switch components. Story continues Earlier in parliament this month, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that the BPLRT network will be given a $344 million overhaul and residents can look forward to smoother, more reliable rides from 2022. Among the planned works will be the replacement of the BPLRT networks existing signalling system; the replacement of 19 Light Rail Vehicles (LRV) that have been in use since 1999; and the upgrading of 13 LRVs that were put into service in 2015. The power rail, which runs the 7.8km of the network, will also be replaced with an enhanced version. Related stories: East West Line early closures to continue through April: SMRT Bukit Panjang LRT network to get $344 million overhaul 23 Mar Two days after she was announced as the new Miss Universe-Philippines, Catriona Gray took to social media to express her thoughts about her new title. The beauty queen published a long post which read, "After months of preparation and guidance and prayers, I kept waiting for a wave of nerves to hit me but it never came. Maybe it was God's gift to me that night, or maybe I just knew I had done everything to be ready, now it was just time for me to enjoy and have fun." She added that the thought of being able to say "Catriona Gray, PHILIPPINES" gives her the chills all over again. She also expressed her gratitude to her training and make-up team in the same post, her family and boyfriend Clint Bondad, as well as pageant organiser Binibining Pilipinas Charities, Inc. and its founder, Stella Marquez-Aranet. As for her fans, she said, "What an amazing journey we've been on. Through the highs and lows you've never left my side. For your love, dedication and ceaseless support, I am forever grateful that you've chosen me as your queen. This is all for you. Let's do this." Gray, who previously represented the country in Miss World 2016, will be competing in the upcoming Miss Universe pageant, to be held in December. Other contenders include Jane Teoh of Malaysia, Maeva Coucke of France, Sthefany Gutierrez of Venezuela, and Angeline Flor Pua - the Filipina-Chinese beauty queen representing Belgium. (Photo Source: Catriona Gray Instagram) Zhang, Chinese Ambassador to the WTO attends an interview with Reuters in Geneva Xiangchen Zhang, Chinese Ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) attends an interview with Reuters in Geneva, Switzerland March 22, 2018. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse By Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - China is preparing a range of responses to planned U.S. tariffs and will stand up to protectionism, but still hopes for dialogue, Beijing's ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Thursday. Zhang Xiangchen said China was considering a WTO complaint against the package of tariffs that President Donald Trump was expected to announce later on Thursday. "This is a legitimate right for China to do that. But I would not exclude other options because, if the flood approaches, you have to bank up to keep it out," he told Reuters. Zhang spoke before a senior White House official said Trump would sign a memorandum later on Thursday to potentially slap tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports over forced transfer of intellectual property. The announcement is the first in a string of U.S. trade restrictions to be aimed squarely at China. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Wednesday the tariffs would target China's high-technology sector and could also include restrictions on Chinese investments in the United States. Trump's protectionist trade policies have already caused a global outcry this year. In January, he slapped steep import tariffs on solar panels and washing machines and this month worldwide steel and aluminium tariffs have followed, justified by a claim to "national security" under a Cold War-era law. The European Union, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Brazil and South Korea won exemptions from the steel and aluminium tariffs, Canada and Mexico, Lighthizer said on Thursday. Asked about the exemptions, Zhang said that "appeasement of protectionism" would not work. "If you surrender to protectionism, you will lose your credibility." The United States hopes that the national security claim will make the steel and aluminium tariffs immune to a challenge, but Zhang said they failed to pass the WTO test of being "essential" for national security. Story continues "No one has seen the essential national security rationale behind the U.S. measures," he said. "Even the senior officials of the United States fail to hide the real reasons." 'A FLAVOUR OF TRADE WAR' Thursday's tariffs, under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act, would be even more difficult to defend, Zhang said, because in a previous ruling Washington promised to deploy them only with authorisation from the WTO. "The U.S. commitment is still there. But it seems that today they would like to ignore it. This issue can be brought back to the WTO and it will be challenged again." China and other WTO members might also retaliate against the solar tariffs with their own tariffs on U.S. goods, Zhang said. "My colleagues in the capital have been preparing those options and this response. We still cherish the multilateral trading system very much, although theres a flavour of trade war in the air." Asked about a possible U.S. WTO complaint about currency manipulation, Zhang said China had been prepared for such an argument since Trump mentioned it during his election campaign. China is already under U.S. pressure at the WTO for its industrial overcapacity and its cyber security law. Asked if China would invoke national security to avoid a WTO dispute over cyber security, Zhang said China would exercise self-restraint. As well as deploying tariffs, the United States has undermined the WTO's ability to cope with disputes by vetoing the appointment of new appeals judges. "If the United States has the intention to paralyse the system no one can stop this," he said, adding that China would keep trying to persuade Trump to unblock the system, although some in Geneva were talking about a plan B for the dispute settlement mechanism. Zhang said he hoped for good relations with new U.S. ambassador Dennis Shea, who he said had promised to discuss the issue, and he did not want to consider a scenario of the WTO without the United States. (Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by John Stonestreet) China released Friday a list of potential tariffs on $3 billion worth of US goods, from pork to fruits and wine, that it could impose in response to new US trade duties. The commerce ministry warned that a 15 percent tariff on 120 goods worth almost $1 billion -- including fresh fruit, nuts, ginseng and wine -- would be imposed if the United States fails to reach a negotiated agreement. In a second phase, a 25 percent duty would be imposed on a eight goods totalling nearly $2 billion, including pork and aluminium scrap, after "further evaluating the impact of the US measures on China," it said in a statement. The ministry said the list was aimed at offsetting the losses incurred from US tariffs on steel and imports, which are due to take effect on Friday. But the statement also came hours after President Donald Trump announced tariffs on Chinese imports over the "theft" of intellectual property, fuelling fears of a looming trade war. "China and the United States as the world's top two economies, cooperation is the only right choice for the two countries," the commerce ministry statement said. China "urges the US side to resolve the concerns of the Chinese side as soon as possible" through dialogue and "avoid damage to the overall situation of Sino-US cooperation," it said. The list noticeably does not include soybeans, which Chinese state-run newspaper the Global Times had suggested should be targeted by Beijing. It would be a major blow to US farmers, as a third of their soybean exports go to China, in a business worth $14 billion last year. And the political stakes are high: Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the 10 top soybean-producing states in the 2016 election. The United States has decided to exempt the European Union and six other countries from the steel and aluminium tariffs. While China is the world's largest steel producer, it accounts for less than one percent of US imports and sells only 10 percent of its wrought aluminium abroad. The leaders of several EU countries said Friday they are mulling whether to expel Russian diplomats or take other steps to support Britain following a nerve agent attack on a former spy. European Union leaders returned to summit talks on Friday after uniting behind British Prime Minister Theresa May in blaming Russia for the attack in England, and agreeing to recall the bloc's ambassador to Moscow for consultations. Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats they said were spies, and has been pressing EU allies to follow suit despite Moscow's warning against confrontational steps. The leaders of former Soviet bloc EU states the Czech Republic and Lithuania, as well as Denmark and Ireland, said they were considering further unilateral steps, including expelling diplomats. "I think national measures will be applied already starting from next week... from a lot of countries," Lithuania's outspoken President Dalia Grybauskaite said returning to the summit on Friday. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis told the CTK news agency that Prague may expel several Russian diplomats over the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. "Yes, we will probably move in this direction," Babis said, adding he will consult with cabinet members on Monday. Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said his government would decide early next week whether to expel diplomats following a security assessment. "We are not going to randomly expel people who are genuine diplomats," Varadkar told reporters. Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said his government heard the "strong signal" from the bloc's leaders. He said he would hold consultations with members of his government. "My government will then in the next coming days very seriously consider to take further steps," Rasmussen said. - Concern about Russian meddling - A French presidency source said Thursday that Paris was also ready to act. The poisoning has heightened worries across Europe about Russian meddling -- from repeated cyber attacks to what the EU has called an "orchestrated strategy" of disinformation aimed at destabilising the bloc. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has close ties with Moscow and has clashed with Brussels on democracy issues, was behind the plan to recall the EU ambassador in solidarity with Britain, a diplomatic source said. "At yesterday's meeting it was PM Orban who proposed the recall of the EU ambassador to Moscow for consultations in Brussels," the diplomatic source told AFP on condition of anonymity. "Greece and Italy were the most reluctant to take further common actions against Russia." During a visit to Hanoi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that British officials "are feverishly trying to force allies to take confrontational steps". Newspaper shows Hungarian PM Orban as a man reads at a campaign forum of the right-wing Fidesz party in Ercsi A newspaper shows Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban as a man reads at a campaign forum of the right-wing Fidesz party in Ercsi, Hungary, March 9, 2018. Picture taken March 9, 2018. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo/Files By Krisztina Than ERCSI, Hungary (Reuters) - Supporters of Hungary's right-wing Fidesz party in Ercsi may not have met a refugee but there's one thing they know for sure: they don't want them in their town. Three years after hundreds of thousands of refugees crossed into Hungary en route from the Middle East and Africa to western Europe, residents of this sleepy town south of Budapest say concerns about a migrant "invasion" will be a decisive factor when they vote in national elections on April 8. That suits Fidesz and its leader Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has appealed to the anxieties of his core supporters with talk about the importance of "ethnic homogeneity". "Europe is now under invasion," Orban told a rally in Budapest on March 15. "Their (the opposition's) task is to win power and implement the grand plan: to break Hungary, which stands in the path of immigrants." Orban's pledge to preserve Hungary's sovereignty and uphold Christian values, delivered in his trademark bruising, combative manner, has delivered landslide victories in the past two parliamentary elections and is likely to do the same in April. Orban is seen as one of Europe's most divisive leaders, however. U.N. human rights chief Zeid Raad al-Hussein recently accused him of being a racist and xenophobe after he said he did not want his country to be "multi-coloured". Hungary's foreign minister responded that the comments were "outrageous" and called on Zeid to resign. Most of the voters interviewed by Reuters in Ercsi said they had never met a refugee, but that did not stop them identifying immigrants as a danger. "We are enough as we are. We don't need any migrants," said Maria Pulai, 69, who has been an Orban supporter for more than two decades and now actively campaigns for Fidesz. She proudly showed a photo with the Hungarian leader taken on her mobile phone when he visited Ercsi to support the local party candidate. Story continues "I have never met (any refugees)," Pulai said with the trace of a smile. "But I watch television all the time so I've learned a lot. We do not need them here." SHIFT FURTHER RIGHT Orban has been hitting the country's anti-immigration nerve ever since migrants fleeing war and economic hardship started crossing Hungary's southern border with Serbia in 2015, leading Budapest to shut off the route with a border fence. The flow slowed to a trickle in 2016 but Orban has kept up the rhetoric and it is now the backbone of his election agenda. With his firm grip on state media and his business allies in control of regional newspapers, Orban's message gets amplified in places like Ercsi, where many people only watch the state news channel showing immigrants causing trouble in western European cities night after night. Orban's original vision was that Fidesz would aim to dominate Hungarian politics over the next two decades by standing up for national interests. He appealed to conservative Hungarians who believe their country is struggling to protect its identity, a strategy which has worked partly due to a fragmented opposition. Now he appears to be also seeking to occupy some of the far-right territory abandoned by the radical nationalist opposition party Jobbik, which has toned down its message in an attempt to move toward the centre. The shift further to the right and to radicalisation could be risky for Orban because it's a "one-way street", said Peter Kreko, director of liberal Hungarian thinktank Political Capital. "Fidesz has closed itself into a cage with this campaign which is targeted at its core voters," Kreko said. In February Jobbik teamed up with the Socialists and the small liberal party LMP to back an independent candidate in a by-election in southern Hungary and unexpectedly beat Fidesz. But it is reluctant to form alliance with the left for the parliamentary elections. If Jobbik and the left manage to coordinate and field joint candidates then Fidesz could be in trouble, Kreko said. "The big test ... will come in April," he said. Fidesz's voter base has changed in recent years, with some educated conservative voters disappointed by the emphasis on populist anti-migrant messages at the expense of measures to improve healthcare and education. The party has gained ground with the less educated and pensioners instead, analysts said. To court them, Orban recently announced a one-off handout and state refunds of heating bills. Orban also plays up the idea that "external forces and international powers" like the European Union and the United Nations want to meddle in Hungary's internal affairs and force the country to accept migrants. Scores gathered in Ercsi's theatre in early March to hear a Fidesz lawmaker speak and watch a slideshow about the threats of migration and how Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros is using his network of foundations to foster multicultural societies all over the world. Orban and Soros, allies in dismantling communism during the 1980s, are now frequently at loggerheads. Orban accuses Soros of interfering in Hungarian politics by supporting opposition groups. Soros has described Orban as a dangerous autocrat. ECONOMY ON TRACK Fidesz won the last parliamentary election in 2014 comfortably with 2.26 million votes, or 45 percent of all votes cast. Political analysts estimate the party's core supporters this time at between 1.8 to 2.2 million. According to Hungarian thinktank Policy Agenda, Fidesz's support in 2014 was strongest in small towns and villages, where jobs are scarce and many people are employed in public works programmes, and it has probably managed to retain this support. On a sunny Sunday in nearby Dunaujvaros, opposite the huge concrete gates of the former communist steelworks, locals flock to a market where they can buy cheap clothes, food and home appliances. Fidesz is campaigning actively on the ground. Pal Balonyi, a 68-year-old pensioner going to the market with his granddaughter, said he has always been a conservative voter and will vote for Fidesz again in April even if he does not agree with all of the government's policies. Balonyi, who worked in Germany for three years as a house painter, said Orban had put the economy on the right track and had a clear national vision. "And he has put Western politicians right, this is also an factor I consider. I have worked abroad, and we are treated like second-class citizens everywhere." (Editing by Sonya Hepinstall) By Lisa Barrington BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels left one besieged enclave on Friday and agreed to abandon another, leaving only the city of Douma still in insurgent hands in eastern Ghouta after a month-long army assault to drive them from the stronghold near Damascus. It brings President Bashar al-Assad to the cusp of his biggest victory over the rebels since driving them from Aleppo in December 2016, though they remain entrenched in areas of northwestern and southwestern Syria. The offensive to capture the towns and villages on the outskirts of the capital, which began on Feb. 18 with a massive bombardment, has brought 90 percent of eastern Ghouta back under government control. More than 1,600 people have been killed, a war monitor said. Syrian army soldiers fired tracer bullets into the night air in celebration on Friday as the last groups of rebels in the town of Harasta boarded buses for opposition territory in the northwest along with family members. They had agreed to surrender the town in return for safe passage out and a pardon for civilians who chose to remain there as the government took back control. The government's assault, backed by Russia, was one of the fiercest of the seven-year-old war and was carried out in defiance of international pleas to halt and honour a ceasefire. At the start of the offensive, the United Nations estimated 400,000 people were trapped inside the besieged area without access to food or medicine. Syrian state television broadcast the departure of rebels and their families. From behind a half-drawn curtain, a woman in a headscarf could be seen gazing out through a spiderweb of bullet holes and cracks in the window of a bus as it prepared to carry her to exile. A Reuters witness near where the buses were gathering said some men had disembarked to pray while women and children walked nearby. Meanwhile, rebels in a second pocket around the towns of Arbin, Jobar, Zamalka and Ein Terma said they had also agreed to leave for the northwest with their families and any other civilians who did not wish to come back under Assad's rule. Story continues People who wished to stay on would not face prosecution, said Wael Alwan, spokesman for the Failaq al-Rahman group there, adding that the group would also release captured government soldiers. About 7,000 people would depart in the deal starting on Saturday morning, including fighters carrying light weapons, state TV reported. But bombs still fell on Friday on the besieged city of Douma, from which thousands of people have fled into government territory in recent days. Once insurgents complete their agreed withdrawals from the other areas, it will stand as the last battered and besieged rebel zone in eastern Ghouta, itself the opposition's last major bastion near the capital. ASSAULT The Syrian army's assault to recapture the area has been marked by tactics the army has used to crush resistance since Russia joined the war on Assad's side in 2015 - lay siege to an area, bombard it, launch a ground assault and finally offer the rebels and their families safe passage to the northwest. After helping turn the tide of the war in Assad's favour with air power and military support, Russia has increasingly cast itself as a peace-broker. Russian representatives have played a role in negotiating local ceasefires and evacuations. Assad and his allies say their offensive in eastern Ghouta is necessary to end the rule of Islamist militants over the area's people, and to stop them shelling government areas. Rebel rocket fire has killed scores of people during the army offensive on eastern Ghouta, state television has reported including in a strike that hit a market place on Tuesday. A source in the Syrian Arab Red Crescent agency said four of its members, as well as other civilians, were injured on Friday by an explosion in Harasta. The war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the blast was caused by rebels detonating their arsenal before departing. By the time the last convoy departed Harasta on Friday evening, state media reported that scores of buses had left, carrying thousands of people including well over a thousand fighters. Shortly afterwards, the army retook the town, the state media said. State television broadcast footage of what it said was about 3,400 people leaving Douma on foot on Friday morning, carrying small children and belongings. Thousands of civilians have made the same journey over the past week, making their way to reception centres in government-held territory. They were leaving behind them a blast-wrecked landscape of smashed concrete and twisted metal, where for weeks people have cowered in basements from the unrelenting bombardment. Already besieged for years, people in eastern Ghouta have suffered acute shortages of food and medicine, and during the weeks-long battle they were often unable to leave their homes even to bury the dead. The United Nations estimates more than 50,000 people have fled besieged areas of eastern Ghouta in the past two weeks. (Reporting by Lisa Barrington and Angus McDowall in Beirut and Firas Makdesi in Damascus; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Gareth Jones and Peter Graff) By Vanessa Tan Earlier this week, residents of Block 103 Jalan Rajah complained about a new art installation by former Lasalle College of the Arts student Priyageetha Dia, causing it to be removed by the town council shortly after it was put up on Sun (Mar 18). The 26-year-old artist had hung 24 gold-coloured sheets on the parapets of the block, and posted a video of the work on Facebook. Ms Dia also met with controversy over her Golden Staircase installation in March last year, when she wrapped a staircase at the same HDB block with gold foil. Not all can appreciate the artwork; the golden sheets remind people of gold offering paper, said Jalan Besar Member of Parliament (MP) Dr Lily Neo to Channel NewsAsia. However, the same could have been said for Marcel Duchamps Fountain (1917), which could very much remind people of the unflushed excrement they encountered in a public toilet and every other nauseating possibility beyond it. The art piece was exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and Tate Modern. Fountain 1917, replica 1964 Marcel Duchamp 1887-1968 Purchased with assistance from the Friends of the Tate Gallery 1999 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/T07573 Duchamps Fountain This is not to say that Dias work was any similar. In fact, its far from grotesque or odd. Her work is quietly elegant, reminiscent of Singaporean flags flung over our corridor railings during the annual National Day season. Taking down her work for its resemblance to offerings is a weak excuse. If they wish to pick on its aesthetic quality simply because it uses gold foil, they should ban Ferrero Rocher from the snack tables during Chinese New Year. Many would argue that this, like the Golden Staircase situation, was a case of the artists failure to pass her art through HDB authorities. But would it have gone through, anyway? Knowing that the town councils previous suggestion of an alternative site for Ms Dias Golden Staircase artwork, a similar justification would have immediately hindered her art, which practically depends on the HDB space for its effectiveness. Story continues Graciousness and Tolerance Offence, in this matter, was definitely a choice. If only these angered residents would activate their empathy to understand the artists intention, let the work remain open to interpretation, or simply just turn their heads away. It all goes to show that our country is not yet functioning on a democracy that respects the plurality of voices, which should be expected given the existence of different cultures. We still have miles to go before our public can maturely respond to art as the masses did with Duchamp. But until we get there, we can make room for graciousness and tolerance. But if we wish to head in that direction, why should we tailor our public spaces to accommodate a singular understanding, and what more one that only belongs to the majority? When will we allow minority and alternative perspectives to thrive? We still have miles to go before our public can maturely respond to art as the masses did with Duchamp. But until we get there, we can make room for graciousness and tolerance. Only then can we begin releasing our fists from choking up the creative outlets of Singapore, and allow more genuine art like Ms Dias to flow. == Image credits: Tate Modern, Priyageetha Dia == Stay updated and social with Popspoken: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram This article Foiled Again: Can Singapore Respect Minority Voices? appeared first on Popspoken. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Friday he hopes to reach a deal in the next few months with Britain on the territory of Gibraltar after Brexit. The EU said last year Madrid and London must make a separate bilateral agreement for any overall Brexit deal to apply to the rocky British territory. Gibraltar has been under British control since 1713 but Madrid has long wanted it back. "We have already started bilateral talks with the United Kingdom," Rajoy told reporters in Brussels after EU leaders approved guidelines for the next phase of Brexit negotiations. "These are progressing satisfactorily" and "we hope to reach an agreement in the coming months," Rajoy added. Earlier this week Spain threatened to torpedo an agreement for a 21-month post Brexit transition period unless the EU made a specific mention of Gibraltar in new guidelines for trade talks due to start next month. Rajoy said he was aiming for a deal which would "firstly ensure that the situation of frontier workers is maintained and improved, which is our priority, and reasonable solutions to a number of issues which have been adversely affecting" Gibraltar. The 27 EU states, without Britain, approved a clause last year that "after the United Kingdom leaves the Union, no agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom may apply to the territory of Gibraltar without the agreement between the Kingdom of Spain and the United Kingdom." Britain was infuriated, saying that it infringed on its sovereignty over "the Rock". Rajoy however said that "in the talks on Gibraltar, the issue of sovereignty is not going to be dealt with". Ireland is ready to step into the gap created by Brexit, and wishes to replace Britain as Chinas new trusted friend in promoting Xi Jinpings Belt and Road Initiative, the countrys foreign minister has said. In an interview with the South China Morning Post Simon Coveney, who is also the countrys tanaiste or deputy prime minister, said the country was looking outwards for global trading opportunities to ease the impact of Brexit and to build a more global role for the small nation. When Ireland becomes the only English-speaking country in the European Union [after Brexit], I think Ireland has a responsibility to reach out to many countries that would have effectively used Britain as their vehicle to express opinions and concerns in relation to EU issues and EU policy and debates, said Coveney. But he also said the country of 4.5 million people hoped to look outwards for opportunities to ease the impact of Brexit and build a more global role for Ireland. To ease the impact of Brexit, Ireland has been expanding its global reach by opening embassies and missions around the world including in Ukraine, Colombia, Chile, Canada, India and Jordan. Coveney said Dublin also hoped to expand its presence in China. During his weeklong visit to China to coincide with the St Patricks Day celebrations, he announced that the first direct flights between Dublin and Beijing and Hong Kong would start in June and expressed the hope they would boost tourism and trade links. Coveney said he had also secured a promise during a meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi that Irish beef would finally gain approval to enter the Chinese market by this summer, three years after Beijing announced the lifting of the ban. This would make Ireland the first European country to export beef to China. He visited Huaweis headquarters in Shenzhen and said he hoped the tech giant would expand its business significantly in Ireland. Can the alure of Star Wars, Game of Thrones and direct flights get Chinese tourists flocking to Ireland? Story continues Coveney said he also met officials from the China-led Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank to seek the right types of investments across Asia with a particular priority around green energy, climate change, and technology. He said that in his meeting with his Chinese counterpart: I reinforced the point that when you invest in Ireland, you are investing not in a market of five million people, you are investing in a market of half a billion people because Ireland is being used as a platform for foreign and international trade into the EU single market. Trade between Ireland and China has more than doubled since 2013 to an estimated 15 billion (US$18.4 billion) in 2017. Most of that increase comes from Irish exports. China is currently Irelands second-largest market for pork and dairy foods. The two countries are now seeking deeper cooperation as Beijing seeks to use Ireland as a channel to promote the Belt and Road Initiative to other European nations at a time of growing wariness over Chinas geopolitical motives. Can a post-Brexit Britain face up to the legacy of its lost empire? Coveney said there was a need for political dialogue between China and Europe, adding that he has began good initial discussions with Chinese leaders about Irelands role in helping to promote the infrastructure initiative that aims to recreate the old Silk Road. Some in Europe may see that as potentially a threat because China is so big and [it] operates at such scale that there is a lot of curiosity but also caution in relation to how Europe should respond to that initiative, said Coveney. So I think there is a responsibility for China to consult widely, to talk to European governments and I hope they can do some of that through Ireland in terms of explaining what this is really about, because I think there are far more positives than potential negatives to that initiative, he added. Irish minister suggests Hong Kong solution for post-Brexit Northern Ireland Ireland has become a major player in the negotiations over the terms of Britains departure from the EU due to the importance of the border question. Free and open trade underpinned by its membership of the EU has become one of the mainstays of the Republics economy. Given the high volumes of trade between Britain and Ireland, the departure of its neighbour from the EUs single market and customs union could have a serious impact on its economy. That border has become invisible in the last 20 years following the peace process and our shared membership of the single market. When you drive across the border, you dont know when you are crossing it. Its totally invisible, said Coveney. The prospect of a hard border that impedes the free movement of people and goods between Northern Ireland and the Republic also risks undermining the Good Friday Agreement that helped bring decades of sectarian conflict to an end. EU heads of government are due to meet on Friday when they are expected to sign off an agreement reached Monday between the bloc and the British government over the legal terms of a Brexit transition deal, includes the terms for a 21-month transition period after Brexit, which is supposed to happen in March next year, to allow businesses to adjust. But issues still to be resolved include the Irish border, and the model for future trade relationships between the UK and the bloc. Coveney, who is the Republics main Brexit negotiator, said the country hoped to settle the border question before October. The Irish position has always been that we respect Britains decision to leave the European Union but we would like Britain to stay in a shared customs union and a shared single market with the European Union, said Coveney. However, the British Prime Minister Theresa May has repeatedly insisted she wants to leave both. Earlier this week Coveney told the Irish Parliament there would be no formal withdrawal agreement between Britain and the EU unless the issue was resolved. This article Ireland wants to replace UK as Chinas trusted friend in Europe after Brexit, says Foreign Minister Simon Coveney first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018. Japanese authorities on Friday pressed criminal charges against four major construction firms suspected of colluding to win contracts for Japan's multi-billion-dollar maglev project. The state-of-the-art maglev, or magnetically levitated, trains are scheduled to begin commercial service between Tokyo and Nagoya in central Japan in 2027, later extending to the western hub of Osaka. The giant project, estimated to cost nine trillion yen ($86 billion) in total, has seen various companies competing for contracts ranging from tunnelling work to building stations. The Japan Fair Trade Commission said in a statement that it brought charges against Kajima, Shimizu, Taisei and Obayashi for suspected antitrust violations following investigations. The FTC also charged two executives from Taisei and Kajima. The four companies "in practice limited competition" by sharing information such as estimated costs for construction work at Shinagawa and Nagoya stations, the FTC said. The charges come after Tokyo prosecutors raided the four major contractors in December. Maglev trains will run at 500 kilometres per hour (310 mph), roughly twice as fast as the current bullet trains in Japan. A maglev train clocked a new world speed record in a 2015 test run near Mount Fuji, smashing through the 600 kph mark. Hundreds of protestors, including opposition lawmakers, demonstrated in Tokyo on Friday to demand Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resign over a favouritism and cover-up scandal that has battered his popularity. Early Friday evening, around 700 people gathered in front of the prime minister's office in light rain -- one of the largest anti-government demonstrations in recent weeks. "Let's grill Abe and make him step down," Mizuho Fukushima, a senior lawmaker of the opposition Social Democratic Party, told the crowd. Participants carried banners reading: "Abe politics is full of lies. We are sick and tired of it." The premier has been on the ropes in recent weeks amid a scandal over the cut-price sale of government land to an Abe supporter. The demonstration came as Nobuhisa Sagawa, formerly the head of the finance ministry department that oversaw the land deal, has been summoned to testify before parliament on Tuesday. The finance ministry has acknowledged that documents related to the sale were altered, including by deleting the name of Abe's wife, Akie. Protestors also called on Akie Abe to be summoned to testify before parliament, though the prime minister has sought to fend off opposition calls for her to appear. Abe has repeatedly apologised, saying he "keenly felt" his responsibility over the scandal, but denied he and his wife were involved in the affair. The premier has taken a hit in opinion polls, however, with his approval rating at its lowest level his return to power at the end of 2012. The gunman who killed three people in southwest France on Friday before being shot dead by police was a 25-year-old small-time drug dealer with a history of minor crimes. The rap sheet against Redouane Lakdim, a French citizen born in Morocco according to sources close to the inquiry, eventually drew deeper scrutiny by investigators worried he was at risk of Islamic radicalisation. In the summer of 2014 Lakdim, who lived in Carcassone, was added to a watchlist of people considered possible extremists. "He was added to the list because of his radicalisation and his links with the Salafist movement" of ultra-conservative Islamism, Francois Molins, France's top anti-terror prosecutor, said at a press conference in Carcassonne. He was found guilty of carrying a prohibited weapon in 2011 and later for drug use and refusing a court order in 2015, Molins said. "In 2016 then in 2017 he was the subject of an investigation by intelligence services, an investigation which did not bring to light any sign that would indicate he would carry out a terrorist act," he said. But when entering the Super U supermarket in nearby Trebes on Friday, Lakdim shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) and declared he was ready to die for Syria, and demanded the freedom for his brothers" before shooting a killing a client and an employee, Molins said. Le Parisien newspaper reported that Lakdim lived with his parents, and quoted a neighbour saying he had dropped off one of his little sisters at school on Friday morning. Another neighbour contacted by the paper described him as a "calm" and "nice" person who "always had a kind word to say", adding that he regularly attended a mosque. - String of deadly attacks - Lakdim's trajectory appears to have followed a grimly familiar pattern in France over recent years of young men progressing from petty crimes into terrorism, often despite surveillance by the authorities. Since the January 2015 massacre at the Charlie Hebdo newspaper in Paris by two men claiming allegiance to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, more than 240 people have been killed in jihadist attacks. A few days later Amedy Coulibaly stormed a Jewish supermarket in Paris, taking hostages and killing four people before being killed by police. All three men had a history of extremism and were known to French intelligence, with Coulibaly first meeting one of the Charlie Hebdo attackers while in prison. And in the deadliest attack, at the Stade France and the Bataclan concert hall and nearby bars in November 2015, ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud and Salah Abdeslam, the only surviving commando member, had both served time for robbery around 2011. A string of deadly gun and knife attacks has followed, and Interior Minister Gerard Collomb has said dozens of others have been thwarted by police as the government stepped up anti-terror measures. In Carcassonne itself, police had arrested a 22-year-old man in June 2016 on suspicion of planning to target American and Russian tourists, after months of surveillance. "The acts carried out today sadly remind us once more, tragically, that the terrorist threat level on our territory has not lessened," Molins said. "Now mainly internal, it is first of all the result of radicalised individuals living in our country," he said. BORACAY ISLAND, one of the most visited destinations in the Philippines. MANILA, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has not issued his official decision on the recommendations of government agencies to temporary close Boracay Island. Consequently, Malacanang ensured that this summer break, tourists can still visit the island beach resort. I dont think any closure will happen during the peak season of Boracay. Were looking at possibly if the president finally accepts the recommendation lean season, said Presidential Spokesperson Roque. The president said he is willing to support whatever the decision of Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano will be on the issue. Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Department of Tourism (DOT) have been recommending a maximum of one year closure of Boracay Island to rehabilitate it. Boracay, he thinks will take a little bit longer. And I answered him, I said, General, I placed you there. Whatever is your decision, I will support you. Its up to you. You just make the recommendation. And if I find everything that is alright and in consonance, go ahead. He said, It will take about something like six months. So do it, its their actions which destroy Boracay, not us, said Duterte. Malacanang is not sure if the Boracay closure will affect the recently approved contract to build new casino resorts on the island. But according to Roque, the developers must follow the governments requirements in the construction of the infrastructures such as adequate water and sewer system. Warning to the developer, they should know that all their development plans hinges on what the president will decide upon on the issue of Boracay. But right now there is a moratorium on new improvements, so they cant build even if they want to today because of the moratorium, said Roque. Rosalie Coz | UNTV News & Rescue The post Malacanang: Boracay closure wont be this summer appeared first on UNTV News. By Nerijus Adomaitis March 23 (Reuters) - The Hong Kong stock exchange needs to introduce additional measures to protect minority shareholders rights if it allows the listing of shares with unequal voting rights, including putting a time limit on them, Norway's sovereign wealth fund said on Friday. Last December, the Hong Kong exchange proposed to introduce dual-class shares, which typically give one set of shareholders greater voting rights than others. A number of Chinese tech groups are considering where to list their shares in 2018 and unequal voting structures have been favoured by technology companies as a protection against shareholder pressure for short-term returns. The influential Norwegian government pension fund, which is the world's largest with assets of $1-trillion, told the Hong Kong stock exchange in a letter that while it was supportive of measures motivating companies to go public it was concerned about the impact on minority shareholders. "We regard the protection of minority shareholder rights as a necessary requirement to safeguard and promote the fund's long-term financial interests," said the letter which was published on its website on Friday. "To maintain market standards for investor protection, we see the need for additional measures," it added. One of those measures should be to introduce a time-based phase-out of unequal voting rights, and another should be to strengthen standards governing the independence of non-executive directors, the fund said. Unequal voting structures have been criticised by corporate governance advocates, who have warned of potential abuse by companies. Certain matters, such as transactions involving entities associated with holders of weighted voting rights, should always be subject to the "one share one vote" principle, the fund said. Norway's Government Pension Fund Global, also known as the oil fund, had $26.6 billion invested in shares listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange at the end of 2017, it said in the letter. The fund is one of the world's largest investors. (Editing by Elaine Hardcastle) Syrian rebel fighters on Friday left one pocket of battered Eastern Ghouta and reached a deal to quit another as the regime drew close to regaining full control over the key enclave after a more than month-long battle. A blistering Russian-backed assault since February 18 on the last opposition bastion near Damascus had splintered rebel territory into three shrinking pockets, each held by different factions. Damascus and its ally Moscow have implemented a "leave or die" strategy with deadly air strikes on the enclave as they look to end six years of opposition control. State television said the town of Harasta had "been emptied of terrorists" after a deal that saw fighters from Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham and their families bussed to northwestern Idlib province, still largely rebel-held. The evacuation extended regime dominance to over 90 percent of the bombed-out Ghouta enclave that the rebels have clung to through years of punishing government siege, a Britain-based war monitor said. President Bashar al-Assad's forces look set to expand their control soon over another key area after Islamist group Faylaq al-Rahman struck a deal to evacuate starting at 0700 GMT on Saturday. The agreement will see a southern stretch of territory that includes the towns of Zamalka, Arbin and Ain Tarma cleared, while talks are under way over the third and final pocket, around Ghouta's main town of Douma. The withdrawal deal came after Russian air strikes using "incendiary munitions" hit the town of Arbin late Thursday, killing 37 civilians, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. AFP reporters saw similar munitions fall on Douma. But Russia denied it was carrying out any such strikes. - 'From under the rubble' - Each one of the three pockets has come under intense bombardment, essentially forcing the rebels who control them to sue for an exit in a tactic commonly used by Assad's forces in Syria's seven-year war. The Observatory says that more than 1,600 civilians have been killed in just over a month. Harasta's evacuation -- which began Thursday -- came as part of a deal negotiated by Russia. Syrian state media reported more than 4,500 people including over 1,400 fighters left. Fighters and civilians on Friday loaded onto a fleet of 50 buses in a buffer zone outside their former bastion before beginning the journey to Idlib. The head of the rebel-controlled local council in Harasta, Hossam al-Beiruti, described a pitiful scene as he and other residents readied to leave their town. "They came out from under the rubble. They came out of cellars they had been buried in without food," he told AFP by phone. "They emerged back to life despite their feelings of abandonment by the international community." The first batch of fighters to leave Ghouta arrived at a camp in Idlib province on Friday after spending the night on the edge of rebel-held territory. "Our situation in Harasta was very tragic," Abu Mohammed, a civilian told AFP in the town of Maarat al-Ikhwan. "We couldn't live above ground because of the heavy bombardment... Some children stayed in basements for four months with no food. We couldn't even find fodder to eat." Retaking Eastern Ghouta, a sprawling semi-rural area which had escaped government control since 2012 and lies within mortar range of central Damascus, was made a priority this year after a string of regime gains. On the regime-held side of Harasta, an AFP correspondent said Syrian soldiers fired celebratory gunshots into the air after they heard of the deal to evacuate the second pocket of the enclave. - Scabies - Ahrar al-Sham had made some demands in talks before the evacuation but were pummelled into accepting whatever conditions were imposed to them. "The one thing they got was that they were able to leave without being killed," said Nawar Oliver, an analyst at the Turkey-based Omran Centre. Some 80 civilians were reported killed on Thursday in bombardments of the territory held by Faylaq al-Rahman before they sealed a deal for some 7,000 people to leave. "The humanitarian situation continues to be catastrophic, with no food, emergency items nor medical supplies and outbreaks of disease due to civilians stuck in crowded and insalubrious basements," Faylaq al-Rahman spokesman Wael Alwan told AFP before the deal. "There are cases of lice and scabies," the Turkey-based spokesman said. AFP video and pictures from Douma, which is controlled by the rebel faction Jaish al-Islam, showed bright white streams falling from the sky in a fashion consistent with incendiary munitions. Jaish al-Islam too opened negotiations with Russia. The offensive on Eastern Ghouta has caused widespread outrage and marked one of the darkest episodes of a war that entered its eighth year this month. Thousands of protesters across Slovakia called for snap elections Friday, in a sign that a change of government ministers has not been enough to quell a public backlash triggered by the murder of a journalist probing corruption. The president on Thursday appointed the new cabinet led by Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini, whose predecessor and close ally Robert Fico had quit over the scandal. Demonstrators in the capital Bratislava chanted "we want elections" and "shame" and held up signs with slogans such as "we have the right to vote" and "we don't want this government". The new cabinet of the three-party coalition retains most of the people from the previous administration. Analysts believe Fico will continue to call the shots from behind the scenes as he remains chairman of Pellegrini's Smer-SD party. The local SME daily estimated that around 25,000 people turned out at the Bratislava rally, while smaller rallies took place in other cities. Journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova, both 27, were found shot dead last month in their home near Bratislava. Police said Kuciak's death was "most likely" related to his investigation into alleged ties between top politicians and Italian mafia. His death has raised concerns about media freedom and corruption in the EU member of 5.4 million people and sparked weekly anti-government protests. Organisers of the previous "For a decent Slovakia" protests had called off this week's Friday edition after the new government was appointed. But people took to the streets anyway in the new "We do care" protest organised by university students. "We students decided to get involved in the events in our country, and be active in making positive changes in Slovakia," one of the students, Timotej Lauko, told protesters in Bratislava. "Nobody else will improve things for us." In a March 24 Politics, Dahlia Lithwick misstated the length of the silence during Emma Gonzalezs speech at the March for Our Lives. She stayed silent for 4 minutes and 25 seconds, not 6 minutes. In a March 23 Brow Beat, Lena Wilson misspelled Christiane Amanpours first name. n a March 23 Slatest, Josh Voorhees misstated that the DCCC made it clear it believes Texas congressional candidate Laura Moser is too far left to win in a general election. The group says its decision to attack her had nothing to do with ideology. Advertisement Due to a production error, a photo caption in a March 22 Brow Beat misidentified Michael Hyatt of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend as Lorraine Toussaint. Aisha Harris misidentified Martin Sheen as Michael Sheen. In a March 22 Life, Benjamin Frisch misspelled Seth Meyers last name. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a March 21 Brow Beat, Lena Wilson misstated that Mr. Rogers Neighborhood addressed the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The show covered the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. In a March 21 Future Tense, Henry Grabar misidentified the supervising driver in a fatal autonomous Uber crash as a man. She is a woman. In a March 21 Moneybox, Jordan Weissmann misidentified Bloomberg Law reporter Ben Penn as Ben Parr. In a March 21 Science, Geoff Fox misspelled Laina Rusks first name and misidentified Nick Russo as being in Lansing, Michigan, when he is based in Flint. Advertisement In a March 20 Work, Alieza Durana misspelled researcher Jonathan Morduchs last name. A March 19 Metropolis incorrectly identified the FIU-Sweetwater UniversityCity Bridge as a cable-stayed bridge; it was a truss bridge. The article also said steel is weak in compression and good in tension; in fact it is good in both. It described camber as a dangerous bend in the slab; in fact it is a slight upward bend that is not necessarily dangerous. And it incorrectly described Tamiami Trail as the only east-west highway in South Florida. In a March 19 Industry, April Glaser misstated the city in Myanmar where Tin Htet Paing is based. She is based in Yangon, not Hpakant. Advertisement In a March 19 Brow Beat, Laura Miller misstated that a University of Georgia archive is not credited as the source of broadcast-news footage used in the podcast Atlanta Monster. The archive is credited at the end of the first episode. Advertisement In a March 17 Industry, April Glaser misspelled the name of the platform Mechanical Turk. In a March 16 Jurisprudence, Dahlia Lithwick misstated that a lawsuit against Alex Jones and others was filed by a Georgetown law school clinic that also sued to enjoin private armed militias. The militias lawsuit was filed by the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, not the Georgetown clinic. In a March 15 Slatest, Elliot Hannon misstated that President Trump won Pennsylvania by 20 points in the 2016 presidential election. He won Pennsylvanias 18th Congressional District by that margin; he won the state as a whole by less than 1 percentage point. Slate strives to correct all errors of fact. If youve seen an error in our pages, let us know at corrections@slate.com. General comments should be posted in our Comments sections associated with each article. Americas waiters and waitresses can rest a tiny bit easier Thursday: The giant spending bill making its way through Congress contains language designed to stop restaurant owners from using a controversial new regulation as an opportunity to steal their workers tips. The provision, which HuffPosts Dave Jamieson reported on earlier Thursday, is designed to head off problems that likely would have arisen thanks to a rule proposed by the Department of Labor in December. The change, widely condemned by labor groups, would once again let restaurants force their front-of-the-house staff to pool the tips they earn and share them with kitchen workers as long as they were paid the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. (The Obama administration banned that practice by regulatory fiat in 2011.) Critics of the move argued that it would essentially legalize tip theft because, as written, the rule did not require mangers or owners to actually redistribute gratuities among their workers once they were pooled. Instead, they could just pocket the money. The left-wing Economic Policy Institute estimated that the loophole would have cost workers $5.8 billion in lost tips annually. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thankfully, the $1.3 trillion appropriations bill Congress is in the process of rushing to President Trumps desk would ban that sort of skimming. It states simply that, An employer may not keep tips received by its employees for any purposes, including allowing managers or supervisors to keep any portion of employees tips. Simple as that. It appears this addition to the bill was a bipartisan collaboration. Washington Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat, said she crafted the tweak alongside Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, whom shed previously sparred with over the tip rule. As I wrote Wednesday, Acosta also decided to bury an in-house economic analysis by his department that suggested the regulation would cost workers billions a year. His decision to work with Democrats on a fix rather than continue ignoring the problem is one of the more heartening examples of functioning governance that I can recall in recent months. Advertisement As Jamieson notes, not all Democrats or labor advocates are entirely pleased with the new language, since it would still leave room for restaurant owners to force their waiters and bartenders to share tips with cooks and dishwashers. I think you can have a legitimate argument about whether thats really such a bad thing. The basic case in favor of tip pooling is that front-of-the-house staff in restaurants often unfairly earn more than back-of-the-house staff (who tend to be minorities) because waiters and bartenders can rack up tips, while cooks cannot. Letting managers redistribute the nightly tip haul among all their workers could help alleviate that inequality. Advertisement The basic con case is that people who earn tips by dealing with the insane and often abusive behavior of customers should get to keep them, and that managers might actually use tip pooling as an excuse to cut the base pay for kitchen workers (theyd cut their cooks hourly wages, then replace the money with gratuities taken from their waitresses). This is a deep and fierce debate that gets into the heart of restaurant economics, and raises the question of whether or not tipping is even a reasonable business model anymore. But at the very least, it seems servers wont have to worry about having their owners outright pocket their pay. Look what you made her do: Taylor Swift, who is known for usually staying mum on political issues, has taken a rare stand on gun control. The pop star posted on Instagram on Friday that she had donated to the March for Our Lives Action Fund and that she supports the demonstration to protest gun violence. Im so moved by the Parkland High School students, faculty, by all families and friends of victims who have spoken out, trying to prevent this from happening again, she wrote in the caption. Advertisement The statement is about as political as Swift gets, which is to say, not veryshe famously didnt outright endorse either candidate in the 2016 presidential election, though plenty of people wanted her to. Swift had previously tweeted her support for the Womens March in January of last year, though that tweet has since been deleted, but was criticized for not attending. Similarly, it doesnt sound like shell be attending the March for Our Lives either, and her statement opposing gun violence doesnt explicitly embrace gun control, instead focusing on some pretty common platitudes (No one should have to go to school in fear of gun violence) and voicing her support for gun reform, which could give her plausible deniability with red-state fans. Still, March for Our Lives is explicitly advocating for a number of gun control measures, including banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazine sales. It would have been easy for Swift to donate to the movement quietly, but she instead chose to use her platform to broadcast that information to her 106 million Instagram followers, even though it could very well mean alienating some holdovers from her country music days. All in all, its nice to see Swift, whose massive following includes plenty of teenage fans affected by the issue, putting her mouth where her money is. Since the 1970s and 80s, when the crimes of Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and John Wayne Gacy captured the nations imaginations, stories of gruesome serial killers have been on an apparent decline. And yet the popularity of shows like Mindhunter and Criminal Minds indicates that, despite the downturn of actual serial killers, our fascination with these murderers hasnt gone anywhere. To wit: A recent Racked piece asks why do we think serial killers all wear the same glasses, asserting that these killers are often exhaustively scrutinized and even fetishized in the media leading to a recognizable visual profile. Glasses constitute one of the more specific elements of that iconography. A pair of shiny lenses, perched on the bridge of a serial killers nose, becomes a subtle metaphor for his walled-off nature, for her sociopaths aloofness, writes Tori Telfer. Glasses become a mask thats acceptable for the killer to wear in public. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As Telfer notes, the list of serial killers who wore glasses is a long one and includes Dahmer, BTK killer Dennis Rader, the Zodiac Killer, and many more. Yet despite Telfers assertion that there are certain serial killer glasses that always signify creep and outsider, most of the serial killers (besides Dahmer, Rader, and the Kindly Killer Dennis Nilsen) sported completely different frames. For example, the glasses of Ed Kemper, the Co-ed Killer immortalized in Mindhunter, share a closer resemblance to John Lennons distinctive wire-framed round lenses than Dahmersand the more recognizable pair Kemper wore in his jailhouse interviews were boxy and dark-framed. The Canadian Butcher Bakers lenses have a distinctive black bar across the top, distinguishing them from the ubiquitous clear aviators on which Telfer hinges her argumentframes made famous by Dahmer, and everyone else in the 70s. Those eerie, teardrop-shaped lenses seem to symbolize someone who is forever surveilling us, Telfer says. Advertisement This argument is almost convincing until you notice that a Google image search of clear aviator glasses doesnt produce images of eeriness reminiscent of Dahmer or Raders face. Instead, there are pages and pages of trendy millennials modeling rose-gold variations of the frames. Rather than serial killers, clear aviators these days just reference the 70s and shag carpetingtheir resurgence in this Age of Nostalgia makes a lot of sense, and gets at a more interesting point about murderers and the altogether normal frames they wear. Advertisement We tend to try to find ways to distinguish those that we find monstrous from ourselves, whether through iconography, personality, or culture. The typical profile of a serial killera youngish white man who can both blend into the crowd and lure victims into his snaremakes us uncomfortable. Thats why we like to imagine that serial killers, or mass shooters, are loners, despite evidence to the contrary. Advertisement Advertisement Framing clear aviators as particularly reminiscent of a killer similarly provides a safe distance from the monstrous person who wears themdespite the fact that the reason they wore them in the first place was to close that distance. Clear aviators like Dahmers allowed him to blend into the crowd not only because they were trendy but because, as a society, we tend to think people with glasses are more trustworthy. Thats why defense attorneys recommend their clients sport nonprescription lenses in court. The Washington Post reported in 2012 that New York defense lawyer Harvey Slovis makes all his clients wear glasses: He calls them part of a nerd defense. The glasses make people appear less intimidating. Our fascination with the glasses worn by Dahmer or Kemper isnt due to the fact that theyre abnormal or indicative of a sociopaths aloofness. Its because they send a nonthreatening message that contradicts the brutal nature of the crimes committed by the people that wear them. Its because more than anything else, we want to find something physically unfamiliar about these killers, something that will warn us before its too late. Katalin Cseh, a 29-year-old opposition parliamentary candidate, has learned the perils of challenging Hungarys ruling party the hard way. In September, while visiting France with fellow members of her party, she was photographed with the French presidents wife, Brigitte Macron. Almost immediately, she was labeled a foreign agent. State media did a five-minute story about the photo on the national television news, she said incredulously. Local media portrayed it that we were playing to French powers and we are part of a conspiracy against the Hungarian people. How do you respond to that? Often we feel its better not to respond, its not a real debate. Advertisement Cseh is a member of Momentum, a new party trying to take on the entrenched rule of Hungarys strongman prime minister, Viktor Orban, and stop what they see as Hungarys slide into xenophobic dictatorship. Its core leaders are younger than 35, university-educated, and have studied or worked abroad. They use sophisticated social media strategies and consult successful political strategists, including veterans of Emmanuel Macrons En Marche and the Obama campaign. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The government labels them tools of Hungarys enemies, especially the Hungarian-born currency speculator and philanthropist George Soros, who has poured much of his fortune into liberal causes and become the favorite boogeyman of Orbans government. The government has pinned the blame on Soros for opposition to its controversial anti-immigrant policies and consolidation of power. Advertisement Its just nonsense, absurd accusations, that we are the puppets of George Soros who is an evil overlord who wants to occupy Hungary, said Cseh. Hes an 87-year-old man, its crazy. We want to put out positive messages as a means to combat propaganda. The issue of migration looms over the campaign. In 2015, more than 600,000 refugees flooded into Europe mainly from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan; the majority of them heading for Germany and Northern Europe. Orban responded to the crisis by immediately rejecting claims for asylum and building a razor-wire fence on the border of Serbia to keep out what he called Muslim invaders. Today, only two asylum seekers per day are permitted to cross into Hungary. Advertisement Ahead of the April 8 parliamentary elections, the governments heavy-handed propaganda is on display across the capital, Budapest. Billboards depict Soros standing with opposition leaders holding scissors. The message is that theyre ready to cut the fences keeping out hordes of migrants. They are pushing this hysterical campaign against perceived enemies of the state, she said. The only way Momentum can effect change is to be there and talk to people, hold forums, be a bit rebellious, use common advertising methods. We have to get around traditional media and find a common ground to express our message. Just as Hungary had expelled the Ottomans, Austrians, and Soviets, Orban assured the crowd he would get rid of Uncle George. Like his close ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Orban has proved a master at playing up the idea of a nation under attack. On March 15, he addressed a crowd of up to 100,000 supporters outside Parliament House. The occasion was the 170th anniversary of Hungarys uprising against Austrian rule, sparked by a young poet named Sandor Petofi, who called on his countrymen to rise up against their enemies. Advertisement Advertisement We are fighting an enemy that is different from us, the prime minister said. Not open but hiding; not straightforward but crafty; not honest but base; not national but international; does not believe in working but speculates with money. Its not the first time Orban has criticized the Jewish philanthropist with language that critics say is thinly veiled anti-Semitism. Just as Hungary had expelled the Ottomans, Austrians, and Soviets, he assured the crowd he would get rid of Uncle George. Advertisement Across town at a Momentum rally, party chairman Andras Fekete-Gyor said that actually Soros wasnt doing enough to help them. He needs to be more visible, this would be my criticism of him, he said. Hes almost completely disappeared from the public relations side of things in recent years. He should come back and defend himself and defend his organizations. Advertisement Momentum denies getting any money from Soros. But its trying to mobilize the support of institutions he has funded. Since 1984, Soros philanthropic group, the Open Society Foundations, has donated $400 million to promote civil society in Hungary. In the words of its website, the money is to support Hungarian partners working on issues that include promoting independent journalism, fighting corruption, supporting civic participation, and combatting discrimination. Orban in contrast has vowed to end liberal democracy, proclaiming in a 2014 speech that he wanted to build an illiberal state along the lines of Russia and China. During his two terms in office, he has seized control of the judiciary and state media and cracked down hard on civil society. Last year the government moved to shut down the Soros-founded Central European University in Budapest, seen by many on the right as a breeding ground for liberals. The university grants scholarships to underprivileged youth across Central Asia and the former Soviet Union. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Daniel Berg, a young Hungarian American whose mother was a political dissident under communism, was one of the leaders of a popular campaign to defend the university that saw thousands take to the streets of Budapest. Hes now a candidate for Momentum in the April elections. We were a social movement then we transitioned into a party. Originally there were like, 30 peoplea friend group basicallythen it went to 240, then 500, then 1,000, and then over 2,000, so were a 2,000-strong political community. Our opinion polls are steadily going up. Were currently polling at 4 percent and the threshold [for parliament] is 5. Orbans vows to protect Hungary from a migrant invasion have played much better in the rural heartland than in Budapest. His party, Fidesz, controls two-thirds of the Parliament. But the irony is that ever more Hungarians are now looking to escape their country. Advertisement Its a critical issue that the youth are planning to live their lives somewhere else in Europe, said Cseh, a doctor. Its not just a brain drain. Nonprofessionals are leaving too because they cant earn a living. Despite its immense power, Fidesz has done little to tackle Hungarys economic problems. Cseh, Momentums health spokeswoman, recently installed a large-scale photo exhibition outside the Ministry of Health showing the appalling conditions of Hungarys public hospitals. Advertisement Advertisement Basically in the last 28 years none of the governments have managed to undertake a substantial reform of the major social services. Not education nor health care. The country is really divided into two halves, the lucky ones and the unlucky ones. And no one is really taking care of the unlucky ones because they have a lower tendency to vote, so therefore theres no incentive for helping them. Advertisement Advertisement Appeals to nationalism have proved an effective distraction from everyday problems. Despite Hungarys membership in the European Union, the Fidesz government has simply ignored many EU directives. After U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein called Orban a racist and xenophobe on March 6, the government proclaimed it would not be dictated to. Alongside the anti-Soros billboards, authorities have now erected signs declaring: The U.N. wants to accept migrants on a continuous basis. HUNGARY DECIDES, NOT THE U.N. And Orban enjoys unqualified support from the Kremlin and Polands new conservative government. His mass rally was attended by thousands of flag-waving Polish nationalists bused in to show solidarity. It might seem a hopeless cause to take on a leader who has consolidated so much power. But Momentum sees itself as the true heir of the young poet Sandor Petofi. In 1848, a handful of young people in Budapest decided to take their fate in their own hands, Andras Fekete-Gyor said. The country we want to be proud of somehow does not function as its supposed to. You should vote for someone you believe in who can bring you hope. The past week has offered a case study in how race shapes empathy and blame. Take Mark Anthony Conditt, the 23-year-old who terrorized Austin, Texas, with a series of bombings. After listening to his confession tape, local police have ruled out hate as a motive in a set of attacks that took two lives and injured several others. Conditts message, police chief Brian Manley explained, was the outcry of a very challenged young man talking about challenges in his personal life. Conditt wasnt a terroristthe term we usually affix to people who organize bombingshe was simply lashing out. Advertisement Or consider Austin Rollins, the 17-year-old shooter at a school in southern Maryland. He shot two students, one of them his ex-girlfriend, before he was killed. Police say the shooting was not a random act of violence. The girl, Jaelynn Willey, was likely the target. Relaying this information, the Associated Press led with a small bit of editorializing: Tuesdays school shooting in southern Maryland that left the shooter dead and two students wounded increasingly appears to be the action of a lovesick teenager. Not an attempted murderer or someone acting on a poisonous amount of masculine entitlement. A lovesick teenager. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Look to last month and even Nikolas Cruzthe teenage gunman who killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Floridawas quickly identified as an orphan with a troubled past, a surprisingly sympathetic way to describe a deadly shooter responsible for one of the worst school massacres in American history. Beyond these recent examples are a litany of times where white suspects of violence are presented as full individuals. Soft-spoken, polite, a gentleman is how local media described Elliot Rodger after he killed seven people in a 2014 murder spree near the campus of UCSanta Barbara. Advertisement Now compare this to the now-infamous New York Times story on Michael Brown, described as no angel for his occasional delinquency and dabbling in drugs and alcohol. Brown was killed in a confrontation with police. He was unarmed. To be white, male, and suspected of a serious crime is, in the eyes of police and much of the media, to still be a full individual entitled to respect and dignity. Your actions are treated as an isolated incident, not indicative of a larger pathology shared by others who occupy your social position or hold your religious beliefs. To be black (or to be Muslim or undocumented) is to lose that nuance, even if youre the victim. After Trayvon Martins shooting death at the hands of George Zimmerman in 2012, NBC News ran a story announcing one fact: that Martin had been suspended three times from school. In Austin, the same police who could present Mark Anthony Conditt as suffering from angst were, just a week earlier, treating his first victima 29-year-old black man named Anthony Stephan Houseas a suspect in his own death. We cant rule out that Mr. House didnt construct this himself and accidentally detonate it, APD Assistant Chief Joseph Chacon told reporters at the time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A 2017 study commissioned by the advocacy organization Color of Change found that news media consistently portrayed black families and individuals as criminal, with that criminality flowing from the internal disposition of Black people versus an external problem with historic roots. This is racism, but its not the crude hatred of the white supremacist. Its rather a broad sympathy toward some and broader skepticism toward others, as the writer Ta-Nehisi Coates has put it. The only way to understand that skepticism is to grasp the ways racism has shaped definitions of personhood and citizenship over the course of 400 years. In particular, its important to understand how whitenessdefined as a status conferring distinct social, political, and economic freedoms across an unequal property orderis tied to American ideas around freedom and liberty. Advertisement Thomas Jefferson, to use one prominent example, understood the American project as requiring either racial domination of indigenous people and enslaved Africans or their outright removal. Why not retain and incorporate the blacks into the state, wrote Jefferson after describing his plan to remove free blacks in the event of emancipation, before answering with a litany of reasons: Deep rooted prejudices entertained by the whites; ten thousand recollections, by the blacks, of the injuries they have sustained; new provocations; the real distinctions which nature has made; and many other circumstances, will divide us into parties, and produce convulsions which will probably never end but in the extermination of the one or the other race. He simply couldnt imagine an American democracy that wasnt fully white. Advertisement Advertisement This understanding, that one cannot be black and Americanor rather that one must be white to be Americancontinued into the 19th century and was expressed succinctly by Chief Justice Roger Taney in his Dred Scott opinion. They are not included and were not intended to be included, he wrote of black Americans. To the contrary, they are considered as a subordinate and inferior class of beings, who had been subjugated by the dominant race and had no rights or privileges but such as those the Government might choose to grant them. Advertisement Even after emancipation and the Reconstruction amendments granted citizenship and civil rights to the former slaves, the twin engines of capital accumulation and race prejudice drove the creation of a racial caste system, with whiteness distinguishing the bottom from the top. W.E.B DuBois famously called it a public and psychological wage that gave deference and flattery to whites, in addition to material benefits and opportunities for advancement. In turn, entrance to mainstream society required whiteness or an ability to perform it through assimilation. The nativist panic of the early 20th centuryduring which the United States barred Asian immigration entirelyreflects both a fear of foreign influence and a belief in America as a white country. Advertisement Advertisement The casting of black Americans as outside the protection of law and the boundaries of citizenshipas inherently criminal and disordered, as a group whose very presence is inimical to republican societyis a constant thread in American life. Its an elemental part of the American experience that continuously expresses itself, taking on, as scholar George Lipsitz wrote in The Possessive Investment in Whiteness, different forms and serving different social purposes in different eras. Its both a legacy of our history and something we re-inscribe through our choices. The housing discrimination, subsidized suburbs, and urban renewal of the mid-20th century turned various European Americans into whites who could co-exist and intermarry while also creating the segregation and racial wealth inequality we live with today. Advertisement Despite narratives of colorblindness and post-racialism, the United States remains a racial polity, structured, as philosopher Charles Mills writes in The Racial Contract, to maintain and reproduce this racial order, securing the privileges and advantages of the full white citizens and maintaining the subordination of nonwhites. Which brings us back to this question of race and empathy. You no longer need whiteness to vote or participate in civil society (although, given attacks on voting rights, it doesnt hurt), but it continues to mark boundaries of citizenship and belonging, even if the borders arent as firm as they were in the past. There are important exceptions, but looking at the broad sweep of American society, to possess whiteness is still to receive, as one of its benefits, recognition as a full person even in the face of criminal behavior. When we see a police chief defer to the self-spun narrative of a serial bomber or watch news outlets attribute misogynistic violence to lovesicknesswhile denying the same interiority and full humanity to black victims or offenderswere watching this pattern play out. When black communities are pathologized for facing violence, but white communities escape similar treatment after producing mass killers, we are watching this pattern play out. And when whiteness appears to shift even the usual blame for state violence, we are watching this pattern play out. A Daily Beast report Thursday says there is new evidence tracking Guccifer 2.0, the online persona of the hacker that swiped DNC emails and provided them to WikiLeaks, back to an officer in Russias military intelligence directorate (GRU). Confirming this link to Moscow, which aligns with what American intelligence agencies have believed with high confidence would likely have geopolitical ramifications for the U.S., as well as legal implications for the Trump presidency. Throughout 2016, Guccifer claimed to be a lone hacker, but the consensus view among security experts was that the persona was a composite. An investigation into emails from Guccifer, who communicated with people on social media, through blog posts, and elsewhere, provided investigators the break they needed to track down who was behind the account that wreaked havoc on the 2016 election. From the Daily Beast: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement an investigation at ThreatConnect that tried to track down Guccifer from the metadata in his emails. But the trail always ended at the same data center in France. [An intelligence researcher] eventually uncovered that Guccifer was connecting through an anonymizing service called Elite VPN, a virtual private networking service that had an exit point in France but was headquartered in Russia. But on one occasion, The Daily Beast has learned, Guccifer failed to activate the VPN client before logging on. As a result, he left a real, Moscow-based Internet Protocol address in the server logs of an American social media company, according to a source familiar with the governments Guccifer investigation. Working off the IP address, U.S. investigators identified Guccifer 2.0 as a particular GRU officer working out of the agencys headquarters on Grizodubovoy Street in Moscow. (The Daily Beasts sources did not disclose which particular officer worked as Guccifer.) Guccifer was born on June 15, 2016, shortly before the release of the DNC emails, and made occasional appearances online throughout the campaign. Trump adviser Roger Stone interacted with the hacker via direct messages on Twitter. Sometime after its hasty launch, the Guccifer persona was handed off to a more experienced GRU officer, according to a source familiar with the matter, the Daily Beast reports. The timing of that handoff is unclear, but Guccifer 2.0s last blog post, from Jan. 12, 2017, evinced a far greater command of English that the personas earlier efforts. Its awfully fitting that John Bolton has been named national security adviser just a few days after the 15th anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq. Bolton was one of the staunchest advocates for the war within the George W. Bush administration, and, as under secretary of state for Arms Control and International Security, one of the most prominent voices making the case that Saddam Husseins government possessed weapons of mass destruction. That someone with Boltons dangerous views and unimpressive record has been appointed to this critical position is not only a galling next turn in the increasingly frightening Trump years, but also the latest sign of a national failure to grapple with the legacy of the Bush years. Advertisement As the Iraqi novelist Sinan Antoon wrote in a widely-read New York Times op-ed this week, Americans have been able to comfort themselves over the past 15 years with the notion that the war was a blunder or mistake rather than an immoral act or crime. (Though, as my colleague Ben Mathis-Lilley noted, 43 percent of Americans, like Bolton, dont even think it was a mistake.) Certainly, the central architects and advocates of the war have paid little professional price for its consequences. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bolton has continued to publicly expound on international affairs, not just as a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and from his perch at Fox News, but in the pages of the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal. Often, despite the dismal results of preemptive war in Iraq, he has been invited by these outlets to make the case for a similar course of action in Iran and North Koreapolicies he is now in a position to set in motion. Advertisement Boltons ascension to his new position comes as part of a larger reshuffling of Donald Trumps national security team that includes Gina Haspelwho oversaw a black site in Thailand and advocated destroying video evidence of torturebeing named as the presidents choice to run the CIA. When Haspel was named deputy director in February, the Times gently described it as a sign that the agency is being led by officials who appear to take a far kinder view of one of its darker chapters than their immediate predecessors. In 2015, an Amnesty International report accused Barack Obama, who, once elected, was generally reluctant to refight old arguments about what had occurred under his predecessor, of effectively granting impunity to practitioners of torture. The report warned that this lack of legal consequences, or the kind of truth and reconciliation process used by other countries to address past human rights abuses, not only leaves the USA in serious violation of its international legal obligations, it increases the risk that history will repeat itself when a different president again deems the circumstances warrant resort[ing] to torture, enforced disappearance, abductions or other human rights violations. Today, 48 percent of Americans believe there are circumstances where the use of torture is justified. Advertisement Advertisement As far as we know, techniques like waterboarding have not returned under Trump, despite his campaign pledges to bring them back. And while Trump announced during his state of the union that he would be keeping the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay open and has effectively halted detainee transfers out, no new inmates have been sent there. In both cases, this may have quite a bit to do with Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, who famously talked Trump out of the idea that torture works with a quip about beer and cigarettes. But at this rate, who would put money on Mattis remaining in his post indefinitely? And while recently passed legislation would make torture legally tricky to reinstate, its not as if these techniques were entirely legal before. If you can oversee torture and still be named director of the CIA one day, why would anyone fear the consequences, either legal or professional, of doing the same now? In 2008, Americans elected a president who ran on a platform of opposing the Iraq war, Guantanamo, and the use of torture. In 2016, they elected one who distinguished himself from his Republican rivals by describing the Iraq war as a blunder and Bushs foreign policy as catastrophic. And yet, this months appointments suggest we havent even begun to reckon with what happened during those years. On Jan. 24, it was announced that former White House adviser and Breitbart chairman Steve Bannon had accepted an invitation from University of Chicago business school professor Luigi Zingales to participate in a debate on campus. I can hardly think of a more important issue for new citizens and business leaders of the world than the backlash against globalization and immigration that is taking place not just in America, but in all the Western World, Zingales wrote in a statement. Whether you agree with him or not (and I personally do not), Mr. Bannon has come to interpret and represent this backlash in America. Advertisement Zingales and university administrators have, predictably, spent the past several weeks dealing with a backlash of their own. Over 1,000 alumni, more than 100 faculty members, the executives of student government and nearly a dozen student groups have voiced their opposition to the event in various mediums. [W]hen speakers who question the intellect and full humanity of people of color are invited to campus to debate their worthiness as citizens and people, a faculty open letter read, the message is clear that the Universitys commitment to freedom of expression will come at the expense of those most vulnerable in our community. Off-campus, many have scorned those protesting the invitation. The school has a long tradition of valuing free speech and thought, recognizing that a university is wait for it a place of ideas and learning, the Chicago Tribunes editorial board wrote after the announcement. The cure for repellent ideas, school President Robert Maynard Hutchins said generations ago, lies through open discussion rather than through inhibition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As both the faculty letter and the Tribune alluded to, the University of Chicago has for many years cultivated a reputation as a bastion of free speech and academic freedom, which, in its rendering, encompasses both a right to free expression in academic settings and a professed commitment to political neutrality in nearly all matters. University officials have long taken immense pride, for instance, in the universitys refusal of student demands to divest from South Africa during apartheid in the 1980s. In 2014, the university convened a Committee on Freedom of Expression, which issued a report that declared it is not the proper role of the University to attempt to shield individuals from ideas and opinions they find unwelcome, disagreeable, or even deeply offensive. Two years later, the university brought that stance to bear on the national debate over political correctness on Americas campuses when Dean of Students John Ellison sent a letter to incoming students affirming both the universitys commitment to free expression and its opposition to ideological safe spaces. Advertisement The letter was met with broad and ecstatic praise from prominent voices in the press, wholike the Tribunehave come to see Chicago as a corrective to the protest movement that reputedly rules over other college campuses. The Wall Street Journal named Chicago the free speech university in a February profile of University President Robert Zimmer, who was himself called Americas Best University President, in an October New York Times column by alumnus Bret Stephens. Readers expecting a piece so named would make reference to research or academic work accomplished under Zimmers tenure were surely disappointedit did not. Such an omission would have been odd 10 years ago. Its unremarkable today amidst a discourse that suggests the sum total of a universitys value as an intellectual institution is reducible to its willingness to host controversial speakers like Bannon, or the white nationalist Richard Spencer, who Zimmer said was welcome to speak at Chicago in the months after the safe spaces letter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You listen to cocktail parties in certain circles, higher education analyst Jeffrey Selingo told Chicago magazine in 2013, and youll hear The University of Chicago is really on the rise. By that standard, the University of Chicago has excelled under Zimmer, having burnished its image as a free speech redoubt at a time when colleges are asking students to plunge themselves into ever-increasing debt to attend putatively unique institutions. The free-speech ethos has become a central part of the universitys branding to prospective students and has been cited by donors as they shower the school with hundreds of millions of dollars in new funding. That image has also managed to overshadow changes afoot in both campus and academic life at the university, and it has signaled a shift in our collective understanding of what it means to be an intellectually serious university. The elevation of Chicagos free speech posture has come, perhaps not coincidentally, on the heels of a remarkable leap in the universitys prominence and prestige. Ten years ago, the University of Chicago was ninth in U.S. News and World Reports ranking of American universities. Today, its ranked thirdtied with Yale and a notch above Columbia, MIT, and Stanford. This constitutes a remarkable jump into the very top tier of a list characterized by and respected primarily for its stability. The story of its climb begins in 2006, when the university announced it would begin accepting applicants through the Common Application system used by hundreds of colleges nationwide. At the time, the decision was taken by many students, faculty, and alumni as indicative of a shift in the universitys culture. Chicago had until that point exclusively taken submissions through a form that had been called the UnCommon Application which featured light-hearted and notoriously odd essay questions: In 1997, for instance, applicants were asked to propose a theory of Elvis sightings incorporating the metric system, the Mall of America, the crash of the Hindenburg, Heisenbergs uncertainty principle, lint, J.D. Salinger, and wax fruit. Chicagos retention of the UnCommon Application as a supplemental form did little to quell protests on campus and in the pages of student paper the Chicago Maroon, where an editorial that fall warned that the adoption of the Common Application could signal Chicagos transformation into a generic elite private university. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These changes took place under Robert Zimmer, who became president of the college in the summer of 2006 and spoke frequently about bringing in new applicants. For years, the universitys academic reputation stood as a challenge to the notion that the selectivity of peer colleges such as Harvard and Yale said anything meaningful about the quality of education being offered. During the early 1990s, the university accepted over 70 percent of applicants willing to brave Midwestern winters and a Core curriculum dense with Great Books to join the universitys community of scholars. Boosting the rate of applications has lowered Chicagos acceptance rate, one of the metrics U.S. News & World Report uses to determine its rankings. By 2007, the rate had declined to 40 percent. Two years later, the school hired a direct-marketing firm to overhaul its outreach to prospective students, and by 2017, the incoming class included over 27,000 applicants, who were accepted at a rate of just 8.7 percent. (Full disclosure: I was a member of the undergraduate Class of 2015.) Granted, the universitys move to the Common App has diversified its incoming classes, which have also grown in size in tandem with Chicagos reputation amongst high school counselors and administrators at other institutions. The opinions of both collectively constitute over 22 percent of U.S. News ranking score. You listen to cocktail parties in certain circles, higher education analyst Jeffrey Selingo told Chicago magazine in 2013, and youll hear The University of Chicago is really on the rise. Advertisement Those same circles have been talking up Chicagos messaging on speech in recent years. As of January, thirty-four colleges and universities have adopted or affirmed the statement on free expression drafted by the schools Committee on Freedom of Expression, thanks in part to the work of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a campus speech advocacy group that has campaigned for colleges to sign on to Chicagos resolution since 2015. In October, the university hosted 66 college presidents and provosts for a conference on free speech. According to documents obtained by the Maroon, the university initially planned to extend an open invitation to the presidents and provosts from all US colleges and universities and have former law professor Barack Obama deliver the keynote speech. The conference was closed to the press. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The schools free speech messaging has cemented a distinct identity for the university not just in the press and among the broad public, but among donors as well. At other institutions, the need to grab the interest of potential applicants, high school counselors, and peer administrators alike has also fueled the proliferation of wild and costly projects like lazy rivers and spas at major colleges across the country. Chicagos ambitions in this regard have been more modest but no less expensive. In 2016, the university shuttered five dormitories and moved residents to a new, $148 million megadorm called Campus North. It has since has rolled out plans for a new 1,200-student megadorm with another dining hall and a new high-rise conference center. In 2016, the university projected a cost of $3.9 billion in total for its capital projects in Chicago and on its campuses overseas. Much of the recent spending has been financed by debt, which has attracted the scrutiny of credit ratings agencies. The universitys credit was downgraded by Moodys in 2014 and by Standard & Poors in 2016. Efforts at cost control led to cuts to academic budgets in 2016, and internal budget documents published by the Chicago Maroon included a warning that tuition dollars should not be mismanaged with excessive investments in innovative and small classes. Advertisement On campus, the administrations financial management has been sharply criticized by both faculty and students, including activists behind the campaign for a graduate student union. That unionization drive succeeded last year after an arduous fight in which the university contested the idea that graduate are employees with the right to unionize in the first place. Its case, simply put, was that the teaching, tutoring, and research graduate students doall functions absolutely central to the academic life of any major universityarent actually work. In fact, during National Labor Relations Board hearings, the universitys attorneys issued a standing objection to every use of the word work to describe the labor of graduate students. They are not working, university attorney Zachary Fasman interjected at one point. They are teaching. In another exchange, Fasman argued that the graduate students couldnt be considered a real asset to universities because their research experiments often failedas valuable and informative experiments obviously often do. In another, current executive vice provost David Nirenberg claimed that graduate students grading papers for professors was not a relief that could be considered helpful labor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It seems reasonable to ask given all thisthe rankings chase, the building spree, the devaluing of academic laborwhether the University of Chicago is, as some fear, turning into something rather like a generic elite private university. More would likely be asking if the university werent so successful in maintaining, in spite of it all, its reputation as a distinctive intellectual haven. The schools free speech messaging has been central to that success, cementing a distinct identity for the university not just in the press and among the broad public, but among donors as well. People I know really feel proud that Zimmer articulated those views so eloquently, billionaire alumnus and donor Joe Mansuetonamesake of one of the universitys library buildingstold Crains Chicago Business last month. These are bedrock principles for the University of Chicago. After Ken Griffin announced a $125 million gift to the university in November, Quartzs Oliver Staley reported that the hedge fund CEO made the donation in part because the university has been outspoken in its resistance to safe spaces and trigger warnings, eschewing policies on other campuses which Griffin sees as threatening free speech. In September, the American Enterprise Institutes Michael Rubin advised readers against making contributions to any other elite university. [T]hose wishing to support universities core missions can donate instead to institutions such as the University of Chicago, he wrote, whose president has stood firm against the social and political trends buffeting so many other elite campuses. Advertisement Q&As with professional bigots have not, traditionally, been experiences considered central to American college education, but they are increasingly what Americas responsible adults seem to want. Q&As with professional bigots like Steve Bannon, Milo Yiannopoulos, or Richard Spencer have not, traditionally, been experiences considered central to American college education, but they are increasingly what Americas responsible adultsphilanthropists, pundits, and parents of studentsseem to want. The Ellison letter decrying safe spaces has proven particularly seductive in that regard. You could call it a letter of warning: At Chicago, dear students, we put freedom of expression above tender feelings, read an editorial in the Chicago Sun-Times shortly after the letter was published. You might also call it an invitation: Join us in a thrilling, if not always comfortable, exchange of ideas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But, as is generally the case in national coverage of campus controversies, the flurry of articles and op-eds that followed the missive didnt sweat the details. When Ellison sent his letter, the university ran, and continues to run, a safe space program that, according to the universitys Office of LGBTQ Student Life, challenges oppression and provides support for LGBTQ students in welcoming physical spaces. Luckily for the university, the generally unremarked upon existence of its safe space program, and initiatives like the creation of a Bias Education and Support Team responsible for addressing expressions that cause hurt or discomfort, suggest that P.C.-critical students, parents, pundits, and others can be wooed and wowed without ditching politically correct policies that have helped it reel in minority and activist students in its drive for applications. The latter group has, naturally, been put off somewhat by the universitys recent posturing, but Chicago has done a rather impressive job thus far of having things both ways. Even the universitys speech advocates harbor a hazy, rarely admitted intuition that there are, in fact, practical and ethical reasons to turn away certain speakers and ideas. Last February, President Zimmer told the Wall Street Journal that he would undoubtedly permit white nationalist and university alumnus Richard Spencer to speak on campus if he were invited. In August, Spencer emailed law professor Geoffrey Stonea First Amendment scholar and prominent free speech punditasking for an invitation. Stone had chaired the 2014 Commission on Freedom of Expression and had written previously that the core obligation of a university is to invite challenge to the accepted wisdom. But Spencera walking, talking challenge to accepted wisdom if ever there was onehad his request for an invitation denied. From what I have seen of your views, Stone replied, they do not seem to me at add anything of value to serious and reasoned discourse, which is of course the central goal of a university. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In refusing Spencer, Stone said he would have defended the right to host such an event if someone else had taken Spencer up on his offer. But if it is true, as Stone has also written previously, that spirited debate is a vital necessity for the advancement of knowledge, then educators at a university clearly have a responsibility not only to reject censorship but to strive to actively bring in, for discussion and debate, people advancing ideas the majority might consider unserious or unreasonable. The discursive rhetoric of speech advocates routinely implies that students can find, in views they deem ugly or distasteful, either learning opportunities or opportunities to strike argumentative blows against their moral opponents. Surely, both would have been true of an event featuring Spencer. The university ran, and continues to run, a safe space program that challenges oppression and provides support for LGBTQ students in welcoming physical spaces. A similar hedge can be found in Zingales response during a town hall in February to a student who asked whether he would have invited Adolf Hitler. I think I would distinguish early Hitler from later Hitler, he replied. I think it would have been very useful to know ahead of time what he was about. If it is true that there may have been good strategic or intellectual reasons for students to hear the views of an early Hitler and additionally true, as Zingales has said, that inviting Bannon is worthwhile because his views have gained wide currency, then it obviously follows that Hitler would have also merited an invite during a period when his ideas and his regime were actually upending and reshaping the Western world. Zingales distinction can only be explained by a moral rejection of what late Hitler was doingnamely, slaughtering 6 million Jews. But the rules of the corner Zingales, Stone, and other critics of speech restrictions have painted themselves into frowns upon rejecting speakers simply because they are distasteful in some way. Zingales might not want to believe his arguments would have allowed Hitler to stage a Nuremberg on Lake Michigan. But that is precisely the logical extension of the arguments hes advanced in the case of Steve Bannon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These equivocations reveal both opaque ethical boundaries and a sense that universities have a stake not only in the proliferation of ideas in the abstract, but also in the content of those ideas. That stake not only permits, but necessitates certain restrictions on speechin classrooms, in journals, and throughout the academy, as the legal scholar and literary theorist Stanley Fish argued last year in an essay for the Chronicle of Higher Education. But the requirements of academic life are increasingly being overshadowed, in our notions about higher education, by the spectacle of controversial, high-profile speakers and other parts of what Fish called in his essay the extracurricular scene. Its show business, wrote Fish. A university would still be one if all it contained were classrooms, a library, and facilities for research. A university would not be one if all it contained was a quad with some tables on it, a student union with a food court, an auditorium and a bowling alley, a gymnasium with a swimming pool and some climbing walls. Openness to professional racists and provocateurs, just as extraneous to academic life traditionally conceived as all the rest, remains the preoccupation of pundits who know very little and care still less about the actual state of American higher educationeducation here meaning not making students party to grunts and belches of white nationalists and contemporary phrenologists, but teaching, studying, research, and yes, debate amongst credentialed peers and students being trained in academic discourse. In his column on Robert Zimmer, Bret Stephens argued that free speech is our salvation from intellectual mediocrity. Really, one could do considerably worse, in crafting a picture of intellectual mediocrity, than sketching the puffy visage of Steve Bannon, a man whose primary accomplishment has been his work elevating a reality television star to leadership of the free world. Whatever else is happening to the university administratively, Chicago is still an institution that employs some of the best professors, lecturers, researchers, and former professionals in the world. Bannons last conceptual heavy lift was devising a cockamamie conspiracy theory to defend a pedophile running for United States Senate. A more politically correct university might have questioned the prudence of publicly welcoming events that could draw a far-right element looking to fight with protesters or seeking recruits to their cause. Of course, Bannon and his former site Breitbart are best known as entry points into the ideology of the alt-right, whose missionaries have been stepping up efforts to recruit new followers on campus. A recent report by the Anti-Defamation League found that white supremacist propaganda had been distributed at 216 colleges between September 2016 and January 2018. In December 2016, University of Chicago officials announced that neo-Nazi stickers had been found on campus at locations including the Center for Identity and Inclusion, a meeting place for minority and LGBT students. A few days later, the group Atomwaffen Division claimed that it had visited and placed the stickers on campus. The group has, in recent months, been connected to five murders and a planned bombing. A more politically correct university might have, in light of this, questioned the prudence of publicly welcoming events that could draw a far-right element looking to fight with protesters or seeking recruits to their causelike a Richard Spencer gig or, with Bannon, an appearance from a man whose primary contribution to American political discourse has been the promotion of a kind of soft-focus white nationalism. But the University of Chicago has clearly risen above such concerns. In January, Zimmer reiterated his opinion on allowing Spencer and speakers like him to come to the university, during a CBS Sunday Morning segment on political correctness that aired just days before the Bannon invitation was announced. Part of the way we operate is that were a place where theres constant open discourse, constant expression, constant argument, he said. In a statement about the Bannon event, the university has declared it will uphold the values of academic freedom, the free expression of ideas, and the ability of faculty and students to invite the speakers of their choice. The show must go on. It appears that Elon Musk has deleted Facebook pages for Tesla and SpaceX after a series of bizarre exchanges on Twitter. On Friday morning, Musk took to Twitter to comment on article from The Verge about Sonos removing its ads from Facebook and other platforms for a week in response to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Wow, a whole week. Risky ... Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 23, 2018 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He subsequently turned his attention to a tweet from Brian Acton, the tech entrepreneur who sold his messaging service WhatsApp to Facebook for $19 billion in 2014. Acton made news this week when he tweeted to his followers that they should delete Facebook. Musk responded to Actons tweet with feigned ignorance: Whats Facebook? Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 23, 2018 Advertisement When a user then dared Musk to delete the SpaceX Facebook page, Musk claimed that he didnt even know his company had a Facebook page and agreed to get rid of it. I didnt realize there was one. Will do. Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 23, 2018 Advertisement Advertisement As captured in a screenshot by Buzzfeed journalist Ryan Mac, Musk looks to have removed the Tesla and SpaceX pages within half an hour. Advertisement While it looks like that the company pages havent been fully deleted, there has been a #DeleteFacebook movement on Twitter from users who are indignant that data firm Cambridge Analytica was able to deceptively collect info from more than 50 million Facebook accounts. Craigslists personals section was one of the last bastions of the old, weird, Wild West Web 1.0, and as of Thursday it is no more. The online marketplace abruptly shut down the section after Congress passed FOSTA, or the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex and Trafficking Act of 2017, a law that shifts responsibility for potentially criminal interactions from individual users to the platform hosting the content. The ostensible purpose of FOSTA is to combat sex trafficking, but free speech advocacy organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation have voiced concerns about the laws implications. Advertisement Visiting the sites personals section now redirects to a short note: US Congress just passed HR 1865, FOSTA, seeking to subject websites to criminal and civil liability when third parties (users) misuse online personals unlawfully. Any tool or service can be misused. We cant take such risk without jeopardizing all our other services, so we are regretfully taking craigslist personals offline. Hopefully we can bring them back some day. To the millions of spouses, partners, and couples who met through craigslist, we wish you every happiness! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rather than apply the ban to Missed Connections, the personals board for people to reconnect with or find people they met in person but didnt speak to or get contact information for, Craigslist has for now moved it to the sites Community section. Early signs indicate that some of the personals activity has transferred over to Missed Connections, at least until Craigslist tries to crack down on it. Advertisement so CL missed connections is still up, under the "community" section. the difference in posts right before and after personals went down, lol pic.twitter.com/xiLOBD6c0S Samantha Cole (@samleecole) March 23, 2018 Craiglists impulse not to throw out the Missed Connections baby with the personals bathwater probably owes to the Missed Connections stature as an online institution, one thats also become a fixture of urban life. Missed Connections have inspired love stories, but also art, poetry, comedy, data analysis, and more. Advertisement Advertisement In contrast to sweet, relatively innocent Missed Connections, the rest of the Craigslist personals section had a reputation too, but it was a more sordid one. If your parents ever worried about you trying online dating, it was probably because they read one too many stories about people getting murdered by people they met on Craigslist. But, this, too, can tell us something about the personals sections significance in online culture. It was a bridge between the time the internet was a scary place, full of anonymous strangers and on the fringes of society, to now, when the internet is central to so much of what we do, so much so that the thought that a young person today would look for connections without the aid of the internet is preposterous. But just because more sophisticated apps and websites have emerged to take some of the fear out of meeting people online doesnt mean that Craigslist personals were obsolete or had no place on todays web. Indeed, they were still being posted and responded to right up until the shutdown. The personal ad has a long history that didnt begin with Craigslistand it wont end with it either. As Facebook continues to clean up the fallout of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, its become clearer and clearer to users and policymakers alike that the company probably cant be trusted to regulate itself. Though in multiple interviews on Wednesday Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said hes open to the idea of some form of regulation, by the looks of it, the company hasnt always adhered to the federal rules it was already supposed to be following. For example: According to a consent decree issued by the Federal Trade Commission in 2011, Facebook was required to get permission from users before accessing private data about them beyond what theyve explicitly agreed to, yet for years the company allowed thousands of developers to not only collect data from people who downloaded their Facebook apps but also data on all of their friends. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats how Aleksandr Kogan, a professor contracting for the political-data firm Cambridge Analytica, was able to collect data on more than 50 million Facebook users even though only 270,000 people actually downloaded his Facebook app, a personality quiz called thisisyourdigitallife. Facebook changed its policy in 2014 to prevent developers from gathering data on the friends of people who downloaded their Facebook quizzes or games, but by that time, according to Sandy Parakilas, a whistleblower who used to work on Facebooks app security team and spoke to the Guardian earlier this week, its possible that hundreds of millions of peoples data could have been swept up by app developers without their consent. Facebook could face up to $40,000 per violation, and the FTC is currently investigating whether the company broke the rules. Advertisement So, stipulated: Facebooks record of adhering to old regulations is troubled enough that we should be skeptical of its enthusiasm for adhering to new ones. But what kinds of regulations are called for to rein in a company that collects and profits off of the data of 2.2 billion people? And how can the officials crafting them ensure that they work? Advertisement Lets start with a comprehensive internet-privacy law, which the U.S. does not have. We need a privacy bill of rights that we pass through Congress, Sen. Ed Markey told NPR on Thursday, stressing that it should guarantee that every American know when information is being gathered about them, know when that information is being used other than how the consumer wanted it to be used, and third, and most importantly, they have a right to say no. Even if Congress did pass such a thing, its not clear how it would be enforced. In Europe, however, we may have soon have a road map. Advertisement Advertisement By May 25, tech companies operating in the European Union will have to adhere to a new set of data-collection laws, the General Data Protection Regulation, which is supposed to ensure that users are able to consent to the data thats being collected about them and that companies are clear about how that data is used. Tech companies are also supposed to provide consumers with the ability to access the data that companies have on them, allow users to correct personal information deduced by companies that may be inaccurate, and limit how algorithms will be allowed to process their data, in addition to other provisions intended to protect internet users in the EU. Advertisement Considering Facebook spent more on federal lobbying last year than in any year in the companys historyand Google, which also would likely be affected by such a federal online privacy law, spent more money on lobbying than any other company in the U.S.a privacy law similar to the European regulations would face a steep climb. If internet companies dont comply to the new suite of European data policies, they could face steep fines, which can go as high as $24.8 million or 4 percent of a companys annual global revenue, whichever is higher. For a company as big as Facebook, violations of EU privacy laws could cost the company billions, so its safe to assume internet firms wont want to risk similar consequences in the U.S. Advertisement When you buy something from Amazon, should Amazon get to install permanent cookies that travel with you all over the web? University of Maryland law professor Danielle Citron But short of a comprehensive privacy law, there are important, narrower actions Congress could take that would go a long way toward ensuring that the data that we all inadvertently create and is collected about us is less likely to be used in ways we never anticipated or consented to in the future. Advertisement One place where we could start would be with a uniform and robust data breach notification standard thats not watered down and has penalties, said Danielle Citron, a law professor at the University of Maryland who specializes in internet privacy and free speech online. Such a law would require that consumers and the government be swiftly alerted when their data has been stolen in a hack or landed somewhere without users consent. Citron emphasized that any new data breach law shouldnt be weaker than current state data breach notification laws, since any new federal requirements would likely pre-empt them. Laws vary from state to state, but most require private companies and government agencies that experience a security breach that includes any personally identifiable information to notify those affected within some set amount of time. Penalties would be important here, too. If you make companies liable in some way and they have to internalize some of the costs, Citron said, theyre going to take security more seriously. Advertisement Advertisement Even though Facebooks spillage wasnt technically a breachthe data went out Facebooks front door and there wasnt a security vulnerability that was exploitedthe end result is the same: Tens of millions of Facebook users data ended up in a place it wasnt supposed to. So lawmakers might be well-advised to include provisions that force companies to keep any data they collect and share with third parties on a tighter leash. They could start, for example, by establishing federal standards that limit what data companies are reasonably allowed to collect about their users in the first place and make that explicit to consumers. When you take a quiz to determine whether you are more like Princess Leia or Chewbacca, its not reasonable to also take your friends list, Citron said. When you buy something from Amazon, should Amazon get to install permanent cookies that travel with you all over the web? she asked. We collect data like gluttons, and then we overshare it. Facebook has since changed its broadly permissive developer data-sharing policies to no longer include information about users friends who didnt download the app, but without a set of federal guidelines that specify some reasonable standard, theres nothing stopping the company from, say, giving app developers your location or email address when theres absolutely no reason for them to have it. In fact, Zuckerberg even said on Wednesday in a statement intended to assuage concerns over the Cambridge Analytica controversy that hes instituting a new set of policies to limit what developers can collect on Facebook users to just peoples photo, name, and email address. But theres nothing to stop the company from adjusting that policy in the future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Federal Trade Commission, which is supposed to act as a consumer protection watchdog, could also do more to proactively investigate how well companies are protecting consumers, according to Ryan Calo, a law professor at the University of Washington who specializes in online privacy. The FTC has the authority to really look behind the digital veil and figure out what these companies are doing, but the FTC really doesnt do that, said Calo. And when the agency does find a problem, they could issue fines and pass consent decrees, like the one that Facebook might be in violation of. Laws arent easy to pass and pressuring the FTC to use the full extent of its oversight authority may well be a faster avenue toward regulating companies in the business of overbroad data collection, like Facebook. Advertisement Still, Zuckerberg did say that he wasnt flat-out opposed to regulation, and he did gesture toward one existing bill in his interview with Wired on Wednesday, the Honest Ads Act, which would require online political ads to follow the same disclosure rules that political ads on radio and television do by including information in the ad about who paid for it; Zuckerberg also said that he doesnt expect the bill to pass. Besides, he said, Facebook is taking steps around political-ad disclosure anyway. In addition to being a sly pitch for Facebook to regulate itself without more federal oversight, it was also an altogether different (albeit important) issue from the one highlighted by the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which the company hemorrhaged data on tens of millions of users. Advertisement Advertisement If Zuckerberg is really open to more government oversight and enforcement, though, and doesnt plan to push back hard against whatever Congress or federal regulators have planned, then he should agree, unequivocally, to the growing chorus of legislators asking him to testify to Congress. Instead, Zuckerberg told Wired that hed only do it if hes the most informed person at Facebook in the best position towhich isnt exactly a yes. If Zuckerberg cant even commit to a symbolic act to demonstrate his company is putting its users privacy first, are we really sure hell commit to any legally binding ones? Read more from Slate on Cambridge Analytica. The first great extinction crisis in the United States was the fall of the passenger pigeon, the last of whom, a bird named Martha, died at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914. There had really been nothing special about the passenger pigeon prior to about 1900; on the contrary, the pigeon had recently been as common a bird as we had in America. Many people held memories of its abundance, and the sentiment on Marthas passing was less mourning for the bird than astonishment at its rapid decline. John James Audubon had described the great flocks by their sound, a noise like a hard gale at sea passing through a ships rigging. When they landed, flapping their wings to alight, the sound was like distant thunder. The magazine Field and Stream wrote of Marthas death, Millions and millions, reduced to one and now naught but history. Americans remembered shooting into clouds of passenger pigeons so thick that a town could eat for weeks on the spoils. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Charismatic beasts and rain forests command attention; fisheries, flocks, and permafrost have more difficulty capturing the imagination. Then they were gone. The conscience balm has always been, They will be ever common, wrote the Cornell biologist Albert Hazen Wright at the time. The extinction was a reckoning on mankinds destructive power. The attention paid to Martha, who was stuffed and now lives in a box at the Smithsonian Institution, showed how an ecological crisis could capture Americans imaginationsregardless of the creatures particular statureif the path of change were impossible to ignore. But it now resonates in a different way, as the first of several extinction crises that have drawn our attention to a particular animal with a human name. Every extinction needs a good character. Take Sudan, the 45-year-old northern white rhino whose sexual prowess took a precipitous dive toward the end of his life. The last male of his subspecies, his plight has drawn international attention to rhinoceros conservation. When Sudan died at a conservancy in Kenya on Monday, it was trending on Facebook by Tuesday morning. He was the face of his species. Advertisement We watch for extinctions like those with the thought that, like Noah, we only need two of each species to preserve biodiversity assembled over millions of years. In the meantime, though, animals and plants are rapidly declining all around us. The Living Planet Index, which monitors more than 14,000 populations of 3,706 species of vertebrates, reports that populations fell by 58 percent on average from 19702012. On land, habitat loss is the greatest culprit: Mangroves, to take one example, are estimated to have lost as much as 35 percent of their mass since just the 1990s. Its a much more serious crisis than generally acknowledged, especially compared to its lamented endpoint, extinction. This is not to fault the environmental movement. Our focus on preserving pairs for our ark represents a hopeful impulse that jibes with an understandable preference: Charismatic beasts (and eye-catching landscapes) command more attention than the faceless fisheries, flocks, and permafrost that are quietly disappearing. We are paralyzed in the face of this crisis of abundance because its something we dont see, not in the way our ancestors could see the decline of the passenger pigeon. Fixing it will require a new way of looking. Advertisement Advertisement I called Billy from the back of the sept-places, one of the thousands of station-wagon taxis that ply intercity routes in Senegal, to say that we were getting into Toubacouta. Wed arranged a room at his guesthouse just the night before. The late notice was typical for us, and apparently no problem for him. Toubacouta sits on the southern edge of the Sine-Saloum delta, a 700-square-mile mangrove forest where the Sine and Saloum rivers meet the Atlantic near Africas westernmost point. The town is a base for delta tourism. There are backpacker hostels and fancy hotels. It is sandwiched between a highway and a harboron the latter end is a mud beach where fishing boats take visitors into the mangroves. Advertisement Advertisement Billy showed up in a gray Mitsubishi to drive us into town. Keur Billy was a little walled compound with a handful of single-room structuresa guesthouse with our bedroom, the building where Billy and his wife slept, a kitchenclustered around a stagnant swimming pool. Apologizing, Billy told us he didnt keep the pool up. He had few guests. Keur Billy, which he had built a few years ago as a business venture, was empty most of the time. Hed opened it up for us for the night. The Senegalese will tell you the Sine-Saloum is a jewel. Its a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is one of the best places in West Africa to fish. But a decade after it got the Times travel-section treatment, for a handful of luxe beach resorts that had opened on the delta perimeter, the Sine-Saloum still draws few visitors. Too few, Billy would say. Advertisement How impossibly lucky we were to have clouds of monarch butterflies drift through our backyardsand how incomprehensible that their numbers have fallen by 90 percent in just two decades. The Sine-Saloum is a landscape of abundance. I could feel this as we boarded a pirogue and motored into the delta the next day. My eyes, camera-trained to see beauty as a still slice of space in time, were not prepared for this kind of spectacle. At first I sat in the prow, peering into the landscape, looking for I dont know. Parrots? But soon I realized I had to change my approach. Just as your eyes need to recalibrate to see in a darkened room, seeing the sublime monotony of abundance requires a patient, elongated gaze. Topography was visible only through clusters of baobabs marking higher ground; distance measured by the little nubs of green coastline, one after another like false peaks, marking by their receding size the contours of the strait. The undifferentiated mass of water took shape as the presence of herons, martins, egrets, and pelicans delineated sand bars. This is what hundreds of square miles of mangroves looks like; they stretch as far as they eye can see, as the cliche goes, but the eye cant see far because the landscape is so flat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The monotony was my problem, not the Sine-Saloums. The delta is awe-inspiring, but not stimulating. It doesnt photograph well. Its scalethe thing that makes it both impressive, distinctive, and valuable as a habitat for 200 species of birds and 100 species of mollusksis almost impossible to perceive in one glance. Its majesty does not translate into human terms. Like many such places, it is undervalued. That the serpentine paths of the Sine-Saloum, walled in by endless mangrove trees, continuous green leaves, and blue water, are less alluring than a safari peppered with zoolike concentrations of megafauna may seem obvious. The comparison deftly illustrates a broader taste: We value diversity over abundance. This manifests in both what we think is worth looking at and in what we think is worth preserving. Advertisement One problem we have with abundance is that were not very good with numbers, and the larger the numbers get, the more trouble we have telling the difference between them. Perhaps its this, environmental journalist Michael McCarthy posits in his book The Moth Snowstorm, that explains how the Great Thinning has gone largely unnoticed. McCarthys book is an ode to abundance for its own sake, its title derived from his childhood memory of driving at night through clouds of insects. Entomologists refer to this as the windshield phenomenon, an experience McCarthy believes is increasingly rare. Advertisement Advertisement His instinct appears to be correct. British bug researchers have recorded dramatic declines in the weight of bugs getting caught in traps. In Germany, researchers using similar traps reported in October that insect populations have declined by 75 percent in the past 25 years. Fewer bugs means less food for songbirds, whose populations have also collapsed. Twenty-four common land-bird species in North America have lost 5090 percent of their population since 1970. The numbers are similar for other bird species in other parts of the world. For fish, the situation is even more ominous. We removed two-thirds of the biomass of predatory fish from the ocean in the 20th century, mostly since the 1970s. New estimates reveal that fisheries, ruined by overfishing, have been in decline for much longer than we thought. Advertisement Advertisement Before species disappear from the earth entirely, they disappear from a particular segment of the map. These local extinctions, called extirpations, do not make as many headlines. But they are naturally much more common than extinctions, and happening rapidly, as a recent study by researchers in Mexico and California highlights. They sampled 177 mammal species from across the five continents, finding that most had lost more than 40 percent of their geographic range compared to historical norms. Almost half had their territory reduced by more than 80 percent. A third of all land-based vertebrates are in decline. Giraffe counts may have fallen by as much as 40 percent since the 1980s; savanna elephants by 30 percent. Extirpations can have tremendous ripple effects on local ecosystems, as the departure of wolves from Yellowstone National Parkand their subsequent reintroductionhas demonstrated. Species can be revived from tiny numbersyour grandparents probably never saw a deer growing upbut the Noahs Ark fantasy that you just need two is challenged by the extraordinary effort we have spent reviving species like the California condor. Advertisement Advertisement Extinctions hurt, but the decline in populations induces its own sorrow. There are places you can go to assuage this pain, if abundance is your thing and money no object: distant Alaskan rivers where theres nothing to see but salmon leaping upstream, or the microclimates of the Patagonian Andes, where whole valleys are carpeted with tiny-leafed beech trees, some of them hundreds of years old. That majesty could once be found closer to home. How impossibly lucky we were to have clouds of monarch butterflies drift through our backyards. Their numbers have fallen by 90 percent in just two decades. Nineteenth-century accounts of California tree branches drooping and snapping under the weight of butterflies now seem far-fetched. Advertisement Advertisement The slow sadness of the thinning goes down easier than the tragedy of extinction. That it took so many generations for light pollution to wash the stars from the night sky puts the loss a little beyond the power of human memory. If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore! Emerson observed. Or, as Neil Young put it, its better, for recognitions sake, to burn out than to fade away. Advertisement There are technical reasons to care about thinning. Colony collapse disorder, a crisis in honeybee populations that seems to have abated in recent years, and the melting of the polar ice caps are two crises of abundance whose perceived seriousness is fueled by a sense of interconnection, the ominous sense of a looming natural domino effect. The early, technocratic stirrings of American conservation policy were similarly motivated by a sense that the decline in the continents massive numbers of moose, deer, and salmon might combine to make Americans less prosperous. Advertisement There is also logic for being less concerned by an enormous bird population falling by half than by a much smaller population dwindling to almost zero. Bigger populations can more easily recoverhoneybee numbers, for example, seem to have stabilized after the crisis of colony collapse disorder. In species that reproduce more quickly than we do, sharp declines dont have to always be cause for concern. But, I think, a greater appreciation of abundance could help the environmental movement, displacing activism from distant rural fights over government land and putting it at the heart of daily life, especially urban life. (Two forces that devastate bird populations, for example, are house cats and glass-walled skyscrapers.) Urbanites have the most to gain from the replenishment of once-common plants and animals. Abundance doesnt have to be an African mangrove forest. It is flocks of geese, and butterflies, and the oysters that once thronged New York Harbor. Its clouds of migratory birds bringing commuters to a standstill in the streets of Washington or Houston. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the edge of the Sine-Saloum, the monoculture is broken down by the cellphone towers, minarets, and salt ships that mark the limits of human civilization. These margins are what to watch when the thing itselfbe it a fishery, a forest, or a cloud of moths in the headlightsfeels so full from the inside. There are fishermen on the delta, men with nets casting for fish, and women who moor their pirogues at a parting of the mangroves. We saw their whelks on the beach in Djifer, where the petoncles shells rattle in the waves, but the nets wash up in tangles of neon green with catches of plastic and Styrofoam and diapers. In her book The Triumph of Human Empire, the historian Rosalind Williams writes about moments when humans slow, imperceptible dominance over nature is recognized. Even slow changes may quite suddenly crystallize into events of consciousness, when individuals recognize the extent and significance of human domination of the planet, she writes. Outrage grows from personal familiarity. It did with Martha. These days, most of us cannot even recognize the scale that weve already lost. Federal research on gun violence has been effectively impossible for longer than Ive been alive. In the past 22 years, weve had 669,721 firearm deaths and countless other incidents that left largely invisible survivors struggling to heal and adapt to their new reality. But if the omnibus spending bill now waiting on the Senate floor passes, the government may finally renew its support for studies on the subject, with implications for both public health and gun policy. Advertisement How did we end up with this federal funding freeze, and why has it stayed in place for so long? Until 1996, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sponsored high-caliber research into the causes and consequences of gun violence. The NRA didnt like what those studies foundnamely, that having a gun at home increased your risk of death by both homicide and suicideand Rep. Jay Dickey of Arkansas, the associations self-described point man during his eight years in Congress, took steps to ensure that such anti-gun science wouldnt be supported by the government going forward. The so-called Dickey Amendment forbade the CDC from allocating funds to advocate or promote gun control. The spending bill it was attached to cut the agencys budget by $2.6 million, the exact amount it had previously devoted to studies in that area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ban was never explicit, but the message was clear, and the chilling effect was immediate. While only the CDC was directly affected at first, the National Institutes of Health became bound by the amendment following the Consolidated Appropriations Act, signed into law 2011. Most scientists were already wary of addressing such a political topic by that point, anyway. Private foundations were unable to pick up the slack, and most eventually stopped trying. As of 2012, there were just a handful of private funding bodies remaining in the field. Its been hard for researchers to advocate against the policymany who have spoken up have been punished for their efforts. Mark Rosenberg, who was the director of the CDCs National Center for Injury Prevention and Control in 1996, was one such advocate, and battled Dickey over the amendment. He was fired in 1999, shortly after trying and failing to find a loophole in the legislation. Rosenberg had previously called for studies that would allow us to revolutionize the way we look at guns, like what we did with cigarettes, dulling their glamor with hard facts. But the CDC hasnt funded a single firearm study since. Today, in relation to mortality rates, gun violence is the least-researched of the 30 leading causes of death in America by a substantial margin. Advertisement Advertisement After their showdown, however, Dickey and Rosenberg forged an unexpected friendship. Their lengthy conversations and the sheer number of mass shootings that followedthere have been 77 since 1996led Dickey to change his mind. In 2012, shortly after the Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting, the men co-authored an op-ed in the Washington Post, writing, Like motor vehicle injuries, violence exists in a cause-and-effect world; things happen for predictable reasons. By studying the causes of a tragicbut not senselessevent, we can help prevent another. Advertisement As David Stark notes in a 2017 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, motor vehicle injuries are a particularly salient point of comparison. Between 2004 and 2015, the mortality rates for vehicular accidents and gun violence were very similar, at 12.3 vs. 10.4 per 100,000 people respectivelyyet research into the former received nearly 20 times as much funding as the latter. Crucially, that funding has had tangible results: Motor vehicle deaths have fallen sharply, largely due to public health and safety measures resulting from research into the causes of and contributors to motor vehicle deaths. Advertisement This gap in our knowledge is preventing us from making similar strides with respect to guns. As Jeremy Samuel Faust argued convincingly in Slate, forcing doctors and first responders to improvise based on anecdotes from the last mass shooting or comparable catastrophe is no way to prevent deaths and minimize harm to the survivors. But since the Dickey Amendment was passed, the lessons gleaned piecemeal from prior incidents are virtually all theyve had to go on. Advertisement Beyond immediate, much-needed protocols for responding to shootings when they occur, the lack of formalized findings has also allowed lawmakers and lobbyists to assert that we just dont know whether proposed preventative measures work, rendering the gun control debate frustratingly abstract. As things stand, its the right to bear arms versus decades-old or nonexistent data. Expressly enabling research into gun violence will help us discover what common-sense preventative measures should actually entail, and perhaps uncover less intuitive ways of saving lives in the process. Advertisement While the omnibus package includes a revision of the amendment rather than a full repeal, its a necessary startand one with some bipartisan support, meaning it could succeed where President Obamas executive order failed when Congress continued to block funding. If it does, well no longer have to draw sweeping conclusions from just a handful of studies and can instead make informed decisions about how best to prevent gun violence and minimize the fallout where it does occur. Lets hope researchers and politicians have the courage to commit to seeking answers and acting on them. On Sunday night, a self-driving Uber struck and killed a pedestrian in Arizona. This appears to be the first fatality in which a self-driving car was involved. The facts of the case remain unclear, and interpretation of the events will likely change as the local authorities and the National Transportation Safety Board investigate. And while a tremendous amount of ink had already been spilled about the looming ethical challenges of autonomous vehiclesboth in academia and public forathis case ultimately might not help us settle the burning issues that surround this new technology. Heres what we know. Advertisement The pedestrian, Elaine Herzberg, was struck by Ubers Volvo XC90 SUV as she attempted to cross a street in Tempe, Arizona. While the Tempe police have made no conclusions about who is at fault, video footage of the crash shows Herzberg attempting to cross the street with a bike, outside of a protected crosswalk, about 10 p.m. The Uber vehicle had a safety drivera human in the driver seatwho is supposed to take control in the event of an emergency. It appears the driver was looking down and only realized what was happening when she heard the sound of the impact. Tempe Police Chief Sylvia Moir stated, Its very clear it would have been difficult to avoid this collision in any kind of mode. Nevertheless, Uber has suspended its testing of self-driving cars throughout North Americain Arizona, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Toronto. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So what does this mean for the testing and rollout of self-driving vehicles? Will states like Arizona, which serves as the anarchic frontier of self-driving regulations since the governor issued an executive order on the testing of self-driving cars, apply the brakes and tighten regulations? Is self-driving technology, even in beta mode, not yet ready for prime time? Many discussing the Uber crash have reiterated familiar worries about the safety of self-driving vehicles. Thats an important topic, one that needs debate. But an even greater risk is that, when considering these questions, we might lose sight of one of the major projected benefits of self-driving cars: that they are expected to ultimately save lives of tens of thousands of drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. Advertisement Perhaps a better question than Are self-driving cars safe? is Should we blame an autonomous vehicle more than we would a human driver in a similar case? Autonomous vehicles are supposed to be safer than human driversthis has been sold to us as their principal benefit. Given that, isnt it only fair to hold AVs to higher standards than humans? If that were true, we might think this crash is actually worse than if it had been the result of a human driver. Advertisement For example, imagine you are walking along a sidewalk when you see a stranger clutch his chest and keel over. You stoop down to perform CPR. Now, in this situation, if you are a trained physician, a bystander would reasonably demand more of you, precisely because of your greater capacities. If you fail to revive this person, you have done something that is less easily excused than if someone else with no medical training had failed in the same task. What it is reasonable to blame someone for is proportionate to what we could have expected of her, and what we can expect of someone is proportionate to her capacities. Advertisement Advertisement The manufacturers of autonomous vehicles may find themselves in an analogous situation: Because they have trumpeted the safety benefits of autonomous vehicles, they have dramatically raised the publics expectations. While autonomous vehicles can be expected to lower the number of traffic fatalities greatly, we might also view the harms and deaths they will inevitably cause as worse than those caused by human drivers. How much worse will be a matter of debate. But we are stuck in a Catch-22 for the time being, and the public seems to want it both ways: Autonomous vehicles will be superior to human drivers, despite the deaths they may cause, at the same time that each particular self-driving car crash is worse. Advertisement Advertisement How good is good enough when bringing autonomous vehicles onto the road? However, the Uber fatality probably cannot help us answer the most urgent and compelling ethical questions that have haunted discussions of autonomous vehicles: the question of responsibility for harms or deaths. Similar worries confound the development of all systems that act so autonomously that they take a human out of the loop for decisions that could cause harm. In legal circles, they say that bad facts make bad law: A precedent built on facts that are not favorable to begin with is not going to be useful. This particular crash provides an imperfect test case. Judging from early reports, with the caveat that the investigation is still ongoing, it seems that the pedestrian was at fault and that it would have been nearly impossible for any driverhuman or machineto prevent this accident. (Some things are simply ruled out by the laws of physics.) Advertisement Finally, there was a human in the car monitoring the cars activity, so the blame would not fall to the machine itself or the creators of its algorithmic programming. Manufacturers, the public, and regulators still await what would be the true test case of the ethics of autonomous vehicles: an empty car in full autonomous mode striking a pedestrian who is in no way at fault, especially if a human driver could have been expected to avoid causing that harm. The slim solace that this tragic accident brings is that it presents the opportunity to have a full and open debate about the appropriate standards for blame in the event of such accidents. Doing so can help us shed some light on just how good is good enough when bringing autonomous vehicles onto the road. Unfortunately, this may turn out to be a case of what the Uber crash doesnt tell us. As a cybersecurity professor, I follow a lot of breach stories, but few hit quite as close to home for me as the indictment that the Department of Justice announced Friday charging nine Iranians with compromising thousands of computer accounts belonging to university professors. According to the indictment, the nine people chargedwith conspiracy to commit computer intrusions, wire fraud, unauthorized access of computers, and other crimesare affiliated with a company called the Mabna Institute, which conducted massive, coordinated cyber intrusions into the computer systems of 144 U.S. universities and another 176 foreign universities. Though the Mabna Institute is, ostensibly, a private company, the indictment alleges that it was directed to conduct these espionage efforts by the Iranian government, specifically the intelligence-gathering Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Advertisement Filing indictments against overseas hackers who work for foreign governments is nothing new for the U.S. government. In 2014, the DOJ brought charges against Chinese government employees for conducting cyberespionage, and just last month charges were announced against 13 Russians who allegedly helped interfere in the 2016 U.S. elections. What makes the Iranian indictment different is that the hacking being alleged centers almost entirely on university targets. (The Iranian indictment also says five U.S. government agencies and 36 private sector companies were compromised by the Mabna cohort, but the main focus seems to be on the much larger number of academic institutions targeted.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Foreign governments interest in university networks is a little surprising to those of us who work in academia. But the ease with which they access that information is all too expected. Unlike most private companies and some government agencies, universities do not typically design their computer systems to prioritize secrecy or security from the outside world. On the contrary, universities are intended to welcome and enable frequent collaboration, regular visitors, and informal international partnerships and communication. The idea that you would want to lock down a university networkmuch less the research being done on a university campusso that it would be inaccessible to anyone who doesnt work there is, in some sense, very much at odds with the entire ethos of higher education and academic research. Advertisement But reading through the charges laid out in the indictment, its clear that universities still have a ways to go in striking the right balance between being places of open collaboration and also maintaining a reasonably competent security posture. The nine Iranians charged by the DOJ allegedly sent targeted spear-phishing emails to some 100,000 university professors worldwide and succeeded in compromising the accounts of at least 7,998 of them. Of those, 3,768 were based in the U.S. Advertisement My parentsboth academics themselveswould be quick to point out that there is nothing of any conceivable interest or value to anyone in their email inboxes, so its worth considering what the hackers actually did with the thousands of login credentials they stole. According to the indictment, they aggressively searched for and exfiltrated academic data and intellectual property totaling some 31.5 terabytes. This data included, among other things, academic journals, theses, dissertations and electronic books. And according to the DOJ estimate, that stolen data cost the affected United States-based universities at least approximately $3.4 billion dollars to procure and access. Without wanting to downplay the intrusions, I would strongly urge you to disregard that number as entirely meaningless. I can only guess its a rough summation of every database subscription fee, research grant, graduate student scholarship, and salary payment that went into each stolen paper or project. To treat it as a meaningful estimate of the economic harm or losses imposed by these incidents would be absurd. Advertisement Advertisement How exactly all of this illicit access to academic journals and theses ties back to the Iranian government is a little hazy. The indictment alleges that the stolen data, as well as access to compromised university accounts, was used to benefit the IRGC and other Iranian customers, including Iran-based universities. But the only concrete examples the DOJ offers of what was done with the stolen data are its resale through two websites, Megapaper.ir and Gigapaper.ir. The former site sold stolen academic resources to customers within Iran while the latter sold a service to customers within Iran whereby purchasing customers could use compromised university professor accounts to directly access the online library systems of particular United States-based and foreign universities. Of course, its entirely possible there were also more serious consequences of this stolen research related to information about national security, say, or design of new weaponsbut thats purely speculation at this point. The only clue the indictment offers about the content of the stolen data is that it spanned all fields of research and academic disciplines, including science and technology, engineering, social sciences, medical and other professional fields. Advertisement Advertisement Undoubtedly, when thousands of university professors are falling for spear-phishing emails and entering their credentials to fake login websites, we need to do a better job at thinking through the appropriate types of computer security for academic campuses. But some small part of me is a little bit touched by the idea that at the center of these massive, coordinated cyber intrusions were a lot of Iranian academics who wanted to be able to access online library databases. Sure, we need to do a better job defending university computer systemsbut we also, perhaps, need to do a better job of making finished research more widely and affordably available abroad so that people outside our universities dont feel the need to resort to such extreme and reprehensible tactics in order to access it. Several states are trying to pass their own respective versions of net neutrality rules after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in December of 2017 repealed a prior agency administrations mandate to impose them unilaterally. States Joining the Battle for Net Neutrality By trying to enact internet regulations, the various pending or embryonic legislative proposals would almost certainly create legal battles in local courts, and potentially higher tribunals. Many argue that since the internet or more specifically broadband and wireless connectivity crosses state lines, it is an interstate commerce issue. The Competitive Enterprise Institutes (CEI) Jessica Melugin wrote in February, its difficult to imagine an industry more obviously interstate than the Internet. FCC Commissioner Michael ORielly, a Republican, agrees, telling The Daily Caller News Foundation that when consumers visit a website or send an email, their data packets are generally not confined to a state, local, or other political boundary. Its fairly problematic. The FCC has ruled under Democrats and Republicans alike that broadband internet access is an inherently interstate offering, a Washington D.C.-based attorney with telecommunications expertise told TheDCNF. Thats the first pretty big roadblock under the commerce clause in the Constitution which regulates that area. The second hindrance for states, according to the lawyer, who is also a former FCC official, is that past FCC administrations of all political balances have said that state efforts to adopt requirements conflicting with the federal regime would be preempted. The 2015 order under [then-FCC] Chairman Tom Wheeler said that, and the current order said that as well, the legal expert continued. He asked to remain anonymous due to potential complications with his practice and clients. Even some of the more cute approaches that some states have taken having to do with state procurement, like requirements, those are also generally inconsistent with the law. FCC Chairman Ajit Pais office declined to provide insight into the situation, but did point to the preemption section of the 2017 final order, which apparently gives them authority to override states in this respect. Aside from potential legal issues with violating interstate commerce fluidity, ORielly believes states cannot technically create their own laws because it is impossible to set rules in New York or Montana, that will not impact every other state. A patchwork of state or local laws and/or restrictions will make it impossible for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to follow and this will affect the consumer experience, the commissioner continues. Ernesto Falcon, legislative counsel at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), an influential digital privacy rights group, says net neutrality supporters really had no choice. In the absence of federal protections, the state, local governments are really the only avenue that remains, Falcon told TheDCNF. A considerable portion of Congress is currently attempting to pass its own legislation, specifically a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that would undo the FCCs most recent nullification, and effectively re-enact the 2015 Open Internet Order. Fifty senators 47 Democrats, two Independents, and a lone Republican, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine have so far endorsed the legislative move, which some, like Falcon, assert is a legitimate attempt at positive reform (or perhaps more aptly a preservation of post-2015 internet policy). Others argue its just a cunning and not-so-subtle political maneuver meant to stoke fervor before the 2018 midterms since it likely wont pass all lawmaking steps. When asked about the CRA and if it will conflict with the states push, Falcon said these things move in tandem. You really cant control the organic nature of people, if you will. In terms of people, they expect results from their elected officials, Falcon continued. And many agree with that perception, just not with the states moving forward, but rather federal officials, so they can decisively end the bureaucratic back-and-forth that has been occurring as the FCC makeup changes concur with presidential administration changes. Fred Royal, president of the Milwaukee Chapter of the NAACP who also said that activists with fierce opposition to the undoing of internet regulations from 2015 are backed by the wealthiest companies in Silicon Valley contends that federal lawmakers, not states, need to take the lead. Congress must begin the work to pass a net neutrality law that clearly spells out the rules of the road: no blocking, no throttling and no unfair discrimination, Royal wrote in a USA Today op-ed. These rules should apply to all players in the Internet economy, instead of selectively applying them to just broadband providers. The broadband industry itself, for the most part, says the same. Congress should come together and pass bipartisan legislation, which is the best way to enshrine the principles of net neutrality, encourage investment and ensure an open internet continues to work for everyone, CTIA, the trade association representing many wireless communications corporations, said in a statement. AT&T, the worlds largest telecommunications company, expressed the need for an Internet Bill of Rights earlier in the year, a decision applauded by CTIA President and CEO Meredith Atwell Baker. Ferras Vinh of the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) supports strong net neutrality rules, but doesnt think companies like Google, Facebook, and Netflix (known as edge providers, which are entities that produce content or provide a service through the internet) should be treated the same when it comes to restrictions or what some call, consumer protections. While platforms can certainly facilitate communication online, ISPs serve as a gateway to the internet itself, says Vinh. With this in mind, its important to provide some form of protection or oversight to prevent ISPs from leveraging this position to harm consumers or competition between different platforms. (Both CDT and EFF receive funding from Google in some capacity, and EFF and the tech giant seem to have a sort of revolving door relationship). Not including edge providers when they have a lot of control over making the net neutral, in a somewhat different, but still important sense, isnt considered a smart prospect for all left-leaning parties. Everyone understands that the internet is the new town square our first stop for news, culture, work or access to the government. It must be protected and kept free and open for all, wrote Ev Ehrlich, the former U.S. undersecretary of commerce in then-President Bill Clintons administration. No one whether its a search engine, social media platform or internet provider should be allowed to line their pockets by blocking or censoring internet traffic or manipulating the flow of data to choke off competition. There have been other attempts at federal legislation besides the CRA, like Republican Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburns Open Internet Preservation Act, which so far seems to only have received limited, if not minimal, enthusiasm. Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana recently proposed his own bill rather than joining his one fellow party colleague, Collins, in support of the CRA something that drew the ire of the aforementioned activists supporting the CRA, which is a complete reversion to 2015-2017 FCC policy. GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is also considering, or already in the process of, creating his own legislation in an attempt to end the exhausting squabbling, a source with firsthand knowledge of prospective net neutrality bills told TheDCNF. Nevertheless, as Falcon noted, states are pushing ahead so they can ensure that something gets done in this respect forbidding and preventing unfair or restrictive actions even if some believe its not practical or legal. Practicality and legality, according to Vinh, depends on how the rules are applied. In many cases, its an unsettled legal question. The FCC included language in its repeal to preempt states and localities from implementing net neutrality protections, says Vinh. But states have chosen to pursue protections through different avenues. From a legal perspective, it appears likely that states can contract with ISPs to ensure that the service that they provide to the government complies with principles of net neutrality. The state of Washington is moving ahead regardless of ostensible operational or regulatory uncertainty. Earlier in March, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed the nations first state law aimed at safeguarding or locally bringing back the recently nixed net neutrality rules. Washington states new net neutrality law underscores what we all know: that a substantial majority of the public is in favor of net neutrality protections, Democratic FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn told TheDCNF. I commend Gov. Inslee and the Washington state legislature for listening to their constituents and ensuring that the citizens of Washington continue to experience a free and open internet. Washingtons attorney general is also joining 20 other state chief law enforcement officers in challenging the FCCs 2017 mandated repeal in court. We believe the FCC acted unlawfully when it gutted net neutrality, and I look forward to holding the FCC accountable to the rule of law, said Washington A.G. Bob Ferguson. The consensus on states legislative endeavors is, as many issues naturally are, divided, but not as clearly across party lines as it seems. The neutrality issue has a bipartisan pedigree going back to the landmark Telecommunications Act of 1996, which was championed by the Clinton administration, which I was a part of, said Ehrlich. But every law needs to evolve with the times Congress has the power to pass a permanent, strong net neutrality law today one that applies not just to the cable, telecom, mobile and satellite service providers, but the Big Tech monopoly platforms that dominate our lives and activities online. Ehrlich clarifies though that the CRA is not what he means by strong because that will leave the issue in the hands of the FCC rather than a substantive law that will genuinely fix the problem. He continues: Republished by permission. Original here. Robert Gilpin, R.I.P. - The Washington Post : His greatest book was written in 1981, but the main theory in it is perhaps more trenchant now... She faced Russian tanks in 1968. Today, she protests again There are no tanks pointing at us today, says Maria Homolkova, who joined protests in SNP Square once again in March 2018 to secure a better life for her grandchildren. Maria Homolkova was one of the tens of thousands who came to Bratislavas SNP Square to stand up for a better Slovakia this past month. She was surrounded by her family, as she carefully listened to everything the speakers on the stage said to the crowd. She was obviously much older than most of the protestors there. She walked slowly, with her husband at her side to support her. Oh, darling, I was always the first at the barricades, she told me after the protest ended. Later, I learnt she meant it as more than a mere figure of speech. The woman from the poster August 21st, 1968: The Warsaw Pact troops, led by the Soviet army, invaded Czechoslovakia to put an end to the period that later became known as the Prague Spring or communism with a human face represented by Alexander Dubcek. Maria Homolkova was 27 years old then. She took her 5-year-old son, Mario, to the SNP Square to join the many Bratislava citizens who came out that day. I stood in front of a tank, crying a lot and shouting at a soldier, she recalls. She asked the soldier, in Russian, why they came, still holding her son in her arms. This exact moment was captured by a photographer; the next day, Homolkova and her son appeared on posters. She looks out of the window as she speaks, pointing to the exact spot where she stood and where the tank barrel was. Its the kind of thing even 50 years cannot erase from ones memory. 23. Mar 2018 at 8:22 | Nina Hrabovska Francelova Thousands of people returned to the streets Though the main Bratislava protest was cancelled, people attended other gatherings, expressing their disagreement with the current situation. Despite cancelling the protest under the title For a Decent Slovakia in Bratislava, about 25,000 people returned to the streets of the capital to attend a silent march organised by university students on March 23. Under the slogan Nie Je Nam To Jedno (We Do Care), people walked from the Comenius Universitys building in Safarikovo Square to SNP Square, where they paid tribute to murdered journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee, Martina Kusnirova, and sang a state hymn. The students thanked the organisers of the For a Decent Slovakia protests. Despite a request to calmly go home, about 1,500 people marched to the parliament, voicing their disagreement with the new government while some called for the resignation of Police Corps President, Tibor Gaspar. The gatherings also took place in other towns and cities in Slovakia and abroad (see the list here). The attendance in Slovak towns and cities varied from several hundreds to a few thousands. Their organisers stressed that the changes to the new government are not enough. 23. Mar 2018 at 18:32 | Compiled by Spectator staff Slovak wines gain great success in Paris Slovak winemaking couple were rated among the best. Slovak wines were successful at the international competition Vinalies Internationales Paris, Dobre noviny wrote. Almost 3,500 wines from 47 countries were evaluated by 140 tasters during 5 days of degustation in Paris. Slovakia even has representation in one committee of tasters thanks to oenologist Edita Durcova, Dobre noviny reported. Slovakia brought a record number of wines to the competition. The Slovak wines were awarded with 81 medals - 19 gold and 62 silver, Dobre noviny wrote. However, the most successful one was Tokay Selection Essence, year 2000, from the winery with the longest tradition of Slovak Tokay, Ostrozovic, Dobre noviny reported. The biggest success in the history of the Ostrozovic company, is written on the Facebook page of the winery, founded by the Ostrozovic husband-wife team. 23. Mar 2018 at 20:11 | Compiled by Spectator staff 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 through Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Banking and Markets, and Global Wealth Management segments. 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 businesses and commercial customers, 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 Internet, mobile, and telephone banking services. The company operates a network of 952 branches and approximately 3,540 automated banking machines in Canada; and approximately 1,400 branches, 5,200 ATMs, and 22 contact centers internationally. The Bank of Nova Scotia was founded in 1832 and is headquartered in Halifax, Canada. Read More BCE Inc., a telecommunications and media company, provides wireless, wireline, Internet, and television (TV) services to residential, business, and wholesale customers in Canada. It operates through three segments: Bell Wireless, Bell Wireline, and Bell Media. The Bell Wireless segment offers wireless voice and data communications products and services. The Bell Wireline segment provides data, including Internet access and Internet protocol television; and local telephone, long distance, satellite TV service, and connectivity, as well as other communications services and products. This segment also buys and sells local telephone, long distance, data, and other services from or to resellers, and other carriers. The Bell Media segment provides conventional TV, specialty TV, pay TV, and streaming services; and digital media, radio broadcasting, out-of-home advertising services. It owns and operates approximately 35 conventional TV stations; 27 specialty and four Pay TV channels; 3 direct-to-consumer streaming services; 109 licensed radio stations; and websites. The company was formerly known as Bell Canada Enterprises Inc. BCE Inc. was founded in 1880 and is headquartered in Verdun, Canada. Read More Cabinet approves revision of the Agreement between India and Qatar for the avoidance of double taxationand for the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for revision of the Agreement betweenIndia and Qatar for the avoidance of double taxation and for the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income. The existing Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Qatar was signed on 7thApril, 1999 and came into force on 15thJanuary, 2000.The revised DTAA updates the provisions for exchange of information to latest standard, includes Limitation of Benefits provision to prevent treaty shopping and aligns other provisions with Indias recent treaties. The revised DTAA meets the minimum standards on treaty abuse under Action 6 and Mutual Agreement Procedure under Action 14 of G-20 OECD Base Erosion & Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project, in which India participated on an equal footing. (PIB) The English band "Editors" were back in Luxembourg for a show at the Rockhal on 21 March. Its a cold afternoon when RTL Today ventures to Belval. The type of cold that stabs at your gloveless finger tips and draws tears from your eyes freezing them onto reddened cheeks. Involuntary reactions to atmospheric conditions. Its the kind of afternoon that, you might say, sees smokers huddled together outside Rockhals entrance, never mind hospital doors. Like nicotine starved Penguins shuffling from foot to foot, theyre here to see a Birmingham 5-piece as derided as they are lauded in their native UK. Across Europe, though, Editors are a BIG DEAL. Public Service Broadcasting are first up on Wednesday evening however, a band that are quintessentially English in attire, if not in sound. Its no secret that this writer is a fully-fledged, badge wearing fan of all things PSB and an earlier interview with J. Willgoose Esq. is a particular treat. PSB are curious label mates (Play It Again Sam - PIAS) and indeed touring companions to Editors, used to playing headline shows in the UK, they know their place on the bill here and are intent on delivering a relatively no frills run through of their better-known repertoire. If that means three musicians cramming a whole load of instruments in a van with a modest budget and delivering a tightly wound set, so be it. Weaving in the visual aspects of their trademark archival footage paired with their beautifully constructed sonics, PSB do reach heights above nominal support act status. Highlights include, Go!, Gagarin, Spitfire, Progress and "a loud one" All Out, before closing the set with horns on the epic Everest. Minimal of fuss, maximum of sound. Full disclosure here, den Atelier hosted one of the very best nights in their history, back in November 2009. Then, Editors were riding a wave of commercial and critical success on the back of their third album In This Light And On This Evening. Support on the night came from Wintersleep and The Maccabees. Yes, you read correctly, The Maccabees. Each band was pure fire. It remains an enduring memory at a venue chock full of them. Editors have played Luxembourg twice more since then. Neither has matched that show. When this booking was first announced to be hosted at den Atelier tickets went like the clappers, selling out swiftly. Then, as had happened at many of the tours destinations, the venue was "upgraded" to one with a larger capacity. In this case, Rockhal. To say people were upset is putting it mildly. Many wanted the sweat, the smells, the I was there bragging rights. They wanted it how it used to be. They wanted to live that kind of night all over again. Times change. Bands move on. Editors Tom Smith is a rare kind of frontman. Offstage, hes unassuming, shy perhaps, fiercely intelligent, even a touch guarded and, for the most part at least, free of ego. When he steps out on stage, something magic happens. As he twists his lithe and wiry frame into shapes that a contortionist might sagely applaud he is undoubtedly the focal point of Editors live show. For all the complex patterns and layered guitars coming thick and fast from Edward Lay (Drums), Justin Lockey (Guitars), Elliot Williams (Guitars and Synths) and the ebullient Russel Leetch (Bass), Smith is the bands point of difference. And that voice! His voice is truly something to behold. During soundcheck RTL Today had the pleasure to see the band amble on stage, louchely pick up their instruments and throw out some of the more dynamic parts of the setlist. Like a sleep twitch, Toms baritone appears to be delivered with very little effort, at odds with the energy he transfers throughout tonights 22 song set list (see below). The latest LP, Violence, Editors 6th, was released a fortnight ago (9 March) leaving little time for some of the newer material to bed into a set that encompasses all the highlights of a very diverse back catalogue. Opening with the acoustic then industrial Hallelujah (So Low) and A Ton Of Love theres nary a pause for breath. Neither Smith nor the band do much by way of interaction, a couple of half-hearted handclaps draw as much enthusiasm as a fart in a biscuit tin. Things really get into swing though, via a run of crowd pleasers so rich that its enough to leave you dizzy: Blood follows Lights into Munich and then An End Has A Start. It really is quality stuff. The flip to this is that inevitably its tough to follow and maintain. Pockets of fans are spread out and burst into life when "insert their specific favourite track here" gets aired but as is so often the case, there are fair to many tag-alongs. The ilk that rock up to see some music at some venue and drink some booze, while talking some shit that no one wants to hear. Why is that these imbeciles always manage to be completely oblivious to anything but the bleating of their own banal ramblings remains a mystery. Ending the set proper with Sugar, The Racing Rats and Ocean of Night, the crowd bay for more. And, following the now pantomime-esque walk off stage and returning only moments later for an "encore" everyone knew was coming, the audience is treated to a further five cuts; an acoustic solo run through of No Sound But The Wind, Violences opening track Cold and lead single Magazine before an amped up Papillon and Marching Orders send the 2,200 fans off into the cruel crisp Esch night. As good as the show is, and it is a crowd-pleasing effort, there is however, that nagging little doubt, the one mentioned at the top of this article. For while Editors as a band, and as a brand, have far outgrown the smaller venues - their lavish set design requires humongous lighting rigs, in the cavernous concrete halls of Rockhal, the spectre of THAT 2009 show looms large. Joaquim Valente / RTL EDITORS PLAYED: Hallelujah (So Low) A Ton of Love Darkness at the Door Formaldehyde Violence No Harm Lights Blood Munich An End Has A Start In This Light and on This Evening Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool Nothingness Belong Sugar The Racing Rats Ocean of Night Encore: No Sound But the Wind (Tom solo) Cold Magazine Papillon Marching Orders For more on Public Service Broadcasting, please see our web interview here and for a collection of fan Vox Pops queuing up before the doors had even opened, click here. Everton track Porto's Marega for possible summer move | Friday, 23 March 2018 Updated A Bola claim that the 26-year-old is among the Blues' top targets for the upcoming transfer window. Over the past two seasons, Marega has scored 20 goals in 33 league appearances for FC Porto, and another 13 in 25 games on loan for Vitoria Guimaraes, attracting the attention of scouts from some of Europe's bigger leagues. Marega's agent has confirmed that Everton are among the clubs who have made contact with him with regard to his client. "It is true that there are early contacts with several English clubs, among them Everton, but no decision has been made," Aziz Ben Aissa is quoted as saying by A Bola. "And it will only be with the natural knowledge and consent of FC Porto. Anything else that comes after this will be speculation." Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer About these ads ToffeeWeb En espanol | From the desert to the mountains to the Gulf waters, this region offers something for everyone. Glenwood Springs, Colo. When the snow melts, fun in the sun heats up at many Southwest ski resorts. Glenwood Springs, a historic hot springs resort in the Rockies between Aspen and Vail, is one of the more unusual and wallet-friendly. Bathe away aches in whats billed as the worlds largest hot springs pool at Glenwood Hot Springs Resort (marking its 125th anniversary this year) or in one of the many springs around town. Go caving, fly-fish for trout in an ice-cold stream, enjoy massages and other spa treatments, and hike to crystal-clear Hanging Lake in Glenwood Canyon. You can stay at the resort, chain hotels or cozier places like the Best Kept Secret B&B. Note that an especially tasty time to visit is during the 120-year-old Strawberry Days Festival, the third weekend in June. Grand Canyon Railway, Arizona Avoid traffic tie-ups and sold-out lodgings by arriving at the Grand Canyons South Rim by train. Restored vintage cars leave in the morning from Williams, Ariz., about 30 miles west of Flagstaff, and return in the late afternoon. The trip takes two hours and 15 minutes each way. Onboard, photograph prairie and ponderosa pine, and expect the unexpected from performers in Wild West gear. Stay overnight in Williams at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, or leave your car there if youve scored a canyon booking. The train is suited for those with disabilities, offering power lifts at depots and ADA-compliant lavatories. Adults-only cars can be booked. If you have more time in Williams, explore a stretch of iconic Route 66 or drive through the Bearizona Wildlife Park. An upcoming mini harvest boosted trading in Indonesia coffee but slowed down demand for the beans in regional rival Vietnam, traders said on Thursday. Indonesia coffee trading this week has been increasing and is expected to be even more robust next month when its mini harvest season peaks, a trader said. "The volume will be better than last year, but our concern now is whether there's still a lot of rain. Too much rain will disturb the quality," said Moelyono Susilo, a trader at PT Taman Delta Indonesia. Susilo expects Indonesia's 2018 total coffee output to increase to around 11 to 11.5 million 60-kg bags, from 9.5 million bags in 2017. In rival Vietnam, the world's top robusta producer, farmers quoted beans at 37,500 dong ($1.65) a kilogram in Dak Lak province, the country's main coffee growing region, compared to 37,400-37,700 dong a week earlier, traders said. Vietnamese traders quoted the 5 percent black and broken grade 2 robusta at a discount of $50-$60 per tonne to the ICE May futures contract, stretching slightly from $40-$50 last week. But Vietnamese traders said the market has been slow as buyers eye harvests in Indonesia and Brazil, the world's top coffee producer. ($1 = 22,794 dong) Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The government of a coastal province in northeastern Vietnam announced on Thursday it would implement stringent measures aimed at suppressing the rise of zero-dollar tours tours offered to Chinese visitors at extraordinarily low prices. The Peoples Committee of Quang Ninh Province has officially ordered the department of tourism and several administrative bodies at more local levels to cooperate in their inspections of tourism companies, shops, and restaurants in the area. The administration also stated that strict punishments will be imposed on any company offering zero-dollar tour schemes. The move followed a punitive decision on March 20 by the committees inferior body, the Ha Long City Peoples Committee, to shut down a local tourist company operating the ultra-cheap tours. Zero-dollar tours, tours which charge only for airplane fares or are touted at extremely low prices, typically deliver adverse impacts on the domestic tourist climate. The scheme is designed so that Vietnamese businesses pay Chinese accomplices a set price, anywhere from US$5 to $31, for each visitor participating in the tour. To offset losses, the businesses take visitors to shops and restaurants built exclusively for Chinese tourists, and evade paying taxes. These specific shops and restaurants overcharge customers, sullying Vietnams image in the process. The government receives little revenue from this shady form of tourism. Most companies operating zero-dollar tours are headquartered outside Quang Ninh, creating serious obstacles for authorities attempting to mitigate the damage caused by irresponsible tour operators. During the first three months of 2018, nearly 310,000 inbound Chinese visitors flooded through Quang Ninhs Mong Cai Border Checkpoint, mostly to visit Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Quang Ninh administrations move comes in the wake of similar initiatives taken by other governments throughout Southeast Asia, including a move by Thailands government to clamp down on zero-dollar tours after recognizing the financial downfalls and illicit practices they create for the local tourism industry. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Warburg Pincus is finding new investment targets in the consumer, banking and logistics sectors of Vietnam as its economy grows and capital markets develop, said the regional head of the private equity firm which has committed over $1 billion in Vietnam. Its a market that we think theres a lot of opportunity in, Jeffrey Perlman, Southeast Asia chief for Warburg, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. Four, five years ago, even in Vietnam there wasnt an understanding of what was private equity and what it will do to businesses. Vietnams emergence as a large manufacturing destination next to China helped the Southeast Asian nations economy grow at 6.8 percent last year, the strongest since 2010. The growth is rapidly building up a huge middle class that is boosting consumer spending in a country of about 100 million. Its stock index .VNI has risen 20 percent this year, the best performance in Southeast Asia, after surging by 50 percent last year. Perlman said the growth in Vietnams capital markets to $200 billion in value from some $35 billion five years ago, was a big draw for global investors, and he expected local regulators to bring in more reforms to develop the markets. Warburg is the largest private equity investor in Vietnam, which has also seen sizeable investments from rivals KKR & Co. and TPG. Warburgs first Southeast Asian investment was in Vietnamese shopping mall owner Vincom Retail, in which its consortium invested $300 million. Vincom Retails shareholders raised over $700 million in November, valuing it at $3.4 billion, helping Warburg more than double its investment. This month, Warburg announced a $370 million investment in Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank, a sector Perlman said was set for huge growth. You have two-thirds of the population who dont have a bank account. More than 90 percent dont have access to credit cards. There is a huge runway in front, he said. Though company valuations were high across many markets globally, Vietnams strong growth prospects stood out. You have an ability to potentially pay a fuller price when theres actually growth underlying the investment, Perlman said. He did not specify how much more Warburg plans to invest in the country or identify potential targets. Warburg Pincus current seven portfolio companies in Southeast Asia, include a venture with Vietnamese property developer Becamex, Indonesian ride-hailing firm Go-Jek and Singapore-based ARA Asset Management. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnam has resolutely protested Taiwans repeated live-fire exercises in the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago, an action it says seriously violates the formers territorial sovereignty. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang expressed Vietnams condemnation of Taiwans live-fire drills in the sea areas surrounding Ba Binh (Itu Aba) Island, part of Vietnam's Truong Sa, during a press conference on Thursday evening. Taiwans repeated exercises in the territory have severely violated Vietnams authority over the set of islands, threatening peace, stability, maritime safety and security, and further complicating the situation in the East Vietnam Sea. Once again, Vietnam resolutely opposes Taiwans moves and requests it refrain from similar actions in the future, Hang said. The spokesperson reaffirmed that Vietnam has sufficient legal foundation and historical evidence testifying to its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa archipelagos. During the meeting, the diplomat also voiced Vietnams opposition to Chinas unilateral decision to adjust regulations on a fishing break at sea, including in some of Vietnam's maritime areas. The regulations in question violate Vietnams sovereignty over Hoang Sa, the countrys legal rights and interests over its waters, and international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The action also violates the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Vietnam Sea (DOC) and the agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of issues at sea signed between Vietnam and China. Chinas moves do not conform with these important agreements on controlling maritime disputes reached by the two countries leaders, and brought no benefits to peace, stability, and cooperation efforts in the region. The decision also affected the Vietnam-China relationship and efforts to negotiate a Code of Conduct for the East Vietnam Sea, Spokesperson Hang asserted. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Thirteen tenants were killed and 28 others were injured in a blaze that slowly engulfed a luxury apartment building in Ho Chi Minh City early on Friday. The fire appeared to begin in the basement and quickly spread throughout the Carina Apartment building on Vo Van Kiet Street in District 8 at around 1:30 am. As the building was eaten away by the flames, dozens of sleeping residents began trapped inside. More than 200 firefighters and 34 fire trucks were dispatched to the scene, but were unable to reach several of the residents inside the building. The fire was finally put out at around 4:30 am. Nguyen Thanh Huong, acting director of the Ho Chi Minh City fire department, said at 8:00 am the same day that 13 people were confirmed dead and 28 others were injured. Firefighters bring victims out of the building. Video: Tuoi Tre The chairwoman of Nguyen Thai Binh Ward of District 1 was among the victims. It is still not clear if she was dead or injured. The buildings 22,000-square-meter basement with its 1,000 square meter parking area was completely destroyed, along with the 150 motorbikes and 13 cars parked inside. Many of the rescued residents said the buildings fire alarm never went off. Instead, it was the fire itself that alerted them to a problem. There was no alarm sound and the fire sprinkler system just didnt work, one resident said. We only learned of the fire when the smoke and heat reached the 14th floor. People climb out of the building. Photo: Tuoi Tre People climb out of the building. Photo: Tuoi Tre Vo Van Hoan, head of the secretariat of the Ho Chi Minh City administration, said the fire is one of the most catastrophic events to hit the southern metropolis in recent years, resulting in more causalities and damages than any other event since a fire left 60 dead and 70 injured at the ITC trade center in October 2002. Nguyen Phuc, director of 577 JSC, the developer of Carina Apartments, said the building was put into use in 2009 and no major incidents had occurred until Fridays fire. He turned down questions related to the malfunctioned fire alarm at a short media conference held at the scene, saying a thorough inspection is needed before he can give a statement. Phuc also said the developer will begin calculating compensation and taking other necessary steps following the tragedy. An artist's impression of the Carina Plaza Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Check out the news you should not miss today, March 23: Politics -- The Republic of Korea's President Moon Jae-in and his spouse on Thursday afternoon arrived in Hanoi, starting a state visit to Vietnam from March 22 to 24. -- During a Thursday reception for Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of Hong Kong Yau Tang-wah in Hanoi, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that Vietnam expects strong growth of two-way trade with the special administrative region in the coming time based on the potential of bilateral relations. -- At a regular press conference in Hanoi on Thursday, Vietnamese Foreign Ministrys spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang stated that Taiwans repeated launch of live-fire drills in the waters surrounding Ba Binh (Itu Aba) Island in Vietnams Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago has seriously violated the territorial sovereignty of the Southeast Asian country over the island chain, while threatening peace, stability, maritime safety and security in the East Vietnam Sea. Society -- A fire early on Friday killed at least 13 and injured 28 at the Carina Plaza apartment buildings in District 8, Ho Chi Minh City. More than 200 firefighters and 34 fire trucks were mobilized to the site. -- Authorities in Dortmund, Germany, have said they will create favorable conditions for the family of Tran Thi Thu Ha, who died after falling from a height at around 11:40 am in the German city on March 11, to hold funeral rites for her. Her school in Finland, where she was studying before her death, has also promised to provide support. Lifestyle -- Vietnams traditional cuisine and handicraft from north to south will be showcased at a festival at Van Thanh Tourist Park in Ho Chi Minh City from April 6 to 8. -- A one-week book festival is taking place at Le Van Tam Park in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, starting on Monday, with around 900 booths showcasing books of many categories. Education -- More than 3,000 middle and high school students in the southern province of An Giang quit school after Tet as they have to follow their parents who move to big cities for working to escape poverty. Vietnamese prosecutors have brought charges against a former State Bank of Vietnam deputy governor for his dereliction of duty in overseeing a loss-making commercial bank, resulting in hefty losses for the lender. Dang Thanh Binh, deputy governor of the central bank from 2005 until his retirement in 2014, was charged for negligence that resulted in a series of high-profile scandals and massive losses at the erstwhile TrustBank. The charge was filed by the Peoples Supreme Procuracy on Thursday, according to a source close to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. In 2012 TrustBank was sold to a group of investors led by Pham Cong Danh who rebranded it as the Vietnam Construction Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VNCB). However, under his leadership, VNCB suffered losses of more than VND9 trillion (US$402 million), forcing a bailout by the State Bank of Vietnam. Danh was sentenced in 2016 to 30 years behind bars for his role in the VNCB scandal and the bank was again rebranded, this time as Construction Bank. Ex-chairman of VNCB Pham Cong Danh is seen at a court in this 2016 file photo. Photo: Tuoi Tre According to the indictment, ex-deputy governor Binh took charge of the central banks legislative department, whose primary responsibility was helping the governor implement a restructuring plan for six weak lenders, including VNCB. In August 2012, Binh signed and submitted a restructuring plan for VNCB to the government and received in-principle approval for the proposal. Binh suggested in the proposition that VNCB be classified as a weak credit institution so that the transfer of its stake from a group of old shareholders to the investment group led by Danh would have to be thoroughly investigated beforehand. Binh also signed a decision to form a supervision panel for VNCB, but eventually acted against his own proposal by applying no scrutiny to Danh and his fellow shareholders, enabling them to take over VNCB with ease and use the bank as a means for several economic crimes. As of July 2014, when legal proceedings were launched against Danh and his accomplices, VNCB held negative equity of VND18 trillion ($792.95 million), fourfold the number before the restructuring, complete with debts totaling more than VND38 trillion ($1.67 billion). Binh is responsible for failing to oversee the fraudulent transactions undertaken by Danh and his accomplices that caused the $402 million losses for VNCB. Four additional members of Binhs supervision panel were levied similar charges on Thursday for their partial roles in the case. An transaction office of the erstwhile VNCB is seen in this file photo. Photo: Tuoi Tre Following his trial in 2016, Danh and 44 other defendants appeared at a second trial in January 2018 for their roles in causing losses of more than $264 million for local lender Sacombank. The 53-year-old ex-chairman was tried on charges of deliberately acting against state regulations on economic management, with serious consequences for causing a further VND6 trillion ($264.32 million) loss for VNCB. The court initially expected the trial to last a month, but chose to give a postponement after five days for prosecutors to complete the case file. The fire, which engulfed a Carina Plaza apartment building on Vo Van Kiet Street at around 1:30 am, had been put out as of Friday afternoon as firefighters continue to search for victims. Hours after news of the catastrophy in local media, many people have set up makeshift stalls outside the building to hand out free food and drinks to panic-stricken survivors. Hai Le, who works at a supermarket nearby, said he and other volunteers had given 100 portions of food to residents at the Carina Plaza apartment as of 12:00 pm. Photos of the actions were shared on social media, attracting comments praising their kindness. A written sign saying Free food and drinks. Help yourself is seen at a stall outside a Carina Plaza apartment building in District 8, Ho Chi Minh City, March 23, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre Ive been following news of the incident online and saw many survivors having to sleep on grassland after losing their home to the fire, wrote Facebook user Duc Nguyen under a photo. Takeaway meals, bread and water are not worth much but their actions have warmed the hearts of many including me. Its a beautiful side of Saigon, he wrote. Many have dropped by the food stalls to either volunteer to help or donate some money to keep the kindness going. According to the latest updates, casualties from the Carina Plaza apartment fire still remain at 13 deaths and 50 injuries. However, authorities say the number could rise as search efforts are still ongoing. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, though a fire police chief said at a meeting with city officials the same day that he had not ruled out arson. Volunteers carry a sign saying 100 portions of free lunch will become available at 12:00 pm outside the Carina Plaza apartment building in District 8, Ho Chi Minh City, March 23, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A reporter in the south-central Vietnamese province of Binh Dinh was threatened by a knife-wielding man for taking photos of overloaded trucks. Officers from the police department in Nhon Binh Ward, Quy Nhon City summoned Nguyen VanBinh, 40, on Thursday afternoon to verify violent actions against Duong Du Tuan, a correspondent for Nong Thon Ngay Nay newspaper and Dan Viet newswire. At around 8:30 am on the day, Tuan and Chu Ngoc Oai, a reporter for Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Saigon) newspaper, were working in the ward after receiving complaints about overloaded trucks from local residents. According to the victim, he was taking photos of a tipper truck carrying an excessive amount of sand and creating serious air pollution in the neighborhood when a strange man got out of a seven-seater car and approached with a knife. The man pushed Tuan off his motorbike and demanded that the reporter stop taking pictures in his territory, before hitting the journalist on his helmet. Which newspaper are you working for, or are you a member of T.s gang? the man asked shortly before threatening the journalist with his weapon. Duong Du Tuan (L) and Chu Ngoai Oai report the incident to police in Nhon Binh Ward in the south-central province of Binh Dinh. Photo: Tuoi Tre He repeatedly yelled at Tuan and attempted to force him to delete his photos. Binh only left after Tuan pretended to erase the pictures from his camera. Oai was able to capture the incident on video. Tuan and Oai then reported the incident to local police officers. During a working session at the police department, Binh stated that he is the manager of Xuan Phat Company, a transport services operator for construction projects in Nhon Binh Ward. Nguyen Van Binh (L) during the working session with local police on March 22, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre Binh claims his attack on the reporters was a case of misidentification, believing that the reporters were actually gang members working for groups who have threatened his truck drivers in the past. At the police station, Nguyen Thi Xuan, a representative of Xuan Phat Company, said she had extended her apologies to Tuan via a phone call. She added that Binh had been tasked with chopping tree branches a few days ago, which explains why he was carrying a large knife in his car. Officers will continue to collect statements until they are able to determine an appropriate punishment. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! On 60 Minutes, Americas March for Our Lives rally, desperate measures in the disabled community, and Karl meets Kylie. Enough This weekend many cities in the United States will be taken over by teenagers, fed up with the way adults are running their country. The nationwide protests are to demand tougher gun controls. Whats significant and impressive is that these rallies are being organised and led by the very students who last month endured the horror of seeing their own classmates gunned down at the Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. Their simple message is getting louder by the day: enough is enough. And as Tom Steinfort reports, the students also have a very unlikely ally. Evan Ramsey is a convicted school shooter who is now spending the rest of his life in prison, regretting his moment of madness. Reporter: Tom Steinfort Producer: Nick Greenaway Help Us Before Its Too Late Its difficult to imagine a more desperate situation or a more desperate mother. For 33 years Yvette Nichol did her very best to look after and raise her intellectually disabled son. But as they both got older, she needed to know hed be cared for when she was gone. Try as she might to get help, it never came, so fearing he had no reasonable future, Yvette did something shocking and deeply troubling. She attempted to kill her child and herself. In a remarkably candid interview with Liz Hayes, Yvette explains what drove her to the brink, and how her drastic action has exposed a shameful truth about the ongoing care of disabled Australians. Reporter: Liz Hayes Producer: Sean Power Golden Girl Although it seems as if shes been around for as long as anyone can remember, surely it cannot be true that Kylie Minogue is about to turn 50. For most of us, this showbiz idol is ageless, or at least perpetually twenty-something. And even more enviably, her career in TV, movies and song continues to flourish. Its little wonder Kylies new album is called Golden. But in an exclusive interview with Karl Stefanovic, on assignment for 60 Minutes, Kylie reveals the pain of her recent broken engagement and talks about reports that it led to a nervous breakdown. Reporter: Karl Stefanovic Producer: Eliza Berkery 7pm Sunday on Nine. The comedy specials keep coming thick n fast on Netflix with UK special James Acaster: Repertoire dropping next week. All four parts will be available on Netflix on March 27, 2018. Comedic genius James Acaster will bring his signature quick wit and hilarious observations to Netflix with James Acaster: Repertoire. The collection of specials, filmed at The Tabernacle in Notting Hill, London, consists of four parts Recognise, Represent, Reset and Recap with the fourth part tying the series together. Acaster will give his comedic take on his love of loopholes, classic photo poses, why England is such a furious nation, the results of his year-long bread research and more. Tomorrow SBS screens My Sisters Wedding in War-Torn Syria, the personal travel diary of SBS Arabic 24 broadcaster Heba Kassoua. Kassoua left her homeland Syria in 2005, along with her family. In 2016, despite ongoing conflict in the region, her father decided to return home. Heba says I thought the decision was crazy. Yet in 2017 she followed in his footsteps as she returned to the city of Sweida for a family wedding. Despite her initial hesitation, she ends up re-discovering a city that doesnt look like the rest of the war torn country. Saturday 24 March at 4:05 pm on SBS Claudia Anton (pictured, front right) last night was named Australias Best Amateur Baker in The Great Australian Bake Off by judges Matt Moran and Maggie Beer. The 48-year-old psychiatrist from Melbourne defeated Dave Yan, 35 from Sydney, and Barb Dunn, 37 from Brisbane. Her final Showstopper was an extravagant Piece Montee a cockatoo shaped from lemon myrtle and vanilla choux pastry buns complete with a pulled sugar crest. Very Oz. I will be forever grateful for this wonderful show that embraces individuals of all personalities and walks of life and fosters their baking passion in a truly beautiful way. Bake Off has been life changing for me, and has taught me to follow my passion, face my fears, challenge myself and take a chance, she said. I have made beautiful baking friends for life and have been inspired by their incredible talents, and have learnt exponentially from them and Matt and Maggie. I am now creating, testing and posting new recipes, and am learning to present, style and photograph my creations. And next I hope to travel to Italy and France to study food preparation, styling and photography whilst immersing myself in the local culture. There is no cash prize for winning Bake Off but Claudias cheesecake recipe will be featured in Delicious magazines April 2018 issue. Hosted by comedians Claire Hooper and Mel Buttle, the finale drew 162,000 viewers Overnight. Foxtel says the third season has been the most successful season to date, positioning it well for a probable renewal. Tickets are now available for the Good Friday Appeal Super Show at the Plenary next Friday, with all proceeds going to the Royal Childrens Hospital. Performers will include Samantha Jade, Leo Sayer, Anthony Callea, Ross Wilson, and the cast of Beautiful. They can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com.au or by phoning 13 61 00. The Good Friday Appeal is one of the most important days on the calendar for the people of Victoria and beyond. Every year the community comes together to raise money for funding equipment, research and education to ensure treatment at the Royal Childrens Hospital remains world class. On Friday 30 March, across the day and night, from both Main Street at the Royal Childrens Hospital and the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), celebrities will unite to raise as much as possible for the kids. From 9am Tim Watson & Cameron Ling will host live from the Royal Childrens Hospital sharing the inspiring stories of doctors, nurses, children and families. Joining them throughout the morning will be Emily Angwin and Jacqueline Felgate from Seven News. From 12.30pm Andrew OKeefe, Melissa Doyle, Peter Mitchell and David Koch will host live from MCEC as they cross to reporters across Victoria as the donations come rolling in. Cast members and presenters from Channel Sevens Home And Away, The Chase Australia, Sunrise, House Rules And Yummy Mummies, will pay a special visit to the Royal Childrens Hospital before joining the Good Friday Appeal evening panels. The Royal Childrens Hospital has been providing outstanding care for Victorias children and their families for over 147 years. In 2017 a record $17.6m was raised. Donate online at goodfridayappeal.com.au or call 1300 APPEAL (1300 277 325). Friday 30 March from 9am. Chinas ruling Communist Party plans to create a super broadcaster aimed at international audiences as part of a wider push to sell Xiplomacy -selling President Xi Jinpings vision for China to become a bigger player on the world stage. SBS Australia says it will monitor Voice of China news, which it offers as part of its SBS World Watch suite. An SBS spokesman said, In accordance with the SBS Codes of Practice, SBS clearly identifies the source of each World Watch bulletin to ensure that audiences are aware that the content is not produced by SBS. SBS will continue to monitor all our international news services to ensure that they meet our strict codes and guidelines. In 2012 SBS axed its locally produced Mandarin News Australia after 2 years due to low ratings. Source: AFR, Sydney Morning Herald In 2018 TVs biggest juggernauts are rewarded for their cold hearts and hand grenades. And both press and audiences are facilitating the bad behaviour, meaning there will surely be more to come On Married at First Sight we copped cheating, abuse, sexting, and chauvinism. My Kitchen Rules has seen insults flying across the dinner table. Even Im A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here cast David Oldfield this year, where his views on Indigenous history were given a primetime platform. Sure, Reality TV loves a villain, and Conflict is the basis of all Drama. But TV is in a race to the bottom right now and cookie-cutter storytelling is the mediums mortal enemy. Some years ago when Simon Cowell epitomised the nasty judge American Idol used to revel in car-crash auditions. It was an era in which everybody jumped on the bandwagon (Dicko became his local equivalent). But in this cyclic medium, eventually MasterChef came along with kinder, gentler stories and the tide turned. The conflict was internalised -could Julie create a winning dish and inch closer to her cooking dream? Lately TVs pendulum has swung back the other way. Married At First Sight has been a phenomenon for Nine. Not just in its hit ratings, but in creating water cooler chatter. Ive sat in cafes where seniors are debating cheating couples like an episode of Days of Our Lives. Ive heard 20-somethings tell me they are hooked. You only have to look at an episode of Gogglebox to see the jaws on the floor, the yelling at the screens, to know what a zeitgeist hit this has been. My congratulations to Endemol Shine and Nine for achieving such when Free to Air is too often a law of diminishing returns. Since the show stripped across multiple nights last year, it has strayed further from its original premise: can Science find love? Who cares when Dean is cheating on Tracey, or Davina is bitching behind her back? Season One actually resulted in Alex and Zoe, who have since had a baby. Id lay money nobody from Married at Real Housewives will come close. And what to make of the shows three consultants: 2 psychologists and 1 neuroscientist? Arent they now facilitating the shows soap opera? Could they be tainting psychology by colluding with such manipulation? The Australian Psychologists Society refuses to discuss such questions while it is redrafting their media guidelines (which it has been doing for some 12 months). Lets just go with a recent News Corp article which revealed the 3 are essentially talent participants can access a separate psychologist during production, who is thankfully independent. For that matter, what kind of civil celebrant fake marries someone anyway? No, they are not actors. In a country that just underwent a national debate about the values and sanctity of marriage, these may be people who missed the memo. Another sign of rewarding bad behaviour was in the media coverage: column inches, recaps, paparazzi (some of them alerted by the cast themselves) and click bait headlines fed oxygen to the show, which in turn led to bumper ratings. A cycle of soapy villains, network promos, gossip and ratings created a monster and monster hit, and everyone has a vested interest. Yet TV is also a democracy. The audience votes with their remotes. Its a shame that in the Reality show tug-of-war the victims have been local Drama (notably Safe Harbour and Riot, but a fuller explanation requires more depth). So if TV, press and audiences are rewarding bad behaviour who am I to argue? Having mass eyeballs watching Free to Air is good news and it keeps people employed. Maybe Ive focussed too much on the grubbier aspects of the shows. Maybe I want them to go back to their original premise: finding love, cooking spectacular food. Maybe I just feel like Ive seen it all before. Or Im worried I will be seeing it again. Be careful what you wish for. . , , , . , , , ! The top lawyer fighting against the FBI probe into the Russian governments alleged meddling into the 2016 US Presidential election on behalf of President Donald Trump, John Dowd, has resigned from the post recently, leaving a gaping hole in the teams legal strategy to combat Robert Muellers investigation. Dowd and Trump themselves got into a lot of trouble around the time of the Michael Flynn investigation and the firing of CIA Director James Comey, with a lot of pundits calling it obstruction of justice, which is one of the grounds for impeachment of a US President. Senator Dianne Feinstein, the leading Democrat in the Senate Judiciary Committee, said at the time, What were beginning to see is the putting together of a case of obstruction of justice. Dowd had a plan to contest the potential impeachment Now that Dowd has called it quits, some people are wondering whether or not the Trump legal team will still with his plan to contest the possible impeachment. Dowds view, basically, is that the President is the chief law enforcement officer of America, so he cant be convicted of obstruction of justice, because his power trumps (no pun intended) everyone elses power in the country. US President Donald Trump has lost yet another colleague. The latest in a very, very long line of the people who have either resigned or been fired from the Presidents team since he took office early last year is John Dowd, the leading lawyer in Trumps personal legal team battling the FBI investigation led by Robert Mueller into the potential meddling that the Russian government did in the 2016 US Presidential election, colluding with the Trump team to get him elected. Unlike a lot of the people to leave Trumps employ, Dowd doesnt have any sour feelings against the President, saying in a statement to CNN, I love the President and wish him well. Reports say that the resignation stems from a strategical disagreement over the legal battle against Muellers FBI probe into the Russian meddling in the election. The main disagreement was that Dowd has persistently tried to get Trump to be nice to Mueller and Trump refuses to be nice to Mueller. Trump has been attacking Mueller personally on a regular basis, and hes doing it through Twitter and TV interviews and press conferences, so word is getting around pretty quickly. Dowd just wanted Trump to cooperate with the FBIs probe to bring a calm and quick end to this investigation (unless, of course, the President has something to hide), but Trump insists on being difficult through every step of the way. So, now, Trump is not only being stubborn and arrogant enough to irritate the FBI, hes irritated his top lawyer enough with it that hes gone and resigned! Trump refuses to do what hes told Trumps legal strategy with Robert Mueller is to be as aggressive as possible until he backs down, kind of like how a jungle cat might take charge of his pride and assert himself as the alpha male. But thats not how the judiciary system in the United States works. All Mueller wants is a sit-down interview with President Trump in order to get a few things straight. Hes hammered out all the key areas he plans to ask him about if the hypothetical meeting goes forward hes got four areas to quiz the President about and now, all he needs is for the interview to be organised. He needs to set a date. But Trump refuses to sit down with Mueller, which makes it look an awful lot like he has something to hide. These refusals and angry tirades against Mueller and the FBI that Dowd has time and time again told Trump not to do have finally brought the poor guy to his breaking point, and now, hes gone and quit his job. Apparently, the President told Dowd that he only speaks for himself and encouraged him to release a public statement of his own, but this led to headlines in the media that indicated internal chaos in Trumps legal team, so theyve decided itll just be best if they part ways. The personnel turnover in the Trump administration is ridiculous Dowd joins former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and former top economic adviser Gary Cohn in the long line of people to have left the Trump administration in just this month alone. Tillerson found out he was being fired through a Twitter post by Trump that said he would be replaced by CIA Director Mike Pompeo what a way to find out youre being fired, and by the President of the United States of all people. Cohn, meanwhile, resigned over disagreements about the metal tariffs that were proposed by Trump a few weeks ago. Dowds resignation from the Trump legal team has been described by an unnamed source close to the team as a mutual decision, with no hard feelings on either side of the situation. Other sources have said that recently, Trump has been complaining that Dowd isnt giving the job his all or stepping up to the plate, while Dowds close associates have said that he is losing the will and the energy to carry on in such a high-stakes position. * Mine rejected by minister after planning permission given * Too early for company to decide whether to appeal * Environmental group applauds the decision * Says it is first decision taken on climate grounds * (Updates with comments from company, environmental group) By Susanna Twidale LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - Britain has rejected plans for a new open cast coal mine in northeastern England, as it could hamper efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and curb climate change, the minister for local government said on Friday. Supporters of the project had said it could bring much needed jobs to the region, while environmental campaigners said it would go against Britain's commitment to reduce greenhouse gases. Britain plans to phase-out coal use at its power stations by 2025 as a part of its efforts to meet its climate targets, and is part of an international alliance pushing other countries to do the same. Northumberland County Council agreed last year that the mine's developer The Banks Group could extract 3 million tonnes of coal by cutting an open cast, or surface mine, near Druridge Bay, Highthorn. But local government minister Sajid Javid rejected the application on Friday following a public inquiry, government documents show. "The scheme would have an adverse effect on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change of very substantial significance, which he gives very considerable weight in the planning balance," the government report, rejecting the application said. Gavin Styles, managing director at the mine's developer Banks Mining, said Britain was still dependent on coal for a number of purposes and the decision had been taken for "purely political reasons." "The importance of securing investment in North East England, creating dozens of high quality local jobs, and opening up opportunities for regional suppliers to win substantial contracts could not be any clearer," he said in an emailed statement. The company said the project could employ 100 people and generate almost 50 million pounds ($70.43 million) in related contracts and other benefits to the community. Story continues Styles said the company would carefully review the decision before deciding on the most appropriate next steps to take. Environmentalists had criticised the plans, saying it would destroy an area of natural beauty and that extracting more coal is at odds with international pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris climate pact. "This is the first coal mine ever to be rejected in the UK because of climate change impacts a vindication for everyone who has been calling for fossil fuels to be left in the ground," said Rose Dickinson, campaigner with environmental group Friends of the Earth. Britain has a legally binding target to cut emissions of harmful greenhouse gases, such as those produced by fossil-fuel-based power plants, by 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050, It has also signed up to the international Paris agreement to curb emissions. ($1 = 0.7100 pounds) (Reporting by Susanna Twidale, additional reporting by Barbara Lewis Editing by Mark Potter and Jane Merriman) LONDON (Reuters) - The British government has refused to allow a new open cast coal mine to be built in northeastern England, the minister for local government said on Friday. Northumberland County Council agreed last year that developer The Banks Group could extract 3 million tonnes of coal by cutting an open cast, or surface mine, near Druridge Bay, Highthorn. However, minister Sajid Javid rejected the application on Friday following a public inquiry, government documents show. (Reporting by Susanna Twidale; Editing by Mark Potter) See Also: Theresa May at the European Council meeting in Brussels (Getty) Russian diplomats could be expelled from more European countries as soon as Monday in a demonstration of solidarity with Britain over the Salisbury nerve agent attack. EU leaders are ready to take action after agreeing that it is highly likely Russia was responsible for the attempted murder of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. European Council President Donald Tusk said: As a result of our discussion yesterday evening I expect that a number of member states will take additional measures towards Russia on Monday. Prime Minister Theresa May has called on European governments to follow Britains lead in expelling Russian diplomats. Asked how many countries he expected to do so, Mr Tusk said: More than one but I dont think it will be the whole group. European Council President Donald Tusk predicted further action against Russia at a press conference today (Getty) The leaders of some EU member states spoke openly about their intentions. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said it was probable his government would expel Russian diplomats. Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said: We fully support the United Kingdom in this situation and we support the measures that the United Kingdom is applying. All of us are considering such measures. Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he wouldnt randomly expel genuine diplomats but would carry out a security assessment as to whether there are Russian spies posing as diplomats as was the case in the UK. There are also reports that France, Poland and Estonia are considering expelling Russian diplomats. It comes after Theresa May scored a major diplomatic victory by securing European support for Britains stance on Russian responsibility for the Salisbury attack. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar arriving at the European Council meeting (Getty) The Prime Minister shared British intelligence about the chemical weapons attack with European heads of state at the European Council summit in Brussels last night. And she convinced them to fall behind Britain in pointing the finger as Moscow. Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said: There wasnt a single head of state who questioned the authenticity of the analysis of the UK services. Story continues The European Council issued a statement shortly after midnight saying it agrees with the United Kingdom governments assessment that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible and that there is no plausible alternative explanation. That was a significant change from the draft statement which said only that the EU takes extremely seriously Britains assessment that Russia was responsible. Speaking this morning, Mrs May said: The threat from Russia is one that knows no borders and it is clear that Russia is challenging the values we share as Europeans and it is right that we are standing together in defence of those values. What is crucial is that there was recognition around the table last night about the threat that Russia poses and as as I say they recognised and agreed the UK Governments assessment that it is highly likely that Russia is responsible for the attempted murder on the streets of Salisbury and that there is no plausible alternative explanation. Theresa May in discussion with Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel last night (Getty) Yahoo UK reported yesterday how the EU appeared split on whether there was sufficient evidence to apportion blame, so the unanimous support for Britains position came as a surprise. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said yesterday that the EU needed to investigate the evidence, echoing earlier calls from Italy and Spain. But Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar revealed this morning that he and French President Emmanuel Macron pushed for the EU to take a firmer stance. It was at my proposal and that of president Macron that we actually change the conclusion to say that we agreed with the UK position rather than say that we were concerned about it, he told reporters. No new economic sanctions against Russia were agreed but they remain on the table and may be discussed at the next EU leaders summit in June. The European Councils statement added: Member States will coordinate on the consequences to be drawn in the light of the answers provided by the Russian authorities. The European Union will remain closely focused on this issue and its implications. Richard Corbett, Labours leader in the European Parliament, said the support showed over Russia by the EU showed what Britain will lose after Brexit. This show of solidarity will be harder to achieve if the UK is outside the room, its voice unheard, its interests unrepresented, he said. JUBA (Reuters) - U.S. sanctions on 15 South Sudanese oil operators will work against efforts to restore peace and stability in the nation, the government said on Thursday. The sanctions, which were announced on Wednesday, will require companies and government bodies to apply for special licenses to do business in the United States, an action designed to increase pressure on President Salva Kiir to end the conflict and humanitarian crisis in South Sudan. "These measures are viewed by the Ministry of Petroleum as counterproductive to the shared mission of the Republic of South Sudan's and the United States' governments to bring peace and stability to South Sudan," the ministry said in a statement. It pledged to work with the U.S. Department of Commerce "to remove these restrictions and resume normal relations with the U.S.". South Sudan has been torn by civil war since 2013 when fighting erupted between troops loyal to Kiir and those loyal to then-Vice President Riek Machar. The conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives, slashed oil production and driven about a third of the population of 12 million from their homes. Earlier this month, activists accused the government of funneling cash from the state oil company to militias responsible for atrocities and attacks on civilians. Announcing the sanctions, the U.S. State Department also said the government and corrupt officials were using oil revenue to buy weapons and fund militias. Washington has already placed sanctions on South Sudanese military and political figures, and in January imposed an arms embargo to try to halt the flow of weapons into the country, signaling that it had lost patience with the warring factions for ignoring ceasefires. Last year, the government said it planned to more than double oil production to 290,000 barrels per day in fiscal 2017-2018. South Sudan is the most oil-dependent country in the world, with oil accounting for almost all its exports and around 60 percent of its gross domestic product, according to the World Bank. Story continues The government said on Thursday it will encourage more investments in the petroleum sector. Petroleum minister Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth extended an exploration and production sharing agreement with Petronas of Malaysia [PETR.UL] for six years. The deal covers blocks 3 and 7 in Unity oilfield which have been shut down due to the conflict. The government said it had secured a commitment from Petronas to resume operations soon. "Bringing back production at Unity and other fields, and increasing production overall, are the priorities of this ministry," the minister said in a statement. (Writing by Duncan Miriri; editing by David Stamp) See Also: The son of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is thought to be planning to stand for election as president of Libya, seven years after his father was overthrown and killed. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was sentenced, in absentia, to death by firing squad for alleged crimes that included incitement to murder and rape. Now his spokesman has reportedly announced he will be standing as presidential candidate on the ticket of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Libya, a party formed in December 2016 with a promise to liberate the country from control of terrorist organisations. Gaddafis spokesman Ayman Boras was quoted as telling a press conference in Tunisia that the late dictators second oldest son had a vision of restoring the Libyan state, making it for everyone. Although his candidacy might seem improbable to outsiders, the human rights activist Khaled Guel told pan-Arab media outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed: The humanitarian situation is deteriorating and the path forward is unclear, therefore many Libyans now believe the only way to save the country is through Saif al-Islam. There appear to be no legal barriers to him standing. A 2013 law banning Gaddafi-era officials from holding public office was revoked in 2015. If he were elected it would represent yet another turn in the fortunes of the 45-year-old who as a young man was regarded as the Prince of Libya, his fathers designated successor. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi once had a mansion near Hyde Park, complete with British butler (Rex) He was once feted as the regimes reforming face, keeping a pair of white tigers in Libya and a mansion in London, and mixing with the likes of Prince Andrew, Peter Mandelson and Nat Rothschild. But his brutal attempts to crush the 2011 Libyan revolution led to him becoming a fugitive wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for crimes against humanity. Having vowed to fight the revolution to the last bullet, in November 2011 he allowed rebels to capture him without firing a shot. That he has now survived to the point where there can be talk of him running for Libyan president is perhaps remarkable. Story continues It could be said that Gaddafi has so far cheated death at least five times. His death sentence for crimes that also included shooting into crowds of demonstrators and ordering air strikes on civilians was passed in July 2015, by a Tripoli court at which he had appeared via video link. Gaddafi gave evidence to the Tripoli court via video link from the mountain town of Zintan (AFP/Getty) The execution could not be carried out, however, because by the time the sentence was passed, the country had descended into chaos, and the militia holding Gaddafi in the north-western mountain town of Zintan refused to recognise the authority of the Libya Dawn military coalition 85 miles away in Tripoli. The dictators son also appears to have been lucky to survive a Nato air strike that wounded but didnt kill him a month before his capture. Before that, in August 2011 he had been absent when a Nato air strike flattened the country mansion near Tripoli where he kept and played with white tigers and where the extensive grounds reportedly contained a private zoo filled with pumas, lions, gazelles and other animals. Saif al-Islam also seems to have counted himself lucky to have avoided the fate of his father, who in October 2011 after the fall of Tripoli was dragged from a drainage pipe near Sirte, sodomised with a bayonet and shot. When Saif al-Islam was caught the following month, one of his captors was quoted as saying: He was very scared. He thought we would kill him. Years before that, Islamists had plotted to kill the young Gaddafi but were foiled by MI6. Secret files discovered by The Independent seven years ago showed that in January 2004 MI6 responded to intelligence about a plot to assassinate Saif al-Islam in London and got Special Branch to put him on its at-risk register while sending police to brief him about the threat to his life. At that time Gaddafi junior was regarded by Western diplomats as the reform-minded best hope of steering his father away from dictatorship towards democracy. Tony Blair and Colonel Gaddafi shake hands during the 2004 deal in the desert (PA) In one document uncovered by The Independent his contribution to the Libyan regimes attempts to change its pariah status after the start of the War on Terror was regarded as highly constructive and welcome. Six days before Tony Blair did his deal in the desert with Gaddafi senior, a Guardian interviewer reported finding Gaddafi junior in a mansion near Hyde Park, dressed in designer jeans, exuding charm while being served orange juice by his British butler. Saif al-Islam, it was noted with considerable scepticism was being received by heads of state and acting as his fathers more affable alter ego. In 2005 he was in Davos, extolling the virtues of democracy as he rubbed shoulders with global elite at the World Economic Forum. In these halcyon days he met the Duke of York twice, once at Buckingham Palace and once in Tripoli. In her book Sandstorm the journalist Lindsey Hilsum described Gaddafi being invited to parties at the financier Nat Rothschilds house in Corfu, where the other guests included Peter Mandelson and the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. He studied aspects of democratisation to get a PhD from the London School of Economics and in 2008 when he pledged to donate 1.5m to the university for a global governance unit, Professor David Held declared: Ive come to know Saif as someone who looks to democracy, civil society and deep liberal values for the core of his inspiration. And then the Libyan uprising started. Pretty quickly, Saif al-Islam the previously affable alter ego was being described as urbane, charming and psychotic. This seemed to be confirmed by a ranting televised broadcast to the nation on 20 February 2011. Wagging his finger at the Libyan people as if scolding naughty children, he warned them of the dangers of overthrowing his fathers government. There will be civil war in Libya, he told them. We will kill one another in the streets. Instead of crying over 84 casualties, we will be crying over hundreds of thousands of dead. Rivers of blood will flow through all the cities of Libya. But he, his father and his fathers army were not going to let that happen. We will destroy all the dens of strife, he said. Our army will support Libya and Muammar al-Gaddafi to the last moment, and it will be victorious, Allah willing. We will fight to our very last man, woman, and bullet, he vowed. Under no circumstances will we leave our country. He was caught nine months later, in the southern desert, as he tried to flee to Niger. There were conflicting reports about whether Gaddafi had been injured in a Nato air strike, as he insisted, or whether one of his captors had tried to cut off the finger that had been wagged so insultingly at the Libyan people. But as Libya slid into a civil war that was exploited by Isis militants and others, some revised their opinion of his finger-wagging rant and came to see it as prophetic. At about the time of his trial small free Saif al-Islam demonstrations were held in some Libyan cities, the first pro-Gaddafi demonstrations to have occurred since the downfall of the dictatorship. In June 2017, the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Battalion, the militia controlling Zintan, announced it had freed Saif al-Islam at the request of the Libyan House of Representatives (HoR), the parliament based at the other end of the country, in the eastern city of Tobruk. His whereabouts since his release has been a mystery, but in reporting on his planned presidential bid, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed quoted sources as saying that Gaddafi had stayed on the outskirts of Zintan, holding regular secret meetings with other members of the Popular Front party. Mothers claiming their sons were killed by the Gaddafi regime call for the dictators removal in February 2011 (Getty) His spokesman Mr Boras told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that Saif al-Islams reforms will appeal to many Libyans and that unlike his father he was not a military man. Mr Boras was quoted as saying Gaddafi would announce the details of his election campaign soon, and insisted that the presidential hopeful had a modern and open-minded vision for Libya which rejected violence. But HoR member Mohammad al-Darrat told Al Jazeera that Gaddafis apparent intention to stand for election should be ignored, arguing: If Saif al-Islam wants to return to power, what was the point of the revolution? He was contradicted by Saleh Afihima, another HoR member who said that supporters of the old regime needed to be included in the democratic process if there was to be true national reconciliation and if we want to reach a real state. Al Jazeera reported that some Libyan tribes retained a fondness for the old regime, especially in the south, the Warshefana region and around Sirte, Colonel Gaddafis birthplace. Quite what Gaddafi could rule if elected president is unclear. Libya currently has three rival governments: the HoR in Tobruk, the UN-backed Government of National Accord in Tripoli, and, in the same city, the Government of National Salvation. An airline crewmember has been arrested after allegedly trying to smuggle in 9 pounds of cocaine through New Yorks John F Kennedy Airport by strapping it to his legs. Hugh Hall, crew member for Fly Jamaica Airways, arrived at the airport after flying in from Montego Bay, Jamaica, on March 17. The Jamaican citizen presented himself to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers for inspection. Hall was then taken to a private room where he was searched further by CBP officers, where they discovered four packets of cocaine taped to his legs. Trending: Video Shows Brain Surgery While Patient Is Awake As Doctors Remove Deadly Tumor JFK Cocaine Crew Member 001 CBP Authorities estimate the street value of the cocaine seized from Hall is approximately $160,000. Hall was arrested on suspicion of the importation of a controlled substance and was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations. Don't miss: Trump Says He Could Take Joe Biden In a Fight And the Former VP Would Go Down Crying All The Way The CBP said Hall was detained after he realized he could not get a leg up on their officers. This seizure is another example of our CBP officers being ever vigilant in protecting the United States from the distribution of illicit drugs, said Leon Hayward, Acting Director of CBPs New York Field Operations. Hall faces federal narcotics smuggling charges and will be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys Office in the U.S. Eastern District Court of New York. Most popular: Businessman Who Spent $350k Restoring Ferrari 458 Spider Is Physically Sick After Police Seize, Destroy It Fly Jamaica Airways have yet to comment on Halls arrest. Almost a year ago to the day, CBP officers stopped a would-be smuggler at JFK Airport who had also taped cocaine to his legs. On March 16, 2017, Mayobanex Ruiz Gomez, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, flew in from Santo Domingo, displaying numerous signs of nervousness, according to CBP. Story continues When he was searched, he was found to have strapped 5 pounds of cocaine to his legs, with an estimated street value of more than $83,000. He was also subsequently arrested and turned over to Homeland Security Investigations. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece will continue its bilateral efforts to secure the release of two Greek soldiers detained in Turkey but is also counting on the support of its European allies, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Friday. The soldiers' case has heightened tension between Greece and Turkey, NATO allies which came close to war as recently as 1996. They have seen renewed diplomatic strain over natural resources in the eastern Mediterranean and the fate of eight Turkish soldiers who fled to Greece after a failed 2016 coup in Turkey. The two soldiers were arrested this month after crossing the border into Turkey in bad weather. Greece says the incident was the result of "a mistake" and has asked for their quick return. Tsipras, speaking at an EU summit in Brussels, said he had assurances from the heads of the EU Commission and EU Council that the issue would be raised with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan during talks in Bulgaria next week. "We will continue our efforts through bilateral channels, but at the same time, we count on the official and open mobilisation of our partners, our allies," Tsipras said. "We will remain focussed on our effort to extend a hand of dialogue, a hand of friendship towards our neighbouring country. We want cooperation, dialogue, peace," Tsipras said. EU member states expressed their concern over the continued detention of EU citizens in Turkey, including the two Greek soldiers, and called for a "swift and positive" resolution of these issues. (Reporting by Karolina Tagaris and George Georgiopoulos; Editing by Gareth Jones) Mark Frost (L) and Richard Huckle are thought to be two of the UKs worst paedophiles. (PA) Hundreds of Britons were arrested for child sex offences overseas in the last five years, new figures have shown, amid concerns the numbers are just the tip of the iceberg. There were 361 requests from UK nationals for consular assistance after being arrested for child sex offences from 2013 to 2017, according to Foreign Office data. But Labours Sarah Champion said the number of arrests could be far higher. She told the Press Association that in some parts of the world people would be able to buy their way out of trouble without contacting the consulate if they were caught abusing a child. Sarah Champion said the number of arrests could be far higher. (UK Government) If you are in a backwater in Indonesia and you get caught raping a child, I would imagine that if youve got dollars on you, you could probably get out of it, she said. According to figures, the Foreign Office responded to 124 requests from UK nationals arrested for child sex offences in the US, 40 in Australia and 39 in Spain over the five-year period. In Indonesia four cases were recorded, while there were five in the Philippines and three in India. Ms Champion, who has long campaigned against child sexual exploitation, said she thought the variation was due to tougher legislative processes in some countries. She said she believed people were deliberately travelling in order to abuse children. I have no doubt that the sort of perpetrators will know where they are most likely to go and exploit a child and will be deliberately going there. Retired English teacher Mark Frost, 70, is one of the few to have been charged with overseas child sexual abuse offences. The prolific paedophile pleaded guilty to 23 charges of child sex abuse at the Old Bailey in February 2017. Mark Frost pleaded guilty to 23 charges of child sex abuse, many of which were conducted out of the country. (PA) Frost admitted to abusing nine children in the UK and Thailand between 2009 and 2012. He had skipped bail to avoid prosecution in Thailand but was then extradited from Spain last year after his activities were uncovered by Dutch police. Ms Champion said it turns my stomach that the Government knows that people are intentionally going abroad to abuse children but that we are not doing more, that Im aware, to prevent it. Story continues I am convinced that this is a tiny, tiny, tip of the iceberg the figures that were seeing so the actual scale of it is going to be pretty huge I would have thought. The figures were published in response to a parliamentary question from Ms Champion, who asked the Foreign Secretary what information his Department holds on the number of UK nationals who have been arrested for child sex offences overseas in the last five years; and in what countries such nationals have been arrested over that period. Harriett Baldwin said: The FCO are not routinely notified of the arrest of all UK nationals overseas. (PA) Foreign Office minister Harriett Baldwin replied: From 2013 to 2017 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) responded to 361 requests for consular assistance from UK nationals who had been arrested for child sex offences. The FCO are not routinely notified of the arrest of all UK nationals overseas. A breakdown of the figures showed there were 58 cases in 2013, 63 in 2014, 82 in 2015, 80 in 2016 and 78 in 2017. In 2008, a report from Ecpat (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes) accused the Government of ignoring many similar offenders to Frost who were abusing children in countries that are often unable to police their activities. It called for tougher laws surrounding paedophiles who wish to travel abroad and a crackdown to avoid the stringent sex offender management mechanisms in the UK. And although Britain has laws to prosecute for offences committed abroad, these have only been used in a handful of cases. Huckle was prosecuted under Section 72 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. (PA) Richard Huckle, described as one of the UKs worst paedophiles, was convicted in 2016 of 71 counts of serious sexual assaults against children while posing as a teacher in Malaysia. Huckle was prosecuted under Section 72 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which allows British nationals to be tried and convicted in the UK for child sex crimes committed while overseas in an effort to prevent child sex tourism. A rarely used section of the act, its thought Huckle is only the seventh person to be convicted under the measure. David Graham (L) and Barry McCloud were both convicted under the same measure to crack down on child sex tourism. (Police database) Barry McCloud, who travelled to India to film himself raping a 10-year-old girl, and David Graham, who spent six years on the run in France after sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy in Cambodia, are two others to have been convicted under the same law. Bharti Patel, chief executive of childrens rights organisation ECPAT UK, said the figures were likely to be a fraction of the total arrests made. She said: These statistics represent only a minority of abuses against children across the globe, due to a lack of sufficient data monitoring systems and reporting mechanisms. This leaves abuses unreported and unheard and children left unprotected. Ms Patel called on the Government to strengthen its data monitoring systems, reporting mechanisms and joint investigative capacities in regions of high incidence of child sexual exploitation. Our Government must take responsibility for these crimes committed by British nationals and prevent these crimes taking place against vulnerable children abroad. The homepage of Google on Thursday morning featured world-renowned geochemist Katsuko Saruhashi, whose contributions to science led to a deeper understanding of carbon dioxide in seawater, among other discoveries. The scientist was born in 1920 and throughout her career paved the way for many other women to break into the field of science. In 1957, Saruhashi became the first woman to ever earn her doctorate degree in chemistry at the University of Tokyo, according to Googles description of the doodle. That was only the beginning of the firsts she would accomplish. She was also the first scientist to measure a number of characteristics water held, like the concentration of carbonic acid based on temperature, pH level and the levels of chlorine, accurately. Her research also covered radioactivity in water and her hard work earned her a spot as the first woman ever added to the Science Council of Japan. Trending: When Will the Golden State Warriors Have Their Stars Back From Injury? After decades of research and work to help women reach new heights in the world of science, Saruhashi died in 2007 from pneumonia. 5 quotes from Katsuko Saruhashi: There are many women who have the ability to become great scientists. I would like to see the day when women can contribute to science and technology on an equal footing with men. "I wanted to highlight the capabilities of women scientists. Until now, those capabilities have been secret, under the surface." Don't miss: Trump and Biden Never Went to Vietnam But Act Like Tough Guys Threatening Each Other, Jake Tapper Says I worked hardI concentrated entirely on learning how to do science. But that was not an effort I made as a woman to compete against men. I knew that by working hard, I could slowly unwrap the secrets of naturethis was such a joythe sheer joy I enjoyed as a researcher. ... The prize highlights the capabilities of women scientists. Each winner has not only been a successful researcher, but a wonderful human being as well, she said about the Saruhashi Prize she established for women scientists. Story continues Now everyone is concerned about carbon dioxide, but at the time nobody was, she said about her research into the CO2 levels in seawater. 03_22_katsuko-saruhashi Google This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek A "large number" of EU countries are set to impose tougher sanctions on Russia after the Salisbury poisoning. Member states are said to be considering a range of measures - including expelling diplomats - to take effect on Monday. France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark and the Czech Republic have all warned of further action. It is understood nations including France, Estonia, Poland and Lithuania are preparing to expel Russian diplomats or spies posing as diplomats from their countries . "Coordinated measures" will be announced "very shortly", French President Emmanuel Macron announced. It came after the EU withdrew its ambassador to Russia , a move described by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker as "extraordinary". Speaking after a special summit of EU leaders concluded in Brussels, Mr Macron said it was highly likely Russia was behind the attack on former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury. "We consider that this is an attack on all European sovereignty," the French President said. "We therefore call for a coordinated and responsible reaction of the EU and of its member states. "A number of member states - including France and Germany - will very shortly set out some coordinated measures." Latvia has promised to expel "one or several" Russian diplomats, with the Czech Republic saying it will "probably" follow suit. Denmark is also "very seriously considering" unilateral action to support Britain. Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney later revealed his country would carry out a "security assessment" on all Russian diplomats as part of the consideration of "additional measures". "Such actions are also under consideration by a large number of other EU member states," he said. Challenged at a news conference about whether the EU had hit back hard enough at Russia, European Council President Donald Tusk said "we will never have the chance to respond adequately". Story continues "We are completely different from the perpetrators - if you know what I mean," he raged. Earlier, the Russian foreign ministry said it "regretted" the EU's ambassador being temporarily withdrawn "for consultations". A spokesperson claimed the bloc was "heading towards an anti-Russia campaign, instigated by London and Washington". A collective EU decision to find Russia "highly likely" to have carried out the nerve agent attack three weeks ago was only made to "help" British Prime Minister Theresa May "out of a difficult situation", they added. Friday also marked the day when 23 British diplomats and their families in Russia were forced to leave the country. It came in retaliation for the UK Government kicking out 23 Russian diplomats accused of being "undeclared intelligence officers". Speaking as she left the EU summit in Brussels, Mrs May said there was "no plausible alternative explanation" than that Moscow sanctioned the attempted murder in Salisbury. "The threat from Russia is one that respects no borders," she warned. "I think it is clear that Russia is challenging the values we share as Europeans. "And it is right that we are standing together in defence of those barriers." Londons Met Police force has apologised after two officers posted a selfie from a murder scene on Twitter. The officers from Newham, east London, sparked anger when they shared a selfie from the Stratford Centre, where a man had been stabbed to death two days before. The picture was shared on a force Twitter page with the caption: Crime scene at Stratford mall today., prompting furious responses from fellow Twitter users questioning how the officers had thought it appropriate. The outcry has sparked an apology from police (Picture: Twitter/Met Police) The tweet has since been deleted and the force issued an apology via Twitter. It admitted the officers had showed a lack of judgement and sensitivity and said they would be reminded of how to use social media responsibly. MOST POPULAR TODAY ON YAHOO A murder investigation is underway after a man, believed to be in his early 20s, was stabbed at the Stratford Centre on Tuesday evening. It is believed the victim and a friend were involved in an altercation with a group of young men before he was stabbed. The Pope says people should not fear tattoos as they can help build communities. Speaking during a meeting with young people at The Vatican, Pope Francis gave the example of Christian girls in Eritrea where a tattoo of a cross on their forehead were used as a symbol of beauty and religious faith. He said: "The Eritreans for years made the cross here (the forehead). Also today we see them. The cross was tattooed." He added: "Don't be afraid of tattoos." The pontiff said tattoos could be used by young priests to connect to people they were trying to reach out to because the tattoos often communicated information about a person. The tattoo could spark conversation and provide a way for a priest to find out more about an individual and connect with the "culture of the young", he explained. Pope Francis said: "Tattoos often signify membership in a community. 'You young man, that you're tattooed like that, what are you looking for?' In this tattoo, which community membership are you expressing? "It's important not to be scared. With young people, one should never be scared. Never. Because always, even behind the things that are not so good, there is something that will bring us to some truth." The Pope was speaking ahead of the synod which is focused around the topic Young People, Faith and the Discernment of Vocation. He also said that young people "must be taken seriously" as they are often "marginalised from ordinary public life". In other comments, the Pope said Catholics who pay for prostitutes are committing a "crime against humanity" and he asked that they be forgiven. Pope Francis will visit Ireland in August , where he will take part in the Festival of Families at Croke Park, Dublin. By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has international partners it can work with if the United States walks away from a potential deal on nuclear power technology over concerns about nuclear proliferation, Khalid al-Falih, the kingdom's energy minister, said in an interview on Thursday. "If the U.S. is not with us, they will lose the opportunity to influence the programme in a positive way," Falih said after he and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met this week with President Donald Trump, Energy Secretary Rick Perry and other officials on a range of issues. Perry has been quietly working with Saudi Arabia on a civilian nuclear agreement that could allow the kingdom to enrich uranium and reprocess plutonium, technologies that nonproliferation advocates worry could one day be covertly altered to produce fissile material for nuclear weapons. The kingdom is also in talks with companies from Russia, China, South Korea and other countries as the race to build two reactors in Saudi Arabia heats up. Saudi Arabia has said it needs nuclear power to move away from burning crude oil to generate electricity and to diversify its economy. Earlier this month, its cabinet approved a national policy programme that limits nuclear activities to peaceful purposes. Perry hopes Saudi Arabia will buy nuclear power technology from U.S. companies, including Westinghouse, which went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy this year and abandoned plans to build two advanced AP1000 reactors in the United States. But Salman raised concerns when he told CBS in an interview on Sunday that the kingdom will develop nuclear weapons if its archrival Iran does so. Some members of the U.S. Congress worry the Trump administration is moving too quickly on a deal that could relax nonproliferation standards and one day help lead to a nuclear arms race across the Middle East. If Saudi Arabia signs a deal that relaxes the safeguards, the UAE could be free to break its own deal it signed with Washington years ago and enrich uranium. The UAE deal contained the "gold standard" in such 123 nuclear agreements, because it contains the safeguards. Story continues On Wednesday, lawmakers from both parties in the U.S. House introduced a bill that would reform U.S. law to ensure that partners on nuclear energy abandon the pursuit of enriching uranium and reprocessing plutonium. The bill would also harden congressional approval of civilian nuclear deals. Falih said he was hopeful for a deal with Washington. "It will be natural for the United States to be with us and to provide us not only with technology, but to help us with the fuel cycle and the monitoring, and make sure we do it to the highest standard." But the kingdom has generous uranium resources it wants to develop. "It's not natural for us to bring enriched uranium from a foreign country to fuel our reactors," Falih said. "The irony is that if the U.S. chooses not to (seal a deal) then somebody else will and we are fortunate to have many other alternative sources that have agreed to work with us and they will be competing for our programme," Falih said. In that case, "the U.S. will not have a seat at the table," he said. Perry stuck a similar chord in comments during a congressional hearing on nuclear deals this week. "It appears to me, either Russia or China is going to be a partner in building civil nuclear capability in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia," if the United States does not. Some nuclear analysts believe it is unlikely that the Saudis would choose to work with Russia because it has partnerships with nuclear projects in Iran. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) People are understandably freaked out in the wake of more school shootings, and many school systems are scrambling to figure out how to keep their students, teachers, and staff safe. Now, one superintendent at a Pennsylvania school district thinks he has the solution: arm students with rocks. David Helsel, superintendent of the Blue Mountain School District, told state lawmakers earlier this week that in the event of a shooting, his students will use rocks to protect themselves. Every classroom has been equipped with a five-gallon bucket of river stone. If an armed intruder attempts to gain entrance into any of our classrooms, they will face a classroom full students armed with rocks and they will be stoned, he said, per WNEP 16. Photo: Getty Images Helsel said he came up with the idea himself and chose river stone because the rocks are the right size for hands, you can throw them very hard, and they will create or cause pain, which can distract. According to Helsel, teachers, staff, and students in his district were given active-shooter training through a program known as ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate), and they regularly hold evacuation drills for active-shooter simulations. This isnt the first line of defense, Helsel says, but it could be one tool in their arsenal. We have devices installed in our doors that help to secure them, to make it very difficult to break through, he said. We also train kids and talk about barricading the doors. Helsel did not respond to Yahoo Lifestyles request for comment. While the idea is definitely creative, experts arent impressed. This is ridiculous, John Matthews, executive director of the Community Safety Institute and a former chief of police, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. Its next to the idea of throwing canned vegetables. Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, which works closely with Everytown to fight gun violence, agrees. I think this is a really bad idea, she tells Yahoo Lifestyle. Story continues Lawmakers in Pennsylvania and elsewhere in the country should be working to disarm dangerous people not give kids rocks, she says. The idea that rocks are going to protect children from gunmen is an absurd idea, Watts says. People are looking to solutions that are ineffective because they are reticent to try data-driven solutions that are proven to work, like stronger gun laws. Instead of rocks, Matthews recommends realistic training for staff and students on what to do during an attack prior to police arrival, as well as proactive campus safety teams who make pragmatic recommendations based on each individual campus. Watts says armed school resource officers or security officers may help somewhat if theyre well trained and have completed background checks, but theyre not necessarily enough to take on a gunman who has access to semiautomatic weapons. This is not happening in other high-income countries this is a problem unique to schools in America, she says. We have so many guns and so few gun laws. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. People attend a ceremony at the Maelbeek metro station to commemorate two years since bombings at Brussels airport and a metro station, in Brussels, Belgium March 22, 2018. Olivier Hoslet/Pool via REUTERS Thomson Reuters By Farah Salhi and Samantha Koester BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The second anniversary of a militant attack in Belgium in which 32 people died brings back painful memories for Walter Benjamin, whose right leg was partially amputated because he was caught in a bomb blast at the airport. The government said last year it would grant survivors victim status, making them eligible for a pension and reimbursement for medical costs but Benjamin said Belgium has done too little to help survivors return to their daily lives. "It's the government's responsibility to protect its own citizens," said Benjamin, who wrote a book to help him cope. "People have been abandoned." Soldiers have patrolled Brussels since three young Belgian Muslims blew themselves up with suitcase bombs at the Maelbeek metro station and Zaventem airport on March 22, 2016. But Benjamin and other victims say they still have security concerns as they deal with the memory of the attacks. Philippe Vansteenkiste's sister was killed in the attack and he now runs a group for victims. He said there were around 500 direct and indirect victims and more were coming forward. "People walked away thinking 'I was lucky, I escaped,' but then PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) starts," Vansteenkiste said. Benjamin was on his way to visit his 16-year-old daughter in Israel when the airport bombs went off. In the aftermath, he said a Muslim man came to his aid. He recalled the moment to argue that not all Muslims should be blamed for the attacks. Since then, Benjamin finds himself hurrying through airport terminals and security checks. Talking to other survivors and fellow amputees, he says, has helped him heal. (Writing by Samantha Koester and Lucasta Bath; Reporting by Farah Salhi and Natalie Rice; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg) See Also: Former Russian spy Sergei Skripals daughter briefly regained consciousness in hospital after being targeted with a nerve agent alongside her father, it has been reported. Yulia Skripal, 33, came round briefly after being admitted to hospital earlier this month before falling back into a coma, The Times reported. The father and daughter were rendered unconscious after being attacked with a nerve agent in Salisbury. According to The Times Mr Skripal and his daughter may have permanent brain damage, according to evidence given at a closed-door court hearing this week. Following a hearing in the Court of Protection, where issues relating to people who lack the mental capacity to make decisions are considered, Mr Justice Williams gave doctors permission to take blood samples from Mr Skripal and his daughter so tests can be carried out by chemical weapons experts. Coma Yulia Skripal is understood to have briefly regained consciousness when she was first admitted to hospital (Pictures: Rex) The judge said he had concluded that such moves were in the best interests of Mr and Ms Skripal. Mr Justice Williams said the UK Government had invited the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which is based in The Hague, Holland, to send experts to assist with investigations. MOST POPULAR TODAY ON YAHOO The judge said bosses at Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust had told government officials that a Court of Protection judge would have to authorise such moves because Mr and Ms Skripal were incapacitated. He said Government lawyers had then asked him to make decisions. By Tatiana Jancarikova BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Thousands of Slovaks rallied in Bratislava and other towns for a fourth consecutive Friday over the murder of an investigative journalist, although numbers were sharply lower after veteran prime minister Robert Fico was forced to quit. Some protesters repeated demands for new elections despite Fico's departure following the shooting of Jan Kuciak, 27, who probed fraud cases involving businessmen with political ties, and his fiancee last month. Fico resigned last week but the existing three-party coalition has been reformed under a new prime minister, meaning no new elections are being held. On Friday the crowd in Bratislava staged a largely silent vigil for Kuciak rather than a noisy protest as before, and the newspaper Dennik N estimated its size at around 25,000, half the figure for last week's demonstration. Some protesters said they respected the constitution after President Andrej Kiska appointed a new government under Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini on Thursday to keep the coalition afloat midway through its term. But Fico remains leader of Pellegrini's Smer party, the biggest group in the government. Other Slovaks are disappointed that no early elections have been held. They see the reshuffle, that saw former health minister Tomas Drucker replace unpopular interior minister Robert Kalinak, as insufficient to safeguard a fair investigation of Kuciak's murder while Smer, often a target of the reporter's investigative journalism, remains in power. "There are serious allegations that government officials not only had ties with organised crime but were directly involved in it, systematically ripping off our country," human rights activist Zuzana Kriskova said at the Bratislava vigil. The crowd occasionally erupted into chants demanding early elections and, after singing the national anthem, several thousand marched towards the parliament. They demanded the resignation of Slovakia's police chief, also a subject of Kuciak's reporting, over his perceived conflict of interest. Story continues No clashes were reported. Kiska said on Thursday he had agreed with Drucker that the leadership of the Slovak police force must be replaced to help win back public trust. The new government is likely to sail through a confidence vote next week in the 150-member parliament, where the coalition has a majority with 79 lawmakers. Kuciak, who was found with fiancee Martina Kusnirova in their home outside Bratislava, had been looking into suspected mafia links of Italians with businesses in Slovakia. In his final report, published posthumously, he said one of the Italians, currently in custody for suspected drug trafficking, had past business links with two Slovaks who later worked in Fico's office. Both have resigned but deny any connection with the murder. Their Italian former business partner has denied having connections with the mafia. No one has been charged with the murder so far. Fico was prime minister for 10 of the last 12 years. He positioned the euro zone country as a pro-European bastion in a eurosceptic region, avoiding the clashes Hungary and Poland have had with the EU over media freedom and the rule of law. Pellegrini vowed to maintain his pro-European course. (Reporting By Tatiana Jancarikova; editing by David Stamp) By Warren Strobel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's choice of John Bolton to replace Army Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster as national security adviser replaces a restraining influence in the president's inner circle with a dedicated hawk. Bolton is known as a colourful figure in Washington and an inveterate bureaucratic infighter. On his desk at the State Department during the administration of former Republican President George W. Bush, he kept a defused hand grenade. His 2007 memoir is titled: "Surrender Is Not An Option." His favourite targets for criticism include Iran, North Korea, the United Nations, European governments and international treaties. In 2003, on the eve of six-nation talks over Pyongyang's nuclear program, he lambasted then-North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in a speech in Seoul, calling him a "tyrannical dictator." North Korea responded by calling Bolton "human scum." Like Trump, Bolton did not serve in the Vietnam War, instead joining the Army National Guard. Bolton's sometimes abrasive style got him into trouble in the Bush administration. One incident that came back to haunt him was his reported dressing-down of an intelligence analyst who questioned him over whether Cuba had an advanced chemical and biological weapons program. During his 2005 confirmation hearing to become U.N. ambassador, State Department intelligence chief Carl Ford called Bolton "a serial abuser" and "a quintessential kiss-up, kick-down sort of guy." The Senate never approved Bolton's nomination. Bush instead appointed him to the U.N. post for 17 months under a process known as a recess appointment that bypasses confirmation. In a Fox News interview on Thursday evening, after news of his appointment broke, Bolton appeared to temper his often harsh rhetoric. "Frankly, what I have said in private now, is behind me, at least effective April 9," he said, referring to the date he is scheduled to take over from McMaster. Story continues DIZZYING AREA OF ISSUES The White House national security adviser post does not require Senate confirmation. In that job, Bolton will oversee a White House national security staff of several hundred specialists, many on loan from the Pentagon, State Department and U.S. intelligence agencies. He will be responsible for advising Trump on a dizzying array of issues, from the fight against Islamic State and al Qaeda to China's expanding economic and military power. In Seoul, conservative lawmaker Kim Hack-yong expressed concern about Bolton's appointment in advance of a planned summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. "This is worrisome news. North Korea and the United States need to have dialogue, but this only fuels worries over whether the talks will ever happen," Kim said. "If Bolton takes office and talks with North Korea go haywire and yield bad results, I don't know what we'll do then." Mark Dubowitz, chief executive of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, who advises the White House on Iran policy, said Bolton would support abrogating the Iran nuclear deal if Britain, France and Germany fail to meet Trump's demand for new limits on Tehran's program by mid-May. "My long-standing support for a fix for the Iran deal may have just died an untimely death," said Dubowitz, who backs preserving the deal by closing what he argues are fatal loopholes in the pact. Bolton has applauded Trump's plan to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, advocated keeping the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba open, and proposed increasing pressure on China by boosting U.S. support to Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province. Judging by his Twitter feed, Bolton is more hawkish on Russia than his new boss, Trump. While dismissing allegations that Trump's campaign colluded with the Kremlin, Bolton has been outspoken about alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. When Russian President Vladimir Putin announced new nuclear weapons on March 1, Bolton responded with trademark bellicosity. "There needs to be a strategic response to Russia's new nuclear missiles to show our allies in Europe that we will not let #Russia push the U.S. or its allies around," he wrote. (Writing by Warren Strobel and John Walcott; Additional reporting by Jonathan Landay and David Brunnstrom in Washington and Christine Kim in Seoul; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Peter Cooney) Hundreds of earthquakes have rattled the area near the Yellowstone supervolcano Supervolcano eruptions are a terrifying destructive force which can blanket huge areas in ash and change the climate for decades. Now researchers have detected a huge 215-mile plume of hot magma stretching from the Yellowstone supervolcano to the California-Mexico border. But volcano experts say theres no reason to worry the Yellowstone supervolcano has not erupted for 72,000 years, and is no more likely to now. Researchers from the University of Texas found evidence of a deep mantle plume using EarthScopes USArray, which detects how seismic waves bounce off Earths core, IFLScience reports. Hundreds of earthquakes rattle area near deadly Yellowstone supervolcano The researchers found evicence of a long, thin, sloping zone which runs 215 miles from Yellowstone to Mexico. Michael Poland of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory said, There are many suspected plumes, or hot spots, around the Earth. MOST POPULAR TODAY ON YAHOO Yellowstone is one of them, but its a bit more complex. The plume has always been there, its just that we havent been able to see it very well. This kind of structure works on the order of millions and millions of years and has no impact on our understanding of how Yellowstone works in terms of eruptive cycles, just their driving forces. It doesnt change our perception of volcanic activity at all. TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan should educate its youth about the risks presented by China where there is neither freedom nor democracy, Taiwan's main body in charge of policy making towards its giant neighbour said on Friday. China has been increasing its efforts to win over young Taiwanese, a key demographic to reach out to amid souring political relations between Beijing and Taipei, including offering incentives to set up businesses in China. China claims Taiwan as its sovereign territory and considers people from the self-ruled island to be Chinese citizens. In a statement issued after a meeting to discuss China's recently concluded parliamentary session, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said the government should up efforts to counter China trying to attract talent, such as students and teachers. "Some council members said that young people in Taiwan set great store on democracy and freedom, which is exactly what the environment in mainland Chinese society cannot provide," it said. "The government can strengthen and show off Taiwan's advantages, and help young people understand the possible risks." Taiwan's current government swept into power with the help of the youth-driven Sunflower Movement, protesting against a trade pact with China, something Taiwan's government has said caught China's attention, which is why China is now focussing on young Taiwanese. Taiwan is one of China's most sensitive issues, and China's hostility towards the island has risen since Tsai Ing-wen from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party won the presidency in 2016. China fears she wants to push for formal independence, though Tsai says she wants to maintain the status quo and peace. Chinese President Xi Jinping warned Taiwan on Tuesday it would face the "punishment of history" for any attempt at separatism, offering his strongest warning yet to the island. China has also been infuriated by a new U.S. law which encourages contacts and exchanges between U.S. and Taiwanese officials even though they do not have formal ties. Story continues The United States' commitment to Taiwan has never been stronger and the island is an inspiration to the rest of the Indo-Pacific region, a senior U.S. diplomat said in Taipei this week. The Mainland Affairs Council said it had noted that Chinese officials have been using the term "severe" of late to refer to relations across the Taiwan Strait. "The future development of relations across the Taiwan Strait is still full of challenges, and it is not easy to be optimistic," it added. (Reporting by Twinnie Siu; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie) The EUs ambassador to Moscow has been temporarily withdrawn over the Salisbury nerve agent attack. German diplomat Markus Ederer, who leads the bloc's delegation to Russia, is being recalled "for consultations". EU leaders made the symbolic move on Thursday night, although it is not a formal sanction. Following a working dinner at a Brussels summit, European Council President Donald Tusk revealed the bloc's member states backed Britain's claim there is "no other plausible explanation" than Moscow's culpability. He posted on Twitter: "#EUCO agrees with UK government that highly likely Russia is responsible for #SalisburyAttack and that there is no other plausible explanation." :: Detective exposed to nerve agent leaves hospital Theresa May responded by saying she welcomed the fact that the European Council is "standing together" over the attempted murder of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. She added that "the threat that Russia poses respects no borders and it is a threat to our values". Reports suggest as many as five EU countries - France, Poland and the three Baltic states - could now follow Britain's lead by expelling suspected Russian spies. The UK Government has directly blamed Moscow for the attack in Wiltshire, with traces of nerve agent novichok in the Skripals' blood. At Thursday's working dinner, the Prime Minister led the EU leaders' discussion of the incident, with Mrs May providing an update on the investigation into the attack. Mrs May had earlier held special talks on the sidelines of the summit with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "The leaders agreed on the importance of sending a strong European message in response to Russia's actions and agreed to remain in close contact in coming days," a Number 10 spokesperson said. :: 'Russia's novichok programme exists, I worked on it,' scientist says Story continues Mrs May won similar backing after meeting the leaders of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden, who were also said to have strongly supported the UK's assessment of the Salisbury incident. Prior to Mr Tusk's later statement, other EU leaders had signalled they might have been less willing to sign up to a joint statement of direct condemnation of Russia, or to take a tougher stance towards Moscow. Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras signalled his own resistance on his arrival in Brussels, posting on Twitter: "We have to express solidarity to the British people for the Salisbury case, but we also need to be responsible on that issue." Divisions in Brussels had already been apparent among top EU bosses this week, with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker's decision to congratulate Vladimir Putin on his re-election as Russian President criticised by Mr Tusk. Earlier on Thursday, Russia's ambassador to the UK, Alexander Yakovenko, claimed EU countries were awaiting evidence from Britain over the Salisbury attack. "Basically I think all the countries of the EU will be happy to see something before they make conclusions," he said. "What I was told by one ambassador yesterday was first we want to see the evidence, then to make conclusions." Mr Yakovenko's comments came as a UK judge ruled doctors will be able to take blood samples from the Skripals to send to experts at international watchdog, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The court ruling also revealed medical tests indicate the Skripals' "mental capacity might be compromised to an unknown and so far unascertained degree" as they remain in an unconscious condition in hospital. Prior to their working dinner, EU leaders discussed the allegations Cambridge Analytica harvested the Facebook data of 50 million users. Mr Tusk said: "It was clear to all the leaders that citizens' privacy and personal data must be fully protected. We take this issue very seriously." The EU leaders moved their discussions on trade to Friday, as news broke the bloc will be temporarily exempt from US President Donald Trump's threat to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to America. Police in Wisconsin are begging a serial toilet clogger to stop their relentless campaign of blocking the same womens facilities with a 20 ounce soda bottle, which they have waged for a year and a half. The Sheboygan Police Department and the Department of Public Works pleaded with people not to put trash into public toilets after the womens toilet at the Deland Community Center in the city of Sheboygan on the shores of Lake Michigan was repeatedly clogged with a soda bottle. This, police said, has cost thousands of dollars in repair bills and put the facilities out of use. How does one do this and how many flushes does it take? said Sheboygan Police in a Facebook post. Trending: Trump Says He Could Take Joe Biden In a Fight And the Former VP Would Go Down Crying All The Way toilet PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP/Getty Images Flushing is not necessary as the person is actually inserting the bottle into the toilet pipes. Why do this? I do not know, but if you help us find the person, I will tell you. This is very strange and gross, but that is the reality of life. Police are appealing for anyone with information about the serial toilet clogger to come forward. Don't miss: Businessman Who Spent $350k Restoring Ferrari 458 Spider Is Physically Sick After Police Seize, Destroy It Heres the departments statement in full The Sheboygan Police Department and the Department of Public Works is asking the public to please not place trash or other rubbish into a public toilet. I know what youre thinking at this moment. Why is the Police Department telling us not to put trash in the toilet? WellIll tell you why. Over the past year and a half, someone has been clogging the womens toilet at the Deland Community Center with a 20 ounce soda bottle. How does one do this and how many flushes does it take? Flushing is not necessary as the person is actually inserting the bottle into the toilet pipes. Why do this? I do not know, but if you help us find the person, I will tell you. This is very strange and gross, but that is the reality of life. Story continues Most popular: Starbucks Says it Has Eliminated Gender Pay Gap in the U.S., Rest of World Is Next This has led to thousands of dollars in repair and labor costs and unavailability of the public restrooms. The members of the Sheboygan Police Department partner with the Department of Public Works to keep our parks and facilities clean and safe. We are currently looking to find the said person or persons to hold them accountable. Please help us to keep our parks clean and safe for our residents and visitors. If you know who is doing this, please call Sgt. Joel Kuszynski at 920-459-3341. If you see something, please say something. If you see someone suspicious around the restrooms please call the Sheboygan Police Department at 920-459-3333. If you are at the Deland Center and find a toilet clogged please follow the directions on the signs posted. If you have information but wish to remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward you can report this to Sheboygan Countywide Crime Stoppers at 877-283-8436 or www.cufthem.com. If you choose to go this route please provide as much information as possible to assist us in resolving this case. #seesomethingsaysomething This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Analysts at Credit Suisse slashed their target on shares of Allied Minds , telling clients they were still waiting for the commercial proof points from the company and pointed out its ongoing rate of 'cash burn'. In a research note sent to clients, the Swiss broker took its target for the shares from 175p to 110p, while retaining a 'neutral' recommendation for the stock. The reasons for their decision on the former were lower valuations across the firm's peer group, a decline in its Group Subsidiary Ownership Adjusted Value, less cash held at parent level and stronger cable. "Still waiting for commercial proof points [...] As highlighted at CMD, management is focused on getting the top 6 subsidiaries closer to commercialization or milestones to allow it to exit at a premium valuation. "In that context, we continue to wait to hear about first commercial contract wins for Federated Wireless (contingent upon FCC approval) and HawkEye at some point during 2018," they said. As for the company's cash burn, going forward Credit Suisse expected it to decline from the between $90m to $100m per year seen over the past two years to about $80m per year. At present, the early state technology start-up investors was holding $169m of net cash, with $84m of that at the parent level and another $85m at the subsidiary level. Stocks are extending their steep declines from the previous session but have come off their lows of the session as some analysts argue that the immediate escalation in global trade tensions has not been as bad as feared. Also giving the main shares indices a lift was better-than-expected readings on US durable goods orders and new home sales for the month of February. Overnight, the White House had opened the door to tariffs on at least $50bn of Chinese-made goods, alongside other measures, although in a somewhat unexpected move it left the door open to negotiations with Beijing, even as China responded to previous American levies on steel and aluminium with its own $3bn-worth of measures on American goods. That prompted analysts at Nomura to tell clients, "Taken altogether, trade risks remain a point of concern for our economic outlook. However, the weakening steel and aluminium tariffs, softer-than-expected Section 301 announcement against China, and a slightly brighter outlook for NAFTA indicate that perhaps trade tensions are not quite as high as previously assumed." On the other hand, despite the measured response from China and Washington's somewhat less aggressive than expected stance, according to Bloomberg Stephen Roach, Morgan Stanley's ex-chief economist, said: "China's response is surprisingly modest in light of the US actions, suggesting there could be a good deal more to come. "As America's third largest and most rapidly growing export market and as the largest foreign owner of Treasuries, China has considerably more leverage over the U.S. than Washington politicians care to admit." As of 1400 GMT, the benchmark Stoxx 600 had more than halved its losses to trade lower by 0.53% or 1.94 points to 367.22, alongside a fall of 1.19% or 145.24 points to 11,954.61 on the German Dax and a retreat of 0.98% or 49.30 points to 5,116.73 on the Cac-40. Also weighing on sentiment was another change in the US administration's top ranks, with the White House replacing national security adviser HR McMaster with John Bolton, one of the more controversial proponents of the Iraq war. Offsetting that drag, the US Commerce Department reported that orders for durable goods in the US jumped by 3.1% last month (consensus: 1.6%), while sales of new homes dipped by 0.6% to an annualised pace of 618,000 (consensus: 620,00) alongside upwards revisions to January's data. No major economic releases were expected on the Continent on Friday. Still ahead for later in the session were speeches from Minneapolis Federal Reserve chief Neel Kashkari at 1430 GMT and the Boston Fed's Rosengren at midnight. Stocks are extending their steep declines from the previous session as traders monitor a cascade of news on the heightening trade tensions between the US and China and the White House's decision to name a controversial foreign-affairs specialist to the post of national security adviser, in replacement for HR McMaster. Overnight, the White House opened the door to tariffs on at least $50bn of Chinese-made goods, although in a somewhat unexpected move it left the door open to negotiations with Beijing, even as China responded with its own $3bn-worth of measures on US goods in response to previous American levies on steel and aluminium. Despite the measured response from China, and Washington's somewhat less aggressive than expected stance, according to Bloomberg Stephen Roach, Morgan Stanley's ex-chief economist, said: "China's response is surprisingly modest in light of the US actions, suggesting there could be a good deal more to come. "As America's third largest and most rapidly growing export market and as the largest foreign owner of Treasuries, China has considerably more leverage over the U.S. than Washington politicians care to admit." As of 1030 GMT, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was trading down by 1.16% or 4.31 points to 364.85, alongside a fall of 1.56% or 188.82 points to 11,911.48 on the German Dax and a retreat of 1.53% or 78.78 points to 5,088.43 on the Cac-40. Also weighing on sentiment was another change in the US administration's top ranks, with the White House replacing national security adviser HR McMaster with John Bolton, one of the more controversial proponents of the Iraq war. No major economic releases were expected on the Continent on Friday. Later in the session, in the States, data on durable godos orders for February were scheduled for release at 1230 GMT, followed by figures on new US home sales at 1400. Most important however would likely be speeches from three top Fed officials, including the Atlanta Fed's Bostic at 1210 GMT, followed by Minneapolis Fed chief Neel Kashkari at 1430 GMT and the Boston Fed's Rosengren at midnight. Indivior warned of a potential "rapid and material loss" of sales from its main revenue-generating product after a US court found a rival generic challenger of the drug did not infringe on its patents. The US District Court of Delaware found that Alvogen's generic substitute does not infringe the asserted claims of three of its US patents protecting Indivior's Suboxone Film treatment for opioid addiction. FTSE 250-listed Indivior said it believes that it has grounds to appeal. The company also has a Federal Court appeal already due against Dr Reddys towards the end of this year, which in effect will also be relevant to Alvogen. As it stands, Alvogen has not yet gained approval from the US Food & Drug Administration and so any launch would be at-risk before the appeal plays out, putting therefore be liable for material damages if Indivior wins its appeal. If Alvogen is successfully launched in the US, Indivior said it believes "it could potentially result in a rapid and material loss of market share for Suboxone Film in the US" within months. Suboxone Film, a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone, averaged a market share of 57% in 2017 with US sales of $900m out of the company's total $1.09bn net revenue. For 2018, guidance of net revenue in a range of $1.13-1.17bn and net income in a range of $290-320m, excluding exceptional items and at constant FX, assumed no launch of a generic buprenorphine/naloxone film product will not take place during the year. Analyst Paul Cuddon at broker Numis said the Federal Court appeal "is at best a 50/50 ruling, but with no new evidence being submitted we assume Indivior loses the appeal". Cuddon said Indivior's main line of defence is the assertion of the two recently listed Orange Book patents, '454, '221, and a third to be issued on 3 April, '305, "that will take some time to work through or otherwise be settled". As Indivior recently was granted FDA approval to launch Sublocade, a new longer-lasting formula of the drug, although initial net revenue expectations are likely to be relatively modest in the early stages, Cuddon said with net cash of $376m at the year end, "the key risks have been overcome". "Contingency plans to significant reduce costs are in place if generics were to launch 'at risk' in 2018 and we assume Indivior could deliver material reductions in cost without compromising the launch of Sublocade." RBC Capital Markets' view was that the loss in the courts is an obvious blow to Indivior and "could potentially leave the company more exposed to both an at risk launch and from future competitors, with the path to circumventing the 3 original patents has been laid out in the courts (twice) this makes it easier for others to follow, in our view". However, RBC noted that there are currently no FDA approved generics, hence no launch is possible until at least one is approved and that there are three more patents to circumvent to provide incremental protection the generics must overcome. With Indivior appealing the outcome, it means an at launch risk "brings triple damages to anyone who launches at risk and loses in appeal". RBC sees "any negative share price reaction as likely being overdone against what will be reality and a potential buying opportunity for investors", pointing to the rise and fall of the shares last August as the proxy. Mike Isabella, known for competing on seasons 6 and 8 of Bravo's 'Top Chef,' is being accused of Sexual Harassment by his former employee Chloe Caras. Caras is suing Isabella, his company Mike Isabella Concepts, and his four business partners - Taha Ismail, Yohan Allender, George Pagonis, and Nicholas Pagonis - for an unspecified amount. This allegation comes in the wake of the Time's Up and #MeToo movements. The allegations Chloe Caras was the general manager of Mike Isabella concepts until December 2017. Caras alleges that Isabella and his partners called her female derogatory names, commented on the size of her bottom, and touched her without permission. On the night of December 5, the situation reached a boiling point. Caras says that Isabella "appeared visibly intoxicated" and that he continued to say inappropriate remarks to Caras. When she asked him to stop, he got angry. Caras says that when she tried to leave, he continued to call Caras derogatory names, then fired her. Caras also alleges that throughout the time she worked for Isabella, she received multiple inappropriate text messages from her bosses via a text message group chat. Isabella's response Isabella, who is being represented by Bascietto & Bregman Law Firm, has denied all allegations against him saying that his company doesn't tolerate harassment and discrimination. His lawyers say that Caras worked for Isabella for years and never brought up the issue and that Caras wasn't actually fired; she "stormed off the job and refused to return, insisting she had been fired." His lawyers also say that 60 percent of the business's "management and leadership personnel" are women. Isabella's lawyers also sent the Washington Post a list of women to contact about their experience working in the restaurant. Janelle Serianni, a general manager, said although Isabella and his partners do drink in the restaurants, she didn't witness "negative name-calling or touching." Dhiandra Olson, an assistant general manager, has worked for Isabella for five years and says she hasn't seen Isabella or his partners harass women, and that his restaurant is a "great environment to work in." Two anonymous male chefs who previously worked for Isabella claim they witnessed Isabella yelling at Caras and following her the night she was dismissed. The chefs remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation. Another accusation Caras isn't the only former female employee accusing Isabella of wrongdoing. In a separate accusation, Sara Hancock said Isabella kissed her cheek in late December without permission, claiming he would make her a superstar. She immediately told her boyfriend about this kiss via text message on December 31, which she showed a reporter at the Washington Post. Hancock says that working in the company is "degrading" for women and that the workplace felt like a "frat house." Isabella's legacy Isabella's culinary empire is worth $30 million. He currently has 11 restaurants in Washington, D.C. and the Virginia and Maryland suburbs. His restaurants have attracted high-profile clients including Lady Gaga and Michelle Obama. Isabella rose to fame in 2009 when he competed on season 6 of 'Top Chef" and finished in 7th place. Isabella returned to 'Top Chef' for season 8 and finished in 2nd. Earlier this week, former Vice President Joe Biden had some strong words for Donald Trump. in regards to his treatment and previous remarks about women. In response, the president decided to hit back, though his reaction didn't go over too well with critics. Crazy Joe Biden is trying to act like a tough guy. Actually, he is weak, both mentally and physically, and yet he threatens me, for the second time, with physical assault. He doesnt know me, but he would go down fast and hard, crying all the way. Dont threaten people Joe! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2018 Trump on Biden It's no secret that Donald Trump promotes himself as a tough guy, often speaking out against his critics in controversial fashion. Trump's remarks about women have also received backlash from his opposition, with many accusing him of being a sexist in the process. Commenting on his treatment of women was Joe Biden, who gave his thoughts about Trump earlier this week to a crowd in Miami, Florida. "If we were in high school, Id take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him," Biden said. Not stopping there, the former vice president continued to insult the commander in chief, comparing Trump to the "fattest, ugliest S.O.B. in the room." Former Vice President Joe Biden said he would take President Trump "behind the gym" and "beat the hell out of him" if they were in high school over the President's crude comments about women https://t.co/Kcu2xs16QX pic.twitter.com/qsj6du59eX CNN (@CNN) March 22, 2018 In a tweet on March 22, Donald Trump responded to Joe Biden with a warning and threat of his own. "Crazy Joe Biden is trying to act like a tough guy," Trump tweeted. "Actually, he is weak, both mentally and physically, and yet he threatens me, for the second time, with physical assault," he added. In addition, Donald Trump gave a prediction about what would happen if the two men ever got into a fight. "He doesnt know me, but he would go down fast and hard, crying all the way," Trump said, before adding, "Dont threaten people Joe!" This isn't the first time that Biden has spoke strongly about the president as speculation continues to increase about whether or not the former vice president will make a run for the White House in 2020 and potentially challenge Trump. Instant backlash Following Donald Trump's remarks, critics of the president didn't take too long to hit back. "How hard could you hit someone with those child like hands you have?" one tweet wondered. I'm a news junkie, so I don't miss much, even in this crazy environment! :-) But your point is well taken. Glad you are trying to get some of these stories out there. Sammie Rae Stephens (@sammierae70) March 22, 2018 How hard could you hit someone with those child like hands you have? mark (@ret071) March 22, 2018 @DanaUnleashed lets get these guys signed for a super fight! Haha WizzardLifeStudio (@Wizzardtweets) March 22, 2018 "OH MY GOD! HOW INCREDIBLY STUPID CAN YOU BE????" a Twitter user wrote. "Oh, please, please PLEASE, fight him. I would pay good money to watch you drop like a rock," yet another tweet added. "You are the weakest though, you win again," another tweet noted. Hey, why don't you act like the president instead of some prepubescent middle schooler? You embarrass yourself and our country. Pat (@GrandpaPat1964) March 22, 2018 This is simply not POTUS material in Conduct, Thought and Action. Do we really expect leadership from the USA? School boys are cleverer than this @CNNInternatDesk @SkyNews @BBCWorld @FoxNews Dr Mpho Rabada (@PorozaDr) March 22, 2018 You are the weakest though, you win again. Valerie Freeman (@valeriemerie2) March 22, 2018 "This is simply not POTUS material in Conduct, Thought and Action. Do we really expect leadership from the USA? School boys are cleverer than this," a social media user added. "Hey, why don't you act like the president instead of some prepubescent middle schooler? You embarrass yourself and our country," a follow-up tweet stated. High school students and grandmothers around the world are expected to rally March 24 for the March for Our Lives. The largest crowd is expected in Washington DC, where some restaurantsThe Bird, Logan Tavern, and The Pigare handing out free bag lunches. Others will offer discounted meals. Lyft will give demonstrators free rides to March for Our Lives events in 50 US cities (RSVP required). Free rooms are arranged in DC for visitors. This information has been confirmed by a report by Fox News. They want common sense gun laws. I don't feel that the children ever define what common sense gun laws are. Do they know what a common sense gun Law is, or do they need a rich, liberal, with one-foot-in-the-grave, to tell these students what they want? For instance, 18-year-olds could buy and drink beer and wine legally once. You cant now in America. Eighteen-year-old males didnt have to register for a draft in 1978. Boys reading this have to register, why girls dont is beyond me, but I digress. Beware of law changes If you qualify and meet legal requirements, you can buy a pistol or rifle at 18. You can also vote at 18. In fact, one of the threats the liberals are using against students is to suggest the students threaten to vote against elected officials who do not vote for common sense gun laws. 15 of our @CoCoSouthLA youth leaders will be loud and proud at the #MarchForOurLives this Saturday, March 24. #OneShot is all it takes to kill our kids and their dreams. Watch our youth demand an end to gun violence. #NeverAgain #EnoughIsEnough pic.twitter.com/BeK5DF0rGH Community Coalition (@CoCoSouthLA) March 22, 2018 Laws change, as pointed out above. One change the one-percenters, who are controlling students to ban guns, want is raising the age of buying a weapon to 21 years old. If that seems like common sense, wouldnt it make sense to raise the voting age to 21? Maybe all 18-year-olds should be inducted into military service where they could learn to respect weapons. That, too, seems like common sense to me. Kids might even learn that an AR-15 is not a military-style assault weapon. Neither common sense nor the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting ignited the March for Our Lives. Kids and their families are not the impetus for the event. The marchers will be pawns caught up in a political game over gun-owner rights. Follow the money One of the first rules of reporting is to follow the money. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has placed $50 million in a grass-roots organization to counter the National Rifle Association. His group, Everytown for Gun Safety, is the mastermind of the march. The group even provided the scripts for students to write elected officials and demand common sense gun laws. Bloombergs crew in Everytown includes super-rich fat cats Eli Broad and Warren Buffett, politico Tom Ridge and Gen. Michael G. Mullen (retired). Broad donated $1 million to the march, Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, George and Amal Clooney, and Jeffrey and Marilyn Katzenberg ponied up $500,000 each. Like all advocacy groups, I think Everytown exploits data to make it say what the group wants, rather than interpret what the data says. I feel Bloomberg misused a National School Safety Center report from 2014 that shows a significant drop in firearms deaths at schools over the last 20 years. Bloombergs analysis included late night lone suicides unrelated to school, late night gang fights, cases off school property, and defensive gun use, according to the Crime Prevention Research Center. I think Bloomberg radically overstated the number of school and university shootings. Jill and Derick Dillard are very involved in a church in Arkansas. Now the couple's church is hosting an event all about "Praying the Gay Away." Derick has actually been fired from "Counting On" because of his comments toward Jazz Jennings all over social networks. Derick has made it very clear that he is not okay with the life that Jazz lives. What is happening at their church? There is a big event that is being talked about on social networks. A post from the church said, "Tomorrow night we will have an opportunity to hear from Rickey Chelette on same-sex attraction. 7:30 pm in the Arvest Building!" Someone quickly commented, "Isn't this the 'Pray away the gay' guy???" This guy has talked about how he doesn't believe in same-sex attraction, so as you will see below it is kind of odd that now Derick is inviting people who are LGBTQ to come to his church. Derick invites LGBTQ community to his church Derick Dillard made it very clear in posts on his social networks that they are inviting everyone to come. He wanted to make sure that it wasn't an event that excluded anyone. He actually went to Twitter and said, "I want to personally invite any LGBTQ person & anyone else who would like to come with my family and me to church next Sunday. See you there! :) Please join us at 11:302801 McMillan Road Fayetteville, AR(on the corner of I-49 and Wedington)." He didn't invite them the same time as this event, so there is that, but they might end up talking about being gay at the time that these people visit his church. It will be pretty surprising if anyone shows up to meet them, but they may have a few fans take advantage of the offer. Some fans might decide that this is the only way they can meet Jill and Derick Dillard, so they will head to church to get to know the reality stars a bit better. Right now, Derick Dillard won't be on "Counting On," but there is a bit of confusion about if Jill will end up showing up some this season. They now have two children and are doing great, but because of Derick being so outspoken their reality show plans have certainly changed. There have even been a few rumors recently that these two are expecting another child. Are you shocked that Jill and Derick Dillard are attending a church that would have this kind of event? Do you feel like Jill will be on the upcoming season of "Counting On"? Sound off in the comments below on your thoughts and don't miss the new season of "Counting On" when it comes to TLC. Jenelle Evans' controversial husband, David Eason, was fired by MTV weeks ago after going on a homophobic rant on Twitter and now, fans are wondering what the future will hold for Evans. After all, the longtime reality star's storyline would certainly feel incomplete if she was to move forward with filming "Teen Mom 2" without being allowed to expose her husband's life and their marriage on the show. As rumors continue to swirl about the possibility of Evans being fired from the show that made her famous, a new report has offered new details about Evans' current status with the network. There are no plans to film with [Jenelle Evans] for at least six weeks, a source close to the mother of three told Radar Online on March 21. According to the report, Evans has absolutely no production schedule planned at the moment and has been focusing her time and energy on getting the network to rehire her husband. The outlet also revealed that Evans has allegedly been making demands to the network in hopes of taking control of the situation. However, unfortunately for her, MTV isn't backing down when it comes to David Eason's fate. Jenelle Evans takes matters into her own hands Just after learning her husband had been fired from "Teen Mom 2" by MTV, Evans announced the launch of her own web series, which features her at-home videos with her family. While Evans likely launched the show in an effort to remain in the public eye as MTV continues to ponder her future with the show, the network has reportedly been further infuriated by the web series. Some have even wondered if Evans' new show violates her agreement with MTV and whether it will result in her being fired as well. As the insider told Radar Online, Evans' recent behavior has been pushing MTV further and further away and at this point, they don't yet know if they will move forward with her and return to production in North Carolina. Briana DeJesus was brought to 'Teen Mom 2' last year In early 2017, MTV surprised fans when they decided to add Briana DeJesus, who previously appeared on "Teen Mom 3" to the show. At the time, many suspected the network chose to do so because one of the original four girls would ultimately be leaving. Now, some are wondering if MTV brought DeJesus to the show to ensure that there would always be at least four girls if someone were to leave -- or be fired. To see more of Jenelle Evans and her family, tune in to the upcoming episodes of "Teen Mom 2" when the show returns to MTV later this year. In 1790, at the peak of his creative powers and in the year before his premature death, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed the sophisticated, playful drama that is "Cosi fan tutte" (roughly translated: Women Are All Alike). A symmetrically balanced, two-act opera, it is essentially a sextet with the occasional chorus. Yet it proves thatwhen its Mozartthe less-is-more approach can be deeply satisfying. Metropolitan Opera has unveiled its new Phelim McDermott production with an updated setting. At a heavily sold performance Tuesday, March 20, California conductor David Robertson led the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus along with an international cast of soloists; tenor Ben Bliss and sopranos Amanda Majeski and Kelli OHara, from the United States, Czech bass-baritone Adam Plachetka, English baritone Christopher Maltman, and Italian mezzo-soprano Serena Malfi. The look of Cosi Director Phelim McDermotts co-production with English National Opera updates the action to 1950s Coney Island. Tom Pyes sets feature, against the horizon, both Thunderbolt (the historic roller coaster) and The Wonder Wheel (an improvement on the then-new Ferris wheel), aptly suggesting the amusement park ambiance. Lighting designer Paule Constable deftly silhouettes the Ferris wheel and roller coaster at sundown, complete with a subtly blazing sunset of burnt orange. Costume designer Laura Hopkins creations evoke those happy days, in both formal and casual wear, right down to the saddle shoes. Leading men Ben Bliss is more than a tenore di grazia. His agile voice has all the warmth and none of the tightness sometimes associated with Ferrandos music. He negotiates the long, heavily embellished lines as if second nature with gorgeous tone and sterling clarity. As Guglielmo, performed by Adam Plachetka, sings suavely and, when called for, blusters effectively. His Act-II aria avoids becoming just a monotonous rant, balancing indignation with macho swagger. Christopher Maltmana well-known Guglielmo himself, now having a turn as the cynical, scheming Alfonsohas a voice that makes you wish Mozart had come up with a proper aria or two for his character. Ben Bliss sings Ferrandos Act I aria, Unaura amorosa, in the final dress rehearsal of @MetOpera's new production of Cosi fan tutte, which will be transmitted LIVE in HD to 30 Irish venues nationwide on 31-March 2018. Tix: https://t.co/vv22KHr7uqhttps://t.co/R8KOisn8mp Classical Arts Irl (@ClassicalArts) 23 March 2018 Array of ladies Amanda Majeski clearly owns the role of Fiordiligi, her duets with Dorabella elegant and playful, her duet with Ferrando riveting, and both arias sung fully embellished with interpolated ornaments and even real trills. Serena Malfis melting mezzo is never more sensuous than in Dorabellas duet with Guglielmo, Il core vi dono (I Give You My Heart). Tony Award-winning Broadway star Kelli OHara credibly transitions to the opera stage with a lovely authentic soprano voice, necessary resonance, and some fine acting chops. As the worldly-wise Skylight Motel housekeeper, Despina, she beautifully dispatched both her arias and made a quick recovery on a couple flubbed lines of dialogue, sung in this high-speed, text-heavy role as recitative. Praised by @nytimes for her lustrous, focused voice, Amanda Majeski opened the new production of Cosi fan tutte at @MetOpera last night, creating stage magic singing her Act II aria suspended midair, a nod to the Coney Island circus-inspired production https://t.co/GLYez0gBjk pic.twitter.com/oJHSfA6xIq Columbia Artists (@ColumbiaArtists) 16 March 2018 Chorus and Orchestra underpinning Only 20 or so members of Metropolitan Opera Chorus appear, yet they prove ample for the crowd scenes and offstage numbers at the three pivotal plot points. Maestro David Robertson keeps things tightly togetherno little task in Mozart, with a million things happening each moment, especially in the extended finales of each act. The Orchestra plays this ingenious score splendidly. Why see Cosi Mozarts sublime music is the number-one reason to head to the Met. Let the sonic wonders of the score wash over you. Foremost among them is the Act-I trio Soave sia il vento (May the Winds Be Calm), Fiordiligi and Dorabellas heartfelt bon voyage to their intendeds, with Don Alfonsos sympathetic support. Such harmony. Such intertwining melodies. This is just one of various trios. (Act I opens with three trios in a row!) The opera quickly unfolds through a supple series of ten arias, several duets, quartets, quintets, and sextetsall of it mind-boggling, none of it disappointing. Love is complicated The story, though farfetched, is compelling: Ferrando and Guglielmo, two officers who are friends, are to marry two sisters, Fiordiligi and Dorabella. Don Alfonso bets that the young women will quickly fall for other eligible bachelors who come to pay suit, and he gets Despina in on the scheme. All bets on, the officers are suddenly called away by the military. After departing, they return in disguise and woo each others fiancee. All is harmless amusement, the officers think - until the young ladies begin to waver. Lots of angst erupts in the midst of this playful work (dramma giocoso). This production does not disguise the guys in ridiculous garb, but in jeans, leather jackets and subtle mustaches. That the sisters dont recognize them merely requires the audience to suspend disbelief. Comedy becomes dramedy, and the end is always unsettling. Twelve reasons more Metropolitan Opera has hired a 12-member skills ensemble made up of actual sideshow performers, some of whom work at Coney Island. Throughout the opera, they demonstrate their prowess, whether its swallowing swords, eating fire, contorting or even handling a large live boa constrictor. They help with the numerous split-second scene changes, lending fluidity to the story and keeping things moving. They are: Betty Bloomerz, Nicholas DeCegli, Sarah Folkins, Leo the Human Gumby, Jonathan Nosan, Titano Oddfellow, Cristina Pitter, Sage Sovereign, Ray Valenz, Anna Venizelos, Josh Walker, and Zoe Ziegfeld. Switch over to our Instagram story this evening as we go backstage before the show to visit a few members of the #Cosifantutte Skills Ensemble! https://t.co/7NVhgo0Cxd pic.twitter.com/pbZJ6kiWhJ Metropolitan Opera (@MetOpera) 20 March 2018 "Cosi fan tutte," by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, till April 19, Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, New York, New York. scheana marie has been labeled as "crazy," "delusional," and "obsessed" in the months since she debuted her romance with Robert Parks-Valletta on the sixth season of "Vanderpump Rules." As fans have seen, Scheana couldn't help but gush about her love for the actor, their future plans to get married, and even their future plans for kids. However, in August of last year, just weeks after she told her co-stars that Parks-Valletta "f****** adores" her, Scheana and the actor called it quits. Because Scheana appeared to be convinced that there was nothing that could come between her and Parks-Valletta, many were caught off-guard when they suddenly split, especially after she revealed on the show that they had been house-hunting and even named their first child. That said, their breakup didn't change Scheana's feelings and she continues to speak of their future together. What does Robert Parks-Valletta think of Scheana's alleged obsession? Earlier this year, Robert Parks-Valletta was caught liking comments on Instagram in regard to Scheana's alleged obsession but now, according to a report by Radar Online on March 21, the actor has been taking it easy on his former girlfriend and telling his fans and followers that she isn't crazy or obsessed. During a question and answer session Parks-Valletta spoke of his time with Scheana and denied the many comments from users who suggested she was acting delusional about their relationship. Parks-Valletta also told his fans and followers on Instagram that he didn't regret appearing on "Vanderpump Rules" with Scheana. As he explained, he doesn't regret anything he does, as long as he learns from the experience. Scheana Marie has been living in Las Vegas since her breakup Following her unexpected breakup from the actor, Scheana Marie moved from her home in Los Angeles to a new place in Las Vegas, where she is currently appearing in the on-stage production of "Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man." As for Parks-Valletta, he's been steering clear of Scheana and her crew for the past several months as he focuses on his travels and his acting endeavors. As she lives in Sin City, Scheana has been sparking a number of romance rumors in regard to a possible romance with Robby Hayes of "The Bachelorette" and "Bachelor in Paradise." To see more of Scheana Marie and her relationship drama, don't miss episodes of season six of "Vanderpump Rules" on Monday nights at 9 p.m. on Bravo TV. Lala Kent may be spending tons of time with the "Witches of WeHo," including Stassi Schroeder, but during a new interview, scheana marie spoke of her closeness to Kent. While Kent seemed to be on the "Witches" team during the recent filming of the "Vanderpump Rules" season six reunion special days ago, Scheana says that she and Kent were quite close during filming, especially when it came to their trip to Mexico. On March 19, Scheana offered a sneak peek to Us Weekly magazine in regard to what is to come on "Vanderpump Rules." Coming up is a Mexico trip. [Lala Kent] and I are each others wing woman, ride or dies, during that because our boyfriends arent there," Scheana Marie explained to the magazine. At the time the scene was filmed, Scheana was involved in a romance with actor Robert Parks-Valletta and Kent was dating her current boyfriend, Randall Emmett. Lala Kent suffered a health scare Scheana went on to reveal that Kent dealt with a health scare during her time in Mexico but said she did not leave her co-stars' side when it happened. She then gushed over Kent, saying that she is an "amazing person" and applauding her for sticking by her side when she and Robert Parks-Valletta called it quits last August. As fans of "Vanderpump Rules" well know, Scheana was convinced, and still is, that she and the actor would be together forever. So, when it came to their breakup, she likely was in major need of support. As for the nature of Kent's health scare, Scheana didn't reveal details and the sneak peeks of tonight's show don't seem to show any details either. Are Scheana Marie and Lala Kent still close friends? While there hasn't been any confirmation in regard to a possible end to the ladies' friendship with one another, they also haven't been sharing any new photos of each other on their social media pages. In fact, while Scheana remains in Las Vegas, Kent has been sharing images of herself and other "Vanderpump Rules" stars, including Kristen Doute, Katie Maloney, and Stassi Schroeder. Although Kent did share a photo that included Scheana last week, the image was a throwback photo taken last year as they filmed the currently airing season of their reality show. To see more of Scheana Marie, Lala Kent, Stassi Schroeder, and their co-stars, including Tom Sandoval, Lisa Vanderpump, and Peter Madrigal, don't miss new episodes of "Vanderpump Rules" season six on Mondays at 9 p.m. on Bravo TV. Students at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech will hold their biannual Community Dog Wash on Saturday, March 31, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg. The dog wash will be held at the rear of the veterinary college complex on 245 Duck Pond Drive, on the side closest to Southgate Drive. Signs on Southgate Drive and Duck Pond Drive will guide participants to the event, and ample parking will be provided behind the building. Presented by doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM) students enrolled in the college, the dog wash is always a popular community event. The cost of the dog wash is $10, and for an additional $5 per service, customers can have their dogs nails trimmed and ears cleaned. Animals will be washed on a first-come, first-served basis, and no appointments are necessary. Dogs will be washed while owners wait. Dogs must be on a leash and be at least 5 months old with current vaccinations. Please provide proof of rabies vaccination upon arrival at the dog wash. Proceeds from the event will go to its sponsors: the colleges chapter of the Student American Veterinary Medical Association, a professional organization for DVM students, and the DVM Class of 2021. For more information about the dog wash, please contact Rosilyn Issac or Sara Wilkinson. If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Rebecca Stinson-Dixon, associate director of student support and admissions, at 540-231-1184 or rstinson@vt.edu during regular business hours at least three business days prior to the event. Where to Watch: Netflix, streaming anytime Stars: Nicole Byer, Jacques Torres If you think a baking show that requires little to no baking experience, and even less baking talent, sounds like a recipe for disaster, then you havent watched Nailed It! The new six-episode Netflix cooking show mixes together the standard ingredients of a TV baking contest earnest and gifted home cooks scurrying around a kitchen set and proving their wares before an esteemed, serious trio of judges in timed competitions then shoves it in the oven at way too high a temperature for way too long. The result is a flaming hot, hilarious mess. Nailed It! is based on the popular internet meme in which pictures of perfectly baked and decorated desserts are posted juxtaposed against homemade versions with the ironic hashtag #nailedit: Conklin Clinics building new $3.1 home on Eighth Avenue Northeast A new Conklin Clinics building, which will cost about $3.1 million is expected to be completed by the spring of 2022. A blend of beers with a large variety of cuisines is what the Great New Mexico Food Truck & Craft Beer Festival tries to offer its patrons. The festival returns for its fourth year on March 31 to the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum grounds. We always say we want to have a great mix of the beers that people know from their hometown you know, the ones they love and then some regional and national ones that they might have heard about but not necessarily as prevalent in the area, event co-founder Janet Prensky said. Beer offerings will be available from a number of breweries, including locals Monks Ale, Rio Bravo Brewing Co., Santa Fe Brewing Co., Sierra Blanca Brewing Co. Also at the event will be Ballast Point Brewing Co., Dogfish Head Brewery, Great Divide Brewing Co., Lagunitas Brewing Co., Ska Brewing Co. and many others. The same variety goes for food trucks at the event. The festival offers many types of cuisine, including New Mexican, Cuban, European, German, Hawaiian, Mediterranean, and Japanese. Offerings run the gamut from tacos, macaroni and cheese, barbecue, waffles, ice cream and desserts. Participating vendors include Europa Roaming Kitchen, Kimos Hawaiian BBQ, Pop Fizz, Sparky Chicano Dog, Street Food Institute, What the Truck, With Love Waffles, and Lorettas Lattes. This year, we are going to have 20 food truck and craft beer festivals that we are producing, Prensky said. Albuquerque is our second of 2018. And we try to choose markets that get it, that have strong craft beer identities, have a very vibrant food truck community and is a community that likes to eat and likes to drink. Albuquerque has always been a perfect fit for our festivals; thats why we come back. Its just a great community for us. Prensky encourages people to visit the festivals website or Facebook page to plan for the event. Theres a couple of strategies; one is to go online on either our Facebook page or our website and youll see a list of the trucks and people can kind of pre-plan, she said. Then you come, if possible with friends, and you break up, you know, one goes to one line, one goes to another. You buy all the food and then you meet again and you have your blanket and your chair and you have a feast. The event also will feature an artisan market full of arts and crafts vendors as well as childrens activities and lawn games on the balloon museum grounds. We love Albuquerque, Prensky said. We just love the balloon museum. What a fantastically gorgeous site the balloon museum is. Those grounds. Oh my lord. Were just so blessed to have that sort of backdrop. Its beautiful. LOS ANGELES A powerful storm in California that swelled rivers, flooded streets and triggered water rescues throughout the state is on its last gasp. The three-day storm spared communities a repeat of the deadly debris flows following a deluge earlier this year. But it did dump record rainfall in some parts and unleashed flooding that led to dramatic rescues from Los Angeles in Southern California all the way to Folsom, some 400 miles (645 kilometers) to the north. In San Luis Obispo County in central California, rescuers reported pulling 10 people from the Salinas River on Thursday. All remaining flood warnings and watches were set to expire overnight Friday. Albuquerque police say two women kidnapped a mans ex-girlfriend and tortured her with a wrench and blowtorch in the back seat of a car before throwing her onto the street as it sped down the road. According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, 30-year-old Jessica Villarreal bragged in jail phone calls about killing the woman, unaware that she survived the ordeal. Villarreal and Jessica Diaz, 30, face charges of kidnapping, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and false imprisonment. Police say the pair abducted Phillip Chavezs ex-girlfriend, Elena Orneles, from a southeast Albuquerque gas station and kicked her out of the car near 98th and Central NW. Orneles walked to a nearby home in severe pain, covered in bruises, burns and road rash across her body, according to the complaint. From a hospital bed, Orneles told police an acquaintance Diaz also known as Too Short picked her up March 8 to hang out and drove to a 7-Eleven off Central NE. Soon after, Chavezs SUV pulled up with Chavez, Villarreal and others in the car. Police say Villarreal got out of Chavezs SUV and jumped into the backseat of Diazs car, beating Orneles with a wrench. Orneles told police another man and woman, unidentified in the complaint, also jumped into Diazs car before they drove off. Police say while Diaz drove, the man held down Orneles as Villarreal burned her feet and toes with a blow torch. Orneles told police she remembers the door opening before Villarreal kicked her out at a high rate of speed. Officers found Chavez at his home with Villarreal. During questioning, Chavez allegedly told police he had nothing to do with the assault and had no knowledge that it occurred when he picked up Villarreal afterward. When asked why he would allow someone to hurt Orneles if he truly loves her, Chavez told police: no one is allowed to touch her they know she is mine and belongs to me, we always find our way back to each other. Villarreal refused to answer questions from police, and was booked into jail. Police say on March 12, MDC provided a recorded conversation of Villarreal bragging about killing a girl by beating her up and burning her body then throwing her out by the Route 66 casino. In the conversation it was apparent that Villarreal believed they killed the female, an officer wrote in the complaint. Villarreal is in custody while Diaz has a warrant out for her arrest. According to online court documents, no charges have been filed against Chavez in the case. Toby Martinez, of Metro Courthouse scandal infamy, now works as a paralegal for the Law Offices of the Public Defender. The public awareness of his government job, which he started last November, has caused some alarm, but Chief Public Defender Bennett Baur says Martinez isnt in charge of any money. Plus, he points out, state law prohibits a criminal conviction from automatically disqualifying a person from a government job. The Law Offices of the Public Defender of all people, of all agencies believes someone should have a chance as long as they are properly supervised, said Chief Public Defender Bennett Baur. Ken Stalter, with the Office of the Attorney General, on Thursday questioned the decision, however. Hiring an individual that has been convicted of a crime of dishonesty could lead to unnecessary litigation and conflict, he wrote in a statement to the Journal. Martinez was sentenced to serve 5 years in federal prison and pay $2.7 million in restitution in 2009 for his central role in skimming $4.3 million from the construction of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Courthouse, which he oversaw as court administrator. In 2001, he worked with a political heavyweight, then-state Sen. Manny Aragon to craft a plan to conspire with the project architect and audio-visual planners to overcharge for the system and pocket the money. He pleaded guilty to taking more than $2 million and was forced to forfeit more than $300,000 in assets, including a Lexus, a home and four bank accounts. He was allowed to keep his pension. He was released from prison in 2013. His wife, Sandra Martinez, who helped in the scheme, was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay $106,000 in restitution. After his release, Martinez reported in a brief by his lawyer, Brian Pori, that he couldnt get work due to the poor job market for convicted felons. He is kind of a perfect person for that job, Pori said. Hes coming in contact with people who commit crimes. What you want to model for people is you were convicted of a crime, and you can come back from that. State law prohibits a criminal conviction from being an automatic disqualification for government employment. Baur said Thursday that Martinez was forthcoming about his past when he applied to be a senior paralegal in the Albuquerque office of the public defender. The position, which pays about $41,000 annually, calls for working with lawyers and clients to organize paperwork, conduct interviews and keep cases on track. It does not require a degree, and Martinez does not have a paralegal certificate. Pori said Martinez pays 25 percent of his net income to restitution. Baur said Martinez was the most qualified applicant for the job, which he began in November 2017. His resume is impressive. He ran the Metro Court. That takes skills. It takes social skills. It takes knowledge, Baur said. He is not handling money. Of course I think it would be a concern for the public. Its a concern for us, but also if someone can do the job and be supervised, he should have the opportunity to show he is rehabilitated. Updated story: APD: 12-year-old dies after being struck by SUV outside school Thursday A 12-year-old girl was critically injured after being hit by a vehicle in front of Cleveland Middle School Thursday evening, according to a police spokesman. Officer Daren DeAguero said the girl was taken to a hospital with severe injuries and is not expected to survive. He said the crash occurred around 5 p.m. in front of the school at Louisiana and Natalie NE. DeAguero said the girl was crossing Louisiana when a vehicle in the left lane stopped to allow her to cross and, as she entered the right lane, she was struck by a 2015 GMC SUV. She was in the crosswalk used by Cleveland Middle School, which is marked with a sign but no traffic control lights, he said. This crash occurred after school hours, so the flashing signals indicating a school zone were not engaged. DeAguero said alcohol was not a factor but speed is yet to be determined. He said all lanes of Louisiana are now open. Police tape cordoned off a block of Louisiana directly in front of the school Thursday evening. An SUV could be seen crashed into a metal fence on top of the median. Several police cars surrounded the block as officers investigated. Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that the girl had died based on information from the police. A spokesman now says the girl is in critical condition. As people around the globe observe World Tuberculosis Day on Saturday, New Mexico marks the occasion with the welcome news that between 1996 and the end of 2017, infectious tuberculosis in the state decreased by 66 percent. The number of people diagnosed and treated for new cases of infectious TB in 2017 was 37, down from 89 two decades ago, New Mexico Department of Health Cabinet Secretary Lynn Gallagher said during a Thursday news conference at the Project ECHO offices at the University of New Mexico. TB rates are now at their lowest point on record in New Mexico and in the United States, she said. The disease, however, is far from being eradicated and in 2016 it killed 1.7 million people around the world. In addition to observing World Tuberculosis Day, Gallagher said, the New Mexico Department of Healths Tuberculosis TeleECHO Clinic and Project ECHO at UNM are observing the third anniversary of their partnership using telehealth to improve access to high-quality TB care throughout the state. ECHO, an acronym for Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes, is a telehealth platform that is being used to reach out to vulnerable communities and provide them with tools, including medical and public health expertise, which they can then use to provide effective treatments in their own communities. Tuberculosis is caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis germ and generally affects a persons lungs. The bacterium becomes airborne and can spread when a person coughs or sneezes and another person inhales that air containing the contaminated droplets. Symptoms may include weight loss, loss of appetite, night sweats, fever, fatigue, chills, protracted coughing, sometimes coughing up blood, and chest pain. Not everyone who has TB has symptoms, as with people who have latent TB infection, said Diane Fortune, TB program manager for the NMDOH. The only way to identify them is through a skin or blood test. Using the TeleECHO network, health care providers around the state are identifying these people through skin or blood tests before they become infectious and are able to transmit to other people, she said. About a year ago, a state statute was adopted to make all positive TB tests reportable to the NMDOH. That way, we can get some good surveillance data so we know where to target our resources and which individuals are most at risk for developing active tuberculosis, Fortune said. Dr. Sanjeev Arora, director of UNMs Project ECHO, said the initiative began 14 years ago to work with people diagnosed with hepatitis C. Since then, ECHO has expanded to support front line clinicians around the state treating more than 40 different conditions and diseases. Arora said the goal is to get countries around the world to adopt the ECHO model, touching the lives of 1 billion people by 2025. TB Healthline The New Mexico Department of Health has established a TB Healthline to provide general information, including treatment and testing information. The Healthline is active Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and can be reached at 505-827-2471. Its the end of an era of sorts for Albuquerque police. Prosecutors this month quietly closed the case and said no charges will be filed against the two officers who shot and killed Jeremy Robertson, 33, in July 2014. The shooting was the last involving officers on the SWAT and Repeat Offender Project teams, who were responsible for some of the most controversial shootings by Albuquerque police from 2010 through 2014, when more than 40 people were shot by police. Michael Cox, a special prosecutor appointed by District Attorney Raul Torrez, said in a letter to Albuquerque Police Chief Michael Geier that it was not possible to prove that officers Anthony Sedler and Ramon Ornelas didnt believe that Robertson posed a threat to police or the public. No charges will be filed, Cox wrote. The case will be closed. Robertson was shot while fleeing officers who were trying to arrest him on a warrant for failing to check in with his probation officer. The shooting was Sedlers third and Ornelas second. This case exemplifies APDs culture of violence and extremely poor decision-making in 2014, said Laura Schauer Ives, an attorney for Robertsons family. The family is devastated by the decision not to pursue charges against these officers who have killed multiple times without consequence. Schauer Ives said the city has tentatively agreed on a settlement with Robertsons son, who filed a lawsuit over the shooting. She said the city and family are waiting for a court to approve the settlement. Gilbert Gallegos, a police spokesman, said waivers were granted to give internal affairs a longer period for an investigation, which is ongoing. Robertson told an acquaintance on the day he was shot that it was a suicidal day and that he would never go back to prison. He also made statements about how he was going to kill them all if police tried to arrest him, according to Coxs statement of facts to Geier. When plainclothes detectives approached Robertson at a gas station near Central and Eubank, Robertson fled across the busy intersection holding a pistol. He then ran through a vacant lot and was scaling a fence when Ornelas and Sedler each shot him twice as he neared the top. Robertson died at the scene, and a gun was found near his body, according to police. Sedler told investigators, I was afraid that someone was going to get killed if I let him get over that fence. Ornelas echoed those statements, saying that Robertson would kill and/or injure people if he made it to the other side of the fence, according to Coxs report. The shooting happened a little more than three months after the Department of Justice announced that it had found Albuquerque police had a pattern of excessive force. The DOJs findings launched Albuquerque police into a yearslong reform effort, which is ongoing. As part of those reforms, Albuquerque police had to disband the ROP team, which had been tracking Robertson that day. The department also had to make several changes to the departments SWAT team. The team has consistently received praise from the independent monitor overseeing reforms. Officers working on Albuquerque polices SWAT and ROP shot and killed James Boyd in March 2014. A SWAT and ROP officer each stood trial for Boyds murder, which ended in a mistrial. Jurors may have access to evidence related to the knife and shovel police say were used in a 2008 attempted murder case, even though both of those items were destroyed as the case sat unsolved for years, a judge ruled Thursday. Brittani Marcell, then a senior at Cibola High School, was beaten nearly to death with a shovel at her West Side home in 2008. And when her mother walked in on the attack, the intruder threatened her with a knife, according to police. Last year, prosecutors charged Justin Hansen in the attack after law enforcement learned his DNA profile matched blood found at the scene. Hansens attorney asked 2nd Judicial District Judge Cindy Leos on Thursday to keep evidence related to the shovel and knife out of trial, although her argument centered on the knife. The knife held with it fingerprint and DNA evidence that, if tested, could have proven or disproven that Mr. Hansen was the intruder, attorney Rose Osborne argued in her motion. The destruction of the evidence directly limits Mr. Hansens ability to prepare a defense. Osborne argued that the knife contained prints, but they were never processed. If those prints belonged to someone else, she said, that would indicate Hansen was not the person holding the shovel, because Marcells mother told police that the same person used both. The only physical evidence the state has tying Hansen to the scene, Osborne wrote, is a single drop of blood found outside the house on a piece of broken window which allegedly matches Mr. Hansens DNA profile. Fingerprints found on the sliding glass door dont match Hansens and another mans DNA was present on the shovel, which was more thoroughly processed before being destroyed, Osborne said. An APD detective said in court Thursday that the knife was never processed for latent prints because the prints it contained, if any, did not have enough detail to merit testing. Prosecutor David Waymire said the knife and shovel, along with several other pieces of evidence, were inadvertently destroyed when the original detective on the case retired. He argued the destruction of evidence hurts the states case more than it hurts the defendants. Leos said photos of and testimony related to the shovel and knife would be allowed into Hansens trial, which is set for next month, but she will consider other remedies to address issues associated with the destroyed evidence. Meanwhile, Leos agreed to let Hansens attorney file a request asking the Court of Appeals to review another decision in the case. The case was first indicted in 2010 against the DNA profile found at the crime scene. And when police determined that profile matched Hansens, a new indictment was filed using his name. But Osborne argued that three charges Hansen faces should be dismissed because the statute of limitations ran out before he was indicted by name. Leos did not dismiss the charges, but she said Thursday the question is a novel issue in New Mexico and that a request for an immediate appeal was appropriate. To enact long-term change. Thats whats expected to draw a flood of activists and protesters to Old Town Plaza on Saturday morning. March for Our Lives, a school safety rally, starting at 10 a.m., will take participants on an approximately 1.5-mile march to Tiguex Park. Gun violence, schools mental health services and legislative regulation discussions are on the agenda for the march, which has attracted interest from more than 1,000 people on Facebook and a list of about 25 speakers. Among those on the list, which is primarily made up of students, is Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller. The kids and families of March For Our Lives will take to the streets to demand that their lives and safety become a priority and that we end gun violence and mass shootings in schools, the event description says. Lead organizers Blair Dixon, 19, and Jonathon Alonzo, 15, said the nonpartisan rally isnt just about guns. We, as students, want to be safe. But to us, safety in schools does not look like metal detectors, zero-tolerance policies, armed teachers, or schools looking like prisons. We dont want students to be criminalized, because youth of color are most affected by over-policing in schools, the organizers wrote about the event on social media. The teens told the Journal they want to spark conversations about how social economics and institutionalized racism play a part in the broader gun control debate. To students of color, gun violence looks like suicides and street violence, Alonzo said. The organizers said March for Our Lives was planned with a youth-based team, which met several times a week for three weeks leading up to the demonstration, and raised about $16,000 through grants and fundraisers. Twenty peacekeepers for traffic and crowd control have volunteered for the event, along with security at the site, according to the organizers. After Saturdays march, the group is also planning a campaign for New Mexicos next 60-day legislative session, as well as calling for an emergency session this year. We plan to send a letter to the governor demanding an emergency legislative session to address gun laws in New Mexico, Dixon said. Albuquerques event is part of hundreds of March for Our Lives events scheduled to take place across the country Saturday. The marches were planned after 17 deaths in Parkland, Fla., in a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last month. Marjory Stoneman Douglas students are among those expected to attend the March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C., where the main march will take place. Some local faces also will be among the Washington crowd. Eight high school students and two staff members from Albuquerques Digital Arts and Technology Academy, a charter school, will march in D.C., after raising $10,000 for the trip. And local photographer Riley Russill, 19, raised more than $700 to get to the nations capital to observe and document the march. It will be Russills first time photographing a national event. March for Our Lives participants around the nation are diverse: men and women, children and parents, students and teachers, and Democrats and Republicans. But the message is unified: Something has to change. BEIJING China announced a $3 billion list of U.S. goods including pork, apples and steel pipe on Friday that it said may be hit with higher tariffs in a spiraling trade dispute with President Donald Trump that companies and investors worry could depress global commerce. The Commerce Ministry urged Washington to negotiate a prompt settlement to the conflict over Trumps tariff hike on steel and aluminum but set no deadline. Separately, the ministry also criticized Trumps decision to approve a possible tariff hike on billions of dollars of Chinese goods in a dispute over Beijings technology policy. The ministry slammed that as trade protectionism but gave no indication how Beijing might respond. The ratcheting up of tensions sent a shiver through world financial markets. Shares tumbled on Wall Street and slumped in Asia, where Japans Nikkei 225 index fell 3.5 percent while the Shanghai Composite index slipped 3.1 percent and Hong Kongs Hang Seng lost 2.8 percent. The dollar dipped to 104.85 yen as investors shifted into the Japanese currency, which is viewed as a safe haven from risk. Chinas proposed tariff hikes in response to the steel and aluminum duties appeared to be aimed at increasing domestic U.S. pressure on Trump by making clear which exporters, including farm areas that voted for the president in 2016, might be hurt. Beijing is extending an olive branch and urging the U.S. to resolve trade disputes through dialogue rather than tariffs, said economist Vishnu Varathan of Mizuho Bank in a report. Nevertheless, the first volley of shots and retaliatory response has been set off. The ministry said Beijing was considering a tariff increase of 25 percent on pork and aluminum scrap, mirroring Trumps 25 percent charge on steel. A second list of goods including wine, apples, ethanol and stainless steel pipe would be charged 15 percent, mirroring Trumps tariff hike on aluminum. The ministry said Chinese purchases of those goods last year totaled $3 billion. That would be less than 1 percent of Chinese imports of U.S. goods and far smaller than the range of imports targeted by Trumps order Thursday in the technology dispute. American business groups have warned Trump his aluminum and steel tariffs could hurt the U.S. economy and disrupt exports. Companies worry the dispute could spiral into tit-for-tat import controls by governments worldwide that could suppress global trade. The U.S. tariff hike on steel and aluminum imports also has irked Japan, Americas closest ally in Asia. We have repeatedly told the U.S. side that steel and aluminum imports from its ally Japan will not adversely affect Americas national security, and that Japan should be excluded, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a routine news conference Friday. Chinas top economic official, Premier Li Keqiang, appealed to Washington on Tuesday to act rationally and said, we dont want to see a trade war. The higher American duties on aluminum and steel have little impact on China, which exports only a small amount of those products to the United States. But private sector analysts have said Beijing would feel obligated to take action to avoid looking weak in a high-profile dispute. The Commerce Ministry said the higher U.S. tariffs seriously undermine the global trading system. It rejected Trumps contention they are needed to protect U.S. national security. The Chinese side urges the U.S. side to resolve the concerns of the Chinese side as soon as possible, the ministry said. It appealed for dialogue to avoid damage to overall Chinese-U.S. cooperation. Beijing reported a trade surplus of $275.8 billion with the United States last year, or two-thirds of its global total. Washington reports different figures that put the gap at a record $375.2 billion. The technology dispute stems from complaints Beijing unfairly compels foreign companies to hand over technology in exchange for market access. Companies in many industries including auto manufacturing that want to operate in China are required to work through local partners, which requires them to give technology to potential Chinese competitors. The U.S. Trade Representatives office said Trumps action was in response to unfair and harmful acquisition of U.S. technology. The USTR said Trump had ordered it to pursue a World Trade Organization case against Beijings discriminatory technology licensing. The U.S.-China Business Council, which represents American that do business in China, said it agreed Chinese technology transfer policies need to be improved but it appealed to both governments to reach a negotiated settlement. American business wants to see solutions to these problems, not just sanctions such as unilateral tariffs that may do more harm than good, USCBC president John Frisbie said in a statement. On Tuesday, the Chinese premier promised at a news conference Beijing will open even wider to imports and investment as part of efforts to make its economy more productive. Li said that included eliminating tariffs on drug imports. But he gave no other details and it was unclear whether the planned changes might mollify Washington, the European Union and other trading partners that complain China improperly blocks access to its markets and subsidizes exports. It was just a little thing, a scratch, that he failed to treat, and gangrene set in and it was killing him. They were on safari, in Africa, and their truck had broken down and the rescue plane was never going to make it on time. This is the way Harry died in Ernest Hemingways The Snows of Kilimanjaro. I re-read it the other day because of Donald Trump. I think of him as Harry. Stormy Daniels is the scratch. The saga of the adult film star and the juvenile president has become a rollicking affair. Each step of the way, Daniels has out-Trumped Trump. She is as shameless as he, a publicity hound who adheres to the secular American religion that to be famous, even for nothing much, is to be rich. By and large, thats not true, but then there is Kim Kardashian to prove otherwise. Daniels alleges that she and Trump had an affair beginning in 2006. The presidents lawyer and his press secretary allege that the allegations are not true. The lawyer, Michael Cohen, does admit to paying Daniels $130,000, apparently to keep her silent about an affair that, according to Cohen, did not happen. To do this, Cohen set up a private Delaware company and concocted false names for everyone involved the allegation-maker and the allegation-denier. Only the name Delaware is legit. The payment of $130,000 over an affair that did not happen did not deter Daniels. For one thing, no one could possibly believe that Cohen paid a woman not to talk about a sexual interlude that did not happen. Whats the price for one that did happen? I, for one, am understandably mortified that any lawyer named Cohen could be that stupid. Second, the various deniers, both at the Trump Organization and at the White House, keep confirming that Trump and Daniels were fighting it out in court. For instance, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders recently said that Trumps lawyers had won an arbitration case in the presidents favor. Bingo! Sometime in the last month or two, it must have occurred to Trump that he is up against himself. Daniels is indefatigable. She appears everywhere. She makes statements, vows, rebuttals, allegations and is scheduled to appear this coming Sunday on 60 Minutes. Trump must be shaking his head in admiration. He supposedly used to call in gossip items about himself to New York reporters, using a false name and false voice. He even exulted in publicity about his extramarital affair with Marla Maples, who was overheard by the New York Post alleging it was the best sex Ive ever had. Sometimes, as with the Iran-Iraq War, its hard to take sides. Here, too, it is difficult. Daniels, after all, is a porn actress. She directs and writes screenplays as well, but she is best known for having sex in the movies and now for turning what used to be called a romp in the hay into a payday. But, with the inadvertent cooperation of Trump and his band of merry incompetents, she now comes across as the victim. Cohen says he can demand as much as $20 million from her for breaching the nondisclosure agreement. In other words, theyre out to crush her. This, then, is not about Russians with Dostoevskyish tongue-twisters for names, or the financial machinations of Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort and others. Its not even about Hillary Clinton or the FBI, once the paragon of civic virtue but now, inexplicably and not credibly, rotten to the core. Its about a woman up against a bully and it makes other things explicable: This is what Trump did to Andrew McCabe, fired by the FBI hours before he qualified for his pension. Crushed. In pre-Trump days, it might have been possible to destroy Daniels reputation. But Trump himself has no reputation to stand on. He has no moral edge over his accuser. We have all been instructed by Trump himself to disregard schoolhouse virtues of honesty, dignity and rectitude. Trump himself travels light. It was the little thing that killed Harry on safari. It was the unattended cut, the disabled truck, the tardy rescue plane. As he died, he dreamed of Kilimanjaro, unbelievably white in the sun but the hyena that had been stalking him made a strange, human, almost crying sound and he knew what the hyena already knew. It is what Trump is learning. E-mail: cohenr@washpost.com. Copyright, Washington Post Writers Group. WASHINGTON Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Thursday that it would be really insane for him to trade classified information with presidential son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner, or to try to use Kushner to promote Saudi aims within the Trump administration. That kind of relationship will not help us and does not exist, he said. Speaking in a meeting with Washington Post editors and reporters, Mohammed denied U.S. media reports that he had claimed Kushner was in his pocket, or that, when the two met in Riyadh in October, he had sought or received a green light from Kushner for massive arrests of allegedly corrupt members of the royal family and Saudi businessmen that took place in the kingdom shortly afterward. The detentions were solely a domestic issue and had been in the works for years, the prince said. While we work together as friends, more than partners, Mohammed said, his relationship with Kushner was within the normal context of government-to-government contacts. He noted that he also had good relations with Vice President Pence and others in the White House. In the 75-minute meeting at The Post on the last day of his four-day stay in Washington, Mohammed was animated and engaged, fielding questions on a range of topics, from the war in Yemen to the Middle East peace process, Iran, his domestic reform agenda, human rights and Saudi Arabias nuclear plans. Although the meeting, conducted in English, was held off the record, the Saudi Embassy later agreed that specified portions could be used in an article about the session. The son of King Salman and heir to the Saudi throne, Mohammed, 32, met with President Donald Trump on Tuesday in the Oval Office and over lunch. He also spoke with a number of congressional leaders many of whom have been critical of the U.S.-aided Saudi war in Yemen. On Thursday, he visited Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at the Pentagon. The crown prince also serves as Saudi Arabias defense minister. But the centerpiece of his nearly three-week tour of the United States will come in subsequent stops in Boston, New York, Seattle, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles and Houston. Even as Trump has said he is seeking increased investment and purchases of U.S. military equipment and other products from Saudi Arabia, Mohammed has made clear that his primary mission here is to win U.S. investor confidence in his country, along with technological and education assistance in his efforts to reform the ultraconservative kingdom. China and Russia are vying with the United States to build components of new nuclear power plants in the kingdom, amid concerns here over a Saudi desire for uranium enrichment capability. In an interview with CBSs 60 Minutes broadcast last Sunday, Mohammed said that his country would build a nuclear weapon if Iran did. At The Post, he said his primary concern was being able to enrich and use Saudi Arabias own uranium for use in power reactors, rather than buying it abroad. His country has more than 5 percent of the worlds uranium reserves, and if we dont use it, its like telling us dont use oil. The United States, he said, would be invited to put in place laws and structures to make sure enriched uranium is not misused. Mohammed spoke at length about the prospects for economic growth in the Middle East, saying it could be the next Europe if a series of problems can be resolved. One of those is the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Trump has designated Kushner to come up with a peace plan, and Kushner met here with Mohammed this week, along with Jason Greenblatt, a Trump Organization lawyer brought into the White House to help with the effort. Once the U.S. plan is ready, Kushner is said to want the Saudis and other leading Arab countries to help persuade the Palestinians to accept it. The official Saudi position is that any peace agreement must recognize a Palestinian state within specified borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Arab leaders have said that Trumps recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital a move that Mohammed called painful has made a deal under U.S. auspices far more difficult. On the Yemen war, Mohammed said that Saudi Arabia had not passed up any opportunity to improve the humanitarian situation, although human rights organizations and U.S. lawmakers have said Saudi bombing has caused many of the more than 5,000 estimated civilian deaths in the war. There are not good options and bad options. The options are between bad and worse, he said of the Yemen conflict with Iran-backed Houthi rebels who overthrew the Saudi-recognized government. Discussing his reform efforts at home, including giving women the right to drive and have more rights outside the home, Mohammed said he has worked hard to convince conservative religious leaders such restrictions are not part of Islamic doctrine. I believe Islam is sensible, Islam is simple, and people are trying to hijack it, he said. Lengthy discussions with clerics, he said, have been positive and are why we have more allies in the religious establishment, day by day. Asked about the Saudi-funded spread of Wahhabism, the austere faith that is dominant in the kingdom and that some have accused of being a source of global terrorism, Mohammed said that investments in mosques and madrassas overseas were rooted in the Cold War, when allies asked Saudi Arabia to use its resources to prevent inroads in Muslim countries by the Soviet Union. Successive Saudi governments lost track of the effort, he said, and now we have to get it all back. Funding now comes largely from Saudi-based foundations, he said, rather than from the government. SAN DIEGO (AP) The defense team of a Marine accused in a fatal stabbing on a California Marine Corps base argued Thursday that the death was a tragic accident and the two friends were playing around with a knife. Pfc. Raymond W. Begay faces charges of murder and obstruction of justice in the death of 18-year-old Pfc. Ethan Barclay-Weberpal, who died the morning of Jan. 16 after being stabbed while sitting in formation with a platoon of Marines at the School of Infantry at Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego. Several troops testifying for the defense said the death was an accident at a preliminary hearing Thursday at Camp Pendleton, according to the Orange County Register. The hearing known as an Article 32 in the Uniform Code of Military Justice allows the defense and prosecution to introduce evidence and arguments. Both sides must submit written arguments as well. The convening authority will then determine what level of court martial is ordered. Begay immediately admitted to training instructors that he stabbed Barclay-Weberpal, witnesses testified. Defense attorneys say Begay should be charged with involuntary manslaughter not murder. This was just dumb kids doing dumb things, testified defense witness Pfc. Rhett Glubka. I don't think he (Begay) thought about what could have happened. The family of Barclay-Weberpal, of Janesville, Wisconsin, listened via teleconference. Lance Cpl. Gavin Shorter testified that he was behind Begay when the stabbing occurred. No one thought he was seriously wounded, Shorter said. There was no scream or anything. Shorter testified that he saw Begay reach over Barclay-Weberpal's right shoulder and place the knife into the left side of his chest but I don't believe it was intentional, sir, he told Maj. Nelson Candelario, one of three members of Begay's defense team. There was no anger, no argument, no conflict. We were all good friends. He said the other Marines saw blood coming from Barclay-Weberpal's chest and tried to tug at his shirt to cover it up, but we didn't think it was fatal and we didn't want to get into trouble. After we got out of formation, we were going to help him. Shorter said Begay was known to play with knives and had made stabbing motions at inanimate objects such as mattresses and lockers. He described Begay as a level-headed kid a solid Marine. He also said Begay appeared pale and scared and just shook-up after the incident. Shorter testified that Begay was playing around with a knife before he stabbed Barclay-Weberpal. Maj. Tanzania Jaysura, lead trial prosecutor, said she had testimony from at least three other Marines who said Begay was known to have threatened to stab other Marines and that some had told him to stop because it made them uncomfortable. She said she also had testimony showing Begay left the bleacher area after the stabbing to wash blood from his knife. The knife was not the type of knife that retracts and opens to the front and witnesses will say they saw him play with the knife before the stabbing and that words were exchanged and that he intentionally put the knife into Barclay-Weberpal's left chest, into his heart, Jaysura said. She said the left ventricle of his heart was punctured with only one stab wound. It was a deep puncture wound, she said. Rather than getting help, he went to put the knife away that's where we believe we have obstruction of justice. Information from: The Orange County Register, http://www.ocregister.com 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. President Donald Trump has unveiled a $1.5 trillion plan to rebuild our nations crumbling infrastructure, including the pipes and treatment plants that keep clean water flowing from our taps. But if you read the fine print, his plan offers just $200 billion in federal funds; the remaining $1.3 trillion is expected to come from other sources, including private investors. Private investment in water systems might look like a good deal to those who want to limit federal spending; it certainly appeals to cash-strapped cities and towns. And the need is great: The American Society of Civil Engineers gives our nations drinking water facilities a D grade, and says $1 trillion will be needed to fix them over the next 25 years. But private investment comes at a cost. Fundamentally, it means handing over our most essential resource to those who put profits before the public interest. Thats what we learned here in Missoula, Mont., where we recently wrested control of our water system away from a multinational corporation. Missoula, Mont., is unusual in that our water system was privately owned since the towns founding in the 1870s. Our first water entrepreneur was One-Eyed Riley, whose delivery method involved a yoke and two buckets. Since then, the system has passed through many hands, but was never well managed. Compared to neighboring towns with public utilities, Missoulians endured high rates and poor service. Necessary capital improvements were not made and the system steadily deteriorated. When the Carlyle Group purchased our water system in 2011, we hoped the situation would improve. But we soon realized the fundamental tension that lay between Carlyles goal of generating a short-term profit and Missoulians need for safe, clean water over the long haul. After a four-year court battle, we purchased our water system from Carlyle for $84 million. Now, for the first time in our towns history, ownership of our water system its pipes, pumps, wells, water rights, wilderness lakes and dams has landed where it belongs, in the hands of the people, where it can be managed for the public good for all time. Unfortunately, other cities seem headed the other way, seeking private financing as the answer to their water woes. Many will be disappointed: Private investors require high rates of return, so they are unlikely to support projects that wont pay off sufficiently. If there is money to be made from water, look out. Population, pollution and climate change are squeezing global drinking water supplies, so investors including commercial bottling plants are rushing in. There are disturbing accounts of bottling plants targeting a towns good water source, only to deplete local water wells, dry up wetlands and drain streams. Some people assume that private management means greater efficiency and lower rates. Yet the reverse is often true. The New York Times analyzed three communities where private equity firms manage water or sewer services. In all three places Bayonne, N.J., and Rialto and Santa Paula in California rates rose more quickly than in comparable towns. In Bayonne, the price of water skyrocketed by nearly 28 percent after the private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts took charge of the citys system. Thats why some cities that had gone private from Ojai, Calif., to Fort Wayne, Ind. have seized their water systems back from private ownership. While the price tag can be daunting, public investment is the better option. State and local governments already provide the lions share of money for water infrastructure, and federal funding is available through the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (though those funds are flat-lined in the presidents proposed 2019 budget). There are also collateral benefits from public investment. The Economic Policy Institute found that spending $188.4 billion on water infrastructure would yield $265 billion in economic activity and create 1.9 million jobs. In Missoula, we are reaping the benefits from public ownership of our priceless water assets. Decisions about our water are made right here in town, not in a distant boardroom. Instead of short-term profits, our priority is long-term water security, a critical concern in the era of climate change. We dont have to worry about rates going up to fatten investors wallets, and there are less tangible benefits, including a more intimate connection to the resource on which all life depends. So heres our advice: If your community hopes Trumps infrastructure bill will fix your water system, be sure to read the fine print. And if youre lucky enough to control your own water, never give it up without a fight. Karen Knudsen is a contributor to Writers on the Range, the opinion service of High Country News (hcn.org). She is the director of the Clark Coalition, based in Missoula, Mont. A Santa Fe man says he was defamed when the Archdiocese of Santa Fe last year published the names of 74 men it said were Catholic clergy who had been credibly accused of sexually abusing children in New Mexico. Rudy Blea, in a state court lawsuit, says he has never been a member of the clergy and that Archbishop John C. Wester and other church officials have refused to correct the archdioceses September news release, which came after years of complaints by victims over a lack of transparency about the history of sexual abuse by priests in the state. Blea says that in the archdioceses list of accused abusers, he was wrongly identified as a member of the Benedictine Order. By implication, the lawsuit states, the archdiocese announced to the world that Blea was a Benedictine priest who was a child molester. The archdiocese list actually identified Blea as Br. Rudy Blea of the Benedictines, meaning as a brother or monk. Blea says in the new lawsuit that he has never been a member of the Benedictine order or employed by them or lived in residence with them at any time during his life, nor has he ever been a brother, monk, deacon or priest in any diocese of the Catholic church. Court records do show that Blea was accused of sexual abuse and of being a monk in a 1994 lawsuit that also named the archdiocese, the Benedictines and a former bishop as defendants. Blea was alleged in that case to have been a monk from the Benedictine monastery in rural Pecos, east of Santa Fe, where a minor male was allegedly molested. While acknowledging that he gave talks at a religious retreat in Albuquerque that the accuser attended, Blea denied in a 1995 court filing that he was a monk or that he had committed any sexual molestation. In their own answer to the 1994 suit, the Benedictines said Blea had no connection with them. Indeed, the Benedictines do no know who Blea is or that he ever existed, a footnote in a court filing says. This litigation was settled by agreement of all parties a few months later, without any determination in the court records about the accusations against Blea. His new lawsuit against the archdiocese was filed Tuesday by Santa Fe attorney Pierre Levy. An archdiocese spokeswoman said Thursday the archdiocese typically doesnt comment on pending litigation. The churchs list of accused clergy priests, brothers and deacons was published in the Journal and other New Mexico newspapers, and can now be found on numerous websites that follow cases of sexual abuse by priests. Archbishop Wester said in September that the list was a critical step in the archdioceses attempt to improve transparency and promote healing. It is my deepest hope that our publication of this list will serve as an important step in healing for survivors, their families, and our Church and communities, Wester wrote in a statement introducing the list. Cease and desist order After the list of accused abusers came out, Bleas new suit says, he was horrified. He contacted an archdiocese human resources official. She never investigated his protest that his name was wrongfully on the list, the suit says. Instead, she ordered Blea to cease and desist any contact with the parish of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis in Santa Fe, whose church bulletins available online name him as a lay eucharistic minister or server, or with any other parish in the archdiocese. He likewise was told to stay away from the Villa Therese Catholic Clinic near the cathedral, where the lawsuit says Blea was a volunteer member on the board of directors. A priest at the cathedral gave Blea the same directives, according to the suit. Blea said he wrote to Wester and explained his history in great detail in an effort to clear his name, but no action was taken. He also had a telephone conversation with the archdioceses vicar general, who promised a citizens review board would take up his protest, but that never happened, the lawsuit says. It states the archdiocese made vile and harmful public accusations against Blea, but never made a proper investigation of any past allegations. The lawsuit notes that when the archdiocese released the list of accused clergy, the news release said it had not included the names of those clergy or religious where the accusations against them were withdrawn or were bound to be unsubstantiated after investigation or those who may have been the subject of an accusation, but where we never received any further information about or substantiation of those accusations. Along with defamation, Bleas suit accuses the archdiocese of false light invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. It seeks compensatory and punitive damages. The day after Alan Webber was sworn in as Santa Fes first full-time mayor, former Mayor Javier Gonzales posted on his Instagram account a photo of himself behind the wheel of a boat along with the caption Finally! Time to go Fishin. Gonzales didnt really go fishing. The photo was from a recent trip to Lake Powell in Utah. Its a metaphor, he said in an interview a day later. Im going fishing. Im going to go out there to see what I catch and where things go. While Gonzales, 51, said he really does want to spend more time at the dry end of a fishing line, in reality, his first day in four years not as mayor wasnt much different than any other day. It was pretty much a normal day. I had the opportunity to take my daughter to school in the morning, which I always do, picked her up and took the dogs for a walk, he said. In between, he spent some time reading, writing and helping his brothers with the family business at radio station KSWV, which is his lifeboat at least until he catches on somewhere else. Im blessed to have the family that I have and to at least start by coming back into the family business and helping for a little bit, which will give me the time that I need to determine ultimately where I end up, he said. It may very well be with this business or it might be doing some other type of work. But will Gonzales who began his political career serving two four-year terms as a county commissioner, was later elected as the states Democratic Party chair, won a three-way race for mayor in 2014 and, for a brief time at least, was a candidate for lieutenant governor before dropping out last month run for office again? Im not going to say theres no way I wont run for office again, but Ive got half my career left, he said. I love serving and Im hopeful that in the next half of my career Im able to make an impact in improving peoples lives. I actually believe I can do that outside political office and will look forward to doing some of that. But Im also excited about the whole idea of entrepreneurship the idea of joining a family business that has been part of our family for years, working alongside my brothers. If he does run again, he said it wont be anytime soon. Hed rather wait until his youngest daughter, 13-year-old Cadence, is out of high school and off to college. His oldest daughter, Cameron, 19, is a college freshman. A single father raising two kids, Gonzales said he has an obligation to see to it they are capable of flying on their own before they leave the nest. There are some financial realities that will keep me focused on the private sector for a while, he said. Unless I hit the lottery, the option of not paying (for their college education) does not exist. Political attack Gonzales backed out of the race for lieutenant governor just days before allegations that he sexually assaulted a family member more than 30 years ago came to light. He said then he was dropping out because his heart wasnt in it. The allegations, which he denies, have been around for a while, he said, and arose during divorce proceedings. Gonzales former wife, Conseulo Carrillo, filed for divorce in 2010. Gonzales won custody of the children. These reports are slanderous and hurtful to me and my family, and they are entirely without merit or truth, he said in a statement last month, calling the allegations a political attack. This is only meant to do one thing, drag me through the mud without due process. Openly gay since 2013, Gonzales said the allegations against him did not factor into his decision to drop his bid for lieutenant governor. Clearly, everything Ive had to hear out there or has been claimed is something that Ive had to deal with for a period of time, he said, adding that his priority is being a good father. The most important thing for me is to make sure my girls are safe and they are able to fully reach their potential. Gonzales said his daughters are aware of the situation and hes tried to turn it into a teaching moment. You cannot let other people no matter how ugly their words get, no matter what they say define who you are as an individual and what you can be as an individual, he said. There will always be people who will want to play a role in harming you. You dont have to be in politics for that to happen. Mayors legacy Asked about what his legacy as mayor will be, Gonzales said thats for others to decide. But hes proud of what he was able to accomplish during what he says was the beginning of a transition period for city government. He talked about his efforts to bring more accountability and transparency to City Hall, overcoming a $15 million budget deficit partly resulting from past financial practices, which he says have since been shored up, and making a run at addressing such issues as poverty, climate change and early childhood education. Those are all areas that I feel weve made great progress, but theres obviously so much more work that needs to be done, he said. Certainly, the so-called soda tax election will be part of his legacy. Gonzales proposed a tax on the distributors of sugar-sweetened beverages to fund early childhood education efforts in the city that was soundly defeated in a special election last May. Gonzales has no regrets about the proposal, which he said would help close the gap between lower income families who cant afford to pay for pre-K programs and those who can. I would have rather failed in acting to do something to actually make a change than to sit on the sidelines, shrug my shoulders and say it was outside of our purview. Were talking about 1,000 kids, and more now, that will start kindergarten behind some of their peers who had access to early childhood education, he said. But he says the election became about something else, and he takes responsibility for that. Heres what we would have done different: We would have hit the pause button on the timing of the election and focused more on spending time in the community that was going to benefit the most from it, he said. Santa Fe has an abundance of policy exerts and people who just get it, and know it, and we had that around us. And I believe the policy that was developed in conjunction with the community college was one of the best in the country. But the spot that was missing was the time that we needed to spend in the communities that would be most impacted by this tax and would have benefited the most and work with them to offer a solution, and that might have brought us down a different path. But at the time Gonzales didnt want to hit the pause button. I really felt that we couldnt wait that there were going to be another 1,000 kids that were going to be left behind, and the longer we wait, the larger the divide is going to be, he said. Equality gap The election drew national attention, with more than $4 million total spent on campaigns for and against the tax. Former New York City mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg helped finance the pro-tax, early childhood education effort, while the American Beverage Association and Coca-Cola poured in money to defeat it, saying there was a better way for Santa Fe to find financing. The election was contentious and magnified a different kind of divide in the community, he said. An argument against it was dont let Bloomberg come in and tell us what to do, dont let east side Santa Feans tell local Santa Feans how to live our life. Well drink a Coke if we want to drink a Coke, he said. That made people angry, he said. Theyre angry because theres a belief that theres a certain class of people that get to govern what life looks like for them, he said. That is the challenge we have today not only here, but across the country is this anger that exists is largely led by a distrust in government, in an equality gap that is pushing people further and further behind. And weve got to find a way to convert that anger into positive energy and action that begins to close the gap. Gonzales expressed some bitterness over the defeat of the tax on sugary drinks, saying that while the soda industry and others who were against the tax argued there was a better way to fund early childhood education programs, they havent offered any solutions since then. They were a no-show during this years state legislative session when funding early childhood programs was discussed. I hoped that we would have seen more participation by the soda industry to say, We had this conversation, early childhood education is important, so now use your resources to fund it, but they didnt, he said. Another one of Gonzales proposals, the Verde Fund an initiative to address both poverty and climate change in the community was successful in getting City Council approval, but its fate is uncertain. The council in 2016 approved $300,000 in excess Land Use funds to be directed toward such efforts, which Gonzales points out was then leveraged into more than $1 million with funding and services from other sources, to address those issues. But there is no recurring source of funding to keep it going. Ive not talked to the mayor (Webber) about supporting it. I think it stands on its own. But clearly itll be his decision on the budget to keep the program moving or not. I hope he does, he said. Critical investments Part of Gonzales legacy will be his willingness to take on national and global issues, such as climate change, poverty and immigration at the local level. Those werent the kinds of problems the city would have been interested in 50 years ago when his dad was mayor, he said. But they are now. At the time of my dad, it was probably OK to be part-time because you werent dealing with some of the same issues that were dealing with today, but there is just a very big mandate and requirement that we as the public have on our mayors, and should have, because were not getting it out of Washington and were not getting it at the Roundhouse, he said. Politics have been elevated to the national level, which means at the local level were really able to bring people together and focus on common-sense solutions. Leadership is more than just being an administrator, he continued. As a leader you have to not only be realistic, but you have to be aspirational, to have a sense of optimism about the future of our community, and to be honest about where we need to focus and where were falling short. Gonzales said one thing he probably wont be remembered for is all the work that has been done behind the scenes to correct internal problems within the city. He pointed to the financial fixes that have taken place over the past few years that will smooth the path for the new mayor steps such as upgrades in technology, internal controls and the move to a performance-based financial system. So one of the legacy issues that probably wont be seen, but has been a critical one, is preparing for the strong mayor form of government by making these critical investments, introducing new concepts and ideas for how to manage our budget and how we prioritize what our city needs, he said. No longer mayor, Gonzales doesnt have to worry about those things anymore. But thats not to say he wont. Hes still eager to make a difference in this world, just not as mayor of Santa Fe. Asked if he felt a sense of relief not being mayor anymore, Gonzales said he wouldnt use that word. What it is is a sense of excitement looking forward, and looking to the future and being able to be in a mindset that is proud of the contributions I was able to make and also know full well that Im not done yet in terms of my career, and where I want to be able to influence and help improve the lives of people; thats an exciting space, he said. Ive said a number of times that every person has the opportunity to act and participate in a way that improves our community, and you dont have to be in elective office to own that incredible opportunity. Im anxious to figure out again where I can prioritize my time to have an impact and continue to use my experiences, my presence as a citizen of Santa Fe to improve the lives of people who live here. Copyright 2018 Albuquerque Journal Sixty-three New Mexico businesses were given audit notices as part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements expanded national efforts targeting undocumented workers and those who employ them, according to information provided by the agency. The Journal obtained the number of audit notices from a regional ICE spokeswoman, who said in a statement that they were delivered between Feb. 26 and March 2. On Thursday, local officials and community leaders held a news conference to express concerns that ICE is targeting immigrant-run businesses and that the agencys activities could have a chilling effect on the states economy. It scares families, and it scares people away from businesses, and those are things we cant afford, City Councilor Pat Davis, who is a congressional candidate, said after a press conference with immigrant advocacy group El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos. The ICE statement said the effort is centered on protecting jobs for U.S. citizens and others who are lawfully employed, eliminating unfair competitive advantages for companies that hire an illegal workforce and strengthening public safety and national security. Also referenced were comments made last year by acting ICE Director Tom Homan, who said the agency would increase its work site enforcement efforts nationally. Davis said ICE has declined to name the businesses that received the audit notifications, and the ICE spokeswoman declined to provide comment beyond that given in the statement. But Davis said he has heard anecdotal reports that immigrant-owned food trucks and gas stations are among the recipients of the notices. He said it was clear the agency isnt applying the law equally across the business community. Davis spoke at the press conference, as did Bernalillo County Commissioner Debbie OMalley and Albuquerque Public Schools board member Barbara Petersen, who called ICEs efforts a horrible stress for children and for families. A similar event was held in Santa Fe earlier this month after audits of at least six small businesses in the area, according to community organizers. The ICE spokeswoman said that data about how the 63 notices compare with previous efforts by the agency were not immediately available. While agents were serving the audit notices, they arrested 23 people under suspicion of being in the country illegally, according to the statement. It was unclear, however, how many of them were arrested in New Mexico and how many were arrested in West Texas, where agents were also serving notices at the time. Of the 23 arrested, three were also charged with federal criminal violations for illegal re-entry after deportation and/or possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. The investigations are ongoing. Businesses that received audit notices had three business days to provide employment eligibility verification forms, also known as I-9 forms. The Journal could not determine how many of the businesses produced the required documents or what happened to those that did not. Marian Mendez of El Centro said her organization has led several I-9 audit and ICE enforcement workshops to educate employers and employees on their rights and plans to partner with industry and economic development associations to help protect our fragile economy. Luis Angel Mendez Serrano, who owns the Mexican restaurant Nenas Food and was a speaker at the news conference, was not one of the recipients of the audit notices. Still, he called ICEs activities a concern. I am committed to doing everything in my power to ensure that my employees and their families feel safe, he said. WASHINGTON A massive federal spending bill to avert a government shutdown through the end of September cleared the U.S. House Thursday and the Senate early this morning, but the legislation doesnt include a long-term solution for young people who were brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents. The White House has indicated President Donald Trump would sign the bill, although he complained in a tweet Wednesday that he had to waste money on Dem giveaways on social and domestic programs to gain support for military spending increases. The bill includes $1.6 billion for Trumps proposed border wall. He had asked for $25 billion. New Mexicos entire House delegation Democratic Reps. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Ben Ray Lujan, and Republican Rep. Steve Pearce voted against the $1.3 trillion bill that funds the military, social programs and a wide range of other government operations. Lujan and Lujan Grisham, chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, both cited the bills lack of language addressing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program. President Donald Trump canceled DACA and it expired March 5. Although the Department of Homeland Security is not accepting new DACA applications, it is processing renewals. Lujan Grisham said the bill fails to protect 800,000 Dreamers, fails to stabilize the health care system, fails to safeguard the solvency of our broken pension system, and fails to address gun violence reform in any meaningful way. Lujan blasted the process. After months of inaction and temporary spending bills, Republicans introduced this massive funding bill late last night, gave members of Congress less than 24 hours to read over 2,000 pages, and allowed only two hours of debate on the floor of the House of Representatives, Lujan said. This isnt how governing is supposed to work. Pearce also criticized the way the bill came to the floor and said the measure wastes taxpayer dollars without providing real solutions to problems in our health care system, infrastructure, financial system, and national security. This is no way to operate the federal government, Pearce said. Pearce and Lujan Grisham are both running for governor of New Mexico this year. But the bill wasnt all bad for New Mexico, according to Sens. Tom Udall, a Democratic member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Sen. Martin Heinrich, who sits on the Senate Armed Services panel. The omnibus appropriations bill includes strong support for New Mexicos families, communities, public lands, national laboratories and military bases, and it staves off the worst of President Trumps xenophobic, anti-immigrant agenda, Udall said before the vote. And for that reason, I support the bill. According to The Associated Press, the bill includes $4.6 billion in total funding to fight the nations opioid addiction epidemic, a $3 billion increase. More than $2 billion would go to strengthen school safety through grants for training, security measures and treatment for the mentally ill. Medical research at the National Institutes of Health, a long-standing bipartisan priority, would receive a record $3 billion increase, to $37 billion. Funding was also included for election security ahead of the 2018 midterms. Child care and development block grants would receive a $2.4 billion increase, to $5.2 billion. Head Start for preschoolers would get a $610 million boost, and an additional $2.4 billion would go for child care grants. Copyright 2018 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE All seven defendants who are accused in the shooting death of an Edgewood gas station attendant pleaded not guilty to several charges Thursday, and five of them will await trial in jail cells. The group is accused of hatching a plan to rob the fuel booth at the Smiths in Edgewood on Feb. 11. Court documents say Daniel Gonzales, 29, entered the booth with a handgun and took $49.20 from the cash register a total that amounts to about $7 each if split among those accused of participating the fatal robbery. The clerk, 62-year-old Michael Pelkey, got into an altercation with Gonzales and was shot by one of Gonzales companions, Daniel Martinez, 30, according to prosecutors court motions. Pelkey died on the way to the hospital. Martinez accidentally shot himself sometime after the robbery but told his crew that hed been shot by a hotel security guard. Martinez, Gonzales and the other defendants Morgan Ramirez, 30, Donald Gregory, 46, Veronica Martinez, 30, Eileen Sandoval, 48, and Misty Nevarez, 29 have been indicted on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, three counts of tampering with evidence, and one count of conspiring to tamper with evidence. Gonzales and Daniel Martinez are also each charged with an additional count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. All seven defendants face life plus about 30 years in prison if convicted on the charges. Thursday, six of the defendants pleaded not guilty in Santa Fe District Court. Gonzales waived his arraignment and also pleaded not guilty. Nevarez and Ramirez were released on their own recognizance and will await trial on house arrest under GPS monitoring. Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ruled that the rest will be held in the Santa Fe County jail without bond. All of the defendants arrest warrant affidavits investigators statements describing the case in Santa Fe Magistrate Court have been sealed by state District Judge Pedro G. Rael of Cibola County. Information contained in the warrant being released to the public has a substantial probability of impeding and/or materially altering the investigation, Raels order says. Based on the above, there is an overriding interest that supports sealing the documents which will be prejudiced if the matter is not sealed. But prosecutors included details from the affidavits in their motions to hold the defendants until trial. State Police followed tips and on Feb. 15 saw Ramirez, Gonzales, Daniel Martinez, Nevarez and Gregory on surveillance video at a Rodeway Inn in Albuquerque, the motions say. A man who was staying at the hotel told officers they came to his room the day of the robbery. The man said at one point that Daniel Martinez, whom he knew as Juero, left the room. They heard a gunshot and Daniel Martinez starting pounding on the door, claiming hed been shot in the leg by security. They all fled the room after that. State Police Lt. Elizabeth Armijo previously told the Journal that Daniel Martinez spent seven days in the hospital after he accidentally shot himself. A State Police tactical team went to the Amberly Inn & Suites and arrested Ramirez on Feb. 15. Ramirez gave one of the more detailed accounts described in the court motions. On the day Pelkey was killed, the motions say, the group of seven went to the area of the Edgewood gas station in two vehicles. Ramirez told investigators that Sandoval was at the gas station in a car with Veronica Martinez and called Gonzales to tell him that the fuel booth was unlocked. The rest of the group arrived in a white pickup truck and parked behind the fuel booth, where Gonzales and Daniel Martinez put masks on. After Gonzales took money from the cash register as Pelkey was attending to a female customer and a child, Pelkey followed Gonzales and tried to apprehend him from behind, Ramirez told officers. The struggle continued to the driver side door of the truck, and Daniel Martinez then shot the clerk. Morgan (Ramirez) stated the clerk was shot over $50, the motion says. They group fled the area. Police later found out that the truck had been abandoned, clothes were washed and guns were disposed of and given away. WASHINGTON John Bolton, President Donald Trumps incoming national security adviser and his third to date is a divisive foreign policy figure who was an unabashed supporter of the Iraq war and advocates regime change in Iran. The rise of the mustached Bolton, a former U.N. ambassador under President George W. Bush who served in three federal agencies under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, is likely to herald a rightward shift in Trumps foreign policy and an embrace of more hard-line policies. Bolton, 69, has been an especially outspoken critic of the Iran nuclear agreement. Trump had campaigned against the deal and vowed to end it, but instead heeded the advice of two outgoing aides, national security adviser H.R. McMaster and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, to delay the move. Since firing Tillerson and announcing his intent to replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, Trump has signaled he is eager to make good on his promise on Iran. On Tuesday he coyly said, Youre gonna see what I do. Trump had originally considered choosing Bolton, a Fox News contributor, as his secretary of state. But Boltons background complicated his chances for Senate confirmation. When George W. Bush became president, Bolton served as the State Departments point-man on arms control, where he battled other governments over nuclear weapons tests, land mines, biological weapons, ballistic missile limits and the International Criminal Court. An unabashed proponent of American power and a strong supporter of the Iraq war, Bolton was unable to win Senate confirmation after his nomination to the U.N. post turned off many Democrats and even some Republicans. He resigned after serving 17 months as a Bush recess appointment, which allowed him to hold the job on a temporary basis without Senate confirmation. The human rights group Amnesty International called Trumps choice reckless. Boltons influence over national security policy could result in even more civilian deaths and potentially unlawful killings given his disdain for international law and international institutions, Zeke Johnson, Senior Director of Programs at Amnesty International USA, said Thursday night. In recent years, Trump has denounced the U.S. invasion of Iraq, describing it as a waste of lives and money though his contemporaneous views were less clear. He has also been critical of Bush and Republicans for their support of the nearly nine-year conflict, which saw more than 4,400 American service-members killed and more than 31,000 wounded. Bolton has maintained a pair of political committees, which he has used to funnel political support to hawkish candidates. The top donor to the groups was Robert Mercer, who has given $5 million to Boltons super PAC in recent years. Mercer was also a top supporter of Trumps campaign. Bolton, who was born in Baltimore and graduated summa cum laude from Yale, briefly flirted with running for president in 2015, making campaign trips to early states and candidate cattle-calls. He and Trump have met regularly since Trump took office. Bolton is Trumps third national security adviser. He brought in McMaster to replace Michael Flynn, who, along with Trumps deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates and campaign aide George Papadopoulos, has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Flynn is now cooperating with investigators looking into potential collusion between Russia and Trumps campaign and other potential misdeeds by Trump and those in the presidents orbit. __ Follow Colvin and Miller on Twitter at https://twitter.com/colvinj and https://twitter.com/ZekeJMiller WASHINGTON Charging ahead with the dramatic remaking of his White House, President Donald Trump said he would replace national security adviser H.R. McMaster with the former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, a foreign policy hawk entering an administration facing key decisions on Iran and North Korea. After weeks of speculation about McMasters future, Trump and the respected three-star general put a positive face on the Thursday departure, making no reference to the growing public friction between them. Trump tweeted that McMaster had done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. He said Bolton will take over April 9 as his third national security adviser in just over a year. The national security shakeup comes as the president is increasingly shedding advisers who once eased the Republican establishments concerns about the foreign policy and political novice in the White House. McMaster is the sixth close adviser or aide to announce a departure in a turbulent six weeks, joining ally Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was unceremoniously fired last week. The White House has said the president is seeking to put new foreign policy leaders in place ahead of a not-yet-scheduled meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Bolton is likely to add a hard-line influence on those talks, as well as deliberations over whether to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal. The White House said McMasters exit had been under discussion for some time and stressed it was not due to any one incident, including this weeks stunning leak about Trumps recent phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. McMaster had briefed Trump before the Putin call and his team drafted all-caps instructions telling Trump not to congratulate the Russian leader on his re-election victory. Trump did it anyway. An internal investigation into the leak is underway, said a White House official who like others interviewed about the announcement and the White House shakeup demanded anonymity to discuss internal matters. In a statement released by the White House, McMaster said he would be requesting retirement from the U.S. Army effective this summer, adding that afterward he will leave public service. McMaster had told confidants he would leave the post if at any point he lost credibility on the international stage, according to three White House officials. The feverish speculation about an impending exit sped up the decision for him to depart, the officials said, in part because McMaster believed foreign partners were beginning to doubt his influence. Chief of staff John Kelly and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had been pushing Trump to get rid of McMaster and had been escalating their campaign in recent weeks. It had appeared McMasters departure was imminent last week but White House officials insisted the speculation was false. Just spoke to @POTUS and Gen. H.R. McMaster contrary to reports they have a good working relationship and there are no changes at the NSC, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted late last Thursday night. McMaster never developed a personal rapport with Trump, who chafed at his long-winded briefing style, according to a White House official and a person close to the president. His influence in high-level decision-making had waned in recent months, as Trump has increasingly relied on the direct counsel of Kelly and Mattis. Yet officials said the president still has genuine respect for McMaster. He had been under consideration for a fourth star, and White House officials hoped it would provide a graceful exit from the West Wing for the longtime soldier. No suitable postings had been identified, leaving McMaster long an iconoclast among the top brass with no choice but retirement. Bolton, probably the most divisive foreign policy expert ever to serve as U.N. ambassador, has been a force in Republican foreign policy circles for decades. He served in the Republican administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, and as a Bush lawyer during the 2000 Florida recount. A strong supporter of the Iraq war and an advocate for aggressive use of American power, Bolton was unable to win Senate confirmation after his nomination to the U.N. post alienated many Democrats and even some Republicans. He resigned after serving 17 months as a Bush recess appointment, which allowed him to hold the job on a temporary basis without Senate confirmation. The role of national security adviser does not require Senate confirmation. Bolton met with Trump and Kelly in early March to discuss North Korea and Iran. He was spotted entering the West Wing earlier Thursday. Tension between Trump and McMaster had grown increasingly public. Last month, Trump took issue with McMasters characterization of Russian meddling in the 2016 election after the national security adviser told the Munich Security Summit that interference was beyond dispute. General McMaster forgot to say that the results of the 2016 election were not impacted or changed by the Russians and that the only Collusion was between Russia and Crooked H, the DNC and the Dems, Trump tweeted Feb. 17, alluding to frequent GOP allegations of impropriety by Democrats and Hillary Clinton. Tillersons exit also forecast trouble for McMaster, who had aligned himself with the embattled secretary of state in seeking to soften some of Trumps most dramatic foreign policy impulses. McMaster told The New York Times last year that Trumps unorthodox approach has moved a lot of us out of our comfort zone, me included. The military strategist, who joined the administration in February 2017, has struggled to navigate a tumultuous White House. Last summer, he was the target of a far-right attack campaign, as conservative groups and a website tied to former Trump adviser Steve Bannon targeted him as insufficiently supportive of Israel and not tough enough on Iran. McMaster was brought in after Trumps first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was dismissed after less than a month in office. White House officials said he was ousted because he did not tell top advisers, including Vice President Mike Pence, about the full extent of his contacts with Russian officials. __ Associated Press writer Jill Colvin contributed to this report. FARMINGTON A Farmington police officer fired four gunshots at a suspect earlier this month after the man charged at the officer with a knife and attempted to stab him following a standoff at a Farmington motel. New Mexico State Police have released new details about the incident and the name of the Farmington Police Department officer who shot and killed Andrew Rossi early on March 6 in a room at the Motel 6 at 1600 Bloomfield Blvd. in Farmington. Farmington police Officer Alfonso Sifuentes fired four gunshots at Rossi after SWAT officers entered the motel room Rossi was in, according to a State Police press release. Sifuentes, who has four years of law enforcement experience, is on administrative leave, according to Farmington Capt. Taft Tracy. Around 1 a.m. on March 6, Farmington officers entered the motel room Rossi was in and attempted to take him into custody. Earlier in the evening, a robot had been deployed inside the motel room in an attempt to observe the suspect. Through the robots optics, officers observed movement in the ceiling vent of the room, leading officers to believe Rossi had climbed into the vent and was hiding from police. Police said in the statement Rossi landed in the motel room from the vent after officers entered the room and was shirtless while holding a knife. Based on interviews and statements, Rossi was observed holding the knife in an icepick fashion with his arms above his head. Rossi rushed toward Sifuentes, who was about 5 feet away from the suspect. The release states Rossi attempted to stab Sifuentes, and the officer responded by pushing Rossi off of him and firing four gunshots at Rossi at close range. The release did not state how many times Rossi was shot, but it stated Rossi sustained fatal gunshot wounds. He died after being transported to the San Juan Regional Medical Center. A knife with a blade about 5 inches long was found in Rossis possession during the investigation. Rossis vehicle had been located outside the motel around 8:45 p.m. on March 5. He was wanted on an aggravated battery with a deadly weapon charge out of Ignacio, Colorado. A search warrant stated Rossi was also a suspect in an incident that resulted in the victim from Ignacio suffering multiple gunshot wounds. As police surrounded Rossis room on March 5, a woman later identified as his mother exited the room at approximately 10:30 p.m. Police said she told them at the scene Rossi was inside the room and did not want to surrender. Officers spent several hours attempting to negotiate with Rossi, but he did not respond, the release states. New Mexico State Police are still investigating the incident. The case will be forwarded to the San Juan County District Attorneys Office for review after completion of the investigation. The March 6 shooting was the second fatal officer-involved shooting involving a Farmington Police Department officer in recent months. Officer Brandt Warman fired five shots at Aztec resident Frankie Anchondo, 35, on Dec. 20 in an area north of U.S. Highway 64 in southeast Farmington. The shooting occurred when Anchondo exited his vehicle during a traffic stop and started to approach Warman with an electronic cigarette pointed at the officer. Joshua Kellogg covers crime, courts and social issues for The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4627 or via email at jkellogg@daily-times.com. 2018 The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.) Visit The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.) at www.daily-times.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. _____ FARMINGTON Farmington police Chief Steve Hebbe says he believes the actions of a Farmington officer who fired four gunshots at a suspect who charged at him with a knife and tried to stab him earlier this month were justified. The department released footage Thursday from a SWAT officers body camera that recorded the incident. Farmington police Officer Alfonso Sifuentes fired four gunshots at Andrew Rossi early on March 6 after SWAT officers entered the room Rossi was in at the Motel 6 at 1600 Bloomfield Blvd. in Farmington A video statement by Hebbe was also released Thursday, along with two versions of the footage of the incident. One version is the body camera footage in slow motion. Farmington police also have released dashboard camera footage of the Dec. 20 shooting in which Farmington Officer Brandt Warman fired five gunshots at Aztec resident Frankie L. Anchondo during an attempted traffic stop. The footage of that incident was released on Jan. 16. Hebbes video statement opens with the chief stating the department feels it was important for the community to receive as much information as possible and as quickly as possible. As of this moment, the preliminary administrative internal review of the incident demonstrates the officers actions were justified, Hebbe says in the video. He also states that after consulting with the New Mexico State Police, which is the agency conducting the investigation, and the San Juan County District Attorneys Office, the Farmington Police Department is confident the investigation will support the departments internal finding. Hebbes video statement is three minutes, 28 seconds long and includes a description of the raw video Farmington police released of the incident. The 58-second clip shows a SWAT officer opening a door and striking the ceiling with a shovel-like device as one of the officers orders Rossi to stop moving and put his hands up. SWAT officers made entry into Rossis room around 1 a.m. on March 6 after spending hours attempting to negotiate and have Rossi surrender. His vehicle had been located at the motel around 8:45 p.m. March 5 by the San Juan County Sheriffs Office. Rossi was hiding in the ceiling, and it was unclear if he could access other rooms and potentially harm other motel guests or escape, according to Hebbe. Hebbe says as officers were removing ceiling tiles, Rossi fell to the floor, then immediately got to his feet and lunged toward Sifuentes. Hebbe also states Sifuentes pushed Rossi off him and fired four gunshots at the suspect at close range. The video statement by Hebbe and releases from the New Mexico State Police do not state how many times Rossi was shot, but both state he sustained fatal gunshot wounds. The footage of the incident in which Sifuentes fires the gunshots at Rossi features a view that is largely blocked by a ballistic shield held by one of the SWAT officers. During Hebbes video statement, he says the video is one of several that exist, and Farmington police plan to release more videos once the investigation is complete. Although Rossi was wanted for a violent crime, FPD was committed to a peaceful resolution, Hebbe says. Unfortunately, Rossis actions did not allow for that. Rossi was wanted out of Ignacio, Colorado, for an aggravated battery with a deadly weapon charge. He was also suspect in an incident in which a victim from Ignacio had suffered multiple gunshot wounds. Hebbe ends the video by stating this is a difficult situation for everyone. He also says he strongly supports the actions of the officers and is grateful none of them were injured during the incident. Joshua Kellogg covers crime, courts and social issues for The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4627 or via email at jkellogg@daily-times.com. 2018 The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.) Visit The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.) at www.daily-times.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. _____ BEIJING In a story March 23 about the appointment of John Bolton as U.S. national security adviser, The Associated Press erroneously reported that Bolton had commented in an interview with Fox Business News. Bolton spoke with the Fox Business Network. A corrected version of the story is below: Boltons appointment comes at sensitive time for China ties Foreign policy hard-liner John Boltons appointment as U.S. national security adviser comes at a particularly sensitive time for relations with China By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN Associated Press BEIJING Foreign policy hard-liner John Boltons appointment as U.S. national security adviser comes at a particularly sensitive time for relations with Beijing following President Donald Trumps approval of new tariffs on China and a law encouraging closer relations with Taiwan. Bolton has taken a tough position on both issues, saying Beijing needed to be called out on what he characterized as systematic cheating on global trade while enjoying the benefits of an open U.S. market. He has also urged a rethink of U.S. restrictions of contacts with Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy that China considers its own territory. On those and other issues, Bolton, a former U.N. ambassador under President George W. Bush, is seen as heralding a rightward shift in Trumps foreign policy and an embrace of more hard-line policies. His appointment also raised questions over policy toward North Korea following Trumps acceptance of an offer for direct talks, possibly before May. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the importance of China-U.S. relations outweighed personnel matters. No matter who takes the post of any kind, the significance of China-U.S. relations needs no further explanation, and it will never change, Hua said at a regularly scheduled news briefing. To strengthen cooperation and uphold the principles of mutual respect and benefit is in line with the two sides interests and meets the expectation of the international community, Hua said. China also hopes the U.S. will stick with the Iran nuclear agreement, a deal both Bolton and Trump have harshly criticized. In Tokyo, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said he was a bit surprised by Boltons appointment, but said he didnt anticipate any major changes in U.S. policy on North Korea. During my recent visit to the U.S., members of the Trump administration seem to fully share consensus on policies. So I believe there is no major change to their stance, Kono said. Boltons approach to North Korea appears to be everything China has warned against, including supporting the possibility of a pre-emptive military strike and dismissing direct negotiations that Beijing says are vital to jump-starting the denuclearization process. Like Trump, Bolton has also been highly critical of the U.S trade deficit with China, which Washington says hit a record of $375.2 billion last year. In an interview Thursday with the Fox Business Network, Bolton accused China of stealing U.S. intellectual property and pursuing mercantilist policies in what is supposed to be a free-trade environment. I dont buy it. I am a free trader, but I dont think that means just getting pounded into the ground when another country doesnt abide by the commitments its made, Bolton said. Bolton said China cheats by providing subsidies to exports and discriminating against foreign entities, including through the legal system, while enjoying the benefits of WTO membership. Chinese government subsidies allow Americans to buy goods cheaper to the detriment of the Chinese worker, he said. The reality is, China just doesnt have the same concern for its citizens welfare that we do in this country, Bolton said. And even beyond that, theres simply no excuse for the stealing of intellectual property, forced technology transfers its sometimes called. Speaking to the Washington Free Beacon newspaper in February 2017, Bolton criticized Americas One-China policy, under which it does not recognize Taiwan as an independent nation, and called for increased arms sales to the island. The One-China policy is inherently ambiguous, Bolton said. China thinks it means one thing, we think it means another. Boltons appointment was loudly cheered by one of the administrations chief China hawks, trade and manufacturing adviser Peter Navarro, author of the book Death by China: Confronting the Dragon a Global Call to Action. Ive gotten to know him over the years, and hell be a great replacement. So what we are seeing here is a president who has great judge of talent, Navarro told CNN on Thursday. Though Trump ultimately follows his own instincts, Bolton will have a sort of influence on Trumps foreign diplomacy because they share a similar view on matters such as ideology, threats to U.S. national security and values, said Yu Wanli, professor at the Peking Universitys School of International Relations in Beijing. Trump now has a faithful implementer of his policies, Yu said. Bolton will surely contribute to the tension in China-U.S. relations. WASHINGTON The Trump administration announced criminal charges and sanctions Friday against Iranians accused in a hacking scheme to pilfer sensitive information from hundreds of universities, private companies and American government agencies. The nine defendants, accused of working at the behest of the Iranian government-tied Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, hacked the computer systems of about 320 universities in the United States and abroad to steal expensive science and engineering research that was then used by the government or sold for profit, prosecutors said. The hackers also are accused of breaking into the networks of government organizations, such as the Department of Labor, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the United Nations, and private sector entities including technology companies and law and consulting firms. The Justice Department said the hackers were affiliated with an Iranian company called the Mabna Institute, which prosecutors say contracted with the Iranian government to steal scientific research from other countries. The institute was founded by two of the defendants. By bringing these criminal charges, we reinforce the norm that most of the civilized world accepts: nation-states should not steal intellectual property for the purpose of giving domestic industries an advantage, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said in announcing the charges. Also Friday, the Treasury Department targeted the Mabna Institute and 10 Iranians the nine defendants and one charged in a separate case last year for sanctions that officials say will make it harder for them to do business outside Iran. The defendants are unlikely to ever be prosecuted in an American courtroom since theres no extradition treaty with Iran. But the grand jury indictment, filed in federal court in Manhattan, is part of the governments name and shame strategy to publicly identify foreign hackers, block them from traveling without risk of arrest and put their countries on notice. In Tehran, Bahram Ghasemi spokesman of the Foreign Ministry condemned the move and called it provocative, illegal and without justification. Ghasemi said the charges are another sign of hostility of the U.S. government towards Iranian nation. He said the U.S will not take any benefit from the move aimed at thwarting scientific growth of Iran. The approach has been employed with past indictments accusing Iranian hackers of a digital break-in of a New York dam, Chinese military officials of large-scale hacks at energy corporations and Russians of a massive breach of Yahoo user accounts. People travel. They take vacations, they make plans with their families, said FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich. Having your name, face and description on a Wanted poster makes moving freely much more difficult. According to the indictment, the Iranians broke into universities through relatively simple but common means tricking professors to click on compromised links. The spear-phishing emails purported to be from professors at one university to those at another and contained what appeared to be authentic article links. But once clicked on, the links steered the professors to a malicious Internet domain that led them to believe theyd been logged out of their systems and that asked them to enter their log-in credentials. Those credentials were logged and stolen by the hackers, prosecutors say. The Justice Department says the hackers stole roughly 31 terabytes of academic research and intellectual property that was then sent to servers outside the United States for profit. The information that was stolen, which was sold through two websites to customers in Iran, cost U.S. universities about $3.4 billion to procure and access. More than 100,000 professors worldwide were targeted with spear-phishing emails. The affected professors and their universities were not identified. Just in case youre wondering, theyre not admiring our work, Bowdich said. Theyre stealing it, and theyre taking credit for it, and theyre selling it to others. __ Follow Eric Tucker on http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP HOUSTON A conservative operative has testified that former U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman hired people to spy on three Republican state lawmakers. Benjamin Wetmore testified Thursday that shortly after Stockman took office in 2013 he became concerned that one of the lawmakers, Rep. James White of Woodville, was considering a primary challenge to Stockman. Stockman said in a text to Wetmore that White, whos black, worried him. Republicans love black conservatives, Stockman wrote. Wetmore, who says he was hired by Stockman to oversee the surveillance, told the court that three months of trailing White yielded nothing incriminating. The Houston Chronicle reports that Stockman is charged with 28 criminal counts, which include claims that he used charitable donations to pay for personal and political expenses. His attorney, Sean Buckley, says Stockman committed no crime in using the money as he did. ___ Information from: Houston Chronicle, http://www.houstonchronicle.com March for Our Lives, a nationwide school safety initiative, will have a demonstration in Rio Rancho on Saturday. The marches were planned after 17 deaths in Parkland, Fla., in a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last month. Starting at 10 a.m. at Haynes Park, the teen-initiated protest is expected to last until about 1 p.m. The park is at 2006 Grande Blvd SE. It joins hundreds of marches nationwide, including one in Albuquerque that starts in Old Town Plaza at 10 a.m. and the main march in Washington, D.C., where Marjory Stoneman Douglas students are among those expected to attend. Lead hosts for Rio Ranchos march are the American Federation of Teachers, Central New Mexico Community College Employees Union and the National Education Association of New Mexico, according to a news release. The march and rally will have speakers, including student speakers, and music. SANTA FE A state district judge in Albuquerque lifted the temporary restraining order this week that barred a former intern from getting within 100 yards of U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democratic candidate for governor. Judge Clay Campbell said the order isnt necessary because the ex-intern, Riley Del Rey, already faces criminal charges in connection with a protest at the state Democratic pre-primary convention earlier this month and the judge in that case has ordered Del Rey to have no contact with witnesses, such as the congresswoman. Campbell also said Del Rey has a highly protected right to political speech guaranteed by the U.S. and New Mexico constitutions. Lujan Grisham secured the temporary restraining order a week ago after telling the court that she was fearful of Del Reys threatening behavior, which included disruptions at events. Del Rey, for example, faces allegations that she became violent as police officers removed her from the Democratic convention where she shouted and sounded an air horn to disrupt Lujan Grishams speech. Del Rey, for her part, said that she didnt want to cause physical harm, that she wanted only to protest against Lujan Grisham, one of three Democrats running for governor. Im exercising my First Amendment right to assemble and protest, she said in an interview Friday. As a political candidate, youre not immune from peoples opinions. She alleges Lujan Grisham discriminated against her because shes a transgender woman. Lujan Grisham denies the allegation and says she didnt even know Del Rey is transgender. Del Rey, a 26-year-old activist from Albuquerque, faces misdemeanor charges of disturbing the peace and attempted battery, according to court records. Bloomberg|Quint, Indias premier business and financial news company, has gained over 100,000 organic subscribers for its WhatsApp news service within a few weeks of launch. As may be recalled, Bloomberg|Quint had announced this first of its kind offering in the business space in the country towards the end of 2017. The service connects users to comprehensive daily coverage of global and domestic business news, market movements and trends. Interestingly, users also can check real-time stock prices and use hashtag based search for trending news categories. This milestone makes Bloomberg|Quint the first player in the business space to have successfully deployed a chat-based, mobile-led news delivery model at scale. The subscriber base of this WhatsApp service reflects the overall premium consumer base of Bloomberg|Quint, which comprises of top CXOs, entrepreneurs, professionals and policy makers. 30% of subscribers of this service are iPhone users as compared to the national average of 3.12% (Source: Statista.com, December 2017), 60% users come from large metro cities and belong 25-45 years working age group. And this audience is highly engaged with every user on an average reading over 12 stories from (Source: Google Analytics). As a brand, Bloomberg|Quint reaches more than 3 million monthly users across its site and partner platforms. More than 50% of Bloomberg|Quints audience comprises of Senior executives, professionals and entrepreneurs (Source: LinkedIN Audience Center For Publishers). With a strong emphasis on user engagement and interactivity, this WhatsApp service forms part of Bloomberg|Quints suite of opt-in services including the much acclaimed BQ Daily Newsletter, the All You Need to Know podcast, notifications and more. Cumulatively, these services already engage over 2.5 lac users daily. Commenting on the success of the WhatsApp news service, Anil Uniyal, CEO of Bloomberg|Quint, said, We are very excited by the rapid success that our pioneering WhatsApp service has seen. From the outset, our approach has been to build an integrated, digital-first product and this is a key milestone in that direction. What is even more heartening is that this subscriber growth has been garnered organically, through referrals and word of mouth and these users are an engaged base of premium decision makers. We aim to scale this product as well as add to the suite of services for our users. Bloomberg|Quints mobile-first coverage includes Live streaming on BQ Live, Indias first digital business news streaming service, apart from published articles, op-eds, video, e-books, data infographics and charts, Live chats, polls and contests. The content is powered with high-impact AR graphics from its state of the art newsroom. Apart from bloombergquint.com, its coverage is Live and exclusive across top social platforms Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, YouTube and leading OTT platforms such as Hotstar, Vodafone Play, Yupp TV, Zenga TV, Nexgtv and more. During Budget 2018, Bloomberg|Quint delivered over 30 million in reach, including 8.75 million video views and more than 20k shares on social media, ahead of several legacy players in the space. (Source: Google Analytics, Partner & Social Analytics). It was also rated as the most viewed business news brand on Facebook amongst new-age publishers. (Source: Vidooly, Facebook Video Report) and has been voted Business Website of the Year (Digipub Awards 2017) BARC Indias vigilance team has upped its drive against panel home infiltrators. After taking tough action against those involved in panel home manipulation in Karnataka, BARC India has now got a FIR filed against culprits in Telangana. Taking note of the serious threat, panel home tampering causes to the TV industry, the state Police has also detained those accused, based on the FIR. The FIR was filed by the police after BARC Indias vigilance team found out that the details of the households where BARC Indias BAR-O-Meters are installed were compromised. The FIR has been filed for manipulation, tampering, cheating and breach of trust. BARC India over the years has taken a number of measures to curb panel home tampering. However, there are still pockets and people, who continue to indulge in such malpractices. We are continuously investing in technology and on-ground vigilance to curb these malpractices. BARC India has and will continue to take action against those who try and infiltrate our system, said Partho Dasgupta, CEO, BARC India. Advertising is a major source of revenue for the TV industry and TV viewership data provided by BARC India acts as the currency for advertisers. Hence, channels use these means to boost their ratings. BARC India has also set up a Disciplinary Council headed by Justice Mukul Mudgal to strengthen transparency and credibility of its measurement system. It can be recalled that in January 2018, the Karnataka police had arrested those involved in panel home tampering in the region. For more related stories visit here. Mindshare, the global media agency that is part of WPP, has launched a new intuitive and raw ideation service called Mindshare 24 to kick start creativity and scale it. Designed to help clients tap into the global Mindshare network of talent spanning 116 offices in 86 markets, Mindshare 24 pulls together the brightest strategic and creative talent at the agency to come up with solutions within 24 hours of a brief being submitted, with a guarantee that if you dont like the ideas, then there is no fee. The aim is to put energy and excitement back into planning. Comms planning is generally boring when all it does is follow three phases and then offers thirty pages of analysis and only one page of ideas. Mindshare 24 turns that on its head its data and rooted in a brief but first and foremost its about speed, gut and native genius. Ivan Pollard, Global CMO of General Mills, welcomed the idea: Its what the best planners have always done and its great to see Mindshare scaling it. Kees Kruythoff, President of Unilevers Home Care Business and Chairman of the ENACTUS Board of Directors, said: ENACTUS and Mindshare have a shared agenda. We are both committed to the UNs Common Ground agenda, which is to use our skills and expertise to make a positive impact on the world through the Sustainable Development Goals. The ideas we received from across the Mindshare network on Mindshare Day 2017 were remarkable and we are looking forward to launching multiple initiatives this year, globally and locally, through some of our largest media and technology partners. Here is how it works: Mindshare 24 formats a client brief for quick response clearly stating the challenges, objectives and any specialist information required. The agencys data visualisation service The Loop then plays a key role in the process, turning real time data into insights to fuel the creativity and ideas from across the network. The brief is then tackled by the global members of Mindshare 24, pulling in partners as required. The result for the client is a range of ideas inside 24 hours, from small executable tactical ideas to multi-platform, multi-market partnership propositions the teams work with anyone and everyone to develop the best ideas. Mindshare has developed the approach to mobilising the agencys top talent through its annual Mindshare Day having used Mindshare 24 for projects with both Amnesty International and ENACTUS, an organisation which brings together entrepreneurs, business, academics and students, to use their skills to tackle the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For Amnesty International, Mindshare 24 created 21 ideas from four continents, with three being executed on behalf of the brand. The award winning Look Beyond Borders Facebook Live event, which connected audiences with refugees in London, Sydney, Mexico City and Nairobi was one of the ideas created. Mindshare is now activating Mindshare 24 for all clients with key hubs in London, Amsterdam, Johannesburg, Singapore, Shanghai, Sydney, Portland and New York. Nick Emery, Global CEO Mindshare, said: Any brand that is interested in quick and powerful ideas anywhere in the world should call us or even just send an email, go to bed, and then wake up with a world-changing idea. Traditional comms planning is dead and the days of tease, excite, reveal are over. Mindshare 24 is fast and fun and that is why we are doing it its the creative antidote to a tech is the only solution view of our world that is pervasive. Mindshare has always been about speed, teamwork and provocation and Mindshare 24 is a natural extension of that for a world that moves at the speed of culture. For more related stories visit here. On the 87th death anniversary of Bhagat Singh today, MY FM is doing a special show dedicated to the legend. The entire day will have the patriotic flavour with an absolutely unique content of having a voice of Shaheed Sardar Bhagat Singh in studio interacting with the RJ. This will be coupled with music which will remind each one of the listeners the cause for which Sardar Bhagat Singh fought and sacrificed his life Entire day, this special voice of Bhagat Singh will be interacting with MY FM RJs in the studio and narrate every key incident of his life, his relationships with his family members, the moments that changed his thinking, people who influenced him and his friends and colleagues. It will also talk about his growing up years, his views on love, how he escaped from his house to avoid marriage and many such incidents which will be unveiled on radio From the story of him sowing guns like his father sowed seeds for crop, to him going to Jallianwala Bagh 2 days after the massacre and bringing the bloodied soil in a bottle that he treasured for his life, him shooting the British Assistant Superintendent of Police in Lahore Mr. Saunders to running away to Kolkata and changing his attire from a Sikh to an Anglo Indian gentleman who vanished in front of more than 40 cops using this disguise; all these aspects will be covered on the show. The show will also cover the aspect of Bhagat Singh talking about his Bombing the assembly, his capture, his days of captivity, his special relationships with his friends Sukhdev, Rajguru, and Chandra Shekhar Azad, his demands in the jail as that of a political prisoner and atrocities committed on him and other jail mates by the Britishers. Speaking on the initiative, Viplove Gupte, Chief Programming Officer, MY FM said We did an extensive research on Shaheed Bhagat Singh and his life which was only of 23 years. By reading pages of his diary, excerpts of the books written on him, watching interviews of his relatives and family members, reading the stories written descendants of his friends, decided to bring Bhagat Singh's thoughts/ ideologies and an account of his life in a special voice who plays Bhagat Singh on air. For more related news visit here. Customer Logins Obtain the data you need to make the most informed decisions by accessing our extensive portfolio of information, analytics, and expertise. Sign in to the product or service center of your choice. Fifteen years ago, U.S. bombs began falling on Bagdad in a campaign that came to be known as shock and awe. While the initial overthrow of Saddam Hussein was relatively quick, the Iraq War itself was anything but, notes The Atlantic, which looks back at many of the momentous images that told the story of a long war marked by poor post-invasion planning and insurgent rebellions. Among the memorable images: A photo of Navy Hospital Corpsman Richard Barnett holding an Iraqi child on March 29, 2003, taken by Damir Sagolj of Reuters. Would you like to receive breaking news notifications from The Post and Courier? Sign up to receive news and updates from this site directly to your desktop. Breaking News Columbia Breaking News Greenville Breaking News Myrtle Beach Breaking News Aiken Breaking News N Augusta Breaking News Click on the bell icon to manage your notifications at any time. Success! Please click the 'Allow' button in the 'Show Notifcations' alert in your browser if one is available. Thank you for signing up! Please enable notifications in your browser and reload the page. After months of negotiations and multiple revisions, Congress is on the verge of mandating that the Donald Trump administration cut economic assistance to the West Bank and Gaza that directly benefits the Palestinian Authority (PA). The legislation, known as the Taylor Force Act, was incorporated into a government spending bill that Congress must pass by Friday in order to avert a government shutdown. Unless the PA ceases its so-called martyr payments to Palestinian assailants responsible for attacks in Israel and to the assailants families, the aid cuts will soon go into effect. The House passed the $1.3 trillion spending bill 256-167 and the Senate will vote soon. The White House has said that Trump will sign it into law. After over two years of very hard work, we are on the verge of having the Taylor Force Act become law, said Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the chief architect of the bill in the Senate. The Palestinian Authority pays monetary rewards to terrorists and their families. These rewards for terrorist attacks are inconsistent with American values. They are inconsistent with decency and they are certainly inconsistent with peace. It remains unclear, however, exactly how much of that aid Palestinians stand to lose. Congress has left it to the Trump administration to determine how much aid directly benefits the PA. The State Department plans to spend about $215 million in economic assistance for the West Bank and Gaza this year and has requested another $215 million in its 2019 budget request. Once Trump signs the bill into law, the State Department will have 15 days to report to Congress on what programs will be subject to cuts. The United States does not provide the PA with any direct budgetary support but uses some Palestinian assistance funds to pay off PA debts to Israel, which nonetheless supports the bill. Israel applauds Congress for working to pass the Taylor Force Act, which sends a clear message to the Palestinian Authority to stop the abhorrent practice of paying terrorists and their families for the murder of Jews, Ron Dermer, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, told Al-Monitor in an emailed statement. Opponents of the bill argue that it is politically untenable for PA President Mahmoud Abbas to end the payments, particularly in light of Trumps recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital as well as his decision to cut $65 million in separate funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Under the current circumstances, it would be politically suicidal for Abbas to be seen as kowtowing to Trump because he would basically be seen as having rewarded the Americans, Mouin Rabbani, a senior fellow at the Institute for Palestine Studies, told Al-Monitor. What I think [the PA] will do is present this, quite rightly, as another attempt at political blackmail. Graham named his bill after the son of two of his constituents; the son, Taylor Force, was a US Army veteran stabbed to death by a Palestinian attacker while in Tel Aviv in 2016. Israeli police killed the assailant, Bashar Massalha, at the scene. The PA has distributed monthly stipends to Massalhas family since the attack while Israel has retaliated for the attack by demolishing his familys home. The initial version of the bill would have automatically cut off all economic aid for the West Bank and Gaza. It was a purely partisan push that wasnt endorsed by either Israel or the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Republicans eventually managed to bring Democrats on board and earned the endorsement of AIPAC with changes that reduced the scope of the cuts and added exemptions for certain programs. The bill, however, was not on AIPACs official agenda during its lobbying day earlier this month despite the thunderous cheers it received from thousands of rank-and-file members when lawmakers repeatedly referenced it in speeches at AIPACs annual policy conference. The bill still contains exemptions for US funding for the East Jerusalem Hospital Network, a chain of health care facilities offering specialty services typically not available elsewhere in the West Bank and Gaza, as well as for child vaccination programs and wastewater treatment projects. Graham and other Republican senators initially objected to the wastewater exemptions and public health exceptions, which were introduced in the House. The two chambers reached a compromise in the spending bill by placing dollar caps on the exemptions. The exemption for childhood vaccinations would be capped at $500,000, the same amount the State Department has spent on the program in recent years. Meanwhile, the exemption for wastewater programs would be capped at $5 million. The Trump White House was the primary driver in pushing for the wastewater project exemption. Tens of millions of cubic meters of untreated sewage emanating from the West Bank and East Jerusalem have polluted rivers in Israel as well as the Palestinian territories, a point the White House raised once again during last weeks conference on humanitarian aid for Gaza. The Trump administration has also touted water-sharing programs as a way to bring Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians together ahead of peace talks. The compromise bill also removes the Houses sunset clause that would have ended the aid cuts after 2023. Additionally, it builds upon an escrow fund that sets aside withheld aid for two years. If the PA does not stop its martyr stipends, the final language allows the State Department to reprogram half of the withheld assistance to assistance programs that do not directly benefit the PA while the other half must be used outside of the West Bank and Gaza. Current US law already requires a dollar-for-dollar reduction in Palestinian assistance for every dollar the PA sends to Palestinian attackers or their families. The cuts from the Taylor Force Act would count toward that deduction. The State Department has not publicly divulged how much funding it currently withholds. For its part, the PA says it spends about $350 million per year on its martyrs fund, which also includes payments to Palestinian prisoners who have not attacked civilians or Israeli forces. The Palestinians are a people under occupation, and these are payments to people who have been imprisoned [and] to the families of people who have been killed in the conflict with Israel or are in Israeli prisons, Rabbani said. While HIV infection rates are declining globally, the disease is spreading dramatically in Egypt. According to UNAIDS, HIV infections in the country are increasing at an annual rate of 25- 30%. An estimated 11,000 Egyptians were living with HIV as of 2016, most of them under 49. The 25-30% annual increase has been estimated by the number of people undergoing HIV testing and being diagnosed with the virus, Ahmed Khamis, the country manager of UNAIDS Agency in Egypt, told Al-Monitor. However, the real numbers could be much higher. Testing is still not common despite government efforts to provide free and anonymous HIV testing in governorates across Egypt. Fearing stigmatization, people are still reluctant to get tested for HIV, preferring not to know. At the root of the stigma is HIV's association with immoral behavior, such as illicit sexual relations and drug use. The problem is that there is an assumption that those who have HIV are drug users, homosexuals or sex workers, but this is not true. Those indeed could be the ones who are most at risk of contracting this virus. But they also have families husbands, wives and children who if infected are forced to live with this disease for the rest of their lives in a society that heavily discriminates against anybody living with HIV, said Khamis. In December 2017, Egypt Independent, one of Egypts English-language newspapers, reported that an Egyptian housewife committed suicide soon after discovering she had contracted HIV from her husband, who was a drug user. While initially trying to keep her HIV status a secret, the womans neighbors found out and forced her and her family to leave their home. The plan was to move in with her mother-in-law until they found another home, but the woman decided to climb the stairs to her apartment on the fifth floor and jump out the window. While this story is tragic, it is by no means unique. People living with HIV fear not only discrimination from family and friends, but losing their jobs, homes and the right to live freely. Sherin Mahmud, a 35-year-old HIV patient who contracted the virus from her husband's extramarital affairs, told The Arab Weekly that she decided to visit a dentist because she had a painful toothache. When she informed the dentist of her HIV status, he asked her to leave the clinic immediately. Some health care providers do not know how to deal with patients who have HIV, said Evette Adel Ramzi, the head of HIV prevention at Caritas Egypt, a nongovernmental organization that provides support and counseling to people living with HIV. This is why at Caritas we work with several hospitals to train physicians and nurses on how to deal with HIV patients. When any of our members need to see a physician, we send them to these hospitals to receive medical treatment in a discrimination-free environment. In addition to training medical practitioners, Caritas also has a number of programs dedicated to supporting people living with HIV, from counseling drug users on their addictions and safe injections to reconciling HIV patients with their families and teaching people how to adhere to their HIV treatment for life. The National AIDS Program (NAP), an initiative of the Egyptian Ministry of Health, also has a number of programs in place to raise awareness on HIV prevention and treatment. But with funding running low, such outreach programs will struggle to keep running. Our concern is that we will not have enough financial support to continue, Ramzi told Al-Monitor. Khamis is also worried about the lack of funding needed to invest in prevention and outreach programs. He explained that while the government has pledged to provide free treatment for people living with HIV to the tune of thousands of dollars for each patient, much needs to be done about prevention. In a country like Egypt, where there are a lot of development priorities, it is difficult to allocate a lot of funding for preventing HIV. The international community and donors really need to step up and show commitment to preventing new infections, said Khamis. Having limited prevention programs at a time when there is a rising trend of new HIV infections will likely result in more Egyptians contracting the virus. What will happen when we have zero coverage? asked Khamis. To date, Egypt ranks behind only Iran, Sudan and Somalia in the Middle East for the rate at which the epidemic is spreading, according to UN figures. UNAIDS, NAP and the Ministry of Health have all run awareness campaigns involving celebrities and organized social events to increase awareness of HIV among Egyptian youth, but they are struggling to reach the countrys large population of 95 million. One effective way of reaching them is through religious leaders. In a country where religious and conservative values are an integral part of everyday life, religious leaders can play an important role in preaching tolerance and acceptance of all people, including those diagnosed with HIV. In a recent conference on AIDS, Islamic scholar and cleric Ali al-Jifri spoke about the stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV and AIDS patients. A person diagnosed with HIV is still a human being. We should never judge them for their diagnosis, he said in the conference. Priest Bolous Soror said in the same conference that Egyptians should accept others, regardless of their HIV status. One thing is sure: To meet NAPs goal of curbing HIV rates within five years, cooperation among civil society groups is key. We all need to work together to decrease rates of HIV and to end the stigma of the virus. The more stigma there is, the more money is needed to overcome it. With the limited resources we have, civil society needs to work together to curb the spread of the virus that is threatening the lives of many Egyptians, Ramzi told Al-Monitor. Today, Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law legislation that for the first time links US assistance to Egypt to Cairos military relationship with North Korea. Buried in the massive $1.3 trillion bill to fund the government through Sept. 30 is a provision that sets new conditions on US aid to Egypt ahead of next weeks election, in which President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is all but guaranteed re-election. The bill conditions a greater portion of military assistance to progress on human rights, while seeking to shed light on shady dealings with Pyongyang that have harmed an otherwise chummy relationship between Trump and Sisi. The bill requires the secretary of state to certify that Egypt is making progress on human rights to unlock $300 million out of $1.3 billion in annual military aid, up from $195 million previously. If the certification cant be made, the Trump administration can exercise a national security waiver to unlock the $300 million. But it must then report to Congress on a number of issues, including Cairos compliance with UN Security Council resolutions opposing North Korea arms sales and weapons smuggling. Egypt may be working with the North Koreans on the contravention of sanctions that apply to North Korea, said Andrew Miller, the deputy director for policy at the Project on Middle East Democracy. The thinking is almost certainly that if youre going to do the waiver [lawmakers] are going to ask the State Department to argue why, Miller told Al-Monitor. Its not in the interest of the United States to provide aid to a nation that is one of our sworn enemies. The provision comes amid reports that Egypt has purchased North Korean arms while allowing Pyongyangs embassy in Cairo to serve as a conduit for arms sales throughout the region. Trump raised the issue in a call with Sisi last July, a message that was reinforced a month later when Tillerson withheld $195 million in military aid. Its well-known that the North Korean dimension was one of the reasons why the money was withheld in the first place, Miller said. He suggested, however, that it would have been more effective for Congress to directly tie aid payments to progress on the North Korea issue. Egyptian-American democracy activists who have been lobbying for Congress to press Sisi on human rights ahead of the election applauded the legislation. Congress has stepped up to its responsibility of making sure that our tax dollars are not being used for any human rights violations, said Mohamed Soltan, a former Egyptian political prisoner who last week co-led a push to bolster the human rights conditions on aid to Egypt. Congress has sought to affect Cairos behavior by placing conditions on military aid ever since the 2011 uprising against President Hosni Mubarak. To date, neither the Barack Obama nor Trump administrations have certified Egyptian compliance. This year, House appropriators sought to remove human rights requirements while maintaining Egypts annual $1.3 billion in annual military aid. The Senate by contrast sought to cut the annual contribution to $1 billion, of which $250 million would have been tied to human rights progress. The end compromise that Trump signed into law obviously represents increased concern within Congress regarding the political trajectory within Egypt on human rights and the absence of any type of political reform, Miller said. US lawmakers have grown increasingly frustrated with Egypts deteriorating human rights record under Sisi. Theyve been particularly vocal about the recent passage of a nongovernmental organization law that they say has been used to crack down on dissent ahead of the March 26 presidential election. Just this week, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., partnered with Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to introduce a resolution that notes a lack of progress in human rights, civil liberties and rule of law in Egypt, while urging Cairo to take meaningful steps to enable free, fair, credible and peaceful elections. Iranians have long been fond of cinema, and the countrys politicians are no exception. But in recent decades, politicians have been increasingly influencing the film industry to achieve political objectives. Iranian cinema and politics have always had a relationship with each other, but the role of cinema in politics surged in the late 1990s. Indeed, Iranian presidential candidates took the film industry more seriously by asking skilled directors and producers to make documentaries about them to be broadcast on state TV as part of their campaigns. This strategy was initiated ahead of the 1997 presidential election, which saw Reformist Mohammad Khatami defeat conservative Ali Akbar Nategh-Nuri. Reform-minded Seifollah Dad and Manouchehr Mohammadi were the men behind Khatamis electoral documentary. After Khatami appointed Dad as the top official in charge of cinematic affairs at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, directors were more tempted to enter politics and establish a relationship with politicians. In subsequent presidential elections, more directors and producers joined campaigns. In 2005, Kamal Tabrizi, known for his taboo-breaking comedy The Lizard which portrayed a man pretending to be a cleric made an acclaimed documentary about then-candidate Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Meanwhile, hard-line Javad Shamaghdari directed a documentary about then-candidate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which subtly focused on his simple life a narrative that ushered the Tehran mayor to the presidency. Following his victory, Ahmadinejad named Shamaghdari as the culture ministers deputy for cinematic affairs. Ahead of the 2009 presidential election, Ahmadinejad reportedly used director Ahmad Reza Motamedi as his adviser for the televised debates. After the election, which led to Ahmadinejads victory, Motamedi was one of the names on the presidents desk for leading cinematic affairs in the government. In the 2013 election, moderate Hassan Rouhani broke apparent tradition by declining to give a senior position related to cinema to Hossein Dehbashi, the director of his campaign documentary. While the reasons for Dehbashis transformation are manifold, he is now Rouhanis staunch opponent. While the cinema industrys role in politics might be limited to the abovementioned issues, Iranian politicians seem to have decided to create proxy forces in Iranian cinema. Indeed, this seems to stem from a realization of the great effect and influence of cinema on ordinary Iranians, the power of having producers and production companies on their side, and making films and documentaries in their line of thought. There are at least three examples of this. First, Seyed Mahmoud Razavi is one of the closest figures to three-time presidential candidate Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and he served as a senior member of Ghalibafs campaign team. In an interview with Mehr News Agency last April, ahead of the May 2017 presidential election, Razavi said that he was previously managing his fathers company in Mashhad. He went bankrupt in 2003, and in 2005, he joined the circle of Ghalibafs young advisers. I went to Dr. Ghalibaf and he suggested to me that I enter cinema, as I have a cultural background and [he said] that he would back me wherever it is necessary, said Razavi. One of the first films he produced was About Elly, directed by Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi in 2009. Second, the conservative Owj production company was formed in 2011. Owj describes itself as a follower of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, pointing out on its website strategic policymaking in the arena of artistic productions of Islamic Revolution discourse. Owj has been very active since its inception and has made hundreds of documentaries, and it produces several films a year. Its newest production, the controversial Damascus Time, was directed by Ebrahim Hatamikia. The film depicts the role of Iran in fighting the Islamic State in Syria. Speaking about financial backing from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Owj chief Ehsan Mohammad-Hassani stated Feb. 17, We are proud of not having to ask foreign embassies for money to make our films. Mohammad-Hassani is believed to have been alluding to The Salesman, a film by Asghar Farhadi, which received part of its funding from the Doha Film Festival, an institute in Qatar. Implicit in Mohammad-Hassani's comments is that Qatar has provided support to hard-line Sunni Islamist groups that predominantly Shiite Iran has faced in Syria. Third, Safir Film company, which was established in 2010, states that it seeks to depict the discourse and important subjects of the Islamic Revolution and turn them into art works. According to Safir Films website, it has made more than 30 documentaries so far. While its founders remain obscure, it is clear that it has hard-line views, as a significant number of its documentaries targeted the moderate and Reformist political currents in Iran. I am Rouhani, which Safir distributed,revolves around a narrative that negatively depicts the president. While conservatives have been very active in creating a network of allied producers and directors, Reformists have lagged behind in this respect. However, the sons of a number of prominent Reformist figures have produced films, including the offspring of Mohammad Reza Aref, the head of the parliamentary Hope faction, and that of Elias Hazrati, a senior Reformist lawmaker and manager of Etemaad daily. Moreover, Seyyed Mohammad-Hadi Razavi, who is the son-in-law of Reformist Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Mohammad Shariatmadari, has entered cinema and produced the popular series Shahrzad. What is noteworthy here is that the entrance of these sons to cinema isnt based on a strategy and was not pre-planned. In fact, unlike the conservatives, who have entered cinema thoughtfully and created a network inside this industry, the Reformists seemingly have no equivalent coherent strategy. Meanwhile, even though a large number of artists and directors are Reformists, the entrance into the industry of relatives of Reformist politicians has stirred criticism from people with Reformist tendencies in the industry. As such, given the current trajectory, it seems that Iranian cinema will become more politicized in the years ahead. In this game, it is the conservatives who are the likely winners, as they have stepped into this arena based on a road map. However, the Reformists are still lucky that a large number of prominent directors and producers are in favor of Reformism, even though this is a reality that may not last forever and may not overcome the conservatives long-term plans. Recently, the Civil Administration in the West Bank sent a warning to human rights groups in Israel, demanding that they follow its latest instructions to the letter when requesting exit permits for Palestinians from the occupied territories to participate in joint activities involving Palestinians and Israelis. The groups have been ordered to provide detailed information about the Palestinians for whom they request permits to enter Israel, as well as information on the sources of the groups funding, the training of their activists and the selection criteria for the positions they fill in the territories. They are also expected to provide details about their organizations, including the phone numbers of their members. The groups were also ordered to provide detailed information about the workshops they conduct, the content of their encounters, speakers and any other information that could help the Civil Administration and Shin Bet to assess their requests in depth. These demands come in addition to the routine security checks already conducted by Shin Bet. In the document, titled Important Amendments to the Procedures Regarding Permits for Israeli Organizations, the groups were warned that should they fail to follow the new procedures, they would be subject to sanctions and their requests for permits would be rejected. The new procedures are a response to a violent incident last year, after an 18-year-old resident of Nablus stabbed four Israelis in Tel Aviv in April 2017. All of his victims suffered light wounds. He came to Tel Aviv as part of a tour organized by various Israeli human rights organizations for Palestinians from the West Bank. According to members of the groups, they accepted these new procedures initially because of the attack. But now, these rules have been made even tougher. The groups claim these restrictions threaten to shut down their activities to promote understanding and peace between Jews and Arabs. Some activists claim that that the new regulations make it almost impossible to arrange encounters between the two populations and that they should therefore reject the Civil Administrations excessive demands. They argue that the new procedures allow for excessive and unreasonable state involvement in the groups organizational structure, operation and staffing without justifiable security needs. Furthermore, the information about Palestinians interested in attending activities in Israel that the groups are expected to submit could expose them and put them at risk from their own people. I do not have the privilege of opposing these excessive demands, because it is our duty to continue with our sacred activities, Rami Elhanan, the chairman of the Forum of Bereaved Families, told Al-Monitor. His group organizes encounters between Palestinian and Israeli families who lost loved ones in the conflict. He added that he has no doubt that one of the reasons for the new regulations is that the groups activity runs counter to the political worldview of the decision-makers in Israel. They are making our lives miserable by making it more and more difficult by the month. It is, he says, all in line with the domineering spirit of the times. Elhanan places the blame on Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman. He said that his groups activities to promote peace challenge Libermans message to the public that there is no partner for peace, there is no one to talk to and there is no chance of resolving the conflict between the two peoples. It was for this reason, he said, that the defense minister tried to prevent a memorial ceremony in Tel Aviv for bereaved Israeli and Palestinian parents from taking place last year. Exit permits for hundreds of Palestinians were revoked and the ceremony itself faced cancellation. In the end, it was decided to split it up and hold two parallel ceremonies: one in the West Bank's Beit Jala and the other in Tel Aviv. Intense public interest in the event as a result of the defense ministers involvement drew protesters from the far right. They physically and verbally attacked the participants and threatened to break up the event. Another joint memorial ceremony is scheduled to take place next month. The Forum of Bereaved Families has already approached the Civil Administration with requests for exit permits for hundreds of Palestinians, hoping that this year they will again be able to shine a spotlight on all that Israelis and Palestinians striving for peace have in common. When asked by Al-Monitor if he thinks the document was intended to add additional restrictions to the procedures, Elhanan responded that he has no specific information that this is the case. Nevertheless, he added, it is obvious that the excessive demands are intended to make things difficult for them. A source in the Civil Administration told Al-Monitor that it is impossible to ignore the young Palestinians attack last year on the Tel Aviv boardwalk. He said that the procedures were amended so that each request could be examined in depth. In this way, he explained, no Palestinians would be able to take advantage of the human rights groups activities to launch a terrorist attack in Israel. The source added that the mood in the territories is tense, and young people are more motivated to commit such attacks. He went on to explain that the Civil Administration must react to this mood and examine the requests accordingly. He stressed that there is not nor has there ever been an attempt to interfere with the activities of these groups. Human rights activists tell Al-Monitor that they are considering refusing to cooperate with the Civil Administrations new demands. We feel as though our hands are tied. It is as if we have to agree to every demand they make because we have no choice. We do not want to shut down our activities. We work under difficult to impossible conditions anyway, said one activist on condition of anonymity. Anyway, she added, the groups are unable to meet all the demands, especially those that constitute excessive and unjustified interference. Jordanian lawyers are boycotting the kingdoms State Security Court in protest against the arrest of activists who took part in ongoing demonstrations triggered by the end of bread subsidies on Jan. 27. The Jordanian Bar Association said in a March 8 statement that the arrests are a violation of the freedom of expression and instructed lawyers not to appear before the military-led court until the protesters are released. Although the Bar Association could not confirm the number of arrested activists, an official at the government-funded National Center for Human Rights told Al-Monitor that five or six protesters are still detained. Bar Association council member Anas Shatnawi told Al-Monitor that the associations decision to boycott the court was made after talks to free the protesters failed. The State Security Court has jurisdiction over crimes concerning Jordans security such as terrorism, espionage and treason. Its judges are appointed by the government and prosecutors are military officers. Human rights groups have raised concerns over the courts lack of independence and unfair trials. Among those arrested is lawyer Ali Buraizat. He was detained after he gave a speech Feb. 23 at a protest in Dhiban, a remote town south of Amman that was the first in Jordan where demonstrations were held in the early years of the Arab Spring. Addressing a crowd of protesters, Buraizat urged Jordanians to appeal for reforms directly to King Abdullah II, and said that the monarch controlled the governments decisions. He called on the king to communicate with the nation and to address government corruption. Buraizat is facing multiple charges including undermining the regime and insulting the monarchy. He was held in solitary confinement for a week and transferred to a hospital after he went on hunger strike, according to Shatnawi. He was just expressing his opinion, Shatnawi said. The National Center for Human Rights criticized the prolonged detention and solitary confinement of activists in facilities designed for dangerous criminals and the use of the State Security Court to prosecute them. The center received several complaints that authorities had forced activists and their families to declare loyalty to the king, it said in a statement March 13. Demonstrations broke out across Jordan after the government lifted wheat subsidies Jan. 27, nearly doubling the price of a kilo of pita bread to 0.40 Jordanian dinars ($0.57). Ten days earlier, the government had imposed steep tax increases on hundreds of goods including vegetables, salt, oil and milk. The protesters demands go far beyond subsidies and prices. They are calling for the dissolution of the government and parliament, a new electoral law, accountability for corruption and a change in Jordans economic policy. It was never about the bread, said Ahmad Wisheah, a car dealer from As-Salt, where activists gather nightly in the town square and march through the historic district every Thursday. Its about everything that has been targeted. They didnt leave anything everything has risen, Wisheah told Al Monitor. The tax hikes mandated by the International Monetary Fund have affected most consumer goods. Jordan is in the midst of an ambitious three-year IMF program demanding structural reforms to shrink public debt from 95% to 77% of gross domestic product by 2021. On Feb. 25, Prime Minister Hani Al-Mulki reshuffled his Cabinet for the sixth time since May 2016, but the move did little to placate protesters. They change positions, not people. They put Mohammad in Ahmads place and Ahmad in Mohammads place, said Wisheah, echoing the other protesters complaints. Mulkis new government will be tasked with imposing further austerity measures to meet IMF targets, and the premier urged Jordanians to tighten their belts at a meeting with Jordanian youth March 9. His message was undermined the next day when a memo was leaked from his office authorizing the purchase of new Mercedes Benz cars for municipal mayors. The memo was widely shared by Jordanians via WhatsApp and other social media platforms, feeding frustration about corruption. Demonstrations have also been held in Karak, Tafilah and Zarqa. Like As-Salt and Dhiban, these are tribal areas that have traditionally been the monarchys political power base. Their residents historically enjoyed financial benefits such as public sector jobs and subsidies in return for their loyalty to the monarchy. Public spending cuts have tested this bargain, as they had the most to lose from the economic reforms designed to reduce Jordans fiscal deficit. Burdened by bank loans and high unemployment, Jordanians became beggars in their own country, says Amin Ekhraisat, a trader who has joined the protests in As-Salt. The Jordanian citizens became disloyal because they didnt make us feel loyal to this country, he said. They only implement IMF decisions. Protesters in As-Salt demand that all those guilty of corruption be held accountable, even if they are our close relatives, said Khaldoun Abu Arab, a university staff member from the town. We want companies that have been privatized to be nationalized again and an altogether new government, he told Al-Monitor. Members of the powerful Beni Hassan tribe chanted the same demands during a sit-in in Zarqa March 16, demanding that the state retake ownership of privatized companies and protesting the governments surrender to the IMF. The protesters anger has mostly been directed at the government, not the king, and the demonstrations remain smaller than those that followed fuel subsidy cuts in 2012. But the low turnout does not reflect the public mood, said Ekhraisat. Even those who have not taken to the streets reject the situation. However, theyre scared of the police pressure. No one is accepting this situation. Countries fall because of the rising prices and absence of justice. All these elements are present in Jordan. Authorities are arresting activists to deter dissent, protesters said. Thats how they terrorize people. They scare them with being referred to the State Security Court and have this on their record if they take to the street, said Abu Arab. In addition to the fear of a security crackdown, the chaos wrought by civil unrest in Syria has also dampened Jordanians' appetite for demonstrations. For now, the protest movement is confined to small groups aggrieved by economic policies that have lowered their standards of living. Yet they do not fully represent the poorest among Jordanians. The protesters seek economic reforms to restore their privileges, not a new regime. Nevertheless, without reforms, the protests could spread wider and become harder to contain, warned Abu Arab. This is the dangerous point. The people who are now in the street are not the hungry ones. They are self-sufficient. If the hungry people take to the streets, it would be impossible to shut them up, he said. Lebanon will hold parliamentary elections on May 6, for the first time in nine years. Lebanese parties are gearing up for the coming popular vote, with many fearing that the new electoral system that is based on proportional representation across 15 electoral districts might fragment their representation. Even Hezbollah seems wary of the parliamentary outcome, with experts believing the group may be facing challenges in several districts. On Feb. 19, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah announced the groups candidates for the elections. Hezbollah fielded 13 candidates, including former head of General Security Jamil al-Sayyed for the Baalbek-Hermel electoral district. Political expert Ali Abdallah Fadlallah, who is close to Hezbollah and the author of Hezbollah: Change of Discourse, told Al-Monitor that Hezbollah introduced five new candidates, namely Ibrahim Ali Moussawi, Ihab Hamadeh, Anwar Hussein Jomaa, Houssein Jishi and Hussein Zeaiter. The group did not push for younger figures or women, as it was concerned with the candidates experience and because it believes parliamentarian life to be less suitable for women, he said. Lebanese parliament approved the new electoral law last June. It stipulates that each voter shall vote for one of the competing lists and shall be entitled to cast one preferential vote for a candidate of the same chosen list, with the country divided into 15 electoral constituencies. Michael Young, senior editor at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, believes the new electoral laws greatest winner may be Hezbollah. In a November 2017 article published in The National, Young said, One of the main backers of the new law was Hezbollah, which anticipated that proportional representation would fragment parliament and in that way, ensure that the party would face no concerted opposition to its political priorities in the future. The large traditional blocks dominate the current parliament and were favored by the previous majority law. Young continued, Indeed, the biggest relative losers are expected to be two of the politicians who once were part of the March 14 alliance opposed to Hezbollah, namely Mr. [Walid] Jumblatt and the current prime minister, Saad Hariri." Jumblatt heads the Progressive Socialist Party and Hariri is the head of the Future Movement. Pollster and election specialist Kamal Feghali concurred, telling Al-Monitor that the Progressive Socialist Party could face a tough competition by civil society candidates in the areas where it previously garnered massive votes, while the Future Movement will see its number of seats recede more specifically in Tripoli, where Hariri is challenged by former Internal Security Forces head Ashraf Rifi. However, other experts disagree. Talal Atrissi, a political analyst and professor of sociology at the Lebanese University, told Al-Monitor, The new electoral law is complicated and does not guarantee total victory to any Lebanese party. Hezbollah, for instance, may be challenged in the Bekaa-Zahleh districts where a small number of votes can also yield influence. The new law is not reassuring to anyone and confusion is reigning over all the Lebanese political parties." Atrissi said that while Hezbollah may lose in one constituency, it may gain in other areas, citing the example of the possible victory of Osama Saad, Hezbollahs ally in Sidon. It is still not clear on what list he will be running, but if elected, he will be taking one seat away from the Future Movement. Fadlallah explained that other areas that could prove challenging include the large Baalbek-Hermel constituency that has 10 seats, where Hezbollahs rivals such as the Christian Lebanese Forces and the Future Movement could secure the necessary 10% threshold. Jbeil could also be taxing. Hezbollah and its Christian ally the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) still disagree over the candidacy of Zeaiter, who is running in a majority Christian area. The FPM has refused to endorse Zeaiter because they would prefer a more neutral candidate, Atrissi said. Both Fadlallah and Atrissi agree that Hezbollah will win with its Shiite Amal ally all seats in their bastion of south Lebanon, running against the communists and independent lists. Hezbollah had to exert more pressure on its constituency to convince it to participate in the next poll. There has been an evolution in Hezbollahs audience that is now more preoccupied with service and development issues than war. Expectations are high and people feel that the group is not prioritizing issues related to livelihood. Shiites support Hezbollahs struggle against Israel, but when it comes to the groups management of social and developmental dossiers, not everyone is satisfied with its parliamentarians' performance, Fadlallah added. War has been at the heart of Hezbollahs discourse in Lebanon. In his book Hezbollah: The Story from Within, Naim Qassem, Hezbollahs deputy secretary-general, underlined holy war as one of the groups three main foundations, besides the belief in Islam and loyalty to Iran's velayat-e faqih. Hezbollahs engagement in Syria is significant. At times its members were fighting on several hundred front lines, which means that the preoccupation of some of its citizens with social issues is secondary to the group, given the massive war effort they are engaged in across the border, Fadlallah noted. Regardless of the election results, Atrissi believes that the priorities of the next government will not shift much from the previous ones. He said, Internally no one wants to shake up Lebanons stability, and Prime Minister Saad Hariri wants his economic agenda to succeed. The only way I see changes in the next government is if Western or Arab powers decide to destabilize the country by either putting international pressure on Lebanon or by using local proxies." It will nonetheless be interesting to see if Hezbollahs hegemony over its constituency may be broken during the elections in May, not by traditional rivals such as the Future Movement, but by less likely ones such as prominent Shiite figures or the Communist Party, which were able to secure a limited victory in the 2016 municipal elections. The formation of final electoral lists at the end of March could be telling in that regard. US Defense Secretary James Mattis today called on Saudi Arabia to accelerate the peace process in Yemen even as the Pentagon pushes to continue US refueling support for Riyadhs bombing campaign against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. During a 45-minute meeting with visiting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Pentagon, Mattis urged the Saudi leader to hasten peace talks that have taken on new life with last month's appointment of former British diplomat Martin Griffiths as the new UN envoy. Mattis called Riyadh part of the solution to the conflict Saudi Arabia entered in 2015, even as the mounting civilian death toll has stoked a backlash in Congress. We are going to end this war, that is the bottom line, Mattis said at a joint ceremony before their meeting. And we are going to end it on positive terms for the people of Yemen but also security for the nations in the peninsula. The defense secretarys peace push comes as the Pentagon has engaged in a full-court press to stop US lawmakers from curtailing US support for the Saudi-led campaign. Mattis personally made an appearance at weekly Senate lunches on Capitol Hill this week to convince lawmakers of both parties to vote against a bipartisan bill to end US refueling and intelligence support for the war. The effort failed 55-44. The United States has appeared to deepen its involvement in Yemen under the Donald Trump administration. In the fiscal year that ended in September, the Pentagon filled Saudi and Emirati jets bombing Iran-backed Houthi targets with 478,750 gallons of aviation fuel, costing taxpayers more than $1 million. Mattis push for a dedicated diplomatic effort comes after he returned last week from Oman, which has forged a back channel between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthis to try to end the conflict. Omans ailing Sultan Qaboos bin Said has long provided American diplomats with an avenue for talks with Iran dating to the 1979 US hostage crisis, and could provide a crucial conduit for negotiations between Riyadh and the Houthis. There is a window of opportunity to get something going on the political front, said Gerald Feierstein, a former US ambassador to Yemen. The Omanis seem to be trying to get engaged in pushing for a return to negotiation. There are reports that the Saudis and the Houthis have begun talking. Progress on the diplomatic front could notably help facilitate pending US arms sales to Riyadh, which Trump emphasized during his meeting with Prince Mohammed at the White House on Tuesday with a posterboard advertising the $110 billion weapons deal advanced last year, most of which was first negotiated under the Barack Obama administration. Congress has repeatedly tried and failed to block Saudi arms sales, citing the carnage in Yemen, causing delays and public relations headaches in both Washington and Riyadh. The crown prince visited the CEO of Lockheed Martin in Washington this week, and will head to the companys Sunnyvale, Calif., facility during the second leg of his trip. Thats where the missile-defense system Terminal High Altitude Aerial Defense (THAAD), which the Trump administration agreed to sell to the Saudis for $15 billion last fall, is produced. The State Department also approved significant arms deals on the last day of Mohammed's Washington visit Thursday, notifying Congress of $1 billion in potential sales to provide Saudi Arabia with nearly 6,700 tube-launched missiles, repairs for Abrams tanks, Humvees, and Bradley Armored Fighting Vehicles, and US-made Apache and Bell helicopters that Riyadh has used throughout the military campaign in Yemen. The Saudi National Guard deployed an American-trained helicopter unit to the fractious border with Yemen in October and is training three aviation brigades. Even as they discuss peace in Yemen, the Saudis are pressing the United States take a more aggressive posture against Iran as Mohammed takes the reins. A Saudi government-made video that racked up more than a million hits on YouTube after it went online in December showed the crown prince staging an ambitious invasion of Iran that culminated in Iranians cheering the heir to the throne in the streets. The Emirates and the Saudis would like to see a greater confrontation with Iran, Feierstein, now director for Gulf affairs at the Middle East Institute, told Al-Monitor. Theyre going to be the ones with the big bullseye on them, not the US. With Irans presence in Yemen and the nearby Bab el-Mandeb Strait deeply entrenched after years of war, a diplomatic solution remains a long shot. Speaking to reporters on a flight back from the Middle East last week, Mattis called the strait the Aberdeen Proving Ground, referring to a US military weapons test site established during World War I. Tehran has reportedly launched tests of its ballistic and cruise missiles in the strait that separates Yemen and Africa; mines and explosive boats believed to have been provided by Iran are also threats there. Both the Pentagon and US allies in the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, hope to stop Iran from developing the strait into a transshipment point for weapons supplies to the Houthis in Yemen. In 2016, US, French and British warships interdicted thousands of assault rifles and anti-tank weapons headed for Yemen and Somalia. It is difficult to identify a strategic driver for the US to withdraw its non-lethal support, said Norman Roule, a former CIA officer who served as national intelligence manager for Iran from 2008 until 2017. He said the Saudis and the international community "cant tolerate an adversary such as Irans Revolutionary Guards in Yemen or operating surrogates on the Bab el-Mandeb. For this reason, a political solution wont be acceptable if it doesnt mean an end to Irans presence in Yemen. Iraqi authorities have been given the green light to begin confiscating the assets of late President Saddam Hussein, along with the assets of many of his relatives and thousands of people who were associated with his regime. Some critics, however, say the process lends itself to corruption and raises questions about the timing of the decision and the value of the assets as well as their future use. The Iraqi Accountability and Justice Commission on March 5 said it has completed its list of the people whose assets are to be seized: 52 people who were senior officials during Saddam's regime and 4,257 ex-ministers and officials of his Baath Party. The list includes deceased relatives, including Saddam's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as Chemical Ali, who was hanged in 2010 for gassing 5,000 Kurds in northern Iraq in 1988. Abdul Rahman al-Louizi, a deputy in Iraq's parliament, told Al-Monitor the issue can be traced back to the property seizure law crafted by US administrator Paul Bremer, who took over Iraq's administration after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003. Louizi said the measure "still has many gaps, most of them relating to specific categories of employment." "It includes governors from Saddam's regime, but it doesn't include [some] ministers from that time due to the political implications. He added, The decision doesn't address the [chaos] that emerged after the fall of Saddam's regime." He said some people on the list have "redeemed" themselves in recent years by fighting terrorism. For example, Maj. Gen. Ahmad Sadak al-Dulaimi, who died in the fight against the Islamic State, is considered a martyr among many Iraqis. This was also why Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi criticized the decision March 6. While Louizi believes resolving the fate of the former regimes assets will lead to their use in the interests of society, progress has been slow, considering 15 years have passed since Hussein was deposed. Some moves were made previously to take advantage of the wealth of property left by Hussein's regime. In 2009, his former palace at the historic site of Babylon was transformed into a luxury hotel. His riverside palace in the southern city of Basra, which once served as the headquarters for US and Polish forces, has been turned into a museum. Suhaila Abbas, a member of the Babylon regional council, told Al-Monitor, The accountability, justice and real estate services have not resolved much. Many properties in Babylon and other provinces were turned into the headquarters of powerful parties, but this has yet to be resolved. She added, Most of the palaces occupied by [Hussein] and his family were not registered under his name but under Iraqi ministries. Yet current ministers and officials have refused to leave." The claim relates to reports published March 10 of senior officials refusing to leave Saddam Husseins palaces, seized after the US invasion, in the Green Zone and other Baghdad neighborhoods. Abbas words hint at the potential role of corruption in determining the fate of the assets. On April 16, 2017, a member of the Iraqi Integrity Commission told the media, The confiscation of former regime symbols opens the door for corruption and enrichment of current parties. Most of those properties are now occupied by political leaders and members of the government and parliament. There is growing suspicion around the misuse of property that should be recovered by the state and used to benefit society, according to a Baath Party member in Babylon who did not want to be named. All the Baath Party headquarters in the central and southern regions were taken over by [political] parties. Others were deliberately not resolved until a significant amount of time had passed. They were then sold for nominal prices to influential groups, he said. The commission's decision was also criticized for allegedly indicting individuals and groups from the Sunni community specifically. A commission media official who asked not to be named told Al-Monitor, Such accusations fly in the face of fact. The latest decision did not identify a certain group, because it was issued before the Council of Ministers. The Accountability and Justice Commission is an investigatory body that provides the concerned parties with information about individuals, material and procedures relating to confiscation, so the whole process does not target a particular sect. Kamal Zaidi, a member of the parliamentary Legal Committee, played down doubts about the confiscation procedures and the fate of the property. Commission members "work with legal advisers to establish regulations and mechanisms relating to the seizure of the former regimes funds and property and how to deal with them," he told Al-Monitor. The executive institutions today are aware of the legal protocols governing their task. They will act accordingly to resolve the property issue, despite differences between political forces over the fate of assets. Zaidi added, The government will begin work on the final decision to resolve the issue of funds and property, inside Iraq and abroad. To deal with the controversy surrounding the decision, those who enforce it must make their efforts transparent, especially regarding the charges that many people now occupying the properties are dragging their feet so they can remain there. ALEPPO COUNTRYSIDE, Syria The Syrian opposition is taking steps to police its own army. The Syrian Interim Government's recently formed National Army will now answer to a 300-member military police force in the Aleppo province of northern Syria, where Turkey conducted its Operation Euphrates Shield with the help of the Free Syrian Army (FSA). The 22,000-member National Army is comprised of fighters from about 30 FSA factions. The new military police force deployed this month and is designed to organize military action, minimize abuses committed against civilians and prosecute opposition military members who commit anything from murder to driving over the speed limit. It also works to prosecute members suspected of belonging to organizations deemed hostile to the FSA, such as the Islamic State (IS) and the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG). The military police force was formed as an alternative to FSA security forces, as each faction had its own security institution. Based in the city of al-Bab, the force has a military court and two stations, in Jarablus and Azaz. Al-Monitor toured the Azaz station in the Euphrates Shield area where the military police have erected several checkpoints. The station's 100 policemen wear military uniforms similar to those of the FSA. Turkey has provided them with four-wheel-drive military vehicles as well as medium and light weapons, and they get a monthly salary of $150. "The police are also tasked with resolving conflicts that erupt between civilian and military members," Ahmed al-Othman, the National Army deputy chief of staff, told Al-Monitor. "If a civilian files a complaint against a member of the Syrian National Army, then that member gets arrested by the military police and transferred to the court of the military police in al-Bab. Othman said the force's 300 policemen were chosen from among 500 candidates based on their fitness level and underwent a 30-day training course in Turkey. These members, he said, were equally distributed to al-Bab, Jarablus and Azaz. Those who weren't selected will continue serving in the army pending another training session that may be held in mid-2018. Hisham Darbala, commander of the Azaz military police station, told Al-Monitor, The military police includes several sections, namely detection, ceremonial occasions, security checkpoints and judicial. [The sections] don't, however, interfere in the event of violations committed by civilians, as their [jurisdiction] is limited to the Syrian National Army members. Nemer Mohammed, deputy commander of the Azaz station, told Al-Monitor that a number of military police checkpoints have been deployed in the region separating the Euphrates Shield area from Afrin, which is witnessing battles between the YPG on one side and the Syrian National Army and Turkish forces on the other. The checkpoints are designed to prevent crimes, ideally, and to keep YPG members from escaping from the battle zones toward the Euphrates Shield area. Of note, when the FSA factions and the opposition government formed the National Army, they agreed that when their operations end, the factions will turn over all weapons, vehicles, equipment and factional headquarters to the interim government's Ministry of Defense. According to the agreement, factions that fail to comply are to be dismissed. MOSCOW Hours after US President Donald Trump announced that H.R. McMaster had departed as national security adviser and would be replaced by John Bolton a longtime detractor of Iran, Iraq, Russia and North Korea, among others Russia was among the first to react to the news. Though some Russian officials reacted cautiously and expressed a willingness to work with Washington regardless of who Trump puts into key foreign policy posts, others made it clear that Moscow is genuinely concerned by the course American foreign policy has taken in recent months. Bolton, who was named to the position March 22 near the 15th anniversary of the start of the US campaign in Iraq advocated for that war and still does. It's an understatement to say he is seen as a controversial figure. Bolton, along with Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld, was an ardent supporter of the war in Iraq. A supporter of jihadists for the sake of overthrowing [Syrian President Bashar al-Assad]. A great specialist in interventions and aggression, and adept at the use of force," Russian Sen. Alexey Pushkov, the chair of the Council of the Federation Committee on Informational Policy, wrote in a March 23 tweet. He was referring to former President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Trump has replaced McMaster, a "hawk," with "super-hawk and neocon John Bolton," said Pushkov, who is also active on Russian foreign policy matters. "McMaster is a general. Bolton is the ideologue of a new cold war, a convinced opponent of Russia." Georgi Asatryan, an expert on US policy in Afghanistan and the Middle East, told Al-Monitor that Boltons appointment to the key position in the administration means a neoconservative trend in US foreign policy is being aggrandized. As hawkish as McMaster is, he was considered a moderating influence in Trump's White House. Bolton is an antithesis to a moderate Gen. McMaster," Asatryan said. "Given Boltons biography and views, one can imagine what kind of advice he would be giving to Trump. Top it off with the fact that [CIA Director Mike] Pompeo, a man with similar perspectives, is going to take over as the state secretary, Washingtons neoconservative pivot is evident. It doesnt mean the US will go to bomb Iran and North Korea tomorrow, yet the probability of making tough, if not radical, decisions has skyrocketed. Moscows primary concerns with the Bolton appointment much as with Pompeo's controversial nomination as a replacement for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (which still has to be confirmed by the Senate) relate to following issues: the way Bolton will approach rising US-Russia tensions, the future of the Iran nuclear deal, the prospect of talks with North Korea, a potential change of course in Syria, and how Bolton advises Trump to tackle China. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov commented on the appointment, which will become effective April 9. We are watching the appointments in the administration with attention. We are ready to work constructively to resolve accumulating issues in our bilateral relations in international security, strategic stability as well as a number of regional crises and conflicts, RIA news agency cited Ryabkov, who is frequently rumored in Moscow foreign policy circles as one of the potential successors to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the new government President Vladimir Putin will be announcing after his inauguration in May. Later, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov commented on the appointment, saying: As for Bolton, this is, no doubt, a right of the US president; this is certainly not our business. We [just] hope that the US leadership will have more people who can steer away from the surge of Russophobia that has swept many countries, including the United States. There were very few commenters in Moscow who welcomed Bolton's appointment, and even they believe Trump will now be more likely to pull out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran, which was negotiated during the administration of former President Barack Obama. Konstantin von Eggert, a political observer at the TV Dozhd (TV Rain), a Russian liberal independent channel, wrote on Facebook that the deal "may be seen as buried right away." In its current form, at least, the nuclear deal wont last, he said. Bolton has long seen "the Kremlins dances with Iranian mullahs as a national security threat, even when he became undersecretary of state for arms control and international security in 2001. "If theres one man who [could have convinced] Trump to not call Putin [to congratulate him on being re-elected], its Bolton." Bolton doesnt favor the European formula of keeping doors open for dialogue with Moscow, Beijing, Tehran or some others and he may even slam them shut, von Eggert said. "For Israel, its good news, for Palestinians including [President Mahmoud] Abbas not so much, to put it mildly. Compared with Bolton, [Defense Secretary Jim] Mattis is a [peaceful] koala. It wont be easy [with Bolton], but it will be interesting. Other analysts believe Bolton's appointment signals that Americas long-term challenge of Russia is crystallizing. Dmitry Suslov, a program director at the Valdai Discussion Club, a Moscow think tank, believes Boltons appointment is in line with Trumps strategy of illiberal hegemony." Pursuing hardcore hegemony, increasing superiority over other states, intensifying containment over adversaries with a more unilateral foreign policy when the opinion of allies and partners is being dismissed, seeking a freer movement of actions for itself all of this meets Boltons own convictions and it is what he was doing in the Bush administration, Suslov told Al-Monitor. Suslov argues that one potential contradiction between Trump and Bolton is the role of ideology and democratization in US foreign policy. Trump doesnt seem to advocate either, whereas Bolton was one of those who called for interventions under the pretext of 'democratizing the Middle East.' Yet in recent months, there was a certain inclination to make American foreign policy more ideology-oriented, especially in terms of arguing for containment of Russia and China, by framing [the situation] as 'the free world' (led by the US) against 'the authoritarian bloc' (led by China and Russia). If that is the case, Bolton will reinforce this angle. Therefore, we may expect more containment policies vis-a-vis China, Russia and other US adversaries a more assertive course of actions vis-a-vis North Korea and Iran, said Suslov. Experts and policymakers in Moscow differ on whether Bolton is going to align with Trumps own pragmatic approach to Russia and abide by his promise to the president not to start any wars or apply more pressure on Moscow by advocating for additional sanctions, supplying arms to proxies of Russian opponents and raising stakes in Ukraine and Syria. One of Boltons most recent remarks on Russia came March 2, shortly after Putins aggressive address to the Federal Assembly, in which the president said Russia is testing new nuclear arms superior to those of the United States and capable of defending national security and sovereignty. There needs to be a strategic response to Russias new nuclear missiles to show our allies in Europe that we will not let Russia push the US or its allies around, Bolton said. Mulling over Russia's possible response to potentially more assertive American policies, Suslov believes Moscow will intensify its dialogue with US allies, such as Japan, France, Germany, who are equally concerned with the US foreign policy shift, as well as with India, China and other power centers. Russia will also have to reinforce its own containment. Under current circumstances, the things President Putin proposed in the Federal Assembly address [an arms race] seem to have no alternative, Suslov concluded. TUNIS, Tunisia Tunisia is getting ready to hold its first municipal elections since the 2011 revolution. While the general poll is scheduled for May 6 (with soldiers and members of the security services set to vote Apr. 29), past postponements have raised fears among activists of further delays. The first phase of preparations, during which the candidate lists were submitted to the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE), had several surprises, including a large number of youths registering as candidates. Over 75% of registrations were candidates under the age of 45, while over 50% were under 35. The review of candidacies started on Feb. 15 and ended Feb. 22. Member Anis al-Jarboui expressed the ISIEs surprise with the high number of young people who registered to run. This increased number of candidates foreshadows political changes in the coming years, he told Al-Monitor. The candidacy of independent figures somewhat changed the scene, despite the prevalence of party lists. The nature and structure of candidacies set municipal elections apart from legislative and presidential elections. ISIE statistics indicate that women candidates make up 47.46% of the field. Jarboui told Al-Monitor that 51% of the electoral lists are party lists compared to 41% independent and 8% coalitional. More than 1,800 individuals with special needs submitted their candidacy. The municipal elections law stipulates the presence of at least one candidate with a physical disability among the first 10 candidates on each list, and the lists must be divided equally between men and women. Ennahda and Nidaa Tounes are at the top with the highest number of lists, with each of them submitting 350 lists in the municipal elections, equivalent to the number of municipalities in the country. According to ISIE statistics, the oppositions Popular Front follows with 132 lists, Machrouu Tounes with 84, the Democratic Current (Ettayar) with 72, Al-Irada Party with 47 lists and finally Afek Tounes with 46 lists. Mounia al-Rabhi, a candidate on an independent list in Sidi Bou Zid province, told Al-Monitor, The municipal elections are the cornerstone of local governance to improve the conditions Tunisians live in. For that reason, voting is important to ensure the implementation of local democracy with transparency for the first time in Tunisia. She added, Municipal elections will give youths their first chance to change the political decision-making authority. Hadi al-Zarawi, 34, is a candidate on the oppositions Popular Front list in As Sanad in the southwestern governorate of Gafsa. Tunisians lack of trust in the political elite and minimal political awareness have pushed youth to refrain from joining parties, he told Al-Monitor. Youth should be motivated and urged to participate in elections through purposeful, intellectually stimulating seminars. Youth participation is [crucial to] participatory democracy. For his part, political and media analyst Youssef al-Wasalati told Al-Monitor, This is the first time that the numbers [of registered youth] have come as a shock to the parties and political blocs in Tunisia. What happened during the first phase of municipal elections is enough to mean a public rejection of the [current] political situation and parties. He added, The political elites have lost much of their credibility after failing to address youths concerns and respond to their aspirations and expectations, with the rising poverty and unemployment. Bashir Boujadi, a member of the Tunisian Union of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts, told Al-Monitor, We hope the youths will pump fresh blood into the Tunisian economy, contribute to meeting youths demands and pitch new ideas to create job opportunities. Boujadi further noted, The political parties should pass on the torch to the Tunisian youth who led the revolution so that they can steer the country to safety and pull it out of its economic and political crises. Hafiz Hafiz, a senior member of the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT), told Al-Monitor, Elections are a chance for workers to choose their representatives who will defend their rights. We hope the elections are held in an organized manner. The UGTT will support each youth fighting to defend the poor. Polling companies like the IRI expect independent candidates to do well in the upcoming municipal elections in May. The competition will be heated among the parties. The latest polls from Sigma Conseil Company published in the local Al-Maghreb newspaper issued Feb. 13 showed Nidaa Tounes leading the ruling coalition. Nidaa Tounes is expected to win 29.7% of votes placed for candidates affiliated with parties. Meanwhile, Ennahda, which is part of the governmental coalition, is expected to come in second with 28.9%. The Popular Front came in third with 9% and the Democratic Current is in fourth place with 6.1%. The polling included a sample of 2,000 people above 18 who live in cities and rural areas. The Tunisia cabinet already includes many young names. Prime Minister Youssef Chahed is only 42, and the spokesman for the Cabinet Iyad al-Dahmani is only 45. ANKARA, Turkey A long-running dispute between Turkey and Greek Cyprus over gas exploration in the Mediterranean is escalating, but curiously, Ankara has remained silent on Qatars role in Greek Cypriot exploration efforts, raising questions as to what it might expect from its Arab ally in return. Under a deal with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which only Ankara recognizes, the state-owned Turkish Petroleum Corporation has begun drilling in offshore areas where the TRNC claims economic rights. Some areas are claimed by both sides of the long-divided island, fueling the drilling crisis. Last month, Turkish military ships on maneuvers off Cyprus blocked a drillship chartered by the Italian oil and gas company Eni from reaching an area the Greek Cypriots had slated for drilling. Another problem for Turkey is the exploration plans of a joint venture between US energy giant ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum (QP), which last year acquired a license for Block 10 in the exclusive economic zone the Greek Cypriots have declared. Last July, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a warning to companies collaborating with the Greek Cypriots. Speaking at the World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul, he said, There can be absolutely no understanding for some companies involvement in the irresponsible steps the Greek Cypriot side is taking. Then, in remarks to reporters this month, he asserted, No step can be taken [in the eastern Mediterranean] without the consent of the TRNC and Turkey. In a Feb. 27 telephone call with Erdogan, French President Emmanuel Macron urged respect for Cyprus sovereignty. The French energy giant Total is among the companies cooperating with Greek Cyprus. The dispute flared further in early March after reports that ExxonMobil was sending two research ships to Cyprus. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the arrival of the ships would not go unanswered. In response to reports that the US Sixth Fleet was heading to the region to protect ExxonMobil, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin vowed that Turkey would continue to protect the rights of the Turkish Cypriots. At a March 7 press conference, Kalin said Ankara was aware of the reports, but denied that the Sixth Fleet had arrived in the area. We will continue to do everything to protect the rights of TRNC citizens, be it on land, at sea or in the eastern Mediterranean, he said. Of note, Turkish leaders have avoided mentioning QP, ExxonMobils partner, in their numerous warnings to companies and countries involved in Greek Cypriot gas exploration projects. Doha has received robust backing from Ankara in the crisis that erupted in the Gulf in June, when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain moved to cut off Qatar over its alleged support of terrorism. Erdogan made an unsuccessful attempt to help resolve the Qatari crisis, while mobilizing extensive food assistance for the besieged emirate. The Turkish government also rushed to obtain parliamentary ratification for military cooperation deals signed earlier with Doha and dispatched soldiers to the al-Udeid air base, where Doha covers the cost of the Turkish troops as per a deal with Ankara. Erdogan visited the base during a trip to Qatar in November, reiterating his support for the emirate. On Jan. 15, the Qatari emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, held talks in Ankara, including a two-hour head-to-head meeting with Erdogan and his son-in-law, Energy Minister Berat Albayrak. On the Cyprus issue itself, Qatar has refused to recognize the TRNC despite Turkeys request. In 2006, it established diplomatic ties with Greek Cyprus and allowed it to open an embassy in Doha. Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) remained silent on the matter. Amid Ankaras indignation with Italian, French and US companies over their gas deals with the Greek Cypriots, observers have tried to explain its silence toward Qatar. Erdogan Toprak, a lawmaker for the main opposition Republican Peoples Party, tweeted, The Qatari emir recognized the Greek Cypriots, [and] in partnership with the United States, grabbed the natural gas drilling license! [But] those who have been sending food planes and Turkish troops to Qatar are silent! Referring to Erdogans frequent outbursts at foreign leaders, Toprak questioned whether he will be able to challenge the Qatari emir as well. Mithat Rende, a former Turkish ambassador to Qatar, drew attention to the long-running partnership between QP and ExxonMobil, stressing that the US company has investments of some $16 billion in Qatar. According to Rende, It is out of the question for QP to have any ships there. It is ExxonMobil who will be sending ships, and QP will contribute to meeting the costs. For Necdet Pamir, a prominent energy pundit, the silence of the government and the media on Qatar is hard to explain. He believes Turkey should have a strong hand in relation to Qatar, given that it is a rare ally of the emirate in the region. Yet he wonders why Turkish politicians have been reluctant to issue Doha a warning and how come Qatar has a stronger hand than Ankara. Aziz Konukman, an economy professor at Ankaras Gazi University, believes the Turkish governments expectations of financial support from Qatar are the reason for its silence. The price for silence will somehow be collected from the Qatari emir, Konukman told Al-Monitor. The economist stressed that wealthy Qatar counts among the countries whose direct and portfolio investments have grown the most in Turkey under the AKP. Contractors close to Erdogan and the government have received multi-billion dollar projects in Qatar, and Qatari companies have partnered with businesspeople close to Erdogan in Turkey, Konukman added, pointing to Qatari acquisitions in the banking sector and the Turkish media. Qatari investments in various sectors in Turkey exceed $19 billion. Konukman remarked that with some countries, including Qatar, [Relations] advance largely on the basis of personal friendships and behind closed doors. Pointing to the frequent exchange of visits and especially the closed-door meeting between the emir, Erdogan and Albayrak in January, he said, We dont know what deals were made, what was discussed or what they bargained about. He continued, Erdogan in fact could come up and say, Qatar is important to us. We have political and economic bonds and that is why we look at Qatar differently [on the Cyprus gas issue]. Yet they keep silent instead. My impression is that the Qatari emir will get an invoice for this silence. Under the current economic conditions, [the government is] in urgent need of any financing that might come from Qatar. The Turkish economy, hit by market losses in exports, tourism and overseas construction services amid political tensions with the European Union, Germany, Syria, Israel, Egypt and Libya, has to finance more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees, the struggle against Kurdish militants in the countrys southeast and Turkish military operations in northern Syria, among other outlays. A look at the countrys ongoing protests against the government of President Maduro and the current political situation. Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, saw almost daily demonstrations from April to June, some of which turned violent. The opposition accuses President Nicolas Maduro of moving towards a dictatorship, and want him to resign. But Maduro says the opposition is conspiring with foreign entities, specifically the United States, to destabilise the country. Here is how it all started. How did the protests start? Legislators election suspended. In January 2016, the Supreme Court suspended the election of four legislators three that were enrolled with the opposition and one with the ruling party for alleged voting irregularities. The opposition accused the court of trying to strip them of their super-majority, and went ahead and swore in three of the legislators in question. Supreme Court takes over the National Assembly. In response, the Supreme Court ruled that the entire National Assembly was in contempt and all decisions it made would be null. WATCH: Surviving Venezuela: Smuggling Dreams The deadlock continued when the court suspended a stay-or-go referendum against Maduro and postponed regional elections until 2017. After the National Assembly refused to approve the countrys state-run oil company, PDVSA, from forming joint ventures with private companies, the Supreme Court ruled on March 30 that it will take over the Congress legislative powers. Protests start. On the next day, protesters in Caracas took to the streets to protest the courts take-over the National assembly. The court quickly reversed its decision on April 1, but street protests continued on an almost daily basis for over three months with regular clashes exchanges of rocks and tear gas between young protesters and National Guard troops. Demonstrators also protested hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicines in the country. Problems in Venezuela Hyperinflation. Venezuelas inflation rate, which has been over 50 percent since 2014, reached 536.2 percent in 2017 largely due to the rapid depreciation of the local currency on the black market, the opposition-controlled National Assembly said on October. The International Monetary Fund estimates that inflation will reach 2,068.5 percent by 2018. Economic war. The government says it is the victim of an economic war, including speculation and hoarding, by pro-opposition businessmen. Venezuelas currency has weakened sharply on the black market. Food shortages. The government controls the price of basic goods, but the black market still has a powerful influence on prices. Prices on basic goods can change in a matter of days, causing severe food shortages. The often leads to food shortage which reflects in the long lines of people inside and outside supermarkets and the attempts to cross the border with Colombia to buy basic goods. Oil output. Venezuelas oil production, which has been falling by about 20,000 barrels per day (bpd) since last year, is on track to fall by at least 250,000 bpd in 2017. Refinancing its debt. However, the countrys President Nicolas Maduro has dismissed the possibility of a default, adding that Venezuela would instead work on refinancing and restructuring its foreign debt. However, the countrys President Nicolas Maduro has dismissed the possibility of a default, adding that Venezuela would instead work on refinancing and restructuring its foreign debt. Health assistance . The economic crisis is also hitting Venezuelas public health system the hardest. In the countrys public hospitals, medicine and equipment are increasingly not available. Most of the time patients die because their families are out of the hospital looking for the treatments and they dont come at a time we can use the treatment, when they bring the treatment, the patients already dying, Orfram Moreno, a doctor working in a public hospital in Merida told Al Jazeera. Crime and poverty. Crime and violence are also widespread. In 2016, 27,479 people were killed an all-time high according to the independent group the Venezuelan Violence Observatory. Political opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable. Venezuelas political opposition has been represented mainly by the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), a coalition of different parties including centrist, centre-left, left-wing and centre-right parties. Many Venezuelans distrust parts of the coalition, which includes figures who were active in politics decades ago. The strength of the coalition has also been hit by internal power struggles as well as disagreements over ideology and policy. Latest developments On March 2018, Venezuela postponed its upcoming presidential vote from the original date of April 22 to May 20 following a pact between Maduros government and some opposition parties. On February 2018, Venezuela officially launched the pre-sale of its new digital currency called the petro. According to the government, the petro is backed by oil, gas, gold and diamonds, and is meant to help overcome US and EU sanctions. President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring any US-based financial transactions involving Venezuelas new cryptocurrency as US officials warned that it was a scam. On December 10, President Nicolas Maduro announced that the opposition parties that boycotted the latest municipal elections were no longer part of the political landscape and would not be able to participate in presidential elections. Yemeni refugees struggle to wait out the war in the heat of Djibouti, longing to return home. Markazi refugee camp, Djibouti Waking up to the Fajr, pre-dawn Muslim call for prayer, Ahmed Quraini begins every day with hope, as he has done for years. With his eyes widening at every verse crackling through a broken loudspeaker, he then staggers to his feet, before brushing off from his hair and face a thick layer of dust that swept in through large holes and cracks in his dilapidated tent. Trying to make as little noise as possible as not to wake his children sleeping just inches away, he looks for his flip-flops before heading to the nearest toilet, 300 metres at the other end of the Markazi refugee camp in northern Djibouti. Inshallah (God willing), there will be more food, he says. Inshallah, the weather will be cool. Inshallah, the war will end, he adds, supplicating as he heads to the mosque after making his wudhu (ablution) with warm and discoloured water. Faith is what has kept Quraini and the more than 1,400 Yemenis staying at Markazi, a sweltering refugee camp just 32km from war-torn Yemen, from giving up. But after three years of praying, Quraini admits, that faith is beginning to waver. I am grateful to Djibouti for accepting us, but why have the Arabs turned their backs? First, they bomb our country, then they refuse to offer us any assistance. We've been abandoned by our brothers. Assam Ibrahim al-Barakat, recent Yemeni arrival The Markazi refugee camp can hold up to 5,000 people, but over 70 percent of the Yemenis who once resided here have left [Faisal Edroos/Al Jazeera] After evading snipers, air raids and shelling, Quraini says he was full of hope when he escaped the carnage in Yemen with his wife and eight young children in April 2015. When fighting engulfed Bab al-Mandeb, his hometown in the southwestern province of Taiz, more than 100,000 people fled the region. Those unable to join their loved ones in other parts of the country, came to Djibouti. More than 37,000 people crossed the narrow Bab al-Mandeb Strait, known as the Gate of Tears a name derived from the long history of people perishing while trying to traverse the area. Carrying just a few clothes and blankets, as well as some pots and pans, Quraini expected his stay at the newly built refugee camp to be temporary. He was convinced his return home was imminent. At the time, Saudi Arabia, alarmed that a Shia group with ties to Iran had taken over parts of their southern neighbour, intervened at the request of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadis government. Expectations were high that the coalition assembled by Saudi Arabia, with all its military might, would crush the rag-tag alliance of Houthi fighters and army forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh within a matter of weeks. But after three years of existing at the dry, dusty and desolate refugee camp, and the war far from ending, the Quraini familys euphoria has begun to turn to despair another piece in the mosaic of tragedy created by Yemens conflict. Ahmed Quraini has been at the Markazi refugee camp for nearly three years. He says this year will be his last [Faisal Edroos/Al Jazeera] Anxiety and boredom Standing in the blistering heat of the noon sun, Quraini says boredom prevails at the camp, with many struggling to occupy their time. I am always angry, depressed and stressed, he told Al Jazeera, the desperation in his voice palpable. I look at my childrens faces and know theyve forfeited their future because were here. There are no jobs, no universities, no prospects. If I could, I would return to Yemen today. Despite all its savagery, its better than spending one more second at this camp. Markazi, a sprawling tent city in the heart of the Djiboutian desert, is filled with story after story of misery and hopelessness. Temperatures can exceed 50C in the summer, and according to its inhabitants, the cries of emaciated hyenas and wolves terrorise children. Many of those who fled here left poor villages and shanty towns in Taiz, an area that has witnessed some of the worst fighting between Houthi rebels and pro-government forces. Quraini was one of the first to arrive, and like the many others who followed, expected a better quality of life. I lost family members, my friends, and I gave up my home, the 43-year-old market trader said. And now the UN has washed its hands with us. My three-year-old daughter is partially blind and no one seems to care. Ive taken her to several doctors and a hospital in the capital, but everyone says there is no treatment for her. This wouldnt be happening to us in Yemen. Dogs venture everywhere, especially when they're hungry. But even they know to stay away from the portions the UN gives us. Sanad Omar Muhammad, 46, a recent Yemeni arrival Markazi is located in the middle of a desert plain. Living conditions are especially challenging for children, elderly and the sick [Faisal Edroos/Al Jazeera] Nepotism and corruption As he begins to reel off a litany of complaints about the camp, he is hastily interrupted by Sanad Omar Muhammad, a recent arrival. Disassemble my tent and you will find scorpions, he shouts, startling a group of Yemenis who were queueing up to collect their monthly food rations from UN officials. The barbed fence does nothing to deter the hyenas, wolves and camels, he says. Dogs venture everywhere, especially when theyre hungry. But even they know to stay away from the meagre portions the UN gives us. Since arriving at Markazi, Muhammad says he treks 5km one-way to Obock town to charge his phone. Some days his wife and children tag along, eager for a change of scenery and the chance to buy some fruit and vegetables. But with no electricity at the camp, food has to be eaten that day, he says. Leave it overnight and it is rotten by dawn. Sanad Omar Muhammad arrived in Djibouti by boat from Bab al-Mandeb in March 2015. Today, Djibouti is the only neighbouring country that is accepting refugees from Yemen [Faisal Edroos/Al Jazeera] Abdullah Mohammed Abdullah, a 55-year-old father of three, said despite his rheumatoid arthritis, he, too, walked every day to Obock. The rice they give us is spoiled, he lamented, accusing camp officials of distributing substandard food and exacerbating his poor health. All they give us is 500 Djiboutian Francs ($2.8) per family, per month, he exclaimed, stretching out his arms as the grains slipped through his fingers and the mouldy smell wafted into the humid air. What can we buy with that. Nothing! Because of these harsh living conditions, more than 70 percent of the population that once inhabited Markazi have left, with many deciding to return to Yemen, stating that living under fire was better. Life is expensive in Djibouti, Vanessa Panaligan, the UNs media relations officer in Djibouti told Al Jazeera. A lot of people have decided to leave because of the prospect of a better life somewhere else. The [Djiboutian] government has struggled with the influx of refugees, but its getting better. Slowly. Djiboutis government recently introduced new laws that would make it easier for refugees to find work. But with the unemployment rate hovering around 45 percent, many of the Yemenis Al Jazeera met said that they were being paid well below standard rates. However, they said they had to persevere as they had nowhere else to go. Nearly all the residents Al Jazeera spoke to complained that the food supplied to them rice, flour, salt and sugar was not adequate [Faisal Edroos/Al Jazeera] Cruel summer Several residents told Al Jazeera that they were dreading the khamsin, a ferociously hot sandstorm that accompanies the arrival of summer. With speeds as high as 60kph, this years storm is set to coincide with the start of Ramadan, the daily fasting period that begins in May. I dread the thought of fasting here, said Assam Ibrahim al-Barakat, a recent arrival from Taiz who, like many others, said he hoped to be resettled elsewhere. I am grateful to Djibouti for accepting us, but why have the Arabs turned their backs? First, they bomb our country, then they refuse to offer us any assistance. Weve been abandoned by our brothers. Saad Mowad Bayoumy, the only doctor at Markazi, said he was already overwhelmed with patients seeking treatment for the harsh weather, with as many as 50 people arriving in his small clinic daily. Skin infections [brought about by the harsh winds] will cause the numbers [of those seeking medical attention] to increase drastically, he said. Last year, I treated around 100 people a day. The next few months will be very tough for these people. Bayoumy added that officials were doing what they could to help the refugees, but conditions remained primitive. Saudi Arabia recently donated 300 air-conditioned, shipping-container style units, but it was unclear what would power them. There is only one generator that powers a few floodlights that work from 6-9pm, Bayoumy said. If there is no electricity to power the units, people will find it easier to sleep outside than in the new units. Theyll be like iron coffins. Many of the refugees are women and children, who have arrived traumatised and in need of psychological support [Faisal Edroos/Al Jazeera] Lost generation Trying to keep a brave face, Quraini said the conditions for the 400 children at the camp were what pained him the most. One of his daughters, barefoot and malnourished, stood nearby. Laughing and smiling as she played with a small broken toy, she seemed happy. The tiniest of things spark joy, he said. With her imagination working overtime to recapture some of the childhood she lost, he feared she still bore the mental scars of the war they had fled. I pray for a better life for my kids than what I experienced myself, he said. But with fighting showing no signs of abating, its unclear if that better life will be within reach any time soon. Follow Al Jazeeras Faisal Edroos on Twitter: @FaisalEdroos There are more than 400 children at the camp and how their childhood will develop is uncertain [Faisal Edroos/Al Jazeera] When President Donald Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on March 13 via an unceremonious tweet, the mood at the Department of State was probably half-escatic, half-petrified. Escatic because the Foreign Service and career staffers in the building were now free from the chains of a man who was generally castigated for eviscerating Americas diplomatic power and actively working to undermine the Department of States power in the national security bureaucracy. Petrified, however, because CIA Director Mike Pompeo, Trumps pick to replace Tillerson as the next Secretary of State, was an unknown quantity and a pro-Trump acolyte who holds a far more hawkish, dog-eat-dog view of the world. Pompeo, a former three-term congressman from deep-red Kansas who has risen in stature over the last 13 months as Americas most distinguished spy, will be entering the Department of State with a long and tiresome list of goals that he may or may not be able to achieve. Whether one agrees or disagrees with Trumps nomination, the fact remains that Pompeo will be transitioning into a role at a highly combustible time in US diplomatic history. Managing the US foreign and civil services on an ordinary day is an exhausting responsibility; but to oversee 75,000 employees, restrain an inexperienced and oftentimes erratic president who values instinct over information, and, at the same time, tackle the big foreign policy priorities of the day seems practically impossible. As one former congressional staffer commented to Vanity Fair after Tillersons firing, It seems unlikely that Pompeos honeymoon is going to be all that long. The issues facing Pompeo start within the Department of State Grievances about Tillersons political ineptitude and bureaucratic mismanagement have roiled the Foreign Service and marginalised the Department of State within the interagency decision-making process. Despite Tillersons protestations to the contrary, he left the Department of State in worse shape than when he arrived. His noble attempt at reorganising the departments structure and operations bogged down from the very beginning, perceived by employees and former career officials as haphazard, imperialistic, and corporatist. The official supervising the reorganisation effort resigned herself after a month on the job, one of the many examples of senior employees choosing retirement or resignation over continued service for an administration typically regarded as derisive of diplomacy. {articleGUID} Eight out of the top 10 positions in the Department of State remain vacant, not to mention the important ambassadorships Egypt, the European Union, South Korea, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia that are unfilled to this day. Pompeo will be forced to deal with a significant staffing shortfall on his very first day a deficiency in foreign policy knowledge and experience that he will have to remedy if he hopes to be more successful than his predecessor. In addition to breaking the walls between the Secretary of States office and the departments rank-and-file, one of the hardest tasks on Pompeos plate is deftly managing the expectations of a wily commander-in-chief. After his first few months, Tillerson failed to perform this high-wire act. The personality and policy differences between Trump and Tillerson were simply too much for there to be a comfortable working relationship. The divergence between the two was most apparent on the blockade of Qatar, diplomacy with North Korea, and the Iranian nuclear agreement three issues in which Trump advocated for a more stringent and hardline approach over Tillersons more cautious pragmatism. Reports that Tillerson called Trump a moron behind his back certainly did not help the personal relationship either. Pompeo is in many ways the anti-Tillerson. He has proven himself to be a much shrewder political operator than Tillerson ever was. Tillerson was not a creature of Washington; one cannot say the same thing about Pompeo, who understands how valuable politicking and loyalty can be to ones success. Trump has demonstrated in word and deed that he trusts Pompeo and considers the Kansas Republican to be a loyal surrogate who can be counted on to lobby on behalf of the administration on national television. The challenge for Pompeo, however, is maintaining the presidents confidence and the access that goes with that confidence while delivering policy options that Trump may not like to hear. It is the international environment, however, that will pose the biggest obstacle to the new secretary. As this piece is posted, the Trump administration is in the midst of discussions with European allies about salvaging an Iranian nuclear deal that Trump would much rather walk away from. On North Korea, the biggest action item on the Trump administrations foreign policy agenda, Department of State officials are in the process of scrambling together a choreographed summit this May between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Whether or not the historic get-together actually occurs, Pompeo will need to ensure that Trump and the White House national security staff are briefed to the fullest extent possible on Pyongyangs goals for the summit; North Koreas negotiating tactics over the past 25 years; and what script the president should follow when talking with the head of a regime that has broken every agreement it has signed. Keeping Trump on message in and of itself will be a tall order for any secretary of state. Will Mike Pompeo be remembered as an effective and influential stewardship of American diplomacy? Or will he go down in history as a placeholder, yet one more cabinet level officer who tried his best playing the difficult hand he was dealt? No television pundit or commentator in Washington will be able to even begin answering these questions until Pompeo is forced to confront a national security crisis. What can be said at this point, though, is that it would be prudent for the former House of Representatives backbencher to expect many sleepless nights in his office. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. US State Department approves the arms sale, despite concerns raised by rights groups that it might be used in Yemen. The US State Department has approved a possible arms sale to Saudi Arabia worth more than $1bn. The package includes a $670m deal for 6,600 TOW anti-missile tanks, a $106m contract for helicopter maintenance and $300m spare parts for military vehicles, the department said in a statement on Thursday. This proposed sale will support US foreign policy and national security objectives by improving the security of a friendly country, the statement read. The department said it has notified the US Congress about the planned sale. The announcement came as Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman continued a three-week tour of the US. On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump hosted bin Salman at the White House, and expressed hope the Gulf kingdom will share some of its wealth with the US hopefully in the form of jobs, in the form of the purchase of the finest military equipment anywhere in the world. But campaigners, including some US legislators, are urging western governments to halt or limit arms sales to Saudi Arabia because of its involvement in a devastating civil war in Yemen. The US Senate killed on Tuesday a resolution seeking an end to US support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen . The Saudi military offensive, which began in March 2015, has killed at least 10,000, displaced more than 2 million people and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine. US Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis, speaking ahead of a Pentagon meeting with bin Salman on Thursday, said Saudi Arabia was part of the solution in Yemen. {articleGUID} Meanwhile, Amnesty International, in a statement on Friday, said there was extensive evidence that irresponsible arms flows to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition have resulted in enourmous harm to Yemeni civilians. But this has not deterred the USA, UK, and other states, including France, Spain and Italy, from continuing transfers of billions of dollars worth of such arms, it added. Mostly women and children among the dead in air attacks on an underground shelter in Irbin area, activists say. Dozens of people, mostly women and children, have been killed and 80 others injured after Syrian government forces bombed an underground shelter in Eastern Ghouta, according to rescuers and activists on the ground. Sources on the ground and rescuers from the Syrian Civil Defence, a volunteer rescue group also known as the White Helmets, said on Friday that at least 37 victims burned to death after air raids carrying napalm gas hit the shelter in the town of Irbin. An air strike targeted one of the underground cellars in Irbin last night where between 117 to 125 people, mostly women and children, were hiding, Izzet Muslimani, an activist in Eastern Ghouta, told Al Jazeera. Abul Yusr, an activist and citizen journalist in Irbin told Al Jazeera that the death toll was 45, and that the air raid had hit two shelters connected to one another by a corridor, leading to one becoming completely destroyed. The air strike entered through one shelter, where it exploded and killed everyone in it. The fires spread through to the second shelter, which soon became totally engulfed in flames, Abul Yusr told Aljazeera. Some people managed to escape the fire in the second shelter, but their injuries are quite severe. The injured are still being treated for first and second-degree burns at a makeshift clinic, Muslimani said. With the lack of emergency services, we are expecting the death toll to rise. Zaher Hassoun, another activist in the rebel enclave, confirmed reports that the Syrian government had hit the shelter with napalm gas, a flammable liquid that is used in warfare as it sticks to skin and causes severe burns. According to Abul Yusr, the bodies had become completely charred when they were pulled out from the underground cellars. They were buried in a mass grave in Irbin on Friday, he added. Earlier this month, the Syrian Civil Defence said the Syrian government hit Irbin with chlorine gas, phosphorous and napalm. The news followed reports of several alleged chemical attacks in a matter of days. Eastern Ghouta has been under control of armed opposition groups since 2013 two years into a popular uprising in Syria calling for the removal of President Bashar al-Assad. More than 1,500 civilians have died in the enclave, east of the capital, Damascus, since the government forces backed by the Russian warplanes launched a fierce assault on February 18. Evacuation ongoing The attack reportedly came just hours before a ceasefire went into effect after midnight which saw hundreds of opposition fighters and their families evacuated on Thursday from the town of Harasta in the eastern part of Eastern Ghouta, according to Syrian state media. Sana, the official Syrian news agency, said at least six buses carrying the evacuees were headed to Idlib province in Syrias north, which is an area under opposition control. The evacuation comes as part of a deal brokered on Wednesday by the Syrian governments principal ally, Russia, between fighters in Harasta and a Syrian government delegation. The operation was facilitated by a United Nations delegation as well as the Syrian Red Crescent. Until recently, Eastern Ghouta was one of the last remaining rebel strongholds. In a renewed offensive by the government since February 18, the opposition lost large parts of it, with the Syrian army claiming it has now recaptured 80 percent of the suburb. US officials accuse the nine individuals of stealing information from more than 300 universities in 22 countries. US authorities have announced charges against nine Iranians who allegedly broke into the computer systems of 320 universities in 22 countries. The charged individuals, as well as the organisation they work for, the Mabna Institue, will also be hit with economic sanctions, US officials said on Friday. According to Deputy US Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the alleged hackers breached university computer systems and stole intellectual property and other research. They hacked the computer systems of approximately 320 universities in 22 countries. One hundred forty-four of the victims are American universities, Rosenstein said in a statement. The defendants stole research that cost the universities approximately $3.4bn to procure and maintain, he said. The stolen information was then used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps or sold for profit in Iran, according to the US charges. {articleGUID} In total, the suspects have been charged with committing seven crimes, including computer fraud, conspiracy and identity theft. The cyberattacks were allegedly carried out by the Mabna Institute in Iran, which was founded by two of the people charged on Friday, and specifically focused on giving Iranian industries a competitive advantage. Revealing the Mabna Institutes nefarious activities makes it harder for them to do business, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman said. Additionally, we are working with foreign law enforcement agencies and providing the private sector with information to help neutralise Mabnas hacking infrastructure. Nine Iranian nationals are wanted by the #FBI for their involvement in computer intrusion, wire fraud, & aggravated identity theft as part of a hacking scheme. Victims included American and foreign universities, private companies, and government entities: https://t.co/GlfxyaB7ji pic.twitter.com/MWJ91yxNjd FBI Most Wanted (@FBIMostWanted) March 23, 2018 The indictment also lays out new economic sanctions aimed at both the nine individuals as well as the Shiraz-based Mabna Institute. Describing the cyberattack as the largest state-sponsored hacking campaign, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman for the Southern District of New York said through the sanctions and charges against them, the hackers are no longer free to travel outside Iran without risk of arrest. The defendants are now fugitives from justice. There are more than 100 countries where they cannot travel without fear of arrest and extradition, Berman said. And, thanks to the Treasury Department, the defendants will find it difficult to engage in business or financial transactions outside of Iran. Iran critics {articleGUID} The charges come in a period where the US seemingly is taking steps towards a more hawkish stance on Iran. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump announced he will replace National Security Adviser HR McMaster with John Bolton, a former US ambassador to the United Nations who has encouraged the use of force against Iran. Last week, Trump also forced out Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state, appointing CIA Director Mike Pompeo as his replacement. Pompeo, much like Bolton and Trump, is seen as being very critical of Iran. US president says he considers move to block massive $1.3 trillion spending bill after Democrats abandoned Dreamers. US President Donald Trump has signed a massive $1.3 trillion spending bill passed by Congress to avoid a government shutdown. Ive signed this omnibus budget deal. there are a lot of things Im unhappy about in this bill, Trump said at a hastily convened press conference on Friday. I will never sign another bill like this again, Trump commented, saying his signature was required to strengthen the US military, which will receive pay increases and increased funding in the package. Trump tweeted earlier on Friday he considered vetoing the bill, citing a lack of funding for a wall on the US-Mexico border and protections for the more than 800,000 immigrants brought to the country as children. The immigrants, who were protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme which Trump ended last September have been treated extremely badly by Democrats, Trump said. With an impending deadline to avoid a government shutdown, Democrats in the US Senate voted to pass the bill in the early hours of Friday, despite earlier promises to seek protections for the immigrants. We wanted to include DACA in this bill. The Democrats would not do it, Trump said. Paul Quinonez, an undocumented resident of Washington state and a DACA recipient, told Al Jazeera that Democrats sold out our community by backing down from the demand to include a fix. DACA was abandoned by the Democrats. Very unfair to them! Would have been tied to desperately needed Wall. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2018 Protections for Dreamers a term used to describe DACA recipients based on never-passed legislation that would have provided permanent protections have been at the forefront of Democrats anti-Trump rhetoric. The Trump administration has been battling with Democrats over these protections since last year. Democrats have repeatedly threatened government shutdowns over protections, only to relent and vote for further spending bills. The last was a stopgap funding bill passed in February. Since then, bipartisan proposals that would have provided permanent protections for Dreamers have been shot down by Trump. Quinonez said he did not believe Trumps concern over immigrants: If Trump truly cared about a solution, he would push for a permanent solution and wouldnt have killed all bipartisan proposals. A Blue Wave? After the US Senate passed the spending bill, Charles Schumer, the head Democrat in the Senate who has repeatedly said protections for DACA recipients is a top priority, heralded portions of it as victories, such as increased funding for childcare subsidies and low-income housing tax credits. This spending agreement brings the era of austerity to an unceremonious end and represents one of the most significant investments in the middle class in recent history, Schumer told reporters. Its really a turning around. {articleGUID} Democrats are looking for victories in November midterm elections that could allow them to take control of Congress. Currently, Republicans control every law-making branch of the US Federal government. However, Democrats have won special elections in traditionally conservative parts of the country that have bolstered their hopes for taking back control of the government. Still, divides between centrist and progressive arms of the party and a lingering divide of the 2016 primaries that saw Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton defeat socialist challenger Bernie Sanders after a hard-fought campaign could hinder their chances. Progressives within the party say centrist manoeuvres like passing funding bills without protections for Dreamers will stop a Blue Wave a large number of victories for Democrats in the midterms. Samuel Ronan, a progressive Democratic candidate for Congress from Ohio, told Al Jazeera that the Democrats momentum will crash against a red wall during midterms because people will be disappointed with the ineptitude of the failed Democratic party. Even if Trump and Democrats agree to short-term DACA protections, funding for the wall is no-go for immigrant advocates, Quinonez, the Dreamer, said. We wont accept a temporary patch that harms all other immigrants, he added. Ghad party leader endorsed President Sisi for a second term and organised nomination events for the former army chief. As Egypt approaches its presidential election on Monday, voters have been left with two choices: incumbent Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the general turned president who has cracked down on challengers and dissent, or a barely known candidate. Mousa Mostafa Mousa, 65, an Egyptian politician who emerged just in advance of the January 29 deadline as the sole contender to 63-year-old Sisi, has been avoiding the limelight and providing little evidence on streets of Cairo that he will be standing against him at all. Mousa, who leads the Ghad party, had endorsed Sisi for a second term and even organised events to help nominate the former military commander up until a week before the nomination deadline. His presidential bid seemed to come as a surprise even to his own party. Hours before the candidate nomination window closed, a member of his team was photographed running down a Cairo street to the elections commission to make the deadline. Mousa said the late decision to run came after all other candidates withdrew. He has continuously dismissed accusations that his candidacy was being used to present a false sense of competition. We are entering a fair and honourable competition in order to win, Mousa told reporters at a press conference following the announcement of his candidacy. Since his announcement, Mousa has failed to name the 20 members of parliament who reportedly endorsed him, allowing him to enter the race. His party endorsed Sisis presidential bid just 10 days before he announced his candidacy. The election commission says the vote will be free and fair, but critics say Sisi has already ensured he will win a second term after seven other candidates withdrew, or were prevented from running. Moussa said if he wins, he would seek Sisis assistance to run the government [File: Reuters] A puppet While Mousa has said he would mount a full challenge to Sisi, opposition activists, journalists and analysts have dismissed him as a dummy candidate, standing only to give the impression of a full democratic contest. Its pretty obvious to observers and Egyptians alike that Mousa is a mere puppet in the election, an Egyptian analyst, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of repercussions, told Al Jazeera. He heads a party that has backed Sisi in the election, so it is clear that his candidacy is for the sake of creating an image of credibility for the vote. {articleGUID} There isnt a single Egyptian who believes this election will be free and fair, added the analyst. Egyptian political activist Salman al-Badry agreed: Mousas candidacy only adds to the theatrical environment enveloping these elections. His electoral plan is nothing more than pen on paper; his policies are impossible to implement in light of the economic crisis which Sisi has created in Egpyt. Until the morning of his nomination, Mousas Facebook page carried a portrait of the president, with the statement, Long Live Egypt: Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for president. That portrait was removed after Mousas candidacy was announced. He has since told Egyptian news website Bawabat al-Ahram in February that if he were to win, he would seek Sisis assistance in maintaining the achievements Sisi has already done. My aim is to develop the country along the same path that Sisi has laid out, said Mousa. Mousas policy platform includes price controls for low-income citizens, reopening formerly shuttered factories, and a programme to fight congestion on the streets of Cairo. But he has avoided anything that could be interpreted as criticism of the presidents previous term. Al Jazeera contacted Mousas campaign team for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication. Opponents cleared Several leading opposition figures have called for a boycott of the election, saying repression had cleared the field of challengers and left Sisis top opponent in jail. The United Nations, rights groups and opposition figures have also criticised the run-up as compromised by arrests, intimidation of opponents and a nomination process stacked in favour of the incumbent. Egyptian authorities detained Sisis final serious rival, former military chief of staff Sami Anan, on January 23 shortly after he announced his candidacy. Anan was accused of illegally declaring his intention to contest the election before getting the militarys approval. Several other potential contenders either withdrew from the race like prominent human rights lawyer Khaled Ali and ex-Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik or were detained. According to the Egyptian analyst, Mousas candidacy was ordered by Sisi to create a semblance of credibility for the vote. When Khaled Ali dropped out of the electoral race, Sisi was caught off guard, said the analyst He had thought that Ali would run without posing a real threat, unlike Anan and Shafik, while giving an image that the elections were fair. Mousa had no choice but to run an appear to have a plan. Sisi was elected in 2014, a year after leading the army to depose President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Freedom and Justice Party. The vote taking place from March 26-28 is the third presidential election since protests in 2011 unseated long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak. The ousted national security adviser and Trump had major disagreements on Iran and Afghanistan, among other issues. John Bolton is out. US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he had fired his national security adviser, saying they strongly disagreed on major issues. Bolton disputed Trumps version of events, however, saying he resigned. Regardless of how it happened, Bolton, a leading foreign policy hawk, is now out of the administration. Bolton took over the role of national security adviser in April 2018. He was a surprise pick at the time, with a world view seemingly ill-fit to the presidents isolationist America First pronouncements. Trump had sometimes joked about Boltons image as a warmonger, reportedly saying in one Oval Office meeting that John has never seen a war he doesnt like. Prior to becoming Trumps national security adviser, Bolton was a Fox News commentator. He served as the US ambassador to the UN from August 2005 to December 2006 and undersecretary of state from 2001 to 2005. Bolton also served under the administrations of former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush. As Bolton departs the Trump White House, heres a look at where he stood on key issues and what his departure may mean for the future of US foreign policy. Afghanistan Bolton had opposed a recent State Department plan to sign an Afghan peace deal with the Taliban, believing the groups leaders could not be trusted. That opposition pinned Bolton against Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Individuals familiar with his view said Bolton believed the US could draw down to about 8,600 troops in Afghanistan and maintain a counterterrorism effort without signing a peace deal with the Taliban. There are roughly about 14,000 US troops in Afghanistan now. Bolton, who was reportedly excluded from some White House meetings about Afghanistan, strongly opposed Trumps now-scrapped notion to bring Taliban negotiators to Camp David last weekend. Trump has since declared the US-Taliban talks dead, citing a Kabul attack by the Taliban that killed 12, including one US soldier. Senator Lindsey Graham, who was travelling with Trump on Monday, said reports of Boltons dissent on the Taliban meeting was a bridge too far for Trump. Iran Bolton was a chief architect of Trumps strident stance against Iran, but there were apparent disagreements over Trumps willingness to possibly meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Bolton had spearheaded the US abandonment of an international nuclear deal with Iran and reimposition of US sanctions on Tehran. Bolton was widely believed to have favoured a planned US air strike on Iran earlier this year in retaliation for the downing of a US surveillance drone, an action Trump called off at the last minute. Trump has since expressed a willingness to talk to Iranian leaders under the right conditions. Trump speaks during a meeting as Pompeo and Bolton look on in the Oval Office of the White House [File: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters] But one Republican familiar with the disagreements between Trump and Bolton said the advisers opposition to a possible meeting between Trump and Rouhani was a precipitating factor in Boltons dismissal, the Associated Press reported. French President Emmanuel Macron has been trying to broker such a meeting, possibly on the sidelines of the upcoming UN General Assembly, in the hope of salvaging the international Iran nuclear deal that Trump withdrew from. After Boltons firing, an adviser to Rouhani said his dismissal pointed to the failure of Washingtons maximum pressure strategy against Iran. The marginalisation and subsequent elimination of Bolton is not an accident but a decisive sign of the failure of the US maximum pressure strategy in the face of the constructive resistance of Iran, Hesameddin Ashena tweeted. North Korea North Korea was another issue upon which Bolton and Trump disagreed. US officials have said it was Bolton who was responsible for the collapse of a summit in February between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi by recommending the presentation a list of hardline demands that Kim rejected. Although he insisted at the time that he didnt think the Hanoi summit was a failure, Bolton told US media that I am the national security adviser. Im not the national security decision-maker. In June, Bolton travelled to Mongolia while Trump headed to the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea to shake hands with Kim. Analysts said the move suggested a growing divide between Bolton and Trump over holding talks with Pyongyang. Even before taking over as national security adviser, Bolton said that he thought talking to the North Korean leadership would be fruitless. Its important to stand behind our South Korean allies, but if we pay heed to the lessons of history, talking to #NorthKorea would be fruitless. John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) February 13, 2018 Trump and Bolton also disagreed about May missile launches by North Korea, with Bolton saying there was no doubt the tests violated UN sanctions. Following those tests, however, Trump said on Twitter North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me. Many believed Trump was referring to Bolton. China One of the issues Bolton was mostly in line with Trump was Chinas role on the international stage. Trump and Bolton especially agreed on Chinas role in the global market, accusing China of stealing US intellectual property and pursuing mercantilist policies in what is supposed to be a free-trade environment. In a 2018 interview with NPR, Bolton said the US should not turn a blind eye when states, as a matter of national policy, are stealing intellectual property from their competitors'. Last month, Bolton also publicly warned Ukraine against what he called Beijings debt diplomacy amid a Chinese move to buy a Ukrainian aerospace giant. Bolton made clear during a news conference that Washington did not approve of the deal, saying we laid out our concerns about unfair Chinese trade practices, threats to national security weve seen in the United States. Israeli-Palestinian conflict Bolton was a main player during the June 2019 workshop in Bahrain during which the US discussed the economic part of its proposals for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Palestinian leadership boycotted that workshop, saying the US cannot be an honest peace broker. Following the boycott, Bolton criticised the Palestinian leadership, calling the refusal to appear a mistake. What makes this particular proposal which is being rolled out in pieces and slowly the thing that makes it unique is the economic aspect of it, Bolton said in what the Trump administration has called the deal of the century. The prospects for Palestinians, for Israelis, and for everyone in the region, if we could find an acceptable agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, is incredibly bright, Bolton said. Bolton speaks at the commencement for the United States Coast Guard Academy [File: Jessica Hill/Reuters] During that same event, Bolton also commented on a potential Israeli annexation of the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank, a plan that was announced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mere hours before Boltons departure. Bolton in June refused to give his outright support to annexation, but said, Israel is entitled to live within secure frontiers. How that works in terms of specific aspects for the West Bank generally, that will be the subject of discussion that will follow the rollout of the peace plan, he told reporters at the time. Prior to becoming Trumps national security adviser, Bolton had praised Trumps recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the decision to move the US embassy to the city. He wrote on Twitter in December 2017: The Middle East peace process has long needed clarity and an injection of reality, and Trump has provided it by making the decision to move the US embassy in #Israel to #Jerusalem. Russia Despite Trumps efforts to improve relations with Russia, Bolton remained a harsh critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Bolton was also against Trumps insistence that Moscow be allowed to rejoin the G7. Bolton was an ardent opponent of arms control treaties with Russia. He was instrumental in Trumps decision to withdraw last month from a 1987 accord that banned intermediate-range missiles because of what Washington charged was Moscows deployment of prohibited nuclear-capable cruise missiles, an allegation Russia denied. Bolton was also outspoken about Russian meddling in the US elections. In a February 2018 speech, less than two months before he became national security adviser, Bolton called the Russian attempts to influence the 2016 presidential elections an act of war. Attempting to undermine Americas constitution is far more than just a quotidian covert operation. It is, in fact, a casus belli, a true act of war, and one Washington will never tolerate, Bolton told graduates at the Daniel Morgan Graduate School of National Security in Washington. We should respond in cyberspace and elsewhere. I dont think the response should be proportionate. I think it should be very disproportionate. Because deterrence works when you tell your adversary that they will experience enormous cost when they impose costs on you. That causes them to say were not even going to think about it, Bolton said about a possible response to Russias meddling. Bolton, however, dismissed allegations that Trumps campaign colluded with the Kremlin. Syria Bolton advocated against Trumps decision last year to pull US troops out of Syria. He masterminded a quiet campaign inside the administration and with allies abroad to convince Trump to keep US forces in Syria to counter the remnants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS). Venezuela Bolton advocated for hardline measures on Venezuela. The US backs opposition leader Juan Guaido, who invoked the constitution earlier this year and declared himself interim president, calling President Nicolas Maduros 2018 reelection illegitimate. Maduro accuses Guaido and the US of attempting a coup. In January, Bolton held a notepad with a handwritten line that read, 5,000 troops to Colombia. Bolton repeatedly said that all options were on the table when it came to Venezuela. Last month, Bolton said Washington was ready to impose sanctions on any international company doing business with Maduro. We are sending a signal to third parties that want to do business with the Maduro regime: proceed with extreme caution, Bolton said. Bolton and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announce economic sanctions against Venezuela and the Venezuelan state-owned oil company [File: Jim Young/Reuters] Those comments came just after Trump signed an executive order that freezes the assets of the Venezuelan government and bans any transactions with it, an act that could ensnare its dealings with Russia and China, as well as with Western companies. According to the Miami Herald, White House officials said on Tuesday that the president was frustrated that Maduro had not stepped down as Bolton had predicted. The Herald added, however, that officials warned that US policy towards Venezuela was not likely to drastically change with Bolton out of the picture. The incident comes on the heel of a sharp uptick in far-right violence targeting refugees, migrants, Muslims and others. Athens, Greece Propped up on the radiator next to a battered door is a half-charred plaque that welcomes visitors to the office of the Afghan Community in Greece. The door, also burned, hangs loosely from the hinges. Inside, a wooden desk is collapsed in front of a soot-blackened wall, a shattered computer monitor toppled sideways on the ground next to it. Far-right attackers waited until office workers left for their lunch break on Thursday to break into the Afghan Community in Greeces single-room workspace, and smash computers, speakers and framed photos on the wall, before dousing the office in petrol and setting it ablaze. It is good that no one was here, otherwise we would have had victims, Yonous Muhammadi, former president of the Afghan Community in Greece and head of the Greek Forum of Refugees, tells Al Jazeera. Officials at the centre said it has received a number of death threats from far-right groups [Nick Paleologos/SOOC/Al Jazeera] Muhammadi stands in the office and surveys the wreckage as reporters take photos. He explains that the attack took place at a time when his organisation is receiving a swell of death threats from far-right groups. It is good that no one was here, otherwise, we would have had victims. Yonous Muhammadi, former president of the Afghan Community in Greece Crypteia, a neo-Nazi vigilante group, has taken credit for Thursdays attack, multiple Greek news outlets have reported. The incident comes on the heel of a sharp uptick in far-right violence targeting refugees, migrants and Muslims, among others. {articleGUID} In a recent report, Al Jazeera detailed a string of violence targeting Pakistani labourers and Afghan refugees in Aspropyrgos, Athens and Piraeus, as well as a series of death threats against civil society organisations. They want to kill Crypteia is a new name for us, says Muhammadi, explaining that the group was previously unknown before it took credit for an attack on an Afghan childs home in November 2017. During that incident, assailants hurled stones and beer bottles at the home of an 11-year-old boy identified only as Emir in the local press and left behind a note urging him to go back to [his] village. Muhammadi adds: They are extremists, and they want to kill. Yonous Muhammadi addresses reporters after a far-right group attacked the Afghan Community in Greeces office [Nick Paleologos/SOOC/Al Jazeera] In January, a handful of civil society groups received death threats via telephone from an unidentified person claiming to be a member of Crypteia. Standing in the half-destroyed office of the Afghan Community in Greece, where he came to show support, Naim Elghandour recalls receiving one of the threatening phone calls earlier this year. I picked up the phone, and they said: We are the ones who kill refugees and Muslims, who burn mosques and who attacked Emirs home,' Elghandour, president of the Muslim Association of Greece, tells Al Jazeera. This wasnt the first attack, and it wont be the last, Elghandour says. We want protection [from the state]. Researchers and critics have speculated that the far-right group may have direct or indirect connections to Golden Dawn, the neo-fascist party with 16 seats in the Greek parliament. {articleGUID} In the past, Golden Dawn members have carried out brutal attacks on migrants and political opponents. After a party member stabbed to death Pavlos Fyssas, a Greek anti-fascist rapper, in September 2013, 69 members of the party including its leading cadre were arrested and put on trial for allegedly operating a criminal organisation. Continue the fight against the Nazis The number of documented hate crimes subsequently decreased, but 2017 saw a sharp surge in xenophobic violence across the country. Compared with the previous year, the number of hate crimes motivated by race, skin colour or national origin nearly tripled in 2017, according to statistics provided to Al Jazeera by the Hellenic Police. Police documented 48 such crimes in 2016, but the number soared to 133 last year. Earlier this month, Greek police arrested seven alleged members of Combat 18 Hellas, a neo-Nazi outfit that has reportedly carried out more than 30 attacks on anarchist squats, left-wing social centres and Jewish memorials throughout the country. For us, it's very important to stand with the Afghan community and fight. We have to continue the fight against the Nazis. Petros Constantinou, national director of Keerfa Petros Constantinou, national director of the Athens-based anti-fascist group Keerfa, says Golden Dawn is very open to cooperation with other far-right and neo-fascist outfits. For us, its very important to stand with the Afghan community and fight, he tells Al Jazeera. We have to continue the fight against the Nazis. Back in the Afghan Community in Greeces office, Yonous Muhammadi recalls being attacked in 2010, when a band of far-right assailants armed with sticks and knives kicked in their door. I was teaching Greek to small children and women, he remembers. They [the attackers] started to break everything, and also they beat me. Afterwards, Muhammadi went to the police station in Agios Panteleimonas, an area in central Athens where the organisations office was located at the time. {articleGUID} The shock for me was not the attack itself, he says. The shocking thing for me was the behaviour of the authorities. When I spoke to the police, they said theyd put me in a detention centre if I filed a complaint. He hoped the situation would improve for refugees and migrants after Golden Dawn was put on trial. We believed that it would be better now, but no, we see that the fascists are still here, he concludes, solemnly. All of them are the same extremist groups, and they are fascists. Editors note: This article has been updated to reflect that Yonous Muhammadi is the former president of the Afghan Community in Greece and is now the head of the Greek Forum of Refugees. Nicolas Sarkozy denies illegal funding allegations The former president of France has come out swinging, calling his Libyan accusers assassins, criminals and delinquents. Former President Kuczynski resigned over allegations of corruption related to pan Latin America Odebrecht scandal Martin Vizcarra has been sworn in as Perus president after the South American countrys Congress accepted the resignation of his predecessor, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski. The new president promised on Friday to fight corruption head on in his role as president after Kuczynski resigned amid ongoing corruption scandals. Vizcarra, who had been serving as Perus ambassador to Canada, arrived during the night to assume the presidency but there had been uncertainty up to the last minute on Friday whether the Congress would accept Kuczynskis resignation. Some legislators had been pushing for a vote to impeach the 79-year-old former president over his links to Brazils scandal-plagued construction giant Odebrecht. But shortly before Vizcarras swearing-in at 17:00 GMT, the Congress voted 105-11, with four abstentions, to accept the resignation, which Kuczynski had offered on Wednesday when it became clear he could not survive an impeachment vote. The resignation has been accepted, said Luis Galarreta, the leader of Congress, after the vote. Earlier on Friday, Kuczynski had threatened to rescind his resignation over a congressional bill that would designate him a traitor to Peru. In the early hours of the morning, a document was filtered to the press where the congressmen were drafting a legislative resolution to call [Kuczynski] a traitor to Peru, Al Jazeera correspondent Mariana Sanchez, reporting from the capital, Lima, said. Kuczynski issued his resignation following widespread protests and pressure from Peruvian politicians amid. corruption allegations related to the Oderbrecht scandal. Oderbrecht is a Brazilian construction company that has admitted to paying about $800m in bribes for public contracts throughout Latin America Kuczynski, a former Wall Street banker, took office less than two years ago. He has denied wrongdoing, blaming his fall on a campaign by the opposition party led by his campaign rival, twice-defeated presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori. Fujimori is the daughter of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, 79, who was convicted in 2007 of ordering illegal search and seizures. He was further accused of committing widespread human rights violations against Perus indigenous population. Kuczynski pardoned Fujimori in 2017. Spanish High Court detains five Catalan politicians for their involvement in the regions October secessionist bid. Thousands of protesters have filled the streets of Barcelona after Spains High Court jailed five Catalan politicians who played a role in the regions declaration of independence. Demonstrators on Friday evening carried the single-star flag of the presumptive Catalan Republic and signs with slogans such as Freedom for Political Prisoners. Catalonia declared independence from Spain in October 2017 after a political back-and-forth between the regional and national governments. The declaration went unrecognised by the international community. Spanish Judge Pablo Llarena ordered detention without bail for Jordi Turull, the president of Catalonias regional government, former regional legislators Josep Rull, Raul Romeva and Dolors Bassa, as well as the ex-president of the parliament, Carme Forcadell. {articleGUID} Llarena said an investigation into their pro-secession moves has reflected clear insurrection. The High court issued international arrest warrants for six more Catalan politicians. Several Catalan politicians have fled Spain to avoid being put in jail, including former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont, who fled to Belgium in October. Marta Rovira, the head of the Catalan Republican Left party who was also summoned to the High Court, announced Friday she had left Spain to live in exile in Switzerland. Oriol Junqueras, the former Catalan vice president, has been in prison since December. Clashes amid an uncertain future Social media posts showed demonstrators clashing with Catalan police, who are called Mossos. The Mossos were attempting to keep demonstrators separated from the Delegation of the Spanish Government in downtown Barcelona. Demonstrators reported injuries. Al Jazeera was unable to verify how many were injured or the severity of the wounds. Carregues i ferits pic.twitter.com/zU9vpzqtrF Jordi Borras (@jordiborras) March 23, 2018 As clashes erupted, Catalonias political future remained uncertain. Catalonia held snap elections in December called by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. Secessionist parties won that election, a repeat of the 2015 poll that sent Catalonia on the path to its declaration of independence. The separatist majority failed to elect a regional government in a Thursday vote. If they cannot agree to a government in two months, another regional election will be held. Rajoy said on Friday he is not in favour of [Catalonia] having repeat elections. Its not good. The prime minister said the Catalan people have voted and its up to politicians to settle their differences within the confines of Spanish law, which does not allow for secession. What should Russia and the world expect in the next six years? On Friday, Russias Central Electoral Commission released the final results of this weeks presidential elections, making Vladimir Putins landslide victory official. The Russian president, who won 76.69 percent of the vote, will be inaugurated for a fourth term in May. In the coming six years, will we see a new Putin or an old one? Kremlin correspondent Andrei Kolesnikov asked the president at the end of his first press conference after the elections. Everything flows, everything changes, Putin retorted tersely before walking off stage. But in the days after Putins win, Russia observers have expressed scepticism that things in the country will indeed flow and change. At the start of his fourth term, Putins space for any domestic and foreign policy manoeuvring appears to be quite limited. And as he surpasses Leonid Brezhnev as the longest-serving leader in Russias modern history (if Putins term as prime minister is counted), critical voices in Russia and abroad have started comparing him to his Soviet predecessor, whose 18-year reign ended in 1982. {articleGUID} Brezhnev lacked the vision of power to actually grapple with the reform needs of the country, said Mark Galeotti, senior research fellow at the Institute of International Relations in Prague. And this is what we are seeing with Putin. [He] seems to have few ideas and much less energy, and yet like Brezhnev hes not able or willing to let go, Galeotti said. While the parallel with the 1970s Soviet Union is not complete (for one, Putin appears to be in excellent health, compared with Brezhnev, who succumbed to alcoholism and illness), Russia does appear to be entering a similar period of stagnation in foreign and domestic affairs. There are fears that the Kremlins policies will not change in the next six years, which will lead to a gradual deterioration of the political and economic situation in Russia. A mini-Cold War? During the 18 years of his leadership, Putin had to step down from the presidency between 2008 and 2012 to avoid violating the Russian Constitution. His former aide, Dmitry Medvedev, took over as president, while he assumed the post of prime minister. Medvedevs years in office roughly coincided with Barack Obamas first term in the White House and ushered in moderate optimism in Russian-US relations. The temporary improvement in relations was in a way similar to the thaw under Brezhnevs predecessor, Nikita Khrushchev, who introduced the idea of peaceful coexistence amid a raging Cold War. Medvedevs pursuit of rapprochement with the West precipitated Russias abstention during the 2011 UN Security Council vote to approve a US-led intervention in Libya a move that Putin sharply criticised. When he took back the presidency in 2012, relations with the West were bound to change. Two years later, after mass protests led to the deposition of the pro-Kremlin Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, Putin acted swiftly to discipline a country he perceived to be in Russias sphere of influence perhaps not unlike Brezhnev, who in 1968 ordered Soviet tanks to quash the Prague Spring. Putin basically feels that he has to be an insurgent, he has to actually be inconvenient for the West because, otherwise, he feels that the won't get what he wants. Mark Galeotti, Institute of International Relations in Prague Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula and backed separatists in the Donbass region. The West responded with economic sanctions. Since then, the Kremlin has sought to get the West to re-engage using various tactics from courting far-right parties in Europe and engaging in subversive operations to seeking leverage in the Middle East through a military intervention in Syria. Yet, according to Galeotti, these tactics have not produced the intended result of pushing the West to negotiate, and have contributed to the entrenchment of the status quo. [Putin] basically feels that he has to be an insurgent, he has to actually be inconvenient for the West because, otherwise, he feels that the wont get what he wants, he said. So [unless he] gets what he wants, which I dont think is going to happen, or something changes the perceived balance of risks and opportunities for Moscow, this will continue. Putin himself is also not ready to make compromises on Russias positions and, in a sense, admit that he made a mistake in Ukraine. For that reason, Galeotti says, it is unlikely that there will be a resolution of the Ukrainian crisis in the following six years. A year after the start of the Ukrainian crisis, Russia took the decision to intervene directly in Syria. The military campaign was successful in preserving the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad and taking back control over territories previously held by rebel forces. The operation boosted Russias standing in the region, prompting countries like Egypt, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE to engage with Moscow. But according to Galeotti, talk of Russian resurgence in the Middle East is exaggerated and diplomatic engagement with Moscow is often used to send a signal to Washington. Unlike Brezhnev, Putin does not have at his disposal the same military and economic resources to project power around the world. Yet, he would like to have Russia recognised as a great power. For that reason, the Kremlin will continue using the same subversive tactics with the West because they are relatively cheap. What are we going to see in international relations in the next six years? Pretty much what we are seeing now, Galeotti said. A Brezhnev-like economic stagnation? In the second half of Brezhnevs rule, the state of the Soviet economy gradually deteriorated, as lack of reform inhibited growth and the limited liberalisation introduced by Khrushchev was rolled back. The economic stagnation led to declining standards of living for many Soviet citizens and deteriorating social services. Today, Russia has also entered a period of stagnation. After registering annual growth as high as eight percent during Putins first two terms, in 2014 the Russian economy plunged into a recession. Last year, Russia started growing again, but at a rate of 1.5 percent. Is there any driving engine for economic growth for the next few years? My personal answer is that we do not see it at the moment Sergey Aleksashenko, Brookings Institution According to Sergey Aleksashenko, an economist and analyst at the Brookings Institution in Washington, the Russian economy, while not in shambles as has been claimed in the West will retain that slow pace of growth in the coming six years which will not exceed two percent. Is there any driving engine for economic growth for the next few years? My personal answer is that we do not see it at the moment, he told Al Jazeera. Aleksashenko, who was a deputy finance minister in the early 1990s, explained that the growth registered last year was due to the export of commodities such as oil, gas and coal. The biggest barrier to economic development, in his opinion, is the lack of investment in the Russian economy. There are two reasons for that: one, the economic sanctions which have caused a lot of Western capital to depart from Russia; and two, the lack of the rule of law. Any type of contract in the economy is about property. If we cannot defend our rights in courts, what is the motivation for us to sign a new contract? he said. Over the past 15 years, enterprises of various sizes across Russia have been expropriated or nationalised. Starting with the famous case of oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, whose oil company Yukos was taken over by state-owned Rosneft following a tax evasion and embezzlement conviction, this process has gradually increased the share of the state in the Russian economy and its dependence on it. In 2016, the Federal Antimonopoly Agency claimed that that share has reached 70 percent; according to Aleksashenko, these statistics might be exaggerated and in reality, the number might be closer to 45 percent, which is still high. The result of this process has concentrated economic power in the hands of the state and a circle of powerful people close to the Russian president, slowing down the economy. This happened because the goal of people in charge has been to acquire more power and to stay in power longer and pursue personal and friends enrichment, said Boris Grozovsky, a Moscow-based business journalist and researcher. This has resulted in a monopolistic and less efficient economic system which is bound to stagnate, said Grozovsky. In his opinion, the coming six years will be like the past nine: they will be lost. In a public address on March 23, Putin promised his electorate major improvements in the socioeconomic sphere. We will create new jobs and boost the efficiency of our economy. Well increase the real income of [Russian] citizens and decrease poverty rates, well develop infrastructure and the social sphere education, healthcare and solve environment and housing problems, he declared. But the expected stagnation in the Russian economy in the next six years casts a shadow of doubt over whether Putin would be able to fulfil all these promises. According to Grozovsky, the current state of the economy will limit spending on education and healthcare and pull back the standard of living. There will be a very slow gradual deterioration [in these services], he said. Who will succeed Putin? Apart from stagnating relations with the West and a sluggish economy, Putins rule resembles Brezhnevs in one more thing: the reluctance to transfer power and set up a succession plan. In Brezhnevs case, the decision on who was to succeed him wasnt made until after his death, with KGB head Yury Andropov winning the scramble for power within the party elite. In an interview with NBCs Megyn Kelly in early March, Putin said that he has been thinking about the succession issue since 2000. But for the past 18 years, no apparent successor has been put forward. This might be a sign that he does not intend to leave power, or at least not completely. According to head editor of Radio Echo Moscow Aleksei Venedictov, Putin early on was preoccupied with what his legacy would be and how his presidency would go down in history books. In time, especially after the annexation of Crimea, he came to believe that he is fulfilling a mission. Until this mission has not been completed, he wont leave office. But the mission has no end and cannot be accomplished so it will not give him a chance to leave, Venediktov told Russian journalist Yury Dud in an interview just days before the elections. While Putin, indeed, might hang on to power even beyond his next six-year term, he might not necessarily remain president. According to Nikolay Petrov, professor of social sciences at Moscows Higher School of Economics, he might attempt to change the system. Putin [risks becoming] a lame duck. In order to avoid this, I think hell start the process of transformation of the regime, he told Al Jazeera. It will not be preparation for the transfer of power from President Putin to President Ivanov or someone else. It will be a preparation for the transfer of power from Putin as the president to Putin as someone else, like national leader, chief of state council, or something like that. Petrov said the main problem he will face in transforming the political system is one he created himself: the high level of personalisation of power. In transforming the system, he will have to find a way to retain control while also not being responsible for all decision-making, added Petrov. There were already signs of the changes to come in the past few years, according to Petrov. People in leadership positions in the government were replaced; heads of security agencies were removed and more recently a number of governors across Russia were fired or forced to resign. The political system thus became even more dependent on Putin as a source of legitimacy in anticipations of any changes to be introduced. According to Petrov, this system transformation might see a new generation of technocrats be pushed to the fore. It might be this new set-up and new faces in the political system that will eventually also determine the direction of the post-Putin period, when the time comes. And perhaps then there will be a chance for another reformer, like Mikhail Gorbachev, to steer Russia away from stagnation and towards change. Western governments and arms companies have contributed to the Egyptian militarys consolidation of political power, a new report said. Titled The Officers Republic, the report was published by Transparency International Defence & Security on Friday a week before Egyptians take to the polls in an election that is expected to see the president and military general, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, secure another four-year term. The report said Western defence companies with approval from their governments continue to provide Egypts military with aid and security support without any form of meaningful transparency. James Lynch, deputy director of the UK-based organisation, said countries are assisting a military that has not only taken full political control of Egypt albeit with little to no scrutiny but one that is also struggling with local and regional instability. Western states, who could do much to influence this situation, are meanwhile failing to demand serious reform and instead carrying on with business as usual, while mistakenly still considering Egypt a trusted partner for security in stability in the region, said Lynch. Unaccountable institution Since former president Hosni Mubarak was forced to step down in 2011, Egypts military has gone from one political strength to another, and has expanded its economic goals. Yet, the report said, the military has remained a largely opaque and unaccountable institution. The average defence budget is estimated to be about $4.4bn, but little is known about where that gets earmarked as it is treated as a state secret. During the past five years, Egypt has become the third largest arms importer in the world, but Lynch said there is little to show in terms of protecting the safety and security of its citizens. The Egyptian people have a military that does everything but keep the country secure, he said. Its concern with building its economic and political power has hugely frustrated its efforts to deal with the security challenges it faces in the Sinai and other places. In recent years, several human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have accused members of the Egyptian military of extrajudicial executions in the Sinai, showing they fear no oversight or accountability for their actions. This is a military that may very well be the architect of its own security crisis, Lynch said. {articleGUID} Transparency in the face of opacity As human rights abuses and state violence in Egypt continue to increase, the report made a series of recommendations for the international community to counter the opacity of the Egyptian military. It called for making financial and security assistance dependant on achieving basic levels of transparency and accountability, and to amplify domestic voices advocating for that. It also urged better domestic oversight of the armed forces by asking tougher questions on the militarys economic activities. The international community must understand that not only is it doing a major disservice to the people of Egypt by providing support to the armed forces with few strings attached, Lynch said, it is also contributing to the security crisis in the country and region. Over the coming decades, climate change will worsen the loss of biodiversity even more, the report warned. Human activity has driven plant and animal species into decline all around the world, putting the future of humans at risk in the long run, a new extensive report has stated. Over the coming decades, climate change will worsen the loss of biodiversity even more, the study, which was released on Friday, warned. The three-year-long research was conducted by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), consisting of almost 600 scientists. Biodiversity continues to be lost across all of the regions of the globe. Were losing species, were degrading ecosystems if we continue business as usual, we will continue to lose biodiversity at increasing rates, said Robert Watson, IPBES chairman. {articleGUID} If we continue the way we are the sixth mass extinction, the first one ever caused by humans, will continue, he was quoted as saying by AFP news agency. Were undermining our own future well-being. For the research, the volunteer scientists assessed 10,000 scientific publications on biodiversity, the biggest such research in more than a decade. According to the IPBES report, almost a third of known marine fish populations, and 42 percent of land animals and plants, are in decline in Central Asia and Europe. {articleGUID} In the Asia-Pacific region, up to 90 percent of corals will suffer severe degradation by 2050, and more than half of the bird and mammal species in Africa could be lost by 2100 unless drastic measures are taken. Africa will suffer significant plant losses, and its lakes will be 20-30 percent less productive by 2100 because of land degradation. According to the research, species populations in the Americas has gotten 31 percent smaller since the first European settlers arrived in the fifteenth century. At the current rate, the species populations will have shrunk by about 40 percent in 2050. Humans rely heavily on nature, providing humanity with water, energy and the climate. All of those factors are at risk if there are no changes to humanitys current way of living, according to the IPBES report. This alarming trend endangers economies, livelihoods, food security and the quality of life of people everywhere, IPBES warned. Climate change The research also focused on the effects of climate change on the decrease in biodiversity, saying the change in global temperature will significantly increase the speed at which species become at risk. {articleGUID} Economic growth is going to continue. Population growth is going to continue to 2050, therefore demand for resources will grow, Watson said. Climate change for the last 30 years has been increasing its role in changing nature, changing the ability of how nature can contribute to human well-being, and it is by far the fastest-growing pressure, said Jack Rice, coauthor of the report. It is likely by 2050, a generation away, climate change will be as strong a pressure as all the ways that we have historically converted natural lands to human-dominated systems, he added. Despite this grim outlook, the assessment of biodiversity offers some solutions as well. {articleGUID} According to the report, governments, businesses and individuals should think about the effect on farming, fishing, forestry, mining, or infrastructure development have on the biodiversity. Can we stop all of it? No. Can we significantly slow it down? Yes, Watson said. The release comes days after Sudan, the worlds last male white northern Rhino, died. Another report, about the state of the global soil, will be released in the near future. That assessment will focus on the effect pollution, forest-destruction, mining, and unsustainable farming methods have had on nutrients in the Earths soil. Faylaq ar-Rahman group agrees to Russian-brokered deal and will begin evacuating 7,000 fighters, civilians on Saturday. A rebel group in Eastern Ghouta says it has reached a deal with the Syrian government to evacuate fighters and civilians to the opposition-controlled northwest province of Idlib. In a statement released on Friday, the Faylaq ar-Rahman group, the second-largest rebel force in Eastern Ghouta, said that the Russian-brokered deal allows for the immediate evacuation of the sick and wounded, and that aid would be allowed inside the besieged area. Opposition fighters and their relatives would be allowed to leave Eastern Ghouta, on the outskirts of the Syrian capital of Damascus, and those who decide to remain will be guaranteed safety, the statement said. In addition, a prisoner exchange between Faylaq ar-Rahman and the Syrian government will take place, and the Russian military police will be deployed in the areas that the group controls, such as Irbin, Zamalka, Ein Tarma and Jobar. In a televised broadcast, Syrian state media Sana said that the evacuation of 7,000 people fighters and their family members to Idlib will begin on Saturday at 9am (07:00 GMT). Syrian forces have split Eastern Ghouta into three pockets, which are under the control of three different rebel groups. The deal marks the second of its kind in the enclave after the rebel group Ahrar al-Sham agreed to an evacuation from Harasta, the town under its control, on Wednesday. Forced displacement A third part of the enclave, which includes the city of Douma in the north, is controlled by the Jaish al-Islam opposition group and is the last section under rebel influence. Al Jazeeras Zeina Khodr said that the evacuees in both deals were not just fighters and their relatives. Other civilians are leaving as well, people who were involved in opposition activities like media activists, medics, civil defence volunteers, she said, speaking from Lebanons capital, Beirut. These people are considered terrorists by the Syrian government so they cannot stay. Khodr noted that such deals are part of a military tactic that has been used by the Syrian government in the past seven years. The Syrian government lays siege to an area, bombs it into submission, starves the people and gives them the choice to leave, starve or die, she said. This has happened in the past and the United Nations has criticised this as forced displacement, she added. More than 1,500 civilians have died in the enclave, east of the capital, Damascus, since the government forces backed by Russian fighter jets launched a fierce assault on February 18. The opposition lost large parts of the area, with the Syrian army claiming it has now recaptured 80 percent of Eastern Ghouta. Trump lawyer John Dowd quits As Trumps legal team appears to be shedding those who encouraged him to cooperate with Robert Muellers investigation into Russian meddling in the US election, US president may be preparing to attack the investigation. Former US ambassador to the UN, who advocated military attacks in North Korea and Iran, replaces Lt Gen HR McMaster. US President Donald Trump has named John Bolton as his new National Security Adviser, raising alarms among opposition leaders and foreign policy experts, who called the former American ambassador to the United Nations a warmonger over his record on the Iraq war and views on Iran and North Korea. In a social media post late on Thursday, Trump announced that Bolton will replace Lieutenant General HR McMaster as his chief adviser on national security beginning on April 9. In a statement, Bolton said he has accepted the appointment, adding that it is an honour to become a part of Trumps cabinet. The United States currently faces a wide array of issues and I look forward to working with President Trump and his leadership team in addressing these complex challenges in an effort to make our country safer at home and stronger abroad. Boltons appointment and McMasters departure followed weeks of political turmoil in Washington, DC. Last week, Trump forced out Rex Tillerson as his US Secretary of State and appointed CIA director Mike Pompeo as his replacement. A White House source told Al Jazeera that Trump and McMaster mutually agreed on the decision for him to resign. The source denied that the reshuffle was related to recent developments in Trumps cabinet, saying it was the result of ongoing conversations between the two officials. In a separate statement, Trump praised McMasters 30 years of service in the military and the government, saying his bravery and toughness are legendary. In confirming his resignation, McMaster also announced his retirement from the US Army. Throughout my career, it has been my greatest privilege to serve alongside extraordinary servicemembers and dedicated civilians. Too extreme McMasters replacement, Bolton, is seen as a hardliner on foreign policy. As a senior official at the state department during George W Bushs administration, he led in the opposition to the creation of the International Criminal Court, and was seen as a cheerleader of the Iraq invasion. Despite his appointment as US ambassador to the UN, he was a critic of the international body. {articleGUID} Bernie Sanders, a senator and Trump critic, tore into Boltons record, saying he was part of the effort to mislead the US into the disastrous Iraq war, and has supported military action against North Korea and Iran. He was too extreme to be confirmed as UN ambassador in 2005 and is absolutely the wrong person to be national security adviser now. Elizabeth Warren, another opposition senator, said Bolton never met a war he didnt like. The last thing we need is someone like John Bolton who embraces military solutions first and puts us all at risk, she said. On Iran, Bolton is also seen as a hawk, advocating for attacks on the countrys military facilities. In a statement following Boltons appointment, the National Iranian American Council said, Donald Trump may have just effectively declared war on Iran. Bolton is an unhinged advocate for waging World War III. He has explicitly called for bombing Iran for the past 10 years and has suggested the US engage in nuclear first strikes in North Korea, the statement said. Bolton has also been criticised for his reported links to well-known anti-Islam individuals and groups. He wrote the foreword to a book by Pamela Geller, who the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) describes as one of the most flamboyant anti-Muslim activists in the United States, and Robert Spencer, who the SPLC says is one of the most prolific anti-Muslim figures in the United States. Bolton also spoke at a 2016 American Freedom Alliance titled Can Islam and the West Coexist?. The American Freedom Alliance is considered a hate group by the SPLC. In his speech, he joked that then President Obama was a Muslim. Northerners have been driven from Aden city, videos and documents sent to Al Jazeera show. Nearly two dozen Yemenis have said they were beaten, tortured and arbitrarily held by militias affiliated with the United Arab Emirates in southern Yemen, then dumped hundreds of kilometres away in areas rife with violence and warned to never return. In a series of videos and documents sent to Al Jazeera, the civilians said they were rounded up and driven from the port city of Aden by the UAE-created Security Belt a force set up in 2016 to police southern areas in the war-ravaged country to active front lines in the provinces of Taiz and Sanaa. One resident who was recently deported said the Security Belt harassed northern women and the elderly. We were attacked in our hotels [by the Security Belt] and they kicked us out. We couldnt find anywhere to stay, he said. There were a large number of us and we had a lot of money [invested in Aden], but they harassed us, and told us this is not your country. They forced us out and even took our medication. Shops, restaurants and homes were all raided by the Security Belt, others reported, with hundreds of people arrested and their assets seized. They gave us 24 hours to leave and said if we dont, well open fire at you, another man said. They even killed one person in Al-Mansoura [a district of Aden]. Others said the deportations were part of a larger campaign by Shalal Shaya, Adens Security Chief, a staunch advocate for the partition of Yemen. According to the UN, Shaya who has a close working relationship with the UAE, set up several secret prisons in Aden governorate, including one at a former nightclub in the citys At-Tawahi district. No legal recourse Since its launch in 2016, the Southern Transitional Council (STC) a political movement demanding secession for southern Yemen has intensified its demands to secede from the north after receiving considerable patronage and humanitarian assistance from the UAE. Earlier this year, the STC clashed with the Yemeni army and was able to wrest control of several key military bases in Aden. Since then, the STC has been accused of fomenting sectarian division and hatred in Aden, with a spike in attacks against displaced Yemenis, many of whom who fled intense coalition air attacks in the provinces of Taiz, Hudaida and Sanaa. According to a months-long Al Jazeera investigation, the Saudi-led coalition has carried out more than 3,500 air raids on Sanaa province and more than 2,500 on Taiz Radhya al-Mutawakel, the chairperson and cofounder of Mwatana, an independent Yemeni human rights organisation, said crimes against displaced persons had intensified as the fighting raged. We have received a few cases of northerners being detained in the south, she told Al Jazeera. But with the absence of a functioning judiciary and government, there is no legal recourse for those affected by these crimes to get justice. UAE has weakened Hadi Aden, a former British colony, was one of the first cities to drive out Houthi rebels after they expanded their influence from the countrys remote northern highlands, and overran Sanaa large expanses of territory. Saudi warplanes, Emirati special forces, and soldiers backing President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi combined to expel the rebels. But since then, the Yemeni government has been at odds with the UAE, frequently accusing it of trying to exploit the conflict for its own interests. In May, the London-based Middle East Eye reported that Hadi had accused Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, of acting as an occupying force, as opposed to a liberation force. And in August, a confidential report by a UN Security Council panel of experts, said members of the Saudi-led coalition were pursuing individual agendas the result of which had further weakened Hadis leadership. The authority of the legitimate government, already weak or absent in many parts of the country, has eroded significantly this year, it said. The south has formed a competing political council with a stated goal of an independent South Yemen. The ability of the legitimate government to effectively govern the eight governorates it claims to control is now in doubt. The war has taken a huge toll on the country more than 10,000 civilians have been killed, and millions of Yemenis have been left without basic necessities. A Harmless Persuasion: Conservatives and Traditionalism Several decades ago, Samuel T. Francis coined the phrase "harmless persuasion" to describe would-be conservatives who desist from saying anything that might evoke anger on the left. Francis was referring to neoconservatives, who climbed to power in the 1980s at the expense of the Old Right. But since then, there have been other contenders for the honor of representing the "harmless persuasion." My own favorites are Catholic and Orthodox traditionalists, who wear their piety on the sleeves but who rarely offend the left. At least three of these soi-disant traditionalists, Ross Douthat, Rod Dreher, and Patrick J. Deneen, have been lavishly praised in the New York Times. One might believe from seeing a review there of Deneen's book Why Liberalism Failed that the Times had been converted to neo-medieval traditionalism. Incidentally, all three of the aforementioned traditionalists extol one another's traditionalism in what looks like a mutual admiration society. This problematic but self-congratulating traditionalism is certainly nothing new. An entire movement in England, led by the Nottingham sociologist John Millbank, has been at the same game for decades. It consists of occupying the extreme right of Anglo-Catholicism on certain liturgical questions while denouncing European counterrevolutionaries for being tainted by "liberalism." But the radical traditionalist then veers sharply left on contemporary political and economic questions. Millbank, Catherine Pickstock, and Graham Ward have constructed a "theological social theory" that is hostile to the "liberalism" that has supposedly poisoned Western society for centuries. But propounding this theory also conveniently allows its bearers to join the anti-capitalist left and the last time I encountered Professor Pickstock, she was attacking the callousness of Margaret Thatcher while calling for the acceptance of more non-Western refugees into Europe. In the U.S., harmless traditionalists of a religious bent follow a path similar to that of the Radical Orthodox in England. They generally avoid scolding the left harshly, instead directing their bile against an enemy called "liberalism." By "liberalism" they mean an ideology that took root at the end of the Middle Ages and is held responsible for a multitude of social ills, including capitalism, secularism, individual rights, and our media-created fake culture. Mixed in with these generalities are at least some grains of truth. For example, it is possible to ascribe radical consequences to the constructivist character of the American constitutional republic and to the practice of stressing individual rights at the expense of long established communal ones. Individual rights continue to morph, and some of them, as Deneen notes, are forced down the throats of the unwilling by public administration and legislating courts. But there are two problems with the more general stance that Deneen's widely reviewed book, Why Liberalism Failed, exemplifies. The anti-liberal critics set up a straw man, which they pretend their side has always been battling. This has supposedly been the case since Catholic Aristotelians or religious communitarians lost their political and moral battle to natural rights theorists like Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. Since then, "liberals" have caused, among other ills, "the degradation of citizenship" and the erosion of education. Much of this complaint is, of course, open to dispute. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when real liberal ideas gained influence in the West, universities, libraries, symphony orchestras, and manifold cultural activities flourished indeed, to a degree that humanity had not experienced before. The dissolution of families properly criticized by Deneen had barely started in the post-World War II era, which came centuries after liberal solvents had supposedly begun their destructive work. It is also questionable whether the ills that Deneen attributes to contemporary "liberal democracy" and our commercialized mass culture is typical of anything outside the present age. Deneen and his friends may see deeper than I, but I discern no signs of these late modern developments in early modern Europe and among those varied groups, including both Catholics and Protestants, that helped produce liberal political theory. I make this observation, by the way, not as a devotee of Locke, but as someone who in his social thinking may be closer to Deneen's position. Although I too value the social bond more than individual self-expressiveness, I find no reason to father our late modern problems on thinkers addressing different concerns who lived centuries ago. Nor do I think their influence was an unmixed curse. The other problem with the anti-liberal traditionalist position in question is that it never really engages the left. Whether the issue is being a NeverTrump, supporting the liberal Democrat Doug Jones against the flawed Fundamentalist Republican Roy Moore in the Alabama senatorial race, or loudly deploring white racism and homophobia, our traditionalists can yell with the best of their leftist pals. Although Deneen ostentatiously laments the effects of corporate capitalism on women in the workforce, he never dares advocate anything that might raise eyebrows e.g., restoring traditional gender roles and the single family wage. He knows that his goose would be cooked if he recommended a return to the prevalent social situation of the 1950s. But no one at the New York Times or Washington Post could possibly object to his hymn to a distant past that exists only as a vague memory. Dreher proposes a Benedict Option that would be open to people like himself. It would allow the faithful to withdraw from a morally corrupt society into a community of the pure. Significantly, Dreher has reserved his harshest invective for Trump and his supporters while criticizing the left only in very general terms. Douthat, a Catholic convert and New York Times "conservative" or "co-conservative" with David Brooks, is equally skilled at striking righteous poses. But some of us on the right wish he'd combine his righteous tone with hard-hitting attacks on the left. Needless to say, that might spell the end of a promising career as a "traditionalist" in the national press. Faith and Freedom Redefined at CAIR Banquet The slogan for last weekend's Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Philadelphia banquet, "Defending our freedom, living our faith," sounds like an innocuous promotion of all-American values. Conference graphics were flanked by the Statue of Liberty and a minaret, while the event claimed to promote the peaceful intersection of the American and Islamic identities, featuring a former Obama adviser and a comedian for the adults and Mad Science and story time for the kids. However, behind the event's playful, unassuming facade lay a sinister truth: that CAIR and its banquet represent Islamist apologists. The keynote speaker, Dalia Mogahed, is a former member of President Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and is now the director of research at the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU). ISPU claims that it conducts "objective, solution-seeking research that empowers American Muslims to develop their community and fully contribute to democracy and pluralism in the United States." Is California Governor Jerry Brown Mentally Ill? Leftists are relentlessly selling their bogus narrative that Trump is insane. Here are samples of leftists' headlines: "Lawmakers Met With Psychiatrist About Trump's Mental Health," "President Trump's Mental State An 'Enormous Present Danger,'" "The Awkward Debate Around Trump's Mental Fitness," "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists Assess." So what has Trump done to convince leftists that he must be crazy? Unlike Republicans, Trump fearlessly confronts fake news media, calling them out when they lie. Unlike Obama's punish-evil-America-first presidency, Trump has America's best interest at heart. Unlike leftists seeking to dissolve our borders, Trump plans to build a wall to protect our people and our economy. Insanely, leftists cheered when Obama allowed Ebola into America, claiming it was racist and unfair for Americans not to be subjected to the disease. Unlike Obama, Hillary, Democrats, and fake news media's war on Christianity (forcing a 100-year-old order of Catholic nuns to fund contraception and forcing Christian businesses to service same-sex ceremonies), Trump vows to defend religious liberty. It worked out that way for the Jews. The State of Israel; the IDF; the self-confidence of Jews in the United States, Canada, and Australia; and the utter shame of the European countries for the craven and complicit way their people and governments behaved served to protect the remnant of European Jewry and rescue 800,000 Jews from Arab countries, plus Russians, Yemenites, Ethiopians, and Iranians. "Never Again" was a rallying cry for Jews after the Holocaust. Never again would Jews be defenseless. Never again would Jews be force-marched, starved, and gassed without a response. Never again would Jews wait to be rescued. Never again would Jews look at burgeoning anti-Semitism and direct threats and be slothful. Never again would Jews go quietly. But what happens when the forced march, starving, and gas happen to someone else? And what happens, specifically, when the United States, France, and Russia World War II allies stand around not only watching, but complicit? What happens when it happens in Syria? To begin with starvation and gas. The Syrian military under the protection of Russian air cover has dropped weaponized chlorine on civilians in various Sunni areas of Syria. Secretary of defense James Mattis laid blame on both. "Either Russia is incompetent or in cahoots with Assad," Mattis said. He said it would be "very unwise" for the Assad regime to use chemical weapons. Acknowledging there is "no evidence" of the use of sarin gas specifically banned by the Geneva Conventions "there's an awful lot of reports about chlorine gas use or about symptoms that could be resulting from chlorine gas." He added, "Right now we're getting reports I don't have evidence that I can show you but I'm aware of the reports of chlorine gas use." Chlorine gas kills just as surely. The whole performance was mealy-mouthed at best. Our troops are in Syria not in the areas under chemical attack, but in Syria. If we don't have evidence, it is because we'd rather not find it. That makes the Russians culpable and the Americans complicit. Next is the question of forcible population transfers. Iran is not using cattle cars, but it is assuredly committed to forcible removal of the Sunni center of Syria and transferring Shiites in behind them. Article 49(1) of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: 'Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive[.]' ... Notwithstanding the prohibition in Article 49(1) of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 49(2) authorises an Occupying Power to 'undertake total or partial evacuation of a given area if the security of the population or imperative military reasons so demand.' However, Article 49(2) is subject to a number of strict conditions. These include the following: 'Persons thus evacuated shall be transferred back to their homes as soon as hostilities in the area in question have ceased.' The second prohibition in Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 is in Article 49(6): "The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies." During the trial of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in the historic case involving the prosecution of Radovan Karadzic, the Bosnian Serb leader during the erstwhile conflict in the former Yugoslavia. The International Criminal Tribunal wrote: "Deportation ['across a de jure border'] and forcible transfer ['within national boundaries'] are defined as: (i) the forced displacement of one or more persons by expulsion or other forms of coercion, (ii) from an area in which they are lawfully present, (iii) without grounds permitted under international law[.]'" This is the bludgeon with which Israel is frequently pounded, although there simply is no "forcible transfer" in either direction. On the other hand, Iran and its 82,000-man Shiite militia driving Sunni Syrians north and out of the country requires a careful look. Iran sees Syria as part of the Shiite Crescent that goes from Iran through Iraq through Syria and Lebanon and out to the Mediterranean Sea. Syria is the weak link because, although the government is Alawite, Shiites are a distinct minority in country. If Iran plans to stay in Syria, which it appears to be planning both because of the Crescent and as a base against Israel it needs both fewer Sunnis and more Shiites. Syria's population before the war was 23 million. In the last census that asked about religion 1960 the country was more or less 75% Sunni (17.25 million); 11% Alawite, which is heterodox Shiite (2.53 million); and almost 11% Christian and Druze together (2.53 million). Since 2011, more than 5.6 million Syrians have fled the country, and 6.1 million are internally displaced. A large majority of them are Sunni Muslims. If the population fell to 17 million (23 minus 6 million external refugees), and if only half were Sunni (not true, but go with it), the Sunni percentage of the total would be 70.3%. If 5 million of the 5.6 million external refugees were Sunni, the Sunni percentage of the total would be 89.3%. The main Alawite area is on the western coast; the primary Sunni areas are Damascus, Homs, and Hama. Kurds are in the north. Most of the destruction since 2011 has been in the "Sunni Center" (you can see the damage in Homs and Hama and Aleppo) with less on the west coast near Latakia, where the Russians have a naval base, safe within Assad's home territory. The current vicious fighting in Ghouta is led by Iranian-organized Shiite militias, undeterred by the U.N. demand to stop. With the broad movement out of Sunni-dominated areas under the yoke of an Alawite government supported by Shiite Iran and its Afghan and Pakistani militia members, you have what appears to be "ethnic cleansing." This raises another question about "forcible population transfers." Clearly, the Syrians who have fled their homes were "forcibly" ousted meeting one prohibition of the Geneva Conventions. The other is, perhaps, less clear. What Mass Shootings Mean for Good Police Work In the weeks after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre (please don't call it a tragedy), the concepts of service and leadership have been churning in my head. As the events have unfolded, we've discovered four school resource officers were ordered not to enter, but to hold outside and secure a perimeter. I started my police career a couple of years before Columbine. One of the first things said to me in the academy is that police are not military, but paramilitary. We share some of the same characteristics (e.g. uniform, firearms, legal authority to use force), but we were civilian authority, not military. And one of the points put into us at an early part of training was that when you had someone shooting inside a building, secure the area and wait for supervision, instructions, SWAT, etc. That all changed on April 20, 1999. Anyone who's served knows that when the shooting starts, the tunnel vision begins, and you instantly go back to your training. The officers in Columbine did what they were trained to do: secure the scene and wait for specialized assistance. And in the months and years after that, police all over the country knew that the training, or doctrine, if you will, must adjust to a new threat. If you have someone actively shooting at civilians in an area, officers must immediately engage to stop him. And as we look into a brave new world, we know we are at a disadvantage. A fact of life and war is that the aggressor sets the rules. Some of the characteristics of active shooters: 1. They are knowledgable of the target area, while the responders may not be. Klebold and Harris attended Columbine High School for years and knew its layout. Omar Mateen scouted out the Pulse Nightclub in the weeks prior to his attack in 2016. Syed Rizwan Farook worked at the San Bernardino County health department for five years prior to the 2015 attack. 2. Active shooters are motivated not by money, but by hatred or rage against perceived offenses. The shooters in Columbine were the "outside" group. Elliot Rodger, sometimes known as the "Virgin Killer," attacked sorority women for their rejection of his advances. Micah Johnson's murder of five cops in Dallas was in response to perceived unjustified shootings of black men by police officers. 3. Escape may not be a goal. In Columbine, both boys apparently planned to end their lives, as did Johnson in Dallas. However, in Las Vegas, it appears that Stephen Paddock planned to escape, but killed himself when he knew he would be captured. This will make stopping and negotiating with the shooters unlikely to stop the killing, as was shown in Dallas and Orlando. 4. The aggressor selects his location to his advantage. We've had active shooter situations before Columbine. On August 1, 1966, Charles Whitman climbed the clock tower at the University of Texas and started shooting. He murdered 13 and wounded 30 (and no, it was not with an AR-15 on "full semi-automatic" mode, but with a bolt action rifle). In February 1997, Larry Eugene Phillips, Jr. and Emil Dechebal Matasareanu, equipped with body armor, attempted to rob a Bank of America in North Hollywood, initially overpowering the first responders. As the threats have changed, so have our responses. Since the turn of the century, police agencies all over the country have adapted a military style of clearing a building, as well as closing and engaging a shooter. Some question if this training and guidance was countermanded in the Douglas High School shooting. According to recent reports, a Broward County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) captain ordered four school resource officers to set up a perimeter, instead of engaging, which is what the BCSO states it trains its deputies to do and is in accordance with agency policy. In the aftermath of Parkland, we as police must look at the events that unfolded last month. It's incumbent to review the actions taken, improve on what was done well, and correct what has to be rectified. Initial reaction, tactics, etc. are all subject to scrutiny. One thing must also not be overlooked: as one friend and fellow sergeant said it, "if you're not willing to go in, turn in the badge." I'll be the first to say a cop (or a soldier, for that matter) doesn't know how he will react until the bullets start flying. But one thing is certain: you must have your mindset right. I've read in unconfirmed internet sources that Deputy Peterson was not wearing body armor. If that is correct , he was not ready for the worst case scenario, which is what he is paid to be prepared for. Another point I will bring out goes back to the men at Columbine. An academy classmate ran our agency's active shooter training a few years ago, and he made an insightful point about the officers responding to an active shooter: "I'm not going to second-guess them, but we all have a badge, and we entered this profession knowing what was expected of us. And people have to know we will do what has to be done." Four SROs followed the orders of a captain while there were kids being murdered. They will have to live with their consciences, wondering from this point forward, "Should I have just said, 'Screw you, I've got to look myself in the mirror and there are kids in there'?" Last week, I listened to a podcast from an organization called The Art of Manliness. The host was interviewing Dale Dye, a retired Marine captain about his new book. Dye mentioned another thing I have been pondering since. On the day, at Quantico, Virginia, the day that I had been through Officer's Candidate School, and been though the basic school, and I was going to be commissioned, I remember that morning getting up and getting my dress uniform ready, to go down and fall into formation and be commissioned with the other candidates, and I was shaving and I looked myself in the mirror and said, "You know, when the day comes that you can't look your people in the eye and say, 'Follow me, it is necessary that we die'...when that day comes, it's the day you're not leading anymore, and you should quit." It is a bit dramatic, but it is true. Fellow peace officers, if the day comes that you cannot look yourself in the mirror and say, "I will risk life and career for the people I serve," it is time to turn in the badge. Michael A. Thiac is a police patrol sergeant and a retired Army intelligence officer. When not patrolling the streets, he can be found on A Cop's Watch. Image: Nick Gulotta via Flickr. Kathleen Parker of the Washington Post is saying it is finally the year of the woman and that Trump is lifting the voices of women. I agree. Here is the headline of her column this week: " Trump has been an inspiration to women everywhere ." But one area where women remain underrepresented is in state legislatures, governor's offices and the U.S. Congress, the final frontiers for the battles that matter most. If intentions become reality in November, then 2018 really may be the Year of the Woman. And to whom should we pay homage? None other than President Donald J. Trump. Thanks to a series of issues and comments underscoring his apparent contempt for women who aren't subservient to his appetites, political or otherwise, the weaker sex is fighting back. At least 431 women are running or are likely to run for the House this year 339 Democrats and 92 Republicans, according to the Center for American Women and Politics. Two years ago, the number at this point was 212. I agree with Ms. Parker that someone is now in the White House who gladly empowers women. While she claims it's because of the #MeToo movement, I would say it's because Trump not only lifts up women, but empowers people of all sexes, all sexual orientations, and all races with his relentless focus on the economy and jobs. Women's unemployment rate is the lowest since 2000. Black unemployment is the lowest ever, Hispanic unemployment is the lowest ever, and part-time employment for economic reasons is the lowest since 2007. Consumer confidence, small business confidence, large business confidence, and home-builder confidence are all higher than at any time during the Obama era. In contrast: The eight years under Bill Clinton should be called the bimbo years for women, with Hillary Clinton leading the bimbo eruption team. That team was used to trash any woman who dared tell the truth about Bill's proclivities. The eight years under Obama gave us the slowest economic recovery in seventy years. While the private sector and median wages were stagnant at best under Obama, the Washington, D.C. area did well because of all the oppressive new regulations and taxes. The Obama years should be referred to as the government years. For the last few decades, the media and other Democrats gladly protected powerful men who physically and mentally abused women. This protection continued through early November 2016 as these enablers supported putting the Clintons again in high office. That's two of the most powerful abusers back in the White House. As soon as Trump was elected, this protection stopped. Of course, none of the Clinton accusers still matters, but a porn star named Stormy who may have had a consensual affair with Trump twelve years ago is now the most honest, ethical person who has ever lived. Can the media tell the difference between what Bill is accused of doing, including rape, and a consensual affair? The years from 1992 through Nov. 8, 2016 shall be known for women as the silent period or the B.T. (Before Trump) years. Since the 1960s, the Great Society programs and anti-poverty programs have spent tens of trillions of dollars and essentially have encouraged single parenthood, even though single parenthood is the greatest indicator as to who will end up in poverty. These programs certainly have not lifted up women or enabled empowerment, but now, at least, Kathleen Parker recognizes that Trump is encouraging women to move up. Trump believes that all women should have the opportunity to achieve powerful positions. Democrats believe that only pro-abortion women are worthy. Trump has given women and almost everyone more take-home pay, which gives people more economic freedom and power. Trump has given corporations and all businesses the ability to hire more people and devote more money to productive activities by lowering taxes and reducing regulations. Trump has given women and everyone freedom of choice again on health care. They should now be able to choose the plan they like and probably save money. Isn't freedom of choice worthy of support? Trump has lifted up manufacturing, coal, and other high-paying jobs that can be filled by women or men. Obama, Hillary, and others believed that manufacturing jobs were gone for good so did nothing to save them or bring them back. In fact, their tax and regulatory policies were encouraging those jobs to disappear for good. Trump clearly believes that women have the ability to think on their own. In contrast, Hillary, whom almost all the media and other Democrats supported, believes that women, especially white married women from backward states, don't have the intellectual capacity to form opinions on their own and must be told what to think by husbands, bosses, and sons. Trump is also trying to make the country safer for everyone by actually enforcing the laws of the land that Congress passed, holding all criminals to account, including illegal aliens, and stopping the scourge of dangerous drugs crossing the border. Trump has nominated the first ever women to be CIA director, Gina Haspel, but most Democrats and some Republicans do not support her because around fifteen years ago there were phony reports she was too tough on terrorists. I hope they didn't play loud music. Of course, these Democrats support an organization that crushes and crunches babies while saving their valuable body parts for sale. I personally will gladly support a woman who is tough on terrorists to save lives throughout the world versus women who clearly did not have a heart when they were talking about crushing and crunching humans. The crushed babies obviously were humans, or their body parts would not have been valuable. Thank goodness we have a president who appears focused every day on giving the freedom, power, and purse back to everyone. It is truly a shame that most of the media and other Democrats seek to destroy Trump every day and want to go backward to the stagnant slow economy under the oppressive Democrat policies that would rather make more people dependent on government than work to lift everyone up. The financial behemoth that now calls itself "Citi" yesterday announced that it will be shunning business with those who do not conform to its ideas on the limitations of the Bill of Rights. Currently at issue is the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, but in theory, once this sort of thing begins, freedom of speech, religion, and association, or due process (among other rights), is not off the table. Progressive virtue-signaling by the elites of American finance, technology, and industry is well on its way toward replacing the power of democratically elected government in regulating our behavior. Who needs to go through the messy business of passing laws when the increasingly oligopolistic commanding heights of the economy can impose rules on us by fiat? Today, our CEO announced Citi is instituting a new U.S. Commercial Firearms Policy. It is not centered on an ideological mission to rid the world of firearms. That is not what we seek. There are millions of Americans who use firearms for recreational and other legitimate purposes, and we respect their Constitutional right to do so. But we want to do our part as a company to prevent firearms from getting into the wrong hands. So our new policy centers around current firearms sales best practices that will guide those we do business with as a firm. Under this new policy, we will require new retail sector clients or partners to adhere to these best practices: (1) they don't sell firearms to someone who hasn't passed a background check, (2) they restrict the sale of firearms for individuals under 21 years of age, and (3) they don't sell bump stocks or high-capacity magazines. This policy will apply across the firm, including to small business, commercial and institutional clients, as well as credit card partners, whether co-brand or private label. It doesn't impact the ability of consumers to use their Citi cards at merchants of their choice. Graciously, Citi allows that if you do not agree, it will assist you in easing out: We know our clients also care about these issues and we have begun to engage with them in the hope that they will adopt these best practices over the coming months. If they opt not to, we will respect their decision and work with them to transition their business away from Citi. Citi enjoys less of a monopoly than do Google and Facebook, so there remain alternatives for banking, credit cards, and other services that Citi provides. But high finance is a small world, increasingly dominated by a handful of institutions that are "too big to fail" and therefore (like Citi) tapped taxpayers for liquidity when the financial crisis of 2008 hit. That is how they consolidated their dominance. The power of Google and Facebook to control what information gets to you, and what distribution you can get for your own thoughts, combined with the ability to limit your access to capital, can effectively bypass the Constitution's protections that constrain government, not business. Tucker Carlson gets it: this is a dangerous step down the path to oligarchy. Clearly, it is time to start getting serious about antitrust laws, now that our corporate masters seek to control our thoughts and behavior. Rush transcript via Grabien: CARLSON: Well, there is still widespread belief, particularly on the right, that business interests are basically conservative. You could argue about whether that was ever true. Certainly not true now. The opposite is true. Ideological gap between leaders of America's most powerful corporations and say the Democratic Party is basically nonexistent. They agree on everything. Now having failed at the ballot box in 2016, the left is using other means to make the outcome of those elections irrelevant, in fact. Nowhere is this clearer than on the subject of the second Amendment there is a constitutional right to bear arms in the bill of rights. Number two. In most states there is not a lot of enthusiasm for restricting the second Amendment. Voters don't want it. It doesn't matter. The left is now colluding with large companies to roll back your rights to bear arms without any legislation at all. No public debate. They are just doing it for example, on the website red it the hate for gun deals has been banned. You can't go there anymore. Google has banned the postings of gun sellers or promote the purpose of guns or accessories or magazines. Banned video how to detach gun accessories. Already powerful firearm channels. You can't get the information anymore. But the most amazing example of this comes from city bank. Now, that company announced today it will require all of2its clients to block gun sales to those under 21, to bar the sale of bump stocks or high capacity magazines. You may remember Citi group 10 years ago they got 45 billion of your taxpayer dollars to get bailed out. That's why they still exist. Now they turn around and work to undermine the constitutional rights of the taxpayers who bailed them out. We called Citibank today to asked ask if they he would send a representative over to explain how this works but they refused because they are coward. This is happening more and more. More companies participating and taking action on more issues. The fear the government might take your rights becoming quaint. Big tech and finance are doing it already. With no public debate they just do it and tough luck if you don't like it. A donor to the campaigns of New York City mayor Bill de Blasio testified under oath that he paid bribes to the mayor and others to receive favorable treatment from the city. Harendra Singh, the owner of the restaurant Water's Edge, said he steered money to de Blasio's campaign to deal with property matters including better terms of his lease, the New York Times reports. Singh said that on many occasions they discussed his restaurant lease and donations to de Blasio in the same conversation and that they mayor was actively worked on the illegal activity. "He made many phone calls," Singh said about de Blasio. "His office was working very hard, from his deputy mayor to his assistant to his intergovernmental affairs person. Everyone was working." Singh's testimony came during the corruption trial of former Nassau County executive Edward Mangano and former Town of Oyster Bay supervisor John Venditto. The restauranteur [sic] has pleaded guilty to bribing both of them. Mangano and Venditto are on trial for charges that include extortion, honest services fraud, and conspiracy. They may face decades in prison. Do you hear that sucking sound? That's the sound of de Blasio's chances going down the toilet to become the Democratic nominee for president in 2020. According to Singh, de Blasio requested contributions from him and, when Singh mentioned the contribution limit, the mayor told him to find a way around it. De Blasio simply said, "Listen, I don't want to know. Just do what you have to do," according to Singh. Records show Singh, his family, and other associates donated tens of thousands of dollars to de Blasio, but Singh said he funneled much more to the mayor through "straw donors." Singh was able to skirt the contribution limit, he said, by having others donate to de Blasio and receive reimbursement from Singh. De Blasio and Singh discussed these straw donors twice, the witness testified. The mayor has said Singh is just trying to avoid jail time by accusing him. "It was thoroughly looked at, and there's a reason there were no charges brought, because there was nothing there," de Blasio said in January. True, Singh is a convicted felon, and there should be some doubt attached to his testimony for that reason. But in big-city politics, this sort of thing happens. The problem is, Singh does not seem to be politically savvy, as he apparently didn't cover his tracks very well. But de Blasio would almost certainly have taken greater care with whom he was doing business with. Would an experienced pol have spoken as portrayed by Singh? In a "he said, he said" controversy involving the mayor and a convicted felon, who do you think comes out on top? Democracy dies in omnibus bills Any proposed legislation in Congress that starts with "Omnibus" or "Comprehensive" is likely to be terrible. The pols who want to bribe their funders and feather their own nests have plenty of room to do so and to insert whatever legislative abominations they want. The obscene spectacle of a 2,300-page spending bill rammed through Congress with no time to study its details provided cover or all sorts of mischief. Elizabeth Harrington of the Free Beacon spotted this little bit of spending (not even a rounding error) that feathers congressional nests: The Senate increased its total salaries of officers and employees by $12.6 million in the 2,232-page bill that lawmakers had fewer than 48 hours to read and vote on. The bill avoids a government shutdown that would take place at midnight on Friday. ... The legislation increases the Senate budget to $919.9 million, up $48.8 million from fiscal year 2017, according to the congressional summary of the bill. Almost a billion dollars to run (for one year!) a body comprising one hundred principals and their lackeys. Versailles before the French Revolution had nothing on these wannabe aristocrats, other than better manners and more refined tastes. Painting of the Court of Versailles, on display at the National Gallery of Australia. (Supplied: National Gallery of Australia.) Planned Parenthood continues to be funded ( $500 million a year ). Obamacare also continues to be funded. Agencies that Trump wanted cut, like the State Department and HUD and the EPA, actually get budget increases. Even the National Endowment for the Arts gets an increase! Once again, President Trump and Republicans in Congress got rolled by Democrats. Democrats, who are in the minority in Congress, got nearly everything they wanted in the new spending bill, and aside from increases in defense spending, Republicans got nearly nothing. Chuck Schumer got between 500 million dollars and three billion dollars for his favorite pet project, another tunnel to connect New York and New Jersey. This was Schumer's top priority: to have the nation subsidize a tunnel between New York and New Jersey. And what did Republicans and Trump get in return? An increase in defense spending and virtually nothing on border security: Trump had requested funds to hire 10,000 new border guards. This bill approves 65. Only 65! The bill continues to fund sanctuary cities and actually expands H1-B visas by 100,000! The bill includes 1.6 billion dollars for border security, but the bill stipulates, specifically, that not a penny can be used for a border wall. Some of it can be used for fencing, but only 33 miles of fencing. On a 2,000-mile border, where the estimates are a minimum of 700 miles of wall needed, that's nearly insignificant. Here's Nancy Pelosi's view: Pelosi congratulated Democrats in getting Republicans and the Trump administration to sign off on the spending bill without it including any of Trump's pro-American immigration reform efforts. "Democrats won explicit language restricting border construction to the same see-through fencing that was already authorized under current law," Pelosi said in a statement. "The bill does not allow any increase in deportation officers or detention beds." The White House calls this a "really, really good immigration package" and states that President Trump "looks forward to signing" the bill because it "funds his priorities," according to the president's budget director. The fact is that Chuck Schumer's tunnel got more funding than Donald Trump's wall. It is true that some Democratic votes are needed in the Senate to pass this bill. But Republican votes are also needed to pass it. And the president has to sign it. Many people forget that the president is not a passive observer in the budget process. The president has an option to veto bills he doesn't like, an option that, thus far, President Trump has never used or even threatened to use. Presidents like Ronald Reagan used the veto and the threat of the veto to get Congress to negotiate with him. This is a tool President Trump has never employed. Instead, the White House has signaled that it is very happy with this bill and that Trump will sign it. This bill continues to slavishly follow Democratic Party ideals, which gives big boosts to domestic spending and the national debt. As long as we have a Democratic Party that controls, from whatever numerical position its members hold in Congress, and as long as we have a Republican Party whose members enable, and as long as we have a Republican president who goes along with them like a contrite puppy dog happy with scraps from the table, we will find our economy and priorities mismanaged by the Uniparty, of which the Democrats, the Republicans, and Trump are firm members. Ed Straker is the senior writer at Newsmachete.com. Image: Allan Rotgers via Flickr. Google appears to be ramping up work on Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) as the concept gains more traction and may even be beginning to address some of the issues currently associated with those. For those who arent aware, PWAs are a relatively recent attempt to bridge the gap between the comfort and convenience of mobile applications and the way websites function. They are intended to be websites which, taking advantage of all of the latest cross-platform compatibility and added functionality allowed by modern web development, are installable and function like applications. Sites such as Googles Maps have been working similarly to how PWAs are expected to for quite some time, for example. However, there are still problems with delivering the experience in a way that captures users and encourages their use beyond current iterations. Primarily those issues center around discoverability and distinguishing progressive web apps from applications. As PWAs grow more popular among web developers, the hope is that they will become ubiquitous and ultimately change the way the web works. Although Googles repositories reportedly contain every indication that the current iteration of how a PWA works is by no means final, it has already begun to address both issues. First, it has outlined everything a progressive web app should be, in order to set them apart from standard websites. Those standards include everything from the progressive nature of the web app allowing them to work regardless of platform or browser to the nature of their installation and independence from connectivity. Paradoxically, they shouldnt actually need to be installed but should act as a secure standalone website with an apps functionality and feature connectivity only as required to keep content fresh. They should also, according to the search giant, be discoverable via a simple search, thanks to W3C manifest and service worker registration. That would mean that, rather than requiring a dedicated app store, a user should be able to simply access a website they already use or have recently found via a search. From there, they should be able to access the PWA without any additional hassle. In effect, they should act as normal web pages while allowing easy offline caching and updating in addition to more intuitive interactions that users have come to enjoy from mobile applications. It goes without saying that these standards and discoverability via an app store or web store may be added somewhere along the line to further differentiate from standard websites. However, it isnt immediately clear whether Google wants any part of that. On the surface, dedicated PWA stores or integration with current stores might take away from the whole purpose. It should at the very least be interesting to see the solutions Google comes up with to get more internet users on board with PWAs. Huawei is promoting the upcoming launch of its P20 series in an extremely aggressive manner in the United Kingdom, having opted for teasers in the form of graffiti and mobile billboards parked in front of Samsung and Apple stores, The Inquirer reports. Some of the companys marketing stunts have already been recorded by British nationals and can be seen in the gallery below. The new advertisements are part of the see mooore campaign which has already been heavily hinting at the addition of a triple-camera setup to at least one member of the upcoming Android lineup. The flatbed trucks carrying the companys P20 ads appeared in major UK cities on Tuesday, telling consumers to be patient and wait, in addition to teasing some artificial intelligence capabilities of the upcoming devices. The P20 and P20 Pro are widely expected to be powered by the Kirin 970, the same chip from Huaweis subsidiary HiSilicon which debuted inside the Mate 10 series last October, being the firms first SoC with a dedicated neural processing engine allowing for on-device AI computing. In practice, the tech giant leveraged the unique hardware of the chip to improve various aspects of its previous phablet, having introduced features such as smart battery management that becomes more efficient over time as the handset learns the needs of its user and comes to understand them better. The newly emerged graffiti that promise the next-generation mobile device will deliver A Renaissance in Photography have presumably been created in partnership with local authorities given how street art is illegal under multiple active regulations in the UK, including the Criminal Damage Act of 1971 and the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act of 2005. The P20 series will be officially announced next Tuesday at a dedicated launch event in Paris, France. Recent reports suggested Huawei considered unveiling it at Mobile World Congress late last month but ended up pushing the debut back so as to avoid having to compete with Samsungs Galaxy s9 family for media attention. The Android flagships are expected to be primarily advertised in Europe which is presently enjoying additional attention from Huawei after its international expansion ambitions were put to a stop in the United States. The development is widely assumed to have at least partially prompted the Chinese companys recent decision to pledge to invest over $4 billion in the UK alone. Lydia Solutions has now announced a new Premium account type for its Lydia Mobile Payment application that takes the apps functionality far beyond peer-to-peer payments. In fact, signing up for the paid subscription service which currently costs 2.99 per month is now intended to allow users to manage all of their bank accounts and cards from a single app. The app was initially launched as a way to easily pool money between friends and family, as well as making payments to friends or family. Those features are still present, of course. However, Lydia has opened up its service to include many more features that may ensure users never need to open their standard banking applications again, with even more features planned for the near future. As alluded to above, at the core of the Lydia apps features is the ability to conveniently and securely send money to friends and family. The Android app also allows for QR codes to be used to pay bills at businesses that allow for that. The newly added premium account adds a substantial degree of usability on top of that, thanks to the addition of virtual cards and the ability to link external bank accounts. In that regard, it works similarly to PayPal or how Google Wallet used to work in that money can be easily transferred between bank accounts linked to the application. Moreover, premium users can set up recurring payments to come out via the app. Lydia takes things further by incorporating a money pot feature that works like a personal, private crowdfunding site built right into the application. All of that is, in turn, and for premium members only, tied to a single universal physical MasterCard card that can be swiped or used just like a debit or credit card. Accounts that are in the premium tier can also be joined together in a centralized joint account between users. Perhaps best of all, the company says a universal international bank account number is in the works so that money can be transferred to and from a Lydia account without the need to send it to or from a specific bank account linked to the account. Spending categories for automatic payments will be added soon as well. Meanwhile, free account holders are getting limited versions of some of those new features as well. Those include the virtual card, linked bank accounts, bank transfers, and recurring payments features, while the free account money pot feature will require users to pay a commission for money pooled. So there are a ton of new features all around with this announcement. The only real caveat is that it is currently only available France, Ireland, the U.K., Spain, and Portugal, with no word as to when or if the company plans to expand from those regions. In the meantime, anybody interested in checking out Lydias services for themselves can head over to the Google Play Store via the button below. Samsung Electronics remains unfazed by the potential threat of Chinas chip industry catching up with its solutions and providing the company with added competition, Device Solutions Division chief Kim Ki-nam said Friday during a shareholder meeting. While Chinas largest players have recently been committing significant resources into ramping up their chip advancements and manufacturing operations, the barriers to entry into the segment are relatively higher compared to many other fields in which they are successfully competing with Samsung, Mr. Kim believes. Short-term investments alone wont allow Chinas companies to take on Samsung in chipmaking, no matter how large they are, the industry veteran insists. Samsungs executive was quick to point out that his comments arent meant to imply the tech giant is content with resting on its laurels going forward, having added that the company is still entirely committed to leading the segment in terms of manufacturing scale and innovation. Instead, he only wanted to illustrate how Chinas rising ambitions in the chip industry dont warrant a strategy revision on Samsungs part, at least not for the time being. The commentary was given in response to a question from one investor who raised some concerns about Samsungs long-term prospects in the industry given the recent rise in competition. The Seoul-based original equipment manufacturer became the worlds largest chipmaker in 2017, thus breaking decades of Intels dominance in the sector. The firms semiconductor division has largely been responsible for its record-breaking performance in recent quarters, though numerous analysts already expressed skepticism in regards to the firms ability to maintain such aggressive growth in the medium term. In regards to mobile chips specifically, Samsung isnt competing with the likes of Qualcomm and MediaTek on any significant scale due to licensing issues, with its Exynos-branded silicon still being made almost exclusively for its first-party products, even though some models continue pushing the boundaries in their respective price brackets. CEOs of Apple, Google and IBM are slated to be heading to China this weekend for the China Development Forum, which is a bit of an awkward time. After President Trump signed new tariffs on China yesterday, triggering a trade war (one that China has already fired back on). The China Development Forum is not a new event, but rather an annual gathering of Western corporations to help build relationships with the Chinese government. Apple and IBM do sell its products in China right now, and Apple actually saw its revenue fall in the last fiscal year, so its looking to reverse that trend. Meanwhile, Google is completely blocked in China, with the only product available in the country being Android and thats a Google-less Android operating system. In the past, IBM has announced a deal with Wanda Group at the forum. This was supposed to expand IBMs cloud market in the country, but, that deal is falling through right about now. At least according to recent reports. Apple, meanwhile, has been criticized recently, for storing iCloud data for users in China, on state-controlled server farms. Remember, in China, the government controls the internet and is able to censor quite a few websites actually its thousands of websites. Google itself pulled out of mainland China back in 2010, after the government began censoring its search results. It has attempted to return to the country recently, but so far nothing has been returned. Google is the company, out of the three, that really need to make some headway at the China Development Forum this weekend. The company is virtually unavailable in the worlds largest country, which is costing the company quite a bit of revenue not that Google is losing revenue in the first place. Google has been pushing into new markets, like India with Android Go and lite versions of its apps. Now Google needs to push into China with search, if not more of its products. There have been talks about Google launching a censored app store in the country, but it likely wouldnt gain much steam since there are already hundreds of Android app stores available in the country. And if the trade war between the US and China does continue, things could get much tougher for not only Google, but also Apple, IBM and other companies that are looking to do business in China. MadridBefore sending five Catalan elected representatives back to prison, Pablo Llarena used his judicial statement on the charges against 25 politicians and leaders of pro-independence grassroots organizations to reconstruct an alleged legal narrative that goes back to 2012, with Artur Mas' victory in the Parliamentary elections, and attempts to present a "meticulous ideation" of a strategy of confrontation with the Spanish government. Although most of the events described from the creation of Catalonias Advisory Council for the National Transition, to the publication of the "White Book for the National Transition", to the approval of Parliamentary resolutions were public and well-known, and were not contested at the time by Spains criminal justice system, according to Llarena's reasoning they were part of a perfectly crafted conspiracy and thus can be construed as crimes of rebellion, disobedience, and embezzlement. In 69 pages, the Supreme Court judge presents a meticulous account of each and every one of the main events in Catalan politics, with special attention to the events of September 20th outside the HQ of Catalonias Ministry of Economy which the judge characterizes as violent in order to justify pressing rebellion charges, and to the October 1st referendum. But Llarena dedicates many pages to justifying the convoluted reasoning used to attribute this violence to the indicted. Justice Llarena admits that Supreme Court jurisprudence "characterizes violence by its physical nature, by personal expression, and for its appropriateness". That is, that violence must be "of a physical nature", requires "the use of force", and must be exercised against "a person". It also must have "sufficient intensity to bend the will of those against whom it is directed". Word-twisting None of these conditions are given in the magistrate's text, where only the "capacity for intimidation" of the crowds that had gathered on September 20th is referred to as violence. He notes that Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart climbed on top of two Guardia Civil patrol cars, and describes in detail the situation of the police officers injured during the October 1st referendum (and assigns responsibility for this violence to those who gathered outside the polling stations). Llarena's convoluted reasoning is semantic. As the facts don't fit the accepted definition, he establishes a difference between "violence" and "acting violently", which is "doing something in a violent manner, which does not present a typical content fully in agreement with acting with violence". This is a twisting of the dictionary that assumes that the adverb "violently" has a different content than the noun "violence". This, despite the fact that the official dictionary of the Spanish language defines "violently" as "in a violent way", without any additions or qualifications. According to the judge, however, "acting violently" is outside the classic definition of violence that judges use, and allows it to be "projected onto material things". In his version of the events, Llarena justifies this alleged violence with the events of September 20th, in which "the crowd acted with massed force", "destroyed police vehicles, and attacked personal property", and goes further and states that their actions "restricted the ability to act as a consequence of the use of force", and compares it with "the taking of hostages by firing shots into the air". The judge admits that the violence was not "planned from the beginning as an instrument for achieving independence", although he notes that investigation of this must continue. He notes that they "accepted the risk of a clearly representable violence" by encouraging people to demonstrate despite the deployment of police forces. That is, again, and as he has done in previous writings, Llarena lays the blame for the police violence on those who were its victims. No mention of "Enfocats" The document "Enfocats" (Focused) had become the main piece of evidence in the majority of briefs issued by Llarena up to now. The judge based his justification for the the defendants participation in the process of rebellion on the annotations found in this PowerPoint file in the home of Josep Maria Jove, Oriol Junqueras' deputy at the Ministry of Economy. The weakness of this evidence had been made evident by defense teams on various occasions. Llarena practically ignores it in this accusatory brief, and instead targets the "White Book" put together by the Advisory Council for the National Transition as the touchstone that initiated the independence process, and which describes the steps that followed, which he uses to justify charges of planned and coordinated action. The references to "Enfocats" now are down to three mentions in footnotes. The 66-page booklet for the Resonance set, is filled with stories previously untold and photographs of Young and others never before made public. Resonances Zev Feldman and George Klabin put the package together with the help of Woody Shaw III, Nathan Davis, Michael Cuscuna and ORTFs Paris archivists. The collection is a major addition to Youngs discography. Akira Tana JAZZaNOVA (Vega) Akira Tanas career began in his native San Francisco and blossomed as he developed into one of the most sensitive and adaptable masters of the art of jazz drumming. Along the way, he fell in love with the Brazilian music that went worldwide with the bossa nova explosion ignited by Joao Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Elis Regina, Baden Powell and others. JAZZaNOVA expresses Tanas feeling for that music and his appreciation for superior singing. The voclalists are Brazlians Claudio Amaral, Maria Volonte and Claudia Villela, and three American steeped in Brazilian music, Carla Helmbrecht, Sandy Cressman and Jackie Ryan. Amaral and Villela begin the festival with Jobims Aguas de Marco, following the routine of the famous recording and video by Jobim and Elis Regina but investing the lyric with their own manipulation of time and Jobims piquant words. Arturo Sandoval is part of the ensemble and has a muted trumpet solo so hip that he can be forgiven a quote from Jumpin With Symphony Sid. Sandoval sings and plays with her in Ms. Volontes composition La Gloria Ere Tu. Ms. Cressman seems moved, and is moving, in her interpretation of Ivan Lins and Vitor Martins Bilhete. Sandoval contributes gorgeous flugelhorn solos to Corcovadosung in Portuguese and English by Ms. Hembrechtand Ms. Cressmans caressing of Jobims Caminhos Cruzados. Ms. Ryan pours emotion into Jobims Por Causa de Voce. Branford Marsalis is the guest tenor saxophonist on Lins Love Dance, sung by Ms. Helmbrecht. On Caetano Velosos Aquele Frevo Axe, he shares the final chorus in a gentle obbligato behind Mr. Amarals vocal. I dont know if there is a definition of perfection in bossa nova, or JAZZaNOVA, drumming, but Tana may have established one with his work here. His finely attuned rhythm section mates are pianist Richard Horvath, bassist Gary Brown and percussionist Michael Spiro. To come, there will be more of Rifftides catching up. Please come back soon. AFS For the U.S. the model will be available in two trim levels, SE and XSE. Both will mark a premiere for Toyota on the local market, the implementation of the carmaker's Safety Sense 2.0 (TSS), a suite of active-safety technologies and capabilities meant to enhance driver and passenger protection.There are not many details available regarding the powertrains to be employed on the hatchback, as the model is likely to get units used in the previous version. Toyota does say it will fit the car with the new 2.0-liter Dynamic-Force direct-injection inline four-cylinder, whose power output is yet to be announced.Compared to the Corolla iM, ts predecessor, the new hatch is lower (by 1.0 inch), wider (by 1.2 inches), and longer (by 1.5 inches). The hood of the model has been lowered by two inches to allow for better visibility.Visually, setting the two grades offered with the 2019 models apart are the alloy wheels, the fog lights, the front grille surround and Adaptive Front Lighting System (). To give customers more color choices, Toyota added a few more hues.At the interior, the updated Corolla hatchback comes with a wider and longer center console and allows the inclusion of a Qi wireless device charging area. The Japanese have also revised the cushioning for both front and rear seats and the storage areas.2019 Corolla hatchback will come equipped with an 8-inch touchscreen, seven airbags, Smart Stop Technology, backup camera and Blind Spot Monitor, but without Rear Cross Traffic Alert.Pricing and availability for the new hatch have not been announced. Full details about Toyotas new hatch, except engine list and technical specifications, are included in the official press release attached below. The Trump administration has approved three possible Foreign Military sales to Saudi Arabia, worth slightly over $1 billion. The sale includes more than 6,500 missiles, helicopter maintenance support, additional parts for land vehicles, and more. Why it matters: This comes the same day Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and days after Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with the president. The Senate recently voted down a resolution that would have pulled U.S. military support from the Saudi coalition in Yemen. How much would you pay for "a sleek, if pleasantly confusing, package of moods" or "a confusing tangle of disjointed installations" or even "the total erosion of meaning itself"? The answer, according to the current market-clearing price, seems to be about $35. Why it matters: Investors are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into ticketed experiences immersive, interactive museum-like spaces that don't have the d0-not-touch stuffiness of traditional museums. By Trend Tourism is one of the spheres where so far good cooperation could be even better, Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Mladen Ivanic, said in an interview with Trend. Tourism is undoubtedly the area, in which both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Azerbaijan can offer a lot, Ivanic added. In addition, it is dealing with a similar mentality of the people. Both countries would surely represent each other an attractive tourist destination. Both countries abound in numerous cultural monuments and natural splendors with mountains, rivers, and lakes, he said. He also noted that both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Azerbaijan have excellent food. I have personally seen that. That would be nice if other people would have the opportunity to experience the same, Ivanic added. Therefore, in the field of tourism there is enough space for additional cooperation, he said. By Rashid Shirinov Azerbaijan and Serbia are making a joint active contribution to the development of the Silk Road project, Chairman of the National Council for Coordination of Cooperation with Russia and China, former President of Serbia Tomislav Nikolic told Serbia's influential Danas newspaper on March 22. He said that this can be seen from the fact that Azerbaijan hosted an international conference entitled The role of parliamentarians in boosting economic cooperation and cultural ties along the Silk Road in mid-March, where Serbian MPs participated among others. In 2013, China proposed the One Belt, One Road initiative that focuses on connectivity and cooperation between Eurasian countries. The strategy consists of two main components: the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt and the ocean-going Maritime Silk Road. The initiative envisages creation of a trade corridor for direct supplies of goods from the east to the west on preferential terms. As for the countries with which Serbia can closely cooperate on the Silk Road, I would undoubtedly like to point out Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan jointly with China actively participates in infrastructure projects in Serbia, Nikolic said. He noted that Azerbaijani company Azvirt constructed the 11th Corridor section of the Ljig-Preljina highway, and the quality of the companys work is the reason why the Serbian government expressed interest in Azvirts continuing its activities in the country. In the coming days, our Azerbaijani and Chinese partners will start implementing another important infrastructure project for Serbia, Nikolic added. He emphasized that Serbia seeks to expand and strengthen economic cooperation with Azerbaijan in a bilateral format, including Azerbaijans broad participation in the privatization process in Serbia and in investing in the Serbian economy. Diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Serbia were established on August 21, 1997. Over all these years, the countries have been successfully cooperating within international organizations and enjoyed sustainable development of ties in many spheres, such as political, economic, scientific, cultural and humanitarian fields. Azerbaijan also appreciates the principled position of Serbia on the speedy settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict based on the principle of territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan. With the signing of the Declaration on Friendly Relations and Strategic Partnership by Azerbaijani and Serbian presidents on February 8, 2013, bilateral relations between the two countries reached a new level. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend: The presidential election will be held in Azerbaijan on April 11 and the pre-election campaign is underway, Azerbaijani political analyst Arzu Naghiyev told Trend March 22. At the same time, the current year has also become the year of elections in neighboring countries, he said. Russian President Vladimir Putins re-election for a six-year term, and in general, holding of elections in the region gives a reason to expect positive steps in the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The abovementioned processes are the main factors, affecting the security in the region, Naghiyev added. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement remains the priority in Azerbaijans foreign policy. "This is also one of the important issues in the countrys domestic policy, Naghiyev said. Putins re-election for a new presidential term is expected to facilitate the process of making certain steps for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. I think that important actions related to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement must be taken to prevent a new war in the post-election period, he said. The processes related to the conflict settlement are directly related to the implementation of big economic projects in the region. In this regards, today Azerbaijan plays a role of corridor in the implementation of big energy projects. The threats posed to the security in the region must be prevented." Peace should be established to implement big projects in the region, Naghiyev said. First of all, for this purpose, important actions must be taken to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. A mechanism of pressure on Armenia must be created. "Both Western and regional countries must understand this, he said. The main purpose of Turkey's military operation in Syrias Afrin district is to fight against terrorism and its significance should be stressed. In this buffer zone, liberated from terrorists, Turkey is creating a solid basis for the implementation of the further economic and political activities, both for itself and regional countries, Naghiyev said. Several meetings of leaders of regional countries have been recently held on bilateral, tripartite, and even quadrilateral platforms and this is a gratifying fact. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani intends to visit Azerbaijan in late March, he said. All this creates favorable conditions to resolve significant problems. This is one of important conditions for development and establishment of peace in the region. The balanced policy, being carried out by Azerbaijan in this direction, is very effective and worthy positive assessment." --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Azerbaijani people will support Ilham Aliyev in the presidential elections on April 11, as today people vote for those who have proven themselves with their actions and showed commitment to their people, Chairman of the National Council for Coordination of Cooperation with Russia and China, former President of Serbia Tomislav Nikolic told influential "Danas" newspaper. "The achievements of Azerbaijan are the result of the wise policy pursued by President Ilham Aliyev. I take this opportunity to sincerely wish success to President Ilham Aliyev and prosperity to the friendly Azerbaijani people," he said. Nikolic noted that after leaving the post of the president of the Republic of Serbia, he closely followed the developments in the world and friendly countries of Serbia, including in Azerbaijan. Further, Nikolic highlighted his indelible memories of negotiations and meetings with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in February 2013, during his official visit to Azerbaijan, and also in June 2015, when he participated in the opening ceremony of the First European Games in Baku. According to Nikolic, the Azerbaijani leader made an impression on him as a visionary and wise politician. He expressed gratitude for the principled position of the Azerbaijani president in the issue of supporting the preservation of Serbias sovereignty and territorial integrity. "Immediately after the unilateral proclamation of independence of Kosovo, Azerbaijan, at the initiative of the countrys leadership, withdrew the peacekeeping forces from KFOR, from Kosovo. We appreciate and respect this step, because it is a gesture of resistance to the unilateral declaration of independence of the Albanian minority on Serbian soil," he said. Tomislav Nikolic noted that the Declaration of Friendship and Strategic Partnership between Serbia and Azerbaijan was signed during his tenure as President of Serbia. It was signed in 2013 during my official visit to Azerbaijan. Recently we marked the fifth anniversary of signing this Declaration. I congratulate my friend and brother, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on this occasion, he added. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has congratulated President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain. On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I extend my most sincere congratulations to you and through you to all your people on the occasion of the national holiday of your country Pakistan Day, President Aliyev said in his letter. Azerbaijan-Pakistan relations stem from the will of our brotherly people who share common spiritual values. I would like to emphasize the current high level of our inter-governmental relations, which are based on mutual confidence, trust and support, he noted. I believe that our joint steps to develop and reinforce strategic partnership and alliance, bilateral and multilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and Pakistan will continue to serve the best interests of our peoples and countries, the president added. On this remarkable day, I wish you the best of health, success in your endeavors, and the brotherly people of Pakistan peace and prosperity. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Over the past period, Azerbaijan has gained quite a lot of experience in holding election campaigns, Deputy Chairman of Azerbaijans Central Election Commission (CEC) Natig Mammadov said March 23 at a conference titled Organization of presidential election in Azerbaijan in places of temporary stay of voters for health reasons. Todays event organized jointly with the Azerbaijani Healthcare Ministry is aimed at making the election process even more transparent, Mammadov said. He noted that all activities are aimed at ensuring that voters are satisfied with the election process. In this regard, the necessary measures are being taken to ensure the participation of all voters in the presidential election to be held April 11, Mammadov said. Eight candidates were registered to participate in the presidential election in Azerbaijan. As many as 115 international and over 42,000 Azerbaijani observers will monitor the election. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend: In 2017, 116,000 trips were made from Russia to Tajikistan, which is an increase of 5 percent compared with the corresponding figure of the previous year, the Russian analytical agency TurStat said. The total number of Russian tourists increased by 25 percent up to 40 million in 2017. Tajikistan ranked 40th in the number of incoming Russian tourists. Turkey was the most popular country among Russian tourists (4.5 million trips) last year. The last place in the ranking was taken by Portugal. Russian tourists visited Portugal 47,000 times. Earlier, Mayor of Dushanbe Rustam Emomali approved the action plan of the executive bodies of Dushanbe city related to the events dedicated to the Year of Tourism and Folk Crafts. The actions in accordance with this plan were announced upon Tajik President Emomali Rahmons decree dated January 20, 2018. These steps are aimed at improving the level and quality of services in the tourism sector, development of crafts, promotion of the history and culture of Tajikistan. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend The Turkish government has fallen into the U.S.s trap in Syria and the military is now trying to correct its mistakes, main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has told the Hurriyet Daily News in an exclusive interview. Saying that Washington tried to use Turkey as a battering ram in Syria, Kilicdaroglu added that the U.S. is now controlling all major oil and gas fields in Syria together with PYD and its militia the YPG, Syrian extensions of the outlawed PKK. The U.S. has not shown that it is a strategic friend to Turkey, he said. On the major foreign and domestic issues facing Turkey, Kilicdaroglu had the following to say: The [Turkish] government was wrong in its Syria policy from the very beginning. The U.S. tried to use Turkey as a battering ram in Syria. The U.S., Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar supplied arms and training to rebel groups in Syria. But later on the U.S. pulled back and started cooperating with the PYD and the YPG in the fight against [the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant] ISIL. The Turkish government was too late to diagnose the real terrorist nature of ISIL, only realizing it after the raid on Turkeys Mosul Consulate in [June 2014]. The Americans said they were supplying the PYD-YPG with heavy weaponry against ISIL and would later collect this weaponry back. But today we observe that these weapons are being stored in Afrin to be used against Turkey, and Afrin is not even east of the Euphrates, where the U.S.s fight against ISIL has been. The U.S. has not demonstrated that it is a strategic friend to Turkey. The [Turkish] government fell into the U.S.s trap in Syria. Turkey was dragged into the swamp of the Middle East by the U.S. Now the U.S. is establishing control over all major oil and gas fields in Syria with the help of the PYD/YPG. Our government has now realized that its policy was wrong and it was deceived by the U.S., so the Turkish military ultimately had to go into Syria to correct the governments mistakes at the cost of Turkish soldiers getting killed there. Russia is also using the PYD as leverage in its relations with both the U.S. and Turkey, as Moscow wants the gap between Ankara and Washington to further grow. The overall number of lost Turkish lives in Syria is more than the loss of American and Russian lives combined. The Americans have settled around Syrias oil and gas fields, while the Russians have expanded their military bases, and Iran and China are getting lucrative tenders from Damascus government for the reconstruction of Syria. Turkey, meanwhile, has not gained anything. Ultimately if you form your policy in line with the interests of hegemonic powers like the U.S. and Russia this is what you end up with. In terms of finding a solution, the four neighboring countries in the region Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria should have a meeting at the presidential or prime ministerial level. The four countries have a shared interest in defending their territorial integrity and fighting terrorism. On whether it would be wise to talk to Bashar al-Assad, who is accused internationally of using chemical gas and widespread violence against his own people, this matter is not about al-Assad as a person. Syria has been suffering a terrible civil war for the last seven years, longer than the Second World War, in a small piece of land. It has also turned into a proxy war between the U.S. and Russia. Hundreds and thousands of people have been killed, women and children. Millions have fled the country, including more than three million to Turkey. The country is in ruins. So if a solution is to be found, the four neighbors have to be part of this solution. * Because of the Syrian problem our relations with Arab states have also been damaged. Energy Minister Berat Albayrak recently said he was saddened by the choice of Qatar to join recent searches for Mediterranean gas resources. I believe we have to have good relations again with both Qatar and with Egypt, for example. We also need better relations with the U.S. and the European Union. But to achieve that we need a foreign policy with some integrity. Our Foreign Ministry is gradually being dragged aside in foreign policy decisions. Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin is effectively acting like the foreign minister. In relations with the EU there are things that Turkey should do and things that the EU should do. If you want to join a club, you have to accept its rules and abide by its standards. In the past I have asked prime ministers Ahmet Davutoglu and Binali Yildirim why we dont do our part and upgrade our legislation, regardless of what the Europeans do in return. I believe they shared my view but President [Tayyip Erdogan] does not think that way. The government falls short of meeting the requirements like the rule of law, court independence, press freedom, empowering of civil society and now the state of emergency, but complains about being rejected in membership negotiations. Courts in Turkey have totally lost their independence. Take the most recent example of the daughter of the president of the Council of State. Despite being a novice lawyer, she was first accepted as a judge and within 24 hours of being appointed to the eastern province of Elazig she was appointed to Ankara, where her mother [Council of State head Zerrin Gungor] works, in a senior position as an investigative judge at the Court of Cassations. Indeed, among all the newly appointed judges there are many names who have worked in the provincial organizations of the ruling party as attorneys in law very recently. This is not ethical and it makes the courts even more politicized. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Kamila Aliyeva Uzbekistan is considering the possibility of participating in the development of hydrocarbon fields in the north of Afghanistan. This was announced today by the head of the Information and Analytical Center for International Relations under the Uzbek Foreign Ministry, Eldor Aripov, at the opening of the press center of the high-level international conference Peace Process, Security Cooperation and Regional Interaction to be held on March 26-27. There are promising oil and gas fields in the north of Afghanistan. Our specialists are studying opportunities to assist Afghan partners in the development of deposits, he said. However, he didnt specify the details of the proposed projects in this area. Also, the parties have plans for cooperation in the production of cars, according to Aripov. For an incomplete one and a half years Uzbekistan managed to achieve powerful, breakthrough results in relations with its southern neighbor, the head of the center emphasized. Uzbekistan will continue to actively promote the peaceful settlement of the Afghan conflict, which, ultimately, will contribute to the development of the entire Central Asian region, he added. It is expected that the participants of the forthcoming forum in Tashkent will express a consolidated position on the need for the early launch of direct talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Kamila Aliyeva The commissioning of the Mazar-i-Sharif-Herat railway will allow Afghanistan to increase trade by 50 percent. This was stated by the head of the Information and Analytical Center for International Relations under the Uzbek Foreign Ministry, Eldor Aripov, at the opening of the press center of the high-level international conference Peace Process, Security Cooperation and Regional Interaction to be held on March 26-27. We hope that the construction of the railway to Herat will play an important role in the socio-economic development of Afghanistan. According to preliminary data, the implementation of this project will increase the turnover of Afghanistan by about 50 percent, he said . At the same time, Aripov pointed to the strategic importance of this project, which will enable Afghanistan, Central and South Asian countries to enter promising markets in almost all directions. If we look at the figures for loading this railway line, then in a year it may reach about 5 million tons, later this figure could grow to 15 million tons, he said. The Mazar-i-Sharif-Herat project envisages the construction of more than 5,000 linear and multi-module units, including the railway from Herat to Kunduz. Its cost is about $11.2 billion. Uzbekistan constructed the first long-distance railroad Hairatan-Mazar-i-Sharif stretching 75 kilometers in Afghanistan in November 2010. The project worth $129 million was financed by the Asian Development Bank. Afghanistan is a small player in terms of international trade. Its total international trade in 2016-2017 financial year stood at just over $7 billion, out of which some $ 6.5 billion ($ 6534 million) are Afghanistans imports while exports are a mere $596 million. During this period, only three countries namely Iran, Pakistan, and China contributed around half of Afghanistans total imports, each exporting goods worth more than $1 billion to the country. Adding the exports of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan ($621 million and $399 million respectively) to Afghanistan, Kabul imports more than 60 percent of its total imported goods from just five neighboring countries. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Jake Daniels French Film Fridays FFF is back. This installment features "Le Havre," a film about an African boy who arrives by cargo ship in the French port city of Le Havre, where an aging shoe shiner takes pity on the child and welcomes him into his home. The event, on Lamar University's campus, is open to non-students. Several people were arrested on meth charges in Galveston's east end Wednesday after calls from concerned neighbors resulted in a police investigation into criminal activity in the area. Sgt Xavier Hancock of the Galveston Police Department said Richard Osborne, 49; Robert Henson, 21; Rodney Moore, 46; Tatum Frey, 39; Jennifer Jones, 45; and Maria Herrera, 46, were arrested on charges of possession of a controlled substance. John Porretto, 42, was arrested on a prior warrant, Hancock said. LEAGUE CITY: Couple charged with using meth near children The March 21 arrests were made as search warrants were executed in the 100 block of Marlin, 100 block of 45th Street and 3800 block of R 1/2, the city of Galveston said in Thursday press release. Michael Gray, Galveston's city marshal, said the home on Marlin also could be condemned as it was "too unsanitary for human habitation." The city press release stated that three dangerous dogs were also seized during the investigation. Specific details on the investigation are not being provided by police. Galveston Police Chief Vernon Hale called for other residents to be vigilant and report suspicious activity in their neighborhoods. "This type of citizen involvement and intelligence is what will make Galveston a safer place for those who call the island home," Hale said. The police department asks that residents provide as much of the following information as possible when making a suspicious activity report: 1. What are the peak times you see the activity occurring? Narrowing the scope to a window of 2-3 hour blocks of time where peak activity is recognized is helpful. 2. What days do you see the most activity? Narrowing the days where you see the most activity to one or two days out of the week is the most helpful way to report suspicious behaviors that we can act on. 3. What do they look like? What are they driving? What makes them suspicious? The more descriptive information pertaining to the people involved in the suspicious activity, the better. All tips can be called in anonymously to Galveston Crime Stoppers at 409-763-TIPS (409-763-8477) or submitted online here. Three people from Texas were caught Wednesday with more than three pounds of fentanyl, or "enough to kill everyone in Toledo (Ohio) several times over," authorities said. Anthony Robinson, 32, Barbera Wilson, 21, and Darrius Lewis, 29, were all charged with federal possession with intent to distribute controlled substances after an operation in Toledo, Ohio. The three were also found with more than $8,000 in cash, prosecutors said. The trio came under law enforcement scrutiny Tuesday night when Robinson and Wilson drove to a post office to allegedly mail a kilo of the drug. Prosecutors said the drug was wrapped in several heat-sealed plastic bags and tested positive for the deadly drug. METH BUST: Several people arrested on meth charges in Galveston's east end Local and federal authorities were able to quickly trace the package back to Robinson and Wilson, who were staying with Lewis in a Red Roof Inn hotel. Law enforcement got a subpoena for the hotel room and discovered an additional half-kilo. They immediately arrested the three. "The fentanyl seized last night is enough to kill everyone in Toledo several times over," U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said in a press release. MONTROSE MURDER: Driver charged after allegedly ramming car into crowd, killing nurse Officials credited a strong relationship between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies for the operation. "This arrest should show that the Toledo Police Department, with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners will continue to work diligently and aggressively to keep Toledo's streets free from this poison," Toledo Police Chief George Kral said. "I commend those dedicated investigators who were involved in this large seizure and arrests. God only knows how many lives have been saved, and subsidiary crimes avoided, because of these dedicated men and women. I sincerely hope anyone considering committing illegal activity in Toledo will reconsider doing so." Lewis has four misdemeanor convictions in Harris County for possession of marijuana in 2009, evading arrest in 2010, unlawfully carrying a weapon in 2010 and driving with a suspended license in 2015. Robinson has a more extensive rap sheet in Harris County dating back to 1992 for several felony and misdemeanor crimes, including theft, drug and weapon possession, evading, burglary and assault. Wilson has no apparent local criminal history. Jay R. Jordan is a breaking news reporter at Chron.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan. The Bexar County Sheriffs Office and the district attorneys office wont discuss the arrests last week of 11 people on charges of animal cruelty involving what one official described as some sort of unknown ritual involving dismembered goats and chickens. Officials have not mentioned Santeria, but those arrested were practitioners of that religion, two of them confirmed in a TV interview. The mixture of Catholic and African beliefs and its practice of animal sacrifice have been historically misunderstood and persecuted, academics say, and the ritual, as with any religion, is protected by the First Amendment, reinforced by a unanimous Supreme Court ruling in 1993. Animal protection authorities, meanwhile, said killing animals such as chicken and goats isnt illegal. Both are routinely slaughtered for human consumption, not only in commercial facilities but also in residential settings, urban and rural. The 11 people, ranging in age from 23 to 65, were charged with cruelty to livestock animals, a Class A misdemeanor. All have been released on bond. A sheriffs office spokeswoman, Sgt. Elizabeth Gonzalez, declined this week to provide details about the investigation other than to say it was ongoing. On Thursday, she said the charges have not been dropped and referred questions to the Bexar County district attorneys office. District Attorney Nico LaHoods media liaison, Leslie Garza, said in an email that his office was reviewing the case and any questions about the sheriffs actions can be referred to the Sheriffs Office. State and federal laws protect endangered animals. For the others, arrests involving animal sacrifices are usually related to the conditions in which the animals were kept or the manner in which they were killed, said Lisa Norwood, spokeswoman for the city of San Antonios Animal Care Services. Last weekend, Gonzalez, the sheriffs office spokeswoman, said deputies called by neighbors saw people cutting up animal parts and draining blood from a chicken into a container. They found multiple dead and mutilated animals inside a house, including goat heads. An officer fluent in English and Spanish couldnt understand the language participants were speaking, she said. Reliable estimates on the numbers of U.S. practitioners of Santeria dont exist. Many do it in secret. As a folk religion, it has no ordained clergy, central authority or associated groups. Angela Tarango, an assistant professor of religion at Trinity University who teaches a class on Latino religious traditions, said Santeria believers pray both to Catholic saints and African spirits. Sacrificed animals are cooked and eaten afterward, Tarango said, adding, Theyre killed faster and more humanely than at a slaughter house. Animal Care Services wasnt involved in the case but has seen two or three similar situations in the past five years, Norwood said. She said killing animals isnt necessary illegal, because chickens and goats, for example, arent protected species. She said animal cruelty charges can stem from how animals are sheltered and cared for and how they are killed. Officer Carlos Ortiz in the public information office of the San Antonio Police Department couldnt put a number on the cases the department has handled involving possible animal sacrifice they might be filed as animal abuse or as a disturbance, he said. Officers reactions to the practice seems similar to attitudes in Latin America and the Caribbean toward African rituals as weird or sinister, said J. Brent Crosson, an assistant professor in the religious studies department at the University of Texas at Austin. The unknown language was probably Yoruba, he said. Santeria is a practice inspired by the Yoruba civilization of West Africa, and rituals use this language, he said. Goat horns are placed on altars offered to Orishas, the Yoruba word for saints, he said. The description of the arrest scene makes sense, but it is (presented) in a racist and lurid way that makes the practices seem weird, Crosson said. Many religions involve forms of consecrated animal killing, including Islam and Judaism, he said. Draining the blood out of an animal is what everyone does after they kill an animal, he added. But most Americans eat animals that factories kill, so they don't know that. San Antonio executive Rafael Diaz Martinez, who was initiated into the religion as a child in Florida, said officers were probably unfamiliar with the ritual they came across, adding, These sort of arrests dont happen in other parts of the country with a higher Caribbean population unless there is gross negligence in the care of the animals prior to the ceremonies. Some cities have instituted training and sensitivity classes to familiarize police with Santeria practices, which might not be a bad idea here, Diaz Martinez said. Renton, Wash.-based Providence Health & Services purchased four vacant buildings which used to be Walla Walla (Wash.) General Hospital, the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin reports. Here's what you should know. 1. Providence first plans to relocate its urgent care facility to the space. That project could start in late summer or early fall. 2. Providence also plans to convert one of the buildings into an outpatient facility with primary and specialty care clinics. 3. The health system applied to the Washington Department of Health for a certificate of need to establish a new outpatient surgery center at the site.. 4. The system hopes the center will reduce outpatient wait times for surgery. Canton, Ohio-based Mercy Medical Center will offer free hernia screenings by appointment at its surgery center April 7. Here are four details. 1. Mercy general surgeons trained in robot-assisted surgery will perform the screenings at Mercy Robotic Surgery Center in Massillon, Ohio. 2. There are 40 appointments available. 3. Participants can learn more about minimally invasive robot surgery used to correct hernias. 4. Mercy Robotic Surgery Center has two da Vinci robots on site. Continental Who's Who named Kevin Collier, MD, of Silver Spring, Md.-based Capital Digestive Care, its 2018 Gastroenterologist of The Year. Here's what you should know. 1. Dr. Collier has 22-plus years of experience in medicine. 2. He was recognized for his "commitment, compassion and caring approach to medicine." 3. After earning his medical degree from Washington, D.C.-based Georgetown University, he completed a residency at Manhasset, N.Y.-based North Shore University Hospital, before returning to Georgetown for his fellowship. 4. Dr. Collier is a member of several professional societies including the American College of Gastroenterology, American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and American Gastroenterological Association. Officials at Dayton, Ohio-based Premier Health said the health system plans to shutter Good Samaritan Hospital, also in Dayton, before Aug. 29, 2018, according to the Dayton Daily News. Premier Health, which operates the 491-bed hospital, revealed plans in January to close the hospital before the end of the year, stating operating two hospitals within 5 miles of each other Good Samaritan Hospital and Miami Valley Hospital, also in Dayton had become unsustainable. "While we had initially communicated a closing toward the end of the year, we did say that some dynamics could result in a different closure date, due to the unpredictability and complexity that understandably comes with such transitions," Premier Health told the Dayton Daily News in a statement. Officials told the publication they would provide an exact date within the coming months. Earlier in March, officials at the five-hospital system revealed the Good Samaritan Hospital's maternity unit would become the first major unit to transition out of the hospital. Premier will transition the hospital's obstetrics and gynecology services to Miami Valley Hospital in April, according to a previous Dayton Daily News report. Editor's note: Becker's Hospital Review reached out to Premier Health for comment and will update the article as more information becomes available. As America's rural hospitals turn to nurse practitioners for primary care and licensed NPs hit a record high number in the U.S., Oklahoma lawmakers need to revise regulations that create barriers to NP care access, argues Landon Hise, CEO of New Cordell, Okla.-based Cordell Memorial Hospital in an opinion piece published in The Journal Record. "In an op-ed distributed statewide two years ago, I wrote that I'd been trying to recruit a physician to Cordell Memorial Hospital for 18 months and had been unsuccessful, despite offering an incredibly generous compensation package," Mr. Hise wrote. "Last year I wrote another op-ed, and the position was still unfilled." Now, after over two and a half years of searching, Mr. Hise said he abandoned the idea of hiring a second physician. Oklahoma NPs are required to sign a collaborative agreement with a physician to practice. "In reality, little collaboration takes place and NPs might pay thousands of dollars a month for a signature on a piece of paper," Mr. Hise wrote. The requirement artificially limits the number of NPs who can work in Oklahoma, he added. "NPs are highly educated and trained, and they don't need a physician looking over their shoulder since they are already regulated by the Oklahoma Board of Nursing," Mr. Hise argues. Mr. Hise argues House Bill 1013, proposed by Representative Josh Cockroft, R-Okla., and Senator AJ Griffin, R-Okla., would help solve this issue. The bill passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives last year, but did not move past a Senate committee. By increasing Oklahoma patients' access to NPs, the bill could improve patients' quality of life without raising taxes, Mr. Hise said. Additionally, Mr. Hise cited a recent AARP poll, which found 87 percent of Oklahoma voters over age 40 support the idea. "Oklahoma ranks 49th in physician-to-patient ratio. All or part of 76 of our 77 counties are considered primary care shortage areas," Mr. Hise wrote. "If that doesn't sound like a healthcare crisis, I don't know what is." A baby was returned to her parents March 22, four days after detectives from the Miccosukee police force, acting on an order signed by a tribal court judge, took the baby from Baptist Hospital in Kendall, Fla., according to the Miami Herald. The baby was born March 16 to a Miccosukee mother and a white father. On March 17, the baby's maternal grandmother, Betty Osceola, persuaded the tribal court to issue an order granting her temporary custody of the newborn. The baby's parents said the order was a sham initiated by Ms. Osceola, who they claim does not want a white father to be involved in the baby's life. The tribal court said giving Ms. Osceola temporary custody was "in the best interest" of the child. The order cast the baby's farther as a domestic violence threat, but it did not say he posed a danger to the newborn baby, according to the report. After the baby was seized from the hospital March 18, the parents filed complaints with Miami-Dade police, state prosecutors and the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. State authorities are reviewing the incident and determining whether the tribal police acted lawfully in executing the tribal court order. Miami-Dade detectives are also investigating the incident. The Miccosukee reservation is about 30 miles away from Baptist Hospital, and the tribal police force's jurisdiction mainly covers the reservation and properties owned by the tribe. In a tweet on March 21, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said, "Miccosukee tribe police used tribal court order to kidnap newborn baby from parents in Miami hospital. They don't have any jurisdiction outside reservation. I'm in contact with fed officials & this won't end well for tribe if they don't return child ASAP." On March 22, after an hours-long hearing, the tribal court agreed to return the baby to her parents. More articles on legal and regulatory issues: 5 New York City physicians charged with taking kickbacks for fentanyl prescriptions Leapfrog: Chicago hospital's defamation lawsuit fails because safety grade was never published Former Allina VP pleads guilty to embezzling over $417k DiscGenics presented results from two preclinical studies assessing its IDCT product, a homologous, allogenic, injectable cell therapy. Here are five takeaways. 1. IDCT is a regenerative solution designed for treating mild to moderate degenerative disc disease. 2. The two preclinical studies examined the safety and bioactivity of Discogenic Cells, which are the active ingredient in IDCT. Discogenic Cells are derived from intervertebral disc tissue. 3. The studies implanted the Discogenic Cells in subcutaneous pouches of athymic mice and rabbit disc models. 4. Researchers found Discogenic Cells are safe and non-tumor forming as well as are able to generate intervertebral-like tissue. Additionally, the implantation improved disc height and normalized tissue architecture. 5. The company presented its findings at the Orthopedic Research Society 2018 Annual Meeting, held March 10 to March 13 in New Orleans. With President Donald Trump declaring the opioid crisis as a national epidemic, physicians are turning to alternative pain management solutions to treat patients. Marilyn Heng, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon at Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital. In a recent interview with Becker's Spine Review, she discussed the opioid epidemic and how orthopedic surgeons can work to curb it. Question: Does being exposed to opioids prior to surgery affect a patient's opioid dependency following treatment? Are the effects positive or negative? Dr. Marilyn Heng: Certainly, the literature and the research in opioids and orthopedic surgery shows that if the patient has a prior history of long term use of opioids those patients are at greater risk of continued long-term use of opioids after surgery. We know people develop a tolerance for opioids, and if they have been on them before surgery, it makes it all the harder to stop using opioids following surgery. So, patients with prior use of opioids are the ones at risk for both higher opioid needs after surgery as well as long-term use. Regarding opioid exposure prior to surgery for acute traumatic injuries, let's say a patient is admitted with a hip fracture. In this case, we would treat the patients pain prior to surgery, and often we do treat the patient with opioids. However, there hasnt been many studies looking at the effects of opioid consumption in the period from injury to surgery on opioid dependency and long-term use in these patients following surgery. However, in general the research coming out shows that an approach that minimizes opioid exposure probably is the most appropriate treatment course. During all processes of care, physicians are looking to reduce narcotic exposure. When educating patients, setting expectations and talking to patients leads to better outcomes and a lesser chance a patient will become opioid dependent. For example, one of the reasons orthopedic surgery is involved in the opioid epidemic is because orthopedic surgery is painful. Pretty much every surgery will result in pain and patients need to expect the pain and understand what is normal. I talk to my patients about what to expect and determine an acceptable level of pain where they can still be mobilized. Q. Are there specific surgeries that result in high levels of opioid dependency? How do you cope with this? MH: In a recent analysis, we looked at historic prescribing patterns based off fracture patterns. This indirectly means different fracture surgeries. There was a difference in the number of opioids we would prescribe based on the fracture surgery. There is no track, 1-to-1, that leads to opioid dependency. However, in another study, we looked at the number of opioids prescribed at hospital discharge after surgery for a fracture and its association with long-term opioid use. We found that more opioids prescribed at discharge did lead to a higher chance of long-term opioid use. While you can't say that a certain surgery will lead to an opioid dependency, the prescribing patterns after certain surgeries can lead toward longer term use. From the knowledge of the variation we found in our discharge prescribing, we proposed an initial guideline for prescribing opioids after fracture surgery. The guideline we proposed begins with a base discharge opioid prescription of 20 tablets of 5 mg oxycodone after wrist fracture surgery and then using regression modelling we suggest a scale for other types of fractures. One way to mitigate surgeons contributing to patients developing opioid dependency is for us to prescribe based on concrete guidelines and more objective approaches toward opioids. It is helpful to start low and work up. Much of the legislation to limit opioid prescribing at the states-level is aimed at this approach. Q. How can surgeons help curb the opioid epidemic? MH: Firstly, I think surgeons should acknowledge their role and take responsibility for our impact in creating the opioid epidemic. Orthopedic surgeons are among the top prescribers of opioids. We should be using data to analyze our prescribing patterns. Using state prescription monitoring program database to look up patients who we are prescribing for should be routine in our clinical practice. Orthopaedic practices can delineate practice guidelines regarding opioids and should communicate this with their patients in order to set proper expectations regarding pain management after surgery. Lastly, it is also important to research other modalities that can help manage a patient's pain instead of opioids. Four spine surgeons recount the moments in their career when they have felt the proudest. Ask Spine Surgeons is a weekly series of questions posed to spine surgeons around the country about clinical, business and policy issues affecting spine care. We invite all spine surgeon and specialist responses. Next week's question: What are some ways in which you are seeking to provide cost-effective care in 2018? Please send responses to Anuja Vaidya at avaidya@beckershealthcare.com by Wednesday, March 28, at 5 p.m. CST. Question: What was the proudest moment of your career? Vladimir Sinkov, MD. Spine Surgeon at New Hampshire Orthopaedic Center (Nashua): It would not call it a moment, but rather an achievement. I started my career by doing traditional "open" spine surgery and was getting good results, but I realized that there is a better way to do it. I trained myself by working with multiple mentors and attending multiple courses on how to do minimally invasive spine surgery, particularly lumbar fusions. This has transformed my career tremendously. I saw my patients recover quicker, have fewer complications, return to work and function sooner, have less pain and overall be more satisfied with the process of surgery and postoperative recovery as well as the final results. Encouraged by this, I continue to seek better ways to help patients with spine problems as the field of spine surgery evolves to become less invasive and more precise. Medhat Mikhael, MD. Pain Management Specialist and Medical Director of the Non-operative Program at the Spine Health Center at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center (Fountain Valley, Calif.): Without question, the proudest moment of my career is anytime I am able to alleviate any patient's suffering from pain, particularly cancer patients. Also, when I am able to put a smile on their face and provide them hope that they can fight the chronic disease they are afflicted with. Brian R. Gantwerker, MD. Founder of the Craniospinal Center of Los Angeles: By far and away it was obtaining my board certification in neurosurgery in 2014. My former program director happened to be around and he came in to give me and some of my former co-residents a little pep talk during the exam. Having my friends and mentors around me made something so anxiety-provoking palatable. Once I got word that I passed, the culmination of a 16-year journey was achieved. One of my dear friends/colleagues summed it up when I told him that I passed: "Welcome to the club." I am very proud and humbled to be counted amongst the members. Payam Farjoodi, MD. Orthopedic Spine Surgeon at Spine Health Center at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center (Fountain Valley, Calif.): The first time I had a colleague I trust and respect refer a family member to me for surgery. It was a validation of the effort I put in to give my patients the best care imaginable and it meant a lot to have that effort recognized. 12500 N.E. Tenth Place Bellevue, WA 98005 JPFO.org 800-869-1884 info@jpfo.org An open letter to America's news-media leaders: The link between saturation media coverage of mass murder, spree killing, jihadi attacks and copycat crimes is well established. [1] Law-enforcement officials have for years been decrying the practice of prominently displaying the images and names of the criminal perpetrators. News-media organizations that persist in literally glorifying these villains beyond any reasonable news value are complicit in encouraging further crime. Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, along with a growing list of national co-sponsors, insist that reporters, editors, publishers and media owners cease and desist from repeatedly flashing the names and faces of mass murderers' and jihadis' in their work products. That immoral practice, done in the pursuit of revenue and audience, is an unacceptable corrupt use of the First Amendment, which is harming the nation and costing innocent lives. [1] See, e.g. Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill, by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman and Gloria De Gaetano, Harmony Books (Random House), New York 2014. It cites the American Medical Association, The American Academy of Pediatrics, The American Psychological Association, The National Parent Teacher Association and scores of others. Back to Top Here are eight spine and neurosurgeons making headlines. Loma Linda (Calif.) University neurosurgeons Venkatraman Sadanand, MD, PhD, and Daniel J. DiLorenzo, MD, PhD, addressed the Congressional Neuroscience Caucus, advocating for greater investment in neuroscience technologies. Following a preliminary hearing, a judge ruled Toronto, Canada-based neurosurgeon Mohammed Shamji, MD, PhD, will stand trial for the first-degree murder of his wife Elana Fric-Shamji, MD, The Toronto Star reports. Payam Moazzaz, MD, of Oceanside, Calif.-based New Era Spine, has performed 500-plus spine surgeries leveraging robotic technology. Frank Cammisa Jr., MD, will perform cervical spine surgery on Detroit Red Wings defenseman Mike Green April 5 at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. Republican-backed candidate Jim Maxwell, MD, began his campaign to replace late Representative Louise Slaughter, D, in Congress, Planet TV Studios featured Harry Shufflebarger, MD, director of the division of pediatric spinal surgery at Miami-based Nicklaus Children's Hospital. Daveed D. Frazier, MD, of New York City Spine, earned recognition as a 2018 Top Doctor in Morristown, N.Y. More articles on spine: Drs. Venkatraman Sadanand, Daniel J. DiLorenzo advocate for greater investment in neuroscience technologies: 4 things to know Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children recognized for significantly reducing spinal fusion SSI rate: 3 insights Dr. Frank Cammisa to perform cervical spine surgery on Detroit Red Wings defenseman Mike Green: 3 takeaways Northern Ireland companies made 68.9bn in sales of their goods and services in 2016 - up 2.7% over the year, according to detailed figures. And the Broad Economy Sales and Export Statistics (BESES), a more in-depth take on figures published in December, said the sale of goods increased 2.4% on 2015 to reach 49.4bn. The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra) report also said sales of services were worth 19.5bn, a jump of 3.4%. And revenue from markets outside Northern Ireland was growing, with external sales - a classification which includes sales to Great Britain - rising by 4.2% to reach 24.1bn in 2016. Exports of goods and services to countries outside the UK, including the Republic, were estimated to be worth 10.1bn in 2016, an increase of 7.3%. Exports had fallen by 1.6% during 2015. And there was an increase of nearly 6% in goods exported in 2016, compared to a fall of nearly 2% in 2015. Services exports soared by 15% to reach 240bn. Around 3.4bn in goods and services were sold to the Republic, 2.3bn to the rest of the EU, and 4.4bn to the rest of the world beyond the EU. Manufacturing accounted for more than half of all exports. Ulster Bank chief economist Esmond Birnie said: "Comparing 2016 with 2015, NI recorded some very good export growth performances, e.g. up by 9% in cash value to EU beyond the Republic of Ireland and up by 10% to the rest of the world beyond the EU. "The latter may be an important statistic in the context of any post-Brexit trade deals with the wider and more distant world economies." Dr Birnie said that the devaluation of sterling following the EU Referendum may have helped export sales, as goods from the UK became cheaper. But he added: "That said, that devaluation only occurred in the middle of the year and some of the benefits may also feed through into the 2017 data when we see that." And Dr Birnie said trade was still weighted towards 'goods' rather than 'services'. "In 2016 exports of 8.3bn of goods compared to 1.8bn of services, ie around 80% of exports were in goods. "Within goods the largest category was still manufacturing - producing about 6bn of that or about three-fifths of the total. "So manufacturing represents about one-tenth of Northern Ireland employment and 14% of GVA but more than half of all exports." For services, at 72.7% the majority of sales were made in the domestic market. Nisra said: "The more distant the market, the smaller the proportion of sales of services becomes, with 17.9% of sales in Great Britain and 9.4% of sales exported." Murphys Electrical store in Newry closed down five months ago A former electrical store in Newry will be transformed into a church after council planners gave the project the green light. Murphy's Electrical store, which had been based on Catherine Street in the city since 1972, closed its doors five months ago. Last month, Newry Baptist Church submitted plans to transform the 5,640 sq ft site into a place of worship. They have now been given the go-ahead by planners from Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, who felt the church would "help support and sustain a vibrant town centre". While older church buildings being renovated to accommodate new businesses is not uncommon, converting a business premises into a church is rare. According to the proposals, the ground floor of the two-storey building will include a large worship area, a creche, a social space and a Sunday School room. Newry Baptist Church was founded nearly 130 years ago and is understood to have been looking for a permanent space for worship for several years, as the congregation has grown with large numbers of Polish parishioners joining the church. The proposals attracted a response during the neighbour notification period, from Casey & Casey Solicitors, who are also based on Catherine Street. The practice said it would "fully support the application" and they are "look forward to welcoming the church to Catherine Street". A spokesperson for Newry, Mourne and Down District Council said it receives applications for "both the conversion of churches into commercial premises and shops, industrial units and office space to be converted for the use as churches". Some church-to-business conversions have generated a degree of controversy in Northern Ireland. In January, residents in south Belfast reacted angrily to City Hall planners giving the green light to a 3m proposal to turn Windsor Baptist Church into an apartment block. Earlier this week, the Belfast Telegraph also revealed Maxol Oil is planning to build a new 6m service station in Newry. And Shelbourne Motors are planning on bringing a new 5m showroom in the city, which will create 60 jobs. Kat Slater has made a dramatic return to EastEnders as she learned the residents of Walford think she is dead. The soap favourite, played by Jessie Wallace, arrived in Albert Square for the first time since January 2016 in a black cab wheeling a suitcase in her signature leopard print. Before getting out of the taxi, she applied a thick coat of her famous red lip gloss. Leopard print: Red lips : Bit of a mouth on her: SHE'S BACK!! #EastEnders is back in in ONE HOUR at 9PM. See you then! pic.twitter.com/9Jcn2nqjwg BBC EastEnders (@bbceastenders) March 22, 2018 Finding a poster on the ground for a benefit night in her memory at the Queen Vic pub with the words RIP Kat on it, she expressed her shock saying: What the? Her arrival marked the cliffhanger at the end of the first of two episodes featuring the big comeback. Wallace, 46, has played the role of the loudmouth, leopard print-wearing Kat on and off since 2000, before appearing in spin-off series Redwater. Her reappearance comes as her old neighbours make plans for her funeral and celebrate her life with a fundraiser for the send-off, while dressed in leopard print outfits and cat ears, with lashings of fake tan. Earlier in the episode Mo Slater (Laila Morse) admitted to Stacey Fowler (Lacey Turner) that Kat is not dead technically speaking. The next episode will air at 9pm on BBC One. Speculation is growing Courteney Cox and Johnny McDaid will tie the knot in Northern Ireland this summer. The US actress and Snow Patrol guitarist are said to be exchanging vows near McDaid's childhood home in Derry. According to Closer magazine, the couple will wed on June 15, which is also Cox's 54th birthday. A source told the publication: "Theyve decided to have a small ceremony in Ireland at the local church near Johnnys childhood home followed by a big party back in LA at Courteneys Malibu home on the beach." It is also reported the pair are currently house-hunting and looking at a "lavish home in a gated complex in Derry". The Derry man met the former Friends actress at her Malibu home in 2013 after being introduced by mutual friend Ed Sheeran. They announced their engagement in 2015, but separated for four months amid reports the musician wanted to move back to Northern Ireland. The pair reunited in 2016. Cox has one daughter named Coco, 11, from her marriage to actor David Arquette. The actress recently supported her fiance at an awards bash in Dublin. Last month, McDaid, 41, was honoured with an Outstanding Achievement award from the Irish Music Rights Organisation. The couple appeared together at the event at The Gibson Hotel in the city. They were also spotted partying the night away in London during the annual Brit Awards. The couple's impending nuptials come as Snow Patrol get ready to release their new studio album, Wildness, in May. The NI band unveiled their new single Dont Give In this week. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Eikon Centre (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) LISBURN, NORTHERN IRELAND - MARCH 23: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Eikon Centre and attend an event to mark the second year of the youth-led peace-building initiative 'Amazing the Space' on March 23, 2018 in Lisburn, Nothern Ireland. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Britain's Prince Harry and US actress and fiancee of Britain's Prince Harry Meghan Markle arrive at the Eikon Centre in Lisburn, on March 23, 2018, to attend an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. / AFP PHOTO / Mark MARLOWMARK MARLOW/AFP/Getty Images Britain's Prince Harry and US actress and fiancee of Britain's Prince Harry Meghan Markle arrive at the Eikon Centre in Lisburn, on March 23, 2018, to attend an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. / AFP PHOTO / Mark MARLOWMARK MARLOW/AFP/Getty Images DUP leader Arlene Foster (left) and Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley at an event attended by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they marked the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for first Northern Ireland Royal visit. Photo credit: Brian Lawless/PA Wire Reverend Dr David Latimer with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during their visit to Northern Ireland. Photo credit: Niall Carson/PA Wire Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Karen Bradley MP welcomed Prince Harry and Ms. Markle to Belfast on 23 March 2018for their first joint visit to Northern Ireland. Prince Harry and Ms. Markle Markle began their first visit to Northern Ireland at the Eikon Centre at an event celebrating the youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space and showcasing groundbreaking cross community and reconciliation work from young people across Northern Ireland. Photo by Aaron McCracken Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Karen Bradley MP welcomed Prince Harry and Ms. Markle to Belfast on 23 March 2018for their first joint visit to Northern Ireland. Prince Harry and Ms. Markle Markle began their first visit to Northern Ireland at the Eikon Centre at an event celebrating the youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space and showcasing groundbreaking cross community and reconciliation work from young people across Northern Ireland. Photo by Aaron McCracken Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Karen Bradley MP welcomed Prince Harry and Ms. Markle to Belfast on 23 March 2018for their first joint visit to Northern Ireland. Prince Harry and Ms. Markle Markle began their first visit to Northern Ireland at the Eikon Centre at an event celebrating the youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space and showcasing groundbreaking cross community and reconciliation work from young people across Northern Ireland. Photo by Aaron McCracken Visiting Belfast city centre during their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle Markle begin their first visit to Northern Ireland at the Eikon Centre at an event celebrating the youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space and showcasing groundbreaking cross community and reconciliation work from young people across Northern Ireland. Launched by Prince Harry in September 2017, Amazing the Space empowers young people across Northern Ireland to become ambassadors for peace within their communities. Photo by Aaron McCracken Visiting Belfast city centre during their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle Markle begin their first visit to Northern Ireland at the Eikon Centre at an event celebrating the youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space and showcasing groundbreaking cross community and reconciliation work from young people across Northern Ireland. Launched by Prince Harry in September 2017, Amazing the Space empowers young people across Northern Ireland to become ambassadors for peace within their communities. Photo by Aaron McCracken Visiting Belfast city centre during their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle Markle begin their first visit to Northern Ireland at the Eikon Centre at an event celebrating the youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space and showcasing groundbreaking cross community and reconciliation work from young people across Northern Ireland. Launched by Prince Harry in September 2017, Amazing the Space empowers young people across Northern Ireland to become ambassadors for peace within their communities. Photo by Aaron McCracken LISBURN, NORTHERN IRELAND - MARCH 23: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Eikon Centre and attend an event to mark the second year of the youth-led peace-building initiative 'Amazing the Space' on March 23, 2018 in Lisburn, Nothern Ireland. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) LISBURN, NORTHERN IRELAND - MARCH 23: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Eikon Centre and attend an event to mark the second year of the youth-led peace-building initiative 'Amazing the Space' on March 23, 2018 in Lisburn, Nothern Ireland. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) LISBURN, NORTHERN IRELAND - MARCH 23: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Eikon Centre and attend an event to mark the second year of the youth-led peace-building initiative 'Amazing the Space' on March 23, 2018 in Lisburn, Nothern Ireland. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) US actress and fiancee of Britain's Prince Harry Meghan Markle gestures on her arrival at the Eikon Centre in Lisburn, on March 23, 2018, to attend an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. / AFP PHOTO / Mark MARLOWMARK MARLOW/AFP/Getty Images The Reverend Dr David Latimer, introduces Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to school children during a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Meghan Markle speaks with school children during a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where, along with Prince Harry, she attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Meghan Markle during a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn, where, along with Prince Harry, she attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Eikon Centre. Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn, where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Prince Harry and Meghan Markle meet school children during a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn, where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stand with school children during a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn. Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire Meghan Markle once again turned heads as she arrived in Northern Ireland on Friday dressed for the early spring weather. The US actress joined Prince Harry in Lisburn and Belfast as part of their pre-wedding tour of the UK. Read More With all eyes once again on Meghan's choice of clothes, she arrived in a stunning beige midi waterfall coat from Canadian brand Mackage, which costs just over 500. Expand Close Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive in Northern Ireland. Photo credit: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive in Northern Ireland. Photo credit: Brian Lawless/PA Wire The actress also wore a cream jumper by Victoria Beckham paired with a vibrant green skirt from Greta Constantine. Meghan completed the look with a pair of burnt orange Jimmy Choo heels and a top-handed bag from British brand Charlotte Elizabeth. Get Meghan's coat for less... Stone Waterfall Coat from Wallis Price: 52 An Ulster Unionist councillor with three drink driving convictions attended a Department of Justice and Policing Board best practice workshop on road safety. A delegate at the event contacted the Belfast Telegraph to complain about Councillor Derek Hussey's attendance, which he branded "completely unacceptable". But the councillor last night defended his presence and said he had "been through the legal system and dealt with". Mr Hussey, a former MLA who is now a member of Derry City and Strabane District Council, attended in his role as a Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP) member. The workshop was held in The Junction in Dungannon on Tuesday. A delegate said: "I was absolutely stunned to see Derek Hussey there. "Given his history, he would have been best staying away from the event. This was very poor judgment on his part. He certainly didn't share with others in the workshop his own experience of being convicted for drink driving three times." The Department of Justice said the appointment of political members to a PCSP was "a matter for local council". The Policing Board declined to comment on the appropriateness of Mr Hussey's attendance. A spokeswoman said: "The appointment of political members to PCSPs is a matter for council. The Board has no further comment." A spokeswoman for Derry and Strabane District Council said the event had been open to all PCSP members. The council hadn't nominated the UUP man as a delegate but councillors had attended "at their own discretion due to their position on the PCSP", she added. The UUP declined to comment. Mr Hussey was convicted for drink driving for the third time in 2016. He was given a five year motoring ban at Enniskillen Magistrates' Court and fined 800. His prosecution followed a two vehicle collision on the Drumquin Road in Castlederg the previous year. He had pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol, driving without due care and attention, and failing to report an accident. He first came before the courts for drink driving in 2004. He was back in the dock again in 2011 after crashing his vehicle when at almost twice the legal limit. He was warned then that if caught drinking driving again he could face prison. The UUP councillor yesterday said he was sorry if his presence at the road safety event had caused upset. "I am disappointed that the person who had a problem with me being there didn't tell me that face-to-face," he said. "I have been through the legal system and dealt with and am perhaps more aware than many of the dangers that I placed myself and others in. I'd like to think it has been a salutary lesson I can share with others." When asked if he did share his own experience with others at the road safety event, Mr Hussey acknowledged he hadn't. "Perhaps I should have. I never thought about it. If the matter had arisen I would have shared my story," he said. Mr Hussey said there were issues around road safety which had to be addressed including "roads engineering, speed, inattention and the availability of police in rural areas". The UUP councillor said he didn't "deny or attempt to hide past indiscretions". He added: "I am not presently driving. I can alert others to the personal consequences of their actions." Speaking after his 2016 conviction, Mr Hussey said he was deeply remorseful for what had happened. He said he realised his actions could have had fatal consequences and he would be prepared to meet the families of those killed by drunk drivers. He was suspended by the UUP but later reinstated. Mr Hussey told the News Letter he was continuing in politics. "When I was last prosecuted I topped the poll as someone with two previous convictions. Those who voted for me, they knew my background. I've never allowed any issue to interfere with my public representation and I will continue with my work," he said. Last week, the UUP man revealed he was battling cancer. A man charged as part of the rugby rape trial is "not a weasel" who protected his friends - he simply did not believe the allegations against them were true, a court has heard. Rory Harrison (25) stands accused of perverting the course of justice and withholding information in the case against Ulster and Ireland rugby players Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding, who are charged with raping a woman in June 2016. Jackson is accused of a further charge of sexual assault. A fourth man, Blane McIlroy, faces a single count of exposure. All the men deny the charges against them. In the last of the closing statements on behalf of the defendants, Gavan Duffy QC told Belfast Crown Court the prosecution's case against Harrison had "morphed and changed" since the trial began eight weeks ago, and questioned whether the jury should have any confidence in their version of events or their "analysis of the evidence". "If you entertain a single, reasonable doubt, then you must find not guilty," said Mr Duffy. "This might seem to be an impossibly high standard, an impossibly high hurdle for the prosecution to jump," he said. "It is, to guard against the horrifying prospect an innocent person is convicted of something they did not do." Mr Duffy said jurors must avoid any prejudice or sympathy which may arise out of the nature of the allegations. "This is a court of law," he said. "It is not a court of morality and it is certainly not a court of public opinion." In the course of a speech that lasted around two hours, the barrister reminded the court of the Crown case that Harrison had informed his friends the alleged victim told him what happened in Jackson's bedroom in the early hours of June 28, 2016 was "not consensual". Mr Duffy refuted this, and said far from telling his friends and kickstarting a cover-up, Harrison had not shared the information because he thought the allegation was false. "He didn't believe it," the lawyer said. "And he didn't want to upset Paddy Jackson with something he thought was a lie, something that was going absolutely nowhere." The barrister referred to a message from his client to McIlroy on June 30, 2016 in which Harrison called the complainant a "silly girl who has done something then regretted it". "The prosecution jumped on that," said Mr Duffy. "They called Mr Harrison 'weaselly', dismissing this woman as a silly girl. But Rory Harrison never believed what she suggested. "In fact let's call a spade a spade - his view was that what she said was a lie. A false allegation." Mr Duffy told the jury if an allegation was made against their loved one and they believed in their "heart of hearts it was a lie" they might "use language stronger than that". "The truth of this trial is this is someone who has done something they regret," he said. "As a consequence the wheels have been put into motion, they are impossible to halt - and here we all are." Explaining to the court exactly the nature of the charges against Harrison, who he said was a man of "exemplary" character, Mr Duffy said the allegation of perverting the course of justice related to his client's initial police statement, given as a witness on June 30, 2016 - his 24th birthday. The barrister said Harrison, whose father is a solicitor, had not displayed a "hint of reticence" in giving a statement to police, despite being woken up, hungover. "Rory Harrison could have said, 'You know what, I'm not feeling well, come back, it's my birthday, I want to speak to my dad, I want to get legal advice'. He didn't say any of those things," Mr Duffy told the court. He added that in fact his client had offered to get his phone and provided precise details about when he had called a taxi from Jackson's south Belfast home two days earlier. Mr Duffy also questioned the allegation that Harrison had witnessed the sexual activity between the woman and the other men, and chose not to relay that to police. He told the court the prosecution had "completely abandoned" that claim, adding the alleged victim had accepted in the course of the trial that Harrison hadn't seen a sex act. "It was speculative mudslinging in the hope it might stick," said Mr Duffy. "Some of it has not stuck, forget about it," he told the jurors.The barrister examined various other elements of the case against Harrison, including the woman's initial claim he "must have seen" blood on her trousers when he left her home. Mr Duffy reminded the jury that after seeing her clothes again in the courtroom, she had agreed it was "fair" to say Harrison was "unlikely to have noticed" anything on them. Challenging the Crown's earlier presentation of Harrison's account of the woman's "demeanour" in his first statement to police, Mr Duffy said they had "completely left out the fact he said... she kept crying into herself and appeared unsettled." Turning to the charge of withholding information, Mr Duffy said it "does not have a leg to stand on", adding if the jury was not satisfied there had been a rape, there was no second charge against Harrison. Criticising the PSNI investigation, the barrister said while police had "bent over backwards" to accommodate the woman at the centre of the case, senior officers had issued instructions that would effectively "make it as difficult as possible" for Harrison to deal with the allegations against him. Anything from Harrison that did not mirror what the woman said "was treated with contempt," he told the court. Concluding, Mr Duffy said: "Rory Harrison is not a weasel. Rory Harrison is not a criminal. Rory Harrison is a decent person. Rory Harrison should not be here - but he is. "When you think about the points I have raised with you, the prosecution's main witness agrees with almost everything Mr Harrison says." He added: "You cannot undo this prosecution of Rory Harrison, no one can. But you can do justice to your oath, and that is to find Rory Harrison not guilty on both these counts." The trial continues. Concerned parents of children at special schools are set to stage a protest at Belfast City Hall next week over dramatic proposals to close and merge several of them. Leaked plans by the Education Authority (EA) have revealed proposals to close and merge seven of 10 special schools in the city to create three new larger special 'super schools' by September 2020. This could mean the closure of Fleming Fulton School and Glenveagh Special School to form a new school in north Belfast. Harberton Special School and Oakwood School in south Belfast would also close and merge. And in east Belfast, Park, Mitchell House and Greenwood schools being merged in a new school building. Parents of children at the schools have voiced their fury, saying the disruption will be catastrophic for their children who have a range of learning difficulties and disabilities, and for whom change is challenging. Now they are planning to hold a protest at City Hall over the issue next Tuesday. The group were brought together by People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll, and at a meeting in his office earlier this week unanimously agreed to call a protest. Mr Carroll said he has been inundated with calls from parents about the plans. "People were rightly livid about the way the EA has went about this. Many of the parents only found out through social media, on a bank holiday, and speaker after speaker (at Tuesday's meeting) reiterated the need to get organised and mount public opposition to these proposals," he said. "The EA has tried to gloss this as 'restructuring', but the concern from parents is that this is nothing more than a smokescreen for cuts." Mr Carroll added: "There is deep concern that amalgamating special need schools means pupils with physical disabilities could be merged with those with profound learning disabilities or behavioural issues. "There is a duty on everyone to come together and make our voices heard against these proposals." Meanwhile, yesterday the EA's Director of Children and Young People's Services, Clare Mangan issued a letter for the parents of children in special schools in Belfast in which she says they will be consulted on any proposals for reorganisation of special schools, and children currently attending the schools will not be impacted. She voiced disappointment that the proposals were leaked to the media, but stood by them. "These proposals are in line with EA's overall plans to transform education services for the benefit of all of our children and young people. We want to ensure that children with SEN can attend a special school that meets their individual needs, close to where they live," she writes. ISLAMABAD: The Indian forces have put regional peace at stake by violating human rights in occupied Kashmir and killing innocent civilians across the Line of Control and Working Boundary, said President Mamnoon Hussain. While addressing the Pakistan Day event at Parade Ground in the federal capital on Friday, the president warned India to stop its atrocities along the border. The president spoke about the situation in Pakistan, saying peace was destroyed in the country in the last three decades. But military operations, including Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fasaad, combated anti-social elements in the country, he added. Hussain paid tribute to the martyrs of the country and advised the officers to fulfil their duties with courage and honesty. At the beginning of his speech, the president welcomed Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena as the guest of honour, who has flown to Pakistan especially for the occasion. The president also greeted the forces from Turkey, Jordan and United Arab Emirates that are taking part in the parade, saying Pakistans friendship with its allies will prosper in the coming days. But cooperation from Pakistans side for the sake of peace should not be taken as a weakness, he added. On the occasion, the president also announced a new medal, Tamgha-e-Azm, to laud the efforts of people because of which the country is prospering and the economy has started to flourish. Courtesy: Geo A Bill aimed at legalising same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland is set to go before the House of Commons next week. The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) (Northern Ireland) Bill will be tabled by Labour MP Conor McGinn on Wednesday. It will be introduced under the Ten Minute Rule, which allows for an MP to make the case for a new Private Members Bill for up to 10 minutes, after which an opposing speech may be made. MPs then vote on whether the bill should advance to its first reading stage. This would be the first step towards same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland being legislated for directly from Westminster, although the Bill would face a lengthy passage through the House of Commons and House of Lords. Mr McGinn - who was brought up in Northern Ireland - announced his plans to introduce the Private Members Bill last month, after Northern Ireland Secretary of State Karen Bradley said the Government would allow a free vote due to it being a matter of conscience. Speaking to PoliticsHome, Mr McGinn said the focus should be on restoring the Stormont Executive, but that he was prepared to bring forward legislation in the absence of this happening. The song says you cant hurry love but in this case love - and equality - has waited too long already. Its beyond time to give same-sex couples in Northern Ireland the same rights enjoyed by people in Britain and the Republic of Ireland, he said. Previous attempts to legislate for same-sex marriage through the Northern Ireland Assembly have been blocked by a petition of concern being tabled by the DUP. The party lost the seats required to force a petition of concern at the last Assembly election in 2017, but there is speculation MLAs from other parties could support a similar future petition. Aircraft giant Boeing has said it won't appeal the US ruling in favour of Bombardier- which employs 4,000 people in Northern Ireland- after a bitter trade dispute. Boeing had complained about Bombardiers selling of its C-Series jets at less than cost price to Delta Airlines. The US Department of Commerce had previously recommended a near 300% duty on sale of the C-Series jets for five years, putting around 1,000 jobs at risk at Bombardier's east Belfast wings factory. DUP MP Gavin Robinson said: This announcement is great news for Bombardier and brings an end to this long and difficult saga. The US Trade Commission ruling came as a surprise to many, but the decisive, unanimous decision obviously sent out a very clear message. "Boeing should feel suitably chastened that their bullying approach was justly and robustly rejected. I know the company are focused now on building on recent orders for the C Series and bringing more of these fantastic aircraft into service. F "For my part, I will continue to encourage government to support manufacturing and particularly our aviation sector in Northern Ireland. A spokesman for Bombardier said: "Boeings claim was meritless and should never have been brought. We are happy that it has come to an end. This is good news for the whole aerospace industry and the flying public, which will benefit from the most innovative commercial aircraft built in the last 30 years." Thousands of former civil servants could be asked to pay back money from redundancy payments they received under a Voluntary Exit Scheme launched almost three years ago. All 3,701 redundancy awards, which cost the taxpayer nearly 109m, are being reviewed after it emerged that some civil servants were paid too much back in 2015 and 2016. The Department of Finance (DoF) has already started issuing written requests for those affected asking them to make arrangements for the money to be repaid. Those who cashed in their pensions upon leaving could have their monthly payments cut. A DoF spokesperson denied overpayments occurred as a result of any error, but one letter seen by the Belfast Telegraph clearly states that "the old computer system miscalculated" an award. The spokesperson said: "As the data up to each tranche's leaving date was not available on the new computer system, Civil Service Pensions used the data held as at March 31, 2015 and projected forward using the same salary and working pattern to process the members' awards. "This is part of normal practice to ensure that the most up to date data is held for each individual." The discrepancies came to light once the new computer system was implemented, which included a new built-in "employer electronic interface" for data from April 1, 2015. The department has defended its decision to issue letters asking individuals to repay money - which in some cases exceeds 1,000 - saying the department "is obliged to seek recovery" in accordance with the manual for Managing Public Money. But Jim Allister MLA has expressed serious doubts as to whether or not the letters are legally enforceable and accused government officials of trying to punish former employees for their own mistake. "That is unconscionable as far as I am concerned and makes you wonder if this civil service can get any worse," he said. "I suspect the ongoing RHI revelations have only given us a snapshot into what every department is like." The TUV leader urged those in receipt of a letter to be slow to respond. "The department should be forced to go after people through the courts because this is in essence a contract dispute and you can't just change the conditions of a contract once it is finalised." Mr Allister said the calculation given to staff in early 2015 would have been a fundamental component of the decision-making process for those who opted to leave. However, a DoF spokesperson said that while the department appreciated that individuals based decisions on calculations it provided, staff were informed it was subject to change. But Mr Allister said no one would have expected a drastic readjustment after the payment was actually made. "I doubt very much that the small print covers that," he added. The confusion could cost the department even more money, as it is possible that some individuals may have received less than their entitlement and will need to be paid arrears. "The full financial cost and number of people affected will not be known until the review is completed," the spokesperson said. Former NIPSA union chief Bumper Graham said the government should write off the debt as all money paid out was "spent in good faith". "I appreciate these calculations are complex, but people expect their actual award to at least closely match the estimate they were given," he said. "I think that those people who chose to leave on the basis of the calculation will have a very stout defence for not repaying this money." He encouraged anyone who has received a letter to complain. "We can't have a situation where some people pay the money back and others avoid having to," he said. "If the blame rests with maladministration or technical faults then everyone should be treated fairly, but there is not very much anyone in receipt of monthly pension can do about future payments being reduced." LISBURN, NORTHERN IRELAND - MARCH 23: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Eikon Centre and attend an event to mark the second year of the youth-led peace-building initiative 'Amazing the Space' on March 23, 2018 in Lisburn, Nothern Ireland. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Britain's Prince Harry and US actress and fiancee of Britain's Prince Harry Meghan Markle arrive at the Eikon Centre in Lisburn, on March 23, 2018, to attend an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. / AFP PHOTO / Mark MARLOWMARK MARLOW/AFP/Getty Images Britain's Prince Harry and US actress and fiancee of Britain's Prince Harry Meghan Markle arrive at the Eikon Centre in Lisburn, on March 23, 2018, to attend an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. / AFP PHOTO / Mark MARLOWMARK MARLOW/AFP/Getty Images DUP leader Arlene Foster (left) and Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley at an event attended by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they marked the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire Reverend Dr David Latimer with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during their visit to Northern Ireland. Photo credit: Niall Carson/PA Wire Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Karen Bradley MP welcomed Prince Harry and Ms. Markle to Belfast on 23 March 2018for their first joint visit to Northern Ireland. Prince Harry and Ms. Markle Markle began their first visit to Northern Ireland at the Eikon Centre at an event celebrating the youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space and showcasing groundbreaking cross community and reconciliation work from young people across Northern Ireland. Photo by Aaron McCracken Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Karen Bradley MP welcomed Prince Harry and Ms. Markle to Belfast on 23 March 2018for their first joint visit to Northern Ireland. Prince Harry and Ms. Markle Markle began their first visit to Northern Ireland at the Eikon Centre at an event celebrating the youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space and showcasing groundbreaking cross community and reconciliation work from young people across Northern Ireland. Photo by Aaron McCracken Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Karen Bradley MP welcomed Prince Harry and Ms. Markle to Belfast on 23 March 2018for their first joint visit to Northern Ireland. Prince Harry and Ms. Markle Markle began their first visit to Northern Ireland at the Eikon Centre at an event celebrating the youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space and showcasing groundbreaking cross community and reconciliation work from young people across Northern Ireland. Photo by Aaron McCracken Visiting Belfast city centre during their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle Markle begin their first visit to Northern Ireland at the Eikon Centre at an event celebrating the youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space and showcasing groundbreaking cross community and reconciliation work from young people across Northern Ireland. Launched by Prince Harry in September 2017, Amazing the Space empowers young people across Northern Ireland to become ambassadors for peace within their communities. Photo by Aaron McCracken Visiting Belfast city centre during their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle Markle begin their first visit to Northern Ireland at the Eikon Centre at an event celebrating the youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space and showcasing groundbreaking cross community and reconciliation work from young people across Northern Ireland. Launched by Prince Harry in September 2017, Amazing the Space empowers young people across Northern Ireland to become ambassadors for peace within their communities. Photo by Aaron McCracken Visiting Belfast city centre during their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle Markle begin their first visit to Northern Ireland at the Eikon Centre at an event celebrating the youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space and showcasing groundbreaking cross community and reconciliation work from young people across Northern Ireland. Launched by Prince Harry in September 2017, Amazing the Space empowers young people across Northern Ireland to become ambassadors for peace within their communities. Photo by Aaron McCracken LISBURN, NORTHERN IRELAND - MARCH 23: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Eikon Centre and attend an event to mark the second year of the youth-led peace-building initiative 'Amazing the Space' on March 23, 2018 in Lisburn, Nothern Ireland. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) LISBURN, NORTHERN IRELAND - MARCH 23: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Eikon Centre and attend an event to mark the second year of the youth-led peace-building initiative 'Amazing the Space' on March 23, 2018 in Lisburn, Nothern Ireland. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) LISBURN, NORTHERN IRELAND - MARCH 23: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Eikon Centre and attend an event to mark the second year of the youth-led peace-building initiative 'Amazing the Space' on March 23, 2018 in Lisburn, Nothern Ireland. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) US actress and fiancee of Britain's Prince Harry Meghan Markle gestures on her arrival at the Eikon Centre in Lisburn, on March 23, 2018, to attend an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. / AFP PHOTO / Mark MARLOWMARK MARLOW/AFP/Getty Images The Reverend Dr David Latimer, introduces Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to school children during a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Meghan Markle speaks with school children during a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where, along with Prince Harry, she attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Meghan Markle during a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn, where, along with Prince Harry, she attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn, where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Prince Harry and Meghan Markle meet school children during a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn, where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stand with school children during a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn. Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have begun a whirlwind visit to Northern Ireland which will see them visit the Titanic visitor attraction and have lunch in a Belfast pub. The couple are on the latest leg of a tour of the UK that has already taken them to major centres like Edinburgh, Cardiff and Birmingham. Expand Close Royal visit to Northern Ireland PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Royal visit to Northern Ireland The US actress is being introduced to the people, culture and issues of the regions they visit and Ulster will provide Harrys bride-to-be with a wealth of new experiences. Harry and Ms Markle began their day at the former Maze paramilitary prison outside Lisburn where around 2,500 young people from both sides of the Irish border have gathered for a peace-building event. Expand Close Royal visit to Northern Ireland PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Royal visit to Northern Ireland They were greeted by Londonderry students Amber Hamilton, from Foyle College, and Ryan McCallion, from St Josephs boys school, both 17, before meeting a number of dignitaries including Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable George Hamilton. Ms Markle looked stylish in a cream coat and top with a green skirt. Expand Close Royal visit to Northern Ireland PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Royal visit to Northern Ireland The cross-community gathering at the Eikon Centre, which is built on the site of the old Maze prison, will see teenagers share their hopes and dreams of a peaceful and reconciled future on the island. A health trust has apologised after a daughter had to tell her deaf father that he was dying because no sign language expert was available. The family of Thomas Carson had to use a picture board to communicate with him in his final days. His daughter Jillian Shanks said it was humiliating and inappropriate. The South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust has apologised and paid 7,000, without admission of liability, to the family. Mr Carson, who was 79 and from Belfast, passed away at the Ulster Hospital, Dundonald in November 2016. He had been admitted three weeks earlier. Jillian explained: "My father was taken ill quite suddenly and, because the hospital did not provide a sign language interpreter, I had to communicate the news to him that his condition was terminal and he was going to die. "That was very distressing - for him, for myself and for my mother, who is also deaf and was with him throughout." Mr Carson and his wife Mary have always used British Sign Language as their first language. The Equality Commission supported Jillian and her mother to bring a case under the Disability Discrimination Act over the Trust's failure to provide interpretation services. In settling the case, the South Eastern Trust apologised for the upset and distress the family experienced and for the fact that, by not providing an interpreter to Mr Carson, it had not acted in accordance with its 'Policy on Access on Interpreting and Written Translation Services'. Jillian added: "The lack of a qualified sign language interpreter to communicate with my father and mother during his last days added greatly to the ordeal for all of us. "As a family it was inevitably a most difficult time, but the lack of this key support made it worse. "At one stage a picture board was used to try and communicate with my father - that was humiliating and simply not appropriate in the circumstances." Her mother, Mr Carson's wife Mary, added: "The hospital knew that both my husband and I were deaf and they should have followed their own policy and ensured that we had an interpreter at such a critical time. "We just hope that this will mean that no other family have to face such a problem." The South Eastern Trust has now taken steps to highlight the importance of providing independent interpreters for patients who need them. Anne McKernan, director of legal services at the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, said: "The Trust's failure to implement the policies they already had in place meant that an additional degree of unnecessary distress and hurt was caused to this family. "It could and should have been avoided." A Trust spokesperson said: "The South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust welcomed the opportunity to meet with and apologise directly to the Carson Family in December 2017 for the upset and distress they experienced through not having an available interpreter. "The Trust is grateful that the Carson family accepted the apology and that this case was brought to a satisfactory conclusion. "Following the settlement, the Trust met with the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland and discussed ongoing training and an awareness raising strategy for staff with regard to accessing interpreters. "Initiatives include Ward Managers receiving specific training on accessing independent sign language interpreters for patients and allocated places on the 'Working Well with Interpreters' training sessions which are being held throughout the Trust." A High Court judge on Friday compelled authorities in Belfast and London to reconsider providing funds for legacy inquests in Northern Ireland. With no Executive currently in place at Stormont, Sir Paul Girvan said his order will provide civil servants running the departments with certainty about their legal duties. He also ruled that former First Minister Arlene Foster is liable for costs in a case where she was found to have unlawfully blocked a plan to aimed at clearing a backlog of nearly 100 Troubles-related killings. Setting out his reasons for compelling action, the judge said United Kingdom authorities have failed to effectively deal with delays and shortcomings in carrying out legacy inquests. With mere declarations held to lack impact in addressing the issue, the point has been reached for more intrusive, coercive steps to address continued breaches of human rights law, the court was told. Sir Paul said: "In the absence of ministers where a mandatory order is in place civil servants running the departments will know what their precise legal duty is and will not be restrained or influenced by the belief that they are in some way bound by the actual or potential views of past ministers and/or future ministers." On that basis he directed the Executive Office, the Department for Justice and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to reconsider their duties in providing extra resources to the Coroners Service for legacy inquests. They must also consider what steps should be taken to ensure the tribunals can be carried out in a way which complies with legal requirements. His final ruling came in a case brought by the widow of an innocent civilian shot dead along with eight IRA men. Brigid Hughes, whose husband Anthony died after being unwittingly caught up in the SAS ambush of an IRA unit at Loughgall, Co Armagh in May 1987, challenged the failure to fund outstanding legacy inquests. Proceedings were issued against the Secretary of State, the Stormont Executive and Mrs Foster personally due to her alleged responsibility for the logjam. More than 50 legacy inquests remain outstanding, with potentially 72 more cases on the Attorney General's desk for consideration. Although the Stormont House Agreement includes a 150 million package to deal with all legacy issues, the Government has said financial resources will not be released until political consensus is reached on dealing with the past. In 2016 a paper was drawn up by the DoJ to bid for funds based on a five-year plan devised by Northern Ireland's Lord Chief Justice, Sir Declan Morgan, to deal with all cases. Lawyers for Mrs Hughes went to court alleging Mrs Foster stopped it from being discussed by her Executive colleagues for political reasons. Earlier this month Sir Paul held that the former First Minister wrongly took into account the absence of an overall agreed package to deal with outstanding issues from Northern Ireland's violent past. He said the Democratic Unionist Party leader's decision to refuse to put a funding paper on the Executive basis was unlawful and procedurally flawed. Following Mrs Hughes' victory lawyers returned to court to deal with costs and what further declarations should be made. Counsel representing the Northern Ireland Office, the Department for Justice and the Executive Office argued against making an order compelling action. Attorney General John Larkin QC also contended that the case against Mrs Foster should end without any order for costs against her. But rejecting all those submissions, Sir Paul confirmed that First Minister, Deputy First Minister and Minister of Justice will be bound by his order of mandamus if and when they are appointed to a future Executive. Making an order for costs against all respondents in the case, including Mrs Foster, he ruled she will also be separately liable for making earlier applications to be taken out of the case and to have him stand aside as the judge. Outside court Mairead Kelly, whose brother Patrick Kelly was also killed at Loughgall, said: "Today's result is of crucial importance to all those families, like ours, who have been waiting on the release of the funding needed to progress in a timely manner. "We now urgently call upon the respective departments to enforce the order made by the court without any further delay." Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Belfast (Peter Byrne/PA) Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have made a surprise visit to Northern Ireland as part of their tour of Britain before their May wedding. Expand Close Meghan Markle reacts to well-wishers on a walkabout in Belfast (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Meghan Markle reacts to well-wishers on a walkabout in Belfast (Brian Lawless/PA) Expand Close Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visited Titanic Belfast maritime museum (Joe Giddens/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visited Titanic Belfast maritime museum (Joe Giddens/PA) Expand Close Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are presented with a model of the Titanic by Lleyton Jackson, six, and Rosie Jackson four, at Titanic Belfast maritime museum PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are presented with a model of the Titanic by Lleyton Jackson, six, and Rosie Jackson four, at Titanic Belfast maritime museum Expand Close Harry and Meghan look at prosthetic limbs made by the Titanic FX company at Catalyst Inc science park (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Harry and Meghan look at prosthetic limbs made by the Titanic FX company at Catalyst Inc science park (Niall Carson/PA) Expand Close Royal visit to Northern Ireland PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Royal visit to Northern Ireland Expand Close Meghan Markle looks at a coin given to her during a walkabout in Belfast (Gareth Fuller/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Meghan Markle looks at a coin given to her during a walkabout in Belfast (Gareth Fuller/PA) Expand Close Meghan during a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Meghan during a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn (Niall Carson/PA) Expand Close Harry greets wellwishers during a walkabout in Belfast (Gareth Fuller/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Harry greets wellwishers during a walkabout in Belfast (Gareth Fuller/PA) Expand Close Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave after a visit to the Crown Bar in Belfast City Centre where they met local comedians and musicians (Gareth Fuller/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave after a visit to the Crown Bar in Belfast City Centre where they met local comedians and musicians (Gareth Fuller/PA) Expand Close The rain did not dampen Meghan's spirits (Joe Giddens/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The rain did not dampen Meghan's spirits (Joe Giddens/PA) Expand Close Meghan Markle received flowers outside the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Meghan Markle received flowers outside the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn (Brian Lawless/PA) Expand Close Harry and Meghan Markle with school children in Lisburn (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Harry and Meghan Markle with school children in Lisburn (Niall Carson/PA) Expand Close Harry makes his point during his first official visit to Northern Ireland with Meghan (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Harry makes his point during his first official visit to Northern Ireland with Meghan (Niall Carson/PA) Expand Close Pleased to meet you - Harry greets young fans at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Pleased to meet you - Harry greets young fans at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn (Niall Carson/PA) Expand Close Harry and Ms Markle attended an event to mark youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Harry and Ms Markle attended an event to mark youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space (Niall Carson/PA) Expand Close Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the Eikon Centre , built on the site of the old Maze prison (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the Eikon Centre , built on the site of the old Maze prison (Brian Lawless/PA) The UK should stay as close as possible to the EU after Brexit, Irish premier Leo Varadkar has said. The enormous trade between Britain and Ireland should be protected to ensure Irish jobs, the premier added. On Friday morning leaders of the 27 EU member states meeting in Brussels adopted guidelines for future EU-UK relations after the separation in a years time. The Taoiseach said: The UK has decided to leave the EU. The best way we can get a good outcome for Ireland is to make sure that we have an agreement that keeps the UK as close to the EU as possible. That is the best way to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland and also the best way to protect the enormous trade that occurs between Britain and Ireland, and that is so important for Irish jobs and our economy, and agriculture in particular. It is not a case of when they are winning we are losing or when they are losing we are winning. We are not going to get a good outcome for Ireland on that basisLeo Varadkar In 2015, 13.8 billion euros (12 billion) of goods were exported from Ireland to Britain, more than half involving food and live animals or chemicals and related products, according to the Central Statistics Office of Ireland. Goods heading into Ireland from Britain accounted for 24% of imports in 2015 while imports from Northern Ireland accounted for 2%. Mr Varadkar added: It is not a case of when they are winning we are losing or when they are losing we are winning. We are not going to get a good outcome for Ireland on that basis. One of the main stumbling blocks is the issue of the Irish border. Little agreement has been reached on the detail of measures to avoid a hard frontier with checks on goods and services. Renewed efforts are expected by negotiators in the coming weeks to crack the issue. Mr Varadkar has insisted a border deal must be done by October to allow time for it to be ratified by legislatures. Otherwise a backstop option will mean Northern Ireland would continue to follow EU regulations after Brexit involving the all-island economy and North-South co-operation, he added. Unionists have opposed any solution which would create differences between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, and Prime Minister Theresa May is reliant on Democratic Unionist support in key Westminster votes. Avoiding a hard border is generally defined as one without frontier checks on goods and services, but there has been no evidence of a technological solution for frictionless trade anywhere else in the world, a committee of MPs said. An unemployed man who claimed he was refused benefits damaged shopping trolleys in an attempt to steal 1 coins, a court heard. Pawel Jarnoth (45), with an address at Galgorm Road, Ballymena, pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage to trolleys at Sainsburys supermarket in the town on March 9. He had also been charged with the attempted theft of pound coins, but that charge was withdrawn by a prosecutor. The prosecutor told the court security staff were informed that a man was damaging trolleys in the car park. Jarnoth was told to leave, but instead he made his way towards another trolley bay. Eight trolleys were damaged, which cost 160 to fix, and during a police interview the defendant admitted he was attempting to steal money. Defence solicitor Emma McCann said her client would take issue with the prosecution case and claimed he only attempted to steal money from two trolleys. She said Jarnoth came to Northern Ireland from Poland a number of years ago and had been working up until two years ago. Since then he had been refused benefits and was living with his brother, the court heard. The solicitor said the incident was obviously an attempt to effect monetary gain. However, with only 1 in each trolley, she said it would obviously have been of very little benefit to him. She accepted the defendant had a previous conviction for theft, but said the current offence before the court was at the lesser end of the scale. Ms McCann said her client was hoping to start work again as a labourer. District Judge Peter King said with the job potentially coming up, the defendant would be able to pay a 140 fine and ordered that he pay 160 compensation for the damage. KULGAM: The seventy-year-old imprisoned Jamaat-i-Islami activist, Muhammad Ramzan Sheikh, of Kulgam, might be thought of as a lucky man. Although he has been in prison for more than a year now, he nonetheless enjoys the backing of two powerful voices on his side: a High Court order and the local Deputy Commissioners recommendation that he should be released. And yet the old mans agony continues because some in the police dont want him to be a free man as they fear he might instigate protest against the government.Sheikh was picked up in November, 2016, during the police crackdown to suppress the mass protest demonstrations that erupted after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. The police blamed Sheikh for making provocative speeches at rallies and instigating youth to indulge in violence against the government forces. The police soon found a way of prolonging his detention, booking him under PSA again, and shifted him to a Jammu jail. He was termed as a threat to peace and security of the state. On February 28 this year the court again quashed Sheikhs PSA and ordered his release. Subsequently, he was shifted to district jail in Mattan, Anantnag, where he continues to be under illegal detention. This month no less a figure than the Deputy Commissioner of the district wrote to the local police head asking him to implement the High court order and release the old man. The officer said in the request that the prisoners daughter was going to be married next month and he should be freed on humanitarian grounds. Broken and bitter at the refusal of the police to release her old husband, Mughli Banu had approached the district administration for help to free her husband. Taking note of her plea Talat Parvez Rohella, the outgoing deputy commissioner wrote to the Superintendent of Police, Kulgam, on March 10, requesting him to release the old man on humanitarian grounds. The police officer though has paid no heed to the written request of a top district official. Rohellas recommendation for Sheikh release was in some ways unusual. A deputy commissioner normally always goes with the police in deciding about a political detainees prison term. This is what Rohellas letter said: It is to intimate that one lady Mughli Banoo approached our office with the pleas to release her husband detained under provisions of PSA 1978 vide this office order no 48/DMK/PSA/2017 and lodged in central jail Kaut Balwal Jammu. The honourable court has quashed the detention vide order no 7523 dated 28/2/2018 and the operative part of the order is herewith enclosed. It further says that the wife of Sheikh has prayed for her husband to be freed in view of their daughters marriage which as per Nikah Nama is scheduled to be solemnised on 25/4/2018. Keeping in view all the facts and circumstances of the case , it is strongly impressed that the said detainee be released forthwith to attend the orders of honourable high court and also on humanitarian grounds so that he can attend marriage of his daughter, the communication concludes. It is up to the government to take call on his release, a police official told the Greater Kashmir. The officer said there was no fresh dossier prepared against the accused. If there are any cases registered against him in any police station in Kulgam, he has to first get bail from court, said the police officer. The family believes that the government is wilfully prolonging Sheikhs arrest because he participated in pro-freedom protest movement of 2016. My husband has some dozen FIRs against him just because he used to participate in pro-freedom protests and unity rallies of various sects in Kulgam district during 2016 summer uprising. However, police has come up with charges like instigating violence which are frivolous, said his wife. The Jammu and Kashmir High court quashed Sheikhs PSA in May 2017. Sinn Fein MEP Martina Anderson has been named as one of the top 20 European politicians who matter most - but for all the wrong reasons. Every year, website Politico publishes its list of politicians who matter most. However, this year's list is more irreverent. According to Politico, Ms Anderson earned her place on the list because she has "never directly" said sorry for her actions while in the IRA. Politico wrote: "Anderson is a convicted terrorist who served 13 years in prison for Irish Republican Army activities until she was released as a condition of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. "First arrested when she was 18 for causing an explosion in a furniture store in Derry, she was convicted in 1986 for conspiring to cause explosions in England. "Her co-defendant Patrick Magee was convicted of carrying out the Brighton hotel bombing that killed five people and nearly claimed the life of then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. "Anderson, who topped the vote in the 2014 European election in Northern Ireland, is seen by some as a symbol of reform and reconciliation, but she has never directly apologised for her role in the IRA's armed conflict against the British state." Ms Anderson is one of three women who appear on the list. The others are German MEP Petra Kammerevert and Eleonora Forenza, an Italian MEP, while all 19 members of Ukip appear collectively. The website said of the Ukip group: "It's hard to know where to begin. "The best thing to say about this motley crew of 19 is that their behaviour as MEPs truly reflects their view of the institution they belong to. "Ukip's MEPs may be too good for the EU, but they're not too good to take its money. Each collects an annual gross salary of 101,808." Irish MEP Brian Crowley has also been named on the list at the number 14 position. The reason given for his inclusion was as follows: "Health issues have meant that Crowley, who is confined to a wheelchair after falling off a roof aged 16, has been virtually absent from Parliament since 2011. "That didn't stop him from successfully seeking re-election in 2014, or from refusing to give up his seat despite growing concerns about his ability to do his job, including complaints from the person who would replace Crowley if he stepped down. "Crowley has yet to cast a vote in the current parliamentary term." As EU leaders prepared to endorse a deal on the UKs post-Brexit transition, Prime Minister Theresa May called for a new dynamic in negotiations on Britains future relations with its continental partners. Leaders of the 27 remaining member states were expected on Friday to clear the way for talks on future trade and security to begin, by endorsing the transition deal struck by Brexit Secretary David Davis and chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier earlier this week. Addressing the EU27 over dinner in Brussels on Thursday evening, Mrs May said it was their duty to show energy and ambition in forging a future relationship which was in the interests of both Britain and Europe. The Prime Minister extended her visit to the European Council summit in Brussels in order to take part in discussions on US trade tariffs on Friday morning, but she will leave the meeting to allow the EU27 to make their momentous decision on Brexit in her absence. Arriving at the summit venue, Mrs May said good progress had been made on negotiating the terms of the UKs withdrawal from the EU. And she added: I am looking for a new dynamic in the next stage of negotiations, so that we can ensure that we work together to negotiate and develop that strong future economic and security partnership which I believe is in the interests of the UK and the EU. Expand Close Belgium EU Summit AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Belgium EU Summit Mr Barnier, who kissed Mrs Mays hand as they met in the entrance lobby of the Europa building in Brussels, said Friday marked a decisive moment in this difficult and extraordinary negotiation. He cautioned that the future partnership negotiated over the coming months must respect the principles and identity of the EU and the single market. European Council president Donald Tusk raised doubts earlier this week over whether a deal reached on Monday would be acceptable to all 27 remaining members with Spain reported to be holding out to improve its hand over Gibraltar. But a senior UK official said on Thursday evening that all the indications are positive that the transition deal will get the thumbs-up. Addressing fellow leaders over dinner, Mrs May said compromise on both sides had been required to reach a mutually acceptable legal text on the transition, which will see the UK continue to observe EU rules until the end of 2020 while winning the freedom to negotiate and ratify trade deals with outside countries. Britain believes that moving on to trade talks with the EU will help unblock the logjam over the Irish border and prevent the need to implement a backstop solution proposed by Brussels which would keep Northern Ireland in the customs union. London is hopeful that a solution to keep Northern Irelands border with the Republic open will emerge in the context of a deal allowing trade between Britain and the rest of the EU to be as frictionless as possible. Mrs May told the EU27 leaders: We have the chance now to create a new dynamic in the talks, to work together to explore workable solutions on Northern Ireland, on our future security co-operation and in order to ensure the future prosperity of all our people. This is an opportunity it is our duty to take and to enter into with energy and ambition. Irish Taioseach Leo Varadkar said he envisaged a trading relationship between the UK and the EU so close that many of the measures in the backstop may become unnecessary. Mr Tusk has recommended EU27 endorsement of the transition deal, which he said would put off the negative consequences of Brexit for another 21 months after the formal date for the UKs withdrawal in March 2019. Online attacks on a Belfast library over its hosting of an event marking the centenary of the birth of a former President in Israel have been condemned. Staff at the Linen Hall Library also received a number of threatening phone calls following the event on March 13. The library described the event as "focusing on an item of Belfast's history and the centenary year of the birth of former Israeli President Chaim Herzog". It was organised by the Northern Ireland Friends of Israel, and attended by the Ambassador of Israel Mark Regev amongst others. Mr Herzog was born in Belfast in 1918, and went on to become the sixth President of Israel in 1983. During the event, books relating to the Herzog family were presented to the library. But it sparked fury on social media, and even an online petition titled: "No more war criminals or apologists for genocide in the Linen Hall library". The petition demanded the suspension of the director of the library as well as an investigation. "This whole seedy episode goes against everything the Linen Hall has stood for. We demand the immediate suspension of director Julie Andrews and an investigation into how this was allowed to happen, we also demand an apology to the indigenous Palestinian victims for this outright support for a war criminal," the petition reads. There is no suggestion that anything untoward was done or said at the event. A representative body for the Jewish Community in the UK, the Board of Deputies, described the attacks as "vile". It described some of the negative reaction to the event as "totally unacceptable", adding that it "flies in the face of efforts to make Northern Ireland an inclusive society where different communities can express their identity and heritage freely". Board of Deputies Chief Executive Gillian Merron said: "Sadly there are those who want to import the extremism and conflict of the Middle East into our cultural life. "As the representative body of the Jewish community in the UK, we call upon elected representatives from across the political spectrum in Northern Ireland to condemn this targeting of the Linen Hall library, which is acknowledged as a beacon of light and a meeting place for diverse community groups." DUP, UUP and Alliance MLAs have also expressed their disgust. DUP MLA Peter Weir said: "It is very disturbing to see the vile torrent of vicious abuse aimed at the library and its staff through social media." Ulster Unionist MLA Steve Aiken, who attended the event, added: "It is downright despicable that are those within our society who still seek to shut down free speech and use vile bullying tactics to try and achieve their aims." Alliance MLA Trevor Lunn said: "In a free society, people of all faiths and beliefs should be able to celebrate those beliefs and their history without hindrance." A library spokesman said: "The Linen Hall Library is a wholly neutral, non-partisan charitable organisation. We welcome people of all cultures, nationalities, political affiliations and persuasions, and religions. We are open to considered and constructive conversation, opinion and debate." A senior Sinn Fein politician has revealed a notorious paedophile priest physically abused him when he was a schoolboy and tried to sexually groom him. Conor Murphy has recounted how the late Malachy Finnegan dragged him into an office and savagely beat him with a stick before asking a series of explicit questions, including whether he loved him. Mr Murphy outlined his experiences in the late 1970s at the hands of Finnegan at St Colman's College in Newry, Co Down. He said he was angry that no one in authority stopped the priest's reign of abuse, despite his sexual interest in young boys being common knowledge within the school. Mr Murphy has demanded a full investigation. The high-profile politician is the latest former pupil of St Colman's to reveal their treatment at the hands of the abusive and sadistic cleric, whom he described as a "violent, volatile, bullying drunkard". "I think it was just before the end of our third year, I was a 14-year-old, and there was a bit of ruckus going on in the class we were in and Finnegan burst into the room," the Newry and Armagh MLA said. "He singled me out, he dragged me out by the hair, by the crown of your head, dragged me along the corridor, up two flights of stairs into his room and then he beat me with a stick on the hands and about the body. "He was always prone to more violence than was perhaps to do with discipline. And then he suddenly flipped, as I was almost expecting. He sat me down and started asking me personal questions - did I smoke, did I drink? "Bear in mind I was 14. Did I go out with girls? Did I masturbate? Did I love him? This type of conversation. Expand Close Fr Malachy Finnegan / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Fr Malachy Finnegan "I can't remember my responses but I wasn't shocked by the conversation, because I had been forewarned by other pupils that this was what was likely to happen." Finnegan worked in the school from 1967 to 1987. He has also been accused of abusing children in later years during his time as a priest for the Clonduff parish in Hilltown, Co Down. He died in 2002 and the full extent of his crimes has only emerged in recent months. Mr Murphy said his experience "paled into insignificance" compared to those men who have come forward to say they were sexually abused by Finnegan. He said he was going public with his story to reassure others that they would be believed if they wanted to break their silence. Mr Murphy said while at the time he was not aware that Finnegan was sexually abusing fellow pupils, everyone in the school knew about the explicit conversations he would try to instigate. "We knew it was wrong, it was inappropriate, that it was not natural for a man, particularly a priest, to behave in that fashion," he said. "This was the late 1970s, we were 14-year-olds, we didn't understand paedophilia, we didn't understand it was essentially a grooming exercise. "But we knew quite a few pupils had gone through it. We didn't know that he had sexually abused boys but we knew and understood that he had an unhealthy interest and the way you approached that conversation was to shut down and try to get out of that office as quickly as you could." With the knowledge of Finnegan's behaviour so widespread among the boys in the school, Mr Murphy has asked why no one in authority intervened. He said the Catholic Church, the school authorities and the wider education authorities all had questions to answer. "They left him to abuse people without any interference probably across two generations of boys," he said. "I am angry that a man who was a violent, aggressive bully, a drunkard with an unhealthy interest in children, and that was obvious, was allowed to be a principal of a school, was allowed to be teacher in a school over a long number of years, allowed access to young boys." He added: "There was a system of administration in that school over a long number of years which allowed a paedophile to flourish, gave him authority, not only over all of the pupils, but gave him authority over the staff as well and put him in a position where he could abuse people and that needs to be explored, it needs to be investigated. Answers are needed." Mr Murphy said he hoped telling his story would help to validate the accounts of others who have come forward. "It's not to draw any degree of sympathy for myself but it's actually to encourage others and to say that we believe those who say they were sexually abused, we know the pattern in the school." The Catholic Church has described Finnegan's abuse as "abhorrent" while St Colman's College has said it condemns in the "strongest possible terms the physical, sexual and emotional abuse" inflicted by him. Northern Ireland is in the grip of a loneliness epidemic, with a quarter of people admitting that they don't even know their neighbours' names. File image posed by model Northern Ireland is in the grip of a loneliness epidemic, with a quarter of people admitting that they don't even know their neighbours' names. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of people admit to feeling lonely, a report found. Experts say many people go one week to the next without speaking to someone else and claim it points to a breakdown in traditional community spirits. Read More The Rotary Club's State of the Nation survey questioned people aged 16 to 59 on social and community issues. It found that the highest percentage of people feeling isolated were in the 16 to 29 age group (71.5%), followed by 62.7% of those aged 30 to 44 - ending the myth that loneliness only affects the elderly. Further analysis shows that, while nearly half of people (48.6%) see their families on a weekly basis, a small number (2.9%) never see their relatives. And while a third (34.3%) of people see their friends on a monthly basis, almost 6% admit to never seeing them. Shockingly, the survey found 25.7% don't know the names of neighbours. Nearly six in 10 also believe their standard of living is worse than their parents' generation. The majority appear to be disillusioned with life, with just a quarter saying life has "turned out the way they wanted it to" and they "couldn't ask for more". In contrast, nearly 43% said their life hadn't turned out as they wanted, saying they "had hoped for more" and just over 31% wishing "life was easier". The report found the main causes of anxiety for people in Northern Ireland were mental health (60%), poverty (57%), health problems (54%) and opportunities for young people (51%). Worryingly, 92% of people confessed to feeling bogged down by the stresses and strains of modern life, while 42% thought it was harder than ever to manage finances, get on the property ladder (40%) or maintain a job for life (40%). Heather Dougherty (58) is the manager of east Belfast organisation Imago Professional Befriending Service, which provides support to people aged 18-65. She said the figures were "not a shock at all". "There are a lot of people who don't speak to another soul from one week to the next," she stated. "We provide support for people of all ages who have been referred to us through professional services such as GPs and are experiencing isolation, stress, low mood, depression and anxiety. "I think it's down to a breakdown in community spirit. Everyone in society is busy, people are moving away from where their families live and no one thinks about popping in to see people. "I would regularly come across people of all ages who say that our organisation is the only time they get to speak to another person in the week. "It's hard for young people to come forward to help and one of the big things for them is finding a job. "If someone is struggling with mental health issues or anxiety, I would ask people to encourage them to get help. "It's about knowing your neighbours next door and keeping an eye out for them." Stephen Cruise is chief executive of Oasis Caring in Action, which includes the Imago service and the Recall telephone befriending scheme. He agreed he was "not surprised" to hear of the rise of social isolation here. "People of all ages and backgrounds come to us for help," he said. "One person was visited on Christmas Day and they said they hadn't seen their family at Christmas for over a decade." Cindy O'Shea, who is volunteer and regional director for Samaritans in Ireland, said loneliness was a "huge" and "hidden" problem. "Perhaps a young person has moved to a new area for work or college and doesn't have friends or a family network," she said. "At the other end of the age spectrum, we get calls from older people living alone who haven't seen or spoken to anyone for a week. "They ring us just to hear a human voice." Amanda Watkin of Rotary International, which carried out the poll, said the organisation was "dedicated to focusing on projects within our local community to help improve the quality of life for those nearby and identify key areas where we can really make a difference." Portrait of Martin McGuinness unveiled at Stormont by his widow Bernie and artist Tony Bell Stormont leaders will have to return to the negotiating table if a solution to the current crisis is to be found, former First Minister Peter Robinson has said. The retired DUP leader was speaking as a portrait of his former power-sharing government partner Martin McGuinness was unveiled at Parliament Buildings. Mr Robinson also warned that the political progress made in Northern Ireland must not lost. He said: "I think the atmosphere has been soured over recent weeks and the 'he said, she said' doesn't help us in that process. I think there is a period required for everybody to calm down somewhat, but ultimately we are going to have to get back round the table again. That's where solutions are found." He added: "There is a need for us to move forward as a society. We cannot allow all that has been built up over the past years to be lost and I think it is incumbent upon politicians of that generation to give that hope to especially young people today." The Executive collapsed in January 2017 amid a row over the botched RHI green energy scheme. Since then issues have widened to include the same-sex marriage ban, dealing with the toxic legacy of the past and Irish language rights. Earlier, Mr McGuinness's successor urged politicians here to choose hope over fear as she unveiled the portrait of the former Deputy First Minister. As Mr McGuinness's widow Bernie and four children looked on, Michelle O'Neill urged Northern Ireland's leaders to collectively turn a corner away from their recent political difficulties and create a new era. The portrait by Belfast artist Tony Bell was unveiled in Parliament Buildings in Belfast just over a year since the former IRA commander-turned-Stormont leader died. It will now hang in the same corridors as a painting of the late Ian Paisley - the man Mr McGuinness struck up an unlikely friendship with as they led Northern Ireland together. Mrs O'Neill, who succeeded Mr McGuinness as Sinn Fein's Stormont leader, said he was an ordinary man who helped transform society during the peace process. "It is with a broken heart but a heart bursting with pride that we remember Martin one year on," she told a packed audience in the Great Hall of Parliament Buildings. She added: "In his last public appeal Martin urged people to choose hope over fear, to put equality and respect for all of our people at the heart of power-sharing. "And therein lies the challenge for each and every one of us. "How do we create the conditions where all of our people choose hope over fear, how do we achieve reconciliation together, how do we build bridges between our communities together, how do we govern on the basis of equal partnership together? We need to turn a corner and we need to enter a new era together." Conor Murphy has revealed paedophile priest Malachy Finnegan physically abused him as a schoolboy and attempted to groom him (Brian Lawless/PA) A senior Sinn Fein politician has revealed a notorious paedophile priest physically abused him when he was a schoolboy and tried to sexually groom him. Conor Murphy has recounted how the late Malachy Finnegan dragged him into an office and savagely beat him with a stick before asking a series of explicit questions, including whether he loved him. In an exclusive interview with the Press Association, Mr Murphy outlined his experiences in the late 1970s at the hands of Finnegan at St Colmans College in Newry, Co Down. Mr Murphy, who attended St Colmans from 1975 to 1980, said he was angry that no one in authority stopped Finnegans reign of abuse, despite his sexual interest in young boys being common knowledge within the school. He has demanded a full investigation. The high-profile politician is the latest former pupil of St Colmans to reveal their treatment at the hands of the abusive and sadistic cleric, whom he described as a violent, volatile, bullying drunkard. I think it was just before the end of our third year, I was a 14-year-old, and there was a bit of ruckus going on in the class we were in and Finnegan burst into the room, the Newry and Armagh Assembly member told PA. He singled me out, he dragged me out by the hair, by the crown of your head, dragged me along the corridor, up two flights of stairs into his room and then he beat me with a stick on the hands and about the body. He was always prone to more violence than was perhaps to do with discipline. And then he suddenly flipped, as I was almost expecting, he sat me down and started asking me personal questions did I smoke, did I drink? Bear in mind I was 14. Did I go out with girls? Did I masturbate? Did I love him? This type of conversation. I cant remember my responses but I wasnt shocked by the conversation, because I had been forewarned by other pupils that this was what was likely to happen. Expand Close Sinn Fein MLA Conor Murphy at Parliament Buildings in Stormont (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sinn Fein MLA Conor Murphy at Parliament Buildings in Stormont (Brian Lawless/PA) Finnegan worked in the school from 1967 to 1987. He has also been accused of abusing children in later years during his time as a priest for the Clonduff parish in Hilltown, Co Down. He died in 2002. The full extent of his crimes has only emerged in recent months. Mr Murphy said his experience paled into insignificance compared to those men who have come forward to say they were sexually abused by Finnegan. He said he was going public with his story to reassure others that they would be believed if they wanted to break their silence. The Sinn Fein MLA said while at the time he was not aware that Finnegan was sexually abusing fellow pupils, everyone in the school knew about the explicit conversations he would try to instigate. We knew it was wrong, it was inappropriate, that it was not natural for a man, particularly a priest, to behave in that fashion, he said. This was the late 70s, we were 14-year-olds, we didnt understand paedophilia, we didnt understand it was essentially a grooming exercise. But we knew quite a few pupils had gone through it. We didnt know that he had sexually abused boys but we knew and understood that he had an unhealthy interest and the way you approached that conversation was to shut down and try to get out of that office as quickly as you could. He said Finnegans violence was not about simply disciplining pupils. His was different, his was a violent attack, he would assault people, he said. It was also evident to me that he was drinking very heavily. I was only a kid but I had worked in a bar from when I was 12 years old and I knew. He would appear in the corridor in the mornings with his shoe laces undone, his vest hanging out underneath his shirt, the eyes bloodshot and quite aggressive. He would launch an attack if someone was coming up the corridor with their tie not straight they were liable to get thumped in the face for it. That was going on as a matter of course through my time there. Expand Close Murphy says he wants other abuse victims to feel confident enough to come forward (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Murphy says he wants other abuse victims to feel confident enough to come forward (Brian Lawless/PA) He added: As time went on students themselves got to know that he had an unhealthy interest in young boys and that if you were in the room alone with him that he was liable to ask you very inappropriate questions and display an inordinate interest in your sexual development as a child. I didnt know what a paedophile was, we didnt know what the behaviour of a paedophile was, but as an adult looking back it was fairly obvious to us that these were the classic symptoms of paedophilia. With the knowledge so widespread among the boys in the school, Mr Murphy has asked why no one in authority intervened. He said the Catholic Church, the school authorities and the wider education authorities all had questions to answer. They left him to abuse people without any interference probably across two generations of boys, he said. I am angry that a man who was a violent, aggressive bully, a drunkard with an unhealthy interest in children, and that was obvious, was allowed to be a principal of a school, was allowed to be teacher in a school over a long number of years, allowed access to young boys. And bear in mind a lot of boys boarded in that school as well, it wasnt just the day pupils. He had opportunity and access to people in the evenings who stayed and lived in the school. He added: There was a system of administration in that school over a long number of years which allowed a paedophile to flourish, gave him authority, not only over all of the pupils, but gave him authority over the staff as well and put him in a position where he could abuse people and that needs to be explored, it needs to be investigated, it needs to be enquired into. Answers are needed. Mr Murphy, who has made a statement to lawyers representing victims of Finnegans abuse, said he hoped his story would help to validate the accounts of others who have come forward. I believe those people when they say they were sexually abused and I hope if others were sexually abused that they do come forward with their story, he said. I hope me speaking publicly maybe gives some people confidence to come forward, and thats the purpose of me speaking. Its not to draw any degree of sympathy for myself but its actually to encourage others and to say that we believe those who say they were sexually abused, we know the pattern in the school. The Catholic Church has described Finnegans abuse as abhorrent while St Colmans College has said it condemns in the strongest possible terms the physical, sexual and emotional abuse inflicted by Malachy Finnegan. In a further statement, the board of governors at St Colmans College said: The board unreservedly condemns all abuse and advises that anyone who is a victim to contact the PSNI. The school is co-operating fully with a PSNI investigation regarding historic abuse. This is the most suitable mechanism to address these issues. Until such investigations are complete the board will not be making further public statements. Amish Raj Mulmi is a columnist for the Post, and the author of All Roads Lead North: Nepals Turn to China. Prince Harry and fiancee Meghan Markle have delighted crowds as they embarked on their first Royal visit to Northern Ireland as a couple. The Prince and his American actress wife-to-be have visited Lisburn and Belfast as part of a day of activities on Friday. In the afternoon the couple made their fourth and final stop on their trip at Titanic Belfast maritime museum. During the stop the couple met staff and locals, including six-year-old Lleyton and four-year-old Rosie Jackson from Ballygowan. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close During their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle visited the iconic Titanic Belfast. William Cherry / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 23rd March 2018 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye During their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle visited the iconic Titanic Belfast. The Couple were guided through the venues interactive galleries, which explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of RMS Titanic, as well as the city and people who made her. During the visit, they also heard about how the regeneration of the Titanic Quarter has provided Belfast with an exciting new urban space. William Cherry / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 23rd March 2018 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye During their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle visited the iconic Titanic Belfast. The Couple were guided through the venues interactive galleries, which explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of RMS Titanic, as well as the city and people who made her. During the visit, they also heard about how the regeneration of the Titanic Quarter has provided Belfast with an exciting new urban space. William Cherry / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 23rd March 2018 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye During their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle visited the iconic Titanic Belfast. The Couple were guided through the venues interactive galleries, which explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of RMS Titanic, as well as the city and people who made her. During the visit, they also heard about how the regeneration of the Titanic Quarter has provided Belfast with an exciting new urban space. William Cherry / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 23rd March 2018 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye During their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle visited the iconic Titanic Belfast. The Couple were guided through the venues interactive galleries, which explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of RMS Titanic, as well as the city and people who made her. During the visit, they also heard about how the regeneration of the Titanic Quarter has provided Belfast with an exciting new urban space. William Cherry / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 23rd March 2018 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye During their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle visited the iconic Titanic Belfast. The Couple were guided through the venues interactive galleries, which explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of RMS Titanic, as well as the city and people who made her. During the visit, they also heard about how the regeneration of the Titanic Quarter has provided Belfast with an exciting new urban space. William Cherry / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 23rd March 2018 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye During their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle visited the iconic Titanic Belfast. The Couple were guided through the venues interactive galleries, which explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of RMS Titanic, as well as the city and people who made her. During the visit, they also heard about how the regeneration of the Titanic Quarter has provided Belfast with an exciting new urban space. William Cherry / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 23rd March 2018 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye During their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle visited the iconic Titanic Belfast. The Couple were guided through the venues interactive galleries, which explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of RMS Titanic, as well as the city and people who made her. During the visit, they also heard about how the regeneration of the Titanic Quarter has provided Belfast with an exciting new urban space. William Cherry / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 23rd March 2018 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye During their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle visited the iconic Titanic Belfast. The Couple were guided through the venues interactive galleries, which explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of RMS Titanic, as well as the city and people who made her. During the visit, they also heard about how the regeneration of the Titanic Quarter has provided Belfast with an exciting new urban space. William Cherry / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 23rd March 2018 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye During their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle visited the iconic Titanic Belfast. The Couple were guided through the venues interactive galleries, which explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of RMS Titanic, as well as the city and people who made her. During the visit, they also heard about how the regeneration of the Titanic Quarter has provided Belfast with an exciting new urban space. William Cherry / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 23rd March 2018 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye During their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle visited the iconic Titanic Belfast. The Couple were guided through the venues interactive galleries, which explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of RMS Titanic, as well as the city and people who made her. During the visit, they also heard about how the regeneration of the Titanic Quarter has provided Belfast with an exciting new urban space. William Cherry / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 23rd March 2018 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye During their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle visited the iconic Titanic Belfast. The Couple were guided through the venues interactive galleries, which explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of RMS Titanic, as well as the city and people who made her. During the visit, they also heard about how the regeneration of the Titanic Quarter has provided Belfast with an exciting new urban space. William Cherry / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 23rd March 2018 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye During their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle visited the iconic Titanic Belfast. The Couple were guided through the venues interactive galleries, which explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of RMS Titanic, as well as the city and people who made her. During the visit, they also heard about how the regeneration of the Titanic Quarter has provided Belfast with an exciting new urban space. William Cherry / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 23rd March 2018 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye During their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle visited the iconic Titanic Belfast. The Couple were guided through the venues interactive galleries, which explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of RMS Titanic, as well as the city and people who made her. During the visit, they also heard about how the regeneration of the Titanic Quarter has provided Belfast with an exciting new urban space. William Cherry / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 23rd March 2018 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye During their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle visited the iconic Titanic Belfast. The Couple were guided through the venues interactive galleries, which explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of RMS Titanic, as well as the city and people who made her. During the visit, they also heard about how the regeneration of the Titanic Quarter has provided Belfast with an exciting new urban space. William Cherry / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 23rd March 2018 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye During their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle visited the iconic Titanic Belfast. The Couple were guided through the venues interactive galleries, which explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of RMS Titanic, as well as the city and people who made her. During the visit, they also heard about how the regeneration of the Titanic Quarter has provided Belfast with an exciting new urban space. Pictured with Prince Harry and Ms. Markle are children Lleyton (6) and Rosie (4) Jackson from Ballygowan and staff member Ellen Fitzsimmons. William Cherry / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 23rd March 2018 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye During their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle visited the iconic Titanic Belfast. The Couple were guided through the venues interactive galleries, which explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of RMS Titanic, as well as the city and people who made her. During the visit, they also heard about how the regeneration of the Titanic Quarter has provided Belfast with an exciting new urban space. Pictured with Prince Harry and Ms. Markle are children Lleyton (6) and Rosie (4) Jackson from Ballygowan and staff member Ellen Fitzsimmons. William Cherry / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 23rd March 2018 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye During their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle visited the iconic Titanic Belfast. The Couple were guided through the venues interactive galleries, which explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of RMS Titanic, as well as the city and people who made her. During the visit, they also heard about how the regeneration of the Titanic Quarter has provided Belfast with an exciting new urban space. Pictured with Prince Harry and Ms. Markle are children Lleyton (6) and Rosie (4) Jackson from Ballygowan and staff member Ellen Fitzsimmons. William Cherry / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 23rd March 2018 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye During their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle visited the iconic Titanic Belfast. The Couple were guided through the venues interactive galleries, which explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of RMS Titanic, as well as the city and people who made her. During the visit, they also heard about how the regeneration of the Titanic Quarter has provided Belfast with an exciting new urban space. Pictured with Prince Harry and Ms. Markle are children Lleyton (6) and Rosie (4) Jackson from Ballygowan and staff member Ellen Fitzsimmons. William Cherry / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 23rd March 2018 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye During their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle visited the iconic Titanic Belfast. The Couple were guided through the venues interactive galleries, which explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of RMS Titanic, as well as the city and people who made her. During the visit, they also heard about how the regeneration of the Titanic Quarter has provided Belfast with an exciting new urban space. Pictured with Prince Harry and Ms. Markle are children Lleyton (6) and Rosie (4) Jackson from Ballygowan and staff member Ellen Fitzsimmons. William Cherry / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 23rd March 2018 - Photo by William Cherry/Presseye During their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle visited the iconic Titanic Belfast. The Couple were guided through the venues interactive galleries, which explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of RMS Titanic, as well as the city and people who made her. During the visit, they also heard about how the regeneration of the Titanic Quarter has provided Belfast with an exciting new urban space. Pictured with Prince Harry and Ms. Markle are children Lleyton (6) and Rosie (4) Jackson from Ballygowan and staff member Ellen Fitzsimmons. William Cherry / Presseye Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a visit to Titanic Belfast maritime museum in Belfast. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a visit to Titanic Belfast maritime museum in Belfast. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire PA Prince Harry waves to well wishers as he and Meghan Markle visit Catalyst Inc science park in Belfast where they met some of Northern Ireland's brightest young entrepreneurs. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a visit to Titanic Belfast maritime museum in Belfast. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a visit to Titanic Belfast maritime museum in Belfast. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle watch a man wearing vertual reality goggles during a visit to Catalyst Inc science park in Belfast where they met some of Northern Ireland's brightest young entrepreneurs. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a visit to Catalyst Inc science park in Belfast where they met some of Northern Ireland's brightest young entrepreneurs. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a visit to Catalyst Inc science park in Belfast where they met some of Northern Ireland's brightest young entrepreneurs. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a visit to Catalyst Inc science park in Belfast where they met some of Northern Ireland's brightest young entrepreneurs. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a visit to Catalyst Inc science park in Belfast where they met some of Northern Ireland's brightest young entrepreneurs. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a visit to Catalyst Inc science park in Belfast where they met some of Northern Ireland's brightest young entrepreneurs. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a visit to Catalyst Inc science park in Belfast where they met some of Northern Ireland's brightest young entrepreneurs. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Meghan Markle arrives at Catalyst Inc science park in Belfast where she and Prince Harry met some of Northern Ireland's brightest young entrepreneurs. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are presented with a posey by Lleyton Jackson 6 and Rosie Jackson 4, during a visit to Titanic Belfast maritime museum in Belfast. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire PA Meghan Markle with Prince Harry during a visit to Catalyst Inc science park in Belfast where they met some of Northern Ireland's brightest young entrepreneurs. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Nuala Campbell and Eoin Lambkin from Titanic FX show Prince Harry and Meghan Markle some prosthetic limbs used in the movie industry during a visit to Catalyst Inc science park in Belfast where they met some of Northern Ireland's brightest young entrepreneurs. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are presented with a model of the ship by Lleyton Jackson 6 and Rosie Jackson 4, during a visit to Titanic Belfast maritime museum in Belfast. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are presented with a model of the ship by Lleyton Jackson 6 and Rosie Jackson 4, during a visit to Titanic Belfast maritime museum in Belfast. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle look a prosthetic foot made by the Titanic FX company during a visit to Catalyst Inc science park in Belfast where they met some of Northern Ireland's brightest young entrepreneurs. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp During their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle visited the iconic Titanic Belfast. Judith Owens, Titanic Belfasts Chief Executive, said: From her origins as a Royal Mail Steamship, RMS Titanic has always had a royal connection, and as such, we are absolutely delighted to welcome Prince Harry and Ms Megan Markle on their first official visit to Northern Ireland." Harry and Ms Markle began their day at the former Maze prison site outside Lisburn where around 2,500 young people from both sides of the Irish border gathered for a peace-building event. They were greeted by Londonderry students Amber Hamilton, from Foyle College, and Ryan McCallion, from St Joseph's Boys school, both 17, before meeting a number of dignitaries including PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton. Read More The couple then had lunch at the Crown Liquor Saloon, Belfast's atmospheric Victorian gin palace which is filled with a wealth of architectural features and is a major tourist attraction. Ms Markle revealed that they had been anticipating their trip to the well-known pub, which is owned by the National Trust (NT) and famed for its ornate decorations. Harry joked with Heather McLachlan, the National Trust's director for Northern Ireland, asking "Are you open?", before declaring "We want food". Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stand with school children during a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn. Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle meet school children during a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn, where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn, where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Eikon Centre. Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images Getty Images Meghan Markle during a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn, where, along with Prince Harry, she attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Meghan Markle speaks with school children during a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where, along with Prince Harry, she attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit Northern Ireland. Photo by Aaron McCracken The Reverend Dr David Latimer, introduces Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to school children during a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA US actress and fiancee of Britain's Prince Harry Meghan Markle gestures on her arrival at the Eikon Centre in Lisburn, on March 23, 2018, to attend an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. / AFP PHOTO / Mark MARLOWMARK MARLOW/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images LISBURN, NORTHERN IRELAND - MARCH 23: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Eikon Centre and attend an event to mark the second year of the youth-led peace-building initiative 'Amazing the Space' on March 23, 2018 in Lisburn, Nothern Ireland. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images LISBURN, NORTHERN IRELAND - MARCH 23: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Eikon Centre and attend an event to mark the second year of the youth-led peace-building initiative 'Amazing the Space' on March 23, 2018 in Lisburn, Nothern Ireland. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images LISBURN, NORTHERN IRELAND - MARCH 23: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Eikon Centre and attend an event to mark the second year of the youth-led peace-building initiative 'Amazing the Space' on March 23, 2018 in Lisburn, Nothern Ireland. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Visiting Belfast city centre during their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle Markle begin their first visit to Northern Ireland at the Eikon Centre at an event celebrating the youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space and showcasing groundbreaking cross community and reconciliation work from young people across Northern Ireland. Launched by Prince Harry in September 2017, Amazing the Space empowers young people across Northern Ireland to become ambassadors for peace within their communities. Photo by Aaron McCracken Visiting Belfast city centre during their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle Markle begin their first visit to Northern Ireland at the Eikon Centre at an event celebrating the youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space and showcasing groundbreaking cross community and reconciliation work from young people across Northern Ireland. Launched by Prince Harry in September 2017, Amazing the Space empowers young people across Northern Ireland to become ambassadors for peace within their communities. Photo by Aaron McCracken Visiting Belfast city centre during their first visit to Northern Ireland on 23 March 2018, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle Markle begin their first visit to Northern Ireland at the Eikon Centre at an event celebrating the youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space and showcasing groundbreaking cross community and reconciliation work from young people across Northern Ireland. Launched by Prince Harry in September 2017, Amazing the Space empowers young people across Northern Ireland to become ambassadors for peace within their communities. Photo by Aaron McCracken Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Karen Bradley MP welcomed Prince Harry and Ms. Markle to Belfast on 23 March 2018for their first joint visit to Northern Ireland. Prince Harry and Ms. Markle Markle began their first visit to Northern Ireland at the Eikon Centre at an event celebrating the youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space and showcasing groundbreaking cross community and reconciliation work from young people across Northern Ireland. Photo by Aaron McCracken Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Karen Bradley MP welcomed Prince Harry and Ms. Markle to Belfast on 23 March 2018for their first joint visit to Northern Ireland. Prince Harry and Ms. Markle Markle began their first visit to Northern Ireland at the Eikon Centre at an event celebrating the youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space and showcasing groundbreaking cross community and reconciliation work from young people across Northern Ireland. Photo by Aaron McCracken Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Karen Bradley MP welcomed Prince Harry and Ms. Markle to Belfast on 23 March 2018for their first joint visit to Northern Ireland. Prince Harry and Ms. Markle Markle began their first visit to Northern Ireland at the Eikon Centre at an event celebrating the youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space and showcasing groundbreaking cross community and reconciliation work from young people across Northern Ireland. Photo by Aaron McCracken Reverend Dr David Latimer with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during their visit to Northern Ireland. Photo credit: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for first Northern Ireland Royal visit. Photo credit: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA DUP leader Arlene Foster (left) and Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley at an event attended by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they marked the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Britain's Prince Harry and US actress and fiancee of Britain's Prince Harry Meghan Markle arrive at the Eikon Centre in Lisburn, on March 23, 2018, to attend an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. / AFP PHOTO / Mark MARLOWMARK MARLOW/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Britain's Prince Harry and US actress and fiancee of Britain's Prince Harry Meghan Markle arrive at the Eikon Centre in Lisburn, on March 23, 2018, to attend an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. / AFP PHOTO / Mark MARLOWMARK MARLOW/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images LISBURN, NORTHERN IRELAND - MARCH 23: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Eikon Centre and attend an event to mark the second year of the youth-led peace-building initiative 'Amazing the Space' on March 23, 2018 in Lisburn, Nothern Ireland. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Eikon Centre (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stand with school children during a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn. Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire His fiancee added: "We saw the menu last week, and said 'We'll have this'." The couple marvelled at the pub, which features period gas lighting, a red marble-topped bar, mosaic tiled floor and snugs - ornately carved wooden booths with stained glass where Victorian drinkers could sit in private. Looking up at the ornate ceiling, Harry said: "It's amazing, it really is." The antique bell system that drinkers used to call staff still exists and may have been used by the couple to order their lunch of Irish stew in a snug. After dining the pair went walkabout outside the building to meet the people of Belfast. Arriving at their third engagement of the day, at a hub for young entrepreneurs, the couple waved at well-wishers who had braved the rain to catch a glimpse of the royal visitors. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Crown Bar in Belfast on March 23rd 2018 at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast. (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Crown Bar in Belfast on March 23rd 2018 at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Crown Bar in Belfast on March 23rd 2018 at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Crown Bar in Belfast on March 23rd 2018 at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Crown Bar in Belfast on March 23rd 2018 at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Crown Bar in Belfast on March 23rd 2018 at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Crown Bar in Belfast on March 23rd 2018 at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Crown Bar in Belfast on March 23rd 2018 at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Crown Bar in Belfast on March 23rd 2018 at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Crown Bar in Belfast on March 23rd 2018 at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Crown Bar in Belfast on March 23rd 2018 at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Crown Bar in Belfast on March 23rd 2018 at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Crown Bar in Belfast on March 23rd 2018 at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Crown Bar in Belfast on March 23rd 2018 at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Prince Harry and Meghan Markle meet well-wishers during a walkabout in Belfast after a visit to the Crown Bar in the city centre. Photo credit: Joe Giddens/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Crown Bar in Belfast on March 23rd 2018 at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Crown Bar in Belfast on March 23rd 2018 at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Crown Bar in Belfast on March 23rd 2018 at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Crown Bar in Belfast on March 23rd 2018 at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Crown Bar in Belfast on March 23rd 2018 at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - MARCH 23: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit Catalyst Inc, Northern Irelands next generation science park, to meet young entrepreneurs and innovators on March 23, 2018 in Belfast, Nothern Ireland. (Photo by Chris Jackson - Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit Catalyst Inc, Northern Irelands next generation science park, to meet young entrepreneurs and innovators. Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images Getty Images BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - MARCH 23: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit Catalyst Inc, Northern Irelands next generation science park, to meet young entrepreneurs and innovators on March 23, 2018 in Belfast, Nothern Ireland. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Meghan Markle reacts to wellwishers during a walkabout in Belfast after a visit to the Crown Bar in the city centre. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a visit to the Crown Bar in Belfast City Centre. Photo credit: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle meet wellwishers during a walkabout in Belfast after a visit to the Crown Bar in the city centre. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire PA Prince Harry shelters under an umbrella as he meets wellwishers during a walkabout in Belfast after he and Meghan Markle visited the Crown Bar in the city centre. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire PA BELFAST, UNITED KINGDOM - MARCH 23: Meghan Markle interacts with crowd as she departs from the Crown Liquor Saloon during her visit with Prince Harry to Northern Ireland on March 23, 2018 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) Getty Images Meghan Markle shelters from the rain under an umbrella as she waves to wellwishers during a walkabout in Belfast after a visit to the Crown Bar in the city centre. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire PA Meghan Markle waves to wellwishers during a walkabout in Belfast after a visit to the Crown Bar in the city centre. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire PA BELFAST, UNITED KINGDOM - MARCH 23: Prince Harry interacts with crowd as he departs from the Crown Liquor Saloon during his visit with Meghan Markle to Northern Ireland on March 23, 2018 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) Getty Images Meghan Markle shelters under an umbrella as she meets wellwishers during a walkabout in Belfast after she and Prince Harry visited the Crown Bar in the city centre. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire PA Meghan Markle shelters under an umbrella as she meets wellwishers during a walkabout in Belfast after she and Prince Harry visited the Crown Bar in the city centre. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle meet wellwishers during a walkabout in Belfast after a visit to the Crown Bar in the city centre. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle exit the Crown Bar following a visit to learn of its heritage, as they start a walkabout in Belfast City centre. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Peter Byrne/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle exit the Crown Bar following a visit to learn of its heritage, as they start a walkabout in Belfast City centre. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Peter Byrne/PA Wire PA Crowds wait for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to exit the Crown Bar which they visited to learn from National Trust representatives about the pub's heritage, and meet bar staff, local comedians and musicians. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a visit to the Crown Bar in Belfast City Centre where they learnt from National Trust representatives about the pub's heritage, and met bar staff, local comedians and musicians. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a visit to the Crown Bar in Belfast City Centre where they learnt from National Trust representatives about the pub's heritage, and met bar staff, local comedians and musicians. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Crown Bar in Belfast City Centre where they learnt from National Trust representatives about the pub's heritage, and met bar staff, local comedians and musicians. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wave to the crowds as they arrive for a visit to the Crown Bar in Belfast City centre to learn from National Trust representatives about the pub's heritage, and meet bar staff, local comedians and musicians. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wave to the crowds as arrive for a visit to the Crown Bar in Belfast City centre to learn from National Trust representatives about the pub's heritage, and meet bar staff, local comedians and musicians. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Peter Byrne/PA Wire PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Crown Bar in Belfast City centre to learn from National Trust representatives about the pub's heritage, and meet bar staff, local comedians and musicians. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Peter Byrne/PA Wire PA Crowds wait for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to arrive for a walkabout in Belfast City centre where they will visit the Crown Bar and learn from National Trust representatives about the pub's heritage, and meet bar staff, local comedians and musicians. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire PA The Crown Bar in Belfast City Centre where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will visit to learn from National Trust representatives about the pub's heritage, and meet bar staff, local comedians and musicians. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 23, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Harry. Photo credit should read: Peter Byrne/PA Wire PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Crown Bar in Belfast on March 23rd 2018 at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast. (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Inside the Catalyst Inc facility in part of Belfast's regenerated docklands, they were greeted by a number of dignitaries, including Lord Mayor Nuala McAllister and East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson. Harry and Ms Markle then met a number of innovators who are supported by Catalyst - a not-for-profit organisation aimed at nurturing new scientific ideas. Their day ended with a tour of Titanic Belfast which tells the story of the famous ship, from her conception in Belfast in the early 1900s, through her construction and launch, to the vessel's maiden voyage and infamous sinking. Some 600 guests will attend Prince Harry and Meghan Markles wedding at St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle on May 19 with 200 joining them to party at an evening reception in Frogmore House. So lovely to meet Meghan Markle and her soon to be husband today in Belfast . It seems that Belfast has enjoyed the buzz and excitement of another Royal visit! pic.twitter.com/ZtDhH3u1cv NualaMcAllister (@NualaMcAllister) March 23, 2018 When you accidentally end up in the middle of Prince Harrys walk about in Belfast city centre @rtenews pic.twitter.com/hcKeAbZH7F Samantha Libreri (@SamanthaLibreri) March 23, 2018 Its been a real honour to welcome Prince Harry and Megan Markle for their first visit to Northern Ireland as a couple. Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Karen Bradley MP on todays visit.@cooperationirl @BelTel @BBCNewsNI @love_belfast @TourismIreland @BelfastLive pic.twitter.com/bSjPU6yNrq Northern Ireland Office (@NIOgov) March 23, 2018 A wave goodbye from Meghan as they depart for the next venue - @BelTel pic.twitter.com/4fndyGV3JF Kevin Scott (@Kscott_94) March 23, 2018 At Amazing the Space with some very special guests! #proudofNI pic.twitter.com/6isnGpksPp Arlene Foster #WeWillMeetAgain (@ArleneFosterUK) March 23, 2018 Met Prince Harry & Meghan Markle at Co-operation Irelands very uplifting Peace event for 2500 local school children today. Particularly lovely to see pupils from St Bernards & Taughmonagh primaries there (and charming & impeccably behaved they were too!). pic.twitter.com/8zYJRsWiKB Claire Hanna (@ClaireHanna) March 23, 2018 Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive at the Crown Bar in Belfast @rtenews pic.twitter.com/77TbByga1Q Samantha Libreri (@SamanthaLibreri) March 23, 2018 Prince Harry and Ms. Markle watch performances by local schools to celebrate how the Arts can unite different communities. #AmazingtheSpace. pic.twitter.com/cmUxJFc37P The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) March 23, 2018 The #Royal couple step out for a meet and greet ahead of @cooperationirl 's Eikon event @BelTel pic.twitter.com/iVTNK75UQG Claire McNeilly (@ClaireMcBelfast) March 23, 2018 Best wishes to all the young peace makers at the Amazing The Space event today. @cooperationirl Mary Lou McDonald (@MaryLouMcDonald) March 23, 2018 Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle are visiting Belfast today for their first official joint visit to Northern Ireland. pic.twitter.com/vzizD09LYF The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) March 23, 2018 Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have arrived at @TitanicBelfast to loud cheers from the enthusiastic crowd. pic.twitter.com/TUPx659idO Brett Campbell (@WbeeCampbell) March 23, 2018 Friday's Royal Visit saw Meghan Markle and Prince Harry taking in the sights around Belfast. Their trip included a visit to the Titanic Belfast maritime museum, meeting school children at the former Maze prison site outside of Lisburn, and having lunch at the Crown Liquor Saloon. While making their way up Great Victoria Street from the Crown the couple got the chance to meet Donal, a infant who had been dressed up as a bear for the occasion. Speaking to his mother Roisin, Meghan asked how long they had been waiting, before Harry complimented the style and practicality of the child's outfit. Geronimo Roa who carried his baby to safety from his eighth floor apartment The damage to Metro Hotel in Dublin following the blaze A father has revealed how he and his wife had to carry their two-week-old baby down from the eighth floor of a burning hotel in Dublin as fire crews rushed up to try to contain the blaze. The fire tore through the Metro hotel and apartment building in Ballymun on Wednesday night. Around 150 people had to be evacuated from the complex as 60 firefighters battled the flames. The Roa family were among those who escaped the blaze. "There was one floor between us and the fire," Geronimo Roa said. "I live there with my wife, my three-year-old daughter and our baby daughter, who is just two weeks old." Mr Roa spent Wednesday night sleeping on a couch in the lobby of the Carlton Hotel in Santry, while the rest of his family stayed with friends. He told how initially when the alarm went off, he thought there was no need for concern. "We heard an alarm but sometimes they can be very sensitive so I was looking around to see if there was anything wrong, but everything seemed OK," he said. "My wife went down to reception and saw people running so she realised something was wrong. We left the apartment we are renting and started to go down the stairs and at around the sixth floor we met 10 firemen coming up towards us. "They were there really quickly. "When we got out I looked back up and I could see the fire. "It was scary to see how close it was to our apartment," he added. Mr Roa added the family are unsure if any of their personal possessions have survived the blaze. He said: "The only thing I have is my phone. "I'm in my pyjamas because that is what I was wearing at the time." Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Ireland stands in solidarity with the UK over the Salisbury attack (Andrew Matthews/PA) Ireland stands in full solidarity with the UK following the loathsome and reprehensible poisoning of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, the Taoiseach said. The EU has urged Russia to address the UKs questions and called for full disclosure of its development of Novichok, the nerve agent used. Leo Varadkar said it was important to stick together. An attempted assassination or a chemical attack, no matter who does it, is something that were going to condemn and condemn outright, he said. Mr Varadkar added that the 28 EU member states were all small countries surrounded by larger ones. As a fellow member of the European Union, were going to be in full solidarity with the United Kingdom, he said. I think what happened at Salisbury was loathsome and reprehensible; and were going to stand right beside the UK on that issue. Mr Skripal, 66, and Yulia Skripal, 33, were found slumped and unconscious on a bench near a shopping centre in the centre of Salisbury on March 4, having visited a pub and a restaurant. Prime Minister Theresa May blamed the Russian state. Russia is on the agenda as leaders gather in Brussels for a European Council meeting. President Donald Tusk has proposed strengthening resilience to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear-related risks, including through closer cooperation among the EU institutions, the states and Nato. He said: We should also continue to bolster our capabilities to address hybrid threats, including in the areas of cyber, strategic communication and counter-intelligence. European leaders are expected to adopt conclusions following the Salisbury attack, Mr Tusk added. A British Army brigadier who created a specialist unit of Facebook warriors to combat the rising influence of online interaction on warfare has said it was a remarkable feeling to receive a CBE. Brigadier Alastair Aitken set up the 77th Brigade in April 2015, as an agent of change to challenge the difficulties of modern warfare using non-lethal engagement. Brig Aitken was decorated at Buckingham Palace alongside playwright Peter Nichols, theatre director John Tiffany, and the governor general of Barbados, Dame Sandra Mason. Expand Close Brigadier Alastair Aitken is made a CBE by the Duke of Cambridge (Jonathan Brady/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Brigadier Alastair Aitken is made a CBE by the Duke of Cambridge (Jonathan Brady/PA) Brig Aitken said: Its remarkable feeling. Its a fantastic setting and brilliant experience in terms of the range of talent that you get to meet whilst here. My family were delighted and asked, can we have new hats?, They are very excited to be here today. I think they are a little starstruck from seeing the Duke of Cambridge too. The 77th Brigade is made up of Army recruits skilled in the use of social media, who disseminate digital content to support the armed forces. How we communicate is a really important part (of the 77th Brigade) and how we work together to counter the campaigns of regimes that use disinformation to create war zones, he said. Brig Aitken, who was born in Bedfordshire but raised all over the world, described the 77th Brigades creation as coming just at the right time in terms of international tensions over the past 12 months. He served in the the Black Watch, Royal Regiment of Scotland for 30 years. EU leaders have promised an unprecedented diplomatic response to the Salisbury nerve agent attack after backing Theresa Mays assertion that Russia was to blame. At the end of the two-day summit in Brussels, European Council president Donald Tusk said the recall of the EUs ambassador to Moscow for consultations would be followed by further action by member states. The reaction from the EU came as the British diplomats thrown out by the Kremlin returned to the UK. In an indication of a possible escalation in the EU response, French President Emmanuel Macron said France and Germany would be among the countries taking co-ordinated measures against Russia, with an announcement due very shortly. Irish premier Leo Varadkar said Dublin would be conducting a security assessment, with a decision early next week on possible individual action relating to Russian diplomats in Ireland. Latvias foreign minister Edgars Rinkevics joined Lithuania in suggesting his country could follow Britains lead and decide on the expulsion of Russian secret service employees working under diplomatic cover. Charter flight from Moscow landed at RAF Brize Norton at 15:59; with @foreignoffice team, I welcomed 48 colleagues/families plus 4 dogs. Safe at home. pic.twitter.com/vgAT3ifGyM Simon McDonald (@SimonMcDonaldUK) March 23, 2018 The moves came after leaders issued a statement supporting the UKs assessment that it was highly likely Moscow was responsible for the attack on former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, and that there was no plausible alternative explanation. It represented a significant hardening of the EUs position after foreign ministers issued a statement earlier this week expressing solidarity with the UK, while stopping short of blaming Russia. Mrs May, who set out Britains case against the Kremlin over dinner on Thursday night, welcomed the strong recognition of the threat Russia posed to their collective security. She said that in the run-up to the summit, Britain had been sharing what information it could through intelligence channels as it sought to make the case for Russian responsibility. The PM, Chancellor Merkel and President Macron today, in Brussels, agreed on the importance of sending a strong European message in response to Russia's actions. https://t.co/t2ievTeZeb pic.twitter.com/bmyGx8L2ea UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) March 22, 2018 The threat from Russia is one that respects no borders, she said. I think it is clear that Russia is challenging the values we share as Europeans, and it is right that we are standing together in defence of those values, she said. Her comments were echoed by Mr Macron, who told a joint news conference with Germanys Chancellor Angela Merkel: We consider this an attack on European sovereignty. He disclosed that France had been asked for technical assistance relating to the Salisbury investigation, which it stood ready to provide. Mr Tusk said the EU response to the incident was unprecedented, with the next steps by national governments expected as early as Monday. It is very difficult to prepare an adequate reaction to this kind of behaviour with nerve agents. We will never have a real chance to respond adequately because we are completely different to the perpetrators of this attack, he said. #EUCO agrees with UK government that highly likely Russia is responsible for #SalisburyAttack and that there is no other plausible explanation. Charles Michel (@eucopresident) March 22, 2018 Mr Tusk expressed satisfaction that he had achieved his goal of maintaining a united front among the 28 EU member states, despite their different stances towards Russia due to differing geographical positions and political traditions. I think it was the best reaction we were able to decide on, he said. In a hint at the underlying tensions, he acknowledged that not all member states would be taking further measures. Asked how many might take action, he said: More than one, but I dont think it will be the whole group. The British diplomats ordered out of Russia in retaliation for Britains expulsion of 23 suspected spies were now safe at home, Foreign Office mandarin Sir Simon McDonald said. The 23 UK diplomats expelled from the British Embassy #Moscow have returned to the UK safely. I would like to place on record my thanks to all of them, and to those in our team that remain in Russia, for all their hard work. @ukinrussia Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) March 23, 2018 A charter flight flew 48 diplomats and their families along with four dogs to RAF Brize Norton. The boss of the Porton Down defence lab, where the Novichok substance was analysed, dismissed Russian claims that the nerve agent could have originated from there. Porton Down chief executive Gary Aitkenhead told the BBC: We have got the highest levels of controls, of security around the work that we do here. We would not be allowed to operate if we had lack of control that could result in anything leaving the four walls of our facility here. We have got complete confidence that there is nothing that could have come from here out into the wider world. The scene in Glasgow city centre as crews tackled a large blaze on Sauchiehall Street on Thursday (Jane Barlow/PA) Emergency services remain at the scene a day after a major blaze broke out on a busy shopping street. More than 120 firefighters dealt with the incident on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow which started in the roof of the building which houses Victorias nightclub at about 8.20am on Thursday. An asbestos warning was issued to local residents and businesses as firefighters battled the blaze, which they brought under control by early afternoon. Firefighters remained at the scene on Friday to dampen down the area, with several appliances involved. Expand Close More than 120 firefighters were involved in tackling the blaze on Thursday (Jane Barlow/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp More than 120 firefighters were involved in tackling the blaze on Thursday (Jane Barlow/PA) Police said cordons would remain in place for several days while the safety of buildings was checked. Chief Fire Officer Alasdair Hay said the blaze was one of the biggest the single service has had to deal with and praised the professionalism of the firefighters who dealt with it. He said: Its one of the biggest incidents weve had in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service since its inception. No-one was injured in the incident. Expand Close A police officer wears a face mask after asbestos warnings were issued (Jane Barlow/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A police officer wears a face mask after asbestos warnings were issued (Jane Barlow/PA) Thick smoke billowed across the pedestrian precinct as fire crews battled the fire, with fears it could spread to nearby buildings including the historic Pavilion Theatre. Shows at the Pavilion and nearby Theatre Royal have been cancelled in the wake of the incident. The Pavilion thanked emergency services for saving the grand old lady of Renfield Street. Expand Close Firefighters prevented the blaze from spreading to the Pavilion Theatre (Jane Barlow/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Firefighters prevented the blaze from spreading to the Pavilion Theatre (Jane Barlow/PA) A statement posted on the Pavilion Theatre Facebook page on Thursday evening said: We managed to gain access tonight to ascertain the damage within the theatre. As the building across the lane is still currently pouring out smoke, this is still coming into the theatre. There is still a lot of smoke within the auditorium, and the seats, plasterwork, carpets and curtains are covered in a layer of black ash. We cannot see that we will be able to reopen within the next few days. They added: We would like to thank everyone within all the emergency services who have done a great job in saving the Grand Old Lady of Renfield Street and hopefully we will reopen in the not too distant future. We would also like to thank everyone for their support at this time. The fire was raised at First Ministers Questions in Holyrood with Nicola Sturgeon describing it as extremely serious. She later tweeted saying her sincere thanks go to firefighters and other emergency services for their heroic work. Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard has accused Nicola Sturgeon of having no idea how many workers on Scottish Government funded contracts are charged to access their wages. Mr Leonard said the practice by umbrella firms exploits workers and called for further government action while the First Minister said he should join in requesting more devolution to tackle the problem. Addressing concerns over workers on the flagship Aberdeen bypass scheme having to pay to access their own wages, Ms Sturgeon said this is something they choose. Workers on the Waverley Platform Extension have also been charged just to get their wages. @nicolasturgeon isnt it the case that you have no idea how widespread this practice is, on public contracts that you fund? - @labourrichard #fmqs Scottish Labour (@ScottishLabour) March 22, 2018 Speaking at First Ministers Questions, Mr Leonard asked what action had been taken since he raised the issue the previous week. Ms Sturgeon said Transport Scotland ordered an urgent investigation into the practice and found charging for access to wages happened through agency for a subcontractor on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) project. She said: It is at the discretion of individual employees if they choose to work through an agency. At the AWPR, there is no requirement to do so because the subcontractor offers to directly employ all employees working on the project. That means any worker who wishes to be paid directly by the subcontractor can be, which avoids any of these practices which I would condemn by agencies being applied. She said the contractor confirmed more than 90% of workers paid through an agency and all direct employees are paid on the standard Pay as You Earn basis, avoiding charges. This exploitation is not confined to just one contract, Mr Leonard said as he raised the case of a railway worker on a project at Edinburghs Waverley Station being charged to access wages. The point Richard Leonard has succeeded in making is that both Network Rail and employment law should be devolved to Scotland ...Im not sure thats what he meant to do #FMQs Elizabeth Lloyd (@eliz_lloyd) March 22, 2018 He added: First Minister, isnt it the case that you have got no idea how widespread this practice is on the public projects that you fund? Ms Sturgeon said although the Scottish Government funded the Waverley scheme, it has no control over the contract. She said the contract is with Network Rail, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the UK Government, and pressed Mr Leonard to back Scottish Government calls for control over Network Rail to be devolved to the Scottish Parliament. She added the Scottish Government expects companies delivering public contracts to adopt fair and ethical businesses practices, despite employment law being reserved. Unite regional officer Stevie Dillon said: Unite Scotland has no knowledge whatsoever of workers on major infrastructure projects in Scotland being offered a choice of direct employment with major contractors. One system dominates this entire section of the industry. A recruitment agency approaches the worker with a job offer. If the offer is accepted the worker is then directed to sign up with a specific company which will be one of the rip-off umbrella contractors. The only choice the worker gets in this process is take it or leave it. To suggest otherwise is, frankly, mistaken. Centralised mindset of leadership, bureaucracy pegging provinces Chief ministers from two provinces have blamed the centralised mindset of the top leadership and bureaucrats as a major factor hindering them from performing well as executive heads of the provinces. Jeremy Corbyn is under fire over an anti-Semitic mural (Owen Humphreys/PA) Jeremy Corbyn has said he regrets not looking more carefully at an allegedly anti-Semitic image before giving his apparent support to the artist responsible for it. The Labour leader was challenged by some of his own MPs over his response to a Facebook post by the street artist Mear One about the plan to paint over the work. Mr Corbyns response suggested the artist was in good company because the Rockefeller family had covered over a mural featuring Lenin in their New York development. Tomorrow they want to buff my mural Freedom Of Expression. London Calling, Public art Posted by MEAR ONE on Monday, October 1, 2012 In his post responding to the imminent destruction of the mural, Mr Corbyn said: Why? You are in good company. Rockerfeller (sic) destroyed Diego Vieras mural because it includes a picture of Lenin. But Mr Corbyn has now acknowledged he should have looked more closely at the image before posting on Facebook. He said: In 2012 I made a general comment about the removal of public art on grounds of freedom of speech. My comment referred to the destruction of the mural Man at the Crossroads by Diego Rivera on the Rockefeller Center. That is in no way comparable with the mural in the original post. I sincerely regret that I did not look more closely at the image I was commenting on, the contents of which are deeply disturbing and anti-Semitic. I wholeheartedly support its removal. I am opposed to the production of anti-Semitic material of any kind, and the defence of free speech cannot be used as a justification for the promotion of anti-Semitism in any form. That is a view Ive always held. The statement from Mr Corbyn came after a backlash against his initial response, issued through a spokesman. In 2012, Jeremy was responding to concerns about the removal of public art on grounds of freedom of speech, the spokesman said. However, the mural was offensive, used anti-Semitic imagery, which has no place in our society, and it is right that it was removed. Labour MP Luciana Berger who highlighted the post by Mr Corbyn hit out at the wholly inadequate response. She said: It fails to understand on any level the hurt and anguish felt about anti-Semitism. I will be raising this further. The response from the Spokesperson is wholly inadequate. It fails to understand on any level the hurt and anguish felt about Antisemitism. I will be raising this further. Luciana Berger (@lucianaberger) March 23, 2018 Luton South MP Gavin Shuker said: Its impossible to confront anti-Semitism in our party if this is the response from the very top. The Jewish Labour Movement said: Anti-Semitic art is anti-Semitism. History is littered with imagery that has reaffirmed the worst kinds of racial stereotypes and led to the worst kinds of racial discrimination. It cannot be defended under any circumstances. Not by anyone and least of all the leader of the Labour Party. Statement: Antisemitic art is antisemitism. It cannot be defended under any circumstances. pic.twitter.com/kiVDNerQgM Jewish Labour Movement (@JewishLabour) March 23, 2018 The mural, in east London, was painted by Mear One whose real name is Kalen Ockerman and depicted a group of businessmen playing a Monopoly-style game on a board balanced on the backs of people. The artist denied being anti-Semitic, saying the mural is about class and privilege and contains a group of bankers made up of Jewish and white Anglos. Two men who tried to smuggle an illegal migrant into the UK via France by concealing him behind boxes of wine and beer have been jailed, the Home Office has said. Jason Lee Palmer, 41, and Richard Giles 39, were caught as they attempted to leave France by the Channel Tunnel shortly after midnight on May 20 last year. The pair from Cardiff were stopped in their Vauxhall Mokka at the tunnel entrance in Coquelles and Palmer, who was driving, claimed he had been to France to buy wine, beer and cigarettes. Expand Close Jason Palmer (Home Office/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jason Palmer (Home Office/PA) Officers searched the vehicle and found the Vietnamese migrant hidden behind boxes of alcohol in the boot. A statement issued by the Home Office said the pair were found guilty of assisting unlawful immigration into the UK on February 8 by a jury after a trial lasting three days at Canterbury Crown Court. Commenting after they were sentenced on Friday, assistant director of Immigration Enforcement Criminal and Financial Investigation (CFI) David Fairclough said: I hope their convictions send a clear message to anyone tempted to get involved with this kind of criminality you will be caught and brought before the courts. We work closely with Border Force colleagues to rigorously investigate allegations of immigration related criminality. After his arrest, Palmer, of New Road, Rumney, Cardiff, was interviewed by CFI officers and claimed he left Wales on the Friday morning to travel to Calais to buy alcohol for a family party and he had locked the vehicle each time he left it so could not explain how the migrant entered the vehicle Palmer was sentenced to three years in prison for the people smuggling charge and an additional five months consecutive for an offence of possessing a bladed article following an arrest in Cardiff. Giles, of Pittsfield Place, Cardiff, did not answer questions when interviewed, but a forensic examination of his mobile phone showed text messages sent to and received from an unknown third party detailing the cars make, colour and registration number. He was sentenced to two years and six months imprisonment. Expand Close Richard Giles (Home Office/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Richard Giles (Home Office/PA) Mr Fairclough added: The telephone messages, considered in conjunction with the fact that the Vietnamese man could not have accessed the vehicle without help, left us with a strong case that Palmer and Giles were willing participants in this attempt to breach the UKs border controls. The Home Office said the illegal migrant, who claimed he was from Vietnam, was passed to the French authorities. Paul Morgan, director of Border Force South East and Europe, added: Border Force works in close partnership with other UK and French law enforcement agencies to secure the border in northern France, the result of which is that it is one of the most secure in Europe. We will continue to work to ensure that people smugglers and traffickers, whose actions so often put the lives of others at risk, face the full consequences of their crimes. Prime Minister Theresa May has welcomed the 11th-hour suspension of threatened US tariffs on British steel imports and said work must start now on making it permanent. Mrs May dropped plans to fly home from the European Council summit in Brussels overnight in order to stay on for discussions on the development with fellow EU leaders. The White House announced a temporary exemption for the EU and six other countries Canada, Mexico, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, South Korea from tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium which came into effect on Friday. Mrs May said: We have been working very hard to secure an EU-wide exemption to the steel tariffs that the Americans have announced. I am pleased that they have announced a temporary exemption for the EU. What I will be working with my fellow EU leaders today on is to see how we can secure a permanent exemption for the EU from these steel tariffs. We will be talking about what the next steps might be. I have stayed on to talk about these next steps because the steel industry is hugely important to the UK and the British Government and I want to ensure that steel workers and their jobs are properly safeguarded. The temporary exemption lasting until May 1 was announced as President Donald Trump signed an order for 43 billion of tariffs on imports from China in response to the challenge posed by cheap overseas metals to the US industry. The White House said other countries not included in the exemption list are welcome to open discussions with the US based on a shared commitment to addressing global excess steel and aluminium capacity and production. China threatened retaliatory action, releasing a list, worth more than 2 billion annually, of US goods including pork, apples and steel pipe that could face levies in return. Chinas Commerce Ministry said the higher US tariffs seriously undermine the global trading system and appealed for dialogue with Washington to resolve the situation as soon as possible. The imposition of tariffs, which were announced by President Trump earlier this year, was greeted with consternation on the markets, with shares tumbling on Wall Street and in Asia. Expand Close Trump Trade AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Trump Trade But the British steel industry expressed relief. UK Steel director Gareth Stace said: For the last few weeks the UK steel sector has held on to the hope that an exemption could be secured before tomorrows deadline and today we have finally been given cause for optimism. The announcement that the EU will be given a temporary exemption will be greeted with an enormous sigh of relief from the sector and it now provides us with the breathing room to find a more permanent solution. Every effort must now be made by the UK and EU authorities to ensure that this happens swiftly. The alternative would be a severe curtailment of our ability to export to the US. With some 350,000 tonnes of steel sold to the US last year, 7% of our total exports, it is clear any tariffs would ultimately hit the sector hard. There is surely no reasonable justification for allowing this to happen. Mr Stace warned the European industry will face increased competition from imports from major producing countries like Turkey and Russia, as they seek new markets for millions of tonnes of steel diverted from the US market. The top priority here must be for the EU Commission to swiftly introduce safeguard measures to guard against further expected import surges, he said. It is vital we do not leave large segments of the sector exposed and scupper the sectors fragile and nascent recovery from the crisis of recent years. EU leaders issued a joint statement calling for the European exemption from Mr Trumps tariffs to be made permanent. The European Council regrets the decision by the United States to impose import tariffs on steel and aluminium, said the statement issued at the European Council summit in Brussels. These measures cannot be justified on the grounds of national security, and sector-wide protection in the US is an inappropriate remedy for the real problems of overcapacity, on which the EU already has offered the US its full co-operation in multiple fora, including the Global Forum. It takes note that shipments of steel and aluminium from the European Union have been temporarily exempted from such measures, and calls for that exemption to be made permanent. Niugini Arabica cafe in Canberra, Australia, was victim of a burglary this week, however their home-made security system ensured that they didnt have too much taken. An ingenious note, reading haha, no money, was left inside the till overnight to let the robbers know that they would leave empty handed. George Levantis, an employee at the cafe, posted the photo of the note on Reddit, saying: The thief was greeted by this note I left inside the register. The post now has over 65,000 upvotes, with plenty of people praising the cafes original and effective security tactic, and poking fun at the unfortunate thief. Levantis said: The notes been there for sixish years since the day we opened I updated the note to uphold the tradition. There were actually three thieves, and apart from the phone they also took 2kg of coffee as they left, which proves they have excellent taste in coffee. Australian Capital Territory Policing confirmed that an investigation is ongoing into the burglary. The US Congress has given its final approval to a giant 1.3 trillion dollar (920bn) spending bill. The move ends the budget battles for now, but only after late obstacles skirted close to another shutdown. Conservatives had objected to big outlays on Democratic priorities at a time when Republicans control the House, Senate and White House. The Senates move averted a third federal shutdown this year, an outcome both parties wanted to avoid. But in crafting a sweeping deal that busts budget caps, they have stirred conservative opposition and set the contours for the next funding fight ahead of the midterm elections. The House easily approved the measure on Thursday 256-167, a bipartisan tally that underscored the popularity of the compromise, which funds the government through September. Expand Close President Donald Trump was forced to compromise with the Democrats (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp President Donald Trump was forced to compromise with the Democrats (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) It beefs up military and domestic programmes, delivering federal funds to every corner of the country. The omnibus spending bill was supposed to be an antidote to the stopgap measures Congress has been forced to pass five in this fiscal year alone to keep government temporarily running amid partisan fiscal disputes. Leaders delivered on President Donald Trumps top priorities of boosting Pentagon coffers and starting work his promised border wall, while compromising with Democrats on funds for road building, child care development, fighting the opioid crisis and more. But the result has been unimaginable to many Republicans after campaigning on spending restraints and balanced budgets. Along with the recent Republican tax cuts law, the bill that stood a foot tall at some lawmakers desks ushers in the return of 1 trillion dollar (710bn) deficits. Mr Trump only reluctantly backed the bill he would have to sign, according to Republican politicians and aides, who acknowledged the deal involved necessary trade-offs for the Democratic votes needed for passage despite their majority lock on Congress. Trying to smooth over differences, Republican leaders focused on military increases that were once core to the partys brand as guardians of national security. Vote yes for our military. Vote yes for the safety and the security of this country, said Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, ahead of voting. But even that remained a hard sell. In all, 90 House Republicans, including many from the conservative House Freedom Caucus, voted against the bill, as did two dozen Republicans in the Senate. It was a sign of the entrenched Republican divisions that have made leaderships job controlling the majority difficult. They will likely repeat on the next budget battle in fall. Democrats faced their own divisions, particularly after failing to resolve the stalemate over shielding young Dreamer immigrants from deportation as Mr Trumps decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme has left it for the courts to decide. Instead, Mr Trump won 1.6 billion dollars (1.13bn) to begin building and replacing segments of the wall along the border with Mexico. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus opposed the bill. In the Catholic Church, only the Pope has the power to discipline a cardinal. In the case of Cardinal Keith O'Brien, former head of the Catholic Church in Scotland, matters were - deliberately, strategically - never allowed to get to that stage. He was permitted instead to step back from his public duties in 2013 after allegations of sexual impropriety involving young priests. He admitted in vague terms that his "conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal", but without giving the victims of his predatory sexual aggressiveness the decency of a full admission of guilt. But would Britain's most senior Catholic have been pushed had he not agreed to jump back then? That is something we'll never know, but events since Keith O'Brien's death on Monday, two days after his 80th birthday, hardly inspire confidence in the Catholic Church's readiness to do the decent thing or even recognise the right thing to do when it's staring them in the face. That's obvious from Pope Francis' message of condolence to O'Brien's successor in the St Andrews and Edinburgh Diocese, which declared himself "saddened to learn of the death of His Eminence Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien", adding: "I offer heartfelt condolences to you, his family and all who mourn his passing." The Pope's expression of sympathy will, no doubt, be defended as ceremonial politeness from an institution which lives by protocol. Such excuses, though, merely confirm that, decades after first being rocked by revelations of abuse and official cover-ups, the Church still does not get what all the fuss is about. Margaret McGuckin, of the group Survivors and Victims of Institutional Abuse (SAVIA), made the most telling intervention when she said: "This doesn't even surprise me." Of all the responses, that is the one which should shame the Catholic Church most of all. Those who suffered at its hands may still be capable of shock at the callousness which is meted out to them, but they no longer expect anything better. The central failing of the Catholic Church is that it continues to regard abuse by priests as a historic issue, one which has been done and dealt with by the hierarchy, whereas for survivors and their families it's an ongoing, ever-present reality. The Church wants to "move on", in the current therapeutic jargon, while doing nothing to make that possible by properly acknowledging, or making amends for, the damage it continues to wreak. The apostolic blessing bestowed by Pope Francis on Keith O'Brien's death is a standard enough form of address between the Pope and faithful Catholics; but why did the message of condolence make a point of saying that it was being "cordially" imparted by his holiness? Cordial has two definitions, according to the dictionary - "warm and friendly", or "strongly felt". Whichever meaning was meant - and it may have been both - it seems particularly insensitive to victims of clerical abuse to go above and beyond the call of duty in this way when offering sympathy on the death of a man whose personal conduct had been so reprehensible that the findings of a secret report by the Vatican were, in words quoted by Catholic newspaper The Tablet, "hot enough to burn the varnish" off the Pope's desk. This tells victims that the Church still sees errant priests as "one of us", entitled to a certain respect as a result. In the past, wayward priests have been "punished" with regimes of penance and prayer, or seen their alleged wrongdoings handled through the form of a so-called 'apostolic visitation', rather than an exhaustive probe by a properly constituted, independent investigation. When it came to O'Brien, the person charged with finding out the truth about the cardinal's behaviour was none other than his successor as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh. That the subsequent report was never published makes a mockery of any claim by the Church to be taking victims seriously. If the Pope is the only person in the whole world authorised to censure a cardinal, it makes the words which he chooses to use all the more momentous. Any hint of equivocation is fatal to re-establishing trust. Forgiveness is a central tenet of the Christian doctrine and that can make for some uncomfortable choices, but forgiveness should not mean ignoring what the individual in need of it has done. In not even mentioning the cardinal's accusers, the Pope's message treats Keith O'Brien as just another priest who has, as Christians would see it, been called home to God. O'Brien was many things, but just another cleric is not one of them. To ignore his wrongdoings when responding officially to his death is to treat them as minor details, rather than defining moments of his time on earth. Some might argue that the offences of which he was accused were not at the more extreme end of the scale and, therefore, could be more easily forgiven. They've even been described in some quarters as drunken fumblings from a man so damaged by internal psychological torment that he could rail publicly against the "moral degradation" of homosexuality while repeatedly forcing younger priests into sexual situations. That is to misunderstand the nature of sexual abuse and the abuse of power which allows it to continue unchecked for decades. It's not for us to decide whether O'Brien was "not as bad" as some other priests. What matters is the feelings of victims, not perpetrators, and they have been repeatedly let down by a Catholic Church which covered up their crimes for decades and then compounded the offence by keeping secret the subsequent reports into this culture of secrecy. The Pope has added another layer of insult to that litany of injury. He has rendered victims invisible again, making it all the more urgent to see how these unresolved hurts can find redress during this summer's Papal visit to Ireland. It's unthinkable Pope Francis will not face the issue when he speaks and this most personally charming and approachable of men will, no doubt, make all the right, soothing noises. But what faith can there be in the sincerity of the sentiments behind them when the Catholic Church continually reverts to sickening fraternal solidarity? This summer's visit will not include any time in Northern Ireland, it was announced this week, but Margaret McGuckin of SAVIA has already indicated that she will make the trip south to make sure that the voices of victims are heard. Their determination to be heard will rightly be re-energised by this week's developments. Bangladeshi soldiers carry the coffin of a victim of a terrorist attack at the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe, during a memorial service at the Army Stadium in Dhaka, July 4, 2016. Bangladeshi police on Thursday announced the arrests of a fugitive who allegedly supplied weapons for a terrorist attack at a Dhaka cafe in 2016 and a second man described as the mastermind of a foiled bomb plot in the capital last year. The suspects, Hadisur Rahman Sagor, who was linked to attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe, and Akram Hossain Niloy were captured near a cinema in Shivganj, a sub-district of northern Bogra district, according to local police. We had been looking for him (Sagor) for long. We got him. His arrest will help the police to file a flawless investigation on the attack, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told BenarNews, referring to the cafe attack, the deadliest act of terror in Bangladeshs nearly 47-year history. Niloy was arrested in connection with a plot to bomb a National Day of Mourning observance in Dhaka in August 2017, authorities said. Sagor supplied the AK-22 rifles and grenades used in the Holey Artisan cafe attack and Niloy is the mastermind of the Aug. 15, 2017, suicidal attack at a hotel in the Panthapath neighborhood of Dhaka, Ali Asraf Bhuiyan, the superintendent of police in Bogra, told BenarNews. Police linked both suspects to Neo-JMB, an offshoot of militant group Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). Neo-JMB members are known to subscribe to the hardline ideology of the extremist group Islamic State (IS), police said. The two suspects were turned over to the counter-terrorism and transnational crime unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police. A court granted police a seven-day remand to hold the suspects for questioning. Claimed by IS, the cafe attack in Dhakas diplomatic quarter on July 1and 2, 2016, left 29 people dead 20 hostages, two police officers, two cafe workers and the five gunmen who stormed the bakery and massacred diners during an overnight siege. Since then, police targeted 22 suspects for their roles in supporting the young men who carried out the siege killing 13 in counterterror raids. With Sagors arrest, seven suspects are in custody and two others are considered fugitives. Bangladesh police released photos of suspects Hadisur Rahman Sagor (left), and Akram Hossain Niloy, March 22, 2018. [Newsroom photo] Second suspect Investigators alleged that Niloy, whose Neo-JMB code names were Slade Wilson and Jack Sparrow, provided funds for the planned attack targeting the National Mourning Day event in Dhaka. The Aug. 15 plot failed when a bomber, identified as Saiful Islam, blew himself up in his hotel room after police officers confronted him, officials said. The bombing occurred a short distance from a house where Bangladeshs founding president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and much of his family were assassinated on that day 42 years earlier. Hours before the bomber killed himself, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Rahmans daughter who survived the 1975 attack because she was out of the country, led thousands of people who had gathered in the neighborhood to pay tribute to her father. Earlier this week, officials announced plans for the government to give 15,000 euros (1.5 million taka or U.S. $18,400) in compensation to 19 of the 20 hostages who were killed in the Holey Artisan attack. The home minister will present checks and mementos to survivors of Bangladeshi and Indian victims during a ceremony in Dhaka on Sunday. Similar compensation has been given to the survivors of nine Italian victims and six of the seven Japanese victims, with one of the Japanese families declining the compensation, home ministry officials said. High school student Riko Ayomi was already dying when police brought him home in Sorong, a city on the western tip of West Papua province, an eyewitness said. His life was soon added to the roster of what local people view as unexplained and unpunished deaths of indigenous Papuans in the remote region, and which authorities often pin on traffic accidents or alcohol abuse. Police said they took Riko into custody after a mob beat him following an alleged theft, according to reports. About 24 hours later, before dawn on March 13, police officers brought the 17-year-old home, according to a person present at the time, who asked not to be named. Riko was dying. He could not stand, could not talk, parts of his body were bruised, like his neck and his chest. He had blood coming out of his mouth. His jaw was broken, and his body was covered with scrapes. Riko died around 5 a.m., the eyewitness said. West Papua police spokesman Hary Supriyono said Riko was unconscious the whole time he was in police custody. When officers took him to the hospital, they were told Riko was drunk, he added. Results of an autopsy conducted by police doctors have not been released, according to the Associated Press, which said police also released a photo of the dead teenager with a bottle of alcohol next to his body. Police also cited a long-running dispute between two tribal groups in the area as a factor in the alleged mob beating. But local people had little expectation of clear answers or justice in such cases, according to Gustaf Kawer, a prominent Papuan human rights lawyer. The government of Indonesia has failed to implement an effective legal process to punish the perpetrators of such killings, he told BenarNews on Wednesday. What kind of justice is that? Gustaf cited a shooting in August 2017 in the Pomako Port in Mimika regency that left one fisherman dead and others injured. Earlier this week, a military court sentenced a soldier, Yusuf Salasar, to eight months in jail in connection with the shooting. The sentence and the verdict are very far from a sense of justice. The maximum sentence is eight years. But prosecutors only asked for one year and three months, Gustaf Kawer said. In addition, the trial was held hundreds of kilometers from where the shooting took place, making it impossible for relatives and witnesses to attend, he said. Another case was a police shooting at a protest on Aug. 1, 2017 against a company constructing a bridge in remote and mountainous Deiyai regency. The shooting killed a civilian, Yulius Pigai, and injured at least seven others, according to a Human Rights Watch statement at the time. The perpetrators were sentenced to apologize and were transferred. What kind of justice is that? The only punishment for taking a life is an apology? said John Gobay, a member of the provincial House of Representatives. A police ethics panel probe into the shooting ruled four police officers were guilty of improper conduct but did not need to face criminal prosecution, only demotions and public apologies, a Human Rights Watch statement said. Foreign media access is restricted in Papua and West Papua, Indonesias two easternmost provinces, which make up about one-fifth of Indonesias land mass. The region is one of Indonesias poorest, with low literacy rates and high rates of infant and maternal mortality. Migrants from other parts of Indonesia make up about half the population and dominate commercial activity, according to reports. The region has been home to a low-level armed separatist movement, the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM), for decades. The OPM and Indonesian security forces are both guilty of human rights abuses, rights groups say. Christmas pledge Frits Ramandey, the representative of the National Commission on Human Rights in Papua, said security forces use excessive force against the local population because protests and resistance are often branded as acts of treason. Government security measures to maintain order in Papua often lead to various forms of violence, he told BenarNews. President Joko Widodo has not lived up to his pledge to Papuans in December 2014 to resolve such incidents and prevent them from happening again, he added. I empathize with the families of victims of violence, Jokowi said during Christmas celebrations in a stadium in Jayapura, the capital of Papua, on Dec. 27 of that year. I want this case to be resolved as soon as possible so as not to happen again in the future. We want the land of Papua to be a peaceful land, he said. He was referring to the fatal shooting of five protesters by security forces in Paniai regency on Dec. 8, 2014. The shooting occurred after about 800 people gathered outside a military and police compound to demand an explanation for the alleged beating by soldiers of a 12-year-old boy the night, Human Rights Watch said. Despite three separate official investigations into the shootings, bolstered by Jokowis December 2014 pledge to thoroughly investigate and punish security forces implicated in those deaths, there has been zero accountability, it said in an August 2017 statement. Customers dine at a Chinese restaurant in Sungai Rengit, a town in the southern Malaysian state of Johor, March 21, 2018. Politicians in Malaysia are exploiting racial issues to jockey for seats in an upcoming general election, a local human rights group warned this week in a rare report on racial discrimination in the multi-ethnic country. Pusat Komas blamed the government of Prime Minister Najib Razak for the problem, saying it had reneged on its promises to promote national unity and social cohesion in the country. In fact, racism has become more pronounced and is being increasingly used as a tool to divide and rule, the NGO said in the report released in conjunction with the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 21. Pusat Komas, which aims to promote and enhance unity through the use of popular media, said incidences of racial discrimination in Malaysia had increased last year based on news reports. As the 14th General Elections is around the corner, numerous politicians from all sides, have resorted to the usage of racial politics to win the political support of the people, it said. Ruling, opposition parties deny playing race card Malays and other indigenous groups account for nearly 70 percent of Malaysias population of 31 million, with ethnic Chinese making up 23 percent and ethnic Indians and others the remainder. Most of the Malaysian political parties are race-based, including Najibs United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the linchpin of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. UMNO has denied exploiting racial issues. UMNO does not survive on racial issues despite the fact the party relies heavily on the support of the Malays, Annuar Musa, UMNOs information chief, told BenarNews on Friday. The core of the partys struggle is for the benefit of the Malays, but the party still looks into the needs of the non-Malays that are part of the various ethnic groups in the country, he said. But ethnic minorities have complained about a lack of educational and business opportunities, saying that a government affirmative-action policy in favor of ethnic Malays had marginalized them. Among other BN component parties are the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), both of which cater to the ethnic Chinese and Indian population. The key opposition Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) party, led by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, is Malay-based and he has made it clear that racial politics are here to stay. The sophisticated and highly educated urban people may believe that racial politics are not in keeping with the times, Mahathir, the former president of UMNO, said in a blog post soon after setting up the party in 2016. But on the ground it is different. For the rural people who largely are poor, race is not only important but they believe (it) is essential for their well-being. UMNOs popularity is because it is a racial party. Among the other opposition parties are the predominantly Chinese Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Malay Muslim-based Parti Islam Se Malaysia (PAS). Liew Chin Tong, the head of the DAP in southern Johor state, rejected any notion that his party played the race card. DAP has always championed the principles of accepting all Malaysians, including Sabahans and Sarawakians, he said referring to the people of the east Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, on Borneo, that joined Malaysia in 1963. Racial politics is never part of DAP, we fight for all Malaysians irrespective or race, religion and color, Liew told BenarNews. Religious extremism on rise The Pusat Komas report mentioned a rise in religious extremism in Malaysia and said it had led to discriminatory actions that have impeded the rights of Malaysians from different ethnic groups. Though the discriminatory actions may stem from a religious perspective, the intersectionality between religious and racial discrimination is apparent in these cases, it said. This new trend is not only worrying but it highlights the inherent danger of the overreach of bureaucratic Islamic institution[s]. Islam is the official religion of Malaysia, which has sizable Buddhist, Christian and Hindu communities. The Pusat Komas report also highlighted several positive examples where initiatives were taken to promote national unity and social cohesion, including by high-level politicians, sultans, commercial bodies, youth groups, sportsmen, military, religious authorities and even a beauty company. This clearly shows the power of ordinary citizens to stop racism and racist remarks in time and prevent the spread of hatred before it would severely damage the social fabric, said Rita Izsak-Ndiaye, a member of the panel that monitors the implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). Malaysia was among a handful of countries which did not sign and ratify the ICERD, Ndiaye, a former U.N. Special Rapporteur on minority issues, said in a foreword to the Pusat Komas report. Joining the other 179 State Parties who have already done so is not only important because it signifies an important pledge toward eliminating racial discrimination, but comes with very concrete benefits, she said. Hata Wahari in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this report. City wont spare people littering public places The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) plans stringent measures to punish people who litter and throw waste in public places in the metropolis. An elementary school educator who was abducted a day earlier by Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern Philippine province of Sulu was released hours later, police said Friday. Heavily armed militants stormed the Liang Elementary School in the town of Patikul on Tuesday morning and snatched Principal Marjorie Abdul at gunpoint, according to Capt. Joa-ann Petinglay, the militarys Western Mindanao Command spokeswoman. Troops immediately launched an operation to go after the abductors who are known to control parts of Patikul, Petinglay said. We strongly condemn any kidnapping ploys employed by lawless groups in the province. Rest assured that we will sustain our operations in coordination with law enforcement agencies, Petinglay said. Police sources in Sulu, however, told BenarNews that Abdul was freed about 12 hours later after her family paid an unspecified ransom. It was not clear whether the military was aware of this development, and calls to Petinglay late Friday went unanswered. Abduls abduction and apparent release occurred days after another Muslim teacher, Doris Hamsirani, 45, was freed after a week in captivity. Police found Hamsirani Tuesday morning as she wandered in Patikul after escaping from her captors, according to media reports. Earlier this week, authorities in nearby Zamboanga City captured two Abu Sayyaf militants who were allegedly involved in the abduction of 21 foreign tourists from a resort in Malaysia 18 years ago. With a few hundred members, Abu Sayyaf is driven by profit and has long abandoned its ideological leanings. It is blamed for some of the worst kidnappings, bombings and beheadings of locals and foreign hostages during the past two decades. In the last two years alone, the group beheaded a German and two Canadians it had kidnapped separately in the south after their governments failed to pay ransoms. Last year, a faction of the Abu Sayyaf group led by Isnilon Hapilon, the acknowledged leader of the Islamic State in the country, laid siege to the southern city of Marawi and displaced thousands of residents. The five-month siege killed 1,200 people, mostly militants, and left the once-beautiful lakeshore region in shambles. U.S. first lady Melania Trump (bottom left) smiles at Sirikan Charoensiri of Thailand after presenting the International Women of Courage awards at the State Department in Washington. With them are Sister Maria Elena Berini of Italy (top left), Aiman Umarova of Kazakhstan and Dr. Feride Rushiti of Kosovo, March 23, 2018. The United States on Friday recognized the fearlessness of a Thai attorney for drawing attention to human rights problems in her junta-ruled country. Sirikan Charoensiri, co-founder of the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), and nine others from around the world received the 2018 International Women of Courage Award during a ceremony at the State Department attended by U.S. first lady Melania Trump. TLHR has represented hundreds of clients since the military coup, often as the only alternative for those facing politically-motivated charges, according to a statement from the State Department. Because of the political sensitivity of the organizations work, TLHR lawyers and staffers have been subjected regularly to harassment, intimidation and criminal charges. Before the ceremony, Sirikan, 31, spoke to BenarNews about her experience of co-founding TLHR in 2014, immediately after Gen. Prayuth Chan-o-cha led a coup that deposed Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. We were set up as an immediate response to the imposition of martial law because some of us had been working in the Deep South of Thailand and we know that human rights lawyers need to step out, she said, referring to her countrys heavily militarized and insurgency-wracked southern border region. We knew that this was not going to be a temporary mission and we knew that providing legal aid is not enough, she said. We needed to have strong documentation to use for advocacy for human rights and democracy in Thailand, so we set up a team to monitor and document human rights violations. We do not just defend civilians; we defend the whole system, we defend the rule-of-law system, so it will not be destroyed. Sirikan said TLHR had handled about 140 cases half of them in military courts and the other half in civilian courts since its inception. Among those are cases of violating a ban of public gathering of five people that remains in effect. This ban is the real problem that curbs the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and the free movement of young people, she said, adding the ban must be revoked. Sirikan said 2018, so far, had seen many instances where people were arrested because they were protesting for people to have the power to override the military governments sweeping power under the constitution. We have seen suppression earlier this year, which implies the movement is getting stronger, she said. Sirikan Charoensiri, co-founder of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights. [Uayporn Satitpanyapan/BenarNews] Sirikan dismissed the notion that someone was paying the protesters. [T]hose who come out [to protest] have been labeled as anti-junta they only came out to demand democracy to return to normalcy, return to protection of human rights, return to the rule of law, she said. When you criticize for military government, you get in to trouble. Who would want to get into trouble, to be jailed, to be arrested to risk your life for someones money? During the interview, BenarNews asked her about what young Thais wanted for their country. There are principles that students have been advocating democracy, human rights, justice, equality and public participation. I think these are what young people in Thailand are demanding, she replied. Human rights hero Sirikan is the second Thai to be honored with the Women of Courage award, following Rodjaraeg Wattanapanit who received it 2016. At that time, Rodjaraeg, the co-owner of the Book Re:public bookstore, which is seen as an oasis for the free exchange of ideas in Thailand, said she worried about censorship and diminishing freedoms since the junta led by Gen. Prayuth Chan-o-cha seized power in May 2014. Shortly after receiving her award, Rodjaraeg was forced by the junta to cancel an event where people were going to discuss a new constitution being drafted then by a commission appointed by the National Council for Peace and Order, the juntas official name. Rodjaraeg is the co-founder of Creating Awareness for Enhanced Democracy, or Cafe Democracy, which is dedicated to increasing political awareness, empowering citizens and encouraging the free exchange of ideas. Last year, global rights watchdog Amnesty International honored Sirikan with a Lifetime Achievement Award, calling her one of its four human rights heroes. Back home, Sirikan is facing sedition charges stemming from her work in defending student activists. Legal experts say she is probably the first attorney in Thai history to face a sedition charge, according to the Bangkok Post. I feel humbly honored to be selected to one of the 10 awardees this year, Sirikan told BenarNews about the award that the United States was about to bestow on her. [I]t is a recognition of our work but also for the U.S. and other countries to not forget about the situation in Thailand. We have not yet resumed democracy as its supposed to be, she added. So I think that message is very important. Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, the truth about the abortion debate in America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Singapore has established itself as a leading country in biomedical sciences manufacturing and R&D activities. In addition, it also provides numerous opportunities for private enterprise to partner with its public-sector research institutes, clinical-research units in hospitals as well as international research organisations. While Singapore already has one of the most efficient healthcare systems globally (ranked second by Bloomberg Healthcare Efficiency Index 2016), its integrated approach towards the bio-pharma business environment continues to further strengthen its position in an otherwise difficult time for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. As organizations across the spectrum struggle on multiple fronts declining R&D, pressures on costs and margins, heightened competition they are increasingly getting interested in leveraging Singapores enabling and efficient ecosystem to further their productivity and profitability. This is quite evident from the fact that more than 30 leading companies (including the likes of GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Amgen and Takeda) have chosen Singapore as their base for APAC operations and are using the city-states enabling facilities to drive innovation, efficiency and business growth. According to a recent study by research and consulting firm GlobalData (published in June 2017), the pharmaceutical market in Singapore is set to rise from S$1.28 billion in 2017 to around S$1.6 billion in 2021, and will first exceed the S$1.35 billion mark in 2019. Singapores approach to attracting sectoral investment sector is multi-pronged, with a (1) focus on government initiatives and friendly policies, (2) enabling public-private partnerships, (3) making it easy for Singapore to become a preferred manufacturing base, (4) creating dedicated infrastructure to provide synergies and economies of scale, and (5) providing necessary incentives and impetus on digital health and med-tech. According to EDB, this has in turn helped the sector catapult itself into a significant and growing contributor to Singapores economy about 3.5 to 4.0 percentage of GDP is already attributable to it, amounting to roughly around S$ 27 billion (of which, approx. ~S$16 billion is from pharma and ~$S11 billion from med-tech). This is not a jobless growth either, as it has resulted in creating more than 18,000 jobs in recent years (with an approx. split of 2:1 between pharma and med-tech). Public healthcare expenditure in Singapore is an equally important area that deserves a mention, as it provides unforeseen challenges and opportunities for the business. Though the city-state has maintained a modest overall spending in this area, a significant expense towards costly healthcare facilities is still privately spent. Preferred Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Base Process research and development capabilities in Singapore are helping companies innovate and improve biologics as well as small-molecule production. Further, with the objective of getting industry and research to collaborate, Biopharmaceutical Manufacturers Advisory Council (BMAC) a think-tank comprising of members from local pharmaceutical plant site directors and government agencies, is committed to making Singapore become a highly-skilled manufacturing economy with a proven record of quality and process development capabilities. Other examples include Singapores Institute of Chemical and Engineering Services (ICES) opening a pilot-scale laboratory facility to aide pharma companies in process development and improvement. All these efforts have yielded results, with all pharmaceutical commercial manufacturing facilities here receiving validation from international regulators such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMEA). A world-class physical and regulatory infrastructure, excellent global connectivity and a highly skilled human resource, therefore gives Singapore a competitive advantage. This enabling ecosystem has helped Singapore become a leading choice of biopharmaceutical companies that are setting up their global manufacturing base here. Firms like Abbott, GlaxoSmithKline, Lonza, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Amgen and Sanofi-Aventis just to name a few have multi-purpose plants here that have the capability of manufacturing a range of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), biologics and nutritionals. Generally speaking, it has steered a number of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to diversify their operations over time and led to a focus on developing manufacturing capabilities other than APIs. The country has made significant inroads in areas such as biologics manufacturing: with Baxter, Lonza, GlaxoSmithKline and Roche announcing capital investments for setting up biologics facilities in the range of S$2.7 billion. Over the last few years, there are some examples of growing interest and investment in this area: GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) provided ~S$8 million in research funding to 14 principal investigators under GSK-Singapore Partnership for Green and Sustainable Manufacturing (GSM). This is a second tranche of such investment that has provisioned S$33 million of funds totally. The focus of this grant is to conduct research in areas related to chemical-, physical- and bio-transformations, facilities and supply chain, equipment and technical operations, life cycle assessment, and solvent selection and optimisation, with the objective to develop innovative solutions that improve operational efficiency and viability of global operations. Abbott made its first major capital investment in Asia also its largest ever investment in nutritional space, with its S$450 million nutritional powder state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Singapore. This aims to address the increasing regional demand for nutritional products. In the area of biologics, Amgen is amongst the latest in Singapore, and its facility is truly next-gen: utilizing single-use, disposable technologies. This also helps make its footprint significantly smaller (~75%) than conventional plants, while maintaining similar output levels. Lonza invested CHF 10 million to expand its biopharmaceutical development services platform in Singapore. This is an expansion to its biological manufacturing facility here, augmenting it with 1858 sq. mt. of state-of-the-art laboratory space and associated equipment, which will seamlessly integrate to enable a full range of front-to-back service offering: from development through pre-clinical and small-scale manufacturing, to large-scale commercial supply. Focus of this platform is to provide support to areas such as cell line construction, upstream and downstream process development, and a wide range of analytical services. invested CHF 10 million to expand its biopharmaceutical development services platform in Singapore. This is an expansion to its biological manufacturing facility here, augmenting it with 1858 sq. mt. of state-of-the-art laboratory space and associated equipment, which will seamlessly integrate to enable a full range of front-to-back service offering: from development through pre-clinical and small-scale manufacturing, to large-scale commercial supply. Focus of this platform is to provide support to areas such as cell line construction, upstream and downstream process development, and a wide range of analytical services. AbbVie simultaneously announced regarding two new manufacturing facilities: one each for small-molecule APIs and biologics, aiming to build capabilities for both small and large molecules. In recent years, Singapore has seen investments in a wide range of capabilities, such as: bioprocess development, next-generation facilities and cell therapies. It also remains committed towards developing a skilled workforce that is ready for future challenges and opportunities in biotechnology and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The sector is supported by a growing base of ~5,000 skilled engineers and technicians, and more than 300,000 skilled employees in related sectors such as chemicals, electronics, engineering. Already representing a thriving sector of Singapores economic growth, industry is also a significant contributor to GDP and job creation. According to Datamonitor 2012, Singapore was the third fastest growing nation globally in the export of pharmaceutical products from 2000 to 2010. The trajectory continues upwards, thanks to the governments focus to make Singapore a destination of choice for the sector. Public Private Collaboration: A cornerstone for Healthcare Advancement Singapore has established itself as a leading country in biomedical sciences manufacturing and R&D activities. In addition, it also provides numerous opportunities for private enterprise to partner with its public-sector research institutes, clinical-research units in hospitals as well as international research organisations. Singapores medical advancements propelled by Governments strong commitment to basic and clinical R&D, is further demonstrated by the establishment of dedicated state-of-the-art infrastructure, which co-locates public sector research institutes with corporate labs. Biopolis, at One-North, is a pioneering effort to facilitate such collaboration in the life-sciences and bio-medical space. Similarly, Tuas Biomedical Park (TBP) is a 360-hectare stretch of ready-prepared and specifically-zoned land set aside by the government for pharmaceutical and biologics manufacturing. Encouraged by government focus, a number of pharmaceutical companies have taken the lead in leveraging this opportunity by making investments or financial commitments towards establishing and growing their centres of excellence for research and development: Rocheestablished its Singapore Hub for Translational Medicine (CHF 100 million) comprising of a multi-disciplinary team, to partner with scientific and medical institutions in the country. Objective of the hub is to focus on disease biology for accelerating drug discovery and development. Bayer Healthcare invested S$14.5 million in five projects with local academic institutions to advance research and development towards oncology diagnosis and treatment (source:EDB). GlaxoSmithKline established its first Academic Centre of Excellence in Singapore, with an initial focus on early-stage research in ophthalmology, regenerative medicine and neuro-degeneration. Maccine had earlier started a joint initiative with A*STARs Singapore Bioimaging Consortium to form the Translational Imaging Industrial Lab (TIIL), which aims to be a state-of-the-art preclinical imaging facility for drug development. Siena Biotech is also partnering A*STARs Experimental Therapeutics Centre, for developing molecular inhibitors of a major signalling pathway in oncology that will target difficult-to-treat cancers. Humalys SAS and Cytos Biotechnology are working with Singapore Immunology Network to develop antibody-based therapies for infectious diseases that are relevant in the Asian context. GSK Biologicals and A*STARs Bioprocessing Technology Institute are partnering on vaccine and adjuvant system-related research projects. Further, with an objective to facilitate research and innovation in the sector, government has started a number of programmes that are focussed at nurturing collaboration between scientists and industry experts, so as to translate research into implementable solutions. Some initiatives to facilitate this process include: Singapore Translational Research (STaR) Investigator Award recruits leading clinician scientists for pursuing translational and clinical research Clinician Scientist Award (CSA) provides financial support to medical researchers Translational & Clinical Research (TCR) Flagship Programme (with a 5-year budget of up to S$ 25 million) provides an avenue for collaborative scientific problem solving and translating academic research into healthcare solutions for patients Competitive Research Programme (CRP)(with a 3-to-5-year budget of up to S$10 million) provides funding across a spectrum broad of research ideas, including supporting initiatives that help identify new strategic research areas that have the potential to strengthen the core capabilities of the sector Health Services Research Competitive Research Grants (HSR-CRGs) a maximum of S$ 1 million provided by Ministry of Health to eligible public healthcare and academic institutions, promotes research and its translation into policy and practice Advances in Digital Healthcare Solutions Further building on the conventional Singaporean skill-set, which already has a strong and capable presence in Infocomms and IT sectors - focus is to work with healthcare industry into translating these competencies into applications within healthcare. Strategy also greatly aligns with Singapores vision of becoming a Smart Nation. EDB, along with its partnerships, as well as other similar institutions with a related mandate, help meet the objectives of creating job opportunities and partnerships, as well as opening up new possibilities to enhance the way we live, work, play, and interact. The Global IT Hub in Singapore, setup by MSD, apart from focussing on software engineering - puts a lot of impetus on emerging and increasingly relevant areas of technology such as data science and cyber security. More recently, and with an aim to harness technology for healthcare it has also expanded its competencies into areas such as digital health, bioinformatics and cognitive computing. Similarly, Merck (MSD) has also invested in a global innovation hub in Singapore, focused on harnessing digital technologies. Apart from core IT operations, it also supports skill development that are traditionally non-existent in healthcare companies, but are increasingly becoming important. Generally speaking, there is a growing interest in the industry to invest in capabilities that are digital in nature and harness data driven analytics to provide insightful solutions for addressing real-world healthcare problems. From Singaporean perspective, it is of great essence to create an ecosystem the enables med-tech companies to build such capabilities and platforms, which further the advancement and growth of healthcare industry. The startup will use the fresh funds to scale up its operations and beef up its technology offering to improve the quality of its healthcare services. Rajasthan-based healthcare startup Karma Primary Healthcare Services Pvt. Ltd, which provides technology-based healthcare solutions in rural areas, has raised Rs 3 crore in a fresh round of funding from equity crowd-funding platform 1Crowd. Existing investors Ankur Capital, Ennovent Capital, Beyond Capital, and a few undisclosed angel investors also participated in this round. The startup will use the fresh funds to scale up its operations and beef up its technology offering to improve the quality of its healthcare services. Founded in 2014, Karma Healthcare sets up health centres in rural areas, which provide a range of health services including web-enabled patient-doctor consultations, face-to-face doctor consultations and medicines to patients. Each clinic caters to a population of 20,000-25,000. Karma Healthcare, which currently has operations in Rajasthan and Haryana, claims to have conducted over 50,000 consultations and operates 10 e-doctor clinics. With an aim to expand internationally, Biomall.in, an e-commerce portal for laboratory, life science and diagnostic products, participated at the Arab Lab Expo 2018. Arab Lab is a reputed trade show for laboratory science and instrumentation, held in United Arab Emirates at the Dubai World Trade Centre, from 18th to 21st March 2018. Biomall.in started as India's first online portal, already exports out of India, an extensive range of life science products, scientific equipment and consumables, which include both general and specialized products of all sorts. At the Arab Lab 2018, stand 1128, Biomall.in in collaboration with VistaLab USA, manufacturer of innovative ergonomic micropipettes promoted its business to 1,000s of visitors that flocked to the event. As a special Arab Lab offer, Biomall.in offered 20% discount on online purchase of VistaLab ergonomic, patented micropipettes. Biomall participated in this event to position itself as a reputable global e-commerce portal for laboratory supplies. While encouraging potential consumers to buy laboratory products via its portal, it also engaged into business meetings to partner with new suppliers on a global scale. Promotional activities, growing business partnerships and international presence is expected to further grow Biomalls customer base, helping Biomall achieve its aim to be the world's leading online portal for laboratory, life science and diagnostic products. GUNG-HO PHARMA R&D INVESTMENTS SURPASS $3B While the pharmaceutical industry helped combat COVID-19, from R&D actions on potential treatment strategies to balancing the medicines supply chain in the time of crisis, it struggled to maintain the natural market flow. As a result, many pharma companies had to abort some of their ongoing R&D investment plans. However for FY20-21, the average R&D expenses constituted 7.2 per cent of the total revenues of the pharma companies, with Lupin, Alembic Pharma and Dr. Reddys spending more than others. Congress poll review meeting begins today A Central Working Committee meeting of the Nepali Congress that begins on Friday is expected to be a stormy affair as rival factions, led by Ram Chandra Poudel and Krishna Prasad Sitaula, are set to press the party leadership to take measures for reviving the grand old party. Digital democracy Good governance can be enhanced through utilisation of novel technological solutions Driver critically injured after falling rock hits micro bus A driver was severely injured after a falling rock hit a micro bus at Bridge No.2 in Chitwan along the Narayangarh-Muglin road section on Friday. High-level police team to probe killing of gold smuggler Nepal Police Headquarters has formed a high-level investigation team for the gold smuggling case that suspects the connivance of police officials. A million-dollar real estate deal in the heart of Brandons east end industrial neighbourhood found Western Asphalt Products on the receiving end of 71 acres of vacant land. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/3/2018 (1281 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us A million-dollar real estate deal in the heart of Brandons east end industrial neighbourhood found Western Asphalt Products on the receiving end of 71 acres of vacant land. With this purchase, the company now has 151 acres of connected city land, located southwest of the Maple Leaf Foods meat processing plant off Limestone Road. Already housing an asphalt emulsion terminal on-site, the company plans on developing a transload facility on its newly expanded property. Transloading is the transfer of shipment from one mode of transportation to another, and in this case would be between rail and truck. With both CP and CN rail lines running adjacent to the property, Western Asphalt Products president Dean Arnill said the land provided the company with a unique opportunity to link up with virtually every community in Canada and the United States, via rail. Accommodating its own operations with the first 40 railcar spots, Western Asphalt Products plans on expanding as the local marketplace dictates, with room to incorporate greater railcar capacity to meet whatever needs come forward. The scale of this project will depend on the interest shown in the region, Arnill said. Pointing to the desk in his office as an example, Arnill said that just about everything sold in Brandon has been shipped to the Wheat City from elsewhere. With some local businesses relying on transloading facilities in Winnipeg, he said they might save money by having products shipped directly to Brandon. The transload operation is one that Alberta-headquartered Western Asphalt Products has aspired to open ever since the company launched its asphalt emulsion terminal at the adjoining property in 2012. "Its hugely advantageous for marketing Brandon, as well," he said a point echoed by the citys director of economic development, Sandy Trudel. "This is something that we had identified as a project that we would love to see move forward in Brandon, so when we see a local business that has had that vision and took the steps to move from vision to implementation, thats great news for us," she said. Cando Rail vice-president of rail operations Lee Jebb said the introduction of more transportation options in the area is good news for the Westman economy. Cando Rail does not offer transload services in Brandon, although he said various companies have accommodated railcar loading into their internal operations, with the most recent example being the opening of a Federated Co-operatives Ltd. fertilizer terminal in the citys east industrial area last year. By opening up rail-accessible land to a broader client base, Jebb said Western Asphalt appears to be "curating activity with capacity," which is an effort that he said would help market the area to investors. Western Asphalt Products acquired their 71 acres of land from Toronto-based Fox River Resources Corp. The land was previously slated to host a mono-ammonium phosphate granulation plant. The pre-feasibility study was completed prior to the 2008-09 global recession, according to a technical report the company issued a couple years ago. Subsequently, there were "significant changes to the global economies," which altered the fertilizer markets economics, the report read. Arnill plans on announcing his companys plans to the public during tonights East Brandon Industrial Strategy public consultation meeting at the Brandon Design Studio (638 Princess Ave.), to be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. A draft of the City of Brandon strategy for the east-end industrial area will be presented during the meeting. tclarke@brandonsun.com Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB Muglin road project gets three-month extension The Narayanghat-Muglin Road Project has given the contractors three more months to complete upgrading the 33.2-km route, which is one of the busiest highways in the country and the Kathmandu Valleys key supply line. By Isabel Hayes An Aer Lingus worker who helped smuggle illegal immigrants into the country has been jailed for four years. Peter Kernan (57), who underwent quadruple heart by-pass surgery four months ago, was sentenced in Dublin Circuit Court today for his role in a people-trafficking operation at Dublin Airport last year. His co-accused, Frederick Cham, also received a four-year sentence last month. Kernan (pictured below), with an address in Rectory Lodge, Celbridge, Co Kildare, pleaded guilty to four counts of facilitating the entry of an illegal immigrant into the State at Dublin Airport between December 29, 2016 and January 22, 2017. He also pleaded guilty to three counts of handling the proceeds of crime at various locations between November 2014 and January 2017. The total amount of money laundered was 40,366, prosecuting barrister, Garret Baker BL, told the court. Sentencing Kernan, Judge Martin Nolan said human trafficking was a very serious matter and that people paid huge amounts of money to get into the country. He said he believed Kernan and Cham played equal roles in the operation and deserved the same sentence of four years. Inspector Michael Buckley of the Garda National Immigration Bureau said a Garda operation was launched after an illegal immigrant who had flown into Dublin Airport on January 8, 2017, attempted to get on a flight to London the next day. The man was arrested and his entry into the country was investigated. Examination of CCTV footage of Dublin Airport revealed the man had been helped to circumnavigate immigration at the airport by Kernan and Cham, both Aer Lingus ground staff members. Further investigations revealed both men helped a number of foreign nationals to bypass Dublin Airport's passport control by using staff swipe cards to access an employee gate that wasn't being watched. When arrested, Kernan told gardai he was paid between 2000 to 3000 for every person trafficked into the country. Either he or Cham would get a text from someone in Madrid to indicate that somebody was coming into Dublin Airport, the court heard. Once the plane got to the air bridge, Kernan would meet the foreign national off the plane and escort him to the immigration hall. Before entering this hall, he would bring the foreign national into a nearby lift where Cham was waiting. The men would then exit the lift at ground level wearing high-vis Aer Lingus vests and travel in a catering truck to a nearby hangar. It was here, via a staff turnstile gate, that the foreign national would move from air-side to land-side and enter the country. Kernan, who has no previous convictions apart from one road traffic matter, worked for Aer Lingus for 10 years in the catering and loading department. At one stage, he was a union shop steward for his colleagues. He has since been fired. Defence barrister, Seamus Clarke SC, said his client was under severe financial stress at the time of the offending due to his marriage breakdown. He said Kernan only got involved when Cham told him about the operation and invited him to take part. Kernan and Cham were close friends and Kernan was best man at Cham's wedding, the court heard. Mr Clarke said Kernan has a number of serious health problems, including his heart condition and the presence of a cancer gene which increased his chance of developing prostate cancer. He has a new partner and two adult children. He urged Judge Nolan to be lenient when imposing sentence. Cham (63) of Railway Cottages, Hazelhatch, Celbridge, Co. Kildare, pleaded guilty to five charges of facilitating the entry of an illegal immigrant at Dublin Airport on dates between December 13, 2016 and January 22, 2017. He also admitted two charges of handling money which he knew to be the proceeds of crime on dates in December 2016 and January 2017. Climate refugees are being created in Ireland because of flooding, according to the Minister for the Environment. Denis Naughten attended a British-Irish Council meeting earlier where the issue was discussed. A Dublin man who repeatedly sexually assaulted his grandson for over a decade and similarly abused his three daughters when they were children has been jailed for 20 years. The man (aged 68), who cannot be named to protect the anonymity of his victims, was convicted by a Central Criminal Court jury last August of indecently assaulting and raping his grandson from 2004 to 2015 when the boy was aged between four and 15 years old. He subsequently pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting three of his daughters, attempting to rape one of them and raping another on dates from 1981 to 1987 when the girls were between the ages of nine and 14. Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy said the man's abuse was a grim catalogue of serial abuse across two generations of his family. He imposed a 20-year sentence with some consecutive elements, backdated to when the man went into custody last August after his trial. Detective Garda Eoin Kennedy told Anne Rowland BL, prosecuting, that the man's grandson had reported the abuse in April 2015 to his school's guidance counsellor. The boy lived with his mother, who was separated from his father, and would regularly stay in his grandfather's house where his father lived. Beginning in 2004, when the boy was four years old, the man would insist on watching a film with the boy in the living room. The man would pretend to be asleep, force the boy to touch him and rape him. The man twice raped the boy in his great-grandmother's empty house after they had visited her in a nursing home. The man would whimper and cry after the assaults, then act as if nothing had happened. In his victim impact statement, the boy said he had extreme stress and anxiety due to the assaults, had missed school frequently and that his relationship with his father had suffered due to him having to avoid his grandfather. The man was convicted last August after a nine-day trial. He later pleaded guilty to the sex attacks on his three daughters in the 1980s. Each of the daughters described how the man would put their hands into his pocket, which had a hole in it so they could feel him. Mr Justice McCarthy described this element of the daughters' case as exceptional squalidity. The accused also attempted to rape one of his daughters while their mother was away on holiday. During the same period he did rape another daughter. Each daughter was abused over a period of several years. The man stopped assaulting his daughters at approximately the same time as when they reached puberty. In her victim impact statement, the eldest daughter said she had lived in fear for more than 30 years. She said she had not told anyone about the assaults due to fearing she would break up her family, but it was already broken. The youngest daughter said in her victim impact statement that the man stole her childhood. As far as I am concerned my dad is dead and has been for a long time. Anne-Marie Lawlor SC, defending, said the man had pleaded guilty to the assaults of his children at the earliest opportunity. She pointed out that the man had not given evidence in the trial involving his grandson. She said he had not been otherwise violent in his dealings with his children and had not threatened them with violence. The man has no previous convictions. A former Anglo Irish banker said external auditors gave a clean opinion on the bank's end-of-year accounts when they were published in December 2008. Kevin Kelly agreed with lawyers for the bank's former CEO David Drumm (aged 51) that auditors Ernst & Young could have chosen to give a qualified opinion regarding the bank's financial health. There's a third option they could have gone for when signing off, but they gave a clean opinion. They said the accounts were a true and fair view of the bank's financial position, he said. Mr Drumm of Skerries, Co Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to conspiring with former bank officials Denis Casey, William McAteer, John Bowe and others to defraud depositors and investors at Anglo by dishonestly creating the impression that deposits in 2008 were 7.2 billion larger than they were. He has also pleaded not guilty to false accounting on December 3, 2008, by furnishing information to the market that Anglo's 2008 deposits were 7.2 billion larger than they were. Mr Drumm accepts that multi-million-euro transactions took place between Anglo and Irish Life & Permanent (ILP) in 2008, but disputes that they were fraudulent or dishonest. Today on day 43 of the trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Mr Kelly, who was described as an accountant of some experience, said an Ernst & Young audit team moved into Anglo headquarters to carry out the audit in November 2008. We had shared a lot of information with our auditors prior to them coming on site, he said. He agreed with Bernard Condon SC, defending, that the fact Anglo's transactions with Irish Life & Permanent (ILP) were settled gross didn't change the accounting treatment of it. When asked about inaccuracies in the document regarding the description of the transactions, he said it was a surprise when he found out in early 2009 that the deal had settled net. I was told they were settled gross, he said. He said he wasn't sure who had told him this, and added it could have been a misunderstanding on our side or on someone else's side. Previously in the trial, Anglo banker Colm Golden said that the head of Ernst & Young's audit team, Vincent Bergin, shrugged his shoulders and described the transactions with ILP as technically sound. Mr Kelly told Paul O'Higgins SC, prosecuting, that he didn't know about the transactions with ILP until 2009, when two Anglo executives gave him a broad outline and mentioned the 7bn. He said he was told the transaction was settled gross, with no available legal right of set off. When asked how large the transactions were in the general scheme of things at Anglo, he said they were quite significant. The trial, which began eight weeks ago, continues before Judge Karen O'Connor and a jury of 10 men and four women. Reps for firefighters want an urgent meeting with the Housing Minister after Wednesday's blaze in Dublin. Five floors of the Metro Hotel and apartments were destroyed when the fire tore through the Ballymun building. Two men have been arrested after Gardai stopped two cars in Dublin and found cocaine yesterday. The search, conducted by officers targeting serious and organised crime in Dublin, was carried out after they intercepted the cars in Ronanstown at around 7.30pm last night. NC leader Singh blames Deuba, alliance with Dahal for partys election debacle Nepali Congress (NC) leader Prakash Man Singh has accused the leadership for the partys poor showing in all three levels of elections. By Ann O'Loughlin The High Court has approved the sale of the loan book of Charleville Credit Union. The President of the High Court, Mr Justice Peter Kelly, approved the sale proposals put before him today by the joint liquidators of the credit union. In seeking approval, Declan Murphy BL, for the liquidators, said the market had been "truly tested" with due diligence and the liquidators recommended acceptance of the sale as in the best interests of creditors. The identity of the purchaser was not disclosed in court. Mr Justice Kelly said the evidence was the loan book consists of live and delinquent loans. While the latter were previously written off by the credit union from an accounting perspective, they were still due to the credit union from borrowers, he said. The sum involved was about 14m and the loan book comprises all loans except those beneficially owned by the Irish League of Credit Unions, (ILCU) he noted. He said 11 parties had expressed interest in acquiring the loan book and six offers were received before the deadline of which five were invited to participate in a second round of bidding. A preferred bidder was identified, its offer was the highest one received in relation to the live and delinquent loans and it was given preferred bidder status, he said. He was satisfied the process was fair and set out to get the best price and the preferred bidder was the entity that offered the best price. After due diligence, a conditional contract was entered into on March 13, 2018, and the completed agreement had been put before the court, he said. He was satisfied the liquidators have behaved with "perfect propriety and commercial good sense" and in a sensible commercial way. There were many disadvantages in their trying to recover the loans themselves as such a process could take years, incur more costs and would not swell the funds available for creditors. Charleville Credit Union was placed into liquidation in November 2017 by the High Court following an application by the Central Bank. Accountants Jim Hamilton and David O'Connor of BDO were appointed joint liquidators. The lender had been under close regulatory supervision for years. It had been unable to raise and keep its cash reserves at the required level of 10% of assets, despite receiving a 8m bailout from the ILCU and attempts to merge with other credit unions also failed. Mallow and Kilmallock Credit Unions both extended their operations to cover the town after Charleville Credit Union was shut down. Since the appointment of provisional liquidators, the Deposit Guarantee Scheme, administered by the Central Bank, has issued compensation payments to around 10,900 members of Charleville Credit Union. The total compensation paid amounts to 39.2m, representing more than 99% of depositors covered by the scheme. Update 1.13pm: Ireland's Russian ambassador Yury Filatov has said he hoped Ireland will use its common sense in assessing any action it may take. Earlier today Leo Varadkar confirmed Ireland is to consider taking actions against Russian diplomats after the nerve agent attack in the UK. Mr Varadkar said: "A security assessment will be done - the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Tanaiste (Simon Coveney), and I already spoke about this - in the coming days so we will make that decision, I would say, the early part of next week." Mr Filatov told RTE any expulsion of Russian diplomats from Ireland would be an "unfriendly action, that is certain". He said Russia had nothing to do with the poisoning and there was no evidence or proof to suggest otherwise. - PA Earlier: Ireland to consider taking action against Russian diplomats after UK nerve agent attack The Taoiseach has confirmed Ireland is to consider taking actions against Russian diplomats after the nerve agent attack in the UK, writes Juno McEnroe. Speaking at the second day of an EU summit, he said the Tanaiste and minister for foreign affairs Simon Coveney would carry out a review of the presence and activities of Russian diplomats or agents in Ireland in the coming days. Ireland last night signed up to an EU statement agreeing that it was "highly likely" Russia was responsible for the nerve agent attack on a former spy and his daughter. Taoiseach says security assessment will be carried out ahead of any Russian diplomats possibly being expelled pic.twitter.com/yOU1zy2qXA RTE News (@rtenews) March 23, 2018 The EU will now recall its ambassador to Moscow in a show of solidarity with Britain. In the EU council statement following an evening of talks in Brussels, the European Council of EU leaders agreed "there is no plausible alternative explanation". British prime minister Theresa May had said the Salisbury poisoning was "part of a pattern of Russian aggression against Europe. Mr Varadkar said it was his and French president Emmanuel Macron's recommendation to change the EU position and therefore make the statement. A decision will now be made by Ireland on whether or not to expel Russian diplomats. Mr Varadkar explained: "A security assessment will be done by the Tanaiste in the coming days." Jun0 McEnroe is reporting from Brussels The final 129 asylum seekers to be relocated from Greece have arrived in Ireland. The Government says this signals "the successful conclusion" of Irish participation in the EU relocation programme in Greece. Some 1,022 asylum seekers have now been relocated to Ireland, in addition to 792 refugees. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan and the Minister of State with Responsibility for Immigration, David Stanton, welcomed the arrival of 129 people under the EU's relocation programme. Ireland has now received all the asylum seekers for relocation to Ireland from Greece, following the arrival of a special charter flight in Baldonnel today. Minister Flanagan said: "I am delighted that Ireland has concluded this strand of the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP). "We voluntarily opted-in to the relocation mechanism as an act of solidarity with EU member states responding to the plight of an unprecedented number of asylum seekers fleeing conflict in the Middle East, and also because it was quite simply the right thing to do. "Ireland committed to offer protection to 4,000 people and work is continuing under the IRPP to deliver on that commitment." The final flight - organised by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) - contained 73 adults and 56 children, 36 of whom are under the age of 12. Minister Flanagan added: "Given the key humanitarian role that the Defence Forces continue to play in the Mediterranean and peacekeeping in Lebanon, the arrival of this final flight into Baldonnel is a fitting conclusion to this strand of the IRPP." The EU relocation programme in Greece officially closes on March 31. The Department of Justice says efforts will now be focused on delivering on commitments under the resettlement strand of the IRPP, working closely with the UNHCR, and on the new humanitarian family reunification scheme. Between these two strands, Ireland has committed to bringing in a further 1,723 people. Minister of State Stanton added: "We are continuing work to complete our ambitious targets and have committed to further increase numbers by 2019. "I am determined that the IRPP, working with its partners both at home and abroad, will actively respond to assist those in need of protection." The IRPP, the International Protection Office (IPO) and An Garda Siochana have met and interviewed the relocation applicants in Athens. IPO staff have liaised with the Greek authorities and international bodies in relation to their travel to Ireland. The IPO will also be processing their applications for international protection. - Newstalk Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has attacked Fianna Fail over their concerns on the Brexit negotiations. Attending an EU summit with other leaders, Mr Varadkar said British prime minister Theresa May had reassured him of her commitments to the so-called 'backstop' deal for a frictionless border. Talks will resume on trying to resolve the Irish question on Monday and how to prevent a fresh border when Britain leaves the European Union. Mr Varadkar made surprise comments at the summit that negotiations may go down to the wire on the border and even last until October, when a final withdrawal deal must be ready for member states. However, he would prefer if the backstop and border question was resolved by June. Fianna Fail though said the government's comfort with an October deadline was a serious miscalculation, putting Ireland in a weaker position regarding an open border. However, responding to the criticisms today at the summit, Mr Varadkar hit back at the opposition party. He said there was a firm commitment agreed back in December and this had been reaffirmed by Ms May this week. The position being put across by Fianna Fail on this has been very inconsistent. We have had everything from a Fianna Fail motion at their Ard Fheis to have a hard border and to put in tolling gantries and so on, to them calling on us to engage in negotiations bilaterally with the UK, to them calling us not to. He said the situation between Britain and Ireland should not be viewed as a conflict. It is not a case of when they are winning, we are losing. We are not going to get a good outcome for Ireland on that basis. EU leaders at the summit today agreed to a transition period for Brexit up until the end of 2020 as well as a framework for future trade talks. Negotiations on the border will now resume next week. The UK should stay as close as possible to the EU after Brexit, Leo Varadkar has said. The "enormous" trade between Britain and Ireland should be protected to ensure Irish jobs, the Taoiseach added. On Friday morning leaders of the 27 EU member states meeting in Brussels adopted guidelines for future EU-UK relations after the separation in a year's time. The Taoiseach said: "The UK has decided to leave the EU. The best way we can get a good outcome for Ireland is to make sure that we have an agreement that keeps the UK as close to the EU as possible. "That is the best way to avoid a hard border between Ireland and the North and also the best way to protect the enormous trade that occurs between Britain and Ireland, and that is so important for Irish jobs and our economy, and agriculture in particular." In 2015, 13.8 billion euros (12 billion) of goods were exported from Ireland to Britain, more than half involving food and live animals or chemicals and related products, according to the Central Statistics Office of Ireland. Goods heading into Ireland from Britain accounted for 24% of imports in 2015 while imports from the North accounted for 2%. Mr Varadkar added: "It is not a case of when they are winning we are losing or when they are losing we are winning. "We are not going to get a good outcome for Ireland on that basis." One of the main stumbling blocks is the issue of the Irish border. Little agreement has been reached on the detail of measures to avoid a hard frontier with checks on goods and services. Renewed efforts are expected by negotiators in the coming weeks to crack the issue. Mr Varadkar has insisted a border deal must be done by October to allow time for it to be ratified by legislatures. Otherwise, a backstop option will mean the North would continue to follow EU regulations after Brexit involving the all-island economy and North-South co-operation, he added. Unionists have opposed any solution which would create differences between the North and the rest of the UK, and British Prime Minister Theresa May is reliant on Democratic Unionist support in key Westminster votes. Avoiding a hard border is generally defined as one without frontier checks on goods and services, but there has been no evidence of a technological solution for frictionless trade anywhere else in the world, a committee of MPs said. - PA By Declan Brennan A jury has convicted a roofer of carrying out three random and violent attacks on women in Dublin in a five year period. Slawomir Gierlowski (33) of Galtymore Road, Drimnagh had pleaded not guilty to false imprisonment, sexual assault and assault of a woman on September 11, 2011 and to false imprisonment, sexual assault and assault of a second woman on September 3, 2015. He also denied falsely imprisoning and assaulting a third woman and having a hunting knife with intent to intimidate on May 16, 2016. This third attack took place on Knockmeenagh Lane, Clondalkin, Dublin, not far from the other two attacks and from a house occupied by the family of Gierlowski's partner. The women cannot be identified for legal reasons. Shortly after 11am this morning the jury of eleven men found Gierlowski guilty of carrying out the 2016 attack. The jury had deliberated for a little under five hours in total, having returned guilty verdicts relating to the earlier offences on Thursday afternoon. All verdicts were unanimous ones. Judge Pauline Codd thanked the jurors for their care in deliberating. She also praised the assiduous work carried out by the gardai investigating the three crimes. She said the difficult cases were handled with sensitivity. The judge commended the three complainants for the strength and courage showed by each of them in giving evidence during the trial. Gierlowski, a Polish national who has lived and working in Ireland since 2008, sat impassively as the verdicts were delivered. He has been in custody since his arrest in June 2016 as a suspect for the attack the previous month. Judge Codd said she will set a future sentence date later today. The first attack took place late at night on September 11, 2011. Gierlowski attacked a woman walking home from a night out, dragging her to the ground and sexually assaulting her. She managed to get away from him but he caught her and began punching her repeatedly around the face. On September 3, 2015 a woman was also walking home late at night when Gierlowski came up behind her and put a leather belt around her neck and began pulling backwards. He pulled her to the ground and then wrapped duct tape around her face and hands before sexually assaulting her. The third attack was carried out in broad daylight on the morning of May 16, 2016. The victim was walking along Knockmeenagh Lane to the nearby Luas stop when Gierlowski, armed with a hunting knife, put his arm around her neck and began to pull her backwards. This woman told the court that she thought Gierlowski was going to slit her throat and she grabbed the blade to stop that happening, causing the knife to cut tendons in three of her fingers. She managed to get out from under the knife and began screaming and Gierlowski ran off. Gierlowski was identified after detectives used CCTV cameras to trac a white VW Crafter van spotted near the scene of the 2016 attack back to Galtymore road, where Gierlowski lives. In addition detectives used a wildcard search of a partial registration provided by neighbours had seen the van parked in the area to identify the van as one registered to Gierlowski. After his arrest gardai took a DNA sample from Gierlowski and found it matched various blood and semen samples taken from the two earlier crime scenes. Tests on blood traces on a jacket seized by gardai from Gierlowski's bedroom in June 2016 found it was the third victim's blood. A man who participated in the tiger kidnapping of a family with a 10-week-old baby has had his nine-year prison sentence increased to 15 years following an appeal by prosecutors. Mark McCarthy (aged 32) of Elm Dale Crescent, Ballyfermot, had pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the false imprisonment of Warren and Jean Marie Nawn as well as their 10-week-old baby in Co Louth and Co Dublin between August 1 and 2, 2011. Some 661,125 was taken from the Post Office in Drogheda, where Mr Nawn worked, none of which has been recovered. McCarthy was sentenced to nine years imprisonment by Judge Patricia Ryan on May 19, 2017. His sentence was found to be unduly lenient by the Court of Appeal today following an appeal brought by the Director of Public Prosecutions and McCarthy was given a new sentence of 15 years. Giving judgment in the three-judge court, Mr Justice George Birmingham said thankfully, there have been few similar cases in Ireland and, as such, few earlier sentences available as comparators. However, he said a sentence in the range of 22 years to life would have to be considered, absent any mitigation. There was evidence that McCarthy had been acting under duress in relation to a drug debt and that there was a credible threat against his life unless he participated in the kidnapping. Giving background, Mr Justice Birmingham said the injured parties were in their home on the night in question when the doorbell rang. When Mr Nawn went to answer the door he was met by a man with a scarf covering his face, carrying a pizza box in one hand and a short-barrelled gun in the other. This person threw the pizza box at Mr Nawn and shouted "get on the f**king floor or I will kill you". Mr Nawn informed the man that there was a baby in the house and he lay down in the hallway. A second man entered the house and put a gun to Mr Nawn's head. The first man tied Mr Nawn's hands behind his back with cable ties and covered his eyes and mouth with duct tape. Ms Nawn had her baby in her arms when she saw the raider entering the sitting room. He was wearing gloves and was carrying a firearm. The raiders tied her hands and legs with duct tape and used duct tape to position the baby on her chest. A raider questioned her and threatened on a number of occasions to shoot her if she lied to him. The raiders made it clear they had significant information about the workings of the post office, including the names of staff and methods of operation. They also made it clear they knew where Ms Nawn's family lived and had details in relation to them, including the make and model of the vehicle they drove. She was told there was another raider making his way to the house who would have no problem raping her. Mr Nawn was handed his work clothes and told to get dressed. He was then put in the boot of his own car where he was bound with cable ties and gagged with duct tape. All three were brought in the same car to a farmyard at Saucerstown in Co. Dublin. Mr Nawn was told that if he didn't cooperate, those involved would "blow his wife's head and the baby's head off" and that they would have to try for a new baby. At one stage Mr Nawn needed to urinate. His shorts were opened but his hands were not untied from behind his back. As a result he urinated on his shoes which was indicative of the indignity to which he was subjected, Mr Justice Birmingham said. Throughout the night he could hear the raiders clicking their guns. No food or water was provided, including to the 10-week-old baby. The following morning, Mr Nawn was placed in his car and given various instructions. It was apparent he was under surveillance. At the post office, he informed his manager what was occurring. He asked the manager to refrain from setting off alarms or his wife and baby would be harmed. Mrs Nawn was also ordered to speak to the manager to tell him to comply. She told him she had a gun to her head and the baby had not eaten since the previous evening. She was struck over the head three times with a gun by one of the raiders. A very large delivery of cash was made to the post office as it was the day of the month when child benefit is paid. The alarm was not raised and the cash was taken by Mr Nawn. Once he had left the post office, Mr Nawn received instructions on where the money should be dropped off. He was ordered to break up the phone he had been using and to throw the pieces into the river. Mrs Nawn was driven to a derelict cottage at Damastown, Co Meath, where she was loosely tied to a rusty bed with cable ties. After some time she managed to escape. Their baby at the time was bottle-fed, taking six or seven ounces of baby formula every four hours. The baby had not been fed at all during the 16-hour ordeal nor were her nappy and clothing changed. The baby was found to be highly dehydrated and immediately consumed five or six four-ounce bottles of baby formula in hospital. Some 661,125 was taken. The crime was meticulously planned as evidenced by the fact that the criminals installed a camera in the post office some time in advance of the incident to help them monitor activity there. None of the money has ever been recovered. McCarthy was nominated as a suspect as his fingerprints were found on a piece of torn pizza box in a bag with Mrs Nawn's Tesco club card. The bag was found in a suspect vehicle which had been dowsed with petrol and set on fire, but the fire had been extinguished by a quick-thinking passer-by. He had 125 previous convictions for threats to kill, burglary, possession of knives, assaults, theft and fraud offences, endangerment, public order and road traffic offences. Counsel for the DPP, Vincent Heneghan SC, submitted that the sentencing judge erred in fixing the headline sentence at 15 years before mitigation. The DPP accepted that there were mitigating factors in McCarthy's favour but before those could be applied by way of a reduction, the starting point should have been significantly higher than 15 years. Mr Heneghan said it was a horrendous ordeal. He referred to the well-known aggravated burglary case from Tipperary known as 'DPP v Dean Byrne' (the first of seven raiders named on that indictment) and said the facts of that case were bad but the facts of this case are a whole lot worse. In the Tipperary aggravated burglary case, the ordeal lasted for a much shorter period of time and there was a degree of incompetence on the part of the raiders. The Court of Appeal deemed 18 years as the appropriate starting point in that case and this case has to attract a headline sentence greater than that, Mr Heneghan submitted. Mr Justice Birmingham said the court was in "absolutely no doubt" that a sentence in the range of 22 years to life would have to be considered, absent any mitigation. Thankfully, he said, there have been few similar crimes and few similar sentences available as comparators. Reference was made to aggravated burglary cases but, Mr Justice Birmingham said, as serious as those were, there were dimensions to this type of offence that were "even graver". As serious as entering a dwelling when armed is, an additional dimension is added when family members are taken from their homes and split up as a means of applying extra pressure to the family member that is sought to coerce. In this case, there was the additional factor that one of those family members was a 10-week-old baby. McCarthy was entitled to mitigation in that he had been a heroin addict, his life was under threat because of a drug debt, there was a degree of duress present and he was not benefitting financially from his involvement. He had pleaded guilty and there were indications at sentencing that his time in custody was being spent constructively. Giving full credit for the mitigating factors, Mr Justice Birmingham, who sat with Mr Justice Alan Mahon and Mr Justice John Hedigan, said the appropriate sentence for McCarthy would have been 15 years. By Ann O'Loughlin A pensioner who claimed she fell over baggage, hurting her knee after she went through security at Dublin Airport before flying out on a trip-of-a-lifetime, has lost her High Court action. Catherine Gallagher, Mr Justice Michael Hanna said tripped up badly where one could reasonably expect to find bags and she should have been keeping a proper lookout. "People have to watch out for luggage in this area," the judge said dismissing the 80-year old woman's case over the fall after she went through the security arch and was hand scanned at Terminal 2. But the pensioner has been spared paying all legal costs of the four day action at the High Court when the Judge ruled that each side should pay their own costs on the grounds the case brought was novel and had an element of public service to it in that the system at the airport was legally tested and found to be a good and safe system. Catherine Gallagher of Bray, Co Wicklow, had sued the DAA PLC, which manages Dublin Airport as a result of the fall on April 14, 2014, at Terminal Two as she went through a security check on her way to get her flight to Vietnam. She opted to continue on her travel but two days into her holiday in Vietnam the grandmother said she could not walk and an x-ray at a hospital in Ho Chi Minh city showed a fracture. Instead of going on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, Mrs Gallagher ended up being transferred by air ambulance to Thailand where she spent 10 days in a hospital in Bangkok. She had an operation to a fracture above her earlier knee replacement before being transferred back to Dublin in another air ambulance. She had claimed there was an alleged failure to prevent other passengers from creating trip hazards during the security screening of passengers and there was an alleged failure to ensure a safe system for the security screening of passengers transiting the terminal. The Dublin Airport Authority had denied all the claims and contended the pensioner allegedly failed to pay any adequate attention to what was going on about her and allegedly failed to notice the items on the floor. Dismissing the case, Mr Justice Hanna said Mrs Gallagher's account "unfortunately does not stack up." The judge preferred the account of the security officer but this, he said did not reflect on the veracity of the pensioner as a person. He said in cross-examination Mrs Gallagher had changed her account of the fall and said she may have taken a couple of steps before it. He said from the time Mrs Gallagher completed the screening, there was sufficient time and space for her to observe any baggage. The case she fell over, Mr Justice Hanna said was probably left momentarily by another passenger on the ground while the owner went off to retrieve items. The judge was satisfied the offending bag was placed in an area one might reasonably be expected to encounter such items and security screening system was a necessary and unavoidable part of travel. There was the judge ruled no negligence or breach of duty on behalf of the DAA and with great regret he had to dismiss Mrs Gallagher's case. Counsel for the DAA Shane English BL applied for his costs of the four-day hearing. Mr Justice Hanna said Mrs Gallagher had a ghastly experience but it was a novel case and there was an element of public service in bringing the proceedings. The DAA Mr Justice Hanna said can be satisfied it has a good and safe system. By Ann O'Loughlin A senior judge has demanded a very full explanation from the HSE about why a psychiatrically ill man with a long history of paedophilia could leave a hospital to move freely within the community at least four months after reports warned he is a danger to children. The situation may have been going on even earlier than November 2017 when reports clearly warned of the sexual risk to children that the man represented, the president of the High Court, Mr Justice Peter Kelly said. He was very concerned the HSE appeared to have been fully apprised since at least November of the danger the man posed to any child but "nothing was done" "What is the point of having tribunals and commissions of inquiry into things that happened years ago if things like this are still happening today?" he asked. It was purely providential no child had suffered at the man's hands. The judge said he was not saying the man would have criminal culpability as his mental capacity is such he could not form the necessary intent but that would be of small comfort to any victim. The man, aged in his thirties and from a very chaotic and troubled family background, has scihzo-affective disorder and mild intellectual disability but the "alarming thing" is that he was involved for some years from 1997 in serious sexual assaults, the judge said. In 1997, the man was formally cautioned, but not prosecuted, for committing a serious sexual assault against a female special needs child who, like him, was then also in foster care. Between 1997 and 1999, it was alleged the man claimed to have multiple sexual acts with children between the ages of three and six before he was taken into care. The man was referred to the Grenada Institute which recommended he needed structured living and supervision, the judge noted. The judge said he was so alarmed when he first learned last Thursday, as a result of being provided by the HSE with sworn statements and reports for the man in the context of an intended application to have him made a ward of court, he made orders for the mans overnight detention in the psychiatric hospital where he has, since 2014, been a voluntary patient. Today when the matter returned to court, the judge continued the orders until the matter comes back before him next month. The judge said the orders - which mean the man must remain in the hospital, is not permitted any outings and can be arrested by gardai and returned if he leaves the hospital - were in the mans best interests and also in the public interest, he said. He stressed he wanted a very full and comprehensive explanation, with no ifs or buts from the HSE as to how this situation had arisen. He was particularly concerned on being told today by a solicitor appointed to represent the mans interests, that the solicitor met the man last month in the context of a possible application for wardship. This came as a complete surprise because the HSE had not come into court concerning the wardship application until this week, he said. Earlier, Barry ODonnell SC, for the HSE, said the man has "a stark history", has been a voluntary patient in the hospital since 2014, is very settled there and there had been no difficulties involving him. The HSE wanted to regularise the situation with a view to ensuring his supervision and further orders permitting an exchange of reports between agencies concerning his history, he said. The judge said he would make those orders. Mr ODonnell said there had been delays in proceeding to have the man made a ward of court, and it had been intended to make that application earlier this year. His side was very anxious to have the situation regularised, he said. Counsel said he had no explanation, as of now, for the delays but one would be provided. A sex offender described as posing a serious threat to society has been jailed for five years. The man, who cannot be identified, produced child pornography involving two sleeping boys as well as accumulating thousands of images and videos of child pornography from the internet. The 39-year-old man, who had returned to Ireland after serving a sentence for child sexual abuse in another country, had created the material involving the boys after befriending their family. The eldest boy was aged 10 to 11 at the time, while the younger boy was between four and five. Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the boys appeared to be unaware of the offences to date and reporting restrictions were imposed in the case to avoid any possible identification of the victims. The accused man pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault against the older boy and producing child pornography involving this boy on dates between September and December 2012. He also pleaded guilty to producing child pornography involving the younger boy in July 2013. He further admitted possession of child pornography in December 2014 and contravening the provisions of a sex offenders order in May 2016. Judge Martin Nolan said there was no perfect solution in relation to the man's predilections. He said the man was a paedophile who has a very unhealthy, criminal and dangerous interest in young boys. He has serious predilections. At times he can't control those predilections. Unless he does, he will be a serious threat to society, he said. Judge Nolan noted there was no such thing in our society as preventative detention and said he had to sentence the man, taking into account all factors of the case before him. He imposed a sentence of six-and-half years and suspended the final 18 months on a number of conditions, including that the man engages in services and counselling available to him in custody. There's no perfect solution in relation to (this man's) particular predilection but this court must sentence him justly for the crimes he has committed, Judge Nolan said. I hope for (his) sake, and particularly for society, that he conquers his particular predilection. Over dozen families displaced by Indian road project in Banke More than a dozen families have been displaced as a result of Indian road project along the Nepal-India border in Banke but Chief District Officer (CDO) Ramesh KC is unaware about this development. The Cork born priest who became the first Irish cleric to oppose the Catholic Church's ban on artificial contraception was laid to rest in Cork yesterday. Fr Jim Good was 94 when he passed away earlier this week. A lecturer in philosophy at University College Cork, Fr Good rose to prominence when he made public his disagreements with the total ban on artificial contraception outlined by Pope Paul Vl in the 1968 Papal encyclical "Huamanae Vitae" or "Of Human Life". Fr Good's stance resulted in him being barred from hearing confession and preaching. The Cork born priest went on to serve for over 20 years as a missionary priest in Kenya and until recently Father Good assisted in Douglas and regularly celebrated Mass at weekends in two nursing homes. Fr Good was, however, the very opposite of a trendy priest according to historian Professor John A Murphy. Prof Murphy and the Bishop of Cork and Ross, John Buckley, were among those who paid tribute this week to the Cork priest and theologian. Father Good was a most hardworking priest who was dedicated to his priestly ministry, Bishop John Buckley told the Evening Echo. He will be particularly remembered as a missionary in Turkana (in Kenya) and as a teacher. Father Good was born in Nicholas Street in Cork city in 1924 and educated in Farranferris. After studying in Maynooth, he was ordained a priest in 1948 and would have celebrated 70 years since his ordination in June. He spent some time studying theology abroad before taking up a position as a Lecturer in Medical Ethics in UCC. It was while he was working in UCC he drew the ire of church authorities, most particularly the then Bishop of Cork, Cornelius Lucey. The Bishop sanctioned Father Good after he publicly opposed Humanae Vitae Pope Pauls 1968 encyclical which reinforced the church ban on contraception. The late Fr Jim Good in his study Father Good made worldwide headlines as a result of his vocal dissent and this led Bishop Lucey to suspend him from diocesan functions in Cork including preaching and hearing confessions. While Father Good was free to continue his role with UCC, Prof Murphy and some colleagues made representations to the bishop about the sanctions, something the historian now regrets. He was a colleague of mine in UCC and some of us in the college felt we should rally behind our colleague, Dr Murphy said. We argued the case with the bishop but in retrospect, we shouldnt have done that because it was an ecclesiastical row, an internal matter. The furore eventually led Fr Good to move to Kenya, where he spent much of his life engaged in missionary work. When Bishop Lucey retired in 1980, he joined with Father Good in Kenya for a time. He and the bishop made up and he was amused at the bishops tolerance for local customs in Kenya, bare-breasted women and the like, Dr Murphy said. Years later, Father Good said he and the bishop never discussed the suspension but added: We both understood our position and accepted it. Despite the controversy, he remained a dedicated, in many ways conservative, priest. He was a great man in every sense, I am greatly upset by his death, Professor Murphy said. People make the mistake, because he had this row, that he was somehow a trendy, modern type of priest. He wasnt in fact, he was extremely conservative in priestly matters, there was no open collar for Jim Good. However, he never changed his mind about his position on Humanae Vitae. He never took back the stance he took in 1968, he remained convinced about his liberal views on sexual matters, Prof Murphy said. He stood his ground from that day to this, while remaining very much a priest. I greatly admired that position. Since retiring and returning to Cork, Father Good assisted in Douglas and regularly celebrated Mass at weekends in two nursing homes. Despite his age he was always working and writing and published a booklet recently on Mary, Mother of God, Bishop Buckley said. Those who met him always felt they were in the presence of a teacher. He was a great scholar and would read the bible in Greek. He was also blessed with many friends who kept in contact and provided him with much comfort. Father Goods body is being donated to UCC. Bishop Buckley said: Given his love for teaching it was not surprising that he made the decision to donate his body to medical science. - Grainne McGuinness and Digital Desk Rapper Aaron J Hart and ballroom dancers Xquisite made it through the live semi-final of Irelands Got Talent in The Helix tonight. They will join FKFT, Linda McLoughlin, Double Impact and RDC in Saturday's grand final. Judge Denise van Outen originally sent mini Latin ballroom sensations Xquisite straight through to tonights Semi-Final by pressing her Golden Buzzer. The skill, the cuteness, the rhythm.... We love it all! Go Xquisite #GotTalentIRL pic.twitter.com/HpcdqvcwFf Virgin Media Television (@VirginMedia_TV) March 22, 2018 Tonight, she said: Didnt I make the right choice pressing the golden buzzer? Your lines were fantastic, five little partnerships you can be my five a day. Jason Byrne added: You worked so hard on that it was perfect yis were absolutely deadly well done. Michelle Visage added: You kept true to who you are. Louis Walsh said: It was brilliant you put a smile on everybodys faces. This is something else Aaron J Hart #GotTalentIRL pic.twitter.com/w3w000LN5i Virgin Media Television (@VirginMedia_TV) March 22, 2018 Rapper Aaron J Harts first audition really struck a chord with Michelle, his self-penned rap spoke about his own personal struggles with depression. Tonight he performed another power rap accompanied with Read All About it. His words really touched all of the judges, particularly Louis, who broke down while giving him comments. "Every time I see you, you get me, you bear your soul, you are very honest, your mother should be so happy to have a child like you. I hope you get a record deal, he said. Denise told him: You just made me fall in love with rap, I understood your story, it really moved me. Jason said: I loved the gospel choir, the passion running through you and the love you have for your mum, I was transfixed you were fantastic. A British man has been arrested by Greek police on suspicion of belonging to an international drug smuggling ring after allegedly being found with a large quantity of heroin hidden in his suitcase. The 38-year-old was arrested at Athens International Airport on Wednesday evening after a search of his suitcase allegedly revealed 11 kilograms (24lbs) of heroin hidden in a false bottom. EasyJet has said footage of two of its pilots playing a Snapchat game while flying a plane full of passengers "falls short" of its standards but insisted the safety of travellers was not compromised. In a video published by The Sun, the co-pilot can be seen completing paperwork with a virtual owl dancing on the screen beside him. Leaders of the 27 remaining EU states have approved negotiating guidelines for talks on Britain's future trade and security relations with its European neighbours following Brexit. The move sets the scene for talks on trade to get under way in earnest, following months of wrangling over the terms of the UK's withdrawal in March 2019 and a 21-month transition period to the new arrangements. Prime Minister Theresa May called for a "new dynamic" in the next stage of negotiations, in order to reach a deal which will be good for both Britain and Europe. Addressing the EU27 over dinner in Brussels on Thursday evening, Mrs May said it was their duty to show "energy and ambition" in the upcoming talks. The Prime Minister extended her visit to the European Council summit in Brussels in order to take part in discussions on US trade tariffs on Friday morning, but she left the meeting to allow the EU27 to discuss Brexit in her absence. Shortly after the PM left the room, European Council president Donald Tusk announced on Twitter: "Decision: EU27 has adopted guidelines for the future EU-UK relations after #Brexit". Decision: EU27 has adopted guidelines for the future EU-UK relations after #Brexit Charles Michel (@eucopresident) March 23, 2018 Arriving at the summit venue earlier, Mrs May said: "I am looking for a new dynamic in the next stage of negotiations, so that we can ensure that we work together to negotiate and develop that strong future economic and security partnership which I believe is in the interests of the UK and the EU." Mr Barnier, who kissed Mrs May's hand as they met in the entrance lobby of the Europa building in Brussels, said Friday marked a "decisive" moment in "this difficult and extraordinary negotiation". He cautioned that the future partnership negotiated over the coming months "must respect the principles and identity of the EU and the single market". Addressing fellow leaders over dinner on Thursday, Mrs May said "compromise on both sides" had been required to reach a mutually acceptable legal text on the transition. It will see the UK continue to observe EU rules until the end of 2020 while winning the freedom to negotiate and ratify trade deals with outside countries. Britain believes that moving on to trade talks with the EU will help unblock the logjam over the Irish border and prevent the need to implement a "backstop" solution proposed by Brussels which would keep Northern Ireland in the customs union. London is hopeful that a solution to keep the North's border with Ireland open will emerge in the context of a deal allowing trade between Britain and the rest of the EU to be as frictionless as possible. Mrs May told the EU27 leaders: "We have the chance now to create a new dynamic in the talks, to work together to explore workable solutions on Northern Ireland, on our future security co-operation and in order to ensure the future prosperity of all our people. "This is an opportunity it is our duty to take and to enter into with energy and ambition." Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he envisaged a trading relationship between the UK and the EU "so close that many of the measures in the backstop may become unnecessary". - PA A British judge has issued a warrant for the offices of Cambridge Analytica in England to be searched. The UK's Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham wants access to records and data in the hands of the London-based company amid claims that Facebook data may have been illegally acquired and used for political campaigns. Iranian hackers with links to the Tehran government carried out a series of attacks on universities in an attempt to steal secrets, authorities in the US and UK said. The UK's National Cyber Security Centre assessed with "high confidence" that the Mabna Institute was "almost certainly responsible" for the campaign targeting universities in the UK, US and other Western nations. In the US, the Justice Department announced charges against nine Iranians and listed them and the Mabna Institute for sanctions. US deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein said: "These nine Iranian nationals allegedly stole more than 31 terabytes of documents and data from more than 140 American universities, 30 American companies, five American government agencies, and also more than 176 universities in 21 foreign countries. "For many of these intrusions, the defendants acted at the behest of the Iranian government and, specifically, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps." The UK Government backed the action taken by Washington and revealed that British universities were among those targeted. British Foreign Office minister for cyber Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon said: "The UK Government judges that the Mabna Institute based in Iran was responsible for a hacking campaign targeting universities around the world. "By stealing intellectual property from universities, these hackers attempted to make money and gain technological advantage at our expense. "We welcome the US indictments. It demonstrates our willingness and ability to respond collectively to cyber attacks using all levers at our disposal. "The focus on universities is a timely reminder that all organisations are potential targets and need to constantly strive for the best possible cyber security. "Today's action is a further step demonstrating that malicious cyber activity will not go unpunished. "Mabna Institute employees can no longer travel freely, curtailing their career prospects outside of Iran." The nine charged in the US were: Gholamreza Rafatnejad, 38; Ehsan Mohammadi, 37; Abdollah Karima, aka Vahid Karima, 39; Mostafa Sadeghi, 28; Seyed Ali Mirkarimi, 34; Mohammed Reza Sabahi, 26; Roozbeh Sabahi, 24; Abuzar Gohari Moqadam, 37; and Sajjad Tahmasebi, 30. They are all citizens and residents of Iran and, because the US has no extradition agreement, are unlikely to ever stand trial. US law enforcement agencies indicted other employees of the Mabna Institute in November 2017 for the hack and leak operation against TV company HBO. - PA Poll body rejects EU missions suggestions The Election Commission on Thursday rejected the recommendations put forth by the European Union Election Observation Mission on ways to reform Nepals electoral system saying that its report violated the memorandum of understanding signed by it and the code of conduct for international observers. Update 4.47pm: EU leaders have promised an "unprecedented" diplomatic response to the Salisbury nerve agent attack after backing Theresa May's assertion that Russia was to blame. At the end of the two-day summit in Brussels, European Council president Donald Tusk said the recall of the EU's ambassador to Moscow for "consultations" would be followed by further action by member states. French President Emmanuel Macron said France and Germany would be among the countries taking "co-ordinated measures" against Russia, with an announcement due "very shortly". Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Dublin would be conducting a "security assessment", with a decision early next week on possible "individual action relating to Russian diplomats in Ireland". Latvia's foreign minister Edgars Rinkevics joined Lithuania in suggesting his country could follow Britain's lead and "decide on the expulsion of Russian secret service employees working under diplomatic cover". The moves came after leaders issued a statement supporting the UK's assessment that it was "highly likely" Moscow was responsible for the attack on former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, and that there was "no plausible alternative explanation". It represented a significant hardening of the EU's position after foreign ministers issued a statement earlier this week expressing solidarity with the UK while stopping short of blaming Russia. Mrs May, who set out Britain's case against the Kremlin over dinner on Thursday night, welcomed the strong recognition of the threat Russia posed to their collective security. She said that in the run-up to the summit Britain had been sharing what information it could through "intelligence channels" as it sought to make the case for Russian responsibility. "The threat from Russia is one that respects no borders," she said. "I think it is clear that Russia is challenging the values we share as Europeans, and it is right that we are standing together in defence of those values," she said. Her comments were echoed by Mr Macron, who told a joint news conference with Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel: "We consider this an attack on European sovereignty." He disclosed that France had been asked for technical assistance relating to the Salisbury investigation, which it stood ready to provide. Mr Tusk said the EU response to the incident was "unprecedented" with the next steps by national governments expected as early as Monday. "It is very difficult to prepare an adequate reaction to this kind of behaviour with nerve agents. We will never have a real chance to respond adequately because we are completely different to the perpetrators of this attack," he said. Mr Tusk expressed satisfaction that he had achieved his goal of maintaining a "united" front among the 28 EU member states, despite their different stances towards Russia due to differing geographical positions and political traditions. "I think it was the best reaction we were able to decide on," he said. In a hint at the underlying tensions, he acknowledged that not all member states would be taking further measures. Asked how many might take action, he said: "More than one, but I don't think it will be the whole group." Earlier, British diplomats ordered out of Russia, in a tit-for-tat retaliation for Britain's expulsion of 23 suspected spies, began heading back to the UK. A convoy of minivans left the British embassy in Moscow on Friday as the deadline for the expulsions was reached. Update 12.42pm: 'Coordinated measures' to be announced in response to Salisbury incident, says Emmanuel Macron French President Emmanuel Macron said a number of EU member states - including France and Germany - would be announcing "coordinated measures" in response to the Salisbury incident "very shortly". "We, like the United Kingdom, concluded that there is no alternative plausible explanation other than the responsibility of Russia," he told a joint news conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel. "We consider that this is an attack on European sovereignty. We therefore call for a coordinated and responsible reaction from the European Union and its member states." Update 12.42pm: Britain shared inteligence on Salisbury nerve agent attack with EU allies Theresa May has confirmed she shared UK intelligence on the Salisbury nerve agent attack with EU allies before they issued a joint statement blaming Russia for the outrage. The British Prime Minister won the backing of EU leaders for Britain's assessment that the only "plausible explanation" for the March 4 poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal was that Russia was responsible. In a further development it emerged the European Union was recalling its ambassador to Moscow "for consultations", although the move was not a formal sanction. Ireland and Lithuania confirmed they were considering following the UK's lead and expelling Russian diplomats, while France, Poland, Estonia and Latvia were reported to be mulling a similar move. Meanwhile, British diplomats ordered out of Russia, in a tit-for-tat retaliation for Britain's expulsion of 23 suspected spies, have started heading back to the UK. A convoy of minivans left the British embassy in Moscow on Friday as the deadline for the expulsions was reached. In a joint statement issued at the European Council summit in Brussels, EU leaders offered "unqualified solidarity" with the UK and said they shared its assessment that Russia was "highly likely" to be culpable. They said they would "co-ordinate on the consequences to be drawn in the light of the answers provided by the Russian authorities". Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said a "security assessment" would be conducted in the coming days, with a decision early next week on possible "individual action relating to Russian diplomats in Ireland". He stressed that any action would be targeted at individuals believed to be involved in suspect activities, saying: "We are not going to randomly expel people who are genuine diplomats." The EU's External Action Service said the head of the EU Delegation in the Russian Federation had been recalled to Brussels for "consultations" with high representative Federica Mogherini. Mrs May earlier set out a detailed account of the evidence against the Kremlin in a private meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and France's President Emmanuel Macron, followed by an address to fellow leaders over dinner. Asked whether she had relied on UK intelligence information to convince EU partners, the PM said: "We have been throughout sharing on intelligence channels what intelligence we can share with our colleagues. "What is crucial is that there was recognition around the table last night about the threat that Russia poses." She added: "The threat from Russia is one that respects no borders. "I think it is clear that Russia is challenging the values we share as Europeans, and it is right that we are standing together in defence of those values." Thursday night's joint statement represented a significant hardening of EU backing for Britain's confrontation with the Kremlin. On Monday foreign ministers of the 28-nation bloc had issued a statement voicing solidarity with the UK, but stopping short of blaming Moscow. Earlier on Thursday, it was announced that the police officer exposed to the Novichok nerve agent had been discharged from hospital. In a statement Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey said he had been "overwhelmed" by messages of support, but acknowledged: "Normal life for me will probably never be the same." Meanwhile a Court of Protection judge has given doctors permission to take blood from the Skripals - who remain in a critical condition in hospital - and to provide samples to chemical weapons experts. Mr Justice Williams said he had been asked to make decisions because Mr and Ms Skripal were unconscious and therefore unable to give their consent to blood samples being taken or tested. Earlier: Russian ambassador to the UK Alexander Yakovenko has sent his well wishes to those who were directly affected by the use of a nerve agent in Salisbury. "Glad to know that detective sergeant Nick Bailey has been discharged from hospital. Hoping for recovery of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, too," he wrote on Twitter. - PA After two weeks locked in a small room in the Commonwealth Courts Building in Melbourne, one thing about the banking royal commission is clear: It's not going to investigate everything that has caught its attention. It will investigate what it can within the time frame given. The best illustration of this came on Friday when investment banking giant Citi received a reprieve. It would not be cross-examined - as had been planned - over its statements regarding its alleged misconduct in selling credit cards. The banking royal commission shows problems with a lack of trust. Credit:Fairfax Media Citi is one of the largest providers of plastic money in the country and given the groups previous run-in with the corporate cops its quite the get-out-of-jail free card. Citibanks evidence will now go unchallenged. Its executive will be spared the perp walk outside the court. And so it was for the findings that were read out to the commisison by counsel assisting Rowena Orr, QC. As the clock hit 4.10pm, proceedings were wrapped up with only half the findings declared. The rest were contained in a document that had not been made public by Fairfax Media's deadlines. The corporate watchdog once described Westpac Banking Corp as the most resistant to Australias banking laws and accused it of covering up misconduct. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission's (ASIC) views were contained in notes drafted before a 2015 meeting with Westpac chairman Lindsay Maxsted, which were presented to the banking royal commission on Friday. ASIC had approached Westpac chairman Lindsay Maxsted after raising concerns with chief executive Brian Hartzer and other executives that the way the bank was issuing credit card limit increases could cause financial hardship. Credit:Josh Robenstone Of the big four banks, Westpac seems most resistant to ASIC and the laws we administrate, the talking notes said. They [Westpac] only tell us about issues when they think we are likely to find out through other means and then they only provide us with limited information." The lettering on the shop front window simply reads Spoonful Atelier Dining Room Catering, a mouthful rather than a spoonful. However, for owner Melly Beilby and designer and manager Rino Sambataro, coming up with a name to describe all the various arms of the business was no easy feat. Spoonful Atelier is a function room for celebrations, a shop selling antiques and collectables, and a gallery showcasing art by emerging Australian artists. Credit:Gena Ferguson A catering business, a function room for celebrations, a shop selling antiques and collectables, many of which are supplied by antique dealer Edward Clark, and a gallery showcasing art by emerging Australian artists, its not surprising that not everything could be included in the gold-lettered signage. Beilby is well-known in the hospitality arena, with her cafe on High Street, Prahran, attracting locals and those further afield appreciative of her culinary offerings. The behaviour of a Chinese government-owned company ordered by a court to pay an Australian beef company compensation over a failed export deal should be a "great concern to all Australian companies who do business with Chinese state-owned companies", Nationals Senator John Williams has warned. The Bindaree Beef facility in Inverell, NSW. Credit:Michele Jedlicka Senator Williams made the comments on Thursday night in relation to a 2015 deal between Bindaree Beef and Chinatex Australia. Chinatex Australia is a subsidiary of Chinatex Corporation, and part of Chinas massive COFCO group, he said. In late 2017, the Supreme Court of New South Wales awarded Bindaree $31.35 million in compensation, plus interests and costs, over the failed deal. But the money hasn't been paid, with Chinatex Australia telling the court that Chinatex Corporation wouldn't give it funds to satisfy the judgment. Under the deal, Bindaree was to kill 900 head of cattle a week for Chinatex for three years. Chinatex would then look to sell the meat to customers in China. But the deal soured early on as beef cattle prices rose, and Chinatexs representative in the negotiations, Zhihua Liang, expressed concern it would generate losses for the Chinese company. Consider how the Australian government reacted this week. The federal privacy commissioner, Tim Pilgrim, fired a shot across Facebook's bow, raising the prospect of of regulatory sanctions against the firm if Australians were caught up in the incident. And then he went to ground. Various government ministers with some degree of jurisdiction over Facebook - Communications Minister Mitch Fifield, Attorney-General Christian Porter, Minister for Law Enforcement and Cyber Security Angus Taylor - all seemed reluctant to get too deeply involved. After all, who wants to own a problem that can't be solved? For Facebook, the scandal - the latest in a string of missteps for the company - was bad enough. But the handling of it was even worse. Loading Local managing director Will Easton was unable to say whether any Australians were caught up in the breach, but said he would "take whatever steps are required" to protect user data. Protecting people's information is the most important thing we do at Facebook," he said. Facebook's billionaire founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was silent for days. When he finally fronted up to face the US media, he arguably raised more questions than he answered. "I'm sure someone's trying, right?" he said in a CNN interview, when asked whether Russian actors could interfere with Facebook to impact midterm elections in the US next year. "Even if you solve the problem going forward, theres still this issue of: Are there other Cambridge Analyticas out there...? " he said in an interview with The New York Times released at the same time. The tipping point It took Facebook 13 years to join the $US500 billion valuation club (a milestone that took Apple nearly three decades to achieve), a period during which it amassed 2 billion users - more than a quarter of the planet's population. Loading But during the past "two years of hell" for Facebook, as Wired Magazine described it in January, the whole conversation surrounding this company and its founder has shifted from awe over its business acumen to deepening fear over its unrivalled power, and now, concerns about its incompetence. Over that time, Facebook's stranglehold over the media industry became apparent. It surpassed Google as the biggest source of eyeballs for news publishers - entire media business models became reliant on its secretive newsfeed algorithm. At the same time, together with Google, it came to dominate digital advertising markets, hurting the same publishers who had become addicted to its traffic. But it was the spread of fake news on Facebook during the 2016 US elections, and the company's failure to acknowledge any culpability for that, that put Facebook in the firing line of regulators, politicians and the media. Last year, after probing by US Congress, the company also admitted that in 2016, Russian troll groups with links to the Putin regime came straight through its front door to purchase ads on Facebook. These ads, aimed to divide Americans on issues such as race, and reached millions of them during the campaign. The genuinely creepy nature of Facebook's targeting tools, which allowed advertisers to serve ads to groups such as insecure teens and white supremacists, should they desire - also became apparent. The Obama re-election campaign in 2012 also mined data from Facebook to target voters. And experts have cast doubt on whether Cambridge Analytica is really that effective an operator, and whether its actions actually swayed the election. But this week's revelations struck a nerve. They played into concerns about the so-called information apocalypse. Social platforms have enabled anyone to publish almost anything to gigantic audiences. Their failure to police false information, together with the filter bubbles they reinforce, is creating a nightmare scenario where basic facts can't be agreed upon, undermining democracy. "This whole procedure [by Cambridge Analytica] with targeting was sowing mistrust. And the idea [was] that once you had people not trusting mainstream media, you can do whatever you wanted," says Nick Enfield, a linguistics professor, and the head of the University of Sydney's Post-Truth Initiative. "It's a huge concern, because you have a major breakdown in public discourse. You have to agree on what's true. To the extent that people won't back down when given evidence. That is a disaster when it comes to the foundations of rational discourse.'' Perhaps the biggest sign that this week was the straw that broke the camel's back for Facebook was the reaction on Wall Street. There were clear signs that at least some investors were losing faith in the company. "Facebook is exhibiting signs of systemic mismanagement," Brian Wieser, an investment analyst in New York told clients this week, "which is a new concern we had not contemplated until recently." Shareholders have basked in the glow of Facebook's ridiculous returns since its 2012 IPO, and largely ignored the crises affecting the company over the past two years, because they have not affected its underlying (and booming) advertising business. But the possibility of regulatory action (Europe has never been afraid to act against American tech companies - it levied a record 2.4 billion ($3.8 billion) fine at Google for a comparatively trivial breach of competition rules relating to online shopping last year) seems to have prompted a rethink. Facebook shares shed about 10 per cent this week, wiping about $US50 billion ($64 billion) from the company's market value and costing Zuckerberg billions on paper. (The stock, it must be said, is still more than 300 per cent above its IPO price). "We are unable to think of another company which has had as many operational problems as those which Facebook has experienced over the past few years," Wieser says. Should we have seen this coming? The Faustian pact that all Facebook users agree to is simple. People willingly hand over intimate details about themselves and their families, in exchange for the ability to keep in touch with old friends, random acquaintances and others. Evidently, a lot of people have been cool with that - otherwise Facebook would not have grown like it has. "Most of us are oblivious of the implications of giving away information," Geoff Webb, a professor in data science at Monash University said. "We give away far more information than we imagine. "Facebook knows an extraordinary amount about us while we know very little about them. This puts us at a huge disadvantage in interacting with them." "Facebook knows an extraordinary amount about us while we know very little about them. This puts us at a huge disadvantage in interacting with them." James Allworth, an Australian start-up executive in San Francisco, and one of our most respected thinkers on technology, says there is a fundamental tension at the heart of Facebook's business model. "The users aren't necessarily the customers, the customers are the advertisers. The users become the product," he said. "It's kind of scary when you think about it. There are people working out how to keep you more addicted, more engaged to that product." When you centralise large amounts of power in the hands of one person, you become completely beholden to that person. James Allworth Earlier this year, Zuckerberg announced plans to rid Facebook of clickbait, false news and even legitimate news as part of a shift back to content posted by friends and families. It was a part of an effort to make using the platform a more pleasant experience (and to stem signs of declines in usage). "It's nice that Zuckerberg has come out and said 'Oh hey. We want this to be time well spent. We want it to be good for users'. But the business model is incentivising that entire company to go into a very different direction," Allworth says. "The funny thing is, it helps actually having an Australian perspective on this. Because the other person that comes to mind when I think of Zuckerberg now is Rupert Murdoch. When you centralise large amounts of power in the hands of one person, you become completely beholden to that person." Like Murdoch and News Corp, Zuckerberg controls Facebook through a dual class share structure. He controls 60 per cent of the voting shares in Facebook, despite owning just 14 per cent of the company's common shares, according to S&P Capital IQ. "This guy has structured the shares in such a way that he has complete control over it. It's kinda scary," Allworth says. So, how do we fix the things that Facebook broke? The company this week outlined a suite of measures to deal with the immediate crisis, and prevent future ones. These include limits on the data that third-party developers can extract, and a tool for users to find out whether they were affected. Facebook's reticence to clean-up its platform stems from concerns that it will be accused of political bias, or limiting free speech. From the perspective of governments, the challenge of attempting to regulate something that is probably more powerful than they are looks immense. "Who's going to do that [regulate Facebook]? Probably the government," Allworth says. "Being Australian that's maybe a natural tool that I would reach for. But who is the government in the US? Do you really want that person in control of basically the largest news delivery service that the world has ever seen?'' If America starts doing that, Allworth says, what's to stop every other country from wanting to deliver news in the same way? "It opens up a pretty slippery slope." In hindsight Facebook should probably not have been allowed to acquire two potential competitors - Instagram and WhatsApp, Allworth says. "That's the way in which we should be thinking about regulation. Not necessarily in a 'we're going to control what goes down the pipes' way, because you end up in very hot water very quickly," he says. "But a better approach is to think about how you can encourage competition, from lots of different players." Loading In Australia, competition tsar Rod Sims will be looking at these types of issues in an inquiry on the impact of digital giants on advertising markets. Submissions are due after Easter. Sims has the power to demand documents from tech companies, and hold public hearings. This review was secured by Nick Xenophon, who is no longer in parliament, to secure support for media ownership reforms. But this review has now taken on added significance. Privacy issues are very much within the inquiry's terms of reference, and Sims this week confirmed that the Cambridge Analytica incident will form part of his thinking. "It plays into what the inquiry is looking at, which includes what consumers do know about their data. This affects Facebooks business model," he said. Australia, in theory, has the chance to be among the first movers on regulating digital giants. Whether that transpires, of course, remains to be seen. As for Facebook, it is suffering the consequences from "rapid growth on massive scale", says Wieser. He offers two solutions. One is to change management, unlikely given Zuckerberg's control. Amid the turmoil surrounding James Packers shock resignation from the board of Crown Resorts, rival casino group The Star has continued its quest to place Queensland on the map as the second big destination for gambling tourism - with an investment on the Gold Coast alone of up to $3 billion in the coming years. On Thursday night, The Stars chief executive, Matt Bekier, hosted celebrities and politicians for the opening of the new luxury Darling Hotel, which will form part of its expanded Gold Coast casino complex. Together with refurbishment of its existing facilities, the project has cost about $850 million. The Stars chief executive, Matt Bekier, hosted celebrities and politicians for the opening of the new luxury Darling Hotel, which will form part of its expanded Gold Coast casino complex. Plagued by scandals and some poor investments, Crown has been in retreat of late, looking to sell non-core assets and refocusing on luring Chinese VIP gamblers back to its Melbourne flagship. Sydney is shaping up as the premier destination for international high rollers, as it houses The Stars major property and in 2021 will see the addition of Crowns Barangaroo. Where Crown overstretched its balance sheet over the past five years after an aggressive buying and development spree, The Star has taken a more measured approach to funding its expansion through the use of Asian partners and over a longer time period. Province 6 announces Rara-Karnali Visit Year The government of Karnali on Thursday announced Rara-Karnali Visit Year 2018, a campaign that aims to create economic and job opportunities by increasing tourist inflow ten-fold to 500,000 individual in one of the poorest and most remote regions of Nepal. Daphne Will Boast Granta, $27.99 Daphne has a strange medical condition: she can be literally paralysed by emotion. The severity of her attacks varies, from a temporary inability to hold a wine glass to full-on physical collapse. So she has developed habits and a routine that shield her from feeling, and any variation from her daily norm is viewed with suspicion and dread. But then she meets Ollie. This novel is not subtitled "a love story" for nothing. Daphne and Ollie are citizens of contemporary San Francisco, but the seeds of this story lie in Greek mythology, in which the nymph Daphne calls on her father the river god for help when Apollo is trying to rape her, and her father turns her into a laurel tree. In Boast's novel, it's the other way round: Daphne must go from paralysis to feeling, and through this story Boast explores the question of which form of suffering is worse: intense feeling, or no feeling at all. The Break Katherena Vermette Allen & Unwin, $29.99 Katherena Vermette is a Metis poet and race relations activist from Winnipeg and her ferociously ambitious debut novel has garnered attention and prizes since it was first published in Canada. Beginning as so many stories sadly do with a rape, witnessed through her kitchen window by a woman holding a baby, the story is told by 10 different characters and the reader must sort through the voices, working out who is dead, who is alive, who is the victim and who the rapist, and who is investigating the crime. As the story progresses, the reader pieces together the shape of the family and more broadly of the community that is affected by this event and its aftermath. Vermette is concerned chiefly with the lives of women, particularly of Canada's Indigenous women, and of the crimes committed against them. This burden might be too heavy for the reader to bear if it were not delivered in the form of a page-turning literary thriller. "What's the time in Italy?" asks the woman, speaking into a mobile. With the Siri function on, the robo-voice replies, "The time in Rome, Italy, is 9:28am." Vindicated, the woman hands the phone back to her mother who sits at the kitchen table. "See how easy it is?" says the daughter. But mama disagrees. She comes from the old country, as betrayed in her voice, and Siri struggles to penetrate her rhythmic patois. Mama plants her thumb. "Ullo, ullo you can tell me what's time in Italy please thank you." The phone plinks, the robot saying, "I value you." Simon Letch Wordplay 24th March The YouTube video deserves to go viral, if only to emphasise how evasive human speech can be. Tap in the search terms "Siri mishears" and the war stories are legion. One involves inflamed tonsils, where the sufferer quizzed his voice-app for "sore throat remedies", only for Siri to recommend love resorts in Thailand. Away from telephony, Rockhampton's Morning Bulletin posted an apology in 2011, stating: "Yesterday's story said more than 30,000 pigs were floating down the Dawson River, when the piggery owner actually said, 30 sows and pigs." Cate Blanchett has hit back at criticism she's "stayed silent" on abuse accusations against Woody Allen, adding she'd support a court case if the allegations needed to be re-examined. "I don't think I've stayed silent at all," Blanchett who won an acting Oscar in 2014 for Allen's Blue Jasmine told CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Thursday. "At the time I worked with Woody Allen, I knew nothing of the allegations... [which] came out at the time the film was released," she said. "At the time I said it's a very painful and complicated situation for the family, which I hope they have the ability to resolve." INHERENT VICE (148 minutes) MA Based on Thomas Pynchon's novel, Paul Thomas Anderson's wacky yet melancholy 2015 comedy-mystery is set in Southern California around 1970, just as the wave of hippie idealism was about to break. Joaquin Phoenix leads a cast full of eccentrics as a mournful slob of a private eye who relies on marijuana to help him unravel the absurdly convoluted plot. Digitally projected. Astor, Sun, Mar 25, 7pm. Tom Cruise in Top Gun. PRICK UP YOUR EARS (110 minutes) M Stephen Frears' 1987 biopic of playwright Joe Orton (Gary Oldman) is really a study of a couple, following Orton's rise to fame and the toll this takes on his older, mentally fragile lover (Alfred Molina). Despite the harrowing material there's ample room for mischief, both in the brilliant performances and in screenwriter Alan Bennett's signature blend of propriety and impropriety. Screens as part of the Queer Film Festival. Digitally projected. ACMI, Sun, Mar 25, 1.15pm. A welcome return of sunshine will push temperatures into the 30s over the weekend in Sydney and help dry out areas of coastal NSW that copped as much as 300 millimetres of rain in a day. The worst of the rain that soaked the mid-north and central coasts of NSW this week had passed by Friday afternoon, with the rainband breaking down into showers, Jiwon Park, a meteorologist with the Bureau of Meteorology said. Mostly sunny days to come for Sydney and much of eastern NSW as big rain event breaks up. Credit:Leigh Henningham Rainfall totals on Friday were unlikely to exceed the 302 millimetres of rain collected at Boonanghi, inland of Port Macquarie in the 24 hours from 9 am on Thursday. Turners' Flat and Mount Seaview were site that copped more than 240 millimetres of rain during that period. The big rain event - often from thunderstorms within a slow-moving low pressure trough - earlier dumped more than 150 millimetres in a 24-hour period from Wednesday at places such as Dungog in the Hunter. Those falls were typically more than a month's worth of rain for this time of year. Justice Hilary Penfold's four -decade-long legal career has been one of many firsts. She was the first woman to hold the position of Commonwealth First Parliamentary Counsel, the first female Commonwealth Queen's Counsel, and the first female resident judge of the Supreme Court of the ACT. Justice Hilary Penfold is retiring. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos ACT Attorney-General Gordon Ramsay said the judge was "without question one of the most remarkable and pioneering lawyers in the history of the ACT legal profession". Justice Penfold was hailed as a trailblazer, whose career has been one of "broken glass ceilings", at a packed ceremonial sitting of the ACT Supreme Court to mark her retirement on Friday morning. The ACT's Auditor-General is investigating allegations of potential breaches of the territory's Public Sector Management Act related to ACT Health's former performance information branch. Auditor-General Dr Maxine Cooper on Friday announced the new audit, which will be the "first step" towards a potential wider audit of the health directorate's management of data and failures to report on its performance. Auditor-General Dr Maxine Cooper is investigation potential breaches of the ACT's Public Sector Management Act inside ACT Health. Credit:Melissa Adams The audit, she said in a statement, would focus on specific allegations of breaches of the Public Sector Management Act, the laws governing the conduct of territory public servants, between May 2015 up to as recent as October last year. While Dr Cooper's statement referred to the allegations as related to the "former performance information branch" in ACT Health, it is seems unlikely the investigation relates directly to a data doctoring scandal dating back to the Gallagher government in 2012. They now have Patrick, 11; Laura, seven, and Lily, five. The couple did want another child - "but not quite yet". The triplets were a complete surprise, conceived naturally without any fertility drugs. The fact all three girls are identical makes them particularly special. Various sources say the chances of having identical triplets range from one in 60,000 to one in 200 million pregnancies. "I think Matt and I were both gobsmacked," Emma said. "It was something we were not expecting." Canberra has celebrated identical triplets before. Former ACT resident Tom Hepner (formerly Kaminskas) and his American wife Hannah, welcomed identical girl triplets at a hospital in California in 2013. Bombala couple Karen and Scott Guthrie had their hands full with their identical triplet boys born at the Canberra Hospital in 2012. The first triplets in Canberra were the famous French boys, Tom, Mick and Bob, from Narrabundah, born in 1958 and also identical. ACT Health says seven sets of triplets have been born in the Territory to Canberra residents between 2011 and 2015. Data from other years was not available and ACT Health does not count whether the triplets were identical or not. The Keen babies, meanwhile, will be delivered six to eight weeks' premature and will be cared for initially at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Canberra Hospital. Matt, 34, a self-employed plumber, has recently built on a four-bedroom extension to their home in Chisholm to accommodate all the children. The build has kept him away from his day job and stretched the family finances considerably. They still need to paint the extension and add on doors but money is tight. Then there is the question of how to transport all six children. The family has a 2006 VE Commodore and no means at this stage to upgrade to a bigger vehicle. Warm winter clothes for the triplets are also on the family wish list. Emma, an administration officer, has been on sick leave since she was 17-weeks' pregnant due to severe morning sickness. Despite the big change about to hit their lives, Emma is still giving her time to the community. She has made herself available to help promote the Australian Breastfeeding Association's new class in the ACT to help mums who are breastfeeding multiples. The association's Jessica Armstrong said the classes were about passing on information to mums of more than one infant and letting them know support was available. Emma is determined to breast feed the triplets after also breastfeeding her other children. "My littlest was very excited," Emma said, of the coming siblings. Well before he was elected as President, Donald Trump was expressing anger at what he called the United States' "unfair" trade deficit with China. The argument never made much sense; the fact that China sold significantly more goods and services to the US than it imported from it was simply the market at work. Chinese businesses produced more of what Americans wanted, and at the right price, than vice versa. In recent years, the ratio has been about four to one; that is, China exports about four times as much value to the US than America sells back. Many dismissed Mr Trump's pre-election attacks on China's trade as hollow populist rhetoric. His promise to "fix" the deficit resonated with Americans in vulnerable industries, especially manufacturing, but it lacked any detail; just like, for instance, his pledge to force Mexico to pay for a giant wall along the US's southern border. Recommendations offered in a spirit of partnership: EU Two days after the government rejected the conclusions and recommendations of the report of European Union (EU) Election Observation Mission (EOM) on the recently concluded elections of the House of Representatives and Provincial Assemblies, the EU has said that it was a standard practice for international election observation missions to offer recommendations which include the review of administrative practices, legislation and constitutions. Belconnen's Wayfarer building Credit:Rodrigo Vargas In fact, we're about to get a skyline, something not normally associated with what has long been considered a low-rise city. It hasn't been built yet, but the Republic - Geocon's recently approved Belconnen development - represents a crossroads for Canberra. Ours is a city that is being built in layers, green and suburban on the outer edges, and more and more spiky the closer you get to the centre. But while there's an acknowledged gap between single, detached suburban dwellings and small apartments in the town centres, it's these spikes - the apartment blocks and high-rises - that often cause the most consternation. The newest layers now involve urban renewal - the revival of town centres, and the reconsideration of suburbs whose broad streets and established trees could be enjoyed by more people. Inevitably, this means building up, instead of out. Most complaints about tall buildings involve unwelcome shadows, unpleasant wind tunnels, a distorting of proportion, a diminishing of community. There is also the spectre of Grenfell-style housing estates, the height equalling disadvantage or undesirability. But for the city's planners, developers and architects, these are all niggling complaints that seem to be more about a fear of change. And if any of these fears are realised, it will be because of bad planning and bad design, rather than a lack of concern for the quality of life in the territory. Malcolm Snow, the head of the City Renewal Authority, says any aversion to tall buildings is tied to Canberra's evolution, and the way the city has changed over time. The debate is about density, rather than height. "I don't think you could say Canberra was conceived as a low-rise city, but certainly given our location - we are a regional city, we are a city in the bush, so to speak - people have got used to the idea of the city not growing that fast, but growing, and remaining pretty low-rise," he says. "Fast forward to today, 2018, where like many other cities, Canberra faces the hard choices about the type of city it wants to be in the future. The concept of land being this limitless resource that we can keep on consuming ad infinitum, in some cases good agricultural land, does have a finite point to it." Those who oppose high-rise buildings, he says, are often driven by self-interest. "Good planning understands where height is appropriate and where height is inappropriate, and so possibly those whose automatic default setting is to say height is bad, I think miss the point," he says. "This is not about self-interest, this is about the broader public interest in the way in which we actually want to plan and create a city that actually ensures that the benefits of distributing growth have actually been realised "We cannot have a city where we take this dominant preservationist view about everything. Cities are constantly changing, constantly evolving to their circumstances. The circumstances we find ourselves in in the city are increasingly likely to become the circumstances that larger cities are facing." For David Sutherland of Fender Katsalidis, the architects behind Nishi and the New Acton precinct, height is little more than an abstract concept when it comes to building vibrant, environmentally sustainable communities. "Urban densification is the simplest, cheapest, most effective way of achieving environmental sustainability, because they generally have apartments, and apartments are smaller than houses," he says. "You generally put them in places where people will congregate, so people can walk, rather than drive. So if you can live smaller, live closer and drive less, that is the biggest impact and biggest improvement we can make on environmental sustainability." Developer John Hindmarsh has long battled opponents of high-rise, particularly around Woden, where his company is developing a large tract of land. Having battled to build even above 10 storeys in the past, he says the argument that a high-rise will "ruin" someone's view is ludicrous, especially as the most common alternative is to build something longer and lower, that will block out even more of the horizon. "The big deal is anything that's high is bad, which is just nonsense. Anything that's high means you've got a lot more space behind it," he says. "If we build long, flat buildings, you can't see anything, particularly four-storey buildings, or even three-storey buildings. It blocks out the horizon. Tall, relatively slender buildings give you a view - you can look past them and you can see the landscape behind them. But everyone here seems to have a terrible aversion to anything that they consider high-rise. And 10 storeys is hardly high-rise." Both Sutherland and Snow point out that European metropoles like Paris and Barcelona - low-rise across the board but still densely populated - are often evoked in this debate, but say that at some point we have to accept that Canberra is running its own race. "We're from the new world and we're conceived through that kind of lens, but we can still create a much more interesting, diverse and even equitable city by building up to those sort of height limits without the need to go excessively high," Snow says. Australian National University academic Meetu Sharma Saxena, who is using Canberra as her case study in a PhD on historic urban landscapes, is more worried about the types of communities these "mixed-use" buildings and precincts will create, or whether they'll create any sort of community at all. She migrated with her family to Canberra eight years ago, via her hometown of Delhi in India, and a stint in Dubai. Both cities offered high-rise living that catered to the types of people who lived in them, rather than the other way around. "There's a completely different way of setting those high-rises up. They are gated communities, people have that sense of security," she says. "They're cooperative group housing societies, which is where blocks of land are developed by people who are within a similar organisation or they have a similar kind of financial or social background. They all come and live together, so that develops a sense of community because you can relate to the people who are living with you." And such communities arise within the context of the surroundings - highly populated metropoles, and regional centres of commerce and culture. Not, in other words, Canberra. "Essentially, I believe that the housing solution has to be a response to the context of a place," she says. In cities like Singapore, Hong Kong or New York, there have been "centuries of cultural sensitisation to the fact that they don't have enough land and there need to be compromises made. It's an inbuilt programming of the person who lives in those cities, and their entire lifestyle kind of organises itself with that in mind, and it's in response to their local resources and local context." Loading Last week, I sat the mid-term exams for my final year of high school. In the exam room in Sydney, waiting for the clock to tick over to 8.45am, the anxiety was tangible. In that moment, my mind turned to you, the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Florida. Sitting there waiting, I wondered how you felt as you waited; waited for a killer with a semi-automatic gun to burst into your classroom; waited for him to kill your friends; waited to die. Makenzie Hymes, 13, calls for gun law reform during a protest at the White House. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen So I write this letter to you, the survivors, as you prepare to "March For Our Lives" in Washington DC today, to encourage you to maintain your rage; to stand with you; to tell you that gun control can work, as it has worked here in Australia. But, this is not a letter from the other side of the world written with self-righteous arrogance; it is from a schoolboy who shares your hopes for change, but also your fears, as I watch with alarm while our current crop of politicians dilute Australia's stringent gun laws. Its so empty, say Facebook friends of my latest red-dirt outback excursion. Featureless, middle of nowhere. Yet the headlines scream, Sydneys full. Australias full. No room at the inn. Bob Carr who I swear is gunning for next Labor PM - insists that three-quarters of Australians think there is enough of us already. So which is it? Are we empty, or are we full? From a kilometre up, Sydney looks sweet. Flagged by a tiny shaving nick in the vast flank of Australia, the city snugs into the green saucer of the Cumberland Basin, bounded by one coast, three rivers and a corset of ragged mountains. The Great Western Road poked a pin-hole in that corset, through which a million sheep could first trickle, then flood. My eagles eye sees them fan out across the vast savannah, scenting new grass. Whats surprising is how few humans have been similarly lured. Sydney is beautiful from the air. Credit:NASA Its beautiful out there. The mountain crossing, defying the Roads and Maritime Services best 10-lane efforts at blandification, is exhilarating - and from there its a different world. Air, sky, palette, people; all change. Its big sky country. I, for one, love it. Because I love it, Im stunned that so many Sydneysiders still regard "out there" as some kind of punishment. And because I love it empty, Im mildly reluctant to share this core real-estate truth. But here it is: follow the artists. If youre wondering where will be edgy now, fun in a decade and overpriced in two, do it. Follow the artists. For too long, we assumed the ocean simply cleanses, purifies and spits out junk and does not absorb it or get sickened by it. But slowly, certainly and tragically, we are discovering how foolish that assumption has been. It took about a century to even start questioning the wisdom of shooting raw sewage into the ocean and allowing industrial waste to pour in, unchecked. And now: plastic. We have all seen footage of ugly plastics suffocating our oceans, of bird stomachs lethally jammed with human-made jetsam, of string choking the throats of penguins, (just recently a friend of mine untangled balloon string from the neck of a turtle in our bay). A black footed albatross chick with plastics in its stomach lies dead on Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Midway sits in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Credit:AP This week, we learned it is far worse than we realised. So bad, that every conversation about the sea must now carry with it a sense of urgency. A teenager whose father has been jailed for 33 years for the drunken murder of his mother has declared that "justice has been served". Daniel Boyd, 19, himself a victim of Stephen James Boyd's alcohol-fuelled violence, spoke of the emotional journey he and his family endured following Tina Kontozis' violent death on April 24, 2016, after his father snapped. "Domestic violence must not be tolerated at any level and we must, as a community, do everything we can to stop it," Daniel, 19, told media on the steps of the NSW Supreme Court on Friday morning. "I believe justice has been served." Stephen Boyd, whom Daniel previously described as an "evil narcissist", will serve at least 25 years in prison for bashing and stabbing his partner to death in a prolonged, savage attack in their Bundeena home. A Taser fired at a mentally ill woman wielding a knife seconds before she was shot dead in Sydney's west did not work and had not been fully tested in nearly six years, an inquest heard. Police tried to use the Taser and deployed capsicum spray before an officer pulled the trigger on Courtney Topic, 22, near Hungry Jack's at West Hoxton the morning of February 10 in 2015. Witnesses reported Ms Topic, who suffered mental health problems and could have been psychotic, walking along a nearby road with a knife as she talked to herself and hit her head. Constable Angela Tyson, who was one of the first officers to arrive, broke down as she recalled the confrontation in the NSW Coroners Court on Friday. In a time long before the term "bin chicken" existed, ibises were the subject of reverence rather than divisive debate. Paleogeneticist Sally Wasef has dedicated her research to studying ibis DNA from ancient Egypt, where the birds were respected because of their representation of the god Thoth. An ibis seen at South Bank in Brisbane. Credit:Bradley Kanaris Dr Wasef said the birds represented the purity of white through their feathers, the magic of the moon through their crescent-shaped beaks and wisdom in knowing what water source was drinkable. [Ancient Egyptians] respected ibises so much, you could be put to death if you killed an ibis [and] only the priests were able to mummify them, she said. Researchers must share their work and their passion with the public as the accelerated pace of scientific discovery and technological innovation increasingly affects every aspect of our lives. The message comes from renowned theoretical physicist and World Science Festival co-founder Brian Greene who has arrived in Brisbane for the annual celebration of all things scientific. Professor Greene and New York journalist Tracy Day created the festival in 2008, combining his scientific expertise with her communication skills to bring ground-breaking science to the public. Professor Brian Greene is a co-founder of the World Science Festival. Credit:World Science Festival The festival allows kids and adults alike to be informed by science, inspired by wonder, convinced of its value and prepared to engage with its implications for the future, Professor Greene said. The rise of "superbugs" could turn back the clock on modern medicine as research fails to keep pace with emerging antibiotic-resistant bacteria, an antibiotic hunter warns. Superbugs could outstrip cancer as the leading global contributor to disease-related deaths, accounting for a predicted 10 million deaths worldwide by 2050, University of Queensland researcher Dr Mark Blaskovich said. He said the solution was for science to close the gap that had emerged over the past 10 years between antibiotic development and the rise of superbugs. A deadly cluster of resistant staphylococcus bacteria. Credit:Science Photo Library "Before antibiotics were introduced in the 1930s and '40s, about 40 per cent of people died from infections, he said. The Bundaberg community is reeling after the death of a paramedic, who fell 100 metres down a waterfall in New Zealand on Sunday. Online tributes have flowed after several reports identified Verena Jantje Kuhl, better known as Jantje, as the woman who died while abseiling at Twin Creek Falls in Arthur's Pass National Park on the South Island. Verena Jantje Kuhl, a Bundaberg paramedic with German heritage, fell to her death in New Zealand. Credit:Facebook The tourist, with German heritage, plunged 100 metres from a waterfall while abseiling with her husband, who were both experienced climbers, according to Stuff.co.nz. Ms Kuhl has been identified as the deceased by several media outlets and online tributes have been posted on her Facebook account, but police were yet to name her as the victim. Chandan Kumar Mandal is the environment and migration reporter for The Kathmandu Post, covering labour migration and governance, as well as climate change, natural disasters, and wildlife. The senior Foreign Ministry official was very polite, but extremely adamant. "Australia will never be part of ASEAN." He repeated the formula. "Australia is an extremely good friend of the ASEAN nations. We are very happy to have your country as a dialogue partner." In other words, not as an actual member of the community. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in Sydney last week. Credit:AAP It's unusual for a diplomat to be so direct, particularly such a senior official, and particularly as he brought the subject up himself. It's a statement that effectively puts an end to the speculation that was ignited when Indonesian President Joko Widodo offered an interview in which he said it would be a "good idea" if Australia joined ASEAN. Another Thai official later explained he believed the Indonesian president's opinion had simply been taken out of context. Malcolm Turnbull can't predict what the Australian economy will need in five years' time or what the Commonwealth budget will be able to afford in five years' time. Indeed, both Mr Abbott and Mr Turnbull have been spectacularly unsuccessful in meeting their own one-year forecasts. Back in the 2014 budget Mr Abbott told us that we would be in surplus by 2019-2020. And in Mr Turnbull's first budget he predicted we would be in surplus by 2020-21. Whoops. So if governments have no ability to see the future, the big company tax cuts don't kick in for years, and no legislation can give business the certainty they pretend to need - what's going on? Why, in the lead up to a budget that spells out the government's plans (or hopes) for the next four years, has it dedicated the last few weeks to demanding the Senate urgently pass its next-decade corporate tax plan? The answer has nothing to do with economics, nothing to do with long-run budgeting and everything to do with politics. On the one hand Mr Turnbull is coming up to his 30th unsuccessful Newspoll in a row and he is desperate to shift attention away from his failures and towards what he thinks will be seen as a big success. And on the other hand he wants to put maximum pressure on the new Senators who have taken office after Lambie and Kakoschke-Moore weren't able to sit in the Senate for citizenship reasons. In his first week on the job Senator Tim Storer was asked whether he wanted to spend $65 billion of taxpayers money on the Prime Minister's gut feeling that such an enormous gift to corporate Australia would deliver 'jobs and growth'. Of course there are any number of business people and a few economists who argue it's a good idea. But there are also a lot of economists, myself included, who would argue that there are a lot more effective ways to create jobs than to give a big tax cut to foreign companies. There are virtually no economists who argue that passing tax cuts that kick in in 2022 must be legislated before we see the 2018 budget forecasts and compare them to the 2017 budget forecasts. Luckily for the new senators, and the Australian public, time is on their side and there is no imperative for them to pass it this sitting. You'd think that would be a reasonable request for a $65 billion dollar decision. It would allow both the government more time to make its case to a public the polls say are unpersuaded, and give the new Senators more time to seek answers to some simple questions such as: The territory government will split its 7000-employee health directorate into two new agencies - one focused on policy, the other on operations - in a huge overhaul designed to replicate similar moves interstate. The changes will also see current ACT Health director-general Nicole Feely, a former chief of staff to then-Prime Minister John Howard, leave the directorate to pursue "other opportunities". Health Minister Meegan Fitzharris will split the ACT's health directorate into two agencies. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos It follows the government moving 1000 ACT health administrative, executive and policy roles to Woden from its former offices in the city in an effort to address a long-standing divide between those areas and hospital operations. Health Minister Meegan Fitzharris and Mental Health Minister Shane Rattenbury announced the restructure on Friday, saying the split would help the Canberra Hospital and Health Services focus more on operations. The use of lockdowns to manage detainees inside the Bimberi youth detention centre has soared by 179 per cent in the past year, new government figures reveal. The new Bimberi Headline Indicators Report, tabled this week in the legislative assembly, also showed there have been more assaults between detainees inside the facility and the use of force is on the rise. New statistics show a dramatic increase in the use of lockdowns to manage Bimberi detainees. Credit:Rohan Thomson ACT Minister for Youth Rachel Stephen-Smith told the legislative assembly in May last year there were two operational lockdowns called inside Bimberi between July 2015 and June 2016. The new Bimberi report shows there were 34 operational lockdowns between July 2016 and June 2017, and this number climbed again to 95 in just six months between July 2017 and December 2017. But Shorten's letter and Elder's robocalls demonstrate a relationship of convenience between Labor and the Victorian Catholics. It's worth noting that Elder, somewhat of a renegade, is a former Liberal MP in Victoria, and it's likely his frenetic campaigning is partly an attempt to save face after he failed to extract a special deal from Education Minister Simon Birmingham. There is certainly no love lost between the two men. As part of this week's blow-up, Birmingham said Elder had sold out to Labor for "a few pieces of silver", while Elder accused the minister of "sneering" and argued he was causing the Coalition's Catholic vote to tank. Education Minister Simon Birmingham. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The aggressive tactics in Melbourne might seem counter-productive, but Catholic schools there strongly backed their head office this week. Andrew Watson, treasurer of the Principals' Association of Victorian Catholic Secondary Schools, said it was the only way to get Birmingham to listen. "Perhaps theres a bit of arrogance there that hes not prepared to accept hes got it wrong, or hasnt understood the complexities of the schools and the various systems," Watson told Fairfax Media. "I don't think he has been well advised." Watson and others are continuing to lobby by going around Birmingham, securing meetings with Victorian Liberal senators Scott Ryan and Jane Hume, who are prepared to hear out the Catholics' concerns. Victoria might be the flashpoint but Catholics elsewhere are furious too. The National Catholic Education Commission and Catholic Schools NSW didn't rule out their own robocall campaigns in the future, though they said they hadn't discussed it, and in NSW, spokesman Jim Hanna said it was "highly unlikely". What's certain is that the government won't give ground on the Gonski set-up. Where there is room for unity with the Catholics is in the forthcoming review of the socio-economic status formula, which sets out a school's "capacity to contribute" to its own finances. Currently, it is based on sampling the wealth of the surrounding area. The Catholics want it based on the wealth of the families whose children actually attend the school. There's a good chance they'll get what they want when the National School Resourcing Board reports to Birmingham in June. That could heal the rift and move Turnbull closer to his goal of ending the war once and for all - though it would, in turn, upset the independent school sector, which has lobbied the Board against those very changes. Loading The Independent Schools Council of Australia waded into the furore this week with a potshot at the "sectarian" Catholics and a pang of jealousy about Labor's pledge to Archbishop Hart. "They got a letter. No other sector has had correspondence to that effect," said executive director Colette Colman, when asked what she actually wanted from Labor. "Wed like to see them make a public commitment to all sectors, not just one." Which goes to show that a lot of this bluster is about rhetoric, not substance. Labor is at pains to emphasise its extra $17 billion would flow to all sectors, mostly to public schools: $1.9 billion in the first two years, and $250 million to Catholics. What happens thereafter is a bit murkier, because Labor is yet to confirm the distribution model it would use for the next 10 years, and what role the states would play. The public school parents' lobby caused a stir this week when it stridently condemned Shorten's letter to the Archbishop as "irrational and illogical", and compared the whole cosy arrangement to George Orwell's Animal Farm. Loading A UK-style bank tax is emerging as a compromise that might get the Turnbull governments proposed company tax cuts through the Senate. The tax, announced by the Britains Conservative government in 2015 along with a program of cuts in the broader company tax rate, added 8 percentage points to the rate for banks, meaning that when the company tax rate was 20 per cent, banks were taxed at 28 per cent, and that when the company tax rate is cut to 17 per cent in 2020 banks will pay 25 per cent. It replaced a lower and differently calculated levy on bank balance sheets along the lines of the one introduced by the Turnbull government in the 2017 budget. Independent senator Derryn Hinch is studying the British tax that was introduced to ensure that the benefits of company tax cuts werent passed onto banks, which are considered unlikely to leave or come to Britain on the basis of tax rates. In late 2017 I signed a thirty year mortgage on a house in Melbourne's northern suburbs, in an area due to be connected to the NBN in "early 2018". With the ink barely dry on the contract, NBN Co announced it was halting all planned rollouts until further notice. Cable was not available in the area, so I assumed my only option was ADSL. Raj Deut, a web developer in Moonee Ponds, tells a similar story. Mr Deut purchased an apartment in an area earmarked for fibre to the premises. The promise of world class internet speeds was a major factor in his decision to buy into the suburb. Fibre would be ideal, but it's increasingly difficult to know how long you'll be waiting for it from NBN. Credit:Bloomberg "Each year the government changed their strategy with the NBN in my area and with each change came a delay. Moonee Ponds has been pushed from Fibre to the premises, to fibre to the node, to fibre to the curb, and now, I don't really know." NBN Co's website now advises that more information will be forthcoming. "I had no choice but to connect ADSL and sit and wait," Mr Deut says. That was three years ago." Cambridge Analytica, a London-based data firm that sold its services to political campaigns, has been thrust into the spotlight this week thanks to a number of startling exposes. Undercover footage, along with testimony and evidence provided by a former employee-turned-whistleblower, offered a glimpse of the company's shadowy dealings around the world. It secretly harvested the data of tens of millions of Facebook users and may have engaged in all sorts of offline skulduggery, including bribes and sexual blackmail, to help clients win elections. The former chief executive of Cambridge Analytica, Alexander Nix, in London. Credit:AP Much of the American media has focused on Cambridge Analytica's connections to the Trump campaign and prominent figures in the American far right, including father-and-daughter financiers Robert Mercer and Rebekah Mercer and ultranationalist gadfly Steve Bannon. To some observers, the revelations about the firm's practices fit a broader narrative of foreign meddling and manipulation into the 2016 US election. But, as Adam Taylor explained in The Washington Post, the company has arguably had a bigger impact in other parts of the world, often through front organisations that obscure its fingerprints. Cambridge Analytica claims to have worked in a wide range of countries, including Australia, Brazil, Malaysia and Mexico. Reports suggest that's nowhere near a complete list; an affiliated company named SCL Group, which founded Cambridge Analytica in 2013, had offices in Asia and Latin America and is known to have been involved in Indian local elections in 2010. Beijing: For the better part of two decades, China's leaders have made the most of the global trade rules set by the United States and others, seizing on opportunities to bolster their nation's economic rise while finessing American complaints that they were not always playing fair. Now, for the first time, China faces an American president who is embracing protectionist measures, and that has presented its leader, Xi Jinping, with an extraordinary challenge: Even as he has elevated his status as the country's "helmsman," with a new mandate to rule indefinitely, the US is moving to treat China more seriously as a strategic rival and to recast an economic relationship that has long bound the two countries. Donald Trump in the White House after announcing the tariff package. Credit:New York Times The punitive actions unveiled by President Donald Trump on Thursday about $US60 ($A77 billion) billion in tariffs a year and other penalties targeting Chinese goods, as well as new restrictions on Chinese investment in the United States will put Xi on the spot, forcing him to consider retaliatory action that could send a shudder through the global economy and complicate his efforts to sustain China's rapid growth in the face of rising debt and an aging population. Chinese leaders are judged in part on how they manage relations with the US, and a damaging trade war, if handled poorly, might diminish Xi's political standing and test the wisdom of the highly centralised power structure that he has erected around himself. Sebon, FinMin in talks to cut taxes on shares The Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) said Thursday it had started talks with the Finance Ministry to reduce taxes on share trading in a bid to boost the flagging stock market. A Fly Jamaica Airways crew member with cocaine strapped to his legs. Credit:US Customs and Border Protection A Fly Jamaica Airways crew member is accused of trying to smuggle nearly four kilograms of cocaine through John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Federal officials said that during a security search late last week, Hugh Hall, a Jamaican citizen, was found to have four packages filled with white powder strapped to his legs and hidden under his pants. Authorities confirmed that the substance was cocaine - about $US160,000 ($207,000) worth, according to a statement from US Customs and Border Protection. Hall was taken into custody on Saturday on federal illegal drug smuggling charges, authorities said. Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC They think this legislation misses the mark. Students and parents at a Bay Ridge high school questioned the ability of metal detectors to stop an armed shooter after the neighborhoods state Senator called for body scanners in schools. A pupil at Fort Hamilton High School said the scanners using metal-detector technology proposed by state Sen. Marty Golden might calm nervous classmates, but wouldnt do much to save lives in the face of an aspiring villain toting an assault rifle. I feel like they make students feel safer, but they wouldnt really stop a mass shooting, because someone will find a way to do that if they want to, said Ridgite Mustafa Hammad. [Metal detectors] give the illusion of safety. Hammad was among the many Fort Hamilton students who, with thousands of kids across the borough, cut class to rally for stricter gun laws on March 14. Golden introduced a bill in the state Senate on March 6 calling for smart scanners in all schools, but it was days before he clarified via Twitter that the technology he envisioned deploying was pulse induction and magnetometers the same technology used in metal detectors. That legislation followed another Golden-sponsored bill, introduced on March 5, that would allow the city to use the streamlined design-build process on its repairs to a crumbling stretch of the BrooklynQueens Expressway on the condition that armed cops are stationed in every school across the five boroughs. Another Fort Hamilton student suggested the scanners main purpose may be to quell kids fears, arguing that, regardless of the technology, the devices would be unlikely to stop a determined mass shooter because someone intent on opening fire would likely find another way in than the schools front door. It might make kids feel safer, but unless they have metal detectors at every door, I dont think it would 100-percent ensure safety, said Ridgite Abdurrehman Mughal, a member of Fort Hamiltons Reserve Officer Training Corps program, which gives students military training. If people have the unfortunate intention of doing something bad, they try to find a way. Thats something you can try to minimize, but not really stop. Another student said he supported the idea of putting the metal detectors in schools on a permanent basis, but that he was concerned about the logistics of efficiently scanning Fort Hamiltons 4,539 students, especially since some arrive as early as 7 am. I think it would definitely benefit the school, because anything thats harmful, theyll obviously detect it, said Dyker Heights resident Bobby Ioannou. But I think it would be a huge hassle to have to wake up earlier. I think there are still some underlying negative effects to it. Many students including Ioannou said the school already has random monthly checks with metal detectors and police officers present, which the Department of Education did not confirm by press time. Ioannou, who claimed he once was uncomfortably searched after his cell phone set off the detector, also cautioned that pat-downs would also have to be managed to protect students rights. And his mother welcomed the idea of additional preventative measures including metal detectors in schools, but agreed that they probably wouldnt stop a mass shooter although they could stop a student trying to hide a weapon, she said. I dont think a metal detector will stop a shooter, but it may very well deter some type of a weapon coming into a school, said Kathy Ioannou. Another parent who has a daughter at Fort Hamilton said she would feel more comfortable with the detectors, but echoed doubts that they could stymie a shooting. Will it prevent a mass shooting? I really dont think so, because this world has gone insane, said the parent, who declined to be named because of her job with the Department of the Education. Defying the pressure from the labour unions, including RSS-backed Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), the Union government notified the category of 'fixed term employee' in the schedule attached to Industrial Establishment Standing Order's Act, 1946. The argument is: This will allow flexibility to the corporate to employ and deploy labour only for a fixed duration, especially in the segments where they have specific orders or assignments. The corporate will have flexibility to not carry-over extra labour for lean seasons. This is walking on thin edge. The labour and trade unions believe these changes have not only been made without consultation but also by circumventing the domestic laws and the India's commitments at international forums such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Further, the unions believe this will kill the concept of permanent jobs in India. They fear all jobs will be converted into contractual work for a fixed period. The move is seen as a backdoor entry for the contentious 'hire and fire' norm in the private sector. In 2003, the then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee's NDA government was the first one to try this. It led to fights between the NDA and the RSS affiliates, and these provisions were withdrawn during UPA-1 later. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his Budget speech, announced the fixed term employment will be implemented. Fumed over this, the labour and trade unions say this announcement violates the ILO Convention 144 - mandating tripartite consultation for the government with trade unions and other stakeholders - adopted in 1976. "He violated the convention, subsequently ratified by the Indian Parliament, when he unilaterally declared the implantation," laments Saji Narayanan CK, President of the BMS. He, along with other trade unions like Hind Mazdoor Sabha, CITU, AITUC, etc, said the government didn't do proper consultation with the unions and took the decision in haste. Now the BMS, upset with the BJP, has threatened the government with protests. After the Budget, the BMS had decided to boycott the Indian Labour Conference scheduled in February; PM Narendra Modi was suppose to address the meet. Sensing the anger, the labour ministry cancelled the event. BMS leaders said they were not consulted. They think the government brought the decision through an executive order instead of referring it to Parliament or the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour. "This is a backdoor method of bureaucrats taking up the legislative power enjoyed by Parliament on the matters of national importance. The amendment has been introduced under pressure from a powerful Industrial lobby," Saji Narayanan said. The NDA government is embroiled in a discourse of job creation and rural distress, and this is seen as a step to cut through. Initially, the government allowed these provisions in the labour intensive made-up sectors, apparel and food processing. Now, this will become a rule for the entire universe of the labour consumption. "Since the provisions under the existing labour laws did not provide such flexibility, the industry had inhibitions in engaging extra labour to discharge timely commitments like export orders. The amendment will certainly remove this hurdle and employment generation will receive an impetus in the coming months," said FICCI President Rashesh Shah. The unions say the executive order giving the same benefits of permanent employees to the fixed term employees should have been given to the contractual workers. This could be done by amending the Contract Labour Act. So the new amendment should have been made to the Contract Labour Act instead of the Standing Orders Act to stop the exploitation of contract workers, they opine. The government should withdraw the amendment, said Narayanan. Praveer Sinha, a Tata insider has been appointed as the new CEO and managing director of Tata Power. He will assume charge from May 1. Currently, Sinha is the CEO & Managing Director of Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd (Tata Power-DDL), a Public Private Partnership between Tata Power and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, supplying power to North and North-West Delhi. Sinha replaces Anil Sardana who put in his papers as CEO in end-January citing personal reasons. Many believe it was imminent after Banmali Agarwala - once Sardana's junior - was appointed to lead the vertical clubbing defence, aerospace and infrastructure projects of the group. Agarwala rejoined the Tata Group as president after leading GE in South Asia for 56 months. When Agarwala was with Tata Power, he reported to CEO Sardana. Under the new scenario Sardana would have to report to Agarwala. With Sinha there are no such issues - he is Agarwala's contemporary and a close confidant of Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekaran. Sinha has spent nearly three decades in the power sector and "he is not only credited with transforming power distribution in his region but also has experience in developing and setting up greenfield and brownfield power plants in India and abroad," says Tata Power insiders. A statement issued by Chandrasekaran, said, "Praveer's extensive experience in the power sector and his ability to drive performance, maximise returns and work seamlessly with stakeholders will be very valuable for Tata Power as it looks to strengthen and expand its position in fast-evolving energy market." In Delhi, Sinha was pushing the transformation into a smart power distribution company. To achieve this, he first brought down AT&T losses to 8.59 per cent - the least in distribution networks across the country and roped in the technology partners like Toshiba Group to upgrade the network much quicker, Tata Power insiders say. Sinha was instrumental in ensuring that Tata Power DDL established footprints beyond its licensed area, providing turnkey solutions for distribution reforms in 17 states in India and half a dozen countries outside India. Now, Chandrasekaran needs him to formulate strategy to streamline the renewable energy business -both equipment manufacturing and projects-and explore future of troubled 4,000 MW plant at Mundra in Gujarat. Sardana's purchase of Welspun Renewables -became of the bone of contentions between Tata Sons and former Chairman Cyrus Mistry. Karti Chidambaram was granted bail by the Delhi High Court on the surety of Rs 10 lakh in the INX Media money laundering case on Friday. Under the bail bond, he is not allowed to travel out of the country. He can't influence witnesses or close his bank accounts. Karti Chidambaram, the son of former finance minister P Chidambaram, was earlier sent to judicial custody till March 24. Delhi court special judge Sunil Rana also dismissed his plea for an early bail hearing. The court had also declined his request for a separate cell in Tihar jail, and protection inside the jail premises. The court said the authorities would follow the jail manual in this regard, also denying his request for home food in the jail. Karti argued that his father was once the home minister and handled terror cases. He also invoked the death of biscuit baron Rajan Pillai in 1995 and said that he did not want to be exposed to attacks. "Something may happen to me," he added. Karti Chidambaram was detained on February 28, on his return from the United Kingdom in connection with the FIR lodged on May 15, 2017. The case pertains to the irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds of about Rs 305 crore in 2007 when his father was Union finance minister. The CBI had initially alleged that Karti Chidambaram received Rs 10 lakh as bribe for facilitating the FIPB clearance to INX Media. It, however, later revised the figure to $1 million (about Rs 6.50 crore at the current exchange rate and Rs 4.50 crore in 2007). The fresh evidence in the case, which triggered Karti Chidambaram's arrest, was based on the statement of Indrani Mukerjea, former director of INX Media (P) Ltd, who recorded it under section 164 of the CrPC before a magistrate on February 17. With PTI inputs The Modi government's last Budget before the next general elections allocated a whopping Rs 1.48 trillion to the railways - the highest ever for the sector - for capacity expansion along with a better, safer rail experience for passengers. Significantly, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced that 600 railway stations across the country had been picked for modernisation. The plan reportedly was to adopt a public-private partnership model, under which the Indian Railways would carry out 25-50 per cent of the construction work, and then give the station on a 99-year lease to the highest bidder for completion, development and subsequent operation. In the first phase, the Indian Railway Station Development Corporation (IRSDC) and zonal units were supposed to take up about 130 stations. But in the face of the low-key private investor interest, the railways today came out with a list of 68 stations earmarked for a facelift through its own resources. The list reportedly includes some of the busiest stations in the country like the Old Delhi railway station, Howrah, Patna, Allahabad, Vijayawada, Pune, Bengaluru, Ambala and Chennai Egmore. "We can't wait for private investors anymore. We'll redevelop these stations on our own and could monetise them later through commercial exploitation," a top rail ministry official told The Economic Times. As per rough estimates, the railways may need to shell out around Rs 3,000 - 4,000 crore on this project. All the shortlisted railway stations will reportedly get state-of-the-art amenities, including elevators, swanky waiting room, a modern passenger announcement system, new platforms, shopping complex and airport-like entry and exit. But while the overhaul aims to bring about a visible change in the station facades and amenities, Railway Board Chairman Ashwini Lohani reportedly suggested that there shouldn't be any unnecessary construction all over. The redevelopment will be closely monitored by the general managers of the respective zones and the divisional railway manager (DRMs), who are expected to submit a master plan along with a budget for the same to the Railway Board by the end of this month. The latter is expected to also engage officials to closely monitor the redevelopment plan along with the DRMs. According to the report, the letter to zonal general managers informing them about the number of stations and a one-year deadline for completion was sent out on Thursday. The government is probably hoping that the redevelopment work gets wrapped up before the country goes for the Lok Sabha polls. Let's not forget that the National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) is also involved with the government's station redevelopment plan, with 10 stations on its plate. The public sector company's revamped railway station at Habibganj in Bhopal, in fact, is scheduled for completion by the end of this year. So, if things go to plan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team will be able to showcase as many as 80 upgraded railway stations among their achievements during the upcoming elections. (With PTI inputs) Times change, mindsets dont For how many more years will the people need to wait to see an inclusive Nepal? If you are worried about the security of your Aadhaar data, here is some news for you. Your biometric data is stored in such a system that it will take for a fastest computer in the world more than the life of the universe to hack it; this is what UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey told the Supreme Court on Thursday. That is not all. The complex where these systems are kept or protected has a 13-feet high and five feet thick walls, Attorney General KK Venugopal told the apex court hearing a number of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of Aadhaar. In last two days, two top government officials - Ajay Bhushan Pandey, KK Venugopal - have explained the technology and structure that have been put in place to protect the sensitive data. Does the UIDAI data centre really have a 13 feet high and five feet thick wall? UIDAI DATA CENTRES The UIDAI has two data centres, one at Bengaluru in Karnataka and another at Manesar in Haryana. The Bangalore data centre is the city's first blast, flood and earthquake-proof building. The centre, which was constructed by state-owned Engineers India at a cost of Rs 116 crore, is spread over 6,245 sqm and has a storage capacity of 6 peta bytes with 4,000 servers. The building is blast proof with category 'C' rating. It has a 500-mm-thick wall. The home ministry had sanctioned a 162-member CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) squad to guard the highly sensitive data centre. The Manesar facility is a state-of-the-art, energy efficient, captive green data centre as per global standards and guidelines, according to former UIDAI DG RS Sharma. The data centre is designed as per seismic zone-IV compliance requirements. The Manesar Data Centre houses a building to accommodate UIDAI Biometric Centre of Competence or UBCC and National Training Facilities of UIDAI. The foundation stone for this Data Centre was laid by former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in 2013. AADHAAR SECURITY The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the UIDAI CEO to give presentation to explain the Aadhaar security system. The Court asked the Aadhaar CEO to address concerns such as surveillance, data security and exclusion of some people from receiving government benefits in case of authentication. The petitioners, challenging the Aadhaar, had earlier argued that the biometric collection from 2010 to 2016 was illegal and invalid. Explaining the security system of the Aadhaar, UIDAI CEO said that the entire data gets encrypted, even the fastest system in the world can't breach it. However, the bench said that it gets encrypted when it reaches you, but what about the collection centre where it could be captured by a private party. On this point, AB Pandey said that UIDAI did not share biometric details with anyone and the moment 'the resident presses the save key, entire data gets encrypted by the 2048-bit key'. On authentication and foreign developed software, the UIDAI chief told the court that the agency has bought data matching software from the world's top three companies and stored on UIDAI's servers. The details saved on these servers are not shared with the software-providers, claimed AB Pandey. To make his point, Pandey said that even banks use such software but they don't share their details with software developers. When it comes to moving abroad or finding a job overseas, Australia and Canada are the two most famous destinations among Indians. But, the Australia government has tightened the visa norms for skilled overseas workers to give priority to the locals. A majority of Indians who apply for work visa in Australia are hired through the subclass 457 visa category, but not anymore. The Australian government instead brought in the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa on March 18, under which it'll be difficult to get a PR (Permanent Residency), and even an entry in an Australian university. The number of overseas jobs will go down as the government wants sponsoring companies to contribute to the Australian Skilling Fund at Australian dollar 1,200 per employee per year. The Temporary Skill Shortage visa, referred to as the TSS visa, facilitates targeted use of overseas workers to address temporary skill shortages, while ensuring that Australian workers get priority. The TSS visa holders can work in Australia in their nominated occupation for an approved sponsor under any of the three streams: short-term, medium-term, and labour agreement stream. In short-term stream, an employer will sponsor you on a temporary basis in occupations listed on the short-term skilled occupation list (STSOL) for two years or four years if an International Trade Obligation (ITO) applies. The Australian government has made a substantial reduction of around 200 jobs in occupation list in the two-year stream only. In the medium-term stream, an employer can sponsor you as an overseas skilled worker for up to four years in occupations listed on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL). In the long-term stream, an employer can sponsor you only if he/she enters into a labour agreement with the home department. The two-year visa programme will not lead to permanent residency automatically, but those on the medium-term visa will be eligible for PR after three years. According to a report in Times of India, the migration reform process began several months ago, in January an updated list for skilled migration visas was issued with significant pruning of occupations and some reshuffling of skill categories. The report says another list may follow in the coming months. A major reason behind the reforms in the visa norm is ensuring that locals are given an equal opportunity. According to the Australian home department, the country announced in April 2017 that the 457 visa would be abolished due to concerns that Australians were not always being prioritised for Australian skilled jobs. Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Alan Tudge said the changes were designed to strengthen visa arrangements to ensure that Australian workers were given priority for Australian jobs. "The Government is delivering on its promise to ensure we get the right balance between protecting local jobs and supporting Australian employers to fill critical skills shortages," said Tudge. Indians top the list of people to be hired under the 457 Visa category. According to the TOI report, of the total 90,033 457 visa card holders, total 19,400 people (21.6 per cent) people were Indians. The UK, accounted for 16,800 visa holders (18.7 per cent), while from the USA, the number was 5,100. The government has said as part of the regular review of the occupation lists, the Department of Jobs and Small Business will soon commence a consultation process, including on skills shortages in regional areas. The outcomes of this consultation will be factored into the July 2018 review. Former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan has voiced his concern over the rollout of artificial intelligence, saying that many high-skill jobs will be at risk if the technology transformation is not adopted the right way. Speaking at a two-day global digital summit in Kochi, the noted economist said job creation will be a matter of concern with advancement in AI, robotics and machine learning. He also highlighted the significant dip in job creation over past one year. "There has been a steady loss of jobs in routine and unskilled segments. Routine skilled jobs are also being replaced as it is easy to automate them," Rajan said at the event. "In the future, routine jobs will be replaced and creativity will be in focus. Jobs that require human empathy will remain relevant. There will be restructuring across all sectors." Rajan stressed on the need for India to create jobs and wished industries could create more job opportunities before thinking about machine learning. The country must also bring in education and labour reforms at the earliest, he added. However, he was also of the view that there was "overstated hype around the technology and the changeover", and India was a long way away from fearing job losses as a consequence of technological innovations, given that most Indians were not adequately skilled. "India does not have jobs like the West to fear losing jobs (to AI). We don't have jobs to lose. We have to get and create jobs first." Taking the example of driverless cars, which led to the death of a pedestrian in Arizona, Rajan said the threats are cropping up as there is a push for its fast adaptation. "We need more time to adopt technology in the real and complicated world. Crowded streets of Daryaganj need more time for sure," he added. He said the adaptation in the country will take considerable time, given that the government is still working with physical files despite talking about Digital India. Earlier in the month, nobel laureate Paul Krugman had also voiced similar concerns. "Artificial intelligence is something you should be wary of. We can expect that in the future a doctor is approached to diagnose a disease. The same thing can also go to a firm, which uses artificial intelligence for similar tasks. This can affect India's services sector." Krugman had also warned of mass unemployment if India failed to develop and upgrade its manufacturing and services sectors. The government is mulling to raise natural gas prices from next month, with the benchmark price for gas produced in domestic fields expected to hit a two-year high. If the proposal goes through, it will not only affect your monthly budget for piped natural gas, or cooking gas, but will translate into a hike in prices of CNG, electricity and urea production. However, the hike will have minimum effect on power tariffs as less than 8 per cent of our total power is produced at gas-fired plants. India imports half of its gas requirement from gas-surplus nations and spends more than double the domestic rate. The government is expected to raise the natural gas price $3.06 per million British thermal unit from April 1, sources quoted by PTI said. The current price is $2.89. Prices of natural gas are fixed every six months, which depends on the average rates in gas-surplus nations like the US, Russia and Canada. The price revision is due next week. The $3.06 per mmBtu rate will be price for the April-September period. The gas prices in India are determined by taking the weighted average price at Henry Hub of the US, National Balancing Point of the UK, rates in Alberta (Canada) and Russia with a lag of one quarter. The current rate is based on the average price at these hubs from January to December 2017. The hike in cap prices of alternate fuel produced from deep-sea water fields are also due on April 1. The price for such fields is likely to be raised to $6.5-6.6 per mmBtu from $6.3 for the April-September segment. Industry experts quoted by PTI said the price hike will help increase in earnings of companies, such as Oil and Natural Gas Corp and Reliance Industries, and also help the country in minimising their energy needs and increasing the share of natural gases in its energy mix. On an annual basis, every dollar hike in gas prices results in Rs 4,000 crore additional revenue for the PSU. In October 2017, the gas prices were hiked $2.89 per mmBtu from $2.48 in the April-September 2017 after almost three years. Before that there was fall in prices in almost five occasions, the last in April 2017. ONGC, the biggest gas producer in India, produces more than 70 per cent of the 90 million standard cubic meters a day, India's current output. Of the total India's gas requirement, almost 50 per cent are met through imports from spot market and long-term contracts. The prices in the spot market vary from $10-12 a unit and it is $10-11 a unit for the long-term contracts. With inputs from PTI The Sensex and Nifty crashed in opening trade amid rout in global markets over fears of revival of trade wars after US President Donald Trump announced $60 billion of tariffs on Chinese imports. The tariffs, which the US trade representatives will publish within 15 days, will target 1,300 lines of Chinese goods, everything from shoes and clothing to electronics. China hit back in the trade war announcing plans for reciprocal tariffs on $3 billion imports from the US, including products from steel to pork. China also plans to take legal action against the US under the World Trade Organization framework. The global markets were the biggest casualty of the US-China trade steps with Dow closing 724 points lower to 23,957 level. Asian markets too were trading in the red. At home while the Sensex fell 442 points to 32,563 level, the Nifty was down 142 points to 9,972 level. The Nifty fell below 10,000 level for the first time since October 12, 2017. The index has fallen nearly 4 percent to 9,988.90 since January 1 after touching a high of 11,171.55 on January 29. "Indian equity markets reacted negatively today, in-line with global markets. With US imposing fresh tariff targeted China, there is an increasing fear of a trade war which could impact economic growth. Markets are expected to remain volatile ahead of F&O expiry next week, as well as end of Indian financial year (last week before the LTCG tax kicks in). While traders should remain cautious, decline in good fundamental stocks would offer buying opportunities for long term investors," Siddharth Khemka, Head- Retail research at Motilal Oswal said. On the Sensex, all 30 stocks were trading in the red with YES Bank (3.69%), Tata Steel (3.37%), and ICICI Bank (3.02%) were the top losers. Mid caps and small caps stocks on BSE tumbled 1.83% and 1.98 percent, respectively. Banking stocks suffered the most with BSE bankex crashing 522 points or 1.93% among the BSE sectoral indices. BSE Capital goods index too fell 339 points to 17,992 level. Market breadth was negative with 164 stocks rising against 1776 stocks falling on BSE. "Trade war is troubling the global equity market, wondering what more will be present in protectionism given a risk to slowdown globalisation. Within this India is getting impacted because we were already underperforming due to premium valuation, profit booking led by LTCG and pre-election political uncertainties. We expect domestic chaos to stabilize as pressure of redemption will be over soon by the end of FY18 but pre-election volatility may take some time to settle," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit. The India VIX index rose 5.51%, signalling heightened volatility in stock market. Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) continued selling on domestic bourses. On a net basis, they sold shares worth Rs 1,065.99 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made purchases to the tune of Rs 1,127.78 crore on Friday, provisional data showed. On Thursday, the Sensex fell 130 points to 33,006, Nifty closed 40 points lower at 10,114 level. Trade war fears intensified on reports that US president Donald Trump plans to announce about $50 billion of tariffs against China over intellectual-property violations. Global markets The fear rippled into Asia, where shares tumbled in early trading. By late morning in Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 3.5 percent at 20,827.92. South Korea's Kospi tumbled 2.3 percent to 2,438.03. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 3.2 percent to 30,090.32 and the Shanghai Composite in mainland China sank 2.7 percent to 3,169.19. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 skidded 1.9 percent to 5,824.50. On Thursday, US markets sank. The S&P 500 index skidded 2.5 percent to 2,643.69. The Dow Jones industrial average sank 2.9 percent to 23,957.89. The Nasdaq composite gave up 2.4 percent to 7,166.68. The CBI has booked a Hyderabad-based construction company for allegedly swindling a consortium of eight banks of a whopping Rs 1,394 crore, officials disclosed on Thursday. Totem Infrastructure Ltd, which worked as a sub-contractor for several major infrastructure companies, and its promoters Tottempudi Salalith and Tottempudi Kavita have been named in an FIR registered by the CBI on the basis of a complaint from the Union Bank of India, one of the eight banks, according to official sources. The company had also figured in the list of the biggest tax defaulters compiled by the Income Tax Department in 2015 with an outstanding tax of over Rs 400 crore. The I-T department had in 2015 also announced a reward of up to Rs 15 lakh to informants for tracing the company, calling it untraceable, and other defaulters in the list. The bank also alleged that the promoters were untraceable, but the CBI has zeroed in on their new place of residence and conducted searches on Thursday, the officials said. The CBI also issued a Look Out Circular against the promoters to prevent them from leaving the country and tracking their movements. Union Bank alleged in the complaint that it suffered a loss of Rs 313.84 crore as the loans given to the company had become NPAs in June, 2012. They said the total dues towards the consortium stand at Rs 1394.43 crore. It is alleged that the loans taken from the banks for various projects were diverted for purposes other than they were meant for and to personal accounts of the promoters. According to a finance ministry official more such cases could tumble out as the government has ordered all banks to carry out an audit of all NPAs that exceed Rs 500 crore. Jolted by the Punjab National Bank fraud, the finance ministry at the end of February directed managing directors of public sector banks to examine non-performing asset (NPA) accounts of more than Rs 500 crore for possible fraud and report any cases of wilful default to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The ministry had also set a 15-day deadline for PSBs to put in place an effective system to address rising operational and technological risks. These directions are part of the reforms that the government had packaged with the recapitalisation plan for banks. Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar had also asked banks to involve the Enforcement Directorate and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence for any violations of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said EU leaders were still waiting for the final word from U.S. President Donald Trump on whether the United States would apply tariffs to European steel and aluminum, and warned of a firm response if he did. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer had earlier told a Senate committee hearing that Trump had chosen to "pause" the imposition of metals tariffs for Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico South Korea and "Europe." Merkel said it was not clear what Trump's decision had been, meaning EU leaders would have to return to the topic on Friday. "We believe that tariffs are not justified and we are seeking more talks," she told reporters in the early hours of Friday. "If they do raise tariffs then we will respond with counter-measures. That was our common view. We want good transatlantic relations, but we will react if we believe that international trade rules have been harmed." The United States is set to begin charging import duties of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum from Friday. The exemption from tariffs, if it is confirmed, followed EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom's trip to Washington for talks with Lighthizer and U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. Briefing EU ambassadors and the European Parliament on Thursday morning, she had indicated there was a greater willingness to find a solution to avert a trade war. French President Emmanuel Macron said he expected a final announcement on U.S. tariffs late evening Brussels time. "My wish is that we can continue to preserve international trade rules that are good for all and that the powers that have contributed to putting them in place will assure that they are respected," he said. The European Commission has proposed that, if tariffs are imposed, the bloc should challenge them at the World Trade Organization, consider measures to prevent metal flooding into Europe and impose import duties on U.S. products to "rebalance" EU-U.S. trade. The EU leaders' also discussed taxation, another topic that threatens to expose transatlantic strains. The European Commission on Wednesday proposed rules to make digital companies pay more tax, with U.S. tech giants such as Google, Facebook and Amazon set to foot a large chunk of a potential 5 billion euro bill. EU Economics Commissioner Pierre Moscovici brushed off accusations that he was going after rich American tech companies to enrich EU coffers and France, Germany, Italy, Britain and Spain welcomed the proposals in a joint statement. However, some smaller countries fear the proposed tax would undermine their ability to attract multinationals and see the measure as more likely to shift tax revenue to bigger EU countries rather than raising more money. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie It is estimated that 57 top companies in Ireland have contributed over 28 million to charities and community groups last year while employees racked up 231,668 volunteer hours. From 2013-2017, Business in the Community Ireland has calculated that employees in some of Irelands largest companies have contributed a total of over 1 million volunteering hours to good causes in the country. The data is featured on an online interactive Business Impact Map which gives a county-by-county breakdown of how 57 companies and their employees supported local community groups and charities during 2017. The Business Impact Map shows that almost 12 million was given in cash donations; 9.7 million was contributed through in-kind donations and over 5.6 million was raised through employee fundraising. Employees also volunteered over 231,668 hours to local groups and projects during the year. In 2017, the areas of health, community, education, poverty and youth were the best supported. Over 5m was donated to health with a further 4.5 being donated to communities and another 3.5m going towards education. Elsewhere, social issues of poverty and helping children and young people received sizeable contributions. Almost 3.5m was donated to poverty and over 2.7m given to children and youth. The Business Impact Map was launched at an event yesterday in Dublin which was sponsored by Tesco Ireland featuring speakers from Boots, Symantec, Fidelity Investments, eir, Deloitte, ESB, PM Group and Momentum Support and the map can be viewed at http://livemaps.bitc.ie According to the Edelman Trust Barometer results which were announced in January of this year, businesses are now expected to be an agent of change with 63% of respondents in Ireland calling on CEOs to take the lead on change rather than wait for government to impose it. Speaking this week, Business in the Community Ireland Chief Executive, Tomas Sercovich said, "Employees want to work for companies that support their volunteering efforts and crucially want to work where their values align with their employer. Companies know that by engaging in tackling social issues it can drive employee engagement and also can attract and retain the best talent as employees now expect their employers to have a community strategy in place as standard." Source: www.businessworld.ie There was celebration today in Limerick today with the unveiling of a Shannon Foynes Port Company (SFPC) framework strategy to transform 75 acres of prime, noncore activity real-estate just off Limerick city centre into an economic hub. The Strategy was launched by Minister of State at the Department of Finance & Public Expenditure & Reform Patrick ODonovan with a pledge to grow existing commercial activity at SFPCs 35 acres Ted Russell Docks but also provide for the major development of noncore activity at the docks and also at lands along a further 75 acres of the Limerick Docklands estate. The docks have been and will remain the core SFPC commercial activity at the Limerick Docklands estate, which extends 2.15km along the River Shannon waterfront. However, the Framework Strategy is the first time that noncore assets will be explored for their commercial potential in a programme which aims to attract significant inward investment and potentially in excess of 1,000 jobs. Currently, a total of 440 Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) are supported by the Ted Russell Dock, generating 25.2 million in employment income among companies engaged with SFPC. The commercial activity of customers of Ted Russell Docks resulted in 77.2 million of expenditure in the regional economy on non-labour goods and services. SFPC estimates that the programme, which will run for the lifetime of its Vision 2041 Masterplan, could involve a minimum of 100m of development and redevelopment, potentially delivering 75,000sqm of new and existing buildings at the Ted Russell Docks, Corcanree Business Park and other sites off the Dock Road. The company has already had discussions with a number of potential partners on individual projects within the wider scheme with a view to enabling works commencing on initial projects as early as 2019. The potential of the Limerick Docklands Economic Park (total 110 acres) is emphasised by its location just off both the M7 Motorway at its western end and Limerick City Centre at its eastern end, with much of the development potential ideal for last mile logistics investment. The assets earmarked for development include disused buildings and greenfield land-banks that are surplus to the operational requirements of the thriving Ted Russell Docks. Launching the SFPC report before an attendance of over 100 regional stakeholders, Minister ODonovan said, "Limerick Docklands ranks among the most attractive urban sites in the country. This property is flanked by the largest river in either here or the UK, and is effectively bordered by the city centre at one end and a motorway at the other. It has its own port achieving record tonnages and is just 25 minutes away from an international airport. From an investment potential this is a hugely compelling offering and now that it has a framework in place, it is an open invitation to indigenous and FDI companies to take advantage." SFPC CEO, Patrick Keating added, "The development potential of 31 hectares between the city centre and motorway is enormous. Its job creation potential is huge and it will, therefore, be one of the key economic catalysts for Limerick and the region in the years ahead." Source: www.businessworld.ie Ireland's Ryanair will launch its first routes from European cities to Ukraine, the low-cost airline said on Friday, rekindling a deal it walked away from last July over alleged attempts to protect the market for Ukrainian competitors. The collapse of the previous agreement highlighted the power of vested interests in Ukraine, where the government has vowed to tackle endemic corruption in exchange for a $17.5 billion bailout deal from the International Monetary Fund. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary announced the deal at a briefing at Kiev's Boryspil airport, which will have 10 Ryanair routes, while the western city of Lviv will have five. "This is a sign of quality - the quality of the investment climate and the quality of competition conditions," Poroshenko said. Soon after Ryanair cancelled the deal last year, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman called for talks to be restarted and asked Ukraine's anti-corruption and anti-monopoly bodies to examine if the previous negotiations had been carried out fairly and in compliance with competition laws. The authorities have been at pains to show that Ukraine is open for business after the 2013/2014 pro-European uprising, but efforts to attract foreign investment have been hampered by lacklustre progress on fighting corruption. Last year, Ukrainian International Airlines (UIA), which is part-owned by tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky, denied it had been lobbying to prevent a deal between Ryanair and Boryspil airport. The new agreement will likely be welcomed by many within Ukraine as it will provide more and cheaper routes to European destinations at a time when a new visa-free regime with the European Union has simplified travel for Ukrainian citizens. The Kiev routes will be to Barcelona, Bratislava, Gdansk, Krakow, London, Poznan, Stockholm, Vilnius, Warsaw and Wroclaw. The Lviv routes will be to Duesseldorf, Krakow, London, Memmingen and Warsaw. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie National Transport Authority (NTA) and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) are announcing details of the Emerging Preferred Route for MetroLink, the metro service that will run from Estuary north of Swords to Sandyford on the southside, serving Dublin Airport and the City Centre. Public consultation on the project gets under way immediately with MetroLink scheduled to be operational in 2027. The National Transport Authority (NTA) estimate the creation of about 4,000 jobs during construction. The Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area (2016-2035) envisaged a rail link from the south city centre to Swords. It also envisaged the upgrading of Luas Green Line to metro standard, which would link up to the metro services running north to the airport and beyond, to provide Dublin with a high capacity, high-frequency cross-city rail corridor. Under the National Development Plan 2018-2027, Metro North and Metro South will now proceed as one project known as MetroLink. Consultation on the project commences next week with a series of information events for communities along the route taking place at local level. There are information evenings organised for areas such as Swords, Ballymun, Dublin City, Glasnevin, Ranelagh and Leopardstown. The anticipated timeline is as follows: 2018 Consultation on Emerging Preferred Route 2019 - Application for a Railway Order 2020 Granting of Railway Order 2021 Construction commences 2027 MetroLink becomes operable Speaking yesterday, National Transport Authority CEO, Anne Graham said, "There are very significant benefits associated with MetroLink, particularly in terms of the integrated transport system that it will bring about for Dublin. For example, thanks to MetroLink, there will finally be a rail link to Dublin Airport, and with easy interchange with other modes including bus, Dart and commuter rail, MetroLink will make it easier than ever to move into and around the capital. There will be 25 stations in total, 15 of them brand new, so it will also make sustainable transport a viable option for more and more people in areas like Swords and Ballymun." Transport Infrastructure Ireland CEO, Michael Nolan said, "What we are publishing here is the Emerging Preferred Route (EPR), rather than the final route. Having examined in detail the various alignments and options, the EPR is the one that we feel is the best fit for the project. But we remain open to looking at other proposals, and if people or communities feel there are better ways of doing it, we will of course be happy to consider any alternatives put forward." Source: www.businessworld.ie China on Friday warned that the U.S. risks dragging bilateral trade relations into danger after President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on Chinese goods and Beijing released a plan to impose taxes on $3 billion worth of American imports. Chinas Ministry of Commerce blasted the U.S. move as underscoring typical unilateralism and trade protectionism and said it would take action to protect the country's interests. China does not want to fight trade wars. Yet China is absolutely not afraid of trade wars, an unnamed commerce ministry spokesperson said in a Chinese-language statement. We are confident and capable of dealing with any challenges. We hope the U.S. stops its (practices) before it is too late, makes prudent decisions, and doesnt drag bilateral trade relations into danger, said the spokesperson, adding that China is fully prepared to firmly protect its legitimate interests. Trump on Thursday instructed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to propose additional tariffs on Chinese products following a seven-month investigation into the Asian nation's intellectual property practices under the rarely used Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. Retaliatory tariffs The trade office will target Chinese goods with an annual trade value commensurate with the harm caused to the U.S. economy resulting from Chinas unfair policies, according to the Section 301 Fact Sheet. This value is estimated to be at least $50 billion per year, it added. Trump said that the amount could be even bigger, at about $60 billion. The tariffs will not take effect immediately. Lighthizer will have 15 days to release a list of Chinese goods and services that will be targeted, followed by a 30-day public comment period. China is preparing to enforce its own tariffs. The commerce ministry said it is considering a 15% import tax on $977 million worth of American fresh fruits, nuts, wines, and seamless steel tubes, and a 25% levy on $1.99 billion worth of U.S. pork, recycled aluminum and other goods. The plan intends to balance losses to Chinese interests caused by the U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum products, an unnamed ministry spokesperson said in a separate statement. Earlier this month, Trump signed an order to slap taxes of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum products imported from countries including China. The tariffs are effective Friday. Beijing will impose the 15% reciprocal levy if China and the U.S. fail to reach an agreement on the trade actions within a set period of time. The 25% tax will be introduced after a further evaluation of the impact of U.S. measures on China is completed, the ministry statement said. China retains the right to adjust our measures according to actual conditions and will go through the necessary procedures according to the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), it added. The ministry said it will seek public consultation on the proposals before they are implemented. The statement accused the U.S. of restricting imports under the excuse of national security, which has gravely damaged the multilateral trade system represented by the WTO and severely disrupted the normal international trade order. The latest actions taken by Washington and Beijing increase the likelihood of a full-blown trade conflict between the two countries, with analysts voicing concern that the moves will add to global trade tensions. Divided world Trump is deliberately relating trade measures to foreign policy, such as granting exemptions from some of the new tariffs to countries with security partnerships with the U.S., which will likely encourage these nations to take sides and adopt a hard-line policy toward China, Raymond Yeung and Daniel Wilson, analysts at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, said in a note. Our major worry is whether President Trumps tactical approach will spill over to the rest of the world, they wrote. Just as China wishes to deepen its economic ties with the rest of the world in President Xis New Era, Trumps China policy may result in a divided world, risking not only global economic recovery but also stability. Trump has been pressing Beijing to cut the countrys trade surplus with the U.S. by $100 billion. Chinas trade surplus with the U.S. rose 8% to a record $375.2 billion last year, according to U.S. Department of Commerce data. Chinese customs data show that in the first two months of this year, the surplus jumped 35% year-on year to $42.9 billion. Chinese and American business groups on Friday called on the two governments to soothe frictions through dialogue and avoid a trade war. The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, which says it will provide input to Washingtons proposed tariffs on behalf of its 3,000 members, urged the Trump administration to not to impose tariffs as its principal response to Chinas trade practices while prodding Beijing to take meaningful action to facilitate free trade. AmCham Shanghai believes that the American and Chinese governments should resolve existing trade frictions in a way that averts a trade war and promotes open markets and fair economic exchange, it said in a statement. The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, a state-funded trade body, urged the two sides to settle their differences without resorting to open conflict. We strongly call on the U.S. government to work together with the Chinese government to resolve disputes in a constructive way and avert the outbreak of a trade war, it said in a statement on its website. Contact reporter Fran Wang (fangwang@caixin.com) Read more on the latest China-U.S. trade dispute A swath of tropical rainforest on the Xiaohei River in South China's Yunnan province has been cut down to make way for the Huilongshan Hydropower Station. Liang Yingfei/Caixin Its like a haircut that has gone awry in the hands of an absent-minded barber. Thats how many locals described the environmental scars that have been left by construction of the Huilongshan Hydropower Station inside a tropical rainforest in southwestern Chinas Yunnan province since October 2015. Trees have been felled and vegetation cleared upstream along the Xiaohei River in Yunnans Xishuangbanna prefecture to make way for a dam, leaving what looks like an open wound in the once pristine rainforest. Xiaohei River feeds the Luosuo River, a major tributary of the Mekong River. The hydropower project is a major investment, promising windfall gains, according to the local government of the impoverished area. The exact amount of investment is unknown, but if all goes according to plan, the project is slated for completion by April 2020. It will generate much-needed electricity for the prefectures 1 million-plus population, officials said. But, Yunnan province is grappling with a hydropower supply glut due to decades of dam development along the Mekong. Fourteen dams have been built along the section of the Mekong River flowing through Yunnan since the first Manwan Hydropower Station was built in 1995, decimating habitats, several conservationists told Caixin. This has added fuel to the already fierce opposition from scientists and advocacy groups who accuse local authorities of approving the project despite a flawed environmental impact assessment. Critics say the project will damage a natural reserve upstream, which is home to endangered species such as the Asian elephant, and a downstream reserve for tropical aquatic animals. A volunteer walks next to an enormous tree trunk of a felled Tetramelaceae, which is a protected plant species in China. Photo: Liang Yingfei/Caixin There are so many hydropower stations in Yunnan, I really cant understand why we have to destroy this tributary, especially because its the last sanctuary for aquatic life along the Mekong, said Chen Yinrui, a renowned ichthyologist in the province. The Mekong, which is known as the Lancang River in Chinese, is a major Southeast Asian waterway that originates in Chinas Qinghai province and flows through Tibet and Yunnan before entering neighboring Laos and crisscrossing through Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar on its way to Vietnam. Escorted by local villagers, Caixin reporters recently took a kayak tour along the Xiaohei River, upstream from the dam. Giant trees with thick trunks one to two meters in diameter had been sawn down and left to litter the a 15-kilometer (9.32 miles) belt on both sides of the river. The vegetation was withering, laying bare the yellow soil underneath. Areas that will be flooded by the hydropower project must be cleared out in advance to protect the dam, according to Friends of Nature, a conservation advocacy group in Beijing. A 35-kilometer strip upstream from Xiaohei River was stripped of all vegetation to allow for water levels to rise once the dam is in place, according to the conservation group. Among the trees and plants that have been destroyed are some endangered species including Caryota urens, a flowering plant in the palm family, and Tetramelaceae, both of which are on a national list for protected species. In the lower bank of the Xiaohei River in Xishuangbanna prefecture, protected species like tetramelaceae and caryota urens, a flowering plant in the palm family, have been cut down for a hydroelectric dam project. Photo: Liang Yingfei/Caixin Conservationists also fear the project will have an adverse effect on the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve, one of the few remaining rainforests in China. The nature reserve consists of five separate units. Three of them Mengyang, Mengla, Menglun are linked by two artificial bio-corridors. The Xiaohei River flows alongside the Mengyang unit and the corridor linking it to Menglun, which raises concerns that some of these reserves might get flooded, threatening not only plant species, but also endangered animals such as the Asian elephant. Volunteers from Friends of Nature even found a rock inscribed with a red Chinese character meaning reserve, in the area around the river cleared of trees and plants, indicating that the dam construction work has encroached into land that is part of the reserve. The dam will also block many fish species that migrate from Mekong River back to breeding grounds further upstream along the Luosuo River, according to several conservationists including Liu Yongjun, a marine biologist. However, the developer of the dam by a local subsidiary of China Resources Power Holdings Co. owned by Chinese conglomerate China Resources (Holdings) Co. Ltd., failed to mention the potential risk of flooding this bio-corridor in its environmental impact study, according to the nongovernmental organization (NGO). Crushed by elephants The reserve is already fragmented due to massive rubber plantations created in the 1960s and 70s, and the latest development project could decimate the local Asian elephant population, according to professor Wu Zhaolu with Yunnan Universitys Institute of Ecology and Geobotany. The artificial corridors were designed to allow wild elephants to migrate among different units of the reserve to forage for food or look for mates, according to Wu, who was involved in planning of the areas. The Huilongshan Hydropower Station is built right along one of the corridors, making it difficult for elephants to move from Mengyang to Menglun, he said. Elephants are now confined to smaller areas at a lower altitude close to residential homes, resulting in a rising number of deadly attacks on villagers, according to Wu. A licensed fisherman releases his net on the Luosuo River. Conservationists have warned that a dam under construction in the area could damage the natural fish reserve along the river. Photo: Liang Yingfei/Caixin A wild elephant roamed into Mansha village, in Mengla county, on March 9, crushing a 55-year-old woman to death, according to the county government. Friends of Nature, in late February, filed a lawsuit with a local court in Yunnan against the China Resources subsidiary and another company hired by the developer to conduct the environmental impact study. The suit said the study was flawed. The NGO is demanding that the developer stop logging and address potential threats from past development to the nature reserve and the fish reserve downstream. The group said it hopes that the lawsuit, which is still pending, could put a stop on the development. The latest legal action follows two similar complaints it lodged with the provinces Forestry Department late last year. Representatives from the China Resources subsidiary and Kunming Engineering Corp., which conducted the environmental impact study, have refused to answer Caixins questions. China Resources Power, the developers parent company, said it has suspended the dam development project after its logging license expired in December, but the company didnt say if it would apply for a new one. The Forestry Department of Xishuangbanna prefecture, which is in charge of issuing logging licenses, said it has not received any license renewal application from the company. Meanwhile, a group of scientists who were recently dispatched to survey areas threatened by flooding, found plots with plant species endemic to tropical rain forests, according to Zhong Mingchuan, who heads a division overseeing the nature reserve at the forestry department. But, these areas dont fall within the boundaries of the reserve, but very close to it, she said. The marker stone, which demarcates the areas that are part of the reserve, was meant to scare local villagers away, as well as stop poaching and illicit logging inside the reserve, according to Zhong. The damming of the river would push its water level to 650 meters above sea level, about 17 meters below the border of the natural reserve, the Kunming Engineering Corp. said in the environmental impact report, citing an official document from the Xishuangbanna prefecture government. The local government was at odds with conservation norms, which use waterways or roads instead of altitude to mark borders of natural reserves, according to a botanist who asked not to be named. No place to spawn Scientists and conservationists have also opposed the construction of the dam because the hydropower project would deal a fatal blow to a fish reserve downstream by preventing many fish species from migrating to their traditional upstream spawning grounds. Among the 112 fish species found in the Luosuo River, 27 are native to Yunnan. Nine are under national protection because they are endangered, and three others are under provincial protection, according to professor Chen Yinrui, a former research fellow with the Chinese Academy of Sciences Kunming Institute of Zoology The fish reserve along the Luosou River was built to neutralize the impact of more than a dozen hydropower dams built along the Mekong River over the past 20 years, Chen said. When the reserve for aquatic life was established in 2006, the General Administration of Environmental Protection, the predecessor of Chinas Ministry of Ecological Environment, said that no dams should be built along the Luosou River. But the local government argues that its not compulsory to follow this recommendation. It said that it was given the green light by the provincial economic planning body, the Yunnan Development and Reform Commission, to go ahead with the hydropower project in 2012. Developers have taken several precautions to address the impact from the dam on fish species in the river including creating a simulated breeding ground, according to the environmental impact study for the dam. However, such measures have been dismissed by experts as fighting a battle on paper. The dam would fundamentally change important features of the river, including the temperature of water flowing downstream and patterns of seasonal flooding, according to Liu Yongjun. Another critical problem is the changes to the ion concentration and other properties of river water resulting from the potential reduction in silt in the river, he said. All of this would have a major impact on the migration of fish and their breeding patterns and even cause some fish to stop spawning. Contact reporter Li Rongde (rongdeli@caixin.com) 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. Photo: The Canadian Press UPDATE 5:35 a.m. French police say 2 killed, about a dozen wounded in supermarket hostage-taking in southern France. ORIGINAL 5:28 a.m. An armed man took hostages in a supermarket in southern France on Friday, killing at least one and seriously wounding another. He had earlier opened fire on police nearby. An interior ministry spokesman told BFM television the attacker was still in the supermarket. It was not clear if there were still people inside with him. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said all information suggested it "seems to be a terrorist act." The man first fired six shots at police officers who were on their way back from jogging near the city of Carcassonne on Friday morning, said Yves Lefebvre, secretary general of SGP Police-FO police union. One police officer had a shoulder injury but it was not serious, Lefebvre said. The suspect then went to a Super U supermarket in the nearby small town of Trebes, where he shot and killed one person and shot another who is in life-threatening condition, Lefebvre said. Trebes is about 60 miles (100 kilometres) southeast of Toulouse. Special police units were sent to the scene and local authorities blocked roads and urged residents to stay away. Interior Minister spokesman Frederic Delanouvelle told The Associated Press that there is one suspect and police are trying to subdue him. He provided no details of how many people were taken hostage. The Paris prosecutor's office said counterterrorism investigators were taking over the probe but did not provide details about why. The move came after unconfirmed media reports that the assailant claimed connections to the Islamic State group. French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb headed for the scene after talking with French President Emmanuel Macron, who is following the situation closely, according to a security official. France has been on high alert since a string of Islamic extremist attacks in 2015 and 2016 that killed more than 200 people. Photo: The Canadian Press UPDATE 7:45 a.m. The country's annual pace of inflation sped up to 2.2 per cent last month for its fastest pace in more than three years as the rate moved above the central bank's ideal bull's-eye of two per cent, Statistics Canada said Friday. The agency's February data represented a significant boost to the inflation rate compared with the month before when it was 1.7 per cent. The report also found the average of the agency's three measures of core inflation, designed to omit the noise of more-volatile items like gasoline, continued its upward momentum last month and has now climbed slightly above two per cent for the first time since February 2012. Inflation is a central piece of the information for the Bank of Canada's interest-rate decisions and the stronger numbers translate into a hike sooner than experts have anticipated. "Inflation is BAAAACK, but it's not yet a scary monster, being essentially in line with what the Bank of Canada actually wanted to see," CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfeld wrote in a report Friday. TD Bank senior economist James Marple said the recent "dovish tone" from the Bank of Canada on the interest rate will surely be challenged by the robust core inflation numbers. "All told, today's data does create the risk that the Bank of Canada moves sooner, but with downside risks to the economic outlook still elevated, this summer remains most likely to see the next policy interest rate hike," Marple wrote. Statistics Canada's inflation report said the main driver that pushed up year-over-year consumer prices in February was the higher cost of gasoline, which rose 12.6 per cent, while pricier items like restaurant meals and passenger vehicle also had impacts. ORIGINAL 5:38 a.m. Statistics Canada says the consumer price index in February was up 2.2 per cent compared with a year ago. More coming. Photo: The Canadian Press The co-owner of a dinosaur-themed park in southern Colorado thinks an electrical malfunction caused a life-size animatronic Tyrannosaurus Rex to burst into flames. Zach Reynolds says the T-Rex at the Royal Gorge Dinosaur Experience smouldered for about 10 minutes before it caught fire Thursday morning. Visitors watched as the inferno spread through the dinosaur, which appeared at times to be breathing flames. Reynolds joked, "We knew he had a temper, but today he blew his top." The seven-metre T-Rex, which moved and made sounds, was one of 16 dinosaurs that line the park's Wild Walk exhibit. Reynolds says it was a total loss but at least "it made for some spectacular imagery along the way." He hopes to have a replacement T-Rex installed by the summer. In a game with two turns, the Juventus Finally won the first victory in Italian Championship After five rounds. She... During her long reign over the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II has met numerous presidents of the United States. She hasnt yet met Donald Trump. And some people dont think that she ever will, since he already canceled a trip to the United Kingdom (and doesnt seem to be winning many fans among the British people). But Trump could still be in the running for a high honor bestowed by the monarch: an honorary knighthood. In fact, several U.S. presidents have been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. And if you look at one characteristic that those presidents had in common, it seems that Donald Trump could be next. How do you become a knight? When the queen knights a president, what does that really mean? As Mental Floss notes, the British government has awarded spots in the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire since 1917. The Order originally honored civilian and military behavior during wartime. But as Mental Floss notes, it quickly expanded to honor peacetime achievements, too. The order has five separate ranks. At the top is the Knight Grand Cross (Dame Grand Cross for women). Then comes the Knight Commander (Dame Commander for women). Achieving either of those two ranks counts as a knighthood. And several U.S. presidents have achieved the very top honor. Next: How do you address a president whos also a knight? Sir or Mr. President? People who are knighted can add Sir or Dame to their names. But anyone whos not British say, the president of the United States is only eligible for an honorary knighthood. That means that even though the queen has made these people knights, they cant ask others to call them Sir. So the American presidents knighted by Queen Elizabeth II cant get people to call them Sir just because of their knighthood. On the other hand, its (American) protocol to address the president as Mr. President the first time you speak, and Sir for the remainder of your conversation. But when they visit with Queen Elizabeth II, maybe the protocol is to stick with Mr. President instead of Sir. Next: This president was the first to be knighted. Dwight D. Eisenhower The Associated Press reports that Dwight D. Eisenhower numbers among the presidents who have had honorary knighthoods. But interestingly enough, he already had his knighthood when he moved in the White House in 1952 and Queen Elizabeth II didnt bestow it upon him. In fact, King George VI conferred Britains exclusive Order of Merit (much more exclusive than knighthood) on Eisenhower. And Eisenhower also became a member of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Knight Grand Cross. But Eisenhower didnt just earn a British knighthood. In fact, Eisenhower earned a Danish knighthood for his actions during World War II, when he ran the Allied campaign against Adolf Hitler. As the NY Daily News explains, King Christian X of Denmark awarded Eisenhower the knighthood in the Order of the Elephant. Next: Queen Elizabeth II knighted this president. Ronald Reagan The Associated Press reports that Ronald Reagan was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath. This knighthood was awarded by Queen Elizabeth II. The government, which had not bestowed this rank on an American since the war, dusted it off in 1989 for Reagan, former Prime Minister Margaret Thatchers conservative soul mate, AP explains. As The New York Times reported at the time, Reagan said, I feel greatly honored as he left Buckingham Palace with a box containing the insignia of the knighthood: a star, badge, and red silk sash. The queen, standing beside Reagan, reportedly said, Dont drop them. The Times also noted that most British honors are made on the recommendation of the prime minister and formally awarded by the Queen. Next: Queen Elizabeth II also honored this president with a knighthood. George H.W. Bush George H.W. Bush joined Reagan in being named a Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath. (Thats the highest honorary rank that Britain can bestow upon a foreigner.) The Associated Press referred to Bush as a Texas Yankee in Queen Elizabeths court after he received an honorary knighthood at Buckingham Palace. At the time, Deseret News noted that according to British officials, the award marked the close relationship between the Republican president and Britains Conservative government, particularly during the gulf war. Next: The presidents who became knights all have this trait in common. What do these presidents all have in common? If you hadnt spotted it already, theres one characteristic shared by the presidents who have British knighthoods. They all belong to the Republican Party the same party, of course, that Donald Trump now heads. But the monarchy has knighted many other politicians, too. And not all belonged to the Republican Party. Speaker of the House Tom Foley, Sens. Ted Kennedy and George J. Mitchell, and Secretary of State Dean Rusk all became knights. And they each belong or belonged to the Democratic Party. But many Republican politicians also received the honor, including New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, Federal Reserve chair Alan Greenspan, Senators Richard Lugar and John Warner, Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, and ambassador John Gilbert Winant. Next: Could Donald Trump become a knight? Donald Trump So could Donald Trump be next? Would Queen Elizabeth II consider knighting Trump? The most likely answer: not anytime soon (and no, not because of Trumps politics). Eisenhower received his knighthood in 1943, before assuming the presidency in 1953. But Ronald Reagan wasnt made a knight until 1989, after his presidency ended. Similarly, Bush didnt become a knight until his term as president had concluded. If Trump becomes a knight, that likely wouldnt happen until someone else is in the Oval Office. That hasnt stopped some Brits from considering the possibility and lobbying for the government and the queen to get on board. Nonetheless, the website for the U.K. Government and Parliament rejected a petition for Donald Trump to be awarded an honorary knighthood. So far, the only knighthood that Donald Trump has achieved is an honor given by Tintagels Camelot Castle Hotel. Next: The two presidents the queen never met. The presidents she never met Amazingly, the Queen has met virtually every president since Herbert Hoover. And while she met most during state visits, there are two notable exceptions. Of presidents that have served since 1929, the only presidents she never met were Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson. Next: This president got on the queens bad side. Jimmy Carters faux pas During the first year of his presidency, Jimmy Carter attended a dinner for foreign heads of state held at Buckingham Palace. Carter described the palace as one of the most beautiful places Ive ever seen. He also noted that he had a good place to sit at the dinner. I was between the queen and Princess Margaret, and across the table was Prince Charles and Prince Phillip and the Queen Mother. However, ABC reports that the queen held a grudge against Carter for years because instead of greeting her with a bow, he instead went in for a kiss. Next: The most recent presidential-royal flub. George W. Bush gets a scolding George W. Bush first visited the queen on an official state visit in 2003. And the queen traveled to the United States in 2007, for a celebration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. During his welcoming speech at that event, Bush accidentally messed up his lines. He started to say to the queen, You helped our nation celebrate its bicentennial in 17, accidentally implying that Queen Elizabeth II had been on the throne since the 18th century. Bush turned to the queen and winked at her. But later he said that she gave him a look that only a mother could give a child. Needless to say, we doubt hes going to be knighted anytime soon. Read more: These Are the Best Times Presidents (Including Donald Trump) Reminded Us Theyre Human Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook! President Donald Trump is not a fan of criticism or of checks on his authority. In fact, he thinks the press has far too much freedom to criticize him and feels the director of the FBI should be loyal only to him. Its not a stretch to call Trump an authoritarian president. And, to back up that statement, think about the people he openly admires. Each is an authoritarian leader himself. Its not unusual for American presidents to forge relationships with other world leaders regardless of their styles its really just part and parcel of the job. But Trump seems to genuinely pay homage to them. Keep reading to find out which world leaders our president admires and why. And notice theres not a name on the list from a liberal democracy. 1. Rodrigo Duterte Donald Trump had nice things to say at a 2017 ASEAN Summit about Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. And civil rights groups say Duterte gave a thumbs-up to police and vigilante groups to carry out more than 700 illegal murders of drug offenders, according to The Guardian. Said Trump: Rodrigo, I would like to commend you on your success as ASEAN chair at this very critical moment in time, and in the associations history, such an important event. And I want to thank you for your incredible hospitality, and the show last night, the talent at that show, I assume mostly from the Philippines was fantastic, thank you, and you were fantastic also, very much from the Philippines. Sarah Sanders, White House press secretary, said the pair got together to talk about issues plaguing many nations. The conversation focused on ISIS, illegal drugs, and trade. Human rights briefly came up in the context of the Philippines fight against illegal drugs, said Sanders. Next: This president makes his own rules. 2. Xi Jinping When Donald and Melania Trump traveled to Beijing in 2017, Trump reported that they were having a great time with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to ABC News. Elected as president of the Peoples Republic of China in 2013, Xi Jinping is an authoritarian leader who makes his own rules. In February 2018, the Communist Party of China proposed doing away with presidential term limits for the president and vice president. In March 2018, the National Peoples Congress voted it in right before Xi Jinping got another five-year term. Now, he can essentially rule until he dies. Next: Russia again? 3. Vladimir Putin Trump has talked to a number of reporters about his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to ABC News. We seem to have a very good feeling for each other, a good relationship considering we dont know each other well. I think its a very good relationship, said Trump. OK, thats not so bad, right? But then Trump had to bring up Russiagate. Every time he sees me, he said: I didnt do that. And I believe I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it, said Trump about Putin. He also made it clear that he feels there are far more important issues to negotiate with Russia about than the election. Id rather have him get out of Syria, to be honest with you. Id rather have him, you know, work with him on the Ukraine than standing and arguing, said Trump. Next: You wont believe this one. 4. Kim Jong Un You probably have heard or read the insults Donald Trump has flung at North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un, who is known for denying his people their basic human rights. According to ABC News, Trump has mixed feelings about Kim Jong Un. In 2017 Trump called him a maniac, then actually praised him. You gotta give him credit, said Trump. How many young guys he was, like, 26 or 25 when his father died take over these tough generals, and all of a sudden he goes in, he takes over, and hes the boss, he said. Its incredible. He wiped out the uncle, he wiped out this one, that one. I mean, this guy doesnt play games. And we cant play games with him. Next: Thank God this dictator is dead. 5. Saddam Hussein Another global strongman Donald Trump admires, according to ABC News, is former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. At a November 2017 rally in North Carolina, Trump at least he didnt think Hussein was a good man, but he did say his work was effective. Because many considered Husseins work genocide, that wasnt the best thing to hear from a U.S. president. We shouldnt have been there. We shouldnt have destabilized Saddam Hussein, right. He was a bad guy, really bad guy. But you know what he did well? He killed terrorists, said Trump. He did that so good. They didnt read them the rights. They didnt talk. They were terrorists. Over. Next: Another power junkie 6. Recep Tayyip Erdogan Despite Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans authoritarian behavior including personally appointing or dismissing ministers, choosing judges and ruling by decree if he deems it necessary Donald Trump said he is getting very high marks, in 2017, according to Politico. Its a great honor and privilege because hes become a friend of mine to introduce President Erdogan of Turkey, said Trump to reporters. Hes running a very difficult part of the world. Hes involved very, very strongly and, frankly, hes getting very high marks. In return Erdogan called the president my dear friend, Donald. Next: This one will shock you, too. 7. Bashar al-Assad Barack Obama and other world leaders called for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down in 2011, according to ABC News. They asked for his resignation because, as Obama said, his pledges of reform have rung hollow while he is imprisoning, torturing, and slaughtering his own people. But Donald Trump said al-Assad deserved praise. I think in terms of leadership, hes getting an A and our president is not doing so well, said Trump in a Fox News interview in 2015. After Trump made that statement, he did tone down it down a bit, but he maintained that the U.S. shouldnt trust some of the rebel groups fighting the regime. Next: This one will shock you, too. 8. Muammar Gaddafi Libyas Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, was captured and killed by rebel fighters in 2011. Gaddafi transformed Libya into a socialist state and headed both the military and the Revolutionary Committees that were responsible for suppressing dissent. He was known the world over for his brutal tactics, but Trump had something nice to say about him. In February 2016, Trump said during the CNN-Telemundo Republican candidates debate that Gaddafi was really bad. But he also said that Gaddafis tactics were effective. We would be so much better off if Gaddafi were in charge right now. If these politicians went to the beach and didnt do a thing and we had Saddam Hussein and if we had Gadhafi in charge, instead of having terrorism all over the place, wed be at least they killed terrorists, all right?, said Trump. Sounds almost exactly like what he said about Sadam Hussein. Read more: These Are the 15 Most Corrupt Countries in the World Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook! home World Vatican media chief resigns following controversy over altered letter Monsignor Dario Vigano, who serves as the head of Vatican Secretariat for Communication, has resigned from his post on Wednesday, a week after it was revealed that a photo of a private letter from retired Pope Benedict XVI was digitally altered and sent out to the media. The Vatican Secretariat for Communication had released the full text of Benedict's letter on Saturday after drawing heavy criticism for blurring part of the photograph and for withholding another section of the document. According to the Associated Press, Pope Francis had accepted Vigano's resignation and named his deputy to run the Secretariat for Communications, but kept him in the department in a lesser capacity. In his resignation letter, Vigano did not acknowledge that he had misrepresented Benedict's letter or altered the photo, and only stated that he realized that his actions a despite his intentions a had stirred controversy and destabilized Francis' reform of the Vatican's communications operations. Monsignor Lucio Adrian Ruiz, the current No. 2, will be running the Vatican's communications department until a new prefect is named. Vigano, who was appointed by the pope to run the department in 2015, had read aloud part of the letter during the book launch for a Vatican-published, 11-volume set of books about Francis' theology. In one section of the letter, Benedict rejected the "stupid prejudice" of those who say Francis' theology is lacking. Benedict also refuted assertions that Francis' academic qualities were lacking, and praised the current pope as a "man of deep philosophical and theological formation" and finding an "interior continuity between the two pontificates." However, a press release handed out at the event did not contain the paragraph in which Benedict apologized for not being able to read all 11 volumes and thus declining a request to write a "short and dense theological" introduction for the series. In the final paragraph of the letter, Benedict had lamented the fact that German theologian Peter Hunermann was selected by the Vatican publishing house LEV to write one of the volumes. The former pontiff had complained that Hunermann had "led anti-papal initiatives" during his 2005-2013 papacy and also attacked some of the writings of Pope John Paul II, who died in 2005. "I am certain that you will understand my denial (of the request to write an introduction)," Benedict told Vigano, according to Reuters. The alteration of the photograph had led to accusations that the pope's own communications office was spreading "fake news." Francis had recently dedicated his annual media message to denouncing "fake news" and the intentional distortion of information, and he has frequently castigated journalists for telling only half of the story. 'American Horror Story' season 8 premiere date, spoilers: Kathy Bates returns after taking break to film Netflix's 'Disjointed' After taking a break from the hit horror anthology 'American Horror Story' last season due to commitments with Netflix, but fans will be thrilled to know that one of the genre's best loved actresses is returning for season 8. Kathy Bates is back for the next season of the nailbiting FX show after giving season 7 a miss because of her role in Netflix's 'Disjointed.' That show has been discontinued, freeing up the 'Titanic' star to join the cast once again on American Horror Story, EW.com reports. Fans will remember Bates' last appearance as one of the most memorable characters back in season six of 'American Horror Story', themed 'Roanoke'. But she's a veteran of the anthology, having appeared in the earlier seasons titled 'Coven' - for which she picked up a Primetime Emmy - as well as 'Freak Show' and 'Hotel'. The news of her return was confirmed to EW by the show's co-creator Ryan Murphy. "Kathy and Sarah Paulson have a lot of great stuff to get to do," he commented. "So, with Evan Peters, the three of them are the leads this year." Ryan also commented on reports in the rumor mill that season 8 of the FX series will be titled Radioactive, although his comments will only leave fans guessing more, not less. "I heard about that rumor. Well, that's based on a fact that we've cleared a lot of titles for that show. It's an interesting idea. I can neither confirm nor deny," he said. According to E! News, the next installment takes place in the future. "It's a projection story," Murphy said, according to the site. And while it promises all of the scares you would expect from 'American Horror Story', Murphy promises that it will offer something different and that there will also be some humor. "I think we've never done a season like it," Ryan Murphy tells E! News. "It's all very, very dark but very funny." Northern Irish church leaders welcome Pope Francis visit Several church leaders in Northern Ireland are welcoming the news of Pope Francis' visit to the Republic, saying it was good news for Christians on both sides of the border. The pope confirmed this week he would visit on August 25 and 26, in the first papal visit to the country since John Paul II in 1979. The Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference said in a statement that they were 'deeply honoured' by the visit, 'which no doubt will be an occasion of spiritual renewal for our laity, religious and clergy, as well as a strengthening of Christian family life'. As Christian Today's James MacIntyre has noted, the trip is conspicuous in its focus on the Republic, and not Northern Ireland a move reflecting uncertainties arising from the Brexit vote. But former president of the Methodist Church in Ireland, the Rev Harold Good, told the Belfast Telegraph that the move was good for both Protestants and Catholics in both the north and south. 'I am very pleased for my Roman Catholic friends. Pope Francis is a universally respected person, not just for his own views and ecumenical spirit but for his integrity and humble approach,' the Northern-Irish born leader said. 'This will be particularly good for relations within Northern Ireland and will give us the opportunity to share in our neighbours' joy.' Good played a key role in the Northern Ireland peace process. Regarding Ireland's violent political history, he said the pontiff's trip 'will lay to rest the prejudices and fears of the past'. The General Secretary of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland the largest Protestant denomination in Northern Ireland Rev Trevor Gribben, echoed the sentiment, saying that both sides of the border could be 'excited and encouraged' by the trip. Though the clerical child abuse scandal remains a blight particularly on the Catholic Church and potentially on the forthcoming visit Good said he hoped Pope Francis's trip would give believers 'encouragement and confidence to move beyond recent scandals not to forget or minimise them, but to allow us all to be the people we are called to be'. Pakistani Christian faced with death sentence for blasphemy acquitted A Pakistani Christian who had faced a death sentence for two years has now been acquitted. His lawyer said the case against the accused Anjum Sandhu had been 'clearly fabricated', according to World Watch Monitor. Sandhu was acquitted on March 13. The case began when Sandhu, from Gujranwala in Pakistan's Punjab Province, went to the police to report the extortion of 20,000 rupees (122) from him by Javed Naz and Jafar Ali, who were allegedly demanding an additional 50,000 rupees (306). However, Sandhu, a businessman who runs several schools, was accused of blasphemy by the men. They produced a recording purporting to provide evidence that Sandhu had 'used blasphemous words' at one of his schools. Human rights activist Napoleon Qayyum said Sandhu was blackmailed with the recording by the men, who threatened 'dire consequences' if he did not give them more money. When Sandhu protested to the police, his case was not heard, while forensic scientists convinced a judge that it was Sandhu's voice in the recording. He was subsequently received his sentence for blasphemy, in June 2016. 'The judges noted that although the investigation was flawed, no evidence was found that could show if Sandhu had any inclination to discuss religion in the first place,' said Riaz Anjum, one of Sandhu's defence lawyers present at the appeal. The judge's ruling said: 'The forensic laboratory in Lahore had no voice recognition facility... In the absence of a voice comparison report it cannot be said with certainty that the speech in question was actually made by Anjum Naz Sandhu.' 'It was a case of no evidence,' Riaz Anjum said. Palm Sunday worship: 8 Bible verses about praise On Sunday, Christians all over the world will celebrate the coming of Christ to Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday. The only Gospel to mention palms is John, with the others mentioning branches and cloaks, but many churches will have children waving them and cheering as part of the service. Palm Sunday's celebration is overshadowed by the thought of the coming Good Friday. But it still has its place in the story of our salvation, and we can join wholeheartedly in the rejoicing of the people at the coming of their king. Here are eight Bible verses about praise. 1. He is the one you praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes (Deuteronomy 10:21). 2. I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! (Deuternomy 32:3). 3. Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers! I, even I, will sing to the Lord; I will praise the Lord, the God of Israel, in song (Judges 5:3). 4. The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be my God, the Rock, my Saviour! (2 Samuel 22:47). 5. Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done (1 Chronicles 16:8). 6. I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High (Psalm 7:17). 7. The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him may your hearts live forever! (Psalm 22:26). 8. Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God (Psalm 43:5). Trump picks foreign policy hawk John Bolton as national security adviser US President Donald Trump shook up his foreign policy team again on Thursday, replacing HR McMaster as national security adviser with John Bolton, a hawk who has advocated using military force against North Korea and Iran. The move, announced in a tweet and a White House statement, came little more than a week after Trump fired Rex Tillerson as secretary of state and nominated Central Intelligence Agency director Mike Pompeo to replace him. The shake-up shows Trump, in office for 14 months, surrounding himself with advisers more likely to agree with his views and taking his foreign policy in a more hawkish direction. What it means for a prospective summit meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is unclear. The meeting is supposed to happen by the end of May, but an exact time and place have yet to be settled on. Bolton's appointment could doom the already endangered Iran nuclear deal. It could also lead to friction with Trump on how tough to be on Russia, with the president still holding out hope for improved ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The news of Bolton's appointment followed a meeting he had with Trump in the Oval Office. Even Bolton was caught by surprise. 'I didn't really expect an announcement this afternoon, but it's obviously a great honour,' he told Fox News after the announcement. 'I'm still getting used to it.' Bolton, 69, is a Fox News analyst who contemplated a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. He is a familiar figure in Washington, with a walrus-like moustache and hard-charging views on many global challenges. Some members of Congress immediately questioned his selection for the critical position in the White House. 'This is not a wise choice. Mr Bolton does not have the temperament or judgment to be an effective national security adviser,' Democratic Senator Jack Reed said in a statement. Bolton tweeted on January 11 that time was running out on stopping North Korea's nuclear weapons programme. He said: 'We've got to look at the very unattractive choice of using military force to deny them that capability.' At a time when Trump has threatened to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, unless Europe agrees to change it, Bolton has tweeted that the deal 'needs to be abrogated'. He has also called for 'effective countermeasures to the cyber war that Russia is engaging'. 'Strong signal' Elliott Abrams, a senior foreign policy aide to former Republican President George W Bush, praised Trump's choice, saying Bolton 'proved when we were both in the Bush administration that he is an excellent and forceful bureaucrat'. Whether Bolton, who was US ambassador to the United Nations for Bush, will be able to swallow his own views has been debated by foreign policy experts since he appeared on Trump's radar. His hiring does not require US Senate confirmation. Bolton said in the Fox News interview that his past statements on various issues were behind him and he would be an honest broker ensuring the president sees all the options available to him. 'The important thing is what the president says and the advice I give him,' he said. Still, analysts said Bolton's views would be influential. 'Bolton has long been an advocate for pre-emptive military action against North Korea, and his appointment as National Security Adviser is a strong signal that President Trump remains open to these options,' said Abraham Denmark, deputy assistant secretary of defence for East Asia under former President Barack Obama. 'We should also expect an even more confrontational approach to China a trade war may just be the beginning of a broader geopolitical competition,' he said. Bonnie Glaser, Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington, said: 'Bolton has long supported regime change in North Korea and closer ties with Taiwan. Fasten your seat belts.' As the State Department's top arms control official under Bush, Bolton was a leading advocate of the 2003 invasion of Iraq which was later found to have been based on bogus and exaggerated intelligence about President Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction and ties to terrorism. 'Mutually agreed' McMaster, hired early in Trump's presidency to replace scandal-tarred Michael Flynn as national security adviser, had widely been expected to leave soon. Trump found McMaster's style grating. The two had frequently clashed in meetings and Trump had been looking for a replacement, advisers said. The White House said Trump and McMaster had 'mutually agreed' that he would leave. 'I am very thankful for the service of General HR McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend,' Trump's tweet said. 'The two have been discussing this for some time. The timeline was expedited as they both felt it was important to have the new team in place, instead of constant speculation. This was not related to any one moment or incident, rather it was the result of ongoing conversations between the two,' a senior White House official said. The announcement came a day after Trump was angered by a leak of information from his presidential briefing papers that said he was advised specifically not to congratulate Putin on his disputed election victory. Trump told reporters he had congratulated Putin. McMaster, 55, is to stay on until mid-April. He said in a statement he was also requesting retirement from the US Army, in which he holds the rank of three-star general. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly had been hoping to entice McMaster into another military assignment in order to qualify as a four-star general. 5 minutes with... An Egyptian sculpture of a sacred bull Christies antiquities specialist Hannah Fox Solomon explains why this beautifully preserved Apis bull from Egypts Late Period offered in New York on 18 April is a cause for excitement among collectors and institutions across the globe Dating from Egypts Late Period (664-332 BC), this granodiorite sacred bull is a gem of a piece, says Hannah Solomon, Christies Specialist, Head of Sale for Antiquities. Wonderfully carved in delicate but powerful curves, he becomes the star of any room he inhabits. The Late Period saw native Egyptian kings return to the throne after more than a century of foreign rule. They were keen to fortify their cultural traditions in the face of foreign powers, and a new era of patronage saw naturalistic modelling of flesh and features on both human and animal sculptures pushed to unprecedented heights. At the same time traditional Egyptian cults flourished. While ancient Egyptians did not worship animals, zoomorphic representations exemplified qualities and characteristics that were important in society. The male bull in particular was an attractive symbol, as it had a cosmic association and generally represented strength and masculine virtue, which is why the animal had strong ties to kingship and monarchial ideology. Between the proud horns of this bull are two symbols of its divinity a solar disc and a uraeus cobra. These attributes reveal its identity as a sacred bull, possibly Apis, but other bulls cults were also known. Apis was the sacred bull-god of the gods Ptah, Osiris and Atum, with his cult centre located at the Egyptian Late Period capital city of Memphis. Two other other closely-rated sacred bulls can be found in the Cleveland Museum of Art and The Fondation Gandur in Geneva. An Egyptian granodiorite sacred bull. Late Period (664-332 BC). 23 in (58.4 cm) long. This sacred bull has been carved from a locally mined hard stone known as granodiorite. The luxuriousness of the stone, with its beautiful black, rich colour, makes a huge statement, says Solomon. You want to run your hands over its surface. The bull symbolised power and sexual potency in ancient Egypt, making it the perfect icon for a deity, continues the specialist. Only one living bull at a time would be worshipped, and for it to be designated an Apis bull it would need to have split hairs on its tail, a scarab shape under its tongue, a patch of fur representing a bird of prey in flight on its shoulders, a triangular mark on its forehead, a crescent moon on its flank, and a black and white coat. Such a bull would be taken to live in the Apis sanctuary where it would be pampered as though it were a god, given a harem of cows and worshipped daily. It was said its breath cured diseases, and its movements were translated as prophecies. This bull has been published since the 1950s. Its rare, in great condition and comes with brilliant, long provenance WASHINGTON From toys to clothes to shoes to cellphones, Americans buy a half-trillion dollars worth of goods from China each year the biggest haul of imports from any one country. And that means the prices of many such products could surge as a result of President Donald Trumps plan to impose tariffs on up to $60 billion of imports from China. White House officials say they will try to minimize any price increases for American shoppers. Instead, they suggested Thursday that the tariffs would mostly target products that businesses, rather than consumers, buy: Computers, information technology products, industrial machinery and aircraft parts. If they had done it on clothing, footwear and iPhones, that would have more of an immediate impact, said Chad Bown, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. That doesnt seem like what theyre doing here. Analysts note, though, that many businesses would eventually pass on any higher import costs to consumers in the form of higher prices. Most modern appliances include electrical components from China. Think of semiconductors and transistors that run the touchscreen panels and beeping alarms in refrigerators, washing machines and dishwashers. Cars also include high-tech components. If they put the tariff on things that you cant see, then consumers may say, Theyre not putting a tariff on my Ford Escort, or my Maytag refrigerator, but they are, said Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a trade association. About 30 major retail chains, including Big Lots, Costco, Gap, and Kohls Department Stores, wrote to the White House earlier this week to argue that a broadly applied tariff remedy on imports from China would hurt American households. For now, specifics about the administrations China tariffs remain sparse. The White House says it plans to publish a list of proposed tariffs for public comment within 15 days. But Trump administration trade officials have identified as potential targets 1,300 product lines worth about $48 billion. That list will then be open to a 30-day comment period that will allow businesses to weigh in. Last year, according to government figures, the United States imported $70 billion of cellphones and related parts from China. America also imported $11.5 billion of shoes and nearly $21 billion of furniture from China more than from any other country in each case. The United States also imports about $27 billion in toys from China. America also buys an enormous bounty of high-tech products from China nearly $46 billion in computers, $32 billion in computer parts and accessories and $9.6 billion in semiconductors. Those figures include network server computers that businesses buy. Atkinson warned that the tariffs could slow U.S. economic growth because the high-tech Chinese goods targeted by the administration, along with industrial machinery, are the very kinds of equipment that tend to boost the productivity of workers when companies invest in them. The Trump administrations corporate tax cuts, in fact, were structured in ways to encourage such investments. Atkinson calculates that 12 percent of the high-tech equipment that U.S. businesses and consumers bought in 2016 came from China. Consumers will be hit with a double-whammy, Atkinson said. Theyll be paying more for products that have these components in them. And theyll be paying more because the U.S. economy wont be growing as much. David French, senior vice president for government affairs at the National Retail Federation, said he is cautiously hopeful because the administration doesnt appear to be targeting mass consumer products, such as clothes and shoes. But French and his organization say they will keep a close eye on the target list. I think it is unlikely that (the administration) will completely avoid consumer harm, French said. Houston's Apache Corp. said Friday it made a sizable potential oil discovery in the North Sea offshore of the United Kingdom. Apache's new Garten discovery is located about 4 miles south of its existing Beryl Alpha Platform, fitting with its strategy of exploring closer to its existing footprint so the wells can be developed more cheaply and efficiently. Initial Apache estimates show the discovery could produce more than 10 million barrels of oil. Corpus Christi port officials met with several U.S. lawmakers on Thursday in a bid to shore up support for increased funding for a $327 million project to expand the Corpus Christi ship channel, which could become the nation's biggest conduit for crude exports in coming years. So far, Congress has committed only $13 million to finance its $225 million portion of the cost of dredging the South Texas ship channel, and at that annual rate, it could take more than a decade to finish the project, wasting precious time as oil demand surges overseas, said Sean Strawbridge, chief executive of the Port of Corpus Christi Authority. Royal Dutch Shell said Friday it will sell its stake in a major Iraqi oil field to a Japanese firm for $406 million. Shell's nearly 20 percent stake in the West Qurna 1 oil field will transfer to the Itochu Corp., as well as the assumption of $144 million in additional debt in the project. Irving-based Exxon Mobil, which owns a nearly one-third stake, will continue to lead the project. PetroChina also owns a nearly one-third stake. The sale is part of Shell's overall effort to divest itself of $30 billion of its assets over a three-year period. Shell is nearing the completion of the overall target. Shell initiated the divestiture program after buying the British rival BG Group for $53 billion. Shell isn't completely exiting Iraq though. It will continue its Basrah Gas joint venture with the Iraqi government. "Iraq is an important country for the Shell Group, and exiting West Qurna 1 allows us to focus our resources on other assets in our Iraq portfolio," said Andy Brown, Shell's upstream director. "This deal maintains the momentum behind Shell's $30 billion divestment program and is in line with the drive to simplify our upstream portfolio and reshape the company into a world-class investment," Brown added. RELATED: Shell selling New Zealand assets for $578 million Shell increasingly has shifted its focus from oil to gas investments in order to prepare for a lower carbon future that is expected to eventually have less oil demand. Earlier this year, Shell sold its assets in Thailand and New Zealand as part of the divestment program. 1. Yes. Several other districts factor them in. It would provide a more complete picture. 2. Yes. Theyre not as accurate, but they can be useful in spotting a trend in infections. 3. No. The district is keeping tabs on those numbers, so the public doesnt need to. 4. No. As long as the public health district is aware of those stats, thats all that matters. 5. Unsure. The district isnt obligated to include them, but it might be helpful. Vote View Results A young airline with big ambitions will turn its attention to San Francisco International Airport on Sunday when it launches a non-stop flight between its home airport in Hong Kong and SFO. Hong Kong Airlines will operate the non-stop service four times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The airline plans to expand to daily flights by August 18. With the addition of this flight on Sunday, the San Francisco-Hong Kong route will boast up to six flights per day. "Being able to connect these two big developing areas, and being able to offer travelers one more option, I think Hong Kong Airlines is in a very special place to do that," said George Liu, the airline's chief marketing officer. On the route, the airline will operate its new Airbus A350-900 airplanes that come equipped with 33 lie-flat business class seats, 108 extra-legroom economy comfort seats, and 193 seats in standard economy. On the SFO-HKG route, Hong Kong Airlines will face intense competition from Cathay Pacific, which operates three round-trip flights every day. United Airlines and Singapore Airlines also provide a single non-stop flight daily. With all that competition, rates on the SFO-HKG route have tumbled over the last few months. Checking now for flights in May, nonstop roundtrip fares are running about $600-$700 in economy class on all airlines. (If you are willing to make a stop, there are even cheaper options from SFO, such as a $493 round trip fare on China Eastern.) But it's in business class where Hong Kong Airlines fares are significantly cheaper-- running about $3,100 round trip while United, Cathay and Singapore are currently charging close to $6,000. "Cathay and Singapore are both very good, they're very established," Liu said. "I think Hong Kong Airlines offers everything they offer, but we bring a little bit more Hong Kong style. We define our product as affordable luxury you can call it the new luxury." To lure customers into its business class cabin, Hong Kong Airlines sought the help of former 'Top Chef' champ Chris Cosentino to bring some quintessentially San Francisco dishes from his South of Market Area restaurant, Cockscomb, to premium fliers on eastbound flights. It wasn't easy. "It took a lot of time to finagle the menus," Cosentino said at an event at Cockscomb celebrating the new flights. For weeks, he worked with airline caterer LSG SkyChefs to replicate his favorites. "We made the dishes at their kitchens, and reheated them in the same ovens that will be used on the airplanes," Cosentino said. "Everything that will be done is exactly how we do it in our kitchens." Cosentino's menu includes dishes like his twist on Shrimp Louie served in a charred avocado shell, hearty main entrees that include braised lamb, and an assortment of tempting desserts, like Panna Cotta served with fresh California berries. (See the slideshow at the top of this post for a look at some of the dishes and the event.) At SFO, business class passengers will use the increasingly crowded Air France lounge in International Terminal A. In Hong Kong, they will use the airline's own Club Autus or Club Bauhinia lounges. The airline is a relative newcomer to long-haul flying, but it has laid out an aggressive expansion plan to directly challenge the the higher-yielding long-haul flying of its Hong Kong competitor, Cathay Pacific. Hong Kong Airlines only recently operated its first flight to North America when it launched non-stop service to Vancouver, British Columbia in June 2017. In December, it began flying to Los Angeles. The airline will also launch service to New York and London later this year. Currently, Hong Kong Airlines is not a member of any of the big three airline alliances or a partner with any US carrier, so you won't be able to earn or burn your frequent flyer miles on these flights. However, since it is part of the larger Hainan Airlines Group, which is partnered with Alaska Airlines, I'm hopeful we'll see something along these lines soon. It will need a frequent partnership like this to win over frequent business travelers. Hong Kong's third-largest airline operates a fleet of 31 Airbus single and dual-aisle jets. It has ordered 21 Airbus A350 jets as part of its expansion to North America and Europe. (See the slideshow at the top for a look at the plane.) The airline says it offers fliers connections to more than 30 cities from their Hong Kong International Airport hub. Hong Kong Airlines began operating in 2006 primarily as an airline flying from Hong Kong to other parts of Asia and Australia. The airline is wholly-owned by mainland Chinese conglomerate, HNA Group, which also owns Hainan Airlines, hotels and several financial firms across China. See here how Hainan and Hong Kong Airlines jets look nearly identical.) "We are very much Hong Kong," Liu said. "We're more relaxed. We're more flexible. We're more personal and we're quick to adapt. And we're bringing in a lot of fun ingredients to our service." More about Hong Kong Airlines on its website. On Sunday we'll be out at SFO for the inaugural flight's arrival and a walk through the plane so stay tuned for a slideshow! Read all recent TravelSkills posts here Get twice-per-week updates from TravelSkills via email! Sign up here Chris McGinnis is the founder of TravelSkills.com. The author is solely responsible for the content above, and it is used here by permission. You can reach Chris at chris@travelskills.com or on Twitter @cjmcginnis. Fiction 1. The Escape Artist: By Brad Meltzer. Nola Brown, a painter and trained soldier, discovers a military secret that traces back to Harry Houdini. 2. Star Wars: The Last Jedi: By Jason Fry. An adaptation of the film, written with input from its director, Rian Johnson, which includes scenes from alternate versions of the script. 3. The Great Alone: By Kristin Hannah. A former prisoner of war returns from Vietnam and moves his family to Alaska, where they face tough conditions. 4. Little Fires Everywhere: By Celeste Ng. An artist upends a quiet town outside Cleveland. 5. The Woman in the Window: By A.J. Finn. A recluse who drinks heavily and takes prescription drugs may have witnessed a crime across from her Harlem townhouse. 6. Fifty Fifty: By James Patterson and Candice Fox. Detective Harriet Blue tries to clear her brother's name and save a small Australian town from being massacred. 7. An American Marriage: By Tayari Jones. A newlywed couple's relationship is tested when the husband is sentenced to 12 years in prison. 8. Burn Bright: By Patricia Briggs. The fifth book in the Alpha and Omega series. Mated werewolves Charles Cornick and Anna Latham answer a call of distress. 9. Before We Were Yours: By Lisa Wingate. A South Carolina lawyer learns about the questionable practices of a Tennessee orphanage. 10. Still Me: By Jojo Moyes. Louisa Clark moves to New York and is torn between high society and the life she enjoys at a vintage clothing store. Nonfiction 1. Fire and Fury: By Michael Wolff. A journalist offers an inside account of the first year of the Trump White House. 2. I'll Be Gone in the Dark: By Michelle McNamara. The late true-crime journalist's search for the serial murderer and rapist known as "the Golden State Killer." 3. Educated: By Tara Westover. The daughter of survivalists, who is kept out of school, educates herself enough to leave home for college. 4. Enlightenment Now: By Steven Pinker. A case for using reason, science and humanism to counter pessimistic views of Western civilization. 5. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry: By Neil deGrasse Tyson. A straightforward, easy-to-understand introduction to the universe. 6. Obama: By Pete Souza.More than 300 pictures of the former president by his White House photographer, with behind-the-scenes stories. 7. Bachelor Nation: By Amy Kaufman. An insider look at the "Bachelor" franchise and its effect on society. 8. The Last Black Unicorn: By Tiffany Haddish. The comedian recounts growing up in South-Central Los Angeles and finding success after a period of homelessness. 9. Unmasked: By Andrew Lloyd Webber. A memoir by the musical theater composer and impresario, whose works include "The Phantom of the Opera," "Cats" and "Evita." 10. The Future of Humanity: By Michio Kaku. The physicist describes how humans might develop civilization in outer space and possibly become immortal. New York Times 1776: Gen. George Washington, commander of the Continental Army, was awarded the first Congressional Gold Medal by the Continental Congress. 1965: The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led 25,000 people to the Alabama state capitol in Montgomery after a five-day march from Selma to protest the denial of voting rights to blacks. Gabi James has wanted to meet someone famous most of her life. The 9-year-old Sugar Land resident got her wish Thursday when she shook hands with best-selling author Chelsea Clinton, who made a special appearance at Blue Willow Bookshop on Memorial. Clinton was there to sign her latest children's book, "She Persisted Around the World: 13 Women Who Changed History." (If you didn't know, she's the daughter of former President Bill and Hillary Clinton.) Gabi and sister, Cami, 6, with their mother, Shay James, waited in line, along with more than 800 fans, to get their books signed and talk briefly with Clinton. Fans were divided into groups that were staggered over the three-hour event to prevent crowd chaos. Clinton made no public remarks though she did tell young readers individually that her book is inspired by her grandmother. Her latest book, "She Persisted Around the World" is a follow up to her best-selling 2017 picture book,"She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World." Alexandra Boiger illustrated both books. The title, "She Persisted," references Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's censure of Sen. Elizabeth Warren "She was warned. Nevertheless, she persisted" when she tried to read Coretta Scott King's words on the floor of the Senate, during the 2017 confirmation hearings for Attorney General Jeff Sessions. It has become a feminist rallying cry. At Blue Willow Bookstop, Clinton first met with a group of sixth- and seventh-grade girls from Yes Prep Southwest. "Our students are the epitome of having persisted," said Cindy Haskell, the school's reading teacher. Among those first customers in line was Diane Stevens of Cypress who purchased Clinton's books for her three granddaughters. "Our girls need to know they matter," she said. Also inspired by Clinton's message in the book was Susan Williams, a first-grade teacher at Millsap Elementary in Cypress who waited patiently to have copies signed for her students. "I want to empower my students to be all they can be," she said. "Books like these help plant the seeds and hopefully teachers can deliver the message." Pool, Pool / Getty Images WASHINGTON - Energy Secretary Rick Perry isn't shy about saying what he thinks will happen if the United States and Saudi Arabia can't strike a deal on the construction of nuclear reactors in the Middle Eastern kingdom. The two sides are in negotiations around whether or not Saudi Arabia should be allowed to build uranium enrichment facilities within their borders, something the Saudis want but U.S. officials fear could lead to the development of nuclear weapons there. You will no longer have to be a member of some nonprofit or association to drink a beer at a Heights-area bar. Following Tuesday night's election, Heights voters passed the city of Houston's Proposition F with a 60.6 percent to 39.4 percent margin. More than 2,400 voters cast ballots in the election open only to Heights residents. Turnout was about 22 percent, according to the Harris County Clerk's Office. Prior to Tuesday night, residents of the Heights had been unable to get a drink in a bar without restrictions since 1912, the year the ban went into effect. When Houston annexed the neighborhood in 1918, the ban remained in place. Agricole Hospitality led the charge in getting the century-old prohibition repealed. The company maintains numerous restaurants in the Heights area, including Revival Market, Coltivare and Eight Row Flint. It has plans to open Indianola, Vinny's and Miss Carousel in 2018. "Voters who support this measure are casting a vote in favor of small businesses like ours," Agricole's Morgan Weber said in a blog post. The Heights is bordered by Loop 610 on the north, Oxford Street on the east, Interstate 10 to the south and North Durham Drive to the west. While it was possible to get a drink in a Heights bar previously, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission ruled that restaurants and bars which sold alcohol in the dry parts of the Heights had to establish separate nonprofits or associations. Proceeds of alcohol sales then paid for the private club's operation. Last year, residents in the Heights overturned a 1904 rule which prohibited the sale of alcohol for off-premises consumption. The overturning of the rule allowed neighborhood grocery stores to begin sales in the area. Nearly 64 percent of voters cast ballots to rescind the prohibition with a voter turnout of more than 78 percent, according to figures from the Harris County Clerk's Office. Texas-based grocer, H-E-B put more than $60,000 behind the Houston Heights Beverage Coalition, a political action group sponsoring the efforts to pass the reversal. For almost three years, a victim of sexual assault, who was 11 years old at the time, has awaited justice. That day came on Monday. Jason David Akers, 34, of Pasadena, was sentenced to 15 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for aggravated sexual assault of a child. Akers, who lived in Conroe at the time of the attacks in 2014 and 2015, originally was charged with felony continuous sexual abuse of a child and indecency with a child. The state filed court documents to proceed with the lesser offense of aggravated sexual assault of a child, a first-degree felony, and dismissed the indecency with a child charges because of the plea agreement. Akers reached the plea agreement in the 359th state District Court of Judge Kathleen Hamilton. PORTER SEX ASSAULT CASE: Man pleads guilty, sentenced to 1 year in prison The victim made an outcry of the abuse and revealed more instances of the sexual abuse after Akers was indicted on the charges. According to court documents, she didn't reveal the additional abuse because "she was just too embarrassed to say." Akers was arrested after the girl made the outcry three years ago. In the state's response to the discovery order and notice of extraneous conducts and/or bad acts made by Akers, the documents state, "The defendant's bond was revoked around July 2016 when Akers tested positive for alcohol after being granted permission by the judge to travel to Dallas for a training session." "(Akers) was sentenced to 15 years TDC as a result of a plea negotiation after careful consideration of the facts, history and circumstances of this case," Nancy Hebert, the prosecutor for the case, said. "He will be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life." A man who police say bragged about killing another man nearly 30 years ago has been arrested by the Houston County Sheriff's Office, north of Huntsville. William Earl Weedman Jr. is charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of Rusty Redman on Sept. 13, 1990. Weedman was arrested Wednesday and is being held in Houston County Jail on a $200,000 bond. Investigator Jerry Kaelin of the Houston County Sheriff's Office wrote in an arrest affidavit that Weedman had been paroled and committed another crime in Fort Bend County. It was around this unidentified time that Kaelin said witnesses claimed "Weedman has bragged about the murder of Redman, as well as overhearing jail conversations about the real truth involving the death of Rusty." HOUSTON CRIME: Nearly 50 faced homicide charges in Houston in 2017 According to the detective, Redman was at the Weedman family's property in Houston County the day he died. Weedman's arrest affidavit states Redman was standing on a porch when Weedman shot him in the head with Mossberg 12 gauge. Redman died instantly. The affidavit states Weedman told investigators that Redman had accidentally shot himself. It alleges that Weedman "tampered with the scene, throwing the weapon a distance from the shooting, extracting ammunition and shell casings from the firearm and also believed to have washed his hands to prevent gunshot residue from showing up on forensic examinations." Police claim Weedman changed his story three months later, saying he tripped and shot Redman in the head. Police say Weedman said he lied because he was scared. METH BUST: Tips from neighbors prompt meth arrests in Galveston Around this same time, Weedman was a prime suspect in a Harris County homicide involving an elderly man whose home was burglarized. He also was shot in the head. The man's house was burned down to cover up the crime, police said. Weedman was convicted in that case in 2oo1 and was sentenced to 99 years. According to Weedman's arrest affidavit, witnesses told police that he was going to take Redman to his property to kill him. Witnesses said Redman had information implicating Weedman in crimes in Harris County. The affidavit alleges Weedman said, "I tested that safety out on his face (Redman's)." HOUSTON COURTS NEWS: Final argument to begin in murder-for-hire trial of Leon Jacob William Weedman Sr. told police that his son owns the shotgun used to kill Redman and that he brought it to the property, along with the ammunition. The Harris County District Clerk's Office shows Weedman has been charged with numerous crimes dating back to 1989, including theft, assault, arson, forging checks and murder. Will Axford is a digital reporter for Chron.com. Read more of his stories here and follow him on Twitter. Google Maps An Austin TV station has apologized for a broadcast Tuesday that featured a closed caption calling one of the bombing victims "this monkey." ABC-affiliate KVUE admitted in a statement that during breaking news coverage of the Austin bombings "closed captioning text included a typographical error in which the words 'this monkey' appeared in a sentence about 17-year-old bombing victim Draylen Mason." The search for a new city administrator for Shenandoah will continue after one of the candidates announced her resignation from the city and withdrew her name from consideration for the position. Kathie Reyer has been the interim city administrator of Shenandoah for more than seven months, but after she announced her resignation from the position-effective March 31-and withdrew her application for the permanent job, city council members are re-opening the search for candidates. Interim City Secretary Courtney Clary, who is handling the incoming resumes, said in an email that the search had been reopened at the direction of the city council, but said she could not provide a list of finalists. "They were at four (finalists) and then they are now down to one," Clary said. "They reopened the job after the last council meeting, and they decided to see if they can get a few more resumes in just so they can consider all the possibilities." The city council is also considering using a recruiting firm to assist in the search, Clary added. Shenandoah Mayor Ritch Wheeler said in an email Thursday that the city will continue its search for the next city administrator, "collecting resumes and setting up interviews as we do." In the meantime, Wheeler said, Public Works Director Joseph Pert has agreed to fill in as in interim city administrator. "Joseph is a tenured employee who is highly respected by the rest of the staff and he will do a great job," Wheeler added. Currently, the city administrator job is posted on the city of Shenandoah website and the Texas Municipal League website. Kim Fox-Marchetti, vice president of membership of the Montgomery County Society for Human Resources Management, said one of the biggest challenges in recruiting the right person for such a key role is making sure the recruiter clearly relays to the candidate what's important or needed for the position. That way the candidate can be successful in that role, she added. And while the incoming city administrator will work closely with the city council, Fox-Marchetti, who has been a part-time adjunct professor at the Lone Star College System teaching human resources management for 22 years, said it's important to get input from department heads, so that they may offer comments to whoever makes the final hiring decision. Fox-Marchetti is not involved in the recruiting of the city administrator for Shenandoah. The search for a permanent city administrator is one of several currently being undertaken by city staff. City officials are also hoping to hire a city secretary, police officers, lifeguards and field service representatives. Back in 1984 the Houston Zoo was a much different place than it is now. Back then not all of its exhibits were even real. A frequent visitor to the zoo asked then curator-in-charge John Donaho why the coral snake in the reptile house hadn't moved in nine months. RELATED: Spring in Texas means snakes ending hibernation His answer was priceless and spawned a Houston Post story for the ages. The employee admitted to the Post's Michael Haederle that there was a good reason that coral snake was so motionless inside the "Poisonous Snakes of Harris County" exhibit. ''We have had live snakes in the exhibit, but they don't do well - they tend to die,'' Donaho said. ''Rather than kill snakes, we put out a rubber one for people to be able to see what they look like.'' The zoo at the time did have very alive coral snakes off-exhibit that were used in educational programs. John Werler, director of the Houston Zoo since 1963, wouldn't comment at the time about the four-year ruse. The snake was made from a mold of real dead snake that was then lovingly painted. "Instead of being ashamed of being found out, he should be proud that he fooled us for four years," wrote The Houston Post's Paul Harasim in 1992 on the occasion of Werler's retirement. Larry Evans/Houston Chronicle Back in 1984 troll-before-his-time Harasim even held a "Name The Houston Zoo's Fake Coral Snake Contest" which received hundreds of entries, enough to fill one of his old army duffel bags. In the end the name "Jean LaCounterfitte" was chosen, a play on the moniker of the villainous pirate that marauded around Galveston. Texas Monthly, Esquire, National Enquirer and even David Letterman all made sport of Houston's fake snake. REAL REPTILES: Can you identify these Texas snakes? A herpetologist by trade, Werler passed away in 2004. He is still fondly remembered for bringing acclaim to the zoo, regionally and across the country, even with the fake snake. Today in 2018 the Houston Zoo can positively say that all of the animals on display are the real things. The only fakes are the sculptures and the plush ones in the gift shop that kids beg their parents to buy them. No one is sure whose idea it was back in the early '80s to fake the snake. To create the illusion of life where there was none. According to zoo lore, just days after the story broke, a box arrived in Houston from another zoo on the East Coast, which wasn't named. The box contained a brand-new rubber coral snake and "breeding loan" documentation, done by the book. A similar thing happened back in 2013 when it was discovered that a zoo in China was passing off a shaved Tibetan mastiff dog as a lion, along with other decidedly domestic beasts masquerading as true leopards and wolves. Craig Hlavaty is a reporter for Chron.com and HoustonChronicle.com. Burglars broke into the offices of two medical supply companies Friday morning. Houston police arrived around 2:30 a.m. at a building that housed both of the companies, at 9100 Southwest Freeway near Commerce Park Drive, south of South Gessner. The doors to the building were pulled off their hinges. It is unknown if anything was taken from inside. The suspects were gone when police arrived, Metro Video reported. A Houston businessman launched a wide-ranging class action lawsuit Friday against Facebook for violating the trust of millions of users by sharing personal data with a company that used the information to post targeted political ads for President Donald Trump. The security breach has made headlines across the world, prompted a variety of lawsuits, and caused European regulators to investigate the British firm involved in the breach. In the U.S., the apparent misuse of private information has engendered deep resentment and mistrust from social media users who are now contemplating whether to cut ties with Facebook, or wait out privacy improvements. The lawsuit filed by businessman Matthew Lodowski targets Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, a British firm exposed in news reports for mining the private profiles of nearly 50 million Facebook users. Also named as defendants are Robert Leroy Mercer of New York, a wealthy conservative investor in Cambridge Analytica, and Aleksandr Kogan, a professor at Cambridge University accused of extracting personal information from Facebook for the data company. Lodowski is accusing the social media giant of acting negligently by failing to protect user data, failing to take reasonable measures to avert problems when it learned the company had obtained users personal information without permission and failing to let users know their data had been taken until journalists broke the story. According to the attorney who filed it, the suit is unique among legal actions sprouting up around the country related to the data breach in that it claims a violation of the Stored Communications Act, a law that allows online users to sue over intentional access without authorization to a facility through which an electronic communication service is provided. The suit also charges the defendants with conspiracy and negligence. The suit, filed in Houston federal court, seeks to include in the class action anyone in the United States with a Facebook account whose data was impacted by Cambridge Analyticas data breach. Lodowski is seeking compensatory damages, restitution and fees as well as an injunction against Cambridge Analytica and Kogan, the professor tied to the breach. Facebook spokeswoman Nora Chan declined comment on the lawsuit. A statement about the data breach on Facebooks corporate site says the company believes, Protecting peoples information is the most important thing we do at Facebook. What happened with Cambridge Analytica was a breach of Facebooks trust, the company website says. More importantly, it was a breach of the trust people place in Facebook to protect their data when they share it. Facebook CEO and chairman Mark Zuckerberg has said the site will be putting protections in place to prevent future abuse. Officials at Cambridge Analytica did not respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit. Nearly 50 million users had their private data stolen, according to Lodowskis lawyer, W. Craft Hughes, of the law firm Hughes Ellzey, LLP, which specializes in privacy rights and consumer protection. Hughes said the federal statute allows up to $1,000 per violation, so theoretically the suit aims to collect roughly $50 billion or more in damages. The main reason for this lawsuit is people dont want their private data being stolen without their consent or knowledge, he said. Were trying to help Texas citizens and everybody else in the U.S. try and straighten this mess out. Hughes said Facebook played a major role in the violations. They were complicit, he said. They knew about it for years and didnt do anything. They basically brag about how they protect their users privacy and keep it super secure. He said, Facebook is not being forthright with their customers and that something that needs to change. Gabrielle Banks covers federal court for the Houston Chronicle. Send her tips at gabrielle.banks@chron.com and follow her on Twitter. Nearly 50 people in Houston were charged with murder in 2017, according to Houston Police Department data. About 269 murders occurred in Houston last year, down 33 from 2016's 302 murders. One of the earliest suspects to be charged with murder last year was Tyshawndre Mathis, whose murder charge was filed Jan. 9, according to records from the Harris County District Clerk's Office. According to a felony indictment, he's accused of shooting a person to death December 21, 2014. Mathis, who remains in jail according to county records, is also charged with engaging in criminal activity and dealing the prescription drug, Clonazepam. HOUSTON CRIME: Here's every Houston homicide in 2018 so far A request for people charged with murder and their mugshots to the Houston Police Department from Chron.com resulted in 52 names and photos. After cross-referencing each suspect with the Harris County District Clerk's Office records, Chron.com was able to confirm at least 44 people have active murder charges in Houston filed in 2017. FROM HOUSTON CHRONICLE.COM: Houston murder drops 11 percent in 2017 According to the district clerk's records, each of the suspects charged with murder in 2017 still have active cases, meaning none have been convicted of murder. Victor Senties, a spokesman for HPD, clarified that the 269 number is just the amount of murders that HPD reported for 2017. People charged with murder in 2017 by HPD could be tied to murder cases from years prior. Also, some of the murders may not have suspects tied to them yet. Based on the most recent population data available from the U.S. Census Bureau in January, the 269 murders breaks down to 11.7 murders for every 100,000 city residents. Scroll through the gallery above to see which suspects have been charged with murder in 2017, according to the Houston Police Department. Will Axford is a digital reporter for Chron.com. Read more of his stories here and follow him on Twitter. People living in a Midtown homeless camp were ordered to leave the area by 8 a.m. Friday while the city cleans the premises, which has been declared a public health nuisance. Those who wish to return to the encampment under Interstate 69 from Caroline Street to Almeda Road will be allowed to do so after the city finishes its cleanup. Houston performed at least two similar cleanings last year. For incoming freshmen at Duke next fall, it will be the luck of the draw. The universitys administration just announced that roommate assignments for first-year students will be made at random, as they once were. Its a move that other colleges should follow. In recent years, new students at Duke and other schools have used social media to seek out people with whom they think theyll be compatible and request them as roommates. In an environment where young people are already politically and culturally polarizedand increasingly trained to believe that anyone who disagrees with them is an enemythis policy has, predictably, insulated students from those who are different. In a letter, Larry Moneta, the schools vice president for student affairs, and Steve Nowicki, dean and vice provost for undergraduate education, sought to reassure students about the new policy: Youll be fine . . . better in fact! . . . We believe that youll enjoy the opportunity to meet someone youve not previously known and will have a great opportunity to explore your roommates history, culture and interests. This plunge into the unknownmeeting people who are different, learning about their backgrounds, and arguing about the meaning of life until the wee hourswas once a rite of passage in college. But now dorm rooms must be made into safe spaces, and disagreements come with trigger warnings. Campus life itselfwith deans for every grievanceseems designed to make students less tolerant of opposing ideas. Many college administrators believe that lectures about tolerance are the key to attaining mutual understanding, but when given a choice, teenagers tend to self-segregate. A 2009 article, Interracial Friendships in the Transition to College, reports that living arrangements have an impact on attitudes about people from different backgrounds. Students with a roommate of a different race, the authors found, have significantly higher proportions of interracial friendships than those who have a same-race roommate. Other collaborative activities, such as team sports, also bring together people who might not otherwise seek one another out. But students who join cultural/ethnic clubs, the researchers write, have significantly fewer interracial friendships in their first year of college than do students who do not join these clubs. A new poll from Gallup and the Knight Foundation found that college students believe that free speech is less important than diversity and inclusionbut those terms rarely connote a broad range of viewpoints or openness to others who dissent from campus orthodoxy. Fortunately, colleges can improve this situation. Greg Lukianoff, president and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, recommends that colleges set expectations before students set foot on campus. He suggests that welcome letters and orientation should emphasize that if you dont have friends with whom you disagree on some things and you dont have lively freewheeling discussions, youre doing it wrong. At the website Heterodox Academy, NYU professor Jonathan Haidt and his colleagues are testing a program called Open Mind, which helps users understand why we are reluctant to engage people who disagree with us, and what we can do to change that. Another option: require that incoming students take a debate class. When it comes to hot-button issues, they should be asked to defend the side that they oppose. Lukianoff also suggests giving academic gap years more weight in the admissions process, especially if the student spent that time in a very different part of the country, or abroad, preferably workingand encountering, most likely, unfamiliar people and ideas. Students with some exposure to the working world will likely have more appreciation for the importance of a free and civil exchange of ideas. Photo: YinYang/iStock Three months after taking office, President Trump promised to do a number on Dodd-Frank, the 2010 financial-regulation law championed by his predecessor. These regulations enshrine too big to fail, Trump said, rightly. Yet the bill that the Senate passed last week, with bipartisan supportthe Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Actis not so much reform as it is polishing the shrine. The bill would, in the short term, encourage mid-size banks to make more loans, possibly helping the economy. But the overall message that too big to fail is here to sayoutweighs that positive aspect. Dodd-Frank had many flaws, the biggest of which was its overriding doctrine that certain banks and other firms are systemically important financial institutions, or Sifis. Thus, Dodd-Frank held, the government should do everything in its power to keep these institutions from ever having to declare bankruptcy in federal courtthe common way for companies in a free market to restructure or liquidate themselves. To that end, Dodd-Frank mandated that any bank with more than $50 billion in assets be subject to special government stewardship via the new Financial Stability Oversight Council. Made up of top officials from the Treasury, the Federal Reserve, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the council requires these banks to undergo regular stress tests to see what kind of event might cause them to fail, forces them to hold higher cash cushions to shield themselves from losses, and requires them to prepare living wills to see how they might wind themselves down if disaster strikes. That all sounds like onerous government regulation, but a Sifi designation is really just another guarantee that a bank is too big to fail. If a Sifi were to fail, after all, it would be partly the governments fault: all those extra regulators and government-designed exercises in assessing and reducing risk would have fallen short. The government should not be in the business of calling some companies important; the designation sends the wrong signal to markets. A single financial firm should be no more important to the economy than, say, Toys R Us, or the National Steel Corporation, or Pan Am, all of which have gone bankrupt. Rather than acknowledging and overhauling this fatal error, though, the Senate is only tinkering with the designation. The bills most important provision would increase the threshold at which a bank becomes systemically important from $50 billion to $250 billion. In isolation, this change is useful; it will ease the regulatory burden on 26 mid-size banks, letting them invest money that would otherwise be spent on compliance on making loans to customers. But, in exempting these banks from sifi regulation, Congress will signal that the nine banks left at the very top are really important, and that their survival is a matter of national interest that overrides free markets. If Trump were to sign a version of the Senate bill, hed be making it that much harder for any smaller bank ever to mount a challenge to the primacy of the nine firms at the top. A bank with $200 billion in assets seeking to buy a bank with $50 billion in assets, for example, would immediately face a bigger regulatory burden, in becoming a sifi under the proposed higher threshold. But it would still compete with banks just below the threshold, which would operate without such a burden, even as it continued to struggle to compete with the real giants in its new category. Before Congress sends any proposed reform to Trumps desk, it should revisit the ideas in a competing House bill passed last year, which would make far more progress on restoring free-market discipline to the financial sector. The House bill would treat all firms more equally, allowing for greater free-market competition, and would let financial firms choose whether to be regulated under Dodd-Frank. Banks could exempt themselves by opting to hold even higher capital cushions against losses. This approach isnt perfect, either: if a law is flawed, it is better to fix it than to give companies the option of ignoring it. But at least the House bill is fair across the board; as its literature notes, it would apply to financial institutions of all shapes and sizes, thus not benefiting or penalizing an organization based on size. Congressional negotiators will spend the next few weeks, or months, working on a uniform version of a bill to send to the president. Congress has made a good start in acknowledging that Dodd-Frank has had unintended consequences, particularly in terms of the regulatory burden imposed on mid-size banks. Yet declaring those banks to be systemically unimportant doesnt solve the problem but rather entrenches it. Ending too big to fail wont be done with a legislative decree altering just how big is too big. Photo by Doucefleur/iStock In the charity sector, we need to be able to talk honestly and realistically about failures and successes across all the work that we do. And we need to be able to do that with the support of our peers so that we can learn together, get better together and share resources and knowledge. Our two charities, Animal Free Research UK and Breast Cancer UK, embarked on a partnership in March 2017 to jointly fund a three-year piece of research that could have serious implications for breast cancer prevention. March's Fundraising magazine is a GDPR special, as we count down to new EU data regulations coming into force on 25 May. We look at what fundraisers can and can't do under the new rules, and ask if they are ready for it. This month's magazine also includes an interview with Simon Lande, NSPCC's head of fundraising, and an honest article from Insight into Animal Free Research and Breast Cancer UK on the ups and downs of their charities' partnership. There is also an article from Women for Women International on its campaign for International Women's Day, and an article from Black Fundraisers UK on its Avocado Project and how it is driving change and cultivating diversity. Information on subscribing can be found here. Fundraising Magazine is a practical and inspiring magazine that provides fundraising professionals with the tools to unlock new revenue streams, yield better results from campaigns and boost donor income. Subscribe today to receive 10 issues per year and access to premium fundraising content on civilsociety.co.uk. The founder of a London-based social enterprise has told MPs that the competitive way the government awards contracts is soul destroying because it pits organisations that should be working together against each other. Speaking to MPs from the All Party Parliamentary Group for London on Wednesday, Simon Boyle, founder of the Beyond Food Foundation social enterprise, called on parliamentarians to stop the competitive contracting of funding. Boyle, whose social enterprise focuses on helping people who have experienced, or are at risk of, homelessness to gain employment, said applying for contracts took up too much time and too much money and meant that, instead of working with other local charities and social enterprises, there was an adversarial element. Stop the competitive contracting of funding. Over the last couple of years weve spent so much time applying for grants and social investment and were up against the people were trying to work with. Were spending too much time on it, it costs us too much money and, frankly, we lose way more than we ever gain from it. And its soul destroying. Boyle said instead of putting contracts out to tender, the government should instead take a more granular view of the sector, focusing on and funding specific organisations in specific areas, rather than wasting everyones time. Recognise who the organisations are that are doing what you want to do. Go and find them and fund them, rather than wasting everyones time. He also said that the government needs to recognise that in the same way that every good chef cant necessarily run a successful restaurant so it must recognise that not all charities can run social enterprises. Not all charities can run social enterprises. At the moment charities which cant fund themselves, because its a very difficult economic climate, so they turn to being a social business. Its not as easy as that, you need to get the right people on board to do it. Contract funding big problem for small charities Also speaking to MPs, Alison Gowman, chair of the City Bridge Trust Committee, said that contract funding was a real area of problem for some of the smaller charities, who cant always respond to big commissioning contracts. She said contract funding encouraged larger, non-area-specific charities and social enterprises with bigger budgets to muscle out smaller organisations. She said there needed to be a funding model whereby smaller organisations can get a fair share. James Banks, director of London Funders, said the voluntary sector in London employs over 250,000 people in the capital, and provides services to over seven million Londoners every year. He said it is a huge sector, but it is also a sector which is under huge pressure. He said London Funders were seeing a higher and more complex needs at a local level; growing demand for support, often less funding to meet those needs and an expectation that volunteers will spring into action to address some of those key services. He also said the contract culture was pushing risk onto smaller, community groups at a time when theyre already under pressure and when the infrastructure that allows them to flourish is also under pressure. World Vision is launching an exclusive VR experience in partnership with Al Jazeera. The immersive videos were filmed by children in Jordans Zaatari refugee camp, and shows what life is like as a refugee through their eyes. World Vision has launched a virtual reality film in a bid to find new ways to highlight the plight faced by their beneficiaries. The film is part of its Stories After Syria project, which marks the seventh anniversary of the conflict in Syria. The aid charity partnered with Contrast VR, Al Jazeeras virtual reality arm, to produce the five-minute film. Seven children from the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan were given cameras to capture aspects of their lives. The film was narrated by World Vision ambassador and Game of Thrones star Liam Cunningham. At the premiere of the film yesterday evening, Gavin Crowden, head of policy, advocacy and campaigns at World Vision UK, said that part of the charitys mission is to make sure that childrens voices are heard. These children already have a voice our job is to make sure it is heard, he said. He also called on the governments to put childrens needs at the heart of the response and make sure that children are getting the support that they need, rather than what we find easy to provide. Yesterday World Vision published a report revealing the extent of the violence suffered by Syrian refugee children. The charity surveyed nearly 400 children and found that nearly 70 per cent suffered further violence at school. Two-thirds were living and unsafe housing and nine out ten children were offered no support in school to deal with their emotional trauma. View the film in 360 video below or use a pair of virtual reality googles for the full virutal reality experience. Happy Friday readers and, in a week where Nigel Farage tipped a box of four day old haddock into the Thames from the deck of the HMS Brexit to protest against something about fishing rights, all other news seemed to be a load of old pollocks. Diary hates to carp on about this, but it has cod to stop. Day in, day out, the British public can only lamprey that this Brexit silliness will pass, that Britain can re-affirm its plaice in the world but these people wont rest. Were under ziege. Jacob Rees-Mogg is hardly the manta ray-n the Farages of the world in. This column for one is feeling rather i-wrasse-cible about the whole thing. Basstards. With that out of the way, this week in charitable sector satire: Blue Cross wants to make your pet the star of their own Blue Cross ad, Matt Hancock on Matt Hancock and yet more men perform the full monty for charity. Supawstar DJ Blue Cross has launched an app in a bid to put the nations pets at the heart of our new advertising campaign and this column for one couldnt be happier. The app, which can be downloaded to phones or used online, calls for you (the pet owner) to upload three videos or photos of your pet be that a cat, dog, rabbit, potbelly pig, etc which can then be uploaded and shared via social media to friends and family. There are also a few questions to answer about what your pet means to you. Given that CSM Towers has a strict no office animal policy, this column cant really get past the first step of the app. So, for all Diary knows, the app is terrible. Yet, and yet, its nice that after yet another week of grim awfulness in the wider world that Blue Cross has made something sweet and pure, to take our minds off everything and let us put our furry little friends front and centre, if only for a moment. So to all the Diary readers out there (and this column knows there are at least a few of you), if you have a pet and a few spare minutes today, turn your furry friend into a Blue Cross supaw star and then share the video/pictures with this column. Matt Hancock on Matt Hancock Regular readers of Society Diary will remember that six or so weeks ago, Matt Hancock, the culture secretary, launched the Matt Hancock app and, very briefly, it was the best social media sphere in all of the world. That was, of course, until a legion of data protection specialists and eagle-eyed journalists pointed out that the Matt Hancock app was, for all intent and purpose, playing pretty fast and loose with users' personal data. With the news breaking this week that data analytics company Cambridge Analytica had been illegally harvesting millions of peoples Facebook data in order to influence elections, blackmail politicians and generally play havoc with all things democratic, it is perhaps right and proper that Matt Hancock, he of the Matt Hancock app, has addressed the Matt Hancock privacy issues. Speaking to ITVs Good Morning Britain, Hancok said the apps privacy policies have been updated. Weve significant strengthened the privacy settings due to the amount of feedback it received. He said, in fact, that many of the issues stemmed from the fact that Matt Hancock actually asked for more consent than was actually needed. Matt Hancock, what are you like? Hancock is also reported in The Times to have quipped at a lunch for political journalists in Westminster on Wednesday that Matt Hancock was at least partly responsible for laying Facebooks share prices low. Look whats happened since I launched it six weeks ago. The Facebook share price is down 10 per cent. Youve got to ask yourself though, dear reader, before you close your Facebook account down for good and move lock, stock and barrel over to Matt Hancock, do you really want your mum to set up a Matt Hancock account? Hancock has also insisted that his department (Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and includes the Office for Civil Society, which is responsible for the charity sector - when Diary last checked) is now the "ministry of the future". This leaves the sector with just one burning question, "are charities part of the future?" Send your responses via Matt Hancock (the app) please. Hot metal, cold facts Finally this week, we take a look at a decidedly cheeky tweet from the (officially, apparently) funniest accountant in Britain *citation almost certainly needed*. Yes, Neil Goulder and friends are apparently in a (strip-tease group? Diarys not sure what the collective noun for seven blokes taking their clothes off for charity is) called Hot Metal and, dear reader, this column is now all out of words. Were squeezing in a few extra seats for our sold-out shows of #TheFullMonty Meet HOT METAL@HMTC60 @HarpendenHalls pic.twitter.com/o7ZFEAfWEo Neil Goulder (@NeilGoulder) March 22, 2018 The fellas will be performing the Full Monty at the Harpenden Public Halls to raise money for Keech Hospice Care and, well, if youre in the Hertfordshire area on Friday or Saturday night and have nothing else on, tickets are still available. Theres surely worse ways to spend a night in Harpenden. Probably. Maybe? It seemed an odd choice when the Financial Times picked Steve Bannon for the keynote interview at its future of news conference. In many ways, Bannon is yesterdays media man: out at Breitbart, out at the White House, then out at Breitbart again. He last made big headlines in January, as the source who turbocharged Michael Wolffs book, Fire and Fury. The FT invite, however, landed before stories in last weekends New York Times and London Observer thrust Bannon right back into the spotlight. The two papers reported that in 2014, Facebook handed reams of its users data to a researcher linked to Cambridge Analytica, the shadowy, UK-based company that mined the information to the apparent electoral advantage of Donald Trump. Bannonwho invested in Cambridge Analytica, served on its board, and even chose its namehad yet to speak publicly on the revelations, which have driven sharp new debates on Facebooks role in the 2016 election and data protection writ large. ICYMI: Jared Kushner literally called Secret Service on me because I said no when he asked me to delete a recording of him At Thursdays conference, Bannon finally broke his silence. Addressing a rapt audience of New York journalism bigwigs and assembled media hacks in a plush Midtown Manhattan tower block, Bannon claimed he hadnt known about Cambridge Analyticas deal with Facebook, but that the data from Facebook is just about the cost of it.That data is out there. Its being bought and sold every day, he said. Facebook takes your stuff for free and sells it and monetizes it for huge margins. Then they write algorithms that control your life. (After the event, Bannon told CNNs Dana Bash that he doesnt remember paying Facebook for data.) Given Cambridge Analyticas transatlantic operations, the conference fell at an opportune moment for the FThanding a big US megaphone to the UKs newly minted newspaper of the year. But Bannon largely deflected follow-up questions on his role, casting the story as a desperate liberal media smear. (You struck out on Russia. And now youve gotta go to Cambridge Analytica, as if thats what won [the election].) And the rest of his interview with FT Editor Lionel Barber ranged all over the map: from Benito Mussolini to Marine Le Pen, and from the fall of Ancient Rome to the rise of modern China. Just what to do about Facebook was a recurring question at the conferenceas Times editor Dean Baquet put it in a separate keynote, Its hard for me not to think of what Facebook does as editing.They make decisions about what people get to see. But like Bannons interview, the event as a whole rather slipped away from the weeks hottest media story. Instead, a star-studded roster of speakersincluding top editors and executives from ABC, CNN, Glamour, The Hollywood Reporter, The Information, and BuzzFeedaddressed a dizzying range of challenges facing the press, such as the decline of advertising revenue, the difficulty of building digital audiences, and, of course, attacks emanating from the Oval Office. Sign up for CJR 's daily email ICYMI: Fox News lawsuit: What you need to know The days first panel, which pitted Facebook Head of News Partnerships Campbell Brown against Google VP of News Richard Gingras, was a case in point. Brown was grilled early on Mark Zuckerbergs delayed public response to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which she attributed to more urgent internal efforts to secure users data. But the debate quickly turned to older philosophical questions. Are social platforms publishers? To what extent should Facebook and Google regulate content? The answers are still blowing in the noreasterly wind. Thats not to say the days discussions didnt add value. Emily Bell (who leads Columbia Universitys Tow Center and serves on CJRs Board of Overseers), for instance, pressed Brown on Facebooks controversial plans to let users assess the trustworthiness of media outlets. (Is Breitbart a trusted news source? Bell asked. To some people, it is. To some people, it is not, Brown replied.) And an interesting panel featuring Reuterss and HuffPosts editors in chief, Stephen Adler and Lydia Polgreen (who both also serve on CJRs board), as well as Newsmax CEO and Trump booster Christopher Ruddy, offered rare fresh insight on what constitutes a fact in modern media. Adler defined a fact as something you correct when its wrong; Ruddy said the media often differs over interpretations of facts, rather than facts themselves; and Polgreen said she wants her reporters to steer clear of chin-stroking fact-check journalism altogether. On the whole, however, Facebook could have used a more focused turn in the hot seat, given the many questions it has yet to answer on its data-sharing practices and promises to protect user profiles going forward. Bannon, for his part, was making a first public outing since Politico reported that Breitbarts readership has plummeted in the past 12 months, driving the site ever closer to a cliffs edge. When Barber asked him about its decline, Bannon replied that conservative media outlets arent immune to the harsh advertising climate thats roiling all digital publishersechoing earlier thoughts from mainstream media panelists and pundits. Advertising aside, however, Breitbart is no ordinary digital publisher. It forced itself into the national conversation because of Trump, but also because it was brazen in setting an agenda the mainstream media felt compelled to write about. Since Bannons departure, the site has been noticeably less aggressive in that regard. Its crisis thus feels existential. The decline of Breitbart found echo in an earlier remark by Baquet, who, asked whether the Times should be leading the resistance to Trump, answered that the biggest problem with being a leader of the opposition is that eventually the opposition comes into powerand then youre a chump. Bannon addressed that thought, in part. Youve got to break news or make news, he said. You have to have a sense of urgency, and people have to feel that they need this information. The sites a little more aggregation today. I think the guys have a different strategy. The FTs event offered a useful, high-profile overview of a global media landscape in permaflux. But amid talk of business models and fake newsand of Mussolini, Xi Jinping, and Julius Caesarone big question, in particular, still lacks an answer. Et tu, Facebook? ICYMI: GQ asks freelancer to produce section as an edit test. The mags response was a letdown. Update: On March 28, 2018, BuzzFeed reported that the Financial Times and The Economist were Cambridge Analytica clients, with an industry source saying the data firm had been brought on board as way to gain new US subscribers. In a statement, the FT told BuzzFeed, The FT worked with Cambridge Analytica for a brief time on a market research project. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Jon Allsop is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Review of Books, Foreign Policy, and The Nation, among other outlets. He writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Find him on Twitter @Jon_Allsop. Ecuadors new president, Lenin Moreno, took office in May 2017 with a pledge to uphold press freedom, declaring in his inauguration speech, There cant be dialogue without freedom of expression. These words would be unremarkable if not for the fact that Moreno served as vice president under Rafael Correa, who over the course of the previous decade laid waste to the Ecuadoran media. Correa appeared on radio and TV across the country each Saturday, and used his program to denounce the private media as a tool of the oligarchy. He excoriated individual journalists who reported on corruption. In response to one such story, Correa sued El Universo, one the countrys leading dailies, for $80 million. In his first 10 months in office, Moreno has jettisoned the hostile rhetoric, pledging negotiations with the media and legal reforms to protect press freedom. His ministers engage normally with the press, even appearing on television to answer questions, a practice that Correa banned. The change in public discourse has already had a profound impact on the press freedom climate in Ecuador. Moreno has put his best foot forward, according to Ana Maria Canizares, correspondent in Ecuador for CNN en Espanol. Were at a point of inflection, added Cesar Ricaurte, executive director of Fudamedios, a leading press freedom group. The change in rhetoric is an important first step, but the Correa administration also created a repressive legal infrastructure that will be difficult to dismantle. For example, Ecuadors Constitution guarantees the right to receive truthful, verified information (as determined by the government, presumably) and declares communication a public service, which, like water or electricity, is subject to regulation. The 2013 Ley de Comunicacion, also known as the Gag Law, introduced a welter of legal restrictions. It imposes severe punishment for the invented crime of media lynching, which can occur when multiple media outlets report on the same allegation. It criminalizes censorship by omissions (failing to publish news favorable to the government), and requires media outlets to run detailed corrections in response to critical articles. Often these corrections are little more than government press releases. Moreno understands he cannot effectively purge corruption from his own government, which is rife with Correa cronies, without the support of the media. Because Ecuadors Constitution requires that the country have a communications law on the books, the Moreno government claims it cannot legally repeal the gag law. It has promised reform instead. When a delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists (which I lead) met with Communications Minister Andres Michelena last week, he pledged that reforms would be completed by the end of the year. He also announced that the president was planning to invite two leading international legal experts, David Kaye, the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, and Edison Lanza, who has a parallel role in the Organization of American States, to visit Ecuador and ensure that the reforms meet international standards. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Morenos new relationship with the media reflects the changing political dynamics in Ecuador. Correas attacks on the media were effective, politically, because they mobilized his base among the countrys downtrodden. Ecuador has a highly skewed distribution of wealth, and the media companies are owned by powerful commercial interests. But another reason that Correa went after the media was to suppress reporting on the massive corruption schemes that defined his administration. Prominent officials ranging from the former vice president (now in jail) to the head of the National Assembly have been implicated in corruption scandals, and each day brings new revelations. Moreno understands he cannot effectively purge corruption from his own government, which is rife with Correa cronies, without the support of the media. In other words, greater press freedom is essential to his political project. Correa now resides in Europe (his wife is Belgian) and, ironically, fancies himself a journalist. His new show on Russia Today, Conversando con Correa, premiered with an interview of Noam Chomsky. (Yes, you read that correctly.) Back in Ecuador, Correas anti-media tirades (which have much in common with the language subsequently employed by Donald Trump) have done lasting damage. They reduced public confidence in the media, while emboldening local officials. One Correa ally, the mayor of the provincial city of Loja, has spent the last decade waging a legal assault against a local radio journalist, Freddy Aponte, who accused him of corruption. Aponte was jailed in 2008 for six months on defamation charges and more recently was declared legally insolvent because he does have the resources to pay a $54,000 fine. As a result, Aponte has been stripped on his right to vote and barred from holding a job. He could be returned to prison. Ecuador, in other words, is still recovering from the hangover brought on by Correas excesses. This is not something you cure with a couple of Alka Seltzers, acknowledged Cesar Perez, deputy director of El Universo. The rhetoric may have changed under the Moreno government, Ecuadoran journalists note. But the hard work of legal reform has only just begun. ICYMI: Seth Rich lawsuit against Fox News stands on unusual legal ground Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Joel Simon is the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the author of We Want to Negotiate: The Secret World of Kidnapping, Hostages and Ransom. CJR interviewed Olivia Nuzzi at the beginning of 2017, and inquired about her new job as Washington correspondent for New York. Things are obviously different than they have been in the past, she said, and I think its going to be very interesting to see how everything unfurls in Washington over the next four or eight years. She wasnt wrong. And in a short time, the well-sourced Nuzzi has focused on Donald Trump and his White House advisors, but also adjacent personalities like Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski and Roger Stone. Shes also examined oddities like Rand Pauls assault at the hands of his neighbor, and tragedies like the case of the late Seth Rich, a young man smeared by Fox News. ICYMI: A reporter asked for 20 years of lottery winner data. After analyzing the records, he noticed something unusual. A through line of Nuzzis stories, particularly noticeable in her longer features, is her ability to talk to seemingly everyone. This is certainly the case with her latest story, Mondays What Hope Hicks Knows, a profile of the outgoing White House communications director. What follows is another installment of Behind the Story, in which were given a peek behind the curtain at how a story was conceived, reported, written, and editedas told to CJR by the author, Olivia Nuzzi. Sign up for CJR 's daily email This was one of several ideas that would always come up. Oh, maybe I should revisit Hope Hicks. Id profiled her 2016, but a lot of material was left on the cutting room floor. And even the pieces from great reporters, like Annie Karnis profile for Politico, lack a sense of her. And its a criticism of my current profile of her, too, that who she is doesnt come through. So Hicks always stayed in my head as somebody who I might want to revisit, because shes been fascinating for almost the duration of Trumps political career. And I felt like I understood her a little bit. In late January, the Times had a report about what Hicks allegedly said on Air Force One in regards to Don Jr. and obstruction. She started to emerge more in the media in a way she hadnt really before, as part of these really ominous stories about Russia. Thats when my editor suggested it as a story. I was excited, because of course I wanted to take another crack it. While the GQ piece was important to meit was my first magazine featurethere was a lot I wish Id done differently. The first week of February, when the story came out about Rob Porter and his ex-wife, I got the go-ahead. ICYMI: Two dozen freelance journalists told CJR the best outlets to pitch I did not initially want to reach out to Hicks. I was thinking, Fuck, shes in the middle of this shit personal news cycle. And I was afraid I would look ghoulish by reaching out immediately and saying, Hey, Im doing this big piece about you, as of today. I thought it would kill my chances of obtaining any access at all, if it seemed like this was going to be a narrowly focused piece about the news cycle. But then I thought, well, thats my job. And Id rather her hear from me directly that Im poking around. So the first thing I did, on February 9, was send a request for interviews to Hicks, for her and for the president. Until the last minuteuntil last weekI thought I might get the president. But in the end I think its probably better that I didnt, in terms of how the story reads. He sucks as an interview, and it couldve been distracting to have him in there. Hope came back to me and said no. I was thinking, Are you kidding me? Youre not going to sit down with me, and the president isnt going to sit down with me? I find it pretty difficult, in this White House, to get people on the record who have direct knowledge of whatever it is youre covering. I dont want to rely on what Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Hogan Gidley told me in my interviews, though Gidley is pretty candid. I need something on the record. Hicks pushed me off on Sarah, who said no. I pressed her on why not. She said, because he is the President of the United States and its not the best use of his time. Its possible I can provide a quote from him about Hope but nothing beyond that. I wrote back, Im happy to conduct the interview while the president watches Fox & Friends, if that would be more convenient. She never responded. I hate this attitude from officials, as if the president is somebody who hes clearly not. But it didnt matter. I thought I might get the president. But in the end I think its probably better that I didnt, in terms of how the story reads. He sucks as an interview, and it couldve been distracting to have him in there. I kept all my notes from the GQ story. I reviewed my transcript of the Trump interviewsix minutes, it was the shortest thing everand I realized I hadnt used the best quote. I was like, Was I stupid? Why didnt I use the good quotes in that piece? When I got an email from Hicks telling me shed be unavailable for the story, I took that to mean Im unavailable for an interview in a formal way. So I kept going back to her and saying, Look, I think its really important that we talk, that I get your perspective. I know there are things you are frustrated with and disagree with, and I think its really important that, if Im going to write something definitive about this period in your life, you have some say. I get to the White House, and sit down with her. I had not seen Hicks in person since I ran into her in the West Wing in, I think, August. Wed had a brief conversation, and I remember her saying that she just goes home every night and microwaves a Lean Cuisine. It was so unusual, because its not like were girlfriends, where something that revealing would be a normal thing to say if you bumped into me. I thought back to that a lot. I never approached her cynically. Like, Oh, Im going to be a human being to this person and not treat them just like a vessel for information with the hopes that the long game will work out and one day Ill get a big interview, or theyll facilitate some other kind of big get for me. But looking back, throughout the last two and a half years, the fact that Im a reporter that she would respond toI didnt exploit that for all it was worth, which probably makes me a terrible reporter. But Im not in a position where my job is to cover the news of the day, and I dont feel competitive with the reporters who do that, so I thought about her more as a subject, in a big-picture way, than as a source. I never violated a trust on any of the stuff she said casually or when she wasnt careful about being off the record. Im always conscious of that stuff anyway. I would never do that to anybody, unless there was significant news value. But I think there was a consistent trust. I assume thats what led her to allow me some entree into her life, and to know that I wasnt going to fuck her over. Its hard to say how long I talked to Hicks. Its not like I can say, Okay, she gave me 45 minutes for a Q&A. Thats not the way it worked out. It wasnt like there was a plan, it just happened the way it happened. I was trying to come at her life and her experience in as many different ways as possible. I kept up with the ins and outs of her sisters life via Instagram Stories. I was even trying to exist on her schedule a little bit, which I did not nail because Im not a morning person. More often, doing this piece, I was still awake at 4am, which is when she wakes up. When Id interviewed Trump in April 2016, I asked Hicks what seemed like a fucking ridiculous question: If he wins, would you want to be the press secretary in the White House? I always think back, with all thats going on with Mueller and obstruction and her testifying: She didnt even want to be there. Its not like Corey Lewandowski, or any of these people who were thinking from day one, Im going to go and be White House chief of staff. She was not thinking of it that way. Theres that great part of [Mark] Leibovichs Kurt Bardella profile; he notes that on Bardellas Facebook page, he wrote that he wanted to be the White House press secretary. Thats the type of person whos normally in Washington. Meanwhile, Hicks hated the place so much she didnt even stay for most weekends. I think there was a consistent trust. I assume thats what led her to allow me some entree into her life, and to know that I wasnt going to fuck her over. I keep a notebook, but my head and my hands dont work at the same speed. Mostly its just for me to remember who to call or if I need to go somewhere. I record everything I can with a digital recorder. Usually, if anyone is skittish about that, I just explain that you dont want to rely on my note-taking, that its better for both of us if this is recorded. Some White House officials record conversations, too. But some of them havent been political professionals, or havent dealt much with the media, and theyre freaked out by the recorder thing. One time, Jared Kushner literally called Secret Service on me because I said no when he asked me to delete a recording of him in the West Wing. I hadnt even been recording him, but I said no on principle because thats fucking ridiculous. John Kellys statement about Rob Porter was obviously a big question when I started the piece. Its just so typical of this White Housesomebodys name is on a statement and we still have to ask whos responsible for it? I feel like you would normally just say its obviously John Kelly, the chief of staff. Is he so inept that we dont know if he really knew what words were being attributed to him? So I started asking about that statement. I dont want to say it was a frustration, exactly, for Hicks. I think she looked at it as, Im going to take the bullet for the team; but a big part of why she left, in the end, was stuff like that. I dont want to put words in her mouth, even though I did that through the entire piece, but I think she felt like she was on an island with that Kelly thing. These anonymous sources were blaming her and saying her judgment was bad based on something that, according to five senior White House officials, she didnt do. ICYMI: Fox News lawsuit: What you need to know One of my questions, initially, when I was doing these interviews was, Okay, you guys read these stories, or you see CNN, and whatever you say about themthat theyre fake newstheyre not making up White House officials talking to them. There are people on your staff who are leaking against other members of your staff. What does that feel like to know that you might turn on CNN in 20 minutes, and someone you were just in a meeting with called up a reporter or producer and and either told them what happened or, if youre saying its not true, lied about what happened? How do you deal with that? I keep a notebook, but my head and my hands dont work at the same speed. Mostly its just for me to remember who to call or if I need to go somewhere. Kellys statement was drafted during a meeting in Sarah Huckabee Sanderss office, and there were, I think I was told, a dozen people around. Her office, behind the briefing room, is really big by White House standards. My understanding is that John Kelly was standing in the doorway, where its not even clear he sees Hope Hicks. He dictated the initial draft of the statement, and Hicks didnt even pipe up. If I had more time, I probably would have included something about the issue of reliability in general with White House officials. Like, I have five of these senior White House officials, and the ones Im quoting on the record are Kellyanne Conway and Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The people Im quoting on the record here are known liars. When youre saying, This is what theyre saying happened, and its in direct conflict with what people on background, or deep background, are saying happened, who do you believe there? I guess you go with the known liars who are on the record? But who the fuck knows, right? Its hard to know who to believe. Most of the time its probably no one. In this case, because I had multiple White House officials saying one thing, and because, I think, at least three of them were on the record, I guess you report whats on the record, right? You report that versus the one person off the record who says, You know, actually, its X, Y, or Z. Well, if thats true, then why dont you go on the record with it or on background? But again, who the fuck knows? Its a difficult thing; I think about it all the time. They are saying this thing is true, but they also say that the sky is orange. I was trying to get Lewandowski to talk to me, every day, for weeks. He said he would, and then he fell off the face of the earth. We have kind of a contentious history, which seems pretty typical for him, with reporters and everyone else. I was also trying to talk with this guy who lives in the basement of the Turnberry Solutions townhouse, where Lewandowski lives upstairs. I headed over there from the White House. I tried to knock on the basement door, but the gate wasnt open. Then I walked up the steps to the main door and knocked for, like, 10 minutes. And Im knocking, knocking, nobodys answering. But after a while, I just touched the door knob, and the door was open. I walked in and Im in the house, by myself. So I took this photo of the quote on a wall. I peered around but I didnt walk fully into the house. I texted my boyfriend, You know, I just walked into the house, because nobody was answering at the door. And he said it probably wasnt legal and that I should leave. I was like, Fuck. I went back outside and continued to knock on the door for awhile longer, and then Jason Osborne, who works at Turnberry Solutions and worked for Trump in the final stretch, answered the door. In political reporting in Washington, theres not a lot of door knocking. You mostly call people, text them, email them. So Osborne seemed caught him off guard. It was a Friday evening, you could tell that he did not want to have me come in, but I convinced him to give me a little bit of a tour of the place, and he was nice. He offered me a Coke. I did not tell him that I had already been inside. Face-to-face interviews are always better. I always feel like people are more honest with me, especially when youre dealing with White House types, or at least you get a better sense of when theyre being dishonest. Its just better for establishing relationships and trust with people, too. I find, especially with White House people, they are more inclined to give you their real insight if youre having an in-person conversation. So whenever I can, I say no to phone interviews. I was supposed to have a second interview with Kellyanne Conway, because our first interview was only 30 minutes. They kept trying to do it on the phone, and I just wasnt interested. They are saying this thing is true, but they also say that the sky is orange. I sat down with Kellyanne Conway in her office for this pieceand she still seems bitter about that profile, even though everyone thought she probably loved it because I was humanizing her. Its not like it was a source-building exercise for me, you know? She didnt talk to me for months after that. She still has never said a word about that profile to me, not a word. I got to her office, and she was like, Everything that you see in here is off the record. Excuse me? She looked around, pointing her finger, and said, Everything you see in this room, in this office, is off the record. I said, Im sorry, were having an interview that is on the record, right? And youre telling me that the fact that were in your office is off the record? She was like, No, you can say that youre in my office, you just cant describe anything that you see in here. Oh. Id already described the office in great detail, previously, so I dont really give a shit. I was like, Okay, sure, whatever. I think she was still unhappy because I had described her having Spanx in a bag on the floor of the office. But dont tell a reporter you have Spanx in a bag if you dont want them to report that you have Spanx in a bag. First of all, let me preface this: Im not in any way comparing myself to Gay Talese. But he once said something like, If your subject is surprised by the piece that you write, you did something wrong. That is very much my approach. Ive had people tell me, Oh, this reporter was so nice during the interview and we had such a great time, and then the piece tore me to shreds. Or, This reporter was so tough on me, and then the piece was so nice. I just dont work that way, personally. When I interview people, Im really open about my own thoughts and theories about the person, even if its just a source and not the subject themselves. Im really open about the way Im thinking. I find that if people know where youre coming from, maybe theyll make an effort to pull you off of your notions by providing you contrary facts or a point of view. Or maybe theyll be really helpful and tell you things that will bolster your theories or your point of view. Dont tell a reporter you have Spanx in a bag if you dont want them to report that you have Spanx in a bag. Sometimes you cant help angering sources or subjects. Like Kellyanne Conway, I was really open with her about the way I was thinking about the piece. I wanted it to be a nuanced look at Kellyanne Conway, and I wanted it to be different from the other profiles. And I think I failed in a lot of ways, but not in ways that she could reasonably feel betrayed by. But sometimes sources or subjects arent reasonable. Hickss family said no to an interview. I reached out to her sister and father multiple times. I understand, obviously. Her father has been a spokesman for the NFL; he has a lot of experience dealing with the press, and Im sure he has reasons for believing it was in her best interest that the family not participate. Id love to speculate about how they must feel about Trump. The fact that they refused to cooperate at all really made me wonder how much they were horrified by him. What were they afraid they might convey that would make its way into print? I just thought at one point or another they would have to break, but they did not. I was surprised by the nos, and maybe that speaks to my arrogance as a reporter. I was not surprised by any of the yeses. ICYMI: A portrait of Trumps mental state by photojournalists I dont outline stories, which is probably something I should do. Im not organized enough to do it. I dont plot it out. I remember talking to my editor at the beginning, before I had written anything, just saying, Well, I think Im going to maybe open with the story of the day that she quit and then Im going to pull back and dig into some of the profile material and then get it to this conspiracy epicenter of her exit. But I didnt know what that would really look like. I began writing the first section on March 9. But I had so much more reporting I needed to do. So I did another round of approaching sources, and I tried to get my conversations transcribed. There were so many interviews I didnt use. There are so many good quotes, so many things I wish I could have worked in, but I just didnt have the time to go through 25 transcripts line by line to sort through everything I had. I love to write, which probably says terrible things about my writing. At least with politics stuff, I feel like there are journalists who write to report and and journalists who report to write, and Im definitely in the latter camp. Im not a perfectionist, obviously, because nothing Ive ever written has been anything approaching what I would consider perfect. I think all the time about how Im going to paint the scene, how Im going to convey X, Y, or Z, and what I could tell the reader that would make them understand how it felt to be there, how it felt to be the person Im writing about, to the degree that I can understand that. I wish I could say the structure was a premeditated thing, but to be honest, I was in such a rush, that was just the way it happened. As I was reporting it, I did start to think about it as a profile of Hope Hicks, but also as a profile of the West Wing being completely fucked in ways way beyond Trumps awareness. And once I had those two pieces in my head, Im not gonna write a biography of Hope Hicks at this point, you know? I was thinking about it as two stories, but not in a complicated, structural way. I find, especially with White House people, they are more inclined to give you their real insight if youre having an in-person conversation. I wrote the last section on Friday. I felt like I needed a little bit of a curve, a new themesomething. I had been up all night. The week was a disaster, and it was the third night that week I had stayed awake all night trying to write, which is never a good idea. I always get more done if I sleep a little bit. And it was like 4am; I was trying to write a last section. Around 7, it occurred to me that, Oh, maybe the paparazzi are outside of Hicks apartment again. I knew they had stopped being there every day, but I thought, Maybe Ill get lucky. And thankfully, it turned out somebody was there, this guy Matthew. I talked to him for a minute, watched it go down, went home, and wrote the last section. Everything was done really fast and I feel absolutely terrible for making everybody rush. I think I made everybody really, really nervous. I was thinking about this while I was promoting the piece on Monday, like, the level of faith that everyone at the magazine had in a 25-year-old theyve known, in most cases, for just a little over a year. I was like, Dont worry, I promise its coming! I hate the word humbledlike, who says that?but Im really moved, I guess is the word, that they trusted me to not fuck this up and they took my word that I would get it done. My print editor, David Wallace-Wells, is really good about transitions, which is somewhere I always struggle. Ill go back and read some of the stories I did at The Daily Beast, and the sections feel disjointed or just dont flow properly. Hes really good about identifying simple ways to fix that, things that make it into a feature rather than a staccato series of ideas. And hes really good aboutI hate this phrasethe nut graf, helping me sort out the broader importance of the piece for readers. Its very collaborative. Im surprised by how not-terrible the editing process is. I dont fear being edited here at all, I actually enjoy it most of the time. I dont want to speak for him, but I imagine the fact-checking was an enormously difficult undertaking for Nick Tabor. Im sure it was a nightmare. I mean, the last section was not written until the last day. In some cases, I assume he talked to unnamed sources, but most of my conversations were recorded and transcribed. Im so happy to have a fact checker, because Im paranoid that Im going to get something wrong. And Nick is meticulous but not so hyper-literal the way some fact checkers can belike, once a friend told me a fact checker said they couldnt use the word trek to describe a journey that involved a boat, because trek means journey by foot. I really trust Nicks judgment. You know how youre working a piece, and youre in such a rush to get it done that, by the time you lift your head above water and look at it, youre surprised by what you made? Its sort of like that with this piece. All of my reporting for the last two years has led to this, in a way. Its like a Greatest Hits of every character that had anything to do with the campaign and the early months of the administration. ICYMI: Writers dish on scoops that slipped away Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Elon Green is a writer in Port Washington, New York. He's an editor at Longform. Find him on Twitter @ElonGreen. Questions about the staying power of the #MeToo movementtriggered by reporting on Harvey Weinstein from The New York Times and The New Yorkerbegan circulating almost as soon as the watershed moment began. Reactions to reports of sexual harassment in the West have largely been met by positive, if not horrified, reactions from readers, celebrities, and politicians. And in many cases, they have come with tangible consequences for badly behaving men. But in Russia, where a senior lawmaker is accused of having groped and forcibly kissed female journalists, the government response has largely been mocking. Yesterday, nearly two dozen Russian news outlets declared boycotts on the State Duma, the lower house of Russias parliament, after an ethics committee cleared a lawmaker accused of sexually harassing female journalists of any wrongdoing. Some outlets announced that its reporters would no longer professionally interact with Leonid E. Slutsky, a member of a right-wing nationalist group called the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, while others, such as radio outlet Ekho Moskvy, withdrew its reporters from the chamber entirely. The stations editor in chief told The New York Times that it no longer considered the chamber safe for journalists of any sex. At least three other outlets will also remove its reporters from the chamber. The boycott is a notable show of unity among journalists, and one that actively makes their jobs more difficult. In the US, as women stepped forward in the swell of #MeToo, prominent journalists were investigated and in many cases suspended and fired. Calls and commitments to making newsrooms safer were plentiful. But such radical opposition as a boycott in response to gender-based harassment and violence has yet to take hold herein any industry. Related: What we found when we asked newsrooms about sexual harassment Accusations against Slutsky made by two unnamed journalists were first reported in February by an independent broadcaster called TV Rain. Ekaterina Kotrikadze, deputy chief editor of the New York-based, Russian language outlet RTVI, came forward later that month publicly accusing Slutsky. In all, three female journalists eventually stepped forward with allegations against Slutsky. Kotrikadze recounted her experience to CNN, saying that Slutsky invited her into his office and without provocation pushed her against a wall, attempting to kiss her. At the time, she worked for a Georgian television outlet. In another case caught on tape last March, Slutsky asked Farida Rustamova, a reporter with the BBCs Russian service, to be his mistress. Slutsky has denied all allegations, and took to Facebook to mock the women, accusing them of painting him as a Russian Weinstein and calling their testimonies cheap and a provocation. The ethics committee concluded its investigation, finding that Slutsky had not violated any behavioral norms and noted that the women had not come forward immediately after the incidents, suggesting their timing was suspicious given the upcoming presidential election. A spokesperson for President Vladimir Putin declined to comment Thursday during a call with reporters. Whether the #MeToo moment will translate into lasting, structural changes in journalism remains to be seen. But its worth paying attention toand connectingthe progress (or lack of it) women are making in other countries. Problems of sexual harassment cross industries, mediums, and bordersand the fight to eradicate it must necessarily be global. Below, more on the Russian media boycott and other #MeToo developments: Canceled media credentials: Bloombergs Ksenia Galouchko and Stepan Kravchenko look at the Russian parliaments response to the womens allegationsand threats from lawmakers to revoke the media credentials of outlets who have pledged to boycott the State Duma. Bloombergs Ksenia Galouchko and Stepan Kravchenko look at the Russian parliaments response to the womens allegationsand threats from lawmakers to revoke the media credentials of outlets who have pledged to boycott the State Duma. Find a new job: Newsweek reported earlier this month on a crude suggestion from Russian lawmaker Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the lower house of Russias parliament. When the women who say Slutsky sexually harassed them first came forward, Volodin told them that if working at the State Duma was dangerous, they should change jobs. Newsweek reported earlier this month on a crude suggestion from Russian lawmaker Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the lower house of Russias parliament. When the women who say Slutsky sexually harassed them first came forward, Volodin told them that if working at the State Duma was dangerous, they should change jobs. Earlier this year, CJRs Jon Allsop reported on efforts from female journalists in France to win equal pay for equal work. The so-called Weinstein effect has had global consequences, and includes not just sexual harassment, but the larger undercurrents of sexism that dictate womens experience in workplaces all over the world. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Other notable stories Related: Sexual harassment in the newsroom Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Alexandria Neason was CJRs staff writer and Senior Delacorte Fellow. Recently, she became an editor and producer at WNYCs Radiolab. Construction of the pedestrian bridge that collapsed and killed six people in the Miami area was behind schedule and millions over budget, in part because of a key change in the design and placement of one of its support towers. Documents obtained by The Associated Press through a public-records request show that the Florida Department of Transportation in October 2016 advised Florida International University and its contractors to move one of the bridges main support structures 11 feet (3 meters) north to the edge of a canal, widening the gap between the crossings end supports and requiring some new structural design. The spans signature, 109-foot-tall (33-meter-tall) pylon was to be built atop a base at the spans northern end. It was designed for basic support and to contribute to the aesthetics of the bridge, which was touted as an architectural marvel that would connect the rapidly growing university to the nearby community of Sweetwater. In their winning 2015 proposal, designers said the bridge provided spectacular views for both pedestrians using the bridge and drivers passing beneath it. They added that the tower could serve as a safety feature because it would have an eagle-eyed location for additional lighting and security cameras. Videos of Thursdays collapse show that the concrete, prefabricated segment of the bridge started crumbling on the same end of the span where the tower redesign occurred, two days after an engineer on the project reported cracks in the same location. The segment that failed had been placed atop the pylons footing, and the taller tower section was to be installed later. U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has ordered her departments inspector general to conduct an audit of the bridge, according to a news release Tuesday from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The agency awarded millions of dollars to the project. It is still unclear if the design change contributed to the failure. But emails between the school, contractors, Sweetwater city officials and permitting agencies show a project that was behind schedule, which had officials worried that further delays could jeopardize the federal funding. When the bridge collapsed, the project was already running about $2.6 million over its $9.4 million initial budget, cost-tracking documents from February show. Originally scheduled to be completed in July, the finish date had been pushed back to January 2019. Difficulties began in late 2016, when the Florida Department of Transportation emailed project officials saying they wanted more room to allow for future widening of the U.S. highway under the bridge, according to the documents. The new position of the tower would be on the north side between the road and the canal. This places the current location of the pylon in conflict with the extra travel lane and would require bridge design modifications, Alfred Reyna, a transportation department employee working on the bridge project, wrote in an email. After weeks of back and forth, it was decided to move the pylon 11 feet to the north, sitting near the edge of the canal. According to documents, initial costs for the new design were $204,540, with another $402,723 for construction changes. The final cost was not divulged. The city attorney is advising us not to speak about anything to do with the bridge, said Sandra Antonio, a spokeswoman for the city of Sweetwater, which was working with FIU. The tower was to be located on the Sweetwater side. Don Silver, a spokesman for Munilla Construction Management, or MCM, the Miami-based construction management firm that won the bridge contract, said the National Transportation Safety Board forbade engineers or contractors from talking about the project pending its investigation. MCM collaborated with Tallahassee-based FIGG Bridge Design on the bridge project, which also declined comment. A spokeswoman for FIU, Maydel Santana, declined comment on the pylon redesign, but did confirm Tuesday that the bridge was expected to be completed early in 2019 and the grant ran out on Sept. 30, 2019. She also said the school was cooperating with the NTSBs investigation. While the NTSB probe has just begun, multiple engineers who reviewed the documents obtained by the AP said moving the tower after the bridges initial design invited errors. Henry Petroski, a Duke University civil engineering professor, said even seemingly minor changes in a bridges design can lead to failures. Once a design is completed, subsequent modifications tend to be suggested and approved without the full care that went into the original design. This has happened time and again in bridges and other engineering structures, he said. The documents show that further time pressures were put on the tower redesign due to a bottleneck at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps was in charge of permitting certain aspects of the new towers footing and other elements but had stopped due to federal budget cuts. Documents show the contractors wouldnt begin work until the Corps permits were finished, and FIU worried delays could jeopardize federal funding. Kenneth Jessell, FIUs senior vice president for financial affairs, in 2017 worried the delays would jeopardize federal TIGER funds for the universitys massive transportation redesign, of which the bridge was a key part. In the news release announcing the audit, Transportation Secretary Chao said she wants to know whether the parties involved in the design, construction and testing of the bridge complied with standards required of projects that receive federal funding. Bridge engineers who reviewed photographs of the collapse said it was ill-advised to move the pylon after completing the initial design, but that more analysis was warranted before it could be known whether this played a role in the collapse. Robert Bea, a University of California, Berkeley engineering professor, said the tower base may have been more flexible after it was moved closer to the canal. This could have created more stress on the section that collapsed when crews removed temporary supports so traffic could resume, he said. At this time, I do not think the movement of the footing for the pylon to the north was a primary factor in the failure. However, the movement of the footing led to the requirement for one of the temporary steel supports to be relocated to be able to travel on the highway, he said. (Associated Press writer Adriana Gomez Licon in Miami contributed to this report.) Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Alaska lawmakers have begun considering a bill to help homeowners cover the cost of fixing leaking heating oil tanks. Depending on the size of the spill, everything from hiring contractors to buying cleanup supplies and even calling the state to report the spill could be billed, Alaskas Energy Desk reported Tuesday. Alaska resident Fabienne Peter-Contesse told a House Resources committee last month that his family in 2010 had to fix their oil tank after they discovered a cork-sized hole in the bottom of it. Weve spent tens of thousands of dollars on this effort. Cleanup, hiring the contractor, Peter-Contesse said. Weve spent several thousand dollars on soil testing. And, none of this is covered by homeowners insurance. So that is all out of pocket. Peter-Contesse said the state Department of Environmental Conservations staff was a great resource for technical support and answering questions until he received a bill from them in 2017. And as you can imagine, the blood pressure shot through the roof, Peter-Contesse said, adding that he has since stopped talking to state spill employees. State Spill Prevention and Response Director Kristin Ryan said costs from the state are recurring problems for homeowners. We have had several situations where a homeowner is talking to us, everything is going well. Then, several weeks later they get our bill which is an automated process and all of the sudden, they dont return our phone calls, Ryan said. They wont let us on their property. They dont want to talk to us, because they dont want another bill. Staff at the Department of Environmental Conservation is required by law to recover their costs when they consult on spills. On average, getting technical support from employees in the states Division of Spill Prevention and Response costs between $100-$150 an hour, Alaskas Energy Desk reported. Ryan said she doesnt think that lawmakers were considering individual homeowners and heating oil leaks when the statutes were written. They were thinking about Exxon, Ryan said. They were thinking about BP. They were thinking about big companies that are making money off of oil. And they didnt think the state should have any expenses associated with that industry. Right now, there are about 150 homes that have heating oil spills that the state is consulting on. The bill is narrowly defined to cover just spills from equipment or fuel that is used solely to provide space heat or electric power for residential homes. It wouldnt take away any of the cleanup costs, which is typically the bulk of the cost in a situation where heating oil is spilled. But it would allow the state to provide essentially free tech support when something goes wrong. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Construction on portions of the new College of Forestry building at Oregon State University has been halted after a large section of subflooring made of cross-laminated timber gave way between the second and third stories. University spokesman Steve Clark said no one was injured in the March 14 incident at Peavy Hall, the Corvallis Gazette-Times reported . He said the university plans to hire an engineering firm to determine a cause and to evaluate whether any other cross-laminated structural elements in the building are at risk. He said the placement of cross-laminated timber panels will resume when the evaluation is completed, and there are no plans to switch to more conventional materials. The building technique involves using solid wood panels to frame a structures walls, floors and roof. It has been used for years in Europe, but is relatively new in the United States. The panels are lighter and much faster to assemble on-site than regular timber. Because the grain in each layer is at a right angle to the one below and above it, theres a counter-tension built into the panels that supporters say makes them strong enough to build skyscrapers. There is hope that CLT will infuse struggling forest communities with new economic growth, while reducing the carbon footprint of urban construction with a renewable building material. The three-story Peavy Hall will eventually become the new home of the OSU College of Forestry and is intended to be a showcase for the Oregon timber industry. The project, however, has been unpopular with some students and faculty, who say the original Peavy Hall, demolished two years ago, could have been renovated for much less than $79.5 million. Anthony Davis, the colleges acting dean, said he did not expect the failure of the CLT panel to increase the projects cost or significantly delay its completion, which is scheduled for early next year. He said he still believes the completed Peavy Hall will serve as a compelling showcase for Oregons wood products industry. I know the capacity we have, I know the strength of Douglas fir and I am confident in our ability to continue to lead in the development of this material for use in midrise or high-rise buildings, Davis said. The failure involved a cross-laminated timber panel manufactured by a firm in Riddle, Oregon. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The world's second-largest economy has responded to President Donald Trump's controversial trade tariffs. China's commerce ministry proposed a list of 128 U.S. products as potential retaliation targets, according to a statement on its website posted Friday morning. The U.S. goods, which had an import value of $3 billion in 2017, include wine, fresh fruit, dried fruit and nuts, steel pipes, modified ethanol, and ginseng, the ministry said. Those products could see a 15 percent duty, while a 25 percent tariff could be imposed on U.S. pork and recycled aluminium goods, according to the statement. The statement did not go into greater detail. U.S. agricultural products, particularly soybeans, have been flagged as the biggest area of potential retaliation by Chinese President Xi Jinping's administration. President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping leave after an opera performance at the Forbidden City in Beijing, China, November 8, 2017. Jonathan Ernst | Reuters Beijing will take measures against the 128 U.S. goods in two stages if it cannot reach an agreement with Washington, the ministry said, adding that it could take legal action under World Trade Organization rules. Asian stock markets took a dive on the news, with Japan's index sliding as much as 4 percent. The Friday response from Beijing is relatively measured, experts told CNBC. The decision to target $3 billion in U.S. imports is significant, "but it's not a lot in terms of the total U.S.-China relationship," said economist Tony Nash, who is CEO and founder of data analytics firm Complete Intelligence. Chinese imports from the U.S. are expected to hit $172 billion this year, he pointed out. Beijing warns on damaging US actions Recent U.S. trade actions severely damage the multilateral trading system and disturb the international trading order, China's commerce ministry said, urging Washington to resolve its issues with Beijing to avoid harming the bilateral relationship. Trump signed an executive memorandum on Thursday that will impose tariffs on up to $60 billion in Chinese imports. "This is the first of many" trade actions, the president said. The new measures will primarily target certain products in the technology sector where Beijing holds an advantage over Washington. That followed Trump's executive order earlier this month that imposed broad duties on foreign aluminum and steel imports an action that many said could trigger a global trade war. Reuters contributed to this report. WATCH: China retaliates against Trump's tariffs GW Pharmaceuticals: "This is cannabinoid. Cannabis is very hot as a concept to invest in. I think the stock's had too big a run. I'm not recommending it anymore. It got up, we liked it a lot lower, that's all I have to say." American Electric Power Co.: "Look, it yields under 4 [percent] now. I would buy more if it went above 4, which, of course, does mean therefore that the stock is going lower. That's where I would buy it." Applied Materials, Inc.: "We spoke to [CEO] Gary Dickerson last week. We spoke to [Lam Research CEO] Martin Anstice the week before. Business is great. Micron reported a good number, not good enough for some. But I've got to tell you, Applied Materials is in the bullpen. Club members know this, ActionAlerts. We were trying to pull the trigger when it was in the mid-$50s. We may do so again, particularly with Dropbox so oversubscribed tonight." EPR Properties: "Man, they missed the quarter and you can't miss the quarter in this environment. And it yields 7.7 percent, but when you miss the quarter with a real estate investment trust, it's very hard to find a footing. I need to see another quarter that's better before I recommend it." Fifth Third Bancorp: "You can hold that. Fifth Third is a very, very good bank. I don't think rates are going to continue to go down as they did today. I'm not troubled. I also like [Huntington Bancshares], I think HBAN's good, and I like First Horizon. That's a three-fer." LongFin Corp.: "It's up a lot because as rates go higher, it makes more money. I don't want to buy it up here. I'd rather buy a regional bank or a major that I write about for ActionAlerts." President Donald Trump, left, and H.R. McMaster, national security advisor, walk toward Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., June 16, 2017. John Bolton, a noted foreign policy hawk, will replace H.R. McMaster as President Donald Trump's national security advisor, the latest move in an ongoing shakeup of the president's top advisors. In a tweet Thursday, Trump said Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., will take over the post on April 9. McMaster, an Army lieutenant general, "has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend," the president wrote. Trump tweet: I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9. In Bolton, who served as U.N. ambassador for parts of 2005 and 2006, Trump will get an advisor whom experts consider more in favor of military intervention around the globe than McMaster is. For instance, in February, he made the legal case in The Wall Street Journal for a pre-emptive strike on North Korea. In 2015 he wrote an op-ed for The New York Times titled "To Stop Iran's Bomb, Bomb Iran." In a separate statement, McMaster said he is requesting retirement from the Army this summer, after which he will "leave public service." As recently as last week, the White House denied a string of reports saying McMaster could soon leave. McMaster's exit is just the latest departure of a top Trump administration official announced in the last two weeks. Larry Kudlow recently replaced Gary Cohn as director of the National Economic Council, while Mike Pompeo is set to replace Rex Tillerson as secretary of State, pending Senate confirmation. More than 25 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan have fundamentally changed the size and makeup of the U.S. veterans' population. The Department of Veterans Affairs says Gulf War-era veterans which it defines as those who served at anytime between the start of Operation Desert Shield in 1990 and the present day are now the largest group of veterans, comprising nearly half the veteran population, and outstripping Vietnam veterans by more than 600,000. The changing makeup of the veteran population including a larger percentage of younger veterans is also changing the nature of fraud involving the veteran community. The VA's Office of Inspector General reports that between last April and October alone, its Office of Investigations made 80 arrests, and recovered $2.9 million in restitution, fines and penalties relating to things like VA health-care benefits fraud. That is more than twice the amount recovered in the same period a decade ago. Among the most egregious cases in recent years involved former Idaho National Guard Lt. Darryl Wright, who admitted in 2016 to scamming state and federal governments out of more than $700,000 in benefits not to mention a Purple Heart by lying about injuries he claimed to have suffered while serving in Iraq. Special Agent Joe Rogers with the Social Security Administration's Office of the Inspector General, who investigated Wright's disability claims, found what investigators would later call "a tale of two Darryls." "Mr. Wright first filed in 2010, and he told Social Security that his disabilities were pretty severe," Rogers told CNBC's "American Greed," "that he couldn't get out of bed several days a week, he had trouble walking, he used a cane, he couldn't feed himself, he couldn't tie his shoes, he couldn't manage his belt, button his pants." But undercover surveillance showed Wright doing yardwork outside his home in Snoqualmie, Washington, and coming and going without the use of so much as a cane. Security video even showed him getting into a bar fight. And his lies went beyond disability claims. Wright used his concocted injury story to apply for two medals the Army's Combat Action Badge and the Purple Heart even using the name of a fellow soldier, Sgt. Brad Aune, to try and bolster his claims. "I was furious," Aune told "American Greed." "We really did a hell of a good job as far as I'm concerned while we were in Iraq and to have someone throw our good name under the bus and just start creating all these documents with my name on them 99.9 percent of that stuff is not true." Today, Aune works full time as a veterans' advocate and counselor in Fargo, North Dakota, part of a growing network of vets and veteran groups trying to fill gaps left by the beleaguered VA. One such organization is the Texas-based Green Beret Foundation, which says it has provided support for more than 2,500 veterans of the Army Special Forces since the organization was founded nearly a decade ago. Increasingly, the foundation is also fielding complaints about so-called stolen valor cases not unlike Wright's scam. "Really, what we're trying to do is we're working to educate the public," said Lyle Hendrick, a former Green Beret and a private investigator who serves as an ambassador for the foundation. "The stolen valor acts that these people commit are just inexcusable." Veterans' advocates say stolen valor is more than just repugnant. It can also sap vital benefits from veterans who truly need it. "The VA and the pot of money, it's a limited amount," Hendrick said. "So those programs that they are supposed to be sponsoring, the benefits that they're supposed to be giving to legitimate veterans, doesn't always make it to them." This tells me they are sending signals for a potential deal down the line. Alex Capri visiting senior fellow, National University of Singapore "They want to show that they have taken note of U.S. actions and are going to be strongly resisting, but they don't want to be seen as escalating things further," said Timothy Stratford, who held the China post at the USTR from 2005 to 2010. "The Chinese recognize that everyone has a lot to learn if the U.S. and China move into a trade war," said Stratford, who now is managing partner at law firm Covington & Burling's Beijing office. China claims to be a champion of global trade, though it limits foreign companies' access to its domestic market, forces foreign companies to take on Chinese partners if they want to operate within its borders, and requires foreign companies to hand over technological know-how in exchange for market access. The national flags of the U.S. and China. Getty Images Still, Beijing has promoted itself as a trade globalist in an attempt to contrast itself with Trump's protectionism. "China does not want a trade war with anyone," the Chinese embassy in Washington said in a statement on Thursday. "But China is not afraid of and will not recoil from a trade war." Trade scholar Alex Capri, a visiting senior fellow at National University of Singapore, agreed that China's response is cautious but said it's likely designed to leave wiggle room for bargaining. "This tells me they are sending signals for a potential deal down the line," Capri said. Wendy Sherman, former undersecretary of state for political affairs at the U.S. State Department, echoed that view: "It may be a negotiating tactic." Still, many now fear China's response could mark the start of tit-for-tat trade actions. "We're entering a dark tunnel," Stratford warned. "At the end of the day, back and forth penalties don't solve the underlying problems." WATCH: Trump's tariffs could lead to unintended consequences Implying that special counsel Robert Mueller would somehow "overturn" Trump's election represented a new line of attack for the Trump campaign, which has so far mainly attacked Democrats, the media, and undocumented immigrants in its appeals for cash. "We cannot let the swamp get away with using our government as a weapon to overturn elections and silence millions of American voters. Please make a contribution of $1 to help FIGHT BACK," said the email. President Donald Trump's re-election campaign on Thursday sent out a fundraising email titled "Re: Russia," which suggested that donors could help the president fight special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. On the rare occasion that a Trump campaign email mentioned the Russia probe, it was only to label the probe a "witch hunt," or a "phony" narrative -- a far cry from the suggestion Thursday that Mueller could remove the president from office by overturning the results of the 2016 election, and essentially orchestrate a coup. The more aggressive tone of Trump's latest fundraising email coincided with a similar shift that is reportedly underway among the president's legal team, towards a more combative approach to the Mueller probe. On Thursday, John Dowd, Trump's personal attorney and his lead lawyer on the Russia inquiry, resigned. This was just days after Trump hired Joseph diGenova, a lawyer and cable news commentator who has repeatedly claimed that the special counsel's investigation is part of a vast government conspiracy against the president. This idea that there are somehow two governments, one led by Trump, and another one plotting against Trump, was also evident in the Trump campaign email, which accused the Washington establishment of "using our government as a weapon" to overturn Trump's election. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., a perpetual boogey-man for the GOP, was singled out in the email and accused of, "using the Russia witch hunt as a political ploy to RAISE MONEY from her supporters." Which is, incidentally, the same thing that the Trump campaign was doing. A Trump campaign spokesman did not immediately respond to an email from CNBC. Important U.S. industries have responded with consternation to the increasing risk of a trade war with China, dubbing it an unwinnable situation. "The tariff idea is a war that you just can't win," Rick Helfenbein, the president and CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association, told CNBC Friday, criticizing plans announced Thursday by President Donald Trump to slap tariffs of up to $60 billion on Chinese imports. The plans primarily target products in the technology sector, where Beijing holds an advantage over Washington. Helfenbein said those proposals made him "a little bit happy," but he added that increased trade tariffs could hit his industry hard. Already, China has responded to some of the White House's moves, releasing on Friday a list of 128 U.S. products that could be targeted as a reciprocal measure to Trump's previously announced broad duties on foreign aluminum and steel imports. Pork, wine, fruit and steel were named among the potential targets, though the list was not exhaustive. Helfenbein said he suspected textiles could be included in the tariff hikes. "We don't like it, we're very concerned as an industry that apparel and footwear and accessories might be on the list, and if they are on the list it really would not be good for our industry," he noted. If cooperation between the four countries grows, it could potentially push Beijing to further strengthen its military capabilities in the region. he U.S., Japan, Australia and India aimed at upholding regional stability in Asia Pacific will not sit well with China, experts say. The US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen, which sailed within 12 nautical miles of Chinese artificial islands in the South China Sea, on October 27, 2015. US Navy | CPO John Hageman | Reuters The U.S., Japan, Australia and India are working to preserve the balance of power in the Asia Pacific. But that could aggravate the world's second-largest economy, potentially triggering a greater Chinese military presence around the region. That result became more likely after officials from the four democracies held discussions on upholding freedom of navigation, terrorism, connectivity and maritime security in Asia on the sidelines of a November ASEAN Summit. The meeting, dubbed the "Australia-India-Japan-United States consultations on the Indo-Pacific," was widely viewed as a resurgence of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or "Quad" an informal security forum consisting of the same four countries that launched in 2007 but eventually fell apart. The revived Quad comes as President Donald Trump's administration centers its Asia strategy around a "free and open Indo-Pacific," a term used as a replacement for the more widely used "Asia Pacific" label. An anti-China alliance? The consultations focused on "issues of mutual concern, whether they be security, economic or political," Alex Wong, deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. State Department's East Asian and Pacific Affairs bureau, said last week in response to a question from CNBC. Beijing is the biggest shared worry among the four powers, strategists said. "Though China is cautiously not named in any of the statements, the revival of the group is undoubtedly motivated by increasing nervousness at China's assertiveness and ambitions in the region," researchers at Singapore-based Nanyang Technological University said in a note. From building man-made islands in the contested South China Sea to increasing economic leverage over developing countries with the Belt and Road program, China's behavior has worried America's Asia Pacific allies. Beijing has also been criticized for using education, spying, and political donations to influence local decision-making in countries such as New Zealand. When asked whether the four-country dialogue was a means to hedge against China, Wong said unfounded fears were being appended to a single, working-level meeting: "The strange types of intentions being ascribed to [this meeting], I think, may not be grounded in truth." He said dialogue among the four nations would continue, but warned that he "can't predict where it's going to go." For now, the Quad is widely expected to remain a loose and flexible partnership based on solidarity rather than an institutionalized military alliance. Maritime security is seen as the group's core issue, but infrastructure could play a major role too. "Australia is likely to back proposals to insert an infrastructure investment component into the Quad so it can provide an alternative or supplement to China's sprawling 65-nation Belt and Road Initiative," intelligence firm Stratfor said in a February note. "The four countries discussed the proposal at the November 2017 meeting, and Australia and Japan subsequently have downplayed any potential military aspects to the Quad, perhaps out of worries over Beijing," it continued. China's response So far, Chinese President Xi Jinping's government has expressed reservations about the Quad, with a foreign ministry spokesman saying that regional cooperation should neither be "politicized" nor "exclusionary." Apple plans to come out with a radically different iPhone design within two years, according to a top Wall Street firm. Bank of America Merrill Lynch said the smartphone maker is working with its Asian partners on a foldable phone. "We expect the iPhones this fall to be largely unchanged for the OLED versions although size changes have proved to be a catalyst in the past," analyst Wamsi Mohan wrote in a note to clients Friday. "Our checks also suggest that Apple is working with suppliers on a foldable phone (that potentially could double up as a tablet) for launch in 2020." Mohan wrote his report after meeting several Apple suppliers in Asia. Analysts and bloggers have speculated for years foldable phones were the next major form factor for the smartphone. Lenovo and Samsung have demonstrated concept devices with foldable screens, and other companies have filed patents, but devices have yet to materialize. Citing unnamed sources, a Korean media outlet said in October that LG and Apple could have something in the works. Mohan reiterated his buy rating for Apple shares. He also reaffirmed his $220 price target for the company, representing 30 percent upside to Thursday's close. The stock price was flat in Friday's premarket. The analyst does not believe the company's products will be affected by increasing trade tensions between U.S. and China. "Given that a substantial amount of iPhone and other electronics manufacturing is done in China, we do not see this as a particular area of retaliation from a trade context," he wrote. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. CNBC's Anita Balakrishnan contributed to this report. The Bank of America Merrill Lynch offices in the financial district, also known as the Square Mile, on January 24, 2017 in London, England. Bank of America's Merrill Lynch routinely misled customers by telling them billions of stock trades had been managed in-house when they were actually turned over to outside firms, part of a five-year scheme that New York's attorney general says made the bank's trading services appear more sophisticated than they were. On Friday, the attorney general announced a $42 million settlement with Bank of America over what it called the "masking" strategy, which was applied to 16 million client trade orders between 2008 and 2013, representing over 4 billion traded shares. New York's Eric Schneiderman said Bank of America admitted to having undisclosed agreements with electronic trading firms Citadel Securities, Knight Capital, D. E. Shaw, Two Sigma Securities and Madoff Securities to handle the trades instead. "Bank of America Merrill Lynch went to astonishing lengths to defraud its own institutional clients about who was seeing and filling their orders, who was trading in its dark pool, and the capabilities of its electronic trading services," the attorney general said in a statement. The misleading activity began in 2008. Bank of America hid the secret trading activity by reprogramming its systems to alter confirmations sent to clients about how their trades were handled. Bank of America employees referred to this activity as "masking," Schneiderman said. In an emailed statement to CNBC, Bank of America said, "The settlement primarily relates to conduct that occurred as long as 10 years ago. At all times we met our obligation to deliver the best prices to clients. About five years ago, we addressed the issues concerning communicating to clients about where their trades were executed." Bank of America was also accused of making inaccurate representations to investors about its trading services. It told them that as many as 30 percent of trades in an internally managed electronic trading pool came from retail investors, for example, when it was really more like 5 percent. Two years ago, Schneiderman struck settlements with Credit Suisse, Barclays and Deutsche Bank over trading abuses. Credit Suisse and Barclays paid $30 million and $35 million, respectively, to settle allegations they misrepresented to customers how trades were handled in so-called dark pools, which are private electronic trading sites where buyers and sellers are supposed to be protected from predatory high-speed trading behavior. Deutsche Bank paid $18.5 million to settle allegations it engaged in fraud in its trade order routing practices. The three banks also settled parallel investigations with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Duck a l'Orange made by Memphis Meats Photo courtesy Memphis Meats Vegetarians have long touted the ethical and environmental problems with meat production and consumption. Start-ups such as MosaMeat, JUST and Memphis Meats are tissue-engineering meat in a lab to allow people to enjoy being a carnivore without any of the environmental or ethical hang-ups. Dubbed clean meat, the efforts are distinct from "fake meat," like the soy protein "chicken" you can find in your grocery store today. Unlike Morningstar or Boca Burgers, clean meat really is meat; it just grows in a lab instead of being part of an animal. But lab-grown meat leads most skeptical diners to think of a big hurdle: taste. "When they taste the product, they have to have the experience of meat, not the experience of a product that looks like meat and comes close to meat or has the distinct hints of something that looks like meat," said Peter Verstrate, the CEO of MosaMeat. "It just has to be meat." "The ultimate filter is, 'Does it taste exactly like the meat you're used to?'" said Josh Tetrick, CEO of clean meat start-up JUST, who already tasted success with JUST Mayo. There are two business-world barometers for clean-meat products that are make-or-break as well: price and scale. Right now clean meat is much more expensive to produce than traditional meat because of scaling and infrastructure. The land, feed, farmers, slaughterhouses and transportation are already in place to produce meat from dead animals. Growing clean meat may be more efficient and will require less total marginal costs in the end, but until the systems needed to grow clean meat on a large scale exist, it will be more expensive. Bill Gates: No way to produce enough meat for 9 billion people Investors aren't deterred by the challenges, with sustainability forecasts chief among their concerns and motivations. Scientists estimate the world population will reach 9.6 billion by the year 2050. This population will increasingly live in urban areas and have a rising middle class, both of which mean more meat consumption. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, world food production will need to increase 70 percent. Feeding that many people with traditional meat production will require double the amount of deforestation, which will increase greenhouse-gas emissions by 77 percent. Bill Gates has invested in lab-grown meat companies, as has Richard Branson. "Raising meat takes a great deal of land and water and has a substantial environmental impact," Gates wrote on his personal blog, Gatesnotes.com, a few years ago. "Put simply, there's no way to produce enough meat for 9 billion people. Yet we can't ask everyone to become vegetarians. That's why we need more options for producing meat without depleting our resources." There's no way to produce enough meat for 9 billion people. Yet we can't ask everyone to become vegetarians. That's why we need more options for producing meat without depleting our resources. Bill Gates Meat production is wildly inefficient. It takes more than 38 pounds of feed to produce 1 pound of beef. That same pound of beef requires 1,799 gallons of water. We give 20 times the amount of grain needed to eliminate world hunger to farm animals instead. If the population grows according to forecasts and land disappears, the simple fact is we won't be able to keep producing meat. There won't be enough water to feed 2 billion more people eating meat. Lab-grown meat requires 100 times less land and 5.5 times less water than traditional meat. Paul Shapiro, author of Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World, says the first clean burger in 2013 cost about $300,000 dollars. Although the price is closing in on around $11 a burger, there is still a ways to go. At $50 a pound, foie gras is made for the lab The price and scale issues have led clean-meat companies to aim in both directions, developing laboratory-grown replacements for cheaper grocery-store staples, like ground meat products burgers, chicken nuggets and also steak tips. Current versions already contain filler (some of which are unsettling), so clean-meat companies will have an easier time making them. But foie gras, the incredibly expensive and controversial dish made from fatty duck liver, is also a potential success story. In addition to more conventional products, JUST (formerly Hampton Creek) is experimenting with foie gras. Animal rights activists have fought foie gras production for years, because the luxury food requires producers to force-feed ducks with a pipe so they eat enough to enlarge the liver. (The duck livers must be 10 times larger than normal.) Foie gras costs an estimated $50 per pound. Because the meat is so expensive, it is a good industry for clean-meat companies to start disrupting. "That is something we're looking at," Tetrick said. It doesn't cost JUST any more to make gourmet foods than it does to make chicken nuggets. The company's high prices won't make as much of a difference if it's competing with a food that's already very expensive. JUST is working to scale its meat production so it can move out of a lab setting. Bruce Friedrich, the CEO and co-founder of a think tank accelerator called The Good Food Institute, estimates clean-meat products will be available at a high price within two to three years, and he believes they will be cost-competitive within 10 years. Friedrich knows that until the infrastructure for clean meat is in place, companies will have to stay creative. "The soft opening will absolutely be at high price points," he said. "Certainly, foie gras is one way of going about that." The problem, however, may be that the type of person willing to pay top dollar for such a controversial food is probably not likely to be interested in an environmentally and ethically friendly alternative. Verstrate understands the foie gras strategy but has different plans. "Foie gras is a really emotional product for meat eaters," Verstrate said. "I don't think you would stand much chance in France or Spain with foie gras from a lab." MosaMeat plans to start with burgers in high-end restaurants, where it can be price-competitive. Both Tyson Foods and Cargill have invested in clean-meat company Memphis Meats, alongside billionaires Gates and Branson. "It's a train that's leaving the station," Verstrate said of the need for the established meat giants to invest early. "It's relatively cheap to buy a train ticket today." Tom Hayes, the president and CEO of Tyson Foods, said in a statement earlier this year: "A protein strategy inclusive of alternative forms is intuitive for Tyson Foods. It's another step toward giving today's consumers what they want and feeding tomorrow's consumers sustainably for years to come." When digital cameras became available, Canon invested heavily and Kodak did not. Kodak filed for bankruptcy in 2011. "Everybody wants to be Canon; nobody wants to be Kodak," Shapiro said. How clean meat is made Clean meat requires a biopsy from an animal. Scientists can then grow the muscle cells and develop them in a lab the same way the cells would grow on a living organism. To grow clean meat requires what companies call "growth media," a mixture of sugars, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Verstrate compares it to baby food. Clean meat will grow in factories that will resemble a sort of meat brewery. Clean meat will not require the land, water or crops of traditional meat production. "This is not magic; this is what they're [the cells] made to do," Verstrate said. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note finished the week lower after falling the most in six months Thursday amid a brewing trade dispute between the U.S. and China. The yield on the 10-year note fell to 2.815 percent at 4:12 p.m. ET on Friday, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond also fell, to 3.064 percent. Bond yields move inversely to prices. On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive memorandum that would inflict tariffs on Chinese imports of up to $60 billion. The measures were designed to penalize the consumer nation, with the U.S. administration stating that China's trade practices had involved stealing U.S. companies' intellectual property. Consequently, Beijing threatened to retaliate with its own set of levies. China's commerce ministry posted a statement online Friday, proposing a list of 128 U.S. products that could be possible retaliation targets. The goods concerned would have had an import value of $3 billion last year, with fresh fruit, wine, steel pipes, modified ethanol and ginseng as mentioned examples all would potentially have a levy of 15 percent, while a 25 percent tariff could be inflicted on U.S. pork and recycled aluminum goods. "I think the hindsight theme is going to be about trade friction and what that will mean for Fed policy," said Aaron Kohli, interest rate strategist BMO Capital Markets. "The Fed has a dual mandate. A full-scale trade war creates tension between those two mandates when you could see rising unemployment with inflation ticking up." But aside from trade worries, Kohli echoed fellow fixed-income commentators like Jeffrey Gundlach of DoubleLine Capital in questioning whether the economy is ready for increased borrowing costs. "You still can't get over 3 percent on 10-year yields," Kohli added. "You'll really need to see inflation take off for demand-driven reasons. People just don't seem to want to spend." tweet. The president ultimately signed the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill on Friday after threatening to veto the legislation. Tweet On Friday, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said that with the U.S. economy at or beyond full employment, the central bank should consider hiking rates regularly to keep growth from overheating. "If the economy evolves roughly as I suspect, I will likely support further increases over the course of the year," Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Tennessee Economic Forum. Tim Cook Getty Images China's retaliatory import tariffs against the U.S. are unlikely to hit technology giants, including Alphabet and Facebook, because such services have already been blocked by Beijing. On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive memorandum to impose tariffs on up to $60 billion in Chinese imports. China then hit back with tariffs of its own on 128 U.S. products with an import value of $3 billion. China's government hasn't specifically named the technology sector as one of its targets, but could potentially do so if the trade war was to escalate. Even if it did, analysts have said that the big technology giants in the U.S. would be insulated. Facebook and Google, for example, are blocked in China by the government's internet censorship system, known as the Great Firewall. In 2016, Netflix launched its biggest international push, but stayed out of China. The streaming service currently serves a small portion of its original content in China via Baidu's iQiyi video platform. Chinese internet giant Baidu, which is often dubbed the "Google of China," is the dominant search player in China. Netflix, meanwhile, faces competition not only from Baidu, but also from Tencent and Alibaba, which have their own video content products. Amazon has a small presence in China with its retail business and, in 2016, launched its Prime subscription service in the world's second-largest economy. Amazon is estimated to have a negligible share of the online shopping market in China, which is dominated by domestic players Alibaba and JD.com. Even the e-commerce giant's cloud business in China is small in comparison to local players. The story is similar for all the technology companies. Government censorship and rules have hampered the tech sector's ability to grow in China. And that means they have small businesses in the country, and would mean any tariffs imposed on them by Beijing would have a small effect. President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping chat as they walk along the front patio of the Mar-a-Lago estate after a bilateral meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., April 7, 2017. China urged the United States on Friday to "pull back from the brink" as President Donald Trump's plans for tariffs on up to $60 billion in Chinese goods moved the world's two largest economies closer to a trade war. The escalating tensions between Beijing and Washington sent shivers through financial markets as investors foresaw dire consequences for the global economy if trade barriers start going up. Trump is planning to impose the tariffs over what his administration says is a misappropriation of U.S. intellectual property. A probe was launched last year under Section 301 of the 1974 U.S. Trade Act. "China doesn't hope to be in a trade war, but is not afraid of engaging in one," the Chinese commerce ministry responded in a statement. "China hopes the United States will pull back from the brink, make prudent decisions, and avoid dragging bilateral trade relations to a dangerous place." In a presidential memorandum signed by Trump on Thursday, there will be a 30-day consultation period that only starts once a list of Chinese goods is published. That effectively creates room for potential talks to address Trump's allegations on intellectual property theft and forced technology transfers. Though the White House has said the planned tariffs were a response to China's "economic aggression," Trump said he views China as "a friend," and both sides are in the midst of negotiations. A Chinese commerce ministry official said both sides were in touch, and communication channels were smooth. Meantime, China showed readiness to retaliate by declaring plans to levy additional duties on up to $3 billion of U.S. imports including fresh fruit, wine, and nuts in response to imports tariffs Trump announced earlier this month on steel and aluminum, which were due to go into effect on Friday. The inevitable fall in demand from a full-blown trade war would spell trouble for all the economies supplying the United States and China. Feeling the chill, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 2.45 percent, tracking a large overnight fall in Wall Street shares, Shanghai shares shed 3.8 percent and Japan's Nikkei lost 4.5 percent, while perceived safe havens such as government bonds gained. "The upshot is that today's (U.S.) tariffs amount to no more than a slap on the wrist for China," Mark Williams, Chief Asia Economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a note. "China won't change its ways. Worries about escalation therefore won't go away." Williams estimated that the $506 billion that China exported to the United States drove around 2.5 percent of its total gross domestic product, and the $50 billion to 60 billion targeted by the U.S. tariffs contributed just around 0.25 percent. Trump, however, appears intent on fulfilling election campaign promises to reduce the record U.S. trade deficit with China. A commentary published by the official Xinhua news agency said the United States had adopted a "Cold War mentality", and "panic" over China's economic rise was driving Washington's confrontational approach. U.S. multinationals at a business gathering in Shanghai were warned by Stephen Roach, a Yale University economist, "to prepare for the worst" and make contingencies until calmer heads prevail. Roach said he could foresee "the Chinese government moving to restrict, in some form or another, the financial as well as the supply chain activities of American companies operating in this country." Following is the transcript of a First On CNBC interview with Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of International Trade of Canada. The interview was broadcast on CNBC on 23 March 2018. All references must be sourced to a "CNBC Interview'. Interviewed by CNBC's Bernie Lo, Akiko Fujita and Oriel Morrison. Bernie Lo (BL): Joining us on the program is Francois-Philippe Champagne. He's Canada's minister of international trade. Joining us from Singapore, where he's meeting with region officials and promoting Canada's - ironically steel and aluminum industries after attending the Canada ASEAN Business Council forum. Minister, thank you very much for joining us on the program. From one up from one native Canadian. Francois-Philippe Champagne: Good morning. BL: Welcome. A big big big Canadian welcome to the program. You must be glad you're not China's minister of international trade this morning, sir. Francois-Philippe Champagne: Well listen, first of all thank you very much for that warm welcome. Delighted to be in Singapore, you know Asia-Pacific is a very important region for Canada. We're very much a Pacific nation and being in the region, strengthening our ties with ASEAN, with Singapore, with the CPTPP bloc of countries, obviously is a priority for us. For me to be in Singapore this morning is a testament of Canada's resolve to be very much present in this part of the world BL: Yes and we'll talk, we'll definitely talk. We'll talk about that at great length minister. Can I get your input on what has happened this morning with that the U.S. tariffs and then the counter-tariffs coming from China tomorrow. You're in Asia talking about steel and aluminum and the competitiveness of Canada in these product segments at a time when tomorrow we're waiting for something which has been pre-announced by the U.S. to kick in. Canada is not part of it because you're exempted from it so that's not a problem for the time being but the stuff that's going on this morning, the U.S. versus China. Can you comment on that. I mean is this going to become a full blown trade war. Everybody's out there saying pull back, pull back, you know restrain yourselves. Francois-Philippe Champagne: Well first of all it's a very fluid situation. So we're obviously monitoring that. When there was a talk about tariffs we went out very quickly as you will recall to say this would be unacceptable and unwarranted from the Canadian perspective. In fact the U.S. has a trade surplus of about 2 billion when it comes to steel. We are as Canada, the biggest buyer of steels from the United States. And as you know well, as a fellow Canadian, our economies are integrated, so clearly we were happy to be exempted. And for us now, it's really to move and put our efforts and time in modernizing NAFTA. This is really what's on the agenda between Canada and the U.S.. And clearly, we were satisfied with that. But we need now to really get on and modernize NAFTA because we know this is the agreement which provided millions of middle-class jobs on both sides. And we're going to continue to work with the United States. And as you know, with respect to anti-dumping, Canada has very stringent laws to prevent that. So we're going to make sure that we work with our U.S. allies and other allies to enforce our rules to make sure you know, Canada wants to stand up for open rule based trade and fair trade. So we are going to be there, we're going to be with the allies in making sure that people respect trade rules. Oriel Morrison (OM): Minister, it's Oriel here in Singapore. It's a real pleasure to have you with us today. Before we focus in on NAFTA and the situation with NAFTA and where we're standing at the moment, can I just go back to Bernie's point for a moment and that is the news that's hitting the wires as we speak just about the news that's coming out from China. The tit-for-tat between the U.S. and China. Now as you mentioned your economies are very much intertwined when it comes to trade. There is a big sell-off that we seeing in Australia. It is also very commodity-heavy economy. Now what does it mean for Canada if this situation does escalate. Francois-Philippe Champagne: Well no one is winning obviously from trade wars. So definitely Canada, we're going to stand out with our allies to make sure that the rules are enforced. Like I said when it comes to dumping we have very stringent rules in Canada. We're going enforce them. We're going to work with the international community but you must understand that as a country like Canada, we believe in open trade and fair trade and certainly we're going to be monitoring as you said it's very fluid this morning. We have to make sure that we protect Canadian workers, we protect our steel and aluminum industry, and we have the laws on the book to do that. So now we're going to be monitoring with our allies and make sure that we enforce those rules. But like I said our priority as Canada is obviously to modernize NAFTA now. OM: All right, let's get back to NAFTA then minister. Where do you think that you are at the moment? Obviously the auto sector has been a big sticking point. It looks like there may be a breakthrough on that front. Are we likely to see NAFTA extended over another three years as was talked about just yesterday. Or do you think an agreement will be coming much sooner than that. Francois-Philippe Champagne: Well you know the word is cautiously optimistic. You know we saw positive signs from the White House and Ambassador Lighthizer. So, obviously we're monitoring that. We want to modernize now as you know. NAFTA's an agreement that's been in place for more than two decades, has been amended about 12 times. There's chapter like for example, e-commerce that did not exist. And the reality in North America, there's no two nations who are trading more you know, we exchange 2.4 billion of goods and services per day. We have 400,000 people crossing the border every day. We buy more from the U.S. than China, Japan and the U.K. combined. So you appreciate that when we are in this discussion it's not a relation of buyers and sellers. We make things together, and because of that we have created prosperity on both sides of the border and we want to continue that. We want to modernize NAFTA. And like I said, what we heard from the White House and Ambassador Lighthizer gives us comfort in saying that we are cautiously optimistic about the speed and the outcome of these negotiations. Akiko Fujita (AF): Minister I wonder if Canada has a plan B here if in fact NAFTA doesn't go through. Francois-Philippe Champagne: Well there's never been a better time to diversify. I'm saying that to Canadians. Clearly the U.S. will always be our largest trading partner because of the size of the economy and the geography. On the other hand, I think Canadians understand that the center of gravity of the world economy is shifting toward the Asia-Pacific. And when you think about trade, you have to look over decades, so that's why we did a free trade with Europe. We were part of the CPTPP to be part of writing the rules of trade in Asia-Pacific, that was very important for us. And we're discussing with the ASEAN nations, so my presence here in Singapore is a testament to that that we're very much a Pacific nation. We understand that we need to position Canada for the future and for the next few decades, and that's why for us it wasn't important to be part of the CPTPP. AF: I know you've talked about modernizing NAFTA here, and Canada is exempt from the steel and aluminum tariffs, but the Trump administration has made it very clear this is contingent on the NAFTA negotiations. In other words, they're willing to come back to the table and think about slapping these tariffs on Canada if they don't get a favorable deal on NAFTA. Now you know, this is all seen as a very transactional thing for this administration, and I have to wonder, for somebody who has been in this space for a very long time. Do you think this is the way international trade deals should be made. Francois-Philippe Champagne: No, I mean we've been very clear from the start that those are separate tracks. You know when it comes to steel and aluminum, I said you know the U.S. has a steel surplus with Canada. We buy more steel than anyone else from the United States. And you know to suggest in any shape or form that Canada would be a threat to U.S. national security when we're partners, friends and allies. And I know that, for example, NATO was definitely unwarranted. You know, we make things together and I think that message was received in Washington that you know our industry are integrated and the best way forward is to work together with respect to that. And if there are concerns, we should address them together. Now when it comes to NAFTA, like I said, let's be clear this is an agreement that needs modernization and this is an area which has provided millions of good middle-class jobs. This is something that we know President Trump has had in his campaign and our prime minister as well. And one decision on one side of the border will have impact on both sides, so that's why we have been at the table. We are positive, we are constructive. But we have also been firm, you saw us when it comes to softwood lumber, when it came to Boeing, because we're always going to be there to protect Canadian industry and obviously Canadian workers and that's something that nations respect, when you stand up for your own obviously workers and industry. BL: Yup. Minister final, before we let you go. You know, we're still talking a lot about the WTO and really kind of, there's a renewed debate about the relevance of it because looking at the different angles from which the administration in the U.S. is taking on trade, some of it is dredging up some pretty old statutes on the books, on the basis of national security. I mean that's a bit of a curveball to the world. Are we getting into a fragmented world where that's going to be defined by bilateral and multilateral and things like the CPTPP? And is the WTO just going to fade away into the history books like an old picture in a photo album? Francois-Philippe Champagne: Well I would say, I would urge caution. Those who are questioning the World Trade Order, let's remember that the IMF, the World Bank, the WTO were institutions that were built after the Second World War which have provided stability, predictability and peace around the world and making sure that the rules of international trade are established, that they are fair they are understood and they are fairly applied. So I would say to anyone, caution, because this has provided, has lifted millions of people out of poverty, has provided a lot of stability. And we know that if you're investors, you want stability, protected in rule of law. And we have all benefited from that rule based trading order so certainly, Canada is going to be at the forefront with other allies with other nations, to make sure that we certainly improve. But that we maintain what is good and making sure that this way, we preserve growth in the world and that we continue to improve to progressive and inclusive trade. I think that's what citizens expect from us now is certainly to modernize institutions but certainly let's make sure that we preserve predictable stability that we had for over many decades now in international trade. BL: Minister, merci beaucoup very much for your time today appreciate it. Have a good rest of your trip. END Last month's tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and the activism it inspired, have forced large public companies into the debate over how to mitigate gun violence. More than half of major companies taking part in a CNBC quarterly survey say they need to take up the gun-control challenge. Half of North America-based members of the CNBC Global CFO Council agree that companies like theirs have a responsibility, where possible, to take action to mitigate gun violence, according to the CNBC Global CFO Council survey. And more than half (54.5 percent) said companies are taking action now because the government won't. The CNBC Global CFO Council represents some of the largest public and private companies in the world, collectively managing more than $4 trillion in market capitalization across a wide variety of sectors. Companies, including Hertz, Delta Airlines and MetLife, ended relationships with the National Rifle Association last month after facing pressure on social media. Dick's Sporting Goods made headlines when it announced it was ending sales of all assault-style rifles in its stores. On Thursday, Citigroup became the first major Wall Street bank to implement a gun-control policy since the Parkland shooting, saying it will not do business or offer banking services such as credit cards and capital raises to companies that sell guns to customers less than 21 years of age, or to those who do not pass a background check. Citigroup's policy also bars businesses that sell bump stocks and high-capacity magazines. Major asset managers, such as BlackRock, the world's largest investment company and a major holder of gun stocks, have said they are engaging gun companies in a dialogue. Three of the 22 CFOs responding to the CNBC survey said their companies have addressed the issue by ending relationships with gun makers and/or the NRA in the aftermath of the February 14 shooting. Another five say their companies took some kind of action following previous mass shootings that remains in effect today. Two CFOs said their companies took some kind of other action in the wake of the latest school shooting. Some of the nation's loudest and most prominent conservative voices tore into President Donald Trump on Friday, lambasting the president over his decision to sign a $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill just hours after he threatened to veto it. The attacks represented a swift about-face from a group that typically comprises some of Trump's biggest cheerleaders. Laura Ingraham, the conservative radio host, wrote on Twitter that it was a "missed opportunity" for the president. "If he loses the House, Dems will go straight to impeachment," she added. LAURA INGRAHAM TWEET Author and commentator Ann Coulter also warned the president that signing the bill, and thereby betraying his conservative base, could lead to his impeachment. "I will never sign another bill like this again," Coulter quoted Trump saying during remarks about the bill. "Yeah, because you'll be impeached," Coulter added below the quote. Coulter, whose most recent book was titled, "In Trump We Trust," also labeled Trump as "President Schumer," a reference to liberal Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. ANN COULTER TWEET The actor and outspoken conservative James Woods also took a swipe at the president, writing: "The Democrats gave you the rope, Mr. President, and you just hanged yourself with it." He added the hashtag #ByeByeGOP, an apparent reference to the Republican majority in Congress. JAMES WOODS TWEET At the White House on Friday, Trump tried to justify his decision to sign the bill by saying it was in the interest of national security. The measure contains billions of dollars in additional spending for the Pentagon, which Republicans sought. Yet it also has funding for discretionary domestic programs, which Democrats demanded in order to help get the bill over the 60-vote threshold in the Senate. To staunch fiscal conservatives, this combination was the worst possible outcome. The bill Trump eventually signed also angered conservatives by maintaining funding for Planned Parenthood, the nonprofit women's health-care provider and perennial target of the right. Anti-abortion activists had hoped the spending bill would expand the current ban on taxpayer funding of abortions, known as the Hyde Amendment, to include private insurers who received federal bailout money. They also wanted the omnibus to contain a so-called "conscience protection" clause, allowing health-care providers to refuse to perform abortions if the procedure violated their religious or moral beliefs. But neither of these was included in the final legislation. China's response to President Donald Trump's tariffs was so swift that it was actually quite embarrassing for the United States, according to CNBC's Jim Cramer. Earlier Friday, China announced plans for reciprocal tariffs on 128 U.S. products, including pork, wine, fruit and steel. It came a day after Trump's announcement of tariffs on up to $60 billion in Chinese imports. Chinese President Xi Jinping "had a list that was so ready of what they're blocking," Cramer said on "Squawk on the Street" Friday. "They are so ready for what we do, it's embarrassing." "Do you think that [China] has not figured this stuff out," asked Cramer. "They've got a game plan." Trump said his tariffs on China, which primarily target certain products in the technology sector, would be "the first of many" trade actions. Beijing said it would take measures against the U.S. goods in two stages if it cannot reach an agreement with Washington. Cramer said Trump will have to "up his game," because China was more prepared than the U.S., calling it a "beat down." "You don't wing it with the Chinese. The Chinese are so ready for us," said Cramer, host of CNBC's "Mad Money." Trump "better understand that these guys have been in a war against us for years." "If you're going to be in a trade war with these guys, you have to be better than they are," he added. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. XPO Logistics, Inc.: "I'm holding it. My charitable trust sold it too soon. This company is doing much better than every other company in the business. Stay long." Prospect Capital Corporation: "That yield north of 10 [percent] tells me to be concerned. I am not going to recommend that stock." CyrusOne Inc.: "It's a REIT. The real estate investment trusts are doing poorly. It yields 4 percent, but it's data center. When that [yield] goes between 4 and 5 percent, I am going to say buy it." ON Semiconductor: "I like [it] very, very much. It's an inexpensive semi. They're coming down. It's a buy." Altice USA, Inc.: "No. That's got too much debt. Not going to be there for me." Cypress Semiconductor Corp.: "Cypress Semi is a very good semiconductor [company]. However, there is a lot of speculative money in it. I think it can go down to $16. Don't pull the trigger now." Michael Dell David A. Grogan | CNBC Michael Dell is going to have to sell VMware on a deal to merge. Fortunately for him, he may have about $9 billion of found money to play with. And getting the deal done may come down to how much of that he immediately transfers to VMware shareholders. The "found money" would come from Dell's tracking stock, DVMT, which trades at about a 40 percent discount to VMware for a variety of reasons, including having no voting rights. The tracking stock's purpose is to mimic the performance of VMware within Dell, the closely held technology company owned by Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake. If DVMT is consolidated within Dell and VMware, the tracking discount will disappear, as all shareholders will own the same publicly traded stock. There are about 200 million outstanding shares of DVMT, each of which trades around $74. VMware shares trade at about $120. Erasing a discount would be the equivalent of more than $9 billion in new wealth. Theoretically, that value could be transferred to VMware shareholders through a still-to-be-determined exchange ratio. And VMware's special committee may demand most of it, given the company's consternation over a deal. VMware employees and shareholders have reacted with concern over a potential merger, especially as the company's shares have slumped on several CNBC stories detailing news of a potential merger. Dell hasn't yet submitted a formal proposal to VMware's special committee, according to people familiar with the matter. Dell is working with Bain & Company to get a perspective on a valuation for the company and an impartial assessment of synergies between the two companies. That is needed so VMware can fairly judge a merger, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. Dell, VMware and Bain declined to comment. Sweetening the deal for reluctant VMware shareholders Still, the $9 billion, which could be split among DVMT, Dell and VMware shareholders via an exchange ratio, may need to be skewed toward VMware shareholders who are otherwise reluctant to approve a larger, more diversified combined company saddled with debt and lower-growth hardware. Earlier this week, T. Rowe Price, the largest institutional VMware shareholder, said publicly it opposed a potential merger. T. Rowe owns about 12 percent of all outstanding class A shares. Jericho Capital, which owns about 1.8 percent of outstanding shares, sent a letter to VMware's board of directors earlier this month outlining other potential acquisitions for VMware that would keep the company on a higher growth trajectory. Jericho also said a deal was "highly concerning" because it would use VMware's cash to "go towards servicing Dell's debt instead of towards share buybacks or strategic acquisitions." Dell has about $52 billion in debt. While some shareholders have complained, merging with Dell could make the new company more appealing to index funds and technology investors looking for large-cap bellwether investments. A combined Dell-VMware would fuse Dell's hardware with remaining aspects of EMC's hybrid cloud solution and VMware's virtualization software. Dell acquired EMC -- and its 81 percent stake in VMware -- for $67 billion in the largest pure technology deal in history in 2015. If Dell can't get a deal done with VMware, it may sell off other assets for liquidity or potentially pursue a reverse merger through DVMT, becoming a public entity that way, said two of the people. Pivotal Software filed its S-1 for an initial public offering today, which will give Dell proceeds to help pay off its debt. But the VMware deal is still option number one, the people said. While DVMT and VMware shareholders aren't guaranteed shareholder votes on a deal, the Dell and VMware special committees have the option to allow for them. WATCH: Why Dell-VMware reverse merger would be 'horror show' Investors have renewed confidence in Nike after a blowout quarter. Even before the company reported earnings, the charts showed Nike as a buy, says one market technician. "We like the chart, we like the longer-term setup from what we're seeing here," Craig Johnson, chief market technician at Piper Jaffray, told CNBC's "Trading Nation" on Thursday. "You can see that there's this big base that's been forming over the last two years." "You're seeing improving relative strength and from our perspective on the charts, a close above $68 is going to open up the possibilities of a whole 'nother leg higher from here," he added. Nike shares are consolidating around the 50-day moving average, a level of resistance around $67 to $68 a share, says Johnson. As of Thursday's close, Nike was trading slightly below its 50-day moving average, though it has held above its 100-day and 200-day moving averages this year. The sporting brand's relative strength index is also headed lower, moving closer to oversold conditions after a sell-off this week. Its RSI, a measure of overbought and oversold conditions, ended Thursday at 41.43. A level below 30 indicates a stock is oversold. "We like what we're seeing, we like the relative strength, we think it's a buy," said Johnson. Nike earned an adjusted 68 cents a share over its third quarter, far higher than an anticipated estimate of 53 cents. Revenue surged more than 6 percent to $8.99 billion, led by international growth. Sales came in higher than consensus. A broader market sell-off dragged Nike shares lower this week. Its stock was down nearly 3 percent in the week as of Thursday's close, putting it on track for its worst weekly loss in more than a month. However, the stock was up nearly 5 percent in Friday's premarket. For the full year as of Thursday's close, shares have added 3 percent, making it just one of eight Dow stocks positive in 2018. There's value elsewhere in the retail space, notably among home improvement chains, adds Larry McDonald, founder of the Bear Traps Report. McDonald predicts a big windfall for retailers such as Home Depot and Lowe's, housed in the XHB Homebuilders ETF, if Congress finalizes financial reforms in the next few weeks. "Legislation in Washington on community banks is extremely beneficial to the XHB," said McDonald. "Those homebuilders have exposure to the consumer, and this legislation is really going to free up a tremendous amount of lending to smaller banks." McDonald expects easing of Dodd-Frank regulations implemented after the 2008 financial crisis to lead to a pickup in activity at smaller and regional banks. Increased lending might then incentivize homebuilding and homebuying, trickling down to the home-improvement space. As of Thursday's closing, the XHB ETF had fallen 8 percent this year, while Lowe's and Home Depot had dropped more than 7 percent. Elon Musk isn't afraid of a bad idea. In fact, the billionaire CEO recently tweeted, "Creating a rocket company has to be one of the dumbest and hardest ways to 'make money'." Tweet And as USA Today pointed out, the billionaire CEO recently described starting SpaceX and Tesla, the two companies he's best known for founding, as possibly "the dumbest things to do" in terms of new ventures. That's surprising, to say the least, especially considering that Tesla has a market cap over $52 billion, while Forbes values the private rocket company SpaceX at more than $20 billion. "If you were to do a risk-adjusted rate of return estimate on various industry opportunities, I would put building rockets and cars pretty close to the bottom of the list. They would have to be the dumbest things to do," Musk told Jonathan Nolan, the co-creator of HBO's "Westworld," during a SXSW Interactive panel in Austin in March. Musk said he founded SpaceX and became CEO of Tesla because he believed in the companies' abilities to change the world for the better. "I gave basically both SpaceX and Tesla from the beginning a probability of less than 10 percent likelihood to succeed," Musk said, citing the wide array of challenges associated with building rocket ships within the private sector. He also noted the difficulty of launching a mass-market electric car in the ultra-competitive auto industry, where he said there is a "graveyard of companies" that went bankrupt trying to do so. Despite the risks, Musk said he wanted to find solutions for "things that don't seem to be working that are important for our life and for the future to be good." And Musk's career shows that he is nothing if not a risk-taker. Musk has said that a "crazy" number of people tried talking him out of going into the rocket business before he founded SpaceX in 2002. "One good friend of mine collected a whole series of videos of rockets blowing up and made me watch those. He just didn't want me to lose all my money," Musk said on CBS's "60 Minutes" in 2014. Musk reportedly earned $180 million in 2002 from eBay's $1.5 billion purchase of PayPal. Musk had been the largest shareholder of the money-transfer service after it merged with his own online payments company, X.com, in 2000. Musk said during his talk at SXSW, that after the sale of PayPal, he was trying to decide between new ventures involving either electric cars (he had planned to study "advanced energy storage techniques for electric vehicles" at Stanford before dropping out of his PhD program at age 24) or space. He felt that space ventures were the least likely to attract a lot of entrepreneurs. "I thought, 'nobody is going to be crazy enough to do space, so I'd better do space,'" said Musk. But instead of focusing solely on what was already an ambitious venture in SpaceX, Musk decided two years later, in 2004, to get involved with Tesla, leading a Series A investment round and joining the company's board as chairman. At SXSW, Musk said it was the "biggest mistake of my career" to think that he could easily balance his time between SpaceX and Tesla. More Americans may be deleting Facebook in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica data privacy scandal, but the social media giant is adding people to its ranks in a way that does pay: through thousands of new jobs. Facebook's struggles to contain the privacy and linked Russian election interference headlines underscore a big trend in technology careers that is still being sorted out and spent heavily on by major players. As smart as artificial intelligence gets, it is still not up to many critical job tasks that are required to protect companies from risks that can destroy not only bottom lines but reputations. The number of new jobs being created by Facebook reflects the scope of the challenge. Facebook is adding 5,000 jobs before the end of the year in security and community operations. That is on top of 5,000 new positions already added this year. By year-end Facebook jobs in these areas will have increased from 10,000 to 20,000 (the teams involved are at 15,000 currently). One position, content reviewer, is already staffed by Facebook with 7,500 workers. That's roughly the same number of employees as the entire workforce of Twitter and Snap combined. The 5,000 Facebook workers still to be added this year is a larger number than either of those companies, and represents 20 percent of Facebook's reported total employee level of approximately 25,000. An employee waits for an elevator at a Facebook office. Toby Melville | Reuters Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg told CNBC on Thursday, "We need to do more; we continue to do more. We are massively ramping hiring. We are going to continue to ramp even faster." It was Facebook CEO's Mark Zuckerberg's comments to the New York Times and Wired, though, that laid out the limitations of A.I. and the need for human hiring. "One of the big things we needed to do is coordinate our efforts a lot better across the whole company. It's not all A.I., right? There's certainly a lot that A.I. can do. We can train classifiers to identify content, but most of what we do is identify things that people should look at. So we're going to double the amount of people working on security this year. ... So it's really the technical systems we have working with the people in our operations functions that make the biggest deal," he told the Times. A.I. is not yet 'solved' The Facebook CEO told Wired that when he started Facebook in 2004, "People shared stuff and then they flagged it and we tried to look at it. But no one was saying, 'Hey, you should be able to proactively know every time someone posts something bad,' because the A.I. tech was much less evolved, and we were a couple of people in a dorm room. ... But now you fast-forward almost 15 years and A.I. is not solved, but it is improving." He also said, "As A.I. tools get better and better, will be able to proactively determine what might be offensive content or violate some rules, what therefore is the responsibility and legal responsibility of companies to do that?" Sandberg told CNBC that A.I. can catch "99 percent" of the "bad actors" in some content areas, but internet watchdogs are less sure, and after a week that was the worst for Facebook shares since 2012 and saw tens of billions in Facebook market capitalization erased daily it seems like the "responsibility" of companies merits more spending on human talent. Simply put, algorithms are not as good as people at context. "What we are learning is that you can't just throw more A.I. at a lot of these problems. You need people who understand how to train these systems so that they have the insight they need, and then how to monitor them," said Natasha Duarte, a policy analyst at the Center for Democracy & Technology. "They have to review flagged content and see what the tools might be missing, and understand how to go back and add training and data and try to improve the tools accuracy." Facebook is looking for workers to fill jobs in content moderation "content reviewers" who are tasked with taking correct action on a reported piece of content based on the company's Community Standards. The focus in hiring for this type of role is language and market knowledge to ensure the company has the most appropriate cultural context to cover content coming from all over the world, according to information provided to CNBC. These people work to detect fake accounts, improve authentication, reduce harassment and scams and promote child safety, among other tasks related to safety. Facebook moderators are paid above average in the industry, according to information provided by Facebook to CNBC, and are offered additional benefits, which include resiliency training (stress-related training) and support. It is a topic of conversation that comes up with increasing frequency. It's bleeding edge, A.I. and machine learning and analytics and data scientists, and all of it wraps into this one space with lots of buzzwords, which leads to lots of ambiguity. Samantha Wallace a technology practice leader at Korn Ferry Diversity in hiring is also key, a Facebook spokesperson told CNBC. Duarte said diversity in hiring is critical. "If you ask me what I think is the most important, whoever tech companies hire, they need people from diverse backgrounds, racially diverse and diverse in terms of gender, and especially when we are talking about content moderation, there is a cultural element to that. You want to make sure people working on automated solutions for content are not just all from one cultural background." The exact number of Facebook hires to be made in content review is not known and will be a part of the 5,000 new jobs spread across security and safety. The broader team includes experts in enforcement in areas like child safety, hate speech, counterterrorism and legal specialists. So it would include roles such as engineers or those who work directly with law enforcement. Not all of the new jobs are full-time with Facebook. The 5,000 jobs number includes a mix of full-time employees, independent contractors and outsourced positions managed by vendor partners, at least in part driven by the need to match the work with Facebook's needs across global time zones, languages and markets. Samantha Wallace, who leads the technology practice for Korn Ferry's division that focuses on mid-level search, said the Facebook hiring drive reflects the difficulty companies are having in figuring out how to best take advantage of A.I. and how to not become overly confident in it at the same time. "It is a topic of conversation that comes up with increasing frequency," Wallace said. "It's bleeding edge, A.I. and machine learning and analytics and data scientists, and all of it wraps into this one space with lots of buzzwords, which leads to lots of ambiguity." Wallace said that she can't speak to Facebook's hiring specifically, but the search firm has found that outside of the core competencies related to A.I., which require advanced degrees in science and math, traits like curiosity and persistence and creativity are important for hiring in roles related to the massive amount of data. "Harnessing it is one thing, and there's a technical role, but to make it something useful and strategic in decision-making requires non-technical traits within the A.I. world." Wallace said there is an ocean of data that creates security and content issues, and that requires the subjective perspective from a human being to decide which pieces of data or content make it to the smaller pool that is widely shared. Google has in the past year been hiring more workers to filter terrorism-related content, but this isn't just an issue for social media companies, though they may feel it most acutely. "Across industries the content-management question is real for all organizations," Wallace said. "In social media there is wide audience interacting with the platform on a daily basis, but others could be web-based or product descriptions disseminated through other channels. The content piece is important. ... These challenges are true for any organization, the integrity of data and security." You can't build an algorithm to police the algorithm "We're a successful enough company that we can employ 15,000 people to work on security and all of the different forms of community [operations]," Zuckerberg told the Times. The Korn Ferry recruiter said there is a huge movement to fill these positions, but there is also ambiguity about the responsibilities of the positions because it's an emerging field. "I think across industries there is a tidal wave of need coming and there is an ongoing shortage of talent coming into the space," Wallace said. Companies aren't only playing catch-up but "over-resourcing" for these positions, she said, because they know they will have to "upscale" certain workers and create new skill sets in the future. "They know there will be a need and know there will be a shortage, so they build a team ... to make sure they have the resources in place when risks materialize in a critical way," Wallace said. She added, "Organizations are moving to the 'We have to add these people now, even if we don't know what they will do, what we will do with them.'" "You can't just build an algorithm to police the algorithm," Duarte said. Companies need to have a diverse human pool with different academic backgrounds to come together and decide what a platform is really about and how a company wants it to serve users. Duarte said that if that task is left to A.I. and the engineers who build the code, they will invariably get it wrong. "Hate speech and sarcasm can be confused," Duarte said. "It takes humans who understand the full scope and context to spot issues where we should be worried about an [A.I.] classifier going wrong." She said Zuckerberg's comments about bridging the technical systems with the people in operations speaks to the potential divisions that stand in the way of proper decision-making. There are teams that work on content policy and on privacy policy and make the decisions to advocate for policies to govern platforms, and then there are the engineers who build the tools. "Ideally, you have integration between policy and engineers, so policy goals are then informing tool builds," Duarte said. Even when companies like Facebook try to get it right in response to failings, the responses still have a history of failing themselves. Duarte pointed to her group's efforts to get Facebook to crack down on affinity targeting in ads, for example, routing ads related to homebuying away from minority groups a social media ad version of the unfair mortgage and real estate industry practices that made homebuying for African Americans difficult for much of the 20th century. In 2016 the Center for Democracy & Technology advocated for more rules and guidance around how advertisers could target those ads. Facebook said it was fixing the problem and put out a blog post on its efforts. A subsequent investigation by ProPublica found that the Facebook fix didn't fix the problem ProPublica was able to serve ads in the exact way it shouldn't have been allowed to do anymore. "We can't just throw A.I. at it, and we don't want to have policy team and engineers siloed separately while building tools," Duarte said. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Getty Images The potential breakup of General Electric may unlock more value than previously thought, Melius Research analysts wrote in a note Friday. Past looks at the value of GE's individual businesses also known as a "sum-of-the-parts" analysis cast doubt on whether a fire sale of GE's assets would even fetch today's price at $13.28 per share. But Melius found that spinoffs from U.S. industrial companies return twice the value of the broader stock market, revealing a more optimistic forecast for GE. "GE's [sum-of-the-parts] as an example likely undervalues the assets by 25 percent or more," Melius wrote. Former industrial conglomerates are shedding assets due to pressure from both shareholders and activist investors, Melius found. Coupled with a "lack of interest in traditional conglomerates," more spinoffs from GE, Johnson Controls, Honeywell and others are likely in the near future, according to the firm. These spinoffs have "historically created outsized value," Melius said. A spinoff removes what Melius called the bureaucratic culture that comes with a large conglomerate. Therefore, "even with lackluster" spinoffs, employees are reinvigorated and able to achieve greater efficiency than were ever probable under the conglomerate. Spinoffs also get a boost from "the scrutiny of a new shareholder base," according to Melius. Taken out from under the wing of a conglomerate, a spinoff can no longer disguise financial results from investors. GlaxoSmithKline has withdrawn from the race to buy Pfizer's consumer healthcare business, the British company said on Friday, endangering an auction the U.S. drugmaker hoped would bring in as much as $20 billion. It was not immediately clear whether there were other offers for the business, which includes Advil painkillers and Centrum vitamins, following this week's deadline for binding bids. GSK was seen as the frontrunner to buy the assets, after Reckitt Benckiser quit the race late on Wednesday. "While we will continue to review opportunities that may accelerate our strategy, they must meet our criteria for returns and not compromise our priorities for capital allocation," GSK Chief Executive Emma Walmsley said in a statement. GSK shares rose 3 percent, as investors' concerns about a potential dividend cut eased. Sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday there might still be interest in the Pfizer business, or the U.S. firm could decide against a sale. Pfizer said on Friday it continued to evaluate potential alternatives for the business, which include a spin-off, sale or other transaction, as well as retaining it. "We have not yet made a decision, but continue to expect to make one in 2018," a spokesman said. Pfizer is the world's fifth-largest player in consumer health with 2.5 percent of a market bolstered by aging populations and growing interest in health and wellness. The business, which also includes Chapstick lip balm and Caltrate supplements, came to market at a bad time for both GSK and Reckitt. Pfizer's hope of proceeds of around $20 billion, or about 20 times the unit's core earnings according to Bernstein analysts, contrasted with both companies' need for financial discipline. After teasing a potential veto of the colossal $1.3 trillion omnibus, President Donald Trump signed the spending bill into law Friday, touting it as a "matter of national security." "We had no choice but to fund our military because we have to have by far the strongest military in the world," Trump said during an impromptu White House press event. "You see the players out there, and you see what we are dealing with." Trump's signature on the 2,200-page legislation grants the most significant increase in defense funding in the past 15 years. The Department of Defense is set to gain $61 billion more than last year's enacted funding for a top line of $700 billion. House Speaker Paul Ryan referred to the bill as the "Trump-Jim Mattis budget," on "Fox & Friends" on Thursday morning. He added: "Obama shortchanged our military; this fixes us." U.S. Marines during a graduation ceremony aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot in Parris Island, S.C. Lance Cpl. Aneshea Yee | U.S. Marine Corps Defense Secretary James Mattis, who stood behind Trump during the presser, framed the bill as a needed measure to preserve the lethality of U.S. forces. "Today we have received the largest military budget in history, reversing many years of declining and unpredictable funding, and together we are going to make our military stronger than ever," Mattis said. "We in the military are humbled and grateful to the American people for their sacrifices on behalf of this funding. Now, it is our responsibility in the military to spend every dollar wisely in order to keep the trust and the confidence of the American people and the Congress." The funding in the defense-friendly bill will be spread over the Pentagon's base budget of $589.5 billion and $65.2 billion for the overseas contingency operations, or OCO, budget. The remainder of the $700 billion is appropriated to other defense-related programs outside the Department of Defense. The measure also provides $238 billion for operations and maintenance, $89.2 billion for research and development, $9.5 billion for the Missile Defense Agency and $137.7 billion for personnel pay a 2.4 percent increase from fiscal year 2017. The omnibus allocates $144.3 billion for military equipment procurement, too. Here's a look at some of the big-ticket items: Armored vehicles A U.S. M1A1 Abrams main battle tank Cpl. Tyler Main | United States Marines $1.1 billion for the upgrade of 85 Abrams tanks: America's stalwart M1 Abrams, used in nearly every major U.S. conflict since its inception in 1980, serves as the main battle tank of the Army and Marines. At close to 70 tons, the Abrams tank is among the heaviest in the world, but it makes up for its weight with firepower and maneuverability. $483 million for the upgrade of 145 Bradley fighting vehicles $300 million for Stryker lethality upgrades Ships An MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 77 prepares to land aboard the littoral combat ship USS Freedom. U.S. Navy $23.8 billion for 14 ships: "Our Navy is at about the lowest point in terms of ships that it has been in over 100 years," Trump said. "We are adding a significant number of extremely advanced, advanced vessels." The Navy ship procurement includes funding for one aircraft carrier replacement, two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, two Virginia-class submarines, three littoral combat ships, one expeditionary sea base, one expeditionary fast transport, one amphibious ship replacement, one fleet oiler, one rescue ship and one oceanographic survey ship. Aircraft A Lockheed Martin F-35B from Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501. Source: Lockheed Martin $10.2 billion for 90 F-35 fighter jets: Lockheed Martin's fifth-generation stealth fighter, valued at an acquisition cost of $406.5 billion, is the Pentagon's most expensive weapons system. Trump called the F-35 "the most sophisticated aircraft in the world" and noted its stealth capabilities. "They're hard to find, they're hard to see, therefore they are hard to beat. It's very tough to beat a plane when you can't see," Trump said. An F/A-18 Super Hornet attached to the Gladiators of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106 takes off from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). Source: U.S. Navy $1.8 billion for 24 F/A-18 fighter jets: Earlier this month, Trump called Boeing's F-18 fighter jet "a work of art" and said it was "his favorite plane." Trump also noted that the U.S. plans to buy 24 more F-18 jets, saying the planes would be the "latest and the greatest stealth and a lot of things on that plane that people don't even know about." And while the Navy and Boeing are currently negotiating a service life modification contract that could add some components native to a stealth aircraft, as it stands now, Boeing does not field stealthy F-18s capable of evading radar. A U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter. Source: U.S. Army $1.1 billion for 56 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters: Trump described Sikorsky's Black Hawk helicopters as "fighting machines" and the "most advanced helicopters in the world." $1.6 billion for 30 new and 50 remanufactured Apache helicopters Boeing KC-46A Tanker. Source: The Boeing Company $2.9 billion for 15 KC-46 tanker aircraft: Boeing, the world's largest manufacturer of jetliners, has missed several deadlines for the Air Force's new aerial refueling tanker. The defense giant is currently under contract to deliver 18 tankers to the Air Force by the end of this year. "The tanker aircraft is very important based on everything. It allows our planes to travel anywhere in the world without landing," Trump said. WATCH: Trump says spending heavily on missile defense A child suffering from polio in Afghanistan. Getty Images Polio in people and in the environment Wild poliovirus is not particularly hardy and can't survive for long in the environment. If the virus cannot find an unvaccinated person to serve as its host, it will die. This fact means vaccination efforts can fully exterminate the virus by denying it a place to live in human hosts. The world's polio eradication campaign has already done away with two of the three naturally occurring wild polioviruses. Wild poliovirus type 2 was last seen in 1999, and there has not been a case of wild poliovirus type 3 since 2012. Polio spreads primarily through water contaminated with the feces of an infected person. Where sources of drinking water come into contact with sewage waste often the case in developing countries like Pakistan the virus spreads easily. To complicate matters, nearly 3 out of 4 people infected with the poliovirus never have any symptoms at all. So most carriers of polio never know they harbor the virus, or that they're spreading it to others. In addition, those who do have symptoms usually seem to have the flu, with fever, headaches, body aches and vomiting. In only around 1 percent of cases do symptoms include temporary or permanent paralysis. This means that it is possible for the virus to exist and spread in a community even when there are no diagnosed cases of polio. For that reason, public health workers use two different measures to gauge the success of a vaccination effort: the number of people diagnosed with polio, and how much of the virus is found in the environment. Cultural challenges Pharmaceutical challenges Public health officials have two types of polio vaccine in their medical supply kit: an oral vaccine and an inactivated vaccine. Both are necessary to eradicate polio. The oral vaccine is made from live weakened virus. The inactivated version is made with dead virus. The oral vaccination works significantly better against naturally occurring poliovirus, known as wild poliovirus. Additionally, the administration method being given by mouth is thought to increase vaccine uptake because it does not require an injection. The body builds immunity from this live vaccine, and then can withstand the virus if exposed to it in the future. Countries where polio is present must use the oral vaccine in order to eliminate wild poliovirus because the inactivated vaccine does not stop its transmission since it produces lower levels of mucosal immunity. Though necessary, using the live oral vaccine comes with some challenges. For example, it can cause vaccine-derived cases of polio, which include cases of paralysis. In this unfortunate and extremely rare scenario, the vaccine meant to prevent a terrible illness directly transmits it. Of the 10 billion doses of oral polio vaccine administered since 2000, there have only been 760 cases of vaccine-derived polio. Though the oral vaccine is vital to the eradication of wild poliovirus, its use must be discontinued as soon as the wild virus is wiped out. Otherwise, it runs the risk of hindering complete eradication by perpetuating existence of poliovirus in the environment through human excrement and continuing to introduce new vaccine-derived cases of the disease. Once Pakistan is declared free of wild poliovirus, the eradication campaign must switch to using the inactivated vaccine. Because the inactivated vaccine provokes a weaker immune response, it doesn't effectively disrupt transmission of wild poliovirus. But it does protect against the weaker vaccine-derived poliovirus, and it doesn't contribute to vaccine-derived cases. Once the only remaining strains are vaccine-derived, inactivated vaccines can be used to completely wipe out the disease. It is likely that a world without polio may not be too far off in the future and then infectious disease researchers can make use of the lessons learned in Pakistan as they move the fight to other diseases elsewhere around the world. Japan's Financial Services Agency issued a warning Friday to major cryptocurrency exchange Binance for operating without registration in the country. Hong Kong-based Binance was operating in Japan through the internet without a license for a virtual currency exchange, according to a Google translation of the Japanese-language statement. Bitcoin traded 3.4 percent lower near $8,417, according to CoinDesk at 10:20 a.m. ET. Source: CryptoCompare Japanese authorities recognized bitcoin as legal tender last April and require cryptocurrency exchanges to register with the government. Sixteen exchanges have done so, March 7, the Japanese Financial Services Agency said. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao confirmed receipt of the warning, tweeting: "Our lawyers called JFSA immediately, and will find a solution." Tweet It was not clear whether Binance was still operating in Japan, and Zhao did not respond to a CNBC request for comment. Zhao said in a Bloomberg report that the company tried to get a license in Japan but has decided to remove its staff from its office. Bitcoin one-week performance Source: CoinDesk Reuters reported Thursday, citing a source familiar with the matter, that if Binance does not heed the warning, the agency will file a criminal complaint. The agency would not confirm that part of the report in an email to CNBC. Japan has become one of the largest markets in the world for cryptocurrencies. Trading in bitcoin-Japanese yen accounted for about 57.6 percent of total bitcoin trading volume, according to CryptoCompare. Former President Jimmy Carter said that he believes President Donald Trump "reacted quite well" to an invitation to talks with North Korea. Carter also said that if his help is needed, he'll be there. Carter, 93, made those remarks in an interview with "CBS Sunday Morning" anchor Jane Pauley that will air on the morning news show Sunday. Carter added that he's had more than 20 hours of talks with top North Korean leaders throughout his career. "And I understand what they want and need," said Carter, a Democrat. Trump's decision to quickly accept North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's offer shook his administration and the international community. The White House said March 16 that Trump plans to meet with Kim by the end of May. The news broke after the release of a transcript of a phone call between Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. "The two leaders agreed that concrete actions, not words, will be the key to achieving permanent denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," the White House said, "and President Trump reiterated his intention to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by the end of May." Carter, who has been involved in international affairs since his term ended, said the Trump White House briefed him on the situation with North Korea. He said he would travel to the rogue nation for Trump if asked. Carter was president from 1977 to 1981 and drew major criticism over the Iran hostage crisis, which began in 1979. Fifty-two American diplomats and civilians were held hostage at the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran, for 444 days. The hostages were eventually released to the United States, following failed diplomatic and military attempts to rescue them. The potential meeting between Trump and Kim approaches as the State Department transitions to a new secretary. On March 15, Trump fired former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a tweet, picking CIA Director Mike Pompeo as his successor. Before Trump's acceptance of Kim's invitation, he had openly mocked Tillerson for pushing for diplomacy with the North Koreans. Relations between Trump and Kim had not previously been so kind, with Kim referring to Trump as a "mentally deranged U.S. dotard" and Trump calling Kim "Little Rocket Man." Trump also made threats in response to the peninsula's repeated missile launches. Trump tweet Carter's interview with Pauley on "CBS Sunday Morning" will air on Sunday at 9 a.m. ET. "You can say one thing for the former UN Ambassador: he has been consistent throughout his career. Consistently wrong, that is." Yet diplomacy had in fact not failed, and Saddam had actually disarmed. Perhaps the most damning finding from Bolton and his colleagues was this claim: "Although we are fully aware of the dangers and difficulties in implementing this policy, we believe the dangers of failing to do so are far greater." After more than 15 full years later, the spiral of chaos and violence unleashed in 2003 continues to burn in Iraq (and now Syria), and thousands of U.S. troops are still deployed there. One might give the Ambassador some slack for having been wrong before-the-fact, but one would expect that with the passage of time and as the true scope of the failure has become clear, Bolton would have grudgingly acknowledged that fact. Yet in an opinion article penned more than a decade laterand despite mountains of evidence to the contraryBolton remains emphatic in his claims that the invasion was a good idea. In the 2016 article, Bolton asserted that by, "eliminating Saddam's threat to Middle Eastern peace and security, the 2003 invasion fully justified itself." Leaving Saddam in power, Bolton argued, "would have all but guaranteed further conflict with other Arab states, and a resumed quest for weapons of mass destruction." The evidence not only doesn't support that theory, it directly refutes it: as was confirmed, the UN weapons inspectors had successfully disarmed Saddam, he had dismantled his nuclear facilities, and with the sanctions then in place, he would have had no way to reconstitute the program and would have posed no threat to the region. Moreover, al-Qaeda would never have carved out a presence in Iraq and ISIS would never have risen. Unfortunately, that's not the only incidence of Bolton's suspect judgment. Earlier this year, Bolton argued that "talking to the North Koreans is a waste of time." Yet Trump has now scheduled historic talks with North Korea's leader, and it appears the president actually does value talking to the North Koreans. French police and firefighters secure the entrance of Trebes, southern France, where an armed man took hostages in a supermarket, Friday, March 23, 2018. A gunman has been shot dead by French police after killing three people and wounding three others in a series of events that ended in a hostage situation in a supermarket. French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb confirmed Friday afternoon that the attacker was 26, had acted alone and was known to authorities for petty crime and possession of drugs. The assault started at 10.30 a.m. local time (5.30 a.m. ET) when the perpetrator killed one person with a shot to the head and injured another while stealing a car near the town of Carcassonne in south France, Collomb said. The gunman then shot at a group of police officers, injuring one, before entering the Super U supermarket in the nearby town of Trebes at approximately 11 a.m., where he took several hostages. Collomb said that security forces shot the gunman dead after storming the supermarket. Two people were killed in the store, he said. Today, 49 percent of employed women in the United States, including 42 percent of working women with children, say they work primarily because they are their family's main breadwinner, according to a joint NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll. That's up from 37 percent in 2000. Unfortunately, the way women are treated in the workplace overall hasn't changed much. The poll, which surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. adults, found that 52 percent of Americans say men do not treat women equally in the workplace while 61 percent of women say that their male counterparts fail to treat them as equals. Those numbers are virtually unchanged since the poll asked the same question in 1999. What's more, 44 percent still say they've personally experienced discrimination because of their gender. That number hasn't improved either in almost 20 years. Majorities of employed men don't believe that there's a significant gap in how women are paid, promoted and valued at their workplaces, the poll shows. In reality, women, on average, are paid 20 percent less than men. In industries like tech, they are offered lower starting salaries than their male counterparts for the same job at the same company 63 percent of the time, and, according to some employees, still experience discrimination even at companies like Google. They also get stuck with the grunt work more often, including low-status and tedious tasks as opposed to more coveted assignments, according to the Harvard Business Review. It reports that women are "more likely than white men to report doing more office housework than their colleagues" while they "have less access to glamour work than white men do." Now a new report shows that the most popular tax software providers expose consumers to such risks. You receive an email from your tax software provider: "There's been some unusual activity on your account," it reads. "Please click on this link to reset your password." On the website, you log in, unwittingly providing criminals access to a trove of personal data, including your Social Security number, bank account information, address and salary. That's because that email and website didn't actually belong to your tax software provider but to a so-called "phisher," who used your log in information to break into your real account. Such attacks are on the rise recently, the IRS warned of a "phishing epidemic." Now a new report by Global Cyber Alliance, a cyber-security research firm based in New York and London, found that some of the most popular tax software providers don't use enough email protections to secure communications with customers. Those include: FreeTaxUSA, TurboTax, H&R Block and TaxAct. To be sure, the report determined the safety of these providers based on just one criterion whether or not they use a highly secure method known as DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance), which weeds out phony emails from phishers. FreeTaxUSA and TurboTax have the DMARC protocol in place, but neither are using it to block fake emails, and H&R Block and TaxAct are not using the method at all, the report said. It found that Liberty Tax was the only one of the top tax software providers (based on a PC Magazine ranking of tax software) that uses DMARC to reject phishing emails. Almost half of taxpayers who file federal income taxes use tax prep software, according to personal finance website NerdWallet. In 2016, one in 131 emails contained malware, the highest rate in 5 years, according to Symantec, a digital security company. "One of the best ways to stop phishing is to deploy DMARC," said Philip Reitinger, president and CEO of Global Cyber Alliance. The number of attacks are rising and consumers should chose the service that provides the highest level of security. Giovanni Di Crescenzo an adjunct professor at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering who researches phishing. The tax software companies disagree. The report's method was narrow and cannot come to a conclusion about a company's security, said Matt Gause, of FreeTaxUSA. "The Global Cyber Alliance report only tells part of the security story," Gause said, describing the other protective measures it takes. He said those include DomainKeys Identified Mail or "DKIM," which verifies email senders and Sender Policy Framework or "SPF," which prevents sender address forgery. It's also in the process of updating its DMARC protocol, Gause said. A spokeswoman for TurboTax echoed that message. "TurboTax takes the security of our customers and their data seriously," said Lisa Greene-Lewis, senior communications manager at TurboTax. "We leverage DMARC and an array of security protocols and best practices while engaging with our customers." Tom Collins, vice president of corporate communications at H&R Block, said it takes the protection of emails very seriously. "We continue to assess the threat and available tools in the ongoing effort to combat phishing attacks," Collins said. TaxAct did not respond to a request for comment. Although DMARC is not the only way to block these attacks, it's a very good one, said Giovanni Di Crescenzo, an adjunct professor at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering who researches phishing. "The number of attacks are rising and consumers should chose the service that provides the highest level of security," Di Crescenzo said. Here are some tips to reduce your chances of being 'phished' Mikhail Sosonkin, who works for cybersecurity start-up Synack, showed CNBC firsthand how easy it is to break into a computer. Approach emails with caution A quick glance at the email address might have you believe it's legitimate, but if you scroll over it with your mouse, you'll see that the address is completely different and suspicious. Same goes for any website an email directs you to: double check the URL and look for any warning signs, for example, the TurboTax website you're looking at is not in fact TurboTax's website. Another popular phishing method is to get you to click on a link in the email, which then installs malware that could potentially give hackers free reign to your computer. Try not to click on any links within an email, said Engin Kirda, professor at the College of Computer and Information Science at Northeastern University. "If you can avoid this, you will be much safer against attacks," Kirda said. If you have to click: Do it on a smartphone, which are still less targeted by hackers than traditional desktop, he said. The Global Cyber Alliance recommends never emailing personal or sensitive information. Your tax software provider typically should only require you to input such data by logging directly into your account. Install your own security Install a "Domain Name System" (DNS) security solution that will help to block malicious website links should a phishing email make it to your inbox, says the Global Cyber Alliance. One such free solution is Quad9.net. Another one is OpenDNS. "DNS is a great way for people to protect themselves," Reitinger said. If you suspect you've been phished, act quickly On Saturday, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by Qantas left Perth, Australia and flew non-stop to London Heathrow. The flight was the first commercial passenger jet to connect the two countries directly and the 9,010 miles took just over 17 hours to complete. The flight carried over 200 passengers across business, premium economy, and economy cabins. That number had been trimmed back to allow for more fuel. While it signals a new era of efficient engines and lightweight composite structures, it has not won the title of the world's longest flight. CNBC takes a look at the current routes guaranteed to weary any hardened traveler. Qatar is looking to Asia for foreign investment in a "new era" for the country, following the blockade by a number of major Arab nations in June last year. Yousuf Mohamed Al-Jaida, the CEO of the Qatar Financial Center, a business and financial center located in Doha, told CNBC Friday that the country has moved to attract foreign investment by making it easier to get business visas and buy real estate. "Qatar is looking for new partners, new alliances, so we are moving on," he said. "Our presence in Hong Kong speaks a lot. We're going to be doing a lot of more tours in Asia, Thailand, Vietnam, within the next two months," he added. Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt imposed trade and travel bans on Qatar in 2017, blaming the country for supporting terrorism. The Qatar Financial Center, which aims to foster investment in Qatar, has been explaining to foreign investors that, after the deterioration of relations between Qatar and other Arabic countries, the country has been putting forward a slew of reforms to adapt to a "new reality." "The appetite is good, I think we have to do a lot more of awareness as to what the blockade means. What we are trying to pitch in terms of the blockade is that this is a new era for Qatar," Al-Jaida said. As President Donald Trump's much-debated tariffs on aluminum and steel go into effect on Friday, some entrepreneurs like Andrew Berman are breathing a sigh of relief. Berman is president of Spectrum Printing & Graphics in Rockville, Maryland. His commercial printing business runs a printing press that utilizes aluminum plates imported from France. He'd been bracing for price increases as Trump has levied a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports and a 25 percent tariff on imported steel. To his knowledge, there isn't a domestic manufacturer of the plates he uses, and if he were to find one, he'd have to overhaul his system, a process that could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Before the tariffs were to go into effect, Trump exempted the European Union from the order temporarily, along with other trading partners including Canada and Mexico. The price hikes Berman was gearing up to absorb disappeared, for the time being, as the administration shifts its focus to China. Trump announced a package of up to $60 billion in tariffs Thursday that take aim at China for intellectual property theft. "I'm going to hope the tariffs were well-intended, but as a domestic manufacturer with 40 employees, doing everything we can to support those employees and to do the best for our customers ... there are unintended consequences," Berman said. Well-intended or not, Trump's tariffs have received a mostly cold response from Main Street advocacy groups. Many argue that while trade policies tend have pros and cons, they also negatively impact a broad swath of the economy in ways that are often overlooked. "In general, we think there is more room for harm to happen with small companies than good," said Todd McCracken, president and CEO of the National Small Business Association, a nonpartisan advocacy group. "The ripple effects of higher steel prices and a potential trade war and higher tariffs in other countries that can result from this will hurt companies across the economy." The group added that according to its most recent data on exports, China is the fourth-largest market for goods produced by U.S. small businesses. "Our small businesses are concerned about likely materials cost increases and ongoing retaliation by China and other countries which could stymie small-business export growth in industries far beyond those targeted by the tariffs," said Molly Day, vice president of public affairs at the NSBA. That sentiment was echoed by Raymond Keating, chief economist at the nonpartisan Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, who said there was very little in the way of "upside" in Trump's new trade policies. "The fact that the administration is concerned about intellectual property is a good thing, but this is not the way to go about it." The conservative lobbying group the National Federation of Independent Business did not respond to request for comment on the tariffs. However, worries about exporting ranked dead last out of 75 issues polled among its membership on its last "Problems and Priorities" survey in 2016. For now, entrepreneurs importing from exempted countries like Berman are in the clear. But he's worried about other equipment costs going up with action being taken against China. "I have no idea where the raw material [in our equipment] comes from. I have concerns about the folders, the cutters and printing presses," Berman said. "I think exempting countries was the right thing to do because the threat of reciprocating tariffs wasn't good for anybody. But he is playing a game of chicken," in exempting trading partners with just a day to go before the order was set to kick in. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Senate passed a massive $1.3 trillion spending bill in the early morning hours of Friday, sending it to President Donald Trump's desk for his signature. However, Trump tweeted Friday morning that he may veto the measure over funding for a southern border well and a lack of provisions for young immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally when they were children. Congress approved the more than 2,200-page legislation swiftly with a midnight Friday government shutdown deadline looming. The plan was released only Wednesday night. The Senate passed the proposal by a bipartisan 65-32 vote. The House approved the bill Thursday afternoon by a 256-167 vote with bipartisan backing. The legislation would fund the government through the end of September. It would significantly boost military spending and increase funding for border security, infrastructure and efforts to fight the opioid epidemic, among other programs. It also includes measures meant to strengthen gun sale background checks and improve school safety. Some members criticized the rushed process to pass the proposal. They expressed concerns about the limited time to read and understand the massive legislation. Throughout Thursday night, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., voiced objections to the spending increases and left it unclear whether he would hold up a vote on the bill. He delayed a vote on the budget deal that set up the spending increases last month, carrying the Senate past a government shutdown deadline. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., personally talked to Paul and Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, to ensure they did not hold up the vote and increase the shutdown risk. Risch threatened to trip up the bill by demanding lawmakers remove a provision naming a federal wilderness area after a deceased political rival. The bill now heads to Trump, who had been expected to sign it into law despite misgivings about it earlier this week. Trump had concerns over such issues as the amount of money set aside for his proposed border wall, the lack of a sanctuary cities provision, and whether funding would go toward a rail tunnel connecting New Jersey and New York that he opposed. He reportedly threatened to veto it days ago, but tweeted his support for it Wednesday night after a discussion with House Speaker Paul Ryan and McConnell. Trump tweet Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney reiterated Trump's support on Thursday and said he "looks forward to signing it." The president will support it "because it funds his priorities," Mulvaney said. Yet Trump raised the prospect of a veto and a shutdown Friday morning in a stunning tweet before stock markets opened in the U.S. "I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded," the president tweeted. Leaders from both parties touted victories in the compromise bill, but acknowledged they made concessions. Republicans like Ryan promoted the boost to military funding and border enforcement efforts. "What this ultimately is about is giving our military the tools and the resources it needs to do its job," he said before the House approved the bill. Both major parties cheered increased funding to fight the opioid crisis and improve infrastructure. Democrats touted provisions such as higher funding for child-care subsidies and low-income housing tax credits. They also got wins from what was not included in the legislation: measures championed by conservatives to pull funding for Planned Parenthood or so-called sanctuary cities. The bill "is legislation that neither side sees as perfect, but which contains a host of significant victories and important achievements on behalf of the American people," McConnell said Thursday on the Senate floor. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also acknowledged concessions from both major parties on Thursday. "Now, it certainly doesn't have everything Democrats want. And it contains a few things Democrats aren't thrilled about. The same is true of our Republican friends. That is true of all compromises," Schumer said Thursday. Here are some of the bill's notable provisions: Spiking tariffs worldwide would hurt the countries and companies that rely heavily on exports, Peetathawatchai said, pointing out that the export proportion of the Thai economy is very high, ranging from 60 percent to 70 percent. He mentioned, however, that direct exports into the U.S. currently only account for about 10 percent of the country's total exports. "At the moment, the uncertainty on the rules and regulations certainly play a very big role in the activities in the stock market," Pakorn Peetathawatchai , the chief strategy and finance offer of the Stock Exchange of Thailand said. That all explains "a lot of overreaction and maybe the estimation of the effect" of the new trade regulations, he added. The threat of a looming trade war has brought uncertainty into the Thai stock market, an executive at the Stock Exchange of Thailand said Friday. Thai flags are seen outside of the Stock Exchange of Thailand in Bangkok on Jan. 8, 2018. Twenty years ago, Thai exports to the U.S., Europe and Japan each accounted for 20 percent, according to the SET executive, but "that has changed abruptly during the last 10 to 20 years," he said. "The effect of the exporting to the U.S. becomes less important to our country than in the past. However, I would not say it is not impacted because many countries in Southeast Asia or in China also do indirect export to the U.S." he pointed out. Indirect export refers to Thailand exporting goods to nations that then go on to export the goods to the U.S. That indirect economic effect can accumulate over time, the chief strategist said. Currently, Southeast Asia is Thailand's biggest export market, followed by China, Peetathawatchai said. "We export the most to ASEAN countries and secondly to China. So you could say that the relationship on trade for Thailand seems to be more dependent on regional economy, the Asia economy, than the U.S. trade we have at the moment," he said. President Donald Trump's recent actions, from controversial trade tariffs to installing John Bolton as national security advisor, could hurt U.S. foreign policy goals in North Korea and Iran. Trump's decision to impose duties on up to $60 billion worth of Chinese imports, for example, comes at a time when Washington needs Beijing's help to rein in a nuclear-armed Pyongyang, said Wendy Sherman, a former under secretary of state for political affairs at the U.S. State Department who was the lead American negotiator for the Iran nuclear agreement. The U.S. has long pressed Chinese President Xi Jinping's government to apply more pressure on the rogue state in the hopes of bringing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to the negotiating table. And the president's move to replace H.R. McMaster with policy hawk Bolton, who Sherman described as "a man who has never seen a war he does not want to wage," could add more risk into the mix, especially ahead of a historic summit under consideration for Trump and Kim. Trump teased a veto a day after the White House had said he would sign the legislation despite his misgivings. He raised the risk of a government shutdown only hours before the midnight Friday deadline. Then the president, who enjoys creating tension and drama, announced he would not veto the bill in an event carried on live television. "We're very proud of many of the items that we've been able to get. We're very disappointed that in order to fund the military, we had to give up things where we consider in many cases them to be bad or them to be a waste of money. But that's the way unfortunately right now the system works," Trump said at the White House. He added that he "looked very seriously" at a veto, but his support for the military spending levels "overrode" his concerns about the bill. Trump slammed the rushed process to pass the more than 2,200-page bill released only Wednesday. Standing near the pile of documents, the president said he was "disappointed" in the legislation and would "never sign another bill like this again." The president said he approved the legislation to fund the government through September for national security reasons, as it authorizes a major increase in military spending that he supports. But he stressed that he did so reluctantly. An "unhappy" President Donald Trump signed the $1.3 trillion spending bill into law Friday, his second about-face in 24 hours on the measure to keep the government open. President Donald Trump speaks at an event to sign Congress' $1.3 trillion spending bill in the Diplomatic Room of the White House in Washington, March 23, 2018. Trump highlighted the portions of the bill he supports: the nearly $80 billion increase in defense spending, a $1.6 billion boost to border security funding and a cash injection to fight the opioid epidemic. The border money will go mostly toward surveillance technology and fencing similar to structures that already exist on the southern border. The amount of funding came in far below what the president wanted. In a tweet Friday morning, Trump said he was "considering a VETO" because the proposal did not extend protections for hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants or fully fund his proposed border wall. Trump tweet The president's tweet threw more chaos into the process to keep the government running Friday, even after it looked like Trump's signature would be a sure thing. Vice President Mike Pence offered support for the bill Thursday. Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney answered "yes" on Thursday when asked if Trump would sign the bill. "Why? Because it funds his priorities," he told reporters. The legislation, which both chambers of Congress passed with bipartisan support, would fund the government through the end of September. It would significantly boost military spending and increase funding for border security, infrastructure and efforts to fight the opioid epidemic. It also includes measures meant to strengthen gun sale background checks and improve school safety. When Trump threatened a veto, many lawmakers had already left Washington. Some are in Rochester, New York, for the funeral Friday of longtime Rep. Louise Slaughter, who died last week. The Senate had adjourned and was not expected to take up legislative work again until April 9. While Trump cheered the military funding levels, he was irked by the level of border security funding. While Republicans and the president himself have said the bill funds Trump's "wall," the money goes to miles of new fencing similar to existing structures. Trump, who has tried to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, reportedly wanted $25 billion in long-term wall funding in exchange for protections for the young immigrants. Democrats and some Republicans have sought to extend the DACA program. Trump reportedly did not want to give up to 1.8 million immigrants a pathway to citizenship as part of that deal, as Democrats wanted. On Friday, Trump claimed Democrats do not want to extend the legal protections for the immigrants. "I do want the Hispanic community to know and DACA recipients to know that Republicans are much more on your side than the Democrats, who are using you for their own purposes," he said. Some notable Republicans who opposed the spending bill encouraged Trump to torpedo it on Friday after his veto threat. Earlier, House Freedom Caucus Vice Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio told CNBC the veto threat "is great" and said he hoped the president followed through on it. "I think he got a full understanding of how bad this legislation is. This is not even close to what the American people elected us to do," the hardline House conservative said. Jordan pushed back on GOP claims that the bill funded the border wall, asking, "Why do you think [House and Senate Minority Leaders] Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are smiling ear to ear?" Earlier Friday, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., told Trump to "please" veto the legislation, calling the spending levels "grotesque." Corker tweet Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., whom Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell persuaded not to delay the Senate vote on the bill, also urged Trump to "veto this sad excuse for legislation." Paul tweet At least one Democrat Rep. Ted Lieu of California said he supported a veto. He criticized the rushed process by which Congress passed the legislation. Lieu tweet House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., had worked this week to win Trump's support for the plan. He described it as a win for the president because it boosts Defense Department funding, authorizes more money to fight the opioid crisis and puts more money toward border enforcement. "This funds the wall, fixes the military, fights opioids and does the things that we said," Ryan said Thursday on Fox News' "Fox & Friends," a show Trump frequently watches and tweets about. Ryan also went to the White House on Wednesday as Trump was unsure about whether to support the spending bill. After the president spoke with Ryan and McConnell, the White House issued a statement saying he backed the legislation. Trump's tweet Friday morning caught Ryan by surprise, according to a GOP source who declined to be named. The speaker is in his home state of Wisconsin for the Easter recess, and spoke to the president by phone at about 9:30 a.m., a little more than a half hour after Trump's tweet. Ryan emphasized "all the wins" in the bill, particularly military spending, and felt encouraged after the call, the source added. CNBC's Ylan Mui and Eamon Javers contributed to this report Construction crews work on a freeway overpass along Highway 101 in Novato, California. Getty Images A major new spending plan for buildings, roads and power supplies should be the number one priority for the U.S. administration this year, according to a new CNBC survey of global finance chiefs. The chief financial officers (CFO) from some of the world's largest companies told CNBC that President Donald Trump should move ahead with his plans to shore up infrastructure across the country. The massive infrastructure plan, which could total $1.5 trillion according to Trump's State of the Union speech this year, is currently stuck at the U.S. Congress stage as lawmakers cannot agree over the level of spending as well as over the streamlining of environmental regulations. Media reports suggest that the president will hit the road this spring to gather public support for his plans. Fifty percent of U.S.-based CFOs said in the survey that infrastructure should be the top priority, with 18.2 percent saying that trade should be the number one policy. Even most of the European-based CFOs believed that the top priority in the U.S. should be infrastructure spending, at 36.4 percent of respondents. CFOs in the Asian-Pacific region gave an equal weight between trade and infrastructure. Europe has been ones of the most vocal U.S. allies criticizing the recent decision to put tariffs on steel and aluminum. The region is still hoping to be excluded from the new metal tariffs but, in the meantime, it has already prepared countermeasures raising fears over a potential trade war. The crash, which occurred Sunday night, was a major setback for Uber, which has been trying to improve its image since Mr. Khosrowshahi replaced Travis Kalanick as the company's chief executive in a messy transfer of power last August. In February, Uber also settled a longstanding legal fight with Waymo. Tech companies like Uber, Waymo and Lyft, as well as automakers like General Motors and Toyota, have spent billions developing self-driving cars in the belief that the market for them could one day be worth trillions of dollars. And there also was pressure to live up to a goal to offer a driverless car service by the end of the year and to impress top executives. Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber's chief executive, was expected to visit Arizona in April, and leaders of the company's development group in the Phoenix area wanted to give him a glitch-free ride in an autonomous car. Mr. Khosrowshahi's trip was called "Milestone 1: Confidence" in the company documents. Yet Uber's test drivers were being asked to do more going on solo runs when they had worked in pairs. Waymo, formerly the self-driving car project of Google , said that in tests on roads in California last year, its cars went an average of nearly 5,600 miles before the driver had to take control from the computer to steer out of trouble. As of March, Uber was struggling to meet its target of 13 miles per "intervention" in Arizona, according to 100 pages of company documents obtained by The New York Times and two people familiar with the company's operations in the Phoenix area but not permitted to speak publicly about it. The cars were having trouble driving through construction zones and next to tall vehicles, like big rigs. And Uber's human drivers had to intervene far more frequently than the drivers of competing autonomous car projects. Uber's robotic vehicle project was not living up to expectations months before a self-driving car operated by the company struck and killed a woman in Tempe, Ariz. The death of a woman who was struck by an autonomous car operated by Uber is believed to be the first pedestrian fatality associated with self-driving technology. Newly released video offers clues about what happened. On Monday, Uber halted autonomous car tests in Arizona, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto. It is not clear when the company will revive them. The Tempe Police Department said it was investigating the crash, and has not determined whether the car was at fault. A Volvo XC90 sport utility vehicle equipped with Uber's sensing technology struck Elaine Herzberg, 49, while it was going 40 miles an hour in a 45-mile-an-hour zone. According to the police, the car, with one safety driver and operating in autonomous mode, did not slow down before impact. A video shot from the vehicle's dashboard camera showed the safety driver looking down, away from the road. It also appeared that the driver's hands were not hovering above the steering wheel, which is what drivers are instructed to do so they can quickly retake control of the car. Ms. Herzberg, pushing a bicycle across the street, appeared in the camera right before she was hit. "As we develop self-driving technology, safety is our primary concern every step of the way," said Matt Kallman, an Uber spokesman. "We're heartbroken by what happened this week, and our cars remain grounded. We continue to assist investigators in any way we can." Uber has been testing its self-driving cars in a regulatory vacuum in Arizona. There are few federal rules governing the testing of autonomous cars. Unlike California, where Uber had been testing since spring of 2017, Arizona state officials had taken a hands-off approach to autonomous vehicles and did not require companies to disclose how their cars were performing. Waymo and Cruise, a self-driving car company owned by GM, reported their "intervention" numbers to California regulators. Uber's goals in Arizona were mentioned in internal documents Arizona does not have reporting requirements and it has not been testing self-driving cars in California long enough to be required to report them. Uber's first road tests in its self-driving car effort, code-named Project Roadrunner, were actually in Pittsburgh in September 2016. The Phoenix area was added a year ago, and quickly became the company's main testing ground, with 400 employees and more than 150 autonomous cars driving local roads because of "favorable regulatory environment, favorable weather conditions," according to a company document. When Mr. Khosrowshahi took over as Uber's chief executive, he had considered shutting down the self-driving car operations, according to two other people familiar with Mr. Khosrowshahi's thinking. But he became convinced that it was important to Uber's long-term prospects. His visit to Phoenix was seen by the Arizona team as a critical opportunity to demonstrate their progress, according to the people familiar with the company's operations in the Phoenix area. They wanted to take him on a ride without human interventions to demonstrate that the cars could handle so-called edge cases, tricky road situations that are hard to predict. "With autonomy, the edge cases kill you, so you've got to build out for all the edge cases," Mr. Khosrowshahi said at a conference in November. "Which makes it a very, very difficult problem." By September 2017, Uber's autonomous cars had driven one million miles in a year nationwide. Uber tallied its second million in 100 days and added its next million at an even faster clip, according to company documents. Early on in Phoenix, there were two groups of test drivers. A smaller group "stressed" the cars by putting them in challenging situations where, without human intervention, they would have crashed. A larger group of drivers was focused on picking up customers in the autonomous vehicles. Those drivers were expected to pay more attention to little details, often taking control to prevent a "bad experience" like hard braking, according to a company document. Around October, Uber merged the two groups to get to a point where it could offer a truly driverless car service to customers "as quickly as possible." The customer pickup service was mostly dropped so drivers could focus on accumulating miles and gathering data to help the system become more reliable. Around the same time, Uber moved from two employees in every car to one. The paired employees had been splitting duties one ready to take over if the autonomous system failed, and another to keep an eye on what the computers were detecting. The second person was responsible for keeping track of system performance as well as labeling data on a laptop computer. Mr. Kallman, the Uber spokesman, said the second person was in the car for purely data related tasks, not safety. Waymo had also moved from two operators at all times to one in some situations in late 2015, said Johnny Luu, a Waymo spokesman. Waymo still uses two test drivers when it is adding new systems or moving to a new location. But Uber's autonomous cars are not operating nearly as well as those of its competitors. Cruise reported to California regulators that it went more than 1,200 miles per intervention. After its strong California results, Waymo is now testing cars in Chandler, Ariz., a Phoenix suburb, with no safety drivers. Mr. Kallman said miles per intervention was not a measure of safety but a rate of system improvement that could differ depending on where and how the cars were driven. When Uber moved to a single operator, some employees expressed safety concerns to managers, according to the two people familiar with Uber's operations. They were worried that going solo would make it harder to remain alert during hours of monotonous driving. Mr. Kallman said it delayed the start of its single-driver initiative to allow for more training and to make sure drivers felt comfortable for the new role. Uber also developed an app, mounted on an iPad in the car's middle console, for drivers to alert engineers to problems. Drivers could use the app anytime without shifting the car out of autonomous mode. Often, drivers would annotate data at a traffic light or a stop, but many did so while the car was moving, said the two people familiar with Uber's operations. Mr. Kallman said it designed the app to meet government safety guidelines for in-car software to minimize distractions. Waymo had a different solution when it moved to a single safety driver. It added a button on the steering wheel for drivers to create an audio explanation when they took the car out of autonomous mode. Not all drivers followed Uber's training. One was fired after falling asleep at the wheel and being spotted by a colleague. Another was spotted air drumming as the autonomous car passed through an intersection, according to the two people familiar with Uber's operations. Uber was planning to seek regulatory approval by December to start a self-driving car service in Arizona, according to company documents. Uber said the vehicles would have to be safer than human drivers before they would commercialize it. They would not operate around the clock and would stop for bad weather or traffic. And the service did not need to prove "longer-term financial viability." Already, one milestone will be missed. Mr. Khosrowshahi will not travel to Phoenix next month, because of scheduling problems that came up before the crash, Mr. Kallman said. But it is unclear how the crash will ultimately affect Uber's plans for autonomous vehicles. "The collection of bad news around Uber creates a reputation in people's minds," said Michael Ramsey, an automotive analyst at Gartner. "Every other company would get a black eye, too, but they might be forgiven. For Uber, it's going to be hard to shake." David A. Grogan | CNBC This article was co-published with The Washington Post. Warren Buffett, the most successful investor of our time, is a huge fan of low-cost index funds funds that replicate a market index rather than try to outperform it as the way for the average investor to succeed in the stock market. "By periodically investing in an index fund the know-nothing investor can actually outperform most investment professionals," he wrote in his 1993 letter to shareholders of his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate. "Paradoxically, when 'dumb' money acknowledges its limitations, it ceases to be dumb." He returned to the subject in this 2016 letter, writing, "Both large and small investors should stick with low-cost index funds." And in his newest shareholder letter, Buffett said that one reason he made a widely publicized bet (which he has now won) that a low-cost Vanguard index fund would outperform a group of hedge funds over a 10-year period was "to publicize my conviction that my pick a virtually cost-free investment in an unmanaged S&P 500 index fund would, over time, deliver better results than those achieved by most investment professionals, however well regarded and incentivized those 'helpers' may be." More from ProPublica: 'Cutting' old heads at IBM Seeing Journalism Make a Difference in Election Results How the Crowd Led Us to Investigate IBM Given Buffett's praise of index funds specifically, those with low fees you'd think that all the employees at Berkshire Hathaway companies would get to practice what the boss preaches by being able to invest their 401(k) money in such funds. But you'd be wrong. It turns out that employees of many Berkshire subsidiaries have the same problem and it's one that, as we'll see, also affects millions of Americans outside of Buffett's companies. To wit, your employer, not you, chooses your 401(k) investment options and your choices may be less than optimal either because your employer doesn't know any better or because your employer's interests are different from yours. You wouldn't expect to see this problem at a company run by a brilliant investor like Buffett, but it's there. I've looked at the retirement plans of each Berkshire subsidiary whose investment options I could find on file at the Labor Department, which turned out to be about 50 of the 63 subsidiaries listed on Berkshire's website. Each offers its own investment options rather than having Buffett or someone else at headquarters pick a package of suitable company-wide investments. That's not surprising in one sense: Buffett is famously hands-off in how he oversees the companies owned by Berkshire. But the result is that many of the subsidiaries offer little or nothing in the way of index funds. And even when they do offer such funds, different Berkshire employees can end up paying wildly divergent fees for the same investment, depending on which operation they work for. Those differences can cost or save them tens of thousands of dollars over the course of decades. Consider two examples that I got from a list assembled by Eli Fried, an investment consultant who advises pension and endowment funds and is the person who brought the Berkshire disparities to my attention. Fried told me he was looking at 401(k) investment options offered by the top companies on Fortune's list of most admired companies and was surprised by what he found at Berkshire. On the index fund front, there's a big difference between the S&P 500 index funds that employees of Berkshire-owned NetJets, General Re, GEICO, FlightSafety, Clayton Homes and H.H. Brown Shoe Group can buy, and the one that BoatU.S. employees can buy. BoatU.S. employees pay a fee of 0.62 percent, or $62 a year for a $10,000 investment. That's more than 15 times the 0.04 percent $4 a year per $10,000 that employees of the six other Berkshire companies pay. There are also some big differences in fees among the actively managed funds that Berkshire companies make available. Employees of Business Wire pay a 0.5 percent ($50 per $10,000 invested) for shares in American Funds' EuroPacific Growth Fund, while employees of Applied Underwriters, Jordan's Furniture and MiTek pay 1.14 percent ($114 per $10,000). As a longtime Berkshire shareholder, a contrarian from birth and someone who's watched Buffett for more than 40 years, I was intrigued when Fried approached me. And I was shocked at the huge differences among the plans that emerged when I did my own digging. For example, as of year-end 2016 the most recent information the Labor Department has on file Borsheim's Fine Jewelry offered employees 71 investment options, virtually all of which (other than 10 Vanguard target date retirement funds) consisted of actively managed funds, while Precision Steel Warehouse and Nebraska Furniture Mart offered a relative handful of options, most of which were low-cost index funds. Precision and Nebraska Furniture also offered Berkshire common stock as an investment option, which only a handful of the plans did. There are plenty of other examples of disparities among the plans, but by now, I think, you get the point. The most successful investor of our age, who advises average investors to buy low-cost index funds (which have become wildly popular at least in part because of his longtime advocacy of them) presides over a company where many employees don't have a chance to invest as he suggests. I would love to give you Buffett's explanation for this Berkshire is highly decentralized, as I told you, and it's possible that until recently he might not have known about the big differences among the plans that its subsidiaries offer but I can't. He wouldn't respond to my detailed request for comment. Nor would Marc Hamburg, Berkshire's chief financial officer. A visibly annoyed President Donald Trump faced reporters at the White House on Friday. Trump tweeted shortly before the briefing that a 1 p.m. "news conference" will address the omnibus spending bill that he threatened to veto earlier in the day. The White House said it the event would be a "press availability" featuring the president. Trump tweet News conference at the White House concerning the Omnibus Spending Bill. 1:00 P.M. Trump said he signed the bill, despite his unhappiness with it, because of national security concerns. Trump sent shockwaves through Congress when he made the threat to reject t $1.3 billion spending bill after it passed the Senate late last night with bipartisan support. Trump tweet I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded. If the 2,000-plus-page omnibus spending package which was rammed through the legislature less than two days after it was available to read is not signed into law by 12:01 a.m. Saturday, it will trigger a government shutdown. The briefing arrives amid an especially turbulent week for the administration, which involved multiple high-level resignations and the recrudescent threat of a government shutdown. On Thursday, Trump confirmed the resignation of national security advisor Gen. H.R. McMaster in a tweet. Trump tweet I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9. McMaster, whose February 2017 appointment was lauded by politicians of both parties as well as many military officials, will be replaced by former UN ambassador John Bolton. Known for his ardently hawkish military views, Bolton has not received the same warm welcome in establishment political and military circles. McMaster's was the second resignation of the day among key players in Trump's orbit. Earlier on Thursday, Trump's lead lawyer in the special counsel's Russia probe, John Dowd, also announced his resignation. CNBC's Eamon Javers contributed to this report. Bolton will be the third national security advisor to serve Trump, following the departures of three-star Army generals Michael Flynn and H.R. McMaster. John Bolton on Thursday was named national security advisor by President Trump, replacing H.R. McMaster, who stepped down. John Bolton is a hardline Republican, a foreign policy super-hawk and President Donald Trump's pick to replace H.R. McMaster as national security advisor. Senate confirmation is not required for the White House national security post, and Bolton, a former ambassador to the United Nations, will inherit a staff of several hundred specialists from the Pentagon, State Department and U.S. intelligence agencies. He will be responsible for advising Trump on a wide spectrum of national security issues, from the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State to China's aggressive actions in the South China Sea to North Korea's growing nuclear threat. Bolton will be the third national security advisor to serve Trump, following the departures of three-star Army generals Michael Flynn and H.R. McMaster. "It's kind of a head-scratcher, because he seems really out of step with what the president has said and stood for going all the way back to the campaign," retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Daniel Davis, who served under McMaster during the Persian Gulf War, told CNBC. John Bolton, Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations, at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland in February. Michael Brochstein | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images Davis, who is now a senior defense fellow for Defense Priorities, notes that Bolton has taken an opposite position on several topics Trump pushed for in 2016. "[Trump] was adamant about no more regime change, that was one of his mantras in the campaign, no more stupid wars, all this kind of stuff, and that's what Bolton has lived for," Davis said. As George W. Bush's undersecretary of state for arms control, Bolton was a supporter of the invasion of Iraq and was confident that Iraqi president Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. President George W. Bush (R) and Ambassador to the UN John Bolton (L) meet in the Oval Office of the White House December 4, 2006 in Washington, DC. Bush accepted Bolton's resignation as Ambassador to the United Nations when his term is up in January 2007. Getty Images "The president has also said that he was against President Bush's war in Iraq, saying it was a disaster. And Bolton was one of the architects of that [war,]" added Davis, who also wrote an opinion piece on Bolton's appointment for CNBC. After leaving the Bush administration, Bolton joined the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, where he expressed some of his confrontational rhetoric in op-eds like "To Stop Iran's Bomb, Bomb Iran." Within the last year, he wrote "The Legal Case for Striking North Korea First" and "How to Defund the UN." "If you take his advice and attack North Korea, and if you take his advice and change the regime in Iran, I mean, my goodness, if you thought Iraq was bad, this is like 10 times that," Davis said in regards to Bolton's op-eds. "Bolton doesn't even talk about diplomacy. For him, it's either abject surrender on the opposition or it's war, and there doesn't seem to be any room for negotiation." Meanwhile, Ian Bremmer, president of political risk consultancy firm Eurasia Group, said Bolton's post is "a dramatic shift in favor of a more military-first approach to policy." He called it "less 'jaw-jaw' and more 'war-war.'" "That matters a great deal for an America First president who is inclined to take policies on his own, without consulting allies or, frequently, dissenting opinions in his own Cabinet," Bremmer added. Bolton, through a spokesperson, declined comment for this article. Here's a roundup of Bolton's views on various national security matters: Bolton on the Iran nuclear deal Iranian President Hassan Rouhani Getty Images Similar to Trump, Bolton has called the nuclear agreement a "strategic debacle," and said in January on Fox News that the deal should be scrapped, sanctions reimposed, and regime change encouraged. In January, Trump said he would stick with the deal for now, but wants to fix the agreement's "terrible flaws." "The appointment of John Bolton is bad news for those who were hoping the Iran deal would somehow survive," said Harry Kazianis, director of defense studies at the Center for the National Interest. "The deal is RIP as of right now." And while it is unclear if Trump will rollback the 2015 nuclear agreement, Davis said it would be "disastrous" if the U.S. were to withdraw because it would "undermine" negotiations with North Korea. "What possible motivation would any country have to begin negotiations with you when they see a fellow country that did exactly what the United States is asking you to do just throw it away? You wouldn't trust the paper the thing was written on," Davis said. Bolton on North Korea's nuclear program North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a grand military parade celebrating the 70th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Army at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang. KCNA | Reuters In the aforementioned op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, published one month before Trump's on-the-spot acceptance to meet with Kim Jong Un, Bolton made a case for taking pre-emptive strikes against the North. Under third-generation North Korean leader Kim, the reclusive state has conducted its most powerful nuclear test, launched its first-ever intercontinental ballistic missile and threatened to send missiles into the waters near the U.S. territory of Guam. What's more, the acceleration and frequency of testing show not only Kim's nuclear ambitions but also that the nation has developed an arsenal. In 2003, on the eve of six-nation talks over Pyongyang's nuclear program, Bolton called then-North Korean leader Kim Jong II a "tyrannical dictator." The North responded by calling Bolton "human scum." At present, the North has yet to formally acknowledge the proposed meeting, which was announced two weeks ago and is slated to occur by the end of May. While the U.S. waits to enter negotiations with North Korea, Bremmer said Bolton's new post will make the summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un "far riskier." Kazianis agreed that Bolton will take a harder line than his predecessor. "Bolton will not tolerate any sort of games from Pyongyang. If the North Koreans ask for bribes or incentives to talk, look for the administration to snap to an even harder line think the maximum pressure on steroids," Kazianis said. Bremmer added that the likelihood "the U.S. ends up in military conflict with North Korea" has increased. Meanwhile, the Pentagon will move forward with its annual U.S.-South Korean military exercises that usually agitate North Korea. The massive war games have been described by the North's government as a dress rehearsal for an invasion of the Korean peninsula. Bolton on Russia's new weapons Russian Preisdent Vladmir Putin during a meeting with editors of foreign news agencies at the Konstantin Palace on June 1, 2017 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Mikhail Svetlov | Getty Images An employee arranges pre-made salads at a Whole Foods Market location in New York. Grocer Whole Foods is trimming staff in the wake of an acquisition by Amazon, a spokeswoman told CNBC. "As Whole Foods Market continues to evolve, we constantly evaluate our structure to support the needs of the business and better serve our customers," she said in a statement. "While we continue to grow in many areas, we recently determined a need to better align staffing. This decision was not made lightly, and we are working closely with impacted Team Members to help them find new roles within the company." Business Insider first reported on the news Friday afternoon. The cuts span the company's in-store marketing and graphic design departments, according to Business Insider, which obtained a copy of a Thursday conference call with employees announcing the layoffs. A representative from Whole Foods declined to comment specifically on those positions being impacted, or on the number of people being cut. The goal of the cuts is to centralize operations at Whole Foods now that it has a new owner, sources familiar with the matter told Business Insider. Workers are being told they can work until July, receiving benefits until then, the publication said. Earlier in the week, The Wall Street Journal reported more than a dozen executives and senior managers have left Whole Foods since Amazon acquired it last summer. Tensions meanwhile have been growing between Whole Foods and its suppliers to the point that the chain earlier this week called a summit with those suppliers. A key topic of debate has been Whole Foods' efforts to centralize its merchandising, as the retailer shifts from a local orientation to a national one. The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form May leads tributes to those killed in the Westminster Bridge attack Ellwood breaks down as he remembers events The Times UK insurance against terror attacks upgraded FT Prime Minister to urge MPs to back Heathrow expansion Police stood shoulder to shoulder as they honoured their colleague Keith Palmer as the Prime Minister led tributes to the five people who lost their lives in the Westminster Bridge attack. Officers fell silent near to the spot where PC Palmer was murdered as they lay flowers and wiped away tears at a special vigil for the victims. Theresa May pledged to remember them and stand in defiance of those who would seek to silence our democracy. MPs observed a minutes silence in the House of Commons this morning before Theresa May laid flowers near the site where Pc Keith Palmer and four innocent pedestrians were killed. Speaker John Bercow asked members in the House of Commons chamber to pause in respectful memory of those who died on March 22 last year. Daily Mail Theresa May will ask MPs to kick-start Brexit and back the 15billion expansion of Heathrow in a Commons vote this June. Sources yesterday told The Sun the Government has finally committed to putting the plans before the House in the belief a majority of MPs now back a third runway. A vote in favour of the project in three months time will allow Heathrow to finally proceed with a detail design of the flagship development and seek planning approval. Ex-PM David Cameron promised a decision on Heathrow by the end of 2015 before stalling in the face of a backbench rebellion. The Government delayed again in 2016 after the Referendum vote. The Sun MPs say runway must have noise and cost safeguards FT More May: New Downing Street unit to promote female entrepreneurship Daily Telegraph >Today: ToryDiary: Heathrows engines rev up Hancock warns that Facebook could face billions in future fines British Government could pull all its Facebook adds The Sun Advertisers begin to boycott Facebook The Times Facebook could be fined more than 1billion if it breaks new data protection laws, Matt Hancock warned today. The Culture Secretary said the measure was at the heart of a package of reforms that would help Britain lead the world in setting the terms on how social media giants operate. Mr Hancock set out plans today to end the Wild West of the internet in which the biggest social media firms set the rules on how they collect and use private data. But speaking at a Westminster lunch, Mr Hancock refused to say whether he would keep his own Facebook account after revelations user data was misused by Cambridge Analytica as part of political campaigns. Daily Mail More Hancock: Culture Secretary hits trouble on own app The Times Hancock attacks Watson over Mosley The Sun Comment: The poison in politics runs deeper than dodgy data Gary Younge, The Guardian Lets remake the case for capitalism Lee Rowley MP, Times Red Box Editorial: Tech tax reforms Daily Telegraph >Yesterday: JP Floru in Comment: People only moan about the use of Facebook data when it is used by campaigns they dislike Brexit 1) EU prepares to take action against Russia over Salisbury Russias spy networks across Europe were under threat last night as at least five EU countries prepared to follow Britain and expel diplomats, while the European ambassador to Russia was recalled. The moves, in response to the Salisbury poisoning, came as Theresa May appeared to have won a battle to unify all 28 countries behind a statement blaming Moscow for the attempted murder of the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. Last night Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, issued a statement on behalf of its members saying that it supported the British governments assertion that it was highly likely Russia was responsible and that there was no plausible alternative explanation. The Times Corbyn refuses again to blame Russia for poisoning The Sun Putins espionage network in Europe at risk Daily Telegraph Kremlin hits back at Johnsons unacceptable Hitler comparison The Sun Comment: Russia is ready to fight, but are we? Fraser Nelson, Daily Telegraph Europe needs a collective defence strategy to counter Moscow Guy Verhofstadt, The Guardian Editorial: London deserves Brussels support against Moscow The Times >Yesterday: Garvan Walshes column: How to show Putin we are taking the Salisbury attack seriously Brexit 2) EU leaders set to agree transition Prime Minister urges EU leaders to create new dynamic Daily Telegraph Smith urges Corbyn to offer a referendum on the final deal The Guardian Varadkar gives October deadline for resolving Border issue Belfast Telegraph Pro-EU marchers rally in Edinburgh The Scotsman European leaders will on Friday agree to extend Britains de facto EU membership until the end of 2020, backing a transition deal to smooth the implementation of Brexit. Theresa May, Britains prime minister, proclaimed at a European Council meeting in Brussels on Thursday that considerable progress had been made towards negotiating the end of Britains 45-year membership of the EU. After months of talks, the leaders of the remaining 27 EU member states will on Friday rubber-stamp plans for a 21-month transition deal, starting on Brexit Day on March 29 2019 and lasting until the end of 2020. On Friday the EU27 states are also expected to approve guidelines setting out the blocs strategy for negotiating a future relationship with the EU, covering trade, security and other issues. FT Comment: At last, good news: Britain is heading for Norway Simon Jenkins, The Guardian Britains latest strategy: any deal will do Philip Stephens, FT We may not be doomed by Brexit after all Brian Wilson, The Scotsman Labour should ask if leaving is the right decision Owen Smith MP, The Guardian >Yesterday: Henry Hills Red, White, and Blue column: Holyrood and Westminster face off as MSPs pass Brexit bill Brexit 3) MPs urge Government to intervene in passport dispute Ministers were last night urged to stand up for Britain following a furious backlash over the decision to make post-Brexit blue passports overseas. The UK firm set to lose the 490million contract threatened to take the Government to court unless it changes its mind. MPs from across Parliament called on the Prime Minister and Home Secretary to intervene, after it was revealed a Franco-Dutch firm will be handed the lucrative deal from October 2019. As websites and phone-ins were deluged with protests over the news, Tory MP Andrew Rosindell demanded that Amber Rudd put the interests of our country first. Matt Hancock, the Culture Secretary, raised hopes of a reversal early yesterday when he said the procurement process was not fully complete. Daily Mail May defends decision to grant passport contract to best bid Daily Telegraph British bidder bemoans loss of contract The Times Rudd signed off deal but bidders were anonymous Daily Mail Put the national interest before EU rules, urges Rosindell Daily Express Comment: The blue passports deal shows global Britain in action Allie Renison, Daily Telegraph Editorial: If the French can make passports more cheaply, good luck to them The Times Unpatriotic passports are a false economy Daily Telegraph Lets give the 120 million were saving to the NHS The Sun >Today: Iain Dales column: Will the price of an EU deal be French-made blue passports and Spanish boats in British waters? Brexit 4) Williamson announces new Navy ships to protect fishing waters B Corbyn would slash defence spending, aide reveals The Sun ritain has taken delivery of state-of-the-art gunboats to protect our fishing waters from the EU and others after Brexit, the defence secretary has announced. Gavin Williamson said the vessels will stand ready as he unveiled the first of five 116m ships which will form part of the Royal Navy Fishery Protection Squadron. The Ministry of Defence said the boats will become the Royal Navys eyes and ears around the UK, helping to safeguard fishing stocks. HMS Forth is the first of five from the Batch 2 River-class Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) production line, built by BAE systems in Scotland. As well being designed for fishery protection, it will form part of the defence against smuggling and assist with border patrol, counter terrorism and maritime defence duties. Daily Telegraph Comment: Taking back control is just a fishermans tale Ed Conway, The Times Fishermen need sovereign waters by 2020 to avert a nationalist revival Alan Cochrane, Daily Telegraph Brexit 5) EU leaders disown Cables statement Sir Vince Cable was accused of a pathetic attempt to interfere in Brexit yesterday by falsely claiming that eight EU leaders backed a second referendum. The Lib Dem leader was humiliated after they said it was a botched PR stunt. Sir Vince, 74, faced criticism last night as opponents said he used improper tactics to impede Britains divorce from the EU The latest furore began when he said the eight prime ministers had agreed to back a British vote on the final Brexit deal. Sir Vince said the group had sent a clear signal that Brexit should be challenged by supposedly agreeing to a joint statement published by the Lib Dems The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group (ALDE), to which all the leaders belong, issued a furious response, saying such a statement was never signed. Daily Mail Philip Collins: A wall of vanity divides Labour and the Lib Dems Corbyn launches local government campaign There is a residual sense of oh-how-could-you? about the Lib Dem participation in the coalition and it is gratifying to be able to blame two parties for austerity rather than one. Labour activists also speak contemptuously of the Lib Dem tendency to be left wing in right-wing towns and right wing in left-wing towns. Yet it is also more than that. These two proximate parties have a wall between them, erected by politicians who came to maturity before the age when open versus closed was the main dividing line. These walls between parties are high and very few ever attempt to scale them. The co-operation that any impartial spectator would think rational will only ever happen once those walls are torn down. The Times Jeremy Corbyn urged voters to punish the Tories at the local elections today but launched his campaign amid signs his soft stance on Russia has hit support. A series of polls since the Salisbury attack have seen Theresa Mays party edge into a narrow lead. The latest survey by ICM showed the Tories up one on 44 per cent and Labour down one on 41 per cent. Most polls since last years general election have seen the two parties tied or Labour slightly ahead. Mr Corbyn has been widely criticised for appearing hesitant to blame the Kremlin for the attack when even many on his own side have accepted the evidence pointing to Russia and firmly endorsed Mrs Mays hardline stance. Daily Mail Local polls are referendums on austerity, Labour leader argues FT More: Corbyn in second Facebook group linked to anti-Semitism The Times Oppositions economic plans risk scaring off investors FT >Today: Harry Phibbs in Local Government: After Brexit, EU nationals in the UK should have the right to vote in local elections so should all other permanent residents Cameron backs Harman for Speaker become Speaker. I know thats just the endorsement you need, Mr Cameron joked of the cross-party alliance. The Times Deputy says next Labour leadership contest should be female-only Daily Mail MPs angry over partys handling of harassment hearing The Guardian Brown calls for investigation into the Sunday Times David Camerons relationship with John Bercow remains as bitter as ever, with the former prime minister privately backing Harriet Harman to become Commons Speaker. Mr Bercow is under pressure after allegations of bullying made against him by a former parliamentary clerk. Ms Harman has been tipped to replace him and admits in an interview that she would consider it at the time if he were forced out. Mr Cameron regularly clashed with Mr Bercow while Conservative leader and then as prime minister. Almost two years after he left No 10 the bitterness remains and he is supporting efforts to replace the Speaker. It is understood that Mr Cameron bumped into Ms Harman in parliament this week and told her he was rooting for her to Former UK prime minister Gordon Brown has called for a police investigation into Rupert Murdochs Sunday Times newspaper, accusing it of unlawfully accessing his mortgage details with the intention of forcing [him] out of office. Mr Brown said he was considering all avenues to expose the wrongdoing, opening the possibility that he could join those who have launched legal claims against a UK subsidiary of News Corp, Mr Murdochs publishing group. The Sunday Times said it strongly rejects the accusation that it has retained or commissioned any individual knowing them to act illegally or that it has deliberately allowed illegal activity. Mr Browns comments came after John Ford, a former private investigator, claimed he had regularly accessed bank accounts and other personal data on behalf of the Sunday Times. FT News in Brief: A Freer Future by Luke Graham and Lee Rowley Why are you a Conservative? This is so hard a question to answer in a few words that the temptation is to avoid it, and talk about something else. For Luke Graham and Lee Rowley, such evasiveness will not do. In 2017 they entered the Commons by winning seats which had formerly been Labour, so managed to do what Tory candidates had hoped to achieve on a far larger scale, namely persuade former Labour voters that the Conservative Party is preferable to Corbynite socialism, or indeed to socialism of any stripe. Graham took Ochil & South Perthshire, which before a brief SNP interlude in 2015-17 had been Labour since the creation of the seat in 2005. Rowley captured North East Derbyshire, Labour for over 80 years, and in his maiden speech offered a vivid account of how that seat has changed, and is now held by a working-class Conservative whose aunt worked for Arthur Scargill: My constituency has been happily and completely intertwined with Chesterfield for hundreds and hundreds of years. From that market town rises the crooked spire, with which some Members may be aware: a church that has been in place for over six centuries and which is notable for its spire not quite being as straight as it should be. It dominates the landscape of Chesterfield and my constituency for miles around. I am a son of that crooked spire. I was born only a few hundred metres away from where it has stood for those six and a half centuries My constituency came of age in the service of its nation in the provision of energy. At one point a century ago, a predecessor of mine stood in this place and talked of 40,000 men in my constituency who were mining under its ground every single day. Mining is in my constituencys blood andI share that trait, in that both my grandparents were miners, including one who mined for a time at Westhorpe colliery in Killamarsh, a town that I now have the privilege to represent. I am the son of a milkman who left school at 15 and went out to work every day before dawn in order to provide for his children and his wife. I am the son of a lady who left school at 16 and, through sheer force of will, went back to school in her 30s and, while holding down a job and bringing up two boisterous young boys, got two university degrees so that she could provide for her kids and make her life better. I am the great-nephew of the lady who ran the post office at Renishaw, a village in my constituency, and I am the nephew of an aunt who once went to work for the National Union of Mineworkers during the miners strike. North East Derbyshire has demonstrated by electing its first Conservative Member of Parliament since 1931 that it has changed. I do not say that in the spirit of partisanship; I say it as it is merely a fact. In the same way that my constituency has changed, I think my family somehow reflects that change as well, from the descriptions that I have just given. That I am stood here today, a working-class boy able to talk in this place and represent the people I grew up with, is something that I will never forget. I will always seek to do my best for my constituency as a result In A Freer Future, which is only 19 pages long, Graham and Rowley, warn that socialism stalks our landscape again, and declare that it can be beaten by championing free markets, free society, and free expression. They want to speak for Northern, aspirant, working-class heartlands filled with those who want to get on. This is a powerful message. In place of the sense of helpless victimhood long encouraged by Labour MPs comes an idea of freedom and of hope. But it cannot be said that at national level, the Conservatives managed in the 2017 election campaign to articulate this message. Graham and Rowley are moved by an evident sense of frustration at the failure to take on the fossilised, incurious Corbynite Left more effectively. They have helped to set up FREER, a new organisation which will advocate genuinely free-market ideas and promote both economic and social liberalism. Its first Director, Rebecca Lowe, is part of the ConservativeHome team, and its parliamentary supporters include Bim Afolami, Kemi Badenoch, Andrew Bowie, Alex Chalk, Simon Clarke, Therese Coffey, Eddie Hughes, Stephen Kerr, Kwasi Kwarteng, Andrew Lewer, Rachel Maclean, Scott Mann, Damien Moore and Elizabeth Truss. Badenoch is going to contribute a paper about freedom of thought, which will ask: What should the centre-right approach be to new assaults on freedom of expression and diversity of thought? Clarke will tell us, How British society can grow up and ditch the nanny instinct in work and play. The right ways to give young people responsibility. But first we have Graham and Rowley, born in 1985 and 1980, defending the ideas of freedom and classical liberalism, which they believe have somehow become more tainted than a generation ago, with an incredibly effective hit-jobexecuted on the terms, blamed for market inadequacy, corporatism, and in neoliberal guise even foreign policy misadventures. They remind us that thanks to liberalised trade, The number of people in extreme poverty has fallen, on average, by 130,000 every day since 1990. But they fear their own generation has no idea of the progress that has been made, or of the reasons for it: They plot the destruction of capitalism while sipping their Starbucks lattes, and plan their South American gap years unaware that the freedom they enjoy here has been taken away from their Venezuelan peers by the same ideology they, these unfortunate Britons, propound. Here is a worthy venture. But the authors have not yet found the language in which to reach people who do not already agree with them. The very word Freer is an unsatisfactory battle cry, for it exists also as the name of a Conservative MP, Mike Freer, and is far less trenchant than the word Free. Nor can the Conservative case be made entirely in terms of freedom. Graham and Rowley admit this when they write: For us, freedom has never meant atomisation. It does not mandate selfishness or greed, or passing by on the other side. Indeed, quite the opposite is true: freedom builds up the true chosen bonds of community and civility that strengthen our society and champion the less fortunate. The mutual intertwining of the interests, relationships, and shared narratives of our lives is inherently valued. Yet, what we do not do is to seek to direct those ends from on high. We have faith in the goodness of individuals, as innately social animals, to make the right decisions, to offer their service, and to become active in their communities. These are worthy sentiments, but will not make a single heart beat faster. They offer no sense of conservatism as the best way of reconciling freedom with authority; upholding existing institutions including the nation state; and cherishing, adapting and carrying forward traditions to which Labour voters may be as attached as Tories are. David Camerons Big Society failed to fire peoples imagination. The Cameroons drew on admirable traditions of public service, and demonstrated a pragmatic benevolence which at its best was informed by an instinctive grasp of the nations religion and history, as well as by an understanding of how the world is moving. But they too could not find the words to answer the awkward question, Why are you a Conservative? All credit to Graham and Rowley for attempting, however inadequately, to fill this void. At least they recognise there is a serious gap here, which very few politicians or writers are even attempting to fill. Last December, the voters of Alabama did something they had not done for 27 years they elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate. The extraordinary result prompted some to wonder whether the political tide could be turning, even in the Republican strongholds of the South. Last week, I held focus groups in two neighbouring states, Tennessee and Mississippi, to take the temperature in the region, and to assess the current mood of American voters, especially those who had put Donald Trump in the White House. Blue tsunami? Phil Bryant, the Governor of Mississippi, was sanguine about the Alabama upset when I interviewed him in Jackson, the state capital. I think it was an anomaly. The conservative side of the Republican party picked Judge Roy Moore. Who is very conservative. Not only that, he had this strange penchant, apparently, for dating 14 year-old girls when he was 30. Once the voters learned of this he was done as a candidate. That race was lost immediately that information became available. That, he argued, made the result a one-off. I do not think its something where youll see a wave of Democratic movements across the South. Steve Cohen, a Memphis Congressman, who also spoke to us for our Ashcroft In America podcast, conceded that the circumstances were unusual: Moore was a seriously questionable human being and therefore candidate. But the advent of Donald Trump had produced a surge of enthusiasm among Democrats once again eager to turn out and vote. Youre also seeing Republicans who have got buyers remorse, some of whom decided to stay home or decided to vote for a Democrat to put a check and balance on a president who theyre embarrassed by. This, he argued, would continue in this years Congressional elections: Theres going to be a blue tsunami in November. I wouldnt want to be married to him In our groups, buyers remorse was confined to those who had voted mainly against Hillary Clinton, rather than for Trump. Across the country, this amounts to a significant chunk of the electorate, as we found during the campaign, and one that could make a big difference given how narrowly he won some states. But we found that those who had voted enthusiastically for Trump were still on board often citing the economy and the stock market as evidence of his success and were prepared to overlook his private conduct, however regrettable they found it. Stormy Daniels, an adult actress (as some in our groups delicately called her) claims she was paid $130,000 to keep quiet about an affair she had with Trump in 2006, but even our God-fearing Southern voters were unbothered. I want someone to work on our economy and protect our shores. I dont care about the rest of this stuff, because thats all between them and God. Im not going to be that moral compass for him; I wouldnt want to be married to him, but other than that; One of the worst presidents weve had in recent times was probably Carter, and he was one of the most moral presidents Were pretty much resigned to having mediocrity of moral character in our politicians; We didnt elect him to be a saint, we elected him to be a leader. After all, its not like he was in the Oval Office with a cigar and lied to Congress. Some of our Democrat-leaning participants were bemused by Trump supporters attitude to his personal foibles. If President Obama had three different wives, and kids by different wives, and he cheated on those, and his wife was an immigrant, he would have been crucified At what point do you look in the mirror and say, gosh, I may be a hypocrite? I feel a lot safer with him Many in our groups were not sure what to make of the suggestion that Russia had been responsible for the nerve agent attack on a former spy in Britain. To some, it seemed a bit too neat: The poison that was used was specifically developed by the Russians, and I think thats a little, maybe, suspect. Why would they use a toxin everybody knows only they developed? I dont really trust the media, so to me, theres got to be another story. Theres got to be something else thats really going on. Few were especially troubled by Trumps apparently close relationship with the country: I come from the days of the Cold War, and as a kid it was oh my God were gonna get nuked Im not saying were going to be best buddies, but lets find some neutral territory and see if we cant identify some mutual goals. If Trumps approach was surprising, maybe it was one of those things where, you know, keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer. Whether people thought Trump had been complicit in or even aware of Russian attempts to influence the 2016 election depended on whether or not they had voted for him. His opponents thought the unsavoury truth would eventually emerge but, for his supporters, the inquiry into Trump campaign links with Russia was a witch hunt, and a deliberate tactic by the :residents rivals: Its because theyre afraid of him. The more mud you can stir, the easier it is to keep him from doing his job. The prospect of Trump having face-to-face talks with Kim Jong-Un of North Korea, however, inspired a combination of hope and trepidation even among the presidents supporters: I think it could probably go either way; Trump made a post about him being fat and ugly, or something his Twitter needs to be taken away and that North Korean dictator is also insane, so put them in the same room its a disaster waiting to happen. But some saw the development as a vindication of Trumps approach to North Korea and foreign affairs more generally: They stand up, they act tough, and if we dont push back they get their way a little bit more. When we pushed back, he kind of fell back down and said, hey, Ill talk to you. The same principle applied to the Presidents threatened sanctions on steel and aluminium: Hes not gaining room in NAFTA, so hes coming up with these tariffs. And its not so much against steel, its just a play to reorganise NAFTA. Whether or not the threat was merely tactical, the plan is to bring back to America as many jobs as he possibly can. While some who had gone off Trump since the election (or never liked him to start with) thought the rest of the world found him laughable, there was also a view that his unstable image worked to Americas advantage: I think they probably dont know how to take him Some of the things he says are absolutely ridiculous, but I also think that because of that, it makes him unpredictable, and other countries could be somewhat nervous of what he could do. This contrasted with what they saw as the more conciliatory approach under President Obama, when people werent, like, scared of us. Im tired of watching these stories My favourite story of history is when Napoleon came over here to take over America he realised we all had guns, and he ran back home, and had six, nine months to get back home before everyone realised he had left, because were all armed. This particular episode, recounted by a man in one of our Tennessee groups, is not one I remember being taught at school. Even so, it encapsulates how many Americans feel about their right to own firearms, and the responsibility that comes with it. Governor Bryant made the same point (albeit on rather firmer historical grounds) when I put it to him that most people in Britain are baffled by the American attitude to guns. I think if you go back to the very beginning of the United States and the revolution, and Ill be sensitive here, but it was because Americans had guns. Most of those were used for protection and hunting, as they are today. Moreover, he argued, they have always been a guarantee against the emergence of a dictatorship. So it is part of the culture of America to believe we have the right to bear arms, and that shall not be infringed upon by the Government. The Governor told me he owned probably 15 guns himself, and most of our focus group participants in both Tennessee and Mississippi normal working people from a range of social backgrounds owned at least one, often more. They were all committed to the Second Amendment, and regularly argued that if guns were illegal, the only people still to have them would be the criminals. Nevertheless, they were more open to the idea of reforming gun laws than might have been expected, including raising age restrictions and expanding background and mental health checks. There was some resistance: the problem isnt the people who are going to follow the law and go through the right channels to get a gun, the problem is the people like this guy who goes and shoots up a school. If the laws are different, is that going to prevent him from doing it?; If you raise the age its just like a pack of cigarettes. I can get you to go buy it for me. Yet there was a feeling that it was time to try something: Can we knock it after weve tried it? Because meanwhile, we have seventh graders on the street wondering is the next bullied kid or sinister person gonna be at their school; I think enough people see these stories and think, I might not agree with it, but if you think youre doing something to prevent that from happening, give it your best shot, because Im tired of watching those stories. Changing the flag wouldnt change people Mississippis flag is the only one in the 50 states still to incorporate the Confederate battle cross. After an attempt to change it was defeated at the polls 14 years ago, the emblem sharply divides local opinion. For most of the white voters we spoke to, they should leave it alone. Its history. The Confederate battle flag represents three hundred and forty something thousand dead Americans. Never flew over a slave ship, never represented slavery. Its there, its history, its my family history. Some put the debate down to outside agitators: Its activists that come down from the North and start everybody up I guess if I was a black person and I looked at that flag and thought, hey, they put that up there because they hate me but I truly dont believe the ones down here thought that until a lot of people came down here and put it in their heads. But the African-American voters we spoke to wanted a change: We need something new, something fresh, something that represents everybody. Thats from a negative time period oppression, supremacy, slavery. Not that a new flag would solve every problem: Changing the flag wouldnt change people Its not going to make those people that want that flag there act any different. In Mississippi, we are still struggling. We might have positions, we might have jobs, but if someone wants to come in and take that from us, we can lose it because of our colour. Thats just how it is here. Some felt the situation had worsened since the election: The whites attitude changed, here in Jackson, Mississippi. Looking down on you, getting on the other side of the street Im serious with you. Once upon a time they would have been hey, how you doin?, trying to be your friend. Now its close the door. I asked Governor Bryant if he understood why the flag made some uncomfortable. Absolutely I do. Im sensitive to the fact that African-Americans look at it in a different way. He has asked the state legislature to put the question once again to the people (the sovereigns, as he likes to call them) in November: Let the people vote, I would more than welcome their decision, whether thats to keep the current flag, or to change the flag. But it has to be the peoples decision to do so. The latest Ashcroft In America podcast, featuring interviews with Governor Phil Bryant and Rep. Steve Cohen, plus extracts and analysis from Lord Ashcrofts Tennessee and Mississippi focus groups, is here. After Brexit, EU nationals in the UK should have the right to vote in local elections so should all other permanent residents There are 2.2 million people working in the UK who are citizens of other EU member states. They have the right to vote in local elections but not General Elections. Most of them are natural Conservatives often their reason for being here is to escape the high tax rates in such countries as France and Italy. They certainly tend to be hard-working. They were not allowed to vote in the EU referendum and some are predicting that they will take the chance to exact revenge on the Conservatives in the local elections on May 3rd. No doubt some will. However others accept that whatever their view of Brexit, it is an irrelevance to those elections. Also much of the initial indignation was based on a genuine fear that they would not be allowed to stay. In December it was made very clear they would be. The Home Office states: Those who have already had five years of continuous residence in the UK will be eligible to apply for settled status. Others will be able to remain in the UK to build-up five years continuous residence. What about their all important right to vote in future local elections? The same Home Office briefing says: The EU Commission said it did not have the right to agree voting rights on behalf of EU Member States. It is our view that voting in local elections helps EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU contribute to and feel a part of the local communities in which they live. That is why we will explore bilateral arrangements on voting rights with Member States that do not already provide for this in their national law. It could all end up being rather untidy. Removing any existing rights for EU nationals would send out a negative message. So I would be surprised if anyone lost their right to vote. What about new arrivals from the EU after Brexit? In future elections when canvassing will we be asking Spaniards on the doorstep if they arrived before or after March 29th 2019? That would be rather muddled. On the other hand where would be the justice in a discriminatory policy. Why should a Swede be able to vote in the council elections but not a Norwegian? For that matter, does the preferential treatment for those from the Commonwealth really much much sense? Why do the Canadians in Ravenscourt Park Ward have the chance to vote for me but those from the United States have this opportunity denied? Consider a Peruvian woman married to a British citizen. She lives with her family in London. Her husband is British, her children have British citizenship and attend local schools. She has lived here for 20 years and has long since had permanent residence status which you can obtain after five years. The family are hard working, law abiding, home owning, church going Council Taxpayers. She is the coordinator for the local Neighbourhood Watch. Of course she could apply for and be granted British citizenship but she has a sentimental streak and cant quite break her allegiance to her old country. Certainly she should be denied a vote in a General Election here. But in a local election? That seems unreasonable. The only outcome that would be both practical and fair would be to allow all those with the status of permanent residents, the right to vote for local elections including for the Welsh Assembly and the Scottish Parliament. What about the principle of no taxation without representation? Shouldnt Council Taxpayers wherever they are from, have a say in who spends their money? Of course the statute book is groaning under the weight of contradictory laws thrown up by accidents of history. Im told that trying to sort out these anomalies could be problematic for Government without an overall majority. It would mean amending the Representation of the People Act which could then allow an array of other changes to be proposed on different aspects of the voting system. But widening the franchise in this way would not only be logical and just but it would send out the right message. It would symbolise that Brexit is not a narrow minded, mean spirited, inward looking process. Instead it is about us being a confident, outward-looking nation welcoming those with a contribution to make, wherever they come from on the planet. Richard Risby: We must not forget the Tartars as Putin oppresses them in Crimea Lord Risby is Chairman of the British Ukrainian Society. If recent events have dramatically focused on the words and actions of the re-elected Vladimir Putin, it is surely worth highlighting Crimea again. One of the most extraordinary sights of the Presidential election campaign was the thousands of Crimean residents enthusiastically endorsing his candidature. But certainly not all and most certainly not the Crimean Tartars, the Turkic speaking minority who have been central to the life of the peninsula since the 14th Century. When Stalin ruthlessly introduced agricultural collectivisation he deliberately caused the death by starvation of millions of Ukrainians, including Tartars. In 1944 the entire Crimean Tartar population was deported to central Asia. Today they number some 250,000 in Crimea but understandably many live in Turkey, Uzbekistan, and in Ukraine itself. After their return, in due course a parliament, the Mejlis, was created to act as a representative body for their community. Subsequent to the invasion of Crimea by Russia four years ago, the Mejlis was disbanded as an extremist organisation and Mejlis members were arrested and imprisoned. Last week a group of us met senior Tartars. They told us that Tartars in Crimea feel extremely unsafe in the streets, patrolled by Russian GRU intelligence special forces and so called self-defence of Crimea gangs. Any perceived opposition is ruthlessly suppressed. Frequently Tartars suffer abductions, torture and criminal accusations as well as imprisonment. Searches of homes, mosques and schools are regular features of Tartar daily life in an overall atmosphere of intimidation. Ahead of the presidential election, they received visits to their homes to encourage them in no uncertain terms to vote. By contrast Russians are being encouraged to settle in Crimea with promises of housing, jobs and educational facilities, and indeed up to one million have arrived. Crimea has never been self-supporting and basic services are very stretched for example, official figures suggest an alarmingly high infant mortality rate. There are substantial economic links between Turkey and Russia. However, Turkey has been robust calling for the restoration of the territorial integrity of Crimea. President Erdogan negotiated the release from prison of two Mejlis prisoners, Ilmi Umerov and Akhtem Chiygoz, and continues to highlight the plight of this ethnically and culturally similar minority. In our Parliament we try to maintain comprehensive links with our Ukrainian counterparts and with key Ukrainian individuals. The Tartars remain a somewhat forgotten entity in the whole Ukraine-Russia saga, but hearing their representatives illuminated graphically the Russian governments actions towards a people who collectively oppose the occupation of Crimea. The Sun says today that there will be a Commons vote on Heathrow expansion in June. ConservativeHome is told that it will be then or thereabouts certainly this summer. The Airports Commission recommended the airports proposal for a new north-west runway. The Government backed the Commission. Today, the Transport Select Committee supports the Government in principle: we conclude that the Government is right to pursue development at Heathrow and accept the strategic arguments the Government has made in favour of its preferred scheme, it says in a new report. This is part of the process, including a further consultation, that Chris Grayling announced last September. He indicated then that the Government would produce a final proposal for a vote in the first half of 2018. We understand that it would have been earlier had there not been a delay in establishing the Select Committees. Put like that, the process sounds painstakingly scrupulous or frustratingly slow, according to ones point of view. But it is only part of a much longer story. Other countries made major airport expansions; the Thatcher, Major, Blair and Brown governments did not. By the time of the Coalition, it was agreed that Something Must Be Done. The big battalions were for Heathrow. Conservative MPs in south-west London and elsewhere in the capital werent. David Cameron set up an Airports Commission to make a recommendation conveniently timed for after the 2015 election. The Commission duly backed the Heathrow north-west runway scheme unanimouslyby which time Cameron had won an unexpected majority, and there were even more unhappy Tory MPs in south-west London. Then came the EU referendum and last years general election. In consequence, the number of Conservative MPs in south-west London has been reduced a bit, and the next election isnt due until 2022. The big battalions are still for the Heathrow scheme, as the Select Committees report confirms. The stocks are sold, the press is squared, the middle class is quite prepared except in the suburbs near Wimbledon Common and Twickenham Stadium and Richmond Park, and so on. May and Chris Grayling want to get on with it. They calculate that they have the numbers: that any Tory rebellion will be offset by Labour and SNP support. Perhaps the Downing Street view is that voters in south-west London are expecting a vote for Heathrow anyway, sooner or later, and that the London local election results will be dire in any event. Zac Goldsmith can scarcely call another by-election. And Boris Johnson will not lie down in front of the bulldozers to stop expansion, as he once promised to do. Not that they will be juddering into action any time soon. Britain has a big capital city, a relatively crowded south-east, a planning system that moves slowly, and a tenacious attachment to litigation. Even if none of the forthcoming legal appeals are successful, we wont see that new runway for a long time yet. For opponents of Heathrow expansion, developments will seem less slow. They argue that the whole process was set up to further the conventional wisdom, which in this case, as so often elsewhere, will turn out to be wrong. They add that the costs of the plan dont add up, since Heathrow wont pay for a runway it cant charge passengers for, and that the Select Committee report points out that the circle on costs needs to be squared. It also recommends several additional conditions of approvalon air quality, surface access, connectivity, costs and charges, noise, community impacts, resource and waste management. Thats a long list. And, in a sense, the committee report itself needs to be squared. On the one hand, it commends the Heathrow scheme in principle. On the other, it expresses a mass of qualifications about the practice: before votes in Parliament to Airports National Policy Statement approve a final NPS, we would like to see evidence to demonstrate that the Northwest Runway scheme is both affordable and deliverable and that steps are being taken to address the valid concerns we heard in evidence about the high cost of the scheme and the significant risk that costs will rise. Is concentrating expansion at Heathrow really necessary? Should the environmental burdens not be spread more widely, with Gatwick bearing some of them, while also gaining from an expansion of flights, visitors and business? Or should expansion not be pushed east, to Stansted, or north towards Birmingham? What about Boris Island? The questions roll on. One view this morning is that the Select Committee report has exposed the schemes Achilles heel: costs. There is an inglorious tradition of big infrastructure projects running over budget. But the politics of Heathrow expansion looks a lot like the politics of, say, HS2 (as does its budgeting, some will add). A number of MPs with local interests are opposed. They are passionately committed to their constituents cause, and follow the arguments in detail. Most MPs do not. They have been persuaded that the most simple answer is also the right one to grow Britains biggest airport further. May and Graylings cry will be that Britain must raise its infrastructure game to make the most of Brexit. For years, the airport expansion decision has itself been like one of those planes that seem to circle Heathrow ceaselessly, with groaning passengers yearning to land. Like them, many voters will want to get a move on. CORNWALL, Ontario A 44-year-old Akwesasne man was arrested on March 15, 2018 and charged with fraud. He was also charged with breach of recognizance for consuming alcohol, as well as breach of undertaking for communicating with his ex-girlfriend, being within 100 meters of her and for failing to keep the peace. It is alleged on March 2, 2018 the man attended a Brookdale Ave. restaurant and left the restaurant, making no attempt to pay for his meal. It is also alleged on March 15, 2018 the intoxicated man attended his ex-girlfriends residence, despite his conditions, and police were contacted to investigate. He was taken into custody, charged accordingly and held for a bail hearing. His name was not released as the conditions stem from domestic incidents and would identify the victim in the matter. THREATS CORNWALL, Ontario James Masson, 42, of Cornwall was arrested on March 14, 2018 and charged with threats. It is alleged on February 28, 2018 the man threatened his probation officer and police were contacted to investigate. On March 14, 2018 the man was taken into custody, charged accordingly and held for a bail hearing. There were 34 calls for service in the City of Cornwall in the last 24 hours (8 a.m. the previous day to 8 a.m. the day of the release). To see whats happening in your neighbourhood visit our Crime Plot Map @ http://www.cornwallpolice.ca. CCPS reserves the right not to post all calls for service in order to protect the identity of the victims. CORNWALL, Ontario Melissa Wattie, 38, of Cornwall was arrested on March 22, 2018 and charged with Fraud over $5,000. It is alleged the woman failed to declare changes in her living arrangements to the Ontario Works Resource Centre between July, 2014 and September, 2016 which resulted in an overpayment of $11,101.00. On March 22nd, 2018 the woman attended police headquarters to deal with the matter. She was taken into custody, charged accordingly and released to appear in court on April 26th, 2018. BREACH Cornwall, ON Stepha Franklin, 28, of Cornwall was arrested on March 22nd, 2018 and charged with breach of recognizance for failing to reside at a certain address and being outside his residence after curfew. He was also charged with breach of probation for failing to keep the peace. It is alleged on March 10th, 2018 police attended a Pitt Street business on an unrelated matter and found the man in breach of his conditions. During the investigation it was learned the male was allegedly not residing at a residence indicated in his conditions. On March 22nd, 2018 the man attended police headquarters to deal with the matter. He was taken into custody, charged accordingly and held for a bail hearing. ASSAULT, OVERCOME RESISTANCE Cornwall, ON A 26-year-old Cornwall man was arrested on March 22nd, 2018 and charged with assault and overcome resistance (choking). It is alleged between January, 2014 and March, 2018 the man assaulted his wife on multiple occasions. It is also alleged the man assaulted his step-son and choked his wife. Police were contacted and an investigation ensued. On March 22nd, 2018, the man was taken into custody, charged accordingly and held for a bail hearing. His name was not released as it would identify the victims in the matter. BREACH Cornwall, ON Eric Pelletier, 32, of Chateauguay was arrested on March 22nd, 2018 and charged with breach of recognizance for not remaining in Alberta and failing to keep the peace. It is alleged on March 22nd, 2018 the man was observed in breach of his conditions and police were contacted to investigate. On March 22nd, 2018 the man was taken into custody, charged accordingly and held for a bail hearing. ASSAULT CAUSE BODILY HARM Cornwall, ON A 40-year-old Cornwall man was arrested on March 22nd, 2018 and charged with assault cause bodily harm. It is alleged on March 21st, 2018 the man assaulted his girlfriend causing an injury that required medical attention. Police were contacted and an investigation ensued. On March 22nd, 2018 he was taken into custody, charged accordingly and held for a bail hearing. His name was not released as it would identify the victim in the matter. WARRANT Cornwall, ON Jason Wyngaert, 37, of Moose Creek was arrested on March 22nd, 2018 on the strength of a warrant. It is alleged the man breached his conditional sentence order and a warrant was issued for his arrest. On March 22nd, 2018 a member of the Cornwall Community Police Service assumed custody of the man from OPP as they had the man in custody on the strength of Cornwalls warrant. The warrant was executed and the man was held for a bail hearing. There were 56 calls for service in the City of Cornwall in the last 24 hours (8am the previous day to 8am the day of the release). To see whats happening in your neighbourhood visit our Crime Plot Map. CCPS reserves the right not to post all calls for service in order to protect the identity of the victims. SMITHS FALLS, Ontario The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) East Region participated in the Provincial Distracted Driving Campaign which took place from March 12, 2018-March 18, 2018. This week long campaign concentrated on enforcement directed towards Distracted Driving and the use of cell phones while driving. During this week a total of 688 drivers across East Region were charged with using a hand-hand electronic device while driving. In addition there were also a total of 22 drivers charged with distracted related careless driving. OPP would like to remind drivers that inattentive driving is the number one reason for fatalities on OPP patrolled roadways. The number of Provincial Offences that were issued during this week related to distracted driving shows this is still a concern on our roadways. The number of charges that resulted from this past weeks Distracted Driving campaign on East Region Highways patrolled by the OPP is a disheartening reminder that the community has not heard the message. Inattentive driving results in tragedy that can be avoided. The OPP is asking for your assistance in stopping this tragedy, by simply keeping your eyes and attention focused on driving and nothing further. I ask that you leave the phone alone, answering a text or phone call is not worth a life. stated Traffic Inspector Paul Bedard. Oracle pulled the curtain back from its newest campus on Thursday an expansive innovation center in Austin, Texas, entirely focused on promoting the software giant's cloud solutions and cultivating a workforce without attachments to its legacy on-premises business. A month after announcing a massive data center buildout to expand the presence of its cloud infrastructure, Oracle shared the vision for a capital project that aims at attracting talent, especially in the sales space, and creating an environment to showcase Oracle's cloud technology for customers and partners. Employees started moving in at the start of the year, an Oracle spokesperson told CRN. The tech giant headquartered in Redwood Shores, Calif. (pictured), has invested somewhere around a billion dollars on building out the lakefront campus, which creates an environment designed to appeal to the professional preferences of a new generation of Oracle employees, said Edward Roske, CEO of interRel, an Oracle partner in Arlington, Texas. "This is really a pivot from people who understand on-prem to those who understand cloud. No one in this building will have any holdover legacy background," Roske said. [Related: Oracle: Q3 Results Don't Adequately Reflect Potential For Cloud Growth] Oracle Co-CEO Mark Hurd, in a prepared statement, said the facility is intended to lure the kind of employees who can support the growth of the company's cloud business and encourage customers to accelerate their adoption of cloud services. Oracle described the facility as a "sales innovation customer experience hub." The 560,000-square foot campus located on 40 acres around Lady Bird Lake in the Texas capital will welcome customers who want to interact with Oracle's cutting-edge cloud technology and test-drive the latest products. The campus will be largely staffed by cloud-focused sales agents, including many new graduates recruited through Oracle's college outreach program. Oracle said the campus could ultimately support up to 10,000 workers, some of whom will live in a neighboring apartment building the company is constructing. From the campus, Oracle will launch its Next Generation Contact Center, a customer support operation which looks to enhance the customer experience by leveraging Oracle Sales Cloud to drive the sales process. A new Oracle Cloud Solution Hub will also be set up at the Austin campus. The hubsthree more will operate at other Oracle sites across the countryshowcase Oracle cloud projects in the works or already deployed in the field for customers. Engineers will be available to demonstrate Oracle's next-gen solutions, from AI to virtual reality to bots. Roske, of interRel, said partners would benefit from Oracle making it easier for customers to get their hands on advanced technologies being developedand they will have a role to play in facilitating that process. "They want partners to contribute," Roske told CRN. That means recommending solutions to feature in the hub and customers that will benefit from seeing them. At the same time, "just like any customer, we will be able to go down and interact with the hub, try new software, interact with engineers, hear success stories," Roske said. The new facility will also provide a home to a program promoting startups working with Oracle cloud technology, the company said. Fast-growing Dell Technologies-backed Pivotal Software, which is grabbing share in the cloud platform-as-a-service applications market, filed for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. Pivotal posted a net loss of $163 million on a 23 percent increase in sales of $509 million for its fiscal year 2018, ending Feb. 2, 2018. The company did not provide an initial price per share in its S-1 filing. Dell is currently Pivotal's majority stockholder. Other major Pivotal shareholders include Microsoft, Ford and GE. Once Pivotal goes public, Dell Technologies will own, indirectly through its subsidiaries -- including VMware -- 351,028,548 shares of outstanding Class B common stock. [Related: Michael Dell On Software-Defined Upstaging Public Cloud, 'Increasingly Integrating' Dell's Full Portfolio, and Channel Sales Momentum] "As a result, Dell Technologies will be able to exercise control over all matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including the election of our directors and approval of significant corporate transactions. Dell Technologies' controlling interest may discourage or prevent a change in control of our company that other holders of our common stock may favor," said Pivotal in the filing. The public offering comes on the heels of Dell Technologies considering strategic options that include going public or merging with its subsidiary VMware. Dell CEO Michael Dell said earlier this year his Round Rock, Texas-based company is evaluating the two "potential business opportunities" with the desire to grow the company "even faster and thrive in the very dynamic IT marketplace." "This is one of Dell Technologies' most highly prized technology assets," said Bob Venero, CEO of Holbrook, N.Y.-based solution provider Future Tech, a Dell EMC Titanium partner. "Pivotal is aimed at taking advantage of the ever-growing cloud opportunities whether they be hybrid, on-premises or native public cloud. The majority of the Fortune 500 are utilizing Pivotal to build cloud applications in some fashion." Venero said he sees the Pivotal IPO as a major move by Michael Dell to leverage all of his assets to drive cost advantages for partners and customers. "If Michael is doing this there is obviously a good financial and structural reason for him to do it," said Venero. "The one thing we have learned from past success is to trust Michael's instincts around these types of big technology bets. It is going to be very interesting to see what kind of appetite there is for the Pivotal IPO." After raising $40 million from investors last summer, Internet of Things startup Samsara is adding another $50 million to its nest egg with a new funding round announced Thursday. Kiren Sekar, vice president of product management and marketing at Samsara, told CRN that the San Francisco-based company would use the new capital to expand all aspects of its enterprise IoT platform business, including its channel program, sales and marketing, international expansion, and research and development. The company's headcount is expected to grow from 300 employees to more than 550 by the end of the year. Samsara CEO Sanjit Biswas and CTO John Bicket previously founded Meraki, a cloud networking company that was acquired by Cisco in 2012 for $1.2 billion. Like Meraki, Samsara uses channel partners to help find new sales opportunities. While Sekar declined to break out what percentage of sales come through the channel, he said the company's "channel business is growing very fast, and it's something we're very excited about continuing to invest in." Sekar said the kind of partners Samsara works with are in IT, as well as transportation. "In general, we found that a lot of partners are IT partners who are expanding into [operational technology] as IT and OT converge," he said. These IT partners, Sekar added, "are looking to Samsara and IoT as a way to extend their practices into operational parts of businesses that they might not have been working in as much, but this technology convergence is making their skill sets and what they offer extremely relevant to new parts of a customer's organization." The new financing, which Samsara raised from return investors General Catalyst and Andreessen Horowitz, comes as the company has been adding customers and growing sales at an aggressive rate. According to a press release, the company has been increasing sales 250 percent annually while adding 1,700 transportation customers every quarter. Sekar said those companies range from SMB to enterprise in size. With Samsara's enterprise IoT platform, the company aims to help companies improve the efficiency of their operations using real-time GPS tracking, wireless sensors, video, and mobile applications. While most of Samsara's customers are in transportation, the company also works in other industries where the tracking and analysis of physical operations can be beneficial, including construction and food and beverage. "The business impact that our customers report from lower operating costs to increased safety and customer service has been resounding," Biswas said in a statement. "This new funding will allow us to accelerate our pace of innovation even further, and to scale our organization to support even more new customers." The Week Ending March 23 Topping this week's roundup of companies that came to win is Dell EMC, which launched a new offensive against Cisco Systems in the red-hot SD-WAN space with a new virtual networking platform. Also making the list this week are Salesforce for its $6.5 billion acquisition of MuleSoft, solution provider World Wide Technology for getting in on the ground floor of leading-edge technology through an alliance with a venture fund company, Samsung for launching the Galaxy Tab Active2 tablet that's sold exclusively through the channel, and communications services vendor Vonage for launching its first channel program. Not everyone in the IT industry was making smart moves this week, of course. For a rundown of companies that were unfortunate, unsuccessful or just didn't make good decisions, check out this week's 5 Companies That Had A Rough Week roundup. The Norwegian Ministry of Transportation and Communications has split Norwegian coastal service voyages starting in 2021 and going through 2030 between the established Hurtigruten, which will continue to operate seven ships on the route, and newcomer, Havila, which plans to build four new ships. The 11 ships will sail year-round between Bergen and Kirkenes, with daily departures, calling at 34 ports. The government had initially planned to split the subsidized contract between companies to encourage what it called more competitive services. Hurtigruten has previously operated the coastal service since 1893. Hurtigruten CEO Daniel Skjeldam described the negotiations with the ministry as tough and said it came down to price. Most interested parties pulled out before the negotiations even got underway, he said in a prepared statement. The new contract also stipulates stricter environmental compliance. The government subsidy amounts to NOK 788 million per year or about $100 million. Havila Shipping has committed to building four new ships for the service and is said to be considering hybrid power solutions, including LNG and batteries. Hurtigruten has said it will modernize its existing ships to comply with the new contract. In addition, Hurtigruten plans to sail its three largest ships, the Trollfjord, Midnatsol and Finnmarken, between Bergen and Kirkenes, as coastal cruises for international passenger sourcing, not carrying local passengers. Hurtigruten will also continue its expedition cruise program, the company said. Based on Fosnavaag, Norway, Havila is supplier of services to the international offshore industry and operates 23 vessels within subsea construction, anchor handling, platform supply and multi-field rescue recovery services. Havila was not immediately reachable for comment. Havila is set to operate four new coastal cruise-style ships on a route on the Norwegian coast, according to a decision from the Norwegian Ministry of Transportation and Communications, which has split the coastal route between Hurtigruten and the newcomer, Havila. The route helps keep coastal Norway connected, with 34 ports seeing daily ship calls, bringing passengers, provisions, mail and other cargo. The new agreement starts on Jan. 1, 2021, leaving Havila little time to build and launch four ships. A shipyard has yet to be named. The company has said it is studying LNG and battery power for the vessels, which are expected to be in the 600-guest range. The Norwegian government has also introduced an incentive plan for green initiatives by either Hurtigruten or Havila. The government hopes to cut CO2 emissions by 25 percent. Of note, Hurtigruten is already plugging in to shorepower in Bergen. The ship design is already done, according to local reports, as the Havyard Group has put together a vessel concept and general plan. The company shares ownership with Havila, under the Svik family. Havila Shipping was established in 2003, and was the third such company founded by Per Svik, father of current CEO Njal Svik. The company operates a fleet of 23 modern offshore vessels. From the moment last fall when the General Assembly created a commission to stanch Connecticuts fiscal meltdown and economic malaise, we all knew producing a set of recommendations would be hard enough and producing meaningful change in an election year almost impossible. Now were seeing that reality play out, with Fridays grand public hearing at the Capitol involving so many lawmakers theres no meeting room to fit them all. Business groups dont like the sweeping reform plans payroll tax of 0.8 percent, small businesses dont like the expanded sales tax, restaurants and growers dont like the $15-an-hour minimum wage, motorists dont like the gas tax hike, commuters and truckers abhor the highway tolls and clients of state services worry about the $1 billion spending cut. Cities and towns are happy for now, until some of that $1 billion in cuts comes out of their hides. Oh, did I mention organized labor? Connecticuts public employee unions have mounted an attack on the Commission on Fiscal Sustainability and Economic Growth. And theyre doing it not, for the most part, based on fairness to workers but rather on grounds that many of the pitched changes make no economic sense. Led by state AFL-CIO president Lori Pelletier and Sal Luciano, head of AFSCME Council 4, among others, union leaders and members are speaking with what they call a scientific voice against a $2.1 billion cut in the state income tax, reforms in teacher pensions, cuts in agency spending, a tightening of collective bargaining rules and a remake in the way the state sets benefits for its employees. A good, stable, long service workforce is an asset to be proud of and support, not a burden or a punching bag, said a 14-page response by Pelletier, Luciano, Jan Hochadel of AFT Connecticut, Thomas Bontly of UConn-AAUP and Dan Livingston, chief negotiator for the state employees bargaining coalition. That gets to the heart of the matter in politics and economics. In the former, the union leaders are dead right that theyre viewed by many in the public, and some elected officials, as the enemy of fiscal responsibility because of bloated pensions, benefits and overtime policies. The unions arent the problem. The problem is old, legacy benefit packages that werent funded and were not created by the collective bargaining system we have now. But they go too far. They belittle the commission, which is dominated by business executives, as a bunch of neophytes when it comes to public policy. The title: A Freshmans First Report Arrogance and Lack of Courage Lead to a Missed Opportunity for Reform. They ask: We wouldnt let a newly enlightened college student run the world after one semester, so why give so much power to the commission? Thats a bit harsh considering the co-chairmen Jim Smith, recently retired as the longtime CEO of the parent of Webster Bank, and Robert Patricelli, a recently retired health care executive have been around public policy literally their entire lives. Patricelli started his career in the White House and both learned from fathers who ran local companies, in Smiths case, as founder of the same bank. Besides, the commissions sweeping recommendations include measures the unions might like: The $15 an hour minimum wage by 2022 (they want it now, but still); a cut in the state income tax for working families; taxes and fees to pay for transportation; and the business payroll tax, although they call it too small, enacted on a community that just saw its federal tax rates reduced from 35 percent to 21 percent. The commission even suggested that health and retirement benefits for state employees hired after last summer might be too low to attract the right people. Politics and putdowns aside, the economic question whats going to work best? matters most. The unions argue in their own report and a union-backed study released Thursday by the Washington, DC-based Economic Policy Institute that pro-labor policies help the whole states economy. The richest and most successful states, they argue, including New York, California and Massachusetts, are typically those that have strong collective bargaining traditions. For example, the idea of allowing arbitrators to choose compromise pay and benefits awards, advanced by the commission, encourages labor and management to hold extreme positions. The unions say Connecticuts lack of growth comes despite a 20 percent gain in income since 2007, and were not properly taxing that income. They show research claiming its a myth that rich families leave because of high taxes. If we needed more tension, Thursdays Commerce Department report showing Connecticut gained income in 2017 at half the rate of the nation did the trick. Whats the problem? This courageous commission failed to use the words race or class once in their 119-page report, the unions said. Rep. Themis Klarides, R-Derby, the House Republican leader, said she has an open mind about the economic plan and isnt bashing unions, but the state must have more flexible collective bargaining rules. Its not sustainable right now, she said, adding that the unions now criticize the sales tax hike but didnt do so last year when Democrats proposed it. As Klarides says, at least we can all agree we have a fiscal crisis, with $2.5 billion shortfalls projected to return again in just two years. The unions have given six years of pay freezes out of 11 and they do need to give more, but so does everyone. The holdup: Aside from the obvious political deadlock at the Capitol, we lack deep economic analysis. Wisely, lawmakers have asked the state Department of Economic and Community Development to study these economic reforms, the Connecticut biotech industry and three other topics. But Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has slashed spending in agencies. And in a final punctuation of paucity, Commissioner Catherine Smith is now saying no, sorry dear lawmakers. With agency staffing levels down approximately 20 percent, we truly do not have the resources to dedicate to any studies, she said in written testimony for Fridays hearing. Thats what the unions are warning against. Weve cut so much we cant even afford to study whether its smart to cut so much. Michael Short / Special To The Chronicle WALLINGFORD The monthly meeting of the Housatonic Fly Fishermens Association will take place on Thursday, April 5 at 7 p.m. in the St Pauls Episcopal Church, 65 North Main St., Wallingford. The speaker will be Page Rogers who will discuss the topic: "Fly Fishing for False Albacore and Bonito." She is well-known in the fly fishing world and will talk about successful angling techniques. Monthly meetings take place on the first Thursday of the month from September through June. Meetings include featured speakers on various fly fishing subjects, fresh- and saltwater fly tying demonstrations, as well as door prizes. BRIDGEPORT The nervousness Crystal Aguirre felt speaking into the microphone at a crowded school board meeting was overpowered by the desire to get her point across. Let me make this very clear, I am advocating not for myself. It is for the next generation of students who come after me, the 19-year-old Harding High School senior and youth leader at Make the Road Connecticut said, as her voice picked up speed. Aguirre was not alone. Since the start of the new year, teens across the district who are members of Youth Power Committee of Make The Road have been doing the same, airing concerns about walking distances to school, the prison-like feel of passing through metal detectors at the front doors, having teachers some of them anyway that the students say have given up on them. I feel like they are listening, Aguirre said after pouring out her heart to the nine-member Board of Education. A good majority of them, anyway. That is why we keep talking. The groups hope is that the students concerns will filter into the school boards thinking as they figure out where to next cut the districts budget. To drive home the point, the students plan to hold a press conference from 4 to 5 p.m. on Monday, on the steps of City Hall Annex on Broad Street to unveil the findings of their Walking Toward a Brighter Future campaign. The campaign, conducted with the help of Sacred Heart University and the Nature Conservancy, measured the routes students who live within two miles of school take, documenting intersections, sidewalks, potholes. All got failing grades. The campaign has already caught the attention of Schools Superintendent Aresta Johnson. She recently visited the State Street storefront where the youth group meets each Friday after school, and Johnson joined Aguirre Friday at 6 a.m. for a 40-minute walk to school through the East End. Board member Chris Taylor also went along. I think they are awesome, Johnson said. Any time a young person takes a stand and advocates for themselves, it is so impressive. That is what we want our students to do, and the adults we want them to become. I am a huge fan of what they have done. Finding their voices Make the Road Connecticut, an organization that works mostly with Latinos in Bridgeport and Hartford, started a youth group two years ago. Alison Martinez Carrasco, the youth organizer, said the idea was to help students ages 13 to 21 Latino or not think big. The goal is to make sure youth members are trained on skills that will give them the opportunity to take the lead in the community, Carrasco said. Aguirre, who grew up in Bridgeport, found the group in the fall of 2016, when she was handed a flyer inviting her to a cookout. She was never really a joiner, but it sounded fun. I have very bad anxiety, Aguirre said. I was the type of person to shut myself in my room, never come out, never speak to anyone. Something about Make the Road appealed to her. She stayed when she realized the program was helping her find her voice. What attracted me is the power I feel when I am here, Aguirre said. Powerful in a way I dont feel at school or in my life. That power might go toward changing a school district that Aguirre says needs more social workers and more sensitivity to children with mental health issues. The lack of such supports keeps some students from coming to school, where they dont feel safe, Aguirre said. Ilanys Hernandez, 19, now a freshman at Housatonic Community College studying fine arts, was also a Harding student when she joined. It opened my mind to the things that are happening here in Bridgeport, said Hernandez, who had moved from Puerto Rico a couple of years earlier. We were discussing the problems happening around us and how we can make changes. One of Hernandezs biggest beefs is with the citys transit system. Buses are rarely on time. She hears talk of cutting routes and reducing hours of service. I need that bus to go to Housatonic and to here, Hernandez said of Make the Roads State Street office. Morgan Gonzalez, 13, an eighth-grader at Read Middle School, discovered the group at a school board meeting. She was part of a ukelele group there to perform. A friend, Tania Chapa, also a Read eighth-grader, was there to testify as part of Make the Roads Youth Power Committee. I feel they are fighting for a good cause, Gonzalez said. I want to be part of that cause. Gonzalez said she has heard about a lot of consequences in high school that dont seem unfair, like getting marked late when the security line is long. I want it to be OK when I get to high school, Gonzalez said. More than just talk The group does more than speak at school board meetings. Members attend rallies in Hartford, testify before the state Legislature and writes letters and emails. Like the students of Parkland, Fla., who are fighting for safer schools, Make the Road students are whizzes at social media. When Carrasco asked students on recent Friday who had Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter or another form of social media to spread word about the March 26 press conference, all hands shot up. Ive told them, You have a voice and even if it shakes, you have to say what you believe and make sure people listen, Carrasco said. Because if not, your story will be told for you. Johnson said on her visit to the group, she was impressed with how organized they were. They had well-presented action plans, were articulate and confident. Civic engagement, Johnson pointed out, is something the districts mission encourages. Aguirre said she never thought she could lead a meeting. I think that all young people should try and find their voices, she said. My generation doesnt like to be told that we cant do something just because we are younger. That is a total insult to all of us. WASHINGTON - The House Ethics Committee asked two Democratic lawmakers from Illinois to pay the U.S. Treasury after investigations found one used office space in his district for nearly three decades without paying rent and the other paid a staffer-turned-contractor for work that was sometimes legislative in nature. In lengthy reports released Thursday, the ethics panel reproved Reps. Bobby Rush and Luis Gutierrez for violating House rules and called on them to pay $13,310 and $9,700, respectively. The committee will consider the matters closed once the payments have been made, the reports said. The investigations took place after referrals by the independent Office of Congressional Ethics. Rush's spokesman, Ryan Johnson, did not respond to a request for comment. Gutierrez released a statement saying that the Ethics Committee did not find "any willful or intentional wrongdoing" in his case. "Both the Office of Congressional Ethics and the House Committee on Ethics have examined all of the allegations and concluded that there was no intention on my part to misuse congressional funds or violate House rules and, in fact, that I took immediate action when questions about the contract were raised and brought to my personal attention," Gutierrez said in the statement. He added, "I am pleased this is behind us." The cases are a reminder of two rules federal lawmakers must follow: one limiting the value of gifts they receive and the other governing the types of work that contractors can perform for their offices. Rush, the ethics panel found, violated the gift rule by occupying a space in the Lake Meadows Shopping Center in Chicago without paying rent for the duration of his tenure in the House. The former Chicago alderman first signed a lease for the space in 1989, before his election to Congress. "The landlord stopped asking for payment more than two decades ago, and Representative Rush never considered whether this informal, unstated arrangement was a gift he could not accept," the report stated. Rush was asked to pay the Treasury $13,310, the estimated value of the "impermissible gift" he received through the arrangement. Rush has used the space as storage for "junk" since 2008, he has said. Gutierrez faced questions over a contract he maintained between 2003 and 2013 with a communications firm run by his former chief of staff, Doug Scofield. The panel concluded that Scofield occasionally performed impermissible work that was legislative in nature or outside the scope of his contract, including advising Gutierrez on legislative strategy related to the immigration debate. Gutierrez was asked to pay the Treasury $9,700, or roughly 3 percent paid by his office under the contract between 2007 and 2013. The congressman had asked the Committee on House Administration to review the contract at its inception and terminated it in 2013 after the panel expressed concerns. The Ethics Committee "found no reason to believe that [Gutierrez ] or his office intentionally misused the [office budget] in this case" and no evidence he benefited personally from "any misuse" of funds, the report stated. Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump and National Security Adviser Gen. H.R. McMaster mutually agreed that the three-star general and Iraq war veteran will leave the Trump administration, the White House confirmed on Thursday. He will be replaced by former United Nations ambassador John Bolton the third person to take on the role during the current administration. After thirty-four years of service to our nation, I am requesting retirement from the U.S. Army effective this summer after which I will leave public service. Throughout my career it has been my greatest privilege to serve alongside extraordinary servicemembers and dedicated civilians," McMaster said in a statement adding. "I am thankful to President Donald J. Trump for the opportunity to serve him and our nation as national security advisor. Trump lauded McMaster's service saying "I thank General McMaster and his family for their service and wish them the very best. McMaster's departure in early 2018 had been planned and expected, especially as Trump re-tools his team ahead of historic talks with North Korea, sources with direct knowledge told ABC News. He was seen as adding a steady and intellectual voice to Trumps security team, but the president chafed at his style and disposition in Oval Office briefings, the sources said. He also clashed with former Trump advisor Steve Bannon and other top military brass, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. He was also reportedly unable to keep the president's attention in complex briefings, correcting him when he doesn't want to be corrected, and seen as a lecturer, the sources said. Three months on the job, the New York Times reported that Trump described McMaster as "a pain" and complained he talked too much. Just last month, following new indictments targeting Russian cyber operatives, Trump publicly rebuked McMaster, tweeting the general forgot to mention that results of the 2016 election were not impacted or changed by the Russians - something the indictment never said. McMaster also broke with Trump on several issues. He has urged continuation of the Iran nuclear deal; opposes the label radical Islamic terrorism; supports free trade deals with key allies like South Korea, and forcefully protested the racially charged violence in Charlottesville. After reports surfaced that Trump revealed highly classified info to the Russians in an Oval Office meeting in May 2017, McMaster vigorously defended the president in an ad hoc press conference outside the West Wing. He remains on active duty as a Lieutenant General in the US Army (3-star). The Pentagon has considered giving McMaster a fourth star and new assignment in the military. McMaster's resignation comes on the heels of other high profile departures including deputy national security adviser Dina Powell, staff secretary Rob Porter, and senior adviser Hope Hicks. By appointing John Bolton to the role of national security adviser, President Trump has just inserted one of Washington's most vocal war hawks to work beside him in the West Wing. This worries some congressional Democrats who took to social media to decry Bolton's appointment. he move comes less than a week the president fired Rex Tillerson, whom he had clashed with over their approach to confronting Iran. Bolton does not mince words on Iran. Our goal should be regime change in Iran," he said earlier this year. He has advocated for preemptive strikes in both Iran and North Korea. Just last month he wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal making the case for striking North Korea, and in March of 2015, he made a similar case for Iran in an editorial in The New York Times. With McMaster and Tillerson out and Bolton in, the future of the Iran deal seems more questionable. Trump has until May 12 to decide if he will again sign sanctions waivers. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. STORY LINK ?Aussie? Dollar Capitalises on USD Weakness ? GBP/AUD Exchange Rate Trades Lower EU Leaders Approve Brexit Transition Terms GBP/AUD Exchange Rate Fails to Capitalise US Reveals Chinese Import Tariffs AUD Surprises Markets by Rallying Bank of England Rate Hike Prospects GBP/AUD Exchange Rate Forecast Like this piece? Please share with your friends and colleagues: The Pound Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate traded lower on Friday, failing to fully capitalise on news that EU member states have officially approved the terms of Britains Brexit transition period a big step forward in negotiations.The text, which discussed trade, security and other issues was agreed in less than half a minute, paving the way for the next phase of Brexit talks to begin.The UK is now set to engage in a transition period that will cease on the 31st of December 2020, during which the UK will be able to negotiate trade deals with other nations.UK Prime Minister Theresa May has stated that she believes there is a new spirit of cooperation and opportunity ahead, with both the EU and the UK sounding relatively optimistic about the process ahead.Whilst positive, it would seem that this news was insufficient in bolstering the Pound against the Australian Dollar, with some profit-taking in the early hours and the current AUD rally leaving GBP/AUD paring some of its recent gains.The Australian Dollar surprised economists by rallying today, resilient in the face of the recent US Fed rate hike and news that the US intends on applying import tariffs on up to $60bn of Chinese goods.The White House has argued that these tariffs are necessary in order to better protect American industries, with Chinas sizable trade surplus, questionable intellectual property usage and import tariffs of their own warranting a harsh response.Beijing has been quick in responding, asking the US to step back from the brink and negotiate a settlement.If this does not occur, however, then China has threatened tariffs of their own targeting the US agricultural sector, with goods such as beans, pork and wine, amongst others, in the crosshairs.Beyond this, the US President has tweeted that he is considering vetoing the $1.3tn US spending bill, potentially risking another governmental shutdown.Combined, this news has spooked investors, driving people away from the Greenback to the currently better-performing Australian Dollar.How long this will continue, however, remains to be seen, particularly with the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) currently categorised as dovish compared to both the Bank of England and the US Fed.In other news, Bank of England (BoE) Policymaker Gertjan Vlieghe had some rather hawkish things to say today at a speech in Birmingham, asserting that he sees the need for one or two more rate hikes per year over the next few years.This outlook supported the perspective of Policymakers Ian McCafferty and Michael Saunders, both of whom broke ranks and voted for an immediate rate increase at the latest BoE rate decision.Moreover, the minutes from the latest meeting and Vlieghes comments have effectively laid the groundwork for a rate hike in May, a possibility that could kick GBP/AUD higher as the meeting approaches. International Money Transfer? Ask our resident FX expert a money transfer question or try John's new, free, no-obligation personal service! ,where he helps every step of the way, ensuring you get the best exchange rates on your currency requirements. TAGS: Pound Australian Dollar Forecasts Russia Can Disconnect From The Internet A two-year-old effort to allow the Russian military to rely solely on internal networks during wartime has apparently blossomed into support for a digitally isolated government and civil society as well, a top advisor to Vladimir Putin said this week. Technically, we are ready for any action now, Herman Klimenko, the Russian President's spokesman on interent issuse, told Russian television station NTV recently. He added that any such move would not be painless. In 2016, the government began to operate the Closed Data Transfer Segment, an internal intranet for military and other officials. Klimenko seems to have suggested that the Segment could handle traffic for the rest of the country as well. The Russian government has long worked to reduce dependence on foreign information technology. (Putin has called the Internet a CIA project.) In 2010, Russia launched an effort to create a Linux-based operating system to wean the government from Microsoft products. Five years later, the Russian government mandated that digital data on its citizens be stored on Russian soil, a move perhaps also intended to help keep tabs on the population. Last year, Russia announced that it would build an alternative Domain Name System for use by itself, Brazil, India, China, and South Africa. Klimenko emphasised that moving to an entirely internal Internet would impose unspecified inconveniences for Russia, and would be painful. Thats understatement, says Samuel Bendett, an associate research analyst at CNA and a fellow in Russia studies at the American Foreign Policy Council. Bendett says that digital isolation is technically possible but not necessarily achievable. For one thing, it would have severe consequences for the Russian economy. The key phrase here is that it would be a painful process were that to happen in the first place. He is saying that the Russian military and government have their own closed Internet systems, said Bendett. But while the military may function with its own JWICS [Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System], isolating the Russian society from the global Internet may be a very difficult, if not impossible, process, considering how much Russian economic and socio-cultural nodes depend on global Internet traffic. The announcement follows a series of bellicose statements and moves from the Russian government in recent months. In October of 2017, during the large Zapad military exercise, the Russian government conducted a massive civil defense drill to prepare the population for total war. Defense One: You Migh Also Read: Russia Will Create Its Own Internet: Russia Will Build A Separate Internet Directory: Somerset DA Jeff Thomas facing rape, assault charges Somerset County District Attorney Jeffrey Thomas is facing rape and assault charges after police say he assaulted an acquaintance Sept. 18. Xi Jinping made it. He can now retain his seat for life. The South China Morning Post reported: Under the watch of a confident and relaxed President Xi Jinping, nearly 3,000 Chinese lawmakers were nearly unanimous in their approval of changes to the state constitution that included removing the term limit on the presidency. Chinese Constitution The Hong Kong newspaper said that Xi, who had maintained a poker face throughout the opening day of Peoples National Congress (NPC), appeared "much more at ease after the vote". Only two of the 2,964 deputies voted against the constitutional revisions; the process was over in just one hour: no debate took place, no discussion and not even canvassing. While the international press mainly noted the Emperor-for-life aspect, there is more to the recent amendments of the Chinese Constitution. The China Daily titled: "Xi leading the charge on reform". Perhaps more than a personal determination to emulate Mao, Xi seems to want to transform China into a great power; he calls it the "Chinese Dream". Will Xi leave a place for others to exist in the process is a recurrent question. On March 5, during an interaction with the deputies from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Xi elaborated his vision for the new era a way to realise the peoples aspiration to live a better life and push forward Chinas modernisation. The year 2018, which marks the 40th anniversary of Deng Xiaopings opening up policy, will see a string of changes that should take China closer to a moderately prosperous society in all respects. Xi pledged to continue deepening reform with great political courage; to move forward, the Chinese people were ready to cut paths through mountains, and build bridges across rivers, he said. A day after Xis "promotion", more than two dozen ministries and agencies were overhauled to give the Communist Party greater control and more teeth. The South China Morning Post remarked: The sweeping institutional changes are part of Xis plan to improve the Communist Partys governing efficiency by shaking up vested interests among agencies. It includes the merger of the banking and insurance regulators, a special ministry to oversee the status of military veterans and a new Discipline Commission with larger powers to tackle rampant corruption. The nomination of a vice-president, Xis friend and close collaborator Wang Qishan, is another sign of change. One of the not often mentioned reforms stressed by Xi is the deepening of the military-civilian integration to provide impetus and support for realising the Chinese dream and the goal to build a strong military. On the side of the NPC, Xi, who is also chairman of the all-powerful Central Ministry Commission (CMC), met the PLA delegation; he told them: Implementing the strategy of military-civilian integration is a prerequisite for building integrated national strategies and strategic capabilities. He urged the defence forces to promote military development featuring higher quality, efficiency, and scientific and technological levels. Bordering areas Another aspect of the reform is the development of Chinas land borders (with India in particular). Not only will the military-civilian integration translate into new infrastructure on Indias northern borders, but the development will also be labelled "infrastructure for tourism" while being used by the PLA to reinforce its position. A "democratic" touch is being given to the process. Soon after the conclusion of the 19th Congress in November last year, President Xi sent an answer to two young Tibetan herders who had written to him introducing their village, Yume, north of Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh. Xi encouraged the sisters: to set down roots in the border area, safeguard the Chinese territory and develop their hometown. Without peace in the territory, there will be no peaceful lives for the millions of families. Drolkar and Yangzom, the two sisters, had told Xi about their experience of living in a border area; their village, Yume is not far from the Indian village of Takshing. Village saga A letter from the Emperor was enough for Drolkar to get a seat as a NPC deputy. Drolkars sudden celebrity has helped her village grow exponentially; many Tibetans from the nearby villages now want to move their homes to Yume. Villagers are building new guest accommodations to receive Han tourists, who have started pouring in. As a result, the village will become wealthier... and the border more stable. That is precisely the Emperors plan. Another deputy to the NPC, Kelsang Dekyi, comes from Metok, north of Tuting sector of Arunachal, which recently witnessed a border intrusion (with Chinese excavators). Kelsang was born in 1978, symbolically the beginning of an era which saw the Chinese people relying on knowledge to change its destiny; she grew up in Metok County, once a remote, poverty-stricken, and information-poor area. Kelsang told at a press conference in Beijing: Our school building was very poor; teachers and students had to pick grass to cover the roof. The grass was taller than we were, so when we were walking back wed often trip, and we often had our hands cut. However, if we didnt pick the grass, we couldnt cover the roof, and rainwater would leak into the classroom." These two appointments show the importance that Xi attaches to the border with India. Statistics show that the 75 per cent of the NPCs deputies are new faces, with similar stories. Will it help China to build a better nation? It is not certain, because many of these nominations are just for the show. Incidentally, what would happen when a local girl from Takshing village, on the Indian side of the border, writes a letter to Delhi? One can bet that it would go unnoticed by the authorities. It may not even be delivered. Still, India is a democratic nation. (Courtesy of Mail Today) Also read: Why Xi Jinping will be in firm command of China in 2018 Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal has been dominating headlines for close to a week now. Arguably the biggest embarrassment that Facebook has had to face since its inception, the scandal followed an expose by the New York Times and The Observer. The media investigation found that Cambridge Analytica "harvested private information from the Facebook profiles of more than 50 million users without their permission". More than anything else, the scandal exposed how this self-appointed guardian of our personal data cannot be trusted to safeguard the sensitive information it takes from us. Understandably, the fallout of this realisation led to the general media taking Facebook to the woodsheds and the biggest names in the news business ripping the company to shreds. This coverage also led to Facebook's shares plunging and it being stripped off almost $50 billion of its market cap overnight. Here's what media outlets from across the globe had to say about Facebook's faux pas. The problem is Facebook, not Cambridge Analytica In an opinion piece published by Bloomberg, the publication just falls short of absolving Cambridge Analytica(CA) of its crime stating that it is Facebook and not the voter profiling firm that is the real problem. Laying all the blame on Facebook, the piece argues that as far as allegations of influencing presidential elections go, there's nothing that Cambridge Analytica did in 2016 that Facebook itself didn't offer political clients in previous polls. "It didn't escape keen observers that if the Trump campaign used Facebook user data harvested through an app, it did no more than Barack Obama's 2012 data-heavy re-election campaign. It's not documented exactly how Obama's team gathered oodles of data on potential supporters, but a deep dive into the tech side of that campaign by Sasha Issenberg mentioned how 'targeted sharing' protocols mined an Obama backers Facebook network in search of friends the campaign wanted to register, mobilize, or persuade.' To do this, the protocols would need to use the same feature of the Facebook platform for developers, discontinued in 2015, that allowed apps access to a user's friends' profiles with the user's consent, as Facebook invariably points out." Facebooks threat to democracy is worse than Cambridge Analytica The Globe and Mail's Doug Saunders in this piece chose to focus on the idea that Facebook is a far greater threat than voter profiling firms like Cambridge Analytica. The author outlines that firms like Cambridge Analytica, though dangerous, are only the symptom of a larger problem that Facebook has become. "These excesses deserve investigation and should be regulated, but the Cambridge Analyticas of the world are merely a side effect of a far more serious and immediate threat to democratic stability posed by companies that have unlimited, unquestioned access to even more personal information on hundreds of millions of people that is, the social-media giants themselves, especially Facebook and Googles YouTube." The piece also calls for greater regulatory control over social media websites like Facebook and Twitter to ensure the very survival of democracy. "We need to seize regulatory control of our most popular communications tools, before even more aspects of democratic politics become obsolete and uneconomic." What about Facebooks role in ethnic strife and genocide? While much of the world focuses on the part Facebook and Cambridge Analytica played in influencing US presidential elections in 2016, The Washington Post's Christian Caryl, in this piece, took the opportunity to raise concerns over the role that Facebook plays in exacerbating ethnic strife and communal tensions in many parts of the world. As one of the major platforms for sharing news and information, Facebook has been found time and again guilty of acting as the platform of choice for spreading hate speech and sparking ethnic conflict and even genocide. "Its understandable that Washington politicians should be concerned primarily about the possible damage inflicted upon US citizens by Facebook policies (or its laxness in enforcing them, which may well be the issue in the Cambridge Analytica case). But if the legislators can persuade the elusive Zuckerberg to appear before their committees, they should also take the opportunity to question him about Facebooks global role and specifically about allegations that the platform has allowed itself to become a tool for the instigators of hate speech, ethnic conflict and even genocide." Though Facebook has started to acknowledge the problem and says its making efforts to tackle it, the author argues that a lot more needs to be done as social media companies "certainly cant afford to sit on their hands amid growing public indignation about their perceived reluctance to address abuses". Disclose and let people opt out Writing for NBC, Trevor Timm explains how the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal is the product of a much larger problem. The piece argues that even though this particular case has been in the limelight because of the obvious connections to Donald Trump's presidential campaigns, what cannot be ignored is that Facebook is not the only one in the wrong here as there are countless other companies which are in the "business of collecting and selling access to everyones data on a scale that boggles the mind". The story slams Facebook for its outrage over what it calls "breach of trust" on Cambridge Analytica's part. Calling them out for their hypocrisy, the piece argues that it is Facebook's business model and not these smaller companies that need to be blamed. "Facebook says that it is 'outraged' over the brewing scandal and that it 'will take whatever steps are required' to prevent a similar incident from happening again. But why should anyone trust them? Their business model, as well as countless other online companies', is to control and then sell to advertisers microtargeted connections to the most massive collection of personal data in human history, encompassing literally billions of people." What do we have to say? At DailyO, we have a variety of opinions on the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal. However, in this article published on our website, the author slams the social networking portal for its apparent efforts to cover up the scandal. "...the reality is that for all that Facebook may say, as the self-appointed guardian of the vast amount of personal data it collects from its users, it is ultimately Facebook's duty to not only protect but also inform users that their personal data has fallen into the hands of an unauthorised party. Instead of making the voter profiling firm pay on behalf of 50 million wronged users, it shockingly approached Cambridge Analytica through its lawyers to secure the data efforts for which continued as recently as August 2016. After getting assurances that the data in question would be deleted copies of it still remain with Cambridge Analytica Facebook allowed the firm to continue using its platform to manipulate individuals using the stolen personal data. This is undoubtedly Facebook's biggest betrayal. An offence users should punish by deleting their accounts on the platform and taking away the biggest resource Facebook enjoys data." Also read: Why Modi 'snub' will help Justin Trudeau back in Canada In a recent article in the Business Standard, Abhijit Iyer Mitra commented that while the Budget this year has little for defence modernisation, the fault lies with the Army. He defended his argument with examples, most of which were misplaced and ill-founded. In fact, the entire piece appeared to be written without any tactical or strategic knowledge, inputs based on incomplete data and complete lack of understanding on military matters. The only portion which makes sensible reading is his assessment of the present governments attitude to matters pertaining to national security. The fact that the nation has had four defence ministers in as many years, with the finance minister holding the portfolio twice, yet ignoring defence preparedness, appears inexplicable. His contention that the Army should be downsized quoting the example of China is again ill-conceived. China as a nation has no neighbour seeking claims on its territory, on the contrary it seeks to reclaim from all its neighbours. Thus, no nation threatens Chinese mainland unless China takes the initiative and launches operations. India on the other hand has hostile neighbours on both its major borders, seeking to grab territory. Pakistan claims Jammu & Kashmir while China claims Arunachal Pradesh and minor pockets in other sectors. Both Indias borders are earmarked as Line of Control and Line of Actual Control. This implies, if not strongly defended they could be up for grabs, by the enemy. India holds its defences generally along the watershed, implying holding the heights, which benefit the defender and put pressure on the attacker. Indias recent actions of raising a mountain corps has sound logic. Until recently, India only believed in defending its borders against China. Hence any success by them would remain to their advantage. No matter how many attacks are repelled and how strong is the defence, the attacker would achieve success somewhere, despite disproportionate losses. By raising a mountain corps for offensive operations, it seeks to also capture some territory, which could then become a bargaining chip on the table. Anyone who has pursued history would know that discussions post 1965 and 1971, territory captured were bargaining chips during the final peace talks. Further, the threat of Indian troops moving into Tibet could cause concern to China and thus be an element preventing an all-out conflict. Abhijit Iyer Mitra raised an issue on the Army permitting shortfalls of ammunition to accumulate. He is definitely unaware that every year the Army has been raising the state of its ammunition holdings to the government. This is easy as it controls all depots which house them. Reports of stockholding flow at very frequent intervals and these are timely projected to the MoD. The delay has been in the inking of contracts at the MoD and shortfalls in manufacture by the Ordnance factories. The armed forces always need to cater for the worst, while seeking to prevent that. For India, the worst is a two-front offensive, which it would always seek to prevent, but needs to be prepared for. Hence, all senior officers keep mentioning this fact. Active Army strength is evaluated based on deployment on borders, troops for offensive operations and those who would still be battling militancy while the Army fights a war. The tooth would need to remain strong, while the tail (supporting echelons) could be reduced. This is in progress at present. He quoted Pakistans example of employing cheap anti-tank missiles to thwart Indian armour advantage. Again, a case of poor understanding of military tactics and strategy. Cheap anti-tank missiles are never an answer of which even Pakistan is aware. Any tank warfare specialist would clarify that tanks have greater range and accuracy as also better protection. Missiles are mainly a deterrent and have limited value. Pakistan fears Indian armoured thrusts. Hence, it has manufactured tactical nuclear weapons as a deterrence. It has also in its nuclear strategy delegated its employment to lower levels, enhancing risks of nuclear proliferation. He goes on to criticise the Armys version of futuristic combat vehicles, without even considering the terrain on which they would be employed. Indo-Pak borders where armour operations are envisaged range from riverine in Punjab, multi-obstacle systems in plains and semi-desert, and open deserts. Thus, one type of vehicle should be capable of multiple employment. This would be economic in manufacture and maintenance in the long-term. His logic behind the Vice chief of staff's comment on one-third of state-of-the-art category,one-third in current category and one-third in vintage is again warped. While every nation would desire to have all its equipment in state-of-the-art category, changing them at the drop of a hat is illogical. Thus, to be financially prudent, the concept of one-third is considered as a norm the world over. As the state-of-art category commences induction, the vintage is withdrawn and the current moves into the vintage category. Thus, modernisation is a continuous process. In case the Budget is hampered as has been happening, the vintage would increase while the state-of-the-art would reduce, impacting preparedness. As Punjab CM Amarinder Singh stated about his own battalion, now deployed in the Valley, soldiers prefer AK series of weapons to Indian manufactured INSAS rifles. His concept of remedies is way from the truth. While it is always the man behind the gun which counts, but the man cannot hold vintage weapons which fail at periodic intervals. Disposal of lands or reducing a few facilities which exist in cantonments would not change its operational efficiency. The Army is aware of the environment in which it would be required to operate, has hence changed its strategic and tactical aims and is prepared for their implementation. The Armys domination of its adversaries and denying them the ability to damage national pride is solely because of its awareness of the scenario and preparedness to counter. While it is for the government to allocate funds for defence preparedness, as it remains responsible for national security, the Army being the force on ground has a right to raise its voice. Ultimately, as the Army chief, General Bipin Rawat stated, the Army will fight with whatever it has and would never let the nation down. Those who lack knowledge on a subject should avoid commenting as once corrected would indicate their shallow understanding. Further, it would convey post-truth rather than reality. Also read: How JNU administration launched a targeted attack on anti-sexual harassment watchdog Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. operates and licenses convenience stores. Its convenience stores sell tobacco products, grocery items, beverages, and fresh food offerings; road transportation fuel; and stationary energy, marine fuel, aviation fuel, and chemicals. The company operates its convenience store and road transportation fuel retailing chain under various banners, including Circle K, Couche-Tard, Holiday, Ingo, Mac's, Re.Store, and Topaz. It is also involved in the sale of lottery tickets, calling cards, gift cards, postage stamps, and bus tickets; issuance of money orders; and provision of automatic teller machines, cashing checks, and car wash services. As at April 30, 2018, it operated and licensed 12,740 convenience stores, which include 9,718 company-operated stores in North America, Ireland, Scandinavia, Poland, the Baltics, and Russia, as well as 2,000 stores, which are operated under the Circle K banner in China, Costa Rica, Egypt, Guam, Honduras, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. The company was formerly known as Actidev Inc. and changed its name to Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. in December 1994. Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Laval, Canada. Read More Cenovus Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas in Canada, the United States and the Asia Pacific region. The company operates through Oil Sands, Conventional, and Refining and Marketing segments. The Oil Sands segment develops and produces bitumen in northeast Alberta. Its bitumen assets include Foster Creek, Christina Lake, and Narrows Lake, as well as other projects in the early stages of development. The Conventional segment holds assets primarily located in Elmworth-Wapiti, Kaybob-Edson, and Clearwater operating areas of British Columbia and Alberta, as well as various interests in natural gas processing facilities. The Refining and Marketing segment transports and sells crude oil, natural gas, and NGLs. This segment owns a 50% ownership in Wood River and Borger refineries located in the United States; and owns and operates a crude-by-rail terminal in Alberta. Cenovus Energy Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Masco: A&J Gummers, Airex 3 LLC, Arrow Fastener, BEHR PAINTS IT! INC., BSI Holdings, Behr, Behr (Beijing) Paint Company Limited, Behr Paint (Beijing) Commercial Co. Ltd., Behr Process Canada Ltd., Behr Process Corporation, Behr Process Paints (India) Private Limited, Behr Sales LLC, BrassCraft Manufacturing Company, Brasstech Inc., Bristan, Bristan Group Limited, Cambrian Windows, ColorAxis Inc., Davenport Insulation Group, Delta Faucet (China) Co. Ltd., Delta Faucet Company, Delta Faucet Company India Private Limited, Delta Faucet Company Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Delta Faucet Company of Tennessee, Diversified Cabinet Distributors Inc., Duraflex, Duraflex Limited, Erickson Framing, Glass Idromassaggio, Guy Evans Inc., Hans Grohe Pte. Ltd., Hansgrohe, Hansgrohe A.B., Hansgrohe A/S, Hansgrohe AG, Hansgrohe Armature Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Hansgrohe B.V., Hansgrohe Brasil Metals Santitarios Ltda., Hansgrohe CS s.r.o., Hansgrohe Deutschland Vertriebs GmbH, Hansgrohe Handelsges.mbH, Hansgrohe Inc., Hansgrohe India Private Ltd., Hansgrohe International GmbH, Hansgrohe Japan K.K, Hansgrohe Kft., Hansgrohe Ltd., Hansgrohe N.V., Hansgrohe Pty Ltd, Hansgrohe S. de R. L. de C. V., Hansgrohe S. a r.l., Hansgrohe S.A., Hansgrohe S.A.U., Hansgrohe SA (Pty) Ltd., Hansgrohe SE, Hansgrohe Sanitary Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Hansgrohe Sanitary Products W.L.L., Hansgrohe Sp. z.o.o., Hansgrohe Wasselonne S.A., Hansgrohe d.o.o., Hansgrohe ooo, Hansgrohe s.r.l., Hot Spring Spa Australasia Pty Ltd, Hot Spring Spas New Zealand Limited, Huppe B.V., Huppe Belgium S.A., Huppe GmbH, Huppe Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., Huppe S. a r.l., Huppe S.L., Huppe Spolka z.o.o., Huppe s.r.o., IDI Group inc, Inrecon, Jet Acquisition LLC, Kichler Lighting LLC, L.D. Kichler Lighting Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Landex of Wisconsin Inc., Liberty Hardware Asia Co. Ltd., Liberty Hardware Mfg. Corp., Liberty Hardware Retail & Design Services LLC, Masco Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Masco Building Products Corp., Masco Cabinetry Hong Kong Limited, Masco Canada Limited, Masco Capital Corporation, Masco Chile Limitada, Masco Corporation Limited, Masco Corporation of Indiana, Masco Europe Inc., Masco Europe S. a r.l., Masco Europe SCS, Masco Framing Corp., Masco Germany Holding GmbH, Masco HD Support Services LLC, Masco Home Products Private Limited, Masco Home Products S.a r.l., Masco Retail Sales Support Inc., Masco Singapore Pte. Ltd., Masco WM Support Services LLC, Mascomex S.A. de C.V., Masterchem Industries, Masterchem Industries LLC, Mercury Plastics LLC, Milgard Manufacturing, Mill's Pride, Mirolin Industries Corp., My Service Center Inc., NCFII Holdings Inc., Newport Brass, Oz Acquisition LLC, Peerless Sales Corporation, SCE Unlimited, Service Partners, Shanghai Hansgrohe International Trading Co. Ltd., SmarTap, SmarTap A.Y. Ltd., Tapicerias Pacifico SA de CV, Tempered Products Inc., Texwood Industries, The Faucet-Queens, The GMU Group, The L.D. Kichler Co., Tvilum, Vapor Technologies Inc., Vapor Technologies Shenzhen Co. Ltd., Watkins Distribution UK Limited, Watkins Europe BVBA, Watkins Manufacturing Corporation, and Wellness Marketing Corporation. Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in Asia, Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; And Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment provides mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, group retirement and savings products, and institutional asset management services through agents and brokers affiliated with the company, securities brokerage firms, and financial advisors pension plan consultants and banks. The Insurance and Annuity Products segment offers deposit and credit products; individual life, and individual and group long-term care insurance; and guaranteed and partially guaranteed annuity products through insurance agents, brokers, banks, financial planners, and direct marketing. The Corporate and Other segment is involved in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance businesses; and run-off reinsurance operations, including variable annuities, and accident and health. It also manages timberland and agricultural portfolios; and engages in insurance agency, portfolio and mutual fund management, mutual fund dealer, life and financial reinsurance, and fund management businesses. Additionally, the company holds and manages oil and gas properties; holds oil and gas royalties, and foreign bonds and equities; and provides investment management, counseling, advisory, and dealer services. Manulife Financial Corporation was incorporated in 1887 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Read More TAKKT AG operates as a B2B direct marketing company for business equipment in Germany, rest of Europe, and the United States. The company operates in two segments, Omnichannel Commerce and Web-Focused Commerce. The Omnichannel Commerce segment offers pallet lifting trucks, universal cabinets, desk chairs, environmental cabinets, and containers to hazardous materials for transport, plant, warehouse, and office equipment; transport packaging solutions, such as collapsible boxes, package padding, shipping pallets, and stretch films; desk chairs, desks, conference tables, and furniture for reception areas that are used in automotive suppliers, service and retail companies, public institutions, government agencies, health care sector, schools, and churches; and serving platters and food baskets, as well as kitchen stoves and freezers. The Web-Focused Commerce segment provides desks, shelves, and advertising banners; display stands, and mobile exhibition stands and displays; and office furniture, such as chairs and cabinets in its web shop. It offers its products through catalog, web shops, telephone, and telemarketing sales. The company was founded in 1945 and is based in Stuttgart, Germany. TAKKT AG is a subsidiary of Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of TransDigm Group: ARA Deutschland GmbH, ARA Holding GmbH, Abbott Electronics Ltd., Acme Aerospace, Acme Aerospace Inc., Adams Rite Aerospace GmbH, Adams Rite Aerospace Inc., Advanced Inflatable Products Limited, Aero-Instruments, AeroControlex Group Inc., Aerosonic, Aerosonic LLC, Air-Sea Survival Equipment Trustee Limited, Airborne Acquisition Inc., Airborne Global Inc., Airborne Holdings Inc., Airborne Systems, Airborne Systems Canada Ltd., Airborne Systems Group Limited, Airborne Systems Holdings Limited, Airborne Systems Limited, Airborne Systems NA Inc., Airborne Systems North America Inc., Airborne Systems North America of CA Inc., Airborne Systems North America of NJ Inc., Airborne Systems Pension Trust Limited, Airborne UK Acquisition Limited, Airborne UK Parent Limited, Aircraft Materials Limited, AmSafe, AmSafe Aviation (Chongqing) Ltd., AmSafe Bridport (Kunshan) Co. Ltd., AmSafe Bridport (Private) Ltd., AmSafe Bridport Ltd., AmSafe Global Holdings Inc., AmSafe Global Services (Private) Limited, AmSafe Inc., Arkwin Industries, Arkwin Industries Inc., Aviation Technologies, Aviation Technologies Inc., Avionic Instruments, Avionics Instruments, Avionics Specialties Inc., AvtechTyee Inc., Beta Transformer Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Beta Transformer Technology Corporation, Beta Transformer Technology LLC, Breeze-Eastern Corporation, Breeze-Eastern LLC, Bridport Erie Aviation Inc., Bridport Holdings Inc., Bridport Ltd., Bridport-Air Carrier Inc., Bruce Aerospace Inc., Bruce Industries, CDA InterCorp, CEF Industries LLC, Champion Aerospace, Cobham, DDC Electronics K.K., DDC Electronics Ltd., DDC Electronics Private Limited, DDC Electronique S.A.R.L., DDC Elektronik GmbH, DDL195 Limited, Data Device Corp., Data Device Corporation, Dukes Aerospace Inc., Edlaw Limited, Electromech Technologies LLC, Elektro-Metall Export GmbH, Elektro-Metall Paks KFT, Esterline, Extant Components Group Holdings Inc., Extant Components Group Intermediate Inc., GQ Parachutes Limited, HARCO LLC, Harco, Hartwell Corporation, ILC Holdings Inc., Irvin Aerospace Limited, IrvinGQ France SAA, IrvinGQ Limited, Johnson Liverpool LLC, Kirkhill Elastomers, Kirkhill Inc., Kunshan Shield Restraint Systems Ltd., MarathonNorco Aerospace Inc., McKechnie Aerospace, McKechnie Aerospace (Europe) Ltd., McKechnie Aerospace DE Inc., McKechnie Aerospace DE LP, McKechnie Aerospace Holdings Inc., McKechnie Aerospace US LLC, Mecanismos de Matamoros S.A. de C.V., Militair Aviation Ltd., Norco, Nordisk Asia Pacific Limited, Nordisk Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, Nordisk Aviation Products (Kunshan) Ltd., Nordisk Aviation Products AS, North Hills Signal Processing Corp., North Hills Signal Processing Overseas Corp., Pascall Electronics Limited, Pemberton 123 Ltd., Pexco Aerospace, Pexco Aerospace Inc., PneuDraulics, PneuDraulics Inc., Rancho TransTechnology Corporation, Retainers Inc., SSP Industries, Schneller, Schneller Asia Pte. Ltd., Schneller S.A.R.L., Schroth Safety Products, Semco Instruments, Semco Instruments Inc., Shield Restraint Systems Inc., Shield Restraint Systems Ltd., Signal Processing Matamoros S.A. de C.V., Skandia, Skandia Inc., Skurka Aerospace, Skurka Aerospace Inc., Symetrics, Symetrics Industries LLC, Symetrics Technology Group LLC, TDG Germany GmbH, TEAC Aerospace Holdings Inc., TEAC Aerospace Technologies Inc., TTERUSA Inc., Tactair Fluid Controls Inc., Takata Protection Systems, Technical Airborne Components Industries SPRL, Telair International, Telair International AB, Telair International GmbH, Telair International LLC, Telair International Services PTE Ltd (JV 70.5%), Telair US LLC, Texas Rotronics Inc., TransDigm (Barbados) SRL, TransDigm European Holdings Limited, TransDigm Ireland Ltd., TransDigm Receivables LLC, TransDigm UK Holdings plc, Transicoil (Malaysia) Sendirian Berhad, Transicoil LLC, Whippany Actuation Systems, Whippany Actuation Systems LLC, XCEL Power Systems Ltd., Young & Franklin, and Young & Franklin Inc.. Zurich Insurance Group AG is a holding company. The Company and its subsidiaries provide insurance products and related services. Its segments include General Insurance, Global Life, Farmers, Other Operating Businesses and Non-Core Businesses. The General Insurance segment provides a range of motor, home and commercial products and services for individuals, as well as small and large businesses. The Global Life segment is engaged in providing unit-linked, protection and corporate propositions through global distribution and proposition pillars. The Farmers segment, through Farmers Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries, provides certain non-claims administrative and management services to the Farmers Insurance Exchange, Fire Insurance Exchange, Truck Insurance Exchange, and their subsidiaries and affiliates. The Other Operating Businesses segment includes the Company's Holding and Financing activities. The Non-Core Businesses segment includes its insurance and reinsurance businesses. Read More 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. Read More SunTrust Banks, Inc. operates as the holding company for SunTrust Bank that provides various financial services for consumers, businesses, corporations, institutions, and not-for-profit entities in the United States. It operates in two segments, Consumer and Wholesale. The Consumer segment provides deposits and payments; home equity and personal credit lines; auto, student, and other lending products; credit cards; discount/online and full-service brokerage products; professional investment advisory products and services; and trust services, as well as family office solutions. This segment also offers residential mortgage products in the secondary market. The Wholesale segment provides capital markets solutions, including advisory, capital raising, and financial risk management; asset-based financing solutions, such as securitizations, asset-based lending, equipment financing, and structured real estate arrangements; cash management services and auto dealer financing solutions; investment banking solutions; and credit and deposit, fee-based product offering, multi-family agency lending, advisory, commercial mortgage brokerage, and tailored financing and equity investment solutions. This segment also offers treasury and payment solutions, such as operating various electronic and paper payment types, which comprise card, wire transfer, automated clearing house, check, and cash; and provides services clients to manage their accounts online. The company offers its products and services through a network of traditional and in-store branches, automated teller machines, Internet, mobile, and telephone banking channels. As of December 31, 2018, it operated 1,218 full-service banking offices located in Florida, Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Maryland, South Carolina, and the District of Columbia. SunTrust Banks, Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Read More Wall Street analysts have given Victoria Oil & Gas a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but Victoria Oil & Gas wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. American Consumer News, LLC dba MarketBeat 2010-2021. All rights reserved. 326 E 8th St #105, Sioux Falls, SD 57103 | U.S. Based Support Team at c[email protected] | (844) 978-6257 MarketBeat does not provide personalized financial advice and does not issue recommendations or offers to buy stock or sell any security. Our Accessibility Statement | Terms of Service | Do Not Sell My Information 2021 Market data provided is at least 10-minutes delayed and hosted by Barchart Solutions. Information is provided 'as-is' and solely for informational purposes, not for trading purposes or advice, and is delayed. To see all exchange delays and terms of use please see disclaimer. Fundamental company data provided by Zacks Investment Research. Wall Street analysts have given Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. The following companies are subsidiares of Molina Healthcare: Aetna & Humana - Medicare Advantage, Affinity Health Plan, AmericanWork Inc., Better Health Network, Camelot Care Centers Inc, Children's Behavioral Health Inc., Choices Group Inc., College Community Services, Dockside Services Inc, Family Preservation Services Inc., Family Preservation Services of Florida Inc., Family Preservation Services of North Carolina Inc., Family Preservation Services of Washington D.C. Inc., Family Preservation Services of West Virginia Inc., Florida NetPASS LLC, Hclb Inc., Magellan Complete Care, Maple Star Nevada Inc., Maple Star Oregon Inc., Mercy CarePlus, Molina Clinical Services LLC, Molina Healthcare Data Center Inc., Molina Healthcare of Arizona Inc., Molina Healthcare of California, Molina Healthcare of Florida Inc., Molina Healthcare of Georgia Inc., Molina Healthcare of Illinois Inc., Molina Healthcare of Iowa Inc., Molina Healthcare of Louisiana Inc., Molina Healthcare of Maryland Inc., Molina Healthcare of Michigan Inc., Molina Healthcare of Mississippi Inc., Molina Healthcare of Nevada Inc., Molina Healthcare of New Mexico Inc., Molina Healthcare of New York Inc., Molina Healthcare of North Carolina Inc., Molina Healthcare of Ohio Inc., Molina Healthcare of Oklahoma Inc., Molina Healthcare of Pennsylvania Inc., Molina Healthcare of Puerto Rico Inc., Molina Healthcare of South Carolina LLC, Molina Healthcare of Texas Inc., Molina Healthcare of Texas Insurance Company, Molina Healthcare of Utah Inc., Molina Healthcare of Virginia Inc., Molina Healthcare of Washington Inc., Molina Healthcare of Wisconsin Inc., Molina Holdings Corporation, Molina Hospital Management LLC, Molina Information Systems LLC dba Molina Medicaid Solutions, Molina Medical Management Inc., Molina Pathways LLC, Molina Pathways of Texas Inc., Molina Youth Academy, NextLevel Health Illinois, Pathways Community Corrections Inc., Pathways Community Services LLC, Pathways Community Support of Texas Inc., Pathways Health and Community Support LLC, Pathways Human Services LLC., Pathways of Arizona Inc., Pathways of Delaware Inc., Pathways of Idaho LLC, Pathways of Maine Inc., Pathways of Massachusetts LLC, Pathways of Oklahoma Inc., Pathways of Washington Inc., Providence Community Services, Providence Human Services, Raystown Developmental Services Inc., The Game of Work LLC, The RedCo Group Inc., Total Care Medicaid plan, Transitional Family Services Inc., Unisys -Health Information Management, and YourCare Health Plan. CAE Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and supplies simulation equipment and training solutions to defense and security markets, commercial airlines, business aircraft operators, helicopter operators, aircraft manufacturers, and healthcare education and service providers worldwide. The company's Civil Aviation Training Solutions segment provides training solutions for flight, cabin, maintenance, and ground personnel in commercial, business, and helicopter aviation; flight simulation training devices; and ab initio pilot training and crew sourcing services, as well as end to end digitally-enabled crew management, training operations solutions, and optimization software. Its Defence and Security segment offers training and mission support solutions for defense forces across multi-domain operations, and for government organizations responsible for public safety. The company's Healthcare segment provides integrated education and training solutions, including surgical and imaging simulations, curriculum, audiovisual and centre management platforms, and patient simulators to healthcare students and clinical professionals. The company was formerly known as CAE Industries Ltd. and changed its name to CAE Inc. in June 1993. CAE Inc. was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Saint-Laurent, Canada. Read More BY TOM BRIAN ANGURINI. The National Planning Authority has completed development of Greater Kampala Economic Development Strategy through a highly consultative strategy. The strategy is based on a report by World Bank Enhancing Economic Development and Job Creation in Greater Kampala and will be implemented by stakeholders in greater Kampala Metropolitan Area namely Mpigi, Wakiso and Mukono Districts. Addressing the media in Kampala this morning, the authoritys executive director DrKisambaMugerwa says this strategy however will not affect the administrative boundaries of local governments in greater Kampala area. He says the strategy has prioritized five key areas which include Competitive Economic Infrastructure, Conservation and Protection of Environmental Areas, Business Support to Transform Informal Sector, the Youth and Economic cluster Growth. The other is the Unique Center for Tourism and Effective City and Local Government Service Delivery. He says the coordination of the mechanism for the strategy shall be decided by the political leadership. The following companies are subsidiares of Carnival Co. &: 1972 Productions Inc., 6348 Equipment LLC, A.C.N. 098 290 834 Pty. Ltd., A.J. Juneau Dock LLC, AIDA Kundencenter GmbH, Adventure Island Ltd., Air-Sea Holiday GmbH, Alaska Hotel Properties LLC, Barcelona Cruise Terminal SLU, Bay Island Cruise Port S.A., Belize Cruise Terminal Limited, CC U.S. Ventures Inc., CCL Gifts LLC, CSSC Carnival Italy Cruise Investment S.r.L, Carnival (UK) Limited, Carnival Bahamas FC Limited, Carnival Bahamas Holdings Limited, Carnival Corporation & plc Asia Pte. Ltd., Carnival Corporation Hong Kong Limited, Carnival Corporation Korea Ltd., Carnival Corporation Ports Group Japan KK, Carnival Finance LLC, Carnival Grand Bahama Investment Limited, Carnival Investments Limited, Carnival Japan Inc., Carnival License Holdings Limited, Carnival Maritime GmbH, Carnival North America LLC, Carnival Port Holdings Limited, Carnival Ports Inc., Carnival Support Services India Private Limited, Carnival Technical Services (UK) Limited, Carnival Technical Services Finland Limited, Carnival Technical Services GmbH, Carnival Technical Services Inc., Carnival Vanuatu Limited, Costa Crociere PTE Ltd., Costa Crociere S.p.A., Costa Cruceros S.A., Costa Cruise Lines Inc., Costa Cruise Lines UK Limited, Costa Cruises Shipping Services (Shanghai) Company Limited, Costa Cruises Travel Agency (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Costa Cruzeiros Agencia Maritima e Turismo Ltda., Costa Group Digital & Strategic Services GmbH, Costa International B.V., Costa Kreuzfahrten GmbH, Cozumel Cruise Terminal S.A. de C.V., Creative Travel Lab Ltd., Cruise Ships Catering & Services International N.V., Cruise Terminal Services S.A. de C.V., Cruiseport Curacao C.V., D.R. Cruise Port Ltd., Ecospray Technologies S.r.L., F.P.M. SAS, F.P.P. SAS, Fleet Maritime Services (Bermuda) Limited, Fleet Maritime Services Holdings (Bermuda) Limited, Fleet Maritime Services International Limited, GXI LLC, Gibs Inc., Global Experience Innovators Inc., Global Fine Arts Inc., Global Shipping Service (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Grand Cruise Shipping Unipessoal LdA, Grand Turk Cruise Center Ltd., HAL Antillen N.V., HAL Beheer B.V., HAL Cruises Limited, HAL Maritime Ltd., HAL Nederland N.V., HAL Properties Limited, HAL Services B.V., HSE Hamburg School of Entertainment GmbH, Holding Division Iberocruceros SLU, Holland America Line Inc., Holland America Line N.V., Holland America Line Paymaster of Washington LLC, Holland America Line U.S.A. Inc., Ibero Cruzeiros Ltda., Iberocruceros SLU, Information Assistance Corporation, International Cruise Services S.A. de C.V., International Leisure Travel Inc., International Maritime Recruitment Agency S.A. de C.V., Milestone N.V., Navitrans S.R.L., Ocean Bahamas Innovation Ltd., Ocean Medallion Fulfillment Ltd., Operadora Catalina S.r.L., P&O Princess American Holdings, P&O Princess Cruises International Limited, P&O Princess Cruises Pension Trustee Limited, P&O Properties (California) Inc., P&O Travel Limited, Prestige Cruises Management S.A.M., Prestige Cruises N.V., Princess Bermuda Holdings Ltd., Princess Cays Ltd., Princess Cruise Corporation Inc., Princess Cruise Lines Ltd., Princess Cruises and Tours Inc., Princess U.S. Holdings Inc., RCT Maintenance & Related Services S.A., RCT Pilots & Related Services S.A., RCT Security & Related Services S.A., Roatan Cruise Terminal S.A. de C.V., Royal Hyway Tours Inc., Santa Cruz Terminal S.L., SeaVacations Limited, SeaVacations UK Limited, Seabourn Cruise Line Limited, Shanghai Coast Cruise Consulting Co. Lda, Ship Care (Bahamas) Limited, Sitmar Cruises Inc., Spanish Cruise Services N.V., Sunshine Shipping Corporation Ltd., T&T International Inc., Tour Alaska LLC, Transnational Services Corporation, Trident Insurance Company Ltd., Westmark Hotels Inc., Westmark Hotels of Canada Ltd., Westours Motor Coaches LLC, Wind Surf Limited, and World Leading Cruise Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.. Civitas Solutions, Inc. provides home- and community-based health and human services to must-serve individuals with intellectual, developmental, behavioral, and/or medically complex challenges in the United States. It operates through three segments: Community Support Services (CSS), Specialty Rehabilitation Services (SRS), and Children & Family Services (CFS). The CSS segment offers services to adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Its services include residential support, day habilitation, vocational, case management, crisis intervention, and hourly support care. The SRS segment delivers services to individuals who have suffered acquired brain injury, spinal injuries, and other catastrophic injuries and illnesses. Its services range from sub-acute healthcare for individuals with intensive medical needs to day treatment programs comprising neurorehabilitation, neurobehavioral rehabilitation, specialized nursing, physical, occupational and speech therapies, supported living, outpatient treatment, and pre-vocational services. The CFS segment offers services to youth with emotional, behavioral, and/or medically complex challenges. Its services include therapeutic foster care, family preservation, adoption services, early intervention, school-based services, and juvenile offender programs. The company also delivers elder services, such as case management, nursing oversight, medication management, nutrition, daily living assistance, therapeutic services, and transportation. It serves state, local, and other government payors and non-public payors. As of September 30, 2018, the company served approximately 12,700 individuals in residential settings and 19,000 individuals in non-residential settings in 36 states. The company was formerly known as NMH Holdings, Inc. The company was founded in 1980 and is based in Boston, Massachusetts. Civitas Solutions, Inc. is a subsidiary of Vestar Capital Partners. Read More Columbus Energy Resources plc engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas in Trinidad and Tobago, Spain, Cyprus, St Lucia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It primarily holds a 100% interest in the Goudron Oilfield located in south-eastern Trinidad. The company was formerly known as LGO Energy plc and changed its name to Columbus Energy Resources plc in June 2017. Columbus Energy Resources plc was incorporated in 2006 and is based in London, the United Kingdom. Read More By Ritah Kemigisa. Members of the Uganda Law Society are set to meet the New Inspector General of Police Martin Okoth Ochola. According to the outgoing president of the society Francis Gimara who is due to hand over office, the meeting which will take place in a few days will among other things discuss the need to close the outdoor torture chambers. He says these chambers are a violation of peoples rights that are enshrined in the constitution. Gimara says as he leaves office the new police chief needs to reaffirm the forces commitment to respect human rights and accountability to the public at all times if the institution is to restore the confidence of the people. He has meanwhile reiterated the need for a strong and independent judiciary for justice to prevail and rule of law to be promoted in the country. The following companies are subsidiares of PerkinElmer: Analytica of Branford, Applied Biosystems, Arnel Inc., ArtusLabs, Beijing Huaan Magnech Bio-Tech Co. Ltd., Beijing Longrun Bio-Tech Co. Ltd., Beijing Meizheng Bio-Tech Co. Ltd., Beijing Meizheng Testing Lab Co. Ltd., Beijing OUMENG Biotechnology Co. Ltd., Bio Evolution SAS, Bioo Scientific Corporation, Biosense Picolabs Inc., Biosense Technologies Pvt Ltd., Caliper Life Sciences, Caliper Life Sciences Inc., Cambridge Research & Instrumentation Inc., CambridgeSoft, Ceiba Solutions, Chengdu PerkinElmer Medical Laboratory Co. Ltd., Chromo G.A. SAS, CisBio US Inc., Cisbio Asia Pacific Ltd, Cisbio Bioassays SAS, Cisbio China Ltd., Cisbio Group SAS, Cisbio KK, Cisbio.com, DNA Laboratories Sdn. Bhd., Dani Analitica S.r.l., Dexela, EUROIMMUN (Hangzhou) Medical Laboratory Diagnostics Co. Ltd., EUROIMMUN (South East Asia) Pte Ltd., EUROIMMUN (Tianjin) Medical Diagnostic Technology Co. Ltd., EUROIMMUN AG, EUROIMMUN Brasil Medicina Diagnostica Ltda., EUROIMMUN Diagnostics Espana S.L.U., EUROIMMUN France SAS, EUROIMMUN Italia Diagnostica Medica S.r.l., EUROIMMUN Japan Co. Ltd., EUROIMMUN Medical Diagnostics (China) Co. Ltd., EUROIMMUN Medical Diagnostics Canada Inc., EUROIMMUN Medical Laboratory Diagnostics South Africa (Pty) Ltd., EUROIMMUN Medizinische Labordiagnostika AG, EUROIMMUN Polska Spolka z o.o., EUROIMMUN Portugal Unipessoal Lda., EUROIMMUN Schweiz AG, EUROIMMUN Turkey Tibbi Laboratuar Teshisleri A.S., EUROIMMUN UK Ltd., EUROIMMUN US Inc., EUROIMMUN US Real Estate LLC, Geospiza, Guangzhou EUROIMMUN Medical Diagnostic Products Co. Ltd., Hangzhou EUROIMMUN Medical Diagnostic Products Co. Ltd., Horizon Discovery, Immunodiagnostic Systems, Integromics S.L., Jiangsu Meizheng Bio-Tech Co. Ltd., LabMetrix Technologies, Labtronics, ManCell SAS, Nexcelom Bioscience, NovaScreen Biosciences Corporation, Opto Technology, Orchid Biomedical Systems Pvt Ltd., Oxford Immunotec, Pediatrix Medical Group - Newborn Metabolic Screening Business, Perkin Elmer Chile Ltda., Perkin Elmer Italia SpA, Perkin Elmer Sdn. Bhd., Perkin Elmer Yuhan Hoesa, Perkin Elmer de Mexico S.A., Perkin-Elmer Argentina S.R.L., Perkin-Elmer Instruments (Philippines) Corporation, PerkinElmer (Hong Kong) Ltd., PerkinElmer (India) Pvt Ltd., PerkinElmer (Ireland) Ltd., PerkinElmer (Schweiz) AG, PerkinElmer (Shanghai) Equity Investment Fund L.P., PerkinElmer (Shanghai) Equity Investment Fund Management Co. Ltd., PerkinElmer (UK) Holdings Ltd., PerkinElmer Analytical Solutions B.V., PerkinElmer Automotive Research Inc., PerkinElmer BVBA, PerkinElmer CV Holdings LLC, PerkinElmer Cellular Technologies Germany GmbH, PerkinElmer Danmark A/S, PerkinElmer Diagnostics Global Holdings S.a r.l., PerkinElmer Diagnostics Holdings Inc., PerkinElmer Espana S.L., PerkinElmer Finance Luxembourg S.a r.l., PerkinElmer Finland Oy, PerkinElmer Genetics Inc., PerkinElmer Germany Diagnostics GmbH, PerkinElmer Global Diagnostics S.a r.l., PerkinElmer Global Financing S.a r.l., PerkinElmer Global Holdings S.a r.l., PerkinElmer Health Sciences (Australia) Pty. Ltd., PerkinElmer Health Sciences B.V., PerkinElmer Health Sciences Canada Inc., PerkinElmer Health Sciences FZ-LLC, PerkinElmer Health Sciences Inc., PerkinElmer Health Sciences Pvt Ltd., PerkinElmer Healthcare Diagnostics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PerkinElmer Holding Luxembourg S.a r.l., PerkinElmer Holdings Inc., PerkinElmer Holdings Pty. Ltd., PerkinElmer IVD Pte Ltd., PerkinElmer Inc., PerkinElmer Informatics Inc., PerkinElmer Instruments (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., PerkinElmer International C.V., PerkinElmer Investments Ky, PerkinElmer Israel Ltd., PerkinElmer Japan Co. Ltd., PerkinElmer LAS (Germany) GmbH, PerkinElmer LAS (UK) Ltd., PerkinElmer Life Sciences International Holdings, PerkinElmer Limited, PerkinElmer Ltd., PerkinElmer Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PerkinElmer Nederland B.V., PerkinElmer Norge AS, PerkinElmer Oy, PerkinElmer Polska Sp z o.o., PerkinElmer Pty. Ltd., PerkinElmer SAS, PerkinElmer Saglk ve Cevre Bilimleri Ltd., PerkinElmer Shared Services Sp z o.o., PerkinElmer Singapore Pte Ltd., PerkinElmer South Africa (Pty) Ltd., PerkinElmer Sverige AB, PerkinElmer Sweden Health Sciences Holdings AB, PerkinElmer Taiwan Corporation, PerkinElmer VertriebsgmbH, PerkinElmer chemagen Technologie GmbH, PerkinElmer do Brasil Ltda., Perten Instruments, Perten Instruments (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Perten Instruments AB, Perten Instruments France SASU, Perten Instruments GmbH, Perten Instruments Italia S.r.l., Perten Instruments of Australia Pty Ltd., RHS Ltd, RayAl Ltd., Shandong Meizheng Bio-Tech Co. Ltd., Shanghai Haoyuan Biotech Co. Ltd., Shanghai Spectrum Instruments Co. Ltd., Shanghai Spectrum Instruments Co. Ltd., Signature Genomic Laboratories, Solus Scientific Solutions Inc., Solus Scientific Solutions Ltd., Surendra Genetic Labs, Suzhou PerkinElmer Medical Laboratory Co. Ltd., Suzhou Sym-Bio LifeScience, Suzhou Sym-Bio Lifescience Co. Ltd., Tulip Diagnostics, Tulip Diagnostics Pvt Ltd., Vanadis Diagnostics, Vanadis Diagnostics AB, ViaCell, ViaCord LLC, VisEn Medical, VisEn Medical Inc., Wallac Oy, Wellesley B.V., Xenogen Corporation, ZeLab SAS, and chemagen Biopolymer-Technologie AG. By Moses Kyeyune. Parliaments Committee on Health has blamed fake Hepatitis B vaccines on laxity and conspiracy within the ministry of Health. The committee chairperson Dr. Michael Bukenya says there are people in the ministry who are culpable on the matter and must be investigated. The Bukuya County MP also says Dr. Medard Bitekyerezo, the Board Chair National Drug Authority has been in NDA for a short time, so he cannot be blamed for the mess. Meanwhile, the ministry reportedly has no policy on Hepatitis B despite the fact that this program for voluntary immunization has been on for 3 years This comes after the NDA sent the suspected Hepatitis B vaccines to Geneva, Switzerland at the World Health Organisation laboratory for review. Enbridge Inc. operates as an energy infrastructure company. The company operates through five segments: Liquids Pipelines, Gas Transmission and Midstream, Gas Distribution and Storage, Renewable Power Generation, and Energy Services. The Liquids Pipelines segment operates pipelines and related terminals to transport various grades of crude oil and other liquid hydrocarbons in Canada and the United States. The Gas Transmission and Midstream segment invests in natural gas pipelines, and gathering and processing facilities in Canada and the United States. The Gas Distribution and Storage segment is involved in natural gas utility operations serving residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Ontario, as well as natural gas distribution and energy transportation activities in Quebec. The Renewable Power Generation segment operates power generating assets, such as wind, solar, geothermal, and waste heat recovery facilities; and transmission assets in North America and Europe. The Energy Services segment provides energy marketing services to refiners, producers, and other customers; and physical commodity marketing and logistical services in Canada and the United States. The company was formerly known as IPL Energy Inc. and changed its name to Enbridge Inc. in October 1998. Enbridge Inc. was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. Read More The Toronto-Dominion Bank, together with its subsidiaries, provides various personal and commercial banking products and services in Canada and the United States. It operates through three segments: Canadian Retail, U.S. Retail, and Wholesale Banking. The company offers personal deposits, such as chequing, savings, and investment products; financing, investment, cash management, international trade, and day-to-day banking services to businesses; and financing options to customers at point of sale for automotive and recreational vehicle purchases through auto dealer network. It also provides credit cards; real estate secured lending; auto finance; consumer lending; point-of-sale payment solutions for large and small businesses; wealth and asset management products, private banking, investment advisory, and trust services to retail and institutional clients; and property and casualty insurance, as well as life and health insurance products. The company also provides capital markets, and corporate and investment banking services, including underwriting and distribution of new debt and equity issues; advice on strategic acquisitions and divestitures; and trading, funding, and investment services to companies, governments, and institutions. It offers its products and services under the TD Bank and America's Most Convenient Bank brand names. The company operates through a network of 1,085 branches, 3,440 automated teller machines, and 1,223 stores, as well as offers telephone, digital, and mobile banking services. The Toronto-Dominion Bank was founded in 1855 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Read More Wall Street analysts have given Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta Europe Equity ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta Europe Equity ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. Bank of America Corp. is a bank and financial holding company, which engages in the provision of banking and nonbank financial services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth and Investment Management, Global Banking, Global Markets, and All Other. The Consumer Banking segment offers credit, banking, and investment products and services to consumers and small businesses. The Global Wealth and Investment Management provides client experience through a network of financial advisors focused on to meet their needs through a full set of investment management, brokerage, banking, and retirement products. The Global Banking segment deals with lending-related products and services, integrated working capital management and treasury solutions to clients, and underwriting and advisory services. The Global Markets segment includes sales and trading services, as well as research, to institutional clients across fixed-income, credit, currency, commodity, and equity businesses. The All Other segment consists of asset and liability management activities, equity investments, non-core mortgage loans and servicing activities, the net impact of periodic revisions Read More BAE Systems plc provides defense, aerospace, and security solutions worldwide. The company operates through five segments: Electronic Systems, Cyber & Intelligence, Platforms & Services (US), Air, and Maritime. The Electronic Systems segment offers electronic warfare systems, navigation systems, electro-optical sensors, military and commercial digital engine and flight controls, precision guidance and seeker solutions, military communication systems and data links, persistent surveillance systems, space electronics, and electric drive propulsion systems. The Cyber & Intelligence segment provides solutions to modernize, maintain, and test cyber-harden aircraft, radars, missile systems, and mission applications that detect and deter threats to national security; systems engineering, integration, and sustainment services for C5ISR systems and enterprise IT networks; and solutions and services to enhance the collection, analysis, and processing of data across the US civilian and military intelligence communities. It also offers data intelligence solutions to defend against national-scale threats, protect their networks, and data against attacks; security and intelligence solutions to the United Kingdom government and allied international governments; anti-fraud and regulatory compliance solutions; and enterprise-level data and digital services. The Platforms & Services (US) segment manufactures combat vehicles, weapons, and munitions, as well as provides ship repair services and the management of government-owned munitions facilities. The Air segment develops, manufactures, upgrades, and supports combat and jet trainer aircraft. The Maritime segment designs, manufactures, and supports surface ships, submarines, torpedoes, radars, and command and combat systems; and supplies naval gun systems. It also supplies naval weapon systems, missile launchers, and precision munitions. The company was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Farnborough, the United Kingdom. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of BlackRock: Acero Cooperatief U.A., Acero Holdings I B.V., Amethyst Merger Sub LLC, AnalytX Hosting LLC, AnalytX LLC, AnalytX Software LLC, Aperio, Aperio, Aquila Heywood, Asia-Pacific Private Credit Opportunities Fund I (GenPar) Ltd., BAA Holdings LLC, BFM Holdco LLC, BLK (Gallatin) Holdings LLC, BLK SMI LLC, BR Acquisition Mexico S.A. de C.V., BR Jersey International Holdings L.P., Beijing eFront Software Company Limited, BlackRock (Barbados) Finco 1 SRL, BlackRock (Channel Islands) Limited, BlackRock (Luxembourg) S.A., BlackRock (Netherlands) B.V., BlackRock (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock (Singapore) Holdco II Pte. Ltd., BlackRock (Singapore) Holdco Pte. Limited, BlackRock (Singapore) Limited, BlackRock AP Investment Holdco LLC, BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited, BlackRock Advisors LLC, BlackRock Advisors Singapore Pte. Limited, BlackRock Alternative Advisors GP Holdings LLC, BlackRock Alternatives Management LLC, BlackRock Argentina Asesorias Ltda., BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Deutschland AG, BlackRock Asset Management International Inc., BlackRock Asset Management Investor Services Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Ireland Limited, BlackRock Asset Management North Asia Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Schweiz AG, BlackRock Asset Management UK Limited, BlackRock Australia Holdco Pty. Ltd., BlackRock Brasil Gestora de Investimentos Ltda., BlackRock Cal 1 Investor LLC, BlackRock Canada Holdings LP, BlackRock Canada Holdings ULC, BlackRock Capital Holdings Inc., BlackRock Capital Investment Advisors LLC, BlackRock Capital Management Inc., BlackRock Cayco Limited, BlackRock Cayman 1 LP, BlackRock Cayman Capital Holdings Limited, BlackRock Cayman Finco 2 Limited, BlackRock Cayman Finco 3 Limited, BlackRock Cayman Finco Limited, BlackRock Cayman West Bay Finco Limited, BlackRock Cayman West Bay IV Limited, BlackRock Cayman Z Limited, BlackRock Channel Islands Holdco Limited, BlackRock Chile Asesorias Limitada, BlackRock Colombia Holdco LLC, BlackRock Colombia Infraestructura S.A.S., BlackRock Colombia SAS, BlackRock Company Secretarial Services (UK) Limited, BlackRock Corporation US Inc., BlackRock Delaware Holdings Inc., BlackRock Enterprise Management Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock Europe Development Management Limited, BlackRock Execution Services, BlackRock Finance Europe Limited, BlackRock Financial Management Inc., BlackRock Finco LLC, BlackRock Finco UK Ltd., BlackRock First Partner Limited, BlackRock France SAS, BlackRock Fund Advisors, BlackRock Fund Management Company S.A., BlackRock Fund Managers Limited, BlackRock Funding International Ltd., BlackRock Funds Services Group LLC, BlackRock Germany GmBH, BlackRock Group Limited, BlackRock HK Holdco Limited, BlackRock Holdco 2 Inc., BlackRock Holdco 3 LLC, BlackRock Holdco 4 LLC, BlackRock Holdco 5 LLC, BlackRock Holdco 6 LLC, BlackRock Hungary Kft, BlackRock Index Services LLC, BlackRock Infrastructure Management I LLC, BlackRock Institutional Services Inc., BlackRock Institutional Trust Company National Association, BlackRock International Holdings Inc., BlackRock International Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Dublin) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Korea) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock Investment Management (Taiwan) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management Ireland Holdings Limited, BlackRock Investment Management LLC, BlackRock Investments LLC, BlackRock Japan Co. Ltd., BlackRock Japan Holdings GK, BlackRock Jersey Finco 2 Limited, BlackRock Latin America Holdco LLC, BlackRock Latin American Holdings B.V., BlackRock Life Limited, BlackRock Lux Finco S.a r.l., BlackRock Luxembourg Holdco S.a r.l., BlackRock Mexican Holdco B.V., BlackRock Mexico Infraestructura I S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Infraestructura II S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Infraestructura III S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Manager II S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Manager III S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Manager S de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Operadora S.A. de C.V. Sociedad Operadora de Fondos de Inversion, BlackRock Mortgage Ventures LLC, BlackRock Niagara LLC, BlackRock Operations (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., BlackRock Overseas Investment Fund Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock PC Holdings LLC, BlackRock Pensions Limited, BlackRock Peru Asesorias S.A., BlackRock Property Consulting (Beijing) Co. Ltd., BlackRock Property France S.a.r.l., BlackRock Property Lux S.a.r.l., BlackRock Property Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., BlackRock Realty Advisors Inc., BlackRock Saudi Arabia, BlackRock Scale Holdings LLC, BlackRock Services India Private Limited, BlackRock Singapore III Pte. Ltd., BlackRock Slovakia s.r.o., BlackRock Strategic Investors GP LLC, BlackRock Strategic Investors LP, BlackRock Trident Holding Company Limited, BlackRock UK (Alpha) Limited, BlackRock UK (Beta) Limited, BlackRock UK (Delta) LP, BlackRock UK (Gamma) Limited, BlackRock UK (Sigma) Limited, BlackRock UK 2 LLP, BlackRock UK 3 LLP, BlackRock UK 4 LLP, BlackRock UK A LLP, BlackRock UK Holdco 2 Limited, BlackRock UK Holdco Limited, Blackhawk Investment Holding LLC, CIE Automotive, Cachematrix Holdings, Cachematrix Holdings LLC, Cachematrix Integrations Private Limited, Cachematrix Software Solutions LLC, Cachematrix UK Limited, FutureAdvisor Inc., Glass Mountain Pipeline, Global Energy & Power Infrastructure Advisors LLC, Global Energy & Power Infrastructure II Advisors LLC, Grosvenor Alternate Partner Limited, Grosvenor Ventures Limited, HLX Financial Holdings LLC, MGPA (Bermuda) Limited, MGPA (Exec) Limited, MGPA Limited, Mercury Carry Company Ltd., Mercury Private Equity MUST 3 (Jersey) Limited, Object Capital Technology Inc., Phoenix Acquisition B.V., Phoenix Acquisitions Holdings LLC, Portfolio Administration & Management Ltd., Prestadora de Servicios Integrales BlackRock Mexico S.A. de C.V., SVOF/MM LLC, St. Albans House Nominees (Jersey) Ltd., State Street Research & Management, Tennenbaum Capital Partners LLC, Tennenbaum Capital Partners LLC, Tlali Acero S.A. de C.V. SOFOM ENR, Trident Merger LLC, eFront, eFront, eFront (Jersey) Limited, eFront DMLT Holdings LLC, eFront DMLT Holdings S.R.L, eFront DR S.R.L, eFront Do Brasil Solucoes Informaticas Para Sistemas Financeiros Ltda., eFront FZ-LLC, eFront Financial Solutions Inc., eFront GmbH, eFront Holding II SAS, eFront Holdings SAS, eFront Hong Kong Limited, eFront II SAS, eFront Kabushiki Kaisha, eFront Ltd, eFront SAS, eFront Singapore Pte. Ltd, eFront Software Luxembourg S.a r.l., eFront Solutions Financeieres Inc., eFront d.o.o. Beograd, iShares (DE) I Investmentaktiengesellschaft mit Teilgesellschaftsvermogen, and iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC. By Ritah Kemigisa. The police has dismissed media reports that it had allegedly closed Nalufenya detention center in Jinja. According to the Deputy Police spokesperson Patrick Onyango has said police did discuss about Nalufenya this week during thePolice Advisory Committee (PAC) but no decision was taken concerning its closure. Onyango says if any decision of that nature is taken an official communication shall be made by the Inspector General of police in writing. The local newspaper today carried a headline reportedly alleging that the new Inspector General of Police, Martin Okoth Ochola had ordered for the closure of the detention center which many have criticized for torturing people. Intelsat S.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides satellite communications services worldwide. The company offers a range of communications services to media companies, fixed and wireless telecommunications operators, data networking service providers for enterprise and mobile applications in the air and on the seas, multinational corporations, and Internet service providers; and commercial satellite communication services to the U.S. government and other military organizations and their contractors. It provides various on-network services, including transponder services; managed services that combine satellite capacity, teleport facilities, satellite communications hardware, and other ground facilities to provide managed and monitored broadband, trunking, video, and private network services to customers; and channel services primarily used for providing point-to-point bilateral services to telecommunications providers. The company also offers off-network services comprising transponder, mobile satellite, and other services. In addition, it offers satellite-related consulting and technical services that include the lifecycle of satellite operations and related infrastructure ranging from satellite and launch vehicle procurement through telemetry and commanding services, and related equipment sale services. The company was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Intelsat S.A. is a subsidiary of Serafina S.A. Read More Unifi, Inc. engages in the manufacture and sale of synthetic and recycled products made from polyester and nylon. It operates through the following segments: Polyester, Nylon, Brazil, and Asia. The Polyester segment sells polyester-based products to other yarn manufacturers, knitters, and weavers that produce yarn and fabric for the apparel, hosiery, home furnishings, automotive, industrial, and other end-use markets in U.S. and El Salvador. The Nylon segment offers nylon-based products to knitters and weavers that produce fabric for the apparel and hosiery markets in U.S. and Colombia. The Brazil and Asia segments comprises polyester-based products to knitters and weavers that produce fabric for the apparel, home furnishings, automotive, industrial, and other end-use markets principally in South America and Asia. The company was founded by George Allen Mebane IV in 1969 and is headquartered in Greensboro, NC. Read More Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. is an international offshore energy company. It focuses on subsea construction, maintenance and salvage services to the offshore natural gas and oil industry. The firm also provides specialty services to the offshore energy industry, with a focus on well intervention and robotics operations. The company operates through three segments: Well Intervention, Robotics and Production Facilities. The Well Intervention segment offers vessels and related equipment that are used to perform well intervention services primarily in the Gulf of Mexico and North Sea regions. The Robotics segment involves four chartered vessels and also includes ROVs, trenchers and ROVDrills designed to complement offshore construction and well intervention services. The Production Facilities segment includes its investment in the Helix Producer I and Kommandor LLC. Helix Energy Solutions Group was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Houston, TX. Read More 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 Coding GmbH, Allen France SAS, Alpine Automation Limited, Alpine Engineered Products, Alpine Holdings Inc., Alpine Systems Corporation, Anaerobicos S.r.l., AppliChem GmbH, Arylux Hungary Elektromechanikus Alkatreszgyarto Kft, Avery Berkel France, Avery India Limited, Avery Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avery Weigh Tronix, Avery Weigh-Tronix (Suzhou) Weighing Technology Co. Ltd., Avery Weigh-Tronix Finance Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Holdings Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix International Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix LLC, Avery Weigh-Tronix Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Properties Limited, Azon Limited, B.C. Immo, Beijing Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Berkel (Ireland) Limited, Berrington UK, Brapenta Eletronica Ltda., Brooks Instrument (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Brooks Instrument B.V., Brooks Instrument GmbH, Brooks Instrument KFT, Brooks Instrument Korea Ltd., Brooks Instrument LLC, Buell Industries Inc., CAPMAX Logistica S.A. de C.V., CCI Realty Company, CFC Europe GmbH, CS (Australia) Pty Limited, CS (Finance) Europe S.a.r.l., CS Mexico Holding Company S DE RL DE CV, CSMTS LLC, Calvia Spolka z Ograniczona Odpowiedzialnosci, Capital Ventures (Australasia) S.a r.l, Capmax Logistica S.A. de C.V., Celeste Industries Corporation, Coeur, Coeur (Shanghai) Medical Appliance Trading Co. Ltd, Coeur Asia Limited, Coeur Holding Company, Coeur Inc., Compagnie Hobart, Compagnie de Materiel et d'Equipements Techniques-Comet, Constructions Isothermiques Bontami C.I.B., Crane Carrier Company, 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., Dorbyl U.K. (Holdings) Limited, Duo Fast de Espana S.A.U., Duo-Fast Korea Co. Ltd., Duo-Fast LLC, E.C.S. d.o.o., ECS Cable Protection Sp. Zoo, ELRO (Holding) AG, ELRO Grosskuchen GmbH, ELRO-WERKE AG, Elga Skandinavian AS, Elro Group, Eltex-Elektrostatik-Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Envases Multipac S.A. de C.V., Eurotec Srl, FEG Investments L.L.C., Fasver, Filtertek, Filtertek De Mexico Holding Inc., Filtertek De Mexico S.A. de C.V., GC Financement SA, Gamko B.V., Gun Hwa Platech (Taicang) Co. Ltd., HOBART Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Hartness International, Hobart (Japan) K.K., Hobart Andina S.A.S., Hobart Brothers International Chile Limitada, Hobart Brothers LLC, Hobart Dayton Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Hobart Food Equipment Co. Ltd., Hobart Foster Belgium, Hobart International (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., 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 (China) Investment Company Limited, ITW (Deutschland) GmbH, ITW (EU) Holdings Ltd., ITW (European) Finance Co. Ltd., ITW (European) Finance II Co. Ltd., ITW (European) Finance III Co. Ltd., ITW (Ningbo) Components & Fastenings Systems Co. Ltd., ITW AEP LLC, ITW AOC LLC, ITW Aircraft Investments Inc., ITW Alpha Sarl, 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, 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 Colombia S.A.S., ITW Construction Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Construction Products (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., 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 Contamination Control (Wujiang) Co. Ltd., ITW Contamination Control B.V., ITW Covid Security Group Inc., ITW DS Investments Inc., ITW DelFast do Brasil Ltda., ITW Delta Sarl, ITW Denmark ApS, 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 Electronic Business Asia Co. Limited, ITW Electronic Components/Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Electronics (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Epsilon Sarl, ITW Espana S.A., ITW FEG Hong Kong Limited, ITW FEG do Brasil Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW Fastener Products GmbH, ITW Finance Designated Activity Company, ITW Finance Europe S.A., ITW Fluids and Hygiene Solutions Ltda., ITW Food Equipment Group LLC, ITW France Finance Alpha S.A.S., 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 II Inc., ITW Global Investments Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Europe GmbH, ITW Global Tire Repair Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Japan K.K., ITW Graphics (Thailand) Ltd., ITW Graphics Asia Limited, ITW Graphics Italy S.R.L. in liquidazione, 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 UK, 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 Hungary Finance Beta Kft, 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 Finance Srl, ITW Italy Holding Srl, ITW Japan Ltd., ITW Korea LLC, ITW LLC & Co. KG, ITW Limited, ITW Lombard Holdings Inc., ITW Lys Fusion S.r.l., ITW M FILMS II LLC, ITW MH LLC, 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 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 Plastic (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Japan Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Korea Limited, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids OOO, ITW Performance Polymers (Wujiang) Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers ApS, ITW Performance Polymers and Fluids Group FZE, ITW Peru S.A.C., ITW Philippines Holdings LLC, 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 Spraytec, 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 Servicios Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Welding Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW de France, ITW do Brasil Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Ideal Molding Technologies LLC, Illinois Tool Works (Chile) Limitada, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) Nederland B.V., Illinois Tool Works Norway AS, 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 (Shanghai) Ltd., Instron (Thailand) Limited, Instron Brasil Equipamentos Cientificos Ltda., Instron Foreign Sales Corp. Limited, Instron France S.A.S., Instron GmbH, Instron Holdings Limited, Instron International Limited, Instron Japan Company Ltd., Instron Korea LLC, International Leasing Company LLC, International Truss Systems Proprietary Limited, Isolenge - ITW Sistemas de Isolamento Termico Ltda., KCPL Mauritius Holdings, Kester, Kester Components (M) Sdn. Bhd., Kleinmann GmbH, Krafft S.L., Loma Systems, Loma Systems (Canada) Inc., Loma Systems BV, Loma Systems sro, Lombard Pressings Limited, Lumex Inc., Lys Fusion Poland Sp. z.o.o., M&C Specialties (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., M&C Specialties Co., MAGNAFLUX GmbH, MEHB Holdings Limited, MGHG Property LLC, MOA Enterprises Inc, Manufacturing Avancee S.A., Meritex Technology (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Meurer Verpackungssysteme GmbH, Miller Electric Mfg. LLC, Miller Insurance Ltd., NDT Holding LLC, NOVADAN APS, Norden Olje AB, North Star Imaging Europe, 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., Penta Dnepr LLC, Penta Sever OOO, Penta Volga OOO, 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., 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 (Nederland) B.V., Simco Japan Inc., 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 (Hong Kong) Co. Limited, Stokvis Tapes (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Taiwan) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes BVBA, Stokvis Tapes Benelux B.V., Stokvis Tapes Deutschland GmbH, Stokvis Tapes France, 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 Sverige AB, Stolvis Holdings II S.A.R.L., 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 (Kunshan) Co. Ltd., Tien Tai Electrode Co. Ltd., Unichemicals Industria e Comercio Ltda., VR-Leasing Sarita GmbH & Co. Immobilien KG, VS European Holdco BV, Valeron Strength Films B.V.B.A., Veneta Decalcogomme S.r.l., Versachem Chile S.A., Vesta, Vesta (Guangzhou) Catering Equipment Co. Ltd, Vesta Global Limited, 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, ZF TRW (Engineered Fasteners and Components), and Zip-Pak International B.V.. John Wood Group PLC, together with its subsidiaries, provides consulting, project management, and engineering solutions to energy and built environment worldwide. It operates through four segments: Asset Solutions Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia; Assets Solutions Americas; Technical Consulting Solutions; and Investment Services. The company offers operations solutions, including maintenance, modifications, commissioning and decommissioning, and aftermarket services, as well as industrial services, such as painting, insulation, scaffolding, rope access, E&I, asbestos removal, and civil and earthworks services; engineering, procurement, and construction management; plant operations and life extension; technology solutions; supervision and management services; fabrication and inspection services; and construction and field services. It also provides environment and infrastructure solutions comprising environmental studies and compliance, environmental remediation, public infrastructure, and geotechnical and materials services; clean energy solutions; mine planning and design, mineral processing and metallurgy, mineral resources and project assessment services; and automation and control solutions, such as asset protection and facility and process automation solutions, as well as simulation, learning, and virtual systems. In addition, the company offers subsea and export systems, including subsea, umbilical, riser, and flowline design, as well as planning, design, and development of marine terminals and pipelines; and hull and marine services. It serves oil and gas, infrastructure, industrial and manufacturing, mining, power, and government sectors. John Wood Group PLC was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Aberdeen, the United Kingdom. Read More NMC Health Plc provides healthcare services in the United Arab Emirates, Spain, and internationally. The company operates through two businesses, NMC Healthcare and NMC Trading. It owns and manages approximately 135 healthcare facilities that include hospitals, medical centers, long term care facilities, day surgery centers, fertility centers, and home health services providers. The company has developed specialized verticals covering multi-specialty care, maternity and fertility, long-term and home care, operations and management, and distribution services. It is also involved in the distribution of pharmaceutical products, medical equipment, medical consumables and devices, education and office supplies, veterinary products, cosmetics, IT products, and rehab supplies, as well as consumer products, including personal care, food and beverages, household care, and home improvement products. The company was founded in 1975 and is based in London, the United Kingdom. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of NRG Energy: 3279405 Nova Scotia Company, 3283764 Nova Scotia Company, 7549709 Canada Inc., 7644868 Canada Inc., 7711565 Canada Inc., AC Solar Holdings LLC, Ace Energy Inc., Agua Caliente Borrower 1 LLC, Agua Caliente Solar Holdings LLC, Agua Caliente Solar LLC, Allied Home Warranty GP LLC, Allied Warranty LLC, Arthur Kill Gas Turbines LLC, Arthur Kill Power LLC, Astoria Gas Turbine Power LLC, Bayou Cove Peaking Power LLC, Beheer-en Beleggingsmaatschappij Plogema B.V., Berrians I Gas Turbine Power LLC, BidURenergy Inc., Big Cajun I Peaking Power LLC, Bluewater Wind Delaware LLC, Bluewater Wind Maryland LLC, Bluewater Wind New Jersey Energy LLC, Boquillas Wind LLC, Cabrillo Power I LLC, Cabrillo Power II LLC, Camino Energy LLC, Carbon Management Solutions LLC, Carlsbad Energy Center LLC, Carlsbad Energy Holdings LLC, Chester Energy LLC, Chickahominy River Energy Corp., Cirro Energy Services Inc., Cirro Group Inc., Citizens Power Holdings One LLC, Commonwealth Atlantic Power LLC, Connecticut Jet Power LLC, Cottonwood Development LLC, Cottonwood Energy Company LP, Cottonwood Generating Partners I LLC, Cottonwood Generating Partners II LLC, Cottonwood Generating Partners III LLC, Cottonwood Technology Partners LP, Delaware Power Development LLC, Devon Power LLC, Doga Enerji Uretim Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Doga Isi Satis Hizmetleri Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Doga Isletme ve Bakim Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Dunkirk Gas Corporation, Dunkirk Power LLC, EHI Development Fund LLC, EME Eastern Holdings LLC, EVgo Services LLC, Eastern Sierra Energy Company LLC, Ecokap Power LLC, El Segundo Energy Center II LLC, El Segundo Power II LLC, El Segundo Power LLC, Elkhorn Ridge Wind II LLC, Energy Alternatives Wholesale LLC, Energy Choice Solutions LLC, Energy Curtailment Specialists, Energy Plus Holdings LLC, Energy Plus Natural Gas LLC, Energy Protection Insurance Company, Everything Energy LLC, Forward Home Security LLC, GCP Funding Company LLC, GenOn Energy, Geostellar Inc., Gladstone Power Station Joint Venture, Goal Zero, Goal Zero Europe GmbH, Goal Zero LLC, Granite II Holding LLC, Granite Power Partners II L.P., Green Mountain Energy, Green Mountain Energy Company, Green Mountain Energy Sun Club, Gregory Partners LLC, Gregory Power Partners LLC, Hanover Energy Company, Huntley IGCC LLC, Huntley Power LLC, Independence Energy Alliance LLC, Independence Energy Group LLC, Independence Energy Natural Gas LLC, Indian River Operations Inc., Indian River Power LLC, Intellastar LLC, Ivanpah Master Holdings LLC, Ivanpah Project I Holdings LLC, Ivanpah Project II Holdings LLC, Ivanpah Project III Holdings LLC, James River Power LLC, Kaufman Cogen LP, LSP-Nelson Energy LLC, Long Beach Generation LLC, Long Beach Peakers LLC, Long Beach Power LLC, Louisiana Generating LLC, MEC Esenyurt B.V., MEC San Pascual B.V., Maplekey UK Finance Limited, Maplekey UK Limited, Meriden Gas Turbines LLC, Middletown Power LLC, Midway-Sunset Cogeneration Company, Midwest Finance Company LLC, Midwest Generation EME LLC, Midwest Generation Holdings I LLC, Midwest Generation Holdings II LLC, Midwest Generation LLC, Midwest Generation Procurement Services LLC, Midwest Peaker Holdings LLC, Mission Bingham Lake Wind LLC, Mission Del Cielo LLC, Mission Energy Construction Services LLC, Mission Energy Holdings International LLC, Mission Energy Wales LLC, Mission Funding Zeta LLC, Mission Midway-Sunset Holdings LLC, Mission Midwest Coal LLC, Mission Minnesota Wind LLC, Mission Watson Holdings LLC, Mission Wind Boquillas LLC, Mission Wind New Mexico II LLC, Mission Wind Owaissa LLC, Mission Wind Pinnacle LLC, Mission del Sol LLC, Montville IGCC LLC, Montville Power LLC, NEO Chester-Gen LLC, NEO Corporation, NRG Acquisition Holdings Inc., NRG Advisory Services LLC, NRG Affiliate Services Inc., NRG Alexandria LLC, NRG Arroyo Nogales LLC, NRG Arthur Kill Operations Inc., NRG Asia-Pacific Ltd., NRG Astoria Gas Turbine Operations Inc., NRG Astoria Power LLC, NRG Audrain Generating LLC, NRG Audrain Holding LLC, NRG Bayou Cove LLC, NRG Berrians East Development LLC, NRG Bluewater Holdings LLC, NRG Bluewater Wind Massachusetts LLC, NRG Bourbonnais Equipment LLC, NRG Bourbonnais LLC, NRG Brazoria Energy LLC, NRG Business Services LLC, NRG CTA Holdings LLC, NRG Cabrillo Power Operations Inc., NRG Cadillac Inc., NRG Cadillac Operations Inc., NRG California Peaker Operations LLC, NRG Capital II LLC, NRG Carbon 360 LLC, NRG Cedar Bayou Development Company LLC, NRG Chalk Point CT LLC, NRG CleanTech Investments LLC, NRG Coal Development Company LLC, NRG ComLease LLC, NRG Common Stock Finance I LLC, NRG Common Stock Finance II LLC, NRG Connected Home LLC, NRG Connecticut Affiliate Services Inc., NRG Connecticut Peaking Development LLC, NRG Construction LLC, NRG Cottonwood Tenant LLC, NRG Curtailment Solutions Canada Inc., NRG Curtailment Solutions Inc., NRG DG Development LLC, NRG Development Company Inc., NRG Devon Operations Inc., NRG Dispatch Services LLC, NRG Distributed Energy Resources Holdings LLC, NRG Distributed Generation PR LLC, NRG Dunkirk Operations Inc., NRG ECOKAP Holdings LLC, NRG ESA Joint Development LLC, NRG El Segundo Operations Inc., NRG Energy Center Eagles LLC, NRG Energy Center Oxnard LLC, NRG Energy Fuel LLC, NRG Energy Fuel Services LLC, NRG Energy Gas & Wind Holdings Inc., NRG Energy Holdings II Inc., NRG Energy Holdings Inc., NRG Energy Inc., NRG Energy Labor Services LLC, NRG Energy Petroleum LLC, NRG Energy Services Group LLC, NRG Energy Services International Inc., NRG Energy Services LLC, NRG Equipment Company LLC, NRG Fuel Cell CA1 LLC, NRG Fuel Resources LLC, NRG Fuel Transportation LLC, NRG GTL Holdings LLC, NRG Gas Development Company LLC, NRG Generation Holdings Inc., NRG Gladstone Operating Services Pty Ltd, NRG Granite Acquisition LLC, NRG Greenco LLC, NRG HQ DG LLC, NRG Holding Leasing Vehicle 7 LLC, NRG Home & Business Solutions LLC, NRG Home Services LLC, NRG Home Solutions LLC, NRG Home Solutions Product LLC, NRG Homer City Services LLC, NRG Huntley Operations Inc., NRG Identity Protect LLC, NRG Ilion LP LLC, NRG Ilion Limited Partnership, NRG Independence Solar LLC, NRG International LLC, NRG Kaufman LLC, NRG Latin America Inc., NRG Lease Co LLC, NRG Lease Development LLC, NRG Limestone 3 LLC, NRG Maintenance Services LLC, NRG Mesquite LLC, NRG Mextrans Inc., NRG MidAtlantic Affiliate Services Inc., NRG MidCon Development LLC, NRG Middletown Operations Inc., NRG Middletown Repowering LLC, NRG Midwest Holdings LLC, NRG Midwest II LLC, NRG Montville Operations Inc., NRG NE Development LLC, NRG Nelson Turbines LLC, NRG New Roads Holdings LLC, NRG NewGen LLC, NRG North Central Operations Inc., NRG Northeast Affiliate Services Inc., NRG Norwalk Harbor Operations Inc., NRG Ohio Pipeline Company LLC, NRG Operating Services Inc., NRG Oswego Harbor Power Operations Inc., NRG Oxbow Holdings LLC, NRG PacGen Inc., NRG Peaker Finance Company LLC, NRG Portable Power LLC, NRG Potrero Development LLC, NRG Power Marketing LLC, NRG Procurement Company LLC, NRG Project Company LLC, NRG Reliability Solutions LLC, NRG Renter's Protection LLC, NRG Repowering Holdings LLC, NRG Residential Solar Solutions LLC, NRG Residential Solar Solutions Leasing II LLC, NRG Retail LLC, NRG Retail Northeast LLC, NRG Rockford Acquisition LLC, NRG Rockford Equipment II LLC, NRG Rockford Equipment LLC, NRG Saguaro Operations Inc., NRG Security LLC, NRG Services Corporation, NRG Sherbino LLC, NRG SimplySmart Solutions LLC, NRG Solar Arrowhead LLC, NRG Solar CVSR Holdings 2 LLC, NRG Solar Dandan LLC, NRG Solar Guam LLC, NRG Solar Ivanpah LLC, NRG Solar Ring LLC, NRG Solar SC Stadium LLC, NRG Solar Sunrise LLC, NRG South Central Affiliate Services Inc., NRG South Central Generating LLC, NRG South Central Operations Inc., NRG South Texas LP, NRG Sterlington Power LLC, NRG Storage Fabrication & Delivery LLC, NRG Storage on Demand NY LLC, NRG SunCap Leasing I LLC, NRG Telogia Power LLC, NRG Texas C&I Supply LLC, NRG Texas Gregory LLC, NRG Texas Holding Inc., NRG Texas LLC, NRG Texas Power LLC, NRG Texas Retail LLC, NRG Trading Advisors LLC, NRG Transmission Holdings LLC, NRG ULC Parent Inc., NRG Victoria I Pty Ltd, NRG Warranty Services LLC, NRG West Coast LLC, NRG Western Affiliate Services Inc., NRG Wind Development Company LLC, NRG Wind Force LLC, NRG Wind LLC, NRG dGen Advisory Services LLC, NRGenerating German Holdings GmbH, NRGenerating International B.V., NRGenerating Luxembourg (No. 1) S.a.r.l., NRGenerating Luxembourg (No. 2) S.a.r.l., New Genco GP LLC, New Jersey Power Development LLC, Norwalk Power LLC, O'Brien Cogeneration Inc. II, ONSITE Energy Inc., One Block Off The Grid Inc., Oswego Harbor Power LLC, Pacific Generation Company, Petra Nova CCS I LLC, Petra Nova Holdings LLC, Petra Nova LLC, Petra Nova Parish Holdings LLC, Petra Nova Power I LLC, Pure Energies Group, Pure Energies Group ULC, Pure Energies Installation Inc., Pure Energies Solar Services Inc., Pure Group Inc., RDI Consulting LLC, RERH Holdings LLC, Reliant Charitable Foundation, Reliant Energy, Reliant Energy Northeast LLC, Reliant Energy Power Supply LLC, Reliant Energy Retail Holdings LLC, Reliant Energy Retail Services LLC, Restoration Design LLC, Roof Diagnostics Solar Holdings LLC, Roof Diagnostics Solar and Electric LLC, Roof Diagnostics Solar and Electric of NY LLC, Saguaro Power Company a Limited Partnership, Saguaro Power LLC, San Gabriel Energy LLC, San Joaquin Energy LLC, San Juan Energy LLC, San Pascual Cogeneration Company International B.V., Sherbino I Wind Farm LLC, Solar Partners I LLC, Solar Partners II LLC, Solar Partners VIII LLC, Solar Power Partners, Solar Pure Energies ULC, Somerset Operations Inc., Somerset Power LLC, South Texas Wind LLC, Station A LLC, Sunrise Power Company LLC, Sunshine State Power (No. 2) B.V., Sunshine State Power B.V., TCV Pipeline LLC, Tacoma Energy Recovery Company, Taloga Wind II LLC, Texas Coastal Ventures LLC, Texas Genco GP LLC, Texas Genco Holdings, Texas Genco Holdings Inc., Texas Genco LP LLC, Texas Genco Services LP, US Retailers LLC, Valle Del Sol Energy LLC, Vienna Operations Inc., Vienna Power LLC, WCP (Generation) Holdings LLC, Watson Cogeneration Company, West Coast Power LLC, XOOM Alberta Holdings LLC, XOOM British Columbia Holdings LLC, XOOM Energy BC ULC, XOOM Energy California LLC, XOOM Energy Canada ULC, XOOM Energy Connecticut LLC, XOOM Energy Delaware LLC, XOOM Energy Georgia LLC, XOOM Energy Global Holdings LLC, XOOM Energy Illinois LLC, XOOM Energy Indiana LLC, XOOM Energy Kentucky LLC, XOOM Energy LLC, XOOM Energy Maine LLC, XOOM Energy Maryland LLC, XOOM Energy Massachusetts LLC, XOOM Energy Michigan LLC, XOOM Energy New Hampshire LLC, XOOM Energy New Jersey LLC, XOOM Energy New York LLC, XOOM Energy ONT ULC, XOOM Energy Ohio LLC, XOOM Energy Pennsylvania LLC, XOOM Energy Rhode Island LLC, XOOM Energy Texas LLC, XOOM Energy Virginia LLC, XOOM Energy Washington D.C. LLC, XOOM Ontario Holdings LLC, XOOM Solar LLC, and eV2g LLC. Senvion S.A., together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, installs, erects, and sells onshore and offshore wind energy turbines. Its product portfolio comprises wind turbines with nominal powers of 2.0 to 6.33 megawatts; and rotor diameters ranging between 82 and 152 meters. The company also develops and provides turnkey wind farms; and provides clients with project-specific solutions in the areas of foundation construction, transport, and installation, as well as service and maintenance. It serves wind turbine owners and operators in Germany and internationally. The company was formerly known as Senvion S.A r.l. and changed its name to Senvion S.A. in March 2016. Senvion S.A. was incorporated in 2014 and is based in Luxembourg, Luxembourg. Read More William Lyon Homes (NYSE:WLH) issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November, 6th. The construction company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.07. The construction company earned $466.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $487.15 million. William Lyon Homes had a net margin of 3.04% and a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 6.98%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. View William Lyon Homes' earnings history. Swiss Re AG is a wholesale provider of reinsurance, insurance and other insurance-based forms of risk transfer. The Company operates in four segments: Property&Casualty Reinsurance, Life&Health Reinsurance, Corporate Solutions and Life Capital. Its Reinsurance Unit provides premiums and fee income through Property&Casualty and Life&Health segments. Its Corporate Solutions segment is engaged in serving mid-sized and large corporations, with product offerings ranging from traditional property and casualty insurance to customized solutions. Its Admin Re segment provides risk and capital management solutions by which the Company acquires closed books of in-force life and health insurance business, entire lines of business, or the entire capital stock of life insurance companies. Its open and closed life insurance books, including Admin Re, are managed under a unit called Life Capital. Read More Vivendi SE operates as a content, media, and communication company in France, the rest of Europe, the Americas, Asia/Oceania, and Africa. It operates through Universal Music Group, Canal+ Group, Havas Group, Editis, Gameloft, Vivendi Village, and New Initiatives segments. The Universal Music Group segment engages in the sale of digital and physical recorded music; and exploitation of music publishing rights, as well as provision of the artist and merchandising services. The Canal+ Group segment publishes and distributes premium and thematic pay-TV and free-to-air channels; and produces, sells, and distributes movies and TV series. The Havas Group segment includes communications disciplines, such as creativity, media expertise, and healthcare/wellness. The Editis segment engages in the publishing of literature, educational, and reference books, as well as selling and distribution of books. The Gameloft segment engages in the creation and publishing of downloadable video games for mobile phones, tablets, triple-play boxes, and smart TVs. The Vivendi Village segment provides ticketing services and live performances through Olympia production, festival production, and venues. The New Initiatives segment operates Dailymotion, a video content aggregation and distribution platform, as well as develops ultra-high-speed Internet service. Vivendi SA was founded in 1853 and is headquartered in Paris, France. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Archer-Daniels-Midland: ADM (Shanghai) Management Co. LTD, ADM (Thailand) Ltd, ADM Ag Holdings Ltd, ADM Agri-Industries Company, ADM Agriculture Limited, ADM Agro Iberica S. L. U., ADM Agro Indust Latur and Vizag Pvt Ltd, ADM Agro Industries India Private Limited, ADM Agro Industries KOTA and AKOLA Pvt. Ltd., ADM Agro SRL, ADM Agroinvestimentos LTDA, ADM Alliance Nutrition of Puerto Rico LLC, ADM Americas S de RL, ADM Andina Peru SRL, ADM Antwerp NV, ADM Arkady Ireland Limited, ADM Asia-Pacific Trading Pte. Ltd., ADM Australia Holdings I PTY Limited, ADM Bio Science And Technology (Tianjin) Co Ltd, ADM Bioproductos SA DE CV, ADM CZERNIN SA, ADM Caribbean Inc, ADM Chile Comercial LTDA, ADM Clinton Bioprocessing Inc, ADM DO Brasil LTDA, ADM Direct Polska SP. ZO.O, ADM Dominican Holdings Inc., ADM Dominicana SA, ADM Edible Bean Specialties Inc, ADM Europe HoldCo SL, ADM European Holdings LLC, ADM European Management Holding GMBH, ADM Export Co, ADM Food Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd., ADM France, ADM Germany GmbH, ADM Grain River System Inc., ADM Hamburg Aktiengesesllschaft, ADM Holding (Thailand) LTD, ADM Holdings LLC, ADM Hungary Agro Trading LLC, ADM Industries Centers Ltd, ADM International Holdings Inc, ADM International SARL, ADM Interoceanic LTD, ADM Investments LTD, ADM Investor Services Inc, ADM Investor Services International LTD, ADM Ireland Receivables Company Limited, ADM Israel, ADM Japan Ltd, ADM MALBORK SA, ADM Mainz GMBH, ADM Medsofts Sarl, ADM Mexico Inc, ADM Mexico SA DE CV, ADM Milling Co, ADM Milling LTD, ADM New Zealand Limited, ADM Olomouc S.R.O., ADM Paraguay SRL, ADM Protexin Limited, ADM Pura Limited, ADM Receivables LLC, ADM Rice Inc, ADM Ringaskiddy Unlimited Company, ADM Romania Logistics SRL, ADM Romania Trading SRL, ADM Specialty Ingredients - Europe BV, ADM Spyck GMBH, ADM Szamotuly SP Z O.O, ADM Trading Australia Pty. Ltd., ADM Trading Co, ADM Transportation Company, ADM Trucking Inc, ADM Vietnam CO. LTD, ADM WILD Europe GmbH and Co. KG, ADM WILD Ingredients GmbH, ADM WILD Nauen GmbH, ADM WILD Valencia S.A., ADM Wild Netherlands BV, ADM Worldwide Holdings LP, ADMIS Holding Co Inc., ADMIS Hong Kong LTD, ADMIS Singapore Pte Limited, AOR, AT Holdings II Company, Agri Port Services Investments Ltd., Agri Port Services LLC, Agricolas Madagascar SARLU, Agrinational Insurance Co, Agriserve, Agrograin LTD, Alfrebro LLC, Alfred C Toepfer International Netherlands BV, Alimenta USA, American River Transportation Company LLC, Ameriseed, Amylum Bulgaria EAD, Amylum Nisasta Sanayi Ve Ticarek Anonim Sirketi, Archer Daniels Midland (UK) Limited, Archer Daniels Midland Asia Pacific Ltd., Archer Daniels Midland Erith LTD, Archer Daniels Midland Europe BV, Archer Daniels Midland Europoort BV, Archer Daniels Midland Nederland BV, Archer Daniels Midland Singapore PTE LTD, Arinos Unlimited, Aston Foods & Food Ingredients, Balanceados Nova SA Balnova, Barbados Mills Limited, Bela Vista Bio Etanol Participacoes LTDA, Bern Aqua, BioPolis SL, Biopolis, Campa Sued GmbH & Co KG, Cattleman's Choice Loomix LLC, Chamtor, Ci ADM Colombia Ltda., Controladora ADM Sa De Cv, Crosswind Petfoods Inc., Daavision BV, Eaststarch, Eatem Corporation, Eatem Foods, Elstar Oils, English River Pellets Inc., Epicore Bionetworks INC, Epicore Networks (USA) INC, Erich Ziegler GmbH, Evialis France, Fasco Mills Co., Filozoo SRL, Florida Chemical, Florida Chemical Company LLC, GP Blanching Inc., Global Cocoa Holdings LTD, Golden Peanut Company LLC, Golden Peanut and Tree Nut Seed SA (PTY) LTD, Golden Peanut and Tree Nuts SA, Group Lysac, Guyomarc'h - VCN Company Limited, Guyomarc'h Vietnam CO LTD, HFR Shipping Company Ltd, HRA Shipping Company Ltd, HTI Shipping Company Ltd, Harvest Innovations, Hilltop Grain and Feed, Holding P and A Asia Company Limited, Hubei Meiweiyuan Biotechnology, Ilitchevskiy Maslo Extractionniy Zavod (IMEZ), Invivo NSA Asia PTE LTD, Invivo NSA Philippines Inc, Jamaica Flour Mills Limited, Julius Meijer-Alpharma BV, LLC ADM Ukraine, Liquid Feed Commodities, Malta Industries SA de CV, Malta-Texo De Mexico SA de CV, Master Mix of Trinidad LTD, Medsofts Investment Co, Medsofts L.L.C., Medsofts Trading Co, Mepla Comercio e Navegacao Ltda, NRG Inc, Naviera Chaco SRL, Neovia, Neovia Latina SL, Neovia Nutricao E Saude Animal LTDA, North Star Shipping S.R.L., P and A Marketing SA, PJSC ADM Illichivsk, PT Wirifa Sakti, Pancosma (Shanghai) Feed Additives CO LTD, Pancosma France SAS, Pancosma SA, Premiere Agri Technologies of Mexico Inc, Pura Foods LTD, Rodelle Inc., Schokinag-Schokolade-Industrie Herrmann, Sermix, Setna Nutricion SA, Societe Industrielle Des Oleagineux, Southern Cellulose Products Inc, Soy Investors LLC, Specialty Commodities, Specialty Commodities LLC, Sul Mineira Alimentos LTDA, SzSzV Kft, Toepfer International, Toepfer International Trading (Shanghai) Co. LTD., Vantage Corn Processors LLC, WILD Amazon Flavors Ltda, WILD Flavors, Wild Flavors Inc., Wild Flavors International GmbH, Wild Flavors Singapore Pte. Ltd., Wild Intermare GmbH, Wild Russia LLC, and Wisium SA (PTY) LTD. With 'Pay Later', the company aims to fulfil the need for access to credit along with reinforcing trust and convenience in online travel booking experience New Delhi: Online travel firm MakeMyTrip on Friday said it has rolled out 'Pay Later' feature for travel payments which currently will be available to select users. The company is also in talks with various fintech companies as it plans to scale up the feature across business lines and to all of its platforms including Goibibo and redBus, MakeMyTrip said in a statement. "Consumer lending is a key unsolved need in India. As India's leading online travel company, we have the capability to identify target segments by deploying advanced machine learning--built on our internal data such as purchase behaviour and related insights," MakeMyTrip Co-founder and CEO India Rajesh Magow said. With 'Pay Later', the company aims to fulfil the need for access to credit along with reinforcing trust and convenience in online travel booking experience for its most valued customers, he added. "With this feature, MakeMyTrip is aiming to address the need-gap for micro credit while raising the seamless experience of online travel booking ...," the statement said. MakeMyTrip currently provides access to all major domestic full-service and low-cost airlines operating in India and all major airlines operating to and from India. It also provides its customers access to over 45,000 hotels, 13,500 alternative accommodation properties in India and more than 500,000 hotels and properties outside India, Indian Railways and all major Indian bus operators. US President Donald Trump signed a memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to $60 billion of imports from China. Singapore: Oil prices jumped more than 1 per cent on Friday, pushed up by Saudi plans for OPEC and Russian led production curbs introduced in 2017 to be extended into 2019 in order to tighten the market. The rise in oil prices defied global stock markets, which slumped on the back of worries about a trade stand-off between the United States and China. But gold, seen as a safehaven in times of economic turmoil, rallied to a two-week high on Friday. US President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on Thursday that could impose tariffs on up to $60 billion of imports from China, while China unveiled plans on Friday to impose tariffs on up to $3 billion of US imports. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $64.99 a barrel at 0405 GMT, up 69 cents, or 1.1 per cent, from their previous close. Brent crude futures were at $69.54 per barrel, up 63 cents, or 0.9 per cent. For the week, Brent was set for a gain of about 5 per cent, its strongest showing since July last year, while WTI was up about 4.3 per cent. The driver for crude futures was a statement by Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, who said on Thursday that OPEC members will need to continue coordinating with Russia and other non-OPEC oil-producing countries on supply curbs in 2019 to reduce global oil inventories. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), of which Saudi Arabia is the de-facto leader, as well as a group of non-OPEC countries led by Russia, struck an agreement in January 2017 to remove 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) from markets to end oversupply. The pact is set to expire at the end of this year, but Saudi Arabia seems to be pushing for an extension. We still have some time to go before we bring inventories down to the level we consider normal and we will identify that by mid-year when we meet in Vienna, Falih told Reuters in Washington. And then we will hopefully by year-end identify the mechanism by which we will work in 2019. Although analysts said the stand-off between the United States and China could also hit oil markets, for now most said demand looked healthy. Morgan Stanley also cited a pick-up in seasonal demand in the coming month and geopolitical risk as potential supports for oil prices, We are only 3-4 weeks away from peak refinery maintenance, after which crude and product demand should accelerate ... Global inventories are already at the bottom end of the five-year range. With the inventory cushion largely gone, oil prices will likely be more sensitive to geopolitical risk factors, the US bank said. There are sufficient reasons to expect oil prices to strengthen further from here, and we stick with our (Brent) $75 per barrel call for Q3, Morgan Stanley said. In Budget 2018-19, the government had announced fixing MSP 1.5 times higher than the cost of production. New Delhi: The government will soon come out with a policy to ensure that farmers get the support price 1.5 times higher than the production cost, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said on Friday. Government think tank Niti Aayog has come out with a draft policy after discussion with states and it will be finalised soon after further deliberations, he added. The minister promised that the notified crops whose minimum support price (MSP) is not 50 per cent higher than the cost of production will see an upward revision before the 2018-19 kharif season starting June. He noted that MSPs of some crops are already 50 per cent higher than the cost of production. In Budget 2018-19, the government had announced fixing MSP 1.5 times higher than the cost of production. The centre fixes MSP of 22 agri-commodities. Singh assured farmers that the government will intervene when prices fall below MSP and protect their interest even if it hurts the government exchequer. "It is true, it will put burden on exchequer. The prime minister is not worried about the exchequer. ...The country's farmers and labours have first right over the government exchequer," he said at a Ficci event. Holistic efforts are being made to reduce the cost of production as also strengthen market and post production infrastructure to achieve the target of doubling farmers' income by 2022, he said. Stating that MSP is just a safety net and the government is taking steps to put in place a competitive agri-market, National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA) CEO Ashok Dalwai said remunerative price is not MSP, it is more than MSP. "We should not get stuck with MSP. MSP is the last resort. It is a social safety net. Farmers have to be offered a chance to discover prices," he said. Dalwai said while the production has gone up, the biggest challenge is marketing. Therefore, the focus is on strengthening 'gramin haats' for the benefit of small and marginal farmers as announced in the Budget, he said. That apart, the centre has drafted 'The Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2017' as model for states to adopt. This model provides for progressive agricultural marketing reforms, including setting up markets in private sector, direct marketing, farmer-consumer markets, de-regulation of fruits and vegetables, e-trading, among others. The government is also drafting a contract farming law, which will be finalised soon after taking public comments, he added. Cinema theatres strike in Tamil Nadu has come to an end and movie halls started functioning as usual from Friday after state government assured to look into their grievances. Chennai's theatre owners and exhibitors were part of the meeting with minister Kadambur Raju after which they decided to call off the strike and start functioning from Friday. However, since the film strike by TFPC, which began on March 1 that no new film releases will be made is still on, the theatres have no option but to screen only old or recently released movies. Rating: Cast: Rani Mukerji, Neeraj Kabi, Harsh Mayar, Supriya Pilgaonkar, Sachin Pilgaonkar Director: Sidharth P. Malhotra Writer-director Sidharth P. Malhotras Hichki is not a great film in terms of originality of plot, or even inspired writing, direction. But its a very special film for reasons both big and small. For one, Rani Mukerji, who plays the 15th oddball to join a class of 14 misfits, is in excellent form. Second, Hichki mainstreams and normalises a condition a mechanical locha, so to speak in a way I havent seen done often. Hichki is neither maudlin, preachy or peacocky, like, say Taare Zameen Par was. It treats the disability it picks as something that needs to be acknowledged, and then focus on the person, not the problem. Classrooms are not sexy, unless of course Farah Khan is standing at the other end and instructing Sushmita Sen, resplendent in Manish Malhotra chiffons, to pout and preen. They can, however, be transformative. In cinema, they are natural settings for affecting coming-of-age tales that involve conflict, tears, defeat before the disempowered, unruly lot get empowered. Its a place where teachers attach little wings and help kids fly. Like epic love stories, theres a kind of universality to classroom stories. They travel easy, they travel far. Hichki, a Bollywoodised version of Brad Cohens book on which the 2008 film Front of the Class was based, has a lot weve seen before. To Sir, With Love, Stand And Deliver, The Class (French and fabulous), Good Will Hunting, Dangerous Minds, and even our own Hip Hip Hurray, Sir, 3 Idiots Apart from some minor tinkering here and there, most films set in classrooms dutifully follow the template immortalised by To Sir, With Love, the 1967 Sidney Poitier classic with performances, songs and an ending that still makes me feel warm and fuzzy even though its been years since I last watched it. Hichki introduces a teacher with a disability in a class of misfits. Hers is not the kind of disability that is quiet and heartbreaking something that leaps out and forges an instant, melancholic connect, injecting the audience with expected compassion. Naina Mathur (Rani Mukerji) has Tourette syndrome, and it calls for your attention, repeatedly, with clucking, wrist bumps to the chin, involuntary jerking of the head. And the more people stare at her, the more nervous she gets, and her jitters, shaking gets uncontrollable. An educated, articulate, at times self-consciously over smart, Naina is always ready with straight replies to FAQs about her condition, signing off with a smile and a pinching remark. With inspiration from one of her teachers, and the love and support of her mother and brother, Naina learnt this coping mechanism after having to change 12 schools as a student. And now, as she desperately looks for a teaching job, her father, who checked out of her life long ago, makes special appearances only to aggravate her ticks with patronising suggestions about career choices. Though an MSc, BEd, he doesnt think she can stand up in front of a class full of students and teach them given the movements and sounds she makes. But one school, desperate and unable to cope with a class full of boys and girls from a local basti, offers her a temporary job an short assignment till they pass out. Mumbais St. Notkers High School, having to take in kids from the municipal school next door, have dumped them in Class 9F. Its an irritating, embarrassing nuisance that, thankfully, is the last one they have to deal with. In this class, one girl carries a chooha in a cage to school, while another is always chopping bhindi. One boy raps, another one takes bets, while one carries little bottles of adhesive that he likes to sniff. These kids are not cute. They are downright nasty. They taunt Naina, make fun of her, call her Hakli and go to great lengths to force her to give up and leave. In their bad behaviour, Naina sees their own fears, vulnerability and a sense of despair. They dont think their lives will change with some textbook learning. And in their elaborate plans to humiliate and insult her, she sees talent, brilliance that can be applied to science, mathematics... Egging her on with his nasty comments and disdain for her students is Mr Wadia who is proud of leading 9A, a class of the schools brightest and best. After overt rejection and efforts from the school to invisibilise them, 9F kids have become hardered non-achievers. They know they dont fit in, so they try to stand out with their worst behaviour. While nervously jerking her head, making quacking sounds and repeatedly jabbing her wrist on her chin, Naina tries to offer them a chance. Her tough love accompanies creative teaching techniques that others scoff at. Hichki, which is not just about the kids taking flight, but also about Naina not failing herself, follows the usual trajectory where, at the end, lies school prefectship, a prestigious science competition trophy, and a group hug. Though populated with characters whose fates are sealed from the beginning not just of the peripheral ones like Mr Wadia, but even Naina and the students its the talent cast and their performances that bring alive these characters and make the film rather special. The kids in 9A, but especially the ones in 9F, are all flesh and blood. The film doesnt try to make them cute. It keeps them real. But the film belongs to Rani Mukerji, a very fine, very astute actress. With eyes that never stop acting, she expresses a lot with very little. As Naina, whose sartorial choices are rather peculiar, she internalises the ticks as part of her character throughout. Even in the emotional, dramatic scenes ones where you think the director, writer and actor wont dare to disturb the rhythm, the sanctity of the moment she quacks and jerks her head, and then boxes her chin. This is rather brave for Bollywood. Another very interesting thing that director Sidharth P. Malhotra does is that he doesnt make us look at Nainas Tourette. He makes us look at the people who stare at her as she shakes and makes strange sounds. These are not always judgmental shots, but as they place us on the good side the one that sees her, and just her condition it trivialises the problem without underming it. The credit for this goes to the writers and the director, but also Rani Mukerji. Not for a second does she let us off, never allowing us to think that itll go away. It wont and it doesnt. While watching and admiring Rani in Hichki, I kept thinking, Bollywood ko sharam aani chahiye. Bollywood, which is still mourning the shocking passing of Sridevi, should really go and doob-maro in chullu bhar paani. While their grief is real, of course. It needs to be accompanied with huge amounts of regret, remorse and some serious self-loathing. The passing of a talented actress like Sridevi should make them pause and look at how they treat them when they are alive. After having hit that arbitrary set expiry date which mostly translates to cant play sexy eye candy next to our prized heroes, and usually when actresses either get married, have kids or simply age Bollywood stops seeing them as humans. They have no clue what to do with them then. So they lose interest, offering them idiotic behen, bhabhi, mummy roles. Most actresses decline these, and are reduced to waiting for that annual invite to bestow this award or the other. Its up to the determination of some individual, inspired writer, director to think of and find funding for some hatke scripts for them. So, when a few women in the industry, on their box-office power, spunk and, well, the production house they marry into, demand that scripts be written for them, I do hope a glass ceiling somewhere gets a crack. But here too I have a grouse. Sorry to remind you, but do you recall that nonsense called Befikre? Aditya Chopras YRS apparently spent Rs 64 crore on that vacuous nonsense, and I suspect a lot on travel clothes, Ranveer Singh, and training and promoting Vaani Kapoor. Hichki was apparently made for Rs 20 crore. This is the kind of inherent sabotaging behaviour that keeps the myth in perpetuity that only films with big stars prancing around in foreign locales work. Its a cunningly skewed attitude designed to produce an outcome they have already decided and, perhaps, want. Spend loads of money on a big movie with a big star, then throw more money on promoting it and bombard theatres with its prints. But spend very little on a small film, next to nothing to promote it, and then wait for a week after its release to say, Dekho, chhoti filmein, films without big male stars nahin chaltin. This should be a topic of discussion at the Chopra house jismein at least one dinner set needs to be sacrificed. I implore you, Raniji. Nahin toh kuch nahin badlega. In this Feb.28, 2018 file photo, French fashion designer Olivier Lapidus acknowledges applause after Lanvin's ready-to-wear fall/winter 2018/2019 fashion collection presented in Paris. (Photo: AP) PARIS: Lanvin designer Olivier Lapidus is leaving the French fashion house with immediate effect as part of a management shake-up, the firm said on Thursday. Lapidus departure comes a month after Chinese conglomerate Fosun became the majority shareholder in Lanvin, Frances oldest surviving couture label which has been facing financial difficulties. Lanvin Chief Executive Nicolas Druz is to become the head of Fosun Fashion Group, where he will be responsible for boosting business in Europe, Lanvin said in a statement. Joann Cheng, the chair of both Fosun Fashion Group and Lanvin, is to become chief executive of the 129-year-old French brand on an interim basis until a new CEO is found, it added. Lanvin, until now majority-owned by Taiwan-based media magnate Shaw-Lan Wang, had struggled financially in recent years after switching designers. Shaw-Lan Wang brought in Lapidus, the son of French fashion designer Ted Lapidus, in 2017. It would be hard to find anything more harmful to long-term health except maybe arsenic. (Photo: Pixabay) Smokers who also use e-cigarettes may be half as likely to give up tobacco as smokers who never vape at all, a European study suggests. Even when smokers only occasionally experimented with vaping, they were about 67 percent less likely to become ex-smokers, the study found. Daily e-cigarette use was associated with 48 percent lower odds of having quit regular cigarettes. This is important because e-cigarettes are widely promoted as a smoking cessation tool, said senior author Stanton Glantz, director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco. And, while there is no question that some smokers do successfully quit with e-cigarettes, they keep many more people smoking, Glantz said by email. Smokers in the study also used more cigarettes a day when they vaped than when they avoided e-cigarettes altogether, researchers report in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. People smoked an average of about 14 cigarettes a day when they didnt vape, and around 16 cigarettes a day when they did. Researchers analyzed data from a 2014 survey of more than 13,000 current or former smokers in the European Union. About 2,500 participants said they had tried vaping at least once. Overall, they were 50 years old on average, 46 percent of the participants were former smokers and 19 percent currently or previously used e-cigarettes. Among these people who had all been cigarette smokers at some point, the researchers looked at the likelihood of being an ex-smoker at the time of the survey based on whether a person used e-cigarettes. Some past research has suggested that using e-cigarettes may help smokers cut down on use of traditional tobacco products, or even transition entirely away from tobacco. The findings are concerning because they suggest the idea that e-cigarettes are an even more effective cessation tool than nicotine replacement therapy - an idea aggressively marketed by e-cigarette and tobacco companies - may not be true in practice, said Samir Soneji, a health policy researcher at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, who wasnt involved in the study. Most adult smokers express a desire to quit, and many try and fail, Soneji said by email. E-cigarettes might seem like an appealing cessation tool because the devices in some ways mimic the smoking, but nicotine gum or patches may be more effective. Most of the scientific evidence to date, including this study, finds that e-cigarette use does not lead to higher rates of smoking cessation compared to standard cessation tools, Soneji said by email. Big US tobacco companies are all developing e-cigarettes. The battery-powered gadgets feature a glowing tip and a heating element that turns liquid nicotine and flavorings into a cloud of vapor that users inhale. The study wasnt a controlled experiment designed to prove whether or how e-cigarette use might influence the success of any smoking cessation efforts. The survey also did not ask current smokers whether they were trying to quit or cut down on tobacco use, or if they were using e-cigarettes for that purpose. Another drawback is that researchers lacked data on when ex-smokers had quit, and its possible some of them stopped before e-cigarettes were widely available. A bigger question about e-cigarettes - whether theyre safe or at least safer than traditional cigarettes - also isnt answered by the current study. When e-cigarettes contain nicotine, they can be addictive like traditional cigarettes. Even without nicotine, some previous research suggests that flavorings and other ingredients in e-liquids used for vaping could be linked to serious breathing problems. Whether they are safer than cigarettes is almost a trick question because tobacco cigarettes are one of the most harmful substances known to medicine, said Thomas Wills, director of the Cancer Prevention in the Pacific Program at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center in Honolulu. It would be hard to find anything more harmful to long-term health except maybe arsenic, Wills, who wasnt involved in the study, said by email. But this does not mean that e-cigarettes are safe. According to the researchers, part of the reason pupils who go to selective schools fare better is because the best pupils are hand-picked. (Photo: Pixabay) A new study now suggests that paying school fees is a waste of money because bright children will thrive anywhere. Conducted by Kings College London, the study found that grammar schools and private schools created only a tiny increase in exam grades at GCSE level compared to state schools. Researchers looked at performance at maths, science and English GCSEs by boys and girls in England and Walesand found that the type of school a child went to had little impact on their academic achievement at least at GCSE level. According to the researchers, part of the reason pupils who go to selective schools fare better is because the best pupils are hand-picked. Once genes, social and economic background and other factors such as gender were taken into account, the difference was less than a tenth of a grade. The findings, published in the journal npj Science of Learning, found GCSE students at private and grammar schools scored around a grade higher across English, maths and science, than their peers in non-selective schools. But once factors that are involved in selection are taken into account such as ability, previous academic achievement and socio-economic status there was less than a tenth of a grade difference. Co-author of the study, Professor Robert Plomin, said, We are saying there is no value added from these selective schools. Its just a self-fulfilling prophecy. Lead author Emily Smith-Woolley said, Our study suggests that for educational achievement there appears to be little added benefit from attending selective schools. Depressive symptoms arising from stopping exercise occurred in the absence of the typical biological markers. (Photo: Pixabay) Symptoms of depression escalate quickly when exercise is stopped suddenly, finds a study. PhD student Julie Morgan from the University of Adelaide's Discipline of Psychiatry has reviewed the results of earlier studies that examined the effects of stopping exercise in regularly active adults. "Adequate physical activity and exercise are important for both physical and mental health," says Morgan. "Current public health guidelines recommend being active on most if not all days of the week. At least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week is recommended to maintain health and prevent depression, or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise for added health benefits. "An extensive body of clinical evidence shows that regular exercise can reduce and treat depression. However, there is limited research into what happens with depressive symptoms when exercise is stopped," she says. Morgan reviewed studies that investigated the cessation of exercise in 152 adults. They had each undertaken at least 30 minutes of exercise, three times a week, for a minimum of three months. "In some cases, ceasing this amount of exercise induced significant increases in depressive symptoms after just three days," says Professor Bernhard Baune, Head of Psychiatry at the University of Adelaide and senior author on the paper. "Other studies showed that people's depressive symptoms increased after the first one or two weeks, which is still quite soon after stopping their exercise." Professor Baune says the depressive symptoms arising from stopping exercise occurred in the absence of the typical biological markers commonly involved with depressive symptoms. "This suggests some kind of novel effect in these cases, although we should add some caution here, as the number of people included in the studies we examined was small. Such findings would need to be replicated in additional trials," he says. Professor Baune says the lack of research in this specific area points to the need for further studies, to help better understand the way in which stopping exercise affects depressive symptoms. "For now, it is important that people understand the potential impact on their mental well-being when they suddenly cease regular exercise," he says. The results are published in the . The brain surgeon predicted that the new breed of superhumans could be a reality within decades. (Photo: Pixabay) Eric Leuthardt, from Washington University says very soon a new breed of telepathic superhumans will be able to communicate their thoughts using brain implants. The brain surgeon predicted that the new breed of superhumans could be a reality within decades. These telepathic superhumans will transfer information to other people and machines using brain implants, according to Dr Eric Leuthardt. The Washington University brain surgeon believes getting a brain implant will be as common as getting plastic surgery or a tattoo. Speaking to MIT Technology Review, Dr Leuthardt said, A true fluid neural integration is going to happen. He further added, It's just a matter of when. If it's 10 or 100 years in the grand scheme of things, it's a material development in the course of human history. As well as his duties as a neurosurgeon, Dr Leuthardt has also published two novels and written a play aimed at 'preparing society for the changes ahead'. In his first novel - a techno-thriller called RedDevil 4 - 90 per cent of humans have computer hardware in their brains. With his work he has an understanding of the inherent limitations of the brain and also how technology could overcome these limitations. Dr Leuthardt believes at the pace technology is changing 'it's not inconceivable to think that in a 20-year time frame everything in a cell phone could be put into a grain of rice'. Elon Musk is also developing high bandwidth brain-machine interfaces to connect humans and computers. It will work on what Musk calls the 'neural lace' technology, implanting tiny brain electrodes that may one day upload and download thoughts. MOBILE: Five decades after it went missing, a south Alabama woman has found a Tennessee surgeons ring while exploring a neighborhood with her metal detector. Al.com reports that Barbara Burgess found Dr. Stephen R. Sheppards University of Tennessee Class of 1970 ring in front of a home in a subdivision behind the University of South Alabama in Mobile. The ring was about four inches deep in the dirt. She contacted the University of Tennessees Office of Alumni Affairs. Officials learned Sheppard had previously contacted the office about his missing ring. Sheppard lost the ring about 50 years ago, when he was attending medical school and living at the house where the ring was found. Burgess and Sheppard met shortly after the ring was found and it was returned to him. BENGALURU: Two people were arrested for carrying out thefts at the home of software engineers and students during early hours and valuables `42 lakh was recovered from them in the Electronics City police station limits. The accused have been identified as Sumeer Sharma, 32, a resident of Banashankari and hailing from Punjab and Rama Babu, 48, who had been purchasing stolen items from him. According to the police, after they came across numerous cases of thefts at apartments of software engineers and students, a special team was formed to nab the culprits. Preliminary investigation revealed that all the thefts were committed by a single person. The police examined the CCTV footages at the apartments where thefts had taken place. They then tracked and arrested the accsued on Wednesday. The police recovered 1.89 kg gold ornaments, 1 kg silver articles, 17 laptops and five cameras, with a total worth of Rs 42 lakh. A senior official said that Sumeer targeted residents in and around Electronics City, Begur, Koramangala and Hulimavu. He came to the city in 2005 for higher education and finished his B.com in one of the prestigious colleges in the city. He later did masters in Hotel Management in one of the colleges in Chamarajpet. He even started a business of computers and services in Hosakerehalli, but few years later he incurred losses and debts. Sumeer then decided to restart his business by committing house thefts. He was previously arrested by the Madiwala police in 2017 and they had recovered 151 laptops and other valuables worth `72 lakh. He was sentenced to three months of jail and after finishing his term, he again took to crime. Malappuram: In a shocking incident of honour killing, a 22-year-old woman at Areekode in Malappuram district of Kerala on Thursday was stabbed to death by her father just a few hours before her wedding. Police, who identified the victim as Athira, have taken her father Rajan into custody. According to reports, Athiras father had grudgingly agreed to let her marry the man she loved. Police said Athira, belonging to Thiyya community, had been in love with a army man from the SC community who is a resident of Koyilandy district at Kozhikode. Rajan, was against her daughters relationship however, after the intervention of the police, the family agreed to the marriage. The wedding was scheduled for today. Athira was working at a dialysis centre of Manjeri Medical College. According to reports, an argument between Athira and her father exploded on Thursday and he stabbed her multiple times, until she collapsed. Though the to be bride was rushed to a nearby hospital by neighbours after being stabbed, she was declared brought dead by doctors. Zeenat Aman, one of the most sought-after actresses during 1970s and the 1980s, had approached Mumbai Police in January with a molestation and stalking case by the same businessman. (Photo: File) Mumbai: Veteran Bollywood actress Zeenat Aman has registered a rape case against a businessman at Juhu Police station. According to news agency ANI, the accused businessman has been arrested on Thursday night and will be produced in court today. The case has been handed over to crime branch and an investigation is underway. Zeenat Aman, one of the most sought-after actresses during 1970s and the 1980s, had approached Mumbai Police in January with a molestation and stalking case by the same businessman. New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Friday granted bail to former Finance Minister P Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram in the INX Media money laundering case. Karti has been granted bail on a surety of Rs 10 lakh. He cannot travel out of the country. Also, he cannot influence witnesses or close bank accounts. The Supreme Court had last week extended till March 26 the interim relief granted by the Delhi High Court to Karti Chidambaram from arrest in the money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Karti was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from Chennai Airport on February 28. Karti's name had cropped up in the case which relates to Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval granted in 2007 for receipt of funds by INX Media when his father and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram was the Union finance minister during the previous UPA regime. The ED had alleged that INX Media had deliberately and in violation of the conditions of the approval made a downstream investment of 26 per cent in the capital of INX News Pvt Ltd without specific approval of FIPB, which included indirect foreign investment by some foreign investors, and generated Rs 305 crore foreign direct investment in INX Media Pvt Ltd against the approved foreign inflow of Rs 4.62 crore. To wriggle out of the situation without any punitive action, INX Media entered into a criminal conspiracy with Karti, the ED has alleged. The FIPB unit of the finance ministry had not only granted illegal approval but also misinformed the investigation wing of Income Tax Department, it had alleged. After relief in INX Media Case, Karti Chidambaram on Friday filed anticipatory bail plea against CBI and ED in a case relating to FIPB clearance to M/S Global communication holding services Ltd in the Aircel Maxis case. Liga's sister Ilze has been using social media for spreading the word. She also tweeted External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday for help.(Facebook Screengrab/ Ilze Skormane) Thiruvananthapuram: Liga Skromane, a 33-year-old Latvian national, a resident of Ireland, has been missing from Kerala's Kovalam since March 14, 2018. Her husband Andrew Jordan (42) has been searching for Liga. "We reached out to the police and were assured that they will get her in two days. It's been nine days now," said Andrew, who had arrived in Kerala last Saturday. With over a week into her disappearance, the police and Liga's family have no clue about her whereabouts. Liga's sister, Ilze Skormane alleged that it took at least five days for the police to act. Ilze along with Liga's husband, Andrew, have decided to intensify the search in areas of Kovalam and Vizhinjam. Liga, a well-travelled woman with Lativan passport had arrived in Thiruvananthapuram on February 21 for Ayurvedic treatment of post-traumatic depression. According to reports, she went to a beach in Kovalam, about 40 km from the state capital, on March 14, without informing her sister, who was accompanying her on India trip. There has been no trace of her since then. Andrew and Ilze have been frantically wandering around the streets of the state capital for over 5 days now. Andrew, holding a poster of his wife's photo is offering a reward of Rs 1 lakh for anyone who gives information about Liga or help find her. "I was told yesterday by the police that my wife was last spotted by locals on March 18. I checked with locals and they could even identify her by her clothes. The description matched. We need help to locate her," Andrew was reported as saying. "She is well-travelled and an intelligent woman. She knows what needs to be done if she has lost direction," he stressed. Andrew suspects that his wife has been kidnapped. "The police, I think, initially kept thinking that she will return by herself and that she must have gone away for a while. We suspect something else. We believe she must have been taken away by a group that is not letting her off. We need help in locating her. We came to Kerala for her to be cured, because doctors in our country couldn't find any answers to her illness," Liga's sister, Ilze Skromane told NDTV. "We just need to find her," she added. Ilze has been using social media for spreading the word. She also tweeted External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday for help. My Sister Liga has been missing for 6 days in Kerala India please help! Ilze Skromane (@pilzeilze) March 19, 2018 @SushmaSwaraj Please Help! My Sister, citizen of Latvia has been missing 8 days! We are heart broken and very worried! Ilze Skromane (@pilzeilze) March 22, 2018 According to reports, Liga went missing from the treatment center in Pothencode on March 14. Based on the inputs from the rickshaw drivers, it was learnt that she took a ride towards Kovalam beach. Some local vendors on the beach also confirmed that they saw her at the beach in the afternoon. But, since then there hasn't been any trace about Liga, says Ilze. According to police sources, a body of a foreign national has been recovered but a DNA test will be required to confirm the identity. But refuting the suspicion, Ilze says, "My sister never had a tattoo, this body has a tattoo in the arm. Also, my sister's and my feet size are almost the same, but the feet of the body which has been recovered are much larger. We need all possible help to find Liga." The police have registered an FIR under the Indian Penal Codes Section 302 (punishment for murder) against the accused woman. (Representational Image) Mumbai: In a shocking incident, a 36-year-old woman allegedly strangulated her 16-year-old daughter as she suspected the girl was involved in a sexual relationship with her father. The woman was arrested on Wednesday after the post-mortem report confirmed that the deceased was strangled to death. According to the Kharghar police, the accused strangulated her daughter with her dupatta inside their flat around 10:30 am on March 4. She later called her husband and told him that the girl was not well. On reaching home, however, he found her dead. Since there were strangulation marks on the girls neck, we suspected foul play. Initially, we registered an accidental death case but sent her body for post-mortem to the Panvel rural hospital, senior inspector Dilip Kale said. After the post mortem was done, the police handed over the victims body to her parents. They then went to their native place in Rajasthan to perform the final rites. The cops registered a murder case and started a probe. Upon their return, the police summoned victims parents and interrogated them. During the probe, the woman confessed to the crime. According to the police, an investigation is underway to determine if the father had sexually assaulted his daughter and the possibility of him protecting the accused despite knowing of the crime. According to a report in The Times of India, the accused is a homemaker and her husband a civil contractor. Two of their children, the victim and a 12-year-old son resided with them in Kharghar while the other two, a 20-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old son, lived in their native hometown in Rajasthan. The police also spoke to the girls classmates, one of whom told them that the victim had allegedly once told her that her mother had been assaulting her for the past six months as she suspected her of being in a sexual relationship with her father. Her mother had threatened to either kill her or her husband. The police have registered an FIR under the Indian Penal Codes Section 302 (punishment for murder) against the accused woman. Kochi: Doctors, beware. Its not just an apple a day that could keep you away; it could be an app, too. Healthcare informatics--big data coupled with artificial intelligenceis making big advances that will offer patients effective and state of the art care, according to a Harvard Medical School Researcher. Titans of the digital world such as Google and Amazon are already into it and rapidly encroaching a space that was considered the domain of medical specialists. A computer with data on millions of scan reports will be able to make accurate and reliable diagnosis, sometimes even without physician involvement Dr Ajith J. Thomas told DC. Artificial intelligence which utilizes machine learning or use of sophisticated algorithms will make auto diagnosis possible using a combination of imaging, data from medical records and lab results Talking to a computer with voice recognition software may replace an actual visit to the doctors clinic. Doctors may need to stay nimble to adapt to the changing circumstances and figure out how to stay relevant in this new paradigm. Dr Thomas, who hails from Kottayam, was in Kochi to attend #FUTURE meet. It also means more democratisation of healthcare where the patient will be the focus, and not the health care provider such as hospitals and doctors, he said. Patients will have increasing access to their healthcare data and the ability to analyze what it means and how to modify their lifestyles using simple app like solutions which would be available via smartphone. The smartphone may emerge as the major platform through which healthcare will be accessed and consumed. It would be cost-effective, too. Chronic diseases such as diabetes which incur major costs will be managed better using these technologies. Dr Thomas, along with his Harvard team, is now associating with a global technology major to set up a neuro science centre for artificial intelligence. We are working with the company to come up with products. He, however, refused to elaborate on the project. The two big overarching themes in medical research now are molecular biology, genetics and genomics that directly help a doctor offer new therapeutic options to the patient, he said. Gene editing techniques such as CRISPR will eventually eradicate diseases such as sickle cell diseases and other hereditary diseases Then we have digital technology which can generate information, he said. Here, the data, big data, is analysed with the help of artificial intelligence. There will be layers of datalab data, image data Then you need an intermediary to put them in an understandable format for the doctor. Such app like products, could be used even by a patient. For example, he said, an app that can predict a response to psychiatric treatment based on eye movement or other activity parameters may be possible. A push for artificial intelligence started in the 70s but it lost steam in the succeeding decades due to lack of computing power. Its now back to change the way we approach healthcare, he said. This development offers big opportunities for start-ups, he said. There are more than 1000 start-ups in Boston alone working in the healthcare sector, he said. Kerala is a fertile ground for the start-ups to work in the field because Keralites have great awareness on healthcare and technology penetration is quite high here. Two teachers were caught while taking pictures of SSC question paper on WhatsApp at an examination centre in Jagtial district of Telangana. (Representational image) Hyderabad: Two teachers were caught while taking pictures of SSC question paper on WhatsApp at an examination centre in Jagtial district of Telangana. The teachers were trying to help the students by preparing few answers in the staff room. The sub-inspector on rounds at the examination centre caught the teachers red-handed soon after they learnt that the teachers were trying to help the students. Six teachers were immediately suspended by the District Education Officers (DEO) and a criminal case was filed against the teachers after questioning by the authorities concerned . Three invigilators were relieved from their duties in Gadwal-2 and Janagaon-1 and two chief superintendents in Suryapet district from examination centres for negligence in their duties. The BJP is expected to gain about a dozen seats in the Upper House and consolidate its position as the largest party, but it is far from a majority in the 245-member House. (Photo: PTI | File) New Delhi: Voting for 25 of 59 Rajya Sabha seats is underway. The polling will be on till 4 pm. Voting will be held in six states. 33 candidates from 10 states were declared elected unopposed on March 15. Seven union ministers including Ravi Shankar Prasad and Prakash Javadekar were among them. Besides Uttar Pradesh where Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is in the fray and who is certain to win, West Bengal, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Telangana will also feature in the polls. A bypoll will also be held for one seat in Kerala where MP Veerendra Kumar, the Left-backed candidate of Sharad Yadav faction of the JD(U), is pitted against Babu Prasad of the Congress. The BJP is expected to gain about a dozen seats in the Upper House and consolidate its position as the largest party, but it is far from a majority in the 245-member House. In Uttar Pradesh, where there are 11 candidates in the fray for 10 seats, it is a prestige battle with the ruling BJP out to avenge its recent bypoll humiliation at the hands of the Samajwadi Party and Mayawati's BSP. Arithmetically, the ruling BJP can easily win eight out of the 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh. The four-MLA strong Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), after being placated by BJP chief Amit Shah, and the Apna Dal (Sonelal) with nine MLAs have decided to vote for BJP nominees. "We are standing with the BJP. We had held a meeting of our MLAs and it was decided that we will strongly support the BJP," national president of Apna Dal (S) Ashish Patel told news agency PTI in Lucknow. The BJP and its allies have 324 MLAs in the 403-member Assembly after the death of its Noorpur MLA in a road accident recently. To secure a win, a candidate needs 37 first preference votes. Read: Here's complete guide to today's Rajya Sabha elections Arithmetically, the BJP can easily win eight of the 10 seats and will be left with 28 surplus votes. "There will be contest on the ninth seat," a senior UP BJP leader said, exuding confidence that the saffron party would bag nine seats. The SP and the BSP also appeared sure of win one seat each. The SP has fielded Jaya Bachchan and the BSP Bhimrao Ambedkar. The country's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, sends 31 MPs to the 245-member Rajya Sabha, and the BJP, which won a massive victory in the 2017 Assembly elections, is yet to get a lion's share of these. Counting of ballots will be taken up at 5 pm. Also Read: All you need to know about Rajya Sabha elections 2018 Presently, the BJP has 58 Rajya Sabha MPs. Besides Jaitley, the others in the fray are Ashok Bajpai, Vijay Pal Singh Tomar, Sakal Deep Rajbhar, Kanta Kardam, Anil Jain, Harnath Singh Yadav, GVL Narasimha Rao and Anil Kumar Agarwal. Altogether six candidates, including Congress nominee Abhisek Manu Singhvi, are in the fray for the five Rajya Sabha seats from West Bengal. The state's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has decided to back the eminent lawyer. Five candidates are in the electoral arena in Karnataka for four seats. The state's ruling Congress has fielded three nominees, while there are one each of the BJP and JD(S). Elections will also be held for two seats in Jharkhand where three candidates are in the fray, including two of the state's ruling BJP and one of the Congress. One candidate each of the ruling BJP and main opposition Congress will cross swords for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Chhattisgarh. Four candidates will try their luck from Telangana where polling will be held for three seats. The ruling TRS has enough numbers to get two of its three candidates through without a hitch. It hopes to push a third candidate through, with the support of the AIMIM led by Asaduddin Owaisi. The Congress has fielded one in a token contest. Opposition BJP and TDP have said they would not take part in the Rajya Sabha election. In Kerala, the Left-led coalition and the Congress-led opposition grouping are contesting the by-election for one seat. The Left has enough to win the lone seat with 19 votes to spare. Several committees have been set up over the decades on prison reforms but structural changes have been negligible. Visakhapatnam: A conjugal visit is a scheduled visit where an inmate is allowed to spend time with his/her legal spouse. The duration of the visit may be from several hours to several days wherein the meeting parties may engage sexually. In January this year, a man serving life term at a Central prison in Tamil Nadu was granted two-weeks leave by the Madras High Court for the purpose of pro-creation. Moreover, the Punjab and Haryana High Court, in 2015, had also allowed a prisoner to have a conjugal visit. The Judges in the Madras High Court, hearing the case, had pointed out that the Parliament had passed a resolution which deemed conjugal visits a prisoners right, not a privilege. These visits, they noted, helped reduce recidivism, motivated them to be good prisoners and also helped maintain relations with family members. Depriving conjugal rights was seen by the Madras High Court as a cause of concern in the context of rising cases of HIV/AIDS in prisons. When asked, if AP prison department is planning to allow conjugal visits, Prisons IG G. Jayavardhan said that in India, only in one of the Rajasthan jails, conjugal visit is allowed. In some cases, it could have been allowed. However, we have no such plans as of now. Asked about the rising unnatural sex or same gender sex incidents in prisons, the top officer said that the AP jails are not overcrowded like in other states. So, we have come across a very few unnatural sex incidents. Speaking about HIV cases in jails, AP State Aids Control Society (APSACS) district programme manager K.V.R. Saileja said, There are very few HIV positive cases in Vizag and are under medication. But it is difficult to pinpoint the reasons, whether HIV was transmitted due to drug abuse or Same gender sex. We have been conducting awareness programmes whenever asked by the jail authorities. New Delhi: Despite winning more votes than his BJP-back rival, Mayawatis BSP candidate lost the election for a Rajya Sabha seat due to lower second preference votes. Though elections for 59 seats in the Rajya Sabha was elected on Friday, the result of the BSP candidate backed by the Samajwadi Party and the Congress hogged limelight owing to the electoral impact that the SP-BSP alliance could have in Uttar Pradesh in 2019 polls. On Friday, a tough contest was seen between the BJP-backed independent candidate Anil Agarwal who got 22 first preference votes and the BSP candidate Bhimrao Ambedkar who got 33 first preference votes. This clearly proves that some of the BJPs allies cross voted and it was because of this that Anil Agarwal got less than the allotted 28 votes. However, the BJP candidate won after counting of second preference votes while the BSP candidate did not get second preference votes form SP. The ruling BJP won nine seats in UP and the SP one. The BJP won one seat in Karnataka and one in Chhatt-isgarh. The result from Jharkhand was awaited. This election is expected to allow the BJP to consolidate its position as the largest party in the Rajya Sabha. The prominent people who won include finance minister Arun Jaitley and BJP leader GVL Narasimha Rao, SP's Jaya Bachchan (all from UP), Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi from West Bengal, and the BJPs Rajeev Chandrasekhar from Karnataka. Pointing out that the Chennai corporation has not been informed about the abode of gypsies on Marina beach. Chennai: The Madras high court has dismissed a public interest litigation, which sought a direction to the Chennai corporation to shift the abode of gypsies from the Marina beach and provide better and sufficient place to them to reside and not to permit anyone to set up their abode in future on Marina beach. A division bench comprising Justices S.Manikumar and Bhavani Subbaroyan dismissed the PIL filed by Kanimozhi Mathi of Chennai. Pointing out that the Chennai corporation has not been informed about the abode of gypsies on Marina beach, the bench said though the Chennai corporation has duty to maintain the Marina beach clean, until failure on its part to perform its duty, if brought to its notice, a direction cannot be issued to it for mere asking. According to petitioner, Marina beach retains the world record as the longest beach. But its cleanliness condition spoils the pride. Regular walkers and joggers along and near the sea shore were forced to tolerate unacceptable open defecation on the entire stretch of the Marina beach from Foreshore Estate to Buckingham canal when they go to enjoy cool breeze and sunrise, she added. She said now a group of gypsies has set up their residence on Marina beach near the swimming pool and they were using the open beach space as their toilets. No person could cross nearly one square kilometer without stamping on the human excreta near their abode. The intolerable foul smell can cause dangerous diseases. This is the third incident in a row within a week. In the recent one, the caller said a bomb would blow up an airport in state. Chennai: Security officials at the airport here are deeply worried over the growing incidence of anonymous callers making hoax bomb threats as the malice could gradually lead to dangerous dilution of the security drill now prevailing at the various airports across the country. In a third such instance within a week, a bomb threat call to the airport here turned out to be a hoax, with a 30-year-old man from Tiruchirapally being arrested for making the call in an inebriated condition. He had made the call at around 0250 hours during Thursday-Friday night to the control room at the Chennai police commissioners office and said a bomb would go off at an airport in Tamil Nadu. He did not mention the name of the airport under threat and hung up after saying his friend from abroad had called him to warn of the bomb. The police control room traced the call to Tiruchirapally and alerted the police there. Meanwhile, the airports at Chennai, Trichy, Coimbatore, Madurai and Tuticorin were put on high alert, with the security personnel subjecting the passengers and their baggage to extra scrutiny. While the bomb threat turned out to be a hoax, the caller was tracked down to Lalgudi at about 7 a.m Friday morning. Subramanian, 26, was inebriated even as he was being hauled to the police station for quizzing and remand, police said. Boozed-up bravado was the culprit in the hoax bomb call that hit the Chennai airport last Sunday. The control room at the Police Commissioners office received a call at about 9.30 pm with two friends taking turns over the same phone to report a bomb threat to the airport. They appeared to be drunk and arguing over a money transaction. The call was traced to Pallikaranai where the two drunken men were nabbed within a couple of hours but by then, the security personnel as well as the passengers at the airport had to go through harrowing experience with stepped up scrutiny drill. Questioning the two men revealed that one of them wanted to fix the other as he allegedly cheated him after taking money for employment at the airport, said a police official. The first hoax call happened early morning last Friday but that came from far away Ahmedabad, where the airport duty manager got an anonymous call saying a bomb would blow up the airport. Since he did not mention which airport, all the 128 airports in the country were put on alert, including the Chennai airport. Needless to say that the passengers and their baggage were put through extra scrutiny and the drill went on till midnight. We are worried that this increasing tendency among people, particularly after a couple of drinks, to make such hoax bomb threats for impressing booze-mates, or for whatever other reasons. This could lead to some security personnel at the airport taking a genuine alert call too lightly, assuming it to be another hoax call, said a senior security official, requesting anonymity. He said, Such hoax bomb callers should be dealt with sternly; they should be detained under the Goondas Act. That would act as a deterrent.Their irresponsible actions could jeopardise so many lives at the airport. Bengaluru: The first day of the SSLC exam on Friday was chaotic as many untoward incidents were reported from across the state. Official suspended at Chikkodi In Chikkodi taluk of Belagavi, exam officials who were transporting question papers from the treasury to the examination gave a lift to a candidate. The exam official realised it was a serious security breach only when other parents at the centre raised their concern. The official, Kallappa Basappa Gumthaz, a drawing teacher from Government High School in Shivanur, was suspended after a case was registered against him by the local police. Police absent at some exam centres Exam centres at Abbigere and Chikkabanavara failed to deploy enough police force at the gates even when the exam began at 9.30 am. "Anyone could easily get into the centres, if not for the basic security check done by exam officials, who were also new to the place, just like the parents who came to drop their wards. With randomisation in place and especially being the first day, the police force should have been in place as per the Karnataka State Secure Exam Action System," said D. Shashikumar, general secretary of the Karnataka Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools (KAMS), who visited the centres in the area on Friday morning. Rumours of question paper leak in social media The Kannada first language question paper was circulated widely on WhatsApp and in some Facebook groups across the state by 11 am. The picture of the paper which was reportedly clicked at a farm in Vijayapura created tension among parents and teachers, though it was made mandatory that no student should leave the exam hall till 12.30 pm with the question paper. An education department official said that an inquiry has begun and stringent measures have been taken to avoid this in the next exams. Wrong question paper distributed, candidates lose time Candidates who were attending the old scheme exam received new scheme question papers and vice-versa resulting in students losing time. Karnataka State Education Examination Board (KSEEB) Director V. Sumangala said that the affected students were given extra time after the scheduled time to compensate for the loss. "Even after proper training and repeated briefing sessions to invigilators and exam squads, such instances happen due to sheer negligence. It is the responsibility of the custodian and the exam centre chief to review the papers before the seal is removed. Strict action will be taken against officials at centres from where such issues were reported," she said. Candidates who took the exam at Priyadarshini Vidya Kendra, Kengeri alleged that they weren't given any extra time. Ms Sumangala said that KSEEB has nothing to do with five students missing out on the exam at Chamarajanagar due to the wrong address of the centre printed on their hall tickets. "Hall tickets were uploaded on February 9 and a good number of chances had been given to the concerned headmasters to rectify the errors. The head master of the centre failed to notify the board as the centre got shifted to another location, even though he advertised it in local papers," she explained. Nine students from across the state were debarred for allegedly indulging in malpractices during the exam on Friday. 26,799 of more than 8.5 lakh candidates were absent for the first language examination. Students will appear for mathematics paper next on March 26 (Monday). Arab tourists come in groups and are long haul tourists, meaning they will stay for an average of eight to ten days in the state,a top tourism official said. Thiruvananthapuram: Here is the primary reason why Kerala Tourism wants more footfalls from the Middle East: The transcontinental region has four countries that are among the 15 richest countries in the world; Qatar (richest in the world), Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia. With tourists from the UK on the wane, and Russians proving to be low-spenders, rich Arabs are seen as the only group that could revive tourism in the state. Kerala has always aspired to be an elite destination. Its planners had despised the backpackers from England for their low-spending traits, said Martin Joseph, a former tourism official who branched out into tourism entrepreneurship. During the early 2000s we had tried to woo tourists from rich European countries like Switzerland and Luxembourg but it did not work. Our attempt to woo Hongkong, another rich country, fell flat after Jackie Chan refused to play ball, he added. Top tourism officials, however, say that there had been a gradual rise in tourists from Switzerland. The 10th largest contingent of foreign tourists landing in the state comes from Roger Federers land. However, the Middle-East and the Gulf is not alien territory. Kerala has historical links with these places, mostly because of the mass migration from the state. So the thinking is it will be easier to lure tourists from the Arab world than from European countries, a top tourism official said. Moreover, we have found that Arab tourists come in group and are long haul tourists, meaning they will stay for an average of eight to ten days in the state, the official said. Last year, the Tourism Department had launched a campaign called Yalla Kerala targeting tourists from Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. Many properties across the state have witnessed a reasonable increase in Arab tourists, the official said. In fact, there has been a steady increase in Arab tourists ever since the UAE consulate was opened in the capital. Most shops and business establishments in Mayiladuthurai in Nagapattinam district remained closed on Friday in response to a trade bandh called by a Hindu outfit to protest against an alleged incident of desecration of Lord Rams portrait here. MAYILADUTHURAI: Most shops and business establishments in Mayiladuthurai in Nagapattinam district remained closed on Friday in response to a trade bandh called by a Hindu outfit to protest against an alleged incident of desecration of Lord Rams portrait here. Police said 14 persons of Dravida Viduthalai Iyakkam Antimethane Project Federation including its spokesperson Prof Jayaraman were arrested in connection with the incident and remanded to judicial custody. Police said todays incident was apparently in retaliation to some miscreants beheading a statue of late rationalist leader Periyar few days ago near Alangudi in Pudukkottai district. The Confederation of Hindu Organisations quickly called for a trade bandh today, to protest the disrespect shown to portrait of Lord Ram and they also demanded that the culprits be arrested immediately. However, more than 50 per cent of the shops opened later in the afternoon. Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has decided to drag Prime Minister Narendra Modis government to court on the special category status issue. Mr Naidu has decided to take up the matter of special status for Andhra Pradesh which exists in the AP Reorganisation Act, but which the Centre refuses to implement to the Supreme Court. After the current session of Parliament ends at the end of the month, the AP government will file a writ petition in the SC in the matter. Affidavits are being prepared to file the case. An IAS officer close to Mr Naidu said, The logical end to the ongoing fight with the Centre in Parliament on special status and implementation of the AP Reorganisation Act can only be the court. In the writ petition the state government will mention why the CM accepted the special package in place of special status and why he is now demanding special status. During the discussion on the AP Reorganisation Bill on February 20, 2014, in the Rajya Sabha, the then Prime Minister had given an assurance that special category status will be extended to the successor state of AP for a period of five years. This was approved by the Union Cabinet in March 2014. For more than five decades the song has been sung by all in praise of Tamil language, culture, history and heritage. Chennai: The Madras high court has dismissed a petition which sought a direction to the state government, to pass an order to the effect that only the original version of the Tamil Thai Vizhthu (Tamil anthem) as it is, shall be the official song of the Tamil Nadu government. A division bench comprising Justices S.Manikumar and Bhavani Subbaroyan dismissed the petition filed by Ramaboopathy of Chennai. For more than five decades the song has been sung by all in praise of Tamil language, culture, history and heritage. Therefore, there is absolutely no need to change at this length of time, the bench added. According to petitioner, he was hailing from a cultured Tamil family. His father was a freedom fighter and a Tamil teacher. He likes Tamil Thai Vazhthu very much. It was a song honouring the Tamil language, culture, history and heritage. Tamil as a language, culture and way living had stood the test of times since ages, overcome foreign invasions of all nature such as political, religious and cultural. To his shock and dismay, he came to know that this song had been cut short and edited in the year 1967 and a generation had grown up not knowing the original song. He took pains to do research and came to know that there was an original version, Government of Tamil Nadu version and an alternative version, he added. He said the song in its original was wonderful, self explanatory. There was nothing objectionable, obscene and misconceived neither political nor social. There was no need or necessity or any compulsion from any quarters to alter, modify or tamper with. The originality cannot be and should not be changed. It was our duty to preserve the original song. Therefore, it was unwarranted, unnecessary and uncalled for to edit or modify the original song Tamil Thai Vazhthu by any person or authority after about 100 years. Any modification, editing or duplication was a gross willful insult to the Tamil language, culture, heritage and history and its people. Hence, the modified, edited, duplicated version of the great Tamil Thai Vazhthu must be discarded and the original version should be restored, he added. CHENNAI: Serving food to more than 3.5 lakh poor people daily at the lowest possible cost, Amma Canteens remain major factor contributing to the overall cost of living of the city. With 407 Amma Canteens, the Greater Chennai Corporation is not only operating one of the largest chains of hotels in the world but also caters idly at `1 and variety rice at `5. To have a tummy full of three-course meal in Chennai, `30 is more than enough for a day A. Murugan, a regular customer of Amma Canteen said. Initially, when the Chennai Corporation threw open Amma Canteens, hotels that were located in areas of downtrodden people had been forced to reduce their prices and the effects of Amma Canteens can be corroborated with the fact that the eateries in the city remain unable to increase the prices of food items till now. For the past five years, cost of an idly at small hotels remains Rs 6 and chappathis have been sold at Rs 10. Had not for Amma Canteens, the cost would have skyrocketed by now,said Murugan. According to the Chennai Corporation data, Amma Canteens have sold more than 49 crore idlis, 17.50 crore plates of variety rice and 21 crore chappathis in the past five years. he report also wants the existing practice of providing vacation environment classes for lower primary teachers to be extended to include even college lecturers and professors. Thiruvananthapuram: One of the many ways in which the CPM has been ridiculing the agitation of vayalkkilikal in Keezhatoor is by stating that the group is disconnected from the aspirations of the common man. Innumerable bypasses had come up over paddy and wetlands across the state over the years, and not a murmur of protest was heard, so goes the CPM argument. The latest report of the Assembly Subject Committee on Environment (chaired by CPI member Mullakkara Retnakaran and has as its members CPM MLAs K. Babu, O. R. Kelu and K. V. Vijayadas, and LDF independent P. V. Anwar - has framed a counter argument: It is doubtful whether the environment science included in the syllabus of educational institutions in the state is good enough to mould an environmentally-sensitive citizen. The report, therefore, has called for a thorough overhaul of environment-related topics in the school curriculum. Appropriate changes should be made in the syllabus so that each student grows with the firm realization that the protection of the environment was one of her primary responsibilities, the Report of the Subject Committee, stated. The Report also pointed out the irony of the Malayalis famed political awareness. The Malayali will not even raise a finger against the levelling of paddy fields but will vehemently demand that rice prices be reduced, and also that rice should be made available aplenty, the Report said. It also highlights the folly of consuming rice imported from outside the state. It has been proven that essential items coming from outside have high pesticide content. We consume such food knowingly, and as a result we have lost the capability to fight diseases like cancer and gastrointestinal problems, the Report said. It has recommended that a review committee should be set up to ensure that environment studies are not just included, but taught, in all degree courses as mandated by the UGC. Further, the report moots the creation of a one-year special certificate course in environment science. It also wants the PSC to grant bonus points to candidates who had taken the certificate course. The report also wants the existing practice of providing vacation environment classes for lower primary teachers to be extended to include even college lecturers and professors. Chennai: Several doctors association in the state along with government medical college students staged statewide demonstration demanding 50 percent reservation for government doctors in PG medical admissions on Thursday evning. Medicos staged the protest at Chennai Beach Railway station, asking for a complete withdrawal of the National Medical Commission (NMC) that was reviewed by the parliamentary committee last month. Various medical associations, including Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD), Tamil Nadu Medical Students Association (TNMSA), Government All Doctors' Association (GADA) and Doctors Association of Social Equality (DASE) came together to present various grievances against the NMC bill. Doctors protested against the non-implementation of all India quota providing 27 percent reservation for SC/ ST and OBC medical college students in PG medical seats. The medicos had earlier demanded a provision of 50 percent reservation for government doctors in PG and super speciality medical courses, after the apex court and the Medical Council of India denied the proposal for the same. Postgraduate students should be given an equivalent pay as to the postgraduate students of central medical institutes and want a complete withdrawal of NMC bill and the recommendations of the parliamentary committee on the bill. The bill would affect the quality of medical education in the state, thus, we want the government to withdraw it, said Dr G Rabindranath, secretary, Doctors Association for Social Equality. The bill proposes a National Licentiate Examination (NLE), a common entrance exam to be taken by all medical graduates to get practicing licenses. Dr S Gurushankar, president AHPI's TN chapter had earlier said that imposition of another National Licentiate Examination on medical students after the successful completion of MBBS examination should not be done. However, those aspiring to do PG courses can be made to appear for a common PG entrance exam, he said. Doctors allege that the government is trying to promote practitioners of alternative medicine like homoeopathy, Ayush, Unani and others under NMC, which are basically unapproved treatments. Opposing the provision to allow medical practitioners of Indian medicine to practice allopathic medicine following a bridge course in NMC, Tamil Nadu Government Doctors Association State Headquarters secretary, Dr P Balakrishnan said that the bridge courses should not be allowed. The standard treatment protocols of modern medicine are different from traditional systems of medicine, therefore, mixing up these two disparate systems through bridge courses will be wholly inappropriate, he added. Clinical Establishments Act amended The bill will help to prescribe minimum standards for medical facilities and quality of services to be provided by the healthcare providers. All general private hospitals, including dental hospitals, maternity hospitals, dispensaries, medical clinics, polyclinics and nursing homes are referred as 'clinical establishments' who will be authorized to register under the regulatory body within nine months after the notification, said health minister C Vijayabaskar. Hyderabad: The Congress has also joined in the demand for a no-confidence motion against the government. Congress leader in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, gave a notice on a no-confidence motion to Lok Sabha secretary-general Snehalatha Srivatsava on Friday. Mr Kharge and former Union minister J.D. Seelam met the Lok Sabha secretary-general after the Hou-se was adjourned for the day and submitted the notice. Mr Kharge requested Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to take up the discussion in the House on Tuesday. The Telugu Des-am and YSR Congress also gave fresh notices on the motion. The events in Parliament on Friday followed the same pattern as of the last few days with Telangana Rashtra Samiti and AIADMK MPs coming into the well of the House carrying placards and raising slogans. The Speaker adjourned the House till 12 noon and when it reassembled went through the same ritual of announcing she had received notices of no-confidence against the council of ministers from Y.V Subbareddy (YSRC) and Thota Narasimham (TD), which she was duty bound to take up but she can only do so if the House is in order. With the TRS and AIADMK MPs keeping up their din, the Speaker adjourned the House to March 27. In the Rajya Sabha, the TD, TRS, YSRC, AIADMK and the Congress MPs gathered in the well with placards and stalled the proceedings. Upset at this continuing every day since March 5, chairman of the Rajya Sabha M. Venkaiah Naidu commented with continually stalling the proceedings every day I feel the House should be adjourned sine die. He adjourned the House till Monday. BENGALURU: In a repeat of the outcome of Rajya Sabha polls held in 2016, the ruling Congress won three seats and the principal Opposition, one, with JD (S) legislators crying foul and boycotting the battle of open ballots which resulted in the second consecutive loss for their billionaire candidate, B.M. Farooq, on Friday. The victorious candidates of Congress-Dr L Hanumanthaiah, Dr Syed Naseer Hussain and G C Chandrasekhar secured 44, 42 and 46 votes respectively while Mr Rajeev Chandrashekar (BJP) polled the highest at 50 votes. While the votes of revenue minister Kagodu Thimmappa and former minister Baburao Chinchansur were kept aside in the wake of a complaint lodged by JD (S) legislators, two other votes were declared invalid. Seven rebel JD (S) legislators, who violated the whip to support Congress nominee K C Ramamurthy in 2016, voted for Congress candidates this time as well. Former minister H D Revanna and S R Mahesh were those of JD (S) who cast their ballots before the party decided to boycott voting, alleging irregularities. State JD (S) president H D Kumaraswamy lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI) demanding annulment of the election process on grounds that Mr Kagodu Thimmappa and Mr Chinchansur were handed fresh ballot papers after they had cross-voted in violation of the whip issued by the ruling party. The protest by Mr Kumaraswamy and his supporters led to the replacement of returning officer Mr Murthy with Mr Kumaraswamy and a 90 minute delay in counting of votes. The drama continued during counting of votes as well with Mr Kumaraswamy marching in to demand how the votes of two Congress legislators could be deemed as valid. Mr Suman Kumar Das, Secretary, Election Commission of India, however, had issued orders to segregate the votes of these two legislators before commencement of the process of counting. Therefore, the new returning officer, Mr Kumaraswamy, completed counting of votes and declared three Congress and one BJP candidate as winners. Hyderabad: Siddaramaiah, the Chief Minister of Karnataka, tweeted on Friday calling the Chief Ministers of the southern states to put up a united fight against the NDA governments discrimination in the sanction of funds. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao felt that the tweet vindicated his claim that the Centre was deincentivising states such as Telangana, which were performing well. Mr Rao is likely to consult with the CMs of the southern states after the conclusion of the Assembly session. HYDERABAD: Without taking direct ac-tion against the defected MLAs, the Congress has complained to the Election Commission (EC) to disqualify the seven MLAs as they have violated the party whip. The seven defected MLAs had shown their votes to the Congress election agents during Fridays Rajya Sabha polls, according to rules. Congress agent Rega Kantha Rao has made a complaint against defected MLAs K. Yadaiah, Redya Naik, Bhaskar Rao, C. Rammohan Reddy, K. Kanakaiah, Vital Reddy and P. Ajay Kumar who violated the party whip and voted for TRS candidates. Mr Kantha Rao said that they had shown him the votes which were against the party whip. He had requested the Election Commission that the votes of these seven MLAs should not be taken for counting and also to disqualify them. But he did not mention, under which rule of Anti-Defection Act that these MLAs should be disqualified. On the basis of the party whip, Congress party can expel these seven MLAs from the party. If Congress does so, the MLAs will become unattached members in the House. Meanwhile, TPCC President N. Uttam Kumar Reddy asked the TRS how it contested for three Rajya Sabha seats while it has only 63 MLAs. He said that it is unfortunate that the Assembly Secretary, who is the returning officer for Rajya Sabha elections, did not acknowledge the complaint given by Congress Rajya Sabha candidate P. Balaram Naik. He said that they will request the Assembly Speaker to disqualify the seven MLAs who violated the Anti-defection Act. Hyderabad: Minister for municipal administration and urban development K.T. Rama Rao on Friday said the Hyderabad Metro Rail is poised to meet all connectivity deadlines in 2018. He said that Miyapur-LB Nagar stretch will be opened in June/July followed by Nagole-Hitec City stretch in August/September and JBS Secunderabad-MGBS Gowliguda stretch by December-end. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly, Mr Rama Rao said, Hyderabad Metro Rail is doing remarkably well over the Metros in other cities. Our Metro is transporting nearly 60,000 passengers per day. This is significantly higher when compared with other Metros that have been witnessing about 15,000 commuters per day though it was launched much before than ours. This proves our Metro is a success but some vested interests are resorting to malicious campaign against Hyderabad Metro saying that it is not attracting passengers and it's a flop." He said the government will focus on extending three Metro corridors to Shamshabad International Airport soon after entire 72-km stretch is completed by this December-end. Rao said that the government was successful in cleansing Hussain Sagar to some extent during 2014 and 2015 and the water samples that were tested proved this. But due to leakage on NTR Marg, near the Secretariat in 2016, drainage water got diverted to Hussain Sagar which polluted the water again. Rao said that the Municipal Corporation has been facing heavy financial burden on account of drinking water supply and power bills. "With Mission Bhagiratha, which will be completed by this year-end, the responsibility of drinking water supply will be taken over by the government. Similarly, by using LED bulbs for street lighting in all cities and towns, the power bills will come down by more than half. We expect the financial condition of all urban local bodies to improve from next year which will help them to focus on creating better civic and infrastructure facilities for people," Rama Rao added. He said the government will address garbage dumping yard problem at Jawaharnagar by taking up green topping/ capping at the dumpyard. "Two solid waste management plants will be set up in Hyderabad and Warrangal with technical collaboration of Japan to address pollution issues. Electrical swachh autos will be pressed into service," he stated. The nation is obviously shocked by the news that 39 Indian workers held captive near Mosul in Iraq were brutally murdered by the Islamic State, also known as Daesh. While Daeshs cruelty and dastardliness is well known, there was some hope that the workers would be found alive as there was no confirmation earlier that they were dead. The government has come under some fire for this, for not declaring them dead without concrete evidence and giving assurances to their relatives of the possibility of them being found alive. This entire episode needs a pragmatic analysis, especially as we have a large diaspora of Indians living and working abroad. Violence in any part of the world cannot be predicted with accuracy, though worldwide inputs on emerging events are always under the scanner of the MEA and the intelligence agencies. Indians by and large are considered peaceful members of any society in which they reside. However, they can always be caught in the vortex of different shades of violence anywhere and at any time. The kind of violence that emerged in the Iraq-Syria conflict zone was unpredictable. Without experience of such contingencies, the Indian government did make brave efforts, which succeeded in the case of 46 Indian nurses who too were stranded in Mosul. Although the government quite rightly did not reveal its sources, the identity of interlocutors or the methods used to negotiate their release, that was a success story which was celebrated. Similar efforts were possibly made with regard to the 39 workers, but it was unfortunate the tide of violent turbulence just consumed them. In the absence of any concrete evidence of their death, the government made sincere efforts to get as much information as possible. Minister of state for external affairs Gen. V.K. Singh (Retd), using his experience of turbulent conflict zones, was the pointsman in this regard. While many assumed the worst, the government followed the path of goodwill and sensitivity, assuring relatives of hope despite some unconfirmed evidence from an escaped member of the workers group. The pronouncement of their confirmed death after DNA matching with the mortal remains found in a mass grave near the devastated city of Mosul has obviously caused a stir, with relatives accusing the government of insincerity and hiding facts. The emergence of Harjit Masih, the lone escapee, and his statements of having been hounded and kept away from revealing the truth, is adding fuel to the fire. Its not the political innuendos launched against the government which concern me as much as the lessons from this unfortunate episode. The MEA, reflecting the sincerity and genuine concern of its senior minister, perhaps failed to sense the political outcome of such negative news, if and when that emerged. As India has one of the youngest populations in the world and the global market for skilled and unskilled workers is only going to expand, many more Indians will travel abroad to find a living. Its going to happen in the Middle East itself, where countries like Saudi Arabia are going to look at different national economic models beyond the energy-based ones. Russias population is reducing, and Central Asias is ageing. Todays devastated conflict zones will need reconstruction on a massive scale in future, which will need labour. Africa, not yet on the fast track of development, will inevitably move up in the long run. So Indian labour and white-collar professionals, known for their hard work and sincerity, will be attracted to these, creating an extended diaspora around the world. None of these zones can be predicted to be completely peaceful. The Indian government can adopt an insensitive attitude to the diaspora by washing its hands off issues regarding security only at risk to itself. If that becomes clear, the need for greater understanding of any potential turbulent areas, contingency war-gaming by different departments in the MEA as well as other agencies, bringing elements like first responders for potential rescue and relief operations, is something that we need to evaluate and implement sooner rather than later. But even before that, outreach to diverse agencies in host countries is a dire necessity. The current strength of MEAs officer corps is simply inadequate to handle even routine diplomacy, let alone severe contingencies which demand complete energy, hands-on dealing, negotiations with language skills and maintenance of regular contacts. Thats where the concept of military diplomacy comes in. While theres no denying that Indias military diplomacy has moved up many notches, the issues under discussion here dont form part of the traditional areas. As an example, the defence attache in Ankara, accredited to Lebanon as well, had to move to Beirut to oversee the evacuation of Indians and coordinate the arrival of Indian naval ships during the Israel-Hezbollah conflict of 2006. Countries with an Indian diaspora of a given magnitude cant have accredited military diplomats emerging to handle such issues at the last minute. Such operations require deep contacts and liaison, matters that are never given their due in good times. The second-rung MEA cadre doesnt have the capability of handling such issues, which fall within the ambit of national security. The Indian Navy and Indian Air Force have both had some experience in this regard, with Yemen being one of the latest examples where evacuation under fire had to be executed. However, a contingency like the kidnapping of workers or any other set of Indian nationals becomes an even more challenging one. While we may have had Indian security forces deployed to protect some Indian assets in Afghanistan, most nations dont allow the presence of armed foreign forces on their soil. Only an outstanding liaison effort will ensure the core presence of at least a small element, on which a buildup could take place in emergencies. Nevertheless, the need for far greater continuous intelligence, much more sophisticated and frequently shared with the relevant agencies, is a crying need. Finally, it may be time to debate whether the revival of the ministry of overseas Indian affairs, now merged with the MEA, would allow a greater focus on this new challenge that this country might have to meet from time to time. UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath seems determined to stay on a course of triumphalism ever since his party was elected with a huge majority and he moved from New Delhi to head the state. While theres nothing wrong in celebrating political triumphs, what is worrying are the decisions the victors may take. Take, for instance, the UP governments starting the process of withdrawing criminal cases over the 2013 Muzaffarnagar and Shamli riots. People of one community were indiscriminately killed in these instances of naked bloodletting, and survivors have long left the places targeted, to resettle away from nightmarish locations. Thirteen cases relate to murder in just one village, Qutba, in Muzaffarnagar, where people were hacked to death, while others relate to arson, attempt to murder and damage to property. The claim that such cases were foisted for political reasons is specious. What the government is doing is to find a way to pardon murder and rioting by a section of the ruling partys supporters, particularly as it comes after representations from Khaps to withdraw cases. The scuttling of 131 criminal cases against 500-odd persons will create a dangerous precedent. Charged with such grave offences, they cant all walk free with a virtual amnesty, in such a show of political power. And to think that UP has so much to achieve in sectors where its been found wanting as in public healthcare, conveyed by the shocking death rate among toddlers, as well as in education, besides providing law and order to ensure the safety of women. When your backs against the wall You cant read the writing on it. If pride comes before a fall You cant cheat life or con it. From The Song of the Gadarene Swine by Bachchoo Facebook is in trouble. I dont quite know what the stock market fall means for its founder and owner, the young and handsome Mark Zuckerberg, but it is now said that billions of dollars have been wiped off its share price. Perhaps, gentle reader, you did know that Mr Zuckerbergs name (baptism by fate?) translates as sugar mountain. (This, incidentally is the same translation of Ganj-e-Shaker, one of the epithets used for Farid-ud-din, the Sufi Saint of Sabir in Pakistan!) Sugar mountain indeed! Facebook is worth $500 billion, so whats a loss of 10 or 15 billion to the company? It is a bit of spilt milk as the tanker of Facebook rumbles on and hits a few potholes. I presume, without checking with my hedge-fund friends for the reason I dont have any that this loss of 7 per cent, and then some, means some people who invested those billions of dollars in Facebook Inc. have pulled their funds out and sent them instead to Panama or some other tax haven. Or perhaps they have bought villas in France, real estate in Dubai or castles in Scotland. Im sure they havent handed the moolah over to the US President Donald Trump to build his wall though he keeps saying he will make sure capital stays in the US and makes it great again. The spilt milk was caused by a report that Facebook assisted a company called Cambridge Analytica to harvest the profiles of 50 million Facebook subscribers and then use these profiles to feed these mugs fake news to influence the way they voted in one or other campaign. The person who blew this loud whistle, one Chris Wylie, worked for Cambridge Analytica till 2014. This is what he said last week: Cambridge Analyticas goal was to establish profiling algorithms that would allow us to explore mental vulnerabilities of people, and then map out ways to inject information into different streams or channels of content online so that people started to see things all over the place that may or may not have been true. Ah, so now we know where Mr Trump got his catchphrase about fake news from. The irony is that after Mr Trump was elected, Cambridge Analytica boasted that it was they who swayed the vote by infecting the posts and perhaps the minds of the American segment of those 50 million subscribers to Facebook. So, did fake news make a difference to the outcome of the presidential election? Impossible to say. I watch advertisements for posh cars on TV or in magazines almost every day. I have never bought a Ferrari or a Porsche in my short and happy life. My bank balance, I hereby claim, is completely impervious to such ad-persuasion. Ferrari-Schmerarri! CA also boasted that, having received millions of pounds in UK currency to influence the referendum on membership of the EU, they infected the British segment of Facebookwallas whose profiles they had, with the untruth that Turkey was about to join the European Union and this would result in millions of swarthy, if not completely brown or khaki, immigrants flooding into Britain; by implication that they would be a burden on housing, schools, social services and would take our jobs and deflower our fair maidens. All false, lying, cheating news. Again, it is impossible to say if anyone fell for this and whether CAs boast about influencing the referendum to gain a majority for Brexit can be substantiated. And now owing to a Channel 4 TV undercover investigation we know more about Cambridge (hang on, Ive neglected to say the name they have registered has nothing to do with the hallowed university the best in the world!) Analyticas methods. Posing as a Sri Lankan politicians aide, an undercover journalist approached Cambridge Analyticas functionary and asked how they could assist the politician win an election. The functionary said that for a tidy consideration they could spread rumours about his or her opponents. They could send in people to make offers of bribery of a very attractive nature to the opponents and then record them accepting the corrupt proposals and subsequently expose them. They could do worse. They could set honey traps using very sexy Ukrainian or other women who would be offered to the opponents who would then be recorded having sex with them. The exposure would assure a win for the client. The effect the Channel 4 exposure will have on companies such as Cambridge Analytica is yet to be seen. The effects on Facebook will unravel this week. I am sure Facebook has a wide range of social classes as subscribers. I am not one. My overworked comment when I am asked if I am on Facebook is No! I am on Facelift! But I do ask myself whether people who want to see what their friends are eating for breakfast or those who want to spend their time texting their 365 friends a happy birthday on most days of the year or getting every detail of a medical diagnosis or a holiday by the beach fall for the sort of fake news that CA disseminates. In the wake of these revelations, I am sure millions of Facebook subscribers (incidentally, some young people told me Facebook was being overlooked by the young and was only for wrinklies) will be wary of joining competitions which ask for their preferences. If CAs claims of influencing elections are true, then more people than one thought are akin to creatures who follow a lead to jump over a cliff to commit suicide. When I was last subjected to a survey of my food preferences, I said Dhan-sakh, goats paya, baked beans and maska slice. I have never received any politically persuasive communication as a result. But then Im not on Facebook and probably have other exploitable vanities. Fashion traditionally has been seen as an expression of artistic sensibilities to enhance ones personality. There have been several attempts in the past to quantify something as abstract as fashion but most attempts have failed due to varying opinions on the very definition of fashion until the turn of this century. Companies around the world have invested millions in writing software that would eventually be able to quantify the complexities of abstracts, such as fashion. Ambud Sharma, Founder of Escaro Royale Luxury (Escaro.in) feels that artificial intelligence is now helping with not only the merchandising decisions but also in fine-tuning the supply chain and creating customised and personalised fashion trends. AI in Fashion Forecasting With the exponential increase in data and events pertaining to fashion each season, it is humanly impossible to collate and correlate all data to understand the future trends. AI systems are now being utilised to correlate worldwide data to forecast trends on what merchandise needs to be produced and in what quantity. The typical variables include colours, patterns, designs and geographic tastes in materials. With access to more data and insights, the fashion designers can now take help from the AI platforms to design accordingly. This saves time and money that was earlier wasted in experimentation. The designers can now be more confident in the sales potential of their merchandise. A lot of trends that may be seen as useless, may well be defined as valuable when the AI systems and machine learning engines do the data crunching. The resulting insights very often are counter-intuitive, and hence help in more accurate design decisions. AI in Consumer Insights It is important to know your customer, and even more important to know your consumers buying and spending behaviour. There are thousands of digital footprints that we leave behind each day when we engage over the Internet be it reading an article, reviewing a product or signing up for an event. These footprints are a goldmine for the fashion industry since it helps in identifying what we call a digital persona of a person in the AI world. Using this info, it is possible to accurately map a persons digital persona to their potential interests. This is especially amplified when an AI system knows what a person bought and when thus projecting and reinforcing a potential consumers interest in a fashion product through targeted advertising. For instance, if someone reads about Harley Davidson bikes, they can then be targeted to see ads related to high fashion leather biker shoes. The power of consumer insights allows for gauging the market size as well thus helping brands in ascertaining the quantities to be produced. It is well said A machine is a much more faithful friend with another machine than a human. AI in Retail Intelligence Retail is complex but can be handled seamlessly using AI. A consumers retail interaction, be it in a showroom or on a website is extremely important and hear-worthy. The feedback received in real-time from the consumers can be extrapolated to ascertain whether the consumer demand is being sufficed or not and if the consumer is looking for something that isnt available. Also, the real-time digital feedback mechanisms can quantify the customer satisfaction thus assisting in customer retention. This feedback, if correlated correctly, can be used as a guiding tool for future merchandising and retail dominance. Though this can be done manually, it can be done faster, better, cheaper and more accurately by using the processing capability of an AI platform. AI in Consumer Interaction and Engagement: AI-based chat-bots are being used now to seamlessly interact with consumers. These chat-bots learn skills over time by interacting with a various set of customers and they are able to handle most questions and concerns on their own not to mention that they dont change shifts or get tired like their human counterparts thus leading to higher consumer satisfaction. Additionally, the information collected through chat-bots is regularly analyzed and correlated by AI central commands for deeper insights about consumer base. Customised and automated messaging systems can keep the consumers abreast with the latest offerings of a fashion brand; thus keeping the customers engaged through the information that is unique & customized to his/her taste. AI in Inventory Management Most fashion brands of today understand the importance of a well-orchestrated supply chain and inventory management. There is nothing more frustrating than having inventory that doesnt sell and not having inventory that sells well. This is where AI-based inventory management systems come to rescue. These systems understand the velocity of sales, many times global sales, and provide insights into what is selling and how fast. More importantly, they help in providing recommendations on inventory optimization across markets thus ensuring that the right product is available in the right market. For sized products, like shoes and apparels, these intelligent platforms provide market-wise recommendation in sizing to ensure that the correct set of sizes are available in applicable markets. The AI platforms can be taught about the regional colour, design and material preferences of consumers and then emerging patterns of information can be used to make intelligent supply chain decisions. In all, something as abstract as fashion can be more-or-less quantified using artificial intelligence to the point that it may very well one day be able to make automated design and product decisions for current and future trends. For fashion brands, the potential of AI taking over these day to day decisions is very high and will only increase with time. As digital transactions and interactions increase, and more and more data is produced, the fashion brands can only look up to powerful AI platforms with humongous data-crunching capacities to assist them to navigate complex digital waters. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. This file photo shows a Facebook logo being displayed in a start-up companies gathering at Paris Station F, in Paris. Facebook is taking baby steps for now to address the latest privacy scandal after news broke Friday, March 16, 2018, that Cambridge Analytica may have used data improperly obtained from roughly 50 million Facebook users to try to sway elections. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File) Facebook is facing the most serious crisis in its 14-year history as it deals with fallout from a major leak of user data to political consultants associated with the 2016 Trump campaign. Heres a look at the scandal and what it means. What's going on? The UK-based data-mining firm Cambridge Analytica has been accused of lifting the Facebook profiles of more than 50 million users without their permission in order to manipulate elections. A former employee of the firm, Christopher Wylie, played a role in that action, and later told his story to journalists. The crisis has renewed questions about Facebooks ability to protect the privacy of its users while also exploiting their personal details to fuel its lucrative advertising business. It has also deepened concerns about the social media networks ability to avoid being exploited to spread propaganda and sway elections. Authorities in both the US and the UK are investigating both Facebook and Cambridge Analytica. Facebook shares have fallen and some users are contemplating deleting their accounts. What did Cambridge Analytica do? Wylie says the firm sought Facebook information in order to build psychological profiles on a large portion of the US electorate. He said the company was able to amass the database quickly with the help of an academic, Aleksander Kogan, who developed a Facebook app called This is Your Digital Life that appeared to be a personality test. That app vacuumed up information from users who gave the app permission to access their accounts ... as well as additional data from their Facebook friends, Kogan paid about 200,000 people to take part; tens of millions of their friends were also caught in the data dragnet. How did Cambridge Analytica respond? Cambridge Analytica has denied wrongdoing, and the firm said it deleted any data it received from Kogan and denied using any Facebook data in its political work. Facebook, however, said it recently learned from journalists that Cambridge Analytica may have kept some of the data, spurring an investigation. Kogan said he has been scapegoated by both Cambridge and Facebook. He says the data firm approached him for the project and assured him that everything he did was legal. What's the connection to the trump campaign? Federal election records show that the Trump campaign paid Cambridge Analytica roughly $6 million. But the campaign has denied using the firms data, saying it relied on the Republic National Committee for its voter information. Cambridge Analytica was backed by the conservative billionaire Richard Mercer, a hedge fund manager who supported the Trump campaign. At one point, the firms vice president was Stephen Bannon, who later became Trumps campaign chairman and White House adviser. Trumps former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, disclosed an advisory role with Cambridge Analytica last August. But the firms parent company, Strategic Communication Laboratories, later said that position never materialized. The company has surfaced in the US probes into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Special counsel Robert Mueller has requested that the firm turn over the emails of any employees who worked on the campaign, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Wylie, the whistleblower who worked for Cambridge from 2013 to 2015, said his team spoke to Americans in focus groups to identify deep-seated concerns and tested ways to tap into those fears through social media. He claims the slogans they developed later became the catchphrases of the Trump campaign, including drain the swamp and build the wall. Cambridge Analytica CEO Alexander Nix was caught bragging about the firms pivotal role in the Trump campaign on a sting video from the UKs Channel 4. He said Cambridge handled all the data, all the analytics, all the targeting for the campaign. Why are people mad at Facebook? The Cambridge Analytics fiasco appears to have crystallized the anxiety many people feel about Facebooks enormous sway over daily life and its massive data trove. A sell-off in Facebook shares reflects fear that the social network may face new regulations that could hurt profits or that advertisers and users will sour on it. A UK parliamentary media committee is investigating how Facebook uses data, and has summoned CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify. Various U.S. congressional committees are also seeking answers, although Democrats and Republicans have disagreed on what steps to take. Privacy advocates have asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate as well. The hashtag #deletefacebook has been trending. Brian Acton, the co-founder of WhatsApp, which was acquired by Facebook four years ago for $19 billion, has joined the cause. But there are no signs, so far, that users or advertisers are abandoning Facebook in droves. How is Facebook addressing the crisis? After five days of silence, Zuckerberg released a Facebook post admitting mistakes and outlining steps to protect user data. He followed up with rare media appearances where he apologized for a breach of trust. Facebooks response, however, is limited to a narrow range of technical changes that will further limit the data apps can collect and lead to audits of apps that exhibit troubling behavior. Zuckerberg also emphasized steps the company has already taken, including reducing access outside apps had to user data in 2014. That came too late to stop Cambridge. The company said nothing about overhauling its data collection policies or taking steps to prevent the unauthorized political use of Facebook data. Facebook suspended Cambridge over allegations that it kept the improperly obtained user data. It has also suspended the access of Kogan and Wylie, as well as Cambridges parent company, SCL. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Wanted in India for a series of high profile crimes and terrorist attacks in places like Mumbai, Dawood Ibrahim according to US and Indian officials is now based in Karachi city of Pakistan. (Photo: File) Washington: Pakistan-based crime syndicate D-company, like Mexican drug organisations, has diversified in many other fields, US lawmakers were told Friday. "Pakistan-based crime-terror group, D-company, whose origins lie in India, expanded Karachi's historic role as a drug transhipment point, and built a powerful transnational crime-terror organisation, in part from drug proceeds," Dr Louise Shelley, Professor, Schar School of Policy and Government, at the George Mason University told lawmakers. Shelley claimed that the D-company has diversified. "D-company, like Mexican drug organisations, has diversified. They traffic weapons, counterfeit DVDs, and provide financial services through their extensive system of hawala operators," he said during a Congressional hearing organised by the Committee on House Financial Services Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance. D-Company is headed by fugitive Indian underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. Wanted in India for a series of high profile crimes and terrorist attacks in places like Mumbai, Ibrahim according to US and Indian officials is now based in Karachi city of Pakistan. Officials in Pakistan have denied his presence in their country. India's sustained campaign against Dawood was finally acknowledged by America in 2003 when the US Treasury department declared him a global terrorist having links with al-Qaeda. He also faces sanctions from the United Nations under its anti-terror resolution. Vindicating India's position that Pakistan has been sheltering Dawood, the Treasury Department had said he was in Karachi and possessed a Pakistani passport under the individual category. Testifying before the same Congressional sub-committee, Celina B. Realuyo, Professor of Practice, William J Perry Centre for Hemispheric Defence Studies, National Defence University, said a number of recent attacks in Kabul were planned and launched from safe havens in Pakistan. The year 2018 has already witnessed many deadly attacks. On January 20, at least 22 people, including four Americans were killed during a 12-hour standoff with security forces after gunmen dressed in army uniforms raided the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, frequented by many foreigners, he said. On January 27, an attacker driving an ambulance packed with explosives detonated them in the Afghan capital of Kabul, killing over 100 people and injuring some 158, according to Afghan officials. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mojahid claimed responsibility for the attack, one week after the attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Realuyo said. Policemen at work as a van is taken away outside the Super U supermarket after special forces killed a gunman who had taken several people hostages for more than three hours. (Photo:AFP) Trebes, France: At least three people were killed after a gunman claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group opened fire and took hostages at a supermarket in southwest France on Friday. A security source said the two were killed in the attack at a Super U store in the town of Trebes. Armed police were also responding to the earlier shooting of a policeman in Carcassonne, 15 minutes drive away, which took place at around 11 am. It was unclear if the two incidents were linked. In Trebes, a picturesque medieval town of around 5,000 people, the man entered the Super U supermarket at around 11.15 am and shots were heard, a source said on condition of anonymity. A witness reported he shouted Allahu Akbar (God is greatest) before going into the premises, the source added. The gunman claimed allegiance to the IS, the local prosecutors office said, and the incident was being treated as a terror attack. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said it was a serious incident. The shootings come with France still on high alert after a string of jihadist attacks since 2015, starting in January that year with the assault on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals handed defenders of Utahs antiquated political caucus system another blow this week, ruling 2-1 that the state law allowing candidates to get on the ballot via a petition as well as through the traditional caucus/convention system is constitutional. That keeps the losing streak intact. State GOP leaders have lost every court challenge to that state law, including at the Utah Supreme Court and now at the federal appeals court level. To continue their crusade, either through petitioning for a full circuit court hearing or by appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, potentially would cost millions in addition to the expenses the Republican Party already has incurred. Prudence, not to mention good common sense, argues for them to drop the legal challenges and acknowledge that the law allowing two ways to get on a ballot, known as SB 54, is here to stay. SB 54 was a compromise measure between those who backed an initiative doing away with the caucus/convention system entirely and those who wanted to maintain that system as the only way to select party candidates. The compromise allows candidates to reach the ballot through a petition process as well as, or in spite of, the caucus system. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals said that compromise strikes an appropriate balance that protects the states interests and the partys ability to express preferences. State party chairman Rob Anderson has said he will recommend accepting the decision and dropping the suit. The partys central committee, however, may take a harder line, as it consistently has since SB 54 became law. Committee members recently passed a bylaw that would expel any candidate for the 1st or 2nd Congressional Districts who seeks to get on the ballot through a petition. That rule now appears to be in violation of this court ruling. Frankly, Utahns deserve closure in this matter. The compromise has served Utahns well. It allowed former Provo Mayor John Curtis a place on the primary ballot, despite a defeat at the hands of convention delegates. He defeated the conventions candidate and eventually was elected to Congress. The caucus and convention system empowers the more extreme elements of a party those who are motivated to organize caucus attendees and stand for election as delegates. Under Utahs convention system, a candidate needs the support of 60 percent of delegates to avoid a primary altogether. As a result, more moderate voices are discouraged from seeking office. Polls have shown convention nominees often do not represent the views of rank-and-file party members. Because the Republican Party largely dominates politics in Utah, its candidates sometimes go unopposed in the general election, putting greater emphasis on how candidates are selected. At the moment, two initiative drives are seeking the signatures required to access ballots in November. One would preserve the dual-track method for nomination. The other would re-enshrine the caucus/convention system as the only avenue. Court decisions and recent elections ought to make it clear that the SB 54 compromise is the best course for future political involvement in Utah. If the state GOP would accept that and drop its challenges, the initiatives would become moot and Utahns would be better served. KAYSVILLE Nearly 61 years ago, nine teenagers arrived for their first day of school only to be greeted by an angry mob and the Arkansas National Guard, sent by the state's governor to bar the teenagers' entry into Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The reason? The color of their skin. "I remember ... seeing the angry faces screaming, spitting, cursing, banging on the car as they held us," said Ernest Green, the first black person to graduate from what had been an all-white school. For students at Davis High School in Kaysville, the civil rights movement came to life Thursday as Green shared his experiences and gave advice during a school assembly. When Green and eight other teenagers who together became known as the Little Rock Nine enrolled in an all-white school where racism was still pronounced, they knew the discrimination they would face. But they went anyway. "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter," Green said Thursday. When they arrived at the school, Green recalls "thinking that the worst was over. But that was just the tip of the iceberg," he said. Three years earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled school segregation unconstitutional in the famous 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case. However, many states within the U.S hadn't caught up. He attributes the opposition against black teenagers attending Central High to a general "fear of change." When Green and the rest of the Little Rock Nine entered the school on that first day, the mob called for him, as the oldest of the group, to be hanged, he said. He was then rushed into a car for safety, and "I could feel the hatred penetrating the car windows," he said. "I had to reach down into my own heart and remember that all I needed was love and faith to get through that moment. It took all my strength to not allow the fear around me to smother that truth," he recalled. After the first day, the teenagers waited for three weeks to go back to school while "legal wrangling" continued. President Dwight D. Eisenhower then stepped in and sent federal troops to protect the teenagers as they entered the school. These troops who came to the students' aid the 101st Airborne Division, or the "Screaming Eagles" were the same troops who "helped liberate Europe from the Nazis during WWII," Green said. "(Eisenhower) had the courage to say no to injustice, to stand up regardless of what others thought and to uphold the law of the land," he added. When he and the other students finally entered the school, he says he looked at the faces of those in the mob and saw fear. "Compassion and love cannot coexist with fear. Fear is just like a virus, contaminating any mind it can weave its way into," he said. As the school year went on, Green said every day felt like going to war for the Little Rock Nine. Though it was just a small group who physically attacked the students during school, no one else came to their aid or spoke up, "which is just as bad," he said. Kids who would be kind to the black students faced backlash from the community. Their parents and parents' businesses would also be targeted, Green said. Despite obstacles, Green made it through the school year and was able to graduate. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. attended his graduation ceremony, sitting with Green's family. At the end of his moving speech, Green advised the students of Davis High to "get out of your comfort zone and befriend those beyond your normal group," reminding them that they will need the help of others to live fearlessly. The students seemed transfixed, leaving their cellphones untouched throughout the presentation. "Usually in school, it's just learning about (history), but when you actually see the people who are affected by it, it really puts things into perspective, and it makes what you learn a lot more meaningful," said Jake Sims, 17. Madison Meldrum, 17, agreed. "They almost don't seem like actual people in the books, and so when you see them, it's really cool. They're actually really cool and really interesting to listen to," she said. "He kind of showed that you can do anything if you try," London Meldrum, 16, added. Michael Dannelly, 16, said he found Green's story inspiring. "I feel like a lot of people just get complacent, and, kind of, just keep moving forward," Dannelly said. He summarized Green's message as, "Don't give up. Follow your dreams." Green told the Deseret News that, after the Little Rock Nine finished high school, they knew their work wasn't over and "that life was in front of us." "For me, it was trying to build on what I started at Central and to go from there to try to bring it to fruition," he said. He has since held several occupations helping young people. He cares about the younger generation "immensely," he said. Through his own three children, he learned "the younger generation is a lot more focused than a lot of people give them credit for," Green added. SALT LAKE CITY A former Draper man was found guilty of a hate crime late Wednesday following a three-day civil rights trial. Mark Olic Porter, 59, was convicted by a jury in U.S. District Court of a racially motivated assault with a dangerous weapon, stemming from an incident with an African-American neighbor at the Adagio Apartments, 13343 Minuteman Drive, on Nov. 3, 2016. Federal court documents state Porter yelled a racial slur at the 7-year-old son of Mike Waldvogel and told the child to "get out of here" as the boy rode by on his scooter. When Waldvogel came to his son's defense, Porter reached over the railing and used an electrified stun cane on Waldvogel, injuring him and knocking him to the ground. Waldvogel was able to get the cane from Porter, who became upset and told responding police that it was stolen, according to court documents. Evidence presented at trial showed that Porter had mentioned to an apartment maintenance employee that he didn't want to live near any African-American people, court documents state. Porter had also previously told another neighbor that he thought African-Americans should be "exterminated." "Porter's violent conduct, motivated by his intolerance of another race, is an egregious crime that will not be tolerated by this justice department," said civil rights prosecutor and acting assistant attorney general John Gore. "We will continue to protect the civil rights of all individuals and vigorously prosecute hate crime cases." Porter, who was living in Lake Havasu, Arizona, when he was arrested, was originally charged in 3rd District Court with third-degree felony aggravated assault and various misdemeanor charges stemming from his Draper arrest. Those charges were dropped when federal prosecutors and the Civil Rights Division became involved. He was previously charged in Idaho and convicted in Nevada for assaults involving African-American employees at two unrelated retail establishments, prosecutors noted. "There is no place in Utah for race-motivated hatred and violence," said U.S. Attorney John W. Huber. "All families deserve the opportunity to live peaceably in their homes where they may pursue happiness in safe environments." Huber said the sentiment of the Utah jury is that "this criminal conduct will not be tolerated." Porter is set to be sentenced May 30. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. SALT LAKE CITY Following the revelation that personal data from some 50 million Facebook users ended up in the hands of political operatives, Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, said Thursday he would like to see "more aggressive" government oversight of social media businesses. He also wants the opportunity to speak directly with the company's founder and figurehead, CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Stewart, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said Facebook has opted to send attorneys or other staff to represent the company in previous committee hearings focused on the social media company's conduct and policy, but after the seismic fallout from the data mishandling, it is time for Zuckerberg to put in an appearance. "I've been a little disappointed in who's been sent previously to represent various social media companies," Stewart said. "My position is that, for credibility, having the face of the company there answering questions is most appropriate. Obviously, Mark Zuckerberg is the person most closely identified with Facebook." Stewart said the Facebook data debacle, which he characterized as less an information breach and more a reflection of failed company policy, is one with "tentacles that reach all the way into the U.S. election process" and for that reason, it is appropriate to consider what regulatory changes could help protect social media users from having their personal data inappropriately shared. "Look, their entire business model is based on collecting and monetizing information," Stewart said. "There is nothing inherently wrong with that, but there should be a reasonable expectation of limits to when and how and what kind of information can be used by a third party." Stewart underscored that he believes it's critical to not impede on the ecosystem of technology companies and that he admires how these companies were created "from the ground up" by entrepreneurs who have boosted the U.S. economy through advancing innovation. "I want to emphasize that we don't want to, or need to, be the heavy hand or interfere with the business model," Stewart said. "But we can, and should, do something." Stewart said while he is not aware of any currently proposed legislation, he is "not alone" among congressional colleagues in his concern about taking action. While the U.S. has taken a mostly hands-off stance on applying regulations to company conduct on the internet, the European Union has been much more proactive and has a new body of rules, the General Data Protection Regulation, that includes some fairly stringent controls on the collection and use of personal data, going into effect in late May. These include required notification of affected parties within 72 hours of a data breach incident, a "right to access" rule that elevates transparency by requiring data "controllers" to share, on request, what information they've collected on a requestor and a "right to be forgotten" rule which allows requestors to have their data file deleted for a number of reasons, including the decision to rescind consent. Penalties for data handlers that breach the General Data Protection Regulation are stiff and can reach as much as 20 million euros or 4 percent of the offending company's annual revenues, whichever is greater. Pete Ashdown, founder and CEO of Utah independent internet service provider Xmission, said while the new E.U. rules are admirable, it's important to remember that social media users are choosing to expose their personal information when they sign up, or opt-in, to use the platforms. "Facebook is a company that earns their money by selling information about members to advertisers," Ashdown said. "Cambridge Analytica took advantage of that basis, and exploited it in a way that Facebook didn't expect. Whether you fault them or not, they saw the angle." Ashdown said social media users need to "open their eyes a little wider and really evaluate what they choose to share and post on Facebook" and other platforms. He also said that while previous government attempts at privacy assurances have fallen short, he would support an effort to bolster protections of digitally harvested personal information. "I'm not sure what Congressman Stewart has in mind," Ashdown said. "But I would welcome any action. More transparency and accountability is a good thing." SALT LAKE CITY Salt Lake County Jail nurses and guards refused to arrange medical care for an inmate who died from an infection related to gastric bypass surgery, even though she showed clear signs of serious pain and sickness in the days leading up to her death, her family alleges in a wrongful death lawsuit. Lisa Marie Ostler, 37, of Riverton, died in April 2016 after roughly four days in the jail, her family alleges. Jail employees violated Ostler's right to due process and were unnecessarily harsh to the point that they broke Utah law, Rocky Anderson, the family's attorney, argues in the lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court. "Our daughter died a very painful death from a medical cause that was not related to drugs. And they couldn't get beyond looking at it as a drug event to get her any kind of help," her father Calvin Ostler told reporters Thursday. A proper medical evaluation would have determined Ostler needed care and prevented her death, but that never happened, the suit alleges. Ostler's parents said Thursday their daughter was manager at a bank and a credit card company, but she became dependent on painkillers after the surgery and developing Crohn's disease, an inflammatory bowel disease. She later turned to heroin after losing her insurance, they said. Ostler was being held in the jail in advance of a scheduled court appearance for drug charges. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for the suffering Ostler's parents say she endured, plus funeral and medical expenses, her family's distress, attorney fees and other losses. Ostler leaves behind three children, ages 7, 12 and 14, according to the suit. The lawsuit names former Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder, chief deputy Pam Lofgreen, jail medical director Todd Wilcox, and several jail employees. It contends the employees and the leaders of the jail violated Ostler's constitutional rights and were unnecessarily harsh. Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Kevin Hunter said the sheriff's office "does not comment on active lawsuits." Winder, now Moab's police chief, declined to respond, saying he had not yet spoken with the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office. Ostler's family alleges she showed "obvious signs of excruciating pain" from peritonitis inflammation of lining of the abdominal organs but jail employees disregarded them. "It's torture," said Kim Ostler, her mother. Other inmates could hear Ostler yell, moan and curl up in a ball, and noticed she hadn't eaten for two days, showing clear signs of dehydration before she was pronounced dead at a hospital in the early hours of April 3, 2016, the suit alleges. On March 30, the day Ostler arrived at the jail, an employee filled out paperwork noting she had several medical issues and took medications, including one to treat Crohn's disease. A fellow inmate asked a guard to call for medical help, but the guard said Ostler was "coming down off drugs," and told Ostler, "I'll bet it feels like you're going to die, doesn't it? Just a couple more days." Ostler repeatedly pushed an alarm button to call for help, her family said, but a guard told her to stop. Other inmates prodded guards to give Ostler care over two days, reporting she was yelling and crying, with one checking on Ostler to find she appeared to have stopped breathing. Jail employees did CPR and an ambulance brought her to a hospital, where she was declared dead, her family said. An autopsy found she died of the inflamed abdominal lining from a rupture at the site of the gastric surgery, and her Crohn's may have exacerbated the problem. The Ostlers said they want the jail to reform how it handles inmates' medical issues and possibly create a civilian review board to evaluate the jail. Contributing: Mike DeBernado Heres a look at the news for March 23. Intermountain Healthcare discusses changes Intermountain Healthcare held meetings on Thursday to discuss structural changes in the hospital system, including how many jobs will be affected, the Deseret News reported. Medical leaders will explain to their employees the changes over the next several days, Intermountain Healthcare spokesman Daron Cowley said. Intermountain began its restructuring last year and, beginning next month, it will outsource 2,300 jobs to a new employer. Intermountain assigned 40 groups in the office to figure out how they can become more efficient and save costs. Read more at the Deseret News. Rep. Chris Stewart wants to talk to Zuckerberg Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, said on Thursday that he would like to see more federal oversight and regulation over Facebook, according to the Deseret News. Facebook has been embroiled in controversy this week after more than 50 million Facebook users saw their data wind up in the hands of Cambridge Analytica, a data firm that has links to President Donald Trumps election campaign. Stewart, who works on the House Intelligence Committee, said Facebook has sent attorneys and staff members to speak with Congress. However, he wants Zuckerberg to make an appearance. "I've been a little disappointed in who's been sent previously to represent various social media companies," Stewart said. "My position is that, for credibility, having the face of the company there answering questions is most appropriate. Obviously, Mark Zuckerberg is the person most closely identified with Facebook." Read more. Utah Jazz bounce back with Dallas win The Utah Jazz rolled through Dallas with a 119-112 victory on Thursday night, bouncing back from a loss two days earlier to the Atlanta Hawks, according to the Deseret News. The Jazz will now head to San Antonio for the second game in a back-to-back set of games in Texas. "We've just got to get ready tomorrow, be sharp," Jazz center Rudy Gobert said. "We know it's going to be a battle. We've got to go out there and get a win." Read more. U.S. teens prepare for national march More than a million Americans, including high school students and their families, will protests in the streets at capitol locations across the world on Saturday, the Deseret News reported. Salt Lake City will have an event as well, with at least 10,000 people expected to attend. The march will follow the largest-ever protest in U.S. history that took place on March 14 after a mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed. The teenagers who are front and center in these protests have already proved they are able to attract media attention and make their voices heard. But will they be successful in creating lasting change? Deseret News reporter Erica Evans writes. Read more at the Deseret News. MORE NEWS: Wall Street Journal: China Started the Trade War, Not Trump NPR: Video Shows Sacramento Police Shooting Unarmed Black Man In Grandparents' Backyard CBS: Suspect, 3 victims killed in France "terror attack" Reuters: Russian agent may have limited mental capacity after nerve attack New York Times: 150 Whales Beached in Australia, as Rescuers Fight to Save Them WEST JORDAN A man wanted on a charge of attempted murder, who has avoided apprehension for more than 17 years, was recently arrested in California and returned to Utah. Siousi Potesio, 46, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Thursday on a warrant issued in November of 2000 for attempted murder, a first-degree felony. In 2000, Potesio was part of a group of Polynesian men at a party in West Jordan who confronted a Hispanic man about allegations of sexually assaulting the girlfriend of one of the men, said West Jordan Police Sgt. JC Holt. "There was a group beating that took place where this guy was beat to unconsciousness and beyond," he said. "They continued to beat him after he was unconscious." The victim suffered serious injures, including head injuries, but survived, Holt said. He also had a criminal record and was eventually deported. A total of eight people were charged with attempted murder. Six of those men appeared in court and all eventually had their cases dismissed once the victim was deported, according to court records. Prosecutors filed a motion to have the cases dismissed at that point due to "witness problems." Potesio and one other man are the only two that have not appeared in court to face the charges against them. He was arrested at his work in Los Angeles during a sting operation conducted by U.S. marshals, Holt said. His initial appearance in court is scheduled for Monday. Telenor is selling its mobile units in four countries across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) to investment firm PPF Group for 2.8 billion. The sale which is awaiting regulatory approvals - is part of a broader refocusing by the Norwegian group. PPF is acquiring Telenor Common Operation (the operators network and IT unit covering CEE) along with Telenors operations in Bulgaria, Hungary, Montenegro and Serbia. As of Q4 2017, Telenor leads the market in Montenegro and holds second place in the other three markets by connections. Its CEE units accounted for 9% of Telenor Groups total 2017 revenue. PPF Group has an established footprint across CEE, including Nova Broadcasting Group in Bulgaria and O2 Czech Republic. The groups head of telecoms Ladislav Bartonicek stated that the acquisition was a further bid to establish PPF as a mid-sized European operator. The agreement comes after Telenor received an unsolicited offer for the units in January, with rumours implicating several companies as the interested party. The agreement was reached as the offer fit with Telenors stated goal to simplify its business as it looks to reduce costs and boost efficiency via streamlining assets and digitalisation. Telenor CEO Sigve Brekke said: With the sale of our CEE assets, we take an important step in simplifying and focusing Telenors portfolio on the regions where we see the strongest potential for value creation. Following this transaction, Telenors footprint will consist of integrated fixed and mobile operations in Scandinavia, and strong mobile positions in Asia. Telenor is aiming to have the transaction closed by Q3. PPF will make the majority of its payment upfront, then follow this with instalments adding up to 400 million over the next four years. Telenor is earmarking some of these funds for a shareholder dividend. Metformin appears to reduce the incidence of late miscarriage and premature birth among women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), but is not linked to a reduced risk of gestational diabetes, research suggests. While metformin is often prescribed to women with PCOS in some countries, it is not routinely prescribed for the condition within the UK. In this study, Norwegian researchers examined 487 pregnant women with PCOS, a condition which is linked with increased the risk of infertility and adverse pregnancy outcomes including gestational diabetes. The average age of the women was 29 years. The participants were randomised to receive either daily metformin or placebo from their first trimester through to birth, without knowing which drug they received. A combined incidence of miscarriage during the second trimester and premature birth at less than 37 weeks was almost halved among the metformin group. Those who adhered to the treatment throughout pregnancy had a particularly beneficial effect. A total of 81% took more than 80% of their medication. Researchers also observed similar rates of gestational diabetes between the two groups, suggesting metformin had no effect in lowering risk. This finding is disappointing but not surprising, said lead author Tone Loevvik, M.D., a Ph.D. student at Norwegian University of Science and Technology. It is in accordance with the results from two previous studies from our research group. Metformin treatment was associated with less weight gain though, which Dr Loevvik added is positive for prospectively helping to lower BMI during pregnancy and reduce the risk of complications. The findings were presented at ENDO 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. OnePlus is hosting community meet-ups in various cities across India. The company says that its celebrating the bond with its growing community in India through multi-city community meet-ups. As OnePlus says that its first priority is their customers and their motto Never Settle is said to reflect upon that. The company also says that community meetup is a way for it to understand their users needs. The meetups are being hosted in the following cities: Pune-24th March, Hard Rock Cafe Kolkata-31st March, Hard Rock Cafe Jaipur-6th April, F Bar & Lounge Chennai-14th April, Bay 146, Savera Hotel Mumbai-21st April, Gateway of India The event is invite only where interested users will initially need to register at Insider.in on their city-specific pages and share their phone details and IMEI number. These details will be checked at the registration counter while entering the event, along with a valid ID. There are limited entries available and the company is accepting them on a first-come-first-serve basis. This is a part of the companys fan engagement strategy under which the Community Meet-Ups Sessions are being arranged. Till now, the company has already hosted the meetups in cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, and Ahmedabad this month. OnePlus says that it received insightful feedback from users at the events. It seems like Apple has a 2-year lead over its rivals in the area of 3D sensing technology. According to a report by Reuters, Android phone manufacturers will have to wait until 2019, before they can start replicating the 3D sensing feature that is use by Apples Face ID technology. Parts manufacturers, Viavi Solution Inc, Finisar Corp and Ams AG told the publication that bottlenecks on key components means that mass adoption of the technology will not happen till 2019. Due to this, manufacturers like Xiaomi and Huawei might lag behind Apple by nearly two years. The report notes that Android smartphone makers are struggling to source vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers or VCSELs, which are a key component of Apples TrueDepth camera, which is used for Face ID. It adds that Apple was initially sourcing VCSELs mainly from Lumentum, a California-based company. However, bottlenecks in production there led to a planned investment of $390 million in Finisar Corp by Apple. Bill Ong, Senior Director of Investor Relations, Viavi told the publication, It is going to take them a lot of time, the Android-based customers, to secure capacity throughout the whole supply chain. Viavi is the only major supplier of optical filters needed for the 3D sensing modules. All this means that Android manufacturers will have no choice but to rely on traditional means to employ face unlock features such as iris scanner or front camera itself. However, many Android manufacturers have already whole-heartedly adopted one design aspect of the Apple iPhone X, namely the notch. Asus, Vivo and Oppo have already launched or planning to launch devices featuring a notch in the display. Other companies like LG, OnePlus and Nokia are also expected to launch devices featuring the notch. GlaxoSmithKline backs out of bidding for Pfizer's consumer unit GlaxoSmithKline plc has withdrawn from bidding for the consumer healthcare business of Pfizer, the company said on Friday. While we will continue to review opportunities that may accelerate our strategy, they must meet our criteria for returns and not compromise our priorities for capital allocation, said Emma Walmsley, chief executive officer, GSK. While we will continue to review opportunities that may accelerate our strategy, they must meet our criteria for returns and not compromise our priorities for capital allocation, said Emma Walmsley, chief executive officer, GSK. After Reckitt Benckiser backed out of the move to buy the pharma giants business, GSK was expected to have gone ahead with the deal to acquire the consumer healthcare business. GSK shares shot up in the markets after the announcement of its pulling out of the bidding for Pfizer. About two days ago, GSK made a final bid for Pfizers over-the-counter treatments unit, offering between $15 billion and $20 billion. Pfizer would, however, continue to evaluate potential alternatives for its business. "We have not yet made a decision, but continue to expect to make one in 2018," said a company spokesman. Walmsley, who joined GSK last year after spending 17 years at LOreal, was keen on acquiring the consumer healthcare business of Pfizer, but many investors in the company were reluctant to go ahead with the acquisition. Aware about their reluctance, Walsmley last month reassured investors that her priority was to improve performance in prescription drugs. Acquisitions would follow only later, after taking into account dividends, she said. Pharmaceutical giants such as Pfizer, Merck and Bayer have been facing problems in their consumer health business, thanks to the challenge posed by online retailers including Amazon. Pfizer has a 2.5 per cent market share in consumer health and is the worlds fifth-largest player. Delhi High Court grants bail to Karti Chidambaram The Delhi High Court on Friday granted bail to Karti Chidambaram, son of former finance and home minister P Chidamabaram, in the INX Media corruption case. The CBI had arrested Karti on 28 February on his return from the United Kingdom, in connection with an FIR lodged on May 15 last year The CBI had arrested Karti on 28 February on his return from the United Kingdom, in connection with an FIR lodged on May 15 last year His 12-day judicial custody was to expire tomorrow in the case. Allowing his bail petition, Justice S P Garg asked him to furnish a surety of Rs10 lakh and directed him to first seek CBI permission in advance if he wanted to go abroad. Karti's passport is already in the custody of the authorities, his lawyers had earlier told the court. The court also said Karti should not not tamper with any evidence pertaining to the case while out on bail. The CBI had opposed his bail plea on the grounds that he has "already destroyed evidence" in the case and was an "influential" person. Karti's counsel had argued that no case under the Prevention of Corruption Act was made out against him since the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had neither questioned any public servant, nor made them an accused in the matter. Karti's lawyers denied allegations of evidence tampering and added that when the CBI itself had not sought his further custodial interrogation, there was no need to keep him in judicial custody any further. The case being probed by the CBI pertains to alleged irregularities in Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance to INX Media for allegedly receiving foreign funds of around Rs305 crore during his father's tenure as union finance minister in 2007. Kartis arrest last month was triggered by fresh evidence provided by the incarcerated former INX Media director, Indrani Mukherjea. She is currently lodged in a Mumbai prison in connection with the case of murder of her daughter Sheena Bora. The CBI had initially alleged that Karti received Rs10 lakh as a bribe for facilitating the FIPB clearance to INX Media, and later revised the figure to $1 million. In the separate money laundering case arising out of the corruption matter, the Delhi HC had on 9 March directed the Enforcement Directorate not to arrest or take any coercive action against Karti. The protection was later extended by the court till 22 March. The Supreme Court subsequently transferred the ED case to itself. 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 subscribing to our ePaper and/or free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. Regatta, Britains biggest outdoor clothing and outdoor equipment brand, opened their new store at the Long Walk in Dundalk this morning (Friday, March 23rd). There were crowds lined up outside new Regatta store at the Long Walk today after the owners of the outdoor brand announced there would be free fleeces for the first 100 customers through the door. Martin Hoey, who is the manager of the new shop said that the store was hectic this morning. He said: We had run out of the fleeces in about 40 minutes. We had to let in about twenty people at a time just so it didnt become too crowded." This is Mr Hoeys first job as a Regatta Manager, but he has worked in other managerial roles before. New jobs have also been created for local people with the opening of the shop. We have five people working here at the moment, but we are still recruiting, we will be hiring one more person, reveals Mr Hoey, And in 12-13 weeks we will be hiring again. The Regatta Manager adds that he believes that outdoor activities such as hiking, hillwalking and camping are more popular than ever. There is definitely a demand for our products, he says, There are lots of forests, parks and walks close to here like Kilbroney, Ravensdale and Slieve Gullion. Also, I think parents want to get out into nature with their kids, and camping is a good alternative to going abroad for your holidays." Regatta was founded in 1981 in Manchester by just 12 people. The company is still owned by the Black family today. They sell outdoor clothes and equipment and are most well-known for their waterproof jackets. They have outlets in over 55 countries. The store was previously home to Outdoor Xchange, which was owned by well-known local businessman Jock McArdle. Instantly delete email threats for Office 365 365 Threat Monitor scans all emails as they reach your users' mailboxes to detect ransomware, phishing and spam. Receive real-time phone alerts, get real-time security breach updates and instantly delete threats with just one click - for free! Learn More. British lawmakers have demanded that Alexander Nix, the suspended chief executive of Cambridge Analytica, return to Parliament for additional questioning in its fake news inquiry. The Parliament's probe led to disclosures that Facebook had allowed Cambridge Analytica unauthorized access to up to 50 million user records, igniting a firestorm over user data privacy and possible U.S. voter manipulation. MP Damian Collins, chair of the UK Parliament Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, on Thursday sent a letter asking Nix to provide additional testimony, after media reports in The Guardian, The New York Times, and Channel 4 in the UK raised questions about Cambridge Analystica's use of private data in its research. Nix on Feb. 27 had denied to the committee that Cambridge Analytica had received data from Global Science Research, Collins wrote in his letter. GSR is the company that employed former Cambridge University researcher Aleksandr Kogan when he developed "thisisyourdigitallife," an app that garnered direct responses from more than 270,000 Facebook users -- and lifted data from tens of millions of others without authorization. Muddy Waters Collins told Nix in the letter that members of Parliament wanted to ask him about his earlier claims that "we do not work with Facebook data" or "have Facebook data." Collins warned Nix that "giving false statements to a Select Committee" was a very serious matter. He asked for a response by March 27. Collins also has written to Facebook, urging CEO Mark Zuckerberg to appear before the committee in connection with the Cambridge Analytica disclosures. Christopher Wylie, the whistleblower who went public with revelations that Cambridge Analytica had gained unauthorized access to data belonging to 50 million Facebook users, tweeted that he had accepted requests to testify before the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, the House Judiciary Committee, and the UK Parliament Digital Committee. Wylie will appear on March 27, Lucy Dargahi, a spokesperson for the committee, confirmed to the E-Commerce Times. Cambridge Analytica on Thursday tweeted that it would cooperate with the various inquiries. We're committed to being responsible, fair and secure with data. We'll be working with everyone -- Facebook, independent auditors and the ICO -- as their investigations continue. Cambridge Analytica (@CamAnalytica) March 22, 2018 Playing Fast and Loose In the meantime, Sandy Parakilas, who was employed as operations manager at Facebook in 2011-12, on Wednesday testified before the Digital Committee in a hearing on fake news. During his 16 months at Facebook, Parakilas did not know of a single audit of a developer's storage, he said, noting that Facebook typically found out about violations from press reports, or when competitors contacted the company regarding allegations that a rival might have accessed data. "I would argue that the real challenge here is that Facebook was allowing developers access the data to people that had not explicitly authorized that," he testified. Whether developers could gain access to unauthorized user data was a known issue that he and others questioned, Parakilas said. Although the creator of the "thisisyourdigitallife" app was allowed direct access only to the 270,000 Facebook users who downloaded his quiz, he was able to access 30-50 million additional records by using friend permissions, according to Parakilas, who noted that the average Facebook user has about 200 friends. Woke Nation "This is a moment of awakening for many people," said Wayne Kurtzman, research director for social and experiential solutions at IDC. They have come to "the realization that every social post, comment or 'like' is a viable data point that can be used to market ideas and products to them," he told the E-Commerce Times. When you get something for free (like a social networking service), you are not the customer -- you are what is being sold, Kurtzman emphasized. That concept is familiar to those who understand the business side of social media, but to some it has come as a shock. Zuckerberg: 'Really Sorry' CEO Mark Zuckerberg has apologized for Facebook's shortcomings in the Cambridge Analytica data scandal and promised that the company would do better. "Mark and [COO Sheryl Sandberg] know how serious this situation is and are working with the rest of Facebook leadership to build stronger user protections," said Sue Desmond-Hellman, lead director of the company's board. "They have built the company and our business and are instrumental to its future." In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Zuckerberg appeared hesitant about personally appearing before Congress, but said if he were the right guy for the job, he would do it. Zuckerberg generally prefers to work behind the scenes, but he and other top Facebook executives apparently have begun to appreciate the gravity of the moment. I am sure that Mark Z would prefer not to appear at a hearing -- given how witnesses get lectured for hours at a time," remarked Rick Edmonds, media business analyst at Poynter. " However, "the scope of these problems is bad enough that he will probably grit his teeth and do it," he told the E-Commerce Times. Zuckerberg's remarks were a "step in the right direction," IDC's Kurtzman said. The reality of the Cambridge Analytica data scandal is encapsulated in a recent book, Technically Wrong, said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. Facebook treats its social media members like low-quality products -- almost like slaves, he told the E-Commerce Times. They have no rights, and Facebook's only concern is satisfying the advertiser that pays the bills. "This is just the tip of the iceberg," Enderle said. "Facebook is the canary in the coal mine, and an early indicator of what may happen to other companies next." The view that users don't really count eventually may lead to the government getting directly involved, he warned, to police how data is managed. David Jones has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2015. His areas of focus include cybersecurity, e-commerce, open source, gaming, artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles. He has written for numerous media outlets, including Reuters, Bloomberg, Crain's New York Business and The New York Times. Email David. Instantly delete email threats for Office 365 365 Threat Monitor scans all emails as they reach your users' mailboxes to detect ransomware, phishing and spam. Receive real-time phone alerts, get real-time security breach updates and instantly delete threats with just one click - for free! Learn More. Red Hat on Wednesday announced the addition of high-density storage capabilities to Red Hat JBoss Data Grid, its in-memory data management technology. The company has expanded an alliance with Azul Systems to build on their prior collaboration to provide entitlements for Azul Zing with JBoss Data Grid subscriptions. The arrangement will help customers meet speed and volume needs for their big data environments. The design of Azul's Zing runtime for Java supports high-performance on-heap storage, making it well-suited for JBoss Data Grid deployments that feature large in-memory data sets, according to Red Hat. By providing Zing with JBoss Data Grid, Red Hat has extended support for persistent operation of Java instances that can manage up to 8 terabytes of memory. This memory design reduces the number of nodes needed in the cluster and simplifies deployment and management. No new technology is involved in the high-density storage solution, according to William Oliviera, product manager of JBoss Data Grid at Red Hat. "The technology we are using to help with this problem is Azul Zing, a JVM (Java Virtual Machine) that uses a 'pauseless' garbage collection, with the goal to provide a more predictable and consistent behavior," he told LinuxInsider. Significant Impact The Red Hat/Azul partnership is significant for two reasons, said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT. First, it expands the options available to Red Hat customers for supporting their JBoss Data Grid deployments to include substantial in-memory resources via Azul Zing, he told LinuxInsider. That will be particularly welcome to organizations looking to maximize speed, up-time and performance consistency, while reducing costs and management complexity. "The deal also casts light on the growing popularity of cloud-based in-memory solutions," King said. Numerous circumstances and customers exist for whom dedicated in-memory clusters and appliances remain business-critical, he observed. Many others will find their needs fully met by services such as those provided by Red Hat and Azul. "From what I can see, mainstream cloud platforms, including AWS and Google Cloud, offer support for JBOSS," King said. "In fact, AWS has done so for years. But I don't have a sense of the availability of in-memory options compared to what Red Hat and Azul are offering. Cost comparisons are a whole other thing, too." Trash Collection Innovation Azul's Zing C4 Garbage Collector (Continuously Concurrent Compacting Collector) eliminates costly application execution hiccups that can be common in Java environments. The combination of JBoss Data Grid and Zing can offer consistent performance and scale, according to Red Hat. Garbage collection pauses can cause inefficiency and added maintenance expenses in industries where speed, consistency of performance and uptime are important and data volume is increasing. That problem can worsen with the larger JVM heaps required for high-performance big data applications. The Azul Zing JVM employs a "pauseless" garbage collection algorithm, noted George Gould, vice president for business development and partner alliances at Azul Systems. "The collector's performance is independent of key applications metrics -- such as Java heap size, mutation rates, object allocation rates -- and it can provide highly consistent runtime execution for applications needing any size Java heaps," he told LinuxInsider, for example, from 1 GB to 8 TB for a single application instance. Developing Needs The memory technology resulted from customer use of applications that required large Java heaps but predictable garbage collection behavior and simplified tuning process. It targets customer use cases requiring larger in-memory footprints with a need for very low response times. Those applications also may have a high velocity of change (e.g., weekly or monthly) and cannot afford deployment delays associated with traditional JVM tuning, noted Azul's Gould. The expanded alliance will benefit Red Hat Data Grid customers with requirements to run in-memory computations over larger datasets, provide a speed layer for Apache Spark, or simply cache more data in a consistent manner. Customers can benefit from the more predictable behavior of the JVM with consistent response times. Given that each Data Grid node will be able to hold more data per JVM, customers will have fewer nodes to manage in the cluster and a simplified deployment, tuning and management experience, explained Red Hat's Oliviera. How It Works For use cases with large memory heaps or low-latency requirements, users often have to invest a significant amount of time in performance tuning through testing and experimentation in order to achieve an acceptable garbage collection behavior. By using Azul Zing, Red Hat Data Grid customers can save this time and yet have better results. The algorithm relies on a fairly sophisticated read barrier implemented using hardware emulation to solve both the concurrent marking and concurrent relocation problems. The C4 algorithm is both concurrent and parallel, and has the highly desirable quality of continually compacting and defragmenting the heap, Oliviera explained. The pauses on the JVM can result from the time lag involved in identifying what is "garbage" and what is "live data" on the memory heap. The larger the heap, the more frequent such pauses can occur, he said. All Java applications create garbage in the process of doing real work. Most garbage collection algorithms use a "stop-the-world" mechanism to ensure data consistency as the JVM cleans. This, unfortunately, can cause all running threads to stop and hence creates artificial application pauses that are proportional to the size of the heap -- that is, the larger the heap, the larger the pause, according to Gould. New Memory Feature on Tap Red Hat plans to offer off-heap in memory storage with the upcoming release of Red Hat Data Grid, said Oliviera. That means entries can be stored outside the JVM heap. "Off-heap has some interesting benefits and some drawbacks, but in combination with Azul Zing, most of the drawbacks can be mitigated, and customers can have what we think is the best of both worlds," said Oliviera. Meanwhile, through the agreement, Zing is available as a zero-cost upgrade option for JBoss Data Grid users with support contracts. Jack M. Germain has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2003. His main areas of focus are enterprise IT, Linux and open source technologies. He has written numerous reviews of Linux distros and other open source software. Email Jack. By Whitney Webb Last week, mainstream media outlets gave minimal attention to the news that the U.S. Naval station in Virginia Beach had spilled an estimated 94,000 gallons of jet fuel into a nearby waterway, less than a mile from the Atlantic Ocean. While the incident was by no means as catastrophic as some other pipeline spills, it underscores an important yet little-known factthat the U.S. Department of Defense is both the nation's and the world's, largest polluter. Producing more hazardous waste than the five largest U.S. chemical companies combined, the U.S. Department of Defense has left its toxic legacy throughout the world in the form of depleted uranium, oil, jet fuel, pesticides, defoliants like Agent Orange and lead, among others. In 2014, the former head of the Pentagon's environmental program told Newsweek that her office has to contend with 39,000 contaminated areas spread across 19 million acres just in the U.S. alone. U.S. military bases, both domestic and foreign, consistently rank among some of the most polluted places in the world, as perchlorate and other components of jet and rocket fuel contaminate sources of drinking water, aquifers and soil. Hundreds of military bases can be found on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) list of Superfund sites, which qualify for clean-up grants from the government. Almost 900 of the nearly 1,200 Superfund sites in the U.S. are abandoned military facilities or sites that otherwise support military needs, not counting the military bases themselves. "Almost every military site in this country is seriously contaminated," John D. Dingell, a retired Michigan congressman and war veteran, told Newsweek in 2014. Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina is one such base. Lejeune's contamination became widespread and even deadly after its groundwater was polluted with a sizable amount of carcinogens from 1953 to 1987. However, it was not until this February that the government allowed those exposed to chemicals at Lejeune to make official compensation claims. Numerous bases abroad have also contaminated local drinking water supplies, most famously the Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa. Between 1946 and 1958, the U.S. tested 66 nuclear weapons near Bikini atoll. Populations living nearby in the Marshall Islands were exposed to measurable levels of radioactive fallout from these tests. National Cancer Institute In addition, the U.S., which has conducted more nuclear weapons tests than all other nations combined, is also responsible for the massive amount of radiation that continues to contaminate many islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Marshall Islands, where the U.S. dropped more than sixty nuclear weapons between 1946 and 1958, are a particularly notable example. Inhabitants of the Marshall Islands and nearby Guam continue to experience an exceedingly high rate of cancer. The American Southwest was also the site of numerous nuclear weapons tests that contaminated large swaths of land. Navajo Indian reservations have been polluted by long-abandoned uranium mines where nuclear material was obtained by U.S. military contractors. One of the most recent testaments to the U.S. military's horrendous environmental record is Iraq. U.S. military action there has resulted in the desertification of 90 percent of Iraqi territory, crippling the country's agricultural industry and forcing it to import more than 80 percent of its food. The U.S.' use of depleted uranium in Iraq during the Gulf War also caused a massive environmental burden for Iraqis. In addition, the U.S. military's policy of using open-air burn pits to dispose of waste from the 2003 invasion has caused a surge in cancer among U.S. servicemen and Iraqi civilians alike. While the U.S. military's past environmental record suggests that its current policies are not sustainable, this has by no means dissuaded the U.S. military from openly planning future contamination of the environment through misguided waste disposal efforts. Last November, the U.S. Navy announced its plan to release 20,000 tons of environmental "stressors," including heavy metals and explosives, into the coastal waters of the U.S. Pacific Northwest over the course of this year. The plan, laid out in the Navy's Northwest Training and Testing Environmental Impact Statement, fails to mention that these "stressors" are described by the EPA as known hazards, many of which are highly toxic at both acute and chronic levels. The 20,000 tons of "stressors" mentioned in the Environmental Impact Statement do not account for the additional 4.7 to 14 tons of "metals with potential toxicity" that the Navy plans to release annually, from now on, into inland waters along the Puget Sound in Washington state. In response to concerns about these plans, a Navy spokeswoman said that heavy metals and even depleted uranium are no more dangerous than any other metal, a statement that represents a clear rejection of scientific fact. It seems that the very U.S. military operations meant to "keep Americans safe" come at a higher cost than most people realizea cost that will be felt for generations to come both within the U.S. and abroad. Reposted with permission from our media associate MintPress News. Norwayhome to the world's highest per capita number of all-electric carsis also planning to go emission-free in the friendly skies. The Scandinavian country aims to be the first in the world to switch to electric air transport. State-owned Avinor, which operates most of the country's airports, plans to adopt battery-powered planes in the coming years to help slow climate change, Reuters reported. "In my mind, there's no doubt that by 2040 Norway will be operating totally electric" on short-haul flights, Dag Falk-Pedersen, head of Avinor, said at an aviation conference in Oslo. The long-held dream of electric airliners has been stymied by battery technology and limited range. However, the aviation industry is stepping up to make this dream a reality. Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Siemens announced plans last year to collaborate on a hybrid-electric commercial airplane that the companies aim to test by 2020. Seattle-based startup Zunum Aerobacked by the venture capital arms of Boeing and JetBlue Airwaysis also working on bringing a 12-seater, hybrid-electric commuter aircraft to market by 2022. Thanks to generous tax breaks and incentives such as free parking and recharging points, more than half of all new cars sold in Norway last year were electric or hybridthe first country in the world to reach that landmark. Transport Minister Ketil Solvik-Olsen told Reuters that the government wants the same success with electric planes. Paradoxically, despite being a global leader in electric transport, Norway is western Europe's biggest oil producer and is falling behind on its 2015 Paris climate agreement to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. Electric-powered flight would not only help Norway reduce emissions and meet its climate goals, it will make flying cheaper, as Jan Otto Reimers, special adviser in Avinor, told Norway Today. "What's particularly exciting is that you'll reduce costs to passengers to a much lower level. The planes will become similar to buses, and will be far more effective than trains or other means of transport. Simultaneously, they'll have a fantastic environmental profile," said Reimers. A study published Thursday in Current Biology is being hailed in a University of Exeter press release as a major "breakthrough" in developing bee-friendly insecticides. But some environmentalists think the research is asking the wrong questions to begin with. Pesticide Action Network UK Director Keith Tyrell told DW that focusing only on bee-safe pesticides was misguided, since insect loss also threatened overall biodiversity. "We need to find a way to change our agricultural model, and switch to non-chemical pest control methods that work with nature. These techniques exist and are effective," Tyrell told DW. The study, conducted by the University of Exeter, Rothamsted Research and Bayer AG, isolated the enzymes in bees that determine their sensitivity to different neonicotinoids. Neonicotinoids are controversial pesticides that have been restricted in the EU since 2013 due to their impact on bee populations. While previous research had indicated that bees responded better to certain neonicotinoids because they could metabolize them faster, the researchers were able to isolate the subfamily of enzymes called cytochrome P450 responsible for breaking down neonicotinoids. The subfamily, called CYP9Q, metabolizes thiacloprid well and imidacloprid poorly, the study found. University of Exeter research-team-leader Chriss Bass hoped the findings would help develop bee-safe pesticides. "Identifying these key enzymes provides valuable tools to screen new pesticides early in their development to see if bees can break them down," he said in the University of Exeter press release. However, it should be noted that Bayer, which manufactures neonicotinoids, helped fund the study, and Bass seemed almost more concerned with the manufacturer's bottom line than he did with the health of the bees. "It can take a decade and $260 million to develop a single pesticide, so this knowledge can help us avoid wasting time and money on pesticides that will end up with substantial use restrictions due to intrinsic bee toxicity," he wrote. Just because bees can break down thiacloprid doesn't mean it's entirely healthy for them to do so, Dave Goulson of the University of Sussex told DW. He pointed to research he conducted in 2017 showing the pesticide did hurt bumblebee colonies. "Despite the lower toxicity to bees compared to some other neonicotinoid pesticides, there is evidence that thiacloprid use does harm bumblebee nests under field conditions," he told DW. "It is less toxic, but applied at a much higher rate." However, Lund University researcher Maj Rundlof, who published a 2015 study showing neonicotinoids hurt bee populations, said it was helpful to distinguish between more and less harmful products. "All neonicotinoids are not the same," she told ScienceNews. "It's a bit unrealistic to damn a whole group of pesticides." But Tyrell's point, that even insecticides that take out only their target can have disastrous consequences for ecosystems, was born out by the results of two recent French studies reported by The Guardian Tuesday. The studies found that in, the past decade and a half, populations of once-common bird species like the Eurasian skylark and ortolan bunting had declined by at least one third in the French countryside. Researchers hypothesized that the decline is likely due to pesticides that kill the insects birds depend on for food. "There are hardly any insects left, that's the number one problem," Vincent Bretagnolle, an ecologist at the Centre for Biological Studies in Chize, told The Guardian. (Photo: Reuters / Eduardo Munoz)Frank Simmonds, of the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn, carries a cross on the Brooklyn Bridge during the 18th annual 'Way of the Cross Over the Brooklyn Bridge Ceremony' in New York City March 29, 2013. The ceremony, hosted yearly on the Christian holy day of Good Friday, includes walking from St. James Cathedral, over the Brooklyn Bridge to St. Peter's Church, in Manhattan. The event attracts approximately 2,000 people each year. A professor at an American evangelical university says that European public opinion, which he says views fundamentalism as the source of terrorism and sees evangelical opposition to homosexuality as bigotry, will take hold in the United States. The will marginalize and stereotype Christians, said Dr. David Cashin, a professor of intercultural studies at Columbia International University (CIU) in South Carolina. He said that "in the area of social trends, the United States tends to follow Europe's lead, with perhaps a 10 to 20 year delay." He called terrorism "the Hammer" and homosexuality "the Anvil" and said Christians in America will be caught between them, as they are now in Europe. (Columbia International University) Dr. David Cashin, a professor of intercultural studies at Columbia International University in South Carolina, says negative European attitudes toward evangelical Christians are on their way to the United States. Cashin wrote his opinion in the spring issue of the CIU publication Connection. "What I call the Hammer and the Anvil, identify two social trends that have strongly marginalized and stereotyped Christianity in European public opinion and are likely to do the same in America," he said. "In European media, evangelicals (fundamentalists) are considered potentially no different than terrorists," Cashin said. "This explains the assiduous search of journalists for 'Christian' terrorists." He said that there have been numerous articles in Europe which identified Anders Breivik, the Norwegian mass murderer, as a Christian, despite evidence to the contrary. "One might even say that Christianity is blamed for Islamic terrorism, not as causing it, but because the belief structures are superficially similar, thus, they might be capable of the same things," he said. Cashin quoted Christian thinker Donald Hank in describing European public opinion in regards to faith. Hanks wrote, "The clear implication is that deeply held faith is dangerous." Christians are also thought of as intolerant in Europe if they express misgivings about homosexuality, said Cashin. "A self-identified Christian in Europe will be asked first,' What do you think of homosexuality?'. If the Christian says anything other than total acceptance and 'celebration' of the lifestyle, he or she is immediately branded a bigot," he said. Cashin believes that the increasingly negative views in Europe toward Christianity, as noted by a Pew Foundation public opinion poll, are the results of the two trends. "Spain, for instance went from a10 percent negative view of Christians to a 25 percent rate in three years," he said. "The rise seems to have corresponded to the introduction of homosexual marriage in Spain." In response to what he sees as the coming marginalization and stereotyping of evangelicals in the U.S., Cashin said that biblically-minded Christians should keep their focus on Jesus. "The main thing is Jesus," he said. Cashin also advised Christians, when called upon to answer questions about homosexuality and terrorism, to speak the truth "as it is stated in Scripture." "We don't demonize, nor do we stereotype, but we speak the truth," he said. His final piece of advice was for believers to recognize and submit to the sovereignty of God. "We are not in control of this culture; we never were and we never will be," said Cashin. Young people are often called on to make a way out of no way. Now, they are doing that again by turning their grief into a massive mobilization against gun violence and for school safety. Galvanized by the murder of their classmates and teachers, students at Floridas Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have inspired youths across the country to march, rally, and walk out of school in order to shake U.S. gun violence to its core. And I am right there with them. With so many teachers, principals, counselors, and nurses grieving, along with students and families, the outpouring of positive action on the part of students is a ray of light. Not since the Black Lives Matter movement have so many taken such strong action against gun violence. Emergency rooms are filled with young people who pay the price for policies made by adults. I know because I was there with them. For more than 20 years I was a trauma nurse, caring for children and teens. I saw the 12-year-old who was blinded by a gunshot, the 17-year-old shot in the chest, and many others. Mostly they were kids of color, shot nowhere near school. Gun violence is also a family affair. One study found that women who were physically abused by a current or former intimate partner were five times as likely to be murdered if the partner owned a firearm. Those women leave behind traumatized children. I left hospital nursing in 2013 to spend more time encouraging young people to stand up for themselves. I knew it would be good for their physical, mental, and spiritual health, all of which I had learned about in nursing school. I knew encouraging their basic understanding of civics, including their First Amendment rights, could empower and protect them. Emergency rooms are filled with young people who pay the price for policies made by adults." When I was a 13-year-old in Des Moines, Iowa, the First Amendment changed my life forever. The year was 1965. My siblings and I had joined a group of students who were wearing black armbands to school. We were mourning the dead in Vietnam and supporting Senator Robert Kennedys call for a Christmas truce. For that, our school administrators suspended five of us. Like the Florida students, my strong emotions motivated me to take action. I saw children in Vietnam running from burning huts and soldiers in body bags on the news each night. A 7th grader in Ohio recently said to me, The news makes me so sad, but I dont know what to do. I knew what she meant. I felt that way, too. My role models were the children of the Civil Rights Movement. The Birmingham Childrens Crusade stood up to the KKK in 1963. They were attacked by police dogs, sprayed with heavy fire hoses, and hit with batons by white policemen. Martin Luther King Jr. called their action the turning point of the civil rights movement. My parents, who put their faith into action for justice and peace, were also my role models. I had no idea that our small action of wearing armbands would result in a federal lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, or that it would culminate in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Schools that would decide in favor of certain student rights. In the 1969 ruling, Justice Abe Fortas wrote that neither students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate. But, he argued, students would not be protected by the First Amendment if they substantially disrupt school or impinge upon on the rights of other students. The meaning of these words in the courts decision continues to be debated. I was in 11th grade when the decision was announced. It was a terrible year in Vietnam, and it was a stressful year in my life. I was trying to make friends at a new school and still upset about the war. When we won our case, it was hard for me to be in the spotlight, even though I was glad that future public school students would be able to speak up about the issues that mattered in their lives. And this is exactly what the students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and the many others who join them are doing. One day, monuments will be built to them and their #NeverAgain movement. And, there will be monuments for Black Lives Matter, with its #MovementforBlackLives. History will applaud these brave young people. The late Isidore Starr, the pioneer of law-related education, told me that, like a turtle, we each have to stick our necks out to move forward. This applies to teachers, as well. And many are sticking out their necks by challenging the idea that teachers should be armed. Their campaign #ArmMeWith makes it clear that schools are no place for guns. Im a fan of their campaign, and Ill bet most trauma nurses and doctors are, too. As a nurse, a mother, a member of Moms Demand Action (for Gun Sense in America), and as a students rights advocate who actually visited Stoneman Douglas High School a few years ago, Ill be standing with the students on March 24th. What will you be doing? The U.S. Department of Educations office for civil rights has started dismissing hundreds of disability-related complaints, following new guidelines that say such cases will be dismissed when they represent a pattern of complaints against multiple recipients. The office enforces laws such the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, both of which prohibit public entities from discriminating against individuals based on disability. It also enforces Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on sex, and other laws that prohibit discrimination based on age, race, color, or national origin. Marcie Lipsitt, a special education advocate in Franklin, Mich., estimates that over the past two years, she has filed more than 2,400 complaints to the Education Department over educational entities that have websites that are inaccessible to those who are blind or visually impaired, or who cannot use a mouse to navigate a website. Lipsitts targets have included school systems, universities, library systems, and state departments of education. This month, Lipsitt began receiving notices that the cases were being dismissed, including complaints that had been filed months ago and were in the process of being investigated. The dismissals were not made on the merits of the case. Rather, she was told that the civil rights office now was following a new process established March 5 in a revision of its case processing manual. The manual states that complaints will be dismissed when they are a continuation of a pattern of complaints previously filed with OCR by an individual or a group against multiple recipients, or a complaint is filed for the first time against multiple recipients that, viewed as a whole, places an unreasonable burden on OCRs resources. In such cases, OCR says, it may issue technical assistance or conduct a compliance review, but Lipsitt hasnt seen any sign that those reviews or assistance are coming. Nothing in the law says anything about not investigating any complaint when theres a burden on resources. This flies in the face of Section 504 and the ADA, Lipsitt said. They could apply this to anything, its so subjective. Additional Changes In addition to the requirement to dismiss complaints if they reflect a burdensome pattern, the new case processing manual also gives complainants 14 days to provide additional information for a case instead of 20 days as had been allowed previously. The manual also eliminates a process that complainants could use to appeal a decision, and says that complaints are not subject to investigation if theyre based exclusively on statistical data, media reports, journals/studies and/or other published articles as the basis for the alleged discrimination. Previously, statistical data alone could not be the cause of a complaint, but that data could be used to back up a complaint when presented with other facts and circumstances. The previous manual did not eliminate media reports and journal articles as the potential source of a complaint. The office for civil rights new case processing manual is the product of many months of collaboration among OCR career investigators and career managers reflecting OCR employees commitment to robustly investigating and correcting civil rights issues, said Elizabeth Hill, the spokeswoman for the Education Department. Case processing procedures in the new CPM allow OCR to better accomplish this critical mission by improving OCRs management of its docket, investigations, and case resolutions. A senior department official said that changes to the manual allowing complaints to be dismissed if they represent a pattern of similar complaints will allow the office the discretion to use technical assistance, rather than process thousands of the same type of concerns. The elimination of the administrative appeals process comes because appeals rarely resulted in a different outcome, but they still required substantial staff time that could be spent on resolving cases, the official said. The reduction from 20 to 14 days for additional information from complainants reflects staff feedback that most information is provided in 14 days, or not at all, in the departments view. Patrick T. Andriano, a lawyer with a law firm that represents about 80 school districts in Virginia, said the changes dont represent big procedural adjustments from his perspective. I think it does give OCR more flexibility in how its going to conduct its investigations, and more flexibility into how its going to resolve complaints within school districts, Andriano said. It also appears to me that OCR is going to do more screening of the complaints up front, before they actually open a complaint. School districts will appreciate having an opportunity to explain that a case has been resolved or is already under investigation by another agency in order to head off an OCR investigation, Andriano said. Though investigators had the discretion to not open cases in the past if they were already pending before other agencies, in practice that rarely happened, he said. Eliminating the administrative appeals process is a matter of fairness, he said; as written, only complainants could appeal an OCR decision. School districts did not have the ability to do so. The effects of these changes is still to be determined, but Andriano said his clients have seen an uptick in the number of cases that have been resolved, some of which had been open for years. That is a good thing for the school district as well as the complainant, Andriano said. On Thursday, the House passed a spending bill that would appropriate $117 million to the office for civil rights, about $8.5 million over fiscal 2017 and $10 million more than the Trump administration had requested. In the budget bill, the House said the money was intended to increase its staffing so that it can effectively and timely investigate complaints, execute and report on the civil rights data. collection; thoroughly monitor corrective actions of institutions and meet other critical workloads. The House said that the office is also directed to maintain its 12 regional offices. Concerns Raised Lipsitt represents a unique situation because she had filed so many cases based on a single issue. But Paul Castillo, a senior attorney and students rights strategist for Lambda Legal, says that taken as a whole, the civil rights office has made several changes that will make it harder for parents to file cases, and will make it easier for the federal agency to dismiss them. Lambda Legal, based in Dallas, advocates for the civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and those with HIV. Castillo, a field investigator for the office for civil rights between 2010 and 2013, said the departments mission is not to try to dismiss complaints that come into the office. And not to turn a blind eye to being a resource that people across the country turn to when they are experiencing discrimination and harassment, Castillo said. It is an across-the-board change that impacts new complaints, existing complaints, investigations that are already open, resolution agreements that have already been signed. The Education Department had already signaled that it was planning to make changes to how it handled complaints to its civil rights office. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has said that the civil rights office will take a case-by-case approach to handling complaints, in order to prevent federal overreach and to resolve complaints faster. In contrast, the Obama administration allowed investigators to examine if individual complaints were the result of systemic issues. That process, DeVos said, meant that too many students have been forced to wait months, and in some cases years, for adjudication of their complaints. But the office for civil rights is not meant to be a complaint processing agency, but to ensure that taxpayer money is not going to entities that discriminate, said Seth Galanter, the senior director for the National Center for Youth Law in Washington. During the Obama administration, Galanter held several positions in the office for civil rights, including principal deputy assistant secretary. In Lipsitts case, though she was filing many cases, they were found to be meritorious, Galanter said. To exclude repeat filers who are bringing actual violations to your attention is basically ignoring the evidence thats right in front of your face, he said. Most complainants are parents who have never filed similar complaints before, he said. The system was set up to prevent complaints from falling from the cracks, he said. This new system just creates cracks. At Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, students walk daily past a quote painted high on an exterior wall: Be the change you wish to see in the world. After 17 classmates and staff members died in Feb. 14 mass shooting at the Parkland, Fla., school, some Stoneman Douglas students took that quote to heart. Less than than 24 hours after they were huddled in darkened classroom closets waiting for police to escort them to safety, they planted the seeds of a national movement that takes center stage Saturday at the March for Our Lives, when half a million people are expected to gather in Washington, D.C., to call for more restrictive gun laws. Student organizers around the country have planned more than 800 coordinating events to coincide with the Washington march, including at least one in every state and on six continents. They estimate the events collectively could draw a million people. But it remains to be seen if all the enthusiasm, and the coinciding media coverage, will lead to real policy change, especially on the federal level. Theres still a powerful gun lobby, and the youth activists have ambitious policy demands that lawmakers have failed to pass many times before. See Also: Student Walkouts and Civic Action Against Gun Violence I would say that the immediate mobilization of young people affected by a high school shooting is unusual, said Kristin Goss, a political science professor at Duke University who has studied the history of the gun control movement. This did not happen, certainly at the same level, after any kind of high school shooting I can think of. Six weeks after the shooting, the students have already met one of their biggest goals: keeping it in the headlines. Ive seen this happen countless times, Stoneman Douglas student Cameron Kasky told an audience at Harvard University this week. And what happens is we get two weeks into the news, we get a bundle of thoughts and prayers, everyone sends flowers, and then its over. And then people forget. I said whats different this time? What can we do differently this time? Media coverage of the passionatesometimes angrycalls from student organizers has grown more prevalent than coverage of the shooting itself. And, buoying their hopes for change, an estimated 1 million students poured out of their classrooms in coordinated walkouts on the one-month anniversary of their schools attack. Such high levels of interest, and the reach of social media, have made it easier for advocates for more-restrictive gun laws to organize and draw attention to their cause, Goss said. But groups like the National Rifle Association, and gun owners who oppose new restrictions, have a long, and successful history of organizing, and well-established relationships with state and federal lawmakers, she said. And, while various polls have showed climbing national support for gun control since the Parkland shooting, its not unusual for those numbers to spike after a major shooting event, Goss said. Organizing Voters Conventional wisdom holds that supporters of gun control list it among a wide range of policy priorities they consider when deciding whether to support a political candidate and that gun-rights advocates are more likely to be single-issue voters, opposing anyone who favors new restrictions. The Parkland students, and the groups whove partnered with them to organize the marches, acknowledge this. See Also The Parkland School Shooting: Complete Coverage Thats why theyve invited groups to hold voter-registration drives alongside the marches, an effort to mobilize engaged teens for as early as the 2018 midterms. Weve been silent for too long as a nation, Stoneman Douglas student David Hogg said at Harvard. Weve allowed these things to continue for too long, and ... whats important is that we make sure that we speak up to these congressman, to local and state legislators and let them know that this is what their constituents want. If you choose not to vote on the side of students lives ... thats OK because well vote you out. Its as simple as that. There are some indicators that teenagers may have slightly different views on gun issues than older generations. A nationally representative Survey Monkey poll conducted in early March found that to prevent future deaths from mass shootings, adults would prioritize federal action on mental health over gun control, at 57 percent compared to 41 percent, respectively. But that same poll shows teens are more evenly split: 49 percent favor prioritizing gun control and 48 percent favor mental health efforts. And, while 58 percent of teens surveyed said the student marches will lead to meaningful changes in our society, fewer adults47 percentagreed with that statement. Fear of Shootings Teens may feel more urgency to organize around gun violence issues because of their experiences growing up. While school shootings are still statistically rare and the number of violent deaths in schools hasnt increased significantly in the past decade, students spend an outsized amount of time preparing for an unlikely attack. The most recent federal data show that 95 percent of public schools conducted active-shooter drills in 2015-16, a figure that has climbed consistently since the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., which happened before the Parkland students were born. And that awareness of gun violence coincides with higher levels of fear among young people. In the Survey Monkey poll, 42 percent of adult respondents said they are not at all worried about being the victim of a mass shooting, compared to just 19 percent of teens. In an effort to influence older adults, some student organizers have created contracts for teens to sign with their parents, committing to making gun issues a priority in voting. It remains to be seenor to be academically studiedhow teen attitudes about gun violence will shape parents decisions, Goss said. But school shootings can make the issue seem more immediate and personal for some parents, she said. She recalled being a teenager at a high school near Columbine when that shooting happened. Afterward, her pro-gun father voted to strengthen background checks in Colorado. I think that in those Columbine kids, he could see his own kids, Goss said. The March for Our Lives organizers have sought to expand the focus on gun violence beyond shootings that take place in schools. Theyve met with youth organizers from Chicago who have long been concerned about shootings in their neighborhoods that receive much less attention from the media. While students around the country have set specific, local goals and focuses for their marches, the marchs national organizers have set ambitious goals that have eluded past anti-gun violence organizers. Their demands include: a ban on the sale of assault-style weapons, like the AR-15 rifle used in the Stoneman Douglas shooting; a ban on the sale of high-capacity magazines; and closing loopholes that allow guns to be sold without background checks online and at gun shows. You Need to Act There was a similar swell of support for such measures after the 2012 shootings of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and Congress ended up taking no action. Stoneman Douglas student Emma Gonzalez said meeting with other students whove been concerned about gun violence for years inspired the Parkland organizers to pursue big changes. You cant settle into that stew of thinking I could never change anything, she said at Harvard. You need to act. Their actions come at a time when social media is enabling gun-control advocates to organize at higher levels. Americans who vote against new gun restrictions have natural gathering places, like shooting ranges, gun shows, and NRA conventions, Goss said. But advocates for such restrictions have long lacked such a place to assemble and find commonalities. Since Sandy Hook, organizers have found that space on social media, she said. The Parkland students have strategically used the internet to amplify their message, tweeting sarcastic teen-like jabs and jokes at their critics and sharing stories of their classmates experiences during the shootings. Past youth organizers have won smaller victories after they experienced acts of violence. A group of Virginia Tech students and their families successfully pushed Virginia politicians to address holes in the states background check system after a gunman killed 32 people on their campus in 2007. While the focus is often on federal lawmakers and the president after mass shootings, most changes to gun laws happen at the state level, Goss said. In that arena, Parkland students and their families have already affected change. Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed a compromise school safety bill earlier this month that includes provisions that were favored and panned by people on both sides of the gun debate. That includes a program that would allow school staff to volunteer to be armed, an increase in school police, and some of the biggest changes to the states gun laws in years. One provision, already the subject of a lawsuit by the NRA, raised the age for all firearms purchases to 21. After the Parkland shooting, students had questioned how the 19-year-old accused gunman could buy an AR-15 when he was too young to buy a beer. Another provision in the bill created a red flag law that allows courts to restrict access to and sales of firearms to individuals whove been deemed a threat to themselves or others. Florida law enforcement has already started using that law. The state legislature voted down one of the students goalsa ban on assault-style weaponsas Stoneman Douglas students looked on in tears in a vistors gallery above. But many have credited pressure from the youth movement for the smaller gun-policy changes included in the school safety bill. When I think about the policy goals, Florida has already done sort of the unthinkable, Goss said. 1 Scope of Agreement: These are the conditions of the contract between you, the Client (You and your) and Elite Luxury Publishing Inc (Elite Luxury Publishing Inc, we, us and our) governing your use of our services, including use of advertising space on our website or in the publication, as set out in your purchase order. This agreement constitutes the entire agreement between Elite Luxury Publishing Inc and you. All prior agreements understandings and negotiations and representations (save for fraudulent misrepresentation) whether oral or in writing are canceled in their entirety. The terms of any other electronic communications will not form part of this agreement. 2 Content and Artwork Responsibility: You are responsible for providing us with all text and illustrations by the copy date(s) set out in your purchase order. 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The 22-year-old described being named captain as a massive honour, adding that she couldn't be more proud to represent the Island in such a role. 33 athletes will fly out to Australia next week for a week a acclimatisation before moving to the Gold Coast athletes village ahead of the opening ceremony on April 4th. In the U.S., about 13 percent of women and 10 percent of men aged 60 or older have knee pain due to osteoarthritis (OA). Osteoarthritis occurs when a joint becomes inflamed, usually because the protective cartilage and other tissues that cushion joints like the knee become damaged and worn over time. Knee pain from OA can make it harder to take care of yourself, which can damage your quality of life. In turn, that can lead to depression. According to researchers, knee OA affects some 55 percent of people over age 40 in Japan. A research team from the country recently published a study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society examining the effects of knee pain on depression since, until now, few studies have focused on how knee pain and impaired knee function relate to depression. To learn more, the researchers examined information from 573 people aged 65 or older who participated in the Kurabuchi Study, an ongoing look at the health of older adults living in central Japan. When the study began (between 2005 and 2006) none of the participants had symptoms of depression. Two years later, nearly all of them completed follow-up interviews. The participants answered questions about their knee pain and were evaluated for symptoms of depression. Nearly 12 percent of the participants had developed symptoms of depression. People who experienced knee pain at night while in bed, while putting on socks, or while getting in or out of a car were more likely to report having symptoms of depression, noted the researchers. The researchers concluded that asking older adults with knee pain whether they have pain at night in bed, when putting on socks, or while getting in or out of a car could be useful for helping to screen people at risk for developing depression. ### This summary is from "The Association of Knee Pain and Impaired Function with the Development of Depressive Symptoms ". It appears online ahead of print in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. The study authors are Keiko Sugai, MD, PhD; Fujimi Takeda-Imai, RD, PhD; Takehiro Michikawa, MD, PhD; Takahiro Nakamura, MD, PhD; Toru Takebayashi, MD, PhD; and Yuji Nishiwaki, MD, PhD. About the Health in Aging Foundation This research summary was developed as a public education tool by the Health in Aging Foundation. The Foundation is a national non-profit established in 1999 by the American Geriatrics Society to bring the knowledge and expertise of geriatrics healthcare professionals to the public. We are committed to ensuring that people are empowered to advocate for high-quality care by providing them with trustworthy information and reliable resources. Last year, we reached nearly 1 million people with our resources through HealthinAging.org. We also help nurture current and future geriatrics leaders by supporting opportunities to attend educational events and increase exposure to principles of excellence on caring for older adults. For more information or to support the Foundation's work, visit http://www.HealthinAgingFoundation.org. About the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society Included in more than 9,000 library collections around the world, the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS) highlights emerging insights on principles of aging, approaches to older patients, geriatric syndromes, geriatric psychiatry, and geriatric diseases and disorders. First published in 1953, JAGS is now one of the oldest and most impactful publications on gerontology and geriatrics, according to ISI Journal Citation Reports. Visit wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/JGS for more details. About the American Geriatrics Society Founded in 1942, the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) is a nationwide, not-for-profit society of geriatrics healthcare professionals that has--for 75 years--worked to improve the health, independence, and quality of life of older people. Its nearly 6,000 members include geriatricians, geriatric nurses, social workers, family practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, and internists. The Society provides leadership to healthcare professionals, policymakers, and the public by implementing and advocating for programs in patient care, research, professional and public education, and public policy. For more information, visit AmericanGeriatrics.org. ALEXANDRIA, Va. (March 22, 2018) - Earlier this month, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello reintroduced his government reorganization plan that would eliminate the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics (PRIS). On a separate front, he appealed a March 8 Puerto Rico Supreme Court decision ordering the restitution of four scientists to the institute's board of directors. The court determined Rossello removed these members from the board last summer without due process. The Puerto Rico House and Senate have until April 15 to reject the governor's new reorganization plan. If they do not, the next step will be to pass legislation authorizing new makeups and missions for the reorganized agencies, including PRIS, which would cease to exist since it will become an office within the Department of Economic Development and Commerce. In addition to disputing the March 8 decision in the Puerto Rico Court of Appeals, Rossello took the extraordinary step of asking the Puerto Rico Supreme Court to take up the case, instead of allowing the case to continue its normal track to the Court of Appeals. The governor also tried to prevent PRIS board members from meeting. Both the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals declared the governor's requests without grounds. Critics of the plan to eliminate PRIS point to the importance of reliable and publicly available statistical data to the commonwealth's recovery from two devastating hurricanes, a fiscal crisis and myriad public and private decisions the data inform. Critics further point to demands by Puerto Rico residents for transparency on critical issues such as the restoration of electrical power, the number of deaths due to the hurricanes and proposed education reforms. They also point to the many contributions of PRIS to the jurisdiction since it began operating in 2007 and the dismal state of national data prior to its founding. Supporters of an independent and better-funded PRIS also question Rossello's rationale for dismantling PRIS, which he gave to Science magazine. He stated that the consolidation and privatization of the commonwealth's statistical data production will help provide more reliable statistics. "Puerto Rico needs its statistical agency to be independent so its data will be seen as objective. Removing the many protections in place for the independent production of statistics--including an independent advisory board free of political partisanship--as the governor's plan does will only weaken public trust in data," said ASA President Lisa LaVange. "Furthermore, privatization of the data production removes public accountability and transparency. It could make access to the data more difficult, thereby negating the powerful roles publicly available government data provide to individuals and private entities in improving societal and economic conditions." PRIS supporters also note the irony of the governor's claims that his plan will strengthen the independence of PRIS and reliability of its data, when his dismissal of experts on PRIS's board, multiple court challenges and his reorganization plan, itself, actually undermine the autonomy and functionality of the agency. When eliminating PRIS was first proposed, critical reaction was strong and swift. The Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico wrote Rossello urging PRIS to be retained and strengthened as an independent and standalone entity. In the US Congress, 15 members of the House of Representatives opposed the proposal and Sen. Elizabeth Warren also wrote, expressing her concern. Almost 3,000 people have signed a petition, in part organized by the ASA, asking Puerto Rico's political leaders to reconsider. There have also been multiple op-eds and articles published by outlets like Scientific American, The Hill, and Science magazines. LaVange sent letters to Rossello, the PR Senate president and the PR House speaker, protesting the plan. At a moment when Puerto Rico is debating the best path forward for energy recovery, considering the impact of emigration and trying to project the effects of austerity measures on the Puerto Rican economy, eliminating PRIS would be counterproductive to Puerto Rico's efforts to rebuild itself and its economy. Reliable and publicly accessible statistics are of utmost importance, now more than ever. ### About the American Statistical Association The ASA is the world's largest community of statisticians and the oldest continuously operating professional science society in the United States. Its members serve in industry, government and academia in more than 90 countries, advancing research and promoting sound statistical practice to inform public policy and improve human welfare. For additional information, please visit the ASA website at http://www.amstat.org. For more information: Steve Pierson ASA Director of Science Policy (703) 302-1841 Around 20% of the world's irrigated land is considered to contain elevated concentrations of salt, and the soil continues to get saltier as the climate warms. Agricultural production is hard hit by soil salinity; salt stress reduces the growth and yield of most plants, resulting in billions of dollars in crop yield losses annually. Rice--the staple food of more than half the world's population--is particularly sensitive to salty soil, with even moderate levels of salt resulting in substantial yield losses. There is thus an urgent need to develop rice lines that can withstand salty conditions. A team of scientists led by Jian-Zhong Lin and Xuan-Ming Liu of Hunan University in Changsha, China recently identified a gene that contributes to salt stress tolerance in rice. The gene, which they named STRK1 (salt tolerance receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase 1), was activated under salt stress conditions. The researchers generated two sets of transgenic plants, one in which STRK1 was expressed at high levels, and the other in which expression was greatly reduced. Under regular growth conditions, both sets of transgenic plants appeared normal. However, when challenged with salt, the transgenic plants with elevated STRK1 expression were greener and larger than the non-transgenic control plants, and those with reduced levels of STRK1 expression were smaller and browner than the controls. Next, the team examined the effect of STRK1 on yield. "Notably, overexpression of STRK1 in rice not only improved growth but also markedly limited the grain yield loss under salt stress conditions," said Jian-Zhong Lin. The team then turned their attention to deciphering the mechanism by which STRK1 enhances the plant's tolerance to salt. Salt stress triggers the production of potentially harmful reactive oxygen species, such as hydrogen peroxide, in plant cells. The group found that STRK1 (the protein encoded by STRK1) interacts with and activates a protein named CatC, which belongs to a family of proteins that decomposes hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. Thus, STRK1 increases the plant's tolerance to salt stress by keeping the levels of hydrogen peroxide in check, and thereby minimizing the damage caused by accumulating reactive oxygen species. These exciting findings bring the research community closer to developing rice plants that thrive in salty soil. "Agricultural productivity is increasingly threatened by the salinization of irrigated farmland...Our work demonstrates that STRK1 is a promising candidate gene for protection of yield in crop plants exposed to salt stress," stated Xuan-Ming Liu. ### Study using living tissues provides new system to understand disease processes in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other disorders LOS ANGELES (March 23, 2018) -- A new study has revealed that the human brain's tiniest blood vessels can activate genes known to trigger spinal motor neurons, prompting the neurons to grow during early development. The findings could provide insights into how amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative disorders may develop. To make the discovery, investigators successfully re-created living tissues of the blood vessels and the spinal motor neurons--which control muscles--outside the body to show how they interact. "Until now, people thought these blood vessels just delivered nutrients and oxygen, removed waste and adjusted blood flow. We showed that beyond plumbing, they are genetically communicating with the neurons," said Samuel Sances, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute. He is the first author of the study, published in the journal Stem Cell Reports. When a human embryo is about four weeks old, Sances explained, new blood vessels begin to surround a primitive column of cells that eventually will become the spinal cord. Driven by developmental genes, some of these cells turn into spinal motor neurons. The study showed the cells of the brain's smallest blood vessels, known as capillaries, are capable of activating these genes, which can spur spinal motor neurons to grow and mature. Besides providing insights into human biology, the study opened a new pathway to unraveling the mysteries of disorders such as ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, Sances said. ALS is a progressive, fatal disorder that kills motor neurons. There is no known cure. More than 6,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with the disorder each year, according to the ALS Association. "What may go wrong in the spinal neurons that causes the motor neurons to die?" Sances asked. "If we can model an individual ALS patient's tissues, we may be able to answer that question and one day rescue ALS patients' neurons through new therapies." The study's findings were made possible by a unique pairing of stem cell science with Organs-on-Chips technology, which re-creates human biology in micro-engineered environments. Cedars-Sinai investigators first took samples of skin cells from adults and genetically reprogramed them into induced pluripotent stem cells, which can create any type of cell--in this case, spinal motor neurons and the lining of the brain's capillaries. The team placed these cells in the tiny channels of Organ-Chips, which are made of flexible polymer and are about the size of AA batteries. In the chips, nurtured by special fluids, the cells of the two different tissues thrived and interacted with each other. "This study told us something important about how our neurons develop," said Clive Svendsen, PhD, professor of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, director of the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute and senior author of the study. As a next step, he added, investigators are developing plans to use chip technology to compare the vessel-neuron interactions in ALS patients against those of individuals without ALS. The research is part of the new Patient-on-a-Chip program, a collaboration between Cedars-Sinai and Emulate Inc. in Boston to help predict which disease treatments would be most effective based on a patient's genetic makeup and disease variant. Emulate produces the Organ-Chips used in the program. Geraldine A. Hamilton, PhD, Emulate's president and chief scientific officer, is a co-author of the spinal motor neuron study. In February, investigators from the two organizations announced they had used an Intestine-Chip to model a human intestinal lining. The Patient-on-a-Chip program is an important initiative of Cedars-Sinai Precision Health, whose goal is to drive the development of the newest technology and best research, coupled with the finest clinical practice, to rapidly enable a new era of personalized health. ### Disclosure: Cedars-Sinai owns a minority stock interest in Emulate Inc. An officer of Cedars-Sinai also serves on Emulate's board of directors. Emulate provides no financial support for this research. Funding: Research reported in this news release was supported by the National Institutes of Health Tissue Consortium 2.0 under award number 1UG3NS105703- 01, the ALS Association and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2018.02.012 DOWNLOADABLE VIDEO 1 Video 1 caption: 3D video shows layers of spinal motor neuron cells (top, in blue) and capillary cells (bottom, in red) inside an Organ-Chip. Top-down view shows interconnected network of spinal motor neurons (blue) that interacts with the capillary cells below (in red). The video was produced using a confocal microscope; colors were generated by staining with fluorescent antibodies. Video 1 credit: Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute DOWNLOADABLE VIDEO 2 Video 2 caption: Hundreds of spinal motor neurons spontaneously communicate through electrical signals inside an Organ-Chip. Neurons fire individually (flashing dots) and in synchronized bursts (bright waves). The activity was observed using a dye that fluoresces when neurons send an electrical signal. Video 2 credit: Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute Until the end of the 20th century, gas hydrates were considered a rare curiosity. The ice-like compounds of water molecules, including methane and other gases, unintentionally appeared, for example, in gas pipelines. It was not until the 1990s that German and international scientists revealed that the continental slopes on all ocean margins contain large deposits of this substance. In addition to basic research, the question soon arose: can the methane from hydrates be used as an energy resource? Germany's coasts border seas where water depths are too shallow for the formation of gas hydrates. If gas hydrates were to gain economic importance, Germany could only participate in the market as a technology supplier. Therefore, starting in 2008 the Federal Ministry of Economics and the Federal Ministry of Research have been funding the joint academic-industry project "Submarine Gas Hydrate Reservoirs" (SUGAR). After almost ten years, SUGAR is finishing this week with a conference at the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam - German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). "The SUGAR consortium has achieved a great deal during this time. It has significantly expanded knowledge of gas hydrates in the seafloor and developed technologies that are now in demand worldwide," says project coordinator Dr. Matthias Haeckel from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. The demand for these technologies is highest in Asian countries. Both Japan and China completed successful test production of methane from submarine hydrate deposits last year. India, South Korea and Taiwan are also very interested in starting their own field tests. Companies from Germany participating in the SUGAR project have been able to develop technologies for environmental monitoring in recent years. These include special echosounders, which can detect methane gas bubbles seeping unintentionally out of the seafloor, or sensors that can measure methane concentrations in the water column. "Even the question of where gas hydrates actually occur and in what quantities, we are able to answer more precisely now than at the beginning of SUGAR. There were major leaps in knowledge in this area, among other things thanks to better computer simulations of processes in the seafloor and high-resolution imaging of the seabed down to a depth of 500 meters," explains Prof. Dr. Klaus Wallmann from GEOMAR, who served as coordinator during the first two phases of the project until mid-2014. Another example of technology developed within SUGAR is the reservoir simulator LARS (LArge Reservoir Simulator) at the GFZ. It is a 425-liter steel tank equipped with numerous sensors. In this tank, gas hydrates can be formed in sediments under nature-like conditions. "With LARS we can test various methods for the extraction of methane from natural gas hydrate deposits on a technical scale," says Dr. Judith Schicks, head of the working group 'gas hydrate research' at the GFZ. Basic research also benefits from such experimental facilities. Even after the end of the SUGAR project, gas hydrates are still interesting for scientists in Germany and worldwide. "Among other things, we want to find out whether they can cause landslides and tsunamis if they are destabilized as a result of ocean warming," explains Dr. Haeckel. In addressing these issues, basic science has benefited from the insights and developments of the SUGAR project. "Better modelling of the seafloor or high-pressure test units for investigating gas hydrate dynamics in sediments will give new insights into the risk of landslides. Mobile drilling technology, developed within SUGAR, allows for cost-efficient recovery of necessary natural gas hydrate samples while retaining ambient pressure," explains Dr. Haeckel. ### Alexandria, VA, USA - At the 47th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR), held in conjunction with the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research (CADR), Veerasathpurush Allareddy, University of Iowa, College of Dentistry & Dental Clinics, Iowa City, presented a poster titled "Opioid Abuse/Dependence in Those Hospitalized Due to Periapical Abscess." The AADR/CADR Annual Meeting is in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., USA from March 21-24, 2018. Opioid abuse/dependence (OAD) is an emerging public health crisis in the USA. The objective of this study was to estimate the nationwide prevalence of OAD in those hospitalized due to periapical abscess in the U.S., testing the hypothesis that a mix of patient and geography related factors are associated with OAD in this cohort. Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample for years 2012 to 2014, all patients that were hospitalized due to periapical abscess were selected for analysis. OAD was identified and used as the outcome variable, and a mix of patient and geographic factors were used as independent variables. During the study period 30,040 patients were hospitalized due to periapical abscess -- 1.5% of these had OAD. Those aged 18 to 29 years were associated with higher odds for OAD compared to those aged 45 to 64 years. Blacks were associated with lower odds for OAD compared to Whites and those covered by Medicare, Medicaid and Uninsured were associated with higher odds for OAD compared to those covered by private insurance. Odds of OAD increased with co-morbid burden but there were no significant variations in OAD across geographic regions of USA and by hospital location/teaching status. Household income levels and gender were also not significantly associated with OAD. "From this study," said Veerasathpurush Allareddy, "we see that the high risk groups that are likely to have OAD were identified amongst those hospitalized due to periapical abscess." The study findings are based on the Nationwide Inpatient Sample which is sponsored by the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. ### This is a summary of poster #1225 titled "Opioid Abuse/Dependence in Those Hospitalized Due to Periapical Abscess" presented by Veerasathpurush Allareddy on Friday, March 23, 2018 at 3:45 p.m. in Hall B/C of the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., USA. About the American Association for Dental Research The American Association for Dental Research (AADR), headquartered in Alexandria, Va., is a nonprofit organization with over 3,400 members in the United States. Its mission is: (1) to advance research and increase knowledge for the improvement of oral health; (2) to support and represent the oral health research community; and (3) to facilitate the communication and application of research findings. AADR is the largest Division of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR). To learn more about the AADR, visit http://www.aadr.org. Drug delivery systems (DDSs) control when and how much drugs are delivered to the body. Numerous DDS studies have been conducted but most have focused on treatments for cancer. New research from Kumamoto University uses a DDS to treat malaria. The existing treatment for malaria is taken orally and has three main problems: (1) most antimalarial drugs are broken down in the stomach, (2) the drugs have strong side effects, and (3) the medicine stays in the body for only a short time. These issues resulted in malaria treatments that were not particularly effective. MCM-41 is a porous silica material with a pore size of 2-30 nm. It can incorporate drugs into its pores, which makes it a useful material for DDS applications. A research group headed by Prof. Shinya Hayami from Kumamoto University, Japan believed that MCM-41 could be used as DDS for antimalarial drugs. To test their theory, they created a new DDS by combining the antimalarial drugs Artesunate and Quinine with MCT-41 and performed in vitro and in vivo experiments. They found: (1) The release time of the antimalarial medicine became very long, one week or longer, which was an improvement from the standard medication time. (2) Compared to ingesting Artesunate or Quinine, the new DDS increased treatment efficiency by 20 and 240 times respectively in animal experiments. (As defined in this study, the therapeutic efficiency is 50% of the effective dose (ED50), and is used as an index of drug strength. The smaller the value of ED50, the greater the action of the drug. In other words, if an effect is obtained with a small amount of a drug, the treatment efficiency is high.) (3) MCM-41 itself is non-toxic and inactive. A DDS using MCM-41 is expected to have very weak side effects. "Using this DDS for antimalarial drugs has introduced a new possibility for highly efficient malaria treatment for the first time," said Professor Shinya Hayami. "We expect that it will be put to practical use in areas where malaria treatment is still necessary. Now, we are planning to develop clinical trials for antimalarial drugs as well as new DDSs for other drugs, like anti-HIV medications." ### This research was posted online in the journal Scientific Reports on 15 February 2018. [Source] Amolegbe, S. A., Hirano, Y., Adebayo, J. O., Ademowo, O. G., Balogun, E. A., Obaleye, J. A., ... Hayami, S. (2018). Mesoporous silica nanocarriers encapsulated antimalarials with high therapeutic performance. Scientific Reports, 8(1). doi:10.1038/s41598-018-21351-8 Wastewater cleaning technology created at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), Lithuania efficiently cleans water from oil products leaving it virtually pollution-free (the concentration of oil discharge in treated water is about 0.2 mg/L) Wastewater treatment technology created at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), Lithuania efficiently cleans water from oil products leaving it virtually pollution-free (the concentration of oil discharge in treated water is about 0.2 mg/L). Given the efficiency, the technology is much cheaper than the alternatives currently known in the market. Although the regulations slightly vary from country to country, mainly in Europe and America oil discharge in water must meet 5mg/L for discharges to surface water drains and the water environment. Although marine life can survive this degree of pollution, the oil products pass into organisms affecting their health and transferring toxic substances further into ecosystem. "After treatment with our technology the wastewater from oil industries released into the sea not only meets legal requirements, but is virtually clean", says Associate Professor Viktoras Racys, researcher at KTU Faculty of Chemical Technology. 2 2 Biological wastewater treatment technology developed at KTU employs microorganisms, which can adapt to certain environment and synthesize ferments to "digest" oil products turning them into COand HO. The technology has been successfully implemented in Lithuanian oil transfer company Klaipedos Nafta. At the moment, it is being modified to be used in other areas of activity potentially connected to organic contamination, such as food, chemical, agricultural production industries. According to KTU researcher, the essential challenge is to ensure the stability of microorganisms used for water treatment technology: it is very difficult to cultivate them and very easy to lose. "Our secret is that we have found out a way of keeping those microorganisms in the system, so they don't leave. Thanks to this, our technology is very stable and very reliable, basically indestructible", says Viktoras Racys. vThe currently working KTU-invented technology cleans 160 m3 per hour. It is ready to use in sensitive environmental regions, for the treatment of oil production and refinery wastewater, ballast water, the run-off from car washes and car parks and any petroleum polluted wastewater containing both legally regulated compounds and the most toxic or persistent compounds. ### Cell division is the basis of all life. Even the smallest errors in this complex process can lead to grave diseases like cancer. Certain proteins have to be switched on or off at certain times for everything to go according to plan. Biophysicists and medical biochemists at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) have managed to describe the underlying mechanism of this process. They have figured out how different signaling pathways in the cell change the structure of proteins, thereby driving the cell division cycle in the right direction at the right time. The researchers present their findings in the renowned journal "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences". The cell cycle is an extremely complex and precisely defined process. "The parent cell has to double its existing components and then divide into to daughter cells. In order to do this, numerous genes have to be switched on and off at very specific times," says biophysicist Professor Jochen Balbach from MLU. The cell cycle is sub-divided into various phases. These are controlled by what are known as inhibitors proteins, also called CDK inhibitors. Like a red traffic light, these proteins block transition to the next phase until the cell gives the relevant start signal. The signal to start the next phase of the cell cycle comes from a special enzyme group, the kinases. "Previously we only knew that the kinases passed on the signal by adding a phosphate group onto the CDK inhibitors. There was no knowledge, however, of which kinases do this and the underlying molecular mechanism for this," continues Balbach. Together with the working group led by Professor Mechthild Hatzfeld from the Pathobiochemistry Section of the Medical Faculty of MLU, the researchers have now been able to describe this signaling pathway for the first time. They combined high-resolution magnetic resonance spectroscopy data with methods from cell biology. This meant that the researchers were able to explain the mechanism first in test tubes and then directly in cells. The researchers found that the kinases change the structure of the inhibitor proteins by unfolding them. This process disables the original function of the inhibitor proteins and releases a further blocked kinase that gives the signal for the cell cycle to continue. This local unfolding also triggers the degradation of the inhibitor in the cell, determining the direction in which the progression occurs. The researchers from Halle assume that this mechanism preserved by evolution is the basis of many cellular signal pathways. ### Sea ice in the Arctic grew to its annual maximum extent last week, and joined 2015, 2016 and 2017 as the four lowest maximum extents on record, according to scientists at the NASA-supported National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and NASA. On March 17, the Arctic sea ice cover peaked at 5.59 million square miles (14.48 million square kilometers), making it the second lowest maximum on record, at about 23,200 square miles (60,000 square kilometers) larger than the record low maximum reached on March 7, 2017. More significantly from a scientific perspective, the last four years reached nearly equally low maximum extents and continued the decades-long trend of diminishing sea ice in the Arctic. This year's maximum extent was 448,000 square miles (1.16 million square kilometers) -- an area larger than Texas and California combined - below the 1981 to 2010 average maximum extent. Every year, the sea ice cover blanketing the Arctic Ocean and surrounding seas thickens and expands during the fall and winter, reaching its maximum yearly extent sometime between late February and early April. The ice then thins and shrinks during the spring and summer until it reaches its annual minimum extent in September. Arctic sea ice has been declining both during the growing and melting seasons in recent decades. The decline of the Arctic sea ice cover has myriad effects, from changes in climate and weather patterns to impacts on the plants and animals dependent on the ice, and to the indigenous human communities that rely on them. The disappearing ice is also altering shipping routes, increasing coastal erosion and affecting ocean circulation. "The Arctic sea ice cover continues to be in a decreasing trend and this is connected to the ongoing warming of the Arctic," said Claire Parkinson, senior climate scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "It's a two-way street: the warming means less ice is going to form and more ice is going to melt, but also, because there's less ice, less of the sun's incident solar radiation is reflected off, and this contributes to the warming." The Arctic has gone through repeated warm episodes this winter, with temperatures climbing more than 40 degrees above average in some regions. The North Pole even experienced temperatures above the freezing point for a few days in February. In mid-March, cooler temperatures and winds pushed out the edge of the sea ice pack and caused a late surge in ice growth that brought the maximum extent closer in line with the past few years. In February, a large area of open water appeared in the sea ice cover north of Greenland, within the multiyear ice pack -- the Arctic's oldest and thickest ice. Most of the opening has refrozen but the new ice is expected to be thinner and more fragile, and a new opening might appear during the melt season. This could make the ice in this region more mobile and prone to exiting the Arctic this summer through either the Fram or Nares straits, ultimately melting in the warmer waters of the Atlantic Ocean. "This old, thicker ice is what we expect to provide stability to the Arctic sea ice system, since we expect that ice not to be as vulnerable to melting out as thinner, younger ice," said Alek Petty, a sea ice researcher at Goddard. "As ice in the Arctic becomes thinner and more mobile, it increases the likelihood for rapid ice loss in the summer." Despite the fact that this year's melt season will begin with a low winter sea ice extent, this doesn't necessarily mean that we will see another record low summertime extent. "A lot will depend on what the wind and temperature conditions will be in the spring and summer," Parkinson said. Starting March 22, Operation IceBridge, NASA's aerial survey of polar ice, is flying over the Arctic Ocean to map the distribution and thickness of sea ice. In the fall, NASA will launch a new satellite mission, the Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2), which will continuously monitor how sea ice thickness is changing across the Arctic. For NSIDC's analysis: http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2018/03/arctic-sea-ice-maximum-second-lowest/ ### An unusual hole in the sea ice cover over the Arctic Ocean and unexplored areas of the bedrock beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet are among the targets for this year's mapping of Arctic ice conditions by NASA's Operation IceBridge airborne mission. On March 22, NASA completed the first IceBridge flight of its spring Arctic campaign with a survey of sea ice north of Greenland. This year marks the tenth Arctic spring campaign for IceBridge. The flights continue until April 27 extending the mission's decade-long mapping of the fastest-changing areas of the Greenland Ice Sheet and measuring sea ice thickness across the western Arctic basin. The IceBridge team and instruments are flying on NASA's P-3 Orion. The plane carries a dual-color laser altimeter that measures surface elevation by transmitting both infrared and green laser pulses, three types of radar systems to study ice layers and Greenland's bedrock, a high-resolution camera to create color maps of polar ice, a hyperspectral imager that takes measurements over hundreds of wavelengths, and infrared cameras to measure surface temperatures of sea and land ice. IceBridge continued observations of changes in polar ice elevation after the end of NASA's Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) mission in 2009. That satellite's successor, ICESat-2, is scheduled to launch this September. "After this season's campaign, IceBridge will have bridged the gap between the ICESat and ICESat-2 record of measurements," said Nathan Kurtz, IceBridge's project scientist and a sea ice researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "With ICESat-2, we'll be going back to observing changes at a global scale and throughout the year, and work will be underway to connect the ICESat, IceBridge, and ICESat-2 records to better understand changes in Earth's polar ice cover in an exciting new way." During its ten years of operations in the Arctic, IceBridge has collected a trove of data that goes beyond ice elevation change. It also includes records of snow accumulation across the ice sheet and snow thickness over sea ice, measurements of the bedrock topography under the ice sheet and the shape of the ocean cavity underneath ice shelves. "The elevation of the ice surface and changes therein are among the most fundamental things scientists want to know about ice sheets and glaciers, so that they can assess their state of health," said Joe MacGregor, IceBridge deputy project scientist and a glaciologist at Goddard. "But we need to know more than where the ice is thinning and when it started to thin. We also need to know the why, which is key to projecting what's going to happen in the future. So we also measure all these other physical properties to help us better understand the full ice column and what drives elevation change." The first part of this year's Arctic campaign is focused on sea ice. The survey flights will run from two bases: Thule Air Base in northwest Greenland and Fairbanks, Alaska. As with every year, the main priority will be mapping the thickness of the sea ice cover in the western Arctic through 10 planned sea ice surveys. The IceBridge team and instruments will also probe a big polynya --a hole in the sea ice cover-- that opened up north of Greenland in February. Normally, this area is covered by some of the thickest, oldest ice in the Arctic. The polynya has already sealed up, but scientists worry that the stability of the sea ice in the region might have been jeopardized if the original ice cover has been replaced with thinner ice. "Two processes might have caused the polynya to close: either winds and currents pushed the pack ice south up against the coast, or the surface refroze," said John Sonntag, Operation IceBridge's mission scientist. "The two processes would look similar in some satellite imagery, but very different in our measurements. If the former occurred, the ice that filled the polynya should be quite thick and have a fair amount of snow on top. If refreezing was the cause, this new ice would be very thin, with little snow on it. Either way, we should see it." After completing the sea ice flights and a few land ice flights in northern Greenland and Alaska, IceBridge will move its base of operations on April 12 to Kangerlussuaq, in central western Greenland, and measure land ice. The goal is to perform about 12 land ice flights in total, ten of which are high priority surveys that are repeated every year to gauge annual changes in elevation in fast-evolving areas or along future ICESat-2 tracks. Among the possibilities for the remaining two flights are plans to explore never-before measured areas in Greenland to improve maps of the island's bedrock topography. "These are areas of the ice sheet that - while flowing relatively slowly - have no measurements presently," MacGregor said. "Even after all these years of NASA and international effort, there are still contiguous areas of the Greenland ice sheet hundreds of square miles in size where no bedrock topography measurements have been collected." While flying over the Arctic, IceBridge will collaborate scientifically with satellite missions and international research groups. During the sea ice surveys, the IceBridge plane will fly under the tracks of the European Space Agency's CryoSat-2 and Sentinel-3 satellites, and over the field camp of an international group of researchers studying fast ice -sea ice attached to the coast--north of Station Alert, in the Canadian Arctic. While collecting land ice data, IceBridge will fly over sections of the ice also being studied by teams from Ohio State University and Germany's Alfred Wegener Institute. Scientists will afterward compare the different radar and laser datasets. ### For more information on IceBridge, and to follow the 2018 Arctic flights, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/icebridge Hackers' preference for a Russian Bitcoin exchange and the prevalence of South Korean victims are among the surprises revealed by study led by NYU Tandon cybersecurity researcher; work could help law enforcement track cyber criminals BROOKLYN, New York -- The murky ecosystem of ransomware payments comes into focus in new research led by Damon McCoy, an assistant professor of computer science and engineering at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering. Ransomware attacks, which encrypt and hold a computer user's files hostage in exchange for payment, extort millions of dollars from individuals each month, and comprise one of the fastest-growing forms of cyber attack. In a paper slated for presentation at the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy in May, McCoy and a team including researchers from the University of California, San Diego; Princeton University; Google; and the blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis provide the first detailed account of the ransomware payment ecosystem, from initial attack to cash-out. Key findings include the discovery that South Koreans are disproportionately impacted by ransomware campaigns, with analysis revealing that $2.5 million of the $16 million in ransomware payments tracked by the researchers was paid in South Korea. The paper's authors call for additional research to determine the reason that so many South Koreans are victimized and how they can be protected. The team also found that most ransomware operators used a Russian bitcoin exchange, BTC-E, to convert bitcoin to fiat currencies. (BTC-E has since been seized by the FBI.) The researchers estimate that at least 20,000 individuals made ransomware payments over the past two years, at a confirmed cost of $16 million, although the actual payment total is likely far higher. McCoy and his collaborators took advantage of the public nature of the bitcoin blockchain technology to trace ransom payments over a two-year period. Bitcoins are the most common currency of ransomware payments, and because most victims do not own them, the initial bitcoin purchase provides a starting point for tracking payments. Each ransomware victim is often given a unique payment address that directs to a bitcoin wallet where the ransom is collected. The research team tapped public reports of ransomware attacks to identify these addresses and correlate them with blockchain transactions. To boost the number of transactions available for analysis, the team also executed real ransomware binaries in a controlled experimental environment, essentially becoming victims themselves and making micropayments to real ransom wallets in order to follow the bitcoin trail. "Ransomware operators ultimately direct bitcoin to a central account that they cash out periodically, and by injecting a little bit of our own money into the larger flow we could identify those central accounts, see the other payments flowing in, and begin to understand the number of victims and the amount of money being collected," McCoy said. The research team acknowledged that ethical issues prevent exploration of certain aspects of the ransomware ecosystem, including determining the percentage of victims who actually pay to recover their files. McCoy explained that despite having the ability to check for activity connected to a specific payment address, doing so would effectively "start the clock" and potentially cause victims to either pay a double ransom or lose the opportunity to recover their files altogether. Criminal use of cryptocurrencies is one of McCoy's research focuses. He and fellow researchers previously tracked human traffickers through their use of Bitcoin advertising. The most recent research was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, Google, and Comcast. ### About the New York University Tandon School of Engineering The NYU Tandon School of Engineering dates to 1854, the founding date for both the New York University School of Civil Engineering and Architecture and the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute (widely known as Brooklyn Poly). A January 2014 merger created a comprehensive school of education and research in engineering and applied sciences, rooted in a tradition of invention and entrepreneurship and dedicated to furthering technology in service to society. In addition to its main location in Brooklyn, NYU Tandon collaborates with other schools within NYU, the country's largest private research university, and is closely connected to engineering programs at NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Shanghai. It operates Future Labs focused on start-up businesses in downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn and an award-winning online graduate program. For more information, visit http://engineering.nyu.edu. NEW YORK, NY (March 23, 2018) - The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Science Translational Medicine have selected Neville Sanjana, PhD, Core Faculty Member at the New York Genome Center, Assistant Professor of Biology, New York University, and Assistant Professor of Neuroscience and Physiology at NYU School of Medicine, for its prestigious 2018 AAAS Martin and Rose Wachtel Cancer Research Award. This annual award, which recognizes early-career investigators who have performed outstanding work in the field of cancer research, was funded in 2013 by an endowment established through a generous bequest from Martin L. Wachtel. Dr. Sanjana is one of only two recipients honored this year. His essay detailing the prize-winning work will be published in Science Translational Medicine in the summer of 2018. Dr. Sanjana's research focuses on better understanding the functional significance of different mutations in cancer and their impact on resistance to drug and immune therapies. In his lab, Dr. Sanjana develops new gene editing technologies to better understand how mutations both in protein-coding genes and in noncoding regions of the genome affect cancer evolution and therapeutic resistance. The data from these innovative functional genomic technologies, such as his recent two cell-type screen pairing immune cells with cancer cells carrying different mutations, can help predict in advance which tumors might not respond to immunotherapy. "The easy programmability of CRISPR nucleases has made it possible to target thousands of different locations in the human genome in virtually any tumor or cell type. This transformative technology has empowered individual investigators to answer genome-scale questions without the difficulty of acquiring a large number of tumor biopsies," Dr. Sanjana said. His work over the past few years has included developing high-throughput gene editing approaches to elucidate key genes and noncoding elements involved in immunotherapy failure, in metastasis of a primary tumor to distal organs and in therapeutic resistance to inhibitors of BRAF, the most commonly mutated gene in melanoma. "We are very proud that Dr. Sanjana's important research has been honored and recognized by this distinguished award," said Tom Maniatis, PhD, Scientific Director and Chief Executive Officer, New York Genome Center. "Insights gained from Dr. Sanjana's work have the potential to advance precision medicine and next-generation treatments for cancer." In addition to having his essay published, as a recipient of the AAAS Martin and Rose Wachtel Cancer Research Award, Dr. Sanjana will receive a cash prize and present a public lecture on his research at an award ceremony to be held this summer at the National Institutes of Health. ### About the New York Genome Center The New York Genome Center is an independent, nonprofit academic research institution at the forefront of transforming biomedical research with the mission of advancing clinical care. A collaboration of premier academic, medical and industry leaders across the globe, the New York Genome Center has as its goal translating genomic research into the development of new treatments, therapies and therapeutics against human disease. NYGC member organizations and partners are united in this unprecedented collaboration of technology, science and medicine, designed to harness the power of innovation and discoveries to advance genomic services. Their shared objective is the acceleration of medical genomics and precision medicine to benefit patients around the world. For more information, visit our website at http://www.nygenome.org. Member institutions include: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, American Museum of Natural History, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Columbia University, Hospital for Special Surgery, The Jackson Laboratory, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, The New York Stem Cell Foundation, New York University, Northwell Health, Princeton University, The Rockefeller University, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Stony Brook University, Weill Cornell Medicine and IBM. Media Contact: Karen Zipern, Director, Communications, NYGC kzipern@nygenome.org o: 646-977-7065 c: 917-415-8134 Swansea University Egyptology lecturer Dr Ken Griffin has found a depiction of one of the most famous pharaoh's in history Hatshepsut (one of only a handful of female pharaohs) on an object in the Egypt Centre stores, which had been chosen for an object handling session. The opportunity to handle genuine Egyptian artefacts is provided by the Egypt Centre to students studying Egyptology at Swansea University. During a recent handling session for an Egyptian Art and Architecture module Dr Kenneth Griffin, from the University's Department of Classics, Ancient History and Egyptology, noticed that one of the objects chosen was much more interesting than initially thought. Consisting of two irregularly shaped limestone fragments that have been glued together, the object had been kept in storage for over twenty years and was requested for the handling session based only on an old black and white photograph. The front side depicts the head of a figure whose face is unfortunately missing, with the remains of a fan directly behind. Traces of hieroglyphs are also present above the head. The iconography of the piece indicates that it represents a ruler of Egypt, particularly with the presence of the uraeus (cobra) on the forehead of the figure. Who is this mysterious pharaoh and where did the fragment originate from? A search of the Egypt Centre records provides no information on the original provenance or find spot of the object. What is known is that it came to Swansea in 1971 as part of the distribution of objects belonging to Sir Henry Wellcome (1853-1936), the pharmaceutical entrepreneur based in London. The fragments are less than 5cm thick and had clearly been removed from the wall of a temple or tomb, as can be seen from the cut marks on the back. Having visited Egypt on over fifty occasions, Dr Griffin quickly recognised the iconography as being similar to reliefs within the temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri (Luxor), which was constructed during the height of the New Kingdom. In particular, the treatment of the hair, the fillet headband with twisted uraeus, and the decoration of the fan are all well-known at Deir el-Bahri. Most importantly, the hieroglyphs above the head--part of a formulaic text attested elsewhere at the temple--use a feminine pronoun, a clear indication that the figure is female. Hatshepsut was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty (c.1478-1458 BC) and one of only a handful of women to have held this position. Early in her reign she was represented as a female wearing a long dress, but she gradually took on more masculine traits, including being depicted with a beard. The reign of Hatshepsut was one of peace and prosperity, which allowed her to construct monuments throughout Egypt. Her memorial temple at Deir el-Bahri, built to celebrate and maintain her cult, is a masterpiece of Egyptian architecture. Many fragments were taken from this site during the late nineteenth century, before the temple was excavated by the Egypt Exploration Fund (now Egypt Exploration Society) between 1902-1909. Since 1961 the Polish Archaeological Mission to Egypt has been excavating, restoring, and recording the temple. Yet the mystery of the precious find doesn't end there. On the rear of the upper fragment, the head of a man with a short beard is depicted. Initially there was no explanation for this, but it is now clear that the upper fragment had been removed and recarved in more recent times in order to complete the face of the lower fragment. The replacement of the fragment below the figure would also explain the unusual cut of the upper fragment. This was probably done by an antiques dealer, auctioneer, or even the previous owner of the piece in order to increase its value and attractiveness. It was eventually decided at an unknown date to glue the fragments together in the original layout, which is how they now appear. While Deir el-Bahri seems the most likely provenance for this artefact, further research is needed in order to confirm this and it may even be possible to one day determine the exact spot the fragments originated from. Given the importance of the object, the head of Hatshepsut has now been placed on display in a prominent position within the House of Life at the Egypt Centre so that the relief can be appreciated by visitors to the Centre. Dr Griffin said: "The Egypt Centre is a wonderful resource and is certainly one of the major factors in attracting students to study Egyptology at Swansea University". "The identification of the object as depicting Hatshepsut caused great excitement amongst the students. After all, it was only through conducting handling sessions for them that this discovery came to light". "While most of the students have never visited Egypt before, the handling sessions help to bring Egypt to them". ### Quotes from 2nd year Egyptology undergraduate students: Aimee Vickery said: "I have lived in Swansea all of my life and have visited (and continue to visit) the Egypt Centre on a regular basis. It is this interaction with ancient Egyptian objects that led to my passion to study Egyptology at Swansea University. As part of my course, I participate in handling sessions with other classmates. These sessions provide in-depth detail about the objects at the Egypt Centre, and a chance to hold and observe the objects in a new light. I was a part of the handling session that took place when the discovery was made about the Hatshepsut fragment, and I am so pleased about the development! I am so lucky to have been a part of this wonderful discovery, and without the opportunity to handle the objects at the Egypt Centre, is it unlikely that the discovery would have been made." Jamie Burns said: "As an Egyptology student, this discovery is of remarkable significance to me. I have been enamoured with Egypt since I was extremely young and to be involved with identifying this fragment as Hatshepsut is extremely exciting. It truly feels like I am part of writing history. The Egypt Centre, where this artefact resides, is a great boon to prospect Egyptologists such as myself. This in particular is why I chose to study at Swansea, as having a location with an array of artefacts on display is a unique opportunity. In addition, it is thanks to the handling sessions ran by Dr Griffin that we are able to touch and feel history as opposed to simply studying it, this adds an unparalleled amount of depth to my studies. This discovery is something I will look back on when I am older and consider it as one of the most important moments in my study." Catherine Bishop said: "Being from Swansea, I have always been able to visit the Egypt Centre, giving extra opportunities throughout my childhood. I was able to study there during my A-Levels, analysing some of the objects, which sparked my interest in Egyptology, which I am currently studying. The handling sessions held by the department have been very insightful and it's an opportunity for hands on contact which very few universities offer, especially to the extent to which the Egypt Centre provides. The discovery of the Hatshepsut fragment has been a highlight of the course, in particular, being able to see how research develops from an original theory, all the way through to an insightful discovery!" Picture 1: Swansea University Egyptology lecturer Dr Ken Griffin with the newly discovered artefact. Picture 2: The front of the artefact. Picture 3: The rear of the artefact. Picture 4: Realigned artefact to show how the face could be completed. Notes For more information about the courses offered by the Department of Classics, Ancient History and Egyptology within the College of Arts and Humanities go to http://www.swansea.ac.uk/classics/ For more information about the Egypt Centre and its opening hours go to http://www.egypt.swan.ac.uk/ Biodiversity -- the essential variety of life forms on Earth -- continues to decline in every region of the world, significantly reducing nature's capacity to contribute to people's well-being. This alarming trend endangers economies, livelihoods, food security and the quality of life of people everywhere, according to four landmark science reports released today, written by more than 550 leading experts, from over 100 countries. The result of three years of work, the four regional assessments of biodiversity and ecosystem services cover the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Africa, as well as Europe and Central Asia -- the entire planet except the poles and the open oceans. The assessment reports were approved by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), in Medellin, Colombia, at the 6th session of its Plenary. IPBES has 129 State Members. "Biodiversity and nature's contributions to people sound, to many people, academic and far removed from our daily lives," said the Chair of IPBES, Sir Robert Watson, "Nothing could be further from the truth -- they are the bedrock of our food, clean water and energy. They are at the heart not only of our survival, but of our cultures, identities and enjoyment of life. The best available evidence, gathered by the world's leading experts, points us now to a single conclusion: we must act to halt and reverse the unsustainable use of nature -- or risk not only the future we want, but even the lives we currently lead. Fortunately, the evidence also shows that we know how to protect and partially restore our vital natural assets." The extensively peer-reviewed IPBES assessment reports focus on providing answers to key questions for each of the four regions, including: why is biodiversity important, where are we making progress, what are the main threats and opportunities for biodiversity and how can we adjust our policies and institutions for a more sustainable future? In every region, with the exception of a number of positive examples where lessons can be learned, biodiversity and nature's capacity to contribute to people are being degraded, reduced and lost due to a number of common pressures -- habitat stress; overexploitation and unsustainable use of natural resources; air, land and water pollution; increasing numbers and impact of invasive alien species and climate change, among others. Declining Biodiversity -- Now and in the Future The Americas "In the Americas, rich biodiversity makes an immense contribution to the quality of life, helping to reduce poverty while strengthening economies and livelihoods," said Dr. Jake Rice (Canada), co-chair of the Americas assessment with Dr. Cristiana Simao Seixas (Brazil) and Prof. Maria Elena Zaccagnini (Argentina). "The economic value of the Americas' land-based nature's contributions to people is estimated to be more than US$24 trillion per year -- equivalent to the region's GDP, yet almost two-thirds -- 65% -- of these contributions are in decline, with 21% declining strongly. Human-induced climate change, which affects temperature, precipitation and the nature of extreme events, is increasingly driving biodiversity loss and the reduction of nature's contributions to people, worsening the impact of habitat degradation, pollution, invasive species and the overexploitation of natural resources." According to the report, under a 'business as usual' scenario, climate change will be the fastest growing driver negatively impacting biodiversity by 2050 in the Americas, becoming comparable to the pressures imposed by land use change. On average today, the populations of species in an area are about 31% smaller than was the case at the time of European settlement. With the growing effects of climate change added to the other drivers, this loss is projected to reach 40% by 2050. The report highlights the fact that indigenous people and local communities have created a diversity of polyculture and agroforestry systems, which have increased biodiversity and shaped landscapes. However, the decoupling of lifestyles from the local environment has eroded, for many, their sense of place, language and indigenous local knowledge. More than 60% of the languages in the Americas, and the cultures associated with them, are troubled or dying out. Africa "Africa's immense natural resources and its diverse cultural heritage are among its most important strategic assets for both human development and well-being," said Dr. Emma Archer (South Africa), co-chair of the African assessment with Dr. Kalemani Jo Mulongoy (DRC) and Dr. Luthando Dziba (South Africa). "Africa is the last place on Earth with a wide range of large mammals, yet today there are more African plants, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and large mammals threatened than ever before by a range of both human-induced and natural causes." "Africa is extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and this is going to have severe consequences for economically marginalized populations. By 2100, climate change could also result in the loss of more than half of African bird and mammal species, a 20-30% decline in the productivity of Africa's lakes and significant loss of African plant species." The report adds that approximately 6.6 million square kilometres of African land is already estimated to have been degraded by overexploitation of natural resources, erosion, salinization and pollution, resulting in significant loss of nature's contributions to people. Even greater pressure will be placed on the continent's biodiversity as the current African population of 1.25 billion people is set to double to 2.5 billion by 2050. Marine and coastal environments make significant economic, social and cultural contributions to the people of Africa. Damage to coral reef systems, mostly due to pollution and climate change, has far-reaching implications for fisheries, food security, tourism and overall marine biodiversity. Asia-Pacific "Biodiversity and ecosystem services contributed to rapid average annual economic growth of 7.6% from 1990 to 2010 in the Asia-Pacific region, benefitting its more than 4.5 billion people. This growth, in turn, has had varying impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services," said Dr. Madhav Karki (Nepal), co-chair of the Asia-Pacific assessment with Dr. Sonali Senaratna Sellamuttu (Sri Lanka). "The region's biodiversity faces unprecedented threats, from extreme weather events and sea level rise, to invasive alien species, agricultural intensification and increasing waste and pollution." The report says that although there has been an overall decline in biodiversity, there have also been some important biodiversity successes including, for example, increases in protected areas. Over the past 25 years, marine protected areas in the region increased by almost 14% and terrestrial protected area increased by 0.3%. Forest cover increased by 2.5%, with the highest increases in North East Asia (22.9%) and by South Asia (5.8%). There are concerns, however, that these efforts are insufficient to halt the loss of biodiversity and the decline in the value of natures contributions to people in the region. Unsustainable aquaculture practices, overfishing and destructive harvesting, threaten coastal and marine ecosystems, with projections that, if unsustainable fishing practices continue, there could be no exploitable fish stocks left in the region by as early as 2048. Intertidal zones are also rapidly deteriorating due to human activities, with coral reefs of critical ecological, cultural and economic importance, already under serious threat, and some reefs having already been lost, especially in South and South-East Asia. According to the report, up to 90% of corals will suffer severe degradation by 2050, even under conservative climate change scenarios. The report emphasizes that climate change and associated extreme events pose great threats, especially to coastal ecosystems, low-lying coastal areas and islands. Climate change is also impacting species distributions, population sizes, and the timing of reproduction and migration. Increased frequencies of pest and disease outbreaks resulting from these changes may have additional negative effects on agricultural production and human well-being, with impacts projected to worsen. Forests, alpine ecosystems, inland freshwater and wetlands, as well as coastal systems are identified as the most threatened Asia-Pacific ecosystems. The increasing variety and abundance of invasive alien species is highlighted as one of the region's most serious drivers of ecosystem change and biodiversity loss. Europe and Central Asia A major trend is the increasing intensity of conventional agriculture and forestry, which leads to biodiversity decline. There are also examples of sustainable agricultural and forestry practices that are beneficial to biodiversity and nature's contributions to people in the region. Nature's material contributions to people, such as food and energy, have been promoted at the expense of both regulating contributions, such as pollination and soil formation, and non-material contributions, such as cultural experiences or opportunities to develop a sense of place. "The people of the region consume more renewable natural resources than the region produces," said Prof. Markus Fischer (Switzerland), co-chair of the Europe and Central Asia assessment with Prof. Mark Rounsevell (UK), "Although this is somewhat off-set by higher biocapacities in Eastern Europe and northern parts of Western and Central Europe." In the European Union, among assessments of the conservation status of species and habitat types of conservation interest, only 7% of marine species and 9% of marine habitat types show a 'favourable conservation status'. Moreover 27% of species assessments and 66% of habitat types assessments show an 'unfavourable conservation status', with the others categorised as 'unknown'. The authors find that further economic growth can facilitate sustainable development only if it is decoupled from the degradation of biodiversity and nature's capacity to contribute to people. Such decoupling, however, has not yet happened, and would require far-reaching change in policies and tax reforms at the global and national levels. Abandonment of traditional land-use systems, and loss of associated indigenous and local knowledge and practices, has been widespread in Europe and Central Asia, the report finds. Production-based subsidies driving growth in agricultural, forestry and natural resource extraction sectors tend to exacerbate conflicting land-use issues, often impinging on available territory for traditional users. Maintenance of traditional land use and lifestyles in Europe and Central Asia is strongly related to institutional adequacy and economic viability. Global Development Goals in Jeopardy "One of the most important findings across the four IPBES regional assessments is that failure to prioritize policies and actions to stop and reverse biodiversity loss, and the continued degradation of nature's contributions to people, seriously jeopardises the chances of any region, and almost every country, meeting their global development targets," said Dr. Anne Larigauderie, the Executive Secretary of IPBES. "Achievement of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and the Paris Agreement on climate change, all depend on the health and vitality of our natural environment in all its diversity and complexity. Acting to protect and promote biodiversity is at least as important to achieving these commitments and to human wellbeing as is the fight against global climate change". "Richer, more diverse ecosystems are better able to cope with disturbances - such as extreme events and the emergence of diseases. They are our 'insurance policy' against unforeseen disasters and, used sustainably, they also offer many of the best solutions to our most pressing challenges." The assessment of the Americas concludes that continued biodiversity loss could undermine the achievement of some of the SDGs as well as some of the international climate-related goals, targets and aspirations. All the plausible future scenarios explored in the Africa assessment highlight that the drivers of biodiversity loss will increase, with associated negative impacts on nature's contributions to people and human well-being. Achieving the African Union's Agenda 2063, the SDGs and the Aichi Targets is unlikely in three out of five scenarios explored. The experts of the Asia-Pacific assessment point to the value of ecosystem based approaches and identify, among others, lack of solid waste management, as well as air, water and land pollution as factors undermining gains in a number of the Aichi Targets and SDGs for many countries (e.g. extinction of plant and animal species due to deforestation, rising temperature and water pollution). There has been some progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets in Europe and Central Asia, e.g. in terms of the area under protection or in mainstreaming biodiversity across government and society. However, the pressures on biodiversity from direct drivers of change are unlikely to be reduced and so progress has been negative for indigenous and local knowledge, the equitable distribution of nature's contributions and water security. Looking beyond the 2030 timescale of the SDGs, scenario analysis highlights that continuation of past and current trends in drivers of change will inhibit the contribution of the region to the widespread achievement of the SDGs, while scenarios which focus on achieving a balanced supply of nature's contributions to people and incorporate a diversity of values are more likely to contribute to achieving the majority of the SDGs. Promising Policy Options Available Accompanying the stark concerns of the IPBES experts, however, are messages of hope: promising policy options do exist and have been found to work in protecting and restoring biodiversity and nature's contributions to people, where they have been effectively applied. In the Americas, protection of key biodiversity areas increased 17% between 1970 and 2010, yet fewer than 20% of key biodiversity areas are protected and coverage varies significantly. The report makes it clear that protected areas and restoration projects are only some of the possible interventions -- with a need to also focus on strategies to make human-dominated landscapes more supportive of biodiversity and nature's contributions to people. It also makes the point that biodiversity and nature's contributions to people are better protected when integrated into a broad array of economic and sectoral policies, such as payment for ecosystem services and voluntary eco-certification. Appropriate combinations of, for example, behavioural change, improved technology, research, adequate levels of finance, improved education and public awareness programs are among other options. Measures taken by African Governments to protect biodiversity and nature's contributions to people, have contributed to some recovery of threatened species, especially in key biodiversity areas, and these efforts could be enhanced. Such measures include the establishment and effective management of protected areas and networks of wildlife corridors; restoration of degraded ecosystems; control of invasive alien species and reintroduction of wild animals. Despite the African Union's priorities of poverty alleviation, inclusive growth and sustainable development, especially in the context of global climate change, the report finds that the continent is greatly undervaluing its natural resources. In addition to enhancing biodiversity conservation through appropriate governance, policies and national implementation, the authors emphasize the need for better integration of indigenous and local knowledge and greater use of scenarios in African decision-making. Of the five possible scenarios they explore, two (regional sustainability and local sustainability) are identified as the most likely paths to meet Africa's economic, social and environmental development aspirations, but the authors point to the need for capacity building on the use of scenarios in decision-making. For Asia and the Pacific, the IPBES experts point to the success of countries that achieved rapid economic growth in gradually restoring and expanding protected areas - especially forests. They emphasize that, while assisting these countries in their efforts to meet some of the SDGs and Aichi Targets, this alone will not be sufficient to reduce biodiversity loss caused by the negative impacts of monoculture. For instance, the region registered a growth of 0.3% in terrestrial protected areas and 13.8% in marine protected areas - putting many countries on track to meet Aichi Target 11 - but most of the important bird areas and key biodiversity areas remain unprotected." Better application of science and technology, empowerment of local communities in decision making, integrating biodiversity conservation into other key sectors, scenario planning that is sensitive to economic and cultural diversity, private sector partnerships in financing biodiversity protection, as well as better cross-border regional collaboration, are some of the many important approaches the report identifies. A range of governance options, policies and management practices is available in Europe and Central Asia to safeguard biodiversity and ensure nature's contributions to people. Some progress has already been made in mainstreaming biodiversity and nature's contributions to people into public and private decision-making. The assessment report highlights integrated approaches. These include measuring national welfare beyond GDP. Governance could become more effective by using well-designed mixes of policy instruments to motivate changes in behaviour to support sustainable development. The authors also emphasize the relevance of reconciling biodiversity conservation and human rights standards through rights-based instruments, as well as capacity building for indigenous peoples and local communities. Sufficient funding is also needed to support research, monitoring, education and training. Speaking about the policy options emerging from the four regional assessments, Watson said: "Although there are no 'silver bullets' or 'one-size-fits all' answers, the best options in all four regional assessments are found in better governance, integrating biodiversity concerns into sectoral policies and practices (e.g. agriculture and energy), the application of scientific knowledge and technology, increased awareness and behavioural changes." "It is also clear that indigenous and local knowledge can be an invaluable asset, and biodiversity issues need to receive much higher priority in policy making and development planning at every level. Cross-border collaboration is also essential, given that biodiversity challenges recognize no national boundaries." By the numbers The Americas Trends / data 13%: the Americas' share of world's human population 40%: share of world ecosystems' capacity to produce nature-based materials consumed by people, and to assimilate by-products from their consumption 65%: the proportion of nature's contributions to people, across all units of analysis, in decline (with 21% declining strongly) >50%: share of the Americas' population with a water security problem 61%: languages and associated cultures, in trouble or dying out >95%: North American tall grass prairie grasslands transformed into human-dominated landscapes since pre-European settlement 72% and 66% respectively: of tropical dry forest in Mesoamerica and the Caribbean have been transformed into human-dominated landscapes since pre-European settlement 88%: Atlantic tropical forest transformed into human-dominated landscapes since pre-European settlement 17%: Amazon forest transformed into human-dominated landscapes since pre-European settlement 50%: decrease in renewable freshwater available per person since the 1960s 200-300%: Increase in humanity's ecological footprint in each subregion of the Americas since the 1960s 9.5% and 25%: Forest areas lost in South America and Mesoamerica respectively since the 1960s 0.4% and 43.4%: net gains in forest areas in North America and the Caribbean respectively since the 1960s 1.5 million: approximate number of Great Plains grassland hectares loss from 2014 to 2015 2.5 million: hectares under cultivation in Brazil's northeast agricultural frontier in 2013, up from 1.2 million ha in 2003, with 74% of these new croplands taken from intact cerrado (tropical savanna) in that region 15-60%: North American drylands habitat lost between 2000 and 2009 >50%: US wetlands lost since European settlement (up to 90% lost in agricultural regions) >50%: decline in coral reef cover by the 1970s; only 10% remained by 2003 Economic value of nature's contributions to people $24.3 trillion: estimated value per year of terrestrial nature's contributions to people in the Americas (equivalent to the region's gross domestic product) $6.8, $5.3 and $3.6 trillion per year: nature's contributions to people valued as ecosystem services in Brazil, USA and Canada respectively >$500 million: annual cost of managing the impacts of invasive alien zebra mussels on infrastructure for power, water supply and transportation in the Great Lakes Projections 20%: expected regional population increase (to 1.2 billion) by 2050 +/-100%: expected growth in region's GDP by 2050, intensifying many drivers of biodiversity loss if 'business as usual' continues 40%: expected loss by 2050 of the region's original biodiversity under a 'business as usual' scenario for climate change (with loss of 35-36% expected under the three "pathways to sustainability") By the numbers Africa Trends / data +/- 6.6 million: km2 of land is degraded due to factors such as deforestation, unsustainable agriculture, overgrazing, uncontrolled mining activities, invasive alien species and climate change, leading to soil erosion, salinization, pollution, and loss of vegetation or soil fertility +/- 62%: rural population directly dependent on wild nature and its services for survival (the most of any continent) +/- 2 million: km2 of land designated as protected (including 6% of biodiversity-rich tropical evergreen broadleaf forests and 2.5% of Africa's seas 25%: people having faced hunger and malnutrition (2011-2013) in Sub-Saharan Africa, the world's most food-deficient region Economic values of nature's contributions to people West Africa $4 billion: coastal fishery value added (per year) $40,000: water purification services (per km2, per year) $4,500: mangrove coastal protection services (per km2, per year) $2,800: coastal carbon sequestration services (average per km2, per year) Central Africa $2 billion: coastal fishery value added (per year) $0.8 billion: inland fishery value added (per year) $14,000: forest carbon sequestration services (average per km2, per year) $3,500: mangrove coastal protection services (per km2, per year) $3,000: timber value added (per km2, per year) Southern Africa $0.5 billion: coastal fishery value added (per year) $0.3 billion: inland fishery value added (per year) $9,000: recreation value (per km2, per year) North Africa $0.6 billion: inland fishery value added (per year) $0.5 billion: coastal fishery value added (per year) $300: coastal carbon sequestration services (average per km2, per year) $2,000: timber production (per km2, per year) East Africa and adjacent islands $2.5 billion: coastal fishery value added (per year) $1.2 billion: inland fishery value added (per year) $16,000: food production (per km2, per year) $12,000: forest carbon sequestration services (average per km2, per year) $11,000: erosion control (average per km2, per year) $7,800: forest bioprospecting (per km2, per year) $5,000: mangrove coastal protection services (per km2, per year) $2,200: coastal carbon sequestration services (average per km2, per year) Projections >50% of African bird and mammal species could be lost to climate change by 2100 20 - 30%: expected decline in productivity of lakes by 2100 2.5 billion: predicted population of Africa in 2050 (double the current figure) 54%: Africans expected to live in urban and peri-urban areas by 2030 (up from 39% in 2003) By the numbers Asia-Pacific Trends / data Zero: exploitable fish stocks left in the region by as early as 2048 if unsustainable fishing practices continue Up to 90%: percentage of corals expected to suffer severe degradation by 2050, even under conservative climate change scenarios 1%-2%: annual estimated coral loss even for the most managed reefs 4.5 billion: people that benefit from the region's biodiversity and ecosystem services, including food, water, energy, and health security, as well as cultural and spiritual fulfilment 400 million: region's share of people below the poverty line (out of 767 million worldwide) -- defined as $1.90 per person per day, using 2011 purchasing power parity 7.6%: regions' average annual economic growth (1990-2010) compared to 3.4% global average 2-3%: region's annual urbanization rate (among the fastest in the world) Nearly 200 million: people in the region that directly depend on the forest for their non-timber forest products, medicine, food, fuel as well as other subsistence needs $33.5 billion: estimated annual economic loss due to invasive alien species in South-East Asia 12.9%: reduction in forest cover in South-East Asia due largely to an increase in timber extraction, large-scale bio-fuel plantations and the expansion of intensive agriculture and shrimp farms (1990 to 2015) 22.9% and 5.8%: respective increase in forest cover in North-East Asia and South Asia (1990 to 2015), through policies and instruments such as joint participatory management, payment for ecosystem services and the restoration of degraded forests 37%: share of aquatic and semi-aquatic species in the region's freshwater ecosystems threatened by, among others, climate change, overfishing, pollution, infrastructure development and invasive alien species 60%: grasslands degraded due to overgrazing by livestock, invasion by alien species, or conversion to agriculture, resulting in a rapid decline of native flora and fauna 8 out of 10: top most plastic-polluted rivers in the world are in Asia - accounting for up to 95% of global load of plastics in the oceans Nearly 25%: proportion of region's endemic species that are threatened Projections 24% and 29%: mammal and bird species likely to go extinct in lowland forests of Sundaland in South-East Asia in coming decades if forest loss continues at the present rate +/-45%: anticipated loss of habitats and species by 2050 if business continues as usual By the numbers Europe and Central Asia Trends / data >50%: share of nature's regulating and some non-material contributions to people that declined from 1960 to 2016 42%: terrestrial animal and plant species with known trends that have declined in population size the last decade 5.1 hectares: per capita ecological footprint in Western Europe (subregion's biocapacity: 2.2 hectares, meaning Western Europeans depend on net imports of renewable natural resources and material contributions of nature to people) 3.6 hectares: per capita ecological footprint in Central Europe (biocapacity: 2.1 hectares) 4.8 hectares: per capita ecological footprint in Eastern Europe (biocapacity: 5.3 hectares) 3.4 hectares: per capita ecological footprint in Central Asia (biocapacity: 1.7 hectares) 15%: per capita decrease in water availability (since 1990) 25%: agricultural land in the EU affected by soil erosion (23% in Central Asia), which, combined with a decline in soil organic matter, might compromise food production 20%: increase in erosion control on arable land in Western and Central Europe 7%: of the assessments of EU marine species of conservation interest have shown favourable conservation status; 27% have shown unfavourable conservation status 9%: of the assessment of EU marine habitats of conservation interest have shown favourable conservation status; 66% have shown unfavourable conservation status 26.6%: estimated proportion of marine fish species (for which trend data exist) that have declining populations, due to unsustainable fishing, habitat degradation, invasive alien species, eutrophication and climate change 1.6%: estimated proportion of marine fish species (for which trend data exist) with increasing populations, due to improved conditions including better fishing management and decreased eutrophication 20%: diversity of arable crop species that have declined since 1950 in Western and Central Europe 73%: percentage of assessments of EU freshwater habitats of conservation interest indicating unfavourable conservation status 50%: extent of decline of wetlands in Western, Central and Eastern Europe since 1970 45-70%: threatened species of gastropods (bivalves 20 - 26% and dragonflies, 15 - 19%) in Western and Central Europe, and western parts of Eastern Europe 60%: amphibian populations in decline in past decade 37%: freshwater fish species threatened with extinction (amphibians: 23%) in Western and Central Europe and western parts of Eastern Europe Economic value of nature's contributions to people $765 / hectare / year: estimated median value (mid-range) of value (2017) of nature's habitat maintenance in the region $1,965: estimated median value (mid-range) of the economic value per hectare per year of nature's regulation of freshwater and coastal water quality (2017) $1,117: estimated median value (mid-range) of the economic value per hectare per year of nature's non-material contributions to people, including physical and psychological experiences linked to tourism and recreation (2017) $464 estimated median value (mid-range) of the economic value per hectare per year of nature's regulation of climate ### UN Partner Comments about the IPBES Regional Assessments "The Sustainable Development Goals aim to "leave no one behind". If we don't protect and value biodiversity, we will never achieve this goal. When we erode biodiversity, we impact food, water, forests and livelihoods. But to tackle any challenge head on, we need to get the science right and this is why UN Environment is proud to support this series of assessments. Investing in the science of biodiversity and indigenous knowledge, means investing in people and the future we want." - Erik Solheim, Executive Director of UN Environment "Biodiversity is the living fabric of our planet - the source of our present and our future. It is essential to helping us all adapt to the changes we face over the coming years. UNESCO, both as a UN partner of IPBES and as the host of the IPBES Technical Support Unit on Indigenous and Local Knowledge, has always been committed to supporting harmony between people and nature through its programmes and networks. These four regional reports are critical to understanding the role of human activities in biodiversity loss and its conservation, and our capacity to collectively implementing solutions to address the challenges ahead." - Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO "The regional assessments demonstrate once again that biodiversity is among the earth's most important resources. Biodiversity is also key to food security and nutrition. The maintenance of biological diversity is important for food production and for the conservation of the ecological foundations on which rural livelihoods depend. Biodiversity is under serious threat in many regions of the world and it is time for policy-makers to take action at national, regional and global levels." - Jose Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations "Tools like these four regional assessments provide scientific evidence for better decision making and a path we can take forward to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and harness nature's power for our collective sustainable future. The world has lost over 130 million hectares of rainforests since 1990 and we lose dozens of species every day, pushing the Earth's ecological system to its limit. Biodiversity and the ecosystem services it supports are not only the foundation for our life on Earth, but critical to the livelihoods and well-being of people everywhere." - Achim Steiner, Administrator of UNDP Note to Editors: For enquiries and interviews please contact: The IPBES Media Team media@ipbes.net +57-310-626-6641 or +1-416-878-8712 http://www.ipbes.net For photos, 'B-roll' and other media resources go to: https://goo.gl/oJ4DRq Three years in development, at a total cost of about US$5 million, the IPBES Regional Assessment Reports on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services involved the review of several thousand scientific papers, as well as extensive Government and other information sources, including indigenous and local knowledge, to arrive at conclusions about each region's land-based, freshwater and coastal biodiversity, as well as the state of ecosystem functioning and nature's contributions to people. Together they represent the most important expert contribution of the past decade to understanding of nature and its contributions to people, offering a roadmap for future action. IPBES has today released the Summary for Policymakers (SPM) of each of the four reports. The SPMs present the key messages and policy options from each assessment, as approved by the IPBES Plenary. To access the SPMs go to https://goo.gl/oJ4DRq The complete reports (inclusive of all data) will be published later this year. Note: A 5th new IPBES assessment report, on global land degradation and restoration, will be launched on Monday, 26 March 2018, at 08:30 Colombia Time / 09:30 US EDT / 13:30 GMT / 14:30 British Summer Time / 15:30 Central European Summer Time. To access the live webcast of this launch go to https://www.ipbes.net/webcast-media-launch-land-degradation About IPBES: Often described as the "IPCC for biodiversity" IPBES is an independent intergovernmental body comprising 129 member Governments. Established by Governments in 2012, it provides policymakers with objective scientific assessments about the state of knowledge regarding the planet's biodiversity, ecosystems and the contributions they make to people, as well as the tools and methods to protect and sustainably use these vital natural assets. For more information about IPBES and its assessments visit http://www.ipbes.net Follow Us: Twitter: @IPBES http://www.facebook.com/ipbes youtube.com/ipbeschannel http://www.linkedin.com/company/ipbes http://www.instagram.com/ipbes Students classed as less able are being hindered by being grouped into ability-based sets, according to new research published today in the Cambridge Journal of Education. Teachers' expectations of pupils in lower sets, which are based on their prior academic record and closely tied to the belief that their behaviour will be more challenging, could instil a damaging 'culture of dependency' on teachers among these groups. Researchers used questionnaire data generated from almost 600 Maths and English teachers based in 82 UK secondary schools, alongside interviews with teachers, to understand how grouping students into sets influenced the independence of lower attaining students. They found that 70% of studied teachers modified their teaching methods to match students' prior attainment. Students in lower sets typically faced a reduced curriculum based on more structural, repetitive tasks, and more one-to-one time with teachers. Teachers of these pupils were often reluctant to risk overstretching them by teaching overly complex content. As lead author of the article, Dr Anna Mazenod from the UCL Institute of Education in the UK, explains: "Our findings suggest that secondary school students in the so-called bottom sets may be unintentionally encouraged to remain more dependent on their teachers in comparison with their peers in higher sets. "Teachers tend to perceive bottom-set students as more 'dependent learners', and may not build in scope to allow for students to develop their independent learning skills. This can hinder students in making the most of learning opportunities in their ongoing education, as independence is a key component of successful learning. "From a social justice perspective, our findings raise the concern that such approaches could impede an independent learner identity being a goal for all students." As many of the studied teachers recognized, labelling certain students as lower attaining and placing them in numbered sets could also harm their self-confidence, and restrict their learning opportunities. One teacher claimed, 'if you get put in a Set 6 class, you get treated like a Set 6 pupil'. "Teachers have to strike a careful balance between directing students in their learning and enabling students to become independent learners," added Mazenod. "We suggest that schools that adopt attainment grouping carefully consider whether equality of opportunity and high expectations are being adequately targeted at their lower set pupils, and whether their grouping could be improved to better support attainment and engagement for all." ### About Taylor & Francis Group Taylor & Francis Group partners with researchers, scholarly societies, universities and libraries worldwide to bring knowledge to life. As one of the world's leading publishers of scholarly journals, books, ebooks and reference works our content spans all areas of Humanities, Social Sciences, Behavioural Sciences, Science, and Technology and Medicine. From our network of offices in Oxford, New York, Philadelphia, Boca Raton, Boston, Melbourne, Singapore, Beijing, Tokyo, Stockholm, New Delhi and Cape Town, Taylor & Francis staff provide local expertise and support to our editors, societies and authors and tailored, efficient customer service to our library colleagues. Although microorganisms are too tiny to be seen by the naked eye, they are distributed all over the world and even inside the human body. It has been largely unknown how microorganisms can survive in intricate environments, such as in the ground and inside of the body, despite the importance of such information. Takuji Ishikawa and Kenji Kikuchi from the Graduate School of Engineering at Tohoku University have discovered that microorganisms with hair like organelle called cilia, can avoid entrapment at a dead end, where cells would otherwise never return. By using experiments and numerical simulations, Ishikawa and Kikuchi have shown that microorganisms can ingeniously escape from a dead end by swimming. The ability to escape from a dead end can be found in many kinds of microorganisms with cilia. These results indicate that such a microorganism can find a way to survive even in intricate and challenging environments, where other creatures may become extinct, such as shallow water where a whale may become stuck. The results also pave the way to understanding the mechanism of the spread of infectious diseases. This research was published online in Proceedings of the Royal Society B on 28 February 2018. It was financially supported by JSPS KAKENHI. ### Researchers have developed a stretchable, flexible patch that could make it easier to perform ultrasound imaging on odd-shaped structures, such as engine parts, turbines, reactor pipe elbows and railroad tracks--objects that are difficult to examine using conventional ultrasound equipment. The ultrasound patch is a versatile and more convenient tool to inspect machine and building parts for defects and damage deep below the surface. A team of researchers led by engineers at the University of California San Diego published the study in the Mar. 23 issue of Science Advances. The new device overcomes a limitation of today's ultrasound devices, which are difficult to use on objects that don't have perfectly flat surfaces. Conventional ultrasound probes have flat and rigid bases, which can't maintain good contact when scanning across curved, wavy, angled and other irregular surfaces. That's a considerable limitation, said Sheng Xu, a professor of nanoengineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering and the study's corresponding author. "Nonplanar surfaces are prevalent in everyday life," he said. "Elbows, corners and other structural details happen to be the most critical areas in terms of failure--they are high stress areas," said Francesco Lanza di Scalea, a professor of structural engineering at UC San Diego and co-author of the study. "Conventional rigid, flat probes aren't ideal for imaging internal imperfections inside these areas." Gel, oil or water is typically used to create better contact between the probe and the surface of the object it's examining. But too much of these substances can filter some of the signals. Conventional ultrasound probes are also bulky, making them impractical for inspecting hard-to-access parts. "If a car engine has a crack in a hard-to-reach location, an inspector will need to take apart the entire engine and immerse the parts in water to get a full 3D image," Xu said. Now, a UC San Diego-led team has developed a soft ultrasound probe that can work on odd-shaped surfaces without water, gel or oil. The probe is a thin patch of silicone elastomer patterned with what's called an "island-bridge" structure. This is essentially an array of small electronic parts (islands) that are each connected by spring-like structures (bridges). The islands contain electrodes and devices called piezoelectric transducers, which produce ultrasound waves when electricity passes through them. The bridges are spring-shaped copper wires that can stretch and bend, allowing the patch to conform to nonplanar surfaces without compromising its electronic functions. Researchers tested the device on an aluminum block with a wavy surface. The block contained defects two to six centimeters beneath the surface. Researchers placed the probe at various spots on the wavy surface, collected data and then reconstructed the images using a customized data processing algorithm. The probe was able to image the 2-millimeter-wide holes and cracks inside the block. "It would be neat to be able to stick this ultrasound probe onto an engine, airplane wing or different parts of a bridge to continuously monitor for any cracks," said Hongjie Hu, a materials science and engineering Ph.D. student at UC San Diego and co-first author of the study. The device is still at the proof-of-concept stage. It does not yet provide real-time imaging. It also needs to be connected to a power source and a computer to process data. "In the future, we hope to integrate both power and a data processing function into the soft ultrasound probe to enable wireless, real-time imaging and videoing," Xu said. ### The team has filed a patent on this technology. Contact Victoria Cajipe in the campus Innovation and Commercialization Office at vcajipe@ucsd.edu or (858) 822-2304 for licensing information. Paper title: "Stretchable ultrasonic transducer arrays for three-dimensional imaging on complex surfaces." This work was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health (grant R21EB025521) and funding from Clinical and Translational Science Awards (UL1TR001442). Additional support was provided by the UC San Diego Center for Healthy Aging, a grant from the U.S. Federal Railroad Administration (FR-RRD-0027-11) and the National Science Foundation (CMMI-1362144). Thousands of older people in low and middle-income countries are at risk of abuse and human rights violations when being admitted to care homes, according to new research led by the University of East Anglia (UEA). The study provides the first systematic analysis of admissions practices for residential long-term care facilities, assessing the extent to which older people are involved in admission decisions and whether current practices respect fundamental human rights. The research, which focused on care homes in Argentina, reveals that a substantial proportion of those admitted do not have high levels of care dependency, raising questions about the grounds for admitting them. In some cases, this may be due to homelessness or the genuine unavailability of family members to provide low-level care. However, the authors found indications of coercive admission by family members, sometimes in order to obtain access to older people's homes and other property and finances. Care homes do not usually require or even seek the informed consent of older people, regardless of their cognitive status. The results also suggest that care home owners and staff sometimes collude with family members in inappropriately admitting residents. There are a growing number of care homes in Asia, Africa and Latin America, yet there is very little information about the appropriateness of procedures for admitting older people. Previous research has suggested that the industry is weakly regulated. As well as data from a government-commissioned national survey, this new research used care homes in the city of La Plata, 35 miles south of Buenos Aires, as a case study. A novel aspect was a patient survey led by local pensioners who went 'undercover' to find out about admissions practices. The study, published in The Gerontologist, involved researchers from UEA's Schools of International Development and Health Sciences, and the SIDOM Foundation in Argentina. Lead author Peter Lloyd-Sherlock, professor of social policy and international development at UEA, said that in light of their findings, changes to national legal provisions are now being considered by policy-makers. "Assessing the appropriateness of care home admissions is a complex challenge in all countries," said Prof Lloyd-Sherlock. "Regardless of the quality of care individuals receive once they have been admitted into a residential care home, inappropriate admission in some cases amounts to abuse, criminal behaviour and the infringement of fundamental human rights." Prof Lloyd-Sherlock and his co-authors, Bridget Penhale of UEA and Nelida Redondo at the SIDOM Foundation, are calling for comparative research to be conducted in other countries, in order to establish both the extent of abuses and raise awareness. "Our research indicates that this practice, which can entail elements of kidnap and false imprisonment, appears to be widespread in countries like Argentina," said Prof Lloyd-Sherlock. "To date, it has received scant recognition from policy-makers, human rights organizations or academics. "If the Argentine experience of admissions is representative of this region, hundreds of thousands of older people will be experiencing this form of abuse. There is an urgent need for researchers, policy-makers, and civil society to acknowledge the scale of abuse and develop safeguards." Commenting on the findings Bethany Brown, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, added: "Argentina is a party to the Inter American Convention on Protecting the Human Rights of Older Persons, which requires that states party to the Convention establish mechanisms to ensure that the initiation of long-term care services are subject to an indication by the older person of their free and express will." The authors point to a number of other factors that exacerbate older people's vulnerability to coercive care home admission, many of which are evident elsewhere in Latin America and beyond. They include a failure of state agencies to develop appropriate legal frameworks to safeguard rights, and their limited capacity to enforce whatever safeguards do exist. Increased economic opportunity gaps between older people and younger generations, minimal state support for family carers and an inheritance law that fails to protect the interests of surviving spouses also increase the risk of coercive admission. The case study in La Plata drew on interviews with hospital staff working in geriatric care, local government officials responsible for care services and representatives of local NGOs, as well as focus group discussions with pensioners in different neighbourhoods. It also involved pensioner-researchers calling and visiting care homes to ask staff questions, for example about the services offered, admissions procedures and requirements. They also carried out observational research regarding perceived quality of care. Interviews were conducted in 30 homes, which account for roughly half of those in La Plata. ### 'The Admission of Older People Into Residential Care Homes in Argentina: Coercion and Human Rights Abuse', Peter Lloyd-Sherlock, Bridget Penhale and Nelida Redondo, is published in The Gerontologist, 2018. German police have arrested the parents of a 17-year-old Libyan girl, after the young asylum-seeker was stabbed by her own brother in her bedroom, according to local media reports. German media said the teenage girls 21-year-old brother had attacked her with a knife because she wanted to be separated from a Syrian man whom she had married under Islamic law. The brother and the Syrian man are both under investigation for attempted murder over the attack on February 27, added the reports. Jan Holzner, spokesman for prosecutors, told Schwaebische Zeitung that investigators now believe that the parents too participated in the act and are accusing them of grievous bodily harm. Eight members of Telecom Italia's board of directors resigned on Thursday, triggering a re-election of the entire board as an activist investor fund has challenged the control over the company by France's Vivendi. Activist fund Elliott had called for the removal of six board members at a shareholders meeting next month, complaining about Vivendis management of Telecom Italia (TIM), which like many other former state monopoly operators has had trouble in the face of heightened competition and rapid technological change. But in a statement released on Thursday, Telecom Italia said that eight directors had announced their resignation, which it says under the companys bylaws means that the entire board must be re-elected. In resigning, the aforementioned directors have expressed their hope that this move would help to clarify and provide certainty to the governance of the company, said a company statement. A shareholders meeting was called for May 4 to elect the new board. Among those who quit was executive chairman Arnaud de Puyfontaine, who is also Vivendis CEO, and whom Elliot had sought to remove. As chairman of TIM, and in the interest of all shareholders, I want to remove the current uncertainty around the board which is a distraction from implementing the companys development strategy, de Puyfontaine said in a statement. He said the May 4 meeting will allow TIM shareholders to decide quickly on a new full board rather than voting on piecemeal changes to the Board as called for by Elliott. Sometimes called a vulture fund, Elliott has regularly invested in companies in difficulty or whose shares it considers undervalued, and often engages in showdowns with those companies management. Last week it called for a shake-up at the top to improve both governance and performance at TIM. Despite controlling only 24 percent of ordinary shares, Vivendi has managed to gain de facto control over the company through getting its people on TIMs board and senior management. Elliott believes that the company is managed in the interest of Vivendi and to the detriment of all other TIM shareholders, it wrote. It also highlighted the 35 percent drop in the value of the companys share price from when Vivendi nominees joined the board in December 2015 to the day before our interest in the company was made public. De Puyfontaine said Thursday that with the election of a new board each shareholder will have the opportunity to choose between an industrial plan able to create value in the long term, and a programme of short sighted financial engineering. A source close to Vivendis management told AFP the firm followed the path which seemed to respect real shareholder democracy. For the moment the French group remained silent about its intentions, but the vote will show the balance of forces among shareholders. Elliott will need to find allies to carry the day at the shareholding meeting as it holds a stake of around 5 percent in TIM. fcc/rl/pvh The United States on Thursday identified a Frenchman it says provided chemical weapons to the Islamic State group and whose name, previously unreported, came as a surprise to French experts. US officials described Joe Asperman as being born in the Cannes region of southern France between 1986 and 1988 and as a senior chemical weapons expert for the IS group in Syria. He has now been listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, placing him under US sanctions with notorious militants that Washington believes pose a threat outside their immediate battlefield. But they provided few details and French officials and experts alike said they had never heard the name of a suspect who does not appear to have attracted the attention of Paris authorities. Asperman oversaw chemical operations production within Syria for ISIS and the deployment of these chemical weapons at the battlefront, the US State Department said, announcing the designation. Along with Bashar al-Assads Damascus regime, the Islamic State group has also been accused of deploying chemical attacks in Syria, where it is one of the factions in the long-running civil war. Although hundreds of French fighters are known to have travelled to the Middle East to fight with jihadist groups and Cannes has been a French recruiting ground Aspermans name was not widely known. Several French experts, including Jean-Charles Brisard of the Center for the Analysis of Terrorism, confirmed to AFP the name had not previously been known as a suspect. And on Twitter, former French intelligence officer Claude Moniquet, now of the European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center, said it had never, until today, circulated publicly. Several other French suspects have been placed on the US global terrorist list, including bomb-maker Ahmad Alkhald, jihadist recruiter Omar Diaby and alleged IS executioner Maxime Hauchard. US citizens and residents are forbidden from doing business with SDGTs, and any assets they hold in areas under US jurisdiction are forfeit. The designation also serves as a warning to law enforcement worldwide to be on the look-out for the suspects, and is a sign that US intelligence deems the individual or group an important target. This designation seeks to deny Asperman the resources he needs to plan and carry out further terrorist attacks, the statement said. But US officials told AFP that they could reveal no more information about the mysterious Asperman, and it was not clear whether the designation would have any immediate impact on his operations. In addition to Asperman, the State Department also designated the Katibat al-Imam al-Bukhari, an armed group it describes as an Al Qaeda ally and the largest Uzbek fighting force in Syria. Privacy Settings This site uses functional cookies and external scripts to improve your experience. Which cookies and scripts are used and how they impact your visit is specified on the left. You may change your settings at any time. Your choices will not impact your visit. NOTE: These settings will only apply to the browser and device you are currently using. Portugal's government said Friday that a Portuguese citizen was one of the three people killed in a jihadist shooting spree in southwest France. The death of a Portuguese citizen has been confirmed by French authorities to our consular services, Miguel Silva, a spokesman for the department concerned with Portuguese living abroad, told AFP. He added that he was unable to give further details on the victim. Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa expressed his condolences to the family and friends of the victim in a statement published late Friday on the presidency website. French police Friday stormed a supermarket in the town of Trebes and shot dead a gunman after he had killed two people there and taken a policeman hostage. A third person had been killed in an earlier shooting in the medieval town of Carcassonne. The attack, by a man authorities say had claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group, came with France still on high alert following a string of jihadist assaults since 2015 that have claimed more than a total of 240 lives. A gunman claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group killed three people in a shooting spree and supermarket hostage siege in southwest France on Friday before anti-terror police shot him dead. Five people were also shot and wounded in Frances first major jihadist attack since October, including a heroic policeman who offered to take the place of hostages being held at the supermarket. Our country has suffered an Islamist terrorist attack, President Emmanuel Macron said in a televised address following the rampage in the medieval town of Carcassonne and nearby Trebes. The Islamic State group claimed the attack was in response to its call to target Western enemies as is customary when the assailant has pledged allegiance to the jihadists. The shootings come as France remains on high alert following a string of deadly attacks that have killed more than 240 people since 2015. Top anti-terror prosecutor Francois Molins named the gunman as Radouane Lakdim, a 25-year-old who had convictions for carrying a banned weapon and for drug use. He had been on a watchlist for his radicalisation and links to the Salafist movement, Molins told reporters in Carcassonne, adding that Lakdim had been tracked for his online contacts with extremists. Security sources said Lakdim was born in Taza in northern Morocco and held French nationality. His partner, who lived with him in Carcassonne, has been detained, Molins said. Lakdim started his rampage in Carcassonne at around 10:30 am (0930 GMT), hijacking a car and shooting the two people inside, Molins said. The passenger was killed, and the driver remains in a critical condition. Lakdim then shot and wounded a police officer who was out jogging with colleagues before driving nearby Trebes where he burst into the Super U supermarket. The attacker entered the store shouting Allahu Akbar (God is greatest) and saying he was a soldier of the Islamic State, ready to die for Syria, Molins said. He further demanded the release of his brothers from prison before shooting a supermarket customer and an employee dead. I was five metres away from him, the stores security guard said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He shot at me twice. Luckily for the security guard, he shot badly. Hero policeman wounded About 50 people were in the supermarket at the time, and though some people managed to escape, several remained inside. Senior officer Arnaud Beltrame, 45, offered to take their place while his colleagues negotiated with Lakdim, Molins said. When special forces heard shots they stormed the store, killing the gunman and recovering Beltrame, who had been seriously wounded. Macron led tributes to the police officer, who has been hailed as a hero. He saved lives and honoured his colleagues and his country, Macron said. He is currently fighting for his life and all our thoughts go out to him and his family, he added. A Portuguese national initially reported as dead due to communication errors was in fact seriously wounded and hospitalised in Carcassonne, the government in Lisbon said. Tough questions for government Trebes, a tranquil town of 5,000 people along the Canal du Midi, was on lockdown throughout Friday as helicopters swirled overhead and heavily armed and masked police carried out a massive operation in Lakdims neighbourhood. The fact that Lakdim had been monitored as a potential extremist will raise difficult questions for Macrons government as to how he slipped through the net. We had monitored him and did not think he had been radicalised, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said of Lakdim after flying to the scene. He was already under surveillance when he suddenly decided to act. In Paris, the Eiffel Tower dimmed its lights at midnight in a mark of respect for the victims and a minutes silence was held at the Stade de France before a football match between France and Colombia. Fridays violence took place in a part of France still scarred by a killing spree in 2012 in the city of Toulouse and nearby Montauban where another jihadist, Mohamed Merah, shot dead seven people including three Jewish schoolchildren. That assault marked the first of several big Islamist attacks in France since 2015, including the massacre at the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, the November 2015 attacks that killed 130 in Paris, and a summer 2016 truck attack during Bastille Day festivities in Nice. The most recent assault came in October when a Tunisian man stabbed to death two women at Marseilles railway station, shouting Allahu Akbar. A state of emergency put in place just after the 2015 Paris attacks was lifted last October when Macrons centrist government passed a new law boosting the powers of security forces. Soldiers continue to patrol major tourist sites around France and transport hubs under an anti-terror mission. We are in a small and calm town, but sadly the threat is everywhere, Collomb said. burs-kjl/js/mtp/jah The poisoning of a former Russian spy in Britain was an "attack on European sovereignty", French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday after EU leaders backed London's assessment that Moscow was to blame. Diplomatic pressure is building on Moscow over its role in the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury. The European Union is recalling its ambassador to Moscow for consultation and a number of member states are considering following Britains lead and expelling Russian intelligence agents posing as diplomats. Latvia has already said it will make expulsions, EU President Donald Tusk said more steps were expected as early as Monday and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said further coordinated actions were necessary to respond to the attack. We see this attack as a serious challenge to our security and as an attack on European sovereignty, Macron told a joint news conference with Merkel after a summit in Brussels. It calls for a coordinated, determined response from the European Union and its member states. May briefed other EU leaders on the probe into the Salisbury attack over a summit dinner on Thursday. She managed to overcome resistance from countries like Greece and Italy who were reluctant to put their close Kremlin ties in jeopardy to persuade them to back Britains conclusion that Moscow was to blame. Merlkel said May had shared certain findings which left little doubt Moscow was behind the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since World War 2. We believe that the analyses are already very well-founded and this has not been questioned by anyone, Merkel said. We agreed Germany and France at least that such reactions are still necessary in addition to recalling the ambassador. European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said the recall of the ambassador was an extraordinary measure never before taken by the bloc. But divisions remain over how far to go, with Austria already ruling out expelling diplomats. Tusk said it was not clear how many states would join the expulsions. More than one but I dont think that it will be the whole group, he said. European countries are set to take further steps as early as Monday to punish Russia over the poisoning of a former spy in England, officials said, as diplomatic pressure builds on Moscow over the nerve agent attack. Russia, for its part, accused London of trying to force its European allies to take confrontational steps and unleashing an anti-Russian campaign. EU leaders meeting in Brussels have agreed to recall the blocs ambassador from Moscow over the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury. French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday the poisoning with the Soviet-made Novichok agent was an attack on European sovereignty, after EU leaders unanimously backed Londons assessment that it was highly likely Moscow was to blame and that there was no plausible alternative explanation. A number of member states are considering following Britains lead and expelling Russian intelligence agents posing as diplomats, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying further coordinated actions were necessary to respond to the attack. The 23 diplomats expelled by Moscow in a tit-for-tat move have returned to the UK safely, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on Twitter late Friday. The question of whether to expel Russian diplomats will be left to individual member states and EU President Donald Tusk said action was expected as early as Monday. But divisions remain over how far to go, with Austria already ruling out expelling diplomats, and Tusk, a former Polish prime minister, said it was not clear how many states would join the expulsions. More than one but I dont think that it will be the whole group, Tusk said. Macron told a joint news conference with Merkel after the summit in Brussels that the March 4 incident for which Russia denies responsibility was a serious challenge to our security and an attack on European sovereignty. It calls for a coordinated, determined response from the European Union and its member states, the French leader said. Extraordinary measure British Prime Minister Theresa May briefed other EU leaders on the probe into the attack over a summit dinner on Thursday. She managed to overcome resistance from countries like Greece and Italy who were reluctant to put their close Kremlin ties in jeopardy to persuade them to back Britains conclusion that Moscow was to blame. Merkel said May had shared certain findings which left little doubt Moscow was behind the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since World War II. We believe that the analyses are already very well-founded and this has not been questioned by anyone, Merkel said. We agreed Germany and France at least that such reactions are still necessary in addition to recalling the ambassador. European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said the recall of the ambassador was an extraordinary measure never before taken by the bloc. The leaders of former Soviet bloc EU states the Czech Republic and Lithuania, as well as Denmark and Ireland, have said they were considering further unilateral steps, including expelling diplomats. Latvia was the first to commit explicitly to expelling Russians, saying it expected to make an official announcement on Monday. Confrontational steps Moscow denounced the moves by Britain and the EU. As for the decision taken, we regret in this context that again such decisions are taken using the wording highly likely, President Vladimir Putins spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday. We dont agree with this and we repeat again that Russia absolutely definitely has nothing to do with the Skripal case. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on a visit to Hanoi, separately accused Britain of feverishly trying to force allies to take confrontational steps, suggesting Londons focus was now on making the crisis with Russia as deep as possible. The Russian ambassador to Britain wrote Friday to a policeman exposed to the nerve agent used against the Skripals, insisting on Moscows innocence and thanking him for his bravery. Alexander Yakovenko told Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, who was released from hospital Thursday following two weeks of treatment, that he hoped the officer and the Skripals get well soon. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you for your bravery when reacting to the assault on two Russian nationals, he wrote. burs/mtp/jah EU leaders agreed Thursday with Britain's assessment that Moscow was "highly likely" responsible for the poisoning of a Russian ex-spy, the bloc's president Donald Tusk said. The 28 leaders unanimously backed a statement at a summit in Brussels saying that Russian involvement was the only plausible explanation for the nerve agent attack in the southwestern English city of Salisbury. The show of solidarity came after British Prime Minister Theresa May personally appealed to her colleagues and warned that Russia posed a long-term threat to world security. #EUCO (European Council) agrees with UK government that highly likely Russia is responsible for #SalisburyAttack and that there is no other plausible explanation, Tusk tweeted. The statement was significantly tougher than one endorsed by the blocs 28 foreign ministers on Monday, which said only that the countries took Britains assessment extremely seriously and stopped short of blaming Russia. Latvia's foreign ministry on Friday said the Baltic state would expel "one or several" Russian diplomats over the nerve agent attack on an ex-spy in the English city of Salisbury. The move comes after Britain, which blames Russia for the poisoning, expelled 23 Russian diplomats they said were spies and pressed EU allies to follow suit despite Moscows warning against confrontational steps. In solidarity with the United Kingdom and other European Union countries, Latvia is currently discussing with them how to coordinate a proper response to Russian activity regarding the chemical attack on Sergei Skripal, ministry spokesman Gints Jegermanis told AFP. One or several Russians involved in espionage activities, while living in Latvia with diplomatic passports, will be expelled from our country, he added. The exact number is currently being discussed with our European partners and will be announced on Monday. The leaders of former Soviet bloc EU states the Czech Republic and Lithuania, as well as Denmark and Ireland, have also said they were considering further unilateral steps, including expelling diplomats. The poisoning has heightened worries across Europe about Russian meddling from repeated cyber attacks to what the EU has called an orchestrated strategy of disinformation aimed at destabilising the bloc. Latvias security services regularly mention in their public reports that Russias intelligence and security services pose the greatest threat to national interest, according to the Baltic news agency BNS. The British police officer who was exposed to the nerve agent used in the attack against former Russian spy Sergei Skripal was on Thursday discharged from hospital, its director said. Officer Nick Bailey has left the hospital, said Cara Charles-Barks, chief executive of Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust. Skripal and his daughter Yulia, targets of the March 4 attack in the southern England city of Salisbury, remain in a critical but stable condition, she added. Bailey said he had been overwhelmed by the support, cards and messages in a statement read out by Wiltshire Police Chief Constable Kier Pritchard. The level of support has been unbelievable and Ive tried to respond to what I can, but I want to say I have really appreciated every single message, he said. He paid tribute to the staff at Salisbury District Hospital but asked for a time out of the spotlight to recover. I am just a normal person with a normal life, and I dont want my wife, children, family or I to be part of that attention, said Bailey. There are really no words to explain how I feel right now. Surreal is the word that keeps cropping up and it really has been completely surreal, he added. A judge ruled earlier Thursday that blood samples from former Russian spy Skripal and his daughter Yulia could be taken for testing by the world chemical weapons body (OPCW). Russia denies all responsibility and the poisoning has plunged relations between London and Moscow into crisis Pritchard said the investigation was highly likely to take many months as he paid tribute to Bailey. I have personally been amazed at Nicks strength and resilience, he said. He really is a credit to Wiltshire Police and the wider police family. Russian air strikes killed 37 civilians in the Arbin area of the shrinking rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus overnight, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday. Russian air strikes and incendiary weapons killed the civilians in a basement from burning or suffocation late on Thursday before a ceasefire came into effect in the area, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. Russia has denied being directly involved in air strikes on Eastern Ghouta. The Britain-based Observatory says it relies on flight patterns, aircraft involved and ammunition used to determine who carries them out. The White Helmets, a civil defence organisation operating in rebel-held areas, said most of the dead were women and children. In an image they shared on social media, rescue workers wrapped a blackened body in a blanket. More than 1,600 civilians have died in Eastern Ghouta since the regime launched a blistering assault on the last rebel bastion near Damascus on February 18, the Observatory says. The offensive has retaken most of the enclave and divided what remains into three shrinking pockets, each controlled by a different rebel group. Late on Thursday, the Faylaq al-Rahman group which controls the southern pocket that includes Arbin, said a ceasefire had been agreed from midnight (2200 GMT) to allow negotiations with Russia for an evacuation deal. Under a similar agreement reached by the Ahrar al-Sham group, hundreds of rebel fighters and their family members were evacuated from the town of Harasta earlier on Thursday. The ceasefire announcement came after air strikes killed 38 people in Arbin and Zamalka, another town controlled by Faylaq al-Rahman, earlier on Thursday, the Observatory said. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on a visit to Kiev Friday accused Russia of being directly responsible for the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine as the "aggressor country." Le Drian said he had discussed the conflict with Russia with the Ukrainian authorities, referring to Kievs struggle with Kremlin-backed separatists in the countrys east. On this point, I will be very clear. In this crisis, there is for us an aggressor country and an attacked country, and there is no ambiguity, Le Drian told journalists at a joint news conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Pavlo Klimkin. The remarks came as relations between Paris and Moscow have been strained by disputes over the conflict in Syria and the poisoning of a former Russian double agent in Britain. Russia must organise a comprehensive and sustainable ceasefire (and) organise on the ground, and once security conditions are met, we also count on Ukraine to continue implementing measures that fall under its responsibility, said Le Drian, who was paying his first visit to Ukraine. Under peace agreements signed in Minsk in February 2015, Ukraine is expected to grant greater autonomy to the Russian-backed separatist areas as a key condition for them to return under Kievs authority. The armed conflict between the Ukrainian army and Russian-backed rebels has claimed more than 10,000 lives since its outbreak in 2014. Kiev and the West accuse Russia of supporting the separatists by deploying troops and arms, which Moscow denies despite overwhelming evidence. A string of ceasefire deals have helped to reduce the violence but nevertheless sporadic clashes still erupt between the warring sides. An 18-year-old Iraqi asylum seeker on Friday received a life sentence with a minimum 34-year jail term over the botched bombing of a rush-hour London Underground train that injured 30 people. Judge Charles Haddon-Cave said Ahmed Hassan had constructed a homemade bomb to kill as many members of the British public as possible. I am satisfiedthat the offence of attempted murder of which you have been convicted was an act of terrorism on your part by the use of explosives aimed at advancing a political, religious, ideological or racial cause, said the judge on sentencing. Hassan left the improvised bucket bomb filled with screwdrivers, knives, nuts, bolts and Mother of Satan TATP explosives in a carriage carrying 93 passengers on September 15 last year. It partially exploded at Parsons Green Tube station in west London, one stop after he had alighted, triggering a stampede that injured tens of other passengers. The judge at Englands Old Bailey central criminal court in London called Hassan a dangerous and devious individual who had let down the country that gave him shelter, the foster charity that cared for him and the college he attended. Hassan had benefited from every kindness since arriving in the UK in October 2015, yet was consumed with dark thoughts against Britain. One can only imagine the sense of betrayal felt by all those at Barnardos and Brooklands College whom you duped, said Haddon-Cave. The judge said he believed Hassan had trained with the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group in Iraq, and that he may be older than 18. John Conaghan, from British Transport Police, thoroughly welcomed the lengthy sentence. His appalling attack could have claimed many lives on that busy rush hour train. Thankfully, no one was killed and his imprisonment will prevent him from posing any further threat to the public, he said. Hassan told jurors that he did not intend to hurt people, and that he was bored and stressed and wanted to start a fire. It became kind of a fantasy in my head. I was thinking about it, he said. I was watching documentaries as well, about fugitives and just the idea of being a fugitive got into my head. Blinding flash Prosecutors earlier showed the jury Hassans online purchase history, which included chemicals, along with security camera footage from the day before the attack showing him buying shrapnel items. Hassan told authorities he was in fear of IS, which he said had taken him by force in Iraq and trained him how to kill. He was given a home by foster parents Penny and Ron Jones, and studied media and photography at Brooklands College in Weybridge, southwest of London. His college mentor contacted the anti-terror programme Prevent after Hassan said it was his duty to hate Britain. He assembled the bomb while his elderly foster parents were on holiday, using money from a school prize to buy the chemicals. The partially exploded bomb sent a fireball down the carriage, which left passengers with burns. Commuter Stephen Nash told court that he was on his way to work when he experienced a blinding flash before being engulfed in flames. I was thrown to the ground, he said. The flames were overwhelming It was intense heat, I thought I had lost my ears, I thought my head was on fire. Fellow witness Aimee Colville said she heard a loud bang and cracking before a wall of glass came across. Hassan then destroyed his phone and fled to the port town of Dover, where police arrested him. He was carrying more than 2,000 ($2,800, 2,270 euros) in cash. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Friday he hopes to reach a deal in the next few months with Britain on the territory of Gibraltar after Brexit. The EU said last year Madrid and London must make a separate bilateral agreement for any overall Brexit deal to apply to the rocky British territory. Gibraltar has been under British control since 1713 but Madrid has long wanted it back. We have already started bilateral talks with the United Kingdom, Rajoy told reporters in Brussels after EU leaders approved guidelines for the next phase of Brexit negotiations. These are progressing satisfactorily and we hope to reach an agreement in the coming months, Rajoy added. Earlier this week Spain threatened to torpedo an agreement for a 21-month post Brexit transition period unless the EU made a specific mention of Gibraltar in new guidelines for trade talks due to start next month. Rajoy said he was aiming for a deal which would firstly ensure that the situation of frontier workers is maintained and improved, which is our priority, and reasonable solutions to a number of issues which have been adversely affecting Gibraltar. The 27 EU states, without Britain, approved a clause last year that after the United Kingdom leaves the Union, no agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom may apply to the territory of Gibraltar without the agreement between the Kingdom of Spain and the United Kingdom. Britain was infuriated, saying that it infringed on its sovereignty over the Rock. Rajoy however said that in the talks on Gibraltar, the issue of sovereignty is not going to be dealt with. British Prime Minister Theresa May told EU leaders Thursday that securing a deal on the post-Brexit transition period had created a "new dynamic" to now tackle the toughest questions of trade and Ireland. British and EU negotiators this week agreed the terms of a 21-month transition period intended to smooth Britains withdrawal from the bloc starting in March 2019, paving the way for talks to begin on the future bilateral partnership. We have the chance, now, to create a new dynamic in the talks to work together to explore workable solutions in Northern Ireland, in our future security cooperation and in order to ensure the future prosperity of all our people, May told a summit dinner in Brussels, according to her office. This is an opportunity it is our duty to take and to enter into with energy and ambition. May was due to leave Brussels after the dinner, leaving the other 27 EU leaders to meet without her on Friday to formally agree the transition deal. They will also approve guidelines for the next round of talks, which will include the thorny issue of the post-Brexit border between Northern Ireland which is British and EU member Ireland. All sides have pledged to avoid any return to physical customs checks, to avoid upsetting the fragile peace in the region. The EU and Britain have agreed a backstop that Northern Ireland would remain part of the EUs customs union if there is no better idea but London is deeply opposed to this. Once we move on to the stage of being able to talk about the future partnership, that is where we believe the solution to the Irish border will be found, a senior British official said. It will be a solution in terms of our entire relationship with the EU. We havent been able to have those conversations in the first phase of the talks, we are now moving onto a stage where we can. Irish premier Leo Varadkar, who met May on the sidelines of the summit earlier Thursday, said he envisaged a trading relationship that was so close that many of measures in the backstop may become unnecessary. Friday, March 23, 2018 About AEA The American Evaluation Association is an international professional association and the largest in its field. Evaluation involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses of programs, policies, personnel, products and organizations to improve their effectiveness. AEAs mission is to improve evaluation practices and methods worldwide, to increase evaluation use, promote evaluation as a profession and support the contribution of evaluation to the generation of theory and knowledge about effective human action. For more information about AEA, visit www.eval.org. ImI work at the World Bank as a Senior Evaluation Officer and am coauthor of A Guide to Assessing Needs: Essential Tools for Collecting Information, Making Decisions, and Achieving Development Results ( available for free here ).My needs assessment and evaluation work often centers around areas of learning, capacity building, organizational development, management, performance, change management, and related topics. For that reason, I often rely on models and resources from many diverse fields to help me frame my work. These models and frameworks can also be helpful in designing your data collection instruments, by giving you a starting point when preparing a set of categories or lists to which informants can respond in areas you want to probe. The following are some of my favorite models or resources for assessing learning, building capacity, improving performance, and managing change:If you are looking for more models, frameworks or approaches on these and related topics, check out the following. Needsassessment.org pages on models and theories . Ryan Watkins, manager of this page and my coauthor on A Guide to Assessing Needs , has put together these handy resources on models and theories for needs assessment.The International Society for Performance Improvement is a good source for learning more about models and approaches and connecting with others interested in these topics, commonly termed Human Performance Technology (HPT) The American Evaluation Association is celebrating Needs Assessment (NA) TIG Week with our colleagues in the Needs Assessment Topical Interest Group. The contributions all this week to aea365 come from our NA TIG members. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org . aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators. Welcome to the News Release Wire Selection Control Panel. Instant News Wire The CEO for San Antonio-based Andeavor brought in 131 times more what the median pay at the refiner was last year. The median total compensation for Andeavor employees in 2017 was $151,793, paling in comparison to CEO Gregory Goffs $19.9 million of total compensation, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Goffs total compensation is made up of salary, stock awards, bonuses, and pension values, while the median employee figure is gross pay and excludes the CEO. The SEC requires firms to disclose the CEO-to-rank-and-file-worker-pay ratio starting this year. The Economic Policy Institute has estimated that CEOs in Americas largest firms in 2016 made an average of 271 times the annual average pay of the typical worker. The majority of Goffs compensation came from $11.3 million of stock awards, while his salary made up $1.6 million of his pay. But Goff, whose refiner is among the largest in the U.S., has seen his total compensation decrease 14.3 percent from 2015, the earliest compensation listed in the SEC filing. In that year he took home $23.3 million in total compensation. Much of the lost compensation has come from lower bonus pay and pension values. Valero Energy Corp.s CEO Joe Gorder made 117 times the median total compensation of his employees in 2017, bringing in more than $22.5 million compared to the median compensation of $192,837. The majority of his compensation came in the form of stock awards, which totaled $12.7 million. Gorders salary was just under $1.6 million. The San Antonio-based refiner is the largest in the country. Gorders compensation has increased 29.5 percent since 2015, when he took home $17.5 million in total compensation. The majority of the increase has come from increases in his stock awards, which have risen by $4 million since 2015 to $12.7 million last year. Other increases include a $1 million bump in his pension value, which was $4.3 million in 2017. At NuStar Energy, which operates crude oil and refined product pipelines and storage, CEO Brad Barrons total compensation of $2.1 million was nearly 24 times higher than the median pay at the company, which was $88,610. Barrons total compensation has fallen 15.5 percent since 2015 to $2.1 million. All three executives, who represent San Antonios largest publicly-traded energy companies, totaled nearly $45 million in 2017, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The total compensation for the refining CEOs is made up of their salaries, stock awards, bonuses, and pension values. For Barron, NuStar Energy trades in units, not stock. The scandal involving the political firm Cambridge Analytica, and its alleged use of 50 million Facebook users personal data to develop psychographic profiles of voters, has fired up plenty of #DeleteFacebook hashtags. But out of San Antonio there have only been minor rumblings on Twitter, where the outcry to dump Facebook continues. Ironic, considering the Alamo City is at the very heart of the imbroglio. After all, Cambridge Analytica was paid nearly $6 million and worked side by side here with Brad Parscale, the Trump campaigns digital director in 2016, to persuade voters in key states to donate money and vote Republican via millions of personally targeted Facebook ads. Facebook and Twitter were the reason we won this thing, Parscale told Wired Magazine after the election. Twitter for Mr. Trump. And Facebook for fundraising. But Parscale, who was recently named the chairman of Trumps 2020 re-election campaign, has denied that he used any misappropriated Facebook data, insisting that his data came from the Republican National Committee. He has said psychographics dont work and, on his Twitter account, belittled any claim that Cambridge Analytica and misappropriated data influenced Trumps victory as false and ridiculous and an overblown sales pitch. Facebook first learned of the privacy breach more than two years ago but did not mention it publicly until last Friday, claiming it believed any misappropriated data had been destroyed. The data goes back to a profiling quiz app called This Is Your Digital Life. App creator Aleksandr Kogan paid 270,000 people to take part in the quiz. Cambridge Analytica later got information from the app that snowballed to 50 million Facebook users when accounting for the quiz-takers friends, including those who never downloaded the app or gave explicit consent. #DeleteFacebook has flooded Twitter in the wake of the news. Yet a Twitter search Friday for the #DeleteFacebook hashtag going back a week revealed just a smattering of San Antonio-area outcries to quit Facebook. Nevertheless, some local Twitter users were eager to give Facebook a big thumbs-down. My @Facebook has been deleted. #DeleteFacebook, posted Michael Paul (@muneeymike), along with a GIF. Its (sic) about time #DeleteFacebook, posted Om Patel (@CEOmPatel). #DeleteFacebook. #Seriously, posted Scar Natal (@scar210). After days of silence, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted Wednesday on Facebook it was the companys responsibility to protect its users data and in a CNN interview said he was really sorry that this happened. Zuckerberg also told the New York Times the #DeleteFacebook campaign is not good for his company and is a clear signal that this is a major trust issue for people, and I understand that. Luis Hestres, assistant professor of digital communication at the University of Texas at San Antonio, said the #DeleteFacebook movement definitely has hurt the social networks image in the short term but shouldnt result in a mass exodus of users in the days and weeks to come. I think long-term because Facebook is so deeply embedded in our digital culture, and its such an important part of our digital ecosystem, its not (as if) all of a sudden 200 or 500 million users are going to leave Facebook, Hestres said. Besides, quitting Facebook isnt easy. Think of all those photos and other Facebook data youll want to download for safekeeping. Then once you do delete your Facebook account, it can take up to 90 days to zap everything. To do the deed, go to facebook.com/help/delete_account. As for the relatively quiet response to #DeleteFacebook in San Antonio, Hestres said the city just isnt as connected to national digital trends as are other cities in the nation. Hestres also noted that despite San Antonio once being home to Parscale (hes since moved to Florida), Parscales ties to the city likewise dont make much noise, given the digital consulting world is far more concentrated on the coasts, as well as in Washington, New York and Boston. Just the same, Hestres believes the cry to #DeleteFacebook can only help make Facebook better. I would just say that its my hope that even though the #DeleteFacebook campaign probably wont hurt Facebook in terms of raw numbers that it will force Facebook to make some changes to their data management policies, Hestres said, so that it will protect users privacy more effectively and crack down more effectively on fake news and generally take a harder look at the impact that their platform is having on society. No matter how far or how close to San Antonio those hashtags may come from. Southwest Preparatory School is partnering with Texas A&M University-San Antonio for a new early college high school program, school officials announced this week. Starting this fall, students at the charter networks Northwest campus will be able to begin earning up to 60 credit hours toward a four-year college degree while directly attending classes on the universitys campus. By the time the students graduate from high school, they could be about halfway toward earning a bachelors degree. The tuition-free program will expose the high school students to college-level coursework and allow them to reduce the financial burden of college by graduating with a degree more quickly, said Laura Rangel, Southwest Preps dean for the early college high school. This means that not only are they in high school, but theyre going to college at the same time. And not only college, but a university, she said. Melissa Mahan, A&M-San Antonios vice president for student affairs, said embedding the high school students in college classes will give them the true college experience. Southwest Prep officials anticipate that the early college high schools first cohort will include between 20 to 30 students, with enrollment growing over time. The school still will offer dual-credit courses through St. Philips College, but that track only allows students to earn up to 45 hours of college credit, Rangel said. Many school districts in Bexar County offer dual-credit programs, most of them in partnership with the Alamo Colleges, and the community college district and some school districts have recently struggled with how to handle rising costs as the courses have grown increasingly popular. Trustees at Judson ISD recently voted to remove the state early college designations from its high schools but will maintain Judson Early College Academy, which is situated on Northeast Lakeview Colleges campus. Lesley Carr, principal at Southwest Preps Northwest campus, said the program will initially be funded by a U.S. Department of Education grant. The district will implement a plan to ensure the program has sustainable funding, she said. When Southwest Prep was founded in San Antonio in 1998, the charter network functioned as a half-day program for credit recovery and students on the verge of dropping out of high school, Carr said. In the two decades since, Southwest Prep has refashioned itself into a network of charter schools focused on post-secondary education, Superintendent Gary Short said. As Southwest Prep approaches the start of its 20th school year here, Short said, the early college high school designation sends the message that the district is prioritizing student preparation for higher education and the workplace. It makes a statement that as a charter school we have substance and we have tradition and we have perseverance, he said. Briana Hagelgans, director of early college credit at A&M-San Antonio, said the partnership will provide flexibility for students based on their future major and college of choice, and will help serve first-generation college students and other underserved populations. Southwest Prep students who graduate from the new early college high school could be eligible for the Greater Texas Foundation Scholars Program, which provides up to $4,000 a year in scholarship money to students who graduated from early college high schools and meet other requirements. They can continue with us and potentially earn their bachelors degree with no debt, Hagelgans said. Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday announced that the state is releasing $2.3 million in grants to six agencies offering assistance to the victims of the November mass shooting in Sutherland Springs. The announcement comes four months and 17 days after Devin Patrick Kelley killed 26 churchgoers in the small, tight-knit community about 30 miles southeast of San Antonio. According to a news release from Abbotts office, the funding will go to six agencies to provide a coordinated response to assist residents of Sutherland Springs and the surrounding areas with community resiliency and recovery programs. The agencies the University of Texas at San Antonio, the Childrens Bereavement Center of South Texas, the Ecumenical Center, Floresville Independent School District, the San Antonio Bar Association and the Camino Real Mental Health Authority will offer varied services, including counseling, mental health screenings, education and legal assistance, the release said. The act of pure evil inflicted on the faithful people of Sutherland Springs on Nov. 5, 2017, will deeply affect the community, especially the surviving victims, for the rest of their lives, Abbott said in the news release. That is why it is so important that we continue to offer any necessary support to our fellow Texans still suffering from this tragedy. I hope these services will provide some relief and comfort for those Texans that need it the most. UTSA will receive $550,000 for counseling services targeting both children and adults, and the Childrens Bereavement Center will receive $268,000 to provide mental health screenings, case management and psychological education for children and their families. With $550,000 in funding, the Ecumenical Center will offer licensed mental health clinicians for mental health screenings, case management, psychological education and will continue mental health services if requested by residents. The Floresville ISD will receive $500,000 to provide ongoing victim services for students and faculty. The news release notes that the district has had an influx of traumatized children from Sutherland Springs. The bar association will receive $15,000 to provide legal assistance to victims who need help with issues such as child custody, probate, wills and estates. The mental health authority will receive $450,000 for recovery coordination, working with the other agencies, the release said. WASHINGTON Congress approved a mammoth, $1.3 trillion spending bill Thursday without adding relief for hundreds of thousands of young immigrants, but denied President Donald Trump all the money and authority he wanted for a wall along the Southwest border. The legislation, which first passed the House 256-167 and then cleared the Senate 65-32, funds the federal government through Sept. 30 after a series of stopgap spending bills. The Senate needed to concur by midnight today to prevent a third partial government shutdown this year. The bill includes provisions that will be welcomed in Texas. With a two-year spending plan, Congress paved the way last month for the biggest increase in military spending in 15 years that includes $654.6 billion for the Pentagon this year, a $61.6 billion increase over last year. The spending includes $22.4 billion in military construction and repair that would chip away at a deferred maintenance backlog estimated at more than $100 billion. The bill has $4 billion to address the opioid crisis and $10 million for the U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program, which the Environmental Protection Agency in the Trump administration tried to scrap. The program, operated out of San Antonio by the North American Development Bank, finances sewage disposal and delivery of drinking water along the border. Texas Sen. John Cornyn was able to add his legislation tightening federal record-keeping related to the purchase of guns, an outgrowth of the Sutherland Springs church shooting in November. And San Antonio Republican Will Hurd and Laredo Democrat Henry Cuellar helped engineer a $15 million federal reimbursement for the Mission Reach Ecosystem Restoration and Recreation Project to stem San Antonio River flooding and restore natural habitat. The broad legislation also is noteworthy for what didnt end up in its 2,232 pages. The bill, despite a GOP-led Congress and White House, did nothing to stem deficit spending, putting the government on a path for $2 trillion more in debt over the next decade. White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said Trump will sign the bill despite its shortcomings and concessions to Democrats. Lets cut right to the chase. Is the president going to sign the bill? The answer is yes, he told reporters. Despite urging from some in their ranks and pressure from Democrats, Republicans declined to include a provision to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller from firing before his investigation into Russian meddling in American elections winds up. And, after months of debates, Congress didnt take steps to continue protections for some 700,000 young immigrants at risk now that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program has passed its early March expiration date. The program remains alive only by federal court injunctions ordering the government to continue granting two-year work authorizations to those already in the program. The Senate also rejected a last-ditch effort Thursday by Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin to pass the Dream Act, long-debated legislation to provide protections for immigrants brought to the United States as children. Negotiations broke down, with Democrats demanding a permanent solution for DACA-aged immigrants rather than trading short-term protections perhaps two or three years in return for giving Trump $25 billion for the border wall. San Antonio Democrat Joaquin Castro, who voted against the spending plan, said: This would have been a perfect opportunity to deal with the issue of Dreamers, to offer some relief and to make sure that they could remain in the United States and keep living their lives. Castro, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, said Congress also missed an opportunity to safeguard Muellers job amid signals from the White House that Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with the investigation. Congress should have used this bill to protect the special counsel and allow him to conduct this investigation to its end, Castro said. Its quite likely that President Trump will decide to arrange for his firing at some point. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a San Antonio Democrat who also voted no, ticked off his concerns: No protection of any kind for Dreamers, only broken promises, while more money is wasted on the wall. No limitation on Trump actions to shut down Muellers independent investigation. No bipartisan measures to lower health insurance premiums by stabilizing markets. No meaningful gun safety action. As recently as Tuesday, a House Republican involved in immigration policy said it was expected that Democrats would accept some sort of deal for the short term offered by Trump and Republicans. But according to those familiar with the talks, Democrats were buoyed in their stance by a growing belief that they will take control of the House after the November elections. That would put them in a substantially better position to bargain for a path to citizenship for so-called Dreamers and on immigration matters in general. A Democratic aide remarked that there was no reason to give Trump something permanent long-term funding for the wall in return for a temporary patch. Trump, who helped kill bipartisan Dreamer legislation in the Senate last month, fell well short in spending for the big beautiful wall he wants. The bill covers work on nearly 100 miles of border, including $1.57 billion for physical barriers, but much is authorized for secondary barriers where a wall already exists In the Rio Grande Valley, the bill allocates $445 million for replacement of existing primary pedestrian fencing and $196 million for primary fencing. Also: another $196 million for border security technology; and $38 million for border barrier planning and design. Cornyn said, I personally believe that a lot of the money is going to be used to repair and replace existing fencing. Despite getting less than the president wanted, the White House praised the 10 percent increase in funding for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Trump posted on Twitter: Democrats refused to take care of DACA. Would have been so easy, but they just didnt care. I had to fight for Military and start of Wall. On the issue of gun violence, Cornyn noted the epidemic of school shootings, including another in southern Maryland this week that left the shooter dead and two students injured, one critically. He attracted 77 co-sponsors for his plan called the Fix NICS Act, referring to tightening the National Instant Criminal Background Check system with better enforcement and incentives for states to participate. Had the system worked as designed, Devin Kelley might have been prevented by a licensed dealer from buying the rifle that he used to kill 26 people in Sutherland Springs. I really feel like this is keeping faith with the folks in Sutherland Springs and other families who potentially could lose loved ones in the future due to a flaw in the background system, Cornyn told reporters. Durbin referred to the legislation as a step in the right direction, but observed that Congress is unlikely to more aggressively address gun violence any time soon with a requirement of universal background checks and bans on high-capacity magazine clips. Is that it? Is that the end on national gun safety for another five, six or eight years? he asked. For the Mission Reach project dealing with ecology and flooding along the San Antonio River, Bexar County loaned the Army Corps of Engineers money that is slowly being paid back $15 million in the new installment. Hurd said in a statement that the Mission Reach has yielded tremendous cultural and economic gains, not just for the South Side but for all of San Antonio by connecting all five UNESCO-recognized Spanish Missions with hike and bike trails, and attracting millions in private-sector development. It took authorities 18 years to find Ted Kaczynski. It took only 18 days to track down Mark Anthony Conditt. These two American serial bombers were born more than a half-century apart. One was based in a remote Montana cabin, the other in a small home in a quiet Pflugerville neighborhood. They never met each other, but were bonded by alienation. Without jobs, without meaningful relationships, with nothing but time to marinate in hate. Kaczynski, the infamous Unabomber, carried out 23 attacks from 1978 to 1995, killing three people and injuring 23 others. Conditt executed six attacks five with package bombs over the first three weeks of this month, before blowing himself up in his car Wednesday morning as police officers closed in on him. There is much we dont yet know about Conditt, but its clear that he, like Kaczynski, was so detached from society that human life had become a mere abstraction for him. The question at the heart of both their twisted stories is whether the personal triggered the political, or vice versa. Did social alienation lead to political extremism, or did political extremism leave them socially alienated? In the case of Kaczynski, its probably a bit of both. The story goes that he was a fairly well-adjusted kid until he skipped sixth grade and found himself surrounded by older kids who bullied him. In adulthood, as a young math professor, he isolated himself from others and developed a philosophy that rationalized and justified his isolation: a brand of libertarianism that celebrated nature and the power of the individual over technology and the regimentation of the modern industrial society. With Conditt, we may be left to speculate. His old Pflugerville friend, Jeremiah Jensen, suggested that home-schooling which both Conditt and Jensen experienced had contributed to the serial bombers sense of loneliness. Its just very difficult for a lot of kids to find a way to fit in once they are out in the world. I have a feeling that is what happened with Mark. The 25-minute video confession Conditt left behind was long on the technical details behind his bomb making but devoid of political screeds, according to Brian Manley, the interim Austin police chief. Manley described the video as the outcry of a very challenged young man talking about challenges in his personal life that led him to this point. Nonetheless, its worth asking why Conditts first three package-bomb attacks all targeted Austins East Side, the part of town which contains the greatest concentration of minority residents. Those explosions killed or wounded three African-Americans and one Latino. Its also worth pointing out that Conditt, in a series of 2012 blog posts submitted for an Austin Community College government class, railed against gay marriage, abortion and sex-offender registries, while advocating for the death penalty. His writings on gay marriage, in particular, read like the thoughts of someone harboring resentments about social changes he couldnt accept. Homosexuality is not natural. Just look at the male and female bodies, Conditt wrote, before comparing legal protections for the LGBT community to the protection of pedophilia or bestiality. These crumbs of evidence dont prove that racial hatred drove Conditt to launch his attacks, but they make that scenario more plausible. And they make you wonder why every time an alienated Muslim commits a mass killing in this country, the incident is automatically treated as an act of domestic terrorism, while a similar attack from an alienated white Christian is regarded as a very challenged individual sadly losing his way. When Kaczynski released his 35,000-word political manifesto in 1995, Mike Rustigan, a San Francisco State University criminology professor, profiled the Unabomber as a thrill killer with a moral masquerade. Conditt did not bother with any moral masquerade for his actions. And thats why were left to wonder. Back in 1984, Bruce Springsteen talked about his bleak Nebraska album, whose title song told the story of another American serial killer, Charles Starkweather. Springsteen could just as easily have been talking about Kaczynski or Conditt. Nebraska was about that American isolation: what happens to people when theyre alienated from their friends and their community and their government and their job, Springsteen said. Because those are the things that keep you sane, that give meaning to life in some fashion. Neither Kaczynski nor Conditt could find that meaning. FAIRFIELD On the night of President Donald Trumps election, Fairfield resident Caitlin Clarkson Pereira was in Disneyland. Talk about the juxtaposition, Clarkson Pereira said. That night in her hotel room, Clarkson Pereira, a Democrat, said she looked down at her then 2-year-old daughter, Parker, as she slept, innocent and unaware, and thought No. Coming up to the election, I saw a black man in the White House and I was like all right, theres no place to go but up from here, said Clarkson Pereira, who works as the coordinator of the Office of Education Services at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. I really only saw the progress moving forward. The election represented a step backwards in Clarkson Pereiras mind, and so she decided to do something to reverse course. While I feel like I do make a difference with the students I have contact with, Im at a point now especially with wanting to be a role model for my daughter, where we are politically, and the opportunities for women to speak up and hopefully make a difference for future generations where I feel like its not enough. After months of thought, Clarkson Pereira announced her candidacy for the states 132nd House District in a Facebook post following Oprah Winfreys speech at the Golden Globes. Clarkson Pereira said she planned to announce her campaign later in January, but was so moved by Winfreys speech that she wrote a few paragraphs on Facebook and attached her fundraising link the following day, Jan. 8. While most candidates roll out their campaigns with a carefully crafted video and website, neither of which Clarkson Pereira had at the time of her post, she said she doesnt want to follow the traditional playbook of campaigns if shes moved otherwise. After an icon spoke revolutionary words last night, it is evident that a new day is on the horizon. We are finally starting to see that time is not only up, but times are changing, and for all of us who were ever told our voices were not loud enough, our ideas would never be valued, and our efforts would fail to make a difference our time is now, Clarkson Pereira wrote in that Facebook post. Although Clarkson Pereira has never held political office, shes long been active in the Fairfield community. Born and raised in town, Clarkson Pereira said she grew up riding her bike to Roger Sherman Elementary School, cheerleading and playing violin in the school orchestra. I am beyond words grateful for the education I received here, the 32-year-old said, noting the dedication of teachers who pushed her and helped her go over material after school when she was struggling. After high school, Clarkson Pereira attended Western Connecticut State University, where she gave it her all: writing a history thesis on the sexual revolution access to birth control in the United States, serving in leadership roles in student government and residence life, and volunteering as a mentor at an after-school program for underprivileged kids. I became super involved, and once you get that bug and feel youre making an impact, especially when it comes to mentoring younger students, it was really addicting, Clarkson Pereira said. Clarkson Pereiras positive college experience informed her decision to work after graduation as a dorm hall director at Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic. I tell people I had so much fun in college that I never left, Clarkson Pereira said. While working at Eastern Connecticut, the Fairfield native earned a masters degree in counseling from Central Connecticut State University and married her college boyfriend, Matthew Pereira, who works for Otis Elevator Co. Her graduate thesis was on lesbian, gay, and bisexual students who come out in college and the impact coming out has on their academic performance and social interactions, a project Pereira said has influenced her LGBTQ activism. Activism, coupled with writing, has been a thread throughout Clarkson Pereiras career. She started the website, PeaceLoveProgress.com, where people can share uplifting stories and tales of compassionate work to spread joy and inspire others, as the site says. Clarkson Pereira also contributes to the Fairfield County Moms Blog, where shes written about female empowerment, mental health and miscarriage. While Clarkson Pereira said shes used to speaking out on behalf of social justice issues, Fairfields current representatives are not inclined to stand up, which is part of why Clarkson Pereira said shes running. Donald Trump said these super-outlandish, terrifying things about a variety of people, but especially women. Its not only about what hes said. Its about the ability of the other people in leadership roles and the lack of responsibility theyve taken to stand up for that, Clarkson Pereira said. Clarkson Pereira said the seats incumbent, Rep. Brenda Kupchick, R-132, only speaks out when its convenient for her and writes late-night Facebook posts to hedge her bets against those who may criticize her for not speaking out. Well, that post was at 1 a.m., so 17 people saw your Facebook page. Im sorry, I wouldnt believe anyone whod tell me thats not intentional, Clarkson Pereira said. You need to stand up and say, this is not acceptable. No pandering, no buts, use your voice, you have a platform, people are looking to you. Clarkson Pereira said she rejects Kupchicks criticism that she, and other Democrat candidates, are paying too much attention to politics in Washington and not focusing on state issues. The messaging in Washington trickles down to the state and local levels and makes it difficult for people at the local level to speak out if they have aspirations to run for office at the federal level, Clarkson Pereira said. Even at the state level, Clarkson Pereira said Kupchick is unwilling to speak out on important issues. For example, Clarkson Pereira criticized Kupchick for keeping quiet about the recent homophobic backlash to the nomination of Justice Andrew J. McDonald as chief justice of the state Supreme Court. You have an anti-LGBTQ, anti-Jewish, known hate group online who calls this justice a pedophile and you have nothing to say to that? Clarkson Pereira said. In office, Clarkson Pereira said she would not only speak out, but also work to create better policy. She wants to legislate paid family leave policies, which she said, aside from being fair, will help bring in more state revenue. If people can take time off to care to care for children or sick parents, they can remain in the workforce and contribute to state income taxes, from which the state derives over half of its revenue, Clarkson Pereira said. Armed with her experience in higher education, Clarkson Pereira said she also hopes to work on issues of education equity, which she said are often divided along lines of race and class. In the end, Clarkson Pereira, who already passed the threshold for small dollar donations needed to qualify for the state Citizens Election Program public financing program, said shes fine losing because shes in the race because she wants to make a difference, not because she needs a job. Still, Clarkson Pereira is hopeful. I think people are looking for people who are running because its time to break away from the traditional narrative of our elected officials, what their backgrounds are, and therefore how they choose to vote and what bills they choose to vote for, Clarkson Pereira said. Two bee enzymes could open up the opportunity to design bee-friendly insecticides, according to new research. The enzymes, one in the honeybee and one in the bumblebee, may hold the keys to a new generation of products that protect crops without threatening the pollinators' brainpower. According to new UK research, the discovery of why two of the most economically important bee species are immune to one neonicotinoid insecticide but not to others promises to yield chemical treatments that protect crops from pests without harming the brains of the essential pollinators, honeybees and bumblebees. Bee pollinators are equipped with biochemical defence systems, in the form of specific enzymes, that define their sensitivity to insecticides by enabling them to metabolise the chemicals safely. Some neonicotinoids are highly toxic to bees but others have very low acute toxicity; in public debate, they tend to get tarred with the same brush, says Lin Field, Head of Biointeractions and Crop Protection, who led the group at Rothamsted Research. Each insecticide needs to be considered on its own risks and merits, not just its name. Bee-friendly The teams findings, published this week in Current Biology, extend previous work by other researchers, who had linked immunity to rapid metabolism, by pinpointing the specific genes, and their enzymes, involved. The researchers say the discovery opens up the opportunity to design bee-friendly insecticides. Identifying these key enzymes provides valuable tools to screen new pesticides early in their development to see if bees can break them down, says Chris Bass, Professor of Applied Entomology, who led the research at the University of Exeter. It can take a decade and $260 million (190M) to develop a single pesticide, so this knowledge can help us avoid wasting time and money on pesticides that will turn out to be harmful to bees, notes Professor Bass. The knowledge from our study can also be used to predict and prevent harmful effects that result from inadvertently blocking these key defence systems. EU restrictions The EU introduced restrictions on the use of neonicotinoids in 2013 and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has recently published a review of research assessing the risks to bees. An extension to the restrictions is now being considered. Identifying the mechanisms that contribute to inherent tolerance helps us, and regulators, to better understand why certain insecticides have a high margin of safety in bees, says Ralf Nauen, an insect toxicologist, who led the research at Bayer. The three main neonicotinoids are imidacloprid, thiamethoxam and thiacloprid: the first two contain derivatives of nitroguanidine, an organic compound, and can be as toxic to bees as they are to the pests they target. The third contain derivatives of cyanoamidine, another organic compound, which honeybees can digest. Bumblebees show similar responses. The research team pinpointed one subfamily of enzymes in bees, CYP9Q, which are part of the enzyme group known as cytochrome P450s that are also responsible for breaking down toxins in humans, as the key to the insects immunity: CYP9Q3 in honeybees and CYPQ4 in bumblebees. This knowledge, they report, can be leveraged to safeguard bee health. Bird flu has been confirmed in a wild bird in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, the first positive wild bird avian influenza finding in NI this year. The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) today (23 March) confirmed that Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), subtype H5N6 has been found in a wild bird, a buzzard, in County Antrim. The government said that while this finding is not unexpected, it is a timely reminder for all bird keepers to maintain good levels of biosecurity and to remain vigilant for any signs of disease in their flock. The Chief Veterinary Officer for Northern Ireland, Robert Huey said: The finding further emphasises the requirement for all bird keepers to remain vigilant and to critically review their biosecurity measures. For example, feeding and watering birds under cover to help reduce the risk of their poultry coming in contact with wild birds. It is important that flock keepers report early any suspicions of disease. While the risk of an avian influenza incursion in wild birds is now heightened, the risk to poultry remains low. However, it is essential that we take the necessary steps to protect our poultry industry, international trade and the wider economy. Mr Huey added: I continue to encourage strongly all bird keepers to register their flocks. This will ensure they receive the latest information from the Department and also allow them to be contacted in an avian disease outbreak enabling them to protect their flock at the earliest opportunity. Advice from the Public Health Agency is that the risk to public health from the virus is very low and the Food Standards Agency has confirmed that Avian Influenza does not pose a food safety risk for UK consumers. The Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) is encouraging poultry farmers to remain vigilant in light of today's finding. UFU Poultry Chairman Martyn Blair said: We strongly recommend that all poultry keepers, including backyard keepers, review their biosecurity measures and familiarise themselves with DAERAs guidance on good biosecurity. I would encourage producers to practise good farm hygiene and keep birds food and water in enclosed areas separate from wild birds wherever possible. Poultry keepers can also sign up to the Avian Influenza text alert service to receive immediate notifications of a disease outbreak. A director of one of the country's leading poultry businesses says that Brexit is a bigger threat to the industry than avian influenza. Patrick Hook, director of P D Hook Hatcheries, has warned that the shortage of labour resulting from the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union could be very damaging to the food and farming industry. Government ministers have said they are listening to the industry's concerns about the shortage of foreign workers, but they have so far made no firm commitments. The industry says the effects of the Brexit vote are already being felt, with many European workers heading home from the UK and businesses finding it increasingly difficult to attract replacements. "Here at the moment we have got about 5 or 6 vacancies, but as a business we have got about 50 to 60 vacancies across the UK that we cannot fill," said Patrick Hook. P D Hook Hatcheries is the United Kingdoms largest independent chick supplier, supplying chicks to the broiler sector. The business has rearing, breeding, hatching and growing farms throughout the country. The company is capable of producing 10 million day old chicks and growing six million chickens a week from its regional sites in Oxfordshire, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, East Anglia, Devon, Scotland and Wales. Patrick Hook was recently interviewed by the BBC's Nick Robinson for a Panorama programme looking at the implications that tighter immigration controls might have for businesses in this country. Nick Robinson suggested to Mr Hook that businesses would simply need to increase wages or employ more British apprentices to fill the threatened shortages in the workforce. But Patrick Hook said businesses would still struggle. "We pay above the national minimum and national living wage and we still can't get the people," he said. "Even if we have to put wages up - which I think we will have to - the reality is I still don't think that will attract domestic UK labour." He said: "The labour crisis, and not having those skilled permanent people available to us from the European Union, is a bigger threat to us as a business and industry than avian influenza. That is a fact." British roles MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, one of the leading Brexiteers in Parliament, insisted on the same programme that businesses should look to unemployed and under-employed Britons to fill the vacancies. "There are eight million people in this country who are classified as economically inactive - two million of whom would like to be economically active. "That is a pretty big pool of people who they could train. Of course, business wants to carry on doing what it's been doing because that is easy, but the responsibility of Government is to look after the consumer and the citizen." Both the broiler and egg sectors have warned that a lack of following Brexit could be damaging. At the Egg and Poultry Industry Conference in November, the NFU's chief poultry adviser, Gary Ford, said that labour was business critical to the poultry sector. He said one medium sized poultry meat processor he knew of employed 240 staff. Some 80 per cent of those workers were non-UK labourers, he said. Mark Williams, chief executive of the British Egg Industry Council, said that, following the EU referendum in 2016, the BEIC had conducted a survey, which showed that between 55 and 60 per cent of those working in packing centres were from other EU countries. Between 35 and 40 per cent of those working on farms were from other EU countries. "Continued access to labour is of vital importance to all of you sitting in this room no matter what type of business you are involved in," he said. Seasonal labour At the NFU's recent annual conference, retiring NFU chairman Meurig Raymond again emphasised that the food and farming industry needed ongoing access to an adequate supply of both seasonal and permanent labour. "Britain's farms need access to the EU market, we need access to a reliable workforce and we need measures to help our food and farming industry be more productive," he said. Business Secretary Greg Clarke told delegates at the conference that he understood the problem. "I hear loud and clear the challenges you are experiencing in your workforce currently," he said. "Agriculture will always rely on seasonal workers whether from home or abroad. Two thirds of your workers are born outside of the UK, come from the EU. It is an absolutely crucial component. "I know that Michael Gove (Environment Secretary) touched on it yesterday. As we move to a new relationship with the EU, I regard it as essential, as I know Michael does, that you get the workers that you need." Labour's farming spokesman, David Drew, committed his party to restoring a Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme during his speech at the conference - a commitment that was welcomed by NFU leaders. He said a lack of labour would lead to serious consequences for farming. But whilst Michael Gove said he understood the industry's concerns, he has so far stopped short of making any such commitment. The Government is still reluctant to outline its post-Brexit plans. Questioned by Nick Robinson on Panorama, Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes simply said that the Government would bring forward an immigration policy when it was ready and when it was convinced it was doing so with "the right evidence in the right way." The British Egg Industry Council has imposed suspensions on two egg production houses after an animal welfare group released video footage allegedly filmed on an egg production unit in Dorset. The footage, which was released by an organisation called Animal Equality, is said to have been shot at Walston Poultry Farm in Dorset, which produces eggs for Noble Foods. The group claims that operations on the site breached animal welfare regulations. Animal Equality says it has submitted a file to Dorset Trading Standards, which it says shows dead birds in cages and on walkways. It claims staff failed to inspect the birds daily - in breach of the Welfare of Farmed Animals Regulations. Investigations were launched immediately by both Noble Foods and the British Egg Industry Council (BEIC), and it has now ordered suspensions. In a statement to FarmingUK, the BEIC said: "After seeing a report from Animal Equity, the British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) immediately sent independent auditors to the site to investigate what appeared to be breaches of the Lion Code of Practice. "Following receipt of the auditors report, the BEIC has suspended two of the houses from the Lion scheme, pending the retraining of stockmen responsible for those birds," the statement said. (Photo: Animal Equality UK) 'Special measures' BEIC chief executive Mark Williams said there had clearly been a breakdown in what was expected of the stockmen managing the houses. Mr Williams said: "We have, therefore, suspended those houses while retraining takes place and practices are put in place to ensure that there can be no repetition. "We will only allow the houses to re-enter the Lion scheme when it has demonstrated that practices have improved significantly and, even then, only under special measures, which will include an ongoing programme of regular, unannounced audits. Despite the suspensions, the BEIC said it could not condone the actions of Animal Equity in breaking into the poultry houses at the farm at a time most likely to cause distress to the birds. Animal Equality said its hidden camera footage revealed that the hens were only checked once in four days by farm staff, which it said was a clear violation of welfare laws. (Photo: Animal Equality UK) It said it had visited Walston Poultry Farm, near Blandford Forum, four times between January and March 2018 and found many birds suffering from severe feather loss - "some nearly bald - with red, raw skin"; dead birds left in cages with the living, "some being cannibalised"; birds with visible wounds from being pecked by other hens; dead birds left lying on walkways next to cages with living hens; tubs holding dozens of dead birds left in the sheds overnight. 'High mortality' Dr Toni Shephard, UK director of Animal Equality, said: The pitiless practice of locking hens inside crowded cages inevitably leads to the frail, featherless birds and high mortality that we found on this farm. "But the failure to even check on these poor, helpless hens once a day as the law requires shows complete disregard for them as living, feeling animals with fundamental needs." She said: Consumers paying a premium for happy eggs will be horrified to learn they are indirectly supporting these cruel cages used on Noble Foods other farms. It is time for Noble to go cage-free across all of their brands. The eggs from the farm are not produced for Noble's high welfare happy egg brand, but for the company's successful enriched cage brand, Big & Fresh. Another animal welfare organisation, the Humane League, recently launched a campaign to persuade Noble to abandon all cage production. 'Simply isn't right' All the UK's major retailers and many large food service companies have committed to going cage-free by 2025, but the Humane League has now set its sights on the country's biggest packer. "When consumers buy free range eggs, they mainly do so because they want to avoid cruel farming practices," said Pru Elliott, the Humane League's head of campaigns in a release announcing the campaign. "However, when people buy eggs from the happy egg co, they are unwittingly supporting the caging of millions of animals. This simply isn't right," she said. After the Animal Equality footage was released, Noble immediately announced that it was investigating Walston Poultry Farm. A company spokesman said: Noble Foods takes the welfare of poultry on farms supplying the company very seriously. The egg industry and its customers require companies to be stringently checked by regular independent auditing procedures including spot checks via unannounced visits. "All sites supplying Noble Foods are fully compliant with UK Government and European regulations on welfare of poultry. "Having seen the report produced by Animal Equality, relating to our contract producer, Walston Poultry, with whom we have a long-standing relationship, we have immediately launched an internal investigation and audit of the site highlighted. "Separately, the farm will be visited, without notice, by the British Egg Industry Council responsible for the Lion Code of Practice, the officially approved scheme requiring egg producers to maintain the highest possible welfare standards and environmental controls. "Our investigation into this matter is under way and Noble Foods remains committed and vigilant in demanding the highest standards from all its suppliers, the spokesman said. FarmingUK contacted Walston Poultry Farm but it did not wish to comment. Denmark will construct a 43.5 mile wall on its German border to keep out wild boars that can carry the deadly disease African swine fewer. The disease has been growing in Eastern Europe and there are concerns it is making its way westwards. African swine fever can affect domestic pigs, and in the case of Denmark, threaten its large pork industry. "I dont want to risk anything, said Denmarks food and environment minister, Esben Lunde Larsen. An African swine fever outbreak in Denmark would shut down all exports to third countries immediately. A fence will keep potentially infected wild boars from crossing the border and make it easier for hunters to eradicate wild boars from Denmark." No cases of the disease has been detected in the country yet, but the Danish government is doing all it can to protect Denmarks lucrative pig exports, which amount to 33 billion Danish krone (3.85bn) per year. Hunters have also been given the go-ahead to kill wild boars, who are nocturnal, at night time. In August last year, Defra raised the risk level of African swine fever following cases discovered in Romania the Czech Republic and Poland. The risk level rating was raised from very low to low. Nevertheless, it is a cause for concern for many British pig farmers. The pig industry has even produced some new materials urging the general public and farmers to do everything to keep African swine fever out of the UK. The government has been urged to be clearer on how new regulation and incentives post-Brexit will support farmers to improve the sustainability of producing food. A new report by Green Alliance argues that further detail is needed on how future policy will help farmers build their businesses around more sustainable food production. It says UK farmers are currently facing major environmental and economic challenges. The report notes agriculture accounts for 10 percent of the UKs carbon emissions, and its dominant modes of food production are causing "degraded soils, biodiversity loss and water contamination". "Farms are becoming commercially as well as environmentally unsustainable. A step change is needed in farming practice if the UK is to reverse environmental declines overall," the Green Alliance explains. It agrees that the Defra Secretary Michael Gove's proposals to replace EU agriculture subsidies with a scheme that pays for public goods is "absolutely right". Defra has in the past said the current system of support for farmers and landowners shaped by the CAP is "inefficient and inequitable". The department said it does not secure the public goods needed to enhance the environment, such as resilient habitats, richer wildlife, healthier rivers and cleaner water. However, the Green's report explains that the government needs to be clearer on how the new support system will make food production more environmentally friendly. 'Middle of the field' Improving the environment and delivering public goods can only be achieved by changing what "farmers do in the middle of the field as well as round the edges", according to the new report. Payments for environmental delivery need to be made as relevant to lowland arable farmers as sheep producers in the uplands if they are to lead to the "net environmental gains" the government says it wants, the report explains. It presses the government on more detail in how its new policies will support farmers in the move to higher environmental standards of food production. The Green Alliance warns that money could be directed in some areas for environmental benefits, whilst farming standards elsewhere remain the same or get worse. "There is a danger that the UK could be heading towards oases of nature surrounded by intensively farmed deserts," the Green Alliance says. "Farmers in the UK will need better advice, as well as rewards and incentives, if they are to build their businesses around high quality sustainable food. "And, the report warns, this transition will be undermined by any future trade deal which increase food imports produced to lower environmental standards, from competitors like the US, Australia and New Zealand." The Welsh government has hinted at future legislation to introduce CCTV in Welsh slaughterhouses. In a written statement on Animal welfare in the food chain, Lesley Griffiths, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, announced a 1.1million Food Business Investment scheme package of grant aid for small and medium size slaughterhouses in Wales. She said: Welfare friendly infrastructure and facilities will be supported and also the installation and upgrading of CCTV monitoring systems. I want to assist Food Business Operators to put systems in place, while legislating for CCTV in slaughterhouses is taking place in England. I want Wales slaughterhouses to be fully prepared as I continue to explore opportunities to legislate in the longer term. The British veterinary industry have been campaigning across the UK for mandatory CCTV in slaughterhouses covering all areas where live animals are kept, as well as full and unrestricted 24/7 access to CCTV footage for Official Veterinarians (OVs). In February, Defra Secretary Michael Gove announced that legislation to make CCTV cameras mandatory in slaughterhouses in England to safeguard animal welfare has been laid. Commenting, Sarah Carr, President of British Veterinary Association (BVA) Welsh Branch, said that improving welfare at slaughter is a "hugely important" campaign for veterinary surgeons. "We hope that the Welsh Government will move quickly towards legislating to introduce CCTV in all Welsh slaughterhouses," Ms Carr said. "Mandatory CCTV will provide an essential tool in fostering a culture of compassion that helps safeguard animal welfare. "It will also be important for Official Veterinarians to have unrestricted access to footage to ensure Wales continues to have the some of the highest standards of animal health, welfare and food safety. The announcement of grant aid for Welsh abattoirs is particularly welcome as it targets smaller local slaughterhouses and supports our view that food animals should be slaughtered as near to the point of production as possible. Benefits and pitfalls of clover overseeding examined on farm 'If it's not 20% clover, its not doing the job' The Federal Reserve System on Friday released the 2017 combined annual audited financial statements for the Federal Reserve Banks, as well as statements for the 12 individual Federal Reserve Banks and the Board of Governors. An independent public accounting firm engaged by the Board has issued unqualified opinions on the financial statements and on the Board's and the Bank's internal controls over financial reporting. The Federal Reserve Banks' 2017 earnings were approximately $80.7 billion. The Reserve Banks provided for remittances to the U.S. Treasury of $80.6 billion in 2017. Interest income on securities acquired through open market operations totaled $113.6 billion, an increase of $2.5 billion from the previous year. Interest expense on depository institutions' reserve balances and term deposits during the year was $25.8 billion, an increase of $13.8 billion from the previous year. Interest expense on securities sold under agreements to repurchase was $3.4 billion, an increase of $2.2 billion from the previous year. Gains from the daily revaluation of foreign currency denominated investments were $1.9 billion. Reserve Bank operating expenses were $6.8 billion, including assessments of $2 billion for Board expenses, currency costs, and the operations of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. The audited financial statements provide a significant amount of information about the assets, liabilities, and earnings of the Reserve Banks and the Board as of December 31, 2017, including information about the composition, fair value, and earnings related to the $4.4 trillion of U.S. Treasury securities, government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) debt securities, and federal agency and GSE mortgage-backed securities acquired through open market operations. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York provides additional detailed information about open market operations and securities holdings on an ongoing basis on its website at www.newyorkfed.org/markets/pomo_landing.html. Total Reserve Bank assets as of December 31, 2017, were approximately $4.4 trillion, which was similar to the balance on December 31, 2016. The Board engages KPMG LLP, an independent public accounting firm, to conduct annual audits of these financial statements in accordance with auditing standards issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and, for the Board of Governors audit only, the Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards. The public accounting firm also conducts audits of internal controls over financial reporting for the 12 individual Federal Reserve Banks and the Board of Governors. The Federal Reserve is unique among large central banks in requesting an external audit of its internal controls over financial reporting. The Federal Reserve System financial statements are available on the Federal Reserve Board's website at www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/bst_fedfinancials.htm. For media inquiries, call 202-452-2955. Production No. 1 Of Prithviraj Productions! Well, the big wait has come to an end and an official announcement regarding the first Production venture of the banner has been made. The film will feature Prithviraj himself in the lead role and the movie has been titled as 9. Prithviraj's Facebook Post Prithviraj himself took to Facebook to make an official announcement on the same. His Facebook post was read as "From the creative heads at Sony, to Supriya, me and every single crew member you see in the credits, came on board for how new we thought the film and it's premise was. Soon, we will also introduce you to the cast..and why we think this is a genuine first of its kind for Malayalam cinema. Prithviraj Productions and Sony Pictures International Productions proudly present..our maiden venture..9!" To Be Directed By Jenuse Mohammed Well, this upcoming venture will be helmed by young film-maker Jenuse Mohamed, who made his big debut with the Dulquer Salmaan starrer 100 Days Of Love. His upcoming film with Prithviraj will have its script penned by the director himself. A Science Fiction? Well, a lot of updates were doing the rounds regarding 9, even before this big announcement. If reports are to be believed, the film will be a science fiction movie. Reports were also doing the rounds that Prithviraj will be seen in the role of a scientist in this movie. Crime Petrol: Anup Soni QUITS the show after 8 years; Here's why | FilmiBeat Anup Soni, who has been hosting Sony TV's show, Crime Patrol for eight long years has decide to quit the show. He will be exiting the show after serving his notice period. The actor wants to get back to acting and is looking forward to do films and shows. He says that he cannot kill the actor in him and wants his fans to understand the same. When Anup was asked regarding the same, he was quoted by BT as saying, "Eight years is a long time and I have had a beautiful journey on the show. However, I miss acting. I am an actor first. I haven't acted in five years. I am looking forward to doing films and shows." The viewers are disappointed as they cannot watch their favourite host on the show. They cannot see anyone else at his place. For this, the actor said, "I know it could be, but I am sure that the audience will also understand my situation. It has been a long time and I don't want to become monotonous." "I have been involved and passionate about every episode that I have shot and can't be casual about hosting. However, I cannot kill the actor in me and expect people to understand. The show will always hold a special place in my heart. I now want to experiment with roles as an actor." Crime Patrol, which is believe as a reality show, was the first show on Indian television, where to capture crimes live the cameras travelled with the law enforcement authorities. The series was premiered on May 9, 2003. It is said to be the longest running reality crime television series in India that has completed fifteen years in 2018. The motto of the show is 'Crime never pays'. The show presents dramatised version of crime cases that occurred in India. The anchor Anup narrated the real-life stories revolving around harassment, murders and kidnapping and suggested the right measures to avert crimes. Now that Anup has quit the show, it has to be seen who will step into his shoes. Well, we are sure that the viewers will miss Anup! Kapil Sharma's New Show: Tiger Shroff & Disha Patani Were Never Scheduled To Shoot! Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) is giving its midsize Fusion sedan an update for the 2019 model year. The Fusion will get some new technology, some styling changes, and a new standard engine, Ford's 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder EcoBoost unit. At first glance, this may not seem like a big deal for Ford investors. But stick with me here: As we dig into the details, we'll find some things about Ford's update of the Fusion that will help us understand how Ford and its products are changing under the leadership of CEO Jim Hackett. What Ford is changing on the Fusion Let's start by looking at what Ford is changing on the Fusion for 2019: The 2019 Fusion will be the first Ford to come standard with the new Co-Pilot360 suite of driver-assist systems. All Fusion models except the bottom-of-the-line S trim and the performance Sport model will come standard with the 1.5-liter EcoBoost. Right now, some have Ford's naturally aspirated 2.5-liter Duratec 4-cylinder, while others come with the 2.0-liter version of the EcoBoost. All Fusions except the S will come standard with 4G connectivity and onboard Wi-Fi. Ford is making more features standard on the Titanium and Hybrid versions of the Fusion. The plug-in hybrid Fusion Energi gets a modest electric-only range boost. All Fusions get new grilles (there are two designs), standard fog lamps, a new trunk-lid panel, and LED taillights. Do you see the pattern in the changes? It's a nice list of updates, but it's no big deal, right? Look more closely: There are fewer engine choices and fewer options, in large part because some previously optional items are now standard. In Ford-speak, the number of "orderable combinations" has been greatly reduced on the Fusion for 2019. That will happen to other Ford models as they're updated over the next couple of years. In a presentation to investors in October, Hackett explained that this is part of a larger effort to reduce complexity at Ford: We build a lot of [complexity] into our vehicles. The problem was, we really offered too many options. This isn't efficient for businesses. It's a killer for operations, and in fact, customers don't like it. There's a Harvard article called "The Tyranny of Choice," which says they really don't like having too many choices. As you can see on this slide, the Escape combinations will be reduced by tenfold in the next generation. Hackett argued that reducing the number of orderable combinations will serve customers. But there's much more to it: As Hackett sees it, simplifying the options list will make manufacturing more efficient, reduce material costs (because fewer sets of parts need to be kept on hand), and increase the speed of Ford's product-development process. In short: Simplifying the options list helps Ford reduce costs, streamline manufacturing, and get new products to market more quickly -- all worthy goals. There's one more noteworthy thing here If we step back a bit, we can see one more thing that's of interest in this 2019 update of the Fusion. Typically, automakers launch a new model, give it an update after three or four years, and then replace it with an all-new model about two years after the update. The current Fusion was first revealed in January of 2012, and went on sale later that year as a 2013 model. As you'd expect, Ford refreshed it a few years later, giving it some styling changes and updates for 2017. But here's where the story diverges: Instead of the all-new Fusion you'd expect to see about now, Ford is refreshing the old model again for 2019. There's no doubt that the Fusion was cutting-edge when it was launched. It was a big-deal product that was a couple of steps ahead of the Japanese-brand entries dominating the midsize-sedan segment. In fact, the Fusion was in such demand that Ford did something unusual: It set up a second assembly line. But that second assembly line was shut down in 2016. Like many of its rivals, the Fusion's sales have faded as more buyers choose SUVs. The Fusion's age means that its sales have been hit harder than some. Today, the Fusion is arguably a step or two behind the Honda (NYSE:HMC) Accord and Toyota (NYSE:TM) Camry, both of which were all-new -- not just updated, completely redesigned -- for 2018. It may be about to fall even further behind: Nissan is expected to take the wraps off an all-new version of its Altima at next week's New York International Auto Show. The upshot: Hackett's talk is turning into action There isn't an all-new Fusion waiting in the wings, either. Hackett has directed Ford to focus on higher-profit SUVs and to reduce its investments in sedan models. Ford's product plan for the next two years includes five new SUVs and an all-new F-150 pickup -- but no Fusion. Ford is reducing the cost of building the current Fusion, and it won't have an all-new model any time soon. For fans of the car, that's not good news. But for shareholders, it's a clear sign that Hackett's talk is turning into action -- and bottom-line improvements should be on the way. $500 Bonus Cash if anybody wants it When I bought my truck, Ford sent me a $500 bonus Cash coupon to pass on to a friend. I held it for my BIL but it expires next week, So I'll give it to somebody picking up a new ford by March 31st. I don't know what restrictions apply or what you can combine it with. Check under the new Ford's "Drive it Forward" program to see if you can combine it with any other bonus cash offers. Defra farm minister George Eustice has chaired a meeting with farm leaders from the UKs devolved nations to hear their views on the governments Brexit consultation paper on agriculture. Key stakeholders from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland joined MPs for the open round-table discussions at Defra headquarters in London on Thursday (22 March). A Defra spokesperson said: Given the devolved administrations will have greater powers to decide their own agriculture policy when we leave the EU, the minister is keen to hear about their future plans and ensure there is the opportunity for different areas to collaborate and learn from each others experiences. See also: Gove plans to redirect 150m BPS savings to the environment It was a productive meeting, with representation from NFU Scotland (NFUS), Scottish Land and Estates, NFU Cymru and NI Environment Link [NIEL], among others. Among the issues discussed were: Broad agreement that having the environment and sustainable food production at the heart of future farming policy is a positive opportunity for all territories. The need for the four nations to work collaboratively on solutions for new common frameworks to maintain the integrity of the UK internal market and allow us to sign international agreements. Future funding guarantees to note, the minister reiterated that the same cash total for farm support is guaranteed for all parts of the UK until the end of this parliament. Defras Brexit consultation paper for agriculture Health and Harmony: the future for food, farming and the environment in a Green Brexit confirms the governments intention to replace the existing system of farm support with a new framework based on environmental enhancements and the delivery of public goods. Westminster power grab fears Defra has indicated that certain powers would be retained by Westminster initially after Brexit to provide for UK frameworks. But farming unions across the UKs devolved nations are concerned Defra may seek a power grab of EU policy currently exercised by Brussels. They are seeking an appropriate balance between devolution and common UK frameworks after Brexit. Commenting on the meeting, NFUS vice-president Martin Kennedy said: As the Brexit negotiations ramp up, so too does NFU Scotlands engagement with officials and parliamentarians. Continued dialogue on the unions key principles of trade, labour and support is hugely important. A National Audit Office (NAO) report, published in December, which considered how Defra policy will be implemented after Brexit, found about 80% of its policy areas are devolved. The department needs to work closely with the devolved administrations to agree where UK-wide frameworks are needed in Defras devolved policy areas, said the report. Ubisoft recently made a big announcement related to India the opening of the new studio (the second one) in India, Ubisoft Mumbai. The publisher revealed to us that Ubisoft Mumbai will focus on AAA Game Development and Live Operations. That was the only thing that came out from the official press release that we received from Ubisoft, a lot of details were still missing like the Address of the new studio, will this new studio work in collaboration with Ubisoft Pune, and many more things. We asked Ubisoft to share more updates and what are their plans for Ubisoft Mumbai and we got this massive Q&A from them which details everything you need to know about Ubisoft Mumbai. Ubisoft Mumbai Q&A Q: Why does Ubisoft expand to Mumbai? Why Mumbai? A: The expansion is in line with Ubisofts global growth strategy, as well as a general growth strategy for Ubisoft in India which was identified as a prominent market for video games back in 2008 when we decided to open our first studio there. We are always looking for ways to expand our existing studio structure and are very happy that we get the chance to do this in another location. Mumbai is one of the most exciting and attractive cities in India and is known for being a world class talent pool. Our mission in India is to work hand-in-hand with the best teams within the Ubisoft studio network on highly acclaimed brands. Q: How do you explain the growth of Pune? A: Ubisoft Pune has established itself as a great partner for our co-development model. Over the past ten years, Pune has contributed to the success of Ubisofts most beloved franchises such as Just Dance, Steep and Far Cry to name a few. We have an incredible talented team eager to learn which allowed the studio to grow from 10 employees in 2008 to more than 700 today. Q: When will the Mumbai studio open? A: We already started to work on the studio fit-out and we are considering to set it up in the coming months. The opening is planned for June. Q: What games will the Mumbai studio be working on? Like Pune studio, Mumbai will collaborate on Ubisofts most beloved and successful AAA franchises in co-development with Ubisoft international network of studios. The new studio will also work on back catalogue titles. Q: What is the first project Mumbai studio is going to work on? A: We cannot share any details yet. We can only say that we have many interesting projects in our basket right now so stay tuned! Q: How many people will you hire and for which position? Did the recruitment process already started? A: We plan to hire 100 talents within the first two years of operation. We are looking for artists (animation, tech artists, sr concept artists) and programmers (engine programmer, 3D programmer, etc.). We will also be aligning ourselves with the industrial shift towards automation and AI by closely working with premium institutes like IIT-Mumbai. The recruitment process already started and people can visit our website to apply. Q: Are you looking to recruit Indian talent only? A: We are confident that India is a huge talent pool that we can still tap into, thats why we are opening a new studio in Mumbai. Still, well treat applications from elsewhere on a case by case basis. Q: What kind of employee benefits will you be offering to newcomers at Mumbai? A: Its a bit early to tell, and it will depend on the experience of the people. Ubisoft offers competitive salary and benefits as well as compelling training programs, aiming at growing a studio capable of producing AAA quality standard. Q: Who will lead the Mumbai studio? A: The Mumbai studio will be led by Jean-Philippe Pieuchot who is currently the Pune studio managing director. Jean-Philippe is an Ubisoft veteran with more than 15 years of experience in the company. He successfully managed several AAA collaborations with multiple studios worldwide and we are confident his impressive leadership and entrepreneurial skills will help to achieve Ubisofts vision in Mumbai. Q: How about the core team? A: The current senior team from the Pune studio will form the new core team at Mumbai Studio. The team is composed of national and international profiles who have been working with Pune Studio for many years. The team will be coming to Mumbai with their strong expertise on cross-studio collaboration. Recruitment and expansion in Pune will be ongoing as per our plan. However the preference to fill in the senior positions will be given to the team members who are already working at Pune studio. This will give them the opportunity to grow in the studio and define their career path. Q: Where in Mumbai will the studio be located? A: Mumbai Studio will be situated in Hiranandani Business Park, in Powai, one of the most attractive and dynamic districts of Mumbai. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) of Mumbai is also located in Powai which gives us a proximity to the college and talent pool. In addition to the new studio we are also setting up a Research Lab within the IIT campus to work on research projects with the Computer Science & Data Science department. Q: Will the two Indian studios work together? A: Yes. Both studio will be working in collaboration on AAA development projects. Together and also with other Ubisoft studios across the world. Q: Any university partnerships to train future game developers in India? A: Yes we will collaborate with one of the most prestigious college of India- IIT Mumbai to work together on research projects focusing mostly on AI & automation. We will set-up a research lab on their campus where the top creative minds from the college will work together with few Ubisoft employees on automation topics. We will also partner with Intuit Lab to design together Game Art Design Program. This program is a comprehensive 4-year training for aspiring gaming industry professionals who want to learn the basics and fundamentals of design in order to become an industry-ready game designer. It focuses on the students professional requirements and prepares them for their first steps in a studio right after their second year to being part of an executive design team during their third year. The first batch of students will be admitted in June, 2018. Q: Will you be hiring students from IIT or Intuit Lab? If yes, how many? A: The initial plan is to hire them as interns and train them on projects. Then based on their performance we may absorb them as permanent positions. We cant confirm numbers as we are at the early stage of this partnership. We will start hiring a dozen of interns from IIT-Mumbai for a period of 10 weeks. With this ongoing we are also planning to engage with the students at different levels, for example we are organizing a Game Jam on 21st & 22nd March with IIT-Mumbai students at Pune studio. The students will be participating under the mentorship of Ubisoft programmers and develop a prototype on the given topic. Q: What is Ubisofts market share in India? A: Ubisoft titles are very popular in India. Ubisoft has over 800,000 Facebook fans across several official Ubisoft game pages. Since Ubisoft first commenced trading in India 10 years ago, overall unit sales have continued to grow each year. Q: Will Mumbai be working on mobile titles? A: We will focus our effort on AAA console development and back catalogue titles. Q: Has Ubisoft received subsidies from the government to settle or expand in India? A: No, Ubisoft doesnt receive any subsidies from the Indian government Q: What is the first project the studio will be working on? A: We will focus our effort on AAA console development and back catalogue titles. Its too soon to say more but stay tuned 3 Most Tricky Question Q: Does the opening of a studio in Mumbai mean that the development in Pune will be slower or put on hold? A: No, the expansion plan in Pune will continue according to plan. The opening of a new studio in India will only impact the Pune studio positively. It is a win-win situation as we are going to majorly replace the people who are leaving for Mumbai Studio with talented employees already working in the Pune Studio. Q: India is an emerging country and salaries cant equal those offered in Europe or North America What will salaries will be like at the studio? A: Ubisoft prides itself to recruit the best talents of the gaming industry and India is a young and vibrant country with a strong gaming culture. Salaries will be aligned with the local market and the industry standards. Our promise to future team members goes beyond salary were offering the opportunity to work on exciting projects in a creative and healthy work environment, were also providing an opportunity to learn and develop skills in addition to share creative talent with colleagues across the world. Q: Is Ubisoft outsourcing the development of its AAA franchises like Just Dance in India? Violations of fundamental human rights in Georgias occupied regions stressed at UN Human Rights Council session - GeorgianJournal Google Assistant now allows money transaction via Google Pay in the US News oi-Sandeep Sarkar Google Assistant enabled payments will also work for the users who have not yet signed up for Google Pay, however, the user needs to sign up before making the final transaction. Google has been regularly bringing updates to its apps and devices, now the latest app to get an update is the Google Assistant. As per some reports from the internet, Google has made an announcement that the first Google Pay Integration for Google Assistant will allow money transactions. Yes, that's correct users in the US will now be able to send or receive money using the Google Assistant. The report further suggests that the new feature will be made available for the Android and iOS users in the US. Further, Google will add the feature to Google Home and other Google-Assistant-enabled devices in the coming months. The Assistant enabled payments will also work for the users who have not yet signed up for Google Pay, however, the user needs to sign up before making the final transaction. Also, the users will be notified by the Google Pay app once they have received the money. Google will also send a confirmation email or text message for the transaction that has been made. A user can also cash out from the Google Pay account. That said, it would be much appreciated if Google made this service available for India and other countries. There is no information either on when this facility will be available for other regions; however, an early release would be much appreciated. Top 10 Tips & Tricks for Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL In our recent articles related to Google, we covered that Google is working on introducing some changes to its Phone app on Android. It is being reported that the new version of the app which is v18 focuses on the apps built-in sound and vibration settings and replacing it with the sound settings that are offered by the system. The report further suggests that the sound settings provided by the system are fairly substantial. Read the complete story here. Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Samsung Galaxy J8 (2018) could be unveiled soon News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu Samsung appears to be focused on competing with its Chinese rivals. Last month, a leaked benchmark listing revealed the specifications of the alleged Galaxy J8 (2018). Now, a device will with the model number SM-J800FN has been spotted at the Wi-Fi Alliance to receive the Wi-Fi certification. From the naming pattern followed by Samsung, this device is believed to be the Galaxy J8 (2018). As it is awaiting the Wi-Fi certification, it is believed that the smartphone could be unveiled soon. The Galaxy J8 (2018) is said to run Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box. Otherwise, none of the other details of this smartphone are known for now from the Wi-Fi certification. However, the Geekbench listing revealed the key specifications we can expect from the Galaxy J8 (2018). Going by the same, the smartphone is believed to get the power from Samsung's Exynos 7870 SoC, which works in conjunction with 3GB RAM. While the other details of the alleged Galaxy J8 (2018) are scarce, there are speculations that the device could arrive with an Infinity Display panel just like the Galaxy A8 (2018). Reports suggest that the Galaxy J8+ (2018) could be in line with the Galaxy A8+ (2018). Adding more credibility to these claims, a device with the model number SM-J805G surfaced online and it is believed to be the Galaxy J8+ (2018). Notably, this smartphone is also said to use the Exynos 7870 processor but the RAM capacity is tipped to be bumped up to 4GB RAM. If this happens to be true and the Galaxy J8 (2018) duo arrive with Infinity Displays, then Samsung will have smartphones with the Infinity Displays at various price points. To be specific, the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are in the premium market segment and Galaxy A8 (2018) and Galaxy A8+ (2018) are in the upper mid-range market segment. The upper budget market segment will be occupied by the rumored Galaxy J8 (2018) and Galaxy J8+ (2018). Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ First Impressions While none of these aspects are officially confirmed by Samsung, one thing that appears to be certain is that Samsung is trying to tackle the increasing competition from the Chinese manufacturers with advanced offerings at different price points. Via: GalaxyClub 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 Vivo V9 launched at Rs. 22,990 with 24MP selfie camera and 4GB RAM News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu Get the Vivo V9 live updates from here. The Vivo V9 will go on pre-order starting from today via Amazon India. Vivo V9 was unveiled in a few markets yesterday and is all set to be launched in India today. Today, the Vivo V9 has been launched in India at a price point of Rs. 22,990. The smartphone will be available via Amazon India for pre-order from today and the sale will debut on April 2. The Vivo V9 has several highlights such as a display notch as in the iPhone X, a 24MP selfie camera as on the Vivo V7+, AI Face Access feature, which can be used to unlock the smartphone and apps, a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 SoC and more. Vivo V9 arrives with a 6.3-inch FHD+ in-cell IPS FullView Display with a resolution of 2280 x 1080 pixels and 19:9 aspect ratio as there is a display notch. The smartphone runs Android 8.0 Oreo topped with Funtouch OS 4.0 and makes use of an octa-core Snapdragon 626 SoC paired with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage space, which can be expanded up to 256GB. The imaging aspects of the Vivo V9 include dual cameras positioned vertically at the top left with 16MP and 5MP sensors. The rear camera makes use of AI techniques to render good quality photos. The selfie camera is a 24MP sensor with a portrait mode, AR stickers and Face Beauty. The Vivo V9 comes with 4G LTE, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, USB OTG support, and a 3260mAh battery. Here are the live updates of the Vivo V9 launch. 12:52:04: Kent Cheng, CEO of Vivo India takes the stage. The Vivo V9 is priced at Rs. 22,990. It is available in Pearl Black, Sapphire Blue, and Champagne Gold colors. Pre-booking starts today. 12:44:06: Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 SoC brings a better multimedia experience, better connectivity, 4K Ultra HD video capture, and more. There is 4GB RAM and 64GB storage space, which can be expanded up to 256GB. 12:41:00: FunTouchOS 4.0 has many new features such as Global Search, Easy Share, Navigation Gestures 2.0, and more. 12:37:38: A 24MP selfie camera on the Vivo V9 captures your selfies as the V7. There are funny AR live stickers. There is AI Face Access, which lets you use your face to unlock apps and smart ringtone volume. The latter will lower the ringtone volume as soon as take the phone near your face. This feature will let you unlock your smartphone with your face. 12:34:25: Best-in-class and powerful dual cameras at the rear with 16MP and 5MP cameras. The 5MP camera renders depth of field effect. There are new exciting features such as Real Bokeh Mode. Short Refocus can customize already captured shots. There is Ultra HDR mode as well. 12:32:45: Ultra-premium glossy back with curved design giving a stunning look. 12:32:19: 6.3-inch edge-to-edge display with thin bezels gives a high screen-to-body ratio of 90% and enough screen real state to enjoy watching movies, playing games, and more. 12:29:24: Paigham Danish, the Product Manager comes on stage to talk about the Vivo V9. He showcases the Vivo V9 with a FullView display with reduced bezels than the V7+. 12:26:23: Vivo provides a great after sales support to keep the users satisfied and the company's satisfaction score on the after sales front is said to be 98%. 12:25:31: Marya talks about the innovations of Vivo and details about the Vivo Apex. Vivo Apex concept smartphone introduced at MWC 2018 has redefined the benchmarks with the world's highest screen-to-body ratio, a front elevating selfie camera, which retracts after use, and more highlights. 12:20:19: The event has started with Nipun Marya, the Director, Brand Strategy on stage. 12:18:24: Proud users of the Vivo V7+ and what they like about their phone. 11:59:57: We can see that there are registrations happening at the Vivo V9 launch event. 11:56:39: And, we are there at the Vivo V9 launch event venue in Mumbai. Best Mobiles in India Airtel to further expand network in Assam and North East News oi-Chandrika As part of its network transformation program; Project Leap, the telco plans to roll out 6000 new mobile sites across the region in FY 2018-19. Bharti Airtel has announced that it will continue to make significant investments to further expand its operations and network footprint across Assam and North East. As part of its network transformation program; Project Leap, the telco plans to roll out 6000 new mobile sites across the region in FY 2018-19. This rollout will effectively translate to deployment of 16 new Airtel mobile sites per day across the region. With this planned rollout, the number of Airtel's mobile sites across Assam and NESA will go up by 31% to 25,000 and considerably enhance the network experience for customers. Airtel also plans to deploy 3000 km of fresh optic fiber in the region to take its fiber footprint to 16000 km. The addition of fresh fiber capacity will support the growth of high speed data services in the region. Raveendra Desai, CEO, Airtel North East & Assam said, "Assam and North East are a key markets for Airtel and we remain fully committed to bringing innovative and best-in-class services to our customers in the region. We will continue to invest aggressively in these markets to build a future ready data network and expand our coverage to unconnected, underserved regions, and contribute to the Government's 'Digital India' vision." Dell XPS 13 (2018) laptop review - GIZBOT Airtel was the first telecom operator to launch 3G and 4G services in the region. Airtel's network umbrella in the region covers all key urban, semi urban and rural areas including highways, tourist destinations and trade centers. It offers network coverage in various remote locations like Lumla (Arunachal Pradesh), Tuipang (Mizoram), Dawki (Meghalaya) and Longwa (Nagaland). In December 2017, Airtel had signed an agreement with the Department of Telecom (Govt. of India) and Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) for provision of mobile services in identified uncovered villages and national highways in the North Eastern States of Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh. Under the agreement, the telco will set up over 2000 mobile towers/sites in unconnected pockets of the region and deliver telecom connectivity to citizens in over 2100 villages over 18 months. 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 Sujana Favouring Compromise With Centre? Even as Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has been attacking the National Democratic Alliance government with strongest words every day, his partys two erstwhile Central ministers P Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Y S Chowdary (alias Sujana Chowdary) still seem to be interested in continuing good relations with the Centre. While Ashok has been still moving closely with his erstwhile cabinet colleagues, Sujana Chowdary is registering his protest only for the record sake but in the backroom, he is negotiating with the Central ministers. On Friday, Sujana told Naidu that Union finance minister Arun Jaitely had called him the previous night and discussed with him about the possibility of a compromise. He told me that the Centre was ready to make announcements on railway zone, Kadapa steel plant and other pending promises in the Act. However, he did not make any commitment on special category status. What shall we do now? Sujana asked the boss. Obviously, Naidu was furious. First of all, why did you go Jaitelys chambers when we cut off links with the NDA? Secondly, why is the Centre trying for a compromise at this stage? What message will it send to the people if we compromise with the Centre now? Let him make the announcements first. We shall decide what we can do then, he told the MP. He asked the MPs not to go the central ministers chambers again, even if they get a call. We dont need to behave like enemies and can have friendly chat with them. But officially, let us not go to them seeking compromise. In any case, let us continue our fight for special status, he told Sujana. Click Here for Latest Direct-to-OTT Releases (List Updates Daily) Organizations are more segregated today than they were 40 years ago. And entrepreneurs are to blame. Related: Why Diversity In the Workforce Is Imperative A study released in January by John-Paul Ferguson of Stanford University and Rembrand Koning of Harvard Business School, found that "occupational segregation" (where minorities are relegated to certain roles within a company) has decreased since 1970. "Establishment segregation" (companies' emphasis on diversity) has increased. Whats interesting is that establishment segregation was decreasing until the 1990s. So, what caused the reversal? Companies started becoming less diverse around the same time it became common for larger organizations to acquire startups. Ferguson and Koning suggest that since startups tend to be less diverse, they dilute the diversity of larger organizations when theyre acquired. This, they say, is what has led to the increase in establishment segregation. With many companies focusing increasingly on diversity, corporate executives and investors may think twice before investing in or acquiring a less-than-diverse startup. In other words, if you're a startup owner, you should be focusing on diversity now to ensure a smooth exit strategy later. Here's how: Hire outside your comfort zone. Entrepreneurs often focus narrowly on fast growth. They make the mistake of surrounding themselves with other people honed in to the same short-sighted goal. This is why Dallas-based strategic leadership consultant Keith Martino advises that leaders hire for diversity early on. Related: The Myriad Benefits of Diversity in the Workplace As the business begins to take on momentum, the owner often fuels the fire by hiring individuals who share his or her perspective, Martino told me in an email. Its convenient. But the price for this convenience is a company built on a foundation that lacks diversity, Martino said. So, from day one, hire outside of your company's comfort zone. Find people who challenge decisions and ask questions. Start by looking outside of the startup world. Then, during the interview, ask potential employees about their perspective of the company. What weaknesses do they see? Where do they see potential? What would they do differently? While their answers may prove they're not the right fit, the process will show if the candidate can bring something unique to the table. Avoid employee referrals. Often, employee referrals lead to some of the best hires. But when a company is small, so is the pool of employees family and friends. As San Francisco-based advisor to tech startups Lever, Bravado and AdRecruits, Leela Srinivasan pointed out, this often means a companys early hires are exactly like its current employees. Even if the founding team is made up of people from a minority group, theres no further diversity. Ive seen this in countless startups with an 'about us' page that is predominantly male and non-diverse, Srinivasan said in an email. Instead of relying on employees networks, turn to more diverse pipelines. For technical positions, Srinivasan suggested hiring coding-bootcamp participants. These training programs provide people with the skills employers need. And, since bootcamps occur all over the country, they give access to talent from a variety of backgrounds. Another great option is veterans groups. While they might require more on-the-job training, veterans are an underutilized but talented and diverse workforce. Ask the right questions. Most leaders dont set out to build companies that lack diversity. But that can happen when they are blind to their own biases. Startup leaders should assess their current strengths and weaknesses from a 'people' perspective, Tim Gates, the Pittsburgh-based senior regional vice president of the staffing and temp agency Adecco USA, said in an email. In many cases, diversity gaps in the workplace arent intentional, but leaders simply arent asking the right questions. Dig into your company's demographics. Look beyond race and gender. Consider other sources of diversity, like education, employment history and personality. Determine if these demographics are represented proportionally throughout the organization. The answers to these questions will show where holes exist in your companys diversity. Train for diversity. When an organization is diverse, leaders have access to multiple perspectives and ideas. While employees backgrounds play a big part in their point of view, so does their training. Dont train people in mass quantities like big, traditional companies, Andres Angelani, CEO of Oakland, Calif.-based digital transformation company Softvision, told me. Instead, expose young people to different emerging technologies, new design trends and agile mindsets. Give each employee a unique learning experience. Have him or her work with different types of customers and under different managers. Try to match employees with unfamiliar experiences. Related: Why You Need to Focus on Diversity Before It's Too Late For example, if an employee is a white man from an affluent background, assign him to a manager who is a female minority. This will expose him to a variety of experiences that will help him develop new, diverse ways of thinking. Related: Is Your Ad Racially Insensitive? What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Missteps by Gap, Dove and H&M. The Shocking Factor Putting Your Entire Exit Strategy at Risk Evernote's Head of 'People' Explains How the Company Employs Tech Tools to Reinforce Its Values Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales. Without any fuss, Samsung unveiled an updated Galaxy J7 Prime 2 on the Indian section of its website. The phone appears to be an updated version of the Galaxy J7 Prime with miniature design changes like the capacitive buttons. It arrives with Android Nougat out of the box, octa-core CPU on an Exynos 7 chipset and a revamped 13 MP selfie camera. Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime 2 The Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime 2s chip is most likely the same Exynos 7870, seen in the original J7 Prime, because the clock speed of the CPU is unchanged at 1.6 GHz. Specs like RAM, storage and microSD availability also remain unchanged - 3 GB + 32 GB + up to 256 GB. Although the primary camera is 13 MP with f/1.9, it offers Visual Search through Samsung Mall. There is also Samsung Pay Mini availability in India where the Galaxy J7 Prime 2 will be marketed. The front camera now comes with live AR stickers and filters, instant share and instant editing, for all the social addicts out there. Official promo images from Samsung India website Size-wise, the phone has not changed - it sits at 151.7 x 75 x 8 mm, but now weighs 170 g. The battery remains the same - 3,300 mAh, charged via a micro USB port. The Galaxy J7 Prime 2 is currently revealed only in Black, but Champagne Gold version is also on its way. The price tag is INR13,990, which is about 175 or $215. Source | Via Login or sign up to follow actresses, movies & dramas and get specific updates and news Login Sign Up Email Password Password Username Your E-mail will only be used to retrieve a lost password. Stay logged in Help Published on 2018/03/23 | Source Added episode 7 captures for the Korean drama "Queen of Mystery Season 2" (2018) Advertisement Directed by Choi Yoon-seok-II, Yoo Yeong-eun-I Written by Lee Seong-min-II Network : KBS With Kwon Sang-woo, Choi Kang-hee, Lee Da-hee, Park Byung-eun, Kim Hyun-sook, Kim Won-hae,... 16 episodes - Wed, Thu 22:00 Synopsis "Queen of Mystery" tells the story of a prosecutor's wife who's always dreamed of being a detective. After actually solving a case, she ends up in an unlikely crime-fighting duo with a young police captain. Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2018/02/28 More Cut Bank native warns of cuts in the making The Empire Builder heads west from Havre shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday. Funding and operation of Amtrak's long-distance rail service is again in question with President Donald Trump's budget zeroing out funding and concerns arising that the administration plans to reduce the number of days a week it runs. Editors note: This has been revised to more accurately reflect Mark Meyers guest editorial. Although a former Hi-Line resident has warned people that the Passenger Rail Association is pulling the alarm bell regarding the future of Amtrak long-distance passenger trains, the members of Montana's Congressional delegation said they will support keeping Amtrak's Empire Builder running along the Hi-Line in its route from Chicago to the West Coast. Cut Bank native Mark Meyer, a member of the Rail Passengers Association, sent a column from Portland, Oregon, to the Havre Daily News, pr... By Emily Mayer The Havre School Board of Trustees announced who won the contract to build the second Havre High School. This announcement was found on the front page of The Havre Plaindealers March 23, 1918 edition: BOARD LETS CONTRACT HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING Contracts were let by the board of trustees of School District No. 16 Wednesday evening for the new high school building. The contracting firm of Fuglevand & Sundberg was awarded the building, the plumbing went to J. P. Grady & Co., and the wiring to E. S. Henry. The new building will cost about $75,000, and when completed will be... Havre woman with long rap sheet gets 10 years A Havre woman who allegedly rammed her vehicle into a Havre police cruiser in January was sentenced in state District Court in Havre Monday to 10 years in plea agreements on multiple cases. Rebecca S. Denson, born 1964, is being held at the Chouteau County Jail while waiting on a pending Hill County case because of her assault on a Hill County DetentIon Officer in 2017. Denson is accused of ramming a vehicle into a police cruiser Jan. 31 after getting stuck as a result of her fleeing officers. Court charging documents say Denson tried to drive the police vehicle off the road and... Man gets probation for drunkenly rolling car over, injuring passengers A Havre man received one-year probation for drunkenly crashing and rolling over a vehicle, injuring the two passengers. Keiffer T. Nordgulen, born in 1989, was sentenced Wednesday in state District Court in Havre, after a multi-day sentence hearing, to one year in the county jail all suspended for the offense of misdemeanor negligent endangerment. He received credit for one day served. Nordgulens sentence is part of a last-minute plea deal that dismissed a felony criminal endangerment charge, as well as two misdemeanor charges, driving under the influence, first offense, an... Before there was Havre, there was an area south of the Milk River called Bullhook Bottoms, which got its name from the butte southeast of present-day Havre that regional Native Americans called Bullhook, from the legend of a bull bison gouging out the middle of the butte. The lowland, where the creek that starts at the butte flows into the Milk River, was known as Bullhook Bottoms. Great Northern Railway head James J. Hill, the "Empire Builder," wanted the name of the area changed after he made it a major stop for his east-west line. So a meeting to discuss a new name was held. Things go... I was never one of those chicks who had guys rushing to do things for her or even to save her from herself. I wasnt one of those uber-pretty and delicate girls for whom guys fell over themselves, and I had enough sarcasm and swearing to make anyone possible rescuers think twice. Plus, my ridiculous parents raised me to be independent. What was that about? That said, I was raised to expect some coddling from loved ones, as I should do for them. My husband, John, does a fair job of taking care of me and making me feel like a very special, pretty princess. For example, he does things lik... Fast-forward to 2017. People and businesses rely on technology, and technology is an enabler to disrupt traditional markets think Uber and Airbnb; taxi firms and hotels are struggling to catch up. And the rate of change is lightning fast. Indeed, fintech has exploded in TFAs industry. Companies such as GoGet, the car-sharing service, mean that people and businesses in cities have the benefit of using a vehicle without having to buy or lease one. The disruption doesnt end there. TFA has had to respond to not just digital disruption but also regulatory and market changes. At the same time, the company has had to keep customers at the heart of everything it does. It means that businesses today, including Toyota, have to be agile and resilient, Halabut said. The challenge for all of us as HR professionals is to remain relevant too. We have to be on the front foot, and that means we must be proactive and support organisations to seize opportunities. To keep pace with change, TFA has restructured its senior executive team (SET) so that its guest-centric. The SET is responsible for running the company. To do this effectively, TFA has strengthened what it calls its transformation directorate. PHILADELPHIA Bacterial load was significantly higher in pancreatic tumor samples from patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma compared with pancreatic tissue from normal individuals, and in studies using mice, eliminating certain bad bacteria slowed the growth of pancreatic cancer, reversed immune suppression, and upregulated the immune checkpoint protein PD1, according to data from a study published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. The gut microbiome has been studied in many different cancers, including liver and colorectal cancer, and is shown to affect cancer progression, said George Miller, MD, HL Pachter Professor in the Departments of Surgery and Cell Biology at New York University School of Medicine. Because the pancreas is remote from the gut, it is considered a sterile organ, and there havent been many studies that looked at the role of the gut microbiome in pancreatic cancer, he added. We were surprised to see that the human pancreatic tissue samples had an active microbiome, said Deepak Saxena, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology at New York University College of Dentistry. And we found that not only are there bacteria in the pancreas but the bacterial load is significantly higher in pancreatic cancer tissue compared to normal pancreas tissue. The researchers also compared fecal samples from 32 patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with fecal samples from 31 normal individuals and found that the bacterial composition of cancer patients was distinct from that of normal individuals. The bacterial composition was more diverse in the fecal samples than from cancer patients, noted Miller. The dysbiosis [imbalance] in the gut microbiome can potentially be used as a biomarker to define a high-risk population, noted Saxena. Among the more abundant strains of bacteria found in pancreatic cancer patients were Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes. In mouse studies, the team demonstrated that bacteria translocate from the gut to the pancreas during pancreatic cancer. With further studies, the researchers showed that eliminating these bacteria using antimicrobial treatment slowed the progression of pancreatic cancer and lowered the tumor burden by about 50 percent. This process also affected T-cell differentiation, leading to increased T-cell infiltration into the tumor and reduction in myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) population. Antimicrobial treatment also resulted in increased expression of PD1 on CD4+ and CD8+ T cells within the tumors. Reintroduction of bacteria in antimicrobial treated mice reversed the tumor protection and reduced the immunogenicity of the tumors, suggesting that the microbiome promotes pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma by inducing immune suppression in the tumor. The researchers also found that combining antimicrobial treatment with an anti-PD1 immunotherapy resulted in enhanced CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell activation in mice, suggesting that such a combination is a potential treatment option for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Our studies show that the bacteria may serve both as biomarkers of increased risk for pancreatic cancer as well as potential therapeutic targets, said Miller. We believe that targeting the microbiome in patients with pancreatic cancer can make immunotherapy effective. Saxena noted, Pancreatic cancer is a very aggressive disease with a five-year survival rate of a dismal 8.2 percent. Extending the life of these patients by manipulating the microbiome and decelerating tumor progression would be a significant step forward in managing this deadly disease. The team is preparing to launch a clinical trial to test a combination of antibiotics (ciprofloxacin and metronidazole) and an anti-PD1 antibody in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. A limitation of the study is the small sample size used for the human pancreatic cancer studies. As noted by Miller, identifying beneficial bacteria that could potentially be utilized to slow the progression of pancreatic cancer or decrease risk is important in future studies. This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program, the Lustgarten Foundation, an AACR-PanCAN grant, the Panpaphian Association of America, the National Pancreas Foundation, the Crohns and Colitis Foundation of America and the Irene and Bernard Schwartz Fellowship in GI Oncology. The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest. American Association for Cancer Research A new therapy to help infants with acute respiratory infection will prevent thousands of infants with bronchiolitis from requiring escalation of care when admitted to hospital and save more than $200 million in hospital costs. Bronchiolitis caused by a viral infection in the lungs is the most common reason for infants under 12 months to be admitted to hospital, with 10 per cent of them requiring intensive care. Researchers at The University of Queensland Mater Research Institute (UQ-MRI) and Lady Cilento Childrens Hospital have developed high-flow oxygen therapy for children with bronchiolitis. A study of 1472 infants with bronchiolitis across 17 hospitals in Australia and New Zealand found high-flow oxygen therapy reduced the need for further increased hospital care by 50 per cent. UQ-MRI PhD student Donna Franklin said the study would change standard practice for caring and managing infants with bronchiolitis. This study found that a therapy which was previously reserved for intensive care units could be delivered safely in emergency departments and on general paediatric wards in a hospital, Ms Franklin said. This will reduce the number of infants and their families from regional areas who need to be relocated to one of the major cities for the duration of their illness. Relocating a family means they are unfamiliar with their surrounds and dont have access to their usual support network. Introducing high-flow oxygen therapy early in the illness means we can keep children in their own community hospitals, reducing the impact on the child and the family. High-flow nasal oxygen therapy works by delivering a higher volume of air and oxygen into the nasal passages to improve breathing. The research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Emergency Medicine Foundation, the Mater Foundation and several Australian hospital foundations. It involved researchers from the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, the Royal Childrens Hospital Melbourne, the University of Melbourne, the Paediatric Critical Care Research Group at the Lady Cilento Childrens Hospital and the Paediatric Research in Emergency Departments International Collaborative. The University of Queensland Budget 'embraces polar opposite' of conservative goals, Meadows says Related Stories U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, leader of the Freedom Caucus, ripped the $1.3 trillion budget that the House passed on Thursday, saying the spending plan "flatly rejects" promises conservative Republicans made to voters. Here's his statement Meadows issued Thursday: This omnibus is nowhere close to what Republicans promised to fight for. When the American people sent us to Congress, their message was loud and their mandate clear: Secure the border; Repeal and replace Obamacare; Protect Second Amendment rights from bureaucrats in Washington; Defund Planned Parenthood; Cut wasteful spending; Drain the swamp and change the unsustainable way Washington, D.C. does business. This budget embraces the polar opposite of these principles. We are not funding the wall. We are putting Second Amendment rights at risk. We are failing to provide families relief from Obamacare. We are still sending taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood. We are not cutting federal funds to sanctuary cities. We are growing the size of government at a break-neck pace. And we are doing all of this through a 2,300 page spending bill, written privately by four leadership members, that became public only 24 hours ago. This is wrong. This is not the limited government conservatism our voters demand. Our constituentsour employersdeserve better. Republicans in Congress today were faced with a choice: Vote yes and fund the military while embracing record levels of spending with a list of unfulfilled promises; or vote no, go back to the drawing board, and get to work on a real proposal, with a real process, that funds our troops and actually fights to deliver the bill of goods that we promised the American people. Members of the Freedom Caucus chose to vote no, because this omnibus doesnt just forget the promises we made to votersit flatly rejects them. POLITICS BRIEFS: Training center, lunch & learn, Democratic convention Commissioner Grady Hawkins (second from left) suggested cutting the cost of the law enforcement training center in half and focusing on school security. Sheriff Charlie McDonald said that's OK with him because he never asked for an indoor shooting range. Did Grady Hawkins just offer Sheriff Charlie McDonald cover to recast the purpose (and slash the cost) of a controversial training center? Related Stories It would appear so. Flanked by commissioners, school board members and parents, McDonald announced last week that he is sending armed guards into all county schools right away at random times and, with the support of the Board of Commissioners, will deploy them full-time next school year. When he stepped up to the microphone, Commissioner Hawkins brought up the $22 million training center. Commissioners authorized construction of a facility at Blue Ridge Community College 18 months ago but the plan has stalled amid strong opposition to a shooting range on what has since become a high school and college campus. Because the Board of Commissioners has already dedicated 1-cent of the property tax levy to a law enforcement training center, the county should look at a way to build a center tailored in part to school security, Hawkins said. He also suggested cutting the cost in half, to around $10 million. Asked whether he supported a scaled-down center, McDonald seized the glad you asked that moment in a room full of reporters and television news cameras. The indoor shooting range was never my idea, he said. I was asking for $3 million for some property in the Green River area. When it became an indoor facility, the cost skyrocketed to $22 million. Its always been my intention to spend as little as we possibly can to get the most, pardon the pun, bang for the buck. By taking a $22 million training center off the table, McDonald could undercut his opponents argument that the facility amounts to wasteful spending. Lowell Griffin, who is challenging the incumbent in the May 8 Republican primary, made that point just hours before McDonalds announcement on school safety. In my opinion, the money that has been earmarked for the proposed facility could be used in a more beneficial way for Henderson County, Griffin said in a statement. One consideration for this funding is strengthening school security. Additional school resource officers, re-engineering existing facilities to maximize security needs, and adding or updating camera systems are just a few ideas that could be realized. This is money that the taxpayers are already paying, so its use would not increase current taxes on you, the taxpayer. Hawkins, a career Air Force officer and veteran of dozens of combat air missions in Vietnam, said he had learned in the military that we fight like we train. We have to make a judgment on that to get the best facility that we can think of, he said. At Parkland, those officers were not trained. Standing behind the door and waiting for something to happen and the shooter gets out of the building and has to be apprehended in another jurisdiction. We can do a whole lot better than that. Lunch & Learn on school issues The League of Women Voters Henderson County will host a Lunch and Learn program focusing on public school issues, including class size, teacher and principal recruitment and greater transparency and accountability for school choice at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 29, at the Hendersonville Community Co-op, 60 S. Charleston Lane. The discussion will be led by Dr. Jan King, assistant superintendent for instructional services for Henderson County Public Schools and Rick Wood, vice chair of the Henderson County School Board. The program is free and open to the public. For questions or further information, about the League of Women Voters go to www.lwvhcnc.org or email communications.lwvhc.com@gmail.com. McDonald to speak at GOP Mens Club Sheriff Charles McDonald will be the guest speaker at the Henderson County Republican Mens Club breakfast meeting at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 28, the Dixie Diner in Laurel Park. McDonald recently was invited to the White House to a forum on Gun Control and Mental Illness. He was the only sheriff in the country to be invited. The Henderson County Republican Mens Club meets the fourth Wednesday of each month. For more information call 828-329-4971 or e mail noirs@aol.com Democratic Convention scheduled for March 31 Henderson County Democratic Party will hold its annual convention on Saturday, March 31, at West Henderson High School. Registration will be from 9-10am with convention from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. State Supreme Court Judge Michael Morgan will speak on the importance of voter participation. Democratic candidates in local races will also speak. For more information call 828-692-6424 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Michael Wright has told a judge he will pour 5m into a complete refit of Dublin's historic St Andrew's Protestant Church as a licensed food court, banqueting hall and culture centre. Circuit Court President, Mr Justice Raymond Groarke, promised the famous restaurateur a seven-day drinks licence provided the redevelopment was carried out in accordance with city council planning permission. Seafood Mr Wright - a member of the Howth family which runs restaurants and a seafood business - recently won world recognition for his Marqette food hall at Dublin Airport. He told solicitor Constance Cassidy, who appeared in the licensing application with barrister Niki Andrews, that the St Andrew's project was modelled on the airport food hall. He said his company had been asked to set up similar outlets at JFK Airport in New York, Vancouver Airport in Canada and Manchester and Birmingham airports in England. Mr Wright's company, Mink Fusion, is hopeful the food court - which will employ 70 chefs - will grow to rival Cork's English Market. Mr Wright said he was looking forward to the challenge of redeveloping the Suffolk Street listed building and was confident that the work would be complete within nine months. The neo-Gothic church, which is fronted by the Molly Malone statue, was formerly used as a tourist information centre by Bord Failte. Mr Wright said that he wanted to provide the city with a vibrant public space for the area. Architect Joseph Doyle told the court the proposal primarily related to the interior of the building and there would be little or no visual impact on the surrounding streetscape, and that the 19th-century gates and railings would not be removed in the project. Gravestones Mink Fusion proposes to secure the site at night to avoid misuse and to protect more than 100 historic gravestones spread around the site. Judge Groarke granted Mink Fusion a Declaratory Order for a full seven-day publican's licence and restaurant certificate on the basis of completion within the parameters of planning permission. Ms Cassidy said that in order to facilitate the granting of a new licence, an existing licence in Main Street, Castleconnell, Co Limerick, had been extinguished. A very different and tragic scene at the Metro Hotel was avoided thanks to the work of emergency responders, Tanaiste Simon Coveney said. Dublin Fire Brigade and An Garda Siochana have been praised for their handling of Wednesday night's inferno in Ballymun. Sixty firefighters and eight fire engines battled the blaze which engulfed the hotel and apartment complex. Politicians on all sides of the Dail yesterday paid tribute to the emergency crews. Mr Coveney said it was a "very significant and extensive fire". "The professionalism that resulted in no loss of life should be recognised," he said. "It could have been a very, very different and tragic scene, but it wasn't." Mr Coveney said the issues behind the spread of the fire through the building will have to be revisited once there is clarity. Fianna Fail's Darragh O'Brien said everybody was "very grateful and thankful that there has been nobody killed or injured". "We'll return to this issue because there are lessons that will be learned from this," he said. Sinn Fein's Eoin O Broin said the workers "deserve all our thanks". Lifesaving Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin praised the "efficient, speedy and lifesaving response". "It worked so well last night. That is an incredible tribute to our emergency services," he added. Fine Gael TD for Dublin North West, Noel Rock, praised the emergency services for bringing the fire under control. "I was glad to hear that the building was evacuated safely and I'd like to praise the Dublin Fire Brigade for battling the blaze with such bravery," he said. "There could have been a very different outcome if it was not for their speedy arrival at the scene." Jeffrey Morrow (36) has been charged with the murder of Vincent Ryan A 36-year-old man told gardai he was "absolutely not guilty" when he was charged yesterday with the murder of Vincent Ryan during a shooting in Dublin in 2016. Jeffrey Morrow, from Burnell Court, Malahide Road, Dublin 17, was arrested yesterday afternoon at Dublin Airport after he was extradited from the UK. He was taken to a garda station where he was charged with the murder of Vincent Ryan at McKee Road, Finglas, Dublin on February 29, 2016. Mr Ryan (25), whose brother Alan Ryan was also murdered, was gunned down while sitting in his car. Murder Mr Morrow is the second person to be charged over the fatal shooting. Expand Close Vincent Ryan / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Vincent Ryan On March 12, Paul O'Beirne (35), of Colepark Drive, Ballyfermot, Dublin, was also charged with his murder and was remanded in custody. Dressed in a grey tracksuit and black runners, Mr Morrow was taken to appear before Judge Michael Walsh at Dublin District Court yesterday afternoon. Detective Sergeant Alan Brady told the court he arrested the 36-year-old at the airport at 12.18pm on foot of an arrest warrant. When he was charged at Finglas Garda Station, Mr Morrow replied "absolutely not guilty", said Det-Sgt Brady. Judge Walsh said due to the nature of the charge there was no application for bail. He remanded Mr Morrow, who did not address the court, in custody. He will face his next hearing on March 27 at Cloverhill District Court. Bail in murder cases can only be granted in the High Court. Defence solicitor Stephanie O'Meara made an application for legal aid and told the court her client was "not working and not in receipt of income having come in on foot of a European Arrest Warrant". Noting there was no garda objection, Judge Walsh granted legal aid. At co-accused Mr O'Beirne's hearing on March 12, evidence of arrest, charge and caution was given by Det Sergeant Gavin Ross of Finglas station who told the court that the accused was arrested earlier that day at his home address at 2.36pm on foot of a warrant issued by the district court. Det-Sgt Ross had said Mr O'Beirne was taken to Ballyfermot Garda Station where he was charged. The court heard he was handed a copy of the charge and in reply after caution said: "Nothing to do with me at all." Det-Sgt Ross confirmed the Director of Public Prosecutions has directed that Mr O'Beirne was to face trial on indictment in the Central Criminal Court. Handgun Mr Ryan, a younger brother of murdered Real IRA chief Alan Ryan, was shot dead in broad daylight as he sat in his car outside his girlfriend's home. In October 2013, he and his pal Darragh Evans (27) were cleared by the Special Criminal Court of charges of possession of an assault rifle and a handgun at Clonshaugh Walk, Coolock, on September 15, 2011 - the same day on which notorious drugs trafficker Michael 'Micka' Kelly was shot dead. It emerged at Mr Ryan's funeral that the last conversation he had with his partner, Kelly Smyth, was about getting married. The trial of gun murder accused Patrick Hutch has been delayed for another three months after a court heard more time was needed for an inquiry into the tragic death of the senior investigating garda. The Special Criminal Court was told "considerable progress" had been made in the inquiry but a 12-week adjournment was needed for the examination of evidence including "documentary material and electronic data". Det Supt Colm Fox was found dead at Ballymun Garda Station on February 10, while the trial was stalled over the disclosure by the prosecution of emails between four gardai. Rifles The case was put back four weeks ago after notes "authored by" Det Supt Fox were handed to the court. Yesterday, Mr Justice Tony Hunt granted a further adjournment of the case to July 9. Mr Hutch (25), of Champions Avenue in the north inner city, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of David Byrne (34) at the Regency Hotel in Dublin on February 5, 2016. He also denies possessing three AK-47 assault rifles. Prosecutor Sean Gillane said an inquiry was taking place into the overall circumstances "pertaining to the passing of the late Det Supt Colm Fox" and how it related to this case. "Considerable progress" had been made and there were different strands of the inquiry. It involved an examination not just of documentary material, but electronic data and the taking of a number of witness statements. Michael O'Higgins SC, defending, recognised that the adjournment was "inevitable". A Dublin man jailed for possessing child pornography and coercing young girls to send him graphic sexual images has been ordered not to take part in a computer programming course. Matthew Horan (26) was sentenced in January to nine-and-a-half years, with the final two suspended. Judge Martin Nolan had ordered a probation report into what the Prison Service could do to reform Horan. Graphic Yesterday Lorcan Staines BL, prosecuting, told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that the report confirmed that the Better Lives programme would be available. Judge Nolan ordered that Horan not be allowed to enter into a computer programming course as outlined in the report. He also ordered that Horan enter a bond to be of good behaviour for two years from the date of his release, undergo post-release supervision for two years and make use of all services available to him. During his sentencing hearing, the court heard that Horan used Skype, Snapchat, Instagram and Kik to send and receive child porn images from six identified users in Ireland and nine unknown users around the world. A forensic examination of his computer uncovered recorded Skype calls between him and two nine-year-old-girls, which included footage of the girls engaging in graphic sexual acts. Horan used Kik to share child porn images and videos with unidentified users around the world, most of whom claimed to be young teenagers. He threatened to share an 11-year-old girl's nude images to her social media if she didn't send him more graphic photos. In the text exchange between them, this child repeatedly told Horan that she would kill herself. He then continued to coerce her to send more images. Horan, of St Johns Crescent, Clondalkin, Dublin, pleaded guilty to a count each of sexually exploiting two girls within the State on dates between April 1 and November 23, 2014. He admitted two more counts of sexually exploiting a child and one count of distributing child porn in 2015. He further pleaded guilty to possessing child porn at his address on July 11, 2015. He admitted three further counts of sexually exploiting female children through Snapchat and Instagram in the State between May 21, 2015, and July 7, 2016. He also pleaded guilty to possessing child porn on a mobile phone on July 7, 2016. He had no previous convictions. Dublin Fire Brigade says it is likely to take a month before the cause of the fire at the Metro complex in Ballymun can be established. Chief fire officer Patrick Fleming said there was nothing to indicate that the blaze was suspicious, but it would be several months before the building could be returned to use. He said the fire in a private residence above the Metro Hotel, which was reported just after 8pm on Wednesday, was one of the biggest blazes that the brigade had dealt with in high-rise buildings in recent times. Mr Fleming said it was "not a Grenfell Tower-type incident" because there was no issue with the external cladding and the fire spread internally. The hotel's general manager, Mark Williams, told the Herald that a full investigation had yet to be carried out by gardai and the fire brigade into the cause of the fire. "We don't think that will be today or tomorrow," Mr Williams said. Expand Close Emergency services on scene / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Emergency services on scene "We are working as fast as we can but it will take time." Apologised In a statement released yesterday the hotel apologised, saying: "The Metro Hotel wishes to apologise to hotel patrons and guests that the hotel is currently closed, and will remain closed for some time, following a fire. "The Metro Hotel is actively engaging with emergency services following the fire which occurred at around 7.30pm on Wednesday evening. "Unfortunately, guest and tenant access to personal belongings located in the hotel/apartments is restricted until clearance is received from emergency services. "We will provide regular updates as they become available. "The cause of the fire is still being investigated. "No decision can be made about a hotel reopening date until the cause of the fire has been established and all safety considerations have been thoroughly assessed." Gardai were yesterday telling hotel and apartment residents that nobody could enter the building until a full structural and forensic examination had been carried out by engineers and gardai. Fire chief Mr Fleming said equipment and resources weren't a problem on the night. "We had plenty of firefighters and equipment," he said. "We had two aerial appliances there, which are basically high-rise ladders. Resources "You can fight a fire like that from the outside or the inside, and we did both. "Post-Grenfell, we're carrying out a major review of high rises. "There will be more high rise built in Dublin, it would appear, but there was no issue with equipment. "We had absolutely no problem with resources or equipment." Gardai have a statutory function to investigate the blaze, but Dublin Fire Brigade will also look at the fire safety of the building and how the blaze spread, and will be speaking to the owner and consultants working on their behalf. 1 / 7 Utah rock band Shrink the Giant will perform with The Mystic and Breezeway at a benefit concert for music education nonprofit Launching Stars. Courtesy of Ali Barr 2 / 7 Utah rock band Shrink the Giant will perform with The Mystic and Breezeway at a benefit concert for music education nonprofit Launching Stars. Courtesy of Ali Barr 3 / 7 Utah rock band Shrink the Giant will perform with The Mystic and Breezeway at a benefit concert for music education nonprofit Launching Stars. Courtesy of Launching Stars 4 / 7 Utah rock band The Mystic will perform with Shrink the Giant and Breezeway at a benefit concert for music education nonprofit Launching Stars. Courtesy of Launching Stars 5 / 7 Utah rock band The Mystic will perform with Shrink the Giant and Breezeway at a benefit concert for music education nonprofit Launching Stars. Courtesy of Launching Stars 6 / 7 Utah rock band Breezeway will perform with Shrink the Giant and The Mystic at a benefit concert for music education nonprofit Launching Stars. Courtesy of Launching Stars 7 / 7 Utah rock band Breezeway will perform with Shrink the Giant and The Mystic at a benefit concert for music education nonprofit Launching Stars. Courtesy of Launching Stars Music education nonprofit Launching Stars will host a benefit concert in Spanish Fork this weekend to raise money for a scholarship supporting young music students. The concert will feature performances from Utah rock bands Shrink the Giant, The Mystic and Breezeway, and Ischa Bee of Salt Lake City pop band MiNX will host the event. Launching Stars was created about three years ago to honor Joshua Ogzewalla, a guitarist and rock n roll lover who fought a lifelong battle with Crohns disease, was later diagnosed with liver failure and terminal cancer, and died in 2015. Ogzewallas desire to be remembered for helping to provide training and experience for young rock musicians inspired the organizations Joshua Ogzewalla Music Scholarship, which covers the cost of private music lessons for young rock n rollers. Its interesting to see a kid go from wanting something to actually having it and then literally holding it in their hands, so to give somebody an instrument or commit to them, Were going to pay for six months of guitar lessons for you, gives them a different outlook on their future as a musician, said Peter Jones, Launching Stars president. The benefit concert will be the first of its kind for Launching Stars. Up until now, the nonprofit has existed on monetary and instrument donations. Every teacher and music store weve talked to about this has been more than supportive. We have lots of music teachers ready to do it; we just need the funding and the momentum needs to build a little bit, and were getting there, Jones said. Were close, and this event is part of that. The nonprofit, which is based in the Denver and Salt Lake City metropolitan areas, aims to support programs that are focused on promoting and building the rock and roll music community in the cities in which the programs take place, according to Launching Stars website. Its something I personally am passionate about, Jones said. We want to create that passion or help support that passion for other people, so I think its very important. The concert will take place Saturday at 7:30 p.m., with doors open at 7 p.m., at Angelus Theatre, 165 N. Main St., Spanish Fork. Tickets are available for $10 each at 24tix.com. Springville police arrested a 23-year-old man Thursday evening after the man reportedly threatened to kill police officers. Paul Vigil, of Springville, was arrested on suspicion of the second-degree felony of threat of terrorism. Vigil reportedly called Springville Police Dispatch on March 2 and threatened specific police officers hed previously had interactions with, according to a police report. The phone number Vigil called from matched current records for him, and dispatchers reportedly recognized his voice. Vigil told dispatchers he was going to pay someone to have a female officer killed, according to a police report. The officer had approached others about concerns regarding seeing Vigil at unrelated calls. Vigil later said he would use an AK-47 and grenades on officers before killing himself, according to the police report. He said he had placed a tracker under a officers vehicle, tracked the officer to his home and the officer would end up dead, too. Vigil reportedly said during the call to dispatch he had abducted a female, put a bag over her head, electrocuted her and that she was in a warehouse in a bucket of water. An officer found Vigil walking through a parking lot. When they tried to take him into custody, he said he wanted an attorney and couldnt be arrested because he was incompetent, according to a police report. He denied calling dispatch, said he wanted an attorney and said he would not answer questions. For Subscribers Accuser recounts abuse claim against indicted ex-Heritage teacher As an ex-Heritage Academy student informed school officials of a rehired teacher's alleged misconduct, she learned of other accusations at the school. There are three dimensions to realpolitik: preventive, corrective and competitive. In one word, they can be described as opportunistic. But categorisation facilitates a better understanding of the dynamics that dictate political actions without regard for morality or ideology. For instance, the overt Congress outreach to Hindus is corrective, bordering on opportunism, to contest the BJPs monopoly of the majority space. The saffron party had resorted to similar rearguard action after bitterly opposing the implementation of the Mandal report by the VP Singh regime. The short-lived VP government is long gone, but Mandal remains. Most of the original opponents of Other Backward Classes (OBC) quotas, including the Left, have since gone the extra mile to woo them. In limbo since the days of Indira Gandhi, the Mandal formula that awakened and empowered subaltern castes in the countryside, was culled out, dusted and actualised to counter the rebellious Devi Lals blockade of Delhi to create a village-city divide. Mandal was in that sense a preventive-competitive or opportunistic step. The correctives it stimulated were dictated by social alliances it set in motion, altering beyond recognition the Indian political landscape. A major casualty in the resultant socio-political upheaval was the Congresss primacy. New forces emerged under new leaders across key northern states. The Congress was stupefied, but the BJP responded with alacrity. Its Ram Temple movement aimed at filling with the Hindutva glue the caste fissures accentuated by Mandal. Fast forward from the political churnings of the early nineties to recent developments in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Chief minister Siddaramaiahs pro-activism in according minority status to the largely pro-BJP Lingayats is nothing but competitive politics. His political cunning has some basis. The former socialist is being lambasted for dividing the Hindu community by people who have a history of backing the Lingayat demand. Bipartisan support for recognising the influential community as a separate religion was evident in memoranda the state leadership submitted to the Centre in the past. In this season of elections, the Congress-BJP tussle isnt about principles. Its a manifestation of interests competing to secure the Lingayat vote. Andhra Pradesh by contrast is a different case study. The regime the Congress led at the Centre for a decade wouldnt have been possible without the 29 and 33 Lok Sabha seats it won in 2004 and 2009 in the state. The manner in which the party handled the states bifurcation in 2014 turned it into a cipher in Andhra Pradesh and a loser in Telangana. The Congress was seen as pro-Telangana in Andhra Pradesh and anti-Telangana in the new state. It made a parody of itself with its then chief minister Kiran Reddy campaigning against Hyderabad going to Telangana. Another reason for its dissipation was the breakaway YSR Congress of YS Jaganmohan Reddy. He stole the Congress cadre the way Mamata Banerjee did in West Bengal. The late YS Rajasekhara Reddys ambitious son had broken away for not being made CM. The party couldnt recover from the double whammyand still hasnt . After the Congresss burial in its erstwhile citadel and the otherwise popular Jagans vulnerabilities in graft cases, the ground was ready for the BJP to make a bigger imprint in the state. The scenario meshed with its plans to expand its base beyond Karnataka in the south. But the BJP did not learn from the Congresss mistakes. It treated Chandrababu Naidu the way the Congress treated Jagan; it under-assessed the popular connect with special status for residual Andhra in the manner the Congress under-read the Telugu sense of loss of Hyderabad. A potential BJP ally, Jagan has gone into corrective mode. So has Pawan Kalyan, film actor and Kapu community leader. He continues to admire Narendra Modi, but isnt sure about the BJPs relevance in the state. After Naidus rebellion, his has been a neat U-turn, underscoring how unpopular the saffron party has become in Andhra. Together with Naidus Telugu Desam Party, Jagan and Pawan would fight a triangular battle with little or no room for the two national parties. Its difficult to predict winners; the obvious losers are the BJP and the Congress. The BJP has burnt its boats. Godawari is in spate and theyre crying for help with nobody to respond, a veteran Andhra watcher told me. The Congress is still a zero but the BJPs worse, if theres a berth lower than being a cipher. In sum, 2018 is for the saffron party what 2014 was for the Congress in Andhra. In being competitive, it lost track of the preventive and corrective. vinodsharma@hindustantimes.com The defeat of the CPI(M)-led Left government in Tripura has evoked two kinds of responses. One sees it as an ideological victory of right-wing politics in the first direct contest between the BJP and the Left parties. The other, shared by mMany on the Left, sees it as something that reiterates the need for an all out unity against the BJP. Neither of these theories gives us a complete picture of why the CPI(M) lost the elections. The BJP assimilated the entire opposition rank and file from parties such as the Congress and Trinamool Congress in Tripura. Clearly, pragmatism rather than ideology was in command. Because this happened even a wider unity of secular forces would not have helped the Left. What really happened then? A post-poll survey conducted by CSDS-Lokniti offers some insights. Manik Sarkar had the highest popularity rating among the chief ministers of Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland, the three states which went to polls. Tripura fared the best among the three states on questions of whether development, condition of poor, healthcare, education, roads, drinking water supply, security and power supply had improved in the past five years. These figures rule out widespread notions of misrule. But despite a favourable image on delivery of social services and development indicators, Tripura had the highest share of people who were dissatisfied with the government among the three states. Tripura also fared the worst on two key economic indicators: prices and employment. To put it simply, the CPI(M) was punished by the voters despite performing well on macro development indicators. This is because the voters felt the government had failed to improve their individual economic well-being. Prime Minister Narendra Modis appeal of choosing HIRA (Highway-Iway-Roadway-Airway) over Sarkar to voters in Tripura conveyed this exact message: a communist party continuously ruling the state had led to the stunted growth of capitalism. To be sure, this charge is not new for the CPI(M). The Left Front government in West Bengal faced similar accusations when it was in power. It is another matter that in its overdrive to promote industrialisation, the party ended up alienating the peasantry, which was its biggest support base. Interestingly, the CPI (M)s own party-programme acknowledges the challenges faced by its state governments in bringing any big relief to the people. It says, The formation of such governments will strengthen the revolutionary movementhowever, (it) would not solve the economic and political problems of the nation in any fundamental manner. The Party, therefore, will continue to educate the mass of the people on the need for replacing the present bourgeois-landlord State and government headed by the big bourgeoisie even while utilising opportunities for forming such governments in the states or the Centre, depending on the concrete situation, and thus strengthen the mass movement. Given this context, it would be unfair to blame Manik Sarkar and his comrades in Tripura a small resource-starved state for failing to educate the voters about the virtues of electing them once again. There was no intellectual help from the party headquarters. The irony is, the party is now debating whether or not to ally with the Congress, the oldest bourgeois party in the country. Irrfans performances have won him millions of fans around the world hes equally at home in Bollywood and Hollywood. So when the actor recently revealed that hes suffering from a rare disease (a neuroendocrine tumour), it was a truly shocking moment. But given his fighting spirit, Irrfan has decided to undergo treatment on one hand, and focus on his work on the other hand. While the actor is currently in London, for treatment, he has requested the makers of his upcoming film, Abhinay Deos Blackmail, to be released on schedule. Abhinay shares that Irrfan has extended his support even though hes missing out on the films promotional activities. Irrfan has been diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumour and is undergoing treatment in London. (Photo: Shivam Saxena/HT) Having spoken about Irrfans fighting spirit and being optimistic about the treatment, Abhinay says, What hes doing is absolutely inspirational and amazing. He not only opened up in detail about what hes going through at this point of time, but also [talked about] how hes dealing with his illness. This clearly highlights his positivity and strength. And in my opinion, its a winners attitude, something that we should learn from him. Irrfan is showing us how to deal with such [unavoidable] circumstances in life, adds Abhinay, who directed Force 2 (2016) and Delhi Belly (2011). Im happy that hes doing well and, hopefully, will be back with us as early as possible. Asked how Irrfans absence at promotions would affect Blackmails box-office fortunes, Abhinay says, Honestly, good work is always a team effort. When everyone makes something with their heart and soul, a good piece of work comes out of it. And it also strikes the right chord with the audience. Were keeping no stone unturned to promote the film; even Irrfan wanted it this way. He wants the best for the film and has extended his support. Talking about the film, Abhinay adds that Irrfan was the first, foremost, and the only choice for the film. He was on the top of the list when the filmmakers were deciding on the cast. The director says, Irrfans character (Dev) in Blackmail has the least number of lines we needed someone who could deliver even with few words and [through his] expression, but at the same time wouldnt go overboard. There are very few actors in the country who can pull off such a layered performance. Irrfan lets the character blend with himself, and you dont know where Irrfan ended and Dev started. When you watch him on screen, you see Irrfan, but you only identify with the character. How he deals with situations and the way he makes you laugh is wonderful. And at the end of it, he pulls off the performance making you feel two opposite things at the same time. Irrfans character (Dev) in Blackmail has the least number of lines we needed someone who could deliver even with few words and [through his] expression, but at the same time wouldnt go overboard. There are very few actors in the country who can pull off such a layered performance Abhinay Deo, director Meanwhile, according to certain reports, along with his ongoing therapy in London, Irrfan is also undergoing herbal treatment by a traditional healer from Shimoga, Karnataka, named Vaidya Narayana Murthy, whos known for his herbal cancer treatment. Murthy has given Irrfan a potion and the actor has been advised to avoid modern medication (which also includes chemotherapy) for one-and-a-half years. Irrfan is reportedly also in touch with a renowned Ayurvedic healer to get some clarity regarding the side effects of consuming the potion along with allopathic medicines. He is in touch with another noted Ayurvedic physician, Vaidya Balendu Prakash from Dehradun. 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Jul 06 (1) Jul 03 (1) Jul 01 (1) Jun 28 (1) Jun 24 (2) Jun 20 (1) Jun 19 (1) Jun 18 (1) Jun 15 (1) Jun 14 (2) Jun 11 (1) Jun 09 (3) Jun 08 (1) Jun 07 (1) Jun 06 (1) Jun 04 (2) Jun 03 (1) Jun 02 (2) Jun 01 (1) May 31 (3) May 30 (1) May 29 (1) May 28 (2) May 26 (1) May 25 (1) May 18 (1) May 17 (1) May 15 (1) May 09 (1) May 07 (2) May 02 (1) May 01 (1) Apr 30 (1) Apr 27 (1) Apr 26 (2) Apr 23 (1) Apr 22 (1) Apr 19 (1) Apr 18 (1) Apr 12 (1) Apr 11 (1) Apr 09 (1) Apr 07 (1) Apr 05 (1) Apr 01 (1) Mar 30 (1) Mar 27 (1) Mar 25 (1) Mar 22 (2) Mar 19 (1) Mar 18 (1) Mar 16 (1) Mar 15 (2) Mar 13 (1) Mar 12 (1) Mar 11 (1) Mar 10 (1) Alia Bhatt has shared finally shared a happy little picture for her worried fans. The actor was reportedly hurt while shooting for her upcoming film, Brahmastra, in Bulgaria. She injured her shoulder while shooting a scene. On Friday, she shared a picture on Instagram on the last day of shoot in Bulgaria. Surrounded by her two team members, she is seen smiling at the camera with her arm in a sling. Check out her pics: About her injury, Alias mother Soni Razdan had recently said that she is doing well. She has injured her shoulder in an action sequence in Bulgaria. Alia being Alia is taking it on the chin or on the shoulder as it were in this case. The early reports suggest some ligament damage and a haematoma, so she must rest the shoulder for some time now and not do any more action. Apart from this she is her usual smiling self, Soni told The Asian Age. Alia posted several amazing photos from Bulgaria in her 40 days in the country. snow so white A post shared by Alia (@aliaabhatt) on Mar 3, 2018 at 12:38am PST Alia will soon be seen with Ranveer Singh in Gully Boy and with Vicky Kaushal in Raazi. She stars opposite Ranbir Kapoor in Brahmastra and the film also features Amitabh Bachchan and Mouni Roy. Follow @htshowbiz for more Amitabh Bachchan, who was ill a few days back while shooting for Thugs of Hindostan in Udaipur, is back in Mumbai. The actor posted pictures from his private jet, letting his fans know how excited he was about finally going back home. Once home, he posted the cutest picture with his granddaughter, Navya Naveli Nanda. Home where the love is, he captioned the photo. The grandpa-granddaughter duo is all smiles on finally being reunited. Navya is the daughter of Amitabhs daughter, Shweta Nanda Bachchan. He regularly posts their pictures with doting messages on social media. Check out a few of the posts: Daughters be the best .. A post shared by Amitabh Bachchan (@amitabhbachchan) on Mar 2, 2018 at 7:13am PST Amitabh took ill in Jodhpur a week ago. He was attended by his team of doctors from Mumbai. His wife and actor Jaya Bachchan told the media that was feeling fatigued due to the heavy costumes he has to wear for Thugs of Hindostan. The actor will now begin work on Ayan Mukherjis Brahmastra with Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt. His next release will be 102 Not Out with Rishi Kapoor, that will hit theatres on May 4. Follow @htshowbiz for more Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar has insisted politicians should stop bringing religion into politics. The Padman actor was speaking at trailer launch of Nanak Shah Fakir. When asked if he thinks the teachings of Guru Nanak should be adopted by all politicians who try to use religion to create vote bank politics, he said, I believe in it thoroughly. There is only one God and that God is yours. To bring religion into everything...it is not done. I hope everyone follows that. On whether he thinks that Bollywood was the most secular industry, Akshay said, Yes. The National Award-winning actor said he had been associated with Nanak Shah Fakir since over a year as he believed in the message of the film that there is only one God. This is such a film that I saw one-and-half years ago, this is the only film I saw twice on the same day once with my mother and the other time I saw it alone. It is a beautiful film with a beautiful belief, he added. Akshay Kumar at the trailer launch of Nanak Shah Fakir in Mumbai, on March 22. (IANS) There were reports that Narendra Modi, during his tenure as the chief minister of Gujarat, had come to the rescue of the makers while they were shooting in his state. When asked about it, producer Harinder Sikka said, Its a very difficult thing to say, but some NGO did come ahead for our support. I was not allowed to shoot in Bhuj, there was a boat scene that was to be shot in the ocean and we were not allowed to do that scene. That time we had called the CM and later he got things approved for us, the producer said. Sikka said that after going through the hardships of shooting for the film, there was some spiritual guiding force, who was helping him make the film. The film is directed by Guru Nanak, he added. The film, which is distributed by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, is set to release on April 13. Meanwhile when asked if he is still a part of Mughal, in which he is said to play the part of late Gulshan Kumar, Akshay Kumar said, I myself dont know yet. There have been reports that Akshay had walked out of this film. Follow @htshowbiz for more Actor Kiara Advani is on a career high shes shot for a Karan Johar film, her Telugu debut with south superstar Mahesh Babu is releasing soon, shell start shooting for another Telugu film with Ram Charan Teja, and there are rumours that she will soon sign Housefull 4 too. Patience really pays off. Its important to wait and be sure of the right film you are signing, says Kiara, who was last seen in Machine (2017). Super excited to have got the chance to be directed by Karan in Bombay Talkies 2, Kiara says, I feel absolutely thrilled. I mean, he could have taken any other actor and anybody would have loved to work with him. But he chose me, and that makes me feel so special and confident about myself. He picked me as the protagonist for the film that he was directing [out of the four short films in the movie]. I cant be more grateful for this opportunity. There were reports that since Kiaras career was not moving at a steady pace, she sought help from Karan, who happily agreed to mentor her and even help her get more work. She dodges the actual questions and says, The struggle has definitely been difficult and a lot works on recommendations too, but looking at my journey, I know talent sustains. I have been here for four years and been fortunate that some good filmmakers worked with me. I have no complaints or regrets. Actors Vicky Kaushal and Kiara Advani in a still from a short film directed by Karan Johar, in Bombay Talkies. While a lot of actors crave to work with big banners and top filmmakers, Kiara says her director has to have faith in her work. I prefer to work with directors that I really believe in and whose work I admire. I have been very lucky that I have been chosen by Neeraj Pandey (MS Dhoni: The Untold Story) or Karan Johar or Abbas Mustan (Machine) to be a part of their films and get directed by them. I trust that they were good for me and I got to work with the finest in Bollywood. Asked about if she has signed Housefull 4, Kiara remains tight-lipped and wraps up by saying, No comments on any of that. I have not signed it yet and when I do sign a film, I will surely announce it. Interact with Monika Rawal Kukreja at Twitter/@monikarawal Pakistani actor Mahira Khan says she felt violated when images of her sharing a cigarette with Indian actor Ranbir Kapoor emerged in the media. Mahira also cited that it was the first time that she was embroiled in a controversy. The Humsafar actor spoke at length about working in Bollywood, the impact of the tensions between India and Pakistan on the countries film industries, and the controversy, on HARDtalk on BBC World News. Mahiras photograph with Ranbir Kapoor emerged from New York in September last year, months after the actress Bollywood debut Raees hit the screens. Recounting how it became a national topic and debate, she said: That was the first time in my entire career that I was caught up in a so-called controversy and it was strange because there were so many things in that. One, obviously you feel violated, you are in a personal down time moment and someone has just photographed you. Two, obviously there was an uproar, because here I was, someone who is extremely loved in Pakistan, and they sort of keep me up on this pedestal you know, they treat me with a lot of love and a lot of respect. And there are certain things I didnt realise that they dont want to see me do. At that point yes, it was crazy honestly because it lasted for a while... It was crazy, it was ridiculous. Her film Raees, starring Bollywood badshah Shah Rukh Khan, did not get a chance to release in Pakistan. Mahira said she was excited for the film to release in her nation. #everythingthelighttouches A post shared by Mahira Khan (@mahirahkhan) on Feb 15, 2018 at 1:34am PST I was more excited about Raees being released in Pakistan than anywhere else, because all I wanted was to sit there with my best friends and my child Azlaan and the audience and watch this and I couldnt. The Pakistani censorship board had deemed Raees as an ugly, horrible, unacceptable depiction of Muslims at the time. Mahira feels had the movie released at any other time, it would not have been banned. I think their decisions sometimes are based on things that dont even concern the film sometimes. So you know I dont think that was the reason. They said it but I dont know. I dont know if Raees was released today, would it be released, said the 33-year-old. #1yearofRaees A post shared by Mahira Khan (@mahirahkhan) on Jan 25, 2018 at 10:35am PST The movie, released in January 2017, came just months after bilateral tensions intensified between India and Pakistan over the September 18, 2016 Uri attack that left 19 Indian soldiers dead and the September 28 surgical strikes by India on Pakistan terror camps. After the incident, Indias Maharashtra Navnirman Sena gave an ultimatum to Pakistani artistes to leave India. Zindagi channel withdrew telecast of Pakistani shows. And even the Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association (IMPPA) desisted from allowing Pakistani artistes to work in India. As a result, Mahira couldnt even promote the movie in India. She reflected: It was a two way thing. We got stuck under the political fire really, nothing else. But by the way, Pakistan is still showing Indian films, we havent banned Indian films at all. Mahira is currently filming for Saat Din Mohabbat In and Maula Jatt 2. The episode with Mahira will be aired on March 26. Follow @htshowbiz for more The first trailer for Tabu and Manoj Bajpayees intriguing new thriller is here and it will give new meanings to bad parenting. Missing stars the talented two actors as parents to a toddler who goes missing on their trip to Mauritius. While the couple were (ahem) rolling in the sheets and romancing beside a glass window, someone snatches their daughter from the cradle. Reminds us a bit of Lars von Triers Anti-Christ but this may be where the similarities end. Annu Kapoor, a Hindi-speaking Mauritian detective of Indian origin arrives to investigate the case and his first suspects are the parents themselves. While Tabu cannot stop wailing about her child, Manoj is a confused, bumbling mess. Together, they seem to be hiding a sinister secret. The film, written and directed by Mukul Abhyankar, marks the reunion of Tabu and Manoj onscreen after delivering films like Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar and Ghaath. It will release on April 6. Follow @htshowbiz for more Actor Farhan Akshtar has reacted to his aunt Daisy Iranis recollection of her horrific experience as a child when she was abused. He has asked parents to be aware and warned and treat Daisys revelation as a wake up call for the film and television industry. Heartbroken upon reading this article but proud that my aunt #DaisyIrani spoke up. Its tragic to see parents push their kids to breaking point in order to achieve success vicariously through them. This should serve as wake up call for the film & TV industry. Be aware. Be warned, Farhan tweeted Friday afternoon. Heartbroken upon reading this article but proud that my aunt #DaisyIrani spoke up. Its tragic to see parents push their kids to breaking point in order to achieve success vicariously through them. This should serve as wake up call for the film & TV industry. Be aware. Be warned. https://t.co/8ONbHJ21lG Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) March 23, 2018 Daisy, who was just six years old when the incident happened, made the revelations to Mumbai Mirror in an interview. The man who did this was supposed to be my guardian. He accompanied me to a film shoot (Hum Panchhi Ek Dal Ke) in Madras. One night in the hotel room he violated me, hit me with a belt and warned me that he would kill me if I ever told anyone about what had happened, she said. She went on to add how her mother goaded her into acting at four years old. Not only Daisy, but her sisters, Honey and Meneka, too stepped into the movie world. Thanks to our mother, Perin, our lives, when we were kids, resembled a never-ending black comedy, she told the tabloid. As a child actor, Daisy was much sought after and worked in many films such as Dilip Kumar, Vyjayanthimala starrer Naya Daur (1957), Raj Kapoors Boot Polish (1954) and Raj Kapoor, Nargis starrer Jagte Raho (1956; written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas). Follow @htshowbiz for more A veteran Bollywood female actor has filed a rape complaint against a businessman, Mumbai Police said on Monday. The accused was arrested on Thursday. The complaint has been registered under sections 304 D (stalking) and 509 (insulting modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code. #Mumbai: Veteran actress registers a rape case against a businessman at Juhu Police Station. Accused has been arrested and will be produced in court today. Further investigation underway. (Earlier tweet identifying actress has been deleted) ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018 #UPDATE: Rape case filed by veteran actress has been transferred to crime branch. Accused was arrested last night. ((Earlier tweet identifying actress has been deleted) #Mumbai ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018 The police said the two had known each other for a while; however, the relationship had soured over some issues following which the actor stopped talking to the businessman. Nevertheless, the businessman allegedly kept calling and following her. After failing to convince the person to stop stalking, she approached the police and filed the complaint at Juhu police station. An investigation has been launched into the matter. Follow @htshowbiz for more In 1995, former World Bank Vice-President Ismail Serageldin had famously claimed that the wars of the next century will be fought over water a statement that has been quoted often since. As global population grows, there is an increasing need to balance our consolidated demand on water resources, so that every individual has enough to survive. And if the ongoing emergency at Cape Town has taught us anything, it is that the freshwater crisis is no longer restricted to far-flung countries and barren landscapes. Its real, its happening, and its often far closer than we think. The situation is dire; especially as increased industry proliferation is matching agricultural demands and depleting underground levels beyond repair. According to a 2012 World Bank report, at least 21 Indian cities are moving towards zero ground water level by 2020, if drastic measures arent taken up. The crisis needs a comprehensive solutionone that involves not just common people, but also governments, environmental agencies, farming communities, and industries. More importantly, the solution need not always be a complex one. In fact, in most cases, its the smart and simple ones that have the most powerful impact, believes Sanjeev Chadha, Chairman PepsiCo, Asia, Middle East, and Africa. In 2009, PepsiCo became the first business to achieve Positive Water Balance in the beverage world. The company, in 2016, saved over 21 billion litres through its two-pronged approach: firstly, by focusing on intensive water conservation and recharge efforts both within the plants and with communities around, covering better agricultural practices like direct seeding of rice & drip irrigation; community water recharging initiatives, and secondly, by reducing the consumption of water in its manufacturing facilities using innovative technologies like Zero Liquid Discharge, Membrane Bioreactors and practicing rooftop rain water harvesting. This World Water Day, 2018, lets all strive towards finding our own simple and smart solutions towards tackling this global crisis. President Donald Trumps move to slap tariffs on at least $50 billion in Chinese imports is likely to be bad news for many of Chinas exporters -- as well as Americans who like wearing Victorias Secret bras, Guess jeans or Nike sneakers. A vast amount of items used by US consumers -- from Under Armour leggings to Bath & Body Works shower gel and Samsonite luggage -- are sourced from Chinese or Hong Kong based companies and factories, fueling the $450 billion in Chinese goods imported to America annually. Broad-based tariffs, which the US said would be a 25% duty, may translate into higher sticker prices in stores across the US. Retailers in the US have pushed back, saying any such levies would amount to a tax on American consumers. In China, meanwhile, small exporters with a heavy reliance on the US worry that their cost advantage could be wiped out in the global supply chain. Thats it then, we have no more competitive edge, said Justin Yu, a sales manager at Zhejiang-based Pinghu Mijia Child Product Co., which makes toy scooters sold at American retailers. I dont know what we are going to do. The US has yet to announce the list of products the additional duties will be levied on, but has said aerospace, information and communication technology will be targeted. Since consumer goods account for a large chunk of exports from China to the US, some Chinese manufacturers are preparing for the worst. Yu said exports to the US account for over $10 million of annual revenue for Pinghu Mijia, more than half of its total sales. Chinese manufacturing has lost its advantage now, so we might as well find some other business to do, he said. | Read: Trade wars: China says not afraid, hits back at Trump with $3 billion tariffs of its own Companies are already planning to raise prices if they are affected. If tariffs are raised on its products, Samsonite International SA chief executive officer, Ramesh Tainwala, sees one logical recourse. We pass it on to the consumer, said Tainwala, who spoke to reporters in Hong Kong last week. We have the pricing power. We are the ones who will move first and the industry will follow. Samsonite is in an unusual global position. While the worlds biggest luggage maker is based in Mansfield, Massachusetts, it is listed on the Hong Kong exchange. Samsonite executives say it manufactures two-thirds of its products in China and currently pays a tariff of more than 25% on them to the US. A Samsonite suitcase -- a souvenir for the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, is pictured during the trading debut of Samsonite International in Hong Kong in June. (REUTERS File Photo) The impact on other American companies would be widespread, fanning out across the U.S. because of the intricate links with international supply chains. Tariffs hitting one company in China can have a ripple effect across dozens of customers in the US.The connections are particularly strong across the apparel and technology industries. Apparel and footwear, telecommunications equipment and household appliances are among the Chinese manufacturing sectors with the biggest exposure to the US market, according to a Moodys research note released on Thursday. Hong Kong-based Li & Fung Ltd alone collects about two-thirds of its revenue from about 50 consumer-product companies in the US, including retailers Walmart Inc., Macys Inc. and J.C. Penney Co. For Regina Miracle International Holdings Ltd., a Hong Kong-based manufacturer of intimate wear, American demand for lingerie makes up about 60% of revenue. Its customers include lingerie brand Victorias Secret. Lenovo Group Ltd, the Beijing-based computer manufacturer, gets almost a third of its $43 billion in annual revenue from North America by selling its products to companies such as HP Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. Shares of Li & Fung fell as much as 10%. Regina Miracle tumbled as much as 5.04%, and Lenovo dropped as much as 3.8% when Hong Kong trading opened on Friday. Still, large Chinese companies like Li & Fung are likely to get some protection because of the diversity of their businesses and their international chain of suppliers. With a global network of over 15,000 suppliers in over 40 markets, we are well-positioned to absorb in any shock from trade uncertainty, Li & Fung said in a statement. We are unique in the industry, in that if there is any change in trade policy, we have the ability to channel production to any market quickly. Other factors may also help insulate Chinese corporations. Many are still reliant on domestic consumers for revenue, reducing their exposure in the event of a trade war. The proportion of Chinese corporate revenue that comes from overseas is an average of only 8.8%, up from 6.6% in 2012, according to research from brokerage Natixis. Chinese Tariffs China retaliated on Friday morning with reciprocal tariffs worth $3 billion on imports of US pork, recycled aluminum, steel pipes, fruit and wine. Hong Kong-listed pork producer WH Group Ltd. -- which bought US-based pork giant Smithfield Foods in 2013 -- gets about 57% of its revenue from the U.S. It slid as much as 10% on Friday morning. WH is assessing how to amend its strategy in response to the tariff, spokesman Luis Chein said. Its Smithfield operations in the U.S. currently export to 40 other countries in addition to China. We do not think it will have a huge impact on our U.S. exporting business, he said. Closer to home in the US, smaller companies may feel the brunt of restrictive trade actions, according to Gary Huang, the Shanghai-based founder of consultancy 80/20 Sourcing. Multinationals with mature supply chains like Walmart could shift to Vietnam or India to avoid the tariffs, he said. On Amazon, more than half of product listings come from smaller businesses that source from China, which Huang said would be hit hard. These guys are going to be left holding the new tariff bill and those prices will go straight up, Huang said. This years Christmas could be a lot more expensive. -- With assistance from Hannah Dormido, Jonathan Roeder, Lindsey Rupp, Daniela Wei and Bruce Einhorn The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is analysing 120 shell companies in connection with the Punjab National Bank fraud allegedly committed by jewellery designer Nirav Modi, the government said on Friday. The state-owned PNB has been defrauded of over $ 2 billion by fraudulent use of Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) allegedly by Nirav Modi and his associates. As per inputs received from the Directorate of Enforcement, analysis of 120 shell companies in India in the case of PNB fraud is being done, minister of state for finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. The bank, he added has stated that the matter is under investigation and it will not be in public interest to share details along with the names of the companies as the same may hamper ongoing probe. In another reply, the minister said the ED has filed two cases against Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and conducted 247 searches at various locations in the country. He further said that total assets amounting to Rs 7,638 crore have been seized/attached till February end. In a monthly report, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) showed that out of the more than 1.26 crore new telephone customers in the month of January, 83 lakhs were added by Reliance Jio alone. That accounts for 65.8% of the total number of connections. Besides Jio, Bharti Airtel added 15 lakh new connections, followed by Vodafone which added 12.82 lakh new customers, Idea Cellular with 11.44 lakh new connections and BSNL with 3.96 lakh new customers. However, the total telecom subscriber base dipped to 117.5 crore at the end of January with smaller operators losing bulk of their customers, according to the report. The number of telephone subscribers in India declined from 1,190.67 million at the end of December 2017 to 1,175.01 million at the end of January 2018, thereby showing a monthly decline rate of 1.32%, said the TRAI report. The mobile subscriber base declined to to 115.19 crore at the end of January 2018 from 1,16.74 crore at the end of December 2017, down 1.33%. RCom, which closed its mobile phone calling services in December, lost 2.1 crore customers in January. Aircel, which has filed plea for bankruptcy, lost over 34 lakh customers. It was followed by Tata Teleservices which lost 19 lakh customers, Telenor lost 16 lakh customers and state-run firm MTNL suffered a loss of 10,634 customers. The wireline telephone customer base declined to 2.3 crore at the end of January 2018 from 2.32 crore at the end of December 2017. State-run BSNL lost 1.15 lakh landline customers. It was followed by RCom which lost 41,720 wirelines customers, MTNL lost 10,907 customers, Quadrant - 2,765, Aircel - 2,219 and Tata Teleservices - 797. Bharti Airtel gained 5,925 new landline customers. The broadband segment, however, witnessed growth in January. The number of broadband subscribers increased to 37.81 crore at the end of January this year, from 36.28 crore at the end of December 2017 a monthly growth rate of 4.2%. Mobile broadband segment dominated the growth with 35.98 crore customers in January compared to 34.45 customers in December 2017. Top five service providers constituted 94.52% market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of Jan-18. These service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (16.83 crore), Bharti Airtel (7.5 crore), Vodafone (5.48 crore), Idea Cellular (3.73 crore) and BSNL (2.18 crore), the report said. Americas massive trade deficit with China is estimated to have resulted in about two million job losses in the US, the White House has said, defending President Donald Trumps decision to initiate strong actions against Chinas unfair trade practices. Trump imposed tariffs on about $60 billion worth of Chinese imports to punish the country for its unfair seizure of American intellectual property, a move that could escalate the already tense trade relations between the worlds two biggest economies. The move came after a seven-month investigation into the intellectual property theft, which has been a longstanding point of contention in US-China trade relations. China also announced retaliatory measures against the US. Read | Trade wars: China says not afraid, hits back at Trump with $3 billion tariffs of its own A senior administration official told reporters: By some calculations, every billion dollar of trade deficit that arises from market-distorted policies, costs us about 6,000 jobs. A very conservative calculation, by some estimates, is that trade deficit results in about two million more jobs in China and two million less here. This is a serious problem that the US side is keenly aware of. Chinas unfair trade practices has resulted in a goods trade deficit of $370 billion, the official said. The Trump administration said that it is for China to decide what course it wants to take. The point here is that China will have a choice as to how to respond, and they have benefited far more from this relationship than we have. We will certainly take that into account, the official said. The typical American corporation that wants to go to China and sell its goods into the Chinese market is on the horns of a dilemma. Responding to questions, the official said the concerns with Chinese economic practices are widespread throughout the United States and around the world. We have heard from many of our trading partners that they share many of these concerns, the official said. Another administration official said China benefits far more from the US-China trade relationship than the US does. Since 2001, when China joined the World Trade Organisation, its economy has grown from $1 trillion of GDP to $12 trillion; roughly an 800% growth rate. During the same period of time, the American economy sputtered. It went from an annual growth rate of about 3.5% between 1947 and 2000, down to around 2%, which everybody wanted to say was the new normal for America. But the contrast between Chinas growth and its unfair trade practices, and what had happened to the US in terms of growth and wage growth, is quite startling, the official said. Later State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said Trump has been very clear from the first day on the campaign trail, longstanding concerns that he has and administration-wide people have, with Chinas unfair trade practices. Its natural for us to have to address things that we dont agree on. One of them is certainly trade. The President has fought very hard for advancing opportunities, economic opportunities for American businesses, but also the American people, she said. Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden welcomed the decision. China has cheated, stolen and bullied American industry on trade for decades, causing massive economic wreckage to workers, employers and communities across America in the process. Our country must stand up against Chinas trade blackmail, so I am encouraged that the administration is focused on protecting the technologies that China publicly targeted, Wyden said. Senator Sherrod Brown welcomed the news that the Trump administration is taking steps to launch crackdown on Chinas violation of intellectual property laws. Business Roundtable said unilaterally imposing tariffs or other restrictions without a long-term strategy to bring about reforms in China will only raise prices in America, make American companies and products less competitive, and harm US workers and consumers. The administration should instead pursue a comprehensive approach centred around several strategic priorities. This includes working closely with our international partners to identify unfair trade barriers and practices that China must remove, setting deadlines for such reforms and outlining actions that the US will take if those reforms are not undertaken, it said. If a sorry stands between you and survival perhaps many of us would choose apology over agitation. So the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals decision to cut his losses and extricate himself from more than 30 expensive and energy-consuming defamation cases is prime facie commonsensical, even if personally embarrassing. And anyway, its routine for Indias politicians to somersault from stated positions with more agility than trained trapeze artistes. I think Kejriwal had no option but to take this route. So then, why the fuss? Let me explain why: Kejriwals apology spree erodes the very foundation on which his party was built: anti-establishment anger. We may not remember it now, but Indias youngest political party (not counting Kamal Haasans recent entry) took root in middle-class disillusionment with corruption. For urban professionals who typically kept away from electoral politics, Kejriwal positioned himself as their kind of guy, only braver. Here was an industrious IIT graduate, an honest civil servant, a self-made outsider who was unafraid to take on the rich and powerful. He said out loud what were till then, only drawing room whispers. He promised the end of politics-as-usual. He vowed to not let pragmatism become a synonym for base compromise. Now the Aam Aadmi Party leaders hasty withdrawal from every single charge he levelled against a slew of leaders including Arun Jaitley, Kapil Sibal, Bikram Majithia and Nitin Gadkari makes this narrative entirely disingenuous. Kejriwal clearly picked a fight he was never capable of sustaining; leave alone winning. Its sort of like Amitabh Bachchans angry young Vijay running out of Zanjeer heat and opting for family drama roles instead. Kejriwals attacks now seem more in the league of hit-and run attacks than the strategic guerrilla warfare of insurgents. After the apologies, all that anger, first from the India Against Corruption platform and then on behalf of the AAP, has begun to seem more like adolescent angst than revolutionary rage. While the Aam Aadmi Party was never ideologically coherent since its inception it was a coalition of the Left and the Right the latest developments make its essential personality fuzzy and unclear as well. In other words, its hard to say what a mellower and more apologetic Arvind Kejriwal stands for today either philosophically or personally. A marketing mind may ask: Whats the product? And awkwardly for him, the next time he makes a fiery speech from the stumps no one will believe he will stand by his words. But why restrict our judgment to Kejriwal alone? His retractions bring home both the perils and limitations of the outrage industry. The denouement of all the headline-grabbing press conferences also has warning against the instant verdicts, smear campaigns and hectoring hash tags that the Indian media has become accustomed to. It isnt the AAP alone but also Indias TV media that first created this environment of sab chor hain (everyone is a thief). In fact, till their relationship soured, one could argue that there would be no AAP without the media that saw the crusading anger of the live-tweeting, news-watching consumer as a solid selling point. Today the heroes of their script may have altered but most media, mainstream and social, still look to feed off prejudice, despair and armchair judgments. In fact the wall that used to separate irresponsible, but essentially private, gossip from what any decent person would say in public has collapsed. This coarseness is what imparts momentum on Whats App, photoshops on Twitter and outbursts of television anchors who bang tables and wag fingers for emphasis. And none of it is used to interrogate power or hold the mighty to accountability; instead its all about innuendo and insults driving the discourse in multiple echo chambers. As Arvind Kejriwal tumbles from his pedestal, it should be a cautionary tale for all those who use lazy indignation to whip up frenzy the story never ends well unless it is rooted in substance. Even in the age of fake news, in the end, facts triumph. Or the law does. The diminishing returns of AAPs old (and now stale) anger formula also expose the essential fickleness of cause celebre politics. The demand for a Lokpal legislation gave birth to Kejriwals brand of politics; today Anna Hazares hunger strike for the same issue evokes a collective groan of boredom and disinterest. That is how the cookie crumbles. And that even in an era of data breaches and social media-driven politics is why the tale of Arvind Kejriwal is a reminder that disruptions and black-swan moments by very definition are one-off events. After that even new-age politics needs old style structures and substance. Barkha Dutt is an award-winning journalist and author The views expressed are personal All Usha Devi wanted was to give her kids a good education. The wife of a construction worker knew that her husbands income was not enough to educate her children, Tanuja, 15, and Dheeraj, 10, and, so, she took a job at a plastic factory. Not everyone was pleased. Incensed that she was going against Rajput tradition, her husbands uncle, Mamraj Singh, objected and, when she refused to quit, hacked her to death on March 15. Mamraj Singh has since been arrested and the murder weapon, a sword, has been recovered. Meanwhile, at Alwar district, Rajput villagers are reportedly collecting funds for the childrens education. The murder of Usha Devi points to Indias most shockingly underreported story. Census data, backed by the World Bank shows us that 19.6 million women from all sectors formal and informal, rural and urban, illiterate and educated fell off the employment map. This decline happened, ironically, at a time of economic growth and when more and more girls are getting educated. In the eight months that I have been travelling across India to understand the obstacles to womens employment, I have spoken to IT professionals and factory workers, chefs and chicken farmers and the chief roadblock, in a word, is this: Family. It is families that impose gender roles. It is families that tell women, regardless of whether they are managers or maids, that it is their responsibility to get dinner on the table (and clean and care for children and the elderly and, depending on where she lives, fetch water and firewood and fodder too). If we were to take all this housework into account, womens work would actually far outstrip that of men. But given the workload at home, very often when household incomes go up and they can afford to do so, women simply chuck up paid jobs. In Usha Devis case, a relative said: She used to wake up before 5 am and go out to collect firewood so that she could prepare food for her children. Another added, The house would always be clean. She was constantly trying to make the best out of limited resources. The message is clear: jobs are fine, but a womans primary responsibility is her home. Families hold back women in another important way. A man is expected to have a job. He needs nobodys permission. But when women seek jobs they must first get an all clear from fathers and brothers, husbands and in-laws and sometimes even village panchayats. For instance, there is a demand for skilled women in the hospitality sector but families often believe that serving food or housekeeping is not respectable work for women and girls. In an economy that is already facing a job squeeze, women tend to get weighed down by work deemed suitable for them beauty and healthcare, for instance. Job opportunities in rural areas are limited, but migration poses its own restrictions: how will she go, who will she go with, where will she stay? And when they work from home a popular choice for those who cant go out for jobs they seem to be unable to move beyond the low returns of pickle-papad-tailoring ventures. Apart from the family, there are other constraints like safe and affordable public transportation. Women often opt for low paying jobs simply because they are close to home. Safety is certainly emerging as a concern. More than 80% of sexual harassment takes place in public on the streets, in public transport, in marketplaces. Does it play a role in keeping women home? I would imagine that it does. Educated women are leaving jobs faster than others. An IIT graduate with a masters degree from the US told me that she quit because she couldnt take the long hours. For her, as with most mums, 6 to 8 pm at home is sacrosanct; the only time they get with their children. A few companies have begun looking at gender diversity but they are the exception. In the IT industry, women have an edge at entry-level with 51% of all new hires. But by mid-career, this dwindles to 30% and, at the very top, only 7-8% remain. Why? If you examine the career trajectories of men and women, you will find that by mid career, men will have changed more jobs and taken more foreign postings than women. Women, on the other hand, are more likely to have taken breaks and sabbaticals for childrens board exams or to look after ailing parents. We know why its important to have more women participate in the paid economy. Equal participation could boost GDP by 60%. Equal participation would improve womens status in families and in society. It would lead to better investment in their health and education. Womens economic empowerment is highly connected with poverty reduction, as women tend to invest more of their earnings on their children and community, wrote Annette Dixon, World Bank vice president, South Asia, in a blog. Usha Devi only wanted a better life for her children, for them to have the education she herself had never received. No woman should ever have to die for this. @NamitaBhandare writes on social issues The views expressed are personal Uttarakhand chief wildlife warden has banned the non-government organisation Operation Eye of The Tiger from taking up any conservation activity or movement of any of its member inside the protected areas of the state. The decision came after the NGO failed to submit details of the permission issued for various works in Rajaji and Corbett Tiger Reserves. In a letter dated March 3, chief wildlife warden Digvijay Singh Khati, mentioned that the NGO had submitted works of Rs.1.35 crore in both the protected areas. But, the permission for none of the works were sought from him. The NGO has submitted to have done works of over Rs.1.35 crore but have not taken the permission of chief wildlife warden. Who has authorised them to work in the protected areas? Its illegal and I have banned the NGO, Khati said. The letter mentioned that since 2012-17, the funds were engaged under the project pertaining to monitoring of big cats and elephants. When contacted Rajeev Mehta, who runs the NGO, said, None of the works were done inside the reserve. We have worked extensively on the land where no permission was required. Khati has also banned Subir Chowfin who runs an NGO in Pauri, for not seeking prior approval for his work inside Corbett on gharials. Three bodies, including one of a minor boy, were found in mysterious circumstances along a ghat under Lakshman Jhula police station in Rishikesh, on Friday. Police said the adults appear to be aged around 30 and 60 years, while the minor boy was approximately 12 year old. Police did not find any identity documents or mobile phones from the bodies. However, they said the 60-year-old man was wearing a shirt that had a tah mentioning the address of a tailoring shop in Agra. Based on this, it is being guessed that they might have been tourists from Uttar Pradesh. Prima facie, the police have also ruled out the possibility of any crime angle into the case. Sub-inspector Vikas Bharadwaj, who is investigating the case, said, We have not found any identity document from the bodies. There are no visible injury marks on any of them. Prima facie, it appears to be a suicide case. He added that the bodies were found near Geeta Ghat and that the three were lying on a blanket in a shaded area. It appears that they consumed poison mixed with cold drinks. Froth could be seen oozing out from the mouth of the two adults and the minors nose. Asked if it is possible for the minor to have consumed poison on his own, he said, It is possible that the elders gave him poisoned cold drink. Meanwhile, police sealed the cold drink bottles recovered from the spot and will send it for testing. The bodies have also been sent for post mortem. Our primary task is to identify the three people, Bharadwaj said. Police have recovered some receipts from their pockets. These pertain to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Bharat Scouts and Guides, Har Ki Pauri, Haridwar, and Geeta Press, among others. Two names that appear on them are Lakhan and Deepak. Based on the tailors tag, police have informed the station house officer of New Agra and Hari Parvat areas. The photographs of the victims have also been shared. The BJP government in Uttarakhand Friday said it has no plans to introduce a separate hill agriculture policy but added that horticulture and agriculture departments would soon be merged to give a boost to the two sectors. We have no plans to introduce a separate hill agriculture policy, agriculture minister Subodh Uniyal informed the state assembly. He was replying to a query by BJP legislator Suresh Rathore during question hour. To another query by Congress Karan Mehra, the minister said a move was on to merge horticulture and agriculture departments. The merger will help boost farm and horticulture sectors giving a push to our plan to double farmers income, he said. A five-member committee, comprising officials from both the departments, has already been constituted. I am confident the panel would approve our merger proposal, Uniyal said. As part of integrated approach, we are using latest technologies to boost production in both the sectors, which, in turn, would help boost farmers income. Uniyal said that the merger would help boost horticulture production in all the 10 hill districts besides giving a push to farm produce in the remaining three plain districts, which are known for agriculture production. To another query by BJP legislator Khajan Das, water resource minister Prakash Pant informed that plans were afoot to expand the sewerage system in Dehradun city and its adjoining town Vikasnagar. Expansion of the sewerage system in the fast expanding urban areas will be carried out under the centrally funded Namami Gange project, he said. Pant said that the sewerage system in the two urban areas would be reorganised in view of their carrying capacity, which is shrinking fast owing to their fast expanding population. He, however, added that this would be done in the next phase of the Namami Gange project. In the first phase, the sewerage system is being expanded in 12 towns located along the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers, Pant said. Earlier, Qazi Nizammudin of Congress raised the issue of misguiding answers being presented by ministers in the House. Replying, minister (independent charge) Dhan Singh Rawat blamed it on printing errors. However, such errors will not occur in the future, he added. The co-owner of a pub in northwest Delhis Shalimar Bagh accidentally shot himself dead while fiddling with a pistol inside a club on Wednesday night, police said. While the family of the victim, identified as Nasir Khan, 32, alleged foul play, police said CCTV footage as well as eyewitnesses confirmed it to be a case of accidental firing. Police said a blurred CCTV footage of the pub suggests that Khan was fiddling with a pistol before pointing it towards his temple and firing the fatal shot. Aslam Khan, deputy commissioner of police (northwest), however, denied reports that Khan was playing Russian Roulette, the practice of loading a bullet into one chamber of a revolver, spinning the cylinder, and then pulling the trigger while pointing the gun at ones own head. Wednesdays incident was the third instance in less than a fortnight in which a person was accidentally shot dead in Delhi. In the previous two instances, two people were killed while allegedly posing with guns. Khan, the co-owner of a private pub in Shalimar Bagh lived with his uncle, Abad Khan, in Wazirpur Industrial Area. Police said the fatal shot was fired around 11.30pm on Wednesday when there were over a dozen guests at the pub. Khan was with some friends who were partying at the same pub, said the DCP. Khan was fiddling with the pistol when he happened to fire the shot. CCTV footage has confirmed it was his own doing. We probed if Khan and his friends were playing Russian Roulette and have ruled out that possibility, said the DCP. The officer said Khans friends fled the spot after the firing and a hunt is on to nab them so that they can identify the pistol owner. Khans family said he did not have an arms license, said the officer. Khans uncle, meanwhile, alleged that Khan was involved in a financial dispute with his friends over the recent fortnight. The confrontations had turned ugly once or twice. The police must consider murder as a possibility behind the death, said the uncle. The DCP said a case under Arms Act has been registered and the investigators will also probe how a pistol was smuggled into the mall and then into the pub. Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said the Delhi high court verdict setting aside the disqualification of 20 AAP MLAs in the office-of-profit case was a victory of truth. The elected representatives were wrongfully disqualified. The high court has given justice to the people of Delhi. It is their victory. Congratulations to the people of Delhi, the chief minister tweeted. Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia too welcomed the order as he joined AAP legislators in thumping tables in the Delhi Assembly during the ongoing budget session. The MLAs shouted Bharat Mata Ki Jai in the Assembly after the order. The MLAs were not given a chance to put their point, so now the court has given them a chance to do that. The EC will hear their plea again, party leader Saurabh Bhardwaj told ANI. Twenty AAP MLAs were disqualified by the Election Commission in January this year for holding office-of-profit when they were appointed parliamentary secretaries in 2015. Nagender Sharma, a media advisor to Kejriwal, reacted strongly to the verdict, saying: The verdict is a tight slap on Modi govt appointed biased Election Commission. ALL three commissioners (EC) should resign on their own, Sharma tweeted on Friday. However, Prashant Patel, the lawyer who had petitioned to the then president Pranab Mukherjee in 2015, said the verdict was not a setback for him. The court has said that this case will be reopened. I had just raised a constitutional issue, there is no setback for me. The court has asked the Election Commission to hear the case afresh because the MLAs were not given proper hearing before the poll panel decided on their disqualification. It referred the case back to the Election Commission for reconsideration. (With agency inputs) A protest march organised by students and teachers from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) ended in clashes with the police on Friday evening, leaving people from both sides wounded after police officials stopped them near INA Market in south Delhi. The students were marching from JNU to Parliament House demanding action against a varsity professor accused of sexual harassment and against the Central governments decision to grant autonomy to JNU, which the protesters said would lead to privatisation of higher education. During the clash, a newspaper reporter was allegedly molested by a policeman while a photojournalist with Hindustan Times was roughed up and her camera allegedly snatched by a group of policewomen. The snatched camera couldnt be retrieved even hours after the incident as the police said they were unsure about where they had placed it. The JNU students had planned to march from the university to the Parliament House, but the police did not allow them to go beyond INA Market. While the students claimed that they had permission to march all the way to Parliament, Dependra Pathak, Delhi Polices chief spokesperson, said that it was mutually agreed during meetings that it would be a symbolic march that would culminate at INA. Pathak added that the students had allegedly turned violent, assaulted the police and tried to march ahead by breaking barricades. The police used water cannons to contain them and detained 23 protesters, officials said. However, the students alleged they were assaulted with batons. The police assaulted many of the protesters. We were only marching ahead on the route pre-decided with the police, said Geeta Kumari, president of JNU Students Union. Delhi Police spokesperson DCP Madhur Verma denied allegations about batons being used by police officers. In the clash that followed, both sides are reported to have suffered injuries. JNU students were seen nursing swollen limbs while police claimed they were left with 41 injured personnel that included the station house officers of Hauz Khas and Safdarjung Enclave police stations. Many journalists too bore the brunt of the clash. A reporter alleged that she was standing with her colleagues, away from the clash site, when a male inspector allegedly groped her from behind. A video of the clash showed the HT photojournalist being roughed up by over half-a-dozen policewomen. I was clicking a student being dragged when the police targeted me. They were talking about snatching and breaking my camera. I kept pleading with them to spare my camera, said Anushree Fadnavis, the photojournalist. Responding to the allegations, Pathak said the vigilance department would enquire about the alleged molestation. He added that the camera snatching could have happened due to confusion in the melee. The protests also led to traffic snarls across parts of south Delhi. Traffic jams were reported from Africa Avenue, Laxmi Bai market near Sarojini Nagar, the Ring Road near JNU campus and other nearby areas. The Traffic Police said it closed Sansad Marg and diverted traffic, after receiving information that the students had started the march. Traffic was also diverted from the roundabout near the Leela hotel in Sarojini Nagar. CPI leader Brinda Karat, who was present at the march, said, The JNU vice-chancellor has become a chancellor of vices. A professor accused of sexual harassment has place in the varsity and being protected by the V-C. The autonomy status means the JNU can start new courses, have collaborations with foreign universities and hire overseas faculty. Granting autonomy to JNU means privatisation of education and making education out of reach of poor students, Kumari added. Despite repeated attempts, JNU authorities were not available for comment on the matter . Celebrated British physicist Stephen Hawking, who died recently, once said: People with disabilities are vulnerable because of the many barriers they face: attitudinal, physical, and financial. Addressing these barriers is within our reach.....But most important, addressing these barriers will unlock the potential of so many people with so much to contribute to the world. Hawkings call for action is something which will fall by the wayside here given the indifference created by red tape and government agencies. Expressing displeasure over the sluggishness with which the Delhi government was acting with respect to carrying out audits of the disabled friendliness of buildings, parks, schools and other public places, a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar said on Wednesday: We dont want lip service from government agencies... we want action. But Delhi isnt the only offender when it comes to inaction on matters that affect the lives of 26.8 million physically challenged people in the country. One of the recommendations of the Disabilities Bill, passed in Parliament in 2016, was setting a deadline for the creation of barrier-free access to buildings and transport systems. As part of the Accessible India Campaign, the flagship national programme to make public buildings and transport less hostile for the physically challenged, 50% of all of these were to be made fully disabled friendly by July 2018. But more than two years after the launch of the campaign, only 3% of buildings have become accessible, according to the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD). At the launch of the campaign, 1,707 buildings were identified to be made accessible. Across 57 Indian cities, auditors gave pointers to the State on features needed to make buildings accessible. After the audits, state governments sent proposals to the DEPwD which released funds to retrofit these buildings. According to section 44 of the Persons with Disabilities Act, the norms for retrofitting included the creation of ramps in public buildings, modification of toilets for wheelchair users and installation of Braille symbols in elevators. But progress has been slow. It isnt just buildings that create barriers for the disabled. The Centres target of making at least 25% of public transport disabled-friendly has also not been met. Unlike the Metro rail, which has accessibility features built in, our other trains are infamously inaccessible. Census 2011 data reveals that of the 13.4 million people with disabilities in India in the employable age group of 15-59 years, 9.9 million were non-workers or marginal workers. Not only are we forcing millions of Indias unemployed with disabilities to be dependent on social security or their families and caregivers, the hostile environment and public transport also robs them of the dignity of carrying out tasks that everybody else takes for granted. For a day, try boarding a train, going to school , watching a movie, operating an ATM, or getting to a government building in a wheelchair. The exercise may help you realise why access means so much to the disabled. Students, who appeared for the Class 12 computer science paper of the Central Board of Secondary Education, said on Friday the questions were tricky but nothing they could not manage and also pointed out that there were a few errors, which were rectified. Lucknow The difficulty level of the computer science paper was average as compared to the last year, students said in Lucknow, most of them were satisfied with their performance. Students of City International School Priyanshi and Tejal said the questions were tricky but manageable but Sumedha found the question related to file handling a bit difficult to solve. At GD Goenka School, students pointed out that the question paper had a few errors. The paper, they said, was average and scoring in most of the sections with a few questions which were tricky but not lengthy at all. They added that it carried no surprise element and they had well prepared and practised such questions. It was an easy paper. I have attempted all questions and did complete my paper in time, Muskan said. Manas and Shyam were also of the view that questions were average except a few tricky ones but nothing that they could not solve and complete in time. Easy paper overall and Im expecting a good result in this subject, Yashi said. I prepared well for the examination. The level was average and I certainly expect a 100% result, Ishita added. Dehradun Students in Uttarakhand capital also pointed out a mistake. There was an error in one of the questions, which was rectified later. Overall, the question paper was tricky and difficult, Dushyant of Vivekananda School said. Aradhya, a student of Shri Guru Ram Rai Public School, said the paper was easy -- just like the others prepared by the board. About 25% of the exam was easy and remaining had to have some difficulty level. But in all it was a good question paper, she said. The principal of Scholars Home School Chaya Khanna said that the students looked satisfied after attempting the exam which shows that the paper was not very difficult. Bhopal Students in Madhya Pradeshs capital found the question paper tricky but not lengthy. We answered it carefully after reading the question at least two to three times. But I attempted it 100%, Sagar Public Schools Amisha Thakur said. St Marys Schools Ritusha Kapoor said that the questions were not so direct but she found the paper easy. The paper was short, tricky and easy. I completed it before time and I am expecting good marks in the paper, Campion Schools Anubhav Ramchandra said. The teachers also felt that it was a standard paper and easy. The question paper was good and scoring as well. The students who studied well are very happy but who did last-minute preparations found it too difficult to write the answers, Kendriya Vidyalaya No 4s computer science teacher Arun Singh said. Kendriya Vidyalaya No 4s computer science teacher Arun Singh said a few questions were tricky in 2017 as well but the difficulty level of the paper was high. He added that this year the paper was easy as compared to the last year. The question paper was scoring as well. The students who studied well are very happy but who did last-minute preparations found it to difficult to write the answers, Singh said. Allahabad Students in Allahabads Gangagurukulam School said the paper was easy and they will score well on the exam. Adarsh Kesarwani said the questions were from the syllabus and his classmate Ayushi Rawat also found the paper easy and scoring. Teachers in the school also thought their students will do well as the paper was scoring. Questions pertaining to topics like data file handling and data structure pattern were scoring and easy to answer by an average student. Question on array concept was also easy, Subhodeep Chatterjee, computer science teacher at Gangagurukulam School, said. Kirti Ghosh, another teacher at the same school, said the 70 marks question paper was balanced and in accordance with the pattern prescribed by the board. Students were able to attempt all questions as the same pattern was asked in two pre-board exams. Questions relating to HTML, JAVA, etc were also scoring, she added. (With inputs from Rajeev Mullick in Lucknow, Nihi Sharma in Dehradun, Shruti Tomar in Bhopal and Kenneth John in Allahabad) Kerala Education Minister C Raveendranath on Friday said there is no confirmation that the state plus two physics question paper was leaked through WhatsApp but a case has been registered. The Cyber crime police registered the case soon after reports came in this regard and an investigation is going on, he informed the state Assembly. The second year Kerala Higher Secondary physics examination was held on March 21. The Thrissur district coordinator of the examination had received a set of questions, similar to the ones that appeared in the exam, on WhatsApp, the minister said. The questions, circulated through WhatsApp, were in hand written format, he said adding that it was immediately brought to the notice of the Higher Secondary Director. A complaint was lodged with the DGP to ascertain whether the WhatsApp message had begun to circulate before or after the examination, he said while replying to a submission by opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala. Investigation is on. There is no confirmation so far that the question paper was leaked. However, there has been a propaganda that it was leaked, the minister added. The past governor of Reserve Bank Raghuram Rajan, captains of corporate India and some eminent academics have teamed up to transform the undergraduate education by announcing setting up of Krea University at Sri City in Andhra Pradesh. R Seshasayee, chairman of IndusInd Bank and the chairman of the supervisory board of the university said the proposed liberal arts university will attract an initial investment of Rs 750 crore in the first phase. There is a clarity on 70-80% of the Rs 750-crore investment needed. The corporates are doing it as part of their philanthropy activities, he said. The first batch will commence in July 2019, admissions for which will start this November. The fees will be Rs 7-8 lakh inclusive of hostel facilities. The university will initially will run courses from the IFMR campus in Sri City, and eventually shift to its own 200-acre campus which will be ready by 2020. It will offer a four-year residential undergraduate programme in liberal arts and sciences leading to BA (Honors) and BSc (Honours) degrees, for which the permissions from UGC has been sought, according to Seshasayee. The university will weave arts and sciences, creativity and action, eastern and western perspectives. We will create an endowment which will help poor students get admissions, he said. Admissions will be purely on merit and the score in plus-two will not be the only determinant for it, he added. Rajan, who is an advisor to the universitys governing council said, What were trying to do is to create a new generation of thinking Indians who will contribute to the development of the globe. We intend to bring something to the table that simply doesnt exist in our country today, but is very much warranted for our future, he added. Sajjan Jindal of the JSW Group, another governing council member expressed the hope that the university will bring great global and Indian minds together to create an institution of global prominence. Anand Mahindra, another member of the governing council, said the fact that so many like-minded and eminent personalities have enthusiastically come together is ample proof of how much the new paradigm is the need of this day. While former banker N Vaghul is the chairman of the governing council, noted academic Sunder Ramaswamy has been named the vice-chancellor. To improve communication between migrants from the Northeast and ensure that problems faced by them while living in Gurgaon are resolved on priority, the Gurgaon police on Friday decided to appoint an additional nodal officer for the dedicated North East cell. The directions in this regard were issued by the commissioner of police during a meeting with a delegation of residents from northeastern states, who had come to apprise him of the problems faced by them. Around 20,000 people from the Northeast states are concentrated in DLF phases 1 and 3. While some are employed in firms across the city, others work in shopping malls and other commercial establishments. The delegation was led by Dr Alana Golmei, who said that there was need to ensure regular interaction with senior police officers so that victims from the people from the Northeast could be helped on priority in the event of trouble. He stressed on the need for empathy when it comes to addressing their issues. There is a need for more such meetings for pursuing criminal cases with vigour and ensure better coordination between people from our community and the police. We are satisfied with the response of Gurgaon police, but there is need to improve coordination even more, Golmei said. Read I Gurgaon: Cops from northeast to tackle rising crimes against people from the region Residents from the Northeast also demanded that criminal cases involving them should be pursued vigorously and the police personnel should be sensitised on issues faced by them. They also demanded more patrolling in areas such as Chakkarpur, Nathupur and MG Road at night, as the majority of them had odd working hours and felt vulnerable while returning home late at night. On its part, the Gurgaon police issued directions to appoint Anil Yadav, ACP, DLF as the additional nodal officer of the Northeast cell. The issues raised by residents from the Northeast will be addressed on priority. I have directed that the nodal officer should hold monthly meetings with representatives from the Northeast communities. Also, directions will be issued to boost patrolling in specific areas to prevent crimes, Khirwar said. Kuldip Yadav, DCP, east, who is also the nodal officer of the Northeast cell, said that they plan to interact with residents from Northeast communities through monthly meetings and online forums, as it would enable information to be shared without any delay. We will try to create a positive environment and use all our resources to ensure a safe living ambience for them, he added. The city police will also consider issuing identity cards to selected representatives of the Northeast communities, so that they could interact with the police from time to time and assist fellow community members in times of need. The city, over time, has reported several incidents of crime where people from the Northeast were targeted. On December 18, 2017, an employee of a guest house in DLF Phase-2 was accused of forcing his way into the room of a guest from the Northeast and molesting her. The woman, a trainee air hostess, later alerted the other staff who caught him. He was later arrested by the police. On May 13, 2017, a 22-year old woman from Sikkim, living in Sector 17, was allegedly abducted and gang-raped by unidentified men while returning from Connaught Place in Delhi. The family of late Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin has settled a wrongful death lawsuit with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV over the rollaway crash of a Jeep Grand Cherokee that killed the up-and-coming actor almost two years ago. Terms of the settlement, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, were not disclosed. The lawsuit filed by Yelchins parents, celebrated Russian figure skaters Victor and Irina Yelchin, is believed to be the first wrongful death complaint filed over Fiat Chryslers April 2016 recall of more than 1.1 million vehicles due to a roll away risk. Yelchin, 27, best known for playing navigator Pavel Chekov in the Star Trek movie reboot, died in June 2016 when his 2015 Grand Cherokee rolled backward in the steep driveway of his Los Angeles home, pinning the actor against a brick wall and fence. In a statement, Fiat Chrysler said on Thursday the company is pleased that weve reached an amicable resolution in this matter. ... We continue to extend our deepest sympathies to the Yelchin family for their tragic loss. Messages left with Yelchin family attorney Gary Dordick seeking comment were not immediately returned. An image of late actor Anton Yelchin is shown during the In Memoriam segment at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. Yelchins final role was in indie film Thoroughbreds that was released this month. The lawsuit also accused Fiat Chrysler of negligence, product liability and breach of warranty. Dordick said when filing the lawsuit Fiat Chrysler had mailed a recall letter to Yelchin that was received seven days after his death. At the time of Yelchins death, the roll away problem had been tied to at least 68 injuries, 266 crashes and 308 reports of property damage. Drivers complained they would exit vehicles with the engine running falsely believing the vehicle was in park. Fiat Chrysler furnished a software upgrade to the affected 2014-2015 model year Jeep Grand Cherokee sport utility vehicle as well as 2012-2014 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 sedans. Follow @htshowbiz for more Hollywood star Cate Blanchett has claimed she knew nothing about sexual abuse allegations aimed at filmmaker Woody Allen when they worked together on Blue Jasmine. Blanchett won a best actress Oscar for her part in the 2013 comedy drama. During an appearance on CNNs Amanpour, host Christiane Amanpour asked her how she could juxtapose being a #MeToo proponent while staying silent on Allen. To which Blanchett replied, I dont think Ive stayed silent at all. At the time that I worked with Woody Allen, I knew nothing of the allegations. At the time, I said its a very painful and complicated situation for the family, which I hope they have the ability to resolve. Allens daughter Dylan Farrow has accused him of molesting her when she was a child, something that Allen has denied. Australian actor Cate Blanchett waits for the beginning of the ceremony for the Crystal Awards on the eve of annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. (AP) But Blanchett insisted she would support the case being re-examined, if that was considered to be necessary. If these allegations need to be re-examined which, in my understanding, theyve been through court, then Im a big believer in the justice system and setting legal precedents. If the case needs to be reopened, I am absolutely, wholeheartedly in support of that, she added. Blanchett is the latest actor to address Allens alleged abuse of his daughter, following on from Mira Sorvino, Marion Cotillard, Greta Gerwig, Colin Firth and Ellen Page. Follow @htshowbiz for more As it heads into general elections next year, the Narendra Modi government has set early deadlines for implementation of key welfare programmes and farm and rural sector schemes in the wake of agrarian distress caused by a slump in the prices of agricultural produce and drought in some parts of the country. To avert the potential political cost of delays in getting such programmes off the ground, various ministries are pushing the states to speed up implementation of proposals unveiled in the Union Budget. This is a year of consolidation and implementation. The government is fully focused on ensuring that promises made and schemes announced are implemented, a senior official said on condition of anonymity. In a letter last month, the finance ministry asked ministries to track states that receive money from the Centre for implementing specific schemes, a second official said. States should submit plans early and also ensure that money already disbursed is spent on the schemes for which it was allocated. It also called upon ministries to ensure funds arent allowed to idle. In a move a third official described as unprecedented, agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh held a video conference on Wednesday with all chief secretaries as well as principal secretaries in charge of agriculture, asking them for annual agriculture-sector action plans for 2018-19 to be submitted by April 15. The farm ministry has said it was in a position to allocate funds within 10 days of receiving proposals from the states. Most central programmes originate at the Centre but they are implemented and monitored at the level of the states. The finance ministry has also asked states to account for the central share of funds disbursed and used in their state budgets The governments budgetary legroom is anyway tight. So, the idea is to also ensure greater accountability in use of funds, the official cited in the first instance said. States are being urged to send their first proposals for the 2018-19 financial year in a manner that these include, in monetary terms, at least 50% of the agricultural allocations, the second official said,requesting anonymity. Last year, delays meant that the first instalments of central funds went out only around July. Farmers in many states, including the BJP-ruled MP, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, are protesting poor returns from their produce and demanding full waiver of all agricultural loans. Agriculture contributes just 13.7% of Indias gross domestic product (GDP) but employs two-thirds of its population. This points to low productivity and disguised employment, a scenario in which more people are employed than are necessary for a given level of output. The Modi government has announced that it would help double farmers income by 2022. In the budget, finance minister Arun Jaitley said minimum support prices paid to farmers would be fixed at 50% more than the cost of production. These efforts depend on how quickly farm programmes are implemented on the ground. A key thrust area is the so-called centrally sponsored schemes, whose funding is shared by the Centre and most states in the ratio of 60:40, and 90:10 for the north-eastern states, J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Such schemes are funded entirely by the Centre in the case of Union Territories. The agriculture sector accounts for five core schemes: Krishi Unnati Scheme and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, White Revolution thats targeted at milk production, Blue Revolution for integrated development of fisheries and the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, an irrigation scheme which promises water for every farm. Given Indias rural slowdown, the Budget for FY19 raised allocations for the farm ministry by 14.5% from 50,263 crore to 57,600, crore which includes interest subsidies for farm credit. Himanta Biswa Sarma, 49, is the face of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the north-east and widely credited with expanding the partys footprint in the region, where it formed governments in Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya this month after winning the February assembly elections. In an interview with R Sukumar and Shishir Gupta, Sarma, who quit the Congress in 2015, discussed his partys performance in recent elections and its strategy for the region, prospects in 2019, and the difference between the Congress and the BJP. Edited excerpts: Mizoram goes to polls later this year and the BJPs prospects do not seem very strong there. What are your plans for these polls? In Mizoram also, there is a strong chance of an anti-Congress government and BJP will contribute towards the formation of that government, but as of now, we are consolidating our own organisation. But I can tell you that there will be a non-Congress government. So the Congress will be left with no presence in the north-east? See, out of eight states, as of now, Congress is holding just the one, only Mizoram. I am confident that will also go by November. Normally, it is very difficult for someone who comes from the Congress to adjust and find space in a cadre-based party such as the BJP. How have you managed it? I dont think Congress people join the BJP out of ideological reasons. They do because they have issues with the party, or they have been humiliated, or they feel that they are not recognised. Or if there are some serious issues that are not resolved by the party high command. So they join the BJP or other parties hoping that their issues, both individual and organisational, can be resolved. Before I joined BJP, I took a year off. I analysed the issues. Then I joined (BJP) without any conditions, or any bargaining. So, in my case it was not that I didnt get a ticket (to contest elections) or that I wasnt in a good position and therefore joined the BJP. When I realised that I could not work with Rahul Gandhi, I opened my mind, started talking to BJP, and when I was convinced that my way of working and thinking found a match in the BJP, then I joined. How difficult was it, for someone who was then the heart and soul of the Congress in the region, to deal with Ram Madhav (the BJPs overall strategist for the region then) who came from the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh)? I knew Ram Madhav from 2014. I joined the BJP in 2015 August. In this period we spent many hours together discussing various issues. Because of my position in the Congress, I had all along, in my state and region, worked with the Sangh, and also people from the BJP because most of them were my colleagues from my AASU (All Assam Students Union) days. So it was not a big thing for me. But I do understand why some Congress leaders find it difficult because the Congress culture and the BJP culture are very different. But in the north-east, in general, whoever has joined the BJP from the Congress, has done well and are in the mainstream. Why is that? Is it that it is easier for strong regional leaders to survive in the BJP than the Congress? Let me be honest. In Delhi, BJP has a full-fledged organisation. No vacuum exists. In the north-east, BJP is a growing party and there is a lot of space. Me and my colleagues who joined (BJP) found space immediately. Another thing is that (party president) Amit Shah takes great care. He keeps telling me Himanta, you should give respect to those you have got into the party. If you are joining with the blessings of Amit Shah, or he is somehow involved, you are sure to be respected, to find space. In Tripura also, he ensured that. Can you elaborate on how the Congress culture is different from the BJP one? As Mrs Sonia Gandhi strengthened her hold over the Congress over the past 20 years, the culture changed. Loyalty to party was replaced by loyalty to family. Now Rahul Gandhi has created another system he seems to believe and listen to only those people whose father or grandfather worked with his father or grandmother. Even in Manipur, they are promoting a young man because his father was a minister under Rajiv Gandhi. The first generation leader has no importance. In BJP, they respect state leadership. For instance, there has to be an Election Committee meeting and at least two names have to be discussed (for choice of candidates). There are clearly defined powers for the president of the party. Or the general secretary. My interface with Prime Minister Modi is limited because he does not get involved in party affairs, but even after all these victories, I have seen Amit Shah only wants to strengthen these democratic structures. For instance, most of the senior leaders of the party were consulted before we finalised the partnership in Tripura. Then there are small differences. For instance, even senior leaders like Tarun Gogoi couldnt go beyond the visitors room of the Congress president. I joined the BJP and was straightaway dining with Amit Shah in his dining room. If there is a family function or personal bereavement, you always hear from BJP leaders. I recently lost my brother the Prime Minister spoke to me; sent a letter to my mother; Amit Shah spoke to me; visited me on his next visit to Assam. There is a lot of personal warmth. I think the Congress still believes in feudalism but one or two more election defeats and they will open up. BJP has done well in the north-east. Does this impact the elections in West Bengal or Orissa? To crack the north-east many are Christian states; there are a lot of Muslims in some is more difficult than other states given the ideology of the BJP. But our wins in the north-east are a huge lesson for any political party. Previously, the BJPs thinking was to say, In Assam, the AGP (Asom Gana Parishad) and we share a common vote bank so we should fight AGP. Similarly, in Tripura, it was, TMC (Trinamool Congress) and us share a vote bank so let us fight TMC. That changed when Amit Shah took over, and subsequently Ram Madhav got involved, and I joined the party, we clearly demarcated who our enemy was. Is the regional party our enemy? The answer is No. So we decided to leave regional parties with their vote banks. We have an unofficial code of conduct for instance, we dont take senior leaders from these parties into the BJP. Then, we took their help, and with them, our organisation worked overtime to ensure that the Congress vote bank came to the BJP. So, today, in the north-east, the regional parties are holding their own but we have decimated the Congress. Will this work in West Bengal also? I think the party president will follow the same approach in West Bengal also. In West Bengal, the TMC is there, but there are also a lot of Congress leaders who are not happy. They are holding onto a good number of votes in their own constituency. Then there are also many other parties and interested groups that you can bring under the overall umbrella of the BJP in that state. In the north-east, there was no ideological expansion. But there was a clear political decision involving regional parties You hold onto your own vote and we will take on the Congress. That worked for the regional parties. We are replacing the Congress in the north-east without affecting regional parties. Since I joined BJP, and since Amit Shah and Ram Madhav started focusing on the region, not one regional party leader has joined BJP. This is working now, but if you build your party without ideological expansion in the region, what is the glue that will hold everyone together a few years later? Actually, what is BJPs ideology? Nation building, development. So local parties arent opposed to this. But they want the region to get priority. You see what RSS is doing. It said in its recent resolution that regional language should get priority in schools. And the BJP also respects regional feelings. So I dont see any issue. So, there neednt be a 100% ideological fit? That should never be forced because India is a diverse country. For instance, in Nagaland, you must give the local partner enough political space to say something to the Naga. Similarly in Assam, or Manipur. So in Manipur your local interests are Manipuri but your larger national agenda is the same. There has to be blending. In the north-east this is working. Well, in truth, you have to do this everywhere, not just the north-east, dont you? Thats right. I think the north-east can be a good template. Wherever there is a strong regional feeling, like in the southern states, dont attack these. There are 25 Lok Sabha seats in the North-East. How many are you targeting in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections? We will have 19-20 seats. This isnt a target but a done deal. We have eight of these now. Eight will go to 19-20 easily. Twenty-one is the cut -off. But of course, for this, our governments in the region will have to perform in the next one year. Are you doing well, in terms of governance, in Assam? Yes, although I wouldnt say that people are 100% satisfied. We have a lot to do, but things are going on in right earnest. Central government has signed off on most of the developmental projects. The Indo-Bangladesh border fencing is on. A good environment has been created. The registry in Assam (of citizens to separate genuine residents of the state and illegal Bangladeshi immigrants) has gone off well until now? As of now, but the second list will come by June 30, and we are expecting that it wont be as smooth as the first one, which everyone knew was a draft. In the second list, there may be some whose names are not there. But a repeated opportunity is being given to everyone. And if their name is not there are forums for redressal. How do you see 2019? In a national election, the fight has to be between the Congress and the BJP. In a by-election, sure, regional parties are important; in state elections, regional parties matter. But in a national election, the people will choose between Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi. It cant be anybody else. And I think Narendra Modi will get more seats than in 2014, because the contest now is not between Narendra Modi and Manmohan Singh. It is between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi. Even as Tamil Nadu and Karnataka fight over formation of the Cauvery Management Board (CMB), the ministry of water resources has prepared a draft cabinet note suggesting the formation of a centrally managed authority to oversee release of water to states in Cauvery basin . But the note, which is likely to be sent to the cabinet, has not insisted on the nomenclature of the Cauvery Management Board. An official privy to the development said that the Centre has no option but to form an authority managed by the government. The government had argued in Supreme Court that Section 6A of the 1956 Act, by employing the word may, has left room for discretion to the Central government for the purpose of framing a scheme. However, the SC in its judgment repelled the submission, saying that the framing of the scheme is exclusively meant for implementation of the award or as the same gets modified by this court. The official cited above said that the authority is likely to be headed by an independent member... who can be an IAS officer , a technocrat, and not necessarily a chief engineer as suggested by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal. The authority is likely to have five full-time members, including the chairman and four other experts appointed by the Centre. The representatives of the four states are likely to be part-time members. The CMB was to consist of a full-time chairman and two members to be appointed by the Centre. According to the tribunal, the chairman was to be an irrigation engineer of the rank of chief engineer with not less than 20 years of experience in water resources management. Of the two full-time members, one was to be an irrigation engineer not below the rank of chief engineer and another an agricultural expert. The CMB also included two part-time members nominated by the Centre besides representatives of the states . The above official, however, refused to give a timeline for setting up of the authority, suggesting that the implementation of the court order might not meet the March 29 deadline. The court order has come in 2007 and is being implemented now. Nothing will change if we dont form the board within the deadline set up by the Supreme Court, said the official. While Kerala has sought a review on the rejection of its stand of seeking trans-basin diversion of the allocated 30 tmc ft of water for hydropower projects, the Karnataka government, which is against the formation of the CMB, has decided not to file a review petition regarding the verdict. Karnataka feels the formation of the CMB will lead to the state losing control over its waters. Instead of the CMB, Karnataka has sought the formation of Cauvery Decision Implementation Committee (CDIC). The states proposal says CDIC will have six members to be headed by the Union water resource ministry and another 11 members of a monitoring agency under it. On February 16, the Supreme Court awarded Karnataka an additional 14.75 tmc ft of water on account of providing Bengaluru 4.75 tmc ft of water for drinking water. Karnatakas allocation stands at 284.75 tmc ft. Tamil Nadu, despite reduction in its water share, has insisted on formation of the board as the state is against Karnatakas proposal of controlling the release of water. The sharing of the Cauvery water is a sensitive political issue in both states and Karnataka, which saw one of its worst droughts in 2017, goes to polls in the next few months. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday cleared a long-pending Indian Air Force (IAF) plan to set up a forward fighter base close to Deesa in Banaskantha district, near Indias western border in northwest Gujarat, adding teeth to its military capabilities against Pakistan. Defence ministry officials said on condition of anonymity that the CCS has cleared the initial investment of around Rs 1,000 crore to extend the runway, build fighter-pens and administrative facilities. The proposal for converting the small Deesa airport with a 1,000-metre runway, which was used for helicopter landings and VVIP movements, has been gathering dust for quite some time. The fact is that 4,000 acres for the air base, which will plug the critical air defence gap between the Barmer and Bhuj air bases, was acquired nearly two decades ago. This decision was pushed by defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, said one of the officials. Although the defence ministry is tight-lipped about which fighters will be based in Deesa, it is a fact that the new base will increase IAFs ability to respond swiftly in case of any hostilities in Indias western skies. Two former IAF chiefs, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the development as very significant. The Deesa base will fill an important gap between Barmer in the north and Bhuj/Naliya in the west, said one of the two chiefs. We have constructed a boundary wall there and have some personnel stationed there. Its time to get started now, he added. The base will come under the Air Forces Gandhinagar-headquartered South Western Air Command (SWAC), which was headed by IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa in 2014-15. SWACs area of responsibility covers Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, and Deesa will be the ninth base under it. Setting up a full-fledged fighter base could eventually cost upwards of Rs 4,000 crore and it will be crucial for the government to earmark funds so that the project is not delayed any further, the former chief said. Money will be critical at a time the Indian military is facing a fund crunch, as revealed in a string of reports tabled in Parliament this month. For instance, the IAF whose projected requirement in 2018-19 was Rs 1,14,526 crore received an allocation of Rs 65,891 crore. Experts believe the new base will pack a tremendous punch for the IAF. Fighter jets have a finite range so extra bases are always welcome as more force is available when required, said Air Marshal Vinod Patney (retd), head of the Centre for Air Power Studies and a former IAF vice chief. The IAF has been asking for Deesa for years. Its good news that the base is on its way to becoming a reality, Patney added. A Dalit MP of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said on Friday a Supreme Court order diluting the punitive provisions of the SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act will have an adverse impact on the party if the government does not file a review petition. Udit Raj, a Lok Sabha MP from North West Delhi, said he will raise the issue during a meeting of top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah, at their parliamentary party meeting this evening. The government must file a review plea in the apex court against the order. If it does not, it will definitely impact us (BJP) adversely. When the government takes credit for positive developments, it will also get discredited for something that goes wrong, he told reporters. Raj, who is a former IRS office and heads All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations, said he has sought an appointment with Modi to raise this issue and also a recent University Grants Commission order that, he claimed, harms the interests of Dalits. He claimed that the apex court order makes the legislation very ineffective by mandating prior official sanction to arrest a government employee booked under the Act and the nod of the SSP concerned to arrest a private person. The law has become so weak, the MP said. Several Dalit MPs of the ruling party have expressed views, mostly on the condition of anonymity, that the government should file a review petition against the order. Dalit ministers like Ram Vilas Paswan, who is also the chief of Lok Janshakti Party an ally of the BJP, have also spoken in favour of filing a review petition. Opposition parties, including the Congress, too have asked the government to appeal against the order. Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said that the government will examine the order and then come out with a structured response. Raj supported Prasads stand saying that a proper examination of the order was imperative before the government files an appeal. Amid speculation that a CBI inquiry may be ordered into allegations of corruption against him, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday told Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MPs that a conspiracy is being hatched against us. The TDP chief advised the MPs and other top party leaders to remain alert and be prepared to face any difficulties. In a teleconference with party MPs to take stock of the developments in Parliament, Naidu again voiced his apprehension that the BJP may target him, his son Nara Lokesh and other TDP leaders by slapping cases as they have pulled out of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The TDP chief also alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was trying to weaken the political leadership in south India. He said since a strong TDP means a strong Andhra Pradesh, attempts were being made to weaken the party by using the YSR Congress Party and Jana Sena. Naidu had earlier accused the BJP of trying to politically destabilise Andhra Pradesh by repeating what it did in Tamil Nadu. I have come into politics to serve the people and not for conspiracies and machinations. This should be kept in mind by the three parties, he said referring to the BJP, YSR Congress and Jana Sena. Naidus comments came in the wake of all the three parties making allegations of corruption against the TDP government, targeting him and his son Lokesh, who is also a cabinet minister. On Thursday, BJP leader Vishnu Kumar Raju alleged that TDP government was involved in corruption in the Pattiseema project and cited the report of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). Speaking in the assembly, Naidu made a counter attack by claiming that same CAG found fault with the Modi government on many issues. Naidu also slammed the three parties for making similar allegations on Polavaram project. There were no corruption allegations when we were in NDA. How could we suddenly become corrupt after leaving the NDA? he asked. The TDP pulled out of NDA over the latters refusal to accord special category to Andhra Pradesh and fulfill other commitments made at the time of states division in 2014. The TDP has also moved a no-confidence motion against the Modi government in the Lok Sabha. It could not be taken up due to unending uproar in the House. The Delhi High Court granted bail to Karti Chidambaram, son of senior Congress leader P Chidamabaram, in the INX Media corruption case. Justice SP Garg directed him to furnish a surety of Rs 10 lakh and imposed additional conditions including that he will seek prior permission of the CBI if he wants to leave the country. His passport is already deposited with the authorities, his lawyers had earlier told the court. The court also said that while out on bail, Karti will not tamper with any evidence in the case. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Karti Chidambaram on February 28 for allegedly helping INX Media in scuttling punitive action by the finance ministry during the tenure of his father as Union finance minister. His 12-day judicial custody was to expire on Saturday in the case. The case against Karti is that, in exchange for a bribe, he got the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), which worked under the finance ministry, to regularise a violation of a foreign direct investment approval by INX Media. CBI had contended that Karti should not be granted bail as he has already destroyed evidence in the case and was an influential person. Kartis counsel had argued that no case under the Prevention of Corruption Act was made out against him since the CBI had neither questioned any public servant, nor made them an accused in the matter. Kartis lawyers had denied allegations of tampering with evidence and added that when the CBI had not sought his further custodial interrogation, why should he be kept in judicial custody. They had also said that no one else has been arrested in the case and what the CBI has done is to put Karti behind bars. Kartis lawyers had further claimed that CBI was trying to connect him with a private company, Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt Ltd, which had received an alleged bribe amount of Rs 10 lakh, when he was in no way related to it. Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Shanta Kumar on Friday urged external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to ensure the early release of three persons from the state from the custody of Nigerian pirates. He said the men, belonging to Kangra district of the state and serving in the Merchant Navy, had been kidnapped by the pirates for ransom. The foreign minister assured me that the Government of India will act strongly in this matter and the youths will be back soon, he said. The BJP MP from Kangra said he wrote a detailed letter to Swaraj and also talked to her over phone regarding the matter. The pirates are demanding 11 million naira for the release of the Indian nationals, he said. On March 12, the family of one of the victims received a satellite call from Nigeria, informing them that some Nigerian pirates had hijacked their ship and kidnapped three Indian crew members. Kumar said the Indian nationals are: Sushil Kumar from Nagrota Surian, Pankaj Kumar from Samloti and Ajay Kumar from Palampur. Five people were killed and 30 others injured in an explosion at an illegal firecracker unit in Bihars Nalanda district late Thursday night, police said. Expressing grief over the incident, chief minister Nitish Kumar ordered an inquiry into the incident and issued instructions for providing adequate medical assistance to the injured. A two-member team, comprising Patna divisional commissioner Anand Kishor and deputy inspector general (central range) Rajesh Kumar, has been formed to conduct the inquiry. The explosion occurred around 10.30pm at a house in Khasganj village from where a man, identified as Mohamad Sarfaraz, allegedly ran the illegal firecracker unit. He also sustained injuries in the blast and undergoing treatment. The cause of the blast is being investigated. The police said Sarfaraz used to live in the house in Sohsarai police station area, 76 km southeast of state capital Patna, as a tenant. The deceased have been identified as Sarfarazs two daughters one-month-old Sumera and three-year-old Taniq Fatimathree-year-old son Sartaz and sister Shaista. The fifth victim has been identified as Munna Pandit, 28. The police said about 30 people were injured as the explosion damaged many structures in the crowded residential locality. The seriously injured had been admitted to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), they added. The police said a bomb disposal team had also confirmed that an illegal firecracker unit was running from the house. India has a huge demand for firecrackers and it has gone up ahead of the Ram Navami festival which will be celebrated on March 25, the police said. The blast site has been cordoned off and we have sought assistance from the forensic team to ascertain the exact cause of the explosion as well as the nature of explosives, Nalanda district magistrate Thiyagrajan SM said. Sarfarazs another minor son Mohammad Ejaj, who was injured in the blast, told reporters at PMCH that his father was trying to light an incense stick when inflammable material stored inside caught fire and exploded. Almost at the same time, an LPG cylinder also exploded in the neighbouring house, he added. Locals said that Sarfaraz had hired the house on rent from where he was running the units of Sayed Fireworks and Hanuman brand firecrackers. They also claimed that more than 12 people had died in the blast. But the police did not confirm the figure. I live about 200 metres away from the factory and the explosion shook my house. On Friday morning, we found raw materials, wrappers, ropes and other things scattered on the roof of my house. More than five houses, including a three-storied building, have been damaged, said Mohammad Irfan, 62. Mohamamd Adil, 54, said the villagers had been complaining to the local police about the illegal factory for the last four years but to no avail. The police, however, denied receiving any such complaint. I have checked with the local police station. There has been no such complaint, said Nalanda superintendent of police Sudhir Kumar Podika. He said the station house officer (SHO) of Khasganj, Sher Singh Yadav, had been suspended for his failure to check the illegal activity. An FIR had been registered against Sarfaraz for allegedly running the illegal firecracker-manufacturing unit in a densely-populated locality, Podika added. Meanwhile, Opposition leaders have called for an inquiry by a central investigating agency into the blast. The factory did not come up in one day. It is impossible that the police didnt know about it. We dont trust the Bihar police. A probe by CBI is a must, said RJD legislator Bhai Birendra. An 18-year-old boy was shot dead at a government school in Sonepat district by the same men who murdered his elder brother five months ago, police said on Friday. Rajesh Singh of Madina village was waiting at the playground of Government Senior Secondary School for Girls for his sister who was writing her Class-10 board exam on Thursday afternoon when four men came in a white sedan and opened fire at Rajesh, said police. He was shot 10 times and died on the spot. Rajeshs friend Saavan Kumar, who was sitting beside him, also suffered a bullet shot in his stomach. He was rushed to a hospital where his condition is stated to be stable, said police. Though police was deployed outside the school due to the board exams, it failed to arrest the assailants. Sub-inspector Subhash Chander, who on duty, said he heard gunshots and rushed to playground to find Rajesh dead and his friend injured. He also saw the assailants leaving in a car, but could not stop them. Villagers at the spot identified two of the four assailants as Seeta and Pawan of Madina village. Police said they were booked in October last year for allegedly murdering Rajeshs elder brother Rakesh over an old rivalry. Rajesh was a witness in his elder brothers murder case. We had arrested eight out of 11 accused. But Seeta and Pawan were absconding, said inspector Veer Bhan of the Barauda police station. Angered over the incident, family members of Rajesh took his body and blocked the Rohtak-Panipat national highway on Thursday evening. Rajeshs father Jai Singh said: After my elder son was killed, we had informed police several times about Seeta and Pawan. But they took no action. Now, they have killed my younger son too. As the family members refused to relent, police resorted to lathicharge to open the highway. The police also booked Rajeshs father and 25 other villagers on charges of blocking highway and attempt to murder, claiming the family members and villagers tried to attack cops with intention to kill during their protest. Fourteen people, including Rajeshs father, uncle and cousin were arrested and released on bail on Friday after they agreed to cremate his body. Air India on Thursday launched the first scheduled service to Israel to be allowed to cross Saudi airspace, a sign of a behind-the-scenes improvement in ties between the Arab kingdom and the Jewish state. Flight AI 139 landed at Tel Avivs Ben Gurion airport about 30 minutes after its scheduled arrival time of 1:15am IST. This is a historic moment, Israeli transport minister Yisrael Katz told AFP on the tarmac as the Boeing Dreamliner rolled to a halt. It is the first time that there is an official connection between the state of Israel and Saudi Arabia, he said in Hebrew. Tourism minister Yariv Levin was also there to welcome the flight. A new era has begun, he said. There will now be three flights weekly in each direction, ending a decades-long Saudi ban on the use of its airspace for commercial flights to Israel. Israels national carrier El Al currently operates an India service to Mumbai that takes a detour over the Red Sea to avoid flying over Saudi Arabia and Iran. Saudi Arabia and Israel have no official diplomatic relations, like much of the Arab world. Egypt and Jordan are the only two Arab countries with peace treaties with Israel. The flight approval comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described relations with the Arab world as the best ever, with common concerns over Iran drawing them closer together. Leaders of Arab countries have not publicly made similar comments, though that does not necessarily mean they dispute Netanyahus claim. They face sensitivities within their own countries, where the Jewish state is often viewed with intense hostility A 21-year-old woman belonging to the Ezhava caste was stabbed to death allegedly by her father on Thursday in Malappuram district of north Kerala ahead of her wedding to a man from a Dalit community, police said on Friday. According to the police, Athira had been dating Brijesh and though their family members strongly opposed their relationship, they finally came around. Athiras father, who was inebriated, got into an argument with her as the wedding preparations, to be held on Friday, were in full swing and attacked her. She ran into a neighbours house for help but he chased her and stabbed her with a kitchen knife, police said. Athira, a lab assistant at Manjeri Medical College Hospital, suffered a deep wound on her chest and died on the spot. After the incident, the father tried to escape but locals apprehended him and handed over to the police. Police said they had earlier brokered an agreement when both the families opposed their wedding but the couple insisted on living together. Athiras father agreed to the wedding at the police station but started questioning the alliance when they returned home. Her mother and two brothers were in Kozhikode city to buy new clothes at the time of the incident, said her relatives. Many people, especially women, are murdered each year in India by family members over perceived damage to honour that can involve eloping, fraternising with men or any other infraction against conservative social values. India registered 251 honour killings in 2015 against 28 in 2014, recording a big spike in murders carried out by people professing to be acting in defence of their familys reputation, the government told Parliament in 2015. The 792% jump reflects the rigorous data collection on honour killing, which the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) started doing from January 2014. It also points to the widespread existence of the crime. Most cases went unreported in the past or registered as crimes under murder. India doesnt have a specific law to deal with honour killing, forcing law-enforcement agencies to charge suspects under separate provisions of the Indian Penal Code depending on the scale of a crime. Like every concerned citizen of a civilised society, I am worried about the increase in juvenile crime, both nationally and globally. It is all the more disturbing to me because I find the Indian police unable to cope with the increase. Our organisation, Prayas, deals with a huge number of children involved in crime. There are several obvious reasons for the rise, which transcends socio-economic boundaries. Besides poverty, ignorance, breakdown of traditional values and the tendency to defy norms, one major factor contributing to teenage crime is something very crucial, which is being missed by most agencies. Behind every adult crime and serious juvenile crime, there is invariably a track record of petty crime that has gone unchecked. The growing phenomenon of teenage violence may include delinquent aggression, petty revolts and stone-pelting to heinous crimes such as murder, rape, riots and even taking to arms as insurgents and participating in fidayeen attacks. The phenomenon is called juveniles in conflict with law within the Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act 2015. They are to be given differential treatment under Indian law despite the emotion-driven 2015 changes in the juvenile justice act which permit children in the 16-to-18 age group to be tried as adults. The change came about because of the public outrage caused by the December 2012 rape and murder of a young student in Delhi by a group of men who included a juvenile. Recent incidents of a teenager slitting the throat of a younger child to put off an examination and another boy killing a principal have caused huge concern about teenage crime. I recall my five-year tenure in the violent 1980s as Dy. Commissioner of Police, Crime, in Delhi when besides unprecedented riots, bomb blasts, assassinations and other crimes, heroin entered Delhi and its use spread rapidly among the young. We conducted a study on 5,834 drug addicts arrested as pedlars and most of them were young. Teenagers have diversified into contemporary violent and serious crimes, the latest instance of which was the anti-Padmaavat protesters pelting stones at a bus full of school kids in the Delhi-National Capital Region. There is a running thread of continuity and similarity from the stone pelters of Kashmir whom I met recently, to the rural and semi-urban teenagers of Bihar, Assam and Jharkhand, the last one representing the unusual Jaamtara delinquent children who have swindled banks through their Internet ingenuity. Teenage crime is changing with times; juveniles are now turning to more dangerous, violent and tech-savvy crimes. Our socio-economic profile and disturbing human development indicators with half of Indias 1.3 billion people deep in poverty, half the children who constitute 40% of Indias population never being able to reach school or dropping out, 20 million of them being orphans or without family care are already threatening to convert our demographic dividend into a demographic disaster. Decidedly, 2.5 million Indian policemen, their hands already full with daily law-and-order duties and routine crimes, coupled with regulatory and VIP functions to serve the privileged and powerful, are bound to be confronted by a crisis unless they change their approach and job profiles to accommodate the youth. No more can the Indian police consider service-oriented community policing aimed at children, women and youth as peripheral to their traditional, hard-boiled, force-driven role. Personally, I have had many opportunities to interact with thousands of so-called juveniles as a policeman and at Prayas homes ( Prayas runs 47 homes and shelters among 200+ Centres in nine states/ UTs) which has looked after nearly 14,000 children in conflict with law or in need of care and protection. I found the juvenile involved in the December 2012 rape-murder of the Delhi student to be extremely withdrawn and reticent. Hundreds of children in serious crimes rehabilitated within juvenile homes and the Delhi Police Yuva Connect program are leading perfectly dignified lives. Two of them, an advocate and a manager in a business house, appeared on national TV channels with me recently to narrate their stories. They could well be role models for youthful offenders who want to reform. From my long and direct experience with teenage crime and juvenile delinquency, a common factor appears to be that the offenders, being highly impressionable, are easily swayed by malevolent influences. Whether at home under weak guardianship and adverse family circumstances or in schools and institutions under inept and inefficient teachers and caretakers, such young vulnerable people tend to get carried away. The breakdown of Indian family norms due to poverty or parental neglect and an indisciplined school system that is unable to rein in teenagers who are heavily influenced by the media and the evil underbelly of the internet tends to encourage juvenile behaviour that could eventually turn criminal. But our undying optimism still prompts people like me to think that all is not lost, and there are strong reasons to be hopeful. In India, where children make up 40% of the total population, around 35,000 to 40,000 juvenile crimes are committed annually, of which only 4,000 to 5,000 could be deemed serious offences. Indian teenagers are far more resilient and even obedient compared to their counterparts elsewhere in the world, In the US, an extremely violent society, teenagers commit over 1.2 million crimes. I am not only hopeful but absolutely certain that given our positive cultural moorings and the present dimensions of the problems, we can definitely stem the tide and correct the situation while we look after our teenagers as responsible families and institutions. Those who have transgressed the law can be brought back to the mainstream by a systematic and compassionate enforcement of the law. The author is former DGP and Founder General Secretary, Prayas She has just been nominated as a member of the Odisha State Planning Board, but 68-year-old tribal woman Kamala Pujari does not have a pucca roof over her head. Pujari, from the Bhumia community, was nominated two days ago along with four others as members of the board that makes five-year plans for the state and the 30 districts apart from providing short-and long-term policy guidelines. But the honour may have brought little cheer for the widow, who, despite having brought laurels to Odisha by preserving hundreds of local varieties of paddy, continues to live in a mud-and-thatch house in Patraput village of Koraput district with her two sons. Pujari, who still tills her land to make a living, is reported to have told her family members that she would have been happier with a pucca house than a membership of the planning board. Kamala Pujari (HT PHOTO) She is hardly enthused by the CMs announcement of making her a member of the State Planning Board. She wanted a pucca house of her own under any government scheme than these posts, said Sudam Pujari, her grandson who studies in class 12. Pujari, who had brought laurels to Odisha by winning the Equator Initiative Award in South Africa in 2002, had a hostel building in Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology in Bhubaneswar named after her. The irony is not lost on her family members. My grandmother gets invited to inaugurate buildings named after her. But why cant the government give her a pucca house? asked her grandson. Pujaris family members said she had applied for a house under the Indira Awas Yojana in 2016, but it was not granted. However, her younger son Tankadhar has been allocated a pucca house under the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Awas Yojana, which is still under construction. Till last month, about 42% of Odishas 27.52 lakh households were covered under various government housing schemes. Headed by chief minister Naveen Patnaik, the State Planning Board is more of a rehabilitation ground for disgruntled ruling party members. In September last year, the state government told the Assembly that the Planning Board has not met even once in the past 10 years. A year ago, the board made news when Patnaik recalled then Rajya Sabha MP Bishnu Charan Das and made him deputy chairperson. However, the body has virtually become defunct and has met only three times during Naveen's 18-year tenure. Pujari is a known name in Koraput for having persuaded villagers in her area to shun chemical fertilisers and adopt organic farming for better harvest and soil fertility. After getting trained at the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation at Jeypore, she organised group meetings, interacted with the villagers and convinced them to take up organic farming. Pakistan wants to sort out as soon as possible the issue of alleged harassment of diplomats, its high commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood said on Friday, asserting that his country desired peaceful and good-neighbourly relations with India. Mahmood, who came back to India on Thursday night --- a week after he was called to Islamabad for consultations amid the raging row between India and Pakistan over harassment of diplomats, said such issues affect the relations between the two countries. I discussed this issue (alleged harassment of Pakistani diplomats in India) with our government. We want to sort out this issue as soon as possible because it affects the relations between the countries, the Pakistani envoy said on the sidelines of an event organised to mark Pakistan National Day. Mahmood was called back to Islamabad for consultations after alleged incidents of harassment of its diplomatic staff in New Delhi, with the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson claiming the Indian government failed to take notice of the increasing incidents of intimidation of Pakistani diplomats, their families and staff by its intelligence agencies. India and Pakistan have accused each other of harassing diplomats in Islamabad and New Delhi. During his address at the event, Mahmood said, Pakistan desired peaceful and good-neighbourly relations with India on the basis of sovereign equality and mutual respect. It was important to resolve all outstanding issues, including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, peacefully through dialogue. He also said that peace was in the mutual interest of both countries and it could only be achieved through diplomacy and dialogue. The Centre has asked the Jammu and Kashmir government to provide sandbags to people living along the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan to fortify and protect their houses from cross-border shelling, a home ministry official said on Friday. The Centre will also reimburse the expenses incurred by the state government for providing the sandbags to the civilian population living along the 704km LoC. Tensions have spiked along the border in recent months with India accusing Pakistan of repeatedly targeting civilian the population. The home ministry recently informed Parliament that Pakistan violated the ceasefire along the LoC 432 times and 201 times along the International Border in which 10 security personnel and 12 civilians were killed. In the past three years, the number of civilian casualties was between 12 to 16. Last year, the number of ceasefire violations along the LoC was 860. The LoC is under the operational control of the Army. We are taking all precautions to safeguard our citizens, a senior home ministry official said but refused to answer whether the government anticipated the situation along the LoC to deteriorate. As reported by HT, a study group constituted by the home ministry had recommended that the Centre compensate victims whose houses, crops, and cattle suffer damages during ceasefire violations. While the sandbags are likely to provide cover from small arms firing, officials said shelling by Pakistani rangers will require heavier reinforcements. J&K government spokesperson and minister of the states public works department minister Naeem Akhtar termed the move necessary but added that providing sandbags was a first aid solution. The key to the problem lies in providing a long term resolution for the state which has been battered by turmoil since decades, Akhtar told HT. Sandbags, which are mostly used to either make bunkers or surround concrete ones, are already used by multiple households along LOC but they are either provided by the state government or, in some most cases, purchased by the people. India and Pakistan frequently accuse each other of violating a 2003 truce along the de facto border between the countries, one of the most volatile military zones in the world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid tributes to Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev to mark Martyrs Day and said that they sacrificed their lives so that others can live a life of freedom and dignity. The martyrdom of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru & Sukhdev was a watershed moment in our history. Every Indian is proud that these three great men belong to our land. At the peak of their youth they sacrificed their lives so that others can live a life of freedom and dignity. pic.twitter.com/XatfuPbyNK Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 23, 2018 It was on this day that Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were executed after they were sentenced to death in the Lahore conspiracy case. He also remembered politician and activist Ram Manohar Lohia on his birth anniversary and described him as one of the most remarkable personalities of 20th century India. He combined scholarly zeal with a penchant for grass-root level politics. His rich thoughts continue to shape socio-political discourse. I bow to Dr. Lohia on his Jayanti, he tweeted. Voting for Rajya Sabha seats in six states Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Telangana started on Friday morning. For the 58 Rajya Sabha seats to be filled, 33 candidates from 10 states have been unanimously elected. Voting for the remaining 25 seats was held in the six states. They are, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Telangana. Voting for bypoll to a Rajya Sabha seat from Kerala was also held on Friday. Counting of votes began at 5 pm. The Rajya Sabha vacancies next month include 17 from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and 12 from the Congress. Three nominated members actress Rekha, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, and social worker Anu Aga will retire in April. The BJP has filed 18 candidates for the biennial polls. Read | NDA could increase RS tally, but will be short of majority before 2019 polls Counting of ballots began an hour after the end of voting. Here are the live updates: Rajya Sabha election results are as follows: Uttar Pradesh 10 seats, BJP wins 9 and Samajwadi Party takes 1 Jharkhand 2 seats, BJP and Congress win one each Chhattisgarh 1 seat, won by BJP Telangana 3 seats, all won by Telangana Rashtra Samithi West Bengal 5 seats, Trinamool Congress bags four seats, Congress takes 1 Karnataka 4 seats, Congress wins 3, BJP takes 1 Kerala (bypoll) 1 seat, won by Janata Dal 11:59pm: BJP wins nine seats in UP. In Jharkhand, BJP and Congress bag one seat each. 11pm: UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath says all nine BJP candidates have won Rajya Sabha seats in the state: ANI 10:39pm: BJP wins all nine Rajya Sabha seats it contested in Uttar Pradesh, says UP minister Satish Mahana: PTI. 10:18pm: BJP workers celebrate, claim Anil Agrawal has won 10th seat. Official announcement yet to be made. 10:12pm: BJPs Arun Jaitley, Anil Jain, GVL Narasimha Rao, Vijay Pal Tomar, Kanta Kardam, Ashok Bajpai, Harnath Yadav and Sakaldeep Rajbhar, along with SPs Jaya Bachchan have won. Calculation of Anil Aggarwal is on. He is going to win, says JPS Rathore, BJP polling agent, according to ANI. 10:10pm: BJP candidate Anil Agarwal has got 16 first preference votes. BSP candidate got 32 first preference votes. The BSP candidate has not yet got any second preference votes, which means BJP is likely to win the ninth seat. 10:06pm: BJP wins 8 seats. Counting on for last seat. 9:52pm: Samajwadi Partys Jaya Bachchan wins another term in Uttar Pradesh, reports Times Now. 9:30pm: UP parliamentary affairs minister Suresh Khanna says two votes have been declared invalid. 9:18pm: BJPs Rajeev Chandrashekhar wins one seat from Karnataka, says, I am very happy to have received the maximum number of votes. Happy with the trust shown in me. It is an honour for me to serve Karnataka and serve my city Bengaluru, according to ANI. 9:14pm: Results declared so far: Chhattisgarh 1 seat, won by BJP Telangana 3 seats, all won by Telangana Rashtra Samithi West Bengal 5 seats, Trinamool Congress bags four seats, Congress takes 1 Karnataka 4 seats, Congress wins 3, BJP takes 1 Kerala (bypoll) 1 seat, won by Janata Dal 8:55pm: In Karnataka, Congress bags three Rajya Sabha seats and the BJP one. Returning officer declares Congress Dr L Hanumanthaiah, Dr Syed Naseer Hussain and G C Chandrasekhar as winners along with BJPs Rajeev Chandrashekar: PTI 8:20pm: Election Commission rejects complaint against Jharkhand Vikas Morcha MLA Prakash Ram after reviewing security footage. It was alleged that he did not show his ballot paper to the partys authorised representative after casting vote. 8pm: Mamata Banerjee celebrates her party Trinamool Congress victory. Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee shows victory sign following #rajyasabhaelections results pic.twitter.com/yqeRgquALa ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018 7:55pm: Counting of votes underway in Jharkhand after Election Commission rejects complaints from the Congress about a JVM legislator showing his ballot paper. 7:27pm: I do believe in democracy. My priority will be to fight against corruption, says Subhasish Chakraborty: ANI. 7:25pm: Trinamool Congress bags four seats and the Congress one from West Bengal. All four Trinamool candidates incumbent member Nadimul Haque and first time nominees Subhasish Chakraborty, Abir Biswas and Santanu Sen win. 7:15pm: Congress Abhishek Manu Singhvi wins Rajya Sabha elections from West Bengal. Says it is humbling and uplifting, it is a result of cooperation between different groups and MLAs. 7:05pm: Counting begins in Uttar Pradesh after two-hour delay. 6:58pm: Telangana Rashtra Samithi bagged all the three Rajya Sabha seats in the state. Joginipalli Santosh and Badugula Lingaiah Yadav got 32 votes each, while Banda Prakash Mudiraj got 33 votes. 6:55pm: TDP leader CM Ramesh unanimously elected to Rajya Sabha for another term: ANI 6:51pm: Abir Ranjan Biswas of the Trinamool Congress wins West Bengal Rajya Sabha seat: ANI 6:50pm: Janata Dal leader MP Veerendra Kumar elected to Rajya Sabha from Kerala. He got 89 votes while his opponent D Babu Prasad of the Congress polled 40 votes. Eight legislators of the Kerala Congress (Mani) and lone BJP MLA O Rajagopal boycotted the polling. 6:40pm: Counting resumes in Karnataka. 6:35pm: SP and BSP demand that the Election Commission declare the votes of BJPs Nitin Agrawal and BSPs Anil Singh invalid for allegedly not showing their ballot papers to the polling agent: ANI 6:27pm: Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P) suspends its legislator Prakash Ram for cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha polls, according to IANS. 6:05pm: BJPs Saroj Pandey wins from Chhattisgarh by beating Congress Lekhram Sahu, says ANI. 6pm: Counting has yet to begin in Uttar Pradesh. Election Commission has not given permission due to discrepancy on ballot papers. 5:45pm: Counting of votes for the Rajya Sabha election has been halted in Karnataka after the Janata Dal (Secular) accused two Congress legislators of being allowed to cast their vote twice. A ballot agent had asked the legislators to cast their vote again after they showed their ballot paper to the agent. Returning officers are waiting for the Election Commissions instructions. 5:05pm: Counting of votes begins, reports ANI. 2:05pm: Two senior Congress leaders cross-voted in the first ballot paper. Returning officer allowed them to vote again in fresh ballot paper. Illegal voting is going on... have requested election commission observer to counter-mandate the process, says HD Kumaraswamy of Janata Dal (Secular) in Karnataka. 2:00pm: Janata Dal (Secular) wants Rajya Sabha elections cancelled: TV reports. 1:40pm: Independent MLAs Raja Bhaiya and Vinod Saroj say they will vote for Samajwadi Party candidate. 1:30pm: Thank you for supporting Samajwadi Party. pic.twitter.com/OZve4X1WV3 Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) March 23, 2018 1:00pm: Voting for the lone Rajya Sabha seat in Kerala is underway, with chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan being among the early voters. MP Veerendra Kumar, the state president of the Janata Dal (U) Sharad Yadav faction, is the candidate supported by ruling CPI(M)-led LDF, while B Babu Prasad is the UDF candidate. 11:40am: Samajwadi Party leader Ram Govind Chaudhary says Akhilesh Yadavs strategy worked as the Bahujan Samaj Party candidate got nine Samajwadi Party votes, seven Congress votes and one Rashtriya Lok Dal vote as promised to the BSP chief. 11:30am: Independent MLA Amanmani Tripathi says he voted for the BJP candidate after getting directions from Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath. 11:20am: NISHAD party MLA Vijay Mishra in Uttar Pradesh says there is no alliance between his party and the Samajwadi Party. There was no pressure on me to support the BJP candidate. 11:15am: All the 9 candidates of BJP will win. SP insulted their worker and the people will answer them for choosing a candidate that entertains the society rather than one who serves the society, Nitin Agrawal, SP, tells ANI. 10:35am: Heres a look at key BJP candidates in Rajya Sabha elections: 10:30am: I have voted for BJP, I dont know about the rest: Anil Singh, BSP MLA. 10:20am: Shivpal Singh Yadav, the Samajwadi Partys (SP) legislator from Jaswantnagar, tells reporters after casting his vote that he was sure that the Bahujan Samaj Partys (BSP) candidate Bhimrao Ambedkar would win the Rajya Sabha seat. He also trashes reports that there would be cross voting in favour of a ninth candidate for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Anil Jain. 10:05am: Samajwadi Party leader Sunil Sajan says 35 of the partys MLAs have voted. The BJP is indulging in horse trading, he adds. 10:00am: 9:55am: There will be no cross-voting, but yes BJP MLAs will cross-vote in our favour, Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav tells ANI. 9:50am: BJP will win all the nine Rajya Sabha seats where we have fielded our candidates. Nine more BJP candidates will make entry to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh this time, UP deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya tells ANI. 9:42am: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath meets BJP MLAs ahead of Rajya Sabha voting. 9:40am: BSP MLA Uma Shankar Singh says though the party has 19 MLAs, it will get 17 votes due to party member Anil Singhs rebellion and MLA Mukhtar Ansaris court ruling. A few BJP MLAs might also support the BSP candidate, he says. 9:30am: Bengaluru: Senior BJP leaders Prakash Javdekar, BS Yeddyurappa & party's Rajya Sabha candidate Rajeev Chandrashekar met at their party office in Vidhan Soudha, earlier today. #RajyaSabhaElections #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/52jjjmngPJ ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018 9:20am: Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Singh Yadav claimed that there was no division in the party. Both SP and BSP MLAs will win, he says. 9:15am: Samajwadi Party, Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party MLAs come out of Tilak Hall together to show alliance. 9:05am: Voting for Rajya Sabha elections begins. 9am: SP candidate Jaya Bachchan Ji and BSP candidate, (Bhim Rao Ambedkar) whom we are supporting, will win the Rajya Sabha elections. Considering BJPs condition, Id say that its own MLAs are annoyed and some of them may even end up siding with the opposition: Rajendra Chaudhary, SP Out of the 58 seats, 33 candidates will be elected unanimously from 10 states. Voting for the remaining 25 seats will be held in six states: Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Telangana. How a RS member is elected -- RS members are elected through indirect voting by MLAs through the process of proportional representation. In other words, it means the number of Rajya Sabha MPs will depend of the size of the population of that state. All you need about Rajya Sabha elections There was high drama in some states where Rajya Sabha polls were held on Friday, as the contending parties cried foul over claims of cross-voting and in some cases double voting. Counting got delayed in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Jharkhand and started only after specific directions from the Election Commission. Polling in the keenly watched Uttar Pradesh witnessed day-long intrigue, allegations of irregularities and cross-voting as it went down to the wire for the 10th seat before the BJPs Anil Agrawal trounced the BSP-SP-Congress alliances Bhimrao Ambedkar. Agarwal got 16 first preference votes while Ambedkar got 32 first preference votes. Agarwal had more second preference votes but Ambedkar did not get any second preference votes. In all, the BJP won nine seats and SP one of the 10 seats that went to polls in UP. The BJP winners were: union finance minister Arun Jaitley, Ashok Bajpai, Vijay Pal Singh Tomar, Sakal Deep Rajbhar, Kanta Kardam, Anil Jain, Harnath Singh Yadav, GVL Narasimha Rao and Anil Agarwal. For SP Jaya Bachchan emerged victorious. There was drama in Karnataka, too, where the Congress won three seats and the BJP one. A total of 188 legislators out of the 225 voted and four these votes were set aside. As a result, each candidate required 37 votes to sail through. This was because only two Janata Dal (Secular) MLAs cast their vote, as the party decided to boycott the polls after two Congress MLAs were issued two ballot papers after they cast their vote to the wrong candidate. Those votes were subsequently set aside by the EC. Rajeev Chandrasekhar of the BJP received the highest number of 50 votes. GC Chandrasekhar of the Congress received 46 votes, his partymen L Hanumanthaiah and Syed Naseer Hussain received 44 and 42 votes, respectively. The seven rebel JD(S) candidates, who are set to join the Congress on Sunday in the presence of party president Rahul Gandhi, appear to have voted for the Congress, as the JD(S) candidate BM Farook got only two votes. Jharkhand too reported allegations of cross-voting and sabotage as the BJP and the Congress bagged one seat each. While BJPs Sameer Uraon was the clear winner, Congress candidate Dhiraj Prasad Sahu snatched victory from the BJPs second candidate Pradeep Kumar Sonthalia by a fraction of value of votes, after taking into consideration second preference votes of three BJP legislators. The official announcement by the election commission was, however, awaited as the BJP raised objection over a ballot and demanded recounting. Two votes were rejected during the counting of votes and the total valid votes stood at 78 out of the 80 legislators who exercised their franchise. In West Bengal, Congress spokesperson Avishek Manu Singhvi had a smooth sailing when Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLAs, including chief minister Mamata Banerjee, voted for him. The Trinamools decision to back Singhvi initially created a discord between the Left and the state Congress leaders but after voting was over MLAs from both sides said they would continue with their floor coordination against the TMC inside the Assembly. With numbers on their side, the four TMC candidates, Nadimul Haque, Subhasish Chakraborty, Abir Biswas and Dr Santunu Sen, got elected without any hitch. (With Inputs from Lucknow, Bengaluru, Ranchi, Kolkata) Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday urged the government to reach out to different political parties to end the three-week-long impasse in the Rajya Sabha and hoped that order would be restored in the House from Monday. We have a long list of business. I hope the Parliamentary Affairs minister and the government will also take into confidence the members of different political parties and come to some understanding by Monday. At least the House should run and have all this business, Naidu said in the House. Today (Friday) we are completing three weeks (of logjam). During my long stint in public life, I have seen very few distressing events as the present one. Rajya Sabha, the House of elders, could not discharge the mandated duties for three weeks. As the Chairman, I tried everything that I could but no result, Naidu said earlier. All sections of the House need to introspect as to why as the upper House of Parliament, we have let down the people of the country for three long weeks, he added. Naidu said that persisting with disruptions for three weeks had no justification. I know some of you have to say that it is not the first time such a thing is happening. For how long do you keep justifying the present wrong based on those of the past? People of the country are aspiring for a certain change. Should the change not begin with the Rajya Sabha, the House of elders, he asked. He said he had been getting queries from the public as to why the House was not being adjourned sine die. Will the next week be any different? I am sad to note that I would not like to hazard any guess. I leave it to the leaders and honourable members of Parliament of all sides to reflect and decide if you are going to change for better... It is for you to rekindle the hope. You have to decide, the chairman said. A meeting of Sikh hardliners led by Giani Dhian Singh Mand, Akal Takhts parallel jathedar, is underway to decide whether to cremate body of former militant Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa, who had died on Tuesday evening after jumping off a water tank at his native village Thaska Ali in Kurukshetra district. Also present in the meeting that is underway at Khalsas house at his native village Thaska Ali is Baljit Singh Daduwal--a radical Sikh preacher and parallel head priest of the Takht Damdama Sahib. Both Mand and Daduwal were appointed parallel jathedars during the November 2015 Sarbat Khalsa (Sikh congregation) in Amritsar spearheaded by the Sikh radicals in the wake of state-wide protests in Punjab over the spate of sacrilege incidents of Guru Granth Sahib. According to the reports, Mand and Daduwal along with pro-Khalistan outfits such as Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) of Simranjit Singh Mann and United Akali Dal are discussing their next course of action at village Thaska Ali where the body of Khalsa has been kept in a freezer by his family members. Khalsas family members had refused to cremate his body demanding suspension of two station house officers (SHOs) and registration of FIR against them under abetment to suicide (Section 306 of IPC) charges. Haryana police had registered an FIR under Section 302 (murder) against unknown policemen, while the family members alleged that the police deliberately registered the case under murder charges, which will be difficult to prove in the court. Presence of Mand and Daduwal is significant and a clear indication of Sikh hardliners on the forefront of this standoff with Haryana police. In November-December 2013, Khalsa had emerged as a rallying figure for hardliners to pressurise then Parkash Singh Badal government to get the jailed Sikh militants released. Backed by India and foreign-based hardliners, Khalsa had volunteered to starve till death, seeking release of six Sikh convicts sentenced to life imprisonment. Then, Khalsas key demand was to release six life convicts three of them convicted in the Beant Singh assassination case. Meanwhile, Kurukshetra deputy commissioner SS Phulia has arrived at Khalsas residence along with senior police officer. The Karnataka minorities welfare department has notified the Lingayats and Veerashaiva-Lingayats as a religious minority, but said the change will come into effect after the Centre approves the state governments recommendation on the issue. In its notification, the Department of Minorities, Haj and Wakf stated that it recognises Lingayats and Veerashaiva-Lingayats as minorities without affecting the rights and interests of other religious minorities in Karnataka, including reservations. The March 22 notification is seen as an attempt to put pressure on the Centre to approve the Karnataka cabinets contentious decision of according religious minority tag to Lingayats and Veerashaiva-Lingayats. However, the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha criticised the Karnataka cabinets decision to only recognise Lingayats and Veerashaiva-Lingayats (who adhere to 12th century philosopher Basavannas teachings) as minorities, and demanded that the entire sect be called Veerashaiva-Lingayats. Mahasabha president Shamanur Shivashankarappa, who is also a Congress MLA, insisted that it was wrong of the state government to add a caveat that only Veerashaivas who follow the teachings of 12th philosopher Basaveshwara should be considered a minority. We have come to a decision that the entire sect should be called Veerashaiva-Lingayat, and it must together be considered a minority, he said. The sub-clause that only those Veerashaiva-Lingayats who adhere to Basavannas philosophy must be dropped. The Mahasabha said a 2013 petition seeking a separate code for the communitys enumeration in the census must be considered by the Centre instead of the state governments recommendation. BJP chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa, who is a Lingayat, had previously said that he would stand by the Mahasabhas decision. Mahasabha senior vice-president N Thipanna said the organisation does not oppose the grant of minority status. The issue we have is with the nomenclature arrived at by an expert committee that does not know anything about the sect, he added. Yeddyurappa welcomed the Mahasabhas decision later in the day. I am very happy with the decision and I thank Shivashankarappa for this, he said. While the Mahasabhas decision came as a relief to the beleaguered Yeddyurappa, political analyst Narendar Pani said the former chief minister is still not in a comfortable position. While the BJP has termed the state governments decision as an attempt to break Hindu society ahead of the state assembly polls, the Mahasabha doesnt seem averse to procuring the separate religion status for the community. The BJP wanted to contest the polls on the basis of Hindutva votes and support from Lingayats. But more and more of these planks seem to be drifting in opposite directions, said Pani, who is a faculty member at the National Institute of Advanced Studies. (With agency inputs) This weekend Santhali language will be heard for the first time in the gathering of the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU), a body made up of national parliaments from all over the world, when Uma Saren, 33, a doctor by training and a Lok Sabha MP from Bengals Jhargram constituency will speak at a five-day conference in Geneva. The conference begins on March 24. The IPU works in close association with the United Nations. Read: Meet Shikha Mandi, the first RJ to host a show in Santhali Saren is the only woman member in a seven-member Indian team. She will speak in front of delegates of 178 countries. I want to establish the identity of the Santhals and their language in the global stage. Its a great honour for me to be selected as the first Santhali woman to address the Inter Parliamentary assembly, said Saren on Thursday. Of the five days, I have to speak on four, said the MP. She is also a member of the Consultative Committee of the ministry of Tribal Affairs. Read: Not just words: Why hundreds of Indias regional and tribal languages are dying The agenda for the discussions includes topics such as strengthening the parliamentary contribution to the global compact for migration, sustaining peace as a vehicle for achieving sustainable development, tackling womens underrepresentation in politics and engaging the private sector in the development of renewable energy. According to the 2001 census, 6.4 million persons spoke Santhali. The language is spoken by Santhals, an adivasi ethnic group settled mainly in the Indian states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Assam. There are also small settlements of Santhals in Nepal and Bangladesh. The language is written in Ol Chiki script that was created by poet Raghunath Murmu in 1925. I will say Johar (salute) to the entire tribal community, said Saren at an administrative review meeting held by chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday in West Midnapore district. Saren is a Trinamool Congress MP, who was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2014. The Bengal chief minister advised her to request for an interpreter who will translate her address into other language. If you request them in advance they will arrange for interpreters, said Mamata Banerjee. Incidentally, from this year, students in Bengal can opt to write their answers in the states class 10-level board examination in Ol Chiki. Nine women and a child were killed and five others injured when a three-wheeler they were travelling in collided with a truck at Jagatpur crossing in Uttar Pradeshs Pratapgarh district on Friday, police said. Circle officer G D Mishra said the accident took place when a group of a dozen women, five men and a few children were on their way to Raiyya Devi temple in Sultanpur village of Raniganj in Pratapgarh. All the victims belong to Daulatiya village of Mugra Badshahpur area in Jaunpur district. Police have seized the truck and detained the driver. UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the accident and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the kin of the dead and Rs 50,000 each for the seriously injured. The victims have been admitted to the district hospital with the help of local residents. Five injured persons have been referred to Allahabad for treatment, Mishra added. The accident resulted in a traffic jam on the busy Lucknow-Varanasi highway. Police force was deployed at the site to maintain order. A tea party for BJP MLAs at the residence of chief minister Yogi Adityanath, a luncheon meet for Congress, a get-together for the BSP and a lavish dinner for the SP were on the menu of parties which indulged in hectic lobbying on the eve of Rajya Sabha elections. Irrespective of which side they belonged to, lawmakers in Uttar Pradesh were much sought after by their respective parties as well as by their rivals. Fresh from its stunning by-poll victory in Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha constituencies, the Samajwadi Party had the most varied menu for lawmakers a mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian fare at a five star hotel for the second consecutive day. The non-vegetarian fare was to cater to the sensibilities of Muslim lawmakers but we had an elaborate phalahari food for those observing nine-day Navratri fast, an SP leader said. The Congresss luncheon meet at a hotel in Gomti Nagar was a simple affair attended by UPCC president Raj Babbar, party leaders Pramod Tiwari and PL Punia, among others. The Congress luncheon meet had a surprise guest BSP general secretary SC Mishra who broke bread with the Congressmen indicating the new-found bonhomie among the opposition parties. After Wednesdays dinner, the BJP got its MLAs as well as its allies together again at the CMs residence over high tea. BJP general secretary (organisation) Sunil Bansal and other leaders were seen telling party MLAs how Rajya Sabha election was different. Among other things, he (Bansal) asked us not to talk while in the queue for voting and not to discuss our votes before the election, a BJP lawmaker said. The BJP has 311 MLAs but along with its allies, SBSP (4) and Apna Dal (9), the party is assured of the support of 324 MLAs in the election that is based on proportional representation through single transferable vote (STV). Union minister Piyush Goel also attended the meeting. Makeshift polling booths were set up where party MLAs carried out a rehearsal of the voting process, a party leader said adding the BJP didnt want to take a chance in the high stake election. The Rajya Sabha elections are based on preferential pattern where in the absence of a clear cut winner, the second preference votes also come into play, said Athar Siddiqui of the Centre of Objective Research and Development. SP MLA Nitin Agrawal and independent lawmaker Amanmani Tripathi were also spotted at the BJP do. After meeting SP MLA Shivpal Yadav, Nishad Party MLA Vijay Mishra announced his plan to vote for the BJP. Shivpalji is like a family member but I have decided to vote for the BJP, Mishra said. We have worked out our calculations, a BJP MLA said without disclosing the partys strategy. Ding Dong and Fun Fun, a pair of 12-year-old Yorkshire terriers, know how to enjoy the high life literally. The pampered pets and their owner, Zoe Man, 43, flew on a private plane from Hong Kong to Japan for a five-day holiday. The terriers tucked into an inflight meal of grilled salmon and tender chicken. Man, vice president of a textile-and-apparel company in Hong Kong, plans two more trips by private jet this year, part of a growing number of owners indulging their pets on specialist holidays. Ive asked myself why I spend so much money on them, said Man, who spent over HK$240,000 ($30,600) taking Ding Dong and Fun Fun on the trip to Osaka, Japan last year. Zoe Man carrying her dog Fun Fun checks a closet for her pet dogs in Hong Kong. (REUTERS) Ive wondered whether they know the difference. But I think they do know they must have known the air smelt different, she said, sitting next to Fun Fun who was clad in a padded jacket. Hong Kong travel company Life Travel, which organised Mans trip, started flying pooches and their owners last year from Hong Kong to Japan, currently its only destination for these tours. On commercial flights, pets are typically carried in the hold. On its private jets, small dogs sit on their owners lap, while bigger dogs can lie on the floor, Life Travel said. Life Travels pet holidays start from around HK$70,000, for a week in Okinawa, Japan. It even offers petmiles as an added incentive. Meals and water are served to both dogs and owners and after arriving at their destination, they are taken to designated pet-friendly accommodation. Consumer spending on pets in China is growing at about 20% a year and will be a $7 billion market by 2022, market research firm Euromonitor International says. The pet market in the United States is growing around 2% a year. Chinese airline Hainan Airlines, owned by HNA Group, said in January that it was testing a pilot scheme to allow travellers to bring small pets with them on certain domestic routes. Life Travel organised three trips to Japan last year and is planning 13 in 2018 and 50 in 2019. It plans to offer trips to other countries, including the United States, this year, but customs policies and quarantine requirements mean certain destinations, such as Australia, are off the cards. Although the company has received requests to take cats, turtles, parrots, and even a hamster on its luxury trips, Life Travel founder Raymond Chung said that for now the company is sticking with dogs only. There is a huge market out there. We were just able to see the demand and start a little earlier than others, Chung said. Follow @htlifeandstyle for more Baa Ba Black Sheep Director: Vishwas Paandya Cast: Anupam Kher, Kay Kay Menon, Annu Kapoor, Manish Paul, Manjari Fadnis Rating: 1/5 A Bollywood film set in Goa cannot miss out on drugs, politicians and models exploiting each other and the likes. Baa Baa Black Sheep is no different, although it could have been. It is a film that must have been a brilliant one on paper, a thriller that could have been woven tighter, may be peppered with better jokes if thats the flavour the filmmakers like. But what we see onscreen is an apology for a comic thriller. Debutante director Vishwas Paandyas Baa Baa Black Sheep aspires to be a comic thriller, what it turns out to be is far from both being funny and thrilling. Manish Paul plays Baa Baa who is a young man in love with an art teachers daughter (Manjari). While Anupam Kher is Pauls Dad who is a meek husband and a cashew dealer by day and a sharp, intelligent contract killer by night, Annu Kapoor plays the art teacher who also dons the garb of Santa Claus to dupe art lovers with fake paintings. We also meet the usual share of corrupt politicians hands in glove with drug dealers, contract killers and the likes. So Kher wants his son to take to the family business of contract killing and uses the typical tactics parents usually employ for such deeds suicide threats, emotional blackmail and the danger of him being eliminated. Paul gives in, only to be caught amidst a dharam sankat he gets a twisted contract for killing people involving their close ones and needs to solve it all as his family follows the policy of never killing an innocent. In an attempt to appear funny, the film bombards us with jokes like, Mai JNU student reh chuka hoon, mai chup nahi reh sakta and Galti wo hoti hai jo sudhaari ja sake. Jo jhelni pade, use beemari kehte hain. Can you laugh at those? I couldnt. Acclaimed actors like Kay Kay Menon, Anupam and Annu are a waste in he film and they seem to be making fun of themselves. And we have seen them making similar attempts way too many times for this to be funny anymore. Skip this one and sing the nursery rhyme instead. Interact with the author @swetakaushal Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop It has come to the fore that more than 50% industries in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) are releasing fine particulate matter (PM), breaching the safe limits and posing a risk to health. The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) rated 29 of 50 industries in Navi Mumbai, Tarapur, Kalyan and Thane in very poor to poor categories. The industries emit PM2.5 above the prescribed limit of 150 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/Nm3) from the smoke stacks. Most of the 29 industries belong to chemical and pharmaceutical sectors. Under the Maharashtra Star Rating Programme for industrial PM emissions, 19 industries scored one star, while 10 got two stars. Industries that emit less than 150mg/Nm3 are given four and five stars. Exposure to high levels of PM fine harmful solid and liquid particles floating in the air with a diameter of 10 or 2.5 microns leads to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and premature death. The initiative to rate industries in Maharahtra began last year and makes it possible to access data from approximately 20,000 industrial stack samples over multiple years based on which ratings will be accorded. The 50 industries in MMR were added to the programme on Thursday, which is a joint collaboration between the state pollution control board and researchers from Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (JPAL), Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC), Evidence for Policy Design (EPoD) at Harvard University, and the Tata Centre for Development. Read more: 55 of 77 coal plants in Maharashtra flouting pollution norms The programme has been running successfully in several areas of the state and so far, both the industries and the public have shown keen and active interest, said P Anbalagan, honorary member secretary, MPCB. We are planning to expand the number of industries. Thursdays addition is an extension to the programme which so far comprised 79 industries across eight sectors chemical, pharmaceutical, power, cement, sugar and distilleries, metal work, textile and paper with at least four recent stack samples. Those involved in the initiative said the star rating programme is the first in the world to be designed to scientifically measure the impact on pollution from industry. MPCBs programme is path-breaking by providing the public with critical information and rigorously testing its impact on pollution emissions, said professor Michael Greenstone, one of the principal investigators on the project, and director of EPIC. The Vinoba Bhave Nagar police on Thursday registered a case against three builders for allegedly duping their 58-year-old investor from Mumbai Central to the tune of Rs1.82 crore. The trio, which included the complainant Abdul Rehman Abdul Aziz Kotwalas brother-in-law, took the amount from Kotwala under the guise of executing three construction projects, the complaint said. They were supposed to share the profits with Kotwala. In November 2017, Kotwala had approached the police and gave a complaint about the cheating. We then sent the complaint for public prosecutors opinion, and accordingly took further action, said a police official. After Kotwala approached the police, the accused allegedly promised to return his money, but had failed to do so. Kotwala lodged a formal police complaint on Thursday. The police on the basis of his complaint, registered a first information report (FIR) booking the trio under various sections, including Sections 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. The accused include Kotwalas brother-in-law Asif Iqbal Ansari, 48, and two of his partners Rizwan Gulam Mohammed Pataka, 43, and Mohammed Shahid Mohammed Shagir Ansari, 45. In his statement to the police, Kotwala alleged that his brother-in-law, Ansari approached him saying his firm, Spear Housing Development Corporation, had got three construction projects one each at Vinoba Bhave Nagar, Kurla and LBS Marg. On the pretext of undertaking the project, Ansari, along with his partners, took the amount as an investment for development of the three projects, through cheque and cash. Since 2013, after Kotwala gave the cash, there was no progress in the projects. There is no development at the first site, the second site has been half-developed and the third site has been handed over to some other developer, the police official said. Noticing that there was no progress in the construction works at the three sites, Kotwala asked Ansari last year to refund the amounts the trio had taken from him. Kotwala and Ansari had a meeting and Ansari gave a written undertaking to return the amount invested by the 58-year-old, the complaint said. Bharat Bhoite, senior police inspector attached to VB Nagar police station said, We have registered a case on Thursday and are further investigating the matter. Kotwala was cheated for Rs1,82,50,000 overall and was being delayed in being given the cash or the project. We also found that Kotwala had earlier invested in Ansaris project and had earned a good amount, but had to suffer a loss in this project. The MIDC police on Thursday arrested four of the six men who had allegedly assaulted a 34-year-old cashier of a bar with a chopper on February 23 in Andheri (East). The accused had robbed the cashier of Rs2.42 lakh. The cashier, Girish Gauda, works at Ram Bhavan hotel in Andheri. Read more: 9-L robbery: Mumbai police arrest two men from Delhi On the day of the incident, Gauda was going to the bar owners house at 3.45 am to hand him over the days earning. The accused blocked his way on the service road and attacked him. They assaulted Gauda repeatedly on his hand and back. Gauda suffered a deep injury on his hand but a quick surgery prevented an amputation. However, he needed 50 stitches on his body. Senior police inspector Shailesh Pasalvar of MIDC police station said, We had no leads in the case. Even the motorbike used in the crime was stolen by the accused from Thane, where an FIR under theft is registered. The police began questioning several people who Gauda knew. They learnt that Akhilesh Yadav, 38, a rickshaw driver, who used to accompany Gauda often, had tipped off the accused. A team led by inspector Santosh Jadhav and sub inspector Yogesh Pawar nabbed the accused from Mumbai. A detailed recce was conducted by the accused before executing the crime. The other arrested accused are identified as Suraj Singh, 22, Mahesh Chaurasia, 26, and Rajesh Sharma 22. The three have cases previously registered against them. The Sahar police on Friday arrested seven foreign nationals coming from Kenya at the Mumbai international airport for allegedly trying to smuggle 300km of drugs small green leaves similar to marijuana. The police estimated the value of the seized drugs is Rs7.56 crore in the internation market. The Sahar police have booked the seven people under section 328 (causing hurt by means of poison) of the Indian Penal Code. The drug is not listed under the anti-narcotics Act. During a security check on Thursday night, immigration officials detained one of the accused, Abid Khan, 24, a resident of Nairobi in Kenya. He had brought three bags of the stimulant. He was handed over to the Sahar police. During questioning, the police found out that six more people from Kenya, including a woman, will land in the city with a bigger consignment at 4.45 am on Friday. A trap was laid by a team led by senior inspector Lata Shirsat and inspector Sunaina Nate. The six people were caught with 12 more bags. Approximately 300 kilograms of the drugs was found from their bags, said Anil Kumbhare, DCP (zone VIII). The police will send drug samples to a forensic science laboratory (FSL). The other six accused were identified as Toufiq Ahmed Ali, 32, Nuru Mohamed Umer, 38, and Hasan Mohamed Abrahim, 29 (all from Ethiopia); and Mohamed Abdi Gabow, 32, and Jacqueline Nyareso, 34 from Kenya. Another accused Abdullahi Zakariye, 35, is from Sweden. The police are investigating to find out how many times they have come to India and the recipient of the consignment. They said the drugs are cultivated in eastern Kenya. They will take up the issue with the home department to get the stimulant banned under the NDPS Act. The accused will be produced before a magistrates court on Saturday. The drivers of app-based cab aggregator Uber ended their four-day long strike on Thursday evening. The transport wing of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Maharashtra Navnirman Vahatuk Sena (MNVS) announced to call off the strike that started on Sunday night after an hour-long meeting between MNVS leaders and Uber executives at Chirag Nagar police station. We have decided to call off the strike of Uber drivers too as the company management has agreed to our demands, said Sanjay Naik, leader of MNVS. One of the demands of the drivers was assured income of Rs1.25 lakh per month. In absence of app-based cabs, commuters were forced to take alternate modes of transport. The MNVS release said Uber has assured review of the average monthly income of the drivers and ensured maximum income to them. It also ensured to provide business agreement with the drivers in the Marathi language, besides putting stickers on cabs in Marathi only. It agreed to give a business development plan for the drivers working for other app-based companies. We met with a delegation of drivers and will continue to engage with them on a one-on-one basis. We have heard their concerns and taken note of the feedback. We remain committed to serving the city, ensuring that drivers can continue to access stable earning opportunities while giving commutes a convenient option to get around Maharashtra, said an Uber spokesperson. Read more: High margins vs driver incentives: The Ola, Uber business model Ola drivers had withdrawn their strike on Wednesday. On Thursday, the situation was much better as compared to the past three days. The app-based cab commuters had faced maximum trouble a day before, when most cabs had gone off-road since noon. The commuters said that significant number of cabs were available on Ubers platform for booking, though the arrival time was a little longer than usual. There are an estimated 50,000 app-based cabs operating in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The union says the figure is 1.10 lakh. Of these, Ola and Uber collectively own approximately 10,000 vehicles. Scores of Mumbaiites prefer to travel by Ola and Uber on longer distance when there is lesser surge pricing, in which fare zooms up with growing demand. Another distressed farmer on Friday resorted to a suicide attempt to draw the state governments attention to his plight. He tried to end his life by pouring kerosene on himself outside Mantralaya after he was denied entry to the building in the afternoon. This is the sixth suicide attempt at Mantralaya in less than three months. Gulab Shingari, 56, from Majalgaon taluka in Beed district in central Maharashtra, alleged that local leaders from an opposition party have grabbed his farm land and house, and wanted to meet revenue officials for redressal. Beed is around 400km east of Mumbai. The Marine Drive police have detained Shingari. After spotting Shingari with a kerosene bottle, the police denied him permission to enter Mantralaya, the administrative headquarters of the state government. An indignant Shingari poured the liquid and tried to set himself ablaze. The police thwarted his attempt in the nick of time. He had come to Mantralaya after the local administration in Beed failed to address his complaint. After we noticed that he was carrying a bottle of kerosene, we alerted our officers and kept a watch on him to avert any untoward incident, said an officer posted at Mantralaya. The police are keeping a watch on visitors to Mantralaya as 35 people from various districts had written letters to collectors, threatening to commit suicide near Vidhan Bhavan over various issues. The government came under severe criticism after an 84-year-old farmer from Dhule district consumed a poisonous chemical outside Mantralaya to protest against the inadequate compensation for his land. (With inputs from Megha Sood) The Maharashtra government on Friday issued a notification on implementation of ban on plastic with immediate effect. This means, from now on, manufacture, use, storage, distribution, wholesale and retail sale import and transportation of all kinds of plastic bags (with or without handle), single use disposable items made of plastic and thermocol dish, cups, plates, glasses, fork, bowls, forks, spoons, straw, non-woven polypropylene bags, pouches to store liquid and plastic to wrap or store products and packaging of food items and food grain material will be banned across the state. The state has added disposable plastic containers being used by restaurants for parcel and home delivery in the purview of the ban. The government has also incorporated small PET and PETE bottles having carrying capacity of less than half litre in the ban. The notification has also banned plastic and thermocol for decoration. The government has one month time to consumers, shopkeepers, traders and manufacturers to dispose of the banned plastic items, which means punitive action will start after one month. The notification has been called as the Maharashtra Plastic and Thermocol Products (Manufacture, Usage, Sale, Transport, Handling and Storage) Notification, 2018. HT was first to report about such a ban in a series of stories from January 12. The final draft of the notification was approved on Thursday by the empowered committee formed by the state government to monitor, review and take decisions on the ban. Concerns about usage and disposal of plastic are diverse and include accumulation of waste in landfills, water bodies and in natural habitats, the leaching of chemicals from plastic products and potential for plastics to transfer chemical to wildlife and humans are increasing, the notification said. The government has decided to exempt plastic being used as integral part for packaging of a product or being used at the manufacturing stage. However, it has directed the manufacturers to prominently print the guidelines to recycle and reuse of such plastic on the cover and material, the notification said. It has also exempted milk pouches made up of food grade virgin plastic bags not less than 50 microns for the ban. State environment minister Ramdas Kadam said offenders will be fined Rs5,000 and Rs10,000 respectively for first and second offence, respectively. A third-time offender will be fined Rs25,000 and get three months in jail. But the notification has no mention about the penalty. Kadam said the notification has been issued by exercising the powers of Maharashtra Non-Biodegradable Garbage (Control) Act, 2006. The government has authorized everyone who is interested in strict implementation of the ban -- group of people, welfare organizations, industrial association and all the elected representatives -- to register any offence with the authorized officer notified by the government, the notification states. Environmentalist Afroz Shah, who is known for his cleanliness drive at Versova Beach, said it is a very good decision to test the ban. The government has put limited items in the ban and has regulated milk pouches and PET bottles having capacity of half litre and above. Now it is up to the people to come in support and help in enforcing the ban strictly, Shah said. The best of the move is the empowered committee which will monitor the implementation of the ban and review if on regular basis, he added. The Bombay high court on Friday again expressed doubts over safety and airworthiness of pre-450 series Neo P&W 1100 engines installed in a few Airbus A320 aircraft owned by IndiGo and GoAir. The speculations were raised despite Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stating that it had not noticed any defects in the engine. You (DGCA) cannot allow panicking situation in the country, said the division bench of Justice Naresh Patil and Justice GS Kulkarni. You must declare that these engines are safe and airworthy. Otherwise, just imagine the situationeverywhere you will find people anxious to know which engine is fitted on the plane that they are boarding. The bench said the civil aviation regulator must remove this fear psychosis, failing which there will be confusion and chaos in the aviation sector. The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by a frequent flier from the city seeking a direction to the DGCA to ground all the aircrafts flying with Neo P&W 1100 engines on the ground that both the versions of the engine - pre-450 and post-449 were problematic and required to be removed. During the course of hearing on the PIL on Friday, the judges also insisted that the Indian civil aviation regulator should produce certificates of fitness and airworthiness accorded to pre-450 Neo P&W 1100 engines by FAA and EASA. The bench, however, continued to express doubts about safety and airworthiness of the engine even after advocate Advait Sethna, who represented DGCA, submitted certificates issued by the FAA and EASA certifying that the pre-450 engines were safe and airworthy. We have examined the pre-0450 series with more strict and stringent norms that those applied by international aviation regulators like the United States Federal Aviation Administrator (FAA) and European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA), but we have not noticed any defects in the engine, advocate Advait Sethna, who represented DGCA, told the bench. These are safe and airworthy, he said of the pre-450 series Neo P&W 1100 engines. The court has now directed the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to file an affidavit disclosing what steps the aviation regulator has taken to ensure passenger safety ever since the issues relating to the purportedly faulty engines cropped up in March 2017. From next week onwards, the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) will impose 24-hour water cuts once a week in the Kalyan and Dombivli. The civic body will start the water cut from Monday noon to Tuesday midnight each week, while MIDC have announced it from Thursday 12am to Friday 12am every week. As per the guidelines given by the Thane irrigation department, in order to store water in the Ulhas river for the year, we have declared a 24-hour shutdown. All our four water treatment plants will be shut during this period. We request the residents to cooperate with us, said Prasad Thakur, assistant public relations officer, KDMC. This announcement has raised concerns among the residents of 27 villages that have been facing water crisis for several years. Most of these villages are dependent on water tankers daily. The villages, which were earlier a part of the gram panchayat, were included in the jurisdiction of KDMC in June 2015. Currently, the MIDC provides water to KDMC for these villages. In many parts of the 27 villages, the water is supplied with low pressure. We are facing water shortage and if there is a water cut, it will affect us more. Sometimes, we receive water only twice a week. If there will be a 24-hour water cut, the authorities should at least make provisions to provide water for the other six days, said Sushma Patil, 35, a resident of Pisavli village, Kalyan. The 27 villages were the most affected regions in Maharashtra in 2016. The villagers have protested against poor water supply several times. Last month, the residents of Pisavli village took to the streets and thronged KDMC headquarters to protest against the water supply shortage in their area. Raju Nalawade, a resident of Ajade village, Dombivli MIDC said, There are several cases of water pipeline leakages and water thefts which the authorities have been neglecting. What is the point in just declaring a water cut and saving water when they are not acting against the thefts and leakages? In a significant move, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Maharashtra government on Friday moved a trust motion supporting Speaker of the House, Haribhau Bagade, and got it cleared within a minute with the help of its ally Shiv Sena. The move is being seen as a part of the strategy adopted by the ruling alliance to counter a no-confidence motion moved by the opposition parties the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) against the Speaker. Read more: Now, watch Maharashtra legislature proceedings live on YouTube for the first time Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis moved the motion in state assembly after the question hour. Shiv Sena legislator and minister Eknath Shinde supported the one-line motion and got it passed in no time. The proceedings of the house then adjourned twice due to din. Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, leader of opposition in the state assembly sought permission to speak on the no-confidence motion, moved by them on March 5. But Fadnavis said, The trust motion is valid, as a similar motion was passed by the then chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh in 2006. The motion was moved against the no-confidence motion moved by the opposition parties at that time. What was valid at that time is valid today as well. It has now become a precedent. The chief minister further said that the opposition now cannot move the no-confidence motion as a trust motion has already been passed by the assembly with full majority. On the issue of public interest, we protest against the government. But the motion is related to the honour of the Speaker and hence we decided to support it, Shinde said while speaking to reporters in the Vidhan Bhavan premises. The proceedings of the House was adjourned twice before it was finally adjourned for the day. In a contentious move to mop up resources for the state exchequer, the cash-strapped state government is planning to examine if Transferred Development Rights (TDR) can be generated over Central and state-owned lands where development is restricted. If one goes by the government order issued by the finance department on Wednesday, the state is seriously considering if TDR or buildable rights can be generated over land owned by Railways, defence, courts and prisons. Besides this, the state is also willing to consider if TDR can be generated over national highways, roads, national parks, ports, forts, and land falling under the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ). The redevelopment over all these lands is restricted for reasons including protection of ecology, security, among others. TDR refers to additional buildable rights that are given as a compensation to a land owner for surrendering land owned by them for a public amenity. These buildable rights can be transferred to any other plot from where it has been generated. The TDR is traded via certificates which can be purchased. Most redevelopment projects in the city rely on TDR along with incentive floor space index (FSI) for maximizing construction on a plot, often at the cost of the citys infrastructure. Read more: Housing redevelopment projects on private roads in Mumbai can get TDR benefits, says state govt The lands owned or controlled by the Centre or the state such as railways, defence, heritage CRZ, courts, prisons, national parks, roads and highways, ports, forts, etc, under the control of public sector units can be opened for development by generating floating TDR. TDR can be legally traded to raise resources for various development schemes, states the government resolution (GR). The GR has set up a six-member study group led by principal secretary (expenditure) RA Rajeev to study this concept and make suggestions for its implementation. The committee has been given six months to submit its report. A citizen from Pune had made certain suggestions to the government over this. A meeting had been held last month to discuss the issue and at that time, there was a consensus that one can explore online trading of TDR certificates to make these realty transactions more transparent. However, this aspect of generating TDR on Central or state-owned lands like railways is not really feasible, said a senior official, who did not wish to be named. The citizen who made the suggestion is also part of the study group. Rajeev was not available for comments. Planning experts have panned and ridiculed the move. TDR is an urban planning tool and it cannot be used as a commodity to raise resources for the government. One cannot generate TDR out of thin air. One needs to consider where it will be deployed because it has to be utilized in sync with amenities and infrastructure created in that area, said Pankaj Joshi, executive director of Urban Design Research Institute. Joshi in a wry comment questioned why the state government had left out generating TDR over the Arabian Sea. The civic government recently issued tenders for an online solution to digitise TDR certificates to make the transactions more transparent. Once digitized, TDR certificates are to be linked with the civic bodys online platform Owing to a spate of accidents, one of which even claimed a life at the metro construction sites in the city, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has decided to fix a policy for labour welfare. The policy, which will fix a steady compensation in case of an injury or death of a labourer on site, is expected to be ready in 15 days, officials said. UPS Madan, metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA said, In addition to the insurance, we want to fix the amount of compensation that will be provided to the worker in case of an accident on site. The compensation will depend on the nature of the injury and we intend to fix the policy in the next 15 days. MMRDA will also create a labour welfare fund through collecting penalties from contractors in case of injuries, reporting accidents late or willfully suppressing them. The decision was taken in the 145th authority meeting held by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday. This (policy) is not only to press contractors to take adequate safety measures during the construction but also to take care of the workers and their family members by compensating them in case of any mishaps, Madan added. The city is at present witnessing the construction of three metro corridors. MMRDA will soon initiate the construction of two more corridors. The heavy machinery on sites makes it imperative for contractors to maintain high-level safety standards. In November 2017, a 21-year-old labourer died after a part of crane hit his head at the Metro-7 (Dahisar East-Andheri East) construction site. The contractor, Simplex Infrastructure Limited, was asked to pay a compensation of Rs9 lakh to the victims family. The same month, a piling rig being used for the construction work of the Mumbai Metro-3 (Colaba-Bandra-Seepz) tilted towards the iconic Maratha Mandir at Mumbai Central. No casualties were reported. In October the same year, metal rods used to support a pier collapsed on the service road. Fortunately, no casualties were reported in the incident. MMRDA had then slapped a fine of Rs5 lakh on the contractor J Kumar Infraprojects Limited for the accident. The Agripada police have arrested a 52-year-old con man who had skipped sessions court hearings and was absconding after he got convicted for duping 70 investors of money by promising them cheap flats in Navi Mumbai. The victims include three police constables, who filed the complaint against him. A team of police officials from Agripada police station tracked down the con artist, Avinash Suresh Raskar, with help of their informers and arrested him from his hideout in Mulund on Thursday. Raskar was arrested in 2015 by the Kamothe police for allegedly duping several investors, including three police officials, by promising them flats in Navi Mumbai at Rs20 lakh per flat. They then handed over Raskar to the Shivaji Park police as the case against him was registered there by the constables. While Raskar was out on bail, the case against him continued, though he stopped appearing for the later hearings. He was then pronounced guilty and sentenced to six years imprisonment. Following this, the court declared him absconding and instructed the Mumbai police to arrest him. After two months of tracking him, the Agripada police arrested him from a flat at Chheda Nagar in Mulund. He had a packed emergency bag in the house with his essentials so that he could flee immediately if needed, officials said. We have arrested Raskar, confirmed Sawalaram Agavane, senior police inspector of Agripada police station. The three constables Sunil Kadu and Prakash Patil from the local arms unit, and Rajendra Kumar Patil from Juhu police station had visited a property exhibition in January 2013, where they came across a stall set up by Raskars Morya Tech Infra Private Ltd, which offered flats in Khandeshwar, Navi Mumbai, at a throwaway price of Rs20 lakh. The three were among the 70 people who made down payments and were promised possession by May 2014. However, when he failed to give possession, the constables approached Shivaji Park police station. The Maharashtra government is considering dismissing police inspector Abhay Kurundkar, key accused in the murder of assistant police inspector from Navi Mumbai Ashwini Bidre Gore. Speaking in the state legislature on Friday, minister of state for home Ranjit Patil said: We have already suspended him, and we are checking service rules now to dismiss him. Kurundkar, 52, and his three accomplices have been booked for murdering Gore on April 11, 2016, hacking her body to pieces and throwing the body parts into Bhayander creek. Kurundkar, who was arrested in December 2017, was given the Presidents Police Medal for gallantry on Republic Day in 2017. Patil said the state government has already written to the Centre, asking that he be stripped of his medal. Raising the issue, NCP member Hemant Takle said the gruesome murder has upset the public and strongest possible punitive action should be taken against the accused. The state government should institute a high-level inquiry to book the guilty, he said. The Navi Mumbai crime branch, which was been investigating the case, has not yet been able to trace Gores remains, though they have registered a murder case against the suspects and have got confessions from some of them. The police are now seeking help from oceanographers to locate her remains. A 36-year-old woman from an upscale residential society in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, has been arrested on charges of killing her daughter after she got suspicious that the 16-year-old was involved in a sexual relationship with her father. The Kharghar police said the crime took place on March 4, and that investigations are underway to determine the fathers role in the entire incident, including whether he had sexually assaulted his minor daughter. The father, a civil contractor by profession, has not been arrested so far. A senior police officer said: We are not certain if the womans suspicions were true. There may be some other reason behind the murder. Read: Death in a pub: 32-year-old fiddled with the gun, pointed it at his head and pulled the trigger According to the police, the woman strangled her daughter with a dupatta on March 4, when the two were alone at home. She then called her husband and told him the girl was not well. However, on reaching home, he found her dead. Meanwhile, some of their neighbours alerted the police about the incident. We saw some marks on the deceaseds neck that day itself, but due to lack of concrete evidence, we registered a case of accidental death case. We then sent the body for post-mortem. The report has confirmed that the deceased was strangled to death, said Dilip Kale, senior police inspector of Kharghar police station. After the post-mortem the police handed over the victims body to her parents, who then went to their native place in Rajasthan to conduct the final rites. Read: Kerala: Man stabs daughter to death day before her inter-caste wedding By the time they returned, the post-mortem report had come in, confirming that the teenager had been murdered. When they returned on Wednesday [March 21], we summoned them for interrogation. The woman confessed to having committed the crime, so we have arrested her. She has been booked under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, Kale said. The police are now talking to the girls classmates, the neighbours and relatives to try and understand the crime and determine the fathers involvement. A 24-year-old Nigerian woman, who had come to India in July 2014 for a kidney transplant, has been stuck here ever since. The reason: a person who promised the transplant was part of a kidney racket. Esther Theophilus, a pharmacist, has been futilely waiting for a kidney donor for nearly four years. Her stay in the country has also became illegal as she failed to get herself registered with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) owing to her poor health. While Theophilus hoped to receive kidneys and return home to meet her mother. But her diabetic mother passed away more than a month ago. Hoping to see her mother one last time, Theophilus approached the Mumbai police to help her return to Nigeria at the earliest. But it was difficult for cops to process her request as she has illegally been living in the country for four years. However, the police expedited her application for (exit certificate) on humanitarian grounds as her family has not performed her mothers last rites. The police finally issued her an exit permit to Theophilus on Thursday. Though she was highly upset and frustrated with the lengthy procedure, she was overwhelmed by the Mumbai polices gesture. She thanked officials in the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) and plan to fly back to her country on Friday morning. On humanitarian grounds, we expedited the procedure to ensure that she returns to her country and attend her mothers funeral, said Supriya Yadav-Patil, deputy commissioner of police (SB2- FRRO). Theophilus said, My experience in India had been awful, especially the lengthy medical and legal systems. But unlike others, the police were very polite. They didnt victimise me. Read more: International kidney racket: Mumbai cops say most donors, recipients are Indians Theophilus, who is a kidney patient, is married to an Australian national. She arrived in Delhi in July 2014 and first visited a private hospital for treatment, but could not be treated there. A person then suggested her to go to Mumbai where she would definitely find some donor. Months had passed, but she could not get a donor. I came across a person who assured me a kidney and demanded $50,000. I didnt have so much money, so I kept looking for a generous donor but never found one, said Theophilus. Meanwhile in the last quarter of the 2016, a major kidney racket was busted in citys Hiranandani hospital. After this development many groups operating illegal kidney rackets went underground. Theophilus then got to know that the person she had given money to for a kidney was probably part of one such group. She lost a huge amount to this fraudster, police sources said. Theophilus fell victim to an international organ harvesting fraud. Her condition was deteriorating rapidly. FRRO officials ensured she goes home as early as possible, said her lawyer Tushar Lavhate The police decided to help her with exit papers after she narrated her ordeal. After facing flak from all corners, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said that the Maharashtra government will not allow any construction work at Mahim Nature Park and has no such plans for the same. It was just a confusion, which got created after the Mahim Nature Park was shown as part of Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP). The nature park was made part of DRP considering its proximity with Dharavi. The government has no plans to allow any construction at the nature park. Its face will not be changed, Fadnavis said in the state assembly. The issue was raised by Shiv Sena legislator Sunil Prabhu during zero hour. There were reports that the government has planned to hand over the 37-acre Mahim Nature Park to the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) for the proposed DRP. The controversy arose after SRA, the nodal agency to implement the redevelopment of Dharavi, Asias biggest slum, invited suggestions and objections from the public to include the nature park in the development of Sector 5 of the project. The government was facing severe criticism for the proposal. The forested park, which was slowly converted from a wasteland to a green patch, is spread along the south bank of Mithi river. The state government said that when the park opened to the public first in 1994, authorities expected that it would see three million visitors a year. But in the first year, it saw only 5,000 visitors. In 2013, the footfall had dropped to 100. The MMRDA, which is in charge of the park, had also planned a makeover and had called for designs from global players, the government said. In January 2017, it also selected one company to implement the makeover, which envisaged an amphitheatre, viewing platforms, reservoir, watch tower, cafeteria, library, canopied walkway and floating boardwalk along the periphery of the park for a close view of the mangroves and mudflats. Speaking in the legislative council, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reiterated that his government would set up an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Mumbai. Various options are being worked out and the IFSC will be located on the third level of the bullet train terminus in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), Fadnavis said. The announcement comes despite the fact that Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had, last December, ruled out another IFSC on the grounds that the first one at Gandhinagar is still not being fully utilized. There is a limit on how many IFSCs one can have...one can think of another IFSC only after the one at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) is optimally used, Jaitley had said in Parliament. Fadnavis said that he held a meeting with Jaitley regarding the issue after he released the statement. I managed to convince Jaitley that Mumbai was a natural financial centre. I told him that one can have a back office in Gujarat but everybody wants finance offices in Mumbai, said Fadnavis. There is no problem in having multiple IFSC as London has three, he added. Fadnavis said there were some issues in setting up the centre at BKC. Any IFSC needs 50 hectares of continuous land. In BKC, we have less land and so we are seeking permission to get approval based on the floor space index (FSI) as we have enough FSI there. He added that another possibility was to use the existing SEZs (special economic zones) as subcentres through a distributed system. The issue was raised by Congress member Sanjay Dutt, who pointed that there was confusion on this issue. The Union Finance Minister refuses to set up an IFSC in Mumbai while the chief minister says he is determined to do so, said Dutt. Bullet train fare to be on par with regular A/C train fare says CM Passengers travelling by the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train will have to pay the same fare as the first class AC train passengers, said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in the legislative council. We have worked out the viability and hence, we will be charging the normal ticket fares, said Fadnavis. He was responding to Congress member Sanjay Dutts queries on the proposed bullet train. Fadnavis outlined the fact that it was an era of faster mobility and the adjoining areas in the route of bullet trains benefitted tremendously by it. A mere 3% of the total population flies, but airports are continuously being built, because mobility is the only way of development and leads to growth, said Fadnavis. He said that bullet trains will ensure large scale benefits to the state. There will be technology transfer, our industries will benefit and there would be large scale generation of jobs, he added. Earlier, the railways had estimated the fare of the bullet train to be 1.5 times higher than the fare of first class AC in Indian railways in the range of Rs2,700 to Rs4,000. A magistrate court on Friday remanded the two tuition teachers arrested by the Sakinaka police for allegedly leaking the Information Communication Technology (ICT) paper of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exam in police custody till March 27. Search is on to trace the third accused. According to the police, at around 10.15am on Thursday, Vanita Shetty, an examiner at St Judes High School in Sakinaka saw few students looking into their cell phones. She checked the phone of a 16-year-old girl and found five pages of the ICT question paper sent to her on WhatsApp. She asked the girl who sent it to her and to whom she forwarded the paper. The girl named her tuition teacher Firoz Ansari, 42. She had forwarded the paper to three of her friends who had the same centre. The police learnt that Firoz, a private tuition teacher at Sakinaka, got the question paper from another person who had got it from one Muzzamil Kazi, 27, also a private tuition teacher in Mira Road. The police then traced Kazi and arrested him. They are on the lookout for a third accused who forms a link between Kazi and Ansari. The police are also trying to find out the beneficiaries of the paper leak and if the accused collected money from the students. The cops have cell phones of all the accused and will be sending it to the forensic laboratory. Police inspector, crime, Sunil Mane said, The two tutors and the four minors were booked under sections of the Maharashtra Prevention of Malpractices at University, Board and Other Specified Examinations Act, 1982, as well as section 66(D) of Information Technology Act. The city continues to remain the countrys tuberculosis (TB) capital with 45,675 new cases of drug-sensitive TB and 4,891 cases of multidrug-resistant TB reported between 2015 and 2017 by the civic bodys public health department. In the past three years, TB care in the public health sector has seen an improvement not only in diagnostic facilities, but also in outlay of new treatments, especially Bedaquiline, the newest anti-TB drug to be introduced after four decades, globally, said doctors. However, with challenges in finding missing cases - cases that are not documented by the government Prime Minister Narendra Modis announcement of eliminating the disease by 2025 looks far-fetched to most city TB specialists. Faster and more advanced diagnostic tests help In the past year, the number of GeneXpert machines which tell if a patient has drug-resistant TB within two hours, have increased from six to 28, which is good news for the citys TB care programme, said doctors. GeneXpert can find out if a patient has resistance to one of the most powerful anti-TB drug Rifampicin. It is one of the most crucial tests to ensure the patient is put on the correct medications right from the start. Easy access to GeneXpert is one of the most welcomed advancements in TB care, as we get to know if a patient is resistant or not on the same day of diagnosis, said Dr Yashodhara Sonawane, district TB officer, Kurla, which is a high-burden TB area. From 2017, sputum samples of patients are collected from all nearby health posts, and sent to the district TB office for the GeneXpert test. The results are out by evening, and are sent to the doctors immediately. However, it is only over the past year that this test is being performed on the first day for all patients who are diagnosed with the infection. Until a year ago, the test was performed on the first day only if the patient belonged to a high-risk group, such as HIV, diabetes or if the patients sputum didnt convert to negative despite being on first line medications. This approach in the past, doctors said, could have added to the burden of drug-resistant cases While the use of GeneXpert for all TB patients is hailed as a positive development by doctors, this was not the case traditionally, said Dr Yatin Dholakia, secretary and technical advisor to Maharashtra State Anti-TB Association. He said that in the past, the approach of not performing the GeneXpert test for all patients could have theoretically added to the burden of drug-resistant TB. GeneXpert has four slots, which is a limitation. Only 12 to 16 tests can be performed per day per machine. Currently, the test is conducted only in wards with high TB burden, although it should be done to all patients as soon as they are diagnosed with TB under RNTCP (Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme), Dholakia said. A patient with drug-resistant TB is infected with bacteria that are inherently resistant to or have developed resistance to Isoniazid and Rifampicin, two of the most effective anti-TB drugs. Poor adherence to treatment is a significant contributor to the increase in burden of drug-resistant cases, doctors said. Increased notification from private sector On March 16, a notification by Union health ministry stated that doctors, health workers and pharmacists could be jailed for up to two years for failing to report TB cases. However, Mumbai over the past three years has witnessed a significant increase in the number of TB cases notified by the private health sector to the state government via a non-government organisation (NGO). In 2017, 20,000 new TB cases were notified by the private sector as against around 3,000 cases in 2014. This, doctors said, was important as 70% patients in the city first visit the private sector for treatment. If private practitioners dont report cases to the government, we will not know the correct picture of the disease burden, said Dr Vikas Oswal, a chest physician practicing in Govandi, another high-burden area. He, however, said that there are no processes in place to notify the disease directly to the government. Till now, a third party which is an NGO was notifying the disease on behalf of private practitioners. But with that Public Private Interface Agency (PPIA) withdrawn, will private physicians who see around 80 patients a day have the time to notify the disease? Oswal said. PPIA was a joint initiative between RNTCP and the international PATH foundation to document TB cases in the private sector. Decentralisation of treatment facilities Facilities for treating drug-resistant TB have also seen decentralisation over time from six in 2016 to 14 this year. Earlier, all MDR patients visited the civic-run Sewri TB hospital for treatment and follow up. Many MDR patients visit hospitals at the cost of their daily wages. Having a centre near their house will improve access and adherence to treatment, said Dr Daksha Shah, who heads the TB treatment under RNTCP. Decentralisation of facilities will significantly reduce out-of-the-pocket expenses for patients. Scaling up Bedaquiline With rising number of Extensively Drug Resistant (XDR) TB cases, access to Bedaquiline has also improved with a total of 170 patients in the city currently on the drug. The news of patients not being able to access Bedaquiline came to the fore when an 18-year-old woman from Patna reached out to the judicial system to get access to the drug. She was initially denied the drug because she was not a domicile of Delhi. While she eventually came to Mumbai for her treatment last year, she has been on oxygen as her lung tissues are scarred, said Dr Zarir Udwadia, chest physician, Hinduja Hospital, Mahim, who was treating her. The sale of the drug is restricted in India, with the government issuing the drug only at six centres two centres in Delhi, one each in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Guwahati on a trial basis since March 2016. The drug is administered to patients who have acquired severe resistance or the infection has spread such that the lung tissues are damaged. This year, four new out-patient department services were started at civic-run Sewri TB hospital to evaluate more patients for Bedaquiline. Initially, the access was slow, but now we have scaled up. We are also waiting for the outcome among patients who were put on the drug last year before we increase the number of patients. As present, we are facing shortage of manpower to monitor complications, said Dr Alpa Dalal, honorary TB specialist at the TB Sewri hospital. Elimination of TB by 2025? A 2016 study published in the scientific journal, the Lancet, by Dr Nimalan Arinaminpathy of the School of Public Health at Imperial College London had found that more than one million TB cases may be missing from official statistics in India. The PMs announcement shows political will, and will add momentum to the programme. But realistically speaking, it is an impossible target. TB has been there for centuries. Even if we find active cases, identifying all the latent cases is a difficult proposition, said Dr Dholakia. Latent TB cases surface at least two-three years, or even later, when a patients immunity is compromised. More than 20,000 households and several corporate groups across Noida would observe Earth Hour on Saturday, joining the global movement to switch off electricity in a symbolic support for the environment. Earth Hour is observed on March 24, from 8.30pm to 9.30pm, every year when people voluntarily switch off lights and all electrical appliances to raise awareness about the environment and reduce energy consumption. The movement was started by World Wide Fund (WWF) in Sydney, Australia, in 2007, and is now observed across the world. According to officials of the Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL), about 20 million units are consumed by about two lakh people in Noida every day during summer. This means that approximately 8 lakh units could be saved if everyone switches off their electrical devices for an hour. Residents welfare associations (RWAs) in Noida have planned events and sensitisation drives in their common areas. While Many RWAs are observing Earth Hour for the first time, others such as Shubhkamna apartment, Stellar Park, Stellar Court, Mahagun Morpheus and ATS 1 and 2 have been part of the movement for the past five years. We have asked all our members associations to support Earth Hour. Residents will switch off all non-essential electrical appliances and will gather in parks to spend time with neighbours. We have also asked maintenance offices to turn off lights in common areas, Rajesh Sahay, general secretary, Noida Federation of Apartment Owners Association (NOFAA), said. NOFAA has 47 apartment owners associations as its members and they represent nearly 17,000 households in Noida. Some groups are going to observe Earth Hour for the first time. Grande Omaxe in Sector 93 B, ATS Green Village in Sector 93 A and Mahagun Moderne in Sector 78 have pledged their support to the WWF event. We are organising events at the Grand Omaxe from 6.30pm to 9.30pm on Saturday. There will be a painting competition for children, followed by an educational seminar. Residents are interested and want to make concerted efforts towards saving the planet and they are beginning with waste segregation on their premises, Ashish Sachdeva, founder of Green Dream Foundation, an NGO working with RWAs, said. Corporate groups based in Noida and Greater Noida have also pledged support to the event and have decided to give up on unsustainable practices for the sake of the environment. We have initiated the #GiveUp movement and are asking people to give up something in order to give back to the earth. Adobe, with its office in Greater Noida, has decided to replace plastic cups and glasses on its premises with ceramic mugs. We are also getting a lot of support from several RWAs and individuals from across the NCR, Rituparna Sengupta, from the WWF, said. As an American historian living in India, I have been struck by the frequency with which India and Indian women appear in the history of the feminist movement in the US. Some people might be familiar with the ways in which the history of womens rights in India garnered negative international attention: the anti-sati campaigns of 19th-century Britain; Christian missionaries lurid descriptions of female infanticide; and the American Katherine Mayos portrayal of child marriage in the inflammatory 1927 book Mother India. Yet history is also full of moments when American women looked to India for inspiration. As the US takes all of March to observe Womens History Month, Ive been reflecting on the ways in which India has changed feminism in America for the better. In the 19th century, the first wave of American feminists campaigned for the right to vote, agitated for placements in universities, and confronted numerous obstacles to employment. While American women began entering medical colleges in small numbers the first graduating in 1849 they faced significant challenges to practising medicine. Given these difficulties, it is all the more remarkable that two Indian women, Anandibai Joshee and Gurubai Karmarkar, successfully trained as doctors in the US in the 1880s and 1890s a good 25 years before the founding of the first American medical association for female physicians. In the American biography that appeared after her death, Joshee was asked, If not yourself, whom would you like to be? Setting an example for women everywhere, she responded, No one. Women in the US finally gained the right to vote in 1920, but they continued to struggle for autonomy in childbirth and family planning. In 1935, Margaret Sanger, pioneer of the American birth control movement, travelled to India to attend the All India Womans Conference to discuss overpopulation. Of the conference, Sanger wrote, it will remain one of the outstanding inspirations of my life I found among these women an outspoken directness of opinion, a fearlessness in facing issues as they are, that we in America would do well to follow. In 1952, Sanger returned to India to witness the founding of the International Planned Parenthood Federation which is still active today under its first leader, Avabai Wadia, a leading campaigner for reproductive rights in India. Five years after the federations founding, 22-year-old Gloria Steinem who would become one of the US most outspoken feminist leaders came to India on a student fellowship. During her two years here, she walked from village to village with the followers of non-violence advocate Vinoba Bhave, studied Gandhian activism, and befriended feminist economist Devaki Jain. After returning home, Steinem used what she had learned to bolster the early womens liberation movement. She later reflected that in My becoming an itinerant feminist organiser was just a Western version of walking in villages. Steinem came to India again in the 1970s so that she and Jain could incorporate non-violent resistance into the womens movement. In the 1960s and 1970s, African Americans also looked to India as they campaigned against racial segregation. While civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. famously made Gandhian civil disobedience central to his work, India provided additional forms of inspiration to African-American women. Angela Davis, a radical black feminist and civil rights activist, saw a natural solidarity between African Americans and Dalits in their mutual struggle to fight against subjugation. While Davis acknowledged the real differences between caste and race, she also understood that Dalit women had to combat gender discrimination on top of other forms of oppression not unlike African American womens longstanding struggles against both racial and sexual discrimination. Moreover, Dalit women continued to galvanise Americans: after conducting their month-long Self-Respect March through India in 2014, Dalit women took their activism abroad, conducting a wave of marches in the US and uniting with Americans in their fight against violence towards women. These marchers were onto something. Since the defeat of Hillary Clinton in the 2016 US presidential election, womens marches in the United States have gained ever more attention. As Americans continue to grapple with the issue of womens political participation and question when the US might be ready for its first female president perhaps they will again turn to Indian women for inspiration. India adopted female suffrage upon Independence, soon saw women ascend to national office, and developed a system to bolster womens representation in local politics. Women in India continue to face significant challenges, including sexual violence and harassment, workforce discrimination, and a pervasive societal preference for boys. In the face of these challenges, however, Indian women have also provided inspiration for the global feminist movement. As activists in both India and the US continue to fight for the rights of women and girls, it is worth remembering how much we have already learned from one another. Cassandra N Berman is a visiting fellow at Harvard University and a PhD candidate in History at Brandeis University The views expressed are personal The Bihar government on Friday issued show-cause notices to two doctors in connection with the death of a woman who was allegedly operated under torchlight at the Saharsa Sadar Hospital last week. The health department is also conducting an inquiry into the circumstances that led to a fourth-grade hospital employee having to stitch the womans wound despite the presence of a doctor and two nurses. A viral video of the March 16 incident showed the woman lying unconscious on a stretcher while a person in a khaki shirt stitched an injury on her right hand. The surgical procedure was conducted under torchlight due to a power cut. We have issued show-cause notices to Dr Anil Kumar, deputy superintendent and in-charge of the Saharsa Sadar Hospital, as well as the on-duty doctor, Dr Ratan Kumar Jha, in connection with the alleged lapses. They have been asked to submit their replies to the department within three days, said principal secretary (health) Sanjay Kumar. Kumar admitted that the hospital had suffered an eight-minute power cut between 7.06 am and 7.14 am on March 16, while the woman was being attended to. It was during this period that the hospital employee whipped out a torch to complete the task. The patients wound should have been stitched by the doctor or grade-A nurses at the institution. It is appalling that a fourth-grade employee was told to perform the task, Kumar said. He, however, could not immediately confirm if the hospital had a designated dresser for the job. Many dresser positions in Bihar hospitals are lying vacant. After the incident, the government decided to replace all manual generators at district hospitals across the state with auto-ignition ones. It also resolved to ensure regular electricity connections at over 9,800 health sub-centres across the state. I have instructed my officers to apply for electricity connections after assessing the required power load, said Kumar. The deceased, Ruby Kumari, was admitted to the Saharsa Sadar Hospital with injuries on her right hand and leg after an accident. After dressing up her wound, doctors at the hospital referred her to the Patna Medical College Hospital or the Darbhanga Medical College Hospital. However, the womans relatives reportedly took her to a private health clinic in Patna, where she passed away on March 21. Air India has not made any change in its existing flights or their timings in the summer schedule that will come into force at Chandigarh International Airport from March 26. With this the total number of flights has reached 33. Other airlines had released their schedule last week. Air India currently operates eight flights, five of them are regular and three run on different days in a week. These include two international flights to Bangkok and Sharjah. According to the final summer schedule, the last flight from here is Indigos Dubai one at 3:45 pm. In fact, Air Indias schedule has made it clear that there is no taker for the increased operation hours at the airport. With the closing time moving from 4pm to 5:30pm, the airport was expected to accommodate at least 10 more flights. Many blame the poor response to the 20-day airport closure schedule in May for runway upgrade. A gold brick worth Rs 47.25 lakh was on Friday seized at the Chandigarh International Airport from a passenger who allegedly concealed it in a bag, an official said. The passenger, who arrived from Bangkok by Air India flight, was intercepted by the custom officials because of his suspicious behaviour, he said. During his search, it was found that he was carrying a bag which was tied around his waist. The bag contained some heavy metallic object, he said. After opening the bag, a gold brick and one cut piece of gold brick was seized, the official added. The weight of the precious metal was worked out at 1,500 grams worth Rs 47.25 lakh, he said. The gold was seized and the passenger was arrested, the official said. The Union ministry of human resource and development declared Panjab University autonomous under category II. Ifrah Mufti finds out what it entails for the university and how this change will affect its students and teachers. What does the autonomy entail? The Panjab University is among the 60 higher educational institutions across the country, which have been granted autonomy by the Union government. Though it will remain within the ambit of University Grants Commission, PU will now have the freedom to start new courses, off campus centres, skill development courses, research parks and other new academic programmes without seeking prior permission from the UGC as was the case earlier. It will also have the liberty to hire foreign faculty, enroll foreign students, give incentive-based emoluments to faculty, enter into academic collaborations and run open distance learning programmes though it will have to take permission for the UGC for the latter due to its category II status. Why has PU been put in category II while GNDU and KU are in category I? The 60 organisations have been put into two categories based on their National assessment and accreditation (NAAC) score. In the region, the GNDU and KU are in the category I and Panjab University (PU) is in category II. Panjab University had witnessed a slight decline in the NAAC grading in 2015 as compared to 2009 but it retained the A grade.The Vice Chancellor, Prof Arun Kumar Grover, claimed they had been slotted in category II due to a misunderstanding. The VC, said, We suffered because our NAAC results were not released for three months. Some news-report stated that we had violated UGC regulations. What violations had we done? We said certain directives of UGC, which were supposed to be effective from June 2013, were implemented when our senate accepted these in May 2014. Some news reports said the VC had lied. This silly complaint delayed our NAAC results by three months. To this, the PUTA president, Professor Rajesh Gill, said, It is very unfortunate that we have fallen in the category II and smaller universities like GNDU and KU are in category I. This has happened because of the NAAC result. It is very disturbing to have fallen in the category II, even when we know that PU is the best in the region. How will it impact PU finances? Will it be duty-bound to generate its own funds through foreign collaborations and open distance learning programmes et al? The autonomy clause clearly states that the university is expected to sustain itself by generating funds through foreign collaborations and introduction of new courses. The Vice Chancellor, said, We have been given the freedom but there are limitations of funds. The option will be to generate funds through foreign tie-ups. He added, UGC has no money to give us. They had promised more than what they have. Also, for distance learning, PU will have to take permission from the UGC, since it does not fall in category I. What are the upsides of this order? The VC said autonomy will give PU the freedom to invite faculty from the industry, corporate sector and other professions, in order to provide up-to-date training to students. The faculty will not necessarily have to be qualified as per the UGC mandate. Also, the university will be free to fix the remuneration for the guest faculty. The autonomy will also enable it to initiate and finalise long-pending foreign tie-ups with business schools in Australia and Nottingham, wherein students will be able to pursue half their course in Chandigarh and the other half abroad. Such tie-ups were not possible earlier because the authorities required several approvals. The VC said now it will be easier for the varsity to go ahead with such alliances. What are the challenges or the downside? The problems of funding and faculty shortage will persist despite the autonomy granted to the varsity. The challenge will be to generate funds to pay the teachers and run the varsity. The university may also be forced to revise the fees though the VC maintains that a fee hike of the existing courses is not possible because this issue has been politicized, and had led to violence in the campus last year. Questioning the half-baked autonomy, PUTA president Professor Rajesh Gill said, The university will not be 100% autonomous because it is answerable to the funding agencies. When PU receives funds from the state and the Centre, how can it be a fully autonomous body? Will it have any impact on the faculty? Will it help them in terms of more opportunities? Will it affect their work load? The PU faculty is likely to get more opportunities in terms of teaching in foreign universities, if the foreign collaborations work out. The VC said, Under the foreign tie-ups with the business school in Australia, there can be a programme under which our teachers go there to teach and their teachers come here for some time. It will be a double help for the varsity. But PUTA president said, It will depend on the plan and leadership. When you are given a new setup, you need to have a vision. Whether it impacts students and teachers, depends on how these tie-ups are planned out. For the past several years, Social Sciences in PU have been made to stagnate; different people are responsible for this. There has to be a vision if we want the institute to grow. What are incentive-based faculty emoluments? Earlier, the UGC used to decide the sum PU paid to the visiting faculty, now the varsity will be able to decide this amount. But the PU faculty will continue to be paid the UGC scales. Teachers, however, fear that autonomy may lead to an arbitrary approach in giving incentives to the faculty. Rajesh Gill said, Autonomy is often misused to give arbitrary increments to certain staffers. For instance, you give five increments to one person, and none to another; you give the benefit of past service to one person and deny it to 150 others. Is the autonomy a welcome step? According to the VC, it is a welcome step as the varsity now has a modicum of freedom, which it lacked earlier. However, there are limitations of fund crunch. PUTA president, Prof Gill, said, I am not happy. At this point, the university should not be happy as well. A lot has to be worked out. We have to go a long way. We have been given a lot of responsibility. There is nothing to celebrate. PU has to look within to provide a good and secure future to both its students and teachers. Taking a tough stand, families of workers from Punjab and Himachal Pradesh who were among those killed in Iraq, on Friday threatened to launch an indefinite dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Monday if the government does not accept their demands by Saturday. They also resolved not to accept the mortal remains of the deceased until the government either the Centre or the state government announces to give a job to one of the members of each victim family and an adequate compensation. A meeting of the victim families from Punjab and Himachal Pardesh (HP) was held at a gurdwara in this small historical town, 40 km from Amritsar, to chalk out their strategy. As many as 27 victim families belong to Punjab and four to HP. Seventeen of them attended the meeting. We are in touch with all families of Punjab and HP. The remaining families could not reach here due to one reason or another. But they have given us a word that they will accept whatever decision is taken in the meeting, said Gurpinder Kaur, sister of Manjinder Singh, one of the deceased, who took the initiative to mobilise the victim families. If the government fails to make any announcement on our demands by Saturday, all victim families will start a dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Monday, said Gurpinder. Stop harassing families of those killed in Mosul city in Iraq and provide us correct and solid information: Families to centre @HTPunjab pic.twitter.com/PCbockaICL Surjit Singh (@IamsurjitSingh) March 23, 2018 Vijay Kumar, brother-in-law of Surjit Mainka, another victim, said, We will reach along with our childern at Jantar Mantar. For negotiating with the government, they have formed an eight-member committee, which will represent all victim families. Besides Gurpinder and Vijay, Paramjit Singh, Davinder Singh, Manish Kumar, Pawan Kumar, Sunita and Pardesi Ram were included in the committee. Ram is brother of Inderjit, one of the deceased belonging to HP. Not pressing for DNA evidence They also discussed the role of the central government, especially the ministry of external affairs (MEA), in the entire episode. Though some victim families suggested that they ask for DNA reports from the government as evidence of death of their near and dear ones, but majority of them said such a demand would bear no fruit for them. Most of them were of the view that this is right time to press for their demands as sessions of both Parliament and the Punjab assembly are going on and the government may announce something before the session end. Gurpinder said the victim families are trying to make contact with external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, but have not got any response from them so far. (The story has been updated) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday raided the premises of its former deputy director Gurnam Singh in connection with the Rs 600-crore ponzi scam that surfaced in 2011. Searches were conducted simultaneously at Singhs house in Phase 2, Mohali, and the premises of his aides advocate Puneet Sharma and Ramesh Chandel who also live in Mohali, under provisions of the Prevention of the Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Chandel is Sharmas stenographer. Singh, who joined the Chandigarh ED office as its deputy director in 2011, was the investigating officer in the ponzi case for several years before he was repatriated to his home department in Chandigarh Central Forensic Laboratory in January 2017. Officials familiar with the matter claimed that Singh took bribe to the tune of Rs 4-6 crore in connivance with Sharma and Chandel to weaken the case, adding that for the entire duration of his ED posting, there wasnt a single arrest in the case. It was only after his repatriation that ED made an arrest in July 2017 when it caught Kamal K Bakshi, the absconding agent of the fraudulent chit fund firm under the anti-money laundering law. His arrest led the ED to identify more accused. Officials said it was through the accuseds disclosures that names of Singh and his aides cropped up. The raids were conducted under the PMLA to gather more evidence in this context, said officials, who remained tight-lipped on any recovery made during the raids. However, an ED official, wishing not to be named, said the agency was in possession of property documents that were transferred by the accused in the name of Chandel, following a deal with Singh and Sharma. We are not arresting them as of now, but arrests in the future are not ruled out, an official said. None of the accused could be contacted despite several attempts. Mastermind out of reach since 2010 ED officials said the mastermind of the scam was a Malaysian, identified as Mugundhan Gangam, who floated two firms Ms Unipay 2U Marketing Private Limited and Unigateway2U Trading Private Limited to cheat investors. These firms had offices in various parts of India, including Chandigarh. As per the complainants, the firms modus operandi involved paying exorbitant returns to investors to win over their confidence. After thousands of people across the country invested crores in the schemes, the firms stopped the payouts and closed their units, siphoning off the investors money. As investors lodged police complaints against the firm and its employees in 2010, Gangam slipped out of the country, and is said to be hiding in Malaysia. The first case in Chandigarh was registered by UT Polices economic offences wing in 2011 after four tricity residents complained of being cheated of about Rs 50 lakh. ED took over the probe on the orders of the Punjab and Haryana high court after many investors filed a petition seeking a wider probe, an official said. Assets worth Rs 1.63 crore have been attached in this case under the PMLA, said the agency, even as another agent of the firm, identified as Arvind Kumar Singh, has yet to be arrested. Singhs role in other cases under scanner: ED ED officials said Singhs role in other cases when he was the main investigating officer was under investigation. He is also facing a disproportionate asset case after the Central Bureau of Investigation booked him in November 2017. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) legislator Amit Mahto faced disqualification from the Jharkhand assembly in the light of his conviction in a criminal case by a Ranchi court on Friday, hours after he exercised his franchise in the Rajya Sabha polls in favour of joint opposition candidate Dhiraj Sahu. The 40-year-old MLA was awarded two years imprisonment in the case. Mahto, who emerged as a giant killer in the 2014 assembly polls by defeating All Jharkhand Student Union supremo Sudesh Mahto from Silli constituency, was held guilty under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in a 12-year-old case pertaining to the assault of former Sonahatu circle officer Alok Kumar. The court of additional judicial commissioner Diwakar Pandey also convicted seven other people involved in the case sentencing each of them to two years imprisonment. All the convicts were granted bail soon afterwards. The court asked the state police to forward the copy of its order to the assembly speaker for taking necessary action against the legislator. Mahto, however, seemed unperturbed. Being an MLA is no big deal for me. I opted for politics only to serve the people. I will file an appeal against the verdict in the Jharkhand high court, he said soon after emerging from the courtroom. The contest between Sahu and BJP candidate Pradeep Sonthalia is a close one, as neither the Congress nor the saffron party has the requisite numbers to win the seat on its own. Mahto was the first legislator to exercise his franchise after voting began in the Jharkhand assembly on Friday. Mahtos conviction came as a major blow to the JMM, which had witnessed the disqualification of its Gomia legislator Yogendra Prasad two months ago. A Ramgarh court sentenced Prasad to three years in prison in a coal theft case on January 31. Mahto faces disqualification in keeping with a 2013 Supreme Court verdict that convicted MPs and MLAs sentenced to jail for no less than two years would be disqualified from parliamentary and state assembly membership with immediate effect. Mahto and the seven other convicts were charged with assaulting the then Sonahatu circle officer during a JMM procession on June 28, 2006. They allegedly tied Alok Kumar to his chair and repeatedly thrashed him with an iron rod. A mob led by Mahto also vandalised his car. The court held all the eight accused guilty under sections 506 (criminal intimidation), 147 (rioting), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 427 (mischief causing damage) of the IPC. The other convicts were identified as Kameshwar Mahto, Manjit Kumar Sahu, Shishir Kumar Mahto, Panchanan Munda, Virendra Mahto, Nand Kishore Mahto and Krishna Munda. Actor Pankaj Tripathi says he took up the role in Kaala as it gave him a chance to meet and talk to superstar Rajinikanth. The Tamil film, which also stars Huma Qureshi, is due to arrive in theatres on April 27. This is the first time that Pankaj has worked with Rajinikanth, and the actor said for the first few minutes of their first shoot together, he quietly looked at the superstar. The first shot was very nice. I was just quietly watching him. For 10-15 minutes I was just looking at him. I had signed this film to just meet and talk to him. I wanted to talk to him about cinema, his approach towards it, life and spirituality. Im glad I did that, Pankaj told PTI. The gangster film, written by Pa Ranjith, also stars Nana Patekar. Talking about his other big project, Super 30, which is the biopic of Indian mathematician Anand Kumar and has Hrithik Roshan in the lead role, Pankaj said he is excited to have played an important role in the film. Before Hrithik came on board, there were rumours that Pankaj was the first choice of the makers. The 41-year-old actor, however, denied, saying the speculation arose after people discussed that he could be a candidate, given his resemblance to Anand. There was never any truth in this. People just said that I was a suitable candidate. I am playing an important role in the film. It was a lovely experience working with Hrithik. We had worked together in Agneepath also, we knew each other already. It was very nice, Pankaj added. The actor had a successful 2017 with three of his films - Bareilly Ki Barfi, Newton and Fukrey Returns. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop Malayalam superstar Prithviraj announced last week that he would be collaborating with Sony Pictures India for his maiden production. This announcement came a week after Prithviraj announced his solo leap into the world of production. On Friday, it was announced that the film is titled Nine. To be directed by Jenuse Mohamed, it will have music by Shaan Rahman. The makers also confirmed that the regular shooting will commence in April. Prithviraj Productions and Sony Pictures International Productions proudly present..our maiden venture.. 9!@SonyPicsIndia More details on the project to follow soon! pic.twitter.com/Zn2aymx2SN Prithviraj Sukumaran (@PrithviOfficial) March 23, 2018 Along with the title, the first look poster of the film was also unveiled. Going by the poster, the film can be expected to be a thriller. On the acting front, Prithviraj is expected to commence shooting for Blessys Aadujeevitham soon. Based on the 2008s popular Malayalam novel Goat Days, the film will feature him in the role of an abused migrant worker in Saudi Arabia. According to director Blessys recent media interaction, the role requires the Ezra actor to undergo drastic weight transformation. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop Last seen on screen in Mysskins investigative thriller Thupparivaalan (2017), actor-producer Vishal currently has two projects gearing up for release in his kitty -- Irumbu Thirai and Sandakozhi 2. Last year, Vishal had confirmed that he will be doing the Tamil remake of Jr NTRs Temper, in which the latter played a foul-mouthed cop with no morals. The latest update is that Raashi Khanna, who was recently appreciated for her performance in Tholi Prema, is most likely going to star opposite Vishal. Apparently, the makers have initiated talks with Raashi and are waiting for her to give the nod. Having so far worked in two Tamil films, Raashi is still waiting to make debut in the industry as her films are yet to hit the screens. The Tamil remake will be directed by Venkat Mohan, former associate of AR Murugadoss. If everything goes as planned, the film should start rolling from May or June. George C Williams is said to crank the camera while Sam CS will take care of music. The rest of the cast and crew will be finalised soon. It is rumoured that Vishal may bankroll the project. Speaking to the media about Temper last year, Vishal had said, I quite liked Temper, and I plan to do it soon in Tamil. Before that, I have to complete the other two films which I have been postponing for a while now due to my Nadigar Sangam commitments. Vishals first release of the year will be Irumbu Thirai, in which he plays a military officer and is paired with Samantha Ruth Prabhu. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop Canadas ruling Liberal Party defeated a motion moved by the opposition in the House of Commons on Thursday, seeking the public testimony of national security adviser Daniel Jean on the allegation that rogue elements in the Indian establishment planted a convicted Khalistani terrorist to embarrass Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his recent trip to India. The opposition united in demanding the appearance of Jean before the standing committee on public safety and national security to brief members in public over the invitation extended to Jaspal Atwal to an official dinner reception hosted in New Delhi for Trudeau. The motion was moved by Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus and garnered support from MPs belonging to the New Democratic Party, Bloc Quebecois and the sole Green Party member of Parliament. Trudeau was away travelling in the province of New Brunswick, and 161 Liberal MPs opposed the motion. Only 111 favoured it. Atwal, who has said he once supported Khalistan, was convicted and incarcerated in 1987 for an attempt to murder a visiting minister from Punjab. The Liberal Party fielded Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness , to respond to Opposition attacks during the debate that preceded the vote. And as with foreign minister Chrystia Freeland, he also termed the invitation to Atwal a mistake. He said: The MP for Surrey Centre has taken responsibility for putting that name forward and when that mistake was discovered the invitation was immediately rescinded. He was referring to Liberal Party MP Randeep Sarai, who had facilitated the invitation to Atwal. As the vote ended, Leader of the Opposition Andrew Scheer accused Trudeau of failing to be honest with Canadians about his Indian conspiracy theory, and the Liberals just voted down our motion to get more answers. In a Facebook post, he wrote: When a convicted attempted murderer appears at an official Government of Canada event, that is serious.When the Prime Minister then blames a foreign government for his mistake, that is even worse. Canadians deserve to know the truth about what happened during the Atwal Affair. Justin Trudeau is trying to hide the one person who can set the record straight. Jake Enright, spokesperson for Scheer, told Hindustan Times: The reason we want to hear the national security adviser is that four different entities and individuals have put forward information contrary to Trudeaus assertion. He was referring to the Trudeaus validation of the rogue elements theory in the House of Commons earlier in March. Enright pointed to the statements from the Indian government, which has strongly denied the accusation, from Freeland, Sarai and Atwal himself, as the contradictory versions to what Trudeau has claimed, based on his NSAs briefing to the media. While that briefing was done anonymously, Canadian media later reported the official who made the charge was, in fact, the countrys NSA. Enright said the coming together of all opposition parties on the motion evidenced there was clearly overwhelming support for it. But with the Liberals holding a comfortable majority, there wasnt enough for the Opposition to compel Jean to clarify his controversial claim. Chinas defence ministry said on Friday the United States had seriously harmed the countrys sovereignty and security after a US Navy destroyer carried out a freedom of navigation operation in the disputed South China Sea. Provocative behaviour by the United States will only cause the Chinese military to strengthen its defence capabilities, the ministry said in a statement. The US Navy destroyer carried out the operation on Friday, coming within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built by China in the South China Sea, US officials told Reuters US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, had said that the USS Mustin travelled close to Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands. China has territorial disputes with its neighbours over the area. Chinas navy will carry out combat drills in the South China Sea, the militarys official newspaper said on Friday, describing the move as part of regular annual exercises. Taiwans defence ministry said this week it had shadowed a Chinese aircraft carrier group traversing the Taiwan Strait in a southwesterly direction - meaning into the disputed South China Sea - in what Taiwan judged to be a drill. In a brief report on its WeChat account, the Peoples Liberation Army Daily said the combat exercises would take place shortly, though it gave no details of timing, location or what ships would participate. This is a routine annual planned arrangement for the navy, the aim of which is to test and improve the militarys training level and to fully raise the ability to win. It is not aimed at any specific country or target, the newspaper added, without elaborating. Chinas navy and air force frequently carry out drills in the South China Sea, where the government has been building man-made islands and constructing airstrips and other facilities, unnerving the region. China claims most of the South China Sea, a key trade route and home to areas that are believed to hold large quantities of oil and natural gas. Along with China, parts of the South China Sea are subject to competing claims from Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines. China routinely rejects criticism of its activities in the South China Sea, saying as it is Chinese territory it can do what it wants. Police in Sacramento, California, shot dead an African-American father of two in the backyard of his grandparents home fearing that he was carrying a weapon. He was actually holding an iPhone. Body camera and surveillance helicopter footage released late on Wednesday shows how police chased and then fired 20 rounds at Stephon Clark, killing him on the spot. Following an uproar in the case, the Sacramento Police Department said it recognises the significance of this incident and the impact it has on our community, and that it was committed to providing timely information and communicating openly with our community. The incident was triggered by an emergency 911 phone call late on Sunday stating that a man was smashing car windows in the neighbourhood. Clark, 22, appeared to fit the suspects profile, and police chased after him, backed by a helicopter equipped with infrared cameras. The videos caught by the helicopter and by the officers body cameras showed Clark running through the neighbourhood, then entering the backyard of his grandparents home, where he lived. The officers then burst into the backyard with their weapons drawn and confront Clark, shouting out: Show me your hands! followed soon after by Gun, gun, gun! The officers opened fire, with each shot appearing as a flash on the helicopters infrared footage. At the time of the shooting, the officers believed the suspect was pointing a firearm at them, Sacramento police said in a statement. After an exhaustive search, scene investigators did not locate any firearms. The only items found near the suspect was a cellphone. Hearing the gunshots, Clarks grandparents called 911, without realising that police were shooting. Stephon Clark, 22, is visible on the ground after two police officers (left) shot him, in this still image captured from police aerial video footage released by Sacramento Police Department. (Reuters Photo) They finally told me, hours later, that there was a victim dead in my backyard, Sequita Thompson told FOX40 television. Thompson ignored police orders to refrain from looking out the window -- and was horrified that the man who was shot dead was her grandson. He was right there, dead, she said. And I told the officers, You guys are murderers, murderers. Thompson later told The Sacramento Bee newspaper: He was at the wrong place at the wrong time in his own backyard? Cmon now, they didnt have to do that. The officers involved in the shooting were put on leave pending an investigation. The latest shooting has revived a recurring debate over police abuses against African-Americans, who account for an overwhelming share of the number of suspects killed by law enforcement each year. Pakistan-based crime syndicate D-company, like Mexican drug organisations, has diversified in many other fields, US lawmakers were told on Friday. Pakistan-based crime-terror group, D-company, whose origins lie in India, expanded Karachis historic role as a drug transhipment point, and built a powerful transnational crime-terror organisation, in part from drug proceeds, Dr Louise Shelley, Professor, Schar School of Policy and Government, at the George Mason University told lawmakers. Shelley claimed that the D-company has diversified. D-company, like Mexican drug organisations, has diversified. They traffic weapons, counterfeit DVDs, and provide financial services through their extensive system of hawala operators, he said during a Congressional hearing organised by the Committee on House Financial Services Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance. D-Company is headed by fugitive Indian underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. Wanted in India for a series of high profile crimes and terrorist attacks in places like Mumbai, Ibrahim according to US and Indian officials is now based in Karachi city of Pakistan. Officials in Pakistan have denied his presence in their country. Indias sustained campaign against Dawood was finally acknowledged by America in 2003 when the US Treasury department declared him a global terrorist having links with al-Qaeda. He also faces sanctions from the United Nations under its anti-terror resolution. Vindicating Indias position that Pakistan has been sheltering Dawood, the Treasury Department had said he was in Karachi and possessed a Pakistani passport under the individual category. Testifying before the same Congressional sub-committee, Celina B. Realuyo, Professor of Practice, William J Perry Centre for Hemispheric Defence Studies, National Defence University, said a number of recent attacks in Kabul were planned and launched from safe havens in Pakistan. The year 2018 has already witnessed many deadly attacks. On January 20, at least 22 people, including four Americans were killed during a 12-hour standoff with security forces after gunmen dressed in army uniforms raided the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, frequented by many foreigners, he said. On January 27, an attacker driving an ambulance packed with explosives detonated them in the Afghan capital of Kabul, killing over 100 people and injuring some 158, according to Afghan officials. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mojahid claimed responsibility for the attack, one week after the attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Realuyo said. US president Donald Trump announced on Thursday that John Bolton, a hawkish former US ambassador to the United Nations, will replace HR McMaster, a serving general who will leave office mid-April, as his next National Security Adviser (NSA). Bolton will be Trumps third NSA during his 15 months in office. The first was retired general Michael Flynn, who was fired after three weeks on the job for lying about his contacts with Russian officials. Bolton served as US ambassador to the UN from 2005 to 2006 and under secretary of state for arms control and international security from 2001 to 2005 -- both stints under President George W Bush, the last Republican in the White House before Trump. He has since been a prolific columnist and TV pundit. I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18 (April 8), @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor, Trump announced on Twitter. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. In a statement, Trump said about McMaster: He helped develop our America First National Security Strategy, revitalise our alliances in the Middle East, smash ISIS, bring North Korea to the table, and strengthen our nations prosperity. The two men never got long though, according to reports. Trump found McMaster too stiff and his briefings too long. General McMaster, in a statement provided by the White House, said he was requesting retirement from the US army and that he was thankful to the president for giving him the opportunity to serve as the NSA. He added that he worked with his team to provide the president with the best options to protect and advance our national interests. McMasters departure came after days of unrelenting speculation punctuated by pro forma denials and assurances of the presidents continued trust and fait, as has become the pattern for senior-level exits from the White House. From Indias perspective, McMaster and his team at the National Security Council had been unrelenting in pressing Pakistan to do more to combat terrorism and terrorist outfits taking shelter on its soil, personally delivering the Trump administrations tough new approach in a visit to Islamabad. Bolton, who was part of President George W Bushs administration that had pitched for closer ties with India, is not a friend of Pakistan but has pushed for a different approach. He counselled caution in pressing Pakistan beyond a point, departing from President Trumps position. He is one of those who would like to give Pakistan time to change, said Aparna Pande, a South Asia expert with Hudson Institute, a leading US think-tank. In an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal in August 2017, just a week after President Trump had unveiled a tough approach towards Pakistan as part of his new South Asia strategy, Bolton had called for caution. Putting too much pressure on Pakistan risks further destabilising the already volatile country, tipping it into the hands of domestic radical Islamicists, who grow stronger by the day. Bolton had gone on to suggest that the Trump administration should hold China accountable for Pakistans nuclear weapons and for turning a blind eye to its flagrant support of terrorism, including in Kashmir, and induce (it) to join the world in telling Pakistan it must sever ties with terrorists and close their sanctuaries. China has done just the opposite so far and has, for instance, shielded Pakistan-based Masood Azhar from UN designation as a terrorist sought by the US and other western powers and India. Bolton might change his views once in office, as he might have to on other issues on which he has differed with the president openly, such as North Korea. Bolton doesnt believe talks would work, and has long supported a military solution. Trump wants to talk, and recently accepted an invitation from Kim Jong-un to a meeting. Bolton also supported US invasion of Iraq 2003, and still does. President Trump, who had once supported it, has since insisted he was one of its earliest critics. And has called the war the single worst decision ever made. They agree on Iran, on the other hand, and both believe the Iran deal is bad. Bolton has the agreement the diplomatic Waterloo Mr Obama negotiated, and has called for the United States to pull out if it. Facebook provided Aleksandr Kogan, the researcher at the centre of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, with an anonymised, aggregate dataset of 57 billion friendships forged on the social media platform in 2011. Kogan was recently suspended from Facebook for the data harvesting scam. Cambridge Analyticas former head Alexander Nix has been secretly filmed by undercover reporters boasting of using dirty tricks to swing elections in numerous countries. Facebook provided the dataset of every friendship formed in 2011 in every country in the world at the national aggregate level to Kogans University of Cambridge laboratory for a study on international friendships published in Personality and Individual Differences in 2015, The Guardian reported on Friday. Two Facebook employees were named as co-authors of the study, alongside researchers from Cambridge, Harvard and the University of California. Kogan was publishing under the name Aleksandr Spectre at the time. A University of Cambridge statement on the studys publication noted that the paper was the first output of ongoing research collaborations between Spectres lab in Cambridge and Facebook. Facebook did not respond to The Guardians queries about whether there was any other collaboration. The sheer volume of the 57 billion friend pairs implies a pre-existing relationship, said Jonathan Albright, research director at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University. Its not common for Facebook to share that kind of data. It suggests a trusted partnership between Aleksandr Kogan/Spectre and Facebook. Facebook downplayed the significance of the dataset, which it said was shared with Kogan in 2013. The data that was shared was literally numbers numbers of how many friendships were made between pairs of countries ie x number of friendships made between the US and UK, Facebook spokeswoman Christine Chen said. There was no personally identifiable information included in this data. Chen said Facebook had ended its working relationship with Kogan after learning that he violated the companys terms of service for his unrelated work as an app developer. Facebook has said it learned of Kogans misuse of the data in December 2015. On March 16, in anticipation of the Observers report that Kogan had improperly harvested and shared the data of more than 50 million Americans, Facebook suspended Kogan from the platform, issued a statement saying that he lied to the company and characterised his activities as a scam and a fraud. Facebooks chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has called Kogans actions a breach of trust. But Facebook has not explained how it had such a close relationship with Kogan that it was co-authoring research papers with him, or why it took until this week more than two years after The Guardian first reported on his data harvesting activities to inform users whose personal information was improperly shared. Kogan has told BBC he was being used as a scapegoat by both Facebook and Cambridge Analytica. The data collection that resulted in Kogans suspension by Facebook was undertaken by Global Science Research (GSR), a company he founded in 2014 with Cambridge researcher Joseph Chancellor, who is currently employed by Facebook. Between June and August 2014, GSR paid about 270,000 individuals to use a Facebook questionnaire app that harvested data from their own profiles, as well as their friends, resulting in a dataset of more than 50 million users. The data was later given to Cambridge Analytica. Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy vowed to clear his name on Friday after being charged for financing his 2007 election campaign with money from late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, but said he was finished in politics. It might take me one, two, 10 years but Ill smash this group (of accusers) and will restore my honour, he said during an emotion-charged prime-time television interview. I dont plan to give an inch! Having already stepped back from a front-line public role in 2016 after he failed with a bid to run again for president, Sarkozy added that for himself politics is finished. In a half-hour performance that saw him shake with indignation at times, Sarkozy frequently referred to his accusers from Gaddafis regime as sinister, liars and a group of killers. If you had told me that I would have problems because of Gaddafi, I would have said: What are you smoking? Sarkozy said at one point, claiming that investigators had not found a single piece of evidence against him. I am hurt deeply as a person, not for me, for my country, Sarkozy said in his concluding remarks. You cant drag people into the mud because some killers wanted to do it. I cant let them get away with it. Sarkozy, who served as president from 2007 to 2012, has been charged with corruption, illegal campaign financing and concealment of Libyan public money, a judiciary source told AFP. Under the French system, charging a suspect means that investigators believe they have strong and corroborated evidence against them, but the investigation will continue. Investigating magistrates, who have been looking into alleged Libyan financing for five years, will decide at the next stage of the probe whether to recommend Sarkozy goes to trial. The man who killed at least three people in attacks in southern France was a 26-year old known for petty crimes and possession of drugs, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb on Friday, adding that he acted alone. Collomb named the attacker as Redouane Lakdim and said he was from nearby Carcassonne, a tourist hot-spot known for its medieval city centre, where the attacks started. He was known for petty crimes. We had monitored him and thought there was no radicalisation, Collomb said, before adding: He was known for possession of drugs, we couldnt have said that he was a radical that would carry out an attack. Le Parisien newspaper wrote that Lakdim was of Moroccan descent and was known to French DGSI intelligence services. He was active in Salafist social networks, Le Parisien wrote, without naming its sources. He was also suspected, without any certainty, of having travelled to Syria, Le Parisien said, adding that the family flat, where he would have been living with his parents and three or four sisters, was raided by police on Friday afternoon. This is a small, quiet, town. Unfortunately the threat is everywhere, Collomb told reporters in Trebes. Three people were killed in southwestern France on Friday when a gunman held up a car, opened fire on police and then took hostages in a supermarket, screaming Allahu Akbar. Police later stormed the supermarket in the small town of Trebes and the attacker was killed, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told reporters at the scene. The 26-year old attacker from the nearby city of Carcassonne, named as Redouane Lakdim, was known to authorities as a petty criminal but was not considered an Islamist threat, Collomb said, adding that he was believed to have acted alone. More than 240 people have been killed in France in attacks since 2015 by assailants who pledged allegiance to Islamic State or were inspired by the group. Islamic State claimed responsibility for Fridays attack but offered no details. The last lethal attack in France was in October 2017 when a Tunisian-born man stabbed two young women to death in Marseille before he was shot dead by soldiers. Islamist State also claimed responsibility for that attack. Every day we detect facts and foil new attacks. Alas, this one struck without us being able to counter it, Collomb said. Lakdim first killed one person with a bullet in the head while stealing a car in Carcassonne, which is one of Frances top tourist attractions. He then shot at four police officers who were jogging before taking hostages at the supermarket in Trebes, about 8 km (5 miles) to the east, where two people died. We had monitored him and thought there was no radicalisation, Collomb said. He was known for possession of drugs. We couldnt have said that he was a radical that would carry out an attack. Five people were wounded in the attacks, including three seriously. Lakdim shot one police officer in the shoulder in Carcassonne, a walled hill top city which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Speaking in Brussels, President Emmanuel Macron said the incident appeared to be a terrorist attack. He then headed back to Paris, where he was filmed chairing a crisis meeting with ministers and security officials. French police and firefighters secure the entrance of Trebes, southern France, where an armed man took hostages in a supermarket, on Friday. (AP) Cold room Witnesses said about 10 people in the supermarket found refuge in its cold storage room. A lieutenant-colonel swapped himself in exchange for one of the hostages, Collomb said, adding that the 45-year-old had been seriously wounded. One supermarket worker said some shoppers had escaped from the building after the gunman shouted God is greatest in Arabic. I was in my department when I heard gunshots. I went to the area of the gunshots and came face to face with the person, said the employee, who gave his name only as Francois. He raised his gun and fired, I ran away, he shouted Allahu Akbar and spoke about the Islamic State. I then evacuated the clients, about 20, who were in my area and we went quietly out of the back, said Francois, who has been employed at the supermarket since last November. BFM TV reported that he claimed allegiance to Islamic State. Collomb said the man had demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam - the prime surviving suspect in the Islamic State attacks that killed 130 people in Paris in 2015. Abdeslam, a French citizen born and raised in Brussels, went on trial in Belgium last month. He is accused of attempted murder in a terrorist context over a Brussels shootout in March 2016, four months after he fled Paris on the night of the carnage during which his brother was among the suicide bombers. The area outside the supermarket in Trebes. (ANI Twitter) The threat is everywhere France is part of a US-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq and has thousands of soldiers in West Africa fighting al Qaeda-linked militants. In February, Collomb said French security forces had foiled two planned attacks so far this year as Islamic State militants set their sights on domestic targets in response to the groups military setbacks in Iraq and Syria. Despite Collombs comments, Le Parisien newspaper wrote that Lakdim, a man of Moroccan descent, was known to French DGSI intelligence services. Without naming sources, it said he was active on Salafist social networks. He was also suspected, without any certainty, of having travelled to Syria, Le Parisien said, adding that the family flat, where he would have been living with his parents and three or four sisters, was raided by police on Friday afternoon. This is a small, quiet, town. Unfortunately the threat is everywhere, Collomb told reporters in Trebes. The medieval city of Carcassonne lies in the wine-growing region of Languedoc but this is also one of the poorest areas in France, with unemployment about three percentage points above the national average. Nearby Beziers is one of the biggest cities controlled by the far-right, while the smaller Languedoc town of Lunel further east became a breeding ground for many French jihadists who travelled to Syria to fight. Almost six years ago to the day, Islamist gunman Mohammed Merah killed seven people in the Toulouse region, about 90 km from Carcassonne. He was killed by security forces after a more than 30-hour stand-off. Three people were killed in southwestern France on Friday when a gunman held up a car, opened fire on police and then took hostages in a supermarket, screaming Allahu Akbar. Police later stormed the supermarket in the small town of Trebes and the attacker was killed, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told reporters at the scene. The 26-year old attacker from the nearby city of Carcassonne, named as Redouane Lakdim, was known to authorities as a petty criminal but was not considered an Islamist threat, Collomb said, adding that he was believed to have acted alone. More than 240 people have been killed in France in attacks since 2015 by assailants who pledged allegiance to, or were inspired by, Islamic State. Here are the live updates: 7.16pm: Gunman in French hostage-taking killed by police: AFP quoting security source 7.14pm: A 45-year-old French military officer swaps himself for hostage: Reuters quoting source close to investigation. 7.10pm: 3 dead, 2 hurt in three separate attacks in France: Security source 7pm: French President Emmanuel Macron says hostage-taking incident appears to be a terrorist attack: Reuters 6.40pm: Attacker shot one person in the head in Carcassone before hosatge-taking before taking hostages in Trebes, said Bruno Bartocetti, the regional representative of the SGP police union. The two cities are about 20 minutes drive away. BFM TV reported that the man had shot one person in a car and injured another before stealing the vehicle 6.24pm: Moroccan man identified as France hostage-taking suspect: Security source. 6.20pm: 6.14pm: Same car linked to hostage-taking and police shooting: Security source. 6.05pm: French police say 2 killed, about a dozen wounded in supermarket hostage-taking in southern France. 5.58pm: Hostage-taker has asked for the release of Paris November 2015 attacker Salah Abdeslam: BFM TV Abdeslam is the prime surviving suspect in the attacks in Paris that killed 130 people 5.30pm: Prime Minister Edouard Philippe says: The hostage situation is ongoing. The operation is not over. All the information we have as I speak lead us to think that this would be a terrorist act. 5.25pm: Mayor Eric Menassi says gunman entered French supermarket shouting Allahu Akbar, Ill kill you all. Police at the scene of a hostage situation in a supermarket in Trebes on Friday, in this picture obtained from a social media video. (REUTERS) 5.12pm: At least two dead in French supermarket hostage-taking: security source. 5.10pm: Prime Minister Edouard Philippe described the situation, which investigators are treating as terrorism, as very serious and Interior Minister Gerard Collomb is heading to the site, his ministry said. 5.08pm: Mayor Eric Menassi tells BFM TV that the hostage-taker was now alone with one police officer in the supermarket and all other hostages had been freed. 5.02 pm: At least one person has been killed during a hostage situation in a southern France supermarket - Depeche du Midi newspaper reported on Friday. 4.58pm: French prosecutors say treating hostage-taking as terror incident. 4.57 pm: The local prefecture confirmed the hostage-taking at the Super U supermarket but did not confirm the Islamic State allegiance. A source at the Paris prosecutors office said counter-terrorism prosecutors were investigating the hostage-taking. 4.30 pm: Frances Interior Ministry had said security officials were carrying out an operation at a supermarket in southern France, but gave no details. 4. 20 pm: The UNSA police union also said on Twitter a police operation was underway after an individual had earlier shot at four officers in the Carcassone region injuring one of them. Authorities in the Aude region are warning people to avoid the area around the supermarket. Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain on Friday accused India of ceasefire violations and human rights abuses, saying New Delhis actions have put regional peace at stake. He also raked up the Kashmir issue at the Pakistan Day joint military parade in Islamabad. Pakistan Day commemorates the passing of the famous Lahore Resolution on March 23, 1940, when the All-India Muslim League demanded a separate homeland for the Muslims of British India. On this day in 1956, Pakistan became the worlds first Islamic republic. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena was the Guest of Honour. He was received by Pakistans Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi at the parade ground in Islamabad. Indian deputy high commissioner J P Singh was also seen seated among the foreign diplomats invited to witness the parade. Referring to cross-border ceasefire violations President Mamnoon accused India of gross human rights violations in Kashmir. With these actions, Pakistans neighbour has put the regional peace at stake, he said. Calling upon for an immediate and peaceful resolution of the struggle of Kashmiri people, the President said, The only solution to the dispute of Kashmir is to provide the right of self-determination to Kashmiris, and Pakistan will continue to play its role in this regard. He said that Pakistan was ready to extend a hand of co-operation to the regional countries, but taking it as a weakness will be a dangerous mistake. Mamnoon also said that the global scenario has changed, and now countries could not be coerced to tow the line of one particular country. Cautioning against exploitation, suppression of nations and interference into the internal affairs of any country by another nation, he said Pakistans foreign policy was about achieving permanent peace in the world and is based on non-interference into internal issues of other countries. He said that Pakistan had been playing a vital role for the global peace and rendering commendable services from the UN platform for it. On the issue of Afghanistan, Mamnoon said that Pakistan would continue playing its role for peaceful resolution of the Afghan issue. Pakistan had always played a historic role in the peaceful settlement of Afghan issue and for the stability of the Afghanistan government. He also stressed that efforts to curb terrorism should continue so that achievements made so far could be further strengthened. Meanwhile, Abbasi, in his message, said that We cannot succeed without upholding the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution. The special performance by the Jordan military band was the highlight of the day in which troops from Turkey and UAE also participated. Contingents from the Pakistans Army, Air Force, Navy, Frontier Corps and Pakistan Rangers participated in a march-past. Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan led a fly-past as a salute to the president and later joined the guests at the parade ground. The other who witnessed the event include Pakistans Defence Minister Khurrum Dastagir, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Navy Chief Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi and Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee Zubair Mehmood Hayat. Pakistan Day parade resumed in 2015 after a gap of seven years. It was suspended due to threat of militancy. Earlier, the day began with a 31-gun salute in Islamabad and 21-gun salute in the provincial capitals. Security was on high alert in the capital and mobile phone services remained suspended. Around 2,000 military and police personnel were deployed. Russian air strikes killed 37 civilians in the Arbin area of the shrinking rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus overnight, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday. Russian air strikes and incendiary weapons killed the civilians in a basement from burning or suffocation late on Thursday before a ceasefire came into effect in the area, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. Russia has denied being directly involved in air strikes on Eastern Ghouta. The Britain-based Observatory says it relies on flight patterns, aircraft involved and ammunition used to determine who carries them out. Negotiations on cards A Syrian rebel group in one besieged eastern Ghouta pocket said on Friday it would try to negotiate an end to an army assault there, while insurgents in another nearby enclave withdrew. Ending the oppositions hold on eastern Ghouta, near the capital Damascus, would represent Syrian President Bashar al-Assads biggest blow against the rebels since they were driven from Aleppo in December 2016 Failaq al-Rahman spokesman Wael Alwan said the group would meet Russian negotiators on Friday. He could not say whether the negotiations would lead to the fighters withdrawing. But he told al-Hadath television: Today is a session to find a solution to end this human suffering, whatever the cost. Midnight ceasefire Failaq al-Rahman on Thursday announced their intention to negotiate when Alwan said a midnight ceasefire had been agreed in principle. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a Failaq al-Rahman delegation left the enclave late Friday morning as guns fell silent after air strikes and advances by pro-government forces had continued past the midnight ceasefire deadline. The Syrian armys assault on eastern Ghouta, the last major rebel bastion near the capital, has been one of the most intense in Syrias seven-year-old war. The United Nations says about 1,600 people have been killed and thousands wounded since mid-February. The Syrian government and its Russian allies used tactics that had proved successful elsewhere in Syria since Moscow joined the war in 2015 - lay siege to an area, bombard it, launch a ground assault and finally offer safe passage out to rebels who agree to leave with their families. Russia, the peace-broker After helping turn the tide of the war in Syria in Assads favour with air power and military support, Russia has increasingly cast itself as a peace-broker within Syria and the wider Middle East. Russian representatives have played a role in negotiating local ceasefires and evacuations. Eastern Ghoutas rebels now hold only the town of Douma, under the control of Jaish al-Islam, and another pocket that includes Ein Terma, Arbin and Zamalka, under the control of Failaq al-Rahman. On Thursday, Ahrar al-Sham rebel fighters withdrew from what had been a third rebel-held enclave in eastern Ghouta, the town of Harasta. They were put on government buses and driven to an opposition-held area of northern Syria. A second group of fighters began to leave Harasta on Friday in buses. State media said about 1,500-2,000 fighters and their families were expected to leave and said seven buses had left so far. Douma strikes The Observatory said air strikes also hit Douma, which is controlled by Jaish al-Islam, on Friday and rebels and pro-government forces clashed on the ground. State television broadcast footage of what it says was about 3,400 people leaving the Douma enclave on foot on Friday morning, carrying small children and belongings. Thousands of civilians have made the same journey over the past week, making their way to reception centres in government-held territory. The United Nations estimates more than 50,000 people have left besieged areas of eastern Ghouta in the past almost two weeks. The Observatory estimates a total of about 120,000 civilians have either left the enclave or remained in the towns of Kafr Batna and Saqba, which were re-taken by the government in the past eight days. British police said they were investigating reports of a suspicious package in the city of London on Friday and had put cordons in place near the building known as the Gherkin. Weve put cordons around St Mary Axe due to a report of a suspicious package (a box) in Bury St received at 8.56am (0856 GMT) City of London police said in a tweet. The Gherkins address is 30 St Mary Axe. Wed ask people to avoid the area while we deal with the incident, and for people in nearby buildings to follow their internal procedures. The US on Friday announced sanctions and criminal indictments against an Iranian company and nine individuals, accusing them of hacking hundreds of universities in America and abroad, private and government entities, and the UN. One US official described it as one of the largest state-sponsored hacking campaigns ever prosecuted in America. Those indicted were Mabna Institute a Teheran-based privately held entity and nine people described as leaders, contractors, associates, hackers-for-hire, and affiliates. Though they were not employed by the Iranian government, US officials said they carried out these intrusions on behalf of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), one of several entities within the government of Iran responsible for gathering intelligence, as well as other government clients. The justice department said in a statement that starting in 2013, the hacker network targeted computer systems belonging to 144 US-based universities, 176 universities across 21 foreign countries, 47 domestic and foreign private sector companies, the US labour department, the federal energy regulatory commission, the states of Hawaii and Indiana, the United Nations, and the United Nations Childrens Fund. These nine Iranian nationals allegedly stole more than 31 terabytes of documents and data, deputy attorney general Rod J Rosenstein said, announcing the indictment. For many of these intrusions, the defendants acted at the behest of the Iranian government and, specifically, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The hackers targeted innovations and intellectual property from our countrys greatest minds, Manhattan US attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said in a statement. These defendants are now fugitives from American justice, no longer free to travel outside Iran without risk of arrest. The only way they will see the outside world is through their computer screens, but stripped of their greatest asset anonymity. Officials said that while apprehending the indicted individuals will be a challenge, they will remain vulnerable to arrest and extradition to the United States whenever they travelled abroad. Russia has unveiled the names for a new generation of nuclear-powered missiles touted by President Vladimir Putin as invincible after more than seven million people took part in a quirky public vote organised by the Russian military. The names chosen include Peresvet, after a medieval warrior monk, for a laser and Burevestnik, after a seabird, for a cruise missile. The arms systems, which Putin revealed in a bellicose state-of-the-nation speech this month, include a nuclear-powered cruise missile, an underwater nuclear-powered drone, and a laser weapon. Putin has often used militaristic rhetoric to mobilise support and buttress his narrative that Russia is under siege from the West, and some critics complain that public discourse increasingly resembles that of a country at war. The culmination of the name that weapon vote comes amid fears in both Russia and the West about a new arms race, something Putin and US President Donald Trump have said they dont want, and after Putin won a landslide re-election victory. Russias Ministry of Defence asked the public to name the weapons systems in an online vote, something it has never done before, and unveiled the results late on Thursday on state TV. After the results were announced, Deputy Defence Minister Yuri Borisov explained on state TV, to ripples of applause, what the new weapons were capable of. Warrior monk, Greek god and Seabird The defence ministry said Russians had voted to name the new military laser Peresvet after a medieval warrior monk, Alexander Peresvet, who took part in a 14th century battle against the Mongols. Peresvet is revered by some clerics in the Russian Orthodox Church, whose influence has grown under Putin. The winning name for the underwater nuclear drone was more conventional Poseidon after the Greek god of the sea, drawing criticism from some Russians who complained the name was too foreign. The new nuclear-powered cruise missile, which Putin has boasted could hit almost any point in the world and evade a US-built missile shield, will be called Burevestnik, Russian for the Storm Petrel bird, the defence ministry said. The Storm Petrel is a seabird whose presence mariners believe foretells bad weather. Putins boasts about the new weapons have been greeted with scepticism in Washington, where officials have cast doubt on whether Russia has added any new capabilities to its nuclear arsenal beyond those already known to the US military and intelligence agencies. Among the suggested names for the weapons systems that did not make the final cut: Stalin, after the Soviet dictator, and Palmyra, after the Syrian city which Russian forces helped Syrian President Bashar al-Assad take back from Islamic State. Appointment 23 March 2018 Trained in Argentina and passionate about French cuisine, Schwuger brings his unique sensibility for creating a fresh approach to the dining experience. Prior to joining Sheraton, Cristian served as the Executive Chef at the W in Santiago, Chile, as well as various positions at several Relais & Chateaux across South America. Schwuger, who joined the Sheraton Grand Los Cabos in July 2016, has quickly moved up the ranks and is ready to take the helm. "My desire to bring great culinary satisfaction to our guests is what drives me every day," said Cristian. "I am a student of my profession and delighted with my new role. I couldn't be more thrilled to lead our superior staff." Press Release 23 March 2018 Who: Advertisements David Bowd of Salt Hotels iStar, Master Developer of the Asbury Park waterfront What: In preparation for the summer reopening of Asbury Lanes, iconic 1960s bowling alley-turned music venue, Salt School will be re-introduced to the local Asbury Park community for its third year. The vigorous hospitality training program created by David Bowd of Salt Hotels in partnership with Master Developer, iStar was conceived with the goal of giving anyone in the community - of any background, experience-level, age, race, and orientation, the opportunity to receive training by the best in the business, for free. Salt School speaks to iStar's investment in the community and its residents which has gone far beyond its robust pipeline of developments with initiatives including the Summer Experience Crew, a summer program training City ambassadors. By simply answering "why do you want to attend hospitality school?" via an online form, locals are given the chance to learn from renowned hotel innovator, David Bowd of Salt Hotels, who has three decades of experience, having worked with names like Ian Schrager and Andre Balazs. Motivated by his own humble beginnings in the industryhaving no formal education and getting his start as a bellman at age 15, Bowd describes Salt School as "a movement so genuine it changed our culture." In Salt School's first year, 110 diplomas were given out and 65 graduates were hired for The Asbury Hotel, Asbury Park's first hotel in 50 years. Many graduates from the inaugural year are still part of The Asbury family today and will be moving on to supervising and management positions at Asbury Lanes this season. As a result of its success, Salt School will be carried out at all Salt properties moving forward, which include Salt House Inn, Eben House and The Chequit. Bowd, who also serves as a Principal of west elm Hotels, is bringing the Salt School concept to the new brand with the launch of west elm Hotels Academy. The training program will be executed during hotel launches slated for 2019 in more than 10 cities including Detroit, Minneapolis and Oakland. This year, Salt School is looking to accept two hundred Asbury Park applicants, expanding on past years, and will employee a quarter of graduates at Asbury Lanes. School will culminate with a formal graduation and job fair which was added this year due to demand from local businesses and will allow remaining graduates the opportunity for hire and equipt local businesses with trained staff. Industry leaders will teach students all aspects of hospitality with an added focus on food & beverage leading into the opening of Asbury Lanes this summer which will offer a 24/7, full-service diner. Founder and Chef of the internationally recognized Meatball Shop restaurants, Daniel Holzman will be one of the special guest speakers. Curriculum focuses will include: guest service, food and beverage management, accounting, culinary and bar trends, event planning, talent and human resources management, marketing and social media. When: Application process is open from March 20-31, 2018; Salt School officially begins on April 14, 2018 and will take place every Saturday for three weeks. Graduation will take place on Sunday, April 29, in time for the Asbury Lanes reopening over Memorial Day weekend. In addition, a job fair will be held at The Asbury Hotel on May 6th where local hospitality businesses will have the opportunity to interview Salt School graduates Where: The Boys and Girls Club of Monmouth County, 1201 Monroe Ave, Asbury Park, NJ Applications: To apply, visit www.salthotels.com/salt-school Press Release 23 March 2018 Advertisements Kuwait saw the highest air growth rate in the region at 20% Mobile bookings in Saudi Arabia jumped 116% compared to 2016 Majority of travel bookings in the region occur within a week prior to departure Yerevan topped the most trending destinations, jumping 498% y-o-y Dubai, UAE -- The online travel sector in the GCC grew 9% in 2017, reveals Cleartrip, the leading mobile and online travel company in the Middle East, in its 2017 Travel Insights Report. The report, which derives insights from the company's proprietary data and the data from over 400 partner airlines, also showed that mobile bookings in Saudi Arabia jumped 116% during the year. "As the online travel industry leader in the region, we closely monitor the new and dominant trends in the market to inform our business and product decisions and the 2017 Travel Insights Report is a natural outcome of our intense focus on understanding and solving customers' needs. Our team at Cleartrip has sifted through millions of data points to offer deep insights into the unique trends in the region's travel scene and customer behaviours. In a highly competitive and ever-changing world of travel, the learnings from this report will help travel companies align their business and product strategies to the current and future needs of the market," said Stuart Crighton, Founder & CEO of Cleartrip. The findings of the report show that the air industry witnessed mixed growth in different markets in the GCC in 2017. In Kuwait, the air industry expanded at a growth rate of 20% compared to 2016, while in Saudi Arabia year-over-year growth was at 14%. Even though desktop continues to be the dominant platform for travel bookings, the region has been witnessing a growing shift to mobile. In Saudi Arabia, where mobile bookings grew at a whopping pace of 116% in 2017, 31% of bookings represented purchases made on mobile as compared to 69% desktop-based purchases, whereas in the UAE, which witnessed a 60.65% rise in mobile transactions last year, 25% of total bookings took place on mobile devices against 75% on desktop. Among the top regional cities assessed, Riyadh had the highest rate of mobile booking penetration (MBP), followed by Jeddah, with total purchases made on mobile devices in the two cities amounting to 32% and 31%, respectively. Interestingly, the findings showed that there is a clear correlation between the number of travellers per ticket and the platform used for booking. Customers in the region increasingly prefer computers over mobile for purchases as the number of travellers increased. For solo travellers, 27% of bookings were made on mobile, while 83% of reservations for a group of ten persons took place on desktop. The findings of the report show that ticket prices for air travel between different origin and destination cities recorded a significant drop in 2017, as compared to the previous year. Jeddah-Dubai marked the biggest decrease with a 28% slump in travel fare followed by Beirut-Dubai that saw an average price decline of 21% during the year. In 2017, the average fare per booking stood at AED 1,580 in Kuwait, AED 1,453 in Saudi Arabia, and AED 1,422 in Bahrain. The average fares per booking on mobile for these countries were AED 1,543, AED 1,322 and AED 1,276, respectively. In Oman, which recorded the lowest average fare per booking in the region, it was AED 1,030 overall and AED 944 for bookings made on mobile devices. Contrary to popular belief, the majority of travel bookings in the GCC - and Saudi Arabia in particular - are taking place within a week prior to departure and mobile outperforms desktop in last-minute purchases. The comprehensive report shows that 48.3% of mobile bookings and 41.4% desktop reservations in the GCC during the past year occurred up to a week ahead of travel. Similarly, in Saudi Arabia, 48.3% of travel bookings on mobile devices and 44.9% via desktop were made within seven days of departure. The 2017 Travel Insights Report also shows that 18% of travellers had an average trip length of 35 days and more, while the average trip duration of up to 6 days represented 27% of all trips made during the year. The region witnessed a large portion of its travel activity in August, followed by July as travellers in the region, which is home to a huge population of youth and expatriates, made their summer holiday trips. April, May, and September were also the preferred months for travel, while October and November recorded the least number of trips in 2017. Dubai took first place on the list of top five destinations for travellers in the region in 2017, followed by Sharjah, Manila and Abu Dhabi. On the other hand, Yerevan topped among the most trending destinations during the last year, with a whopping leap of 498% over 2016. Tbilisi and Kathmandu came in at second and third place, jumping 210% and 207%, respectively. Among the 10 prominent destinations of choice for family trips, Jordan topped the list, followed by Tbilisi and Beirut. In the region, credit card continues to be the preferred method of payment for travellers. In 2017, Bahrain topped among the six countries in the region with 94% transactions made on credit cards, while in Saudi Arabia 28% of purchases were made using debit cards. In the UAE, credit card, debit card and other payment methods represented 81%, 13% and 6.3% of total bookings, respectively. Cleartrip's booking data also shows that 20% of travellers like to grab a bargain on tickets in the UAE, which is followed by Kuwait where 19% of customers prefer promotions and deals. Opinion Article 23 March 2018 Elle Darby may not be a household name but this video blogger does have influence in social media circles with some 87,000 YouTube subscribers and 76,000 Instagram followers. According to media reports - some 114 articles in all across 20 countries -- she contacted the Charleville Lodge Hotel in Dublin, offering the owner exposure on her social media channels in exchange of a free stay for her and her boyfriend over the Valentine's Day weekend. The hotel owner declined, posting his reply online and publicly banning all social media influencers from his hotel. Advertisements This provoked a series of back-and-forth messages between the two parties on social media. As a result, Elle Darby lost some of her followers, while the hotel has been criticized by other bloggers for his generalized attack on social media. For us, the episode raises concerns about transparency with regard to bloggers and the way they operate in relation to the hospitality industry, as it highlights the role of information and its sources. By definition, the industry is characterized by what economists call asymmetric information. Often, when services are involved, customers cannot know beforehand what the quality of the service itself will be. How can you predict with any accuracy the level of service on offer? Hospitality relies on signals and these can come from a range of sources such as professionals (for example, the number of stars attributed to a hotel) but also from previous customers that have already stayed at the hotel and provided their feedback and observations via the likes of Tripadvisor, Booking.com or Expedia. Nowadays, bloggers have the power to control, in part, or at least influence some of those signals via their social media accounts. Generally speaking, in terms of the economy, if the sources of information are biased, this could lead to market failure and a reduction in social welfare. In plain English, unreliable information could lead customers towards making the wrong decision. In Elle Darby's case, she was seeking a personal advantage in exchange for posting 'unreliable' information on her social media channels. This is a typical case demonstrating tension between private benefit (Elle Darby wanting a free stay at the hotel) and the social interest (in terms of consumers wanting to choose a hotel on the basis of reliable information). In fact, Darby had implicitly offered positive feedback on her social media channels even before verifying the quality of the Charleville Lodge, which, according to its own website, has been described as 'palatial' but is not Buckingham Palace and so guests should not expect 7-star service. Another hotel may have decided to play along with the social media influencer and she may indeed have provided positive feedback for the hotel in exchange for a free stay over the Valentine's Day weekend, encouraging paying customers to go there. The takeaway from the incident and media storm is this: sometimes more is less. The huge amount of information out there online is making it increasingly difficult for all of us who get our news and information from social media channels to verify the sources of that information. The challenge now facing hoteliers is to develop their brands and build on the reputations of their hotels to ensure their messages cut through all the noise. Opinion Article 23 March 2018 Back in 401BC, the classic Greek philosopher Plato famously said that "everything changes and nothing stands still." Travel company executives will be forgiven for thinking that he was talking about their businesses today. It is no exaggeration to say that the digital innovations of the recent past have caused more disruption for the Travel industry than anything else has. While the likes of Expedia and AirBnB certainly have leveraged digital technologies to disrupt this industry, none has done so more than the Connected Traveler with nothing but a smart phone in his hand. Today's travelers have easy and complete access to all the information they need: TripAdvisor tells them best places to go to, their friends post photographs and reviews on Facebook, and an OTA tells them the best combination of flights, hotels and rental cars they should consider. All brought together into one seamless experience on their smart phone. Travel companies by contrast, have far less information than this when understanding their customers and deciding on their go to market strategy. Every cloud though, has a silver lining. The same digital disruption that has given the traveler leverage, is also giving something significant back to the Travel businesses: Data. Every search, review, booking, complaint, swipe, "like," buy, comment produces a unique virtual identity something we will refer to as a "code itinerary," which can be harnessed to understand a traveler's persona and intent. This is powerful information in the hands of Travel companies who know they can only win by rewriting the rules of engagement with digitally savvy travelers. Not surprisingly, digital transformation has become a top priority in this industry, and according to World Economic Forum 2017, done right, has the potential to unlock $1 trillion of value for the industry by 2025. To get there, Travel companies need to focus on the following strategies. Get a digital data foundation. Digitization starts with data and the Travel companies have an advantage here. For decades they have managed reservation systems that store bookings data, which together with their customer and market data, typically stored in CRM systems, have been the basis for commercial decisions for decades now. Travel companies have to augment this "internal" data with "external" data such as social, news, events, weather, competitive rates, etc. and store all these data into a data lake. With cheap data storage and ability to provision processing power on demand, the Cloud is the perfect place to store this vast amounts of data. Programs to extract, cleanse, transform and load the data into the lake and create an analytics-ready form run 24x7 enabled by streaming architectures. Machine learning frameworks on top of these data lakes continually analyze the data and provide key insights such as forecasts, price changes, promotion opportunities, customer alerts coming from social media etc. at all times. This data lake together with machine learning analytics represents the digital data foundation for an organization, and is the key first step towards a digital transformation. Offer traveler personalization. As discussed above, the travelers today know what they want and are willing to let you know about them through their digital presence. Consequently, the data lake must have the legally allowed and anonymized the traveler code itineraries and organizations must mine that data for insights for personalization. Personalization does not however mean that a travel company is able to generate an insightabout every single traveler. This is because travel is not like grocery shopping where you are buying the same or similar thing every week. A lot of travelers take an occasional trip. Families take annual vacations. Business travelersby contrast are a lot more predictable but even there they are not traveling to the same place and at the same time all the time. However, travelers fill up planes and hotels, so it is possible to do deep analysis on bookings, search, social and other forms of data to determine traveler personas. Example personas are a business traveler that leaves Monday morning and returns Friday afternoon. Or a mother with five kids that travels during holidays to a resort south of Spain. We might be talking about the same physical person here,however their needs and persona changes when traveling for business vs leisure, and the dataholds much information about these travels. How far ahead does one book business travel vs leisure travel? Does a business traveler care for breakfastbeing included in the hotel rate more than the family that is traveling on holiday? Is this a millennial who cares more about the services onboard a plane such as Wi-Fi or the entertainment, than say the parent of a 5-year-old on the same plane? These insights can be gleaned by curating both internal and external data and leveraging machine learning algorithms. Personalization therefore refers to an organization's ability to create traveler personas by mining all code itineraries to understand who travels and why, what is the path to discovery and purchase, what their needs are and having an offer ready when needed. Someone browsing on your website may need that extra promotional offer to convert them. If you know there is a family of five who are likely to be delayed at the airport due to the late arrival of a flight, how about sending them an electronic voucher for a meal in the airport restaurant or even an offer to relax in your lounge while waiting? Today's travelers are very clear about what they need and if a travel company cannot personalize travel for them, they will do it for themselves, or worse yet, go to someone who will. Digital organizations will get ahead in this challenge and will ensure customer delight and loyalty. Plan, sense & respond. While digitization is on the march, let us not forget that Travel companies are asset intensive, operate on thin margins and offer a physical product, whether it is the seat on a plane, or a room in a hotel or the luxury car from a car rental agency. Looked at this from this verynarrow angle, one can argue that these companies compete in a commodity market. Which means, when it comes to execution, it is all about having a keen sense of the market and pricing your product judiciously, and then tracking your performance continuously, and making corrections as necessary to win the market. The digital data foundation will help an organization to ensure its product offering is in line with traveler expectation, thanks to the application that builds traveler personas. A demand forecasting application, enabled by machine learning algorithms, is able to process both internal and external data, and create demand for your products. Price optimization application then looks at your traveler personas, understand each of their likely response to prices, and balance expected demand with available capacity, competitor prices and recommend a price plan that maximizes your revenue or profits or both. With cloud computing and with all the data in hand, it is possible for an organization to make several iterations quickly and choose the best Plan to go to market with. These days however, the cliche is that Plans change as soon as you launch them. In order to ensure your plans continue to be relevant, organizations need a mechanism by which they can Sense market dynamics. The digital data foundation is continuously listening through APIs for new information to arrive: competitor rate data, sentiment data, events that might be affecting demand at a certain destination, weather data that might suggest flights could be cancelled at an airport, etc. and as soon as the data comes in, subject to business rules at play, machine learning algorithms determine if an alert is warranted. If an alert is indeed warranted, the organization must Respond. The response could be codified in the application through business rules, or the system could take an action on its own, or the alert can be routed to an analyst who takes the appropriate action quickly, and in the process teaches the system how to respond the next time. Recommender systems have been popularized by the likes of Amazon and Netflix, which rely on user input and past actions to reinforce their own learning and over time become smarter and smarter in their responses. This ability to respond quickly to a situation is critical, when you consider the hundreds of thousands of interactions travelers have with travel companies, and when a quick decision is what closes the traveler as opposed to losing their business. This virtuous cycle of Plan Sense Respond, done continuously, is a key enabler of the digital transformation of a travel company. Erstwhile Revenue Management applications are rudimentary solutions for this requirement, and a paradigm shift towards Digital Revenue Management is critical for Travel companies to exploit every opportunity to win against competition. Digitize or bust Digitization as a technological innovation for Travel companies however, is just an enabler. True digitization that unlocks the "Trillion dollars in value" requires much more. It needs for a Travel company to bring about organizational changes to meet the needs of the digital world. As a first step it is important to raise the digital IQ in Travel companies. It means breaking down silos so that Marketing and Revenue Management are working hand in hand to meet the needs of the traveler. It means both Marketing and Operations working together to address the negative tweet from your guest. In other words, a complete alignment with the traveler who sees a Travel company as single brand, embracing an innovative mindset and creating a culture that is able to stay ahead of the digital traveler. This is easier said than done. Culture and mindset changes are hard. While no employee will argue about aligning with a digital strategy, a legitimate question to address would be about legacy applications and processes that cannot be abandoned overnight. Travel companies will have to create roadmaps appropriate to their business. Perhaps start with getting all your data together in one place and then adopt the next-generation analytics. Or upgrade your revenue management solution with a dynamic one without affecting the upstream and downstream processes. Identify quick wins that will engender faith in employees. But most importantly, get employee buy in, provide training where necessary and hire the right talent to thrive in this exciting digital future. Travel companies need a sense of urgency as they contemplate their digital journey and they will do well to pay heed to what Clayton M. Christensen says in his book The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail. In it he argues that disruptive innovation usually starts at first in a small niche of an industry which established firms would typically ignore. But this disruption gradually matures, solutions that work in the niche area improve enough to start working with the mainstream, and suddenly established firms are disrupted or displaced. Airbnb is a case in point. Started as a home rental portal, they now are disrupting Expedia and Booking Holidays by offering themselves as a distribution channel for independent and boutique hotels on their site with a compelling commercial offer. How much longer do you think before the major hotels also start distributing their inventory on Airbnb? For Travel companies the disruption is not just from new entrants or nimble competition, but also from the connected traveler who might take his business elsewhere. The hour is upon Travel organizations to start on this digital journey now before the disruption wave becomes a tsunami. Early movers, with a clear understanding of Code Itineraries, stand to win a piece of the Trillion dollar prize! Performance 23 March 2018 Singapore performance down from 2016 Airshow and Chinese New Year time period performance down from 2016 Airshow and Chinese New Year time period South Korea supply growth limits potential Olympics performance boost supply growth limits potential Olympics performance boost Thailand performance strengthens during Chinese New Year Advertisements LONDON Hotels in the Asia Pacific region reported lower occupancy but significant rate growth during February 2018, according to data from STR. U.S. dollar constant currency, February 2018 vs. February 2017 Asia Pacific Occupancy: -1.8% to 67.1% Average daily rate (ADR): +9.4% to US$118.17 Revenue per available room (RevPAR): +7.5% to US$79.25 Local currency, February 2018 vs. February 2017 Singapore Occupancy: +0.3% to 85.5% Average daily rate (ADR): +5.0% to SGD286.41 Revenue per available room (RevPAR): +5.3% to SGD244.88 STR analysts note that the biannual Singapore Airshow and calendar shift of the Chinese New Year provided an obvious performance lift from 2017. Thus, it is important to instead compare the first two months of 2018 with the same two months in 2016. When examining those time periods, 2018 occupancy and ADR fell 0.9% and 8.0%, respectively. The 2016 period for Chinese New Year overlapped with the airshow dates, so the performance levels were naturally higher. Airshow dates in February 2018 specifically produced a double-digit decline from the Airshow dates in 2016 (RevPAR: -11.2%), but peaking supply growth (+13.3% in 2018) also factored heavily in that equation. South Korea Occupancy: -13.1% to 58.2% Average daily rate (ADR): +3.3% to KRW153,177.72 Revenue per available room (RevPAR): -10.2% to KRW89,196.00 According to STR analysts, the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang failed to produce demand levels capable of overcoming significant supply growth (+11.6%) in the country. Geopolitical concerns in the region also continued to play a role in South Korea's overall performance decline. The Olympics did, however, help push the first year-over-year ADR increase for the country since September 2014. Thailand Occupancy: +3.9% to 88.9% Average daily rate (ADR): +14.7% to THB4,619.38 Revenue per available room (RevPAR): +19.1% to THB4,106.80 February is historically one of the stronger performance months of the year in Thailand. STR analysts attribute the added performance growth to the calendar shift of Chinese New Year from January in 2017 to February in 2018. On 16-17 February of 2018, RevPAR increased 43.6% and 47.4%, respectively. The board of the Montrose Management District, the neighborhood entity behind the colorful bridge lights along U.S. 59 and the art deco-style signs throughout the neighborhood, voted Thursday to dissolve itself after years of fighting off angry property owners who have been calling for its dissolution since at least 2012. The Montrose Management board has finally done the right thing and voted to dissolve, Andy Taylor, attorney for the property owners, said after the boards announcement. Its been a six-year battle. The people won today and the government lost. The vote for dissolution, decided after less than an hour in closed-door session, came after a judge ordered the district at the end of January to conduct a more thorough review of a petition property owners filed seeking its dissolution. The management district previously rejected the petition by declaring more than a quarter of the signatures invalid. But state District Judge Daryl Moore called the organizations lack of analysis arbitrary and unreasonable and gave it 45 days to conduct the additional review, using research provided by the opposition. Based on the research that we did and information that counsel for the folks that brought the lawsuit provided, we made the decision to move forward with the dissolution, the districts managing director Ben Brewer said. About a dozen property owners at the board meeting Thursday were jubilant after the announcement. The little guy wins one every now and then, said property owner Bob Rose, who sued the district in 2012 because he felt blindsided when he found out he didnt have a say on its plan to levy assessments. Im hoping this will send a clear message, Taylor said. Dont play games when 80 percent of the people you represent dont want you. Troubles at the district date back to at least 2012 with Roses lawsuit. Last fall, a judge ruled that the district illegally collected nearly $6.6 million in assessments and said it must reimburse the money to property owners. That case is now on appeal. Opponents have long claimed that they dont benefit from the districts programs and that the assessments amount to taxation without representation. The district was able to begin assessing property owners with a petition of only 25 signatures. The Montrose district is one of dozens of like it in Houston. Management districts are authorized by the Legislature to promote economic development and enhance public areas and individual neighborhoods. There are 122 active districts in the state. In Montrose, the district had been providing services such as security patrols, graffiti removal and colorful lights on the arched bridges over U.S. 59. Commercial property owners had been assessed at a rate of 12.5 cents per each $100 of property value. Residential property owners are not assessed. State Rep. Jim Murphy, R-Houston and chairman of the committee that oversees special purpose districts, said dissolutions are rare. There have only ever been eight that were dissolved, he said, though he wasnt immediately clear on how or why they were dissolved. I think its a positive sign that the will of the people has been followed, Murphy said about the Montrose outcome. The legislator, who has heard the complaints of Montrose property owners in state hearings, said his committee is working on plans that would make the dissolution process more clear, as well as changing the way a management board can begin levying assessments. While the minimum number of stakeholders needed on a petition to make assessments is 25, many districts require a majority of property owners, or a majority of the taxable value to be in favor. Were trying to get to the majority, which is sort of the standard, Murphy said. Murphy also runs the Westchase District, a similar management district in west Houston. He said that entity has never been challenged. We worked really hard early on to talk to all the owners out here, hundreds of them, he said. And we operate in an open and transparent way with lots of input and have many of the major owners on our board. The Montrose district was established in 2005 as the East Montrose Management District. A west side was formed in 2011 and the two organizations were later joined. The dissolution is subject to Judge Moores approval. A hearing is scheduled for Friday. In a court filing Thursday, the district said its board has directed staff members to develop and propose a plan to wind down operations and satisfy or settle its assets, debts and other matters. One of the lingering issues involves the U.S. 59 bridge lights, which went dark in January after the management district failed to pay the electricity bill. The programmable LED lights came back on a little more than a week later, powered by a public charity fund the district set up to collect donations for the overdue bills. Through a spokesman, Mayor Sylvester Turner said the city will review the management districts dissolution plan before making any decisions about future funding of the lights. Stage Stores unveiled its newest department store in the Houston area this week, part of the companys renewed strategy to capitalize on retails still-thriving off-price segment. The Houston retailer held a grand opening on Thursday for Gordmans, a low-price chain making its local debut. The 35,000-square-foot store, which replaced a former Palais Royal at Brazos Town Center in Rosenberg, sells brand-name apparel, accessories, cosmetics, footwear and home and pet goods at a lower price than typical department stores. Unlike discount stores that sell cheaply made goods at bargain prices, off-price stores such as Gordmans take advantage of close-out sales and overstocks from traditional department stores to offer quality brands at a fraction of the regular price. You can find tremendous value all the way around, Steven Hunter, Stage Stores chief operating officer, said on a tour of the new Gordmans. This is like T.J. Maxx or Marshalls on steroids. Stage Stores acquired Gordmans out of bankruptcy last year to re-enter the off-price segment, which has managed to weather the turmoil in the retail market thanks to the growing popularity of online shopping. While traditional department stores such as JC Penney, Macys and Sears are closing locations, off-price retailers like Marshalls, Ross and T.J. Maxx are growing. Macys will open the Houston area's first Macys Backstage store in mid-April, carving out a space in its Pearland store to open a 14,000-square-foot outlet section offering apparel and accessories at up to an 80 percent discount. Macys has opened 55 Backstage locations across the U.S. since 2015. This competition for value-oriented customers has Stage Stores staking its future in Gordmans and the hope that its off-price model can save brick-and-mortar retail. Its the hottest and most growing part of retail right now, Hunter said. We see Gordmans as one of the growth tenants of our company moving forward. With the exception of Designer Shoe Warehouse, which has to compete with Zappos, the off-price segment seems largely immune from e-commerces disruption, said Jason Gaines, a retail broker with Houston-based NAI Partners. Thats because customers at off-price stores often dont compare prices to e-commerce retailers like Amazon because they believe the best deals are already in front of them, Gaines said. Its internet-proof, Gaines said. All of these off-price brands command people to come to their stores to find good deals. While the typical department store shopper buys two to three items per trip, the typical Gordmans customer purchases five or more because there are so many enticing deals, Hunter said. A a result, Gordmans can sell through a smaller inventory of marked-down merchandise more quickly than a department store that changes out displays once every season. The Gordmans store in Rosenberg will have two or three semi-trailer trucks dropping off fresh merchandise every week, Hunter said. You can see a deal today, but you may not see it tomorrow because it sells out, Hunter said. Thats why off-price can do twice as much revenue as our typical department stores. Stage Stores was once in the off-price space, operating more than 20 Steeles stores in a handful of states. However, the retailer sold the small chain to Hilco Global in 2014 to focus on its other department store brands such as Palais Royal, Bealls and Goodys. Stage Stores has more than 800 stores nationally, many of them in small towns of fewer than 50,000 people. Stage Stores revamped Gordmans 59 stores across the Midwest from a typical department store into an off-price brand. It conducted customer surveys and focus groups to determine what brands, designs and products to incorporate into the refreshed brand. Since the nearest Gordmans to Stage Stores Galleria office was a plane flight away in Rogers, Ark., the company decided to close a Palais Royal in Rosenberg to pave the way for the first Gordmans in the Houston area. The store, about a half-hour drive southwest of the West Loop, will allow Stage Stores executives to more easily test new concepts, get customer feedback and maintain quality control, Hunter said. Rosenberg was also appealing for its growing population of young families, Hunter added. Gordmans typical shopper is a woman in her 30s who is brand-conscious, but value-oriented. We thought it was important to have a store in our backyard, Hunter said. Its a real test to see if customers respond to this format. To stand out against a slew of off-price competitors, Gordmans offers customers a curated collection of products and a focus on customer service, Hunter said. In the home goods section, there are displays of complementary home furnishings and accessories. Spider-Man and Batman toys are displayed within the childrens clothing section. Toward the back of the store, theres a whole row of pet beds and a wall full of white lamps both top-sellers at Gordmans. Gordmans also places shopping carts filled with doorbusters, like half-off St. Patricks Day items, around the store to encourage impulse purchases. Throughout the store, there are signs with slogans such as Big names, not big bucks, Sticker shock in a good way and All treasure, no hunt to reinforce the off-price message. If the Gordmans store does well in Rosenberg, Hunter said he can see the brand spreading to hundreds of locations across Texas. On the first day of Gordmans soft opening Wednesday, the store processed 77 transactions in three hours, store manager Keera Herbst said. Hilda Mendenhall checked out the new Gordmans store with her 3-year-old daughter, Madison, after a friend told the Rosenberg mom about the soft opening. She ended up buying some candy, shoes and home goods after walking through the store. I think itll do great, Mendenhall said of the new Gordmans. Itll give TJ Maxx and Marshalls a run for their money. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is swapping the iconic Boeing 747 for the newer, more efficient Boeing 787 Dreamliner on its Houston-Amsterdam route. With the departure of that final 747 Combi, which carries people and cargo, Houston will no longer have a passenger airline regularly flying the 747. KLM is just one of many airlines phasing out the double-decker plane. The 747 introduced travelers to wide-body airplanes and helped make flying affordable, but it has lost ground to more fuel-efficient aircraft that can travel farther distances. MORE: One of United's last 747s comes to Houston once more before retirement In a statement, the Dutch airline said it has 12 passenger and Combi 747s in its fleet. These will be phased out in the coming years, and most will be replaced with Dreamliners. "The Boeing 787 creates less ambient noise, consumes less fuel, and gives off fewer carbon dioxide emissions," the company said in a statement. "It brings us ever closer to our aim to reduce CO2 emissions by 20% in 2020 compared to 2011. It also offers numerous advantages in terms of passenger comfort." RELATED: Why flying a Dreamliner makes the Houston-Sydney flight possible The final 747 flight from Bush Intercontinental Airport is scheduled to depart Friday at 4:35 p.m., according to FlightAware. KLM will fly a Boeing 777 for one day before switching to the Dreamliner. There are still 747 cargo flights calling on Bush Intercontinental, and Lufthansa will sometimes fly a 747 when it doesn't have an Airbus A380 available. But for the most part, this is the final passenger flight. HoustonSpotters.net provides information on viewing spots available at Bush Intercontinental. Oh, the buff buttocks. And backs, thighs and calves, sigh, with their peaks and valleys of light and shadow. And the sensitive, downturned face of an ancient man in what looks like a wrestler's helmet. Such is the larger-than-life size eye candy of one of the monumental drawings enticing viewers to "Michelangelo and the Vatican" this spring at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. One might question whether these soldiers really would have traipsed around the crucifixion fields naked, but Michelangelo Buonarroti's vision of torqued bodies can knock the breath out of even the most jaded museum visitor. Short of traveling to Rome this spring, the best Italian Renaissance experience may be in Houston. The show's works include two of Michelangelo's "cartoons," as the monumental transfers are called, and a wooden architectural model for the vault of the King's Chapel in Saint Peter's Basilica. All are on loan from the Farnese Collection at the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, Naples. But those were just the launching points. More Information Michelangelo and the Vatican: Masterworks from the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, Naples When: 12:15-7 p.m. Sundays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Wednesdays, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursdays, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturdays, through June 10 Where: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 5601 Main Cost: $18-$23 Information: 713-639-7300, mfah.org See More Collapse Through a new partnership with that museum, the MFAH has assembled a stunningly thoughtful show that builds on, rather than repeating, the Met's triumph. Curators David Bomford and Dena Woodall instead immerse visitors in the fuller world of 16th century Italian art, architecture and history in ways that also illuminate the dynamics of the era's personalities, relationships and politics. Michelangelo was not working in a vacuum, and it quickly becomes apparent, as the saying about antiquity goes, that Rome was not built in a day. The glue behind "Michelangelo and the Vatican" is Alessandro Farnese, Pope Paul III, one of the popes who kept all of the masters of the period busy. Michelangelo's vast influence on others - including his contemporaries and successors - plays into that narrative. Through numerous small drawings as well as the monumental ones, the curators also illuminate the variety of methods Renaissance artists employed to perfect their imagery. The show occupies the somewhat modest exhibition space that has been carved recently from the Beck Building's European painting galleries. Huge graphical reproductions, including architectural renderings of 16th century Rome, fill some of the walls, and a dazzling photo-recreation of Michelangelo's ceiling for the Sistine Chapel hangs above the largest room. These gestures provide the grandeur of a blockbuster within a show that's really quite intimate: Just 40 works. "Michelangelo and the Vatican" feels like a feast of proper proportions, so visitors feel sated but not overwhelmed. Even before one sees all the muscular, nude figures rendered so heroically, the pleasure begins with a pair of iconic portraits featuring the fantastically clothed Farnese that also establish the passage of time: In 1512, Raphael portrayed Farnese as a just-appointed cardinal. Thirty-one years later, Titian captured the weathered and bearded pope unforgettably - and apparently in just a few hours, while they were traveling through Bologna. This show provides one of only three, maybe four places in the world where a viewer can see masterpieces by Titian, Raphael and Michelangelo while standing in one spot, said MFAH director Gary Tinterow, during a preview a few days before the show's March 11 opening. Bomford also drew attention to the Met's circa-1544 unfinished portrait of Michelangelo, whose broken nose attests to his difficult personality. (He was slugged during a fight with a fellow apprentice early in his career.) For scholars, none of this is fusty art history. Fornese was Florentine, ambitious and rich - and he became a cardinal even before he was a priest. "Among his many legacies is the term nepotism," Tinterow said, smiling. "He appointed his son and grandchildren as officers in the Vatican court. ... Yes, he had children and grandchildren, such as it was in the glory days of the Renaissance." Michelangelo, who lived from 1475 to 1564, worked for a succession of popes, starting with Julius II (for whom he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel) and Clement VII, who commissioned the chapel's famous "Last Judgment" fresco. "Last Judgment" wasn't realized until Paul III's reign, when Michelangelo also painted frescoes for the Vatican's private Pauline Chapel, planned and executed the expansion of the Farnese Palace in Rome, and finalized designs for Saint Peter's Basilica (which he did not live to see completed). The show's small works on paper - including drawings of body parts, drapery and classical antiquities - suggest the lengthy process involved in creating the frescoes that have made the Vatican a major tourist destination. The monumental "cartoons" were the final design transfers. The word "cartoon" refers to the large sheets of paper used to make these drawings, Woodall explained. Cartoons were usually destroyed as they were used, because they were pricked so that charcoal could be pressed through them as they were placed against plaster walls and ceilings to be painted. (Several videos in the show illustrate the full process nicely.) Only three cartoons by Michelangelo still exist. "Roman Soldier" is the only one of them created for his own painting. His designs were so in demand, he created numerous drawings to be executed in paint by others. His cartoon for "Venus and Cupid" offers an example, hanging next to a glorious painting from it by Hendrick van der Broecke. This composition was so influential, at least 32 artists of the era are known to have painted it, Bomford said. The expanded, open female figure of the "Venus and Cupid" cartoon offers a vivid counterpoint to the contracted males of "Roman Soldiers" - expressing a key to Michelangelo's genius: His ability to imagine the human figure in countless variations. "This is absolutely the dialectic he employed: 'I can do it like this, or I can do its opposite,'" Tinterow said. "That's what we have expressed in these monumental nudes." The breadth of Michelangelo's influence on other Renaissance painters also becomes clear. His "Leda and the Swan" is lost, but Rubens reproduced it exactly in a painting that belongs to the MFAH. "It's one of many, but it had to be one of the best, not of the same scale but beautifully observed," Bomford said. "It's an extraordinary record of the original composition." The show's third cartoon, no less captivating, belongs to Raphael, who was painting Pope Julius II's Vatican apartments while Michelangelo was busy on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. It depicts "Moses before the Burning Bush," a fragment of a ceiling vault. Michelangelo's influence surfaces the robust figure of Moses, but Raphael also maintains his own, more straightforward and quieter grace. Even Michelangelo had his critics, of course. The Sistine Chapel's stupendous "Last Judgment" - with its 300 identifiable figures in heaven, hell or somewhere in between - inspired one of the juciest controversies in all of art history. Its provocative nudes did not survive censorship during the Council of Trent, the gathering of cardinals who responded to the Protestant Reformation, about 20 years after it was completed. The "Last Judgment" chapel visitors see today was altered in the mid-1560s by Daniele da Volterra, an associate of Michelangelo's who reworked objectionable bits and painted clothes onto the nudes. "There were protests and threats to destroy it," Bomford explained. "El Greco, who has nothing to do with the Sistine Chapel otherwise, offered to paint over it with a mural of his own. That was happily not accepted." Pope Paul III was gone by then, but his grandson - anticipating the fresco's destruction - commissioned Marcello Venusti to copy it. The tiny figures of Venusti's painting - another of this show's highlights - coax the eyes and mind to focus differently. So does the intimate scale of the other must-see object, the "Model of the Vault of the Chapel of the King of France in Saint Peter's Basilica," which occupies a pedestal in the center of the largest gallery. "Michelangelo actually touched this with his hands," Bomford said, reverently, noting the rough wood on the back side and the delicacy of the architectural model inside. The cartoons and model will likely not travel again from Naples for at least a decade, he added, because they are fragile. The same week "Michelangelo and the Vatican" opened, theatrical producer Marco Balich unveiled "Universal Judgment," a dance, theater, light and sound spectacle in Rome about the creation of the Sistine Chapel. Approved by the Vatican, Balich's production lobs a full array of 21st century technological bells and whistles toward its audience. Maybe it's entertaining. But for my money, Michelangelo and his compadres don't really need the hand. Professor Joel Richard Paul has degrees in political science, history, economics and law. He teaches law at the University of California Hastings College of Law at San Francisco. And he has worked in politics and practiced law. Drawing on this intellectual diversity, Paul offers an impressive biography on John Marshall, a politician and judge who became known as the nation's most powerful Supreme Court justice during his run in the 1800s, in Paul's recently released book, "Without Precedent." Paul took time to discuss Justice Marshall, his career and his enduring significance. Q: Despite ending up as chief justice of the Supreme Court, John Marshall's education was very modest. Could you provide an overview of his formal education? A: John Marshall had no formal education apart from a single year of grammar school. His father, Thomas, taught him to read and write. Thomas Marshall worked alongside George Washington as a surveyor for Lord Fairfax, the largest landowner in Virginia at the time, and he would borrow books from Fairfax's massive library. By the time Marshall was 12, he was reading books like (Sir William) Blackstone's "Commentaries on the Laws of England." Not exactly bedtime reading for adolescents. Marshall also spent six weeks listening to lectures on the law at the College of William & Mary. Q: What was it about early America that a person could have so little education and still make it to the Supreme Court? More Information 'Without Precedent: Chief Justice Marshall and His Times' By Joel Richard Paul Riverhead Books, 512 pp., $20.48 See More Collapse A: Marshall was born and raised in a two-room, 400-square-foot log cabin with his 14 siblings. How does a frontiersman rise to become a state representative, a leader of the Federalist Party in Virginia, a diplomat, secretary of state and chief justice all within two decades? Marshall developed a capacity for self-invention that served him well on the Supreme Court, where he invented many of the foundational principles of our republic. Q: As you mention, Marshall rose to prominence rapidly, culminating with his position as chief justice. At the time, however, this position wasn't as prestigious as it would become. Could you discuss that? A: The truth is that he wasn't President (John) Adams' first choice for chief justice, but no one else wanted the job. Before Marshall's time, the Supreme Court had little authority and few cases to hear. His predecessors had quit out of sheer boredom. But Marshall elevated the Supreme Court as a co-equal branch of the federal government by persuading his brethren to decide cases as one unified voice. Q: You make a convincing case that Marshall and Thomas Jefferson - who were second cousins - were also the key proponents of opposing political movements in early America. A: As one of the South's leading Federalists, Marshall argued for a strong federal government that could defend the nation against foreign adversaries and could promote the creation of a prosperous national market. He defended property rights, and his decisions nurtured the growth of corporations and private colleges. As the leader of the Democratic-Republican Party, Jefferson stood for states' rights and opposed the growth of federal power. But it wasn't just a matter of political differences. There were profound personal conflicts as well. Jefferson grew up in luxury while Marshall was born into poverty. Marshall married Polly Ambler, the daughter of the woman that Jefferson first fell in love with, and surely that must have aggravated Jefferson, who regarded Marshall as his social inferior. Later, Marshall won a huge lawsuit that cost the Jeffersons millions of dollars and contributed to Jefferson's insolvency. Q: Marshall served on the U.S. Supreme Court for 34 years, often winning consensus, despite having political differences with his court colleagues. How did he manage to win agreement on the contentious issues of the day? A: During his 34 years on the court, Marshall participated in over 1,100 cases and personally wrote about half of those opinions. In all but 35 cases, the court agreed unanimously with Marshall. Marshall was almost always able to forge a compromise that everyone could agree to support. How did Marshall nurture this collegiality? Marshall arranged for all of the justices to live together in the same boardinghouse like a fraternity. They shared all their meals together. And despite their political differences, Marshall found common ground. He understood the value of compromise. Q: What would Marshall think of today's political climate? A: Marshall lived in a revolutionary age when the nation was deeply polarized. It was a time without precedent. And he carefully navigated through a thicket of domestic and foreign controversies as a diplomat and a justice, prudently choosing his battles and forging compromises where none seemed possible. John Marshall possessed the courage of his imagination, the wisdom to seek common ground and the grace to hold together a fragile union. We desperately need statesmen and judges with those qualities right now. From her home in Cypress, Cathy Howard was horrified as she watched TV-news reports on the terrorist bombing after an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, in May. She felt deep empathy for the two dozen people killed in the blast. She also worried about her daughter Allyson, a Texas A&M University student studying abroad in Italy. But before Allyson went to Italy, her mother took the precaution of signing her up with Salus Security Services - a new travel-related company that helps tourists navigate problems they may encounter overseas. After the bomb blast in England, Howard said, she felt better knowing her daughter had such services available to her. "I'd like all my children to study abroad. It's important for them, for their view of the world. But we have a lot of concerns today about unrest and instability," Howard said. "As a parent you want to do everything you can to ensure your child's safety. I knew she had a point of contact in Italy. In a worst case, I knew somebody could quickly get to her who knows the ins and outs of the country." Salus co-founder Carlos Barron, a retired high-ranking Houston FBI agent, said he launched the company to provide relatively low-cost, in-country services for information and advice to U.S. students and tourists traveling abroad. Salus informs clients about areas to avoid because of crime or other security concerns, and a Salus representative is available by phone 24 hours a day. Their employees, known as points of contact, sometimes will appear in person to help a client who has a passport stolen or has been arrested and is seeking a lawyer, for instance. In the event of a terror attack, Salus would have its "fixer" on the ground to help locate the client and help him or her navigate the crisis with whatever the needs might be, said Barron, 51. The company charges $20 a day for those going on short-term trips. For those staying abroad for longer periods, clients pay an initial fee of $250 and $100 a month during their trips. U.S. embassies can provide some services offered by Salus, such as help with a stolen passport, notes Douglas Burns, president of Houston travel agency Culturally Creative Travel. And companies such as SOS Security and iJET International offer more comprehensive travel-security services, but are more expensive - they often are hired by corporate clients. Barron said Salus does not provide comprehensive security services - it does not arrange for bodyguards, for example - and is geared toward students and general tourists, though it does have some corporate clients. Salus operates only in Spain and Italy for now but is laying plans to expand to France, Germany and Brazil. Down the line, it may offer services in Mexico, Central America and South America. Expansion cannot happen immediately because one of Salus' selling points is that employees who assist travelers generally are former FBI legal attaches who worked at a U.S. embassy abroad and live in the country visited by travelers. They speak that country's language fluently. Barron said other companies provide travelers with an 800 number to call if they run into trouble. The person answering the phone may not even live in the country where the tourist has traveled. During their years at the FBI, Salus points of contact build up extensive contacts with local law enforcement and government officials in the countries in which they work, Barron said. When a traveler lands in a jam, Salus employees, he said, have the experience and contacts to know how to address the matter. In Italy, Salus brought on Melissa Thomas after she retired from her post as the FBI's assistant legal attache at the U.S. Embassy in Rome. During her 23-year career with the FBI, she worked as one of several agents on the 2002 Washington, D.C., sniper-attack case. Marc Varri, the Salus representative in Spain, served nine years as legal attache at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid. Barron retired from the FBI two years ago, ending his 25-year career as the assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's Houston office. During his time with the FBI, Barron, who grew up speaking Spanish and English, said he served stints in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain, Argentina and Brazil. "During my overseas career, I used to get bombarded with phone calls from parents sending their kids abroad," he said. "They would ask, 'Can my kid have your phone number so they could call you if something comes up?' " When he retired, he started Salus with his brother, Miguel Barron, a retired investment banker living in New York. Salus has relied on social media and appearances at conferences related to study abroad to market its services. Carlos Barron says the market is out there. "A lot of people don't realize the dangers when traveling abroad," he said. "We've had clients who call and say, 'My daughter will be in this city. Could you say what she needs to be concerned about?' " Varri said a young couple from Florida turned to him when they ran into trouble in Barcelona. They went out for drinks at a bar. A friendly, well-dressed man approached the young man from Florida and went to shake hands. While they were shaking hands, the Spaniard popped open the bracket on the Floridian's very expensive watch and stole it. The couple chased the man and his friends, to no avail. They rang Varri at 4 a.m. at his Madrid home. Varri took the call and steered them through filing a police report so the man could file a claim with his insurance company. "They were young kids. They'd had a few drinks. They were quite shaken up," Varri said. "They were very relieved to have somebody to call. It's tough if you don't speak the language and the laws are different." Emily Carroll of Maryland signed up with Salus, with her parents' approval, before she traveled to Italy to study at the Florence University of the Arts last year. "It was a collective idea. We just wanted to make sure if anything did happen, I would be safe and have as many resources as possible," said Carroll, who took culinary classes so she can become a pastry chef. "I was lucky enough never to have to use the service. But it was nice to know that if something did happen, they were just a phone call away." The terror felt by many residents of the Austin area finally came to an end when Mark Anthony Conditt, the suspected serial bomber, killed himself by detonating a bomb in his car to avoid getting apprehended by law enforcement. A debate is brewing regarding whether Conditt should be labeled a terrorist. To a large degree, this debate is purely an intellectual one. Whether he is officially deemed a terrorist doesn't change the fact that Austin-area residents were terrified. Parents had to talk to their children about not going near packages and backpacks, and some people avoided shopping online to minimize the chance that they would get a suspicious package. To many, he was clearly a terrorist. But the debate about how criminal acts are labeled, perpetrators and victims are portrayed and how motives are discussed is not a new one. MORE THAN A LABEL: Was Austin bomber a terrorist? It depends on who you ask There is evidence that race has a lot to do with how criminals and victims are described and portrayed by law enforcement and the media. In an analysis of headlines about white perpetrators of violence and black victims of crimes, many headlines mentioned positive attributes of the white criminals and negative information relating to the black victims that many times is speculative. Some argue that the hesitancy to label Conditt as a terrorist is because he was a white man. However, the FBI defines domestic terrorism as an act "perpetrated by individuals and/or groups inspired by or associated with primarily U.S.-based movements that espouse extremist ideologies of a political, religious, social, racial or environmental nature." You could argue that there is not enough evidence to "officially" label Conditt's acts as domestic terrorism, because law enforcement still hasn't found a connection to a movement or extremist ideology. Even so, the "terrorist" label might not feel right for some people because the suspected serial bomber does not match the stereotype or mental picture we tend to conjure up when we think of "terrorists." The information is processed more slowly if it is not congruent with the stereotype. There is research evidence that shows that many people associate the term "American" with being white. For many, a "white American terrorist" does not seem likely or in line with their belief systems and expectations. Though Conditt is alleged to have killed two people and injured five others, he was not demonized once his identity was made known. Interim Austin Police Chief Brian Manley referred to Conditt as a "a very troubled young man," which is obviously true, but still a very mild descriptor that seems a mismatch with the seriousness of his crimes. DARKNESS INVISIBLE: Austin bomber was quiet, normal, friends and family say Further, some of the first media reports that presented pictures of Conditt used an old high school photo in which he appears serene and smiling. Information about how he was homeschooled, earned college credit in high school and was generally civil slowly contributed to the narrative that emerged in the hours that followed. This narrative was all designed so that one asks, "How could this nice, seemingly normal young man do such a thing?" When ethnic minorities commit similar crimes, they do not get the same treatment. There is not a search for nuanced perspective to explain motives. They don't get the same benefit of the doubt that something went severely wrong in their upbringing or that they were troubled themselves. The city of Austin and its surrounding areas are starting the healing process, and law enforcement officials are still trying to determine Conditt's motives. Though we might never learn them, we need to examine how we think and talk about the victims and perpetrators of crimes. Would we make the same attributions if the person were from another racial group? And we should remember that Anthony Stephan House and Draylen Mason lost their lives to the bombs. Mason, 17, had been accepted to The University of Texas at Austin to study music. He was the good kid we should be talking about here. Germine Awad is an associate professor of educational psychology at The University of Texas at Austin. Bookmark Gray Matters. We need to examine how we think and talk. For almost three years, a victim of sexual assault, who was 11 years old at the time, has awaited justice. That day came on Monday. Jason David Akers, 34, of Pasadena, was sentenced to 15 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for aggravated sexual assault of a child. Akers, who lived in Conroe at the time of the attacks in 2014 and 2015, originally was charged with felony continuous sexual abuse of a child and indecency with a child. The state filed court documents to proceed with the lesser offense of aggravated sexual assault of a child, a first-degree felony, and dismissed the indecency with a child charges because of the plea agreement. Akers reached the plea agreement in the 359th state District Court of Judge Kathleen Hamilton. PORTER SEX ASSAULT CASE: Man pleads guilty, sentenced to 1 year in prison The victim made an outcry of the abuse and revealed more instances of the sexual abuse after Akers was indicted on the charges. According to court documents, she didn't reveal the additional abuse because "she was just too embarrassed to say." Now Playing: Latest Local And State News Video: Houston Chronicle Akers was arrested after the girl made the outcry three years ago. In the state's response to the discovery order and notice of extraneous conducts and/or bad acts made by Akers, the documents state, "The defendant's bond was revoked around July 2016 when Akers tested positive for alcohol after being granted permission by the judge to travel to Dallas for a training session." "(Akers) was sentenced to 15 years TDC as a result of a plea negotiation after careful consideration of the facts, history and circumstances of this case," Nancy Hebert, the prosecutor for the case, said. "He will be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life." A former Texas minister has resigned from his Tennessee church more than two months after he admitted to a "sexual incident" with a teen in his youth group in 1998. Andy Savage made his resignation official Tuesday on the website for Memphis' Highpoint Church, where he was on staff. The incident that led to Savage's resignation happened with 17-year-old parishioner Jules Woodson at Woodlands Parkway Baptist Church in Texas. CAMPUS TROUBLES: Texas universities with the most sexual assaults "As I've reflected during my leave of absence, I have come to see that many wrongs occurred in 1998," Savage wrote. "The first was my inappropriate relationship with Jules, which was not only immoral, but meets the definition of abuse of power since I was her youth pastor; therefore, when our relationship became physical, there could be no claim of mutual consent. Another wrong was the failure to follow due process afterward; Jules deserved, and did not get, a full investigation and proper response 20 years ago." Now Playing: The founder of the "It's on Us" movement talks about what men can do to end the spread of sexual assault. Video: Cheddar TV Montgomery County Precinct 3 Constable's Office announced in January that because the 1998 statute of limitations has passed and no charges were filed, they would not be investigating the incident, despite a case being opened and a complaint filed. "Using the current statute we would have some possible options, but we are limited to the law as it was at the time of the offense in 1998. As a result, we are unable to investigate and seek justice to the full extent of what we normally would in such a case," Capt. Dan Zientek wrote in a press release. According to an open letter Woodson published in January, the incident occurred while Savage was giving her a ride back to her mom's house following a meeting at the church. "As he was driving me towards my home, he passed the turn he should have made to go to my house. I asked him where he was going. I don't remember his exact response, but it was something along the lines of 'you'll see' or 'it's a surprise,'" Woodson wrote in her letter. She said she thought the surprise was to get ice cream. They turned down a dark, dirt road where Savage allegedly parked the truck and turned off its headlights. "Suddenly, Andy unzipped his jeans ... ," Woodson wrote. "I was scared and embarrassed, but I did it. I remember feeling that this must mean that Andy loved me. He then asked me to unbutton my shirt. I did." Woodson wrote that the incident lasted all of about five minutes before Savage allegedly got out of the truck to run over to the passenger's side to plead for her forgiveness. "Now I was terrified and ashamed," Woodson writes. "I remember him pleading, while he was on his knees with his hands up on his head, 'Oh my God, oh my God. What have I done? Oh my God, I'm so sorry. You can't tell anyone, Jules, please. You have to take this to the grave with you.'" Emails and calls to the Woodlands Parkway Baptist Church were not returned by press time Thursday. Fernando Alfonso III is a digital reporter at Chron.com. Follow him on twitter at @fernalfonso. A bedridden woman was found living in squalor in her home in northern Georgia, partly decomposing and covered in cockroaches and maggots, authorities said. First responders discovered the woman, who is in her 50s, after responding to a call about an unresponsive person last week at the home in Buford, about 40 miles outside Atlanta. Authorities described the scene as "deplorable," with garbage piled nearly to the ceiling, roaches scaling the walls and the woman - bedridden and obese - showing signs of decomposition on her legs, according to an incident report from the Gwinnett County Police Department. Firefighters reported the incident to investigators, saying they did not think the woman, identified as Tracie Sorrells, would live much longer, according to the report. Her condition is not known. Her husband, Terry Sorrells, 54, and their son, Christian, 18, were arrested and charged with neglect of a disabled or elderly person, a felony offense, according to online booking records. (The family name has been spelled Sorrell in some reports.) It was not immediately clear whether the two have attorneys. Gwinnett County firefighters said that about a month ago, they transported Tracie Sorrells using a tarp designed for obese patients. When they returned to the home Thursday, she was still lying on it - and it was thoroughly soiled, according to the incident report. "During the process of moving the patient, the fire department noticed that the patient's legs [were] completely black and showing signs of active decomposition," the report said. "Maggots and roaches were attached to her and eating at her flesh." She was transported to a hospital and her husband rode in the ambulance with her, according to the report. Christian Sorrells told police that he and his father had been caring for his mother, who he said has been bedridden for the past year or two, and that her health was continuing to decline. The teenager also told police that money is an issue because no one in the family has a job, the report stated. A Gwinnett County police officer who responded to the call from firefighters about potential elder abuse described the grotesque scene in the incident report. It read: "When I first walked through the front door I was overwhelmed with the smell of human feces and garbage. The patient's bed was in the living room covered in plastic and feces and unknown liquid. Garbage lined the floor all the way to the kitchen. Inside of the kitchen was garbage piled from floor to almost ceiling. Roaches were crawling in every single room on the walls and ceiling. Inside of the bathroom there was garbage lining the floors and piled up. Inside of the father's bedroom there was a huge pile of 'Monster' energy drink cans approximately 2 feet tall. There was garbage and a box spring inside of the closet and garbage piled on the dresser. No sheets were on the bed and the frame was broken so the bed was at an angle. Inside of Christian's room was a desk with a TV and computer. The entire room was filled with garbage except for a small clearing for his computer. The piles of garbage in Christian's room was almost half way up the wall." The officer said the entire house "was in disarray and completely infested." The father and son were later taken into custody and are each being held on $22,200 bond, booking records show. A one-time aide to former Gov. Rick Perry has been tapped to help the Texas General Land Office with its short-term housing program in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Gov. Greg Abbott and Land Commissioner George P. Bush announced this week that Phil Wilson, general manager of the Lower Colorado River Authority, will join Bushs office. His task: to help eliminate any remaining roadblocks on the path to housing the remaining Hurricane Harvey survivors eligible for direct housing assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Abbott said in a written statement: Phil Wilson is an experienced leader and a great addition to the GLO team as we continue to work as quickly as possible to get Harvey victims back in their homes. Bush said he is thankful of Governor Abbotts support of our final push of our housing recovery effort. The move to enlist Wilson on a temporary assignment comes after the Houston Chronicle and other media outlets have documented problems with the short-term housing program. Texas expects to spend just $1.1 billion of the more than $2.6 billion that land office officials say FEMA budgeted for short-term housing programs. State officials counter that the larger number was an early estimate based on maximum potential sign-ups. The Chronicle found that the short-term housing effort led by Bush has been hogtied in a web of paperwork, legal wrangling and efforts to increase staffing. Thousands of Texas are still waiting for help, and some have given up on the government. Wilson didnt respond to an interview request. An river authority spokeswoman referred questions to the governors office. Wilson, whose annual salary at the electric and water utility is $577,500, will continue in his river authority job as he works with Bushs land office. Its unclear how long the assignment will last. Brittany Eck, a land office spokeswoman, couldnt be reached for comment. The river authority, based in Austin, hired Wilson in 2014 as its general manager. Prior to that, he was executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation. A former deputy chief of staff to Governor Perry, Wilson was the states chief elections officer for one year and also has worked as an executive and lobbyist for Luminant, a Dallas-based electric utility. Ray Sullivan, a former chief of staff to Perry who is now an Austin-based consultant, praised the choice of Wilson to help the land office. To a large extent, what the state needs is someone who can coordinate and crack whips to get things done faster and effectively, Sullivan said. John Henneberger, co-director of the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service, a nonprofit advocacy group based in Austin, said Wilson will have a lot of work to do. Were hearing a lot of complaints about quality of work, about rate of repairs, about contractors, and the way that they are interacting with clients, Henneberger said. Theres nothing about the GLOs administration of the short-term housing assistance programs that would give anybody any encouragement that they are up to administering this stuff. 2 1 of 2 Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle / Houston Chronicle Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Marie D. De Jesus, Houston Chronicle / Houston Chronicle Show More Show Less Three candidates had signed up to run for the late City Councilman Larry Greens southwest Houston seat as of Friday morning, setting the stage for a campaign sprint to the May special election. Martha Castex-Tatum, the late councilmans constituent liaison, was joined by former educator and council candidate Larry Blackmon, former city employee Anthony Freddie and community activist Patricia Pat Frazier, who lost to Green in 2011. One day after a young white man from the suburbs blew himself up and ended a fiery spree of terror that began in a neighborhood emblematic of Austins lingering segregation, public criticism of the police and media narratives raged on. Mark Anthony Conditt was not, Black Lives Matter activists and other critics argued, just a quiet kid who had lost his faith, as reported in the media. He was not a challenged loner, they said, as police accounts portrayed. He was a terrorist, they said. Hes no different from Timothy McVeigh or the D.C. sniper, said Ashton Woods, a Houston-area Black Lives Matter organizer. Its domestic terrorism. Even as activists and media critics denounced what they considered a slanted narrative around the jobless college dropout behind the violence, the White House declared there was no apparent nexus to terrorism. And while members of the Congressional Black Caucus put out a call to label the explosions ongoing terrorist attacks, some experts questioned whether that descriptor fit, absent a clear motive. You need to know why he did it, said J.J. McNabb, a fellow with George Washington Universitys Program on Extremism. Terrorism has to be ideologically driven. Is he trying to change something, to try to influence government to do things differently or just trying to kill people? Yet, for some commentators, the debate raised a familiar question, one that floated unanswered after Las Vegas. After Orlando. After Charlottesville. Do we describe mass killers differently based on the color of their skin? To Shazia Ashraf, that seems like an easy question. It is blatantly obvious, said Ashraf, a volunteer committee chair at the Islamic Society of Greater Houston. And it leaves my community, the Muslim community, the black community, wondering why it is only people of color and Muslims are labeled terrorists. Our leaders need to call this what it is: terrorism. Over a three-week period, the homeschooled 23-year-old from Pflugerville distributed bombs across the capital area, police said. His destructive handiwork killed two men both black and injured four others. The explosives became more sophisticated as time passed, progressing from package bombs to a tripwire device to explosives shipped through FedEx. This kid is a serial bomber a suicide serial bomber and nobody will call this guy the domestic terrorist that he is, said Kandice Webber, a local Black Lives Matter organizer. If he was Muslim, suicide bomber would have been all over the place. Or terrorist. Or link to terrorist organization. But not the precious white man. We cant call him what he is. Lone wolf, they say. But they call our kids murderers and thugs. In many media accounts, friends and family described the accused killer as quiet and normal. They told how hed come from a conservative, religious family that homeschooled four children to keep them away from "the bad stuff in society." Late Wednesday, word emerged of a 25-minute confession tape in which Conditt talked about each of the seven bombs he built over the last three weeks, including the one that killed him. "It is the outcry of a very challenged young man talking about challenges in his personal life that led him to this point," interim Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said at a press conference. But for many that label rang hollow, and Manley took heat on social media for his characterization of the man behind the violence. Once, before I die, I'd like to hear a cop or prosecutor declare and mainstream media report that the confession of a black- or brown-skinned suspect to a crime of violence is the outcry of a very challenged young man, talking about challenges that led him to this point, tweeted David Simon, an outspoken former journalist known for creating the HBO show The Wire. On Thursday, Manley clarified his position in an interview with the Austin American Statesman and KVUE. "In no way am I going to be sympathetic toward someone who murdered people in our community," he said. "What my comments were, were a reflection of what his comments were. They are not my belief, they are not my opinion. What I was trying to convey to the community was what I heard in his words. And so I do understand that there were folks that were concerned about that. This man created terror in our community by his actions, undoubtedly. And that is my opinion. Even though Conditt clearly sowed seeds of terror, some experts say its not clear that he can be called a terrorist at least not at this point. I dont think all the information is out yet, said Mustafa Tameez, a former Department of Homeland Security consultant during the second Bush administration. For some, the intent to cause terror is enough. Jordan Paust, a professor with the University of Houston Law Center, said the objective meaning of terrorism requires intent to produce terror or intense fear in a targeted individual or group and a terror outcome. Sometimes that intent can be inferred, he said, even if its not laid out explicitly in a confession. But McNabb, the George Washington University fellow, said ideology is important, too. Every violent crime is going to have people afraid, she said. Thats not a good justification for using the label. Robert Chesney, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law, said that a common understanding of terrorism involves some element of illegal violence or threats and the mental state element is something along the lines of intent to intimidate a population or government entity. Though political motive commonly plays a role, theres obviously not one clearly agreed upon definition of what counts as terrorism, he said. Although years-old blog posts reveal Conditts conservative leanings, opposition to homosexuality and support for the death penalty, none of it indicates any anti-government agenda. And by late Thursday, police still couldnt offer any clues. Legally speaking, the distinction has minimal impact. Although federal law defines domestic terrorism, it does not make it a crime, as such, said Stephen Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law. There are plenty of other crimes that may qualify as domestic terrorism, but theres no stand-alone federal offense for domestic terrorism. And in Texas, according to Chesney, there is a crime for making terroristic threats. But theres not a separate crime for terrorism, he said. To McNabb, though, the label seems less significant than the result. People put a lot of emphasis on the terrorism word and thats too bad, she said. Terrorism is just a flavor of murder. Matt Dempsey and Mark Collette contributed to this report. Shortly after taking office in 2013, U.S. Congressman Steve Stockman hired a crew of amateur spies to perform political surveillance on a rising star in his own state Republican party, according to witnesses Thursday at the former lawmaker's federal corruption trial in Houston. Stockman gave $32,000 in charitable funds to a political operative to conduct surveillance of state Rep. James White, R-Woodville and two other GOP officeholders. After three months of trailing White at work and leisure, planting a fake intern with surveillance equipment on his staff and combing through public records, the conservative operative and attorney Benjamin Wetmore, testified his crew netted nothing, or "bupkis," as he put it. Now Playing: Texas News & Crime Video: Houston Chronicle Wetmore was associated with the American Phoenix Foundation, an Austin-based group that claimed in May 2015 to have amassed hundreds of hours of covert video footage of Texas lawmakers with the goal of proving corruption. MORE: Megadonor says he thought former U.S. Congressman Steve Stockman was trustworthy Prosecutors in Stockman's criminal trial contend he funneled thousands of dollars from a charitable donation into one such surveillance operation in hopes of uncovering what Wetmore called "salacious" gossip about White, one of the few African-American Republican lawmakers in Austin and a perceived political rival. Stockman is charged with 28 criminal counts, including allegations that he illegally converted major charitable donations to pay for personal and political expenses. Stockman, who was a Republican lawmaker then serving in Washington, D.C., hired the political operative to dig up dirt on White, an East Texas politician whom Stockman thought was considering a primary bid for his congressional seat. White testified in Stockman's trial Thursday that he had been approached by a lobbyist to consider a bid for Congress but decided not to run. He told the jury he knew nothing about being secretly filmed while at work in the state capitol in Austin. After court adjourned, White said he believed it was possible he had been followed, if that's what the FBI investigators determined, but he knew nothing about it at the time. "On most days I try to conduct myself as if my grandmother was around," said White, a former Army infantryman. "My goal is to wake up every morning and comport myself in the best way possible." RELATED: Former Congressman Steve Stockman ran 'massive scam' with donations, prosecutors said During testimony, an FBI agent told jurors that Stockman paid for the surveillance operation by transferring funds from a $350,000 charitable donation meant to pay for a training center for conservative interns in Washington. In testimony, Wetmore was evasive about whether the sting was focused on White, the possible rival, but he confirmed he testified before a grand jury that Stockman hired him to find out "salacious things about White." Wetmore told the court that Stockman asked him to have his surveillance team collect information on two other Republican lawmakers, state representatives Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton and Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth. Wetmore said he hired one employee to work the outside, chatting with legislators in bars and following them home. The other staffer, Oluwaseun "Shaughn" Adeleye, was his plant inside White's office. Adeleye testified that he made misrepresentations in order to obtain an unpaid internship in White's office, and used Wetmore's payments to pay for audio equipment, including a watch and a pen that were equipped to record conversations. Adeleye testified that Wetmore's request on behalf of his client seemed weird, since his own "undercover citizen journalism" business was set up to catch fraud, waste or abuse in government. "He wanted me to catch him cursing," Adeleye said. Adeleye told the jury he spent three months in the office and heard White use profanity on a few occasions. "White screaming and cursing at you would be excellent footage," Wetmore told Adeleye, in an email introduced into evidence. Adeleye, in email correspondence with Wetmore, was questioned about what kind of car White drove and whether it was messy. MORE: Stockman fraud case not about fur coats, Rolexes and Mercedes Benzes, lawyer says During this same period Stockman told Wetmore, in a text admitted in evidence, that he was concerned that the tracking of White's movements might be discovered. "Republicans love black conservatives. I'm worried," said the 2013 text from Stockman to Wetmore. But Wetmore was sure Adeleye would find something compromising if he kept at it. "We will hit the pervert line so hard he'll run screaming," Wetmore texted back, without explanation. Outside the courtroom, Stockman's lawyer said after court that surveillance activities had nothing to do with the criminal allegations. "This is a sideshow meant to distract from the real issues, and a complete waste of time," said attorney Sean Buckley. He said political espionage happens all the time, on both sides of the aisle. Buckley has argued that Stockman did not commit fraud by spending the charitable money as he did. "Our position is the donor didn't care what the money was used for," he said. Gabrielle Banks covers federal court for the Houston Chronicle. Follow her on Twitter and send her tips at gabrielle.banks@chron.com. WASHINGTON - Dropping a threatened veto, President Donald Trump averted a government shutdown Friday, signing a sweeping $1.3 trillion spending bill that passed with bipartisan majorities in Congress but over the objections of leading conservatives like Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. "Nobody is more dissatisfied than me," Trump said, "but we had no choice but to fund our military." Trump praised what White House officials called the largest military budget in history, even if it comes as part of a massive government funding bill that includes "a lot of things I'm unhappy about." Cruz had earlier described the bill as "2,200 pages drafted by the Swamp in the dark of night that will plunge our nation even deeper into debt." The bill provides limited border wall construction and technical improvements to the national gun background check system sponsored by Texas U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate. With little in the way of border wall funding, and no resolution of the fate of "Dreamers" - young immigrants brought into the country illegally as children - Trump issued an unexpected veto threat Friday morning via Twitter: "I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded." The final 65-32 Senate vote followed Thursday's House passage of the 2,232-page bill. It was unveiled just 16 hours before the House vote, giving lawmakers and the public little time to read and analyze the bill that provides massive spending increases for a wide range of military and domestic programs. Cruz was among the 32 dissenting Senate votes cast at 12:21 a.m. Friday from lawmakers in both parties, including Democrats upset that the bill failed to extend the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Cruz, facing his first re-election contest this year, echoed many of the sentiments expressed by conservative groups alarmed by what they saw as continued overspending by the government. The quick turnaround on the bill was driven by a determination to beat a Friday night deadline for a possible government shutdown. Eleventh-hour wrangling in the Senate gave lawmakers little time to spare. Senate passage was the final step before the bill went to the White House, where Trump, despite his misgivings, had been expected by GOP leaders to sign it. The bill includes only $1.6 billion for border security - far short of the $25 billion sought by the president - while leaving unanswered Democrats demands for a resolution to the legal status of Dreamers. Republicans also had to make concessions on immigration, giving up language that would have defunded sanctuary cities that the White House says do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities. In a last-ditch compromise to address the growing alarm about school shootings, the final spending package included Cornyn's gun background check bill, a measure he introduced in in response to the church massacre in Sutherland Springs last November. The Fix NICS Act Cornyn sponsored with Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy tightens requirements for states and federal agencies to report criminal history data to the FBIs National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Although it had nearly 80 co-sponsors in the Senate, many Democrats had pressed for broader measures aimed at curbing gun violence, such as restricting certain military-style rifles, banning bump stocks that make them more lethal, raising the minimum age for gun purchases to 21, and expanding background checks to private online and gun show transactions. Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, a co-sponsor of Cornyns bill, termed it an incremental improvement, and called for further debate on more meaningful gun measures. However Democrats were able to strip House language that tied the Fix NICS bill to a bill that would allow anyone licensed to carry a concealed handgun in one state to carry it in other states as well. The spending bill also would restore funding for gun violence research. Still, some gun control advocates voiced concerns that Cornyns bill, along with new federal spending on school safety programs, would take political pressure off Congress to take on the plague of school shootings. The issue has gained traction since the Valentines Day rampage at a high school in Parkland, Fla., with protests planned Saturday across the nation. Cornyn, however, argued that his bill was the strongest gun measure that Congress is likely to pass. Even if Fix NICS were just to save one life, there would be reason enough to enact it, he said on the Senate floor Thursday. But I think thats unlikely. I think it will save many, many, many lives. As part of a massive spending bill funding the government until Sept. 30, Cornyns bill would be the first gun measure to get through Congress in recent years. He said it could have prevented the deaths of 26 people in Sutherland Springs, killed by an Air Force veteran whose court-martial for domestic violence had not been reported to the FBI database. Republicans also claimed victory with a $78 billion increase in defense spending, compared to some $52 billion in additional domestic spending championed by Democrats. It represents the largest increase in defense spending in 15 years, as well as the largest pay raise for troops in eight years. NASA spending The spending bill includes $20.7 billion for NASA for the 2018 budget year, which began last October. Thats more than $1.6 billion above the administrations request. Houston Republican John Culberson, a House appropriator, said the higher funding level sets the stage for a 52-year plan for NASA to restore the agency to the glory days of Apollo. The package also includes a $34 million increase for the National Weather Service and an additional $215 million for flood and storm damage projects, measures that Culberson said will help Houston rebuild after Hurricane Harvey. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers construction funding includes $16.5 million to continue replacement project for the outflow structures at the Addicks and Barker Reservoirs in Houston. Culberson also has been a point man for the House GOPs effort to defund sanctuary cities. Although the final spending package left out sanctuary city language, Culberson, facing a potentially tough race for reelection this year, released a memo saying it was not needed. He cited executive actions taken by Attorney General Jeff Sessions to strip money from states and cities that dont cooperate with immigration authorities. Those efforts, however, have been held up in the courts. Trumps border wall promise also took a hit in the closed-door negotiations that produced the spending bill, which some analysts believe could be the last major piece of legislation to get through Congress before the November midterm elections. The spending plan includes $641 million for border wall construction in the Rio Grande Valley, a fraction of what the White House wanted. Much of the money is earmarked to bolster existing barriers or for new projects that were already planned. Still, critics said that while the bill prohibits a concrete wall, it authorizes construction of approximately 33 additional miles of border walls on public lands in the coming months, though it spares the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. Jaguars and other wildlife cant get over a wall, no matter what its made of, said Paulo Lopes, a public lands policy specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity. Congress should not sanction the building of border walls and fences on public lands or anywhere else. Dreamers deferred Dreamers were also left in limbo, with Congress unable to strike a deal on the expiring DACA program, an impasse that led to a brief government shutdown earlier this year. The White House rejected a subsequent attempt to tie a DACA extension to wall funding. Facing another government funding deadline at midnight Friday, Congress appeared ready to leave DACA to the courts, where Trumps decision to end the program remains on hold. Trump and Senate Democrats have blamed each other for the continuing impasse. The spending plan passed the House by a comfortable 256-167 margin, with majorities from both parties backing the bill. But the failure to give Dreamers permanent protection from deportation, along with the border wall money, prompted 77 Democrats - including Houstons Sheila Jackson Lee and much of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus - to vote against the spending package. Despite their misgivings, Houston Democrats Gene Green and Al Green voted yes. Gene Green, who is retiring this year from a heavily Hispanic district, still vowed to push for a legislative solution to DACA. President Trumps campaign promise to deport 2-3 million people is contrary to the values that make this country great, he added. Meanwhile, 90 conservative Republicans also balked, including seven from Texas. Many cited what they saw as excessive spending, inadequate border security, and the failure to cut off Planned Parenthood and sanctuary cities. Friendswood Republican Randy Weber was among those who voted no. We increased federal spending and grew the size of government with this bill, he said. I could not in good conscience vote for something so lacking in conservative principles. He called omnibus bills - that is, comprehensive spending bills that wrap up all government agencies into one massive funding package - reckless and bad policy. Other Houston-area and southeast Texas lawmakers to oppose the annual spending package were Republicans Brian Babin, Ted Poe, Louie Gohmert and Blake Farenthold. kevin.diaz@chron.com twitter.com/diazchron Dont look now, but Congress actually passed a bill that didnt involve a giveaway to banks or renaming a post office. Last month, President Donald Trump signed off on a federal reform of our nations foster care systems. Using the power of federal dollars, the bill incentivizes states to keep families together instead of putting more kids in foster homes. This should be a godsend for Texas, which has an utterly broken foster care system a fact that U.S. District Judge Janis Jack has reiterated in two separate opinions. So, how does it work? Say a pregnant mother is hooked on opioids. The new law would provide federal funding for substance abuse services and parent programs to help the mother kick the addiction and get her life together so that her child does not have to be removed to foster care. EDITORIAL: The Texas foster care system is inadequate and urgently needs more resources This type of early intervention could save more children from the lifelong trauma of abuse, as well as being cost-effective for the taxpayer. But Texas will need to act if we want to take part in this new national initiative. The first challenge is the programs cost. The federal dollars are a match that requires the state to spend new dollars to qualify. The law envisages a way to pay for the program: Long-term savings from reducing foster care will cover the new spending on services to families. Another challenge is that the federal government is reducing funding for group-care homes for children. Texas relies on these so-called congregant homes because of a shortage of foster families. EDITORIAL: Texas' most vulnerable children need urgent help from unreasonable risk of harm If the state fails to add new family foster homes for these children or new homes with qualified treatment programs, then we will risk losing federal funding for these children. Last year, Texas had more than 16,600 kids in paid foster care. About 22 percent were in congregate care placements, many of which would have been ineligible for federal funding under the act. Its heartwarming to think that this shortage could be solved by putting out a statewide call for more stay-at-home mothers willing to take on an extra child or two, or for more faith communities to foster children. But the reality is that its very hard to foster. The training takes a long time. Many of the kids have a lot of special needs that make it hard for families to integrate them into their routines. Most households these days have two parents who both work. EDITORIAL: Texas lawmakers need to reform CPS to protect kids Unless alternatives are developed, well be forced to leave children in risky family or kinship homes, or place them in crowded state-paid-only group homes. With lower quality care, more children will undoubtedly lose their way and end up in the juvenile justice system. Responsibility falls on state leaders to assemble a task force of stakeholders in advance of the upcoming legislative session to begin preparing for the new law. The task force should focus on how the state can pay for this program until the eventual savings come to fruition and build more capacity in our foster care system. Were looking at you Gov. Greg Abbott, Chairman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee Charles Schwertner, Chairman of the House Human Services Committee Richard Raymond and Commissioner of the Department of Family and Protective Services Henry Hank Whitman. Waiting until the Legislature reconvenes will be too late. Margaret Roberts was a hero, a firefighter who once pulled a man out of a burning house seconds before it collapsed, a mother of three who said her life was devoted to God, family and then the fire department. Decades of exposure to toxic smoke may have contributed to the cancer that claimed her life last year. That makes it all the more infuriating that some of her fellow firefighters treated her with contempt, urinating on her bed and leaving lewd magazines lying around her workplace. Her husband recalls she often returned home crying over the way some of her male colleagues behaved around her, even though she dedicated 23 years of her life to the fire department. Thats a long time to be talked to and looked at funny, Daniel Roberts said. It takes a strong person to put up with that. EDITORIAL: HFD's budget overruns and personnel issues point to a problem Nobody should have to put with that. But a lawsuit recently filed by the Justice Department and subsequent reporting by the Chronicles St. John Barned-Smith makes it abundantly clear that Roberts experience was far from unique. The Houston Fire Department has a disturbing history of creating hostile work environments for women, a culture that clearly needs to change to attract more women into its service. The federal lawsuit focuses on the already well-publicized trouble a decade ago at HFD Station 54, where somebody scrawled shocking sexual and racist slurs and death threats around the womens dormitory. The story became murky after police investigators took handwriting samples and basically concluded the offensive graffiti was written by one of the women at the station who had filed a complaint about her male counterparts. Even if thats true, the Justice Departments suit details a long history of similar complaints from other women, including a firefighters wife who visited the station and was apparently upset by what she saw. EDITORIAL: The fire department's inspection process is in disarray and in need of urgent reform One woman found fireworks taped to the inside of womens toilet seats. Others found tobacco spit in their desk drawers. Somebody apparently turned off the dormitorys speakers so that the woman on duty would miss emergency runs. And women repeatedly discovered urine sprayed around their dorms walls, sinks, mirrors, carpeting and countertops. Thats what the women at Station 54 had to put up with. Other women whove joined the department since then say theyve routinely encountered derogatory slurs and sexist behavior, like captains refusing to acknowledge or shake the hands of female firefighters. Small wonder so few women join Houstons fire department. Fewer than 4 percent of HFDs classified workforce are women; that compares to about 16 percent of the Houston Police Department. Although two of the departments 10 assistant chiefs are women, only 78 of HFDs 1,794 entry level firefighters are female. Only 3 of the 23 cadets who just graduated from HFDs academy are women. EDITORIAL: Houston's new police and fire chiefs need to reform their departments Houston certainly has trouble recruiting women firefighters, but thats a reflection of a nationwide problem. Women reportedly make up less than 5 percent of all of our countrys firefighters. Jana Tran, an HFD staff psychologist, wrote an article for Fire Chief magazine in which she suggested a series of initiatives to address this staggering gender disparity, like ensuring women have private restrooms and doing a better job of accommodating pregnant firefighters. Our fire department cannot be a boys club. Indeed, with the vast majority of HFDs business now calls for emergency medical service, the city cant afford to ignore the untapped talents of half its population. We need more women in our fire department, and HFD has to become a more welcoming environment for female firefighters. EDITORIAL: A plan to pay Houston firefighters as much as cops doesn't make sense Tenth grade never taught me how to lead a protest in the fourth-largest city in the nation. Five months ago, I was getting my drivers license and shopping for a homecoming dress. Now, Im meeting with city officials, answering press calls and recruiting student representatives from 20 different school districts, all to organize the March for Our Lives in Houston. It will be part of a national movement advocating for school and gun safety in response to the Parkland shooting and continued government inaction. High schoolers like me are taking the lead, and theres a real reason the youth need to remain at the forefront of this movement. Simply put, adults cannot understand this movement the same way we can. We are the generation raised on mass shootings. We were the ones enrolled in elementary school when a man walked into Sandy Hook and shot 20 children dead. Were the ones crouched monthly under desks in a darkened room, hoping that its a drill. Were the ones who have heard about these tragedies in the news since we were little kids and have grown up understanding that on any given day, our school could be next. To teenagers across the country, the Parkland shooting felt deeply personal. The movement it sparked was the culmination of years of frustration, resignation and helplessness. For two decades, school shootings were not isolated incidents; they were a fact of life. OPINION: We, the (gun) people -- Gun 'rights' need not endanger the rest of us Imagine if, as a teenager, you realized that the plague of mass school violence in your country wasnt present in the rest of the world. And that the government had refused to take any sort of action on a problem that everyone else had already figured out the answer to. Maybe you were a teenager during Vietnam or the civil rights movement. Regardless, Im sure you can empathize with kids everywhere realizing that to the government, student lives dont matter as much as raising money for a re-election . When you see photos of students walking out of their classrooms, holding hands and homemade posters, cant you just feel the raw emotion coursing through our generation? Our hearts are filled to the brim with outrage and passion, hurt and resolve. EDITORIAL: While Parkland survivors make headlines, black youth get left out of gun debate Look at it this way: We are completely unrepresented in the government. The youngest standing member of Congress is more than twice my age. Not one member of the Senate was in high school when the Columbine shooting occurred. Our government officials dont have the perspective on this issue that we have, because they havent grown up with it. And yet, when we voice our thoughts, all kinds of people want to speak over us. Dont worry, adults the world is still yours. You run it, not us. To be sure, this is probably a good thing. We may not be ready to take the world from you yet, just like you may not be ready to let it go. But remember that we have to live here, too. We need to be protected. Most importantly, we need to be heard. I cannot stress enough how helpful adults have been throughout this process. We dont have the kind of experience and expertise you all do. If you have donated or supported us in any way Id like to offer a huge thank you from the student organizers. EDITORIAL: Parkland students give us hope that real change is coming to our nation's gun policy The truth is that we need the support of adults to pull this off. We need you there on Saturday, marching behind us both figuratively and literally. We need you to vote to protect us, the children and students of Houston. Parents raise empowered children. Encourage your sons and daughters to get involved, even if you dont agree with the cause. Give them and their friends a ride to the march this Saturday. Help them make signs for the rally, or submit art through our website. Its scary for us kids to speak out; dont punish yours for taking a stand. EDITORIAL: No more moments of silence. Voters must speak out against firearms. The students of Houston are united, passionate, and strong. This is not us begging for your permission to march, but asking for your support. On Saturday morning 9 a.m. at Tranquility Park downtown we will take to the streets to fight for our lives. Our question is, will you be there with us? Many years ago, the Israeli Bedouin expert Clinton Bailey told me a story about a Bedouin chief who discovered one day that his favorite turkey had been stolen. He called his sons together and told them: Boys, we are in great danger now. My turkeys been stolen. Find my turkey. His boys just laughed and said, Father, what do you need that turkey for? and they ignored him. A few weeks later the Bedouin chiefs camel was stolen. His sons went to him and said, Father, your camel has been stolen. What should we do? And the chief answered, Find my turkey. A few weeks later the chiefs horse was stolen, and again his sons asked what they should do. Find my turkey, the chief said. Finally, a few weeks later his daughter was abducted, at which point he gathered his sons and told them: Its all because of the turkey! When they saw that they could take my turkey, we lost everything. RUBIN: Populism is no way to govern, and Trump is proving it I retell that story today because its helpful in understanding how and why we failed to contain the egregious behavior of both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. They each started by metaphorically speaking stealing a turkey. And when we didnt respond, they kept ratcheting up their wretched behavior to the point where Trump thinks he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and Putin thinks he could poison a wayward spy in London, and get away with it. Trumps turkey was his tax returns. During the campaign he promised to release them after the IRS finished auditing him. Then, after he was elected, Trump said, sorry, not going to release them ever. And nothing happened. Trump, I am reliably told, has actually said to people close to him, Can you believe I got away with that? Friedman: Whatever Trump is hiding is hurting all of us now Once Trump saw that he could get away with not disclosing his tax returns, he knew he could get away with anything. He knew that once he compromised the Republican Party, even its evangelical wing, into giving him a pass on his taxes, theyd roll over for anything sex with porn stars, endless lying, trashing the FBI, coddling Putin. Once you erase a big red line, its hard to start enforcing others. Any Bedouin chief who watched the steady acceleration in the breadth and pace of Trumps lying like his recent boast that he had fabricated a trade deficit with Canada in talks with Canadas prime minister or his dishonest statements to discredit Robert Muellers investigation would tell you: Get me Trumps tax returns. Because there must be something very important in them that he wants to keep hidden. Maybe its just the embarrassment that he is not as rich as he claims, or, maybe, its something more fundamental like how dependent he is on Russian oligarchs for financing, so much so that Putin has leverage on him. Whatever the reason, though, when Trump saw he could get away with hiding them, he knew he could break any rule, tell any lie and violate any presidential norm and hes done just that. PIMENTEL: Will Trump be toxic for GOP incumbents? Putins turkey was even more serious. It was the shooting down of that Malaysian civilian airliner, Flight MH17, over Ukraine on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 people onboard. Remember the story? A Dutch-led international investigation relying on, among other things, 150,000 intercepted phone calls found that Putins proxies in eastern Ukraine had requested that Russia send them an SA-11 surface-to-air missile launcher. And it was trucked over the Russian border into Ukraine, where it shot down that Malaysian airliner (probably mistaking it for a Ukrainian military plane) and then was trucked back to Russia hours later. Putins military was up to its neck in this. Putin did not push the button on that missile, but he created the conditions for it to shoot down that plane and he walked away from it as if the plane were brought down by lightning, making up one implausible story after another. He got slapped on the wrist with a few sanctions, but his complicity faded away into a mist of baldfaced lies. Who wanted to confront Russia, with all its gas exports to Europe and all its oligarchs throwing money around London or buying condos in places like Trump Tower in New York? Putin surely also said to himself, Can you believe I got away with that? Why not poison a former Russian spy in London with a banned military nerve agent or perpetrate genocide in Syria? Whos going to stop me? Trump and Putin are cut from the same cloth. Their strategy is: keep pushing, keep grabbing, keep lying, keep denying, no matter how implausible the denials and never apologize. Because when you lie on an industrial scale, it overwhelms everyone else. Normal people just dont behave that way, and the sheer shamelessness eventually exhausts them. The lesson that the Bedouin chief was trying to teach his sons is that he could live his life without that turkey but he couldnt live his life with what the stealing of his turkey with impunity implied: that when people keep eroding the norms of society, stealing turkeys or the truth eventually becomes the norm. That steady erosion of norms is what Trump is doing to America and Putin is doing to the world. And if we let them get away with it, your kids wont just grow up in a different America, theyll grow up in a different world. What happens in Central America doesnt stay in Central America. Thats one reason why last June, senior U.S. officials convened a conference to address the dire situation in the region. Sitting in the audience, my mind was at ease as I listened to President Trumps top brass lay out a thoughtful, comprehensive approach. Two months later, the administration formally released its Strategy for the region. It identified all the right problems and set all the right goals. A few months after that, the entire strategy was put in jeopardy. Washingtons decision to revoke Temporary Protected Status for some 200,000 Salvadorans risks directly undermining our own objectives in a region of enormous importance to our national security. EXPLAINER: Why can't immigrants here illegally just apply for citizenship? The countries of the Northern Triangle El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala have spent years wracked by violence and poverty. As a result, large swaths of the countries populations have seen no choice but to flee, the vast majority heading north. The Trump administrations strategy aims to stem these migrant outflows by addressing the security, governance, and economic drivers causing them. And indeed, its results architecture seems to be based on one key premise: The only sustainable way to curb unauthorized migration from the Northern Triangle is to mitigate the push factors in the region. But if TPS for Salvadorans is allowed to expire, every single one of those push factors will be exacerbated. Economically, the decision would immediately raise the countrys already high unemployment rate, particularly among its youths, almost 30 percent of whom are jobless. The sudden influx of 200,000 people would increase El Salvadors population by 3 percent. Thats a proportion that would destabilize even the most prosperous nations and, for context, would be equivalent to 9 million new residents arriving in the US. It would also simultaneously deprive El Salvador of significant remittance earnings, which in 2016 made up almost 17 percent of its economy. Ending TPS would, in one fell swoop, decrease El Salvadors GDP by multiple percentage points and increase its population by multiple percentage points. The result could be a devastatingly large, immediate drop in per capita GDP in a country already gripped by extreme poverty. EDITORIAL: After Harvey, Houston needs immigrant workers more than ever And the economic impact isnt confined to El Salvador. The United States would be losing hundreds of thousands of taxpaying workers, with Texas being hit particularly hard. Losing more than 36,000 Salvadoran TPS holders in Texas would cost the state an estimated $1.8 billion annually. And thats without factoring in over 42,000 Texas-born children and adolescents whose parents are Salvadoran TPS holders. Many would likely leave as well, and those who stay would surely have their professional and academic careers hampered by the sudden loss of their parents. A serious deterioration of public security in El Salvador would soon follow, as former gang members in the country have warned. The new arrivals their lives upended with many returning to an unknown country would be particularly vulnerable to forced recruitment and extortion by street gangs and criminal organizations. The inevitable result of all this would be precisely what our Central America Strategy is meant to combat: mass unauthorized migration. No amount of deterrence in the United States will prove effective in the face of overwhelming push factors in the Northern Triangle, as Rex Tillerson, John Kelly, and Mike Pence made abundantly clear in their remarks last June. EDITORIAL: ICE raids and arrests go too far Thankfully, this is not yet a case of damage done, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have put forth solutions. So far, Republicans and Democrats have introduced four bills in the House and one in the Senate with seven Texas legislators already having signed on as cosponsors seeking to provide TPS recipients with a path to lawful permanent residency. Unfortunately, that prospect looks increasingly remote as the battle over DACA enters its sixth month without a resolution. If TPS for Salvadorans is indeed allowed to expire, Washingtons priority must be on risk mitigation, in the form of significantly ramped up financial and logistical support. If we are to flood the country with such huge numbers of deportees, we need to be prepared to ease the blow on its economy and security forces. Doing so will be a national security imperative for the United States. Last year, the Atlantic Councils Northern Triangle Task Force produced a set of comprehensive recommendations on how the United States can best provide this sort of support. The recommendations range from financial assistance for the most vulnerable communities, to technical training and assistance for police, to facilitating private sector initiatives to spur job growth. Still, while devoting greater resources to them in the lead-up to TPSs expiration certainly wouldnt hurt, its clear that these are long-term strategies, not quick fixes. In the end, theres little chance that we could send hundreds of thousands of new residents to El Salvador without serious consequences for our national security. The cheaper and by far safer option is to not do so. In our increasingly globalized world, it is a pluralist cosmopolitan society that thrives. This is a society that recognizes and affirms diversity from within, and not only accepts those differences, but seeks to understand and learn from them. This year marks His Highness the Aga Khans Diamond Jubilee, his 60 years as the 49th hereditary Imam (spiritual leader) of the worlds Ismaili Muslims. With the Aga Khans visit to Houston this week one of the most diverse cities in America to celebrate this milestone, the Ismaili community here is using the opportunity to reflect on his commitment to faith, pluralism and improved quality of life across the world. A particular focus of his is bringing pluralism a capacity to see those from different backgrounds as equals into the classroom. As Head of School at The Village School in Houston, I place the highest value on diversity. Our student body represents six continents and more than 60 countries. We celebrate the diversity of our international community every day. This pluralistic outlook is not an in-born skill it must be learned through education. EDITORIAL: Word of Houston mash-up of culture and ethnicity is spreading like a Texas wildfire. Classrooms must aim to influence how students interact with others and choose to contribute to the world. Through open and deliberate collaboration and dialogue with people from varied cultures, languages and values, students should be encouraged and expected to make a positive impact on those around them. Working and contributing on a global scale was once far-fetched. With todays technology, making a difference in the world has become simpler and much more practical. Technology and globalization is moving at a rapid pace and education must keep up. A shift in attitude toward tolerance and openness, the ability to accept pluralistic views, and a well-rounded, unbiased understanding of diverse social environments must be considered in education. Whether learning about a different cultures holidays or encouraging students to volunteer and get involved with their own community, pluralistic values should have an essential role in our educational environments. If were not teaching this in school (and home and at work), as the Aga Khan has said, The inability of human society to recognize pluralism as a fundamental value constitutes a serious danger for our future. EDITORIAL: As Ramadan ends, so should ugly rhetoric about Muslims We all have a responsibility to ensure our children are well prepared to lead a successful and purposeful life as engaged world citizens. It is a lesson I learned in person last summer while visiting The Ismaili Centre in London with Mayor Sylvester Turner and a group of Houston leaders assembled by the Greater Houston Partnership. As an educator in Houston, I welcome the Ismaili communitys effort to further progress the humanitarian works of the Aga Khan in their local communities as well as the global community through the Aga Khan Development Network and its Aga Khan Academies. Those schools, which currently serve India, Kenya and Mozambique, aim to develop future leaders from all backgrounds with the skills and knowledge to support positive development in their societies and beyond. Pluralism is taught there the kind of pluralism that Houstonians learn every day in our own schools. Danish Jamal, a graduate from the Aga Khan Academies, said, We were taught to be more open-minded and less judgmental of others We learned and experienced cultures of people across the worlds I can live, attend college and work in almost any country. Deliberately embedding diversity into school is a necessity to help our students confront the new and complex realities of living and thriving in a global society. Its an honor to have the Aga Khan in Houston this week to share his and the Ismaili communitys contributions and commitment to pluralism in this diverse city of ours and well beyond it. Robert Ramirez didn't want to get on Facebook. He'd heard the stories about privacy violations, knew his friends and family spent too much time bickering there. And until three years ago, he'd managed to steer clear of the largest social network in the world. But when his daughter went back to school after being accepted at the University of Texas at Austin, he found he had no choice. "UT has a parents' organization, and we went to their dog and pony show," said Ramirez, who's 64. "The good news was that they had a way for parents to ask questions, get answers and talk to other parents. The bad news was, they did this through Facebook." Facebook has become the social backbone for families, friends, businesses and groups with common interests in the United States. But those who rely on Facebook face a dilemma. The Cambridge Analytica scandal made abundantly clear what many have known for a long time - that Facebook makes its money by learning as much as it can about each user, then selling that information to advertisers who target specific groups. Get control: How to lock down a Facebook account, download data or delete the account more techburger Get more tasty tech news at TechBurger. And follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Subscribe to the Chronicle for regular access to TechBurger stories and to be able to comment. See More Collapse The scandal prompted the CEO of Cambridge Analytica to be fired by his board of directors. Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg, after several days of silence, posted a mea culpa online last week and went on a media blitz to apologize. Meanwhile, the hashtag #DeleteFacebook continues to trend high on Twitter Ramirez is one of those who are angered at what has happened. Once his daughter graduates, he said, his plan is to sign off for good. Or is it? "Every now and then I get a new message from a friend, or suggestion to follow someone I haven't seen for years, or I see a really nice post from my daughter," Ramirez said. "And so, no, I am not certain what I am going to do." Even those who are outraged at Facebook's behavior and feel their personal information has been abused are having a hard time walking away. Lawsuit: Houston man sues Facebook, Cambridge Analytica on behalf of 50 million users The phrase "I'd love to get off Facebook but . . ." is everywhere. What follows the "but" is a myriad of reasons, both emotional and practical. So what happens if you walk away from Facebook? You lose track of your those cute photos of your sister's kids. You no longer get updates on the health of your seventh grade teacher who's still an inspiration for you. Invitations to parties are harder to send and wedding photo blasts are more cumbersome. When you wake up in the morning and reach for the iPhone next to your bed, your news sources are a lot harder to find. JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images You will have to set up all new logins for many of your apps and favorite websites, because you used Facebook's Platform feature to avoid thinking up yet another password. You won't be able to correct your favorite uncle's Neanderthal-era political views. Your friends from college won't know you've gotten a promotion, broken up with your boyfriend or got laid off from your job. If you cut yourself off from Facebook, you are . . . cut off from the web of your life. But leaving Facebook also means you'll no longer see those creepy ads for underwear for two weeks after buying a pack on Amazon. When you get off the plane for an hourlong layover, you won't get notifications about what your Facebook acquaintances are doing in that town right now. Election data: Cruz campaign says it was assured Cambridge Analytica's Facebook data was legal You'll no longer be prompted to friend your ex, or see the face of your brother who died two years in Facebook's friend suggestions. You won't have to worry about what is happening with your private information, and that the details of your life are being misused for profit or political gain. As is often the case with the convenience of technology, there's a tradeoff. In Facebook's case, you're able to enjoy its benefits for free because your hearts and minds are what's being sold. Chris Ferguson, a professor of psychology at Stetson University in DeLand, Fla., says Facebook makes it much easier to have social interactions with people who are close to you, as well as those with whom you've lost contact. On the other hand, it also can drive people apart as they clash over views and behavior. "Most people have a love-it-but-hate-it relationship with Facebook," Ferguson said. "That's been coming to a head in the last week or two. But it's so easy to keep in touch with a broad range of people that you otherwise just wouldn't. The genius of Facebook is that it's so easy. You don't have to write letters anymore." And that ease-of-use applies to multiple tasks, he said. It's a simple click or tap to do what used to be a complex social task, like sending out invitations, announcing an engagement or sharing vacation photos. Ferguson says Facebook has been developed to be the "Swiss Army knife" of social network. Then there is all the feedback and affirmation in likes and comments. Ferguson said Facebook makes people feel good about themselves. "You can present real-life events to real people, tell them about the things you are proud of," he said. "There is evidence to suggest that this type of behavior is associated with positive mental health outcomes." Zuckerberg speaks: Facebook's Zuckerberg outlines steps to protect user data But there's a dark side. Other studies have indicated that looking at the better lives of others might be a drag for those whose own paths are rocky. Social media use has been linked to depression and, in some controversial studies, even suicide. A lot of Facebook's stickiness also has to do with something called the network effect - the more participants in a network, the more valuable it is. The idea, first expressed regarding the telephone system, is that every time you add a person to a group or network, it increases the value the network brings to all the other participants. With 2.2 billion users around the world, Facebook is a powerful example of how the network effect works. When you join Facebook, there's an excellent chance that many people you know are already there, and when you connect with them, you add value to their lives, and vice versa. In the U.S., Facebook's ubiquity is astonishing for a service that's been around for less than 15 years, and only open to the general public for 12 years. According to the Pew Research Center, 89 percent of Americans have internet access, and 68 percent of adults have Facebook accounts. Facebook's own numbers put the percentage at about 74 percent, or about 240 million people. Of course, no one communicates with all 2.2 billion Facebook members - well, except maybe Mark Zuckerberg - but there's a pretty good chance most people you want to talk to are on it. Yes, you could leave, but where would you go? No other social network has the critical mass that Facebook does. Tomlinson: Be wary of who occupies your mind Ferguson said that would be a sticking point even if something dramatically better than Facebook appeared. "To recreate my network, that 500 or 600 followers I have on Facebook, would be hard. It took six or seven years to get to that point," he said. "Moving to a new network would take a tremendous amount of work." When Robert Ramirez joined he was surprised to find Facebook recommending so many of his colleagues from his days at Shell. "I follow some nieces and nephews, and my sister, and one former co-worker," Ramirez said. "I am really grateful for being able to follow that one co-worker. Facebook enabled us to get back in contact." Reading the various comments from members about about not being able to delete their Facebook accounts surfaces a myriad of reasons. There's the woman who appreciates the fact that, when she sends an invitation to a party or event, she doesn't have to worry about whether email addresses are valid. Or the man who said he landed a job after a layoff because of his network on Facebook. Or the woman who thought she was alone in dealing with her special-needs child until she discovered a Facebook group of parents struggling with the same issues. And there is Liana Silva, a 36-year-old high school teacher in Houston who was born and grew up in Puerto Rico. She still has friends and family there, including her parents, and Facebook is how she keeps track of everyone. "I can post a picture of my daughter, and my parents don't have 500 or 600 friends they follow, so that picture shows up for them right away," Silva said. "And other people see, it and then here are these people commenting on my daughter's picture." Quiz creator: Facebook app developer Kogan defends his actions with user data Silva has been thinking about walking away from Facebook, saying the Cambridge Analytica data leak is "scary". But then she thinks about Hurricane Maria and its devastation of the island where she grew up. "After the hurricane, it was weeks before I found out my parents were OK, and I first heard from them over the phone," she said. "But with everyone else, I learned they were OK from Facebook." Despite that, she is still tempted to pull the plug. "This isn't new for Facebook. They've had privacy issues before," she said. "But this time is different. This feels wrong." Dwight Silverman is the technology editor for the Houston Chronicle and the grillmaster for the TechBurger tech news site. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Get more tasty tech news at TechBurger. And follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Subscribe to the Chronicle for regular access to TechBurger stories and to be able to comment. Woodhouse also called on the Prime Minister to deplore such behaviour, saying it has no place in todays modern society. Jacinda Ardern and her Minister Iain Lees-Galloway need to publicly denounce this approach and make sure that these sorts of ugly tactics have no place in 21st century industrial relations, he said. Its threatening thuggish behaviour and it needs to be condemned and stopped, he continued. This is not the 1930s. Its the 21st century and bully boy tactics should be long gone. A legal challenge is to be mounted over plans surrounding a gold mine in Co Tyrone. It will be brought at the High Court in June by residents who claim to be directly affected by mining company Dalradians proposal to construct a processing plant and waste storage facility near Gortin. Dalradian believed the development in the Sperrins area would create hundreds of jobs if given the green light but some local residents felt the consultation process was flawed. Greencastle, Rouskey, Gortin (GRG) Concerned Community group spokesman Martin Conway said: We have a huge level of support from residents and community representatives who feel the same way. The fact that the High Court has granted leave for a judicial review shows how seriously this is being taken. The court action surrounds a pre-planning application consultation process carried out by Dalradian. It alleged: The Department for Infrastructure failed to have regard to material considerations including substantive flaws in the pre-application community consultation process when deciding not to decline to determine the planning application. The project has proved controversial and divided opinion in Co Tyrone. Environmental protesters have campaigned against it, but other local people were supportive because of the job potential and the impact of a community fund established by the firm. Two mining finance groups have promised multi-million pound backing of around 46 million if planning and regulatory approvals are granted. An initial exploration project at the Curraghinalt site near Gortin, which currently supports more than 100 jobs, has identified millions of ounces of gold. A statement from Dalradian on Thursday said: Dalradian is aware, as a notice party, of the legal challenge of a decision by the Department for Infrastructure. The company will comment on any material developments if, as or when they arise. A new museum dedicated to Isambard Kingdom Brunel is opening for the first time. The 7.2 million Being Brunel visitor attraction on Bristols harbourside will celebrate the life and legacy of the engineering genius who helped build Britain and shape the world. It will feature six galleries setting out 150 of Brunels personal artefacts many never seen in public before to provide unprecedented insight into his life, family, interests and creative mind. Curator Rhian Tritton with artefacts from the museum (Adrian Brooks/PA) The overall design is set to evoke the atmosphere of the Great Exhibition of 1851, which was a celebration of Victorian wonder and invention and featured Brunel on its design committee. Visitors will step inside Brunels original and fully restored Grade II-listed Dock Office in the historic Great Western Dockyard, where he designed and built SS Great Britain. Brunel was behind some of the worlds greatest feats of engineering, from ocean liners like the SS Great Britain, which revolutionised maritime engineering and world travel, to the famous Clifton Suspension Bridge and Paddington Station. Visitors to Being Brunel will discover the man behind the extraordinary engineering talent, from his unique relationship with his father, his entrepreneurial talent and design skill through to his love for the arts and drama. Artefacts include Brunels mother Sophias biography of her husband, Sir Marc Brunel (SS Great Britain/PA) The museum will unravel Brunels story through personal possessions, including his mother Sophias diary and biography of her husband, Sir Marc Brunel. Visitors will be able to see a wall-mounted regulator clock made by EJ Dent of London, which was hung in Brunels London office at 18 Duke Street. Regulator clocks were extremely reliable and Brunel used to set his watch by this one. The reliability, speed and success of his Great Western Railway created the need for standardised timetabling across the UK, which ultimately contributed to the spread of Greenwich Mean Time across the UK. Also on display is Brunels cigar case and the last cigar, which offers a glimpse into his lifestyle and workaholic nature. Plans for an open-cast coal mine beside a tranquil stretch of coast have been overturned by Communities Secretary Sajid Javid amid fears about its environmental impact. Local councillors had approved the plans for the site at Druridge Bay in Northumberland despite protests from environmentalists. Banks Mining had argued that its plans for the proposed surface mine for coal, sandstone and fire clay would create at least 100 jobs and boost the local economy. A ruthless teenage asylum seeker has been jailed for at least 34 years for planting the Parsons Green Tube bomb which injured 51 passengers. Iraqi Ahmed Hassan, who claims to be aged 18, pretended to engage with the anti-terrorism Prevent scheme as he plotted mass murder in the capital. He made a bomb with 400g of Mother of Satan explosives and 2.2kg of shrapnel while his unsuspecting foster parents were on holiday in Blackpool. The Old Bailey heard he wanted to avenge the death of his father in Iraq and was disappointed when the bomb only partly detonated in a huge fireball. A jury rejected his explanation that he only wanted to act out a fantasy like the Tom Cruise film Mission: Impossible and convicted him of multiple attempted murder. He made no reaction as Mr Justice Haddon-Cave handed him a life sentence with a minimum term of 34 years. The judge said the defendant was a dangerous and devious individual who quietly went about plotting his attack with ruthless determination and almost military efficiency while pretending to be a model asylum seeker. He told Hassan: Your intention that morning was to kill as many members of the British public as possible. Im satisfied you were determined to create as much death and carnage that day as possible. Metropolitan Police Hassan was described as dangerous and devious (Metropolitan Police/PA) Hassan was motivated by Islamic State extremism, deep-seated hatred of Britain, revenge for the death of his father and anger at continued bombing in Iraq. For nearly two years, the highly intelligent college student had lived a double life, he said. Hassan had been shown every kindness since he arrived in Britain yet harboured dark thoughts and significant hatred and animosity towards the country that took him in. The judge said: One can only imagine the sense of betrayal felt by all those at Barnardos and Brooklands College whom you duped. He was satisfied Hassan had trained with IS in Iraq, as he told British immigration officials, and was older than he purported to be. Metropolitan Police The fireball hits the District Line train (Metropolitan Police/PA) The judge paid tribute to the victims whose poignant and eloquent statements were read in court. The trial had heard how Hassan arrived in Britain illegally in 2015 and told officials he had trained with IS. He was referred by Barnardos and Surrey social services to Prevent but kept his murderous plans a secret. In what the judge said was a remarkable act of cynicism, he used his student of the year award of a 20 Amazon voucher to buy one of the key chemicals online. The night before the bombing, his foster father Ron Jones went to find out why Hassan was not sleeping, unaware he was sitting next to the highly unstable TATP explosives. On the morning of September 15, Hassan left his home and caught a train to Wimbledon carrying his bomb inside a Lidl bag. He set the timer on the District Line and got off one stop before the bomb partially exploded on the floor of the carriage at Parsons Green. Twenty-three passengers suffered burns, with some describing their hair catching fire and their clothes melting in the blast. Another 28 suffered cracked ribs and other crush injuries in the stampede to get out of the platform on a narrow stairway. Metropolitan Police Sir David Attenborough has said the death of the last male northern white rhino is another catastrophe and another warning signal. The 91-year-old was speaking following the death of Sudan, the 45-year-old last male of his species in Kenya earlier this week. He said the problems facing those protecting other endangered animals was huge as the world was now so crowded. Sir David said: Its another catastrophe and another warning signal. The last male has gone so thats another obituary that you have to put down. Its another extinction which is our doing. Danny Lawson Sir David Attenborough described the loss of the last male of the species a catastrophe (Danny Lawson/PA) The naturalist and filmmaker said: It applies across the Animal Kingdom. Weve being going on about the way in which human beings have been exterminating species for a long time. And we started doing in the 17th century with the dodo. We exterminated that along with a number of other crimes of that sort which are our responsibility. But now the problems are huge, simply because the world is so crowded theres not the space for things. Sir David was speaking at the opening of a new dinosaur exhibition at the Yorkshire Museum, in York, where he said he was mystified about why his Blue Planet II programme has had such a worldwide impact on the debate over the use of plastics. He said: Im as mystified as anybody else as to why its had that impact. I think it came at a particular moment, when people are concerned and theres a worldwide concern about whats happening. And that series just pressed that button. Sir David was visiting the Yorkshire Museum to open the Yorkshires Jurassic World exhibition, which takes visitors on an journey back through 150 million years of Yorkshire to discover lost giants and the changing worlds they inhabited. He tried out the state-of-the-art virtual reality headsets, clearly enjoying the experience as he joked with the staff. Danny Lawson Sir David Attenborough tries out a virtual reality headset (Danny Lawson/PA) Danny Lawson Every day is World Water Day for South Africa's Cape Town by Tracy Lee March 22,2018 | Source: Newsweek While World Water Day offers an opportunity to spotlight the globes water issues, residents in Cape Town, South Africa deal with the reality of dry taps every day. Water issues are creating an uncertain future for the city, the first metropolis to deal with such an issue. Capetonians are playing down the idea of World Water Day as the country's second-largest city faces its worst drought in close to a century. The government has declared a national disaster and authorities have pushed a strict water rationing-system that offers a daily ration of 25 liters a day, per person at 200 collection stations. Looming over Cape Town's 4 million residents is the ominous "Day Zero" scenario, where the city's water would shut off as a conservation measure. Day Zero was originally scheduled for April. Every day feels just like World Water Day because of the stress we are currently in and the high risk and possibility of running out of water, Dr. Kevin Winter of the University of Cape Towns Future Water Research Institute, told Newsweek. He said his city hasn't had substantial rain for months now and dams have sat empty, nearing only 21 or 22 percent capacity. "Theres a real fear that were going into something that can be very, very serious," Winter said. "We dont know when our winter rains are arriving." Normally rain would arrive in April or May and continue into August and September. Those timetables are more reflective of patterns from 20 to 30 years ago. Today, sporadic rains come later and storms are "events" that last from one week to 10 days with very little rainfall in between. Those patterns have resulted in Cape Town seeing below average rainfall, which has not fallen in the right places. Dams have been starved, as a result. While the city's leaders have been trying to offset the crisis by creating a daily allowance for residents, its residents have had to live in a "crisis" mode, Winter said. At one point, Mayor Patricia de Lille accused 60 percent of residents of callously consuming more than 87 liters amid repeated warnings of the dire consequences. It is quite unbelievable that a majority of people do not seem to care and are sending all of us headlong towards Day Zero," the mayor said in January. We have reached a point of no return." Day Zero may have been a "blunt instrument," the mayor continued, but it proved incredibly effective. The day created a strict tracking system that enabled Capetonians to be more aware of water usage, allowing for residents to beat the originally scheduled Day Zero. Earlier this month, Cape Town officials announced the delay of Day Zero until at least till 2019, though restrictions will stay intact as the city pushes to try and keep its water consumption to 118 million gallons a day. Even so, reports have emerged that Cape Town's collective water consumption has gone back up recently. While usage will be monitored, the city still needs to make sure consumption stays adequate so that water can last. "Day Zero can come back and it may need to be introduced again," Winter warned. 2018 Newsweek LLC Theme(s): Others. Search online for "top-down" or "command-and-control" management and you'll find an avalanche of articles about how this approach to leadership is both antiquated and repressive: But put aside your mental picture of a brontosaurus (you know: big tail, small brain) and consider the fact that top-down management (with a twist--I'll explain in a minute) is an extremely effective way to lead people. Micah Harper, writing in Business Administration and Management, explains that top-down management occurs when the leader or leaders make critical decisions, which are then handed down to the next-level leaders, who are charged with implementing that directive with their teams. The advantage of this approach, writes Harper is that "making decisions from the top allows leaders to be clear on goals and expectations. It also gives employees more time to focus on work duties instead of attending meetings discussing potential directions of the company. When a strong leader is at the forefront, managers can quickly and effectively take charge, assign tasks to teams or employees, and establish solid deadlines." Plus, top-down leadership "gives companies a drive that they might not have otherwise." For an example of top-down leadership's effectiveness, recall that 2018 has been a brutal winter for the Northeast. (In fact, the spring hasn't been so wonderful either.) And back in early January, a vicious winter storm not only dumped a foot of snow, it also caused chaos at New York City's Kennedy International Airport. In-bound planes were stranding on the tarmac. Overseas flights had to turn around or route to other airports. Travelers were separated from their luggage and had to sleep in the terminal. But although Boston Logan International Airport faced the same weather conditions, it simply canceled flights without pain and suffering--and a day later was running normally. The difference between the two airports, writes Patrick McGeehan in The New York Times, is how the new institutions are managed. Kennedy is run loosely, with airlines and other companies running the terminals. But Logan uses a command-and-control management approach. Writes McGeehan, "The contrasting approach is evident at a daily gathering in a packed room tucked into one of Logan's four terminals. Every morning, dozens of airport officials meet there with representatives of airlines and a roster of state and federal agencies to share information that might affect operations: everything from the weather to runway maintenance." At Logan, Ed Freni, the director of aviation for Massport, leads the meetings. Each of the four terminals at Logan has its own manager who reports to Freni. "Ask anyone at the airport who's in charge, they'll say Ed Freni," said Thomas P. Glynn, the chief executive of Massport. And Glynn adds: "Top-down management is sort of out of fashion these days." But the approach works at Logan "because people have respect for those at the top." And there's another factor that makes Logan's management approach work--the twist that I mentioned earlier. Notice that every single day the director of aviation presides over a meeting attended by leaders representing airlines and other stakeholders to discuss what's happening. That intense, high-touch communication means that Freni is not just issuing orders--he's allowing information to be shared and leaders to engage in dialogue. Mark Lukens writes in Fast Company that there's actually a false choice between top-down and bottom-up leadership. "The truth is that leaders can--and probably should--have it both ways. Neither top-down nor bottom-up leadership work consistently if they're seen as absolutes. There's usually room for both within a single organization at the same time." After all, top-down leadership is really about setting a clear direction and making sure leaders, managers and employees understand how to act on that direction. That doesn't mean people have to march in lockstep without participating in decisions. Writes Lukens: "Set the parameters for your organization from the top-your purpose, goals, design, the sort of brand you want to be, etc. Then use those parameters to frame the bottom-up decisions." That was a lot of money to solve a problem. Getty Images Absurdly Driven looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek. Allison Preiss is managing director of communications for the Center for American Progress. On Thursday, however, she was witness to the Center for United Progress. There she was, ready to board an early morning United flight from Washington Dulles International Airport to Austin. She was heading for her friend's bachelorette party. Suddenly, the potential for regress. United needed a volunteer to give up their seat. Let's hear the story in Preiss's own words. .@united offering $1K in travel credit for an oversold flight. If nobody bites, they will kick off the lowest fare passenger by pulling them out of the boarding line. For a flight that THEY oversold. Unreal. -- Allison Preiss (@allisonmpreiss) March 22, 2018 And guess who turned out to be the lowest fare passenger? Preiss herself. Things became bumpy. First, she says she was offered this explanation. They can't board me on this plane because there is a broken seat. -- Allison Preiss (@allisonmpreiss) March 22, 2018 Like many a traveler might in such circumstances, she expressed herself pithily. And then, a curious development. .@united tried to get me to sign a document that says I volunteered my seat on this plane when I was involuntarily denied boarding. Sketchy af. -- Allison Preiss (@allisonmpreiss) March 22, 2018 Here's where things get very, very curious. NBC Washington reports that the gate agents offered Preiss a $2,000 travel voucher. She reportedly preferred cold, hard, dependable lucre. Who can blame her? So the airline offered $650. Suddenly, though, there came another offer from the airline. It was rather larger. They really do not want to give me cash. They just offered me $10,000 in travel credit. TEN THOUSAND. -- Allison Preiss (@allisonmpreiss) March 22, 2018 Preiss even posted proof of her prize. This is how badly United didn't want to give me cash: pic.twitter.com/sI7vmbeB2Q -- Allison Preiss (@allisonmpreiss) March 22, 2018 This all seems quite odd. Why would the airline suddenly raise its offer to the maximum? The $10,000 figure for bumping a passenger was announced by the airline after the now seminal incident involving Dr. David Dao being bumped and then dragged down the aisle of a United plane. Oddly, Preiss tweeted about that, too. On the upside, I wasn't physically dragged off the plane and my dog wasn't killed on board, so I've got that going for me...which is nice. -- Allison Preiss (@allisonmpreiss) March 22, 2018 I asked the airline why it had suddenly become astoundingly generous. What was it about this passenger that required the maximum offer? I will update, should I hear. The San Francisco Chronicle's Chris McGinnis says the airline confirmed to him that Preiss was garlanded with the large amount. Preiss, though, offered a couple more twists to her tale. I also got two $10 meal vouchers. I am going to go INSANE at Pizza Hut -- Allison Preiss (@allisonmpreiss) March 22, 2018 Pizza Hut? At that time of the morning? Wait, but surely they'd also offer someone they'd just given $10,000 to a seat in a lovely lounge. despite this, the airline held pretty firm on not giving me lounge access for the day _(?)_/ https://t.co/jrLtFoV7nJ -- Allison Preiss (@allisonmpreiss) March 22, 2018 I tell the story in Preiss's own words because it all seems slightly incomprehensible. It's true that Delta Air Lines did give a woman $4,000 to get bumped from a flight departing Atlanta for South Bend, Indiana. In her case, though, there was at least an auction-style gradual raising of the offer. Here, it seems that from a relatively low beginning, the offer soared to the top. Could it be that the gate agents were desperate to get the flight into the air on a snowy day, so there was no time for messing around? It's tempting to believe that someone at United was so frightened of yet more bad publicity that they tried to turn this incident into a tale of United's maximal generosity. I'll conclude on an optimistic note. United Airlines made an unhappy passenger happy. Indeed, if you're wondering what Preiss might do with the voucher, she told my colleague Bill Murphy Jr.: "Haven't figured out what I'll use it for yet, but I'm told first class to Hawaii or Europe is pretty nice. Funny thing is, I'm normally kind of a bargain flyer. I guess that's how I ended up the lowest fare passenger!" A happy ending. Two of the most popular sites on the internet just entered the gun-control debate. In a sweeping move, Reddit banned all transactions involving firearms from its site Wednesday--just days after Google-owned YouTube quietly noted it would enforce tighter restrictions on certain videos that involve weapons. YouTube on Monday posted updates to its policies noting it would ban videos promoting or linking to sites that sell guns and related accessories, as well as videos with instructions on how to assemble firearms, starting in April. Reddit's move prohibits the sale or trade on the site of guns, ammunition, alcohol, and controlled substances such as alcohol and tobacco. The site also banned an array of transactions involving sex, personal information, stolen goods, and falsified documents. "Communities focused on such transactions and users who attempt to conduct them will be banned from the site," a Reddit spokesperson said in a statement. Among the communities (known as subreddits) that will be banned under the new rules are r/GunsForSale, r/GunDeals, and r/AKMarketplace. The prevalence of gun discussions and transactions on Reddit has been a matter of significant controversy for years. The site had several active communities of firearms experts and enthusiasts--which drew ire from the press, including a 2014 Mother Jones expose of the subreddit r/GunsForSale. Since 2011, r/GunsForSale has been a thriving community of licensed gun dealers, and over time morphed into an active marketplace where assault rifles, high-capacity magazines, and assorted other equipment were purchased and sold. At one point, a company obtained rights from Reddit to etch the site's logo, a small alien, onto AR-15s. Reddit has banned users and subreddits in the past, but made those rule changes from a somewhat defensive posture. It did so when communities or individual users behaved so outrageously, or repeatedly violated existing site rules, that the company felt it needed to draw a line. Wednesday's announcement was different: No site rules were broken. It comes amid a shifting zeitgeist on gun control, and just two days before Saturday's March for Our Lives, a rally organized by survivors of the February school shooting in Parkland, Florida that left 17 dead. It's clear Reddit and YouTube are now proactively launching themselves into the center of the gun-control discussion. Facebook is in a tizzy since the FTC announced it was investigating the tech giants use of personal user data. This is bad news for a company already facing a series of related criticisms, including the dissemination of fake news and the influence of Russian entities on the 2016 presidential election. As if those werent enough, here are even more reasons why you should erase your Facebook account stat: 1. Its Sucking Away Your Time Be honest - how many hours a day do you spend on Facebook? CEO Mark Zuckerberg proudly announced that recent changes have led to a decrease of worldwide time spent on Facebook of 50 million hours every day. It may sound huge, but its actually only a 5% drop. 2. Its Narrowing Your View There have been several studies that suggest Facebook creates an echo chamber of what you already believe. Some blame Facebooks algorithms, while others blame user engagement choices. Either way, youre hearing only what you want to hear. But civil society requires an exchange of ideas. 3. They Make Money Off You, Without Compensating You Facebook and its shareholders are doing very well making money off you. But you wont see a dime of it unless you pony up around $160+ for a share of stock - and thats after the data scandal erased around $50 billion in the companys value. 4. Its Self-Indulgent Facebook and other social media platforms are creating a world of narcissists who need to take and post a picture of themselves doing even the most mundane things. There is something off-putting about this need to post a high volume of self-centered content. 5. You Risk Your Reputation The Internet bell cannot be un-rung, so ring at your own risk. The pictures from your 30th birthday party are hilarious - until your potential employer finds them and then chooses the other candidate. 6. People Dont Care What Youre Doing as Much as You Think Tech founders, who have been vulnerable to sexual harassment and assault from investors or potential investors, will now have a new way to report them--one designed to maintain confidentiality while helping to identify people who repeatedly harm others. The new reporting system comes from Callisto, a nonprofit that builds technology to help uncover sexual harassment and abuse. Callisto has so far focused on college campuses. The company is one of three nonprofits to join the most recent Y Combinator class and announced at Tuesday's Demo Day that it will expand to the technology industry. Callisto's expansion is being funded by multiple venture capital firms, including Greylock Ventures, First Round Capital, Obvious Ventures, Uncork Capital, and Data Collective VC. The new service is expected to go live this summer. "We're going to roll this out one industry at a time," says Jess Ladd, the founder of Callisto. She says Callisto will focus specifically on two forms of bad behavior: sexual physical contact that happens without consent, and sexual overtures from someone who has power over another person professionally. Callisto was founded on the premise that those who experience unwanted sexual contact may be more willing to report it if they know that others have spoken up as well. That hypothesis has been borne out with striking frequency during the still-young #MeToo movement. Callisto also believes that if victims have different avenues to report abuse, and different outcomes they can seek, they'll be more likely to come forward. The tech-industry version of the product will focus on rooting out serial harassers, which is also a strength of the version for colleges. Victims will report their experiences online and identify the alleged perpetrator. This information is stored securely and kept confidential, and Callisto creates a time-and-date-stamp record of the event. Victims agree that if a match is found--in other words, if someone else has already identified that person, or does so in the future--each victim will be contacted by a Callisto counselor. The counselor will then explain the options, such as filing a lawsuit, confronting the assailant, or getting a human resources department involved. The counselor also offers to connect victims to others who have identified the same assailant. After Cheryl Yeoh, a serial tech entrepreneur, wrote about her harassment by 500 Startups co-founder Dave McClure, she says she was contacted by other women who had similar experiences. "We wished we could have found each other rather than going to the press," she says. "If I'd had a choice, I wouldn't have gone to the press. And I was only able to do it three years later, because I wasn't running a startup or fundraising and I had married." She believes Callisto could have helped her find other women who had been victimized much more quickly, and that she would have reported the incidents much sooner. "It would have shortened the time to catch the perpetrator and stopped him from approaching other women," she says. Yeoh is now a co-founder of #MovingForward, which has convinced 88 venture firms to publicly share their anti-harassment and discrimination policies and to provide a point of contact for entrepreneurs who wish to report issues of discrimination or harassment. To reach tech founders, Callisto will white-label the email addresses of companies across the startup ecosystem. They'll get those domain names from accelerators, funders, conferences, and co-working spaces. "Over time, we'll figure out what will work at scale," says Ladd. "Some of the most vulnerable people aren't going to be at incubators." Individual companies that want to use Callisto can sign up on the organization's website, although there is currently a waiting list. The college campus version is a little different, as Callisto builds customized sites for each college, and because school administrators serve as counselors. But the basic idea is the same, and Callisto says that, on average, students who use Callisto create a record of an incident three months after it happens and report it to the university a month after that. At schools without Callisto, the company says violations are reported, on average, 11 months after they happen. The average tenure in the software industry is short--somewhere around 18 months. Ours is higher. Just about half the 56 people at Basecamp have been with us at least five years, and 12 have been with us for more than seven. But people still leave. Some want to try other things at other companies, or the fit isn't right, so we have to let them go. It's the natural cycle of business. What's never been natural at companies, though, is how these departures are handled. So at Basecamp we've created a ritual for when someone leaves: We tell everyone in the company why. Not just that person's team, or his or her immediate co-workers. The entire staff gets the memo. At many companies, when people walk out the door for the last time, their name is never spoken again. "Hey, what happened to Larry?" "Oh, Larry? We don't talk about Larry anymore." The departure remains a mystery. The name becomes unspeakable. One thing we know about human nature is that when there's a mystery, people will solve it themselves: They make up the ending, and it's almost always worse than reality. And that's the problem--if you don't tell people why, they'll make up why. And the wrong why is almost always destructive. Information vacuums fill with rumors, and rumors lead to anxiety. Was Larry laid off? Are more cuts coming? Am I next? Did Larry have any warning? Or was he just shown the door 10 minutes before the end of the day on Friday? It's not a healthy scene. So at Basecamp, when someone leaves--voluntarily or not--we give that person the option of saying goodbye on his or her own terms by sending a message to everyone in the company. It can include anything this person wants it to, and, as long as there are no personal attacks or slights, we approve the posting. Employees often reply with best wishes, while some share pictures and memories. Then, a few days after this person's departure, his or her team manager writes a follow-up post that's also sent out to the whole company. This note provides details that were missing from the personal goodbye. We lay out the reason someone left, or why this person was asked to leave, to ensure there are no big questions hanging over everyone's head. If someone is let go for conduct (not related to job performance), we say as much, acknowledging that we can't divulge details. It's important to be clear and thorough and honest. This follow-up post is also a place where people can ask for clarification or share their point of view. It's a cathartic moment designed to put everything on the table and clear the air of concerns anyone might have about why a onetime co-worker is no longer part of the company. For example, we recently had to let someone go who was a great, highly skilled person but ultimately didn't fit the role he was hired for. We thought he could eventually adapt to the position, and that the position could adapt to him, but time proved the gap was too great. In our memo to the staff, we explained this, and we also let them know we were going to do everything we could to help him find another job. We do our best to treat these moments with the utmost dignity and respect. Leaving a job without another one to transition into, or being let go without a clue as to what you're going to do next, is obviously a challenging situation for most people. But when someone leaves, that affects everyone across the company. The fallout isn't isolated. Trust is shaken, and suddenly a happy workforce can become a paranoid one. On a Saturday afternoon in March, heaps of people in tank tops and flip-flops, sundresses, and casual business attire zip down the bike path along the beach in Santa Monica, California, on matte black electric scooters. Every minute, it seems, a rush of people of all ages whiz by on the same type of scooter. Meet Bird, the next hottest startup in the ride-sharing industry. Bird, which launched in September 2017, is a shared electric scooter company that allows anyone over 18 with a valid driver's license and a credit card to rent a scooter for $1, plus 15 cents per minute. The idea behind Bird is simple--the scooters are fun, low-cost, and environmentally friendly ways to get around town without a car, an Uber, or a bus. The scooters, referred to as "Birds," are meant to provide a cheap alternative mode of transportation and ease traffic, says founder and CEO Travis VanderZanden, who was an executive at both Lyft and Uber. At first glance, the electric scooters might look like a silly tech-bro joke, but the company has become a phenomenon in Southern California as users logged over half a million rides since inception. This month, Bird announced that it raised a $100 million Series B funding round, led by Valor Equity Partners, Index Ventures, and previous investors like Craft Ventures and Goldcrest. That follows a $15 million Series A round in February from investors like Tusk Ventures and Upfront Ventures, and last summer's $3 million seed round from friends and family. Of course, Bird is not alone in the scooter space. LimeBike, a dockless bike company, launched its own electric scooter offshoot called Lime-S this February in Washington, D.C., San Diego, and parts of San Francisco. And despite its success, Bird has run into obstacles--literally and figuratively--in the short time it's been a company. But VanderZanden says Bird plans to hire more employees, lease offices, build more scooters, and expand to 50 new markets in the U.S. by the end of the year. How to Bird To ride a Bird, you need to download the app, upload a photo of your license and credit card, open the map, and find the closest scooter. Once you find one, scan the QR code on the handle bar and start your ride. The scooters are dockless and can be left anywhere. Instead of finding a rack like some bike-share companies, you can drop off a Bird right on the sidewalk so long as it's not blocking the public right-of-way. The electric motor will not turn on without being activated with the app, which helps disincentivize theft. The Bird network closes every night at 8 p.m. when the company retrieves the scooters to recharge batteries. While it won fans quickly, Bird did not have the smoothest takeoff in Santa Monica. In true tech startup fashion, Bird didn't ask for permission, nor did it obtain a license to park on city sidewalks, before launching. One day this past September, residents woke up and found a fleet of electric scooters placed on sidewalks throughout the city. Shortly after the deployment, people were driving them on the sidewalk illegally and teens were causing mayhem by riding scooters in tandem and not obeying traffic laws, says deputy city manager Anuj Gupta. The surprise launch caused a backlash with the local government and community. Bird did have a business license for its headquarters, but the city said it needed a mobile vendor permit to park its scooters on the sidewalk. VanderZanden says they didn't obtain a vendor permit before launch because they reviewed the licensing options beforehand and felt that Bird didn't fit any of the categories. "It's clear the mobile vending permit is for food trucks--we are not selling hot dogs and tacos," says VanderZanden. "We felt we were in a gray area." The city didn't agree with Bird's gray area theory, however. Nor did city officials appreciate how Bird launched without meeting first to discuss its plans. VanderZanden said he tried to reach out to local regulators by sending Santa Monica Mayor Ted Winterer a message via LinkedIn the day before deployment. By December, the Santa Monica city attorney's office filed a nine-count misdemeanor criminal complaint, accusing VanderZanden and Bird of operating illegally without licenses or city approval. The charges were dismissed after Bird agreed to pay $300,000, obtain a license, and conduct public safety campaigns. Now, the company is giving out free helmets to any user who requests one within the app. Bird riders have also gotten into trouble. Between Jan. 1 and March 10, Lt. Saul Rodriguez of the Santa Monica Police Department says they have made 575 traffic stops involving electric scooters and issued 273 traffic tickets. There have been nine accidents, including one serious crash where a Bird rider ran a stop sign and got hit by a car. ? Getting the hang of it If anything, the company seems to have learned from the setbacks. The rollout in San Diego has been smoother. Bird met with government officials before launching its pilot, obtained the proper permits, and held an educational campaign and helmet giveaway, says San Diego City Council President Barbara Bry. VanderZanden says the goal going forward is to be "government friendly," a strategy he learned from his second-to-last employer. "Lyft works collaboratively with cities and governments really well," he says. To that end, the company recently hired David Estrada, former vice president of government relations at Lyft. What happens when you cant trust your own reality? Were entering horror territory here. And its fear that creeps through Steven Soderberghs Unsane. Sawyer Valentini (Claire Foy) moves from Boston to Pennsylvania in order to escape her stalker, only to find herself unwittingly committed into a mental institution. She believes shes perfectly healthy. Everyone around her seems determined to convince her otherwise. And what if theyre right? Unsane may be a kind of fanciful genre exercise for director Soderbergh a gritty ride shot on an iPhone 7 and bursting with twists and turns but its terrors are exercised from a reality thats discomfortingly familiar to many. Were dealing with "gaslighting" here: a form of manipulation in which victims are targeted in a way that makes them doubt themselves, their own perceptions, sometimes their own sanity. The term originates from the 1938 play Gas Light, by Patrick Hamilton, in which a husband slowly convince his wife shes gone insane in order to cover his own nefarious deeds. She is told by her husband the gas lights dimming in the house at night are a figment of her imagination, when in fact he is using gas lights in the apartment upstairs to search for the jewels of its occupant who he has murdered. Cinematic adaptations arrived in 1940 and 1944, with the latter directed by George Cukor and starring Ingrid Bergman. Gaslighting is a truly destructive, albeit subtle, form of psychological abuse and a danger because of how it can significantly warp a victims perception of the world from hypervigilance to anxiety to self-doubt. Its also startling prevalent: widely discussed in terms of child abuse and bullying, but also within romantic relationships, workplaces, and even the political stage. Why is it so common? Psychologist Honey Langcaster-James explains: Like all forms of abuse its about power and control. As someone systematically makes you doubt yourself, they gain more power and control over you. Unsane - trailer Even medical practitioners have had to reckon with its existence. In Unsane, Sawyers claim that her stalker has broken into the hospital is dismissed by her doctors. In 1972, Martha Mitchell, wife of John Mitchell, Attorney General during the Nixon administration, claimed that White House officials were engaged in illegal activities, but it was written off as a sign of mental illness. Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up The exposure of the Watergate scandal led to her vindication. And she was heralded as the Cassandra of Watergate in reference to another famous victim of gaslighting the mythical princess who could hear the future, but was cursed with the fact no one would ever believe her prophecies. The story of Cassandra has grown into a common metaphor; an expression of how gaslighting, despite its prevalence, will forever be a weapon specifically used in the silencing and abuse of women. In her essay, Cassandra Among the Creeps, for example, Rebecca Solnit drew comparison between the mythological figure and the difficulties faced by modern women who report sexual harassment and abuse so often characterised as hysterical or delusional. Within instances of stalking and abusive relationships, Langcaster-James explains that gaslighting can be a means to force the victim into a sense of dependency, a way to manipulate them into only trusting the word of the abuser, not their own internal perception. What can make abusers so convincing is the fact that they will often disguise their manipulation as concern; that theyre only trying to help their victim see the truth of the situation. In cases of stalking, it can be an attempt to get closer to the victim and gain entry into their life, Langcaster-James adds, while also making them feel hysterical for even perceiving the stalker as a possible threat in the first place. Thats certainly true of Sawyers stalker, who attempts to convince her shes delusional for not recognising theyre meant to be together. That if she could just get past her own hesitations, the both of them would live happy lives. Mind games: Jason Leonard plays a gaslighting stalker in the film (Bleecker Street) Its what makes gaslighting so difficult to combat. Direct confrontation will often result in absolute denial. "They may express indignation or hurt that you could think such a thing of them," Langcaster-James says. In fact, its just another level of gaslighting, since its just another way they try to manipulate you into feeling guilty for even having any suspicions. Langcaster-James details that gaslighting initially manifests itself as a sense of confusion in the victim; the natural reaction to being confronted with a perception of things different to what you believe. Then comes the self-doubt, the feeling that you might be going crazy. She adds: Its extremely rare for someone to be genuinely delusional and for there to be no basis in reality for your perceptions, so as a default you should have faith that you can trust your own perceptions. Typically speaking, if youre questioning yourself, then its most likely you have a good grasp on reality, otherwise you probably wouldnt even be wondering about it. If youre concerned you may be a victim of gaslighting, she stresses the importance of seeking out someone who can genuinely tell you the truth, while also taking notes of everything that happens. If you suspect that all is not well, seek help from a professional, someone who understands psychological abuse. Telling others whats going on and seeking support is the best way to protect yourself, she concludes. The best way to escape gaslightings insidious effects is to understand how it operates. 'Unsane' is in UK cinemas now Last month, a picture of the Spice Girls back together emerged online, igniting rumours that a reunion tour was in the works. However, Victoria Beckham AKA Posh Spice soon demolished those hopes, saying: The girls are not going on tour We were just bouncing ideas around. Brainstorming. So, what ideas did the group come up with? Turns out, the Spice Girls decided that, rather than going on tour, they would begin work on an animated superhero movie. Variety reports that all five members Beckham, Melanie Brown (Scary Spice), Emma Bunton (Baby Spice), Melanie Chisholm (Sporty Spice) and Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice) have all signed off on their likeness being used in a girl-power themed superhero flick, with each group member having a power relating to their personality. 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Show all 27 1 /27 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Black Panther Released: 12 February 12 February Director: Ryan Coogler Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Forest Whitaker, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 The Greatest Showman Released: 1 January 1 January Director: Michael Gracey Cast: Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Darkest Hour Released: 12 January 12 January Director: Joe Wright Cast: Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ben Mendelsohn 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri Released: 12 January Director: Martin McDonagh 12 JanuaryMartin McDonagh Cast: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Caleb Landry Jones > Twentieth Century Fox 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Coco Released: 19 January 19 January Director: Lee Unkrich ,p>Cast: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael Garcia Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Renee Victor 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Downsizing Released: 19 January 19 January Director: Alexander Payne Cast: Matt Damon, Christopher Waltz, Jong Chau, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Early Man Released: 26 January 26 January Director: Nick Park Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, Maisie Williams, Timothy Spall 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Fifty Shades Freed Released: 9 February 9 February Director: James Foley Cast: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Kim Basinger 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Maze Runner: The Death Cure Released: 9 February 9 February Director: Wes Ball Cast: Dylan O'Brien, Thomas Brodie Sangster, Kaya Scodelario, Giancarlo Esposito, Aidan Gillen 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 The Shape of Water Released: 16 February 16 February Director: Guillermo del Toro Cast: Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Michael Stuhlbarg, Doug Jones 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Annihilation Released: 23 February 23 February Director: Alex Garland Cast: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Lee, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Oscar Isaac 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Dark River Released: 23 February 23 February Director: Clio Barnard Cast: Ruth Wilson, Mark Stanley, Sean Bean 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Red Sparrow Released: 2 March 2 March Director: Francis Lawrence Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Jeremy Irons 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Tomb Raider Released: 16 March 16 March Director: Roar Uthaug Cast: Alicia Vikander, Walton Goggins, Daniel Wu, Dominic West, 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 A Wrinkle in Time Released: 23 March 23 March Director: Ava DuVernay Cast: Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Zach Galifianakis 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Pacific Rim: Uprising Released: 23 March 23 March Director: Steven S. DeKnight Cast: John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Roman J Israel, Esq Released: 23 March 23 March Director: Dan Gilroy Cast: Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell, Carmen Ejogo Columbia Pictures 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Isle of Dogs Released: 30 March 30 March Director: Wes Anderson Cast: Bill Murray, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Scarlett Johansson 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Ready Player One Released: 30 March 30 March Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance, Simon Pegg 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Avengers: Infinity War Released: 27 April 27 April Director: The Russo Brothers Cast: Robert Downey, Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Josh Brolin 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Untitled Han Solo Film Released: 25 May 25 May Director: Ron Howard Cast: Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Donald Glover 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Released: 8 June 8 June Director: J.A. Bayona Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pine, B.D. Wong, Toby Jones 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Deadpool 2 Released: 1 June Director: David Leitch 1 JuneDavid Leitch Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Zazie Beetz, Josh Brolin 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Ocean's 8 Released: 22 June 22 June Director: Gary Ross Cast: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Anne Hathaway, Olivia Munn, Helena Bonham Carter, Rihanna, Matt Damon 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Ant-Man and the Wasp Released: 29 June 29 June Director: Peyton Reed Cast: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Soldado Released: 29 June 29 June Director: Stefano Sollima Cast: Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, Jeffrey Donovan, Catherine Keener, Matthew Modine 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 The Incredibles 2 Released: 13 July 13 July Director: Brad Bird Cast: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Samuel L. Jackson No studio has signed onto the project yet, with the five-piece shopping the idea around Hollywood right now. An insider confirmed to the publication that the group met earlier this year to explore some incredible new opportunities together, and that talks of a tour were premature. The source added that the group are fired up about the idea, adding, The Spice Girls are thinking big in terms of a franchise on a global scale. Theyre the most successful girl group on the planet. Its just what Marvel or Disney needs. Steven Spielberg has changed the way cinema works multiple times, the directors blockbusters Jaws, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, E.T. casting huge shadows over the movie business. The influential filmmaker has never really spoken about streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu, companies that are buying up an increasing number of big-name productions. Speaking to ITV while promoting Ready Player One, Spielberg spoke out about the tendency for Netflix to host films in cinemas for a week just so they qualify for the Oscars. I dont believe that films that are just given token qualifications, in a couple of theatres for less than a week, should qualify for the Academy Award nominations, he said. 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Show all 27 1 /27 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Black Panther Released: 12 February 12 February Director: Ryan Coogler Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Forest Whitaker, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 The Greatest Showman Released: 1 January 1 January Director: Michael Gracey Cast: Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Darkest Hour Released: 12 January 12 January Director: Joe Wright Cast: Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ben Mendelsohn 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri Released: 12 January Director: Martin McDonagh 12 JanuaryMartin McDonagh Cast: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Caleb Landry Jones > Twentieth Century Fox 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Coco Released: 19 January 19 January Director: Lee Unkrich ,p>Cast: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael Garcia Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Renee Victor 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Downsizing Released: 19 January 19 January Director: Alexander Payne Cast: Matt Damon, Christopher Waltz, Jong Chau, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Early Man Released: 26 January 26 January Director: Nick Park Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, Maisie Williams, Timothy Spall 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Fifty Shades Freed Released: 9 February 9 February Director: James Foley Cast: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Kim Basinger 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Maze Runner: The Death Cure Released: 9 February 9 February Director: Wes Ball Cast: Dylan O'Brien, Thomas Brodie Sangster, Kaya Scodelario, Giancarlo Esposito, Aidan Gillen 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 The Shape of Water Released: 16 February 16 February Director: Guillermo del Toro Cast: Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Michael Stuhlbarg, Doug Jones 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Annihilation Released: 23 February 23 February Director: Alex Garland Cast: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Lee, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Oscar Isaac 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Dark River Released: 23 February 23 February Director: Clio Barnard Cast: Ruth Wilson, Mark Stanley, Sean Bean 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Red Sparrow Released: 2 March 2 March Director: Francis Lawrence Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Jeremy Irons 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Tomb Raider Released: 16 March 16 March Director: Roar Uthaug Cast: Alicia Vikander, Walton Goggins, Daniel Wu, Dominic West, 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 A Wrinkle in Time Released: 23 March 23 March Director: Ava DuVernay Cast: Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Zach Galifianakis 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Pacific Rim: Uprising Released: 23 March 23 March Director: Steven S. DeKnight Cast: John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Roman J Israel, Esq Released: 23 March 23 March Director: Dan Gilroy Cast: Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell, Carmen Ejogo Columbia Pictures 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Isle of Dogs Released: 30 March 30 March Director: Wes Anderson Cast: Bill Murray, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Scarlett Johansson 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Ready Player One Released: 30 March 30 March Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance, Simon Pegg 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Avengers: Infinity War Released: 27 April 27 April Director: The Russo Brothers Cast: Robert Downey, Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Josh Brolin 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Untitled Han Solo Film Released: 25 May 25 May Director: Ron Howard Cast: Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Donald Glover 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Released: 8 June 8 June Director: J.A. Bayona Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pine, B.D. Wong, Toby Jones 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Deadpool 2 Released: 1 June Director: David Leitch 1 JuneDavid Leitch Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Zazie Beetz, Josh Brolin 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Ocean's 8 Released: 22 June 22 June Director: Gary Ross Cast: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Anne Hathaway, Olivia Munn, Helena Bonham Carter, Rihanna, Matt Damon 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Ant-Man and the Wasp Released: 29 June 29 June Director: Peyton Reed Cast: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Soldado Released: 29 June 29 June Director: Stefano Sollima Cast: Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, Jeffrey Donovan, Catherine Keener, Matthew Modine 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 The Incredibles 2 Released: 13 July 13 July Director: Brad Bird Cast: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Samuel L. Jackson Spielberg also spoke about how studios are not investing in mid-budget projects such as The Post, the director's previous movie, instead only spending money on sure-fire properties. Fewer and fewer filmmakers are going to struggle to raise money, or to compete at Sundance and possibly get one of the speciality labels to release their films theatrically, publicly," he said. More of them are going to let the SVOD [Streaming Video On-Demand] businesses finance their films, maybe with the promise of a slight, one-week theatrical window to qualify for awards, as a movie. But, in fact, once you commit to a television format, youre a TV movie. Its like television. A good show deserves an Emmy and not an Oscar. Other filmmakers to have previously spoken out against Netflix include Christopher Nolan, the director later apologising for making the initial comments. Krept & Konan took to the stage at the O2 Forum Kentish Town in London and delivered an emphatic, politically laced performance that matched up to the meteoric rise theyve seen over the last few years. Opening with No Smoke, the rap duo made constant demands to the crowd to get them moving, urging them to keep up the energy. Get A Snack and their top 10 single Freak of the Week followed, as the impressive set design and video graphics provided a visual narrative for the night, flitting between comedic animation to harrowing archive riot footage. Just as punk did in the Seventies, and rock and roll before that; grime and hip hop have become a mouthpiece for a generation, with Theresa May and Donald Trump often bearing the brunt of these artists powerful criticisms. This night was no different, as the viral video of Brooke Blair the five-year-old that gave the Prime Minister a dressing down for not doing enough to help the homeless was played on screen while a chant of f**k you Theresa May reverberated around the venue. Roars filled the venue as Stormzy ran on for a rendition of Ask Flipz, before the south London duo closed the night with a bouncing rendition of Wo Wo Wo. What must have been one of the most raucous crowds Kentish Town Forum has ever seen danced and rapped their way through a loud, brash and hugely entertaining set that did nothing but further justify Krept & Konans place in the upper echelons of the UK music scene. Carbon emissions reached a historic high in 2017 according to a new report by a major intergovernmental organisation. Figures released by the International Energy Agency show higher energy demands and a slowing of energy efficiency improvements were responsible for the emissions up tick. After three years of flat lining, carbon dioxide levels around the world increased in 2017 by 1.4 per cent to 32.5 gigatonnes. The increase stands in stark contrast to the demands of the Paris climate agreement, which calls for drastic cuts in global emissions if the world is to meet its ambitious targets. Under the 2015 agreement, nations agreed to limit the increase in global temperatures to no more than 2C above pre-industrial times. 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke filled with the carbon that is driving climate change drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals, says the photographer. Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow. Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a public health emergency. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan The robust global economy pushed up energy demand last year, which was mostly met by fossil fuels, while renewables made impressive strides, said Dr Fatih Birol, the agencys executive director. India and China accounted for 70 per cent of the global increase in energy demand, while several major economies actually saw dips in their emissions levels including the UK, Mexico and Japan. Notably, the US saw the biggest drop in carbon dioxide emissions. Though Donald Trump has now announced his intention to withdraw the US from the Paris climate agreement, the nation has increased implementation of renewable energy in recent years. Emissions in the US have also dropped due to a switch from coal to gas that has taken place across the country. At a global level, while the majority of energy demand growth was met by fossil fuels, renewable energy still had the highest growth rate of any fuel. Despite these successes, the International Energy Agency said their new figures are evidence not enough is being done to combat climate change on a global scale. The significant growth in global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in 2017 tells us that current efforts to combat climate change are far from sufficient, said Dr Birol. For example, there has been a dramatic slowdown in the rate of improvement in global energy efficiency as policy makers have put less focus in this area. In the three years prior to 2017, energy efficiency improvements were being made at a rate of 2.3 per cent, whereas last year this slowed down to 1.7 per cent. A teenage British hacker has exposed a vulnerability in one of the world's best-selling cryptocurrency wallets. Saleem Rashid, 15, broke into Nano S and Nano Blue devices from French hardware company Ledger after discovering a flaw that enabled him to access the products' keys and thereby gain control of the coins within. Like passports and identity cards, Ledger's Nanos contain "secure element" chips that store payment information but which have to be connected to a micro-controller to be viewed on screen. Rashid discovered that, by manipulating the micro-controller through the installation of his own version of the firmware that runs the Nano S, he could access its contents. The discovery, known as a "supply chain attack", means that any Nano bought from a third party seller, for instance on eBay or Amazon, could potentially be tampered with and rendered vulnerable to theft, according to Quartz. Rashid described the process as "trivial" in a subsequent blog post, leading Ledger's CEO Eric Larcheveque to accuse him of carrying out an "unfortunate publicity stunt". Recommended Thieves lose their own coins in failed cryptocurrency exchange heist The company's chief security officer Charles Guillemet said the crack Rashid had discovered was "serious but not critical" and that a security update for the Nano S was now available with a fix for the Blue to follow within weeks. The discovery raises fresh concerns about the safety of the cryptocurrency sector, which has been routinely criticised as an unregulated Wild West since its inception in 2009. While market leader bitcoin prides itself on the security of its blockchain - the public ledger that records all transactions - other aspects of this emerging industry like wallets and exchanges are less watertight. An attempted raid on the Chinese digicoin marketplace Binance earlier this month provided one example of the crypto sector's vulnerability, the US Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit against a group of pyramid scammers another. Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at Californias Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100 Google Gadget and tech news: In pictures Hexa drone lifts off Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019 Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures First new iPod in four years Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB Apple Gadget and tech news: In pictures Folding phone may flop Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash PA Gadget and tech news: In pictures Charging mat non-starter Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures "Super league" India shoots down satellite India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology EPA Gadget and tech news: In pictures 5G incoming 5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Uber halts driverless testing after death Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty Twitter, Google and Facebook have all banned cryptocurrency promotions since the turn of the year in a bid to protect consumers while the UK's Chancellor Philip Hammond yesterday announced the formation of a new task force to serve British interests. Responding to mounting political pressure over a data misuse scandal, top Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg said the company would be open to regulation. [CEO] Mark [Zuckerberg] has said, its not a question of if regulation, its a question of what type, Ms Sandberg, the company's chief operating officer, said in an interview with CNBC. Already under heightened scrutiny for facilitating the flow of Russian disinformation during the 2016 presidential campaign, Facebook has been reeling this week from the disclosure that a researcher passed data encompassing millions of user profiles to a firm that worked for Donald Trumps presidential campaign. Elected officials have been clamouring for Mr Zuckerberg to publicly testify. Some members of Congress have already been pushing for more regulations on social media sites like Facebook, including with legislation that would have compelled more transparency around political advertisements. Ms Sandberg noted that Facebook had already committed to releasing more information about paid content and downplayed repercussions for the company's bottom line. Were not looking at these tradeoffs like oh, its going to hurt our business, Ms Sandberg said, adding that peoples trust is the most importing thing. The day after CEO Mark Zuckerberg broke a protracted public silence to apologise and promise more stringent restrictions data collection, Ms Sandberg acknowledged that Facebook would never be able to fully root out abuse. 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 There will always be bad actors, and I dont want to minimise that, but we are going to do everything we can to find bad actors, said Ms Sandberg, who is the companys chief operating officer. Echoing Mr Zuckerberg, Ms Sandberg spoke about reestablishing trust by imposing more limits on the user data apps can access and with a sweeping audit of potentially wayward developers. Facebook has admitted it knew in 2015 that researcher Aleksandr Kogan shared user data with Cambridge Analytica but did not realise until last week that the two had misled Facebook about deleting that information. Ms Sandberg acknowledged officials were too slow to act and to publicly address the violations. Mark Zuckerberg on Cambridge Analytica: 'I'm really sorry' We definitely did not realise the gravity of this issue sooner, Ms Sandberg said. Sometimes, and I would say certainly this past week, we speak too slowly, she added. If I could live this past week again I would definitely have had Mark and myself out speaking earlier. Chinas out-of-control space station will crash to Earth over the Easter weekend, according to experts. Engineers have refined their predictions of when the Tiangong-1 satellite will finally leave orbit. It is likely to fall sometime around 30 March and 3 April, according to the European Space Agency and the Aerospace Corporation. The world has long been watching the satellite, also known as the Celestial Palace, since it became clear that its engineers had lost control and that it would fall to the ground. But it is difficult to predict when that will happen since western experts know so little about its path and what is on board. Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Show all 30 1 /30 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An image from Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) shows a 200,000 mile long solar filament ripping through the Sun's corona in September 2013 Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa Celebrates 50 Years of Spacewalking For 50 years, NASA has been "suiting up" for spacewalking. In this 1984 photograph of the first untethered spacewalk, NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless is in the midst of the first "field" tryout of a nitrogen-propelled backpack device called the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Hubble Cosmic Couple The spectacular cosmic pairing of the star Hen 2-427 more commonly known as WR 124 and the nebula M1-67 which surrounds it ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Veil Nebula Supernova Remnant Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope has unveiled in stunning detail a small section of the Veil Nebula - expanding remains of a massive star that exploded about 8,000 years ago Nasa's most stunning pictures of space The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launch The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday, Nov. 24, 2014, carrying three new astronauts to the International Space Station. It also took caviar, ready for the satellite's inhabitants to celebrate the holidays Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Earth from the ISS From the International Space Station, Expedition 42 Flight Engineer Terry W. Virts took this photograph of the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. Gulf Coast at sunset Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Black Hole Friday Nasa celebrated Black Friday by looking into space instead sharing pictures of black holes Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space NuSTAR X-rays stream off the sun in this image showing observations from by NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, overlaid on a picture taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Cassiopeia A c A false colour image of Cassiopeia A comprised with data from the Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes and the Chandra X-Ray observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Orion Capsule splashes down The Orion capsule jetted off into space before heading back a few hours later having proved that it can be used, one day, to carry humans to Mars Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Earth Observations From Gemini IV in 1965 This photograph of the Florida Straits and Grand Bahama Bank was taken during the Gemini IV mission during orbit no. 19 in 1965. The Gemini IV crew conducted scientific experiments, including photography of Earth's weather and terrain, for the remainder of their four-day mission following Ed White's historic spacewalk on June 3 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Frosty slopes of Mars This image of an area on the surface of Mars, approximately 1.5 by 3 kilometers in size, shows frosted gullies on a south-facing slope within a crater. The image was taken by Nasa's HiRISE camera, which is mounted on its Mars Reconaissance Orbiter Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Yellowstone from space NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman shared this image of Yellowstone via his twitter account Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Saturn This near-infrared color image shows a specular reflection, or sunglint, off of a hydrocarbon lake named Kivu Lacus on Saturn's moon Titan Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Worlds Apart Although Mimas and Pandora, shown here, both orbit Saturn, they are very different moons. Pandora, "small" by moon standards (50 miles or 81 kilometers across) is elongated and irregular in shape. Mimas (246 miles or 396 kilometers across), a "medium-sized" moon, formed into a sphere due to self-gravity imposed by its higher mass Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An X1.6 class solar flare flashes in the middle of the sun in this image taken 10 September, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy An image of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy seen in infrared light by the Herschel Space Observatory. Regions of space such as this are where new stars are born from a mixture of elements and cosmic dust Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Mars Rover Spirit Nasa's Mars Rover Spirit took the first picture from Spirit since problems with communications began a week earlier. The image shows the robotic arm extended to the rock called Adirondack Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Morning Aurora From the Space Station Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station Nasa/Scott Kelly Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Launch of History - Making STS-41G Mission in 1984 The Space Shuttle Challenger launches from Florida at dawn. On this mission, Kathryn Sullivan became the first U.S. woman to perform a spacewalk and Marc Garneau became the first Canadian in space. The crew of seven was the largest to fly on a spacecraft at that time, and STS-41G was the first flight to include two female astronauts Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Fresh Perspective on an Extraordinary Cluster of Galaxies Galaxy clusters are often described by superlatives. After all, they are huge conglomerations of galaxies, hot gas, and dark matter and represent the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Sees a Galactic Sunflower The arrangement of the spiral arms in the galaxy Messier 63, seen here in an image from the Nasa Hubble Space Telescope, recall the pattern at the center of a sunflower ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Pluto image Four images from New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) were combined with colour data from the Ralph instrument to create this enhanced colour global view of Pluto Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Fresh Crater Near Sirenum Fossae Region of Mars The HiRISE camera aboard Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired this closeup image of a "fresh" (on a geological scale, though quite old on a human scale) impact crater in the Sirenum Fossae region of Mars. This impact crater appears relatively recent as it has a sharp rim and well-preserved ejecta Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Peers into the Most Crowded Place in the Milky Way This Nasa Hubble Space Telescope image presents the Arches Cluster, the densest known star cluster in the Milky Way NASA & ESA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space An Astronaut's View from Space Nasa astronaut Reid Wiseman tweeted this photo from the International Space Station on 2 September 2014 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Giant Landform on Mars On Mars, we can observe four classes of sandy landforms formed by the wind, or aeolian bedforms: ripples, transverse aeolian ridges, dunes, and what are called draa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Expedition 39 Landing A sokol suit helmet can be seen against the window of the Soyuz TMA-11M capsule shortly after the spacecraft landed with Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan (NASA/Bill Ingalls) Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Jupiter's Great Red Spot Viewed by Voyager I Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and perhaps the most majestic. Vibrant bands of clouds carried by winds that can exceed 400 mph continuously circle the planet's atmosphere Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Chandra Observatory Sees a Heart in the Darkness This Chandra X-Ray Observatory image of the young star cluster NGC 346 highlights a heart-shaped cloud of 8 million-degree Celsius gas in the central region That also makes estimating the danger that it will pose when it drops very difficult, too. While its unlikely that the object will hit anyone when it falls, it could pose a risk once it has done so and the Aerospace Corporation warned that people should leave the object alone once it has fallen down. Potentially, there may be a highly toxic and corrosive substance called hydrazine on board the spacecraft that could survive re-entry, its website devoted to Tiangong-1 reads. For your safety, do not touch any debris you may find on the ground nor inhale vapours it may emit. Its possible that the re-entry could be visible from the Earth, depending on the time and location that it drops down. If that happens, pieces will probably rip apart and be visible as bright lights high in the sky, some of which are likely to survive their journey through the air and land on the ground. Authorities are still yet to declare the object as being out of control, but its thought that engineers will not be able to manage the object as it falls back down. Experts warn that it is incredibly unlikely that anyone will actually be hit by the debris as it falls. Only one person is known to have ever been hit by space debris, and she was not significantly injured Lottie Williams from Oklahoma, who was hit by a small piece of space debris in 1996. China has hit back after the US unveiled a plan to impose up to $60bn (42.5bn) in new tariffs on goods from the country, urging Donald Trumps government not to take bilateral trade relations to a dangerous place. In a statement issued on Friday, the Chinese commerce ministry said that it hopes the US will pull back from the brink. It reiterated that it opposes US unilateralism and protectionism, which has been a cornerstone of Mr Trumps policies since coming into office. The US President has indicated that further tariffs could follow as he looks to correct what he has repeatedly described as unfair trade deals with nations around the world. Recommended Asian stocks tumble as Trump approves US tariffs on Chinese imports China doesnt hope to be in a trade war, the Chinese commerce ministry said in its statement, but is not afraid of engaging in one. According to the presidential memorandum signed by Mr Trump on Thursday, there will be a 30-day consultation period that starts once a list of Chinese goods is published. Fears of a full-blown trade war have been mounting ever since the US earlier this month imposed hefty import tariffs on steel and aluminium under Section 232 of the 1962 US Trade Expansion Act, which allows safeguards based on national security. On Friday, Mr Trump gave Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, South Korea and the EU temporary exemptions. But China was not exempted and on Friday the country reacted to those tariffs by unveiling its own levies on $3bn of US imports. The country has drawn up a list of 128 US products including fresh fruit, wine and nuts that could be hit with tariffs if the two countries are unable to reach an agreement on trade issues, the ministry said. The commerce ministry said China was considering implementing measures in two stages. First it would introduce a 15 per cent tariff on 120 products including steel pipes, dried fruit and wine worth $977m. Later, a higher 25 per cent tariff would be slapped on $1.99bn of pork and recycled aluminium. Last year, US wine exports to China were worth about $79m, according to data from the US Wine Institute. Fruit growers, especially across California, Florida, Michigan and Washington, particularly stand to lose as Chinas list features close to 80 fruit and nut products. Additional reporting by newswires About 2,500 languages are in danger of becoming extinct according to Unesco, and some of them are spoken by only 30 people. By the turn of the century, it is estimated that at least 50 per cent of the worlds current spoken languages will be extinct. Unesco uses a set of five categories to define how endangered a language is: Vulnerable, where most children speak the language, but it may be restricted to certain domains such as the home; Definitely endangered, where children no longer learn the language as a ''mother tongue'' in the home; Severely endangered is when a language is spoken by grandparents and older generations, and while the parent generation may understand it, they do not speak it to children or among themselves; Critically endangered is when the youngest speakers are grandparents and older, and they speak the language partially and infrequently; Extinct - there are no speakers left. To highlight these beautiful languages, 25 native speakers have recorded themselves saying the sentence: "A different language is a different vision of life". You can listen to all 25 below. Wiradjuri Australia 30 speakers left Sadly, only 40 of Australia's original 250 indigenous languages remain. Wiradjuri is one of them, spoken in the south-western part of New South Wales. The publication of a Wiradjuri dictionary has led to a revival, with the language being taught in schools in a growing number of areas. Nawat El Salvador 200 speakers left Alternatively known as Pipil, this language is spoken by 200 people. Despite a period of extinction in some regions, there is a growing number of second language speakers of it, signalling the languages revival. Aymara Bolivia, Chile, Peru 2,000,000 speakers left This is one of the very few Native American languages that has more than one million speakers. Interestingly, speakers of this language think of time differently than everyone else: linguistic and gestural analysis has shown they represent the past as being in front of them, and the future as behind them. Balti India, Pakistan Unknown number of speakers left Today, this language is spoken in Northern Pakistan and some parts of Northern India. Although, since 1948, English and Urdu have had greater influence, many words that are characteristic of Tibetan dialects have been retained in honour of the language's roots. Basque Spain, France 660,000 speakers left Linguistically unrelated to any known living language in the world, Basque is classed as a language isolate. It is also believed to be the only pre-Indo-European language in Europe; a fingerprint of the Continents linguistic landscape during the Neolithic period. Speakers can be found in the Basque Autonomous Region, the Spanish province of Navarre, and in the department of Pyrenees-Atlantiques in France. Belarusian Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Ukraine 4,000,000 speakers left The official language of Belarus is also spoken in Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Ukraine. Although the estimated number of speakers varies from one study to another, the general consensus is that most Belarussians speak Russian at home, with around half of them able to both read and speak it. Breton France 250,000 speakers left Migrating Britons brought this language to Normandy during the early Middle Ages. Despite an increase in the number of children attending bilingual classes, the language is still classed as severely endangered. Choctaw United States 9,500 speakers left Spoken by just 9,500 people in Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma, it belongs to the indigenous language family of the south-eastern United States. The written Choctaw language was developed in the early 19th century, aided by the civilisation programme of the United States. Cornish England Unknown number of speakers left This is the backbone of Cornwalls identity, which is recognised as a minority language in the UK and protected by the European Union. The language had been classed as extinct in the past, but after revivalist efforts, its speaker numbers are currently growing. Guarani Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil Unknown number of speakers left The language boasts a large number of non-indigenous speakers, a striking anomaly in Latin Americas linguistic landscape usually dominated by European languages. Variations of Guarani are still spoken in areas of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Jaguar and piranha are both loanwords from Guarani. Irish/Gaelic Ireland 440,000 speakers left This language was spoken by all levels of society in both rural and urban areas of Ireland until the Great Famine. Irish became an official EU language in 2007; its nearest relatives are Scottish Gaelic and Manx, spoken by people on the Isle of Mann. Kalmyk Russia 153,602 speakers left The language is spoken by a small minority of Europes only region where Buddhism is the most practised religion. The language of the Ewoks in the Star Wars film Return of the Jedi was based on Kalmyks unique phonology. Limburgian Netherlands, Germany Unknown number of speakers left Speakers of this language are dispersed between the Netherlands and Germany. It shares many characteristics with German and Dutch, and is often considered a variant of either. Lombard Italy, Switzerland 3,500,000 speakers left Despite being spoken by people in Italy and Switzerland, Lombard is considered a minority language. Given that it is structurally separate from mainstream Italian, younger generations are considerably less likely to speak it, especially in urban areas. Nafusi Libya 240,000 speakers left This Afro-Asiatic language is mainly spoken in northwestern Libyas Nafusa Mountains by about 240,000 people. The earliest appearances of Old Nafusi in manuscripts date as far back as the 12th century BC. North Frisian Germany 10,000 speakers left In 1976, this minority language was spoken by 10,000 people, classing it as ''severely endangered''. A state law recognised it as the official language of North Germanys Nordfriesland district and Heligoland island in 2004. North Saami Finland, Norway, Sweden, Russia 30,000 North Saami is part of the Uralic languages family and was first documented in the mid-18th century. It is recognised as an official language in Norway and as a minority one in Finland and Sweden. Speakers can also be found around the Russian borders with Finland and Norway. Only recently, it started being used in writing for administrative purposes. Ojibwe United States 6,000 speakers left This indigenous language of North America consists of a series of dialects bearing local names, and, quite frequently, local writing systems. No single dialect is considered the standard version and there is no individual writing system that represents all of them. It is spoken in the states of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Ossete Georgia, Russia 550,000 speakers left Spoken by 550,000 people on the northern slopes of the Caucasus Mountains, the language has its roots in deep antiquity. It belongs to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Its speakers can be found in North Ossetia, which is part of Russia and in South Ossetia, which is part of Georgia. Quechua Bolivia, Peru 2,300,000 speakers left Formerly the main language of the Inca Empire, variants of Quechua are spoken by people in the Andes and highlands of South America. In 2009, Bolivia recognised Quechua and several other indigenous languages as official languages of the country. Venetan Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Brazil, Mexico 3,800,000 speakers left Venetan has its roots in the more common forms of Latin, and is inevitably heavily influenced by Italian. It is spoken by almost four million people in the city of Venice and north-eastern Italy's region of Veneto. Outside Italy, it's spoken by communities in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul and the Mexican city of Chipilo. Walloon Belgium, France, Luxembourg 600,000 speakers left Restrictions in the languages transmission since the middle of the 20th century brought about a sharp fall in the number of speakers. A large number of associations are working passionately to keep the language alive, especially among young people. Welsh Wales, Argentina, Canada 750,000 speakers left Counting just over half a million speakers in Wales, this language is a member of the Brittonic branch of Celtic languages. In addition a variant Patagonian Welsh is spoken in Argentina, the settlement of Y Wladfa; replacing the English long words in the the British variant with Spanish. It was one of the 55 languages that represented Earth on Nasas Voyager program in 1977. West Frisian Netherlands Unknown number of speakers left This West Germanic language is spoken mostly in the rural north of the Netherlands, and is said to be the most closely related language to English outside of Britain. It has been mandatorily taught at every level of Dutch primary schools since 1980. Wichi Argentina, Bolivia - Unknown number of speakers left Wichi languages consist of Nokten, Vejoz, Wiznay and Matawayo. They are spoken throughout parts of Argentina and Bolivia, particualry in Rosario - Argentina's third-largest city - where there are approximately 10,000 members of the Whichi community living. Endangered Languages is brought to you by GoCompare Travel. Google's latest Doodle honours the great Japanese geochemist Katsuko Saruhashi (1920-2007), a pioneer in her field who paved the way for women in science. Saruhashi was among the first to measure carbon dioxide levels in seawater and raised international awareness about the dangers of radioactive fallout as an atmospheric pollutant. Here are five things you need to know about this eminent geoscientist. 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Katsuko was inspired by the flight of raindrops Katsuko's fascination with water began at an early age. As a schoolgirl in Tokyo, she would watch raindrops cascade down the windowpane of her classroom and became fascinated with their molecular behaviour. She resolved to become a scientist and graduated from the capital's Imperial Women's College of Science in 1943, later becoming the first woman to complete a doctorate in chemistry at the University of Tokyo in 1957. 2. She developed a new method for measuring ocean acidity Working in the Geochemical Laboratory of the Meterological Research Institute, Saruhashi began studying the CO2 content of seawater, an area previously considered insignificant, so much so that she was forced to develop her own means of measuring it. Subsequently referred to as "Saruhashis Table", the innovations she developed for gauging the concentration of carbonic acid in water has since become a global standard. 3. Saruhashi's research helped secure limits on nuclear testing in the wake of Bikini Atoll When the US government began carrying out nuclear tests in the Pacific at Bikini Atoll in 1954, Saruhashi's expertise in the chemical makeup of oceans was invaluable. Recommended Google honours feminist scientist who cleaned seas of nuclear bombs After the crew of a Japanese trawler fishing downwind from the testing site became mysteriously ill, Tokyo assigned the Geochemical Laboratory to investigate the surrounding seas for nuclear contaminants. Saruhashi found that radioactive materials were being carried in the seawater and would reach Japan within 18 months and that the entire Pacific would be contaminated by 1969 if tests continued. Her conclusions were crucial to the US and Soviet Union agreeing to halt aboveground nuclear blasts, a breakthrough accord at the height of the Cold War. 4. She blazed a trail for women in science around the world Saruhashi's important contributions - and the positive geopolitical consequences of her intervention - saw her become the first woman elected to the Science Council of Japan. She was also the first woman to win Japans Miyake Prize for geochemistry and received many other accolades, including the Avon Special Prize for Women in 1981 - for promoting the peaceful use of nuclear power - and the Tanaka Prize from the Society of Sea Water Sciences in 1993. 5. An award for female scientists is given out every year in her honour Saruhashi made a point of using her acclaim to help further the careers of other women. The Saruhashi Prize, inaugurated in 1981, is now awarded annually to outstanding female researchers in Japan. "There are many women who have the ability to become great scientists", she said. "I would like to see the day when women can contribute to science and technology on an equal footing with men." The Metropolitan Police have apologised after two officers tweeted a selfie from the scene of a murder in east London. Uniformed officers from Newhams Forest Gate North team posted the image from the Stratford Centre shopping complex on Thursday, the morning after a young man had been stabbed to death. The pair will be spoken to, the force said in a statement. A spokesman said: We apologise for any offence caused by the selfie picture that was posted from the scene of a serious crime this morning. The officers showed a lack of judgement and sensitivity in posting this and they will be spoken to and reminded of how to use social media responsibly. The tweet has now been removed. Local neighbourhood policing teams ordinarily use their Twitter accounts to provide updates on foot patrols, drop-in sessions for residents and appeals for information. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson PA UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than 150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospitals charity PA UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 British player Emma Raducanu, holds up the US Open championship trophy winning the women's singles final of the US Open in New York AP UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty No arrests have been made after the man, in his early twenties, was found with stab wounds outside the shopping centre at around 9.30pm on Tuesday, the Met said. He died an hour later. The Mets spokesman added: His next of kin have now been informed. Formal identification awaits and a post mortem examination will be held in due course. At this early stage, it is believed that the victim and a friend were involved in an altercation with a group of young males before he was stabbed. The original image posted from outside the Stratford Centre (Forest Gate North police) Last week, it was revealed that Londons Air Ambulance was now being called to more stabbings and shootings than road accidents for the first time in its history. It is not unusual now for our teams to perform open chest surgery for stab wounds twice in a single day. This would have been unheard of a few years back, lead clinician Dr Gareth Grier said last Thursday. Anyone with information about the Stratford killing should call 020 8721 4005 and quote CAD 7391/20 March, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. The Parsons Green bomber was told he had violated Islam as he was jailed for life for launching a terror attack on the London Underground. Handing Ahmed Hassan a minimum term of 34 years imprisonment, a judge said failed to cause the death and carnage he desired when his device malfunctioned but remains a danger to the public. You have violated the Quran and Islam with your actions, as well as the law of all civilised people, he told the teenager. It is to be hoped that you will come to realise this one day. Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said the Quran was a book of peace and noted its teachings forbidding terrorism and crime, adding: You will have plenty of time to study the Quran in prison in the years to come. Hassan did not react has he was sentenced and stayed silent in the dock, as his victims and their loved ones looked on from the public gallery. The Independent understands the Government will seek to deport him to Iraq at the earliest possible opportunity after his jail sentence is completed. Mr Justice Haddon-Cave told the Old Bailey he had been driven by a mindset of Isis extremism, a deep-seated hatred of Britain and a desire for revenge over the death of his father during the Iraq War and continued bombing of his home country. The court heard Hassan, now aged between 18 and 21, lied about his age when he arrived in the UK on the back of a lorry from Calais in order to gain the special privileges afforded to child asylum seekers. Ahmed Hassan, the Iraqi asylum seeker convicted of launching the Parsons Green attack (Metropolitan Police) (Photos Metropolitan Police) He originally told immigration officials he had been forced to train as a child soldier at an Isis camp in his home country, but fled when the region was retaken by Iraqi government forces. During an interview in January 2016, Hassan told officials he had been trained to kill by the terrorist group and indoctrinated in what Allah believed was right. But while giving evidence in the dock he claimed it was a made-up story to help him gain asylum. Mr Justice Haddon-Cave ruled that Hassans original account was true, saying that he had told other people of his experiences with Isis. You were the subject of indoctrination and incubation by Isis but you are as you were at pains to tell the jury a highly intelligent young man, and you chose to give vent to your mindset and hatred, notwithstanding you were shown every kindness from the moment you arrived in this country, he added. Hassan had also been caught watching an Isis video and listening to nasheeds (Islamic songs) that were subsequently identified by The Independent as official Isis propaganda, while a teacher saw a message on his phone reading: IS has accepted your donation. Following your arrival in the United Kingdom in 2015, you were content to lead a double life, the judge told Hassan. You presented as a very polite, well-behaved and exceptionally bright model student, grateful for the opportunities that were being given to you. You cynically exploited to the full the generosity and naivety of the system and those looking after and helping you. Meanwhile, you harboured dark thoughts. They lay dormant until he started planning his attack in August 2017, the court heard, using a voucher awarded for being named student of the year to buy bomb-making materials from Amazon. Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Show all 23 1 /23 Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion A bucket with flames and wires coming out of it was photographed in the carriage after the explosion apparently the source of the blast AFP Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion An explosion on a packed Tube train has injured a number of people in west London AFP/Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion The blast triggered a stampede as commuters panicked AFP/Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion Click through for more pictures from the scene Reuters Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosioN Reuters Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion PA Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion Reuters Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion Reuters Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion AFP/Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion Reuters Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion AFP/Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion AFP/Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion Reuters Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion Reuters Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures AFP/Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures AFP/Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures AFP/Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures AFP/Getty Hassan presented to mental health services with depression and PTSD before the attack, spending time in hospital, but the court heard there was no evidence of a mental illness or disability that provided any mitigation. He had quietly planned and executed the attack with ruthless determination and almost military efficiency, the court heard, whilst pretending to be a model asylum seeker. Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said Hassan wanted to save his skin by setting the device to explode on a timer after he got off the District Line on 15 September. It is sheer luck that the main charge did not fully detonate, he added, saying the failure was due to accident rather than design. It is inevitable that there would have been numerous fatalities and serious casualties. The bomb, containing 400g of the mother of Satan explosive TATP surrounded by metal shrapnel, was contained in a Lidl bag and covered with a pair of trousers to make it less conspicuous. Hassan placed it amid commuters and set a timer for two minutes, getting off the train a stop before Parsons Green and making a conscious effort to behave casually and blend in. Around 93 people were in the packed carriage when it detonated, sending a fireball hurtling through commuters that injured 23 passengers before another 28 were hurt in the crush to escape. Victims told the court of their pain, suffering horrific burns, with one womans scars expected to take up to two years to heal. In a statement read to the court by the prosecution, Lucinda Glazebrook said she now suffers from PTSD and flashbacks, regularly reliving the explosion and seeing Hassans face. I believed I was going to die, she added. I view myself as a changed person. The moment an explosive device built by Ahmed Hassan partly detonated on a Tube train in Parsons Green, London, on 15 September 2017 Commuter Stephen Nash said he had to give up his job as a social worker due to his fear of getting on the Tube, and cannot travel into London or be among crowds. Ann Stuart said: I havent slept properly since it happened, I wake most mornings shaking and have the most frightful nightmares. She feels on edge and constantly tearful, and has been able to return to work because of the psychological impact of the attack. The judge paid tribute to the victims for giving evidence through their severe distress. It must have come as a great disappointment to you to see that the IED which you had so carefully created had failed to operate correctly and the carnage which you had hoped to create had not occurred, he told Hassan. Recommended Commuters in tears as they tell how fireball tore through packed Tube You wanted to save your own skin and were not prepared for shahada (martyrdom) you planned to kill as many members of the British public as possible and then make your escape to the continent via Dover according to a prearranged plan. The teenager destroyed his phone memory card, wiped his laptop and changed clothes four times while travelling towards Kent to make his escape, but was recognised and arrested by police at the port. Officers told how he started shaking, praying and complaining that his rucksack should not be placed on the ground because it contained a copy of the Quran. Hassan then attempted to use others to cover his tracks, having chemicals delivered to a friends house and falsely telling police he was meeting another refugee who was fostered by the same couple. The lie caused the innocent man to be arrested and receive huge media attention, leaving him nervous and scared all the time and prescribed sleeping pills. Police chiefs praised the excellent work of officers who identified Hassan as the bomber and tracked him down in less than 24 hours. Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dean Haydon said: The speed at which the Counter Terrorism Command investigation team worked was outstanding and had it not been for the fantastic support given by colleagues from British Transport Police, Transport for London, Kent, Surrey and Port of Dover Police, then this result may not have been possible. Close Parsons Green timeline - Ahmed Hassan found guilty of attempted murder The Iraqi asylum seeker who attempted to bomb a London Tube train has been jailed for life for the Parsons Green attack. Ahmed Hassan packed his homemade device with 400g of explosives and metal shrapnel before leaving it to explode on the District Line on 15 September. His bomb partially detonated, sending a fireball through the packed carriage during morning rush-hour, with 30 people injured by the flames and a stampede to escape the station. "You have violated the Quran and Islam with your actions, as well as the law of all civilised people," Mr Justice Haddon-Cave told Hassan. "It is hoped that you will recognise this one day." Recommended Please allow a moment for the live blog to load Hassan denied attempting to kill commuters and told the court he launched the bombing to live out a fugitive fantasy after watching action films over the summer holidays. But prosecutors argued he hated Britain because he blamed the country for the death of his father, who was killed in an explosion during the Iraq War. After arriving in Britain hidden in a lorry from Calais in 2015, Hassan told immigration officials he had been kidnapped by Isis and trained to kill in his home country. But he told the Old Bailey he had lied because he wanted to claim asylum and had no contact with Isis. Hassan had been a model student at Brooklands College in Surrey, but used a 20 Amazon voucher awarded for being named student of the year to buy the necessary chemicals for the bomb. He told a teacher who later saw a message on his phone claiming IS has accepted your donation that it was his duty to hate Britain. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Hassan had never admitted a clear motive for the attack and that, perhaps due to his destruction of a phone and laptop, there was no evidence of him being inspired by Isis. Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Show all 23 1 /23 Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion A bucket with flames and wires coming out of it was photographed in the carriage after the explosion apparently the source of the blast AFP Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion An explosion on a packed Tube train has injured a number of people in west London AFP/Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion The blast triggered a stampede as commuters panicked AFP/Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion Click through for more pictures from the scene Reuters Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosioN Reuters Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion PA Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion Reuters Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion Reuters Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion AFP/Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion Reuters Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion AFP/Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion AFP/Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion Reuters Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Parsons Green explosion Reuters Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures AFP/Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures AFP/Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures AFP/Getty Terror attack at Parson's Green in pictures AFP/Getty But an Independent investigation showed police had misinterpreted nasheeds Islamic songs found on a data stick in his bedroom and failed to identify them as official Isis propaganda. The terrorist group claimed responsibility for the bombing just hours after it was carried out via its Amaq News Agency, but the statement contained no details suggesting prior knowledge or contact with Hassan. Hassan was reported to the Governments Prevent counter-extremism programme on at least two occasions and authorities are investigating how he was still able to launch the attack. Police said the devious teenager appeared to engage with the project while secretly plotting the terror attack. Ben Wallace, the security minister, said there are lessons to be learned from the case but praised authorities for their work. He added that the police and local council had conducted an internal review into the case and the Home Office will look at the findings to identify improvements. Hundreds of Britons were arrested for child sex offences overseas in the last five years, according to new figures. Between 2013 and 2017, there were 361 requests from UK nationals for consular assistance from UK citizens following their arrest for child sex offences, Foreign Office data shows. Of those, came in the US, 40 in Australia and 39 in Spain over the five-year period. Four cases were recorded in Indonesia, five in the Philippines and three in India. Sarah Champion, who campaigns against child sexual exploitation, warned the number of arrests could be higher. I am convinced that this is a tiny, tiny, tip of the iceberg the figures that were seeing so the actual scale of it is going to be pretty huge I would have thought, said the Labour MP for Rotherham. She added that she believed that some people were deliberately travelling in order to abuse children. I have no doubt that the sort of perpetrators will know where they are most likely to go and exploit a child and will be deliberately going there, she said. The conclusion we have to come to is that it is a sick world we live in. UK news in pictures Show all 49 1 /49 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 18 September 2021 Children take part in the Settrington Cup Pedal Car Race as motoring enthusiasts attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival in Goodwood, Chichester, Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2021 Hugo, 7, from London rides past a 4x7 metre rainbow arch, made entirely of recycled aluminium cans, which has been installed by recycling initiative 'Every Can Counts', in partnership with The City of London Corporation in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, to encourage members of the public to recycle their drinks cans ahead of recycling week, which starts on 20 September PA UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson PA UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than 150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospitals charity PA UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 British player Emma Raducanu, holds up the US Open championship trophy winning the women's singles final of the US Open in New York AP UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA Bharti Patel, chief executive of childrens rights organisation ECPAT UK, said: These statistics represent only a minority of abuses against children across the globe, due to a lack of sufficient data monitoring systems and reporting mechanisms. She added that it left children unprotected against abuse and called on the Government to take action. Our Government must take responsibility for these crimes committed by British nationals, and prevent these crimes taking place against vulnerable children abroad, she said. Britains national security strategy is not adequately responding to the dramatic changes triggered by the rise of Isis, Brexit and Donald Trumps election, MPs have warned. The Government launched the National Security Capability Review (NCSR) as a quick refresh of capabilities last year but a committee said it does not do justice to the volatile security environment. The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy (JCNSS) said an honest conversation on increasing defence spending was needed if the Government is to match its stated ambitions. MP Margaret Beckett, the chair of the committee, said a larger national security strategy drawn up in 2015 had rightly been revisited in response to changes. Some of these were unpredictable but others, such as the structural hole in the defence budget, have revealed flaws in the Governments original document, she added, saying MPs were concerned about the format and scope of the review. The nations security capabilities are too important to be allowed to evolve without proper thought or direction by ministers. The NCSR was split to consider Britains defence and security separately, but MPs said the move was a backwards step when changing threats needed a more coordinated response. MI5 chief warns that Britain is facing an unrelenting terrorist threat In a report completed before the nerve agent attack in Salisbury, the committee called on the Government to improve work on deterrence and its response to threats that fall short of an act of war. One of the biggest changes since 2015 was the election of Mr Trump as US President, the report said, raising concerns about the impact of America First policies and the administrations unpredictable behaviour towards international politics and alliances. The vote for Brexit has also pushed the UK into a different context, forcing it to negotiate new agreements to continue cooperation with the EU on defence and security. The report also cited the rise of Isis and attacks in the UK, the refugee crisis and tensions over North Korea, Iran and the South China Sea. MPs noted Theresa Mays assessment that Russian aggression was increasing and threatening the international order on which we all depend. In evidence sessions, the JCNSS said the rule-based international order was being eroded, making it harder to build a global consensus amid a resurgence of state-based threats and competition. MPs were also warned of the impact of technology and cyber attacks, alongside the continuing online radicalisation of potential terrorists. The changes have sparked repeated calls for the Government to raise its spending on defence above the Nato benchmark of 2 per cent of GDP. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than 150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospitals charity PA UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 British player Emma Raducanu, holds up the US Open championship trophy winning the women's singles final of the US Open in New York AP UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA It has guaranteed a 0.5 per cent real-terms increase in the annual defence budget each year until it reaches 39.6bn in 2020-21, but former military officers said the situation was now in a parlous state. According to a January 2018 report by the National Audit Office, there is a gap of between 4.9bn and 20.8bn between commitments made in the Ministry of Defence Equipment Plan and planned funding over the next decade. The JCNSS said the gulf was caused by the department committing to buy more than it could afford, combined with unrealistic assumptions about efficiency savings. The Defence Committee has repeatedly called for a return to the 3 per cent level that had been maintained until the mid-1990s. The report documented additional concerns that the investments made by the British military, such as the two delayed new aircraft carriers, would fare badly against peers like Russia and China and were driven by an archaic approach to defence rather than innovative responses to current threats like Isis and other insurgent groups. A government spokesperson said the NSCR was a significant piece of work that properly assessed the threats and opportunities facing the UK. It identifies how we can use our considerable national security capabilities more effectively and efficiently to achieve our national security objectives and support implementation of the 2015 SDSR, he added. We are confident the NSCR public report will address many of the points the JCNSS has raised. Owen Smith has been sacked as Labours Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary with immediate effect after he advocated a new referendum on the final Brexit deal. The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn made the decision on Friday evening after Mr Smith broke ranks with the frontbench and also urged his party to remain in the single market to avoid a hard border in Ireland. He has been replaced by Tony Lloyd, the MP for Rochdale and shadow housing minister, who Mr Corbyn said is a highly experienced former government minister committed to ensuring that peace in Northern Ireland is maintained and helping to steer the devolution deal back on track. Mr Smith wrote on his Twitter account: Just been sacked by Jeremy Corbyn for my long held views on the damage Brexit will do to the Good Friday Agreement and the economy of the entire UK. It comes after Mr Smith, who challenged Mr Corbyn unsuccessfully for the Labour leadership in the summer of 2016, urged his party in a Guardian article to consider if Brexit remains the right choice for the country and to offer a vote to the public once negotiations have concluded. Mr Smith added that the only way to prevent a hard border in Northern Ireland was to remain in the single market and the customs union, an issue at the heart of the Brexit debate. Recommended Owen Smith says Labour may have won the election under his leadership In an apparent message to Mr Corbyn, he continued: Those views are shared by Labour members and supporters and I will continue to speak for them, and in the interest of our country. Mr Smiths intervention came after Jonathan Powell, one of the architects of the Good Friday Agreement, issued a similar call in The Independent for Mr Corbyn to support the UK staying in the single market to protect the Irish border. Sources close to the Labour leader told The Independent that Mr Smith had acted in a similar way to a backbencher not a frontbencher by authoring an article that conflicted with the frontbench position. Recommended Northern Ireland could be the issue over which Brexit talks collapse One source added: Jeremy brought Owen back into the Shadow Cabinet after the leadership election, but he wasnt a team player. Real shame. This is about collective responsibility and respect for Shadow Cabinet colleagues. A source close to Mr Smith added that the MP acted independently and did not follow the normal processes when submitting the article to The Guardian. They added: I didnt know about the article and I work for him. But MPs and other figures in the party reacted critically to the decision by the Labour leader, with the former Labour cabinet minister Lord Hain accusing Mr Corbyn of a terrible Stalinist purge. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 23 September 2021 Gabriella, the seven year old daughter of imprisoned British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, joins in a game on a giant snakes and ladders board in Parliament Square, to show the ups and downs of her mothers case to mark the 2,000 days she has been detained in Iran AP UK news in pictures 22 September 2021 A new sign hangs on the Millicent Fawcett statue after it was altered by CrackTheCrises coalition activists to highlight the climate crisis as a feminist struggle in Parliament Square in London EPA UK news in pictures 21 September 2021 Gabriella Diment prepares a monumental bronze patinated fibreglass wall sculpture depicting household cavalry soldiers on horseback which is expected to be sold for 12,000-18,000 when it goes up for auction at Summers Place Auctions in Billinghurst, Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2021 Florist Judith Blacklock puts the finishing touches to a floral carousel installation in Halkin Arcade, which she has designed with Neill Strain for the Belgravia in Bloom festival, running from September 20-26, in London PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2021 Bubbles surround Manchester Uniteds Cristiano Ronaldo before the match against West Ham at London Stadium Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 18 September 2021 Children take part in the Settrington Cup Pedal Car Race as motoring enthusiasts attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival in Goodwood, Chichester, Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2021 Hugo, 7, from London rides past a 4x7 metre rainbow arch, made entirely of recycled aluminium cans, which has been installed by recycling initiative 'Every Can Counts', in partnership with The City of London Corporation in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, to encourage members of the public to recycle their drinks cans ahead of recycling week, which starts on 20 September PA UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson PA UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than 150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospitals charity PA UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 British player Emma Raducanu, holds up the US Open championship trophy winning the women's singles final of the US Open in New York AP UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty He added: Owen Smith has been doing a terrific job on Northern Ireland, hes ideal for the role with his experience, expertise and considerable ability. Widely respected. In a Shadow Cabinet with a few big hitters he was definitely one. Former Shadow Health Secretary Heidi Alexander said Mr Smith deserves our respect and unequivocal support, adding that Mr Corbyn knew his views on the EU when he appointed him. The leaders of the 27 remaining EU countries have formally signed off their negotiating guidelines for the next phase of Brexit talks paving the way for discussions about the blocs future relationship with Britain for the first time. Leaders approved the strategy on Friday morning at a meeting in Brussels, on the second day of the European Council summit. They also officially approved the deal struck between David Davis and Michel Barnier earlier this week about the transition period. The trade talk guidelines, which weigh in at a brief six and a half pages, state that the UK has made frictions in trade inevitable by ruling out membership of the single market and customs union. The leaders leave the door open to Britain changing its mind about these issues, however. Recommended UK pulled into talks with Spain and EU about Gibraltar after Brexit The guidelines state that the EU is determined to have as close as possible a partnership with the UK in the future and that this should cover trade and economic cooperation as well as other areas, in particular the fight against terrorism and international crime, as well as security, defence and foreign policy. Theresa May had been meeting with the 27 prime ministers and presidents that morning to discuss trade with the United States. Over dinner the night before Ms May had said she hoped progress in talks earlier this week would create a new dynamic that would allow issues like the Irish border to be solved. Britain should be given a balanced, ambitious and wide-ranging free trade agreement but such an agreement cannot however offer the same benefits as membership, they say. On her way out of the summit before heading back to London on Friday morning, Ms May said: I welcome the fact that the EU Council this morning has agreed the details of the implementation period that period after we leave the EU next March 2019 until the end of December 2020. This gives certainty to people and businesses, it gives them clarity to plan for their future, and it ensures that they will only have to make one adjustment, one change, when we enter into the new relationship with the European Union in the future. The council has also endorsed its guidelines for our negotiations for that future relationship. I believe theres a new dynamic now in the negotiations. I believe were approaching this with a spirit of cooperation, with a spirit of opportunity for the future as well and we will now be sitting down and determining those workable solutions for Northern Ireland but also our future security partnership and economic partnership. I believe it is in the best interests of the UK and the EU that we get a deal that is in the best interests of both. The transition deal signed off by leaders gives the UK a 21-month period after Brexit in which it will follow EU rules and implement new ones, without any say in drawing them up. Brexit so far: in pictures Show all 53 1 /53 Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit campaign Boris Johnson led the VoteLeave campaign PA Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit campaign Boris Johnson MP, Labour MP Gisela Stuart and UKIP MP Douglas Carswell address the people of Stafford in Market Square during the Vote Leave Brexit Battle Bus tour on 17 May 2016. Their lead line on the tour was: We send the EU 350 million a week, let's fund our NHS instead. Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Voting day A man shelters from the rain as he arrives at a polling station in London on 23 June 2016. Millions of Britons voted in the referendum on whether to stay in or leave the European Union AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Referendum results Leader of Ukip, Nigel Farage, reacts at the Leave EU referendum party at Millbank Tower in central London as results indicated that it was likely the UK would leave the European Union AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Protesting the result A young couple painted as EU flags and a man with a sign reading Im not leaving protest outside Downing Street against the voters decision to leave the EU on 24 June 2016 Getty Brexit so far: in pictures David Cameron resigns British Prime Minister David Cameron resigns on the steps of 10 Downing Street on 24 June 2016 after the results of the EU referendum were declared and the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Theresa May Becomes the new Conservative Party leader Theresa May receives a kiss from her husband Philip, after becoming the new Conservative Party leader on 11 July 2016. May became Prime Minister two days later and although she voted to remain in the referendum was keen to lead Britains Brexit talks after her only rival in the race to succeed David Cameron pulled out unexpectedly. May was left as the only contender standing after the withdrawal from the leadership race of Andrea Leadsom, who faced criticism for suggesting she was more qualified to be prime minister because she had children AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Lancaster House keynote speech on Brexit British Prime Minister Theresa May delivers her keynote speech on Brexit at Lancaster House in London on 17 January 2017. Where she spoke about her offer to introduce a transition period after the UK formally leaves the European Union in March 2019. Despite repeating the pro-Brexit mantra of no deal is better than a bad deal, the Prime Minister claimed she wanted a tone of trust between the negotiators and said Britain was leaving the EU but not Europe. She said there should be a clear double lock needed for the transitional period to make sure businesses had time to prepare for changes to their trading relationships with the EU Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Triggering of Article 50 British Prime Minister Theresa May in the cabinet, sitting below a painting of Britain's first Prime Minister Robert Walpole, signs the official letter to European Council President Donald Tusk invoking Article 50 and the United Kingdom's intention to leave the EU on 29 March 2017 Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Gibraltar nonsense Tensions have risen over Brexit negotiations for the Rock of Gibraltar. The European Council has said Gibraltar would be included in a trade deal between London and Brussels only with the agreement of Spain. While former Conservative leader Michael Howard claimed that Theresa May would be prepared to go to war to protect the territory. Spain's foreign minister stepped in only to assert that there was no need for the dispute Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Shock snap election Soon after triggering Article 50, Theresa May called on 18 April 2017 for a snap general election. The election would be on 8 June and it came as a shock move to many, with her reasoning to try to bolster her position before tough talks on leaving the EU AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Dissolution of Parliament for General Election Campaign Prime Minister Theresa May makes a statement in Downing Street after returning from Buckingham Palace on 3 May 2017. The Prime Minister visited the Queen to ask for the dissolution of Parliament signalling the official start to the general election campaign Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Conservatives lose parliamentary majority An arrangement of British daily newspapers showing front page stories about the exit poll results of the snap general election. British Prime Minister Theresa May faced pressure to resign on 9 June 2017 after losing her parliamentary majority, plunging the country into uncertainty as Brexit talks loomed. The pound fell sharply amid fears the Conservative leader would be unable to form a government AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Labour gains Britains opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn gives a tumbs up as he arrives at Labour headquarters in central London on 9 June 2017 after the snap general election results showed a hung parliament with Labour gains and the Conservatives losing their majority AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit negotiations begin Brexit Minister David Davis and European Commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations Michel Barnier address a press conference at the end of the first day of Brexit negotiations in Brussels on 19 June 2017 AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures May speaks in Florence British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks on 22 September 2017, in Florence. May sought to unlock Brexit talks after Brussels demanded more clarity on the crunch issues of budget payments and EU citizens' rights AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures EU council summit insufficient progress German Chancellor Angela Merkel joins other EU leaders for a breakfast meeting during an EU summit in Brussels on 20 October 2017. The EU spoke about Brexit and announced that insufficient progress had been made AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures DUP derails settlement on the withdrawal part of Brexit DUP Deputy Leader Nigel Dodds walks off after speaking to members of the media as a protester holding flags shouts after him outside the Houses of Parliament on 5 December 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May was forced to pull out of a deal with Brussels after the DUP said it would not accept terms which see Northern Ireland treated differently from the rest of the UK Getty Brexit so far: in pictures May suffers defeat over EU (Withdrawal) Bill Theresa May suffers defeat in parliament over EU (Withdrawal) Bill on 13 December 2017. The Government was defeated by Conservative rebels and Labour MPs in a vote on its key piece of Brexit legislation. MPs amended the EU (Withdrawal) Bill against Theresa May's will, guaranteeing Parliament a meaningful vote on any Brexit deal she agrees with Brussels. Ms May's whips applied pressure on Conservative rebels who remained defiant in the Commons throughout the day and in the end the Government was defeated by 309 votes to 305 Brexit so far: in pictures EU council summit sufficient progress Britain's Prime minister Theresa May arrives to attend the first day of a European union summit in Brussels on 14 December 2017. European leaders discussed Brexit and announced there was finally sufficient progress at the end of the two days AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures The game moves to transition Brexit Secretary David Davis gives evidence on developments in European Union divorce talks to the Commons Exiting the EU Committee in Portcullis House, London, on 24 January 2018 PA Brexit so far: in pictures Trade deal is what May wants French President Emmanuel Macron gestures to Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May after they hold a press conference at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, on 18 January 2018. May and Macron agreed a new border security deal, through which the UK will pay more to France to stop migrants trying to reach British shores on 18 January 2018 AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Transition period agreed The UK and EU agree terms for Brexit transition period on 19 March, 2018 Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures No agreement on Irish border The EU and UK however failed to reach an agreement on the Irish border during the successful talks on other Brexit issues AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures EU attacks Mays fantasy strategy For months after the March deal is struck there is little significant progress in talks. One senior EU official tears into Britains fantasy negotiating strategy and accuses Theresa May of not even having a position on a variety of important issue Getty Brexit so far: in pictures UK releases Ireland plan Britain releases a new customs plan to solve the Northern Ireland border but Michel Barnier says it leaves unanswered questions and would not prevent a hard border EbS Brexit so far: in pictures Chequers plan agreed The cabinet agrees on a plan known as the "Chequers deal" on July 6 2018. The plan seeks regulatory alignment on goods and food, divergence on services, freedom from the European Courts of Justice and an end to free movement. Many were surprised that the hard Brexiteers of the cabinet would agree to this plan PA Brexit so far: in pictures Chequers plan sparks resignations Brexit Secretary David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and numerous ministers resign in the days following the Chequers agreement Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures Davis out, Raab in On 9 July, Dominic Raab replaces David Davis as Brexit Secretary. Raab is a keen Brexiteer and was a housing minister before taking over from Davis Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures Barnier's "deal like no other" EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier claims on August 29 2018 that they are prepared to offer Britain a trade deal like no other, though he stressed that they will not divide or change the single market to accommodate Britain AP Brexit so far: in pictures "My deal or no deal" In an interview on Panorama on September 17, the Prime Minister insists that any Brexit deal will be offered to the EU on her terms. She asserts this amongst continued attacks on her approach to Brexit by Boris Johnson and the European Research Group, headed by Jacob Rees Mogg BBC/Jeff Overs Brexit so far: in pictures EU leaders reject Chequers Quite the blow was dealt to the Prime Minister at a EU leaders summit in Salzburg on September 20. European Council President Donald Tusk stated that the Chequers deal "will not work" Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures May demands respect Following the rejection of her Chequers plan the day before, the Prime Minister voiced her anger that the EU had dismissed it without offering an alternative. She stated that throughout this process, I have treated the EU with nothing but respect. The UK expects the same. A good relationship at the end of this process depends on it." Getty Brexit so far: in pictures People's Vote march As the People's Vote campaign and The Independent's Final Say campaign gain traction, 700,000 people turn out in London to demand a final say on the UK's Brexit deal on October 20 2018 PA Brexit so far: in pictures More resignations As the Prime Minister settles on a Brexit deal, Brexit secretary Dominic Raab resigns along with Work and Pensions secretary Esther McVey and many other ministers Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Final Say petitions delivered to Downing Street People's Vote supporting MPs Chukka Umunna, Justine Greening and Caroline Lucas and The Independent editor Christian Broughton deliver over a million signatures in favour of a People's Vote to the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street on December 3 2018 PA Brexit so far: in pictures May delays vote On December 10, the Prime Minister delayed the vote on her Brexit deal as it was near certain not to pass through the Commons due to Tory rebels and lack of DUP support AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures No confidence motion Tory MPs triggered a confidence vote in the Prime Minister on December 12. She won by 200 votes to 117 Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures Commons rejects the deal Following the delay, the Prime Minister's deal was rejected in the Commons by a historic 230 votes AFP Brexit so far: in pictures Corbyn tables a no confidence motion Following the rejection of the Prime Minister's deal, opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn tabled a motion of no confidence in the government, which the government won by a margin of 19 AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Plan B The Prime Minister won the support of the commons to return to Brussels to renegotiate the backstop on January 29. In the same sitting, MPs also voted against a no-deal Brexit in a non-legally binding motion PA Brexit so far: in pictures EU council president savages Brexit campaigners who failed to plan for departure: Special place in hell There is a special place in hell for pro-Brexit campaigners who demanded Britain leave the EU without explaining how it should happen, Donald Tusk has said. The European Council president launched the scathing attack as he accused anti-EU campaigners of pushing for Brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely. Mr Tusk also dismissed suggestions that the EU could reopen negotiations over the controversial Northern Ireland backstop, dealing a blow to Theresa Mays hopes of securing fresh concessions as she tries to get her exit deal through parliament. Speaking in Brussels alongside Irish taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Mr Tusk said: Ive been wondering what a special place in hell looks like for people who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely. He also tweeted the accusation moments later Getty Brexit so far: in pictures EU and UK announce talks to restart after Theresa May visits Brussels Both have agreed to restart Brexit talks to find a way through the deadlock in Westminster, following a visit by Theresa May to Brussels. In a joint statement the British government and European Commission said Ms May had had a robust but constructive meeting with president Jean-Claude Juncker, and that the pair would meet again before the end of the month. But the EU again refused to reopen the withdrawal agreement and its controversial backstop with any negotiations expected to focus on the future relationship between the UK and EU instead Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit strategy lost MPs voted down May's Brext plans, with a majority of 45. The prime minister did not appear in parliament to see another defeat PA Brexit so far: in pictures Labour and Conservative MPs resign and create the Independent Group Back row of Chris Leslie, Gavin Shuker, Chuka Umunna and Mike Gapes, middle row of Angela Smith, Luciana Berger and Ann Coffey and front row of Sarah Wollaston, Heidi Allen, Anna Soubry and Joan Ryan PA Brexit so far: in pictures Non-biding votes on amendments to Brexit motion On February 27 he house held a series of votes, unanimously calling for the UK and EU to guarantee citizens rights in a no-deal scenario AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Attorney General publishes legal advice A hammer blow for May as Geoffrey Cox said her renegotiated deal can still leave UK in backstop against its will. Mr Cox did say the prime ministers efforts had reduced the risk of the UK being trapped in the backstop indefinitely. MPs went on to vote against her deal by 391 to 242 UK Parliament/PA Brexit so far: in pictures No-deal off the table MPs rejected a no-deal Brexit by 43 votes on March 13, with cabinet ministers rebelling in another humiliating defeat for Theresa May. A day later they voted in favour of the prime minister seeking an extension to Article 50 AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures House speaker bans May from third Commons vote on same Brexit deal John Bercow sensationally told Theresa May he would stop her making another attempt to pass her Brexit deal unless she has secured changes. The Speaker said a further meaningful vote would be ruled out of order if the motion was the same or substantially the same under an ancient convention to stop the government bullying parliament on issues MPs have rejected Parliament Live Brexit so far: in pictures May writes to Tusk The prime minister wrote to Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, to ask for a three-month extension to give her more time to try to get her deal through parliament. However the European Commission advises the EU27 should offer a short extension to May 23 or a longer one meaning the UK would participate in European elections 10 Downing Street/AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures European Council summit Theresa Mays request to extend triggering Article 50 until the end of June was rejected by the EU, and instead offered a shorter time frame. She accepted the offer of a delay until May 22 if her withdrawal deal is approved by Parliament. If MPs rejected it for a third time, the EU said Britain must propose a new plan by April 12. Ms May said she will not support a long delay because it would mean Britain participating in elections for the European Parliament Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Brussels confirms preparations for a no-deal Brexit are completed They warned that it is increasingly likely the UK will crash out. In a statement the European Commission (EC) said preparedness and contingency work, which the EC has been conducting since December 2017, was now finished. The announcement came days after EU leaders agreed to a request by Theresa May to extend the UKs Brexit date AFP Brexit so far: in pictures May resigns Reuters The UK will not have any representation at EU level, but will be allowed to negotiate its own trade deals with other countries. In return it has accepted full free movement rights for citizens who arrive in Britain during the period. Despite the progress the issue of Northern Ireland is still dogging talks, however, with the EU stating that no deal can be made until the issue is settled. The European Union has recalled its ambassador from Moscow after the blocs 27 other leaders backed Theresa Mays claim that the Kremlin was highly likely to be responsible for this months nerve agent attack in Salisbury. In a joint statement after midnight Brussels time the EU leaders said there was no plausible alternative explanation for the use of novichok in Salisbury other than its deployment by the Russian government. Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putins spokesman, said on Friday that Russia doesnt understand the EUs decision, and said Moscow would need to study the exact measures being taken by the bloc before it could respond. Ms May urged leaders at a dinner of the European Council in Brussels to go further than their foreign ministers had on Monday, when the bloc said that they took the assessment of Russian responsibility extremely seriously. Recommended Sergei and Yulia Skripal may have brain damage from nerve agent attack The EU said its ambassador had been recalled for consultations following the incident. It is also understood that Ireland, France, Estonia, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania are considering the expulsion of Russian diplomats, following the UKs decision to expel 23 of them, including alleged undeclared intelligence officers. The Kremlin said the UK was forcing its allies to take confrontational steps over the incident. Russia denies any involvement in the poisoning. Mr Peskov said: We dont know what info the UK had when it discussed with EU colleagues. We dont understand it. Russia has not had the opportunity to receive a diagnosis [on the Skripals]. Regarding the EU decision, we are unhappy with highly likely formulations. Russia categorically has nothing to do with the Skripal [poisoning]. Speaking at the summit on Friday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: What well now consider in the coming days is whether we want to take individual action relating to Russian diplomats in Ireland, bearing in mind what the UK did was to expel 23 diplomats, who they did not believe were diplomats, they were agents. We would have to do a security assessment before we did that. Were not just going to randomly expel people who are genuine diplomats. The Prime Minister, who was due to leave for London after the Thursday dinner, is now also attending part of the Friday portion of the summit, after a discussion on trade with the US was delayed to wait a response from the Trump administration. Speaking on the doorstep of the summit in the small hours of the morning after the dinner, Ms May said: Weve had a very full discussion on Russia at this EU Council and I welcome the fact that the EU Council has agreed with the UK Governments assessment that it is highly likely that Russia was responsible for the attempted murder that took place on the streets of Salisbury, and that there is no plausible alternative explanation. Russia, and the threat that Russia poses, respects no borders and that is a threat to our values and it is right that here in the EU Council we are standing together to uphold those values. Im going to be back here tomorrow morning at the EU Council when we have a very important discussion on trade. Former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, remain in a critical condition following the 4 March attack in Salisbury. The joint statement by the European Council says: The European Council condemns in the strongest possible terms the recent attack in Salisbury, expresses its deepest sympathies to all whose lives have been threatened and lends its support to the ongoing investigation. Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Scene of attack Members of the emergency services in hazard suits fix the tent over the bench where Sergei and Yulia Skripal were found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury in March 2018. Getty Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Victim - Sergei Skripal The retired Russian colonel and former double agent for MI6 was in a critical condition in hospital for more than two months after being exposed to novichok in Salisbury. He was given refuge in the UK after being jailed in Moscow for treason. Mr Skripal came to Britain as part of a high-profile spy swap in 2010 in which four men were exchanged for ten Russian "sleeper agents" in the US. In this image he is speaking to his lawyer from behind bars in Moscow in 2006. AP Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Victim - Yulia Skripal Yulia Skripal was struck down by a novichok poison alongside her father Sergei. Facebook Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Scene of attack A police officer stands guard outside a branch of the Italian chain restaurant Zizzi where the pair dined at before falling ill. It was boarded off whilst investigators worked on the building and later found traces of the chemical weapon within it. AFP/Getty Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Scene of attack Large areas of central Salisbury were cordoned off by police following the discovery of the Skripals. Traces of nerve agent were also found in The Mill pub. PA Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Victim - Nick Bailey Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, rushed to the aid of the Russian ex-spy and his daughter who were targeted with a nerve agent. He was hospitalized after aiding them and didn't leave until three weeks after the attack. Wiltshire Police/Rex Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Police investigation - Skripals home Police believe they were poisoned at home, and detectives found the highest concentration of novichok on the front door of Mr Skripals house. Getty Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Theresa May visits scene of attack Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May spokes with Wiltshire Police's Chief Constable Kier Pritchard near where the Skripal's were found. Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats over the nerve agent poisoning and suspended high-level contacts, including for the World Cup on March 14. Theresa May told parliament that Russia had failed to respond to her demand for an explanation on how a Soviet-designed chemical, Novichok, was used in Salisbury. AFP/Getty Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Skripal days before attack Sergei Skripal days before he was exposed to Novichok, that has left him fighting for life. ITV News Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Police investigation - military involvement British soldiers were deployed soon after the attack to help a counter-terrorism investigation into the nerve agent attack. One of the places they were asked to help out with was Skripal's home and it's surrounding. They were asked to remove a vehicle connected to the agent attack in Salisbury, from a residential street in Gillingham. AFP/Getty Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Police investigation Personnel in protective coveralls and breathing equipment cover an ambulance with a tarpaulin at the Salisbury District Hospital. AFP/Getty Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Police investigation The investigation extended to the grave of Sergei Skripal's son Alexander in London Road cemetery. Getty Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Police investigation The Counter Terrorism Policing Network requested assistance from the military to remove a number of vehicles and objects from Salisbury. EPA Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Home Secretary visits scene of attack Home Secretary Amber Rudd visited the scene of the nerve agent attack at the Maltings shopping centre on 9 March. Getty Skripal attack aftermath in pictures Yulia Skripal speaks for the first time Yulia Skripal, speaking for the first time, said she felt lucky to have survived the nerve agent attack in Salisbury which left her fighting for life. Ms Skripal said her life had been turned upside down by the assassination attempt. But the Russian national added she hoped to return to her homeland one day, despite the Kremlin being blamed for the attack. Reuters It agrees with the UK Governments assessment that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible and that there is no plausible alternative explanation. We stand in unqualified solidarity with the United Kingdom in the face of this grave challenge to our shared security. The use of chemical weapons, including the use of any toxic chemicals as weapons under any circumstances, is completely unacceptable, must be systematically and rigorously condemned and constitutes a security threat to us all. Member states will coordinate on the consequences to be drawn in the light of the answers provided by the Russian authorities. The European Union will remain closely focused on this issue and its implications. Jeremy Corbyn has been forced to backtrack over his apparent support for an antisemitic mural, after a protest from one of his MPs. Luciana Berger publicly demanded an explanation after being alerted to a Facebook post by the Labour leader opposing the graphics removal. Painted in Londons East End in 2012, by a graffiti artist known as Mear One, it depicted a group of businessmen and bankers playing a Monopoly-style board game balanced on the backs of people. The mural was painted on the end wall of a private property, but was removed by local authorities after complaints from residents. In his post responding to its imminent destruction, Mr Corbyn said: Why? You are in good company. Rockerfeller (sic) destroyed Diego Viera's mural because it includes a picture of Lenin. His office was forced to issue a statement after Ms Berger, a Liverpool MP, posted a screengrab on Twitter, saying: I asked the Leaders Office for an explanation about this Facebook post first thing this morning. Im still waiting for a response. Later, a spokesperson for Mr Corbyn said: In 2012, Jeremy was responding to concerns about the removal of public art on grounds of freedom of speech. However, the mural was offensive, used antisemitic imagery, which has no place in our society, and it is right that it was removed. However, the statement was immediately criticised by Ms Berger as wholly inadequate. She added: It fails to understand on any level the hurt and anguish felt about Antisemitism. I shall be raising this further. In a statement, the Jewish Labour Movement said: Antisemitic art is antisemitism. It cannot be defended under any circumstances. The artist himself denied being anti-Semitic, saying the mural is about class and privilege and contains a group of bankers made up of Jewish and white Anglos. In 2012, in protest at the removal, he posted: Tomorrow they want to buff my mural. Freedom of expression. London calling. Public art. The son of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is thought to be planning to stand for election as president of Libya, seven years after his father was overthrown and killed. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was sentenced, in absentia, to death by firing squad for alleged crimes that included incitement to murder and rape. Now his spokesman has reportedly announced he will be standing as presidential candidate on the ticket of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Libya, a party formed in December 2016 with a promise to liberate the country from control of terrorist organisations. Gaddafis spokesman Ayman Boras was quoted as telling a press conference in Tunisia that the late dictators second oldest son had a vision of restoring the Libyan state, making it for everyone. Although his candidacy might seem improbable to outsiders, the human rights activist Khaled Guel told pan-Arab media outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed: The humanitarian situation is deteriorating and the path forward is unclear, therefore many Libyans now believe the only way to save the country is through Saif al-Islam. There appear to be no legal barriers to him standing. A 2013 law banning Gaddafi-era officials from holding public office was revoked in 2015. If he were elected it would represent yet another turn in the fortunes of the 45-year-old who as a young man was regarded as the Prince of Libya, his fathers designated successor. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi once had a mansion near Hyde Park, complete with British butler (Rex) (REX) He was once feted as the regimes reforming face, keeping a pair of white tigers in Libya and a mansion in London, and mixing with the likes of Prince Andrew, Peter Mandelson and Nat Rothschild. But his brutal attempts to crush the 2011 Libyan revolution led to him becoming a fugitive wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for crimes against humanity. Having vowed to fight the revolution to the last bullet, in November 2011 he allowed rebels to capture him without firing a shot. That he has now survived to the point where there can be talk of him running for Libyan president is perhaps remarkable. It could be said that Gaddafi has so far cheated death at least five times. His death sentence for crimes that also included shooting into crowds of demonstrators and ordering air strikes on civilians was passed in July 2015, by a Tripoli court at which he had appeared via video link. Gaddafi gave evidence to the Tripoli court via video link from the mountain town of Zintan (AFP/Getty) (AFP/Getty Images) The execution could not be carried out, however, because by the time the sentence was passed, the country had descended into chaos, and the militia holding Gaddafi in the north-western mountain town of Zintan refused to recognise the authority of the Libya Dawn military coalition 85 miles away in Tripoli. The dictators son also appears to have been lucky to survive a Nato air strike that wounded but didnt kill him a month before his capture. Before that, in August 2011 he had been absent when a Nato air strike flattened the country mansion near Tripoli where he kept and played with white tigers and where the extensive grounds reportedly contained a private zoo filled with pumas, lions, gazelles and other animals. Saif al-Islam also seems to have counted himself lucky to have avoided the fate of his father, who in October 2011 after the fall of Tripoli was dragged from a drainage pipe near Sirte, sodomised with a bayonet and shot. When Saif al-Islam was caught the following month, one of his captors was quoted as saying: He was very scared. He thought we would kill him. Years before that, Islamists had plotted to kill the young Gaddafi but were foiled by MI6. Secret files discovered by The Independent seven years ago showed that in January 2004 MI6 responded to intelligence about a plot to assassinate Saif al-Islam in London and got Special Branch to put him on its at-risk register while sending police to brief him about the threat to his life. At that time Gaddafi junior was regarded by Western diplomats as the reform-minded best hope of steering his father away from dictatorship towards democracy. Tony Blair and Colonel Gaddafi shake hands during the 2004 deal in the desert (PA) In one document uncovered by The Independent his contribution to the Libyan regimes attempts to change its pariah status after the start of the War on Terror was regarded as highly constructive and welcome. Six days before Tony Blair did his deal in the desert with Gaddafi senior, a Guardian interviewer reported finding Gaddafi junior in a mansion near Hyde Park, dressed in designer jeans, exuding charm while being served orange juice by his British butler. Saif al-Islam, it was noted with considerable scepticism was being received by heads of state and acting as his fathers more affable alter ego. In 2005 he was in Davos, extolling the virtues of democracy as he rubbed shoulders with global elite at the World Economic Forum. In these halcyon days he met the Duke of York twice, once at Buckingham Palace and once in Tripoli. In her book Sandstorm the journalist Lindsey Hilsum described Gaddafi being invited to parties at the financier Nat Rothschilds house in Corfu, where the other guests included Peter Mandelson and the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. He studied aspects of democratisation to get a PhD from the London School of Economics and in 2008 when he pledged to donate 1.5m to the university for a global governance unit, Professor David Held declared: Ive come to know Saif as someone who looks to democracy, civil society and deep liberal values for the core of his inspiration. And then the Libyan uprising started. 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 Pretty quickly, Saif al-Islam the previously affable alter ego was being described as urbane, charming and psychotic. This seemed to be confirmed by a ranting televised broadcast to the nation on 20 February 2011. Wagging his finger at the Libyan people as if scolding naughty children, he warned them of the dangers of overthrowing his fathers government. There will be civil war in Libya, he told them. We will kill one another in the streets. Instead of crying over 84 casualties, we will be crying over hundreds of thousands of dead. Rivers of blood will flow through all the cities of Libya. But he, his father and his fathers army were not going to let that happen. We will destroy all the dens of strife, he said. Our army will support Libya and Muammar al-Gaddafi to the last moment, and it will be victorious, Allah willing. We will fight to our very last man, woman, and bullet, he vowed. Under no circumstances will we leave our country. He was caught nine months later, in the southern desert, as he tried to flee to Niger. There were conflicting reports about whether Gaddafi had been injured in a Nato air strike, as he insisted, or whether one of his captors had tried to cut off the finger that had been wagged so insultingly at the Libyan people. But as Libya slid into a civil war that was exploited by Isis militants and others, some revised their opinion of his finger-wagging rant and came to see it as prophetic. At about the time of his trial small free Saif al-Islam demonstrations were held in some Libyan cities, the first pro-Gaddafi demonstrations to have occurred since the downfall of the dictatorship. In June 2017, the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Battalion, the militia controlling Zintan, announced it had freed Saif al-Islam at the request of the Libyan House of Representatives (HoR), the parliament based at the other end of the country, in the eastern city of Tobruk. His whereabouts since his release has been a mystery, but in reporting on his planned presidential bid, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed quoted sources as saying that Gaddafi had stayed on the outskirts of Zintan, holding regular secret meetings with other members of the Popular Front party. Mothers claiming their sons were killed by the Gaddafi regime call for the dictators removal in February 2011 (Getty) (Getty Images) His spokesman Mr Boras told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that Saif al-Islams reforms will appeal to many Libyans and that unlike his father he was not a military man. Mr Boras was quoted as saying Gaddafi would announce the details of his election campaign soon, and insisted that the presidential hopeful had a modern and open-minded vision for Libya which rejected violence. But HoR member Mohammad al-Darrat told Al Jazeera that Gaddafis apparent intention to stand for election should be ignored, arguing: If Saif al-Islam wants to return to power, what was the point of the revolution? He was contradicted by Saleh Afihima, another HoR member who said that supporters of the old regime needed to be included in the democratic process if there was to be true national reconciliation and if we want to reach a real state. Al Jazeera reported that some Libyan tribes retained a fondness for the old regime, especially in the south, the Warshefana region and around Sirte, Colonel Gaddafis birthplace. Quite what Gaddafi could rule if elected president is unclear. Libya currently has three rival governments: the HoR in Tobruk, the UN-backed Government of National Accord in Tripoli, and, in the same city, the Government of National Salvation. The data on millions of Facebook users that a firm wrongfully swiped from the social network has likely spread to other groups, databases and the dark web, experts said, making company's pledge to safeguard its users privacy hard to enforce. Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said earlier this week that it would notify users whose data might have been taken by Cambridge Analytica, a political marketing firm that worked for the Trump campaign. Cambridge Analytica obtained the data of an estimated 50 million users in 2014 and 2015 under false pretences, breaking Facebooks rules. Mr Zuckerberg said that the worlds biggest social network has taken steps to ensure data on millions of its users does not get into the wrong hands. But Paul-Olivier Dehaye, a privacy expert and co-founder of PersonalData.IO, said he suspects the data has already proliferated far beyond Cambridge Analyticas reach. It is the whole nature of this ecosystem, Mr Dehaye said. This data travels. And once it has spread there is no way to get it back. Mr Zuckerberg added that Facebook will investigate and audit thousands of third-party developers. Third-party apps could access data on Facebook users and their friends until 2015, when Facebook changed its rules. Experts question whether the networks push to investigate and audit thousands of third-party developers will merit any true results. Mr Dehaye questioned how Facebook would define which apps merit investigation and what would constitute suspicious activity. Facebook said that it conducts manual and automated checks to verify developers comply with its policies. It also plans to expand its bug bounty programme to report misuse of data. Mr Zuckerberg said in interviews that the company is investigating reports that independent researchers and dark web data brokers are trading user data grabbed by the firm Cambridge Analytica. Frank Pasquale, a University of Maryland professor who specialises in algorithms and tech ethics, called this the runaway data problem and said there is no way to return the genie to the bottle when it comes to securing data thats already been released. Location and demographic information, like the data taken from Facebook, can often be used to tie someone to other data points where the identity was previously unclear. The larger data sets you get about individuals, the easier it is to use those to reidentify them in data sets where they think theyre anonymous, professor Pasquale said. With a relatively small amount of data points, you can infer an incredible amount of very personal information about people. Facebook does not know whether other companies have shared or mishandled user data and a forensic audit is ongoing, Mr Zuckerberg told Wired magazine. Asked by Wired how confident he was that Facebook data had not gotten into the hands of Russian operatives or other groups, Mr Zuckerberg said, I cant really say that. I hope that we will know that more certainly after we do an audit. For many of Facebooks prime growth years, the company gave outside developers access to virtually everything that a user who authorised an app or her friends, had posted on the social network: her home town, current city, events and location check-ins; her interests, groups and all the pages shed liked; her relationship statuses with romantic partners, friends and family; her birthday, activities, work history and political and religious affiliations and her photos, notes and videos. Facebook changed its rules in 2015 amid concerns over how the data was being used. But for years, other developers had the power to construct the same kinds of massive micro-targeted databases that had helped make Facebook so prominent. Its unclear how many other services used that power or what they have done with the data pulled. Mr Zuckerberg said the company will investigate all apps that had access to large amounts of information before the rule change, a number he said would likely be in the thousands. The company, he added, will conduct a full audit of any app with suspicious activity and said the company would likely need to hire more workers to complete the audits. We want to make sure that there arent other Cambridge Analyticas out there, he told Wired. The data shared with Cambridge Analytica was taken via a personality quiz, called ThisIsYourDigitalLife, that was initially approved by Facebook for research purposes. 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 Its unclear how Facebook would know how to find or recover users data. The data taken by the researcher Dr Aleksandr Kogan, who provided it to Cambridge Analytica, wasnt watermarked in anyway, Mr Zuckerberg told Wired. And if he passed along data to Cambridge Analytica that was some kind of derivative data based on personality scores or something, we wouldnt have known that or ever seen that data. In the same year that Facebook severed ties with him, Dr Kogan also started his own San Francisco-based survey data firm, Philometrics, raising questions about whether he took the Facebook data with him and used for commercial purposes. (Dr Kogan did not reply to repeated requests for comment). Apps and start-ups that grabbed user data over a number of years, Mr Dehaye said, often hand over their data if theyre acquired by another company or sell their data sets if they close or liquidate. Facebook opened the door to developers in 2007 in hopes of expanding Facebooks reach across the web by making it easier for other sites to connect with the sprawling connective maps Facebook uses to link people by relationships and tastes, known as its social graph and interest graph. Marketing firms have spent tens of millions of dollars to learn similar information including compiling consumer surveys and purchasing massive consumer files from data brokers such as Experian and Acxiom all of which came from different sources and had varying ages, precision and usefulness. Facebooks wealth of data, on the other hand, was packed with detailed information volunteered by users themselves and offered completely free until the rule change took effect in 2015. Facebook, Mr Zuckerberg said, will now restrict the data that third-party developers can access to names, profile photos and email addresses and will require developers to sign a contract before being allowed to ask users for rights to their posts. Facebook said it will ban developers who misuse its data. The sheer size of the data pulled from Facebook, experts say, is powerful on its own and could prove valuable for marketers, political campaigns or other groups seeking to target users en masse. Getting good data on 50 million people from a relatively neutral, nonpartisan source that is diversely spread and not just clustered in one tiny segment of the social graph thats a big deal, said Matthew Hindman, a George Washington University associate professor who researches online campaigning and internet politics. If you can see that many peoples activity on Facebook, you can guess pretty accurately what their partisanship might be, no matter how good your model is. The Washington Post A sheriff in Pennsylvania has put up a wanted poster for a rodent after it failed to predict the weather correctly. Pennsylvanians look to a groundhog called Punxsutawney Phil every 2 February to forecast how much longer winter will last. The tradition has been carried out in Pennsylvania for 132 years. The woodchucks handlers this year said it saw its shadow, which meant there would be six more weeks of winter, according to tradition. But the 13 April deadline passed last week, just before the northeastern US states were battered by a major storm. Police corporal Scott Martin told local news broadcaster WBRE-TV he created the poster and placed it on the wanted wall because he was tired of snow in the spring. The poster claims Phil is wanted for deception, describing the animal as having brown and grey hair, brown eyes, sharp teeth. No arrests had been made on Friday afternoon. It was unclear whether the rodent had gone to ground. Records dating to 1887 show a Pennsylvania groundhog has predicted winter 103 times, while forecasting an early spring just 18 times. The prediction is often wrong. After Phil saw his shadow last year, both February and March ended up warmer than average across the country, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA found that the Pennsylvania groundhog had been right 14 times and wrong 16 times since 1988. There is no predictive skill for the groundhog during the most recent years of the analysis, NOAA said in a report this year. 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 Using a rodent to predict the weather started as a tradition in Europe on an early Christian holiday called Candlemas. Germans who settled in Pennsylvania in the 1700s brought the custom to North America. The tradition has since been immortalised by the eponymous 1993 film, Groundhog Day. Pennsylvanias Punxsutawney Phil is the most well-known groundhog, but several states across the US, including Georgia and Ohio, celebrate 2 February with groundhogs named General Beauregard Lee and Buckeye Chuck. Things are getting out of control during Miami Beachs spring break celebrations, so one official wants to calm the party down with some classical music. Commissioners in the Florida city are looking at a range of ideas to pacify the throngs of college students who flock to the beaches every year in an annual rite of passage usually involving sun tans and beer bongs. Their ideas include revisiting their marijuana possession policies, banning scooter rentals during peak periods, and, replacing dub step with Mozart on the loudspeakers. A hectic spring break weekend last weekend brought in so many party goers that police had to temporarily block traffic in some areas, that led to at least one human stampede, and was a "high percentage" of sexual assaults, commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez told The Independent. Recommended Warning about cracks in Miami bridge unheeded before deadly collapse So, Ms Gonzalez, who is also running for Congress in November, suggested to her fellow commissioners the week that playing music party goers really do not like could break up the raucous fetes. Sometimes when you want to stop the party, you have to turn off the lights, Ms Gonzalez, who noted that she is not certain that playing classical music would actually have an effect, said. Now, we cant turn off the music and the lights, but we can play something they hate. Ms Gonzalez stressed that, in proposing a potential review of the citys marijuana policy, the commission is not looking to put people in jail for pot. They just do not want a shroud of smoke hanging over their city from public use. 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 dont want marijuana to be criminal or arrest-able, she said. But we also dont want it being smoked everywhere in public. The city experienced 5,000 to 6,000 party goers this past weekend, with crowding occurring beyond an area that police could control. The day marked the peak of spring break season, and happened to be St Patricks Day a perfect storm that officials have said led to the highest spring break turnout they have ever seen. The mass of people led to resident complaints that the primarily youthful group of people were engaged in all sorts of crude behaviours, like urinating in public and smoking marijuana in public. Public intoxication, it was later said, was rampant. At one point, Ms Gonzalez said, a bottle broke, sparking a human stampede that knocked over tables and chairs outside of cafes as party goers rushed to get away from what sounded like a blast. And it is exactly situations like that Ms Gonzalez says her commission would like to never see again. We want Miami beach to be safe for the college kids that visit, the children, and the families, she said. A New York City oversight board is investigating a company formerly run by Jared Kushner President Donald Trumps son-in-law and White House adviser for potential illegal activity related to work permits for 13 buildings it controls. The company, Kushner Companies, is being investigated by the New York City Department of Buildings for false filing on applications for construction permits in Brooklyn and Manhattan, according to filings online. The investigation, first reported by the Associated Press, comes alongside accusations from housing groups that say the company has failed to disclose the existence of affordable housing in their buildings on previous applications, which has allowed the company to skirt stricter construction oversights, and potentially harass tenants. Recommended Kushner meets Mexican President but departing US ambassador left out The housing group, Housing Rights Initiative, accused the company this week of having falsified more than 80 work permits involving 34 buildings in New York. The group also accused the company of using construction as a tactic to push residents out of units. That, according to the group, is a common tactic for landlords in the city, who try to push tenants who enjoy affordable housing rates out of the buildings, reducing affordable housing options in the city. Kushner Companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Independent on the allegations and accusations. The group said earlier this week that it values its tenants, and that it takes its legal and ethical responsibilities seriously, and would not falsify formal filings. Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Show all 29 1 /29 Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump acknowledges the audience after taking the oath of office as his wife Melania (L) and daughter Tiffany watch during inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States on the West Front of the US capital in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jim Bourg: "This photo was shot with one of two remote cameras. The cameras were monitored and triggered remotely and the pictures were transmitted to clients worldwide within minutes of being taken." Reuters/Jim Bourg Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Obama farewell address - 10 January 2017 US President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he delivers his farewell address in Chicago on 10 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "In his final days in office, Obama made a visit home to Chicago. As he spoke from the stage to his wife and daughter in the audience, he became emotional when he talked about what they had sacrificed during his time in office. I turned from photographing the Obama women embracing to find him onstage wiping away tears." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 A combination of photos shows the crowds attending the inauguration ceremonies to swear in U.S. President Donald Trump at 12:01pm (left) on January 20, 2017 and President Barack Obama sometime between 12:07pm and 12:26pm on January 20, 2009. Reuters/ Lucas Jackson/Stelios Varias Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Liberty Ball - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the Liberty Ball in honour of his inauguration in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "What I see when I look at this picture is the end of a very long day, not to mention weeks and months of preparation by many photographers, editors and network experts and the beginning of everything since." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception - 22 January 2017 US President Donald Trump greets Director of the FBI James Comey as Director of the Secret Service Joseph Clancy (L), watches during the Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House on 22 January, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "I have covered the White House for 16 years and normally either the President or the pool is in position when an event starts. In this case the President was not where anyone expected him to be. In fact, he was almost blocking the door when the pool came in. We had to scramble to find a position without bumping him or the furniture as he greeted and thanked members of law enforcement for their security efforts during the inauguration. Luckily, he greeted FBI Director James Comey a few seconds after the pool had made its way into the room." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Private phone calls to world leaders - 28 January 2017 US President Donald Trump, is joined by his staff, as he speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office on 28 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Very early in the Trump administration, weekends were as busy as weekdays. On Trump's second Saturday the official schedule said he would be making private phone calls to a number of world leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin. I arrived early and, before sitting down at my desk walked up to Press Secretary Sean Spicer's office. He, too, was just taking his coat off. I gingerly made the suggestion that previous administrations had sometimes allowed photos of such phone calls through the Oval Office windows on the colonnade. To my mild shock, he didn't even think about it twice. "We'll do it!" he said. In truth, I really only expected the Putin call, but we were outside the windows multiple times throughout the day as the calls went on." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway - 27 February 2017 Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway (L) attends as US President Donald Trump welcomes the leaders of dozens of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the Oval Office on 27 February, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "We're often asked how much access we have to the Trump administration, and the answer is we have an awful lot. President Trump himself is very comfortable in the spotlight, and his aides are similarly unfazed by cameras. In this instance, senior advisor Kellyanne Conway was so comfortable in our presence she seemed not to consider the optics of kneeling on a Oval Office sofa to take pictures with her phone." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Angela Merkel heads to Washington - 17 March 2017 Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on 17 March, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Chancellor Merkel made one of the earliest important visits of any US allies to meet Trump in his first months in office. When world leaders give joint news conferences they don't always tend to give each other their full attention - but Merkel watched Trump intently at several key moments, and here seemed particularly rapt." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump welcomes truckers to the White House - 23 March 2017 President Trump reacts as he sits on a truck while he welcomes truckers and CEOs to attend a meeting regarding healthcare at the White House on 23 March, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "The White House organised a listening session with truckers and CEO's of major American companies, regarding healthcare reform. An 18-wheeler tow truck was parked on the South Lawn of the White House and as Trump welcomed the truckers someone invited the him to come and sit in the driver's seat. Trump jumped into the cab and started yelling and pretending to drive - creating one of the most memorable pictures of the year. A lesson learned, always be prepared for the unexpected." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 6 April 2017 US President Donald Trump talks to journalists members of the travel pool on board the Air Force One during his trip to Palm Beach, Florida on 6 April, 2017. Carlos Barria: "During the many trips to President Trump's residence in Florida it is usual to see the president coming to the back of the plane to chat with journalists. During one of the trips to the so called 'Winter White House', Trump had a long talk with reporters while the Air Force One entertainment system was playing one of the latest Star Wars movies. As I was listening to Trump talk I was also looking at the movie waiting for a part of the movie to frame the mood of the day. Of the many scenes, I choose the one with Darth Vader." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump speaks during an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office of the White House on 27 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "A day before President Trump's hundred days in office I was part of the team that interviewed the commander-in-chief in the Oval Office. I was only allowed to photograph Trump during the last five minutes of the interview. The time was very tight so I had to move fast as I had pictures in mind that I wanted to shoot. I walked into the Oval Office and saw that the President had printed maps of the country showing areas in red where he won. I raised my hands holding my camera as high as possible to get the best view of the scene using a 16mm wide angle lens." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump reacts as he arrives at Harrisburg international airport, before attending a rally marking his first 100 days in office in Pennsylvania on 29 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to celebrate his hundred days in office with a victory rally. He was in friendly territory as he won with a big difference over his opponent Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, during the November elections. As usual when the commander-in-chief arrives local residents gather to greet him. This time a small group of military personnel attended the arrival. Surrounded by secret service agents Trump walked from the Air Force One and raised his hand in a sign of victory as the crowd cheered him on." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 2 May 2017 White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (L) and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus watch as US President Donald Trump presents the U.S. Air Force Academy football team with the Commander-in-Chief trophy in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on 2 May, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "Covering the White House does not just mean covering the President. White House staffers are an important part of the story and their relationship with the President and each other is an indicator of how things are going in the West Wing. The tendency is to focus exclusively on the President once an event starts but I always try to look around to see how people are reacting as things unfold." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Secret Service - 4 May 2017 Secret Service agents use a presidential limousine as cover from spraying water as US President Donald Trump lands via Marine One helicopter in New York on 4 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "The best part of any trip to New York City with the sitting US President is the helicopter ride into Manhattan. The ride out at night can be stunning. Here, Secret Service agents protect themselves from the spray from the East River as Trump lands on the helipad." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures NATO Summit - 25 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wait the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron (unseen) before a lunch ahead of a NATO Summit in Brussels on 25 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "One of the best parts of travelling overseas for White House coverage is the chance to see the U.S. president in different environments and (literally) a different light. Here, Trump and his wife came out of the shadows to greet France's President Macron." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump meets Putin at G20 summit - 7 July 2017 US President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany on 7 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "On July 7, I witnessed one of the most important meetings of President Trump's first year in office. Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin during a bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Germany. The world's eyes were on these two leaders after speculation about Russian interference during the 2016 US elections. We entered the room for less than two minutes, where I took dozens of pictures. But there was this very interesting moment when Trump extended his hand to Putin for a handshake. Putin paused for a second and looked at Trump's hand. That was the picture that I was looking for, a little moment that seemed to say a lot." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures First lady - 8 July 2017 First lady Melania Trump chats with US President Donald Trump during their return from Germany at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on 8 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "After President Trump's trip to Germany he arrived back at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. First Lady Melania Trump said goodbye to Trump as she was heading off in a different direction that day. While chatting a breeze blew Melania's hair up in the air." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Made in America product showcase - 17 July 2017 Vice President Mike Pence laughs as President Donald Trump holds a baseball bat as they attend a Made in America product showcase event at the White House on 17 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "This summer the White House organized an event to showcase 'Made in America' products. All kinds of exhibitors brought their products as the President and Vice President toured the event. One of the companies was Marucci Sport, a manufacturer of baseball bats based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As Trump approached a table full of baseball bats, photographers at the event, including me, rushed to get a good angle hoping that he would pick up a bat. As we predicted, he did. He took one and joked around as though he was hitting something hard. The only thing closer to him right there, was the media." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 25 July 2017 Former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski says hello to reporters as he and White House advisors including Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci accompany President Trump for an event celebrating veterans at AMVETS Post 44 in Ohio, July 25, 2017. Jonathan Ernst: "The most visible person in any White House is naturally the President, followed by the press secretary. But there are also the staff who support them. For those of us covering the Trump administration, there seem to be more compelling figures in the West Wing than ever before. It's crucial to know who's who and why they're important. When I raised my camera and back-pedalled ahead of the group to take this image Lewandowski gave me a hello. I liked the photo, but had no idea it would go a little bit viral, especially since Scaramucci, who was the biggest mover and shaker that week, was hidden back in the pack. But I guess the image catches a glimpse of what it's like to be a West Wing staffer on the road." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Campaign rally - 3 August 2017 US President Donald Trump arrives at a rally in West Virginia on 3 August, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Huntington for one of his usual campaign rallies. While members of his family spoke to the crowd he was waiting under a black curtain to be introduced. Suddenly he walked onto the stage, one of the first frames that I took was of his hand. I set my exposure for the light on the stage hoping to create this dark background and it worked." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Staring into the solar eclipse - 21 August 2017 Without his protective glasses on, US President Donald Trump looks up towards the solar eclipse while viewing with his wife Melania and son Barron at the White House on 21 August, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "On a day when everyone, and I mean everyone, was told not to look at the eclipse without protective glasses, Trump, President of the United States, couldn't help himself." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Harvey - 2 September 2017 US President Donald Trump poses for a photo as he and first lady Melania Trump help volunteers hand out meals during a visit with flood survivors of Hurricane Harvey at a relief centre in Houston, Texas on 2 September, 2017. Photohrapher Kevin Lamarque: "Trump, eager to deliver the image of a hands-on response to Hurricane Harvey, made this visit to a relief centre and obliged this woman with a selfie as Melania continued to work." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House - 15 September 2017 Donald Trump welcomes 11-year-old Frank Giaccio as he cuts the Rose Garden grass at the White House on 15 September. Frank, who wrote a letter to Trump offering to mow the lawn, was invited to work for a day at the White House along the National Park Service staff. Frank was so focused on his task that he did not notice the President arrive to surprise him. He took his father jumping in to grab his attention and point Trump out. Photographer Carlos Barria said: The image of Trump shouting at a kid who is mowing his lawn might have many interpretations in today's politically polarized United States. But for me it was just a kid who loved what he was doing, to the point he almost appeared to ignore the President." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Take a knee - 27 September 2017 A man kneels with a folded U.S. flag as the motorcade of U.S. President Donald Trump passes him after an event at the state fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., September 27, 2017. In September, soon after Trump had made comments condemning NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, he made a day trip to a rally in Indianapolis. Jonathan Ernst managed to capture a man on one knee with a tri-folded flag and was able to use a portion of the sign on the building he was kneeling in front of to track the man down and tell his story in full. US Army veteran Marvin Boatright wanted to send a message against social injustice. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Maria - 3 October 2017 President Donald Trump throws rolls of paper towels into a crowd of local residents affected by Hurricane Maria as he visits Calgary Chapel in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 3 October, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "During an afternoon visit to Puerto Rico for President Trump to survey damage from Hurricane Maria and greet some of its victims, Trump made a stop at a church where food and supplies were being distributed. Among the items were paper towels and Trump, apparently caught up in the moment, decided to distribute some of the rolls." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Jared Kushner - 1 November 2017 White House Senior adviser Jared Kushner sits behind President Trump during a cabinet meeting in Washington on 1 November, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "The role of Jared Kushner has gone through a series of changes. He began front and centre as a high profile adviser, but as time has passed and issues surrounding him have surfaced, he has become more of a background figure." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump in China - 9 November 2017 Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands after making joint statements at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 9 November, 2017. Photographer Damir Sagolj: "It's one of those "how to make a better or at least different shot when two presidents shake hands several times a day, several days in row". If I'm not mistaken in calculation, presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump shook their hands at least six times in events I covered during Trump's recent visit to China. I would imagine there were some more handshakes I haven't seen but other photographers did. And they all look similar - two big men, smiling and heartily greeting each other until everyone gets their shot. But then there is always something that can make it special - in this case the background made of US and Chinese flags. The first time it didn't work for me. The second time I positioned myself lower and centrally, and used the longest lens I have to capture only hands reaching for a handshake." Reuters/Damir Sagolj Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 10 November 2017 US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to depart for Vietnam from Beijing Airport in Beijing, China, November 10, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "There is a Reuters photographer in the tight pool covering the US president for every appearance he makes 365 days a year. This was just one of 32 images of mine that were transmitted on the Reuters wire of President Trump visiting China and Vietnam that day. You never know when a sudden interaction, a gust of wind or a unique facial expression will lead to a striking image that grabs peoples' attention." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures ASEAN handshake - 13 November 2017 Donald Trump registers his surprise as he realises other leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte and Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, are crossing their arms for the traditional "ASEAN handshake" as he participates in the opening ceremony of the summit in Manila on 13 November, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Having covered a few ASEAN summits, I knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. Not everyone in the room knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. A lot was written about this unscripted moment, and what deeper meaning it might have. The simple truth is that sometimes in life there are unscripted moments." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst The company, which Mr Kushner has publicly distanced himself from since joining the White House, has been a subject of scrutiny during the administration of President Donald Trump. Thats because the massive company has business interests that reach across the globe, and because of debts the company holds that could potentially be alleviated by foreign loans and financing. Ethics experts have expressed concern that that could pose a potential conflict of interest for Mr Kushner. Mr Kushner is reportedly not involved with the day to day operations of his family company, however, and his representatives have asserted in the past that he honours ethics agreements created to ensure that he does not have a conflict of interest. Donald Trump has replaced HR McMaster, his national security adviser, with noted foreign policy hawk John Bolton. The man who kept a defused hand grenade on his desk at the State Department during the administration of former Republican President George W Bush is known for his strong stances on Iran, North Korea, the UN, European governments and international treaties. Recommended John Bolton brings hardline views to White House His appointment led one Democratic senator Jack Reed, the ranking member of the US Senates armed services committee to warn that Mr Bolton does not have the temperament or judgement to be an effective national security adviser. But after news of his appointment broke, the 69-year-old told Fox News: Frankly, what I have said in private now is behind me". Below, a look back at Mr Boltons thoughts on a number of topics. On North Korea We have a very limited amount of time left before NorthKorea gains deliverable nuclear weapons. Weve got to look at the very unattractive choice of using military force to deny them that capability, Mr Bolton tweeted in January. He has made a number of statements advocating a first-strike policy and described Mr Trumps plan to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as diplomatic shock and awe He said it would be an opportunity to deliver a threat of military action. I think this session between the two leaders could well be a fairly brief session where Trump says, Tell me you have begun total denuclearisation, because were not going to have protracted negotiations. You can tell me right now or well start thinking of something else, he told Washingtons WMAL radio station. 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 In 2003 as undersecretary of state Mr Bolton called former North Korean leader and Mr Kim's father, Kim Jong-il, a tyrannical dictator, while describing life in the secretive communist state as a hellish nightmare. For its part, Pyongyang retorted that Mr Bolton, later US Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), was a human scum and bloodsucker. On Iran In a 2015 New York Times column entitled, To Stop Irans Bomb, Bomb Iran, Mr Bolton argued: The inconvenient truth is that only military action like Israels 1981 attack on Saddam Husseins Osirak reactor in Iraq or its 2007 destruction of a Syrian reactor, designed and built by North Korea, can accomplish what is required. Time is terribly short, but a strike can still succeed. He has also described the deal as "the worst act of appeasement in American history" and last year he tweeted: Iran can sign multiple agreements, but the fact is, theyre not going to stop until they reach the nuclear capability that North Korea has. On the UN In 1994, Mr Bolton said in a speech at the the Global Structures Convocation in New York: There is no United Nations. There is an international community that occasionally can be led by the only real power left in the world, and thats the United States, when it suits our interests and when we can get others to go along. Recommended Trump campaign links with Cambridge Analytica investigated by Mueller And, asked in 2013 what his greatest lesson had been from his time as ambassador, Mr Bolton told an interviewer at the American Enterprise Institute: America has to defend its own interests in the United Nations, because you can be sure no one else will. Acting like a well-bred doormat gets us nothing but more pressure to conform in an environment that it is often far from conducive to our values and interests. That can be done politely and graciously, but we should never confuse being friendly with making substantive concessions. On Russia In 2016 Mr Bolton appeared to suggest the Russian hack of Democratic emails during the presidential campaign may have been a false flag operation conducted by Americans. He has nonetheless been a strident in his criticism of Vladimir Putins actions in Syria and of the nerve agent attack in the UK. And this week he tweeted: The recent Russian presidential election was a chance for #Putin to practice election meddling on his own elections so he can do it better elsewhere. We need a long term strategy to deal with countries like #Russia and #China with long standing rulers. Additional reporting by agencies Thirty-eight days after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, hundreds of thousands of students across the country will take to the streets in an anti-gun violence protest of unprecedented size for the issue. The marches which consist of a main event in Washington alongside sister protests in New York, Los Angeles and hundreds of communities across the country is the culmination of weeks of planning by student survivors of the Parkland, Florida shooting in which 17 people were killed on Valentine's Day The mass protests have been organised by a group of survivors who have forced the nation into a debate about gun control, even as the tragic cycle of gun violence has continued to repeat itself in communities across the country. End this crisis, they have told politicians, while shootings across the country in Chicago, in Birmingham, Alabama, in Great Mills, Maryland and elsewhere have added to the harrowing tally of the dead. Youve made this mess, the students have repeatedly told the adults who have failed for years to address gun violence in America, and were going to clean it up. Recommended Florida school orders students to use clear rucksacks after shooting Weve all come together and weve all united which is why the march in Washington tomorrow will be so effective, Parkland student Demitri Hoth said on Friday during a press conference in Washington, with the towering Capitol building behind him. People were hunted down in the hallways of my school, and thats not okay. Parkland students are aware that the best way to see lasting change is to raise their voices and make sure they are heard. Weve been silent for too long as a nation. Weve allowed these things to continue for too long, David Hogg, one of the more outspoken of the Parkland students, said this week during a panel at the Harvard Kennedy School. Whats important is that we speak up to legislators and let them know that this is what their constituents want. And if they choose not to vote on the side of human lives that are innocently taken ever year, thats OK, because well vote you out. Its as simple as that. The group of students, including Mr Hogg, have seemingly been everywhere from television to the cover of Time magazine as they have amplified their message in the build-up to Saturdays marches. Parkland High School survivor David Hogg student movement needs to use their white privilege to give voice to minority gun victims They have visited their peers in Chicago, and spoken in New York City. They chastised Florida Senator Marco Rubio for taking money from the National Rifle Association (NRA) during a nationally broadcast town hall meeting, and posted viral tweets, gun control statistics and support for other organisers, as well as exchanging light-hearted banter with each other, highlighting the fact that the people leading one of the most prominent political debates in the country are mostly 17 and 18 year-olds. Florida shooting in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Florida shooting in pictures Florida shooting in pictures Police arrest a suspect in connection with the shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida Reuters Florida shooting in pictures Parents wait for news after reports of a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida AP Florida shooting in pictures Anxious family members wait for news of students AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee Florida shooting in pictures Students being evacuated from the school AP Florida shooting in pictures Students being evacuated from the school Getty Florida shooting in pictures People gather waiting for word from students AP Florida shooting in pictures Parents waiting for news on their children AP Florida shooting in pictures People gather at a hotel where students were taken after the shooting Getty Florida shooting in pictures Florida Governor Rick Scott speaks to the media as he visits Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School following the shooting AFP/Getty Florida shooting in pictures Dr. Igor Nichiporenko, Medical Director Trauma, left, and Dr. Evan Boyer, Medical Director, Emergency Services, speak about treating victims and the suspect at a press conference outside Broward Health North hospital AP The movement has seen some early success, though gun laws in America remain largely the same. In the weeks after the shooting in Parkland, Florida passed gun restrictions to raise the minimum age for buying a firearm in the state, and to impose a waiting period to receive those weapons, defying the powerful NRA presence in the state even as advocates said the bill did not go nearly far enough. On the federal level, the persistent cries for help from the Parkland teenagers forced President Donald Trump to hold a listening session with students, and to float several possible ideas to tackle gun violence even going so far as to suggest that taking guns from potentially dangerous people should be priority, and that the constitutional right to due process could be worried about later. But, just weeks later Mr Trump, who has received notable support from the NRA, appeared to bow to the gun lobby and back away from loftier gun control bills and his calls for raising the age to buy semi-automatic weapons from 18 to 21. The NRA did not respond to a request for comment from The Independent for this story. Andrew Patrick, the media coordinator for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, told The Independent that the NRAs hold on political leverage may change because of the momentum the Parkland students have created. The continued push to politicize gun violence and tie the deaths of students across the country to the NRA, he said, have placed a dark mark on the gun lobby. Theyve pretty much made the NRA politically, and culturally, toxic, Mr Patrick said. They have really awoken the nations view on this and I think were going to see for the first time ever probably for the first time in a long time where people are going to be voting on gun violence prevention and gun safety. With the 2018 midterms months away, Democrats have seized upon the issue, campaigning alongside the students who have repeatedly threatened to unseat politicians who do not push for gun control measures. Former Vice President Joe Biden, who is considered a potential presidential candidate in 2020, voiced his support, for instance, showing that gun violence has become a potentially potent political issue that could impact the ballot box in November and beyond. Theyre going to win, Mr Biden said Friday, before saying he is ready for a fight. Watch We can beat the NRA. Josh Sugarmann, the director of the Violence Policy Centre, told The Independent that he hasnt seen youth engagement to compare to Parkland in his three and a half decades working in gun control advocacy, and that he has never seen a march of this size on gun violence. For Mr Sugarman, the question is whether they can continue the momentum beyond Saturday. I think the success of what comes out of Parkland is not measured in marches but will those who participated in them continue to be engaged on the issue Its not just these students: Its their friends, their family, their siblings, he said. The question is, is this one step towards helping to create and organise a working grass roots movement that will work on gun violence prevention? The Parkland students, for their part, say that their march in Washington is just the start. Speaking at another press conference inside the US Capitol on Friday, Aaliyah Eastmond, one of the Parkland students visiting for the march, said that they are not going anywhere until they get what they want. A lot of people feel like this is the end and the march is just thats going to be it. The march is just the start, Ms Eastmond said. We will fight for this until change happens. If you guys dont want to hear about it anymore, you fix it, so we dont have to keep repeating ourselves. Robert Mueller, the Special Counsel investigating alleged Russian interference in the US election, will scrutinise links between Donald Trump's campaign and Cambridge Analytica - the British firm accused of using the personal information of millions of Facebook users for campaigning, without their consent or knowledge. Mr Muellers investigators have questioned officials who worked on the US Presidents campaign about its data operations, particularly about how they collected and used voter data in battleground states, according to two sources close to the investigation. Authorities in Britain and the US are investigating whether Cambridge Analytica may have used data improperly obtained from more than 50 million Facebook users to try to influence the 2016 White House race. Several digital experts employed by the Republican National Committee (RNC) worked closely with both the campaign and the London-based data-mining firm, according to the two former campaign officials. The campaign paid the firm just under $6m (4.26m) for its work, federal records show. Mr Mueller is leading a criminal probe into whether President Trumps team had ties to Russia and whether he may have obstructed justice. He has subpoenaed the Trump Organization in the investigation into alleged collusion between members of the President's 2016 team and Russian officials. The Trump campaign has distanced itself from Cambridge Analytica, which had been financed by major Republican donors and, for a time, employed Steve Bannon, the former editor of right-wing outlet Breitbart News, who later became Mr Trumps former chief strategist. The exact role that Cambridge Analytica played for the Trump campaign remains unclear. Staff at the firm are known to have made several overtures to campaign officials before the firm was eventually retained. They first requested a meeting in spring 2015, before the billionaire real-estate mogul officially announced his candidacy, according to four former campaign officials. Alexander Nix, the Cambridge Analytica chief executive, captured on a sting video released this week, met with then-campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to make a pitch about what his company could offer, including its psychographic method of profiling. 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 Lewandowski refused, in part because staff believed Mr Trump would not be willing to make a sizeable financial investment in an analytics firm, according the two sources. Cambridge Analytica then worked for the campaign of Mr Trumps Republican rivals Ben Carson and Ted Cruz. But after Mr Trump became the presumptive nominee, the data firm again made contact, this time with Paul Manafort, the new campaign chief. Mr Manafort was also sceptical, but hired Cambridge Analytica, in part as a friendly gesture to the Mercer family, heavyweight Republican donors who had helped fund the companys launch a few years earlier. Records show the Trump campaigns first payment of $100,000 (70,000) to the firm came in July 2016. Five of the firms staff were assigned to work with the campaigns digital director, Brad Parscale, at his Texas-based firm. Parscale and Jared Kushner, Mr Trumps son-in-law, emphasised using social media particularly Facebook to better target voters, and pressed its importance on Mr Trump. Cambridge Analytica built a database of small-dollar Republican donors, information the company had from its prior work for the Cruz and Carson campaigns. But when it became clear the RNC would share its much-improved data operation with the Trump campaign, the firm fell out of favour. Two of the former officials said their tools were not useful, though Parscale said a month after the election that the firm had been involved in daily polls and helped shape spending. Another campaign official said the firm was kept around mostly to placate the Mercers and their allies on Trumps staff. Mr Bannon, with the Mercers backing, served as vice president of the firm from June 2014 to August 2016, when he joined the Trump campaign. He recently tried to distance the campaign from Cambridge Analytica, saying he had no knowledge of the data-mining operation, instead blaming Facebook. Chris Wylie, a Cambridge Analytica whistleblower, told The Washington Post that the firm had begun testing phrases such as drain the swamp before Mr Trump launched his campaign. Senator Mark Warner, vice-chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the scandal was more evidence that the online political advertising market is essentially the Wild West. Whether its allowing Russians to purchase political ads, or extensive micro-targeting based on ill-gotten user data, its clear that, left unregulated, this market will continue to be prone to deception and lacking in transparency, he tweeted. AP contributed to this report. Donald Trump has grudgingly signed a massive spending bill just hours after threatening to veto the measure, complaining that it does not include protections for young illegal immigrants or fully funds his long-promised border wall. "But I say to Congress, I will never sign another bill like this again," Mr Trump said. The President said he seriously considered rejecting the $1.3 trillion spending package but decided not to out of concerns for national security. "There are a lot of things we shouldn't have had in this bill but we were, in a sense, forced if we want to build our military, we were forced to have," Mr Trump said. The Senate approved the 2,232-page measure in a 65-32 vote, about 12 hours after the House had also passed the legislation on a similarly wide bipartisan vote of 256-to-167. "Nobody read it," Mr Trump said. "Its only hours old." In a rambling speech after signing the measure that was released on Wednesday, Mr Trump railed against Democrats several times, calling for an end to the Senate's filibuster rule, which would allow passage of all bills on a simple-majority vote. The rule encourages Democrats and Republicans to work together. He also called on Congress to give him the ability to nix spending he disagrees with by granting him line-item veto power. The Supreme Court has previously found that the line-item veto violated the Presentment Clause of the Constitution, which says the President does not have the power to unilaterally amend or repeal legislation The government funding bill has been dogged by negotiations over the status of recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme, a policy from the Barack Obama era that Mr Trump announced last year he was rescinding. Democrats have accused the President of failing the young people DACA has protected from the threat of deportation. Mr Trump has, in turn, accused the party of walking away from deals to come up with a permanent legislative fix for the programme. I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded, Mr Trump tweeted just hours before signing the budget bill. The announcement took Washington by surprise, with the White House having said earlier in the week that Mr Trump would back the bill after discussing it with House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. If Mr Trump had not signed the measure by midnight on Friday night, the government most likely would have shut down. The president and the leaders discussed their support for the bill, which includes more funds to rebuild the military, such as the largest pay raise for our troops in a decade, more than 100 miles of new construction for the border wall and other key domestic priorities, like combatting the opioid crisis and rebuilding our nations infrastructure, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. A White House official later added that Mr Trump intends to sign the bill and that it is a step in the right direction. Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Show all 29 1 /29 Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump acknowledges the audience after taking the oath of office as his wife Melania (L) and daughter Tiffany watch during inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States on the West Front of the US capital in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jim Bourg: "This photo was shot with one of two remote cameras. The cameras were monitored and triggered remotely and the pictures were transmitted to clients worldwide within minutes of being taken." Reuters/Jim Bourg Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Obama farewell address - 10 January 2017 US President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he delivers his farewell address in Chicago on 10 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "In his final days in office, Obama made a visit home to Chicago. As he spoke from the stage to his wife and daughter in the audience, he became emotional when he talked about what they had sacrificed during his time in office. I turned from photographing the Obama women embracing to find him onstage wiping away tears." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 A combination of photos shows the crowds attending the inauguration ceremonies to swear in U.S. President Donald Trump at 12:01pm (left) on January 20, 2017 and President Barack Obama sometime between 12:07pm and 12:26pm on January 20, 2009. Reuters/ Lucas Jackson/Stelios Varias Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Liberty Ball - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the Liberty Ball in honour of his inauguration in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "What I see when I look at this picture is the end of a very long day, not to mention weeks and months of preparation by many photographers, editors and network experts and the beginning of everything since." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception - 22 January 2017 US President Donald Trump greets Director of the FBI James Comey as Director of the Secret Service Joseph Clancy (L), watches during the Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House on 22 January, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "I have covered the White House for 16 years and normally either the President or the pool is in position when an event starts. In this case the President was not where anyone expected him to be. In fact, he was almost blocking the door when the pool came in. We had to scramble to find a position without bumping him or the furniture as he greeted and thanked members of law enforcement for their security efforts during the inauguration. Luckily, he greeted FBI Director James Comey a few seconds after the pool had made its way into the room." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Private phone calls to world leaders - 28 January 2017 US President Donald Trump, is joined by his staff, as he speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office on 28 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Very early in the Trump administration, weekends were as busy as weekdays. On Trump's second Saturday the official schedule said he would be making private phone calls to a number of world leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin. I arrived early and, before sitting down at my desk walked up to Press Secretary Sean Spicer's office. He, too, was just taking his coat off. I gingerly made the suggestion that previous administrations had sometimes allowed photos of such phone calls through the Oval Office windows on the colonnade. To my mild shock, he didn't even think about it twice. "We'll do it!" he said. In truth, I really only expected the Putin call, but we were outside the windows multiple times throughout the day as the calls went on." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway - 27 February 2017 Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway (L) attends as US President Donald Trump welcomes the leaders of dozens of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the Oval Office on 27 February, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "We're often asked how much access we have to the Trump administration, and the answer is we have an awful lot. President Trump himself is very comfortable in the spotlight, and his aides are similarly unfazed by cameras. In this instance, senior advisor Kellyanne Conway was so comfortable in our presence she seemed not to consider the optics of kneeling on a Oval Office sofa to take pictures with her phone." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Angela Merkel heads to Washington - 17 March 2017 Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on 17 March, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Chancellor Merkel made one of the earliest important visits of any US allies to meet Trump in his first months in office. When world leaders give joint news conferences they don't always tend to give each other their full attention - but Merkel watched Trump intently at several key moments, and here seemed particularly rapt." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump welcomes truckers to the White House - 23 March 2017 President Trump reacts as he sits on a truck while he welcomes truckers and CEOs to attend a meeting regarding healthcare at the White House on 23 March, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "The White House organised a listening session with truckers and CEO's of major American companies, regarding healthcare reform. An 18-wheeler tow truck was parked on the South Lawn of the White House and as Trump welcomed the truckers someone invited the him to come and sit in the driver's seat. Trump jumped into the cab and started yelling and pretending to drive - creating one of the most memorable pictures of the year. A lesson learned, always be prepared for the unexpected." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 6 April 2017 US President Donald Trump talks to journalists members of the travel pool on board the Air Force One during his trip to Palm Beach, Florida on 6 April, 2017. Carlos Barria: "During the many trips to President Trump's residence in Florida it is usual to see the president coming to the back of the plane to chat with journalists. During one of the trips to the so called 'Winter White House', Trump had a long talk with reporters while the Air Force One entertainment system was playing one of the latest Star Wars movies. As I was listening to Trump talk I was also looking at the movie waiting for a part of the movie to frame the mood of the day. Of the many scenes, I choose the one with Darth Vader." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump speaks during an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office of the White House on 27 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "A day before President Trump's hundred days in office I was part of the team that interviewed the commander-in-chief in the Oval Office. I was only allowed to photograph Trump during the last five minutes of the interview. The time was very tight so I had to move fast as I had pictures in mind that I wanted to shoot. I walked into the Oval Office and saw that the President had printed maps of the country showing areas in red where he won. I raised my hands holding my camera as high as possible to get the best view of the scene using a 16mm wide angle lens." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump reacts as he arrives at Harrisburg international airport, before attending a rally marking his first 100 days in office in Pennsylvania on 29 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to celebrate his hundred days in office with a victory rally. He was in friendly territory as he won with a big difference over his opponent Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, during the November elections. As usual when the commander-in-chief arrives local residents gather to greet him. This time a small group of military personnel attended the arrival. Surrounded by secret service agents Trump walked from the Air Force One and raised his hand in a sign of victory as the crowd cheered him on." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 2 May 2017 White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (L) and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus watch as US President Donald Trump presents the U.S. Air Force Academy football team with the Commander-in-Chief trophy in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on 2 May, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "Covering the White House does not just mean covering the President. White House staffers are an important part of the story and their relationship with the President and each other is an indicator of how things are going in the West Wing. The tendency is to focus exclusively on the President once an event starts but I always try to look around to see how people are reacting as things unfold." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Secret Service - 4 May 2017 Secret Service agents use a presidential limousine as cover from spraying water as US President Donald Trump lands via Marine One helicopter in New York on 4 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "The best part of any trip to New York City with the sitting US President is the helicopter ride into Manhattan. The ride out at night can be stunning. Here, Secret Service agents protect themselves from the spray from the East River as Trump lands on the helipad." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures NATO Summit - 25 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wait the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron (unseen) before a lunch ahead of a NATO Summit in Brussels on 25 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "One of the best parts of travelling overseas for White House coverage is the chance to see the U.S. president in different environments and (literally) a different light. Here, Trump and his wife came out of the shadows to greet France's President Macron." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump meets Putin at G20 summit - 7 July 2017 US President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany on 7 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "On July 7, I witnessed one of the most important meetings of President Trump's first year in office. Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin during a bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Germany. The world's eyes were on these two leaders after speculation about Russian interference during the 2016 US elections. We entered the room for less than two minutes, where I took dozens of pictures. But there was this very interesting moment when Trump extended his hand to Putin for a handshake. Putin paused for a second and looked at Trump's hand. That was the picture that I was looking for, a little moment that seemed to say a lot." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures First lady - 8 July 2017 First lady Melania Trump chats with US President Donald Trump during their return from Germany at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on 8 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "After President Trump's trip to Germany he arrived back at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. First Lady Melania Trump said goodbye to Trump as she was heading off in a different direction that day. While chatting a breeze blew Melania's hair up in the air." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Made in America product showcase - 17 July 2017 Vice President Mike Pence laughs as President Donald Trump holds a baseball bat as they attend a Made in America product showcase event at the White House on 17 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "This summer the White House organized an event to showcase 'Made in America' products. All kinds of exhibitors brought their products as the President and Vice President toured the event. One of the companies was Marucci Sport, a manufacturer of baseball bats based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As Trump approached a table full of baseball bats, photographers at the event, including me, rushed to get a good angle hoping that he would pick up a bat. As we predicted, he did. He took one and joked around as though he was hitting something hard. The only thing closer to him right there, was the media." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 25 July 2017 Former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski says hello to reporters as he and White House advisors including Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci accompany President Trump for an event celebrating veterans at AMVETS Post 44 in Ohio, July 25, 2017. Jonathan Ernst: "The most visible person in any White House is naturally the President, followed by the press secretary. But there are also the staff who support them. For those of us covering the Trump administration, there seem to be more compelling figures in the West Wing than ever before. It's crucial to know who's who and why they're important. When I raised my camera and back-pedalled ahead of the group to take this image Lewandowski gave me a hello. I liked the photo, but had no idea it would go a little bit viral, especially since Scaramucci, who was the biggest mover and shaker that week, was hidden back in the pack. But I guess the image catches a glimpse of what it's like to be a West Wing staffer on the road." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Campaign rally - 3 August 2017 US President Donald Trump arrives at a rally in West Virginia on 3 August, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Huntington for one of his usual campaign rallies. While members of his family spoke to the crowd he was waiting under a black curtain to be introduced. Suddenly he walked onto the stage, one of the first frames that I took was of his hand. I set my exposure for the light on the stage hoping to create this dark background and it worked." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Staring into the solar eclipse - 21 August 2017 Without his protective glasses on, US President Donald Trump looks up towards the solar eclipse while viewing with his wife Melania and son Barron at the White House on 21 August, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "On a day when everyone, and I mean everyone, was told not to look at the eclipse without protective glasses, Trump, President of the United States, couldn't help himself." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Harvey - 2 September 2017 US President Donald Trump poses for a photo as he and first lady Melania Trump help volunteers hand out meals during a visit with flood survivors of Hurricane Harvey at a relief centre in Houston, Texas on 2 September, 2017. Photohrapher Kevin Lamarque: "Trump, eager to deliver the image of a hands-on response to Hurricane Harvey, made this visit to a relief centre and obliged this woman with a selfie as Melania continued to work." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House - 15 September 2017 Donald Trump welcomes 11-year-old Frank Giaccio as he cuts the Rose Garden grass at the White House on 15 September. Frank, who wrote a letter to Trump offering to mow the lawn, was invited to work for a day at the White House along the National Park Service staff. Frank was so focused on his task that he did not notice the President arrive to surprise him. He took his father jumping in to grab his attention and point Trump out. Photographer Carlos Barria said: The image of Trump shouting at a kid who is mowing his lawn might have many interpretations in today's politically polarized United States. But for me it was just a kid who loved what he was doing, to the point he almost appeared to ignore the President." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Take a knee - 27 September 2017 A man kneels with a folded U.S. flag as the motorcade of U.S. President Donald Trump passes him after an event at the state fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., September 27, 2017. In September, soon after Trump had made comments condemning NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, he made a day trip to a rally in Indianapolis. Jonathan Ernst managed to capture a man on one knee with a tri-folded flag and was able to use a portion of the sign on the building he was kneeling in front of to track the man down and tell his story in full. US Army veteran Marvin Boatright wanted to send a message against social injustice. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Maria - 3 October 2017 President Donald Trump throws rolls of paper towels into a crowd of local residents affected by Hurricane Maria as he visits Calgary Chapel in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 3 October, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "During an afternoon visit to Puerto Rico for President Trump to survey damage from Hurricane Maria and greet some of its victims, Trump made a stop at a church where food and supplies were being distributed. Among the items were paper towels and Trump, apparently caught up in the moment, decided to distribute some of the rolls." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Jared Kushner - 1 November 2017 White House Senior adviser Jared Kushner sits behind President Trump during a cabinet meeting in Washington on 1 November, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "The role of Jared Kushner has gone through a series of changes. He began front and centre as a high profile adviser, but as time has passed and issues surrounding him have surfaced, he has become more of a background figure." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump in China - 9 November 2017 Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands after making joint statements at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 9 November, 2017. Photographer Damir Sagolj: "It's one of those "how to make a better or at least different shot when two presidents shake hands several times a day, several days in row". If I'm not mistaken in calculation, presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump shook their hands at least six times in events I covered during Trump's recent visit to China. I would imagine there were some more handshakes I haven't seen but other photographers did. And they all look similar - two big men, smiling and heartily greeting each other until everyone gets their shot. But then there is always something that can make it special - in this case the background made of US and Chinese flags. The first time it didn't work for me. The second time I positioned myself lower and centrally, and used the longest lens I have to capture only hands reaching for a handshake." Reuters/Damir Sagolj Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 10 November 2017 US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to depart for Vietnam from Beijing Airport in Beijing, China, November 10, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "There is a Reuters photographer in the tight pool covering the US president for every appearance he makes 365 days a year. This was just one of 32 images of mine that were transmitted on the Reuters wire of President Trump visiting China and Vietnam that day. You never know when a sudden interaction, a gust of wind or a unique facial expression will lead to a striking image that grabs peoples' attention." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures ASEAN handshake - 13 November 2017 Donald Trump registers his surprise as he realises other leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte and Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, are crossing their arms for the traditional "ASEAN handshake" as he participates in the opening ceremony of the summit in Manila on 13 November, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Having covered a few ASEAN summits, I knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. Not everyone in the room knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. A lot was written about this unscripted moment, and what deeper meaning it might have. The simple truth is that sometimes in life there are unscripted moments." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst In many ways, the bill could be seen as a loss for Mr Trump, whose proposals for severe cuts to funding for the Environmental Protection Agency, State Department and other federal agencies were largely ignored. While the President at one point wanted the bill to allocate $25bn to fully fund construction of his border wall, negotiations to make that happen fell apart. Instead, under the budget deal, Mr Trump would get nearly $1.6bn for border security this year. More border patrol agents could be hired, but there would not be a significant increase in immigration agents working in the rest of the US. When coupled with recently enacted tax cuts, the legislation is projected to lead to budget deficits of more than $800bn for this year, potentially creating problems for Republicans up for re-election in November. Along with a $80bn increase in military spending, the largest in 15 years, the measure allocates money toward infrastructure improvements and fighting Russian election hacking. In response to public outrage over mass shootings, including a massacre last month at a Florida high school that left 17 people dead, the bill contains modest improvements to background checks for gun sales and grants to help schools prevent gun violence. Top Democrats had tied their support for previous budget bills to their receiving of commitments from Republicans to consider legislation that would salvage DACA. But with a standoff over the issue already leading to one of the government shutdowns this year, there appeared to be little appetite on Capitol Hill for a repeat of the same drama. In exchange for Democratic votes to reopen the government in January, Mr McConnell promised to hold an immigration debate to discuss the issue. While such a debate was held, no immigration bill received enough support to pass. Mr Trump had given Congress until March 5 to come up with a solution for DACA. However, the Supreme Court declined to immediately review a federal judges order saying that Mr Trump must continue the programme. This means that DACA will stay in place until, or if, the Supreme Court takes it up, all but nullifying the March 5 expiration date. Theres not a whole lot of reason to negotiate to do anything that is not already covered by the court decision, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said last week. A college professor has prompted protests after he allegedly said women who didnt wear the hijab properly were tempting men like a cut watermelon on display. Professor Jouhar Munnavir was reportedly recorded hitting out at women who show skin in a leaked clip. He compared their apparent flashing of flesh from beneath a hijab to shop sellers who display a cut watermelon to tempt customers. The clip allegedly reveals the social science professor at Farook Training College, India, complaining: Eighty per cent of students are girls and a majority of them are Muslims. Although they wear a hijab, they expose some part of their chest, defeating the very purpose of wearing them. They expose like how we cut a slice of melon to see whether it is ripe or not. When you wear a hijab, you are supposed to cover your breasts because men find them most attractive in a woman. But what do they do? They only cover their head and show off a portion of their body." He added: In shops, people keep a cut watermelon on display so customers can come and choose what they want. That is how you [women] are also behaving. Furious students took to the streets in Kozhikode, Kerala, India, protesting his alleged comments. 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 were allegedly made during a speech at a family counselling meeting. Other women took to social media and posed topless, covering their breasts with watermelons, in response to his alleged comments. Professor Munnavir has not responded to a request for comment. SWNS China has condemned America for a "serious political and military provocation" after a US Navy destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built in disputed waters. The operation in the South China Sea was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijings efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters. It came amid heightened tensions between the two nations, after Donald Trump announced plans to impose tariffs on up to $60 billion (42 billion) in Chinese goods, moving the worlds two largest economies closer to a trade war. The USS Mustin warship travelled close to Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands and performed manoeuvres, US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Reuters news agency. Recommended US stocks rise at the open as China trade war fears heighten China's Defence Ministry said its navy sent two ships to identify the US destroyer and warn it to leave. What the US is doing will damage the military-to-military relations and atmosphere, a spokesman said. It could easily cause misjudgments and accidents at air or sea. This is a serious political and military provocation "We demand the US side earnestly respects China's sovereignty and security and the strong wishes of countries in the region to protect peace, stability and tranquility, and not make trouble out of nothing and stir up havoc. "The provocative behaviour by the US side will only cause the Chinese military to further strengthen building up defence abilities in all areas." In a separate statement, China's Foreign Ministry said the country would take all necessary steps to protect its sovereignty and peace and stability in the South China Sea. It accused of the US of seeking to "manufacture tensions" in the region. The US military has a longstanding position that its operations are carried out throughout the world, including in areas claimed by allies, and they are separate from political considerations. "We conduct routine and regular freedom of navigation operations, as we have done in the past and will continue to do in the future," said Lieutenant Commander Nicole Schwegman, a spokeswoman for US Pacific Fleet. However, the latest operation, the first since January, is likely to raise tensions just a day after President Trump signed a presidential memorandum that will target Chinese goods with tariffs. The US has criticised Chinas construction of islands and build-up of military facilities in the sea, and is concerned they could be used to restrict free nautical movement. 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 Chinas claims in the South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion (3.5 trillion) in ship-borne trade passes each year, are contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. The US military has put countering China and Russia at the centre of a new national defence strategy. Chinas navy is to carry out combat drills in the South China Sea, the militarys official newspaper reported, describing the move as part of regular annual exercises. Taiwans defence ministry said this week it had shadowed a Chinese aircraft carrier group traversing the Taiwan Strait in a south-westerly direction into the disputed South China Sea area. The US has been pushing allies to carry out freedom-of-navigation operations as well. Earlier this year, Britain said one of its warships would pass through the South China Sea to assert freedom-of-navigation rights. An Israeli teenager has been fined after they were caught urinating on a memorial commemorating the victims of the Holocaust at the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum. Witnesses said they saw the 19-year-old relieving himself on the site near the former camps crematoria. They notified the museums guards, who called the police. Holocaust Memorial Day: three unsung heroes who helped Europe's Jews escape the Nazis Under Polish law, desecrating a monument or other public place commemorating a historical event or a person can be fined or jailed. The teenager, who was touring the Polish site with a group of students, was detained by police earlier this week and questioned for several hours. He apologised and voluntarily agreed to pay a fine of $1,500 (1,060), local media reported. The Auschwitz Museum said the incident was very regrettable". Of the 6 million Jewish people murdered by the Nazi regime 1.1 million were killed at the Auschwitz camp. 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 In January, 12 anti-war protesters who stripped naked in front of the Nazi site and killed a sheep were convicted of profaning the site. A Polish court jailed two of the group for more than a year and fined the rest. The killing of three people in the south of France by a man claiming allegiance to Isis will make people doubt if this murderous cult is as dead as governments had announced and people had hoped. The answer is that the attack in the Carcassonne region by a single gunman, said to be a Moroccan petty criminal from the area, proves very little about the strength of Isis as a continuing threat. It will always be easy for a single killer, who in this case has been named as 36-year-old Redouane Lakdim, to shoot down passers-by chosen at random or trapped in a supermarket. Lakdim demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam, a survivor of the Isis gang which killed 130 people in Paris on 13 November 2015, but there is no evidence so far that the killer, who has been shot dead by police, was part of a cell or that this was an attack organised from above or from outside the country. Even if there was some degree of organisation behind the killings, it is important to take on board that atrocities carried out by Isis are geared to produce maximum publicity. Often, they happen close to iconic places in capital cities such as the Westminster or London Bridge attacks, or on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice in 2016 when 86 people were mowed down and killed by a lorry deliberately driven into them. The very cruel and arbitrary nature of the murders are designed to achieve the maximum publicity. Isis is far less important than it was three years ago when it controlled territory in western Iraq and eastern Syria the size of Great Britain. At that time its terrorist operations in France and elsewhere could call on the resources of a de facto state that had money, weapons, expertise and the capacity to inspire its gunmen and suicide bombers. This is no longer true to anything like the same degree. The Islamic State died with the capture of its great strongholds, Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria, in the second half of 2017. It does still have its hideouts in the deserts of the region and has benefited from the dispersal of effort in the campaign against it by the Iraqi governments confrontation with the Iraqi Kurdish authorities over Kirkuk, and the Turkish invasion of Afrin that has diverted the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) which had previously been fighting it. In a small way, Isis is back in business in its heartlands, though on nothing like the scale on which it previously operated. Wherever there is chaos in Islamic countries, Isis will find opportunities to lodge itself and expand. Much of its most savage violence takes place largely below the radar of the international media, notably in Afghanistan where an Isis suicide bomber killed 33 and wounded 65 Shia celebrating the New Year in Kabul on 21 March. Applause from social media sympathetic to Isis may give the impression that it still has a large base of support, but this is doubtful. Such support peaked when it was a new and rapidly expanding force in 2014 and 2015. Even then, it never became a vehicle in Europe for other social and political discontents and it is unlikely that this will happen now. The newly-elected Italian Parliament sat for the first time on Friday but if the start of proceedings is anything to go by the country faces a prolonged period of chaos and political deadlock. Parliaments first task is to elect two speakers, one each for the lower and upper houses. But warring parties from the election earlier this month appear to have failed what was seen as a test of the countrys ability to form a viable government in the coming weeks. The 4 March vote gave no clear majority to any political party or coalition, but there was talk of an alliance forming between the two populist leaders who took the most votes. Matteo Salvini is the leader of the eurosceptic, anti-immigrant Northern League, itself the frontrunner from within a right-wing coalition that collectively reached 37 per cent in the election. Mr Salvini aspires to be Prime Minister and thereby the most powerful far-right leader in Europe, but he has to deal with resistance from both his own allies Silvio Berlusconis Forza Italia and with Luigi Di Maio, leader of the populist 5 Star Movement (M5S), the most voted-for individual party with 32 per cent. The head of state, President Sergio Mattarella, wont start government consultations until the two speakers are elected. But if Fridays first vote was a thermometer for alliances, then the hunt for an agreement seems to have gone very cold indeed. At first, Mr Di Maio and Mr Salvini tried to put in place a pact concerning the two candidates to be elected, with M5S leading the Chamber of Deputies and the right-wing coalition choosing the speaker of the Senate. Such an agreement would have been a starting point to move on to discussions about forming a government too. But then Mr Berlusconi whose Forza Italia gained a disappointing 13 per cent compared with Northern Leagues 17 per cent broke up the team. Mr Berlusconis manoeuvre was to ask M5S to start a dialogue with Forza Italia instead. Inevitably, this provoked the opposite reaction, with the idea of any dealings with convicted fraudster Mr Berlusconi provoking outrage among the Grillini, M5S supporters named after the partys founder Beppe Grillo. Mr Di Maios movement attracted lots of support from former left-wing voters who felt betrayed by the Democratic Party, the clear loser in the election, in which the left suffered its worst-ever result. Since its foundation under Mr Grillo, M5S has stood for nothing more than the fight against corruption in politics. As such, Mr Di Maios party has declared a red line that they wont legitimise Mr Berlusconi by engaging in talks with him. Aside from his own tax fraud conviction, which barred him from personally standing for office at this election, the 81-year-old Mr Berlusconi even managed to propose a man to be speaker of the Senate, Paolo Romani, who has himself been convicted for embezzlement. With the old tycoon subtly opposing an alliance between Mr Di Maio and Mr Salvini, the vote in Parliament on Friday was little more than a show. Both M5S and the Democratic Partys officials left their ballots for speaker blank, a fitting demonstration that the process could yet last for days. Consultations for the more serious matter of forming a government, expected to begin in April, wont be any faster or easier. Countries across Europe are preparing to expel Russian diplomats as the fallout over the poisoning of a former double agent in Salisbury reached unprecedented levels. At least six countries are understood to be considering the expulsion of Russian spies after the EU took the lead and announced it would recall its ambassador to Moscow. In an indication of a possible escalation in the EU response, French President Emmanuel Macron said France and Germany would be among the countries taking "co-ordinated measures" against Russia, with an announcement due "very shortly". Leaders from across the bloc backed Theresa Mays claim that the Kremlin was highly likely to be responsible for this months nerve agent attack in Salisbury. In a joint statement in the early hours of yesterday, EU leaders said there was no plausible alternative explanation for the use of novichok in Salisbury other than its deployment by the Russian government. The EU said its ambassador had been recalled for consultations following the incident. It is understood that at least Ireland, France, Estonia, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania are considering the expulsion of the Russian diplomats, following the UKs decision to expel 23 staff, including alleged undeclared intelligence officers. Others could follow suit after consultations over the weekend Those countries taking the lead on the issue are those in the east most wary of Russian interference, and Britains closest neighbours and traditional allies. Speaking at a press conference in Brussels on Friday European Council president Donald Tusk would not be drawn on the exact number of member countries who would expel diplomats, saying he believed the final count would be more than one, but I dont think it will be the whole group. Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: What well now consider in the coming days is whether we want to take individual action relating to Russian diplomats in Ireland, bearing in mind what the UK did was to expel 23 diplomats, who they did not believe were diplomats, they were agents. We would have to do a security assessment before we did that. Were not just going to randomly expel people who are genuine diplomats. Recommended Putin proves why the UK needs Europe more than ever Ms May urged leaders at a dinner of the European Council to go further than their foreign ministers had on Monday, when the bloc said that they took the assessment of Russian responsibility extremely seriously. Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putins spokesman, said Russia doesnt understand the EUs decision, and said Moscow would need to study the exact measures being taken by the bloc before it could respond. The Kremlin said the UK was forcing its allies to take confrontational steps over the incident. Russia denies any involvement in the poisoning. Mr Peskov said: We dont know what info the UK had when it discussed with EU colleagues. We dont understand it. Russia has not had the opportunity to receive a diagnosis [on the Skripals]. Regarding the EU decision, we are unhappy with highly likely formulations. Russia categorically has nothing to do with the Skripal [poisoning]. Vladimir Putin dismisses 'nonsense' of Russian involvement in Salisbury poisoning Speaking on the doorstep of the summit in the small hours of the morning after the dinner, Ms May said: Weve had a very full discussion on Russia at this EU Council and I welcome the fact that the EU Council has agreed with the UK Governments assessment that it is highly likely that Russia was responsible for the attempted murder that took place on the streets of Salisbury, and that there is no plausible alternative explanation. Russia, and the threat that Russia poses, respects no borders and that is a threat to our values and it is right that here in the EU Council we are standing together to uphold those values. Former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, remain in a critical condition following the 4 March attack in Salisbury. The joint statement by the European Council says: The European Council condemns in the strongest possible terms the recent attack in Salisbury, expresses its deepest sympathies to all whose lives have been threatened and lends its support to the ongoing investigation. It agrees with the UK Governments assessment that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible and that there is no plausible alternative explanation. We stand in unqualified solidarity with the United Kingdom in the face of this grave challenge to our shared security. The use of chemical weapons, including the use of any toxic chemicals as weapons under any circumstances, is completely unacceptable, must be systematically and rigorously condemned and constitutes a security threat to us all. Member states will coordinate on the consequences to be drawn in the light of the answers provided by the Russian authorities. The European Union will remain closely focused on this issue and its implications. An attack on a supermarket in the south of France that left three dead and 16 injured was an act of Islamist terror, French President Emmanuel Macron has said. A gunman opened fire on a group of police officers, injuring one, before taking hostages in a branch of Super U. The incident ended with armed police raiding the supermarket, shooting the assailant dead. French authorities identified the suspect as Redouane Lakdim, 26, a petty criminal and small-time drug dealer who he said was radicalised and under police surveillance. Witnesses said the man had entered the shop screaming Allahu Akbar, Ill kill you all, before declaring allegiance to Isis and demanding the release of Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam. Police are seen at the scene of a hostage situation in a supermarket in Trebes, Aude, France (Reuters) Isis later claimed the attacker was a soldier of the Islamic State, without providing evidence of its involvement. Mr Macron said an investigation would establish whether the attack was directed or simply inspired by the terror group. I want to tell the nation tonight of my absolute determination in leading this fight, Mr Macron said in an address, flanked by French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe. I urge our fellow French citizens to remain aware of the terrorist threat, but to also be aware of the force and resistance our people demonstrated each and every time it was attacked. Moroccan-born Lakdim had been under surveillance by security services in 2016-2017 for links to the radical Salafist movement, said Paris prosecutor Francois Molins, who is leading the investigation. "The monitoring ... did not reveal any apparent signs that could lead (us) to foresee he would act," Mr Molins said. He added that one woman connected to Lakdim had been arrested, however Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said he believed Lakdim had acted alone. The gunman was reported to have taken up to eight hostages near Toulouse on Friday morning, and was killed by officers who stormed the supermarket in Trebes after 2pm local time. Lakdim first killed one person with a bullet in the head while stealing a car in Carcassonne. He pulled up in the car to four police officers who were jogging in the city and opened fire, hitting one in the shoulder, then sped off to Trebes, about 5 miles to the east, where he took the hostages in the supermarket. Mr Collomb praised the heroism of a French police officer who offered himself up as a hostage swap during the attack and was subsequently seriously injured. He remained in a critical condition on Friday evening. He said the officer volunteered to swap his place with a hostage inside the Super U shop and stayed with the armed suspect. He managed to leave his mobile phone switched on after the swap, establishing contact with officers outside the supermarket during the hours-long siege. Mr Collomb said elite French forces stormed the market and killed the gunman after hearing shots from inside. He did not say how or when the police officer was injured. Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting Show all 14 1 /14 Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting Rescue forces and police officers at a supermarket after a hostage situation in Trebes, Reuters Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting Forensic police investigate after the gendarme's assault on the Super U supermarket. EPA Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting Police are seen at the scene of a hostage situation in a supermarket in Trebes. Reuters Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting A view of the Super U supermarket where a gunman reportedly claimed allegiance to the Islamic State and is holding hostages. EPA Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting Emmanuel Macron is informed by his security advisor about the hostage situation in Trebes during the joint press conference with Angela Merkel at the summit of European Union leaders. AFP/Getty Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting A gendarmerie helicopter flies over the Super U supermarket. EPA Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting French gendarmes and police establish a security perimeter around the Super U supermarket. EPA Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting Police officers secure evidence. EPA Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting French gendarmes block the access to Trebes. AFP/Getty Images Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting Police attend the incident in Trebes. La Depeche Du Midi via AP Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting French police and firefighters secure the entrance of Trebes. AP Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting A genera; view of The Super U shop in Trebes, southern France, where hostages were reportedly taken by a gunman claiming allegiance to Isis. Google Street View Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting Police block a road near the scene. Reuters Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting French gendarmes block the access to Trebes. AFP/Getty France has been on high alert since a string of Islamic extremist attacks in 2015 and 2016 that killed more than 200 people. Fridays shootings took place in a normally quiet part of the country, where the main tourist attraction is the treasured old city of Carcassonne, its medieval walls and its summertime festivals. Additional reporting by agencies Three people have been killed and around a dozen others injured in a suspected terror attack in Trebes in the south of France after a gunman claiming allegiance to Isis took hostages in a supermarket. The attacker, 26-year-old Redouane Lakdim, who was known to authorities for petty crimes, struck at the Super U shop in Trebes, near Toulouse, on Friday morning, killing one person by shooting them in the head before taking others hostage. Earlier, a policeman was shot and wounded while jogging with colleagues in Carcassonne, a 15-minute drive away, by the same suspect, the secretary-general of the SGP Police-FO union told the Associated Press. Special police units were sent to the scene and local authorities blocked roads and urged residents to stay away. Officers later stormed the supermarket and killed the attacker. A supermarket customer who was in the shop at the time told France Info: A man cried and fired a lot of gunshots. I saw a fridge door, I told people to come find shelter. There were 10 of us and we stayed there for one hour. There were more gunshots and we left by the back exit. He shouted Allah something, I didnt see him. Lakdim, reported to be of Moroccan descent, was known to authorities for petty crimes and drug offences but was not considered an Islamist threat, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said following the attack, adding that he acted alone. Reports suggest he asked for the release of Salah Abdeslam, the man accused of playing a role in the Paris attack who is on trial in Belgium at the moment, during the hostage. The injured police officer, named only as CRS 57, was shot in the lung 3cm from his heart, according to the local police union, who said he was in a steady state. Mr Collomb praised the heroism of the officer, saying he offered himself up as a hostage swap during the attack, and managed to leave his cellphone switched, establishing a contact with officers outside the supermarket in the hours-long standoff. The Interior Minister said elite French forces stormed the market and killed the gunman after hearing gunshots inside. He did not say how or when the police officer was injured. Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting Show all 14 1 /14 Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting Rescue forces and police officers at a supermarket after a hostage situation in Trebes, Reuters Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting Forensic police investigate after the gendarme's assault on the Super U supermarket. EPA Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting Police are seen at the scene of a hostage situation in a supermarket in Trebes. Reuters Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting A view of the Super U supermarket where a gunman reportedly claimed allegiance to the Islamic State and is holding hostages. EPA Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting Emmanuel Macron is informed by his security advisor about the hostage situation in Trebes during the joint press conference with Angela Merkel at the summit of European Union leaders. AFP/Getty Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting A gendarmerie helicopter flies over the Super U supermarket. EPA Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting French gendarmes and police establish a security perimeter around the Super U supermarket. EPA Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting Police officers secure evidence. EPA Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting French gendarmes block the access to Trebes. AFP/Getty Images Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting Police attend the incident in Trebes. La Depeche Du Midi via AP Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting French police and firefighters secure the entrance of Trebes. AP Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting A genera; view of The Super U shop in Trebes, southern France, where hostages were reportedly taken by a gunman claiming allegiance to Isis. Google Street View Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting Police block a road near the scene. Reuters Trebes siege: France supermarket shooting French gendarmes block the access to Trebes. AFP/Getty AFP reported the gunman had claimed allegiance to Isis and French prime minister Edouard Philippe said "all information suggests it is a terror attack". Isis has said it carried out the attack but gave no evidence for its claim. France has been on high alert since a string of Islamic extremist attacks in 2015 and 2016 that killed more than 200 people. More follows Close Video shows scene outside Trebes siege as police surround area where gunman held hostages A terror attacker has been shot dead by police after he took hostages and fired at officers in the south of France. Police raided the Super U shop in Trebes early this afternoon and killed Redouane Lakdim, 26, who is said to have killed three people near Toulouse and claimed affiliation with Isis. Officials believe he hijacked a car in Carcassonne at around 10am and killed one of the passengers. He is then thought to have fired on a group of policemen who were jogging, wounding one in the shoulder, before driving to a supermarket three miles from Carcassonne and holding around 50 customers hostage. He killed two of them and injured 16 more before police stormed the shop and shot him dead. Interior minister Gerard Collomb said Lakdim then shot at a group of police officers before hiding inside the supermarket, where two more people were killed. Please allow a moment for the live blog to load. Saudi Arabia opened its airspace for the first time to a commercial flight to Israel with the inauguration of an Air India route between New Delhi and Tel Aviv. Flight 139 landed at Tel Avivs Ben Gurion Airport after a seven-and-a-half hour journey, marking a diplomatic shift for Riyadh that Israel says was fuelled by shared concern over Iranian influence in the region. This is a really historic day that follows two years of very, very intensive work, Israeli tourism minister Yariv Levin said, adding that using Saudi airspace cut travel time to India by around two hours and would reduce ticket prices. Saudi Arabia birthplace of Islam and home to its holiest shrines does not recognise Israel. Riyadh has not formally confirmed granting the Air India plane overflight rights. While the move ended a 70-year-old ban on planes flying to or from Israel through Saudi airspace, there is no indication that it will be applied for any Israeli airline. The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner entered Saudi airspace at around 16.45GMT on Wednesday and overflew the kingdom at 40,000ft for about three hours. It came within 37 miles of the capital Riyadh, according to the Flightradar monitoring app. It then crossed over Jordan and the occupied West Bank into Israel. The airliner had earlier flown over Oman, according to Flightradar. Officials from Oman, which also does not recognise Israel, could not be reached for comment. Israels flag carrier El Al, excluded from the Saudi route, says its Indian competitor now has an unfair advantage. El Al currently flies four times a week to the Indian city of Mumbai. Those flights take around seven hours and 40 minutes, following a Red Sea route that swings toward Ethiopia to avoid Saudi airspace. If El Al planes were to fly on to New Delhi, a destination El Al has said it might be interested in, they would require another two hours and significantly more fuel. Interviewed on Israels Army Radio, Mr Levin voiced confidence that El Al would eventually be allowed to use Saudi airspace. 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 You know, they said the Saudis wouldnt let any flight pass. So here, the Saudis are permitting it. It is a process, I think. Ultimately this [El Al overflights] will happen too, he said. Asked if any other foreign airlines might follow Air India by opening routes to Tel Aviv over Saudi Arabia, Mr Levin said he has been in negotiations with Singapore Airlines and a carrier from the Philippines, which he did not name. They are certainly showing readiness and desire to fly to Israel and I dont know if they will also receive permission like the Indian airline, he said. Singapore Airlines did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Saudi officials could not immediately be reached. Reuters The history lesson at Olive Farm Wines isnt strictly necessary sure, its nice to know that its the oldest winery in Western Australia, and that the original vines came over from South Africas Western Cape. But, in all honesty, everyones happy just sampling the lovely booze. The place does plenty of unusual-for-Oz wines; a cellar door tasting session can include a punchy verdelho, an easy-drinking chenin blanc, a near-sticky traminer and a brutish, mouth-coating durif. Hunger is staved off at the Cheese Barrel restaurant next door, which specialises in gargantuan cheese platters. Recommended The new way to see Perth is by camel Its no surprise that Olive Farm is smack bang in the Swan Valley, Australias hottest wine region and Western Australias oldest. It also has some of the states most fertile soils, and has effortlessly evolved into one of those gourmet regions where you can pootle around for days at a time, filling your face with dish after dish of outstanding fare. Hand-painted roadside signs advertise fresh fruit, maps mark out craft breweries and side streets lead to chocolate factories. Its incredibly difficult to have a bad day hopping between producers and pigging out on whatever samples theyre doling out. But what really makes the Swan Valley a standout choice is its proximity to a major international airport Perths is a 15-minute drive or taxi ride away. And with Qantass new direct flights from Heathrow to Perth launching on 25 March, this makes it a rather unusual and delicious stopover option. The stopover is usually a city thing. Two days of haring around museums or temples, surrounded by honking traffic and busy pavements. The Swan Valley, however, gives connecting through Perth something that Dubai, Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong and co cant compete with: an indulgent, countryside journey breaker. The wake-up call comes at Yahava Koffeeworks, which was set up by an intrepid motorcyclist. He liked biking around mountainous tropical regions that just so happened to grow coffee, and hit upon a plan. Yahava now imports fine coffee beans from the likes of Java, Guatemala, Ethiopia and Papua New Guinea, then sells them on to Australias ever-growing band of coffee nerds. Mandoon Estate offers tastings and accommodation (Mandoon Estate) The chaps hosting the tastings and doing the demonstration roastings are keen to emphasise that coffee can be approached in the same way as wine the climate, the soil and how its made create big taste differences. Some are smooth and chocolately, some are more akin to jet lag-crushing rocket fuel. This sense of terroir also applies, it seems, to honey. The House of Honey is a labour of love for beekeepers Rupert and Kim Phillips. They spend much of their lives in the south-western corner of the country, painstakingly gathering honey that their bees have made from the nectar of specific native trees and plants. The sunset-coloured honey from the banksia, for example, has sweet citrus hints and makes a superb alternative to sugar in teas. The blackbutt, meanwhile, is dubbed the Guinness of honeys, with a rich, thick, molasses-like texture and strong taste. The real prize, however, is the jarrah honey, made from the nectar of the tall, sturdy trees that were once used to pave the streets of London. Its Australias answer to New Zealands manuka honey. Amber-coloured and malty tasting, this medicine in a jar has extraordinarily high antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. Immunity boosted, its time to move on to the hard stuff. Handily, Australias champion distiller is at hand. James Young of Old Youngs has a passion for gin, but its his vodka that won the Best International Vodka at the American Distilled Spirits Awards. The secret to the Pure No 1 is using Swan Valley grapes and Australian sugar cane rather than the usual wheat or potatoes. Theres an exceptional smoothness to the taste, followed by warmth across the tongue. Indulge your sweet tooth at The House of Honey (David Whitley) But its clear that Jamess true enthusiasm is reserved for his range of gins. The 1827 is a hot summer day gin. Its the one Id take to a desert island if I was only allowed one. The citrus content is high, the juniper has been sourced from Tuscany, and extracts of the native lemon myrtle plant have been added to the botanicals mix. Its enough to win over even a hardened gin sceptic. At this point, its probably best to stop pretending this jaunt around the Swan Valley is educational, and pull in to the last stop for the day. The sprawling and scenic Mandoon Estate has handy split-level apartments on site, which is useful once youve ploughed through the wine list at the cellar door, then shambled across to the in-house brewery/ restaurant for dinner and a beer-tasting paddle. By the time my head hits the pillow, the feeling is warm and fuzzy rather than frazzled. Its exactly what a stopover should be, but rarely is: discovery without distress, and hedonism without hassle. Travel essentials Getting there Direct Qantas flights between London Heathrow and Perth cost from 791 return. Staying there Doubles in the Colony at the Mandoon Estate cost from AU$199 (109), room only. More information westernaustralia.com In a series of warehouses in an industrial area on the fringes of the city, a 159-seat independent performing arts space sits alongside galleries displaying local art; a cafe sells chia matcha smoothies, buckwheat granola and raw salad bowls; and an independent record store is proffering its own zine the brainchild of a local DJ. Its not your typical Dubai scene. But new arts areas such as Alserkal Avenue are helping to overturn the stereotypes of this much maligned city, which has steadily been gaining respect in the design world sparked by the annual Dubai Design Week, which started in 2016. Recommended How this Prague suburb went from sleazy stag dos to hipster paradise Youd be right to question whether a place that has a hipster-themed bar in an unmarked car park, and decidedly manufactured arts hubs, has anything original going for it. Its true that the main new cultural areas were dreamed up by the UAE government and property developers with a view to fostering an arts and start-up scene in the city. As a result, hipster Dubai can at times seem like a contrived, economically driven bandwagon thats been jumped on. That said, if you avoid the Cereal Killer Cafe and Hobo (said hipster-themed bar) and take what you find at face value, Dubai has some decent creative spots. Curated design hubs Dubai Design District or D3, as its known is a glassy development where expats, beards, suits and lunching ladies populate places such as Craft Cafe, brunch spot 1Life and The Espresso Lab. Travel and design boutique Montroi, and fashion and lifestyle store Corcel Collective, sit alongside exhibition spaces housing work by local photographers. They also host graffiti and zine-making workshops, plus yoga and DJ sets in the evenings. The brainchild of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the UAEs Prime Minister and the Emir of Dubai, it may be a purpose-built creative community modelled on Shoreditch and New Yorks Meatpacking District but its a well-designed set of good-looking buildings by architects Foster + Partners. The newly built Alserkal Avenue, meanwhile, still has a shiny Dubai feel to it but houses indie initiatives: The Junction performing arts space, which hosts everything from stand-up to dance; an artisan chocolatier, Mirzam; sneaker store The Good Life Space; and independent Cinema Akil. Alserkal Avenue is the regions foremost arts hub Springing up from the Al Quoz industrial area, its also home to Flipside DXB Dubais one and only independent vinyl store, which is run by local DJs and musicians, complete with a bedouin section and beanbag-filled listening area. It also hosts live music sessions in support of Syrian refugees. Nearby, A4 Space is a co-working area and cafe with a mezzanine library of classics, autobiographies, travel guides and design magazines. The galleries and design spaces open up for regular Alserkal Lates evening events, too. Avo on toast In the Trade Centre area, The Sum of Us is a Melbourne-inspired brunch spot with insanely delicious French-style cakes, eclairs and pastries baked on site. Everything is made from scratch and you can even hone your coffee skills at a tasting with expert Encounter Coffee Roastery baristas. Wild & the Moon, in Alserkal, serves cold-pressed juices and raw food with ethically sourced ingredients, while Make Art Cafe in Al Fahidi serves camel-milk ice cream and hearty salads surrounded by pop-art prints. Dubai is embracing hipster culture (Celia Peterson) Head to Ripe Market at Zabeel Park on a Friday morning for Coco Yocos paleo, vegan ice cream; Japanese baked treats from Yamanote; second-hand bookstand Book Hero; and everything else from Polish street food to beard oil. If it all gets too much, try a free yoga class. Local culture The best way to eat local food in Dubai is with Frying Pan Adventures, a foodie walking tour. On the four-hour Middle Eastern Food Pilgrimage youll visit restaurants around Deira (the older part of Dubai), working your way through dishes including Palestinian falafel, musakhan (sumac-roasted, olive oil-drizzled chicken served on a bread base) and kunafa, a syrupy-sweet cheese and pastry dessert as well as Emirati food, including lentil soup and goat thats been slow-cooked underground. The XVA is the on-trend place to stay (XVA Gallery) Hipster digs In the Al Fahidi historical district, XVA Gallery specialises in contemporary art and has a connected 14-room boutique hotel, XVA Art Hotel (doubles from 170, room only). The individually designed, art-filled rooms open onto peaceful shaded courtyards, and films are screened in the vegetarian restaurant. Its also well positioned for exploring old Dubai. For something a little more Dubai, try the bold, brash W Dubai Al Habtoor City (doubles from 175, room only). Travel essentials Emirates flies from London Gatwick from 329 return. Clare travelled as a guest of Dubai Tourism. Like any divorce, Brexit is a time for finding out who your real friends are. Despite EU Commission President Jean-Claude Junckers careless congratulatory note to President Vladimir Putin and some earlier quibbles, Theresa Mays 27 counterparts around the dinner table agreed to make a suitable diplomatic gesture to the Russians in solidarity with the UK. Among other national moves, the EU will be withdrawing its ambassador to the Russian Federation in protest at the Russians extra-legal activities on British (ie EU) soil. (Hes a German named Marcus Ederer, by the way). The EU say, in a well-tempered statement, that the Russians are very likely involved in the attempted murder of the Skripals and that there is no other plausible explanation. It is fair to say that this was not in Putins little plan. Hoping that Brexit would weaken both the UK and the rest of Europe, he has found much more unity than he bargained for. He judged, wrongly, that the assassination of a double-agent wouldnt bother anyone but the British. Indeed, one of the more curious aspects of the Brexit process is how both sides have become more aware of what might be lost as a result of Brexit and seem extremely anxious to preserve some of the most important benefits of UK participation in and partnership with the EU, even after Brexit. Salisbury attack: Timeline of events Hence the initial offer by Theresa May (or threat, depending on your view) in her original Lancaster House speech to put security, defence and foreign policy into the Brexit pot for negotiation. She got some negative publicity for that after all, the war on terror shouldnt be treated as a bargaining chip but the basic idea of continuing co-operation even after Brexit has in fact been taken up by the EU 27. In the draft UK-EU treaty for future relations there is an unusual amount of agreement on maintaining and even deepening the existing levels of co-operation. It would ne be nice to think all of this was based on our common shared values and commitment to democracy, the rule of law and freedom of speech all aspects of life under severe pressure in Russia. That is true, to be fair; but the pursuit of base national interests are never very far away, whatever the idealistic rhetoric that surrounds EU business and this is no different. One of the few strengths the UK possesses is its expertise in intelligence and security (despite some notable failures over Iraq), its small but effective armed forces, its nuclear deterrent and the sheer size of its economy and defence industry. If I were an Estonian glancing towards Putins territorial ambitions, or a Finn, Czech or Pole with painful memories of Russian/Soviet occupation, I might well feel more comfortable with the UK firmly locked in to a Europe-wide defence structure. This, in fact, already exists in the European Union, though it is looser than the commitments demanded by Nato for mutual assistance when under attack but it is something and worth keeping. Besides, when Donald Trump simply ignores the Salisbury attack in his communications with Russia, and has complained about the Europeans lack of spending on defence, you have to wonder precisely how reliable an ally the United States may prove to be. The UK needs the EU to add to its clout and the EU needs the UK for the same reason. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 19 September 2021 Bubbles surround Manchester Uniteds Cristiano Ronaldo before the match against West Ham at London Stadium Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 18 September 2021 Children take part in the Settrington Cup Pedal Car Race as motoring enthusiasts attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival in Goodwood, Chichester, Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2021 Hugo, 7, from London rides past a 4x7 metre rainbow arch, made entirely of recycled aluminium cans, which has been installed by recycling initiative 'Every Can Counts', in partnership with The City of London Corporation in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, to encourage members of the public to recycle their drinks cans ahead of recycling week, which starts on 20 September PA UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson PA UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than 150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospitals charity PA UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 British player Emma Raducanu, holds up the US Open championship trophy winning the women's singles final of the US Open in New York AP UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA So it is, then, that Vladimir Putin has managed to engineer the opposite of what he intended. He might have terrified Russian dissidents abroad; but he has also managed to unite the Europeans in a way few might have thought possible. It has dawned on the chancellors, prime ministers and presidents gathered in Brussels that what occurred in Wiltshire could have happened in Burgundy or Bavaria or Barcelona, and have drawn the obvious conclusion; that we need to look out for one another when under threat from the Russian secret police, radical Islamists and far right terror alike. Russia is relatively weaker as a direct result of the Skripal attack. An own goal. What a timely lesson this is in the practical advantages and power of a united Europe standing up to a superpower, Brexit or not. Maybe we can do the same with Trumps vastly damaging trade war? Call me an old stick in the mud but any joke that conjures up an image of the Holocaust, child abuse, rape that sort of thing just isnt for me. Racism too, for some reason, doesnt float my comedy boat. I tried to get into Bernard Manning as a kid, but the fact that he relentlessly called people like me Paki put me off him a bit. Comedy which sets out just to shock or to be nasty isnt my thing. I have an older brother and grew up with teenaged boys rolling about the place, killing themselves laughing at something massively politically incorrect which left the teen, Lisa Simpson-esque me exasperated. Unless that sort of schtick is terrifically smart or makes a wider satirical point, it bores me. Im too tired and busy these days to get offended by someone elses stupid humour. As a child though, seeing a room full of people laughing heartily at Mannings racist jokes upset me. Really upset me. Im glad his jokes existed however. Those ghastly faces roaring with laughter at his offensive (to me) jokes put fire in my belly, showed me what I was up against. The reaction to the likes of Manning came at a crucial point in my life puberty in the form of Ben Elton, Alexei Sayle, Rik Mayall, Julian Clary and Jo Brand. BAM! Here were the comedians who spoke for 12-year-old me, tore down the attitudes of the racist, homophobic and misogynist jokers. I was intoxicated by this profession where you could fight the good fight with words that created laughter. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA There were an abundance of people who hated this alternative comedy as much as I hated Manning but thats the point comedy is subjective. You cant say something isnt a joke just because you dont find it funny. This week I have found myself in the position of defending the rights of someone who comically and politically isnt my cup of tea. Mark Meechan, aka Count Dankula, made a video of himself training his girlfriends pug dog to do a Nazi salute and has been convicted in a Scottish court of inciting racial hatred. The charge is so ludicrous Im half expecting the RSPCA to step in to defend the dog. After the Bam earthquake in Iran in 2003 I saw a comic at the Comedy Store point out that Bam is an odd name for a place hit by an earthquake. I wanted to cry and thought of the pictures of children in the rubble as the audience laughed. But they had come there from their vantage point and I from mine. I was offended but that was my problem not the comedians or the audiences. Of course, it is perfectly acceptable to use freedom of speech to object but not to silence willy-nilly. Allow me to put it in context if you havent seen it, which you should before you make a judgement, rather than just read about it. He starts by saying that his girlfriend thinks the dog is very cute so he was going to teach it to be the least cute thing in the world... a Nazi. I think we can all agree with him there. Nazis are among the least adorable people in the world, the very antithesis of cute Id say. In the video, we see him teach the dog to do a Nazi salute at the command of (and I find these words hard even to type) gas the Jews with the same intonation you might use when telling a dog, here boy! Horrible. I dont find it funny. If you do then in my opinion, youre a tool. In my opinion is key here. I am not the arbiter of what is funny. Neither is the law. The terrifying thing about this conviction is that the judge sided with the prosecution who said context and intent are irrelevant in a joke? In a bloody joke? Context is everything in a flipping joke! Its happened. Like Iran, like Burma, like other countries where freedom of speech isnt really their thing, the Scottish courts have convicted someone for telling a joke. This sets a frightening precedence for all of us. Anyone who takes offence at something which is meant in jest could eventually have a case to take to court. You cant pick and choose when you want free speech. You cant protest against the imprisonment of a comedian in Burma but turn a blind eye when its a comic on your own turf who you find unpalatable. Buddha the pug was taught the Nazi salute (YouTube) (Youtube) Some of my fellow comedians are being slow in speaking out against his conviction. I get it, this pug guy is no Lenny Bruce and perhaps they fear making a martyr or even a hero out of someone they find repellent a numpty who thinks its funny to bring the Holocaust into a joke and who is being backed by odious far-right characters like Tommy Robinson. But its not just Count Dankula we are defending, the picture is far bigger than that. We are fighting not for this individual, but for the principle of free speech which right now is being fought for more robustly by the far right than it is by the left. This is a nonpartisan issue. Britain First leaders jailed for anti-Muslim hate crime You dont have to agree with someone to fight for their right to say what theyre saying. Either you believe in free speech or you dont. If you cant distinguish that the convictions of Jayda Fransen and Anjam Chowdhry are different to a man training his pug dog to do a Nazi salute then check your label. You may be an utterly humourless Scottish judge who has put our all our freedom to speak without risk of arrest in grave peril. Many people who hate and fear Donald Trump feel that only political black magic or some form of trickery can explain his election as US President. They convince themselves that we are the victims of a dark conspiracy rather than that the world we live in is changing, and changing for the worse. Cambridge Analytica has now joined Russia at the top of a list of conspirators who may have helped Trump defeat Hillary Clinton in 2016. This is satisfactory for Democrats as it shows that they ought to have won, and delegitimises Trumps mandate. In the Russian and Cambridge Analytica scandals, dodgy characters abound who claim to have a direct line to Putin or Trump, or to have secret information about political opponents or a unique method of swaying the voting intentions of millions of Americans. The most doubtful evidence is treated as credible. The dossier by the former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, about Trumps romps in Moscow, struck me when I first read it as hilarious but entirely unbelievable. The US media thought the same when this document was first being hawked around Washington before the election, and refused to publish it. It was only after Trump was elected that that they and the US security agencies claimed to find it in any way credible. Much of what Cambridge Analytica claimed to be able to do for its clients has an exaggerated ring to it. As with the Steele dossier, several of the Cambridge Analytica documents are unintentionally funny, such as a letter from Aleksandr Kogan, the Russian-American academic researcher, suggesting that finding out if people used crossbows or believed in paganism would be useful traits on which to focus. Cambridge Analytica: Chris Wylie tells Channel 4 News data for 50 million Facebook profiles was obtained We are told that Facebook profiles of more than 50 million users have been harvested (a good menacing word in this context, suggesting that the poor old users are being chopped off at the ankles), and that information so garnered could be fed into the Trump campaign to put him over the top on election day. In reality, information gathered from such a large number of people is too generalised or too obvious to be of much use. What is lacking in these scandals is much real evidence that Russian meddling or Cambridge Analytica harvesting supposing all these tales are true really did much to determine the outcome of the US election. Keep in mind that many very astute and experienced American politicians, backed by billions of dollars, regularly try and fail to decide who will hold political office in the US. It simply is not very likely that the Kremlin having shown extraordinary foresight in seeing that Trump stood a chance when nobody else did was able to exercise significant influence on the US polls. Likewise, for all its bombastic sales pitch, Cambridge Analytica was really a very small player in the e-campaign. The Russian meddling story (again, note the careful choice of words, because meddling avoids any claim that the Russian actions had any impact) and the Cambridge Analytica saga are essentially conspiracy theories. They may damage those targeted such as Trump, but they also do harm to his opponents because it means that they do not look deeply enough into the real reasons for their defeat in 2016, or do enough to prevent it happening again. Since Clinton lost the election by less than 1 per cent of the vote in the crucial swing states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, almost anything that happened in the campaign can be portrayed as decisive. But there are plenty of common-sense reasons for her defeat which are now being submerged and forgotten, as the Democrats and a largely sympathetic media look to Russian plots and such like to show that Trump won the election unfairly. It is worth looking again at Hillary Clintons run-for-office in 2016 to take a more rational view of why she unexpectedly lost. A good place to start is Shattered: Inside Hillary Clintons Doomed Campaign, by the journalists Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, which was published a year ago and is based on interviews with senior campaign staffers. Ironically, the Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook based his approach on a similar sort of analysis of vast quantities of data about voters that Cambridge Analytica claimed it could use to great effect. Mooks conviction that this data was a sure guide to where to invest the Democrats best efforts had disastrous consequences, even though Clinton outspent Trump by 2 to 1. For instance, she did not campaign in Wisconsin after winning the nomination, because her election team thought she was bound to win there. She put too little effort into campaigning in Michigan, though her weakness there was underlined there in March when she lost the primary to Bernie Sanders. Traditional tools of electioneering such as polls and door-to-door canvassing were discounted by Mook, who was absorbed by his own analytical model of how the election was going. In major swing states, the book says that he declined to use pollsters to track voter preferences in the final three weeks of the campaign. Clinton carried a lot of political baggage because she had been demonised by the Republicans for 25 years. She had bad lluck, such the decision of the FBI director, James Comey, to send a letter to Congress about her emails two weeks before the election but Trump somehow managed to survive even worse disasters, such as boasting of how he groped women. Opponents of Trump tend to underestimate him because they are convinced that his faults are so evident that he will implode when the electorate find him out. Somehow they never do, or at least not those parts of the electorate which votes for him. The very scandals that Trumps critics believe will sink him have enabled him dominate the news agenda in a way no American politician has ever done before. The New York Times and CNN may detest him, but they devote an extraordinary proportion of their news output to covering his every action. The accusation that the Kremlin and companies like Cambridge Analytica put Trump in the White House may do him damage. But I suspect that the damage will mostly be among people who never liked him and would never vote for him. Perhaps the one thing would have lost Trump the election is if his campaign had truly relied on Cambridge Analyticas data about the political proclivities of pagan crossbow enthusiasts. It might have been avoided. Fifteen years ago this week, we invaded Iraq. It was a criminal war. Indeed, it was a war crime. It had no UN resolutions to excuse its cruelty. It left a wealthy Arab nation in ruins and its sons and daughters dead in their hundreds of thousands. A million? A million and a half today? Who knows? Who cares? We dont do body counts. We dont tell the truth. Its not that we lied. We set a new record for lying. So surely only a Donald Trump could have spared us this tragedy. Given his own spectacular capacity for dishonesty and sheer insanity, he could have matched Saddam. Only Saddam, with his gas and nuclear ambitions and crazed self-regard could have attracted Trump. Those crossed swords in Baghdad, the rockets swooping heavenwards in the giant wall painting in his palace conference room, the military parades, the butchered family members, would surely have tickled the interest of the present lunatic in the White House. Kim Jong-un is Trumps Saddam. It might have been. Saddam was threatened with shock and awe. Which is pretty much what Trump threatened to do to Kim: fire and fury. A madman. Isnt that what Bush thought about Saddam? Isnt that what Trump said about Kim? And Mr Rocket Man. That pretty much fits Saddam. And thats what Trump called Kim. No, Bush and Blair were too moral, too good, too honest, too deceitful to avoid their own crimes against humanity. They wouldnt sit down with the Hitler of the Tigris. Trump might have done just that. In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives and friends of the military personnel who died in Iraq, leave the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre PA In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Dawn Holmes, the mother of L Cpl Sarah Holmes who died in Iraq, is consoled by solicitor Matthew Jury as she leaves the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre PA In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report A family member holding a photograph of Stephen Robert Wright (R), outside the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, after the publication of the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq War PA In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Families of soldiers killed in the Iraq conflict stand together outside the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre after the outcome of the Chilcot report Getty Images In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives of military personnel killed during the Iraq War talk at a news conference after listening to Sir John Chilcot present The Iraq Inquiry Report at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster Getty In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives of military personnel killed during the Iraq War react after listening to Sir John Chilcot presenting The Iraq Inquiry Report at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London AP In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives and friends of military personnel killed during the Iraq War attend a news conference after listening to Sir John Chilcot present The Iraq Inquiry Report at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster Getty Images In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Family of those who died in Iraq speak to the media as they leave the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London PA In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives and friends of military personnel killed during the Iraq War attend a news conference after Sir John Chilcot presented The Iraq Inquiry Report at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster Getty Images In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Victoria Jones (L), a relative of a British soldier killed in Iraq, holds a copy of The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, by John Chilcot, at the Queen Elizabeth II centre in London Reuters But we all know what happened in that pre-Trumpian age 15 years ago. The slaughter of the innocent, fire and civil war and sectarianism and executions and torture, for let us not now forget Abu Ghraib and then Isis, and the very firmament streamed with blood. For we must remember today Im setting Trump aside for a moment how the 2003 Iraq invasion and the mass resistance to our Western aggression led directly to the foundation of a new form of Islamism. It was nurtured in the prisons and torture camps, and then, as Iraq plundered and then left to rot in bankruptcy and corruption broke apart, Isis gained strength from the terrible theological divide in Islam. If Saddam was Hitler, soon the US Joint Chiefs of Staff would decide (in August 2014, if you dont believe me) that Isis was apocalyptic, an organisation with an end-of-world vision. In the West, its easy to chop off Middle East events into easily consumable news cycles which have no connection to each other, bite-sized chunks of horror which distance and ignorance and lack of compassion can easily dissolve. Its not that many years since the British Labour Party decided it was time to move on from the Iraq war, as if this mass butchery was just a domestic breakup, a messy divorce, a family dispute. But no one in the Middle East would understand this. The Arabs who suffer the consequences naturally see events as a continuum, one bloody event leading to another bloody result; for these tragedies do not occur in a vacuum, separated neatly by superpower invasions or threats or missile attacks or prime-time news or terror that crosses national frontiers. Thus if the Iraq war led to Isis which it did so Isis crossed and re-crossed the Iraqi-Syrian frontier and brought its savagery to Syrias civil war. Thus Raqqa begat Mosul which begat a series of towns with forgettable names parts of eastern Ghouta, for example; Afrin. For these are also our heritage to the people of the Middle East. And if Iraqs new Shia Muslim power naturally attracted the Iranians, so Saudi Arabia saw Irans hand in Yemen and we are now arming the Saudis to continue their bombing of Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, supposedly armed by the Iranians. Another 10,000 dead. Labour MP claims there were 'bribes' behind Iraq war vote Our weapons to the Iraqi government and to the jihadis of Syria ended up in Isiss hands and as the Syrian regime wobbled, Russia arrived with its own military power. The war on terror which for us began on 9/11 morphed into the war on Afghanistan and then, with scrupulous duplicity, into the war against Saddam and then the war on Isis and now the destruction of the Kurds (our allies, remember) and a new alliance between Moscow and Natos largest army (the Turkish variety under the Sultan Erdogan). Forget justice. Forget dignity. Forget education. We were not interested in these desperate, justified ambitions of the people of the Middle East. And it goes on. In Mosul this past week, they reckoned they still had more than 10 million tons of rubble to clear. Since 2013, the Iraqis have sentenced more than 3,000 prisoners to death. Since 2014, 250 accused Isis members have been hanged, a hundred of them last year alone. Detainees and prisoners in Iraq this courtesy of both Human Rights Watch and Reuters now number 20,000 men and women, 6,000 of them in the Nassariya prison in southern Iraq alone. This figure is of Saddamite proportions. And our wars over the past 15 years have been too titanic to leave any place for the poor old Palestinians under the longest military occupation in modern history, so costly that we must pay our tab by selling even more billions of dollars of weapons to the Gulf Arabs to fuel the Sunni-Shia civil war. We destroy Baghdad. We destroy Mosul. The Russians help to destroy Aleppo and Ghouta. Then we destroy Raqqa. We alternately weep for the civilians of Aleppo and Ghouta and turn our shining faces from the dead of Mosul and Raqqa, and we all know the reasons why. But we are kingmakers. If we can destroy this ancient land of Mesopotamia, why, we can declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel and Theresa May can tell the world that Britain still feels pride in the Balfour Declaration. So surely Trump was pre-ordained, predestined, for this shameful theatre. If he can decide who owns Jerusalem and prepare himself to talk to Kim, then he is also the might-have-been of history. Had his amoral presidency existed in 2003, he might have flown to Baghdad and chatted to the old rogue by the Tigris and saved the Middle East. No Iraq war. No Middle Eastern bloodbath. Think about it. The real verdict on the Trump presidency could be the man who came to power too late! There will always be change, those were President Donald Trumps words last week when asked about the likelihood of more staff turnover at the White House how right he was. The make-up of the White House, and his administration, is now much different to what it was less than a month ago. Starting with the resignation of White House communications director Hope Hicks and another communications aide at the end of February, Trump has either fired, or seen resign, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, economic adviser Gary Cohn and his own personal assistant John McEntee. One of Trumps personal lawyers, John Dowd, also resigned hours before Trumps tweet announcing the hiring of John Bolton to replace HR McMaster as national security adviser. Surprise over the speed at which Trump is modifying his team has long since abated, replaced with constant speculation about who might be next. General McMaster, who is said by the White House to have mutually agreed with Trump to resign, has been a constant feature of those stories especially since other supposedly more moderate influences such as Tillerson and Cohn have also been forced out. The fact that Bolton will be Trumps third national security adviser in 14 months, with Michael Flynn being the other, shows that there may indeed be constant change in this White House. Recommended Trump replaces national security adviser HR McMaster with John Bolton While how moderate Tillerson and Cohn were is up for debate, there is no doubt that Bolton will be a hardline influence. He served in a number of positions at various points in the administrations of Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush and George W Bush. His most high profile role was that of US Ambassador to the United Nations between 2005 and 2006, where he was known for being blunt and left his post ahead of a possible tough confirmation hearing. On foreign policy Bolton was a staunch supporter for the war in Iraq, something he still believes he was right to push for. He has been tough on Russia and also come out in support of military action against North Korea and Iran, with regime change being something he has never shied away from. For many critics, such hawkish views help make him an awful choice for the job he has been handed, particularly with possible North Korea talks on the horizon. Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Show all 30 1 /30 Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Threatening to shut down Twitter after being fact-checked After the president tweeted that voting by post would be "substantially fraudulent", Twitter attached a warning label to his tweet and referred readers to a site which explained how the claim was "unsubstantiated". Trump then said Twitter was "stifling free speech" and that he may have to shut it down, something which he would not have the power to do AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Flippantly dismissing a serious allegation of sexual assault When author E Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her, the president responded: Number one, shes not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?" AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Insulting the Mayor of London as he landed in London Just before touching down at Stansted Airport for his state visit, Trump took time out to @ the London mayor Sadiq Khan on twitter. He said that Khan has done a "terrible job"as mayor and that he is a "stone cold loser" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Taking plenty of "Executive Time" The president's official schedule sets aside the hours from 8 to 11am daily for "Executive Time". Further intermittent periods of "Executive Time" are scheduled throughout any given day, ranging from 15 minutes to 3 hours. His duties in these hours have not been officially disclosed, though Axios reports that he spends them watching TV, reading the newspapers and tweeting Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Shutdown the government for over a month in an effort to secure funding for his wall With Mexico declining to pay for the wall, the president has faced difficulty in raising the required $5bn at home. Due to his demand that the money for the wall be included in the budget, and Congress's refusal, the government partially shut down on 22 December 2018. It remained shut for over a month, the longest period in history Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Joking about the Nazi occupation of France to President Macron In this tweet from 13 November 2018, the president mocks Emmanuel Macron's suggestion of a "true, European army" by invoking the conflict between France and Germany in the world wars Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Railing against the Mueller investigation The president has repeatedly claimed that the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, is a "rigged witch hunt" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting a US intelligence report on Russian meddling in the presence of Vladimir Putin In the press conference that followed his landmark meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Trump stated that he saw no reason why Russia would have meddled in the 2016 US election. This contradicted a 2017 report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence that found evidence of Russian interference in favour of Trump Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting his contradiction of a US intelligence report on Russian meddling Following furious backlash in the US, the president claimed that he meant to say that he saw no reason why it would not have been Russia who meddled in the 2016 US election. As to why he would have intended to use such bizarre phrasing, he did not comment Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Colouring in the US flag wrong The president coloured in the US flag wrongly during a visit to a children's hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He added a blue stripe where in tradition, and statute, there have been only white and red stripes AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing a Secretary of State over Twitter The president announced on Twitter that he was appointing Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State, much to the surprise of then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Quoting a catchphrase from a reality TV show when discussing police brutality While addressing the issue of black athletes not standing for the national anthem in protest of police brutality, the president made reference to his catchphrase from reality TV show "The Apprentice": you're fired! Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Calling African nations "S***hole Countries" Ever one for diplomacy, the president reportedly referred to African nations as "s***hole countries". Asked to confirm this when meeting with Nigeria's President Buhari, Trump stated that there are "some countries that are in very bad shape". Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Defending Russian President Vladimir Putin Trump appeared to equate US foreign actions to those of Russian president Vladimir Putin, saying: There are a lot of killers. You think our countrys so innocent? Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Asking for people to 'pray' for Arnold Schwarzenegger At the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump couldnt help but to ask for prayers for the ratings on Arnold Schwarzeneggers show to be good. Schwarzenegger took over as host of The Apprentice which buoyed Trumps celebrity status years ago Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Hanging up on Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull Early in his presidency, Trump reportedly hung up the phone on Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull after the foreign leader angered him over refugee plans. Mr Trump later said that it was the worst call he had had so far Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... The 'Muslim ban' Perhaps one of his most controversial policies while acting as president, Trumps travel ban targeting predominantly Muslim countries has bought him a lot of criticism. The bans were immediately protested, and judges initially blocked their implementation. The Supreme Court later sided with the administrations argument that the ban was developed out of concern for US security Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Praising crowd size while touring Hurricane Harvey damage After Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeastern Texas, Trump paid the area a visit. While his response to the disaster in Houston was generally applauded, the president picked up some flack when he gave a speech outside Houston (he reportedly did not visit disaster zones), and praised the size of the crowds there AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... 'Little Rocket Man' During his first-ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump tried out a new nickname for North Korea leader Kim Jong-un: Rocket Man. He later tweaked it to be little Rocket Man as the two feuded, and threatened each other with nuclear war. During that speech, he also threatened to totally annihilate North Korea Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Attacking Sadiq Khan following London Bridge terror attack After the attack on the London Bridge, Trump lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, criticising Khan for saying there was no reason to be alarmed after the attack. Trump was taking the comments out of context, as Khan was simply saying that the police had everything under control Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming presenter Mika Brezinkski was 'bleeding from the face' Never one not to mock his enemies, Trump mocked MSNBCs Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, saying that she and co-host Joe Scarborough had approached him before his inauguration asking to join him. He noted that she was bleeding badly from a face-lift at the time, and that he said no MSNBC Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming the blame for Charlottesville was on 'both sides' Trump refused to condemn far-right extremists involved in violence at 'the march for the right' protests in Charlottesville, even after the murder of counter protester Heather Heyer AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Retweeting cartoon of CNN being hit by a 'Trump train' Trump retweeted a cartoon showing a Trump-branded train running over a person whose body and head were replaced by a CNN avatar. He later deleted the retweet Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Tweeting about 'slamming' CNN Trump caught some flack when he tweeted a video showing him wrestling down an individual whose head had been replaced by a CNN avatar. Trump has singled CNN out in particular with his chants of fake news Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing head of the FBI, James Comey Trumps firing of former FBI Director James Comey landed him with a federal investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 election that has caused many a headache for the White House. The White House initially said that the decision was made after consultation from the Justice Department. Then Mr Trump himself said that he had decided to fire him in part because he wanted the Russia investigation Mr Comey was conducting to stop Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Not realising being president would be 'hard' Just three months into his presidency, Trump admitted that being president is harder than he thought it would be. Though Trump insisted on the 2016 campaign trail that doing the job would be easy for him, he admitted in an interview that living in the White House is harder than running a business empire Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Accusing Obama of wiretapping him Trump accused former president Barack Obama of wire tapping him on twitter. The Justice Department later clarified: Obama had not, in fact, done so Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming there had been 3 million 'illegal votes' Trump was never very happy about losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million ballots. So, he and White House voter-fraud commissioner Kris Kobach have claimed that anywhere between three and five million people voted illegally during the 2016 election. Conveniently, he says that all of those illegal votes went to Clinton. (There is no evidence to support that level of widespread voter fraud.) Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Leaving Jews out of the Holocaust memorial statement Just days after taking office, Trumps White House issued a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but didnt mention jews or even the word jewish in the written statement Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Anger over Inauguration crowd size Trumps inauguration crowd was visibly, and noticeably, smaller than that of his predecessor, Barack Obama. But, he really wanted to have had the largest crowd on record. So, he praised it as the biggest crowd ever. Relatedly, Trump also claimed that it stopped raining in Washington at the moment he was inaugurated. It didnt, the day was very dreary Reuters For Trump, whose White House has praised his ability as a security expert, Bolton ticks a number of boxes. His opposition to the Iran nuclear deal fits in Trumps wish to be re-negotiate it or pull out. The Presidents pick for Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, the CIA director, is also against the Iran deal. That will make a powerful combination, although where it leaves Defense Secretary James Mattis, who was a big ally of Tillerson is open to debate. Bolton has had experience in a number of administrations, but is best known recently as a Fox News analyst. That too will appeal to Trump, who has picked long-time CNBC contributor Larry Kudlow to become his next top economic adviser to replace Cohn. Boltons media personality may be more amenable to the President, who is said to have seen General McMaster as gruff. But Bolton can also be seen as an intriguing choice, given that Trump sees the Iraq war as a colossal mistake, and has often talked of the need for non-interventionist policies. The President has removed others for such disagreements before. Perhaps tellingly, Bolton suggested to Fox News in an interview in the wake of his hiring that the word of the President is most important. Ive never been shy about what my views are, but frankly what I have said ... Is behind me at least effective 9 April [when he starts the job] he said. The important thing is what the President says and what advice I would give him. Bolton is seen as a hawks hawk and will probably push for a hardline stance over Iran and North Korea, but whether that actually becomes a reality is difficult to say. The bigger question may be whether Bolton will last in the role. While Trump clearly sees someone he thinks will work well for him, Bolton has many critics and that may end up working against him in this White House. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have begun a whirlwind visit to Northern Ireland which will see them visit the Titanic visitor attraction and have lunch in a Belfast pub. The couple are on the latest leg of a tour of the UK that has already taken them to major centres like Edinburgh, Cardiff and Birmingham. The US actress is being introduced to the people, culture and issues of the regions they visit and Ulster will provide Harrys bride-to-be with a wealth of new experiences. Harry and Ms Markle began their day at the former Maze paramilitary prison outside Lisburn where around 2,500 young people from both sides of the Irish border have gathered for a peace-building event. They were greeted by Londonderry students Amber Hamilton, from Foyle College, and Ryan McCallion, from St Josephs boys school, both 17, before meeting a number of dignitaries including Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable George Hamilton. Ms Markle looked stylish in a cream coat and top with a green skirt. The cross-community gathering at the Eikon Centre, which is built on the site of the old Maze prison, will see teenagers share their hopes and dreams of a peaceful and reconciled future on the island. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Ireland may expel Russian diplomats following the Salisbury attack (Niall Carson/PA) Ireland is to carry out a security assessment of Russian diplomats ahead of their possible expulsion from the country. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar confirmed individual action against suspected agents was a possibility and a decision could be made as early as next week. Britain has won the backing of EU leaders including the Irish premier after they accepted that the only plausible explanation for the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, was that Russia was responsible. Mr Varadkar said: A security assessment will be done the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Tanaiste (Simon Coveney), and I already spoke about this in the coming days so we will make that decision, I would say, the early part of next week. He said some EU countries will expel Russian diplomats or withdraw ambassadors next week. Russia is represented in Ireland by ambassador Yury Filatov and has an embassy in Ballsbridge in South Dublin. Mr Filatov has a staff of 16, including defence attaches, counsellors and secretaries. Expand Close Russian spy ring / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Russian spy ring As part of the EU, Ireland has been part of the Unions four-year sanctions war against the Kremlin following military action in the Crimea. As a result of the sanctions, the value of exports between Ireland and Russia has fallen dramatically. Expelling diplomats would represent a highly symbolic ratcheting up of the pressure as part of Irish solidarity with the UK following the Salisbury attack. The UK has already turned out 23 Russian representatives, prompting retaliatory action from Moscow. In her address to the other 27 EU leaders over dinner, Prime Minister Theresa May set out the four pillars of evidence which the UK believes put Russia in the frame: The positive identification by experts at Porton Down of the specific chemical used as a type of Novichok nerve agent; The knowledge that Russia has produced this agent within the last 10 years and remains capable of doing so; Russias record of conducting state-sponsored assassinations; and Britains assessment that Russia views defectors as suitable targets for assassination. We are not going to randomly expel people who are genuine diplomatsTaoiseach Leo Varadkar Mr Varadkar added: Following Irelands proposal at a European Council meeting in Brussels, the EU leaders agreed on Thursday with the UKs assessment that it was highly likely the Russian authorities were behind the Salisbury attack. What we will now consider in the coming days is whether we want to take individual action relating to Russian diplomats in Ireland, bearing in mind that what the UK did was to expel 23 diplomats who they believed were not actually diplomats, (but) were agents. So we would have to do a security assessment just like they did before that. We are not going to randomly expel people who are genuine diplomats. Mr Filatov said he hoped Ireland will use its common sense in assessing any action it may take. He told broadcaster RTE any expulsion of Russian diplomats from Ireland would be an unfriendly action, that is certain. He said Russia had nothing to do with the poisoning and there was no evidence or proof to suggest otherwise. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Ireland will conduct a security assessment of Russian diplomats following the Salisbury attack (Niall Carson/PA) Ireland is to conduct a security assessment of Russian diplomats working in the country. Britain has won the backing of EU leaders who accepted the only plausible explanation for the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, was that Russia was responsible. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar confirmed expelling suspected agents from Ireland was a possibility as early as next week. What we will now consider in the coming days is to whether we want to take individual action relating to Russian diplomats in Ireland, bearing in mind that what the UK did was to expel 23 diplomats who they believed, were not actually diplomats, were agents. So we would have to do a security assessment just like they did before that, we are not going to randomly expel people who are genuine diplomats. A security assessment will be done. The minister for Foreign Affairs Tanaiste (Simon Coveney) and I already spoke about this, in the coming days so we will make that decision I would say the early part of next week. Following Irelands proposal at a European Council meeting in Brussels, the EU leaders agreed on Thursday with the UKs assessment that it was highly likely the Russian authorities were behind the Salisbury attack. 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The EU27 opened the door for trade negotiations by endorsing a deal on Britains 21-month transition to Brexit and approving guidelines designed to deliver a balanced, ambitious and wide-ranging free trade agreement with the UK. The decision at the European Council summit in Brussels sets the scene for months of intensive and complex talks on trade in goods and services, as well as Britains security relationship with the EU after withdrawal. European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said that it took less than half a minute for the guidelines to be approved, in what he said was a demonstration of the united front of the member states, the 27. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the decision allowed the regrettable process of Brexit to proceed, adding that the EU27 will not allow ourselves to be divided, but will maintain our unity through the trade talks. Mrs May said she felt there was now a new dynamic in the negotiations. I believe we are approaching this with a spirit of co-operation, a spirit of opportunity for the future as well, and we will now be sitting down and determining those workable solutions for Northern Ireland, but also for our future security partnership and economic partnership, she said. Confirmation of the transition period stretching from Brexit day in March 2019 to the end of December 2020 will provide certainty for businesses and individuals, said the Prime Minister. It gives them the clarity to plan for their future and it ensures that they will only have to make one adjustment, one change, when we enter into the new relationship with the EU in the future, she said. Decision: EU27 has adopted guidelines for the future EU-UK relations after #Brexit Charles Michel (@eucopresident) March 23, 2018 But the negotiating guidelines agreed in Mrs Mays absence in Brussels include elements certain to spark rancour in the months to come. A reference to Gibraltar was added to the document at the last minute, in apparent deference to Spain, which has been offered a veto on the future of the British overseas territory by the EU. And the guidelines insist that EU negotiators should seek to maintain existing reciprocal access to fishing waters, which is likely to be fiercely resisted on the Conservative backbenches. The EU document also envisages ambitious provisions on movement of natural persons, based on full reciprocity and non-discrimination among member states. The guidelines called for the EU to have as close as possible a partnership with the UK in future, covering trade and economic co-operation as well as the fight against terrorism and international crime, security, defence and foreign policy. But they warned that the red lines set down by Mrs May including pulling Britain out of the single market and customs union will limit the depth of any future partnership and inevitably lead to frictions in trade, resulting in negative economic consequences, in particular in the United Kingdom. Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier, who kissed Mrs Mays hand as they met in the entrance lobby of the Europa building in Brussels, said Friday marked a decisive moment in this difficult and extraordinary negotiation. He cautioned that the future partnership negotiated over the coming months must respect the principles and identity of the EU and the single market. Addressing fellow leaders over dinner in Brussels on Thursday evening, Mrs May said it was their duty to show energy and ambition in the upcoming talks. Britain believes that moving on to trade talks with the EU will help unblock the logjam over the Irish border and prevent the need to implement a backstop solution proposed by Brussels which would keep Northern Ireland in the customs union. London is hopeful that a solution to keep Northern Irelands border with the Republic open will emerge in the context of a deal allowing trade between Britain and the rest of the EU to be as frictionless as possible. Taioseach Leo Varadkar said that Ireland would seek an agreement that keeps the UK as close to the EU as possible. He said: That is the best way to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland and also the best way to protect the enormous trade that occurs between Britain and Ireland, and that is so important for Irish jobs and our economy, and agriculture in particular. It is not a case of when they are winning we are losing or when they are losing we are winning. We are not going to get a good outcome for Ireland on that basis. Pictured are Wexford COCO Cathaoirleach John Hearty, John OToole, CEO BIM, entrepreneur Bobby Kerr, Dr Patricia Mulcahy, President IT Carlow, Tom Enright, Chief Executive Wexford LEO, Minister of State Michael Darcy at the launch of the BUCANIER project in Ireland. A 2.9m EU-funded initiative was today launched in Wexford to provide specialist support to 120 small businesses in the food and drink, life sciences and renewable energy sectors. The ICT, manufacturing, business services and creative industries will also benefit from the initiative which is designed to help Irish and Welsh SMEs boost trade through the design and development of new products and services. BUCANIER (Building Cluster and Networks in Innovation Enterprise and Research) will see Institute of Technology Carlow, Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) and Wexford County Council work as a collective with Pembrokeshire County Council, Carmarthenshire County Council and Swansea University Medical School in Wales for the benefit of 120 small businesses in Ireland and Wales. The rationale behind BUCANIER is the successful partnering of higher education institutions and public bodies to bring about innovation and greater productivity for small businesses along the Irish seaboard. Small businesses, individuals and researchers in the food and drink, life sciences and renewable energy sectors in counties Wicklow, Kildare, Waterford, Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Cork, Tipperary and Kerry will benefit from the initiative in addition to their counterparts along the west coast of Wales. BUCANIER is funded through the European Regional Development Fund as part of the Ireland-Wales cooperation programme. By August 2020, the BUCANIER programme aims to see: 120 SMEs supported; 15pc full-time equivalent employment increase in supported enterprises; 60 new-to-firm products introduced amongst supported enterprises; six new-to-market products introduced amongst supported enterprises and two new or enhanced cross-border networks delivered. BUCANIER plans on delivering on its objectives through: applying design-based innovation to bring new products and service ideas close to the commercial market; business mentoring; innovation master classes and special events; and creating new networks between Wales and Ireland for the benefit of same sector enterprises. BUCANIER also intends to increase the number of cross-border collaborative research, development and innovation (RD&I) clusters and networks between research institutions and SMEs. A Co. Limerick farmers plans to erect a gate and build a new entrance have been turned down for the second time. Limerick City and Co. Council refused the application by Eddie Hennessy at Cloghnadromin, Ballysimon last year. He asked to, Remove existing concrete post fencing and planting and fit standard farm gate and piers. Below that, it stated it is the proposed new entrance to farmland for Edward Hennessy at Cloghnadromin, Ballysimon. The reasons given for refusal were that the proposed development would be contrary to the proper planning and development of the area because it constitutes a new access on a heavily trafficked section of the national road network - the N24 Limerick to Tipperary national primary road at a point where the maximum speed limit for this type of road applies and the traffic turning movements generated by the proposed development would interfere with the safety and free flow of traffic on the adjoining road. Mr Hennessy appealed the councils decision to An Bord Pleanala and he listed a number of grounds for appealing it. They include when he purchased the land holding around 20 years ago it had the benefit of a right of way onto the roadway, although that entrance arrangement was never used as an alternative access was available through adjoining lands. However, within the last 12 months the adjacent lands have changed ownership and the new landowner has stated that he no longer wants the applicant to cross his lands due to the potential for damage, whilst he has further submitted that the applicant should use his own entrance via the right of way. The adjacent landowner has continuously complained of the applicants alleged trespass/crossing of his lands and has threatened to cease same through the erection of a fence. The landholding proposed to be served by the new entrance arrangement is of particular importance to the applicant as he operates a family farm which is reliant on the drawing of silage from the lands in question, read the grounds of appeal. In his submission, Mr Hennessy said adequate sightlines are available from the proposed entrance onto the public road in both directions. And the proposed entrance will not give rise to any increase in traffic movements to or from the applicants landholding. In support of the grounds of appeal, the Board was referred to the accompanying correspondence addressed to Mr Hennessy from the neighbouring landowners legal representatives which states the following: We are instructed that you have been crossing the southern boundary of Mr Keoghs property for the purpose of access to adjoining lands. Please note that you have no authority or right whatsoever to enter or in any way use that particular portion of our clients property and we now call upon you to immediately refrain from doing so again. The Board decided to refuse permission, generally in accordance with the inspectors recommendation, for the following reasons and considerations. The inspectors report, which runs to 12 pages, was published last week. The Board cited the Spatial Planning and National Roads - Guidelines for Planning Authorities issued by the Department of the Environment to avoid the creation of any additional access point from new development to national roads to which speed limits greater than 60 kmh apply. That the Limerick County Development Plan, 2010-2016 seeks to protect the capacity and safety of the national road network in the county and states that developments that require a new access onto a national road will not be permitted. The proposed development would involve the creation of a new access onto the N24 national primary road, where a speed limit of 100 kmph applies. It is considered that the traffic turning movements generated by the proposed development would endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard, would interfere with the free flow of traffic on this national road, would compromise the level of service and carrying capacity of the road at this location, and would fail to protect public investment in the national road network, both by itself and by the undesirable precedent it would set for similar such development. The proposed development would contravene the provisions of guidelines and objectives of the County Development Plan, and would, therefore, be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area, stated the Board. The Government and Apple have consistently insisted the tax was never owed, and both have appealed the controversial ruling. Photo: Reuters The Government has awarded a potentially lucrative contract to look after the controversial 13bn Apple tax money to a trio of global investment firms. Amundi, BlackRock Investment Management and Goldman Sachs Asset Management have been named as preferred tenderers to provide investment management services, appointments aimed at making sure than the money is protected during lengthy legal appeals. The European Commission has ordered Ireland to collect 13bn from Apple for what it claims are unpaid taxes. The Government here and Apple say the tax was never owed and have launched a legal challenge. However, that could take years and in the meantime the State must collect the tax and hold onto it. If Ireland wins its case, it will hand the 13bn back to Apple at the end of the process. Investment managers are being hired to make sure the vast pot doesnt lose value in the meantime, because taxpayers would then be on the hook for any losses. Theres too much reliance on desk-top analysis by banks. Banks are taking yes/no decisions based on financial accounts, John Trethowan, head of the Credit Review Office, believes Banks no longer make the effort to get to know small and medium-sized firms when they apply for loans, and it has long-term consequences, the head of the agency tasked with monitoring credit for SMEs has said. Bank officials are making loan decisions sitting behind desks rather than face-to-face, John Trethowan, the head of the Credit Review Office, said. And he warned the closure of bank branches across the country could be the cause of lower demand for SME lending. "There's too much reliance on desk-top analysis by banks. Banks are taking yes/no decisions based on financial accounts. Some are based in Dublin and they haven't spoken to the borrower to try and understand their business." In his latest report, Mr Trethowan said a persistent finding in the Department of Finance SME credit demand surveys is that there has been a decline in the demand for bank lending, from 40pc in 2013 to 23pc now. "I think people aren't borrowing because they find it too hard, and that relationship has been lost," Mr Threthowan said. He said the firms the Credit Review Office have spoken with say they want somebody to listen to them, and understand their business. Read more: In his report, he pointed out that loan assessment by the banks is now dominated by numbers, ratios and credit bureau history, "with minimal reliance placed on the borrower's track record with the bank". "Little effort is now made to get to know the business, the sector it operates in and the business's future prospects, and both SME and farm borrowers remain largely unprepared for the levels of financial information which all banks now require to assess their loan applications." Accountants and financial advisers are now more likely to tell clients to consider alternatives to the banks, the report found. Extra cash in a business is likely to be used to reduce bank borrowings, rather than fund expansion plans, it found. "The banks need to get these professionals back onside to increase their lending, but seem to be making little effort to do so," the report stated. Mr Trethowan said that while he doesn't have much interaction with vulture funds, they are getting harder to deal with regarding SME debt. "These funds, they aren't based here, their objective is to return equity for their investors, and they aren't wedded to Ireland inc," he said. AIB executives faced a barrage of criticism from politicians over the State-backed lender's plans to increase the remuneration of 80 to 100 top executives with a deferred share bonus scheme. Under questioning from the Oireachtas Finance Committee, AIB's chief financial officer, Mark Bourke, insisted the proposal to re-establish a performance-related pay structure a decade after the crash marked a "first step" in the bank's push for a "normalised form of remuneration". He said the shares would not vest for another five years, would be tied to management's ability to return the remainder of the 21bn bailout and would also include clawbacks if the bank's performance deteriorated. Details of the scheme were set out in the group's annual general report, which was published alongside the annual results earlier this month. Fine Gael Senator, Kieran O'Donnell claimed it "reeks of elitism" and reminded management that the bank is still 71pc-owned by the taxpayer. The bank was also criticised for its silence on the multi-billion euro Project Redwood loan sale. Jim O'Keeffe, head of AIB's financial solutions group, the bank's workout arm, refused to confirm the sale process even existed, prompting sharp criticisms from the committee. Sinn Fein's Pearse Doherty describing the bank's stance as "bizarre". As this newspaper has reported for many months, Redwood comprises soured loans - largely commercial mortgages and buy- to-let loans, although early sales documents showed SME and land loans were included among others. The gross value totals 3.75bn but is expected to change hands at close to 2bn. However, as highlighted by the Irish Independent earlier this month, the deal size has reduced slightly following increased levels of engagement from distressed borrowers. The precise scale of this reduction remains unclear. Yet while AIB stuck rigidly to its tight-lipped strategy, Permanent TSB opted for relatively frank disclosure. CEO Jeremy Masding argued the bank is "running out of options" to comply with a tougher regulatory regime and warned against any move by the Government to block the planned sale of 18,000 home loans and buy-to-let mortgages. He pointed out PTSB still owes the taxpayer about 1.5bn and said the lender's declining share price reflects investor scepticism about the bank's ability to "manage down" its stack of non-performing loans. He pointed out that PTSB's current share price of 1.86 - close to 60pc below the IPO issue price in 2015, when a quarter of the bank's shares were floated in 2015 - leaves the market capitalisation at under 850m. He said that gap between the market cap and the amount owed to the taxpayer "is being registered" by the market as the bank's inability to scale back its NPL exposure, which still stands at 26pc of the overall loan book. Mr Masding said that as a "guest" in Ireland, his job as CEO is to "implement the right option for all taxpayers". The fashion brand opened its first store in 1976, on Dublins Grafton Street Profits at the Pamela Scott ladies fashion brand are growing and will allow it to continue pay back the 2.8m owed to businessman and founder of Pamela Scott Sean Barron. Accounts just filed by Flairline Fashions Ltd show that the business recorded a modest profit of 4,207 last year excluding exceptional items. The company recorded a post-tax loss of 1.42m after exceptional costs of 1.43m are taken into account. According to a note attached to the accounts: "The group's profits are growing which will improve the company's financial position and allow it grow the business and continue repayment of the shareholders loan." The accounts for the year to the end of August last show that Mr Barron advanced a further 522,490 to the business in 2017 but received 730,000 in repayments. This resulted in a net decrease in the amount owed to Mr Barron during the year, from 3.06m to 2.86m. In 2016, the business celebrated 40 years in business as its flagship Grafton Street store opened in 1976. The brand was in expansion mode last year, adding a number of stores to its portfolio. It now has a total number of 24, with stores in locations including Dublin, Limerick, Cork, Athlone, Carlow, Castlebar, Clonmel, Gorey, Ennis, Kilkenny, Mullingar, Navan, Newbridge, Sligo, Tralee, Waterford, Letterkenny and Wexford. Numbers employed by Flairline last year fell from 26 to 23 with staff costs declining from 857,282 to 786,410. The firm's cash increased from 404,548 to 409,781. Username: Password: or Register Thread Rating: 5 Vote(s) - 3.4 Average 1 2 3 4 5 When the UK/US (on behalf of Israel) finally get an excuse they can hold on to Roddy's Creed Registered User User ID: kaput 03-23-2018 03:12 AM Posts: 5,410 Post: #1 When the UK/US (on behalf of Israel) finally get an excuse they can hold on to Advertisement I do not label myself. What I stand for is based on my own convictions, and I don't care which box - the left one or the right one - they happen to belong. Will you (Russiaphobian) be happy going to war against Russia and China? LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 1337 03-23-2018 02:55 PM Post: #2 RE: When the UK/US (on behalf of Israel) finally get an excuse they can hold on to Roddy Wrote: (03-23-2018 03:12 AM) Will you (Russiaphobian) be happy going to war against Russia and China? are you going to be happier licking russian boots? What a stupid thread. and your title demonstrates your jew/israel hate which just shows how low IQ you are. are you going to be happier licking russian boots? What a stupid thread. and your title demonstrates your jew/israel hate which just shows how low IQ you are. Donald J Trump Homer's University of GREATNESS User ID: 1337 03-23-2018 02:58 PM Posts: 6,934 Post: #3 RE: When the UK/US (on behalf of Israel) finally get an excuse they can hold on to I don't think there's gonna be a war. I think they just like keeping people in fear. "Go with the flow, like a twig on the shoulders of a mighty stream" Del Griffith GrimShaw Asinus Asinum Fricat User ID: 1337 03-23-2018 03:00 PM Posts: 32,396 Post: #4 RE: When the UK/US (on behalf of Israel) finally get an excuse they can hold on to They're messing with our money. The BRIC. They picked the fight. Roddy's Creed Registered User User ID: 1337 03-23-2018 03:06 PM Posts: 5,410 Post: #5 RE: When the UK/US (on behalf of Israel) finally get an excuse they can hold on to LoP Guest Wrote: (03-23-2018 02:55 PM) Roddy Wrote: (03-23-2018 03:12 AM) Will you (Russiaphobian) be happy going to war against Russia and China? are you going to be happier licking russian boots? What a stupid thread. and your title demonstrates your jew/israel hate which just shows how low IQ you are. I demonstrated my Jew hate???? Thank you, man! Now I am sure you're just a troll. Thanks you, really! I demonstrated my Jew hate????Thank you, man! Now I am sure you're just a troll. Thanks you, really! I do not label myself. What I stand for is based on my own convictions, and I don't care which box - the left one or the right one - they happen to belong. (This post was last modified: 03-23-2018 03:26 PM by Roddy's Creed .) Roddy's Creed Registered User User ID: 1337 03-23-2018 03:07 PM Posts: 5,410 Post: #6 RE: When the UK/US (on behalf of Israel) finally get an excuse they can hold on to Homer Simpson Wrote: (03-23-2018 02:58 PM) I don't think there's gonna be a war. I think they just like keeping people in fear. Could be. Maybe it's just info wars. Could be. Maybe it's just info wars. I do not label myself. What I stand for is based on my own convictions, and I don't care which box - the left one or the right one - they happen to belong. Roddy's Creed Registered User User ID: 1337 03-23-2018 03:09 PM Posts: 5,410 Post: #7 RE: When the UK/US (on behalf of Israel) finally get an excuse they can hold on to Any MODS around? Does this thread demonstrate any hate towards any religion, race? I do not label myself. What I stand for is based on my own convictions, and I don't care which box - the left one or the right one - they happen to belong. conspiracyparty Registered User User ID: 1337 03-23-2018 03:11 PM Posts: 1,025 Post: #8 RE: When the UK/US (on behalf of Israel) finally get an excuse they can hold on to roddy, you should know that hardcore Zionists and neocons. will accuse you off being Adolf Hitler and anti-semite if you oppose Israel. (This post was last modified: 03-23-2018 03:11 PM by conspiracyparty .) Roddy's Creed Registered User User ID: 1337 03-23-2018 03:25 PM Posts: 5,410 Post: #9 RE: When the UK/US (on behalf of Israel) finally get an excuse they can hold on to conspiracyparty Wrote: (03-23-2018 03:11 PM) roddy, you should know that hardcore Zionists and neocons. will accuse you off being Adolf Hitler and anti-semite if you oppose Israel. True, and It's beyond retarded! True, and It's beyond retarded! I do not label myself. What I stand for is based on my own convictions, and I don't care which box - the left one or the right one - they happen to belong. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 1337 03-23-2018 03:57 PM Post: #10 RE: When the UK/US (on behalf of Israel) finally get an excuse they can hold on to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDDEhLw1PVI Oh poor little Russia. All it did was assassinate some people abroad and invade and occupy a sovereign nation. Leave Russia alone. Roddy's Creed Registered User User ID: 1337 03-23-2018 03:59 PM Posts: 5,410 Post: #11 RE: When the UK/US (on behalf of Israel) finally get an excuse they can hold on to LoP Guest Wrote: (03-23-2018 03:57 PM) Oh poor little Russia. All it did was assassinate some people abroad and invade and occupy a sovereign nation. Leave Russia alone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDDEhLw1PVI I do not label myself. What I stand for is based on my own convictions, and I don't care which box - the left one or the right one - they happen to belong. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 1337 03-23-2018 04:01 PM Post: #12 RE: When the UK/US (on behalf of Israel) finally get an excuse they can hold on to LoP Guest Wrote: (03-23-2018 03:57 PM) Oh poor little Russia. All it did was assassinate some people abroad and invade and occupy a sovereign nation. Leave Russia alone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDDEhLw1PVI Russia is filled with saints! Russia dindunuffin Russia is filled with saints! Russia dindunuffin conspiracyparty Registered User User ID: 1337 03-23-2018 05:24 PM Posts: 1,025 Post: #13 RE: When the UK/US (on behalf of Israel) finally get an excuse they can hold on to Quote: Oh poor little Russia. All it did was assassinate some people abroad and invade and occupy a sovereign nation. Leave Russia alone. So lets say they did. (ignoring the fact that most of Ukraine is still Ukraine, and only "lost" a tiny portion). The land is right beside their country. are they supposed to bend to the US funded coup and do nothing about it? comparing tooo.. USA who does everything you accuse of Russia. Just doing so both in region (Central America) and half way around the world where they shouldnt be. What is USA doing in Syria? And why does it have multipple bases occupying certain parts? And refuses to leave. Russia = regional problems. USA = wants world empire and dominance. has invaded and bombed every major populated continent. Do you remember how bitchy and whining the USA was during the Cuban situation? Well the US is right on Russian doorstep. So lets say they did.(ignoring the fact that most of Ukraine is still Ukraine, and only "lost" a tiny portion).The land is right beside their country. are they supposed to bend to the US funded coupand do nothing about it?comparing tooo..USA who does everything you accuse of Russia.Just doing so both in region (Central America) and half way around the world where they shouldnt be.What is USA doing in Syria? And why does it have multipple bases occupying certain parts? And refuses to leave.Russia = regional problems.USA = wants world empire and dominance. has invaded and bombed every major populated continent.Do you remember how bitchy and whining the USA was during the Cuban situation? Well the US is right on Russian doorstep. (This post was last modified: 03-23-2018 05:26 PM by conspiracyparty .) Roddy's Creed Registered User User ID: 1337 03-24-2018 06:41 PM Posts: 5,410 Post: #14 RE: When the UK/US (on behalf of Israel) finally get an excuse they can hold on to conspiracyparty Wrote: (03-23-2018 05:24 PM) Quote: Oh poor little Russia. All it did was assassinate some people abroad and invade and occupy a sovereign nation. Leave Russia alone. So lets say they did. (ignoring the fact that most of Ukraine is still Ukraine, and only "lost" a tiny portion). The land is right beside their country. are they supposed to bend to the US funded coup and do nothing about it? comparing tooo.. USA who does everything you accuse of Russia. Just doing so both in region (Central America) and half way around the world where they shouldnt be. What is USA doing in Syria? And why does it have multipple bases occupying certain parts? And refuses to leave. Russia = regional problems. USA = wants world empire and dominance. has invaded and bombed every major populated continent. Do you remember how bitchy and whining the USA was during the Cuban situation? Well the US is right on Russian doorstep. I do not label myself. What I stand for is based on my own convictions, and I don't care which box - the left one or the right one - they happen to belong. The 25m Irish money messaging app company, Plynk, is undergoing a "funding crunch" that has led to the departure of several people from the firm, according to its co-founder and chief executive. Speaking to Independent.ie, the co-founder of the 25m-backed firm, Charles Dowd, said that the cash problems are close to being overcome and that its main financiers are "committed" to the future of the company. Plynk raised 25m last year in a round led by the European investment firm, Swiss Prive. The service allows people to link to a bank account and send small amounts of money to one another, such as when splitting a bill at a restaurant. It is currently live in a couple of European countries. However, Mr Dowd said that firm has had "some struggles around cash" and this has led to the recent departure of several people from the company. "We had a six month timeline to hit certain goals but it has run on three months longer than they [Swiss Prive] thought," said Dowd. "So we ended up having this crunch in funding. Weve had a few people leave during the struggles. Now were in the process of wrapping that issue up and moving on to the next tranche of funding. That will happen in one or two weeks." He said that the Swiss funders will continue to back the company. "Theyre at the table and are committed," said Dowd. "Were in this for the long haul. Weve learned a lot from being live for a year and are planning a big revamp of the product offering. We have some big offerings coming down the line but have had three months of a painful process." Plynk was co-founded by ex-Facebook executive Dowd and ex-Wonga executive Clive Foley in 2015. Linked to users Facebook accounts, Plynk consumers can send money as a message to a single contact or in-group chats instantly and with no fees. Users receive a dedicated IBAN and virtual Mastercard for online payments. Donald Trump holds his signed memorandum on intellectual property tariffs on high-tech goods from China, at the White House US President Donald Trump has signed a presidential memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to $60bn (48bn) of imports from China, although his action was far removed from threats that could have ignited a global trade war. Under the terms of the memorandum, Mr Trump will target the Chinese imports only after a consultation period, a measure that will give industry lobbyists and legislators a chance to water down a proposed target list which runs to 1,300 products. China will also have space to respond, reducing the risk of immediate dramatic retaliation from Beijing, and Mr Trump struck an emollient tone as he started speaking, saying: "I view them [China] as a friend." He added: "We have spoken to China and we are in the middle of negotiations," adding that the loss of American jobs from unfair trade was one of the main reasons he had been elected in 2016. The United States runs a $375bn goods trade deficit with China. Washington will also pursue alleged breaches of intellectual property law by China through the World Trade Organisation, a body that has repeatedly drawn the ire of the administration but which could provide a resolution that avoids a trade war. Global stocks had sold off yesterday on the expectation of tough action from Mr Trump, with US markets down as much as 2pc, but recovered somewhat after the announcement. Following Mr Trump's announcement, the US Trade Representative's office will present a list of products that could be targeted, primarily from the high-tech sector. There will then be a 60-day consultation period before definitive action will be put into force. White House officials told a briefing ahead of the trade announcement that the administration was eyeing tariffs on $50bn in Chinese goods. They said the figure was based on a calculation of the impact on the profits of US companies that had been forced to hand over their intellectual property as the price of doing business in China. There was no explanation of the difference between the numbers provided by White House officials in the briefing and Trump's $60bn. "Many of these areas are those where China has sought to acquire advantage through the unfair acquisition and forced technology transfer from US companies ... establishing its own competitive advantage in an unfair manner," Everett Eissenstat, deputy director of the National Economic Council, told reporters. (Reuters) Patrons of three of Dublin's top pubs may find themselves a little confused this weekend as their favourite watering holes have changed their names. Toners Yard is now Tobin's while The Waterloo has changed to Finnegan's and Reillys on Merrion Row is now named Cole's. The move is to honour of the winners of the 47th annual Hennessy Literary Awards, which were revealed on Wednesday night. Aaron Finnegan won the First Fiction category, Louise G. Cole won for Emerging Poetry, and Manus Boyle Tobin won for Emerging Fiction, as well as being named the Hennessy New Irish Writer of the Year. The pubs were all favourite drinking spots of some of our literary greats. Dracula author Bram Stoker was a frequent visitor to Toners, and even though he wasnt a pub fan, WB Yeats once stopped in for a glass of sherry, brought by Oliver St. John Gogarty on his first visit to a traditional Irish pub. Up the road in the heart of Patrick Kavanaghs Baggotonia, The Waterloo Bar was a favourite haunt of the Stony Grey Soil poet and the legendary Borstal Boy Brendan Behan, widely regarded as one of the greatest Irish writers and poets of all time. More recently Seamus Heaney stopped in. Kavanagh, Behan and their comic genius contemporary Flann OBrien are also known to have a sat on a stool in pubs further down Baggot Street and Merrion Row, with names today including Foleys and Reillys. So for 48 hours this weekend Toners Yard, The Waterloo and Reillys will be known as Tobins, Finnegans and Coles to celebrate new Irish writing and the literary achievements of this years Hennessy Literary Awards winners. Dealing with an absent father is one thing, but what do you do if your dad has disappeared into deep space? That's the question posed by this frothy interstellar Disney confection, which is based on a 1960s children's novel by Madeleine L'Engle and directed by Ava DuVernay, whose star is high at the moment thanks to Selma and her brilliant documentary 13th. Those films tackled the thorny issue of race head on, but this one is dreamier fare, a coming-of-age fantasy which blends new age spirituality and astronomy - unhappy bedfellows, it transpires. Meg Murry (Storm Reid) is not doing well at school. She was once an A student, but four years ago her beloved father Alexander (Chris Pine) vanished without a trace while working in his laboratory. And though Meg and her mother Kate (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) believe he was inadvertently transported to another world while solving the mysteries of the universe, no one else is convinced and her schoolmates rib her mercilessly. As a result, the 13-year-old has become contemptuous of authority and is falling behind in her studies. At least she has an admirer. Calvin (Levi Miller) is smitten with the moody Meg and is hanging out with her and her precociously brainy little brother Charles Wallace (Deiric McCabe) when a strange woman comes a calling. Mrs Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon) speaks funny and claims she's an astral traveller dedicated to battling the forces of darkness. She's not alone and is soon joined by Mrs Who (Mindy Kaling), an extraterrestrial seer, and Mrs Which, a god-like being played by a giant and disconcertingly Tellytubby-ish Oprah Winfrey. Their proposition is a simple one: Meg, Charles and Calvin must accompany them on a journey across the Universe to find Alexander, who's still alive. They will travel instantaneously, by slipping hither and thither in the astral realm using the fifth dimension as a shortcut. Apart from a little sea-sickness, the process is quick and painless, and soon Meg and co are conversing with talking flowers and alien sages as they edge closer to tracking down her dad. Expand Close Meg and Charles with Mrs Whatsit / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Meg and Charles with Mrs Whatsit DuVernay says A Wrinkle In Time is not for cynics. She's not kidding: from the get-go it smothers you with giddy space fairies and misunderstood teens waiting to be interdimensionally distracted. Bright colours and loud special effects are thrown around like confetti, especially when the travellers arrive on an alien planet so garishly decorated it would make a Salvador Dali landscape look drab. Bad taste set design is not the only problem: DuVernay and her writers have replaced the white heroine of the original novel with Meg, a carefully crafted mixed-race outsider. Expand Close Mindy Kaling as Mrs Who, Oprah Winfrey as Mrs Which and Reese Witherspoon as Mrs Whatsit / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mindy Kaling as Mrs Who, Oprah Winfrey as Mrs Which and Reese Witherspoon as Mrs Whatsit Video of the Day Time and again we're reminded that everyone matters, that being different is not a crime and something to be celebrated, and that there's more in heaven and earth than is dreamt of in our philosophy. All laudable sentiments no doubt, but one tires of being belted over the head with them. New age philosophy and hippy platitudes are unsubtly blended with actual science to create a sickly blancmange of a screenplay that is not easy to digest. Fascinating astrophysical asides are constantly overwhelmed by lush sentiment and fortune cookie platitudes. Most guilty in this latter regard is Mrs Who, who has a numbingly apposite literary quote for every single occasion, which she follows with a helpful acknowledgement "William Shakespeare, British" and so forth. She's a bit of a tic, and big Oprah is terrifying and seems to be peering into the dirty depths of your soul with those giant talk show host eyes. Some of the acting is okay: Reid makes a convincingly confused and complex teen, Michael Pena gives an amusing turn playing an extraterrestrial confidence trickster, and Zach Galifianakis is fun as The Happy Medium, a rather touchy seer. Expand Close Mindy Kaling as Mrs Who and Storm Reid as Meg / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mindy Kaling as Mrs Who and Storm Reid as Meg But overall A Wrinkle In Time is a windy, worthy bore. (PG, 109mins) Read More Films coming soon... Isle of Dogs (Bryan Cranston, Frances McDormand, Edward Norton, Bill Murray); Ready Player One (Tye Sheridan, Mark Rylance, Olivia Cooke); Blockers (Leslie Mann, John Cena); Journeyman (Paddy Considine, Jodie Whitaker, Anthony Welsh). Paul Whitington reviews this week's other big releases... Pacific Rim Uprising - 2* (12A, 111mins) Riding high on his Oscar glory at the minute, Guillermo del Toro might not like to be reminded about Pacific Rim, his noisy car crash of a blockbuster that made a tidy sum in 2013 but really wasn't very good. Indeed it was shamelessly derivative, agglomerating bits of Transformers, Godzilla and Independence Day into a dumb, unwholesome lump. At least Del Toro has managed to remove himself to the relatively minor role of co-producer on this blunderbuss of a sequel, which begins 10 years after the climax of Pacific Rim, when a brave band of pilots riding giant robots managed to crush an alien undersea invasion. Among those heroes was General Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba) and a decade on, his son Jake (John Boyega) has grown up into a bit of a tearaway. He buys and sells bits of robot on the black market in a busted-up world that's still recovering from the alien wars. But the Pan Pacific Defense Force and its fleet of giant Jaeger robots are still there to protect everyone and humanity is beginning to feel pretty smug about things until a new threat presents itself. When a new line of automated Jaegers start to go rogue, it emerges they're being manipulated by a mad scientist. So Jake and Nate Lambert (Scott Eastwood) and a new generation of heroes must ride into battle again. Pacific Rim Uprising is sort of tolerable for the first hour or so, before a rolling Cgi battle sinks this inane enterprise. Unsane - 4* (16, 98mins) Video of the Day Retired, then not retired, Steven Soderbergh has been in the form of his life of late and Unsane is one of his very best films. He shot it on an iPhone 7, and when you first start watching, you'll think it all looks a bit grungy. But the fuzzy feel is deliberate, and greatly enhances the paranoia of a thriller that has the sleazy power of Alfred Hitchcock's later films. Claire Foy is Sawyer Valentini, an astute but unbalanced businesswoman who's recently moved city to escape the attentions of a stalker. She keeps having flashbacks and when she visits a psychiatrist to ask for advice, things go horribly wrong. Committed against her wishes to a Kafkaesque asylum, Sawyer's force-fed medication and soon begins to doubt her own sanity, especially when she becomes convinced her stalker is working there as a nurse. Is she mad? Soderbergh never gives you a chance to decide, so breathlessly does his beautifully constructed thriller drag you through its protagonist's nightmare. It's great film-making. The Third Murder - 4* (15A, 125mins) And so is The Third Murder, Hirokazu Kore-eda's knotty and cerebral crime thriller about a man on trial for murder. The death penalty still exists in Japan, and Misumi (Koji Yakusho) looks done for when he admits to having murdered the manager of a canning company. Misumi has already done time for a murder in the 1980s and seems amiably sanguine about his fate. But why then, his exasperated lawyer wonders, does the man keep changing his story? One of the most satisfying things about this nuanced and very grown-up film is that we never really find out. The man's story and motives are constantly in doubt and he seems to shimmer mysteriously in front of us like the doomed anti-hero of a Dostoyevsky novel. Dark River - 3* (No Cert, IFI, 89mins) Dark River is more Bronte than Dostoyevsky, though in a thoroughly modern setting. When jobbing Yorkshire sheep handler Alice (Ruth Wilson) returns to her family farm after the death of her father, she finds her brother Joe (Mark Stanley) floundering, and the place gone to rack and ruin. Her father promised it to her, but Joe reckons otherwise, and while they fight over the farm's future, snatched flashbacks hint at a history of abuse. Clio Barnard's film is full of weather and brooding atmosphere, and Wilson is superb as the nervy but resourceful Alice. But Dark River loses its way somewhat in a jarringly melodramatic climax. You can't always get what you want - especially if it's a ticket to see The Rolling Stones play Croke Park. Anyone wanting to catch Mick Jagger and the lads strut their stuff will have to cough up an eye-watering 899 for the Start Me Up VIP package - and that doesn't even include a seat. Ticketmaster yesterday released a number of tickets for the No Filter concert on May 19 in a special pre-sale event for diehard fans. Those who bought the Start Me Up tickets will stand in the pit in front of the stage and will receive limited-edition merchandise. The Brown Sugar package, which costs 399, will allow early admission, access to the Gold Circle area and an assortment of commemorative memorabilia. When it comes to the Jumpin' Jack Flash package, 375 will get you a reserved ticket in the lower level, while the 299 Gimme Shelter deal offers premium seating and a selection of merchandise. For those who fancy getting early entry to the pitch, Paint It Black packages start at 199 and include band memorabilia. It has been 11 years since the ageing rockers last performed in Dublin and there was huge excitement among fans when the Croke Park concert was announced last month. General release tickets went on sale at 9am this morning, ranging in price from 70.45 to 181 for Gold Circle admission. In a bid to clamp down on fraudulent activity, Aiken Promotions warned fans to beware of people selling bogus tickets online. Video of the Day The concert was given the green light by Dublin City Council earlier this week. The go-ahead was given despite opposition from local residents concerned about the level of disruption. British singer-songwriter and actor Will Young watches Serbia's Novak Djokovic take on Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro in their semi-final singles match on the seventh day of the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament in London on November 11, 2012. GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images Will Young is standing centre stage at Londons Cafe de Paris wearing leather trousers, a white tuxedo jacket and singing Love is in the Air, the dreamy disco ballad that topped the charts in the late Seventies. Dancers in sparkly Cinderella-type ball gowns swirl around him while another couple dance a romantic rumba. Rather fittingly, its Valentines Day. But this is no pop concert for doe-eyed lovers, rather a preview for a new musical adaptation of Baz Luhrmanns cult 1992 film Strictly Ballroom, which took the song as its theme. I hate musicals, says Young later, when we settle into two high-backed velvet armchairs on the nightclubs wraparound balcony. I went to musical theatre college, so my idea of musicals was people sing-talking. I didnt like it because I wanted to become a songwriter. So, the obvious question: what is he doing here? The answer, apparently, is the reckless nature of his character, a band leader who scores the action and serves as the shows narrator. Theres something very anarchic about being a storyteller and a master of ceremonies theyre always slightly dangerous because you just dont know what theyre going to do, he says. There must be something in me that relishes the attention or likes the manipulation of an audience. Throughout the show, Young takes the lead on pop classics such as Cindy Laupers Time After Time and Doris Days Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps. He confesses that he prefers to sing cover versions. Its one of my favourite things I feel safer, he says. It was, of course, cover versions that propelled him to stardom in the first place on the TV talent show Pop Idol (the forerunner of The X Factor), which he won in 2002, and then with his UK debut single Evergreen, which was first recorded by Westlife, and which, in Youngs hands, became the fastest-selling UK debut single ever (a record he still holds). In the 16 years since, Young has had nine further top 10 hits, four number one albums and won two Brit Awards. He also made his acting debut in 2005, starring alongside Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins in the Stephen Frears film Mrs Henderson Presents, and his musical debut (despite his feelings about musicals) in 2012 as the master of ceremonies in Cabaret. In fact, his new role in Strictly Ballroom, he says, is part of an elongated break from music. I dont really have much to do with [the music industry] any more. I listen to Radio 4 and The Archers, he says. His last album 85% Proof was released in May 2015 and he is even thinking about selling his Brit awards. Paul from S Club 7 sold his Brit for 60,000. Bloody brilliant. I want to sell my Brits and give the money to charity. If youve got kids and you need to pay your mortgage then sell your Brit. If someone else wants it, then brilliant. Video of the Day Young, who is gay, has encountered homophobia in the music business, which may be one of the reasons he is so disillusioned with his pop career. I didnt know at the time, but when I was recording [his 2003 hit] Leave Right Now, someone at the record company said I sounded gay and kept making me re-record the track, he says. Theres a real flavour to homophobia and bigotry. Its really shaming. People dont understand the power of language. Homophobia is a topic that Young often discusses on Homo Sapiens, a warm, informal podcast series that he co-hosts with his film director friend Chris Sweeney. I still dont really understand what a podcast is, but I think the reason theyve become so popular is because people can be themselves on them, he says. Billed as a queer version of Womans Hour, the show touches on a variety of topical issues and has featured, among others, the transgender actor Rebecca Root and human-rights activist Peter Tatchell. The first guest on their new series, which started last month, was Jeremy Corbyn, who discussed teaching gay rights at school and improving the treatment of mental illness. The latter is an issue in which Young has a keen personal interest. Plagued by self-doubt, he began seeing a therapist in 2004 but then suffered an excruciating emotional breakdown in 2012, the same year that he appeared in Cabaret and, although he carried on with that show, hit the headlines in 2016 when he abruptly quit BBC Ones Strictly Come Dancing. He later revealed in an interview with The Daily Telegraphs Bryony Gordon for her Mad World podcast that he had been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), something he believes stems from being separated from his twin brother Rupert, who was placed in an incubator when they were born, and from being bullied at a vicious prep school. I was really ill. I just couldnt do it any more, he said of Strictly. It was so bad I thought about breaking my leg to get out of [the show]. Young then spent six months at a trauma centre in Oxfordshire; he estimates he has spent 500,000 on therapy, including sessions with a shaman and a course of shaking therapy, in which the patient learns to shake off their trauma. He is now writing two self-help books and wishes to train as a psychotherapist. Expand Close Singer Will Young has insisted he is "absolutely dandy" following his sudden departure from Strictly Come Dancing / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Singer Will Young has insisted he is "absolutely dandy" following his sudden departure from Strictly Come Dancing Can he see why some people might accuse him of being just the latest famous name trying to make money from trendy psychobabble? Hell yeah! I can see why people may think that celebs are trying to make a fast buck, says Young with a slight squawk. But if just one person gets something positive out of, say, Gwyneth Paltrows life manuals then its OK. And if she can buy a Ferrari with the proceeds, then thats OK too. Despite his problems, Young is entertaining company and unflinchingly honest. He tells a story about writing a rant on Twitter about a rugby player who he thought had used the word gay in a derogatory way on TV, only to realise later that he had misheard. I got it completely wrong and apologised, he says. He now limits his social media use and says he is tired of nutters mouthing off. Insincerity, including that of celebrities, is another bugbear. Were always sold perfectionism, but its not obtainable so why not just be yourself? he asks. People are fed up with others pretending. Why dont people on chat shows just ask guests how much surgery theyve had, especially when theyre 70 and look 20, instead of saying Wow, you look amazing? Sharon Osbourne is the only one who says I look this good because Ive got a great surgeon. People should just own it. Look, Ive had hair plugs, he says, showing me the top of his head. I got them five years ago. Everyone is told to be a certain way. And that comes back to why Im doing this show. Indeed, Strictly Ballroom, a story about a maverick dancer who breaks strict competition rules, is all about creative freedom and daring to be different. Will Young is probably the best person to front it. Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021] This is a one-man show about a young Belfast lad who struggles to cope with the challenges of adolescence, including a worrying swelling on one of his testicles. He thinks the lump is caused by excessive masturbation, so he avoids telling anyone, specifically his mother. The whole business has been problematic for well over a year before he finally admits anything and a doctor gets called on to inspect the anatomical complexity. The play was developed through Show in a Bag, a Dublin Fringe Festival-sponsored programme whereby performers and writers create easy-to-produce scripts from scratch. Countless successful productions have emerged from this scheme. The creators here are Michael Patrick and Oisin Kearney, both writing, whilst Kearney directs and Patrick performs. It is produced by Prime Cut and Pan Narrans, two companies from Belfast. Patrick's brush with testicular trouble is a true story. It is set against the backdrop of the death of his father from motor neurone disease when he was eight, also true. The show presents a pleasing romp through adolescence, with plenty of energy and playfulness, and a vivid and funny picture of teenage boys figuring out their lives. His friends, Connor and Tommy, are well sketched in the writing and the playing, and the boisterous energy of the gang is palpable. Patrick shows real dexterity in his acting as he slips easily from one cameo to the next. His version of his little-boy self is particularly effective. A highlight is the party scene, with some terrible dancing and a visitation from an ultra-slick line-dancing culchie cousin. Kearney directs with a sure touch, keeping the pace brisk and the performance entertaining. Visits to the doctor are cleverly used to build up suspense. The setting is minimal: a black chair and a couple of shirt and school-tie changes. Less successful are the parts of the show that deal with the death of the father. Patrick and Kearney have not found a way to create genuine dramatic distance so this material lurches into sentimentality, defusing and undermining the black humour of the adolescent journey. When the father died there were four children, including a toddler. The mother character says: "I kept thinking I wish I had none of you." This is a promising thrust towards greater complexity, but the brave and provocative idea is quickly smoothed over in favour of a warm, sad fuzziness. This is the downside of using personal experience to create narrative. It is hard for a writer or writers to have the necessary "splinter of ice in the heart", as Graham Greene put it, when the people involved are personal and real. Ruthlessness is a necessary ingredient in writing. But this is a first play for both Kearney and Patrick and is certainly promising. There is plenty of flash and verve in much of it, and if the whole isn't equal to the sum of the parts, many parts are very good indeed. Look back in anger, answer back in rhyme The Gate theatre has just introduced this welcome initiative whereby individual artists are commissioned to respond to the main play with a 10.30pm after-show performance. Video of the Day Writer and actor Emmet Kirwan is the inaugural guinea pig. Kirwan is best known for the hit two-hander Dublin Oldschool, which emerged from the Fringe and made its way to the Project Arts Centre and London's National Theatre. His spoken-word short film Heartbreak became a viral sensation. Kirwan's writing is characterised by a punchy challenge to the status quo, class and gender consciousness, and a linguistic elegance. This 30-minute show consists of three spoken-word monologues performed by Kirwan. He describes John Osborne's play Look Back in Anger as a psychological attack by a man on a woman, and points to the play's concern with class. The first poem is about "souls who move to the city and get lost", with a lyrical refrain linking Limerick and Vladivostok. Kirwan's persona is winning, and his robust rhymes and clarity of thought lend themselves perfectly to a late-night show. The second poem is about class and is a tour-de-force. Kirwan presents his parents, an archetypal Ma and Da who worry for their "can't-shut-up" son provoking politicians on the doorstep. For Da, "the state is like the Stasi". There is a shocking account of a vicious street assault: "I didn't run, I wish I had." A brilliant passage investigates the way accent and language are used as tools of class subjugation. The emotion here is pitched high; director Oonagh Murphy judges the tone just right. The third piece is a love-poem, with the refrain "I love you woman", and is the most direct reproach to the Osborne play. It generates a softer, more intimate mood to round out the evening. This is a deeply thought-provoking and enjoyable mini show, and Kirwan is the real deal - an artist with the knack of creating a viral dynamism around social issues. Somewhere, the ghost of Sean O'Casey is smiling. Obstetrician and repeal campaigner Dr Peter Boylan has warned that UK hospitals may no longer be able to provide services in cases of fatal foetal abnormality. Dr Boylan, chair of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said the NHS Liverpool Women's Hospital, the most convenient facility used by women for termination after this diagnosis, recently closed its doors for two weeks to patients from the Republic. It is now curtailing its service and cannot accommodate all couples who self-refer for termination. This is as a result of its own capacity difficulties. Dr Boylan fears restrictions on the service will spread to other UK hospitals. "Women will be denied this care in English hospitals some time in the future. We need to get our own Irish solution," he said. "As a mature nation we have to take responsibility ourselves." He was speaking at the launch of the Together For Yes campaign, a coalition of groups in favour of repeal of the Eighth Amendment. Dr Boylan also said it was important to inform voters that doctors will deliver a baby who has reached viability age if a pregnancy must be terminated to save the health or life of the mother. This already happens under existing legislation that allows for termination to save the life of the mother. Proposed new legislation would extend this to the health of the mother. He said if the unborn baby has reached 23 weeks gestation a neonatal team would be present at the time of termination. Risk The earlier the time of gestation the higher the risk of infant death and disability. Doctors would assess each infant who is born this way, he added. Dr Boylan said he awaits the details of proposals to allow for unrestricted abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. It is expected that GPs and women's clinics, as well as obstetricians, will be involved administering medical abortions which will see a woman given two pills to induce a form of miscarriage. The procedure has a safe record, but can lead to serious bleeding in a small minority of cases. Dr Boylan pointed out this can happen in a regular miscarriage. He expects that hospitals would be at the ready to provide the necessary treatment to a woman in this case. Meanwhile, former Supreme Court judge Catherine McGuinness said saying there is no abortion in Ireland is a "fairy-tale" and is "utter hypocrisy". It's time to end the culture of pretence, she added. Ailbhe Smyth joins members of the Yes Campaign during the Together for Yes campaign launch in The Pillar Room, The Rotunda Foundation, Parnell Square, Dublin. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins A collective of groups lobbying for the repeal of the Eighth Amendment aims to raise and spend 500,000 during its campaign, amid growing concern over money being raised on the issue. Health Minister Simon Harris urged both sides of the debate to adhere to electoral law and comply with the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo) when fundraising. It comes after leading pro-repeal campaign groups previously failed to disclose how much they will spend campaigning for a yes vote. The Together for Yes group said its fundraising activity was beginning from scratch but it estimates a net spend of 500,000 on its campaign. The group was launched yesterday and is headed up by three co-directors; the director of the National Women's Council of Ireland (NWCI) Orla O'Connor, Ailbhe Smyth from the Coalition to Repeal the Eighth Amendment, and Grainne Griffin, a founding member of the Abortion Rights Campaign. The NWCI previously said it intends to spend 70,000 campaigning, but the other two groups declined earlier opportunities to reveal financial details. Ms Smyth said most of the money raised by Together for Yes will be gathered through small donations and a significant number of donations from Irish citizens abroad. "We are obviously just forming Together for Yes now, so we are starting from scratch effectively with donations and fundraising going on as we speak," she said. Difficult "We intend and hope to raise something in the region of 500,000. Obviously at this stage it is very difficult to give you a precise figure for that but our working budgets are centred around that amount." The Rape Crisis Network Ireland, Women's Aid, the Irish Family Planning Association, the Union of Students in Ireland, the Well Woman Centre and One Family are among the other groups involved in the campaign. The Health Minister yesterday warned that is was important there was clarity about the funding and revenue streams on both sides of the debate. Sipo regulates where large campaign groups can source income and sets out their registration obligations. Donations by foreign individuals and organisations are banned, but sums from Irish people living abroad are permitted. "I think it is very important that regardless of your position, whether you are for or against the Eighth Amendment or campaigning for a Yes or a No, that you adhere to all of the electoral law in Ireland, and I expect everybody to do that," said Mr Harris. Meanwhile, a group of health-care workers calling itself The Medical Alliance for the Eighth said there is "widespread opposition and concern within our profession over what the Government is proposing". A spokesperson would not say how many healthcare workers are members of the newly-launched organisation, or who is funding it. But she insisted the group's anti-abortion stance will be shared by the bulk of healthcare professionals. "Abortion is life ending. It is never life-saving," she said. ANGLO Irish Banks auditors gave a clean opinion of the banks accounts after a 7.2 billion fraud conspiracy allegedly took place during the 2008 financial crisis, a court heard. It was open to the auditors to give a qualified view of the year's accounts but instead they concluded they were a true and fair representation of Anglos financial position. A former finance manager at Anglo also told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court the money exchange with Irish Life and Permanent that September was the largest transaction he could ever recall at Anglo. Kevin Kelly was giving evidence in the trial of Anglos former CEO David Drumm. Mr Drumm (51) is pleading not guilty to conspiring to defraud Anglo investors by dishonestly creating the impression that the banks customer deposits were 7.2bn larger than they were. He is alleged to have conspired with Anglos former Finance Director Willie McAteer and head of Capital Markets John Bowe, as well as then-CEO of Irish Life and Permanent, Denis Casey, and others. The case centres on a series of interbank loans which circulated between Anglo and ILP in September 2008. The transfers were routed through Irish Life Assurance, returning to Anglo where they were then treated as customer deposits, which are a better indicator of a banks health. Mr Drumm also denies false accounting, by providing misleading information to the market. Mr Kelly, head of financial reporting, said he was unaware of the September transactions until the second week in October, 2008, after they had taken place. His superiors in the banks finance division, Colin Golden and Ciaran Cunningham, asked him to join them for a conversation in which they outlined a high level overview of the transactions and sought his opinion. They then discussed the accounting treatment. The outline was broad and the size of the transaction was mentioned - 7.2bn. He was told that they were settled gross and there was no legal right of set off. Mr Kelly did not recall the term cash neutral being used. Paul OHiggins SC, prosecuting, asked Mr Kelly how large the transactions were in the general run of things. Quite significant, he replied. Read More Mr OHiggins asked where they would have come in the hierarchy of Anglos transactions. They were certainly the largest transactions that I can recall, he replied. In any year. His understanding after that conversation was that the transactions were presented gross in Anglos system. His gut reaction was that gross was appropriate. Mr Kelly said he did not become aware of the order and timing of the transactions until 2009. He said that generally if the rules of IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) were followed then you were adhering to the principle of fair presentation. If someone picked up a financial statement, it would show an institutions financial position and performance. Mr Kelly recalled he and Mr Golden met the auditing partner at Ernst and Young Vincent Bergin on October 23, 2008, covering a number of items including ILP transaction. Mr Golden provided an overview of the ILP transaction to Mr Bergin and Mr Kelly gave an outline of the accounting, saying his understanding was there was no currently enforceable right of set off. Mr Kelly said it was his understanding at the time that the transaction had been settled gross. He subsequently found out in 2009 that the initial transaction was settled gross but on maturity it had been settled net. He could not recall if there was any reference made at the meeting to the Financial Regulator. Mr OHiggins asked Mr Kelly what Mr Bergin had said. From memory, he indicated that it sounded like the accounting was technically sound, he said. I took it as a reference to the balance sheet position, that it was presented gross on the balance sheet. Mr Kelly did not believe there was any discussion other than that at the meeting. On October 24, Mr Golden asked Mr Kelly to join him on a conference call with IFSRA, he continued in evidence. Mr Golden called regulatory officer Mary Burke and provided her with an overview of the transaction, mentioning that there had been a discussion with Ernst and Young and indicating that the accounting would present the transaction on a gross basis. Mr OHiggins asked how much information was given to the Financial Regulator. A high level overview of the transactions which I believed was sufficient to give an understanding of the nature of the transactions, he replied. The Regulator was also sent a printout showing the sequence of the transactions. Mr Kelly said he heard nothing back from the Financial Regulator prior to the signing of the year-end accounts. He had continued to have ongoing contact with the auditors after the initial meeting and he did not recall the transactions specifically coming up in conversation. However, the auditors would have been provided with a trial balance sheet and disclosure notes, then the draft financial statement. Mr Kelly said he was at an audit committee meeting on November 18, 2008 and had an input into the preparation of a matters for discussion document, which included customer accounts. The group entered into an arrangement with ILP whereby 7.2bn was placed with Anglo from a non-bank subsidiary and Anglo in turn placed an identical amount with ILP bank," the agenda item stated. "The transactions were cash neutral, the deals were one over two dates - 3.2bn on Sept 29 (maturing Oct 2 - 3) and 4bn on Sept 30 (maturing Oct 1). ) As a result of this arrangement, loans and advances to banks and customer accounts both increased by 7.2bn. "IFRS does not allow the group to net the financial assets and liabilities as they were transacted with two different counter parties and there was no legal right of offset. In addition on maturing all accounts were settled on a gross basis. Mr Kelly said there was a number of inaccuracies in the information provided. I believe that was inadvertent, unintentional and unfortunately wasnt picked up, he told the court. He said Mr Golden would have read out or paraphrased what was written and would have said the auditor had been brought through the transaction and the Financial Regulator was aware of the transaction. He later saw various versions of the notes made at the meeting. Mr OHiggins asked him what he took cash neutral to mean. I took it to mean there was no funding or liquidity benefit from the transactions because we werent any better off in cash terms. He recalled non-executive director Donal OConnor on a conference call at the November 18 meeting asking is this not window dressing and Mr McAteer replying that it was standard or normal balance sheet management. Mr Kelly was shown the signed minutes of the meeting which stated of the transactions it was confirmed they were in the nature of normal balance sheet activity and that the Financial Regulator and Ernst and Young had no issues with them. Mr Kelly said he would not agree with this version and that all that Colin said at the meeting was that Ernst and Young had been brought through it and the Financial Regulator was aware. Another version of the minutes stated: It was noted that the Financial Regulator was fully aware of the transactions and that Ernst and Young had been apprised of the full details. The language is different but the suggestion is consistent with my recollection, Mr Kelly told the court. He said Mr Bergin on a later date indicated that one member of the audit team was having difficulty reconciling some of the detail of the transaction. Mr Kelly had suggested the team member speak to Ciaran Cunningham. He was aware that the Isle of Man division was involved and that might be the issue. Read More Mr Kelly also attended an audit committee meeting on November 24, 2008 and shared the draft financial statement for consideration. On this, the figure for loans and advances to banks was 14.002bn, while customer accounts were 51.499bn . Mr Kelly confirmed these both included the ILP transactions. However, a note included on the statement made no direct reference to the transactions. The jury was shown a mail sent from Mr Kelly to Mr Bergin on November 26, 2008, with the subject Can you give me a call to discuss further work needed on customer deposits? Mr OHiggins asked Mr Kelly what that referred to. I am at a loss as to what that related to, he replied. My gut tells me it didnt relate to ILP but unfortunately, I cant recall. The statement was presented to members of the Financial Regulator in advance of the announcement in December. The specifics of the ILP transaction were not referred to in its notes, Mr Kelly said. The ILP transactions were also part of the 51.5bn customer deposits figure in the preliminary results for 2008. In cross-examination, Mr Kelly agreed with Bernard Condon SC, defending, that a clean opinion which the auditors gave was when the accounts were considered true and fair. It was also open to an auditor to give a qualified opinion, and there was a third option where they could draw the readers attention to a particular matter, Mr Kelly told Mr Condon. The trial continues. Michael Lynn (centre) arriving at the Criminal Courts of Justice earlier this yearPhoto: Paddy Cummins/PCPhoto.ie Former solicitor and millionaire property developer Michael Lynn will be arraigned next month on charges relating to the alleged theft of almost 30m. The father-of-four appeared at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today via video link from Cloverhill Prison. His counsel, Karl Monahan BL, told the court his client was seeking an arraignment date. Judge Martin Nolan confirmed a date of May 8 for the arraignment, when it is expected a total of 21 charges will be put to Mr Lynn. Wearing a wine jumper, blue shirt and glasses, Mayo-born Lynn (49) spoke only to say good morning to the judge and to thank him after the arraignment date was set. He was charged with the offences earlier this month after arriving in Dublin following several years in Brazil. A district court hearing on May 1 was told he made no response when the charges were put to him. The charges relate to sums allegedly stolen from seven financial institutions in 2006 and 2007. According to one sample charge, Mr Lynn stole 1.3m from Danske Bank, trading as National Irish Bank, on March 16, 2007, contrary to Section 4 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001. Mr Lynn was denied bail at the district court hearing. A man accused of covering up an alleged rape by two Ireland and Ulster rugby players is not a weasel or criminal, a court has been told. A defence barrister for Rory Harrison, who denies perverting the course of justice and withholding information about the alleged attack in June 2016, also suggested the woman at the centre of the case had lied about actions she regretted. In his closing submission, Gavan Duffy QC said: "This is someone who has done something they regretted and as a consequence wheels have been put into motion which are impossible to halt. And here we all are." Urging the jury to acquit, Mr Duffy said: "Rory Harrison is not a weasel. Rory Harrison is not a criminal. Rory Harrison is a decent person. Rory Harrison should not be here. But he is." The lawyer added: "You cannot undo this prosecution. No-one can. What you can do is do justice to your oath that requires, I respectfully say to you, that you find Rory Harrison not guilty of both of these counts." Mr Duffy addressed the jury of eight men and three women at Belfast Crown Court for almost two hours. Telling the 11-person panel they held a huge amount of power, the lawyer cautioned that they must be sure of any verdict. "There is one power that is removed from you," he said. "That is the power to change your mind." Jurors could not revisit the decision in a week, a month or a year's time, the court heard. "You cannot undo a verdict once you have reached it," said Mr Duffy. Paddy Jackson, (26), of Oakleigh Park, and Stuart Olding, (25), from Ardenlee Street in the city, deny raping the same woman at a house in south Belfast in June 2016. Jackson denies a further charge of sexual assault. Blane McIlroy (26) denies exposure, while Harrison (25) denies perverting the course of justice and withholding information. Mr Duffy said jurors must guard against any prejudice or sympathy which may arise out of the nature of the allegations. He said: "This is a court of law. It is not a court of morality and it is certainly not a court of public opinion." The evidence must be considered to the "same high standard" as any other criminal case, and if they entertained "any single doubt", Harrison must be acquitted, the court heard. Proving guilt is an "awfully high hurdle" for the prosecution but it is to "guard against the horrifying prospect that an innocent person is convicted of something that they did not do", said Mr Duffy. The lawyer further argued that Mr Harrison had been treated unfairly by police investigating the rape allegations against his friends. He suggested police had "bent over backwards" to facilitate the complainant, despite inconsistencies, but treated with "contempt" accounts which did not fit in with a "theory" of what happened. Referencing the importance of good character evidence, jurors were reminded that their oath was to try the case on the evidence, "not considering supposition, speculation or soundbites". Mr Duffy said: "Rory Harrison is a genuinely caring person. He is a kind person. He is an honest person and he is a modest person." He said the prosecution had "built" its case on a WhatsApp "joke" in which Harrison wrote: "Walked upstairs and there were more flutes than Twelfth of July." The lawyer described the message as a "throwaway" line and said it was not proof he had witnessed a rape or its aftermath. "It is speculative mud-slinging in the hope that some of it might stick." Judge Patricia Smyth is expected to begin her legal directions today. Slawomir Gierlowski (33) found guilty of attacking the women at locations around Clondalkin in south Dublin A roofer who carried out random and violent attacks on three women over a five-year period will be sentenced in May. Slawomir Gierlowski (33) of Galtymore Road, Drimnagh, Dublin had denied attacking the women in 2011, 2015 and 2016 at locations around Clondalkin in south Dublin. The most recent attack took place on Knockmeenagh Lane, Clondalkin, Dublin, not far from the other two attacks and near a house occupied by the family of Gierlowski's partner. The women cannot be identified for legal reasons. After a three week trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, a jury of eleven men today found Gierlowski guilty of carrying out the 2016 attack. The jury had deliberated for just under five hours in total, returning guilty verdicts in relation to the earlier offences on Thursday afternoon. All verdicts were unanimous. Judge Pauline Codd thanked the jurors and praised the assiduous work carried out by the gardai investigating the three crimes. She said the cases were handled with sensitivity. She also commended the three complainants for the strength and courage shown by each of them in giving evidence during the trial. Gierlowski, a Polish national who has lived and worked in Ireland since 2008, sat impassively as the verdicts were delivered. He has been in custody since his arrest in June 2016 as a suspect for the attack the previous month. Judge Codd remanded him in continuing custody until May 14 next for a sentence hearing. The court ordered a prison governor's report for Gierlowski and victim impact reports for that date. The trial heard that Gierlowski carried out all three attacks on young women using a similar modus operandi. The first attack took place late at night on September 11, 2011. Gierlowski attacked the victim as she was walking home from a night out, dragging her to the ground and sexually assaulting her. She managed to get away from him but he caught her and began punching her repeatedly around the face. On September 3, 2015, a second woman was walking home late at night when Gierlowski came up behind her and put a leather belt around her neck and began pulling backwards. He pulled her to the ground and then wrapped duct tape around her face and hands before sexually assaulting her. The third attack was carried out in broad daylight on the early morning of May 16, 2016. The victim was walking along Knockmeenagh Lane to the nearby Luas stop when Gierlowski, armed with a hunting knife, put his arm around her neck and began to pull her backwards. This woman told the court that she thought Gierlowski was going to slit her throat and she grabbed the blade to stop that happening, causing the knife to cut tendons in three of her fingers. She managed to get out from under the knife and began screaming and Gierlowski ran off. Gierlowski was identified after detectives used CCTV cameras to track a white Volkswagen Crafter van spotted near the scene of the 2016 attack back to Galtymore road, where Gierlowski lives. In addition, detectives used a wild card search of a partial registration provided by neighbours had seen the van parked in the area to identify the van as one registered to Gierlowski. After his arrest, gardai matched Gierlowski's DNA to blood and semen samples taken from the two earlier crime scenes. Tests on blood traces on a jacket seized by gardai from Gierlowski's bedroom in June 2016 found it was the third victim's blood. A Polish roofer has been convicted of carrying out random sex attacks on two women in the space of four years. Slawomir Gierlowski (33) denied attacking the women in 2011 and 2015 in Clondalkin, south Dublin. A jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court took a little over four hours to reach unanimous guilty verdicts on six counts of sexual assault, assault and false imprisonment of the two women. The jury of 11 men will this morning continue its deliberations on three further charges arising out of an alleged third attack on a woman in 2016. Gierlowski, of Galtymore Road, Drimnagh, Dublin, denies carrying out this alleged attack too. He had pleaded not guilty to false imprisonment, sexual assault and assault of a woman on September 11, 2011 and to false imprisonment, sexual assault and assault of a second woman on September 3, 2015. He has further pleaded not guilty to falsely imprisoning and assaulting a woman and having a hunting knife with intent to intimidate on May 16, 2016. The alleged third attack took place on Knockmeenagh Lane, Clondalkin, Dublin, not far from the other two attacks and from a house occupied by the family of Gierlowski's partner. The court heard that in all three attacks a man came up from behind the women and attacked them around their neck area. In the 2011 and 2015 incidents the attacker dragged the women to the ground and sexually assaulted them. The alleged third attack was carried out in broad daylight on the morning of May 16, 2016. The victim was walking along Knockmeenagh Lane to the nearby Luas stop when a man armed with a hunting knife put his arm around her neck and began to pull her backwards. This woman told the court she thought the man was going to slit her throat and she grabbed the blade to stop that happening, causing the knife to cut tendons in three of her fingers. She managed to get out from under the knife and began screaming and her attacker ran off. The first attack took place late at night on September 11, 2011 when a man attacked a young woman walking home from a night out, dragging her to the ground and sexually assaulting her. She managed to get away from him but he caught her and began punching her repeatedly around the face. On September 3, 2015, a woman was also walking home late at night when a man came up behind her and put a leather belt around her neck and began pulling backwards. He pulled her to the ground and then wrapped duct tape around her face and hands before sexually assaulted her. Gierlowski was identified as a suspect after detectives tracked a white VW Crafter van spotted near the scene of the 2016 attack back to Galtymore Road, where Gierlowski lives. Using a wild card search of a partial registration provided by neighbours who had seen the van, detectives were able to identify the van as being one registered to Gierlowski. After his arrest, gardai took a DNA sample from him and found it matched various blood and semen samples taken from the 2011 and 2015 crime scenes. The jury also heard blood found on a jacket taken from his home was the blood of the 2016 victim. Orla Crowe SC, defending, told the jury that DNA evidence could not prove when semen or blood was placed where it was found. What is the Red Flag case about? Media and telecoms tycoon Denis O'Brien is suing a Dublin public relations firm, Red Flag Consulting Ltd, and a number of its executives for defamation and conspiracy. The case revolves around the creation of a dossier containing unflattering material about Mr O'Brien, some of which he alleges to be defamatory. Mr O'Brien claims it was used to negatively brief journalists and harm his interests, including a planned IPO of Digicel. He has alleged Red Flag engaged in both lawful and unlawful conspiracy against him, claims the PR firm denies. The case was initiated in October 2015 and has been in court several times, but has yet to go to a full trial. Why is the case back in the news? The High Court yesterday issued orders joining businessman Declan Ganley as a co-defendant. Mr O'Brien has alleged Mr Ganley was the client who commissioned Red Flag to compile the dossier. What is Red Flag? The PR firm was set up in 2013 by former Independent News & Media (INM) executive Karl Brophy and has offices in Dublin, London, Paris and Brussels. Former INM chairman Gavin O'Reilly is its chairman. According to the EU Transparency Register and the Irish Lobbying Register its clients include British American Tobacco, US agrochemical corporation Monsanto and Irish Distillers. Didn't Mr O'Reilly and Mr Brophy have rows with Mr O'Brien before the current dispute? Yes they did. Mr O'Reilly departed INM in 2012 following a long-running dispute with Mr O'Brien, the media group's largest shareholder, over the company's strategy. Mr Brophy was made redundant from his 300,000-a-year job as director of corporate affairs by INM the same year as a "cost saving". He later sued the company, claiming Mr O'Brien was behind his dismissal. During these proceedings Mr O'Reilly' successor as INM Chief Executive, Vincent Crowley, testified that Mr O'Reilly and Mr Brophy spent significant time looking into a view that Mr O'Brien's borrowings with Anglo Irish Bank were non-performing and hoped to put this into the public domain.The allegations were untrue and Mr O'Brien's loans were performing. The case was settled and Mr Brophy accepted that Mr O'Brien had "no hand, act or part" in the decision to make him redundant. Mr O'Brien also clashed with Mr Brophy in 1998 when the businessman sued over an article written by Mr Brophy in the 'Irish Mirror'. He was awarded 750,000 in damages. Mr Ganley and Mr O'Brien have also clashed before as well, haven't they? Both were involved in rival bids for the State's second mobile phone licence in 1995. Mr Ganley's Cellstar consortium lost out to Mr O'Brien's Esat Digifone. Mr Ganley is suing Mr O'Brien, former Fine Gael communications minister Michael Lowry and the State alleging Cellstar lost out due to corruption in how the licence was awarded. Mr O'Brien has alleged Mr Ganley acted "maliciously" and out of "spite" in bringing the court proceedings. The Moriarty Tribunal found Mr Lowry assisted Mr O'Brien in his bid to secure the licence. Both men dispute the tribunal's findings. How did Mr O'Brien learn of the alleged conspiracy against him? Mr O'Brien's lawyers said a memory stick containing the dossier was delivered anonymously to his office in Dublin on October 8, 2015. At the time he had ordered an investigation to discover who was behind what he believed was a concerted campaign being waged against him. As well as containing newspaper articles, the dossier also contained a number of drafts of a speech for then Fianna Fail TD Colm Keaveney, critical of Mr O'Brien, including a draft with changes suggested by Red Flag. It later transpired that Red Flag's version of the speech was not delivered. What happened after Mr O'Brien initiated his proceedings against Red Flag in October 2015? Mr O'Brien obtained an interim High Court order preventing Red Flag interfering with, or removing, computer material and other IT items from its offices. But he failed in an attempt to get a so-called Anton Piller order, which would have allowed him and his solicitor enter Red Flag's premises to inspect and, if necessary, take away any material specified in the order. Mr Justice Colm Mac Eochaidh did, however, grant an order for the forensic imaging, or photographing, of the content of Red Flag's computers. Lawyers for Red Flag raised concerns over how Mr O'Brien obtained the memory stick, saying it was shrouded in mystery. In May 2016, Mr O'Brien sued Mr Keaveney for defamation over the proposed text of his speech. That December, Mr Justice Mac Eochaidh refused to grant orders directing Red Flag to discover documents that would disclose the identity of its client, a decision appealed by Mr O'Brien. But this challenge was dismissed by the Court of Appeal in October 2017. The case seemed to have run aground for Mr O'Brien. What reignited it? The defamation action against Mr Keaveney was settled in October last year. The former TD has said Mr O'Brien paid his legal costs but has denied receiving any payment as part of the settlement. The following month he swore an affidavit supporting Mr O'Brien's case against Red Flag and provided text messages exchanged between him and Mr Brophy. In the affidavit he also said he believed Mr Ganley commissioned the dossier. This has been strenuously denied by Mr Ganley. What happens next? The case is due back in court next month where costs and other issues arising from the application to join Mr Ganley as a co-defendant will be dealt with. Following this it is expected to move to a full trial. The little joke Rory Harrison's lawyer had penned by way of an opener plopped silently like a pebble into a stagnant stream in the dense atmosphere of the courtroom. "Closing statements are a bit like buses - you wait for ages for one and then five come along," said Gavan Duffy QC. Not a single person in the room could even muster up a polite titter and, hurriedly, he went on to add that he would do his best to be as concise as he could. And then he gave a potted history of how juries "have existed in this part of the world for 800 years", having come in with the Norman invasion. "The word jury comes from the old Norman French word which means to take an oath to be sworn," he told them. After eight long weeks broken by numerous delays, the finishing line is finally in sight. Judge Patricia Smyth will begin her direction to the jury today, before completing it on Monday. And then the deliberations can begin - however long that may take. Expand Close From left to right, Ireland and Ulster player Paddy Jackson, 26, his team-mate Stuart Olding, 24, and third defendant Blane McIlroy, 26 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp From left to right, Ireland and Ulster player Paddy Jackson, 26, his team-mate Stuart Olding, 24, and third defendant Blane McIlroy, 26 Mr Duffy reminded them that they can not undertake this lightly - they cannot make a phonecall to court services when it's all over to say that something has been troubling them. "There is one power that is removed from you," he said. "That is the power to change your mind." Like the rest of the defence counsel, Mr Duffy went on to do his best to persuade the jury why his client should be acquitted. Mr Harrison was interviewed three times by the police, he said, adding that he had answered "every single question asked" and had consistently and positively denied any offences, he claimed. "He came before you and gave evidence from the witness box - he didn't have to do that," said Mr Duffy, claiming he had done so in an "honest, straightforward and candid manner". Mr Duffy said that had it been Rory Harrison who had opened the door to Paddy Jackson's bedroom rather than Dara Florence, the prosecution would have claimed that the testimony about apparently witnessing a threesome were "weasel words, lies, criminal lies and an attempt to pervert the course of justice". "You'd be invited to treat Mr Harrison's account with cynicism. You might even be tempted to convict Mr Harrison on that basis. But you'd be wrong." Even the complainant had considered him to be "really good" and said he had done "absolutely nothing wrong". "At what point did he become a weasel?" questioned Mr Duffy. Gardai are to watch very, very closely an ATM robbery mastermind whose mob is suspected of using gas to blow up cash machines in order to rob them who is set to be freed from jail. The highly organised Romanian criminal is due to be released from custody in Northern Ireland in the coming weeks, despite being recently convicted of conspiring to blow up an ATM at a filling station in Co Armagh almost four years ago. Sources said that gardai expect him to return to the Balbriggan area of Dublin, where he had been based before being arrested as part of a major investigation led by the PSNI, backed up by the gardas Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau. If he returns to this jurisdiction, he will be watched very, very closely this individual is a key member of a gang with international crime dimensions, a senior source said. More than two years ago, a specialist crime unit was set up by gardai to target a gang carrying out multiple attempted ATM robberies. The gang had become known for using gas to blow up ATM machines to rob cash. Sources said members of the gang were investigated for at least 10 botched burglaries, including attempts in Drogheda, Leixlip, Greystones and Rathfarnham, but were never arrested in this jurisdiction. There has been a dramatic drop in this type of crime in the last two years, which sources say is linked to stringent bail conditions imposed by the courts in the North on suspected gang members while awaiting trial for the ATM robbery. When there was a spate of these crimes, from 2013 to 2016, gardai said that they were very concerned about the nature of the ATM attacks after a court in the UK heard that the safe distance from one of these blasts for anyone passing by is around 100m. There were fears that someone could eventually be killed by one of the explosions. However, very few of the attacks have been successful for gangs here. The most high-profile success came when a home-grown gang took almost 100,000 after blowing up a machine in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, in 2013. On that occasion, the criminals fired shots at unarmed gardai as they fled. As well as attempted ATM robberies the criminal is heavily involved in aggravated burglaries and prostitution. Ireland's most well-known architect and Glasnevin native Dermot Bannon said he is supporting Na Fianna GAA Club against the MetroLink plans. The north Dublin GAA club outlined their serious concerns after plans for the 3bn MetroLink announced on Thursday revealed major disruption to their pitches. The club caters for 125 teams and has one of the largest club membership in the country. The plans for the capital's new MetroLink route means they will lose their main pitch on Mobhi Road for for up to six years, during the construction phase. They will also lose two all weather pitches for the same period. "Damn right, I'd be part of a protest," Dermot Bannon told RTE Radio One's Ray D'Arcy Show, when asked if he would join a movement in support of the GAA club. "Every child in Glasnevin is part of Na Fianna. "It's unusual in Dublin, I think, that every GAA club has such a massive hold in the community. "My daughter, at the age of five, all she wanted to do was go to Na Fianna, and I know that's because she saw some of the older girls in the jerseys and that, for her, was a rite of passage." Bannon slammed the choice of route for the city-airport link, describing it as "low hanging fruit". "They're saying six years [for construction works], but six years is a lifetime for a child. "There's nothing like the magic of walking down Mobhi Road and all the four, five and six years olds going down together. There's hundreds of them," he continued. "There must be 300 kids in the nursery and they're all so excited. "I just think there are loads of other spaces they can go. I think this is low hanging fruit. On the map it looks perfect and makes sense, but when you dive into the heart of a community and takes what binds a community together... "One of the reasons we love living in the Drumcondra-Glasnevin area is because of Na Fianna." The MetroLink project, which is due for completion in 2027, will see trains running every two minutes from the city centre to Dublin Airport. Na Fianna said in a statement that the first contact they had with Transport Infrastructure Ireland was just last week. "The first contact that the Club had with TII was through a phone call received at approximately 4.30pm on Friday 16th March, bank holiday weekend," the club statement read. The Department of Education has cleared the way for five Educate Together primary schools to enrol more pupils. All five schools opened under the Government divestment scheme to provide more choice for families in a system dominated by religious-run schools But a major row was triggered after the schools - in Tramore, New Ross, Trim, Tuam and Castlebar - were told that they must restrict enrolments. Despite growing demand from parents and waiting lists for places, the Department advised that they could only take in a half stream 13 junior infants a year. There was added fury when Education Minister Richard Bruton said his Department could not afford to build additional schools just because people do not want the schools that are already in place. Discussions between Educate Together and the Department last week ended in broad agreement on a resolution, and arrangements for each individual schools are set out in a letter from the Department to the patron body today. Expand Close Education Minister Richard Bruton / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Education Minister Richard Bruton In those discussions, Educate Together acknowledged that availability of accommodation was a factor in some cases. The schools in Tramore and New Ross have now been told that they can increase enrolments in September, subject to availability of accommodation. The school in Trim, has also been given agreement to grow enrolment subject to what is feasible on the permanent school site, from a planning and technical point of view. In Castlebar and Tuam, the Department is willing to facilitate the expansion in Educate Together pupil numbers as existing buildings are freed up arising from the rationalisation of schools in the two areas. Educate Together CEO Paul Rowe said they were delighted that the discriminatory restrictions on the five schools are no longer in place and that the Department has agreed that they can be facilitated to grow to eight classroom, full-stream schools, as accommodation becomes available. Mr Rowe said each school was in an important urban centre in rural Ireland and providing choice was essential to regional development as, without balanced provision of education, it was not possible to attract inward investment, returning emigrants or creative industries to these areas. John Coyle's beautiful wife Sylvia passed away just a year ago after a four-year battle with bowel cancer. She was able to stay at home during her final days, where she passed away peacefully, thanks to the night nurse service run by the Irish Cancer Society. Dad-of-four Mr Coyle, a farmer from Athy, Co Kildare, said that his wife, who was a very glamorous woman, was just 63 when she died. Mr Coyle said that a year on, he misses her every day. Ms Coyle's night nurse Geraldine de Burca met up with Mr Coyle and his daughter Alison in Dublin this week, to highlight the importance of the Irish Cancer Society's Daffodil Day. The invaluable night nurse service is funded through the donations that are made today. "It was Sylvia's wish to stay at home and the Irish Cancer Society's night nurse enabled her to do that," Mr Coyle said. "As well as caring for her, night nurse Geraldine talked to Sylvia about her worries, which was a great comfort to her. "Geraldine looked after the whole family. "We were lost and she guided us through the very difficult time. "She was invaluable to us and so compassionate. "This is a vital service and we are asking people to donate on Daffodil Day so that other cancer patients can receive the same excellent care," he said. Ms Coyle was first diagnosed in October 2012, and she fought for four-and-a-half years. The family marked the first anniversary of her death yesterday with a visit to her grave, with flowers. The couple had four children together, Jonathan (37), Alison (34), Jenna (30) and Shannon (26). Coincidentally, Shannon is now nursing in Tallaght, where her mum underwent many of her treatments. "There were four operations, four lots of chemotherapy," Mr Coyle said. He paid tribute to the work of the Irish Cancer Society and night nurses who offer so much assistance to people like his wife. Donations Every hour a person dies from cancer in Ireland. More than 7,000 nights of nursing care were made possible by donations from the public and companies last year. Ms de Burca said that she was 13 years working as a night nurse for the society. "I work in the midland counties, Carlow, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly and Kildare," she said. "We are booked by the Irish Cancer Society in Dublin to go into the houses of people. "There are 200 of us night nurses in the country. "I suppose about 70pc of people actually want to die at home, so we facilitate that," she said. "We start work at 11pm and we finish at 7am. People are more vulnerable at night time. "It means we can go into the house, and if they want, people can get a few hours sleep and we will stay with their loved one." Sometimes, the patient will wake up in the middle of the night and want to chat too, she said. "It is a roller-coaster ride of emotions for families at a time like this." Ms de Burca said that many people don't know that the funds raised on Daffodil Day go to provide this service, which is completely free to families. She added that the nurses couldn't do what they do, if people didn't come out today and give up their time to do the fundraising. "They are fantastic," she said. See www.cancer.ie/daffodilday or text 'Daff' to 50300 to donate 4 Former RTE stalwart Valerie Cox has said losing her job because of her age was "the most appalling thing". But Ms Cox (67) said she's delighted her successful Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) case has been hailed as striking a blow against ageism in Ireland. It saw RTE being ordered to pay her 50,000 after the WRC ruled she had been discriminated against on the basis of her age. The BBC has been previously hit with allegations of ageism from older presenters and employees, and now the national broadcaster finds itself in the middle of an age-related controversy. Her case was raised in the Dail by Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin, who described it as a "landmark decision" and predicted it will open a flood-gate of similar cases. Ms Cox said she was "very pleased" with the outcome of the WRC hearing, which she lodged when her second contract was terminated with RTE back in December 2016. The former 'It Says in the Papers' presenter had worked for the broadcaster for 21 years. "I've always felt very strongly about ageism in Ireland. I encountered it very strongly and that's why I was so keen to get a result, and that's why I took the case," she told the Irish Independent. "I had hoped for a positive result but I felt I had to strike a blow for both myself and for the over 65s. I think it's the most appalling thing. "One day, you think everything's great, you're working on cutting edge stuff in a job you love and the next day, you're on the scrap heap. "You have to go down and sign on at the dole office and it's such an undignified thing to do, as anyone who's had to do it will tell you." The journalist added she had no real issue with RTE, and that this case arose as a result of a "blip with management". "I would love to do more work campaigning against ageism. We treat older people very badly in this country, we don't realise their potential and we don't realise their voting power. "I've had hundreds of emails and texts of support and I'm just very happy." Her full-time contract had been terminated by RTE in March 2016 when she turned the retirement age of 65. She then found out in December 2016 her casual contract to front the early morning newspaper slot was also finished. She said she was informed this was down to her age, despite there being two people over 65 working on the show at the time, the WRC heard. She was also going through a "very stressful time" in her personal life, given her husband Brian was struck down with herpesviral encephalitis. He lapsed into a coma and had to spend several months receiving treatment in hospital. In December 2016, she applied for an extension to her casual contract but this was turned down by RTE, prompting her to take the case. The WRC ruled she had been discriminated against on the basis of her age. Speaking in the Dail yesterday, Mr Howlin called on the Government to prioritise legislation which will remove the compulsory retirement age of 65 from many sectors of the public service. Tanaiste Simon Coveney said he welcomed the judgment and said he hopes it send out a "signal" for many people in a similar situation. Special ceremonies will be staged to mark the 50th anniversary of Ireland's worst aviation tragedy, the Tuskar Rock accident, in which 61 people died. Ceremonies will be staged in Wexford and Cork this weekend to mark the loss of the Aer Lingus plane, St Phelim, which crashed into the sea off the Tuskar Rock at 12.15pm on Sunday, March 24 1968. Expand Close Wreckage from the Aer Lingus Viscount is hauled ashore at Rosslare in 1968 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Wreckage from the Aer Lingus Viscount is hauled ashore at Rosslare in 1968 Relatives of the 61 people who died on Flight 712 will attend a special 50th anniversary Mass on Sunday at the Church of the Assumption in Ballyphehane, Cork. A special memorial service is also expected to take place in Wexford - the last point of land crossed by the Aer Lingus plane before the disaster. The plane, a Vickers Viscount, was on a flight from Cork to London Heathrow when it crashed into the sea near Tuskar Rock without warning. There were no survivors. St Phelim was an 11-year old Viscount with the Vickers aircraft very popular with Aer Lingus for short and medium haul flights. A total of 20 were in service over almost two decades with the carrier. The passengers and crew were from Switzerland, Britain, the U.S., Sweden, Belgium and Ireland with 36 of the 61 from the Cork area. One of the four crew members, Air Hostess Anne Kelly (19), was from Wexford. Only 14 bodies were ever found. Mystery still surrounds the accident with various theories over the years ranging from an accident collision with a Royal Navy/Royal Air Force drone through to a catastrophic failure of part of the aircraft fuselage. Ten years ago, a retired Naval engineer claimed he spotted an unusual piece of debris being recovered from the sea near the St Phelim crash site. Moss Egan was on board the L.E. Cliona and spent several weeks at sea, working alongside the British Navy, trying to recover the wreckage of the aircraft in 1968. He said he recalled one discovery in particular, of something which many believe was part of a target drone, a piece of equipment used to test the accuracy of missiles. Mr. Egan said that it was taken away and never seen again. Although the investigation into the crash lasted two years, a precise cause for the tragedy was never determined. There has long been popular speculation that the plane was shot down by a British experimental missile. A base in west Wales, Aberporth, was the most advanced British missile testing station at the time. The tragedy has been the subject of books and many column inches over the years and other theories and claims have included that the accident was in fact caused by a mid-air collision between the plane and a French-built military aircraft which was training with the Irish Air Corps. However, a report in 2002 by French and Australian experts ruled out the possibility that the Viscount was hit by another aircraft or missile. The international study concluded that the cause may have been as a result of structural failure of the aircraft, corrosion, metal fatigue, 'flutter' or a even bird strike. Paul Sheehan was found dead on Wandesford Quay in Cork in the early hours of Sunday morning The brother of a rough sleeper who died on the streets of Cork during last week's bitterly cold St Patrick's Day weekend paid tribute to him, describing his brother as a "quiet and gentle soul". Paul Sheehan (53) was found dead on Wandesford Quay in Cork during the early hours of Sunday morning. His older brother Gerard described him as a "gentle soul" as he paid tribute to him this morning. Gerard said that Paul suffered from alcoholism from an early age and had been in and out of treatment for the past 23 years. He said Paul had everything to live for and a family who loved him but "drink came first". "Drink would strip you of everything," Gerard told the Neil Prenderville Show on RedFM. "I'm not just talking about material things, I'm talking about morals, self-respect, everything." Gerard said that despite his brother's addictions, he was an "honest and respectful man" who had never been in any trouble and never asked anyone for help. Along with his brother Anthony, Gerard would check on Paul every second day and take him to guesthouses or hotels in the city. They provided him with a mobile phone so he could contact them if needed. Paul would often call into Caitriona Twomey at Cork's Penny Dinners, a centre in the city which aims to give everyone who calls a hot, nourishing midday meal. Gerard said Caitriona often assisted the family in trying to find accommodation for Paul, even using her credit card at times to secure bookings. He said that Paul knew he was always welcome in his family's homes but he was usually reluctant because he was aware that no-alcohol rules applied there. "Drink comes first with an alcoholic, plain and simple, before love, before family. There were nights when he would want a bed and they were the nights I knew he would be bad," he said. "He wouldn't go home because drink took away his self-esteem and his self-worth. He didn't want his family to see him and I understood because I used to be like him." Gerard revealed that he also had problems with alcohol but is now recovered after undergoing treatment. He said he always feared that his brother would never recover. "I was different to Paul, drink got me later and I believed there was no such thing as a hopeless case, and I actually believe that, but Paul is the nearest thing to one that I ever saw," he said. He said that during the bitterly cold St Patrick's weekend, his brother was turned away from two hotels and four guesthouses. The first guesthouse and the first hotel had been booked in advance on a credit card but Gerard said when his brother arrived he was turned away. On the morning that Paul passed away, Gerard and Anthony combed the streets of Cork trying to find their brother. He had moved from the usual spot where he would sleep in order to find a quieter spot with fewer passers-by. Gerard said he sometimes did that if he had been attacked during the night. "Most people were very good to him but some people who were drunk, would kick him, abuse him, take his money." His brother was a vulnerable man and walked with the aid of two walking sticks but he had sometimes been beaten with hammers and hatchets. A garda found Paul in the early hours of Sunday morning, at approximately 7am. The brothers were called and they arrived on the scene shortly afterwards. "It wasn't nice to see your brother like that, with a blue blanket thrown over him," said Gerard. While the Sheehans are morning the loss of Paul, Gerard said he hopes his brother is at peace now. "I saw the pain gone in his face when I looked at him in the coffin yesterday," he said. It's believed that Paul died as a result of hypothermia but the family are awaiting the results of a post-mortem. Members of the Irish Girls Guide were told to "go home and make lunch" in comments made by a St Patrick's Day parade MC. The Chief Commissioner of the Irish Girl Guides, Helen Concannon, said that she was shocked by the comments made last weekend. "Such outdated and misogynistic remarks made so openly at a public event, even in the guise of so-called humour, are completely out of place in the 21st century and go against all that our organisation is striving to achieve," Ms Concannon wrote on a Facebook post. The comments were made at this year's parade in Greystones, County Wicklow. As part of the St Patrick's Day festival, many Girl Guides members chose gender equality as the theme for their march. A group of girls between the ages of five and 14 walked the parade in Greystones carrying posters which read: 'Girl Power', 'Equal Rights' and the Girl Guides' tagline, 'Giving Girls Confidence'. They sang a song as they marched, which included the lyrics: "Can a woman fly an airplane? Yes, she can, yes she can! Can a woman build a building? Yes, she can, yes she can! When the song was finished, the MC - addressing the crowds - said the song was "very provocative". He added: "Can a woman go home now and make the lunch? Can a woman do the ironing?" A spokesperson for the Irish Girl Guides told Independent.ie that the MC apologised and said his comments were not meant to cause offence. The group said it has accepted the apology but wants people to learn from the experience. "It's important to remember that words (even in jest) do have an impact on children and adults." The Chief Commissioner said the girls and leaders will "continue to promote themselves and maintain a positive outlook in Greystones where the Guides have been in existence for over 100 years." The UK should stay as close as possible to the EU after Brexit, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said. The "enormous" trade between Britain and Ireland should be protected to ensure Irish jobs, Mr Varadkar added. On Friday morning leaders of the 27 EU member states meeting in Brussels adopted guidelines for future EU-UK relations after the separation in a year's time. The Taoiseach said: "The UK has decided to leave the EU. The best way we can get a good outcome for Ireland is to make sure that we have an agreement that keeps the UK as close to the EU as possible. "That is the best way to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland and also the best way to protect the enormous trade that occurs between Britain and Ireland, and that is so important for Irish jobs and our economy, and agriculture in particular." In 2015, 13.8 billion euros of goods were exported from Ireland to Britain, more than half involving food and live animals or chemicals and related products, according to the Central Statistics Office of Ireland. Goods heading into Ireland from Britain accounted for 24% of imports in 2015 while imports from Northern Ireland accounted for 2%. Mr Varadkar added: "It is not a case of when they are winning we are losing or when they are losing we are winning. "We are not going to get a good outcome for Ireland on that basis." One of the main stumbling blocks is the issue of the Irish border. Little agreement has been reached on the detail of measures to avoid a hard frontier with checks on goods and services. Renewed efforts are expected by negotiators in the coming weeks to crack the issue. Mr Varadkar has insisted a border deal must be done by October to allow time for it to be ratified by legislatures. Otherwise a backstop option will mean Northern Ireland would continue to follow EU regulations after Brexit involving the all-island economy and North-South co-operation, he added. Unionists have opposed any solution which would create differences between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, and Prime Minister Theresa May is reliant on Democratic Unionist support in key Westminster votes. Avoiding a hard border is generally defined as one without frontier checks on goods and services, but there has been no evidence of a technological solution for frictionless trade anywhere else in the world, a committee of MPs said. Two men were arrested today in connection with the seizure of 1.4 million worth of drugs. The Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau supported by the Special Crime Task Force intercepted two cars in Ronanstown, Dublin at around 7.30pm yesterday evening. A quantity of cocaine was seized from the vehicles and two men, aged 30 and 26, were arrested and detained under drug trafficking legislation at Ronanstown Garda Station. Follow up searches took place in Tallaght and Clondalkin and significant quantities of cocaine, cannabis, ketamine and drug trafficking paraphernalia were seized, which are estimated to be worth more than 1.4 million. The 26 year old male is scheduled to appear at the Criminal Courts of Justice this afternoon charged in connection with the investigation. The 30 year old remains in custody. The Taoiseach avoided a direct question over whether Russia was to blame for the attempted assassination of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury. On the margins of a two-day summit in Brussels, Mr Varadkar was asked: "Do you agree with the British government that Russia is to blame for the attack in Salisbury?" He replied: "I think what happened at Salisbury was loathsome and reprehensible; and we're going to stand right beside the UK on that issue. "An attempted assassination or a chemical attack - no matter who does it - is something that we're going to condemn and condemn outright," he added. So far, the EU has failed to come up with a definite line on culpability for the attack. Most countries, like Ireland, are awaiting the results of the investigation by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The UK says the evidence and results of its own investigation points to a smoking gun in Moscow. But European Affairs Minister Helen McEntee said "that's not something we'd have said publicly yet because we're waiting to see the outcome of the investigation that's taking place. "It's not something that we would do without that full knowledge." Britain reacted by expelling 23 Russian intelligence officials. Taxpayers may end up forking out as much as 200m to the private operator of the Limerick Tunnel toll road due to less than anticipated traffic on the route. The sum was branded as "insane" by Labour TD Alan Kelly at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The PAC is examining public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the transport and education sectors. The road was opened in 2010 and under the contract - which ends in 2041 - the State must make "traffic guarantee" payments to its operators. Transport Infrastructure Ireland official Michael Kennedy told TDs up to 200m could be spent in traffic guarantee-related payments on the route. He didn't agree with Mr Kelly that the sum is "insane", arguing that just because traffic guarantee payments are being made "doesn't mean it's a bad scheme". Mr Kennedy said there were 24,500 vehicles using the tunnel every day - traffic that would otherwise end up in Limerick city. He said the cost-benefit result of a review of the scheme found it was "still viable", despite the traffic guarantee payments being made. Earlier, PAC members expressed frustration that this and other post-project reviews had not yet been published for several PPP transport projects. The Department of Education, meanwhile, confirmed it had yet to carry out post-project reviews of any of its school-building PPPs. Its secretary general Sean O Foghlu said it was currently tendering for such work to be carried out. Sinn Fein TD David Cullinane accused Department of Public Expenditure secretary general Robert Watt and Mr O Foghlu of having a "cavalier approach" in relation to the reviews. Mr Watt rejected Mr Cullinane's remarks as unfair and said the reviews would be published "as quickly as we can". He insisted the Government officials had been "upfront" during the PAC meeting. PAC chairman Sean Fleming said: "The public have invested billions of taxpayers' money in PPPs. The public are entitled to know they're getting value for money." Mr Watt agreed and reiterated the commitment to publish the post-project reviews. Carolyn wanted to prove that you can't believe everything you see on Instagram Photo: TheSlowTraveler/Instagram You cant believe everything you see on Instagram - a point one blogger proved when she faked an entire birthday trip to Disneyland. In an effort to show just how filtered, photoshopped, and Facetuned the social media platform can be, blogger Carolyn Stritch decided to experiment. Pretending it was her 22nd birthday and she was celebrating with a trip to California, the blogger proved just how easy it is to portray a life vastly different than reality to her 189,000 followers. Stritch, who posts under @theslowtraveler, wrote: Tomorrow Im going to be 22! Im treating myself with a trip to Californ-i-ay: Im off to Disneyland to Instagram the hell out of Sleeping Beautys Castle. Ill be putting myself to bed nice and early tonight: Im flying tomorrow and coming home Monday (need a magic carpet, not an aeroplane.) Ill be by myself, but so what? Itll be my very own fairytale. Human possibilities vastly exceed our imagination! Alongside the caption, Stritch uploaded a flawless photo of herself sitting in bed. The following day, Stritch uploaded a photo in which she appears to be standing in front of Sleeping Beautys Castle, which happens to be empty except for her - and received over 18,000 likes. She wrote: Ive taken myself off to California. There I am in front of Sleeping Beautys Castle - my crazy, self-indulgent 22nd birthday present to myself. Tomorrow Ill be back home and itll be like it never even happened! I keep saying to myself: its kind of fun to do the impossible. Life is what you make it! However, Stritch never actually went to Disneyland, nor was she celebrating her 22nd birthday - as she is actually 32. Instead, she was actually relying solely on photography and some pretty impressive editing skills to trick her followers. On her blog, the blogger came clean about hacking her own Instagram - admitting that she came up with a story: my FaceApped perfect self, whos ten years younger than I am, flies off to Disneyland for the day, and somehow manages to photograph herself all alone in front of Sleeping Beautys Castle. According to Stritch, the idea for the experiment came to her after she downloaded FaceApp and uploaded a heavily-edited photo to Facebook - and nobody questioned it, including her own mum. But the blogger realised just how unrealistic social media has become when she was able to successfully trick her thousands of followers into believing she was ten years younger and in Disneyland. This, Stritch acknowledges, is because Instagram is really good at escapism, the aspirational, the inspirational." In reality, however, Instagram rarely shows the whole picture - as there would likely be many more people posing in front of Sleeping Beautys Castle. Easter is almost upon us and whether you do the traditional fasting or not we all know where things are heading: feasting and chocolate eggs. If youre looking for novelty and indulgence, this year is set to be a gin foodie heaven. For Easter, Skelligs Chocolates has launched its first dark chocolate gin and tonic egg. We make a gin and tonic bar which has seen increasing sales, but the egg came about quite simply because customers asked us to make it, says Colm Healy, owner of Skellig. The gin taste comes from crushed juniper and that fizzing tonic experience from added lime, which gives that effervescent taste. To some extent, I think everybody is looking at what they can tag gin on to at the moment, but you have to make hay while the sun shines and at the moment, gin is the big trend, adds Colm. The gin craze started slowly: the success of Downton Abbey has been credited with kickstarting it, before the tipple became a feature of the much edgier, Cillian Murphy-starring TV series Peaky Blinders. Gin distilleries, speciality pubs and even gin cruises have popped up all over Ireland, and now its taking over our food. This Easter, as well as chocolate, you could be eating gin cured fish, gin ice-cream, crisps, marmalade and sausages. In the UK theyre putting gin into yoghurt, butter, breads, buns and cheese, so theres likely to be plenty more gin-infused food on the way. Expand Close Skelligs gin and tonic Easter egg / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Skelligs gin and tonic Easter egg Seeing that gin was a definite thing in 2017, Wexford Home Preserves started to make an orange marmalade flavoured with Blackwaters real strawberry gin. I like to try new things and Wexford strawberries are the best and Blackwater Gin is in the south east, so it all just sort of came together, says founder Laura Sinnott. We could keep the gin marmalade in shops all year round, but itll be gone after March. We get emails from Brazil and America wanting it, but for novelty were keeping it as a limited addition. For anyone who really wants it, well be bringing a few jars to Bloom, she adds. Amazingly, gin tea has even hit our shores thanks to Blackwater Gin. Working amongst all the botanicals, the spices and smells one day, it came to me that we could make a gin tea, so we approached Barrys Tea to see if theyd be interested. We launched it this Christmas and it was massively successful, especially in Munster. Were now talking to two other food companies about putting gin into products such as cakes and buns. We definitely havent seen the last of gin in food yet, says Blackwater Director Peter Mulryan. Back in Kerry, Murphys have been adding gin to their ice-cream and like other food companies, they decided for novelty to only make it seasonally. Kieran Murphy explains how the idea sprouted. Basically I thought Dingle Gin was an outstanding product at Murphys we do a gentle cold extraction with the gin and add key ingredients. For us, its a summer flavour and itll be back as the weather gets warmer. Its a love it or hate it flavour, but those who love it get angry when we pull it in winter. In Armagh, McCartneys of Moira butchers arent worried about keeping their gin sausages seasonal in fact, they make their Gordons Gin and Schweppes Tonic sausages every week, developing cocktail size ones especially for Christmas. I cant see us dropping them as a flavour as theyve been very successful. We mix with a homemade seasoning which contains a secret blend of botanicals, explains Judith Millar, Director of McCartneys. Mixing pork with gin and juniper flavours has also been hit upon by Lidl who brought deluxe gin crisps on to the market at Christmas. A Lidl spokesperson says theyre currently developing more gin-related food products. Speciality food shop Fallon and Bryne has seen more than a few gin products cross their shelves in recent times which has been linked to the insatiable demand for G and Ts. Store General Manager Rachel Firth explains that while some of these products have been tongue in cheek such as gin and tonic popcorn which makes for a fun novelty gift, some food producers have been making the beautiful botanicals that are used to make gin with a variety of foods. Naturally these flavours have filtered into Fallon and Brynes restaurant and chef Owen Burns recalls drinking a gin and tonic when the flavours screamed fish, leading him to develop mackerel and salmon as gin-cured fish dishes for their eaterie. For fans of fish this Easter, SuperValu also does a gin-infused smoked salmon with Dingle Gin being paired up with salmon from Dunns of Dublin. Adding gin to food as a signature was an obvious choice when the owners of dedicated gin pub Una Powells in Nenagh, Co Tipperary, opened their restaurant Bistro 41 in December. We didnt set out to become a gin pub but it kind of worked out that way, says James Ryan. We got into gin eight years ago before lots of other people and had 100 different gins available this Christmas. Its not just about the gin though, its also about the tonic and we carry several different brands and they all have different flavours. When we opened the restaurant it was kind of obvious we would carry the gin theme through to the food. In its current menu, Bistro 41 offers gin ice-cream and a dessert ginlet, along with Drumshanbo Gunpowder cured gin salmon as a starter. James adds: The menu will probably always have something gin on it its expected now. Totally egg-centric Easter choices This Easter, gin eggs are the big trend. Tesco are selling a gin and elderflower egg, Prestat have a London Gin and tonic egg filled with gin ganache truffles which is available through selected speciality stores, and Mor Irish Gin are doing milk chocolate eggs in a box with their gins, which is available through the Celtic Whiskey Store, Dublin. Other more gourmet eggs for the foodie in your life include a pink popping Prosecco egg, also made by Prestat, and Skellig Chocolates do a Whiskey Creme egg, made with Teelings Whiskey. Tesco offers a Guinness dark chocolate egg, which comes with mini pints and for the big kids, there's Lir's cola and candy popping egg. Online, you can pick up a milk chocolate egg encrusted with salted caramel popcorn from Divine (joeandsephs.co.uk), or treat a superfood fan with Melt's avocado egg, a dark chocolate shell filled with mini eggs containing bee pollen, cocoa nibs, toasted quinoa, seeds and goji berries (meltchocolates.com). I STARTED work as a night nurse with the Irish Cancer Society in 2015, after taking early retirement the year before from a cancer-care nursing role. After 40 years of nursing, I came to my new found freedom with excitement and a re-energised zest for life, enjoying my time in the good company of family and friends, travelling and exploring new hobbies and interests. As the year went on, I became aware of the need to care for patients again - this got stronger over the months. I missed the bond, the trust and the camaraderie with my patients and I applied to join the Irish Cancer Society night nursing team in Mayo. This type of nursing was different to the acute setting I had worked in for many years. It is home-based and relies on excellent support from the local palliative care teams, public health workers, GPs and, most importantly, family involvement. It involves everyone working together to do what the patient wishes, as they reach end of life in their own home. For patients who are suitable for palliative care at home, a night nurse offers one-to-one care, a listening ear, and support for the wider family unit. Nurses often arrive when the family are frightened, fatigued and heavy-hearted about what may be ahead. Peace and time together are good medicines for an aching heart. A nurse will look out for an appropriate moment to allow a family member to be "the only one in the room" with their loved one. This time is very soothing, and often provides opportunities that allow individuals to speak and heal in the quietness of their home. Expand Close Many of those who work as Irish Cancer Society night nurses feel it is a privilege / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Many of those who work as Irish Cancer Society night nurses feel it is a privilege Night nurses are often the link between the living and the dying: as we hold the hand of the dying, we also hold the hand of the grieving family as they prepare to let go of one another. The family have the time to share tales of life before illness and that's when I get a glimpse of this someone who is loved and cherished, who had dreams, hopes and plans. In the wee hours of the morning, we are the skilled companions to our patients and we listen to their story, for storytelling connects us and we are keepers of that story. In my patients' homes, I often try to see a photograph taken in the fullness of their health - this is the memory I hold, as I find it helps to visualise the person being whole again. We share the darkness and relate to patients with our touch, our nursing skills and pastoral care. Sometimes we support even beyond that; we are often the first to share in the rawness of a terminal illness and bear witness to the grief and anger that can strip us as humans but in that nakedness is our humanity and that is the core of nursing. I know the value and comfort of companionship to the sick, and many nights I have had the company of dogs and cats as they keep silent vigil by their beloved master while maintaining a watchful eye on me, 'the stranger' in their home. With diversity of cultures and religions in Ireland, I have witnessed many different rituals and customs within families, but have found the common denominator to be love, kindness and an overwhelming desire to do right by their loved one. Through this work, I have seen ordinary people do extraordinary things to help their loved one die at home. I have witnessed heartbreaking situations and marvelled at the best and most beautiful things in life that have touched my heart, and I have been in the presence of courage, truth, reconciliation and decency. People often say, 'I could never do your job', but for me, this is no job - this is my privilege. See www.cancer.ie/daffodilday or text 'Daff' to 50300 to donate 4 It was very emotional for my mother to see me walking down the aisle. Maybe she didnt think when I was born that it would happen. Ciara Deegan, from Firhouse in Dublin, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was six weeks old, following a bout of pneumonia. The diagnosis was devastating for her parents, but Ciara has exceeded their expectations and lived a normal life. She has only ever been hospitalised twice due to her condition. And exercise is a big part of her life, to help her manage her condition. Expand Close Ciara Deegan and her bridal party. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ciara Deegan and her bridal party. Today, its still a great source of pride for Ciara, remembering the day she got married to Stephen, whom she met in school. We met in school, we were doing our leaving cert. We were 25 when we got married, well be ten years married next year. We grew up together and went to Australia together for three months. My mam was over the moon that I was getting married, it was a very special day for her. It was 28 degrees on the day, the 29th of May. Expand Close Ciara and her son Ethan. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ciara and her son Ethan. "There were 150 people there. My husband plays music, his band played and I went to bed at four or five that night. Ciara, now mother to two-year-old Ethan, says Stephen accepted her condition from the moment she told him about it. I didnt tell him for a while. It was probably a good couple of months into the relationship that I told him looking at me, I dont look sick. He was fine about it, it didnt bother him at all. He was never really fazed by it would be diff if I was very unwell. When I was diagnosed at six weeks, it would have been oh my God, its absolutely terrible that she has cystic fibrosis. Ive two older brothers but they dont have cystic fibrosis. One is a carrier but the other isnt. My Mam used to do a therapy where she would tap my back and youd cough up sputum and keep things clear. Now I do breathing exercises every day. Ciara spends half an hour each morning and evening taking medications and treatment for her condition. She takes insulin for CF-related diabetes, and she is on long-term antibiotics and is also a candidate for Orkambi. Ciara wants to send the message out to anyone who gets a diagnosis of cystic fibrosis for their baby, that their child can grow up to lead a fulfilled life. Today, Cystic Fibrosis Ireland is launching 65 Roses Day which occurs on Friday April 13. Unfortunately there are a lot of people who are extremely bad with cystic fibrosis, and theyre in and out of hospital, Im extremely lucky that I mustnt have a bad strain. "Im lucky Im not too sick with the cystic fibrosis, my little boy keeps me busy. I try and do park runs, go for walks most days, it keeps me healthy. If I didnt do that, Id be in trouble with chest infections. Id like to be able to show people if they have babies that have just been diagnosed with it, Id like to show them that this is terrible, but you can go to college, lead a normal life. You can get married, you can have children. Cystic Fibrosis Ireland provided an exercise grant for Ciara when she was in college to allow her to go to the gym. The charity also provides financial help to families of people undergoing transplants, as well as counselling, among other things. The diagnosis can be difficult to come to terms with, Ciara points out. When Ethan got christened I got very unwell, and I had to go to the christening with home IVs. I put a bandage on my arm and put a coat on it so you couldnt see it. It was bad timing. Ethan was only five or six months old. That was tough. If there are colds in the house, Ive to try and avoid them. Its hard with a two and a half-year-old. Id try and keep washing my hands, and step away from the germs. Having a child, it really hits you that you have to stay well and healthy for that child. If you are in hospital and you see people who are extremely ill, you would think please God it wont get to that. Ciara is urging people to support Cystic Fibrosis Ireland on 65 Roses Day, Friday 13th April, by buying a purple rose for 2 in participating shopping centres and Spar stores across the country or by donating online at www.65rosesday.ie. When Jonathon Noonan (20) from Nenagh, Co Tipperary, went to the doctor in March 2011, he had what he thought was a sinus infection. Stock image Jonathon Noonan (20) says exams are not as important as they seem after having cancer. Photo: Liam Burke Press 22 Every three minutes, someone in Ireland gets a cancer diagnosis. And while nobody wants to be told that they have this disease, for young people in particular, the news is especially unwelcome. People in their late teens and early 20s are in the prime of their lives. They're at an age when they should be finding out who they are and deciding what they want to do with their future, not staring into the face of a potentially lethal disease. When Jonathon Noonan (20) from Nenagh, Co Tipperary, went to the doctor in March 2011, he had what he thought was a sinus infection. A course of antibiotics seemed to clear it up, but the next month it returned, and again the following month. Then he started to lose weight. "I was training a lot that summer with my rugby and hurling teams, so I put the weight loss down to that. But as the summer passed, I felt more tired and by August I had lost my appetite," he says. By September, he'd been to his GP 12 times - despite not having been there at all since the age of three - but in the end, it was a lump on his neck that alerted a dentist that something else was behind Jonathon's ill health. In October, it was discovered he had two growths in his head - one behind the nose and one on his neck - and a biopsy confirmed he had nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a rare kind of head and neck cancer. "It was scary to be told you were sick. I always thought cancer was an old person's disease. I know others with it now, but at the time the only other young person I'd heard of with it was very young. I didn't know any other teenagers with it." He started treatment for his cancer immediately but then discovered that, like 5pc of the world's population, he is allergic to fleurouracil, a common chemotherapy drug. "I ended up losing a stone and a half in 10 days and landed in ICU for a week," he says. After an initial round of treatment of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the doctors thought Jonathon was in the clear. However, he relapsed and had to have a second round of treatment the following year. Like any teenager, Jonathon had a busy life and ambitions for his future when he was told he had cancer, and while he says he wouldn't wish the experience on anyone, he's also philosophical about it now. "The diagnosis changed my life. I used to play hurling and rugby as my main hobbies and I wasn't allowed to do that anymore. I was so sick and had to take it easy. It also affected school - I missed a lot in the first year I had it," he says. "It was also difficult at first to tell people who knew me what had happened. People were a little scared of it because they didn't know anything about it. But ultimately people were really nice about it and went to a lot of trouble for me. They did a lot of fundraising and I was really touched by that." According to Jonathon, the hardest part of the experience was feeling that the world was moving on without him. It was as if someone had pressed the pause button on his life. "My friends were in school, advancing in their studies and lives, while I was stuck in the hospital, staying still. I am a positive person, but I had to make an effort to make sure that this didn't slow me down." He has now been in remission for two years and continues to visit his doctor for check-ups every three months. As to what the experience has taught him, he believes he now has a better handle on what's important in life and what's not. "I think it's important not to sweat the small stuff, exam stress for example. It's not as important as it seems," he says. This is something that 19-year-old Cavan teenager Chloe Fitzgerald agrees with. "Cancer teaches you how important it is to stay positive in your life. It's obviously awful to be told you have cancer, but you can also learn a lot from the people around you. I met some amazing people as result of my illness," she says. Chloe was an active 16-year-old when she started to experience stomach pains. An x-ray showed a large grey area over her hip and the diagnosis when it arrived was indefinite spindle cell sarcoma, a rare kind of cancer that can develop in the bone or soft tissue. "Half my hip was basically missing. The tumour was so big it had taken over the whole left area of my pelvic bone. I got an awful shock. I didn't think any of it was real and I was very scared," she says. Like Jonathon, there was no indication what had caused Chloe's tumour or where the cancer had come from. "I felt seriously unlucky. My big question to all the doctors was 'why does this have to happen to me?', and of course there's just no answer. It could happen to anyone," she says. Chloe has managed to juggle having significant surgery, doing the Leaving Cert and applying for college all in the space of a few short years. Today, she is three years in remission and is studying 3D graphics and design. Her advice for anyone in the same situation she was in is to stay positive. "Try your best to move on. People around you can be enormously supportive. The support, back-up and friendship that Canteen Ireland gave me and my family, for example, has been absolutely invaluable," she says. "I can't emphasise enough how important the organisation was to me." While statistics on childhood and teenage cancer aren't broken down for Ireland, they are believed to mirror rates across Europe, and show that cancer is the leading cause of natural death in the 16 to 24 age group, with approximately 30pc of fatalities coming from haematological malignancies, or cancer of the blood. "Although recent studies show that child and older adult cancers have seen a large increase in survival rates, the same unfortunately cannot be says for adolescent and young adult cancers and this has led to an increased focus in the oncology community on the unique needs of this population," says Professor Owen Smith CBE, Consultant Paediatric Haematologist at Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin. "This lack of survival improvement amongst these age groups may be caused by a number of factors. For example, chemotherapy is metabolised differently during puberty due to hormone influences and there is, in general, poor medication adherence and compliance and low clinical trial enrolment in these age groups." He adds: "But there are also complex psychological factors at play with young adults that really need to be taken into account to get the best results." See www.cancer.ie/daffodilday or text 'Daff' to 50300 to donate 4 Canteen Ireland is a nationwide support group for young people who have or have had cancer. More information can be found online at canteen.ie or through the Irish Cancer Society. When three Irish spas refused to give her a massage because she had cancer, primary school teacher Sinead Kavanagh says she felt embarrassed. And according to a British charity set up to encourage spas here and in the UK to open their doors to cancer patients, her experience is not unusual. Sinead (36) went through a gruelling year when, in 2013, she felt a lump in her throat. During routine allergy tests at Beaumont Hospital, she asked the team to take a look. "Two weeks later, I had an ultrasound and things spiralled from there," she says. "I had a 3.5cm tumour which had started to spread. I was treated with radioactive iodine, during which I was quarantined in an isolation room for five days, had two to three showers a day and drank gallons of water to flush the radiation out of me. "I was told that if the diagnosis had come a month or two later, the cancer would have spread to my lungs. But thankfully, it was caught in time and in December 2014, I was given the all-clear." In the intervening period, Sinead made several attempts to treat herself to some much-wanted spa treatments. Yet, having bravely endured the isolation of the radiation chamber during her treatment, she was unprepared for the isolation she felt when spas turned her away. "Anytime I filled out the consultation form and they saw that I'd had cancer, the blanket response was, 'Oh, we can't do that'. When I asked why, they said that massage could spread or even reignite my cancer. Expand Close Pamper days: Reflexologist Briga Gorman at the Lakelands Area Retreat and Cancer Centre in Mullingar. Photo: Alf Harvey / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Pamper days: Reflexologist Briga Gorman at the Lakelands Area Retreat and Cancer Centre in Mullingar. Photo: Alf Harvey "I felt embarrassed and wondered if this disease was going to affect every aspect of my life. Having been so sick, I badly wanted to be pampered. My body was tired and sore, my joints ached and I'd put on weight from the treatment, which did nothing for my self-esteem. "I think some therapists are ill-informed. Cancer is not a rare disease and I think spas should train their staff in appropriate massages for anyone with a history of cancer." Sinead's experience is all too common, according to Marc Innes, founder of the School of Natural Therapies in London, who trains massage therapists in spas throughout the UK and, more recently, in Ireland in special techniques for use on clients with cancer. He says the Made for Life Cancer Touch Therapy course was developed following advice from oncology massage teachers and advisers from the Macmillan Trust. "People with cancer are sometimes treated like lepers," he says. "One English woman seeking a facial was told, 'sorry love, we wouldn't touch you with a barge pole'. Expand Close Mother-of-two Irene Gilmore says the touch therapy she received at the LARCC centre helped her cope physically and mentally with the rigours of medical treatment. Photo: Alf Harvey / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mother-of-two Irene Gilmore says the touch therapy she received at the LARCC centre helped her cope physically and mentally with the rigours of medical treatment. Photo: Alf Harvey "In the spa sector, there's a fear bred into therapists about massaging people with cancer, but such fears are unfounded. We need to educate those in the industry, because people with cancer have been ostracised for too long. "Ten years ago, it was believed that massage could spread the circulation of cancer cells through the lymphatic system, but there is no evidence that's the case. Therapists certainly have to be careful in using the right techniques and products that won't irritate or harm skin that's been sensitised due to chemo or radiotherapy. But there's no reason why anyone can't enjoy the healing powers of a therapeutic touch." He devised the programme in collaboration with Amanda Barlow, who set up the Made for Life Foundation in 2008 to provide wellness days and nurturing treatments for cancer patients. She says that 75pc of her clients reported having been turned away from spas. "The statistics are unlikely to be any different in Ireland," she says. "Our accredited Cancer Touch Therapy training course enables spas, managers and therapists to confidently open their doors to anyone going through cancer and make sure that people with cancer are not isolated. The comfort of a nurturing massage can be tailored to suit people who have had radiotherapy, surgery or other treatments. It's also great for people with MS and other conditions, and helps relieve anxiety and stress." This year, the Ciuin Spa & Wellness Centre at the Slieve Russell Hotel in Cavan, and the Simplicite Spa in Straffan, Co Kildare, trained their staff in Made for Life Cancer Touch Therapy and offer a range of treatments, all using Made for Life Organics products. But while some spas may not yet cater for customers with a history of cancer, local cancer care centres across the country welcome them with open arms and a healing touch. "These are safe places where people can come and enjoy uplifting massage treatments by qualified therapists," says Briga Gorman, Nurse Manager and experienced touch therapist at the Lakelands Area Retreat and Cancer Centre (LARCC) in Mullingar, Co Westmeath. "We have Pamper Days where people can come on their own or with a friend or family member and enjoy a touch therapy massage, reflexology and meditation. They're complementary treatments that help to ease pain and anxiety, and in some cases alleviate the side effects of treatment. "It's nice to be able to chill out and know that you're in safe hands, with staff who are properly trained and up to date. We always get the consent of the individual's consultant or GP, which gives the patient further reassurance that the treatments come with medical approval. "Local cancer support centres like ours provide a sanctuary where people can take time out, enjoy some well-deserved pampering and be supported in their recovery and emotional well-being." Mother-of-two Irene Gilmore says the touch therapy she received at the LARCC centre helped her cope physically and mentally with the rigours of medical treatment. Diagnosed with breast cancer last April, just before her 41st birthday, she had surgery two weeks later, followed by intensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Each week throughout her treatment, Irene attended the LARCC for reflexology and other massages, and continues to this day with monthly sessions. "Not only was it relaxing and good for my mental well-being, it significantly eased some of the physical side effects of the treatment," she says. "I'd developed neuropathy, which included numbness in my fingers and toes, and massage helped that a lot. It was great to have a place to go where I could close my eyes and switch off. I slept better too. "Every now and then I enjoy spa days with my friends, but I always call in advance to find out if the spa offers appropriate treatments by qualified staff. I'd like to see more spas having at least one therapist trained in cancer care. Meanwhile though, I think it's important for anyone with cancer to disclose their condition and have that conversation before reaching the spa because what's worse than being turned away is putting your body in the hands of someone who isn't qualified." According to the Irish Cancer Society, there is no evidence to suggest massage therapy can spread cancer, but direct pressure over a tumour should be avoided. Deep tissue massage is not advised, but gentle, therapeutic massage performed by a qualified and experienced therapist can help relieve muscle soreness, stiffness and spasms, aid relaxation and improve sleep. The society recommends that patients consult their doctor before opting for any massage therapy. The landscape of east Galway is famously tranquil and pastoral - all sheep-dotted fields enclosed by the licheny stone walls that are the hallmark of this part of the world. The townland of Coolrevagh, about five kilometres south-east of Tuam, is no exception. Early Ordnance Survey maps suggest this was a busy enough spot in the past though, with a corn mill, a sizeable cluster of dwellings and a Catholic church (already in ruins by 1838 when the first survey was done). The most prominent landmark in this area is Toghermore House, now a residential centre for people with disabilities. Not that it's a particularly distinguished building; rather it's famous for its former occupant. When Bobby Burke came into the estate of Toghermore back in the early 20th century, he immediately set about putting his Christian Socialist principles into practice. Burke established a collective farm on 200 acres of the land in the 1930s - co-operative and profit-sharing - despite the dangers associated with being labelled a communist in those days. Expand Close The kitchen with doors to the conservatory / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The kitchen with doors to the conservatory Later Burke gave the property to the state to be used as a convalescent home for TB patients, while he and his wife took off for Africa as missionaries. He died in 1998 and there's a plaque in his honour on Tuam Town Hall. A kilometre or so from Tuam's cradle of socialism is Gortnaraba View, a modern, stone-fronted dormer bungalow on three-quarters of an acre with the modern version of Galway stone walls. It's 2,579 sq ft on two floors and there are two bedrooms upstairs (one en-suite) along with a little office alcove. The other two bedrooms are downstairs where there's also a bow-windowed living room, a family room and a kitchen with double doors to a conservatory. The agent is Sherry FitzGerald Mannion in Tuam (093) 26622 and the price is 325,000. More than 40 homes have been sold at Clonlara since the development, situated in a largely unspoiled and picturesque hamlet called Kerry Pike, was launched on the northwest outskirts of Cork city last May. When the scheme is finished, it will comprise 144 three and four-bed semi-detached and detached houses. Clonara is being built by OFlynn Construction, the prolific Cork developer behind the Old Quarter development in Ballincollig. There will be five different styles of homes among the 20 houses being released in a third phase this weekend. Prices start at 315,000 for a three-bed semi-detached design measuring 1,237 sq ft, with a 1,334-sq ft four-bed version costing from 345,000. The four-bed detached styles, meanwhile, span between 1,500 sq ft and 2,059 sq ft, with prices starting at 400,000. The facades of the houses have a classical appearance. The windows are made from PVC and are double glazed. There is a cobbled parking area out front thats surrounded by painted metal railings, with a lawn and a pre-cast patio to the rear. Inside, there are panelled doors and moulded skirting and architrave throughout. The living room is home to a solid fuel stove and some of the bedrooms come with fitted wardrobes. The A-rated homes at Clonlara have energy-saving features such as an air-to-water heat pump for the central heating. Kerry Pike is close to Blarney and is a few minutes drive from Apples European headquarters in the Cork suburb of Hollyhill. Four showhouses will be available to view at Clonlara tomorrow, between 12pm and 2pm. Enquiries to: Sherry FitzGerald (021) 4273041 Did you know Iceland is now just a direct flight away? Model and food writer Roz Purcell picks her favourite excursions. Want to escape for a long weekend? When searching for somewhere close and cheap to reach, I've always tended to look east, towards the popular city breaks of Europe. Iceland seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime destination - somewhere exotic and far away. Not so. Iceland is a completely different experience, but WOW Air now flies direct to Reykjavik from Dublin Airport. Within 2.5 hours, you can be soaking up spine-tingling views, epic landscapes and thrilling adventures in the land of fire and ice. Excursions are the best way to see as much of the country as possible in a short time. Operators provide all the equipment you need, many offer multiple activities and sightseeing options, and most will do hotel pick-ups and drop-offs too. Here are the unmissables! 1. Chase the Northern Lights Expand Close The Northern Lights, photographed with wildflowers in Landmannarlaugar, Iceland. Photo: Deposit / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Northern Lights, photographed with wildflowers in Landmannarlaugar, Iceland. Photo: Deposit I say chase, because the lights are not guaranteed. The aurora borealis are one of Iceland's best excursions, but youve got a better chance of seeing them in the winter months, and there are Northern Lights forecasts, so make sure to check them a few days before travelling. Tours can be cancelled due to bad weather, but theyll also reschedule you for another night if you dont see the lights. Roz recommends: For photos, bring a tripod - you can pick up small and flexible tripods for travelling that take up very little room. Details: mountaineers.is; from IS 22,000/150pp 2. Take in a thermal pool Expand Close Roz Purcell at the Blue Lagoon. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Roz Purcell at the Blue Lagoon. Iceland is famous for its natural thermal pools - from the Blue Lagoon to the Secret Lagoon, which isnt really much of a secret! These are included as part of many day excursions, and you'll get plenty of time to relax and take lots of selfies! All you will need is your swimming suit - they provide towels, showers and changing facilities. If you're really inquisitive, my advice is to find the locals' hidden lagoons! Icelanders can be very secretive about the locations, but if you befriend one you can go to these tourist-free spots and soak up the real Icelandic atmosphere - I didnt tell you that! Roz recommends: Go to the Blue Lagoon in the afternoon, it gets a little quieter and the light is amazing... a gorgeous sunset backdrop. Details: bluelagoon.com; from 40pp 2. Do the Golden circle Expand Close Roz Purcell on Iceland's Golden Circle. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Roz Purcell on Iceland's Golden Circle. The Golden Circle is a tourist loop taking in several attractions within about 100km of Reykjavik, including the geysers, rift valley and Gullfoss waterfall. These are some of the most amazing holiday backdrops, so much so that it looks like you have been photoshopped in! Most guides give an overview of the area while driving (we even got ghost stories), and short videos and maps at the stops give you a sense of where everything is. The vast and surreal countryside works in both in winter and summer; you get two completely different landscapes! Roz recommends: In winter, bring heavily gripped shoes or hiking runners. For photos, bring touch gloves that allow you to use your index finger without freezing. Details: mountaineers.is; day tour with snowmobiling from IS46,000/315pp 3. Go snorkelling Expand Close Roz Purcell prepares to snorkel in Iceland... / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Roz Purcell prepares to snorkel in Iceland... Seriously - its not as cold as you may think! Every Icelander I told I was going snorkelling questioned my sanity, but it is actually one of the most popular activities in the country. I dreaded the cold, but the thought of snorkeling in rift valley between the tectonic plates overruled any doubt. You will be reluctant to de-layer out in the elements, but with a little peer pressure from the t-shirt wearing guides you feel like a bit of a wuss and just get on with it. Expect to be kitted out in a Top Gun-style jumpsuit, a thick dry suit, thermal hood, gloves and flippers... the only thing you need to bring are extra pairs of socks to keep your toes toasty. I can assure you the coldest part is waiting to get in - the water is around zero-degrees, but there is no wind and once you look beneath you completely forget all other senses. The water is crystal clear as you float between rock crevasses filled with the most vibrant shades of blue, red and green. For some, the Angelina Jolie lip effect they warn you about may be a bonus. However, I was genuinely scared that my lips would explode. It lasts about 30 minutes, and Scuba diving is offered for experienced divers. Roz recommends: Take the half day snorkeling tour, as the pit stops afterwards double up with a lot of the other tours and return you to your hotel for a hot lunch and Jacuzzi... the perfect apres swim recovery. Details: dive.is; from IS17,990/123pp Read More 4. Go Snowmobiling Expand Close Snowmobiling in Iceland / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Snowmobiling in Iceland Are you the adventurous type? Dont worry, you dont have to be Fernando Alonso to take part in this adventure, although you know you are in for some action when a modified monster truck pulls up at the hotel lobby. Expect a scenic and smooth ride until you reach the edge of the glacier, when the skilled drivers take you off-road, up and down snow dunes and across frozen rivers, making sure you get the adrenaline pumping before snowmobiling. You'll be fully kitted out in warm gear for the tour, and a brief run-through on how to drive the snowmobiles is followed by a F1-style starting line-up. Daredevil or not, the security of being surrounded by fluffy snow makes you braver and faster, as you explore the second largest glacier in Europe and Iceland at high speed. If you like the outdoors, come back again and try an ice cave and glacier hiking excursion. Tourists I met said it is one of Iceland's best excursions, and I met a lot of professional photographers who had travelled specifically to Iceland for it. It's definitely on my list for the next trip (three-day trips are the norm, although a full-day cave visit is available from Reykjavik too). Roz recommends: All year round activity, however the ride is a bit smoother on the fresh snow during the winter months! Details: mountaineers.is; from 248pp for 7-8 hours. 5. Horse Trekking Expand Close Two Icelandic horses in snowy winter landscape. Photo: Deposit / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Two Icelandic horses in snowy winter landscape. Photo: Deposit Fancy being among the few people to experience the 'tolt - the fifth gait said to be unique to Icelandic horses, and one so smooth you can hold a glass of champagne with no spills? Icelandic Horses are a national treasure, and the breed is highly protected. There are over 100,000 of the animals in Iceland, and horse trekking tours are available year-round, though I'd recommend it most during the summer period, where you can escape into the highlands and see a different Iceland. There lots of options for the horse trekking from half day, full day, right up to week long excursions. They can be tailored to groups to include different elements like visiting spas, home dining, and whale watching. Roz recommends: Most excursions include a light lunch, but do bring snacks, because it can be a very long day, and you dont want to be hangry on holiday! Details: islenskihesturinn.is; from 100 for a half-day 6. Sample the nightlife Expand Close Reykjavik. Deposit photos / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Reykjavik. Deposit photos Ok, it's not an excursion, but bot all Icelandic adventures need to involve leaving the city behind... Iceland's nightlife revolves around live music and Icelandic beers, and the Reykjavik scene really punches above its weight for such a small city. Borg is the main beer recommended by the locals - but there are lots of options. Beer was banned up until 1989, and since then they have made up for lost time by creating loads of unique and quality brews. The cocktails are also very unique and mostly locally sourced with delicious flavors like birch liquor. During the winter months, Reykjavik's streets seem empty, but people are hidden away from the cold in snug pubs and late restaurants. Most restaurants also stay open until midnight and many have bars attached. Roz recommends: Casual wear is the look, so please dont pack any heels - you wont get very far on the ice anyway! Get there Expand Close Roz Purcell in Iceland / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Roz Purcell in Iceland Roz travelled as a guest of WOW Air (wowair.ie), which flies direct from Dublin Airport to Reykjavik with one-way fares from 79pp as we publish. What to pack Lots of these activities sound a bit nippy, but dress smart and you wont notice that crisp cold air! Here's my essential packing list for excursions: Long Sleeve thermal base layers; top and bottoms Long Sleeve Top & pants, with a comfy, stretchy material Sock liner; or light socks as a base layer Thick wool socks Quilted insulated jacket Small backpack or bag for snacks and supplies! Sunglasses - it's cold, but the sun can get strong! Ski Gloves; I would recommend maybe wearing lighter gloves beneath with index touch for taking photos. Wool Hat Hiking Boots or Trail Runners For Ice Hiking, you'll need crampons (non-slip shoe covers) Waterproof case for your phone handy for thermal pool snaps! Where to stay To make the most of your stay, book accommodation in central Reykjavik - within walking distance of the main streets Laugavegur and Bankastrti, so before booking check the hotel's location out a map. Roz stayed with Center Hotels (centerhotels.com), which has a range of hotels in some of the most stately houses in Reykjavik. NB: All prices subject to availability. Read more: Ryanair's expansion beyond the EU continues apace, with 15 new routes to Kiev and Lviv set to take off this October. The airline announced today that it will fly to Ukraine, delivering 10 new routes to Kiev's Boryspil Airport and five routes to the city of Liev. The Kiev routes will operate to/from Barcelona, Bratislava, Gdansk, Krakow, London Stansted, Poznan, Stockholm, Vilnius, Warsaw and Wroclaw. From Lviv, Ryanair will operate services to Dusseldorf, Krakow, London Stansted, Memmingen and Warsaw. There are no direct routes from Ireland at this point. Ryanair had originally announced flights to Ukraine in March of 2017, but later walked away from the deal alleging that Kiev's Boryspil airport airport was trying to "protect high-fare airlines", meaning its Ukrainian competitors. Those concerns now appear to have been resolved, with 32 weekly flights to the country set to deliver some 800,000 customers a year. Promoted: See the latest Ryanair offers and deals on Independent Discounts Ryanair's entry to Ukraine is the most important event for the national airspace over the past 20 years," said its Minister of Infrastructure, Volodymyr Omelyan, at an event in Boryspil also attended by Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary. The news follows the recent announcement of Ryanair's first ever flights to Turkey, with two new routes on the way from Dublin and Bratislava, Slovakia. In recent years, the airline has been slowly expanding beyond its European heartland, with a route network also now including Morocco and Israel. Seats on the Ukrainian routes are on sale at 19.99 on ryanair.com. Read more: Mayo's Ceide Coast, Scattery Island in Co. Clare and Wexford's Norman Way are the three Irish finalists of this year's EDEN Awards. EDEN (European Destination of Excellence) is an initiative that aims to promote local, sustainable tourism development models across the EU. Held every two years in 29 member states, the awards choose local winners based on sustainable themes that vary each year. Previous Irish winners include the Burren Food Trail (Tourism & Local Gastronomy), the Great Western Greenway (Tourism & the Regeneration of Physical Sites), Cavan (accessible tourism) and Loop Head (Aquatic Tourism). This year's focus is on destinations that use "tangible cultural assets" such as traditional historical or archaeological monuments/sites, museums, theatres, galleries or modern urban districts to grow visitor numbers. Ireland has long been recognised for the richness of its cultural heritage, which is of critical importance to our attractiveness to visitors," said Paddy Mathews, Failte Irelands Head of Investment & Innovation. "Communities across Ireland are fiercely proud of their heritage and culture and many have harnessed these assets through tourism to deliver real social and economic benefits for their local areas. Scattery Island, Co. Clare Expand Close Scattery Island, Co. Clare / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Scattery Island, Co. Clare "While it may be a surprise to many, locally we have long since recognized the unique and magical experience of Scattery Island," says Ian Lynch of Scattery Island Heritage and Development Group. "We have worked hard over the last number of years with our partners in the OPW, Clare County Council and wider community groups to ensure development of the island has taken place in line with best practice given its unique place in our local culture and its unparalleled built heritage spanning 1,400 years." More: heritageireland.ie (info); scatteryislandtours.com (ferry). Ceide Coast. Co. Mayo Expand Close Ceide Fields, Mayo. Photo: Alison Crummy/Failte Ireland / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ceide Fields, Mayo. Photo: Alison Crummy/Failte Ireland The Ceide Coast from Ballina to Belderrig tells a story of 6,000 years of history, tangible throughout our breathtaking landscape," says Anne-Marie Flynn of Mayo North Promotions Office. "Uncovering North Mayos heritage and bringing it to life forms a strong part of our visitor experience, and we are really excited about sharing our story and showcasing our beautiful area to the judges in early September. Details: northmayo.ie; ceidefields.com. The Norman Way, Co. Wexford Expand Close Lady's Island, The Norman Way, Wexford / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Lady's Island, The Norman Way, Wexford We in Wexford County Council and all associated with the project are absolutely delighted that The Norman Way has been judged to rank amongst the top three entries in this prestigious competition," said Tom Enright, CEO at the council. "The Norman Way has a wonderful story to tell, is real and authentic and brings renewed life and vitality to so many towns and villages along the route. Details: thenormanway.com; visitwexford.ie. The three Irish finalists are now preparing for on-site assessments in early September, during which they will be visited by a panel of expert adjudicators selected by Failte Ireland. The overall winner will be announced at the end of September, and receive a certificate of achievement as well as marketing assistance in the form of a dedicated photo shoot. See edenineurope.eu for more details. Read more: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Eikon Centre and attend an event to mark the second year of the youth-led peace-building initiative 'Amazing the Space' on March 23, 2018 in Lisburn, Nothern Ireland. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley introduces school children to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle upon their arrival for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space Meghan Markle and Prince Harry arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they are attending an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they are attending an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have touched down in Northern Ireland for the first time. The couple, who are due to wed on May 19, landed in Northern Ireland today and will be embarking on a day long tour of Belfast and Lisburn, in similar fashion to Kate Middleton and Prince Wililam who visited Belfast together before their 2011 wedding. Details of the couple's trip were kept under wraps until this morning. Meghan opted for a high waisted olive green midi skirt, a white round neck jumper by Victoria Beckham and a cream Mackage wrap coat. She finished off her chic workwear inspired look with a pair of velvet Manolo Blahnik pumps and a leather bag by Charlotte Elizabeth, as she was flanked by her fiance as they landed this morning, getting straight to business. First on the agenda was a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn, where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space. Next up is a trip to The Crown Liquor Saloon in Belfast where they will meet lounge staff, and local comedians and musicians. later in the day, they'll take in a tour of the Titanic Belfast exhibition, which is one of Northern Ireland's most prominent - and lucrative - tourist attractions. Expand Close Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive for a visit to the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn where they attended an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space Kensington Palace said of the trip: "Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle are visiting Belfast today for their first official joint visit to Northern Ireland. "Throughout the day, Prince Harry and Ms Markle will have the opportunity to meet members of the public, to learn how young people are shaping the future of Northern Ireland, and to visit some of the city's most loved sites." A Spanish Supreme Court judge has charged 13 Catalan separatist politicians with rebellion for their attempts to make the region independent of Spain. The move deals a heavy blow to the secessionist movement with an indictment that could put its political elite behind bars for decades. Judge Pablo Llarena ordered five of the Catalan politicians who answered a court summons on Friday to be held without bail. Another of the summoned politicians, the ERC partys Marta Rovira, did not heed the order and announced in a letter that she was fleeing the country to live in exile. Spanish media reported that she went to Switzerland. The judge also ordered that European and international arrest warrants be issued for six fugitive Catalan politicians, including former regional president Carles Puigdemont and Rovira. Two other Catalan politicians are already in jail. The charges of rebellion stem from an illegal independence declaration by the Catalan parliament last October. Rebellion is punishable with up to 30 years in prison. Expand Close Marta Rovira (Paul White/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Marta Rovira (Paul White/AP) Spanish courts sought Mr Puigdemonts extradition from Brussels last year but cancelled that petition amid concerns that Belgium might send him back but restrict the crimes with which he could be charged. The jailings on Friday are likely to cause outrage in Catalonia, where many supporters describe the Catalan officials in custody as political prisoners. The pro-independence civil society group ANC called for marches in towns across the region. The separatist movement in Catalonia, a wealthy region of 7.5 million in north-east Spain, has ignited Spains biggest constitutional crisis in decades. The indictment on Friday appeared to scotch hopes of breaking the political deadlock and installing a new Catalan government any time soon. Expand Close Spain Catalonia / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Spain Catalonia Pro-independence political parties and civic groups in Catalonia have defied the Spanish government for the past six months with efforts to secede from Spain and create a new republic. They have repeatedly fallen foul of the courts and the constitution. Polls show Catalans are equally divided on the secession issue, although a vast majority support holding a legal referendum on the issue. Legal and political constraints have prevented the slim separatist majority in Catalonias parliament from electing a regional president and government since a December election. The latest failure, on Thursday, started a two-month countdown for either a government to be formed or for another ballot in the restive region. Expand Close Catalan presidential candidate Jordi Turull, right, and former cabinet member Josep Rull arrive at the Supreme Court in Madrid (Francisco Seco/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Catalan presidential candidate Jordi Turull, right, and former cabinet member Josep Rull arrive at the Supreme Court in Madrid (Francisco Seco/AP) One of those jailed on Friday was former Catalan government minister Jordi Turull, the third candidate since the December election to become Catalan president. Mr Turull failed to gain enough votes from regional lawmakers on Thursday but in theory had a second chance to be voted in on Saturday by a simple majority. It was unclear if Saturdays parliamentary vote could go ahead without Mr Turulls physical presence. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy declined to comment on the legal issues but said he is not enthusiastic about calling another regional election in Catalonia. Mr Rajoy said he does not like repeat elections, explaining that people vote and politicians have a duty to resolve problems and not create others. In his ruling, Mr Llarena said 25 Catalan separatists in all will be tried for rebellion, embezzlement or disobedience. Others charged with rebellion were former Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras, who is already in detention; seven other members of the ousted Catalan government; former Catalan parliament speaker Carme Forcadell and jailed separatist activists Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart. Mr Puigdemont appeared unshaken by the charges. Lets see what happens tomorrow, what happens today. Every day things change, Mr Puigdemont said in Helsinki, where he was on a visit. He also criticised the judges decision, suggesting Mr Llarena was influenced by the political climate. It is not right for a judge to do politics, Mr Puigdemont said. Air strikes killed 37 people in a Syrian town hours before a ceasefire began, rescuers have said. The rebel group Faylaq al-Rahman, one of at least three operating in the sprawling region, said intense government attacks targeted the area it controls on Thursday. Rescuers, known as White Helmets, said the casualties were from an air strike that hit an underground shelter in the town of Arbeen in the eastern Ghouta region near the capital, Damascus. Rebel spokesman Wael Oweilan said on Friday negotiations that with Russia will follow to allow for the evacuation of civilians from the area. A similar deal with another rebel group, Ahrar al-Sham, led to the evacuation of hundreds of fighters and civilians from Harasta, another eastern Ghouta town. Syrian government forces oversee the evacuation by buses of rebel fighters and their families at a checkpoint in eastern Ghouta (SANA via AP) An agreement has been reached to evacuate the second of three pockets held by opposition fighters east of the Syrian capital Damascus, state media and the armed opposition group said. It comes hours after the main rebel group in the area declared a ceasefire to give negotiations with the Russians and the Syrian government a chance. Shortly before the ceasefire went into effect at midnight on Thursday, intense government attacks killed at least 37 people in an underground shelter, prompting the truce and later the agreement between the Faylaq al-Rahman rebel group and the government to evacuate the area. Fridays agreement will mean the surrender of the second of three pockets in eastern Ghouta, where rebels have been holding out over the past few years. On Thursday hundreds streamed out of Harasta, the first pocket, after a similar negotiated ceasefire and evacuation of armed fighters and civilians. Faylaq al-Rahman, which controls the second pocket, asked for the latest ceasefire after the intensified assault on territories it controls. The group, the second most powerful in eastern Ghouta, said in a statement that it reached an agreement with the Russians over areas it controls in eastern Ghouta. Expand Close Syrian government forces oversee the evacuation by buses of rebel fighters and their families at a checkpoint in eastern Ghouta (SANA via AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Syrian government forces oversee the evacuation by buses of rebel fighters and their families at a checkpoint in eastern Ghouta (SANA via AP) It added that the deal will lead to the immediate evacuation of sick and wounded people for treatment and allow aid to enter the besieged area. The group added that opposition fighters and their relatives who decide to leave eastern Ghouta will head to rebel-held parts of northern Syria while civilians who decide to stay will be guaranteed safety. It said that Russian military police will deploy in Faylaq al-Rahman-controlled areas, including the suburbs of Arbeen, Zamalka, Ein Tarma and Jobar. A prisoner exchange will take place between the group and the government, the group added. Rabieh Dibeh, correspondent for state-affiliated al-Ikhbariya TV, said 7,000 civilians and Faylaq al-Rahman fighters will begin leaving the four suburbs as early as Saturday. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it is not clear whether Faylaq al-Rahman members will head to the rebel-held north-western province of Idlib or to northern regions controlled by Turkish troops and Turkey-backed opposition fighters. In the worst violence on Thursday, a single air strike hit the shelter in the town of Arbeen, where dozens of residents were taking refuge. Expand Close Rebel fighters and their families are evacuated (SANA via AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Rebel fighters and their families are evacuated (SANA via AP) Rescue teams, known as the White Helmets, said 37 people were killed. Another medical group that supports health facilities operating in the area, the Syrian American Medical Society, put the toll at 47, saying many of them were burned to death and that the number was likely to rise. The strike came as government ground forces advanced into the town of Hazeh, south of Arbeen, the observatory reported. A similar deal with another rebel group, Ahrar al-Sham, led to the evacuation of hundreds of fighters and civilians from Harasta, an eastern Ghouta town in the north. The Russian defence ministry said in a statement on Friday that 1,895 rebels and their family members left the town of Harasta on Thursday. They headed to the north-western Idlib province, one of a few remaining areas in the hands of the opposition. Syrian state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV broadcast from the Harasta crossing area on Friday, saying that a convoy of 32 buses carrying more than 2,061 people, including 671 Ahrar al-Sham fighters, was getting ready to leave on Friday night. The evacuation deal and territory surrender came after a long siege and bombing campaign of the enclave just miles outside of Damascus. Rebels had controlled eastern Ghouta since 2012, keeping the farming area a thorn in the governments side during the years of conflict. The government imposed a siege on the area shortly after rebels controlled it, but failed to recapture eastern Ghouta. The deal with Ahrar al-Sham in Harasta is likely to serve as a blueprint for the talks with Faylaq al-Rahman rebels. In February, a concerted military offensive, backed by Russian air strikes, squeezed the rebels and civilians in the area under an intense bombing campaign and tightened the siege. The UN estimated that nearly 400,000 people remained in the enclave before the latest offensive began. The government assault triggered a mass movement of people trying to escape the violence in the Damascus suburbs. Some have moved deeper into the rebel-held enclave, while about 50,000 others have crossed the front lines towards government-controlled areas. Over the last weeks, ground troops have cut the enclave into three areas, isolating them and keeping up the bombing. On Friday, Syrian state media said more residents have left from Douma, one of the three pockets isolated by the offensive and where the bombing continues, through a crossing linking it to the capital Damascus. No ceasefire has been reached in Douma, the largest town in eastern Ghouta. Douma is controlled by the Army of Islam, the largest and most powerful rebel group in the region. The government-controlled Central Military Media reported that rebels in Douma will release 3,500 people they are holding in return for allowing 3,000 humanitarian cases to be evacuated from the area. It did not elaborate but said it is part of an agreement between the government and rebels in Douma. Al-Ikhbariya TV broadcast images on Friday of hundreds of men, women and children streaming out on foot from the Wafideen crossing that links the rebel-controlled town of Douma to Damascus. Syrian state news agency SANA said more than 4,000 left on Friday. State media said more than 6,000 left the day before. Syrian rescue workers said Douma had come under intense air strikes, counting at least 30 since late on Thursday. Activists claimed incendiary bombs were used, as videos showed dark skies light up with white smoke and multiple fires raging on the ground. Police are seen at the scene of a hostage situation in a supermarket in Trebes, Aude, France March 23, 2018 in this picture obtained from a social media video. LA VIE A TREBES/via REUTERS Three people were killed in southwestern France on Friday when a gunman held up a car, opened fire on police and then took hostages in a supermarket, screaming "Allahu Akbar". A police union official is now telling local media that the suspect has also been shot dead. "The hostage-taker is dead, the source said, adding that he was killed during a raid on the supermarket. Two officers were wounded, the source said. A source at the Interior Ministry said two had died at the hostage-taking in the small town of Trebes. "It is a provisional assessment as it could unfortunately get worse. Three people are wounded, including one of them seriously," the source said. Expand Close In this image taken from BFM TV shows a police vehicle parked on a crossroad in Trebes, southern France, near the scene of an incident, Friday March 23, 2018. French counterterrorism prosecutors are taking charge of the investigation into the shooting of a police officer in southern France that has led to an apparent hostage-taking at a supermarket. (BFM TV via AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp In this image taken from BFM TV shows a police vehicle parked on a crossroad in Trebes, southern France, near the scene of an incident, Friday March 23, 2018. French counterterrorism prosecutors are taking charge of the investigation into the shooting of a police officer in southern France that has led to an apparent hostage-taking at a supermarket. (BFM TV via AP) French President Emmanuel Macron said a hostage-taking at a supermarket in southwestern France on Friday appeared to be a terrorist attack and security forces were securing the area. One person was killed in a carjacking and two more died after a gunman screaming "Allahu Akbar" took hostages in the town of Trebes earlier on Friday. Later, a police union official said the attacker had also killed one person with bullet in the head in the nearby town of Carcassonne before the hostage-taking. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the incident appeared to be a terrorist act. Eric Menassi, the mayor of Trebes, told BFM TV that the hostage-taker was now alone with one police officer in the supermarket and all other hostages were free. The station reported that the hostage-taker has claimed allegiance to Islamic State and that he has demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam - the prime surviving suspect in the Islamic State attacks that killed 130 people in Paris in 2015. A 45-year-old lieutenant-colonel swapped himself in exchange for one of the hostages, a source close to the investigation said later, confirming information first published by Le Figaro newspaper. More than 240 people have been killed in France in attacks since 2015 by assailants who pledged allegiance to, or were inspired by, Islamic State. First the gunman held up a car, killing one person and wounding another. Then he fired on police officers in Carcassone, wounding one officer in the shoulder before heading to Trebes about 8 km (5 miles) to the east, where two more died in the Super-U supermarket. Menassi also told LCI TV that the man had entered the shop in Trebes screaming "Allahu Akbar, (God is greatest) I'll kill you all". Philippe said: "All the information we have as I speak leads us to think that this would be a terrorist act." Carole, who was shopping at the supermarket, described how people had taken refuge in a cold room. "A man shouted and fired several times. I saw a cold room door, I asked people to come and take shelter," she told Franceinfo radio. "We were ten, and we stayed an hour. There were more gunshots and we went out the back door." French investigators believe they have identified the hostage-taker. The man is known to the intelligence services and flagged in a database of radicalised Islamist militants, Franceinfo reported. Police in helmets and body armour took up positions around the Super-U supermarket. The Paris prosecutor's office said counter-terrorism prosecutors were investigating the incident but did not comment on the possible Islamic State allegiance. Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, said he expressed the concern and support of the Irish people, to President Emmanuel Macron as news of the French supermarket siege reached the EU leaders summit meeting in Brussels. President Macron briefed the leaders about what was known. I expressed concern and sympathy on behalf of the Irish people at the development, the Taoiseach told reporters. Mr Varadkar said there was a determination that all the EU 28 member states must stand together in the face of such threats. He said all governments were determined to cooperate to fight against terrorism. Earlier, the Interior Ministry had said security forces were carrying out an operation at a supermarket in southern France. Interior Minister Gerard Collomb was on his way. The UNSA police union also said on Twitter a police operation was underway after an individual had earlier shot at four officers in the Carcassone region, wounding one of them. The Austrian parliament voted yesterday to drop plans to introduce a smoking ban in bars and restaurants. The move was led by the far-Right Freedom Party of Austria (FPO), which made the vote a condition for joining the coalition government of Sebastian Kurz last year. MPs voted to overturn the planned ban despite public protests and a petition that attracted more than 500,000 signatures. At a tumultuous session of parliament, opposition MPs accused the government of "betraying" Austrian children and "voting for death". The decision means Austria will remain one of the fast-dwindling number of countries where it is still possible to smoke in enclosed public spaces. Under current laws, bars and restaurants can set aside a ventilated section for smokers. Pubs smaller than 46 sq m can allow smoking on the premises. A blanket ban backed by the previous government was supposed to come into force in May. However, dropping the ban was part of the price Mr Kurz had to pay to secure the support of the FPO for his coalition government. Heinz-Christian Strache, the FPO leader, made opposition to the ban a key policy for the party, arguing it was an issue of individual liberty. "The fact that smoking is unhealthy and an addiction, we know," Beate Hartinger-Klein, the FPO health minister, told MPs. "But to exclude minorities, to exclude addicts, is wrong." "Where will this banning culture for adult citizens end?" Peter Wurm, an FPO MP asked. "In the end, roast pork will be placed on the blacklist because it contains too much fat." Opposition MPs denounced the decision. Pamela Rendi-Wagner, a former health minister from the centre-Left Social Democrats (SPO), accused the government of "betraying the health of our children". "No country has taken a backwards step on protecting non-smokers until today," she said. Matthias Strolz, the leader of the liberal Neos party, told government MPs: "You are acting against your better knowledge... Today, you deliberately voted for death." Research findings have thrown up concerns that people could be wrongly accused of drug use simply because the environment is contaminated (stock picture) Cocaine is now so prevalent in society that one in 10 people who has never used the drug have traces on their hands, a new study has shown. Researchers at the University of Surrey tested the fingerprints of 50 drug-free volunteers and 15 drug users who had taken cocaine or heroin in the past 24 hours. Around 13pc of fingerprints of those who had never used the drugs were found to contain cocaine, while 1pc contained a metabolite of heroin. The findings throw up concerns that people could be wrongly accused of drug use simply because the environment is contaminated. In 2015, bus driver Alan Bailes won a claim for unfair dismissal after he was sacked for failing a drugs test because he handled banknotes which contained traces of cocaine. A study by the UK's Forensic Science Service estimated every banknote in Britain is contaminated with the class A drug within two weeks of it entering circulation. The old banknotes which are being phased out are notorious for picking up substances, which is one of the reasons the Bank of England is moving to plastic notes. The Drinking Water Inspectorate has also previously warned that the metabolised form of cocaine - benzoylecgonine - is present in tap water, while traces of the drugs are regularly detected in public buildings. Dr Melanie Bailey, lecturer in forensic analysis at the University of Surrey, said: "Believe it or not, cocaine is a very common environmental contaminant - it is well known that it is present on many banknotes. "Even so, we were surprised that it was detected in so many of our fingerprint samples." In recent years, investigations have found evidence of cocaine use at St Paul's Cathedral, the Houses of Parliament and the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford. Chef Gordon Ramsay claimed cocaine use is so rife in the restaurant industry that diners have asked him to sprinkle the class A drug over a souffle, and a customer at one of his venues took a plate to the toilet so they could snort lines of the drug. Around 700,000 people aged 16-59 are estimated to take cocaine every year in Britain and about 40,000 people use heroin. However, it can be difficult to test drug users from those who have become accidentally contaminated. To try to combat the problem of false testing, researchers at the University of Surrey have now set a 'cut-off' level, above which shows a genuine drug user. Daily Telegraph, London Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021] An Israeli teenager has been fined after they were caught urinating on a memorial commemorating the victims of the Holocaust at the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum. Witnesses said they saw the 19-year-old relieving himself on the site near the former camps crematoria. They notified the museums guards, who called the police. Under Polish law, desecrating a monument or other public place commemorating a historical event or a person can be fined or jailed. The teenager, who was touring the Polish site with a group of students, was detained by police earlier this week and questioned for several hours. He apologised and voluntarily agreed to pay a fine of $1,500 (1,060), local media reported. The Auschwitz Museum said the incident was very regrettable". Of the 6 million Jewish people murdered by the Nazi regime 1.1 million were killed at the Auschwitz camp. In January, 12 anti-war protesters who stripped naked in front of the Nazi site and killed a sheep were convicted of profaning the site. A Polish court jailed two of the group for more than a year and fined the rest. A suspect has been surrounded at a supermarket in the town of Trebes (Adam Davy/Empics/PA) A police operation is taking place in a small town in southern France after a police officer was shot and wounded. A suspect has been surrounded at a supermarket in the town of Trebes, south of Toulouse, and might have taken hostages, national police said. The French interior ministry said on its Twitter account that police and rescue operations are the priority. Authorities in the Aude region are warning people to avoid the area around the supermarket. French counter-terrorism prosecutors are taking charge of the investigation. There are unconfirmed media reports that the assailant claimed connections to Islamic State. Interior minister spokesman Frederic Delanouvelle told the Associated Press that there is one suspect and police are trying to subdue him. He provided no details of how many people were inside the supermarket or were believed held hostage. Members of the Syrian Civil Defence search for survivors after the airstrike in the rebel-held village of Harem. Photo: Getty A Syrian monitoring group and the opposition's Civil Defence group have said an airstrike on a market in the northwest of the country has killed at least 28 people. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrike on a market in the village of Harem killed 28 people, including 11 children and women. It added that the figure could still rise since many of the wounded were in critical condition. The opposition's Syrian Civil Defence, also known as White Helmets said the airstrike killed 37 and caused wide material damage. It said most of the dead were women or children. Harem is in the province of Idlib that is mostly controlled by rebels and has been subjected to intense airstrikes recently. Meanwhile, Syrian rebel fighters and their families began leaving a key Eastern Ghouta town yesterday, after agreeing with the government to give up their fight for the opposition stronghold. Around 1,600 fighters from the Ahrar al-Sham Islamist group, and some 6,000 of their relatives, were expected to have been evacuated by the end of the day, in the first such deal between the two sides. Buses transported the men, women and children out of the enclave through government territory and on to opposition-held Idlib province in the north-west of the country. Idlib, close to the Turkish border, is the rebels' largest remaining redoubt and where thousands of rebels have been sent by the regime under so-called reconciliation deals. A spokesman for Ahrar al-Sham, which had controlled Harasta, said the fighters were allowed to leave with their weapons and the roughly 20,000 civilians who wished to remain in the city were given guarantees of safety from the regime and Russia. Daily Telegraph, London Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021] Donald Trump has insisted that Joe Biden would "go down fast and hard, crying all the way" after the Democrat said he would "beat the hell out of" the US president if they were at school. Mr Biden, the former US vice-president, said earlier this week that he would have taken Mr Trump "behind the gym" and beaten him up over his crude comments about women. Expand Close Former vice president Joe Biden during a trip to Ireland. Photo: Maxwellphotography.ie / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Former vice president Joe Biden during a trip to Ireland. Photo: Maxwellphotography.ie The 75-year-old spoke at an anti-sexual assault rally in Florida on Tuesday and cited comments Mr Trump made in a 2005 'Access Hollywood' tape about grabbing women. Mr Biden said: "If we were in high school, I'd take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him." But Mr Trump lashed out at Mr Biden in a tweet yesterday, saying he "would go down fast and hard, crying all the way". Saying "Don't threaten people Joe!", he said Mr Biden is "trying to act like a tough guy", but "actually, he is weak, both mentally and physically, and yet he threatens me, for the second time, with physical assault". In his comments earlier this week, Mr Biden said: "When a guy who ended up becoming our national leader said, 'I can grab a woman anywhere and she likes it' and then said, 'I made a mistake'. They asked me would I like to debate this gentleman, and I said 'no'. I said, 'If we were in high school, I'd take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him'." Biden was referring to the 'Access Holiday' video that emerged in 2016. Mr Trump later took the rare step of apolog-ising for what he described as "locker room talk". Mr Biden said: "I've been in a lot of locker rooms my whole life. I'm a pretty damn good athlete." He added: "Any guy that talked that way was usually the fattest SOB in the room." He was speaking at a rally for his 'It's On Us' advocacy group that aims to target sexual assaults on college campuses. John Dowd resigned yesterday as US President Donald Trump's lead attorney countering Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe as the inquiry into possible collusion in the 2016 election intensifies. "I love the president and wish him well,"' Mr Dowd said. His decision came after Mr Trump decided to add a new high-profile lawyer, Joseph diGenova, to his legal team. A frequent guest on Fox News, Mr diGenova has publicly attacked Mr Mueller's investigation and the FBI, saying he believes Mr Trump was framed by Justice Department officials on a political vendetta. Mr Dowd and Mr Trump's other lawyers had been pursuing a strategy of co-operation with Mr Mueller's probe and had been negotiating for weeks over the terms under which Mr Mueller would interview Mr Trump. Mr DiGenova's hiring suggested that Mr Trump may pursue a more confrontational approach. Mr DiGenova has advocated a much more confrontational approach, including the idea for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees Mr Mueller's work, to be removed and appointed as a judge. Until recently, Mr Dowd and another Trump lawyer, Ty Cobb, have been instrumental in persuading Mr Trump to back off personal attacks on Mr Mueller, according to sources. But Mr Trump's frustration has been growing and he attacked Mr Mueller publicly last weekend for the first time. Mr Dowd too expressed his desire for Mr Mueller to wrap things up. "I pray that Acting Attorney General Rosenstein will follow the brilliant and courageous example of the FBI Office of Professional Responsibility and Attorney General Jeff Sessions and bring an end to alleged Russia collusion investigation manufactured by McCabe's boss James Comey based upon a fraudulent and corrupt dossier," Mr Dowd said in a March 17 statement. Jay Sekulow, another Trump lawyer, said the legal team will continue its work defending the president. "We will continue our ongoing representation of the president and our co-operation with the Office of Special Counsel," he said in a statement. Since becoming Mr Trump's primary outside lawyer last summer, Mr Dowd has bristled at attempts to diminish his authority, according to a person familiar with the matter. At one point last summer, when Mr Trump's advisers discussed top-tier Washington lawyers who could be added to the president's legal team, Mr Dowd groused that he didn't want to end up being the caboose on the train, the person said. Mr Dowd and Mr Cobb were originally recruited with full awareness of the long history they share with Mr Mueller. Mr Cobb has had a friendly working relationship with Mr Mueller for more than three decades, and Mr Dowd shares a common bond over their time as prosecutors and as Marines who served in Vietnam. Mr Dowd was handpicked by longtime Trump lawyer Marc Kasowitz over the summer, when it became clear Mr Mueller's investigation could last months, if not years, and questions were raised about whether Mr Trump had obstructed justice. Early in his career, Mr Dowd worked at the Justice Department where he focused on racketeering, corruption and tax-evasion cases. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks on stage during the annual Facebook F8 developers conference in San Jose, California, U.S., April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam/File Photo Facebook came under further pressure yesterday, the day after chief executive Mark Zuckerberg admitted the social media network made mistakes in letting 50 million users' data get into the hands of political consultancy Cambridge Analytica. US lawmakers demanded Mr Zuckerberg personally testify in Washington to explain his company's actions. Meanwhile, advertisers Mozilla and Commerzbank suspended ads on the service and the hashtag #DeleteFacebook remained popular online, although it was hard to tell how many users were abandoning Facebook. In light of those concerns, investors continued to sell off Facebook shares. The company has lost more than $50bn in market value since allegations this week that political consultancy Cambridge Analytica improperly accessed data to build profiles on American voters and influence the 2016 presidential election. Five days after the scandal broke, Mr Zuckerberg apologised on Wednesday for mistakes his company made and promised to restrict developers' access to user information as part of a plan to improve privacy protection. Sorry Yesterday, Facebook executives were still saying sorry. "It was a mistake," Campbell Brown, head of news partnerships at Facebook, said at the 'Financial Times' FT Future of News Conference in New York City. Mr Zuckerberg's apology and promises were not enough to ease political pressure on the world's largest social media company. "It shouldn't be for a company to decide what is the appropriate balance between privacy and innovation and use of data. Those rules should be set by society as a whole and so by parliament," British minister for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Matt Hancock, told BBC Radio. Mr Zuckerberg's media rounds did little to satisfy Washington lawmakers in either political party who have demanded this week that the billionaire testify before Congress. A police vehicle parked on a crossroad in Trebes, near the scene (BFM TV via AP) A suspect has shot dead one person and seriously wounded another inside a supermarket in the southern French town of Trebes, a police union official said. The suspect earlier fired six shots at police officers who were on their way back from jogging near the city of Carcassonne on Friday morning, according to Yves Lefebvre, secretary general of the SGP Police-FO union. One police officer was injured in the shoulder but is not in a life-threatening condition, Mr Lefebvre said. Expand Close Graphic locates Trebes in southern France where a gunman is holding several people hostage / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Graphic locates Trebes in southern France where a gunman is holding several people hostage The police officers, based in the southern city of Marseille, were on a temporary mission in Carcassonne, he said. French President Emmanuel Macron has asked interior minister Gerard Collomb to go to the site of the incident. Anti-terror prosecutors have taken over the investigation. The move came after unconfirmed media reports that the assailant claimed connections to Islamic State. Prime minister Edouard Philippe has said all information suggests it seems to be a terrorist act. Special police units have been sent to the scene at a Super U supermarket and local authorities have blocked roads and urged residents to stay away. France has been on high alert since a string of Islamic extremist attacks in 2015 and 2016 that killed more than 200 people. Perus president Martin Vizcarra makes his way to the presidential residence. (Karel Navarro/AP) Perus new president Martin Vizcarra has promised to fight corruption head-on as he took power and vowed to heal bitter wounds left by a vote-buying scandal that forced his predecessor from office. In his first address, Mr Vizcarra the relatively unknown former governor of Perus second-smallest state appealed for national unity and urged young Peruvians not to succumb to cynicism. Dont lose faith in our institutions, he said in remarks to congress shortly after being draped in the red and white presidential sash. Let us show you that Peru is bigger than its problems. Expand Close Martin Vizcarra reviews the guard at the House of Pizarro. (Karel Navarro/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Martin Vizcarra reviews the guard at the House of Pizarro. (Karel Navarro/PA) Mr Vizcarras 15-minute speech was short on specifics. Other than vowing to form a completely new cabinet, he gave little insight into how he would attack Perus endemic corruption. But he received warm applause from politicians weary of the months-long effort to oust Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, whose resignation was approved overwhelmingly just a few hours earlier. Even the leader of that campaign, Keiko Fujimori, whose opposition party dominates congress, wished the soft-spoken engineer success and echoed his call for unity and optimism. Mr Vizcarra received something of a hero*s welcome shortly after midnight on Friday when he arrived in Peru from Canada, where he had been ambassador, amid one of the most politically turbulent periods in Perus recent history. Supporters greeted him at the airport with a birthday cake. A marching band was on hand and some people carried signs reading Peru is with Vizcarra. Expand Close Martin Vizcarra arrives at Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima (Karel Navarro/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Martin Vizcarra arrives at Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima (Karel Navarro/AP) A last-minute hitch on Friday had threatened to delay the transition of power. Mr Kuczynski said in a tweet that the proposed language of a congressional resolution approving his resignation is unacceptable. He said if politicians press forward with the wording he would reverse his decision to quit, forcing congress to go forward with plans to try to impeach him. In the end, the language was removed. But congress nonetheless rebuked the 79-year-old, scolding him for a political crisis that that is the result of wrongful acts that the president himself has committed, according to the final text of the resolution. Efforts to oust the unpopular Mr Kuczynski led by the daughter of former strongman Alberto Fujimori have been building for months. But the campaign went into overdrive this week after the emergence of secretly-shot videos that showed allies of Mr Kuczynski, including Mr Fujimoris son, allegedly attempting to buy the support of an opposition politician to block the presidents impeachment. Expand Close The presidential motorcade transporting Perus new President Martin Vizcarra (Rodrigo Abd/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The presidential motorcade transporting Perus new President Martin Vizcarra (Rodrigo Abd/AP) To stem off an even more disgraceful exit, Mr Kuczynski delivered a resignation letter to congress on Wednesday, blaming relentless attacks by his opponents for making it impossible to govern. His downfall was his association with Odebrecht, the Brazilian construction giant that has admitted to spreading millions in bribes to officials across Latin America, including Peru. Stepping into the void is Mr Vizcarra. His only previous experience in public office before becoming vice president in 2016 was as governor of Perus second-least populated province. While he is expected to continue Mr Kuczynskis pro-business agenda, he will face a tough challenge building consensus with a hostile congress and growing public anger at Perus political class. Protesters scuffled with police on Thursday night while calling for new elections for both president and congress. The new presidents first test on the international stage will come in three weeks when he is expected to host US president Donald Trump and other Western leaders at the Summit of the Americas in Lima. Carles Puigdemont is among those charged (Martti Kainulainen/Lehtikuva via AP) Thirteen Catalan separatist politicians, including fugitive president Carles Puigdemont, have been charged with rebellion for their attempt to declare independence from Spain. Supreme Court Judge Pablo Llarena issued the indictment on Friday, wrapping up a four-month long investigation into the events last autumn. Rebellion charges are punishable with up to 30 years in prison under Spanish laws. Also charged with rebellion are Catalan vice president Oriol Junqueras, former Catalan parliament speaker Carme Forcadell, separatist activists Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart and ERC party leader Marta Rovira, who on Friday announced that she was fleeing Spain. Carles Puigdemont is among those charged (Martti Kainulainen/Lehtikuva via AP) A Spanish Supreme Court judge has charged 13 Catalan separatist politicians, including fugitive former regional president Carles Puigdemont, with rebellion for their attempt to declare independence from Spain. Judge Pablo Llarenas indictment wrapped up the investigation into the events that six months ago plunged Spain into its deepest political crisis in decades. Rebellion charges are punishable with up to 30 years in prison under Spanish law. In a court ruling issued on Friday, Judge Llarena said that 25 Catalans in total will be tried for rebellion, embezzlement or disobedience. Others charged with rebellion were former Catalan vice president Oriol Junqueras, who is already in pre-trial detention; seven other members of the ousted Catalan government; former Catalan parliament speaker Carme Forcadell; jailed separatist activists Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart; and the leader of the left-republican ERC party, Marta Rovira, who defied the judges summons and announced on Friday that she was fleeing Spain. Expand Close Marta Rovira (Paul White/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Marta Rovira (Paul White/AP) In a letter addressed to her party followers and posted on ERCs website, Rovira did not say whether she had left Spain already or where she might go. Today I undertake a hard road, a path that, unfortunately, so many others that preceded us have had to take, Rovira wrote, adding: The path of exile. Five other Catalan politicians, including Puigdemont, fled to Brussels following the failed secession attempt in late October. An anti-establishment partys former politician, Anna Gabriel, fled to Switzerland earlier this year. The unity of Spain is enshrined in the constitution, which says the country is indivisible, and courts have blocked Catalonias independence efforts at every turn. Secession is not allowed without a reform of the top law. Twelve of the former regional ministers are also charged with misuse of public funds. And seven other politicians are charged with disobedience. Expand Close Catalan presidential candidate Jordi Turull, right, and former cabinet member Josep Rull arrive at the Supreme Court in Madrid (Francisco Seco/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Catalan presidential candidate Jordi Turull, right, and former cabinet member Josep Rull arrive at the Supreme Court in Madrid (Francisco Seco/AP) The judge also required the 14 ex-members of the Catalan cabinet to pay 2.1 million euros (1.8 million) as a deposit before the trial establishes whether they need to pay back misused public funds. That figure includes 1.6 million euros that, according to the judicial investigation, were used to pay for the October 1 referendum that set the turbulent events in motion. Six of the politicians were summoned to court on Friday an indication that the judge may later in the day order them jailed pending trial. They include Jordi Turull, a former minister of the ousted regional cabinet, who on Thursday failed in his bid to be elected as the regions new president. The semi-autonomous region has been without a leader for nearly five months after central authorities took control following Octobers illegal independence declaration. Puigdemont indicated his resolve was not shaken by the charges. Lets see what happens tomorrow, what happens today. Every day things change, Puigdemont said in Helsinki, where he was on a visit. He also aimed criticism at the judges decision, suggesting Judge Llarena was influenced by the political climate. It is not right for a judge to do politics, Puigdemont said. Judge Llarena described the case as an attack on the constitutional state that, through the desire to impose a change in the form of government for Catalonia and the rest of the country, is of unusual gravity and persistence. The shooting took place at Great Mills High School (Alex Brandon/AP) A teenage girl who was shot when a classmate opened fire inside their high school in Maryland has died, authorities said. Jaelynn Willey died at 11.34pm local time on Thursday, St Marys County Sheriffs Office said. Earlier that night, her family said she would be taken off life support at the University of Maryland Prince Georges Hospital Centre. Melissa Willey told news reporters on Thursday night that her daughter was brain dead and had no life left in her. The mother, holding a young baby, said: On Tuesday our lives changed completely and totally forever. My daughter was hurt by a boy who shot her in the head and took everything from our lives. Expand Close Jaelynn Willey's parents during a press conference (Marissa Lang/The Washington Post via AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jaelynn Willey's parents during a press conference (Marissa Lang/The Washington Post via AP) The teenager was shot on Tuesday by 17-year-old Austin Rollins at Great Mills High School in St Marys County. Rollins died after shooting Jaelynn. A school resource officer got there within a minute and fired a shot at Rollins, but it is not yet clear whether Rollins was killed by the officers bullet or took his own life. Rollins and the girl had been in a relationship that recently ended, St Marys County Sheriffs Office said on Wednesday. All indications suggest the shooting was not a random act of violence, police said in a statement. Jaelynn was one of nine siblings, her mother said, and a member of the swimming team. The shooting broke out just before classes were to begin on Tuesday, according to the sheriffs office, which said the gun used belonged to Rollinss father. Expand Close Deputies and federal agents converge on Great Mills High School (Alex Brandon/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Deputies and federal agents converge on Great Mills High School (Alex Brandon/AP) Desmond Barnes, 14, who was shot in the thigh during the encounter was released on Wednesday from hospital. His mother Kimberly Dennis said her family is eternally grateful that her son is alive, doing well and in good spirits. Great Mills High School has about 1,600 students and is near the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, about 65 miles south east of Washington. St Marys County Sheriff Tim Cameron credited Deputy First Class Blaine Gaskill with preventing any more loss of life. Mr Cameron said Mr Gaskill, a six-year veteran with Swat team training, responded within a minute and fired his weapon simultaneously with a final shot fired by Rollins. The officer was unharmed. On Wednesday, authorities said the Glock handgun used in the shooting was legally owned by Rollinss father. In Maryland it is illegal for anyone under 21 to possess a handgun unless it is required for their employment. President Donald Trump is replacing national security adviser HR McMaster with John Bolton, a former US ambassador to the United Nations. Mr Trump tweeted that Mr McMaster has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. He said Mr Bolton will take over on April 9. The president has repeatedly clashed with Mr McMaster, a respected three-star general, and talk that he would soon leave the administration had picked up in recent weeks. His departure follows Mr Trumps dramatic ousting of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last week. It also comes after someone at the White House leaked that Mr Trump was urged in briefing documents not to congratulate Russian President Vladimir Putin about his recent re-election win. Mr Trump did it anyway. Mr McMaster was brought in after Mr Trumps first national security adviser Michael Flynn was dismissed. He was sacked because he did not tell White House officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, about the full extent of his contacts with Russian officials. In a statement released by the White House, Mr McMaster said he would be requesting retirement from the US Army effective from this summer, adding that afterwards he will leave public service. The White House said Mr McMasters exit had been under discussion for some time and stressed it was not due to any one incident. Mr Bolton, probably the most divisive foreign policy expert ever to serve as UN ambassador, has been a hawkish voice in Republican foreign policy circles for decades. He met Mr Trump and White House chief of staff John Kelly in early March to discuss North Korea and Iran. He was spotted entering the West Wing earlier on Thursday. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, urged politicians to agree the bill for the sake of the military (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) The US Congress has given its final approval to a giant 1.3 trillion dollar (920bn) spending bill. The move ends the budget battles for now, but only after late obstacles skirted close to another shutdown. Conservatives had objected to big outlays on Democratic priorities at a time when Republicans control the House, Senate and White House. The Senates move averted a third federal shutdown this year, an outcome both parties wanted to avoid. But in crafting a sweeping deal that busts budget caps, they have stirred conservative opposition and set the contours for the next funding fight ahead of the midterm elections. The House easily approved the measure on Thursday 256-167, a bipartisan tally that underscored the popularity of the compromise, which funds the government through September. Expand Close President Donald Trump was forced to compromise with the Democrats (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp President Donald Trump was forced to compromise with the Democrats (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) It beefs up military and domestic programmes, delivering federal funds to every corner of the country. The omnibus spending bill was supposed to be an antidote to the stopgap measures Congress has been forced to pass five in this fiscal year alone to keep government temporarily running amid partisan fiscal disputes. Leaders delivered on President Donald Trumps top priorities of boosting Pentagon coffers and starting work his promised border wall, while compromising with Democrats on funds for road building, child care development, fighting the opioid crisis and more. But the result has been unimaginable to many Republicans after campaigning on spending restraints and balanced budgets. Along with the recent Republican tax cuts law, the bill that stood a foot tall at some lawmakers desks ushers in the return of 1 trillion dollar (710bn) deficits. Mr Trump only reluctantly backed the bill he would have to sign, according to Republican politicians and aides, who acknowledged the deal involved necessary trade-offs for the Democratic votes needed for passage despite their majority lock on Congress. Trying to smooth over differences, Republican leaders focused on military increases that were once core to the partys brand as guardians of national security. Vote yes for our military. Vote yes for the safety and the security of this country, said Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, ahead of voting. But even that remained a hard sell. In all, 90 House Republicans, including many from the conservative House Freedom Caucus, voted against the bill, as did two dozen Republicans in the Senate. It was a sign of the entrenched Republican divisions that have made leaderships job controlling the majority difficult. They will likely repeat on the next budget battle in fall. Democrats faced their own divisions, particularly after failing to resolve the stalemate over shielding young Dreamer immigrants from deportation as Mr Trumps decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme has left it for the courts to decide. Instead, Mr Trump won 1.6 billion dollars (1.13bn) to begin building and replacing segments of the wall along the border with Mexico. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus opposed the bill. Washington, Mar 23 (IBNS): On the outskirts of our galaxy, a cosmic tug-of-war is unfoldingand only NASAs Hubble Space Telescope can see whos winning. The players are two dwarf galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Small Magellanic Cloud, both of which orbit our own Milky Way Galaxy. But as they go around the Milky Way, they are also orbiting each other. Each one tugs at the other, and one of them has pulled out a huge cloud of gas from its companion. Called the Leading Arm, this arching collection of gas connects the Magellanic Clouds to the Milky Way. Roughly half the size of our galaxy, this structure is thought to be about 1 or 2 billion years old. Its name comes from the fact that its leading the motion of the Magellanic Clouds. The enormous concentration of gas is being devoured by the Milky Way and feeding new star birth in our galaxy. But which dwarf galaxy is doing the pulling, and whose gas is now being feasted upon? After years of debate, scientists now have the answer to this whodunit mystery. Theres been a question: Did the gas come from the Large Magellanic Cloud or the Small Magellanic Cloud? At first glance, it looks like it tracks back to the Large Magellanic Cloud, explained lead researcher Andrew Fox of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. But weve approached that question differently, by asking: What is the Leading Arm made of? Does it have the composition of the Large Magellanic Cloud or the composition of the Small Magellanic Cloud? Foxs research is a follow-up to his 2013 work, which focused on a trailing feature behind the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. This gas in this ribbon-like structure, called the Magellanic Stream, was found to come from both dwarf galaxies. Now Fox wondered about its counterpart, the Leading Arm. Unlike the trailing Magellanic Stream, this tattered and shredded arm has already reached the Milky Way and survived its journey to the galactic disk. The Leading Arm is a real-time example of gas accretion, the process of gas falling onto galaxies. This is very difficult to see in galaxies outside the Milky Way, because they are too far away and too faint. As these two galaxies are in our backyard, we essentially have a front-row seat to view the action, said collaborator Kat Barger at Texas Christian University. In a new kind of forensics, Fox and his team used Hubbles ultraviolet vision to chemically analyze the gas in the Leading Arm. They observed the light from seven quasars, the bright cores of active galaxies that reside billions of light-years beyond this gas cloud. Using Hubbles Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, the scientists measured how this light filters through the cloud. In particular, they looked for the absorption of ultraviolet light by oxygen and sulfur in the cloud. These are good gauges of how many heavier elements reside in the gas. The team then compared Hubbles measurements to hydrogen measurements made by the National Science Foundations Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope at the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia, as well as several other radio telescopes. With the combination of Hubble and Green Bank Telescope observations, we can measure the composition and velocity of the gas to determine which dwarf galaxy is the culprit, explained Barger. After much analysis, the team finally had conclusive chemical fingerprints to match the origin of the Leading Arms gas. Weve found that the gas matches the Small Magellanic Cloud, said Fox. That indicates the Large Magellanic Cloud is winning the tug-of-war, because it has pulled so much gas out of its smaller neighbor. This answer was possible only because of Hubbles unique ultraviolet capability. Because of the filtering effects of Earths atmosphere, ultraviolet light cannot be studied from the ground. Hubble is the only game in town, explained Fox. All the lines of interest, including oxygen and sulfur, are in the ultraviolet. So if you work in the optical and infrared, you cant see them. Gas from the Leading Arm is now crossing the disk of our galaxy. As it crosses, it interacts with the Milky Ways own gas, becoming shredded and fragmented. This is an important case study of how gas gets into galaxies and fuels star birth. Astronomers use simulations and try to understand the inflow of gas in other galaxies. But here, the gas is being caught red-handed as it moves across the Milky Ways disk. Sometime in the future, planets and solar systems in our galaxy may be born out of material that used to be part of the Small Magellanic Cloud. As Fox and his team look ahead, they hope to map out the full size of the Leading Armsomething that is still unknown. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, in Washington, D.C. New Delhi, Mar 23 (IBNS): Voting to fill up 26 seats in the Rajya Sabha is currently going on. The 59 seats are currently vacant. Out of them, 33 candidates from 10 states were declared elected unopposed last week. Voting is currently on for remaining 26 seats on Friday. Voting is being held in seven states to fill up 26 seats in the Upper House of the Parliament. Voting commenced from 9 am and will continue till 4 pm. Counting of votes is scheduled to start at 5 pm. The states where the Rajya Sabha polls will be held are Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Telangana. In UP, 11 candidates are battling for the 10 RS seats. The election in UP is being perceived as a prestige battle for the ruling BJP where it suffered a defeat in the recently held Lok Sabha by-polls. Akilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party and Mayawati's BSP joined hands to register victory in the state. By-elections were held in Gorakhpur and Phulpur parliamentary constituencies. The BJP had lost both Gorakhpur and Phulpur parliamentary constituencies, which were earlier considered as the bastions of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya. The alliance between Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP) and Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) had snatched both the seats from the saffron brigade. In both the seats, the SP had contested the by-polls with the backing of the BSP. New Delhi, Mar 23 (IBNS): Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday wished Union Minister Smriti Irani on her birthday. Appreciating her, Modi said she is on the forefront of transforming Indias crucial textiles sector. "Greetings to Union Minister @smritiirani Ji on her birthday. Smriti Ji is at the forefront of transforming Indias crucial textiles sector. May she lead a long life, filled with good health," Modi tweeted. Greetings to Union Minister @smritiirani Ji on her birthday. Smriti Ji is at the forefront of transforming Indias crucial textiles sector. May she lead a long life, filled with good health. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 23, 2018 Before joining politics, Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani was once a popular face in Indian television industry. In 2000, she made her debut with TV series Aatish and Hum Hain Kal Aaj Aur Kal, both aired on Star Plus. In mid-2000, Irani won the lead role of Tulsi Virani in Ekta Kapoor's production Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi on Star Plus. Kozhikode, Mar 23 (IBNS): The Kerala police have filed a case against Farook Training College's professor Jauhar Munnavir, who had alleged that women of her college expose their breasts through the hijab, media reports said. Professor Munnavir, who teaches in the college in Kozhikode, said: "I am a teacher of a college where 80% of students are girls and a majority of them are Muslims. Though they wear the hijab, they expose some part of their chest defeating the very purpose of wearing them." "They expose, you know like how we cut a slice of melon to see whether it is ripe or not. The professor's comment was quoted by News 18. Following the comment, a protest on the social media broke out by several women. A campaign 'Maaruthurakkal samaram' which literally means 'stir to bare the breasts' had started. As a mark of protest, several women had shared their pictures with their bare chests with watermelons against them on Facebook. In the campaign, several women have shared their nude pictures. The case against the professor has been filed following a petition by one of the accused students. New Delhi, Mar 23 (IBNS) : UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who had fallen ill on her private visit to Shimla was rushed back to Delhi on Friday morning, media reports said. The reports said Sonia, who was in Shimla along with her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and a Congress leader on a private visit, was rushed to Chandigarh by road on Thursday late night after she reportedly complained breathing problem. . The former Congress President reportedly declined to go to the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) in Shimla for treatment and insisted to be taken back to Delhi. The report said Dr Ramesh Chand, Medical Superintendent of IGMC accompanied Sonia till Chandigarh. She was stable and travelled without stopping anywhere on the way back. In the morning she flew back to Delhi on a special chartered flight from the Chandigarh International Airport at 8.30 AM, the report said. Gandhi made often travels to the United States of America for medical check-ups. In 2011, Sonia Gandhi underwent a successful surgery for an undisclosed ailment in the US. Sonia has quit the post of the Congress president, which she held for nearly two decades. However, she continues to lead the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). New Delhi, Mar 23 (IBNS): Creating trouble for Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, one of her party members reportedly cross-voted for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the ongoing Rajya Sabha election on Friday. Extending support to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, BSP lawmaker Anil Singh told media, "I am with Maharaj ji," media reports said. The poll is taking place for 10 Rajya Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh. Polling is going on also for 16 more seats from six other states. The BJP, which had secured more than 300 seats in 2017 assembly election, is expected to comfortably win eight out of ten seats. A tough contest is likely to take place in rest of the two seats. Recently in two Lok Sabha by-polls, however, the SP and the BSP fought together to defeat the BJP. Itanagar, Mar 23 (IBNS) : The troops of Assam Rifles have busted a hideout of the underground NSCN (IM) in Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday evening, officials said on Friday. Based on specific intelligence inputs that NSCN (IM) leader Damting Tangkhul and other militans were present in in Sonking and Kharsang areas to terrorize and extort the local people, the troops of Assam Rifles Jairampur battalion along with special forces launched an operation and busted their hideout. In subsequent search, the column found the hideout consisting of more than 10 temporary hutments. The militants had been using this hideout as adhoc base for operations for terrorizing and carrying out extortion in the neighboring villages, Kohima based Defence PRO Colonel Chiranjeet Konwer said. Security forces have also apprehended a militant, identified as Ngshingbam Nalung. Following interrogation the militant reportedly admitted having allegiance to NSCN (IM). He further divulged that he has been actively assisting and acting as a Corporal for the organization and is a part of a larger group of cadres led by the notorious self-styled major Damting Tangkhul of NSCN (IM). (Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath) Guwahati, Mar 23 (IBNS): Another shocking rape incident has come to light in Assam, where a minor girl was allegedly raped by three miscreants at her own house and the miscreants splashed kerosene on her body and bunt her to death. The incident was took place at Dhaniabheti Lalung Gaon under Batadraba police station in central Assams Nagaon district. According to the reports, a student of class 5 was allegedly raped by three miscreants at her own resident. When the minor girl was alone at her house, the three miscreants entered in the house and raped her. After raping the minor girl, the miscreants splashed kerosene on her body and burnt her to death. The minor girl was admitted at Nagaon civil hospital in critical condition. Family members of the victim girl said that, Jagir Hussain, Rahul and Amdalul are the main accused who brutally raped the minor and also tried to kill her. Meanwhile, family members have been lodged an FIR at Nagaon police station and police started investigation and also launched operation to nab the culprits. On the other hand, Nagaon district Superintendent of Police (SP) Shankar Brata Raimedhi said that, police has taken the matter very seriously and launched operation to nab the culprits. Meanwhile, police has arrested two accused persons. Over 10,000 women, girls were raped in Assam in the past decade. (Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath) New York, Mar 23 (JEN): It is critical to shore up areas of Africas Lake Chad Basin freed from the grip of Boko Haram, the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General told the Security Council on Thursday, as she also called for efforts to rebuild the lives of women and girls that have suffered at the hands of the terrorist group. Amina Mohammed said recent joint efforts by the four of the regions affected countries Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria have resulted in considerable progress in the fight against the extremists, including the liberation of hostages as well as territorial gains. However, she reported that the group has stepped up the use of women and girls as suicide bombings, while children were deployed in 135 such attacks in 2017: a five-fold increase over the previous year. It is now key to stabilize the areas that have been reclaimed, and that we seize the opportunity to really promote sustainable development, said the UN deputy chief, speaking via videoconference from Liberia where she is participating in celebrations to mark the end of the UN peacekeeping mission in that country, known as UNMIL. Ms. Mohamed was joined by Mohammed Bila, a representative of the Lake Chad Basin Commission based in the Chadian capital, NDjamena, and Senior Conflict Advisor at Adelphi, Chitra Nagarajan, in painting a picture of the factors behind peoples suffering in the Lake Chad Basin and driving some to terrorism one year after the Council adopted its first resolution on the activities of Boko Haram in the strife-torn region. Boko Haram, an Islamist militant organization based in north-east Nigeria, has carried out raids, suicide bombings and kidnappings across the Lake Chad region over the past decade. Their operations have led to displacement, insecurity, destruction of infrastructure and what Ms. Mohammed described as a complex and dire humanitarian situation, with nearly 11 million people requiring assistance. The group gained international notoriety in 2014 after abducting more than 270 girls from a Government school in Chibok, Nigeria. It is believed to be behind the kidnapping last month of 110 schoolgirls from the Nigerian town of Dapchi, most of whom were safely returned this week. Overall, Boko Haram has abducted more than 4,000 women and girls, according to the UN deputy chief, who added that those who return to their communities are often stigmatized. As the violation of human rights continues to fuel insecurity in the Lake Chad Basin region, Mohammed said investing in community justice mechanisms will be essential for reconciliation, as well as for ensuring accountability and promoting peace. She stressed the need to incorporate human rights and gender dimensions into activities aimed at countering terrorism or preventing violent extremism. For example, she said the increase in Boko Harams use of women and girls as suicide bombers could be due to a lack of women security officers who can search other women at checkpoints. And she called for more international action to support children affected by the upheaval in the region. Chitra Nagarajan, a Senior Conflict Advisor with the think tank Adelphi, who is based in north-east Nigeria, also used her briefing to touch on the gender-related aspects of the crisis and also its impact on persons with disabilities. In addition to the threats outlined by Ms. Mohammed, she spoke of how women and girls are pushed into early marriage with combatants, for example, or they fall victim to sexual abuse and exploitation, including at the hands of people who are supposed to protect them. Men and older boys are often the first to flee insecure areas, she said, speaking via videoconference from the city of Maiduguri. The Security Council meeting took place as the United Nations marked World Water Day, which focusses attention on the importance of managing freshwater resources.They are deliberately targeted, killed and forcibly recruited by armed groups. Theyre viewed suspicion, arrested, and detained by security agencies, and they are involved in fighting, leaving women of all ages, as well as girls, younger boys and older men struggling to cope. Mohammed Bila, a Remote Sensing Expert with the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), a decades-old initiative to regulate and control the use of water and other natural resources in the region, spoke of how climate change has had an impact on water governance. He said the shrinking of Lake Chad has affected communities which depended on its shoreline to grow crops, leading to increased competition for water, accusations of river diversion, loss of livelihoods and social tensions. He told the Council that the environmental monitoring network there is inadequate, sparse, poorly funded and operated, with only one water level measurement station for the entire lake. The environmental challenges facing the Lake Chad basin are interconnected to the challenges of climate change faced by the region of the Sahel of Africa, he said. The Sahel is increasingly facing extreme variability of climate resulting in frequent droughts, short-duration high-intensity rainfall, desertification, water scarcity, land degradation, and ultimately food insecurity. Consequently, addressing the climatic root causes of local challenges through risk assessment and management will require a similar solution at the Sahel regional level. OCHA/Yasmina Guerda New York, Mar 23 (JEN): As part of her visit to Liberia Amina Mohammed, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, celebrated the successful closure of the UN mission there, which she said set the stage for sustained peace in the months and years ahead. Liberia has made enormous progress in the past 15 years, said Mohammed at an event in the capital, Monrovia, commemorating the completion of the work of the UN peacekeeping mission, known as UNMIL, acknowledging its support for Liberians in restoring their country and building sustainable peace. In 2003, when UNMIL was created, Liberia was torn apart by conflict, with a traumatized population and no hope for its young people, especially our women and girls, she continued. She noted that 14 years of civil war left more than a quarter of a million Liberians dead, nearly one-third of the population displaced, and an estimated 80 per cent of women and girls injured by sexual violence. Highlighting the important role of Liberian women, Mohammed commend their leadership, courage and integrity in pursuing peace. She thanked the Special Representatives, civilian and military personnel and troop-contributing countries and paid special tribute to the 200 peacekeepers who lost their lives in pursuit of peace in Liberia. Today, we remember their sacrifice, we remember their families, she stressed. At an important turning point, she noted Liberias progress and acknowledged that challenges lie ahead. Peace will not last without sustainable development; and development gains will be at risk without sustained peace and respect for human rights, she warned. We need to give Liberians back their dignity, dreams and faith in a better future, Mohammed cited the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Unions Agenda 2063 as the best roadmaps to achieve this. She noted that a generation ago, Liberia and Sierra Leone were in freefall, and Cote dIvoire was embroiled in crisis. Yet, 20 years later, the closure of UNMIL marks the transition of all three countries to peace and democracy. This sub-region has a bright future, she stated. Speaking to the press afterwards, she referred to UNMIL as another successful peacekeeping mission in West Africa. It was deployed in 2003 when State institutions in ruins, a non-existent economy and a disintegrated national police and army. Today, the State has been rebuilt and more than 100,000 former combatants disarmed, demobilized and reintegrated. Justice and security institutions were restored. Mohammed said that today Liberians enjoy peace and UNMIL leaves behind a country that has great potential to achieve lasting stability, democracy and prosperity. To President George Manneh Weah, she underlined the UNs support to him in sustaining peace and advancing sustainable development assuring him that the UN would remain committed beyond UNMILs 30 March mandate. Although the mission is leaving, 17 UN funds and agencies will remain in Liberia to focus on development and improving the lives of Liberian people. Meanwhile, yesterday, at the National Peace and Reconciliation Conference, she recognized that while the country had suffered so much, for so long, the people persevered with great determination. She noted that UNMIL had supported the country every step of the way, explaining that long-lasting peace requires wide-ranging confidence-building measures for solid foundations. This will only be possible if we ensure full and true reconciliation, she asserted. Albert Gonzalez Farran/UNMIL Seoul, Mar 23 (IBNS): Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak was arrested on Friday on charges of tax evasion, bribery and embezzlement, reports said. He was arrested and taken to a prison in the capital, Seoul, after a court accepted a warrant request by prosecutors, who suspected that the former President broke the law. Following his arrest, he became the second former president after Park Geun-hye to be imprisoned within the past year. Lee, 76, said that it was all his fault. He served as the President from 2008 to 2013. In a handwritten statement posted on Facebook shortly before his arrest, Lee said, "I consider all this my own fault and feel remorse." He is expected to be hit with over a dozen charges. Last year, former President Park Geun-hye arrested following her impeachment on bribery and other criminal charges. Lee became the fourth former South Korean President to court arrest. Paris, Mar 23 (IBNS): Security forces have gunned down the suspect who took hostages at a supermarket in Trebes town of France on Friday, media reports said. The gunman, who is reported to have killed three people, is now dead, sources told BBC. According to media reports, the gunman pledged allegiance to the terrorist group Islamic State. Media reports earlier said the gunman had taken one person as a hostage in Super U shop in the town. As per reports, the gunman has demanded for the release of terrorist Salah Abdeslam. "According to our information, the hostage taker has made claims. He demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam, the only surviving member of the terrorist commandos of the Paris and Saint-Denis attacks, currently incarcerated. Moreover, according to our information, a Moroccan known to intelligence services for radicalization is suspected of being the hostage taker," reported BFMTV. Earlier, a policeman was shot and wounded while jogging with colleagues in Carcassonne 15 minutes away, by the same suspect, reported BBC. Image: CNN TV grab Islamabad, Mar 23 (IBNS): Former Pakistani diplomat Hasan Habib has urged Islamabad to invite India to the negotiating table to obtain regional peace, local media reports said. Habib, who has served in China and North Korea as diplomat, said, "India is a rising power. Their defence budget is going up about seven per cent every year which is about three per cent of their GDP. The US thinks it can counter China by developing India. On the other hand, nobody is ready to listen to the narrative of Pakistan. Therefore, it is sensible to bring India to the negotiating table so that both countries discover a peaceful solution to their problems. War is not a favourable option. We have to develop national unity and have to work for uplifting economy, health and science sectors," he said. Meanwhile, retired Pakistani vice admiral Arifullah Hussaini has said that India is wasting its money on defence. The retired army man said that future wars will be based on artificial intelligence and is less likely to be conventional. "I think India is wasting its money on defence. The future of war does not belong to conventional methods but artificial intelligence. Whosoever uses it well will win. Therefore, we have to learn artificial intelligence," he said while addressing a seminar titled Indian hegemonic design and its implications organised by the Rabita Forum International on Wednesday. Washington, Mar 23 (IBNS): US President Donald Trump has appointed John Bolton as the new National Security Adviser. He will replace HR McMaster. US President Trump made the announcement on Twitter on Thursday. He 'thanked' HR McMaster for his service and said he will always remain his friend. "I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9," Trump tweeted. Meanwhile, Bolton said it will be an honour for him to serve the nation. Bolton told Fox News' The Story Thursday evening, I didn't really expect that announcement this afternoon, but it's obviously a great honor. It's always an honor to serve our country and I think particularly in these times internationally, it's a particular honor. US Vice President Mike Pence welcomed the appointment and thanked McMaster for his service to the country. Pence tweeted: "I will always be grateful to my friend Gen. H.R. McMaster for his service as @POTUS' Nat Sec Adv & congratulate him on a job well done. He departs w/ our highest respect for his service to this Admin & his heroic service on & off the battlefield. Thank you H.R. and God bless." Welcoming the new National Security Adviser, he said: "Congratulations to new National Security Advisor John Bolton. @AmbJohnBolton is a highly respected American patriot who will bring decades of experience to our national security team. With him as Nat Sec Adv, @POTUS will continue to keep America strong and secure." US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley also thanked HR McMaster for his service to the nation. "Thank you to Lieutenant General HR McMaster for your service and loyalty to our country. Your selfless courage and leadership has inspired all of us. Most of all, thank you for your friendship," she tweeted. Image: Wikimedia Commons Media reports suggest that Union Bank of India has registered a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation against Hyderabad-based Totem Infrastructure and its promoters for a sum of Rs1,394cr fraud case.The company had taken loan from a consortium of 13 banks including Union Bank, which has accused it of diverting the funds. It was alleged in the complaint by Union Bank that the company had diverted funds by opening accounts outside the consortium of lenders and through payments of wages by showing excess expenditure and inflated stocks, the report said. The account became a non-performing asset on Jun 30, 2012 after a default on the loan and interest payments. The Union Bank has an exposure of Rs304cr, which Totem Infra had borrowed.This is negative news for the bank as it is already reeling under asset quality stress and with this additional stress will hurt its earnings for the coming quarters. Shares of Union Bank of India will fall today. On Thursday, shares of Union Bank ended 1.2% lower at Rs94.7/share.Ageing of the NPL portfolio and thus elevated credit costs will keep earnings under pressure in coming quarters. We believe due to high provisioning requirement due to deteriorating asset quality it will face capital constraints in the coming future and as a result it will affect its loan book growth. In addition, higher provisioning will also impact its profitability.The banks loan book as on Q3FY18 stood at ~Rs3.1 lakh cr. Its Q3FY18 loan mix is as follows retail -15.9%, Agri -16.6%, MSME- 22.8% and medium and large corporate 44.7%. Its GNPA & NNPA for Q3FY18 stood at 14.22% & 7.68% respectively.We see tepid advances growth at ~8% CAGR over FY17-20E due to lower capital availability. However, bank focuses on augmenting RAM share (Retail, Agri & MSME) in overall portfolio by 200 bps to 57% over FY17-FY20E. Further, we see banks asset quality improvement on slower path. We see its net interest margins to remain range bound of 2-2.2% over FY17-FY20E. Also, the bank has high exposure to 12 insolvency accounts referred to NCLT worth Rs12,466cr as of Q3FY18. This lends poor confidence in asset quality improvement and lead to poor earnings due to higher provisioning to these accounts. Further, this will lead to prolonged lower earnings. The stock trades at ~0.59x on FY20E P/ABV. Is it possible to kill 24,000 rats in one day on just one floor of a building? Or for that matter, 3,19,400 rats in seven days? Apparently, this happened and the politicians in Maharashtra are perplexed. The bizarre issue was raised in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday where everyone debated how this feat was managed. Congress attacked the state government on Friday, telling them that this was a big scam. reuters Also read: Hospital Negligence At Peak In Telangana, Rats Nibble On Dead Baby's Face Eknath Khadse, senior BJP leader and former Maharashtra minister ordered an inquiry into the matter on Thursday. He demanded to know how so many rats were killed in the Mantralaya (the state secretariat) so soon. He said, "A survey found that there were 3,19,400 rats in Mantralaya. A work order was issued by the General Administration Department. The company was given six months. But it claimed to have killed them in just seven days." bccl He added that it took BMC two whole years to kill six lakh rats. It is very surprising that this company killed over three lakh rats in just seven days while the BMC took two years to kill six lakh rats. There is a discrepancy in the claim made by the company," he said. It is reported that from May 3, 2016, to May 9, 2016, 24,000 rats were killed on just the ground floor of the secretariat. Out of these, 7000 rats were killed in the north side, 6000 in the south, 5000 in the west and 6000 in the east. reuters Khadse said, It means (the company) killed 45,628.57 rats a dayIt also means the company killed 31.68 rats every minute. Their weight was around 9,125.71 kg and every day one truck was required to take dead rats out of Mantralaya. But it is not known where they were disposed of, he said in the assembly. It is very surprising that this company killed over 300,000 rats in just seven days while the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (Mumbais civic body) took two years to kill 600,000 rats. According to a TOI report, Khadse also alleged that the Maharashtra government had paid the contractor Rs1.5 per rat. Also read: Outrage At Hyderabad Hospital Morgue Goes Viral After Rats Eat Woman's Dead Body We can't wrap our heads around this. Maybe Khadse is right - this does seem like a "large-scale scam". It was nothing short of a miracle when endangered Olive Ridley turtles emerged on Mumbai's Versova beach. afroz Shah/twitter Their appearance came after two decades. A bunch of volunteers came across several Olive Ridley hatchlings on the beach while cleaning. They called the forest officials and ensured that the turtles found their way into the sea without any trouble. afroz shah/twitter Also read: More Than 4 Lakh Olive Ridley Turtle Nests Spotted In Odisha, Tourists Warned Not To Disturb Them Afroz Shah, the champion of green initiative in India who had previously started the beach clean-up drive in 2015, was at the beach when the volunteers noticed the hatchlings. Shah tweeted pictures and wrote, Week 127 . Fantastic news for Mumbai . We got back Olive Ridley Sea Turtle after 20 years. Historic moment Nested and Hatched at our beach. We facilitate their journey to ocean. Constant cleaning helps marine species. Marine conservation centre needed at @versovabeach pic.twitter.com/j79xCKamNh Afroz Shah (@AfrozShah1) March 22, 2018 Over 80 hatchlings safely made their passage to the Arabian Sea late on Thursday. Ecstatic moment for all us citizens by the coast of mumbai Couldn't have a better morning. Couldn't expect too see something like this at Versova Beach. #OliveRidley #Turtles #CleanSeas #BeatPollution pic.twitter.com/iI0GnbbEEM Aman Keshwani (@KeshwaniAman) March 22, 2018 "We were told by officials that the last such sighting of Olive Ridley turtles on the beach was 20 years ago," Shah told PTI. He said, "constant cleaning of the beach helps marine species." Yes yes .. We did it .. Thank you Afroz . Here is the journey . lovely Mumbaikars . we did . Urban cities getting our olive Ridley turtle back . pic.twitter.com/vg4ZJe5cTk Clean Up Versova (@versovabeach) March 22, 2018 Another volunteer said, "I have witnessed something surreal ...a life-changing experience... 80 Olive Ridley turtles walking back to the sea." afroz shah/twitter Sanjay Nirupam, the former Congress Member of Indian Parliament, also welcomed the turtles on Twitter. Also read: Good News! Endangered Olive Ridley Turtles In Odisha Lay 3.55 Lakh Eggs In One Week! After reading scores of articles on how Olive Ridley turtles were washing dead on the many Indian shores, this news comes as a respite, especially for the environmentalists. Britains Prince Harry and his American fiancee Meghan Markle's royal wedding is going to be a grand one. According to reports, the couple has invited 600 guests to their wedding in May. The official list of who all have been invited is still not out though. According to agency reports, Kensington Palace has said that everyone who's invited to the May 19 ceremony at St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle, his grandmother Queen Elizabeths home west of London, would also attend the lunchtime reception afterward. AFP And then later, in the evening, about 200 guests will be invited for a private reception at nearby Frogmore House, that is going to be hosted by Harrys father, Charles, the Prince of Wales. The official report by the palace states that the palace has already sent out the invitations, that are die-stamped in gold with the edges bevelled and gilded. The invitations follow many years of Royal tradition and have been made by @BarnardWestwood. They feature the Three-Feathered Badge of the Prince of Wales printed in gold ink. pic.twitter.com/cd7LBmRJxO Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) March 22, 2018 His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales requests the pleasure of the company of ... at the Marriage of His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales with Ms Meghan Markle, the invitation reads. If we talk about the dress code, it says that men are instructed to wear Uniform, Morning Coat or Lounge suit and women Day Dress with hat. Agencies Some British newspapers are also speculating that Harry might invite former U.S. President Barack Obama. Harry had also interviewed him on BBC radio during Christmas, but current President Donald Trump is certainly NOT on the guest list. Also, attending the wedding would be our Desi girl Priyanka Chopra, who is friends with Meghan Markle. Agencies Both have been spotted hanging out often. Twitter According to agency reports, Kensington Palace has said that everyone who's invited to the May 19 ceremony at St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle, his grandmother Queen Elizabeths home west of London, would also attend the lunchtime reception afterward. Agencies Theyve been secretly getting together for late night hookups, and its all because of George. George was the first person to call him when his marriage to Angie (Angelina Jolie) imploded. After Jen and Justin announced their split, he encouraged Brad to reach out and give their relationship another chance, a source told Star magazine. In the same report, Daisy also revealed why she took close to 60 years to speak about the incident. Recalling this incident, the veteran actor told the tabloid, The man who did this was supposed to be my guardian. He accompanied me to a film shoot (Hum Panchhi Ek Dal Ke) in Madras. One night in the hotel room he violated me, hit me with a belt and warned me that he would kill me if I ever told anyone about what had happened. BCCL Reports further claim that Zeenat Aman and the businessman were not complete strangers but they knew each other. However, they parted ways due to some personal differences.In her complaint, she added that the accused kept calling and following her. He said, This film is close to my heart as it shows the teachings of Guru Saheb. Seeing the basic premise of the film why wouldnt I back it? I always say there is only one god you should follow, whom you believe in." On the 87th martyrdom day of the charismatic revolutionary, Bhagat Singh, what strikes our minds first is his courageous fight against the British colonisers. Singh was executed at the age of 23 along with his friends, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru on 23 March 1931. Shooting British police officer John Saunders in Lahore and exploding two bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly in Delhi, these two were the defining moments in the life of Singh and Indian freedom struggle. As a mark of tribute to Bhagat Singh, the BSF museum will put on display the pistol used by him to kill British officer Saunders. BCCL Bhagat Singh also penned the essay, Why I Am An Athiest, in 1930 from the Lahore Central Jail. The essay was a reply to a man who thought Singh became an atheist because of his self-regard. Singh wrote numerous letters to the British Authority and his friends. Spending two years in jail, waiting to be executed, he kept a notebook full of notes and jottings from what he was reading. Singh wrote to his brother Kultar Singh from the Lahore Jail. In the letter, written in Urdu, He asked his brother to keep faith and pens down a poem. FACEBOOK FACEBOOK Bhagat Singh's emotional letter to his brother reveals that he was an avid reader, thinker and a writer with a passion for poetry. Considered to be among the most influential revolutionaries of the Indian independence movement, Bhagat Singhs execution took place in a rather unexpected chain of events. Ordered to be hanged on 24th March 1931, the schedule was moved forward by 11 hours and the three were hanged on 23 March, 1931 at 7.30 pm in Lahore Jail. It is reported that no magistrate was willing to supervise the execution as mandated by the law. The execution was supervised by an honorary judge, who also signed the three death warrants. Jail authorities broke a part of the wall of the jail, removed the bodies, cremated them and finally threw the ashes into the Sutlej river. Jawaharlal Nehru wrote about him, "Bhagat Singh did not become popular because of his act of terrorism but because he seemed to vindicate, for the moment, the honour of Lala Lajpat Rai, and through him of the nation. He became a symbol; the act was forgotten, the symbol remained, and within a few months each town and village of the Punjab, and to a lesser extent in the rest of northern India, resounded with his name." Many Indian revolutionaries were involved in daring acts and were executed or died tragically. Only a few remain glorified and revered in art and literature to the same extent as Bhagat Singh. The government will now fully fund the education of martyrs' children, said a notification today from the defence ministry. Earlier, the education of these children was funded, but only up to Rs 10,000 a month. That limitation, on what's called "educational concession", has now been removed. AFP/Representational Image The concession applies to the children of officers from the armed forces, 'persons below officer rank' missing in action, and those disabled or killed in action. This scheme covers around 3,400 children and entails an expenditure of around Rs 5 crore a year currently. "The educational concession will be admissible only for undertaking studies in government/government-aided schools/educational institutes/military /Sainik schools and other schools or colleges recognised by the central or state governments, including autonomous organisations financed entirely by the central/state governments," said a statement posted by the defence ministry on Twitter. Reuters/Representational Image In December, TOI reported that the defence ministry is "re-examining" its decision to cap the educational expenses paid to the children of martyrs and disabled soldiers after strong protests by the affected families as well as a collective representation from the Army, Navy and IAF chiefs The chiefs of staff committee (CoSC), which comprises the Army, IAF and Navy chiefs,wrote to the defence ministry that the decision should be revised to ensure the Rs 10,000 cap is lifted. "This small gesture would assure the families of our brave women and men that the nation cares for them and their sacrifices are truly appreciated by the government," said CoSC chairman and Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba, in a letter. #ImportantAnnouncement : Cap on Educational Concession removed for the children of Armed Forces Officers / PBORs, missing/ disabled/ killed in action.@nsitharaman @SpokespersonMoD pic.twitter.com/jkxdEyXjD4 Raksha Mantri (@DefenceMinIndia) 22 March 2018 "These personnel have made the supreme sacrifice for the country and the provision of educational concessions to their wards is a small gesture to recognize their commitment to the defence of the country," he added. Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh also wrote to defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying the cap is 'immoral' and 'unprincipled'. "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," said Singh. The concession, which allows the complete re-imbursement of tuition and other fees for children of martyrs and those disabled in action, came into force after the 1971 war to liberate Bangladesh. It was later extended to children of officers and soldiers killed or disabled in Operation Meghdoot (Siachen-Saltoro Ridge) and Operation Pawan (IPKF in Sri Lanka) as well as in counter-insurgency operations. The police on Wednesday arrested a lawyer for opening fire at a hotel in Kelambakkam near Mamallapuram. The accused got into an argument with a hotel employee for not providing him the non-vegetarian food he had ordered for. He threatened them at gun point and created panic by opening fire. No was injured in the incident. The Kelambakkam police seized the revolver and four bullets from the advocate, S Madhavan. They said he used a licensed revolver. reuters/representational image Madhavan, a resident of Anna Nagar in Madurai, was staying at a hotel while on an official trip. He ordered non-vegetarian food for dinner but was instead served vegetarian fare. He picked up quarrel with the staff and in a fit of rage, pulled out his revolver and opened fire at them. As the restaurant is close to the parking area, the bullet pierced through the wind shield of a car parked there, damaging the vehicle. bccl/representational image At around 11pm, he had gone to the restaurant and ordered a non-veg dish. The waiter served him a vegetarian dish by mistake which angered Madhavan, who was in an inebriated condition. The advocate picked up a fight with the staffer, who apologised for the mistake, said the investigating officer. Madhavan brought the staffer down to the lobby and thrashed him. He then brought the revolver and fired at the staffer, the officer added. afp/representational image The staff immediately alerted the police who rushed to the spot and nabbed Madhavan. Police said Madhavan possessed an identity card issued by the Madurai bench Madras high court bar council and is a native of Tirunelveli. In 2013, Muzaffarnagar communal riots shook the country. The violence killed over 60 persons, including 42 Muslims and 20 Hindus, and over 40,000 people were displaced. The clashes between the Hindu and Muslim communities injured close to 100 people. The riots have been described as "the worst violence in Uttar Pradesh in recent history", with the army, as a result, being deployed in the state for the first time in last 20 years. While so much violence, murders and displacement of people, turns out no one actually did it! In what Asaduddin Owaisi pointed out as the mockery of constitution, the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government has initiated the process to withdraw all 131 cases registered against rioters, which mostly included Jats. The clashes started in August 2013 and initially police registered cases against 150 people and 14 persons were taken into custody. Clashes between two communities, Hindu Jats and Muslims. BCCL The original cause of the rioting is disputed according to bipartisan claims largely concerning the affected communities. In this case, the cause of this rioting alternates between a traffic accident and an eve-teasing incident. In the aftermath of the riots, three cases of sexual violence were registered in Uttar Pradesh. Three women from the same village had lodged separate police complaints on September 29, 2017 alleging they were gangraped during the riots and their homes were burnt down. The Yogi government has also attached copies of the basic details of the 131 cases, with penal code sections invoked in the matter, names of the villages and concerned police stations, but does not name any accused. BCCL The cases to be withdrawn include serious offences , like murder or attempt to murder, and dozens of other cases of arson, rioting, promoting enmity between groups and dacoity, reports The Hindu. Speaking to The Indian Express, former Union minister Balyan said that in the list presented to the Chief Minister, all the accused were Hindus. One of the points stated, In connection with the withdrawal of cases, your clear opinion on public interest with reason. Balyan also told The Indian Express that, In the meeting with the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath last month, I requested him to consider the withdrawal of 179 cases in which over 850 Hindus were held accused. All these cases were registered in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts." BCCL UP Law Minister Brajesh Pathak said he cannot specifically comment about these cases as he was yet to see the files. However, he said the Yogi Adityanath government had initiated a move to withdraw politically motivated cases or those filed for political vendetta under previous governments, reports The Hindu. NEW DELHI: BJP president Amit Shah on Wednesday was booked for his alleged hate speech in Muzaffarnagar during campaigning for this year's Lok Sabha elections. Two separate FIRs were lodged against the then BJP's UP in charge in Bijnor and Shamli for his alleged hate speech at election rallies. Shah, during a rally at Bijnore and Shamli, allegedly exhorted the Jats to 'take revenge of the killings during the last year's riots by voting for the BJP candidates. The FIR was lodged under sections similar to those lodged against Imran Masood the Congress candidate from Saharanpur for his hate speech in which he had threatened to "chop Modi to pieces in case he tried to make Gujarat out of UP." Amit Shah in his speech had also criticized the BSP for giving tickets to 19 "people of a community who were responsible for attacking the honor of women of our families". STOCKTON, CA ~ Our Farm to Fork Friday, A Taste of Africa activities share our deep Pan African connections with our Stockton - Asaba Sister City and global opportunities linking our local food systems in a good way. The founder of the African Baptist Church of Stockton final resting place is found within Block 27-Stockton Rural Cemetery along with many of the earliest pioneers of Pan African ancestry, both those formally born enslaved and freeborn. Early California Pioneers of Pan African Heritage endured separate and unequal treatment by law, for many, many generations before and after the US Civil War. Current residents of Pan African ancestry share local childhood memories of laboring in difficult Agriculture conditions and most have no intention of allowing themselves or their children to explore plentiful agriculture jobs, lucrative careers and agribusiness opportunities. 2018 the City of Stockton, California, is once again considered as a finalist to become an All-American City while also considering putting positive inclusive fresh new face on a new City of Stockton Food and Agriculture public policy platform. Our Stockton -Asaba Sister City is poised to help share our amazing connected historical legacy through our early mother's and father's of Pan African ancestry throughout San Joaquin County in a way that honors and celebrates the foundation of our culture long before the MAAFA or terrible occurrences challenging systemic institutional racism in the aftermath of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade. Our Farm to Fork Friday, A Taste of Africa will share how local food systems can connect the distant past to a mutually beneficial future, let the church say, Amen. Agritourism with the California Pan African Heritage Trail is charged with identifying, documenting and preserving the contributions by people of African Ancestry while connecting with regional food systems in the State of California. The historical meaning and knowledge of California Slavery and Jim Crow has changed over time yet, Etymology Studies of the origin of words and how historical meanings change over time, is food for thought. The Germanic word frei, thought to mean outside of the fundal system, beloved, friend, to love, clear of obstruction; sense of unrestrained movement has a very different historical context from the unspoken and taboo conversation about Chattel Slavery in the State of California. What is freedom to someone not considered a human being? Chattel slavery, property, did not consider an enslaved human being thus this salient distinction remains the unspoken value and belief often in question today. In 1803, Reverend Jeremiah King was reportedly born in the low country of Georgia and his amazing life ended July 1, 1883 and his body was laid to rest within Block 27~Stockton Rural Cemetery. Georgia was originally claimed as part of the Spanish Mission System, to include the costal Port of Savannah, GA aligned with St. Augustine, FL and the southern ports of Mobile, AL and New Orleans, LA with New Spain's headquarters now in Havana, Cuba. The economic bonanza of free agriculture labor the original stock as enslaved human beings from West Africa, todays Gambia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria and other nation states utilized human capital including specialized regional agriculture skills to produce the highly profitable commodities of indigo and rice along the low county of Georgia and the Carolinas, prior to the invention of the cotton gin and King Cotton. Unique West African foods and agricultural production methods helped facilitate retention of ancient African cultural traditions that we see in our profound historical legacy and contributions to the State of California. By 1849, Jeremiah King and his wife are given freedom papers, gold and passage to migrate from bowels of chattel slavery in the deep south to join the California Gold Rush at Monterey, California. Jeremiah King struck it rich in the southern gold mining district and settled in San Joaquin County by purchasing over 100 acres of fertile agriculture land near today's City of Lathrop and later a full square block in the Historic Stockton Waterfront District. It is recorded that often Rev. Jeremiah King and his wife would travel 40 miles to Sacramento to worship in the basement of the Chinese Baptist Church, which birthed today's Shiloh Baptist Church. Beginning September 1854 the African Baptist Church of Stockton was organized and began hosting weekly Church services. In 1859, Rev. King successfully petitioned the founding father of Stockton, Captain Weber, for church property on W.Washington St., to facilitate plans to relocate the purchased wooden church building from Rev. James Woods and the Presbyterian Church of Stockton. A historical marker marks the general location today. During the US Civil War, Rev. Jeremiah King successfully petitioned the Trustees of Stockton Rural Cemetery to establish Block 27, a colored section as the final resting place for people of Pan African ancestry. Today, the amazing historical contributions by people of Pan African ancestry remains an open secret, hidden with the grave markers within Block 27 ~ Stockton Rural Cemetery. Our ongoing task will remove separate and unequal care by establishing equity and equal opportunity within Block 27-Stockton Rural Cemetery while researching, documenting and preserving the authentic Pan African Heritage for future generations is a serious challenge. Farm to Fork Friday - A Taste of Africa helps build a brighter future for the City of Stockton, California, connecting us to our Pan African Heritage while continuing the journey to strengthen the connection to Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria. The Nigerian Trade Mission shared Juneteenth 2017 was completed in December 2017 and follow up conversation are essential. When we remember, share and celebrate Rev. Jeremiah King by identifying, documenting and preserving his church and the community contributions of those early Stockton Pan African Pioneers interred within Block 27-Stockton Rural Cemetery, todays obstacles are put in proper perspective. Many of our friends in West Africa and Governor of Delta State Dr. Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa will be delighted to find distant relatives, here in Stockton, California and residents from throughout Northern California sharing Egusi Soup and Pounded Yam looking forward to returning home in a good way. ### Added to the calendar on Thursday Mar 22nd, 2018 10:02 PM Hog Market Up by Triple Digits at Midday Barchart - 40 minutes ago Front month lean hog futures are trading $2.07 to $2.87 higher past October. October contracts are up by 72 cents so far but still an $8.50 premium to December. USDAs National Average Base hog... HEV21 : 84.625 (+0.92%) HEG22 : 79.225 (+3.53%) KMV21 : 102.000 (+1.85%) Soy Futures Firm at Midday Barchart - 40 minutes ago Thursday soybean futures trading has the board fractionally mixed to mostly higher with gains limited to 2 cents so far. Middays price still has November contracts cents in the red for the week.... ZSX21 : 1284-4 (+0.14%) ZSPAUS.CM : 12.3953 (+0.13%) ZSF22 : 1294-0 (+0.17%) ZSX21 : 1284-4 (+0.14%) Arabica Coffee Moves Higher on Concern About Smaller Global Supplies Barchart - 1 hour ago Dec arabica coffee (KCZ21 ) this morning is up +2.60 (+1.41%), and Nov ICE Robusta coffee (RMX21 ) is down -2 (-0.09%). Coffee prices this morning are mixed. Arabica is climbing on concern about smaller... KCZ21 : 190.80 (+3.22%) RMX21 : 2,146s (+0.19%) Are The Lows In? The 60K Question. The Corn & Ethanol Report 09/23/2021 The PRICE Futures Group - Thu Sep 23, 10:24AM CDT We start off the day with Initial Jobless Claims (18/Sep), Jobless Claims 4-Week Average (Sep/18), Chicago Fed National Activity Index (Aug), Export Sales and Continuing Jobless Claims at 7:30 A.M.,... So Much for Hawkish Fed Monica Kingsley - Thu Sep 23, 10:13AM CDT So long better said (as if it did apply in the first place). If June FOMC showed us anything, it was the power of (cheap) talk. Weve gone a long way since inflations (getting out of hand) existence... Crude Rallies on Tight U.S. Supplies Barchart - Thu Sep 23, 10:02AM CDT November WTI crude oil (CLX21 ) this morning is up +0.80 (+1.11%), and November RBOB gasoline (RBX21 ) is up +0.0060 (+0.29%). October Nymex natural gas (NGV21) is up +0.077 (+1.60%). Nov WTI crude oil... CLX21 : 73.45 (+1.69%) RBX21 : 2.1088 (+1.20%) Nemenoff Report 09/23/2021 The PRICE Futures Group - Thu Sep 23, 9:24AM CDT Financials: As of this writing (7:00am) Dec. Bonds are 3 higher at 16327, 10 Year Notes 3.5 lower at 13228 and 5 Year Notes 2.5 lower at 12305.75.Yesterday the FMOC unanimously left interest... Is Crude Breaking Out and Gold Breaking Down? Blue Line Futures - Thu Sep 23, 9:02AM CDT Actionable fundamental and technical landscape for Crude, Gold, Silver and more . . . FOMC Aftermath Blue Line Futures - Thu Sep 23, 9:00AM CDT Actionable fundamental and technical landscape on ES, NQ, YM, RTY and more . . . Here are the findings of a survey of 400 IT and security professionals in the UK, France, Germany, and the US: 68% expect to be impacted by breaches this year. 48% are confident they would know a breach had happened. 42% think they would know what data was accessed. 39% believe they could identify the source of a breach. 69% concur that insider data breach is the biggest threat in terms of network security. Attacks are becoming more and more sophisticated and every organisation is at risk, commented Balabits Csaba Krasznay. Security is no longer about simply keeping the bad guys out. Security teams must continuously monitor what their own users are doing with their access rights, as part of a comprehensive and cohesive security strategy. Balabit said privileged users, or those with the most access within an organisation, are the most vulnerable to attack or becoming insider threats. It described half of all breaches as being employee-related. Whats really alarming, though, is that the majority of businesses know very little about the nature of the security breaches that are happening to them, added Krasznay. Many even admit that a security breach could quite feasibly go unnoticed. Thats how loose a grip weve got on them, or how little we really understand them. We know about breaches, sure but we really dont know enough. According to Balabit, nearly four in five firms suffered a breach in the last year. Related stories: Companies are beginning to recognize that their own employees, through human error, sheer carelessness or simple unawareness, can make businesses vulnerable to cyberattacks. A survey among over 5,000 businesses worldwide by Kaspersky Lab and B2B International showed that 52% if businesses admit that employees are their biggest weakness in IT security, with their careless actions putting business IT security strategy at risk. Business are worried about employees sharing inappropriate data via mobile services (47%), the physical loss of mobile devices exposing their company to risk (46%) and the use of inappropriate IT resources by employees (44%). The study also showed that small businesses (with 1 to 49 employees) may be more at risk that companies with, say, a staff of more than 1,000. This is because small businesses likely give their employees greater flexibility in using business IT resources. Staff may make mistakes that put their companys data or systems at risk either because they are careless and accidently slip up or even because they do not have the required training to teach them how to behave appropriately and to protect the business they work for, Kaspersky said. Security events increased 11% in 2017, with many as 49% of businesses worldwide reported being attacked by viruses and malware this year, an 11% increase compared to 2016 results. Of those that experienced virus and malware incidents, 53% consider careless/ uninformed employees to be a top contributing factor and over a third (36%) consider phishing/ social engineering to have contributed to the threat. For example, 46% have confirmed that those incidents have resulted in their businesss data being leaked or exposed because of employee actions. In addition, over one in four (28%) have lost highly sensitive or confidential customer/employee information as a result of irresponsible employees, while 25% have lost payment information. Then again, not every instance arises from inadvertence; in the past 12 months, 30% of security events involved staff working against their own employers. Moreover, employees dont always take action when their company is hit by a security incident. In fact, in 40% of businesses around the world, employees hide an incident when it happens. But hiding an incident may have grave consequences an unreported event can lead to an extensive breach of an entire infrastructure. The hide-and-seek problem appears more challenging for large companies (45%) as compared to very small businesses (29%). Businesses should communicate such breaches not only to employees but also to top management and HR. Finally, the Bring-Your-Own-Device trend, while it has some advantages, contribute greatly to increasing the vulnerability of companies to security threats. To minimize the effects of these worrying figures, Kaspersky advises companies to put in place IT security policies and make sure employees know and understand them. Staff members should also be regularly trained to arrest lack of knowledge or carelessness. Related stories: Cybersecurity labour shortage seen to hit 1.8 million by 2022 In [Asia and North America], we need to see some improvements as we go forwards, Regan commented. He added that QBE needs to improve its consistency and reach similar levels of performance in all regions where it has a presence. To make progress in Asia, QBE has appointed Jason Brown to the position of CEO for Asia-Pacific Operations. Brown, who used to be the groups chief risk officer, will lead a new Asia-Pacific team that will execute new strategies and build on parts of the business that are performing well in the region, such as the agency-based business. So far, the change seems to be working out. Regan has spoken publicly about progress [being] good and said he expects to see improvements in 2018. QBE in North America is also focused on growth, explained Regan, and is looking for more efficiency and capacity in mid-market and specialty businesses. Related stories: Pharmacy chain Walgreens Co. has agreed to pay $5.5 million to resolve allegations that it overcharged for prescriptions covered by the Massachusetts workers compensation insurance system. State Attorney General Maura Healey says the settlement ensures that Walgreens does not profit from those transactions and will help our states ongoing efforts to combat the opioid epidemic. Healey says the overcharges occurred at pharmacies in Boston, Worcester, Springfield and New Bedford. The settlement also requires Walgreens to implement procedures to prevent future overcharges on opioids and other drugs under the workers compensation system, and subjects the companys future sales to state audit. The Deerfield, Illinois-based chain said in a statement while it is pleased to have resolved the matter, it does not admit wrongdoing. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Massachusetts Thousands of utility customers remain without power in New Jersey following the fourth major storm to hit the state in three weeks. The storm dropped around a foot of snow in some parts before leaving the region early Thursday, with central Jersey seeing the highest amounts. State offices were closed Wednesday due to the storm, but Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said they would reopen Thursday. Murphy had also declared a state of emergency Tuesday night ahead of the storm. Dozens of schools had cancelled classes for Thursday due to treacherous travel conditions in many areas, while others planned delayed openings. The states major utilities reported slightly more than 75,000 customers were still without service early Thursday. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Windstorm New Jersey Virginias largest electric utility asked a federal appeals court Wednesday to overturn a judges ruling that the company is violating federal law by discharging arsenic through groundwater into surrounding waters from a coal ash storage site. Dominion Energy argued before the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the judges ruling was incorrect because groundwater contamination from solid waste such as coal ash is not regulated by the U.S. Clean Water Act. The utility said thats left largely up to individual states to regulate. But a lawyer for the Sierra Club argued that the discharge of arsenic from Dominions retired power plant in Chesapeake violates the Clean Water Act and Dominions permit to operate a wastewater treatment plant. The arguments came nearly a year after U.S. District Judge John Gibney Jr. found that arsenic is illegally flowing from a landfill and ponds where Dominion stores coal ash, the heavy metal-laden byproduct of burning coal to produce electricity. Gibney said the arsenic is being conveyed directly into groundwater and, from there, flows to surface water. The judge did not impose civil penalties on Dominion, saying the discharge does not pose a threat to public health or the environment. The case is being closely watched as major utilities are finding evidence of groundwater contamination at coal-burning power plants across the U.S. where landfills and man-made ponds have been used for decades as dumping grounds for coal ash. Data the utilities were required to make public recently shows heightened levels of pollutants including arsenic and radium in some cases at plants in numerous states, from Virginia to Alaska. The pollution reports were intended as a first step toward cleaning up the contamination leaking from the ash pits. Utility representatives have generally cautioned that further studies are needed to confirm the plants as the source of the pollutants and determine if public drinking water supplies are at risk. In court Wednesday, Dominions lawyer, Jeffrey Lamken, said Congress did not include static pollutants such as coal ash piles under the Clean Water Act. He said groundwater is left to the states and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the main federal law governing the disposal of solid and hazardous waste. But the Sierra Clubs lawyer, Frank Holleman of the Southern Environmental Law Center, said arsenic is being discharged from an unlined pit, landfill and ponds into the Elizabeth River through the groundwater. He said those are all sources regulated under the Clean Water Act. Judge Paul Niemeyer, one of three judges who heard the case, repeatedly challenged Hollemans argument, at one point saying the Clean Water Act was not intended to regulate groundwater. The panel did not indicate when it would rule. Several months after his ruling last year, Gibney issued an injunction, ordering Dominion to test surface water, groundwater, sediment and aquatic life for arsenic for at least two years. The injunction also requires Dominion to apply for a revised solid-waste permit from the state that includes corrective measures beyond simply capping the landfill. The Sierra Club wants the 4th Circuit to order civil penalties against Dominion and to send the case back to the lower court to order a remedy that will ensure Dominion stops the discharge of arsenic. Holleman said the group believes the only way to do that is to excavate the ash and bring it to a synthetically lined landfill. Dominion has said that coal ash can be safely contained on site. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics USA Virginia A settlement has been reached in the lawsuit filed against a St. Paul hospital after staff accidentally discarded a womans stillborn baby in dirty laundry instead of cremating the remains. Regions Hospitals attorney informed the judge presiding over the case that the issue had been settled, according to Ramsey County District Court documents. The documents included no details about the settlement. The suit has since been dismissed, according to court documents. Attorneys for both parties declined to comment. The babys mother, Esmeralda Hernandez, and other family members filed the lawsuit against Regions in November, alleging reckless interference with a dead body and seeking unspecified damages far in excess of $50,000 for ongoing pain, The Pioneer Press reported. The judge granted a motion by Regions in January to dismiss all the plaintiffs named in the suit aside from Hernandez, who now lives in Texas. Hernandez gave birth to a premature, stillborn son named Jose in April 2013. She accepted the hospitals offer of a dignified cremation, but the babys body was found two weeks later inside a dirty laundry bag from the hospital at Crothall Laundry Services. At the time, the hospital issued a statement to apologize. We want to say again that we are truly sorry for our mistake, the statement said. We immediately reached out to the family in 2013 to apologize and to try and help ease their loss. We have continued to work with their lawyer always open to a reasonable resolution. The hospital said it took immediate steps to ensure the situation wouldnt happen again. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits Minnesota The daughter of the woman killed by an Uber self-driving vehicle in Arizona has retained a personal injury lawyer, underlying the potential high stakes of the first fatality caused by an autonomous vehicle. The law firm of Bellah Perez in Glendale, Arizona, said in a statement it was representing the daughter of Elaine Herzberg, who died on Sunday night after being hit by the Uber self-driving SUV in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe. As the first pedestrian death involving an Uber autonomous vehicle, the incident has sparked a national debate about the safety of self-driving cars, exposing the technologys blind spots and raising questions of liability, the law firm said in its statement. The firm did not immediately return phone calls seeking more information. Fall-out from the accident could stall the development and testing of self-driving vehicles, which are designed to perform far better than human drivers and sharply reduce the number of motor vehicle fatalities that occur each year. The fatality also presents an unprecedented liability challenge because self-driving vehicles, which are still in the development stage, involve a complex system of hardware and software often made by outside suppliers. The specifics of how Ubers technology operates are not known. Liability and Legal Questions Follow Uber Autonomous Car Fatal Accident Herzberg, 49, who was homeless, was jay-walking across a divided four-lane road with her bicycle when she was struck while in the far right-hand lane. A video taken from a dash-mounted camera inside the vehicle that was released by Tempe police on Wednesday showed the SUV traveling along a dark street when suddenly the headlights illuminate Herzberg in front of the SUV. She later died from her injuries. Other footage showed the human driver who was behind the wheel mostly looking down and not at the road in the seconds before the accident. Uber, like many other companies testing self-driving vehicles, has a human driver in each vehicle as a monitor and to act as a backup if necessary. Few details of the incident have emerged amid the investigations by police and federal safetyregulators. Police have said the vehicle, a Volvo XC90 which was operating in autonomous mode, was traveling at about 40 mile per hour (65 km per hour) at the time of the collision and did not appear to brake. Police have said that following their probe, they will submit the case to the Maricopa County Attorneys office, which will determine if there is any basis for a case for potential criminal prosecution. By encouraging businesses like Uber to set up shop in Arizona, the state has hoped to be at the forefront of emerging technology and the sharing economy, the Bellah Perez law firm wrote. But the potentially drastic shift in accident liability associated with self-driving technology is causing many professionals to question the legal implications of the industry. One key question for investigators will be how the vehicles technology failed to notice the pedestrian crossing the street in front of it, despite the darkness. Self-driving cars typically use a combination of sensors, including radar and light-sensing Lidar, to identify objects, including potential obstacles coming into range. In company presentations, Uber has stated its self-driving technology includes sensors that provide a 360-degree view around the vehicle. Self-driving cars being tested routinely have been involved in fender-benders with other vehicles. Last week, a self-driving Uber crashed with another vehicle in Pittsburgh, local news reported. A Tesla Model S that crashed in 2016, killing its driver, was using semi-autonomous technology and was not considered a full self-driving car. (Writing by Alexandria Sage; Editing by Leslie Adler) Topics Auto Tech Arizona Sharing Economy Ridesharing Autonomous Vehicles Uber A Facebook Inc. user sued the social network and a data research firm that played a role in the election of President Donald Trump alleging that her privacy was violated when information on some 50 million users was improperly disclosed. Lauren Price, of Maryland, sued the companies in San Jose, California, federal court on behalf of other U.S. Facebook users whose data Cambridge Analytica obtained. The lawsuit is the latest development in a wave of backlash against the social media company over ways in which its platform was used to influence the 2016 election. Revelations about Cambridge Analyticas access to information on the users follows on heels of controversies over the proliferation of fake news and Russian propaganda through the site. This case involves the absolute disregard with which defendants have chosen to treat plaintiffs personal information, lawyers for Price said in her complaint. Facebook, for its part, knew this improper data aggregation was occurring and failed to stop it, or actively avoided discovering such knowledge in order to profess supposed ignorance. Price sued Tuesday, not long after another lawsuit was filed on behalf of Facebook investors seeking to recoup losses suffered when the stock price fell on reports of the research firms use of the data. Price seeks damages for all U.S. Facebook users whose information was harvested without authorization, and asserts claims of negligence and violations of California unfair competition laws. Quiz Participants Facebook said on Friday that Aleksandr Kogan, a Soviet-born researcher, asked people to take a personality quiz that he claimed was for academic purposes. He collected data from about 270,000 quiz participants as well as all the friends in their social circle and turned the information over to Cambridge Analytica. Cambridge Analytica denied on Saturday that it still had access to the data but Facebook said Friday it learned the information wasnt erased. The research firm used the data to create tools and techniques that were put to use in the 2016 election campaign, according to the New York Times. Facebook spokeswoman Genevieve Grdina declined to immediately comment on the users lawsuit. The case is Price v. Facebook, 18-cv-01732, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose). Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. Topics Lawsuits California USA Delegated authority specialist and Lloyds broker Endeavour Insurance Services has launched a subcontractor deductible buyback program for large construction wraps designed to support local contractors in the USA. Distributed through Endeavours local USA partner via an online web portal, the wrap deductible buyback reduces costs for general contractors, while protecting the financial interests of subcontractors. Wraps are often involve multiple parties, including construction contractors, developers, joint venture partners and others connected to the project. According to Endeavour, local subcontractors can sometimes be put into a potential adverse financial position, or even lose out on projects, as a result of multi-layer deductible programs controlled by the lead contractor, containing deductibles that are unaffordable to smaller sub-contractors. This buyback program reduces this deductible to a more realistic level for subcontractors, while still protecting their income should issues arise on the project. Featuring follow-form wording, the policy pays the difference between the deductible of the wrap and the insureds retention, subject to a maximum amount payable. The lead contractor in the wrap can be protected as well: if all the subcontractors buy this cover it reduces their risk to deductibles and enhances their credit control. A web portal administered by a local Endeavour partner is used to trade the business with all documents processed electronically. Founded in March 1999, Endeavour Insurance Services specializes in the placement of business produced by North American and European agents handled under delegated authorities. Now employing 44 people in its London office, Endeavour has four divisions supporting business from the USA; Canada, Europe and the Rest of the World; Facultative Reinsurance; and Cyber. Endeavour is an accredited Lloyds Broker. Topics Construction Contractors IAT Insurance Group (IAT) has reached a definitive agreement to acquire the renewal rights and certain associated assets for a book of surplus lines excess and umbrella insurance business from Rockhill Insurance Group. Rockhill is a subsidiary of State Auto Mutual Insurance Company. Financial terms were not disclosed, and the deal is expected to close May 1, 2018. Securing renewal rights to Rockhills established surplus lines excess casualty portfolio, along with several of their experienced employees, will significantly support our efforts to expand our middle-market presence, said IAT Chief Executive Officer Bill Cunningham. Mike LaRocco, president and CEO of State Auto, said: Were pleased weve reached this agreement with IAT, which upon closing will complete State Autos previously announced divestiture of its specialty lines of business. As part of the deal, IAT will consolidate Rockhills Kansas City, Mo., excess and umbrella operations into its own office in the city, including the on-boarding of 11 current Rockhill employees. The Rockhill portfolio consists of approximately $40 million of in force premium and focuses on providing unsupported umbrella and excess coverage for low-to-medium hazard, middle-market commercial risks. The transaction adds to IATs planned growth in this area of business. Last fall, IAT hired Coy Rudd to serve as senior vice president of a new excess casualty mid market E&S unit targeting middle-market risks written through wholesale surplus lines brokers. When I joined IAT last year, this was the kind of focused acquisition I felt would truly kick-start the expansion of our excess liability business, said Rudd. The profile of this book of business fits very well within our target market. IAT Insurance Group is a San Antonio, Texas-based privately owned, specialty insurance company providing property and casualty products for businesses and individuals. With 700 employees and 13 offices across the country, IAT markets through six business units commercial transportation, specialty, programs, inland marine, excess casualty mid-market E&S, and assumed reinsurance. The IAT Insurance Group companies are rated A- Excellent by A.M. Best. State Automobile Mutual Insurance Company, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, is a super regional property and casualty insurance holding company. The company is primarily engaged in writing personal and business insurance products exclusively through independent insurance agencies in 33 states. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., a Stifel Company, served as financial advisor to State Auto in the transaction. Source: IAT Insurance Group Topics Mergers Excess Surplus Casualty An Arkansas judge on March 21 struck down the states decision to issue its first licenses to grow medical marijuana, ruling that the process for awarding the permits and the rankings of applicants were unconstitutional. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen granted a preliminary injunction preventing the state Medical Marijuana Commission from awarding cultivation licenses. Griffen last week issued a restraining order preventing the state from awarding licenses to five companies. Griffen ruled that the process for awarding the licenses violated a state constitutional amendment voters approved in 2016 legalizing marijuana for patients with certain conditions. He ruled the commissions rankings of the 95 applicants for the cultivation licenses were null and void. Griffen sided with an unsuccessful applicant that had sued the state over claims the process for awarding the licenses was flawed. In his ruling, Griffen said he takes no joy in blocking the state from issuing the licenses. The prospect that Arkansans must now endure more delay before gaining much needed access to locally grown medical marijuana should be unpleasant to anyone concerned about providing relief to people who suffer from serious illnesses, Griffen wrote. The attorney generals office said it was reviewing Griffens ruling and discussing it with state officials, but did not say whether it planned to appeal to the state Supreme Court. Griffen said the process for awarding the licenses was compromised by potential conflicts of interest by commissioners who scored the applications, including one whose law firm represents the owners of one of facilities that was going to receive a license in non-marijuana related matters. Another commissioner is a physician who routinely refers patients to the medical practice of another doctor who is a part owner of a cultivation facility. The state, however, has said that the applications scored by the commissioners were redacted and did not include any identifying information about the applicants. Griffen said the state also failed to verify applicants assertions that the primary entrance for their proposed facilities would be at least 3,000 feet from school, churches and daycare centers, the distance required by the medical marijuana amendment. He also ruled the commission violated its own rules by failing to evaluate whether people connected with the applications have been affiliated with entities that have had their corporate status revoked for not paying franchise taxes. Naturalis Health LLC, the applicant that sued over the process, has said it wants an independent evaluator to re-score the applications for the cultivation facilities. Were very grateful for the judges decision and look forward to what comes next, Jay Bequette, an attorney for Naturalis, said. The five-member commission had already begun reviewing applications for dispensaries to sell medical marijuana with the hopes of awarding the 32 licenses for those facilities as soon as May. A spokesman for the commission said the courts order was being reviewed to determine the next steps regarding that process. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Legislation Cannabis More than 80 percent of homes damaged by Hurricane Harvey in Houstons floodplains couldve been spared if they were at the higher elevation now being proposed by the mayor, according to a new report. The figures come from a new Houston Public Works analysis of the storms damage, as city leaders consider rewriting the ordinance that governs Houstons floodplains, the Houston Chronicle reported. The city agency found that about half of the more than 31,800 damaged single-family homes it examined in the floodplains wouldnt have flooded during Harvey if theyd been built to the citys current elevation standard. The standard requires new or redeveloped homes to sit at least a foot above the projected water level in a 100-year storm, which has a 1 percent chance of occurring in any given year. More than 47,000 single-family houses in the floodplains took on water during Harvey. But the city left about a third of the homes out of the analysis because it didnt have complete data on water or elevation levels for those properties. The report comes about two months after Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner first outlined his proposal, which includes new elevation standards for future development in flood-prone areas. Turner proposed placing homes 2 feet above the projected water level in a 500-year storm, which has a 0.2 percent chance of occurring in any given year. The Houston City Council is expected to consider the new rules next week. Councilman David Robinson said the report made him more comfortable with Turners proposal. No one at all that I know is questioning that things have to be adjusted, Robinson said. The challenge is figuring out what is the right threshold. He said the report shows that anything over Turners proposed elevation emerges as the point at which theres a significant diminishing return, and for that reason I find it quite satisfying that we are apparently paying attention to our numbers. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Flood Trinity Underwriting Managers (TUMI), a division of Worldwide Facilities, has added Bill Acevedo as claims manager and Nick Blankenship as broker. The two will be based in its offices in Savannah, Ga. Acevedo, a former Marine, brings over 30 years of experience to his newly-created position, including positions at York Risk Services, Crum & Forster, The Home Insurance Company, and Zurich American Insurance Group. Acevedo said his goal is to establish a bridge between the underwriting team and the claims professionals, and will work directly with TUMIs TPA partners. Blankenship, also a former Marine, previously served as senior underwriter for ProSight Specialty Insurance. While there, he managed a portfolio of transportation and public auto risk. Prior to that, he served as an underwriter in the transportation practice group of State Auto Insurance Co. Blankenship will work to grow TUMIs brokerage business by expanding distribution and carrier relationships, and hopes to grow TUMIs marketplace presence. Trinity Underwriting Managers (TUMI) is a special program management firm specializing in commercial transportation insurance programs. It offers a full line of products for specialty classes of haulers. Worldwide Facilities is a national wholesale insurance broker and managing general agent. Topics Agencies Claims Georgia A North Carolina insurance agent has been arrested and charged with embezzling more than $18,000 in insurance premiums, according to a statement from North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey. Billie Jo Kennedy, 47, of Trenton, N.C., was arrest earlier this month charged with one felony count of embezzlement by an insurance agent. She is accused of embezzling approximately $18,209 in customer policy premiums and converting the money to her own use. According to the arrest warrant, the offense occurred in Lenoir County between Dec. 6, 2015, and Dec. 6, 2017. Kennedy was an insurance agent licensed by the N.C. Department of Insurance at the time of the offense. Kennedy was arrested on March 5, 2018, in Lenoir County and placed under $15,000 unsecured bond. Insurance fraud costs American consumers approximately $80 billion dollars a year. According to Causey, fraud costs North Carolinians between 15 and 20 cents of every dollar paid on insurance premiums and its getting worse. I am determined to stem the tide of insurance fraud in this state in order to save residents money, said Commissioner Causey. Thats why I am dedicated to the mission of our NCDOI law enforcement officers who investigate and prosecute claims of insurance and bail bonding fraud. To report suspected fraud, contact the N.C. Department of Insurance Criminal Investigation Division at 919-807-6840. Callers may remain anonymous. Source: North Carolina Department of Insurance Topics Agencies Fraud North Carolina California courts are preparing for an influx of lawsuits tied to last years historically destructive wildfires and mudslides, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye told lawmakers this week in her annual state of the judiciary address. Cantil-Sakauye, who has sparred with President Donald Trumps administration over immigration enforcement in courtrooms and respect for the rule of law, also said the United States is facing unprecedented attacks on the press, judiciary and civility. The anticipated surge of disaster-related litigation combined with a backlog of civil cases shows the court system needs more money to restore staff and operating hours that were cut during the Great Recession and provide raises, Cantil-Sakauye said. Wildfires alone last year triggered 45,000 insurance claims totaling nearly $12 billion, and disputes over insurance coverage and apportioning liability are likely to end up in court. Theres an onslaught of cases waiting to be filed, she said. When the state faced massive budget deficits, she said the courts prioritized criminal cases to ensure defendants were given their right to a speedy trial and werent unnecessarily locked up. Shes also looking to hire staff to help the public navigate the judiciary, especially people who arent represented by lawyers. Four million people come to court without an attorney, she said, and three-fourths of civil cases have at least one party without lawyer. Gov. Jerry Browns budget proposal included a boost in funding for the courts, including money to provide translators and allow people to pay traffic tickets online. Cantil-Sakauye, who was appointed by former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, reiterated her sharp, if veiled, critique of the Trump administration, a theme she highlighted in her last address to lawmakers a year ago. We are coping with unprecedented disruption, attacks on the free press, threats to civility, the rule of law, and judicial independence, she said. But she said the U.S. founders focused on checks and balances that limit power and give states authority to govern themselves. She also noted her support for doing away with the system of cash bail, which some lawmakers want to overhaul out of concern that it keeps poor people behind bars while allowing wealthier suspects to pay for their freedom while they await trial. She quoted Robert F. Kennedy who called cash bail cruel, expensive and a vehicle for systemic injustice. In 1963 that was pretty strong language, Cantil-Sakauye said. Im going to submit to you: In 2018 it is a clarion call for justice. Related: Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Catastrophe California Natural Disasters Legislation Claims Wildfire A judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by owners of a Utah Subway shop where a worker was wrongly accused of drugging a police officers drink. U.S. District Judge Dee Benson ruled that police in Layton did not implicate the store or imply it had been negligent. The Layton Subway shops owners said police waited two months to disavow the allegations despite knowing blood and urine tests showed the officer had no drugs in his system. The owners say they suffered $300,000 in losses after police claimed early tests showed THC and methamphetamine in the officers lemonade. Lawyer Robert Sykes, who represents the shop owners, said he disagrees with the judges decision and police officers comments were defamatory. He said his clients would decide next week whether to appeal. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits Law Enforcement Load vs. No-load Mutual Fund: An Overview Mutual funds are often categorized by how the fees are charged to the customer. A mutual fund is made up of a pool of securities managed by an investment management firm. Mutual funds can give everyday investors access to diversification, strategies, and professional management that they would not normally be able to get without the scale achieved by pooling money together. The firm offering the fund uses a pooled fund investment approach to invest in securities that match the investing strategy of the fund, as laid out in its prospectus. Like most things in life, there are fees and commissions involved with mutual funds. Some mutual funds will have a sales charge called a load. Conversely, other funds market themselves as no-load funds, meaning they do not charge a sales charge. Loads are only one of the fees that must be considered when investing in a mutual fund. A fee can be a necessary evil after all that professional management needs to be paid, but they may also become a source of negative return. Also, the fees charged on mutual funds can be controversial when it comes to where those fees are going: paying investment managers, marketers, or commissions to brokers. Key Takeaways Load funds are mutual funds that charge a sales fee or commission. No-load funds usually do not charge any sales fee or commission, as long as you keep your money invested for a specified period, often five years. Sales fees reduce the money invested, which, once compounded interest is taken into account, can be significant. Load Mutual Fund A load mutual fund charges you a sales charge or commission for the shares purchased. This charge could be a percentage of the amount you are investing in, or it can be a flat fee, depending on the mutual fund provider. For example, if you invested $1,000 into a 5% load mutual fund, you would actually be investing only $950, with the remaining $50 going to the company as a commission. The fee goes to compensate a sales intermediary, such as a broker, financial planner, or investment advisor, for his time and expertise in selecting an appropriate fund for the investor. There are different types of load an investor may encounter. Front-end loads, also called Class A shares, is a single charge paid by the investor when they purchase shares of the fund. Back-end load, or Class B shares, charge a one-time fee paid when you redeem or sell, your mutual fund shares. Level load funds, also known as Class C shares, are yearly charges and will be a fixed percentage taken from the fund's assets. Loads are only one of the fees which may impact the investor of a mutual fund. Some loads will be paid from the assets of the mutual fund and will reduce the returns that will be distributed to the investor. No-Load Mutual Fund A no-load mutual fund means there will not be a sales charge when the investor buys the shares or when they sell their shares. However, this does not mean that absolutely no fee will be charged. A fund may market themselves as a no-load fund if they charge less than the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) allowed 12-1b charges. While these funds do not charge a front or backload sales fee, they may make it up by charging other fees. The best way to determine the charges is by reading the fund's prospectus. The management firm will pay any charges based on the fund's daily net asset value (NAV) from the no-load mutual fund's assets. This method of payment impacts the investor when they receive a smaller distribution. Also, there may be limitations on the redemption of no-load shares. Shares in a no-load fund can be sold or redeemed only after a specific period. Those sold early will incur a feebut if you are a long-term investor, there is no need to worry. No-load funds are often sold through an investment company, rather than through a third-party sales firm. However, some companies, such as banks or broker-dealers, may charge their own fees for handling the transactions of third-party mutual funds. Most people recommend trying to avoid load funds altogether. Many studies have shown both types of mutual funds offer the same return, but load funds charge you a commission fee. Proponents of no-load funds say that the commission may seem like a small, one-time fee, but the loss of compounded returns over the years can be substantial. Still, others make a case for load funds based on personal relationships or other convenience factors. It's ultimately up to the individual investor to call the shots that make the most sense. Hedging with forex is a strategy used to protect one's position in a currency pair from an adverse move. It is typically a form of short-term protection when a trader is concerned about news or an event triggering volatility in currency markets. There are two related strategies when talking about hedging forex pairs in this way. One is to place a hedge by taking the opposite position in the same currency pair, and the second approach is to buy forex options. Strategy One A forex trader can create a hedge to fully protect an existing position from an undesirable move in the currency pair by holding both a short and a long position simultaneously on the same currency pair. This version of a hedging strategy is referred to as a perfect hedge because it eliminates all of the risk (and therefore all of the potential profit) associated with the trade while the hedge is active. Key Takeaways Hedging in the forex market is the process of protecting a position in a currency pair from the risk of losses. There are two main strategies for hedging in the forex market. Strategy one is to take a position opposite in the same currency pairfor instance, if the investor holds EUR/USD long, they short the same amount of EUR/USD. The second strategy involves using options, such as buying puts if the investor is holding a long position in a currency. Forex hedging is a type of short-term protection and, when using options, can offer only limited protection. Although selling a currency pair that you hold long, may sound bizarre because the two opposing positions offset each other, it is more common than you might think. Often this kind of hedge arises when a trader is holding a long or short position as a long-term trade and, rather than liquidate it, opens a contrary trade to create the short-term hedge in front of important news or a major event. Interestingly, forex dealers in the United States do not allow this type of hedging. Instead, firms are required to net out the two positionsby treating the contradictory trade as a close order. However, the result of a netted out trade and a hedged trade is essentially the same. Strategy Two A forex trader can create a hedge to partially protect an existing position from an undesirable move in the currency pair using forex options. The strategy is referred to as an imperfect hedge because the resulting position usually eliminates only some of the risk (and therefore only some of the potential profit) associated with the trade. To create an imperfect hedge, a trader who is long a currency pair can buy put option contracts to reduce downside risk, while a trader who is short a currency pair can buy call option contracts to reduce the risk stemming from a move to the upside. Imperfect Downside Risk Hedges Put options contracts give the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to sell a currency pair at a specified price (strike price) on, or before, a specific date (expiration date) to the options seller in exchange for the payment of an upfront premium. For instance, imagine a forex trader is long EUR/USD at 1.2575, anticipating the pair is going to move higher but is also concerned the currency pair may move lower if an upcoming economic announcement turns out to be bearish. The trader could hedge risk by purchasing a put option contract with a strike price somewhere below the current exchange rate, like 1.2550, and an expiration date sometime after the economic announcement. If the announcement comes and goes, and EUR/USD doesnt move lower, the trader can hold onto the long EUR/USD trade, potentially making additional profits the higher it goes. Bear in mind, the short-term hedge did cost the premium paid for the put option contract. If the announcement comes and goes, and EUR/USD starts moving lower, the trader does not need to worry as much about the bearish move because the put limits some of the risk. After the long put is opened, the risk is equal to the distance between the value of the pair at the time of purchase of the options contract and the strike price of the option, or 25 pips in this instance (1.2575 1.2550 = 0.0025), plus the premium paid for the options contract. Even if EUR/USD dropped to 1.2450, the maximum loss is 25 pips, plus the premium, because the put can be exercised at the 1.2550 price regardless of what the market price for the pair is at the time. Imperfect Upside Risk Hedges Call options contracts give the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy a currency pair at a strike price, or before, the expiration date, in exchange for the payment of an upfront premium. For instance, imagine a forex trader is short GBP/USD at 1.4225, anticipating the pair is going to move lower but is also concerned the currency pair may move higher if the upcoming Parliamentary vote turns out to be bullish. The trader could hedge a portion of risk by buying a call option contract with a strike price somewhere above the current exchange rate, like 1.4275, and an expiration date sometime after the scheduled vote. Not all forex brokers offer options trading on forex pairs and these contracts are not traded on the exchanges like stock and index options contracts. If the vote comes and goes, and the GBP/USD doesnt move higher, the trader can hold onto the short GBP/USD trade, making profits the lower it goes. The costs for the short-term hedge equal the premium paid for the call option contract, which is lost if GBP/USD stays above the strike and call expires. If the vote comes and goes, and GBP/USD starts moving higher, the trader does not need to worry about the bullish move because, thanks to the call option, the risk is limited to the distance between the value of the pair when the options were bought and the strike price of the option, or 50 pips in this instance (1.4275 1.4225 = 0.0050), plus the premium paid for the options contract. Even if the GBP/USD climbs to 1.4375, the maximum risk is not more than 50 pips, plus the premium, because the call can be exercised to buy the pair at the 1.4275 strike price and then cover the short GBP/USD position, regardless of what the market price for the pair is at the time. What Is International Competitive Bidding (ICB)? International competitive bidding (ICB) is a bidding and procurement process the World Bank requires of any borrower that obtains goods, work and non-consulting services with financing provided by the World Bank. Key Takeaways International competitive bidding (ICB) refers to a bidding and procurement process the World Bank requires of any borrower that accepts the financing it provides. The detailed set of procedures is designed to ensure fair and healthy competition for World Bank-funded economic opportunities. Borrowers are required to advertise for the goods and services they procure and must pick the lowest acceptable bid. The World Bank provides financing for projects aimed at improving education, health, public administration, infrastructure, finance, agriculture and the environment in developing countries. How International Competitive Bidding (ICB) Works An international competitive bidding process is required of borrowers procuring services for World Bank-funded projects. The World Bank has detailed requirements and specific conditions that must be followed by borrowers in choosing a business partner. The goal of imposing an international competitive bidding process for projects funded with loans issued by the World Bank is to promote fair and healthy competition for World Bank-funded economic opportunities. The borrowing country maintains a certain degree of freedom in selecting a winning bid for its projects, though is expected to choose the lowest-priced, most competitive bid. What Is the World Bank? The World Bank is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C. It serves as a lender for economic development projects focused on education, health, public administration, infrastructure development, finance, agriculture and environmental sustainability. The World Bank provides support in the form of low-interest loans, zero to low-interest credits, and grants to developing countries. Examples of World Bank-funded projects include a program to improve market access for livestock herders in Mongolia; a project to provide employment opportunities for young people in Liberia; and a program to improve access to water for people living in the Chaco region of Argentina. Special Considerations: ICB Requirements and Processes The World Bank has detailed instructions, conditions, and requirements that must be followed in the international competitive bidding process for services involving World Bank-funded projects. ICB requires World Bank borrowers to internationally advertise the required services needed for each project in an acceptable language. Borrowers must award contracts to the lowest acceptable bids, subject to certain considerations for qualitative judgment. Borrowers who receive World Bank funding must follow the bank's procurement framework for international competitive bidding. The framework covers policies, regulations, directives and procedures. The bank provides detailed guidance, templates and documents that must be used, as well as other important resource materials. Training is also provided. Additionally, the World Bank requires borrowers to create regular reports detailing their progress and activities. What Is a Penalty Bid? A penalty bid is an offer to take part in an initial public offering (IPO), in which the buyer is disincentivized from selling their shares shortly after the purchase. Specifically, penalty bids specify that if the investor "flips" the shares within a specified period of time, the broker who processed their purchase order will be penalized. The broker then has the option to pass on that penalty to their client. Key Takeaways As their name suggests, penalty bids are offers to participate in an IPO which carry penalties for selling the purchased shares too quickly. They are designed to protect IPO investors from the selling pressure that might arise from early investors selling their shares shortly after the IPO transaction. Although penalty bids are imposed on brokers, they are often passed on to their customers either directly or by excluding those clients from future IPOs. Understanding Penalty Bids When the demand for an IPO exceeds its supply, the price of the newly issued shares often rises shortly after the shares begin trading. Given this fact, it can be tempting for investors to seek allocations from their brokers to participate in upcoming IPOs, not because they are enthusiastic about the long-term prospects of the stock, but simply because they wish to sell the shares shortly after the IPO in order to secure a quick gain. Regulation of Penalty Bids The handling of penalty bids by underwriters and brokers is outlined by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Regulation M. One example of these guidelines is Rule 104, which stipulates that parties involved in placing penalty bids for new IPOs must disclose those bids with the self-regulatory organization (SRO) responsible for overseeing the IPO. If a sufficient number of early investors were to act in this manner, it could force the lead underwriter of the IPO to buy back the recently-allocated shares during the initial stabilization period of the IPO to prevent the share price from declining too severely from the increased selling pressure from early investors. In order to mitigate this risk, the underwriters impose penalties on investors who sell their shares within a specified period of time following the IPO. Technically, these penalties are levied against the investors' brokers, who then have the option of passing on the cost to the investor. In practice, however, it is more common for the broker to pay the penalty themselves. Specifically, brokers typically pay this penalty by returning some or all of the commission income they earned from the IPO back to the underwriting syndicate. At the very least, a broker whose client insists on selling their IPO shares within the proscribed time frame would not be pleased with that client, and they may exclude that client from future allocations to IPOs that are in high demand. Real World Example of a Penalty Bid Sandra is an investor who enjoys participating in highly anticipated IPOs. She has found that the shares of these companies often increase in value shortly following the IPO, and she is eager to profit from this fact by investing in the upcoming IPO of XYZ Enterprises. When expressing this interest to her broker, Sandra was informed that if she is given an allocation to the IPO of XYZ Enterprises, her investment would be considered a penalty bid. The broker explained to her that, because of this, she should refrain from selling the shares within a specified period of time. If she fails to do so, the broker would be penalized and the cost of this penalty may be passed on to her. Sandra understood that, although she may not be forced to pay the direct financial cost of the penalty, there is a good chance that she would be excluded by her broker from future IPOs if she sells her shares prematurely. Relapse Rate: An Overview A relapse rate is a measure of the success of a rehabilitation program for substance abuse or criminal behavior. If that program is funded by a social impact bond (SIB), the relapse rate may also determine the return to investors in the program. Relapse rate measures the incidence of re-offense or re-imprisonment in the group of people served by the program. If a program is a success based on its low relapse rate, SIB investors may get their principal investment back and may receive interest payments as well. Relapse rate is a measure of the success or failure of a program that treats substance abuse or rehabilitates offenders. Many programs funded by social impact bonds (SIBs) are evaluated on their relapse rates. The returns to SIB investors are directly related to the relapse rates among those served by the programs. Understanding Relapse Rate A social impact bond is not really a bond but a contract with a government agency or private entity to create a program with a specific social benefit, such as rehabilitation of minor offenders. Return of the principal investment as well as any interest payment are dependant on the outcome of the program. Not all SIB programs aim to treat drug abuse or reduce the prison population. Many do, however, and the relapse rate then becomes a key factor. A good outcome saves money for the government that sponsors the SIB. For example, a successful program to rehabilitate young offenders will lead to steady jobs rather than a return to incarceration for a number of those in the program. Part of the savings realized by the government is paid to the investors as profit. About SIBs Social impact bonds, as the name implies, are intended for investors who want to make a positive contribution to their communities. Created in 2010, their buyers may be publicly-minded corporations or individuals. Despite their name, SIBs have few similarities to bonds. There is no guarantee that the principle will be returned and no set interest rate. There is only the potential for sharing the savings achieved by the program if it is a success. The SIB typically will set a specific relapse rate as a measure of the program's success. For example, it might set a goal of reducing by 9% the number of opioid addicts who have successfully completed treatment and have stayed clean for at least six months. The Wider Goal of SIBs Notably, not all SIBs are targeted at rehabilitation programs, so the relapse rate is not always the measure of success. The wider goal of social impact bonds is to finance programs that measurably improve lives. If the government agency or service provider meets the terms of the contract over time in terms of saving public money, the investor gets paid a return. SIBs are designed to have several benefits: positively affecting social outcomes and saving governments money while investors get recompensed for their capital. Currently, Connecticut has a SIB to help children whose parents are addicted to opioids. Meanwhile, a group of banks and institutions are funding a healthcare development impact bond in Rajasthan, India that is working to reduce infant mortality. Example of Relapse Rate and an SIB Whatever the endeavor, the success or failure of an SIB-funded program can be difficult to quantify. The relapse rate can be best understood through one of the first SIBs to be issued, for a program run by Peterborough Prison in the United Kingdom in 2011. In this SIB, the relapse or re-conviction rate of prisoners released from Peterborough was compared with the relapse rate of a control group of prisoners over six years. The bond raised five million pounds from 17 investors. If Peterborough's relapse rate was found to be below the relapse rate of the control group by a certain defined percentage, the SIB investors would receive an increased rate of return directly proportional to the difference in relapse rates between the two groups. Results of the Program The higher return to the investors was made possible by Peterborough Prison's willingness to pass on to the SIB investors a considerable portion of the cost savings that would be achieved through a significantly lower relapse rate of its prisoners. In 2017, the organization Social Finance, the creator of the bond, announced that investors would be repaid in full with a 3% per year rate of return. The organization said that the program had succeeded in reducing re-offending by 9% compared to a target reduction of 7.5%. By Padraig Hoare Ireland is at significant risk of isolation following Brexit and will need EU funding to shore up the lack of connectivity to major European routes says the Port of Cork chief executive. Brendan Keating says there was a case to be made for grant aid from EU institutions following the UK leaving the bloc. We will be significantly more isolated because of Brexit. Im concerned about maritime transport connectivity. State aid rules as currently constituted dont allow EU support of the purchase of ships or that kind of mobile asset, I believe. However, I do believe some kind of subvention can be issued to operators of such ships for such services. We have similar arrangements in terms of the servicing of regional airports of this country, to the public service obligations-type instruments. From our perspective, the fact we have highlighted it, the matter is on the agenda now for consideration, and the European finance commissioner in Dublin highlighted the fact that there will have to be something in the EU budget line to address this kind of challenge. It means the Government is talking about it, and the EU is listening. Grant aid is the most appropriate instrument. So-called blending products that relate to low-interest loans primarily made available by the European Investment Bank may not be appropriate. All in all, we are at risk of a very significant degree of additional isolation and we need to beat that drum very strongly, he said. Mr Keating said the Port of Cork had seen a surge in imports, exports, oil traffic, and cruise liners, in 2017. He said the development of Tivoli on Corks northside from 2025 would be one of the most significant ever in the city, with the capacity for 5,000 homes, when the Port of Cork vacated the land. The citys docklands would be an ideal location for an international shipping services centre, alongside the major private development currently happening. The 80m redevelopment of Ringaskiddy port was essential for the future of the Port of Cork, he said. He was speaking at a business breakfast meeting of Cork Chamber. The aim was to have the container terminal completed by mid-2020, he said. Padraig Hoare and Eamon Quinn The chief executive of Permanent TSB has said the selling off of thousands of non-performing loans is necessary because they had diminished the share price and affected the overall value of the bank. Jeremy Masding said it would not be possible to meet ECB requirements to reduce its non-performing loans to a low single-digit percentage unless it sold some on. Permanent TSB was accused of throwing its customers to the wolves by Sinn Fein TD Pearse Doherty with its decision to sell around 14,000 homes in the overall 3.7bn Project Glas portfolio of 18,000 properties. Mr Masding said: The guiding principle for us is we are trying to clean up the bank, to get it to a place where it can continue to compete. We can only do that with a much, much lower non-performing loan ratio. We will consider all options. As the chief executive of the bank, my job is to implement the right option for all Irish taxpayers and for shareholders to satisfy regulatory requirements. When I came to Ireland, the bank had been bailed out to the tune of 4bn. What drives us every morning is to pay that back. Our share price is 1.86, our market capitalisation under 850m. We still owe the State just shy of 1.5bn. That gap is being registered by the market as a function of us not being able to manage down the non-performing loan ratio. The share price is very much diminished and the only way to get that money back is to manage down that ratio, he said. Sale of PTSB mortgage loan sale amounts to "throwing its customers to the wolves" according to SF TD @PearseDoherty pic.twitter.com/lMkb7aSlBD RTE Politics (@rtepolitics) March 22, 2018 TDs and senators at the Oireachtas Finance Committee accused Mr Masding and his team of failing to explore all viable options before selling on the loans, thousands of which the bank admitted are so-called split mortgages that were negotiated with customers looking to remain in the family home. The banks leadership said 4,300 split mortgages where repayments are made on the first part of the mortgage and the second part is paid later would be sold, despite repayments being made by customers according to the restructured terms. Permanent TSB said it had not received regulatory approval to class the split mortgages as performing loans in stark contrast to AIB officials, who told the committee that it was crystal clear that similar mortgages could legally move off the non-performing loans bundle and be classed as performing. AIB officials were lambasted by committee members for failing to acknowledge the existence of Project Redwood, a distressed loan book said to be worth as much as 3.7bn. Despite widespread reports that AIB was close to selling the loans, the banks head of financial solutions, Jim OKeeffe refused repeatedly to admit Project Redwood existed. No family homes are believed to be included in Project Redwood, while AIB is said to have insisted any buyer would own an entity that is regulated in the Republic. Fianna Fail TD Michael McGrath said it was disturbing that a State-owned bank would not tell Oireachtas members about such an important sale. Fianna Fail TD @mmcgrathtd raises concerns for split mortgage customers if PTSB proceeds with loan sale to vulture funds pic.twitter.com/sHkvaiJWIT RTE Politics (@rtepolitics) March 22, 2018 You are coming before the national parliament and giving no information. There may be no family homes, but there may be farmers, SMEs, retailers, buy-to-lets we have reasonable and legitimate questions. The lack of openness is stark and remarkable, he said. Meanwhile, Derville Rowland, director general of financial conduct at the Central Bank, said it had called in the Dutch Central Bank to examine the behaviour and culture of five banks and would implement a new regime for individual senior bank chiefs if their conduct was found wanting. Citing the tracker mortgage scandal, she told an industry conference: In the years since the financial crisis, there have been significant misconduct issues both at home and abroad. By Conor Kane An attempt to perform a vacuum delivery on a baby after her mothers labour had slowed had more than likely led to a bleed which led to the babys death, an inquest has heard. Baby Livia Urkova-Marini was the only daughter of parents Ludmila Ukova and Aldo Marini, from Carlow town. She was born at 12.04pm in St Lukes Hospital in Kilkenny on May 18, 2014, and died at 7pm that evening. The inquest at Kilkenny coroners court into Livias death was adjourned this evening to allow written submissions be made by her familys legal team on possible verdicts and recommendations. The inquest was told by Dr Peter Boylan, chairman of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists who reviewed the hospital records, that an attempt at vacuum delivery of baby Livia by the registrar on call after labour had slowed should not have been done. This was because the mothers cervix was not fully dilated. Coroner Tim Kiely put it to Dr Boylan that there was evidence that a bleed occurred during the first attempt by registrar Dr Ali Gewash at a vacuum delivery. Dr Ali Gewash. Dr Boylan said the vacuum cup is attached to the babys head and then the doctor tries to hand-pump the vacuum but if there are blood vessels running across the babys head, the pulling of the vacuum cup when it is detached can cause a bleed. Thats when the vessels would have torn and thats when the bleeding would have happened, he said. The coroner asked him: Are you saying the performance of the suction ultimately led to the bleed that led to the death? More than likely, yes, Dr Boylan said. On the balance of probabilities, thats the most likely explanation. The mother more than likely had a case of vasa previa, a rare condition which involves the babys head pressing down on the umbilical cord and which is dangerous for the baby if a tear occurs in the cord and its blood vessels. Under questioning from Paul McGinn SC, for the hospital, Dr Boylan agreed that vasa previa was undiagnosed prior to delivery. Its an extremely difficult diagnosis to make. Asked if it could have been suspected prior to the vacuum cup being applied at 11.22am on May 18, 2014, in the labour ward, Dr Boylan said I think not in a practical sense. Consultant obstetrician Dr Yuddandi Nagavini told the inquest today that she arrived to Ms Ukova at 11.56am, did an ultrasound scan and when she found a feeble foetal heart-rate, decided on an emergency caesarean section. This was performed in theatre and the baby was delivered at 12.04pm. Consultant paediatrician Dr Wasim Asif had a resuscitation team on duty at the time and when the baby was born she was anaemic, there was no blood in the umbilical cord and the baby did not have a heartbeat or any respiratory efforts. She weighed 2.73kg. After 17 minutes and some administration of adrenalin and saline, the first heartbeat was detected and the rate was 54bpm, but in a newborn baby any rate under 100bpm will need assistance, Dr Asif said. They continued working on baby Livia and the heart rate increased to 137bpm and she was placed in an incubator in the baby special care unit. He was told by someone on the obstetric team that the mother had a vasa previa and a blood vessel had torn, he said. They contacted the national neo-natal transport team to discuss transporting Livia to the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin, he said, but the baby collapsed again and her heart-rate went down to zero. Dr Asif spoke to Livias parents, Ludmila and Aldo, and they decided it would be in the babys best interests to withdraw ventilation support. The baby was baptised, at 4pm the mechanical ventilation was discontinued and she was placed with her mother for skin-to-skin contact. She had very shallow breathing. Respiration stopped at 6.45pm and she was pronounced dead at 7pm. Day two of the European Council meeting in Brussels will focus on Brexit. European leaders including Taoiseach Leo Varadkar are hoping to finalise their position on the future relationship between the EU and the UK. The life story of John Buultjens is an improbable story full of triumph over adversity, buckets of grit and hard work, and thankfully a good ending, writes Suzanne Harrington. We all love an improbable story full of triumph over adversity, incredible luck, buckets of grit and hard work, and a good ending. Meet John Buultjens formerly John Craig, aka Scottish John, a wee boy from the harshest of places whose life has been extraordinary enough to warrant a film and book, Ride: BMX Glory Against All The Odds. Buultjens is a former BMX star who is now global brand manager at Haro, the most famous BMX company of all. That in itself is interesting enough like skateboarders and surfers, the skills of BMX riders are mesmerising but what makes his story remarkable is the fantastically unlikely trajectory of his life. How he survived his first decade, was rescued by an amazing couple, and given the opportunity to take a different direction. John Craig was told by a social worker that he would be dead by the time he was 16 if he made the wrong choice. That choice involved returning to a childrens home in Glasgow, or staying with the couple who wished to adopt him and his younger sister. Demanding to be taken back to the home for the toughest, most violently messed up kids in the city, the social worker told the 10-year-old boy that his adoptive parents were his only chance of survival. Something right there and then clicked and I realised it was this, death or prison. He chose to stay with his adoptive parents, recreating himself as a new person and changing his surname, so that he could leave his horrendous past behind and begin a new life. John Craig was born in 1972 in a poor part of Glasgow to an abused woman and a violent alcoholic. His earliest memory is as a toddler rushing to greet his father on his return from work, and being picked up and hurled against an electric fire, melting his foot. Such was his fathers violence that the children he had three siblings spent much time away from the flat, eating out of bins. Before he was seven, he was bunking the train into Glasgow and begging on the streets. He was sexually abused by an older girl whose name he burned onto his arm with a match, spelling Yvonne Evon, because she was the only female I was able to relax around. On Christmas Eve, 1979, when John was seven, he attempted to stab his father, who was violently assaulting his mother to the point that John thought he might kill her. His father knocked him unconscious. This incident prompted his mother to put him and his two-year-old sister into care the very next day Christmas when they were taken by the police and social workers to a childrens home. They never lived with their birth parents again. He recognises now that his mother probably saved his life by having him removed from the family home; that his father would have ended up murdering him. John loved the childrens home. Traumatised, violent, and illiterate, he was with other kids who were the same. It was a jungle, dog eat dog. He had found his tribe. A female night nurse sexually abused him and the other boys, yet he didnt regard it as abuse. His older siblings were already in detention. It looked like he was on the same path. And then came a pivotal moment that redirected his life on an entirely different route. After three years at the home, an academic couple, Eldridge and Marianna Buultjens, fostered John and his younger sister. Initially, it did not go well Eldridge was a scientist from Sri Lanka, John a small racist thug from hell who refused to be seen in public with Eldridge, because of Eldridges skin colour. Yet when he stole money from his new parents, they responded with unconditional love, tolerance and acceptance. John chose to stay with the Buultjens permanently. He began to experience normal family life, so that his violence and racism abated. And then in 1982, there was another pivotal moment his adoptive parents took him to see ET. I was transfixed, he writes. I came out of the cinema with BMX burned into my brain. Little did he know that the main stunt rider in the film, Bob Haro, who would go on to found the global BMX freestyle brand, would one day become Buultjens boss. Or that the director of the film, Steven Spielberg, would hear of Buultjens story and allow clips of ET to be used in the upcoming film Ride. Back then, John was still a 10-year-old kid in Scotland. He was now, however, a kid with an obsession, and a kid on a mission. His adoptive parents got him his own BMX for his 11th birthday; it was the first thing he had ever owned. I was hooked, he says. "It was freedom. It was enjoyment. It was about me expressing myself. All the things my life had lacked in my earlier years, I was experiencing right there on the saddle of my Piranha." From stealing wood to make his own BMX ramp in Dundee, to being the boss of the best riders in the world at Haro in San Diego, Buultjens travelled from Scotland to California via Australia. Leaving Scotland in 1995 as a qualified chef, he arrived in Sydney and ended up working as an extra on the soap opera Neighbours. He continued his BMX riding, building, buying and selling, his obsession having turned him into a massive bike nerd; his BMX connections led him to a surreal encounter with porn actor Ron Jeremy, and travels in New Zealand. In 2005, he got married, and two years later became a father. (It didnt last his wife divorced him and he hasnt seen his daughter since she was four. I chose BMX over my marriage, he writes, adding how his book was written in part to communicate with his child, so that in the future she may want to know him.) After 18 years, he left Australia. In 2012, Buultjens moved to southern California to work for Bob Haro. This job led to celebrity connections and the movie, Ride, which comes out this year. The rapper and actor Chris Ludacris Bridges plays his adoptive father, with Buultjens himself playing his abusive biological father, who died in 1997, and with whom he never reconciled. The film is not set in Scotland, but has been relocated to California, and by Buultjens own admission, his BMX skills have been somewhat exaggerated. Although not his incredible journey. A letter at the end of the book written to his five-year-old self, while still John Craig, says You have to keep believing. Things can change in the blink of an eye. Ride: BMX Glory Against All The Odds, by John Buultjens with Chris Sweeney, 16.99 Pitch Publishing Bipolar disorder can be deeply debilitating, but thanks to new developments its becoming easier to manage, writes Ailin Quinlan SINEAD Keating was 11 years old when she had her first, frightening, experience of what was, she would learn many years later, a condition called bipolar disorder. She had travelled by bus with a group to a swimming pool, but when the bus departed following the session, Sinead and her friend were accidentally left behind. While her companion was confident the bus would return once those on board realised the two girls were missing, Sinead became severely distressed. Later, at home, despite the fact the bus had promptly returned to collect them, she had a severe panic attack. It was terrifying. I could hardly breathe and I couldnt stop crying. There was an enormity of feeling that I couldnt describe any other way, she recalls, adding that in the months that followed, she went from being a happy, extrovert child to becoming withdrawn, anxious, and self-conscious. She believes she may have a genetic predisposition to bipolar disorder, because, as she later learned, distant family relatives had the condition, in which genetics is believed to play a significant role. At age 15 she started to secretly self-harm, experienced periods when she couldnt sleep for days at a time, and became depressed. I would be very distressed and crying a lot, she recalls, but outwardly she still functioned, sitting her Leaving Certificate and attending university, where she studied English and classics and later took a masters degree in film. However, in the final year of her undergraduate degree, things came to a head. After waking one day with severe stomach pains, she consulted her GP who believed the pains could be related to stress. Sinead Keating: Having bipolar disorder has had a major impact on my life, particularly in relation to work. Sinead was referred first to a therapist and later to a psychiatrist, who diagnosed her condition as bipolar disorder in 2008 when she was aged 21, some 10 years after she had that first panic attack. Bipolar disorder can be difficult to diagnose because of the intrinsic changeability of the symptoms which accompany it, explains Dr Keith Gaynor, senior clinical psychologist with St John of Gods Hospital and a board member of Aware, the mental health support organisation. A mental health condition which affects an estimated 45,000 people in Ireland, Aware says the disorder can impact on thinking, energy, feelings, and behaviour, and have a profound impact on every aspect of a persons life, affecting relationships, family, and work life. Its such a devastating yet common condition its the sixth leading cause of disability worldwide that there is a designated World Bipolar Day on March 30. People have low and high moods and the pattern changes, so it can be hard for the person to recognise their own symptoms and this makes it difficult for the clinician, says Gaynor. Its often only when someone has been involved with a GP or psychiatrist over a period of time that the clinician will be able to spot the pattern. Handbag designer Lulu Guinness and actor and writer Stephen Fry are among those who have suffered from the condition while Vincent van Gogh is believed to have also been a sufferer. Stephen Fry Theres no magic cure, partly because no two people with the condition are exactly the same, says Gaynor, and partly because, from a clinical perspective, trying to balance the cycles of low and high mood can be difficult. The condition is made even more complex by the fact it is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. If you have someone with the condition in the family, you can have an increased risk of getting it, explains Gaynor. However, he says environmental factors such as sleep deprivation or over-work also play a significant role. Although a diagnosis of bipolar disorder may once have been a life sentence, with little hope of independent living, more education and a greater understanding of the condition, along with improved and new treatments as a result of ongoing research, mean most sufferers today can lead full lives. Medication is one of several crucial aspects to managing life with bipolar disorder, particularly in the acute stages, says consultant psychiatrist Declan Lyons, from St Patricks Mental Health Services and a member of the Aware board and clinical committee. The main medical treatments for managing the elation or manic phase of the condition, he says, are the conventional mood stabilisers, while both traditional and newer anti-depressant medications have been found to have a role in helping to manage the depressive stage of the disorder. Research is also under way to find genetic markers to identify people who may be vulnerable to bipolar disorder and what implications that might have for treatment, he says. Studies are being carried out into the role that the drug ketamine could play in treating the depressive phase of the condition. Ketamine is still in the trial phase but there are hopes that in terms of rapid alleviation of depression it may have a role, says Lyons. He emphasises, however, that education about bipolar disorder, a deep understanding of the illness and an array of psychological strategies, as well as the availability of solid family support, are all crucial elements to effectively manage this condition. The smartphone can be of help apps can be used for mood observation and to help identify stress triggers and patterns of relapse, which can be revealed by daily mood ratings. This can be very illuminating for the patient and their clinician, says Lyons, adding that many patients use their devices to practise mindfulness, for example. Social rhythm therapy, which identifies a persons individual rhythms that promote personal well-being for example, a healthy sleep regimen, an avoidance of overwork, a reduction of alcohol or caffeine intake, and the practise of active relaxation strategies, as well as the avoidance of family conflict also plays an important role along with cognitive behavioural therapy, interpersonal therapy, and psycho-education. Education about the condition is extremely powerful. "It makes a huge difference when people become informed and start to understand their own individual patterns as a therapist I sit down and work out these patterns with people, says Gaynor, adding that warning signs could include more energy or irritability a few days before a period of elation. When you know your own triggers it may be lack of sleep, or overwork, or doing too much you can help yourself manage the triggers and that works really well. There is some work involved in training in this but when people get good at it, he says, it can really help. In 2016, Aware developed a successful education programme for relatives of people with BPD or depression, which, according to director of services Brid OMeara, provides information about the condition and tools to assist families in supporting a loved one with bipolar disorder. This year, she says, Aware plans to go one step further by developing a bipolar group programme offering education about the condition and skills to manage it for people with the condition as well as two versions of an online bipolar programme, one for the newly diagnosed and one for those living with the condition in the longer term. World Bipolar Day, believes OMeara, provides a great opportunity for mental health organisations worldwide to come together and bring a global awareness to bipolar disorder, to educate and improve public understanding of the condition, as well as ensuring that those with a diagnosis are familiar with the supports available to them. For Sinead, now married, aged 30, and living in Maynooth, and attending the same psychiatrist since her college years, medication and family support have played a significant role in her life for the last 10 years. Having bipolar disorder has had a major impact on my life, particularly in relation to work. The illness is very difficult to manage and you have to have continuity of care and family support, says Sinead, who works as a peer support facilitator with the mental health support group Shine. My consultant, has been an enormous support and has had great impact on my wellbeing. She says her husband Joseph is also hugely supportive: He is aware of my condition and is absolutely wonderful. In recent months, and with the support of her psychiatrist and GP, Sinead has been gradually weaning herself off the medication in preparation for starting a family. It has to be planned and managed. She explains that it was decided that she could come off medication because of the stability of her life and her high levels of self-management but it must be carefully monitored. For more information on Awares Support Services or to register for the Aware Relatives & Friends Programme, visit aware.ie For a long time I had no idea what was going on RICK Rossiter, a father of two, has experienced the symptoms of bipolar disorder since the age of 13 but wasn't diagnosed until his mid-20s. Rick Rossiter: See Change ambassador. Picture: Sharpix Back then, says Rossiter, a native of Newfoundland who has lived in Ireland for about 20 years, his behaviour was probably just perceived as bold. At that age, nobody was thinking about a mental health disorder. I was in trouble in school and I was stealing so I got in trouble with the police, he says. At 15 he tried to end his life by jumping off a building, causing horrendous damage to his back and legs yet his condition was not diagnosed until he was 26. I was hospitalised on several occasions and over the years there were more suicide attempts. All through my adult life I had symptoms. I was experiencing highs and would be very on-the-go, no sleep and spending money. These periods could last for weeks or months. Managing his condition requires a combination of medication, cognitivebehaviour therapies, talk therapy and support from key people in his life such as his wife. On top of that, he believes, for him it was crucial to learn about the disorder and how it worked. For a long time I had no idea what was going on and my wife had less. Then we both got educated about bipolar disorder, about the symptoms and the triggers and warning signs. Knowing about it helps tremendously, says Rick, who lives in Celbridge Co Kildare. He volunteers with a number of mental health support groups, including Aware and See Change and is planning to begin a degree in social policy and sociology next September. Volunteering has helped me because it means getting out there and engaging with people, he says. Update 7.30pm:A gun-wielding extremist unleashed bloodshed in a quiet corner of southern France, killing three people as he hijacked a car, opened fire on police and took hostages in a supermarket. The 26-year-old attacker, who called himself a "soldier of Islamic State" when he entered the supermarket, was killed as police stormed the store with the help of an officer who had switched places with a hostage and suffered life-threatening wounds - one of 16 people injured. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the rampage near Carcassonne and the town of Trebes. It was the deadliest attack in France since Emmanuel Macron became president last year. The officer who offered to be swapped for a female hostage was identified as Arnaud Beltrame. He managed to surreptitiously leave his phone on so that police outside could hear what was going on inside the supermarket - and crucially, decide when to storm it. "He saved lives," Mr Macron said. Mr Macron said investigators will now focus on establishing how the gunman, identified as Redouane Lakdim, obtained his weapon, and how he became radicalised. He was known to police for petty crime and drug-dealing and was under surveillance - but not suspected of extremist links. The hours-long drama began when the attacker hijacked a car near the medieval city of Carcassonne on Friday morning, killing one person in the car and injuring the other, according to French interior minister Gerard Collomb. Lakdim then fired six shots at police officers who were on their way back from jogging near Carcassonne, said Yves Lefebvre, secretary general of the SGP Police-FO police union. The police were wearing athletic clothes with police insignia. One officer was shot in the shoulder but the injury was not serious, Mr Lefebvre said. Lakdim then went to a Super U supermarket in the nearby small town of Trebes, 60 miles south east of Toulouse, shooting and killing two people in the market and taking an unknown number of people hostage. Special police units converged on the scene while authorities blocked roads and urged residents to stay away. Police were able to evacuate some shoppers at the supermarket. Mr Collomb said two other officers were wounded during the assault. "He acted alone, there was no-one else but him," Mr Collomb said, speaking from Trebes. During the standoff, Lakdim requested the release of Salah Abdeslam, the sole surviving assailant of the November 13 2015 attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead, the minister added. He said Lakdim was a petty criminal and small-time drug dealer who had been under police surveillance, but it was not clear to authorities that he was a committed radical. "It was more of a petty criminal who at a certain moment decided to act," Mr Collomb said. A customer in the supermarket described the assailant as a "very agitated man shouting several times 'Allahu akbar!'" Christian Guibbert told reporters "we heard an explosion, well, several explosions. So I went to see what was happening and I saw a man lying on the floor and another person, very agitated, who had a gun in one hand and a knife in the other one". Mr Guibbert said he had sought shelter with his wife, sister-in-law and other customers in the butcher's refrigerator. Then he went back into the supermarket's main room and walked towards the assailant, calling police and describing the situation. He said the suspect "ran after me". Mr Guibbert escaped out of an emergency market door as elite police forces arrived to storm the building. The IS-linked Aamaq news agency said the attacker was responding to the group's calls to target countries in the US-led coalition carrying out air strikes against IS militants in Syria and Iraq since 2014. France has been repeatedly targeted because of its participation in the air strikes. Update: 2.55pm: An armed man took hostages in a supermarket in southern France, killing three people and injuring about a dozen others before being shot dead when French police stormed the market, authorities have said. French President Emmanuel Macron said all evidence suggested that it was a terror attack - the first one since he became president in May. It is unclear how many victims there are overall, said Yves Lefebvre, secretary general of the SGP Police-FO police union. The attacker first fired six shots at police officers on their way back from jogging near the city of Carcassonne on Friday morning, said Mr Lefebvre. The police were not in uniform but were wearing athletic clothes with police insignia. Former security analyst at the French Foreign Office, Anne Giudicelli explains how the police will investigate following the fatal attack pic.twitter.com/H9UVSA6YA1 Sky News (@SkyNews) March 23, 2018 One police officer was shot in the shoulder but the injury was not serious, Mr Lefebvre said. The suspect then went to a Super U supermarket in the nearby small town of Trebes, 60 miles south east of Toulouse, taking an unknown number of people hostage. In an hours-long standoff, special police units converged on the scene and authorities blocked roads and urged residents to stay away. Police then stormed the supermarket. Interior minister Gerard Collomb confirmed that the attacker had been shot dead and three other people were killed. Mr Collomb went to Trebes after talking with Mr Macron, who was at an EU summit in Brussels. The Paris prosecutor's office said counter-terrorism investigators were taking over the probe but did not explain why. Unconfirmed media reports said the assailant claimed connections to Islamic State. Mr Collomb identified the suspect as Redouane Lakdim, 26, a petty criminal and small-time drug dealer who he said was radicalised and under police surveillance. The minister said that during the standoff Lakdim requested the release of the sole surviving assailant of the November 13 2015 attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead. Police vehicle parked on a crossroad in Trebes, southern France, near the scene of an incident. (BFM TV via AP) France has been on high alert since a string of Islamic extremist attacks in 2015 and 2016 that killed more than 200 people. The shootings occurred in a normally quiet part of France, where the main tourist attraction is the treasured old city of Carcassonne, its medieval walls and its summertime festivals. Mr Macron said he will be back in Paris within hours. The attack poses a new challenge to his leadership as he also faces nationwide strikes and criticism of his reforms. Standing next to Mr Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her sympathy with those affected by the hostage-taking. "When it comes to terrorist threats, we stand by France," she said. Update: 12:35pm: Two people have been killed and about a dozen wounded in a shooting and hostage-taking in a supermarket in southern France. It is unclear whether there are still hostages inside the shop in the town of Trebes, a spokesman with the national police service said. A police operation to apprehend the assailant is still underway, the spokesman added. The reason for the shooting and hostage-taking is unclear, as is the identity of the attacker. The Irish Embassy in Paris says it's aware of an incident in the town of Trebes. It says anyone with concerns about Irish citizens should contact the embassy in Paris on 33 1 44176700 or the Department of Foreign Affairs on 01 4082000. Update: 12:15pm: French prime minister Edouard Philippe has said a shooting and hostage-taking in southern France "seems to be a terrorist act". Update: 11.57am: 'One dead' in siege at supermarket in France A suspect has shot dead one person and seriously wounded another inside a supermarket in the southern French town of Trebes, a police union official said. The suspect earlier fired six shots at police officers who were on their way back from jogging near the city of Carcassonne on Friday morning, according to Yves Lefebvre, secretary general of the SGP Police-FO union. One police officer was injured in the shoulder but is not in a life-threatening condition, Mr Lefebvre said. The police officers, based in the southern city of Marseille, were on a temporary mission in Carcassonne, he said. French President Emmanuel Macron has asked interior minister Gerard Collomb to go to the site of the incident. Anti-terror prosecutors have taken over the investigation. Police attend an incident in Trebes, southern France. (La Depeche Du Midi via AP) Update: 11.39am: A hostage-taker has killed at least one person inside a supermarket in southern France, a police union official said. Earlier: A police operation is taking place in a small town in southern France after a police officer was shot and wounded. A suspect has been surrounded at a supermarket in the town of Trebes, south of Toulouse, and might have taken hostages, national police said. The French interior ministry said on its Twitter account that police and rescue operations are the priority. What we know so far about hostage situation in #Trebes, France: - Elite police surrounding Super U shop, gunman inside - Shots fired at policemen earlier, wounding one - Gunman "claims to be in Islamic State group" Latest: https://t.co/cABeHf80xK pic.twitter.com/6McLy3uTqm BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) March 23, 2018 Authorities in the Aude region are warning people to avoid the area around the supermarket. Reuters is reporting that a man is holding hostages and he is claiming allegiance to Islamic State. More to follow... The director general of financial conduct at the Central Bank, Derville Rowland, has called in colleagues from the Dutch central bank to conduct an audit on the behaviour and culture of five Irish banks and will weigh bringing in tougher personal controls over individual bank chiefs if their conduct does not improve. Such controls would be similar to those faced by bank bosses in the UK, which the Central Bank here believes will close remaining loopholes. Speaking at an industry consumer conference, Ms Rowland said: Depending on what we uncover, we may require certain mitigating actions at our lending institutions. These could include, for example, requiring the lenders to conduct an annual internal audit of culture; requiring the boards of the lenders to set up ethics sub-committees; and linking incentivisation to appropriate behaviours. The comments show growing impatience with the continuing misconduct of the lenders so soon after the banking system was bailed out by the State at the cost of billions. However, senior economist Jim Power said he was deeply cynical about the whole exercise of the Central Bank tackling the culture of banks. I have lived with banks through the boom, the crash, and now into the recovery, and the behaviour of the banks doesnt change, Mr Power told the Irish Examiner. I cannot see any possibility the regulator will be able to change that. He also asked whether the Central Bank was right in bringing in a fellow ECB bank to conduct its review. In a continuing round of hearings with bank chiefs, TDs and Senators on the Oireachtas finance committee yesterday criticised Permanent TSB and AIB for their plans to sell distressed mortgage loans. Permanent TSB was accused of throwing its customers to the wolves by Sinn Feins Pearse Doherty over its decision to sell around 14,000 homes in the overall 3.7bn Project Glas portfolio of 18,000 properties. In response, Permanent TSB chief Jeremy Masding said it would not be possible to meet ECB requirements to reduce its non-performing loans unless it sold some on. When I came to Ireland, the bank had been bailed out to the tune of 4bn. What drives us every morning is to pay that back, he said. Committee members lambasted AIB officials for failing to acknowledge the existence of Project Redwood, a distressed loan book said to be worth billions. Fianna Fails Michael McGrath said it was disturbing that AIB, a State-owned bank, would not tell Oireachtas members about such an important sale. You are coming before the national parliament and giving no information, he said. There may be no family homes, but there may be farmers, SMEs, retailers, buy-to-lets we have reasonable and legitimate questions. The lack of openness is stark and remarkable. Separately, the countrys leading debt expert said the only solution to the mortgages arrears problem is for banks to write off debt for households who have faced long-term distress, as figures showed the banks were making slow progress in resolving the home loans crisis. Paul Joyce, senior policy adviser at the Free Legal Advice Centres, said the average amount owed by households behind in their home loan payments for over two years was 77,000 in installments alone. It was impossible to expect any household to pay off arrears of 77,000 and then expect them to pay down the capital, he told the Irish Examiner. He thought it unlikely banks anywhere else would turn their backs on debt write-offs in the face of such a crisis. Counsel John Nolan told Circuit Court President Raymond Groarke in the Circuit Civil Court that Simon Sweeney was driving his family along the M9 motorway in Co Kilkenny when the accident happened. James Sweeney, ll, Stephen, 15, and Jason, 17, sued Pat White Cars, Longmile Rd, Dublin; Kia Motors (UK), Calmount Park, Dublin, and their father, Simon Sweeney, Kilcarrig Close, Fettercairn, Tallaght, Dublin 24, who had been driving the car at the time. James was awarded 25,000, Jason was awarded 35,000, and Stephen was awarded 25,000 against Pat White Cars and Kia Motors UK, both of whom had made settlement offers in the case. Mr Nolan, who appeared with OBrien Ronayne Solicitors, told the court that when the rear drivers side wheel detached from the Kia SUV, the vehicle went out of control and struck the centre barrier, injuring all of the occupants. He said cases relating to adults in the vehicle had already been dealt with in the High Court. Mr Nolan said the accident had happened on March 20, 2011, just over a year after Michelle Sweeney had bought the 2006 vehicle from Pat White Cars. He said the family had been treated initially at Kilkenny Hospital but later had been examined and treated at Tallaght Hospital. Stephen, who uses a wheel chair, had been strapped into the rear seats of the vehicle and firemen had to cut him loose. None of the children suffered serious physical injuries in the crash but all had suffered post-accident trauma. Mr Nolan told Judge Groarke, who approved the three settlements, that the cases had a prolonged history through the courts and the family were happy that the matter was finally drawing to a close. It is not a competence of the Dail to determine how individual departments are structured, his spokesman told the Irish Examiner. The Dails spending watchdog, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), wants to grill Mr Varadkar over the future of the unit. The decision, after TDs voted 85 to 49, called for the controversial, 5m spin unit to be dismantled. Fianna Fail, Sinn Fein, and Labour all voted against the SCUs continuation, but Mr Varadkar rejected any such calls, saying an internal review of the unit is to be presented to Cabinet next week. The review, conducted by Martin Fraser, secretary general to the Government, is unlikely to conclude it did anything wrong, but minor changes should be made, according to sources. The PAC, however, is not impressed and moved yesterday to invite Mr Varadkar to appear before it to explain the spending of taxpayers money. However, while the PAC wants Mr Varadkar to appear, he is due before the committee on finance next week and chairman, John McGuinness, has signalled his intention to press the Taoiseach on the matter. In a statement to the committee yesterday afternoon, PAC chair and Fianna Fail TD Sean Fleming said the Dail vote means the committee is now required to act on its previous plans to question Mr Varadkar. PAC members demanded a meeting with Mr Varadkar and with other key officials, after a string of SCU-related controversies, including the Ireland Project 2040 advertorials in newspapers, and how the unit is exceeding its remit to advise on daily political activities. Mr Fleming had initially delayed any formal invite, because Mr Varadkar had said he would address concerns at a quarterly meeting of the finance committee in the coming weeks. However, in the aftermath of yesterdays vote, Mr Fleming said the situation has now changed and that the PAC is obliged to demand the Taoiseach appears before it, with a date in the first week after the Easter recess likely. The Dail has voted strongly, in relation to the SCU, that Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, and the sec gen should appear before PAC at the earliest possible date to account for spending of public money by the SCU, said Mr Fleming. Clearly, the Dail has passed a motion, requesting the Taoiseach to attend as soon as possible, along with the secretary general of the Department of the Taoiseach [Martin Fraser]. At the meeting, two weeks ago, we already invited the secretary general, and I said we would await the outcome of the vote. But, in light of the Dail vote, this committee is required, in my opinion, now, to formally invite the Taoiseach. Its not for the committee to ignore the Dail motion. Liam Quinn, aged 31, of 5 Evergreen Close, Evergreen St, Cork, was formally arrested and charged by Detective Garda Paul Leahy yesterday and brought before Cork District Court. Inspector Finbarr OSullivan said the Director of Public Prosecutions directed prosecution by indictment. There was no Garda objection to the accused being remanded on bail on the charges. Frank Buttimer, solicitor, said the accused was working and there was no application for free legal aid yesterday. While there was no objection to bail, gardai did seek surrender of the defendants passport. Mr Buttimer said Mr Quinn had his passport in court yesterday and would hand it over to Garda Leahy. The case was adjourned until April 19 to allow time for preparation and service of a book of evidence. The first charge alleges that on April 9, 2016, at 5 Evergreen Close, Evergreen St, Cork, the defendant did keep a medicinal product for sale or supply where there were there sufficient grounds to suspect that it was a falsified medicinal product, namely Rimobolan Ampul, contrary to Medicinal Products (Control of Placing on the Market) regulations 2007 under the Irish Medicines Board Act 1995. The second charge refers to keeping for sale or supply falsified medicinal product, namely Trenbolone Hexahydrobenzylcarbonate, contrary to similar regulations. The last charge refers to not being an exempted person for the keeping for supply of a medicinal product, namely pink tablets (Pink Thai), a production containing a prescription only substance, namely Metandienon, otherwise than in accordance with a prescription. Det Garda Leahy said that when he formally arrested and charged the accused man with the three counts at Cork District Court yesterday the defendant made no reply to the charges. The Taoiseach is in Brussels for a leaders summit and admitted that any resolution on agreeing a frictionless border for the North could be months away. He insists there will be no withdrawal deal for Britain unless the so-called backstop on the North is agreed. However, the later deadline means Irelands leverage on the border is declining, Fianna Fail claim. Over dinner at an EU summit in Brussels, leaders held heated talks on the proposed tax, which is being pushed by French President Emmanuel Macron, among others, in a clampdown on tech firms. Mr Varadkar reiterated his opposition to the tax, saying it is flawed on a number of fronts and could heighten tensions with the US, many of whose tech firms would be hit with it. Under the plans, tech firms with large profits would pay the tax wherever they have a digital presence, regardless of where staff are based. Current rules allow companies to pay tax on profits where their headquarters are located, often in countries with lower tax rates, such as Ireland. Mr Macron has pushed for the tax since September, saying it has to be paid where it is due, whether online or offline. It is nicknamed the Gafa tax, after firms it could target, including Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon, some of which run their finances through Ireland. The EU wants large tech companies to initially pay a 3% tax if they make money from users or ads in that country. Pierre Moscovici, the European commissioner for tax, says 150 firms would be affected, including European, US, and Asian businesses. This could generate at least 5bn for European treasuries a year. Speaking in Brussels as he arrived for an EU summit, Mr Varadkar told reporters the levy would also pitch the EU against the US. He said: We also need to get it right and we think the proposal put forward by the commission is flawed on a number of accounts. I think it targets US companies and that will no doubt result in a reaction from the United States they have already indicated that. Such a levy would be better across many countries not just in Europe, said Mr Varadkar, outlining problems with it. It is also based on where sales occur rather than where profits are made or value is created, he said. So there are a number of problems that arise with it and also it is proposed only to happen on a European basis and most countries believe that if we are going to do something like this we should do it on an OECD basis or a G20 basis because there is no point in Europe proposing a tax on itself that may only hand an advantage to countries that are not in the European Union or even countries that are leaving the European Union. Mr Varadkar said opposition is mounting against the tax, and is believed to include German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who met Mr Varadkar earlier this week. He said: So, certainly speaking among other heads of government, there are at least 10 if not more than 10 countries that have lots of questions, very many questions to ask about this proposal, lots of reservations about it. There are fears Ireland would lose revenue and jobs if tech taxes were reformed. The move is also viewed as an attack on Irelands corporate tax levels. Dean Ahern, of 23 Churchfield Green, Cork, was accused of damaging another house at Churchfield Green on November 3, 2017. That case could not go ahead yesterday. He was also charged with fresh counts of causing damage and possession of knives at the same house on Wednesday, March 21. He applied through his solicitor, Diarmuid Kelleher, to be released on bail yesterday, guaranteeing 110% that he would not go near the neighbours if released. As soon as Mr Ahern failed in his application for bail, he shouted threats at the neighbouring family whose home was allegedly damaged in November and again on Wednesday. Judge John King said: I readily accept the defendant has certain difficulties. Unfortunately, there is fairly compelling evidence that he committed some offence against people whom he was accused of committing the same offence previously. In respect of Wednesday, Mr Ahern was charged with causing damage to front door and windows at the neighbours house and producing two large kitchen knives to intimidate two occupants. The house in question is not next door but is across the green from Mr Aherns home, Garda Alan Cassidy said at Cork District Court. Garda Cassidy said there was a Garda objection to bail due to the nature and seriousness of the alleged offences of causing criminal damage and carrying knives. It was alleged that, on March 21, Dean Ahern caused extensive damage to the front door and windows with a crowbar while wearing a balaclava and that he later scaled a large wall to get away and discarded the crowbar and two knives. Garda Cassidy said there drugs in Mr Aherns possession which gardai believe, affected the defendants behaviour and way of thinking. One of the reasons for the objection to bail was the close proximity of the defendant to the complainants. Gardai believed there was no way the defendant could avoid them. If released I fear that offences like this could be committed again and I fear for the safety of the injured parties, Garda Cassidy said. Defence solicitor Diarmuid Kelleher said the defendants girlfriend lives at Wellington Rd and Mr Ahern could live with her to stay away from the complainants. It would still be my fear that there would be further incidents, Garda Cassidy said. Mr Kelleher said Mr Ahern accepted himself the reality that he should not be living in the area. Mr Ahern said: You have my word that wont happen. I have nothing to be going to that terrace for. I will go to my appointments and take my tablets 110% I wont go near them. I wont throw one look in the wrong direction. If I see them coming, I will cross the street. Inspector John Deasy said: You commit an exact copycat offence at the same location and you say that members of the public have nothing to fear from you. Judge King remanded Ahern in custody to allow time for directions to be obtained from the Director of Public Prosecutions. One of the men described his actions as madness. I was off my head, Mark McGann, aged 22, of 47 The Courtyard, Castleredmond, Midleton, Co Cork, told the investigating garda. Detective Garda Edmond ODonoghue said at Cork District Court yesterday: It was madness and stupidity, rather than any criminal mastermind. He outlined the background to three separate offences in the Little Island area on October 28. He was in the company of two other males, the officer said. The accused fled the NCT centre when the alarm was activated. The trio also turned up at The Range shop, where damage was caused to a glass door. Finally, the accused and others went to ABS Motors, Rockgrove industrial estate, where four cars were damaged, but no property was taken. Judge Olann Kelleher sentenced the accused to six months in prison. Solicitor Mary Creed said: He has since applied for rehabilitation. He has an uncle in Galway, who could get him a job when he gets out of prison. He genuinely wants to get help. He has been in custody since two weeks after this. While there will be no repercussions for TDs who went against the views of party leader Micheal Martin and voted against the referendum bill, some Fianna Fail members claim just five or six managed to influence others in their decision. Meanwhile, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he will campaign for repeal of the Eighth Amendment. Speaking in Brussels, Mr Varadkar said he is certainly going to be involved in the repeal campaign . This is a proposal that Government is making to repeal the Eighth Amendment to allow us to remove this almost absolute constitutional ban on abortion from our Constitution, so I am going to advocate for change, said Mr Varadkar. There was surprise on Wednesday when 21 Fianna Fail TDs voted against holding a referendum on the issue. It is understood that Mr Martin, who previously came out strongly in favour of repeal and access to abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy, was furious after the vote. Fianna Fail TDs who voted against holding a referendum yesterday rejected accusations that they acted to block democracy. Many defended the stance, claiming they could not accept the wording put forward by the Government. Carlow-Kilkenny TD Bobby Aylward said: I am a democrat, I had no problem with the question going to the people, but when I saw it set down and the wording that we were putting to the people, I couldnt accept it. I agonised yesterday morning, because, as I say, I am a democrat, I had to put that against the wording, and when I read the Governments wording, thats when I decided to vote no. I personally could not put my signature to what I believed went against my core beliefs. I am glad this is going to the people, but I could not vote in favour of it. Tipperarys Jackie Cahill said he could not accept the wording, which would task the Dail with legislating if the referendum is passed. I was not voting against a referendum, he said. I believe there should be a referendum but I was against the wording. Louth TD Declan Breathnach also disagreed with the wording and claimed he had not been given the opportunity to table amendments. I am a believer in democracy. I always said from day one that I was in favour of a referendum, he said. I believe this has been badly handled from within the Dail. Another of the 21 Fianna Fail TDs who voted no was John McGuinness. He said: I voted no at second stage just to exercise my right to comment on the actual process and the referendum insofar as they are talking about repealing the Eighth Amendment and taking away the protection for a child and a mother in the Constitution They are going to then rely on the Dail to introduce legislation at any time. I was one of the ones who didnt continue voting. I wanted to put down a marker that I didnt agree with the process or the wording. Members of the cross-party Public Accounts Committee (PAC) made the claim after the most senior officials in the Department of Public Expenditure and the Department of Education confirmed the reports have yet to be made public. Speaking at the latest meeting of the PAC, Department of Expenditure secretary-general Robert Watt told the committee that in recent years a series of public-private partnerships for roads, school buildings, hospitals, and other developments have taken place. Mr Watt said that he is aware of a number of cost reviews that were conducted since last summer, including 10 relating to department developments and one relating to the courts service. Consultants for engineering form Aecom have spent more than a year drawing up a traffic management system for Castletownbere, which it is hoped will alleviate issues, especially after a 21m refurbishment of the towns pier is completed. The finalised plans, which will go on show at the Beara Coast Hotel, aims to benefit the seafood industry, locals, and tourists. The pier investment is expected to generate millions of euro extra per year for the fishing industry and significantly increase the number of HGV coming in and out of the port. The plan goes on public display at the hotel from 2pm to 8pm. Consultants carried out traffic surveys, speaking to drivers about where their journey originated and terminated, and assessed traffic volumes at 13 junctions during rush-hour periods. They reviewed all accidents in the town in recent years, so as to improve safety for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists. They have produced short- and long-term solutions. In the short-term, they are recommending rearranging parking spaces in some areas and increase the number of spaces by nearly a third. Some pedestrianisation of streets will be introduced, along with one-way systems designed to increase traffic flow. The long-term solution, which has a timeframe of 15-25 years, proposes that a relief road be built around the town, which will be particularly important when port activities start to substantially increase. Around 80% of jobs in the town are directly associated with the seafood industry and it is expected hundreds more jobs will be created as it expands. County councillors and members of the Castletownbere Development Association have been briefed on the plans. Following the public display, people will have four weeks to provide Aecom consultants with comments or submissions on the proposals. Previous submissions to earlier stages of the plan appear to have been addressed by the consultants. A number of submissions said pedestrians were not being catered for in town and also cited the lack of adequate parking spaces, which were stated to exacerbate congestion. Fianna Fail councillor for West Cork Patrick Murphy said the town is set for a major makeover with the pier enhancement and a multimillion-euro development by Irish Water in 2021 which will see the creation of a sewerage treatment plant and upgrading of mains pipes. A footpath replacement programme and resurfacing of roads are also planned. Mr Murphy said it is vital that, where possible, works be carried out in tandem to minimise lengthy disruption. More and more people are coming into Castletownbere on a daily basis for work, he said. We are also seeing a rise in visitors because of the Wild Atlantic Way. Therefore its vital that these traffic management plans work. He believes that the building of a relief road will be hugely important in the coming years as it will be vital for Castletownberes further economic development. He is urging as many local people as possible to attend the public consultation meeting and to make their views known afterwards to Aecom. In the Dail, TDs heard that, in a written response to the Housing Department, the Department of Finance said the rationale for the measure was unclear, involved significant risk of exposure to the State, and would do nothing to increase housing supply, when supply, not demand, was the problem. Despite this, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, ignored these concerns, said Sinn Fein housing spokesman Eoin O Broin. Even though its concerns were not met, the Department of Finance withdrew its objections, leading to speculation that the final decision was a political one, made in full knowledge of the shortcomings and problems with the scheme. In response, Mr Coveney said the scheme is a success story so far. It has been only launched several months and we get weekly reports about the level of interest in it, said Mr Coveney. Last week, there were 323 calls, of which 319 were answered. There is a significant interest, as one would expect, in Dublin. Up to 26% of the calls received were from Dublin and 16% from Cork. Speaking about warnings from finance officials, Mr Coveney said it was a 200m fund and, of course, there would back-and-forth, and questioning of its merits. Is anybody who has been in government surprised by the fact that, initially, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform would raise robust questions to test the merits of this approach? he said. There is always a robust exchange, when the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government goes to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform with a new idea, and asks it what it thinks. Mr O Broin accused the Tanaiste, who was housing minister before taking up his current role, of being sensitive because he was in charge of the plan originally, without success. I understand why the Tanaiste is so sensitive on this issue, because Rebuilding Ireland was his plan, said Mr O Broin. He signed off on a document which contained not a single target, over its six years, for a single purchase for a rental affordable unit. As everybody knows, phone calls will not solve the affordable housing crisis. Affordable homes will. Labour leader Brendan Howlin highlighted the case of former RTE broadcaster Valarie Cox, who won a landmark case, taken after she was forced to retire at 65. Mr Howlin asked when the Government would publish the legislation to abolish the mandatory retirement age for public-sector workers. Mr Coveney said that the Government was moving to change the law as soon as possible. Members of the cross-party Dail Public Accounts Committee (PAC) asked for the information to be released urgently amid serious questions over the insane costs, and the level of transparency on how public money is being spent. Speaking during a lengthy PAC meeting which also heard concerns that Cork Institute of Technology has spent tens of millions of euro on buildings that are now falling down, TDs said that there is a clear need for public private partnership transparency. And their concerns were raised even further when it emerged that the Limerick Tunnel will cost at least 200m despite no clear cost-benefit analysis being published about the project. Asked by Labour TD Alan Kelly about the cost of the tunnel, which was opened in 2010 and which reroutes traffic from the city underneath the River Shannon, Transport Infrastructure Ireland official Michael Kennedy said conservative predictions reach 200m. Mr Kennedy is Transport Infrastructure Irelands public-private partnership and finance manager. He said that while the project has cost 31.4m to date, it is widely expected to cost a further 170m in the years ahead, dramatically raising the full cost. Asked by Mr Kelly is that not just insane?, Mr Kennedy defended the expenditure by saying it has taken away traffic from the city. After Mr Kelly repeated his belief that the costs here are astronomical, Mr Kennedy said: We did assess it and I will confirm we did do a re-examination of the scheme. However, the official admitted that this cost-benefit analysis review has yet to be published, leading Mr Kelly to claim the situation is crazy and pointedly telling his counterpart: I look forward to the reviews publication. During the same PAC meeting, Mr Kelly and Fianna Fail TD Marc MacSharry also raised concerns over two other multi-million euro public-private partnership projects at CIT. In recent years, management there has agreed to public-private partnership deals to help build and develop the Maritime Institute and other buildings on its campus. However, questions continue to be raised by whistle- blowers and construction experts about the quality of the buildings, with Department of Education officials yesterday admitting to the PAC that the problems exist. Department of Education secretary general Sean O Foghlu said: Yes, there are questions there and raised issues over internal walls. A department colleague said: There is an assessment at the moment. Raising similar concerns about the project, Fianna Fail TD Marc MacSharry, said thee department needs to up your game on ensuring value for money in public-private partnerships. After saying he has obtained a missing page from a whistleblowers report detailing concerns, Mr MacSharry was shouted down before saying a detailed cost review is needed. Asia Forty-five Countries Urge Cambodia to Conduct Free Vote, Release Opposition Leader Police officers stand guard in front of the Supreme Court during a bail hearing of Kem Sokha, former leader of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, March 9, 2018. / Reuters PHNOM PENH Forty-five countries called on Cambodia on Wednesday to reinstate the main opposition party, release its jailed leader and ensure a July general election is free and fair. A statement on the human rights situation in Cambodia read by New Zealand on behalf of a group of 45 countries, including the United States, Germany, Australia and United Kingdom, said previous optimism had been replaced by deep concern regarding a decline in civil and political rights in Cambodia. The statement, which was read to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, urged Cambodias government to reinstate the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) and all elected members. Dozens of opposition lawmakers were banned when Cambodias Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP last year in a ruling that was widely condemned by the international community. That decision followed the arrest of CNRP leader Kem Sokha last September. Kem Sokha has been charged with treason, accused of colluding with Americans to overthrow the Cambodian government. He denies the charges and the U.S. embassy in Phnom Penh has also denied the accusation. Kem Sokha faces 30 years in prison if convicted. Prime Minister Hun Sen has ruled Cambodia for 33 years. He is a former Khmer Rouge cadre who defected from the genocidal group and helped drive it from power in 1979, and is credited with helping Cambodia achieve economic growth, but has been criticized for his crackdown on critics and the media. We call on the Royal Government of Cambodia to take all measures necessary, before it is too late, to ensure that the 2018 elections are free, fair and credible, the statement said. We are particularly concerned about the conditions under which opposition leader Kem Sokha is being detained following his arbitrary arrest: he is reportedly in isolation, without adequate access to health care, subjected to intrusive observation, and other conditions, such as constant light. We call for the immediate release of all political prisoners, including Kem Sokha. The group raised concerns about a government crackdown on freedom of expression that has extended to independent media and non-governmental organizations. Government spokesman Phay Siphan said Cambodia wont comply with demands made by foreign countries. We are equally members of the United Nations, Phay Siphan told Reuters. This is a violation of Cambodias sovereignty. We will hold elections according to what Cambodians want, based on Cambodian laws, he added. Burma Analysis: Who Will Benefit from the Coming Shake-up? U Shwe Mann (left), then speaker of the Lower House, shakes hands with National League for Democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi before their meeting at Parliament in Naypyitaw on Nov. 19, 2015. / Reuters Speculation is mounting that the imminent arrival of a new president will be accompanied by a shakeup of the moribund cabinet. Will U Htin Kyaws successor choose more able replacements for currently non-performing ministers? To put it simply, will the new president put the right people in the right places? The governments new direction and vision for the economy will also be closely watched. So expectations will only increase. Many theories have emerged on the reason for U Htin Kyaws sudden departure. But pundits and political insiders say it had long been in the works; it was never his desire to serve as president for a long period, and he only accepted the position at the direct request of his former schoolmate, State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Almost certainly with an eye on the elections in 2020, senior leaders including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi have decided it is time to shake up the government and inject some new blood. In a brief interview with local media at Parliament on Friday, First Lady Daw Su Su Lwin revealed that U Htin Kyaw had not expected to spend too much time in the presidential palace, and had expected to vacate the throne before long. Does this mean the National League for Democracy leaders were under the illusion that amending the Constitution would be possible in the first year of its administration? U Htin Kyaw lived simply, without political ambition and untainted by any hint of corruption. Unlike some of his predecessors, he refrained from seeking personal gain from his position, as is common practice among Myanmars infamous politicians and generals. In reality he was not a very active president, treating the role as largely ceremonial. After all, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had informed us all that she would be above the president. President U Win Myint? If he is elected, former political prisoner U Win Myint will be Myanmars 10th president. Like U Htin Kyaw, he is a decent person who is both apparently free of corruption and a loyalist to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Unlike U Htin Kyaw, U Win Myint was not educated overseas and has had less exposure to the outside world, but he is known to be a quick learner and highly adaptable. U Win Myints history of butting heads with the Myanmar Armys representatives in Parliament as House speaker could complicate his relations with the militarys top brass. The 2008 Constitution would grant him full executive and presidential powers. If he should seek to exercise this power, he will be forced to confront Army generals who wield significant political and economic power. Most importantly, assuming Daw Aung San Suu Kyi gives him her blessing, he will wield more power within the administration, in contrast to U Htin Kyaws approach of not intervening. Many people, including those in business circles, are expecting a major shakeup in the cabinet, with serious implications for the performance of the government and the business sector. It will also be interesting to see the degree to which U Win Myint involves himself in the countrys ongoing peace process. The U Shwe Mann Factor The current administration comprises a mix of ministers who were handpicked and appointed by the ruling party, and others nominated by U Shwe Mann, another ally of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The powerful general was the No. 3 official in the former regime and served as House speaker. He was named head of the then-ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party in 2013 but was purged from the position in 2015 due to tensions between himself and then President U Thein Sein, and was ultimately ejected from the party in 2016. Under the NLD-led administration U Shwe Mann served in a new role as chairman of the new Commission for the Assessment of Legal Affairs and Special Issues. He retains several key political allies. One of these is U T. Khun Myat, the Kachin politician and former militia leader in Northern Shan State who has become the new Lower House speaker. Was a deal done between Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and U Shwe Mann? Perhaps. U T. Khun Myat was a USDP lawmaker until his resignation from the party last year. Since then he has served as an independent. Several cabinet members, including U Kyaw Tint Swe, minister for the Office of the State Counsellor, also served under the former repressive regimes, working with top brass including Senior General Than Shwe, General Khin Nyunt, General Maung Aye and General Shwe Mann. With the exception of U Shwe Mann, they have all retired. The appointment of these ministers close to the U Shwe Mann faction created tension and unhappiness among NLD politicians. In the coming weeks, we can expect to see further changes in the national leadership including, hopefully, in the Cabinet. All eyes will be on the arrival of new faces and the jockeying for position among power factions. As the country continues its slide real or imagined toward failed state status, precisely who will benefit from these changes is an open question. Stay tuned. News Child Rapist Sentenced to Death A district court in Pyin Oo Lwin Township sentenced a child rapist and murderer from Madaya Township to the death penalty. / Zarni Mann Pyin Oo Lwin A district court in Pyin Oo Lwin Township sentenced a child rapist and murderer from Madaya Township to the death penalty. He [the offender] admitted that he raped and killed a girl and the court sentenced him in line with the law, explained Daw Htay Htay Maw, a Pyin Oo Lwin District court spokesperson. Ko Phyo Htet Aung, 23, was arrested on Feb. 13 after raping and killing a 2-year-old girl from Mway Kadoseik village, some five miles from Madaya Township, Pyin Oo Lwin District, Mandalay Division. The girls parents left her at her grandmothers house on Feb. 13 while they went out to collect firewood but found her missing when they returned. The girl was found later that day unconscious in a banana plantation on the outskirts of the village after she had been raped. She died at the hospital. Ko Phyo Htet Aung was apprehended by locals and handed over to police, who detained him on charges of rape and murder. The crime that Ko Phyo Htet Aung admitted to was so brutal and inhumane that the court decided to give him the death penalty, explained the spokesperson. However, the court said the sentence can be appealed to a higher court within seven days. The case interested the public because the victim was a minor. As a lawyer for the victims family, I think the court did the right thing by setting this precedent for sentencing in rape cases, said U lawyer Wai Phyo Maung Maung. Since the death penalty has not been practiced in the country for decades, lawyers said that whether the culprit is killed or left to rot in prison will be decided by the law (upon appeal if that course is taken), as well as prison laws and regulations. Madaya locals led by the parents and family of the victim signed a petition and staged a protest days after the child died, urging the authorities to issue death sentences to rapists, particularly child rapists. We are satisfied with the courts decision. I believe that other parents wont have to suffer as we have in the future, said U Hlaing Zin Myo, the victims father. In February, two rape cases against children under five years old were recorded in Mandalay, while children under 13 were also raped and killed in Yenangyaung, Minhla and Yangon. According to statistics from the Ministry of Home Affairs released on Feb. 15, the number of reported rape cases of children under 16 has risen by more than 200 over the past year. Amid the rise of campaigns calling for the death penalty for child rapists, a mob gathered at a police station in Mandalay to confront the police and urge them to hand over an alleged child rapist. News Ex-Lower House Speaker U Win Myint Elected Vice President U Win Myint (center) enters the Lower House on Friday before the chamber's vote for vice president. / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy YANGON Myanmars Lower House elected its former speaker, U Win Myint of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), as vice president on Friday, paving the way for a vote on the countrys next president following U Htin Kyaws sudden resignation from the post on Wednesday. Parliament will elect a new head of state from among Myanmars three vice presidents next week. Constitutionally, Myanmar needs to have three vice presidents elected by the Lower House, the Upper House, and appointed military lawmakers from both chambers. U Myint Swe, a former lieutenant general, has been Acting President since U Htin Kyaws departure. He was elected vice president by military lawmakers in March 2016, when the NLD came to power. His official position is vice president 1. U Henry Van Thio is vice president 2, elected by the Upper House at the same time that U Htin Kyaw was elected president by the Lower House. U Htin Kyaw was elected president of Myanmar by the Presidential Electoral College, a body made up of lawmakers from both chambers and the military, on March 15, 2016. On Friday morning, Lower House members nominated two candidates for vice president U Win Myint and U Thaung Aye of the opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party. During a secret ballot in the afternoon, U Win Myint was voted in with 273 votes to U Thaung Ayes 27. U Win Myint had submitted his resignation as speaker soon after U Htin Kyaws resignation was announced on Wednesday, prompting speculation that he would become Myanmars next president. If the speculation proves true, U Win Myint, a senior NLD member, will be Myanmars 10th president since the countrys independence in 1948. The 67-year-old is believed to be one of State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyis favorites among fellow senior NLD members. He became the Lower House speaker in February 2016, after the NLD won the 2015 general election. During his time in the Lower House, the former lawyer was known for his strict discipline. He did not tolerate discussions that were off topic during parliamentary meetings. Even union ministers were not free from his stern warnings, not to mention lawmakers, including those from the military. News In Indonesia, a Shadowy Campaign to Stoke Unrest as Elections Loom Indonesian President Joko Widodo delivers a speech at Foreign Ministry office in Jakarta, Indonesia, February 12, 2018. BANDUNG A spate of mysterious attacks on Islamic clerics, schools and mosques in Indonesia in recent weeks has ramped up tensions as the worlds most populous Muslim-majority country heads into provincial elections and a presidential poll next year. Intelligence and Islamic officials believe that political forces are behind what they describe as a shadowy black campaign designed to whip up fear that Islam itself is under siege under the leadership of President Joko Widodo. In one town near the capital, Jakarta, a mosque manager was stabbed and a religious scholar received an anonymous letter warning that 10 clerics would be killed. Videos of what police say are fake attacks on Muslim clerics and schools have also been distributed on social media, heightening a mood of unease. The attacks on the heavily populated island of Java have come as hardline Muslim groups press for a more conservative society and decry moderate politicians, posing a threat to Indonesias reputation for tolerance and the democracy it won with the downfall of authoritarian President Suharto in 1998. Indeed, there are echoes today of the panics stirred up by Suharto, which typically involved attacks on religious figures and institutions and sometimes a communist scare to discredit politicians. Elections are due across the country in June for dozens of governors, district heads and mayors. Analysts see those polls as an opening skirmish before 2019s battle for the presidency. Ridwan Kamil, mayor of the city of Bandung and frontrunner to become governor of West Java province, says he has been hounded for months by hoax stories online that questioned the strength of his Islamic faith. If you are not a Muslim, they will label you an infidel. If you are Muslim, they will label you not Islamic enough, Kamil said of his opponents in an interview with Reuters, declining to identify them. Theyre trying to send a message that the country is not safe, that the government is failing, that we need to replace the existing government. Who gets the benefit? Whoever challenges Jokowi, he said, referring to President Widodo, whom he supports for re-election, by his nickname. A Campaign to Sow Discord The potency of religion as a swing factor in elections was graphically illustrated last year when the popular governor of Jakarta, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, an ethnic-Chinese Christian and close ally of Widodo, lost his bid for re-election after being accused of insulting the Koran. An online video of him speaking had been edited to make it seem that he was criticizing the Koran when in fact he was sniping at people who use a passage of Islams holy book to warn Muslims against voting for non-Muslims. Purnamas ouster was spearheaded by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), a hardline group that organized huge protests against him in late 2016. He was later jailed for blasphemy. Reuters investigations into the recent attacks in Java showed that the FPI has been involved in stoking the tensions. National police chief Tito Karnavian says the wave of violence has not been massive or systematic, and he blames online activists for spicing up anxiety among Muslims. There have only been three actual assaults and about 42 fake attacks were promoted online, he said. Even so, intelligence officials, Islamic leaders and politicians say there is a concerted effort to sow discord through vandalism and threats to Islamic leaders, schools and mosques, reinforced through social media. Intelligence agency chief Budi Gunawan described it as a rampant black campaign. A leader of the Islamic Union, a mainstream organization known as Persis, was killed in the early hours of Feb. 1 by a man wielding an iron bar. Senior Persis leaders told Reuters that 22 of the groups schools, mosques and teachers had been vandalised or received abusive phone calls since that incident. Someone, said Persis deputy chairman Jeje Zaenudin, is trying to provoke a reaction. Mahmud Syaltout, deputy secretary general of the youth wing of Indonesias largest Muslim group, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), said NU schools and mosques have been targeted. One man who was caught vandalizing a mosque in East Java appeared to be healthy and feigning madness, he said. Widodos chief of staff, retired military chief Moeldoko, told local media someone was playing old games, noting that deploying mentally ill people to create unrest was a tactic that harked back to the Suharto era. Red Scare Pressed by Widodo, the NU and another moderate Islamic group, Muhammadiyah, have stepped up grassroots efforts to combat fundamentalist movements. According to a recent survey, nearly 20 percent of high school and university students support the establishment of an caliphate rather than a secular state. On social media, much of the blame for the recent attacks has been laid on communists who critics say have been allowed to flourish under Widodo and his left-leaning IndonesiaDemocratic Party-Struggle. The government and independent analysts have said there is no credible evidence of a revival of Indonesias outlawed communist party (PKI), once the worlds second-largest. The party was decimated after soldiers and Islamic vigilantes slaughtered according to some estimates at least 500,000 alleged leftists and their families in 1965. Even so, Islamists, ultra-nationalists and elements of the military frequently warn of a resurgence. Analysts see the fomenting of a red scare as partly aimed at Widodo, a reformist and moderate who has often been falsely labeled by enemies as a descendant of communists. Earlier this year, a homeless man, suspected of planning to attack a cleric at an Islamic boarding school in West Java, was beaten and accused of being a communist. The man was accosted by students as he paced up and down a lane by their school near the town of Bogor around 3 a.m. on Feb. 10, said Mahmud Mukhlis, one of the students. A pin was found inside the vagrants bag that a local cadre of the FPI Islamic group declared was a symbol of the PKI, Mukhlis said. The pin, viewed by Reuters, was in fact a name tag from a high school emblazoned with an eagle, Indonesias national symbol. Members of FPI filmed the assault and shared the video on social media, said Mukhlis. Slamet Maarif, a spokesman for FPI, did not deny his group was behind the video. He said it needed to be proven that the homeless mans communist plot was a hoax, and described the incident as evidence of an awakening of the communist party. The government should be following up, and not accusing the people of spreading a hoax, Maarif said. Muslim Cyber Army Police have arrested about 20 members of a network of online activists for spreading fake news about attacks on religious figures across Java. Known as the Muslim Cyber Army (MCA), the network was formed after the government shut down some of FPIs websites and social media accounts following anti-Purnama demonstrations in 2016. Police say they are investigating who funds and directs the MCA. FPI leaders have frequently praised the network, and have urged police to stop harassing it. For a decade, West Java province has been ruled by a coalition of nationalist and conservative Islamic parties that support Prabowo Subianto, a former Suharto-era special forces commander who lost the 2014 presidential election to Widodo. In that contest, Widodo was buffeted by an online smear campaign that he came from a family of communists and had Chinese ancestry. Warnings of a communist comeback are often linked to a surge in Chinese investment and workers in Indonesia, part of Widodos drive to revamp the countrys crumbling infrastructure. Subianto is expected to again challenge Widodo, a moderate reformer currently riding high in opinion polls, in next years election. Subianto was buoyed by the victory of a candidate he backed in last years Jakarta governor election, but his Gerindra partys contestant to become governor in West Java is well behind Kamil in opinion surveys. Gerindras deputy secretary general, Ahmad Reza Patria, said the party had no links to the vile and extraordinary acts in Java. Subianto has not commented publicly on the incidents. Bandung Mayor Kamil said he has stepped up security patrols in his city following the wave of attacks, but he is in no doubt that they are politically motivated. In my opinion, it is orchestrated, he said. Its not just a person, but an organization trying to benefit politically through fear. News Karen Women, Disability Advocates Recognized as Women of Change Daw Aye Thinzar Maung speaks at a press conference on disabled childrens access to education. / US Embassy in Myanmar / Facebook CHIANG MAI, Thailand The U.S. Embassy in Yangon honored two Myanmar women and one local organization with its annual Women of Change Award on Thursday, recognizing the incredible work that they and so many women are doing to advance the rights of all people in the country. The 2018 recipients were the Karen Womens Organization (KWO); Daw Aye Thinzar Maung, an executive committee member of the Myanmar Federation for Persons with Disabilities; and Dr. Thet Thet Mu, the deputy director general for health information at the Ministry of Health and Sports. They were honored for their expertise in diverse fields including public health, womens leadership, and the rights of indigenous people and people with disabilities. US Ambassador Scot Marciel said in a press release that this years recipients took risks to do things that were controversial, difficult or dangerous: they stood up for under-represented communities; and they solved problems creatively. The award recipients told The Irrawaddy that this recognition of civil society groups would help to make more people aware of their efforts and encourage others to stand up for change in Myanmar. Naw Wahkhushee Tenner, a member of the KWOs standing committee, said, This award gives us more strength and encourages us to continue supporting gender equality, indigenous peoples rights, womens participation in the peace process and federal democracy in Burma. We will continue to stand against crimes committed by the Burma [Myanmar] Army and fight for the rights of everyone. An ethnic Karen womens group formed in 1949, the KWO operates from a base on the Thailand-Myanmar border and is dedicated to empowering women. It pushed for increasing womens role in decision-making within the Karen National Union (KNU), and has been a strong voice for gender equality and indigenous peoples rights. The US Embassy statement reads, We commend the KWO for their brave stance against the violence against all civilians in Rakhine State and throughout Myanmar. The KWO fights for the rights of all people, not just the Karen. The embassy cited the KWOs criticism of the Myanmar militarys persecution of minorities. In a statement released in September last year, three weeks after the Aug. 25 militant attacks in Maungdaw and Buthetaung townships, the KWO condemned Burmese [Myanmar] military actions against Rohingya civilians. Naw Wahkushee Tenner told The Irrawaddy on Friday, We would like to encourage womens groups and CBOs/CSOs [community based organizations/civil society organizations] that are working on indigenous rights to continue fighting for womens rights, indigenous peoples rights and equality, and to help to end abuse and impunity by the military and stand against atrocity, speak up for the oppressed and fight for the rights of everyone, regardless of their faith or background. Disability rights advocate Daw Aye Thinzar Maung was recognized for her role in raising public awareness about equal access to education and job opportunities for people with disabilities. According to the 2014 census, Myanmar has about 2.3 million disabled people, or 4.6 percent of the total population. Daw Aye Thinzar Maung was born fully abled but was later diagnosed with a disease that caused her to lose her sight. She worked as a trainer with the Association of Myanmar Disabled Womens Affairs (AMDWA) before becoming a leader in MFPD. She did not expect to be recognized with such an award the first of its kind ever given to a disabled person in Myanmar saying, I am glad to accept this recognition. It is not only for me, she told The Irrawaddy. It gives me a chance to speak up for all other disabled persons, and it could bring further support for people with disabilities, she said, adding, More public awareness is still needed in Myanmar in terms of education and job opportunities. The embassy said Dr. Thet Thet Mu was being honored for leading the use of quality health data for evidence-based policy and decision making. It cited the fact that in 2015-16 she led the first-ever demographic and health survey (DHS) to fully reflect Myanmars geographic and ethnic diversity. The US Embassy first awarded the Myanmar Women of Change Award in 2017. There were six recipients last year: Mai Mai of the Kachin Youth Organization; Daw San San Maw of the Myanmar Red Cross; Naw Ei Ei Min of Promotion of Indigenous and Nature Together; Daw Hla Hla Ye from the Legal Clinic Myanmar; Dr. Khin Chit of the Ministry of Health and Sports; and Daw Yi Yi Cho of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation. Friday, March 23rd, 2018 (2:00 pm) - Score 2,120 The Balquhidder Community Broadband project, which is a Community Interest Company (CIC) that has won support from UK ISP Bogons and the Stirling Council in Scotland, has officially launched their new 1Gbps FTTP broadband network that will serve all 197 premises in the Balquhidder area. Unfortunately many in the Balquhidder area are currently unable to obtain a decent broadband service over Openreachs (BT) network, which is due to its remote location, mountainous terrain and the fact that most services are delivered over old Exchange Only Lines (EOL); these can be very expensive to upgrade. A few years ago the BCB campaign was established to resolve this problem by building a new 1000Mbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network in the area. After a lot of hard work the network finally began construction in late 2017 and theyve now reached a point where the development is mature enough to be given an official launch. So far as we can tell the new network largely exists outside the scope of the current Digital Scotland project, while building of the BCB fibre began before the future R100 scheme had been fleshed out. Richard Harris, BCB Director and Founder, said: Balquhidder, like much of rural Scotland, offers a high quality of life in an active community in stunning surroundings. And, like all those areas, its economic development and resilience have been crippled by the lack of effective communications. Ive spent eleven years in efforts that have led to this project, during which time Ive twice had to move growing companies out of Scotland because of poor communications. I now run an international AI and augmented reality company, for which a reliable, high-speed internet connection is vital. Without this network we would soon have had to move out of the area altogether. With it, we can now do the opposite: start to attract more skilled individuals and other companies into the area. The deployment is starting with the community of Balquhidder, including some 190 properties in Balquhidder, Ballimore and Kirkton glens, in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. BCB are also putting in a backbone of around 32km of ducting from three active nodes, which will give them redundant loops around the area. The first sector of the network (Stronvar) is now live, with approximately 8km of the backbone ducting installed and the first properties in this sector having already connected to the service. A lot of preparation work has also taken place for the build to Balquhidder Village and the Ballinluig, Gartnafuran clusters. Margaret Brisley, Stirling Councils Finance Chair, said: Access to high speed broadband and connectivity is a major issue for communities in rural Stirling, impacting on economic growth and access to services. The Balquhidder Community Broadband Project is an excellent example of a community providing a solution to this challenge, supported by Stirling Council and private sector partners. The council recognises the leadership and commitment shown by the community and is delighted to work in partnership to deliver this project. Providing world class broadband connectivity to Balquhidder will be transformational, enabling and supporting the economic growth of the area whilst giving the community full access to services. Apparently the plan is to have the Monachyle Mhor hotel at the west end of the glen connected in time for its big food and music festival (http://mhorfestival.net) at the end of May. After that the goal is to have the vast majority of the glen connected by the end of 2018. The project is funded in part by an initial 100,000 investment from Stirling Council, along with a similar investment from its commercial partner. ISPreview.co.uk understands that the total build budget comes to around 400k, plus an allowance for contingency. Most of the build costs are being met through: volunteer effort, investment from Stirling Council and match funding from Bogons. However BCB said that negotiation over fibre and ducting costs, as well as the ability and enthusiasm of their volunteers to build their own tools (e.g. they have a self-laying mole plough that can be attached to a digger arm to reach over walls or fences and into soft ground), means theyre already optimistic about coming in under budget. Meanwhile Bogons, which owns a rather unique nuclear bunker in Cultybraggan (near Comrie) that is being turned into a datacentre, has been giving significant help to the project. As we understand it, BCB have a 1Gbps Openreach EAD link to a cabinet at Stronvar, which routes back through the Strathyre exchange to Bogons nuclear bunker. From there, Bogons has 2 x 100Gbps links to the outside world. Balquhidder is our first local project of this nature. Since our work with BCB started we have also now taken on wireless internet service provider provision for neighbouring Loch Tay [AB Internet]. We are looking to help other communities where the community is willing to do the digging and other works for us to install fibre, said Brandon Butterworth, Director of Bogons Ltd. Apparently there is still a gap in the projects funding and as a result theyve been actively campaigning for the Government to launch a new business connectivity voucher scheme, which finally materialised last week (details here). Meanwhile residents typically pay 35 per month and a 135 one-off install fee in order to receive the 1Gbps unlimited service (symmetrical speeds). Extra capacity can easily be added to support growth. The BCB project expects to bring millions of pounds in economic gains, which they claim will boost the local economy by improving jobs, diversity and resilience. Property prices are also expected to rise, while residents and businesses will be able to better access commercial and public services online. Richard told ISPreview.co.uk that BCB already have more than 65% of properties committed to taking the new service and expect to generate a modest operating profit, which should be enough to pay back the private investment in the network over a reasonable period. The community retains ownership of all in-ground infrastructure. Friday, March 23rd, 2018 (1:12 pm) - Score 2,263 Cable operator Virgin Media have announced that Project Lighting has so far extended their 350Mbps capable broadband and TV network to 100,000 extra premises in Scotland and they plan to connect thousands more in 2018, although oddly they arent saying how many more. Overall the 3bn network extension aims to reach an additional 4 million premises across the United Kingdom by around the end of 2019 or 2020, which should extend their overall coverage to roughly 60%+ of the country (a total of 17 million premises). Some 2 million of those extra premises will be via FTTP, while the rest should extend Virgin Medias traditional Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) based EuroDOCSIS cable network. Scotland represents a fairly small part of Virgin Medias UK network and in total they only cover over 1 million premises across the country, although today we learn that some of the next areas to benefit will include Bathgate; Bonnyrigg; Cranhill; Joppa; Jordanhill; Kilbirnie; Kilmarnock; Shettleston; and Stepps. The plans were made public at a Virgin Media event in Edinburgh, which was attended by Fergus Ewing MSP, the Scottish Governments Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Connectivity, as well as local authority representatives from across the region. This is important because VM also used the opportunity to call for changes in order to make their job easier. Key Issues and Requirements * Create a new notification wayleaves regime so that absentee landlords cannot block leaseholder access to broadband; * Introduce long-term business rates relief for all new broadband assets for the lifetime of full fibre rollout; * Provision, in the proposed new Planning Bill, that new homes should have access to multiple ultrafast networks not just BTs; * An ability to be flexible in our use of narrow trenching units; * Greater flexibility to operate multiple teams on site at any one time. The proposal for a lifetime relief on business rates is interesting, although were a little unclear about whether they mean for the duration of the new full fibre rollout or for the overall lifetime of the network itself. Meanwhile the UK government is implementing a 5 year holiday for business rates on new fibre. Similarly we like the idea of all new homes being required to provide access to multiple ultrafast networks, although this could create problems for smaller builds, as well as in areas where only one physical ultrafast network is actually available. Managing the competing interests of multiple operators might also create a few headaches for developers. At present the UK government has already implemented a related EU directive (here), which requires that all newly constructed buildings (those that gained permission after the 31st December 2016) except small / personal projects (e.g. building a single house) are equipped with a high-speed-ready in-building physical infrastructure, up to the network termination points (e.g. building plenty of spare space in cable ducts). Julie Agnew, VMs Scotland Regional Director, said: Scotland has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of our Project Lightning programme and we are planning to connect thousands more homes and businesses this year. We hope that working more closely with the Government and local authorities will help accelerate Scotlands digital ambitions more effectively and efficiently. Fergus Ewing MSP, Scottish Government, said: I welcome this announcement by Virgin Media and I am encouraged by their promise to connect thousands more Scottish homes and businesses in 2018, building on their current rollout in Scotland. This reaffirms that our approach to our R100 programme is working. By focusing our 600 million investment in Scotlands rural areas, while creating the right environment to encourage the likes of Virgin Media to invest in our urban areas, we are ensuring that we meet our commitment to deliver 100% superfast broadband access across Scotland by the end of 2021. Otherwise todays announcement is really more of a re-announcement because they already confirmed, back in 2016, that Project Lighting would ultimately result in their cable and fibre optic network being extended to reach a further 360,000 homes and businesses across Scotland (here). Hopefully the operator will stick to that plan but theyve today chosen not to set any solid progress targets for 2018. Neither Facebook nor Google will ever stop their trade in personal data. If they did, they would go out of business this is a home truth that people refuse to accept. This week, Facebook has been under the hammer over disclosures that data fed into its system was treated as so much sweets for the children. That comes as no surprise CNBC has a wonderful timeline showing how Mark Zuckerberg has responded to similar issues, though not on such a grand scale, over the years. It will evoke cynical laughs, if nothing else. Prior to this, Google has said this, that and the other when faced with the reality of YouTube that it is spewing videos on vile subjects and earning ad revenue through this. There too, the company has said everything possible to avoid criticism, but done little in reality. Both Facebook and Google are mountains of incredibly well-targeted data which can be used for any task on the face of the earth. Why would these companies take pains to collect all this material if they did not intend to make money off it? This has been the business model for both companies from day one. Remember: it was the CIA's venture capitalist arm that funded the research of Google co-founder Sergey Brin that led to the creation of this company. There is an added downside: not only do both Facebook and Google take away revenue from professional media organisations that deal in facts (okay, mostly), they also help spread misinformation at an alarming rate. And both companies have one thing in common they rarely, if ever, will interact in person with the media. And certainly not with those organisations which still employ journalists who ask hard questions. A point to note: Zuckerberg did not do an interview with either The Guardian or The New York Times, the two organisations that have carried the recent Cambridge Analytica stories. No, he went to CNN, Wired and Recode. Why? You can figure that one out, I'm sure. Few people have thought to ask: why are people so gullible as to trust a commercial company with private data? Everyone wants a free lunch and seriously thinks that they will not pay a price at some point, somewhere. The true story has finally emerged. But don't expect the lemmings to stop marching over the cliff. Humans have an incredible ability to self-destruct. This is just the first act in a long play. Britain's information commissioner will have to wait until Friday UK time for a warrant" to look at the databases and servers used by data analytics company Cambridge Analytica, the firm that is alleged to have used data of more than 50 million Facebook subscribers for targeting voters in the US presidential election. Elizabeth Denham had demanded access to the company's servers by 6pm UK time on Monday. She later said she had decided to seek a warrant as the company did not make any move to meet her demand. In the interim, Facebook sent a digital forensics team from Stroz Friedberg to audit the Cambridge Analytica data but asked them to hold off once it learned of Denham's intentions. In a statement on Thursday UK time, Denham's office said: "A High Court judge has adjourned the ICOs application for a warrant relating to Cambridge Analytica until Friday. "The ICO will be in court to continue to pursue the warrant to obtain access to data and information to take forward our investigation. The allegations about Cambridge Analytica were made by a former employee, Christopher Wylie, and reported by London's The Observer and The New York Times over the weekend. The data was collected in 2014 by Aleksandr Kogan, a researcher, using an app that requested people to take a personality test for academic research. About 270,000 people took the test; its creator, Aleksandr Kogan, called the app he was using a very standard vanilla Facebook app". Given the terms of service of the app and the existing Facebook API, the app also collected the data of friends of those who responded. Kogan later passed on the data to data research firm Cambridge Analytica, which worked for President Donald Trumps election team. The newspaper reports said what was handed over was information about more than 50 million people. The Future of Business Technology 15-17 MAY 2018 ICC Sydney | www.cebit.com.au Media release: Friday, 23 March 2018 Experts to discuss the responsibilities, policies, and protections of IoT and AI-machine learning innovations within cloud and big data technology at CeBIT Australia . The intersection of advanced Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) within Big Data and the Cloud is transforming how technology is interacting and supporting business and enterprise creating smart-data and smart-cloud systems causing a knock-on impact with regulatory and legal ramifications. Local and international experts will converge on Sydney for CeBIT Australia in May, to share insights into smart solutions for digital transformation, customer-centric applications intelligence opportunities and what they mean for the future of businesses and regulatory reforms during two data streams, Big Data & Analytics and Cloud. Winston Chew, Director Regional Information Security Officer at GSK Singapore, who will deliver the keynote address at the Cloud Conference, commented on how leveraging smartcloud intelligence opens opportunities for better business performance. With the convergence of new technologies, AI and IoT are playing major roles in automated decision systems on the cloud. The future challenge becomes how we create smart solutions to adapt new technology to remain agile and customer focused, while maximising the intelligence and adhering to security, privacy and regulation laws.The question business and enterprise technology leaders will need to ask going forward is how smart is my cloud and how is it turbocharging our digital transformation journey? said Mr Chew. Recognising the need to balance risk and usability within cloud technology, Anthony Wong, Immediate Past President of ACS, and CEO, AGW Lawyers & Consultants, said law and policy makers need to mitigate the repercussions of these advanced technologies on the public including on the accountabilities and responsibilities of virtual and human actors. As our reliance on cloud technology continues to increase, we need to understand the potential dark side and ramifications. As AI-enabled IoT devices interact, communicate and facilitate transactions over the cloud, it is expected that decision points will move closer to data collection and the users adding to the complexity of the legal compliance around privacy and liability. For example, the wider implications of these growing technologies call into question the very nature of our transactional economy can cloud technology withstand the integrity of smart transactions between machine intelligence and humans? And what are the legal ramifications when a machine-learning device makes the wrong call on your behalf? said Mr Wong. A keynote panel within the Big Data and Analytics stream, Building smart service through data, collaboration and IoT will see commercial and government leaders discuss how data and smart services are changing the urban environment to benefit communities. Panellists will include Dorte Ekelund, Principal Advisor Smart Cities, SMEC; Prakash Kuttikatt, Head of Business Intelligence and Data, CBA; Gemma Van Halderen, First Assistant Secretary, Open Data Efficiencies Data Sharing, Collection and Integration, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and Ferhod Sarmed, Data and Analytics Director, Amaysim. The panel will be hosted by moderator Dr Ian Oppermann, Chief Data Scientist and CEO, NSW Data Analytics Centre, NSW Treasury. CeBIT Australia is Asia Pacifics largest business technology conference and exhibition, offering opportunities to hear from the worlds thought leaders, interact first-hand with the latest innovations and meet over 300 exhibitors and 100 disruptive start-up innovators. CeBIT Australia will take place 15 - 17 May 2018 at the International Convention Centre Sydney, Darling Harbour. The program overview is available: www.cebit.com.au/program/ To register visit: www.cebit.com.au/conference-registration/ www.cebit.com.au When incident detection vendor SecBI found suspicious activity on company devices at one of its clients, they passed on the data with the expectation that the client, a large European enterprise, would investigate further. That didnt happen. The clients security team was not allowed to look at the data due to privacy concerns. A contract with the companys employee union prohibited anyone in the organization from looking at employees personal data (e.g., browsing data, banking transactions, or healthcare provider interactions) stored on their work computers, even though they were owned by the company. Although SecBIs data indicated possible bad behavior on the part of an employee, the company did not have sufficient cause to investigate under the terms of the union contract. Heres the kicker: The union used language from the EUs General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in its contract with the company to keep it from accessing employees personal data on company devices. That put the companys security team, itself part of the union, in an awkward position: The data showed a potential threat, but they could not confirm the threat without breaching the union contract. If there indeed was a data breach, they risked breaking the GDPRs 72-hour reporting rule. This organization has a security operations center. It has tools and sensors to capture log data coming from the various devices deployed or assigned to employees, but the people in the SOC are very restricted from looking at the data being collected that is necessary to do their job, whether some laptop is compromised or somebody is misbehaving in a way that might pose a risk to the organization, says Alex Vaystikh, CTO and cofounder at SecBI. The organization is now struggling to balance between the privacy and the [GDPR requirement] to find and disclose compromise within 72 hours. They have a chicken-and-egg problem. The lesson here for every company struggling to meet GDPR compliance: Protect privacy, but dont weaken your ability to detect and respond to threats in the process. A lot of people have a misconception about the EU standards even now for conducting appropriate reviews, monitoring, and following up on suspicious activity, says Joan Antokol, founder and managing partner at Park Legal LLC and a member of the International Working Group on Data Protection in Telecommunications. Alum Fights Fracking in Documentary Set for Tuesday Screening BLOOMINGTON, Ill. Illinois Wesleyan University alum Sandra Steingraber 81, a leading activist against fracking in New York state, is the subject of the documentary film Unfractured which will be screened on Tuesday, March 27 at 7 p.m. in IWUs Hansen Student Center. This screening is co-sponsored by the IWU Environmental Studies Program and the John Wesley Powell Audubon, and is free and open to the public. After majoring in biology at IWU, Steingraber devoted the past 35 years of her career to advocating for environmental protection. Unfractured follows her dedicated efforts to oppose the oil and gas industry and secure a statewide ban on hydraulic fracturing or fracking despite the voices of doubters who believed she was championing a lost cause. At times, her work even placed her in harms way, whether at the hands of Romanian police who pepper sprayed her after visiting anti-fracking activists, or New York police who arrested her for blockading a gas storage site during a campaign of civil disobedience. All the while, Steingraber overcame hardship in her personal life as well, after her husband endured a series of strokes that sent the family into crisis. However, in a passionate rally speech, Steingraber asserted her commitment to continue the fight against fracking, a practice that threatens the health of the planet and all those who rely on it. The work we must do to ban fracking is bigger than any one of our individual tragedies, she declared. Because we are fighting for everyones sons and daughters and husbands and families. Because we are fighting for life itself. By Rachel McCarthy 21 Piano Duo Hye-Jung Hong and Wei-Han Su to Give Recital BLOOMINGTON, Ill. Pianists Hye-Jung Hong and Wei-Han Su will give a performance, hosted by Illinois Wesleyan Universitys School of Music, on Sunday, March 25 at 3 p.m. at Westbrook Auditorium in Presser Hall (1210 N. Park St., Bloomington). The event is free and open to the public. Hong debuted at the Palace of Arts in Seoul, and since then, her reputation has spread across the globe through recitals and concerts across Asia, Europe and North America. In addition, she has appeared as concerto soloist with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, and has performed in concert series in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Symphony Orchestra. She received her Bachelor of Music, Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University. Hong currently serves as an Associate Professor of Piano at Missouri State University, where she was inducted into the National Music Honor Society (Pi Kappa Lambda) in 2005, two years after her colleague Wei-Han Su. Sus music career has also taken him across the globe to prestigious venues, such as the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory and the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, where he made his orchestral debut in 1991. After graduating with honors from Cambridge University, Su received a Master of Music degree and the Performers Diploma from the Royal College of Music in London, where he won the Chappell Gold Medal, the Colleges highest honor for pianists. He went on to earn his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Peabody Conservatory, where he served as a faculty member and received a Peabody Career Development Grant in 2003. Su is now Professor of Piano at Missouri State University, and during his time there has been inducted into the National Music Honor Society in 2003 and given a University Award in Teaching in 2005. For additional information, please contact the School of Music at (309) 556-3061. By Rachel McCarthy '21 Reddit Email 235 Shares TeleSur | Saudi Arabia bought the almost 7,000 TOW missiles plus an additional 96 for training purposes for a total of US$670 million. The U.S. Congress has one month to counter the Trump administrations approval of a US$1 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia, with almost 7,000 anti-tank missiles thrown into the deal. The White House informed lawmakers Thursday they have 30 days to stop the arsenal set aside for Saudi Arabias military, which includes tanks, helicopters, service, support and 6,600 missiles. The decision comes just as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman begins his United States tour, two days after he was pictured shaking hands with President Donald Trump. Saudi Arabia bought the almost 7,000 TOW missiles plus an additional 96 for training purposes for a total of US$670 million, the U.S. State Department said in a statement. The proposed sale of TOW 2B missiles and technical support will advance Saudi Arabias efforts to develop an integrated ground defense capability, the department said, noting that the sale would improve the security of an important ally in the Middle East. The State Department also said it has approved the possible sale of US$300 million in parts for Saudi Arabias fleet of Abrams tanks and armored vehicles. It has also given the green light for the proposed sale of equipment and services worth US$106.8 million for Saudis fleet of military helicopters. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Saudi Arabia is part of the solution in Yemen. Despite severe criticism, the Saudi coalition continues to be U.S.-supported, targeting Houthi rebels and causing numerous civilian casualties. Via TeleSur Bonus video added by Informed Comment: IBTimes UK: President Trump gives presentation on US arms sales to Saudi Arabia Reddit Email 92 Shares Middle East Monitor | Two new UK universities have joined Israeli Apartheid Week this year, further increasing the reach of the global event. Keele University and City University of London are both hosting activities to highlight the plight of Palestinians as part of the annual campaign. Universities and Palestinian solidarity groups across the UK have organised a week of events ranging from cultural performances, film screenings, panel discussions and demonstrations. Read: American actor attacked for supporting BDS London hosted number international acts including Palestinian-American American poet and writer Remi Kanazi and founding member of the Palestinian rap trio DAM, Tamer Nafar. The series of events takes place over a six week period from 19 February to 17 April and aims to raise awareness of the injustices committed under Israeli occupation and to rally support for the growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Via Middle East Monitor This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. - Bonus video added by Informed Comment: SABC: DISCUSSION: Israeli Apartheid Week with Ali Abunimah Reddit 3K Email 7K Shares By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | John Bolton helped lie our country into an illegal war of aggression that killed several hundred thousand Iraqis, wounded over a million, and displaced 4 million from their homes, helped deliver Baghdad into the hands of Iran, and helped create ISIL, which blew up Paris. In a just world, Bolton would be on trial at the Hague for war crimes. Instead, he has been promoted into a position to do to Iran what he did to Iraq. He is also in the back pocket of the MEK Iranian terrorist organization, which despite its violent and smelly past has proved so useful to those plotting the apocalyptic destruction of Iran that the Washington elite decided to take it off the list of terrorist organizations in 2012. The acceptable political spectrum inside the Beltway in Washington DC is a marvel to behold. Bernie Sanders, a long-serving senator and public servant won 13.2 million popular votes to 16.8 million votes for Hillary Clinton (i.e. he was backed by 43% of one of the two major parties in the country). But Sanders was virtually blacked out from corporate television coverage during his impressive presidential bid, while Jeff Zucker turned CNN over to Trump every night at 7:30 pm throughout the summer and fall of 2016 and just let him talk, or whatever he does, for an hour without even a semblance of journalistic analysis. Supposedly left-leaning MSNBC did the same thing. Americas corporations love the fascist side of the spectrum, which is obvious from the way they promoted Trump and Trumpism. Zucker also hired Cory Lewandowski, who was at the time contractually obligated to avoid criticizing Trump, as a CNN commentator. Fascism after all favors big corporations and vilifies and punishes workers and the poor. Under Mussolini, the Italian poor were plunged into much deeper poverty. Television news also loves the maniacal side of the spectrum. You seldom see normal people as commentators on cable news, and much of the commentary is polarized and superficial and often simply incorrect on the facts of the matter. Sometimes it is even just a criminal conspiracy. During the Iraq War, the NYT revealed that the Pentagon successfully pressed on CNN a gaggle of former generals, many of them actively making money off of the Iraq War through contracting while they were promoting it on television. They presented an Alice in Wonderland view of the brutal US occupation of that country as a shining success. Tom Fenton, a career television journalist, once wrote a book suggesting that television news is so bad that it is actually a standing risk for US security, since an uninformed or misinformed public cannot play the democratic role of watchdog and is not being alerted to genuine threats. Maybe the maniacs draw eyeballs and increase advertising dollars. Maybe Wall Street doesnt see people as maniacs as long as they advocate giving billionaires more money. The fascination with the far right wing and with the maniacal dovetails in the person of Bolton, now Trumps National Security Adviser. Jesus said that if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch. The ditch in this case could well be a ruinous war with Iran. In a sane society, people like Bolton wouldnt be allowed on television, much less put in charge of American security. Bolton has assiduously tried to do the same thing he did to Iraq to Iran. Big corporations like wars. Wars mean you have to manufacture more shiny children-murdering weapons and bombs, the ultimate in planned obsolescence. No war, and the factories fall silent and the money-counting stops. People called hawks in Washington, a euphemism for murderous maniacs, often get supported one way or another by the arms industry. Sometimes it is direct and their bank accounts should be examined. Iran has never had a nuclear weapons program, and as long as the nuclear deal holds, it has no opportunity to develop them. It has no heavy water reactor. It has a limited number of centrifuges. It destroyed its stockpile of uranium enriched to 19.5% for its medical reactor. It is being actively inspected. No country under active UN arms inspections has ever developed a bomb. Bolton wants to bomb Iran so badly that he does not care about these facts. He wanted to bomb Iran himself if he could, sort of like Slim Pickens in Dr. Strangelove. If not he wanted to have the Israelis do it. He has a list. Hed like to bomb nuclear-armed North Korea, too. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists that keeps that clock showing how many minutes the world is away from a nuclear midnight can put it away. With Boltons appointment, it is past midnight. Results include 6.78 g/t gold over 11 metres and 2.09 g/t gold over 27 metres at Peksou, and 6.46 g/t gold over 5 metres and 6.39 g/t gold over 6 metres at Ma North TORONTO, March 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Teranga Gold Corporation ("Teranga" or the "Company") (TSX:TGZ) (OTCQX:TGCDF) is pleased to announce that early-stage diamond drilling has intersected additional high-grade, near surface and deeper gold mineralization at the Ma and Peksou prospects, both of which are situated on its Golden Hill property in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Teranga has an earn-in agreement on the Golden Hill property with Boss Resources Limited (ASX:BOE) pursuant to which Teranga, as the operator, can earn an 80% interest in the joint venture upon delivery of a feasibility study and the payment of AUD2.5 million. Teranga is actively drilling a number of prospects at Golden Hill the most advanced of which are Ma, Peksou, Jackhammer Hill, C-Zone and Nahiri. These prospects are located within approximately five kilometres from a central point (Figure 1 in Appendix 1). The exploration program has advanced significantly over the past year, a metallurgical test program has been initiated, while the base line environmental plan is in the initiation phase and monitoring on site is expected to commence by mid-year 2018. An initial resource on the most advanced prospects is expected by the end of 2018. All diamond drill holes at the Peksou and Ma North prospects announced in this release intersected gold mineralization. Highlights include: Peksou Prospect 11 m @ 6.78 g/t gold including 2 m @ 27.01 g/t gold (GHDD-230) from 47 m downhole depth (DHD) from 47 m downhole depth (DHD) 16 m @ 2.23 g/t gold including 2 m @ 7.69 g/t gold (GHDD-234) from 106 m DHD from 106 m DHD 14 m @ 2.84 g/t gold including 4 m @ 4.31 g/t gold (GHDD-237) from 41 m DHD from 41 m DHD 27 m @ 2.09 g/t gold including 4 m @ 8.31 g/t gold including 1 m @ 26.37 g/t gold (GHDD-241) from 14 m DHD Ma Prospect (Ma North Portion) 5 m @ 3.80 g/t Au (GHDD-252) from 66 m DHD from 66 m DHD 5 m @ 6.46 g/t Au including 1 m @ 17.34 g/t Au (GHDD-256) from 41 m DHD from 41 m DHD 6 m @ 6.39 g/t Au including 1 m @ 20.30 g/t Au (GHDD-260) from 96 m DHD Terangas Golden Hill project is progressing rapidly. Todays results from Ma North and Peksou expand known zones of gold mineralization at both prospects and confirm the potential of these targets and the project overall, said Richard Young, President & CEO. We have initiated preliminary technical work to progress in parallel with the drill program towards a goal of announcing an initial resource estimation for the most advanced prospects by the end of 2018. In addition, we have secured a $25 million financing commitment for future advancement of Golden Hill to feasibility study. We are working toward becoming the next multi-asset, mid-tier gold producer in West Africa and these drill results from the Ma and Peksou prospects continue to increase our confidence that Golden Hill will play a role in realizing this vision. Peksou Prospect: 600-Metre Strike Extent The Companys diamond drilling at the Peksou prospect now covers a 600-metre strike extent (Figure 2 in Appendix 1) and extends locally to vertical depths approaching 100 metres. Gold mineralization at Peksou is hosted both within mafic volcanic and granodiorite intrusive units where two distinct styles of alteration have been noted one hematite dominant and the second sericite dominant. With multiple favourable results from this latest drill phase, confidence in the interpretation has improved considerably and correlation of mineralized zones, both hole-to-hole and section-to-section, is greatly enhanced. Representative sections are included (Figures 3 and 4 in Appendix 1). Diamond drill results from recent drilling at Peksou are reported within this news release (Table 1). Cumulative results from Peksou drilling are available on the Companys website www.terangagold.com under Exploration. Ma Prospect (Ma North Portion): Third Mineralized Breccia Zone Discovered Recent Ma North diamond drill results confirm that a third well-mineralized breccia zone (BZ-3) exists within the Ma structural complex where previous drilling had identified BZ-1 and BZ-2 (Figure 5 in Appendix 1). The recent Ma North drilling focused on the mafic volcanic units hosting the western portion of the mineralized structural zone crossing both granodiorite intrusive and mafic volcanic hosts. Drilling at Ma North is at a very early-stage when compared to other portions of the Ma structural complex. However, early-stage hole-to-hole correlation is demonstrating excellent continuity of mineralization (Figures 6 and 7 in Appendix 1). Additional drilling is planned to further evaluate Ma North both along trend and to depth where the breccia hosted mineralization remains open to expansion. Diamond drill results from recent drilling at Ma North are reported within this news release (Table 2). Cumulative results from Ma North drilling are available on the Companys website www.terangagold.com under Exploration. Our drilling program at Golden Hill continues to provide a series of excellent gold intersections at multiple prospects including these most recent results from Peksou and the confirmation of a third mineralized breccia zone at our most advanced prospect, the Ma structural complex, said David Mallo, Vice President, Exploration. Our most recent and ongoing drilling at Golden Hill includes a second phase program completed at the C-Zone prospect and initial drilling at both the A-Zone and B-Zone prospects. All three prospects lie to the immediate south of the Peksou prospect. Golden Hill Property The Golden Hill property is comprised of three adjacent exploration permits covering 470 km2 located in southwest Burkina Faso in the central part of the Hounde Greenstone Belt. This belt hosts a number of high-grade gold discoveries, including the Siou, Yaramoko and Hounde deposits, the latter being contiguous with Golden Hill. To the south of Golden Hill is another large land position where active exploration programs are well underway. Drilling Results Tables Table 1: Peksou Prospect Selected Drill Highlights Hole # Northing * Easting * Elevation Azimuth Dip EOH (m) Interval (m)* Core length (m)* Grade (g/t Au) GHDD-228 1227453 452336 299 025 -50 174 18-19 1 2.50 170-171 1 5.85 GHDD-229 1227581 452391 297 025 -50 178 55-57 2 3.20 GHDD-230 1227631 452285 299 025 -55 86 47-58 11 6.78 Including 48-50 2 27.01 69-74 5 2.13 Including 69-70 1 9.12 GHDD-231 1227653 452244 299 025 -55 101 18-19 1 1.94 25-27 2 3.13 93-94 1 4.83 GHDD-232 1227736 452109 301 025 -50 122 59-81 22 1.38 Including 69-73 4 2.55 96-101 5 1.31 GHDD-233 1227699 452178 300 025 -50 119 6-9 3 1.55 38-40 2 5.31 45-46 1 2.63 56-66 10 1.27 70-73 3 2.41 GHDD-234 1227671 452169 300 025 -55 137 27-32 5 1.66 80-83 3 1.88 85-92 7 1.38 96-101 5 1.17 106-122 16 2.23 Including 117-119 2 7.69 GHDD-235 1227712 452087 302 025 -55 152 81-85 4 8.06 GHDD-236 1227823 452044 302 025 -50 97 42-45 3 2.61 GHDD-237 1227684 452217 300 025 -50 68 41-55 14 2.84 Including 41-45 4 4.31 GHDD-238 1227672 452255 299 025 -50 107 12-18 6 1.31 62-64 2 2.55 GHDD-239 1227625 452321 298 025 -50 80 24-31 7 1.28 GHDD-240 1227586 452436 299 025 -50 80 29-30 1 2.62 42-44 2 1.57 GHDD-241 1227753 452161 301 025 -60 75 4-8 4 2.30 14-41 27 2.09 Including 18-22 4 8.31 Including 20-21 1 26.37 GHDD-243 1227871 451992 302 025 -50 74 Results Pending * Intervals calculated with a 0.4 g/t Au cut-off and 2 metres maximum internal dilution. True widths are unknown. UTM's are WGS84-30N Intervals with grade x thickness (gram x metre) of 10 or higher are highlighted in bold. Table 2: Ma North Prospect Selected Drill Highlights Hole # Northing * Easting * Elevation Azimuth Dip EOH (m) Interval (m)* Core length (m)* Grade (g/t Au) GHDD-251 1237898 452000 389 010 -45 120 83-85 2 1.34 87-93 6 2.20 Including 91-93 2 4.50 GHDD-252 1237946 451962 388 010 -45 80 66-71 5 3.80 GHDD-253 1237945 451882 384 010 -45 122 98-100 2 3.81 Including 98-99 1 6.76 GHDD-254 1237960 451847 383 010 -45 120 96-101 5 1.81 Including 100-101 1 5.68 GHDD-255 1237971 451802 383 010 -45 130 58-59 1 1.50 GHDD-256 1237943 452098 394 010 -45 119 41-46 5 6.46 Including 42-43 1 17.34 GHDD-257 1237939 452141 398 010 -45 101 31-36 5 2.67 GHDD-258 1237901 452132 405 010 -45 89 67-71 4 2.45 GHDD-259 1237905 452092 400 010 -45 86 66-69 3 2.55 Including 68-69 1 6.29 GHDD-260 1237873 452031 392 010 -45 116 96-102 6 6.39 Including 96-97 1 20.30 GHDD-261 1237867 451947 387 010 -45 150 77-78 1 15.39 90-92 2 2.24 125-128 3 4.07 134-135 1 12.83 GHDD-262 1237868 451910 385 010 -45 149 Results Pending GHDD-263 1237867 451910 384 010 -45 170 Results Pending * Intervals calculated with a 0.4 g/t Au cut-off and 2 metres maximum internal dilution. True widths are unknown. UTM's are WGS84-30N Intervals with grade x thickness (gram x metre) of 10 or higher are highlighted in bold. Competent Persons Statements Teranga's exploration programs in Burkina Faso are being managed by Peter Mann, FAusIMM. Mr. Mann is a full time employee of Teranga and is not "independent" within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101). Mr. Mann has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralization and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a "Qualified Person" under NI 43-101. The technical information contained in this news release relating to exploration results are based on, and fairly represents, information compiled by Mr. Mann. Mr. Mann has verified and approved the data disclosed in this release, including the sampling, analytical and test data underlying the information. The RC and diamond core samples are assayed at the BIGGS Laboratory in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Mr. Mann has consented to the inclusion in this news release of the matters based on his compiled information in the form and context in which it appears herein. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain statements that constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws ("forward-looking statements"), which reflects management's expectations regarding Teranga's future growth and business prospects (including the timing and development of new deposits and the success of exploration activities) and opportunities. Wherever possible, words such as objective to, likely, intend to, potential, belief, believe, expects, estimates, plans, anticipated, ability and similar expressions or statements that certain actions, events or results should, or "will" have been used to identify such forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, all disclosure regarding possible events, conditions or results of operations, future economic conditions and anticipated courses of action. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release reflect management's current beliefs based upon information currently available to management and based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, Teranga cannot be certain that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions, opinions and analysis made by management in light of its experience, current conditions and its expectations of future developments that management believe to be reasonable and relevant but that may prove to be incorrect. These assumptions include, among other things, the ability to obtain any requisite governmental approvals, including renewals of the Golden Hill exploration permits in 2018, the accuracy of sampling, analytical and test data underlying the exploration results included herein, gold price, exchange rates, fuel and energy costs, future economic conditions, and anticipated future estimates of free cash flow. Teranga cautions you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties that may affect forward-looking statements include, among others: the inherent risks involved in exploration and development of mineral properties, including government approvals and permitting, changes in economic conditions, changes in the worldwide price of gold and other key inputs, changes in mine plans and other factors, such as project execution delays, many of which are beyond the control of Teranga, as well as other risks and uncertainties which are more fully described in Teranga's Annual Information Form dated March 29, 2017, and in other filings of Teranga with securities and regulatory authorities which are available at www.sedar.com. Teranga does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements should assumptions related to these plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions change. Nothing in this document should be construed as either an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy or sell Teranga securities. All references to Teranga include its subsidiaries unless the context requires otherwise. About Teranga Teranga is a multi-jurisdictional West African gold company focused on production and development as well as the exploration of more than 5,000 km2 of land located on prospective gold belts. Since its initial public offering in 2010, Teranga has produced more than 1.4 million ounces of gold from its operations in Senegal, which as of June 30, 2017 had a reserve base of 2.7 million ounces of gold. Focused on diversification and growth, the Company is advancing its Wahgnion Gold Project, with a recently released positive feasibility study, and conducting extensive exploration programs in three countries: Burkina Faso, Senegal and Cote dIvoire. Teranga has a strong balance sheet and the financial flexibility to execute on its growth strategy. The Company has nearly 4.0 million ounces of gold reserves from its combined Sabodala Gold operations and Wahgnion Gold Project. Steadfast in its commitment to set the benchmark for responsible mining, Teranga operates in accordance with the highest international standards and aims to act as a catalyst for sustainable economic, environmental, and community development as it strives to create value for all of its stakeholders. Teranga is a member of the United Nations Global Compact and a leading member of the multi-stakeholder group responsible for the submission of the first Senegalese Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative revenue report. The Company's responsibility report is available at www.terangagold.com/responsibilityreport and is prepared in accordance with its commitments under the United Nations Global Compact and in alignment with the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines. Contact Information Richard Young President & CEO T: +1 416-594-0000 | E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Trish Moran Head of Investor Relations T: +1 416-607-4507 | E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. APPENDIX 1 Figure 1: Golden Hill Property Prospect Location Plan Map Figure 2: Peksou Prospect Drill Plan Figure 3: Peksou Prospect Representative Drill Section (A - A) Figure 4: Peksou Prospect Representative Drill Section (B - B) Figure 5: Ma Prospect (Ma North Portion) Drill Plan Figure 6: Ma Prospect (Ma North Portion) Representative Drill Section (A - A) Figure 7: Ma Prospect (Ma North Portion) Representative Drill Section (B - B) Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 22, 2018) - Carube Copper Corp. (TSXV: CUC) (the "Company") announces today that the Company has closed a second tranche of its non-brokered private placement of up to $3,000,000 (the "Offering") announced on December 1, 2017 and March 9, 2018. Aggregate proceeds of $1,789,400 were raised in this second tranche for 29,823,331 units issued at $0.06 per unit. The proceeds for this second tranche and the first tranche which closed on February 1, 2018 combine for a total of $1,905,830. The final tranche of the Offering is expected to close on or about March 29, 2018. Each unit is comprised of one common share of the Company (a "Common Share") and one half of one Common Share purchase warrant (each whole such warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant is exercisable into one Common Share at a price of $0.10 per Common Share for a period of two years from each closing date of this Offering. Finders who source funds may earn a cash commission of up to 6% of the gross proceeds raised by such finder and may receive warrants ("Finder Warrants") entitling the finder to purchase that number of units at $0.06 per unit equal to 6% of the number of units sold by such finder. In connection with the second tranche of this Offering certain eligible persons (the "Finders") were paid cash commissions totaling $49,728 which represent 6% of the proceeds raised from subscribers introduced to the Company by such Finders and were also issued an aggregate of 828,800 broker warrants (the "Broker Warrants"), each Broker Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one unit at a price of $0.06 for a period of two years from the closing date. The common shares, Warrants and Broker Warrants issued in the second tranche of the Offering are subject to a hold period until July 23, 2018. The proceeds of the Offering will be used for copper and gold exploration and for general working capital purposes including corporate costs. The actual allocation of net proceeds may vary depending on future operations or unforeseen events or opportunities. This Offering is subject to final acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange. About Carube Copper Carube Copper is focused on the exploration and development of copper and gold projects in Jamaica and Canada. In Jamaica, Carube Copper holds a 100% interest in 11 licenses totalling 535 square kilometres. In Canada, it holds a 100% interest in three porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum properties totalling 492 square kilometres within the Tertiary-aged Cascade Magmatic Arc in southwestern British Columbia. Carube is currently focused on its Bellas Gate Project in Jamaica where it has discovered widespread copper mineralization over a six and a half kilometre by four kilometre corridor indicating the presence of a very large system with the potential to host multiple copper-gold porphyries. The results to date have identified 17 target areas including the Connors porphyry where recent drill intercepts demonstrate excellent copper and gold mineralization. Contacts Tony Houston, Interim CEO and President This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Jeff Ackert, Vice President, Business Development 1-647-957-2249 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. John McNeice. CFO 1-613-692-7704 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. www.carubecopper.com Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. DISCLAIMER & FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" which are not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, and by their very nature involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on currently available information, Carube Copper Corp. provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Factors which cause results to differ materially are set out in the Company's documents filed on SEDAR. Undue reliance should not be placed on "forward looking statements". IMPORTANT NOTICE: Carube Copper hereby incorporates the entire disclaimer set forth on its website at Click Here TORONTO, March 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Centerra Gold Inc. (Centerra) (TSX:CG) today reported that the mill operation at the Mount Milligan Mine in British Columbia, Canada has restarted its second ball mill circuit. As previously disclosed on February 5, 2018, the Mount Milligan Mine restarted mill operations following a shutdown in December 2017 but at a reduced capacity - utilizing one of its two ball mills to minimize water requirements. The second ball mill has now been restarted following a build-up of water in Mount Milligans tailings storage facility (TSF) due to higher than expected thawing of ice in the TSF as well as pumping of water from groundwater sources, tower drains and nearby Philip Lake. Centerra expects mill throughput levels to average approximately 40,000 tonnes per day until the spring melt occurs, provided that the collection and pumping of water to the TSF continues as planned and there are no unexpected cold weather events. The Company anticipates steadily improving mill throughput, quarter over quarter during 2018, as additional water becomes available and improvements are made to the milling and maintenance processes. The Company expects the Mount Milligan Mine to achieve sustainable mill throughput levels averaging approximately 55,000 tonnes per calendar day for the second half of the year. Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information Information contained in this document which are not statements of historical facts, and the documents incorporated by reference herein, may be forward-looking information for the purposes of Canadian securities laws. Such forward-looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking information. The words believe, expect, anticipate, contemplate, plan, intends, continue, budget, estimate, may, will, schedule, understand and similar expressions identify forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements relate to, among other things: the performance of mill operations at the Mount Milligan mill, including the re-start of the mill, the achievement of sustainable throughput, the return of mill operations to full capacity and the continued performance of mitigation measures to provide make-up water flows to the TSF. Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Centerra, are inherently subject to significant political, business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Known and unknown factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward looking information. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things: Aboriginal claims and consultative issues relating to Mount Milligans permitting and regulatory matters, risks related to operational matters and the Companys ability to successfully manage such matters, including the ability of the Company to successfully manage water issues, mechanical breakdowns and maintenance at Mount Milligan; the availability of water resources at Mount Milligan and the Companys expectations regarding the effects and timing of weather and spring melt at Mount Milligan; and the Companys expectations regarding the results of drilling to access water from aquifers near Mount Milligan. See section titled Risks that can affect our business in the Companys Annual Management Discussion and Analysis and the most recent Annual Information Form available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. There can be no assurances that forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as many factors and future events, both known and unknown could cause actual results, performance or achievements to vary or differ materially, from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements contained herein or incorporated by reference. Accordingly, all such factors should be considered carefully when making decisions with respect to Centerra, and prospective investors should not place undue reliance on forward looking information. Forward-looking information is as of March 23, 2018. Centerra assumes no obligation to update or revise forward looking information to reflect changes in assumptions, changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such forward-looking information, except as required by applicable law. About Centerra Centerra Gold Inc. is a Canadian-based gold mining company focused on operating, developing, exploring and acquiring gold properties in North America, Asia and other markets worldwide. Centerra operates two flagship assets, the Kumtor Mine in the Kyrgyz Republic and the Mount Milligan Mine in British Columbia, Canada and is the largest Western-based gold producer in Central Asia. Centerra's shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the symbol CG. The Company is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Additional information on Centerra is available on the Companys web site at www.centerragold.com and at SEDAR at www.sedar.com. VANCOUVER, March 22, 2018 /CNW/ - Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (TSX: NDM; NYSE MKT: NAK) ("Northern Dynasty" or the "Company") today announced that the US Army Corps of Engineers ("USACE" or the "Corps") has posted on its website a 'Scoping Package' for the Environmental Impact Statement ("EIS") permitting review of the Pebble Project, as required under the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA"). The USACE Scoping Package indicates the EIS scoping period will begin on April 1, 2018 and conclude on April 30, 2018. Public meetings will be hosted by the Corps during the scoping period in Alaska regional centers Anchorage, Homer, King Salmon and Dillingham, as well as in villages in close proximity to the Pebble Project, including Iliamna, Igiugig, Nondalton and Kokhanok. In addition to seeking public and stakeholder input during scoping, the US Army Corps of Engineers will facilitate a formal consultation and public comment process following publication of the Pebble Draft EIS expected sometime in 2019. The Corps' current timeline projects the Final EIS for the Pebble Project to be complete within 24 months. Information regarding the Pebble EIS process, including the Scoping Package that describes this phase of the process, can be found on the USACE website under Pebble Project EIS. About Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. Northern Dynasty is a mineral exploration and development company based in Vancouver, Canada. Northern Dynasty's principal asset, owned through its wholly-owned Alaska-based US subsidiary Pebble Limited Partnership and other wholly-owned subsidiaries, is a 100% interest in a contiguous block of 2,402 mineral claims in southwest Alaska, including the Pebble deposit. The Pebble Partnership is the proponent of the Pebble Project, an initiative to develop one of the world's most important mineral resources. For further details on Northern Dynasty and the Pebble Project, please visit the Company's website at www.northerndynastyminerals.com or contact Investor services at (604) 684-6365 or within North America at 1-800-667-2114. Review Canadian public filings at www.sedar.com and US public filings at www.sec.gov. Ronald W. Thiessen President & CEO Forward Looking Information and other Cautionary Factors This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address future events that the Company expects are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in its forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements should not be in any way construed as guarantees of the ultimate size, quality or commercial feasibility of the Pebble Project or of the Company's future performance or the outcome of litigation. Assumptions used by the Company to develop forward-looking statements are that the Pebble project will be evaluated based on technical and scientific criteria free from undue political or legal interference. The likelihood of future mining at the Pebble Project is subject to a large number of risks and will require achievement of a number of technical, economic and legal objectives, including obtaining necessary mining and construction permits, approvals, licenses and title on a timely basis and delays due to third party opposition, changes in government policies regarding mining and natural resource exploration and exploitation, the final outcome of any litigation, completion of pre-feasibility and final feasibility studies, preparation of all necessary engineering for surface or underground mining and processing facilities as well as receipt of significant additional financing to fund these objectives as well as funding mine construction. Such funding may not be available to the Company on acceptable terms or on any terms at all. There is no known ore at the Pebble Project and there is no assurance that the mineralization at the Pebble Project will ever be classified as ore. The need for compliance with extensive environmental and socio-economic rules and practices and the requirement for the Company to obtain government permitting can cause a delay or even abandonment of a mineral project. The Company is also subject to the specific risks inherent in the mining business as well as general economic and business conditions. For more information on the Company, Investors should review the Company's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and its home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com. Northern Dynasty does not have control over the contents of the USACE website and therefore Northern Dynasty cannot either endorse the contents or assume responsibility for the website's contents other than for submissions thereon actually made by Northern Dynasty. Montenegro extradited to Bosnia on Friday an ethnic Serb suspected of taking part in the killing of more than 100 Muslim civilians at the start of the countrys 1990s war, the prosecutors said. Sarajevo suspects Slobodan Knezevic of personally participating in the war crime committed in Miska Glava near the northwestern town of Prijedor, a prosecutors statement said. In June 1992, Bosnian Serb forces detained in the village around 120 Muslim civilians who were later shot dead. Knezevic, 50, is suspected of taking part in both the detention and killing of the prisoners, the statement said. He was arrested in Montenegro in December. Fellow Bosnian Serb Milorad Obradovic, suspected of taking part in the same crimes, was arrested in January in Germany. Nine wartime members of Bosnian Serb military and police forces accused in connection with the same atrocities have been on trial at a Sarajevo court since April last year. Bosnian Serb forces killed around 3,200 people in the Prijedor area during the war. The remains of more than 770 of them have still not been found, according to Bosnias Missing Persons Institute. Around 100 mass graves have been uncovered in the area, the latest of them discovered in September around 140 kilometres (90 miles) southeast of Prijedor. The remains of at least 86 people were exhumed from the grave in Koricanske Stijene. Bosnias 1992-1995 war between its Croats, Muslims and Serbs broke out as Yugoslavia collapsed and claimed some 100,000 lives. 8 Shares Share Ive got a confession to make. I own stock in a firearms maker. Seems ironic that someone like myself a physician has cared for countless victims of gun violence and someone who advocates for evidence-based policies to avert gun deaths would not only own guns himself but also be a stockholder of a company that manufactures them. Let me explain how this happened. When I first got out of residency, I took a job as an independent contractor with one of those contract management groups. At the advice of my financial planner, I opened a SEP IRA wherein I could buy and trade individual stocks. It was fun! I tried to pick good companies that delivered solid returns. One of which just happened to be a firearms manufacturer. Two months after I purchased that stock, a madman killed 26 teachers and children in Sandy Hook, CT. Since that time a racist killed nine people attending a Bible Study in South Carolina. A homophobic ISIS wannabe killed partiers at a nightclub in Orlando. A lone wolf mowed down concert goers in Las Vegas. And a murderous teenager recently took the lives of 17 high schoolers and teachers in Parkland, Florida. By my calculations, in the time since I bought that stock over 71,000 have died due to gun violence and almost twice as many have committed suicide with firearms. I just cant do it anymore. Enough is enough. I cannot legitimately argue for reasonable limits on firearms while enabling organizations like the NRA to push the agenda of gun manufacturers. I cannot listen to the voices of a new generation of advocates while cashing in the dividends of a company that will not even consider that their product is a health hazard in todays society. Enough. As a teenager, I remember the end to apartheid in South Africa and how the vehement objection of black South Africans like Nelson Mandela was insufficient to end it. We cannot expect the moms that demand action and the children who are pleading for their lives to win the war on gun violence without divestiture and economic sanctions on the entities responsible for this uniquely American epidemic. Enough is enough. I have nothing against gun owners. I am one. I know we can respect the Second Amendment while simultaneously securing weapons from the hands of those who would wish to do others harm. We already protect the right to vote while requiring registration of the voter. In Texas, we enforce photo ID on election day. Why can we not do the same with firearms? Why cant we ask that everyone who wants to buy a gun pass a background check (even at gun shows and other person to person sales)? Why cant we ask that someone who wants to own firearms obtain a permit affirming their ability to do so? Why cant we prevent every individual who has demonstrated violent tendencies stalkers and domestic abusers alike from accessing deadly weapons? But, we can. Its time to say enough is enough to the NRA and gun manufacturers who will not support reasonable means to curb the epidemic of gun violence sweeping our country. In the past weeks days, we have seen businesses end discount programs with the NRA. We have seen gun retailers offering to implement age restrictions and refusing to sell modern sporting rifles similar to the AR-15. Corporations are starting to say enough. With the passage of a bill changing the age for purchase of long guns, Florida has finally said enough. As we have seen with other movements for justice, people and politicians listened only when corporations and the rest of the world began to divest. Its time to divest from those who stand in the way of progress, from those who would prefer to see Americans murdered for the sake of profits, from those who would allow thousands to die from self-inflicted wounds by opposing common sense, evidence-based gun legislation. So today, I divested. And to all those who want to see an end to this uniquely American epidemic, if you own the manufacturers, the retailers, or other businesses supporting the firearm industry, I hope you divest too. Cedric Dark is founder and executive editor, Policy Prescriptions. Image credit: Shutterstock.com The floods in Callan, Freshford, Thomastown, Inistioge and Graignamanagh beg a simple question. How serious are we about protecting a way of life, fast disappearing? How committed is this government and County Council and various government departments to giving people in rural Ireland fighting chance when it comes to flood protection? For nearly 30 years, I have watched floods cause devastation in various towns and villages around Kilkenny and still, no serious measures have been put in place to counteract the flooding. There is one exception, the largest centre of population in the South-East outside of Waterford, Kilkenny City has had its flooding, for the most part, sorted. The River Nore flood relief scheme has been a huge success. Once again last week, it saved residents of Johns Quay, Greensbridge Street and other areas in the city centre from flooding. That scheme was supposed to cost 24 million and ended up costing over 50 million and was put in place by current EU Agriculture Commissioner, Phil Hogan. In hindsight, it was money well spent and has paid for itself already. Which brings me to my main point: If we do not seek immediate action on behalf of those living in the flooded areas in Thomastown, Inistioge, Graignamanagh, Freshford, Piltown and elsewhere we will force them to give up their homes and move elsewhere, thereby increasing population movement from the country into larger urban settlements. So we need leadership. We need Minister John Paul Phelan to tackle this issue and make sure that the plans by the Office of Public Works (OPW) are fast-tracked and that money is drawn down as soon as possible to help individual property owners in Thomastown and Graignamanagh to carry out their work themselves. And as for Freshford, its a disgrace that the River Nuenna can regularly burst its banks with no protection in place for the residents of Bridge Street and the Johnstown Road. People lined the streets of Kilkenny City this morning to see a 'march past' by the troops of the 57th Infantry Group, following an inspection by Minister with Responsibility for Defence Paul Kehoe. The 128 men and women, who are based at the James Stephens Barracks, have now completed preparation for their six month deployment to the Golan Heights as part of the United Nations Disengagement Observation Force (UNDOF). The deployment group includes 37 troops from Kilkenny. They assembled this morning at Castle Park, where family members, friends, and well wishers gathered to see them. The Unit Colours were blessed, while Minister Kehoe addressed those present. He said he was delighted to be in Kilkenny 'as a Wexford man' to review the personnel of the 57th Infantry group. "This marks the 60th anniversary of Irish participation in UN peacekeeping missions, and it is an opportune time to acknowledge the significant contribution of the Irish Defence Forces personnel to such missions," he said. "Participation in overseas peacekeeping missions is a key element of Ireland's foreign policy, and has been an important dimension of meeting Ireland's international obligations as members of the UN and EU." Almost 1,000 tonnes of salt were deployed around the countys roads during the snow and freezing conditions brought on by Storm Emma and the Beast From the East. There were huge snow drifts in the north, south and east of the county in particular up to 2.5m in places. The N24 and N25 routes were significantly affected, while the link roads between Castlecomer and Ballyragget, and between Mullinavat and Listerlin were impassable for lengthy periods. At the March meeting of Kilkenny County Council, director of services Tim Butler, who headed up the local authoritys response to the extreme weather event, gave members a presentation. He noted it was the second Status Red weather event in the space of five months, and it had involved the use of significant resources. Some houses in some areas were completely cut off, he said. He detailed how the response operation had been put in place and warnings issued ahead of the onset of the conditions. Senior engineer Seamus Kavanagh reviewed the salt stocks in the days prior. As well as the treatment of regional routes, and other Priority 3 routes treated where possible (albeit later in the day), the council was in contact with the IFA with regard to putting grit at strategic locations such as hills, bad bends, and junctions. In total, 192 calls to the councils designated call centre, 102 of which were roads related. There were also a number of housing maintenance calls. Mr Butler also revealed that the Good Shepherd Centre was at capacity , and possibly slightly over capacity. In addition to the council staff working to clear the snow, all fire and rescue staff were on standby. As all crews had to be in the stations overnight and for almost 30 hours in order to be available in the event of emergency. Mr Butler said they had slept in quite confined conditions. They dealt with seven callouts, one of which was a house fire, while also providing assistance with clearing footpaths. They also made a lot of courtesy calls to people to make sure they were okay, said Mr Butler. The Civil Defence also provided assistance, including 29 transports for people who needed to get to certain places in difficult conditions. Mr Butler said it would be remiss not to acknowledge the huge assistance also provided by farmers and others in the community who had given their time to assist others. He said many people had transported neighbours, brought them shopping, and called into vulnerable people. I think it had a significant impact, he said, adding the next step now was to have an internal review to look at the things the council had got right, and those from which things could be learned. Councillors paid tribute to Mr Butler, all the staff, and others who assisted during the crisis weather event. Murphys Motors in conjunction with Embrace Farm will host a fun and interactive kids farm safety event on March 29 from 2pm at their premises on the New Ross Road Glenmore supported by Hooper Dolan Insurances and Zurich Insurance. This follows on from a recent fundraiser in aid of Embrace held at Murphys by Dick Murphy which raised 1200. Embrace Farm work in supporting Irish farming families affected by tragedy on Irish farms. On March 29 children are invited to attend a fun afternoon where they will have an opportunity to meet Alma from Agrikids who will engage the children in workshops, storytelling and computer games all focused around farm safety. Speaking about the event, Bernadette Murphy of Murphys Motors said; we are very excited to host such an event here at our premises and believe that highlighting farm safety and risks associated with farms can only be of benefit. It is a very serious issue however we will make the afternoon as fun as possible with loads of giveaways and the Easter Bunny might even pay a visit. Bernie also expressed her gratitude to Hooper Dolan Insurances and Zurich Insurance in supporting such an event. This promises to be a very worthwhile afternoon for farming families in the region. Murphys Motors is a family run business established in 1960, at a time when mechanised farming began to take hold in Ireland. The current Directors, brother and sister team, Richard and Bernadette Murphy, are the third generation of the Murphy family to be involved in the running of one of southeast Irelands leading suppliers of agricultural machinery. Murphys Motors holds 21 franchises from some of the largest manufacturers in the world, such as New Holland, Farmhand, Krone,Kane Trailers, Rossmore Engineering, Pro-Dig Attachments, Shelbourne Reynolds, Tanco and Alo-Maskiner. Andrew Geddis writes: Air New Zealand is a company, governed by the Companies Act 1993. Despite the Crowns bare majority shareholding, Air New Zealand is not a SOE or even a MOM. As such, the board of Air New Zealand its directors have legal duties under the Companies Act. Primary amongst these are that when exercising powers or performing duties, [they] must act in good faith and in what the director believes to be the best interests of the company. Note that their duty is to the best interests of the company. Not to the nation. Not to the provinces. Not even to the shareholders directly even where the majority shareholder is an elected minister of the Crown. (Just to be clear, however Air New Zealands shareholding minister is the minister of finance, Grant Robertson. It isnt Shane Jones.) So, if the directors of Air New Zealand are of the opinion that the companys best interests are served by closing particular routes and opening others, then thats what they legally are required to do. They simply cannot say we believe it would be best for Air New Zealand to stop flying to Kapiti, but we should do right by it and its people so well keep on doing it. In fact, if they were to say that, then theyd potentially be committing an offence that is punishable by up to five years imprisonment or a fine of up to $200,000. Not that I think theyd be prosecuted for making one such route decision, but the existence of this offence provision shows just how important these fundamental directors duties are. The Herald reports: Greenpeace has been declined charity status and the tax-free benefits that go with that. The independent Charities Registration Board says the organisation does not exclusively advance charitable purposes, bur rather promotes its own particular views about the environment and other issues. Greenpeace has 20 working days to appeal the boards decision to the High Court. It has won a similar battle in the past. Not quite. The court did not rule Greenpeace was a charity. It said the ICRB had to reconsider the application using the criteria laid down by the court. It has now done so, and decided Greenpeace is still ineligible. This is of course a win for common sense. Greenpeace is not a charity. It is an aggressive political lobbying organisation. It doesnt actually help people, or provide services. It just pushes a point of view. Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn More Reddit Pinterest Print Tumblr Stuff reports: It was Mileka Hamiltons dying wish to meet her uncle from South Africa for the first time. But now that special meeting wont happen leaving a nine-year-old girl, with a rare bone cancer, shattered Fifteen years ago Milekas uncle Kyle Peverett was caught smuggling one-kilogram of cocaine into Switzerland. He was jailed for seven months, pled guilty, served a three year suspended sentence and was deported. He was 17. Thanks to a generous donor, Peveretts ticket was booked for a month-long visit to New Zealand to see his niece. But the night before he was due to leave, his visa application was denied by Immigration New Zealand. Milekas health is deteriorating and she wasnt up to talking on Monday. Her arm was amputated due to a tumour and the cancer has spread to her heart and lungs. Of course he normally would not be eligible for a visa. But his niece is dying. If that is not grounds for a compassionate waiver, what is. Documents obtained from Immigration New Zealand state his application was denied because he had been deported from another country for transporting drugs and they were not satisfied he had strong employment in South Africa. Immigration NZ acknowledged his reason to visit was genuine and very unfortunate but said he did not provide enough sufficient evidence to show he was genuinely only intending to temporarily stay in New Zealand. Peverett, now 32, has just started his own IT business in Johannesburg. He declared his monthly income was approximately $350 $580 NZD a month. Immigration NZ were not satisfied that he had provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate strong employment commitment in South Africa. He had money in his account, but they noted the funds were newly deposited without any evidence to demonstrate the source or history. They maybe thought he hasnt got enough money and theres no reason for him to want to go back to South Africa, his mother, Julie Rossouw, said. Which is nonsense because hes just started up a business Its still early days. Yes there is a risk he might try to overstay, but then you just find him and deport him. The relatively small possibility of his overstaying is dwarfed by the total probability his nine year old niece is going to die. Its a no brainer. The Minister should intervene. Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn More Reddit Pinterest Print Tumblr Small new public housing units on the left in Jongno district represent Seoul's efforts to provide affordable houses to middle and low-income residents./Korea Times file By Kim Se-jeong Last month, the Seoul Metropolitan Government pledged to provide an additional 240,000 public housing units in the city by 2022, in an effort to make housing more affordable for citizens. "No other time has been more important for people needing affordable housing," said a city government official handling housing policies. "We hope the city's efforts will contribute to stabilizing housing prices in Seoul." The announcement came as expensive housing prices hit many, especially the young population that has been giving up on marrying and starting families. According to the plan, almost 120,000 units out of 240,000 will be under the city government's direct supervision. Almost 22,000 units will be built by the city government in four locations in the city: Hangdong and Cheonwang-dong in Guro-gu, Geoyeo-dong in Songpa-gu and Shinnae-dong in Jungnang-gu. The city used to build public housing extensively but no more due to land and budget constraints. For 46,000 units, the city will purchase them from private companies and rent them out cheap. The city said it will take into account location when selecting the units and they will be rented out primarily to young jobseekers and newlyweds. The other 50,000 units will be provided as a form of financial assistance. The city will lend up to 60 million won with no interest for up to 10 years. The main recipients will be, again, young couples with difficulties securing affordable housing _ Korea has a unique system called jeonse, under which tenants pay a large deposit up front when they move in and don't pay monthly rent during their two-year contract. With the upcoming 240,000 units, public housing in Seoul will reach 400,000 units, accounting for nine percent of Seoul's total housing. Although it's still far from enough, it will be the largest supply of public housing in decades. Currently, the number of public housing units available in Seoul is a little over 271,000. The city government first offered its own public housing in 1989. Separately, the national government also began building public housing in Seoul in 1962. Most old public housing no longer exist because tenants ended up purchasing them. The public housing providers wanted to sell them off to tenants after the rental period ended. Critics argued this tarnished the spirit of public housing and the city said it would stop selling off public housing units. The remaining 120,000 units will be secured through stronger partnerships with the private sector. The city government will offer various incentives to private builders and in return get them to rent some of the units at affordable prices. The city said it will invest 5.3 trillion won for the public housing project over the next five years and create a fund to attract private financial resources. The citizen fund will be managed by the Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH). Seoul's population is almost 10 million. Among them, only about 40 percent own their homes. The rest, especially young college graduates and newlyweds, suffer under high housing prices. The plan has a particular aim at easing the housing spending burden of the young and newlyweds. Among the 240,000 units, 85,000 will be particularly allocated for them. "We hope this will particularly make life better for the young generation," Mayor Park Won-soon said. U.S. President Donald Trump / Reuters By Oh Young-jin Would U.S. President Donald Trump go to the North Korean capital of Pyongyang for the summit with Kim Jong-un in May? Would Kim risk leaving his comfort zone to travel to Scandinavia or even Beijing to meet Trump? Unless one of the two makes a concession, differences over the venue could be the stumbling block to the biggest chance so far of ending the North Korean nuclear stalemate. For Trump, going to Pyongyang would make him a potential hostage to his sworn enemy. After all, the U.S. President has vowed to destroy the North or threatened to rain fire and fury on the "little rocket man." It is natural for Trump to be cautious and his aides are against him going behind enemy lines. True, the U.S. could dispatch an armada of aircraft carriers and a fleet of strategic aircraft to near the North, sending an unmistakable message that if Pyongyang messes with Trump, the North will face the consequences. Although the North often behaves in a way that raises questions about its sanity, would it be so crazy as to take Trump hostage? Toward the end of his presidency, Bill Clinton tried to visit Pyongyang to seal a nuclear nonproliferation deal with Kim Jong-il, the present leader's father. Clinton's successor, George W. Bush, disapproved of such a visit and it did not happen. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un / Yonhap Now is of course different from then. U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright had visited Pyongyang in October 2000, while Jo Myung-rok, the second-most powerful man in the North, met Clinton in Washington in the October. The exchange of visits laid the ground for Clinton's proposed visit to Pyongyang, which never happened. By Kim Ji-soo The recent flurry of breakthroughs and meetings between South and North Korea, the United States and other concerned countries has invariably prompted the public's anticipation for peace and renewed exchanges on the Korean Peninsula. President Moon Jae-in captured the sentiment last week during a meeting with his presidential aides when he said, "We now have a very precious chance to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, establish a permanent peace system and build a path of joint prosperity for South and North Korea." It's a precipitous moment, and South Koreans remain hopeful but cautious. According to Gallup poll results announced last Friday, 53 percent of respondents said they believe North Korea had changed following the South Korean delegation's visit to Pyongyang and pledges to meet with the United States. But the 30,000 plus North Korean defectors who have settled in South Korea are somewhat skeptical. Jung Gwang-il, who defected from the North and arrived in the South in 2004, does not really believe in the significance of the recent steps taken by the two Koreas. Jung, who leads the activist group No Chain for North Korea which aims to help liberate North Koreans by sending factual information via balloon or other methods to North Korea, was part of the delegation, along with fellow defector Ji Sung-ho who met with U.S. President Trump in February. "I don't know if the United States-North Korea talks can take place. The inter-Korea summit will happen, but the former, I'm not sure," Jung said. Similarly, Lee Ae-ran, the first North Korean female defector to receive a Ph.D. in South Korea at Ewha Womans University, sounded skeptical about the flurry of engagements involving the North and the South's stalwart ally. Lee, who defected in 1998, heads the Institute of Traditional North Korean Food and operates Neungna Bapsang, a restaurant in Jongno-gu, central Seoul. Lee Ae-ran Mumbai, Mar 22: Martyr's Day, also known as Shaheed Diwas or Sarvodaya Day is observed on March 23. India celebrates several Martyrs' Day throughout the year in the honour of those who laid down their lives for the nation. The observance on Friday is in the memory of India's freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru who were hanged by the Britishers during the Indian Independence struggle. Their sacrifice fueled many young Indians to follow their path of revolution which became an important force in driving the British out of the country. The young men were killed for allegedly being involved in the killing of British officer John Saunders. Here are some important facts about the lives of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru: They began their battle ardently after the death of Lala Lajpat Rai due to injuries in a protest against Simon Commission. Rajguru, Sukhdev and Chandrashekhar Azad decided to avenge the death of Rai and conspired against James A Scott. Three British officer was responsible ordering lathi charge on Rai. However, in a case of mistaken identity, they shot John Saunders. Protesting against the Public Safety Bill, and the Trade Dispute Act, Bhagat Singh, along with Batukeshwar Dutt, threw two crude bombs into the Central Lesgislatively Assembly in Delhi. While low grade explosives did not kill anyone, few people were injured. Instead of escaping, Singh along with his comrade shouted slogans and showed against them letting them to be arrested. One of the leaflets, the men threw at them read, "It is easy to kill individuals but you cannot kill the ideas. Great empires crumbled while the ideas survived." Sukhdev Thapar a member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) was arrested when the police located the bomb factory they had set up in Lahore and Saharanpur. While Bhagat Singh was initially arrested for bombing, eventually Sukhdev and Rajguru were held in what came to be known as the Lahore conspiracy case. They were hanged to death on March 23, 1931, at 7.30 pm in the Lahore jail. Their bodies were cremated on the banks of the Sutlej River. On Shaheed Diwas, events paying tributes to the martrys are held every year at Shadman Chowk in Lahore, Pakistan as the three men were hanged there on March 23, 1931. The three brave men - Sukhdev, Bhagat Singh and Rajguru were in their early twenties during the hanging. One of Bhagat Singh popular sayings were, "Merciless criticism and independent thinking are the two necessary traits of revolutionary thinking." (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 22, 2018 11:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Mumbai Police keeps surprising us with their exceptional way in maintaining the countrys law and order and continuous communication with the public through their Twitter account. It will not be wrong saying that the department is quick to share important information. The last time we saw them giving some traffic lessons to Bollywood actor Kunal Kemmu, after his picture riding a bike without wearing a helmet went viral. Apart from their wit posts and hilarious pun, they are performing their duties with dedication. This time, it is a sheer humane act that have attracted the citizens. Mumbai Police and Make-a-Wish India Foundation got together to fulfil Arpit Mandals dream. The 7-year-old cancer patients dream came true on March 22 as he was sworn in as an inspector at a police station for a day. Arpit was in charge of the Mulund police station for one whole day. Dressed completely in Khaki uniform, the 7-year-old was seen sitting on a chair at his office desk, taking up some important notes and also being fed by the officials at Mulund police station. The Mumbai Police social media team tweeted along with the picture on March 23 and it won many hearts. Read the tweet shared by Mumbai Police as they protect smile of the 7-year-old Arpit Mandal. Mulund Police Station was completely won over by the undaunted spirit of 7 year old Arpit Mandal, fighting cancer! If we could, we would fulfill all his wishes beyond just being a Police inspector for a day #ProtectingSmiles @MakeAWishIndia pic.twitter.com/jPOJosXFDU Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) March 23, 2018 And the act touched many and netizens could not stop but showered praises to this great step. It was lauded for bringing a smile to the young cancer fighters face. Here are few of the reactions: It is a great step! A great job you guys had done that you made him smile....#KeepSmiling #Makeotherssmile Jiger Chawda (@JigerChawda) March 23, 2018 We wish for the quick recovery of the child too. Congratulations to Mulund, Mumbai Police for making a 7 yrs old Cancer patient as in charge of police station to fulfil his wishs. We pray and wishes almighty for speedy recovery of the boy. Sunil Agarwal (@sunilagl17) March 23, 2018 Keep spreading smiles! Absolutely brilliant ! Nothing in the world can compare the act of bringing a smile ! Salute your gesture ! sarvesh bhatnagar (@sarveshbh) March 23, 2018 And the praise continues! Great efforts by Mumbai police Raj Shah (@RajShah42148469) March 23, 2018 Make-A-Wish Foundation contribute to the wishes of children aged 3 to 17, with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. It is encouraging to see our protectors sensitive sight! The step is indeed a generous one as they endeavour to keep the smiles in the faces of Mumbaikars in the truest sense. And we wish that Arpit recovers soon! (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 23, 2018 04:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Mar 23, 2018, 3:52pm ET FCA reaches settlement with estate of actor Anton Yelchin The \"Star Trek\" actor was killed in a rollaway crash blamed on the Jeep Grand Cherokee shifter. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has reportedly reached a settlement with the estate of late "Star Trek" actor Anton Yelchin, putting an end to a lawsuit over confusing shifters linked to rollaway accidents. Yelchin was killed in June 2016 when exiting his Jeep Grand Cherokee, which rolled down his steep driveway and pinned him against a brick pillar. FCA issued a recall for hundreds of thousands of vehicles equipped with an electronic shifter that has been deemed "not intuitive" with "poor tactile and visual feedback to the driver" when shifting from a motion gear into Park. Yelchin's parents sued FCA for wrongful death. Their son had been killed after the recall was issued but before FCA had completed rolling out a fix. Terms of the settlement, which was first reported by Reuters, were not disclosed in court filings. NY LIVE: 2019 Toyota Corolla Hatch Mar 28, 2018, 12:50pm ET The Corolla iM\'s replacement is heading to the Big Apple. Toyota has introduced the 2019 Corolla Hatch online ahead of its public debut at next week's New York Auto Show. Developed to replace the Corolla iM, which started life as a Scion, the Corolla Hatch adopts a more dynamic look inspired by Toyota's recent design language. The hood is lower, the grille is broader, and the headlights are wider. Up front, it reminds us of the newest Avalon and Camry. Toyota gave the Corolla Hatch softer edges; the Corolla iM looks almost wedge-shaped in comparison. Out back, the design of the lights and the bumper insert echoes the headlights and the grille. Apple CarPlay compatibility comes standard; that's right, in a Toyota. The company finally warmed up to the software (or to the idea that offering it is inevitable) and promised to make it available on some of its cars. There's no sign of Android Auto yet, though. Amazon Alexa, Bluetooth connectivity, voice recognition, and a Wi-Fi connection all come standard. The surprisingly long list of electronic driving aids includes adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, pre-collision assist and pedestrian detection. Toyota notes its pedestrian detection technology "sees" pedestrians even in the dark, and the pre-collision assist function applies the brakes if it detects a collision can't be avoided. Technical details are vague at best. All we know at this point is that the Corolla Hatch comes with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. Your guess is as good as ours when it comes to horsepower and torque specifications. It's bolted to either a continuously variable transmission (CVT) or a six-speed manual transmission. The Corolla's CVT is an interesting one. Like we previously reported, it comes with a launch gear instead of the first gear ratio typically found in a CVT. In other words, it functions like a normal automatic in first gear, and switches to standard CVT operation when it would normally shift to second gear. The whole shebang sounds complicated, and it is, but Toyota promises adding a launch gear reduces the rubber band-like acceleration and delivers better fuel economy. New York Preview: Infiniti QX60 and QX80 Limited Mar 23, 2018, 10:00am ET Infinti\'s SUVs get new luxury touches for 2019. Infiniti is getting in on the early New York announcement bandwagon with two Friday previews: Feast your eyes on the Infiniti QX60 and QX80 Limited. Okay, so maybe "feast" is going a bit far for what is essentially a mild visual enhancement bundled with some existing features, but we don't really have anything negative to say about the looks. QX60We'll start from the bottom and work our way up. The 2019 Infiniti QX60 Limited can be identified by its dark chrome on its grille, fog lamp trim and door moldings. Limited models also get "premium-paint" (read: like dark chrome, but called something different) roof rails and cross bars, and a glossy paint finish on the lower rear bumper. If those don't give it away, look for the 19" smoked-finish wheels or, you know, the "Limited" badge on the hatch. Inside, you get contrast-stitched quilted stone leather and accents, leather-wrapped grab handles, dark silver wood trim, a black headliner and unique floor mats (yes, floor mats). QX80The story is similar on the QX60's bigger brother, but the details are a little different. The wheels are a lot bigger (22") and you get some extra touches like aluminum-finished running boards and branded puddle lamps, but it's essentially the same deal. Inside, the QX80 diverges a bit more with two-tone leather and Alcantara upholstery, open-pore Ash wood trim and Ultrasuede replacing the QX60's headliner fabric. The 2019 Infiniti QX60 and QX80 Limited models will go on sale later this year, and pricing will be announced closer to their arrival on dealer lots. Stay tuned. Met Eireann has said wintry showers will develop in Ireland in the run in to Easter Sunday as the country braces for the third cold spell of recent weeks. The national forecaster predicts "changeable cool weather turning colder next week." They predict that sleet could arrive as early as Monday night, with falls most likely in northern counties. The weather has been mild in recent days with daytime temperatures staying around 10 degrees on Friday, but the weekend will see a return to sub zero overnight values. Friday night will also bring rain in many areas and a sharp frost by morning with fog likely. Temperatures will dip to around -1 to +2 degrees. The weekend will see a mix of sunny spells and sporadic showers, some heavy at time. Daytime temperatures will stay around 8 to 11 degrees in just light breezes. Saturday and Sunday night could see temperatures dip to as low as -2 degrees as the next cold spell takes hold. Monday will bring rain eastwards and a sharp frost overnight with rain continuing in many areas and turning to sleet in more northern counties. Temperatures will begin to fall again after Tuesday and Met Eireann says, "indications suggest cold and unsettled weather over the following days, with some rain or showers and some wintry falls mainly in northern and northeastern counties at times." Strict enforcement on hedgerow cutting and upland burning during the prohibited season is vital to avoid the level of devastation witnessed last year. Once the remaining snow left from the Beast from the East along our country verges and on the uplands melts, it is crucial that we respect the ban on the cutting of any hedgerows and upland burning until the end of August. Our hedgerows provide foods for numerous species of birds, bees, and butterflies all throughout spring and summer, as well as nesting sites for many bird species. Yet, last year numerous groups and members of the public reported cases of cutting and flailing of roadside hedges all throughout the prohibited period. Our uplands are also essential to the survival of endangered birds such as the near extinct curlew that mate and establish nesting sites in March. However, last year, a series of deliberately started scrub fires raged across the country within the first two months of the prohibited period, with the Fire Service, Air Corps and Defence Forces called in on several occasions. These fires undoubtedly destroyed the nests and food stores of birds and other wildlife and incinerated conservation habitats. For example, two active Hen Harrier nests - another protected species - were destroyed in the Sliabh Beagh Special Protection Area in Norther Ireland in May last year. The Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed, TD, warned this month that farmers that they risk prosecution if lands are burned during the closed period. Minister Creed added that illegal burning during the closed season would render the land ineligible for payment under the Basic Payment Scheme and other area-based schemes. However, to date, enforcement of such issues has been weak at best, as indicated in documents released to the Irish Wildlife Trust last year under Freedom of Information legislation. The documents reveal that the use of satellite images to monitor burning on farmland had not led to any penalties for landowners since its introduction in March 2016 up to last summer. In fact, only eleven prosecution cases were taken under the Wildlife Acts for illegal burning of vegetation between 2007 and April last year. It is now time for the authorities to take a holistic approach to upland management before our wildlife, habitats, and livelihoods come under threat again this year. Incoherence in national and EU policy also contributes to the problems in our uplands as the current Common Agricultural Policy penalises farmers if their land contains high-nature value scrub. Land management practices to make land eligible for EU payments, such as burning, can be challenging to complete within the allowed timeframe, particularly in wet winters. Last year thousands of hectares of mountain, hill, bog and forest habitat were destroyed during the closed season, incinerating the wildlife that cannot escape fast enough, including helpless chicks in their nests. Our wildlife deserves better than this. Aside from the impact on wildlife, extensive upland burning can cause irreparable damage to underlying peat soils, as well as a knock on impact on clean water supply, increased flood risk and the release of carbon emissions stored in these habitats. Hedgecutting outside of the current legal period will drive declines in a number of bird species and push some birds and pollinators towards national extinction. This is not the kind of legacy we should be leaving to future generations. In addition to providing food, nesting sites and habitat corridors to native wildlife species, they prevent soil erosion, store carbon and so contribute to managing climate change. The following months are crucial for our wildlife so we must ensure that the relevant laws are enforced to help protect vulnerable species that are battling against the odds to survive. It's high time we placed a higher value on the amazing benefits nature brings. Every year, landscapes and nature have been replaced with scorched land, which contributes to carbon emissions, pollution, erosion, flooding, loss of scenic value and livelihoods. This has happened not because of lack of resources or uncertain science but a lack of political will." Last year we saw plenty of flailing of roadside hedges during the nesting season. While some actions were necessary for road safety purposes, the majority of incidents reported to us were of a very questionable nature indeed. The public are being encouraged to report suspected illegal cutting that is taking place for reasons other than under the exemptions provided for in the Act. One of Newbridge's most iconic buildings, the Grand Hotel which is home to Judge Roy Beans, is up for sale. Jordan Auctioneers & Chartered Surveyors said this is a superb investment opportunity. The auctioneers point out this property comprises a substantial town centre licensed premises in a prominent and highly visible location on Edward Street in Newbridge Town Centre, directly opposite the Whitewater Shopping Centre and the Courtyard Shopping Centre. "Edward Street is the commercial heart of Newbridge Town Centre and benefits from a significant passing footfall which has increased significantly through the refurbishment of Penneys," they said. "The property comprises a two storey over basement landmark building providing a licensed premises, restaurant and function room, extending to c. 1,248 sq.m. (13,433 sq.ft.) on a fully developed site." The tennant is not affected by the sale. The building was completely refurbished in 2004 to a high standard with all of the modern requirements of a quality bar and restaurant business. Accommodation includes a modern style bar, snug and lounge, with a number of dining and lounge areas off same on the ground floor with a large disco bar on the first floor. The basement mainly provides ancillary services. All floors are served by a lift. Outside external seating and smoking areas are provided to the front and side of the property. The property is for sale by public tender with the completed tender documents to be returned to the offices of Reidy Stafford Solicitors, Moorefield Road, Newbridge, not later than 5pm on Tuesday 24 April in an envelope marked Licensed Premises, Newbridge Tender. Full details are available from Jordan Auctioneers and Chartered Surveyors (045 433550/www.jordancs.ie) with viewing strictly by appointment through the sole selling agent. A case involving a Celbridge couple, who were convicted of fraud involving over 400,000 at Naas Circuit Court today, was described as one of the largest if not the largest in the State so far by gardai. An IT project manager, who fraudulently got a 240,000 mortgage from EBS Building society using a false identity was jailed for three years. His wife, who fraudulently claimed rent allowance and job seekers allowance, was given a number of three year suspended sentences on the separate charges. The court heard that Kenneth Gboboh (36), 49 Willow Avenue, Primrose Gate, Celbridge, Co Kildare, got a mortgage from the EBS for 240,000 on November 26 2008 He used the name of another person, aided by documents including a driving licence identification, to take out the mortgage. His wife, Franca, applied for Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) and for rent allowance under their real names, with the rent allowance being paid to the landlord under the name of the person Mr Gboboh used to apply for the mortgage. She claimed a total of 132,872 in JSA fraudulently and 48,899.20 in rent allowance. The fraud involved over 400,000 in total. Garda Thomas Burke said the rent allowance helped pay the mortgage for the couples house. He said the investigation took a year and the case was one of the largest if not the largest in the State so far. The couple, who are from Nigeria, have four children, aged 7 to 13, and one of them is autistic. The Court was told that Mr Gboboh, who came to Ireland in 2006, was directing and controlling the fraud and that his wife, had a low intelligence and was easily led. They had been here since that except for a holiday in Nigeria and a trip to Disneyland. It also heard that he had worked as an IT project coordinator with Siemens for two years. Neither of the defendants had any previous convictions. The Court was told that Mr Gboboh was currently working and earning around 45,000 a year. There was also a payment plan to address 40,000 mortgage arrears, involving 500 per month and a payment of 200 to the Department of Social Welfare. Mr Gboboh did volunteer work for Kildare Civil Defence and there was a letter from his childrens school saying he was very attentive to their education. Ms Gbobohs defence team said she was extremely distressed by the experience and asked the judge to differentiate her from her husband. Her mother had abandoned her in Nigeria and she was cared for by her father. She left school in third class. She came to Ireland in 2004 as an asylum seeker. A report by the Probation Services said both defendants, who apologised for the crime, had a low risk of offending. A report from a clinical psychologist, Michael Dempsey, said Franca was vulnerable and overwhelmed by the experience. Judge Michael OShea said it was an elaborate fraud and Mr Gboboh had a duty to be honest in making the application to the EBS. He had abused their trust in him and deceived them. He had been calculating and cunning. He also noted from a report handed into the Court that some friends may have advised him when he came to Ireland before he undertook the fraud. The judge said there were mitigating features including an early guilty plea and co-operation, but there were substantial aggravating features to the fraud. He accepted Ms Gboboh had been directed somewhat but she had carried the frauds. He suspended Mr Gbobohs three year sentence by one year, subject to a bond. Noting the case by Ms Gbobohs defence team, he said the four children could not be used as a shield. He gave her three years on each of separate charges and suspended them all. Residents from Flagford, Cortober and Carrick-on-Shannon joined forces with local representatives in the Patrician Hall last week as an update was provided on the planning application for a battery energy storage facility. Locals have been voicing their concerns in recent weeks about the proposed development on the basis that the energy storage facility, which would be contained in up to 31, 40ft containers, poses a significant fire and flood risk. Objections have also been raised in relation to the size of the development which has been described as a huge industrial park that will provide no jobs while concerns have also been raised in relation to noise and the potential harmful effect on the wildlife. It is feared by local residents that if permission is granted for this development it will be impossible for residents in the area to get home insurance. Roscommon County Council has requested further information from the applicants, Kinbrace Ltd, in relation to a number of areas such as the intended capacity (MW) of the proposed facility and further clarity with regard preventative measures to prevent the risk of flooding. In total, Roscommon County Council has sought clarification in relation to eight separate issues including noise impact; ecological impact; traffic and lighting, although there was some surprise expressed at last week's public meeting that there was no mention of the significant risk of fire from such a development. The purpose of a Battery Energy Storage Facility (BESF) is that it can generate renewable energy into the national grid and is seen as a very effective way of helping Ireland meet its 2020 commitments with regard renewable energy. While the benefits of the BESF were outlined at the meeting, all present were in agreement that the scale of the project made the development a significant risk to the local population for a number of factors. Voicing his objection to the proposed development one local resident said, This is new technology, it is not tried and tested. We don't need that power here in Flagford. There are no jobs coming to Flagford, Carrick-on-Shannon, Leitrim or Roscommon. Another speaker at the meeting said, Vulture capitalists are investing to make money. They will make electricity at night and sell it off at a higher rate during peak times. They will be well grant-aided as the Government want to meet their 2020 requirements. The risk of fire and explosion was also highlighted by another speaker who said, Assuming that 70% of the space within the containers is used for energy storage, each container will contain 47.32m3 of lithium ion battery with an energy equivalent to 29,744 tonnes of TNT. The meeting heard that Kinbrace now has six months to provide the additional information requested by Roscommon County Council although they can request a further three months. When the sought information is provided Roscommon County Council will then have one month to respond but they will can ask for further clarification. However, any subsequent information sought by Roscommon County Council must be in relation to the eight questions already posed. The fact that there was no mention of a risk of fire from the battery energy storage facilities in Roscommon County Council's letter drew surprise from many at the meeting with one member of the public referring to recent incidents of laptops and mobile phone batteries going on fire. The batteries in mobile phones and laptops are lithium ion, the same type as will be used in the proposed battery storage facility. When lithium ion batteries go on fire they keep generating heat and can reignite any time up to a week later. It is any extremely dangerous situation for anyone in 40-50 mile radius of Carrick-on-Shannon. Carrick-on-Shannon is in direct line as a result of the prevailing winds. The example of a fire at a similar energy storage facility in Belgium only a month after it was opened was referenced at the meeting with those in attendance learning that the site on the outskirts of Brussels is significantly smaller than what is proposed for Flagford. When the facility in Brussels caught fire last November residents in Brussels were told to stay indoors for 24 hours with their doors and windows closed as a result of the toxic emissions. As well as informing the public about the proposed development the other function of the meeting was to hear from the elected representatives and how they can help the community in their bid to ensure the development does not get the green light. Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Denis Naughten was not in attendance at the meeting but local campaigners said they met with the Roscommon TD in recent weeks and he was said to be Sympathetic about what we brought to him. However, it was also stated that Minister Naughten referred to Ireland's energy and emission targets for 2020 and the local representatives in attendance were asked to lobby the minister on behalf of the community. We ask that the politicians here correspond with him. Represent us and put the case to him. All politicians in attendance were in full agreement that the proposed development should not proceed with Deputy Martin Kenny saying that he spoke to planners at Roscommon County Council. I spoke to planners and Roscommon County Council said they don't have the expertise and will have to hire experts. The problem is they are part of the same mindset rather than representing people with concerns in the local community. Outlining his opposition to the development Deputy Kenny added, Most research into renewable energy is going into sources that are constant. Wind is the most unstable form of energy. The reason for so many turbines is because grants are available to them and this is something similar. It is about subsidies and pretending they are doing something about it. This is a proposal for a huge industrial site being placed in a rural site which is not appropriate. There are umpteen other ways of storing energy that are clean and much safer than this. Cllr Des Guckian also voiced his opposition to the proposed development stating, I think they are chancing their arm and hoping to get a soft Council who will let them in. People genuinely wouldn't have a clue what this involves and thanks for letting us know. Flagford has enough pylons. It is unfair on any community to put up with this much. These guys are vultures. They want to get the most out of it and don't give a hoot about the community. Leslie O'Hora of The Green Party suggested utilising the skills of groups such as Good Energy Alliance and Love Leitrim who were heavily involved in the campaign that ultimately led to a ban on fracking. Deputy Martin Kenny then stressed, We have to get the message out that this is very dirty and very dangerous. People don't understand that yet. Addressing how the community hope to combat what they perceive as a very real risk to area, campaigners are now hoping to gather as many signatures as possible and have established a Facebook page - STOP Carrick Monster Battery Storage Facility. Read Also: Local fears over massive battery park in Flagford, Carrick-on-Shannon Flagford Battery Park meeting urges Leitrim and Roscommon public to support campaign Customers in the South Leitrim are being asked to conserve water in a bid to protect existing supplies. This afternoon, Irish Water issued a statement warning that water treatment plants in the South Leitrim area are struggling to keep up with supply. "Irish Water, working in partnership with Leitrim County Council is advising customers that due to the recent extremely cold weather conditions and continued high water usage, water treatment plants are struggling to keep up with water supply demands," noted the statement. "Customers in South Leitrim are being asked to continue to conserve water to avoid reservoirs emptying and water pressure to homes and businesses being affected. In particular customers served by the reservoir at Upper Mong are being asked to conserve water due the continued high water use. We are urging customers to conserve water as much as possible to avoid water restrictions being put in place. "Irish Water is urging customers to conserve water by turning off taps in properties and farm buildings, not running dishwashers or washing machines where possible and taking showers instead of baths. We are also asking customers to fix any leaks on their properties and to report any leaks they see on the public network to us on 1850 278 278. "Irish Water and Leitrim County Council would like to thank customers in advance for their co-operation in conserving water at this critical time. Irish Water would also like to thank the local authority staff for their efforts in keeping water supplies running in very difficult conditions." Fianna Fail TD for Sligo-Leitrim Eamon Scanlon has called on the Minister for Agriculture to examine forestation concentration levels in Leitrim following concerns raised by local farmers and community groups. Deputy Scanlon explained, More than 18% of Co. Leitrim is under forestry. Arable land is being bought for plantation, with townland after townland being bought up and planted. This is causing huge anger and frustration among farmers who are being pushed out by companies which are coming into the county and getting grants to plant on land. The European legislation recommends that no more that 17% of land should be under forestation. The current situation in Leitrim already exceeds this limit and will be further exacerbated if planting continues. It seems very unfair that farmers are being side-lined in favour of people who are coming into the area solely to avail of government grants, particularly when the area is already exceeding forestry limits. I am calling on the Agriculture Minister to recognise the concerns of Leitrim farmers and communities which are worried about the over concentration of planting in the county. Minister Creed needs to look at forestation levels in other counties and see if there is scope to plant in those regions instead of focusing on a small number of counties, mostly in the West. For more stories on forestry in Leitrim read here While the buzz of Cheltenham has died down for another year, the national hunt train continues towards April and the Punchestown Festival. Thurles hosts a decent card on Saturday while the flat season begins at Naas on Sunday. JETT for Jessica Harrington is worth siding with in the 14:45 race at Thurles on Saturday given his impeccable course form. He has had two runs at the Tipperary track and won on both occasions. He recorded an emphatic 16-length win over Balbir Du Mathan in December last year. That horse has run credibly since, not least of which when second at the same track behind Pylonthepressure in early February. Jett himself was back at Thurles on February 22 and once again won at his ease, beating Goulane Chosen by four lengths. He also ran against subsequent Arkle winner Footpad at Leopardstown over Christmas, and although he was last of three finishers that day, he plugged on well to finish 24 lengths behind Willie Mullins' star in a race he was never good enough to win. Recent form suggests he'll handle soft or heavy ground and he's shown he likes the track, so he can get involved here. Diamond King is a likely odss-on favourite for Gordon Elliott in the 16:30 race on Saturday's card at Thurles, but I like the look of CALL THE TAXIE in opposition at more attractive odds. Diamond King was pulled up in the Coral Cup at Cheltenham last week and in truth, has been massively inconsistent of late. He hasn't won since 2016 and has been pulled up by his rider in three of his last five starts. That's a huge negative and brings Call The Taxie into the reckoning, especially in light of his most recent run. He was second behind Kilfenora in the Pertemps qualifier at Punchestown in February, and running through the finishing order, the eventual Pertemps Final winner at the Cheltenham Festival was behind the selection. Call The Taxie was second while Pertemps winner DELTA WORK was a further three lengths back in third. Call The Taxie skipped Cheltenham so is fresh for this, and although he will have to defy top weight, he can take advantage of Diamond King's recent woes. On Sunday, Naas gets the Irish flat season underway with a good card where Dermot Weld can get off to a winning start with MAKING LIGHT in the 16:15 contest. The four-year-old filly will likely face opposition from a couple of Aidan O'Brien horses in the Group 3 contest, but she showed enough improvement late last season to suggest a big run here. She found it hard to get her head in front in 2017, but she was consistent and managed to bag a win, albeit in the steward's room, over Larchmount Lad in a listed race at Leopardstown last October. Before that, she had finished in the front three in three out of four 2017 starts. This is a step up again but she showed her class by winning a Group 3 in 2016 and with more experience under her belt, she can make it difficult for O'Brien's string on ground that she likes. Michael Harding, playwright and author, opens the new painting exhibition of works by Mary McNutt at The Miners Bar, Arigna, Co. Roscommon, on Saturday, March 31. The exhibition runs from March 31 - April 8 with a permanent exhibit remaining on show thereafter. Mary McNutt started painting at age 60 and exhibits a natural talent for capturing the colours and textures we see around us, painting subjects such as wild flowers, local wild life and landscapes. My main inspiration is nature, says McNutt. I just love living things and find great pleasure in studying the detail of my subjects and reproducing their colour, texture and depth in my paintings. Michael Harding is delighted to be involved with a local art project. Supporting the arts in all its forms is important. More important still is being able to support local art. Marys paintings depict the area where I live and its wild and wonderful nature in surprising and colourful detail. The Miners Bar, Arigna, are proud to host this exhibition placing art at the heart of the community. Mary McNutt comes from a business family in Donegal. She ran her own successful weaving export business in Wexford in the 1980s. Her management skills led her to become an Enterprise Advisor and to work in Local Economic Development in Wexford and then Dublin. In 2005 she moved to Drumshanbo in Co. Leitrim where she has developed small enterprises at Mill Lane Beekeeping. At 60, fulfilling a life-long desire, she finally got oil paints, brushes and easel. Her works feature in private collections. She has completed several commissions. Michael Harding is a playwright and novelist living in Co. Leitrim, near the village of Arigna. He is also a columnist for The Irish Times. He has received several awards including shortlisted for The Irish Times Aer Lingus Literature Award (1989); Steward Parker Theatre Award (1990); Bank of Ireland RTE Award for Excellence in the Arts (1990); Hennessy Literature Awards for Short Stories (1980) and; Non-Fiction Book of the Year (2013) Irish Book Awards - Staring at Lakes. He also received awards and nominations for acting in Ireland and the UK. A YOUNG man was involved in the sustained bullying of a 13-year-old pupil at a Limerick school in what a judge has described as an extreme case of bullying which was absolutely shocking. The student at the private boarding school in Limerick has been ordered to write a 10,000 word essay on the effects of bullying on adolescents. The now 20-year-old pleaded guilty, earlier this year, to assaulting the boy at Villiers School, North Circular Road on various dates in March 2015. Limerick District Court was told the defendant was a fifth-year student at Villiers at the time and that the victim was in first year. A number of other boys were also involved in the bullying but none of them were prosecuted as they accepted juvenile cautions from garda. Judge Marian OLeary was told the victim, who was a boarder at the time, was dragged from his room on several occasions and that he was stamped upon and repeatedly beaten by the older pupils. Water was thrown in his face, his head was banged against a wall and, on occasion, he was directed to kiss the shoes of the culprits. A detailed medical report outlining the injuries he sustained was submitted to the court but was not read out in public. Giving evidence during a sentencing hearing, the defendant, who turns 21 next week, said he was horrified and ashamed of himself having been ordered to re-read a victim impact statement which was prepared by the teenage victim for the court. Where did you learn that kind of behaviour? asked the judge. What does kiss my shoes mean? Sitting directly across from the victim, the young man replied: Everyone was saying it, it got out of hand, it was in the heat of the moment. The defendant said he wished to apologise completely for his actions and the hurt caused. Addressing the injured party, the judge asked what he would do if he were judge? I would make sure he knew what he did was wrong and that he would know it for the rest of his life, he said, adding, that the one question that has not been answered is why? The judge agreed saying: We would all like to know that, before later telling the accused that he must have learned that behaviour somewhere. The injured party said if he was the judge he would record a criminal conviction as people need to know this is what he did to me. The judge said what happened was an extreme case of bullying and that the behaviour of the defendant was absolutely disgraceful. Referencing the contents of a medical report, she noted the victim has made a good physical recovery and that there are no long term psychological sequela. Addressing the defendant directly she said she was not one bit impressed, describing his offending behaviour as shocking. She noted he is now in college and has no previous convictions and commented that a criminal record may have an impact on his future career prospects. Judge OLeary indicated she was willing to adjourn the matter to March 2019 for review. In the meantime, the defendant is to write a 10,000 word essay on the physical effects of bullying on adolescents. The judge warned him that she does not want a copy and paste job and that the essay, when submitted to her, must be fully researched. The accused, who has an address in Dublin, was also directed to carry out eight hours of voluntary work a week with an organisation that helps abuse victims. He has also agreed to attend 12 sessions of counseling and he must complete an anger management course by early next year. Despite some resistance from solicitor Tom Kiely, who pointed out that there were others involved, the judge directed that 3,110 in compensation be paid by the defendant to cover the costs of the injured partys school fees. I hope you have learned some lesson, she said as she adjourned the matter to next March. Mar 23, 2018, 8 AM Only four examples of the unused 1869 24 Declaration of Independence stamp with inverted center are known: One will be offered during the April 11-12 Siegel auction in New York City. The only known example of the 1875 $36 brown rose Commerce newspaper stamp from the special printing will be offered in the Siegel sale. The upcoming Siegel sale includes a rare unused lightly hinged pair of the 1911 3 Orangeburg coil. Only six unused pairs and three unused singles of this issue are available to collectors. The April 11-12 Robert A. Siegel auction of the David Wingate collection will offer the position 86 Jenny Invert error stamp, which features unusually choice centering, according to Siegel. By Michael Baadke When the position 86 Jenny Invert stamp was last auctioned 19 years ago, it was described by Scott R. Trepel, the president of Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, as one of the best-centered 24 Inverted Jenny stamps in existence. Carefully preserved over the years, that same stamp is now being readied for auction as part of the David Wingate collection of United States stamps. The Siegel firm will again present the invert error at auction, along with some 471 additional U.S. stamp lots that comprise many of the countrys top stamp rarities. The two-day sale will take place April 11-12 at the Siegel galleries in New York City. The stamps offered in this auction are from the collection of David Wingate (1921-2011), a collection that is extraordinary for its completeness, quality and depth, according to Trepel. Many of the greatest rarities and outstanding multiples in United States philately will be found in the Wingate collection. The first lot in this auction, in fact, presents a remarkable example of the 1846 5 black on buff Brattleboro, Vt., postmasters provisional stamp with full imprint Engd. by Thos. Chubbuck, Bratto. (Scott 5X1). The imprint is found only below the position 8 stamp from the sheet of 10, and only five examples of the position 8 stamp are known. [O]nly the example offered here has the complete imprint; three others show portions of the letters, Siegel notes. The stamp, with a faint crease and light red pen mark at upper left, is listed by Siegel with the Scott catalog single-stamp value of $7,500. The catalog gives that value in italics to identify an item that can be difficult to value accurately. Every value quoted here has that same characteristic. The 17 lots of postmasters provisionals that open the auction include further examples from Millbury, Mass.; New York, N.Y.; Providence, R.I.; and St. Louis, Mo. (with eight of the famous St. Louis Bears). Another prominent rarity appears soon after in this sale: one of only three unused examples known of the 1851 1 blue Benjamin Franklin type I, position 7R1E (Scott 5), the only position for this issue that shows the complete stamp design. The stamp on offer is without gum and has clear margins at top and left with top sheet margin. It was discovered in 1998. Remarkably, it is one of two position 7R1E stamps from the Wingate collection, and the second stamp, with large margins, is also being auctioned. Siegel describes this second stamp as having an unused appearance, adding that We believe it is quite possible that this stamp is unused. The listing in the Seigel auction catalog includes information from the certificates that provides additional detail. The clearly unused stamp has a $225,000 Scott catalog value, and the second example is listed by Siegel with the Scott catalog value for a used stamp of $67,500. A substantial number of important classic multiples are offered in the auction. Among these is the largest recorded multiple of the 1869 15 brown and blue Landing of Columbus type II (Scott 119). The block of 20 with left sheet margin is unused and shows part of the dividing guide at lower left. The stamps are extraordinarily well-centered throughout, Siegel states. No more than five known unused blocks of 20 exist, and all are described in the Siegel catalog. The block of 20 offered in this sale is listed with the combined Scott value for four unused blocks of four and two pairs, at $85,000. The offerings from the 1869 issue also include two more important rarities in the form of unused 24 and 30 stamps with inverted elements. The 24 green and violet Declaration of Independence stamp with center inverted (Scott 120b) is one of only four unused examples recorded (one of which is in the permanent collection of the British Library). The stamp offered here has the best centering of the four, Siegel reports. The Scott catalog for the unused stamp is $750,000. The unused 30 ultramarine and carmine Shield, Eagle and Flags stamp with the flags inverted (Scott 121b) is one of seven recorded unused examples. All but one of these (including the one in this sale) have no gum. The Scott value for this stamp without gum is $300,000. The remarkable depth of the Wingate collection becomes ever more apparent the deeper one goes into the auction. Along with one each of the 1901 Pan-American stamps with inverted centers the 1 (Scott 294a), the 2 (295a), and the 4 (296a) the sale also offers what Siegel describes as the finest of six recorded blocks of four of the unused 4 invert, which is the largest multiple extant. Another legendary issue is the 1911 3 Orangeburg coil (Scott 389), the deep violet George Washington coil that in unused condition easily qualifies as one of the great rarities of the 20th century. The auction offers both a lightly hinged unused pair and a postally used single with the typical wavy line cancel. The unused examples of this stamp are limited to just six pairs and two singles, along with one pair in the Benjamin K. Miller collection that belongs to the New York Public Library. The rarity of the Orangeburg coil is the result of a limited printing made by the Post Office Department for Bell Pharmaceutical Co., which used the stamp to send product samples through the Orangeburg, N.Y., post office. The unused pair in this auction has a $250,000 Scott catalog value for the grade of fine. Siegel describes the pair as very fine, lightly hinged with tiny sliver on the left stamp, and makes note of the pairs deep rich color. The used stamp, valued at $10,000, is also very fine, according to Siegel, which calls it an outstanding example of the rare Orangeburg coil, and seldom found in this sound well-centered condition. Numerous other rarities are included in the sale, such as a mint never-hinged example of the $1 error stamp popularly known as the CIA Invert. The $1 Rush Lamp and Candle Holder stamp was issued in 1979 and remained in use for several years. Needing office postage, a CIA employee went to the post office one day in 1985 and bought a nearly complete pane of 95 $1 stamps. The error was noticed soon after the brown design was printed upside down in relation to the colorful flame and a group of CIA employees bought replacement stamps, swapping them for the valuable inverts, and selling most of the errors to auctioneer Jacques C. Schiff Jr. The example of the error in the Siegel auction has selvage on the left side and is described as pristine by Siegel. The Scott catalog value of $17,500 is noted in the Siegel lot listing. The 24 Jenny Invert stamp is one of some 50 back-of-the-book items being offered in the Wingate collection auction. Siegel notes that the error stamp has a natural gum bend as normally seen in this part of the sheet that was described on a 1981 Philatelic Foundation as a minor diagonal crease. A subsequent 1989 Foundation certificate doesnt describe the bend (or crease) at all. Centering varies on the 100 Jenny Invert stamps purchased by William T. Robey in 1918, with certain stamps showing noticeably better centering than others. Siegel describes this example as having balanced margins, with a vertical guideline visible along the left perforations. The Scott catalog value for the hinged unused stamp is $450,000. Connect with Linns Stamp News: Sign up for our newsletter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Among the newspaper stamps offered in the Wingate collection is another world-class rarity: the only recorded example of the 1875 $36 brown rose Commerce special printing (Scott PR54), without gum as issued. The Scott catalog value is $250,000, which Siegel notes is based on its 2003 sale price. The auction catalog for this sale can be viewed online or downloaded in its entirety as a PDF document. Online bidding options are available. Contact Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, 6 W. 48th St., New York, NY 10036, for more information. What does the 'draft' mean to you? Let us know in our April Caption Contest Mar 22, 2018, 2 PM The cartoon caption contest stamp for April is the 1991 29 stamp highlighting the importance of the peacetime draft imposed in 1940 in preparation for the possible U.S. involvement in the European war. The stamp is part of a series commemorating World War II. What do you think the draftees on the stamp might be thinking or saying. The rules to enter the contest are in the accompanying article. Entries must be received by April 27 for a chance to win a prize. U.S. Stamp Notes By John M. Hotchner Americas first peacetime draft is inscribed on a 29 stamp issued Sept. 3, 1991 (Scott 2559b), in a pane of 10 stamps with different designs, part of a series marking the 50th anniversary of World War II. Mandatory PT (physical training) was an essential part of basic training, but the way the new soldiers are dressed in the design of the stamp might give draft a dual meaning. The Selective Training and Service Act was signed by President Franklin Roosevelt on Sept. 16, 1940. Its purpose was to rebuild the U.S. military from its low point of about 334,000 (Army, Navy and Marines) in 1939 to be ready for war, which many believed the United States would become involved in. Approximately 4.7 million men and women served in World War I, so it was clear that the peacetime military was not going to be sufficient for the looming conflict. Under the Act, 49 million men registered and 10 million were inducted. Ultimately, 16 million men and women served in the U.S. Armed Forces during WWII. So, put yourself in a T-shirt, think calisthenics, and tell me what you might be saying or feeling about your lot in life at that moment; the politics of the war which had already begun in Europe; or break out of that era to comment on events today, sports, stamp collecting, or whatever else occurs to you. There will be two prizes given: one for the best philatelic line, and one for the best nonphilatelic line. The important thing is to use your sense of humor, because entries with a humorous twist have the best chance of winning a prize. Put your entry (or entries) on a postcard if possible and send it to me, John Hotchner, Cartoon Contest, Box 1125, Falls Church, VA 22041-0125, or email it to jmhstamp@ verizon.net. If you send an email, it is essential that your include your postal mailing address. For each winner, the prize will be the book Linns Stamp Identifier, published by Linns (a retail value of $12.99), or a 13-week subscription to Linns (a new subscription or an extension). To be considered for the prizes, entries must reach me no later than April 27. Why not enter now while youre thinking about it? iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump says he signed the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill Friday afternoon after earlier issuing a surprise veto threat of the legislation via tweet raising the prospect of a government shutdown. In his remarks, the president said there is a lot to be unhappy about and vowed to "never sign another bill like this again" but cast his final decision in terms of homeland security. As he took to the podium in the Diplomatic Room he called it a ridiculous situation. Trump was flanked by Vice President Mike Pence, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. The president vented about his distaste for the 2200-page bill and the ways it runs counter to his agenda. The president also repeated talking points about reversing deep cuts to military spending and giving a pay increase to troops. "My highest duty is to keep Americans safe," he said. As for the border wall, he says the administration will be "getting to work on Monday" with repairing and bolstering border wall. "We have $1.6 billion for the wall starting immediately. It's short term funding but it's immediately." Republican leaders spent the past 24 hours selling the bill as a win on border security, despite the fact that it fails to give the president the wall he promised. The announcement comes after Trump had lunch with Defense Secretary James Mattis who has been a strong proponent of the omnibus and its funding for the military the largest increase in defense spending in 15 years. The president tweeted earlier Friday morning that he had been considering a veto. Democrats blasted the president for what they see as his hypocrisy on a solution for the fate of some 700,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program recipients young undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. Mr. President, you terminated protections for DACA recipients, you cynically held them hostage for your costly boondoggle of a wall, and you have undercut every bipartisan attempt to fix the mess you created, Sen. Patrick Leahy, vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said. You can fix this. Or at the very least, dont unilaterally make things worse, yet again. Sen. Tim Kaine accused the president of being asleep at the wheel. "Seriously though, Rip Van Winkle, did you just awake from a long slumber? We gave you a deal last month that offered all the border funding you wanted AND a path to citizenship for Dreamers. YOU (or your minions) tanked it and turned us down. Art of the Deal-Wrecker!" Kaine tweeted. After Trump tweeted Friday morning some members of Congress like Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, encouraged him to veto the measure. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. The reproductive system is a collection of internal and external organs in both males and females that work together for the purpose of procreating, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Due to its vital role in the survival of the species, many scientists argue that the reproductive system is among the most important systems in the entire body. How reproductive systems work The male reproductive system consists of two major parts: the testes, where sperm are produced, and the penis, according to Merck Manuals. The penis and urethra belong to both the urinary and reproductive systems in males. The testes are carried in an external pouch known as the scrotum, where they normally remain slightly cooler than body temperature to facilitate sperm production. The external structures of the female reproductive system include the clitoris, labia minora, labia majora and Bartholin's glands, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The major internal organs of the female reproductive system include the vagina and uterus which act as the receptacle for semen and the ovaries, which produce the female's ova. The vagina is attached to the uterus through the cervix, while the fallopian tubes connect the uterus to the ovaries. In response to hormonal changes, one ovum, or egg or more in the case of multiple births is released and sent down the fallopian tube during ovulation. If not fertilized, this egg is eliminated during menstruation. The female reproductive system. (Image credit: National Institute of Health) Fertilization occurs if a sperm enters the fallopian tube and burrows into the egg. While the fertilization usually occurs in the oviducts, it can also happen in the uterus itself. The egg then becomes implanted in the lining of the uterus, where it begins the processes of embryogenesis (in which the embryo forms) and morphogenesis (in which the fetus begins to take shape). When the fetus is mature enough to survive outside of the womb, the cervix dilates, and contractions of the uterus propel it through the birth canal. Variations in the reproductive system Around 49.5 percent of the world's population is female, so there are slightly more men on the planet than women, according to World Bank. A person's sex is determined by what reproductive system the person has, but it isn't always so simple. Some humans are born with parts of both male and female reproductive systems or incomplete reproductive organs of one sex or the other. Those with both male and female reproductive parts are considered intersex. Sometimes children are labeled as male or female, depending on how complete or functional one sexual reproductive system is over the other. Then, the other organs are removed. Today, many parents are opting to leave both sets of reproductive organs intact with the intent of letting the child decide to keep or remove the various parts when they are older. A baby is born atypical genitalia in one in about 1,500 to 2,000 births, according to Intersex Society of North America. Females that are born without all of their reproductive system are labeled as having Mayer Rokitansky Kuster Hauser Syndrome. This occurs in one in 5,000 female births, according to the Center for Young Womens Health. Diseases of the female reproductive system Many parts of the male and female reproductive systems can be affected by cancer. In females, cancer can attack the uterus, ovaries, breast and cervix, among other organs, according to the American Cancer Society. Many experts have seen what they refer to as the "Angelina Jolie" effect, where women are taking proactive measures by having breasts and internal reproductive organs removed if they have a family history of cancer before there are signs of the disease. "With better genetic testing and screening, we have seen a number of women who are being more proactive about their reproductive health," said Dr. Shana Wingo, who specializes on gynecologic oncology at Arizona Oncology. Ovarian cancer tends to have a poorer outcome than other gynecological cancers, Ross noted, because it is not typically diagnosed until it has progressed significantly. "There is no standard screening available for ovarian cancer, so it is very difficult to identify it early." Tests to detect ovarian cancer, as well as cancer of the fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal cancer are currently being studied, according to the National Cancer Institute. There are two tests used to screen for cervical cancer. The Pap test screens for cellular changes in the cervix called cytology, while the genital human papillomavirus (HPV) test identifies the presence of infection with high-risk HPV, the strains that are linked to cervical cancer, according to Dr. Charles Dubin, an OB/GYN in Santa Monica, Calif. A recent study published by Cancer Cytopathology, found that HPV-only screening misses more cervical cancer in women than Pap-only or co-testing, based on approximately 8.6 million women ages 30 to 65. There is approximately a three-fold improvement in the cancer detection rate of co-testing compared to HPV only. Current guidelines recommend that women first start getting the Pap test alone when they turn 21 and repeat every three years if the test is normal until age 30. A Pap-plus-HPV test, or co-testing, is recommended for women ages 30 to 65, and if both are negative repeated every five years, regardless of whether they have received HPV vaccination. "However, there is compelling scientific evidence that co-testing every three years misses less cases of cancer and pre-cancer than every five-year co-testing," Dubin noted. While genital HPV is typically associated with females, it is the most common sexually transmitted infection. The majority of sexually active people in the United States male and female will have HPV at some time in their lives, but most will not experience any symptoms. In a small portion of women, it can result in cervical cancer and genital warts; in men, it can cause penile and anal cancer and genital warts, according to the NIH. Both genders can develop sexually transmitted diseases, including genital herpes, gonorrhea and syphilis, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). HIV/AIDS, a disease of the immune system, is not exclusively transmitted through sexual contact; sexual activity is one of the ways that the HIV virus is spread. For females, severe menstrual cramping, or dysmenorrheal, is the most common disease of the reproductive system occurs with a woman's monthly menstrual period, according to Dr. Sheryl Ross, OB/GYN and Women's Health Specialist at Providence Saint Johns Health Center. "Severe pain before or during your period can last anywhere from one to seven days and disrupt your normal day-to-day routines at school, work and socially," Ross noted. Diagnosis is made by the patient's medical history and a pelvic exam. The best treatment includes medications that block the effects of prostaglandins and include ibuprofen and naproxen. The birth control pill also works well in treating dysmenorrhea by decreasing the blood flow, Ross noted. Another common disorder of the female reproductive system is a vaginal yeast infection, which is caused by a yeast fungus in the vagina. Most can be successfully treated with over-the-counter medications, according to WebMD. Endometriosis is a condition where that normally lines the inside of your uterus the endometrium ends up outside of uterus, most commonly in the ovaries, bowel or the tissue lining your pelvis. The endometrial tissue becomes trapped, causing pain, according to the Mayo Clinic. Pelvic inflammatory disease can involve an infection of any of the female reproductive organs, including the uterus and ovaries. Sexually transmitted diseases, such as gonorrhea and chlamydia, are typical causes of pelvic inflammatory disease, according to the NIH. "Any of these STIs can cause serious and potentially long term reproductive problems that include chronic pelvic pain and infertility," Ross said. The male reproductive system (Image credit: National Institute of Health) Diseases of the male reproductive system Of male-specific diseases of the reproductive system, prostate cancer is the most common, but men can also suffer from testicular and penile cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. Treatment for prostate cancer depends on the age, severity of the disease and other health conditions of the patient. The usual treatments for prostate cancer are surgery, radiation therapy, watchful waiting, and hormonal treatment, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Erectile dysfunction is a common condition that affects about one in 10 males on a long-term basis, the Cleveland Clinic noted. It can be linked to vascular disease, neurological disorders such as Multiple Sclerosis, trauma and psychological episodes. Prostatitis typically involves swelling or inflammation of the prostate gland, according to the Mayo Clinic, and can cause painful or difficult urination and ejaculation. Nearly half of all men experience symptoms of prostatitis at some point during their lives. Defining and treating infertility Infertility is defined as a couple's inability to conceive after one year of unprotected intercourse. It can be caused by a condition in one partner or a combination of circumstances, according to the Mayo Clinic. In males, infertility is a condition in which they produce no sperm cells (azoospermia) or too few sperm cells (oligospermia), or their sperm cells are abnormal or die before they can reach the egg. Causes range from chromosomal defects to hormonal imbalance to tumors. Lifestyle factors, such as drug and alcohol use, can also play role. In rare cases, infertility in men is caused by an inherited condition, such as cystic fibrosis, according to the Mayo Clinic. In women, infertility is defined as a disorder of the reproductive system that hinders the body's ability to ovulate, conceive, or carry an infant to term. Reproductive conditions are treated by a variety of specialists. In women, many issues are treated by obstetricians/gynecologists and for males, urologists handle many disorders of their reproductive systems. There are also infertility experts that treat couples who are unable to conceive and endocrinologists who treat hormonal disorders. Additional reporting by Alina Bradford, Live Science contributor. Editors Note: If youd like more information on this topic, we recommend the following book: Systems of the human body Parts of the human body Additional resources Pioneering Women Archaeologists (Image credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures) Pistol-packing Lara Croft returned to theaters on March 16 in the film "Tomb Raider." Croft, played by Alicia Vikander, follows in the footsteps of her adventure-seeking father by traveling to distant lands and exploring remains of ancient civilizations, to piece together the events that led to his mysterious death. In the context of prior "Tomb Raider" video games and comics as well as the 2001 film about her exploits Croft is often referred to as an archaeologist. But in the new movie's story she lacks a scientist's formal training in excavating sites and artifacts. Even the title of the film reflects a colonialist approach to archaeology that is considered highly unethical by archaeologists today, experts told Live Science. However, there are plenty women who conducted truly groundbreaking archaeological work. Some of their pioneering contributions date back more than a century, and women today continue to forge new paths in the field by challenging how scientists investigate and interpret clues from the past. Margaret Murray (1863-1963) (Image credit: Alamy) British archaeologist and scholar Margaret Murray emerged in the late 19th century as a formidable figure in the developing specialty of Egyptology. In 1899 she became the first female lecturer in archaeology in the U.K., teaching at the University College London, and she led excavations in Malta, Menorca and Palestine, according to a study published in 2013 in the journal Archaeology International. Murray also collaborated with and mentored other women archaeologists, and she supported the civil actions of the suffragette movement in the U.K. in a passage from her autobiography, "My First One Hundred Years" (William Kimber, 1963), Murray recounted that "young males, even though brilliantly clever, should not pit their wits against an organisation [sic] run by women." Gertrude Bell (1868-1926) (Image credit: Historia/REX/Shutterstock) Born in the north of England, Gertrude Bell was the second woman to graduate from Oxford University in the U.K., a feat she followed up by traveling extensively throughout the Middle East visiting archaeological sites and exploring remote desert locations, according to Newcastle University's Gertrude Bell Archive. Along with her colleague T.E. Lawrence better known as "Lawrence of Arabia" she was considered to be one of the foremost European experts on Arab culture in the Western world, during the early 20th century. Bell led archaeological digs in Syria and Iraq, and wrote about her expeditions in highly-respected and popular accounts, according to an exhibit of her books, photos and papers presented at Yale University in 2011. Gertrude Caton-Thompson (1888-1985) (Image credit: Bettmann Archive) Wealth and race closely guarded the gateway to archaeology for many decades and continue to play a part in the field's accessibility and London-born Gertrude Caton Thompson's privilege enabled her to travel extensively with her family as a young woman, piquing her interest in archaeology with visits to historic sites in Rome and Egypt, according to a profile on Trowelblazers, an organization that offers resources for women and underrepresented groups in archaeological, geological, and palaeontological sciences. Caton-Thompson began her archaeological pursuits at age thirty-three, leading Neolithic and Paleolithic excavations in Egypt, Yemen and Zimbabwe, and her 1929 Zimbabwe dig was excavated entirely by women. Her methods, which included meticulous soil scrutiny and noting objects' positions relative to each other, revolutionized the way that sites were surveyed and studied. Dorothy Garrod (1892-1968) (Image credit: Alamy) Paleolithic archaeologist Dorothy Garrod's work uncovered important findings about early human origins including the first evidence of the Middle Stone Age, and the first evidence of dog domestication and she was also the first to use aerial photographs for archaeological work, according to Michigan State University's Digital Encyclopedia of Archaeologists. Garrod's excavations encompassed 23 sites in seven countries, including Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Lebanon, Bulgaria, France, Gibraltar and Great Britain, and she faced the intense physical challenges of field work with humor, writing about an excavation in 1934, "There was considerable consternation as there had been predictions of a cloudburst, an earthquake and the end of the world," according to a diary excerpt published online by the Department of Archaeology at the University of Cambridge in the U.K. Kathleen Kenyon (1906-1978) (Image credit: Bettmann Archive) Excavator of the ancient city of Jericho, British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon chose a career in archaeology after working on Gertrude Caton-Thompson's 1929 Zimbabwe excavation, according to a review of the biography "Dame Kathleen Kenyon: Digging Up the Holy Land" (Routledge, 2008) by Miriam Davis; the review was published in 2008 in the journal Archaeology. Kenyon used a then-novel technique called stratigraphic analysis peering downward through layers of soil and rock to better understand how materials accumulate on a dig site, and she was awarded the honor Dame of the British Empire in 1973 for her archaeological and academic achievements, according to Michigan State University's Digital Encyclopedia of Archaeologists. Honor Frost (1917-2010) (Image credit: Editsicinf/CC 3.0) Honor Frost was the first to usher in an era of underwater archaeology, using her skills as a diver to pioneer the excavation and reconstruction of submerged shipwrecks, according to an obituary published by the Guardian in 2010. Frost got her start in archaeology working under Kathleen Kenyon in Jericho in 1957, and she later moved on to explore sites in Lebanon, working with Beirut's Institut Francais d'Archeologie. Beginning in the 1960s, Frost incorporated archaeology with her love of deep-sea diving, leading dives and organizing excavations of sites and shipwrecks in the Mediterranean that included the discovery of the lost palace of Alexander and Ptolemy in the Port of Alexandria, the Honor Frost Foundation says. Gudrun Corvinus (1932-2006) (Image credit: Gonen Sharon) Paleontologist, geologist and archaeologist Gudrun Corvinus researched and excavated sites across Asia and Africa, and her discoveries informed the understanding of vertebrate paleontology and Paleolithic archaeology, according to an editorial published online in 2008 in the journal Quaternary International. In the 1970s, Corvinus was part of the team in Ethiopia that discovered "Lucy," the partial skeleton of a human ancestor known as Australopithecus afarensis that lived 3.2 million years ago. She later discovered Paleolithic sites in Ethiopia that were determined to be "among the oldest archaeological evidence in the world," and unearthed numerous Paleolithic sites in India, Nepal and Tibet, according to the editorial. Theresa Singleton (Image credit: Maxwell School of Syracuse University) Writer and archaeologist Theresa Singleton was born in South Carolina and studied archaeology at Oxford University in the U.K. and at Florida State University, where she was a pioneer of historical archaeology in North America, according to an article published in 2014 in the journal Historical Archaeology. Her work uncovered important findings representing the African Diaspora, particularly African-American history and culture under slavery, and life in communities of African-Americans descended from former slaves. In 2014 she became the first African-American recipient of the Society of Historical Archaeology's J.C. Harrington Award the organization's highest honor for her contributions to the field, Syracuse University representatives announced in a statement released that year. Shahina Farid (Image credit: Brenna Hassett) Born in London to parents who emigrated from Pakistan, Shahina Farid began volunteering on local dig sites when she was still in her teens, and studied archaeology at the University of Liverpool, according to a profile on the Trowelblazers website. Farid has contributed to archaeology projects in Turkey, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, as well as in London, and has published more than 40 scientific articles about her work. For two decades, she also served as field director for the Catalhoyuk project excavation of a Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlement in southern Anatolia dating from about 7,500 B.C. to 5,700 B.C. where she managed an international team of over 200 scientists, volunteers and students. Alexandra Jones (Image credit: PBS) Alexandra Jones is a modern ambassador for archaeology. She uses her background in teaching and in historical archaeology to perform outreach on platforms such as the PBS archaeology show "Time Team America," and with her own organization, Archaeology in the Community, which she founded in 2006, according to a Trowelblazers profile. Jones studied biology at Howard University in Washington, D.C., intending to pursue a career in medicine. But she opted for degrees in history and anthropology, and then later received a degree in historical archaeology from the University of Berkeley in California. "I am passionate about empowering future generations through the knowledge and perspectives only archaeology can provide," Jones told Howard University's Howard Magazine. A commercial fisherman in Australia spotted an alarming site this morning: Upward of 100 whales were stranded and dying on a beach at Hamelin Bay, about 180 miles (300 kilometers) south of Perth. (And we're all pulling for a happy ending.) Rescuers rushed to the scene, but only 15 of the 150 whales, thought to be short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), were still alive as of 12 p.m. local time, the Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions reported. The 15 still-breathing whales were in shallow waters, and rescuers planned to herd them into deeper water by late afternoon, said incident controller Jeremy Chick. [Whale Album: Giants of the Deep] "Unfortunately, most of the whales beached themselves on dry land overnight and have not survived," Chick said in a statement. "There are only 15 surviving in shallow waters, and we hope to move them out to sea later today." To make matters worse, windy and rainy weather has made the rescue challenging, he said. "Rescue operations will be hampered by deteriorating weather conditions, and we need to ensure the safety of everyone involved before we move the whales," Chick said. It's unclear why the whales became stranded in this case, but large groups of short-finned pilot whales have become stranded before. It's thought that the species is vulnerable to loud, human-made sounds, such as those made by navy sonar, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Researchers have yet to show a conclusive cause-and-effect relationship between noise pollution and beached G. macrorhynchus whales, but other mass-stranding events involving this species have happened during times of high human-made noise in the environment, according a 2006 report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. For instance, a series of unusual G. macrorhynchus stranding events coincided with a large-scale military exercise around Taiwan in 2004, the IUCN said. Short-finned pilot whales live in tropical waters around the world, usually in deep offshore regions, according to the IUCN. These 16-foot-long (5 meters) whales eat primarily fish and squid, but not always with the best results. In 2014 and 2015, two short-finned pilot whales suffocated when flatfish got stuck in their blowholes, Live Science previously reported. In the case of today's stranding, Chick mentioned that his department had received many offers to help save the whales from the local community. But given that the rescue crew already consists of government workers, veterinarians and trained volunteers, Chick said that the operation had enough skilled people on-site and asked the public to avoid the area. Moreover, authorities had issued a shark alert. "It is possible the dead and dying animals will act as an attractant, which could lead to sharks coming close into shore along this stretch of coast," the Western Australia Department of Fisheries said in a statement. The rescue crew is also working to remove the deceased whales from the beach. Parks and Wildlife Service officers are taking DNA samples from the dead whales to look for clues about why the whales stranded themselves. Original article on Live Science. Scientists have accused a killer whale of murder and its 46-year-old mother is an accomplice. Following a violent whale-on-whale clash near Vancouver Island near western Canada, a male orca and his mother were observed capturing another whale's newborn calf by the tail, abducting it for nearly 3 hours and ultimately drowning it deep underwater. The marine biologists who witnessed the attack called it "the first account of infanticide reported in killer whales" and "the only case committed jointly by an adult male and his mother" outside of humans. In a new paper that reads like a police report (published March 20 in the journal Scientific Reports), the researchers described the grisly incident and why they think it may have occurred. [Top 10 Deadliest Animals] The facts of the crime Early one December morning, marine biologists at a research station called OrcaLab caught wind of the unfolding attack when they picked up some strange whale calls on an underwater microphone. A squad of three scientists went to investigate. When the researchers arrived at the source of the distressed calls, it was clear an altercation had occurred. They saw a trio of whales (ages 2, 3 and 13 years old) hauling fin at close to 10 mph (17 km/h) toward a nearby group of their family members. One of the younger whales was wounded, bleeding from a bite wound on its left flank and pocked with fresh teeth marks around its body. The trio was seemingly being chased by an adult male orca (about 32 years old) and its mother (about 46 years old). The violent orca attack occurred near Vancouver Island in Western Canada. OrcaLab researchers followed the conflict for more than five hours. (Image credit: Courtesy Scientific Reports) The fleeing three whales soon rejoined the rest of their family, which included the group's mother (age 28) and several other children, including a little white newborn (or "neonate"). The family began swimming westward together. Soon, though, the aggressively pursuing male and its mother caught up to them. "Erratic movements and splashing suggestive of a predation event were observed," the researchers wrote. The scuffling whales darted in and out of the sea, splashing sprays of water and blood. After a few minutes, it became clear that the newborn calf had not surfaced with its mother. Soon, the researchers saw the adult male attacker swim by with the baby whale hanging out of its mouth. "The fluke of the neonate could be seen in his mouth with the body intact trailing underneath his lower jaw," the researchers wrote. The mother whale chased after the male attacker, who was now bleeding from fresh bite wounds. At one point, the aggressor male's mother joined the fray by throwing her body in front of the newborn's mom, impeding her pursuit. All told, the male attacker and his mother kept the captured newborn in their possession for more than 3 hours finally diving with it deep underwater and drowning it. Why kill a baby whale? Infanticidal acts are rarely observed in nature, the researchers wrote, but primates, carnivores, rodents and dolphins have all been caught in the act from time to time. Blood sprays out of the water as a mother orca fights off the violent male trying to capture her newborn calf. (Image credit: Courtesy Scientific Reports/ OrcaLab) Scientists don't fully understand the motives behind animal infanticide, but one prominent theory is that males kill off a female's offspring in order to stop her from lactating, making her eligible to mate again more quickly in other words, the crimes may be sexually motivated. "In these cases, infanticide not only creates a mating opportunity but can also remove the progeny of a competing male from the gene pool," the researchers wrote. That hypothesis could explain the adult male whale's motives in this case, but why get its mom involved? According to the OrcaLab researchers, it's not uncommon to see an adult male orca traveling continuously with its mother and cooperating in predation, especially if the mom is beyond reproductive age. "Post-reproductive female killer whales increase the survival of adult sons by sharing ecological knowledge and prey with them," the researchers wrote. A mother whale might also try to help its son mate, thus ensuring that the mother's lineage continues, the researchers added. Additional details in this killer whale killing including the slain newborn's paternal lineage remain under investigation. Originally published on Live Science. In one of his last television appearances, Stephen Hawking poses the question of how people might one day live on planets other than Earth. The computer-generated voice of the late physicist Stephen Hawking will address audiences once again from their television screens on March 25, during his appearance in one of the last TV projects of his life. In the Smithsonian Channel documentary "Leaving Earth: Or How to Colonize a Planet," Hawking shares his long-held vision of humanity confronting an uncertain future on Earth by looking to the stars, and setting a course that will lead us to one day inhabit distant worlds beyond our own solar system. Where we would go, how we would get there and what it would take to make an alien planet habitable are just a few of the questions that Hawking and other scientists address as they confront the challenges that people would face in order to colonize Earth 2.0. [Stephen Hawking: A Physics Icon Remembered in Photos] "Leaving Earth" explores how scientists are working to identify "goldilocks" planets worlds that are neither too close to their host star nor too far away (not too hot, not too cold), with liquid water on their surface. But identifying planets that could be likely candidates for supporting human life is just the beginning. Experts speaking on "Leaving Earth" also introduce research that could inform future designs for spacecraft capable of transporting us beyond the reaches of our own solar system. And novel technologies offer solutions for protecting and sustaining us in space and for terraforming alien planets as we lay the foundations for new human civilizations. Hawking often talked about the idea of humanity securing its future by colonizing other worlds. In November 2016, he delivered a speech at the Oxford University Student Union suggesting that climate change, the threat of nuclear weapons, pollution and other environmental risks were swiftly rendering Earth uninhabitable, and that our species had only about 100 years left. Our only hope, he told the audience, was finding another planet to call our home. A provocative idea In fact, "Leaving Earth" was inspired by Hawking's words about colonizing other planets, Lucy Haken, the show's producer and director at Brook Lapping Productions, told Live Science. "He'd spoken about it many times," Haken said. "The team at Brook Lapping worked up that idea into something that could be a film, and then approached Stephen Hawking and asked if he'd take part." The production team developed the script with Hawking, and his segments were filmed over two days near his office in the math department at the University of Cambridge, Haken said. What emerged was both intriguing and frustrating, Haken recalled while Hawking posed fascinating and tough questions about how people could go about departing Earth and migrating to new worlds, he didn't offer them any solutions for how that might happen, she told Live Science. "Our hosts came up with potential ideas as to how we might go about approaching this problem, but Professor Hawking hadn't really suggested a plan for how we'd do this," she said. "He was putting it out there to the world as an almost provocative question that he thought we ought to be investigating, but I think he was also quite playful in the way that he wanted other people to take it and run with it." Billions upon billions of people Life first emerged on Earth more than 3 billion years ago, and modern humans Homo sapiens didn't arrive on the scene until about 300,000 years ago, according to the fossil record. Since then, our numbers have swelled to more than 7 billion, and the global human population is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, according to the United Nations Population Division. A dozen people have walked on the moon, but we have yet to establish an off-planet colony within our own solar system. However, the history of humanity is one that embraces movement and migration, as people emerged from Africa hundreds of thousands of years ago and crossed continents and then oceans, establishing footholds in diverse environments nearly everywhere on Earth. Perhaps viewed in that context, Hawking's dream of humans populating other planets within the foreseeable future isn't so far-fetched after all, and may just be the natural extension of a process that humanity has followed since its earliest days, Haken said. "The colonizing of continents started with pioneers, and then others would come. It's all about moving in steps and waves," she said. "At the moment, going to live outside our planet seems unthinkable. But actually, if you take those steps one at a time, maybe it is doable after all." "Leaving Earth: Or How to Colonize a Planet" airs March 25 at 8 p.m. local time on the Smithsonian Channel. Original article on Live Science. Rio Grande could be on the verge of a pretty devastating environmental disaster, according to a Laredo city councilman, if one of the two working pumps from the water treatment plant in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico fails during these next three days. At Mondays City Council meeting, Health Director Dr. Hector Gonzalez mentioned that a diplomatic note had been issued from the State Department to Mexico asking for actions being taken regarding the status of the pumps from their water treatment plant to remedy the discharges. City Councilman George Altgelt said during the meeting that the U.S. federal government and the commission have known for the past 18 months that out of the six pumps that operate the water treatment plant in Nuevo Laredo, only two are working. READ ALSO: Hundreds of fish mysteriously killed in Laredo waters The problem is that the 21-year-old water treatment plant in the south part of Nuevo Laredo like everything else that ages with time needs some repairs. And so the salient take-away point is that out of the six pumps, we are down to like one and half, he said. Essentially we are about a pump away from a pretty devastating environmental disaster because should that pump fail we are looking at a sewage outfall of 30 million gallons a day into the Rio Grande. Gonzalez also said that the City of Laredo was working on a letter asking for a status and timeline. Agustin Boone, the Mexican representative of International Boundaries and Water Commission in Nuevo Laredo, or CILA in Spanish, told Laredo Morning Times on Wednesday the water treatment plant has been working with three pumps out of the six since 2014. Boone said the treatment plant was built in April 1996 with money from both federal governments. Before that, sewage went directly into the river. This plant has been operational for 21 years. CILA was charged to supervise and maintain the plant for the first 10 years, then we passed the torch to COMAPA, Boone said. All we do now is supervise the water quality and make sure the water treatment plant is working as it was stipulated on international agreements. READ ALSO: Ex-Bandido cries as he tells how he killed rival biker COMAPA stands for Water and Sewage City Commission in Spanish, and is the Mexican counterpart to the Laredos Utilities Department. Boone said his office is in charge of making sure the water treatment plant and the water that goes back into the river meet the quality standards required by IBWC. The risk, according to Boone, is that there must be six pumps operating at the water treatment plant. However, these pumps have been working for over 20 years, their lifespan is over, he said. Up until a month ago, the plant had two of the original pumps working and one smaller pump that was acquired in 2014. The two originals can process 600 liters of water per second, while the newest addition can only pump 300 liters per second. Boone said back in February one of the big capacity pumps started failing, pumping less water. When something starts failing you need to repair it, or else something bigger could break down, he said. So early this month COMAPA sent the pump to a local shop to be repaired. That means that right now the water treatment plant that is meant to operate with six pumps only has, technically, one and a half. READ ALSO: Landfill granted preliminary go-ahead outside Laredo The plant currently receives about 900 liters of water per second, and that is exactly the capacity the two pumps have, one is for 600 liter per second, and the smaller one can only pump 300 liters per second, said Boone. The problem is from here to Monday, when they will return the pump back from the shop, is if one of the other two pumps were to fail, he said. It is very unlikely that a problem like that were to arise, because so far the pumps have maintained their functions correctly. Boone said once the pump is repaired, the plant will have the capacity to take 1,500 liters per second, which should alternate the pumping among the three. Additionally, he mentioned COMAPA and the local government are in the process of buying two more pumps to replace the old ones, while CILA is negotiating the acquisition of another two pumps, which will leave the plant operating as its meant to be. When asked why the city and COMAPA had just started taking action if theyve known about the problem for 18 months, he said theyve known since 2014. Its not 18 months, the third pump was acquired in 2014 and thats all weve had since then. As to the question of why another pump hasnt been obtained, COMAPA says they are lacking in resources, he said. They have the capacity to operate, but not to make big investments. A news release from the city of Nuevo Laredo issued in December states that the city approved 454 million pesos for COMAPAs 2018 operational budget. COMAPA in 2018 will be able to exercise 454,804,920 pesos, which will be destined to the current expenditure, meaning the purchase of materials, construction equipment, chemical products, pharmaceuticals and tools, the news release says. According to a report by the Mexican newspaper El Manana, COMAPA said in a meeting that buying two new pumps will cost around 7.5 million pesos, or about 1.6 percent of COMAPAs annual budget. COMAPAs General Manager Rodolfo Gonzalez Morales was not available to answer several requests for comment on Wednesday. WASHINGTON - Texas manufacturers who produce steel oil and gas pipelines and drill pipe are expected to see a relatively modest impact from China's announcement it was slapping a 15 percent tariff on steel pipe from the United States. Last year the United States exported 832,000 metric tons of steel pipe, according to the U.S. International Trade Administration. More than 80 percent of that pipe went to Canada and Mexico, with China coming in a distant third. RENO, Nev. A growing homelessness crisis. Complaints about traffic congestion. Worries that the economy is becoming dominated by a wealthy elite. Those sound like Californias problems in a nutshell. But now they are also among Californias leading exports. Just ask the citizens of this city, where growing numbers of Californians and companies like Tesla have migrated to take advantage of cheap land and comparatively low home prices. A four-hour drive from Silicon Valley, across a mountain range and a state line, Reno is finding that imported growth is accompanied by imported problems. On a recent evening, Chance Reading, an electrician who has lived in the area for 15 years, went to the City Council chambers to speak against a proposed development near his home in Verdi, on Renos outskirts. He was part of a standing-room crowd that lined the back wall and spilled into the lobby. Neighbor after neighbor walked to the microphone to complain about clogged roads, overcrowded schools and a creeping sense that local residents were being overwhelmed by development. Our big message tonight is really about the pace of growth and trying to have a sustainable growth pattern versus a cycle of boom and bust, Reading said before the meeting. And its not just happening in Reno. Austin, Texas; Boise, Idaho; Denver; Phoenix; Portland, Oregon; and Seattle have all seen a huge influx of homebuyers from California, according to the real estate website Zillow. A common thread is that each of these cities faces a growing housing crisis that, while not as severe as Californias, is setting off many of the same debates. In Washington state, the legislature considered, but ultimately killed, a bill that would let cities like Seattle impose rent control. Affordable housing has emerged as the top priority for voters in Denver, while groups in Boise are organizing to fight irresponsible development. Such concerns are a far cry from those of even the recent past in Reno, where the economy has long been based on gambling and the citys status as a small, sedate northern answer to Las Vegas. A little under a decade ago, Reno was one of Americas foreclosure capitals and the unemployment rate was just below 14 percent. The gambling industry was skidding, tax revenue was plunging and construction companies were either going out of business or shredding their payroll from several hundred employees to a few dozen. Everybody was leaving and Reno was basically closing its doors, Lance Gilman, an industrial land broker, said in a recent interview while wearing a cowboy hat, several gold rings, a gold chain and a gold watch. (This being Nevada, he is also the proprietor of a prominent brothel, the Mustang Ranch.) Today, the city and the surrounding metropolitan area of 450,000 people are so deep into another boom that local residents are starting to wonder if the rebound has been too much too soon. For decades, one of Renos chief attributes has been its proximity to California. It has prospered by being a refuge for people and businesses looking for less expensive homes, land and labor, along with the added benefit of not having a state income tax. And that is what is driving growth today. Net annual departures from California slowed to about 20,000 after the recession, but have climbed back to more than 100,000, according to the Census Bureau. A lot of people feel like they want to get out while those markets are hot, said Jaime Moore, a real estate agent based in Reno who is with Redfin, a national real estate brokerage firm, speaking about the high-price cities in coastal California. As a result, the Reno housing market has gone from moribund to scorching. As of February, the median home price in the metropolitan area was about $340,000, more than double its recessionary trough of about $150,000, according to Zillow. The inventory of homes for sale was down 22 percent from a year earlier, according to Redfin, and sales were happening at a much faster clip. The typical home for sale was under contract in 55 days, 24 days faster than a year earlier. In Reno and elsewhere, one distinguishing feature of the recent migration is that it is not limited to retirees who sold their home with plans to funnel the profits toward a cheaper and lower-tax retirement. There is also an influx of young professionals like Brian Quon, an automation engineer at Tesla. Quon, 37, moved to Reno last year, mostly for professional reasons. He bought a house for $400,000, about a third of what his home in San Jose, California, was worth, and he said Reno was friendlier and had a slower pace. He said he was not really aware of the debate about growing pains, because he was extremely busy at work and almost no one he worked with was from Nevada. As the kids grow up and go to school, Im sure well be more involved in the community, said Quon, who is married and has two children under 3. In contrast to their counterparts in the Bay Area, where the term gentrification is used carefully and with regret, Reno boosters and real estate agents boast about how blocks of rundown weekly motels are just months away from gentrifying. Come back soon, the message goes, and all this stuff will be torn down and gone. Today the typical Reno rent is just under $1,700 a month, up about 30 percent from five years ago, according to Zillow. One result has been a surge in Renos homeless population. The citys shelter, just a few blocks past a bus station, is overflowing with residents and recently added a propane-heated tent to accommodate all the extra people. On a recent chilly morning, with a snowstorm bearing down, Aria Overli, went door to door through a motel just off the downtown strip. Overli, an organizer with Actionn, a housing advocacy group in northern Nevada, passed the sounds of saws and renovations, knocking on doors. Many residents who answered said they were on the verge of being evicted. For the past year Actionn has been organizing tenants in Renos weekly motels, many of whom are one step removed from homelessness. The group has been taking residents to City Council meetings, where they speak out against new local ordinances like a requirement that motel rooms have small kitchens that they fear will push rents higher. The group has also been pushing for financing for affordable housing and for requirements that developers include subsidized units in new projects. This rapid economic growth that has come with a housing crisis, said J.D. Klippenstein, Actionns executive director. Gilman, the broker and brothel owner, has been at the center of Renos evolution. He arrived in 1985 after reading a report titled 10 boomtowns you can count on for the 90s. He and a group of business partners went on to buy and sell various plots of land for housing and commercial development that was primarily marketed toward the kinds of retirees and second-home owners who had sought out Reno in earlier migrations from California. Two decades ago, the group bought several hundred thousand acres outside town and, after adding roads and other infrastructure, turned it into a vast industrial park among buff-colored mountains that was initially used mostly as a center for warehouse and logistics operations for big retailers like Walmart. The park expanded as consumers did more of their shopping online, but its growth took off three years ago as Reno started to rebrand as a technology hub, and Nevada offered a $1.3 billion incentive package to bring in Teslas Gigafactory. As the park and its tenants have prospered, the Reno airport has added flights connecting it with tech hubs like Austin. Hotels are marketing themselves as smoke-free and, in place of casinos, have added diversions like bocce courts and climbing walls. One newly revitalized retail strip has a yoga studio, a gastro pub, a marijuana dispensary and a bubble tea cafe on what was once a used-car lot. Since helping to woo Tesla, Gilman has reached deals with various other tech companies, including Google and Switch, which runs data centers. A mysterious cryptocurrency company called Blockchains LLC recently bought about 67,000 acres, which was just about everything Gilman had left to sell. Im out of work, said Gilman, who noted that he had planned for it to take two decades for the park to sell out the rest of that land. No Turning Back: Life, Loss, and Hope in Wartime Syria By Rania Abouzeid Norton. 378 pp. $26.95 --- Syria's peaceful uprising started with demands for freedom, democracy and an end to four decades of Assad family rule. It was met by a regime crackdown that killed thousands of peaceful protesters, prompting the militarization of the revolt and essentially an extreme Islamic takeover of most of the armed opposition. "No Turning Back" is an account of the people whose personal stories shed light on that turn to arms and the radicalization we are seeing today. Rania Abouzeid excels in describing the scene and depicting the characters. Her words transport readers to the regime's prison cells, to life under bombardment and to secret meetings of opposition fighters in the moonlight of summer nights in northern Syria. She takes us through the stages of the uprising, illuminating the hope, despair, delusion and fragmentation of the rebels. She also had access to members of the most feared groups, including the al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra. Abouzeid follows her characters over several years, providing intimate accounts of their lives and how the violence of Bashar al-Assad's regime, the manipulation of regional powers and the unfulfilled promises of the West have turned the rebels' dreams of change into a nightmare. But Abouzeid's perspective raises some questions. She argues that the uprising was an armed Islamic undertaking from the beginning, which parallels the Assad regime's propaganda. The regime's tactic has been to try to impress upon the world that there was no citizens' uprising but rather an armed Islamic movement that threatened the government and needed to be crushed. That storyline helped the regime to crack down on peaceful activism from the outset and established the narrative of an armed Islamic insurgency. Under the regime's instructions, many Islamists were released from prison in a 2011 amnesty, and at the same time Assad locked up thousands of peaceful secular activists. This allowed the Islamic insurgency to mobilize and helped create Assad's narrative that the uprising was an Islamic problem for the regime. Abouzeid recounts the amnesty but doesn't explore the arrests of the activists and other ordinary Syrians. Many who were in Syria at the time, including myself, clearly witnessed that the rebellion was not an action of Islamic extremism. It started as peaceful, civil and inclusive of all sections of society - people from all social and religious groups who wanted to see democratic change in Syria. "No Turning Back" focuses on several main characters from different locations and ideologies in Syria. Among them are Suleiman Tlass Farzat, a wealthy businessman who became a protester; Abu Azzam, a poet who became a fighter; and Mohammad, a former prisoner who joined Jabhat al-Nusra. While Abouzeid acknowledges that she is not "presenting a comprehensive story of Syria or even of rebel-held Syria," her tale leaves out many non-Islamic Syrians from diverse backgrounds who rose up and embraced civil and pacifist resistance to Assad's police state and formed the civil core of the uprising. Where are Syria's brave women in Abouzeid's book? One major event was a silent demonstration in Marjeh Square in Damascus in March 2011 that was mainly organized by women from all sects to demand the release of political prisoners. As soon as they raised pictures of the detainees, the secret police attacked them, dragging one of the organizers by her hair to prison. In Abouzeid's account, we mainly hear from male characters, the majority of whom embraced armed rebellion and joined extreme Islamic groups, which underplays the wider roots of the uprising. Only in a few scenes do we see the roles of female characters. Yet many women in Syria have played a vital part in peaceful activism, political organization and, most important, in civil society, humanitarian aid and education. Hundreds or thousands of women became breadwinners while their husbands were detained, summarily executed or otherwise went missing, or died in the fighting. Women have also been involved in the spread of Local Coordination Committees across the country. One secular veteran human rights lawyer, Razan Zaitouneh, was kidnapped by Islamic fighters in Eastern Ghouta, a suburban area of Damascus, in late 2013. Zaitouneh, who played a role in establishing the Local Coordination Committees, is absent from the book. The few women characters in these pages mostly appear as submissive to social or religious codes. Syria's seven-year war is not only a military one. The regime and the Islamic hard-liners have restricted the media. Journalists have been prevented from doing their jobs and in some cases have been killed, beaten or ejected from the country. I was one of many journalists detained and threatened by the regime. Islamic extremists have kidnapped local and foreign journalists to obtain ransoms or to control the narrative. In response, citizen journalists have arisen to report on conditions and send the information out of the country. But Abouzeid discredits the opposition media activists. Her reports on these journalists are inconsistent: She suggests that some have an Islamic agenda while others are affiliated with rebel groups; other times, she claims that the citizen journalists exaggerate conditions or even promulgate false accounts. Abouzeid stresses that her accounts are the true version, when many would argue against her narrative. "No Turning Back" offers insight into the armed rebellion and the role of Islamic groups. But it fails to convey the reality that all Syrians - regardless of religious affiliation - have suffered under decades of Assad family rule. In the 1980s, the regime consolidated its rule by crushing any dissent from Islamic extremists, socialists, communists and secular Syrians. Today the country is facing ruin under a continuation of the same brutal policies. --- Sinjab is a Syrian journalist based in Beirut reporting for the BBC and other outlets. She was based in Damascus until 2013. Orban: Hungary's Strongman By Paul Lendvai Oxford. 273 pp. $29.95 --- There is a new verb in Hungarian these days. "To Soros" - sorosozni - is to blame George Soros, the Hungarian-born American financier and philanthropist, for that country's problems. He is accused of having bought off the European Union so that the bureaucrats of Brussels would impose his globalist values on Hungarian society; of devising a plan to bring millions of dark-skinned Muslim migrants to Europe, mainly via Hungary, to deprive the continent of its white, Christian tradition; and of sponsoring foreign agents - nongovernmental organizations - to topple Prime Minister Viktor Orban's legitimate Hungarian government. Hundreds of mammoth posters of a grinning Soros are displayed throughout the country, with the words "Don't let him have the last laugh" superimposed on them. For good measure, the larger-than-life size of his hooked nose evokes the familiar stereotype of a scheming Jew. As Paul Lendvai relates in this well-informed and up-to-date biography of Orban, the Hungarian government runs a relentless campaign against the Soros-founded Central European University (CEU), by far Hungary's and probably the whole post-communist region's best graduate school. If Orban wins the parliamentary elections on April 8, CEU will have to move at least some of its classes from Budapest to Vienna. The demonization of Soros is effective. A recent poll indicates that parts of the electorate plan to vote against the Soros Party in the forthcoming elections. That there is no such party is apparently irrelevant. What matters is that the current campaign against Western values falls on fertile soil. Orban's supporters believe that if it were not for foreign enemies conspiring against Hungary, the country would be doing much better. What else can explain that Hungary is among the five poorest members of the European Union? How come close to 500,000 Hungarians, about 5 percent of the country's population, have left in recent years for Western Europe? The official answer is that Hungary, as so often in its history, is once again being victimized by a conspiracy, this time developed by Soros and the E.U. In matters small and big, Orban used to be the opposite of what he has become. When I first met him in 1989 at Szazadveg - the publishing arm of Fidesz, now the country's dominant, governing party - he was the editor of the Hungarian-language edition of one of my two books that Szazadveg would issue in 1990 and 1991. We spent a lot of time together. His prized possession in the office was a large Xerox machine, a gift Szazadveg received from the Soros Foundation. Now, some three decades later, Soros may well feel that his good deed has not gone unpunished. In this comprehensive study, Lendvai offers a detailed account of when and how Orban changed his spots over the years. He shows that Orban was an anti-Soviet radical in the 1980s, a strong critic of Russia for two decades, before becoming Vladimir Putin's advance man in the E.U. in the past 10 years or so. No longer the liberal advocating Hungary's rapid integration into European and transatlantic institutions, he has become a right-wing nationalist ranting against the E.U., Hungary's major financial benefactor. He favors Hungary for Hungarians, recently going so far as to call his country's Romani (gypsy) citizens "internal migrants" - as if they were not Hungarians. For good reason, Stephen K. Bannon, his political soulmate, has called Orban a "hero" and "the most significant guy on the [European] scene." Correctly, Lendvai considers Orban a shrewd and talented political chameleon. When Orban noticed in the mid-1990s that there was little serious competition on the center-right of the political spectrum, he skillfully positioned his party there. Then, over several years, he moved further and further to the nationalist right in order to take votes from the far-right Jobbik party (which, ironically, is navigating to the center now, thus crossing paths with Orban's Fidesz). When, in 2015, he built a wall on the country's southern border to keep out Muslim refugees, his popularity rose from 43 to 48 percent. As a tactician, as well as a gambler and an improviser, Orban's antagonism toward authority is an important clue to his approach to politics. He rebelled against the communists in the 1980s and the post-communist democratic elite in the 1990s, and he now agitates relentlessly against the "globalists" in Brussels and Washington. As he likes to say, he fights for Hungary day and night. In a revealing interview posted on YouTube, Orban candidly described his stubborn conflicts with his father. He traced what he called his "schizophrenic tendencies" to his teenage years, when his dad whacked him with his belt and physically forced him to stay at home on some weekends - even though he was already 18 years old. At 54, Orban is still uncomfortable accepting anyone else's authority. This is why - for political and psychological reasons - he seems eager to create the legal foundation for a new constitution that would effectively turn today's semi-authoritarian order into a fully authoritarian one. If he is reelected in April with the super-majority he craves, he could further curtail the judiciary's independence, further modify electoral law to stifle his remaining opponents' chances at the polls and further curb freedom of the press. It seems that Orban's model is Miklos Horthy's antediluvian regime in interwar Hungary, a soft dictatorship that defied the country's real and imagined foreign enemies and initially appealed to Hungarian pride. But it left humiliation and destruction in its wake at the end of World War II. If history were to repeat itself, Hungary's slide from Central Europe to the Balkans would only accelerate. It is hard to say if present trends could be reversed in the years ahead. The opposition at home, made up of Social Democrats and liberals, is weak and divided. In Fidesz, the party he continues to dominate, Orban's colleagues are awed by his political skills and popularity - even though they are also afraid of him. Among foreign critics, Washington upholds the values of unfettered elections and a free press, keeping hope alive for a democratic revival, but Orban's rather secretive and well-paid U.S. lobbyists work hard on his behalf. Their goal is a White House invitation to the Hungarian leader for a state visit. Lendvai's fair-minded book is a reminder that the lobbyists' claims about Orban's democratic credentials and his goodwill toward the United States are fake news. Could the European Union make a difference? In the past few years E.U. officials have put Hungary (and Poland) on their agenda, warned about withholding the E.U.'s huge, $3 billion to $5 billion yearly subsidies to Hungary's economy (from the E.U.'s "cohesion fund"), and even considered suspending Hungary's voting rights - but they have shied away from taking any forceful measures. Worse yet, Brussels is beginning to believe that time is on Orban's side. With nationalism and sovereignty on his banner, and with the support of new adherents in Poland and Italy, in Britain and Trump's America, too, he is an effective fighter against the continent's integration and its partnership with North America. As Lendvai makes it clear, he should be taken seriously. --- Gati is a senior research professor of European and Eurasian studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the author of "Failed Illusions: Moscow, Washington, Budapest and the 1956 Hungarian Revolt." Dorothy Steel, 92, starred as a merchant tribe elder in the blockbuster film, "Black Panther." (Photos courtesy of Cindy Butler and Matt Kennedy)[/caption] Dorothy Steel's mind was made up. She had been acting for only three years and didn't want to audition for some "comic strip" movie she'd never heard of. And at 91, Steel told herself, there was no way she could learn to speak with the African accent the role required. In late November 2016, Steel asked her agent to kindly decline the invitation, and went about her day. When her grandson called, Steel casually mentioned the offer. Niles Wardell, 26, was stunned. This is not just comics, he told his grandmother: This is "Black Panther." This is a big deal. When she still wasn't convinced, he decided to turn the tables on the woman who has been his source of wisdom. "My grandson said to me, 'You're always talking about stepping out on faith. I either want you to man up or shut up,' " Steel recalled, laughing at the memory. Steel would get another audition and took the chance. And now millions of people worldwide have seen her in the role of a Merchant Tribe elder in the 14th-highest-grossing movie of all time. At 92, Steel has become a celebrity in ways she couldn't have imagined even a year ago. Anytime she steps outside in her home of College Park, Ga., she is greeted with fans asking for a selfie or autograph. "Hopefully, somebody who at 55 or 60 has decided, 'This is all I can do,' they will realize they have 35 more years to get things together," Steel said. "Start now. It's never too late. ... Keep your mind open and keep faith in yourself that you can do this thing. All you have to do is step out there." Nearly a decade ago, Elaine Jackson met Steel at the Frank Bailey Senior Center in Riverdale, Ga., and was immediately impressed. Jackson, now the center's manager, wrote and directed productions there and asked Steel to act the part of a teenager in a series of plays called "It's Christmas." During rehearsals, Steel would ad-lib. Her interpretation of the character had people hunched over in laughter. Jackson realized she had a star on her hands. At 89, Steel got an agent and began acting in television shows and commercials. She has made multiple appearances on the soap opera "Saints and Sinners," broadcast on Bounce TV. "I always told her she should be in movies," Jackson said. "Just because of her personality and in the way she portrays her characters. Everything we gave her to do, she just became that particular character." Steel poured this same passion into her character for "Black Panther." She listened to Nelson Mandela speeches on YouTube for several hours a day. She immersed herself into the character: Where was this woman educated? How did she become so powerful? What had she done for her country, the fictional land of Wakanda? Steel knew all those answers. An hour after seeing Steel's audition tape, the Marvel casting producers called her agent, Cindy Butler. Within a day, she had the offer. "Everyone wanted to be on 'Black Panther,' " Butler said. "I knew it was going to be a black cast. I knew it was going to be major. Once she realized what was going on, I knew it was going to be big for her." Born and raised in Detroit, Steel eventually worked as a senior revenue officer for the IRS for decades before retiring on Dec. 7, 1984 -- a date she rattles off with impeccable memory. Steel also lived in the Virgin Islands for 20 years before moving to Georgia to be closer to her son, Scott Wardell, and grandson. She has lived a life full of adventure and travel - she bounced around the world as part of her job and was a bowler until age 86. She never thought of acting as a career. But from a young age, Steel enjoyed escaping into the make-believe worlds of her books, something that acting allows as well. "I can be whatever it is I'm supposed to be at the time," she said. "I love it. . . . While you're acting, you're in this protected cubicle that people call the stage. You're protected from the world. And that's the first time in my life I felt absolutely secure. . . . You can just be whatever it is the character is supposed to be." For three weeks last March, Steel got to experience what it's like to be a big-time actor. A driver would pick her up at 5:30 in the morning and she would arrive on set about 7. Her makeup took almost an hour to apply and then she was off to her trailer, where she would dress in her elaborate tribal elder costume -- heavy boots, thick socks, large headpiece and layers of clothing -- a process that took several hours. Then it was time to shoot. Each scene needed shots from various angles, and she repeated her memorable line ("We don't need a warrior. We need a king!") dozens of times. On some evenings, Steel would not get home until 9 or 9:30. But she didn't mind the long hours. She called director Ryan Coogler "the nicest man in the world," and actor Chadwick Boseman, who plays the main character, would come up to Steel every morning and give her a hug and kiss. She befriended Angela Bassett and was impressed in particular by the women on the set ("Their physical shape was just remarkable," she marveled) and the movie's positive and inspiring message. "This was a black nation [Wakanda] that was able to bring peace to the world," she said. Through it all, Steel was every bit a part of the "Black Panther" family as the A-list stars gracing the cover of magazines. Occasionally, when she gets stopped in the grocery store by autograph-seeking fans, she will think about that phone call with her grandson. It took getting out of her comfort zone to realize a dream she didn't know she had. "Keep your mind open and keep faith in yourself that you can do this thing," Steel said. "All you have to do is step out there and try it. And if you don't make it on the first step, step out there again and you'll find something you can step out on. But don't just sit back. Life is not just about sitting back. Life is about stepping out." It was 1999 when I first interviewed Wes Anderson, in the back of a yellow tour bus that had been rented by the studio behind "Rushmore," his sophomore film. The unorthodox setting, as the then-29-year old filmmaker explained, was a concession to his fear of flying. When I caught up with him earlier this month by phone, Anderson was traveling by train through his home state of Texas, where he had just flown in from Germany for a screening of his latest (and ninth) movie, the stop-motion animation "Isle of Dogs." Obviously, much has changed for the 48-year-old director, two of whose films ("Fantastic Mr. Fox" and "The Grand Budapest Hotel") have since been nominated for Oscars, and who regularly hops between Paris and New York, where he and his partner, the writer and designer Juman Malouf, divide their time. In that 19-year interval, Anderson says, the biggest change is how much easier it has become to make movies, given that he has developed what might be called a working company of actors who regularly jump at the chance to appear in his films. (Several of them are in "Dogs," including Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand and Tilda Swinton.) More important, Anderson says, is the "whole gang of people" who regularly work behind the scenes - a gang that includes his frequent producer Jeremy Dawson, who has worked with him on five films. It's a comfortable sort of family that, along with Anderson's highly idiosyncratic and easily parody-able style of storytelling - what he calls his "handwriting" - has helped make his films immediately recognizable. Recognizable to everyone but Anderson, it seems. I mentioned to the director that there are numerous websites devoted to analyzing his peculiar style, including one that has used a machine-learning program to identify such Wes Andersonian visual quirks as the use of onscreen titles, TV screens, shelves and people on walkways (each of which, by the way, is a prominent motif in "Dogs"). Anderson insists it's not intentional. "Every time I start a movie," he says, "all I'm trying to do is make something completely different from what I've made before, and to try to go in a new direction. Yet every time I do that, by the time the thing is done, people tell me, 'Well, I knew in about three seconds who had made this movie.' I never repeat anything deliberately. I want to make each movie as different from the other one as possible." In making "Dogs," Anderson's second stop-motion feature after "Fantastic Mr. Fox" (based on a Roald Dahl book), the director says he and his co-writers, Jason Schwartzman, Roman Coppola and Kunichi Nomura, drew inspiration not from children's literature or movies, but from Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. The faces of several characters in the new movie, which is set in the fictional Japanese city of Megasaki, are modeled after such regular Kurosawa actors as Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuka Nakadai and Takashi Shimura. But one scene features a subtler nod to the great Japanese director. According to Anderson, "It's a very common thing, in a certain kind of Kurosawa movie, where there's a group of men in a room together, whether it's an Edo-period piece - one room with sliding screen doors - or a 20th-century city conference room. They do something that we don't really commonly accept in movies nowadays, which is, they tell each other who they are, what their history is with each other and what their relationships are. 'You were my friend, and now we have become rivals. ...' They've basically just given you all the exposition. I have a scene exactly like that." It's not surprising that Anderson would seek inspiration from the past, and not the present. His films have a quality of being out of time - not quite nostalgic, yet not quite contemporary either. Anderson has described his body of work as "five degrees removed from reality," and has said that "Dogs" grew out an early idea of what people in the 1960s imagined the year 2007 would be like, but for dogs. The past - and how parts of it are constantly being saved within, changed and/or erased by the present - is, he says, something of an obsession. "I think looking back, seeing old pictures, old photographs of a place you know well today but that is different, it's always fascinating." The plot of "Dogs," which concerns anti-dog hysteria that has led to the banishment of canines to a trash-filled island by a cat-loving mayor, evokes, among other things, the U.S. internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Ironically, Anderson says he was not consciously trying to evoke instances of bigotry from the past, but rather, from the present. "In starting with this idea, we knew that the dogs had to represent a small part of a society that's been ostracized by a larger group, which has turned against them, for its own purposes," he says. "Once you have that, there are so many examples from history, because it's a cyclical thing. We started by looking at the known, 20th-century historical events like Japanese internment. And yet, it became, more and more, that the inspiration had moved from the history books to the front page of today's newspaper, in so many different places. I feel like that theme only started to come in, more urgently to us, while we were making the movie." But if this is Anderson's most timely film, why use animated dogs, not actors, to make his point? Anderson says there was something hard to explain about the germ of the idea - a society of outcast and abandoned dogs living on a trash-strewn island - that fired up his imagination. "When Roman and Jason and I were first discussing this story, they said, 'What do you see here? What is it that you are so interested in?' I don't know why, but I just had this idea that there's a movie in that world and about this group of dogs. What are they going through? Why are they there? And the next thing you ask is, 'What happens?' The story just came out of our subconsciousness as much as anything else." Although one of the film's themes is the power of love to soften the heart of an angry dog, Anderson insists he is not particularly softhearted when it comes to pooches. "You know, Jason Schwartzman is a definite dog person," he says. "He's lived with the same dog for 11 years. Roman Coppola is a definite cat person. He has a cat, and before that he had another cat, and so on. I mean, I grew up with dogs, so if I had to be one or the other, it would be a dog person. But I don't really feel one or the other. For this movie, to me, these dogs - they're people." NEW YORK - "Why have there been no great women artists?" The question was posed, picked apart and licked clean in an essay by Linda Nochlin, the great feminist art historian. First published in 1971, the essay remains a staple of art education worldwide. In homage to Nochlin, who died last year, and as part of her quietly beautiful solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art, artist Zoe Leonard has printed excerpts from "Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?" and hung them on walls throughout the museum. Or not quite "throughout": The texts are actually placed on walls where staff offices are visible from public areas - usually through windows or glass doors. There is a point to this placement: institutional transparency. Nochlin's essay is, after all, aimed at institutions. It argues that, while there is value in seeking out female artists who have been overlooked, the effort may only highlight an unpalatable reality - that there have been no female equivalents to Michelangelo, Rembrandt and Matisse. It is better, argued Nochlin, to understand and remedy the ways in which, "in the arts as in a hundred other areas," things have been "stultifying, oppressive and discouraging to all those, women among them, who did not have the good fortune to be born white, preferably middle class and, above all, male." Nochlin's critique, in other words, is structural. The issue of women's equality, she wrote, has little to do with the "relative benevolence or ill-will of individual men, nor the self-confidence or abjectness of individual women." Rather, it depends on the "nature of our institutional structures themselves and the view of reality which they impose on the human beings who are part of them." It's a powerful and lasting critique. But at a time when neglected female artists are being rediscovered and (justly) championed as never before, and when the crushing effects of the ill will of appalling individual men are being laid bare, it may be hard to swallow such a depersonalized view of things. Now is not the time, many would argue, for patiently picking apart ingrained structural inequities. It is time to get personal. How does Zoe Leonard, who has been making photographs, installations and sculptures for three decades, fit into all this? Why does she want to draw our attention back to Nochlin's critique? And what does her success (she has been the subject of museum shows around the world, including at the Museum of Modern Art and now the Whitney) say about the current state of our art institutions? There is space - institutional space - to burn around her work in the seven capacious, light-filled galleries the Whitney has reserved for "Zoe Leonard: Survey" (through June 10). The first room, though it is vast, contains just a smattering of silver gelatin black-and-white photographs, a row of suitcases (one for each year of Leonard's life) and a table with neat stacks of postcards of Niagara Falls on it. Rather than seeming bombastic - like one of those bloated corporate lobbies flaunting the space its owners can afford not to use - Leonard's airy hang has the opposite effect. It feels calming, unassertive, and it puts art in a proportionate relationship to life. Leonard's work is marked at every point, in fact, by a brand of humility that has nothing to do with abjection. She has a feeling for thwarted beauty - bricked-over windows, tree trunks growing through metal grates - that is keyed to silence and suffering. Often, on the face of it, the work is unprepossessing. But in its very modesty, it keeps us tethered to the world outside - a world inhabited by both people we love and people we don't know, people in many cases who couldn't care less about art or "institutional critiques," who have stories of their own to tell and are simply making the best of things, often in chronically painful or unjust circumstances. Leonard is known for her intimate, elegiac responses to the AIDS crisis, which she lived through in New York in the 1980s and '90s. One of the show's most powerful pieces is "Strange Fruit," an installation of withered and scraped-out lemons, oranges, bananas, grapefruits, and avocados scattered across the floor. The fruits have been sewn back together, sometimes subtly ornamented. Named for Abel Meeropol's haunting song - immortalized by Billie Holiday in 1939 - about the lynching of African-Americans, the piece began as an act of mourning after the death of a friend. What eventually emerged has an eloquence that would only be undone by explanation. A nearby gallery is lined with 40 square-format, dye-transfer color photographs showing shuttered shop fronts, discarded mattresses, handwritten signs and sundry items of used clothing for sale. As in most of Leonard's work, people are implied, never seen. I love these photographs. Leonard's feeling for color - rolls of bright fabric in the window of a dun shop exterior; a television nesting in a pink cushion inside a gray wheelbarrow - is captivating. Some of Leonard's other work can feel underdone. She has a weakness for tired gambits of the installation genre (neat arrangements of items of the same kind, for instance) and a tendency to think that drawing the viewer's attention to framing devices or aesthetic conventions is edgier than perhaps it is. One of her installations, for instance, is a row of different editions, arranged in vertical piles, of a Kodak bestseller called "How to Take Good Pictures." For a brief moment, it gets you thinking - especially since the gallery it's in has a glass wall and a beautiful harbor view, so that everything in you wants to reach for your cellphone and take a good picture. But in the end, it doesn't really lead anywhere (except perhaps to an academic seminar). Still, to describe Leonard as a political artist eager to dispel "false consciousness" - to make us aware of how our view of reality is shaped by unexamined prejudices - is to overlook her true sensibility, which is tender, heartbroken, clear-thinking, persevering. Leonard's achievement is indubitable, and, you could say, implicitly "structural." In the ways in which it is very good rather than self-consciously "great," her work disarms ordinary categories of merit, evincing instead an almost spiritual hope that "the last shall be first, and the first last." That hope is also, of course, political. So it's interesting that the work for which Leonard is best known is neither a photograph nor an installation but a 1992 poem called "I want a president." Written when Leonard's friend, the writer and activist Eileen Myles, was making a protest run at the presidency, the text subsequently took on a life of its own. Not surprisingly, it has been circulating a great deal of late. "I want a dyke for president," it begins. "I want a person with aids for president and I want a fag for vice president and I want someone with no health insurance ..." And further down: "I want a president with no airconditioning, a president who has stood on line at the clinic, at the dmv, at the welfare office and has been unemployed and layed off and sexually harassed and gaybashed and deported," and so on. It's a piece of writing that strikes as many plangent, heartfelt notes as righteous ones. It can be taken both literally and as a metaphor - an occasion to think about the structure of power. When the typewritten text was enlarged and installed on New York's High Line during the last presidential election, Leonard spoke at the launch, confessing to mixed feelings. "This is not a text I would write today," she said. "I don't think about identity politics in the same way. That is, I don't think that a specific set of identifiers or specific demographic markers necessarily leads to a particular political position." Leonard also expressed a concern for shared civic life that transcended the interests of any single tribe. "Complex issues aren't answered with one-liners," she said. In was an impressive speech. It will be interesting to see, decades down the line, where people think Leonard made her deepest contribution. They will have options aplenty to choose from. Texas shoppers could soon buy a handle of whiskey or vodka at Walmart and other publicly traded big-box retailers if a opposing group doesnt successfully appeal a federal judges ruling. Under state law, publicly owned retailers like Walmart Stores, Costco Wholesale Corp. and Target Corp. are prohibited from selling liquor a rule that doesnt apply to privately held retailers. That could change after U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman in Austin sided with Walmart late Tuesday in a federal lawsuit against the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, stating in a 50-page ruling that the ban violates the Dormant Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. READ ALSO: 10 of the best Laredo spots for a margarita Pitman also ruled against a state law prohibiting some retailers and not others from obtaining more than five permits, citing the constitutions Equal Protection clause. We applaud Judge Pitmans order striking down Texas laws that have prevented us from fully serving our customers, Walmart spokeswoman Anne Hatfield said in a statement. Walmart filed suit because these laws are unfair and hurt our customers. We are grateful for Judge Pitmans thoughtful opinion, finding that these laws violate the U.S. Constitution. Shoppers shouldnt expect to immediately see liquor bottles on store shelves in Walmart, Costco and Target. Pitman put a 60-day stay on any implementation of the ruling to allow defendants ample time to appeal. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is currently reviewing Pitmans ruling with the state Attorney Generals Office to decide whether to appeal, agency spokesman Chris Porter said. Porter declined to comment on the substance of the ruling but said he does not expect the ruling to be implemented until after any appeal process is exhausted. The Texas Package Stores Association, an organization that represents 2,500 liquor store owners, has vowed to appeal the ruling. The group was allowed to intervene in the case in 2015. The Texas Legislature put a system in place to ensure safe access to alcoholic beverages in Texas, and that system has worked for over 80 years, Lance Lively said in a statement. We will appeal the trial courts decision and continue to fight for family-owned liquor store owners against the worlds largest corporate entities that seek to inflate their profits by upending sensible state laws that protect both consumers and small businesses. READ ALSO: And consumers wont likely see bottles of Jack Daniels and Jose Cuervo in stores grocery aisles should the ruling survive the appeals process. State law requires retailers like Walmart to sell liquor out of a space separate from its main stores and with its own entrance. The Tuesday ruling is the latest in a years-long tug-of-war over the states alcohol laws, some of which date back to the Prohibition era. A series of bills signed by then-Gov. Rick Perry in 2013 allowing independent brewers to sell their beer on-site and brewpubs to boost their maximum beer production, sell off-site through distributors and sell limited amounts directly to retailers led to a boom in the states craft beer industry. But Perry also signed a bill that year prohibiting independent brewers from selling their distribution rights to distributors. A trio of Texas brewers Live Oak Brewing in Austin, Peticolas Brewing Co. in Dallas and Revolver Brewing in Granbury sued the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission in 2014 to overturn the law but are awaiting a ruling in the case from the state Supreme Court. State lawmakers passed a law last year barring brewers who produce a certain amount of beer from operating an on-site tasting room. Under the same law, brewers are capped at self-distributing 40,000 barrels of beer annually. If they want to exceed that amount, they have to pay a distributor. On this date in ... 1918: Famed newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst was put forth as the Democratic gubernatorial candidate for New York state during a rousing meeting at Hart's Hall in Brooklyn; he hoped to unseat current governor Charles S. Whitman in November and take up residence in the executive mansion in Albany. It was more bad news for Whitman, who also learned that New York Supreme Court Justice James Church Cropsey planned on challenging him for the Republican nomination. 1968: Robert Edourado Pixley's paintings on the walls of his landlady's house would cost him. Marie Shirk, an elderly widow, said her tenant had broken doors and windows and had painted "bizarre colors" on the walls. Pixley, 21, and a native of France who had lived in Albany for the past four years, appeared in Albany Police Court to change his earlier plea to "guilty of malicious mischief" and was given a conditional discharge. Judge Michael V. Tepedino ordered him to pay $360 at the rate of $30 a month and to remove his possessions from the house and vacate it in two days. 1993: State University at Albany students would soon be able to register for classes from the comfort of their dorm rooms on their touch-tone telephones almost any time of the day or night as college registration systems went high-tech. UAlbany was the first college in the Capital Region to try out what was called a "touch-tone telephone" or "voice-response" computerized registration system. Other local schools, including The College of Saint Rose and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, expected to install the system in the next few years. Want to read more about the Capital Region's past? Have any memories or thoughts about how our history relates to today's events? See http://blog.timesunion.com/history/ A woman has landed behind bars for stealing vehicle products from her employer and selling them on eBay, according to Laredo police. Joanna Carrera, 37, was arrested Wednesday and charged with felony theft. She was released on bond the following day. Midnight Sun doesnt have a real bad guy in the entire cast. The closest thing is a jealous wanna-be girlfriend, and shes in two short scenes, totaling maybe 45 seconds of screen time. Think about how rare that is in a teen film. Nearly every John Hughes movie, Brat Pack release and nerd party comedy has had at least one complete jerk in it. Whatever disparaging words are written in the next nine paragraphs of this film criticism, thank you, Midnight Sun filmmakers, for presenting a positive view of humanity during this tumultuous time for our species. But there are villains in this romantic drama: the sun and faulty scriptwriting and not necessarily in that order. The film features high school graduate Katie (Bella Thorne), a girl with a rare disease that allows brief sunlight exposure to spark a cancer that will kill her. After a walk outside in the safety of night, she meets Charlie (Patrick Schwarzenegger), her longtime crush. He falls for her, too. There is a lot to like about their romance, and much of this earnest film, which is based on a 2006 Japanese production, Taiyo no uta. Thorne and Schwarzenegger (eldest son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, in his first feature film leading role) are both pleasant onscreen. Schwarzenegger is so different from his father in voice, stature and more reserved acting approach that its easy to imagine him finding his own comparison-free niche in Hollywood. Leave any Commando remakes to Jason Momoa. Schwarzenegger could slot more easily into a role as a resident on an ER-style TV drama. The makers of Midnight Sun fill the corners of the movie with likable characters, including blunt-tool comic Rob Riggle in a more straightforward and convincing turn as Thornes protective but very loving dad. Katie and Charlies teen friends are forgivably shallow, which highlights the believable bond between the more introspective lead actors. The problem is a flawed narrative (getting deeper into spoilers here) that has Katie waiting to tell Charlie about her affliction. As time passes, audience tension escalates, and everyone watching the movie knows this dense decision will lead to an inevitable crisis. The plot device goes from frustrating to infuriating to so contrived that theres nothing left but to stifle the screams youd like to direct at the big screen. She has a disease, Charlie! The sun will KILL her! Get her home BEFORE SHE DIES! These kinds of storytelling liberties may be acceptable to young fans of the teen cancer romance genre, in the same way that horror junkies dont mind when a lead actor makes a wish on the scary enchanted box they were told not to touch. But those liberties keep Midnight Sun from being embraced by a wider audience. We dont just need to like Katie. We need to believe shes smart enough to have 47 backup plans that will prevent the one thing that can kill her. Once the believability drops, the seams start to show, whether its some extras who seem aware of the camera, bad edits, comic-timing misfires or songs written for Thorne that arent quite as good as everyone onscreen says they are. With modest production values throughout, Midnight Sun feels like four or five episodes of a pretty good drama on the WB network in 1997. In other words, something you used to get for free. There is a point, after maybe the 17th bad decision by a major character, when youll give in to the general goodwill of this film again. After so much dishonesty in the name of heightened drama, you never completely stop supporting the people youre supposed to like. The tears at the end of the film are earned. The sun and bad screenwriting arent the only villains here. The cynicism baked into the hearts of critics is an enemy of the film as well. Peter Hartlaub is The San Francisco Chronicles pop culture critic. Email: phartlaub@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @PeterHartlaub Midnight Sun Romantic drama. Starring Bella Thorne, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Rob Riggle. Directed by Scott Speer. (PG-13. 91 minutes.) A 14-year-old boy has been charged with criminally negligent homicide and his parents are also facing charges after a 14-year-old girl was shot and killed with a loaded hand gun left out on the family's kitchen counter late last year. Kathy and Charles Roessler have been charged with making a firearm accessible to a child a case filed under the state's rarely used child access prevention law. SAN ANGELO CRIME: 24-year-old Texas woman found dead in a trash bin, man arrested The Roesslers had not yet turned themselves into Harris County Jail for processing as of Friday evening, but were expected to do so after cooperating with Deer Park police in the investigation. The boy, whose name is not being released, will be processed in Deer Park for fingerprints and then taken to the Harris County Juvenile Detention Center. It is possible he will be released to his parents, but Lt. Frank Hart said the boy could be housed at the detention center. The victim, described as a "family friend," was with her mother at the Roesslers' home in the 1500 block of Wilson in Deer Park around 7 p.m. Dec. 17 . The boy and girl were mishandling a semiautomatic Springfield .40 caliber handgun left loaded in a holster on the kitchen counter when a shot was fired into the girl's chest. She died wat the hospital. "We don't think he intentionally meant to shoot her, it was more by negligence," Hart said. The gun was legally owned by Charles Roessler, Hart said. Texas is one of 27 states, along with Washington, D.C., with a child access prevention law. The misdemeanor charge can be filed if a minor gains access to a readily dischargable firearm that a person had failed to secure a gun or left it in a place where the person knew or should have known the child would gain access. The law accounts for the failure to take steps "a reasonable person would take" to prevent a child's access to a gun, including placing a firearm in a locked container or temporarily rendering it inoperable by a trigger lock. But it also accounts for a person who left a firearm in a place where he or she knew or "should have known" the child would gain access. The Harris County District Attorney's Office said in February that only 31 cases had been filed under the child access prevention statute since 2009, including four so far in 2018. Kathy and Charles Roessler would be the fifth and sixth defendants charged under the statute this year. A larger review of Texas Department of Public Safety records by the Austin-American Statesman in 2015 found that authorities had arrested more than 200 people accused of making a firearm accessible to a child since the state's CAP law was enacted in 1995, with only 61 convictions. Some say the infrequent use of CAP laws calls into question whether they were written with too much discretion for prosecutors in deciding what constitutes "criminal negligence." Kellye Burke, president of the Texas chapter of Moms Demand Action, a volunteer arm of the nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety, said parents have the ultimate responsibility to make sure a firearm is secured in the home. "This is a 14-year old, it is a child," Burke said. "It is the adult's responsibility to keep guns safely stored which means unloaded and locked in a safe." Colleges in California have a duty to take reasonable steps to protect their students from foreseeable violence on campus and in school-related activities off campus, and can be sued for failing to do so, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The ruling, in the case of a near-fatal stabbing of a student by a classmate in a UCLA chemistry lab, comes during a time of increased campus violence that has galvanized demands for better safety measures and mental health treatment in schools at all levels. The court cited the April 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, when student Seung-Hui Cho shot and killed 32 students and teachers before taking his own life, as an event that made schools re-examine their security policies. Students are comparatively vulnerable and dependent on their colleges for a safe environment, Justice Carol Corrigan said in the majority opinion. Colleges have a superior ability to provide that safety with respect to activities they sponsor or facilities they control. While a college, public or private, cant be expected to guarantee student safety, Corrigan said, it has a special relationship with its students like that of transportation companies and their passengers, or hotel operators and their guests and must act reasonably to protect them from violence that school officials should have foreseen. Normally, institutions are legally responsible only for their own conduct, not for harm caused by others, like one customer of a business who attacks another. But courts have established additional responsibilities to protect vulnerable groups who rely on an institution for their safety. Until Thursday, California courts had found such special relationships in schools through the 12th grade but not in colleges. The ruling will affect hundreds of thousands of students in universities and colleges throughout this state, said Deborah Chang, a lawyer for the UCLA stabbing victim. California is the first state Supreme Court to deal with this issue post-Virginia Tech, and we hope the other states will follow. She also provided a statement from the victim, Katherine Rosen, who recovered from her wounds and is now completing her studies as a medical student on the East Coast. No student should have to fear entering a chemistry lab, or a lecture hall, or a college library in the pursuit of knowledge, Rosen said. I am thrilled and relieved by this decision. Rosen, then a junior at UCLA, was stabbed and nearly killed by fellow student Damon Thompson in a laboratory in October 2009. Thompson, charged with attempted murder, was found insane and committed to a mental hospital. The court did not spell out the protective measures a college must take after learning of the threat of violence against students. But a lawyer who argued Rosens case to the court said UCLA officials failed in at least two ways. They should have warned students in the classroom, and they should have moved Thompson to another classroom, Charles DellArio said Thursday. He had asked to be moved. They woke up to this so late that they didnt have time to do anything. Ricardo Vazquez, a spokesman for UCLA, said the university was concerned about the decisions potential impact on higher education in California and beyond. The court said Thompson, who had transferred to the school in 2008, soon began complaining to school officials that other students were bothering him and warned of dire consequences. He said hed started hearing voices and was referred to campus mental health services in spring 2009. That June he was expelled from university housing after a confrontation with another student and agreed to undergo treatment in the fall, but denied that he intended to harm anyone and continued attending classes, the court said. A day before the stabbing, a campus psychiatric team suggested Thompson may need urgent outreach, and decided to investigate him further after learning that Thompson had told others that Rosen and other students were calling him stupid, the court said. The next day, Thompson was doing classwork in the lab when he suddenly pulled out a kitchen knife and attacked Rosen from behind, stabbing her in the chest and neck as she was kneeling down to put items in a lab drawer. When campus police arrived, Thompson admitted the stabbing and told officers other students had been teasing him, the court said. In seeking dismissal of Rosens suit against the UC regents and several UCLA employees, the university argued that it had no legal duty to protect students from attacks. A state appeals court agreed, but its ruling was unanimously overturned Thursday by the states high court. A college is far more to its students than a business, Corrigan said. Colleges provide a discrete community to their students. ... Although college students may no longer be minors under the law, they may still be learning how to navigate the world as adults. They are dependent on their college communities to provide structure, guidance, and a safe learning environment. The court did not decide whether UCLA had breached its duty, and instead gave the university another chance to dismiss the suit without a trial if it could persuade the lower courts that it did not violate any legal obligation to Rosen or was shielded from such suits by other state laws. In a separate opinion, Justice Ming Chin agreed that Rosens suit should be reinstated, but said the court had gone too far by requiring colleges to protect students in activities outside the classroom that were closely related to delivery of educational services. The case is Regents vs. Superior Court (Rosen), S230568. To view the ruling: www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/S230568.PDF Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@BobEgelko Online: See the ruling at www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/S230568.PDF PARIS - A gunman killed three people and injured several others Friday in an attack that roiled the country that has borne the brunt of Europe's recent struggle with terrorist violence. By midafternoon, police had shot and killed the suspect, French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb announced. The violence began Friday morning, when the suspect - whom Collomb identified as a 26-year-old local petty criminal and drug dealer - allegedly hijacked a car near his native Carcassonne and then shot at a group of four national police officers returning from a morning jog, wounding one of them. He then drove to the nearby town of Trebes, not far from Toulouse, where he stormed into a supermarket, opened fire and held employees and customers hostage for several hours. Collomb praised the "heroism" of a police officer who traded places with one of the hostages in the Super U market. French President Emmanuel Macron said he considered the incident in southwestern France to be a terrorist attack. It was one of the first significant national security incidents during Macron's tenure, and one of the first attacks since his administration made permanent the government's "state of emergency" regime of heightened security measures. Collomb, the interior minister, quickly made his way to the scene, as did Francois Molins, the Paris prosecutor, whose office handles terrorism cases nationwide. According to French media reports, the attacker, whom Collomb named as Redouane Lakdim, claimed to be connected to the Islamic State as he entered the store. After Lakdim was killed by French authorities, the Islamic State - through its Amaq news arm - identified him as a "soldier" and claimed responsibility for the shooting in Carcassonne and the assault on the Trebes supermarket. It has asserted similar claims even when attackers may have been only loosely inspired by the Islamic State or had no verifiable connections to the group. In other reports, Lakdim was cited as having acted on behalf of Salah Abdeslam, the last surviving member of the Islamic State-affiliated terror cell that perpetrated the November 2015 attacks in Paris and the March 2016 attacks in Brussels. Abdeslam is currently imprisoned in France, and he was recently brought to trial in Belgium, where he was arrested in March 2016 after months of eluding European authorities. In his remarks, Collomb did not explicitly confirm the connection between Lakdim and Abdeslam; he spoke only on a general level, saying that among Lakdim's motives had been the "liberation of prisoners." Collomb disputed the notion that Lakdim was actively involved with the Islamic State. "We do not think there was radicalization," he said. For security analysts, Friday's violence fit into an emerging pattern of attacks targeting police and military officers. "These are high-value targets," said Jean-Charles Brisard, director of the Center for the Analysis of Terrorism, a Paris-based security think tank, in an interview. He said his firm's research revealed nearly 70 percent of the terrorist incidents and plots either perpetrated or hatched in France in 2017 were ultimately against police or military personnel. In February 2017, a man attacked a security patrol of France's so-called "Sentinelle" officers outside the Louvre Museum. In March 2017, a man - later shot and killed - attempted to attack a police officer at Paris's Orly airport. And in April 2017, on the eve of the first round of the 2017 French presidential election, a man attacked and killed a 37-year-old policeman named Xavier Jugele as he sat in a parked patrol van on Paris's storied Champs Elysees. "They claim to be combatants," Brisard said of the attackers, "and they target people who have an important symbolism for those who want to see themselves as dying as martyrs." The hostage scenario at the supermarket also recalled a January 2015 anti-Semitic attack on the Hyper Cacher kosher supermarket outside Paris, in which four people were killed. In that case, the perpetrator - in a posthumously released video - also declared his allegiance to the Islamic State, but his contacts with the terrorist organization before the attack were unclear. Since January 2015, more than 230 people have been killed in a string of violent incidents that included the November 2015 Paris attacks, as well as the July 2016 truck attack in Nice, where a driver plowed through crowds celebrating Bastille Day, France's national holiday. Smaller-scale terrorist incidents have since continued, and the French government regularly reports foiled terrorist plots. For a war zone veteran who as U.K. national security adviser deals daily with terrorist threats, cyber attacks and now the use of a Russian nerve agent on British soil, Mark Sedwill is a very good sleeper. When he flies long haul for work, the 53-year-old reclines his business class seat, wraps up in a blanket, pulls his seat-belt tight -- and meditates. Sedwill drifts into unconsciousness with the same kind of professional efficiency that has won him the total trust of Prime Minister Theresa May. This week, he proved his worth again. May faced an uphill struggle to convince European Union allies to join her in blaming Russia for the March 4 poisoning of a former double agent in the provincial town of Salisbury, England. Sergei Skripal, as well as his daughter Yulia, remain hospitalized in critical condition. Based on comments from EU leaders, and interviews with officials as well as diplomats -- some speaking anonymously to discuss confidential information -- this article traces how May persuaded the bloc to unite behind her hard line on Russia. This was a task viewed as a critical test of the U.K.'s ability to rally international support after Brexit. Several EU countries including Lithuania and Latvia, once unwilling members of the Soviet Union, and the Czech Republic said they're considering following Britain's lead and expelling Russian intelligence operatives. Others raised doubts, though they still signed up to the tough language in the collective communique from this week's EU summit in Brussels. When May said on March 12 that Russia was "highly likely" to blame for the attack, it was imperative for Britain to find international allies to back up her assessment. That need became urgent two days later when she ordered the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats who she said were actually spies. Yet support was slow to materialize. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron, the French president, first gave a muted response -- whilst still expressing shock and sympathy with the British. Some suggested Macron wanted more evidence before committing himself to blaming the Kremlin, though one official familiar with the matter said this interpretation was mistaken and that the French leader was solidly supportive from the start. On March 15, May won some breathing space with a coordinated joint statement from herself, Merkel, Macron and President Donald Trump, saying they were "horrified" by the attack and shared the British assessment that there was "no plausible alternative explanation" to Russia being responsible. After British officials made their case to the United Nations and to NATO, they turned their attention to the EU. Despite the U.K. leaving, May has said she wants to maintain close security ties to the bloc after Brexit, and the Skripal case was a test of that policy. Leading up to this week's EU summit, British officials worked overtime to explain the nature of the Russian attack to members. Doubters were said to include Greece, Hungary, and Italy. This is when Sedwill showed his value to May, traveling with his team to Brussels to share detailed intelligence in person. Specifically, he told each one of the 27 other EU member states exactly which so-called Russian Novichok nerve agent was used in the attack. The U.K. had two key objectives: to persuade all EU leaders to sign up to a tough statement blaming Russia explicitly for the attack; and to help individual countries understand the need to take down Putin's spy networks -- potentially by expelling agents posing as legitimate diplomats in the way May had done. But despite Sedwill's efforts, British lobbying appeared to be coming up short. By Wednesday, the day before the summit opened, the language contained in draft conclusions that leaders would sign up to was weak. Rather than blaming Russia directly, it said that the summit "takes extremely seriously" the U.K.'s assessment that Putin's government was responsible. So now it was May's turn. When she arrived at the Europa Building in Brussels on Thursday afternoon, May met with Nordic-Baltic allies, including the leaders of Denmark, Sweden, Latvia, and Lithuania. These countries understand the threat posed by Russia in their immediate neighborhood and gave May their backing. At 7.15 p.m., May met her staunchest security allies in the EU -- Macron and Merkel. She updated them on the U.K.'s investigation into the nerve-agent attack, and it was this short meeting that provided the crucial template for the broader late-night discussions that followed. The three leaders agreed that the EU must send "a strong European message in response to Russia's actions," the British government said in a statement afterward. All the EU leaders then gathered for dinner in the summit center, and at 8.30 p.m., the prime minister made her pitch. "What happened in Salisbury on March 4 was not only a crime against the Skripals or the people of Salisbury," May said. "It was an attack on the rules-based system and European values which all of us hold dear. The depth of outrage across Europe is a clear recognition of this." Macron and the Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar supported her, arguing for tougher language to be included in the summit text. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki pushed for a "strong response, one showing solidarity" with the U.K. over the "scary" attack, he said later. Again May met resistance from others. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras seemed the most uncomfortable. He spoke to Putin by phone for half an hour on Thursday, congratulating him on his re-election. An official said there was "good chemistry" between the two leaders and revealed that Putin had invited Tsipras to visit the Kremlin. During the dinner, the Greek premier questioned whether the leaders' summit was the right forum to go into a criminal investigation of this kind. He opposed hardening the language of the summit conclusions, and cautioned that the EU's declaration must not be so strong as to make sanctions inevitable. Italian premier Paolo Gentiloni also had doubts, according to some diplomats, along with Austria's chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who argued against recalling ambassadors from Moscow on the grounds that May had left the British envoy in place. Shortly after the summit ended, Gentiloni told reporters he endorsed the EU's decision, but cautioned against an escalation or closing off the dialogue with Russia. The debate over dinner was sober and intense, and lasted more than two hours without an agreement. To those in the room, it appeared that May and her two chief allies -- Macron and Merkel -- had agreed on tactics beforehand. The German chancellor, so often the linchpin of the EU, then made two interventions, arguing firmly that the bloc must not shy away from laying the blame where the evidence pointed: At the Kremlin door. Then at 10.41 p.m., European Council President Donald Tusk announced an agreement. He set out the key phrases in a tweet he posted while sitting at the dinner table: "EUCO agrees with UK government that highly likely Russia is responsible for #SalisburyAttack and that there is no other plausible explanation." May's officials were delighted -- and surprised. Persuading the EU to take such a line as a group of 28 individual countries can take months. The bloc even went further, taking the unprecedented step of recalling its ambassador to Moscow for talks on the crisis. By Friday morning, several leaders were openly discussing how they would follow words with deeds, which could include expelling Putin's spies from their own territories. In his summing up, Tusk suggested some countries will announce their next steps on Monday. "It's not the end of our actions," he said. --- Bloomberg's Gregory Viscusi, John Follain and Arne Delfs contributed. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens was supposed to be the next big thing in the Republican Party - destined to spend 2018 campaigning for GOP candidates, burnishing his credentials and building presidential buzz. Instead, the former Navy SEAL who once volunteered with Mother Teresa is waging a different kind of campaign. He is aggressively trying to clear his name after allegations that he took a naked photo of a woman without her consent - after taping her hands to exercise rings and blindfolding her. Under indictment for felony invasion of privacy related to an extramarital affair, Greitens is seeking to discredit the Democratic prosecutor who went after him and battling back Republicans calling on him to step down. He has been abandoned or ignored by much of his party, including President Donald Trump, who didn't mention him on a recent visit to this state. The predominantly Republican state House voted 154-0 to authorize its own investigation into the allegations against Greitens. And Missouri's attorney general, a prized Republican Senate recruit, has launched a separate probe into allegations that resources were improperly used at his former veterans charity. "The sooner the governor leaves, the better," said Rob Schaaf, a Republican state senator. "I mean, Missouri is a laughingstock nationally right now." Greitens' strategy of defiance and denial is straight out of the playbook used by Trump, who has railed against the special counsel investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election and forcefully rejected numerous allegations of sexual harassment. One local editorial dubbed Greitens and Trump "Thelma and Louise." But there is a key difference: Trump has kept most of his party behind him. Greitens is getting a fierce blowback from fellow Republicans already fed up with his bare-knuckle politics and broken promises of the past year. Some attribute that backlash to the sheer shock over a politician once seen as squeaky clean. "I was surprised, like a lot of people," said Shamed Dogan, who is part of a group of about a dozen GOP state House members who have banded together to call on the governor to resign. A married father of two sons, Greitens admitted in January to having a affair before he ran for governor. The admission came as a local television news station reported about the consensual encounter in March of 2015 with a woman who cut his hair. Greitens, 43, has been charged with allegedly photographing someone "in a state of full or partial nudity" without consent and transmitting the image in a manner allowing it to be accessed with a computer. He says he is innocent of any crimes. The governor has enlisted a well-connected lobbyist to represent him in the legislature and a high-powered legal team that includes an attorney who represented the rapper Nelly. Their mission is to defend his image and exonerate him of any wrongdoing. In the past month, that has included leveling criticism against St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, who brought the charge against him. "The people of Missouri deserve better than a reckless liberal prosecutor who uses her office to score political points," Greitens wrote on Facebook the day he was indicted. The governor's campaign has circulated opinion pieces to supporters that cast Gardner as weak on crime and as a foe to law enforcement who is doing the bidding of the Black Lives Matter movement, which helped lead protests in Ferguson, Mo., after the fatal 2014 police shooting of Michael Brown. The state Republican Party has highlighted the support she received from a group backed by liberal billionaire George Soros in her 2016 campaign. Gardner, 42, is the first African American circuit attorney in St. Louis. A Democrat, she previously served in the Missouri House. Her office he says she's just doing her job, not playing politics. Some African American leaders in the state have argued the attacks against Gardner are racially tinged - a charge Greitens' team flatly rejected. "Considering the state we live in, Missouri, and the region we live in, where racism and segregation are so prevalent, I'm sure for some that it carries hateful and racist overtones," said Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., a friend of Gardner. To some Republicans, the public effort to discredit Gardner is familiar. Sitting in his office in the state Capitol one recent afternoon, Schaaf, the state senator, recalled the time last April that a nonprofit formed by the governor's campaign advisers published his cellphone number online and urged people to call him over a bill he had stalled. "It was hundreds of calls in an hour. It was more than my phone could handle," said Schaaf. His voicemail inbox quickly filled up, and he had to tell people who urgently needed to reach him to shoot him a text. Greitens' relationship with the state legislature hasn't been smooth. He has derided them as "career politicians" and once compared the legislature to third graders. "Missouri elected an outsider. So, it was not a typical governor the legislature was used to working with," said Aaron Baker, the lobbyist who recently registered to represent the governor. He serves as a conduit between Greitens's legal team and the legislature on matters related to the invasion of privacy case. Some Republicans have been particularly bothered by the conflict between some of Greitens' early statements and his actions. "The most important thing is that there is transparency around the money," he told St. Louis Public radio in early 2016. His campaign advisers formed a secretive nonprofit called "A New Missouri" to support his mission. This was the group that published Schaaf's number. It does not have to disclose its donors. Paul DeGregorio, an influential former political strategist and elections director in St. Louis County who once backed Greitens, is among the Republican who say the governor has dramatically changed his tune on campaign finance matters over time. DeGregorio also feels burned by a conversation he had with Greitens in the summer of 2015. "I asked him about any skeletons in his closet," DeGregorio recalled. Greitens, he remembered, said there were none. A Greitens spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on DeGregorio's account. Since the indictment, Greitens has tried to project a business-as-usual attitude in Missouri. His Facebook page features posts and photos showing him helping veterans, combating the opioid crisis and getting outdoors. Just this week, he posted a photo of himself smiling as he signed a National Agriculture Week proclamation. But when Trump visited Missouri last week, the governor did not greet him at the airport. In remarks at a fundraiser for state Attorney General Josh Hawley, a top Republican recruit challenging Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, the president made no mention of Greitens. "It's not good for the state of Missouri to have a sitting governor under criminal indictment," Hawley said in an interview. He stopped short of calling on Greitens to resign but appeared to send him a warning shot over his political attacks on Gardner. "The governor has every right to due process of course, as part of the criminal justice system and to defend himself as he and his lawyers see appropriate," Hawley said. "But the system and the process needs to be allowed to proceed without politics being injected into it." In the interview, Hawley was quick to note that his office launched a separate investigation into allegations of misusing resources at Greitens's former veterans charity. The allegations involve potentially using a donor list for political purposes. Democrats are already seeking to tether Hawley to Greitens. A recent television ad from the pro-McCaskill Senate Majority PAC mentioned the indictment and casts Hawley as "part of the problem in Jefferson City." McCaskill has capitalized on Republican controversy before. In 2012, she helped elevate Todd Akin to the Republican nomination to face her in a general election. Akin would go on to say that "legitimate rape" rarely caused pregnancy, a comment that alienated many voters and helped McCaskill to a surprising win. Both Trump and Greitens are former Democrats who triumphed as Republican outsiders in their first runs for office in 2016. At a recent meeting of the St. Louis Young Republicans, Adam Bohn, a 30-year-old pharmacist, called Greitens the "Donald Trump of Missouri." Last fall, Greitens was in Iowa, stoking speculation that he might run for president someday. In the past, he has acknowledged reserving an Internet address that could be used for a White House campaign. But in both Missouri and nationally, Greitens does not have the broad GOP support Trump does. The governor has stepped down from the executive committee of the Republican Governors Association. In Illinois, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's campaign pulled ads featuring the embattled Missouri governor. People close to Greitens say they are weathering the storm and are confident he will be vindicated by the state House investigation and the criminal trial, which is set to begin May 14. Some Republicans have warned against jumping to conclusions about him just yet. "I think in Missouri people don't judge. They don't call it the Show Me State for nothing. People are willing to let the process play out," said Kay Hoflander, vice chair of the state Republican Party. Developments in his case continue to occupy space on the front pages of Missouri's newspapers and time on television news broadcasts. During one morning earlier this month, it was one of the lead stories on a local network. Three minutes later, the Senate Majority PAC commercial aired. In the eyes of many Republicans, he is already beyond recovery. Greitens, DeGregorio said, should now "spend time reflecting" and rereading his own book. The title of the bestseller, he pointed out, is "Resilience." Teachers, social workers and other public servants at risk of missing out on federal student loan forgiveness because they enrolled in the wrong repayment plan now have a shot at debt relief under the spending bill signed into law Friday. The sweeping $1.3 trillion bill includes a measure that temporarily expands Public Service Loan Forgiveness, a program that cancels federal student debt after 10 years of on-time payments for people who take jobs in the public sector. The program requires borrowers to be enrolled in specific repayment plans, primarily those that cap monthly loan payments to a percentage of a borrower's income. But some people have complained about loan servicing companies failing to provide consistent and clear guidance, leading them to believe they were making qualifying payments when they were not. Now, those borrowers could apply to have their ineligible payments counted toward loan forgiveness. But there's a twist: Their most recent monthly payment and the one made a year before applying for forgiveness must be as much as they would have paid in a correct plan. Congress has created a $350 million fund to cover the cost of canceling more loans, but once the money runs out, so will the offer. Forgiveness under this measure is being offered on a first-come, first-served basis. The U.S. Department of Education must reach out to borrowers and develop a simple way for them to apply, according to the budget bill. The measure is based on a bill introduced by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., in November that would have provided relief to all borrowers who qualified. Reps. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., Ryan Costello, R-Pa., John Sarbanes, D-Md., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., sponsored the companion legislation in the House. Their measure failed to advance earlier, but was revived during budget negotiations. "Americans who honorably serve our communities have earned much-deserved relief from crushing student loan debt in return for their time and commitment," Kaine said in a statement. "But unfortunately because of confusion around a provision in the program, we were at risk of breaking that promise to Virginia teachers, social workers, nurses and military service members." Problems in the loan forgiveness program were documented in a scathing report released in June by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The watchdog agency said flawed payment processing, botched paperwork and inaccurate information from FedLoan Servicing, the company handling the program for the government, had derailed hundreds of public-sector workers from receiving loan forgiveness. Borrowers told the consumer bureau they were placed in ineligible payment plans even after identifying themselves as public servants, a misstep that delayed their ability to obtain loan forgiveness. Others said they were never told that payments made before enrolling in a qualifying repayment plan would not count toward forgiveness. In some instances, borrowers said the servicing company provided an inaccurate count of their qualified payments and gave them a hard time as they fought to have the error corrected. The administration of President George W. Bush introduced the loan forgiveness program in 2007 to encourage college graduates to pursue careers as teachers, social workers, public defenders or rural doctors - public service fields that traditionally pay low wages. The program has been criticized as a backdoor subsidy for graduate school. It has also received flak for helping doctors and lawyers who have the earning potential to repay their student loans. The Trump administration has proposed eliminating it, as have House Republicans in their higher education bill. "Congress created this program so bright, talented people could use their college education for public service," Whitehouse said in a statement. "There's more to do, but I'm proud that a version of our legislation will help public servants continue their important work." WASHINGTON - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Thursday that it would be "really insane" for him to trade classified information with presidential son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner, or to try to use Kushner to promote Saudi aims within the Trump administration. That kind of relationship "will not help us" and does not exist, he said. Speaking in a meeting with Washington Post editors and reporters, Mohammed denied U.S. media reports that he had claimed Kushner was "in his pocket," or that, when the two met in Riyadh in October, he had sought or received a green light from Kushner for massive arrests of allegedly corrupt members of the royal family and Saudi businessmen that took place in the kingdom shortly afterward. The detentions were solely a domestic issue and had been in the works for years, the prince said. While "we work together as friends, more than partners," Mohammed said, his relationship with Kushner was within the normal context of government-to-government contacts. He noted that he also had good relations with Vice President Pence and others in the White House. In the 75-minute meeting at The Post on the last day of his four-day stay in Washington, Mohammed was animated and engaged, fielding questions on a range of topics, from the war in Yemen to the Middle East peace process, Iran, his domestic reform agenda, human rights and Saudi Arabia's nuclear plans. Although the meeting, conducted in English, was held off the record, the Saudi Embassy later agreed that specified portions could be used in an article about the session. The son of King Salman and heir to the Saudi throne, Mohammed, 32, met with President Donald Trump on Tuesday in the Oval Office and over lunch. He also spoke with a number of congressional leaders - many of whom have been critical of the U.S.-aided Saudi war in Yemen. On Thursday, he visited Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at the Pentagon. The crown prince also serves as Saudi Arabia's defense minister. But the centerpiece of his nearly three-week tour of the United States will come in subsequent stops in Boston, New York, Seattle, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles and Houston. Even as Trump has said he is seeking increased investment and purchases of U.S. military equipment and other products from Saudi Arabia, Mohammed has made clear that his primary mission here is to win U.S. investor confidence in his country, along with technological and education assistance in his efforts to reform the ultraconservative kingdom. China and Russia are vying with the United States to build components of new nuclear power plants in the kingdom, amid concerns here over a Saudi desire for uranium enrichment capability. In an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes" broadcast last Sunday, Mohammed said that his country would build a nuclear weapon if Iran did. At The Post, he said his primary concern was being able to enrich and use Saudi Arabia's own uranium for use in power reactors, rather than buying it abroad. His country has more than 5 percent of the world's uranium reserves, and "if we don't use it, it's like telling us don't use oil." The United States, he said, would be invited to put in place laws and structures to make sure enriched uranium is not misused. Mohammed spoke at length about the prospects for economic growth in the Middle East, saying it could be "the next Europe" if a series of problems can be resolved. One of those is the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Trump has designated Kushner to come up with a peace plan, and Kushner met here with Mohammed this week, along with Jason Greenblatt, a Trump Organization lawyer brought into the White House to help with the effort. Once the U.S. plan is ready, Kushner is said to want the Saudis and other leading Arab countries to help persuade the Palestinians to accept it. The official Saudi position is that any peace agreement must recognize a Palestinian state within specified borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Arab leaders have said that Trump's recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital - a move that Mohammed called "painful" - has made a deal under U.S. auspices far more difficult. On the Yemen war, Mohammed said that Saudi Arabia had not passed up "any opportunity" to improve the humanitarian situation, although human rights organizations and U.S. lawmakers have said Saudi bombing has caused many of the more than 5,000 estimated civilian deaths in the war. "There are not good options and bad options. The options are between bad and worse," he said of the Yemen conflict with Iran-backed Houthi rebels who overthrew the Saudi-recognized government. Discussing his reform efforts at home, including giving women the right to drive and have more rights outside the home, Mohammed said he has worked hard to convince conservative religious leaders such restrictions are not part of Islamic doctrine. "I believe Islam is sensible, Islam is simple, and people are trying to hijack it," he said. Lengthy discussions with clerics, he said, have been positive and are "why we have more allies in the religious establishment, day by day." Asked about the Saudi-funded spread of Wahhabism, the austere faith that is dominant in the kingdom and that some have accused of being a source of global terrorism, Mohammed said that investments in mosques and madrassas overseas were rooted in the Cold War, when allies asked Saudi Arabia to use its resources to prevent inroads in Muslim countries by the Soviet Union. Successive Saudi governments lost track of the effort, he said, and now "we have to get it all back." Funding now comes largely from Saudi-based "foundations," he said, rather than from the government. When it comes to controversial selections for national security adviser, there are few more divisive than John Bolton. The former U.N. ambassador's hawkish politics and belittling public statements have made many bitter enemies over his decades in public life. Among his most vocal critics is North Korea, an isolated dictatorship tentatively scheduled to hold talks on nuclear disarmament in the coming months - talks on which Bolton will play a key role in advising President Donald Trump. In August 2003, North Korean state media devoted an entire article to Bolton, personally insulting him by describing him as "human scum and a bloodsucker." In the same article, a representative of the North Korean Foreign Ministry said that Pyongyang would no longer deal with Bolton, the then-undersecretary of state for arms control and international security - indeed, Bolton did not attend talks with North Korea that took place the next month. Almost 15 years later, it is unclear whether that ban still stands. The insults did not seem to hurt Bolton. In his 2007 book, "Surrender Is Not an Option: Defending America at the United Nations and Abroad," he wrote that being called "human scum" by North Korea had been "the highest accolade I received during all my service in the Bush years." But what had he done to incur such personal insults from North Korea? The context of the time is crucial. By 2003, the relationship between the United States and North Korea had fallen apart, and Washington accused Pyongyang of cheating on the 1994 Agreed Framework - a denuclearization deal reached under the Clinton administration. In his January 2002 State of the Union address, President George W. Bush had included North Korea in his "axis of evil" along with Iraq and Iran. By the summer of 2003, the United States was already at war with Iraq. Bolton was a vocal advocate of that conflict, and he had spent the previous two years traveling around the world rallying support for U.S. pressure on other countries, including North Korea. Bolton visited Seoul at the very end of July 2003. There, he delivered a speech titled "A Dictatorship at the Crossroads" and argued that the United States would demand a complete rollback of North Korea's nuclear program but offer no concessions in return. During the speech, Bolton personally insulted then-North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, calling him a "tyrannical dictator" who enjoyed the high life while his citizens suffered deeply, though Bolton later said he did not seek regime change. "While he lives like royalty in Pyongyang, he keeps hundreds of thousands of his people locked in prison camps with millions more mired in abject poverty, scrounging the ground for food," Bolton said. "For many in North Korea, life is a hellish nightmare." In the speech, Bolton took much of the standard State Department rhetoric about North Korea, but personalized it so it was about Kim. On paper, the shift was subtle but it was sure to provoke a response from Pyongyang. Even some hard-liners who privately supported the thrust of Bolton's comments were taken aback that he would do this publicly in South Korea, just as the United States was trying to kick-start multilateral negotiations with North Korea. Indeed, the very same night that Bolton gave this speech, Bush administration officials said that North Korea looked to be ready for new six-party negotiations - prompting the State Department to distance itself from Bolton's comments by telling reporters he may not have had up-to-date information. A few days later, the North's official Korean Central News Agency released its article belittling Bolton. "We know that there are several hawks within the present U.S. administration but have not yet found out such rude human scum as Bolton," an English-language version of the article read. "What he uttered is no more than rubbish which can be let loose only by a beastly man bereft of reason." The article concluded that the American diplomat did not speak for the Bush administration and should not be involved in talks. "On the basis of a serious analysis of Bolton's outcries in the light of his political vulgarity and psychopathological condition as they are quite different from the recent remarks of the U.S. president, we have decided not to consider him as an official of the U.S. administration any longer nor to deal with him," the article read. Publicly, Bush backed Bolton and said he would not be barred from upcoming talks. However, when six-party talks resumed the next month, Bolton was not in attendance. The speech in Seoul and North Korea's angry reaction to it became an issue for Bolton again in 2005 as he tried to secure confirmation for the position of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Bolton told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the speech had been approved by the State Department and that then-U. S. Ambassador to South Korea Thomas Hubbard had thanked him for it. Hubbard disputed this, giving testimony that he had urged Bolton to "tone it down" and that he had only thanked Bolton for the changes he had made to correct some factual errors and other phrases that could be misinterpreted. Bush later installed Bolton as his U.N. ambassador through a recess appointment in 2005, but unable to get Senate confirmation again the next year, Bolton stepped down. The six-party talks with North Korea continued for a few years, until Pyongyang announced it was pulling out in 2009. It is unclear how any animosity between Bolton and North Korea from 15 years ago might affect talks this year between Trump and Kim Jong Un, the current leader of North Korea and son of Kim Jong Il. Bolton has not toned down his views of North Korea since 2003: in fact, he downplayed the threat of conflict in his Seoul speech, but he has recently written in defense of the United States striking North Korea. Meanwhile, North Korea's insults of American officials have not stopped over the years, but in a break with his Oval Office predecessors, Trump seems willing to wage a war of words with Pyongyang, often personalizing his insults to include Kim himself. In doing so, Trump perhaps has put himself on the same page as Bolton. So far at least, this does not appear to have hurt the chances for negotiations with Pyongyang. Thomas Evans announced ambitious new plans for the University of the Incarnate Word on Thursday as he was officially inaugurated as the schools 10th president. During his inauguration speech, Evans pledged to double the private universitys endowment over the next decade and announced the endowment of a new scholarship for high-performing, low-income students. The scholarship, made possible by a $1 million donation by Carlos Alvarez, marks the largest endowed scholarship commitment in the universitys history. In his remarks, Evans invoked the rich history of UIW and its founding relationship with the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. But he also looked to the future, promising to increase academic support for students, reduce student debt, improve graduation rates and better prepare students to enter an increasingly technologically advanced workplace. He also said he would craft a strategic plan for the university that will be true to the guiding spirit of our founders. I am confident that together, we will prepare our students for a life of advanced learning, greater purpose and unmistakable dignity that will sustain our legacy and tell our story, Evans told the hundreds of people gathered at McDermott Convocation Center before he received a standing ovation. He was the second university president to be inaugurated in San Antonio this week. On Tuesday, the University of Texas at San Antonio held its inauguration ceremony for Taylor Eighmy. Evans took the helm of UIW at the beginning of the academic year after coming off a five-year stint as president of Carroll College, a private Catholic school in Helena, Montana. Prior to that, the native Texan worked for years as an administrator at St. Edwards University in Austin. George Martin, president of St. Edwards, credited Evans with building the schools study abroad programming from the ground up when he served as associate vice president of global initiatives. The two extensively traveled together to establish relationships with other universities abroad, giving Martin an opportunity to become intimately acquainted with Evans. Martin complimented Evans planning skills, as well as the warm smile that is typically spread across his face. It is genuine, and it is a reflection of how much Tom likes people and believes in their fundamental goodness, Martin said. In welcoming Evans to UIW, Sister Teresa Maya, congregational leader for the Sisters of Charity, asked Evans to continue the universitys legacy of education and service to the community. The sisters have entrusted their mission and their story to this university community, she said. Dr. Thomas Evans, we trust we trust that under your leadership, you will continue to remain faithful to the Catholic intellectual tradition to which you are now an heir. In his closing remarks, Evans said he would strive to bolster UIWs educational mission and support the success of the universitys students and staff. We will lift the University of the Incarnate Word and allow it to become a beacon shining for the world to see all of lifes possibilities and promise of the abundance that awaits, Evans said. Unexpected and somewhat scary, sinkholes never fail to interest people. A new study says that more of the phenomena might be coming to West Texas. This week Zhong Lu, professor in the Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences at Southern Methodist University, released a study proposing that four West Texas counties just might be ripe for more sinkholes. RELATED: Researchers: Huge, growing sinkholes could be 'catastrophic' for tiny Texas town Those counties - Winkler, Ward, Reeves and Pecos - are located in an area roughly the size of Connecticut, in the heart of the oil-rich West Texas Permian Basin. Back in August 2016 Texas Monthly looked into West Texas sinkholes. Texas history buffs likely know that starting in 1980 two sizable sinkholes formed near Wink and Kermit. The first one was dubbed Wink Sink 1 and another in 2002 became known as Wink Sink 2. Luckily these areas aren't heavily inhabited so there won't be any episodes like we have seen in other parts of Texas where sinkholes have swallowed up cars and homes. The worry though, as Texas Monthly noted, is that a third sinkhole nearby could very well lead to one just giant sinkhole forming. Lu's geophysical team used radar satellite images to determine that portions of those aforementioned counties are seeing some sinking and lifting, across a 4,000-square-mile area. European Space Agency resources and those from the Texas Railroad Commission were used in the study published in Scientific Reports. RELATED: North Texas firefighters rescue 'extremely lucky' horse from sinkhole "The ground movement we're seeing is not normal. The ground doesn't typically do this without some cause," Lu told Phys.Org this week. He said that residents, roads and most importantly some oil and gas lines, so vital to that area's way of life, could be in danger. It's that oil industry activity, for nearly 100 years, that seems to be causing the ground to shift. What's needed now, according to scientists like Lu and others, is for more seismic stations to be installed in the area to monitor what's happening while also still allowing for the oil field work to continue safely. Craig Hlavaty is a reporter for Chron.com and HoustonChronicle.com. Thirty years ago today, Beaumont Police Department officer Paul Douglas Hulsey, Jr. was shot and killed while investigating a vehicle with stolen plates parked outside a motel. Hulsey, 30, found which room the suspect was in and approached the man, not knowing he was a serial killer wanted in connection with the brutal slayings of two teenage girls. Michael Lee Lockhart, 27, of Toledo, Ohio, was charged with capital murder in the fatal shooting of Hulsey, whom authorities said was killed while trying to arrest Lockhart at the Beaumont motel. RELATED: Women, children shown in eerie photos taken by serial killer from San Antonio The case was moved from Beaumont to San Antonio in August 1988 because of extensive publicity. Meanwhile, Lockhart was charged in Indiana and Florida with murder in connection with the fatal stabbings of a 16-year-old girl in Griffith, Ind., and a 14-year-old girl in Land O' Lakes, Fla. At trial in San Antonio, prosecutors said Lockhart was a suspect in 21 crimes in Texas, Indiana, Florida, Louisiana, Ohio and Georgia. During his capital murder trial, Lockhart dove out a third-floor window at the Bexar County Courthouse as part of an escape attempt. He was injured in the 15-foot fall onto a paved roof and taken away in an ambulance. A Bexar County jury convicted Lockhart of capital murder for Hulsey's death. Lockhart, 37, died in the Huntsville execution chamber on Dec. 9, 1997. Detainees from Africa held in a West Texas immigration facility earlier this year were subjected to physical beatings, pepper spray and racial slurs and denied medical treatment, according to a report released Thursday by immigrant rights groups. The advocates said the report is based on interviews with 30 men from Somalia, who are now being held at a detention facility in Robstown. But during a brief stay at the West Texas Detention Facility in Sierra Blanca, about 80 immigrants from Africa, most of whom have been ordered deported by immigration judges, reported abuse at the hands of guards hired by a private prison company that runs the facility under contract from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. RELATED: Immigrant detainee who alleged abuse to receive therapy According to the report, the men reported unprovoked beatings, including of a man who was handcuffed, and one man reported being groped by a guard. The report also says the men were held at gunpoint and threatened with solitary confinement; one man said an official at the facility told him, Shut your black ass up, and others said officials called them monkeys and the N word. The interviews were conducted by the San Antonio-based Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, the Texas A&M School of Law Immigrant Rights Clinic, and the University of Texas School of Law Immigration Clinic. The organizations said theyve filed complains with the Department of Justice and the Department Homeland Security. RELATED: What Homeland Security will feed to border detainees in Texas Detaining these men in terrible conditions and tearing them from their families, when they risk being persecuted or killed in Somalia, is utterly inhumane, Fatma Marouf, a law professor and director of the Immigrant Rights Clinic at Texas A&M University, said in a statement. ICE officials said theyre looking into the allegations. Officials with LaSalle Corrections, the company that operates the detention center, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon. The 80 men taken to the Sierra Blanca detention facility were arrested this year and last by immigration officials inside the U.S. Some had come to the U.S. legally but overstayed their visas or lost legal status. Others came to the U.S. illegally and others had claimed asylum but lost their cases. Most of the 80 are from Somalia, but others are from Kenya and Sudan. A number said they are afraid of being targeted by Islamic fundamentalists if they return to their home countries, according to the report. Leading timber processing firm, Glennon Brothers welcomed Minister Pat Breen, and Mark Hanniffy, Consul General of Ireland to Scotland, to its Windymains site, as part of a trip to Scotland in celebration of St Patrick's Day. During the visit, the Minister met with Joint Managing Directors, Mike and Pat Glennon, and received a tour of the timber processing facility. "The Minister's visit allowed us to highlight the threat Brexit poses to the future development of the Irish Forestry sector, said Mike Glennon. The sector is forecast to significantly increase its output, over the next decade. This growth, is heavily dependent, on growing the presence of Irish timber, in the UK market. Over half of the Irish sawmills output is exported, and 95% of those exports go to the UK. Unfettered access to the UK market is critical if the sector is to fulfil its potential. Pat Glennon agreed, adding: We were delighted to welcome the Minister and the Consul General to visit our Windymains site, to see firsthand the recent investments we have made in state of the art manufacturing technology. The visit also allowed us to highlight the importance of the Irish forest products sector, which employs over 12,000 people, and contributes 2.3 billion annually to the Irish economy. Minister Breen said that companies like the Glennon brothers have built their reputation and customer bas over decades. The commitment they show their customers and workforce in Ireland, Scotland and across the UK is one example of the many Irish companies who tell me that this hard won business will not be sacrificed by current uncertainties, the Minister added. I am enormously impressed by this commitment as they continue to invest in growing both their Scottish presence and exports from Ireland. Glennon Brothers is an important part of an Irish-Scottish business relationship, according to Consul General Hannify who added: They are a great example of a company that makes a very positive contribution to both economies, and their growth is an illustration of what Scottish-Irish economic cooperation can achieve. Deirdre McPartlin, UK Manager of Enterprise Ireland added: The management team (at Glennon Brothers) has proactively identified the Brexit challenges for their business and we will work closely with them around their innovation, product and market agenda to ensure they continue to thrive in the coming years. You may also like to read: Minister visits Glennon Brothers plant Nomination for Glennon Brothers Nature & Weather, Local News, Politics By Long Island News & PR Published: March 23 2018 Pellegrino: "Shame on Washington for once again putting special interests before the health and safety of our communities." Long Island, NY - March 23, 2018 - Assemblywoman Christine Pellegrino (D-Oyster Bay/ Assemblywoman Christine Pellegrino (D- Babylon West Islip ) announced that legislation she co-sponsored to prohibit the leasing of state-owned waterways for oil and natural gas drilling has advanced the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee and is one step closer to being voted on by the Assembly ( A.9819 ). Shame on Washington for once again putting special interests before the health and safety of our communities, Pellegrino said. Were already battling water quality issues here on Long Island. Oil and gas drilling are the last things the South Shore needs, and we must do everything we can to prevent our environment from being devastated. The bill was introduced by Environmental Conservation Committee Chair Assemblyman Steven Englebright in response to President Trumps executive order to expand and lease federal acres for offshore drilling. The federal offshore drilling proposal includes a total of nine lease sales in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) of the Atlantic Region, with two potentially including New York. Drilling off New Yorks coast has not been permitted for decades, and as a result, state regulations have not kept pace. This legislation would remedy that oversight, preventing the use of New Yorks underwater lands for drilling. Further, the measure would also prevent the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the Office of General Services from authorizing leases that would result in the increase of oil or natural gas production. The short-sighted America-First Offshore Energy Strategy presents risks rather than opportunities for our communities, threatening our environment and economy, said Committee Chair Assemblyman Englebright. With our environment and well-being in the balance, this legislation ensures that New Yorks coasts are protected. Melanie Beemer was operating a 2011 Jeep Patriot east on Express Drive South when she was struck by a 1999 Honda Odyssey traveling south on Washington Avenue by Wilber Lopez Gonzalez at approximately 3 p.m. A six-year-old boy in the Jeep was transported to Cohens Childrens Hospital in New Hyde Park in serious condition. Beemer, 35 of Coram , and Gonzalez, 22 of Brentwood, were transported to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore , with non-life-threatening injuries. Local News, Crime By Long Island News & PR Published: March 23 2018 Suspicious store employees did not allow the suspect to leave with merchandise, cops say. SCPD are seeking the man who used another persons credit card to make an online purchase. Riverhead, NY - March 23, 2018 - Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Riverhead Town Police detectives are seeking the publics help to identify and locate the man who used another persons credit card to make an online purchase. A man entered Schwing Electrical, located at 1328 East Main St., on February 2 and told employees that an online order he made had been delivered to the location. Employees were suspicious of the mans story and did not release any packages to the man, who left the store without incident. The man had used a stolen credit card number to purchase $10,400 worth of clothing from Barneys New York. by Larissa Faw , March 22, 2018 WPP's Mindshare has unveiled a new service for clients that need a plan and need it now. Its called Mindshare 24, and is designed to deliver a media plan with 24 hours of receiving a brief -- or your money back. If the ideas dont impress, there is no fee to the client. Clients first submit a brief in a specially designed format that clearly states the challenges, objectives and any specialist information required. An agency team works with The Loop, the firm's adaptive marketing engine, to turn real-time data into insights that will hopefully fuel the creativity needed to come up with a workable plan. The brief is tackled by global team members, pulling in people and partners across the network as required. "Communications planning is generally boring when all it does is follow three phases and then offers thirty pages of analysis and only one page of ideas," says an agency spokesperson. "Mindshare 24 turns that on its head-- its data and rooted in a brief but first and foremost its about speed, gut and ingenuity. advertisement advertisement Mindshare beta tested the approach on projects Amnesty International and ENACTUS -- an organization that brings together entrepreneurs, business, academics and students -- to use their skills to tackle the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). After these test projects, Mindshare 24 is being rolled out for all clients with key hubs in London, Amsterdam, Johannesburg, Singapore, Shanghai, Sydney, Portland and New York. Any brand that is interested in quick and powerful ideas anywhere in the world should call us or even just send an email, go to bed, and then wake up with a world-changing idea," says Nick Emery, global chief executive officer, Mindshare. "Its the creative antidote to a tech is the only solution view of our world that is pervasive." by Karlene Lukovitz @KLmarketdaily, March 23, 2018 Can you capture lightning in a cup? Twice? Starbucks managed the trick last spring, with its colorful Unicorn Frappuccino and hopes to repeat that success with a new offering, a Crystal Ball Frappuccino. The new drink is, in Starbucks words, a mystical, swirling peach infusion topped with peach flavored whipped cream, turquoise sprinkles and [topped with] one of three different candy gems that reveal your fortune Green gems (actually, colored candy sprinkles) supposedly forecast luck; blue ones adventure; and purple ones magic, wonder and enchantment. The color of gem that ends up in each drink is left up to chance, since the sprinkles are hidden in pouches until each drink is prepared. Starbucks is promoting the drink on its social channels, including a GIF showing a crystal ball turning into one of the Frappuccinos. advertisement advertisement What remains to be seen is whether this entry, available in Starbucks cafes in the U.S., Canada and Mexico from March 22 to 26, can approach the success of the Unicorn Frappuccino. The limited-time Unicorn novelty drink went viral on social media, earned the brand many millions in free media exposure, delivered a significant traffic bump and some incremental sales, and enhanced brand awareness and affinity, according to the brands statements. Perhaps most important, from a strategic, long-term view, the drink greatly raised consumers awareness of Starbuckss non-coffee offerings. Starbucks used the beverage as a promotional lever for launching its Frappuccino Happy Hour, offering those drinks at half price between 3 and 5 p.m. (or 6 p.m., for rewards members). At the time, in April 2017, Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson vowed, We will bring at least one new entirely new drink into Happy House this year that is going to be as good as Unicorn or better. But follow-ups thus far including a Halloween-timed Zombie Frappuccino and a Christmas Tree Frappuccino didnt achieve the massive buzz levels generated by the Unicorn. by Larissa Faw , March 23, 2018 Whirlpool's JennAir is revealing a brand overhaul developed with Team Darkhorse, a Publicis Power of One team made up of talent from Digitas and MSLGroup. The "Bound by Nothing" campaign includes a new logo, a new suite of products, as well as a 90-second anthem video. The creative is designed to mimic fashion or luxury advertising more than traditional appliance messaging with quick-editing images of contrasting moments as well as strikingly attractive people to position this kitchen brand as rebellious and modern. People are locked into accepted norms in the luxury appliance space," says Atit Shah, executive vice president, head of brand experiences, executive creative director, Team Darkhorse. "'Bound by Nothing' is about deprogramming those preferences. With JennAir, we are challenging conventions of the category, design, and our inherited perceptions of luxury." advertisement advertisement The campaign includes national print, digital and out-of-home advertising, a new brand website, influencer activations, social and earned media efforts. These executions will be aided by showroom transformations at national retailers. Publicis developed Team Darkhorse specifically to oversee the JennAir account with the name coming from viewing the brand as a "dark horse in the luxury appliance category. The agency pulls team members across the Digitas network (Chicago, New York and Detroit) and MSL (Chicago and New York) consisting of account, project management, creative, experience design, brand design, media, analytics, social media, PR, and print and video production. The team is now working on forthcoming campaign components. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, March 23, 2018 The Senate Commerce Committee will summon Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify about revelations that Cambridge Analytica harvested data from 50 million users of the social networking service. "On a bipartisan basis, we believe Mr. Zuckerbergs testimony is necessary to gain a better understanding of how the company plans to restore lost trust, safeguard users data, and end a troubling series of belated responses to serious problems," Senators John Thune (R-South Dakota) and Bill Nelson (D-Florida) stated Friday. advertisement advertisement Their statement comes one day after leaders of the House Commerce Committee also said they plan to ask Zuckerberg to testify. Lawmakers are responding to reports that President Trump's consultancy, Cambridge Analytica, obtained personal data of 50 million Facebook users. Cambridge Analytica reportedly obtained the data from Global Science Research's Alexsandr Kogan, who collected the information in 2014 via his personality-quiz app "thisisyourdigitallife." That app was downloaded by 270,000 Facebook users, but Kogan was able to gather information about millions of those users' friends. In April of 2015, Facebook stopped allowing developers to access data about users' friends. But in 2014, when Kogan's app scraped the data, Facebook allowed developers to glean information about users' friends, subject to their privacy settings. Facebook's terms of service prohibited developers from sharing that information. Facebook learned in 2015 that Cambridge Analytica had obtained the data, and asked the consultancy to destroy it. The social networking service says it believed at the time that Cambridge Analytica did so. Cambridge Analytica CEO Alexander Nix, who was suspended from the company this week, boasted to an undercover reporter that the company's extensive ad targeting helped Trump win the presidency. Cambridge Analytica denies using the Facebook data on Trump's behalf. But the company may have used the data on behalf of other politicians. A political action committee founded by John Bolton -- newly tapped White House national security adviser -- hired Cambridge Analytica to use psychographic modeling on behalf of candidates in 2014, The New York Times reports. Cambridge Analytica reportedly used Facebook data in that initiative. Cambridge Analyitca said Friday that it believed the data was "obtained in line with Facebooks terms of service and data protection laws." The company also says it will be audited, to verify that it no longer has the Facebook data. Adenomyosis is a condition where the cells of the uterine lining grow into the muscular wall of the uterus. Adenomyosis is similar to endometriosis and can cause similar symptoms or no symptoms at all. Adenomyosis is a relatively widespread condition. The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK estimate that 1 in 10 women have adenomyosis and that it is most common in women aged 40 to 50. This article gives an overview of adenomyosis, including symptoms, causes, diagnosis, complications, and treatment. What is adenomyosis? Share on Pinterest Adenomyosis may cause similar symptoms to endometriosis. Adenomyosis is a condition where the cells that usually grow outward into the uterus lining instead grow inward into the uterus muscle. During a womans menstrual cycle, these trapped cells become stimulated, which can make menstrual cramps and bleeding more severe than usual. The symptoms of adenomyosis vary throughout the menstrual cycle because of rising and falling levels of estrogen, which affect the shedding of the uterus lining. Symptoms usually go away or improve after menopause, when a womans estrogen levels naturally decrease. Symptoms Adenomyosis varies widely among people, including the extent of the condition and the severity of the symptoms. Around one-third of women do not experience any symptoms at all, while for others, symptoms can get in the way of daily life. Possible symptoms of adenomyosis include: heavy menstrual bleeding very painful periods pain during sex bleeding between periods worsening uterine cramps an enlarged and tender uterus general pain in the pelvic area a feeling that there is pressure on the bladder and rectum pain while having a bowel movement Causes Doctors are not sure what causes adenomyosis, but there are several theories: Fetal development . Adenomyosis may be present in a person before birth when the uterus first forms in a fetus. . Adenomyosis may be present in a person before birth when the uterus first forms in a fetus. Inflammation . Inflammation that occurs in a womans uterus during uterine surgery could also increase the risk of adenomyosis. . Inflammation that occurs in a womans uterus during uterine surgery could also increase the risk of adenomyosis. Invasive tissue. Injury to the uterus, such as during a cesarean delivery or other surgery, may also cause adenomyosis. This is because the uterus may heal inward toward the muscle, instead of outward. Risk factors Share on Pinterest Multiple pregnancies may increase the risk of adenomyosis. Some risk factors that may result in adenomyosis include: Age . Though this condition can affect women of any age, most women diagnosed with adenomyosis are in their 40s and 50s. . Though this condition can affect women of any age, most women diagnosed with adenomyosis are in their 40s and 50s. Pregnancy . A high percentage of women with adenomyosis have had multiple pregnancies. . A high percentage of women with adenomyosis have had multiple pregnancies. Uterine surgery. Having previous surgery on the uterus, including cesarean delivery, significantly raises the risk of adenomyosis. Treatment Without treatment, adenomyosis may remain the same or symptoms can get worse. Treatment is not necessary if a woman has no symptoms, is not trying to get pregnant, or is nearing menopause, which is when most women find relief from their symptoms. However, there are many different treatment options available to women with this condition: Anti-inflammatory medications . Medications such as ibuprofen can reduce pain and discomfort. . Medications such as ibuprofen can reduce pain and discomfort. Hormonal medications . Some hormonal treatments, such as oral contraceptive pills, progestin IUDs, or injection (Depo-Provera), can help lessen the symptoms. . Some hormonal treatments, such as oral contraceptive pills, progestin IUDs, or injection (Depo-Provera), can help lessen the symptoms. Injectable medications . These medications can induce false or temporary menopause. These are only used in the short-term and are not suitable for long-term use. . These medications can induce false or temporary menopause. These are only used in the short-term and are not suitable for long-term use. Uterine artery embolization . This involves placing a tube in a major artery in the groin and injecting small particles into the area affected by adenomyosis. This stops the blood supply reaching the affected area, which will shrink the adenomyosis and reduce symptoms. . This involves placing a tube in a major artery in the groin and injecting small particles into the area affected by adenomyosis. This stops the blood supply reaching the affected area, which will shrink the adenomyosis and reduce symptoms. Hysterectomy. The only definitive treatment for adenomyosis is complete removal of the uterus. It is not a good option for women who may still want to become pregnant. Adenomyosis vs. endometriosis Adenomyosis and endometriosis are very similar, but there are differences. In adenomyosis, cells lining the uterus grow into the uterus muscle. In endometriosis, these cells grow outside of the uterus, sometimes on the ovaries and fallopian tubes. These two conditions are equally widespread, though endometriosis occurs more often in women in their 30s and 40s , while more women aged 40 to 50 tend to develop adenomyosis. It is possible for a woman to have both endometriosis and adenomyosis. The symptoms of both conditions should subside after menopause. Fertility and pregnancy Research suggesting that adenomyosis may have an impact on a womans fertility is conflicting, as there are often other conditions present in women with fertility issues. Research into the relationship between adenomyosis, infertility, and pregnancy complications is still ongoing. There are no studies that show an increased risk for miscarriage or other obstetric complications. Diagnosis Share on Pinterest Adenomyosis can sometimes be diagnosed using an ultrasound scan. Diagnosing adenomyosis begins with a visit to the doctor. The doctor will likely take a medical history and perform a physical and pelvic exam. A woman will often feel tenderness in her uterus during the pelvic exam. If a doctor thinks that a womans uterus feels slightly enlarged, and they suspect adenomyosis, the doctor may consider other tests, including: Ultrasound . This allows the doctor to examine pockets of the uterus lining tissue in the muscle of the uterus. However, this can lead to a misdiagnosis, because these pockets can sometimes look like another condition called uterine fibroids. . This allows the doctor to examine pockets of the uterus lining tissue in the muscle of the uterus. However, this can lead to a misdiagnosis, because these pockets can sometimes look like another condition called uterine fibroids. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) . An MRI scan is the best way for the doctor to see the inner muscle of the uterus. . An MRI scan is the best way for the doctor to see the inner muscle of the uterus. Endometrial biopsy. Sometimes, the doctor will want to take a small sample of the endometrial tissue in the uterus for testing. While it will not help in the diagnosis of adenomyosis, it will rule out other causes of a womans symptoms. These testing methods will not give a definite diagnosis, however. It is only possible to definitively diagnose adenomyosis once a woman has had a hysterectomy and a specialized doctor called a pathologist examines the uterus under the microscope. When to see a doctor A woman who is not trying to get pregnant or who is not experiencing any symptoms may not require treatment. However, any woman who suspects adenomyosis or endometriosis should see her doctor for evaluation. If a woman is experiencing heavy periods or severe uterine cramping, it is essential that she mentions it to her doctor. These symptoms can signal other serious conditions, and it is important that the doctor does tests to determine their cause. Heavy menstrual bleeding can cause anemia, which is a deficiency of iron. This can make someone feel tired, weak, or run-down and not well. Taking iron supplements can help treat anemia, which can be especially important during menstruation. Groundbreaking research has revealed a promising strategy to stop the recurrence of cancer, and it comes in the form of a biodegradable gel. Share on Pinterest Researchers have developed a gel that could help to stop cancer recurrence and metastasis. Created by scientists at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA, the gel was designed to deliver immunotherapy directly to the area from which a cancerous tumor has been surgically removed. Upon testing the gel on mice during the surgical removal of breast cancer tumors, the scientists found that it not only helped to prevent tumor recurrence at the primary site, but that it also eliminated secondary tumors in the lungs. Senior study author Michael Goldberg, Ph.D. of the Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and colleagues recently reported their results in the journal Science Translational Medicine. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), more than 1.7 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed in the United States in 2018, and over 600,000 people will die from the disease. For cancer that forms as solid tumors such as breast cancer and lung cancer surgical removal of the tumor is often the primary treatment option. The problems with immunotherapy However, as Goldberg explains, even when the tumor is removed, some cancer cells may remain at the site. These can form new tumors, or even spread to other areas of the body. This is a process known as metastasis. Indeed, while half of all cancer patients undergo surgery aiming to cure the disease, 40 percent of such patients experience a recurrence of the disease within 5 years, Goldberg notes. Furthermore, he adds, it has been shown that the bodys natural process of healing the wound created by surgery can actually spur these residual cancer cells to metastasize to distant parts of the body and form new growths. Immunotherapy which involves using drugs to stimulate the immune system and attack cancer cells can help to prevent cancer recurrence and metastasis. However, the treatment has some serious pitfalls. A major problem with immunotherapy is that it can attack healthy cells as well as cancerous ones, which can increase a patients susceptibility to other illnesses. In this study, notes Goldberg, we sought to determine whether administering immune-stimulating drugs at the [right] place and the right time at the site of tumor removal, before the surgical wound has been closed could enhance the results of cancer immunotherapy. The path to immunostimulation The researchers explain that when a cancerous tumor is removed, the immune system uses most of its resources to help heal the wound, rather than fighting any cancer cells that may have been left behind. This can create what the team calls an immunosuppressive microenvironment, in which cancer cells can thrive and spread. As Goldberg explains, the scientists set out to transform this immunosuppressive microenvironment into one that is immunostimulatory that is, one that can attack and destroy residual cancer cells after surgery. To achieve this feat, the researchers created a hydrogel loaded with drugs that stimulate dendritic cells , which are immune cells that are involved in the initial immune response. They present any foreign invaders or diseased cells such as cancer cells to T cells, which launch an attack. The gel which comprises a sugar naturally present in the human body, making it biodegradable is placed at the site from which a tumor has been surgically removed. The gel then gradually releases the drugs over a prolonged period, which the team says increases its efficacy. We include products we think are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission. Heres our process. For many people, the concept of self-love might conjure images of tree-hugging hippies or cheesy self-help books. But, as many psychology studies attest, self-love and -compassion are key for mental health and well-being, keeping depression and anxiety at bay. Below, we take a look at some of the things that you can do to nurture this core feeling. Share on Pinterest Cultivating feelings of self-love can sometimes be challenging. Why is self-love important? you might ask. For many of us, self-love might sound like a luxury rather than a necessity or a new-age fad for those with too much time on their hands. Ironically, however, self-care and -compassion might actually be needed most by those of us who work too hard and who are constantly striving to surpass ourselves and grasp the shape-shifting phantasm of perfection. Most of the time, when were being too hard on ourselves, we do it because were driven by a desire to excel and do everything right, all the time. This entails a lot of self-criticism, and that persecutory inner voice that constantly tells us how we couldve done things better is a hallmark of perfectionism. Studies have shown that perfectionists are at a higher risk of several illnesses, both physical and mental, and that self-compassion might free us from its grip. Therefore, perfectionism and self-compassion are inextricably linked. This article will look at ways to dial down the former and boost the latter, with the conviction that doing so will help you to lead a happier, more fulfilled life. The ills of perfectionism Most of us in the Western world have been raised to believe that perfectionism is a great quality to have. After all, being obsessed with perfect details leads to perfect work, and this personality trait gives us the opportunity to humblebrag during job interviews. In reality, however, perfectionism is bad for you. Not just not ideal or harmful when excessive, but actively bad. Like cigarettes or obesity. A shorter lifespan, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, eating disorders, depression, and suicidal tendencies are only a few of the adverse health effects that have been linked with perfectionism. Recovering from heart disease or cancer is also harder for perfectionists, with this trait making survivors as well as the general population more prone to anxiety and depression. Moving away from perfectionism So what can we do to move away from perfectionism? First off, acknowledge that its bad for you; beating yourself up over every little error gradually chips away at your sense of self-worth and makes you less happy. And you deserve better than this. In the words of Kristin Neff a professor of human development at the University of Texas at Austin Love, connection, and acceptance are your birthright. In other words, happiness is something that youre entitled to, not something that you need to earn. Even the United Nations adopted a resolution recognizing that the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal. Also, you should try to resist the temptation to beat yourself up for beating yourself up. Paul Hewitt a clinical psychologist in Vancouver, Canada, and author of the book Perfectionism: A Relational Approach to Conceptualization, Assessment, and Treatment likens the inner critic harbored by perfectionists to a nasty adult beating the crap out of a tiny child. When youve spent years cultivating this inner bully, you develop an unconscious reflex to put yourself down for every minor thing, no matter how ridiculous or absurd. From missing a deadline to dropping a teaspoon on the floor, perfectionists will constantly give themselves a hard time over the most unexpected things so criticizing yourself for criticizing yourself is not uncommon. Thirdly, you can start cultivating some much-needed self-compassion. You might think that self-love is a case of you either have it or you dont, but luckily, psychologists insist that it is something you can learn. What is self-compassion? Self-compassion and self-love are largely used interchangeably in specialized literature. Research shows that having more self-compassion builds resilience in the face of adversity, helping people to recover more quickly from trauma or romantic separation. It also helps us to better cope with failure or embarrassment. But what is it, exactly? Drawing on the work of Prof. Neff, Sbarra and colleagues define self-compassion as a construct that encompasses three components: self-kindness (i.e., treating oneself with understanding and forgiveness), recognition of ones place in shared humanity (i.e., acknowledgment that people are not perfect and that personal experiences are part of the larger human experience), and mindfulness (i.e., emotional equanimity and avoidance of overidentification with painful emotions). Self-kindness entails being warm and understanding toward ourselves when we suffer, fail, or feel inadequate, rather than flagellating ourselves with self-criticism, write Profs. Neff and Germer. Easier said than done? You might think so, but luckily, the same researchers who worked hard to study and define the feeling have also come up with a few useful tips for enhancing it. Mindfully trained self-compassion By combining mindfulness with self-compassion, Profs. Neff and Germer who works at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA have developed a technique called Mindful Self-Compassion [] Training, which they have tested in clinical trials with heartening results. In the words of the researchers, Self-compassion says, Be kind to yourself in the midst of suffering and it will change. Mindfulness says, Open to suffering with spacious awareness and it will change.' The program comprises various meditations, such as loving-kindness meditation or affectionate breathing, and informal practices for use in daily life, such as the soothing touch, or the self-compassionate letter writing, which have all been shown to help study participants develop the habit of self-compassion. According to the researchers, practicing these techniques for 40 minutes every day for 8 weeks raised the participants levels of self-compassion by 43 percent. The mindfulness exercises that one can do to develop self-compassion are various. One simple exercise involves repeating the following three phrases during times of emotional distress: This is a moment of suffering, Suffering is a part of life, and May I be kind to myself. These three mantras correspond to the three elements of self-love that we introduced earlier. In her book Self-Compassion, Prof. Neff details many more useful mantras and guides the reader to develop their own. Also, her website self-compassion.org offers a wide range of similar exercises, which are accessible for free. Dr. Helen Weng from the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and colleagues have also developed a range of similar exercises that you can access here, which are also free of charge. If you feel a bit skeptical about the benefits of mindfully repeating mantras to yourself, you may benefit from knowing that research backs them up. Such mindful exercises in self-compassion have been proven to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol and increase heart rate variability, which is your bodys physiological ability to deal with stressful situations. Learning to listen to yourself Listening to yourself can mean two things. Firstly, paying attention to how you internally talk to yourself is crucial for learning to cultivate an intimate feeling of self-love. Share on Pinterest Writing to yourself in a compassionate tone can help. In her book, Prof. Neff asks her readers to ask themselves, What type of language do you use with yourself when you notice a flaw or make a mistake? Do you insult yourself or do you take a more kind and understanding tone? If you are highly self-critical, how does that make you feel inside? She explains that often, we are much harsher to ourselves than we would be to others, or than how we would expect others to treat us. So, to replace this harsh inner voice with a kinder one, you can simply notice it which is already a step toward quietly subduing it and actively try to soften it. Finally, you can try to rephrase the observations that you may have initially formulated quite harshly in the words of a kinder, more forgiving person. Or, you could try writing a letter to yourself from the perspective of the kind, compassionate friend that you have been to others, or from the perspective of a compassionate friend. A second reason why listening to yourself is important is that, during times of emotional distress, asking yourself the question What do I need? and listening mindfully to the answer can prove invaluable. As researchers point out, Simply asking the question is itself an exercise in self-compassion the cultivation of good will toward oneself. But its also worth bearing in mind that What do I need? sometimes [] means that an emotionally overwhelmed individual should stop meditating altogether and respond behaviorally to his or her emotional distress, for example, by drinking a cup of tea or petting the dog. Self-kindness is more important than becoming a good meditator. Prof. Kristin Neff A specialized mobile surgical training center has been launched by the Johnson & Johnson for surgeons. The step has been taken to provide hands-on surgical training to around 25,000 health care professionals in the upcoming years. Named "Johnson & Johnson Institute on Wheels," this mobile training center would enhance "the surgical skills of doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff to address the demands of today's health care delivery system and provide better outcomes to patients of India," the company said in a statement. "Johnson & Johnson Institute on Wheels will travel to various medical colleges and teaching hospitals across the country to train budding and practicing surgeons and paramedical staff. It will travel to various medical colleges and teaching hospitals across the country to train budding and practicing surgeons and paramedical staff. Source: IANS Advertisement "With the launch of the Johnson & Johnson Institute on Wheels, we hope to train 25,000 surgeons across 400 towns in the next five years," said Sushobhan Dasgupta, Managing Director, Johnson and Johnson Medical India. Advertisement "The Energy Pod is a napping system where you lay in it for 20 minutes. It's kind of like a cat nap," said Stephanie Lynch, an assistant professor in the NMSU School of Nursing and a nurse practitioner who co-authored the study. "You wear headphones, there's music playing. The Sleep Wing is the same process but you lay on a pillow with a device under it. It's more portable."In 2009, article co-author and NMSU School of Nursing Associate Professor Linda Summers, also a nurse practitioner, installed an EnergyPod, which had been purchased years earlier with the help of funding from the Community Foundation of New Mexico, to use at Gadsden High School.One day, two students who had been fighting were brought into the school nurse's office by a security guard. One student was asked to rest on a nurse's cot, and the other student was allowed to use the Energy Pod. Twenty minutes later, the student using the Energy Pod emerged feeling refreshed and less agitated, while the student on the cot continued to be aggressive.Since then, both devices have been used in the nurse's offices at several local high schools. The SleepWing is being used at Mayfield High School and Arrowhead Early College High School, and the EnergyPod is in use at Las Cruces, Onate, Gadsden and Chaparral high schools."What we've seen is students when they're anxious or they're having a bad day will come in and lay in the pod for 20 minutes," Lynch said. "The nice thing about it is the students go back to class. They don't have to call their mothers; they don't have to miss a day of school. In some of the high schools we actually have teachers using it if they have a break between classes and they're having a rough morning."Lynch said the devices also help migraine sufferers with sensitivities to light and sound during migraine attacks.The study looked at 99 students in four area high schools who reported feeling agitated. The study found that all participants "showed an improvement in their mood after being in the Sleep Wing or Energy Pod for 20 minutes.""Clearly there was a significant difference between before and after, and all of the kids went back to class after a 20-minute nap," Summers said."Adolescents have a lot of stress in general. They have a lot of pressures, a lot of them have after-school jobs, a lot of them have after-school activities, homework, relationship issues, parental issues, and what we found is that a lot of adolescents are sleeping on couches, not necessarily in a bedroom where it's quiet. There are lots of reasons why people have disrupted sleep or are agitated."Along with Lynch and Summers, the study's co-authors are Conni DeBlieck, an NMSU assistant professor in the School of Nursing; Anita Reinhardt, an NMSU associate professor in the School of Nursing; and Wanda Borges, an associate professor in the University of San Francisco School of Nursing and Health Professions.Use of the SleepWing and EnergyPod devices in area schools attracted worldwide media attention since it allows for sleep-deprived and agitated students to take breaks within the school day. Researchers at NMSU are now looking at whether the devices, which are also located in a room in the College of Health and Social Services for anyone on campus to use, can be useful for nursing students experiencing test anxiety."We replicated the study here at the School of Nursing using the SleepWing and the EnergyPod, but what we're looking for in that replication is actually test anxiety within nursing students," DeBlieck said."What we've found in the preliminary findings is that when we were testing the adolescents, there wasn't a change in heart rate. When we looked at the nursing students with anxiety we found that their heart rate and their blood pressure actually decreased."Alexa Doig, director of the School of Nursing, said she feels that the NMSU nursing faculty are incredibly well positioned to conduct this kind of research because of their vast clinical experience and connection with community-based organizations, such as the school districts."Our nurse researchers are focused on improving the physical and mental health of people in this community by translating research evidence to practice and then ensuring that the intervention has a positive impact," Doig said.The study was published bySource: Newswise In case you didn't know, Mumbai Police is the coolest police force in India, and probably the whole world. The memes and jokes on Mumbai Police's Twitter feed can easily put any popular meme account to shame. But, now along with winning over everyone with their hilarious way of raising awareness, they have also won everyone's hearts with their truly heart-warming gesture. Fulfilling a little kid's dream, they gave him charge of the Mulund police station for a day. Arpit Mandal is a 7-year-old cancer patient, and he had always dreamt of becoming a police inspector, and thanks to Mumbai Police, he was able to do just that. The pictures of Inspector Mandal's day of being in charge were shared on Mumbai Police's Twitter account and they're honestly so adorable. Mulund Police Station was completely won over by the undaunted spirit of 7 year old Arpit Mandal, fighting cancer! If we could, we would fulfill all his wishes beyond just being a Police inspector for a day #ProtectingSmiles @MakeAWishIndia pic.twitter.com/jPOJosXFDU Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) March 23, 2018 Celebrating his spirit, they even got Arpit, I mean Inspector Mandal who was dressed in full police uniform a cake. He looks so happy sitting behind his huge office desk, it'll really make you day. Happiness truly is contagious, and people had nothing but praise for Mumbai Police for their incredible gesture for a little kid. I Totally Agree Wow Mumbai Police you Rock. Thanks. Sanjeev Sharma (@sanjsharma) March 23, 2018 Very Lovable @IPS_Association @rajnathsingh Mumbai Police u proved even u have soft lovable heart. Great job RANGARAJANJI (@grrajan3) March 23, 2018 Yes, Keep Smiling A great job you guys had done that you made him smile....#KeepSmiling #Makeotherssmile Jiger Chawda (@JigerChawda) March 23, 2018 That's A Great Way To Put It Mumbai Police....You are not only protecting lives but now protecting smiles as well.... Manmohan (@SinghDrmanmohan) March 23, 2018 Exactly Splendid. The best part is to see Smiley faces. Great effort. Sudip Basu (@sudipbasu) March 23, 2018 I Agree Absolutely brilliant ! Nothing in the world can compare the act of bringing a smile ! Salute your gesture ! sarvesh bhatnagar (@sarveshbh) March 23, 2018 Salute Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Terens Quick, is in Dublin today. He will be received by the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, who recently concluded a state visit to Greece. He will also meet with his counterpart the Minister of State for the Diaspora, Ciaran Cannon, and the Mayor of Dublin, Micheal Mac Donncha. Mr. Quick will also meet with the Board of the Greek Community of Dublin and visit the Church of the Annunciation and the Greek school. On 25 March, Mr. Quick will travel on to London, at the invitation of the National Federation of Cypriots of the United Kingdom, to participate as a keynote speaker in the Federations annual celebration of Greek and Cypriot national anniversaries. More specifically, in London, on 25 March, Mr. Quick will be attending the Divine Liturgy and Doxology marking Greek Independence Day, which will be held at Cathedral of the Divine Wisdom, with the Archbishop of Thyateira officiating, and on the evening of the same day he will attend the celebration being held by the National Federation of Cypriots. On 26 March, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs will have a number of bilateral meetings, including with Lord Callanan, the UK Minister of State at the Department for Exiting the European Union. Finally, he will visit the Greek junior and senior high school of London and will attend an Independence-Day reception being held for members of Greek community organizations and representatives of professional and scientific organizations in the UK. I thank my colleague Nikola for the invitation. It is a pleasure for me to be here, in this northern country again, and to have delivered on the promises I have made. We said that, as soon as the name of the airport was changed, we would come to visit your beautiful city, launch the second phase of the stabilization and association agreement between your country and the European Union, and ask for and support your membership in the Adriatic and Ionian Initiative (EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region EUSAIR). I believe strongly in our common future, in our joint cooperation that will benefit our citizens, our countries and the whole region. It is my deep belief that we can resolve the problems -and we should to be able to do this- and we took steps in this direction today. Problems that Nikola and I did not create, but already existed. And we need to resolve these problems because this will enhance the friendship between our peoples, our daily contacts and economic cooperation, the regions security and stability. This will make it possible for both of us, both states, to contribute to the growth of the whole regions economy. I believe that overcoming political constraints contributes to economic and social development. I am very pleased that I will be meeting with most of the countrys political leadership. In particular, I want to thank Prime Minister, Zoran Zaev, in advance for giving me the opportunity for what I am sure will be a creative discussion. And I also want to thank Mr. Xhaferi, Mr. Ahmeti and Mr. Mickoski, with whom we will be able to exchange views, and whom we will brief on where we stand. I want to say that the easy thing in politics is to do nothing. In foreign policy in particular I say this as a professor of International Relations, not just as a Minister I dont remember a lot of people complaining about and criticizing a Minister who isnt doing much and doesnt solve problems. But then life goes on and imposes its own solutions, and they are very costly. Ministers responsible for foreign policy, within the framework of their government, and on the initiative of their prime ministers, must find solutions. And they need to find solutions that, regardless of one opinion or another, one day or another, eventually help their country in the long run. Greece is currently emerging from its economic crisis. Personally, I believe that, if we are to have the economic growth all of us desire, we need the collaboration of the whole region, we need the whole region to join the international organizations our neighbouring countries want to join. And we believe in honest compromises. In an honest compromise, both sides stand to gain in the long term. In an honest compromise, not a rotten one as I call it, but an honest compromise, both sides will win, no one comes out a loser. But, certainly, in a compromise and this also applies to Greece, which wants an honest compromise you cannot get everything you have in mind or you believe in. Realistically and pragmatically, you have to get what is crucial for you, and you have to let what is crucial for the other side. And the main thing is the common interest of your future. I believe firmly in regional stability and security. I believe firmly that our friendly northern neighbour is a country with which our relations, on a state level, must reflect what is actually happening in day-to-day life. We know how many millions of people move between and visit the two countries. We are aware of the satisfaction in which the economy of Northern Greece welcomes the citizens of your country, whether as consumers or tourists or friendly visitors, and vice versa. And I believe that our two peoples are very, very close, and historical heritage keeps them apart. They are close, and we must ensure that the future brings them even closer together. Our states and our peoples will benefit from our joint actions in the future and from our caring for the younger generations throughout the region. Nikola, thank you again for the invitation. JOURNALIST: I would like comments from both Ministers, but they can decide between themselves who will respond. There are two issues here: The proposal from Mr. Nimetz, whether you can say that two drafts instead of two documents, we are now talking about three. N. KOTZIAS: Thank you for the question: the texts are drawn up to clarify the sides positions and proposals. Of course, in the end we will come up with a single text. We have agreed to a great extent on what we want for the future, as well as on certain other issues. Mr. Nimetz, will take what we agree on and what we will negotiate with him, in his presence, and set it out as a text for the Security Council and the General Assembly, where it will be determined that the problems referred to in UN Resolutions 817 and 845 were resolved, and thus we can move further ahead. And by further ahead, I mean we will agree on how we can develop our cooperation. Texts are always an aid in negotiations. I firmly believe that, with regard to the issue we are dealing with, face-to-face talks and negotiations are the most important and, in my opinion, most positive thing we can do to date. JOURNALIST: Ministers, I would like to ask if you are willing to move ahead to finding a definitive, clear solution, without pending issues, and what the elements of such a solution might be. Thank you very much. N. KOTZIAS: The journalist asking the question shares the same first name (Nikolas) with us. I want to say that I agree. We need a just, rational solution that not only resolves the problems of the past, but also creates a positive future, rather than investing in new frictions in the future. So we want a solution that is stable and opens up paths, and not a solution that creates other problems in the future. Thank you. JOURNALIST: Regarding an agreement that has been ratified in Parliament [...] rendered part of domestic law and order, and has, it could be said, greater weight than the Constitution, if we bear in mind that this agreement will be submitted to the United Nations. Because you are asking for greater guarantees; in other words, that fYROM will implement what is agreed upon between the two countries, given that an international agreement, from a legal standpoint, is stronger. N. KOTZIAS: This question was also put to me by your country in the negotiations, so it is a well founded one. We arent asking for additional guarantees. We are simply bearing in mind our experience in the European Union with the rulings of a number of Constitutional Courts that consider their Constitutions to supersede European and international law. This is the tradition of the European Union. I remind you of multiple rulings of Germanys Constitutional Court, regarding the Treaty of Maastricht and the Treaties of Nice and Lisbon. In other words, the European Union treaties of the past 20 years. This is an issue with regard to the constitutional amendment we are asking for. Were discussing it. I think we really do need to clarify this, and well see where we get to in the end. I dont think this is an issue that we can go into here and now, because we are in the midst of negotiations. JOURNALIST: Mr. Kotzias, you talk about an honest solution that will satisfy both sides. What do you see as an honest solution to the problem? If you insist on the amendment of the Constitution, the people here do not see that as honest at all. If you insist on a name combined into a single word, untranslatable, nor is this seen by any of the countrys citizens as honest. Could you perhaps tell us what your honest solution consists of? How you understand it? N. KOTZIAS: Honest, fair and correct. An honest, fair and correct solution is one that takes into account the main interests of each side. And the main interests of each side will be pinpointed in the negotiations we are carrying out and in the result we get. I dont want to analyse my positions for you right now, in the midst of the negotiations. But some other time, I will give you dozens of examples of how constitutional amendments are made and names are found. This country, like Greece, has made constitutional amendments. There is nothing shameful in this. That is, as a matter of principle Im not talking about our talks per se. Laws, constitutions and attitudes change over time. Moreover, as I have pointed out, this country has made two major and five minor amendments. All Im simply saying is that we shouldnt make a moral issue out of the question of the amendment. What is specific at this instance is what could enable both sides not the extremes of the two sides, but the two sides to feel satisfied, while also laying the path to a common future. A solution that vanquishes one side or makes one side foolishly celebrate that it got a lot and gave a little is not a good solution. It isnt just. It isnt morally honest. What we are seeking now, from among the various opinions we have, is to find a comprehensive solution that embodies what each side sees as being the most important. Neither side can accept the entirety of the positions of the other, so that is why we are negotiating. Even at home, as couples or with our children, we make compromises. You cannot coexist with someone without making compromises. And there are good, fair compromises, and what I call rotten compromises. It is a rotten compromise if one side subordinates itself or gives in to the other. We have forces in both countries that would like to dictate to the other side how it should behave. Thats not how it works. We want a common future. We want our friendship to grow, with respect for each side. So we have to reach an honest compromise. HARTFORD The mayors of Bridgeport and New Haven lobbed criticism at the state Friday for a bailout deal paying off some of Hartfords debt to rescue the capital city from bankruptcy. We question whether it represents an equitable practice, said Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim and New Haven Mayor Toni Harp in a joint statement. It seems the state continues to shortchange New Haven and Bridgeport - its two largest cities, with comparatively stable finances, while rewarding the past practices of other cities that put them on the edge of financial collapse. Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of top lawmakers defended the approximately $90 million allocated over two years toward Hartfords debts in the legislatures budget signed in October. What this allows Hartford to do is restructure its debt, it gives them some stability for the short term, but most importantly the state picking this up ensures, we are never going to see a default in debt, said House Majority Leader Matt Ritter, D-Hartford. Speaking to press at the Capitol, legislators emphasized that the money is only for the next two years. House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, said lawmakers were upset by representations about the Hartford deal published Thursday that suggested the state will pay off all of Hartfords $550 million in debt over the next two decades. Hartfords funding comes with a significant sacrifice in autonomy, said Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, D-New Haven, and Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin. The state will now review the citys contracts and budget through an oversight board. Bridgeport would meet eligibility criteria for Municipal Accountability Review Board help, confirmed Chris McClure, a spokesman for the state budget office, in January. The city has not applied for the program. Ganim and Harp said Friday they will meet next week to discuss developing a consistent municipal aid program for all cities in the state. Bridgeport does not need the kind of state oversight mandated by MARB, Ganim said in an interview, but we need a comprehensive plan that does not support one city at the expense of another. Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, encouraged Bridgeport to discuss applying for MARB aid. I have long said Bridgeport should be seeking outside assistance to help stabilize its tax rate and address its unfunded liabilities, he said in a statement Friday. MIDDLETOWN Mayor Dan Drew, Curt Deane, Middletown veteran groups and Trees of Honor Memorial supporters invite the community to the CT Trees of Honor Memorial in Veterans Memorial Park Friday at 11 a.m. as they announce plans to erect a bronze sculpture tribute this spring to Sgt. Stubby, Americas most famous war dog. Deane is the grandson of Corp. Robert Conroy, who found the stray mixed breed he named Stubby while training near the Yale University campus with the 102nd Regiment of the 26th Yankee Division. This took place prior to their unit being shipped off to France at the start of the countrys entry into WWI. It has been the Deane family wish to find a fitting place to erect a tribute to their beloved dog: Americas most well-known and famous military working dog from World War I. The statue of Stubby will take its place as a warrior and protector along with the 65 Connecticut heroes honored at the memorial, who gave their lives in service to our country while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The announcement ties in with the national release of the animated movie Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero, set to premier in New Haven on April 8. Of special note also in 2018 is the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI. Some special events taking place to commemorate this date is the exhibit, World War I Beyond the Front Lines at the Knights of Columbus Museum in New Haven; and Remembering World War One: Sharing History/Preserving Memories, a community centered commemorative project headed by Christine Pittsley of the Connecticut State Library that seeks to build a permanent digital archive of Connecticuts role in the Great War. This project, a partnership between the Connecticut State Library and Connecticut Digital Archive, will work with institutions, organizations and individuals around the state. Local institutions and community groups will hold community submission events where the State Library will digitally capture the keepsakes and stories of Connecticut residents. Cats in the Castle set for April 14 PLANTSVILLE Cat Tales presents the Annual Cats In The Castle, a fundraising event benefiting homeless cats and kittens, to be held on April 14 from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Aqua Turf Club, Plantsville. Tickets are $75 per person and $700 for a table of 10. Event includes appetizers, dinner, beer and wine, desserts, silent Auctions and raffles. For information and reservations, call 860-344-9043 or email events@CatTalesCT.org; or visit www.CatTalesCT.org/CITC See the Cat Tales video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1-1zXrEOB4 All funds raised go directly to homeless cats and kittens under the care of Cat Tales Non-Profit Rescue in Middletown. Guests must be 21 years or older to attend. Antique Appraisal Day is Saturday EAST HAMPTON The Chatham Historical Society will host its 23rd annual Antique Appraisal Day on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the East Hampton Library Community Room located at 105 Main St. There will be four appraisers on site: Bill Barrows of Thomas Barrows and Sons, Ltd. of Portland, Larry Shapiro of Glastonbury Appraisals, and Michael Westman and Justine DeMetrick of Newport, R.I. Verbal appraisals will be given on furniture, glassware, china, artwork, musical instruments, military pieces, dolls, jewelry, quilts as well as European, Asian, and Island items and more. The cost is $6 per item, supporting the fundraiser for the continual upkeep of the societys two museum buildings and 1840 one-room schoolhouse on Bevin Boulevard. Light refreshments of coffee, tea, cookies, fruit, and assorted desserts can also be purchased. For information, call 860 267-8953. Mercy High School holding education raffle MIDDLETOWN Mercy High School is sponsoring a $25,000 education raffle. The money is tax free and can be used at any accredited school in the U.S., from kindergarten through college, and for student loans. Tickets are $100. The drawing is Tuesday, April 10 at Mercys Spring Concert, which begins at 7 p.m., with the drawing at 8 p.m. Winners do not have to be present. Only 650 tickets will be sold. For information, or to order a ticket, visit www.mercyhigh.com or call Mercy at 860-347-8957. Festival announces two contests HEBRON Two contests have been announced by the award winning Podunk Bluegrass Festival. The nationally acclaimed event, whose home is at the Hebron Lions Fairgrounds, will present its 22nd festival Aug. 9 to 12. Songwriter Contest: The entry deadline for this competition is May 1. Monetary awards are offered plus some perks and the rare opportunity to hear the winning song from last year performed by four of the top placing bands in this years Band competition. Details at podunkbluegrass.com or contact Myrna Riquier 860-455-9400 or BluegrassShowcase@gmail.com The Voice of Podunk Kids: A singing contest for children ages 7 to 17. This is not a bluegrass music contest. The child chooses the song and the genre. A single accompanying instrument is allowed. A guitar player can be provided for kids who do not play an instrument. Participants can be a solo, a duet, a trio or even a quartet. Signup is now underway and the deadline is June 30. The contest will take place the morning of Aug. 11 at the Hebron Lions Fairgrounds. Children will perform their songs on the Workshop Stage. See more details at podunkbluegrass.com or to sign up contact Myrna Riquier 860-455-9400 or natchaugmusic@gmail.com The festival, itself, consists of four days featuring the talents of both local and nationally acclaimed entertainers on three separate stages. The event includes close-in camping, professional-level classes plus free workshops for attendees, the Podunk Kids Academy, a gospel music sing-a-long on Sunday morning, food and other vendors plus dailey supervised activities for youngsters, including evening movies, all presented in a family-friendly atmosphere. Theres lots of picking in the campgrounds to hear day and night. Or bring your instrument and you will be welcomed to play along. MEDELLINScientists will deliver a comprehensive assessment Friday of the state of biodiversitythe animals and plants that humankind depends on to survive but has driven into a mass species extinction. The labor of some 600 scientists over three years, four reports will be unveiled in Medellin, Colombia, under the umbrella of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. The diagnosis is expected to be dire. If we continue the way we are, yes the... sixth mass extinction, the first one ever caused by humans, will continue, IPBES chairman Robert Watson told AFP ahead of the much-anticipated release. But the good news, he said, is that Its not too late to slow the rate of loss. Scientists say mankinds voracious consumption and wanton destruction of Nature has unleashed the first mass species die-off since the demise of the dinosaursonly the sixth on our planet in half-a-billion years. The first major biodiversity assessment in 13 years comes in the same week that Sudan, the worlds last male northern white rhino, died in Kenyaa stark reminder of the stakes. The IPBES conference is going to tell us that the situation is continuing to deteriorate, they are going to tell us some ecosystems are being brought to the brink of collapse, WWF director general Marco Lambertini told AFP on Thursday. The IPBES is going to make a strong case for the importance of protecting Nature for our own wellbeing. The volunteer experts who compiled the reports, drawing on data from some 10,000 scientific publications, have been discussing their contents with representatives of the IPBES 129 member countries in Medellin since Saturday. The contents of five summary reports for government policymakers, each about 40 pages long, were negotiated word-for-word, line-by-line.The summary reports are condensed versions of five monumental assessments, each about 600-900 pages, which will be published only after the conference. The first four summaries will be released simultaneously on Friday-one for each of four world regionsthe Americas, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Europe and Central Asia. A fifth report, due March 26, will focus on the global state of soil, which is fast being degraded through pollution, forest-destruction, mining, and unsustainable farming methods that deplete its nutrients. Together, the five assessments cover the entire Earth except for Antarctica and the open oceansthose waters beyond national jurisdiction. The entire process has cost about $5 million (four million euros). Watson said Thursday that negotiations about the summaries wording had required a lot of discussion. The documents will not be prescriptive, but will offer guidelines on policies that governments could adopt to slow the pace of biodiversity loss, if not halt it. Sudans death, said Lambertini, should help raise awareness by pulling on peoples heartstrings. But it is not enough to change the decision-making at economic and political level that we need to see to protect the planet. In order to trigger that political commitment, change in the decision-making at the government level, at the business level, we need to make a case that its not just ethical and sentimental but that its also material. The $1.3 trillion spending package that passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday includes a new provision that would give more veterans access to mental health care. Bills had been introduced in both the House and Senate over the past year to provide veterans who have an "other than honorable" discharge access to care they were previously denied. Lawmakers drafted a compromise that made it into the omnibus spending bill this week. "It is critical that our men and women in uniform know they can reach out to the [Department of Veterans Affairs] for help when they come home from a combat deployment," said Rep. Mike Coffman, a Colorado Republican and Marine Corps combat veteran who had sponsored one of the bills. "We particularly need to watch out for those suffering from 'invisible' wounds that may lead to behavioral and other mental health conditions," he said in a statement Thursday. Related content: Coffman, however, voted against the overall spending bill even though language from his mental health care legislation was included. Currently, individuals who have other-than-honorable discharges, known as "bad paper," are not eligible for veteran benefits beyond some emergency mental health services. The provision would require the VA to provide initial mental health assessments and services as deemed necessary, including for those at risk of suicide or of harming others, regardless of whether the individual has a bad paper discharge. However, veterans who received a dishonorable or a bad-conduct discharge stemming from a court-martial would still be ineligible to access the services. Coffman last year spearheaded the effort, resurrecting the legislation after a similar bill introduced in the House in 2016 didn't pass. It gained bipartisan support, with 40 co-sponsors. High Ground Veterans Advocacy, a grass-roots organization training veterans to become leaders and activists in their local communities, has advocated for the measure. "These reforms would remove the current VA requirement that veterans with OTH discharges be in a state of 'urgent' or emergency before being able to get help, and marks the first time that Congress is willing to back [VA Secretary David] Shulkin's initiative to provide aid to veterans previously locked out of the health care system designed for them," said High Ground founder and Chairman Kristofer Goldsmith on Thursday. Last March, Shulkin testified to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs that the department intended to give veterans with bad paper more mental health care privileges. "We are going to go and start providing mental health care to those with other-than-honorable discharges," he said at the time. Goldsmith said, "These reforms would create a more transparent and user-friendly process, and requires the Department of Defense to coordinate their efforts to ensure that veterans with OTH discharges aren't simply abandoned after being kicked out of the military. "It's important to note that these reforms are focused on veterans who were administratively discharged without the due process rights of a court-martial, which is the vast majority of veterans with bad paper -- both from the Post-9/11 generation and all of those from earlier service periods," he said in a statement. The Senate has until midnight Friday to pass the omnibus spending bill to avert another government shutdown. If it passes, the mental health care provision would become law. -- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214. The Navy gets 14 new ships, including a carrier; the Air Force adds 56 F-35s; the Army gets 17 Apache and 11 Lakota helicopters; the Marine Corps receives 24 vertical landing F-35Bs; and the Coast Guard gets a long-needed icebreaker. All the troops get funding for a 2.4 percent pay raise that took effect at the beginning of the year, with the possibility for more next year. The Air Force also gets $103 million for the wing replacement program on the A-10 Thunderbolt as a start in what Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said earlier this week is a plan to keep the "Warthogs" flying at least to 2030. These are some of the highlights from the submissions of the Senate and House Defense Appropriations subcommittees in the overall 2,342-page, $1.3 trillion omnibus spending package for fiscal 2018, including nearly $700 billion for the military and $591 billion for non-defense funding. The $700 billion includes $65.2 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations, or "war budget" funding mostly for Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. "Overall, this is the biggest year-to-year increase in defense funding in 15 years -- a $61 billion increase over FY2017 enacted levels," the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee said in its overview. Yet Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said it isn't enough to completely reverse the shortfalls in readiness and modernization brought about by the budget restraints under the sequester process. "It is not enough to fix our problems, but it's probably the right amount to be spent this year," he told Fox News on Wednesday. The Defense Department has been promised $716 billion for fiscal 2019 under a two-year military spending plan already approved by Congress -- $700 billion this year and $716 billion next year. All of that funding is contingent on Congress approving the $1.3 trillion omnibus package, which is still hung up on debates over health care, immigration, gun control and the funding of Planned Parenthood. Since failing to adopt a fiscal 2018 budget last Oct. 1, the government has gone through two brief shutdowns and five continuing resolutions that kept spending at 2017 levels. The latest continuing resolution runs out at midnight Friday. The proposed fiscal 2018 budget for the DoD includes $137.7 billion overall for personnel and the 2.4 percent pay raise; $89.2 billion for research and development, up $16 billion over 2017; $144.3 billion for procurement, up $25.4 billion over 2017; and $238 billion for operations and maintenance -- about $1 billion above the Trump administration's request. The omnibus package would also fully fund an active-duty end strength of 1,322,500 and a reserve component end strength of 816,900 -- an overall increase of 9,500. The Missile Defense Agency would get at least a $2 billion increase over its original request to a total of $11.5 billion, mainly to counter the growing threat from North Korea. The additional MDA funding includes $568 million to initiate the expansion of Missile Field #4 at Fort Greely, Alaska, with 20 additional Ground-Based Interceptors. The proposed agreement calls for $23.8 billion to go to Navy shipbuilding programs, $3.4 billion above the initial budget request. In total, the agreement funds the construction of 14 new ships: one aircraft carrier, two Virginia- class submarines, two DDG-51 destroyers, three Littoral Combat Ships, one LX(R) amphibious assault ship, one Expeditionary Fast Transport ship, one Expeditionary Sea Base, one TAO fleet oiler, one Towing, Salvage and Rescue ship (ATS), and one T-AGS oceanographic survey ship. The agreement also fully funds advance procurement activities for Ohio-class and Virginia-class submarines. Other critical shipbuilding investments include an additional $225 million for the expansion of the submarine industrial base and $150 million to accelerate procurement of a Heavy Polar Icebreaker, according to the Senate overview. The Army would get $348 million for 116 Stryker Double V-Hull upgrades; $300 million for Stryker lethality upgrades; $1.1 billion for the upgrade of 85 Abrams tanks; and $483 million for the upgrade of 145 Bradley Fighting Vehicles. In addition, the Army would get $220 million for National Guard High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle recapitalization, including $120 million specifically for ambulance modernization. The proposed bill includes a total of $44 billion for aircraft procurement programs, $9.5 billion above the amount requested by the Trump administration. The bill would provide: $2.9 billion for 10 conventional take-off, six carrier variant, and four vertical take-off F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, as well as additional tooling and spare engines (Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps). $739 million for 10 F-18 Super Hornet aircraft (Navy). $676 million for eight V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft (Marine Corps and Navy). $600 million for five MC-130J aircraft (Special Operations Command). $577 million for 17 AH-64 Apache helicopters (Army). $510 million for three KC-46A tanker aircraft (Air Force). $501 million for three P-8A Poseidon aircraft (Navy). $480 million for six C-130J aircraft (Air National Guard). $400 million for eight MH-60R helicopters (Navy). $387 million for eight CH-47 Chinook helicopters (Army and Special Operations Command). Command) $343 million for four KC-130J tanker aircraft (Marine Corps). $250 million for two CH-53K King Stallion helicopters (Marine Corps). $221 million for seven UH-1Y/AH-1Z helicopters (Marine Corps). $207 million for two C-40 aircraft (Marine Corps). $130 million for two C-37B aircraft (Air Force). $110 million for additional RQ-7 Shadow systems (Army). $108 million for eight UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters (Army National Guard). $107 million for nine MQ-1 Grey Eagle vehicles and payloads (Army). $100 million for one HC-130J aircraft (Air Force). $90 million for 11 UH-72 Lakota helicopters (Army). $84 million for six MQ-8 Fire Scout vehicles (Navy). $40 million for two SATURN ARCH aircraft (Army). $29 million for one Dash 8 maritime patrol aircraft (Southern Command). -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. What Is ISIS-K? Two Experts on the Group Behind the Kabul Airport Attack and its Rivalry with the Taliban By 2018, the group had become one of the top four deadliest terrorist organizations in the world. Posted Friday, March 23, 2018 9:00 am The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Conservation Federation of Missouri (CFM) thank the thousands of Missouri deer hunters who donated 289,292 pounds of venison to the states Share the Harvest program this past deer season. The donated deer meat will help feed hungry Missourians all around the state. This seasons total of 289,292 pounds of venison included nearly 5,600 whole deer. Hunters donated 198,277 pounds of venison the year before. Since the program was started in 1992, Share the Harvest has provided nearly 4 million pounds of lean, healthy venison to help feed hungry Missourians. Share the Harvest is coordinated by MDC and CFM. It works by deer hunters donating their extra venison to more than 100 participating meat processors throughout the state who grind the deer meat into ready-to-use packages. The packaged venison is then given to local food banks and food pantries for distribution to Missourians in need of food assistance. Hunters started Share the Harvest because they saw a need in their communities, said MDC director Sara Pauley. And hunters remain the driving force behind this popular program that helps feed our fellow Missourians who are in need. We sincerely thank the thousands of deer hunters who support Share the Harvest, along with the many participating meat processors and sponsors. Processing fees are covered entirely or in part by numerous local supporting organizations and statewide sponsors, which include: MDC, CFM, Shelter Insurance, Bass Pro Shops, Missouri Chapter Safari Club International, Missouri Chapter National Wild Turkey Federation, Midway USA Inc., Missouri Food Banks Association and United Bowhunters of Missouri. Share the Harvest is a partnership of citizens, agencies, organizations and corporations working together to provide healthy, protein-rich meat to those who may otherwise go without, said CFM executive director Brandon Butler. Hunters across Missouri should be proud of this outstanding program. For more information on Share the Harvest, visit short.mdc.mo.gov/Zoz. Military veterans in Congress were split Friday on President Donald Trump's choice of former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton to replace Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as White House national security adviser. Republicans said Bolton's appointment would send a message of U.S. resolve to adversaries. Democrats labeled him a warmonger who would unravel relationships with allies, although their opposition will have little impact. The appointment does not require Senate confirmation. "Another step backward for an administration already going full throttle in reverse," said Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Massachusetts, a former Marine officer who served under then-Maj. Gen. Jim Mattis in Iraq. "If you're worried about our national security today, you should be more concerned about it tomorrow," Moulton said in a Tweet. But Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, an Army officer and veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, praised both Bolton and McMaster. He called Bolton "an excellent choice to take the baton from General McMaster." Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, an Air Force lawyer, said Bolton's presence in the White House is "good news for America's allies and bad news for America's enemies," adding that Bolton has "a firm understanding of the threats we face from North Korea, Iran and radical Islam." Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, a West Point graduate and former Army Ranger, said that he doesn't. "McMaster was an experienced, widely respected professional who was willing to be an independent voice," he said, and "the same cannot be said for Mr. Bolton." "This is not a wise choice," said Reed, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He called Bolton a "divisive ideologue" who "does not have the temperament or judgment to be an effective national security adviser." Other Republicans, including United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, were notably silent on Bolton's appointment while praising McMaster for his service. Haley never mentioned Bolton in her Tweet: "Thank you to Lieutenant General HR McMaster for your service and loyalty to our country. Your selfless courage and leadership has inspired all of us. Most of all, thank you for your friendship." Bolton, whose has argued in the past for the consideration of pre-emptive strikes against the nuclear programs of Iran and North Korea, suggested Friday that his views in public service might be more moderate than those he held as a private citizen. Bolton told Fox News' "The Story" that his past comments are now "behind me" and what matters is "what the president says." "During my career, I have written I don't know how many articles and op-eds and opinion pieces. I have given I can't count the number of speeches; I have [done] countless interviews," he said. "They're all out there in the public record. I have never been shy about what my views are," he said. "Frankly, what I have said in private now is behind me. The important thing is what the president says and the advice I give him." Bolton's appointment raises the possibility of conflict with White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, the retired Marine general who has been the subject of numerous reports in recent months that he is on shaky ground with Trump. Kelly has strived to gain control over access to Trump to prevent leaks and bring a sense of order to the formation of policy. Last August, in a National Review article, Bolton complained that his once easy access to Trump had been cut off following the firing of chief strategist Steve Bannon. Bolton said Bannon had asked him to draw up a plan for U.S. withdrawal from the deal to rein in Iran's nuclear programs but "staff changes" at the White House prevented him from meeting with Trump. "Although he [Trump] was once kind enough to tell me 'come in and see me any time,' those days are now over," Bolton wrote. Bolton's welcome back into the fold was first noticed Thursday when the White House press pool spotted him entering the mansion before Trump sent out a Tweet announcing that McMaster was being replaced. "I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend," Trump said. Bolton, 69, a prolific and combative conservative author and frequent guest on Fox News, served in the Maryland Army National Guard during the Vietnam war but never deployed. He had supported the war but wrote in his Yale University 25th reunion book: "I confess I had no desire to die in a Southeast Asian rice paddy. I considered the war in Vietnam already lost." Bolton previously served as U.N. ambassador under a recess appointment by President George W. Bush. He also served under Bush as undersecretary of state for arms control. His appointment as Trump's top foreign policy adviser comes at a critical time as the president prepares for a tentative summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the end of May on the "denuclearization" of the peninsula. In February, Bolton wrote in The Wall Street Journal, "It is perfectly legitimate for the United States to respond to the current 'necessity' posed by North Korea's nuclear weapons by striking first" to eliminate the nuclear threat without somehow triggering all-out war. Last week before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Adm. Harry Harris, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, said a so-called "bloody nose" limited first strike was reckless and counter to long-held U.S. policy for the region. "We have no 'bloody nose' strategy. I don't know what that is," Harris said, adding, "I'm ready to execute whatever the president and the national command authority directs me to do, but a 'bloody nose' strategy is not contemplated." In a phone call Thursday with The New York Times, McMaster confirmed what had been rumored for weeks -- that Trump wanted him out. They had disagreed on policies for Iran, North Korea and Afghanistan and "really, the only issue that had been left open is timing" for his departure, he said. McMaster said he would have preferred to remain into the summer but his leaving now was dictated by "what was best for him [Trump] and the country." McMaster, a recipient of the Silver Star in the Gulf War, had also argued for a harder line against Russia, and his fate was apparently sealed last month when he said there was "incontrovertible" evidence that Russia had meddled in the 2016 presidential election. Trump responded with a Tweet: "General McMaster forgot to say that the results of the 2016 election were not impacted or changed by the Russians and that the only Collusion was between Russia and Crooked H, the DNC and the Dems." McMaster was the sixth close adviser or White House aide to Trump to announce a departure in the last six weeks, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was fired last week. With Bolton replacing McMaster, "I am concerned that we are now entering a dangerous new stage of Donald Trump's presidency -- one in which his paranoia and insecurity will be manipulated by advisers like John Bolton to America's detriment," said Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, a Marine veteran of Iraq and a member of the House Armed Services Committee. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. Team Dover's maintenance groups hosted an airplane nose art unveiling ceremony March 22 at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. The nose artwork, titled "Keep 'em Flying" by renowned artist Greg Hildebrandt, was placed on a Team Dover C-17 Globemaster III cargo plane, and will be a permanent fixture to the aircraft. The piece depicts a Rosie the Riveter-like lady maintainer rolling up her sleeves while holding a wrench, ready to keep 'em flying. The piece pays tribute to past, present and future dedicated female maintainers, whose tireless efforts and confident professionalism continue to ensure mission readiness across the Air Force. "This is about all lady maintainers," said Chief Master Sgt. Bryan "Skip" Ford, 512th Maintenance Squadron superintendent. "I want them to all know how much we appreciate what they do on a daily basis. The successful ones are phenomenal mechanics and great people." Ford, whose determination and organization brought all the pieces together to make this happen, is delighted to see Rosie finally on the side of a Dover jet. The effort has been years in the making. "There are two different programs: airplane naming and airplane nose art," said Ford. "Airplane naming is very difficult to do, because it has to go all the way up to Secretary of the Air Force level for approval." For the past serval years, Ford has attempted to get a Dover airplane named the "Spirit of Rosie the Riveter," but several attempts were stalled at differing levels of authorization. That is when Ford was introduced to the nose art program by a colleague at Air Mobility Command, and it requires a lower level of approval. At the same time, he was shown the "Keep 'em Flying" art piece, and fell in love with the depiction because of the way it represented lady maintainers. Ford contacted Hildebrandt's agent and one thing led to another, until Hildebrandt agreed to allow the piece to put on a Dover plane. According to Ford, when the agent spoke to the artist, he was ecstatic to have one of his pieces of art on the side of an airplane. "I really wanted to get this done for women's history month," said Ford. "The intent for the whole thing is to honor lady maintainers from 1942 through the present day." About two weeks ago, Ford finally received approval from AMC to put the piece on a jet, and his plans pushed forward. "I've been around Dover for a long time and lady maintainers are a special breed," Ford said. One of those lady maintainers, Col. Sherry Teague, 512th Maintenance Group commander, is Dover's top lady maintainer and Ford's boss. "For all the women in the room, past and present," said Teague, "who have put on the uniform and helped advance aviation, thank you for being an example of perseverance and pride that has inspired me and all the other lady maintainers here at Dover." Teague had nothing but praise for Ford and his efforts. "Getting Rosie put on the nose of 6168 has been a long project with many obstacles thrown his way," she said. "But, it was a labor of love born out of his respect for all the lady maintainers he has served with." The C-17 tail number 6168 was picked because its dedicated crew chief is a lady maintainer, Master Sgt. Christine King, 712th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. A DCC is responsible for all maintenance on the aircraft they are assigned to and reserved for those who display the initiative, management and leadership ability necessary to maintain an aircraft in combat ready status. King has been the DCC for 6168 for the past five years. The day prior to the unveiling ceremony, she was found on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor on the inside of her jet, making sure it was in perfect condition. "I work on this plane more than anyone," said King, "and I love working on this plane more than anyone." According to Ford, King is a great comparison to a modern-day Rosie. "Women are completely competent in their jobs," King said. "I think this is really neat to have Rosie on the nose, I didn't really expect it to ever happen." The unveiling ceremony was also attended by several distinguished visitors, including: Maj. Gen. Carol Timmons, Delaware adjutant general, Mayor of Dover Robin Christiansen and representatives from the offices of Delaware's two U.S. Senators. The White House told Congress Thursday that it plans to approve a $1 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia, a package that includes about 6,700 U.S.-built anti-tank missiles. The sale also includes support, maintenance and spare parts for American tanks, helicopters and other equipment already in Saudi Arabia's arsenal. Lawmakers have 30 days to act if they want to try and stop the deal. The announcement came two days after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with President Trump as the royal started a three-week tour of the U.S. Earlier Thursday, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told the prince that Saudi Arabia was "part of the solution" in Yemen, where the Saudis are leading a U.S.-backed military campaign against Houthi rebels that has been heavily criticized for inflicting civilian casualties. Earlier this week the Senate debated and then shelved a resolution calling for an end to U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. Mattis had opposed the measure, saying it would be counterproductive by increasing civilian casualties, jeopardizing counterterrorism cooperation and emboldening Iran to increase its support for Houthi rebels. Mattis said the Saudis had "stood by the United Nations-recognized government, and we are going to end this war. That is the bottom line. And we are going to end it on positive terms for the people of Yemen but also security for the nations in the peninsula." --The Associated Press contributed to this report. There is no war without tankers. It's an often-repeated phrase from U.S. Air Force officials such as Air Mobility Command commander Gen. Carlton Everhart II who say air refueling aircraft and mobility airmen are key to supporting troops in any war or peacetime mission. But the service finds itself struggling to outline what's next for its tanker fleet as the KC-46 Pegasus -- the newest refueling tanker from Boeing Co. -- hangs in the balance. Meanwhile, questions surround the services aging KC-10 Extender and whether it will have to remain in service longer due to delays. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson this week chastised Boeing's latest Pegasus setback during a House Armed Services Committee hearing, saying the service knows deadlines won't be met even as the nations largest aerospace and defense company still hopes to meet them. "One of our frustrations with Boeing is that they are much more focused on their commercial activity than they are in getting this right for the Air Force and getting these airplanes to the Air Force," Wilson told lawmakers Tuesday. Related content: "Boeing is saying that they are going to deliver in the second quarter of 2018. The Air Force thinks it is more likely to be late 2018. And Boeing has been overly optimistic in all of their schedule reports," she said. Wilson acknowledged recent reports that the KC-46 is experiencing other problems with ongoing testing. There "are two critical deficiencies, one being the Remote Vision System and the second being a drogue disconnect," Wilson said. The RVS, which gives the in-flight refueling operator the ability to view the refueling system below the tanker, is experiencing software glitches. And the drogue hose used in refueling keeps unexpectedly and prematurely disconnecting from receiving aircraft. The KC-46 is meant to replace older tanker fleets. But without a solid timeline for when the KC-46 issues will be fixed or when the first aircraft may be delivered, it won't even begin to hit Air Force flight lines in significant numbers until at least 2019. The delays shouldn't be a big deal, according to a defense expert. But service officials wonder whether the timeline outcome of KC-46 will play into when older tanker fleets begin to retire. "Since tanker force planning assumes 50-plus-year life spans, delays of one to two years aren't a big deal," said Richard Aboulafia, vice president and analyst at the Teal Group. William Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, on March 14 said he believes the opposite: The later the KC-46 fleet comes online, the longer legacy tanker fleets must keep flying. "You're right to point out that the delivery of the tankers alone impacts a lot of other things. It impacts training," he said in response to questions from Rep. Donald W. Norcross, D-N.J., during a House Armed Services subcommittee on seapower and projection forces. "It also impacts how long we have to keep the KC-10 and the KC-135s flying," Roper said. The Pegasus is expected to replace some current tanker fleets at bases such as Travis Air Force Base, California, and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. Norcross has worked a bipartisan effort for years to get the KC-46 to the New Jersey base. During the hearing, Air Force Lt. Gen. Jerry Harris, deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and programs, said, "Had the KC-46A been delivering on time, we would have retired KC-10s just in time to receive the KC-46s at that base from the selection that's been made." But according to officials at Air Mobility Command, which is responsible for the refueling fleet, the two circumstances dont impact each other. "Based on the updated and projected KC-46 delivery schedule, it is not anticipated that the KC-10 retirement will be delayed as the bulk of the retirements will occur in the 2020s," said Col. Chris Karns, AMC spokesman. Karns said the total current inventory of KC-10 Extenders and KC-135 Stratotankers sits at 455 aircraft. The Air Force's goal is to get to 479 with a mix of KC-46s and KC-135s. All three tankers are manufactured or have been upgraded by Boeing. "The KC-10 retirement will occur on a phased process," Karns said in a recent email to Military.com. "This will happen once there are 479 aircraft. It is expected that once the KC-46 is delivered, the numbers of subsequent aircraft delivered will occur rapidly. That is why the KC-10 retirement dates are not expected to be impacted." He continued, "The tanker fleet will be a mix of KC-46 and KC-135 aircraft. Initially, there will be a residual KC-10 capability. The important point to note is that the KC-10s will be retired gradually to ensure that the transition and support to the joint warfighter is near seamless and meets combatant commander needs." The Air Force determined through a Mobility Capability Assessment study that 479 tankers should be sufficient for operations across the world; however, Karns said there is an additional ongoing study to determine if more than 479 are needed. "KC-10s will be retired from Travis Air Force Base and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst," he said. While timelines may shift, Karns noted the decision is based on budgets, and flying hour and maintenance costs associated with each aircraft. It costs roughly the same to fly the KC-10 and the KC-135: $19,612 per flight hour for the KC-10, and $21,161 per hour for the KC-135, according to the Air Force's 2016 operational cost data sheet. KC-10s are much younger. The modified versions of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 air tankers deployed for the first time in 1981. The KC-135s date back to the 1950s. The KC-135, however, reigns supreme by sheer numbers: There are 396 Stratotanker R/T variants across the total force, while the KC-10A fleet numbers 59 in the active component only, according to AMC spokesman Maj. Korry Leverett. Two KC-135s reside with Air Force Materiel Command for testing only, Leverett said. "Retiring the KC-10 first makes little sense," Aboulafia said. The defense aerospace expert argued volume should not be the sole reason to overlook the KC-135's growing age. "On the other hand, operational and sustainment costs are relatively higher for smaller fleets," he said, which may speak to the Air Force's thinking on its retirement. "The critical mass of the very large KC-135 fleet makes the much smaller KC-10 fleet relatively less efficient, and therefore puts it in line to be retired first," he said. Just how quickly the Air Force will get its intended mix of 300 KC-135s and 179 KC-46s remains to be seen and, as evident in recent hearings, Congress will be sure to press the Air Force for more information. "The original date that we expected the delivery to start when this began. What year?" Norcross asked Roper during the March 14 hearing. "Give me a year," the congressman said. "We're years behind," Roper replied. "Give me a decade?" Norcross said. "I mean, it's one of the many programs where we've been delayed, sir. So, yes, it is years of time. And I'll get you the precise number for the record, sir," Roper said. -- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214. Families that are made of generations of proud military service members are one of the reasons why this country is so great. Many troops join the service because their father, cousin, or even grandpa had served before them which is badass. Now that the youngest generation is old enough, they want to carry on the family tradition of service. It feels honorable as it should but coming from a large military family can have plenty of downsides, too. Navy Lt. Cdr. Anthony Scott stands with his twin brother Master Sgt. Antone Scott, 96th Logistics Readiness Squadron, after administering the oath of enlistment to him June 27 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (U.S. Air Force/Samuel King Jr.) 1. Branch rivalry When you join the military, it becomes immediately clear how much competition goes on between branches. The Army and the Marines are constantly talking trash about who has won the most battles. The Navy and the Air Force will constantly debate over who has the better fighter pilots. The list goes on. Now, imagine what Thanksgiving dinner will be like after two new, motivated service members from different branches have a few drinks -- honestly, it sounds like the perfect setting for reality TV. 2. The grunt-POG divide Grunts and POGs typically don't get along. However, when two siblings are from the different occupations, they'll put a ceasefire on any shit talking... for a while. The subject will arise in conversation eventually. 3. Bragging rights The military is full of braggers. Although we might not openly say what we've done throughout our career, our "chest candy," or ribbon rack, tells the story. Many siblings, however, will admit to their brothers or sisters what they've done to earn those ribbons. Others might keep their stores to themselves, but if you're family, you're going to tell those tales. 4. Higher standards It's no secret that the military holds its troops to a higher standard in all things. Sure, some branches have more competitive rules than the others (Marines were looking at you), but when you run into your Army-infantry cousin, we guarantee that you two will conduct a quick inspection of one another before moving on with any conversation. Cpls. Chandra House, left, and Chayna Blackwood, right, identical twins from Houston, Texas, pose for a photo, May 22, 2012. (U.S. Marine Corps/ Richard Blumenstein) 5. No sympathy Time and time again, we hear stories from veterans about how hard life was during war. In modern day, troops' living conditions are like a five-star hotel when compared to our grandparents' experiences in the Vietnam or Korean Wars. So, when you tell grandpa about how you don't have WiFi in certain spots of the barracks, don't expect him to give a sh*t. MORE POSTS FROM WE ARE THE MIGHTY: 6 funny things most infantrymen lie about 5 questions you can use to challenge stolen valor dirtbags 11 memes that perfectly capture life as a commo guy We Are The Mighty (WATM) celebrates service with stories that inspire. WATM is made in Hollywood by veterans. It's military life presented like never before. Check it out at We Are the Mighty. Russia and Communist China have worked together a lot since the fall of the Soviet Union. Back in the 1990s, Russians sold the Chinese a lot of military technology, including the Su-27/30/33 Flanker family of multi-role fighters and Sovremennyy-class guided missile destroyers. This wasnt the first instance of Eurasian collaboration the Soviet Union and Communist China were close in the 1950s, when Russia shared a number of jet, tank, missile, and ship designs. The two countries had a falling out in the 1960s, which culminated in the 1969 Sino-Soviet border conflict. As a result, Communist China turned to the West for some military technology, including designs for the 105mm main gun used on the M60 Patton and on early versions of the M1 Abrams. However, the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre quickly severed any Western connections, leading, eventually, to this latest round of acquisitions from Russia. The T-14 Armata, Russias latest tank. (Wikimedia Commons photo by Vitaly V. Kuzmin) But what if Russia and China had another falling out? Nearly 50 years ago, the two nations came close to all-out war it could happen again. Today, while Russias military power has faded due, primarily, to the fall of the Soviet Union and ongoing economic struggles, Communist Chinas armed forces have risen to a qualitative near-parity. If the two were to face off, much of the ground fighting would involve tanks like Chinas Type 99 and the Russian T-14 Armata. The Type 99 is a version of the Russian T-72. It carries a 125mm main gun that not only fires conventional tank rounds, but also the AT-11 Sniper anti-tank missile. It has a crew of three, a top speed of 50 miles per hour, and can go 280 miles on a single tank of gas. The tank also has a 12.7mm heavy machine gun and a 7.62mm machine gun. This is probably Chinas biggest advantage: A Russian T-14 Armata will face several Type 99s. (VOA photo) The T-14 Armata packs a 125mm gun as well, but unlike in Chinese designs, it is in an unmanned turret. The Armata also has a crew of three, a 12.7mm machine gun, and a 7.62mm machine gun. It can reach speeds of up to 50 miles per hour and has an active protection system to defend against missiles and rockets. Which countrys tanks would win this fight? It depends. Recently, Russia has been unable to field a force of its latest designs due to budget constraints. Communist China, on the other hand, has been thriving. In a one-on-one fight, the Russian Armata would have a technological edge, but tank warfare is rarely a one-on-one affair. The Chinese Communists would simply overwhelm an Armata with sheer numbers. MORE POSTS FROM WE ARE THE MIGHTY: 6 funny things most infantrymen lie about 5 ways troops always screw up a simple formation 6 dumb things veterans lie about on the internet We Are The Mighty (WATM) celebrates service with stories that inspire. WATM is made in Hollywood by veterans. It's military life presented like never before. Check it out at We Are the Mighty. Soldiers know better than anyone the price that civilians pay in times of conflict. West Point grad and Airborne Ranger combat veteran Matthew Griffin has seen first-hand the devastating consequences war has on veterans as well as civilians in the conflict zone -- and his solution to some of those problems has turned into a successful business. Airborne Ranger Matt Griffin during a tour of duty in Afghanistan. Weapons of Mass Construction Griffin served in the 75th Ranger Regiment as a Rifle Company Fire Support Officer, completing three tours in Afghanistan and one tour to Iraq. During his time in these war-torn countries, he noted how people lacked access to basic resources such as medicine, education, clean water, and electricity. Connecting the dots, he also saw that the scarcity of resources made it easier for radical groups to recruit and control local villages. But Griffin saw something more than a war-torn people. He saw ingenuity, creative problem-solving, and a seemingly limitless capacity for hope of a better life. He knew he wanted to be part of the solution--not only only to rebuild, but give these people the means to sustain their own prosperity. Doing Good by Doing Right The concept is very simple, Griffin said in a TED X Tacoma talk. We were going to take a handful of special operations veterans and deploy back to countries affected by conflict. We were going to take military capacity that was established to manufacture tools for war, and we were going to manufacture commercial products for peace. While the concept was simple, creating a company that operates in a conflict zone is a logistical nightmare. But for special ops veterans, its what they do best. After all, Rangers Lead the Way. In 2012, he and fellow service member Donald Lee founded Combat Flip Flops in Kabul, with the aim of channeling local peoples innate entrepreneurial spirit in an action they came to refer to as stoke. Flip-flopping the Narrative Griffin says that his company's mission, Business, Not Bullets is flipping the view on how wars are won. These people dont want handouts. They want jobs where they can work hard and be proud of their contribution. Only 15 percent of Afghani women can read. Combat Flip Flops is changing that. Combat Flip Flops started small, with just a handful of Afghani makers creating the companys signature flip-flop, the AK-47. One pair of these shoes provides the resources for an Afghani girl to attend school for up to seven days. The flagship product sold so fast that the company could not keep up with the demand. The model quickly scaled to the point where it was offering a broad array of high-quality products like shoes, clothing, and accessories. The facilities are owned and operated by locals in Afghanistan, Columbia, Laos, and by Syrian refugees, and materials are also sourced locally whenever possible. Combat Flip Flops has also partnered with local groups that have literally cleaned and lifted up whole communities, such as mine clearance organizations. Local artists in Laos use the reclaimed metals from the cleared mines to form into jewelry and utensils. Shark Tank Success One of the growing pains faced by many talented entrepreneurs is the constant need for funding to expand operations. Luckily, Combat Flip Flops was featured on Shark Tank. Billionaire investors Mark Cuban and Daymond John took a chance on the organization and funded the project in 2016. With this capital boost, word of mouth has spread, with demand for Combat Flip Flops products rising 600 percent since the companys appearance on the show. Airborne Ranger veterans Donald Lee, left, and Matthew Griffin on ABC's hit series "Shark Tank." Griffin wasnt kidding when he talked about military capability either: all Combat Flip Flops products are built to last. One blogger wore the AK-47s every day for a whole year and was so impressed with the durability, he bought every person in his family a pair. Everyone wants to make a difference in the world, but they aren't always too sure where to start. Combat Flip Flops is proof that you can make a big change through the choices that you make every day, and a shining example of how veteran-owned businesses can make a difference in the world. Griffin also has some sound advice for military in transition to the civilian workforce as well as the veteran community. "Griff's" top transition tips: Read/Listen to Dale Carnegie "How to Win Friends and Influence People." This was a transformational read for me. In a civilian workforce, your team and employees don't have to show up if they don't want to. And when they don't show, nobody throws them in jail or puts them on extra duty. This is the civilian world and you need to be effective with civilian speak. Get a counselor. Whether you believe it or not, you're not a perfect person because you did well in the military. Transition is tough and hiring a professional to arm you with the tools to combat stress is key to success. Think of it as a personal trainer for your brain. Your family will thank you. Slow down. Personally, I tend to go faster when I get stressed. This leads to bad results. Live by the SOF mantra, "Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast." Give back. Coach a little league team, join a service group, or plant some trees--whatever. Servant leadership never ends. Find your flow. Find time every week to engage in "flow" activity. Sports, art, music. It'll be good for you. I promise. About Combat Flip Flops:To create peaceful, forward-thinking opportunities for self-determined entrepreneurs affected by conflict. Our willingness to take bold risks, community connection, and distinct designs communicate, "Business, Not Bullets"--flipping the view on how wars are won. Through persistence, respect, and creativity, we empower the mindful consumer to manufacture peace through trade. Every product we sell funds a day of school for an Afghan girl or clears landmines. Visit https://www.combatflipflops.com and be the Change. Elizabeth Anne Hamilton is an Army Brat, Ret, and very proud of it. She is a published author and book marketing specialist, with successful NY Times Bestseller campaigns and Amazon Bestseller campaigns under her belt. Continue the conversation with her on Twitter @pookiegalore. -- Sean Mclain Brown can be reached at sean.brown@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at @seanmclainbrown. Gaddafi Junior, Saif al Islam, told the media that he still is in possession of undeniable evidence to indict French President Nicolas Sarkozy who is being probed by the French judiciary for getting illegal funds from Libyas former ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2003. I stress that I still have solid evidences against Sarkozy. And I have not been heard yet in this case, neither is Abdallah Senoussi, the Libyan former spy chief who still possesses the recording of the first meeting of Sarkozy and Gaddafi in Tripoli before his electoral campaign, Saif al Islam is quoted as saying in an interview with the news website Africanews. The former French President was summoned early this week by local police in a suburb of Paris to answer questions over the alleged acquisition of funds from the former Libyan regime in the framework of his 2007 presidential bid. Sarkozy is suspected of receiving around 50 million from Gaddafi in 2003 for his 2007 electoral campaign. The former French leader has lambasted the charges and has rejected the authenticity of documents of the alleged illegal funding published by the investigative French media Mediapart. Saif al-Islam was a prominent figure in the regime of his father who reportedly groomed him to take over. The regime crumbled in 2011 in a NATO-backed revolution supported by Sarkozy and other western allies. Saif al-Islam whose whereabouts have been unknown since his release from prison in June last year following an amnesty granted by Libyas east-based parliament; House of Representatives (HoR), which is opposed to his extradition to the International Criminal Court (ICC), also named Bachir Salah as a key witness in the case. Salah was boss of the Libya Investment fund. Gaddafis son also charged Sarkozy for the ongoing illegal migration using Libya as pad launch and the spread of terrorism in Libya. Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted an invitation from his Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Bashir to visit Sudan, state-run Sudan News Agency (SUNA) reported. Putin called Bashir on Thursday to discuss bilateral relations, SUNA said. It did not indicate a date for the visit but reported that President Putin would continue to support the energy, oil, gas, and gold mining sectors in the African country. Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and war crimes, last year, asked Russian leader Putin to protect his country from the United States. Last month Sudan signed a roadmap with Russia to build nuclear power stations during a visit to Moscow by Khartoums electricity minister. In an exclusive interview with the Russian news agency Sputnik last year, 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. He had revealed that Sudan had been discussing the establishment of Russian military bases on the Red Sea coast. Sudans deadly conflict in Darfur broke out in 2003 when ethnic minority groups took up arms against Bashirs Arab-dominated government, which launched a brutal counter-insurgency. The UN says at least 300,000 people have been killed and more than 2.5 million displaced because of the conflict. Zambias main opposition party, United Party for National Development (UPND), on Thursday filed a motion seeking the impeachment of President Edgar Lungu, the presidency said on Friday. The motion, which would be debated on March 28, was signed by a third of the 167-member Parliament of the southern African nation. Zambias constitution requires the support of two thirds of the National Assembly for such a proposal to succeed. The ruling Patriotic Front has 89 members, or 54 percent of the total. UPND accuses President Lungu for abrogating the constitution by not handing over power to the speaker of the national assembly when the opposition challenged his victory in court in 2016. Zambias opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema narrowly lost the election to President Edgar Lungu in 2016. Hichilema alleges the vote was fixed, and does not recognize Lungu as president. He has accused the president of becoming an increasingly authoritarian ruler. Last year, the 55-year old spent about four months in prison on treason charges for not pulling over his motorcade on a rural road for the presidents convoy. The charges were ultimately dropped later, and Lungu lifted emergency measures that he had earlier imposed. Cameroons President Paul Biya on Thursday arrived in China for a three-day state visit. Biya is expected to hold a closed-door session with his Chinese peer Xi Jinping. According to Cameroons State broadcaster, CRTV, the West African nation will drum up business deals with Beijing. Cameroon and China share longstanding and excellent bilateral and diplomatic relations that have been marked by a number of state visits exchanges. China is Cameroons biggest investor, accounting for two-thirds of all direct foreign investment. China-Cameroon relations have been described as win-win by many given the tons of Chinese investments in the country. Beijing, which is involved in many major projects in transport infrastructure and energy has invested more than F CFA 1 000 billion in the oil-rich nation. China is ready to work with Cameroon in the areas of peace, security and international affairs to protect the interests of African countries and other developing countries, Chinese President Xi said ahead of the visit. Biya is the first African president to visit China this year after the annual sessions of Chinas National Peoples Congress (NPC). Mastercard Foundation on Thursday said it will invest $100 million in Rwanda to train young people with skills in order to reduce unemployment in the East-African nation. The project is part of a 10-year plan of the Canada-based charity to help African countries create 30 million jobs for young people by 2030. The Charity will release $50 million over the next five years in Rwanda to provide 30,000 young people with skills in technology and digital literacy in the hospitality and tourism sector. Rwandas unemployment stands at 16.7 per cent as of February 2017, according to statistics from the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR). Agriculture continues to be the biggest employer at 45.9 per cent of the population with the service sector at 39.8 per cent. The government is looking at creating 1.5 million new jobs by 2024, which roughly translates to 214,000 jobs annually for the next seven years. According to Mastercard Foundation, some 125,000 young people join the labor market every year in Rwanda, where more than 65 percent of 14- to 35-year-olds are underemployed. Job creation was one of the key issues in President Paul Kagames manifesto in 2010. The government had promised to create 200,000 jobs per year by 2018 which was not achieved. Monsoon_Rain_weather_monsoon_rain Weather and climate disasters cost countries about USD 320 billion last year with major monsoon floods in the Indian subcontinent and severe droughts in parts of East Africa contributing to making 2017 the most expensive year on record. The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) in its State of Climate 2017 report said that the North Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest ever for the US and eradicated decades of development gains in small islands in the Caribbean, such as Dominica. According to the report, Major monsoon floods in the Indian subcontinent and severe droughts across East Africa also contributed to 2017 being the most expensive year on record for severe weather and climate events. It said weather and climate-related events cost countries some USD 320 billion, making 2017 the costliest year on record. "Excess precipitation in late March and early April 2017 triggered floods in north-eastern agricultural areas of Bangladesh. The monsoon season in South Asia brought the worst flooding in the region for years. Between June and August 2017, flooding in Nepal, Bangladesh and northern India affected millions of people and caused death and displacement across the three countries, the report said. The report noted that the two most significant cyclones of the year in the North Indian Ocean were Cyclone Mora in late May, and Cyclone Ockhi in early December, both of which caused substantial casualties. The major impact of both cyclones was severe flooding and landslides associated with their respective precursor lows. Sri Lanka was badly affected by both cyclones, whilst Ockhi also had major impacts in southern India, including a great number of fishermen going missing at sea. "Many parts of the Indian subcontinent were affected by flooding during the monsoon season between June and September, despite overall seasonal rainfall being near average over the region, the report added. The most serious flooding occurred in mid-August, after extremely heavy rainfall over a region centred on eastern Nepal, northern Bangladesh and adjacent areas of northern and north-eastern India. Across the period as a whole, more than 1,200 deaths were reported in India, Bangladesh and Nepal, while more than 40 million people were affected. The World Health Organisation (WHO) noted that in Bangladesh alone more than 13,000 cases of waterborne diseases and respiratory infections were reported over three weeks in August, while extensive damage was reported to public health facilities in Nepal, the report added. A day after Mark Zuckerberg's apology, Sheryl Sandberg, the second in command at Facebook, has also done the same. The company's stock has seen its market cap wiped out by over USD 50 billion ever since it was revealed that user data was harvested by a company called Cambridge Analytica. This was allegedly used to influence the US elections won by Donald Trump. In an exclusive interview with CNBC's Julia Boorstein, Sheryl Sandberg said that they are open to regulations. However, she also added that it depends on what type of regulations lawmakers in various countries have in mind. Cambridge Analytica never should have had this data. They told us they deleted it, but it is our mistake that we did not verify that, she said. On regulation, Mark has said it is not a question of 'if regulation', it is a question of 'what type', Sandberg added. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today laid the foundation stone for Hero MotoCorp's two wheeler factory, the first in South India, at Madana Palem near Sri Citys Special Economic Zone in Satyavedu, about 100 km from here. Speaking on the occasion, Naidu said that the company would invest about Rs 1,600 crore in the first phase for making improved and latest versions of bikes. The two wheeler giant would also invest another Rs 1,600 crore for development of ancillary units here, Naidu said. The plant, to come up on 636 acres of land, would be the company's first facility in South India, he said. The Chief Minister requested managers of the facility to complete construction of the facility and start production by March 2019. Naidu said his government was very much committed to extend official support for the company and added they hould also think of manufacturing electric bikes from the unit. His government had so far inked many MOUs with auto giants in India to set up facilities in the bifurcated Andhra Pradesha and Rs 35,000 crore was going to be invested in the auto sector alone in the state, he added. Hero MotoCorp CMD and CEO Pawan Munjal said the new unit was expected to offer employment for 12,000 people here. By 2020 the total annual production of Hero MotoCorp would cross the 10 million mark, Munjal said. Andhra Pradesh Industries Minister N Amaranatha Reddy and others were also present on the occasion. File Photo: A security guard stands outside a closed Yes Bank branch in New Delhi live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Rising bank frauds, emerging technology and the need of digital banking has prompted Yes Bank to train and reskill its employees and start programmes for students making them future ready for the changing landscape of banking. The mid-sized private lender is investing in upgrading skills of its employees across the bank in the fields of operations, risk management and marketing. Deodatta Kurane, Group President, Human capital management at Yes Bank told Moneycontrol, They should know what the current technology, which were exotic and esoteric, these are now the norm in any bank. Hence, our employees also need to know the latest trends and pick the real picture of the real picture. They have to have more than a passing acquaintance of the subject. We are investing resources in upskilling our own employees across the bank be it. We have a tie-up with Coursera and also have in-house programmes. As on December-end, Yes Banks total number of employees stood at 19,276. The bank has also engaged in a Rs 2 lakh scholarship programme annually that offers mentorship to 30 young management and engineering students from 22 national institutes. The programme also facilitates the students to work on projects undertaken the bank to get hands-on experience of the latest digital and technology of the bank. The Yes Future Ready scholarship programme got 3,000 applicants this year, of which 1,000 were shortlisted who underwent a psychometric test further filtering 75 students for the interviews, from which 30 were selected for the programme. Apart from the Rs 2 lakh cash prize, the scholarship entails access to some of the contemporary programmes on the online education portal Coursera, which will be sponsored by Yes Bank (up to Rs 4,000 per month) depending on the students interests. Ipsita Satpathy, a physicist doing her post-graduation from Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, and one of the scholars selected for the programme said, This is more than the theoretical experience that we get and gives us an understanding on how the landscape of banking and finance is changing. Some of us do not have a prior exposure with banks but there is a paradigm shift in the rolesAlso now the technology such as blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI) and robo advisory services in the finance space. Another scholar Pranav Kolachana, a chemical engineer now studying at IIM Calcutta, said, This programme allows us to engage and interact with the senior management of the bank, which would not happen in my summer internships or at other work experiences at this age. And obviously the monetary aspect also helps. According to Kurane, by giving this as an incentive, the bank is getting the scholars to upskill them to the most relevant technology. We have taken 120 students so far (including 2018) in four batches and nine have joined the bank. This year we plan to get them to work on live projects that the bank is doing on digital banking or in the payments space. Further, they will also get mentorship by professionals from senior management of Yes Bank, which is being done for the past three years. He said Yes Banks senior management also considers the interests of the students and gets them engaged beyond the summer training for almost a year till their placements go on. We guide them on their career choices, Kurane said. After the mentorship that ends in a years time, the students are also offered to sit for pre-placement interviews with Yes Bank. The students are largely called from five engineering and 17 management institutes including IIMs, IITs, FMS-Delhi, XLRI and Symbiosis, among others. The new joinees at the bank are not exactly at the execution front-level space but eventually trained to get into leadership and managerial levels. So it is important to have an understanding of the upcoming technologies, especially now in the blockchain and AI space, Kurane added. Belarusian-South African Business Seminar 23-03-2018 On March 23, 2018 on the sidelines of the 4th session of the Belarusian-South African Committee for Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Ministry of Trade and Industry of South Africa hosted business seminar with the participation of the business circles of the two countries. The event, which was attended by about 30 South African companies and a number of leading business associations of South Africa, was opened by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Andrei Dapkiunas, and the Deputy Director General of the Department of Trade and Industry of South Africa, Yunus Hoosen. During the seminar, the representatives of the South African business community were acquainted with the production and export potential of Belarus. Heads of foreign economic units of the ministries of industry and agriculture presented reviews of the industrial and agricultural sectors of Belarus. Several presentations of Minsk Tractor Works, Minsk Automobile Plant and the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus were held. As a result of the event a number of significant agreements were reached, including the supply of drilling tools to South Africa by Agrostroy LLC, products of Belryba OJSC, as well as of MAZ municipal and truck equipment valued $3 millions, supported by the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus and the South African Industrial Development Corporation. print version Ethereum | Loss: $60 billion | ETH or ethereum started the year with a market cap over $74 billion. It touched a high of $135 billion in January. However, market-wide slump caused its value to reduce to slightly over $14 billion at the end of December. A Dutch fintech company discovered a critical bug in the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase's system which could have proven to be very costly if exploited by an entity with malicious intent. The bug has been resolved by the Coinbase team after being reported. The vulnerability was publically disclosed on Wednesday by the Dutch firm VI Company on its HackerOne account. It was initially reported at the end of December, last year. The disclosure revealed that the bug in the smart contract (terms which regulate the transfer of cryptocurrencies based on Ethereum blockchain) allowed users to manipulate the account balance of his or her Coinbase account. VI Company describing the vulnerability said, by design if one of the internal transactions in the smart contract fails all transactions before that should be reversed. But on Coinbase these transactions did not reverse, meaning someone could add as much ether to their balance as they want. However, this balance would show only in the Coinbase wallet. If a wallet not linked to Coinbase is used, the bug would not surface. The VI Company team also published the steps which could have got a user all the ether they could ever spend: Setup a smart contract with a few valid Coinbase wallets and [one] final faulty wallet Transfer appropriate funds to smart contract Execute smart contract adding the set amount of ether to the Coinbase wallets without ever actually leaving the smart contract wallet because the complete transaction fails at the last wallet Repeat until you have more than enough ether in your Coinbase wallet Cash out. The issue was fixed by changing the contract handling logic. Analysis of the issue indicated only accidental loss for Coinbase, and no exploitation attempts, Coinbase said. The Security team thanks VI Company for the quick disclosure, and also the internal team for pushing a fix within hours. We do appreciate VI Company's patience as the full communication loop back to HackerOne took significantly longer than the fix deployment cycle. The cryptocurrency exchange rewarded the team who discovered the bug with USD 10,000. Yes, a USD 10,000 reward is quite a bit of money, but comparing this to the potential amount of damage this bug could have done makes the reward seem tiny, Jesse Lakerveld who was part of the team who discovered the bug, wrote in a blog post According to the EOW, the accused colluded with the former promoters of Religare Enterprises, Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh. (Image: Reuters) live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More The Delhi High Court on Friday ordered attachment of all declared assets of Singh brothers in a case related to the enforcement of a foreign arbitration award of Rs 3,500 crore by Japanese drug maker Daiichi Sankyo, according to a CNBC-TV18 report. The court once again directed the Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh referred as Singh brothers to submit list of unencumbered personal assets and directed appointment of chartered accountant for valuation of assets. The court will resume hearing in the case on May 14. The court last month in its interim order attached all assets of RHC Holdings and Oscar Investments - the holding companies of Singh brothers that own their assets. The court also restrained these companies from operating bank accounts, however, it has allowed RHC and Oscar Invests to operate bank accounts for salary and statutory dues. The court then said each day's delay costs Singh brothers Rs 50 lakh in interest payments. In April 2016, an arbitration tribunal in Singapore had ruled in favour of Daiichi, directing the Singh brothers to pay around Rs 2,563 crore in damages, plus interest of 4.44 percent per year from November 7, 2008 till the date of the award. The tribunal found the brothers guilty of making false claims in a self-assessment report and of fraudulently misrepresenting and concealing the genesis, nature and severity of the US regulatory investigations of Ranbaxy when Daiichi bought their 34.82 percent stake for USD 2.4 billion in 2008. Mothers hold their newly-born babies as they rest inside a maternity hospital during "World Population Day" in Kolkata July 11, 2012. The world's population edged to 7 billion people in 2011, up from 2.5 billion since 1950. This year's World Population Day focuses on the theme of "Universal Access to Reproductive Health Services", according to the United Nations. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri (INDIA - Tags: HEALTH ANNIVERSARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - GM1E87B1KMJ01 Two major Mumbai-based superspecialty hospitals are in talks with insurance companies to allow cashless facilities to all patients who have a health policy. Although claim settlement ratios have been high among standalone health insurers and general insurers, several hospitals across the country only accept reimburse claims due to fear of non-payment of dues. Not just in Mumbai, more than 60 hospitals across the country have been identified by insurance companies for cashless claims. Talks are on to assuage fears of the medical facilities, sources said and added that the hospitals could take action on this in the next 3-6 months. Several hospitals in Tamil Nadu, which is considered the healthcare services capital in the country, are believed to have refused to admit patients on cashless health insurance basis. Hence, insurance companies have been in talks with medical institutions over the past 3-4 months to resolve all issues on acceptance of cashless claims. Under a cashless medical policy, just before getting admitted, a patients family needs to disclose details of the policy and the hospital can directly collect all the charges from the insurance company. In the case of a reimbursement policy, the policyholder needs to pay the hospital directly and later gets the claim settled from the insurance company. However, in the case of medical emergency, having a cashless product is much easier on the kin of the policyholder. Financial constraints often lead families to looking for loans to meet hospitalisation expenses. Chief Operating Officer of Mumbai-based Nanavati Super Specialty Hospital, Rajendra Patankar, said that while things are improving now, they face issues like delay in settlement of bills from certain insurance companies. Nanavati Hospital deals with 40-50 third party administrators (TPAs) that represent 10-15 insurance companies. This led to constant follow-ups and wastage of time, adding to that the prices offered on procedural package were too low and nonviable for us to provide services, he said. On one hand, while policyholders have been wary of reimbursement claims fearing insurers would only pay a part of their claims, hospitals have a similar fear in case of cashless claims. Patankar said that the delays used to be on average 90 days, now they have come down to 30-45 days. Ideally, he said that the settlement should happen within 15 days. Some hospitals on the other hand accept cashless policies, but insist the insured person's kin deposit at least Rs 1 lakh to 2 lakh until the claim is received from the insurer. We had some rounds of discussions with the hospitals and are hoping that they start accepting cashless policies of patients, said G Srinivasan, CMD, New India Assurance. An issue of concern for hospitals, as raised by Patankar, is that insurers settle bills on a lump-sum basis and do not ask hospitals for a break-up of how much they paid for each individual bill. "The biggest problem is that there is no authority regulating the hospital which is why some practices haven't been able to change. We are in active talks to get them to accept cashless," explained the head of underwriting at a large private sector general insurance company. During the discussions, the point of hospitals charging differential rates for those with insurance has also been raised. business Macro@Moneycontrol | Where do global economy, India figure in the US-China trade war? In a new salvo, US President Trump set in motion tariffs targeting up to USD 60 bn worth Chinese goods. In retaliation, China unveiled a plan to impose tariffs on US imports worth up to USD 3 bn National Fertilizers | The sale of sulphur based fertilizers of company - Bentonite Sulphur has registered a growth of 237 percent and SSP has registered growth of 133 percent over the CPLY in April-October 2020 YoY. (Image: Reuters) The government will soon come out with a policy to ensure that farmers get the support price 1.5 times higher than the production cost, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said today. Government think tank Niti Aayog has come out with a draft policy after discussion with states and it will be finalised soon after further deliberations, he added. The minister promised that the notified crops whose minimum support price (MSP) is not 50 per cent higher than the cost of production will see an upward revision before the 2018-19 kharif season starting June. He noted that MSPs of some crops are already 50 per cent higher than the cost of production. In Budget 2018-19, the government had announced fixing MSP 1.5 times higher than the cost of production. The centre fixes MSP of 22 agri-commodities. Singh assured farmers that the government will intervene when prices fall below MSP and protect their interest even if it hurts the government exchequer. "It is true, it will put burden on exchequer. The prime minister is not worried about the exchequer. ...The country's farmers and labours have first right over the government exchequer," he said at a Ficci event. Holistic efforts are being made to reduce the cost of production as also strengthen market and post production infrastructure to achieve the target of doubling farmers' income by 2022, he said. Stating that MSP is just a safety net and the government is taking steps to put in place a competitive agri-market, National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA) CEO Ashok Dalwai said remunerative price is not MSP, it is more than MSP. "We should not get stuck with MSP. MSP is the last resort. It is a social safety net. Farmers have to be offered a chance to discover prices," he said. Dalwai said while the production has gone up, the biggest challenge is marketing. Therefore, the focus is on strengthening 'gramin haats' for the benefit of small and marginal farmers as announced in the Budget, he said. That apart, the centre has drafted 'The Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2017' as model for states to adopt. This model provides for progressive agricultural marketing reforms, including setting up markets in private sector, direct marketing, farmer-consumer markets, de-regulation of fruits and vegetables, e-trading, among others. The government is also drafting a contract farming law, which will be finalised soon after taking public comments, he added. Consumer health and hygiene RB India, (erstwhile Reckitt Benckiser) today commissioned its first solar powered factory in Mysore as part of project Greenathon. The factory, running on 'green power' forms an extension to RB's continuous efforts to reach its worldwide sustainability targets, a company statement said, adding that as of today, the factory meets 75 per cent of the energy needs with solar energy and aims to be the first factory running on 100 per cent green power in India within couple of years. This marks RB's first power purchase agreement (PPA) in India, which forms a landmark in its sustainability journey. This initiative will enable reductions in carbon emissions by 80% for the Mysore site over the next 10 years. The company has signed a 10-year 2.4MW power purchase agreement (PPA) with Amplus Energy solutions. Amplus has developed 42 MW solar park called as Nayaka in Chitradurga, Karnataka that supplies energy to the Mysore plant. Radha Mohan Gupta Procurement Director, RB spokesperson, said in a statement: "We are proud to announce our PPA to achieve RB's first green power factory. This PPA marks our first big step towards reducing emissions from our operations in India. We endeavour to use 100 per cent renewable electricity for the plant soon. In future, we aim to replicate this successful module at our facility in Hosur". economy Recent developments by Trump admin point toward US' isolation with respect to trade: Jim ONeill US President Donald Trump signed an executive memorandum that would impose tariffs on Chinese imports worth upto USD 60 billion. Is this the start of a global trade war? Is India prepared to weather this storm? petrol diesel price hike In a boost for airlines, the Telangana government today announced steep reduction in value added tax on aircraft fuel to 1 percent from 16 percent. The move will help airlines in bringing down their operational costs of which fuel expenses is a major component. "I am happy to announce that VAT on aircraft fuel which is currently at 16 percent in the state of Telangana will be reduced to 1 percent immediately," Telangana's minister K T Rama Rao said. Rao, who is the IT and Industries Minister, made the announcement at an event to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here. As it works on ways to boost air connectivity, the Civil Aviation Ministry has been urging states to reduce VAT on aviation turbine fuel. Rao also said the state government would start work on airport express connectivity to the Hyderabad airport. The estimated cost of the project is around Rs 4,650 crore and would be completed in two years. Currently, the airport has a capacity of around 18 million. The airport here is operated by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL), a joint venture where GMR Group has 63 percent stake. Other shareholders are Airports Authority of India (AAI), Telangana government and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad. During the occasion, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao laid the foundation stone for expansion works of the airport as well as for the exhibition and convention centre. Besides, GMR Varalakshmi Foundation, the CSR arm of GMR Group, signed Memorandum of Understanding with Schneider Foundation, Volvo and Jacquar Foundation. A commemorative stamp and envelope were also released during the occasion. President Donald Trump targets China with up to USD 60 billion in Chinese import. The new measures are designed to penalize China for trade practices that the Trump administration says involve stealing American companies' intellectual property. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Paul Kitney, Chief Equity Strategist - Asia Pacific at Daiwa Capital Markets discussed all the developments overnight and its impact. A trade war would benefit no one but would be particularly bad for China as opposed to US. So the order of magnitude is much higher for China. So it is not in Chinas interest to respond aggressively to the US, he said. Those economies that depend much more on trade rather than their domestic economies will be more exposed from an economic perspective, he added. Near-term this will affect the overall market sentiment but I do think that those particular economies would be more exposed if this bout of trade protectionism does extend, said Kitney. We are overweight China, India, Korea and Hong Kong, he further mentioned. President Donald Trump targets China with up to USD 60 billion in Chinese import. The new measures are designed to penalize China for trade practices that the Trump administration says involve stealing American companies' intellectual property. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Ken Peng, Asia Pacific Investment Strategist at Citi Private Bank and Lewis Alexander of Nomura shared their views on the same. MSCI Chinas exposure to US export revenue is about 3 percent in total when the S&P 500 revenue exposure to China is about 4 percent. It is clearly a lose-lose situation if this goes down to trade war path, said Peng. Unfortunately in the near-term, we would probably see more downward pressure, he added. This is probably not going to be resolved in a very short manner. So I would expect volatility to be relatively intense in the coming months, he further mentioned. I dont think the fiscal risk has been resolved just yet and India will also be affected by global sentiment like everyone else would be, so it is probably a bit early to make the conclusion that it is already time to go in but ultimately this is a buying opportunity, I do think that, he said. Lewis Alexander of Nomura believes that recent developments are risky. In many cases, Trump's bark is worse than his bite, he said. Have seen a desire by US' partners like Europe and China to be proportional, he added. Permanent Representative of Belarus V,Rybakov delivers a statement at the high-level event on water issues 23-03-2018 On March 22, 2018 the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Belarus to the United Nations, Valentin Rybakov, particiapated in the high-level event to commemorate the launch of the International Decade of Action Water for Sustainable Development, 2018-2028. Background Information: Water is one of the priorities of Tajikistan in the UN. On December 21, 2016 the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 71/222, in which the initiative of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan to declare 2018-2028 the International Decade of Action Water for sustainable development was proclaimed. In his speech, the Head of the Belarusian Mission expressed gratitude to Tajikistan for leadership and long-term efforts to ensure progressive sustainable management of water resources and also outlined support for the launch of the new International Decade of Action Water for Sustainable Development. V.Rybakov emphasized that the sixth Sustainable Development Goal ensuring the availability and rational use of water resources and sanitation for all is one of the priorities of Belarus. The Permanent Representative reported that a special policy is being implemented in the country in order to ensure integrated water resources management. A set of adopted measures includes Water Strategy for the period until 2020 and the National Strategy for Sustainable Social and Economic Development of the Republic of Belarus for the period up to 2030. At the end of his speech, the Head of the Belarusian Mission called for maximum use of all available international assistance mechanisms for timely and full implementation of SDG 6, including finances, technologies, and information exchange on best practices. print version By Satish Gupta of astrostocktips.in Todays planetary position: Moon will be transiting in Taurus. Jupiter in Libra. Lord Saturn & Mars in Sagittarius. Ketu in Capricorn. Sun in Aquarius. Mercury & Venus in Pisces. Lord Rahu in Cancer. Pluto in Sagittarius. Neptune in Aquarius & Uranus in Pisces. RAHUKAL TIME: - 10.30 12.00 Following sectors will be receiving astrological support: Information & Technology: HCL Tech, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, TCS, Mphasis etc. To identify and buy such stocks at right time and exit at right time. Timing is most crucial element in investing or trading. This timing can be known through Financial Astrology. Astrology is only science which can predict future correctly & guide us about sectors which have to outperform. Every year with commencement of new Samvat (Hindu New Year), astrologically, based on planetary position, certain new sectors start getting strong astrological support & start outperforming, while some others sectors which were performing earlier start underperforming. Some sectors/stocks remain laggards. Stocks of astrological supported sectors outperform resulting in exorbitant gains irrespective of market behaviour, either bull market or bear market. Predicting bullish sectors of next Samvat 2074 Every year we release sectors of new Samvat in the month of March/April when new Samvat starts. But this year, we shall prepone release of next Samvat sectors, which are going to get strong astrological support & stocks from those sector outperform markets. Purpose of releasing sectors of next Samvat earlier is that investors & traders should get maximum advantage of down trend of markets by good timing. We firmly believe that these special astrological positions present very unique opportunities to investors and traders both. This opportunity, if utilized properly, can safeguard your existing portfolio and simultaneously optimize your future investments and trading also. So we request you not to wait till March 2017 but contact us early and subscribe or renew the Sectors of Samvat 2074. After all successful investing and trading is all about good timing only. Needless to mention our innumerable past predictions, where most stocks from the Sectors of Samvat gave exorbitant returns & certain stocks appreciated by over 500 percent. During current Samavat 2073 among other sectors dyes/chemical/sugar sector received strong astrological support & outperformed and gave exorbitant return. Many stocks from dyes/ chemical sector appreciated by over 500 percent. Sectors which get strong astrological support also start getting favourable news along with all kind of positive support by regulatory authorities in that industry, resulting in strong growth & super positive results. Most of problems also start resolving. Sectors which get very strong astrological support are not normally affected by downfall in the market. : The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. Equities Moneycontrol News A weak day for India market with the S&P BSE Sensex and Nifty50 closing at their lowest levels in over 5 months. The S&P BSE Sensex closed 409 points lower while Nifty broke below 10,000 for the first time since October 11 over trade wars. The market breadth improved but was it was still in favour of declines. Only 10 Nifty stocks closed with gains. Sectorally, realty, metals, banks, capital goods, and healthcare stocks decline while IT stocks rose. The Nifty50 heavyweights such as ICICI Bank, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Reliance were top index losers. The Nifty Bank closed at 8-month low as most of the banking stocks closed with deep cuts. Top Sensex losers include names like Axis Bank (down 3.3%), SBI (down 2.9%), ICICI Bank (down 2.7%), Tata Steel (down 2.4%), and Tata Motors (down 2.1%). Top Sensex gainers include names like Adani Ports (up 1%), followed by Infosys which gained 0.75 percent, and Power Grid which rose 0.5%. More than 300 stocks hit fresh 52-week low on the BSE which include names like Bosch, GSK Pharma, Orissa Minerals, CARE, Siemens, Godfrey Phillips, BSE, Lupin, Reliance Capital, Cadila Healthcare etc. among others. Stocks in news: Fortis Healthcare slipped 7.1 percent on reports that private equity TPG, and Manipal, which are looking to buy hospital business of Fortis Healthcare, is expected to change the deal structure to protect against legal risks and liabilities, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting sources. Max Financial Services has raised stake in its life insurance arm by buying a portion from Axis Bank for Rs 153 crore. The stock closed 1.8 percent higher. GlaxoSmithKline has withdrawn from the race to buy Pfizer's consumer healthcare business, the British drugs company said, endangering an auction for an asset some said could fetch as much as USD 20 billion. Pfizer closed 1.4% lower. State-owned defence company Bharat Dynamics share price opened sharply lower following weak market conditions and tepid response from investors to the issue. The stock closed 8.9% lower at Rs389. The stock fell 15% in intraday trade today. Union Bank of India shares hit 11-year low, down 8.2% at Rs86 after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a Rs1,394.43-crore bank fraud case against Hyderabad-based Totem Infrastructure Ltd on a complaint by the state-run bank. Tata Steel shares fall 2.4% after the company said it had been selected as the successful resolution applicant for buying debt-laden Bhushan Steel Ltd. IT stocks picked up momentum after Accenture reported 15% rise in revenue for the December quarter. HCL Technologies rose 2.8%, followed by MindTree which gained 1.3%, and Tech Mahindra rose nearly 1%. Global Update: Asian markets closed sharply lower, tracking steep declines in US, which took a hit on fears of a potential trade war. Japan's Nikkei 225 was the biggest loser in percentage terms among Asian markets, down 4.5 percent. China's Shanghai Composite, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, Australia's ASX 200 and South Korea's Kospi ended 2-3% down. European equities were sharply lower, as heightened fears of a global trade war shook markets. France CAC and Germany DAX were down 2 percent each while Britain FTSE was down 1 percent at the time of writing this article. Bears tightened their grip on the Dalal Street as benchmark indices shed more than 1 percent following negative lead from global stocks on US-China trade war concerns. Rising oil prices also dented sentiment. Buying support was largely very low as traders stayed away from taking big positions ahead of weekend. All sectoral indices ended in the red, barring IT that gained 0.4 percent. Metals, PSU Bank, Realty and Nifty Bank indices hit badly, falling 2-3 percent. More than Rs 1.5 lakh crore worth of investors' wealth erosion has seen on this freaky Friday. The 50-share NSE Nifty closed below the psychological 10,000-mark for the first time since October 11, 2017, falling 116.75 points or 1.15 percent to 9,998.05. For the week, the index lost 2 percent. The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 409.73 points or 1.24 percent at 32,596.54, taking the weekly loss to 1.7 percent. Experts expect the market to correct further amid consolidation as the Nifty has broken 10,000 levels but this sould be used as a buying opportunity for investors who missed the bus earlier. "Indian equity markets reacted negatively today, in-line with global markets. With US imposing fresh tariff targeted China, there is an increasing fear of a trade war which could impact economic growth," Siddhartha Khemka,VP - Head of Research (Retail), MOFSL said. According to him, markets are expected to remain volatile ahead of F&O expiry next week, as well as end of Indian financial year (last week before the LTCG tax kicks in). Deven Choksey of KR Choksey Securities said as far as long term trade is concerned, technically in the market anything can be possible, capitulation with multiple headwinds can pull the market down to 9,750 on the Nifty but fundamentals are not supporting the fall now. Jayant Manglik, President, Religare Broking said the breakdown of major psychological support at 10000 will further add to the worries. Traders have no option but to stay with the trend and use bounce to create fresh shorts. Nifty has next support at 9,900, he added. Choksey said while the negative sentiment is refraining retail investors from participating in the market, for long term investors opportunities are plenty in the market, given the strong earnings visibility for next 6-8 quarters. Kemka also said while traders should remain cautious, decline in good fundamental stocks would offer buying opportunities for long term investors. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive memorandum that would implement tariffs on up to USD 60 billion in imports from China. On the other hand, China unveiled a list of 128 US products as potential retaliation targets. Asian markets closed sharply lower, tracking steep declines in US, which took a hit on fears of a potential trade war. Japan's Nikkei 225 was the biggest loser in percentage terms among Asian markets, down 4.5 percent. China's Shanghai Composite, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, Australia's ASX 200 and South Korea's Kospi ended 2-3% down. European stocks - France CAC and Germany DAX were down 2 percent each while Britain FTSE was down 1 percent at the time of writing this article. Back home, midcaps stocks showed some recovery in last hour of trade as the Nifty Midcap index trimmed losses to 1.5 percent from 2.3 percent. All Nifty bank stocks closed with sharp cuts. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Yes Bank, SBI and Kotak Mahindra Bank were down up to 4 percent. Hindalco and Vedanta lost 5 percent each. Reliance Industries, L&T, HDFC, Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Maruti Suzuki slipped 1-2 percent while HCL Technologies and Bharti Infratel rallied more than 2 percent followed by Infosys. Fortis Healthcare was down 7 percent after Delhi HC ordered attachment of all disclosed assets of Singh brothers. Dilip Buildcon, meanwhile, has ended mildly higher after it was declared lowest bidder for NHAI project worth Rs 936 cr in Telangana. Shares of Max Financial ended 1.4 percent higher after it acquired 0.74 percent stake in Max Life for Rs 153.3 crore from Axis Bank. Bhushan Steel has ended over 5 percent higher after it said that it will submit resolution plan submitted by Tata Steel to NCLT for approval. Union Bank of India tumbled over 8 percent to hit a one-year low amid concerns over losses incurred in a Rs 1,394-crore loan fraud case. Shares of GAIL ended flat amid reports that the Centre is considering turning the firm into a 'nodal authority' for gas pipeline infra. The aim is to mimic NHAIs operations. Speaking of gas stocks, Indraprastha Gas was down 3 after it announced a reduction in CNG prices in Uttar Pradesh. Manishi Raychaudhuri, Asian Equity Strategist at BNP Paribas discusses with Prashant Nair and Ekta Batra his analysis on the fundamental side of the market as well as specific stocks and sectors. He also spoke about the Trump tariffs and trade war. He said, This is escalating. Thankfully it is not really affecting entire Asian region or the emerging markets taste because if one looks at the recent tariff orders, there are certain exemptions that the US has given. This seems to be directed more at China and we have had the retaliatory tariff impositions as well. However, the impact on valuations on stock prices is likely to be more widespread as we are seeing across the markets. So this is something that we have to grin and bear with for longer. In the short term there is no way out of that, he added. Working on Tiger Shroffs active wear brand PROWL and the launch of Jacqueline Fernandezs fashion brand next month, Mojostar plans to redefine the way celebrity retail brands are marketed in India. In a chat with Moneycontrol, Abhishek Verma, CEO, Mojostar talks how the organised fashion sector is growing in the country. With his previous experience as head of Myntra Fashion Brands, Verma also talks about the involvement of celebrities in creating these brands. The fashion market in India is valued at about Rs 75 billion to Rs 80 billion and while estimates may vary only about 20%-25% is organised. Out of this the overall online fashion market is only 5%. That is the space we are trying to develop. Growth indices suggest we have a lot to do in the segment and the fashion market is growing in double digits. Three to four years down the lime the market is expected to touch 100 billion dollars and if all goes the way it is at present one third of the market should be organised which would give a lot of scope for new brands in the fashion segment to make the most of the organised market and its growing popularity. Mojostar aims to create a portfolio of 3-4 celebrity brands in lifestyle space, with each brand creating value upwards of $100 million over the next five years. We have already finalised Jacqueline Fernandez and Tiger Shroff for its first set of celebrity brands. Though initially the focus will be primarily online, we plan to retail our product in an omni-channel manner.We partner with top celebrities to co-create authentic, high- impact indigenous brands in the lifestyle space. With three celebrity-driven brands lined up for launch in 2018, Mojostar envisions building a world-class house of brands which leverages the power, draw, and allure of celebrities to provide enriching brand experiences to fans. We identify high potential consumer white spaces in the lifestyle market and match them with celebritie. Being consumer backed and not celebrity forward in its approach, makes Mojostar different from other players. Mojostar backs this approach with a strong in-house capability of design, product development and supply chain.The celebrities have a four stage involvement with their brand. First they decide what the brand would communicate and what the brand philosophy is then they do the direction setting in regards to design followed by product strategy in terms of quality etc and finally promoting the brand which is the most important part. The brand has a soul and this soul is represented by the celebrity.I aim to leverage my experience with functions such as design, sourcing, buying, merchandising, marketing, planning, sales, technology, and product to drive Mojostars success. With a view to using tech disruption to reorganize value chains and create new business opportunities, I envision combining the power of celebrities, product excellence, and authentic brand development to create a house of multi-million dollar Indian brands in fashion, fitness, and personal care. It runs through the middle of the walled city, from the Lahori Darwaza of the Red Fort to Fatehpuri Masjid. Originally a canal ran through the middle of the street as a part of the water supply scheme now known all together for different reasons. It is said that moonlight reflecting on its canal, earned it its name. What? (Image: Pixabay) Answer: Chandni Chowk. (Image: Wikipedia) He was the governor of Chukotka from 2000 to 2008. It has been estimated that he spent over $1.3 billion of his own money on the region, which now has one of the highest birth rates in that country. Under him, living standards improved, schools and housing were restored and new investors were being drawn to the region. Who is this man who has the habit of spending his money big? Answer: Roman Abromovich (Image: Reuters) The initial release of Oracle was Oracle 2, although there was no Oracle 1. Why was it released in this way? (Image: Reuters) Answer: The release number was intended to imply that all of the bugs had been worked out of an earlier version. (Image: Reuters) It is a term used by economists when referring to rescheduling of bad debt in the wake of a bank's rise of bad debt provision. This comes from the supposed habit of this bird hiding when faced with attack by predators. What term? Answer: Ostrich strategy. Which company was started by George Batten, Bruce Fairchild Barton, Roy Sarles Durstine and Alex Faickney Osborn? Answer: BBDO (Image: Official website) Being the main manufacturer in Indionesia, Tuk Tuk's in this country are commonly referred to by this company's name. Which company? (Image: Pixabay) Answer: Bajaj (Image: Official website) Answer: Maytas Infra Limited. Ferrari have bucked the global economic crisis squeezing Formula One by agreeing a sponsorship deal with this company. For the first time in history an Indian brand will appear on the Ferrari F1 car next season. The deal was made possible because of this companies association with the latters parent company in India. Which company? Answer: Tata. Who runs the website www.page3.com? Answer: The Sun. Owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, the concept of Page3 was first introduced by him in the newspaper, The Sun. (Image: Official website) It is one of the oldest traditional sweet shop in India. It has catered to Mughal Emperors, Presidents and Prime Ministers of India. It was founded by Lala Sukh Lal Jain who had arrived in the walled city of Delhi from Amber. The shop is now run by his descendants. There are a couple of theories about how it got its name. According to one, it was so named by Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar himself who asked his servants to get sweets from the shop below the bell? (Image: Pixabay) Answer: Ghantewala Halwai (Image: Wikipedia) According to Warren Buffet he is what he is because of two prominent Investment gurus. He says hes 85% Benjamin Graham and 15% __________? Answer: Philip Arthur Fisher (Image: Youtube) In 1994 the personal letters of the fascist activist Per Engdahl were made public after his death, and it was revealed that this person had joined Engdahl's pro-Nazigroup in 1942. He had raised funds for and recruited members to said group at least as late as September 1945. Since the public revelation he has said that he bitterly regrets that part of his life, calling it his greatest mistake and he subsequently wrote letters of apology to all his employees of Jewish descent. Identify the man in question? (Image: Pixabay) Answer: Ingvar Kamprad (Image: Facebook) He has been nicknamed by Time magazine as the Arabian Warren Buffett. In July 2005, he donated $20 million to the Louvre Museum, the largest gift ever to the museum. It will help to fund the construction of a wing for the Louvre's vast collection of Islamic art. Identify this man who has significant holdings in Citi Group? (Image: Facebook) Answer: Al-Waleed bin Talal. (Image: Facebook) Bjorgolfur Gumundsson is former majority owner and ex chairman of now nationalised Icelandic bank Landsbanki, the second largest company in Iceland. With the demise of the Landbanki and in the wake of the 2008 Icelandic financial crisis, which threatens to blow the country off the fiscal map, what primary holding of his in UK has he decided to sell to raise money? Answer: Sell West Ham United of which he has 95% stake. (Image: Facebook) The company which owns the United States Patent and Trademark No. 1,139,254, sometimes known as the 'double arc', has filed multiple law suits against manufacturers such as Von Dutch, Guess, Esprit, Karen Kane and Fossil for copyright infringement of the design. Industry experts see this as the company's latest desperate move against competitors to salvage some market share since their sales have plummeted more than 40 percent since 1996. What is this patent for? Answer: Levis Jeans Pocket Design (Image: Facebook) Felix Miller and Martin Stiksel set up insine.net, an online record label that provided a platform for unsigned artists and bands. In 1999. Richard Jones started tracking what he and his friends in his university were listening to on their computers with a project he called Audioscrobbler. What did the three of the together start? (Image: Pixabay) Answer: Last.fm | Before Last.fm integrated Richard Jones Audioscrobbler project, it was just another online radio station and music community site. Users still had to rate songs to define their musical profile, but the scrobbling technology gave Last.fm its unique twist. (Image: Pixabay) The idea to create it came about in 1987 when a company study indicated that people were struggling at the dining tables because when they wanted a just a little, a whole lump would fall. Which brand was thus created? (Image: Pixabay) Answer: Catch Salt. (Image: Pixabay) Warner Bros. licenses it as an official brand of dog treats and as a human-consumable cookie snack. The dog treats are made by Snausages, a product of Del Monte Foods. Vanilla wafers are packaged and sold as under the brand name in the home video stores of Suncoast Motion Picture Company. What is the name of this brand? (Image: Facebook) Answer: Scooby Snacks (Image: Facebook) After her marriage, Rehana Farooqui changed her name to something which inspired her husband to name his company after her. Who is the husband and which company? Answer: She named herself Mukta Ghai. Subhash Ghai named his company Mukta Arts (Image: Facebook) Delhi with its lengthy history and historic associations has many monuments of significance; the Archaeological Survey of India recognises 175 monuments in Delhi as national heritage sites. But only three figure in the UNESCO World Heritage Site - the Red Fort and Qutab Minar are two of them. Which is the third one? Answer: Humayuns Tomb (Image: Reuters) Based in Dubai Media City with eight regional offices across the sub-continent, what was established in January 2001 as a joint venture Bukhatir Investments Limited and Zee Telefilms? Answer: Taj Television Limited which runs Ten Sports. Dead celebrity body parts collection and sale of it is in rage what with huge returns involved. A lock of this persons hair was sold for $100,000 last year in Dallas. Apparently it had been cut from his corpse by CIA operatives after he was killed in Bolivia. Identify the celebrity? Answer: Che Guevara (Image: Reuters) Its 25 years, it has had just two model changes. The very first ran from inception in 1983 till 1997. The capacity has remained the same at 796. What are we talking about? Answer: Maruti 800 (Image: Wikipedia) The American Dialect Society voted it as the word of the year for 2007 under the category for real estate words reflecting the preoccupation of the press and public with the deepening mortgage crisis. Which word? Answer: Subprime. The concept was mooted in first master plan of Delhi notified way back in 1962. The aim of the concept was to develop metropolitan areas in and around so as to divert increasing pressure of population from the region. The concept was essential in order to protect Delhi's infrastructure from excessive pressure and a planned development of the region. What Concept? Answer: National Capital Region. When markets nosedive, shunning mid and small cap stocks is regarded as the most logical move. But steep corrections also provide an opportunity to buy good stocksbe they large, mid or small capat reasonable, if not cheap valuations. We present two such small cap companies that have declined over 30% from their recent highs. Shilp Gravures is engaged in the business of rotogravure, a type of intaglio printing process, which involves engraving the image onto an image carrier. It is used in cartons, flexible packaging, gift-wrap, wall and floor coverings, and a variety of precision coating applications. The company was promoted by a group of technocrats (Patel family) from Ahmedabad in 1989. It is an undisputed leader in the electro-mechanical engraving with more than 40% market share in the Indian flexible packaging industry. Electro-Mechanical engraving is a precision technology and its plant has the worlds best equipment. The company has an impressive client list of all giant FMCG companies like HUL, Britannia, Colgate, Proctor & Gamble, ITC, Tata-tea, Amul, Pepsi, Haldiram etc. Flexographic printing technique is used in flexible packaging business such as foods & beverages, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and personal care products. Strong growth in these aforementioned industries due to improved consumer spending, changing lifestyle and eating habits along with increase in consumer affordability will lead to the industry growth in this segment. Apart from flexible plastic packaging, the company is also engaged in laser engraving. With plastic being shunned, more products are now packed in paper related structure. Laser engraving is more suitable for printing on paper than other conventional technologies. Hence, the gravure industry is expected to continue benefitting from this segment as well. In India, rising urban trend and growing brand consciousness has improved the prospects of the gravure industry, as demand for sophisticated packaging is on the rise. The governments decision to permit 100% FDI in multi-brand retail is also expected to support the sector. The flexible packaging market accounts for around 20% of the overall packaging market and the share of organised sector is roughly 35-40%. The shift from unorganised to organised remains an added trigger. In the last twenty years, the company has never reported a loss or skipped dividend. Shilp Gravures has corrected by 33% from its yearly high, has a high promoter holding (60.52%), low leverage, decent return ratios and available at 9.8X FY18P earnings. Emmbi Industries is a well-established brand in the field of specialised polymer processing and packaging solutions with a prudent track record of over two decades. It is one of the well established brands in woven polyethylene and polypropylene product. The company is engaged in the manufacture and sale of FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers) and woven sacks and various woven polymer based products like container liners, protective irrigation system, canal liners, flexi tanks, etc. The company has completed a 6000 MT capacity expansion, out of which 3600 MT is for water conservation and 2400 MT is for food and pharma packaging. The food and pharma packaging post expansion will provide an EBITDA margin of 16-17% and in water conservation, changing business mix towards value added products like pond liners, canal liners etc. will drive the revenue growth. The total installed capacity post expansion stands at 24,200 MT The company sees huge potential in the pond liners business, from 650 ponds in FY17 to 10,000 ponds by FY20. The company is amongst the top 3 players in the pond liner business in India. The advantage the company has over its peers is that companys pond liners take 60% less joint, use less material and cost of yield per square metre is low which makes it the most attractive player in pond liner business. The company is changing its product mix and focusing on B2C (business to consumer) where they expect B2C to contribute 25% by FY20 from current 3.5%. Margins in B2C are higher at approx. 18%. This change will help in better management of working capital as well. Management is also bullish on agri and water space and going forward this will provide margins and profitability improvement. Emmbi exports to over 50 countries and in FY17 exports contributed 43.5% of the revenue share. The company has decent return ratios and have corrected 39% from its recent highs a high and trades at 19X FY18P earnings. Investors should keep hawk eye on such out of favour high quality names. Indias primary market witnessed an unprecedented flurry of activity in March, despite market sentiment remaining largely subdued. And this is after a hectic year in the primary market that has taught investors important lessons about what, and what not, to do. Offer for sale the preferred route but leaves nothing for new investors In 2017, at least for the better part of it, Indian markets were more or less driven by bulls. In contrast, sentiment has been predominantly negative in the first 80-90 days of 2018. While promoters and/or private equity players took advantage of the momentum in 2017, they are still rushing to capitalise on the tail end of the bullish sentiment, before long-term capital gains tax arrives to ruin the party. Interestingly, in most cases, issues in which the offer for sale component, as a percentage of the total issue size, exceeded 80 percent, have not made much money for investors. This suggests that the pricing of such issues barely left any scope for new investors to get any noticeable returns. For example, Indian Energy Exchanges IPO, in which the OFS component was 100 percent, took place at a valuation of approximately 34 times FY19 projected earnings (far higher than BSE and MCX, which were trading at around 22-24 times). The stock put up a lacklustre show after getting listed, and is now 10 percent down from its listing day closing price. Wide sector coverage financials dominate As many as 42 companies, across a range of sectors, have listed on the bourses since the beginning of 2017. Financial services providers and insurance companies led the pack with the most number of IPOs. As a result, investors had ample options to choose from, as indicated by the exhibit below: Valuations at the time of IPO rarely sustain for most stocks More often than not, IPOs are priced to perfection by factoring in the near to mid-term growth prospects adequately. Consequently, not much is left on the table for investors at the onset. Also, in the event of a fall or correction in the market, steep valuations of most stocks, including those of fundamentally strong ones, do not sustain. Although listing gains were visible for all the above-mentioned stocks, their price returns (percentage difference between last closing price and closing price as on the day of listing), in comparison, failed to exceed 20 percent. Business model and financial strength matters Investors shouldnt get carried away by an IPO's subscription numbers or the rally in its stock price (after listing), especially in case of companies where the business per se doesnt appear convincing enough, or return ratios/strategy execution capabilities arent up to the mark. These are stocks that are highly likely to bear the brunt of market volatility in the long-run. Our IPO notes on Khadim, S Chand, and Shalby clearly show the extent to which each of these companies lag behind their competitors. Therefore, it really didn't come as a surprise to see them underperform. Good companies sustain their premium buy them wisely Although share price movements depend on a lot of variables, one thing thats common to most reliable stocks is that the market has almost always rewarded them through periodic re-rating. A glance at key metrics of Avenue Supermarts, Apex Frozen Foods, and Shankara Building Products seems to underscore this rationale. Despite top-line growth of companies being largely subjective when looked at on a sequential basis, a steady increase in operating margins, coupled with stable bottom-line margins, gave these stocks a distinct edge over the rest. This is reflected in their price performance in the table below:- Investors who weren't allotted any shares in the IPOs of the three companies mentioned above, and couldnt invest on the first day of listing either, were able to buy these stocks at lower levels (as indicated by the first two columns) and still net healthy returns quite quickly. Even though stocks that belong to the creme de la creme may come across as costly investment propositions (they indeed are, on most occasions), market corrections certainly provide opportunities to buy them at some point. Of course, timing the investment right is paramount. Follow @krishnakarwa152 For more research articles, visit our Moneycontrol Research Page live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More The mutual fund business of IDFC is up for sale. That is the latest news in the asset management industry. Though the promoter has declined the report calling it 'speculative', the possible suitors according to the news report include big names such as Indusind Bank and CITIC CLSA. While IDFC is seen unlocking value for shareholders through the potential sale, the investors in IDFC schemes may be worried over the future of their investments. Experts, however, says one need not get worked up, and jump the gun in a haste. The buyer of the asset management business of IDFC is expected to be a big player and investors should wait and watch the developments as their interests are expected to be protected and further nurtured by the buyer of the business, says Nishant Agarwal, Managing Partner & Head - Family Office, ASK Wealth Advisors. For starters, this is not the first time a mutual fund business is getting sold. There are many such transactions that have taken place in the past. In fact, IDFC too acquired the asset management business of Standard Chartered AMC. There were big ticket transactions seen such as global major Fidelity selling out its asset management business to L&T in March 2012. In such a buyout deal the buyer is keen to build the business further. IDFC AMC manages assets worth Rs 71000 crore. IDFC is no small player in the industry. The new owner will take necessary steps to enhance the value offering for the investors in IDFC MF schemes, says Agarwal. Investors must keep track of the news flow but avoid acting on it just because of the possibility of a sale. Exiting the fund in a hurry may mean shelling out tax on the realised capital gains, and loss of value on account of applicable exit loads, if any. The buyers in this deal are important. If the buyer does not have asset management business in India, then there is a high possibility that the entire team is retained by the buyer, points out Kiran Telang, co-founder and director of Mumbai based Dhanayush Capital Advisors. If the existing team is going to manage the business, then there is a high chance that the business may not see much changes. Things however are different, if the business is acquired another mutual fund. In such a situation, the fund management team may change, the investment strategies may changes and schemes may merge. As the news report suggests, the contenders for the asset management business do not have a full-fledged asset management business in India. Let the deal go through. See if there is a material change in the way the money is managed. Take a decision to sell out if and only if you think your investment needs may not be served in the new set up or you are not comfortable with the new promoter, says Telang. If and when the deal goes through, the regulator ensures the investors interests are not compromised. As it is a change in the fundamental attribute of the scheme, the investors are given an exit window of one month. In this exit window the investors may opt to log out without paying an exit load. However, the tax liability will still be applicable on such a sell. Locked-in units of tax saving schemes cannot be sold. So to put it straight, do not get worried and do not sell out. You could be entering better times. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More NHAI has awarded two projects worth Rs 1,395.38 crore in Karnataka to Ashoka Concessions and Dilip Buildcon for widening of stretches of NH 4A, an official statement said today. The four-laning of Belgaum-Khanapur Section of about 30 km has been awarded to Ashoka Concessions on Hybrid Annuity Mode at a cost of Rs 892.16 crore, it said. Besides, two-laning of about 52 km of the highway on Karnataka/Goa border has been awarded to Dilip Buildcon on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode at a cost of Rs 503.22 crore. The projects involve construction of two major and six minor bridges and five railway over bridges (ROBs), for free movement of traffic in major cross roads and reduce conflicts. Two bypasses have also been proposed for the stretch. "Keeping in view the safety of road users, all major intersections have been provided with 21 vehicular underpasses/vehicular overpasses/ light vehicular underpasses etc. The project also provides four bus shelters," the statement issued by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said. The concession period of the projects is 17.5 years, including construction period of 2.5 years. Ambassador of Belarus V.Kurdyukov meets the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Czech Republic 23-03-2018 On March 22, 2018 the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the Czech Republic, Valery Kurdyukov, met with the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, Pavel Vesely. The sides noted mutual interest in expanding bilateral cooperation between in the field of agriculture and food, as well as discussed promising areas for intensifying cooperation in this sector. The possibility of participation of the delegation of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic in the international exhibition Belagro-2018 in Minsk was also discussed. print version Nestle products (Image: Reuters) live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Leading packaged food giants such as PepsiCo, Nestle, HUL and ITC may have to change their packaging practices owing to safety concerns about certain chemicals currently being used to print labels and packages. Under the new standards, which are currently being formulated by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), several harmful chemicals including toluene, a chemical used in paint thinners, may be banned for printing ink for food packaging, Times of India reported. Toluene is known to cause liver and kidney damage and has already been banned for use in the food industry by several countries including Sri Lanka, where printing associations have voluntarily taken a stand to stop its use. Most packaged food companies in India, however, use toluene-based solvent for printing ink. Around 80 perecnt FMCG companies in India still use toluene-based solvents in packaging materials, Ashish Pradhan, CEO of the Indian arm of Siegwerk, a German firm that supplies printing ink solutions to companies, told the paper. However, major packaged food companies like Nestle and Hindustan Unilever said they comply with the existing consumer safety norms. A Nestle India spokesperson assured that all packaging material coming in direct contact with food is toluene-free, adding that the firm is planning to stop using toluene altogether by the end of this year. An HUL spokesperson also told the paper that they conform to global and local guidelines. Several studies have revealed that toluene can migrate between layers of packaging, the report said. Suppliers of packaging material don't need any major capital investment to shift to toluene-free inks. The current printing equipment, which runs toluene-based inks, can also run toluene-free inks, an industry expert told the paper. The the cost implication of this transition, however, depends on several factors like type of print job, type of equipment, and printing expenses apart from the cost of ink, the expert added. In an exclusive interview with Moneycontrols Vandana Ramnani, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep S Puri, talks at length about Smart Cities, challenges in the implementation of RERA and the progress on the rental housing scheme. Reacting to the Parliamentary Committee on Urban Developments criticism that only about 21% of the Rs 36,400 crore allocated have been spent on the flagship programmes so far, he says that he welcomes Parliament scrutiny and claims the schemes are roaring. The problem is to find money for these schemes. As for bridging the trust deficit between homebuyers and the Centre, Puri agrees that it was the absence of a regulator that gave an upper hand to the real estate developer but is quick to state that even homebuyers are to be blamed for signing one-sided contracts. He also tells Moneycontrol that he will be meeting Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Friday and that the rental housing policy is work in progress. Here's teh full transcript of the interview: The Parliamentary Committee on urban development has raised questions about the on-ground implementation of flagship schemes such as PMAY and Smart Cities wherein they have noted that only 21 percent on an average have been spent so far out of the Rs 36,400 crore allocated? Do you think that the utilisation should have been much higher? I welcome parliamentary scrutiny not only because I am a member of parliament but that is the essence of democracy. Having said that I would urge some caution in looking at different reports. For instance, and I do not want to focus on only one report. The progress of flagship schemes has to be assessed in terms of delivery on the ground and that delivery on the ground is empirically measurable. Let me give you an example. If you are looking at the Swatch Bharat scheme and I deal with the urban part of the Swachh Bharat Scheme. If you are looking at the number of toilets to be built, the number of toilets to be built has a defined target in terms of individual household units and also in terms of community toilets. If you look at the total number of toilets to be built under the Swachh Bharat scheme which has a deadline of October 2019, again out of the 67 lakh we have already built 52 lakh. So, it is not only doing well, it is doing very well. For the smart cities project, it is not that the smart cities project started in June 2015 and therefore we should have had the smart cities in place. It is not how it works. A total of 100 cities have to be designated as smart cities through a process of competition. By May 2016 we had only declared 20, the last nine were declared only a few weeks ago. There is a usual time lag of 15 to 18 months before the smart cities, once the title has been conferred, sets up what is called the special purpose vehicle (SPV). I judge progress differently. Out of 99 smart cities how many have special purpose vehicle? The answer is 89. After a special purpose vehicle is set up, you need a consultant maybe earlier or later and this is again through a competition, the consultant takes some time to come on, then they start preparing individual projects for tendering. In one of the schemes which I refer to, the figure that we utilised was based on the utilisation certificates. Anyone who has a nodding acquaintance with how the government functions, utilisation certificates are sometimes sent two years later. I welcome scrutiny etc but my job as minister for housing and urban affairs is to see whether the schemes are working. I have a slightly different take on this. I think the schemes are roaring. My problem is to find the money. For instance, under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) we have to ensure that every Indian has a home which he or she can call their own by 2022, the title will be in the name of the lady of the house giving gender empowerment, dignity of the girl child. I think we have to build something like 11 million units or 12 million units by 2022. I am required to sanction 300,000 to 500,000 every month. We do not have the money for that. We have just set up an affordable housing fund. This cannot come from the government budget. There are four verticals and each of the verticals is doing well. My major issue now is to find the money for these schemes. We are being innovative. We have just got Rs 8000 crore out of the Rs 60,000 crore we had required. We just got that money because we owe the states that money. They are working well. Will we see higher figures on spending next year? Figures are already very high. I am not worried about the figures. Even on smart cities, the scheme started in June 2015 and it takes 18 months. You started it only in May 2016. If to May 2016 you add 18 months, where does it bring you? That is when it starts. You are actually looking at a situation where things are now beginning to roll off. So you need to look at the progress in terms of the tendering which is under process, preparing tenders, what is already been tendered etc. So, if you look at the overall figure, it is one of the fastest scheme implementation anywhere in the world. What about the smart cities mission? When do we see actual smart cities hitting the ground? You see out of the total of 99, 91 are brownfield projects where the city is there and you are redeveloping the same city. Many of them now have command and control centres. We have established an apex body of smart cities and we are holding the first meeting of the apex body sometimes towards the end of April or May. There will be 300 to 400 people there, they will be sharing experiences, you will have civil society, you will have private sector. Once that comes, you will get the buzz. That is when people will realise. Otherwise people will say, I live in such and such place, whats smart about it? What is a smart city, it is supposed to improve and provide ease of living for the aged people, for the younger people, for the differently abled. You are supposed to build more cycle tracks, more footpaths, more greening, more public transport, have cities which are not completely congested and reaching a choking point etc through design, through technology. Ration the use of water, electricity, make sure that as a result of technology, women feel safer. In the last meeting on the standing committee on parliament when the presentations were taking place, I was delighted to find the project manager from Surat saying that as a result of the technology that they are using in the smart cities project, crimes against women have come down sharply. What about issues with West Bengal when it comes to smart city mission? Have those been ironed out? There is a project that was included in the first list. What do I say? I have not seen any progress. So, I will be writing to the chief minister again. I think we have taken this up with the state government. But all that I can do is to encourage them to take advantage. You know because the selection of that city had taken place based on an application. But if there has been no action on that application, then we are at a loose end. We do not know what to do with it. As I said, I have been encouraging the government of West Bengal to move on this. RERA was implemented last year and many states are yet to set up a websites. Many states have also diluted the provisions of the model act. We have also had some issues with North Eastern states where there were issues with land laws that were posing to be a constitutional challenge. Has something been done on all these fronts? Are we pursuing the matter in a manner that we can resolve all the outstanding issues? The answer is yes. Let me start with what is a major mindset change. For 70 years, we have dealt with this sector without having a regulator. Which meant that you had a free for all. Unsuspecting buyers were conned into signing one-sided contracts. I dont think they read the contracts which is a very poor sign. (It sends a) Poor message that unscrupulous builder or promoter was able to take money from them in installments and siphon the money off and invest it in land banks. And now you have these people screaming. So, are you better off with RERA or are you worst off? The unambiguous answer is that you are better off and RERA is wonderful from my point of view. That is why the unscrupulous builders and promoters challenged it. They took the challenge and the Supreme Court asked the Bombay High Court to hear it and Bombay High Court has thrown it out. So, having a regulator is a great thing. I mean, you cannot run this sector without having a regulator. It took us eight years or so to resurrect it as it was languishing. Now it is only a few months old. In the process of implementing it, some state governments tweaked its provisions to leave the ongoing projects out of its ambit. But courts have taken cognizance of that. We have done whatever we could and we are willing to do more. And now we have a situation where the courts are actively stepping in. But RERA is not the only development. If you look at the real estate sector, between GST, demonetisation, RERA, fiscal incentives, that we provided in two successful budgets, our push to affordable housing, I think the sector is being cleaned up. I am reluctant to answer the question when will it be totally cleaned up, that is an answer anybody will find it difficult to provide. No sector anywhere in the world is totally cleaned up. There are always weaknesses, distortions, but the more I look at it, we are now dealing with a situation where the kind of pre RERA world will no longer be possible. Now people will have the protection which the Act provides and the developer or the promoter is liable as he has assumed certain obligations. People who had black money, if you can call it that, instead of keeping it in gunny bags, they would go to a builder and tell him to keep it and say next time you launch a project, book two units in my name. So it created bubbles, it created artificial pricing in the real estate sector. Now with demonetisation, GST, RERA, insolvency bill, our giving infrastructure status to affordable housing, GST rates on affordable housing coming down, I think you will see a turnaround. Some unscrupulous guys will choose not to be in the business or they will be driven out. But you will have a more rationalized market. And I dont know whether we can ever get away with the 80:20:60:40:50:50 division between legitimate white and black but we are reaching a situation where we will see tremendous improvement in the sector. Anything specific on the northeastern states? Where there are genuine issues on land ownership and title, we need to resolve those. But if you have to look at the entire length and breadth of the country, the fact of the matter is that it is moving, I think everybody is coming under its ambit. What is the government doing about the trust deficit that has built up between the homebuyers and the Centre? This is partly on account of the fact that the absence of a regulator gave an upper hand to the promoter and developer. Under RERA that entity is liable now. I think they will now have to think twice before doing that. So you now have a legislative backup. Plus the courts are really dealing with focused and forensic. I was reading the paper today and one of the developers has been told by the apex court to deposit Rs 100 crore by a particular date and another Rs 100 crore by another date. So, I mean the homebuyers certainly realise that there is a Central government and a state government which is actually not only sympathetic to their (concerns)but is willing along with the courts to create an enabling framework you know mistakes have been made by homebuyers, make no mistake. You did not advise them to sign one-sided contracts. Nowhere in the world is it done that you give money and you get a house 10 years later or 15 years later. It is because the whole thing was anchored in the informal or the parallel economy. People were also in no hurry and there have been speculative black market operations there also. So, I think now with all these developments, these initiatives the government has taken we will see a distinctive improvement. So, there is hope for homebuyers? Yes, absolutely. What about the Metro fare hike issue? Were you to have a meeting with the CM of Delhi? I keep meeting him all the time. I think he is coming for lunch on Friday. But look, when the CM is with me, he perhaps shows understanding but neither he or I have control or decisive say on fare fixation. I have said this many times and happy to repeat it again on your programme, it was a very wise decision to keep the fare fixation away from the Central government and the state government. And this was a very good insurance policy to insulate the fare fixation scheme and process from the temptations of populist politics. People say after you raised the fare, ridership went down. Wait a minute.. ridership goes up and down on account of a number of factors. Actually, the ridership has not gone down. In May 2017 it went down a little and then went up. In October you had the next one, January February again it is rising. But is ridership the only measure of success in a scheme? Lets say you made the Metro completely free what would happen? Who would pay the money back with capital money borrowed? I look at a project from whether it is financially viable? If you dont do that due diligence, then you have the situation that you are having in Delhi. (Take the bus fleet issue) 11,000 is the size of the bus fleet, 7000 buses short, who is responsible for that? They are going to buy 1000 buses a year now, it has taken them three years to buy 1000 buses. It will take them 21 years to buy 7000, by that time the previous fleet would have run aground. Look, either you can govern in a mature, professional manner or make a big thing about ridership is not coming who measures ridership? There are seasons when ridership comes down, Today, I saw an interesting graph in one of the papers, which is about the amount of distance that you travel. Now people are travelling much long distances. Earlier when the fare was very low, people were taking short rides, now when you are travelling much longer distances paying slightly higher fares, the metro is serving its purpose. I attended a meeting of COMET which is an international organization that deals with the Metros and Delhi Metro is a member of that. First, lets get the figures right, Delhi Metro is going to be the worlds fourth-largest metro. It has already crossed 252 km. I think another week we will be inaugurating another stretch. What happens? You look at the capacity utilisation? I was appalled by the people who said that ridership has fallen! Delhi Metro has the highest capacity utilisation in the world. If it has the highest utilisation in the world, people are using it. How can you say that ridership has fallen? You are adding routes, there is exploitation. I had said in response to a parliament question that you have to charge fares according to the cost of money, what you borrowed, the kind of services that you provide. The overall objective is to provide a first-class global facility which it is. For which you have to charge people. For eight to nine years there was no increase in fare. What I said in parliament is that what I could do is to be able to find a special dispensation for students and for senior citizens. I was told that was difficult because there is the ethics factor. Somebody takes a concessional student pass, somebody else uses it. What I said is that you put it on the Aadhaar. I have requested DMRC to work it out but I am very hopeful. If you are clear about what you want, you can work out a system where this is operational. This is one way but let them work out the technology. I dont want a situation where if we are providing a 25 percent to 30 percent concession rate for students or senior citizens, I dont want the non-entitled people to use it, it makes a mockery of fare fixation structure. What about the rental housing scheme? It is work in progress. We have already had some consultation. We need to do another meeting. Tell us about the global housing challenge? I made an announcement on it at the World Urban Forum in Kuala Lumpur in the beginning of February. I think in a few months time we will be completing that. It will be an opportunity provided to all global participants to come and showcase their green technologies in the construction industry. And then those who decide to contribute to that, we will find ways of seeking their participation in this massive planned urbanization effort which is underway. Do you subscribe to the view that land prices are indeed very high across the country and is something being done about it? Whether I subscribe to the view or not. You know what the reality is. Why is it so? I also have my theories. I think it is incumbent on governments to follow a policy which leads to rational pricing that the markets will ensure. We have a peculiar situation you have, on the one hand you have a 2011 study that says that we are 18 million houses short, when we do the validation through the state governments and the union territories, the figure comes down from 18 to 11 or 12 and then at the same time you have some 11 million houses or even more vacant. Why do people not give them on rent? Because there are complications. We are building affordable housing to make do the deficit. We are coming out with a rental policy. Once you have that happy equilibrium, this will again become more rational. Much of pricing thing on land is speculative. That is why people went on investing in land banks thinking that prices will always go up and suddenly the prices drop. And then they are stuck with this mess. Where are we when it comes to linking Aadhar with property purchase? Somebody asked me this question and I gave an answer on my own. Somebody suggested I had deliberately floated a trial balloon. The honest truth is that I was speaking on my own behalf. But a few days later PM was addressing the HT Summit (function) and he also mentioned it. Then they thought that perhaps there was coordinated talk. No, I personally think it is the logical flow of events. If there are benami transactions, I think technology is the only way to discovering those, incidentally it is the only way you can fight corruption. And that is why you get resistance on technology. But in the end it is technology that wins over. I remember many years ago, when they were trying to computerize the income tax department. There was a big hue and cry. No, no jobs will be lost. Technology sometimes results in displacement of jobs. It also produces other jobs. And if you get a more rational market or land or other things, I think you will get more jobs. For the year 2019, what will be the top focus areas for you? I am very clear in my mind. Delivery, implementation; delivery, implementation and delivery, implementation. When you go to buy a house, you look at location, location, location. Want to develop a country education, education, education. When I come to my flagship programmes implementation, implementation and we are implementing well. Vandana.ramnani@nw18.com "Each time I visit, it is incredible to see the advancements taking place in India," said Indian origin Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Addressing Kerala's Global Digital Summit # Future here through video conference, he said one of the pressing challenges is to see how technology helps across public and private sectors to make a difference in society. Citing an example, he said health care organisations are now using AI (Artificial Intelligence) for early detection of cardiac diseases. In agriculture farmers and rural areas across the country are empowered with more data to better understand weather and soil conditions to improve crop yield, he said. The Microsoft head said every time he visited India, he saw advancements taking place. Nadella also referred to use of cloud and AI by schools to predict what students are at risk of dropping out so that they can intervene. Local governments across India use Kaizala, a mobile communications app, to empower government workers and improve citizen service, he pointed out. "We don't celebrate technology for technology's sake, we celebrate what others are empowered to do with that technology." "At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more," he said. Nadella expressed the hope that an event like #Future, which has brought together top leaders of knowledge industry, academics and influencers, would inspire to make a difference in the world. "And that's what I hope you would inspire to do after this event. To dream, create and build the solutions that will transform your organisations, your communities and make a difference in the world," he added. SBI ATM live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More The country's largest lender SBI today said it had classified Chennai-based jewellery firm Kanishk Gold Pvt Ltd (KGPL) as fraud account in November 2017. The sanctioned aggregate limits of Rs 215 crore by SBI in a consortium arrangement has been classified by the bank as fraud on November 16, 2017 for having misrepresented the financial statements from 2009 and liquidated primary security, SBI said in a clarification sought for a news report by exchanges. The matter has been reported to CBI for necessary action, SBI said. Further, the matter was reported to RBI on November 21, 2017. On the matter of Nathella Sampath Jewelry Pvt Ltd (NSJPL), SBI said it had sanctioned Rs 250 crore loan to the company through a consortium, which was reported fraud on December 22, 2017 for misrepresenting financial statements from 2010 and liquidated primary security. The matter of NSJPL has been reported to CBI for necessary action, SBI said. Further, SBI said that the information published in the media report is not shared by the bank. Even as mobile wallets companies are struggling to ensure that the customers comply with KYC norms in order to load money to their wallets, customers are able to circumvent the process with the use of digital gift cards. For instance, customers can add money to their Amazon Pay wallet by purchasing gift cards of Amazon. The gift card offers a code that once added to the wallet loads the money. Sunil Kulkarni, joint managing director of wallet firm Oxigen and Payments Council of India, also said that some wallet firms were offering gift cards to stash money in the wallets. He however declined to comment on the names of the wallet firm. Users of prepaid payment instruments (PPI) such as mobile wallets were asked to complete the KYC requirements by February 28 by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The regulation bars customers from loading money into their wallets if they haven't complied with the KYC norms. It also restricts them from carrying out remittance-based transactions. They will also not be allowed to transfer the cash in the wallet to their bank accounts. Amazon Pay balance shows two segments money and gifts & credits. While money consists of the amount deposited by customers in the wallet, gifts & credits are mostly the amount retained from gift cards. Amazon agreed that it was possible to swell 'Amazon Pay' account (that consists of money and gifts & credits) via gift cards. However it added that the same can't be used by the customers for P2P transactions or transferring the money back to the bank account. The customers though will be able to make purchases on Amazons website and third party vendors such as BookMyShow with that money. The difference between gift card and the wallet is that firstly gift cards have an expiry date of one year. They money that you put in your wallet does not expire. The second difference (in the case of wallet money) you are allowed to do a peer to peer transfer and also take that money back into your bank account once you do a full KYC. However with the gift card you do not have the option of doing these things, Shariq Plasticwala, director, Amazon Payments told Moneycontrol. Amazon doesnt offer P2P lending as of now. Plasticwala declined to comment on Amazons plan to launch the service in India. We need to understand the spirit of the regulation. It is meant for the stored value account. The purpose of which is a flexible instrument that will allow for P2M, P2P and P2B transaction. As in the customer will be able to pay a merchant, a peer and bank out that money to the bank account. When you all allow all these ways to take money out of a container that leads to all kinds of risks," said Mahendra Nerurkar, director and chief executive officer, Amazon Pay. Now the gift card instrument has a purpose of gifting and the gifting instrument can only be used in certain scenario which is paying to merchants who are already KYC-ed entities, he added. KYC or know your customers has been made mandatory by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for all wallet firms. Users of prepaid payment instruments (PPI) such as mobile wallets were asked to complete the KYC requirements by February 28. Those who do not comply with the KYC norms will not be allowed to load money into their respective wallet accounts or carry out remittance-based transactions. They will also not be allowed to transfer the cash in the wallet account to their bank accounts. However, users are allowed to use the balance amount in their respective wallets to pay for goods and services. Once the balance is exhausted, the users are not allowed to load cash again until the KYC norms are complied with. Payments Council of India has asked the RBI to withdraw the full KYC requirement or extend the deadline for it but the central bank has not responded to the demands so far. According to RBI data for December, 31.98 crore transactions with a collective value of Rs 14,334 crore were performed during the month through prepaid instruments. Mobile wallet transactions make up a large chunk of these transactions, accounting for 28.83 crore transactions worth Rs 12,568 crore. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Here are stocks that are in news today: Allahabad Bank: Bijaya Kumar Sahoo, Sarath Sura and Parthapratim Pal assume office as directors from March 22, 2018. AIA Engineering: Declares dividend of Rs 8 per equity share in its meeting held on March 22. Sundaram Fasteners: Suresh Krishna to retire as MD United Spirits: The firm will consider sub-division of equity shares. Indraprastha Gas: Announces Reduction In CNG Price In Uttar Pradesh Idea Cellular: Existing leadership teams to continue to manage their separate businesses. Union Bank of India: CBI registers a case on a complaint filed by bank against Totem Infra. Tata Sons: Appoints Tanmoy Chakrabarty as its govt affairs officer Hero Motocorp: The firm has hiked stake in Colombian jt venture to 68% Cox & Kings: The company has sold 11.58% stake in subsidiary Pyramid Saimira case: Sebi bans Nirmal Kotecha for 14 yrs from mkts IT Dept rejects stay on Rs 131 crore tax demand: NDTV ICICI Securities IPO subscribed 29 pc on Day 1 Mishra Dhatu Nigam IPO subscribed 64 pc on Day 2 L&T Technology Services bags multi-million dollar project from Germany's Covestro PNB pares nearly 2% stake in ICRA Dilip Buildcon wins Rs 677 cr highway project from NHAI in UP Mahindra, Ford to jointly develop SUVs, electric vehicle Infosys invests USD 1.5 mn in Waterline Data Science Schneider Electric keen to tap EV charging market Shriram Transport Finance raises Rs 1830cr via bonds MCX to start brass futures trading next week Dish TV, Videocon D2H merger completed Dewan Housing allotted NCDs worth Rs 300 crore Tata Steel identified as the successful resolution applicant for acquisition of Bhushan Steel Reliance Retail plans to raise Rs 4000 crore - ET Piramal Finance to invest Rs 10,000 crore in hotel assets - Mint Blue Star puts J&K project on hold over tax benefits - Mint Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Shares of L&T Technology Services added 1.6 percent intraday Friday on the back of multi-million dollar project from German based chemical major Covestro. Covestro has chosen L&T Technology Services as one of its major engineering services partners to implement digitalization based engineering programs across Covestros global locations, as per company release. L&T Technology Services has been awarded a multi-million dollar contract by Covestro to execute these engineering transformational programs, it added. The company is the preferred partner to assist Covestro in defining, developing and maintaining standards in line with global practices. This will include updating & improving engineering standards & specifications backed up with knowledge management & cognitive learning tools. Amit Chadha, President Sales & Business Development and Member of Board at L&T Technology Services said, We look forward to leveraging our unique technology capabilities and our domain expertise in plant engineering and asset management to assist Covestro in achieving its objectives of Efficient Production and Engineering Excellence. At 10:15 hrs L&T Technology Services was quoting at Rs 1,196, up Rs 13.60, or 1.15 percent on the BSE. The share price increased by 63 percent in the last 1 year. Posted by Rakesh Patil business Top buzzing midcap stocks to trade on March 23 Here are some of the top buzzing midcap stocks picked by CNBCTV18's analysts in trade today. Keep an eye on Tata Steel, Indraprastha Gas, 63 Moons Technologies, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies & Mindtree. Tata Steel live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Tata Steel announced Friday morning that it has been declared as the successful resolution applicant by the Committee of Creditors (CoC) of Bhushan Steel Limited (BSL), the stressed asset that was put for auction under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. The announcement could finally pull the curtains on a contentious auction, which saw employees of Bhushan Steel challenging a March 6 decision that had picked Tata Steel as the preferred buyer. Tata Steel said it was informed by the CoC on March 22. The latest announcement is subject to the Tata company obtaining necessary regulatory approvals, including approval from the NCLT and the Competition Commission of India. "Tata Steel has accepted the Letter of Intent for BSL under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (IBC)," said the company. First ok On March 7, Tata Steel had announced that it had received a formal confirmation from the RP and that the company has been identified as the highest evaluated resolution applicant for Bhushan Steel. But even as the company began talks with the RP and CoC on finalising the resolution plans, employees of Bhushan Steel approached the NCLT, which asked the lenders to consider their plea. The CoC later met on March 20 to discuss the same. Bhushan Steel has a 5.6 million tons per annum facility in Odisha, and its auction had got bids from JSW Steel and Tata Steel. Latha Venkatesh There were two speeches on public sector banks by two different policy makers this past week and the message the same public sector banks (PSBs) can be fixed when the government stops appointing their board members. On March 14, RBI Governor Urjit Patel, in a rare and landmark speech, pointed out that under the Banking Companies Act, the regulator does not have the power to supercede the board of a PSB for lack of performance, or even sack key management personnel like the managing director or board members. Effectively, the governor was arguing that the governance problems of public sector banks emanate from the constitution of their boards. The boards of PSBs are packed with the governments handpicked nominees who have to only answer to the government. Their loyalty is not even to the bank on whose board they sit, and they really dont have to bother about the regulator. To send their recommendations directly to the appointments committee. To appoint non-executive members of boards of PSU banks. To develop the roadmap for the transition of the governments stake in banks into a holding company (as advised by the Nayak Committee). A specific mandate on stressed asset resolution. Exactly a week later, Vinod Rai, chairman of the government-appointed Banks Board Bureau, put in the public domain a compendium of the BBBs recommendations, most of which are yet to be acknowledged by the department of financial services. But the most important revelation of that compendium was Rais first chapter, in which he detailed the mandate the BBB sought for itself, but was not granted. Rai said the BBB wanted: Barring the last request, what the BBB was seeking was a mandate to separate ownership of PSBs from control and governance. The BBB believed, like all sincere banking experts, that the only way these banks can exist viably and work commercially is if the sovereign restricted itself to giving broad directions that a promoter gives, and allows the board to control and execute what is good for the bank. Its not a surprise that both these stalwart policy makers are pointing to the same issue, because at the heart of PSU banks problems is the lack of independent and high-quality board members. But they are not the first to do so. Former RBI Governor YV Reddy, in his book Advice & Dissent, wrote about how, when he was banking secretary in the early nineties, then finance minister Manmohan Singh was determined to improve the quality of PSU banks by improving their boards. Reddy said Singh asked him to draw up a list of financial experts from which he could pick board members. Reddy did as he was bid and submitted a list. A few months later he confronted his minister about the latest on the PSU Bank board members issue. The minister replied that every name he suggested was rejected by the ruling party as a person unfriendly to the party. The party then started recommending names from which the ministry was to pick capable people. But the list invariably came without any details of address, qualification, achievements, assets or experience. Eventually, Reddy wrote, the party even dispensed with the formality of sending the list to the finance ministry. Names were sent directly from the party to the appointments committee, which the latter approved. PJ Nayak, a joint secretary in the finance ministry before he became Chairman of Axis Bank, also identified the real problem of PSBs to be their compromised boards. As Chairman of the Committee to Review Governance of Boards of Banks in India, Nayak judged that control of the government over PSU banks wont end till its majority ownership in them was brought down. So Nayak recommended the now famous holding company structure. He advised the creation of a holding company that will own all the governments stake in PSU banks, and eventually divest its stake to below 51 percent, both in the holding company and in the subsidiary banks. Of course, as a precursor, the Banking Companies Act, he advised, has to be annulled and PSBs should be brought under the Companies Act. (Again an advice that found mention by YV Reddy, Vinod Rai and Urjit Patel.) Most experts thought that the paradigm shift recommended by Nayak would never go through under the UPA regime, considering that the nationalisation of private banks and the creation of the Banking Companies Act was the brainchild of Congress Indira Gandhi. The hope was that an NDA government, under a prime minister whose main plank is Swachh governance, would be more receptive to the idea of separating the ownership of these banks from its control, even if it did not involve privatising them completely. But no. The flat refusal of the government to Vinod Rais and the BBBs demand to appoint non-executive board members, to send their recommendations directly to the appointments committee, and to frame the roadmap for the creation of a holding company, shows that the NDA is no more ready for independently-run PSU banks than the Congress or the UPA ever was. From LK Jha to Manmohan Singh, from YV Reddy to N Vaghul, from PJ Nayak to Vinod Rai to Urjit Patel: all the good doctors have prescribed the same medicine. But the political dispensations arent listening. For now, India looks condenmned to have sick state-owned banks. 4th session of the Belarusian-South African Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation held in Pretoria 23-03-2018 On March 22, 2018 Pretoria (South Africa) hosted the 4th session of the Belarusian-South African Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation . The Belarusian delegation was headed by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrei Dapkunas, South African by the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Bulelani Magwanishe. During the meeting, the representatives of the ministries of trade, agriculture, education, internal and foreign affairs of the two countries considered a wide range of issues of bilateral cooperation. The main attention was paid to strengthening of mutual trade and implementation of joint economic projects. The parties agreed to consider the possibility of establishment in South Africa of joint ventures for production of tractors, cargo and passenger equipment, and processing of agricultural products. The South African side indicated a high interest in the possibilities of training African youth in Belarus. The parties agreed on the need to simplify the visa regime between the two countries. The key agreements reached during the meeting were fixed in the Joint Communique signed by the heads of delegations. print version One of the key poll promises of the Aam Aadmi Party to woo the youth of Delhi, free Wi-Fi across Delhi, may soon be a reality. The Delhi government has allocated Rs 100 crore to provide Wi-Fi facility, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday said presenting the Budget in the Delhi Assembly. The project will be taken up by the Public Works Department (PWD) instead of the IT department to expedite the process. Though, while presenting the budget, Sisodia did not provide a timeframe for the completion of the project. Earlier, the AAP government had set a deadline of March 2018 for the launch of the first phase of its free Wi-Fi project in the national capital. According to the Information Technology (IT) Department, 1,000 hot-spots will be created across the capital city to provide free Wi-Fi in the first phase on a pilot basis. For the purpose, Rs 25 crore has been proposed by the government. Also Read: Google installs 150 'Google Station' WiFi hotspots in smart city boost for Pune "Tender for executing the project will be awarded by December 2017. The IT department has set March 2018 as the deadline for the launch of its first phase," a government official said. Last month, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that the government was working on three-four models for providing free Wi-Fi and would soon take a decision. In June last year, the AAP government had announced that over 500 locations across east Delhi would be made high-speed Wi-fi zones by December 2016, allowing access to free internet till a pre-determined limit daily. (With inputs from PTI) Tihar Jail The notorious Delhi gangster currently imprisoned in Tihar central jail, Neeraj Bawana is on a hunger strike from three days demanding a TV in his jail cell. His two aides Pankaj Sherawat and Tillu Tajpuriawho are also locked up are also complementing him in his strike. On Wednesday afternoon, 15 other members of his gang called off a similar strike at Mandoli jail. Last week, lawyer of Bawana, MS Khan approached the court alleging that jail authorities have kept him in a solitary confinement. Prison officials denied the allegations and said Bawana has been kept in a high-security cell in Jail 2. His other two accomplices, Sherawat and Tajpuria are locked up in Jail 1, a Hindustan Times report said. High-risk prisoners such as Bihar politician Mohammed Shahabuddin and underworld gangster Chhota Rajan are kept in similar cells. There is no provision for a television in the jail manual, said a jail spokesperson. Jail officials accused Bawana of regularly filing false complaints in order to trouble the officials. Bawana has violated the jail rules at least 11 times, as per officials. Four months ago a high ranking prison official found that Bawana was regularly meeting his aides in Jail 1. Our DG found Bawana used cell phones and some prisoners were even touching his feet. In the last two years, he was caught with cell phone three times and once with currency notes. According to the jail manual rules, as he is a high-risk prisoner and was shifted out of jail 1, said a senior jail officer. Manish Sisodia Delhi's economy is on the path of growth despite the negative impact of demonetisation and disruption due to the GST's implementation, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia today said. In the next fiscal, the Delhi government expects to get Rs 23,400 crore from the Goods and Service Tax (GST), 60 percent more than Rs 14,600 crore it mopped up in the current financial year, even as Sisodia lambasted the Centre for introducing the new tax regime. The government also hopes to get Rs 5,200 crore from state excise in the 2018-19 financial year and Rs 2,500 crore from the taxes on vehicles. The annual average real growth in GSDP of Delhi has been 9.1 percent during 2015-16 to 2017-18, as compared to 7.3 percent growth observed in GDP at the national level during the same period, he said. Presenting the 2018-19 Budget in the Delhi Assembly, Sisodia said that if there is one word that most accurately captures the AAP government's economic vision and the policies that have emanated from it in the last three years, it is "Trickle Up" economics that is aimed at benefitting the poor and the middle classes. "Our country has followed the Trickle Down' approach to economic policy. It emphasises giving massive tax breaks, subsidies and interest-free loans to big corporate groups and foreign investors in the hope that they will invest and grow the overall economy, which will benefit everyone. "It's a fair argument except that beyond a point, it doesn't work for the 'aam aadmi' (common man)," Sisodia said. He said for the last three years in Delhi, the AAP government has reposed its faith in the "Trickle Up" model of economics rather than "Trickle Down". "In simple words, the 'Trickle Up' model is one where economic policies of the government directly benefit the poor and middle-class citizens leading to better education, health and a rise in their income levels," the deputy chief minister said. "The economy of Delhi continues to be on the path of sustainable growth despite the negative impact of demonetisation and disruption caused due to implementation of GST," he said. The AAP government today presented a Rs 53,000 crore budget for financial year 2018-19. President Ram Nath Kovind today said India-Zimbabwe bilateral trade of USD 170 million is way below potential, and the two countries need to work together to strengthen trade and economic relations. During a meeting with Vice President of Zimbabwe General (Retd) Constantino Chiwenga, he said India's approach to its partnership with Africa is consultative and participatory. "It is driven by the aim of empowerment, capacity building, human resource development, access to the Indian market and support for Indian investments in Africa," Kovind said. Chiwenga had called on the president at Rashtrapati Bhavan here. Asserting that India-Zimbabwe bilateral trade of USD 170 million is way below potential, Kovind said, "We need to work together to strengthen our trade and economic relations." He was happy to note the government of Zimbabwe's policy for making its economy investor-friendly. "With the change in regime in Zimbabwe, India desires to continue friendly relations and further intensify engagement," the president said. India Pakistan For the first time, senior Indian military officials and diplomats posted here attended the military parade to mark the Pakistan Day, a media report said today, claiming that the initiative of the Pakistan Army chief was to send a message of peace to New Delhi. Amid heightened tensions between the two neighbouring countries, the Pakistan Army invited, for the first time, Indian Defence Attache and senior diplomats of the Indian High Commission to join the March 23 celebrations, a senior Pakistani military official told The Express Tribune. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initiative came from Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa and the idea was to send a message of peace to India. Indian deputy high commissioner J P Singh and Defence and Military Adviser Brigadier Sanjay P Vishwasrao were among those who attended the event, according to media reports. The move comes at a time when tensions have been simmering between Islamabad and New Delhi with frequent incidents of clashes along the Line of Control and Working Boundary. While the Pakistan Army chief is believed to be in favour of improved ties, the ball is now in India's court to see how the unprecedented gesture will be reciprocated, the report said. India has made it clear to Islamabad that the onus is on Pakistan to create a conducive atmosphere for dialogue between the two countries. At the Pakistan Day event, President Mamnoon Hussain accused accused India of cease-fire violations and human rights abuses, saying New Delhi's actions have put regional peace at stake. He had also raised the Kashmir issue, saying, "the only solution to the dispute of Kashmir is providing the right of self-determination to the Kashmiri people, and Pakistan will continue to play its role.... The three-year quest for a name change is far from over for Rajveer Upadhyay. The Ahmedabad-based auto-rickshaw driver's plea to change his name to RV155677820 has been rejected by the Rajkot gazette office without citing any reason. 34-year-old Upadhyay desires to write atheist in his religion column. To fulfil that purpose he decided to change his name and surname as he thought they pointed towards his caste and religion, reports The Times of India. I am a rationalist and secular person and this is a secular country. The law of the country should give me the right to be known as an atheist. If I write my name and surname, people will know my religion and caste but I do not want my identity to be shrunk to the narrow confines of religion and caste, the report quoted him. Upadhyay says that his chosen name represents an abbreviation of his first name, RV for Rajveer, and his roll number in school leaving certificate. Last year in May, he applied for changing his name at the Ahmedabad district collectorate but was directed to approach the government printing and stationery department at the gazette office in Rajkot. In response to the application at the gazette office, he received, New name according to your desire cannot be published. Upadhyay will now knock the doors of Gujarat High Court challenging the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act. He claims that the Act doesnt have a provision to renounce his religion to seek atheism. I am consulting advocates to file a plea before the HC to decide the constitutional issue of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, which does not have provisions for someone to turn atheist. The act only allows conversion from one religion to another, he said. 15:34 Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day after an uproar. The ruckus did not allow Speak Sumitra Mahajan to bring in the motion of no-confidence. The House will convene again On Tuesday, April 2. Thats all from our side. Thanks for staying tuned. 12:12 The House stands adjourned for the day. It will convene on April 2. 11:54 The Lower House will convene at noon. 11:07 The Lok Sabha has been adjourned till noon, amidst ruckus. AIADMK MPs were seen raising slogan we want justice, in the well of the House, as soon as it convened. 11:04 The Lok Sabha convened. 08:12 On Tuesday, four parties Congress, YSR Congress, TDP and CPI (M) were expected to move the motion of no-confidence. However, the House was adjourned due to ruckus from AIADMK MPs. Earlier on Tuesday, TRS MPs, who had been protesting in the well of the House for a week, said they would allow the motion to be brought in. 08:09 Good morning! The blog will track the happening from the Lok Sabha. The Opposition parties are expected to move the motion of no-confidence, again. 13:58 The four parties are expected to move the trust vote again tomorrow. Thats all from our side, for now. Thanks for staying tuned. 12:13 The Lok Sabha will convene tomorrow at 11 am. 12:11 Speaker Sumitra Mahajan reiterated that she wanted to bring in the motion of no-confidence as she was duty-bound. However, the House was adjourned for the day as ruckus continued. 11:33 The Lok Sabha has been adjourned till noon after loud slogans of 'we want justice' were raised in the House immediately after proceedings began today. 10:41 Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu will hold a meeting with representatives of all political parties of the state in Amaravati today. They are likely to discuss future course of action on their demand for special category status. 10:15 In what can be seen as a positive sign for the Opposition, reports suggest that the TRS have agreed to let the Lok Sabha function and that its MPs would not protest in the well of the House. However, it remains unclear if the AIADMK would do the same. 10:13 The lower House did not function as planned last week. Due to constant ruckus from MPs belonging to TRS and AIADMK, who were protesting in the well of the House, the Speaker had to adjourn the Lok Sabha repeatedly. 10:12 Last week, TDP as well as YSR Congress tried to move the motion of no-confidence one day after the other. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said that she is duty-bound to bring in the motion. However, she said that the vote would be possible only if there was no ruckus in the House. 10:10 The Lower House will convene for the first time since Friday. The House had a scheduled holiday yesterday. 10:09 Good morning! This blog will track happening from the Lok Sabha. Congress, Telugu Desam Party (TDP), YSR Congress and now the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) are set to move the motion of no-confidence against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in the Lok Sabha, as the proceedings begin at 11 am today. 15:42 YSR Congress and Congress have also submitted documents moving the motion of no-confidence against the NDA government. The Lok Sabha will convene on Tuesday, March 27, at 11 am. That's all from our side. Thank you for staying tuned. 11:23 The Rajya Sabha has also been adjourned till Monday after TDP MPs stormed into well of the House over the special status for Andhra Pradesh issue. Remember, the motion of no-confidence can only be moved in Lok Sabha, not in the Upper House. 11:08 The proceedings of Lok Sabha opened with ruckus and was immediately adjourned till 11 am. 11:03 The Lok Sabha has convened. 10:52 TDP MPs have continued their protest in Parliament premises regarding a special status issue. 09:37 The Lok Sabha is expected to convene at 11 am. 09:21 Reports suggest that the Telugu Desam Party has sought support from TRS and AIADMK to let the House function and move the motion of no-confidence. TRS and AIADMK have been protesting in the well of the House for the last few days, creating ruckus that has resulted in constant adjournment. 09:19 The two parties have been attempting to move the motion for the last 3-4 days. However, constant ruckus in the Lower House forced Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to adjourn the House every day. 09:18 Good morning! This LIVE blog will track the latest developments from the Lok Sabha where the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the YSR Congress are expected to move the motion of no-confidence, again. 12:18 The Lok Sabha has been adjourned till tomorrow. 11:20 The Lok Sabha has been adjourned till noon. 10:58 After adjournment yesterday, YSR Congress YV Subba Reddy wrote to Lok Sabha Secretary General and gave him notice to include motion of no-confidence in the list of business for today. 10:57 Yesterday, the House convened at 11 am and was immediately adjourned to 12 pm as the ruckus continued. At noon, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan slammed the protesting MPs for creating a ruckus, but had to adjourn the House for the day, again. 10:50 Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the YSR Congress are set to move the motion of no confidence against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government today, again. 13:53 The motion of no confidence is likely to be move in the Lok Sabha tomorrow. That's it for now. Thanks for staying tuned. 12:41 YSR Congress YV Subba Reddy has written to Lok Sabha Secretary General and has given notice to include motion of no-confidence in the list of business for tomorrow. 12:11 The House was adjourned after continued ruckus. Speaker Mahajan said that she would not be able to take up the motion of no confidence if the ruckus continues. 12:09 Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has adjourned Lok Sabha for the day. The House will convene again on Thursday. 11:09 Minutes after convening, the Lok Sabha was adjourned again. The House will meet next at 12 noon. 09:26 Amidst ruckus in the Lok Sabha yesterday, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said that she is duty bound to bring in the motion of no confidence moved by TDP and YSR Congress, before adjourned the House for the day. 09:25 YSR Congress issues whip, orders MPs to be present Jaganmohan Reddys YSR Congress has issued a whip to its Members of Parliament (MPs), ordering all of them to be present in the Lok Sabha today. They will be moving the motion of no confidence, again when the House convenes at 11 am. 09:21 Good morning! This blog will follow the latest happening from Parliament where Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and YSR Congress are expected to move the motion of no confidence, again. 15:31 YSR Congress is expected to move another motion of no confidence in the Lok Sabha tomorrow and TDP is expected to follow suit. That's it for now. Thanks for staying tuned. 12:46 YSR Congress YV Subba Reddy has written to Lok Sabha Secretary General, giving notice to include the motion of no-confidence in the list of business for tomorrow. 12:18 Following ruckus, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has adjourned the Lok Sabha for the day. The House will convene at 11 am on Wednesday. 12:15 Speaker Sumitra Mahajan says that she is duty bound to bring in the motion of no confidence moved by TDP and YSR Congress. 12:10 Lok Sabha has convened again. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is addressing the House over the death of 39 Indians in Iraq, amidst chaos. 11:48 Rajya Sabha has been adjourned for the day after ruckus in the House. 11:10 The Lok Sabha has been adjourned till noon after chants of 'We want justice' echoed in the House, immediately after proceedings began for the day. 10:38 Andhra Pradesh CM and TDP Chief Chandrababu Naidu has asked party MPs to coordinate with members of the Opposition, media reports suggest. 09:02 Recap: Yesterday, both TDP and YSR Congress moved the motion of no confidence. Home Minister Rajnath Singh, on behalf of the government said that they were willing to face the trust vote and debate about it. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan however said that she cannot allow any such vote to happen unless the ruckus in the House stops, as it will make counting of votes difficult for her. 09:00 The motion of no confidence was to be moved on Friday and was postponed to for yesterday after the Lok Sabha was adjourned early then. Yesterday, again, the Speaker adjourned the Lok Sabha early after ruckus in the House. 08:57 Despite all efforts from Chandrababu Naidus TDP and the YSR Congress Party, the NDA seems to have enough numbers to succeed against any no confidence motion. 08:54 A key member of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the Shiv Sena said yesterday that it will abstain from voting when the motion of no confidence is moved today. Shiv Sena has 18 MPs in the Lok Sabha. 08:51 Good morning! This blog will continue to track the latest developments from the Parliament where two Andhra Pradesh-based parties Telugu Desam Party and YSR Congress Party are expected to move the motion of no confidence, again. 16:03 TDP and YSR Congress are expected to move another motion of no confidence in the Lok Sabha tomorrow. 15:10 Shiv Sena has said that it will abstain from voting in the motion of no confidence. In the party mouthpiece Saamana, Shiv Sena has said, "The TDP wants to bring in the no-confidence motion for its personal political reasons and not for any 'nationalist' reason". "In 2019, there will be a blast of resentment that is prevailing among masses today. That time, a no-confidence motion will be passed with a complete majority," the Sena said. 13:08 Members of Parliament from TDP and YSR Congress will be skipping lunch hosted by Lok Sabha speaker as they are upset with their no-confidence motion not being taken up, news reports suggest. 12:49 YSR Congress Member of Parliament YV Subba Reddy has moved no-confidence motion against the government for Tuesday. 12:14 Home Minister Rajnath Singh said before the Lok Sabha was adjourned that the government is willing to face the no-confidence motion. Singh also said that the government was ready to debate the motion. 12:11 Lok Sabha has been adjourned until tomorrow after ruckus. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said that she would not be in a position to count the votes because of the noise inside the parliament. 12:09 Lok Sabha has convened, following adjournment. 11:59 DMK leader MK Stalin has said in the Tamil Nadu assembly, Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu to put pressure on Central government, has gone for no confidence motion, for the welfare of their state. I ask this (Tamil Nadu) Government to support TDP's no confidence motion. 11:24 Addressing TDP minority wing members, Andhra Pradesh CM and TDP Chief Chandrababu Naidu has said, You have always been supportive of TDP, but you were not happy that we allied with BJP. We have been working for welfare of Muslims. We thought as an NDA member, BJP will do justice to the state, but nothing happened. We waited for four years, but of no use. Even in the last budget justice was not done, Naidu added. It was TDP and not YSRCP who responded on Triple Talaq Bill. I told BJP leadership that criminalization of triple talaq was not correct. I was the first to oppose it, Naidu added. 11:16 The government has however expressed confidence that the notices, even if they are admitted, will be defeated given its strength in the Lok Sabha. The current strength of the Lok Sabha is 539 and the ruling BJP has 274 members, more than the majority mark of 270, and enjoys the support of several allies. With the 16-member TDP quitting the BJP-led NDA, the ruling alliance strength has reduced. 11:08 Recap The YSR Congress was the first to give a notice last week for a no-trust motion after the Centre made it clear that it would not grant Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh. Not to be outdone by its main rival in the state, the TDP, a long time BJP ally, then decided to break its ties over the issue and brought a no-confidence motion of its own. Both parties have been lobbying with opposition parties for support to their respective notices. A no-confidence motion notice has to be supported by at least 50 MPs to be taken up in the House. 11:06 FLASH | The Lok Sabha has been adjourned till noon due to ruckus. 11:05 YSR Congress YV Subba Reddy has written to the Lok Sabha secretariat to put his notice for the motion in the revised list of business for tomorrow. The TDP has also moved a notice for a no-confidence motion. When their notices were not taken up last week, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar had argued that they could not be due to the House being not in order, with members of several parties raising slogans in the Well. 11:04 TDP, YSR Congress to pitch for no confidence motion notices in Lok Sabha Desam YSR Modi Lok Sabha The TeluguParty andCongress will pitch for taking up their notices of no-confidence motion against thegovernment when themeets today, amid no signs of a let-up in the deadlock in its proceedings. The failure to effectively use Hindi and connect with the people was one of the reasons that cost the Congress in last general elections but party chief Rahul Gandhi's speech in Hindi at the plenary session proved that he was ready to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, senior party leader said today. Former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said the way Gandhi spoke in Hindi, coming straight from his heart, he was trying to connect with the people and this was a big thing for the party. He also said that Gandhi's speech about breaking walls within the party was being interpreted in different ways both inside and outside the party. "I think his speech (at plenary on March 18) has given a message that he is a little more prepared now. The way he attacked, the way he used Hindi effectively. I was very, very happy about his use of Hindi, Chavan said. "Because ultimately, that's where we failed in the last election. We were too English-oriented from (then) prime minister Manmohan Singh, Sonia (Gandhi) ji, P Chidambaram all of us first spoke in English and then in Hindi, Chavan said. Gandhi spoke straight from the heart, which was a big thing, and he connected with the people largely, he told PTI in an interview. Asked whether Gandhi was ready to take on Modi in a big way, the senior Maharashtra Congress leader said, "Whether he likes it or not, he only has to take on Mr Modi. There is no other face to do that." "Whether he is an equal match or unequal match or better than him (Modi), that's a different matter. He has to take on him," he added. The senior leader said Sonia Gandhi's statement made at the India Today conclave in Mumbai that the Congress was being seen as a 'Muslim party', did create a bit of a row, but they were correcting it. "Is that a message for Muslims that so-called appeasement is being corrected? Articulation of that was always difficult. It's never easy. Whatever you do (in such cases), the other party will always accuse us," he said Chavan said Rahul Gandhi's visits to temples was also sending out a message. "Overdoing it sends a very different message to the minority community. So, it's a very delicate phrasing. So, he has done it," he said. He said the Congress plenary, which was last held in 2010, had sent a positive message that things were moving in the party and a smooth transition had taken place. Asked about the takeaways from the plenary, he said many people liked the way it was organised. Things had turned more democratic as no leader was given the stage, he said. Chavan said Sonia Gandhi's talk of the Panchmarhi session and the Shimla conclave indicated that the decision to ally with various like-minded parties taken could be implemented in 2019 too. He said that she had given a clear message that she was very much going to be in politics and would chair the Congress Parliamentary Party as well as the UPA. He said political message of the conclave was that Rahul Gandhi had taken over, but things would emerge only after he formed his team and the working committee. "He (Rahul Gandhi) keeps on talking about young plus old. So, how it will be actualised. My little worry was, like in 1985, Rajiv Gandhi raised expectations (talking about) dalals and all. Similarly, he (Rahul Gandhi) has talked of breaking walls," he said. He said everyone had interpreted the breaking walls' remark differently. "Whether breaking a wall means more youth will get tickets, means more youth will become working committee members, there can be more women (members), more youth. Each person will read it in his own way. But that definitely signifies a change, that there will be no business as usual," he said. Asked if Rahul Gandhi would be able to break walls, he said each person interpreted it differently to suit themselves. "That whole phrase will come out over a period of time in the formation of the working committee, of the screening committee for elections...," he said. "Every state will require some hand-holding...Will there be a political secretary? That's an important question. Will there be an alliance team for working out alliances and forging a 'mahagathbandhan'," he said. The senior Congress leader, who has been a minister in the PMO earlier, said ultimately he would need a team of two-four people to coordinate within and with other parties, which would come out in the days to come. "One person cannot coordinate with everybody. What kind of situation will emerge at national level and who will be chairperson of the UPA and what will the reaction of the other parties. That will have to be see. That's the agenda for tomorrow," he said. 22:27 That's all for today, readers. Thanks for staying on with our coverage of the day's action. Your enthusiasm encourages us to better our coverage every day. Do come back tomorrow for more news, views and insights. 22:11 Uttar Pradesh: For the 10th seat, BJP leader Anil Agarwal has won, defeating BSPs BR Ambedkar in the counting of second preference votes, reports News18. 21:55 Uttar Pradesh: The eight candidates elected from BJP in the Rajya Sabha are Arun Jaitley, Ashok Bajpai, Vijaya Pal Singh Tomar, Sakal Deep Rajbhar, Kanta Kardam, Anil Jain, Harnath Singh Yadav and GVL Narsimha Rao. The winning candidate from Samajwadi Party is Jaya Bachchan. (News18) 21:02 Kerala: The Left Democratic Front has won the only seat on offer in Kerala. The CPM-led alliance had fielded as its candidate, JD(U) state president MP Veerendra Kumar, reports News18. 20:49 Karnataka: Of the four seats, Congress won three seats and BJP bagged the last one. This will be the first term of L Hanumanthaiah, Naseer Hussain and GC Chandrashekar of Congress and the third consecutive term for Rajiv Chandrashekhar of BJP in the Rajya Sabha, reports News18. 20:27 Telangana: The ruling party Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) won all three seats, electing its candidates Banda Prakash, Joginipally Santhosh Kumar and B Lingaiah Yadav to the Rajya Sabha, reports NDTV. 19:17 Counting of votes for the Rajya Sabha elections resumes in Uttar Pradesh after clearance from Election Commission, reports NDTV. 19:12 West Bengal: Congress candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi has been elected to the Rajya Sabha, securing the fifth seat on offer. The other four have been bagged by AITC, reports News18. 18:03 Maharashtra: The BJP fielded Prakash Javadekar, V Muraleedharan and Narayan Rane and Congress fielded Kumar Ketkar. The other parties, NCP and Shiv Sena, fielded Vandana Chavan and Anil Desai respectively, reports News18. 17:41 Madhya Pradesh: Breaking in favour of the BJP, four out of the five seats of the state went to BJP and the last seat was secured by Congress. The BJP candidates were Ajay Pratap Singh, Kailash Soni, Thawarchand Gehlot and Dharmendra Pradhan, and the Congress candidate was Rajmani Patel, reported News18. 17:22 Rajya Sabha elections updates The counting of votes for the Rajya Sabha elections is underway. Andhra Pradesh: Telegu Desam Party (TDP) has won two of the three seats on offer, while the Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party, or YSRCP, bagged the third seat, according to News18. 16:01 The voting process has ended. The counting will begin at 5 pm and the results will be declared immediately after that. 15:25 After meeting CM Adityanath, SPs Raghuraj Pratap Singh said, I just went for a formal meeting with him, we did not talk about votes, according to News18. 15:08 After voting, Raja Bhaiya went to meet CM Yogi Adityanath in his room in Assembly, according to News18. 14:18 Karnataka voting update: JD(S)s HD Kumaraswamy has said that two senior Congress leaders cross-voted in the first ballot paper and that the returning officer allowed them to vote again in fresh ballot paper. Illegal voting is going on, requested Election Commission Observer to counter mandate the process, HD Kumaraswamy added. 13:44 Samajwadi Party (SP)'s Akhilesh Yadav has tweeted a photo with Raghuraj Pratap Singh, also known as Raja Bhaiya, who said he voted for the SP. "Thank you for supporting Samajwadi Party," Yadav wrote. 12:47 Congress MLA denied cross-voting allegations in UP: Congress MLA Naresh Saini has denied allegations that he cross-voted, saying, I have voted for BSP candidate Bhim Rao Ambedkar. False news about my cross-voting is being spread by the BJP to hamper the morale of opposition. However, these tricks will not work now. The BSP candidate will win with surplus votes. 12:06 Karnataka voting update: Janata Dal (Secular) leaders HD Revanna, BM Farooq and Ramesh Babu have alleged that returning officer S Murthy is favouring Congress in the voting process. There were exchange of words between the JD(S) leaders and the officer, according to News18. BM Farooq is a JD(S) candidate. 11:49 BJP will sail through the Rajya Sabha polls. SP-BSP strength has come down and has lost all ground, BJP leader Sidharth Nath Singh has told News18. 11:40 Uttar Pradesh update: Independent MLA Amanmani Tripathi has said that he has voted for the BJP candidate, following directions from CM Yogi Adityanath. 11:17 Telangana: There are 3 vacancies in Telangana. A candidate needs support of 90 MLAs to win the election. With 90 legislators in the state Assembly, TRS has the numbers to win all three seats. 10:55 BSP MLA Anil Singh has said, I have voted for BJP, I don't know about the rest, according to media reports. 10:48 Karnataka voting update: Voting is underway at Vidhan Soudha in Bengaluru. Voting is happening for four seats in the state. A candidate requires 46 votes to get elected. With 124 MLAs to their name, Congress is likely to elect 2 MPs. They will also have a balance of 32 votes. BJP is falling short by 2 votes and would want support of Janata Dal (Secular), which has 39 legislators. 10:27 Uttar Pradesh voting update: 17 BSP MLAs have cast their vote so far. The Mayawati-led party has 19 MLAs and is seeking SPs support to get a Rajya Sabha seat. However, there are fears of cross-voting, which would mean that BSP does not win a single seat. 09:45 No surprises in Odisha: Biju Janata Dal likely to win all 3 seats comfortably A candidate needs 37 MLAs to win a seat in Odisha. Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has 118 seats in the state Assembly. This means, BJD is likely to win all three seats up for grabs. 09:25 Naresh Agarwals son meets CM Adityanath, skips meeting with Akhilesh Yadav SP MLA Nitin Agrawal, who is also the son of Naresh Agarwal, who recently joined the BJP, met UP CM Yogi Adityanath to discuss voting strategy for today. Agarwal skipped a meeting held by party chief Akhilesh Yadav. While joining the BJP, Naresh Agarwal had said that his son would vote for the BJP candidate in the Rajya Sabha polls, according to News18. 09:07 Considering BJPs condition, I would say that its own MLAs are annoyed and some of them may even end up siding with the opposition, Rajendra Chaudhary of the Samajwadi Party (SP) has said, according to a report by Hindustan Times. 09:04 Voting has begun for the 26 Rajya Sabha seats in multiple state Assemblies, including Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Telangana. 08:56 Battle in Mamata heartland In the state of West Bengal, a candidate must secure support of 50 legislators. Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress (TMC) has a massive majority of 213 MLAs, meaning the party will send at least four MPs to the Rajya Sabha. Congress, which is the second largest party, is struggling. With 42 MLAs to their name, they require support of 8 more. They would be hoping that the support comes from TMCs extra 13 votes or from the Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPI-M)s 26 MLAs. The BJP, with 3 MLAs, is unlikely to win a single seat in the state. The question remains if the Congress can borrow support from TMC or CPI-M. 08:22 The voting process will happen between 9 am and 4 pm. The results will be announced immediately after the voting has concluded. 08:10 BJP is hoping for SP legislators to cross-vote, which could give them an unexpected ninth seat in the biennial polls. 07:45 BSP on a tight rope BSP is keen to get a seat in the Rajya Sabha after party supremo Mayawati resigned from the Upper House, last year. BSP, with 19 seats, is falling short by 18 seats. Congress has pledged support of its seven MLAs while Ajit Singh-led led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) has granted support of its sole legislator. She is expecting to receive support of 10 SP MLAs which are extra for the Akhilesh Yadav-led party. That would bring her tally to precisely, 37. However, all is not well in the Samajwadi Party camp. Akhilesh Yadavs uncle and SP Leader Shivpal Yadav skipped a meeting recently, sparking speculations that the legislators loyal to him may not follow the party whip. Naresh Agarwal recently quit SP and joined the BJP after his party denied him a Rajya Sabha ticket. His son, who continues to be a SP MLA, may not follow the party order either, reports suggest. Another member is currently in jail and will not be able to vote. 07:43 The math in Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh has a total of 404 Assembly seats (including a nominated member). Out of these, the BJP has 311 Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs). Its allies Apna Dal (Sonelal) and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party have nine and four MLAs respectively. The Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have 47 and 19 MLAs respectively. In the state, a candidate needs backing of 37 MLAs to win the Rajya Sabha polls. BSP had extended its support to rival SP during the Lok Sabha bypolls. As a quid pro quo, SPs MLAs are to support the candidate today. Therefore, The BJP is expected to win eight seats comfortably while SP and BSP are expected to bag one each. However, the BJP fielded businessman Anil Agarwal, as an extra (ninth) candidate for the polls. This has sparked fears in the BSP that the saffron party might be trying to borrow votes from SP. 07:41 BJP, Mayawati to battle in Uttar Pradesh Despite losing the Lok Sabha bypolls in Uttar Pradesh less than a fortnight ago, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is looking to win substantial number of seats in the states Rajya Sabha elections today. 07:39 Election of members for 59 Rajya Sabha seats, including one seat from Kerala which fell vacant last year, will happen today across state Assemblies. As many as 33 candidates from 10 states have been already declared elected unopposed. Seven Union Ministers including Ravi Shankar Prasad and Prakash Javadekar were among them. Ravi Shankar Prasad Amid uproar over data breach at Facebook, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad held discussions with senior ministry officials to explore steps to ensure that consumers data on social media is not misused to influence elections. Sources in the ministry said that the meeting held yesterday with top IT ministry officials lasted for over two hours and deliberated the long-term solutions to address the issue. The IT ministry is looking into the issue of misuse of data, and exploring steps that can be taken to ensure protection of user information against misuse, without curbing the social media offtake in the country. Earlier this week, Prasad had warned social media giant Facebook of "stringent" action for any attempt to influence polls through data theft, and had even threatened to summon its CEO Mark Zuckerberg, if needed. The warning came as BJP launched a scathing attack on the Congress, questioning the party on its relation with Cambridge Analytica, the data mining firm accused of harvesting personal user data from Facebook illegally to influence polls in several countries. Facebook, which has over two billion users globally, including over 200 million in India, had faced backlash on the data scandal issue, prompting Zuckerberg to issue an apology for the "major breach of trust", and promising to take steps to protect user data. Facebook has also tweaked its usage policy for third party apps, including login process, to ensure limited access to user information. The Congress today accused Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath of withdrawing cases of heinous crimes such as rioting in Muzaffarnagar on religious lines. Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala alleged that Adityanath was emulating the British by ruling through the policy of "divide and rule". "Can cases be withdrawn because I am a Muslim, I am a Sikh, I am a Buddhist, I am a Jain, I am a Hindu, I am a Parsi? Can cases be withdrawn based on which religion do you belong to?" he asked. "Can cases under heinous offences, can cases of promoting enmity on communal ground, can cases of denigrating each others' religion and consequent riots be withdrawn as political cases is an important question that CM needs to answer," he alleged. BJP leaders met CM Adityanath on February 5, 2018 and demanded withdrawal of 179 of the 503 cases. Surjewala said that if Adityanath wanted to review all the cases of riots based on truth, then why only 179 out of 503. "Why are you selectively picking up only those which are being stated or represented by BJP workers and leaders?" he asked. Surjewala asked if Adityanath was "scared" that after the Supreme Court ordered fast tracking all criminal cases against political leaders. "Are they scared that if the cases are put in fast track court, then it will be adversarial for BJP leaders, MLAs and MPs and that is why a quick and hurried decision is being taken, although the CM has only moved and a final call is yet to be taken," he said. The Congress leader urged Adityanath to learn from the defeat in the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha bypolls, saying he is no longer a BJP leader, but a defender and protector of the Constitution and the law. "We want to remind him that he has taken oath of India's Constitution that he will protect and uphold the Constitution and the law. Will he do so, is a question that he must answer," he said. "Divide and rule is the policy being followed by the BJP for they have emulated the British for far too long. Divide and rule and somehow come to power - divide on the basis of religion and retain or attain power, divide on the basis of caste and attain power and make everyone fight with each other," Surjewala said. He claimed that in western Uttar Pradesh, there have been no riots since 1857 and even during the partition of the country. There were no riots in this area as Hindus, Muslim, Sikhs, Buddhists and others all stood together in unison to remain in the Indian Union, he said. They did not want to go with Pakistan, they did not subscribe to the theory of a religion-based country and they rejected it in toto, he said. Surjewala said it was only in September 2013, that there were riots for the first time in this area after over 100 years in which 62 people died and 503 cases were registered. British motorcycle brand Triumph, which sells premium bikes having engines between 800cc-2300cc, has seen a 15 per cent spurt in retail sales this financial year. But with the government announcing a 5 per cent hike in customs duty on completely knocked down (CKD) kits retail demand may come under pressure. In a chat with Moneycontrol, Vimal Sumbly, the India managing director of Triumph, explains how the hike has created an imbalance in the premium bike industry. When the 'Make in India' concept was started, government said Come and make in India. At that time, we used to take the FTA route with Thailand where the duties are 10 per cent. Then, because of the call by the government, we decided to set up an assembly plant with plans to have a full-fledged manufacturing unit. Last year around this time, 90 per cent of our portfolio was FTA and 10 per cent CKD and we flipped it completely to 90 per cent CKD and 10 per cent FTA. Unfortunately, they announced a 5 per cent increase in CKD and they did not change the FTA rates. I believe was not a positive sign for niche brands who are setting up their shops in India. CKD is sitting at 15 per cent (the rate of duty) and CBU after reduction is at 50 per cent. But this is negative because the FTA is with Thailand and most of the luxury cars or two-wheelers have a plant in Thailand. Now what direction is the government taking? If you do FTA, there is no requirement of investment, manpower or plant. We just import from Thailand and start selling at 10 per cent. Why should anybody come and invest here at 15 per cent when he can get it for 10 per cent under the FTA with zero investment?We used to import from Thailand until last year. We can do it (again) of course in the current scenario. Why would we logically not go the FTA route? We dont have to homologate or get certification. We just have to import and start selling.The brand is stronger with the price proposition but at the same time, if I have to present to the board that I wanted you to invest because I expected the government to be fair but thats not happened, then the parent company will not approve. A 5.7 per cent increase on a turnover of Rs 300 crore is Rs 17 crore, which we can use it for marketing.We have approached both SIAM and Ministry of Finance. We have spoken to them through mail but there is still no response.Typically, you would need volumes of 40,000-50,000 units per month. There is nothing stopping you but there is really no number attached to it. It depends on how the segment has performed in India.It is following the global trend. Classics range are 40-45 per cent of sales globally, followed by Adventure and then by Roadsters like speed bikes and lastly by Cruisers.The partnership is creating a new segment of motorcycles and it is about a premium motorcycle but at an affordable price point. The products will be badged as Triumph. The nitty-gritty of the venture is being worked upon. The mid-segment is going to play a stepping stone in for the premium segment.We have 15 subsidiaries in the world and we are among the top ten in terms of volumes and I hope in time we make it to top five. The ramp up of volumes is happening.Global brands change the product cycle based on calendar year. Replacement products come four months after we stop importing kits into the country. But I know we are at retail growth of 15 percent. There is no problem at the retail end.The premium bike market for such bikes in 10,000 bikes a year which is bound to rise to 20,000 bikes in the next 2-3 years. There should be a growth of 10-12 percent in sales for the year.We have 15 outlets as of now and we want to increase it to 25 in 2-3 years. We have a product portfolio of 15 and we want to take it 18-19 in 6-8 months.I believe at around 1700 units per year sales we should break even. In 2-3 years we should be able to reach that level. We are betting high on India and we believe the growth will be very good. With losses at state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB), due to alleged fraud, crossing the Rs 14,500-crore mark, reports now suggest that investigating agencies may summon the CEO of a top private bank for questioning along with a family member. It is believed that the spouse of the private banks CEO may have been involved in securing loans for the Mehul Choksi-promoted firm Gitanjali Gems. According to a report in The Indian Express, investigative agencies are trying to ascertain whether there is any connection with the bank CEOs spouse in getting the loans approved for Gitanjali Gems. Moneycontrol could not independently verify the claims made in the report. The private bank is believed to be part of the consortium of 31 banks that provided loans to the tune of Rs 5,200 crore to Choksis group companies. The report further alleged that person in question is believed to have taken a commission for securing the loan for Choksi. Sources told the paper that investigation agencies could summon the banks CEO along with the spouse early next month. Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi have been accused of defrauding PNB to the tune of thousands of crores by submitting fake letters of undertakings (LoUs) to get cash from banks overseas. Although the duo have fled the country, they are apparently in contact with investigating agencies via letters, where they have stressed that they would not return to India fearing for their life. 22:27 That's all for today, readers. Thanks for staying on with our coverage of the day's action. Your enthusiasm encourages us to better our coverage every day. Do come back tomorrow for more news, views and insights. Congress today gave a notice for moving a no-confidence Lok Sabha Lok Sabha Lok Sabha ensure Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge Kharge motion against the NDA government and wanted it to be taken up inon March 27.According to Congress sources, the party submitted the notice in the office of theSecretary General. The party has also issued a three-line whip to all its members intotheir presence on Tuesday when the House meets again. The motion will be moved by Congress leader in the, who is reaching out to other opposition parties to garner support for the motion, they said."This House expresses No-Confidence in the Council of Ministers," reads the one line motion, notice for which has been given by The World Trade Organization chief warned states today that creating barriers to international trade would "jeopardise the global economy," after Washington slapped steep tariffs on Chinese imports, heightening fears of a trade war. "Disrupting trade flows will jeopardise the global economy at a time when economic recovery, though fragile, has been increasingly evident around the world," WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said in a statement, calling for "restraint and urgent dialogue" Hectic parleys are being held by the government on seeking review of the Supreme Court verdict "diluting" provisions of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, amid indications that the ministry of social justice is in favour of the move. The ministry feels that the apex court order may defeat the real purpose of the law which is to ensure swift justice for victims of atrocities against the SC/ST communities.According to sources, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot recently met BJP chief Amit Shah, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Finance Arun Jaitley to discuss the matter. President Donald Trump today said that is considering vetoing the USD 1.3 trillion Omnibus Spending Bill alleging that the 800,000 plus recipients of DACA have been totally abandoned by the opposition Democrats.DACA stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which was started by the previous Obama administration, which allows some individuals, under restrictive conditions, who entered the country as minors. Some 800,000 such people had registered under the DACA policy; however their actual number is quite higher. The program has now lapsed. Jio Saavn Reliance Industries to integrate Jio Music and Saavn in a transaction valued at over USD 1 billion, with Reliance JioMusic's implied valuation at USD 670 million, according to a press release. Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd 20:23 Pakistan wants to sort out "as soon as possible" the issue of alleged harassment of diplomats, its High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood said today and asserted that his country desired "peaceful and good-neighbourly" relations with India. Mahmood, who came back to India last night, a week after he was called to Islamabad for consultations amid the raging row between India and Pakistan over harassment of diplomats, said such issues affect the relations between the two countries. 20:06 JSW Luiz Pegoraro JSW Energy today said it has appointed Sergio Luiz Pegoraro Rocha Chief Operating Officer to drive its the Electric Vehicles (EV) business. "Sergio Luiz Pegoraro Rocha has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer to drive the Electric Vehicles (EV) business of the Company," JSW Energy said in a BSE filing.He will be joining after completion of Indian immigration formalities and will report to Prashant Jain, JMD & CEO of JSW Energy Ltd, it said. In a boost for airlines, the Telangana government today announced steep reduction in value added tax on aircraft fuel to 1 percent from 16 percent.The move will help airlines in bringing down their operational costs of which fuel expenses is a major component."I am happy to announce that VAT on aircraft fuel which is currently at 16 percent in the state of Telangana will be reduced to 1 per cent immediately," Telangana's minister K T Rama Rao said. Rao, who is the IT and Industries Minister, made the announcement at an event to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here. The Bombay High Court today asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to list the steps being taken to check the airworthiness of all Pratt and Whitney 1100 engines that power A320neo aircraft.A bench of Justices Naresh Patil and G S Kulkarni also said that merely grounding some aircraft or following the directive of the European Air Safety Authority (EASA) against the use of P&W 1100 engines belonging to the '450 and beyond' series, was not enough.The court said it was the "duty" of the Union government (UoI) and the DGCA to ensure that all aircraft were safe for travel and passengers were assured of their safety. 18:38 paise The rupee today made an impressive recovery from early losses to close 10higher at a one-week high of 65.01 against the US currency which suffered losses in global markets on intensifying trade war worries. Fear and panic gripped the currency market sentiment initially after US President Donald Trump decided to slap tariffs on China. Weighed down by heavy dollar demand, the home currency plunged to an intra-day low of 65.21 before staging a rebound to a high of 64.97.The rupee finally settled with a gain of 10 paise at 65.01, a level last seen on March 16, when it had closed at 64.94. 18:18 SAARC SAARC Development Fund (SDF) has activated its infrastructure window by giving in-principle approval to two energy projects in Nepal and Sri Lank with total commitment of USD 30 million.CEO of SDF Sunil Motiwal said the fund will have an exposure of USD 15 million in the Hydro-electric project (HEP) in Nepal. The electricity generated from the project is proposed to be supplied to the grids in Nepal, Bangladesh and India. Rajendra Petkar Tata Motors has appointed Rajendra Petkar as its chief technology officer' and a member of the executive committee, effective April. Petkar has been officiating in this role since November 2017 prior to which he was the head of power systems engineering. Till a replacement is found, he will continue to oversee this vertical as well, the company said in a statement today. As the CTO, Petkar will be responsible for leading the product development & engineering function at Tata Motors, that involves design and development of a vast range of vehicles and components for the product portfolio. Shares of Union Bank of India today tanked over 8 per cent to hit a one-year low during the day amid concerns over losses incurred in a Rs 1,394-crore loan fraud case.The stock dived 8.29 percent to close at Rs 86.85 on BSE. Intra-day, it slumped 9.13 percent to Rs 86.05 - its 52-week low.At NSE, shares of the company tumbled 8.28 percent to end at Rs 86.85.The company's market valuation declined Rs 670.78 crore to Rs 7,432.22 crore. 17:02Gunman holding people hostage in France, claims to be associated with Islamic State A gunman is holding many people hostage in a supermarket in Trebes, France. The BBC reports that French media say that the man had earlier fired shots at policemen, wounding one of them. They were said to be jogging. The elite police are said the have gone to the scene at Super U shop in Trebes, near Carcassonne. A prosecutor says the gunman claims to be in the Islamic State group. An earlier hostage situation took place in 2015, where the perpetrator said he was affiliated to the Islamic State. FinMin The Finance Ministry said there is no proposal for merger of four public sector banks, including Canara Bank and Dena Bank. "Syndicate Bank, Canara Bank, Vijay Bank and Dena Bank have apprised that they have not made presentations about their merger or consolidation to the Ministry of Finance," Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. 10K 1st Bears tightened their grip on the Dalal Street with the Sensex shedding 410 points and the Nifty closing below the 10,000 mark for the first time in 2018 on global trade war fears. All sectoral indices ended in the red, barring IT, which gained 0.4%. All Nifty bank stocks closed with sharp cuts. Midcaps stocks recovered in the last hour of trade with the Nifty Midcap index trimming losses to 1.5% from 2.3%. Bharat Dynamics, which debuted at Rs 363.4 per share, finally ended nearly 9% lower, from its issue price of Rs 428 per share, at Rs 389.80 per share. Corporate India's merger and acquisition (M&A) deal volume touched a seven-year high in 2017 with 1,022 transactions, and the outlook for this year looks promising as well, says an EY report. While the deal volume reached a record high (as compared to 895 deals in 2016) since 2010, the deal value was lower by 12% YoY at $46.8 billion. 15:21 MEP Maha Road toll management firm MEP Infrastructure Developers said it, along with its JV partner LongJian Road & Bridge Company, has bagged three road projects in Maharashtra worth Rs 2,922 crore from the National Highways Authority of India. To be developed under the hybrid annuity model, the project includes four laning of Ausa-Chakur section worth Rs 848.63 crore, four laning of Chakur-Loha section worth Rs 1,000.1 crore and four laning of Loha-Waranga section worth Rs 1073.1 crore, it said in a statement. Shares of Union Bank of India tumbled over 9% to hit a one-year low amid concerns over losses incurred in a Rs 1,394-crore loan fraud case. The stock plunged 9.13% to Rs 86.05 to hit its 52-week low on BSE. On NSE, shares of the company dove 9.13% to hit its one-year low of Rs 86.05. The CBI has booked a Hyderabad-based company Totem Infrastructure, and its promoters Tottempudi Salalith and Tottempudi Kavita, for allegedly defrauding a consortium of eight banks to the tune of over Rs 1,394 crore, officials said on Thursday. The bank alleged in the complaint that it suffered a loss of Rs 313.84 crore as the loans given to the company had become NPA in June, 2012. The Delhi High Court ordered attachment of all declared assets of Singh brothers in a case related to the enforcement of a foreign arbitration award of Rs 3,500 crore by Japanese drug maker Daiichi Sankyo, reports CNBC-TV18. The court once again directed Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh, referred to as Singh brothers, to submit a list of unencumbered personal assets and directed appointment of a chartered accountant for valuing their assets. The court will resume hearing in the case on May 14. Jignesh MCX The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a fresh case against former MCX MD Jignesh Shah, four former chairpersons of the Forward Market Commission and six others for allegedly facilitating nationwide exchange status for the MCX, officials told Moneycontrol News Tarun Sharma. Searches were carried out at the office of Shah and others in nine locations in Mumbai, Gwalior and Shimla, the officials said. It is alleged that the accused had facilitated Multi Commodity of India (MCX) in getting Nationwide Multi Commodity Exchange status even though it did not fulfil the stipulated criteria. 14:51 AAP MLAs The Delhi High Court has set aside Centre's notification disqualifying 20 AAP MLAs in the office-of-profit case. It held the notification disqualifying AAP MLAs as bad in law and remands their plea back to the Election Commission which will hear it afresh, reports PTI. In its judgement, the court said there was violation of natural justice and no oral hearing was given to AAP MLAs before disqualifying them as legislators. 60K State-run Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) said its board has approved a Rs 60,000 crore borrowing plan for FY19. 14:32 Karti Chidambaram INX The Delhi High Court has granted bail to Karti Chidambaram in the INX Media corruption case. The court has asked him to furnish an Rs 10 lakh bail bond. 14:20 GSK 20bn GlaxoSmithKline has withdrawn from the race to buy Pfizers consumer healthcare business, the British drugs company said, endangering an auction for an asset some said could fetch as much as $20 billion, reports Reuters. GSK was seen as the front runner to buy the assets, which include Advil painkillers and Centrum vitamins, after main rival Reckitt Benckiser quit the race on Thursday. Two major Mumbai-based super-specialty hospitals are in talks with insurance companies to allow cashless facilities to all patients who have a health policy. Although claim settlement ratios have been high among standalone health insurers and general insurers, several hospitals across the country only accept reimburse claims due to fear of non-payment of dues, reports Moneycontrol News M Saraswathy. 14:06 PNB 41k LoUs FinMin Scam-hit Punjab National Bank had issued as many as 41,178 Letters of Undertakings (LoUs) since 2011, of which 1,590 were given to Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and their associates, the Finance Ministry said. Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said that as per PNB, the total number of LoUs issued to the companies of Nirav Modi, his relatives and the Nirav Modi Group are 1,213, and to Mehul Choksi, his relatives and the Gitanjali Group are 377. (PTI) PNB 506cr FY18 State-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) has witnessed losses to the tune of Rs 14,506.39 crore due to fraud so far in this fiscal, Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. "PNB has apprised that the total loss reported by it due to frauds was Rs 341.03 crore in FY16, Rs 2,633.82 crore in FY17, and Rs 14,506.39 crore (including contingent liability) in FY18 (till date)," he said. 13:57 Sensex 10K The market continues to trade weak, but the bulls are putting up a tough fight. The Street is certainly off the days low, with IT stocks helping in reining in the fall. Selling pressure is visible in all sectoral indices, with PSU banks, metals, pharma and auto hit the most. Nifty IT index is the sole gainer, up around 0.1%. Midcaps, too, are trading weak, with the Nifty Midcap index up around 2%. Infosys and HCL Tech are leading the charts, while Axis Bank, Yes Bank, SBI, Tata Steel, HDFC and ITC dragging the indices lower. 13:48 Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri informed Parliament that the government would complete its target of building 11 million homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna much before 2022. Ravi Bhandari, the owner of Mumbai's Kamala Mills, moved the Supreme Court challenging his arrest in connection with a fire that claimed 14 lives in December last year, reports PTI. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Bhandari, said his arrest is illegal detention and he can't be booked for the offence of culpable homicide. Congress MPs, led by party chief Rahul Gandhi, staged a protest in front of Mahatma Gandhi's statue inside Parliament premises, demanding that the Centre seeks a review of the Supreme Court's verdict on the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, reports PTI. The apex court had on Tuesday diluted its stringent provisions mandating immediate arrest under the law in a bid to protect honest public servants discharging bona fide duties from being blackmailed with false cases under the SC/ST Act. centre Aadhaar The Centre considers ensuring timely delivery of food for millions of poor more important than heeding to concerns over privacy, Attorney General KK Venugopal said while defending the unique digital identity programme or Aadhaar, reports Bloomberg. Right to life is not merely a right to animal existence. It is a right to live with dignity, food and livelihood. If you have no food and shelter, where is the question of privacy of these people? he said in the Supreme Court on Thursday. In defending the security of the database, the attorney general focused more on its physical, rather than digital safety. "Our data centre has walls that are 13 feet high and 5 feet thickness. We have various safety precautions, he stated. Mangalam Birla Telecom operators Vodafone India and Idea Cellular announced leadership team for their soon-to-be-merged entity, with Kumar Mangalam Birla as the non-executive Chairman and Balesh Sharma as the new CEO. Sharma, currently the Chief Operating Officer of Vodafone India, in his new role as the CEO of the combined entity will be responsible for driving the business' strategy and its execution. 13:00 JSPL 200cr QIP Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) plans to raise Rs 1,200 crore through qualified institutional placement (QIP) and has set an issue price of Rs 233 per share. The company proposes to issue and allot up to 51,502,145 equity shares, it said in a BSE filing. Shimla UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who had come here to inspect her under-construction house at Chharabra, 15 km from Shimla, complained of restlessness last midnight, following which she was taken to Delhi, reports PTI. 12:51 Actor Zeenat Aman registers a rape case against a businessman at Juhu Police Station, reports ANI. Accused has been arrested and will be produced in court today. Lokayukta The Supreme Court asked the chief secretaries of 12 states to specify why they have not appointed a Lokayukta, reports PTI. The 12 states which have been asked to give reasons for not appointing a Lokayukta are Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi and West Bengal. US President Donald Trump has temporarily excluded six countries, including Canada and Mexico, and European Union states from higher US import duties on steel and aluminium meant to come into effect on Friday, reports Reuters. Bears continue to maintain tight control over Dalal Street on US-China trade war concerns. The Sensex is down close to 500 points. Midcap continue to bleed with the NSE Midcap index down 2%. Asian markets like Nikkei, Shanghai, Hang Seng and Kospi are down anywhere between 3% and 5%. 11:42 The Congress party has filed a privilege notice against External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj over the Mosul Tragedy, reports CNN-News18. EVs Mahindra & Mahindra has committed launch of at least three new electric vehicles including two new sports utility vehicles using a battery pack that is more than four times more powerful than its current mini electric car e2o. Moneycontrol News Swaraj Baggonkar reports that besides an electric SUV and sedan, M&M will also roll out an electric version of the KUV100. In addition, there will be two electric rickshaws and two electric buses. US consumer debt has exploded over the past 10 years and hit a post-crisis high. Student loans outstanding have hit $1.5 trillion, up from $589 billion 10 years ago. Auto loan debt just passed the $1.1 trillion mark, up from $781 billion a decade ago. And credit card debt is approaching the $800 billion mark, up from $311 billion 10 years ago. The US Congress voted early on Friday to approve a $1.3-trillion government funding bill with large increases in military and non-defence spending, sending it to President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it into law, reports Reuters. With Trumps signature, the bill will avert a threatened government shutdown and keep federal agencies funded until September 30. Venezuelas President Nicolas Maduro ordered a re-denomination of the ailing bolivar currency, by knocking three zeroes off amid hyperinflation and a crippling economic crisis, reports Reuters. The measure to divide the so-called bolivar fuerte - or strong bolivar - currency by 1,000 would take effect from June 4, the socialist leader said. It would not have any impact on the bolivars value. Jignesh MCX The Central Bureau of Investigation is conducting raids at 63 Moons Technologies office in Mumbai in relation to the MCX IPO case. Raids are also ongoing at the premises of Jignesh Shah and Joseph Massey, reports Moneycontrol News' Tarun Sharma. 10:47 Binani Binani Industries denied reports of fraud saying the accounts of the company and holding companies have been fully audited and all transactions have been disclosed. The stock exchanges had sought its response over news reports suggesting that resolution professional has alleged fraud by Binani Cement promoters. Rajya Sabha The Congress has issued a three-line whip to all its MPs in the Rajya Sabha asking them to be present in the House at 11 am today in full strength and support the party's stand. Sources told PTI that the whip was issued last night as the opposition party seeks to corner the government on some burning issues. State-owned defence company Bharat Dynamics share price opened sharply lower following weak market conditions and tepid investor response to the issue. The stock price debuted at Rs 363.4 per share on the National Stock Exchange, falling 15% from its issue price of Rs 428 per share. Bhushan Tata Steel said it had been selected as the successful resolution applicant for buying debt-laden Bhushan Steel. The Committee of Creditors of Bhushan Steel had on Thursday declared the Tata Group's steel business as the successful resolution applicant, subject to obtaining necessary regulatory approvals, it said in a stock exchange filing. ArcelorMittal Sebi Uttam Galva ArcelorMittal has approached market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), National Stock Exchange and BSE, requesting them to change its 'promoter' status in Uttam Galva Steels, reports Moneycontrol News Tarun Sharma. Sources said the company wrote to the regulator and the exchanges in the first week of March. Bears took control of Dalal Street with the Nifty breaching the psychological 10,000-mark for the first time in 2018 on the back of a global sell-off on concerns over a global trade war. The Sensex is down around 400 points. The Nifty Midcap is seeing huge selling, down 2%. All sectoral indices are in the red, falling up to 3%. Fortis Healthcare, India's second largest healthcare provider, is left with three directors after Pradeep Ratilal Raniga, Non-Executive Independent Director, resigned from the company's Board, reports Moneycontrol News' Viswanath Pilla. The company said Raniga resigned due to personal reasons primarily increase in other work commitments in Australia and other parts of the world. With Raniga's resignation, Fortis Board is left with three directors that include Harpal Singh and Brian W Tempest. Hazare Lokpal Social activist Anna Hazare has gone on an indefinite hunger strike against the Centre in Delhi, nearly seven years after his anti-corruption movement caught the imagination of millions of Indians and shook the then UPA government, reports PTI. Hazare has been pressing for setting up of the Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in the states, besides implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report, which has suggested ways to address the agrarian distress. US President Donald Trump shook up his foreign policy team again on Thursday, replacing HR McMaster as national security adviser with John Bolton, a hawk who has advocated using military force against North Korea and Iran, reports Reuters. The move came little more than a week after Trump fired Rex Tillerson as secretary of state and nominated Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo to replace him. Bitcoin failed to hold above $9,000 after reports of increased scrutiny on cryptocurrencies by Japanese regulators, reports CNBC. The cryptocurrency hit a low of $8,495.10 and was trading 3% lower near $8,600 as of 09:12 pm, according to CoinDesk's bitcoin price index. Japan's Financial Services Agency plans to issue a warning against Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange Binance for operating in the country without registration, Reuters reported. If Binance does not heed the warning, the agency will file a criminal complaint. Asian markets slumped on Friday, tracking sharp falls in US and European stocks, which took a hit on fears of a potential trade war, reports CNBC. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 fell 3.59% in the morning after earlier dropping to its lowest levels in around five months. The broader Topix lost 2.88%. Meanwhile, Seoul's benchmark Kospi index lost 2.25%, as shares fell broadly. Greater China markets plunged in early trade, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index sinking 3.09%. On the mainland, the Shanghai composite dropped 2.98% and the Shenzhen composite lost 3.3% as stocks came under pressure from mounting trade tensions. US stocks fell sharply on Thursday, pressured by worries of a potential trade war and a decline in tech shares, reports CNBC. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 724.42 points to close at 23,957.89. The 2.9% decline was the worst since February 8. The S&P 500 fell 2.5% to 2,643.69, with seven of 11 sectors dropping more than 2%. The Nasdaq Composite pulled back 2.3% to close at 7,166.68. India may be in a position where it would want to retaliate, a top Trump administration official said, even as the US continues to be on the cusp of triggering a global trade war by unveiling high import tariffs on a number of items. The US Trade Representative (USTR), Robert Lighthizer, told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing that India's system is not open and has a lot of vulnerabilities. He was responding to a question from Senator Ben Cardin from Maryland, who shared concerns of the American spice industry that depend largely on countries such as India on the import of spices and are now fearing a retaliatory action from them. 07:33 The SGX Nifty is currently trading at 10,011, down 106.5 points, or 1.05%. 3bn China unveiled plans to impose tariffs on US imports worth $3 billion in retaliation against US tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminium products, as the worlds two largest economies stood on the brink of a trade war, reports Reuters. China was considering a 15% tariff on US products including dried fruit, wine and steel pipes and a 25% tariff on pork products and recycled aluminium, the commerce ministry said in a statement. It has assembled a list of 128 US products in total that could be targeted if the two countries are unable to reach an agreement on trade issues, the ministry added. President Donald Trump signed an executive memorandum on Thursday that would impose retaliatory tariffs on Chinese imports worth $60 billion, reports CNBC. "This is the first of many" trade actions, Trump said as he signed the memo. The new measures are designed to penalise China for trade practices that the Trump administration says involve stealing American companies' intellectual property. They will primarily target certain products in the technology sector where China holds an advantage over the US. Lighthizer Lighthizer's The new measures follow a so-called 301 investigation led by US Trade Representative Robertinto China's potentially unfair trade practices with the US.office will publish a list of targeted products in 15 days, and there will be a 30-day period for public comment, according to senior administration officials. The US Trade Representative's yet-to-be-released report covers 1,300 product lines, they said. U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he arrives to deliver his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress inside the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 30, 2018. REUTERS/Win McNamee/Pool - HP1EE1V06J5S3 US President Donald Trump today fired his National Security Adviser Lt Gen H R McMaster and replaced him with a conservative hawk and former UN Ambassador John Bolton, the latest high-level shakeup in the chaotic White House. Reports of McMaster's ouster had surfaced last week but the White House had dispelled them saying there were no changes at the National Security Council (NSC). Trump, however, took to Twitter today to make the announcement of 69-year-old Bolton's appointment. "I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, John Bolton will be my new National Security Adviser," Trump said on Twitter. "I am very thankful for the service of General H R McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend," Trump said. Bolton's appointment does not require US Senate confirmation. He will take the job on April 9. The move, which was sudden but not unexpected, signals a more confrontational approach in American foreign policy at a time when the US president faces mounting challenges, including from Iran and North Korea, the New York Times commented. The appointment of Bolton could lead to dramatic changes in the Trump administration's approach to crises around the world, The Washington Post said. His appointment is certain to scramble the White House's preparations for a proposed summit by the end of May between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Bolton, known for his walrus moustache, is a fierce North Korea hawk who, in his prolific writings and television commentary, has said that preemptive war would likely be the only way to stop North Korea from obtaining the capability to attack the US with a nuclear missile. McMaster was Trump's second national security adviser after Michael Flynn was dismissed last year for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the US. The NSC is one of the most powerful wings of the White House that drives the administration's national security agenda. The announcement of McMaster's ouster, who the White House said had a "good working relationship" with Trump, is the latest in a string of high-profile White House departures since President Trump took office in January 2017. The announcement came just days after he replaced secretary of state Rex Tillerson with his close ally, CIA Director Mike Pompeo. That move, Trump said, was in preparation for upcoming top-level nuclear talks with North Korean leader Kim. According to a White House official, Trump and McMaster mutually agreed that the latter will resign as the NSA. "The two have been discussing this for some time. The timeline was expedited as they both felt it was important to have the new team in place, instead of constant speculation," the official said. Trump and McMaster both released written statements thanking each other, with the president describing McMaster as an architect of his "America First" foreign policy. "He helped develop our America First National Security Strategy, revitalise our alliances in the Middle East, smash ISIS, bring North Korea to the table, and strengthen our nation's prosperity. This work and those achievements will ensure that America builds on its economic and military advantages. I thank General McMaster and his family for their service and wish them the very best," Trump said. McMaster said after 34 years of service, he is requesting retirement from the US Army effective this summer after which he will leave public service. "Throughout my career, it has been my greatest privilege to serve alongside extraordinary service members and dedicated civilians. The White House has described Bolton, who replaces McMaster, as one of the strongest voices and experts on the full range of national security issues and challenges facing the country. Bolton has been a foreign policy hawk in Republican circles for decades, having served in the administrations of Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush and George W Bush. Bolton served as US Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2005-2006 and as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security from 2001-2005. Bolton, during his tenure at the United Nations, was a leading voice on the need for the Security Council to take strong and meaningful action against international proliferation and terrorism. As Under Secretary, he repeatedly advocated tough . Donald Trump US President Donald Trump took to Twitter yet again on Thursday and announced that John Bolton would replace HR McMaster as the countrys national security advisor (NSA). Bolton will take over officially from McMaster on April 9, Trump added. I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2018 President Trump has said that the outgoing NSA "has done an outstanding job and will always remain his friend". Who is Bolton? The 69-year-old George Bush-era defence official has a history of taking hardline positions on foreign policy. He has had an active presence on television and Twitter. His recent tweets give some insight on what he will bring to Trump's White House. "Its important to stand behind our South Korean allies, but if we pay heed to the lessons of history, talking to #NorthKorea would be fruitless," he recently tweeted. Earlier this month, Trump had replaced his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. In little over a year of Trumps presidency, more than a dozen key members of his administration have either been sacked or have resigned from their posts. According to a report by Vox, the number of exits the Trump administration has seen in its first year is higher than the past five administrations put together. The Trump administrations staff turnover during the period is around 34 percent. The second-highest first-year turnover was under President Ronald Regan at 17 percent. Here are some of the notable exits from the White House under Trump: Rob Porter Porter resigned after being accused of domestic violence by his two ex-wives. Porter has denied the allegations. White House officials initially defended him, with chief of staff John Kelly calling him a man of true integrity and honour. Reince Priebus Similar to Tillersons exit, Trump announced on Twitter that he was replacing Reince Priebus as the Chief of Staff with John Kelly. News reports citing White House officials suggest that Trump told Priebus he wanted to make a change two weeks before he was fired. Anthony Scaramucci Scaramucci officially served as the White House Director of Communications for just six days before being fired. A week after Scaramucci was hired, The New Yorker published a detailed account of an expletive-ridden phone conversation one of their reporters had with him. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, "The president certainly felt that Anthony's comments were inappropriate for a person in that position, and he didn't want to burden Gen. Kelly." Sean Spicer Spicer took over as the Press Secretary in January 2017. Spicer stepped down, just a few hours after Anthony Scaramucci was brought on board the Trump administration as communications director. James Comey FBI Director James Comey was sacked by Donald Trump, who the White House initially said, was acting on the advice of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. They also criticised Comey's handling of the Hillary Clinton emails investigation. However, President Trump later said that it was his decision alone and that he was thinking about the FBI's Russian election interference probe when he resolved to fire Comey. Mike Flynn Flynn was part of Trumps campaign before becoming the National Security Adviser (NSA). He was at the White House for around three week before he resigned when it was learnt that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about the nature of meetings he had with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak prior to President Trump's inauguration. Hope Hicks Hicks is one of Donald Trump's longest-serving aide. While her resignation was announced on February 28, it will only go into effect a few weeks later. Hicks resignation came a day after she was interviewed by the House Intelligence Committee during which she said she had occasionally lied on Trump's behalf, according to news reports. Steve Bannon Bannon was earlier Chief Executive Officer of Trumps election campaign. Upon Trump's election, Bannon was appointed as the Presidents chief strategist, which was met with backlash. Bannon has been the executive chairman of Breitbart News magazine which published articles promoting an alt-right movement. News reports suggest that Bannon was fired because Trump was getting increasingly frustrated with him. Rex Tillerson Tillersons replacement as the Secretary of State was announced by Trump on Twitter. Tillersons aide claimed that the Tillerson was not informed earlier and was unaware of the move. Trump and Tillerson had differences over various diplomatic issues, with the international nuclear accord with Iran being biggest bone of contention between them. Even on the issue of North Korea, the two had multiple miscommunications. (With inputs from Reuters) Pervez Musharraf Pakistan's former dictator General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, who has to appear before a special Pakistani court in a high treason case, is likely to return from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next month, a leader of Pakistan Awami Ittehad has said. The 74-year-old retired general has been living in Dubai since last year when he was allowed to leave Pakistan on the pretext of medical treatment. The former military ruler was indicted in March, 2014 on treason charges for imposing emergency in the country which led to the confinement of a number of superior court judges in their houses and sacking of over 100 judges. He has been declared "proclaimed offender" by courts in the treason and the Benazir Bhutto assassination cases. "Former president (retd) General Pervez Musharraf would return to Pakistan next month," Iqbal Dar, secretary general of the Pakistan Awami Ittehad (PAI), a coalition of 23 political and religious parties led by the former president, was quoted as saying by the 'Dawn' newspaper. He also said that the date of Musharraf's arrival and the city where he would be landing would be announced after consultation with all members of the PAI. Musharraf, who had ruled Pakistan from 1999 to 2008, had sought adequate security from the government for his return and his lawyer had moved a petition to the interior ministry, stating that the former president faced security threats. The ministry, in its response, had sought the details of Musharraf's travel itinerary and his stay in Pakistan so that necessary foolproof security arrangements can be made for him well in time. On March 16, the special court hearing the treason case against him authorised the government to suspend his passport as well as his computerised national identity card. The court had also directed the Interior Ministry to approach the Interpol for the arrest of the former president. SAARC Development Fund (SDF) has activated its infrastructure window by giving in-principle approval to two energy projects in Nepal and Sri Lanka with total commitment of USD 30 million. CEO of SDF Sunil Motiwal said the fund will have an exposure of USD 15 million in the Hydro-electric project (HEP) in Nepal. The electricity generated from the project is proposed to be supplied to the grids in Nepal, Bangladesh and India. SDF has also committed USD 15 million to energy project in Sri Lanka where the municipal waste will be converted to electricity and supplied to the grid, he said in a statement. Motiwal expressed confidence that the projects will help SDF achieve its development goals in the region and promote welfare and prosperity of the people in the SAARC region. He further said the SDF was also considering some "bankable cross border regional connectivity projects" in renewable energy, transport, telecom and information technology and communication (ICT) under the Economic and Infrastructure Windows of the fund. SDF was established by the Heads of the eight SAARC Member States -- Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in April 2010 with the aim to promote the welfare of the people of SAARC region. The fund serves as the umbrella financial institution for SAARC projects and programmes which fulfil the objectives of the SAARC Charter. Post the US President Trumps tariff announcement most global markets were under pressure. Chetan Ahya, Co-Head of Global Economics & Chief Asia Economist at Morgan Stanley and shane oliver of AMP Capital Investors tried to analyse the impact of these developmens on developed and emerging markets. Ahya thinks the measures taken by the US President Trump were less aggressive than what we feared and markets feared a few days back. There are basically two sets of measures that have been announced. First is imposition of tariff against the value of goods imports from China of about USD 50 billion and the second one not clearly noticed by media is that they have actually taken back tariff for EU, Australia, Brazil and Korea. Now with these measure there is just USD 15 worth of steel and aluminium under tariff. So there has been a reversal of certain measures taken earlier. While levying tariff on Chinese goods imports is a negative, the US administration official also mentioned they are in big negotiating with China, so it's unclear if it's a move by the US to then eventually negotiate with China as well, just as they have reversed some of the tariff on steel and aluminum or it is going to go further deteriorate from here. However, at this point of time it is more likely to have moderate impact on trade and growth and we maintain our view that that global trade and growth will be relatively strong going forward, says Ahya. Oilver too says that the announcement from President Trump was less severe than feared and it looks more like a negotiating tactics ahead of negotiations with China to extracting a better deal from China. Exactly the same tactics which was employed in relation to steel and aluminium tariffs announced a few weeks ago. He thinks the market seems to have overreacted a little bit with respect to recent developments. Trump wants to extract a deal and not cause damage to US exports, he adds. Talking about the impact on India, Ahya said they are not very concerned about the direct impact on India. As of now the approach that the US has taken against India specifically is not something which is a unilateral, aggressive move. So the impact of this to India directly is relatively more moderate or measured. When asked if he would be buying India, Oliver said India was relatively overvalued for many years compared to other markets and that over valuation has reduced and so would be looking to buy India but maybe not just yet. Donald Trump US President Donald Trump today announced USD 50 billion of tariffs on China to punish the country for its "unfair" trade practices, a move that could escalate the already tense trade relations between the world's two biggest economies. Trump directed the US trade representative to level tariffs on about USD 50 billion worth of Chinese imports after a seven-month investigation into the intellectual property theft, which has been a longstanding point of contention in US-China trade relations. Trump instructed US Trade Representative to publish a proposed list of products and any tariff increases within 15 days and to pursue dispute settlement in the World Trade Organization (WTO) to address China's discriminatory technology licensing practices. He also has directed the Treasury Secretary to address concerns about investment in the US directed or facilitated by China in industries or technologies deemed important to the country. "This has been long in the making," Trump told reporters in the White House at the ceremony to sign his memorandums targeting China's economic actions. He said America's trade deficit with China was a whopping USD 504 billion per annum. "According to some estimates it is USD 375 billion. But anyway you look at it, it is the largest deficit of any country in the history of our world. It's out of control," he said. Trump said his Section 301 trade action could be about USD 60 billion. "But that's really just a fraction of what we're talking about," he said, adding that he has asked China to reduce the trade deficit immediately by USD 100 billion. "It's a lot. That would be anywhere from 25 percent, depending on the way you figure, to maybe something even more than that. But we have to do that," he said. Reiterating his use of word "reciprocal", Trump said it was not good when they charge 25 percent for a car to go in, and the US charges 2 percent for their car to come into the US. "That's how China rebuilt itself. The tremendous money that we've paid since the founding of the World Trade Organization, which has actually been a disaster for us. It's been very unfair to us. The arbitrations are very unfair. The judging has been very unfair. And knowingly, we always have a minority, and it's not fair," he said. Trump alleged that China had been indulging in tremendous intellectual property theft worth hundreds of billions of dollars on a yearly basis. "I've spoken to the president. I've spoken to representatives of China. We've been dealing with it very seriously," he said. "As you know, we're renegotiating NAFTA. We'll see how that turns out. Many countries are calling to negotiate better trade deals, because they don't want to have to pay the steel and aluminum tariffs, and we are negotiating with various countries," he added. Scarcity of choice is another issue for brokers. We have fewer lenders that go to Quebec, added McKenney. We dont have MICs or B lenders that go to Quebec, so thats the biggest problem. Lenders are always hoping to go and saying theyre going to change their policies and move into Quebec, but of course the language is different and the legal system is quite a bit different there as well, so that keeps them from breaking into Quebec. On the issue lender scarcity, one prominent brokerage head, who did not want to speak on the record, told Mortgagebrokernews.ca that three banks own most of the provinces market share. National Bank, Desjardins and Caisse de depot dont let others innobody wants to give up a portion of their pie. They were a stronghold back then [when he ran a Quebec brokerage] and they are today. Between them, they hold about 50% of the market, for sure. When you do the math behind that, everybody fights for the other 50%. Its just easier to do business in Ontario. He also believes that homegrown institutions would still resonate more with Quebecers than out-of-province lenders, stating, Theyre very well-recognized and solidly branded. Theyre Quebec entities and they have strongholds in their own community. Thats why everybody else finds it tougher to penetrate. Impac Mortgage has announced that Joseph Tomkinson will be stepping down from his role of chairman and CEO, effective July 31. Tomkinson will remain a director on the Impac board. The company disclosed the move in its earnings release for the full-year 2017. The change follows Impacs announcement in November that William Ashmore was stepping down as president and board member of the company. Ashmore elected not to renew his contract, which expired at the end of 2017. "We're excited to kick off this series of value-adding workshops for AIME members to gain exclusive insight, tips and best practices focused on growing their business," said Anthony Casa, AIME founder and chairman. "AIME has caught on like wildfire in its first four weeks and has seen more than 6,000 members sign up to date." Launched in February, AIME hopes to propel the wholesale channel beyond 20% share of the mortgage market by 2020. Part of that strategy is consumer-focused. AIME is working on an aggressive campaign to rebrand mortgage brokers as "mortgage advisors" in the public eye. The campaign will target homebuyers, realtors, builders, financial advisors and real estate attorneys to effectively tell the story of why independent mortgage experts are the best choice for getting a mortgage. There will be no confusion about the associations agenda, in terms of is it pro-broker or pro-banker? said Casa. The purpose of AIME is to fight solely for independent mortgage professionals in as biased a way as possible In addition, AIME will become a community platform, helping mortgage professionals share ideas, providing exclusive member benefits and lobbying for progressive legislative and social measures. AIME membership costs $79 annually. The Irvine workshop is $50 per member and includes breakfast and lunch. Midstream companies of all stripes from integrated firms to master limited partnerships to private equity-backed firms -- are flocking to the Permian Basin, drawn by expectations of high rates of growth in oil and natural gas production Joining that crowd will be Lotus Midstream, backed by a $400 million capital commitment from EnCap Flatrock Midstream and its management team. Mike Prince, who will serve as chief executive officer, said it is an exciting time to be a midstream company, in part because there is a renewed focus on infrastructure and the need to take care of energy infrastructure, maintaining and upgrading pipelines and the need to upgrade the nations ports. He said this will lead the United States to be competitive, not just in energy but economically overall. Another reason its an exciting time to be a midstream company is because the midstream space is continuously evolving, Prince said. Part of that evolution is the large acreage positions operators are taking in both the Midland and Delaware basins that will need infrastructure -- from gathering lines to mainlines to terminals -- in the next several years, he said. Operators also will need access to various end-markets, particularly as exports of U.S. crude continue to increase, Prince said. Shippers need optionality to get to the water for shipping, he said. Thats why midstream companies planning projects bringing Permian Basin crude to the Gulf Coast are offering the option of sending that crude to the refineries or to the water, he said. He predicts the rising tide of light sweet crude coming from shales in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford will prompt Gulf Coast refineries to move beyond their ability to process heavier crudes. There will be refinery expansions or redesigns. But that wont capture all the growth in the future from the Permian, he said. The Permian has demonstrated that, amid all the price variability, its the most resilient play, and its potential is enormous. Prince said Lotus Midstream plans to be competitive by focusing on what we know. I have a 25-year record in the midstream space and over 10 years doing business development. Prince and fellow founding partners Emily Baker, chief commercial officer, and Jen Fontenot, chief operating officer, worked together for more than five years as members of Sunoco Logistics Partners business development team and have more than 55 years collective experience. Liz Condreay serves Lotus as commercial manager. Lotus will develop crude oil transportation infrastructure specifically, with an initial focus on the Permian Basin, he said. There are a couple of acquisition opportunities the company is looking at, but Prince declined to be more specific because theyre in the very early stages. He said he believes the teams track record has opened up several opportunities as Lotus gets up and running. We organized in January, signed the lease on our office in February and were already busy, he said. Being backed by a private equity firm like EnCap Flatrock Midstream gives Lotus an advantage in terms of cost to capital and flexibility in structuring deals, Prince said. The backing from EnCap has been invaluable not only financially but in sharing ideas, he said. Crude prices that have rebounded from their steep decline have helped fuel a sharp increase in the Texas Permian Basin Petroleum Index. Karr Ingham, the Amarillo economist who prepares the index, reported the January index posted its 16th consecutive monthly increase and is 29.6 percent higher than the January 2017 index. For the first time since November 2016, crude prices crossed the $60 barrier, averaging $60.10 a barrel in January, up 22 percent from the $49.25 averaged in January 2017. Drilling activity has recovered from a September-October slump, with the rig count in the Railroad Commission districts that cover West Texas averaging 329 rigs in January, a 40 percent surge from the 235 averaged the previous January. That rise in drilling activity sent crude production volumes to a record high of just under 63 million barrels in January, a gain of 17.8 percent over a year earlier. The value of that production rose 43.7 percent to $3.77 billion, compared to $2.63 billion a year ago. The cash flow from that output was flowing into more paychecks, with oil and gas industry employment surging 25 percent to approximately 34,575 from 27,665 in January 2017. Revised figures released earlier this month by the Texas Workforce Commission increased the number of jobs by an estimated 1,660 and raised the growth rate to 25 percent from the original 20.3 percent. The Railroad Commission issued 656 drilling permits in January, the highest January figure since 2014 and a 34.7 percent jump from the 487 issued in January 2017. Permian operators reported 550 oil well completions in January, 125.4 percent more than the 244 reported the previous January. Natural gas generally followed crude oil trends, with the January average price of $3.18 per Mcf inching up a penny from last Januarys average of $3.17 per Mcf. Natural gas production volumes in January were 204.7 million cubic feet, up 13.8 percent from 178.9 million the last January. With slightly higher commodity prices, production values rose 14.2 percent to $651 million from last Januarys $570.3 million. Permian operators reported 35 natural gas well completions in January, 30 more or 600 percent more than the five operators reported in January 2017. The West Texas Food Bank has enough to keep staff busy serving 19 counties in the Permian Basin and partnering with 65 agencies in providing food for those in need. Donations and drives have helped the organization achieve its mission of fighting hunger. The nonprofit provides more than just meals for clients; it also provides education and programming This weekend, the food bank will get to party with a purpose with a new fundraiser, Forever Full Margarita Fiesta, at the Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center. The board said that we hadnt done a signature event in a while, WTFB executive director Libby Campbell said. We had pulled back from large-scale events but they felt this was a good time to introduce a new one. Forever Full will offer a festive night of food, dancing and music. This is definitely going to have a party feel, Campbell said. Well have an avocado bar, signature margaritas and live and silent auctions. The fiesta will spread from the Rea-Greathouse Recital Hall to the lobby up to the main stage where The Spazmatics will perform for dancing. The meal will be provided by Eddie Deen and Co. from Dallas. The baseline for the event is to raise money for the food bank because needs are perpetual -- even as the local economy is on the rise. IF YOU GO: : Forever Full Margarita Fiesta benefiting the West Texas Food Bank. 7 p.m. Saturday at the Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center, 1310 N. Farm-to-Market Road 1788. Individual tickets are available by calling 432-697-4003. wtxfoodbank.com. See More Collapse Weve seen the economy thrive but with that, the face of hunger changes. With every boom, comes a rise in the cost of living. So those on a fixed income or single parents find themselves with new challenges, Campbell said. She is optimistic about continued support and expects sponsor tables to be sold out. It lets me know that there are those who believe in our mission and who believe in our staff to help out, she said. They know that we can support those in need with their help. West Texas is a special place, and we take care of our own. Other ways to help: --The Junior League of Midlands 17th annual Shotguns and Stilettos 2018 is underway. The event began with a luncheon on Thursday with former first lady Laura Bush. Today there will be a clay shoot at Windwalker Farms, followed by Buckshot Bash at the Petroleum Club on Saturday. --Senior Link of Midland hosts its inaugural March for Meals at Midland College beginning 10 a.m. Saturday. The event begins with a walk around the campus, followed by a resource fair at the Carrasco Room at Scharbauer Student Center. Our History is Our Strength is the Negro Business and Professional Womens Club of Midlands annual scholarship fundraiser. This formal event at the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center celebrates National Womens Month, womens health and Founders Day. Guest Speaker will be Gail Weatherspoon-Nelson. Casa de Amigos will hosts its second annual House of Friends dinner this Thursday at the Petroleum Club. The event will benefit programming such as senior center community services, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA), Kathryns Closet and other social service programs. A Fly Jamaica Airways crew member is accused of attempting to smuggle nearly nine pounds of cocaine through John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Federal officials said that during a security search late last week, Hugh Hall, a Jamaican citizen, was found to have four packages filled with white powder strapped to his legs and hidden underneath his pants. Authorities confirmed that the substance was cocaine - about $160,000 worth, according to a statement from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Hall was taken into custody Saturday on federal illegal drug smuggling charges, authorities said. His attorney could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday by The Washington Post. Federal officials said Hall and the other crew members from Fly Jamaica Airways Flight 272 were selected for inspection Saturday at the airport in Queens, New York. During pat-downs, Customs and Border Protection agents felt an object around Hall's leg, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. When questioned by agents, Hall, who was flying from Montego Bay, Jamaica, said that the substance was cocaine, according to the court records. He appeared in court Monday and was ordered to be detained, according to the U.S. attorney's office. "This seizure is another example of our CBP officers being ever vigilant in protecting the United States from the distribution of illicit drugs," Leon Hayward, acting director of the Customs and Border Protection's New York field operations, said in the statement. In the United States in 2016, there were more than 63,600 drug overdose deaths amid an opioid epidemic sweeping the nation, according to the most recent data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Though it is not an opioid, cocaine, a highly addictive controlled substance, was involved in nearly 6,700 overdose deaths the previous year - or 13 percent of the total number of overdose deaths, according to the research. Cocaine comes from coca leaves grown in South America and about 90 percent of the powder shipped to the United States is produced in labs in Colombia, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Representatives for Fly Jamaica Airways did not immediately respond Thursday to requests for comment about the incident in New York. A Kingwood mother is behind bars Wednesday after allegedly birthing her child in a toilet earlier this month. Stephanie Annette Brock, 21, is facing a felony injury to a child charge stemming from the boy's birth on March 1. Harris County Sheriff's Office detectives claim Brock did not seek medical care for the boy after his birth. Michigan Techs new Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope lets researchers zoom in to understand the big picture at the atomic scale. Housed in a specially constructed brick building at the south end of Michigan Technological Universitys campus is the FEI 200kV Titan Themis Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (S-TEM). One of only two Titans in the state of Michigan, the microscope is capable of imaging at the atomic scale, providing chemical information from a sample and can also operate as a transmission electron microscope. Such a powerful tool is one of the newest in the Applied Chemical and Morphological Analysis Laboratorys (ACMAL) arsenal. S-TEMs use an electron beam less than an angstrom wide (smaller than an atom) to create a digital image of an atom column, allowing researchers to see how atoms bond and the structure of a given sample. Stephen Hackney, professor of materials science, likened it to looking down a stack of transparent cannon ballsextremely tiny ones. In numerous fieldsmaterials science and engineering, chemistry, physics, geology, biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering and othersS-TEM provides a way to understand atomic-level interactions that effect materials, chemicals and other substances at a macro-scale. Analyzing S-TEM outputs means zooming in on the tiniest details to understand the big picture. Live lab tour of the S-TEM facility at Michigan Tech. An Entire World Under the Lens A few of the current projects under the Titan lens at Michigan Tech include: Studying the microstructure of high-temperature aluminum alloys. Because of its light weight, aluminum offers possibilities to both the military and transportation sectors. Understanding how aluminum-alloy atoms behave under high temperatures helps scientists work with the material to strengthen it. Light-weight rockets take satellites into orbit more easily than heavy ones, after all. Building better batteries. Hackney is working with Duracell Batteries to improve the materials in its copper-top battery line so that the batteries last even longer. [Duracell is] interested in the way they process the material sometimes it comes out one way, and it works, and sometimes it comes out a different way and it doesnt work, Hackney says. They want to know what happens at the atomic scale, why that makes it work in some cases but not in other cases. John Jaszczak, professor of physics, and Christopher Stefano, associate curator at the A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum, seek to understand how certain minerals form over the eonshow the atoms have stuck together in interesting ways as proof of the eons of fabrication they went through. Understanding mineral structures gives researchers the ability to manufacture them synthetically, which can be useful for society (and not just rock lickers). The first atomic resolution image of an gold nanoparticle obtained from the Titan Themis scanning transmission electron microscope at Michigan Tech. Pinaki Mukherjee was recently hired as the S-TEM specialist. He earned his doctorate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he first worked with transmission electron microscopes. He completed post-doctoral work at Rutgers University and is affiliated with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratorys National Center for Electron Microscopy. Mukherjee processes some samples and calibrates the microscope, which is extremely sensitive to temperature changes and vibrations, but also trains faculty and graduate students on how to operate the Titan. Though he can process samples more quickly than most, hes aware of the microscopes limitless potential. The samples analyzed in the S-TEM must be extremely thin in order to form useful images from the transmitted electrons, which requires some expertise. Owen Mills, senior research engineer and scientist and director of ACMAL, is an expert in several types of sample preparation for polymers, bio-materials, ceramics and metals and assists most users in developing useful specimens. Commenting on the extraordinarily small size of material examined in a typical experiment, Hackney says, When I first arrived at Michigan Tech 30 years ago, Professor Tom Courtney pointed out that if you take all the material thats been analyzed by transmission electron microscopy or S-TEM up 1985 and put it all together, you might make the head of a pin. However, now I think it is probably the whole pin. All the Worlds a Stage Michigan Tech is known for being a hands-on school, says Mills. We want to train students to do the work themselves so they can go out and do the work in industry or at other academic institutions. A key function of the microscope is its ability to observe material behavior at atomic resolution while subjecting atoms to various stimuli. Samples can be placed on stages that elevate temperature, apply different voltages, deform materials by applying force, and allow examination of materials behavior in a liquid environment. X-ray chemical map showing aluminum and nickel distribution in a positive electrode material used in a lithium-ion battery. Another function of the microscope is creating three-dimensional models of materials using electron tomography to examine a sample from all angles. The S-TEM facility is also open to researchers and scientists from other institutions. Visit the S-TEM facility website for more information about booking the lab for sample processing. It's really a tool that is only limited by the limits of our imaginations, Mills says. The microscope itself is a ticket into a new world. Were really fortunate; there are very few of these microscopes around. Grants and Funding The Titan was purchased with funding from a $1.2 million National Science Foundation grant and matching funds from the College of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics and the Office of the Vice President for Research. Michigan Technological University is a public research university, home to more than 7,000 students from 54 countries. Founded in 1885, the University offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, and social sciences. Our campus in Michigans Upper Peninsula overlooks the Keweenaw Waterway and is just a few miles from Lake Superior. Theres no doubt about it! Mother Nature has been quite active in 2018, keeping around the winter, rain and gray skies in almost a bragging, monotonous way! But even these rainy, chilly days cannot keep the silver linings from shining through! Spring is on the way and we can already see the trees beginning to bud and the bulbs shooting up through the dead grass and leaves. And, just like nature, our tourism market is very much alive. Thanks to many factors, from strong eagle watching, to Small Business Revolution to a major turnaround at Phillips 66 Wood River Refinery, our hotels have been busy the first quarter of the year. And, we see no major stop in sight. Over the past few weeks, our international market has been buzzing as we visited in Berlin with many that want to make the trip to Illinois and drive through our area of great rivers and Route 66. This weekend, we will be in Atlanta with the state of Illinois meeting with Chinese travel groups and influencers who can book more trips to Illinois. And, in the next couple of months, we will be going on sales mission in New York, UK and Ireland to make sure we leave no stones unturned on our international opportunities. We will also make it out to the largest American international trade show, IPW, where we will meet with international journalists and group travel organizers to make sure our rivers and routes are on their itineraries. There are a ton of events coming up, with lots of theater options from Alton Little Theater, Jacoby Arts Center and Rogue Theater! And, after the Easter holiday, you should mark your calendars for Alton Craft Beer Week, as 11 restaurants will feature craft beer specials, beer-infused dinner and lunch specials and some wonderful keep-the-glass offers with the Craft Beer Week logo and restaurant logo on them. This all takes place from April 7-14. Be sure to check out menus and craft beer specialties online at www.AltonCraftBeerWeek.com Updates are happening each day! So, during this next rainy week, remember to keep your chins up and eyes on the sky. Those clouds have plenty of silver opportunities waiting to shine down upon us! Brett Stawar is president and CEO of the CVB, which works for the vested interests of hospitality partners in Madison, Jersey, Calhoun and Macoupin counties. How to detect cables that can ... Snow along Ebbetts Pass HWY4 9/22/17 View Photos The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the Sierra Nevada from 6 PM this evening to 9 AM Sunday. Total snow accumulations will range from twelve to thirty inches above the 4,000 foot elevation. Additionally, the Flash Flood Warning remains in effect until 2:15 PM this afternoon for Moccasin Dam in south central Tuolumne County. Last night, local authorities reported that water levels have decreased at the Moccasin Dam and it is no longer in imminent danger of failing. However, a risk of potential failure still exists. The dam owner was going to closely monitor the situation overnight. Evacuations of the fish hatchery and powerhouse remain in effect. Therefore, the flash flood warning remain in effect. Local authorities will re-evaluate conditions at the dam this morning. An update will be issued after the evaluation. A Flash Flood Warning means that flooding may occur. Portions of highway 49 were washed out near the Moccasin Dam. A Winter Storm Warning means there will be snow covered roads and limited visibilities. Travel is not recommended while the Warning is in effect. If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency. Flood Damage In Groveland View Photos Sonora, CA After several businesses and roads, notably in Groveland, were damaged by yesterdays atmospheric river, Tuolumne County officials are assessing the damage today. Board Chair John Gray, whose district covers Groveland, says, Were looking at the damages to see if it is at a level where we need to declare a state of emergency. If that happens, we may be able to secure (state) funds for some of the repair. I was told that we had about an inch of rain an hour, for five hours, yesterday. That would be as much rain that I think weve ever seen in Groveland during one period of time. Gray says he experienced a delay getting back home to the community yesterday after Highway 120 was closed. When he did return, he witnessed some of the flood damage that occurred along the Highway 120 corridor, noting that it looked like a number of the buildings were flooded on the north side of town. Gray adds, As for loss of business, it is an incomplete list, but I know the All Season Inn will probably not be able to open for a while because they pretty much lost their whole parking area. I understand there was some flooding in the Hotel Charlotte, and the Mexican restaurant. Back behind the community hall, the water also washed out the parking lot near the Hotel Charlotte. Gray plans to head out later today to assess more of the damage. He is also very concerned about the Moccasin Fish Hatchery that was flooded, noting that it is a major economic driver for the county. He says he knows that some of the fish were definitely lost, but fears the worst case scenario that most all of them could be gone. There was also a stretch of Highway 120 near Big Oak Flat that was heavily damaged when Rattlesnake Creek overflowed. A stretch of Ferretti Road is also closed, just past the Pine Mountain Lake main gate, due to damage. March For Our Lives logo View Photos Sonora, CA A demonstration on Saturday being staged as a sister event to others planned across the country supporting the March 24 March for Our Lives in Washington, DC will include a march through downtown Sonora. Scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. under the banner of #NeverAgainSonora, the march will kick off at Sonora High School and wind its way through the downtown Washington Street shopping district to Courthouse Park. A public rally will follow there, adjacent to a temporary memorial honoring the 17 victims of the recent shooting massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. There will be a table where event goers may write postcards to their Congressional representatives and register to vote. Organizers say the Sonora event is in solidarity with the Parkland students coalition that rose up in the aftermath of the shootings. That coalition, which is spearheading the DC march, is likewise supporting companion events that will be happening nationwide. Altogether, the demonstrations are supporting the coalitions mission: comprehensive, common sense gun control regulations nationwide so no other student need pursue their education while fearing it might be the last day of their lives. The flagship events organizers stress that the movement is supportive of peoples gun rights under the Second Amendment, but with alterations and restriction. Local student leaders, faculty, and political activists are among those invited to speak at the Sonora rally along with featured speakers that are expected to include Marc Boyd, an Arnold educator; California Senate candidate Tom Pratt of Murphys, and Assembly candidate Carla Neal, who resides in Madera County. As reported here, on March 14 a Sonora event was held in support of the coalitions #EnoughNationalSchoolWalkout. About 200 students in Tuolumne County reportedly took part that day in various types of walkouts. Californias U.S. senators and several Democratic colleagues called Thursday for an investigation into the resignation of a federal immigration agency spokesman who quit after a Northern California sweep for undocumented migrants, saying he was being asked to perpetuate false statements by Trump administration officials about the operation. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agencys spokesman in San Francisco, James Schwab, told The Chronicle this month that he resigned in frustration over statements by ICE chief Thomas Homan and Attorney General Jeff Sessions that 800 people had eluded the agency because of Oakland Mayor Libby Schaafs public warning before the operation. Schwab said the number was probably far lower. The mayors Feb. 24 warning came on the eve of a four-day immigration sweep that resulted in 232 arrests. On Thursday, California Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris asked the Department of Homeland Securitys Office of Inspector General to look into Schwabs allegations and the accuracy of administration officials statements about the operation. Homeland Security is ICEs parent agency. We have serious concerns that Trump administration officials are misrepresenting the facts and statistics surrounding this enforcement action for political purposes, Feinstein and Harris wrote in a letter to Homeland Security, which was also signed by 10 other Democratic senators, including Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Dick Durbin of Illinois. The senators are asking the inspector general to look into key details about the operation, including communications between Schwab and others in the agency, data on who was arrested, and whether Trump administration officials knowingly made false statements. They are also asking whether officials had political motives for ordering the sweep. Public policies and law enforcement operations must be informed by facts, the senators wrote, and, not the fabricated overstatements or distortions of political officials. Schwab, who was hired in 2015 and resigned earlier this month, told The Chronicle he had wanted the agency to correct the assertion that 800 people avoided ICE because of Schaaf, and didnt want to deflect media questions about it. I quit because I didnt want to perpetuate misleading facts, Schwab said. I asked them to change the information. I told them that the information was wrong, they asked me to deflect, and I didnt agree with that. Then I took some time and I quit. Sessions said in a March 7 speech in Sacramento that he had learned from Homan that ICE failed to make 800 arrests that would have been made if the mayor had not made her statement. Those are 800 wanted criminals that are now at large in that community. A day after that, President Trump said ICE had been prepared to arrest close to 1,000 people before Schaafs warning. Following Schwabs resignation, ICE spokeswoman Liz Johnson said in a statement: Even one criminal alien on the street can put public safety at risk and, as Director Homan stated, while we cant put a number on how many targets avoided arrest due to the mayors warning, it clearly had an impact. NEW YORK Peter Thiel is Silicon Valleys homegrown Cassandra. He warned for years that the big tech companies were arrogant and clueless and less good for mankind than they believed. Comeuppance, the billionaire investor warned, was coming. Trouble has arrived. Unfortunately for Thiel, the storm is centered on Facebook, whose board he has been a member of practically since its founding. The social network, which billed itself as bringing democracy and enlightenment to the world, was used by the Russians to subvert democracy and sow confusion in the United States. Even people paid to see the future did not see that one coming. The boards role is to help think about some of the medium- and longer-term problems coming around the corner, Thiel said. We were far from perfect in doing that. Thiel, 50, is at the center of nearly every issue that roils Silicon Valley, ranging from the tech elites fascination with New Zealand hideaways (Thiel obtained New Zealand citizenship) to bitcoin (he is a major investor) to the problems of herd thinking (he is moving from San Francisco to Los Angeles to escape it) to the evolving role of content on the internet (he has been exploring the creation of a media company that would outflank Breitbart and Fox for a younger audience). Two subjects are overwhelming everything else: President Donald Trump, whom Thiel aggressively backed for president, and Facebook, whose core mission is being called into question in the wake of the Russian revelations. In a typical Thiel move he tends to run toward controversy even as his Silicon Valley peers try to make themselves inconspicuous he agreed, in a rare interview, to talk about both. Its been a crazier two years than I would have thought, Thiel said in his new Midtown Manhattan apartment, which is so far up in the clouds that it literally looks down on Trump Tower. Despite the proximity, the mutual enthusiasm between Thiel and Trump seems to have cooled. After Thiel spoke at the Republican National Convention in 2016, there were unsourced media reports that said Trump wanted to put him on the Supreme Court. But now even photo ops are rare. The investor said he had last spoken to the president a few months ago. We dont talk that often, he said, but added, I can get access anytime I want. The Trump whom Thiel touted at the Republican convention was a candidate who would end the era of stupid wars and rebuild our country, move us past fake culture wars and start projects the equivalent of the Apollo space program. That does not seem to be the president he got. There are all these ways that things have fallen short, Thiel said. But he said he had no regrets about his endorsement. Its still better than Hillary Clinton or the Republican zombies, he said, referring to the other candidates. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Thiel is routinely labeled a libertarian. On a bookshelf in the apartment, as if in confirmation, is a hardback copy of Ayn Rands Atlas Shrugged, the bible of the movement. A gift, he said. A lesser-known but possibly deeper influence was French philosopher Rene Girard, who taught at Stanford University when Thiel was an undergraduate there. For 15 years, on and off, Thiel sat in on a study group about Girards ideas. Girard believed humans were deeply mimetic, which is to say they copy one another. Its very anti-Ayn Rand: There are no self-contained autonomous figures, Thiel said. Our desires are not our own. They get shaped powerfully by the society around us. It was this illumination that helped him see the potential of Facebook where people could find out in intimate and addictive detail what their friends were up to when it was barely a year old. He was the first outside investor, buying 10 percent of the company for $500,000. He sold most of his holdings in 2012 as Facebook went public. A few months ago, with Facebooks market capitalization at about $500 billion, he sold most of what he had left. Last summer, there was a flap when a memo by a fellow board member, Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix, appeared in The New York Times. In the memo, Hastings wrote to Thiel that he displayed catastrophically bad judgment in supporting Trump. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebooks chief executive, did not ask him to step down from the board, and reports that he wants to leave the board are incorrect, Thiel said, noting that among other things he brings ideological diversity. He declined to say exactly how much or what kind of advice the Facebook board was offering Zuckerberg, but defended the company from criticism that it was slow to wake up to what the Russians did. Remember when Trump said the election was going to be rigged? People said that was crazy How dare you question the integrity of the electoral process? That was the view of most of the people working at Facebook, too, he said. They did not think things were so hackable. It was a mistake, but an understandable mistake. Facebook declined to comment. The anger being turned on Facebook, Thiel argued, is less about Russia specifically and more about tech arrogance its failure to do so much for so many. It is a sentiment that helped put Trump in the White House. The Trump campaign slogan, Make America Great Again, was perhaps the single most offensive thing you could say to Silicon Valley, he said. Silicon Valley says the future is going to be better than the past. That is the propaganda, if you will. A friend of his in Silicon Valley had the idea of running for governor of California this year. Thiels advice was that he had better have a good answer to this question: Why is tech good for the average person in California? The answer, he cautioned, couldnt be a banality, such as its making us more connected, and it couldnt be utopian, such as its going to cure all diseases. He wasnt able to come up with an answer, and I couldnt come up with one, either, Thiel said. He declined to identify the friend, but it is well known in tech circles that Sam Altman, president of Y Combinator, the prominent startup accelerator, was thinking about running. Altman confirmed it was him and said he had decided not to run for many reasons. There is a big painting of a cresting wave in Thiels living room, and it might as well be a visual metaphor for what is going on in big tech now. Having some ambition that transcends just making money is a critical thing for a company, he said. But there is some point where it gets crazy and self-delusional. He added that the companies are probably in some trouble maybe its a little, maybe its a lot. The prospect of government regulation looms. In 2015 and 2016, Thiel gave $300,000 to Josh Hawley, who was campaigning to become Missouris attorney general. Hawley won, and in November he opened an antitrust investigation of Google. A spokeswoman for Hawley, a Republican who is now challenging the states Democratic senator, Claire McCaskill, said there was no connection between Thiels donation and the investigation. Google declined to comment. The news last month that Thiel is moving from San Francisco to Los Angeles reflects a shift that is as much mental as literal. Getting out of the tech bubble, he figures, will give him more clarity about his investments. Network effects are very positive things, but theres a tipping point where they fall over into the madness of crowds, he said. Another of Thiels contentious ideas was destroying Gawker, the online publisher. He secretly financed the privacy lawsuit that Hulk Hogan, the former pro wrestler, filed against the media company, which Hogan won. That led to Gawkers bankruptcy in 2016. A news operation that specialized in deflating the arrogance of Silicon Valley should have been to Thiels liking. But he argues that his philosophy is consistent here. Gawker was trying to cut people down to size for not conforming, he said. The ability to speak and not have every word you say get distorted, to have wrong ideas and then be able to correct them these notions were powerfully undercut by Gawker. Thiel is still pursuing the remnants of Gawker in court, which has prompted accusations that he wants to remove all its content from the internet as a final victory. He denied this. Terry Bollea, aka Hulk Hogan, is still owed some money from the Gawker sale, and that is what I am trying to get, he said. I dont want the archives. I dont think it makes sense to destroy them. Preserve them, study them instead. San Antonios public TV station KLRN-TV is launching a new local news and public affairs half-hour that is described as objective and neutral. Veteran journalist and longtime WOAI News Director Jim Forsyth will host. On the Record, which debuts at 7 p.m. Thursday on KLRN, will feature topical interviews with key San Antonio figures in the realms of politics, business and community activism. The Q&A will be followed by The Conversation, a newsy discussion with local journalists and community leaders. Funding has been secured for the first few episodes, but a full season has yet to be greenlit. KLRN understands the importance of having a public affairs program on-air, and over the last few months we have discussed different formats in which to make this happen, Arthur Emerson, KLRNs president and CEO, said in the press release. RELATED: Why does San Antonio's NBC station always struggle in the ratings? On The Record brings important local topics to the forefront and involves knowledgeable and notable journalists to report and discuss what they have researched. We are very proud of the way this pilot turned out and hope to obtain funding to make this show a regular occurrence on KLRN. The station had been without a locally produced news program since the cancellation of Texas Week with Rick Casey in September. The scrapping of the topical half-hour, which ran on Fridays for more than six years, had been embroiled in controversy connected to an unprecedented move by Emerson. In February 2017, Emerson cut commentary by Casey dealing with an anti-media speech by U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith. The Republican congressman from San Antonio said it would be better for Americans to ignore the media and get their news directly from President Trump if they wanted the unvarnished truth. RELATED: HBO show mocks Irish bit by San Antonio TV host Casey called Smiths proposal quite innovative for America though he pointed out that it has been tried elsewhere: North Korea comes to mind. Emersons explanation for eliminating the commentary was that it might have contributed to efforts then underway to cut federal funding for public broadcasting. He since has said he regrets pulling it; the commentary eventually aired with a disclaimer making clear it was Caseys opinion. As for this new program, Emerson emphasized such commentary by the host wont be part of the format. On The Record will be a program based on a neutral discussion about the important and timely topics that matter to our community, he wrote in an email. RELATED: WOAI-TV hires Albert Flores' successor: meteorologist Chris Suchan Forsyth, he added, will be taking a fair and objective point of view on all subjects, the same way that he currently does in his role as news director at WOAI radio. Forsyth, who has been overseeing news at WOAI for more than 30 years, goes into the new half-hour with some TV experience under his belt. He has been a guest on Fox News Channel, CNN and the BBC, where he has discussed hot-button Texas issues. In recent months, Forsyth and WOAI reporter Mike Board also have filled in when needed as anchor of KLRNs local news breaks. Shari St. Clair, KLRNs director of news and production, normally anchors those minute-long updates, which run several times a night, from 6 to 10 p.m. between PBS and KLRN programming. St. Clair, who came to the public station last year with a wealth of broadcasting experience as news producer, writer, anchor and investigative producer, serves as executive producer of On the Record. As executive producer of the program, I will be in charge of deciding topics and inviting guests, alongside host Jim Forsyth. I have the final say on the program but see this as a collaborative effort to bring the most important topics and guests to our program, St. Clair said in an email. In a news release, she added that Forsyth was a natural choice for us. He is known to San Antonians through his decades as reporter and news director of WOAI, and hes a well-respected journalist among community leaders. His extensive knowledge of the city and its players makes for interesting conversations between him and his guests. Plus, he has such strong energy, its just a pleasure to watch. According to a description from KLRN of next weeks pilot, Forsyth speaks with Mayor Ron Nirenberg about the city's attempt to negotiate the San Antonio Fire Department contract. In the follow-up segment, The Conversation, the host discusses that and other topics of the week with Express-News reporter Josh Baugh, Greg Jefferson, editor in chief of the San Antonio Current, and Joey Palacios, City Hall reporter for Texas Public Radio. Topics include the Fire Department contract, recent election results and the recent state law banning so-called sanctuary cities. Judging by a two-minute preview clip supplied by KLRN, the program boasts eye-catching graphics and colorful footage of San Antonio. The pilots discussions, led by the well-spoken Forsyth, are informative and lively with glints of humor. Dear Mr. Premack: What gives? My mom was told by the Bexar Appraisal office when my dad died three years ago that they put the house in her name. She was paying taxes on the invoices that come from them, that only had her name on it. Now she wants to sell her house and the title company says the house is not in her name only - it is in both my parents names. They say they won't allow her to sell the house until she does a probate on my dad to get the house in her name. We thought the house was in her name. The Bexar Appraisal office says it is in her name. What do we do? GGG Your mother fell victim to incomplete knowledge of the law and to bad advice from someone whose words did not mean what she thought they meant. The situation is that the Bexar Appraisal office, along with all of the county appraisal offices around Texas, are legally charged with setting the value of various properties so that the taxing entities (like the County, the City, and the School District) can calculate how much tax is owed. The Appraisal District keeps an account for each taxable property, and naturally they want that account to reflect the true and proper ownership of each taxable property. MILFORD A local photographer hopes people will smile for his camera April 14 in exchange for a $24 donation that will go to Operation Smile, an organization that alters the lives of children around the world by fixing facial deformities. Not only will the donation literally help bring a smile to a disadvantage childs face, its quite the bargain, as well, since Rich Coyle, owner of Rich In Memories photo studio, usual earns $250 for a portrait sitting. Coyle is one of about 200 photographers nationwide to join with PPA Charities the philanthropic arm of Professional Photographers of America to promote Celebration of Smiles Day. Bert Behnke, executive director of PPA Charities and a participating photographer in Chicago said the event usually raises $20,000 to $30,000 per year for the cause, chosen 10 years ago in part because of the significance a smile has in photography. He said one photographer in Arizona raised $8,000 for Operation Smile through the photo shoots last year. Coyle, who according to Behnkes list appears to be the only New Haven-area photographer participating this year, said he does so because its a great cause and he was raised in a home in West Haven where he was taught to help others and attended Catholic schools where the emphasis was on service to others. Its a nice way to help a kid who doesnt have resources, Coyle said. Coyle said for $24 the photo subject gets a free 5-by-7 print and he doesnt care if someone wants to bring their dog, a friend or grandma into the picture. He can be contacted at rich@richinmemories.net or 203-710-2927. The studio is located at 20 Alexander Road. For Coyle, its all about Operation Smile that day. He said two years ago, he raised enough on Operation Smile day for two surgeries and threw in the extra for that same result when he fell short last year. A single surgery costs $240 with much of the manpower time donated. Recording smiles is what photographers do, said Trey Homan of Texas, who serves as president of PPA Charities board of trustees. When parents participate in this event, its a wonderful way to teach children the value of reaching out to others. Even small children can understand the importance of Operation Smiles work, and they are eager to help these needy children. Founded in 1982, the organization treats disadvantaged children around the world who suffer with cleft lips, cleft palates and facial deformities. In as little as 45 minutes, one cleft lip surgery can change a childs life forever, freeing them from isolation and pain, an organization press release states. The whole idea is that we create smiles and they (Operation Smile) make new smiles for kids, Behnke said, noting they support other charities through the year, as well. Every three minutes, a child somewhere in the world is born with a facial deformity and one in 10 will not survive to see their first birthday, a news release from PPA Charities states. Those who do survive live in isolation and pain, the organization states. Each year, more than 100,000 children are born with a facial deformity in Operation Smiles 26 partner countries and tens of thousands remain untreated. WASHINGTON For the second time in just over four months, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein called for tougher gun control laws including a ban on assault weapons while prosecutors, police chiefs and gun violence survivors stood by her side. Thursdays news conference was nearly identical to one she held last fall after mass shootings in Sutherland Springs, Texas, and Las Vegas. But this time, three of the survivors were from last months school massacre in Parkland, Fla. And instead of fading away into the next news cycle, as in the past, the push for gun controls is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people to the March for Our Lives protest Saturday in Washington, D.C., and more than 600 other U.S. cities. Organizers in San Francisco are expecting more than 100,000 gun violence protesters at the Civic Center starting at 1 p.m. We are just inundated, hundreds of people are showing up at our events, said Elizabeth Moore, head of community outreach for the San Francisco chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Sometimes its just the way the stars are aligned public opinion, the level of energy behind a movement or idea. My sense now is were there. Were very close. Its a tipping point. Among the gun proposals Feinstein is pushing is her own legislation to reinstate a ban on assault weapons. In the 14 years since her original assault weapons ban expired in 2004, Congress has enacted no legislation restricting guns. Instead, Congress has sought to ease gun controls, including a bill passed by the Republican-led House this session that would allow permitted gun owners to carry their concealed weapons across state lines, and a pending House bill that would make it easier to purchase gun silencers. Since the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland that killed 17 and wounded 17, both those bills have lost momentum. The House and Senate instead on Thursday approved two provisions aimed at reducing gun violence that were tucked into a $1.3 trillion spending bill. One would lift a 22-year-old ban prohibiting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from studying the effects of gun violence. The new provision would allow the CDC to study gun violence, while barring the agency from advocating for gun controls. Another provision in the spending bill would provide incentives to states to enter the identities of people who are disqualified from owning guns into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Gun control activists at Feinsteins event Thursday called both measures baby steps. They demanded that Congress pass legislation to extend background checks to those purchasing weapons online and at gun shows. They also want a ban on assault weapons and whats known as a gun violence restraining order law, which would ease the ability of families and law enforcement to temporarily remove weapons from people suspected of harboring an intent to commit violence. California enacted such a law after a 2014 mass shooting in Isla Vista (Santa Barbara County). The parents of shooter Elliot Rodger had alerted authorities to his troubling behavior before the shooting, which left six dead and 14 injured, but law enforcement had no legal grounds to confiscate his weapons. Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, has introduced a similar bill in the House. Legislation by Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, to expand background checks to most gun sales has a record 204 co-sponsors, just shy of the 218 votes needed for House passage. Feinstein introduced her latest assault weapons ban in November following the mass shootings at an outdoor concert in Las Vegas in October that left 58 dead and 851 wounded and at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, weeks before that that killed 26 and wounded 20. But soon afterward, the news coverage of the massacres faded along with interest in tighter gun laws. These are military weapons designed to kill large numbers of people in close combat, Feinstein said of the guns used by the shooters. They are not hunting weapons. They are not defensive weapons. Her legislation has 29 co-sponsors, less than half the 60 votes the legislation would need to pass the Senate. Its a long road, its a hard road, Feinstein acknowledged, but she noted that the weapons were banned in the past and can be again. Every American should be saying enough is enough. From fishing to first aid, the Paddle N Pedal Fest is offering a little bit of everything for northwest Houston families and outdoor enthusiasts. The inaugural festival will take place April 14 from 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. The festival will be split between the CHI St. Luke's Hospital The Vintage at 20171 Chasewood Park Drive and the adjacent Kickerillo-Mischer Preserve at 20215 Chasewood Park Drive. "We're going to have all the nature-related activities on the preserve and the festival kinds of things in front of the hospital," said Barbara Thomason, president of the Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce, which is one of the festival's sponsors. The hospital campus will host a music stage and health tent to teach first aid and CPR training. Families can also take children on train rides and rock climbing. At the preserve, bike riders can participate in races, fishing competitions, kayaking and boat rides. Food trucks will also be available. "It's a great time to have in the community," Thomason said. While the festival is free, additional parking will be available at The Vintage Park Shopping Center and the Houston Northwest Church, with shuttle transportation available. For more information, visit www.paddlefesthouston.org. Students braiding hair, fiddling with flat irons and rollers, and creating fantasy hairstyles was the scene at Cypress-Fairbanks ISD's inaugural district-wide cosmetology competition held at Langham Creek High School. Eighty-five projects were submitted for the competition. The competition was created to mimic a realistic extension of the cosmetology classroom curriculum; students enrolled in Introduction to Cosmetology were able to participate as well. The program allows students to work toward the Texas Cosmetology Operator License. Four of the students to earn top honors came from Langham Creek. Lynette Mosby, cosmetology instructor at Langham Creek, finds joy in teaching students skills in the cosmetology program. "The competition also allowed students some insight on how to compete. The students loved that they were able to meet other students in the district in the same program," Mosby said. "I feel it is important for students to take the cosmetology course because not every student will attend college, and for the ones that will attend, it can help offset expenses. I love Cosmetology and I love my students." Maria Madrigal, a junior from Cypress Lakes High School, won Best in Category in Fantasy Hair and Best in Show for the competition. "It was really exciting," Madrigal said in a statement to the district. "At first, I was really nervous because I saw the people in my class (and) what I was competing against. I didn't expect this." Other categories in the competition that took place last month included nail art, evening comb-out, permanent waving, wet set, hair braiding, and fantasy hair. The cosmetology program in the district is offered at all 12 high schools and included more than 900 students. Cosmetology I curriculum includes topics such as covering the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation rule book, braiding, up-do and curling iron skills, manicuring, pedicuring, hair cutting, facials, and employability skills. Cosmetology II and Principles of Cosmetology Design and Color Theory include covering the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation rule book, perms, wigs and enhancements, hair coloring, nail art, skin disorders and diseases. Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation dictates the maximum number of students per instructor per class period. Due to this regulation at some of the high schools, it is necessary to have two cosmetology instructors to accommodate the number of students wanting to take the courses. Cy-Fair ISD cosmetology students also had other opportunities to display their skills at the SkillsUSA Texas District 8 Leadership Conference, held last month at San Jacinto College Central in Pasadena. Numerous students won Best in Show, first-, second- and third-place honors. The first- and second-place winners qualified for the SkillsUSA Texas State Leadership Conference, which will be held April 5-8 in Corpus Christi. Sharon Hogue, Cy-Fair ISD coordinator for career and technology education, believes it is important for students to earn licenses and develop skills while enrolled in high school programs such as cosmetology. "If an individual goes to a private cosmetology school, they have to get 1,500 clock hours, and it could cost them (thousands) of dollars depending on the program," Hogue said. "If the student gets the license while in high school, essentially they get the training for free. Essentially, there is a huge cost savings on time, money, and soon as the student walks out of high school, they can walk straight into a salon and start making money immediately." BALHAMA, Indian-administered Kashmir - The poet was scribbling verse one Thursday afternoon when gunshots rang out. He dropped his pen and looked around for signs of danger. Minutes later, three armed men pushed their way into Ghulam Mohammad Bhat's house, ignoring his wife's protests. The militants told Bhat and his family to leave. "They told me I can take away any precious thing from the house. They wanted to die and attain martyrdom," he recounted. Bhat and his family ran. The 52-year-old poet abandoned his life's work- about a 1,000 pages of poetry- in his home, not knowing that within hours it would be reduced to ash. In Indian-administered Kashmir, clashes between militants and Indian troops frequently break the peace, and in this case the flow of artistic imagination, with tragic consequences. The Muslim-majority region has been caught in conflict between bordering India, Pakistan and China for decades. India and Pakistan have fought three major wars over it, and border skirmishes and insurgencies flare frequently. Bhat's home became the scene of the latest tussle. A gunfight between the three militants and Indian troops raged all night, and the family waited it out at his brother's house nearby. In the morning, Bhat returned to find debris and dust where his proud, two-story home once stood. On Monday, his family dug through the remains to salvage anything that might have survived the fighting- copper utensils, photos and his eight notebooks of unpublished poetry, a lifetime of work. But there was only rubble. After the gunfight, Bhat found the remains of two pillars and carved a couplet in ash: "Many have been robbed until now. "Many a heads are being severed." "Everything is lost," said Bhat's 24-year-old son, covering his face as he and a group of laborers shoveled rubble in what used to be his bedroom. "The poetry was more precious to me than anything else," Bhat said. He had filled 1,000 pages with verses about major events in Islamic history, including the death of prophet Muhammad's grandson, the Iranian revolution and his own broken land of Kashmir. Treading over the remnants of his home, Bhat broke into verse: "I sense the smell of the burning of hay. "The cruel man was burning my house. "The one who refused to give me water at the time of death is mourning." The militants who seized Bhat's home March 15 were members of the Ansar Ghazwatul Hind, according to Vidhi Kumar Birdi, Kashmir's deputy inspector general of police. The group calls itself a local affiliate of al-Qaida. Its leader, Zakir Musa, appeared in a video in May, advocating for sharia law in Kashmir and threatening to hang the severed heads of separatist leaders in Srinagar's main market. Police said the three men were seeking shelter after a failed assassination attempt on a local politician, a member of India's governing Bharatiya Janata Party. They had fled the scene of the attempted attack just 25 minutes before reaching Bhat's house, in the hills above Srinagar. Militant groups in this area, including some backed by Pakistan in Kashmir, have been fighting for independence from India since 1989, and since then a crackdown by the Indian army has led to almost 70,000 deaths, according to some estimates. The strife in Kashmir has been mostly over territorial control, but Islamist groups such as al-Qaeda have long sought to establish a presence here, although their influence in the region is disputed by experts. Bhat published two volumes of poems in 1985- "Pain of Loss" and "Voice of Abu Zar" under the pen name Madhosh Balhami. Too poor to keep publishing, he started collecting his writings in his home, hoping to one day have enough money to release a new volume. He took up a job as the press secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir Anjuman-e-Sharie Shian, a separatist party, earning around $122 a month, while writing in his spare time. Between 1996 and 2000, Bhat served time in jail after he was criminally charged for reciting his poems at the funerals of militants. His family sold a part of their land, and his sons eventually dropped out of school to earn for the family. The loss of his home now has deepened Bhat's penury. His family has moved into a small kitchen in what remains of his house. Their possessions include little more than a handful of quilts and mattresses and some cooking utensils. "I couldn't even take out an extra pair of clothes,'' said Bhat's wife, Fazee. But amid the tragedy, Bhat's old poems are finding new fame in WhatsApp groups and on social media. "The poetry is revolutionary in spirit," said Bhat's friend Tahir Chalkey. "It has been widely shared, which has only made him more endearing to people." Bhat said he found some solace knowing that his story was moving others: "It helps me alleviate the pain of losing the work in the fire." WASHINGTON - Reported hate crimes with racial or ethnic bias jumped the day after President Donald Trump won the 2016 election, from 10 to 27, according to an analysis of FBI hate crime statistics by The Washington Post. Nov. 9 had more reported hate crimes than any other day in 2016, and the daily number of such incidents exceeded the level on Election Day for the next 10 days. FBI data collected since the early 1990s show that reports of hate crimes typically spike during election years, according to a study by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. There was a 21 percent increase in reported hate crimes the day after Barack Obama won his first election in 2008, though hate crime reports remained relatively flat for the rest of the year. It's unclear why election years bring an increase in reported hate crimes, particularly in the days following the election of our last two presidents. It could be that people frustrated or energized by the election results take out those emotions on people who are different from them. Or, given that hate crimes are notoriously underreported, the election could embolden victims to report the crimes against them. New York City police have one of the largest hate crime units in the county, but incident reports from the department offer few clues about what drives the election-year trend. On Nov. 1, 2016, police filed a report about a 63-year-old African American woman in Queens who found anti-black statements written on her door as she was coming home. And on Nov. 18 of that year, a report was filed alleging two African American men approached a white woman and man in Manhattan and yelled anti-white statements, before striking the 61-year-old man with a skateboard. It's unclear whether these incidents were influenced by the election. But a conspiracy case in Kansas shows how elections could potentially influence people to turn their political views into criminal acts. A trial began Thursday for three white men accused of plotting to bomb a mosque and a building where many Somali Muslim refugees live in southwest Kansas. Prosecutors say the men planned to detonate the bombs the day after the 2016 election. During opening statements, Jim Pratt, attorney for defendant Patrick Stein, said his client had been influenced by the charged discourse of the campaign, calling Muslims "cockroaches." They've been charged with conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction, not a hate crime. But according to a criminal complaint, Stein was recorded by an FBI informant saying, "The only good Muslim is a dead Muslim," and "If you're a Muslim, I'm going to enjoy shooting you in the head." Defense attorneys sought - unsuccessfully - to expand the jury pool to an area of rural Kansas where people were more likely to have voted for Donald Trump. Researchers have attempted to categorize hate crimes in hopes of understanding what makes them manifest. Jack Levin and Jack McDevitt at Northeastern University published a study detailing several types of hate crimes, including retaliatory hate crimes that are provoked by a previous perceived hate crime or act of terror. Incidents like the Rodney King verdict in 1992 and the Sept. 11 attacks both saw dramatic increases in hate crime violence following the event. "There's no one single accelerant for a hate crime although, at particular times, one accelerant will override like a terrorist attack," said Brian Levin who runs the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at CSUSB. "That being said, the basic truth that a catalytic event can correlate to an increase in hate crime is quite stark." Sussing out the cause of the spike in reported crimes is made even more difficult because the crimes are notoriously underreported, experts say, and the data are spotty, at best. Congress passed the Hate Crime Statistics Act in 1990, which required the attorney general to collect data "about crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity." The FBI was tasked with implementation and this program added hate crimes to its uniform crime reporting unit. However, of the 10,000-plus city police agencies who submitted incidents, only 14.5 percent reported at least one hate crime, according to a Post analysis. Hawaii doesn't provide hate crime statistics, leaving the entire state unaccounted for. And the data only account for violent hate crimes, not hate speech incidents in person or online. Crime data are often reflective of the agency that collects the information and it's not always clear what fuels increases or decreases in crime. Hate crime data are especially difficult to understand because crimes are largely affected by demographics, population and size of the police force. --- Abigail Hauslohner contributed to this report. Just hours after threatening a veto, President Donald Trump said Friday afternoon that he had signed the sweeping $1.3 trillion spending bill passed by Congress early Friday and averted a government shutdown. In a morning tweet, Trump said he might veto the omnibus bill because it does nothing to address the fate of those protected from deportation by the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and does not fully fund his border wall. But speaking to reporters at the White House less than four hours later, Trump said he had decided to sign the bill despite his reservations, arguing that it provides much-needed funding for the military, including a pay increase for troops and new equipment. "My highest duty is to keep America safe," Trump said. "We need to take care of our military." Still, he voiced disdain for the way the hasty way the bill was passed. "I say to Congress, I will never sign another bill like this again," Trump said, also calling on Congress to give him a line-item veto. The announcement, which Trump teased in a separate tweet an hour before it began, capped off a wild morning in the White House and on Capitol Hill. Several aides scrambled to convince the president not to follow through with his threat. In his Friday morning tweet, Trump said that those protected from deportation by the DACA program have been "totally abandoned" by Congress, and he blamed the Democrats. Trump, who sought to cancel DACA last fall, was seeking a deal that would give Democrats protections they sought for the program's recipients in exchange for additional funding of $25 billion for his long-promised U.S.-Mexico border wall. The bill includes a minor down payment of $1.6 billion on his marquee campaign promise. "I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded," Trump said in his tweet. People familiar with Trump's thinking said the president was frustrated with the bill and the coverage it was receiving, particularly on Fox News, where critics took aim at the level of spending in the bill. "He doesn't care as much about the spending levels, but he knows all of his conservative friends do," said a senior White House official, who requested anonymity to speak more candidly. Lawmakers have left town on a two-week recess, some of them on overseas trips and with no plans to return to Washington. The House passed the bill midday Thursday, and the Senate cleared the measure shortly after midnight. Trump had until midnight Friday to sign a bill or a government shutdown would ensue. The legislation funds the federal government for the remainder of the 2018 budget year, through Sept. 30, directing $700 billion toward the military and $591 billion to domestic agencies. The military spending is a $66 billion increase over the 2017 level, and the non-defense spending is $52 billion more than last year. The spending bill is widely expected to be the last major legislation that Congress will pass before the November midterm elections, which had increased pressure to jam the bill full of odds and ends, with provisions addressing everything from gun safety to invasive carp. The lack of an immigration deal in the spending bill had set already set off a round of recriminations, with the White House aggressively trying to deflect responsibility for the failure. Trump's veto threat only intensified the blame game on Friday morning. "Let's not forget that you ended DACA and torpedoed every possible bipartisan fix. This is on you," Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, said on Twitter. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., accused Trump of making a "loser's bluff." "Go ahead and veto the omnibus over DACA. We dare you," Pocan said on Twitter. "Everyone knows you're the reason DACA recipients are abandoned." Meanwhile, lawmakers who opposed the spending bill on other grounds used the occasion to urge Trump to follow through with his threat. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., head of the hard-right Freedom Caucus, urged Trump to veto the bill. "The@freedomcaucus would fully support you in this move, Mr. President. Let's pass a short term [continuing resolution] while you negotiate a better deal for the forgotten men and women of America." Also urging Trump to veto the bill was Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who in a tweet Friday morning said: "Please do, Mr. President. I am just down the street and will bring you a pen. The spending levels without any offsets are grotesque, throwing all of our children under the bus. Totally irresponsible." Before the Senate's early-morning vote Friday, Corker had complained about the process of rushing the bill through Congress. Several other conservative lawmakers egged Trump on Friday morning, complaining about the amount of spending and the rushed process. But there is no indication that Trump shares those concerns. Instead, in his veto threat Friday, Trump proposed something that conservative hard-liners have largely rejected in recent months - trading DACA protections for border wall money. Conservatives, emboldened by a White House proposal released in January, have insisted that any immigration deal go farther, cutting several programs that allow foreign nationals to live in the U.S. legally. Other senior Republicans began making their own Twitter pleas urging Trump to sign the bill. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, rattled off several policy wins in a Friday tweet directed at the president, including a gun-related measure long championed by the Texas Republican that was included in the 2,232-page spending measure. "While (Democrats) obstructed normal appropriations process, forcing an Omnibus, the benefits of Omnibus to national security, border security, opioid crisis, infrastructure, school safety and fixing gun background check system are important and will save lives. @realDonaldTrump," Cornyn tweeted Friday. "Art of the deal wrecker," was how Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., sized up the president's veto threat Friday morning. He urged the president to sign the bill. "One day after his own (Office of Management and Budget) director said he would sign it, that he's now saying he's thinking about vetoing it," Kaine told reporters. "What, does he just want to create more confusion and chaos? I don't get it." Kaine said Trump's professed concern about DACA recipients is not sincere because he walked away from an offer from Democrats weeks ago to protect them in exchange for more border security funding. "He was the one who poured cold water on it and killed it among the Republicans just a month ago," Kaine said. "I hope he doesn't do it. That's my reaction," said Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., of Trump's threat. "I don't think what we did was the best thing we could have done," he added. "But it was the only thing we could have done. So to veto it wouldn't make a lot of sense to me." "This is classic Trump," said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. "He says one thing and then he does something completely different." Van Hollen added, "He's actually one of the worst negotiators I've ever seen." Although Trump aides declared Thursday that Trump intended to sign the bill, there were signs of his displeasure with various aspects of it. On Wednesday, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., rushed to the White House to reassure Trump. The president was upset with the amount of money for his border wall, and he griped about a proposed tunnel between New York and New Jersey - a project beloved by Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) - that Trump has ferociously tried to block as part of the negotiations. Veto threats were made then, too, but after conversations with Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the White House issued a statement saying Trump supported the bill. "Is the president going to sign the bill? The answer is yes." Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, told reporters at the White House on Thursday afternoon. On Thursday, the White House also issued a lengthy release titled, "The American People Win as President Donald J. Trump's Priorities are Funded," with a long list of specific items in the massive legislation. Asked about the president's tweet on Friday, White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement: "The tweet stands for itself." - - - The Post's Josh Dawsey, Erica Werner, Sean Sullivan and Seung Min Kim contributed to this report. One man was injured overnight in a road rage-induced shooting south of the Texas Medical Center, police said. The incident began sometime before midnight on Almeda and Holly Hall, when one car cut another vehicle off, Houston police told Metro Video. A man accused of fatally stabbing a person during an argument earlier this month in an East Side motel was arrested Thursday. Michael Rene Johnson, 54, faces a murder charge in the death of Keith Bradley, 41, according to the police. Johnson said he was innocent as he was escorted by officers to a police vehicle Thursday evening at Public Safety Headquarters, 315 S. Santa Rosa Ave. RELATED: Austin mother learns her daughter was intended bomb recipient Bradley was found dead on March 10 at a motel room in the 2200 block of East Commerce Street, according to a police report. He had been staying there after he was invited in by an unidentified person so he could get out of the cold and rainy weather, the report states. Bradleys father had gone to the motel to check up on him, but he did not answer the door, said officer Michelle Ramos, spokeswoman for the San Antonio Police Department. Using a key from the managers office, Bradleys father was able to open the door, but he could not enter because a chain was still latched on the inside, police said. RELATED: Ex-wife gives tearful testimony of S.A. cop killer's rages The father broke the chain and entered the apartment, only to find Bradley dead, police said. When police investigated, they found Bradley had been stabbed to death. Ramos said investigators used security camera footage to find a witness, who led them to Johnson. They did know each other; they had some kind of argument, Ramos said. Thats when the suspect stabbed the victim. As Johnson was walked to a police vehicle Thursday night, he described his military service, saying he is a retired first sergeant in the U.S. Army and that he served for 20 years fighting in two wars. He then told his wife, Ill be home soon. Edgewood Independent School District Superintendent Emilio Castro resigned Thursday, following a month-long investigation into a harassment complaint made against him. Castro's resignation will take effect March 31, district officials said in a news release. His contract with Edgewood ISD was set to keep him in his position until December 2019. However, on Thursday night, the district and Castro came to a "mutual agreement" to allow Edgewood ISD to move forward in finding a new superintendent, officials said. Castro will be paid his normal salary and benefits through March 31. RELATED: Edgewood ISD officials looking into harassment allegations against superintendent Philip Chavez, the district's chief academic officer, who was appointed as acting administrator in charge of Edgewood ISD on Feb. 23 after Castro was placed on leave, will continue in that role as the search for a permanent superintendent is launched. The staffing changes come roughly one month after a female district employee filed complaints with the district and the San Antonio Police Department. The woman said Castro put his hand on her shin and applied a "a small amount of pressure" before running his hand down her leg, making her uncomfortable, according to a Feb. 16 police report. There were a number of other incidents involving Castro the woman said made her uncomfortable. She said Castro shook her hand once and wouldn't let go. He once placed his hands on her shoulder and wouldn't remove them when she tried to shake him off, she told the police. The report also says the woman said Castro ran his hand across her lower back. "The board also wishes to thank the complainant for coming forward and any witness that participated in the investigation and would like to reiterate that harassment of or retaliation against any district employee is strictly prohibited and will not be tolerated," reads a news release from Edgewood ISD. Staff writer Caleb Downs contributed to this report. | Kelsey Bradshaw is a digital reporter for mySA.com. Read more of her stories here.| kbradshaw@express-news.net | Twitter: @kbrad5 Two organizations are teaming up to offer 40,000 free books Saturday to Northside Independent School District students and staff at its 48 Title 1 schools. The nonprofit First Book and the Northside American Federation of Teachers will be distributing the books on a first-come, first-serve basis from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Paul Taylor Field House, 7001 Culebra Road, according to a district news release. A former Val Verde County commissioner whod been accused of taking bribes from a San Antonio developer was sentenced to 1 years in prison Thursday by a federal judge in Del Rio. Ramiro Ramon, a Democrat, was indicted in 2015 and accused of taking tens of thousands of dollars in bribes from unnamed businessmen in San Antonio, New Braunfels and California. Three people from Texas were caught Wednesday with more than three pounds of fentanyl, or "enough to kill everyone in Toledo (Ohio) several times over," authorities said. Anthony Robinson, 32, Barbera Wilson, 21, and Darrius Lewis, 29, all from Houston, were charged with federal possession with intent to distribute controlled substances after an operation in Toledo, Ohio. The three were also found with more than $8,000 in cash, prosecutors said. The trio came under law enforcement scrutiny Tuesday night when Robinson and Wilson drove to a post office to allegedly mail a kilo of the drug. Prosecutors said the drug was wrapped in several heat-sealed plastic bags and tested positive for the deadly drug. METH BUST: Several people arrested on meth charges in Galveston's east end Local and federal authorities were able to quickly trace the package back to Robinson and Wilson, who were staying with Lewis in a Red Roof Inn hotel. Law enforcement got a subpoena for the hotel room and discovered an additional half-kilo. They immediately arrested the three. "The fentanyl seized last night is enough to kill everyone in Toledo several times over," U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said in a press release. MONTROSE MURDER: Driver charged after allegedly ramming car into crowd, killing nurse Officials credited a strong relationship between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies for the operation. "This arrest should show that the Toledo Police Department, with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners will continue to work diligently and aggressively to keep Toledo's streets free from this poison," Toledo Police Chief George Kral said. "I commend those dedicated investigators who were involved in this large seizure and arrests. God only knows how many lives have been saved, and subsidiary crimes avoided, because of these dedicated men and women. I sincerely hope anyone considering committing illegal activity in Toledo will reconsider doing so." Lewis has four misdemeanor convictions in Harris County for possession of marijuana in 2009, evading arrest in 2010, unlawfully carrying a weapon in 2010 and driving with a suspended license in 2015. Robinson has a more extensive rap sheet in Harris County dating back to 1992 for several felony and misdemeanor crimes, including theft, drug and weapon possession, evading, burglary and assault. Wilson has no apparent local criminal history. Jay R. Jordan is a breaking news reporter at Chron.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan. SAN ANTONIO - A suspect in the shooting death of a teen in Converse last month was arrested in Killeen, according to a press release from the Killeen Police Department. Isaiah Luis Westman, 17, faces a capital murder charge in the death of 17-year-old Zachary Segura, according to Killeen police. Oblivious not aware of or not concerned about what is happening around one. I start with this word because of two recent and similar incidents on the street in my neighborhood. Each time I was driving down the placid suburban street strictly observing the 20 mph limit, of course I came up behind an oblivious high school-age male. One was walking in the street, and the other was on a bike. What they had in common were ear buds and a glazed semiconscious manner. I decided against honking so as not to rudely jolt them from their reveries. The bike guy made a couple of passes from one side of the street to the other, and the walker veered to the center. Finally, each one noticed me with a head jerk and retreated to the curb, giving me the side-eye. There is a term for this now. Its called deadwalking or digital deadwalking, referring to people engrossed in headphones and smartphones while wandering in public. Also known as distracted walking, this phenomenon would be amusing except for the fatal consequences that have sometimes occurred. Another term related to smart phones is phubbing. This term, a combination of phone and snubbing, came out of Australia from a group associated with the Macquarie Dictionary and means, the practice of ignoring ones companion or companions in order to pay attention to ones phone or other mobile device. I dont know about you, but as an old school type, this kind of behavior drives me bonkers. Fortunately, Ive not had much occasion to be subjected to this sort of a social atrocity. One type of phubbing that most of us have experienced is commercial phubbing. That is being at a store, usually in a hurry, trying to get information from or complete a transaction with a clerk/cashier when a nearby phone rings. The default action is almost always to take the call, serve the remote caller and leave the in-person customer writhing in anguish. Once in a rare while, a savvy clerk will put the caller on hold and complete serving the present and proper customer. However, being put on hold is, perhaps, the original phubbing. Back in the day, there was at least elevator music with which to commiserate. The trend today seems to be long silences punctuated by a robotic voice offering help but not delivering what the caller wants. This experience then culminates with a person yelling and barking commands at a phone with only a recording on the other end. Since its March, Ill close with a shoutout to all the Irish and ersatz Irish. I used to think I was part Irish, as we were told we were Scots-Irish. My sister recently got one of those DNA tests, and it came back as mostly English with smatterings of European and Scandinavian no Irish. I do recall one Irish situation from my childhood. My mother used to make ice potatoes. I always wondered where the ice was. The potatoes were hot and delicious. Much later, I realized that it was my mothers (bless her heart for the Southern gal she was) way of saying Irish potatoes. When first-year student Marcos Mireles-Salina decided last year to attend Texas A&M-San Antonio (A&M-SA) to major in kinesiology, his mother Yvette Mireles did not know much about the university or the resources it offered. So, when she heard about the Family First seminar launching in fall 2017, she jumped at the chance to learn more. The new A&M-SA program expands the concept of being college-ready beyond students to their parents and family members. Mireles made the 150-mile roundtrip trek from Lockhart to San Antonio every Monday last fall to discover how she could continue to support her son, even when he was far from home. A recent report by the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Parent and Family Engagement in Higher Education, found that family engagement in a students college career is associated with positive outcomes. These range from a first-year transition to college with reduced stress levels, to higher academic performance, improved decision-making and an increased sense of autonomy and responsibility. University programs targeting parents have historically focused on keeping them informed, typically through a one-way outbound stream of parental communications. These informational programs are valuable conveying to parents everything from key academic deadlines their students must meet, to the most common emotional and socialization challenges their students are likely to face. Parents Weekend events are designed for parents to experience campus life firsthand, meet faculty and administrators and sometimes even attend classes with their students. A few schools have recently developed more innovative approaches. Some programs include workshops that aim to help parents best support their students as they transition to university life. Others offer activities specifically designed for family members of first-generation college students. These include opportunities to network with other first-gen families, participate with their students in university traditions and attend panel discussions where first-gen upperclassmen share their experiences. First-gen students constitute an estimated 50 percent of the U.S. college student population, including 30 percent of entering freshmen, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Seventy-eight percent of A&M-SAs students are first-gen. The challenges that all first-year college students face can be multiplied for first-gen students. They often receive less emotional, informational and financial support from their parents than continuing-generation students, according to a study published in the Journal of College Student Retention. This is not because those parents do not want to be involved; they simply do not have first-hand experience about the advice or support they should provide. Compared to other universities parent programs, A&M-SAs Family First seminar is unique because it offers a structured curriculum delivered over the course of nine weeks and focuses on nurturing the familys ongoing role in student success. The seminar is designed to help parents, sisters and brothers, grandparents or guardians achieve three objectives: Understand the services and resources provided by A&M-SA. Increase family effectiveness toward student growth and development. Become active members of the campus community. Each class features a guest speaker addressing a specific topic, including transitioning to college, high-impact practices and student career development. Participants learn to demystify what their students are experiencing, as well as identify and encourage the development of the skills needed to be successful in their college journey. More universities and colleges would benefit from exploring innovative approaches to family engagement. At A&M-SA, we are approaching families as a largely untapped resource with a high potential to significantly boost student retention and academic success, particularly for first-gen students. Degree attainment is a shared mission for our entire campus community, and the parental role is a valuable asset in ensuring a ll students graduate. Years ago, the Israeli Bedouin expert Clinton Bailey told me a story about a Bedouin chief who discovered that his favorite turkey had been stolen. He called his sons and told them: Boys, we are in great danger now. My turkeys been stolen. Find my turkey. His boys just laughed and said, Father, what do you need that turkey for? and they ignored him. A few weeks later the Bedouin chiefs camel was stolen. His sons went to him and said, Father, your camel has been stolen. What should we do? And the chief answered, Find my turkey. A few weeks later the chiefs horse was stolen, and again his sons asked what they should do. Find my turkey, the chief said. Finally, a few weeks later his daughter was abducted, at which point he gathered his sons and told them: Its all because of the turkey! When they saw that they could take my turkey, we lost everything. I retell that story because its helpful in understanding how and why we failed to contain the egregious behavior of both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. They each started by metaphorically speaking stealing a turkey. And when we didnt respond, they kept ratcheting up their wretched behavior to the point where Trump thinks he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and Putin thinks he could poison a wayward spy in London, and get away with it. Trumps turkey was his tax returns. He promised to release them after the IRS finished auditing him. Then, after he was elected, Trump said, sorry, not going to release them ever. And nothing happened. Once Trump saw that he could get away with not disclosing his tax returns, he knew he could get away with anything. He knew that once he compromised the Republican Party, even its evangelical wing, into giving him a pass on his taxes, theyd roll over for anything sex with porn stars, endless lying, trashing the FBI, coddling Putin. Once you erase a big red line, its hard to start enforcing others. Any Bedouin chief who watched the steady acceleration in the breadth and pace of Trumps lying would tell you: Get me Trumps tax returns. There must be something very important in those tax returns. Maybe its just the embarrassment that he is not as rich as he claims, or, maybe, its something more fundamental like how dependent he is on Russian oligarchs for financing, so much so that Putin has leverage on him. Putins turkey was even more serious. It was the shooting down of that Malaysian civilian airliner, Flight MH17, over Ukraine on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 people onboard. A Dutch-led international investigation relying on, among other things, 150,000 intercepted phone calls found that Putins proxies in eastern Ukraine had requested that Russia send them an SA-11 surface-to-air missile launcher. And it was trucked over the Russian border into Ukraine, where it shot down that Malaysian airliner (probably mistaking it for a Ukrainian military plane) and then was trucked back to Russia hours later. Putin did not push the button on that missile, but he created the conditions for it to shoot down that plane and he walked away as if the plane were brought down by lightning, making up one implausible story after another. He got slapped on the wrist with a few sanctions, but his complicity faded away into a mist of baldfaced lies. Trump and Putin are cut from the same cloth. Their strategy is: Keep pushing, keep grabbing, keep lying, keep denying and never apologize. Because when you lie on an industrial scale, it overwhelms everyone else. The lesson that the Bedouin chief was trying to teach his sons is that he could live without that turkey but he couldnt live with what the stealing of his turkey with impunity implied: that when people keep eroding the norms of society, stealing turkeys or the truth eventually becomes the norm. That steady erosion of norms is what Trump is doing to America and Putin is doing to the world. And if we let them get away with it, your kids wont just grow up in a different America, theyll grow up in a different world. For a moment, think of the various threats Russia has made against the United States and its allies. Its government hackers and spy agencies interfered in the 2016 presidential election, promoting fake and inflammatory information and hacked the Democratic National Committee. Its military intelligence agency, known as GRU, led a massive global cyberattack in 2017 that affected companies and hospitals in Ukraine. Russia has been linked to the brazen chemical attack on a former double agent living in England. Russian hackers have infiltrated some power plants in the U.S. with the capabilities to shut down power or sabotage operators. U.S. intelligence officials have confirmed these hard truths, and others, and warned of potential Russian meddling in this years midterm elections. Special counsel Robert Mueller has also indicted 13 Russians and three Russian companies in an elaborate scheme to spread propaganda during the 2016 elections. At long last, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on 19 Russians and five Russian companies, including the Internet Research Agency, which allegedly led a massive campaign of digital disinformation. But these are largely symbolic and fall far short of what the United States can and should do in response to such aggressive action. Many of these individuals had already been sanctioned under former President Barack Obama. And the Trump administration has not followed through on a number of other congressional mandated sanctions against Russia. In fact, President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed skepticism that Russia meddled in the 2016 election even as his own national security team has warned of Russias threat. Frankly, the United States is under attack, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told Congress in February. These sanctions are tantamount to a baby step in policy more than doing nothing, but in no way proportionate to the threat this country faces from Russia. Stronger measures are needed, and so too is an election security plan for 2018. Cordillera Ranch, the bustling Hill Country community just beyond San Antonio, has become one of the most desirable places to live among San Antonio's elite, and they have the numbers to prove it. The neighborhood posted its third-straight year of growth in 2017, they announced in a recent press release. Forty-two homes totaling $42 million were sold during that 12-month period, the second-highest total in neighborhood history. In addition, construction began on 38 new homes and 60 lots were sold at an average price of $240,000. The Dumiso Dabengwa Foundation (DDF) which was formed by Zapu leader Dumiso Dabengwa to, among other things, push for restorative justice for the Gukurahundi and political violence victims in the country dating back to 1980, has released a letter that was used as evidence in Dabengwas treason trial. Dabengwa was accused of asking Russia for arms to overthrow former President Robert Mugabes government. Dabengwa and fellow colleague Lookout Masuku were later acquitted of treason charges in April 1983, but immediately rearrested and detained until Masukus death in 1986. Read the letter below: 28 April 1980 The Honorable Chairman KGB Moscow Dear Comrade Chairman In connection with comrade Nkomos personal request to you I am authorised by him to define more precisely some points and to make some additional explanations so that our stand could be more clear to you. Comrade Nkomo is unable to leave the country at the present due to the tense situation in the country which could develop to be explosive as a result of a provocative and aggressive conduct of ZANU elements aimed at assisting to bring into reality the pro-western policies of Mugabe. His candid inclination towards Anglo-American imperialists has already widely opened doors to the country for all governments that in the past contributed in suppressing the masses of Zimbabwe. The masses of Zimbabwe are deeply convinced that Mugabe has turned out to be actually more reactionary and pro-western than Muzorewa and that his policies will undermine the national interests of Zimbabwe and her people. It has also become clear that the British and USA governments intend to make a stance in their neo-colonialists aspirations and make Zimbabwe into a key country in the region for their Southern African axis of influence. This is why we are of the opinion that the greatest threat to Zimbabwe her national independence and sovereignty originates from UK and South Africa. Having in mind the above mentioned , we now request you comrade Chairman to render us further assistance in our next struggle against imperialist intrigues, and the subversive activities of their secret services against Zimbabwe. As far as the political power in Zimbabwe is concerned we consider this an internal affair for the people of Zimbabwe to decide. In order to start active work and to achieve better results as spelt out above we request you to allow your representative comrade Maxim to remain in Zambia under his present cover and to be allowed free access to all frontline states Zambia, Tanzania, Mozambique, Botswana and Angola (perhaps Lesotho as well) so that he can lean in his work on the whole KGB facilities in this part of the world. We are confident that we can arrange his entry visits to Zimbabwe. I should further like to assure you that Comrade President Nkomo has already sought President Kaundas consent on his (Maxim) continued stay in Zambia pending your approval. Contacts and consultations between us (NSO) and comrade Maxim we suggest should in future be arranged in all the frontline states mentioned above. In addition we intend to station our NSO representative in Zambia for liaison functions. With warmest regards Dumiso Dabengwa Secretary for NSO. Pindula Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News Despite claiming to be old fashioned, president ED Mnangagwa has shown a willingness to move with the times by launching his own website This follows behind his Twitter account and Facebook page where the statesman occasionally does Q & A videos, update his followers on his activities among other things. This new move is believed to be a further attempt to reach out to the countrys younger generation as well as the regional and international community. In a recent meeting the president also remarked on the need to utilize the ICT resources to a maximum as well as working towards an e-government and more dialogue. ED, who has often referred to himself as the listening president continues to raise his social media bar high joining the ranks of several presidents including USs Donal Trump and Ugandas long serving president Yoweri Museveni who is fond of selfies. Every politician these days wants to be seen as the cool dad/cool mom type who is non intimidating ,easy to approach and can hold a conversation. Gone are the days when presidents were heavily barricaded in their offices under armed guard only to be seen occasionally when delivering a speech. Now the public feels like they have a better glimpse into the presidents character and activities through social media. This perhaps is a good move as it curbs the need to view political leaders as demi-gods who only descend when they want votes. This is also in line Zimbabwes new dispensation whose manifesto is its no longer business as usual. So what does Mnangagwas website entail? On the websites homepage, you are welcomed with an autobiography of his political career and his humble beginnings from birth to his participation in Zimbabwes Liberation Struggle. One can also read more about his educational background and family. iHarare Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News THE out-going US Ambassador to Zimbabwe Harry K. Thomas Jr says President Emmerson Mnangagwas government needs enough time to deal with political and socio-economic challenges affecting the country. Thomas Jr leaves Harare for USA this weekend as he retires from the diplomatic service. Speaking to journalists in Harare on Thursday, the ambassador said he was happy with the positive stance that has been taken by the new leader to turn around the economy and work towards achieving a free and fair 2018 election. According to Thomas, Mnangagwas period in office so far cannot be used to judge his strengths and weaknesses. However, he stated that much has to be done by the government to make sure the country returns to civilian rule. Let us give Mnangagwa enough time to turn around the countrys economy and making sure that the elections are held peacefully in a fair and free environment. There has been a positive development compared to six months ago before he came into power. He has allowed the international community like the European Union (EU), the US and others to come and observe elections after some years. He has promised to make some electoral and economic reforms and has set some provisional dates for the elections according to the constitution, something that our government has applauded and hope to see happening, said the US envoy. He said Zimbabwe deserves the best and there could not be any excuse for it not to prosper and be a wealthy nation highlighting that the new dispensation has brought many American companies seeking for opportunities. We are excited that so many business Americans have contacted us for investment and there has been a big change in Zimbabwe for the past six months. Quite a number of Americans are calling us wanting to come to Zimbabwe. That is a tremendous change, added Thomas. Thomas could not hide his love for the Zimbabwean artists whom he said would be missed the most. I will miss my favourate Tuku (Oliver Mutukudzi) and Jah Prayzah. I sometimes argued with my wife comparing the two on who is better than the other. I love Zimbabwean culture of reading/studying and I think people under-estimate the beauty of Zimbabwe and its people, said the diplomat who has been in Zimbabwe for five years. NewsZimbabwe Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News Last updated: March 22th 2018 If you plan on gaining admission into the university, polytechnic or any other tertiary institution, you have to know the JAMB 2018/2019 cut off mark. The cut off mark for JAMB varies from course of study to course of study. Below you will find all the essential JAMB news about cut off marks for gaining admission in 2018. The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has already released JAMB 2018/2019 cut off marks for all Nigerian universities. Are you ready for Jamb Latest News? JAMB cut off mark 2018-2019 You must have the minimum JAMB cut off mark 120 to enter the Nigerian Universities. As for JAMB cut off mark for polytechnics and colleges you should have 100. At the same time, if you want to get an education at innovative, enterprising institutes, your minimum score must be 110. Remember! Higher institutions reserve the right to increase the JAMB 2018/2019 cut off mark above the minimum accepted by JAMB. Professor Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede Mr. Is-haq Oloyede (the JAMB Registrar) mentioned that a Central Admission Processing System (CAPS) would be adopted to regularize the processes of admission into institutions The JAMB Registrar also added that schools could also make use of the dual mode system. In this case, both manual and the newly introduced CAPS can be adopted. He also noted that the candidates who chose to study Agriculture in higher institutions were low while those who wanted to study Medicine and Sciences increased this year. As for illegal admissions, Is-haq Oloyede said that the admission process is automatic and all candidates must be approved by the JAMB Registrar. Nearly 17,160 students have gotten admission into school without JAMB in Nigeria. READ ALSO: How to reprint JAMB slip for 2017 UTME? Mr. Adamu Adamu, the Minister of Education, declared a cancellation of the ban of Post-UTME examination as a premise for entering universities and polytechnics. He marked that post-UTME banning caused a lot of rules violations both by candidates and institutions. After the ban cancellation, schools could now conduct exams freely, and examination fee must not be more than 2000 Naira. The Minister also assured that a high number of candidates who took part at the 2017 UTME would enter the higher education institutions this year. We hope, the above JAMB news about cut off mark was useful for you. Good Luck! JAMB cut off marks for federal universities 2018/2019 Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi (ATBU) 180 Ahmadu Bello University, (ABU) Zaria 180 Bayero University, Kano (BUK)- 180 Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun (FUPRE) 180 Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) 180 Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUTMinna) 180 Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) 180 Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State (FUD) 180 Federal University, Dutsin-Ma, Katsina (FUDutsinma) 180 Federal University, Kashere, Gombe State(FUKashere) 180 Federal University, Lafia, Nasarawa State (FULafia)- 180 Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi State (FULokoja) 180 Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ebonyi State (FUNAI)- 180 Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa (FUOtuoke) 180 Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State (FUOYE)- 180 Federal University, Wukari, Taraba State (FUWukari)- 180 Michael Okpara Uni. of Agric., Umudike (MOUAU)- 180 Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola (MAUTECH, formerly FUTYOLA)- 180 National Open University of Nigeria, Lagos (NOUN) N/A Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna 180 Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka (UNIZIK) 180 Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife 200 Police Academy Wudil 180 (2016 cut-off mark confirmed) University of Abuja (UNIABUJA), Gwagwalada 180 Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) 200 Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi (FUAM) 180 University of Benin (UNIBEN) 200 University of Calabar (UNICAL) 180 University of Ibadan (UI) 200 University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) 180 University of Jos (UNIJOS) 180 University of Lagos (UNILAG) 200 University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) 180 University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) 180 University of Port-Harcourt (UNIPORT) 180 University of Uyo (UNIUYO) 180 Usumanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto (UDUSOK) 180 JAMB cut off marks for state universities 2018/2019 Abia State University, Uturu (ABSU) 180 Adamawa State University Mubi (ADSU) 180 Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba (AAUA) 180 Akwa Ibom State University of Technology, Uyo (AKUTECH) 180 Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma 180 Anambra State University of Science & Technology, Uli 180 Bauchi State University, Gadau (BASUG) 180 Benue State University, Makurdi (BSUM) 180, Medicine 200 Cross River State University of Science & Technology, Calabar (CRUTECH)- 180 Delta State University Abraka (DELSU) 180 Ebonyi State University (EBSU), Abakaliki 180 Ekiti State University (EKSU) 180 Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Enugu 180 Gombe State Univeristy (GSU), Gombe 180 Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai (IBBUL) 180 Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUE), Rumuoumeni 180 Imo State University (IMSU), Owerri 180 Kaduna State University (KASU), Kaduna 180 Kano University of Science & Technology (KUST), Wudil 180 Kebbi State University, Kebbi (KSUSTA)- 180 Kogi State University (KSU), Anyigba 180 Kwara State University (KWASU), Ilorin 180 Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso 180 Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, Lagos 180 Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK) 180 Niger Delta Unversity (NDU), Yenagoa 180 Northwest University (NU), Kano 180 Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye 18 Ondo State University of Science & Technology, Okitipupa 180 Osun State University (UNIOSUN), Oshogbo 180 Plateau State University, Bokkos (PLASU) 180 Rivers State University of Science & Technology (RSUST) 180 Sokoto State University, Sokoto (SSU) 180 Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijebu-Ode (TASUED) 180 Taraba State University, Jalingo (TSU) 180 Technical University, Ibadan 180 Umaru Musa YarAdua University, Katsina (UMYU) 180 JAMB cut off mark 2018/2019 for federal polytechnics in Nigeria Auchi Polytechnic (AUCHIPOLY) 150 Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti 150 Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi 150 Federal Polytechnic, Bida 150 Federal Polytechnic, Damaturu N/A Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun State 150 Federal Polytechnic, Idah 150 Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro 150 Federal Polytechnic, Mubi TBA Federal Polytechnic, Namoda TBA Federal Polytechnic, Nassarawa 150 Federal Polytechnic, Nekede 150 Federal Polytechnic Offa 150 Federal Polytechnic, Oko 150 Federal School of Dental Technology and Therapy, Enugu 150 Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna 150 Hussaini Adamu Federal Polytechnic TBA Nigeria Army School of Military Engineering TBA Waziri Umaru Fed. Polytechnic Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi TBA Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) 150 for ND, 180 for UNN Degree READ ALSO: How to print Jamb admission letter? JAMB Cut off Mark 2018/2019 For State Polytechnics In Nigeria Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic 150 Abia State Polytechnic 150 Adamawa State Polytechnic 150 Abdul-Gusau Polytechnic, Talata-Mafara TBA Akwa-Ibom State Polytechnic 150 Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic 150 Akwa Ibom State College of Arts and Science Nung, Ukim 150 Benue State Polytechnic 150 College of Administrative and Business Studies, Potiskum 150 Enugu Polytechnic 150 GATEWAY Polytechnic, Igbesa 150 Rufus Giwa Polytechnic 150 The Polytechnic, Ibadan 150 Institute of Management and Technology Enugu 150 Imo State Polytechnic, Umuagwo 150 Jigawa State Polytechnic 150 Kano State Polytechnic 150 Hassan Usman Katsina Polytechnic 150 Kogi State Polytechnic 150 Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin 150 Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu 150 Moshood Abiola Polytechnic 150 Nasarawa State Polytechnic 150 Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic 150 Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-Uku 150 Delta State Polytechnic, Otefe 150 Osun State Polytechnic, Iree 150 Osun State College of Technology, Esa-Oke 150 Delta State Polytechnic, Ozoro 150 Plateau State Polytechnic, Barkin-Ladi 150 Polytechnic of Sokoto 150 Ramat Polytechnic 150 Rivers State College of Arts and Science 150 Rivers State Polytechnic 150 Gateway Polytechnic Saapade 150 Edo State Institute of Technology and Management, Usen 150 Niger State Poly, Zungeru, Niger State 150 Conclusion Now you know all about the JAMB cut off marks for 2017/2018 for all Nigerian colleges and universities. Hope you get admitted into your school of choice. READ ALSO: Can you check JAMB result with only registration number? Source: Legit - The crisis rocking Kano chapter of APC is yet to abate as Senator Kwankwaso said he would retire Governor Ganduje in 2019 - Senator Rabiu Kwakwanso is the immediate past governor of Kano state - He said the level of betrayal meted to him by Ganduje is enough yardsticks to stage a comeback into Kano politics and unseat the governor Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, representing Kano central in the Senate has vowed to retire Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje from active politics during 2019 general elections and anybody who tries to help him. New Telegraph reports that in an audio voice message aired on a private radio station in Kano (Express FM) on Wednesday, March 21, Kwankwaso declared that no amount of persuasion would make him change his mind over the stance to change Ganduje. READ ALSO: Breaking: PDP reportedly settles for APC governor, Aminu Tambuwal, as presidential candidate Legit.ng gathered that he said the level of betrayal meted to him by the governor is enough yardsticks to stage a comeback into Kano politics and unseat Ganduje from Government House. Senator Kwankwaso also boasted of dealing and retiring anyone from politics, which have any link to the governor from any quarters within the country, even if that person is in Abuja. The fire-spitting senator was quoted as saying, go and write it down, I will retire this betrayer and his collaborators from active politics in a simple arithmetic of 1 + 1 which you all know the answer. There has been war of words from both camps since Kwankwasos handing over to Governor Ganduje in 2015. The latest was tongue-lashing of the daughter of Governor Ganduje who marries the son of Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo state by Kwankwaso, who besides condemns the marriage, also describes all those that attended as people who have less work to do in their respective offices. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso vowed to go ahead with his scheduled visit to Kano state on Tuesday, January 30. The senator's decision is coming barely 2 hours after the Kano state police command advised the former governor of the state to shelve the visit for security reasons. How workaholic Governor Ganduje is transforming Kano state - on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, on Thursday, March 22 suspended the withdrawal of policemen attached to Very Important Persons (VIPs) in Nigeria saying this was to enable for effective assessment of current deployments. A statement from Jimoh Moshood and made available to Legit.ng showed that the withdrawal would now take effect from April 20, 2018 According to the statement, the decision to suspend the withdrawal came after a meeting with the commanders of police mobile force, counter-terrorism and the special protection units earlier. READ ALSO: 15-year-old boy emerges as 2018 UTME best candidate with 349 points The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim K Idris, after his meeting with the Commanders of Police Mobile Force (PMF), Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) and Special Protection Unit (SPU) on the 20th March, 2018 has graciously shifted the enforcement/implementation of the withdrawal of police officers attached to political and public office holders, VIPs, public and private companies and other categories of enterprises and business outfits and corporate individuals throughout the country as earlier directed. The withdrawal will now take effect from the 20th of April, 2018, this is to enable the force carry out a thorough assessment of the current deployment and carry out appropriate withdrawal. Meanwhile, the deputy inspector-general of police, department of operations of the force, has been mandated by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to direct all the commissioners of police and their supervising Assistant Inspectors-General (AIGs) in the states and zonal commands across the country to halt the withdrawal, revise and return those already withdrawn to their duty posts pending the new date of 20th of April, 2018. The task force teams set up by the IGP at the Force Headquarters, the Force X Squad and others set up by the assistant inspectors-general of police and commissioner of police at the zonal and state Commands have equally been directed by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to suspend the enforcement of the withdrawal with immediate effect pending the new date, the statement said adding that for the avoidance of doubt, all those who already have such police protections are to retain the personnel with them on deployment. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app They may be provided after the expiration of the period, if found worthy from the special protection unit of the force but should apply for re-validation through the commissioner of police of the state they are domiciled before the expiration of the new date of 20th April, 2018, the statement added. Legit.ng earlier reported that Ibrahim Idris recently deployed additional three units of Police Mobile Force (PMF) to Birane village in Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara, to forestall further loss of lives. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that bandits suspected to be cattle rustlers had on Feb. 14 killed 18 persons in Birane village. Jonathan replies to Buhari's allegations | Legit.ng TV Source: Legit - A woman in Ebonyi reportedly used her 4-year-old daughter as collateral for a debt of N100 - The 38-year-old woman was unable to pay the debt she owed a during transaction with another woman at Abakaliki Rice Mill in 2017 - The child was then forced into hawking by the creditor Veronica Igwe, a 38-year-old woman from Ebonyi obviously didn't understand the message which preaches that children are gifts from God that should be loved and cared for. While other parents are busy sweating to provide for their children, Veronica however, has decided to use hers for business transactions. She alleged used her 4-year-old daughter as collateral for a debt she owed. Veronica said she had business transaction with one Josephine Nwali at the Rice Mill in Abakaliki in August 2017, where she bought some items from her, after which she owed her N100. Unable to pay the money, she then suggested to her debtor that she could bring one of her children in exchange for the debt and thus she handed over her little daughter into the hands of the other woman. READ ALSO: Mr Eazi celebrates his darling girlfriend on her birthday, shares sweet words on social media Baby Uloma Igwe Source: Punch Desk Officer in charge of Child Abuse/Maltreatment Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Cecilia Elom, said the ministry received an emergency call March 20, informing them that a mother had exchanged her four-year-old daughter due to her inability to settle N100 debt. READ ALSO: Basketmouth shades Nigerians who pretend to fly private jet in order to appear successful On getting to the CAS campus of Ebonyi State University Abakaliki, where the alleged creditor, Mrs. Josephine Nwali, resides, they found little Uloma and another boy hawking. Mrs. Cecilia Elom further stated: On reaching the residence, we saw little Uloma Igwe with another seven-year-old boy hawking. On interrogation, they confessed to have been lured into hawking by Mrs. Josephine Nwali who they were living with. Ulomas mother, Veronica, informed our officials that she did not even know the woman she gave her child to. Officials of the Ministry of Women Affairs invited Mrs. Josephine Nwali to the Office, from where she was handed over to the Ebonyi State Police Command for interrogation, Elom added. The Ministry of Women Affairs has concluded arrangement to take little Uloma Igwe to hospital for proper medical treatment. PAY ATTENTION: Read best news on Nigeria's #1 news app Would you go into business with a liar or a thief? on Legit.ng TV: Source: Legit - She is a Nigerian, NneNne Iwuji-Eme, becomes the first black woman to be so appointed in the United Kingdom - Iwuji-Eme says it is a pleasure to serve the UK in that capacity - Boris Johnson confirms that she is sound for the task ahead of her NneNne Iwuji-Eme, a Nigerian woman in the United Kingdom, is not just a career diplomat, but now the first black female in such capacity to be appointed a high commissioner as she is now to represent the country in Mozambique The UK Guardian reports thatIwuji-Eme, before her appointment, had worked for 16 years in the foreign office of the UK and is to replace Joanna Kuenssberg in July as high commissioner. According to the report, Iwuji-Eme sees her appointment as an honour and a privilege." READ ALSO: Breaking: PDP reportedly settles for APC governor, Aminu Tambuwal, as presidential candidate She adds: I hope my appointment as the first British black female career diplomat to this position will inspire young talent, regardless of race or background, to pursue their ambitions in the foreign office. I look forward to forging even stronger connections between Britain and Mozambique - two close members of the Commonwealth family. Speaking about Iwuji-Emes appointment, the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, said she has vision, experience and energy. As the country heads in a new and exciting direction, its important that we have the brightest and the best batting for Britain. Our great diversity is an invaluable asset on the global stage, and its only right that at all levels [of] the FCO reflects this. As a continent with some of the worlds fastest growing economies, Africa is an important partner post-Brexit. NneNne has the vision, experience and energy to take our relationship with Mozambique to the next level, and I congratulate her on her appointment, he said. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app It was reported that Iwuji-Eme had earlier worked as an economist in the department for environment, food and rural affairs and for Royal Dutch Shell. Before her current appointment, she was posted to Brazil as first secretary, prosperity and acting prosperity consul. Legit.ng earlier reported about Adetokunbo Adetola Abigail, a 20-year-old Nigerian girl who is striving hard to see that childrens rights in Nigeria are protected. The NCE holder has not allowed her educational qualification to affect the good she has to offer the nation and children at large. Jonathan replies to Buhari's allegations | Legit.ng TV Source: Legit - The UK high commissioner to Nigeria, Paul Arkwright, faults rumour that the west is against President Buharis second term plans - He says who Nigerians choose to vote for is a matter of their conscience and not for the United Kingdom government - The INEC sets up a committee to probe the Kano under age voters saga The United Kingdom (UK) high commissioner to Nigeria, Paul Arkwright, has dismissed speculation that his country or other western nations were against a second term run by President Muhammadu Buhari. Arkwright told Premium Times on Thursday, March 22, that his country or any other Western nation as far as he could tell, is not against a second term ambition of the Nigerian president. READ ALSO: Boko Haram told us not to send our daughters to school - Dapchi parents I am very happy to put that rumour to bedThe United Kingdom supports a process whereby the people of Nigeria can exercise their democratic right to vote," he said. The UK high commissioner said who Nigerians choose to vote for is a matter of their conscience and not for the United Kingdom government. He said: All of Nigeria should feel that they have a part to play in the democratic process. I encourage people to go out and get their PVCs. Who they vote for is a matter for their conscience and not for the United Kingdom government. Whichever candidate is standing, they need to make up their minds and decide who would best suit them. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app And thats an individual choice. We favour a free, fair, credible and peaceful process and were working with INEC to make that happen." The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said the committee set up to investigate the Kano under age voters saga has concluded its facts finding mission and is in the process of writing its report. Legit.ng gathered that the report would soon be submitted and considered by the commission. The commission while reiterating its commitment to ensuring a clean and accurate voters register towards ensuring a free and fair 2019 elections said the report of the investigation will be ready soon. 2019 Presidency: Nigerians reveal why they prefer Atiku to President Buhari on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit Newspaper - There was protest by workers in the Ministry of Science and Technology - The workers are not happy with the conduct of the ministry's permanent secretary, Dr (Mrs.) Amina Shamaki - They urged the Head of Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita to redeploy Shamaki from the ministry Workers in the Ministry of Science and Technology have urged the Head of Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita to redeploy the Permanent secretary, Dr (Mrs.) Amina Shamaki from the ministry. The workers under the Joint Union Council of Federal Ministry of Science and Technology (FMST) made the demands during a protest over an alleged unpaid training and other allowances. The protesters who were shouting Shamaki must go" besieged her office and disrupted official activities. The workers say they want the permanent secretary redeployed. Photo credit: NAN READ ALSO: NNPC primed to go paperless soon, says Baru Chairman of the Union, Comrade Christian Usino, however informed reporters that after the protest, the leadership of the workers were invited into a meeting with the minister and the Head of Service. He said though the workers have relaxed the protest, they are adamant that the permanent secretary should be redeployed. His words: We have relaxed the protest. But we are waiting for the outcome of our meeting with the Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita and the minister of science and technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu. The protest was necessitated in the first place because our rights were being encroached upon. So our demand was for her to go and they have assured us that she is going. She has to leave us; we dont need her kind of person. She doesnt give us our rights such as staff welfare and other necessary demand of the staffs. In fact, there are lots things that make up this welfare I mentioned and most especially is that she deny us departmental projects that actually promotes the image of the ministry." The workers had in December 2017 held a similar protest where they demanded the same request. Since her appointment as permanent secretary in the federal public service in October, 2014, Shamaki has served in five different ministries. Her first posting was to the Special Duties Office of the OHCSF in October, 2014. In November, 2015, she was deployed to federal ministry of health and in August, 2016, she was deployed to the federal ministry of women affairs and social development. She was again deployed to the Special Duties Office, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation in October, 2016. In August, 2017 she was deployed to the federal ministry of science and technology. Legit.ng gathered that Oyo-Ita has officially waded into the matter to address the grouse of the workers. READ ALSO: Cabal collecting our late dad's salary in Kogi state - Deceased director's children Meanwhile, the National Patriots Forum has decried the calculated campaign of calumny targeted at the former acting Director General of the NIA, Ambassador Muhammed Dauda by some elements. A statement sent to Legit.ng by the forums national president Comrade Isa Tijani, and national publicity secretary Madu Musa Gwary, said the recently orchestrated calumny was executed by a publisher of an Abuja-based magazine. They condemned the publication, saying it was replete with half-truths, fictions, guesswork, and wild imaginations. EXCLUSIVE: Be patient with President Buhari, Femi Adesina tells Nigerians on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit.ng - The secretary general of the Yoruba Council of Elders, Dr Kunle Olajide, has said that the north is Nigeria's problem - This was in response to a statement made by the chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum, in which he said Nigeria could not survive without the north - He said that the rest of Nigeria will survive, flourish and join the league of first world countries within two decades if the north exits Dr Kunle Olajide, the secretary general of the Yoruba Council of Elders, has said that the north is a big problem and great obstacle to the development of Nigeria. Olajide made the statement in Osogbo on Thursday, March 22, at the first memorial lecture of Nathaniel Abimbola organised by the Osun state council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Punch reports. Legit.ng notes that the statement was a reaction to the statement credited to the chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum and former inspector general of police, Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie, who said that Nigeria could not survive without the north. READ ALSO: Secure release of lone Christian Dapchi girl - Muslim group to Buhari Olajide said: The newspapers reported the Arewa Consultative Forum as saying that Nigeria cannot survive without the north. Whatever was meant by that statement credited to the ACF chairman remains to be understood. However, I congratulate him for accepting that the north as it is today represents all that is wrong with Nigeria. The northeast is ravaged by insurgency costing the country billions of dollars annually. The northwest is home to religious crisis, the north-central is ravaged by herdsmen of northern extraction. Collectively the north is home to all negative indices of the quality of life. Infant mortality rate is highest in the north. Illiteracy rate is highest in the north and the number of out-of-school children is highest in the north. The poverty index in the north is high while the twin evil bedeviling the north is feudalism and religious fatalism. It will not be out of place to say the north has in fact been dragging Nigeria down since independence. All sorts of mischievous phrases were coined by the very tiny political/military elite of the north to give undue advantage to the north." According to Olajide, the north staged-managed the military coup which removed former president Shehu Shagari from power on December 31, 1983. He stated that the northern oligarch feared that there could be revolution in the country and they allegedly planned the coup with the military in order to ensure that power remained in the north. Olajide added: Let me assure Alhaji Coomassie that much as we want a fair and egalitarian Nigerian society, it is not at all costs. The rest of Nigeria will survive, flourish and join the league of first world countries within two decades if the north exits. If it desires to leave Nigeria, join me in saying goodbye to the exiting north, I wish them a safe journey into the desert." PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Ibrahim Ahmadu Coomassie who is the chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), said that Nigeria could survive without the north and urged leaders from the region to save its reputation. It was reported that he said this when he received the leadership of the foremost northern women socio-cultural organisation, Jamiyya Matan Arewa (JMA). The Arewa leader said the region had been portrayed in a negative light since 1999 and there was need to change this perception. Northern elders say Osinbajo cannot be president in 2019, is this right? - on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit - Nigeria's Christian religious body has warned against provocative preaching by pastors and other clergies - Preachers have been advised to ensure peace across Nigeria - According to stakeholders, the nation can be set on fire along religious line by provocative preaching The president, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Samson Ayokunle, and other stakeholders have cautioned religious teachers and preachers against provocative teachings to ensure peace in the country. The warning came at the 2018 First Quarter General Meeting of Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) Meeting, on Thursday in Abuja. Ayokunle explained that provocative preaching could set the nation on fire along religious lines. He also called for the establishment of empowerment programmes that would engage the unemployed youths by churches and mosques. READ ALSO: Dapchigirls: More revelations emerge; sources reveal Buharis ultimatum to terrorists, how powerful forces almost ruined negotiations Our major problem today in Nigeria is insecurity which ranges from religions to ethnic and socio-economic. Some of these problems are caused by bad leadership and failure of (we) the religious leaders to rightly guide our followers. From our end as religious leaders, I will suggest inter-religious and intra-religious education and empowerment programmes for our youths to douse the tension in our society. We should also clamour for the restoration of religious devotion or prayers in our primary and secondary schools, he said. According to him, many of the problems of insecurity can be traced to economic deprivation, adding that the government should urgently address the issue of high foreign exchange rate. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, in a keynote address, said the meeting was timely as it would proffer solutions to the current insecurity in the country. He urged the religious leaders and traditional rulers to speak up against actions that could threaten our peace and national unity. READ ALSO: Shame on Boko Haram for holding-on to only Christian girl - Muslim group calls for release of Liya Sharibu, salutes her courage Religion is an instrument for building national harmony and peaceful co-existence, and this government is committed to fairness to all, irrespective of their ethnic background or religious beliefs. As you are all aware some of the challenges confronting the government include extremism and religious intolerance. In this instance the Boko Haram insurgency and militancy readily comes to mind. While recognising that the security agencies have been living up to their expectations; it is also important to emphasise that the business of security is the business of all Nigerians. The federal government will ensure that dialogue and peaceful approach are deployed to support the military effort, the SGF said. He also urged the leaders to convey message of non-violence and political activities as the country approaches another election year. Also speaking, the inspector general of police, Ibrahim Idris, said that security remain the bedrock of the nations development. READ ALSO: Freed Dapchi girl recounts ordeal with Boko Haram, names abductor (video) The IGP, represented by Shuaibu Lawal, deputy IGP, appealed to the religious leaders and traditional rulers to ensure they promote peace in the country. The importance of this meeting cannot be over-emphasised as it gives our spiritual and royal fathers the opportunity to brainstorm on ways to enhance security in the country. I want to urge you to concentrate on messages and sermon that will build the bridge of love, tolerance, forgiveness and peaceful co-existence, he said. The FCT minister, Muhammad Bello, pledged to support the council in achieving its mandate. Bello, represented by Chinyeaka Ohaa, permanent secretary (FCT), noted that the council had recorded great strides in its quest for peace in the country since its inception. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app NAN reports that hundreds of religious leaders across the country attended the programme including top ranking government officials. Legit.ng earlier reported that the Nigerian government had declared its intention to prosecute individuals who indulge in hate speeches. The federal government said it will be mandated to do so in line with the 2011 which will also define hate speech as an act of terrorism. The minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed, who made the declaration said offenders of dangerous comments would henceforth be prosecuted by the federal government. EXCLUSIVE: Be patient with President Buhari, Femi Adesina tells Nigerians on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit Newspaper Every year, farming business in Nigeria offers more possibilities for both experienced entrepreneurs and newbies. Agricultural industries in Nigeria are also on the list of most perspective business spheres. Check the list of agricultural industries in Nigeria, and youll see that the demand for high-quality foods is big enough to move your business forward. To start farming in Nigeria, a person is not required to have high initial capital. Instead, you are to know the basics. Experience the whole range of advantages of agriculture in Nigeria with Jiji.ng. Download Jiji app to manage your business easier in the future. Jiji.ng is the perfect marketplace to start online sales at zero cost. Jiji app is its portative version. In fact, you can use both the website and application for buying everything necessary to start the most profitable agricultural business. Key moments The initial kit will differ, depending on what specialization you choose. You can find more detailed explanation based on the peculiarities of the particular kind of farming below. Now, lets try to figure out the common key moments and then take a closer look at top-popular farming ideas. Pros You choose the specific strategy of the development, personal highlights etc. Wide opportunities for development, both on internal and foreign markets. A chance to start from scratch with a limited budget. If you have zero budget, you can develop the business gradually and combine with your main work for a while. You can buy everything necessary on Jiji.ng. Later, you can sell products on Jiji, too. You will cover the expenses in several months or less. You get the reliable source of income - high income. Cons Depending on the specialization, the first 6 months to 2 years will be difficult for your new business. If you do not have previous farming experience, youll need a couple of months of preparation and profound research. Starting from scratch, youll need to search partners, sales channels etc. Youll need to devote much time for this occupation and forget about rest for a while. You may face certain risks and dangers, like environmental conditions, weather disasters, or epidemics. Checklist: the basics Jiji.ng and Jiji app for buying the necessities you dont have yet from the list below. A land plot for planting or housing. A constant supply of clean fresh water. Feeds for animals and fertilizers for plants. Specific tools for the chosen type of farming. The starting seeds / pair of animals. Jiji.ng and Jiji app for arranging the sales. Maize farming in Nigeria One maize seed can get a farmer 400 kernels of corn in three or four months. Doesnt it sound like a safe strategy? Agriculture experts assure that the profitability of this farming branch reaches 450%. If you have big plans, get at least 10 hectares of land. For each, youll spend around N300,000 (fertilizers, seeds, transportation etc.). The profit will increase at least three times compared to the initial investment. Read about how to take real chance with maize farming and buy everything necessary for the start on Jiji.ng. Cassava farming in Nigeria The harvest gathered from one hectare of land often reaches 50 tons of cassava. Lets divide it into two, just in case the business goes slower than in a perfect scenario. Meanwhile, you will need around N350,000 to start. Check out the prices for cassava on Jiji.ng to calculate the expected profit. Cassava farming is not the easiest occupation. To grow this business, you will have to work hard and hire manpower. Nevertheless, you will never lack marketing opportunities, taking into account the diversity of products where cassava is used. Check out the short guideline to find out more about equipment, profit, and farming tips. Rice farming in Nigeria Judging from the rates of consumption of rice products on the internal market and export prospects, rice production in Nigeria provides enough room for competition. You may not be the second Dangote, but why wont you just try? The calculations show 20% profit after a year. If you are interested, make use of this rice farming overview. Check out prices for a land plot, fertilizers, and rice on Jiji.ng. Install Jiji app for quick and constant access. Tomato farming in Nigeria Nigerians like tomatoes. It means that you have at least 200 million potential customers. Tomatoes contain the complex of antioxidants, vitamins and micro elements that boost general well-being. They are widely used in cooking and simply tasty. Speaking of business details, the advantages of tomato farming include affordability (you can start with growing vegetables on your background), profitable yield (they grow all year round and yield in 3 months), and cost efficiency (youll make twice more money than invested in less than two years). It takes only seven steps to becoming a millionaire in Nigeria. Heres a short guide to tomato farming. Devote a few minutes of your attention to reading and install Jiji app to get everything necessary. Watermelon farming in Nigeria In spite of an excellent taste, watermelons are known as the source of vitamins and minerals. Nigerian climate and high demand for export make watermelon farming the subject of interest to many. The expenses are ridiculous compared to the income you receive. If you do not own a proper land plot, it will be the most pricey investment, but still not very expensive if you buy it on Jiji. Approximate annual expenses together with the purchase of one-acre land plot amount to N338,000. The profit you gain at the end of the year is around N42,000,000. Some find it difficult to believe when they see such numbers. Watermelon farming is time-consuming and requires some physical efforts. You can hire several workers to make it easier. In any case, the profit is worth the work. You can find more details in this article. Snail farming in Nigeria Snail farming is not a new thing on the market, but it is still an exotic occupation. Snail farming for beginners is a good idea for several reasons. Firstly, snail production is relatively new occupation, where only 60% of demand is fulfilled. Secondly, it is possible to start snail farming at home with at least 20 sq. m. of land. Snail farming equipment includes only cuvettes for young individuals, enclosures, shelving, and containers for laying eggs. The initial capital is around N100,000. The minimum profit at the end of the year is N5,000,000. You can easily grow it to N25,000,000. If you are looking for how to start snail farming in Nigeria, check out the detailed snail farming business plan in one of our earlier articles. Fish farming in Nigeria Fish farming business in Nigeria is on the rise. If you try to figure out how to start fish farming, be reasonable. There is no need to take a rod and leave for the nearest pond or lake. It is enough to open Jiji.ng or download Jiji app and buy some fish. Looking for reasons to choose fish farming business? Fish farming business means that you become a supplier of high-quality product, which is praised on the market. Consider catfish farming in Nigeria, it will open opportunities for internal trade and export. To find out how to start fish farming, there is no need search a financial pro with an impressive CV, who can create a convoluted commercial fish farming business plan in Nigeria. Open our guide and look up the prices for equipment on Jiji.ng. Poultry farming in Nigeria The basic poultry equipment includes feeding bowls, water containers, incubators and heaters. You will spend around $750 for purchasing 300 chickens and feeding them during three months. Then youll earn $950. Egg-laying hens will bring you approximately $270 weekly. If you are interested how to start poultry farming, find a poultry farming business plan in one of the previous articles. All calculations, benefits, and risks are explained. Grasscutter farming in Nigeria People with grasscutter farming as the next business idea are often worried about diseases and the difficulty of running the farm. It is quite logical and expected, but it is not a reason to give up this idea, especially if you have a ready grasscutter farming plan. The profit is obvious even for a beginner. One female gives birth to 4-10 babies during half a year. With 20 grasscutters, you will get at least 100 little ones in 6 months and 200 in 12 months and around N1,400,000 after you sell them on Jiji.ng. Goat farming in Nigeria If you compare the opportunities offered by goat and pig farming in Nigeria, the primer one is certainly a winner. On the one hand, many people do not consume pork because of their religious beliefs. On the other hand, people are aware of the health dangers, related to this product. Goat farming is interesting by its diversity. These animals can produce milk, meat, fiber, and skin. As a rule, a particular is better for one of the abovementioned purposes. Nevertheless, you can sell milk or fiber while waiting for goats to mature and be sold for meat. You can start from scratch or go straight to farming pro-level. Everything depends on your budget and the seriousness of intentions. With the turnaround of 500 goats per year you will receive minimum N12,000,000. Check out the detailed explanation in the article. There is hardly a person, who will question the fact that agriculture is one of the best ideas for starting a business. Your expenses will be reimbursed within a year or during an even shorter period. Jiji.ng assures stability in terms of marketing. You will not face any complications with selling your product. Post an ad on Jiji.ng and just wait for a while, the customers will appear soon. In fact, Jiji is also the perfect place to buy everything necessary for the start. Download Jiji app for more convenience. While Jiji has convenient web interface Jiji app allows to managing the sales quickly, stay and touch, and make more deals thanks to instant replies. Jiji and its handy version Jiji app together with your confidence are the key to the successful farming business. Source: Legit.ng - Nigeria has been tasked by Bill Gates to spend more in health sector - He said his foundation was extending its spending from five to 10 years in Nigeria - Gates said his foundation has spent more than $1bn in Nigeria Bill Gates has revealed that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which he co-chairs has spent more than $1 billion in Nigeria. Gates made this revelation when he met with the minister of finance, Kemi Adeosun, and her delegation in Abuja during his visit to Nigeria on Thursday, March 22. READ ALSO: Powerful forces nearly frustrated Dapchi girls release - Sources Premium Times reports that Gates urged Nigeria to spend more in the health sector. He said despite the huge money they had spent on vaccination; the result has not been felt. He said the foundation was working with other partners to extend its current vaccine financing programme in Nigeria from five to ten years. Our Foundation has invested over a $1 billion in Nigeria, mostly in health. We are very committed to global development. We want to discuss vaccine financing and the issue of how we can be effective as partners for the health resources to grow over time," he said. Adeosun in her response said Nigeria was focused on solving the healthcare problem through targeted spending. She said: As a government, we are very committed to solving it (Health care challenges). We feel there is enough potential revenue and actual revenue in this country to fund these priorities and they must be funded. We are very committed to that from domestic revenue mobilisation perspective, because we have the lowest tax-to-GDP ratio in the world. We are doing something about it. We are trying to get more people involved in tax payment so that we can fund basic health care. There is no way around it because no matter how much support we get from donors, fundamental we must have structures to be able to meet these basic obligations. Legit.ng had reported that Gates and Aliko Dangote on Wednesday, March 21, signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with six northern state governors on improved access to immunisation in Nigeria. The governors are Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto; Kashim Shettima, Borno; Abdullahi Ganduje, Kano; Muhammed Abubakar, Bauchi, and Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, while Yobe Gov. Ibrahim Geidam was represented by Dr Bello Kawu at the signing ceremony in Sokoto. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the minister of health, Prof Isaac Adewole, witnessed the ceremony after community engagement in roundtable and the Northern Traditional Rulers Council (NTRC). N1,500 for health of Nigerians - on Legit.ng. Source: Legit - The Anambra House of Assembly has said that there was renewed attack on the people of Eziaguluotu, Aguleri and Enuguotu by suspected Kogi armed men - In a motion, one of the lawmakers said there had been a boundary dispute between Kogi and Anambra states - He called on the federal government to wade into the matter before it escalates An alarm has been raised by the Anambra state House of Assembly over alleged renewed attack on the people of Eziaguluotu, Aguleri and Enuguotu by suspected Kogi armed men that claimed the lives of about 17 men and women. The lawmaker representing Anambra East Constituency, Hon Obinna Emenaka, moved a motion of urgent public important on the floor of the house, in which he said there had been a boundary dispute between Kogi and Anambra states on that axis for which the Kogi people who were supposed to participate in the identification of the boundary refused to turn up, Vanguard reports. Legit.ng notes that Emenaka appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari, the governors of Kogi and Anambra states, Yahaya Bello and Chief Willie Obiano respectively, to as a matter of urgency wade into the matter before it escalates. READ ALSO: North is a big problem to Nigeria - YCE replies ACF He said: I call on the National Boundary Adjustment Committee to come and identify the boundary between the two states to put a stop to the killings and maiming of our people." While condemning the dastardly act, the member representing Onitsha North I Constituency, Chugbo Enwezor, called on government at all levels and security agencies to rise up to the challenge of protecting not only the people of the area but the country in general. The killings were also condemned by the majority leader of the House, Victor Okoye, who appealed to President Buhari to deploy soldiers to the area to restore peace. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the boundary dispute between Anambra and Kogi state governments degenerated into fresh fighting, which resulted in the death of four people and several others injured. The people of Aguleri, Anambra East local government area were taken unawares as the people of Echeno/Odeke in Ibaji local government area of Kogi state stormed the disputed area, armed with dangerous weapons, including automatic rifles usually handled by security operatives. The incident which occurred at about 3.00pm was said to have taken place in the presence of security operatives guarding the buffer zone created by the National Boundary Commission in the area to forestall clashes between the warring communities. How late Sir Alex Ekwueme was laid to rest in Anambra - on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit.ng - The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) has payed tribute to 202 peacekeepers who lost their lives in pursuit of peace in the country - The UN deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, said peace will not last without sustainable development - Mohammed lauded the accomplishments of UNMIL, pointing out that the peacekeepers left behind a country that had great potential for lasting peace and stability The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) successfully disarmed more than 100,000 combatants, and protected millions of civilians; helped to rebuild the police, the security services and other institutions. The UN deputy secretary-general Amina Mohammed, made this known during a ceremony in Monrovia after UNSMIL completed its mandate after almost 15 years of supporting the West African nation in the transition to peace and democracy. The ceremony was attended by President George Weah, said the completion of UNMILs mandate was a pivotal moment for the history of Liberia. READ ALSO: FG's narrative of unconditional release is 100% correct - More revelations emerge about Dapchi girls release Mohammed lauded the accomplishments of UNMIL, pointing out that the peacekeepers left behind a country that had great potential for lasting peace and stability. She said: ''UNMIL helped to UNMIL facilitated the provision of humanitarian aid; and supported the development of national capacity to promote and protect human rights. The deputy secretary-general lauded the progress in the country, while acknowledging the remaining challenges. Mohammed said: ''Peace will not last without sustainable development; and development gains will be at risk without sustained peace. ''Many Liberians are still waiting for the anticipated dividends of peace. Some of the root causes of conflict remain to be addressed, including poverty, youth unemployment, illiteracy and lack of infrastructure. We need to give Liberians back their dignity, dreams and faith in a better future.'' She paid special tribute to the 202 peacekeepers who lost their lives in pursuit of peace in Liberia saying: Today, we remember their sacrifice. READ ALSO: Secure release of lone Christian Dapchi girl - Muslim group to Buhari On behalf of the Liberian authorities, President George Weah said: ''UN has positively impacted the lives of Liberians as well as every fabric of the Liberian Society since its arrival in 2003.'' Weah acknowledged the hope the UN had given Liberians adding, ''Liberia has to protect and sustain the peace,'' and expressed his commitment towards ensuring it happens. The event was held at Monrovias Executive Pavilion and was attended by top government officials, representatives of civil society, members of the diplomatic community, and UN officials. UNMIL was established by the Security Council in 2003 and would officially close at the end of this month. The mission created a security environment that enabled more than a million refugees and displaced persons return to their homes and supported the holding of three presidential elections. It also helped the government establish its authority throughout the whole country following years of fighting and instability. The conflict took a horrific toll in terms of gender-based violence, with estimated 80 percent of women and girls affected. As soon as the UN mission deployed, it prioritized the empowerment of women to vote, to run for office and to join the police and other rule of law institutions. This investment in womens equality paid huge dividends in the transition to democracy. Recognising the important role Liberian women played in pursuing peace, Mohammed said, ''Women have borne most of the burden; they have stepped up at every stage. To spur womens empowerment, UNMIL led by example, becoming the first UN peacekeeping operation to have an all-female contingent following Indias deployment of a formed police unit from 2007 until 2016. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app The Indian policewomen served as role models for Liberias women and girls, triggering a fourfold increase in the number of Liberian women applying to become police officers. During UNMILs nearly 15-year mandate, dozens of countries from around the world deployed troops and police. Significant contributions were made during this span by African, Asian and European nations led by Nigeria. Others were Ghana, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, China, Ukraine, Sweden and Ireland, while peacekeepers from the U.S. also played an important role. Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that the last batch of 108 Nigerian Formed Police Unit (FPU) deployed to Liberia under UNMIL have withdrawn after five years following the conclusion of their mission. UNMIL said the last remaining 108 Nigerian FPU officers, the last UNMIL uniformed contingent remaining in Liberia, withdrew as part of the UN missions termination. Boko Haram abducted my husband and the gov't forgot about him - on Legit.ng TV: Source: Legit Newspaper - NEMA has received 149 Nigerians who voluntarily returned from Libya - They were handed over to the southwest zonal coordinator of NEMA, Alhaji Yakubu Suleiman - The returnees comprised 107 male adults, 37 female adults including a medical case, four female children and one female infant The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has received 149 Nigerians who voluntarily returned from Libya. In a statement obtained from NEMA, Legit.ng gathered that the returnees arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on Thursday, March 22, aboard a chartered flight operated by Buraq Airline with registration number 5A-DMG. READ ALSO: I wont write another open letter soon - Obasanjo, urges women to take active part in politics The aircraft landed at about 10:45 p.m. at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. The returnees comprised 107 male adults, 37 female adults including a medical case, four female children and one female infant. Abrham Tamrat, the programme manager of International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Lagos, handed the returnees over to Alhaji Yakubu Suleiman, the southwest zonal coordinator of NEMA. Suleiman thanked the IOM and the European Union (EU) for facilitating the repatriation of the Nigerians who had been stranded en route from Libya to Europe. Yakubu admonished the returnees to shun the urge of seeking greener pastures outside the country. He said that all nations in the world were facing various challenges as a result of global economic meltdown. The coordinator said the Nigerian economy had exited recession due to the ingenuity of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, adding that they should join hand in building the country. Nigeria has more than enough resources to cater for our needs but it is left for every one of us to tap from any of these abundant resources, Suleiman said. He assured them that both the federal and state governments had lots of incentives for their rehabilitation and reintegration to complement the efforts of EU and IOM. He also said the IOM had assisted over 7,000 Nigerians back from Libya under the voluntary return assistance programme and would continue to assist persons who indicate interest to return. It was gathered that the returnees were also received by officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigeria police. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app The telecommunications company, Airtel, in collaboration with the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Diaspora and Foreign Affairs, also gave the returnees free mobile cellphones and sim cards to facilitate their reintegration. Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European Union (EU) have evacuated 134 more Nigerians from Libya. Ibrahim Farinloye, spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), southwest zone. Mass deportation: Tales of woes from Libya - on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit.ng - The Pan Igbo group has criticised the lack of federal government's presence in the southeast region - The group said that only prisons and old structures reflects the presence of the federal government in southeast states - According to the national deputy publicity secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, there is need to build airports, refineries, others to create jobs for teeming youths in the region The Ohanaeze Ndigbo on Thursday, March 22, decried the poor presence of federal government activities in the southeast region of Nigeria. The Apex Igbo socio-cultural group said the federal government has failed to established projects or infrastructures that could lead to job creation for youth in the region, Vanguard reports. Speaking at the reception held in Aba by Aba Young Professionals, the national deputy publicity secretary of the group, Chuks Ibegbu, said only prisons, abandoned grain silos reflect FG's presence in the region. READ ALSO: Dapchi girls: Boko Haram is not as daft as many people think - Muslim group tasks FG Ibegbu said it is important for the federal government to build refineries, dams , heavy duty industries and inland ports in the zone. He also called for the construction of an airport in Arochukwu or Afikpo to open up the Cross River region of Igbo land. The only federal presence in the zone are prisons and abandoned grain silos. Though there is ongoing work in some federal roads in the zone, the pace is very slow," Ibegbu noted. READ ALSO: Powerful individuals are to blame for herders, farmers clashes - President Buhari He added that Nigeria will not move forward until the country is restructured. Ibegbu said: Nigeria must operate on the principle of true fiscal and physical federalism if it wants to make a head way. If Israel did it in the Negev Desert and China in the Gobi Desert, African leaders can do it here and help tame the constant challenges of wave of deadly migrations of our people to Europe." Legit.ng earlier reported that the people of the southeast extraction had given condition that will make them support President Buhari's presidential ambition in 2019. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app The Igbo National Council said they will only vote for the president if he nominate an Igbo man for the vice president's slot. The group also accused the President Buhari's led administration of abandoning the region since it took over power from the past government in 2015. Are Nigerians truly tired of President Buhari? on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit.ng - Femi Falana said the government was going after foreign banks that held Nigeria's loot - He said he and some lawyers have been given the permission to do so - The human rights lawyer said lack of transparency was fueling corruption A human rights lawyer, Femi Falana has said that the federal government has given him and some lawyers the go ahead to go after foreign banks that colluded with Nigerian officials to hold the countrys loot. The Punch reports that Falana spoke at the end of a two-day training workshop on anti-corruption monitoring and reporting, organised by the Human Environmental Development Agenda Resource Centre, in Abuja. Falana said they were specifically targeting foreign banks that warehoused funds looted by late Gen. Sani Abacha and a former governor of Delta state, James Ibori. He said: I belong to a team of international lawyers, we were able to squeeze a fiat from the Attorney General, we worked on it for one and half years and what were we doing? We are telling the banks dont forget Transparency International, it takes two to tango. READ ALSO: Secure release of lone Christian Dapchi girl - Muslim group to Buhari If you have not warehoused the stolen money from here nobody will take the money there, we have got a fait to sue all the banks abroad that warehoused loot from Abacha, Ibori and others because, you cant just return part of the principal, you must pay damages because this money was meant to construct roads and hospitals. If you collected the money and put it in your bank for 16 to 20 years you must come and pay damages, we have started on that. Falana noted that the lack of transparency in the operations and management of the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation was responsible for huge corruption in the country. He said the country has being cheated out of billions of dollars due to its shady operations. The human rights lawyer said: I belong to a team of lawyers that have done some work on the stealing of our crude oil and we discovered to our utter chagrin, that between January 2011 and December 2014 the oil stolen from here what we did was to get the information from the loading point here and go to the point of its discharge. In one port, Philadelphia in the United States, we discovered that in three years, 60.2 million barrels of oil were not recorded here but recorded there for the purposes of taxation and valued at $12.7bn. If you take all the ports in the US where our oil was discharged at that period I challenged this government that we could make about $200bn. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app We are not going to China yet, India, Britain, France and all the countries that our oil was taken to during that period where there was total collapse of values and integrity of our country, that was the period that everybody was taking our oil. We are already doing something. Meanwhile, some Nigerian lawyers that assisted with the recovery of $321 million stolen by Sani Abacha,a former military ruler, will be paid $17 million (over N6 billion) by the federal government for their services. The Cable reports that the lawyers who were freshly engaged by the federal government to help with the repatriation of the looted funds are to get nearly thrice more than what was already paid to Swiss lawyer, Enrico Monfrini, for the same job which he was yet to complete before Nigeria mysteriously decided to engage the services of another set of lawyers. The EFCC stage a walk against corruption on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit - Preparation has been put in place for the conduct of the local government by-elections in Lagos state that will be held on Saturday, March 24 - The electoral commission in Lagos state said it was fully prepared for the election - Its chairman, Ayotunde Phillips, said that anybody who attempts to scuttle the exercise would face the full wrath of the law The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) has assured of its readiness for the local government by-elections in the state on Saturday, March 24, saying it was fully prepared, Punch reports. Legit.ng notes that the by-elections would hold in Ward B, Ogunoloko and Ward B, Dopemu in the Oshodi-Isolo and Agege local government areas of the state respectively, following the death of the former occupants of the councillorship seats in the areas. READ ALSO: Anambra lawmakers raise alarm over alleged attack by suspected Kogi armed men At a news conference at the commission's office in Yaba on Thursday, March 22, LASIEC chairman, Ayotunde Phillips, said that the commission was working with relevant security agencies and other stakeholders, including traditional rulers in the affected areas to ensure security of lives and property before, during and after the elections. According to her, anybody who attempts to scuttle the exercise would face the full wrath of the law. She said: I want to assure you that the commission is fully prepared for the conduct of the by-elections. The training of the ad hoc personnel who will participate in the elections has already been concluded and they have been mandated to be civil and courteous to voters, election observers and party agents in the course of performing their duties as election officials." Phillips urged registered voters in both wards to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards, to vote the candidates of their choice. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that results of the elections into the 57 local governments and local council development areas of Lagos state was condemned by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The PDP accused the ruling party of electoral malpractices, claiming that all results were doctored to favour of the APC. According to the PDP, the APC resorted in ballot snatching when they realised that they were being voted out by Lagosians who are tired of them. Election-2019: (Dont) mark your calendar - on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit.ng News Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, on Thursday, March 22, addressed the special and expanded National Economic Council meeting on, at the Old Banquet Hall, State House, Abuja. The theme of the meeting was Role of human capital investment in supporting pro-poor and economic growth agenda. During his address, Gates spoke comprehensively on the Nigerian economy and offered pragmatic suggestions on how to move the country forward. He unequivocally tasked the Nigerian government to focus on investments in human capital development, specifically mentioning health and education. He said: Nigeria has unmatched economic potential, but what becomes of that potential depends on the choices you make as Nigerias leaders. The most important choice you can make is to maximize your greatest resource, the Nigerian people. Nigeria will thrive when every Nigerian is able to thrive. If you invest in their health, education, and opportunitiesthe human capital we are talking about todaythen they will lay the foundation for sustained prosperity. If you dont, however, then it is very important to recognize that there will be a sharp limit on how much the country can grow. READ ALSO: FG's narrative of unconditional release is 100% correct - More revelations emerge about Dapchi girls release Unfortunately, many Nigerian news media have maliciously quoted Gates out of context. With sensational headlines such as Buharis economic blueprint does not address Nigerians needs Bill Gates, Buharis Economic Plan Doesnt Address Nigerias Needs Bill Gates, "Bill Gates faults Nigerias economic growth scheme," etc., some popular Nigerian news media claimed that Gates said that the present economic templates being used by the Muhammadu Buhari government do not have the ability to address the unique needs of Nigerians at present. Some of the news media specifically claimed that Gates faulted the federal governments Economic Recovery And Growth Plan (ERGP). This headline is not only misleading but untrue The report carrying this headline has no substantive quote to validate it's claim Legit.ng verifies and confirms that this headline, and similar ones, quotes Bill Gates out of context While Gates did not mince words in telling the Nigerian government the truth about the countrys economic situation, there is no part of the speech where he outrightly condemned or faulted the current administrations economic plan as not having the ability to address the unique needs of Nigerians at present. Legit.ng reporters were at the venue, listened to Gates speech and got the correct, accurate speech as presented by the Microsoft chief. An exclusive Legit.ng picture at the event: L-R: Emir Sanusi, Aliko Dangote, Bill Gates, VP Osinbajo and finance minister, Kemi Adeosun. The crux of Gates advice to the Nigerian government is that the government must not focus only on infrastructural development at the expense of human capital development. He said: To anchor the economy over the long term, investments in infrastructure and competitiveness must go hand in hand with investments in people. People without roads, ports, and factories cant flourish. And roads, ports, and factories without skilled workers to build and manage them cant sustain an economy. Rather than condemning or faulting the current administrations economic blueprint as claimed by some sections of the media, Gates actually commended the governments economic plan, particularly praising its agricultural programme. Gates words: The agricultural sector is a pillar of the Nigerian economy. It accounts for a large proportion of your GDP, and during the oil price collapse and recession, it helped cushion the economy. But it still has a lot of potential to grow. The majority of Nigerian smallholder farmers lack access to the seeds, fertilizer, and training they need to be more productive, and they lack access to the markets they need to profit from their labor. The government has taken important steps to fill these gaps, with both more investment and a series of smart policies to encourage private sector investment. These reforms lay the foundation for a booming agricultural sector that feeds the country, helps end chronic malnutrition, and lifts up tens of millions of smallholder farmers. I urge you to build on this good work. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app The sensational headlines claiming that Gates fault the current administrations economic plan are not only misleading but also untrue. It is regrettable that some news media also go as far as using distorted and fake quotes to substantiate the claims they made in their sensational headlines. Pursuing sensationalism by presenting cheap headlines, as being practised by some Nigerian digital publishers, is not unprofessional but highly shameful and undesirable. In an earlier report, Legit.ng highlights nine basic things Gates said at the special NEC meeting. In one of the highlighted points, the Microsoft boss said his foundation has committed over $1.6 billion in Nigeria so far planned to increase the commitment. Gates said he has strong relationships with the federal government, state governments, businesses, NGOs, and civil society organizations and expressed his foundations willingness to support the current administration as it works to make Nigeria a global economic powerhouse that provides opportunity for all its citizens N1,500 for health of Nigerians - on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit.ng - The Supreme Court upholds an earlier decision of the Court of Appeal against Rotimi Akeredolu - The court awards N500,000 cost against Ondo state governor in favour of Abraham An appeal by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo state has been dismissed by the Supreme Court for lack of merit. The Nation reports that the Ondo state governor had, by the appeal, challenged a July 2017, judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja, which upheld an order by a Federal High Court in Abuja, granting permission to Olusegun Abraham to serve Akeredolu through substituted means, court documents in relation to the suit he (Abraham) filed. Abrahams suit is challenging the outcome of the primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which produced Akeredolu as the partys candidate for the last governorship election in Ondo state. READ ALSO: Secure release of lone Christian Dapchi girl - Muslim group to Buhari When delivering judgment, a five-man panel of the Supreme Court on Friday, March 23, unanimously held that Akeredolus appeal was without merit. In the judgment which was read by Justice Ejembi Eko, the court upheld the earlier decision of the Court of Appeal and awarded N500,000 cost against Akeredolu, in favour of Abraham. Meanwhile, Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo state says his administration inherited a debt burden of N220.58 billion at its inception. Akeredolu made this known in Akure while swearing-in commissioners and special advisers, the News Agency of Nigeria reports. He advised the people of the state to refrain from acts that could further push the state into deep economic crisis. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app But his claim about the debt legacy was promptly attacked by a former commissioner for information during the Mimiko administration, Kayode Akinmade, who said that Mimiko left N20 billion in the kitty of the state government. Akinmade skirted the issue of debt and also did not explain why Mimiko failed to match the N38.64 billion left in the kitty of the state government by his predecessor, Governor Olusegun Agagu. What is working well and what needs improvement in Nigeria? on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit By Gaius Publius, a professional writer living on the West Coast of the United States and frequent contributor to DownWithTyranny, digby, Truthout, and Naked Capitalism. Follow him on Twitter @Gaius_Publius, Tumblr and Facebook. GP article archive here. Originally published at DownWithTyranny In a nice piece at TomGram (On Seeing Americas Wars Whole: Six Questions for A.G. Sulzberger, h/t Naked Capitalism) Andrew Bacevich takes the new editor of the New York Times to task for not adequately covering Americas endless war in the Muslim (and increasingly, the African) world: I want to suggest that obsessing about this administrations stupefying tomfoolery finds the Times overlooking one particular issue that predates and transcends the Trump Moment. That issue is the normalization of armed conflict, with your writers, editors, and editorial board having tacitly accepted that, for the United States, war has become a permanent condition. Bacevich doesnt fault the Times for not covering these events, but for failing to connect the dots, something it never fails to do when covering Russian adventures abroad. The Shape of the Forever War What struck me most about the piece, however, were the dots themselves. Displayed as he displays them, they seem to connect themselves: * Over 6,000 days after it began, Americas war in Afghanistan continues, with Times correspondents providing regular and regularly repetitive updates; * In the seven-year-long civil war that has engulfed Syria, the ever-shifting cast of belligerents now includes at least 2,000(some sources say 4,000) U.S. special operators, the rationale for their presence changing from week to week, even as plans to keep U.S. troops in Syria indefinitely take shape; * In Iraq, now liberated from ISIS, itself a byproduct of U.S. invasion and occupation, U.S. troops are now poised to stay on, more or less as they did in West Germany in 1945 and in South Korea after 1953; * On the Arabian Peninsula, U.S. forces have partnered with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud in brutalizing Yemen, thereby creating a vast humanitarian disaster despite the absence of discernible U.S. interests at stake; * In the military equivalent of whacking self-sown weeds, American drones routinely attack Libyan militant groups that owe their existence to the chaos created in 2011 when the United States impulsively participated in the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi; * More than a quarter-century after American troops entered Somalia to feed the starving, the U.S. military mission continues, presently in the form of recurring airstrikes; * Elsewhere in Africa, the latest theater to offer opportunitiesfor road-testing the most recent counterterrorism techniques, the U.S. military footprint is rapidly expanding, all but devoid of congressional (or possibly any other kind of) oversight; * From the Levant to South Asia, a flood of American-manufactured weaponry continues to flow unabated, to the delight of the military-industrial complex, but with little evidence that the arms we sell or give away are contributing to regional peace and stability; * Amid this endless spiral of undeclared American wars and conflicts, Congress stands by passively, only rousing itself as needed to appropriate money that ensures the unimpeded continuation of all of the above; * Meanwhile, President Trump, though assessing all of this military hyperactivity as misbegotten Seven trillion dollars. What a mistake. is effectively perpetuating and even ramping up the policies pioneered by his predecessors. Emphasizing Bacevichs main point, Tom Engelhardt asks us in his introduction to imagine what kind of coverage [Russia] would be getting if, almost 17 years after it had launched a Global War on Terrorism, Russian troops, special operations forces, airplanes, and drones were still in action in at least eight countries across the Greater Middle East and parts of Africa: Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Niger, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen. I cant get past that list, however. Its stunning in its scope. From it I draw a different set of conclusions. Liking What Trump Is Doing; Wishing Someone Else Were Doing It As Bacevich points out, were whacking self-sown weeds. The implications are frightening. My takeaways: The entire Establishment is waging this global war. With bipartisan consent well be at war forever unless a truly peace-minded, anti-Establishment candidate is elected president, and even then he risks being brought back down by the government that answers to him, elected or not. With respect to war policy, Sanders is such a candidate, perhaps, and there may be others. Yet no one else of his popular stature and appeal, with his authenticity and viability, has yet emerged. The Washington elites are crazy if we view them through the lens of their own words. To decry Trump as in the pocket of Russia one minute Pelosi: What do the Russians have on Donald Trump that hes always catering to them? #PelosiTownHall https://t.co/cxrMaXuJLm CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) May 16, 2017 and increase his domestic spying powers in the next is crazy by that measure. For another, simpler explanation, consider this: It isnt crazy logic that drives them, but calculated hypocrisy. Why hypocrisy? Because Leaders of the ruling bipartisan consensus like most of what Trump is doing; they just want someone else doing it. Perhaps Pence, to choose just one. Enough Democrats were ambivalent about the Trump tax cuts, for example, that they campaigned softly (and ineffectively) against it, unlike their vigorous (and effective) campaign to protect their presidents signature achievement, Obamacare. Enough Democrats voted for former Eli Lilly president Alex Azar to run HHS to get him confirmed. And enough Democrats will vote for torturer Gina Haspel as CIA director to make the confirmation bipartisan. After all, 14 Senate Democrats (plus Angus King) voted to confirm pro-torture Mike Pompeo as CIA chief, and Pompeo almost immediately appointed Haspel as his deputy. No one in DC wants to piss off the CIA. As Chuck Schumer noted, it would take a fool to do it. (Trump, at one time, was such a fool. Now, not so much.) Will the next round of power-holding Democrats keep us out of war and take the CIA out of the torture business? Its fair to be extremely doubtful. Its therefore fair to conclude this war will last forever, will be waged at our will, where and as long as we choose. Its also fair to ask: Is forever war, fought forever abroad, a stable new world order? Or failing to be reduced, will it expand and come home? The Weeds Whack Back A prediction: This war will come back to bite us. It will come back home to the shopping malls, airports, schools and hospitals of America. Not just the large, big-city ones, but the regional ones as well, those in the heartland where live the solid citizens who blissfully rubber-stamp everything the bipartisan war-making leaders want to do. After all, with a volunteer (undrafted) army deployed abroad and just lone gunmen at home to be troubled about, why should heartlanders care about foreign deaths, so long as their fossil fueliPhone lifestyle is provided for? When the combatants stop looking like lone gunmen, however, and start looking more like the organized terrorizing warriors weve become overseas, perhaps theyll care then. But caring, if it comes, will come too late. A non-military government, in substance already lost, will be lost in form as well. The next new American state will be born, a naked military one, but cest la guerreas they say: It cant be helped. The implications of that next change, including the implications for climate change mitigation, have a world-historical shape. Life in the homeland will be very much different from this one, if or when the U.S. military starts to fight the forever war here like its fighting it abroad. Teasing out the shape of that new American state is beyond the scope of this piece, but your imagination may suffice to paint the picture. The Garda chief leading the search into missing 14 year-old Carrick-on-Suir schoolgirl Elisha Gault, has issued an appeal for a female seen walking on the outskirts of Carrick-on-Suir last Sunday morning to come forward. Clonmel Garda District Supt. William Leahy said they were appealing for a tall, thin female with blonde hair, who was seen walking between Collins Park on the Faugheen Road to the rail bridge near Carrick-on-Suir Mart between 10.30am and 11am on Sunday to contact them. Earlier today (Friday), Gardai issued an appeal for three people seen walking in the vicinity of St Molleran's GAA Club on the Coolnamuck Road on the night of her disappearance to come forward. Supt. Leahy confirmed these people had contacted the gardai. The search for Elisha Gault from New Street, Carrick-on-Suir has now entered its sixth day. Carrick on Suir River Rescue, the Civil Defence,the specialist Garda Dog and Sub Aqua Units and search and rescue units from Clonmel, Waterford, Nenagh and Mallow, the Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 117, have all been involved in the search. Friends of Elisahs family, concerned locals and a huge group of volunteers joined the search again today. The teenager left her home at New Street between 9pm and 10pm on St Patrick's Day last Saturday and was last spotted on Dillon Bridge a short time later. Supt William Leahy has again appealed for public assistance in tracing the teenager. The Comeragh College pupil is described as being 5ft 10in, of slim build with blue eyes and dyed blonde hair. And he appealed to Elisha, if she is listening to the search appeals, and anyone who knows her whereabouts to make contact. Elisha's parents Grainne and Cameron have issued an appeal for information and said they were overwhelmed by the response to the search for t heir daughter. "We just want to know that she is safe and well so we can call off all the search efforts and that myself her daddy and her three sisters love her very much, no matter what," her mother Grainne posted on Facebook. On 21-23 March 2018, Ambassador Alejandro Alvargonzalez, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy paid an official visit to Morocco, in the framework of the Alliance's Mediterranean Dialogue. During his visit, Ambassador Alvargonzalez held bilateral meetings with H.E. Mr. Nasser Bourita, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E Mr. Abdellatif Loudiyi, the Minister Delegated for National Defense, Amb. Youssef Amrani, the Foreign Policy Advisor of the King of Morocco, Mr. Abdelfatah Louarak, the Inspector General of the Moroccan Armed Forces, and Mr. Mohamed Yassine Mansouri, Director General of the Intelligence Services, DGDE). The meetings focused on the state of play of NATOs cooperation with Morocco and how to further enhance political consultations and practical cooperation within the framework of the Mediterranean Dialogue, including through the development of a new Individual Partnership and Cooperation Programme (IPCP). Topics discussed also focused on regional common security challenges affecting NATO and Morocco. The meeting demonstrated NATO and Moroccos commitment to strengthening political and practical cooperation. (Natural News) A study conducted by researchers from Iowa State University revealed that a certain species of birds helps chili peppers grow in the wild. According to the researchers, the data from their study helped them learn more about a mutualistic, or mutually beneficial, relationship between birds and chili peppers in the Mariana Islands. Haldre Rogers, an assistant professor of ecology, evolution and organismal biology, explained that biodiversity can also indirectly have benefits for humans. Monika Egerer, a graduate student at the University of California at Santa Cruz, led the study. Rogers was a co-author, together with Evan Fricke, an ISU postdoctoral research associate. Rogers said that even though organisms rely on each other in intricate and often poorly understood ways, the decline of an animal species can still result in declines in plants with which the animal species share a mutualistic relationship. For this study, Rogers et al. examined the donne sali chili plant, which is native to the forests of the Mariana Islands. Birds eat the plants peppers and the ingested seeds are then dispersed to other locations via their excrement. The researchers ran various tests to see if gut passage improves the odds of chili seeds germinating. Video footage established which bird species primarily dispersed the seeds. The researchers then conducted feeding trials with captive birds to collect gut-passed seeds. The seeds samples were used for planting trials to see how they performed compared to seeds that didnt pass through birds. Gut passage through birds improves germination of chili plant seeds According to Fricke, gut passage helps separate the seeds from the pulp of the chili plants. Once the seed is separated from the pulp, the likelihood of germination when the seeds settle on the ground is significantly increased. The researchers also noted a statistically significant improvement in seed germination separate from pulp removal in seeds passed through a local species of starling. Based on their findings, gut passage through starlings offers other benefits to the performance of the chili seeds. However, identifying the cause wasnt part of the experiments scope. Interestingly enough, the name of the pepper plants includes the word sali, the local name for the Micronesian starling. The island of Guam, which has a native bird population that suffered losses because of the introduction of an invasive predatory snake following World War II, highlights the importance of the symbiotic relationship between birds and the chili plants. Since it didnt have birds that dispersed the seeds, the researchers found much lower chili populations on Guam unlike in the other Mariana Islands. The research team studied the donne sali chili plant due to its unique social significance to the people of the Mariana Islands. Fricke explained that the locals use the harvested chili plants as a source of income. The chili plants are also a sought-after ingredient for spicy foods. He added that many local residents say that this type of chili plant is hard to cultivate, and that the cultivated plants arent as spicy as the wild chili variants. Fricke noted that public awareness of the importance of pollinating insects in growing crops and other important plants has increased in recent years. He also expressed concern that appreciation for other symbiotic relationships, like seed dispersal, isnt discussed as much. Fricke shared that he wishes studies like this can pave the way for growing interest in mutualism. (Related: Beyond The Heat: 7 Amazing Health Benefits Of Chilli peppers.) He explained that the study can help us learn more about a mutualism that offers direct benefits, which should make us care more about conserving biodiversity. The benefits of chili peppers If youre not a big fan of spicy food, you might want to start eating more chili peppers, which have various health benefits like: Boosts red blood cell formation Anemia and fatigue are due to an iron deficiency and chili peppers have copper and iron. Both minerals are necessary for new blood cell formation. Anemia and fatigue are due to an iron deficiency and chili peppers have copper and iron. Both minerals are necessary for new blood cell formation. Clears nasal congestion Capsaicin also relieves congestion. The fiery heat stimulates secretions that help clear mucus from a stuffy nose. Capsaicin has antibacterial properties that can protect against chronic sinus infections since it induces vasoconstriction in the blood vessels of the nasal cavity. Capsaicin also relieves congestion. The fiery heat stimulates secretions that help clear mucus from a stuffy nose. Capsaicin has antibacterial properties that can protect against chronic sinus infections since it induces vasoconstriction in the blood vessels of the nasal cavity. Improves cognitive functioning Getting enough oxygen and iron will help you achieve and maintain good cognitive performance. Spice up your meals with chili peppers to help minimize your risk of dementia and Alzheimers disease as you grow older. Getting enough oxygen and iron will help you achieve and maintain good cognitive performance. Spice up your meals with chili peppers to help minimize your risk of dementia and Alzheimers disease as you grow older. Natural pain relief Topical capsaicin can soothe pain caused by osteoarthritis and diabetic neuropathy. Capsaicin helps desensitize sensory receptors and it also has anti-inflammatory properties. Topical capsaicin can soothe pain caused by osteoarthritis and diabetic neuropathy. Capsaicin helps desensitize sensory receptors and it also has anti-inflammatory properties. Reduces blood pressure and prevents cardiovascular disease Chilies contain potassium, a mineral that the body needs for different functions. A regular intake of potassium, combined with folate, will significantly lower the risk of heart diseases. Potassium also relaxes blood vessels and helps regulate ideal blood flow. You can learn more about symbiotic plant and animal relationships and other fascinating scientific phenomena at WeirdScienceNews.com. Sources include: Newswise.com NaturalFoodSeries.com (Natural News) German cities are now allowed to ban diesel cars for the air pollution they generate, reported Deutsche Welle, after the countrys highest federal administrative court instructed the cities of Stuttgart and Duesseldorf to start thinking about enacting a year-round ban for older models. The recent ruling could be the final straw that breaks the stubborn back of car manufacturers that have been dragging their feet with regards to abandoning combustion engines or improving exhaust systems. Stuttgart and Duesseldorf are not the only German cities with nitrogen oxide (NOx) levels in excess of European Union limits. But the indictment is a particularly heavy blow for the former. Stuttgart advertises itself as the birthplace of the modern automobile. It is also home to auto manufacturer Daimler AG, owner of the popular Mercedes-Benz brand. Another German city didnt wait to be chided. The northern city of Hamburg announced it would begin limiting diesel vehicles by April. The backlash against diesel-engine vehicles began in 2015, when German car manufacturer Volkswagen confessed it cheated U.S. emission tests. The ensuing scandal swept through the automobile industry like wildfire and electrified investment in electric cars. This new ban will send the auto industry reeling given the involvement of a major automakers home city. Its also an embarrassment for Chancellor Angela Merkel, given her governments often-criticized ties to the sector. In order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and meet emission goals, Germany committed itself to diesel engines. Now the country fears losing hundreds of thousands of jobs. (Related: Ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft cause increased traffic congestion in cities, research finds.) Environmentalists praise ruling, politics and business rue it German Environmental Aid (Deutsche Umwelthilfe DUH) had filed cases against Stuttgart and Duesseldorf for poor air quality. When local courts ruled in favor of those cases issued bans, German states elevated the matter to the federal administrative court. This is a great day for clean air in Germany, said Juergen Resch, managing director of DUH. The federal court ruling provoked protest from many politicians and business lobbies. They believed millions of German drivers wont be able to use, sell, or replace their now-illegal diesel cars. Driving bans have a massive impact on our ownership rights, on mobility and on our profession, argued Hans Peter Wollseifer, president of the association of German tradesmen. The carmakers are to blame for the diesel problem, not us tradesmen. Meanwhile, the VDA auto industry (German Association of the Automotive Industry) lobby expressed relief that the court did not insist Stuttgart and Duesseldorf immediately enforce the bans. Chancellor Merkel said the government would talk things over with affected regions and municipalities. Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks and other officials hope to prevent bans by encouraging public transport and persuading automakers to improve the exhaust cleaning systems of older diesel engines. Driving bans might finish what the Volkswagen scandal started. Sales of diesel cars have nosedived since 2015, and fears of bans drove demand even lower in 2017. Diesel car bans are hard to enforce The federal court ordered Stuttgart and Duesseldorf to change their anti-pollution plans. According to the judge, city bans could be enforced even without national equivalents. By next January, diesel cars that meet outdated Euro-4 emissions standards may no longer be welcome in Stuttgart. Euro-5 vehicles are exempted until 1 September, 2019. The current standard is Eugo-6. The court added that tradesmen and certain residents will be exempted from the ban. It will not be easy to implement, admitted Fritz Kuh, mayor of Stuttgart. He believed the regional government should come up with a new air pollution plan in six months. The police union of Germany reported its inability to enforce any bans. More articles on air pollution can be found at Pollution.news. Sources include: DW.com Reuters.com (Natural News) Chinese citizens are already under an enormous amount of pressure to fall in line as it is, what with all of the surveillance going on inside of the countrys borders, but now the Chinese government have taken things one step further yet again. Based on a report unearthed by Human Rights Watch, China now has a fully-functional real-time system that marks suspicious individuals and arrest them shortly thereafter before theyve even committed any crimes. This system, reportedly dubbed the Integrated Joint Operations Platform (IJOP), uses big data to perform its pre-programmed tasks. It takes data from various banking records, facial-recognition cameras, license plate cameras, police check points, police reports, and even Wi-Fi internet sniffers in order to make any decisions regarding suspect individuals. According to a report, the system can see all of the activity of Chinas citizens and immediately flag anything thats suspicious, such as a huge purchase of fertilizer all at one time, then notify the police. They are then expected to respond to the suspicious activity flagged on the same day, and are authorized to act based on what they do find. According to Maya Wang, a senior China researchers at Human Rights Watch, her organization has been able to document the connection between detentions and so-called big data programs. We are no longer saying that mass surveillance is deeply and widely intrusive when it comes to privacy rights, which of course is a big alarm, she explained. It goes further than that. People are being detained in an arbitrary manner because they are put in these political-education facilities. The system, which has been deployed and in use already in Chinas far Western Xinjiang region, is reportedly meant to be implemented on political education centers. But the methods being applied in these facilities arent geared towards any real education at all, according to reports. It is said that the re-education involves forcibly detaining people for months on end, even when no charges have been pressed against them, just so they can be inculcated in political doctrine thats deemed acceptable by the Chinese state. Though largely unreliable and, according to Wang, often exacerbates some of the biases, China has already decided to put a lot of trust in this new system. Its built upon ideas of Chinese police theorists, who have identified certain extremist behaviors, which include if you store a large amount of food in your home, if your child suddenly quits school and so on, she said. When a computer is trained on how to search for these particular parameters, youll end up with a big data program modeled upon pretty racist ideas about peaceful behaviors that are part of a Uyghur identity. The Uyghurs are a Turkic ethnic group living in East and Central Asia that are prone to discrimination in the region. Although considered a massive violation of human rights and privacy to citizens who are living in many developed countries, this latest move by China can be considered business as usual. A similar system was already in place even before this new one was implemented. The only difference here is, now theyre doing it with the help of technology. One police officer named Xu Linglei, who took part in an interview with the Chinese Nanfang magazine, remarked that the system is working perfectly for what it was designed for. Before the application of big data, police often only arrested people after they had committed wrongdoings and the victims suffered a losses as a result, he stated. Now, relying on information technology, then can take preventive measures in advance. Could you live in such a society? Would you like to see something similar implemented where you live? See other ways that human rights and privacy get violated in PrivacyWatch.news. Sources include: TheGlobeandMail.com Reuters.com (Natural News) They say in the political arena if you cant get good coverage, buy it. Looks like social media giant Google is going into the business of buying favorable political coverage at the expense of drowning out competing ideas (read conservative ideas). As reported by Breitbart News, Google has decided that it should spend $300 million on a brand-new news initiative that aims to turn certain media outlets into real-life presstitutes. According to details of the plan, Googles money will go towards supporting what its Marxist editorial staff has determined to be high quality journalism, while pledging to combat misinformation during the upcoming 2018 Midterm elections. Google says the News Initiative is focused on three broad goals strengthening quality journalism, supporting sustainable business models and empowering newsrooms through technological innovation, reported Tech Crunch. Its also committing to spend $300 million over the next three years on its various journalism-related projects. Google Chief Business Officer Phillipp Schindler claimed during a press conference, Our mission is inherently tied to your business The economics are very clear: If you do not grow, we do not grow. He added that the social media giant has two clear business incentives to support and promote high quality journalism. First, he said Google search by its very nature depends on the open web and depends on open access to information and that obviously depends on high quality information. Second, he noted that Googles DoubleClick ad business is all about splitting revenue with publishers, with $12.6 billion paid out to partners last year, Tech Crunch explained. Schindler also announced a partnership with the Harvard Kennedy Schools First Draft to launch something called the Disinfo Lab, which will use computational tools and journalistic oversight to monitor misinformation during elections. And theres a separate project called MediaWise, a partnership with the Poynter Institute, Stanford University, and the Local Media Association. Google.orgs Jacqueline Fuller described this as a $3 million, two-year media campaign to improve media literacy among teens, the tech site further noted. Translation: Google is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to completely destroy or, at the least, drown out conservative, independent media and all voices of liberty and freedom. To them, our voices will be disinfo. Our reporting will be fake. Our news will be propaganda. Am I overreacting? I dont think so. Remember, this is Google, a company that practically had its own office in Barack Obamas White House. These people arent fair and balanced when it comes to conservative, pro-American, America-first, pro-Second Amendment, pro-Trump, pro-MAGA voices. This is a blatant effort to buy favorable media coverage for its patrons in the Democratic Party. (Related: Obamas raid of Facebook data OK, but its a scandal when Team Trump does it?) This should convince you once and for all that Democrats really are authoritarians and their organs that feed them are all on board with that. How else can you explain the decision by YouTube to completely deep-six all gun-related video content (Google owns YouTube)? There is pushback to all of this, however. There is a legal effort that seeks to break up the Webs biggest information monopoly after a series of very credible reports have documented how that company Alphabet Corp.s Google has been attempting to control the flow of information that browsers can (and cant) see. Google dominates Internet search with over 75 percent of the market. If you disappear on Google, your ability to voice your opinion disappears too. You will be silenced, says StopOnlineCensorship.com, a legal effort sponsored by PragerU.com which has seen more than 40 of its educational videos suppressed by Google-owned YouTube. This is not just about PragerU being silenced. Its about another point of view thats being silenced by Google and YouTube, the site continued. Tomorrow it could be your point of view that is being silenced. Hence the effort to buy favorable media coverage. Google and the rest of the Pravda media are waging a full-scale war on the information you are allowed to see. But there are ways to fight their attempts to control all information. Bookmark Censored.news which is filled with news and information from independent publishers that is updated 24-7. Keep an eye out for the launch of Brighteon.com. And as always, stay tuned to this site as well. J.D. Heyes is also editor-in-chief of The National Sentinel. Sources include: Newstarget.com TheIntercept.com Breitbart.com (Natural News) Like his tech colleagues at Google, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg enjoyed most-favored company status during the Obama administration. What a difference 12 months makes. Following a report by the Left-leaning Guardian over the weekend that a consulting firm called Cambridge Analytica, which was funded as a start-up by billionaire Trump supporter Robert Mercer, used a Facebook app to access and target some 50 million users during the 2016 election, Zuckerberg and his company have now come under intense fire from the Left. Seems that social media tech is a political resource by and for the American Communist Party, a.k.a, Democrats, not those icky, conservative Trump supporters living in fly-over country. As such, the fact that Cambridge Analytica was allowed (by Zuckerberg) to do what the Obama campaign did (and then some with Facebooks blessing) during his 2012 reelection campaign is a cardinal sin and considered unforgivable by the countrys most tolerant people. So, Zuck must be punished. And regulated. And if necessary, replaced by a reliable Left-wing only social media behemoth (as if Facebooks ongoing censorship of conservative media isnt enough). Calls for regulating Facebook from mostly Democratic lawmakers was followed by reports earlier this week that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was going to launch an investigation into whether Cambridges use of those 50 million Facebook users violated a consent decree the tech company signed with the agency in 2011, according to CNBC, via Bloomberg. That news prompted a huge drop in the value of Facebook stock; at one point the company was out $24 billion while Zuckerberg himself had dropped $5 billion, or more than the equivalent of several states annual budgets. We are aware of the issues that have been raised but cannot comment on whether we are investigating, a spokesman for the FTC said on Tuesday. We take any allegations of violations of our consent decrees very seriously as we did in 2012 in a privacy case involving Google. But apparently, the Obama campaigns complete raid of data on some 190 million Facebook users wasokay? Anyway, if found to have violated the consent decree, it could mean the financial ruin of the company; CNBC reported that each violation could carry a penalty of $40,000. So, 50 million times 40,000 istoo many zeros for my calculator. Thats not all. In the here-and-now, Facebook is being savaged by Anand Giridharadas, author of the book, Winners Take All, who said that Zuck will go down in history as a tragic figure (and failure). Mark Zuckerberg will go down in history as a tragic figure, and one befitting an age of billionaire savior delusions. He claimed to change the world even as he maimed his country. He pledged to rid the world of diseases while ignoring the disease he was spreading, he tweeted. Mark Zuckerberg will go down in history as a tragic figure, and one befitting an age of billionaire savior delusions. He claimed to change the world even as he maimed his country. He pledged to rid the world of diseases while ignoring the disease he was spreading. Anand Giridharadas (@AnandWrites) March 19, 2018 Ouch. Thats from a former New York Times and NBC News political analyst certainly not a right-wing extremist by any measure. He noted further: Two and a half years ago, when I started reporting and writing @WinnersTakeAll, people were aghast that I would take on people like Zuck who seemed to be doing so much good. Now we all know. We are living in a collective fantasy that the people who cause our problems are the best at solving them. That is how Zuck ends up being a leader of rethinking the news after eviscerating it. How he can position himself as a force for democratization while corrupting democracy. Thats a powerful condemnation from a man who didnt seem to mind when Obamas team was pimping Facebook for every bit of user data it could get its hands on. But the lesson here isnt the Lefts hypocrisy; thats already well-established. Its that the Left has no loyalty to anyone or anything except power. Mess with that and you wont be spared even if youre a billionaire founder of the Lefts social media monopoly. Dont be fooled by fake news or social media censorship stay informed at Censored.news. J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for NaturalNews.com and NewsTarget.com, as well as editor of The National Sentinel. Sources include: TheGatewayPundit.com IJR.com Newstarget.com TheNationalSentinel.com (Natural News) Healthy users of medical and recreational marijuana will be relieved to hear about the results of a massive study published in The American Journal of Medicine. The researchers found no evidence that linked the occasional and light use of the drug to ill effects on kidney function, reported an AlphaGalileo article. The most widely-used illicit drug in the U.S., marijuana is steadily gaining favor with adult users who are at least 26 years old. The health effects attributed to its acute and chronic use are the subject of fierce debate. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet officially recognized marijuana as a medicine, but many states permit the use of pot for medicinal and recreational purposes. Despite its notoriety, the drugs possible effects on the health of the general population have not attracted a great deal of study. Marijuanas potential effects on kidney function, for instance, is all but unknown. Therefore, a research team from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (The Chan School) performed a cross-sectional study of close to 14,000 adults in the U.S. Their findings determined that past or ongoing use of marijuana cannot be linked to kidney function. Marijuana use shown to have no connection to kidney problems The Chan School study comprised nearly 14,000 healthy adults who joined the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2007 to 2014. The members of the nationally representative sample all lived in the U.S. with ages ranging from 18 to 59 years. In addition, a mobile examination center collected blood samples from participants. Researchers analyzed serum creatinine levels in those samples to determine the participants level of kidney function. According to the study, close to 5,500 participants admitted to using marijuana at least once in the past, although not within 30 days of the experiment. More than 2,000 users said they smoked pot at least once within the last 30 days. Analysis of blood samples did not uncover any evidence that current or past use of marijuana led to impaired kidney function. Neither did the researchers determine any significant correlation between a participants history of smoking pot and the likelihood of chronic kidney disease. Furthermore, they did not find any connection between the history of marijuana use and the development of microalbuminuria. A moderate increase in the amount of albumin in the urine due to a leak in the kidney, microalbuminuria is considered a symptom of kidney disease. Our research provides some reassuring evidence suggesting that there is no determinable effect of infrequent, relatively light use of marijuana on kidney function among healthy adults under age 60, commented lead researcher Dr. Murray A. Mittleman of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He also addressed a limitation of the study, which restricted participation to healthy adults. However, our research does not address heavy users, the elderly, or those with preexisting chronic kidney disease. Research is needed to evaluate the impact of marijuana use in adults 60 and over, and among those with existing or at risk of developing kidney disease, Dr. Mittleman urged. Federally banned but permitted by many states The possession, use, purchase, trade, and cultivation of marijuana (which is derived from cannabis plants) are banned by U.S. Federal law. At the same time, a number of U.S. states have chosen to legalize the drug. (Related: Marijuana farmers are destroying natural ecosystems as quest for profits outweighs green agricultural practices.) As of the time of this writing, 30 states and the District of Columbia (DC) have legalized medical marijuana. In addition, eight states plus DC have legalized recreational use of pot, while others are slowly decriminalizing the cannabis-derived product. Stay on top of marijuana-related developments at MedicalMarijuanaUpdate.com. Sources include: AlphaGalileo.org AmJMed.com (Natural News) Liberals have been on an endless tirade against Vice President Mike Pence ever since then-candidate Donald Trump first chose him as his Vice President. But things have really been heating up in recent weeks, as the baby-killers left of the aisle seethe over what conservative blogger Matt Walsh says is their utter hatred of Christianity. Though they probably wouldnt put it in such terms themselves, the leftists who wont shut up in mocking, harassing, and verbally degrading the Vice President including many so-called Christians are really just fulfilling what the Holy Scriptures say that people who hate God will do when confronted by people who actually love Him and follow His commands. One of the latest examples of this was late-night loudmouth John Oliver, who went on a delusional rant against Pence following the recent release of his daughters children book. Oliver, a God-hating liberal, mocked the book, turned one of its characters gay, and spurred his mindless followers to leave nasty reviews on the books Amazon page. Why did Oliver do this? Neither Pence nor his daughter made any public fanfare about the book, nor did either of them make any public statements that could have been considered offensive to anyone. Their only offense is the fact that both of them are Christians, and neither would ever write a book about gay bunnies and other perversions which thus makes them enemies to heathens like John Oliver. Its the same spirit of evil that spurred daytime blabbermouth Joy Behar to falsely accused the Vice President of being mentally ill simply because he prays to God. Even though Oprah Winfrey also says she prays, including about potentially running for president in 2020, Winfrey is given a pass because she worships another god, which apparently aligns with or is the same as the one Behar worships. Pence has also been harassed by deranged lunatic Jimmy Kimmel, various homosexual Olympians, Broadway actors involved with the play Hamilton, gay militants in Georgia, people who support baby murder at Planned Parenthood, and on and on the list goes. And once again, it all has to do with the fact that all of these people hate God and Mike Pence doesnt. Pence has responded gracefully to these attacks, or not responded to them at all. He certainly hasnt done anything to goad these people or encourage this constant barrage of mockery. But the Left cant help itself, writes Walsh. They just hate Mike Pence. They hate him with the fire of ten thousand suns. Why? Well, because hes Christian. That is really the only reason. Fake Christians who attack Pence for the same reasons also hate God, whether they realize it or not Walsh also points out the fact that many self-proclaiming Christians have also condemned Pence for his convictions that marriage is between a man and a woman, and that babies shouldnt be ripped out of their mothers wombs and torn to pieces in the name of womens rights. Walsh says these people are hardly Christians, which is obvious by the fact that they dont adhere to what the Holy Scriptures have to say on these matters. If you loathe only the sorts of Christians who believe that the homosexual act is a grave sin and abortion is an abomination, you loathe the religion itself, Walsh writes. A religion without those teachings is a religion without Holy Scripture, because that is where those teachings originate. And a religion without Holy Scripture is nothing but a set of vague and ever-changing platitudes, and it bears absolutely no relation to the faith that Christ commissioned his disciples to go forth and preach. You cannot be a Christian and hold a different view on these topics, Walsh emphasizes. And you cannot hate every Christian who holds those views without hating every real Christian in the world. Sources for this article include: DailyWire.com NaturalNews.com State officials have ordered an inspection of Moccasin Creek Dam located in Tuolumne County, after it was on the verge of failing Thursday afternoon, according to San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. The dam located in a remote area of the Sierra Foothills prompted an evacuation and a flash food warning. If it failed, large quantities of water would have moved down the creek to Don Pedro Reservoir. The close call comes one month after NBC Bay Areas Investigative Unit aired a year-long investigation into the safety of Californias 1,585 dams, including Moccasin. We found a memo written by engineers at Californias Department of Water Resources (DWR) in June 2017 that raised safety questions about seven dams owned and operated by the agency. Our investigation found more than half of Californias dams carry a high hazard potential. Seventy-five percent of those dams are earthen dams and 80 percent of those were built before 1970. Construction on Moccasin Dam, which qualifies as an earthen dam, was completed in 1930. The California Division of Safety of Dams rated the condition as satisfactory back in September 2017. Moccasin dam is owned by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and is part of the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct System that delivers fresh drinking water to the Bay Area. SFPUC told NBC Bay Areas Investigative Unit there is currently no threat to the Bay Areas water supply. The small reservoir holds 554 acre feet of water, making it more than 6,000 times smaller than Lake Oroville. The 60-foot dam also has a hydroelectric plant on site, providing power to the Bay Area. California's Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will start switching off power to minimize sparks in vulnerable areas during times of extreme fire danger, it said Thursday, as state investigators examine whether the utility's equipment set off deadly Northern California wildfires. The move for pre-emptive power cutoffs is one that some local officials and fire survivors have urged after recent wildfires. PG&E and some other state utilities previously have resisted it, arguing that cutting off power carries its own risks, including to patients dependent on electrical equipment. The change was one of a slate announced Thursday by the utility in the aftermath of Northern California wildfires that killed 44 people last October, and have left the utility facing what could be hundreds of millions of dollars or even more in liability. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection still is investigating the causes of the spate of October wildfires. Records released so far in the probe show that tree limbs or whole trees fell into power lines in the areas where many of the near-simultaneous fires began, whipped up by fierce dry winds. PG&E is now drafting guidelines for shutting down power in areas at risk during extreme fire danger, spokesman Matt Nauman said. Any temporary shut-offs would likely happen during California's summer and fall fire season, and would be done in coordination with officials and with public notice, Nauman said. "Turning off electric power lines can have an immediate and broad impact on public safety," Nauman said. "At the same time, we recognize that there may be situations in which proactively turning off electric power lines is warranted." State utility regulators held at least one public hearing earlier this year studying the usefulness of shutting power to select areas during times of high winds and parched brush and grass. San Diego Gas & Electric in Southern California cut off about 12,000 customers during high winds and wildfires last December, only to have some customers complain, that utility said. PG&E also will talk with communities to "determine where it makes sense to underground" power lines, or bury them underground rather than run them above ground on poles, Nauman said, in another change called for by some officials in areas hit by fires. Even buried lines are vulnerable to weather damage, quakes, flooding, and unwitting damage from heavy equipment, PG&E officials say. The utility also plans to make its electrical system more resilient against high winds and fire, including replacing some wooden poles with steel. Other planned changes include an around-the-clock wildfire prediction and response center in San Francisco, and the hiring of firefighters on retainer. PG&E suspended shareholder dividends late last year, citing rising potential for significant liability in the deadly October fires. State investigators and courts earlier found PG&E responsible for a 2015 fire that killed two people and burned hundreds of homes and other structures in and around the northern Sierra Nevada. PG&E in that fire had failed to cut back brush around its equipment, leaving a pine tree to slump against a power line, investigators said. A faster, easier way to travel to Hong Kong from San Francisco has come to the San Francisco International Airport. Hong Kong Airlines will launch a new direct flight from its home airport to SFO on Sunday, the first of many to come. The company plans to make this flight available four times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, SF Gate reports. The San Francisco to Hong Kong route will be available six times a day as the airline plans to expand daily flights by Aug. 18. "Being able to connect these two big developing areas, and being able to offer travelers one more option, I think Hong Kong Airlines is in a very special place to do that," George Liu, the airline's chief marketing officer, said to SF Gate. Passengers on these flights will travel in style as the airline will operate its new Airbus A350-900 airplanes. These come with 33 lie-flat business class seats and 108 economy seats with extra legroom. It also includes 196 standards economy seats. Hong Kong Airlines roundtrip airfares run for about $3,100. A 36-year-old man suspected of raping his 7-year-old step-granddaughter has been arrested as he was trying to flee to Mexico, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office. Alfonso Aguilar-Jaimes, a San Jose resident, allegedly assaulted the girl on two separate occasions in Half Moon Bay. He was arrested on suspicion of sodomy of a child, oral copulation with a child and assault to commit rape. The case was also investigated by the San Jose Police Department, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Marshals Service. Anyone with additional information is asked to call detectives at (650)363-4881 or (650)363-4060. New developments in the case of the San Jose State University student accused of sexually assaulting male schoolmates. Court documents show there was a pattern to Luis Venegas' behavior with his alleged victims. On Thursday, another student says he saw those signs firsthand because the same thing almost happened to him. Campus police arrested Venegas on March 5, charging him with five felonies, including sexual battery and false imprisonment. Student Hugo Vera, who said he considered Venegas a friend, told NBC Bay Area that four years ago, he saw all the same signs that were detailed in court documents, and now he regrets not saying anything about it then. Vera said Venegas once asked if Vera wanted Venegas to perform oral sex on him. "A little bit of shock," Vera said, recalling his reaction. "I was hoping hed say it was a joke and wed laugh about it." It turns out it wasnt a joke, Vera said. Court documents obtained by NBC Bay Area allege that over a three-year span on separate occasions, Venegas MO was consistent. He made sexual advances to male schoolmates, grabbing their genitals and offering them sex in his dorm room, documents show. When the victims rejected his advances, Venegas allegedly choked them. The victims believe Venegas was trying to make them pass out so he could rape them, documents show. "Its terrible and unsettling," Vera said. In both cases detailed in the court documents, the victims allegedly fought off Venegas. Vera said he regrets not speaking up about his encounter four years ago, when he believes Venegas demonstrated predatory behavior. "Perhaps, if Id shared my situation with a different party, there may have been a different outcome," Vera said. Vera said he's willing to go to court and testify for the prosecution in the case against Venegas. "It needs to be out there," he said. Venegas public defender declined to comment. Police believe there may be a third victim in the case. Vera said there may be a lot more. 1:35 P.M. FRIDAY UPDATE per NBC News' Tom Winter: Hasiz Kazi, age 51, is the man who drove into Travis AFB in California yesterday, U.S. law enforcement officials say. The FBI will hold a press conference asking the public for help in trying to figure out why he lit himself on fire and drove into a checkpoint. Previous story: A man died after officials said he gained an unauthorized access to the Travis Air Force Base in Solano County, California, with a vehicle that crashed Wednesday evening. Travis Air Force Base first responders and Fairfield emergency officials responded to the incident near the base's main gate at about 7 p.m., officials said. The driver of the vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Travis Air Force Base's Chief of Media Relations Sarah J. Johnson. There are "no current threats to the base or the community" and the investigation is ongoing, Johnson said. Air Force Office of Special Investigation and the FBI's Sacramento Field Office are working together to investigate the incident and no other information was immediately available. The Travis Air Force Base is comprised of more than 26,000 active duty, reservists and civilian employees. The safety and welfare of our Airmen, their families and our local community is our top priority, Col. John Klein, 60th Air Mobility Wing commander said in a statement. The host unit of Travis Air Force Base controls more than $11 billion in total resources and handles more cargo and passengers than any other military air terminal in the United States. Student Chris Grady was in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School the day a gunman killed 17 people in Parkland, Florida. On Saturday, less than two months later, Grady and his classmates will rally in Washington, D.C., to demand change to the nation's gun laws. The March 24 rally in Washington, D.C., called March for Our Lives, has more than 800 sister marches around the world in a movement that is asking that public safety be considered an issue that transcends politics. "People are trying to spin what were doing, saying were out to take away their Second Amendment rights," said Grady, 19. "Our main goal is to save kids' lives, people's lives. This is a public safety issue that takes place in concerts, churches, airports, not just schools." As they march and organize, the students are up against the National Rifle Association, a powerful, well-funded organization that has many decades of experience repelling proposed changes to gun laws. But this time may be different, experts say, because of the mobilized outrage and mounting pressure on the NRA. "It is only in moments like this when the country is roused that NRA activism can be overwhelmed, but it doesn't happen often," said Dr. Robert Spitzer, a professor at SUNY Cortland who has written extensively about gun policy. The NRA was founded in 1871 by former Union soldiers with the intention of promoting accurate marksmanship. In 1934, the group founded a legislative division due to growing debates over gun laws. But it wasn't until 1975 that the NRA founded its lobby division, the Institute for Legislative Action, to be a direct influence on policy. In 2016, the NRA's political arm took in $366 million, according to a the group's Internal Revenue Service filing obtained by Mother Jones. It was a fundraising record for the group. The NRA is America's most powerful gun lobby, funding politicians who will vote to maintain loose gun measures on its behalf. And beyond financial power, the NRA has strengthened its base by ingraining the notion that guns represent American values. The NRA says it supports the Constitution and gun rights for all Americans. But it only truly represents its base members -- nearly 5 million, according to the NRAs website, on top of another 10 million who identify with the the group, Spitzer said. Spitzer said the NRA maintains power through a small, highly motivated minority that wins over a "larger, but relatively apathetic majority." "There is a general sense among some gun owners that the NRA champions their values -- not just gun ownership, but how they view the world," he said. The organization has been thrown in a harsh spotlight after the the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Nikolas Cruz was charged with killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, using a semiautomatic rifle. The NRA was silent for a week after the shooting before going on the offensive; NRA leader Wayne LaPierre called for President Donald Trump to arm teachers and "harden our schools" as a defense against shootings. The group has already increased its influence in schools in recent years-- the NRA has given more than $7 million to about 500 schools across the U.S. from 2010 to 2016, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. Most of the money was given through competitive grants used to promote shooting sports, including the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, rifle teams, hunting safety courses and agriculture clubs. Although its a small portion of the $61 million the NRA has given to local groups in the same time frame, The Associated Press analysis revealed the $7.3 million was a rapid increase from previous years, nearly four-fold from 2010 to 2014. Some opponents call it a thinly veiled attempt to recruit the next generation of NRA members. But the attempt may not inspire a generation of students who have been entrenched in an era of deadly gun use. Each year from 2000 to 2013 there was an increase in shootings, and casualties per shooting, according to a study by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Of the 160 situations examined by the FBI in that span, there were only four instances in which an armed civilian ended the shooting. Twenty-one of them ended after an unarmed civilian restrained the shooter -- eleven of them were principals, teachers, other school staff and students. School Shooting Incidents Since 2013 Everytown.org defines the incidents mapped below as any time a firearm discharges a live round inside or into a school building or on or onto a school campus or grounds, as documented by the press and, when necessary, confirmed through further inquiries with law enforcement or school officials. Incidents in which guns were brought into schools but not discharged are not included. Source: Everytown.org, NBC Staff Reports Last updated on Nov. 14, 2019 "[Arming teachers] wont have a significant effect on public safety," Adam Winkler, a UCLA law professor, told NBC's "Nightly News." "Measures like this could actually make schools less safe. After the Parkland shooting, LaPierre said the NRA is happy to work with schools to make them safer. But the sentiment echoes his assertion after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, when he said, "the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun." The NRA did not return NBCs request for comment. Immediately after the shooting in Parkland, Trump took a hard line on guns and showed signs of supporting stricter gun measures. He attacked members of Congress who he said were afraid of the NRA. But shortly after that, the president waffled on his stance, withdrawing support for a raised minimum gun age and instead backing LaPierres call for armed teachers. . Aashish Kumar, the co-director at the Center for Civic Engagement at Hofstra University, said the NRA has tapped into a cultural underpinning to the gun rights movement, successfully exploiting and heightening peoples sense of urgency to own weapons. He said the increase in political engagement by young Americans can be attributed, in part, to the Trump administration. "We're seeing students take on these leadership roles, which shows us very clearly that theyre not waiting for others to do the things they feel need to be done," Kumar said. "Parkland was a rupture in 'Politics as usual.'" After the shooting in Parkland, public support for gun control reached its highest point in 25 years, with two-thirds of Americans wanting stricter measures, according to a Gallup Poll released in mid March. But even with a changing public opinion, the NRA has political clout to keep its agenda afloat -- during the 2016 election cycle, the group spent an unprecedented $54.4 million on key Republican candidates, including more than $30 million on Trump. And stricter gun legislation faces an uphill battle in most states, according to a review by The Associated Press. The review deemed in unlikely for Republican lawmakers to defy the NRA to pass new regulations -- and Republicans have sponsored over 80 percent of bills to expand gun rights. The GOP controls most statehouses nationwide. Texas death row inmate Gregory Russeau has been executed for the slaying of a 75-year-old East Texas auto repair shop owner 14 years ago during a crack cocaine binge. The review brings reality to the student-led gun control movement. Survivors of the Parkland shooting have been calling out the NRA on social media, on television, and pressuring politicians like Sen. Marco Rubio who have accepted donations from the gun group. LaPierre said the Parkland students "exploit tragedy for political gain." Grady said the NRA's attempts to discredit Parkland students is how they know they're getting to the gun group. "Its good to be a nuisance," he said. "Were pissing them off." Several companies have cut ties with the NRA and some have raised the age limit to purchase a rifle to 21. Spitzer noted that it isn't the first time companies have distanced themselves from the gun group, but called the current round of severed ties "a bigger step" by damaging the NRA's image with the potential for "long-term business consequences." While the movement was started by students, the expectation of students to change the status quo of gun policy is unrealistic without the support of the larger public against groups like the NRA, Kumar said. "Students can only initiate that voice, show that outrage," he said. "They have been direct, honest, vulnerable -- a reminder of what it is really about." Grady said the NRA is fully within its right to keep promoting its agenda, but doesn't believe it'll withstand the growing opposition. "Its their right to do what they want to do, but theyre just choosing the wrong side of history if theyre gonna continue to fight against these bills we want to see passed," he said. "Its just a matter of choosing the right side of history." Massachusetts House and Senate negotiators have reached an agreement on a sweeping overhaul of the state's criminal justice system. The compromise proposal unveiled by a six-member conference committee on Friday calls for a wide range of reforms in how Massachusetts deals with crime and punishment issues. The changes would affect everything from bail to sentencing to the use of solitary confinement in prisons. The bill would repeal several mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses, while also calling for tougher sentences for trafficking in fentanyl, and other powerful synthetic opioids. The bill keeps the age for automatically entering the adult criminal system at 18. The Senate had proposed raising the age of juvenile court jurisdiction to 19. The compromise faces an up or down vote in both chambers early next month. Democrats are giddy following Illinois' primary about their chances of reclaiming the governor's office from a GOP incumbent who barely survived his own nomination fight. Billionaire J.B. Pritzker received almost 575,000 votes on Tuesday, consolidating support from Democratic voters who turned out in midterm numbers not seen in more than a decade to defeat his closest rival by 20 points. Pritzker's vote total was about 200,000 more than Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner received against a conservative state lawmaker who had huge disadvantages in fundraising and name recognition but still finished within 3 points of him. Pritzker said the results are an indication of how motivated Democrats are across the U.S. since President Donald Trump was elected, and how unhappy people in Illinois are with Rauner's leadership. "I've been involved in politics a long time and I've never seen Democrats as enthusiastic as they are right now," Pritzker said. "I think it means in the fall we stand a real good chance of beating Bruce Rauner." Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune who already has put about $70 million into his own campaign, launched new campaign ads Wednesday blasting Rauner's "four years of failure." He also held an event with Illinois residents who said they'd been hurt by the more than two-year state budget crisis that resulted from disagreements between the first-term governor and Democratic leaders. Rauner, a wealthy former private equity investor, made clear he won't go down without a fight. He launched his own ads Wednesday, using clips of Pritzker's primary opponents blasting him as the "poster child for pay-to-play politics" and linking him to unpopular but powerful longtime Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan. "We're the reformers. We're for the people of Illinois," Rauner said during a stop at a suburban Chicago business where he called Pritzker "a corrupt insider who's a tax dodger" and who "works for the corrupt machine that's controlled by Madigan." Rauner, 61, was one of a handful of Republican governors elected to lead Democratic-leaning states as part of a GOP wave four years ago. He won his first political office with promises to "shake up" the state with an anti-union, pro-business agenda including term limits on lawmakers and lower property taxes. He also said he had "no social agenda," helping him pick up support from independents and even some Democrats who hoped electing a businessman could solve some of Illinois' deep financial problems. But his efforts to pass a more business-friendly agenda were stymied by the Democratic-controlled Legislature. Illinois also racked up billions in unpaid bills and other debts during the nation's longest state budget impasse, then was unable to stop lawmakers from passing an income tax increase as part of a deal to end the stalemate. It was his approval of abortion and immigration legislation, though, that most angered the more conservative wing of his party and prompted state Rep. Jeanne Ives to launch a primary challenge. She accused Rauner of betraying Republicans, and it appeared the two weren't putting the bad blood behind them even after Rauner's victory. In her concession speech Ives didn't pledge to support Rauner in the general election or call for other Republicans to do so. As of midday Wednesday they had not spoken. That leaves Rauner with an even more difficult climb to a second term, said Northwestern University political science professor Jaime Dominguez. "The Republican Party is disenchanted right now," he said. "They don't have anything to show for having a Republican governor. And (Rauner) barely squeezed through just with Ives, so that doesn't bode well." Pritzker, however, has his own vulnerabilities. During the primary the Chicago Tribune published wiretap audio of Pritzker talking with former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who's now imprisoned for corruption. Rauner used the audio, which was captured by the FBI, in a barrage of anti-Pritzker ads. Pritzker also has had to answer questions about his connections with overseas trusts in low-tax countries, though he maintains they're focused on charitable giving and that he has no control over them. A family flying from Germany to Chicago said they landed at O'Hare International Airport Friday only to find that their dog had been left in Germany. Dawn and John MacEnulty said they landed in Chicago Thursday afternoon to discover that their 9-year-old beagle and Australian shepherd mix, Joey, which was scheduled to be on a separate Lufthansa flight, was removed from the plane before takeoff. Originally from St. Louis, the MacEnulty family said that after living in Germany for a year, they were moving back to the United States following the death of John MacEnulty's mother. They booked their flight through United Airlines on March 15, but used a company called Gradlyn Petshipping to handle the transport of Joey and the family's cat, Molly, per the airline's recommendation. But Gradlyn told the family it was unable to book the pets on the same flight as the family because United Airlines had suspended its PetSafe reservations program beginning March 20. The animals were instead scheduled to be on a Lufthansa flight departing 30 minutes after the family's flight, and they were cleared to fly. Upon landing, the couple said they turned their phones on and received a text message telling them Joey was taken off the Lufthansa flight because he was anxious and had scratched his nose. Molly the cat was on the flight and arrived Thursday evening. "We got a text that they had to pull him off the plane and we did not know much more than that," said Dawn MacEnulty. Lufthansa Group said in a statement that the family's dog was "kept from flying and remained from Frankfurt as he was not fit to fly according to the veterinarian that examined the animal." "We are working closely with United Airlines and once the dog is given the approval to travel, he will be reunited with his family," the airline said in a statement. The family was told the dog would be flown to Chicago as soon as he is healthy with no additional charges. Gradlyn did not respond to NBC Chicago's requests for comment. "It really sucks," Dawn MacEnulty said, adding that she and her family paid $1,700 for Molly and Joey's transport and had started a GoFundMe to raise money for the travel expenses. "Its terrible, the fact that we cant get any answers," she continued. "Im really disheartened and will never transport an animal again." Joey is expected to return to the U.S. Wednesday afternoon. The incident is the latest in a string of animal travel problems making headlines in recent weeks. It follows the announcement from United Airlines, which said it was halting PetSafe reservations while it reviewed the service that ships animals as cargo. The company said in announcing the change that it would honor all pet transports booked before March 20, which the MacEnultys say should have included their travel. But United said the flight information was not confirmed in time. Earlier this month, a French bulldog died after a flight attendant ordered a passenger to put the pet carrier in the overhead bin. Another mishap involved a German shepherd being shipped to Japan instead of Kansas. After that incident, United chartered a private jet to return the German shepherd back from Japan to the U.S. Two days later another flight made an unplanned landing in Ohio because it was carrying a dog that was put on the wrong plane. In one cataclysmic crash in Ireland last December, Debbie Ceglarek lost her entire family. "My family was the best family that I could've ever wished for," she told NBC 5. "My brothers and I were very, very, close." Her brother, Bolingbrook police Officer Stephen Alexander,49, and parents Doug and Lily of Oak Lawn, both 75, and Doug Jr. 42, had just arrived in Ireland for an aunt's funeral. They were all special in their suburban communities. Steven--an exemplary, decorated and devoted Bolingbrook police officer 17 years. He used his beloved, souped up Camaro to promote good driving and safety at car shows. It was to be showcased at an April fundraiser for his two girls in April. But it was stolen from a family home in Palos Heights. The 1972 Camaro painted like a squad car was inside a trailer reported stolen on March 18 in the 7900 block of 129th Street, the sheriffs office said. "They took the whole trailer," Debbie said. "To lose your entire family--all four members--I don't know if I'll ever get over it," she said. :To see Steven's car gone it brings everything right back again." "It's another kick in the teeth, it makes me sick because it's the only piece of Steven that represents him from younger until now," she added. Speaking out for the first time since her loss, Debbie finds comfort in being at her parents oak lawn home. "(I) just remember how the house used to be with us crazies around," she said. She begs for the one thing: her brother's teenage obsession to be returned. "That car just has to be found," she said. "Just has to be found." Anyone with information about the missing car is urged to contact the Palos Heights Police Department. One person was dead and two officers injured after police in Aurora exchanged gunfire Thursday night with more than one subject, authorities said. The gun battle involved Special Operations Investigators and took place near Galena and LaSalle, the Aurora Police Department said in a Facebook post. The post was made about 10:40 p.m., but it was not immediately clear what time the shooting took place. One of the suspects was reported dead, police said. One officer was hit by gunfire and received injuries that were non-life-threatening. A second officer was injured by not hit by gunfire, police said. A Facebook Live with hundreds of viewers claimed to be broadcasting from the scene of the shooting. It showed many emergency response vehicles with lights flashing. The narrator in the video said he could see a body under a white sheet. No other information was immediately available. On Election Day, Cook County voters voted in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana use in Illinois. Do you agree? It's easier than ever to tell NBC 5 what you think. Just click below to record a short video with your answer. Your video could appear on the NBC 5 news and right here on NBCChicago.com. [[477756973, C]] Here's how to do it: Grab your phone, device or computer with camera capabilities. Click "record your video" above to get started. A new prompt will pop up and ask you to "Make a video." Hit the red circle and you're on! A couple quick tips: Say your name and where you live. Record from a quiet spot, keep your video under 30 seconds, and be sure to click "I'd like to share this video with NBCChicago.com." Please use respectful language and tone. What happens after you record? If you clicked "I'd like to share this video with NBCChicago.com," we'll get the video. It will be reviewed and among those considered to be posted online or used on TV! Police have identified a person found dead in Vermont last year as a 52-year-old Brookfield, Connecticut man. Someone walking through the woods along Interstate 91 in Hartford, Vermont, found human remains on March 5, 2017 and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Vermont determined the remains were those of 52-year-old Paul Paribello, according to Vermont State Police. They said his death is not considered suspicious, according to Vermont State Police. Paribello had been staying in White River Junction, Vermont for some time before his death. A New Britain couple set to be deported to Pakistan Monday has taken sanctuary in an Old Lyme church. The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme had offered sanctuary to Malik Nayeed bin Rehman and Zahida Altaf. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson John Mohan said the couple entered the U.S. on nonimmigrant visas in 2000, but did not leave the country in accordance with the terms of their visas. An immigration judge with the Executive Office Review issued final orders of removal in January 2008 and the Bureau of Immigration Appeals upheld the decision in May 2010, Mohan said. Malik Nayeed bin Rehman and Zahida Altaf, who own Pizza Corner in New Britain, are currently enrolled in the agencys Alternatives to Detention program. Mohan said enforcement actions may occur at sensitive locations in limited circumstances, but will generally be avoided. Churches, synagogues, mosques and temples are classified as sensitive locations. The church hopes that providing sanctuary to the family is to help slow the deportation procedure down and provide an opportunity for the appeals process. We believe that, with time and reason and compassion, the couple can receive the full, fair hearing and consideration they deserve and that justice will prevail and they will be allowed to remain in the U.S. with their five-year-old daughter Roniya (who is a U.S. citizen) and extended family members. Deporting the parents would needlessly tear the family apart, the statement from the church says. The state has offered to pay off Hartford's millions of dollars of debt under the new budget deal. Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said he is presenting the framework to city council members, who would need to approve the deal, on Thursday night. The mayor wants the deal signed by the city's next debt payment deadline on April 1. Lawmakers from both parties signed off on the state providing assistance to the Capitol city in the state budget that was approved October 2017. The mayor has been working with the governor's administration on the details of what that bailout looks like. Under this framework, the state would pay the city's $550 million in debt over the next two decades. If the deal is approved by April 1, the state will pay the city's $12 million debt payment. The state may give the city an additional $24 million to close Hartford's budget deficit. While the state would pick up the annual debt payments, Hartford would still be required to pay $5 million annually for Dunkin' Donuts until 2021. The state is looking to refinance Hartford's debt by stretching the city's debt payments farther apart in order to reduce annual contributions. In exchange for the extra funds, Hartford was placed under state oversight in January. That oversight board will review budgets, contracts and labor agreements. Hartford also can't issue new bonds without the group's permission. Over the past two years, weve made deep reductions in spending, negotiated dramatic savings with labor, and partnered with our biggest employers, and this agreement with the state is the last step to put the city on a more sustainable path, Bronin said. Weve faced Hartfords fiscal crisis honestly and directly, and Im proud that we worked to build a new partnership that works instead of just faking it or kicking the can. Without this kind of partnership, our capital city is bound to struggle if not to fail, because it just doesnt work to have a city with half its property tax-exempt a city built on the tax base of a suburb. Even with this agreement, the citys budgets will remain very tough and very tight for years to come. The city council will vote on the deal this Monday. City council members NBC Connecticut spoke to on Thursday said it's a done deal. A Dallas man charged in the murder of an 81-year-old woman is now accused of robbing and attempting to kill two other older women. The investigation into the string of attacks has prompted the Dallas Police Department to review 750 unattended death cases to see if there are any similarities. "In Dallas alone there are over 750 elderly females where we are going to go back and review those cases on, so it will be a monumental task," said Dallas Police Executive Assistant Chief David Pughes. Other local police departments will be review their cases, as well, making the number grow into thousands. NBC 5 has learned similar reviews are also being conducted by several other North Texas police departments. Billy Chemirmir, 45, is charged with the capital murder of Lu "Kim" Harris, a woman who was found dead in her North Dallas home Tuesday. Plano police said they identified Chemirmir as a suspect in the attack of a 91-year-old woman who was smothered and robbed inside her Plano apartment on March 19. An arrest affidavit said Chemirmir forced his way into the woman's apartment and told her to, "go to bed, don't fight me." The victim lost consciousness but was later revived by Plano Fire Rescue and told investigators the person stole jewelry from her. Plano police said they identified Chemirmir as a suspect from a license plate at the complex. Following up on that lead, investigators were conducting surveillance on Chemirmir in Dallas on March 20 when they watched him throw a jewelry box in a trash bin. Police retrieved the box and noticed there as a name inside. Officers tracked that name to Harris North Dallas home where investigating officers found her deceased. Plano Police Chief Greg Rushin said Harris, who was described by neighbors as a sweet, generous woman who lived alone, had been smothered with a pillow. Dallas police obtained a capital murder warrant for Chemirmir. He was arrested and booked into the Dallas County Jail where he is being held on $1 million bond. At the time of his arrest, Chemirmir was also wanted for an attempted capital murder case in Frisco that took place in October 2017. In that case, police said Chemirmir posed as a maintenance worker and forced his way into the home of a 93-year-old woman living at Parkview Elderly Assisted Living in Frisco. The victim told police she too was smothered with a pillow and began praying because she thought she was going to die. The woman's attacker, police said, stole jewelry from her as well. Plano police said Chemirmir has been employed in the past as a health care worker and they believe there may be more victims. "Chemirmir uses healthcare experience to his advantage in targeting and exploiting seniors, some of the most vulnerable members of our community. This is terribly disturbing," said Plano Police Chief Gregory Rushin. Lisa LeMaster, a spokesperson for Solvere Senior Living confirmed to NBC 5 the March 19 incident in Plano happened at Preston Place, a senior community it manages. The company released the following statement Friday night: We are horrified, disgusted, and angry about the recent events involving seniors in the Dallas area but also relieved to learn a suspect has been arrested and charged. Our thoughts and prayers are with the residents and families directly affected by these crimes, including those in our community. Solvere assumed management of this property just over a month ago after it was purchased. Following our takeover of the communitys management, we initiated a routine review of the communitys safety and security procedures and equipment. Based on our review, and particularly in light of recent events, including the possibility of thefts from residents who recently passed away, we quickly began to implement changes to improve the safety and security of the communitys residents. Solvere has been assisting Plano Police in any way possible with its investigation. In addition, the company implemented a significant overhaul of the communitys security equipment and protocols. In just a few days, we installed cameras, changed all gate codes and reprogrammed key fobs, implemented a background check program for third party vendors, and issued new uniforms as well as name badges for our employees. Safety is our highest priority. Anyone with information is asked to call 972-941-5785. It is not clear if Chemirmir has obtained an attorney. As the debate to arm teachers in classrooms continues, NBC 5 heads to a Texas school thats already been arming school employees for more than a decade. In Harrold, an unincorporated community on U.S. Highway 287 between Wichita Falls and Amarillo, is a school where the safety of students is the priority. The K-12 school building houses 115 students, many of whom, are transfers from other districts. We have parents tell us that they bring their students to our school because they feel like theyre safer here, said Harrold ISD Superintendent David Thweatt. Its a tight-knit community, but there are challenges to its rural location. If an emergency were to happen, Thweatt estimates it could take 25 minutes for first responders to arrive. The response time is one reason why he started formulating the Guardian Plan to arm school employees. The main thing was Columbine. We started seeing this happening and it was inevitable that it was going to grow because we really didnt do anything to stop it, Thweatt said. Thweatts plan starts with select school employees getting a license to carry a handgun. And Im of the opinion, if youre not a good shot, you better not have a gun especially in a school, said Ray Dunn, of On The Mark Enhanced Tactical Training. Dunn set up a demonstration at Harrold to show the steps that school employees (or anyone) would go through to receive advanced training. Its a virtual target practice with a realistic feel. When youre shooting this one you actually get the effects of a recoil, Dunn said, while shooting during the demonstration. He also shows video of mock scenarios of school shootings where the persons reactions are judged sometimes by law enforcement. If what they see is this person shouldn't have a gun then they shouldn't have a gun. And they're not allowed to have a gun, Dunn said. He added that for the Guardian Plan to work, practice is key. Thweatt said his Guardians are required to practice and said they undergo periodic training together as a team. The actual team members, though, are a mystery. We werent allowed to show teachers, but we also couldnt tell who was armed. And I think its effective because it adds anonymity to the plan and I think thats key, Thweatt said. If someone is coming into our building, they dont know where theyre going to meet resistance, and that unknown, from what the data shows us, is something that stops people from coming initially. For a school with just three graduating seniors, including Olivia Perez and Cheyenne Thomas, having guns around them at school isnt a big deal. We know about it, but I mean, we dont ever really discuss it much, Perez said. Because for many students, guns are a part of life. And Ive been hunting and shooting ever since I was really little. So Ive been around it my whole life, Thomas said. For parent Amanda Litteken, the schools Guardian Plan is reassuring. Knowing that theres someone here to protect my kids when I cant be here, thats very comforting, Litteken said. It could be for other parents as well. Thweatt said he believes his Guardian Plan could work for every school. Well, you can hope for the best, but you better plan for the worst. You need to be prepared to deal with an active shooter if this is the world were living in ... you cannot go on wishing that things are going to be better. You have to take a step forward and do whats necessary to protect your children, Thweatt said. Theyre doing what they think is best and if anyone tries to do harm to this small Texas school, they say theyre ready. Prosecutors say a grand jury has indicted a Houston-area chemical company and its owner after some 50,000 gallons of dangerous industrial waste was dumped into public waterways. The Harris County district attorney's office said in a statement Friday that 58-year-old Henry Wuertz, the owner of Crestchem LLC in Baytown, ordered company employees in 2015 to dump the waste into nearby Cedar Bayou. Authorities say benzene was among the toxins discharged into the water. Prosecutors say the company breaks down diesel fuel into other products for resale. They allege that the distillation process failed to yield an acceptable product so the batch was dumped. Wuertz is charged with water pollution. His attorney, Jimmy Ardoin, says Wuertz was a contract employee for the company, not the owner, and disputes that any crime was committed. Austin police have discovered a 25-minute recording on a cellphone found with bombing suspect Mark Conditt and Austin Police Chief Brian Manley says he considers it a "confession." Manley says at a news conference that Conditt talks on the recording in great detail about the differences among the bombs he built. He says that the tape is "the outcry of a very challenged young man." Officials say the 23-year-old Conditt blew himself up in his vehicle overnight as authorities closed in on him. Teams working inside the Austin-area home of suspected bomber Conditt have ordered an evacuation of the surrounding six blocks after finding a "treasure trove" of evidence Wednesday, including homemade explosives. Late Thursday afternoon, investigators wrapped up evidence gathering at Conditt's house in Pflugerville. The neighborhood was evacuated for a time on Wednesday when authorities announced they found homemade devices inside. Several windows in the house appeared to be recently boarded up. Investigators also towed a red pickup truck from the area before releasing the scene. Officials have not said specifically what type of explosives were inside the 23-year-old man's Pflugerville home, which has been compared to a bomb-making factory, but did confirm explosives experts with the ATF and FBI were working to safely remove and dispose of the homemade devices and bomb-making material. NBC News has learned that many of the components used in the devices, such as galvanized steel pipe, different types of shrapnel and a low explosive, were "fairly rudimentary" and were easily purchased at home goods and electronics stores in person or online. U.S. Rep. Mike McCaul (R-TX 10th District) told KXAN-TV in Austin that Conditt purchased some of the materials at a local Home Depot. Officials said the consistency in components, such as an "exotic" battery from Asia, led investigators to believe the devices were all created by the same person. Additionally, officials said the devices were outfitted with a rudimentary switch or pin that used wadding between the switch to kept the circuit open. The circuit would close and the device would detonate when the package was opened or jostled and the wadding was moved out of place. At about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, investigators detained two of Conditt's roommates after SWAT officers surrounded his Pflugerville home on the 400 block of 2nd Street North. One was questioned and released. The other was released on Thursday afternoon. Austin police, who declined to release the names of Conditt's roommates because they are not under arrest, said they are still investigating whether Conditt worked alone. They also said they don't know his motive. Also Wednesday morning, and only blocks from the suspect's home, agents with the FBI and ATF entered the home of Conditt's parents. Officials said late Wednesday morning the suspect's family has been very cooperative with law enforcement and that they don't believe the family had any knowledge of the suspect's alleged activity. Conditt's immediate family plans to release a statement through the Austin police sometime Wednesday afternoon. Conditt's extended family in Denver released the following statement to KUSA-TV: "We are devastated and broken at the news that our family member could be involved in such an awful way. We had no idea of the darkness that Mark must have been in. Our family is a normal family in every way. We love, we pray, and we try to inspire and serve others. Right now our prayers are for the families who lost loved ones, for those impacted in any way, and for the soul of our Mark. We are grieving and in shock. Please respect our privacy as we deal with this terrible, terrible knowledge and try to support each other at this time. Conditt apparently killed himself early Wednesday morning when, surrounded by police, he detonated a bomb inside his car, bringing a dramatic end to a weekslong siege of the Texas capital where two people were killed and four injured in a series of explosions. Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said Wednesday morning authorities zeroed in on Conditt over the last 24 to 36 hours and tracked him to a hotel on Interstate 35 in the north Austin suburb of Round Rock, north of Pflugerville. NBC 5 obtained an arrest warrant and criminal complaint showing federal agents were looking for Conditt Tuesday evening, had secured a warrant for his arrest and planned to charge him with unlawful possession and transfer of a destructive device prior to his apparent suicide along I-35. WOAI-TV in San Antonio confirmed Wednesday afternoon that Conditt used the alias Kelly Killmore when shipping his package bombs. Police, meanwhile, advise citizens to remain vigilant as there may be other packages that are still out there since they don't know where the suspect was in the 24 hours prior to his apparent suicide. The family of Draylen Mason, who was killed earlier this month by one of the package bombs, released the following statement upon hearing the news of the suspect's death. Friday marked the beginning of the end for toy seller Toys R Us as the toy retailer began liquidation sales on March 23 at hundreds of stores around the country. The going-out-of-business sales are the latest in a series of sad news for the 70-year-old company. On Thursday, Toys R Us founder, Charles Lazarus died at the age of 94. Lazurus, who began his retail career selling children's furniture, pioneered the creation of what was one of the nation's biggest superstore chains in 1948. His death comes a week after the company announced it would be shuttering its U.S. operation after unsuccessfully reorganizing following a bankruptcy protection filing in September 2017. The company also revealed that it planned to start liquidation sales. But sales planned for Thursday were postponed due to "unforeseen circumstances," signs posted outside stores around the country and a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The mass liquidation event at 740 stores will join the ongoing going-out-of-business sales at 182 stores that began last month. Those locations should be shuttered for good by mid-April. Toys R Us promised "deep discounts and promotions." But workers at a Toys R Us in New York City's Times Square, where most merchandise had only been discounted 10 percent with a few items on sale at 30 percent off, said Friday that it could be a month before deep discounts come. Shoppers from around the New York City area visiting the Times Square and Manhattan Mall stores looking for deals found themselves reminiscing about the impact that the store had on their lives. Chris Rohr, a shopper at a store on Broadway in Times Square, grew up riding the 60-foot-Ferris Wheel inside of the company's flagship store in the area, which closed in 2015. For Rohr, the end of Toys R Us meant the end of an era for a generation of children who viewed it as more than just a place to sell toys. "I was in and out of there all the time. There used to be trips and excursions with my mom just taking me out," he said. "She wouldn't even buy me anything but we'd go around, play and look at everything." He added that it's "hard to get inspiration from an online posting." The liquidation marks a generational shift in kids' interest in toys, according to Ben Bartholomew, a shopper at the Manhattan Mall. "The demographics are shifting and it's pretty scary to think about toy stores not doing well," Bartholomew said. "Because there's less kids and I think that will have cascading effects on a lot of industries." "For a lot of people in my generation, Toys R Us was kind of a place where you would want to go and hang out and toy manufactures would use it as a showroom for a really long time," Bartholomew said. Toys R Us said on its website that customers can continue to shop online for products "for a limited of time," but it was unclear when the retailer's online store would stop accepting orders. All online orders are expected to be fulfilled and customers should expect to receive them. The retailer said customers can continue to use their Toys R Us credit cards through the end of the liquidation sales, and will honor Toys R Us gift cards until April 20. However, rewards or discounts associated with the card will no longer be accepted. It has also stopped accepting coupons, including from the Geoffrey Birthday Club, on March 22. Stores will accept returns on products purchased before the liquidation for the next 30 days. All purchases made after liquidation sales begin are final, which means they cannot be returned or exchanged. Victor Valez, a shopper at the Manhattan Mall, used Toys R Us stores as more than just a place to buy his children toys, but baby supplies as well. "I used to go in there and buy my daughter's milk and diapers," Valez said. "I used to get them by the case because they had good prices." Formula would cost more at his neighborhood bodega, he said. At Babies R Us stores, no new registrants will be accepted, but existing registrants can still continue to access their registries while the online store is still open. They encourage shoppers to save or write down products on their registries as soon as possible to list what they want before the option is turned off. The company has been posting job openings recently for temporary positions to help during the liquidation process. But the store closings mean that around 31,000 employees will ultimately be laid off. "It's sad for the employees," said Rohr, the shopper in Times Square. "I mean think about how many people are losing their jobs because they can't maintain a brick and mortar store." For additional questions about products, warranties or rewards, customers in the U.S. can contact the Customer Service Department at 1(800) TOYSRUS or 1 (800) 869-7787 between the hours of 8 AM and 11 PM ET. The company also shared customer FAQ information here. South Los Angeles students are joining the March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C. this Saturday, a march organized as a response to the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida that left 17 students dead. Edna Chavez, a 17 year-old student and activist, will speak to a national audience about gun violence and the students' demands. Chavez and four more students departed en route to Washington from the Community Coalition center in South Los Angeles, a charity organization that advocates for social justice. "I feel excited, I feel nervous because this is a huge topic and something that has impacted me personally," said Chavez. "It's something that's talked about but nothing is really being done so I'm here to demand, we're here to demand." Marches will be taking place Saturday around the nation including in cities like Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Diego and others. March for Our Lives in Los Angeles will begin at 9 a.m. The students aren't traveling alone. Melvia Martinez, Chavez's mother, is accompanying her daughter and said she is proud of her and the rest of the youth who are marching in Washington. Chavez, who is an aspiring nurse practitioner, has been a victim of gun violence herself and has also lost loved ones for the same reason. "This (March for Our Lives) is student led, when have we seen an actual national movement being led by students?" she said, "That alone should make a huge impact, a huge change and if it doesn't, that alone says a lot about our nation." A Perris couple accused of imprisoning, abusing and starving 12 of their 13 children are due in Riverside County Superior Court Friday for a hearing during which their attorneys and the prosecution are expected to confirm scheduling in the weeks ahead. David Allen Turpin, 56, and Louise Ann Turpin, 49, are charged with 12 counts each of torture and false imprisonment, as well as nine counts of child abuse and seven counts of cruelty to a dependent adult. David Turpin is additionally charged with one count of lewd acts on a child under 14 years old, and his wife is additionally charged with assault resulting in great bodily injury. During Friday's felony settlement conference at the Riverside Hall of Justice, Superior Court Judge Emma Smith is expected to schedule a second settlement conference for April and confirm with the prosecution and defense that they will be prepared to move forward with a preliminary hearing, beginning on May 14. The hearing, which will determine whether there's sufficient evidence to try the couple on all or some of the charges, is expected to last several days. The Turpins are each being held in lieu of $12 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside and are facing 94 years to life in state prison if convicted. Their children, whose ages range from 2 to 29, are in the care of county Child Protective Services and Adult Protective Services staff. Most of them were hospitalized in January for treatment of malnourishment and other disorders, but they have since been released and placed in undisclosed residential facilities, according to county officials. According to District Attorney Mike Hestrin, the siblings suffered "severe neglect" and the alleged prolonged harm left them physically and cognitively damaged. Hestrin has acknowledged that while the abuse was extreme, there's no evidence the Turpins had an intent to kill. But the D.A. was tight-lipped as to a possible motive. He alluded to a pattern of behavior that pointed to thedefendants' gratification from manipulation. The alleged abuse of the kids at their Muir Woods Road residence involved choking and beatings, according to Hestrin, who said the punishments worsened, particularly after the family moved to California. He noted that the children were initially bound with ropes, but when they figured out how to escape from those bindings, the parents allegedly switched to chains and padlocks. The siblings were allowed to shower once a year, and if they washed their hands above the wrist "they were accused of playing in the water and they were chained up," Hestrin said. According to sheriff's investigators, the family moved to Murrieta in 2010, then to Perris in 2014. They had previously resided in Fort Worth, Texas and were reportedly preparing to relocate to Oklahoma, which may have prompted the defendants' 17-year-old daughter to escape the home and seek help. The girl got out by jumping through a window shortly before 6 a.m. on Jan. 14, carrying a deactivated mobile phone with which she was able to dial 911, according to sheriff's Capt. Greg Fellows. She told dispatchers her 12 brothers and sisters were in need of help, and when deputies arrived, she presented them with photographs documenting conditions inside the residence," the captain said. Fellows said three children were found chained to furniture in the residence. The couple were not charged with torturing their 2-year-old, who appeared to have been properly fed. The lewd acts charge against David Turpin stems from his alleged molestation of one of the girls. Investigators said he was supposed to be home-schooling the victims, but it's unclear what, if any, curriculum they were following. What to Know A woman was arrested after allegedly beating her husband because he forgot their wedding anniversary. The suspect allegedly smacked the victim several times on his head and face and left scratches on his neck and chest. The suspect was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and that proved true after a woman in central Florida beat her husband after he allegedly forgot their wedding anniversary. According to Pasco County sheriffs, Carol Stone, 35, smacked the victim several times on his head and face area, leaving red marks on his face, along with minor scratches to his neck and chest. The victim provided video of the incident to police, which he recorded on his cell phone. Police said it shows Stone beating the victim. When sheriffs deputies interviewed Stone, she admitted to beating him because he forgot their anniversary, deputies said. Stone told police she pushed her husband to the ground, at which time she flipped her s on the victim, deputies said. Police noticed that Stone had bruises on her arms and buttocks, which she claimed to have gotten during another incident a few days prior to this incident. Stone was arrested Wednesday and charged with misdemeanor domestic battery. What to Know A New York City bill would make it illegal for employers to demand their workers to respond to work emails during non-work hours The proposed legislation is similar to a law passed in France last year The bill outlines that employers found in violation will have to pay a $500 fine for the first offense A New York City bill would make it illegal for employers to demand their workers to respond to work emails during non-work hours. City Councilman Rafael Espinal introduced a bill Thursday that aims to make it illegal for private employees in New York City to be required to check and respond to their work emails or take part in work-related electronic communications during non-work hours. Disconnecting from work would not apply in instances of overtime or in cases of emergencies, according to the proposal. If passed, the bill would also prohibit employers from taking action against employees for not responding to electronic communications. This proposal would apply to an employer with more than 10 workers. Espinal's proposed legislation is similar to a law passed in France last year. The French law requires businesses with 50 or more employees to negotiate after-hours email rules with their employees, ultimately giving the workers the right to ignore the communications. Similar to Frances law, under Espinals bill, employers would also be required to adopt a written policy regarding the use of electronic devices for work-related communications during non-work hours. Those found in violation would be subject to $500 for the first offense. There will be an increase in fines for further violations if they occur within a two-year period. What to Know Steven Nacim, a 50-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen, has been wanted by the FBI since a federal warrant was issued in 2002 He fled to his native Morocco at the time and authorities have been looking for him for 16 years since Federal authorities say Nacim and others bought millions in computer equipment from local mom and pop stores with checks that bounced It took 16 years, but the FBI in New Jersey has finally nabbed an international fugitive wanted for defrauding more than a dozen small businesses in a multi-million dollar computer scheme. Steven Nacim, a 50-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen, had fled to his native Morocco after a federal arrest warrant was issued in 2002 charging him in an alleged widespread conspiracy to commit financial fraud. Federal authorities say Nacim and others bought millions in computer equipment from local mom and pop stores with checks that bounced. The store owners lost everything. Nacim has been wanted on an international warrant ever since. His group was also allegedly involved in the cashing of a fraudulent check and then wire transferring the proceeds through multiple other accounts. The total amount of the fraud is about $2.8 million, investigators say. Nacim was arrested in Newark, New Jersey, on Friday and is due in court later in the day. Attorney information for him wasn't immediately available. FBI special agent Ed Koby told the I-Team he never gave up searching. "If youre a victim, you would like to think the FBI and other law enforcement would continue the case until its over, Koby said. We just dont move onto the next case just because someone flees or runs and leave you hanging. And I think its important for criminals to know that if you commit one of these crimes, that 16 years later, we may come knocking on your door." Acting Special Agent in Charge Bradley Cohen thanked the agents like Koby who had been working the case for more than a decade. Their unwaning efforts and dedication led to the arrest of Mr. Nacim which will now allow for the criminal justice process to continue in this case, Cohen said. What to Know A 15-year veteran of the FDNY died from his injuries he suffered while battling a massive fire at a movie set for an Ed Norton film Michael Davidson leaves behind his wife and four young children after he died in the blaze on St. Nicholas Avenue in Harlem, the FDNY says Two other firefighters suffered serious burns and are being treated at an area hospital, according to Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro A decorated FDNY firefighter and father of four young children died when a fire erupted in a Harlem apartment building where a star-studded movie directed by Edward Norton had a shoot overnight, officials say. Michael R. Davidson, a 37-year-old Floral Park resident who has been with the FDNY for 15 years, died from his injuries while battling the fire at a five-story building on St. Nicholas Avenue and 149th Street, the FDNY said early Friday. The blaze broke out on the set of "Motherless Brooklyn," which, according to IMDB, is being directed by Norton and stars Bruce Willis, Willem Dafoe, Alec Baldwin, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Leslie Mann. Dramatic Images: Firefighters Swarm Site of Deadly Harlem Movie Shoot Blaze An NBC 4 New York photographer spoke to one of the actors, who said they had just finished filming for the day when they smelled smoke while they were breaking down. They called the fire department around 11 p.m. Thursday. Davidson was the nozzleman, meaning his job was to run the hoseline of Engine 69, which was the first to arrive at the five-alarm scene. The crew rushed to the basement, but the FDNY said once they got down there, the fire got worse, forcing the firefighters to retreat from the building. Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said Davidson somehow got separated from his group "inside the rapidly deteriorating fire conditions." In FDNY audio from a deadly fire in Harlem Thursday night, firefighters can be heard reporting a fellow member missing. Warning: audio may be distressing to some. They turned back to search for him. When firefighters found him, he was unconscious. He later died of critical injuries sustained while battling the blaze. Officials said two other firefighters suffered serious burns in the blaze. Those injured firefighters are being treated at an area hospital's burn center. Three other civilians suffered minor injuries. Davidson, who has been cited for his bravery and life-saving actions four times during his career, leaves behind his wife and four young children -- three daughters, ages 7, 3, and 1, and a 6-year-old son. He comes from a long line of firefighters. His father, Robert, who is now retired worked in the same firehouse as Davidson. His brother, an 11-year veteran, works at Engine 88 in the Bronx. 107 Years Later: The Catastrophic Sweatshop Fire That Changed NYC, and the Nation, Forever Funeral arrangements are pending. A procession of FDNY trucks escorted his body to a funeral home on Long Island Friday afternoon. Local FDNY trucks and firefighters stood on overpasses on the route, solemnly saluting Davidson's procession as it passed. Mourners filed to Davidson's firehouse throughout the day Friday; some cried, others left flowers outside. The body of fallen firefighter Michael R. Davidson is loaded onto an FDNY EMS truck before being taken escorted by a procession on Long Island Expressway to a funeral home on Long Island. Our entire department, our entire city, mourns this horrific loss of a very brave firefighter," Nigro said. "Our hearts and our prayers go out to the family and may God rest his soul." Mayor de Blasio cut short a trip to return to New York City and toured the scene of the deadly fire along with Nigro Friday evening. This is an awful night. Weve lost an NYC firefighter. Public briefing shortly at Harlem Hospital. Sick to my stomach. Eric Phillips (@EricFPhillips) March 23, 2018 Davidson is the 1,150th firefighter to die in the line of duty in the FDNY's 153-year history. His death comes about a week after two FDNY firefighters, who were also members of the 106th Rescue Wing of the Air National Guard based in Westhampton Beach, died in a U.S. helicopter crash in Iraq. Floral Park neighbor Peggy Healy was devastated to learn of his death. She said the beloved firefighter had just shoveled their snow a day ago. "I yelled across and said, 'Thank you, Michael!' And he said, 'Oh, you're very welcome,'" said Healy. "He was such kind man, such a kind man. It's just devastating." She said Davidson doted on his young children, and she'd always see him takng the kids to the bus stop and picking them up. "He was always walking his beautiful little children, always walking and taking care of them," she said in tears. The St. Nicholas Avenue building where the fire started is the old St. Nicks Pub, according to a witness who lives nearby. The witness also told News 4 New York that the film has been shooting there for weeks. The crime and drama film, which is set to be released next year, is about a lonely detective afflicted with Tourette syndrome, working to solve the murder of his only friend, according to IMDB. The movie is set in 1950 and is based on a novel by Jonathan Lethem. Fourth Nor'easter in Three Weeks Rolls Into Tri-State, Once Again Buries Region and Knocks Out Power The producers of "Motherless Brooklyn" said in a statement that they immediately notified the fire department once they noticed smoke coming into the set and started alerting residents of the building so that they could get out. "To our great sorrow, we now know that a NYC firefighter lost his life battling the blaze that grew, and our hearts ache in solidarity with his family. New York City firefighters truly are the bravest in the world," the statement said. "We watched firsthand with astonishment as they charged into the smoke to make sure all were safely out and then fought to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading, putting their lives on the line as they do every day. The FDNY are real life super-heroes and have our boundless admiration and gratitude. The FDNY said the fire was under control around 2:30 a.m. Friday, more than three hours after it broke out. Its not clear what may have sparked the blaze. Spelman Beubrua was led, gasping and choking, out of his smoky apartment by firefighters. He lost all of his possessions in the fire. He broke down when he said the only reason he was alive was because of the FDNY. "I'm here talking to you, it's because of them," Beubrua said behind tears. "Then to come here and find out that one of them did not make it. It hurts. It hurts." [NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More What to Know A Suffolk County man accused of an online sextortion scheme that victimized more than 30 women plead guilty Friday, authorities announced Joseph Iorio, 21, plead guilty to attempting to extort sexually explicit photos and videos from dozens of women in Suffolk County The county's district attorney announced an initiative to combat 'sextortion' and revenge porn A Long Island man accused of an online sextortion plot that victimized more than 30 women has pleaded guilty to stalking as a violent offense and scheme to defraud, authorities announced Friday. Joseph Iorio, 21, faces up to five years in prison in the scheme to extort sexually explicit photos and videos from dozens of women in Suffolk County by threatening to share their nude photos, Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini said. Authorities say that Iorio, a Holtsville resident and former Binghamton University student, was running a social media forum where users shared explicit images of identifiable young women -- victims in their teens and early 20s -- from Long Island. One woman called the district attorney's office last summer to report him. She said she got a friend request and was sent racy photos of herself by Iorio. According to Sini, the woman was turned into a virtual sex slave for two years. Iorio extorted the women for more photos and videos by threatening to share the images he already had from the forum with family members, specifically their fathers, or the general public, Sini said. Some of the women had willingly shared photos with their boyfriends, who later shared them on Iorio's social media forum, Sini said. An attorney for Iorio told News 4 over the phone that his client is a typical young college student, a "decent kid from a good family." Iorio has admitted his guilt to the accusations and wants to apologize to the people he has hurt, his attorney said. In a news briefing announcing Iorios guilty plea, the Suffolk County District Attorneys Office said it had implemented a new education initiative to prevent sextortion and revenge porn, while seeking justice for victims. What to Know March For Our Lives rallies, organized by students and survivors of gun violence, will take place March 24 in more than 800 cities worldwide New York City's rally will kick off at noon in Central Park's 72nd Street entrance The rallies call for gun safety legislation in hopes of preventing mass shootings Since the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre that left 17 people dead took place, a wave of social activism spearheaded by students urging gun safety reform has swept the country. The outcry from these students, who are advocating for tougher gun safety laws, reverberated with people across the country to the point that a national walkout took place on March 15. The nationwide demonstration had students, faculty and staff across schools walking out of their classes in solidarity for the movement. The March For Our Lives rallies, organized by students and survivors of gun violence, are taking place March 24 in more than 800 cities worldwide the majority in the United States. The numerous sibling marches are also calling gun safety, including the one in New York City. Thousands are expected to attend the city's march. The national day of action calls for lawmakers to pass gun safety legislation. New York Citys march is set to begin on the Upper West Side at Central Parks 72nd Street entrance, where organizers will start assembling at 10 a.m. A rally with featured speakers will begin at 11 a.m. before the march kicks off at noon. After departing from 72nd Street and Central Park West, protesters are set to head downtown along the park. They will turn south at 6th Avenue before dispersing on 43rd Street. The citys Department of Transportation announced numerous street closures are scheduled for that day. Aside from the New York City march, other rallies are scheduled to take place across the tri-state area, including in Jersey City, Newark, Englewood and Hoboken in New Jersey and in Hartford and Enfield in Connecticut, among other locations. The scheduled marches will be in conjunction with the main rally, which will take place in Washington, D.C. A ship passing in the night is causing the brief closure of a major Philadelphia area bridge this weekend in what's expected to be a close encounter. The Delaware River and Bay Authority is closing the Delaware Memorial Bridge early Saturday morning so that the Zhen Hua 16 can navigate under the spans connecting New Jersey and Delaware. "As a precaution and to eliminate driver distraction, the Delaware Memorial Bridge, both northbound and southbound, will be temporarily closed to all traffic for a period of approximately 30 minutes while the ship travels north to Philadelphia," the DRBA said in a news release. "This temporary closure may take place sometime between 12:30 a.m. and 1:30 a.m." Drivers are warned of delays and urged to use detours. The reason for the precaution is that the distance from the water to the top of the Zhen Hua 16s cranes is 188 feet, 5 inches. The ship will need to cross under the bridge at low tide to ensure it doesnt strike the bridge. The clearance for passage will only be between 4 to 9 feet, DRBA spokesman Jim Salmon told NBC10. Once the boat passes, traffic on the bridge will resume. The boat is destined for Philadelphias Packer Avenue Marine Terminal where the two new super-post-Panamax cranes will be dropped off, the DRBA said. The massive steel beams went up over Interstate 95 just north of Philadelphia in mid-February without fanfare. Over two nights, workers completed an overpass that is still months from use. But the connection is much more than a causeway of steel and concrete. Its the last piece to a highway more than 60 years in the making. Its the completion of a 1,900-mile road that finally links Maine to Miami seamlessly. For decades, central New Jersey, specifically Mercer County, was the only remaining place on the East Coast where drivers traveling I-95 had to get off the highway for a short time. For the last four decades, building a link has been in planning. "This is the last piece of that original system," says Jay Roth, an engineer with Jacobs Engineering who has been involved in the elusive connection for most of his long career. "It is meaningful to a number of people." Come August, the overpass just north of Philadelphia will connect the New Jersey Turnpike to I-95 in Pennsylvania, ending the need to use Interstate 195 and Interstate 295 for 16 miles around Trenton. About 75,000 vehicles travel through that area on I-95 (think the current exit 40) each day, and another 50,000 travel the Pennsylvania Turnpike there. The frustration and confusion for many of those thousands of drivers will be assuaged by the new interchange, planners say. Not only will there be a smooth transition from the New Jersey Turnpike to I-95, there will also be the first-ever connection between I-95 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Towns in the area will have to deal with far fewer vehicles exiting the highways, and swamping local streets. All this translates into a big deal for the area's transportation system in an age when large-scale improvement projects have proven rare. "Back in the '50s and '60s, a project like this happened every day," Roth said. "But with how built up the east side of the country is, (these days) were typically rebuilding. The accomplishment is that this is one of the big ones." 'Magic Motorways' Norman Bel Geddes wowed people at the 1939 Worlds Fair with an exhibit called "Futurama," which laid out a vision for American highways. By 1960, Geddes imagined, 14-lane superhighways would stretch across the United States and allow travelers to buzz along the roads at 100 miles per hour, according to Richard F. Weingroff, a longtime Federal Highway Administration official who has written about the agency's history. Geddes put his thoughts into a book titled "Magic Motorways." The overall vision has yet to be accomplished. His trajectory for future events, much like Orwells "1984," was overly ambitious. But the way Weingroff describes it in an essay for the FHWA, Geddes' proposals laid the foundation for President Eisenhowers system and, potentially, things that may yet come to be. Take self-driving cars. Geddes seemed to predict them to go hand-in-hand with those superhighways of the future. "Radio beams in the cars regulated the spacing between them to ensure safety. In the cities, traffic moved on several levels the lowest for service, such as pulling into parking lots, the highest for through traffic moving 80 km per hour," Weingroff writes. "Although the 'magic motorways' shown in Futurama were beyond the technological and financial means of the period, they helped popularize the concept of interstate highways." In 1956, after a few years of legislative wrangling, Eisenhower signed the $25 billion Highway Act, which would finance construction of a 41,000-mile interstate system over the next 13 years. It was the largest public works project in the countrys history. "This new highway program will affect our entire economic and social structure," New York master planner Robert Moses wrote in Harpers magazine in 1956. "The appearance of the new arteries and their adjacent areas will leave a permanent imprint on our communities and people. They will constitute the framework within which we must live." Opposition in 'Rustic' New Jersey In the early 1980s, the first plan to close the I-95 hole in central New Jersey proposed a new highway through Mercer County, but opponents there proved a capable bunch. The county executive at the time, Bill Mathesius, described the local feelings as "a specific revulsion to tearing up a rustic community a rural community and putting 95 through it." "There would be fundamentally a six-lane highway going through this area, with off-exchanges in one or two places," Mathesius told National Public Radio. "Those places would have been developed." Illustrating just how long the process has taken, NPRs story quoting Mathesius, titled "At Last, I-95s Missing Link Hits the Road," was published in August 2010. Eight years later, the road is here. It took some 35 years, spanning whole careers for many accomplished planners and engineers, to solve the Mercer County obstacle. The plan now bypasses the central Jersey communities just east of the Delaware River, and uses long-held right-of-ways to connect the New Jersey Turnpike near exit 6 to Interstate 95 in Bristol, Bucks County. This map illustrates the before-and-after designations. Click on the slider to see the differences. The cost of such a project is monumental beyond the time it has taken. Then again, the $425 million in financial costs doesnt truly capture the incredible coordination that goes into a federal highway project spanning two states. There is the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, which is overseeing the major components of the project. There are three Departments of Transportation involved. There is the numerous local communities involved. There are hundreds of contractors and vendors and suppliers doing the work and providing the material and transporting, for instance, those massive steel beams. Consider one of the most mundane tasks associated with the project: changing the road signage. There are 2,000 signs that need to be swapped out and replaced. The signage swaps are taking place in stages. Drivers along the soon-to-be extinct stretch of I-95 in Mercer County are already seeing new exit numbers and warnings that the road will soon become part of I-295. Here's a look at the old signage versus what drivers will eventually see. Note how I-295 now goes all the way to Bristol where the new interchange has been constructed. "It gives a magnitude of what were doing," Mark Raup, a project manager with the Pennsylvania Turnpike, said. "It's not like flipping a switch." Last Piece of the Puzzle The project is officially called the PA Turnpike/I-95 Interchange, which masks its symbolic and tangible accomplishments. Sure, it's a highway infrastructure project, but it's also about decades-old missing links and visions of "magic motorways." Brian X. McCrone/NBC10 Eisenhower would be happy to hear his vision of a more connected country is still playing out. "The united forces of our communication and transportation systems are dynamic elements in the very name we bear United States," he said in 1955. "Without them, we would be a mere alliance of many separate parts." For Roth, its an example of American perseverance. "Its been talked about for so long," he said, adding that for many people over the years, "They didnt think it would ever occur." One of the six people taken to the hospital following a shooting that involved a San Francisco Police Department officer and five others Wednesday has died. Suisun resident Jehad Eid, 21, a suspect in the incident, was pronounced dead Wednesday evening. The injured officer was shot in the leg and remains in fair condition, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital officials said. SF Police Officer Wounded in Shooting San Francisco Police Department Chief William Scott said officers at around 4:30 p.m. responded to reports of a man with a gun in the 200 block of Amazon Avenue, near the Outer Mission and Crocker-Amazon neighborhoods. Officers tracked down and made contact with the suspect at a business on the corner of Geneva Avenue and London Street. Shots were then exchanged, Scott said. The officer and five others, including the suspect, were struck by gunfire, Scott said. A police officer and five others are hospitalized following an officer-involved shooting Wednesday in San Francisco, officials said. Jean Elle reports. Hospital officials said one of the people wounded by gunfire is a minor, who has since been discharged. The four others injured in the shooting are men ranging in ages from 24 to 48, officials said. Of those four, one man was listed in critical condition and another man in serious condition, according to officials. Video posted on social media shows what appear to be the initial moments following the shooting. The video shows armed officers and others in the area ducking for cover. It also shows an officer crawling away from the scene with an apparent leg wound. What to Know 16-year-old Jaelynn Willey has been in critical condition since a gunman opened fire at a Maryland high school on Tuesday. Willey's mother said her daughter will be taken off life support Thursday night. The 17-year-old shooter died, authorities said. A teenage girl who was shot in the halls of her high school is brain-dead and doctors will take her off life support Thursday night, her family says. Jaelynn Willey, 16, was in the hallway of Great Mills High School in Maryland Tuesday morning when police say Austin Rollins pointed a semi-automatic handgun at her and fired. Authorities say Willey and Rollins had a previous relationship. "My daughter was hurt by a boy who shot her in the head...and took everything from our lives, " Willey's mother, Melissa Willey, said at a news conference Thursday evening. Melissa Willey said the family had decided to take her off life support. "She will not make it," she said. "She's brain-dead and has nothing - no life left in her." Willey, a dedicated student, beach-lover and swim team member, has been in the intensive care unit at UM Prince George's Hospital Center. "Jaelynn is an amazing young lady whose peaceful presence and love of her fellow students and family is known throughout her Maryland-based school, her family said in a statement on a Youcaring Fundraiser page set up to help pay her medical bills. Willey has eight siblings, one older and seven younger. She is a role model to her brothers and sisters, her family said, and helped to take care of them every day. It is hard for us not to see her shining, smiling face right now, and to see her light up the room with her presence, the familys statement said. Please keep Jaelynn and our family in your prayers. Willey was shot about five minutes before the first period bell was set to ring. Another student, 14-year-old Desmond Barnes, was shot in the leg. He has been released from the hospital. "Our entire family is eternally grateful that Desmond is alive, doing well and in good spirits. He is an amazing testimony," Barnes' family said in a statement Thursday night. "We remain deeply saddened and shocked by this shooting incident and continue to pray for the other victim and her family during this difficult time. We are also praying for the entire Great Mills High School family and young people around this country." The nature of Willeys relationship with Rollins is still unclear. Rollins died after an exchange of gunfire with a school resource officer. It's not clear if the officer's shot killed the teen boy. The attack is the 12th school shooting that has ended in injury or death this year, according to Everytown For Gun Safety research. Survivors of last months massacre at a high school in Parkland, Florida, met with students raised in D.C. who say theyve grown up experiencing gun violence in their community. Students from Stoneman Douglas High School participated in a #NeverAgain rally Thursday at Thurgood Marshall Academy. Adults, including Mayor Muriel Bowser started off the rally but quickly gave the floor to students. Many of these communities are disproportionately affected by gun violence but they dont get the same share of media attention that we do, Stoneman Douglas High School survivor David Hogg said. Thurgood Marshall Academy has lost two students to gun violence within the past year. Zaire Kelly and Paris Brown were killed in separate incidents involving guns in their neighborhoods. This year alone, we have lost two of our own TMA Warriors to gun violence: Paris Brown and my brother, Zaire Kelly, Zaires twin Zion said. Zaire was shot in a robbery attempt in September. Their father, Curtis Kelly, attended the rally and was encouraged by the students. I hope theyre invigorated, I hope they stand strong and change will come, because they are the youth, he said. When asked how many of the students have been affected by gun violence, the room filled with raised hands. It should not be normal for everybody in this room to have been affected by gun violence, a Thurgood Marshall student said. It should not be normal. Curtis Kelly not only lost his son Zaire, but his cousin Gregory Baldwin survived a shooting years ago. For years upon years, throughout our country weve been subjected to gun violence, he said. Seeing young people leading the movement inspired Baldwin. Im hopeful that a change will come, he said. Were seeking a change. Theres no running away from us, Stoneman Douglas survivor Cameron Kasky said. We are the youth; we are the students; we are the ones who are being educated. Now its time for them to get educated by us. What to Know 16-year-old Jaelynn Willey died at 11:34 p.m. Thursday. She had been in critical condition since a gunman opened fire at a Maryland high school on Tuesday. The 17-year-old shooter died, authorities said. The teenage girl who was shot in the halls of her Maryland high school has died, the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office announced Friday. Jaelynn Rose Willey, 16, was surrounded by her family when she died at 11:34 p.m. Thursday, the sheriff's office says. Her parents announced that they had decided to take her off of life support hours earlier. Willey was in the hallway of Great Mills High School in Maryland Tuesday morning when police say Austin Rollins pointed a semi-automatic handgun at her and fired. Authorities say Willey and Rollins had a previous relationship. "My daughter was hurt by a boy who shot her in the head...and took everything from our lives," Willey's mother, Melissa Willey, said at a news conference Thursday evening. Willey, a dedicated student, beach-lover and swim team member, had been in the intensive care unit at UM Prince George's Hospital Center. "Jaelynn is an amazing young lady whose peaceful presence and love of her fellow students and family is known throughout her Maryland-based school, her family said in a statement on a Youcaring Fundraiser page set up to help pay her medical bills. Willey had eight siblings, one older and seven younger. She was a role model to her brothers and sisters, her family said, and helped to take care of them every day. It is hard for us not to see her shining, smiling face right now, and to see her light up the room with her presence, the familys statement said. Please keep Jaelynn and our family in your prayers. Willey was shot about five minutes before the first period bell was set to ring. Another student, 14-year-old Desmond Barnes, was shot in the leg. He has been released from the hospital. "Our entire family is eternally grateful that Desmond is alive, doing well and in good spirits. He is an amazing testimony," Barnes' family said in a statement Thursday night. "We remain deeply saddened and shocked by this shooting incident and continue to pray for the other victim and her family during this difficult time. We are also praying for the entire Great Mills High School family and young people around this country." The nature of Willeys relationship with Rollins is still unclear. Rollins died after an exchange of gunfire with a school resource officer. It's not clear if the officer's shot killed the teen boy. The attack is the 12th school shooting that has ended in injury or death this year, according to Everytown For Gun Safety research. Willey's death comes one day before thousands of young people were expected to rally in the streets of Washington, D.C., to demand stronger gun control laws. "March for Our Lives" was organized by the teen survivors of a deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida. A Parkland, Florida, teenager has traveled to Washington, D.C., with his family for the March for Our Lives so he can share his account of the tragic shooting at his high school. Im going to tell my story so people can see how real it is for a survivor who was in there and saw everything; saw people die. Just make it real, Dylan Kraemer said. On Friday, Kraemer wore a gray sweatshirt emblazoned with "Stoneman Douglas Lacrosse." Under one shoulder he pinned a ribbon symbolizing the 17 students and teachers killed on Feb. 14. Underneath the other, a button showed the picture of a young man. "Thats Nick, my friend who died in my classroom," Kraemer said. Kraemer watched bullets hit Nick Dworet and other classmates and he tried to shield his peers. "So, we moved the file cabinet and we were grabbing everyone and just hid behind the file cabinets and was just getting shot at through the window and just sitting there trying to cover each other," Kraemer had told News4 in the days after the shooting. Dworet died right next to him. Weeks later, Kraemer says it's strange going to school and seeing the boarded off classroom. "Its justits really weird being there. It feels like a crime scene, I guess, instead of, like, the school," Kraemer said. "Its definitely a different environment now. I stay away from the door. I think every time Im in a classroom, like, where would I hide? So its definitely a lot different." He has also become more sensitive to other school shootings, including the deadly shooting at Great Mills High School in Maryland. "I actually left school that day once I heard about it. I was just like so upset and heartbroken that it had happened again, that I was like I just want to go home," he said. Kraemer and his parents are joining the other Parkland families who are now activists against assault weapons. Im not saying that no one should have a handgun, Im not saying that you shouldnt be able to protect your person and your home, I have no problem with hunting, I just think that and Dylan can tell you firsthand, this is a weapon that no one in their right mind should have, Dylan's father Adam Kraemer said. A D.C. woman will be flying for free for the next year after getting a $10,000 voucher from United Airlines. But she said the experience leading up to the voucher was not a pleasant one. Allison Preiss said she was getting ready to board her flight from Washington Dulles International Airport to Austin, Texas, Thursday morning when ticketing agents said the flight was overbooked and they were looking for volunteers to take the next flight. When no one volunteered, they told Preiss she had to give up her spot on the flight because she had paid the lowest fare. Preiss started tweeting her frustration with the airline. She said she didn't want to give up her spot because she was flying to a friend's bachelorette party. The gate agent told her the plane had a broken seat and thats why she had to get bumped, according to Preiss. The gate agents offered her a $2,000 voucher, but Preiss told them she would rather have a check. They were about to write her a check for $650, when an agent offered her a $10,000 voucher and a seat on the next plane. "I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty pumped," Preiss said of the voucher. Preiss made it to Austin in time for her friend's bachelorette weekend. The airline announced in April 2017 that it would raise its cap for those who voluntarily gave up their seat to $10,000. The move came amid fallout over a passenger who was injured while being dragged off a plane for refusing to give up his seat. Dr. David Dao suffered a concussion, broken nose and other injuries. Delta had previously raised its cap to passengers who gave up their seats to $9,950, The New York Times reported. United Airlines is still dealing with fallout after a French bulldog puppy died on a flight. A flight attendant had insisted the dog's owners put it in an overhead bin. A gun-wielding extremist went on a rampage Friday in a quiet corner of southern France, killing three people as he hijacked a car, opened fire on police and took hostages in a supermarket, where panicked shoppers hid in a meat locker or ran through the aisles. After an hours-long standoff, the 25-year-old attacker was slain as elite police forces stormed the market. They were aided by a heroic police officer who had offered himself up in a hostage swap and suffered life-threatening wounds as a result one of 16 people injured in the day's violence. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack near Carcassonne, a medieval city beloved by tourists, and the town of Trebes. It was the deadliest attack in France since Emmanuel Macron became president last May. The officer who volunteered to take the place a female hostage was identified as Col. Arnaud Beltrame. He managed to surreptitiously leave his cellphone on so that police outside could hear what was going on inside the supermarket. Officials said once they heard shots inside the market they decided to storm it. A police official who was not authorized to be publicly identified confirmed the officer's identity to The Associated Press. "He saved lives," Macron said. Macron said investigators will focus on establishing how the gunman, identified by prosecutors as Moroccan-born Redouane Lakdim, got his weapon, and how he became radicalized. On Friday night, authorities searched a vehicle and a building in central Carcassonne. Lakdim was known to police for petty crime and drug-dealing. But he was also under surveillance and since 2014 was on the so-called "Fiche S" list, a government register of individuals suspected of being radicalized but who have yet to perform acts of terrorism. Despite this, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins there was "no warning sign" that Lakdim would carry out an extremist attack. A woman close to Lakdim was taken into custody over alleged links with a terrorist enterprise, Molins said. He did not identify her. The four-hour drama began at 10:13 a.m. when Lakdim hijacked a car near Carcassonne, killing one person in the car and wounding the other, the prosecutor said. Lakdim then fired six shots at police officers who were on their way back from jogging near Carcassonne, said Yves Lefebvre, secretary general of SGP Police-FO police union. The police were wearing athletic clothes with police insignia. One officer was hit in the shoulder, but the injury was not serious, Lefebvre said. Lakdim then went to a Super U supermarket in nearby Trebes, 60 miles (100 kilometers) southeast of Toulouse, shooting and killing two people in the market and taking an unknown number of hostages. Special police units converged on the scene while authorities blocked roads and urged residents to stay away. He shouted "Allahu akbar! (God is great)" and said he was a "soldier of the Islamic State" as he entered the Super U, where about 50 people were inside, Molins said. "We heard an explosion well, several explosions," shopper Christian Guibbert told reporters. "I went to see what was happening and I saw a man lying on the floor and another person, very agitated, who had a gun in one hand and a knife in the other." Guibbert said he led his wife and sister-in-law and nearby customers into the meat locker. Then he went back to see where the assailant was and called police to describe the situation. "At that moment, he (the gunman) ran after me. Of course I left, I lost him and when I turned around he wasn't there anymore. I took an emergency door and saw the police arrive," Guibbert said. Another witness, an employee of the supermarket's butcher department identified only by his first name, Jacky, told Europe 1 radio he "heard people shouting and a big 'boom.'" "It was a gunshot," he said. "Then a second gunshot. After that, my colleagues came toward me saying: 'Come on Jacky, we need to leave! There's someone who's firing shots, he's shouting "Allahu akbar," and he's shot people and he's shooting at everything.'" He said they left using an emergency exit behind the butcher's stall and they ran across the courtyard. "We also helped people get out," he said. During the standoff, Lakdim requested the release of Salah Abdeslam, the sole surviving assailant of the Nov. 13, 2015, attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead. The interior minister suggested, however, that Abdeslam's release wasn't a key motive for the attack. The ISIS-linked Aamaq news agency said the attacker was responding to the group's calls to target countries in the U.S.-led coalition carrying out airstrikes against ISIS militants in Syria and Iraq since 2014. France has been repeatedly targeted because of its participation. Both Interior Minister Gerard Collomb and Molins praised Beltrame, who Molins said "at the risk of his life took the choice to take the place of the hostages." The gunman shot Beltrame several times after threatening to blow up the supermarket if police entered, Molins added. BFM television said Beltrame recently took part in a training exercise simulating a terrorist attack. As the supermarket standoff reached a crescendo about 2:20 p.m., police heard gunshots inside the building and decided that elite forces had to storm it. Lakdim was killed and two other officers were wounded during the assault, Collomb said. "He acted alone, there was no one else but him," he added. Macron rushed back from an EU summit in Brussels to Paris, where counterterrorism investigators took over the investigation. France has been on high alert since a series of extremist attacks in 2015 and 2016 that killed more than 200 people. While France hasn't had an attack in several months, "the threat remains high," Macron said, describing ongoing risks from "several individuals who radicalized themselves." Macron pushed through a tough counterterrorism law last year that gives police extra powers to conduct searches and hold people under house arrest. In Brussels, German Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared with Macron and said, "When it comes to terrorist threats, we stand by France." Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said the Eiffel Tower would turn its lights off at midnight in tribute to the victims. At the national stadium outside Paris, 80,000 soccer fans and the national teams of France and Colombia observed a minute of silence Friday night to honor those killed in the attacks earlier in the day. Poignantly, the stadium itself was the site of bloodshed in the deadly Paris attacks in 2015. Adamson and Petrequin reported from Paris. Sylvie Corbet, Angela Charlton and Jerome Pugmire in Paris contributed. U.S. prosecutors said Thursday they have dismissed all criminal charges against seven of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's bodyguards stemming from a brawl in Washington last year in which protesters were beaten. The charges were dropped last month just a day ahead of a meeting between Erdogan and now-outgoing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, but the State Department said the timing was coincidental. Prosecutors said they dropped the charges against the seven on Feb. 14 after dropping charges against four others in November. Assault charges are still pending against four other members of Erdogan's security detail as well as two Canadian citizens accused in the May 2017 altercation outside the Turkish ambassador's Washington home during a visit by Erdogan. The incident sparked outrage in Washington and elsewhere and was condemned by the State Department and local officials. Turkey has said the demonstrators were outlawed Kurdish militants and loudly complained when charges were announced against 19 people, including some of Erdogan's bodyguards. Two Americans pleaded guilty in December to assault in the matter and are currently awaiting sentencing. The case badly damaged U.S.-Turkish relations and tensions between the NATO allies have increased further because of differences over military operations in Syria. A day after the charges were dropped, Tillerson met with Erdogan in Ankara in a bid to ease the strained ties but the State Department said it was not involved in the decision. The U.S. Attorney's office in Washington declined to comment on the reason for the dismissals. The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the action, said Tillerson told Turkish officials that the cases was an example of how the U.S. had addressed Erdogan's grievances. However, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Thursday that Tillerson had only mentioned the dismissals as an indication of the independence of the American judiciary. "He noted that the timing was coincidental, but he also noted it was a good example of how we have an independent judiciary in our country, and that the Department of Justice made those decisions," she told reporters. "The secretary did not discuss this issue with President Erdogan as any type of a quid pro quo." Tillerson's discussion with Erdogan at which they agreed to try to improve relations raised some eyebrows at the time because he did not bring any other U.S. officials into the three-hour meeting. The only other person in the room was Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who translated for the two men. Josh Lederman contributed to this report. China announced a $3 billion list of U.S. goods for possible retaliation in a tariff dispute with President Donald Trump and girded for a bigger battle over technology policy as financial markets sank on fears of disruption to global commerce. The Commerce Ministry said higher duties on pork, apples, steel pipe and other goods would offset Chinese losses due to Trump's tariff hike on steel and aluminum imports. It urged Washington to negotiate a settlement but set no deadline. In a separate dispute with potentially bigger consequences, the ministry criticized Trump's decision Thursday to approve a possible tariff hike on Chinese goods worth up to $60 billion over Beijing's technology policy. It gave no indication of a possible response but the foreign ministry said Beijing will take "all necessary measures" to protect its interests. Financial markets sank on concern the escalating tensions might disrupt the biggest global trading relationship or lead other nations to raise import barriers. U.S. stocks sank. In Asia, Tokyo's benchmark tumbled by an unusually large 4.6 percent while the Shanghai Composite index fell 4.5 percent. The dollar dipped to 104.85 yen as investors shifted into the Japanese currency, which is viewed as a "safe haven" from risk. China's response Friday appeared to be aimed at increasing domestic U.S. pressure on Trump by making clear which exporters, including farm areas that voted for him in 2016, might be hurt. "Beijing is extending an olive branch and urging the U.S. to resolve trade disputes through dialogue rather than tariffs," said economist Vishnu Varathan of Mizuho Bank in a report. "Nevertheless, the first volley of shots and retaliatory response has been set off." The Commerce Ministry said Friday's list was linked to Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs , but companies already were looking ahead to potential disruption from the bigger squabble over American complaints Beijing steals or forces companies to hand over technology. The list made no mention of jetliners, soybeans or other products that are the biggest U.S. exports to China by value and that the American Chamber of Commerce in China said might be targets. That leaves Beijing options to take more drastic steps. Friday's announcement should be seen as a "preliminary response," with more sweeping measures if necessary, said Lu Feng, a trade specialist at Peking University's School of National Development. "China doesn't want a 'trade war,' but if the United States insists, then China must respond," said Lu. Chinese officials are trying to figure out how to "engage constructively" with the Trump administration, said Jake Parker, vice president for China operations of the U.S.-China Business Council, which represents American companies that do business with China. "They want to understand what the Trump administration's priority is for China to be able to offset some of these concerns," said Parker. "Until the Trump administration articulates those concerns and how China can address them, it's going to be very, very difficult for China to make those changes domestically." The proposed measures would impose a 25 percent tariff on pork and aluminum scrap, mirroring Trump's 25 percent charge on steel, according to the Commerce Ministry. A second list of goods including wine, apples, ethanol and stainless steel pipe would be charged 15 percent, the same margin as Trump's tariff hike on aluminum. Chinese purchases of those goods last year totaled $3 billion, the ministry said. That would be less than 2 percent of China's $153.9 billion of imports of U.S. goods last year a fraction of the goods targeted by Trump's order Thursday in the technology dispute. American business groups have warned the aluminum and steel tariffs could hurt the U.S. economy and disrupt exports. The U.S. tariff hike on steel and aluminum imports also has irked Japan, America's closest ally in Asia. "We have repeatedly told the U.S. side that steel and aluminum imports from its ally Japan will not adversely affect America's national security, and that Japan should be excluded," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga. China's top economic official, Premier Li Keqiang, appealed to Washington on Tuesday to "act rationally" and said, "we don't want to see a trade war." The higher American duties on aluminum and steel have little impact on China, which exports only a small amount of those products to the United States. But private sector analysts have said Beijing would feel obligated to take action to avoid looking weak in a high-profile dispute. The Commerce Ministry said the higher U.S. tariffs "seriously undermine" the global trading system. It rejected Trump's contention they are needed to protect U.S. national security. "The Chinese side urges the U.S. side to resolve the concerns of the Chinese side as soon as possible," the ministry said. It appealed for dialogue "to avoid damage to overall Chinese-U.S. cooperation." Beijing reported a trade surplus of $275.8 billion with the United States last year, or two-thirds of its global total. Washington reports different figures that put the gap at a record $375.2 billion. The technology dispute stems from complaints Beijing unfairly compels foreign companies to hand over technology in exchange for market access and supports cyber-spying to steal industrial secrets. Companies in many industries including auto manufacturing that want to operate in China are required to work through local partners, which requires them to give technology to potential Chinese competitors. The U.S. Trade Representative's office said Trump's action was in response to "unfair and harmful acquisition of U.S. technology." The USTR said Trump had ordered it to pursue a World Trade Organization case against Beijing's "discriminatory technology licensing." A USTR statement said possible measures include a 25 percent tariff on Chinese-made aerospace, computer and information technology and machinery but gave no details of what products that might include. China is unlikely to respond until Washington acts, said Parker. He noted Beijing launched an investigation of imports of U.S. sorghum in February after Trump announced the steel and aluminum tariffs. "We may see a similar case emerge around soybean and corn as a warning shot," said Parker. On Tuesday, the Chinese premier promised at a news conference Beijing will "open even wider" to imports and investment as part of efforts to make its economy more productive. Li said that included eliminating tariffs on drug imports. But he gave no other details and it was unclear whether the planned changes might mollify Washington, the European Union and other trading partners that complain China improperly blocks access to its markets and subsidizes exports. Li said Beijing would "fully open" manufacturing to foreign competitors, with "no mandatory requirement for technology transfers." However, Chinese officials already insist companies aren't required to hand over technology, so it was unclear how policy might change. CORRECTION (March 22, 2018, 8:36 p.m. ET): This story has been corrected to show China announced its tariff increases are tentative, instead of saying they are taking effect immediately. What to Know An estimated 18,000 students are expected to take part in Boston's March for Our Lives event. Another 50,000 have expressed interest. The rally and march to Boston Common is part of many taking place across the country on Saturday. The main event is in Washington, D.C. March begins at 11 a.m. at Madison Park Technical Vocational High in Roxbury. Participants then travel to Boston Common for a 2 p.m. rally Thousands are expected to pack Boston Common this weekend to march and rally for stricter gun laws in the United States. The event, known as "March for Our Lives," is part of a national effort led by students who survived the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that left seventeen students and staff members dead. The shooting has since spurred a national conversation on gun violence. "I dont want anybody to be able to feel what I felt that day," said Leslie Chiu, a student at Northeastern University. A graduate of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Chiu has helped organize the march in Boston with other students and teachers. "Its not just about Stoneman Douglas. Its about every school, every movie theater, every park, every community," Chiu said. "Its more than just Parkland." Across the country, marches are planned in major cities on Saturday. While the main event will take place in Washington, Bostons march is expected to be one of the largest. According to the groups Facebook page, 18,000 have signed up to attend and another 50,000 have expressed interest. "Even though we cant vote our voices are really resonating," said Vikiana Petit-Homme, a junior at Boston Latin Academy. In the last few weeks, Petit-Homme said they have already been able to capture the attention of lawmakers with school walk-outs around the country. She expects march to further their efforts. "We want them to care about our lives more than they care about guns," Petite-Homme explained. Attendees will also include friends and relatives of Boston-area native Christine Loeber, who was one of the three women shot and killed by former US soldier Albert Wong when he took them hostage in a California veterans' center two weeks ago. Saturdays march will begin at 11 a.m. from Madison Park Technical Vocational High School in Roxbury. Participants will then travel to Boston Common, where a rally is scheduled for 2 p.m. Boston Police will have extra resources in place. They have asked the public to peacefully demonstrate. A Massachusetts State Police dispatcher has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into alleged social media posts about previous state police investigations, authorities said. State police said Carla Grant's alleged social media posts are in violation of department policy. The Boston Globe reports the investigation centers around a February 2007 crash that claimed the life of 20-year-old Cory Wasilewski on Route 24 in Avon. Wasilewski's father, Thomas, told NBC10 Boston he noticed people discussing the crash in a Facebook forum and that Grant, a civilian dispatcher, was among those to comment. "I could not understand why she was saying such mean, hurtful things. She doesnt know me. Doesnt know my family," said Thomas Wasilewski. "It was shocking. It hurt." He said that in one post, Grant blamed his son for his death and posted that dashcam video showed his son "driving like a lunatic." "I was just shocked. I didnt know anything about a dash cam. I know no one else was supposed to know anything about a dash cam either," he said. A hearing is scheduled for next week when the department will decide if Grant should be able to return to work during the investigation. "Now I want answers. I want her removed from her position," said Thomas Wasilewski. Organ Donation Week has been an opportunity to remember with gratitude much-loved parishioner Ermie Astorga from St Johns Cathedral, who passed away a year ago. Organ Donation Week has been an opportunity to remember with gratitude much-loved parishioner Ermie Astorga from St Johns Cathedral, who passed away a year ago. Norfolk Christian League hails 'fantastic spirit' As the new football season starts, the most sporting team in the Norfolk Christian League from last season have been presented with a trophy for their fantastic spirit. Read more The power of belonging to your church Regular contributor Jane Walters has recently become a member of her local church, and is discovering the joy of Christian teamwork. Read more Gospel choir helps Norwich church Covid-19 reflections The Norwich Community Gospel Choir helped people to reflect on the Covid-19 pandemic at a concert at St Stephens Church in Norwich on Saturday September 28 as part of the churchs After The Storm event. Read more Trustee vacancies at Community Chaplaincy Norfolk CCN is a Christian Charity which supports men and women leaving prison in Norfolk. We currently have a Trustee Board of six and are looking to appoint two or three new Trustees over the course of 2021/22. Read more Gorleston youth project re-starts prayer meetings The Identity Youth Project in Gorleston has re-started regular in-person prayer gatherings, and all are welcome to join with them to pray for this vital work. Read more Vacancy for Clerk to the Trustees of Carters Trust Norwich-based charity Carters Trust is looking to employ a Clerk to the Trustees to assist in the administration of the Trust, the maintenance of financial records, compliance with Charities Acts and other legal obligations, and correspondence. Read more Norwich event explores ministry in poor communities Sara Barron, Executive Director of the National Estates Church Network, will be speaking in Norwich about ministry in low-income communities. Read more YMCA Norfolk - Policy, Performance and Compliance Co-ordinator YMCA Norfolk is looking for a Policy, Performance and Compliance Co-Ordinator to ensure compliance and consistency with regard to the implementation of our policies and procedures. Read more Norwich preacher pays ultimate price for mission to the poor Tributes have been paid to a courageous Norwich Methodist preacher, who gave up everything and moved to Pakistan to follow Gods call to serve the poorest of the poor, and who has died suddenly. Read more Tournament heralds start of Norfolk Christian league The start of the 2021/22 Norfolk Christian Football League season was heralded by the traditional 11-a-side tournament for half a dozen teams at Sloughbottom Park on Saturday September 18. Read more N Norfolk Christian artists in Open Studios event Two faith-filled artists from the Fakenham area will be taking part in the Norfolk Open Studios event starting later this month. Read more Nourishment for the body as well as the spirit? Robert Ashton wonders if there is scope for our parish churches to provide a further service for their local communities. Read more Norfolk authors poems speak to the heart Christian writer Catherine Ayre has had a book of poems published to encourage people to find out more about God. Read more Invite for Norfolk faith groups to help prisoners The Welcome Directory is a multi-faith charity that helps faith communities to offer welcome to people leaving prison. Norfolk churches are among those who are invited to register to make a commitment. Read more YMCA Norfolk needs Business Support Administrator YMCA Norfolk is looking for a Business Support Administrator to provide business, co-ordination and administrative support for the communities team, based in Norwich. Read more Women's Specialist Practitioner needed The Magdalene Group is seeking to employ a Womens Specialist Practitioner to provide gender and trauma-informed support to women experiencing multiple disadvantage and to provide specialist support to female sex workers and victims of sexual exploitation Read more Norwich church art and concerts reflect on Covid-19 Until September 25, concerts and an art exhibition at St Stephen's church in Norwich city centre will continue on the theme of "After the Storm? a reflection on the Covid-19 pandemic." Read more IBM and Hewlett Packard Enterprise this week introduced new servers optimized for artificial intelligence, and the two had one thing in common: Nvidia technology. HPE this week announced Gen10 of its HPE Apollo 6500 platform, running Intel Skylake processors and up to eight Pascal or Volta Nvidia GPUs connected by NVLink, Nvidias high-speed interconnect. A fully loaded V100s server will get you 66 peak double-precision teraflops of performance, which HPE says is three times the performance of the previous generation. The Apollo 6500 Gen10 platform is aimed at deep-learning workloads and traditional HPC use cases. The NVLink technology is up to 10 times faster than PCI Express Gen 3 interconnects. For its part, IBM held its OpenPOWER Summit in Las Vegas this past week and announced that more than 325 member companies are working on products and services for A.I.-themed workloads in the enterprise. The event highlighted more than 50 vendors that have built new OpenPOWER-based products, including Google. Google announced that it is deploying Zaius, a server custom-built by Rackspace and using IBMs POWER9 RISC processor within its data centers. This is huge for IBM because it breaks the x86 stranglehold on Google data centers with its RISC-based POWER9 processor. Up to 2013, if you wanted a POWER-based server you had to buy an IBM Power system. IBM created the OpenPOWER consortium to get POWER processors adopted by other vendors. Getting Google is the technical equivalent of the Popes blessing for the POWER processor. IBM launched its first POWER9 chip late last year. It uses Nvidias NVLink as a high-speed interconnect in part because the PCI Express Gen3 interface was several years old and just not fast enough. POWER9 systems also use PCI Express Gen4, which doubles performance over Gen3. Overall, IBM claims a tenfold improvement in performance over POWER8 processors. A number of customers announced their plans to use POWER9 in their data centers, including Uber, PayPal, Tencent, Ali Cloud, and LimeLight, a digital content provider, which specifically cited using POWER9 to get around the PCIe Gen3 performance bottleneck on x86. As for Nvidia, its GPU Technology Conference runs March 26 to 29 in San Jose and is sure to feature plenty of HPC and A.I.-related news. An Empty Bowl Dinner will be held March 24 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at St. Johns Episcopal Church in New Milford. The event at the Whittlesey Avenue church will benefit Loaves and Fishes Hospitality House in town. We are as old as our arteries, the adage goes, so could reversing the aging of blood vessels hold the key to restoring youthful vitality? The answer appears to be yes, at least in mice, according to a new study led by investigators at Harvard Medical School. The research, published March 22 in Cell, identifies the key cellular mechanisms behind vascular aging and its effects on muscle health and has successfully reversed the process in animals. The findings pinpoint a glitch in the normal crosstalk that occurs between muscles and blood vessels and keeps both tissues healthy. Using the synthetic precursors of two molecules naturally present in the body, the scientists also managed to reverse blood vessel demise and muscle atrophy in aging mice, boosting their exercise endurance in the process. The achievement, the team said, paves the way to identifying related therapies for humans."We've discovered a way to reverse vascular aging by boosting the presence of naturally occurring molecules in the body that augment the physiological response to exercise," said study senior investigatorDavid Sinclair, professor in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging at Harvard Medical School. "The approach stimulates blood vessel growth and boosts stamina and endurance in mice and sets the stage for therapies in humans to address the spectrum of diseases that arise from vascular aging," added Sinclair, who is also a professor at the University of New South Wales School of Medical Sciences in Sydney, Australia. The researchers caution that many promising treatments in mice don't have the same effect in humans due to critical differences in biology. However, the results of the experiments were dramatic enough to prompt the research team to pursue experiments in humans. Clinical trials for safety are already under way, Sinclair said. As old as our blood vessels Sinclair and team set out to unravel the mechanisms behind one of biology's inevitabilities: aging. As we grow old, we become weak and frail. A constellation of physiological changes-;some subtle, some dramatic-;precipitate this inevitable decline. What exactly happens inside our cells to cause the biological shifts that lead to aging? It's a question that has vexed Sinclair and team for years. As we age, our tiniest blood vessels wither and die, causing reduced blood flow and compromised oxygenation of organs and tissues. Vascular aging is responsible for a constellation of disorders, such as cardiac and neurologic conditions, muscle loss, impaired wound healing and overall frailty, among others. Scientists have known that loss of blood flow to organs and tissues leads to the build-up of toxins and low oxygen levels. The so-called endothelial cells, which line blood vessels, are essential for the health and growth of blood vessels that supply oxygen-rich and nutrient-loaded blood to organs and tissues. But as these endothelial cells age, blood vessels atrophy, new blood vessels fail to form and blood flow to most parts of the body gradually diminishes. This dynamic is particularly striking in muscles, which are heavily vascularized and rely on robust blood supply to function. Muscles begin to shrivel and grow weaker with age, a condition known as sarcopenia. The process can be slowed down with regular exercise, but gradually even exercise becomes less effective at holding off this weakening. Sinclair and team wondered: What precisely curtails the blood flow and precipitates this unavoidable decline? Why does even exercise lose its protective power to sustain muscle vitality? Is this process reversible? In a series of experiments, the team found that reduced blood flow develops as endothelial cells start to lose a critical protein known as sirtuin1, or SIRT1. Previous studies have shown that SIRT1 delays aging and extends life in yeast and mice. SIRT1 loss is, in turn, precipitated by the loss of NAD+, a key regulator of protein interactions and DNA repair that was identified more than a century ago. Previous research by Sinclair and others has shown that NAD+, which also declines with age, boosts the activity of SIRT1. A stimulating conversation The study reveals that NAD+ and SIRT1 provide a critical interface that enables the conversation between endothelial cells in the walls of blood vessels and muscle cells. Specifically, the experiments reveal that in young mouse muscle, SIRT1 signaling is activated and generates new capillaries, the tiniest blood vessels in the body that supply oxygen and nutrients to tissues and organs. However, as NAD+/SIRT1 activity diminishes over time, the study found, so does the blood flow, leaving muscle tissue nutrient-deprived and oxygen-starved. Indeed, when researchers deleted SIRT1 in the endothelial cells of young mice, they observed markedly diminished capillary density and decreased number of capillaries, compared with mice that had intact SIRT1. Mice whose endothelial cells lacked SIRT1 had poor exercise tolerance, managing to run only half the distance covered by their SIRT1-intact peers. To determine SIRT1's role in exercise-induced blood vessel growth, the researchers observed how SIRT1-deficient mice responded to exercise. After a month-long training regimen, the hind-leg muscles of SIRT1-deficient mice showed markedly diminished ability to form new blood vessels in response to exercise compared with same-age mice that had intact SIRT1 in their endothelial cells. Exercise-induced blood vessel formation is known to occur in response to growth-stimulating proteins released by muscles under strain. SIRT1, however, appears to be the key messenger relaying growth-factor signaling from muscles to blood vessels, the study found. Experiments showed that endothelial cells lacking SIRT1 were desensitized to the growth-stimulating proteins released by exercised muscles. "It's as if these cells had grown deaf to the signals that muscles sent their way," Sinclair said. The observation, he added, explains why age-related loss of SIRT1 leads to muscle atrophy and blood vessel demise. Since the experiments revealed the critical role of SIRT1 in exercise-induced blood vessel formation, the researchers wondered whether boosting SIRT1 levels would stimulate blood vessel growth and stave off muscle wasting. Exercise in a pill? The scientists set their sights on NAD+, a molecule conserved across many life forms, known to decline with age and previously shown to stimulate SIRT1 activity. "We reasoned that declining NAD+ levels reduce SIRT1 activity and thus interfere with aging mice's ability to grow new blood vessels," said study first author Abhirup Das, who conducted the work as a post-doctoral fellow in Sinclair's lab, currently a visiting scholar in genetics at Harvard Medical School and a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of South New Wales School of Medical Sciences. To test this premise, scientists used a chemical compound called NMN, a NAD+ precursor, previously shown to play a role in repairing cellular DNA and maintaining cell vitality.In lab dish experiments, endothelial cells from humans and mice treated with NMN showed enhanced growth capacity and reduced cell death. Next, the team gave NMN over two months to a group of mice that were 20 months old-;the rough equivalent of 70 in human years. NMN treatment restored the number of blood capillaries and capillary density to those seen in younger mice. Blood flow to the muscles also increased and was significantly higher than blood supply to the muscles seen in same-age mice that didn't receive NMN. The most striking effect, however, emerged in the aging mice's ability to exercise. These animals showed between 56 and 80 percent greater exercise capacity, compared with untreated mice the study showed. The NMN-treated animals managed to run 430 meters, or about 1,400 feet, on average, compared with 240 meters, or 780 feet, on average, for their untreated peers. To see whether the effects of NMN could be further augmented, the researchers added a second compound to the treatment regimen. The compound, sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS), is a precursor to hydrogen sulfide, which also boosts the activity of SIRT1. A group of 32-month-old mice-;the rough equivalent to 90 in human years-; receiving the combo treatment for four weeks were able to run, on average, twice as long as untreated mice. In comparison, mice treated with NMN alone ran 1.6 times farther, on average, than untreated animals. "These are really old mice so our finding that the combo treatment doubles their running capacity is nothing short of intriguing," said study co-author James Mitchell, associate professor of genetics and complex diseases at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. Research led by Mitchell and published in the same issue of Cell also found sodium hydrosulfide to augment blood vessel formation in the muscles of mice. Interestingly, the NMN treatment did not improve blood vessel density and exercise capacity in young sedentary mice. However, it did boost blood vessel formation and exercise capacity in young mice that had been exercising regularly for a month. "This observation underscores the notion that age plays a critical role in the crosstalk between blood vessels and muscles and points to a loss of NAD+ and SIRT1 as the reason behind loss of exercise effectiveness after middle age," Das said. The researchers say their findings may pave the way to therapeutic advances that hold promise for the millions of older people for whom regular physical activity is not an option. "Even if you're an athlete, you eventually decline," Sinclair said. "But there is another category of people-;what about those who are in a wheelchair or those with otherwise reduced mobility?" The team's ultimate goal is to replicate the findings and, eventually, move toward developing small-molecule, NMN-based drugs that mimic the effects of exercise-;enhanced blood flow and oxygenation of muscles and other tissues. Such therapies may even help with new vessel growth of organs that suffer tissue-damaging loss of blood supply and oxygen, a common scenario in heart attacks and ischemic strokes, the team said. Neo-vascularization-;the formation of new blood vessels-;should be treated with caution, the researchers say, because increased blood supply could inadvertently fuel tumor growth. "The last thing you want to do is provide extra blood and nourishment to a tumor if you already have one," said study co-author Lindsay Wu, at the University of New South Wales School of Medical Sciences. Sinclair and Wu point out that experiments done as part of the current study provide no evidence that treatment with NMN stimulated tumor development in animals treated with the compound. Patients who discharge themselves from hospital should be viewed more positively say researchers, who discovered sympathy for their decision among hospital staff. One doctor said: "if patients are ill, where they want to be is at home where they feel most comfortable." Approximately 2% to 3% of patients discharge themselves from hospital against medical advice each year in the UK and US, with the numbers increasing each year. Figures on self discharge are hard to come by, but best estimates suggest that self-discharge financially affects already strained health care systems with patients who self discharge costing over 50% more. Many people who self discharge return to hospital, with readmissions costing 300 million in the UK and $2.6 billion in the US. But Dr Laura Machin and Dr Dawn Goodwin of Lancaster University, with Dr David Warriner from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust argue that viewing self-discharge negatively is "out of step with contemporary values of patient-centered health care". They argue that the terms used to describe this - "discharge against medical advice, an unauthorized discharge" - reinforces the view that patients have acted inappropriately. In the UK, patients have the legal right to determine whether they wish to stay in hospital or not, providing they are above 16 and not detained under the Mental Health Act. Many health staff expressed sympathy for their decision, with one doctor saying "they're scared of what will go on in hospital . . . It's okay to be scared." A nurse said: "We are waking them up in the middle of the night to check their observations, we've got patients coming and going and monitors going off, you get why somebody would much rather be at home in their own bed using their own facilities." Some patients stressed it was not poor care but distress at living on a hospital ward which prompted their decision. "I don't like being in hospital. I didn't like being in the ward environment even though it was actually very good. The staff were very good . . . So as long as I felt safe I just preferred to leave really." Some even saw their departure as reducing the workload of hospital staff "I thought if I come out there will be one less bed to look after." Health care staff saw self discharge as a response to the lack of control patients experienced. "Sometimes it's lack of empowerment that makes them want to do that in the first place if they don't feel that they've got any control over what's happening to them. " The researchers say that viewing self discharge in a more positive way enables staff to demonstrate compassion toward patients. While deployed in combat zones, U.S. armed forces prepare for the rigors of combat and stay in peak condition by lifting weights during intense and demanding workouts. However a new study has found that serious chest muscle injuries are occurring with "alarming frequency" among deployed service members who lift weights. The injuries - tears of the pectoralis major tendon - occurred while doing bench press weight training. The injuries then required surgical repair and six months recovery. Loyola Medicine orthopaedic surgeon Dane Salazar, MD, a former Air Force orthopaedic surgeon, is lead author of the study, published March 13, 2018 in the Journal of Orthopedics and Rheumatology. Dr. Salazar and fellow Air Force orthopedic surgeon W. Steven Choate, MD, treated nine active duty soldiers and airmen for pectoralis tears during just four months at a hospital in a forward deployed location. The injury is relatively rare among civilians. In fact, a shoulder-and-elbow surgeon may see an average of less than one pectoralis tear a year. Deployed active duty personnel "likely represent a high-risk population for this injury," Dr. Salazar and colleagues wrote. "Future studies designed to identify the true incidence, report long-term outcomes and investigate modifiable patient risk factors in this population are warranted." Before joining Loyola, Dr. Salazar spent 14 years in the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps. From the fall of 2013 through the summer of 2014, he was deployed at an expeditionary medical treatment facility (field hospital). During a four month span in that deployment, Drs. Salazar and Choate treated nine male patients (four Army, five Air Force) for pectoralis major tears. All were injured while doing bench press weight training. At the time of injury, the weight on the bench press bar ranged from 135 pounds to 415 pounds, with an average of 258 pounds. The servicemen ranged in age from 23 to 52, with an average age of 32. Three were officers and six were enlisted. The pectoralis major muscle has two distinct heads. One originates at the collar bone. The other extends from the chest bone to the upper arm bone via a tendon. The muscle-and-tendon unit often is referred to as "the Pec" or "pec muscle." The surgeons hypothesize that the pectoralis major tears "can be attributed to the increase in both intensity and frequency of physical training that occurs during deployments to the war zone." The field hospital lacked all of the equipment and technology of a civilian hospital. For example, the surgeons had to send pectoralis tear patients to foreign local hospitals for MRIs. Nevertheless, Drs. Salazar and Choate were able to successfully repair the pectoralis tears without serious complications. They used a technique called bone trough and transosseous repair. Following surgery, the patients wore slings for six weeks. From six weeks to four months, the patients did physical therapy, but could not lift anything heavier than five pounds. From four months to six months, patients continued therapy and began light strengthening exercises. They were allowed to resume full activity at six months. All were able to return to duty. To reduce the risk of pectoralis injuries, the surgeons urged the military to ban maximum-weight bench press competitions. They also recommend weightlifters lift lighter weights with more repetitions. According to a panel of international health experts, back pain is being grossly mismanaged globally. This could be both by ineffective treatments as well as treatment with harmful methods. The journal Lancet published three papers in a series that show that low back pain has been on the rise globally and is one of the leading causes of disability today. The reports in the three studies note that the healthcare providers depend too much on scans, surgeries and opioid pain relievers for management of low back pain. The team suggests that low back pain can be more effectively and safely managed with less invasive physical and psychological therapies. Image Credit: Syda Productions / Shutterstock The first paper titled, What low back pain is and why we need to pay attention is led by Jan Hartvigsen, Mark Hancock, and colleagues who explore the social, psychological and physical aspects of back pain. The second paper titled Prevention and treatment of low back pain: evidence, challenges, and promising directions led by Nadine Foster, Christopher Maher, and their colleagues speaks about the treatments available and the preventive measures for back pain. The third paper titled Low back pain: a call for action by Rachelle Buchbinder and her colleagues calls upon the medical fraternity to take notice and suggests ways to deal with this problem more effectively. According to the papers, years lived with disability caused by low back pain has risen by 54 percent since 1990 to 2015. This could be due to rise in the aged population, sedentary lifestyles, new technologies, urbanization etc. the authors speculate. Back pain affects an estimated 540 million people globally, they write. The authors of the studies including Monash University researcher, Professor Rachelle Buchbinder, one of the lead study authors, write that what is necessary is a radical shift in thinking. She said that a tipping point has been reached when it comes to the burden of low back pain. The condition is increasing rapidly and is being poorly managed medically. This harms and overburdens not only the patient but also the healthcare system she said. Low back pain care should be evidence based she said and back pain need not be treated as an injury but an issue that can be effectively managed as it waxes and wanes with time. The paper states that Australia spends $4.8 billion annually on low back pain management and it reduces the Australia's GDP by $3.2 billion a year. At least half of the Australian population is affected with low back pain. Professor Chris Maher, lead author of one of the papers said that we need a deeper understanding of the problem and what can be done about it. He said that the right care at the right time was what the patients needed. He said that back pain is not an emergency medical condition but most people visit the emergency department for their back pain. Surgery such as spinal fusion has a limited role in back pain management he said, but is being recommended widely. Prof Martin Underwood from Warwick Universitys medical school, one of the authors says that only 1 percent of all low back pain cases are due to serious underlying causes such as a cancer or an infection. In many sufferers there are lifestyle problems such as obesity, smoking and sedentary lifestyles that contribute to the back pain. The episodes are short and do not last long. Only once third of the back pain sufferers may have a recurrence of the pain within one year, he said. Professor Buchbinder, in her paper writes that the United States is facing an opioid addiction crisis mainly because of the rampant use of opioids to treat pain when it could be managed alternatively. She says in her paper that these ineffective and potentially harmful treatments waste limited healthcare resources and also cause harm. One of the studies also states that all cases of low back pain are investigated with an MRI scan. Experts say that while MRIs can pick out physical problems, they cannot always detect the source of the pain. These scans are usually a precursor to surgery or other interventions they write. Prof Nadine Foster from Keele University, one of the authors also said that the problem is real and these studies draw attention to the problem. The authors of these studies she said, were trying to find and show case better solutions rather than depending on high tech interventions and surgeries. She said that in this respect, the NHS was faring better than the US. Surgery rates were fewer here she added. Opioid pain killer use however remained high. She said the best idea is the give the safest possible drugs for the shortest possible time at the lowest possible dose. Pittcon 2018 brought together members from the scientific community from around the world with leading speakers, instructors and exhibiting companies. Pittcon 2018, the 69th Conference and Exposition for Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy, ended on March 1, in Orlando, Florida with an economic impact to the city estimated at $23 million. This global event brought together approximately 11,415 conferees and exhibitor personnel (official numbers to be released at the end of March). Global Attendance Stable Pittcon has always had a strong global presence, and 2018 was no exception with 25% of conferees from outside the United States from 80 countries. The top five countries by attendance were China, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom and Germany. Attendees include lab managers, scientists, chemists, researchers and professors, from industrial, academic, and government labs. They represent an equally broad number of scientific disciplines including life science, food science, drug discovery, environmental, forensics, nanotechnology, water/wastewater, energy/fuel, agriculture and bioterrorism. Exposition The dynamic exposition floor (378,542 total sq. ft, 150,000 sq. ft. exhibits only) consisted of 713 exhibitors from 33 countries occupying 1,247 booths displaying the latest innovations in instrumentation and technology used in laboratory science. This year, we welcomed 92 first-time exhibitors. There were two specialized areas on the floor the New Exhibitors and Laboratory Information Management (LIMS). Pittcon 2018 introduced schedule changes to the annual exhibition. The exhibit hall was open for three days, Tuesday, February 27 Thursday, March 1. Additionally, there was an exhibits-only afternoon on Tuesday, during which time no program sessions were offered. This allowed attendees ample time to visit the exposition floor, and the floor was buzzing with excitement throughout the afternoon. The NEXUS Theaters were another new addition to the exhibits. These two theaters consisted of 22 entertaining and informative presentations on a variety of topics from cannabis testing, to communicating science, to lab safety. The large interactive park area, this year called Alligator Alley, again offered attendees DemoZones, the Lab Gauntlet Challenges, LEGO Gravity Car Racing, Virtual Reality Experiences, the Pittcon Booths and more. The 2018 sponsors included: Platinum Sponsor Shimadzu and Silver Sponsor RotaChrom Technologies. The second annual Pittcon Today Excellence Awards recognized ingenuity and innovation at this years exposition. Finalists were selected by a blue chip panel of experts, including leading voices in academia, industry, and trade publications, who evaluated exhibitor entries based on ingenuity, creativity, implementation and outcomes. The principal criterion being the products projected impact on the industry and the wider public. The prestigious awards were presented at each exhibitor booth recognizing gold, silver and bronze winners across the three sales categories. Recipients include: Less than $10,000,000 in sales category GOLD - Gate Scientific, Inc. - Wireless smartSENSE Stirbar SILVER - RotaChrom Technologies.- RotaChrom rCPC and iCPC BRONZE Axcend Corporation Axcend Focus LC $10 - $100,000,000 in sales category GOLD B&W Tek - STRaman SILVER Metrohm- 946 Portable VA Analyzer BRONZE CEM Corporation - EDGE Greater than $100,000,000 in sales category GOLD HORIBA Scientific Duetta - Xylem, OI Analytical - 1080 Combustion Total Organic Carbon Analyzer SILVER Fluid Imaging Technologies, Inc. - FlowCam Nano BRONZE Shimadzu Scientific Instruments IRSpirit Robust Technical Program Offers Multiple Educational Opportunities Pittcon offered more than 2,000 technical presentations presented in 68 symposia, 10 award sessions (15 awards presented), 14 oral sessions, 52 contributed sessions, 5 workshops and 67 poster sessions. The Wallace H. Coulter Lecture, Analytical Science in Precision Medicine: Facing the Challenges of the 21st Century Healthcare was presented by Jeremy K. Nicholson, the Head of the Department of Surgery and Cancer and Director of the MRC-NIHR National Phenome Centre Faculty of Medicine. Pittcon 2018 introduced a second special evening lecture, the Plenary Lecture. This Tuesday evening presentation Optical Microscopy: The Resolution Revolution was presented by Dr. Stefan Hell, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Gottingen and Director at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg. Both sessions were well attended and were followed by happy hour in Pub Pittcon. The 33 Conferee Networking sessions provided a unique opportunity for conferees from around the world to meet in an informal setting to discuss topics of mutual interest. The facilitator-assisted sessions discussed critical topics in areas such as environmental, biomedical, water, academia, pharmaceuticals, FDA regulations and more. The Short Course program offered an opportunity for skill-building training and continuing education for laboratory professionals at an affordable price. This year, 93 short courses were offered covering a wide variety of topics including, but not limited to, analytical methods in environmental, food and life sciences; nanotechnology; water/wastewater; petroleum and pharmaceuticals. Lab management courses are also a significant part of the program and provide critical insight into the interpretation of the requirements of regulatory aspects, global guidelines, and laboratory standards. Nearly 900 participants attended these courses and received professional development hours. Employment Bureau Pittcon provides a free onsite employment service for candidates to review active job openings and for employers to review candidates credentials and resumes. The 2018 Employment Bureau reported there were 92 employers, 248 positions, 296 candidates and more than 270 interviews. In the 15th century, soldiers injured in battle were left on the battlefield for two to three days until their condition either stabilized or they died. Since the efforts of surgeon Ambroise Pare in the same century, one of the forerunners in improving medical treatment for injured soldiers, the care that soldiers receive today is much safer, quicker and well organized. Here, Neil Oliver, technical marketing manager of professional battery manufacturer Accutronics explains how portable and wearable technology is supporting the future of military medical devices. The British Ministry of Defense (MoD) delivers health services for 200,000 service personnel, 50,000 dependents and many veterans. This ranges from emergency battlefield trauma-care to routine health concerns. To monitor this, the MoD uses a system known as Integrated Systems Health Management (ISHM), used across the worldwide defense sector. Following the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT), there are a variety of devices which produce data. In the battlefield, soldiers are provided with wearable devices to monitor their vital statistics, such as their heart rate, blood pressure, stress and fatigue levels. These enable clinicians in base camps or back in the UK to keep an eye on the soldiers out in the field. They can then make decisions, such as urgent medical evacuation, based on the data provided to them. Given the critical nature of the decisions that are made based on data from wearable devices, it is essential that they are up to the task. Although thats easier said than done when theyre faced with 50 degrees Celsius heat, sandstorms and the risk of counterfeit products. The batteries that keep these devices running must be able to withstand all of this, so original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) should work with companies who can supply bespoke and reliable batteries to fit their needs. A wearable medical device is most useful when it is reporting emergency data. Unfortunately, in the military, this means that its likely that the soldier has been injured in some way, usually by a heavy impact or blow so the device must be able to withstand this impact to accurately report back data. To solve this problem, our parent company Ultralife supplies a conformal battery, the UBBL35 to the military. This is rugged and suitable for use in such tough environments and is also lightweight in order to reduce the load on the soldier. Military applications also place specific demands on the runtime of the battery. They must be able to withstand long periods without being charged, as reliable power sources are not always available. Accurate fuel gauging is also essential so that soldiers accurately know when they need to charge their devices and so they do not fail in the middle of the battlefield. Military procurement teams need to ensure that the reliability and safety of military medical devices is not compromised by the use of counterfeit or grey market batteries. Such batteries are often difficult to spot but, when used in medical contexts, they can put lives in danger. Ultralife offers SHA-1 authentication to customers who buy a custom smart battery. This algorithm is mirrored by software in the device itself that allows the machine to detect whether a battery is counterfeit and to automatically reject it if it proves to be fake. There may be a lot more to consider when treating modern day soldiers than in the days of Ambroise Pare, however, the use of portable and wearable devices now means that injured soldiers can be monitored and treated much more effectively. This does depend on the reliable functioning of the batteries, but by consulting with experienced specialists, military leaders can ensure the health and fitness of their soldiers. Older adults, especially those who are admitted to hospitals, are at risk for potentially dangerous side effects if they are taking multiple medicines. Taking several medications at the same time is called polypharmacy. Of special concern are benzodiazepine and non-benzodiazepine sedative hypnotics. These medications, which include lorazepam, clonazepam, zopiclone, and others, are often prescribed for sleep--despite the fact that organizations like the American Geriatrics Society recommend that they not be used as a first choice for sleep problems, agitation, or delirium (the medical term for an abrupt, rapid change in mental function). As many as one in three older adults receive sedatives while they are hospitalized, and many are given new prescriptions for them when they leave the hospital. This can put older adults at risk for falls, fractures, problems with thinking and making decisions, and even death. In a new study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, researchers looked at a way to help older adults taper off and stop using sedatives. This was based on an earlier study that suggested giving older adults the following: * an educational brochure outlining the problems that sedatives pose * instructions for safely taking themselves off the medication. In the earlier study, having this information helped 27 percent of older adults stop taking the sedatives, compared to 5 percent who didn't receive the information. The researchers then designed their study to test whether a brochure called "EMPOWER," along with support from healthcare personnel at the time of hospitalization, could help older at-risk adults stop taking sedatives. Sixty-two patients 65-years-old or older who had prescriptions for sedatives agreed to participate in the study. The study took place at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, Canada. The study participants received EMPOWER brochures and were encouraged to talk with members of the medical team if they wanted to stop taking sedatives. One month after their discharge from the hospital, researchers interviewed the participants about their sedative use and the quality of their sleep. Participants were around 79-years-old. Nearly 70 percent were moderately to severely frail, and 42 percent said they had a fall within the past month. Frailty, a condition that affects 10 percent of people aged 65 and older, can make older adults more prone to disability, falls, hospitalization, and a shorter lifespan. Among those who participated in the 30-day follow-up, 64 percent successfully stopped taking sedatives. That's three times the number of people who were able to stop before the EMPOWER program was launched. What's more, 94 percent of the participants who stopped taking sedatives said their sleep problems were about the same as when they were taking medication. The researchers concluded that the EMPOWER program was safe for hospitalized older adults. They noted that future studies are needed to see whether this kind of program could help reduce adverse drug events (the medical term for serious side effects from medication) for frail older adults who take multiple medications for chronic health conditions. Source: https://www.americangeriatrics.org/ New research has found that people suffering from mild to moderate obesity may be able to lose weight when the nerve that transports hunger signals to the brain is frozen. The findings, announced at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 2018 Annual Scientific Meeting, showed that the initial pilot phase found treatment to be both feasible and safe. Africa Studio/Shutterstock.com The process requires an interventional radiologist to inject argon gas into the patients back, with the help of live images streamed from a CT scan, to freeze the nerve. This nerve, called the posterior vagal trunk, is one of multiple sources that communicates hunger to the brain, by signaling that an individuals stomach is empty. We developed this treatment for patients with mild-to-moderate obesity to reduce the attrition that is common with weight-loss efforts. We are trying to help people succeed with their own attempts to lose weight." David Prologo, M.D., FSIR, ABOM-D, Emory University School of Medicine The study monitored 10 individuals over 90 days, each with a body mass Index (BMI) ranging between 30 and 37. There was an average decline of almost 14% of excess BMI, an overall average weight loss of 3.6% of initial body weight, and each experienced decreased appetite. Lead author Dr Prologo commented: "When our stomachs are empty, the body senses this and switches to food-seeking survival mode. We're not trying to eliminate this biological response, only reduce the strength of this signal to the brain to provide a new, sustainable solution to the difficult problem of treating mild obesity." Due to the insights gained from this preliminary feasibility and safety study, the researchers want to assess the durability and effectiveness of the procedure further, and are enrolling additional participants for an extended clinical trial. The teams authors highlighted the interim nature of the results and the small sample size as restrictions in the study. Neurology researchers investigating a rare but devastating neurological regression in infants have discovered the cause: gene mutations that severely disrupt crucial functions in mitochondria, the energy-producing structures within cells. The specific disease mechanism, in which mutations disrupt a critical mitochondrial enzyme, has not previously been implicated in a human disease. "We uncovered the cause of this mysterious neurodegenerative disease, and now we understand better what happens in the brains of these children," said lead investigator Ingo Helbig, MD, a pediatric neurologist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). "This new understanding is the very first step toward potentially finding a treatment." Helbig collaborated with researchers from Germany, Australia and the U.S. in this study, published online today in the American Journal of Human Genetics. The other two co-senior authors were Dr. Franz-Josef Mueller, of the University Hospital Schleswig Holstein, Kiel, Germany; and Dr. Johan L.K. Van Hove, of the University of Colorado. For Helbig, now an attending physician in the Neurogenetics Program at CHOP and a specialist in genetic epilepsies, the finding builds on an experience early in his medical training when he was involved in the care of an infant girl with severe epilepsy. The child suffered sudden neurological regression after a fever, for no apparent reason. Imaging studies showed the child lost brain volume, mainly in the cerebellum. The symptoms appeared to mimic those of a progressive neurological disease. Instead, it turned out to be due to energy failure, based in malfunctioning mitochondria, but this became apparent only after nearly a decade of research. The current study reports on five affected children in four families, including the original patient and her sibling. Both siblings, along with a third patient in the study, died before six years of age. None of the five children were able to walk or speak, and all but one had seizures. The research team used whole-exome sequencing to pinpoint the causative mutations in the gene PMPCB. Because that gene is highly conserved across yeast and humans, the researchers conducted experiments in a common yeast to investigate the effects of the mutation. The researchers found that mutations in PMPCB interfered with the function of the enzyme mitochondrial processing protease (MPP), which transports proteins into mitochondria to be cut up as part of normal biological processing. Disrupting that process, in turn, blocked the production of iron-sulfur clusters that are crucial to energy metabolism and other cellular functions. In infants, the diminished activity of MPP causes a deficiency of biological energy. An infection or fever triggers a crisis--a cascade of severe events, including brain atrophy and the neurological regression seen in the patients. The symptoms appear similar to those seen in the well-known mitochondrial disorder Leigh's syndrome. The biological pathways that MPP is involved in are closely related to the more common neurological disease Friedreich's ataxia, which is also actively studied by researchers at CHOP. In fact, frataxin, the protein altered in Friedreich's ataxia, is one of the main targets of MPP. The conditions however, are very different, and the PMPCB-related disorders identified by Helbig and his collaborators are more severe than Friedreich's ataxia. The current findings, said Helbig, set the stage for follow-up research in biological implications, for instance, by further investigation in yeast models of the disease. "If we better understand biological pathways and mechanisms," he added, "we may be able to start screening for compounds that may suggest potential treatments for this condition." There has been no research that explains what gives the curl to curly hair. To understand this, the researchers looked at the microscopic structure of the hair and measure the individual hair cells in the curly hair that could explain the curls. However human hair was found to be too thick for these experiments. So as a next step they looked at naturally curly hair or wool from six Merino sheep from New Zealand. This provided them with the answers they were looking for. The study results were published this week in the latest issue of the Journal of Experimental Biology. Image Credit: FOTOGRIN / Shutterstock The key finding from the experiment was that in hair that was curly, the cells that are outside the curls are longer than those that are inside. In straighter hair the cells in both outer and inner sides were similar in length. This has been seen at least in the sheeps wool say experts and they believe that similar findings may be expected in humans. The cell length inside and outside of the hair bends thus determine the curliness of the hair. This, say researchers, could pave way for new hair care and styling products that could provide longer lasting curls or straightened hair. Cosmetics company, Kao Corporation from Japan, part funded this study. Studys lead author Duane Harland from AgResearch in New Zealand said that the reason why they chose sheeps wool is because merino sheep wool is around five times finer than human hair but they have a similar biology. Thus this wool could act as a reliable hair model. Dr Harland said these fibres are of different sizes but are still relevant to human hair and additionally microscopes can penetrate more easily through the finer fibres of the hair to see the individual hair cells and gauge their differences. He explained that in order to understand and count the cells there has to be thin layers and minimal cells. Also the merino wool has no pigments and is transparent. This makes the cells better visible than human hair. He explained that hair is made up of keratin protein. Within the hair there are parallel strands of this protein called the paracortical cells. There are also orthocortical cells that have twisted fibres of keratin protein. These orthocortical cells are outer cells that are longer while the paracortical cells are shorter. This could explain the curliness. The design is similar to an archway he said. For the study the team sheared 6 merino sheep. They had kept the sheep in identical conditions for past 6 months. From the wool they chose 700 fibres for the experiment. Each of these was five micrometres or less in diameter and half a centimetre in length. The washed the fibres to remove the lanolin coating over them and revealed the natural state of the fibres. After drying them over a vibrating surface to prevent adhesion or kinking they were cut and examined under the microscope using electrostatic forces. They cannot be picked up individually said Dr. Harland because that would damage their insides. Now under the microscope they could measure the curvature of the fibres and look at their cell structure. They noted from their observations that the orthocortical cells lay on top of the fibres and were longer than the paracortical cells at specific locations. Where the orthocortical cells were longer, the hair tended to curl. More studies are necessary to understand how these differences in length are important. Genetics of hair curling also needs to be studied he said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday for the first time that a deal to renegotiate NAFTA was likely, amid signs negotiators may be closer to settling one of the regional trade pact's most contentious issues. "We remain very confident that a win-win-win deal is not only possible but likely," Trudeau told a Toronto business audience. The head of Canada's Unifor union - who has close ties to Ottawa's negotiators - said the United States had dropped its insistence that all autos made in NAFTA countries have 50 percent U.S. content. The demand - rejected by Canada and Mexico as completely unworkable - had become a major sticking point. "The United States withdrew it," Unifor President Jerry Dias said by phone after speaking to Canadian government officials. "NAFTA is going nowhere as long as they kept that there and I think they realized that," he added, noting that U.S. auto companies had lobbied against the idea on the grounds it would disrupt a highly integrated industry. An industry source familiar with the negotiations also said the United States had dropped its demand and added the "sides are still very far apart, but there's movement." Canadian officials were not immediately available for comment. The news, first reported by Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper, helped the Canadian dollar post its biggest gain against the U.S. dollar in nearly four months, while Mexico's peso firmed more than 1.5 percent. Officials are due to meet in April for the eighth round of negotiations on updating the $1.2 trillion North American Free Trade Agreement. Talks have bogged down as Canada and Mexico attempt to digest Washington's far-reaching demands for changes. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Wednesday the three countries in NAFTA were "finally starting to converge" on auto content requirements. But he also attacked what he called Canada's "Third World" intellectual property laws and demanded changes to Canadian tariffs and import curbs that protect domestic dairy producers. Trudeau told reporters later he would continue to defend the system "because it works." TAKING NOTHING FOR GRANTED The disagreement underlines how much work remains to be done, especially given that U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to abandon NAFTA unless it is reformed to his liking. A senior legislator from Trudeau's ruling Liberal Party told reporters nothing could be taken for granted. "There are good signs ... (regarding) automobiles, but it's too soon to declare any sort of progress that's definitive," said Andrew Leslie, parliamentary secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland. Flavio Volpe, president of the Toronto-based Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association, said the U.S. side had shown more willingness to compromise on content over the past month. "Everything I hear and see supports the notion that we are collectively working toward a completion" of NAFTA rather than preparing for a U.S. withdrawal, he said by phone. Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo plans to hold talks with Lighthizer this week, according to an official familiar with the matter. Last week, Guajardo said if the three countries did not finish the talks by the end of April, the process would drag on at least until December. Mexico's presidential vote is to be held on July 1, while U.S. congressional elections are set for November. In India, we arent new to cruisers. Harley-Davidson has been selling a bunch of them here for years, accessible to landed gentry, and more recently to everyone else via the Street 750. Over the years, the little Harley has proven to be a fast-moving item, such as it is, and has had no direct competition until now. The Vulcan S has been a long time coming, and delivers some things that the Harley doesnt. At almost Rs. 5.44 lac ex-showroom, its slightly more expensive than a base Street 750, but on-road prices are nearly a lac more (Rs 6.47 lac in Mumbai), due to it being a CBU import. Whos it for? The Vulcan S is a do-everything motorcycle, based on the same do-everything platform as the Ninja 650, Z650 and Versys 650. All these are very solid, dependable motorcycles, with their own little niggles but no deal-breakers. This carries over to the Vulcan and its a great bike for a new rider, or someone returning to motorcycles after some years, wanting a gentle re-introduction. This is not a tinkerers bike or one for armchair racers. There are no electronic nannies apart from ABS and basic features. Its a nice, honest motorcycle that delivers what it says on the crate. Kawasaki Vulcan S comes with 650cc engine. (Image: Kartik Sadekar) What does it look like? As is evident from the pictures, the Vulcan S does a take on the traditional cruiser format. But traditional-looking, it is not. If anything, its more power-cruiser than easy-rider. The stealth black paint makes it look solid and is good quality. If one were a stickler for heritage, one would want a typical steel frame with the engine cradled within, and perhaps a hardtail or twin shocks. The Vulcan borrows the trellis style of frame from its sportier brothers, as it does the right-side mounted shock. The headlamp and tank are also more Mad Max than Hells Angels, making the design a mixed bag. If youre not a purist, you might like it. Speedometer on the Kawasaki Vulcan S. (Image: Kartik Sadekar) What isnt necessarily evident from the pictures is just how large the motorcycle is. Its substantial in every way except pure weight thats quite manageable. This is a concern for most people in the market for an affordable cruiser: it needs to be manageable and cheap, but they do wish it didnt look like a Bajaj Avenger, something Harley has to deal with and Bajaj is totally owning with their new lineup of bikes. Is it comfortable? In a word, yes. The Vulcan does have forward-set footpegs for the rider, as is customary with cruisers. However, theyve made them adjustable to three positions, so hopefully this should adapt to most riders. The handlebar is quite large, and reaches back a fair bit. For my 59 frame, ergonomics seemed just right, with no unnatural reach forward for any controls. The seat is also quite comfortable for the rider, and is generous enough to accomodate the average rider. For my svelte frame, there was plenty of room to move around. The rear seat is a separate unit, and appears to be a pad with a good height. Anecdotally, our photographer was unhappy with the comfort at the back, but this will depend on your pillion and their preferences. The pillion pegs are in a reasonable place. Kawasaki Vulcan S seat. (Image: Kartik Sadekar) An important feature to note is that the Vulcan S comes with an absolutely gigantic saree guard that looks like it was made by the same guy who made your home window grills. I would recommend you remove it immediately upon buying this motorcycle and ensure you dont do anything stupid like transport saree-clad ladies side-saddle. Unfortunately, the critical grab rails are part of this ridiculous (but mandatory) accessory, so youll either have to order an official accessory, or find someone to fashion something custom for you. Whats it like to ride? TL; DR: its really nice to ride. This comes close to being the perfect entry-level cruiser motorcycle you can buy (or Ive tried). It only makes about 60hp, but thats a very solid figure if you compare it to even much larger V-twin cruisers. But you cant, because most of those bikes only publish a torque figure. In any case, the torque is what you feel and is more important for the intent of this motor. The 63Nm that this 650cc parallel-twin motor delivers is plenty to get the bike going quickly. Gearing appears well-matched to the nature of the motor and the bike is just get-on-and-go. Kawasaki Vulcan S rear end. (Image: Kartik Sadekar) This is a basic motorcycle in that it is not using ride-by-wire throttle. The motor is fairly eager as well, so one must occasionally feather the clutch to stay smooth. If youre directly comparing this to a v-twin motor, its a very different experience and you wont get dollops of creamy torque everywhere. This is a more linear, rev-happy motor. Significantly, despite the competitive specs, this motor does not heat up to be noticed whatsoever. On most V-twins, youll very quickly be doing a strange ants-in-the-pants dance every time you come to a stop, because the heat can become unbearable. Not so on the Vulcan. Simply not an issue. The suspension is really good. A rear shock is a linkage-type unit unlike older Kawasakis on this platform, so it absorbs your city commute well, with preload adjustability for various loads. The front fork uses 41mm tubes, and like the rear, is non-adjustable. About the only complaint I had was that the bottom of the bike can scrape on some speed bumps, so you might want to adjust the preload a bit more than usual, and certainly before taking a pillion. Otherwise, it works well and lends confidence to an already easy-going bike. Kawasaki Vulcan S rear suspension. (Image: Kartik Sadekar) In terms of braking, the Vulcan is good. At low speeds, you have decent feel at the front brake lever and stopping the bike feels secure. It is, however, using only a single 300mm front and 250mm rear disc, so at speed, the mass of the motorcycle does make the brakes work. We did not reach high speeds or deliberately test the ABS, but were glad its there, because stopping a 235kg motorcycle from top speed on these brakes would be hairy. Handling is also very good. To the point that anyone with some experience on a motorcycle should be able to manage this quite easily. I was able to ride it around some very heavily-trafficked roads as if it were a scooter. Its one of the tricks that the Vulcan has in its arsenal carrying its weight low and encouraging smooth, easy, poised progress and handling. What are you not telling me? Hopefully, nothing important. I did notice that the tyre combination uses 18 front and 17 rear tyres. 17 tyres are fairly common and easy to procure for large motorcycles, but not so much for 18 tyres. This means youre going to have to go back to the showroom when you need to replace them, because this sort of matched pair is unlikely to be available at an independent outlet. Kawasaki Vulcan S comes with 18 front tyre. (Image: Kartik Sadekar) Also worth noting is that while a cruiser should be able to take you long distances, this one comes with a 14l fuel tank, so count on making several stops on your long trips. Perhaps the most egregious feature of the Vulcan S is the indistinct, pedestrian exhaust note, which is uncannily like a four-stroke autorickshaw. We happened to be passed by one in the parking lot, and it was astounding just how similar they sound. Of course, you can fit an aftermarket exhaust system, but regardless, that parallel twin is never going to sound as evocative as a V, inline-four or even one of the recent Triumph twins. Conclusion Objectively speaking, all of the above information should be enough for you to get you to the showroom. However, as rosy as the picture looks, its not going to be enough to push you to write that cheque. The Vulcan S does everything very nicely, but it does not tug at my heartstrings, and I suspect it wont for many people. Its fun, practical, feels bulletproof, comfortable, easy handling and safe. It will work for the newbie, the born-again biker and the focused enthusiast who doesnt want to be a grease monkey or support the after-sales business model of the local dealership. But charismatic it is not. Years from now, if you want to think back to the time you owned a Kawasaki Vulcan, youll remember the places you went and the people you met, but not as much the motorcycle. For some people, maybe thats a good thing. But even those people will think twice about spending more than on the Harley. (Tushar has been a technologist, journalist, corporate babysitter, cat herder and unemployed internet raconteur, roughly in that order. He is currently testing the patience of various marketing and communications departments while routinely imbibing their fine spirits. He contributes to various prestigious publications upon whom the truth has not yet dawned. He can be reached out on Twitter @tburman) Also Watch: Middle-of-the-road: 2018 Kawasaki Vulcan S Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here New Delhi: In an effort to tighten the noose around loan defaulters, ministry of finance has written to all banks to start bifurcating non-performing assets as either wilful default or fraud. Banks have also been asked to prepare a list of loan defaulters for naming and shaming in public. We have written to all public sector banks to start naming and shaming all loan defaulters by preparing a list and putting them out on public platforms. The banks also will have to start stating what kind of non-performing asset (NPA) it has encountered. Simply stating an NPA wont work anymore. The banks will have to come out in public about whether it is a fraud or a wilful default, said a top official of finance ministry on condition of anonymity. A wilful default is a situation where the borrower has the required capacity to pay but decides not to and a fraud is when the borrower siphons off his/her money to other mode of parking say shell companies and displays a false inability to pay. Finance ministry has also issued guidelines that banks now have to setup stressed assets management vehicle in relatively bigger branches that have chances of a default happening. The group will consist of four to five bank officials who will take care of defaults that have already happened and keeping a check on volatile loans. These branches will be upgraded with the latest technology linking data points, added the official. In addition to this, the banks will have to setup two different departments, one for pre-sanction of loan disbursal and the other for post-sanction details. The official informed News18 that earlier loan disbursal rules were not adhered to. Banks used to give away without security in case of big and influential borrowers. This will stop going forward, said the official close to the development. Earlier, the finance ministry mandated provision of passport details of borrowers taking loans of Rs 50 crore and more to ensure a swift action in case of fraud and prevent fraudsters from fleeing the country. The Cabinet recently approved the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill after Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi allegedly defrauded state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) of Rs 12,700 crore and left the country, refusing to cooperate with law enforcement agencies. The proposed fugitive law aims to impound and sell assets of Nirav Modi-type escapees with a view to quickly recover dues. It also will apply to defaulters who have an outstanding of Rs 100 crore or more and have escaped from the country. As part of drive to clean the banking system, the Finance Ministry last week had directed public sector banks (PSBs) to probe all NPA accounts of over Rs 50 crore for possible fraud and accordingly report the cases to CBI. Besides, the ministry had asked banks to monitor loans above Rs 250 crore and red flags whenever the original covenants of the loans are violated. This was spelt out as part of 6-point-reform measures announced for PSBs in January. New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday granted bail to of Karti Chidambaram, son of senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, in the INX Media corruption case. The court of Justice S P Garg provided bail to Karti on a surety of Rs 10 lakh. The court said Karti can't travel outside country and close bank accounts. The HC also ordered him to cooperate with CBI and not influence the witness or tamper with evidence. Earlier, the order has delivered by Justice S P Garg who had reserved his verdict on March 16 after hearing arguments on behalf of Karti and the CBI which had opposed grant of the relief to him. The agency had contended that he should not be granted bail as he has already destroyed evidence in the case and was an influential person. Karti's counsel had argued that no case under the Prevention of Corruption Act was made out against him since the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had neither questioned any public servant, nor made them an accused in the matter. Karti's lawyers had denied allegations of tampering with evidence and added that when the CBI had not sought his further custodial interrogation, why should he be kept in judicial custody. They had also said that no one else has been arrested in the case and what the CBI has done is to put Karti behind bars. Karti's lawyers had further claimed that CBI was trying to connect him with a private company, Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt Ltd, which had received an alleged bribe amount of Rs 10 lakh, when he was in no way related to it. Karti was arrested from Chennai on February 28 by the CBI on his return from the United Kingdom in connection with an FIR lodged on May 15 last year, alleging irregularities in a Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance given to INX Media for receiving funds of about Rs 305 crore from overseas in 2007 when his father was the Union finance minister. The CBI had initially alleged that Karti received Rs 10 lakh as a bribe for facilitating the FIPB clearance to INX Media. It had later revised the figure to USD 1 million (about Rs 6.50 crore at the current exchange rate and Rs 4.5 crore in 2007). The fresh evidence in the case, which triggered Karti's arrest, was based on a statement of Indrani Mukerjea, former director of INX Media (P) Ltd, who recorded it under Section 164 of the CrPC before a magistrate on February 17. Indrani is currently lodged in a Mumbai prison in connection with the case of murder of her daughter Sheena Bora. The high court had on March 9 directed the Enforcement Directorate not to arrest or take any coercive action against Karti in the money laundering case lodged by the agency. The protection was later extended by the court till March 22. Subsequently, the Supreme Court had transferred the ED case to it. (with PTI inputs) Tel Aviv: Saudi Arabia opened its airspace for the first time to a commercial flight to Israel with the inauguration on Thursday of an Air India route between New Delhi and Tel Aviv. Air India 139 landed at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport after a flight of over 7-1/2 hours, marking a diplomatic shift for Riyadh that Israel says was fuelled by shared concern over Iranian influence in the region. "This is a really historic day that follows two years of very, very intensive work," Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said in a radio interview, adding that using Saudi airspace cut travel time to India by around two hours and would reduce ticket prices. Saudi Arabia - birthplace of Islam and home to its holiest shrines does not recognise Israel. Riyadh has not formally confirmed granting the Air India plane overflight rights. While the move ended a 70-year-old ban on planes flying to or from Israel through Saudi airspace, there is as yet no indication that it will be applied for any Israeli airline. The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner entered Saudi airspace at around 1645 GMT and overflew the kingdom at 40,000 feet for about three hours, coming within 60 km (37 miles) of the capital Riyadh, according to the Flightradar monitoring app. It then crossed over Jordan and the occupied West Bank into Israel. The airliner had earlier flown over Oman, according to Flightradar. Officials from Oman, which also does not recognise Israel, could not be reached for comment. Israels flag carrier El Al, excluded from the Saudi route, says its Indian competitor now has an unfair advantage. El Al currently flies four times a week to the Indian city of Mumbai. Those flights take around 7 hours and 40 minutes, following a Red Sea route that swings toward Ethiopia to avoid Saudi airspace. If El Al planes were to fly on to New Delhi, a destination El Al has said it might be interested in, they would require another two hours - and significantly more fuel. Interviewed on Israel's Army Radio, Levin voiced confidence that El Al would eventually be allowed to use Saudi airspace. "You know, they said the Saudis wouldn't let any flight pass. So here, the Saudis are permitting it. It is a process, I think. Ultimately this (El Al overflights) will happen too," he said. Asked if any other foreign airlines might follow Air India by opening routes to Tel Aviv over Saudi Arabia, Levin said he has been in negotiations with Singapore Airlines and a carrier from the Philippines, which he did not name. "They are certainly showing readiness and desire to fly to Israel, and I don't know if they will also receive permission like the Indian airline," he said. Singapore Airlines did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Saudi officials could not immediately be reached. New Delhi: Social activist Anna Hazare began his indefinite hunger strike against the Centre in Delhi on Friday, nearly seven years after his anti-corruption movement caught the imagination of millions of Indians and shook the then UPA government. Before commencing the strike, Hazare paid respects to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat and took on the BJP government over the delay in implementing a competent Lokpal and in giving better support price to farmers. You (government) cancelled trains carrying protesters to Delhi. You want to push them to violence. Police force was deployed for me as well. I wrote in many letters that I don't need any police protection. Your protection won't save me. This sly attitude of the government is not done, news agency ANI quoted Hazare as saying. The venue of Hazares latest protest will be the same iconic Ramlila Maidan, where he had sat on a hunger strike in 2011 demanding that the then government set up a Lokpal to investigate cases of corruption. This time, however, his target is expected to be the Narendra Modi-led BJP government. Hazare has been pressing for setting up of the Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in the states, besides implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report, which has suggested ways to address the agrarian distress. Hazare previously has accused the Union government of not appointing the Lokpal to investigate the cases of corruption, despite having a law in place. The day, March 23, has been chosen on purpose as Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged to death on this day by the British, an aide said. The 2011 anti-graft agitation by Hazare, which aimed at the increasing corruption cases that had surfaced during the UPA rule, had received the support of millions of people across the country. Some of the main organisers behind that anti-corruption movement later formed the Aam Aadmi Party, which now governs Delhi. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was one of Hazare's key aides. The Delhi Traffic Police has issued an advisory warning commuters to avoid taking routes towards Aruna Asaf Ali Road, Delhi Gate, Darya Ganj, New Delhi Railway Station, Ajmeri Gate, Paharganj, ITO, Rajghat, Minto Road, Vivekanand Marg, and JLN Marg. (With PTI inputs) New Delhi: Keep work out of the health ministry, seems to be the working principle of Ayushman Bharats National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM). Union Health Minister JP Nadda on Thursday laid out the Missions details after the Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its go ahead to the insurance-based grand healthcare plan, first announced in the 2018 Union Budget. The minister briefed the press about a national council that he would chair, with the vice chair of NITI Aayog as its vice chair, a governing board chaired by the health secretary and an implementing body, the National Health Protection Agency, headed by a CEO. This CEO, said senior health officials, would be either of the rank of a secretary or additional secretary. The whole structure, said one official, was designed to deliberately not let AB-NHPM work come to the ministry. The government has earmarked Rs 10,000 crore for 2018-19, added Nadda, and it will cover everything, from the 1,347 types of packages being designed for the scheme, to the IT systems set up to run it. All this will be operationalised in April, when the Centre shares its guideline, models of tenders and contracts, and packages, with the states. Systems will be tested in July and the launch depends on these field tests. All states are so far on board, said the ministry, taking their participation in the state consultations held recently as a good sign. States are being baited with portability. One of the officials News18 spoke to, questioned why West Bengal, which had said no NHPM, would refuse when NHPM will allow a beneficiary from Bengal to be treated in Karnataka. NHPM will also expand the number of people covered by Bengals existing scheme and by the RSBY, from 86 lakh families to 1.16 crore families. These officials expect no resistance from states in giving up their pre-existing insurance and health schemes in favour of NHPM. Over time, the ministry will encourage them to shift to a trust based model of NHPM, over an insurance based one, as the former keeps decision making powers in the hands of government authorities, not insurance companies. The whole technocratic structure will work through a QR code given to each family that can be used in any of the hospitals that join the Mission in any state. Families and their QR codes will be decided on the basis of data from the Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC). The data will be updated through the rural development ministrys Gram Swaraj Abhiyan and shared with each gram panchayat. Families living in kutcha houses, families with no adults aged 16 to 59, families with no male adults aged 16-59 are some who will be made beneficiaries; an estimated 8.3 crore rural families and 2.33 crore urban. Though the officials News18 spoke to rubbished rumours of the ministry being less at the helm, as compared to the NITI Aayog, there seems to be a healthy mistrust of bureaucracy and public sector systems among those steering the Mission. NHPM will provide an insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh annually to almost 10 crore families to go to any hospital of their choice among government and empanelled private ones. An official said, It is the public sector that lacks accountability, not the private. I dont know if my doctors are even reaching their clinics. The government isnt banking on marquee corporate hospitals to join. These, estimated the officials, made up only 1.25 percent of all private hospitals, and the smaller ones are likely to come on board. Private hospitals would work happily with the government in this game of volume. By handing over money to people, said these officials, the Mission gives them the power to choose their hospital and convinces private hospitals to join the scheme by sending patients their way in droves. Even if hospitals have to perform procedures or treat patients for amounts less than their rates, theyll compensate by the number of patients theyll receive through NHPM. We are meeting needs by empowering patients to go to hospitals, said Dr. Dinesh Arora, Director, Ayushman Bharat. Weve worked with the supply side for many years pumping money into the NHM, and now were working with the demand side by putting money in peoples hands. Warring with this faith in private facilities is the acknowledged need to pump money into public structures. In the long run, admitted one official, public hospitals will keep costs in check. The money from the scheme then, said this official, wont come to the government, it will stay with hospitals to improve their infrastructure. It is no coincidence, the officials added, that the Cabinet approved the continuation of the National Health Mission (NHM)which looks after the infrastructure and manpower of all public healthcare -- with an allocation of Rs. 85,217 crore the same day. The aim, they said, is to bring public healthcare on a par with private. Dovetailing NHPM and the NHM, according to them, is the way do so. The NHM, incidentally, had incurred the wrath of the NITI Aayog last year. Media reports indicated that the think tank was happy to do away with the programme that is the bulwark of public healthcare in India. Though this is no longer the case, the animosity for such a programme still exists. People are worried about NHPMs Rs 10,000 crore going into the private sector, said one of the officials, ruffled by questions of private sector accountability, but no one ever asks what happened to the money that went into public healthcare. Why arent government hospitals that good yet? Another senior bureaucrat said that private hospitals will need to be monitored through the Clinical Establishments Act, and prices be kept in check through expanding the scope of the National List of Essential Medicines to cap the prices of consumables. Guwahati: A class V student died after being allegedly gang-raped and then set on fire in Assams Nagaon district, 122 km from Guwahati, on Friday. The victim was admitted at the Nagaon Civil hospital on Friday afternoon with 90% burn injuries. She died on the way to the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH). Two of the rape accused have been apprehended while another remains absconding. I went to see her at the hospital. She was in great pain and had difficulty in speaking, said Nagaon SP Shankar Raimedhi. However, we have recorded a dying declaration of the victim, and based on that we have nabbed two accused - they are both juveniles who studied in the same school along with the victim. Operation is underway to nab the third, he added. The crime was committed at the victims house at Lalung Gaon under Nagaons Batadrava constituency. Sources said she was alone at home after returning from school. The three accused led by Zakir Hussain barged into the house, and after raping her, poured kerosene and set her ablaze. The girl was found in a critical condition by one of her family members who saw smoke coming from the shed. She was immediately rushed to hospital by the police team investigating the case. Police further said that all three accused are known acquaintances of the victim from the same village. With inputs from Nilutpal Borah New Delhi: Pakistan wants to sort out "as soon as possible" the issue of alleged harassment of diplomats, its High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood said on Friday and asserted that Islamabad desired "peaceful and good-neighbourly" relations with India. In an address at a reception to mark Pakistan National Day, Mahmood, referring to overall ties between the two countries, said building a future different from the past remains indispensable and hoped that there would be hard reflection by both sides on the "time lost" and the "opportunities missed". Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Gajendra Singh Shekhawat attended the event at the Pakistan embassy which was also joined by diplomats from a number of countries. Some low-ranking leaders from a number of separatist outfits from Kashmir also attended the reception. Mahmood, who came back to India last night, a week after he was called to Islamabad for consultations amid the raging row between India and Pakistan over harassment of diplomats, at a separate event earlier in the day, said such issues affect the relations between the two countries. "I discussed this issue (alleged harassment of Pakistani diplomats in India) with our government. We want to sort out this issue as soon as possible because it affects the relations between the countries," he said. In his brief address at the reception in the evening, the Pakistan envoy said, "I do hope that at this pivotal moment, with India and Pakistan at 70, there would be hard reflection on the time lost, and the opportunities missed." "Building a future different from the past remains indispensable. We owe it to our next generations. We must give them a future of hope and opportunities. I hope we can prove equal to the task and work purposefully to advance the worthy goals of honourable peace, equal security, and shared prosperity," he said. In this context, Mahmood also talked about Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi's communication with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the Republic Day in January where Abbasi had expressed the hope that the years to come would be different from the years gone by. The envoy also said that Pakistan's "endeavours" to fight the scourge of terrorism continue to move "apace, as reflected in the success of operations Zarb-e-Azb and Raad al Fasaad". Mahmood was called back to Islamabad for consultations after alleged incidents of harassment of its diplomatic staff in New Delhi, with the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson claiming the Indian government failed to take notice of the increasing incidents of intimidation of Pakistani diplomats, their families and staff by its intelligence agencies. India and Pakistan have accused each other of harassing diplomats in Islamabad and New Delhi. Mahmood said, "Pakistan desired peaceful and good-neighbourly relations with India on the basis of sovereign equality and mutual respect. It was important to resolve all outstanding issues, including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, peacefully through dialogue." He also said that peace was in the mutual interest of both countries and it could only be achieved through diplomacy and dialogue. Mumbai: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday submitted its reply to the Bombay High Court on safety concerns over all Pratt & Whitney manufactured engines powering Airbus A320neos. DGCA told the court that the engines currently in service in all Airbus A320neos are of the serial number below ESN 450 and are air worthy. In the written reply, a copy of which is available with CNN-News18, DGCA further added that it is closely monitoring the performance of all A320neo engines. This came after the Bombay High Court asked the DGCA to list the steps being taken to check the airworthiness of all Pratt and Whitney 1100 engines that power A320neo aircraft. A bench of Justices Naresh Patil and G S Kulkarni also said that merely grounding some aircraft or following the directive of the European Air Safety Authority (EASA) against the use of P&W 1100 engines belonging to the '450 and beyond' series, was not enough. The court said it was the "duty" of the Union government and the DGCA to ensure that all aircraft were safe for travel and passengers were assured of their safety. "Are you merely relying upon the directive and certification issued by the EASA, or, have you conducted your own study to ensure that all engines, even those that have not been flagged by the EASA, are absolutely safe?" the bench asked. "Your duty does not end merely at grounding some flights. It is also the duty and responsibility of the DGCA and the Union governm to ensure that the people of India feel safe," it added. The ruling came on a PIL was filed by businessman Harish Agarwal that demanded that all engines powering Airbus A320 Neo be grounded Earlier this month, DGCA ordered the grounding of 11 (eight IndiGo and three Go Air) Engines powering Airbus A320neo with ESN above 450 as per the guidelines issued by EASA. In February, IndiGo had grounded 3 Airbus A320neo engines with disputed ESN above 450. IndiGo and DGCA maintain that the Airbus A320neo engines that are in service currently are all of serial number below 450 and are fit to fly. News18 brings to you a special series on the movement led by adivasis, which has spread across hundreds of villages in several states. We will publish a detailed immersive with videos, photographs, illustrations and ground reports from Jharkhand, MP and Odisha, on March 26. Sukharam Mundu starts the days class with Hindi. He begins with the letters, from Ka to Cha, exemplifying their usage with sample sentences. Ka se Kanoon. Adivasiyon ke pass kanoon hai. Kha se Khanij. Khanij sampada adivasiyon ki hai. Ga se Gram Sabha. Gram sabha adivasiyon ki rudi pratha hai. Gha se Ghanti. Ghanti bajane waala brahman budbak hai. Cha se chor. Chacha Nehru choron ka pradhanmantri tha. One by one, all 15 students in his class, come up to the blackboard, and with some prodding from the teacher, read this out. The teacher goes on teach "Ja se Jameen. Sampoorn desh ki jameen adivasiyon ki hai...Ba se Buddhimaan. Adivasi buddhimaan hote hain...Ma se Maalik. Adivasi log Bharat desh ke maalik hain...La se Lootera. Loktantra looteron ka tantra hai...Va se Vote. Vote vyavastha Hinduon ki hai." The students, from as young as 5 to as old as 12, who till last month used to study in various grades in local government schools, are now beginning their education all over again. This is the first standard of the newly devised adivasi school syllabus prescribed by tribal leaders in Khunti, who have declared autonomy from India. The exercise of seeking autonomy from India started around a year ago in this district in Jharkhand through a ceremony called Patthargarhi. Sixty villages in this district alone have done Patthargarhi, which means they dont recognise the government of India anymore, including its institutions like Parliament, legislative assemblies, identification cards and its education system. In other states like Odisha and Madhya Pradesh where Patthargarhi has just started, the tribal leaders are taking inspiration from Khunti and are busy compiling their own syllabi. Both students and teachers are being forced to take these classes. The students have been warned against attending government schools. Those who defy these orders are forced to pay Rs 500 per month as punishment, and those attending the quack schools are asked to pay Rs 50 per month as fees, both of which are huge amounts considering half of Khuntis population is below poverty line. Mundu says he was ordered to leave his job as a teaching assistant with an NGO running free classes for underprivileged children. At the end of February he was handed a few pages, since the syllabus being composed by the autonomous leadership is still not ready, a blackboard and some chalk, and ordered to start teaching in village Udburu from March. How much did you earn as a learning assistance? Rs 5,000 And how much have you been promised here? Actually, they havent told me anything about salary yet. Mundu may be too scared to come out and say how much his fixed Rs 5,000 salary meant to him and what a disaster hes just been pushed to, not to talk about how his culpability in ruining the future of all these children who are devotedly memorising the nonsense hes writing on the blackboard. But he just smiles and looks around and gets back to the blackboard. Now lets start the English class, he tells the students. The notebooks his students are skimming through while their teacher writes a fresh set of alphabets and sentences on board, contain the remains of an education they till recently used to receive. Teachers red ink circling incorrect arithmetic and failed general knowledge quizzes. A se Adivasi. B se Bidesi. C se Chotanagpur kastkaari adhiniyam. D se Dharti. E se Emigran. F se Pita. And so on, which includes "M se Maalik...V se Queen Victoria...X se Xenophobia". Mathematics and science are not taught at these schools since the tribal leadership is still deliberating on their syllabi. While students come one by one reading aloud whats written on the blackboard, Mundu admits that keeping students from standard 5 and standard 1 in the same class is unfair to the seniors but he cant move them around till further orders from the education committee. Three such schools, in Udburu, Jikilata and Uldi, are running in Khunti right now. These schools now have students from over a dozen villages. The government schools and the teachers teaching there have been left with barely any students. In Bhandra, for instance, a teacher deputed to the local government school says that the number of students in her class has dropped from 52 to 8 now. How will we have students when families who have barely enough to eat are fined Rs 500 for sending their children to our schools? There are six schools here in Bhandra and all of them have more teachers than students, says the teacher who did not want to be identified. One of the students in the government school said that he and his brother come to this school secretly. We come only after 10 when most of the villagers are out. Joseph Purti, a tribal leader, who has been organising the exclusionary Patthargarhi movement in Jharkhand and in other states says that the reason theyre not discouraging children from studying in government-run schools is because they teach nothing about adivasi history and their culture. Why should we send our children to government schools? The books they have there dont even mention us. They dont teach our culture, our language. What good is this education to our children if they forget their own roots? Our very existence has been obliterated from the annals of NCERT and CBSE syllabi, Purti says. Tribal leaders in Sundargarh, in Odisha, and Dindori, in Madhya Pradesh agree with Purti. While we arent withdrawing our children from government schools yet, but the government needs to include our history and language in their syllabi. Otherwise we will take over their schools and run them the way we want to, says Baldev Singh Dhurbe, gram pradhan of Devri Kalan village, 90 kms from the nearest city Jabalpur. Patthargarhi happened here five months ago. New Delhi: In the face of stiff pressure from both within the NDA and opposition, government may soon file a review petition in the Supreme Court on the Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe Prevention of Atrocities Act verdict. The decision comes after some ruling party MPs and senior ministers in the government met top BJP leadership seeking immediate intervention in the case. The apex court earlier this week had barred immediate arrest on the registration of the FIR under the act, preliminary enquiry within seven days and introduction of provisions of anticipatory bail. Union Minister and NDA ally Ram Vilas Paswan had on Thursday said that Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe communities in the country are angry and disappointed at Supreme Court's verdict on SC/ST Atrocities Prevention Act. We have discussed this issue within the party. We want government to file an immediate review petition before the Supreme Court," said Pawan in Delhi. The SC/ST Atrocities Act was first passed in 1989 by the Janata Dal government led by VP Singh. Paswan as Social Justice Minister in the government piloted the original bill. Another NDA ally and minister, Ramdas Athawale met Finance minister Arun Jaitely and Amit Shah to express his concerns on the issue in Parliament. Opposition parties led by the Congress on Wednesday had staged a protest in Parliament against the verdict. New Delhi: With a division bench of the Delhi High Court restoring the membership of all 20 Aam Aadmi Party MLAs, citing a violation of the principle of natural justice, the sword of immediate by-elections is no longer hanging over Delhi government now. In January, Election Commission had recommended that 20 Aam Aadmi Party MLAs embroiled in the office of profit be disqualified, the only option left before them was to challenge the EC order in court. However, in August 2017, the Delhi High Court had refused to entertain AAP MLAs' plea for staying EC's order, upholding maintainability of the petition. The ground on which the High Court had quashed the plea was that since EC's proceedings on hearing the central issue of whether the MLAs had indeed held 'office of profit' were yet to begin, there was no scope for a stay. Now, the case has been referred back to the Election Commission and all the issues starting with what constitutes Office of Profit will be heard again. This recommendation were made to the President is under Article 103 (1) of the Constitution. It is well settled that under Article 103 (1) of the Constitution, the President has jurisdiction to decide only such question of disqualification to which a sitting legislator becomes subject after his election. One of the earlier cases of disqualified being sought on account of holding a profit of case was that of Jaswant Singh who was a sitting member of Rajya Sabha, and was also appointed as Special Envoy of the Government of India on 12th June, 1998. The EC had then observed that the allegations relating to the holding of office of profit by Jaswant Singh pertained to the period prior to his election to the Rajya Sabha and, therefore, raised question of pre-election disqualification, if at all. The Commission said that such question of pre-election disqualification could not be raised before the President under Article 103 (1) of the Constitution and the Commission also had no jurisdiction to inquire into such a question. Hence, Singh was not disqualified. Holding an office of profit had also led to Jaya Bachchan's expulsion from the Rajya Sabha, because she was also the chairperson of the Uttar Pradesh Film Development Council, which was deemed to be an office of profit. Article 102 (1)(A) of the Indian Constitution bars an MP or an MLA from holding any office of profit under the Government of India or in any state other than an office declared by the Parliament by law as not disqualifying its holder. There have also been petitions which had earlier been filed for the disqualification of Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee (Chairman of Sriniketan-Santinikatan Development Authority), Union Minister T Subbirami Reddy (Chairman, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam), senior Congress leader Karan Singh (ICCR), nominated Rajya Sabha member Kapila Vatsyayan and V K Malhotra (former president of the All India Council of Sports). However, now in this case with the EC sending a positive recommendation to the president on disqualification of 20 AAP MLAs, the only remedy lies with challenging it in the higher courts. The issue in front of the Election Commission was whether the office of Parliamentary Secretary in the GNCTD, 1991 constitutes an office of profit. Article 191 of the Constitution has not defined what an office of profit is, paving the way to the courts to lay down the law. The entire issue came into existence when on March 13, 2015, the Arvind Kejriwal government passed an order appointing 21 MLAs as parliamentary secretaries. This was challenged by advocate Prashant Patel who petitioned President Pranab Mukherjee on June 19, 2015, that these MLAs were now holding office of profit and should be disqualified. London: An Indian-origin man has been sentenced to 10 months behind bars for beating up his wife during arguments at their home in north-west England. Gurmit Dosanjh had pleaded guilty to two charges of "occasioning actual bodily harm" on wife Sadiya and was sentenced at a hearing at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester this week. The court was told that in the second instance the 46-year-old businessman had used a crutch being carried by his 37-year-old wife as a result of the first assault by him. Judge John Edwards told the accused that he was set to sentence him to 18 months in prison but had been moved to reduce it to 10 following positive character references presented about him. "This was a violation of trust that existed between you and your wife, and the security which she had in her own home. Your behaviour was demeaning it involved kicking and the use on the second occasion of her own crutch which she had courtesy of the first incident. That is why the custodial sentence has to be an immediate one," he said. The court was told that the couple, who run a kitchen company together, had a good relationship over their 10-year marriage but the wife encountered difficulties when her husband had been drinking, Daily Mirror' reports. The court was also told that Gurmit Dosanjh had first assaulted his wife during a petty row over where the couple should take their children for a meal. "He picked up a pole and hit it against her legs and her groin. She left the house with their three children and they spent some time apart," prosecutor Lisa Boocock said. Sadiya, who scored top prize in a popular television cooking show 'Come Dine With Me' a few years ago, was then beaten up again at the couple's luxury farmhouse in Milnrow, near Rochdale, Greater Manchester, last year. She was treated for serious bruising following the second incident and took the decision to end her marriage. "These were sustained assaults on the complainant. On both occasions, he used a weapon, first assaulting with the pole, and then her crutches," Boocock said. Sadiya has since decided the couple should maintain a business relationship in an attempt to keep the family unit together for the sake of their three young children aged between four and eight. "He has identified drink issues that he had and says there was a lack of bereavement counselling after the death of his father They were in a relationship for 10 years. He is a hard working and industrious man," said his lawyer Max Staffman. Gurmit Dosanjh gave no comment during police interviews and had initially denied assault, but later pleaded guilty. New Delhi: A day after India reiterated that Maldives must implement the order passed by its Supreme Court on February 1 that overturned the convictions of political prisoners, the island nation has said that it was an internal matter that should be resolved internally. The Government of Maldives firmly believes that the recent political developments is an internal political matter and therefore should remain as a matter to be resolved internally, the Maldives foreign ministry said. The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday welcomed Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen lifting the state of Emergency after 45 days but also reiterated that the island nation must implement the Maldivian Supreme Courts February 1 order. The February 1 order of the Maldivian Supreme Court overturned the convictions of political prisoners, including that of its exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed. We call upon the Government of the Maldives to restore all Articles of the Constitution, to allow the Supreme Court and other branches of the judiciary to operate in full independence, to promote and support the free and proper functioning of Parliament, to implement the Supreme Court's Full Bench order of 1 February 2018 and to support a genuine political dialogue with all opposition parties, the MEA statement on Thursday said. The Maldivian foreign ministry further said that public statements made without genuine regard to facts and ground realities of the situation in the Maldives are not helpful at all to ensure a stable, peaceful and prosperous Maldives that meets the aspirations of its citizens. At a press conference held in Male earlier this month, Mohammed Shainee, Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture and also chairperson of the all-party talks committee, had said that India must stay away from the political crisis as it was as internal matter. He added that Maldives didnt intervene in the Kashmir matter for the same reason. This is not the first time that the MEA has asked the Maldives to implement the February 1 order. The first time that that Yameen imposed Emergency and after that extended it, MEA had voiced its concerns over the non-implementation of the order. This time around too, it further said that it was important for the Maldivian government to ensure credible restoration of the political process, as well as the rule of law, before the elections are announced this year. Maldives goes to polls later this year in September. Bhopal: A student of the Motilal Vigyan Mahavidyalay (MVM) here was expelled for one year after she termed its teaching staff as "anti-nationals" in her Facebook post. The post was uploaded after MVM authorities denied permission to hold a programme at the college auditorium marking the death of revolutionary Bhagat Singh. Officials said that Asma Khan, a member of the Bhagat Kranti Dal and second year Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) student, was removed from the institute for a period of one year after she uploaded the social media post. "Two groups, the BKD and another students' union (the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad), had sought permission for their respective programmes to mark Bhagat Singh's death anniversary which falls on March 23. After permission was denied to both groups, BKD member Asma Khan called the teachers and professors anti-nationals in a Facebook post," college principal Niraj Agnihotri told PTI. He said the decision to expel Khan for a period of one year was taken by the college's staff council. "She should either withdraw this post or submit an apology for such a comment. It is not acceptable. She also said that the college was patronising anti-national activities," Agnihotri said. He added that instead of apologising, Khan had brought a lawyer and some supporters to "pressurise" the college management. "The student's post went viral on social media. We are not against such events but the college auditorium had been engaged till March 20 for a training programme being conducted by the government. Moreover, there was a possibility that the duration of the training programme could be extended," he said. He said the group could have conducted the programme in any other part of the college campus. Khan, meanwhile, expressed dismay at the college's action and called it hasty. "It is surprising that the college authorities decided to rusticate me for one year on the basis of a Facebook post without issuing me a show-cause notice or following set procedures," she said. She alleged that the action against her was taken under pressure from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) which she claimed was out to "spoil" every activity of the BKD. She said that the post, which was uploaded on March 19, was deleted immediately. "The post didn't name any person. My rights are being ignored," she claimed. New Delhi: The Centre on Friday told the Supreme Court that the NIA, being a special agency to probe national and inter-state terrorism cases, cannot investigate the murder of noted scholar and rationalist M M Kalburgi in 2015 at Dharwad in Karnataka. A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra was hearing the plea of Uma Devi Kalburgi, the widow of the slain scholar, seeking a SIT probe into the sensational murder. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Pinky Anand, appearing for the Centre, referred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act and said the instant offence did not fall under the category of 'Schedule offence' under the law and hence, the probe agency cannot investigate it. The bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, considered the submission of the ASG and ordered listing of the plea in the first week of July. It asked the CBI and the governments of Maharashtra and Karnataka to file their responses in the meantime. 77-year old Kalburgi, the former Vice-Chancellor of Hampi University and a well-known scholar and epigraphist, was shot dead in broad daylight at his residence in Kalyan Nagar in Dharwad, Karnataka, on August 30, 2015. Born in 1938, he was a Sahitya Akademi award-winning writer of old Kannada literature. The top court had on January 10 sought the response of probe agencies NIA and CBI and the two state governments on the allegation of Uma Devi that no substantial investigation has been carried out so far in the murder case. Kalburgi's wife, in her petition filed through advocate Krishna Kumar, has alleged that there was common link between the murder of her husband and that of intellectual activists, Narendra Achyut Dabholkar and Govindrao Pansare, who too were assassinated in August 2013 and February 2015 respectively. Dabholkar was shot at on August 20, 2013 in Pune, while Pansare was killed in Kolhapur in Maharashtra on February 16, 2015. She said the investigations in Dabholkar and Pansare murder cases were in a "sorry state" and no progress has been made in bringing the killers to book. The petition said that in 2016, the then Karnataka Home Minister had in a statement claimed that as per the forensic analysis of cartridges recovered from the three separate crime scenes, the three murders were linked. It alleged that one of the weapons used in the murder of Pansare was used to kill Kalburgi and therefore coordination between Maharashtra police and Karnataka police, besides the CBI and the NIA, was required. "Although sketches of suspects were released after four days of Kalburgi's murder and statement was issued by Karnataka government that conclusive evidence of nexus of murders of all three activists was found, there has been no progress in the investigation till date," the plea has said. Thiruvananthapuram: After uproar over Jouhar Munavvirs remark likening Muslim girl students chests to sliced watermelons on display, Koduvally Police has registered a non-bailable case against the professor. Munavvir, who teaches Social Studies Education in Farook Training College, also admonished the girls for wearing leggings under their purdah which they pull upshowing the leggings to the world. Enraged over his remarks, scores of women students filed a case against him on Thursday. A police officer said that the professor has been booked under section 354 (case of molestation) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult modesty of a woman) of the IPC. Munavvirs statement led to widespread agitation, from college to social media. While some women posted bare-breasted photographs on Facebook in protest, others shared pictures holding sliced watermelon and demanded action against the professors. Some women also protested by sharing bare-breasted photographs on Facebook, which the social media company took down. Others shared photographs carrying sliced watermelon and demanded action against the professor. Students also led a protest march under the banner of Students' Federation of India (SFI) and Kerala Students Union (KSU). Lucknow: With two jailed MLAs being barred from casting their votes in the Rajya Sabha elections on Friday, the battle for 10 Uttar Pradesh seats gets even more exciting as BJP and BSP will now have to rely on cross voting. A day earlier, the Allahabad High Court barred jailed Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislator Mukhtar Ansari and SPs Hari Om Yadav from voting. In such a scenario, where neither BJP nor BSP camp is getting the required number of votes, both the camps will be depending on cross voting of MLAs. It will be interesting to see which MLA goes for cross voting on the floor as the legislators will be required to confirm their vote to the appointed observers by their parties, giving them less scope of voting for the opposite camp. After Special Judge SC/ST gave permission to Ansari to vote in Rajya Sabha polls on March 20, the UP state government challenged the order in Allahabad High Court. Hearing the matter on Thursday, single bench of Justice Rajul Bhargava barred Ansari from voting in Rajya Sabha polls. Also, SP MLA Hari Om Yadav, who is in Firozabad jail, was barred from voting. The order comes as a jolt to Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party at a time when each and every vote matters. Till now, the Samajwadi Party has 47 MLAs, so it can comfortably win one seat, while sparing 10 MLAs to vote. Nitin Agrawal, son of former SP leader Naresh Agrawal who joined BJP, however, will vote for the saffron party. The contest will be between the BJP and the BSP for the last remaining seat. Mayawatis party had 19 MLAs and with SPs support, she will get 28 votes. Ajit Singh's party has offered to back her with its one vote to make up for the loss of Nitin Agrawal. She has also been promised by the Congress that its seven MLAs would vote for the BSP candidate, taking the tally to 36. With Independent MLA from Kunda, Raghuraj Pratap Singh, alias Raja Bhaiyya, likely to support the SP-BSP, Mayawati's candidate has an advantage. However, after two MLAs, one from SP and one from BSP being barred from taking part in the voting, the contest is now all set for a photo finish. A candidate needs the votes of 37 MLAs to go to the Upper House. With 311 MLAs in the UP Assembly, the BJP is assured of eight out of 10 seats. It has fielded a ninth candidate too, for which it has at least 28 votes. But with declared support of Nitin Agarwal (SP) and Vijay Mishra (Nishad Party) the tally for BJP reaches 30 votes, still making it short of 7 votes. One more Independent MLA Amanmani Tripathi, who attended BJPs meeting on the eve of Rajya Sabha polls, also votes for the saffron camp, the BJP candidate would still fall short of 6 votes. The fate of 10 Rajya Sabha members will be decided through voting by MLAs in the Tilak Hall of the UP state assembly. The voting will start from 9am and will continue till 4pm, after which the counting process will start at 5pm and the results will be announced as soon as the counting of votes is completed. Bengaluru: Ignoring opposition from a powerful section of the community, the Karnataka government has gone ahead and accorded religious minority status to Lingayats. The minority welfare department of the state government issued a notification terming Lingayats minorities. The notification clearly states that whoever follows Basava Tatva or Philosophy will be considered a Lingayat. Earlier in the day, a powerful section of the Lingayat and Veerashaiva leaders held an emergency meeting urging the state to withdraw its earlier order and issue a new order adding Veerashaiva to the new religion. But the state government has made no modification to its earlier stand. They had argued that Lingayats and Veerashaivas are one and the same and the state government was misled by some experts about it. A top Congress leader and MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa and his minister S S Mallikarjuna had asked Siddaramaiah government not to divide Lingayats and Veerashaivas. However, the Congress government in state seems to have decided to bite the bullet by going ahead with its earlier order. This notification is likely to escalate the tension within several factions in the community and the government. The government officials feel that adding Veerashaiva word would go against the very purpose of declaring Lingayats a religious minority because the Centre has already rejected that proposal saying that Veershaivas are Shaivaites cant be called a separate religion. The Lingayats are considered politically powerful in the state. Classified as Other Backward Classes, they are considered the single-largest community in the state. Their population is estimated to be anywhere between 11.5 per cent and 19 per cent. Their vote is widely believed to be decisive in nearly half of the 224 Assembly constituencies in Karnataka. Karnataka BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa on Wednesday said the state government's move to grant religious minority status to the Lingayat community was an "election gimmick" and accused Siddaramaiah of dividing people on emotional issues. He also sought to know the need to rake up the issue of minority tag when the UPA government had rejected the separate religious status to Lingayats. "Siddaramaiah is dividing society on emotional issues. There is not just one Lingayat-Veerashaiva...The move to give religion tag to Lingayats is an election gimmick. It is an attempt to mislead people," Yeddyurappa told reporters in Bengaluru. Malappuram: In an apparent case of honour killing, a man allegedly stabbed to death his 21-year old daughter, a day before she was to marry her lover, a Dalit. Police have arrested 42-year-old Rajan, a driver by profession and a resident of Poovathikkandiyil in Kizhuparamb near Areekode for killing his daughter, Athira, at their neighbour's house on Thursday evening. "Rajan had asked his daughter several times to retract from the relationship . However, she stood firm. The preliminary investigation revealed that the murder was not pre-planned and was done in a fit of rage, Sinod, Sun Inspector Areekod said. Athira was in a relation with Brajesh, an army man who belonged to a scheduled caste community from Koyilandi in the neighbouring district Kozhikode. Rajan, an Ezhava, who vehemently opposed the relationship, later conceded her wish following a meeting at the Areekod police station. The couple was set to marry at Saligramam Temple in a simple ceremony on Friday. "Athira's father was not too happy with our union. However, he gave his consent because of police intervention, but frequent quarrels continued over our relationship, " Brajesh told media. On Thursday afternoon, the father and the daughter apparently entered into an argument over the marriage, said the police. Then, Athira left home and took shelter at a neighbours house. However, Rajan who followed his daughter, in an inebriated condition, dragged and stabbed her. She was rushed to a private medical college at Mukkam, where the doctors declared her 'dead on arrival'. New Delhi: A 50-year-old US marine commando was arrested by the SSB from the Indo-Nepal border in Bihar after he was allegedly found roaming in the area in a suspicious manner. David Doohyun Kyung, a United States (US) Marine Corps commando, was apprehended on March 19 night and is being questioned by the sleuths of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), external intelligence agency RAW and local police, an SSB spokesperson said. USD 1,919, a compass and an ID card were seized from Kyung after he was intercepted by Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) troops near the Khouna border post in Jainagar of Madhubani district. Kyung has been handed over to the local police, he said. During preliminary questioning, Kyung said that he was a US citizen and produced a tourist visa for Nepal that will expire on April 12, the spokesperson said. "On detailed questioning by security agencies, including the IB, the RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) and the police, it was found that he had visited India on October 26, 2017, and was asked to leave the country on January 17. "His visa was cancelled and he was deported on January 26," he said. It was not immediately clear as to why Kyung was deported then. The spokesperson said Kyung hails from South Korea, but he migrated to the US in 1998. Kyung claimed that from Delhi he went to South Korea and on March 12, he left that country to visit Nepal, the spokesperson said. "His statements were found contradictory as he had the tickets and boarding pass, but there was no such entry in his passport. "According to him after reaching Nepal he visited the country and he was apprehended by the SSB while he came to visit Janakpur (Nepal) and its nearby village area," the spokesperson said. Security officials said the fact that he was trying to enter into the Indian side late at night, after being deported once from the country, was a "worrying development" and his credentials and motives are now being probed further. The police and intelligence agencies are in the process of obtaining further details about him from the US Embassy in Delhi, they said. US marines are tasked to conduct amphibious operations with the United States Navy. New Delhi: Scotching rumours of his resignation as Uttar Pradesh Congress chief, Raj Babbar said that he has not resigned from the post, but is open to any role given to him. "I don't know from where this rumour started. Changes are bound to happen as a new president has taken over the party. Though, I have not resigned. In any case all of us in Congress are party workers, posts and positions are symbolic," ANI quoted the former actor as saying. Congress leader Pramod Tiwari also claimed the rumours regarding Babbar's resignation to be bogus, saying,"I want to clear the issue. Raj Babbar has not resigned from his post of Uttar Pradesh Congress President." Congress' election campaign in Uttar Pradesh had come under the scanner after its candidates under-performed during the bypolls for Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats. "New arrangements are being worked out in the Congress. Whatever new positions will be given by party president, we will take them up and work towards 2019," Babbar told ANI earlier today. When asked whether the resignation rumours were due to the pressure over Congress' performance, Babbar said, "Whatever I have to say, I will inform it to my party president. The same (Congress' defeat) has been happening and is happening." New Delhi: While Lok Sabha elections may be a year away, the Upper House of Parliament will see an electoral battle in a few hours from now. The elections and counting of votes for 59 Rajya Sabha seats, which fall vacant in April, will take place on Friday. The BJP has 15 Chief Ministers and is a part of the ruling coalition in 21 states. The party plans to make full use of its overwhelming numbers in the Rajya Sabha polls, in which MLAs form the electorate. In August last year, the BJP overtook the Congress to become the single-largest party in the Upper House. Fifty-eight Rajya Sabha seats, in addition to one seat in Kerala which fell vacant last year, will go to polls today. News18 crunched the state-wise numbers, and this is what the Rajya Sabha will look like after Friday. THE FORMULA The value of each MLAs vote is 100. The total number of votes required for a candidate to get elected to the Rajya Sabha is [(Number of MLAs X 100) / (Vacancies + 1)] + 1 Take UP, for instance. The state has 403 MLAs and a total of 10 seats will fall vacant in 2018. So, the number of votes needed is [(403 X 100) / (10+1)] + 1 = 3,664 votes. Since one MLA has 100 votes, a candidate from UP would require the support of at least 37 MLAs to win. Uttar Pradesh (10 vacancies): 10 seats from Uttar Pradesh will be vacant in 2018 and the BJP will be in a comfortable position. A candidate from UP will require the support of 37 MLAs. With 311 MLAs in 403-member assembly, BJP is assured of at least 8 seats. The Samajwadi Party (SP) with its 47 MLAs will be able to send a single member to the Upper House. However, if the factionalism within the SP refuses to die down till next year, the SP faces the risk of losing that position. It may then require the help of its alliance partner Congress (7 MLAs). The Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party (19 MLAs) will not be in a position to elect even a single MLA, even if they were to join forces. In that eventuality, the BJP will walk away with 9 of the 10 vacant seats. However, if the Congress, BSP and both factions of the SP were to come together, they will be able to elect one more combined member to the Rajya Sabha, reducing the BJP to 8 MPs. The BJPs alliance partner, the SBSP, has four seats in the assembly and has indicated that it will vote for an opposition candidate. Bihar (6 vacancies): Six of Bihars 16 seats will go to polls this Friday. The JD (U) has 71 MLAs, the BJP has 53 and the single largest party is the RJD with 80. The total votes required to send a candidate to the Rajya Sabha is 3,472 or support from at least 35 MLAs. The JD (U) and RJD are in a position to elect two members each on their own respective strengths. The BJP can elect just one MP on its own. The Congress (27 MLAs) will be able to elect an MP with the surplus vote of its alliance partner RJD. The battle in Bihar is a balanced one and the NDA and UPA would each win three of the six seats. Maharashtra (6 vacancies): The number of votes required for a candidate to represent Mahrashtra in the RS is 4,115 or the support of at least 42 MLAs. Individually, the BJP can elect 2 MPs and the Shiv Sena can elect one. If the alliance votes together, they can strategically use each others surplus votes to elect a fourth member from the NDA. If the Shiv Sena chooses to break ranks within the alliance, this would open up one seat for a contest. The Congress has just enough numbers (42) to elect one MP while the NCP (41) is one short. Congress will not have any surplus votes left to help the NCP, which may have to depend on smaller parties or independents. West Bengal (5 vacancies): To be elected to the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal, a candidate will require the support of 50 MLAs. The Trinamool Congress has a brute majority in the house and with its 213 MLAs, it will be able to send at least four MPs to the Upper House. The second largest party in the house, the Congress, is far behind the TMC with 42 MLAs. The Congress has 42 MLAs, just short of the required number to elect an MP. It will require the help of either TMCs balance 13 votes or the CPMs 26 MLAs. Madhya Pradesh (5 vacancies): 5 of MPs Rajya Sabha seats will go to polls on Friday and to be elected, a candidate needs support from 39 MLAs. The BJP has nine more votes than the required number to win four out of five seats. The Congress, which has 58 MLAs, can easily drum up the numbers for the fifth seat. Gujarat (4 vacancies): The Gujarat Rajya Sabha election last year, which saw dramatic scenes as senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel just managed to scrape through with a win, is unlikely to be such a close contest this year. After the recently concluded Gujarat Assembly Elections, the Congress has bettered its tally in the house. Four Rajya Sabha seats from Gujarat are up for election this Friday and a candidate requires the support of 37 MLAs. With 78 MLAs, the Congress not only has enough numbers to elect 2 MPs, but it will also have four surplus votes left. The BJP, with 99 MLAs in the house, will have no problem in electing the remaining two seats. The Rajya Sabha battle in Gujarat will be, more or less, a contest of equals. Karnataka (4 vacancies): Before Karnataka heads for elections, the state will see four Rajya Sabha seats heading to polls. A candidate requires the vote of 46 MLAs in the house to get elected. With 124 MLAs, the ruling Congress party will elect 2 MPs and have 32 balance votes left. The BJP (44) is two votes short of the required number but can pull off at least one win with the help of the JD(S) (39). The BJP, JD (S), BSRC, KJP and KMP have 90 MLAs, which is still two votes short of what is required to elect 2 MPs. However, the NDA may be able to pull off a second seat with the help of independents. Andhra Pradesh (3 vacancies): The TDP announced it was breaking away from the BJP-led NDA but in the 175-member Andhra Pradesh assembly, the support of BJPs four MLAs would not have changed the arithmetic anyway. The margin required for a winning RS candidate is 4,376 votes. At least 44 MLAs need to support a candidate for him or her to win. Three seats will be up for grabs on Friday. The TDP, with 102 MLAs, can elect two members. The YSR Congress has 67 MLAs and will be able to win the remaining seat. Odisha (3 vacancies): The Biju Janata Dal has a majority with 118 seats in the Odisha assembly. To win one of the three Rajya Sabha seats from Odisha, a candidate needs the support of 37 MLAs. The BJD has enough votes to win all three seats. Telangana (3 vacancies): Like Odisha and Andhra Pradhesh, Telangana, too, has three vacancies this week. A Candidate requires the support of 90 MLAs to win the election and with 90 MLAs in the state assembly, the ruling TRS has just enough numbers to win all three seats. Rajasthan (3 vacancies): The political battle ahead of the Rajasthan Assembly polls may have heated up, but the BJP will face no problems in the Rajya Sabha elections from the state. 51 votes are needed for a candidate to win and with 159 MLAs, the BJP has more than enough numbers to win all three seats. The party, in fact, has six surplus votes. Jharkhand (2 vacancies): The BJP, with 43 MLAs, has much more than the required 28 votes needed to win one seat. However, it will fail to win the second seat if it just gets the support of its ally AJSU, which has 4 MLAs. The JMM (19) may be able to win the remaining seat if it gets the support of the Congress (7 seats) and the JVM (P) (2). Uttarakhand (1 vacancy): The hill state has a 71-member assembly and a Rajya Sabha hopeful would require 3,551 votes or the support of at least 36 MLAs. This will most likely be a no-contest since the BJP has a thumping majority of 57 MLAs. Chattisgarh (1 vacancy): The number of votes needed to win the one vacant seats from Chattisgarh is 46. With 49 MLAs, the seat looks to be firmly in the BJPs kitty. Himachal Pradesh (1 vacancy): Another state where the BJP is likely to get an easy ride is Himachal Pradesh, where the BJP (44) has far more than the required number of MLAs needed (35) to elect a Rajya Sabha MP. Haryana (1 vacancy): One RS seat will be up for election in Haryana and the number of votes required is 4,501 (46 MLAs). The BJP (47 MLAs) has a wafer-thin majority in the 90-member house and will need to keep its flock together to ensure it wins the Rajya Sabha seat from the northern state. Kerala (1 vacancy): The number of votes needed to win the Kerala Rajya Sabha seat is 71 and the CPM-led alliance, with 90 MLAs in the Kerala Assembly, has more than enough numbers. Noted Bollywood child actor Daisy Irani, who has taken on a wide variety of roles on the matinee with iconic films like Bandish, Ek Hi Raasta and Naya Daur among others, has opened up about being sexually assaulted by her "guardian" when she was six years old. In a tell-all interview with Mumbai Mirror, Daisy revealed that the incident happened when she was shooting Hum Panchhi Ek Dal Ke (1957) in Chennai. Narrating the incident almost after 60 years, Irani said, "The man who did this was supposed to be my guardian. He accompanied me to a film shoot (Hum Panchhi Ek Dal Ke) in Madras. One night in the hotel room he violated me, hit me with a belt and warned me that he would kill me if I ever told anyone about what had happened. She said that her mother had got to know about the incident many years later as "I couldnt dare to tell her about what he had done. Irani also revealed that she experienced unwanted sexual advances from a producer when she was a teenager. When I was 15 or so, she recalls,mother made me wear a sari, padded me up with a new-fangled sponge, and left me alone with producer Mallikchand Kochar, who was planning a film called Mere Huzoor then, at his office. It was all quite hilarious... He joined me on the sofa, and started touching me... I knew what was on his mind. I took out the sponge things and handed them to him. He was furious. Now, why did I do that? Because Ive always seen the funnier side of things. Daisy Irani is the sister of veteran screenwriter Honey Irani (mother of Farhan and Zoya Akhtar) and Menka Irani (mother of Farah and Sajid Khan). Director: Sidharth P Malhotra Cast: Rani Mukerji, Sachin Pilgaonkar, Supriya Pilgaonkar Sidharth P Malhotras Hichki is a film wherein the emotional quotient overrides the inspirational one. Rani makes a comeback after a mothering hiatus of four years with a tale thats heart-warming and dramatic. She plays, Naina Mathur who suffers from Tourette's Syndrome, a neuropsychiatric condition, characterized by motor tics and at least one verbal tic. That's not to say she's hampered or stifled but is instead as bold, brave and buoyant as anyone could be. Hichki recounts the tale of Naina, an aspiring teacher who had faced rejections both in her childhood and in her young professional days because of her Tourette'ss. Early on in the film, an interviewer even suggests her to think of another professional calling as they had never seen a teacher with a speech defect. But unfazed by it all, she continues to strive for a teaching job and soon enough, lands one at the same school in which she had studied as a student. The principal hands her section 9F, a class only created to meet the conditions of the compulsory Right To Education, comprising a total of 14 underprovided children. Naina now has to deliver her best and prove the trustees and teachers doubting her that TS doesnt reduce her potential nor it subtract from her intellect. Among the ones doubting her is Mr Wadia, a snooty arrogant teacher, ably played by Neeraj Kabi. His only idea, or aim perhaps, is to never let the 14 of 9F class students mix-up with the other sections and serve constant reminders of them being municipality garbage. The students rap, smoke and dance during classes and are well enough to have 7 teachers thrown out of the school. Initially, they are upright bullies who have no regards for their teachers come what may. They plan pranks and do everything in their power to make her leave. Nainas problems lie not only in proving her worth to the authorities but in also being accepted by these students, who have so far been kept at bay from the other upscale students of the school. She instantly connects to the students as she herself has faced a host of prejudices all her life but while her syndrome is psychiatric, her students Tourette is socio-economical and more so, psychological. She now bears the responsibility to carve an accountable group of students from the notoriety shes been handed over and to channelize their energies in the right direction. Naina steers clear implying her unconventional teaching methods and a positive approach as life keeps on throwing one hurdle after another. Rani Mukerji as Naina is a ray of hope in a world that is often too dim. She plays her differently-abled character sensitively and makes it clear in the beginning that she isnt looking for sympathy but only seeking equal opportunities. That Rani is a fine actor we know, and while the film rests heavily on her shoulders and she delivers her best, Hichki somehow fails to weave magic to its full potential. If the first few minutes of the film deals with setting the light-hearted subject of TS, the next few slip away as the narrative becomes overtly dramatic in the face of Naina standing up for her students and taking on the schools ideology. The student-teacher bonding instances, however, make for some of the most heart-warming moments in the film. Notably, the transformation of Nainas rebel student Aatish, played skillfully by Harsh Mayar, just by her kindness and actions. Other student characters too appear to be full of meat but bear the brunt of not enough characterization in the film just like Nainas family moments - which too demand attention, but dont get enough screen time. Apart from Ranis soul-lifting performance, the film is impressive on two accounts- one that it urges viewers to look past Nainas defects and turns to portray her as a normal woman who has other school-related issues to get through, and second, it deals with the subjects in its hands sensitively. Despite the above mentioned noteworthy things, Hichki remains an incomplete attempt at narrating a tale. The film has been adapted from the Hollywood classic Front Of The Class, which itself was based on the book Front Of The Class: How Tourette Made Me The Teacher I Never Had by Brad Cohen. But like the Bollywoods regular dramatic genre, this one too loses out to being overtly emotional towards the end. And more so, it continues to feel less detailed and unimportant questions like why are there only two teachers, why do we only see 9th standard throughout- begin to pop up. So while Rani strikes the right chord and gets the intricacies of her hiccups right, the film doesnt elevate much from its hiccups and remains only partly engaging. As much as Rs 371 crore was misappropriated in the Rs 1,300 crore Pattiseema lift irrigation scheme in Andhra Pradesh, if the freshly divorced state unit of the BJP is to be believed. The project, which was completed in 2016, links Godavari with Krishna river water. It takes 80 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of Godavari water from Pattiseema in West Godavari district to Krishna river, upstream of Prakasam barrage in Vijayawada. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government's claim is that the project will irrigate seven lakh acres in Krishna delta and also fields in parched Rayalaseema. It is a project Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is extremely proud of, and the BJP charge is intended to embarrass the Andhra CM. The BJP has asked for a probe by the CBI or a sitting judge of the Hyderabad High Court. Among those firing on all cylinders is Manikyala Rao, who was Endowments Minister in Naidu's cabinet till the other day. Rao was part of the team that approved all decisions, says the TDP, pointing out that this proves the allegations are politically coloured. Wearing a self-certified copy of honesty on his sleeve, Naidu uses his daily morning teleconference with select senior leaders to wonder how he was an honest politician so long as he was in the BJP's company and has turned dishonest after parting ways. If there is one word that sums up the TDP mood after it decided to pull out of the NDA, it is anxiety. At least some of its senior leaders expected that there will be some overtures made by the BJP, reaching out to Naidu, asking him to reconsider. There was none of that. Making matters worse were sharp barbs from New Delhi. While Union Minister Piyush Goyal said there was no development in Andhra despite monetary help from the Centre, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav alluded to the coup in 1995 in which Naidu overthrew his father-in-law, the late NT Rama Rao, insinuating that Naidu is known for backstabbing. It is obvious the calibrated pressure tactics mounted by the TDP made no difference to the BJP, whose leadership, it seemed from their reaction, was not bothered about whether the regional party stayed or walked out. The manner in which the no-trust vote has been scuttled every day in the Lok Sabha has convinced the TDP that the BJP's bag of tricks is just unfolding in Andhra Pradesh. And it is doing all it can to spread the word that the TDP will be targeted for walking out. So that when the time comes, it becomes easy to wear the halo of a martyr, with an I-told-you-so narrative. Naidu has warned his colleagues to be wary of cases booked against him, his son Nara Lokesh and other ministers. Making a connection between YSR Congress MP Vijay Sai Reddy's frequent meetings with the PM and Reddy's claim that he would continue to meet Modi till Naidu was dragged to court, the Andhra CM smells a rat. Actor Pawan Kalyan has fired the first salvo, alleging that Lokesh was involved in corruption cases. This, the TDP suspects, is done at the behest of the BJP. Opening up another front, Naidu has made a call for demonetisation Part-2, asking the Centre to ban Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes. When Narendra Modi announced demonetisation in November 2016, declaring old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes as illegal tender, Naidu took credit for the idea. Now, after snapping ties, Naidu wants to convey the impression that other parties may push in high denomination notes into Andhra to buy votes. The other fear is that pressure will be put on potential investors to move out of Andhra to BJP-ruled states, preferably Gujarat. This, the TDP fears, will be done to cripple the Andhra economy. Into the mix comes a Tollywood-ish conspiracy theory put out by Telugu actor Sivaji. Making a presentation to the media in Vijayawada on Thursday, Sivaji alleged that a national party with the help of a regional party in Andhra and a popular film actor is planning to corner and finish off the party in power. Though he named no one, it is obvious whom he was referring to. He concluded by saying that after the job is done in 2019, the film actor will get a berth in the Union cabinet for his efforts, the regional party leader will be sent to jail and a Telugu BJP leader will become CM. Given the pro-ruling party tilt in the narrative, there is little credibility associated with the juicy prognosis. But it gives a sense of how political parties are throwing in everything they can into the mix. What will also worry the TDP is the manner in which it has let the opposition YSR Congress and Pawan Kalyan set the agenda. If last week Naidu copied their plan to give a no-confidence notice, this week saw him being forced to extend moral support to their plan to block the national highways passing through Andhra for four hours. With a year to go for elections, playing catch-up is hardly going to give the ruling party any confidence. (Author is a senior journalist. Views are personal) Bengaluru: "We need to resist," Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah tweeted out to all chief ministers of South Indian states early on Friday morning. Over the last week, the rumblings from South India have been growing over the devolution of taxes from the Centre. It started with Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu telling his state assembly that tax revenues from the South are getting diverted to the North. There is nothing called Centres or States money. It is the taxpayers money. Southern states contribute the maximum tax revenue to the Centre but they are diverting the money to the development of the North, said Naidu. The main bone of contention is the Centres latest proposal where the 15th Finance Commission, formed in November last year and tasked with deciding how taxes are to be shared/devolved between different states, has been told to use the 2011 Census data as its parameter. This new framework is being used instead of the 1971 Census used so far this will further affect the interests of the South, Siddaramaiah said. Between 1971 and 2011, the population growth in the South has been controlled to a large extent, while the numbers in the North have been growing unabated. Therefore, if population is the means of deciding redistribution of the revenues, southern states will end up getting a raw deal merely because they have progressed so well on different factors, including that of population control measures. Siddaramaiah told News18 that Karnataka contributes nearly 10 percent of the overall Central revenue, yet the state gets back only five percent of the redistributed funds. I endorse the opinion of the Andhra CM. Karnataka contributes 9.56 percent to the overall Centre in revenues but it gets back just around 4.5 percent, he said, adding that the South was being wronged. The anger against the Centre has been growing for another reason. Nearly every time a central BJP leader, including Prime Minister Modi or BJP president Amit Shah, visits a southern state, they talk about the largesse with which they have allocated money to the south. They then go on to claim that the money has been misused or under-utilised because of incompetent state governments. In Karnataka, the BJP leaders have addressed rallies asking the Congress give accounts of the funds. While the Siddaramaiah-led government has rebutted this with statistics and accounts, other southern states have joined in the chorus to hit back at the BJP for making it sound like they were doing a favour by allocating the funds. No wonder then that Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao remarked wryly last week, The Centre earned Rs 50,013 crore in taxes from us the last fiscal ending 2017. It gave back only Rs 24,561 under all their schemes. Amit Shah should know that it is Telangana which gave Rs 25,452 to the Centre. Terming the Centres move as the incorrect spirit of federalism, Kerala finance minister TM Thomas Isaac said, The move is not in the right spirit of federalism. It will further weaken the federal structure of India and worsen the Centre-State fiscal imbalance. The southern states have followed the national family planning policy, yet our share is going down. Kerala is going to significantly lose out. We are being penalised for successfully implementing a national programme. DMKs MK Stalin wrote to ten chief ministers from around the country against the terms of reference that the 15th Finance Commission will use, specifically, the issue of basing its tax-share on the 2011 Census. He even went so far as to say that he may even support a Dravida Naadu (Separate State of the South). DMKs spokesperson Manu Sundaram says its not as if the South is against the development of the northern states. The five southern states and Pondicherry contribute a great deal to the central revenue. We do realise we have a responsibility to help other states which are not doing well. What the southern states are demanding is a greater say in how these taxes are spent and given back to us. The allocation definition and ratios have changed much to the disadvantage of the South, he told News18. WHAT COULD THIS REVENUE BE USED FOR? Last April, when farmers in Tamil Nadu witnessed a drought that broke 100-year records, farmers association had angrily posed this question to the Centre why is it that the UP government, which is utilising central funds, announcing farm loan waivers, while the TN government cannot do the same? Farmers felt that if there was even a two to five percent increase in the Centres allocation of funds, the loans could have been at least been waived partially. Tamil Nadu cross-subsidising UP farmers at the cost of their own farmers committing suicide was not something that pleased them. Siddaramaiah has said last week that historically the South has been subsidising the North but the population control efforts that have succeeded in the region should not be held against them. Six states contribute more taxes and get less back. For every rupee of tax contributed by UP, the state receives Rs 1.79. In the same place, for every rupee Karnataka contributes, it only receives 0.47 paise. While I recognise the need for correcting regional imbalances, where is the reward for development? For how long can we keep incentivising population growth (which seems to be indicated by the greater allocation to north)? he asked. Chairperson of the Centre for Public Policy at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, Prof MV Rajeev Gowda, who is also Congress MP from Karnataka, feels that the 15th Finance Commission has an opportunity to address all issues where the states are feeling they are getting a raw deal. There are formulas to be worked out to correct such balances, and the Commission must pay heed to the southern concern. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have been growing rapidly. The imbalance has been present long before that. I am sure an appropriate solution can be worked out and the fact that these southern states are making this demand, it's a timely reminder that resource allocation need to be examined as a priority, Prof Gowda told News18. The chorus has only been growing louder with every passing week. Almost every day, there is a disgruntlement expressed from one or the other of the southern states that their concern are not being heard. Bhopal: Jolted by twin losses in recent by-polls, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is trying to make up ground ahead of the crucial assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh due later this year, sources said. To start with, Chouhan announced to include garlic in Bhavantar Bhugtan scheme recently. The move was aimed at wooing back Patidars as garlic is the primary crop in Malwa-Nimar region dominated by the community. There is bad blood between Patidars and Chouhan after five farmers were killed when police opened fire during the agitation in Mandsaur in June 2017. A few days ago, he had addressed senior police officers of the state in a video conference, making it clear to them that deterioration in law and order wont be accepted and directed them to prevent crimes against women at any cost. He even threatened to remove Superintendents of Police and Inspectors Generals, in case they fail to check atrocities against women. Following his orders, police across the state have initiated stringent action against rowdies who target women. Chouhan has also urged public to complain against those bureaucrats who are not attentive in resolving their grievances. As part of his endevours to woo tribal vote bank and rural masses, he on Thursday sanctioned the grant of 57 crore to be doled out to village panchayats for purchasing musical instruments including dhol, majira and so on through the Department of Culture. The state government said that the move was to spread happiness among the rural masses. For accommodate disgruntled party colleagues, Chouhan is expected to expand his cabinet once again to include two MLAs from Indoreone each from BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya camp and another from his rival group led by Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan. Besides, Gopilal Jatav, whose name was dropped during last cabinet expansion due to model code of conduct, could also find spot in the cabinet. Sources said Chouhan is trying to seek support of both Vijayvargiya and Mahajan who are both big of Bharatiya Janata Party in Madhya Pradesh. He also inaugurated Friends of MP web portal on Thursday. The group is a platform for connecting distinguished residents of MP based outside the state to encourage them to contribute to the progress of the state. As part of his efforts to gain momentum in governance, Chouhan toured New Delhi on Friday, calling upon senior ministers including Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, and Suresh Prabhu along with others to discuss developmental issues of the state. Sources said that Congress, by winning both Kolaras and Mungaoli Assembly constituencies in the bypoll, has not only recorded moral victory over Chouhan who led from the front in these polls but also forced him to plug loopholes in governance, policing and caste equations. Bengaluru: Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah has hit out at the central government and accused it of furthering the North-South divide. "Center asks 15th FC to use 2011 Census data instead of 1971 Census used so far to determine devolution of taxes. This will further affect the interests of the south:we need to resist," tweeted the Congress leader, while tagging the chief ministers of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra, and Puducherry. Siddaramaiah was referring to the Financial Commission, a unit which every five years decides how tax revenue will be divided among various states. Center asks 15th FC to use 2011 census data instead of 1971 census used so far to determine devolution of taxes. This will further affect the interests of the south:we need to resist. @CMOKerala @CMOTamilNadu @ncbn @TelanganaCMO @Dev_Fadnavis @CMPuducherry https://t.co/6EoDp0xClh Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) March 23, 2018 One of the criteria used to allocate the funds is Population Census of 1971. The latest commission, though, has been asked by the Narendra Modi-led government to start considering the Census of 2011. Therefore, due to the higher rate of population growth, states in northern India would become entitled to a bigger share of the pie. The previous commission introduced that idea in a small way for the first time. It gave a weightage of 10 percent for Census 2011 data and resulted in hurting states like Tamil Nadu that had seen slower growth in population as compared to states like Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. The commissions head, NK Singh, reasoned that the terms of reference of the 15th Finance Commission provide for incentives to states that have seen controlled population growth and so it balances out the concerns. The 15th Finance Commission has been asked to submit its report by the end of October 2019. Its recommendations would be valid for five year period beginning April 1, 2020. Singh said the panel would hold wide-ranging consultations with all stakeholders and would tour all the states beginning with Arunachal Pradesh in April, followed by a trip to Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala. It intends to complete the consultations with the states within 2018. This is the first Commission after the abolition of the Planning Commission as well as doing away with the distinction of plan and non-plan expenditure. Also, it will be the first one after the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which has subsumed 17 indirect taxes of Centre and state including excise duty, service tax and VAT. Officials in the Commission said the panel has no say in fixing the Terms of Reference and it is expected to adhere to the guideline given by the government. "We have no say in fixing of terms of reference but we are expected to adhere to the ToRs," an official said." Thiruvananthapuram: Keralas finance minister Thomas Isaac has called for a meeting of finance ministers of all southern states on April 10 over growing rumbles of tax revenues being diverted for the development of north Indian states. Isaac said that he has written to finance ministers and finance secretaries of all the states, and said that they have in principal agreed to attend the meeting. They are yet to send official acceptance letters though. I also spoke to all of them over the phone. We will discuss what needs to be done, he said. The escalation in friction over division of funds comes after the central government's recommendation to the 15th Finance Commission of using population data from the 2011 Census, instead of the 1971 Census, for distribution of central tax revenues. Isaac said that all southern states are highly critical of the terms of reference. It is not in the right spirit of federalism. It will further weaken the federal structure of India and worsen Centre-State fiscal imbalance, he said. The minister said that he was particularly upset about the use of population from 2011 instead of 1971. He said that this would punish states that are following the national family planning policies and have controlled population growth. The states have followed national policy in family planning have significantly decelerated population growth. Share of southern states in overall population has also gone down. We should not pay the price for successfully implementing a national programme, he added. His comments come just hours after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah tweeted "We need to resist" to all chief ministers of southern states. Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu was the first to rake up the issue. There is nothing called Centres or States money. It is the taxpayers money. Southern states contribute the maximum tax revenue to the Centre but they are diverting the money to the development of the North, said Naidu. Siddaramaiah told News18 that Karnataka contributes nearly 10 percent of the overall Central revenue, yet the state gets back only five percent of the redistributed funds. I endorse the opinion of the Andhra CM. Karnataka contributes 9.56 percent to the overall Centre in revenues but it gets back just around 4.5 percent, he said, adding that the South was being wronged. New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi launched a fresh attack against the BJP claiming that the ruling party's "lying factory" is at work in spinning "fake news" about the Grand Old Party's links to Cambridge Analytica (CA). "BJP lying factory at work: Journalist set to break big story on how Cambridge Analytica (CA) was paid to infiltrate and sabotage the Congress in 2012. BJP rushes Cabinet Minister to lie and spin fake news: Congress worked with CA! Real story vanishes (sic)," tweeted Gandhi. BJP lying factory at work: Journalist set to break big story on how Cambridge Analytica (CA) was paid to infiltrate and sabotage the Congress in 2012. BJP rushes Cabinet Minister to lie and spin fake news:Congress worked with CA!Real story vanishes.https://t.co/zMX7VJAAfa Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 23, 2018 The leader, on Thursday, had accused the government of inventing the story to divert attention from the deaths of 39 Indians kidnapped by ISIS in Mosul, Iraq. Thursday was Gandhis first reaction on the data leaks, but his party spent the better part of Wednesday firefighting allegations from the ruling BJP over private firm Cambridge Analytica. The BJP accused the Grand Old Party of "data theft" to woo voters ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The Congress hit back, alleging that the "BJP's factory of fake news has produced one more fake product" and accused it of hiring the firm's services in several elections, including in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The trading of charges between the two parties came following the Facebook's admission last week that Cambridge Analytica used data that had been collected from 50 million users without their consent, an act of breach of privacy. BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, also the Union law and information technology minister, cited several media reports which said the company would work for Rahul Gandhi ahead of the next Lok Sabha polls and asked how many times Gandhi had met Cambridge's now sacked CEO Alexander Nix. Claiming that the illegal use of people's data from social media could turn out to be the Congress' "biggest scam", BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said the government would launch a probe into the matter. "Stealing data from social media is your (Congress) weapon. Cambridge Analytica is now Congress Analytica," Patra alleged. Rejecting the allegations categorically, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said neither his party nor its president has used and hired the services of Cambridge Analytica. "The BJP's factory of fake news has produced one more fake product today. It appears that fake press conferences, fake agendas and fake spins and fake statements have become the everyday character of the BJP and its 'lawless' Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad," he told reporters. Claiming that Cambridge Analytica and another Indian firm OBI, run by the son of a NDA leader, complement each other's businesses, Surjewala said their achievements include managing four election campaigns successfully for the ruling BJP. He claimed that Cambridge's local partner OBI talked of having achieved 'target 272+' (in 2014), providing constituency-wise database to BJP candidates and of extending support to it in national elections and state polls in Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Delhi. In the midst of the data breach revelations, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has admitted that his company made mistakes on user data secrecy and vowed to take steps to prevent the misuse or breach of personal data. Facebook, he said, was committed to prevent meddling in elections in India and Brazil. LIVE NOW auto-refresh LIVE NOW Rajya Sabha Election Result LIVE Updates: BJP Wins 9 Seats in UP Prestige Battle, Exacts Revenge on SP-BSP for Bypoll Loss JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy wants Rajya Sabha elections cancelled in Karnataka, alleging that the Returning Officer favoured the ruling Congress and that two MLAs from the grand old party cross-voted for the BJP. News18.com | March 23, 2018, 23:20 IST Thiruvananthapuram: A senior CPI(M) leader from Kerala has said that the party would even vote for the Congress if it would lead to a defeat for the BJP in the next general elections. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, CPI(M)s state secretary, said that the party would only contest from 100-150 seats in 2019 and would join hands with other regional parties. In all the remaining seats we will identify the candidate who can defeat the BJP and the CPI(M) will vote for such candidates. It could be the SP, the BSP or other regional parties. Even if it is the Congress, we will vote for the Congress to oust the BJP," he said at a party function in Kasargode district of Kerala. The stand espoused by Balakrishnan is contrary to what was decided by the CPI(M)s central committee at an internal election held in January. It was decided that CPI(M) would not join hands with the Congress to take on the BJP in any forthcoming election, including the 2019 general elections. The Bengal faction led by general secretary Sitaram Yechury had been trumped by the Kerala faction, led by his predecessor Prakash Karat. The draft resolution adopted in January still has to be formally adopted by the CPI(M)s party congress, which is scheduled to take place in Hyderabad in April. The Lefts crushing defeat in its bastion Tripura earlier this month had reopened the debate, with a large section hoping that there could be an understanding in view of the changing political realities. Balakrishnans statement, therefore, could be a sign of the shifting stand on the subject. Politburo member and senior leader MA Baby echoed the state secretarys stance. Our line is to fight BJP communalism by the left and democratic forces, in absence of which we plan to identify non-Congress secular regional forces. If in any constituency only a Congress candidate has the possibility to fight and defeat the BJP or its allies, we won't hesitate to vote even for the Congress," he said. Although the BJP has historically had a marginal presence in Kerala, it has ramped up its efforts take on the Left. Party chief Amit Shah has made trips and held rallies to drum up support in the southern state that has traditionally oscillated between the Left and the Congress. BJP leaders seemed unperturbed by Balakrishnans statement, stating that Left should start the tie-up from Kerala itself if it so fancied. CPI(M) should start the alliances in places where they have chances of getting some votes. Let them start in Kerala itself. All these won't make any change to the ground realities," he said. Bengaluru: Rajya Sabha election to four seats from Karnataka has ended the debate on whether the Congress and JD(S) would join hands after the Assembly polls in case of a hung verdict. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has rejected JD(S) request for the fourth seat, forcing an election to the Upper House of Parliament on Friday. The Congress has fielded three candidates, while the BJP and JD(S) have fielded one each. The current strength of the 224-member Assembly is 217. There are seven vacancies. The ruling Congress has 123 MLAs in the House and can easily win two seats. The main opposition BJP can win one seat. For the fourth seat, the Congress and JD(S) have locked the horns. Each nominee requires a minimum of 45 votes to sail through. The JD(S) has once again fielded a business tycoon from Mangalore, BM Farooq, as its candidate. He had lost the 2016 Rajya Sabha election to the Congress third candidate KC Ramamurthy. He has declared an income of over Rs 800 crore. Saying a firm no to JD(S) state chief HD Kumaraswamys request for one seat, Siddaramaiah has fielded a Vokkaliga Congressman, GC Chandrashekhar. Playing the Kannada card, Siddaramaiah had rejected party high command nominees Sam Pitroda and Janardhana Dwivedis candidature from Karnataka. The Congress has fielded three Kannadigas with no big backing in this election. AICC spokesman Syed Nasser Hussain, Dalit poet L Hanumanthaiah and KPCC general secretary GC Chandrashekhar are in the fray from the Congress. Despite opposition from many quarters, the BJP has decided to go ahead with its nominee, another businessman, Rajeev Chandrashekhar. He has already won Rajya Sabha election from Karnataka as an Independent twice. The BJP has 42 votes and is hoping to get five extra votes to ensure his victory. The JD(S) is left with just 30 votes after its seven MLAs went with the Congress and two others switched sides to the BJP. One JD(S) MLA died recently. After electing two candidates, the Congress will be left with 31 extra votes. It is hoping to get seven JD(S) MLAs to ensure the victory of its candidate. The JD(S) has already issued a whip to all its MLAs, including those who have defected to the Congress and the BJP. The Speaker of the Assembly, KB Koliwad, has not taken any decision on their fate despite the intervention of the Karnataka High Court. Cambridge Analytica, which is at the center of a controversy over harvested personal data about Facebook users, released a timeline highlighting its relationship with Global Science Research (GSR) and whistleblower Christopher Wylie. Aleksandr Kogan, who runs GSR, designed a personality quiz that was taken by a few hundred thousand people but the app on which it ran also collected details about all of their Facebook 'friends' without their knowledge or consent. That data was then used in a targeted digital ad campaign in support of Donald Trump's successful run for the U.S. presidency, Cambridge Analytica's CEO Alexander Nix told an undercover reporter from Britain's Channel Four news.Cambridge Analytica's timeline also revealed contractual and legal agreements made in the name of its associated entity, SCL Elections. Also read: Facebook Data Row: After Political Storm, Ovleno Director Removes Reference of Managing Elections for BJP Here's the timeline of events as shared by an official press release of Cambridge Analytica: August, 2013 Christopher Wylie begins part-time at SCL Elections. May, 2014 Starts a research project with GSR. July, 2014 Wylie stops working with company. Late 2014 Legal action against Wylie for breach of contract and potential intellectual property theft. Also read: Facebook-Cambridge Analytica Data Leak: How The Scam Has Shaken The Politics Worldwide August, 2015 Wylie signs legal document to say he holds no company material. December, 2015 - The Guardian reports GSR data was in breach of Facebook's terms of service, and potentially the Data Protection Act. - Facebook contacts companies to understand the data and asks to delete it. July, 2016 GSR seeks to verify company has deleted all of their data. August, 2016 Takes legal action against GSR for licensing illegally acquired data. Also read: Facebook Data Breach: If Germany and Brazil Can, What Stops India From Summoning Social Media Giant? November, 2016 Reaches a settlement with GSR. March, 2017 - Completes an internal audit to confirm all GSR data (including all derivatives and backups) have been deleted. Certifies to Facebook that company holds no data from GSR. - Britain's Information Commission (ICO) officials visit company's London office. September, 2017 ICO writes to Cambridge Analytica about processing data on U.S. nationals in the UK. October, 2017 ICO writes to Cambridge Analytica about alleged work on the Brexit campaign. Also read: Facebook Data Breach: Mark Zuckerberg Accepts Mistake; Here's What He Has to Say 2018 - ICO requests access to company's systems, says a whistleblower informed company still holds GSR data. Reiterates company deleted all GSR data and certified it to Facebook; offers to share all information on interactions with GSR. - Facebook suspends Cambridge Analytica and SCL's accounts, pending further investigation. WATCH VIDEO: Samsung Flip First Look | Convert Any Space Into Smart Meeting Room Facebook came under further pressure from lawmakers, investors, advertisers and users on Thursday, the day after Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg admitted the social media network made mistakes in letting 50 million users' data get into the hands of political consultancy Cambridge Analytica. U.S. lawmakers demanded Zuckerberg personally testify in Washington to explain his company's actions. Also Read: Facebook Data Breach: If Germany and Brazil Can, What Stops India From Summoning Social Media Giant? Meanwhile, advertisers Mozilla and Commerzbank suspended ads on the service and the hashtag #DeleteFacebook remained popular online, although it was hard to tell how many users are abandoning Facebook. In light of those concerns, investors continued to sell off Facebook shares, although not at the pace of earlier in the week. They closed on Thursday at $164.89, down 2.7 percent. The S&P 500 Index was down 2.5 percent on the day. Facebook shares closed at $185.09 on Friday. The company has lost more than $50 billion in market value since allegations this week that Cambridge Analytica improperly accessed data to build profiles on American voters and influence the 2016 presidential election. Five days after the scandal broke, Zuckerberg apologised on Wednesday for mistakes his company made and promised to restrict developers' access to user information as part of a plan to protect privacy. Also Read: FB Data Row: After Political Storm, Ovleno Director Removes Reference of Managing Elections for BJP On Thursday, Facebook executives were still saying sorry. "We know this is an issue of trust. We know this is a critical moment for our company, for the service we provide," Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said in an interview broadcast on CNBC. Zuckerberg's apology and promises were not enough to ease political pressure on the world's largest social media company. "It shouldn't be for a company to decide what is the appropriate balance between privacy and innovation and use of data. Those rules should be set by society as a whole and so by parliament," British minister for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Matt Hancock, told BBC Radio. Zuckerberg's media rounds did little to satisfy Washington lawmakers in either political party who have demanded this week that the 33-year-old billionaire testify before Congress. Also Read: Zuckerberg Sold More Facebook Shares in The Last Three Months Than Any Other Insider Sales The Republican chairman and top Democrat of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee said they will in coming days formally ask Zuckerberg to testify. The request came a day after company executives briefed committee aides for nearly two hours and left with a list of at least 60 questions they were unable to answer, two aides said. Zuckerberg said in media interviews on Thursday he would be willing to testify if he is the right person at the company to speak to lawmakers. "My message to Mark Zuckerberg is you are right person. There's no question you are the right person," Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, told reporters after Facebook executives briefed Senate staff on Thursday. Facebook said it had no comment beyond what Zuckerberg had already said. Executives also briefed another House committee on Thursday, and while they answered questions about Cambridge Analytica they were unprepared to address broader questions about Facebook's privacy policies, according to a staffer who was present. REPUTATIONAL COSTS Wall Street analysts expressed relief that there were no signs so far of a fundamental shift in the company's advertising-driven revenue model, but some said there would be costs to shore up its reputation. Facebook, with more than 2 billion monthly active users, made almost all its $40.6 billion in revenue last year from advertising. Sandberg said Facebook's priority was restoring users' trust, even if that meant accepting regulation of the data that is central to its ad business, and she said the company was "massively ramping hiring." Several analysts cut price targets. Technology stocks have fallen along with Facebook this week as investors worried about tighter scrutiny of global platforms like Alphabet's Google, Twitter and Snapchat. Also Read: Facebook Data Breach: Mark Zuckerberg Accepts Mistake; Here's What He Has to Say Analysts said Zuckerberg's promises to investigate thousands of apps, and to give members a tool that lets them turn off access, would not substantially reduce advertisers' ability to use Facebook data - the company's lifeblood. Nevertheless, open-source browser and app developer Mozilla said it was "pressing pause" on its Facebook advertising after the revelations prompted it to take a closer look at the site's default privacy settings. "We found that its current default settings leave access open to a lot of data particularly with respect to settings for third-party apps," Mozilla said in a blog post. British advertising group ISBA, which represents thousands of brands, threatened to withdraw ads if investigations show data has been misused. "We think this issue is more likely to snowball than recede and that advertisers are reaching a tipping point at which spending on not only Facebook and other online platforms, is re-evaluated," brokerage Liberum said in a note. But Sharon Rowlands, president of USA Today Network Marketing Solutions, said it was unlikely a flood of brands would stop advertising on Facebook because of its powerful targeting tools. "The challenge is that the platform performs," Rowlands said. Also Watch: Samsung Flip First Look | Convert Any Space Into Smart Meeting Room New Delhi: After the website of Ovleno Business Intelligence (OBI) was suspended, its director Himanshu Sharma has updated his LinkedIn profile to omit any references of him "successfully managing election campaigns for the BJP". This comes after the Congress, in media reports, claimed that the BJP had used the services of Cambridge Analytica (via OBI) and showed the public LinkedIn profile of Sharma. OBI is the Indian arm of Cambridge Analytica, the firm that is at the centre of the row over illegal mining of Facebook data to influence elections. A screenshot of OBI director Himanshu Sharma's LinkedIN profile before the Facebook data breach was revealed. Sharma had earlier mentioned in his LinkedIn page that he had managed four election campaigns successfully for the ruling party BJP. His profile earlier read, Achieved target of Mission 272+ by managing Call Centre Management Project- profiling of each and every volunteer/ supporter who had extended his/her support to get involved in our Mission 272+ just by giving missed call, sms or whatsapp to our single nationwide toll free number 07820078200. Confidentially maintaining the database- Database to be provided constituency wise to BJP Candidate as an additional support for national elections and state elections of Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Delhi. Also read: Facebook Data Breach: If Germany and Brazil Can, What Stops India From Summoning Social Media Giant? So, what did this toll free number- 07820078200- do that was mentioned in Sharma's profile? According to a press release issued back on February 2014, this toll free number was launched as the 'NamoNumber initiative as a part of India272+, the Volunteering Portal for BJP's Campaign for the general elections of 2014. Shri Modi launched the initiative by SMSing his Voter ID Number (also known as EPIC number) to 7820078200. This is the key message and call to action of NamoNumber, which asks all Narendra Modi supporters to SMS their voter ID to 7820078200, according to the press release. The official press release explaining the functioning of NamoNumber: "The unique tool (http://namonumber.india272.com) is a path-breaking technology that helps to map all BJP supporters based on their voter card ID number and also gives each supporter an opportunity to further mobilise supporters by asking them to do the same. The NamoNumber campaign aims to empower voters by letting them state their support and become more integrated with the larger cause of helping Shri Narendra Modi to become the Prime Minister. As the general election approaches, the NamoNumber will also help ground volunteers to ensure the true support base of BJP and Shri Modi turns up in huge numbers to cast their vote on election day." Also read: Facebook Data Breach: Mark Zuckerberg Accepts Mistake; Here's What He Has to Say "The NamoNumber also has an interesting gaming feature similar to that of a Multi-level Marketing exercise. It allows volunteers garner voter ID numbers of their friends and families to keep a track of their efforts. For the first time it allows them to objectively measure the support they have helped to get for the campaign, this helps to motivate volunteers and integrate them to the larger campaign goals." Read more about the NaMo Number Multi-level Marketing exercise here So, what is the problem with BJP, Congress being clients of OBI or SCL India? As per the current law, political parties should show the social media campaign expenses as part of part of a sworn affidavit that is required after every election. However, it is now unclear as to which parties were following this protocol. "As far as the question of political parties' payment to data companies is concerned it should indeed be declared properly in the sworn affidavits but there is no proper authority to implement it," Jagdeep Chhokar, the head of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) told BBC. WATCH VIDEO: Samsung Flip First Look | Convert Any Space Into Smart Meeting Room Popular photo-sharing platform Instagram is bringing changes to its posts to "improve" after facing backlash from users for doing away with a chronological feed. Instagram switched to a relevancy-sorted feed in June 2016 that led to many Instagram users speaking about returning to the old feed and complaining that the algorithm often shows photographs and posts that are days old. "Based on your feedback, we're making changes to ensure that newer posts are more likely to appear first in feed. With these changes, your feed will feel fresher, and you won't miss the moments you care about," the company wrote in a blog post late Thursday. The Facebook-owned company said it would share more about improvements it was making to the feed in the coming months. Also read: Vivo V9 Becomes The First Android Clone of iPhone X to Launch in India For Rs 22,990 However, the company has no plans to return to a chronological feed, Gabriel Madway, an Instagram spokesperson, was quoted as saying by The Washington Post. The platform used to show posts in the order in which they were posted. But a Facebook-like algorithm was introduced in 2016 that sorted posts based on factors such as "the likelihood users would be interested in the content". Instagram was acquired by Facebook in 2012. Watch: Samsung Flip First Look | Convert Any Space Into Smart Meeting Room New Delhi: Pakistan has asked India to review its approach to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and stop criticising it. Addressing a press conference on Thursday in Islamabad, Pakistan Minister of Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal said that CPEC was a purely economic development project that would benefit the region, reported Dawn. India should benefit from the project rather than pursue unnecessary criticism, he said. Iqbal further said Indias reaction to the CPEC was negative and that it would soon realise that the project was beneficial and would bring prosperity to the region, including China and Pakistan. The minister also stressed the need for strengthening cooperation in the region. The resolution of the issues dont lie in tensions and disputes among regional countries. India holds the key to peace in South Asia and the region cannot progress without cooperation, he said. Commenting on Pakistan-China ties, Iqbal said that the relationship had hit new heights. It is always said that Pakistan and Chinas friendship is higher than the Himalayas. With the new cooperation of CPEC, we must now change the idiom and say that Pakistan and China friendship is higher than the stars, the Pakistan leader said in a tweet. In a subtle hint at Indias concerns, China had late last year said that its plan to include Afghanistan into CPEC did not 'target' a third party. From the Chinese side, its Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying clarified that CPEC expansion and recently held trilateral talks between China, Pakistan and Afghanistan would benefit the whole region. China has also previously said that it is ready to hold talks with India to resolve differences over the contentious $50 billion project that passes through Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir (PoK). Beijing: India is a brother, but China is like a long-lost cousin found, Maldives Ambassador to China Mohamed Faisal has said, asserting that his country would push ahead with Chinese projects despite New Delhi's concerns. The Maldives will further embrace Chinese investment but is aware it risks getting caught between China and India, Faisal told the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. "China is like a long-lost cousin that we have found, a long-lost cousin who is willing to help us," he said on Thursday after Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen lifted a state of emergency in the troubled South Asian nation after 45 days. "India is a brother. We are a family, we may quarrel and we may have arguments but in the end, we will sit down and resolve it," the diplomat said. He claimed that the Maldives has taken a number of projects to India for finance "but we did not receive the necessary finance." China, which looks at Maldives as a major participant in its 21st century Maritime Silk Road plan in the Indian Ocean, has made heavy investments in the nation of islands which has 26 tropical atolls and 1,000 small islands. China has put up a staunch defence of Maldives President Abdullah Yameen, stonewalling international pressure and enabling him to stay in power during the current crisis. The picturesque Indian Ocean archipelago was plunged into chaos early last month when the Supreme Court called for the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, ruling that their trials were politically motivated and flawed. The government refused to implement the ruling. Yameen imposed a state of emergency and arrested apex court judges and former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Opposition party leaders in Maldives alleged that China is tacitly backing Yameen, which emboldened him to resort to unconstitutional actions like arresting Supreme Court judges. Former president Mohamed Nasheed who was in exile abroad had called for Indian intervention in Maldives to save the democracy in the island nation. He had alleged that China is indulging in land grabbing, threatening not just the Maldives, but the peace and the stability of the entire region. Faisal said Maldives will not allow any foreign military establishments. "Our government has made it very clear that we are not going to allow any kind of military establishments or military undertakings in the Maldives. Not for China, not for any other countries," he said. More than 70 percent of the Maldives' foreign debt is owed to China, but Faisal said it was not having trouble making payments, adding that the country had taken some concessional loans to pay as its tourism market expanded. "Right now, it's only seven islands that Chinese have invested in, in the tourism sector. For a country with such capacity as China I think it is a very low number it should be more than that." China had expressed interest in building a port in the Maldives, Faisal said, but there was no confirmed plan at present. Washington: Donald Trump once tried to offer Karen McDougal money after they had been intimate, the former Playboy model told Anderson Cooper Thursday in an exclusive interview on CNN. "After we had been intimate, he tried to pay me, and I actually didn't know how to take that," she said of their first alleged sexual encounter. When Cooper asked if Trump tried to hand her money, McDougal said, "He did." "I don't even know how to describe the look on my face," she said. "It must have been so sad." McDougal appeared on CNN to tell her story of an alleged affair she had with now-President Donald Trump over a decade ago and its emotional fallout, as well as to air her grievances with the company she's suing over the story. As for Trump's wife, Melania, who Trump was married to during the alleged affair, McDougal expressed remorse and apologized. "What can you say except I'm sorry?" she said. "I'm sorry. I wouldn't want it done to me." A spokeswoman for the first lady did not respond to a request for comment. Thursday's sitdown is McDougal's first televised interview since she filed a lawsuit earlier this week against American Media Inc., the company that owns The National Enquirer, to be released from an agreement with the company. In response to Trump's offer of money after the first time she said they had sex, McDougal said she told Trump, "That's not me. I'm not that kind of girl." "And he said, 'Oh,' and he said, 'You're really special,'" she said, adding that "it hurt me that he saw me in that light." The White House has said Trump denies the alleged affair. Asked about Trump's denials, McDougal said, "I guess I understand because he's trying to protect his family, his image, things like that. But it was definitely a little like, 'Wow, you're going to lie about that?'" She also described herself in the interview as a Trump-voting Republican. "I voted for Donald," McDougal said. Shortly before the presidential election, The Wall Street Journal published a story that said American Media Inc. paid $150,000 to McDougal, but did not run her story in a tabloid maneuver known as "catch and kill." The contract, according to the Journal, did not require the Enquirer to run the story and compelled McDougal's silence. A corporate spokesman for American Media Inc. provided a statement to CNN in response to the suit on Tuesday, saying McDougal "has been free to respond to press inquiries about her relationship with President Trump since 2016" and that the company had not "silenced" her. Offering to pay back the contracted sum she has with the company, McDougal denied to CNN that she was trying to profit further on her story and wanted the rights to her own narrative. "The story is out there now," she said. "I'm not telling the nitty-gritty details, as you can see. I'm very selective in what I'm saying about our relationship. I'm not out to make money on this. I'm out to get my rights back, to prove a contract was illegal, that I was taken advantage of and go back to my life. Period." The New Yorker published an article last month that referenced an eight-page document McDougal wrote about the alleged affair, which a friend provided to the magazine and McDougal confirmed. ENDING THE RELATIONSHIP Throughout the extensive interview with CNN, McDougal expressed guilt over the alleged 10-month relationship with the married man who now occupies the Oval Office. She said that guilt was what ultimately led her to end the alleged affair. "I was just feeling so guilty, she said. "It was just digging inside me." McDougal said she recalled a time when Trump showed her around his New York apartment in Trump Tower, pointing to Melania's room. She said it made her feel "very guilty." "I just couldn't wait to get out of the apartment," she said. Cooper brought her attention to a photo featuring McDougal, Melania and others, and she said she met Melania then at a release party for "The Apprentice" and said that she felt guilty and tried to keep her distance in a group photo. She recalled meeting Trump's other older children and said Trump had complimented her by comparing her favorably to his eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump. "He said I was beautiful like her," McDougal said. "And, you know, 'You're a smart girl.' There wasn't a lot of comparing, but there was some. I heard a lot about her." McDougal added that she did not think it was strange for Trump to brag about his daughter. 'DOZENS OF TIMES' McDougal said their relationship was consensual and loving, and that they saw each other regularly through the duration of the alleged affair. "I can tell you we saw each other a minimum five times a month, up to bigger numbers per month," she said. McDougal said they were together "many dozens of times," and responded in the affirmative when asked if they were intimate saying later that Trump had not used protection. She added that she did not know Trump might have been with other women at the time besides his wife. "I didn't know he was intimate with other ladies," she said. "I thought I was the only one." Adult film actress Stormy Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, has likewise gone to court to break her silence about an alleged affair with Trump around the same time. Trump has denied those allegations as well. Washington: The United States on Friday announced criminal charges and sanctions against nine Iranians and an Iranian company for attempting to hack into hundreds of universities worldwide, dozens of companies and parts of the US government, including its main energy regulator, on behalf of Tehran's government. The cyber-attacks, beginning in at least 2013, pilfered more than 31 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property from 144 US universities and 176 universities in 21 other countries, the US Department of Justice said, describing the conspiracy as one of the largest state-sponsored hacking sprees prosecuted. The US Treasury Department said that it was placing sanctions on the nine accused individuals and the Mabna Institute, a company described by US prosecutors as designed to help Iranian research organizations steal information. "These defendants are now fugitives of justice," US Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said at a press conference. Rosenstein said they may face extradition in more than 100 countries if they travel outside of Iran. The hackers were not accused of being directly employed by Iran's government. They were instead charged with criminal conduct waged primarily through the Mabna Institute on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the elite military force assigned to defend Irans Shiite theocracy from internal and external threats. There was no immediate response to the charges and sanctions in Iran's state-run media. Hackers targeted email accounts of more than 100,000 professors worldwide and compromised about 8,000 of them, prosecutors said. Hackers also targeted the US Labor Department, the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the United Nations and the computer systems of the US states Hawaii and Indiana, prosecutors said. Friday's actions are part of an effort by senior cybersecurity officials at the White House and across the US government to blame foreign countries for malicious hacks. They were announced a day after US President Donald Trump named John Bolton, a former US ambassador to the United Nations who is deeply skeptical of the 2015 international nuclear accord with Iran, as his new national security adviser. Trump himself has repeatedly cast doubt on the wisdom of the nuclear deal, in which the US and other world powers eased sanctions in exchange for Tehran putting limits on its nuclear program. The Department of Justice on Friday privately warned major internet infrastructure companies to expect attacks from Iran, an executive at one company who received the alert said. The officials said the most likely retaliation would be denial of service attacks on websites, which are not destructive but disrupt commerce and communication. 'MOST SENSITIVE INFRASTRUCTURE' The sanctions and charges were the fourth time in the past few months that the Trump administration has blamed a foreign government for major cyber-attacks, a practice that was relatively rare under the Obama administration. Last week, the administration accused the Russian government of cyber-attacks stretching back at least two years that targeted the US power grid. Washington imposed new sanctions on 19 Russians and five groups, including Moscows intelligence services, for meddling in the 2016 US presidential election and other cyber-attacks. The targeting of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was especially concerning, US Attorney Geoffrey Berman said, because it oversees the interstate regulation of energy in the United States and holds details of some of the country's "most sensitive infrastructure." The Treasury Department also placed sanctions on another Iranian, Behzad Mesri. Sometimes known as "Skote Vahshat," Mesri was charged in 2017 with hacking cable TV network HBO to leak unaired episodes of the fantasy drama Game of Thrones. Mesri is still at large, officials said. The Obama administration in 2016 indicted seven Iranians for distributed-denial-of-service attacks on dozens of US banks and for trying to shut down a New York dam. Those hackers were also accused of working on behalf of Iran's government. None of the Iranians indicted in 2016 have been arrested or extradited, a Justice Department spokesman said. Washington: The US Senate passed a $1.3 trillion federal spending bill in dramatic dark-of-night fashion early Friday, overcoming hurdles that threatened to send the government into its third shutdown of 2018. Lawmakers stared down a self-imposed deadline of midnight Friday, when federal funding was set to expire, and passed the mammoth package by a vote of 65-32, with hours to spare. With the House of Representatives comfortably passing the bill Thursday, it now goes to the White House for President Donald Trump's signature, as lawmakers began their escapes from Washington to start a two-week holiday. The bill was introduced late Wednesday after weeks of haggling, leaving lawmakers mere hours to peruse and vote on a mega-bill that will touch every aspect of American life. Defense spending levels for this fiscal year ending September 30 were set at $700 billion, an increase of $61 billion over the 2017 cap. Non-defense domestic spending will reach $591 billion, a hike of about 10 percent. Even though Trump had given his blessing to the bipartisan deal, the 2,232-page bill's fate in the Senate was up in the air throughout Thursday, with one of Trump's fellow Republicans, Rand Paul, threatening to stall the voting process. "I think you ought to read the bills before we vote on them," Paul told Fox News. "I've been working all day diligently through the bill and I'm up to page 600." Under Senate rules any member can object to rapidly moving legislation through the chamber. Paul, who singlehandedly caused a brief shutdown last month by refusing to allow a quick vote ahead of a deadline, was on track to be the spoiler again, but he ultimately relented. He did not hesitate to slam the secretive process, however, or his party's role in blowing up the federal deficit. "Time and again, spending skyrockets, and conservatives are expected to fall in line to praise the party for making the big-spending status quo worse." In addition to Paul, Senate leaders had to fight another personnel fire behind the scenes, with Idaho Republican Jim Risch fuming over language that would rename the White Clouds Wilderness in his state for ex-governor Cecil Andrus, a Democrat. Andrus, who died last year, was a longtime political rival of Risch. The senator voted against the bill. Establishment Republican leaders praised the legislation. House Speaker Paul Ryan called it a vote "to rebuild our military, secure our borders, and give our service members their largest pay raise in eight years," while Democrats sounded pleased at the outcome of negotiations. "Overall, we Democrats are very happy with what we were able to accomplish on a number of priorities to the middle class and America, including infrastructure, education, opioids, mental health, and child care," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said. The White House acknowledged it did not fulfill all of its wishes, but said Trump was ready to sign on. "Is it perfect? No," acknowledged Mick Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget. "Is it exactly what we asked for? No." 'Extremely disappointed' Triggering a third government shutdown of the year would have been a deep embarrassment for the Republican-led Congress ahead of mid-term elections in November. The spending bill had become a political battleground, as it included and in some cases excluded politically charged provisions known as riders which ramp up the level of controversy over the legislation. It provides $1.6 billion far less than Trump wanted for border security and construction or repair of nearly 100 miles (160 kilometers) of border fencing and barriers, boosts infrastructure spending, and increases funds for student grants. It leaves intact funding for women's health provider Planned Parenthood, a target of relentless criticism from pro-life Republicans. But in a major blow to Democrats, it fails to include protections for undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country illegally as children. And it leaves out a long-sought provision to stabilize the health insurance market by funding subsidies that could lower rates for low-income families by 40 percent. That negotiation apparently broke down over disputes about abortion-related language in the bill. "I'm extremely disappointed," said the provision's co-author, Senate Republican Susan Collins. Among the sensitive issues included is gun safety, which has been a national focus following multiple school shootings, including one in Parkland, Florida that killed 17 people. One provision strengthens compliance with background checks for firearm sales, and another reverses what has essentially served as a ban on federal research on gun violence. The Ascot Landau which will be used in the case of dry weather at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and the Scottish State Carriage, to be used in the case of rain, at the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace, London. (Image: Reuters) Marvel Comics killed off Spider-Man, Scarlet Witch, and Dr. Strange right before their MCU returns . or did they? Marvel seemingly killing Peter Parker, Wanda Maximoff, and Stephen Strange right before their big new movies has gotten complicated Indian diplomats harassed in Islamabad: India sends note verbale to Pakistan New Delhi : With Indian diplomats in Pakistan continuing to face harassment and intimidation, New Delhi on Thursday sent yet another note verbale to Islamabad seeking an investigation into all these incidents. According to sources here, the note verbale cited three specific incidents of Indian diplomats being harassed in Islamabad on Thursday. The vehicle of the Indian Deputy High Commissioner, while he was going to an embassy within the Diplomatic Enclave for a meeting, was aggressively followed by two people in a Toyota Corolla car, the sources said. The Indian Naval Attache was also aggressively followed by a person on a motorbike while going to Serena Hotel for a meeting. In a third incident, the Second Secretary (Political) was "aggressively followed and harassed by a person at the Street-1 Cafe within the Diplomatic Enclave" while going there for an official meeting with another diplomat, a source said. The website of the Indian High Commission continues to be blocked causing inconvenience and has affected normal functioning. Stating that the safety and security of Indian mission, its officers, staff members and their families is the responsibility of the Pakistan government, the source said: "We have requested them to immediately investigate all these incidents and direct the relevant authorities to ensure that such incidents do not recur. Results of the investigations may kindly be shared with the High Commission." Last week, Pakistan called back its High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood for consultation over alleged harassment of its diplomatic staff and their families in New Delhi. Following this, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar during his weekly media briefing here said that the Indian High Commission in Pakistan was facing "a litany of issues" which have not been resolved for several months. "We raised these issues in good faith through diplomatic channels and not through the media. "We have asked for immediate resolution of these issues faced by our High Commission in Islamabad so that the safety and security of the diplomatic mission and our diplomatic and consular officials is assured," he said. Jonathan and Patti Beckers company does not make or sell any toys. But hundreds of products never would have reached the shelves without their help. Stamford-based Anjar Co., which describes itself as the worlds oldest and largest international product licensing agency for the toy and game markets, is marking this year its 50th anniversary. It has licensed some 800 products, including bestsellers such as Battle Dome and Othello, which have accounted for about $1.5 billion in sales. The Beckers credit the organizations longevity to their client relationships, a keen understanding of product development and the inspiration of Jonathan Beckers late father, who was Anjars founder. We are experts in getting things made, Jonathan Becker said in an interview earlier this month. We have the relationships with the makers and with the factories that help us not only working with the licensees, but it gives us an understanding and appreciation of whats involved. Anjar was founded in 1968 by Jim Becker, a toy inventor and marketer who developed hundreds of products, including the Barrel of Monkeys, Breaking Point, Grabbin Dragons and Gumby and Pokey. Anjar comprises an acronym of Jim Beckers four sons, Arto, Neil, Jonathan and Roger. Jim Becker, who was inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame in Rochester, N.Y., died in 2011, but his legacy still guides the company. At heart, he was a salesman, Jonathan Becker said. We used to kid around, me and my brothers, he could sell ice to an Eskimo. Whatever business youre in, you have to sell. Among their most promising licenses is a new version of the bead-stacking game Breaking Point, now called Tumball, launched last year in Europe and elsewhere in countries such as South Korea. It is rolling out this year in the U.S., and the rest of the world. French firm Megableu makes Tumball. We showed (Megableu) Breaking Point, and they liked it, Jonathan Becker said. They found a price they could make it for that would work for them and negotiated with us for a license. It involves paying a royalty. Licensing has become ubiquitous today. The company is constantly looking for new products. Patti Becker, who is CEO of Becker Associates, Anjars consulting division, saw the potential of PlayTape, a rollout racetrack for toy cars made by Crofton, Md.-based InRoad Toys. Its a vision you have of where the brand can go, Patti Becker said. When I see a great product, I say, Wow, this can be extendable to a lot of different licenses. The Beckers secured the recently agreed global licensing deal for PlayTape, which has sold strongly for the past five years in the U.S. We sought out Anjar to help us build that global brand that we knew PlayTape was destined to become, InRoad Toys CEO Andy Musliner said in an email. I am very proud to say that last month, Anjar found the right partner for us and we signed an exclusive worldwide license agreement with Irwin Toy. Thanks to Anjar and Irwin Toy, PlayTape is now poised to become the market-leading global brand we have always envisioned. Anjar operated in Manhattan, in the erstwhile Toy Center at 200 5th Ave., until 2005. The business then relocated to Stamford, where the Beckers have lived for about 35 years. The couple travel frequently to show products at events such as the marquee toy fairs in New York and Nuremberg, Germany. Jonathan Becker has worked at Anjar since 1987, after previously working as an intellectual-property lawyer. He took over as president after Jim Beckers retirement in 1998. Patti Becker joined Anjar in 1982, after about five years at other toy companies. We are a team, Patti Becker said. Our backgrounds are extremely complementary. While the liquidation of Toys R Us has rocked the toy industry, the success of products such as Tumball keeps the Beckers optimistic about Anjars future. Business has been growing nicely over the past couple of years, and we anticipate accelerated growth, Jonathan Becker said. Longevity is a good thing. Its good to have but hard to come by in our industry. With more than 4 million consumer records breached in the first three months of 2018, Connecticut lawmakers are crafting legislation to hold credit companies more accountable even as Congress pursues its own action. More than 1.5 million Connecticut residents were affected in the massive breach of Equifaxs databases last year, which occurred over several weeks during which identity thieves were able to download names, Social Security numbers and other information. The Atlanta-based company did not notify consumers immediately when it discovered the intrusion, costing Richard Smith his job as CEO of Equifax, with Smith a former executive with Norwalk-based GE Capital. Fred Camillo, R-Greenwich, and other legislators want Connecticut to follow the example of several other states and prohibit fees charged by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion to freeze credit reports, issued when credit card companies and other financial firms process requests for new accounts. Consumers would be able to file a single request to freeze reports at all three ratings companies, and the legislation would double to two years the amount of time companies must offer free credit monitoring in breaches that expose Social Security numbers. The Connecticut General Assembly is considering the bill even as Congress weighs creating national standards for how companies should respond to data breaches, and penalties if they fail to do so. To date this year through March 20, more than 4 million consumer records were tapped in 228 new breaches, as tracked by the Identity Theft Resource Center whose backers include the credit ratings agencies and lenders like Stamford-based Synchrony Financial. Testifying this month in Hartford in support of fee-free credit freezes, Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen said his office received more than 700 notifications of data breaches, a rough rate of 60 a month. We know firsthand how disappointed, frustrated and overwhelmed consumers are when they learn a company they trusted to protect their personal information has suffered a breach, Jepsen said before the banking committee of the Connecticut General Assembly. A security freeze is one of the most potent defenses against identity theft. ... In essence, the security freeze and unfreeze is like the key that controls the lock on the consumers financial home. In contrary arguments offered by the Consumer Data Industry Association, which lobbies on behalf of credit agencies like Experian, CDIA stated its members do not make profits on those fees, which cover administrative costs and which are kept intentionally low. CDIA added a credit freeze should only be used as a tool of last resort, maintaining consumers who suspect identity theft should first place a fraud alert on their credit files. Already offered for free and lasting 90 days with the option to extend, a fraud alert forces lenders to contact a consumer or otherwise take extra steps to verify an identity prior to issuing credit. HARTFORD The Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes will not participate in a request for proposals for a Bridgeport casino if the General Assembly chooses to issue one, tribe leaders told legislators Thursday. The chairmen of the two Connecticut tribes, which own Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun, said they might be interested in a Bridgeport site, but have no desire to compete against private casino companies when a tribal compact with the state gives them exclusive rights to operate slot machines in Connecticut. MGM Grand has already announced plans for a $700 million seaside resort in Bridgeport and a job training center in New Haven. It has promised the city 7,000 jobs and millions in revenue. On Friday, the General Assemblys Public Safety and Security Committee passed legislation directing the state to seek bids for a new casino, possibly in Bridgeport. The bill will have to be voted on by the House and Senate, before any RFP goes out. If legislators choose to issue the RFP, the announcement that the tribes will not compete with MGM sets the scene for a difficult choice. Lawmakers could be forced to decide whether to accept MGMs offer, ending the tribes exclusive rights in the state and forgoing millions each year in revenue from the tribes slot machines. Or they can reject the MGM proposal and those of any other companies who might bid and keep the status quo. Uri Clinton, senior vice president and legal counsel for MGM Resorts International, said Friday, We continue to believe strongly that the proposal we have developed for a world-class resort casino in Bridgeport, and the thousands of jobs and millions in revenue it would bring to the city, the region and the state is in Connecticuts best interest. In 2017, the tribes paid the state $247.64 million from their slots, according to the Office of the State Comptroller. The tribes have contributed more than $7 billion in revenue since the compact was signed, tribe officials said. Attorney General George Jepsen issued an opinion last week that passage of the bill would not break the compacts between the state and the tribes. Rodney Butler, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council, said if Connecticut were to issue an RFP, it would be like him telling his wife of 23 years that he was planning on going on a singles cruise. As its been drafted, we just cant support it, he said of legislation. They also argued that a possible Bridgeport casino will have the projected big, new pull on the New York market, citing another casino development in that state. Butler said the casino would not create new jobs in the state, but merely steal jobs from the existing casinos. Sen. Michael McLachlan, R-Danbury, chair of the Government Administration and Elections Committee which oversees tribal compacts, expressed worries Thursday about the legislature pursuing a deal with other casino companies. After listing the millions in revenue the state gets from the tribes each year, he said, Its frankly a scary thought that that could be in jeopardy. He added, My second concern is that there has been a long-standing agreement that some believe is in peril. Some lawmakers Friday argued the state should consider its options through an RFP. Bridgeport is in need and its time to take a look at this, said Rep. J.P. Sredzinski, R-Monroe. Stamford police / Contributed A former Stamford man was shot and killed by deputies in Nassau County, Florida, after he opened fire during a standoff on Wednesday, according to a report. News 4 Jax reported deputies responded to the Amelia Island Surf and Racquet Club Condo after 25-year-old Jason Raffaeli said armed men were inside his unit. Deputies said Raffaeli claimed to have a loaded handgun and refused to come outside, barricading himself inside. Princeton researchers recommend targeted geoengineering to preserve continental ice sheets. Geoengineering interventions can be targeted at specific negative consequences of climate change, rather than at the entire planet, postdoctoral research associate in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Michael Wolovick said. The ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica will contribute more to sea-level rise this century than any other source, so stalling the fastest flows of ice into the oceans would buy us a few centuries to deal with climate change and protect coasts, say the authors. There is going to be some sea-level rise in the 21st century, but most models say that the ice sheets wont begin collapsing in earnest until the 22nd or 23rd centuries, said Wolovick. I believe that what happens in the 22nd or 23rd centuries matters. I want our species and our civilization to last as long as possible, and that means that we need to make plans for the long term. Nature Geoengineer polar glaciers to slow sea-level rise Stalling the fastest flows of ice into the oceans would buy us a few centuries to deal with climate change and protect coasts, argue John C. Moore and colleagues. The glaciers could be slowed in three ways: warm ocean waters could be prevented from reaching their bases and accelerating melting; the ice shelves where they start to float could be buttressed by building artificial islands in the sea; and the glacier beds could be dried by draining or freezing the thin film of water they slide on. The engineering costs and scales of these projects are comparable with todays large civil engineering projects, but with extra challenges due to the remote and harsh polar environment. Engineers have already constructed artificial islands and drained water beneath a glacier in Norway to feed a hydropower plant. Raising a berm in front of the fastest-flowing glacier in Greenland constructing an underwater wall 3 miles long and 350 feet high in arctic waters would be a comparable challenge. A polar geoengineering project would easily run into the billions of dollars, but without coastal protection, the global cost of damages could reach $50 trillion a year. In the absence of geoengineering, the sea walls and flood defenses necessary to prevent those damages would cost tens of billions of dollars a year to build and maintain. Three ways to delay the loss of ice sheets 1. Block warm water The Jakobshavn glacier in western Greenland is one of the fastest-moving ice masses on Earth. It contributes more to sea-level rise than any other glacier in the Northern Hemisphere. Ice loss from Jakobshavn explains around 4% of twentieth-century sea-level rise, or about 0.06 millimeters per year. Jakobshavn is retreating at its front. Relatively warm water from the Atlantic is flowing over a shallow sill (300 metres deep) and eating away at the glaciers base. Making the sill shallower would reduce the volume of warm water and slow the melting. More sea ice would form. Icebergs would lodge on the sill and prop up the glacier. A 100-metre-high wall with sloping sides of 1545 could be built across the 5-kilometre fjord in front of Jakobshavn glacier by dredging around 0.1 cubic kilometres of gravel and sand from Greenlands continental shelf (see Glacial geoengineering). This artificial embankment, or berm, could be clad in concrete to stop it being eroded. The scale of the berm would be comparable with large civil-engineering projects. For example, ten times more material 1 cubic kilometre was excavated to build the Suez Canal. Hong Kongs airport required around 0.3 cubic kilometres of landfill. The Three Gorges Dam used 0.028 cubic kilometers of cast concrete. 2. Support ice shelves Where Antarcticas ice sheets reach the sea, ice flows out as floating shelves. Pinned by rocks and islands, these platforms hold back the glaciers and limit how much ice reaches the sea. As the air and ocean around Antarctica warm, some ice shelves are becoming thinner, particularly those fringing the Amundsen Sea. In 2002, scientists were shocked at the collapse of 3,200 square kilometres of the Larsen B ice shelf, which is now only 30% of the size it was during the 1980s7. Half a dozen other shelves around the Antarctic Peninsula have shattered in the past 30 years. 3. Dry subglacial streams Fast-sliding ice streams supply 90% of ice entering the sea. As the ice slides over the glacier bed, frictional heat generates about 90% of the water at the base of the ice streams5. This water acts as a lubricant, speeding up the flow, which in turn generates more heat, and creates more water and slippage. Glaciers in Greenland and at lower latitudes are relatively wet because their surfaces melt in summer, and rivers flow beneath them. In Antarctica, by contrast, there is little seasonal melting and much less water below the ice sheet. For example, the base of Pine Island Glacier releases about 50 cubic metres of water per second, which is only about 10 millimetres per year over the catchment area5. Removing this thin layer of water will slow the glacier, reducing frictional heating. The glacier will stall and its ice will thicken. Raytheon ramping up High Energy Laser (HEL) and High Powered Microwave (HPM) weapons that can find, fix and kill or disable the increasingly cheap and capable drones. Antidrone lasers and microwave weapons will be a several billion dollar market over the next five years. Above This is the Raytheon laser dune buggy, a solid-state laser combined with an advanced variant of the companys Multi-Spectral Targeting System of sensors, installed on a small, all-terrain Polaris militarized vehicle. Coupled with a generator, the HEL weapon system provides military members with counter-UAV capabilities and a virtually unlimited magazine. (U.S. Army photo) The mini-drone threat is a high priority for the Pentagon, along with anti-aircraft defenses in general. Daesh has used commercial drones to drop hand grenades. Hezbollah has used similar setups to strike Daesh. The Iraqi police and military have used commercial drones for similar purposes. And the Russians have used drones large and small to target Ukrainian troops for devastating artillery strikes. Its getting so anyone can buy a drone for $1,000 or less, fiddle with it a bit and turn it into a reconnaissance and strike platform. It cant drop 1,000 pound bombs but it can track you, kill a few people and keep on going. A swarm of such drones was recently used to attack Russias largest base in Syria. Forty-five unmanned aerial vehicles and drones were shot down in tests by Raytheons advanced high-power microwave and laser dune buggy in a U.S. Army exercise. The exercise was known as Maneuver Fires Integrated Experiment, or MFIX, and was held at the U.S. Army Fires Center of Excellence in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Military and industry leaders gathered at MFIX to demonstrate ways to bridge the Armys capability gaps in long-range fires and maneuver short-range air defense. Highlights included: Raytheons high-power microwave system engaged multiple UAV swarms, downing 33 drones, two and three at a time. Raytheons high energy laser, or HEL, system identified, tracked, engaged and downed 12 airborne, maneuvering Class I and II UAVs, and destroyed six stationary mortar projectiles. The directed energy system emits an adjustable energy beam that, when aimed at airborne targets such as drones, renders them unable to fly. (U.S. Army photo) The speed and low cost per engagement of directed energy is revolutionary in protecting our troops against drones, said Dr. Thomas Bussing, Raytheon Advanced Missile Systems vice president. We have spent decades perfecting the high-power microwave system, which may soon give our military a significant advantage against this proliferating threat. Raytheon and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory worked together under a $2 million contract to test and demonstrate high-power microwave, counter-UAV technologies. Our customer needed a solution, and they needed it fast, said Dr. Ben Allison, director of Raytheons HEL product line. So, we took what weve learned and combined it with combat-proven components to rapidly deliver a small, self-contained and easily deployed counter-UAV system. Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology. Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels. A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements. Here's a tip for the planners among us: If you have dinner reservations or theater tickets for Sept. 22, 2135 (it's a Thursday), now might be a good time to scuttle them. Sometime the day before, scientists say, there is a small chance that an asteroid the size of the Empire State Building will smack into Earth, destroying a lot of living things on the planet. But don't worry. NASA has got you covered. Forward-thinking astrophysicists and people who specialize in blowing things up with nuclear weapons have come up with a plan, which they swear was not drawn up by Bruce Willis. If the asteroid - it is named Bennu - decides to go rogue, they could send a nearly nine-ton "bulk impactor" to push it out of Earth's orbit. Or, more likely, they would gently nudge it out of its apocalyptic path using a nuclear device. The scheme is called the Hypervelocity Asteroid Mitigation Mission for Emergency Response. Or, for people who love acronyms and despise subtlety: HAMMER. Brent Barbee, the NASA aerospace engineer who helped author the study, insists that it is all theoretical. (His exact words: "Please don't print that an asteroid is going to crash into Earth in The Washington Post.") But using granular detail and eye-glazing amounts of math, the researchers believe they have a viable solution to a world-rattling what-if question. There is, of course, no massive mission to build a craft capable of playing a celestial game of space pool. The odds of Bennu actually hitting us are about 1 in 2,700. And the asteroid is not big enough to send us the way of the dinosaurs. But that doesn't mean there is no practical application, Barbee told The Post. "We're doing these design studies to prepare ourselves, so if we do find a threatening object, we're better prepared to deal with it," he said. Things from space smack into Earth all the time. Most of them are not existential threats, but some are large enough to cause injury or property damage. Generating a working framework to avoid an Earth impact could save lives. Until recently, the framework has basically been luck. In 1908, what many believe to be an asteroid crashed into an area near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Siberia, according to the BBC. It struck with a force 185 times as powerful as the Hiroshima atomic bomb, flattened 80 million trees and reduced hundreds of reindeer to charred carcasses. A century later in 2013, a 10-ton, 49-foot-wide meteor streaked over Russia's Ural Mountains at hypersonic speeds, shattering windows and injuring 1,100 people, Fox News reported. (Most were injured by shattered glass as they watched the meteor cross the daytime sky). The meteor broke up before it hit the ground but still left scars in nearby ice that were the length of a bus. The only reason more people weren't killed or injured, Barbee told The Post, is because the objects struck places where there weren't many people. NASA has a Planetary Defense Coordination Office that tries to detect dangerous asteroids and comets close to Earth's orbit. There are more of these things than many people think, Barbee said. Researchers detect about 1,000 new objects each year; 10,000 extraterrestrial objects beelining for Earth could still be unaccounted for. The defense coordination office also comes up with plans for deflecting or destroying discovered objects. What Asteroid Bennu provides, besides pretty good fodder for a doomsday cult, is an opportunity for scientists to test those theories. Bennu is, the report says, a "well-studied roughly spherical body" that gives researchers a good target for their calculations - data points to punch into the algorithm. They can see Bennu with telescopes and track the impact its gravity has on other celestial objects. Soon we will know more. NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has been en route to Bennu for two years, according to the agency. It contains instruments that "will map Bennu and establish the composition of the asteroid, including the distribution of the elements, minerals and organic materials." It will also scrape off a 2.1-ounce sample and bring it back to Earth, NASA says. If the odds are not in Earth's favor, and Bennu becomes a bigger threat, OSIRIS-REx could be followed by a beefier craft that would break off a lot more. Dario Fo Nobel Lecture English Italian Swedish Nobel Lecture, December 7, 1997 Contra Jogulatores Obloquentes Against Jesters Who Defame and Insult Against jesters who defame and insult. Law issued by Emperor Frederick II (Messina 1221), declaring that anyone may commit violence against jesters without incurring The drawings Im showing you are mine. Copies of these, slightly reduced in size, have been distributed among you. For some time its been my habit to use images when preparing a speech: rather than write it down, I illustrate it. This allows me to improvise, to exercise my imagination and to oblige you to use yours. As I proceed, I will from time to time indicate to you where we are in the manuscript. That way you wont lose the thread. This will be of help especially to those of you who dont understand either Italian or Swedish. English-speakers will have a tremendous advantage over the rest because they will imagine things Ive neither said nor thought. There is of course the problem of the two laughters: those who understand Italian will laugh immediately, those who dont will have to wait for Anna [Barsotti]s Swedish translation. And then there are those of you who wont know whether to laugh the first time or the second. Anyway, lets get started. Ladies and gentlemen, the title Ive selected for this little chat is contra jogulatores obloquentes, which you all recognize as Latin, mediaeval Latin to be precise. Its the title of a law issued in Sicily in 1221 by Emperor Frederick II of Swabia, an emperor anointed by God, who we were taught in school to regard a sovereign of extraordinary enlightenment, a liberal. Jogulatores obloquentes means jesters who defame and insult. The law in question allowed any and all citizens to insult jesters, to beat them and even if they were in that mood to kill them, without running any risk of being brought to trial and condemned. I hasten to assure you that this law no longer is in vigour, so I can safely continue. Ladies and gentlemen, Friends of mine, noted men of letters, have in various radio and television interviews declared: The highest prize should no doubt be awarded to the members of the Swedish Academy, for having had the courage this year to award the Nobel Prize to a jester. I agree. Yours is an act of courage that borders on provocation. Its enough to take stock of the uproar it has caused: sublime poets and writers who normally occupy the loftiest of spheres, and who rarely take interest in those who live and toil on humbler planes, are suddenly bowled over by some kind of whirlwind. Like I said, I applaud and concur with my friends. These poets had already ascended to the Parnassian heights when you, through your insolence, sent them toppling to earth, where they fell face and belly down in the mire of normality. Insults and abuse are hurled at the Swedish Academy, at its members and their relatives back to the seventh generation. The wildest of them clamour: Down with the King of Norway!. It appears they got the dynasty wrong in the confusion. (At this point you may turn the page. As you see there is an image of a naked poet bowled over by a whirlwind.) Some landed pretty hard on their nether parts. There were reports of poets and writers whose nerves and livers suffered terribly. For a few days thereafter there was not a pharmacy in Italy that could muster up a single tranquillizer. But, dear members of the Academy, lets admit it, this time youve overdone it. I mean come on, first you give the prize to a black man, then to a Jewish writer. Now you give it to a clown. What gives? As they say in Naples: pazziamme? Have we lost our senses? Also the higher clergy have suffered their moments of madness. Sundry potentates great electors of the Pope, bishops, cardinals and prelates of Opus Dei have all gone through the ceiling, to the point that theyve even petitioned for the reinstatement of the law that allowed jesters to be burned at the stake. Over a slow fire. On the other hand I can tell you there is an extraordinary number of people who rejoice with me over your choice. And so I bring you the most festive thanks, in the name of a multitude of mummers, jesters, clowns, tumblers and storytellers. (This is where we are now [indicates a page].) And speaking of storytellers, I mustnt forget those of the small town on Lago Maggiore where I was born and raised, a town with a rich oral tradition. They were the old storytellers, the master glass-blowers who taught me and other children the craftsmanship, the art, of spinning fantastic yarns. We would listen to them, bursting with laughter laughter that would stick in our throats as the tragic allusion that surmounted each sarcasm would dawn on us. To this day I keep fresh in my mind the story of the Rock of Calde. Many years ago, began the old glass-blower, way up on the crest of that steep cliff that rises from the lake there was a town called Calde. As it happened, this town was sitting on a loose splinter of rock that slowly, day by day, was sliding down towards the precipice. It was a splendid little town, with a campanile, a fortified tower at the very peak and a cluster of houses, one after the other. Its a town that once was and that now is gone. It disappeared in the 15th century. Hey, shouted the peasants and fishermen down in the valley below. Youre sliding, youll fall down from there. But the cliff dwellers wouldnt listen to them, they even laughed and made fun of them: You think youre pretty smart, trying to scare us into running away from our houses and our land so you can grab them instead. But were not that stupid. So they continued to prune their vines, sow their fields, marry and make love. They went to mass. They felt the rock slide under their houses but they didnt think much about it. Just the rock settling. Quite normal, they said, reassuring each other. The great splinter of rock was about to sink into the lake. Watch out, youve got water up to your ankles, shouted the people along the shore. Nonsense, thats just drainage water from the fountains, its just a bit humid, said the people of the town, and so, slowly but surely, the whole town was swallowed by the lake. Gurgle gurgle splash they sink . houses, men, women, two horses, three donkeys heehaw gurgle. Undaunted, the priest continued to receive the confession of a nun: Te absolvi animus santi guurgle Aame gurgle The tower disappeared, the campanile sank with bells and all: Dong ding dop plock Even today, continued the old glass-blower, if you look down into the water from that outcrop that still juts out from the lake, and if in that same moment a thunderstorm breaks out, and the lightning illuminates the bottom of the lake, you can still see incredible as it may seem! the submerged town, with its streets still intact and even the inhabitants themselves, walking around and glibly repeating to themselves: Nothing has happened. The fish swim back and forth before their eyes, even into their ears. But they just brush them off: Nothing to worry about. Its just some kind of fish thats learned to swim in the air. Atchoo! God bless you! Thank you its a bit humid today more than yesterday but everythings fine. Theyve reached rock bottom, but as far as theyre concerned, nothing has happened at all. Disturbing though it may be, theres no denying that a tale like this still has something to tell us. I repeat, I owe much to these master glass-blowers of mine, and they I assure you are immensely grateful to you, members of this Academy, for rewarding one of their disciples. And they express their gratitude with explosive exuberance. In my home town, people swear that on the night the news arrived that one of their own storytellers was to be awarded the Nobel Prize, a kiln that had been standing cold for some fifty years suddenly erupted in a broadside of flames, spraying high into the air like a fireworks finale a myriad splinters of coloured glass, which then showered down on the surface of the lake, releasing an impressive cloud of steam. (While you applaud, Ill have a drink of water. [Turning to the interpreter:] Would you like some? Its important that you talk among yourselves while we drink, because if you try to hear the gurgle gurgle gurgle the water makes as we swallow well choke on it and start coughing. So instead you can exchange niceties like Oh, what a lovely evening it is, isnt it?. End of intermission: we turn to a new page, but dont worry, itll go faster from here.) Above all others, this evening youre due the loud and solemn thanks of an extraordinary master of the stage, little-known not only to you and to people in France, Norway, Finland but also to the people of Italy. Yet he was, until Shakespeare, doubtless the greatest playwright of renaissance Europe. Im referring to Ruzzante Beolco, my greatest master along with Moliere: both actors-playwrights, both mocked by the leading men of letters of their times. Above all, they were despised for bringing onto the stage the everyday life, joys and desperation of the common people; the hypocrisy and the arrogance of the high and mighty; and the incessant injustice. And their major, unforgivable fault was this: in telling these things, they made people laugh. Laughter does not please the mighty. Ruzzante, the true father of the Commedia dellArte, also constructed a language of his own, a language of and for the theatre, based on a variety of tongues: the dialects of the Po Valley, expressions in Latin, Spanish, even German, all mixed with onomatopoeic sounds of his own invention. It is from him, from Beolco Ruzzante, that Ive learned to free myself from conventional literary writing and to express myself with words that you can chew, with unusual sounds, with various techniques of rhythm and breathing, even with the rambling nonsense-speech of the grammelot. Allow me to dedicate a part of this prestigious prize to Ruzzante. A few days ago, a young actor of great talent said to me: Maestro, you should try to project your energy, your enthusiasm, to young people. You have to give them this charge of yours. You have to share your professional knowledge and experience with them. Franca thats my wife and I looked at each other and said: Hes right. But when we teach others our art, and share this charge of fantasy, what end will it serve? Where will it lead? In the past couple of months, Franca and I have visited a number of university campuses to hold workshops and seminars before young audiences. It has been surprising not to say disturbing to discover their ignorance about the times we live in. We told them about the proceedings now in course in Turkey against the accused culprits of the massacre in Sivas. Thirty-seven of the countrys foremost democratic intellectuals, meeting in the Anatolian town to celebrate the memory of a famous mediaeval jester of the Ottoman period, were burned alive in the dark of the night, trapped inside their hotel. The fire was the handiwork of a group of fanatical fundamentalists that enjoyed protection from elements within the Government itself. In one night, thirty-seven of the countrys most celebrated artists, writers, directors, actors and Kurdish dancers were erased from this Earth. In one blow these fanatics destroyed some of the most important exponents of Turkish culture. Thousands of students listened to us. The looks in their faces spoke of their astonishment and incredulity. They had never heard of the massacre. But what impressed me the most is that not even the teachers and professors present had heard of it. There Turkey is, on the Mediterranean, practically in front of us, insisting on joining the European Community, yet no one had heard of the massacre. Salvini, a noted Italian democrat, was right on the mark when he observed: The widespread ignorance of events is the main buttress of injustice. But this absent-mindedness on the part of the young has been conferred upon them by those who are charged to educate and inform them: among the absent-minded and uninformed, school teachers and other educators deserve first mention. Young people easily succumb to the bombardment of gratuitous banalities and obscenities that each day is served to them by the mass media: heartless TV action films where in the space of ten minutes they are treated to three rapes, two assassinations, one beating and a serial crash involving ten cars on a bridge that then collapses, whereupon everything cars, drivers and passengers precipitates into the sea only one person survives the fall, but he doesnt know how to swim and so drowns, to the cheers of the crowd of curious onlookers that suddenly has appeared on the scene. At another university we spoofed the project alas well under way to manipulate genetic material, or more specifically, the proposal by the European Parliament to allow patent rights on living organisms. We could feel how the subject sent a chill through the audience. Franca and I explained how our Eurocrats, kindled by powerful and ubiquitous multinationals, are preparing a scheme worthy the plot of a sci-fi/horror movie entitled Frankensteins pig brother. Theyre trying to get the approval of a directive which (and get this!) would authorize industries to take patents on living beings, or on parts of them, created with techniques of genetic manipulation that seem taken straight out of The Sorcerers Apprentice. This is how it would work: by manipulating the genetic make-up of a pig, a scientist succeeds in making the pig more human-like. By this arrangement it becomes much easier to remove from the pig the organ of your choice a liver, a kidney and to transplant it in a human. But to assure that the transplanted pig-organs arent rejected, its also necessary to transfer certain pieces of genetic information from the pig to the human. The result: a human pig (even though you will say that there are already plenty of those). And every part of this new creature, this humanized pig, will be subject to patent laws; and whosoever wishes a part of it will have to pay copyright fees to the company that invented it. Secondary illnesses, monstrous deformations, infectious diseases all are optionals, included in the price The Pope has forcefully condemned this monstrous genetic witchcraft. He has called it an offence against humanity, against the dignity of man, and has gone to pains to underscore the projects total and irrefutable lack of moral value. The astonishing thing is that while this is happening, an American scientist, a remarkable magician youve probably read about him in the papers has succeeded in transplanting the head of a baboon. He cut the heads off two baboons and switched them. The baboons didnt feel all that great after the operation. In fact, it left them paralysed, and they both died shortly thereafter, but the experiment worked, and thats the great thing. But heres the rub: this modern-day Frankenstein, a certain Professor White, is all the while a distinguished member of the Vatican Academy of Sciences. Somebody should warn the Pope. So, we enacted these criminal farces to the kids at the universities, and they laughed their heads off. They would say of Franca and me: Theyre a riot, they come up with the most fantastic stories. Not for a moment, not even with an inkling in their spines, did they grasp that the stories we told were true. These encounters have strengthened us in our conviction that our job is in keeping with the exhortation of the great Italian poet Savinio to tell our own story. Our task as intellectuals, as persons who mount the pulpit or the stage, and who, most importantly, address to young people, our task is not just to teach them method, like how to use the arms, how to control breathing, how to use the stomach, the voice, the falsetto, the contracampo. Its not enough to teach a technique or a style: we have to show them what is happening around us. They have to be able to tell their own story. A theatre, a literature, an artistic expression that does not speak for its own time has no relevance. Recently, I took part in a large conference with lots of people where I tried to explain, especially to the younger participants, the ins and outs of a particular Italian court case. The original case resulted in seven separate proceedings, at the end of which three Italian left-wing politicians were sentenced to 21 years of imprisonment each, accused of having murdered a police commissioner. Ive studied the documents of the case as I did when I prepared Accidental Death of an Anarchist and at the conference I recounted the facts pertaining to it, which are really quite absurd, even farcical. But at a certain point I realized I was speaking to deaf ears, for the simple reason that my audience was ignorant not only of the case itself, but of what had happened five years earlier, ten years earlier: the violence, the terrorism. They knew nothing about the massacres that occurred in Italy, the trains that blew up, the bombs in the piazze or the farcical court cases that have dragged on since then. The terribly difficult thing is that in order to talk about what is happening today, I have to start with what happened thirty years ago and then work my way forward. Its not enough to speak about the present. And pay attention, this isnt just about Italy: the same thing happens everywhere, all over Europe. Ive tried in Spain and encountered the same difficulty; Ive tried in France, in Germany, Ive yet to try in Sweden, but I will. To conclude, let me share this medal with Franca. Franca Rame, my companion in life and in art who you, members of the Academy, acknowledge in your motivation of the prize as actress and author; who has had a hand in many of the texts of our theatre. (At this very moment, Franca is on stage in a theatre in Italy but will join me the day after tomorrow. Her flight arrives midday, if you like we can all head out together to pick her up at the airport.) Franca has a very sharp wit, I assure you. A journalist put the following question to her: So how does it feel to be the wife of a Nobel Prize winner? To have a monument in your home? To which she answered: Im not worried. Nor do I feel at all at a disadvantage; Ive been in training for a long time. I do my exercises each morning: I go down on my hand and knees, and that way Ive accustomed myself to becoming a pedestal to a monument. Im pretty good at it. Like I said, she has a sharp wit. At times she even turns her irony against herself. Without her at my side, where she has been for a lifetime, I would never have accomplished the work you have seen fit to honour. Together weve staged and recited thousands of performances, in theatres, occupied factories, at university sit-ins, even in deconsecrated churches, in prisons and city parks, in sunshine and pouring rain, always together. Weve had to endure abuse, assaults by the police, insults from the right-thinking, and violence. And it is Franca who has had to suffer the most atrocious aggression. She has had to pay more dearly than any one of us, with her neck and limb in the balance, for the solidarity with the humble and the beaten that has been our premise. The day it was announced that I was to be awarded the Nobel Prize I found myself in front of the theatre on Via di Porta Romana in Milan where Franca, together with Giorgio Albertazzi, was performing The Devil with Tits. Suddenly I was surrounded by a throng of reporters, photographers and camera-wielding TV-crews. A passing tram stopped, unexpectedly, the driver stepped out to greet me, then all the passengers stepped out too, they applauded me, and everyone wanted to shake my hand and congratulate me when at a certain point they all stopped in their tracks and, as with a single voice, shouted Wheres Franca?. They began to holler Francaaa until, after a little while, she appeared. Discombobulated and moved to tears, she came down to embrace me. At that moment, as if out of nowhere, a band appeared, playing nothing but wind instruments and drums. It was made up of kids from all parts of the city and, as it happened, they were playing together for the first time. They struck up Porta Romana bella, Porta Romana in samba beat. Ive never heard anything played so out of tune, but it was the most beautiful music Franca and I had ever heard. Believe me, this prize belongs to both of us. Thank you. Translated from Italian by Paul Claesson Copyright The Nobel Foundation 1997 To cite this section MLA style: Dario Fo Nobel Lecture. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2021. Wed. 22 Sep 2021. From 1 April 2018, Paul Bari is appointed Group CIO and Head of Group Technology of Nordea. Paul joined Nordea in February 2017 from a position as Global Head of Technology Delivery at Standard Chartered Bank, Singapore. Paul has had several executive positions at Standard Chartered Bank, Barclays Capital and Commonwealth Bank of Australia. In his different roles Paul has led global technology teams, been responsible for core technology business efficiency programmes, engaged with regulatory authorities and chaired numerous risk committees. Paul will report to Torsten Hagen Jrgensen, Deputy CEO and Head of Group Corporate Centre, and be part of the Group COO Executive Management team. - After some months as acting head of Group Technology, Paul has proven himself to be the best person for this job. Paul has extensive experience of IT, service and vendor management and operational and delivery roles in global financial services. With Paul in the lead I am sure we will see state-of-the-art technical solutions delivered to customers and colleagues, says Torsten Hagen Jrgensen, Deputy CEO and Head of Group Corporate Centre. For further information: Claes Eliasson, Acting Head of Group External Communications, +46 72 141 67 12 Paul Bari, Group CIO and Head of Group Technology, +45 23 69 53 30 Documents Having received the "Best Mobile Innovation for Payment" award at the annual Global Mobile Awards (GLOMO Awards) earlier this year, Samsung Pay has just reached Italy. This mobile payment service works with quite a few Samsung devices, including the new Galaxy S9/S9+ flagships. At last, we should also highlight that Italian users of Samsung Pay get some exclusive discounts of up to 20 percent on brands like Daybreak Hotel, EF Education, Leroy Merlin, and Moleskine. Samsung Pay continues to support both MST and NFC payments, so it currently is the most widely accepted mobile payment service on the market. In Italy, it works at virtually all existing locations that accept credit or debit cards. The list of compatible devices includes the new Galaxy S9 / S9+ flagships, wearables like the Gear Sport and Gear S3, as well as other handsets such as the Galaxy S7 / S7 Edge , Galaxy A8 , Galaxy Note 8 , and more. According to Yongje Kim, Executive Vice President of Service Business Office, Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics, "The rapid growth of Samsung Pay has been made possible by Samsungs commitment to an open model of collaboration around the world, resulting in over 1,700 partnerships, including payment providers Visa and Mastercard." This week, Samsung Pay became available in Italy. Thanks to this new addition, the list of markets where this mobile payment service is available now consists of 21 names. Sadly, the Samsung Pay reward program has a more limited reach and can only be enjoyed by customers in the US, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Brazil, and Spain. - 5461 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2013 Codrut Nistor - Senior Tech Writersince 2013 In my early school days, I hated writing and having to make up stories. A decade later, I started to enjoy it. Since then, I published a few offline articles and then I moved to the online space, where I contributed to major websites that are still present online as of 2021 such as Softpedia, Brothersoft, Download3000, but I also wrote for multiple blogs that have disappeared over the years. I've been riding with the Notebookcheck crew since 2013 and I am not planning to leave it anytime soon. In love with good mechanical keyboards, vinyl and tape sound, but also smartphones, streaming services, and digital art. Less than an hour after President Trump named John R. Bolton as his new national security adviser on Thursday, Mr. Bolton made an appearance in the venue where many Americans, including Mr. Trump, have come to know him over the past decade: Fox News. I think I still am a Fox News contributor, Mr. Bolton, laughing, told the host Martha MacCallum at the start of a previously scheduled interview. No, Ms. MacCallum clarified. Youre not. You cant blame him for being a bit confused. Mr. Bolton a featured commentator on Fox News since 2007, after his term as ambassador to the United Nations is the third TV personality in the past eight days to join Mr. Trumps it-came-from-the-small-screen White House team. The president last week tapped Larry Kudlow, the CNBC commentator, to be his chief economic adviser. On Monday, he hired Joseph E. diGenova, a Washington lawyer who drew Mr. Trumps attention on Fox News, where he described without evidence a brazen plot by F.B.I. agents to frame the president for a crime. It was thoroughly looked at, and theres a reason there were no charges brought, because there was nothing there, Mr. de Blasio said in January. On Thursday, a mayoral spokesman reiterated Mr. de Blasios stance, saying, This administration acted appropriately at all times, as weve said several thousand times. But the testimony on Thursday raised new questions. Mr. Singh testified that he met Mr. de Blasio when he was the citys public advocate. At the time, Mr. Singh said, he was having issues with his Waters Edge restaurant, which was on city property in Long Island City, Queens. The restaurateur was behind on the rent, and a dispute had arisen over who was responsible for the replacement of a nearby pier. Mr. Singhs restaurant would benefit from the work, but he did not want to pay for it. He also wanted to ensure that the lease would be renewed. Mr. Singh said he called Thomas J. Garry, a lawyer and Democratic Party official, who knew Mr. de Blasio. The three met for lunch at Waters Edge in the summer of 2011 or 2012, the restaurateur said. The lunch started what would eventually become a very close relationship, according to Mr. Singh. As Mr. de Blasio and his staff arranged for meetings with officials, the restaurateur said he started fund-raising at Mr. Garrys request. Two events while Mr. de Blasio was public advocate each brought in $10,000, Mr. Singh said, and four more during the mayoral campaign added between $30,000 and $60,000, he said. Then there were the personal campaign contributions. Records show that Mr. Singh, his family and other associates collectively contributed tens of thousands of dollars. But the restaurateur suggested Thursday he gave more through straw donors people who contribute to campaigns but then are reimbursed by the actual donor. More than 86,000 New Jersey homes were without power early Thursday, of which more than half were in the Atlantic City area, according to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. By afternoon, 72,000 homes remained dark. Still, Gov. Philip D. Murphy said that the number of homes without power were less than a third of what they had been during the last storm. We have to be committed like heck to make sure we get everybody back on, he said at a news conference in Woodbridge. In New York City, the public school system reopened on time, and there were no residual storm-related problems reported for the subways and buses during the morning commute. The Long Island Rail Road was also largely back to normal. Natalie Grybauskas, a spokeswoman for Mayor Bill de Blasio, said that cleanup efforts were well underway. A snowstorm on the first day of spring is a good reminder that anything can happen, but were always prepared, she said. Were still doing some snow-clearing and spot-checking around the city, but thanks to a full-force, nonstop effort by city workers and slightly warmer temperatures the streets are looking good, and we expect to be fully back to normal soon. Outside the city, many suburban communities were also recovering quickly, in part because the storms slow approach had allowed for preparations. On Long Island, where the snow topped 20.1 inches in Patchogue, the heaviest snowfall came overnight. Road crews worked through the night to ensure the roads were clear for the morning commute. This spring storm demonstrates the difficulty of predicting weather, and what we try to do is err on the side of caution and public safety, said Steven Bellone, the Suffolk County executive. New York State transportation workers kept open miles of highway lanes in the Long Island region during the storm, according to Joseph Brown, a regional director for the transportation department. They used more than 300 plow trucks, some of which were sent from upstate. Mr. Costellos flash drive would not only free his cousin, but eventually convict the detective of perjury. This sequence of events emerged during the trial of the detective, Kevin Desormeau, in January. It was a reminder that for all the power of video to get to the truth, the criminal justice system doesnt always ensure that relevant video evidence ever makes it into court. The justice system offers few solutions to incarcerated defendants who insist that video footage will vindicate them. Yes, defense attorneys can dispatch investigators to gather video, and they often do so. But those investigators have no legal authority to force a bodega owner or a property manager to hand over surveillance footage. Especially larger buildings, they are not going to respond to an investigator with a USB flash drive, said Cynthia Conti-Cook, a Legal Aid lawyer. If the bodega owner or property manager insist they are too busy to help, or just dont want to get involved, the defense can ask a judge for a subpoena. But that takes time, and in the intervening days there is a decent chance the footage will be deleted, Ms. Conti-Cook said. Hold More Suppression Hearings Police officers take the witness stand in open court in far fewer cases than one might expect. The reason is that the vast majority of arrests result in a plea deal or dismissal. Suppression hearings which are held ahead of a trial and are often used to test the constitutionality of the polices conduct are somewhat more common than trials, but are still rare. The court system doesnt track how many occur. But data provided by the Manhattan district attorneys office indicates that only about 2.4 percent of felony cases that do not end in a guilty plea at the initial arraignment wind up having suppression hearings in Manhattan. These are the hearings at which judges scrutinize police credibility. Judges sometimes base their conclusions on the consistency or inconsistency of an officers testimony. Or judges might point out contradictions, if serious enough, between officers accounts. They are, defense lawyers said, often the best chance to get at the truth of how an arrest or investigation unfolded. With so much attention on tech giants, it is almost possible to overlook the doings of AT&T, the once fearsome telephone monopolist. Even in an age of bigness, it is a behemoth. Its revenue, $160 billion in 2017, is four times that of Facebook. And AT&T boasts 166 million paying wireless and video subscribers in the United States. And yet the company wants to build an even bigger empire. AT&T is seeking to acquire another giant, Time Warner, the owner of HBO, CNN, Turner Networks, the Warner Bros. studios and DC Comics, among other media properties. Their planned merger would create a union of pipes (AT&T) and content (Time Warner) that would be the largest such company in the world. After years of approving far too many mergers consider the airline industry the Justice Department has challenged AT&Ts plan under antitrust laws and delivered its opening arguments against the merger in Federal District Court in Washington on Thursday. According to the department, the merger is broadly anticompetitive and would raise the costs of television for consumers across the nation by an estimated $436 million per year, or 45 cents a month per subscriber. AT&T calls that number insubstantial and negligible relative to what Americans pay for television. 2. I knew it! If breaking news on social media aligns perfectly with your carefully structured view of the world, then pause before liking it or retweeting it. Why? Because you like most of us have curated a personal news feed to confirm things you already suspected or knew. If you didnt do this yourself (by unfriending people who dared argue politics with you on your feed), Facebook and Twitter are doing it for you. They structure your timeline to make it as agreeable as possible. Cambridge Analyticas success was premised on building a distribution system tailored to precisely exploit the biases and preconceptions of specified Facebook users. But Cambridge Analytica is the symptom, not the disease. The larger problem is that unpleasant and frustrating information no matter how accurate is actively hidden from you to maximize your social media engagement. George Orwell once noted that he became a writer because he possessed a facility with words and a power of facing unpleasant facts. Theres no place for unpleasant facts in our social media universe. Were Orwell alive today, hed remind us of the terrible political costs caused by this devolution in our informational habits. 3. Why am I talking? My wife is a psychotherapist, and occasionally I skim her Psychotherapy Networker magazine. I read a piece by a therapist who realized his most effective communicative moments often occurred when he asked himself a simple question: Why am I talking? Inevitably this question shut him up and allowed him to absorb much more information. Why am I talking works out to a great acronym: WAIT. If we all just asked ourselves this simple question immediately before posting or retweeting, wed all be better off. There are numerous reasons to participate in the public sphere, and everyone can contribute something valuable. But theres also far too much noise out there, and we need to think more seriously and realistically about the added value of our own communication. These are three simple rules. Of course, they contradict every mechanism Facebook and Twitter uses to encourage our behavior on social media. Being more skeptical, engaging more selectively and prioritizing links to information providers outside our social media silos will hurt the bottom line of the social media giants. Using social media in a more responsible manner might ultimately leave these companies to rot away as they cede their civic responsibilities to the Russian trolls and bots dedicated to polluting our discourse. If they wont act, its up to us. If were collectively smarter and more skeptical about social media as an information delivery device, it will ultimately lessen the influence that these corporations and trolls have on our civic governance. Trade wars are good, and easy to win. So declared Donald Trump a few weeks ago, after announcing tariffs on steel and aluminum. Actually, trade wars are rarely good, and not at all easy to win especially if you have no idea what youre doing. And boy, do these people not know what theyre doing. Its odd, in a way. After all, trade is clearly an issue about which Trump is truly passionate. He tried to kill Obamacare, but to all appearances his main concern was tarnishing his predecessors legacy. He wanted a tax cut, but more to score a win than because he cared about what was in it. But reducing the trade deficit has been a long-term Trump obsession, so you might expect him to learn something about how world trade works, or at least surround himself with people who do understand the subject. But he hasnt. And what he doesnt know can and will hurt you. In the case of steel, heres what happened: First came the splashy announcement of big tariffs, ostensibly in the name of national security infuriating U.S. allies, which are the main source of our steel imports. Then came what looks like a climb-down: The administration has exempted Canada, Mexico, the European Union and others from those tariffs. Was this climb-down a reaction to threats of retaliation, or did the administration not at first realize that the tariffs would mainly hit our allies? Either way, Trump may have gotten the worst of both worlds: angering countries that should be our friends and establishing a reputation as an untrustworthy ally and trading partner, without even doing much for the industry he was supposedly trying to help. President Trump is on solid ground when he accuses China of stealing American technology and pressuring foreign companies to hand over intellectual property to Chinese firms as a condition of doing business there. But he does not seem to know how to fix that pressing problem. Mr. Trump on Thursday announced a three-pronged attack on China. He said he would bring a case against the country at the World Trade Organization, slap about $60 billion of tariffs on unspecified imports from China and impose restrictions on what investments Chinese businesses can make in the United States. His administration argues that these decisions are meant to force President Xi Jinping of China to begin to play by the rules other major economies follow a goal that eluded President Barack Obama and his predecessors. But it is hard to see how Mr. Trump will do much better. Thats because this president has shown little interest in putting together the kind of effective strategy that would be needed to get China to change its ways. The first element of the administrations approach going to the trade organization to challenge Chinas use of technology-licensing policies to transfer know-how from foreign businesses to Chinese companies is a good start. It also bucks the presidents oft-stated disdain for the trade organization and multilateral institutions in general. But Mr. Trump could have gone much further. He ought to have enlisted Canada, the European Union, Japan, South Korea and other countries to jointly put pressure on China. Technology businesses in these countries have many of the same complaints about China that American businesses do. By assembling a coalition to confront China, Mr. Trump would have left it little room to maneuver. But by acting alone, he has given Mr. Xi the ability to make common cause with other countries that see Mr. Trump as a bully intent on penalizing rivals and allies alike. The second part of his plan a 25 percent tariff on certain Chinese products, which the administration says it will specify in the coming days could cause collateral damage to domestic industry and farmers. The Chinese government is already threatening to retaliate by imposing restrictions on American soybeans, sorghum and other farm commodities in a targeted assault on states that voted for Mr. Trump. The country might also seek to switch from American products to European, Canadian or Japanese equivalents. Tariffs are blunt tools that are far less effective than Mr. Trump realizes. Stocks fell sharply on Thursday after Mr. Trumps tariff announcement, with the S.&P. 500-Stock Index closing down 2.5 percent for the day. People in the U.S. and China have for years said the wolf is coming, the wolf is coming, but the wolf hasnt come. This time, the wolf is coming. SHI YINHONG, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing, warning that Chinese leaders have been slow to realize the gravity of a brewing trade battle with Washington. The debate over how to characterize the bombers nearly three-week campaign of violence has been a reminder, for many, of the ways in which race, geography and class continue to play out in a city that prides itself on tolerance and diversity. Though Austin is widely seen as a liberal island in a deeply conservative state, the attacks have stoked the raw racial, economic, political and geographical divisions that continue to shape life here, 90 years after the city was segregated by decree. Austin and its suburbs remain sharply divided by class, race and even religion. Like Houston, it is an urban, diverse and Democratic hub surrounded by largely white, Republican suburbs, including Pflugerville, Mr. Conditts hometown. Austin has gradually started to become aware and conversant about its race issues over the past five years, so the initial suggestion that these bombings could be race-related made people deeply nervous that the problem could be that bad, said Cecilia Balli, a writer and cultural anthropologist who lived in Austin from 2008 to 2014 and who now lives in Houston. Whether or not the bombers motive ends up being race, this brought to the forefront one of the citys challenges and worst fears. The police have said that Mr. Conditt, who is white, gave no indication in a 25-minute confession left on his phone that he was driven by racial hatred. News emerged Thursday that one of the explosive packages he sent at a FedEx store was addressed to a spa employee who is white. His past statements, including the views he expressed on a community college blog opposed to gay marriage, have added to speculation that he was anti-gay. In East Austin on Thursday, Daniel Arriaga, 51, a furniture mover, said he still believed the bomber had a hatred for blacks and Hispanics. He had harmed the two white victims, Mr. Arriaga theorized, just to throw it off. He used explosive devices to kill others and, eventually, himself. In a 25-minute recording, he detailed the weapons he had made and confessed to the crimes. He terrorized the residents of Austin, Tex. But law enforcement officials said that Mark Conditt was not a terrorist. What I can tell you having listened to that recording, he does not at all mention anything about terrorism nor does he mention anything about hate, said Brian Manley, the Austin police chief, on Wednesday. It is the outcry of a very challenged young man talking about challenges in his personal life that led him to this point. The statement befuddled citizens in Texas and elsewhere who presume that any killer is challenged and has enormous personal problems. It also angered people who felt that by portraying Mr. Conditt as a troubled young man who lost his way, the police positioned him as an empathetic figure, which they argued would not have been done had he not been white. As often happens after a high-profile act of seemingly indiscriminate violence, people quickly began to question why law enforcement uses the term terrorist in some instances and not others. Just a month ago, the prevailing wisdom in Washington was that the triumvirate of General McMaster, Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was the only restraining influence on Mr. Trumps confrontational urges. Now only Mr. Mattis is left, and there are increasing questions about how long he will last. The new team unites two of the most virulent opponents of the 2015 Iran deal: Mike Pompeo, the C.I.A. director who was nominated as secretary of state after Mr. Tillerson was unceremoniously fired last week, and Mr. Bolton, a former ambassador to the United Nations who famously declared two decades ago that if 10 stories of the organizations headquarters disappeared, it wouldnt make a bit of difference. Even before the announcement on Thursday night that General McMaster was leaving the White House following months in which Mr. Trump chafed at his briefings and complained that his national security adviser was managing him it seemed likely that the president would follow his instincts and abandon the Iran deal. Even the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee, said over the weekend that he expected the president would move away from it. Now that seems inevitable. If so, this new team of hard-liners will be cast, in their first month together, into two of the most volatile nuclear issues of the post-Cold War era. The question is whether, once in office, they will manage Americas allies and adversaries by ultimatum or by diplomacy. WASHINGTON The top two officials overseeing the military commissions court at the Guantanamo Bay wartime prison were fired last month because they were difficult to work with, not because of the officials legal actions, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and the Pentagons general counsel have told a judge. The court filing from top Pentagon officials was the first explanation for the abrupt ouster of the officials, Harvey Rishikof, who had been serving as the so-called convening authority over the tribunals system, and Gary Brown, his legal adviser. In a separate joint declaration to the judge, the two men said they were given no warning of any management problems and no explanation when they were suddenly fired. The account from top Pentagon officials was an apparent response to accusations that the lawyers work prompted their dismissals. After the firings, lawyers representing detainees charged with aiding the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, voiced suspicion that they might have been ousted because of a policy disagreement over whether their actions affected detainee defendants. Attempts by superiors to influence the handling of a case are forbidden as unlawful command influence. President Trump said on Thursday that he had picked John R. Bolton, a Fox News analyst and a former ambassador to the United Nations, as his next national security adviser, choosing a longtime brash, conservative hawk to help shape his foreign policy operation. Mr. Bolton, 69, has been in the public eye, and in Washington, for 30 years. Outspoken and never one to back down from a debate, he served in the administrations of the past three Republican presidents, mostly in the State Department, and has elevated his profile in recent years. Some of his views were once seen as out of the political mainstream his harsh criticism of the United Nations, for example but his blunt, in-your-face approach now resembles that of Mr. Trump. Over the years, Mr. Boltons uncompromising views on foreign policy have both raised concerns and grabbed headlines. Here are some examples. The End of North Korea Mr. Bolton, who is scheduled to start at the White House on April 9, will take over as a top adviser to Mr. Trump during a critical time. Mr. Trump recently accepted an invitation from North Koreas leader, Kim Jong-un, to meet for negotiations over its nuclear program. That meeting is expected to take place sometime within the next month and a half. John R. Bolton is hardly known for sugarcoating his views. He once derided the United Nations by citing its 38-story headquarters in New York. If it lost 10 stories, he said, it wouldnt make a bit of difference. As it happened, Mr. Bolton went on to serve as the United States ambassador to the United Nations, perhaps the most undiplomatic of diplomats. But if President Trump wanted a national security adviser who would match his blunt, hard-edge, confrontational approach to the world, then Mr. Bolton fits the bill. With his trademark bushy gray mustache and his take-no-prisoners style, Mr. Bolton positioned himself to the right even of the foreign policy veterans who emerged from President George W. Bushs administration, a hawk among hawks, a hard-liner who thrills conservatives and chills moderates and liberals. From his perch on Fox News, he has impressed Mr. Trump with a muscular vision of American power and a dark assessment of Americas adversaries. When he takes over as Mr. Trumps third national security adviser in 14 months, Mr. Bolton will almost surely encourage Mr. Trumps instincts against diplomatic agreements both consider weak and unwise. He shares the presidents derisive opinion of the Iran nuclear deal and will presumably prod him to scrap it when a May deadline arrives. He likewise takes a dim view of international agreements like the Paris climate change accord, from which Mr. Trump announced last year that he would withdraw the United States. He has called the two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians dead. Aint no justice. Aint no justice. We are the change. We are the change. I am exasperated by what the Parkland students had to endure. I am agitated that this is what had to be done to unite us. I think you should arm us with books, instead of arming us with weapons. Im angry that I have to worry about losing another brother to gun violence. Im angry that as we walk down the street, we talk about it as if its a regular thing, but its not. Every one of us in here has experienced violence in our community. So how has this affected us and our goals and our hopes and our dreams. I lost my brother to a shootout. And Ive been in countless occasions of just violence about trying to be robbed. Or just trying to get away from a dangerous situation. I know its different for me. I come in here as your teacher, but Ive lost three students over the past years. You can go outside one day and not know whats going to happen to you. Like you could be innocent and all that other stuff. You could be in the middle of something and just get shot. Thank you for engaging it. This is a hard conversation. Im really proud of you. Hes just 15 years old, but KeShon Newman has had to grow up fast. Two years ago, his brother was shot and killed around the corner from his house. He was walking back from taking his girlfriend to the bus stop. And he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. And there was a shootout down the block. And he was shot. He was shot nine times, and was killed at the hospital. His brother Randall was 16 years old when he was killed. He didnt even deserve to have his life taken away. I thought I would have had enough time to still hang out with him, still just have fun, just grow up with him. To have it cut so short is a tragic thing. The South Side of Chicago is a world away from Parkland, Fla., where 17 people were killed in a mass school shooting. But young people here say that the country is finally waking up to a reality they face every day: Gun violence. In my school, I dont really think of it as a place for a mass shooting cause most most stuff, that happens outside of school. But what I have in common with the kids in Parkland is that I know how it feels to lose someone thats close to you. KeShon lives in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood of Chicagos South Side. Its one of the citys most dangerous areas, but theres a strong sense of community here. The homicide rate in this area is 10 times that of the national average. And gun violence in this community is mostly gang related. You will not hear about a kid going into a Chicago high school and shooting up a school. Thats not our reality of gun violence. But they can leave school and on the block where they live, and they can get caught in the crossfire between rival gangs. Lamar Johnson mentors KeShon and other kids at a violence prevention program he runs at St. Sabina, a church in the area. Its a jungle. You have to be alert. You have to be aware, because theres a lot going on. Its a lot of good people here. But at the same time, its a lot of dangers as well. I have to make sure that Im not in the wrong place at the wrong time because a situation can come out of nowhere just from the wrong person, having the a terrible mindset to actually want to kill someone or to shoot down a block. Lamar took some kids from the South Side of Chicago to Florida to meet with the Parkland survivors. They went to share their stories and their collective grief. We was talking about the differences between how gun violence has affected them that day versus the everyday reality. So I was sitting there with a smirk on my face like, well, I was I basically told them I said, Well, no disrespect. Welcome to our world. And I mean this with true sincerity. And when I said that one of the students was like, Well, I want to apologize to you because I understand the reason why we have this platform is because were privileged. So yall, I can tell yall alright, yall good? Ever since the Florida shooting, hes led his youth group through some difficult conversations. First of all, lets name some of the similarities and differences, we have apart. Yeah. To the Parkland kids this happened one time. But to the people of Chicago, here, this happens a lot. So if somebody you know got shot, and somebody they know got shot, the feelings going to be the same. Regardless of how many times you experience it, if they experienced it one, two times they still going to feel traumatized because that was a moment that happened. So let me ask, do you feel we get the same attention? No. Not at all. So you think Chicago doesnt get attention for its gun violence? That area was nice and had, like, wealthy it was nice. It was suburban. You wouldnt have expected it. Youre not youre not angry at Parkland. You want to know why? Parkland is with us. Young people like Rieonna Holmon say that the threat of violence is always around them. What happened in Florida happens here every day 17, more than 17 people die a year here. More than 17 people die a week here. And I think now they understand that connection is going on. Shes 15 years old and says the dangers in her community marked her entire childhood. Growing up on the South Side of Chicago is really fearful. We cant go outside and just sit on our porch, or just ride around our neighborhoods on our bikes like they can in different neighborhoods. Rieonna, KeShon and others are all heading to Washington to take part in the national march against gun violence. Its probably going to choke me up. Im probably going to cry mostly because its a bunch of youth all working together to achieve one goal. And thats never happened before. Just a week before the march, a conversation born out of tragedy between young people more than a thousand miles apart came to life. Survivors from the Parkland shooting traveled to Chicago for a chance to see firsthand what life is like on the South Side. When Im with these other students and people from Chicago, I feel their pain. This isnt just in schools. This is anywhere and everywhere. There shouldnt be no fear inside someones heart just for them to live their life every day. Pain is pain. It doesnt matter what ethnicity you are, where you come from, where you live, how much money you make. What happened in Parkland, was injustice, and injustice there is injustice here. WASHINGTON The State Department said on Thursday that it had approved the sale of an estimated $670 million in anti-tank missiles to Saudi Arabia, just hours after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Pentagon leaders to discuss the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen. The proposed package includes up to 6,700 missiles made by Raytheon, as well as spare parts for American-made tanks and helicopters that Saudi Arabia already owns. The proposed sale is bound to be questioned by Congress, where the Senate this week rejected a bipartisan effort to halt American military support for the bombing campaign in Yemen. The Trump administration strenuously protested the effort, and sent Pentagon and State Department officials to Capitol Hill last week to lobby against its passage. In the end, the administration prevailed, and lawmakers from both parties shelved the measure for further debate by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. That it got that far demonstrates the increased frustration by Republicans and Democrats over Washingtons support for the Saudi campaign against Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, which has been roundly criticized by human rights organizations because of the large number of civilian casualties. VERACRUZ, Mexico The Mexican police said Thursday that a journalist who ran a local news website was shot to death in the eastern state of Veracruz. The Veracruz State police said that the journalist, Leobardo Vazquez, was found dead late Wednesday in the town of Gutierrez Zamora, which is in an area where drug gangs are active. Ivonne Hernandez Duran, Mr. Vazquezs wife, said she heard shots and found her husband lying near a taco stand he operated out of his home. Mr. Vazquez previously worked for other news outlets, but he was most recently managing the news site Enlace Informativo Regional. BEIJING China announced Friday that it planned to impose tariffs on $3 billion worth of American-produced fruit, pork, wine, seamless steel pipes and more than 100 other goods, hitting back at the United States hours after President Trump proposed tariffs on about $60 billion worth of Chinese-made products. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce issued the threat in an online statement that said its proposed measures retaliated against the Trump administrations earlier decision to impose tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum. The timing, though, also appeared to be a warning shot against Mr. Trumps latest action on the trade front, on Thursday, when he took specific aim at a much wider range of Chinese products. The Chinese tariffs would balance out the losses sustained by China through the United States increased tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, an unnamed Commerce Ministry spokesman said in the statement. China urges the United States to resolve Chinas concerns as soon as possible, resolve bilateral differences through dialogue and consultation, and avoid damage to the broader array of Chinese-U.S. cooperation. Under the planned Chinese countermeasures, American-produced fresh fruit, nuts, wine, seamless steel pipes and other goods would be the first to get hit, by 15 percent tariffs. In most performances of Donizettis Lucia di Lammermoor, its hard not to feel a little sorry for the lead tenor during the final scene. This tormented moment for the character Edgardo is one of the composers most inspired creations, but it immediately follows Lucias famous mad scene usually the showstopper. But thanks to a fearless performance by the tenor Vittorio Grigolo, Edgardos scene was the high point of the evening on Thursday when Mary Zimmermans 2007 production of Lucia returned to the Metropolitan Opera. Other cast members had their moments, especially the luminous soprano Olga Peretyatko-Mariotti, singing her first Lucia at the Met, who was at her best when it mattered most during the long, demanding mad scene. Still, all night Mr. Grigolo was in the zone with a fervor that no one else matched. AT 1 MINUTE 43 SECONDS Infectious Swagger Its become almost expected for the charismatic tenor Vittorio Grigolo to dominate any opera he appears in. It happened again on Thursday when the Metropolitan Opera brought back Donizettis Lucia di Lammermoor. The lovely soprano Olga Peretyatko-Mariotti had admirable qualities as Lucia, but Mr. Grigolos hotheaded, vocally burnished Edgardo is the reason to see this production. He usually manages to make an impact even in bizarre productions, as in this 2017 video from a strange, modern-dress staging of Verdis Rigoletto at the Paris National Opera. Here, as the duke, he sings La donna e mobile. Mr. Grigolo seems rattled at first: He and the orchestra take a phrase or two to get in sync. But once he takes off, Mr. Grigolo brings infectious swagger to the aria. When a roster of birdlike chorus girls enters the scene, he actually sings with more elegance. Catch the moment when he holds on to a melting high note as his silly companions shake their posteriors. ANTHONY TOMMASINI Arts organizations around the country can breathe a sigh of relief. Once again, Congress has rebuffed President Trumps call to gut the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. In the new $1.3 trillion spending bill passed by Congress and signed by President Trump on Friday, both endowments actually saw a slight increase of about $3 million in their funding levels, to about $153 million each. In Mr. Trumps first federal budget last year, he caused alarm after he became the first president to call for ending the endowments since they were created in 1965 even though the combined budgets of both make up a mere fraction of the federal budget. Arts groups around the country mobilized immediately to save the federal funding. Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous nights highlights that lets you sleep and lets us get paid to watch comedy. If youre interested in hearing from The Times regularly about great TV, sign up for our Watching newsletter and get recommendations straight to your inbox. Clash of the Titans President Trump took to Twitter on Thursday to taunt former Vice President Joe Biden. Earlier this week, Biden had suggested in a speech that he would like to fight Trump one-on-one. Trump pushed back on Twitter, saying that Biden would go down fast and hard in a fight with him. Both Trevor Noah and Seth Meyers were amused. 1. More than 800 demonstrations against gun violence are planned on Saturday in the U.S. and around the world. The campaign, called the March for Our Lives, is being led by students and will include survivors of the Parkland, Fla., shooting and other attacks. This map shows where they will be held, and well have live coverage starting Saturday morning. Above right, David Hogg, a student activist from Parkland, visited a school in Washington. Our video journalists profiled a 15-year-old who lost his brother to gun violence in Chicago. Now hes getting ready to march in Washington. The surveillance footage is remarkable in its banality. It shows Stephen Paddock, the Las Vegas gunman, in the days before his mass shooting. He cuts a lonesome figure as he moves through the Mandalay Bay hotel playing video poker for hours in the casino; buying snacks at a newsstand; watching a LeBron James interview in a restaurant; and at times, chatting with hotel staff. But this picture of an ordinary gambler disguises a far more sinister intent. Through this previously unseen footage, well show how Paddock methodically planned his attack, and how, over seven days, hotel staff unwittingly helped him to move bag after bag of weapons to his room. The videos, obtained exclusively by The New York Times from MGM Resorts, begin on Monday, Sept. 25. At the V.I.P. counter, he checks into a suite on the 32nd floor, and books an adjoining room, which he will check into four days later. He doesnt immediately bring in suitcases. Instead, he spends two hours in the hotel, going to his room and eating at a sushi restaurant downstairs. Just before 5 p.m., he drives his Chrysler Pacifica minivan to the valet area, where a bellman loads the luggage cart with five suitcases. Paddock asks to stay with his luggage, so the bellman brings him through the service elevators to his room something hotel management says is not unusual. Paddock spends the next four hours in his room, and at 9:40 that night, he leaves the hotel, bringing two suitcases with him. He drives one hour to Mesquite, where he lived. Cellphone records show that he stays the night and spends most of Tuesday here. Around 8 p.m., Paddock returns to Las Vegas, but he stops at the Ogden, a downtown condominium complex. This is interesting for a few reasons. Paddock was also renting rooms here for the entire week. He checked in the previous Friday, when a music event called the Life Is Beautiful festival was being held in the surrounding streets. Internet records recovered by the police show that he searched for that festivals lineup and its expected attendance. This was similar to his research of the Mandalay and the Route 91 Harvest Festival, which he would later attack. So, the Ogden and the Life is Beautiful festival could have been used for planning, or may even have been a target. Later Tuesday night, Paddock returns to the Mandalay and a different bellman helps him to move seven more suitcases to his suite. Again, he uses the service elevator. He tips the bellman, who had no way of knowing these cases were packed with guns and ammunition. He gambles for eight hours until morning. Paddock was a regular at the Mandalay, and several casino hosts knew him. The videos show their interactions as being completely normal and in no way alarming. Remember, in two days, Paddock has brought 12 cases upstairs. He spends most of Wednesday in his room, and that evening repeats a similar pattern. He leaves the Mandalay, again carrying two suitcases. He stops at the Ogden and drives home to Mesquite. On Thursday, he buys a .308 bolt-action rifle from a gun store and visits a nearby gun range before driving back to the Mandalay. That night, he again uses the valet service and a bellman to carry a white container and three suitcases to his room. His arsenal of weapons is growing. Again, he gambles through the night. Its now Friday, and at 8 p.m., the Route 91 Harvest Festival will open in the fairgrounds across from the Mandalay. Paddock stays in his room until around 3 p.m. and uses his laptop while the suite is cleaned. He checks into the adjoining room, 134, using the name of his girlfriend, Marilou Danley. He also tells cleaning staff to leave behind the food-service cart. Two days later, Paddock would use this, and one other service cart, to create a surveillance ring during his attack. Overnight, he makes a brief trip to Mesquite. Arriving back at the Mandalay at 6 a.m. with two more suitcases. Soon after noon on Saturday, he places do not disturb signs on both room doors. He declines housekeeping. He takes an elevator to the valet area and sits, waiting for his car. He carries two more bags to his room. He gambles some more, and that night he makes a final trip to Mesquite, returning to the Mandalay at 3 a.m. on Sunday morning. He gambles through the night in the high-limits slots area, and returns to his room at 7:37 a.m. Its 12:16 p.m. when we see Paddock going back to the parking garage. The guests exiting the elevator have no idea that in 10 hours, this unremarkable figure would commit the worst mass shooting in modern American history. He returns from his car, bringing two suitcases and a smaller bag inside. Since Monday, he has brought at least 21 cases, two smaller bags, a laptop bag and a container to his room. This is the last time we see Paddock, arriving at the 32nd floor. Through the day, he opens, closes and locks both rooms repeatedly. At thirty-six minutes after 9, he locks the deadbolt to room 135 for the last time. Four minutes later, Jason Aldean, whos headlining the Route 91 festival, begins his act. Paddock then turns the deadbolt to room 134. At 10:05, his shooting rampage begins. In under 10 minutes, he would kill 58 people and injure over 700, before taking his own life. He had amassed 23 guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition. Almost six months since the attack, Paddocks motive remains unknown. The Trump administration said it would exempt the European Union and other allies from stiff steel and aluminum tariffs that go into effect today, but in a twist, the administration may impose import quotas to prevent too much foreign metal from flooding into the United States. The move came as President Trump announced plans to impose about $60 billion worth of annual tariffs on Chinese imports, in punishment for what the White House says is Chinas pattern of co-opting American tech and trade secrets. China hit back Friday morning, proposing reciprocal tariffs on $3 billion of American-made imports, and said that it would also pursue legal action against the U.S. at the World Trade Organization. BEIJING In a tit-for-tat trade battle with the United States, Chinas response has so far been restrained. But that is with good reason: As it waits to see how far President Trump plans to go in imposing sweeping tariffs on China, Beijing knows that it has more effective weapons in its arsenal. Chinas Ministry of Commerce said on Friday that it would impose tariffs on $3 billion worth of American-produced fruit, pork, wine, seamless steel pipes and more than 100 other products. The move was in response to the Trump administrations announcements that it would apply tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum, and came hours after Mr. Trump said he would impose tariffs on about $60 billion worth of Chinese-made products. Beijing said it would challenge the penalties at the World Trade Organization, and would carry out its trade restrictions in accordance with W.T.O. rules. The Trump administration has backed away from a proposed regulation that would have allowed restaurant owners and managers to pocket the tips of their workers. The change was negotiated by Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, and Labor Secretary R. Alexander Acosta after the proposal encountered months of opposition. Labor advocacy groups argued that the regulation would transfer billions of dollars from workers to employers. The restaurant industry had backed the proposal, saying it would allow the tips given to waiters and waitresses to be shared with so-called back-of-house workers, like cooks and dishwashers. Under the compromise, inserted into the congressional spending bill that won final approval early Friday, federal law would be revised to make clear that employers cannot under any circumstances keep any portion of the tips earned by their workers. While Ms. Peveler is trying to control the risks of aging alone, many so-called elder orphans may not fare as well. Older single and childless people are at higher risk than those with children for facing medical problems, cognitive decline and premature death, according to a 2016 study led by Dr. Maria Torroella Carney, chief of geriatric and palliative medicine at the Northwell Health system on Long Island. The study noted that about 22 percent of people 65 and older either are childless or have children who are not in contact. Adult children typically help elderly parents negotiate housing, social-service and health care options. Without such a fallback, elder orphans can reduce their risks by building their own support structures, Dr. Carney said. People who are aging alone need to make plans when they are independent and functional, she said. They need to learn about the resources in the community and the appropriate time to start using them. Those services could include senior-friendly housing and the growing number of home-delivered products and services aimed at the aging-solo market, such as healthy meals and doctors who make house calls, she said. One of the first steps childless people should take is to hire an elder law lawyer, who can draw up documents that will protect them if they become incapacitated. Childless people typically turn to a friend, a lawyer, clergy, or a niece or nephew to make medical decisions, according to experts. A banks trust unit can take on financial tasks, with a friend, a relative or a lawyer monitoring the banks decisions. Christina Lesher, an elder law lawyer in Houston, suggests appointing a micro board, which includes the lawyer, the health care and financial agents, an accountant and a geriatric care manager. The board can step in if a client cannot make decisions, Ms. Lesher said. The client could assign a network of friends and neighbors to call the lawyer in an emergency or if they notice any cognitive decline. As for housing, Dr. Carney recommends that people aging alone consider a senior-friendly congregate living arrangement. Besides offering a variety of services, such housing can lessen isolation, which her research shows can lead to physical and cognitive decline. If that is not possible, she said, elder orphans should move closer to shopping, medical care, recreation and senior support services. Send your workplace conundrums to workologist@nytimes.com, including your name and contact information (even if you want it withheld). The Workologist is a guy with well-intentioned opinions, not a professional career adviser. Letters may be edited. I work for a staffing agency that places workers in groups of varying size, to work on specific projects, often at large firms. Recently, a member of a crew I am part of has engaged in behavior that could easily be construed as sexual harassment. He has touched one person in the group inappropriately running his finger down her neck, caressing her back, for example. He has also repeatedly asked co-workers for the phone numbers of women in our group. (In general, our crews are majority female.) He even asked a recent widow if he could move in with her. Some of us are concerned since all of this pretty much violates the client firms sexual harassment policies. But I think there is a reluctance to report him because the job doesnt pay well, and he needs the money. Any ideas? EVANSTON, ILL. As described, your colleagues behavior is a serious issue. The fact that he needs the money is not a valid excuse. Nor is it a good reason to let this slide. You should definitely take some sort of action, but the details might depend on a couple of factors. For general legal context, I checked with Amy Epstein Gluck, an employment lawyer in the Washington, D.C., office of the firm FisherBroyles. Given the variety and frequency of this workers apparent behavior, she said, the behavior should probably be reported to management at the agency that you and your fellow contractors work for. The agency should investigate, Ms. Epstein Gluck said, and it should promptly talk to this employee and other relevant parties, handling the issue as appropriate. The specifics will depend on your agencys policies, but the bottom line is that managers there should want to know this is happening to make it stop. Speaking broadly, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects workers at companies with 15 or more employees from sexual harassment that creates a hostile work environment. If this worker ends up harassing employees of the client firm for which your group is working, those workers could have a Title VII claim against your agency (as well as their employer). Doing nothing is, in short, risking a real problem for the agency, Ms. Epstein Gluck says. GENEVA The handsome stone edifice that serves as the headquarters for the World Trade Organization rises like a fortress over Lake Geneva, projecting an air of impregnability. But lately the institution looks vulnerable, sowing worries that global commerce itself may be in jeopardy. As the United States accuses China of predatory trading practices while doling out unilateral punishment, the trade organization tasked with preserving the peace appears marginalized. The latest indication came on Thursday, when President Trump effectively bypassed the trading organization in announcing plans to impose tariffs on as much as $60 billion worth of Chinese imports, from electronics to running shoes. By Friday morning, China was threatening to retaliate with tariffs on some $3 billion worth of imports from the United States. Diplomats and trade officials said the American action if followed through would flout W.T.O. rules, given that the United States would be imposing tariffs without first adjudicating its grievances. Chinese retaliation would similarly deviate from W.T.O. rules. The bills future is unclear. On Thursday, Senator Ron Johnson, Republican of Wisconsin, failed to secure unanimous consent in the Senate to pass the House version of the bill after it was blocked by Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader from New York. Mr. Schumer said that the Senate had already passed its version and that he wanted to work on a compromise bill. In a statement, Senator Johnson said the next step would be to persuade the House to pass his version. Patients and their families are running out of time, Mr. Johnson said in the statement. I promise to continue to work tirelessly on behalf of desperate patients for their right to try their right to hope. Supporters say that right-to-try measures will eliminate an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy obtaining approval from the F.D.A. The legislation includes incentives they say could encourage companies to participate, such as shielding them from lawsuits and preventing the F.D.A. from considering the experiences of patients on the drugs in their eventual decisions about whether to approve them. All were trying to do with Right to Try is open up another avenue for patients who need it and arent served by existing programs, said Starlee Coleman, a senior policy adviser at the Goldwater Institute. The F.D.A. already approves 99 percent of such applications, and the agency has streamlined the approval process. Drug companies also have many other reasons to bar access often, companies do not have enough extra product to give to patients, or they worry that the logistical work of granting access could slow efforts to get the drug approved, when it would become available to any patient who needed it. Are there things you enjoy doing that are so exhilarating or challenging that you find yourself feeling stronger, more alert or happier? What activities make you feel more alive? In Alone at Sea, Elizabeth Weil writes about Aleksander Doba, who kayaked across the Atlantic Ocean (for the third time) at age 70: Ocean kayaking is catastrophically monotonous. The primary challenge is not physical. Doba describes the tedium as a form of dementia: Hundreds, thousands, maybe millions of repetitions. The brain is removed from the process. Alone at sea without his hearing aids, Doba joked, he grew so disoriented that he started shouting at himself so that I could hear. (Doba is fairly deaf but didnt bring the aids along because theyre expensive and not waterproof, and there was no one to talk to anyway.) He intended to keep muscle tone in his legs by swimming, but he had to abort that plan because his body in the water attracted sharks. He was assaulted by hailstorms of flying fish. Do you know how fast they go? he said. This does not feel good. When he couldnt sleep, because of the unrelenting stuffiness of his cabin and the waves crashing through the portal onto his head, Doba thought about his wife, children and his young granddaughter. He thought about his dead parents. He communed with the turtles, whose shells he tapped while they swam alongside him to make sure they were alive, and the birds, who landed on Olo for a rest and often entered his cabin and did not want to leave. He did have a satellite phone, and he texted with Arminski, who, as his trip navigator, sent a regular forecast for wind and weather. Doba also called his wife, twice. But after she got the bill for $500, she says, the desire to talk decreased. Doba rotated through three kinds of freeze-dried porridge for breakfast, four kinds of freeze-dried soup for lunch and an assortment of a dozen freeze-dried entrees. (He ate all the meat options first.) He also snacked on dried fruit and his wifes plum jam, but he ran out of that halfway across the ocean. Every time he closed his eyes, Doba told me, I dreamed I was paddling in the winter in Poland. He lost 45 pounds. Still, the trip was perfect. Ninety-nine days after leaving Senegal, Doba arrived in Brazil. He was greeted by one journalist and the Polish ambassador. Nobody cares if you cross the Atlantic in a kayak. The fact that Doba knows this is clear in his eyes. In photos from the ends of his trips, he looks ecstatic and feral, in the best possible sense, intrinsically wild and free. Students: Read the article up to the close-up photo of Mr. Doba in a white tank top, then tell us: Can you understand why Mr. Doba looked as if he were feeling ecstatic and feral, in the best possible sense, intrinsically wild and free while kayaking? Why or why not? What activities do you do that give you a feeling of being more alive? Why do they make you feel that way? What activities can you see yourself doing when you reach Mr. Dobas age, so you still feel wild and free? Explain why. An ensemble film that unfolds as a series of vignettes during the wars last stages, Westfront focuses on four German infantrymen in Occupied France. The French are not the enemy; the enemy is war. At one point the Germans are trapped in the trenches that are being shelled by their own army. Those at home are preoccupied with their own shortages and privation. One of the soldiers gets a brief leave, returning to find his wife in bed with the butchers assistant (who supplements her rations and has himself just been drafted). Hopelessly demoralized, the soldier returns to his comrades on the front and volunteers for a hazardous mission. For an early talkie (and Pabsts first), Westfront is notably fluid. The camera is highly mobile and the director makes skillful use of long takes although portions of the brilliantly extended, existential battle sequences are filmed with a fixed camera. Westfront is also notable for its creative sound editing, expanding space through offscreen sound, creating sound bridges using artillery fire that extends from one shot to another and even devising audio match cuts, between cries and whizzing shells. Much of Westfront is played out in the scarred and denuded buffer zone between the trenches filmed by Pabst in highly defined sharp focus. A meeting between two German soldiers in this cratered deathscape has been singled out as the essence of Germanys fatalistic mood, trapped between one war and another that is yet to come. Nobody in the film really gets out alive. The most gung-ho character goes mad, screaming all the way to the field hospital that has been set up in a bombed-out church. The powerful final image has a blinded French soldier reaching out to grab the hand of the German lying next to him without realizing that he has sought comfort from a corpse. In his next film, Kameradschaft (1931), also newly out from Criterion, Pabst made an even more impassioned plea for solidarity having German rescue teams aid the trapped French miners when a coal mine collapses on the border between the two countries. The Korean War film Cease Fire (1953), recently released on disc from Kino, strove for another kind of battlefield authenticity being a sort of neorealist experiment in 3-D. Somehow while backing out of that building, Firefighter Davidson was separated from the rest of the unit, Commissioner Nigro said. It was only when they got out that they noticed Firefighter Davidson was not with them. Other firefighters went looking for him in desperation. He was found above the cellar, on the same level as the jazz club where the film shoot had taken place, the city official said. He had apparently run out of air when he was found, his mask was off. The official said he may have removed it instinctively when his air supply ran out. Firefighter Davidson also had burns on his legs. He was taken to Harlem Hospital, where he died of his injuries. Firefighter Davidson, 37, left behind a wife and four young children. He was a 15-year veteran of the department and he came from a family of firefighters. His father was one, as was a brother and at least one cousin. Two other firefighters were injured as well; one remained hospitalized on Friday afternoon. Two separate inquiries are underway. One, which might take a year, will examine procedures and decision-making, and will provide a step-by-step account of the fatal fire. The second will focus on the cause and origin of the fire. As of Thursday night, there were several feet of water in the cellar that promised to slow down the second inquiry. But there was no immediate indication, a city official said, that any of the electronics associated with the movie shoot had played a role in the ignition. The filming of Motherless Brooklyn had, until Thursday night, been a source of amusement, curiosity, and minor frustration for the neighborhood. Michael R. Davidson, 37, was responsible for operating the fire hose nozzle for Engine Company 69, the first to arrive, the commissioner said. He was somehow separated from other firefighters when the blaze intensified and forced them to pull back from the building, officials said. Image Firefighter Michael R. Davidson Credit... New York Fire Department When he was found by other firefighters, he was unconscious, and critically injured. He was taken to Harlem Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. New York City is in mourning tonight, Councilman Mark D. Levine said of Mr. Davidson in a tweet. He made the ultimate sacrifice to save the lives of our neighbors. Horrific tragedy. We pray for his family and loved ones. Firefighter Davidson was a 15-year veteran of the Fire Department and had been cited for bravery four times, the department said. The names of the two injured firefighters, who were being treated for burns, were not released. Commissioner Nigro said that fighting a fire in a cellar is one of the most dangerous tasks that firefighters take on, and that in a building that isnt fireproof, like the one on St. Nicholas Avenue, flames are liable to spread rapidly. Several other firefighters had less serious injuries and three civilians received minor injuries, the commissioner said. On Feb. 14, Ben Frisch, in his 34th year teaching at Friends Seminary, a private school in downtown Manhattan was seeking to demonstrate an obtuse angle in an 11th grade math class. Straightening his arm and pointing it outward, he mimicked the Nazi salute and said, Heil Hitler. Mr. Frischs father was an Austrian Jew who suffered traumatic anti-Semitic attacks as a child in Poland before World War II and lost his grandparents in the Holocaust. Mr. Frisch, a devout Quaker, has been considered one of the most spiritually serious members of the faculty at the school, founded in 1786, by members of the Religious Society of Friends. No one believed he had suddenly become a Third Reich sympathizer, but at the same time not everyone found his professed effort at comedy particularly whimsical. Not long after the incident, Mr. Frisch received a call from the administration telling him that there had been complaints about his analogy, that some students were offended and that he should not come to school the following morning. A period of limbo preceded a suspension, and on March 9, the day after the schools gala and auction, he was fired. Later that day, the schools principal, Robert Lauder (Friends is the rare independent school that shuns the term headmaster), sent a letter to the community explaining the termination. Our students know that words and signs of hate and fear have no place at Friends, he wrote, adding that as news of Mr. Frischs gaffe had circulated, the administration started to receive calls and emails about other equally inappropriate and troubling actions by Ben. In the late 1950s and early 60s, he was briefly married to his college girlfriend, Anne Drummond, although they both knew he was gay. Sometime after that he changed his first name to Eli. In the 1970s, Mr. Leon became a regular at flea markets in and around Oakland, buying quilts of all kinds. In short order, he decided to concentrate on African-American quilts because their irregular, improvisatory patterns appealed to him. He began asking people at flea markets if they knew of any local quilt makers. One day he approached Ms. Tompkins as she was selling household items at a flea market. As he later wrote, She was evasive, but eventually let on that she herself dabbled in the craft. Dazzled by her work, he began to buy whatever she would sell him while also buying from other members of a large community of African-American quilt makers in the Oakland area. Over 30 years he accrued a collection of around 3,500 quilts, including some 200 by Ms. Tompkins. (With his death, how that collection will be disposed of is not yet known.) Mr. Leon also began studying the quilts, relating their ad hoc patterns to textiles made in West Africa. And he made trips to the area of northeast Texas, northwest Louisiana and southern Arkansas, where many of the African-American quilt makers he knew in California had come from, visiting their relatives, interviewing them and buying more quilts. In 1989, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship to conduct research in the South. Mr. Leon organized his first exhibition of quilts from his collection in 1987 at the San Francisco Craft and Folk Art Museum under the title Whod a Thought It: Improvisation in African-American Quiltmaking. He would go on to organize nearly a dozen exhibitions across the country. I remember once I declared love, the visitor told a room full of acting students at the Trinity School on Manhattans Upper West Side. It was spring. We were on a boulevard. She had on a lovely white coat. I wanted to start talking, and I suddenly felt that my top lip got stuck to my nose. It was 1988, and the speaker was Oleg Tabakov, a leading actor and director in what was then still the Soviet Union. He was explaining to American students how to tap into the themes of love in Chekhov, and specifically The Seagull. Everything is internal, he told them. Russian critics wrote of Hemingway that only 10 percent is on the surface; 90 percent is under water. I think Chekhov is 99 percent under water. Mr. Tabakov, who was visiting under a program of the British American Drama Academy, would have certainly known. Not only had he already acted in about 100 Russian films at that point, but he also was an actor and director at the Moscow Art Theater and led its theater school. Olly Wilson, an adventurous composer who integrated African, African-American and electronic rhythms, riffs and sounds into Western classical music conventions, died on March 12 in Oakland, Calif. He was 80. His daughter, Dawn Wilson, said the cause was complications of dementia. Mr. Wilson, a longtime professor at the University of California, Berkeley, grew up listening to jazz and spirituals. He studied African music in Ghana under one of his two Guggenheim Fellowships, opened an electronic music studio at the Conservatory of Music at Oberlin College in Ohio, where he had formerly taught, and wrote academic papers, including a major essay on the art of black music. I see him very much as a musician, composer and a scholar these things are hard to separate with him, Ryan Skinner, a musicology professor at Ohio State University, said in a telephone interview. His music is, in many ways, the resounding of his scholarship. In his composition Sometimes, Mr. Wilson used the call-and-response tradition of African-American churchgoers to create a dialogue between a tenor singing Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child and a tape that included a distorted recording of that sorrowful spiritual. TORONTO Too many Canadians and Americans are negatively fixated on each others health systems and the distortions that accompany so many conversations about health reform make it harder to improve care on both sides of the border. Canadians staunchly support our universal health care system, according to polls over many years. We live longer, healthier lives than Americans, and our survival rates for cancer and other diseases are comparable. The father of universal health coverage in Canada, Tommy Douglas, is considered a national hero. Like much of Europe, Canada considers access to health care a right on par with the right to food and shelter. In a country where medical bankruptcy is almost unheard of, we are reminded of our privilege every time we read about the shortcomings of the American health care system. And yet Canadians are forced to defend our health system every day in the American media. American politicians grossly distort reality, proclaiming as fact the myth that Canadians die waiting for treatment. Perhaps thats why many Canadians and some Americans cheered when I took on such claims at a United States Senate subcommittee a few years ago. Mr. Bolton also accused a State Department subordinate of not sharing with him a cable about weapons inspections in Iraq. The same official had managed to delete some of the more extreme claims about Iraqs weapons programs from Colin Powells infamous presentation to the United Nations. Mr. Bolton ordered him removed from his duties, which State Department officials reportedly saw as an another instance of Mr. Bolton trying to marginalize dissent. Mr. Bolton made it something of a habit to request the identity of American officials whose names had been blacked out of sensitive intelligence intercepts. Some members of the Foreign Relations Committee were concerned that he was seeking information to use against those who disagreed with him the very kind of improper unmasking that President Trump has falsely accused some members of the Obama administration of pursuing. Other witnesses came forward to allege abusive behavior by Mr. Bolton during his time as a lawyer in the private sector screaming, threatening, throwing documents and, in the words of one woman, genuinely behaving like a madman. All of this ultimately proved too much for Senator Voinovich. In a remarkable speech to his colleagues on the committee, a visibly pained Mr. Voinovich explained his decision to vote against Mr. Bolton, effectively killing the nomination. Weve heard, he said, that Mr. Bolton is an ideologue and fosters an atmosphere of intimidation. He does not tolerate disagreement. He does not tolerate dissent. This is not, he continued, the behavior that should be endorsed as the face of the United States to the world. President Bush used a recess appointment to make Mr. Bolton the ambassador without Senate approval. We are about to find out whether this sort of behavior is any more appropriate for a presidents national security adviser, arguably the most powerful, sensitive and demanding job in the administration short of the presidents and one that requires an honest broker, willing to present the president with ideas and analyses he does not agree with. As my old Magic 8 Ball fortunetelling toy used to say, All signs point to no. Time has not mellowed Mr. Bolton, who has been a Fox News commentator and senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. He continues to denounce diplomacy and advocate military action when it comes to Iran and North Korea. Though he has advocated tough policies on Russia, he has also reportedly suggested that Vladimir Putins effort to undermine the 2016 election was a false-flag operation orchestrated by the Obama administration. Mr. Bolton denied saying that and asserted that the Obama administration had consistently tried to politicize intelligence. A president is entitled to advisers of his choosing, who reflect his worldview. Now, with Mr. Bolton and Mike Pompeo at the State Department, Mr. Trump is about to get just that. And so is America. The national security adviser is the person who makes sure the president hears the views of all the national security agencies, including the State Department and the Defense Department, and who drives policy toward a decision. It is hard to see Mr. Bolton acting as an honest broker. He is known to play a ruthless inside game as he maneuvers to win bureaucratic battles and freezes out people he thinks have crossed him. He has been such a lightning rod that he couldnt get confirmed as United Nations ambassador in 2005, so President George W. Bush gave him a recess appointment, and he stayed in the job about a year. It was considered unlikely that the Senate would confirm him as secretary of state, but the national security adviser job doesnt require confirmation. Bringing on the fiery Mr. Bolton now, at a delicate moment with North Korea, is a terrible decision. While Mr. Trump has often threatened North Korea with military action, he accepted Mr. Kims invitation to a summit meeting, brokered by South Koreas president, who is eager for a diplomatic solution to the nuclear crisis. Mr. Bolton, by contrast, told Fox News earlier this month that talks would be worthless, and he has called South Korean leaders putty in North Koreas hands. On Feb. 28, he insisted in a Wall Street Journal op-ed article that it is perfectly legitimate for the United States to respond to the current necessity posed by North Koreas nuclear weapons by striking first. Last summer he wrote in The Journal, The U.S. should obviously seek South Koreas agreement (and Japans) before using force, but no foreign government, even a close ally, can veto an action to protect Americans from Kim Jong Uns nuclear weapons. On Iran, Mr. Bolton and the president are in sync, with both arguing that the United States should withdraw from the nuclear agreement by a May deadline. In March 2015, he argued in a New York Times Op-Ed opinion article that only military action like Israels 1981 attack on Saddam Husseins Osirak reactor in Iraq or its 2007 destruction of a Syrian reactor can accomplish what is required. Going to war in either of these cases would not only create unnecessary bloodshed; it would be disastrous for the United States and its allies, South Korea and Japan. The Iran deal has substantially halted the nuclear program and needs to be maintained. Negotiations between the United States and North Korea, given a new impetus by Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim, need to be tested. Mr. Boltons position on Russia, that NATO must have a strong response to the Kremlin-linked poisoning of a former Russian spy in Britain, is somewhat better than Mr. Trumps. But his rejection of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and his endorsement of a book by the anti-Muslim activist Pam Geller are unacceptable positions for a top American official. Mr. Bolton is certain to accelerate American alienation from its allies and the rest of the world. Congress may not be able to stop his appointment, but it should speak out against it and reassert its responsibilities under the Constitution to authorize when the nation goes to war. PARIS It is tempting to say that the relationship between President Emmanuel Macron of France and President Trump is the unlikeliest of friendships, but that would be to miss the point. Sure, they agree on very little. Not on Iran. Not on trade. Not on the European Union. Not on climate. Not on whether to criticize Vladimir Putin. Not on the importance of dignity, or truth, or the Enlightenment. Still, I hear that they speak all the time. Trump follows Macrons labor-market reforms and calls to congratulate him. The first state visit of his administration will be Macrons to Washington next month, a special honor for a great guy. The French president is Trumps best friend in Europe, and possibly beyond. Things fizzled with Theresa May, the British prime minister. They never went anywhere with Germanys Angela Merkel. Trump-Macron is the only trans-Atlantic hinge not creaking. This is not really surprising. Both men came from nowhere, mavericks hoisted to the highest offices of their lands by a wave of disgust at politics-as-usual. They are, in their way, accidents of history, thrust to power at the passing of an era. Longing for disruption produced these two disrupters. Among specific policies, continued adherence to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that is, the Iran nuclear deal is perhaps the one that General McMasters departure most imperils. Mr. Trumps primary substantive motivation for the current shake-up among his senior advisers is apparently to remove obstacles to scuttling the Iran deal, which he has already declined to recertify. Rex Tillerson, the recently fired secretary of state, was one of the two biggest ones; General McMaster was the other. The new C.I.A. director, Mike Pompeo, whom Mr. Trump has nominated to succeed Mr. Tillerson, firmly opposes the Iran deal. Mr. Bolton, for his part, is the ultimate Iran hawk, having long advocated a pre-emptive strike on Iran. Mr. Mattis, though he has supported adherence to the deal, reportedly pushed for General McMasters ouster and considers Iran an implacable threat to regional security and stability. Tearing up the Iran deal would provide a pretext for unleashing American forces about 10,000 of which are already deployed in Iraq and Syria against Iranian proxies in the Middle East, including Hezbollah and Iran-backed Shia militias. [RELATED: During negotiations for a nuclear deal with Iran, John Bolton wrote an op-ed in 2015 calling for military action to cripple the countrys nuclear program.] General McMasters exit should have a smaller impact on North Korea policy, but that is no less unfortunate. He appeared to share Mr. Trumps view that the United States should leverage military threats and sanctions while downplaying diplomacy vis-a-vis the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, in an effort to curb his nuclear and ballistic missile programs and denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. At the presidents bidding, General McMaster pushed the Pentagon to develop military plans including the so-called bloody nose option involving a limited pre-emptive strike on a single North Korean missile or related site that could bolster American deterrence while avoiding escalation to major war and collateral damage in the form of artillery and rocket strikes on South Korean civilians. The consensus is that no attack plan could confidently preclude escalation or collateral damage. Having ceded the diplomatic initiative to Pyongyang and Seoul, the Trump administration had little choice but to accept Mr. Kims offer of talks on the current crisis. In replacing Mr. Tillerson with Mr. Pompeo, however, the president has made sure he has a reflexively hawkish secretary of state in place. So the talks, even in the unlikely event that they occur, probably wont bear fruit. In that case, the administration would inevitably resume its hard-line maximum pressure policy devoid of a serious diplomatic component, and could even start a war. Mr. Bolton publicly advocated a pre-emptive strike in a Wall Street Journal piece on Feb. 28, without mentioning collateral damage. More generally, a national security team led by Mr. Pompeo and Mr. Bolton is likely to face less resistance from Mr. Mattis and Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff the remaining putative adults in the room. These two principals, alongside Mr. Tillerson and sometimes General McMaster, had reportedly blunted some of Mr. Trumps recklessly aggressive impulses. Now outnumbered, the two will face greater pressure to acquiesce to them. Mr. Trump has self-consciously chosen Mr. Bolton as well as Mr. Pompeo on the basis not of their collegiality or bureaucratic skills traits that the president, judging by his other appointments, clearly does not value highly but rather their like-minded ideological tilts, penchants for contrarianism, perceived telegenicity and personal compatibility. General McMasters frustrations, somewhat like Mr. Tillersons, have demonstrated that, except for Mr. Mattis and General Dunford, a principal in the Trump administration responsible for any issue the president cares much about cannot enjoy appreciable bureaucratic clout without becoming a cheerleader who trumpets his ignorant views and endeavors to impose them. Mr. Trump himself has made it increasingly clear that for all his talk about liking conflict, his real intention is to pull together not a team of rivals but a gang of sycophants. Sad to say, the best hope for world affairs is that they will be ineffectual. Given the sad retreat from democracy in many of their Central European neighbors, it is heartening to witness the determination of so many thousands of Slovaks who have been marching across their country for a decent Slovakia, as theyve dubbed their protests. The protests were prompted by the murders last month of a journalist, Jan Kuciak, and his fiancee, Martina Kusnirova, both 27. Though the killings remain unsolved, the police said they were most likely related to Mr. Kuciaks investigation of ties between top Slovakia politicians and Italys Ndrangheta organized crime group. The demonstrations rapidly swelled into mass protests against the corruption and arrogance of the government, which many younger Slovaks see as betraying the struggles their parents waged against Soviet-imposed Communist rule. Under slogans like Slovakia is going the wrong way and We want elections, tens of thousands of have marched repeatedly under sleet, snow or rain in the capital, Bratislava, and across the small country of 5.4 million. At first, the prime minister, Robert Fico, tried to deflect the protests, firing some ministers and assailing the liberal president, Andrej Kiska, for purportedly failing to explain why he met with the American investor George Soros in September. Mr. Soros support of democratic causes across the former Soviet empire has made him the premier target of vile conspiracy theories and denunciations, and anti-Semitism, among reactionary populists in Central Europe. I realize that for many Americans, these issues seem as remote as if they unfolded on Mars and hopeless to boot. But the truth is that the war on global poverty is one of humanitys great successes, with more than 100 million childrens lives saved just since 1990. Now its not enough to build schools or clinics. To finally defeat extreme poverty, we have to tackle conflict or there will forever be families losing child after child after child. We must ensure that peace is more profitable than conflict. As the mayor of Boda, Boniface Katta, told us, Without peace, nothing can be done. By the time I got to the New School in Manhattan, I was undeniably a junkie; I studied literature, but I often skipped class to hang out with the crust punks of Union Square. They were such losers, all of them, and so was I, and there was kinship in that. My friend Jessica lived on one of the park benches there, and we would squander days downtown, slouching across the East Village into Chelsea, where we would cop dope and shoot it in the bathroom at the Strand, where you dont need a code to get inside. After Jessica got her pit bull whom she found one morning in the Bronx, chained to a fence and covered in scabs, like he was meant to break your heart we went to the bathrooms in the basement at Petco instead, where an eight-millimeter syringe tip once broke off into my arm. We were such apparent scum in those days, self-destructing in the wide-open, too sloppy and sinking to seem threatening, that it sometimes felt as if we were living below the law. Jessica had hepatitis C. According to the most recent statistics from the C.D.C., there were an estimated 30,900 cases of new acute hepatitis C virus infections in the United States in 2015. Hep C is curable, but the treatment is expensive. There are programs that will cover the cost, but most will only take addicts who have been clean for a month or more. I lost track of Jessica, as I have with so many friends from those days. I can only hope she got treatment. But, from a public health perspective, it would be far better to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases in the first place. The best way to do that is by dispensing sterile injection equipment. The Harm Reduction Coalition, which was founded in 1993, is one of many organizations working to build a nationwide network of needle exchange programs that provide IV drug users with free clean syringes as well as training in how to administer naloxone (trade name Narcan), the antidote to opioid overdose. Its also unclear whether the gains in New York will be durable. Gang-suppression efforts in other parts of the country rarely show long-term success, in part because teenagers in poor, racially segregated communities will continue to face the challenges of insecurity and hopelessness that drive youth violence. Through the New York Police Departments use of conspiracy cases, these raids cover a wide range of behaviors that are not acts of violence, like marijuana possession. This approach misunderstands the nature of gangs and the dense social networks inhabited by these young people targeted for prosecution. Despite overheated rhetoric from the police, politicians and the media, there is often very little evidence in these conspiracy cases of an organized hierarchical structure to these alleged gangs, which instead are often loose affiliations without purpose beyond socializing and seeking mutual safety. Most of the raids in New York have been concentrated in and around public housing developments, where teenagers have little choice but to develop continuing relationships, even if those acquaintances are involved in violence. The police claim that because these young people spend time together in a park, were previously arrested together and are seen together in Facebook posts, they are in a well-defined gang engaged in ongoing crime and violence. But that is much too simplistic. Prosecutors rely heavily on these conspiracy charges, not because they involve true criminal enterprises but because they can be used as leverage against defendants. State conspiracy and federal RICO anti-racketeering statutes allow prosecutors to threaten decades of prison time based merely on evidence of associations and potentially unrelated low-level criminal charges from the past. The gang designation also usually makes defendants ineligible for bail, giving them a stronger incentive to provide evidence against others or take a plea deal. In many cases, the only evidence against a defendant accused of violence is the testimony of someone in jail hoping to avoid prosecution. Many young people have complained to their public defenders that during questioning, the police have pressured them to hand over social media passwords, even when they have not been charged with a crime and in the absence of a parent or legal representative. Many of the defendants in the New York City cases are jailed before trial for long periods of time and face possibly decades in prison, even though a vast majority of them are not being accused of actual involvement in violence. That leaves their families to choose either getting evicted from public housing or agreeing that their child will be banned from their home forever. Communities are undermined as young people are forced to testify against their neighbors to avoid prosecution. To the Editor: Re Trump Chooses Hawk for 3rd Security Adviser as Shake-Up Continues (front page, March 23): The Trump administration has transitioned from the merely inept to the patently terrifying. The appointment of John Bolton as national security adviser places him next to the hand that has access to the nuclear button. Mr. Bolton is the hawk extraordinaire, with a total disdain for accomplishing anything through negotiation. He was an important cog of the George W. Bush team that prosecuted the Iraq war in 2003 and remains adamant that it was the right policy long after even its most ardent proponents distanced themselves from that misadventure. He has advocated military pressure against both Iran and North Korea. His attitudes kept him from the position of secretary of state under Mr. Bush when it was made clear to the president that he could not be confirmed. Now, in his emeritus years, Mr. Bolton has been given one last chance to pursue his extreme ideology, but this time with proximity to the one person who could make it reality. At best, this could mean additional ill-advised deployments of ever greater numbers of American troops. At worst well, who wants to consider that? The Reader Center is one way we in the newsroom are trying to connect with you, by highlighting your perspectives and experiences and offering insight into how we work. Image Mark Conditt Credit... Facebook, via Associated Press Coverage of the bombings in Austin, Tex., by The Times and other media outlets has incited a discussion among readers about racial and religious bias in the news. Our journalists are available to address your questions and concerns about how we cover attacks and the people who commit them. Please submit your questions and comments for Marc Lacey, our National editor; Cynthia Collins, our Social and Community editor; Anne Barnard, our Beirut bureau chief; and Hanna Ingber, our Reader Center editorial director. Scenario one turned out to be the appraisal. The appraiser valued the apartment, with treetop views in a doorman building, for $75,000 less than the contract price, which meant the bank wouldnt give them as much money for the mortgage, so Mr. Kromer and Ms. Vo had to come up with roughly $35,000 to make up the difference. (If theyd had a mortgage contingency, they might have been able to renegotiate the price, or even back out of the deal.) They closed for $1.552 million. And then the sellers asked to stay in the apartment after the closing, meaning Mr. Kromer and Ms. Vo, 42, had to find temporary housing because they needed to vacate their Prospect Heights loft. They ended up staying in a friends vacation house in Garrison, N.Y., saddling Mr. Kromer with a two-hour commute. This all would have been tolerable, except for a few more wrinkles. First, Ms. Vo gave birth to their second child, Connor, three weeks before the closing. They also decided to renovate their kitchen before moving in, and then Mr. Kromer decided to strip the doors and remove some ceilings too. Oh, and Ms. Vos mother was visiting to help with the new baby, staying with them first in Garrison and later in an Airbnb in Brooklyn. It was decision overload, Mr. Kromer said. It was overwhelming. Looking back on it, Mr. Kromer blames a lack of perspective for his late-night anxiety attacks. I needed someone who was objective, who I could trust. I did not have that, he said. And that was very, very humbling. While some issues are avoidable not everyone takes a sledgehammer to a kitchen with a newborn others are not. When you decide to buy a home, even the best-laid plans may need some tinkering. The majority of transactions have some level of drama, said Pierre E. Debbas, a real estate lawyer in Manhattan whose firm handles hundreds of closings a year, including the one last year with an IRS lien on the property it eventually got sorted out, and the one earlier this month where the Brooklyn townhouse buyers discovered that the heating system was not working the day after a snowstorm. How do you let a client close on a townhouse that doesnt have heat? Mr. Debbas said. This is how: You get the sellers to put money in an escrow account to cover the cost of repairs and everyone signs the paperwork and thats that. The New York Times asked members of the RedBar watch clubs in London and New York for their advice to new collectors. The No. 1 tip? Buy what you love. Heres a sampling of their replies, which were edited and condensed: There is no point in getting a watch as an investment piece if you dont really fancy it; you will soon find that, same as with every other hobby, the interest tends to fade away if certain choices do not express your taste. ARISTEIDIS PARASKEVOPOULOS, London Take your time. Youve painstakingly saved up enough money to buy a watch, yet you may want to hold back on buying one. The internet offers a plethora of watch resources, so take time to learn and understand about the options available to you. Studying the heritage and DNA behind the watches you like generates a lot of valuable anticipation and excitement, to the extent that your relationship with the watch of choice goes far beyond the blue book value. For me, this process only adds to the pleasure of collecting and wearing your timepieces. ROWAN WRIGHT, London [MORE: Thinking about starting a watch collection? Experts answer your top six questions.] MR. GARDINETTI of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie You can choose one or several solutions, such as having a personal safe, home security measures, a bank vault or free ports. Whatever your choice, make sure your watches are protected from water, humidity, dust and direct exposure to light. My advice: The best protection is discretion. MS. CHICHA of Iconeek Other important aspects? Too often we hear stories of a watch being stolen from having been left out in the open. Even worse is when the watch is not insured. Adding watches to a homeowners policy is simple and in most cases not too costly; most insurers require just a certified appraisal from the dealer who sold the watch to you. LIAM WEE TAY, 58, chairman of the online sale site WatchBox, in Hong Kong You should insure your collection. Ask for documents with insurance values or contact an independent watch expert to create a portfolio of your collection with detailed pictures, descriptions and estimates. Then proceed with your insurance company. MS. CHICHA of Iconeek Ultimately, what I enjoy most about watch collecting is the emotional and intellectual rush I get from learning things that are not widely known and then the great reveal to my other collector friends. One of the great joys of collecting is really the people you will meet, and though there is always some mild competition among friends, the support from this group of people is really something very special and one that is not found in many other areas. Watch collecting is also a fun way to hone your critical mind and provides a nice vehicle to support international travel above all else, it is a lot of fun. The minute it stops being fun, you should stop. MR. CLYMER of Hodinkee I used to keep and keep and keep. But maybe at this time of my life I would fancy some changes. Lets upgrade! MR. FRIEDMAN of Watchionista Most collectors will buy a watch because A) they dont have it B) they have one but in poorer condition or C) its part of a family or set that they are trying to complete. And then there are those who buy watches just because they can. They collect to keep. They arent so concerned with upgrading because they often start with the very best. Ultimately though, everyone is collecting to upgrade, because tastes change over time and new pieces become available. Every watch has its price, and sometimes that means starting over. One of the consignors from the Heuer Parade auction held last year sold most of his collection because he felt he had done it. He had spent almost a decade finding Heuer chronographs from a specific era, and once he had them, he needed a new challenge. He is still collecting watches today, but from other manufacturers. Is the technology-saturated world making people nostalgic for craft? I think clients are returning to the real value of the products to the handmade and unique but people dont understand how truly complicated it is to make a piece by hand. Thats its own kind of technology but its more human: the making of a watch versus new technology. Image Graff Floral, introduced at Baselworld 2018. What are clients looking for now? Our clients are the V.V.I.P.s, so they expect something unique. They have the amazing boat, the amazing house, the amazing plane and they want the same from jewelry. Through our stores, we have direct contact with our clients, and the ability to quickly tailor-make something for them in our workshops. We can produce a custom piece in just three months. This to me is the new definition of luxury. How are Graffs watches changing to suit modern tastes? Were not thinking about ceramic or some high-tech material we have to stay true to our DNA, which is our expertise in diamonds and high jewelry. When I arrived at the company two years ago, I transferred our womens watch designs from the watchmaking office in Geneva to our jewelry design department in London. The designers complained we dont know anything about watches! but they have the perfect touch, the femininity, the sense of jewelry. They think about the product without the technical restraints of a watch, so you get these designs that are very innovative and beautiful as jewelry, and recognizable as Graff pieces. Will the economic downturn continue to be a factor in your industry? Our watch sales are growing but, since we only started a decade ago, were up from zero; now its probably 8 percent to 9 percent of our business. Overall, it appears weve passed the period of turmoil. Id like to see numbers from all of my colleagues but it seems the trouble in the watch business is starting to change slightly. First black. Then blue. Now green is the shade for watches. This week at the Baselworld fair in Switzerland, shades from palest mint to deep forest pine will be seen on faces, hands, bezels and straps. Whatever your preference, its clear that green means go. When industrial sapphire crystal was introduced to watchmaking in the 1990s, it was meant to be the least conspicuous part of a watch, a way of showing off the intricacies of openwork or skeletal movements. Now, advances in manufacturing processes have made it possible for watchmakers to use sapphire crystal (or sapphire glass the terms are used interchangeably in the industry) as a stand-alone, virtually scratch-proof component; a prominent decorative element, or to protect the watch itself. Industrial sapphire is obtained from the synthetic version of corundum, a crystalline aluminum oxide that is the second-hardest material after diamond. It usually is made in solid disc form, which is milled, ground and machined by specialized laboratories to make the front and rear crystals of a watch case in standard, mostly round, shapes. Because the material is expensive and prone to cracking, watchmakers rarely experiment with it. But two years ago Bell & Ross, the French watch company, began producing sapphire watches in limited editions as a way of raising its profile as a luxury watchmaker. SEOUL, South Korea In a country that has faced political divisions and difficult relations with its nearest neighbors, the popularity of an item related to the president has made headlines. No, not President Trumps $25 Make America Great Again cap. Its the President Moon Jae-in watch, an unpretentious timepiece with a gold-colored case and beige sheepskin strap, named for the South Korean leader. The value is about $40, but its not for sale the quartz timepiece is given to guests at the presidential Blue House, to foreign dignitaries and to Koreans living overseas on occasions when the president visits. The tradition began with President Park Chung-hee, who was in office from 1961 to 1979. The first watch was made during Mr. Parks administration, but the presidential Blue House did not provide the exact date. Some collectors said it was for participants in the Saemaul, a rural-development political initiative, in the 1970s. Regardless, watch collectors and political supporters alike have become fans of the keepsakes. I heard theyre very inexpensive and produced for a very small amount of money, but they actually feel quite luxurious, said Hong Jeong-hwa, 29, an attorney and a member of Incheon Metropolitan Council. They dont look cheap. And the Newman bid might seem like small beer compared with Christies $450.3 million sale of Leonardo da Vincis Salvator Mundi in November in New York, but the Newman sale did cause a stir in the watch market and impress the value of vintage timepieces on a much broader audience, part of Phillipss overall vision. We hope to get more people into this world, and we hope to see it thrive, Mr. Boutros said. We want people to look through their drawers and get others to discover the world of fine watches. William Massena, managing director of the online watch forum TimeZone, said Mr. Boutross role as the auctions organizer reflected his skills. Paul combines both a passion for watchmaking and a talent for running an auction department, Mr. Massena said. Thats an extremely rare combination that brought great results very fast. After the Newman sale, scores of people contacted Phillips about their own Daytonas, many of which had been sitting in drawers for decades. The best of them are to be featured in the Daytona Ultimatum auction, scheduled for May 12 in Geneva a follow-up to Mr. Bacss Daytona sale in 2013, when he headed Christies watch department. The timing is right for another thematic sale, Mr. Boutros said, because a Daytona remains a holy grail among collectors. There are very passionate Daytona collectors in the world, but any watch collector wants a Daytona in their collection, he said. And last week Phillips announced that the sale would include a Daytona so rare that its nickname is the Unicorn. The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Ref. 6265, Mr. Bacs said in a news release, is the only known white-gold manual-winding Daytona. The sale estimate is more than 3 million Swiss francs ($3.16 million), with the proceeds going to charity. The Newman sale also helped lead the auction house to its latest celebrity coup: a white-gold, diamond-set Omega wristwatch given to Elvis Presley in 1961 by RCA, his record company, to commemorate his sale of 75 million records. The current owner, the nephew of the person who got the watch from Elvis in a trade, contacted Phillips after the record-setting auction. Les lunettes de marque ne sont pas ce qui manque dans les commerces. Il y en a de toutes les sortes dont les lunettes de [] DOKKUM, the Netherlands When Wybe van der Gang was looking for a new watch, he knew exactly what he wanted: It should have extraordinary aesthetics, with a clean-milled case. It should sit well on his wrist. But it would also have to exist outside his own imagination and, as he soon discovered, it didnt. So he made it himself. And in 2004, he founded Van der Gang Watches. Never mind that he had no background or training in design, no knowledge of watchmaking. It was how hed always done things. As a boy, Mr. van der Gang, whose father owned a company that made slot machines, amused himself by taking things apart: Vacuum cleaners, he recalled recently in his offices in Dokkum, a small city near the northernmost edge of the Netherlands. Steam irons. In high school, he taught himself to repair top-of-the-line Italian motorcycles. Had he taken watches apart, the Dutch author Bert Wagendorp asked in a recent interview. No, Mr. van der Gang answered. But he had read a couple of books. A 200-Year-Old Sushi Counter Arrives in New York Next Friday, master sushi chef Nozomu Abe (formerly of Sushiden) will open his very first restaurant, Sushi Noz, which will serve traditional omakase on Manhattans Upper East Side. Masterminded by the Kyoto-based architecture firm Sankakuya, known for restoring ancient shrines and temples in Japan, the minimalist pale-wood space was constructed exclusively using traditional joinery techniques and centuries-old Japanese timber: hinoki (Japanese cypress) for the eight-person dining room and ash for a smaller six-person private room. The former will also feature a 200-year-old sushi counter that was aged for 40 years in chef Nozs hometown of Hokkaido. Inside, guests will eat a 17-25 course meal, complete with appetizers, the chefs choice of sushi and dessert (a sweet tamago dish or seasonal fresh fruit). Originally trained in Tokyo-style Edomae sushi, chef Noz will merge the traditions pared-down staples, which focus on the simplicity of the fish and rice, with his own contemporary spin, offering simmered octopus with chickpea paste and nigiri served with boiled Scottish langoustines. I try not to add or subtract unnecessarily, Noz says of his approach. The $300-including-gratuity omakase will include seafood flown in from the Tsukiji market in Tokyo, which will be preserved in an Edomae ice chest, a traditional storage container that keeps fish fresh using only blocks of ice. Sushi Noz will be the first restaurant in the United States to have one. So many people have helped us on our way, including many craftsmen in Japan, chef Noz says of the restaurant, which took four years to conceive and complete alongside his business partners, the restaurateurs Josh and David Foulquier. From the architects to the artisans, the fishermen and farmers, their spirits reside in this restaurant, and it is my job to finally pass their spirits to the diners. Sushi Noz opens March 30 at 181 East 78th Street, 917-388-1792 ALEXIS CHEUNG Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have clashed on artificial intelligence, space travel and the direction of technology. On Friday, Mr. Musk showed just how little love lost there was between the two tech titans. Mr. Musk, the chief executive of SpaceX and Tesla, deleted the Facebook pages of both of his companies. In doing so, he joined a growing chorus of tech leaders calling for people to abandon Mr. Zuckerbergs social network after it allowed a political consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica, to obtain and misuse data on 50 million users. The revelations have plunged Facebook into its worst public relations crisis in years. As with most news in 2018, Mr. Musks decision started with a barrage of tweets. The tech luminary began by criticizing Sonos, a maker of wireless speakers, which had pulled some ads from Facebook for a week. Wow, a whole week. Risky ..., Mr. Musk tweeted in response to a news article about Sonoss move. A minute later, he replied to Brian Acton, the founder of WhatsApp, which Facebook had acquired for $19 billion several years ago. Mr. Acton, who has since left Facebook, had on Wednesday called for people to #deletefacebook. The Tempe Police Department said it was investigating the crash, and has not determined whether the car was at fault. A Volvo XC90 sport utility vehicle equipped with Ubers sensing technology struck Elaine Herzberg, 49, while it was going 40 miles an hour in a 45-mile-an-hour zone. According to the police, the car, with one safety driver and operating in autonomous mode, did not slow down before impact. A video shot from the vehicles dashboard camera showed the safety driver looking down, away from the road. It also appeared that the drivers hands were not hovering above the steering wheel, which is what drivers are instructed to do so they can quickly retake control of the car. Ms. Herzberg, pushing a bicycle across the street, appeared in the camera right before she was hit. As we develop self-driving technology, safety is our primary concern every step of the way, said Matt Kallman, an Uber spokesman. Were heartbroken by what happened this week, and our cars remain grounded. We continue to assist investigators in any way we can. Uber has been testing its self-driving cars in a regulatory vacuum in Arizona. There are few federal rules governing the testing of autonomous cars. Unlike California, where Uber had been testing since spring of 2017, Arizona state officials had taken a hands-off approach to autonomous vehicles and did not require companies to disclose how their cars were performing. Waymo and Cruise, a self-driving car company owned by GM, reported their intervention numbers to California regulators. Ubers goals in Arizona were mentioned in internal documents Arizona does not have reporting requirements and it has not been testing self-driving cars in California long enough to be required to report them. Ubers first road tests in its self-driving car effort, code-named Project Roadrunner, were actually in Pittsburgh in September 2016. The Phoenix area was added a year ago, and quickly became the companys main testing ground, with 400 employees and more than 150 autonomous cars driving local roads because of "favorable regulatory environment, favorable weather conditions, according to a company document. When Mr. Khosrowshahi took over as Ubers chief executive, he had considered shutting down the self-driving car operations, according to two other people familiar with Mr. Khosrowshahis thinking. The play is not supposed to depart from the spirit of the novel nor alter its characters. What does that mean for the playwrights ability to interpret and change source material? The language of the contract that is at issue the play shall not derogate or depart in any manner from the spirit of the novel nor alter its characters (emphasis added) could be interpreted in a limiting manner in the Lee estates favor, but the underlying concepts spirit of the novel and what it means to alter a character are themselves ambiguous. Interpreting this provision strictly arguably could bar the addition of a new major character, which the letter seems to allege has taken place, but it also could be interpreted more broadly to allow for changes that are consistent with the spirit of the novel and meaning that existing characters natures cannot be changed. It is quite possible that the parties had different understandings and it is no wonder that a dispute has turned to litigation. Cheryl Davis, general counsel of the Authors Guild Does spirit have a definite and precise meaning, or could there be a difference of opinion as to what is the spirit of the novel? I do not think that a dictionary definition of spirit will resolve that question. Similarly, the contract states that the characters should not be altered. In its pre-action letter, Harper Lees estate repeatedly states that the characters would never have and would not have done numerous things; unless as a matter of historical fact the characters would not have done something (because it had not yet occurred at the time when the novel takes place or when it was written), who is to say what a creature of fiction would never have or would not have done? The person who created those characters, Harper Lee, is dead. Jordan Greenberger, intellectual property lawyer My own sense, having read the complaint, is that it includes a mix of valid concerns about anachronism and character arcs with highly contestable interpretations, ones we have no real way to know whether Lee would have shared. One might disagree, for example, about exactly how black men and women who knew their place (as the letter describes both Calpurnia and Tom) would behave and speak in light of that knowledge, especially where the audience is not having its experience filtered through the perceptions of a young white girl. [To Kill a Mockingbird is narrated by Atticuss daughter, Scout.] Rebecca Tushnet, professor of First Amendment law, Harvard Law School It may not feel like it in certain parts of the country, but its finally spring, and changes are underway at the nations airports, including apps that allow travelers to order food and have it delivered directly to their departure gate, the expansion of biometric boarding using facial recognition technology, and higher execution fees for certain United States passport applicants. Below, a look at the latest developments and coming changes. First things first: Passports Beginning April 2, the execution fee for a United States passport (which is in addition to the $110 application fee for a passport book) will increase to $35 from $25 for some travelers, including first-time passport applicants over the age of 16, children under 16 and people who are reapplying after reporting their passport lost or stolen. If, however, youre eligible to renew your passport by mail (using an online form called the DS-82) rather than in-person at a post office or with a court clerk, you still pay the usual application fee ($110 for a passport book), but not the $35 execution fee. To find out if youre eligible to renew by mail, visit Travel.state.gov. Next: Changes at airport gates In March, San Diego International Airport introduced an app called AtYourGate, a mobile ordering and delivery service that enables passengers to request food (from airport restaurants like Panda Express and Jack-in-the-Box) or an item they may have forgotten to pack (Dramamine, a phone charger, OK! magazine) through their smartphones and have everything delivered to them at their departure gate or elsewhere in the terminal. Before you check out through the app, you can get an estimate of the delivery time, and see the fee. For instance, on a Wednesday afternoon, while contemplating a foam neck pillow from the CNBC News airport store, I could see that delivery would take about 20 to 35 minutes, and that there would be $2.99 delivery charge. In an industry challenged by Airbnb and other home-sharing competitors, hotels are happy to attract local laptop tappers and cocktail crowds to their lobbies. But public popularity risks frustrating guests, who may be forced to retreat to their rooms, leading to an expansion of guest-only areas including meeting spaces, libraries, quiet rooms and bars. For hotel operators, these private spaces are similar to the concierge-floor perks, where guests pay a premium for access to a lounge with business facilities and food, but expanded and fee-free. Its similar to when hotels offer a club level lounge, but in this case, the club is open to all guests, said Henry H. Harteveldt, a travel analyst and the president of Atmosphere Research Group. Business travelers, in particular, enjoy these facilities as they can provide a quiet place to meet, away from the hotels public spaces. Some also function as private clubs in the Soho House mold, making amenities enjoyed by club members, such as private restaurants and meeting spaces, available to overnight guests. Good morning. (Want to get California Today by email? Heres the sign-up.) Delaine Eastin, a former Democratic member of the State Assembly and onetime superintendent of public education, is one of nearly 30 candidates running to succeed Gov. Jerry Brown. California Today is planning occasional Q. and A. sessions with candidates for office, and were starting with Ms. Eastin. The interview has been edited and condensed. Q. How much do you see yourself continuing with or not programs and policies put in place under Governor Brown? A. Jerry Brown has very high marks when it comes to financial responsibility and hes a strong environmental governor. Always has been. I dont give him as high marks in education. I give his father the high marks in education. His father was amazing. Having said that, Jerry Brown has a lot to be proud of, and theres a lot we should continue and I will. Q. How big a problem is poverty and homelessness in California? A. Its enormous. In your life have you ever seen as many homeless children? Twenty-five percent of the homeless in America are in California. We need to urgently get these children off the street and their mothers as well. Others are less convinced by Mr. Kobachs claims that voter fraud is pervasive and widespread. To me, its a fix to a problem that doesnt exist, said Jeff Nielsen, standing behind the counter of a pawnshop he manages in Olathe, Kan. Mr. Nielsen, who works in Kansas, lives across the border in Missouri, grew up Republican and supports gun ownership a wall of rifles was behind him in the shop but now votes for Democrats. I think Kobach should be a little more concerned with Russians picking our president than with Mexicans voting, he said. In 2016, Federal District Judge Julie A. Robinson in Kansas ruled that the proof-of-citizenship requirement of the state law that Mr. Kobach championed violated federal law. If Judge Robinson rules against Mr. Kobach in the current trial, thousands of Kansans who attempted to register to vote at a Department of Motor Vehicles office but did not provide proof of citizenship will see their registrations reinstated. If Mr. Kobach prevails, it could become more difficult for residents without proof of citizenship to vote in the 2018 elections. Early in the trial, Judge Robinson reprimanded Mr. Kobach, who frequently stumbled on legal procedure, for attempting to display documents that had not been formally introduced as evidence. Evidence 101 not going to do it, she said. In his opening statements, Mr. Kobach, Harvard-educated and Yale Law School-trained, criticized current rules as weak and porous, arguing that a requirement that voters attest on a form at the Department of Motor Vehicles that they are citizens risking a penalty of perjury for a false statement is not enough. All you had to do was check a box, he said. That was essentially it. Mr. Kobach says that even though he has documented a relatively small number of noncitizens in Kansas who have attempted to vote, he has reason to believe that they are only the tip of the iceberg and that thousands more exist on the state voter rolls. But Dale Ho, a lawyer for the A.C.L.U., said that the law Mr. Kobach lobbied for has made it difficult or impossible for some state residents who do not have a birth certificate, passport or other proof of citizenship to vote. Experts in election law say that noncitizens successfully voting rarely happens. A 16-year-old girl critically injured in a shooting at a Maryland high school this week died on Thursday night after she was taken off life support. The girl, Jaelynn Willey, was surrounded by her family when she died shortly before midnight, the St. Marys County Sheriffs Office said. She had been at the University of Maryland Prince Georges Hospital Center since Tuesday, when another student shot her in the head in a hallway at their school in Great Mills, Md. Earlier on Thursday, her parents said that she was brain dead. My daughter was hurt by a boy who shot her in the head and took everything from our lives, her mother, Melissa Willey, said at a news conference at the hospital as she clutched her youngest child in her arms. Shortly before 8 a.m. on Tuesday, the police said, Austin Wyatt Rollins, 17, opened fire inside Great Mills High School with a handgun, striking Jaelynn and a 14-year-old boy. Jaelynn was shot in the head and collapsed in the hallway outside an art classroom, students said. The boy, Desmond Barnes, was shot in the thigh and was hospitalized. He has since been released. WASHINGTON The political action committee founded by John R. Bolton, President Trumps incoming national security adviser, was one of the earliest customers of Cambridge Analytica, which it hired specifically to develop psychological profiles of voters with data harvested from tens of millions of Facebook profiles, according to former Cambridge employees and company documents. Mr. Boltons political committee, known as The John Bolton Super PAC, first hired Cambridge in August 2014, months after the political data firm was founded and while it was still harvesting the Facebook data. In the two years that followed, Mr. Boltons super PAC spent nearly $1.2 million primarily for survey research, which is a term that campaigns use for polling, according to campaign finance records. But the contract between the political action committee and Cambridge, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, offers more detail on just what Mr. Bolton was buying. The contract broadly describes the services to be delivered by Cambridge as behavioral microtargeting with psychographic messaging. Mr. Reid emphasizes that he is not angry or bitter. But he says he feels so disconnected from Washington that he is selling his apartment in the Ritz-Carlton here and plans to be in the nations capital only infrequently. I dont want to be here, Mr. Reid said. My lifes not the Senate anymore. To some, that is no doubt good news. Mr. Reid was a tough adversary, an acerbic foe always ready to slug it out with Republicans, and he left behind many detractors when he retired at the end of 2016. Now, like previous Washington figures who either exited voluntarily, as he did, or were unceremoniously shown the door, Mr. Reid is discovering that once you are out, you are really out. Of course, there is always sticking around to lobby I would rather be taken to Singapore and caned is his quip on that line of work. But absent a job that requires a major presence here, those who have been at the political top are often surprised to find the Capitol and the capital dont hold the same allure once they step down. Plus, he said, there is no one to hang out with. Nobody lives here anymore, said Mr. Reid, who served as both the majority and minority leader. When I came here, people lived here, they had their families, but not anymore. It wasnt that way before. We made friends not only of the members, but of their families, their children. It is so changed. To get a last bit of that old-home feel, Mr. Reid organized a luncheon on Thursday for about a dozen of his fellow former colleagues, at the MGM National Harbor casino resort outside the capital. It was a whos who of former Senate Democrats, including Tom Daschle, Christopher J. Dodd, Blanche Lincoln, Mary Landrieu, Robert Torricelli, Ben Nelson, Joseph I. Lieberman, Paul Sarbanes, Ken Salazar, Max Baucus, Mark Pryor and Russ Feingold. WASHINGTON Nine Iranians stole secrets from American government agencies, universities and companies in a yearslong cyberattack, federal law enforcement officials said on Friday, calling out Tehran amid fears that the Trump administration will dismantle the Iran nuclear deal. The suspects worked as managers, contractors, associates and hackers for hire at the Mabna Institute, based in Iran, a contractor for the Iranian government working on behalf of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which benefited from the sensitive information obtained in the hacking, the officials said. The suspects live in Iran and will not be extradited; the United States and Iran have no diplomatic relations. Though they are unlikely to ever be arrested, the Justice Department has used indictments against foreign citizens to signal to outside powers that they have crossed a line, including the indictments against 13 Russians last month accusing them of interfering in the 2016 presidential campaign. Because of the indictments, the Iranians will not be able to travel abroad without risk of arrest, and the Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on them as well as on the Mabna Institute. The last time we negotiated something like this and as you know, its always been a problem for our country. They get together and they create a series of documents that nobody has been able to read because it was it was just done. Now, you tell me who can read that quickly. As a matter of national security, Ive signed this omnibus budget bill. There are a lot of things that Im unhappy about in this bill. There are a lot of things that we shouldnt have had in this bill, but we were, in a sense, forced if we want to build our military, we were forced to have. There are some things that we should have in the bill. But I say to Congress: I will never sign another bill like this again. Im not going to do it again. Were very proud of many of the items that weve been able to get. Were very disappointed that, in order to fund the military, we had to give up things where we consider in many cases them to be bad or them to be a waste of money. I looked very seriously at the veto. I was thinking about doing the veto, but because of the incredible gains that weve been able to make for the military that overrode any of our any of our thinking. PALM BEACH, Fla. President Trump decamped to his oceanfront estate here on Friday after a head-spinning series of presidential decisions on national security, trade and the budget that left the capital reeling and his advisers nervous about what comes next. The decisions attested to a president riled up by cable news and unbound. Mr. Trump appeared heedless of his staff, unconcerned about Washington decorum, or the latest stock market dive, and confident of his instincts. He seemed determined to set the agenda himself, even if that agenda looked like a White House in disarray. Inside the West Wing, aides described an atmosphere of bewildered resignation as they grappled with the all-too-familiar task of predicting and reacting in real time to Mr. Trumps shifting moods. Aides said there was no grand strategy to the presidents actions, and that he got up each morning this week not knowing what he would do. Much as he did as a New York businessman at Trump Tower, Mr. Trump watched television, reacted to what he saw on television and then reacted to the reaction. LIMA, Peru Martin Vizcarra, who had been Perus first vice president and ambassador to Canada, was sworn in as the nations president on Friday afternoon, after Congress accepted the resignation of his predecessor, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who was brought down by scandals involving graft, vote-buying and a looming impeachment. In his inaugural speech, Mr. Vizcarra said this was a difficult moment for the country. The time has come to say weve had enough, Mr. Vizcarra said. Any type of irregularity must be punished accordingly and justice must act with independence, responsibility and speed. But at the same time, what has happened must mark the end point of a policy of hatred and confrontation. Earlier Friday, 105 of 130 lawmakers voted to accept the letter of resignation that Mr. Kuczynski offered on Wednesday, in which he admitted no wrongdoing and accused lawmakers of obstructing his administration. Legislators also passed a resolution, in which they said they deplore and reject the language that Mr. Kuczynski used to resign and held that the current political crisis is the result of acts that the president himself has committed. GENEVA The resolution passed by the United Nations top human rights body on Friday seemed innocuous, if obscurely worded in places. Without specifying any immediate action, it called for a community of shared future for human beings and mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of human rights words reflecting the very purpose of the United Nations, according to Yu Jianhua, ambassador for China, whose initiative it was. Western officials and rights organizations, however, saw another purpose at work. They share deep concern about the wider intent behind those phrases, seeing them as tools in a developing effort to reshape international norms on rights and make the world a safer place for autocrats. For most of the decade since the body, the Human Rights Council, became active, Chinas posture at its meetings has tended to be defensive, fending off criticism of its suppression of dissent and voting against initiatives to monitor or censure abuses by other states. Not any more: This was the second resolution it has brought forward at the council in the past nine months. BRUSSELS John Boltons appointment as national security adviser seems to many around the world to represent an uninhibited President Trump, and they are trying to puzzle out what exactly that means. A fiercely intelligent man with deeply conservative, nationalistic and aggressive views about American foreign policy, Mr. Bolton may bring more consistency and predictability to President Trumps foreign policy, many suggest. But others worry that his hawkish views on Iran and North Korea, among others, may goad Mr. Trump into seeking military solutions to diplomatic problems. But some also wonder whether Mr. Bolton, who has played the outsider even when serving as a senior American diplomat in the State Department and at the United Nations, will be able to adjust to a high-pressure job where he must be less public, less strident and more of a mediator of differing policy views. And it is an open question whether he will be able to manage his relationship with Mr. Trump, who seems to tire quickly of anyone outside his own family who tries to guide or restrict his behavior, his public statements or his instincts. LONDON An 18-year-old Iraqi asylum seeker was sentenced on Friday to life in prison in Britain after he was convicted of attempted murder in the botched bombing last September of a rush-hour train on the London Underground, which injured 30 people. Ahmed Hassan was convicted last week after he left the bomb that partially exploded one stop after he had disembarked. The explosion triggered a stampede that injured tens of passengers. The judge in the case said that Mr. Hassan had constructed a bucket bomb filled with screwdrivers, knives, nuts, bolts and explosives and detonated it on a train carriage with 93 passengers, hoping to kill as many members of the British public as possible. Speaking at Englands Old Bailey central criminal court in London, Judge Charles Haddon-Cave called Mr. Hassan a dangerous and devious individual who had let down the country that gave him shelter, the foster charity that cared for him and the college he attended. We dont agree with this and repeat that Russia had absolutely nothing to do with the Skripal case, he said. Sergei Zheleznyak, a lawmaker from the United Russia party, said that the European Union, under pressure from London and Washington, was forced to concoct a statement that is vague in content and politicized in essence. The declaration was a somewhat surprising success for Mrs. May, who has often found herself at odds with her European counterparts as she negotiates Britains exit from the bloc, a process known as Brexit. The text was tougher than one agreed to earlier this week by European Union foreign ministers after talks attended by Britains foreign secretary, Boris Johnson. The issue of relations with Russia divides European Union nations sharply, and there has been pressure from some to lift economic sanctions against Moscow, so Britain has not pressed for additional steps of that kind. However the Irish Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, said there was talk of the existing measures being renewed for a 12-month period; currently they have to be rolled over every six months. In any event, the Skripal case has reduced prospects of them being relaxed anytime soon. Before the summit meeting, Mr. Putin spoke by phone with three European Union leaders, the Kremlin announced, a reminder that Moscow has allies within the bloc. Several countries, including Cyprus and Greece, have close ties to the Kremlin and have been reluctant to take a tougher line. But in traditional European Union style, they agreed to the latest text after extracting concessions on other issues in this case, wording critical of Turkeys actions in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean, the site of tensions over drilling for gas. Though the European Unions show of support for Britain is so far largely symbolic, it suggests that even after Brexit, London could retain close ties to the bloc on foreign policy, security and defense. It also underscored the strength of Anglo-French cooperation on such issues, with France taking the lead in pushing for a tough, Europe-wide, response. Mr. Macron said that in the poisoning case the French had been asked for technical cooperation by the British, and had reached similar conclusions about Russian culpability. The gunman, identified as Radouane Lakdim, 25, who witnesses said claimed to be acting on behalf of the Islamic State, was later killed by police officers who stormed the market. Colonel Beltrame, who the authorities said had voluntarily exchanged himself for a hostage, was wounded in the exchange of fire. The attack rattled nerves in a country that has been hit hard by terrorism in recent years, and it underscored the threat posed by individuals inspired by terrorist propaganda but who act outside of any structured networks, making it difficult for intelligence services to monitor them. The level of the terrorist threat on our territory has not waned, said Francois Molins, the Paris prosecutor, who handles terrorism investigations nationwide. It is the result of radicalized individuals who are on our national territory. Whether or not Mr. Lakdim, the attacker, had any direct contact with the Islamic State remained unclear. He was born in Morocco but lived in Carcassonne, about 60 miles southeast of Toulouse, and was known to the police as a petty criminal and drug dealer. He had previous convictions for illegally carrying a firearm and possessing drugs. Mr. Molins said that Mr. Lakdim had been flagged by French intelligence services in 2014 because of his radicalization and of his ties to the Salafist movement, and that he had been under surveillance in 2016 and 2017. PARIS Nicolas Sarkozy, the flamboyant former French president who had hoped to revive his political career, is facing a formal investigation over allegations that his 2007 campaign received illegal funding from the Libyan strongman Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. It is not certain that Mr. Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012 but failed to generate enough enthusiasm in his 2016 comeback bid, will stand trial. But the decision by investigators to pursue the case represents a significant step and means that a return to the political stage is even more unlikely for Mr. Sarkozy. Mr. Sarkozy acknowledged as much on Thursday, saying in a television interview, Politics, thats over. Here are some answers to the central questions about the case. What happened this week? After two days of questioning by the police, Mr. Sarkozy, 63, who has been the subject of several corruption inquiries, was formally charged with passive corruption, illegal campaign financing and misappropriation of Libyan public funds. (The charge of passive corruption applies to people suspected of receiving money or favors.) WARSAW To Magda, giving birth would have meant inflicting a slow death. Her unborn child had a rare genetic syndrome that causes severe, fatal birth defects. I would feed it, hug it, love it, get attached to it, and then, when it would be 3 or 4 months old, it would suffocate while in my arms, she recalled, explaining her decision a decade ago to have an abortion. It would scar me for life. I dont know if I would be capable of giving birth to another child and not look at it as if it were the one that had died in my arms. She asked that her surname not be used, fearing that the agonizing decision she made could be used to shame her. But even in Poland, an overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country with some of the strictest anti-abortion laws in Europe and a government seeking to curb reproductive rights, it is a decision she could still make legally at least for now. Lawmakers from the governing Law and Justice party, who have previously tried to ban all abortions, are making a renewed push to outlaw them, even when the fetus is sure to die in infancy. Mr. Turull was the third candidate proposed by the main separatist parties since December, when they narrowly retained their parliamentary majority in a snap election called by Mr. Rajoy. Last October, after separatist lawmakers declared independence, Mr. Rajoy used emergency constitutional powers to oust Mr. Puigdemonts administration and place Catalonia under direct rule from Madrid. Hoping to end the separatist challenge, Mr. Rajoy then called the election, which instead left Catalonia in a political deadlock. Since then, Mr. Rajoy has repeatedly called on the separatists to form a new government that recognizes Spanish sovereignty and is not led by one of the politicians indicted by Spains judiciary. After the failed attempt to elect Mr. Turull, the separatist parties now have two months to form a government or force Catalonia to hold a new election, a possibility that Mr. Rajoy said Friday that he hoped to avoid. The case against Catalan separatists is now led by Judge Llarena from the Supreme Court, but two other courts, one in Madrid and another in Barcelona, are also investigating officials accused of civil disobedience and other offenses, including organizing the independence referendum held last October, even after it was declared illegal by Madrid. Prosecutors want the main Catalan politicians to stand trial before the end of the year, but it is unclear whether Spains judiciary will be able to force the extradition of those who have fled the country. Judge Llarena is reactivating an arrest warrant that he dropped last year against Mr. Puigdemont and other former members of his cabinet, amid concerns that courts in Belgium, where he fled, would instead soften the charges against them. Earlier this month, Mr. Puigdemont agreed to drop his bid for re-election. But he has since continued to defend the separatist cause and has traveled this month to Switzerland and Finland to attend conferences. After the Supreme Court ruling, protesters gathered in downtown Barcelona on Friday evening, cutting off one of the citys main avenues. The issue of independence not only has generated a conflict with Madrid but also has split Catalan society. In December, separatist lawmakers won 47.5 percent of the votes, but that was enough for them to keep their majority of parliamentary seats, under a system of proportional representation that favors their dominance in rural areas. Anna Hazare to begin his hunger strike for competent Lokpal, betterment of farmers in Delhi today India oi-Oneindia Staff By Oneindia Staff New Delhi, March 23: Gandhian activist Anna Hazare is back, literally. Seven years since the 2011 anti-corruption movement, which he led from the front, Hazare is once again going to start his indefinite hunger strike in the national capital beginning from Friday. The venue of his hunger strike will be Delhi's iconic Ram Lila Maidan. While his earlier "Satyagraha" was against the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, this time the target of his movement is the Narendra Modi government at the Centre. Some of the main demands of Hazare are a competent Lokpal and better production cost for farm produce. As a part of his anti-corruption crusade in 2011, Hazare sat on a fast at the Ram Lila Maidan to demand that the then government set up a Lokpal to investigate cases of corruption. Back then, his movement got a nationwide support and thousands of protesters joined Hazare in his agitation. The Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal was also a part of the 2011 anti-corruption agitation. Later he broke ties with Hazare and formed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Hazare has been pressing for setting up of the Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in the states, besides implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report, which has suggested ways to address the agrarian distress. Hazare previously has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance government of not appointing the Lokpal to investigate the cases of corruption, despite having a law in place. "Anna will first visit the Rajghat and then come to the Ram Lila Maidan, where he will go an indefinite strike," said an aide of Hazare. The day, March 23, has been chosen on purpose as Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged to death on this day by the British, the aide said. A core committee meeting of Hazare's trusted aides and representatives of farmers' organisations took place at the New Maharashtra Sadan in the national capital on Wednesday. The Delhi Police on Thursday gave permission to the social activist to start his protest campaign at the Ramlila Maidan from Friday. According to his aides, thousands of his supporters will be a part of his protest rally in the national capital. Earlier, ministers in Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's government in Maharashtra asked Hazare to call off his hunger strike. However, he refused to do so. The 80-year-old activist said that he would fast until the Modi government came up with a concrete proposal to empower the Lokpal. A total of 6,000 people are a part of the Hazare team who are all set to protest against the various policies of the ruling regime. Around 31 apolitical farmer associations from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh are backing Hazare in his crusade. N Santosh Hegde, retired Supreme Court judge and former Karnataka Lokayukta, will also join Hazare in his protest. OneIndia News BJP 'Lying Factory' at work to spin 'Fake News' about Congress link to Cambridge Analytica: Rahul India oi-Deepika By Deepika Stepping up his attack on the BJP over the issue of the Facebook data breach, Congress President Rahul Gandhi claimed that the ruling party's "lying factory" is at work in spinning "fake news" about the Grand Old Party's links to Cambridge Analytica (CA). "BJP lying factory at work: Journalist set to break big story on how Cambridge Analytica (CA) was paid to infiltrate and sabotage the Congress in 2012. BJP rushes Cabinet Minister to lie and spin fake news: Congress worked with CA! Real story vanishes (sic)," tweeted Gandhi. Launching a stinging attack against the government, Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said it invented a story on data theft by the Congress to divert attention from the death of 39 Indians in Iraq. The Congress president also accused the government of baiting the media. The Congress has been accusing the government of managing headlines to deflect the country's focus from the multi-crore PNB bank scam, the dilution of provisions of the SC/ST Atrocities Act and questions being raised by the families of those killed in Iraq. Adding to the chorus of Congress criticism, the party's communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala said: "It is a fake agenda and white lie being dished out by Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad." "The BJP's factory of fake news has produced one more fake product today. It appears fake statements, fake press conferences and fake agendas have become an everyday character of the BJP and its 'lawless' law minister Ravi Shankar," Surjewala added. OneIndia News BJP wins all 9 Rajya Sabha seats it contested; SP wins tenth seat India pti-PTI Lucknow, Mar 23: In a photo-finish to the keenly watched Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP today took a sweet revenge on the opposition by ensuring victory of all its nine candidates, days after it lost two crucial seats in the Lok Sabha bypolls in the state. The remaining seat went to the Samajwadi Party in the polls marred by cross-voting from both the sides, which led to the defeat of the BSP candidate in the prestigeous battle of ballots, touted as a test for the new-found bonhomie between the parties headed by Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati. Besides BJP's prominent winner Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, others who made it to the Upper House of Parliament from the party are Ashok Bajpai, Vijay Pal Singh Tomar, Sakal Deep Rajbhar, Kanta Kardam, Anil Jain, Harnath Singh Yadav, GVL Narasimha Rao and ninth candidate Anil Kumar Agarwal, who pulled off a surpise win with the help of second preference votes. Other candidates, including SP's actor-turned- politician Jaya Bachchan won with the help of first preference votes. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath told media persons that the BJP's victory in all the nine seats it contested exposed the "opportunistic face" of the SP. "The people of the state have seen the opportunistic face of the SP. It can take votes but not give votes in return," he said, a reference to the SP's victory with the help of BSP votes in the recent Lok Sabha bypolls in Gorakhpur and Phulpur. The chief minister said the SP's "opportunistic character" was not new and that "the people of the state have seen it over the years". Adityanath said it was time to be careful to avoid falling into a deep pit in the future. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, who was BJP's central observer, said with more BJP members in the Rajya Sabha, the government would be able to ensure passage of bills in the Upper House, where the NDA does not enjoy a majority. Counting of votes began after a two-hour delay as the opposition SP and BSP lodged a complaint with the Election Commission. The opposition parties moved the poll panel against two MLAs who are believed to have cross-voted. "We have given a written complaint to the EC that our MLA Anil Singh did not show his vote to the election agent of the party before casting it and we are awaiting a reply from the EC in this regard," Deputy leader of the BSP in the Assembly Uma Shankar Singh said. The SP also lodged a similar complaint with regard to MLA Nitin Agarwal, who had switched sides after his father quit the party and joined the BJP recently. "Nitin Agarwal cast his vote without showing it to the election agent and we have demanded the cancellation of his vote," SP MLC Sunil Singh Sajan said. With one BSP MLA believed to have cross-voted and two others in jail being denied permission to vote in the polls, the opposition faced a challenge of numbers to ensure victory for their second candidate. While the ruling BJP was sure of bagging eight of the 10 seats, the SP fielded Jaya Bachchan and the BSP Bhimrao Ambedkar for the remaining two seats. As the parties totted up the numbers, BSP MLA Anil Singh indicated that he had cross-voted in favour of the BJP, saying "I am with Maharaj-ji", a reference to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The Allahabad High Court had denied permission to BSP's Mukhtar Ansari, currently lodged in Banda jail, to vote in the polls. And a court in Firozabad had rejected a petition by SP MLA Hariom Yadav, who is in Firozabad jail. The opposition banked heavily on the votes of two Independents -- Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya and his close associate and MLA Vinod Saroj. Raja Bhaiya, who has had a rocky relationship with BSP chief Mayawati, had tweeted this morning that he was with "Akhilesh ji" and specified that it did not mean that he was with the BSP. The BSP did not take an adverse view of Raja Bhaiya's comment. "... had he had any reservations he would have said openly," said Uma Shankar Singh. He added that he could not be sure that Anil Singh had voted for the BSP candidate. Adding a tinge of surprise, Raja Bhaiya later met the chief minister, leaving political analysts wondering as to why he met Adityanath. "I discussed issues pertaining to my constituency (Kunda). Every MLA has the right to discussed matters related to his or her constituency with the chief minister," he said. Keeping it ambiguous, Anil Singh said that he had cast his vote and showed it to BSP agent Lalji Verma and the rest could be known from him. "I have cast my vote after showing it to Lalji Verma and he will tell you the details...I am with Maharaj-ji," he said after voting at the Tilak Hall in the Assembly complex. According to Uma Shankar Singh, 17 MLAs of the total 19 BSP legislators had cast their votes by midday and shown them to Verma. The BSP leader exuded confidence that all the nine surplus MLAs of the SP as well as seven of the Congress and one of the RLD have voted in favour of his party candidate. "All the seven Congress MLAs went together to vote, while the SP has given us a list of their loyal MLAs," Uma Shankar Singh said. Independent MLA Aman Mani Tripathi also said he was with "Maharaj ji" and would vote for the BJP. There were 11 candidates for the 10 Rajya Sabha seats and 37 first preference votes were required for victory in each seat. PTI Who will be new Punjab Chief Minister? Congress' decision likely by afternoon after CLP meet Congress files privilege notice against Sushma Swaraj over Mosul tragedy India oi-Deepika By Deepika The Congress said on Friday filed a privilege motion against External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for "misleading" parliament on the issue of the death of 39 Indians who were kidnapped in Iraq in 2014 from Mosul. Swaraj had on Tuesday informed Rajya Sabha that 39 Indians out of 40, who were abducted in Mosul in 2014, were killed. Her statement evoked sharp criticism from the opposition parties with even grieving families questioning the Centre's stand for the last four years. Last evening 3 Congress MPs from Punjab submitted privilege motion to #RajyaSabha Secy-Gen, we stated that for 4-years the country, the House & families of 39 victims (killed in Mosul) were misled & that govt didn't take it seriously as these were poor ppl: PS Bajwa, Cong MP pic.twitter.com/YybLFznYEk ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018 On Thursday, Congress leaders Ambika Soni, Pratap Bajwa and Shamsher Singh Dullo accused the Narendra Modi government of trying to suppress the issue of killing of 39 Indians. "We are definitely going to bring a privilege motion against the minister of India for having misguided the House both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha," Soni said. "When a minister gives a statement on the floor of the house, it is considered an assurance. She (Sushma Swaraj) gave an assurance that these people were alive and dismissed all other inputs being given by others. Today they have proved right and her confidential sources, we do not know what they are, have proved wrong," she added. Bajwa said Sushma Swaraj should disclose the sources which formed the basis of her earlier claims that the 39 Indians, kidnapped by ISIS, were alive. He said the families of those killed should be given adequate compensation and the central government should provide a job to a member of each family. OneIndia News Raviji, the same thing just happened to me: Shashi Tharoor to seek explanation from Twitter What is itat e-dwar the new e-filing portal of the IT appellate tribunal Social media companies free to do business, but should be accountable to Indian laws: Ravi Shankar Prasad Big step towards transparency: Prasad on first compliance report by Google, FB under new IT rules Ashwini Vaishnaw gets thumbs-up from Ravi Shankar Prasad on IT rules If over 45 countries use Pegasus, why target just India?, asks Ravi Shankar Prasad Congress likens Ravi Shankar Prasad to Hitlers propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels India oi-Vicky Nanjappa While accusing the BJP of inventing the data theft story, the Congress likened Union Law Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad to Hitler's propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. In a multi-pronged attack on the government, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala alleged that it was managing headlines to deflect attention from issues such as the death of 39 Indians in captivity in Iraq. While Gandhi accused the government of baiting the media, Surjewala said Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad was spreading "lies and falsehood" so it could avoid giving answers in Parliament. "Problem: 39 Indians dead; Government on the mat, caught lying. Solution: Invent story on Congress and Data Theft. Result: Media networks bite bait; 39 Indians vanish from radar. Problem solved," Gandhi said on Twitter. "Hitler had a commander named Goebbels and now Narendra Modi has a minister named Ravi Shankar Prasad," Surjewala said, sharply escalating the verbal duel between the Congress and the BJP. The Congress and the BJP have been engaged in a war of words over British data firm Cambridge Analytica (CA) and its Indians arms being engaged during past elections. The company is under a cloud after social media firm Facebook accused it of data theft. While the Congress is accusing the BJP of using the services of the company, the BJP has hit back alleging that it is the Congress and its chief that have hired the services of the company. CA's Indian arm Ovelina Business Intelligence (OBI) is run by JD-U leader K C Tyagi's son Amrish Tyagi. Seeking to corner the government, Surjewala posed a series of questions, asking for details on its links with the company. He denied that the Congress or its president Rahul Gandhi had hired the services of the company and used the colloquial phrase "chor machaye shor" to say that the BJP had no right to fling allegations against the party. Union minister Smriti Irani follows CA on Twitter and the BJP's former IT cell head Arvind Gupta had lauded work done by it on the microblogging site, Surjewala said at a press conference. "The truth is that Modi government is denigrating and disrespecting the institution of Parliament. The truth is that the Modi government is running from accountability to Parliament. "The truth is that Modi government is scared of replying to the relevant questions being raised by people of the country in front of Parliament and people," he said. He said 'no confidence motions' were pending against the government but instead of considering them, Parliament was being adjourned. Bringing up the PNB scam and the deaths of 39 kidnapped Indians in Iraq, he said 132 crore people want to know how Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi ran away with the country's Rs 33,000 crore. The government, he added, misled the country on those kidnapped in Iraq for four years. Surjewala also referred to agrarian distress, unemployment and the SSC paper leak scam. "The Modi government does not want to answer these questions, that is why Parliament is not allowed to function... Instead, advice is being given to opposition parties and everyday new 'fake agenda' is prepared," he alleged. The BJP government, he added, has become a "manufacturer of fake news and an epitome of post-truth". OneIndia News Delhi HC grants bail to Karti Chidambaram in INX media case India oi-Deepika By Deepika The Delhi High Court on Friday granted bail to Karti Chidambaram, the son of former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, in connection with the INX Media case.The court granted the bail against a surety of Rs 10 lakh. The order was delivered by Justice S P Garg who had reserved his verdict on March 16 after hearing arguments on behalf of Karti and the CBI which had opposed grant of the relief to him. Karti Chidambaram is not allowed travel outside India and cannot influence witnesses or close bank accounts, the court said. Meanwhile, Officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation, which is handling the case, have said that they challenge the court's decision in the Supreme Court. The agency had contended that he should not be granted bail as he has already destroyed evidence in the case and was an "influential" person. Karti's counsel had argued that no case under the Prevention of Corruption Act was made out against him since the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had neither questioned any public servant, nor made them an accused in the matter. Karti's lawyers had denied allegations of tampering with evidence and added that when the CBI had not sought his further custodial interrogation, why should he be kept in judicial custody. They had also said that no one else has been arrested in the case and what the CBI has done is to put Karti behind bars. On March 15, the Supreme Court gave interim protection to Karti from arrest in connection with the case. He now cannot be arrested until March 26 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Karti is being investigated by the CBI and ED for his alleged role in the INX Media case. Karti was arrested from Chennai on February 28 by the CBI on his return from the United Kingdom in connection with an FIR lodged on May 15 last year, alleging irregularities in a Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance given to INX Media for receiving funds of about Rs 305 crore from overseas in 2007 when his father was the Union finance minister. The CBI had initially alleged that Karti received Rs 10 lakh as a bribe for facilitating the FIPB clearance to INX Media. It had later revised the figure to USD 1 million (about Rs 6.50 crore at the current exchange rate and Rs 4.5 crore in 2007).The fresh evidence in the case, which triggered Karti's arrest, was based on a statement of Indrani Mukerjea, former director of INX Media (P) Ltd, who recorded it under Section 164 of the CrPC before a magistrate on February 17. Indrani is currently lodged in a Mumbai prison in connection with the case of murder of her daughter Sheena Bora. OneIndia News Diplomat harassment row: Pakistan's envoy back in India, wants to resolve issue soon India oi-Deepika By Deepika Pakistan High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood on Friday said that Islamabad hopes to resolve issues with India as soon as possible as it affects the relationship between our countries. Speaking at the Pakistan National Day celebrations at Pakistan High Commission in Delhi, Sohail Mahmood said that "I discussed this issue with our govt & we want to sort this out as soon as possible because it affects the relationship between our countries." A week after he was called back for consultations amid raging row between India and Pakistan over harassment of diplomats, Sohail Mahmood returned from Islamabad on Thursday. Mahmood was called back to Islamabad for consultations after alleged incidents of "harassment" of its diplomatic staff in New Delhi with Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Muhammad Faisal claiming that the Indian government failed to take notice of the increasing incidents of intimidation of Pakistani diplomats, their families and staffers by its intelligence agencies. Pakistani media had on March 17 quoted anonymous sources in the Ministry of foreign affairs (MoFA) to say that Mahmood was "not going to return to India anytime soon" or "until the overall situation improves". An Indian official described it as just another pressure tactic used by Pakistan after it decided to pull out of the WTO ministerial earlier this week. India and Pakistan have accused each other of harassing diplomats in Islamabad and New Delhi respectively. OneIndia News Dumka Treasury case: Lalu Yadav granted bail, may be out of jail soon Jail release likely on Monday but Lalu to return home from Delhi hospital after recovery Caste census a must, let 50 per cent cap be broken if required: Lalu Prasad Lalu sentencing in fourth fodder scam tomorrow India oi-Deepika By Deepika A special CBI court in Ranchi, which had held former Bihar Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) President Lalu Prasad Yadav guilty in the fourth fodder scam case, will announce the quantum of punishment on Saturday. The case is relating to fraudulent withdrawals of Rs 3.13 crore from December 1995 to January 1996 from the Dumka treasury, was completed on March 5. A special CBI court in Ranchi on Monday convicted Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad after finding him guilty on the charges of conspiracy and corruption in the case. The former Bihar chief minister has been serving a jail term in Ranchi's Birsa Munda Central Jail since last December after his conviction in two other fodder scam cases. Two days ago, he was shifted to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) after he complained of chest pain. The fodder scam has cost Lalu Prasad Yadav his political career. Because of his three convictions so far, in this case, he had to step down from the post of Bihar Chief Minister in 1997, lose his Lok Sabha seat and was also barred from contesting elections for six years following the sentencing due to an earlier Supreme Court order. Lalu has so far been convicted in three fodder scam cases out of a total of six in which he has been facing trial. Lalu's convictions in other fodder scam cases till date: Lalu Yadav was first convicted in a fodder scam case in 2013 and was awarded five years' imprisonment. On January 24, a special CBI court awarded five years in jail and a fine of Rs 10 lakh to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in a third fodder scam case. Special CBI court judge S S Prasad had earlier convicted Lalu and 50 other accused in the case, which pertains to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 33.67 crore from Chaibasa treasury in 1992-1993. Former Bihar CM Jagannath Mishra was also found guilty and awarded a five-year jail term for embezzling funds from the Chaibasa treasury. Lalu, who is currently lodged jail, was on December 23, 2017, convicted for 3.5 years in the second fodder scam case. Although he was convicted on December 23, the quantum sentence was pronounced on 6th January 2018. So, according to judgements pronounced till date, the total jail term for the RJD chief amounts to 13.5 years. OneIndia News For Amarnath yatris from Gujarat, bullet proof mandatory India oi-Vicky Nanjappa If you are heading out for the Amarnath yatra from Gujarat this year, it would be mandatory to wear bulletproof vests. The Gujarat government issued new guidelines to this effect making wearing of bulletproof vests mandatory for pilgrims. This would mean that the tour operators and pilgrims will have to shell out extra money. The Gujarat government will not issue a permit if these guidelines are not followed. Currently, tour operators charge around Rs 10,000 per yatri. Each bulletproof jacket costs around Rs 12,000. There are 7,000 registered yatris on an average every year from Gujarat and in the case of the unregistered yatris the number is around 30,000. The other issue which the tour operators would face is with regard to the purchase of the jackets which are not available on the open market for civilians. The bus operators have complained that the norm has been made applicable only to them. It does not apply to private taxis or those travelling by air or train. The move by the Gujarat government comes in the wake of the Amarnath yatra attack that took place last year. A bus from Gujarat was attacked by terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. OneIndia News Jama Masjid may have to close again, says Shahi Imam German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visits Delhis Jama Masjid India oi-Deepika By Deepika German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife today visited the historic Jama Masjid in Delhi. Steinmeier is on a five-day visit to India, with an aim to boost bilateral ties between the two countries. Jama Masjid is the largest mosque in India, with a courtyard capable of holding 25,000 devotees. It is highly decorative mosque has three great gates, four towers and two 40 m-high minarets constructed of strips of red sandstone and white marble. Travellers can hire robes at the northern gate. German President visit is the first major outreach from Germany after the new government led by Chancellor Angela Merkel was sworn in on March 14. President Steinmeier will also visit the Museum in Sarnath and a Buddhist temple in Varanasi at the start of his trip. He will interact with students of Banaras Hindu University and participate in the Ganga 'arti'. Later, he will fly to Chennai where German companies are invested largely. He will visit production and training site at Daimler India Commercial Vehicles and IIT Madras Research Park, an important starting point for modern German-Indian technological cooperation. Germany is India's largest trading partner in Europe with renewable energy, cleaning of rivers, smart cities, railways as key sectors of cooperation. In 2016-17 the bilateral trade turnover was US$ 18.76 billion.There are more than 15,000 Indian students and more than a lakh Indian nationals in Germany. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, March 23, 2018, 12:20 [IST] No arrests made in JNU campus violence case in over 1.5 years: Govt informs Parliament JNU protesters detained by Delhi Police during march to Parliament for their 'Right to bunk' India oi-Madhuri Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) protesters were on Friday detained by Delhi Police, water cannon used. They were marching from the university campus to the Parliament. The protest march of JNU students and JNU Teachers' Association (JNUTA) to Parliament, halted by security forces near INA Market, water cannon used. The students were marching to Parliament for their 'Right to bunk'. OneIndia News Not keen on NIA probe into Kalburgis murder case: Govt tells SC India oi-Deepika By Deepika The Supreme Court on Friday asked Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra to file an affidavit in the scholar MM Kalburgi's murder case within four weeks. The governmnet informed the court that it was not keen on the NIA probe into the murder case as it is not a scheduled offence an offence doesn't come under the ambit of NIA Act. A three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra and also comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud was hearing the submissions from Krishna Kumar, lawyer appearing for Umadevi Kalburgi, wife of the deceased author, MM Kalburgi. She had moved the apex court seeking a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the murder of her husband MM Kalburgi. Umadevi, in her petition, had alleged that the same organisation's shooters were allegedly involved behind the murders of her husband MM Kalburgi, Pansare and Dabholkar. On 30 August, 2015, MM Kalburgi - writer, scholar and rationalist - was shot dead by two unidentified men in Dharwad, Karnataka. Kalburgi was a Sahitya Akademi award-winning writer of old Kannada literature. The well-known scholar and epigraphist was 77 years old. His murder was the third instance in two years where a rationalist author had been killed. OneIndia News Kerala: Father opposes inter-caste marriage, stabs daughter to death India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar In a shocking incident, a 22-year-old girl was stabbed to death by her father on Thursday late evening at Malappuram on the eve of her wedding. The girl was set to marry a boy from a lower caste. The girl named Athira's wedding with her boyfriend was scheduled to be on Friday. Athira and her boyfriend had decided to marry against the permission of her parents. According to the reports, the girl was killed following a verbal spat between the girl and the parent. The police later arrested Athira's father Rajan following the incident. Athira's parents opposed to the marriage because her boyfriend belongs to a lower caste which the parents strongly objected to. OneIndia News Office of Profit: Congress accuses AAP and BJP of flouting Constitutional Laws India oi-Shreya On March 23 Congress' Sushmita Dev spoke on the Delhi High Court ruling of reinstating membership of the 20 disqualified AAP MLAs for Office of Profit. She said, "It is not the Aam Aadmi Party MLAs who have won, today only the rules of the natural justice have been upheld and I must point out here that in blatant violation of the laws, the Aam Aadmi Party continues their MLAs in the Legislative Assembly and today I am joined by my friends of Manipur and Goa for specific reason to highlight the fact that exactly what the Aam Aadmi Party is guilty or think they are guilty of in Delhi, is exactly what the BJP is doing in the State. As you all are aware that in the Bimolangshu Roy vs State of Assam Case, the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India had clearly laid down that an office of Parliamentary Secretary is hit by office of profit and any such law which allows for that is unconstitutional obnoxious." "You all will be not surprised to note that today in the State of Manipur, we have around 12 MLAs, eight from the BJP, three from NPF and one Independent MLA who have been appointed as Parliamentary Secretary after the last Assembly elections were held in Manipur. Today, former Dy. CM Ginathan Ji has initiated on behalf of the Party a petition in the Hon'ble High Court of Manipur," she added. She said that the Congress respect today's judgment of the High Court of Delhi which has directed the Election Commission of India to hear the complaint against 20 AAP MLA's for holding Office of Profit, but we would like to raise some important questions. Both the BJP and the AAP are now in the same boat. No doubt the rules of natural justice have been upheld, but just like the AAP has made an absolute mockery of the laws, the Bharatiya Janata Party is flouting every rule in Manipur. Just like the AAP, BJP is also guilty of the same illegality in Manipur. She even accused the BJP of 'double faced' politics. She said, "In the state of Manipur, the BJP Govt is guilty of the same illegality. 12 MLA's - 8 from BJP, 3 from NPF and 1 Independent MLA were appointed as Parliamentary Secretaries after the last assembly election. After, the Supreme Court order of July 26, 2017 in the case of Bimolangshu Roy vs State of Assam, it is the law of the land that such laws appointing people as Parliamentary Secretaries is without legislative competence and therefore any person having held such position must be disqualified. However all the 12 MLAs are continuing in complete violation of the law." She added that the BJP's entire Government in Manipur is functioning in complete violation of the constitutional laws, to say the least and that the BJP is aware their Government is doubly disqualified: First, for having illegally allotted offices of profit to 12 MLAs and; Second, for not having disqualified the defecting MLA who has done so in gross violation of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution and the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Kihoto Holohan v. Zachillu. The Congress demands that the 12 MLAs of BJP in Manipur should resign immediately, as also the 20 MLA's AAP in Delhi. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, March 23, 2018, 19:20 [IST] Cannot order for use of traditional remedies like Red Ant Chutney as cure for COVID-19: SC Dont want terrorists to know what software is being used: Centre to SC on Pegasus row SC initiates contempt proceedings against lady advocate India oi-Vicky Nanjappa The Supreme Court has initiated contempt proceedings against a woman lawyer who had made derogatory comments against the Bench. The lawyer had also dared the court to take action against her. A Bench headed by Justice A K Goel while issuing a notice to the advocate, Nisha Priya Bhatia said that her conduct amounts to contempt in the face of the court. The court also directed her to file an affidavit to explain her conduct within two weeks. The issue cropped up when the advocate appearing for the Union of India sought more time. When the Bench told Bhatia that the matter could not be taken up on the same day, she protested and raised her voice. In its order, the court said that she had made derogatory remarks against the court. Despite being warned that her remarks would amount to contempt, she persisted and dated the court to take action against her, the order further stated. OneIndia News Thousands of youth to march in demand of Bhagat Singh National Employment Guarantee Act India oi-Shreya Thousands of youth, students, workers will be joining the march on March 25 to Parliament from Ramleela Maidan to seek the 'Right to Employment' for all. Youth and workers from across different states like Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra and Bihar will be marching to Parliament to demand the implementation of *'Bhagat Singh National Employment Guarantee Act' (BSNEGA) from the Modi government. Through BSNEGA the agitating youth and workers are demanding the Inclusion of the right to 'permanent employment, equal rights and free education to every citizen' in the fundamental rights by constitutional amendment. The campaign is being run jointly by Naujawan Bharat Sabha, Disha Student Organization and Krantikari Mazdoor Morcha, Delhi Aanganwadi Workers and Helpers Union and several organizations. Sunny Singh, member of the BSNEGA campaign coordination committee, said that it will not be an exaggeration to call the Right to Employment, the Right to live. But the crisis of unemployment in the country has increased horribly today. Whatever little work was available earlier to the working masses has now become scarce and even more difficult to come by today. Lakhs and lakhs of posts are lying vacant at the level of Centre and State. The hard-working population of the country survives on empty stomach to provide education to their children but the government is betraying them. The government is busy lending loans to big capitalists and ensuring their escape to foreign countries, he remarked. He further said, "Vikram Kothari has now fled the country with 800 crores after Nirav Modi's loot of Rs 13,000 crore. Dwarka Das has also run away with 400 crores from a Bank in Delhi. But Narendra Modi, is observing a disturbing silence on these issues and is instead preaching to the poor and unemployed people of the country to sell 'pakodas'!" "RSS leader Indresh Kumar has said that begging is also employment! Modi who promised to create two crore jobs in a year, is now asking the people to resort to begging or selling pakodas! The only way left to ensure that our constitutional rights are not reduced to a farce is to organize ourselves and demand the right to life with dignity which is impossible without having the right to employment." He added. Shivani, another member of the BSNEGA campaign coordination committee said that in the face of the rising unemployment, if we look at some reports and statistics we can atleast stop blaming ourselves. In the Rajya Sabha, Cabinet Minister Jitender Prasad admitted that a total of 4,20,547 posts were lying vacant in the center alone. Nearly 10 lakh posts of Primary-upper-primary teachers across the country, 5,49,025 posts in the police department, 6 thousand posts in 47 central universities, 63 thousand posts in 363 state universities, are vacant. In 36 thousand government hospitals more than 2 lakh posts of doctors and 11,500 that of psychiatrists are lying vacant. Nearly twenty lakh posts are vacant at the level of the Centre and the States. The veteran leaders of BJP had pompously made electoral promises of giving two crore jobs yearly, but even after three and a half years of their rule only 5 lakh new jobs have been added according to the official labor bureau statistics. India's unemployment rate was 3.8 percent in 2012, which reached 5 percent in 2015-16. The demands being raised under the BSNEGA campaign are: 1. Include the right to 'permanent employment, equal rights and free education to every citizen' in the fundamental rights by constitutional amendment. 2. Immediate appointments to the candidates who have passed the exams held at the level of the Centre and the States. 3. Conduct necessary examinations with immediate effect at the level of the Center and the States and fill all vacant posts as soon as possible. 4. Implement 'Bhagat Singh National Employment Guarantee Act'; Provide permanent employment at the level of both village and city, and provide minimum unemployment allowance of Rs. 10,000 / - per month to everyone in the event of not providing employment. 5. Under the MNREGA scheme, work should be provided for whole year and timely payment of work must be ensured. 6. Contractual labour in work of perennial nature should be immediately abolished, all employees working in regular government departments should be made permanent and permanent recruitments should be made to all such posts. OneIndia News Who is farmers biggest messiah? BJP, Congress Twitter war ahead of Karnataka Assembly elections India oi-Oneindia Staff By Oneindia Staff Bengaluru, March 23: After having heated debates over cow, communalism, Kannada pride, Karnataka flag and religious status to Lingayats, among others, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have now decided to fight over farmers in poll-bound Karnataka. The elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly are likely to take place between the last week of April and the first week of May. Before the elections, both the parties are leaving no stone unturned to attack each other and polarise the people of Karnataka as much as possible. The distress in agriculture is the latest subject over which both the Congress and the BJP are fighting on Twitter. Allegations and counter-allegations are flying thick and fast to prove which party is the biggest benefactor of the farmers. If the BJP has alleged that more than 3,700 farmers have committed suicide in Karnataka during the incumbent Congress government, the Congress, on its part, has asked the Karnataka unit of BJP to ask the Narendra Modi government at the Centre to write off farm loans across the country. Jumping into the farmers' debate, incumbent chief minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah on Thursday dubbed the state BJP unit as "spineless" for not demanding the Centre to write off farm loans, while the saffron party hit back at the CM asking him to announce the debt relief just like the Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra governments. "The Karnataka BJP is so spineless that instead of asking the center to waive farmers' loans it is giving accountancy lessons on Twitter. People will not be fooled. Center can write off lakhs of crores of a few industrialists but can't give debt relief to crores of farmers," Siddaramaiah tweeted. The Karnataka BJP is so spineless that instead of asking the center to waive farmers loans it is giving accountancy lessons on Twitter. People will not be fooled. Center can write off lakhs of crores of a few industrialists but cant give debt relief to crores of farmers. https://t.co/D9LH60Asaz Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) March 22, 2018 Moments later, the Karnataka BJP took a swipe at Siddaramaiah saying, "Talking about spine, UP and Maharashtra CM's exhibited their spine by waiving farm loans without Centre's help. If you have one, why don't follow suit and waive farm loans yourself?" The Karnataka BJP also took a swipe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi and tweeted, "Yes, we were wrong in teaching accountancy. We realise it is beyond you and your boss's comprehension levels!" Yes, we were wrong in teaching accountacy. We realise it is beyond you and your boss's comprehension levels! Talking about spine, UP & MH CM's exhibited their spine by waiving farm loans without centre's help. If you have one, why don't follow suit & waive farm loans yourself? https://t.co/58U47P1qcW BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) March 22, 2018 In reply to the BJP's challenge over farm loan waiver, the Congress wrote on Twitter, "And yet 30,000 farmers in Maharashtra had to walk for a week to reach Mumbai and meet the CM asking for a Farm Loan waiver!" And yet 30,000 farmers in Maharashtra had to walk for a week to reach Mumbai and meet the CM asking for a Farm Loan waiver! Spineless @BJP4Karnataka must ask PM Modi for a nationwide Farm Loan waiver. The UPA Govt did it in 2008. What's stopping Modi? #BariOluBJP https://t.co/yZIMH3r5cE Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) March 22, 2018 The argument between the parties did not end there. The BJP highlighted that thousands of farmers have committed suicide under the Siddaramaiah government in Karnataka. After driving 3700+ farmers to suicide, shameless Congress in K'taka have audacity to indulge in petty political blame game. Get ready to witness another choke slam moment as we expose Cong farmer apathy with facts in this thread. We dare them to counter this!#NoMoreHitAndRun https://t.co/E9sGMkda7S BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) March 22, 2018 The BJP alleged that the Karnataka irrigation minister MB Patil did only two things during his tenure, "collecting kickbacks from irrigation tenders and dividing the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community". Cong' K'taka Irrigation Min spent his tenure doing two things: 1. Collecting kickbacks from irrigation tenders 2. Dividing the Veerashaiva- Lingayat community Only if we had a Irrigation Min who was serious about his job, 3700+ wouldn't have ended their lives! BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) March 22, 2018 The BJP also claimed that the current BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre did more for farmers compared to the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. Cong big talk on farmers dont reflect in numbers: 1. UPA allotted 6182 cr for much needed Fasal Bima Yojana, PM Modi hiked it by 436% to 33,162 cr 2. Even in implementation BJP outperforms Cong. For ex, for last Rabi season, while MH enrolled >13 lakh farmers, KA had only 21298 BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) March 22, 2018 Karnataka Assembly Election dates Date of notification April 17 Last date to file nominations April 24 Last date to withdraw nominations April 27 Date of polling May 12 Date of counting May 15 OneIndia News Collapse of Kabul will go down as one of the greatest defeats in American history: Donald Trump Trump picks third national security adviser in 15 months; preparation on for Kim talks? International oi-Shubham By Shubham The Donald Trump administration saw its third national security adviser taking office in a span of 15 months as the president on Thursday, March 22, announced former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton as the replacement of Lt Gen HR McMaster, a war veteran who assumed office in February last year to succeed Michael Flynn. It has been reported in the American media that McMaster though was expected to give stability to the US's turbulent foreign policy operations, he did not quite succeed in growing a steady relationship with President Trump. After Pompeo, it's Bolton: Trump administration turns more hawkish Bolton's inclusion means Washington is set to take a more hawkish foreign policy stance for the man backs military action and has sought steps against Iran and North Korea - two of the US's biggest enemies at the moment. Bolton's appointment comes in the wake of the replacement of Rex Tillerson as the secretary of state by CIA director Mike Pompeo, a former army officer who is also known for his hardline stand on North Korea and Iran. According to observers, the inclusion of Pompeo and Bolton indicate at the Trump administration's hard preparation ahead of the president's talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un scheduled by end of May. Macmaster, who is on the verge of retirement, had spoken his exit with Trump over a period of time and the latter wanted to get his replacement in before the crucial talks with Kim. Bolton has also been in regular contact with Trump to discuss foreign policy issues and will take his office on April 9. Trump initially had a disliking for Bolton's moustache, as a New York Times report said, but acted promptly when it came to finding a replacement for McMaster. It even left Bolton surprised. Trump picked McMaster in February last year, just a month after taking the oath. He replaced Flynn, the first incumbent, for not being direct about a conversation with the ambassador of Russia. Flynn later pleaded guilty to making a false statement to the FBI authorities and is now working with a special counsel probing the Kremlin's interference in the 2016 presidential election. Republicans happy with Bolton's pick; Democrats not While the Republicans welcomed the decision to appoint Bolton as the national security adviser saying it was bad news for Washington's foes for the man has a decent grip on issues related to Iran, North Korea and radical Islam, the Democrats were not so pleased. They fear the Bolton era could see the US launching war against the hostile regimes in Tehran and Pyongyang without caring much about the Congress's ratification. OneIndia News Special envoys of China, Russia and Pak hold talks with Taliban officials in Kabul Pakistan gets powerful missile tracking system courtesy China International oi-Vicky Nanjappa China has sold Pakistan a powerful tracking system which could speed up the development of multi-warhead missiles by its all-weather ally, the state-run Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) said. Zheng Mengwei, a researcher with the CAS Institute of Optics and Electronics in Chengdu, Sichuan province, confirmed to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post that Pakistan had bought a highly sophisticated, large-scale optical tracking and measurement system from China. "We simply gave them a pair of eyes. They can use them to look at whatever they want to see, even the Moon," he said. Zheng said he could not elaborate on the technology nor where in Pakistan it was being used as it involved the country's defence interests. He, however, said that the Pakistani military recently deployed the Chinese-made system "at a firing range" for use in testing and developing new missiles. China was the first country to export such sensitive equipment to Pakistan, the CAS said. The Post report attributed the sale of the equipment to Pakistan to India testing the most advanced nuclear-ready intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Agni-V with a range long enough to hit Beijing or Shanghai. Chinese authorities declassified information about the sale of the tracking system yesterday. While India's single-warhead missiles are bigger and cover longer distances, Pakistan has focused its efforts on developing multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs), a type of missile-carrying several nuclear warheads that can be directed towards different targets, the report said. The US Defence Intelligence Agency officially confirmed in March that Pakistan conducted the first test launch of its nuclear-capable Ababeel missile in January 2017, "demonstrating South Asia's first MIRV payload", it said. But outside Pakistan, military experts believe that it will take much more time before the Ababeel missile is ready for use in battle. It is thought to be still at an early stage of development, with plenty of room for improvement. China has been the biggest supplier of arms to Pakistan which included ships, submarines and fighter jets. The Chinese team which took the tracking system to Pakistan enjoyed VIP treatment during the nearly three months stay to assemble and calibrate it and training technical staff, the CAS statement said. "The system's performance surpassed the user's expectations," it said, adding that it was considerably more complex than Pakistan's home-made systems. The report did not reveal how much Pakistan paid for the system. An optical system is a critical component in missile testing. It usually comes with a pair of high-performance telescopes equipped with a laser ranger, high-speed camera, infrared detector and a centralised computer system that automatically captures and follows moving targets. The device records high-resolution images of a missile's departure from its launcher, stage separation, tail flame and, after the missile re-enters the atmosphere, the trajectory of the warheads it releases. "The uniqueness of the Chinese-made system lay in its use of four telescope units, more than normally required," Zheng said. Each telescope, with a detection range of several hundred kms, is positioned in a different location, with their timing synchronised precisely with atomic clocks. Together, the telescopes provide visual information of unprecedented detail and accuracy, which missile developers can use to improve designs and engine performance, the CAS said. Using more telescopes allows the system to track warheads simultaneously from different angles, reducing the risk of losing a target. High-quality optics are essential in missile development, especially MIRVs, said Rong Jili, deputy director at the Beijing Institute of Technology's School of Aerospace Engineering. Other types of tracking devices, such as radar, can collect more precise data at longer distances, but the Chinese-made optical system provided the intuitive, close-up look at the real-life action that missile developers craved, he said. Unlike the US, which accounts for one-third of exports and supplies to at least 100 countries, China delivered major arms to 44 countries, mostly in Asia and Africa. More than 60% of China's military exports went to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar and another 22% went to Africa, according to a recent study report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. OneIndia News 'Pakistans wisdom lies in peace talks with India', says former Pak envoy International oi-Shubham By Shubham Pakistan's wisdom lies in bringing India to the negotiating table because war is not a favourable solution, the country's former ambassador Hasan Habib recently said at an event titled 'Indian hegemonic design and its implications' organised by the Rabita Forum International in Karachi, Pakistan's frontline publication Dawn reported. He said since India is a rising power, its defence budget is going up significantly and the US is eyeing a developed India to counter China but on the other hand, nobody is ready to lend an ear to Pakistan. Habib hence has advised Pakistan to try for negotiations with India to find a peaceful solution to their problems and not think about war as an option. Habib, who has served in countries like China and North Korea, said the US was not ready to leave Afghanistan for it gives them a strategic base to monitor foes like China, Russia and Iran besides Pakistan, indicating that things are not turning any easier to Pakistan's western borders. India wasting money on defence: Ex Pak army man Retired vice admiral Arifullah Hussaini, who was also present on the occasion, observed that India was wasting its money on defence because he thought the future of war lied in artificial intelligence and not conventional methods and advised Pakistan to acquire more of it so as to gain an edge over India. The much-talked-about China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) also came up for discussion at the event as Retired Brigadier Haris Nawaz felt it was a game-changer for Pakistan. The CPEC has been in the headlines for many in Pakistan believe it would lift Pakistan's position in geostrategic and geo-economic affairs. However, there is also another viewpoint which says Pakistan has surrendered its honour to the Chinese through it. OneIndia News Prince Harry, Meghan tour N Ireland; wedding china on sale International pti-PTI London, Mar 23: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made a surprise visit to Northern Ireland today as part of their pre-wedding tour of the United Kingdom. The trip was not announced ahead of time in keeping with security procedures used for royal travel to Northern Ireland. Kensington Palace officials said the couple would meet with young people and other members of the public and would also tour some of Belfast's most popular sites. They had lunch at the popular Crown Liquor Saloon, a landmark in central Belfast. As they toured Northern Ireland, approved commemorative china marking the couple's May 19 wedding went on sale Friday. The collection uses cornflower blue with white detailing and a gold monogram of the bride and groom's initials. The design also references the couple's wedding venue at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. The decorative border is based on the ironwork of the 13th century chapel door. The china is finished in 22 carat gold. It was made by hand in Stoke-on-Trent, 160 miles (260 kilometers) northwest of London, using traditional methods. Profits will go to the Royal Collection Trust charity. PTI France: Trebes gunman killed by police in supermarket; 3 killed in terror attack International oi-Madhuri French police killed a gunman holed up in the supermarket in France where he had taken hostages earlier on Friday, a source close to the investigation said. "The hostage-taker is dead", the source said and also added that he was killed during a raid on the supermarket. "Two officers were wounded", the source further added. Earlier three people were killed in three separate incidents which the government is treating as an act of terrorism. The incident took place in the town of Trebes in the south of the country, the French Interior Ministry said on Twitter.The man "entered the Super U supermarket at around 11.15 am and shots were heard," a source told AFP. France gunman claims allegiance to Islamic State group, reports AFP quoting prosecutors. Local authorities are reportedly treating the incident as a possible terrorist attack. France's interior ministry confirmed a response was underway by police and security forces. OneIndia News Divided by Brexit, united by Russia: UK PM asks EU to join hands against Putin International oi-Shubham By Shubham Brexit might have been an issue dividing Europe over the past few years but Vladmir Putin's Russia could be more than a unifying force for the continent which, like the Cold War years, is apprehending the Kremlin's design to expand its influence into its backyard. The European Union (EU) recently has recalled its ambassador from Russia after various European leaders backed UK Prime Minister Theresa May over the poisoning of a former Russian double agent and his daughter in Salisbury in England. PM May has expressed her utter displeasure over the incident saying Russia doesn't respect borders and such acts form a part of the Kremlin's pattern of aggression against Europe. A number of EU member states were also likely to expel diplomats in an effort to curb Putin's spy network. The EU supported the UK PM by adopting a statement which declared that it was highly likely that Russia was responsible for the poisoning of 66-year-old Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia,33, with a dangerous nerve agent. Russia has a history of carrying out assassinations on Britain's soil. American intelligence services have linked Russia with over a dozen deaths in the UK over the last two decades. The latest call for solidarity against Russia is significant for earlier this week, the declaration made by the foreign ministers did not blame Moscow. Now, Britain's diplomats have started believing that with a number of EU members holding Russia responsible for the Salisbury incident, the UK's stance on Russia becomes stronger and would send Putin a strong message. Countries like France, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia are likely to expel Russian diplomats to strengthen the UK's position. Brexit and Russia put UK in a paradox The UK's stance in the wake of the Salisbury incident has an element of paradox in it. Prime Minister May's Brussels visits nowadays (she went there on Thursday to attend a European Council summit) are more linked up with Brexit where nationalism outsmarts internationalism. But the Salisbury incident has seen the same premier seeking more international solidarity to put up a strong defence against Putin who recently won his fourth presidential term. Here, the British leadership is concerned less about nationalism but cooperation across the borders. Two-faced policy, isn't it? UK has apprehensions against Russia The UK has two major apprehensions against Russia. First, it thinks Russia could not just expel British intelligence officers from its territory and reveal their identities and secondly, the UK is dependent on Russian gas especially in winter and because the reserves in Europe have touched the nadir. This has put the UK in need of a diplomatic front against Russia and May is heard speaking about the need for a "European democracy" where the country would stand shoulder to shoulder with the EU and NATO to face Russian threats. It will be interesting to see how the UK merges the two distinct narratives that Brexit and Russia bring along. The UK shared intelligence with the EU members following the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats from its soil. Post-Brexit, data flow could be a concern Though intelligence flows have little to do with the EU as it happens more on a bilateral basis and both the EU and UK would like to maintain their closeness on this aspect after the divorce, data could be one thing over which the British spies would be concerned post Brexit. Moving data across borders is a vital task and any hindrance to this flow, which Brexit is likely to create, would pose a challenge, feel officials. The sharing and retaining of data require conforming to EU's privacy safeguards and the UK's initiatives to strengthen the network in the future against the Russian designs could be thwarted by this. OneIndia News Who is John Bolton & why picking him as US NSA is creating a buzz International oi-Shubham By Shubham The news of US President Donald Trump picking John Bolton, a man about who he initially had a reservation because of his moustache, as the national security adviser has the international world in attention. Bolton, who will replace army veteran HR McMaster as the third national security adviser in April, is known to an extreme hawk. The man has no regard for international diplomacy and wants to bomb countries like North Korea and Iran straightaway. Bolton, 69, had served as the US ambassador to the United Nations in 2005-06 when the Republican George W Bush was in power. He also acted as the foreign policy adviser to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in 2012. Associated with a number of a conservative think tank, Bolton is against the Iran deal and supported the Iraq war and is still unmoved from his position. Bolton has also spoken in favour of military action to change regimes in Syria, Libya and Iran. The man is currently donning different mantles. He is a senior fellow at the right-wing American Enterprise Institute, senior adviser at the Freedom Capital Investment Management, a Fox News commentator and a counsel to a law firm in Washington. Bolton has just one way forward: Bomb'em! Bolton's arrival in place of a moderate McMaster means the US foreign policy could see an ultra-hawkish turn in the days to come and the administration might not even care for Congressional ratifications before going for unilateral moves. Bolton's appointment also comes ahead of the likely talks between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un over Pyongyang's nuclear programme. Bolton has just one way forward to deal with North Korea and it is through bombing it, something he has made known in the past as well. Post-April 9 when he formally joins as the national security adviser, his extremist thoughts could be translated into an official US policy. The man also has a little respect for bodies like the UN which means his long tenure (both of his predecessors served comparatively shorter stints and we never know what Trump does tomorrow) could see Washington exhibiting even more disregard for international diplomacy. Bolton's book titled 'Surrender is Not an Option' also speaks as ruthlessly about Iran and he criticised former US president Barack Obama's efforts to arrive at a deal with Iran's nuclear programme. According to Bolton, the only way to deal with Iran is to send bombers to ruin it to prevent disaster. Bolton had served in other Republican administrations even before George W Bush. He had senior positions in the Ronald Reagan and George Bush senior administrations and he had let his mind known by opposing global controls on biological weapons. Bolton's arrival was only a matter of time as insiders of US politics say. In his inside account of the White House 'Fire and Fury', Michael Wolff said that even Trump's former senior counsellor Steven Bannon, another right-wing conservative, had asked the president to take Bolton on board. OneIndia News UKGC Recommends Another Piece of Proactive Regulation: But Will it Take? Published March 23, 2018 by Lee R Staunch opposition to UKGC moderation remains, at the risk of alienating high street. The UK Gambling Commission UKGC has recommended a new piece of regulation as another step towards implementing an equitable regulation model that satisfies gaming opponents and high street operators alike. The New Recommendations The latest measure seeks to cut maximum stakes in fixed odds betting terminals (FOBT) in British betting shops to 30 pounds ($41.78). An additional related regulation calls for a two pound stake limit for gambling machines offering slots games such as traditional fruit machines ($2.79). The FOTB Question Fixed odds betting terminals (FOTB) enable players to bet on multiple games in one spot, and represent a new significant source of income for UK bookmakers on high-street bookmakers. Lingering Opposition The drop was actually far too moderate for many in the UK Parliament, with MP opponents of roulette-style gambling games calling for stakes on FOBTs to be slashed all the way to 2, even after the UKGC had warned the recommendation could be as high as 50. The aforementioned MP opponents were concerned specifically about risks casino-style games posed, while the commission responded that a popular FOBT game such as roulette should be cut to 30 or lower. MP Speaks Against Labour party deputy leader and leading FOBT opponent Tom Watson called the new recommendations deeply disappointing report from the Gambling Commission, which appears to have caved in to industry pressure. Mr. Watson further decried the machines as the heart of the UKs hidden epidemic of problem gambling, of which the prime culprit was highly addictive roulette-style games. Lead Investigator Speaks As chairperson of an all-party parliamentary group investigating FOBTs, Labour MP Carolyn Harris was steadfast in her faith in the ultimate outcome, acknowledging the current result as disappointing. However, I am confident that the government will see past this and do the right thing, as the moral argument has been made so overwhelmingly for 2. High Street Implications The positive impact of the limit on high street stems from bookmakers claims that a cut to 2 would force many shops to close and cost jobs. Overview Clearly, the UKGC is still attempting ways to maintain revenues through relatively moderate intervention: the question remains whether enough MPs in opposition can force stricter standards in the short term pending review. President Uhuru Kenyatta has directed the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure to work with the Nairobi County Government to improve the citys drainage system. The President ordered Cabinet Secretary James Macharia to work with Governor Mike Sonko in expanding the capacity of the citys drainage system to curb future flooding. He told the two leaders to ensure that there is no repeat of the perennial flash floods that wreak havoc in the city as a result of a poor drainage system. President Kenyatta said it is unacceptable seeing city dwellers stranded in traffic jams while others spending the night in the cold because of poorly maintained roads and unclogged drainage system in the county. We cannot continue like this year after year looking at what happened recently following the heavy rains where roads were full of water and people being carried away by flash floods, President Kenyatta said. I now direct my cabinet secretary because you are the one I can give orders to, to work together with Sonko. Next year I do not want to see people drowning in the city because you are unable to open drainage system in Nairobi. The President was speaking Thursday in Nairobi when he commissioned the first phase of the Ngong Road dual carriageway and launched the dualling of Ngong Road Phase II. During the event, the Japanese Government through Ambassador Toshitsugu Uesawa, handed over to the Government of Kenya, construction equipment that will help in the rehabilitation of the second phase of the Ngong Road. President Kenyatta further directed the two leaders to expedite the implementation of the Rapid Bus Transport programme and ease the movement of Nairobi residents within the city and its suburbs. We are constructing roads not only for those who own cars but also for those who use public transport. Nairobi residents must be assured of a public transport system that is affordable, efficient and convenient. Nairobi residents are tired of transport and infrastructure issues. You Sonko, you know that we promised them that we will transform their lives if they give us a chance. We want Kenyans to be given a reliable, efficient and affordable means of public transport and that is now your work Macharia working in hand with Sonko in accordance with our pledges to the people of Nairobi, said Uhuru. We promised, as Jubilee Administration, we will transform the lives of the people of Nairobi and Kenya as a whole. We must work to ensure that is achieved. Another researcher has appeared before lawmakers seeking to decriminalize Marijuana. Professor Simon Mwaura, who established that maize cob has the ability to treat erectile dysfunction 2014, appeared before the National Assembly Health Committee on Wednesday to argue his case. While Gwada Ogot, whose petition appeared before the Senate last year, wanted the plant to be explored as an income generating crop, Simon Mwaura wants the plant to be used as a raw material to create food supplements. He told the committee chaired by Matungulu Member of Parliament Stephen Mule that the supplements are key in boosting the bodys immunity. You can blend it with coffee, tea, beet, spirits; it has very good compatibility, said Mwaura. Mwaura, who works with Hyaquip Kenya (a science and innovation company), said he carried out research on bhang, alongside miraa and came up with a way to separate the plants psychotropic components and leave it safe for consumption. The psychotropic components, which include caffeine and methanol are what give users the feeling of being high. Mwaura argued that once the high components are separated, the plant becomes safe and contains nutrients like carbohydrates and magnesium that are key in boosting the bodys immunity. He said he came up with the formula to remove the high from Marijuana in 1996 and that it was confirmed by the government chemist. Mwaura had written to the Ministry of Health and that of Agriculture seeking a permit for this business without success. Please note that marijuana plant and its products are prohibited by Kenyan law under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropics Substances (Control) Act, 1994, read a response from Registrar Pharmacy and Poisons Board Dr Kipkerich Koskei dated APril 15, 2014. The researcher said the two plants, Marijuana and Miraa, can be used as herbal remedies. Mwaura said if parliament agrees to the petition, Kenyan may become the only country in the world to export bhang as a herbal supplement. These two main plants offer both herbal and medicinal extracts that can be used by a six-month-old baby to a 90-year-old, argued Mwaura. He added: It can also be used if an individual is in pain or has just had a surgery. To that we say well and good but most Marijuana enthusiasts in Kenya will probably say we dont want it if we cant get high! The identity of a conman who has been running an M-Pesa scheme on members of parliament has been revealed. According to the police, the suspect is 25-Year-Old Wazir Benson Masubo Chacha, a former Ministry of Devolution employee. Chacha is accused of using fake MPesa accounts to demand money from Members of Assembly and other VIPs. He is believed to be a friend to a former Member of Parliament (MP) where he got most of the MPs contacts. Nairobi Wire has since established that Chacha is the young man who made headlines in February after photos of his romantic escapades with former Bomet County Women Representative Cecilia Ngetich leaked online. Chacha even openly confessed about a love relationship with the 54-year-old former woman rep to a local daily. He claimed that he met Ngetich while he was working at the Ministry of Devolution when she came to drop tender documents Chacha added that he had fallen in love with Ngetich but he was dumped like a hot potato on Valentines Day this year. She dumped me on Valentines Day. I was to accompany her to South Africa on that day, only for her to tell me that the relationship was over, he lamented. In response, Ngetich claimed that Chacha was a man of questionable character who should be investigated for operating in the country using illegal documents. He is using Waziri Chacha but his ID reads Benson Waziri Masubo. He is not Kenyan and does not live in Runda, but Buruburu with relatives, she said. Could that be why his bedroom pictures with Cecilia Ngetich leaked online? Your guess is as good as mine. On social media, Chacha goes by the handle @el_chapo_junior2, and some of his posts are quite telling. The young man, whose listed properties include a Toyota Land Cruiser V8, Toyota Lexus and Chrysler 1540, is now on the run with the police hot on his heels. Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) George Kinoti said Chacha has been linked to four other cases of fraud and they want him to surrender himself for questioning. He used an ID number of a former MP to register an MPesa account in the name of Sabina Wanjiku Chege. He did this in Donholm and we have all the details, said Kinoti yesterday, a day after he had promised the National Assembly security committee that he would, in 24 hours, arrest suspects. Kinoti said that police have in the last week been trying to get Chacha but it has been in vain. His five phones have been switched off and he has gone into hiding. He was last seen in Ruiru on Monday. An attendant who registered the number in the name of Sabina Wanjiku Chege has been arrested in Nairobis Donholm area. She is expected to formally take a plea on Monday 26 March 2018. Chacha allegedly used the number to send distress messages a number of VIPs seeking funds. The messages claimed that Sabina was in hospital and needs money urgently. At least four MPs including Speaker of National Assembly Justin Muturi sent money thinking it was Chege who was in need. Speaker Muturi, CSs Eugene Wamalwa, Peter Munya and Margaret Kobia and unknown senators have fallen victim to the scheme and sent money. The committee heard that Mr Muturi lost Sh30,000 after he received a message seeking help to buy medication. Former Migori Senator Wilfred Machage is said to have deposited Sh140,000 to Chachas account but it is not clear for what reasons. It also emerged that Chacha sent two students of Multimedia University to collect Sh100,000 from Midiwo after he demanded more information. The two students include a nephew to the former MP. They were charged with attempting to obtain money from the politician by false pretences. Derick Ngetich and Edwin Warukira were accused of fraudulently obtaining Sh100, 000 from the former Gem MP and Ms Chege on March 8 at Goldenspot Restaurant in Nairobi. They denied the charges before chief magistrate Francis Andayi and requested for a free bond, claiming both are students. Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) called for an international boycott of Unilever-owned Ben & Jerry's in conjunction with World Water Day, March 22. "Ben & Jerry's and its parent company, Unilever, spend millions on marketing to create the false image that the Vermont-based brand is a champion of the environment, when in fact Ben & Jerry's supports an industrial dairy system that is responsible for a water pollution crisis in Vermont," said Ronnie Cummins, OCA's international director. "Today we once again call on Ben & Jerry's to convert its dairy supply chain to 100-percent organic and pasture-raised to help end the dumping of hundreds of thousands of pounds of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers into Vermont's water supply." Huge, GMO-linked dairies supply some of Ben & Jerry's products (Image by Martha Rosenberg) Details DMCA Many people remember Ben & Jerry's original "hippie," natural, anti-corporate image when it was founded in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont. But over the years, its eco-friendly, family farmed image has eroded, highlighted by its sale to Anglo-Dutch multinational food giant Unilever in 2000 and culminating with the Organic Consumers Association's shocking discovery last year of Monsanto's glyphosate (Roundup) in Ben & Jerry's products. In fact the presence of glyphosate in a product thought "natural" was so unexpected, unsettling and apparently hypocritical, major media TV stations and the New York Times covered the discovery in July. While Ben & Jerry's blamed the herbicide's presence on an under-examined supply chain and mainstream media stressed the small amounts of glyphosate found, founder Ronnie Cummins said at the time, "Not everyone agrees with the acceptable levels governments have set and anyway, would you want to be eating this stuff at all?" Big Food in Sheep's Clothing It is not surprising Ben & Jerry's exposes food consumers to glyphosate. Unilever is the third largest food marketer/manufacturer in the world----right after number two Pepisco---- and profits from the toxic farming methods of all Big Food companies. In fact, five years after selling to Unilever, founder Ben Cohen admitted "Although there are some wonderful people with a social conscience inside Unilever, most of what was the soul of Ben & Jerry's has been lost." That is an understatement. In 2012, Unilever, donated an astonishing $467,000 to defeat California's Prop 37--Mandatory Labeling of Genetically Engineered Food. Some remember when Ben & Jerry's in 1993, prohibited Monsanto's recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) in its products, a GMO given to cows to increase their milk output. But that has been its last GMO action. When OCA and several other groups asked Ben & Jerry's to go 100 percent organic----ban dairy suppliers from feeding GMO grains to cows----it flatly refused. Founder Ben Cohen admitted that going organic wouldn't allow them to "maximize profits." Behind the Happy Ice Cream-- Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations and GMOs Ben & Jerry's admits its milk is not organic and that it allows its dairy and egg suppliers to use GMO grains in animal feed. This means Ben & Jerry's supports the 92,000 acres in Vermont now dedicated to GMO-derived feed corn and all its environmental consequences. In addition to toxic chemicals and polluted waterways, dairy CAFOs including Ben and Jerry's have devastated wildlife and hollowed out rural communities, putting family farmers and residents in despair. When Vermont activists sought to find out how much manure is released in Vermont waterways by CAFOs, officials told them the information would cost them a prohibitive $34,000. Dairy Farming at Its Worst Ben & Jerry gets it its milk from the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery, a 400-farmer dairy co-op increasingly dominated by large factory farm-type dairy operations. How big are St. Albans co-op dairy farms? "Mexico is our biggest destination for dairy, and it's not only dairy," said board president of the co-op Harold Howrigan Jr. in defense of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) this spring. "It's corn and soy also that go down there to our huge trading partner, and we need that market." Then there is the mega Vermont CAFO and mega Vermont water polluter Pleasant Valley Farms, cited for violating the clean water act and drug residues and selling to the St. Albans co-op, according to employees interviewed according to Vermont activists I interviewed. According to the FDA, three years ago, owners Mark and Amanda St. Pierre, "offered for sale an animal for slaughter as food that was adulterated." Specifically, the FDA found the antibiotic ampicillin in tissue samples of a cow kidney. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. Nearly two decades ago, the rumors began: In the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, someone had discovered a tiny mummified alien. An amateur collector exploring a ghost town was said to have come across a white cloth in a leather pouch. Unwrapping it, he found a six-inch-long skeleton. Despite its size, the skeleton was remarkably complete. It even had hardened teeth. And yet there were striking anomalies: it had ten ribs instead of the usual 12, giant eye sockets and a long skull that ended in a point. Ata, as the remains came to be known, ended up in a private collection, but the rumors continued, fueled in part by a U.F.O. documentary in 2013 that featured the skeleton. On Thursday, a team of scientists presented a very different explanation for Ata -- one without aliens, but intriguing in its own way. Ata's bones contain DNA that not only shows she was human, but that she belonged to the local population. What's more, the researchers identified in her DNA a group of mutations ingenesrelated to bone development. -- NYTimes article The body was mummified just a few decades ago. Most skin is still there. Internal organs are identifiable. This is a unique specimen, of unique interest. I'm sure there are dozens of labs around the world that would leap at the opportunity to study it. But one lab at Stanford has held onto this specimen for 5 years before publishing anything or even issuing a press release. What I find suspicious is that the explanation they have put forward is the most conventional, and that it is taken as "Science has spoken!" There is only one explanation, and it is fantastically improbable, but it has been selected for us from among many other fantastically improbable explanations. Science Daily tells exactly the same story as NYTimes. Sanchita Bhattacharya, a researcher in Dr. Butte's lab, searched for mutations in Ata's DNA and identified 2.7 million variants throughout the genome. She whittled this list to 54 rare mutations that could potentially shut down the gene in which they were located. Here's the journal article. Their analysis begins with the assumption that the specimen is human, and doesn't consider other possibilities. Their conclusion involves a co-occurrence of many rare mutations. They attribute the large amount of DNA that doesn't match human to DNA damage that has occurred in the mummy. But full genomes have been extracted from much older samples than this one. Damage can be differentiated from genome variation because damage is different from one cell to the next, whereas variation is consistent. They speak about the improbability of all these mutations happening at the same time. They don't try to offer an explanation how a fetus would end up in the Atacama desert. My hope is that this is the beginning of an open-ended scientific discussion, and that many labs around the world have a chance to do their own analysis. -- JJM Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has offered a Sh300,000 reward on information that could lead to the arrest of a notorious gang that has been terrorizing Eastlands residents. Sonko further shared CCTV footage showing the gang in action at a barber shop next to Hodi Hodi bar in Maringo shopping center near Jogoo road police station. In the two-minute clip, the gang of four men is seen storming the barber shop and brandishing a pistol. They proceed to rough up customers and rob them of their valuables before making a quick exit. The faces of the gang members can be clearly seen, with the gun-toting suspect believed to be the gangs leader. Sonko said the suspects are armed with two pistols and have been terrorising Eastlands residents along Jogoo, Likoni, Bunyala, and Enterprise roads. The governor also shared a phone number through which the public can provide useful information about the criminals. Sonko added that any information given will be treated with confidentiality. Im seeking for public assistance from anyone who will give information leading to the arrest of the gangsters. A REWARD of Ksh 300,000 shall be paid for this useful information. Call or text details to 0722886600 information given will be treated with confidentiality, said Sonko. Watch the video below: Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. Sigmar Gabriel (Image by SPD-Schleswig-Holstein) Details DMCA Sigmar Gabriel is not my favorite German politician (I don't have one), but he occasionally makes some reasonable remarks. When the subject is Russia, however, the German MSM are as stubbornly impervious to common sense, not to mention journalistic integrity, as their counterparts in the US and the UK. On March 15 Gabriel, having just vacated the office of Foreign Minister, gave a speech at the German-Russian Forum in Berlin. I don't know much about what he said because I wasn't there, but fortunately a Mr. Vitzthum from Die Welt was (or was he?), who describes it as a "nasty reckoning" with the (reelected) Merkel government. This is not so much because Gabriel suggested that sanctions were not the best way to deal with the Crimea issue, since he also said so as Foreign Minister, but because of what he said about the Skripal incident. Somebody working for the German edition of the Huffington Post whose German -- or intelligence, or both -- is not up to the job read the story in Die Welt and reported it as saying that Gabriel "defended Vladimir Putin and Russia" by saying that "Someone is innocent until the opposite is proven." The newsweekly Focus, in a wandering article curiously titled "The Skripal Affair Shows Gabriel That He Has Learned Nothing from His Past," doesn't even mention Gabriel until the sixth paragraph (of seven), where it becomes clear that "his past" refers to his opposition to the sanctions -- as if that were something to be ashamed of. It also accuses him of "defending Putin." For visual relief there is a photo of Gabriel and Putin smiling at each other, though Putin was not at the meeting that was the ostensible subject of the article. So what did Gabriel actually say in Berlin? Hard to tell from these articles, and I have not seen it covered elsewhere. The Forum promises to post a transcription but it hasn't appeared yet. Oh, wait. There is one more "source," if you want to call it that. I refer to RT Deutsch, the German counterpart of RT.com, that dastardly purveyor of False News and Russian Propaganda. They had the gall to publish not only an accurate summary but an actual video of Gabriel's remarks about the Skripal event! Reader beware. Fearing yet another Ruskie trick, I transcribed the video and translated it myself: "We are currently experiencing, of course, with the attack on a man who was formerly, so I read at any rate, a double agent in the UK, one of the worst escalations we have had recently, and of course I understand every British citizen who, being told this was a chemical weapon of war developed in the Soviet Union, thinks first that if it was developed there, and if it was produced in former member states of the Soviet Union, and if it involves a Russian double agent, then there may be evidence that this weapon may have come from Russia. "However, I would recommend that we not allow ourselves, as Germans and Europeans, to be driven into an increasingly shrill public debate. There is in our country, which is based on the rule of law [Rechtsstaat], a relatively simple but effective way to settle legal questions, and that is that someone is innocent until a court has proved the contrary. This presumption of innocence should not push aside the British concerns, or push aside the scandal, which of course it is, of using a chemical weapon of war to kill a person. But this is the way to solve the problem. The way to solve the problem can only be to let the international bodies that we have investigate the case and then present the evidence. We are all members of a UN organization whose purpose is to control and destroy chemical weapons [the OPCW], and I think the wisest thing is to allow this institution to investigate, using all the evidence, and then after the investigation, not before, determine what political conclusions we should draw from it. "This does not reduce the scandal of what has happened, or ignore the British concerns, but it prevents what I think is probably the worst poison in international relations, and that is this spiral of mutual suspicion and strange stories, whereby one side develops the most bizarre ideas about why one side might have done this or the other side that, and you feel like you're in the middle of a very bad James Bond film where both sides have no other goal than to pursue their own conspiracy theory. I think the only way to counter this is to actually do what we do in criminal cases, which is to allow an institution specially created for this purpose to investigate it, gather all the evidence, and then say what conclusions should be drawn. "Why do I advocate such a careful and reasonable German attitude? Because we know from our own history how quickly national narratives can be used against each other. Because we know from our own history that in the end it is the civilian population that pays the price for such developments, in the worst case with their health and with their lives. And furthermore because we know that such confrontations will always end up, if it comes to that, taking place in the Federal Republic of Germany and in Europe." This is what Die Welt calls a "nasty reckoning" with Merkel et al. and HuffPost and Focus call "defending Putin." I call it common sense, uncommon enough in today's environment. Peace Grunge Sign - Sepia (Image by Free Grunge Textures - freestock.ca) Details DMCA Integrating the Perennial Philosophy with the Greens' Ten Key Values It was the original national Green organization, the Greens/Green Party USA (G/GPUSA), which is considered the oldest, continuously active Green organization that actually created the Ten Key Values, not the currently more popular Green Party of the United States (GPUS). The Ten Key Values adopted by the GPUS have been slightly modified from the original wording as follows: Here is the link to GPUS website: http://www.gp.org/ten_key_values_2016 1.Grassroots Democracy 2.Social Justice and Equal Opportunity 3.Ecological Wisdom 4.Non-Violence 5.Decentralization 6.Community-Based Economics and Economic Justice 7.Feminism and Gender Equity 8.Respect for Diversity 9.Personal-Global Responsibility 10.Future Focus and Sustainability Many in the original organization, first organized as the Green Committee of Correspondence in 1984, wanted the Greens to remain a movement and not a political party, so that the cherished values would not get corrupted and compromised in today's two-party system. At the first National Green Gathering held at Amherst, Massachusetts in the summer of 1987, there seemed to be a philosophical split between the New Age Spiritual Greens (led by Charlene Spretnak, author of Spiritual Politics) and the other camp, the Left Greens (led by Murray Bookchin, who started the Institute for Social Ecology). Many of us who attended that conference thought we were making history. I was one of 5 or 6 people who attended the conference from Indiana. The Green Party needs to integrate the Perennial Philosophy with the ideal form of democratic communism. It needs to harmonize the yin and yang, so to speak, by integrating the two conflicting elements that were expressed at the 1987 first national gathering. The Perennial Philosophy is a term that is sometimes called Ageless Wisdom. Yoga philosophy, mindfulness meditation, transpersonal psychology, Buddhism, Hinduism, and the recently emerging Progressive Christianity--all could be expressions of the Perennial Philosophy. Yoga philosophy is not a religion. It is a spiritual discipline to unify the mind, body, and spirit. It is the yoke or union of the individual spirit with the universal divine source. Buddhists, who don't believe in an eternal Self as the Hindus and Yogis do, still embody this perennial philosophy because the mystical state of oneness or nonduality that can be experienced in Buddhism likewise defies anything that words can describe. The Greens need to accept the Perennial Philosophy as a lifestyle. In spite of all the bad things going on in the world, we have reason to have great hope. Within Christianity and other monotheistic world religions, there is now a growing interest in this concept of nonduality as expressed in the perennial philosophy. But it is far more than just a concept. It is at the core of our being, ever present and latent within us, a fountain of joy and bliss that we can tap into, whether we are religious or just spiritual. Today we have only a semblance of democratic decision-making under our current government. If there is production for private profit, eventually those who gain the greatest profit and wealth start getting too much power and control. It is inevitable because that is the way the system of capitalism works: You have to be successful by putting your competitors out of business, and doing whatever it takes to accomplish that. Once you accomplish that, then you have captured the market, and you can now raise prices to gain maximum private profit all for yourself. It sounds awful. The type of democratic socialism, and ultimately communism, envisioned here, as the ideal Green Party, has not yet been achieved. It has never been achieved in Russia or China, Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam, or anywhere else. But it is certainly possible. Part of the reason it has not been achieved is that powerful capitalists, feeling threatened by socialism's potential success, have historically put all of their enormous financial and military resources into sabotaging any form of socialism whenever it erupts. Many people don't realize the full extent of this. How could they? They are busy just trying to survive in their private lives. The U.S. government has intervened frequently in the affairs of other sovereign countries to further its own empowerment and business model. Much of this sabotage of other governments throughout the world has been done covertly by the CIA and the military, and the average person, watching the mainstream news, does not even have a clue how corrupt the Shadow Government and the Deep State really are. Examine the videos and articles by Michael Parenti, William Blum, and Noam Chomsky to get a better grasp on U.S. foreign policy. Why is it possible to keep making unprecedented technological progress, but as a human race we have not created Peace on Earth yet? Why have we not made moral and spiritual progress as a society, or as a world, for the last 2,018 years? Is it because of an entrenched unchangeable evil human nature, or is it because for the last 5,000 years or more, we have taken a wrong turn when entrenched hierarchies developed with the rise of civilizations? Is it because of personal greed and fear? Is it because we lost, or never fully discovered, our connection to God or the divine source within us? Did we lose, or never fully discover, our connection with the earth, Mother Nature, and the feminine aspects of our own natures? It is both: We have lost our communion with God, the divine source within us, and we have lost our connection with nature. Some people don't believe in "God," and they don't like the word "divine," but that is no problem: they can still make the connection to the Source within. Do you think we live in a democracy because we have the freedom to vote Republican or Democratic? Our government only allows two parties, or it essentially makes it very difficult for a third political party to exist or thrive. Republicans and Democrats know they have a lot in common in comparison to Democratic Socialists, for example. They do not encourage third parties; they both oppose empowering third parties. But isn't broadening the political spectrum the ethical thing to do? In the steps toward an ideal government, couldn't we all agree to equally empower the 7 largest national political parties, in the hopes that people will choose wisely when given viewpoints from the full political spectrum? Not only that but we should give a public voice to any national political party that captures one percent of the vote. In the last three months before an election, the number of parties to choose from could be limited to the 7 largest national political parties. We have to agree to be fair. The national legislature could become unicameral and ultimately based on proportional representation, but that would take a new constitutional convention based on representation from the largest 7 national political parties to create a new national constitution. But these decisions can be decided much later. We would also have to rewrite Article V and get it approved through the passage of a new Twenty-Eighth Amendment that makes it easier to pass future amendments, and easier to have a very fair, democratic, and safe Constitutional Convention. But that too can be considered much later. 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). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. Until Robert Mueller publishes the results of his investigation into Russian intrusion in the 2016 election, David Corn and Michael Isikoff's new book, "Russian Roulette," will be the preeminent source for information about what happened; what did Russia do and why did they do it. There are four takeaways from this well-researched and disturbing book. Russia has declared war on the United States: During the October 22, 2012, presidential debate, Mitt Romney called Russia America's "biggest geopolitical threat." At the time, many observers scoffed, but it turns out that Romney was right. Corn and Isikoff's book indicates that Russian Premier Vladimir Putin has declared cyberwar on the United States and its allies; the 2016 political campaign was the most evident manifestation of the new Kremlin offensive. Russia cannot compete against the United States economically or militarily. Because the US has, historically, opposed many Russian political initiatives -- such as the annexation of Ukraine -- Putin has decided to retaliate by undermining our democracy: he seeks to destabilize our political system and sow discontent. In 2016 Russian operatives interfered in the U.S. political process by meddling in the voting process, selectively leaking hacked information, and spreading disinformation via social media. The Russians did this to cripple Hillary Clinton's campaign and to aid Donald Trump. Russian Roulette makes it clear that Putin hated Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and, therefore, deliberately set out to hurt the Obama Administration, the Clinton campaign, and Democrats in general. (The Russians not only interfered in the presidential election but also in Senate and Congressional races.) Trump idolizes Putin. Tellingly, Trump shares Putins's hatred for Obama. What jumps out from Russian Roulette is that there's abundant evidence of Russian cyberattacks and Trump has steadfastly denied this. Donald Trump threatens our national security: Corn and Isikoff's book doesn't contain a "smoking gun;" there is no new information that proves that Trump personally colluded with Russian operatives. Nonetheless, Russian Roulette reports that before November 8, 2016, the Kremlin had been trying to "cultivate" Trump for at least a decade. The Russian effort to enlist Trump is said to take two forms: one is to provide him with funding for his various projects; the other is to threaten him with blackmail with evidence of sexual misbehavior. Trump has repeatedly claimed that he has no business interests in Russia. However, Russian Roulette reports that during the campaign Trump's representatives tried to arrange for a Trump tower to be constructed in Moscow. In addition, there's abundant evidence that Trump has done business with Russian oligarchs -- on projects located outside Russia. During the nineties, Trump was in deep financial trouble and there's information that Russian money bailed him out. Russian Roulette discusses the possibility that Trump was sexually "compromised" during his visit to Moscow for the 2013 Miss Universe pageant. There's plenty of innuendo but, so far, no proof. At the conclusion of Russian Roulette we're left wondering if Trump is a dupe or a doofus; is he denying that the Russians interfered in the election because he's following Putin's lead or because he's too vacuous? For whatever reason Trump is ignoring two existential threats to the United States: Russian cyber warfare and global climate change. Even though the US intelligence community believes that the Russian interfered with the 2016 election, Trump discounts this. He continues to lobby for "normalization" of our relationship with Russia. (As this was being written, Trump fired Secretary of State Tillerson and National Security Adviser McMaster; both had advocated a hard line with Russia.) Trump's associates met with Russians: Corn and Isikoff's new book provides ample evidence that members of the Trump campaign -- Carter Page, George Papadpoulos, Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, and Jared Kushner, among others -- met with Russian operatives during the campaign. It appears that the Trump campaign was aware that the Russians had hacked the DNC and John Podesta's emails. Nonetheless, there's no evidence that the Trump campaign and the Russians planned joint operations; for example, that the Trump campaign asked the Russian operatives to disrupt voter turnout in Wisconsin. (There's nothing about the Trump campaign that's comparable to the purported link between the Russians and the NRA: the FBI is investigating allegations that Alexander Torshin, an official at the Central Bank of the Russia and life member of the NRA, funneled money through the gun lobby group to the Trump campaign.) The Obama Administration was too soft with Russia: Russian Roulette makes it clear that the Obama Administration was informed that the Russians were interfering with the 2016 election. In hindsight it's clear that the Obama Administration was way too soft with the Russians. (At the last minute, when they wanted to go public with what they knew about the Russian interference with the election, the Obama Administration was thwarted by Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.) Summary: For the moment, David Corn and Michael Isikoff's new book, "Russian Roulette," is the preeminent source for information about how Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Bottom line: we're at war with Russia and Donald Trump isn't doing anything about it. Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. See original here Six months since Hurricane Maria battered the island of Puerto Rico, the island is the site of a pitched battle between wealthy investors -- particularly from the technology industry -- and everyday Puerto Ricans fighting for a place in their island's future. The Puerto Rican government has pushed for a series of privatization schemes, including privatizing PREPA, one of the largest public power providers in the United States, and increasing the number of privately run charter schools and private school vouchers. (Image by Democracy now) Details DMCA For more, we speak with best-selling author and journalist Naomi Klein, author of "The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism." Her latest piece for The Intercept, where she is a senior correspondent, is "The Battle for Paradise: Puerto Ricans and Ultrarich 'Puertopians' Are Locked in a Pitched Struggle over How to Remake the Island." This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form. JUAN GONZALEZ: It has been six months since Hurricane Maria battered the island of Puerto Rico. It was the most catastrophic storm to hit the island in over a century. As many as 200,000 people remain without power in what's considered the longest blackout in U.S. history. Energy officials say some areas won't have power restored until May. On Tuesday, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yuln Cruz tweeted, "Six months after Maria things are not what they should be. Thousands still w/o electricity due to neglect and bureaucracy. Our lives matter!" The devastating storm has reshaped Puerto Rico in countless ways. The official death toll remains at just 64, but independent counts put the total number of fatalities at over a thousand. According to a recent study by the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College in New York, more than 135,000 Puerto Ricans have fled to the U.S. mainland since the storm. Puerto Rico's Governor Ricardo Rossello is moving to privatize PREPA, one of the largest public power utilities in the United States. AMY GOODMAN: The governor is also pushing for privately run charter schools and private school vouchers. On Monday, teachers across Puerto Rico held a one-day strike to protest the privatization plan. Meanwhile, displaced Puerto Ricans protested Tuesday in Washington, D.C., outside the headquarters of FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Well, today we spend the hour looking at the future of Puerto Rico, which was already facing a massive economic crisis before the storm hit six months ago. We're joined by two guests. From Toronto, best-selling author and journalist Naomi Klein, author of many books, including The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism.She has just published a major piece for The Intercept on the future of Puerto Rico; it's titled "The Battle for Paradise: Puerto Ricans and Ultrarich 'Puertopians' Are Locked in a Pitched Struggle over How to Remake the Island." And here in New York, Puerto Rican anthropologist Yarimar Bonilla, who teaches at Rutgers University. She is founder of the Puerto Rico Syllabus. We welcome you both to Democracy Now! Let's begin with Naomi. You've just returned. You've just written this epic piece. Explain what you found and what you mean by your title, "The Battle for Paradise: Puerto Ricans and Ultrarich 'Puertopians' Are Locked in a Pitched Struggle over How to Remake the Island." NAOMI KLEIN: Good morning, Amy and Juan and Yarimar. It's great to be with you. So, what I'm referring to is that in this moment, when so much attention is focused on the failures of FEMA, the failures of the entire relief and reconstruction project -- as it rightly should be, because this is an ongoing humanitarian emergency -- we're seeing the strategy that we've seen in many other disaster zones, that we've spoken about many times, which is exploiting that state of shock and distraction and emergency to push through a radical corporate agenda. You referred earlier to the plans to privatize PREPA, to open up Puerto Rico's school system to charter schools and vouchers, at the same time as radically downsizing and closing 300 schools, on the back of already having closed more than 340 schools by exploiting the economic crisis in the past decade. All in all, we'd be talking about the closing of half of Puerto Rico's public schools. So, a radical downsizing, deregulation and privatization of the state. But that isn't the only thing that's going on in Puerto Rico. There is also a powerful resistance movement, that was really gaining ground before Maria hit, that was resisting this illegitimate debt, this previous shock doctrine strategy of exploiting the economic crisis to push these very same policies. But they aren't just saying no. They are also proposing a people's recovery process that would rebuild Puerto Rico in the interest of Puerto Ricans, a very, very different vision that's grounded in food sovereignty, in growing much more of the food Puerto Ricans eat in Puerto Rico, by small farmers using agroecological methods; not privatizing Puerto Rico's electricity system, but shifting to a decentralized, community-controlled model that is based on renewable energy -- all kinds of other deeply democratic changes. And so, there's this pitched struggle and a kind of race against time over whose vision for the island is going to triumph in this window. 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). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. (Image by CBC) Details DMCA (CBC) Mohammed bin Salman, heir apparent and de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, is in Washington this week. Discussions will bear on the geopolitics of the Middle East and the political economy of the United States. The prince brought his checkbook. High on the agenda is dealing with Iran. Possibilities include supporting a new wave of assassinations and bombings inside the theocracy, and aid to Kurdish and Baloch insurgents in the northwest and southwest, respectively. The most portentous topic will be construction of a Sunni region in eastern Syria -- "Sunnistan". Whether an open area run (if barely) by Kurdish and Arab militias, or an actual state recognized by some regional powers, Sunnistan will threaten or block the "Shia Corridor" connecting Tehran with Shia parts of Syria and Lebanon. Salman and Trump will try to redraw the boundaries established a century ago by Sykes and Picot and largely erased by ISIL in 2014. Who wants a Sunnistan? What costs and benefits does it pose for the US? Support The House of Saud sees Iranian-Shia power as a growing danger. The proposition is dubious but it isn't up for debate in Washington. Positions have formed and are now awaiting finance and implementation. MBS cannot match Iran's military in size and experience. Nor does he want to test his army in battle, frail as it is from nepotism, laxity, and tribalism. He can, however, use his checkbook to convince the US that a Sunnistan will have benefits. The Kingdom purchases billion of dollars of American military hardware, as was made clear when the president visited Riyadh last year, and when the prince came to Washington this week. Trump is being pressed for military support to Sunnistan, MBS for financial support to it -- and for continuing arms purchases from US contractors. No American president, regardless of political alignment, can ignore the benefits to the manufacturing sector and blue-collar employment. The Obama administration wrote the opening acts when it sent troops and arms into eastern Syria. The Trump administration is writing the denouement. Israel too is concerned by rising Iranian-Shia power and wants a Sunnistan to block the Shia Corridor. Its influence in Washington is considerable and well known. Israeli and Saudi pressure, in concert, forms a strong and perhaps irresistible bloc. We know what the US gets out of the deal, but what is it getting into? Problems of a Sunnistan Nothing comes easily in the Middle East and a Sunnistan may prove especially vexing. The military might upon which the Sunni state will rely is in place, more or less. The previous administration built up the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), presumably to fight ISIL, but the idea of a Sunnistan likely lurked in strategic assessments. The SDF have demonstrated remarkable effectiveness in the ISIL war, driving the Islamist bands from their capital of Raqqa and much of eastern Syria. However, the SDF are a loose umbrella organization of over a dozen militias, both Kurdish and Arab, that have little in common besides opposition to ISIL. They are unlikely to continue as a unified force once ISIL is expelled. Indeed, Kurdish fighters are already peeling away to fight the Turks in the north. Sunnistan will face protracted opposition and intermittent attacks from Syria and Iran. Many fighters will weary of it and head for homelands away from contested areas. Many Kurds, after all, have no grievance with Damascus and might well accept offers of autonomy. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. From Paul Craig Roberts Website President Trump (belatedly) congratulated Russian President Putin on his smashing reelection and said, again, that he favored getting along with Russia. Yet, how can Trump mean it when he follows up by appointing John Bolton, America's most notorious warmonger, National Security Adviser? It makes no sense. Bolton is the third national security adviser in 14 months. To Bolton, getting along with Russia requires Russia to be a US puppet state such as the UK, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, Japan, and all the rest. In other words, accept Washington's hegemony or we will bomb you into the stone age. Russia, desperate for a sign of hope, risks self-delusion by seizing on Trump's gesture and ignoring Bolton's appointment. No US president who wanted to get along with Russia would have appointed Bolton to be his National Security Adviser. The constant drum beat of false allegations against Russia and the demonization of Putin, which has reached down into the British school system where children are being taught that "'Toxic' Putin is on mission to poison the West," indicate that conflict with Russia was on the agenda prior to Bolton's appointment. Now that Putin has announced Russia's new weapon systems, an array that clearly puts the US in an inferior position, hegemonic voices are rising that the US must strike Russia before the new superweapons are all deployed. Russia would do well to avoid being put off guard by her unrealistic hope for peace and friendly words from Trump's mouth. Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. From WSWS The US House of Representatives voted Thursday afternoon to approve the federal budget for the current fiscal year, including a record $695 billion for the Pentagon, the largest amount ever, and more than half the total. The budget passed by a bipartisan vote of 256-167, with majorities of both the Republican and the Democrats supporting it. The margin among Republicans was 145 for and 90 against, with opposition drawn mainly from ultra-right representatives opposed to increases in domestic spending. Given the considerable opposition from the right, final passage of the budget depended on the Democrats delivering at least 70 votes, a hurdle that was cleared easily. The margin among Democrats was 111 to 77, with nominal opposition largely based on the bill's failure to address the plight of young immigrants protected from deportation under the DACA program (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), which President Trump terminated last fall, effective March 5, 2018. Two federal judges have blocked Trump's order, at least temporarily, giving the Democrats political cover, since the 700,000 youth and young adults protected by DACA can continue to work and go to school without threat of immediate deportation. That could quickly end, however, with further decisions by the courts, as all the judicial actions are being appealed. The budget bill, also known as the "omnibus" bill, is the last "must-pass" legislation for the current session of Congress. In the event that court decisions open the floodgates for mass roundups and deportations of DACA recipients, Congress has effectively decided to do nothing. That led one Democrat opposed to the bill, Representative Luis Gutierrez of Chicago, who is retiring, to declare, "Anyone who votes for the omnibus is voting for the deportation of Dreamers and other immigrants." The House voted on the budget less than one day after final agreement between the Trump White House and the top four congressional leaders -- Republicans Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan, Democrats Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi. No one in the House could possibly have read the entire 2,232-page bill, whose text was drafted by congressional and White House staff with extensive input from corporate lobbyists and the Pentagon. The Senate will take up the bill as early as Thursday night. Parliamentary procedure could delay a final vote until after the legal deadline of midnight Friday night, leading to a temporary partial shutdown of the federal government, but this would likely be only a matter of hours. The outcome of the final Senate vote is not in doubt. Minority Leader Schumer said Democrats would vote for the bill unanimously. The federal budget reveals the basic political priorities of the Trump administration, the two corporate-controlled parties in Congress, and the US ruling elite as a whole. More than half of the $1.3 trillion in spending will go to the military, some $617 billion to the Pentagon plus an additional $78 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations (the wars in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, etc.), with tens of billions more in spending on police repression and military violence in other federal departments. There was a notable difference in the political posturing of the two capitalist parties. Trump, Ryan and other Republicans condemned the increased spending on domestic programs as the price they had to pay to put through the military spending bonanza. Democrats generally praised the budget deal from the standpoint of the spending on domestic social needs -- the better to sell it to the American public -- but they also joined in the Republican hosannas over the boost in military spending. House Speaker Paul Ryan hailed the military spending increase as the largest in 15 years (i.e., since the launching of the Iraq War), and claimed that, despite modest increases in social spending, "what this bill is ultimately about -- what we fought for for so long -- is finally giving our military the tools and the resources it needs to do the job." He did not specify what "job" the military was to undertake, but the Trump administration is preparing feverishly for wars against both Iran and North Korea, while pouring billions into nuclear weapons targeting Russia and China. Trump himself tweeted, "Most importantly, got $700 Billion to rebuild our Military, $716 Billion next year ... most ever. Had to waste money on Dem giveaways in order to take care of military pay increase and new equipment." Budget director Mick Mulvaney chimed in, telling reporters at a briefing, "In order to get the defense spending, primarily, but all the rest of our priorities funded, we had to give away a lot of stuff that we didn't want to give away." Meanwhile Senate Minority Leader Schumer claimed victory in the increased spending for domestic programs, in contrast to Trump's initial proposal for major, across-the-board cuts. "Every bill takes compromise, and there was plenty here, but at the end of the day, we Democrats feel very good because so many of our priorities for the middle class were included," he said. There were numerous policy measures added as "riders" to the budget bill. One is particularly cruel: it cuts off aid to the Palestinian Authority until the PA stops making support payments to the families of so-called "terrorists," those who have been arrested by Israeli troops and police, or who have died in protests or suicide attacks. One of the most contentious provisions was to spend $1.6 billion on "border security" improvements along the US-Mexico border. Democrats claimed that the money is limited to improvements or extensions of existing fences, not new construction. Even if true, that only demonstrates that Trump's wall is itself not a radical departure from the policies already authorized by Republican and Democratic congresses alike, and put into place by the Obama administration, which detained and deported more immigrants than any previous US government. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. "Why won't Trump call Austin bomber what he is? A Terrorist," this is the title of the story by Alice Salles of Carbonated TV. The Austin bombing suspect is being called a domestic terrorist by people on social media, but why won't the media and the White House call him that?, she writes. While police are still unsure of Mark Anthony Conditt's motive for having allegedly planted the bombs, many people have pointed out that if Conditt were Muslim, the media and elected officials would already have called him a terrorist, Salles said adding: But since Conditt called himself a conservative, was white, and had been raised Christian, President Donald Trump doesn't seem quick to jump on the word "terrorist" to describe the bombing suspect. Tellingly, Conditt was part of a survivalist home school group that taught children how to use guns and discussed chemical reactions. Conditt was part of a group of students called the Righteous Invasion of Truth (RIOT), an organization that engages homeschooled kids on activities that range from studying the Bible to learning how to use guns. Many of its members were also interested in learning about dangerous chemicals, according to BuzzFeed. Austin Bomber (Image by youtube) Details DMCA As Conditt sensed that authorities were closing in on him on Tuesday night, he took out his cell phone and recorded a 25-minute video confessing to building the explosive devices -- but didn't explain why he targeted his victims, interim Austin police Chief Brian Manley told a press conference on Wednesday. The video made by Conditt, whose string of package bombs killed two people and wounded five in Texas, was found on his cell phone when police recovered his body Wednesday morning. Regardless of his motivations being unknown at this time, Conditt's actions are terroristic in nature, if we're to be consistent with other incidents that have been labeled as such, Carbonated TV said adding: whatever his reasoning, the bombings he perpetrated intimidated a community in Texas, and it seems like that was part of his intent. "It's hypocritical of some media outlets and lawmakers in Washington to fail to identify Conditt as a terrorist. Were he a person of color or a person who followed Islam, politicians would be throwing out the descriptor of "terrorist" without hesitation. That he isn't described as much shows egregious discrepancies on the part of those more willing to do so in other situations, when white individuals aren't the ones committing the crimes," Carbonated TV emphasized. Before his death, federal criminal complaint and an arrest warrant were filed against Conditt on Tuesday night in connection with the bombings, Buzz Feed quoted the Department of Justice as saying. He was charged with one count of unlawful possession and transfer of a destructive device. The complaint affidavit remains sealed due to the ongoing investigation, authorities said. The charge was filed before he detonated the bomb early Wednesday as officers were attempting to apprehend him in Round Rock. He died shortly after. Austin police said Conditt had two roommates, who had been detained for questioning. One of them was released while the other was still being questioned. Their identities were not made public. Online, activists questioned whether the bombings were racially motivated, since the two African-American residents who were first killed were members of well-known families within the city's black community. They also questioned news outlets and politicians who are not calling the suspect or anyone else potentially involved with these bombings terrorists. Carbonated TV quoted a number of social media activists comments on Conditt. Shaun King: The Austin Bomber was Mark Anthony Conditt - a 24 year old domestic terrorist. Mel #PunchANazi@meli_melusine: Call Mark Anthony Conditt exactly what he was: a terrorist. A white, male, bigoted, hateful terrorist, radicalized by the surge of white nationalism and Nazism we've been seeing and allowing to grow for more than a year. He's a terrorist. Khaled Beydoun: 63% of mass killers since 1983 look like Mark Anthony Conditt, the Austin Serial Bomber: White, male, and citizens. Redefine Terrorism. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. Many are of the opinion that democracy could be better served if voters simply had a larger pool of candidates to select from on election day, but there is a problem. The voting system we habitually use is well-known to work poorly when there are more than just two candidates. Balanced-Voting systems do not suffer from this flaw we have argued that balanced voting systems would naturally lead to more candidates competing in elections. We have examined a variety of balanced voting systems and even offered opinions about which is best. Of course such a judgement can be disputed. Simplicity is important, but we must consider whether it really more important than taking an accurate reading of voter sentiment? How well voters like the system is another important consideration but does it outweigh simplicity or accuracy? And how important relative to these considerations is susceptibility to corruption of the vote-count? Plurality Voting (PV) scores very well on simplicity but not well at all on these other considerations. In the U.S., each of our fifty states, at least in theory, makes its own decisions about how elections are conducted but in this respect, states have behaved with a herd mentality. If different states used different systems, that alone might make it more difficult to game the overall electoral system when it comes to populating our federal offices. One balanced voting system that I particularly favor is Balanced-Approval Voting (BAV). With this system of voting, each voter is asked to check, for each candidate, either the box labeled Approve or the one labeled Disapprove. Of course a voter can (and no doubt many would) choose not to check either box and possibly a few will check both boxes; either of these actions would seem to indicate ambivalence on the part of the voter so these ballots would count as a neutral preference that is given no weight in affecting the outcome of the election. After a BAV election, the votes of all of the voters must be tallied to determine the number of Approve and the number of Disapprove votes for each candidate. The phrase, net vote, refers to the difference of these two numbers (approve minus disapprove). The winner of the election is the candidate with the largest net vote (which in each case could be positive, negative or possibly even zero). In the weeks leading up to our elections, polling companies often study voter sentiment and they report the levels of support for at least the two candidates they judge to be the possible winners. Often though, they also report the net favorability of the candidates to reflect the level of support minus the level of opposition. This net favorability serves as an estimate of what would be measured by the net vote in an election using BAV. It is curious that although PV elections do not depend on net favorability, these numbers are considered important enough to be widely reported. Perhaps this is due to a common but unspoken realization that net favorability is really what properly reflects of voter sentiment. Nonetheless we continue using PV elections which do not measure net favorability. Statistical theory tells us that even a fairly small sample can reasonably be expected to be a quite accurate estimate of a full count, but only so long as it is a random sample . Of course that is the rub; taking a random sample is not always so easy and to the degree that the sample fails to be random (i.e., to the degree that some in the sampled set have a greater chance of being sampled than others) then the result from the poll will be inaccurate. Our elections themselves actually are polls; citizens are polled to determine their opinions and in theory every citizen gets to vote. But in practice, though the sampling on election day falls well short of being a random sample and for that reason it does not really measure citizen opinion. The litany of reasons that the sample is not random is a familiar one. Gerrymandering is one serious defect and, especially in poor neighborhoods, the lines are long and people who have jobs often cannot stay the many hours it takes to vote. Especially in poor neighborhoods old voting machines break down and malfunction so votes are lost. And of course there is active partisan manipulation of the voting rolls. About the best we can hope for is that elections take a measure the opinions of voters, not those of citizens at large. This discrepancy displays a significant rift between our elections and the ideal of what a democratic election should be. One possible objection to BAV (or even of Approval Voting) is that it would be tedious for a voter to enter his opinions about all of the candidates. This seems a silly objection when there are only three or four candidates but if that list of candidates should grow to twenty or more it begins to seem a legitimate concern. One of the systems that was proposed in an earlier article, Balanced-Ration Votin g did deal in one way with this problem, but we can now consider another alternative that actually makes voting as easy for the voter as seems possible. It turns out that taking a random sample to determine net favorability of the candidates among the voters is not so difficult. Each voter picks up a sealed ballot and on opening it finds only one candidate listed -- which candidate is simply a surprise to the voter. The voter has only to check Approve or Disapprove for that one candidate (and of course the voter has the option of checking neither or both of those boxes). Not all voters get the same ballot, but each voter has exactly the same chance of receiving a ballot listing one candidate as receiving a ballot for any other candidate. Let's call this system, Balanced-Randomized Voting (BRV). In its favor, BRV makes voting a simple matter for the voter and since (so long as there are a large number of voters) BRV provides a quite large random sample of voter opinions about each candidate. BRV and BAV provide essentially the same information. But compared to BAV, many fewer votes need to be counted with BRV. Whether voters would be comfortable with this statistical approach to voting can be debated. While voters may find voting a much easier activity, an individual voter is likely to be denied the opportunity to express her feelings about the candidate that is most important to her. Added to that, some voters will just not believe that statistical measurements can be trusted. But even if BRV is never put into practice, it is a revealing exercise to consider how it compares to other systems of voting. While BRV and BAV provide the same information about voter opinion, from the perspective of a voter BRV is more similar to Balanced-Plurality Voting (BPV). BPV was the very first example of Balanced Voting (but since then, renamed) to be described in this series of articles. As with BRV, a voter in a BPV election expresses an opinion about just a single candidate. However, with BPV, the voter chooses that candidate whereas with BRV the candidate is assigned to the voter randomly. How voters choose a candidate, either in the case of PV or in the case of BPV, is a little mysterious. With PV some people assert that it should be the candidate the voter likes most and this seems sensible since with PV the voter's only option is to vote for the chosen candidate. But we know that the choice that voters make is often on some other obscure basis that at least in some measure takes account of the viability of the candidates. With BPV, the voter is instructed to choose on the basis of which candidate is most important to the voter, but no doubt the candidate's perceived chances of winning again would likewise enter into evaluating importance. In contrast, with either BAV or BRV the voter is not faced with making that often difficult "which candidate?" decision. What does it mean?? (Image by SanFranAnnie) Details DMCA Also with BAV or BRV, there is no trouble interpreting the voting results. In both cases the election reflects the net approval ratings of the candidates according to the voters. But with PV or even BPV it is pretty hard to say what exactly the vote means beyond who won election. The obscure process that voters use to select just one candidate no doubt varies from voter to voter and that makes it more than a bit perplexing to interpret what the results could possibly mean. Quicklink Not Found Sometimes, authors delete their quicklinks after publishing them. To see if the quicklink was renamed or re-published, please click here. Ryan Wagner, a student in the Health Occupations program, said his family is recovering after losing their home, although it has been emotionally difficult and stressful to have moved three times during the past five months. My family is grateful for the support of the community and glad they live in Napa, reminded of what a community can do, he said. Student Christopher Rusiewicz said he is happy to have saved his animals, but he lost everything else. He said he and fellow student Enya Payan, are recovering and appreciative all that our community has done for us. Both plan to attend Humboldt State University this fall. This has taught me whats important to me and my family is getting the horses to a safe place, along with the cats and dogs, Rusiewicz said. The couple said they miss their textbooks and swimming awards from St. Helena High School. Payan said she is grateful for the support she received from the NVC Foundation and the community. Our hearts go out to everyone who was impacted by the fires, said Redwood Credit Union branch manager Lindsay Jones. Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. The recent Cambridge Analytica revelation, although it's not new , brings into stark relief the reality of statehood, citizenship, and cyber technology in the world today. You're no longer a citizen of a particular country, you're either a member of a massive social network called Facebook, or you're not. If you're a citizen of Facebook, power brokers and companies can monitor you and harvest your data in an effort to sway you in their favor. If you're not a Facebook citizen, the cyber state can still build a shadow profile on you based on the data of Facebook users who are your friends. Facebook's shadow profiles , which are currently part of multiple class action lawsuits, exemplify this. Facebook tried to avoid a suit by Illinois residents over its biometric data, moving the case to San Francisco and arguing it hasn't done any harm. But Facebook will still have to stand trial for ignoring the fact that Illinois state citizens have a "property interest" in their biometric data. In other words, Illinois has a law that says Facebook can't use an algorithm to gather biometric data on its citizens without notifying them and giving them the right to decline or opt in and profit from the data. Facebook ignored this law because, to Facebook, people's citizenship in one state or another and the inherent rights thereof don't matter. What matters to Facebook is how the network can use data from users to make money from companies. One of these companies happened to be Cambridge Analytica, which used Facebook and its users as a tool on behalf of Russia and Trump. On the other side of the coin, former Obama campaign staffer Carol Davidsen tweeted about how the Obama campaign was "able to suck out [Facebook's] whole social graph, but [Facebook] didn't stop us once they realized what we were doing." On one hand, there's a cyber state that comprises individuals from a number of countries, including Russia, England (Cambridge Analytica's parent company, Strategic Communications Laboratories, is based in London, and Wikileaks' Julian Assange is holed up in an Ecuadorian embassy there), and America. Individuals from multiple other countries are doubtlessly involved. Members of this cyber state are all interested in using technology to disrupt America's democratic process. They also want to break up the EU. On the other hand, there's the cyber state represented by the DNC and any of its allies in the EU. This group hasn't figured out how to be nearly as handy with their cyber influence as the Putin-Trump camp. If they had, Trump wouldn't have become president even though he lost the popular vote by more votes than John Kerry did against Bush. Then there's the cyber state that operates on the Dark Web and includes hackers, cybercriminals, and guns-for-hire. These mercenaries will turn against anyone as long as the money's right. When it comes to cyber ethics, the door swings both ways: an estimated 73 percent of Americans have been victims of cybercrime, but America is also the source of the most spam in the world, accounting for 11.43 percent, while Russia comes in fourth in spam output at 7.52 percent. While America wrings its hands about Russian interference in our election, our companies put out the most spam. Spam goes to inboxes all over the world. Companies like Facebook, Apple, Alphabet, and Microsoft are their own cyber states. They're part of the 54 percent of U.S. companies that have involvement in foreign markets. Operating worldwide under a variety of jurisdictions and subject to a variety of laws, their primary goal is to make as much money as possible while maintaining brand image by not breaking too many laws. Tellingly, 53 percent of CEOs for globally active companies are concerned about bribery and corruption. In Facebook's case, the network has been acting much like the cyber mercenaries that operate on the Dark Web, only Facebook's been doing it in plain sight. Quite simply, if you're Facebook, compiling user data and selling it to anyone puts you in a place where your data-mining will be used for nefarious purposes, such as influencing an election. In the case of Cambridge Analytica, Facebook says the firm violated its terms when it used Aleksandr Kogan's app to harvest user data. Facebook is now banning Cambridge Analytica and everyone involved, including the whistleblower Christopher Wylie, but there's no doubt the network knew about this privately before it came to light in the press. Facebook has been telling us along how it uses our data. But now we're outraged about just what that can entail. We're seeing the results of when a cyber state like Putin-Trump-Cambridge Analytica uses a cyber state for-hire like Facebook to do its bidding. Until lawmakers pass a law against data mining and selling, there won't be an end to this. Even if Facebook stops on its own accord, another source will step up. The money's just too good, and you can guarantee no one at Facebook or any of the other networks that furnished data to Russia is going to prison for this. It's time to pull the plug on these cyber states. Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. From Consortium News Shireen Al-Adeimi is a doctoral candidate at Harvard University. But she is having a hard time focusing on her studies, when friends and family back home in Yemen are under violent attack by the heavily armed, US-backed Saudi forces, with many going hungry as a result of the Saudi blockade. Al-Adeimi said on Tuesday, March 20, "This month marks the third anniversary of the U.S.-backed, Saudi-led war on Yemen. Despite the dire humanitarian crisis, however, the United States continues to sell arms to the Saudis and provide them with military support." Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mike Lee (R-Ut.), and Chris Murphy (D-Ct.) had introduced a bill that aimed to force a withdrawal of the United States from the Saudi-led war, based on violations of the War Powers Act. But the Bill, Senate Joint Resolution 54, cosponsored by 10 senators, was voted down 55-44 on Tuesday. Of course it was no surprise, given the amount of lobbying money spent by the Saudis to buy congressional silence and support. The bill also was met with fierce opposition by various Trump administration officials. The American Conservative Magazine reported that "the media has been laying out the red carpet for Crown Prince bin Salman in Washington. What the establishment press won't tell you is that no less than 25 American lobbying firms worked for the Saudi Arabian government in 2017 to the tune of $16 million, to burnish their image, manage the message, and get massive military contracts for the weapons of war that are now being used to kill, maim and slowly starve millions of civilians in Yemen today." I spoke with Shireen Al-Adeimi on Tuesday, March 20, directly following the vote by Congress to continue aid for the US-supported, Saudi-led slaughter. Dennis Bernstein: Shireen, what is your response to the Senate voting to continue aid to the Saudis? Shireen Al-Adeimi: It is very disappointing because it ensures that millions more Yemenis will continue to suffer. On average, 130 children die every day in Yemen due to malnutrition and disease caused by the Saudi-led blockade. Many more will die because of US bombs which are dropped from Saudi jets. People continue to die for no reason at all. DB: Could you give us a little background? SAA: The Saudis began bombing Yemen in March, 2015. Right now, some 80% of a population of 24 million people are in desperate need of humanitarian aid. Yemen is experiencing the world's worst cholera outbreak in modern history, with over 1 million cases. There is a severe water crisis affecting 15 million people in Yemen. Hundreds of thousands have died of malnutrition and disease because Saudi Arabia is not only bombing Yemen but is also blockading Yemen by land, sea and air, ensuring that no aid or medicine can come into the country. The Saudis have created what the UN calls "the worst humanitarian crisis on earth today." DB: Could you describe the United States' role in all of this? SAA: In January, the US Army published an article detailing their support for the Saudis, including training Saudi soldiers, advising military personnel, maintaining and upgrading vehicles and aircraft, providing courses on communication and navigation, and providing Saudi jets with mid-air refueling. This is in addition to the billions in weapon sales between the US and Saudi Arabia every year. The bottom line is that the United States is benefiting from this relationship with the Saudis and it doesn't seem to matter that this has caused such a humanitarian toll in the process. Estimates are that over 75% of the targets in Yemen have been civilian targets. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Colorado Wedding Photographer Shea McGrath Photography Participates in Boulder Wedding Showcase Colorado Wedding Photographer www.sheamcgrath.com www.sheamcgrath.com Shea McGrath, renowned Colorado Wedding Photographer, participated in the 2018 Boulder Wedding Showcase this winter. The show took place on January 28th ,2018 11am-2pm at The Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St, Boulder, CO 80302. McGrath noted, It was a great opportunity to speak with engaged couples about their dreams of the ultimate wedding. A wedding is a very special event and I wish to do my part in making it everything they hope for.Admission was $10 at the annual showcase. The showcase took place in the heart of downtown Boulder, Colorado, with more than 100 couples in attendance. Engaged couples, bridal event planners, and many other wedding vendors attended this bridal event opportunity. The showcase event offered a chance to meet with wedding vendors to help couples plan their dream wedding in Colorado. The showcase offered food samples as well as a raffle for a chance to win prizes with certain wedding vendors, including Shea McGrath Photography.About Shea McGrath Photography:Shea McGrath Photography is a Colorado Wedding Photographer who is developing a reputation as an intuitive and kinesthetic photographic artist. McGrath specializes in wedding photography, although she does family sessions, maternity, and headshots as well. According to McGrath, What started as a hobby and avocation in college has quickly turned into a passion and profession. Invited to be part of those special moments in peoples lives is joyful and allows me to capture happiness. Couples feel comfortable and have lots of fun during a photo session. Many clients have shared they had so much fun during the session, they forgot there was a camera around.McGrath, has extensively travelled Eastern and Western Europe, including Spain, France, Ireland, Germany, Iceland and Turkey. McGrath, who is bilingual in Spanish, resided in Madrid, Spain where she started her photography business.Shea McGrath Photography () is a professional photography company based in Denver, Colorado, specializing in wedding photography. Her work style is quickly gaining attention for family photos, maternity photos, and professional headshots as well. McGrath is now recognized worldwide as a wedding and portrait photographer for over a decade. Follow Shea McGrath Photography on Instagram @sheamcgrathphotography or on Facebook at facebook.com/sheamcgrathphotography.Shea McGrath Photography is a Colorado Wedding Photographer who is developing a reputation as an intuitive and kinesthetic photographic artist. McGrath specializes in wedding photography, although she does family sessions, maternity, and headshots as well. According to McGrath, What started as a hobby and avocation in college has quickly turned into a passion and profession. Invited to be part of those special moments in peoples lives is joyful and allows me to capture happiness. Couples feel comfortable and have lots of fun during a photo session. Many clients have shared they had so much fun during the session, they forgot there was a camera around.McGrath, has extensively travelled Eastern and Western Europe, including Spain, France, Ireland, Germany, Iceland and Turkey. McGrath, who is bilingual in Spanish, resided in Madrid, Spain where she started her photography business.Shea McGrath Photography () is a professional photography company based in Denver, Colorado, specializing in wedding photography. Her work style is quickly gaining attention for family photos, maternity photos, and professional headshots as well. McGrath is now recognized worldwide as a wedding and portrait photographer for over a decade. Follow Shea McGrath Photography on Instagram @sheamcgrathphotography or on Facebook at facebook.com/sheamcgrathphotography.4400 E Mississippi Ave406Denver, CO 80246 After spending years on the outskirts of town, the St. Helena Chamber of Commerce is moving to where the action is. The Chamber is moving into part of the old La Condesa space at 1320 Main St. in St. Helena. Landlord Antonio Castellucci has split the building into two spaces and is looking for a restaurant tenant to take over the larger space that includes the former La Condesa kitchen. Construction on the Chamber space is supposed to be done on April 1, and the move is scheduled for May 1. It will be a warm, inviting space, similar to the Welcome Center in the city of Napa, with the ability to host events, said Amy Carabba-Salazar, president/CEO of the Chamber. The bathrooms from the buildings La Condesa days will become public bathrooms, which downtown merchants have been clamoring for. This will be a place for people to come, find out about our members, and find out about all the great offerings that St. Helena has, said Carabba-Salazar. Its not going to be just a wall of pamphlets everywhere. Its going to be much more interactive. Installing Disc Brakes on Your Trailer Sydney http://www.bmtrailers.com.au/ Having strong brakes on a trailer Sydney is important for safe towing a heavy load. These brakes should allow safe stopping of a trailer, not causing any damage to the load. Nowadays, we are witnessing many types of braking systems with a greater emphasis on disc and drum brakes.In this article the main benefits and features of disc brakes are explained. Many people are thinking that installing hydraulic disc brakes is too expensive compared to electric drum brakes. Drum brakes gained confidence over the years because of their efficiency for a relatively low cost.Disc brakes are appropriate more for heavier trailers than for lighter trailers. Heat dissipation is created because a heavier trailer is producing more heat through braking. Other benefits of disk brakes are the ease of cleaning after mud immersion and improved water dispersal when crossing water surfaces. That's why these brakes are preferred for boat trailers. They are rust resistant because they don't contain any metal components. Also, they have fewer components that can be damaged, making them more reliable than drum brakes.If you own a trailer who belongs to the 2501-3500 kg category, you should change your old brakes and install new disc brakes. If you are considering purchasing a heavier trailer, search for a trailer for disc brakes. Maintenance of the disc brakes is an easy job because only one component has to be replaced - the brake pads in the caliper. The calipers are used to squeeze pairs of pads against a rotor, creating friction that slows down the cylinder rotation. The vented rotors are cooling faster and maintain the braking more smoothly than a standard non-vented rotor. As a huge advantage of disc brakes is the possibility of automatic adjustment of the brake units. They self-adjust ad the pads wear down. The braking system is becoming more sensitive due to the increased number of individual drum brake units on a trailer.The speed of deceleration of the towing vehicle during braking and the mass of the trailer are two factors that affect the pressure difference. Therefore, a more heavily loaded trailer will have a greater differential pressure between itself and the towing vehicle. The conclusion is when you are towing lighter load you should look for a better braking system at lower brake pressure.It is obvious that the interest of hydraulic disc brakes in the trailer industry is growing; slowly, but surely. If you are still unsure if you should install disc brakes on your trailer, don't hesitate to ask trailer Sydney for any suggestion.At BM Trailers, we offer a comprehensive range of lightweight and durable Sydney trailers that will carry your goods safe and easy. Our dedicated and experienced management team of professionals is trained out to build trailers focused on the needs and wants of the consumers. At BM Trailers, we are focused on being the best rather than being the prime, trailer company in NSW. We stay focused on our clients; react quickly to industry changes, deliver custom-made, strong-driven, and affordably-priced trailers. No matter what the customers need we currently offer; wide enclosed trailers, box trailers, canvas trailers, bike trailers and off road trailers. Our rigorous internal values as well as certification assure you of a durable, long-lasting, great investment.We do understand customers requirements that need box trailers to take their luggage, goods and things that make touring so much more safe, easy and enjoyable. We have offered so many different models and designs to suite all domestic and trade purposes. Our Sydney trailers are preferred for cutting edge innovation, reliable and safe, with smooth performance. From design to testing and support, we partner with the Australian Navy, NSW fire brigade, St John Ambulance, NRMA , Canberra Prison and many of Sydney's Councils and other government bodies to solve specific challenges with targeted products. Were prepared to propel your company into an ever-expanding age of lighter, more fuel-efficient, automotive robust design.B&M TrailersA| 57 Planthurst Rd, Carlton, Sydney, NSW, 2218, AustraliaT|+61 2 9546 6763F| +61 2 9546 6827E| info@bmtrailers.com.au Lumina Datamatics recognized as the Best Employer Brand 2018 http://luminadatamatics.com/ Feb 28, 2018, Mumbai: Lumina Datamatics won the Best Employer Brand Award in the category of HR Strategy in Line With Business at the 26th edition of World HRD Congress held on February 16, 2018 in Mumbai.The World HRD Congress recognizes organizations that have achieved excellence in innovative HR programs and drove in organizational success by showing clear and measurable business results. Over the years, this has evolved to be the most credible awards accepted by the industry.Lumina went through a stringent evaluation process, competed against the best names across industries, and won the award for its HR strategies that are completely focused on growth in leadership within the organization. The eminent jury that selected Lumina Datamatics has based their criteria on an exhaustive set of parameters aimed toward capturing the effectiveness and overall impact of HR functions.On this occasion, Vidur V Bhogilal, Vice-Chairman, Lumina Datamatics said, I am delighted that Lumina Datamatics has won the coveted Best Employer Brand - 2018 award in the category of Best HR Strategy in Line with Business. This is recognition of our focused efforts to implement employee-friendly and business-centric HR policies with active support by our staff members. I assure the Human Resource Department all out support in their efforts to delightfully engage our fellow colleagues and continue to remain as the employer of choice in the years ahead.About Lumina DatamaticsLumina Datamatics is a specialized content, data and analytics solutions provider through its innovative platforms, products and services. It helps global publishers offer immersive learning experiences and faster discovery of Information and data for learners across age groups and professions. It also helps online retailers create engaging experiences for their buyers and sellers. Lumina Datamatics has a geographically diverse portfolio with a footprint across four continents - Americas, Asia, Australia and Europe. For more information, visitAbout the event:The World HRD Congress awards aim to recognize the innovation and dedication of both teams and individuals in their journeys towards HR excellence. More than 2000 HR professionals from over 133 countries participate in this event. Founded 26 years ago, the Congress is governed by a Global & National Advisory Council and is the largest network of HR professionals.For media queries, please contact:Ravindran ViswanathanIndia +91 (44) 6604 6110ravindran.viswanathan@luminad.comLumina Datamatics is one of the best online publishing service providers involved in developing eBooks, Retail Solutions, tackling Rights & Permissions.12th Floor Phase IIAscendas International tech parkChennai 600 113Tel +91 (44) 6604 6010Fax- +91 (44) 6604 6098 Raritan Introduces Raritan Secure Switches, to guard against cyber intrusion www.legrand.us Protects information by managing access and information transfers based on a computers security classification levelNew Delhi, March 22st 2018: Raritan a brand of Legrand, and a leading provider of intelligent data center management and rack power distribution solutions introduces the new KVM Secure Switch that provides a number of security features for accessing computers in companies, government, military, and intelligence agencies. The new switch protects information by managing access and information transfers based on a computers security classification level ranging from top secret to confidential to unclassified. The switch also provides tamper-resistant and intrusion-detection features.Unlike other secure switches, a single Raritan Secure Switch can work in an analog (VGA) or digital (DVI, HDMI) formats such as 4K Ultra HD, high-definition and standard resolutions. This feature will support both new and legacy systems offering the highest levels of desk top security.Anjani Kumar, India Country Manager, Raritan said, Digital data in financial, telecom & IT companies, government, military and related agencies is at its peak and so is the data surveillance and security. Keeping in mind the confidentiality of the information that is being accessed internally, the Raritan Secure Switch (RSS) is highly relevant for the Indian market. It not only clears keyboard data automatically to prevent unauthorized transfer or retention but also locks down the firmware to prevent unauthorized modification. Having undergone comprehensive testing, the secure switch is essential when a user switches between computer systems at different classification levels.Multi-level physical and logical security defensesRaritan Secure Switches provide multiple levels of protection including: Strict isolation between computers at different classification levels. When secure switching between computers, data is not buffered and cannot leak from one classification level to another. Tamper-resistant features that show visual evidence of physical tampering. Intrusion-detection feature that will disable operations if the Secure Switchs case is compromised. Firmware is locked down to prevent unauthorized modification. Keyboard data is automatically cleared to prevent transfer or retention.AvailabilityThe Raritan Secure Switch is available in India in models with two and four ports, and with the option of Common Access Card (CAC) authentication. These models support a single DVI-I (digital and analog) and USB user console with optional audio from the connected computer.About Raritan:Raritan, a brand of Legrand, is a global leader in intelligent rack PDUs, KVM switches, and other data center infrastructure monitoring and management solutions. Raritans innovations improve the reliability, efficiency, and intelligence of data centers and server rooms around the globe including those of the top Fortune 500 companies, such as Cisco, Dell, Google, HP, IBM, Intel, and Microsoft. To learn more, visit Raritan.com, LinkedIn or Twitter.About Legrand:Legrand is a global specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructures. Its comprehensive offering of solutions for use in commercial, industrial, and residential markets makes it a benchmark for customers worldwide. Innovation for a steady flow of new products with high added value is a prime vector for growth, including, in particular, connected devices stemming from Legrands global Eliot (Electricity and IoT) program. Legrand reported sales of $5.6 billion in 2016. Legrand has a strong presence in North and Central America, with a portfolio of well-known market brands and product lines that includes AFCO Systems, C2G, Cablofil, Chief, Da-Lite, Electrorack, Finelite, Luxul, Middle Atlantic Products, Nuvo, OCL, On-Q, Ortronics, Pass & Seymour, Pinnacle, QMotion, Quiktron, Raritan, Sanus, Solarfective, Vaddio, Vantage, Wattstopper, and Wiremold. Legrand is listed on Euronext Paris and is a component stock of indexes including the CAC40, FTSE4Good, MSCI World, ASPI, Corporate Oekom Rating, and DJSI (ISIN code FR0010307819)C-20 pamposh enclave GK-1 New delhi- 110048 How to Master Social Media Marketing Metrics - Easy Lessons for 2018? https://www.martechadvisor.com/buyersguide/social-media-marketing-2/a-quick-guide-to-social-media-marketing-tools-for-smbs/ https://www.martechadvisor.com/articles/social-media-marketing-2/how-to-master-social-media-marketing-metrics-easy-lessons-for-2018/ Digital Marketer already know the important role of social media for your business. Social Media marketing can take your brand to great heights, streamline the conversion and retention process, and facilitate the promotion of your brand promotion through user-generated content.To use social media optimally without wasting precious marketing dollars, you must master metrics, even if numbers and graphs make you go ugh instead of aah!.Mastering social media metrics help to improve your ROI (return on investment) by showing you where to adjust your campaigns for more targeted content and proactive customer care.Download Free Buyer's Guide A Quick Guide to Social Media Marketing Tools for SMBs at- This updated Buyer's Guide will help you to Identify the best-fit SMM tool, Breakdown of key features, Pricing and cost factors and Top industry vendorsMetrics are just numbers (number of likes, number of newsletter signups, number of sales)Recorded over a specified time-period, they chart the up (or down) graphs of your Key Performance Indicators (KPI).A standalone metric rarely gives the full pictureMetrics on their own are quite useless. KPIs are best seen as a correlation between metrics.Along with number of sales you should also be watching out for helper metrics such as number of likes, shares, backlinks, conversions to newsletter subscriptions, unique visitors to your landing page, or bounce rates (how many left the page immediately?).Commercial Marketing Dashboards for Social Media MetricsOK, so now you get what metrics and KPIs are for, let us take a look at dashboards.Dashboards give you an overview of your most important metrics, with graphical representations of your KPIs. You can usually customize everything, based on your needs.Some of the typical metrics in dashboards are: conversions (when your content is saved or subscribed to, or someone buys something) user engagement seen through likes, shares, retweets, pins, comments... impressions (how many times your ad or post or tweet was displayed) number of clicks (which you can compare to number of impressions) ...and much, much morePlatform-specific dashboardsAll the major social media platforms also offer you access to their own proprietary dashboards. Twitter Analytics: Twitter Analytics shows user engagement, followers, link or hashtag clicks, and demographic segmentation of your audience by lifestyle, consumer behavior, or mobile footprint. Facebook Insights and Instagram metrics: Facebook also shows detailed metrics, with comparisons for different time periods, on each of your Facebook business pages. Since Facebook also owns Instagram, you can connect your Instagram account to your Facebook page, for more performance and demographic details. LinkedIn Analytics: LinkedIn summarizes update-impressions, clicks on your content or logo, engagement stats, and comparisons of how your company page is performing with those of similar companies! Pinterest Analytics: Pinterest is growing in popularity as social media for commercial purposes. They too show you details on your audience and their activity related to your profile including number of pins. Google+ Insights: Google+ offers metrics about your Google+ page including views, +1s, comments and shares. You will also see basic demographics of your followers.Read MoreAbout Us:MarTech Advisor is the world's leading source for marketing technology news, research, product comparisons & expert views.Contact MarTech Advisor:156 2nd St,San Francisco CA 94105 Cellular Therapies 2018 Cellular Therapies 2018 https://cellulartherapies.conferenceseries.com/ It takes us immense pleasure to announce the conference that Annual Congress on Cellular Therapies, Stem Cells and Bio Medical Engineering which is going to be held during October 17-18, 2018 at New York, USA. Cellular Therapies 2018 conference will focus on the latest and exciting innovations in all areas of Cellular Therapies and Stem Cell Research, Biomedical Engineering, Medicine which offer a unique opportunity for investigators across the globe to meet, network and perceive new scientific innovations. This years conference highlights the theme, Modern Research and Developments in Cellular Therapies, Stem Cells & Bio Medical Engineering which reflects the innovative progress in Cellular, Stem Cell Therapies and Biomedical Engineering.Call for Papers:Important DatesSubmission Deadline: August 30, 2018Registration & Ready Paper Due: October 17, 2018Sincerely,Dr. Clara BalsanoProgram Manager | Cellular Therapies 2018Genetics & Molecular Biology conferencesConference Series LLC Ltd47 Churchfield Road,London, UK, W3 6AYToll Free : 1-800-216-6499Email:- cellulartherapies@americaconferences.orgStudent Poster Competition is organized at Conference, to encourage students and recent graduates to present their original research which will be later published in the Conference series LLC Ltd Journals. All accepted abstracts will be presented at the poster sessions during the conference. Business networking is an avenue for vendors to have network and B2B meetings with Top scientists and colleagues and with an effective low cost marketing method for developing sales and opportunities and contacts, based on referrals and introductions either face-to-face at meetings and gatherings or by other contact methods such as Telephone, E mail, Digital and Increasingly social and business networking websites.Hilton New York JFK Airport Hotel, Address: 144-02 135th Avenue, Jamaica, New York 11436 , USA Phone: +1 718.269.3041Hilton New York JFK Airport Hotel, Address: 144-02 135th Avenue, Jamaica, New York 11436 , USA Phone: +1 718.269.3041 Exchange of long-term experiences and perspectives for nearly zero-energy buildings in China and Germany Participants of the exchange workshop from the CPBA, the Ludwig Bolkow Foundation and the Foundation for Energy Efficiency http://stiftung-energieeffizienz.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/PR-Ottobrunn-Workshop_openpr_2018-03-22.pdf Beijing (China), Cologne (Germany), Ottobrunn (Germany)Experts from China and Germany met for an exchange of long-term experiences and perspectives in the field of nearly zero-energy buildings. The common finding of the workshop was that the rollout of nearly zero energy buildings needs proper calculation with a corresponding controlling to ensure indoor air quality, energetic performance and the limitation of building emissions. Measurable targets like the CABR final energy limit of 25 kWh/m for nearly zero-energy buildings or the NRW 9 kg/ma target for CO2 emissions were discussed for future political frameworks. For the development of suitable indicators and corresponding monitoring methods further cooperation is intended.At the invitation of the Ludwig Bolkow Foundation, experts from China and Germany met on the 8th of March 2018 to discuss long-term experiences and perspectives in the field of nearly zero-energy buildings. Dr. Werner Zittel of the Ludwig Bolkow Foundation initiated into the topic with the idea of Ludwig-Bolkow, a German aviation pioneer and one of the fathers of the Airbus, that the transformation of society and industry to sustainable structures needs a long-term view and action.Prof. Shicong ZHANG of the China Academy of Building Research presented experience with nearly zero-energy buildings in different Chinese regions. He explained the targets within the 13th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Building Energy Efficiency and Green Buildings of the Chinese Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. A key target is the construction of 10 million m of ultra-low-energy buildings and nearly zero-energy buildings by 2020. The program is an important step to control the CO2-Emissions in the Chinese housing sector.Jorg Ortjohann from the Foundation for Energy Efficiency (Stiftung Energieeffizienz) reported on 20 years of experience in the North Rhine-Westphalian state programs 50 solar energy housing estates and 100 Climate Protection Estates. In accordance to the Paris 2 C goal the NRW program targets 9 kgCO2/ma maximum CO2-emissions for new buildings and 12 kgCO2/ma for renovations. The presentation included long-term evaluation results and the ReConGeb approach of German innovative housing companies for efficient investment into nearly zero-energy buildings. Prof. Madjid Madjidi from Munich University of Applied Sciences, advisory board member of the Foundation for Energy Efficiency, emphasized the importance of good forecasting models as basis of building evaluation and fault detection.The common finding of the workshop was that the rollout of nearly zero energy buildings needs proper calculation with a corresponding controlling to ensure indoor air quality, energetic performance and the limitation of building emissions. The workshop discussed measurable targets like the CABR final energy limit of 25 kWh/m for nearly zero-energy buildings or the NRW 9 kg/ma target for CO2 emissions for future political frameworks. The development of suitable indicators and corresponding monitoring methods needs further effort.Cooperation in this field is intended to support the political goals for the CO2-limitation of buildings.The pdf-version of the press release with links to pictures and the logos of the organization can be downloaded fromInformation about the organizationsChina Passive Building Alliance (CPBA)The CPBA is a non - profit organization aiming at driving better energy performance in buildings with proactive vision and reliable cooperation. The CPBA works collaboratively with industry market players - universities, research institutions, utilities, energy efficiency advocates, and building professionals - to promote passive building, nearly zero energy building and zero energy building in China. Prof. Shicong ZHANG is Secretary General of the China Passive Building Alliance.Ludwig Bolkow FoundationThe Ludwig Bolkow Foundation is a non - profit organization committed to participate in the research and planning of long-term developments in our technology-driven world. By looking far ahead time scales have to be found for todays action. Given the inertia of the fundamental processes of change in technology and society this is not an intellectual gimmick, but of existential importance to humanity.Foundation for Energy Efficiency(Stiftung Energieeffizienz)The Foundation for Energy Efficiency is a non - profit organization with experience in the planning, implementation and evaluation of energy-saving buildings and settlements. It supports the efficient performance of buildings and settlements with a standardized monitoring system and e.g. guarantee contracts for solar systems and heat pumps. Prof. Madjid Madjidi, advisory board member of the Foundation for Energy Efficiency is editorial board member of the Building Simulation Journal.Contact InformationProf ZHANG Shicong. Ph.D.Deputy Director. Research Center for Development StrategyChina Academy of Building Research. Institute of Building Environment and Energy.Tel: 0086 (0)10-84270181Fax: 0086 (0)10-84283555Beijing. 30# Beisanhuandonglu. 100013zhangshicong01@126.comJorg OrtjohannStiftung EnergieeffizienzTel: 0049 (0)221 546 57-05Fax: 0049 (0)221 54 28 27D-50969 Koln, Zollstockgurtel 5info@stiftung-energieeffizienz.org Aqua-Tots Swim Schools Make A Splash in Olathe, Kansas with Grand Opening Celebration https://www.aqua-tots.com/locations/usa/kansas/olathe/ www.aqua-tots.com/locations www.aqua-tots.com OLATHE, KS (March 23, 2018) Aqua-Tots Swim Schools, the worldwide leader in swimming instruction and water safety courses with state-of-the-art, year-round facilities in over 80 locations, continues its rapid expansion with the launch of its first Kansas location in Olathe. The grand opening celebration will take place on Friday, March 23 from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. and feature a ribbon-cutting ceremony, face-painting, giveaways, raffle prizes, refreshments and more fun activities.Franchise owners Keri and Mike Priest will initiate an ongoing program offering a free swim lesson and in-water evaluation for new families. The community is invited to dive into the exceptional Aqua-Tots Swim Schools experience at the brand new 6,800 square-foot facility featuring a four to four-and-a-half-foot deep indoor pool that is kept at a perfectly warm 88 to 90 degrees year-round.The Priest family has been a part of the Aqua-Tots Swim Schools community for over a decade. In addition to owning a location in Phoenix, Arizona, they have two children who are both Aqua-Tots Swim Schools instructors. With their in-depth experience in swim education, they will provide an essential resource to the community with enjoyable, life-saving swim lessons.It is an honor and a privilege to bring Aqua-Tots Swim Schools to the Kansas City area, said owners Keri and Mike Priest. Aqua-Tots Swim Schools has had a special place in our hearts for going on thirteen years. As our children learned how to swim at one of its locations, we believed in its mission of drowning prevention and remarkable curriculum that we knew we wanted to bring the concept to our home state. We are looking forward to building lasting relationships with families looking to become safer around water.Aqua-Tots Swim Schools offer year-round swim classes for children ages four months and above, with beginner, intermediate, and advanced classes. Additionally, Swim Club is available for advanced students looking to keep their skill sets strong and increase confidence levels. Advanced swimmers who are looking for a competitive experience can also join the Swim Team.Classes will take place Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. and on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m., located at 11943 S Strang Line Rd. Olathe, KS 66062. To schedule a lesson, call 913-353-9852.For more information, please visit. To find your local class schedule, visit###About Aqua-Tots Swim SchoolsFounded in 1991, Aqua-Tots Swim Schools is the industry leader in swimming instruction and water safety courses. With over 80 national and international locations, the Aqua-Tots Swim Schools franchise provides world-class curriculum taught by highly trained swim instructors within family-friendly, state-of-the-art, year-round and indoor facilities. Aqua-Tots was recognized as a Top 100 Franchise and a Franchise Experiencing Massive Growth by the 2018 Franchise Gator Awards. This unique concept continues to bring water safety skills and awareness to families of all ages and abilities. To learn more about Aqua-Tots Swim Schools, visit888 S Figueroa St #1000, Los Angeles, CA 90017 From Mexico To Brazil A Wave Of Populist Movements From Bouchard Fintech Economic AnalystsAt one level the financial and economic situation in most of Latin America appears to be doing relatively well. After all, there is solid economic growth and there is a good financial outlook. On average--with some notable exceptions like Venezuela--there is a real improvement to the financial situations of both the population and the corporations. Revenues are up and profits are up too. However, as noted by Bouchard Fintech, there is more to the story that first meets the eye. How so?Well, the two largest economies of the region are Brazil and Mexico. Both are economic giants when compared to other Latin American economies. Together these two countries represent some three fifths of the total economic output. Interestingly, both countries have a history of political uncertainty and both countries have seen their political troubles migrate to their economy.In Mexico, the ongoing troubles with the US administration have placed huge financial burdens on both the current economy and of the future economic outlook. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which Mexico is a major beneficiary, is under a cloud as the US keeps threatening to cancel NAFTA. Since Mexico enjoys a huge trade surplus with the US, such a move could reverse Mexico's economy and turn it into a prolonged recession.Brazil has seen one former president charged with major crimes and shortly thereafter had its duly elected president removed from office also on economically related charges. The current president of Brazil is himself under investigation due to reported possible bribes and embezzlements. These tremors at the top have caused financial ripples in the Brazilian economy.Both Brazil and Mexico have scheduled elections that are due to take place in 2018. These presidential elections are being held with candidates that have taken a more aggressive stance on nationalism. The political agendas in both countries have shifted in favor of populist movements and populist fervor.In Mexico, an extreme left-wing president could upend many of the economic advances that have been hard-won over the years. Labor changes could lead to higher manufacturing costs in Mexico and, which in turn, can drive down exports and lead to more financial uncertainty that would be added to the NAFTA related problems.Meanwhile, in Brazil, businesses are posting good numbers and there are fine economic indicators. These facts are despite the above noted political scandals and corruption probes. Still, with another election in sight there could be economic uncertainty ahead. One candidate is the former president that was convicted on corruption charges. It is far from sure that he could be allowed to regain the post of president, given his legal troubles. However, if he does, he may start a new wave of popular schemes aimed at helping the poor at the detriment to the rich and the larger corporations. The second candidate for president is considered very right-wing. His election chances remain slim but if he does take office then the changes in government would be extreme and bring about major fiscal and economic uncertainty.The analysts at Bouchard Fintech have noted that the presidential elections in both Brazil and Mexico are already causing a certain amount of apprehension. For companies that rely heavily on the national governments for their work, they may be in for a sudden change in fortunes. A new government may alter course from the existing one with the anticipated result being that many current projects, as well as planned projects, may be put on hold or even cancelled.In anticipation of these elections and in recognition of the possible political and economic changes, business leaders would do well pay heed. The wiser course may be to sell into more segments, widen the marketing and sales to other regions and countries as well as to spread the potential risks.Written by Bouchard Fintech.Financeinfo@bouchardfintech.com+1-64-794-555-11Toronto100 King Street West, Suite 70, Toronto,Ontario,M5X 1C9 Natural & Synthetic Graphite 2018 Global Industry Key Players - South Sea Graphite , Haida Graphite , BTR , Northeast Asia Mineral Resources , Aoyu Graphite Group Market Analysis And Forecast To 2023 World Natural & Synthetic Graphite Market https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3072102-world-natural-synthetic-graphite-market-research-report-2022 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/3072102-world-natural-synthetic-graphite-market-research-report-2022 World Natural & Synthetic Graphite MarketExecutive SummaryNatural & Synthetic Graphite market research report provides the newest industry data and industry future trends, allowing you to identify the products and end users driving revenue growth and profitability.The industry report lists the leading competitors and provides the insights strategic industry analysis of the key factors influencing the market.The report includes the forecasts, analysis and discuion of important industry trends, market size, market share estimates and profiles of the leading industry players.Request a Sample Report @The players mentioned in our reportSouth Sea GraphiteHaida GraphiteBTRNortheast Asia Mineral ResourcesAoyu Graphite GroupXincheng New MaterialTiansheng Nonmetal IndXinghe GraphiteHeijin GraphiteYixiang GroupJinhuafeng GraphiteFangda CarbonFuda GraphiteFenlu GraphiteBlack Dragon GraphiteHuangyu GraphitePuchen GraphiteXincheng GraphiteJinhui GraphiteYanxin GraphiteShida CarbonGlobal Natural & Synthetic Graphite Market: Product Segment AnalysisNatural GraphiteSynthetic GraphiteGlobal Natural & Synthetic Graphite Market: Application Segment AnalysisAmorphous GraphiteFlake GraphiteCrystalline GraphiteGlobal Natural & Synthetic Graphite Market: Regional Segment AnalysisUSAEuropeJapanChinaIndiaSouth East AsiaTable of Content-Key Points CoveredChapter 1 About the Natural & Synthetic Graphite Industry1.1 Industry Definition1.1.1 Types of Natural & Synthetic Graphite industry1.2.1.1 Natural Graphite1.2.1.2 Synthetic Graphite1.2 Main Market Activities1.3 Similar Industries1.4 Industry at a GlanceChapter 2 World Market Competition Landscape2.1 Natural & Synthetic Graphite Markets by regions2.1.1 USAMarket Revenue and Growth Rate 2012-2017Market overviewMajor players Revenue in 20172.1.2 EuropeMarket Revenue and Growth Rate 2012-2017Market overviewMajor players Revenue in 20172.1.3 ChinaMarket Revenue and Growth Rate 2012-2017Market overviewMajor players Revenue in 20172.1.4 IndiaMarket Revenue and Growth Rate 2012-2017Market overviewMajor players Revenue in 20172.1.5 JapanMarket Revenue and Growth Rate 2012-2017Market overviewMajor players Revenue in 20172.1.6 South East AsiaMarket Revenue and Growth Rate 2012-2017Market overviewMajor players Revenue in 20172.2 World Natural & Synthetic Graphite Market by typesNatural GraphiteSynthetic Graphite2.3 World Natural & Synthetic Graphite Market by ApplicationsAmorphous GraphiteFlake GraphiteCrystalline GraphiteChapter 3 World Natural & Synthetic Graphite Market share3.1 Major players Market share by production3.2 Major players Market share by Revenue3.3 Major Regions Market share by Production in 2017, Through 20223.4 Major Regions Market share By Revenue in 2017, Through 2022Chapter 4 Supply Chain4.1 Industry Supply chain Analysis4.2 Raw material Market analysis4.2.1 Raw material Prices analysis 2012-20174.2.2 Raw material Supply Market analysis4.2 Manufacturing Equipment Suppliers Analysis4.3 Production Proce Analysis4.4 Production Cost Structure Benchmarks4.5 End users Market AnalysisContinued.Complete Report Details @Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt LtdOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India Panic Disorders Market Highly Competitive in Nature during 2017 - 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=55 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=55 https://www.tmrresearch.com/panic-disorders-market Global Panic Disorders Market: SnapshotPanic disorders, also known as anxiety disorder deals with recurrent and unexpected panic attacks. These attacks are sudden and can affect the health of a person on a serious note if untreated. As a result, several drugs and therapeutics have been introduced in order to treat patients suffering from panic disorders across the globe. The rising demand for effective drugs and the rising awareness regarding its availability of therapeutics are anticipated to encourage the growth of the global panic disorder market in the next few years. The hectic lifestyle and the rising work pressure are some of the common causes resulting in panic disorders across the globe.The leading players in the global panic disorders market are focusing on creating an awareness among people regarding this condition and the several effects if not properly treated are expected to encourage the markets growth in the coming years. In addition, the increasing emphasis of players on development of new product and research and development activities is likely to generate lucrative and promising growth opportunities for key players operating in the global panic disorders market. The rising preference of patients on spending significantly towards healthcare expenses is expected to accelerate the growth of the market in the near future.Request Sample Copy of the Report @With a substantial rise in the competitive level, the market players are expected to witness high growth. The expansion of the product portfolio and the rising demand from developed economies are anticipated to encourage the growth of the global panic disorders market in the next few years. Moreover, the marketing strategies adopted by the players and the enhancement of the distribution network are some of the important aspects expected to augment global panic disorders market in the near future.Global Panic Disorders Market: OverviewThe increasing number of drugs in the clinical trials and the effective therapeutics available across the globe are propelling the global panic disorders market. The rising number of cases owing to the hectic lifestyle is one of the major factors boosting the cases of panic disorders. Nonetheless, with the rising focus of leading players on the expansion of the product portfolio, the market is likely to witness high growth in the next few years.The research report on the global panic disorders market provides a comprehensive analysis, focusing on the latest trends, growth prospects, and opportunities. With the help of primary and secondary data, the research study throws light on the leading segments and regions of the global panic disorders market. Furthermore, an in-depth analysis of the competitive landscape of the global market has been presented to guide the new entrants of the market.Request TOC of the Report @Global Panic Disorders Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe rising prevalence of anxiety and mental disorders, the rising awareness regarding the disorders, and the availability of effective treatment options are some of the vital factors that are estimated to fuel the growth of the global panic disorders market throughout the forecast period. The rising initiatives being taken by the leading players to create an understanding among consumers is expected to accelerate the growth of the market in the near future.On the other hand, the lack of awareness, especially in underdeveloped and developing economies regarding the severity of these disorders if not treated is one of the key factors likely to restrict the growth of the overall market in the coming years. Nonetheless, at present, several drugs are in different phases of clinical trials, which are expected to be commercialized soon are projected to encourage the growth of the market.Global Panic Disorders Market: Region-wise OutlookAmong the key regional segments, North America is predicted to lead the global panic disorders market and hold a massive share in the forecast period. The high growth of this region can be attributed to the presence of a large number of players and the growing awareness among consumers regarding the availability of effective therapeutics for panic disorders. Furthermore, Europe is expected to remain in the second position throughout the forecast period.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @On the other hand, Asia Pacific is projected to witness robust growth in the near future, thanks to the untapped lucrative opportunities for the key players. In addition, the rising purchasing capacity of consumers is expected to encourage the growth of the market in the next few years. India and China are anticipated to contribute significantly towards the growth of the panic disorders market in Asia Pacific.Key Players Mentioned in the Research Report are:The global market for panic disorders is highly competitive in nature, owing to the presence of a large number of players operating in it. Some of the key players in the market are H. Lundbeck A/S, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Actavis plc, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Sanofi, Eli Lilly and Company, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Mylan, Inc., Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc., AstraZeneca plc, and Pfizer, Inc.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com CROSSWALK COMMUNITY CHURCH: Join us Sunday for services at 9 or 10 a.m. Childrens Ministry programs available during the 10 a.m. service. Wee Care and Kids Crossing K-2 and Kids Crossing 3-5. Pastor Pete teaching continues on The Heart of Christianity, Rediscovering a Life of Faith. We also invite you to join sessions on Wednesdays at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. We welcome you to join us and hope to help you connect with God more deeply through the movements of the service and to stretch your thinking about life and faith so that you might enjoy more from both. 2590 First St. 226-181, CrossWalkNapa.org. FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH: What does it mean to be #forNapa? Pastor Allen is leading us through a few Sunday talks on this. Come discover what this means. Sunday services are at 8:45 and 10:30 a.m. Kids Ministry happens during both services for nursery-5th graders. Students@First (Middle and High School) - Wednesdays 7-8:30 p.m. 2659 First Street, fccnapa.org. FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: Radiology Information Systems (RIS) Market Regional Outlook by 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=59 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=59 https://www.tmrresearch.com/radiology-information-systems-market Global Radiology Information Systems Market: SnapshotA radiology information system (RIS) refers to a networked software system for managing medical images and related data. Some of the major functions of RIS include patient scheduling, tracking radiology orders, examination interpretation, billing information, and results distribution. RIS is used in conjunction with hospital information systems (HIS) and picture archiving and communication system (PACS) to manage image archives and for efficient workflow of radiology practices.A radiology information system has several advantages over antiquated paper-based record keeping for disease diagnosis and treatment. It helps staff work more accurately resulting in fewer medical errors and deliver accuracy in transcription while at the same time help professionals present a more salient diagnosis. An RIS is useful for managing image files and large data that are typically generated in a radiology practice.It helps integrate multiple functions into a single comprehensive system, thereby eliminating likelihood of redundant actions and boosting staffs efficiency at the same time. From registration to scheduling to billing to reporting results, RIS streamlines operations so that staff can better help patients.The many advantages of RIS help increase revenue due to fewer missed appointments and decreased turnaround time for reports. Moreover, several governments around the world offer incentives for physicians that use certified RIS software for generating reports. Radiology Information Systems are also important for transmitting information across service boundaries such as from the imaging unit to the patients primary healthcare provider.Request Sample Copy of the Report @As RIS is a mature market over other areas of healthcare that are heading towards digitization, radiology has a high scope of innovative digitized systems.Global Radiology Information Systems Market: OverviewRadiology information system (RIS) is an advanced software tool developed to manage radiological data generated in hospitals around the world. The software majorly caters to digital data collection, thereby assisting the overall healthcare information systems. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the global radiological information systems market covering the growth drivers, major restraints, segmentation based on various parameters, and the impact of the latest technological advancements. It also covers outcomes of various analyses, intended to help the readers gain a better perspective of the global radiology information systems market.Global Radiology Information Systems Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe increasing costs and demand for more effective healthcare services have compelled hospitals to integrate advanced technologies for managing work force better and simultaneously delivering quicker and better patient care. Spurred by these factors, the uptake of radio information systems has significantly increased across hospitals and radiology departments. Besides this, enterprises operating in the global radiology information systems market are also gaining from the increasing incidence of chronic ailments such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases and others. In addition, the rising aging population will prove a boon as geriatric population is more prone to developing terminal illnesses.Request TOC of the Report @As per the findings of the American Society of Radiologic Technologists, nearly 400 million medical imaging procedure are conducted annually in the U.S. A comprehensive and integrated system is thus required to manage such staggering volume of patient-related data generated yearly. Moreover, with the decentralization of hospital processes, incomplete data storage has emerged as a major concern. In order to address these concerns, the deployment of radiology information systems is expected to rise significantly.Global Radiology Information Systems Market: Regional OutlookRegionally, North America holds position as the most lucrative market for radiology information systems. Europe comes second to it in terms of exhibiting opportunities for radiology information systems sales. Besides this, Asia Pacific has been exhibiting attractive prospects as a result of the rising demand from countries such as China, Korea, Japan, and Malaysia. Due to the excessively high cost of medical services in the U.S., hospitals are losing businesses to their counterparts in Asia Pacific, with Malaysia, Singapore, China, India, and other countries emerging as popular destinations for medical tourism.Moreover, the prevalence of cancer across emerging nations is considerably high. According to the WHO, over 60% of new cancer cases are reported from Asia, South America, and Africa. Furthermore, these regions also show a high incidence of cardiovascular disease mortalities among the low and middle-income countries, which is a chief driver of the demand for radiology information systems.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Global Radiology Information Systems Market: Vendor LandscapeTo study the prevailing vendor landscape, the report also profiles a few of the most prominent enterprises operating in the global radiology information system market. Using SWOT analysis, the report determines the strengths and weaknesses of the companies profiled. The analysis also helps the companies identify the opportunities and threats that they might witness over the course of the forecast period.Some of the leading enterprises operating in the global radiology information systems market are CoActiv Medical, AGFA Healthcare, FUJIFILM, Carestream Health, MERGE Healthcare, Cyglera Health Systems, Comrad, Novarad Corporation, Siemens Healthcare, and Infinitt Healthcare Co., Ltd.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com West Nile Virus Infection Treatment Market to Perceive Substantial Growth by 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=63 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=63 https://www.tmrresearch.com/west-nile-virus-infection-treatment-market Global West Nile Virus Infection Treatment Market: SnapshotWest Nile virus (WNV) belongs to the Flaviviridae family, comprising pestivirus, flavivirus, and hepacivirus. It is a positive stranded RNA virus and outbreaks of West Nile fever has occurred across the globe since the mid 90s. Moreover, West Nile Virus is currently an endemic in Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and the U.S. as well. The infection bears negligible to no symptoms in human body. Elderly people, extremely young children, and those with immunosuppression and HIV, are most susceptible to West Nile fever.One of the primary ways by which this virus is spread is by mosquitoes and one of the most commonly infected animal is birds. WNV is also found in dead birds. Birds in fact serve as the key host of spreading this infection. Migratory birds are transporting this virus to the temperate areas of Europe in spring. West Nile Virus is also found in ticks, but ticks are not the main vector for the spread of this disease. All these factors are likely to increase the number of people suffering from this infection and this is expected to drive the market.Request Sample Copy of the Report @The report discusses the recent progress in the diagnosis and vaccination to treat West Nile Virus infections. As presently there are no effective vaccinations for the prevention of West Nile Infection, the market is challenging to many players. This is attracting players to enter in the market and invest in extensive research and development to come up with some form of medication and treatment options.Global West Nile Virus Infection Treatment Market: OverviewWest Nile Virus (WNV) infections are transmitted through mosquitoes. Birds are the major carriers of West Nile virus. Mosquitoes that bite infected birds become vector for the virus. Individuals with a weak immune system and older people are at a high risk of WNV infection.Some of the symptoms of WNV include fever, muscle weakness, convulsions, back pain, eye pain, diarrhea, headache, swelling of lymph glands, paralysis, numbness, comatose state, fatigue, sore throat, confusion, nausea, and rash on stomach, chest, and back. Some other serious symptoms of NWV infection are inflammation of the brain and meningitis.Global West Nile Virus Infection Treatment Market: Drivers and RestraintsA rising geriatric population globally and an increasing pool of population with weak immune system leading to increased hospital admissions are the major factors driving the West Nile virus infection treatment market. On the other hand, factors such as lack of awareness about the infection and unavailability of infection specific treatment are restraining the markets growth.Request TOC of the Report @Global West Nile Virus Infection Treatment Market: Growth OpportunitiesPresently, the specific course of treatment for West Nile virus infection is not available. This has led market players and research organizations to develop infection specific drugs. Drugs such as human leukocyte derived interferon alfa-n3, HBV-002, Hu-E16 monoclonal antibody derived from plant, CEL-1000, VG-WNV, BG-323, ETX-112, and innate immune agonists are some of the potential drugs and therapies that are under clinical trials.Global West Nile Virus Infection Treatment Market: Regional OutlookThe global NVW infection treatment market is divided into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Rest of the World. North America and Europe are presently the leading markets for West Nile virus infection treatment. The dominance of these regions is due to the availability of advanced healthcare facilities, high awareness about the infection, and government support for research and development initiatives pertaining to the infection.Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing market for WNV infection treatment for the 2017-2025 period. Factors such as a large geriatric population, increasingly developing healthcare infrastructure, and government support to provide advanced healthcare are expected to propel the global WNV infection treatment market in Asia Pacific. In this region, China and India are expected to display the fastest growth due to surging medical tourism in these countries. Apart from India and China, Japan is expected to display significant growth due to the increasing support by the Japanese government for development of the healthcare industry in the country.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Rest of the World (RoW) region comprises Middle East, Latin America, and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Latin American countries are anticipated to display significant growth than other countries in RoW region due to the presence of a well-laid regulatory framework coupled with a developing economy. On the other hand, African countries will display a low growth rate due to poor healthcare infrastructure, lack of regulatory framework, and poor economic growth.Companies Mentioned in ReportLeading players in the global WNV infection treatment market are Kineta Inc., Hemispherx Biophrma Inc., CEL-SCI Corporation, and Hawaii Biotech Inc. Each of the companies are profiled for key business attributes such as recent developments, financial standing, and SWOTs.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Whole Exome Sequencing Market Current Outlook by 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=64 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=64 https://www.tmrresearch.com/whole-exome-sequencing-market Global Whole Exome Sequencing Market: SnapshotWhole exome sequencing is expected to receive a staggering demand as DNA sequencing and its advances pave the way in the research field with the transformation of genomics. When compared with whole genome sequencing, whole exome sequencing is technically studied to be quick and cost-efficient. Since exons carry an 85.0% of disease traits, exome sequencing is regarded to be more effective. Researchers are anticipated to significantly adopt whole exome sequencing services, kits, and systems because of their double benefit of saving time and simplifying work.On the basis of end user, the global whole exome sequencing market could gain a telling demand because of the influence of a colossal growth of government and academic institutions and research centers in the past. By application, the diagnostics segment is prognosticated to own a larger share in the global whole exome sequencing market. Predicted to incorporate two sub-segments, viz. data analysis and sequencing services, the services segment is prophesied to demonstrate dominance in the global whole exome sequencing market by products and services.Request Sample Copy of the Report @One of the high impression driving factors of the global whole exome sequencing market is the need to monitor pathogenic infections, cancer, and various other chronic maladies. More opportunities are envisaged to take birth with the surging adoption of next-generation sequencing techniques for the purpose of predicting and treating such diseases. The speed and cost factors are foretold to play a major role in the adoption of whole exome sequencing methods and the growth of the overall market.Global Whole Exome Sequencing Market: OverviewWhole exome sequencing involves the sequencing of all protein-coding genes in a genome. Clinically exome account for 82% to 85% of known disease-causing variants and less than 1.5% to 2% of the human genome, which converts whole-exome sequencing into an effective alternative.The report analyzes key market segments and growth trends in the past, based on which the progression analysis of the global market for whole exome sequencing for the 2017-2025 period is presented herein.Request TOC of the Report @Global Whole Exome Sequencing Market: Drivers and RestraintsTechnological progression in sequencing systems, collaborations and partnerships amongst leading research organizations for improved drug discovery, and an increasing expenditure on research and development are the major factors driving the global whole exome sequencing market. However, factors such as unavailability of trained workforce, increasing trend of funds and grants from universities and research organizations, and high instrument costs are challenging the growth of this market.Global Whole Exome Sequencing Market: Regional OutlookNorth America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World are the regional segments of the whole exome sequencing market. Amongst these, North America stands as the largest whole exome sequencing market. This is mainly due to the increasing application of whole exome sequencing for detection of rare diseases, increasing awareness programs through industry meets and conferences, and government funding for whole exome sequencing studies. In 2010, as per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 1,148,200 persons above the age of 13 and more were diagnosed with HIV infection in the United States, including 207,600 individuals whose infections had not been diagnosed.Europe is the second largest market for whole exome sequencing. This is because Europe is a leading region for the diagnostics and treatment of cancer and HIV diseases. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), Europe is home to almost one quarter of the worlds cancer patients with 3.2 million new patients diagnosed every year. In 2010, UNAIDS estimated that approximately 2.3 million people were living with HIV in Europe. The prevalence of HIV among adults varies from less than 0.2% of the population in Central Europe to more than 1% of the population in parts of Eastern Europe.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Asia Pacific and Rest of the World are expected to be lucrative markets for whole exome sequencing in the coming years. Increasing research and development initiatives and strategic expansion and acquisitions among research organizations in the emerging economies of Asia Pacific are favoring the growth of this regional market. The increasing impact of bioinformatics and biotechnology research in Latin America is anticipated to fuel the growth of whole exome sequencing market. An increasing number of patients diagnosed with HIV in the emerging economies of India, China, and Brazil will lead to significant growth of the whole exome sequencing market in these regions.Companies Mentioned in ReportThe report mentions top players in the whole exome sequencing market, namely Agilent Technologies, BGI, Eurofins Genomics, Macrogen Inc., GENEWIZ Inc., Ambry Genetics, Illumina Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Roche NimbleGen Inc., Sengenics, and Knome Inc. among others.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Yellow Fever Treatment Market Predicted to Accelerate the Growth by 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=65 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=65 https://www.tmrresearch.com/yellow-fever-treatment-market Global Yellow Fever Treatment Market : SnapshotYellow fever is essentially a mosquito-borne disease, which is more prevalent in African countries as well as in Central and South American region. Often, these diseases are transmitted across the countries via infected travelers, but it is more frequent in countries wherein the mosquito species are able to flourish in a regions specific climatic conditions and the animal pool required to maintain their prosperity. In 2017, Brazil has notified more than half a dozen separate cases of yellow fever across the country and its prevalence continues to mount in different parts of the world too. As a result, the demand in the global yellow fever treatment market is expected to expand at a steady rate during the forecast period of 2017 to 2025.Factors such as unhygienic lifestyle, increasing awareness among people pertaining to the availability of the treatment to cure yellow fever, improving healthcare infrastructure in several emerging economies, growing number of international travelers, and increased efforts from health organizations such as the UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) are some of the factors augmenting the demand in the global yellow fever treatment market. UNICEF already procures nearly 34 million yellow fever vaccination doses per year and has long-term agreements with four drug companies to provide the vaccination required for routine programmers, emergency, and preventive campaigns. Still, the supply is significantly insufficient to meet the increasing demand, and hence the demand in the global market for yellow fever is expected to swell consistently over the course of next few years.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Global Yellow Fever Treatment Market: OverviewYellow fever is caused by a virus transferred through infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. These mosquitoes thrive near human dwellings and breed in clean waters. The occurrence of yellow fever is more prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South America. Humans and monkeys represent the target patient population infected with yellow fever virus.Yellow fever infection can be lethal as it damages the liver and other internal organs. As per statistics of the World Health Organization, yellow fever affects more than 200,000 individuals every year, of which 90% are reported in Africa. These cases result in 30,000 deaths every year. Factors such as decreasing immunity among the local population, deforestation, and high-density urbanization increases the risk of yellow fever across the world.The report represents facts and figures pertaining to the global yellow fever treatment market in a chronological order. With a scrutiny of past data and current market trends, analysts present a satisfactory picture regarding the markets future. The users of the report, therefore, receive accurate projections of the global yellow fever treatment market that can be used to formulate cutting-edge business strategies for the future. Using validated analytical tools such as Porters Five Forces analysis and SWOT analysis, the report presents valuable insights about the strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats of the market until the end of the forecast period in 2025.Request TOC of the Report @A detailed analysis of the current competitive landscape is included in the report. The section includes a competitive profile of the leading players and an analysis of their strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats for the 2017-2025 period.Global Yellow Fever Treatment Market: Disease Prevention MeasuresThe prevention of yellow fever is essential and vaccination is advised for children above 9 months of age. These vaccines are usually administered by travel medicine clinics and local or state health departments and needs to be repeated every 10 years for individuals who travel frequently to high risk African and Latin American countries.Individuals with compromised immune system or cancer patient, pregnant women, and children below 9 months of age are recommended not to take yellow fever vaccine.Global Yellow Fever Treatment Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe increasing importance of travel medicine complemented by increasing involvement of respective governments for timely vaccination are the major factors driving the global yellow fever treatment market. However, factors such as demand-supply gap of vaccines and high costs are restraining the growth of this market.As per data provided by the United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund (UNICEF), there is a large demand-supply gap for yellow fever vaccines. For instance, the demand exceeded supply by almost 44% for the year 2014-2015 despite procurement of all available vaccines by UNICEF. DiTu, LCTA-949, YF-17D, Flaviviruses infection vaccines represent some of the drugs under clinical trials for yellow fever.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Major Companies Mentioned in ReportSome of the leading companies operating in the global yellow fever treatment market are Panacea Biotech Limited, Themis Bioscience GmbH, Arbovax Inc., and Janssen Pharmaceutcals Inc. Each of the companies is profiled for their attributes of product portfolio, recent developments, and financial standing.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Brain Disease Market Geographical Analysis by 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=66 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=66 https://www.tmrresearch.com/brain-disease-market Global Brain Disease Market: SnapshotOne of the important factors crucial for the growth of the global brain disease market is technological advancement. Recently, scientists at the University of Utah Health and Stanford University have found a way out in the form of a targeted therapy treatment that slows down the progression of or improves a couple of degenerative brain disorders, viz. ataxia and Lou Gehrigs disease, which is another name for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).WHO has already estimated a billion people to seek treatment for neurological disorders globally, yet there are fewer treatments available today. While the need for brain disease treatment is urgent, highly targeted and noninvasive treatments such as focused ultrasound approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could attract attention. With the advent of rare brain disease called rat lungworm disease in the Hawaii state of the U.S., the need for accurate and responsive treatments is expected to increase significantly.Request Sample Copy of the Report @While some scientists argue that humans need less sleep with the progression of age, such changes in sleep hours could aggravate the disintegration associated with brain disorders such as Alzheimers disease. Moreover, people above 30 years of age suffering from broken sleep and difficulty sleeping are exposed to a greater risk of brain disease. As a result, with a growing number of population aging above 30 years and rising risks of brain disorders, the growth in the global brain disease market could gain a strong impetus. Other factors that could contribute toward the growth of the global brain disease market include the demand for brain monitoring devices and growing occurrence of neurological disorders.Global Brain Disease Market: OverviewAny damage caused to the brain through injury or health conditions commonly known as brain disease can come in different forms, such as infections, trauma, tumors, seizures, and strokes. Headaches, migraines, poor muscle control, memory problems, vision problems, and vomiting or nausea are some of the common symptoms of brain diseases.Treatments which are available for various brain diseases depend on the diagnosis. The common treatments include drug medication, surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.Request TOC of the Report @Global Brain Disease Market: Key Segments and AnalysesBased on the type of infections, the brain disease market can be into meningitis and encephalitis. Meningitis is characterized by an inflammation in the delicate membrane (meninges) that surrounds the brain and the spinal cord. It is commonly caused by bacterial and viral infection. Encephalitis is characterized by an inflammation in the brain tissue. Meningitis and encephalitis commonly occur together and are collectively termed as meningoencephalitis.Based on the type of trauma, the brain disease market can be segmented into concussion, traumatic brain injury, and hemorrhage. Concussions are highly traumatic brain injuries that affect brain function and result in loss of consciousness and headaches. A traumatic brain injury can lead to permanent brain damage with mental impairment and can also cause changes in the affected individuals personality. Bleeding in the brain caused by an injury or high blood pressure is referred to as hemorrhage.Based on the type of tumor, the brain disease market can be segmented into brain tumor, hydrocephalus, and glioblastoma. Hydrocephalus is a condition in which there is an increase in the amount of cerebrospinal fluid inside the skull, while a glioblastoma is a brain tumor that is highly cancerous and usually occurs in the cerebrum of adults.Global Brain Disease Market: Geographical AnalysisBased on geography, the global brain disease market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the rest of the world. For 2016, North America held the leading position in the market, followed by Europe. The key drivers for the two regions include a consistently increasing prevalence of neurological diseases and a rising demand for technologically advanced medical equipments for treatment. According to the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States, around 350,000 brain and nervous system tumor cases have been registered in the U.S. European countries are also expected to show a steady growth rate in the global brain disease market. In the next few years, Asia Pacific is likely to show a remarkable growth in the brain disease market through fast-paced developments in healthcare infrastructure and a growing demand for advanced treatments. Other factors which could fuel the growth of the market in Asia Pacific are a growing awareness regarding various brain disorders and an increase in the number of patients getting affected with neurological disorders.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Global Brain Disease Market: Players Mentioned in the ReportIt is expected that with time, there will be an influx of more well-established players in the global brain disease market. Some of the leading players operating in the brain disease therapeutics market for 2016 were Medtronic, Inc., AstraZeneca plc, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Boston Scientific Corporation, Sapiens Neuro, and Omeros Corporation.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Butachlor Market Dynamic Business Environment during 2017 - 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=67 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=67 https://www.tmrresearch.com/butachlor-market Global Butachlor Market: SnapshotThe global butachlor market has been driven by its extensive use in rice farming in Southeast Asia. However, the dependence of the global butachlor market on the region for a major part of its overall revenue could become an adversity for the market in the coming years. The toxicity of butachlor is weakened by the large amounts of water used in paddy farming, but it is still sufficient to cause problems for the humans as well as animals around the farmlands. The rising awareness in emerging countries such as India regarding the risks of large-scale butachlor usage is responsible for the possible risk to the butachlor market. The use of butachlor in rice has been linked to deaths caused by mid-day meal in rural schools India, while its ecological impact has also been assessed to determine its carcinogenicity.The loss of arable lands is the key driver likely to propel the demand for butachlor in the coming years. In Asia Pacific, the leading consumer in the global butachlor market, a significant volume of agricultural land has been redirected for commercial or industrial use. The steady urbanization observed in countries such as India, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and China is likely to ensure the continuation of this trend, aided by the steady growth of the residential construction industry in the region. The rising population of Asia Pacific is also vital for the butachlor market, as it creates the need for more food.Request Sample Copy of the Report @On the other hand, the rising preference for organic farming could become a threat for the global butachlor market in the coming years. Farmers across the world are starting to prefer organic agriculture due to its benefits in terms of the ecological impact of the process. A growing community of consumers is also coming together over the demand for organically grown food.Butachlor Market: General OutlineButachlor also known as Machete is an organic herbicide that belongs to the acetanilide group of chemicals, and is utilized as a pre-emergent selective herbicide employed against grasses. It is a systemic herbicide that acts as a protein synthesis inhibitor and leads to metabolic dysfunction in the targeted weeds. Butachlor herbicide is primarily absorbed by germinating stem shoots and secondarily by weed roots, growing on the pre-planted arable crop land.Butachlor herbicide is mainly used in India on rice crops, as it requires moist soil and considerable amount of water for safe application. Being phytotoxic in nature, it must be used after diluting with water. Butachlor herbicide is applied one or two weeks before seed plantation, during wet seeded conditions, on moist soil, and left for three days in three to four centimeter of water. The water level has to be maintained for five days to a week and drained before seed plantation. Butachlor herbicide is toxic to aquatic life and has low bio-accumulation potential. It decomposes into toxic gases at high temperatures and exposure may cause pneumonitis on inhalation, and may also trigger nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.Request TOC of the Report @Butachlor Market: Comprehensive OverviewButachlor herbicides are primarily used as selective herbicides against grasses, sedges, and some broadleaved weeds. They are extensively used by Indian farmers for mainly rice cultivation and other well irrigated crops. Butachlor herbicide works efficiently to remove weed and is best suited for well irrigated or moist soils.The global butachlor herbicide market is growing due to escalating food demand for the booming global population and reducing arable land. However, rising general awareness about the harmful effects of herbicides and other toxic agrochemicals, along with stringent environmental regulations, especially in developed countries of North America and Europe is expected to be a limiting factor for the butachlor herbicide market. Due to the opposition of chemicals used in agriculture, farmers are moving to organic farming and development of better and less harmful substitutes.Butachlor Market: Geographical EvaluationThe large population base makes Asia Pacific a major consumer of butachlor herbicide. Agricultural economies including China, Indonesia and India are chief consumers of butachlor herbicide for its heavy usage in variety of crops. A rise in disposable income and purchase power parity of China and India is expected to drive demand for food grains, thereby increasing the demand for butachlor herbicide.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Comparative lenient norms and regulations against chemicals, availability of cheap labor and land, Asia is the preferred region for production facilities for key market players. North America is another leading consumer for butachlor herbicide, especially in well irrigated southern land of Mississippi and Missouri areas of the U.S. In addition, Brazil, South Africa and Central Africa contribute to the major demand for the market. Strict government control norms over potentially harmful agrochemicals and general tendency of farmers towards sustainable organic farming techniques, Europe is projected to witness slower growth in comparison to other regions.Butachlor Market: Key Market PlayersSome of the butachlor market players are: Shanghai Tenglong Agrochemical Co. Ltd., Monsanto, Shanghai Mingdou Agrochemical Co. Ltd., and Syngenta AG, SinoHarvest Corporation.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Battery Market Turn Fuelling in the Growth and Opportunities due to Zero Carbon di-oxide Emission www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/hybrid-and-electric-vehicle-battery-market www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/hybrid-and-electric-vehicle-battery-market/report-sample www.psmarketresearch.com The hybrid and electric (H&E) vehicle battery market size is expected to cross $22.6 billion by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 20.0% between 2016-2022. The increasing government funding across H&E vehicle battery supply chain across the globe is expected to lay new growth opportunities to the H&E vehicle battery market during the forecast period.Explore Full Report Description At:In terms of type, the hybrid and electric vehicle battery market is segmented into nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) and lithium-ion battery (LIB). The LIB category dominated the global H&E vehicle battery market, both in terms of volume and value in 2015.In terms of application, the hybrid and electric vehicle battery market is segmented into hybrid vehicle (HV), plug-in hybrid vehicle (P-HEV), and electric vehicle (EV). EV was globally the largest application area of H&E vehicle battery, both in terms of volume and value in 2015.The H&E vehicle battery market in Europe is expected to grow significantly during the forecast period. The increasing government support for research and development (R&D) of lithium-ion batteries and growing affordability of electric passenger cars in the region is expected to be the most dominant drivers for the hybrid and electric market in the region. The presence of large number of electric and hybrid vehicle manufacturers in Germany is expected to boost the H&E vehicle battery industry during the forecast period.Download Free Report Sample:The major players operating in the H&E vehicle battery market include Panasonic Corporation, Automotive Energy Supply Corporation, BYD Company Limited, Lithium Energy and Power GmbH & Co. KG, LG Chem., Tianneng Power International Co. Ltd, Hitachi Vehicle Energy Ltd., Shenzhen Bak Battery Co. Ltd., and Zhejiang Tianneng Energy Technology Co. Ltd.About P&S Market ResearchP&S Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. We provide market research reports, industry reports, business intelligence and research based consulting services across a range of industries.With the help of our professional corporate relations with various companies, our market research offers the most accurate market forecasting. Our analysts and consultants interact with leading companies of the concerned domain to substantiate every single data presented in our publication. Our research assists our client in identifying new and different windows of opportunity and frame informed and customized strategies for expansion in different regions.P&S Market Research347, 5th Ave. #1402New York City, NY 10016Toll-free: +1-888-778-7886 (USA/Canada)Email: enquiry@psmarketresearch.comWeb: Musculoskeletal Pains Market Trends and Prospects by 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=117 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=117 https://www.tmrresearch.com/musculoskeletal-pains-market Global Musculoskeletal Pains Market: SnapshotMusculoskeletal pain is pain that affects bones, muscles, or the various types of connective tissues that hold the two together, such as tendons and ligaments. This type of pain can occur due to overuse or repetitive use of muscle groups, improper use or accidents such as falls, etc. and can persist for a long time, causing discomfort to the patient. The consistent discomfort caused by musculoskeletal pain has made it a key category of the global healthcare sector in recent years.Improper posture is a key cause of musculoskeletal pain, as consistently sitting/sleeping in irregular positions can cause significant long-term damage to muscles. Thus, the rising prevalence of a sedentary lifestyle, particularly in developed economies, is a key driver for the musculoskeletal pains market. Dynamic developing economies such as India, China, and Brazil have also started witnessing the effects of a large-scale adherence to a sedentary lifestyle, as the corporate sector in these countries is exhibiting a steady rise, aided by the entry of several multinational companies and government support to the development of the IT industry.Request Sample Copy of the Report @The main component of musculoskeletal pain treatment is behavioral rather than pharmaceutical. Thus, the increasing interest of citizens across the world in maintaining a basic level of fitness is likely to be a key factor in reducing the prevalence of musculoskeletal pains in the coming years. Physiotherapy is also likely to be a key component of the global musculoskeletal pains market in the coming years due to its noninvasive nature and reliable efficacy in pain management.Global Musculoskeletal Pains Market: OverviewMusculoskeletal pains refers to the acute or chronic pains of soft tissues or organs, which can be caused due to an injury, falls, jerking movements, falls, sprains, fractures, dislocations, and overuse of the organ. For instance, lower back pain is a common work related musculoskeletal pain that is caused due to prolonged immobilization or poor posture. Localized or widespread pain, stiffness of the body, fatigue, lack of sleep, twitching muscles, and burning sensation in muscles are some of the common symptoms of musculoskeletal pains. Depending on the location of pain, musculoskeletal pains are of different kinds including bone pain, muscle pain, tendon and ligament pain, fibromyalgia, joint pain, and tunnel syndromes. Bone pains, which are majorly caused due to injury, is the most common type of musculoskeletal pains, followed by joint pains, which is frequently associated with rheumatoid arthritis.Request TOC of the Report @Musculoskeletal pains treatment includes various methods such as physical and occupational therapy, heat or cold treatment, acupuncture, strengthening, and conditioning and stretching exercises. Although there are no medications currently available for the treatment of musculoskeletal pains, some of the medications recommended to relieve the symptoms are: acetaminophen, NSAIDs, opioids, and neurotransmitters. The global market for musculoskeletal pain is projected for a robust CAGR during the forecast period of 2017 to 2025. This report is a comprehensive analysis of all the factors that are expected to impact the growth rate and also profiles some of the key players to reveal their market share, product portfolio, and latest developments.Global Musculoskeletal Pains Market: Trends and ProspectsResearch and development activities by several market players to find drugs that can be used to treat musculoskeletal pains is the primary driver of the market. For instance, one of the major players Nordic Bioscience A.s in collaboration with Novaratis AG has developed the drug by the name calcitonin. Currently, the drug is under clinical trial phase three and is predicted to be highly beneficial for the treatment of musculoskeletal pains and thereby boost the market. Hydrocodone bitartrate, bupivacaine transdermal, prednisone, and clibranopadol are some of the other under train drugs. However, side effects such as nausea liver and kidney damage, acid-peptic disorders, and irritation of gastric tract associated with these drugs are restraining the market expansion.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Global Musculoskeletal Pains Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, the report segments the global market into the regions of North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and rest of the world. Currently, North America contributes to the maximum demand due to robust healthcare infrastructure in countries such as the U.S. and Canada. However, Asia Pacific is expected to rise at the strongest CAGR during the forecast period due to the presence of vast population and improving healthcare facilities in several emerging economies such as China, India, and Japan.Apart from Novasratis AG and Nordic Bioscience mentioned above, some of the other major market players in global musculoskeletal pains market are DURECT Corporation, Zogenix, Inc., Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd., BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc., Pfizer, Inc., Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Limited, Chelsea Therapeutics, Inc., TransPharma Medical, Ltd. and Purdue Pharma L.P.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Automotive Tinting Film Market Overview 2018-2025 Madico, Nexfil, 3M, Global Window Films, Hanita Coatings Automotive Tinting Film Market 2018 http://bit.ly/2FYuMDo http://www.qyresearchstore.com/global-automotive-tinting-film-market-manufacturers-2018-review-size-and-forecast-2023 http://qyresearchstore.com/ A market study on the "Global Automotive Tinting Film Market" Research Report 2018-2025 which provides an outlook of current market value of Automotive Tinting Film Market as well as the expected forecast of Rate on Investment (ROI) with growing CAGR of XX% in Automotive Tinting Film Market by the end of 2025. The report on the global Automotive Tinting Film market uses the top-down and bottom-up approaches to define, analyze, and describe the Automotive Tinting Film market 2018 trends for the next five years up to 2025.Globe Info Research added latest industry research report Automotive Tinting Film Market Outlook" focuses on Industry News, Size, Share, Growth Rate, Strategies, Market Position, Trends Across The World. This report on the Global Automotive Tinting Film Market 2018 provides extremely useful and in-depth perception of the worldwide industry and it covers all the aspects which are highly important in deciding the future of Automotive Tinting Film industry. This report is an accurate research of the Global Automotive Tinting Film industry which features the latest technological enhancements, new opening, modern industrial issues and advancements, future policy alterations and all basic and important information about the market.Get Sample Here:The Global Automotive Tinting Film Market Provides comprehensive understanding of the market with the help of Automotive Tinting Film market outlook, opportunities, challenges, trends, Automotive Tinting Film Market size, share and growth, competitive analysis, major competitors and Porter analysis. Automotive Tinting Film market report further provides production, capacity, Automotive Tinting Film market price per region, gross margin for all major regions and countries listed in Automotive Tinting Film report.Top Companies Analysis Mentioned: 3M Eastman Chemical Company Tintfit Window Films Ltd. Hanita Coatings Johnson Window Films, Inc. Global Window Films Madico, Inc. Saint-Gobain Solar Gard, LLC Technical Window Films Armolan Window Films Nexfil Solar Screen International S.A. Huper Optik USAThe report is very much made with charts, graphs, and practical figures which show the status of the particular Automotive Tinting Film industry on the global and regional stage. The execution and features of the Automotive Tinting Film market are assessed in view of the quantitative and qualitative techniques to give a clear picture of the present and future forecast trend.Browse Full Report:Finally, Automotive Tinting Film 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:"QY Research Store" 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 75244, USAWeb:Email: sales@qyresearchstore.com Phenylbutazone Market Region-based Analysis by 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=122 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=122 https://www.tmrresearch.com/phenylbutazone-market Global Phenylbutazone Market: SnapshotThe phenylbutazone market has hit a road-block due to its disapproval from the country-wide market in the U.S. However, phenylbutazone, which are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) that are useful in treating pain, fever, menstrual cramps, arthritis, and other inflammations in human body, continue to be used in other parts of the World. Moreover, these drugs are also used by the veterinary department, wherein 23 actively marketed phenylbutazone drugs are FDA approved for usages on horses. These drugs are available in multiple dosage forms, including boluses, oral tablets, pastes, powders, and solutions for intravenous injection. These two factors are expected to help the global phenylbutazone market sustain the demand the forecast period of 2017 to 2025. On the other hand, the availability of newer drugs with considerably reduced adverse effects on the subjects is hindering the growth rate of the market.This report on the global phenylbutazone provides in-depth analysis of all the factors that may favor or obstruct the demand in the near future, and includes profiles of a number of vendors currently operating in the market. The report has been prepared using proven research methodologies and aspires to serve as a dependable business document for targeted audiences such as pharmaceuticals manufacturers, research and academic institutions, hospitals and clinics, contract manufacturers, and contract research organizations. The report also segments the market based on application and product type, as well as studies the opportunities available for the vendors in different regions.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Global Phenylbutazone Market: OverviewPhenylbutazone is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug meant to provide short-term relief from fever and pain. The drug is currently banned in the U.S. and the U.K. for human use, and therefore is largely meant for animal uses. The ban on phenylbutazone was approved due to its severely debilitating side-effects such as reducing the rate of production of white blood cells and causing aplastic anemia. It was originally used in humans for the treatment of gout and rheumatoid arthritis till 1949 and is now commonly used on horses for the treatment of antipyresis and analgesia.Phenylbutazone can be administered intravenously or orally but is essentially should only be injected into a vein or administered intramuscularly. Edema and tissue damage may occur if the drug is injected repetitively into the same vein. Side-effects also include oral lesions, blood dyscrasia, kidney damage, GI ulcers, and internal hemorrhage. The drug should also not be used in combination with vitamin K antagonists including warfarin due to the amplifying nature of phenylbutazone on the anticoagulant effect of the antagonists.Global Phenylbutazone Market: Key Trends and Growth ProspectsThe growth in end users in the global phenylbutazone market is expected to occur at an optimistic rate over the coming years, owing to an increase in the consumption of the drug in the growing veterinary medicine industry. In addition, the rising demand for NSAIDs in the emerging economies of Asia Pacific and Latin America is also expected to boost the demand for phenylbutazone over the coming years. However, the high availability of substitutes and the heavy restrictions imposed on the use of phenylbutazone could hamper the growth of this market. Harpagophytum can replace phenylbutazone for treatment of fever and pain in horses.Request TOC of the Report @Global Phenylbutazone Market: Geographical PerspectiveAsia Pacific is expected to be the leading consumer of phenylbutazone in the world, followed by North America and Europe. China and India are the top consumers of phenylbutazone in Asia Pacific due to presence of highly established end users. Phenylbutazone manufacturers from developed economies are also shifting their base to emerging ones due to the greater availability of government subsidies, land, cheap labor, and a more relaxed regulatory framework. Mongolia, the Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand are expected to be key consumers of phenylbutazone in the future. North America and Europe are expected to experience a moderate rate of growth in demand. The demand for phenylbutazone is also expected to increase in Latin American nations due to an increasing demand for veterinary drugs, namely in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Peru.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Global Phenylbutazone Market: Players Mentioned in the ReportSome of the leaders in the global phenylbutazone market so far, have been Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc., Hangzhou Hyper Chemicals Limited, Baoji Guokang Bio-Technology Co., Ltd., Wuhan Yitongtai Science and Technology Co., Ltd., Afine Chemicals Limited, Shanghai Win-Win Biochemical Co., Ltd., Shaanxi TOP Pharm Chemical Co., Ltd., Hangzhou Hyper Chemicals Limited, Hangzhou Ruijiang Chemical Co., Ltd., Dalian Launcher Fine Chemical Co., Ltd., Croma Life Science Pvt. Ltd., Swati Chemicals, Suchem Laboratories, Uni-med India, Afton Pharma, and Hefei TNJ Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com The Walt Ranch vineyard project in the hills between Napa and Lake Berryessa won a victory in Napa County Superior Court, but that apparently wont be the last legal word. Walt Ranch involves creating 209 acres of vineyard blocks and a total 316-acre disturbed area on a 2,300-acre property. It has become a flashpoint in battles over vineyard development in the agricultural watershed, with opponents saying it will hurt wildlife, cut down trees and sap groundwater supplies. Judge Thomas Warriner on March 8 ruled in favor of Napa County, which approved the Walt Ranch erosion control plan in 2016. His ruling addressed three separate lawsuits, one by Living Rivers Council, one by Circle Oaks Homes Association and Circle Oaks County Water District and one by the Center for Biological Diversity and Sierra Club. Were grateful to the court for its decision, said Mike Reynolds of Walt Ranch. Generally, I think its a reflection of the extensive work Napa County put in over a decade that analyzed all of the potential impacts and made sure that the project was as sensitive to the environment as possible. Local environmentalist Chris Malan on Tuesday said Living Rivers Council will appeal the courts decision. Its too important, she said. Phthalocyanine Pigments Market Latest Trend,Future Growth & Forecast by 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=124 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=124 https://www.tmrresearch.com/phthalocyanine-pigments-market Global Phthalocyanine Pigments Market: SnapshotPhthalocyanine is an organic pigment and thus, the healthy growth of the global market for organic pigments is providing a significant momentum to the global phthalocyanine pigments market. The flourishing growth of end-user industries such as textiles, packaging, printing inks, and coatings is augmenting the global phthalocyanine pigments market. In addition to this, the recovery of the global economy from the economic downturn which happened in the last decade is providing a push to several industries worldwide, including automotive. With the automotive sector being one of the key consumers of phthalocyanine pigments, the expansion of the industry is positively impacting the growth of the market.On the other hand, the manufacturing of phthalocyanines pigments involves limited profit margins, owing to fierce competition from lower-priced imports. This is impelling manufacturers to shift towards substitutes such as inorganic pigments and high performance pigments, which are known to offer higher profit margins. Moreover, while developing regions are offering fertile grounds for the growth of the market, developed regions are likely to exhibit sluggish growth rates. The production capacities in industrialized countries such as the U.S., Japan, and several countries in Europe are anticipated to register downward trend due to globalization and declining profit margins resulting in plant restructurings and shutdowns.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Nevertheless, constant innovation and technological advancements pertaining to the production processes of phthalocyanine pigments are estimated to open new avenues for players in the market. On the basis of product type, the global phthalocyanine pigments market can be segmented into green and blue.Global Phthalocyanine Pigments Market: OverviewThe global phthalocyanine pigments market comprises metallic complexes with a diverse array of applications. The five polymorphic crystal types are beta phthalocyanine, epsilon phthalocyanine, alpha phthalocyanine, gamma phthalocyanine, and delta phthalocyanine. Only beta and alpha phthalocyanine pigments have so far been commercialized. Phthalocyanine pigments form coordination complexes with a lot of elements. These complexes are intensely colored and are commonly used as dyes or pigments. However, phthalocyanine pigments consist of smaller primary particles that have a tendency to flocculate, resulting in a loss of overall color strength.Global Phthalocyanine Pigments Market: Leading ApplicationsPhthalocyanine pigments have applications in photovoltaics, ink manufacture, and quantum computing. They can also be used in coatings and plastic coloring due to their excellent chemical stability. It is currently a standard pigment in the packaging industry and in the manufacture of printing inks. Phthalocyanine pigments have low solubility rate in organic solvents and many of their compounds are thermally stable. They do not melt but can be sublimed in the presence of inert gases. Phthalocyanine pigments are structurally similar to porphyrins and other macrocyclic pigments. Either pigment types hold four pyrrole-like subunits that are joined together to form a ring with 16 members. Phthalocyanine pigments can also be used for organic solar cell research in photovoltaic industry or even in quantum computing due to the length of time its electrons can exist in a state of quantum superposition.Request TOC of the Report @The global phthalocyanine pigments market ultimately depends on its principal end user, the textiles industry, for revenue. The demand can also come from a growing consumer preference for environmental friendly color pigments as well as the capability of phthalocyanine pigments to meet the increasingly stringent government regulations and performance standards. The increasing demand from emerging economies of Asia Pacific is expected to boost consumption of phthalocyanine pigments over the coming years. However, the global phthalocyanine pigments market is currently being stifled by raw material price volatility and high production costs.Global Phthalocyanine Pigments Market: Regional AnalysisAsia Pacific is expected to lead the global phthalocyanine pigments market in terms of growth rate in revenue generation and demand in the coming years, due to a rapidly expanding manufacturing base and a thriving economy. There has been a migration of manufacturing facilitates from the U.S. and Europe to the emerging markets of Asia Pacific due to the stringent environmental regulations in the former regions. China is likely to continue to be an exceptionally fruitful market for phthalocyanine pigments players due to its high consumption rate in the local textile industry. Over the years, China has emerged as the leader in manufactur and consumption of phthalocyanine pigments. India is expected to come second in the Asia Pacific phthalocyanine pigments market due to government concessions to small and medium sized establishment. In addition, the industry has witnessed massive export opportunities because of shutting down of manufacturing facilities in the Europe and U.S. following strict enforcement of environment regulations by the government.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Global Phthalocyanine Pigments Market: Competitive LandscapeSome of the key players in this market are Vibfast Pigments Pvt. Ltd., Sinocolor Chemical, BASF, Kiri Industries Ltd., CPS Color AG, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Flint Group, Huntsman Corporation, LANXESS AG, Rockwood Holdings Inc., Unilex Colours & Chemicals Limited, Sudarshan Chemicals, ECKART GmbH, Clariant International Ltd., Jagson Colorchem Limited, Royce Associates, and Atul Ltd.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Telesurgery Market Higher Mortality Rates during 2017-2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=129 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=129 https://www.tmrresearch.com/telesurgery-market Global Telesurgery Market: SnapshotRobot-assisted surgery is a vital element of telesurgery and has gained traction among surgeons in performing complicated surgeries, particularly laparoscopic surgery. Telesurgery or remote surgery offers several potential advantages over conventional surgical processes. Its use has transformed the delivery of patient care in places that severely lacks access to facilities owing to geographical or time constraints. Telesurgery typically employs miniscule robotic manipulators controlled by clinicians to accommodate the direction and force of required hand movements. The objective is to reproduce the same hand same sensitivity of the surgeons sitting remotely to gain small access to organs, but with more preciseness and less pain. The application of telesurgery in minimally-invasive surgeries offers clear benefits such as 3D vision, ergonomic design to enable several degrees of freedom in hand motion, and reduced immunity perturbation.Request Sample Copy of the Report @The telesurgery market is still in developmental phase and the goal of performing successful surgery from remote distances is fraught with several constraints, most notably technological. Advances in information and communication technology (ICT) has to a great extent augmented the velocity of data transmission and enhanced reliability, thereby boosting surgical outcomes. Improvements in high-bandwidth fiber-optic services have significantly reduced latency, improved tactile feedback, and increased audiovisual fidelity. Furthermore, constant improvements are being made in the robotics technology to reduce the dependency on human interventions, which will help limiting surgical errors and lessening complications. The favorable learning curve is one of the substantial gains for clinicians. Further advances in the ICT used in telesurgery will allow several organizations to share clinical data, incorporate surgical training, and effect consultations in a globalized manner. This will enhance the cost-effectiveness of telesurgical procedures, bolstering adoption across the healthcare industry.Global Telesurgery Market: Brief OverviewTelesurgery, commonly known as remote surgery, is an advanced technology that helps the doctors in performing a surgical procedure without being physically present in the operation theater. Telesurgery is achieved employing technologically advanced robots that execute preferred purposes with the help of preinstalled programs and a high-speed communication technology. The foundation of telesurgery is based on the principle of robotics and advanced communication technology. Surgical robots comprise a master console, one or multiple surgical arms, and an advanced sensory system. Generally, with the use of management information system technology and communication technology, a surgeon controls the functions of the surgical robots that perform the surgery. In spite the technology being innovative and dependable in nature, a surgeon is always present with the telesurgery system to control the malfunctions of the systems and further address complications.Request TOC of the Report @The market intelligence report is a comprehensive review of the growth trail in terms of current, historical, and future scenarios of the global telesurgery market. It offers an evaluation of the aspects that are expected to influence the development of the market and the primary trends have also been specified in the research study. The research study also offers a broad lookout on the vendor landscape of the market through Porters five forces analysis. The research publication provides references of mergers and acquisitions, the research and development activities, specifics on licensing and collaborations. The report probes into the strategies related to marketing, shares, and product portfolio of the key participants in the global telesurgery market.Global Telesurgery Market: Key TrendsThe telesurgery market is anticipated to display exponential growth over the forecast period. The growth of the market can be attributed to factors such as rising number of surgeries across the globe, time and cost efficiency, growing prevalence of chronic diseases such as cancer, orthopedic diseases, and increasing innovations in technology. A large number of surgeries worldwide is considered as one of the most valuable factors contributing to the market growth of the global telesurgery market. For instance, according to the U.S. Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (C.D.C.), over 51 million surgeries were performed in the U.S. in 2010.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @On the basis of applications, the market has been classified into pediatric surgeries, gynecological operations, esophageal fundoplication, pancreatectomy, liver transplant, liver resection, cardiothoracic surgeries, and cancer surgery.Global Telesurgery Market: Geographical AnalysisRegion-wise the global telesurgery market has been segmented into Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and the Rest of the World. Currently, North America is leading the market with the maximum number of shares owing to rising technological advancements and growing incidences of chronic diseases, such as cancer, orthopedic diseases, and liver disorders. Nevertheless, Europe and some of the countries in Asia-Pacific such as India, Japan, Australia, and China are projected to exhibit lucrative growth in the upcoming years owing to incessantly growing technological innovations and rising surgical practices.Global Telesurgery Market: Insight into Key ParticipantsPrime companies engaged in the development and commercialization of the telesurgery system are TransEnterix, Inc. (Flex Ligating Shears advanced energy device), Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (da Vinci surgical system), and SRI Intentional (M7) among others.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Survey: Calcined Petroleum Coke Market Forecast 2018-2025 Oxbow, Aminco Resource, Aluminium Bahrain Calcined Petroleum Coke Market http://bit.ly/2G4E3tG https://www.globeinforesearch.com/report/global-calcined-petroleum-coke-market-404 https://www.globeinforesearch.com/ Calcined Petroleum Coke Market Research 2018Globel Info Research Recently added detailed market study on the "Global Calcined Petroleum Coke Market" Research Report 2018-2025 which provides an outlook of current market value of Calcined Petroleum Coke Market as well as the expected forecast of Rate on Investment (ROI) with growing CAGR of XX% in Calcined Petroleum Coke Market by the end of 2025. The report on the global Calcined Petroleum Coke market uses the top-down and bottom-up approaches to define, analyze, and describe the Calcined Petroleum Coke market 2018 trends for the next five years up to 2025.Globel Info Research added latest industry research report Calcined Petroleum Coke Market Outlook" focuses on Industry News, Size, Share, Growth Rate, Strategies, Market Position, Trends Across The World. This report on the Global Calcined Petroleum Coke Market 2018 provides extremely useful and in-depth perception of the worldwide industry and it covers all the aspects which are highly important in deciding the future of Calcined Petroleum Coke industry. This report is an accurate research of the Global Calcined Petroleum Coke industry which features the latest technological enhancements, new opening, modern industrial issues and advancements, future policy alterations and all basic and important information about the market.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Calcined Petroleum Coke Market 2018 : Oxbow, Aminco Resource, Aluminium Bahrain, Asbury Carbons, Atha Group, Carbograf, RAIN CII CARBON, Minmat Ferro Alloys, OthersCalcined Petroleum Coke Market : By Type Needle Coke, Shot Coke, Sponge Coke, Honeycomb Coke, OthersCalcined Petroleum Coke Market : By Application Aluminum Industry, Steel Industry, Titanium Industry, Other ApplicationThe Global Calcined Petroleum Coke Market Provides comprehensive understanding of the market with the help of Calcined Petroleum Coke market outlook, opportunities, challenges, trends, Calcined Petroleum Coke Market size, share and growth, competitive analysis, major competitors and Porter analysis. Calcined Petroleum Coke market report further provides production, capacity, Calcined Petroleum Coke market price per region, gross margin for all major regions and countries listed in Calcined Petroleum Coke report.The report is very much made with charts, graphs, and practical figures which show the status of the particular Calcined Petroleum Coke industry on the global and regional stage. The execution and features of the Calcined Petroleum Coke market are assessed in view of the quantitative and qualitative techniques to give a clear picture of the present and future forecast trend.Browse Full Report:Finally, Calcined Petroleum Coke 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:"GlobeInfoResearch.com" 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 75244, USAWeb:Email: sales@globeinforesearch.com Enrol for the best corporate courses in London Business Training and Consulting institute! https://www.lbtc.co.uk/ LBTCs training possess quality and systematic training. Our wide range of training courses will provide you with every necessity and challenge you face in workplace. Our training courses are tailored in such a manner that goes well with the rising and changing demands of this world. Updated programs will really keep you updated and you will have a professional touch in your work. We are also involved with various services relating to business consultancy. 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You will love to take up our courses as you will realise the benefits every day at your working environment.About usLBTC, London Business Training and Consulting is a recognised training company offering you with latest corporate courses.CONTACT- 442038597711ADDRESS- SEVEN PANCRAS SQUARE BOULEVARD LONDONLondon Business Training and Consulting 2017 is an established training institute providing customised and quality training to management teams. Over 500 specialised open courses are offered here to enable quality and smooth functioning. Strategic management training is offered along with various leadership, soft skills, grooming, language, operations and finance courses.Seven Pancras Square, 7 Kings Boulevard, Kings Cross, London N1C 4AG, United Kingdom, Retail Banking Country Snapshot: Singapore Reportsweb http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00020377/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00020377/buying ReportsWeb.com published Retail Banking Market from its database. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Publishers Retail Banking Market Insights: Country Snapshot Singapore is a review of the retail banking sector in Singapore, with a particular focus on the current account, savings, mortgage, and personal loan markets. It includes both market-level data and insight from our global consumer survey.-Overview of Singapores banking sector-Insight into consumer preferences in Singapore and the reasons for taking out financial products and how this has evolved in recent years.-Understanding around the main providers dominating the current account, savings, mortgage, and loan markets and the different factors persuading customers to choose them-Examination of the extent to which consumers are using online and mobile channels to research, take out, and use their financial products.Get Free Sample CopyReport SummarySingapore has an advanced financial services market. Consumers are generally conservative in choosing a provider, with a bias towards those they perceive to offer financial stability and a longstanding reputation. Singaporean consumers prefer the branch for nearly all of their banking requirements. NPS scores are low across all four products compared with other markets in the region. Channel usage patterns indicate that Singaporean consumers are less engaged with their banks than consumers in other regional markets.Key Finding-Consumers in Singapore place a high value on trust in relationships with financial services providers, which also heavily influences their choice of provider. Advocacy among consumers is low and Singaporeans are not likely to pay much attention to recommendations when deciding on a provider or product.-Singaporeans have a high propensity to save, but unlike consumers in other markets are not inclined to choose their existing current account provider for their savings account. Mortgage product features commonly included payment holidays and the ability to offset against savings, reflecting socio-cultural attitudes of self-reliance and individual responsibility and the high level of saving among consumers.-In general Singaporeans often prefer to use local financial services providers, which is an impediment for foreign banks. However, loans are the only product where Singaporeans are not concerned about the origin of the provider. This is evident from the fact that Citibank holds 11% of loans that are issued by traditional banks with a branch presence.Inquire before Buying@Reason to Buy-Futureproof your strategy with market sizing, forecasts, and analysis of key developments currently affecting Singapores retail banking sector.-Target consumers with inside knowledge of their true behaviors and attitudes, with detailed analysis from our proprietary insight.-Learn about the impact new entrants and distribution channels will have on the marketCompanies Mentioned:POSBDBSOCBC BankUOBStandard CharteredAbout ReportsWeb:ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queriesPune:505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028 Latest Report on: Natural Manganese Dioxide Market 2018-2025 BHP Billiton, Assmang, Eramet Comilog Natural Manganese Dioxide Market Forecast 2018 https://goo.gl/nnWCsJ http://qyresearchstore.com/global-natural-manganese-dioxide-market-manufacturers-2018-review-size-and-forecast-2023/ A market study "Global Natural Manganese Dioxide Market" examines the performance of the Natural Manganese Dioxide market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Natural Manganese Dioxide market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Natural Manganese Dioxide market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Natural Manganese Dioxide Market 2018 report includes Natural Manganese Dioxide market Revenue, market Share, Natural Manganese Dioxide industry volume, market Trends, Natural Manganese Dioxide Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report. It shows manufacturing capacity, Natural Manganese Dioxide Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Natural Manganese Dioxide Market 2018 : BHP Billiton Assmang Eramet Comilog Vale Manmohan Minerals OM Holdings MnChemical GeorgiaNatural Manganese Dioxide Market : By ApplicationGlass and CeramicsBatteriesWater Treatment&PurificationNatural Manganese Dioxide Market : By TypePurity of 20%~35%Purity of 35%~80%Firstly, the report covers the top Natural Manganese Dioxide manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Natural Manganese Dioxide report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Natural Manganese Dioxide industry, Natural Manganese Dioxide industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Natural Manganese Dioxide Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Natural Manganese Dioxide 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 Natural Manganese Dioxide market revenue worldwide.Finally, Natural Manganese Dioxide 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 Usqyresearchstore.com is a leading market intelligence team which making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact US:5001 Spring Valley Rd #400,Dallas,TX 75244, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Email: sales@qyresearchstore.com Latest Report on: Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater Market 2018-2025 A.O. Smith, Bosch, Noritz Corporation Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater Market Forecast 2018 https://goo.gl/KJ1eH4 http://qyresearchstore.com/global-natural-gas-tankless-water-heater-market-manufacturers-2018-review-size-and-forecast-2023/ A market study "Global Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater Market" examines the performance of the Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater Market 2018 report includes Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater market Revenue, market Share, Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater industry volume, market Trends, Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report. It shows manufacturing capacity, Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater Market 2018 :1. A.O. Smith Corporation2. Bosch3. Bradford White Corporation4. Noritz Corporation5. Rheem Manufacturing Company6. Rinnai7. Crompton Greaves Ltd.8. Eccotemp Systems9. Electrolux10. Heat Transfer Products Inc.11. Reliance Water Heater Company12. Rinnai13. Midea GroupNatural Gas Tankless Water Heater Market : By ApplicationResidentialCommercialOther ApplicationsNatural Gas Tankless Water Heater Market : By TypeSmallMediumLargeFirstly, the report covers the top Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater industry, Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater 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 Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater market revenue worldwide.Finally, Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater 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 Usqyresearchstore.com is a leading market intelligence team which making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact US:5001 Spring Valley Rd #400,Dallas,TX 75244, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Email: sales@qyresearchstore.com Connected Medical Devices Market Strategy and Industry Demand Analysis 2017 to 2021 ReportsWeb http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011300668/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011300668/discount http://www.reportsweb.com/global-connected-medical-devices-market-2017-2021 Connected medical devices, as the name suggests, are medical devices that have wired or wireless connectivity through which data is transferred to information systems such as electronic health record (EHR), mobile devices such as smartphones, or to other medical devices. Connected medical devices include wearable medical devices such as activity trackers and sleep apnea monitors; physiological monitors such as weighing scales, pulse oximeters, blood pressure meters, ventilators, heart rate monitors, blood glucose meters, and thermometers; and capital-intensive devices, which include medical implants such as implantable loop recorders (ILRs), pacemakers, neurostimulator implants, and medical imaging devices such as X-ray, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and computed tomography (CT) scanners.Publisher's analysts forecast the global connected medical devices market to grow at a CAGR of 9.24% during the period 2017-2021.Get Sample Copy atCovered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global connected medical devices market for 2017-2021. The report presents a detailed picture of the market by way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:-Americas-APAC-EMEAPublisher's report, Global Connected Medical Devices Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendors-Fitbit-GE Healthcare-Medtronic-OMRON Corporation-Philips HealthcareGet Discount on ReportOther prominent vendors-Abbott-AgaMatrix-Boston Scientific Corporation-Dexcom-F. Hoffmann-La Roche-Garmin-iHealth Labs (subsidiary of Andon Health)-Jawbone-Johnson & Johnson-LabStyle Innovations-LifeWatch-McKesson Corporation-Nokia-Polar Electro-True Wearables-TupeloLifeTable of ContentsPART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARYPART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORTPART 03: RESEARCH METHODOLOGYPART 04: MARKET LANDSCAPEPART 05: MARKET SIZINGPART 06: FIVE FORCES ANALYSISPART 07: MARKET SEGMENTATIONPART 08: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPEPART 09: REGIONAL LANDSCAPEPART 10: DECISION FRAMEWORKPART 11: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGESPART 12: MARKET TRENDSPART 13: VENDOR LANDSCAPEPART 14: VENDOR ANALYSISPART 15: APPENDIXFor More Information about This Report:Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Pune, India Glass Additives Market to Register Steady Expansion During 2015 - 2025 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-374 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-374 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com Market OverviewGlass is one of the most common containing material used in various industries, and advancements in the use of glass have provided considerable impetus on the importance of glass additives. The transparency of basic glass materials has led to the need for colouring them for the purpose of classification, which has influenced the demand for various glass additives. The rising need for coloured opaque glass that is thick, durable and has higher reactive stability will endure the demand for quality glass additive materials. The use of metal additives to improve the conductivity of glass vessels has also resulted a surge in demand for glass additives from healthcare, pharmaceuticals and chemicals industries. Moreover, technological developments such as using inorganic compound called lanthanum oxide as an additive that boosts strength and enhances refractive index of glass materials have incited the demand in the global market for glass additives.Global Glass Additives Market: Drivers & RestraintsThe prime factor driving the growth of the global glass additives market is the extensive use of glass in fibre optics, electronics, and consumer goods. As a result, the demand for additives that help differentiate and enhance the glass materials has bourgeoned. Besides this, the other key factors influencing the growth of the glass additives market include,A sample of this report is available upon request @The Influence of Nanoparticle TechnologyThe scientific developments in nanoparticle and chemical technologies has resulted in the higher adoption of nanoparticle additives that supplement the insulation factor of glass materials. Reduction of the glass bubbles to provide low resistance sea bottom drilling is one of the most recent example of the use of nanoparticles-based additive, which has fuelled the demand in the global market.Rising Consumption of Glass as Packaging MaterialGlass materials are extensively used in the food & beverages sector, and have been the most-preferred packaging material for soft drinks and edible semi-fluids. In pharmaceuticals industry as well, glass is perceived to be one of the most reliable type of packaging material. The demand for enhanced additive substances is expected to surge, owing to the need for upgrading the strength and the sustainability of glass against reactive substances.The pervasive use of glass particles in electrical and electronic devices has increased the demand for additives that reinforce specific features into the glass material. However, the growth of the global market for glass additives is being limited, owing to the restraints such as,Growing adoption of plastic as an inexpensive alternative to glass.Relatively low costs of plastic additives.Unavailability of rare earth metals which are used as crucial glass additive materials.Glass Additives: Market StratificationThe global market for glass additives can be generally classified into the type of glass additives, which include metal alloys, nanoparticles, polymers and rare earth metals. Based on the application of glass additives, the market is primarily differentiated into silicate glass manufacturing, 3D printing, aerodynamic levitation, glass transition, and customisation of tableware, lamps and eye glasses, among others. Also, the market can be classified based upon the basic chemical elements used as glass additives, which include iron, manganese, sulphur, nickel, titanium, chromium, uranium and other rare earth metals.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Global Glass Additives Market: Regional OutlookAmong the key geographical regions in the world, the global market for glass additives is anticipating higher growth in the Asia Pacific region. The high manufacturing capacity of glass makes the APAC region lucrative for the growth of the glass additives market. North America is also expected to be a key leading region, owing to the consumption levels of glass in healthcare and pharmaceuticals sector. The electronics and automobile industry is Europe is also projected to boost the demand for glass additives that provide thermal and electrical insulation.Leading Companies in Global Glass Additives MarketThe use of additives has helped glass manufacturers to put forth tough competition in the production businesses. Reduction of costs and energy efficiency derived from the use of glass additives will continue to encourage the expansion of the leading companies in the global glass additives market. BASF SE, DuPont, Torrecid Group, Bayer Material Science, Nanobase among others, are observed as the key players dominating the global market for glass additives.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Abhishek BudholiyaFuture Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Oil Field Bio-solvents Market Size, Share, Growth, Opportunities and Forecast to 2021 ReportsWeb http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011283197/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011283197/discount http://www.reportsweb.com/global-oil-field-bio-solvents-market-2017-2021 Oilfield bio solvents are solvents rendered from renewable resources of biological origin such as fruits, plants, and others. They are mainly found in liquid form and have low carbon content. Some of the important oilfield bio solvents are hydrocarbons, ester, ether, alcohols, glycol, and others. Oilfield bio solvents are employed to prevent the impact of volatile organic compounds (VOC) on the environment. The derivation of bio solvents from renewable resources makes oilfield bio solvents show high performance as carrier solvents, formulating ingredients, and cleaning solvents. Oilfield bio solvents demonstrate the excellent ability of solvating pigments, resins, and oils and greases in different oilfield applications.Publisher's analysts forecast the global oil field bio-solvents market to grow at a CAGR of 4.12% during the period 2017-2021.Get Sample Copy atCovered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global oil field bio-solvents market for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the retail selling price as the average selling price of the product.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:-Americas-APAC-EMEAPublisher's report, Global Oil Field Bio-solvents market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendors-Ashburn Chemical Technologies-Croda-The Dow Chemical Company-Stephan CompanyGet Discount on ReportMarket driver-Increasing demand for environment-friendly products-For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challenge-Variations pertaining to the availability of raw materials for bio-based solvents-For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trend-Increasing commercialization of bio solvents-For a full, detailed list, view our reportTable of ContentsPART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARYPART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORTPART 03: RESEARCH METHODOLOGYPART 04: MARKET LANDSCAPEPART 05: MARKET SIZINGPART 06: FIVE FORCES ANALYSISPART 07: MARKET SEGMENTATIONPART 08: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPEPART 09: REGIONAL LANDSCAPEPART 10: DECISION FRAMEWORKPART 11: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGESPART 12: MARKET TRENDSPART 13: VENDOR LANDSCAPEPART 14: VENDOR ANALYSISPART 15: APPENDIXFor More Information about This Report:Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Pune, India Get ready to laugh it up comedian Amy Poehler is coming to town. Poehler recently announced she will make her feature directorial debut with Wine Country, a comedy about longtime friends who go to Napa Valley for the weekend to celebrate a 50th birthday. And while Hollywood could surely come up with some lookalike scenery, Poehler and a crew of several hundred plan to film some of the movie in Napa Valley including two days in Calistoga. Thats according to Calistoga Mayor Chris Canning. Canning said hes met with a production team representing Netflix twice so far. They will be filming up and down Napa Valley but also on Lincoln Avenue in his town, said Canning. During a recent production team visit, staffers talked to some of the businesses located on Lincoln Avenue about possibly filming in or around those merchants. They are still refining which shops they could include in the filming, said Canning. I dont know who theyve talked to yet, but those merchants would include businesses on Lincoln Avenue between Washington Street and Fair Way on both sides of the street. Latest Report on: Nail Clippers Market 2018-2025 RIMEI, THREE SEVEN, KAI, Zwilling Nail Clippers Market Forecast and Growth 2018 https://goo.gl/8wqEFv http://qyresearchstore.com/global-nail-clippers-market-manufacturers-2018-review-size-and-forecast-2023/ A market study "Global Nail Clippers Market" examines the performance of the Nail Clippers market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Nail Clippers market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Nail Clippers market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Nail Clippers Market 2018 report includes Nail Clippers market Revenue, market Share, Nail Clippers industry volume, market Trends, Nail Clippers Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report. It shows manufacturing capacity, Nail Clippers Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Nail Clippers Market 2018 :1. RIMEI2. THREE SEVEN3. KAI4. Zwilling5. Zhangxiaoquan6. Stallen7. Greenbell8. Nghia Nippers9. Klhip10. Wuesthof11. Victorinox12. Suwada13. Bocas14. Kowell15. Boyou16. Kooba17. ClipPro18. Gebrueder Nippes19. KobosNail Clippers Market : By ApplicationHuman BeingsAnimalsNail Clippers Market : By TypeNail ClippersNail NippersNail ScissorsFirstly, the report covers the top Nail Clippers manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Nail Clippers report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Nail Clippers industry, Nail Clippers industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Nail Clippers Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Nail Clippers 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 Nail Clippers market revenue worldwide.Finally, Nail Clippers 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 Usqyresearchstore.com is a leading market intelligence team which making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact US:5001 Spring Valley Rd #400,Dallas,TX 75244, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Email: sales@qyresearchstore.com Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem Market,Future Opportunities, Segmentation, Latest Trend, Top Manufactures, Business Growth & Key Players like Mt.Gox, Butterfly labs, Coinbase, Coinsetter, BitPay, Avalon, BitcoinX, Nvidia ReportsWeb http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011750093/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011750093/discount http://www.reportsweb.com/buy&RW00011750093/buy/3600 Global Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem Market Size Status and Forecast 2025The objective of the report is to compile valuable market information and present to readers the opportunities and threats of the market. The report breaks down segments in the Global bitcoin payments ecosystem market size status and forecast 2025 market in an accurate manner to present insightful insights about the factors fostering and holding back growth.Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency and worldwide payment system.It is the first decentralized digital currency, as the system works without a central bank or single administrator. The network is peer-to-peer and transactions take place between users directly, without an intermediary. These transactions are verified by network nodes through the use of cryptography and recorded in a public distributed ledger called a blockchain.Get sample copy of this report:Top Manufacturers: Mt.Gox, Butterfly labs, Coinbase, Coinsetter, BitPay, Avalon, BitcoinX, Nvidia, ATI, Bitcoin Foundation, PayFast, Bitcoinpay, CoinPayments, CoinGate, Stripe, ChangeCoin, Inc., Kraken, OKCoin, SquareMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoSMELarge EnterpriseGet Discount of this report:The report on the Global bitcoin payments ecosystem market size status and forecast 2022 market studies market indicators that are important to present revenue projections over the forecast period. The report presents a complete analysis of vital market indicators that market stakeholders can leverage to formulate business strategies. Moreover, the market study segregates the Global bitcoin payments ecosystem market size status and forecast 2022 market into various categories to present a 360 degree overview of the said market and also to present a clear picture of development trends in the market. The exclusive details of the market provided in the report can be useful for market players to foresee their position in the coming years.Table of Content:2018-2025 Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem Report on Global and United States Market, Status and Forecast, by Players, Types and Applications1 Industry Overview of Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem2 Global Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem Competition Analysis by Players3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 Mt.Gox3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem Revenue (Value) (2013-2018)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 Butterfly labs3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem Revenue (Value) (2013-2018)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 Coinbase3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem Revenue (Value) (2013-2018)3.3.5 Recent Developments4 Global Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem Market Size by Application (2013-2018)5 United States Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem Development Status and Outlook6 EU Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem Development Status and Outlook7 Japan Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem Development Status and Outlook8 China Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem Development Status and Outlook9 India Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem Development Status and Outlook10 Southeast Asia Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem Development Status and Outlook11 Market Forecast by Regions and Application (2018-2025)12 Bitcoin Payments Ecosystem Market DynamicsComplete Report:Contact Info:Name: Sameer JoshiEmail: sales@reportsweb.comCompany Name: ReportsWebWebsite: Reportsweb.comPhone: +1-646-491-9876ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.533, 5th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028 Desserts Packaging Market Has Shown A Healthy Growth in Recent Years https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=28775 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/desserts-packaging-market.html https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Global food market is very much diversified when it comes to offerings. A lot of innovations and explorations happened in this segment, particularly the packaging formats preferred for different food categories. Recent trends in desserts market shows, children between 6 to 12 years age appears to be the top consumers of desserts. Persons above 55 are the second largest group to consume desserts. Desserts has to be packed and stored properly, otherwise they will get spoil due to microbial activities including growth of fungi. Protection from spoilage is just one aspect of desserts packaging. Other aspects are presentation and attraction. Glass jars, plastic bowls, paperboard boxes, metal containers are majorly used in desserts packaging. Desserts packaging market is growing rapidly due to increasing disposable income and rising population. A person on an average consume desserts 2 to 3 times per week. Desserts packaging market has shown a healthy growth in recent years.Obtain Brochure@Desserts Packaging Market: Market DynamicsRapidly increasing consumption of desserts anticipated to be the major driver of desserts packaging market. Constantly growing adoption of desserts in everyday food consumption conducts, especially in highly populated regions such as Asia Pacific and Europe is propagating the demand of dessert packaging. Growing per capita expenditure on food in emerging markets is translating to the growing demand of desserts ultimately driving the demand of packaging of desserts. Furthermore, growing array of packed desserts and increasing percolation of organized retail obliging manufacturers to use packaging as a tool to maintain & improves shelf life and safety of deserts ultimately driving the demand for the deserts packaging across the globe. Moreover, rising health consciousness is anticipated to be the major restraint affecting the demand of dessert packaging market in general. Volatile raw material prices also act as restraint for the growth of desserts packaging market as packaging of desserts becomes inflated in some regions where availability of packaging is the major restrain for the desserts manufacturers. Dessert packaging manufacturers also face the similar problem with feed stock suppliers who are also the large players. Growing world population and growing per capita income levels in emerging markets like India, Mexico, Brazil, China and others offers lucrative opportunities for the growth of desserts packaging market.Desserts Packaging Market: Market SegmentationThe global desserts packaging market can be segmented based on material, application, product type and packaging technology. Based on material the global desserts packaging market can be segmented into plastic (PE, PP, PA, PET and PS), glass, metal and paper & paperboard. Based on application desserts packaging market is segmented into frozen desserts, chilled desserts and shelf stable desserts. Based on product type dessert packaging market is segmented into pouches, stick packs & sachets, boxes, bags, jars and others. Based on packaging technology the global desserts packaging market is segmented into MAP packaging, skin packaging and others.Obtain Report Details @Desserts Packaging Market: Regional outlookDesserts packaging market has been segmented on the basis of region into North America, Latin America Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), Middle East & Africa (MEA), and Japan. North America is expected to represent highest market share in global desserts packaging market. Emerging markets in APEJ, MEA and Latin America are major contributors for the growth of desserts packaging Market. Furthermore, Asia Pacific is anticipated to be the fastest growing region owing to the growing manufacturing proximity of global players and high consumer demand in the region. While, Middle East and Africa are also anticipated to see lucrative growth opportunities as the region is witnessing rapidly evolving living standards of consumers in the region.Desserts Packaging Market: Key playersSome of the players in the global desserts packaging market are American Packaging Corporation, Bemis Company Inc., Coveris Holdings S.A, D.S. Smith Plc, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, International Paper Company, Mondi Plc, RockTenn Company, Silgan holdings Inc., Smurfit Kappa Group, Amcor Limited, Sealed Air Corporation, Crown Holdings Inc.About TMRTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: India Power Market Trends, Regulations and Competitive Landscape Outlook to 2030 http://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/2431236-india-power-market-outlook-to-2030-update-2017-market-trends-regulations https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/2431236-india-power-market-outlook-to-2030-update-2017-market-trends-regulations OverviewThis report elaborates India's power market structure and provides historical and forecast numbers for capacity, generation, and consumption up to 2030. Detailed analysis of the India power markets regulatory structure, import and export trends, competitive landscape, and power projects at various stages of the supply chain is provided. The report also gives a snapshot of the power sector in India on broad parameters of macroeconomics, supply security, generation infrastructure, transmission infrastructure, degree of competition, regulatory scenario, and future potential. An analysis of the deals market scenario in the countrys power sector is also included in the report.Click here for sample report @Major Scope of the report:- Snapshot of the countrys power sector across parameters - macro economics, supply security, generation infrastructure, transmission infrastructure, degree of competition, regulatory scenario and future potential of the power sector.- Statistics for installed capacity, power generation and consumption from 2000 to 2016, forecast for the next 14 years to 2030.- Break-up by technology, including thermal, hydro, renewable and nuclear- Data on leading current and upcoming projects.- Information on grid interconnectivity, transmission and distribution infrastructure and power exports and imports.- Policy and regulatory framework governing the market.- Detailed analysis of top market participant, including market share analysis and SWOT analysis.Table of Contents1 Table of Contents 21.1 List of Tables 51.2 List of Figures 62 Executive Summary 72.1 India, Power Sector Outlook 73 Introduction 103.1 GlobalData Report Guidance 114 India, Power Market, Snapshot 124.1 Macroeconomic Factors 124.2 Supply Security 134.3 Opportunities 144.4 Challenges 155 India, Power Market, Market Analysis 165.1 India, Power Market, Market Structure 165.2 India, Power Market, Key Market Players 165.3 India, Power Market, Financial Deals 175.3.1 Deal Value and Volume Analysis, 2004-March 2017 175.3.2 Deals by Type, 2016 195.4 India, Power Market, Demand Structure 205.4.1 Power Consumption by Sector, 2016 22.ContinuedFor Detailed Reading Please visit @Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available. We also provide COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) business sector reports as custom exploration agreeing your particular needs.WISEGUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India Global Lactose Free Foods Market 2018 - Alpro, Valio, Cargill Inc, Johnson and Johnson Global Lactose Free Foods Market http://cutt.us/qPEC2 http://cutt.us/GTPiv www.apexmarketreports.com Apex Market Reports, recently published a detailed market research study focused on the Lactose Free Foods Market across the global, regional and country level. The report provides 360 analysis of Lactose Free Foods Market from view of manufacturers, regions, product types and end industries. The research report analyses and provides the historical data along with current performance of the global PP Pipe industry, and estimates the future trend of Lactose Free Foods on the basis of this detailed study. The study shares Lactose Free Foods performance both in terms of volume and revenue.The market research report explores the Lactose Free Foods Market across the globe along with major regions and countries. The research report provides a detailed study on each and every aspect of Lactose Free Foods Market. The research report studies the entire value chain from raw material to end user industries. The report also shares import/export statistics along with production and consumption for all major regions and countries. Moreover, the research study classifies the Lactose Free Foods Market based on major product types, application and end users industries of Lactose Free Foods. Besides, the report also covers geographical segmentation for Lactose Free Foods Market. The report further provides production, capacity, price per region, gross margin, production cost, for all major regions and countries listed in report.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here:Top Manufacturers Analysis of This ReportCargill IncJohnson and JohnsonBoulder Brands IncAmy's Kitchen IncKerry GroupBarry CallabautAlara Wholefoods LtdCHR HansenMead Johnson NutritionWhiteWave FoodsAgropur CooperativeAlproValioThe competitive landscape of the global market for Lactose Free Foods is determined by assessing the major industry participants, production capacity, production capacity utilization rate, Lactose Free Foods Markets production chain, pricing by each manufacturer and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Lactose Free Foods Market globally.Inquire Before Buying @The Global Lactose Free Foods Market 2018 is further analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Lactose Free Foods production volume, data pertaining to demand and Lactose Free Foods supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. The report provides upstream and downstream analysis covering major raw material used in manufacturing of Lactose Free Foods along with detailed manufacturing sources. The report also shares list of major raw material manufacturers along with their manufacturing locations. Detailed raw material price trend analysis along with manufacturing cost analysis is also incorporated into the report. Various methodical tools such as investment returns, feasibility, SWOT analysis and market attractiveness analysis has been implemented in the research study to present a comprehensive, detailed study of the industry for Lactose Free Foods across the world.About UsApex Market Reports offers elevating market research globally. We have collection of various syndicated reports of different categories. Apex Market Reports provides you to best services, weather youre searching for new trends in market or competitive scenario in emerging market.Customers can buys different reports across various categories such as Chemical and Material, Biotechnology, Healthcare, Food and beverages, Automobile and various sectors. Our Website offers safe and secure online ordering experience, convenient payment options.Contact UsFrank ValadezCorporate Sales Specialist155 North Wacker Drive, Suite 4250Chicago, IL 60606Phone: +17739042683Email id - sales@apexmarketreports.comWebsite - Bitcoin Market, Future Growth,Business Opportunities, Top Manufactures, Latest Trend & Forecast to 2025 ReportsWeb http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011750094/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011750094/discount http://www.reportsweb.com/buy&RW00011750094/buy/3600 2018-2025 Bitcoin Report on Global and United States Market Status and Forecast by Players Types and ApplicationsBitcoin is a cryptocurrency and worldwide payment system.It is the first decentralized digital currency, as the system works without a central bank or single administrator. The network is peer-to-peer and transactions take place between users directly, without an intermediary.These transactions are verified by network nodes through the use of cryptography and recorded in a public distributed ledger called a block chain.Get sample copy of this report:Top Manufacturers: Bitfury, Bitmain, Hut 8 Mining Corp, GMO Internet, Inc., Genesis Mining, HashCoins OU, Hashing24Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoInternational RemittancesP2P Funds TransferB2B PaymentsGet Discount of this report:This report studies the global Bitcoin market, analyzes and researches the Bitcoin development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. Cards and payments refers to the use of plastic money or fundamentally debit or credit cards for making payments or paying bills. It also refers to as electronic funds transfer. This involves the card being electronically linked to one or multiple accounts. This industry generally deals with POS cards, ATM, e-purse, prepaid cards, credit cards, debit cards, and other associated business. It comprises organizations that store, process, and transfer data related to the cardholder and the amount to be transmitted. With the global economy moving towards being cashless, the cards and payments industry is expected to surge towards an optimistic future.Table of Content:2018-2025 Bitcoin Report on Global and United States Market, Status and Forecast, by Players, Types and Applications1 Industry Overview of Bitcoin2 Global Bitcoin Competition Analysis by Players3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 Bitfury3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Bitcoin Revenue (Value) (2013-2018)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 Bitmain3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Bitcoin Revenue (Value) (2013-2018)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 Hut 8 Mining Corp3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Bitcoin Revenue (Value) (2013-2018)3.3.5 Recent Developments4 Global Bitcoin Market Size by Application (2013-2018)5 United States Bitcoin Development Status and Outlook6 EU Bitcoin Development Status and Outlook7 Japan Bitcoin Development Status and Outlook8 China Bitcoin Development Status and Outlook9 India Bitcoin Development Status and Outlook10 Southeast Asia Bitcoin Development Status and Outlook11 Market Forecast by Regions and Application (2018-2025)12 Bitcoin Market Dynamics13 Market Effect Factors AnalysisComplete Report:Contact Info:Name: Sameer JoshiEmail: sales@reportsweb.comCompany Name: ReportsWebWebsite: Reportsweb.comPhone: +1-646-491-9876ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.533, 5th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028 In-Depth Forecast & Analysis on Anti-Static Fibres Market for 2015 - 2025 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-437 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-437 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com Static electricity is generated when two dissimilar materials are rubbed together creating an electrical charge. Such electrical charge usually leaks away to earth. However, in cases where it doesnt, an unpleasant and potentially dangerous electrical discharge may occur, resulting into an electric shock. Anti-static fibres consist of carbon particles enclosed firmly in the surface of polyester fibre. Whenregular fibres are added to anti-static agents, static conductivity of regular fibre changed to textile fabrics, generally developed by non-woven technology utilization.Anti-static fibre is formed into fabrics to provide safe discharge of static electricity. These fibres are used in applications, such as dry filtration, shoe or boot linings, safety work wear, carpets and upholstery.Anti-static agents are added into the polymer to reduce the build-up of static charges. The role of an antistatic agent is to make the material conductive. Problems such asdust pickup and electrical discharge are reduced or eliminated by using anti-static agent.Anti-static fibres are more durable, easy to dye, stain-resistant and lighter. In textiles, static electricity potential can be influenced by low material moisture content which generally occurs in fibres like polyester, acrylic, and nylon.The ultimate use of anti-static fibreis to make products static free and enable more safety and comfort for people using it.A sample of this report is available upon request @Segmentation of Anti-Static Fibres MarketOn the basis of fibretype, theanti-staticfibresmarket is segmented as polyester, acrylic, metaramide, polyamide and polypropylene. Anti-staticfibresare used in a wide range of industrial, chemical, metallurgical, mineral and agricultural applications, where the process and dust tend to build static and where a potential ignition source is present. As of 2013, chemical and textile industries are predominant consumers in global anti-static fibres market and is estimated to maintain its dominance by 2020.Cleanroom clothing fabrics, protective apparel and work wear clothing are few other additional uses.Use of anti-static fibres provides a safer and more comfortable work environment than synthetic products, particularly in applications where static electricity is of particular concern, such as aircraft carpets, buildings with sensitive electronic equipment, fuel transfer facilities, etc.The global anti-static fibres market continues to grow significantly due to growth in end user industry such as packaging and clothing. The global market for anti-static fibres is estimated to grow twofold by value, with a higher CAGR during the forecast period. In addition to this, rising consumption from emerging markets of India and China of Asia Pacific region is set to drive market growth, as there is more demand for lighter and high strength materials. However, availability of substitutes, government regulations and volatile raw material prices are major restraints for anti-static fibres market, as oil and gas industry are major raw material supplier for this market.Regional Outlook on Anti-Static Fibres MarketAsia Pacific is the predominant anti-static fibres market followed by Latin America and Europe. India and China are major regional markets for anti-static fibres due to increasing consumption of end user industries. Moreover, Japan, Republic of Korea and Indonesia are other significant major consumers of anti-static fibres in Asia Pacific. Availability of economical workforce in developingeconomies such as South Africa is also attracting global players to set up manufacturing plants and research centres especially for chemical and textiles industries. Anti-static fibres have become more important in recent years with more sales of electronic components and increased demand for specialised packaging film.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Anti-Static Fibres Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players in the anti-static fibres market are Noble Biomaterials, Inc. W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., Swicofil, Yantai Tayho Advanced materials Co Ltd, Akrilic Kimya Sanayii AS, Cytec Industries Inc., Tianyu Textile. Mergers and acquisitions, collaborations and new product launch are some of the strategies adopted by major market players. The opportunities in antistatic agents market are huge as major market players are continuously focusing on innovation and new product development.In future, increasing utilization of anti-static agents by end user industries is to propel the anti-static fibre market ahead.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Abhishek BudholiyaFuture Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Global Connected Gym Equipment Market to grow at a CAGR of 44.62% during 2017-2021 | eGym, Life fitness, Precor, Technogym https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1067022 https://www.researchmoz.us/global-connected-gym-equipment-market-2017-2021-report.html/toc http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Gym equipment is a device that is used for physical activity to enhance the strength of the individual. Gym equipment or fitness equipment is made of carbon steel, aluminum, and other metal alloys. These metals are preferred because they are durable and light. When gym equipment is connected to an app, that records the workouts of an individual and displays the data about workouts then it is called connected gym equipment. Gym equipment includes treadmills, weight machines, free weights, and elliptical trainers. Connected gym equipment links to the Internet and taps the cloud-based data such as workout goals, health history, and nutritional habits to create personalized exercise plans and track how you're doing in the gym.The global connected gym equipment market to grow at a CAGR of 44.62% during the period 2017-2021. The report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global connected gym equipment market for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report presents a detailed picture of the market by way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:- Americas- APAC- EMEAClick to get Sample PDF:Technavio's report, Global Connected Gym Equipment Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendors- eGym- LES MILLS INTERNATIONAL- Life fitness- Precor- TechnogymOther prominent vendors- DRAPER- IncludeFitness- IRONMAN Fitness & Paradigm Health & Wellness- Johnson Health Tech- NautilusMarket driver- Increasing smartphone penetration and the growing demand for connected gym services.- For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challenge- Low awareness about connected gym equipment in developing economies.- For a full, detailed list, view our reportView Complete TOC with Tables and Figures at:Key questions answered in this report- What will the market size be in 2021 and what will the growth rate be?- What are the key market trends?- What is driving this market?- What are the challenges to market growth?- Who are the key vendors in this market space?- What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?ResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at: Global Cinnamic Alcohol Market 2018 - Hezhong, Super Chemicals, Emerald Kalama Chemical Global Cinnamic Alcohol Market http://cutt.us/dGpYE http://cutt.us/nlZH6 www.apexmarketreports.com Apex Market Reports, recently published a detailed market research study focused on the Cinnamic Alcohol Market across the global, regional and country level. The report provides 360 analysis of Cinnamic Alcohol Market from view of manufacturers, regions, product types and end industries. The research report analyses and provides the historical data along with current performance of the global PP Pipe industry, and estimates the future trend of Cinnamic Alcohol on the basis of this detailed study. The study shares Cinnamic Alcohol performance both in terms of volume and revenue.The market research report explores the Cinnamic Alcohol Market across the globe along with major regions and countries. The research report provides a detailed study on each and every aspect of Cinnamic Alcohol Market. The research report studies the entire value chain from raw material to end user industries. The report also shares import/export statistics along with production and consumption for all major regions and countries. Moreover, the research study classifies the Cinnamic Alcohol Market based on major product types, application and end users industries of Cinnamic Alcohol. Besides, the report also covers geographical segmentation for Cinnamic Alcohol Market. The report further provides production, capacity, price per region, gross margin, production cost, for all major regions and countries listed in report.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here:Top Manufacturers Analysis of This ReportSuper ChemicalsEmerald Kalama ChemicalRajkeerth Aromatics and BiotechYuanchengYuancheng Saichuang TechnologyHezhongJinshigu TechnologyThe competitive landscape of the global market for Cinnamic Alcohol is determined by assessing the major industry participants, production capacity, production capacity utilization rate, Cinnamic Alcohol Markets production chain, pricing by each manufacturer and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Cinnamic Alcohol Market globally.Inquire Before Buying @The Global Cinnamic Alcohol Market 2018 is further analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Cinnamic Alcohol production volume, data pertaining to demand and Cinnamic Alcohol supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. The report provides upstream and downstream analysis covering major raw material used in manufacturing of Cinnamic Alcohol along with detailed manufacturing sources. The report also shares list of major raw material manufacturers along with their manufacturing locations. Detailed raw material price trend analysis along with manufacturing cost analysis is also incorporated into the report. Various methodical tools such as investment returns, feasibility, SWOT analysis and market attractiveness analysis has been implemented in the research study to present a comprehensive, detailed study of the industry for Cinnamic Alcohol across the world.About UsApex Market Reports offers elevating market research globally. We have collection of various syndicated reports of different categories. Apex Market Reports provides you to best services, weather youre searching for new trends in market or competitive scenario in emerging market.Customers can buys different reports across various categories such as Chemical and Material, Biotechnology, Healthcare, Food and beverages, Automobile and various sectors. Our Website offers safe and secure online ordering experience, convenient payment options.Contact UsFrank ValadezCorporate Sales Specialist155 North Wacker Drive, Suite 4250Chicago, IL 60606Phone: +17739042683Email id - sales@apexmarketreports.comWebsite - Bioimplants Market Research Report 2017: By Product, Manufacturer, Sales and Segmentation ReportsWeb http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011188633/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011188633/discount http://www.reportsweb.com/global-bioimplants-market-2017-2021 Bioimplants are used to regularize the physiological functions or augment the functioning of an existing biological structure to treat the cause of various chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), neurological disorders, dental issues, and ophthalmic complications. The demand for bioimplants is growing from cardiology, vascular therapy, orthopedic, trauma, spine, dental, and wound care. Bioengineered products such as cardiac pacemakers and orthopedic artificial implants are implanted inside the patient's body.Publisher's analysts forecast the global bioimplants market to grow at a CAGR of 10.20% during the period 2017-2021.Get Sample Copy atCovered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global bioimplants market for 2017-2021. The report presents a detailed picture of the market by way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:-Americas-APAC-EMEAPublisher's report, Global Bioimplants Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendors-Abbott-DePuy Synthes-Medtronic-Stryker-Zimmer BiometGet Discount on ReportOther prominent vendors-B. Braun-Cook Medical-Corin-C. R. Bard-Edwards Lifesciences-FH Orthopedics-Kasios-KLS martin GROUP-Mediplus-W. L. Gore & Associates-Wright Medical technologyMarket driver-Rising prevalence of chronic diseases-For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challenge-High cost of bioimplants-For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trend-Increasing demand for minimally invasive surgeries-For a full, detailed list, view our reportTable of ContentsPART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARYPART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORTPART 03: RESEARCH METHODOLOGYPART 04: MARKET LANDSCAPEPART 05: MARKET SIZINGPART 06: FIVE FORCES ANALYSISPART 07: MARKET SEGMENTATIONPART 08: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPEPART 09: REGIONAL LANDSCAPEPART 10: DECISION FRAMEWORKPART 11: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGESPART 12: MARKET TRENDSPART 13: VENDOR LANDSCAPEPART 14: VENDOR ANALYSISPART 15: APPENDIXFor More Information about This Report:Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Pune, India The American Red Cross of the California Northwest will be honoring 18 inspirational community members for their lasting impact on the community at its 15th Annual Real Heroes Breakfast on April 27th, at the Hyatt Vineyard Creek in Santa Rosa. The honorees include two men -- Eli Ponce and Dan Wynn of Eli Ponce and Sons General Engineering -- who created firebreaks in the west Napa hills where the October wildfires threatened homes in Napa's Browns Valley neighborhood. The pair used bulldozers to dig breaks at a time when Cal Fire's resources were overwhelmed by the magnitude of the wildfires. Table sponsorships and individual tickets are still available for the event. Registration will open at 7 a.m., and the program will run from 7:30 until 9 a.m. The Real Heroes Breakfast is a signature event in support of the lifesaving programs and emergency services the local chapter provides to the nearly one million residents in Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, and Sonoma counties. To purchase tickets and for more information about the event, please go to: redcross.org/CalNWHeroes2018. Wound Debridement Products Market Segments, Key Players Strategies, Analysis and Forecasts Till 2023 Wound Debridement Products Market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/5629 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/5629 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/request-toc/5629 MarketResearchFuture.com published a Half-Cooked research report on Global Wound Debridement Products Market Research Report - Forecast to 2023 reports to its database. Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2023.You can get easy access to samples from the report here:The report titled Wound Debridement Products Market -Forecast to 2023 is a direct appreciation by Market Research Future of the market potential of the Wound Debridement Products Market. The report intends to provide accurate and meaningful insights, both quantitative as well as qualitative. It can be said with high confidence level, that this report will satisfy the need for comprehensive insights needed to compete and beat other players in todays winner takes all market!Market Analysis:The global wound debridement products market is anticipated to grow at a single digit CAGR during the forecast period. Wound debridement is a process to eliminate foreign invaders, dead tissues, and toxic substances from human wounds. Wound debridement products aid in lowering poisonous materials that prevent wounds from getting healed. Growing aged population & serious wounds propel the market.Moreover; widening product usage, chronic illnesses, & patient-base drive the industry. Cost-efficiency of wound products and demand for advanced medical facilities also contribute to industry growth. On the contrary, financial recession across some parts of the globe hampers the market. Awareness regarding injured tissues has urged patients to take debridement steps. The said factor has boosted industry revenues.Manufacturers are developing a wide range of products, like scalpels and pads to treat minor wounds. Innovative plans are underway to entice customers into knowing more about these products. The worldwide industry is segmented into products, end-users, and geographies.Key Players:Vital participants operating with the global wound debridement products industry are ArthoCare Corporation, Advanced Medical Solutions Group, Smith & Nephew Plc, and MediWound Ltd. The conventional market could register a decent absolute dollar prospect over the forecast period. The said fact will be ascribed to India and Africas huge population choosing conventional products due to their cost-efficiency.Feel free to get in touch for discounts and customized details:Cutting-Edge Products and Players:With depressing wound mortality news doing the rounds, researchers have been emphasizing the creation of smarter wound care products. These products intend to contain the infections and treat injuries. Axio Biosolutions, a Bangalore-based Indian company is busy creating a new emergency wound hemostat. Lately, the firm also launched a dressing, namely Axiostat. It is gaining recognition in the defense forces and civil hospitals for combating traumatic bleeding.A leading UK wound management firm recently got an FDA approval for its innovative wound dressing, KerraCel AG3+. Another US based company, Organogenesis developed a product, PuraPly. It adopts antimicrobial PHMB and collagen as a protection that coupled with biofilm debridement prevents microbial growth and brings about quick recovery. As described, the global wound debridement products market is competitive, with numerous participants endeavoring to do better.What makes our report unique?1) An extensive research study on the Global Wound Debridement Products market, and its entire ecosystem, describes the market trends, drivers, restraints and opportunities of the Wound Debridement Products market.2) We provide you the longest possible market segmentation based on type of products, procedures and geography and describe the market share region wise.3) The report gives a bird eyes view on the competitive landscape which includes mergers and acquisitions, collaborations, market strategies, and new product launches.Segment Insights:The products market will occupy more shares due to high adoption in homecare and hospitals. End-users include cardiac centers, multi-specialty clinics, hospitals, specialized clinics, nursing units, and ambulatory surgical wards. Hospitals are the biggest end-user and likely to capture the maximum shares by 2023. Specialized clinics and ambulatory surgical wards should observe more than average growth in the forecast period.For businessmen and those investing in the market, hospitals are appealing & a bright opportunity. Regionally, the wound debridement market is split into Asia Pacific, Europe, Americas, and the Middle East and Africa. Americas, chased by Europe, accounts for the largest shares owing to higher advancements & medical expenditures. Apart from these factors, its burgeoning diabetics & geriatric base propel Americas.Asia Pacific is reported to display huge growth in the coming years. Its growth would be attributed to the use of innovative products and need for improved medical technologies. Regional patient-base and expanding medical infrastructure can also contribute to its high CAGR. Moreover, expanding economies & demographics across emerging nations, like China and India are predicted to drive Asia Pacific.Surge in the need for wound bed preparation and awareness on timely wound care advantages may provide novel prospects to the global market. In addition, the popularity of home-wound management and advancements in various technologies can broaden the scope of this industry. Mergers & acquisitions, need for lesser hospital stays, products innovations, and partnerships are some of the key trends that are being noticed.CONTINUEDRequest for Table of Contents:About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Contact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Is the Animal Parasiticide Market Likely to Exhibit Health Growth During 2015 - 2025? Ongoing Study Reveals Key Insights https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-595 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-595 www.futuremarketinsights.com Increasing number of animal welfare programs and government initiatives are driving the market for the global animal parasiticide market. The animal parasiticide, also called, Veterinary parasiticide, are products that kill parasiticide infesting upon pets, livestock, and other animals. All these parasiticide has their own general features that determines their suitability for the control of parasites on animals. People being increasingly being aware about the zoonotic diseases and adoption of pet animals largely by the developed and developing nations have made a way for the global animal parasiticide market.The government has also contributed towards the animal welfare activities that has resulted in the hefty demand for parasiticides which has improved the health of livestock tremendously across the globe and also elevated the global animal parasiticide marketRequest For Report Sample@The market is growing due to the increasing demand for animal health products and the animal owners look out for low cost generics.Animal Parasiticide Market: Drivers & RestraintsThe increasing importance of animal health care accompanied by governmental protocols is driving the global animal parasiticide market. The Increased number of animal livestock in the emerging markets, developments in the parasiticide products, upcoming new offerings by the leading players, execution of welfare acts in the developed and developing regions, worldwide increment in the number of adoptions of animals like dogs and cats are some of the growth drivers for the global animal parasiticide market.Along with the increasing awareness, the increasing rate of GDP in the regions like Asia-Pacific and Latin America and thereby increasing per capita spending on the animal health care products are also responsible for growth of the market.Apart from significant growth factors there exits some restraints to the market including high cost R&D activities, strict regulations for approval for animal parasiticides and restricting the use of parasiticide in some animals (specifically the food producers) in some regions. The increasing number of species of parasites in are also contributing to the restrains that are preventing the market from growing.Animal Parasiticide Market: SegmentationBy product the global animal parasiticide market is segmented as Endoparasiticides (Additives, Injectable, Drenches, Tablets/Pills, Others), Ectoparasiticides (Collars, and Endectocides. The global animal parasiticide market is also segmented by the animal type which are as Companion Animal (Cat, Dogs, Horses, and Others) and Food Producing Animals (Cattle, Poultry, Sheep and Others).Animal Parasiticide Market: Region-wise OutlookThe global animal parasiticide market is expected to register a favourable growth for the forecast period, 2015?2025. European market is the expected to hold the major share into the market. The increment in the number of pet animals and increased awareness among the people regarding the animal health. North America is expected to follow Europe however the developed markets like US and Canada are reaching saturation which tends to grow the market at a comparatively lower rate. The Asia-Pacific is projected to endure its control in terms of growth in global animal parasiticide market. The market is predominately affected by the increasing trend towards pet adoption. In terms of growth Latin American regions also represent a higher growth opportunity. APAC and Latin America is in the higher growth expectations due to the increasing GDP rate and per capita expenditure on the animal health.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC):Animal Parasiticide Market: Key PlayersThe key market competitors in global animal parasiticide market are Zoetis, Inc, Bayer AG, Novartis AG, Eli Lilly and Company, Merck & Co., Inc., Ceva Sante Animlae, Boehringer Ingelheim, Virbac SA, and Vetoquinol.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: New Research Report Provides Credible Insights on How Air Pressure Sensor Market will Evolve During 2015 - 2025 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-600 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-600 www.futuremarketinsights.com Increase in demand for reliable sensors, low cost along with high performance feature is anticipated to fuel the growth of global air pressure sensor market.Air pressure sensor is a measuring converter of the pressure of a gas or liquid into pneumatic, electric, and other kinds of output signal. It is also used for measuring pressure drops and rarefaction. The demand for air pressure sensors market is rapidly increasing as they are widely used across various applications such as petrochemicals, building, shipbuilding, aircraft, and medical sector, among many others. In building, medical and automotive sector, MEMS-based pressure sensors (technology) are widely used. Additionally, on account of industry shift from analog to digital, air pressure sensors have become smarter in terms of sensing and efficiency performance. Advancements in ICT technology as well as Nanotechnology applications are emerging as new trends for the global air pressure sensor market.Air Pressure Sensor Market: Drivers & RestraintsImproved sensitivity in pressure sensors has strongly contributed to the demand of the global air pressure sensor market. Fast growth in Asia-Pacific region, increasing governmental regulation and vehicle production are the key factors driving the growth in the global air pressure sensor market. Advancement in technology is opening new doors to the growth of pressure sensors for medical and automotive applications. In coming years, it is anticipated that penetration of MEMS technology is going to lead the overall global air pressure sensor market. However, higher cost of the investment for production, could act as a major restraint in the global air pressure sensor market.Request For Report Sample@Air Pressure Sensor Market: SegmentationOn the basis of technology, the global air pressure sensor market is segmented as:ElectromagneticCapacitivePiezoresistiveOpticalOthers (Resonant solid-state)On the basis of applications the global air pressure sensor market is segmented as:Automotive Pressure SensorsMedical SectorIndustrial SectorConsumer ElectronicsOthers (Refineries, Chemical plant, Pulp & paper, etc)Air Pressure Sensor Market: Region-wise OutlookThe global air pressure sensor market is expected to register a favourable growth for the forecast period, 2015?2025. On the basis of region, Asia Pacific, Japan and Latin America are expected to be the growth engines of air pressure sensor market in the near future. Asia-Pacific is anticipated to dominate the global air pressure sensor market. The key countries mentioned in the Asia-Pacific region are India, South Korea, and China as an outcome of growth in application sectors. Also, the region is expected to generate higher revenue as compared to North America (is practically maturing). Japan also contributes to the global air pressure sensor market remarkably. In Latin America, Brazil is expected to be the largest opportunity in terms of revenue of the air pressure sensor market. The remaining regions are expected to grow at a steady rate over the forecast period.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC):Air Pressure Sensor Market: Key PlayersSome of the key market participants in global air pressure sensor market are ABB Ltd., Analog Devices, Inc., Analog Devices, Inc., Analog Devices, Inc., Emerson Electric, General Electric, Freescale Semiconductor, Honeywell International, Robert Bosch GmbH and others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Japan Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband Market Overview, Analysis - Key Statistics https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1669925 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1669925/japan-telecoms-mobile-and-broadband-statistics-and-analyses-market-research-reports/toc https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1669925/japan-telecoms-mobile-and-broadband-statistics-and-analyses-market-research-reports.pdf http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ "The Latest Research Report Japan - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"Japans market is served by three multi-service operators offering fixed-line telephony, fixed broadband access, mobile voice telephony, mobile broadband access and pay TV services. Japans fixed line market is dominated by incumbent operator NTT.Japan is ranked 4th out of 34 with regards to its Asian Telecoms Maturity Index with a score of 85. This places Japan 4th in the Market Leaders category. (BuddeComms Asian Telecoms Maturity Index, is an index (on a scale between 0 and 100) that measures and ranks the relative maturity of the telecoms industry in all of the 34 countries in Asia.) Compared to other Asian nations, Japan has very high mobile, mobile broadband and fixed broadband penetration.Fixed line growth in Japan have been stagnant over the past five years. This trend is predicted to continue over the next five years to 2022.Get Sample Copy of this report @Japan possesses a large and vibrant television industry due to its unique culture and market size. Legislation enacted to restrict ownership has led to a plethora of broadcasters. Japans vertically integrated broadcasting industry means broadcasters create as well as distribute content.Japans first Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) trials are commencing during 2018.Japan possesses one of the most advanced and largest broadband markets in the world. Fixed-line broadband market penetration has grown slowly over the past five years in a highly mature market.Moving towards 2019, FttH will continue to increase its share of total fixed broadband subscriptions at the expense of DSL. Over the next five years to 2022 fixed broadband growth is expected to continue to increase slowly.Mobile subscriber growth is expected to be relatively low over the next five years to 2022 due to a highly mature and highly competitive market. The market will be driven by the uptake of both 4G LTE and 5G services.Japans mobile market is dominated by three major operators NTT DoCoMo, KDDI and Softbank Mobile. However the Japanese government was looking to open its mobile market up to new players for 5G services. This could result in the entry of new players, even those from outside the traditional telecoms space, and potential foreign players, including those looking to target the Internet of Things, virtual reality and automotive applications. Japans largest e-commerce company is working on plans to build its own nationwide 4G mobile network, throwing down a challenge to the long-established dominance of the three incumbents with an aim to launch commercially in 2019.Mobile broadband subscriber growth is expected to be relatively low over the next five years to 2022 due to a highly mature mobile subscriber market, with the vast majority of subscribers already having wireless broadband access.Browse Complete Report with TOC @The three carriers plan on launching 5G services commercially in 2020, with DOCOMO targeting nationwide coverage by 2023. The anticipated surge in interest for IoT and related technologies such as driverless cars is expected to help fuel a boom in spending.Key developments:Stagnant growth in the fixed line market is predicted to continue over the next five years to 2022.The Japanese government is looking to open its mobile market up to new players for 5G services.Japans first Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) trials are commencing during 2018.Implementation of strong government policies over a decade see over 90% of households with access to FttX.FttH will continue to increase its share of total fixed broadband subscriptions at the expense of DSL.Over the next five years to 2022 fixed broadband growth is expected to continue to increase slowly.The three carriers plan on launching 5G services commercially in 2020.DOCOMO is targeting nationwide 5G coverage by 2023.The anticipated surge in interest for IoT and related technologies will fuel a boom in spending.Companies mentioned in this report:NTT; KDDI; Softbank Mobile, Internet Initiative Japan, eAccess, eMobile; Willcom; J:COM; USEN; UQ Communications; Hulu; K-Opticom; Tepco, SKY PerfecTV!, HuluTable of Contents1. Key statistics2. Telecommunications market2.1 Market Overview and Analysis2.2 Regional Asian Market ComparisonView Sample PDF @3. Regulatory environment3.1 Historic overview3.2 Regulatory authority3.2.1 The MPHPT/MIC3.2.2 Radio Regulatory Council3.2.3 Telecommunications Council3.2.4 Telecommunications Carriers Association3.2.5 Japan Internet Providers Association (JAIPA)3.3 Government policies3.3.1 Government investment in infrastructure3.3.2 Skill building, education and demand programs3.3.3 Competition policy3.3.4 Network non-discrimination3.3.5 Spectrum policy3.3.6 Broadband Policy3.3.7 Wholesale / Pricing3.4 Access3.5 Carrier PreSelection (CPS)3.5.1 MYLINE calling categories4. Fixed network operators4.1 NTT Corporation4.1.1 Company Overview4.1.2 Financial statistics4.1.3 Operational statistics4.1.4 International expansion4.2 KDDI Corporation4.2.1 Company Overview4.2.2 Business strategy4.2.3 Financial statistics4.3 Softbank Corporation4.3.1 Company background4.4 Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ)4.4.1 Company overview and background4.4.2 Financial statistics5. Telecommunications infrastructure5.1 Overview of the national telecom network5.2 NTT NGN5.3 Submarine cables5.3.1 Overview5.3.2 NTT and TransTelecom of Russia (HSCS)5.3.3 Russia-Japan Cable Network (RJCN)5.3.4 Trans-Pacific Express Cable Network (TPE)5.3.5 Pacific Crossing (PC-1)5.3.6 Google investments5.3.7 Asia Submarine Express (ASE)5.3.8 Asia Pacific Gateway (APG)5.3.9 South-East Asia Japan Cable (SJC)5.3.10 KDDI landing station5.3.11 Japan-US Cable5.4 Satellite5.5 Specific IT developments5.5.1 Cloud Computing5.6 Smart infrastructure5.6.1 Internet of Things (IoT)5.6.2 Driverless Cars5.6.3 Smart grids5.6.4 Smart cities6. Broadband market6.1 Market Overview and analysis6.2 Fixed Broadband statistics and Forecasts6.3 Fixed Broadband Technologies6.3.1 Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) networks6.3.2 Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks6.3.3 Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) and Fibre-To-The-Home (FttH)6.3.4 Fixed wireless6.3.5 Other fixed broadband services6.4 Fixed Broadband Providers6.4.1 Market Developments7. Digital economy7.1 Introduction7.2 E-Government7.2.1 Overview7.3 E-HealthAbout usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Power Line Carrier System Market with Geographical Segmentation, Statistical Analysis, Competitive Landscape, Business Opportunities and Forecast to 2023 qyreports http://qyreports.com/request-sample?report-id=54345 http://qyreports.com/ask-for-discount?report-id=54345 www.qyreports.com The research report, titled Power Line Carrier System Market offers a clear understanding of the subject matter. The market is experiencing a transitional stage since past few years. The continual advancements in technologies and the growing augmentation in infrastructural and technological organizations have influenced the demand for the market, munificently in a previous couple of years. The obvious rise in urbanization and the significant rise in the disposable income of individuals are expected to increase the demand for market in the coming years. The demand for Power Line Carrier System in the market is increasing substantially due to the growing awareness among individuals regarding the latest technological advancements and innovations.Some of the Key Players: ABB, Amtel, Sigma Designs, Lantiq Semiconductor, Marvell Technology, Echelon, Maxim Integrated, Cypress Semiconductor, Lumenpulse, Maxim Integrated, Semitech SemiconductorRequest a sample copy of this research report @Power Line Carrier System uses the same high voltage transmission line connecting two sub-stations for telecommunication purpose. It is used in all power utilities as a primary communication service to transmit speech, telemetry and protection tripping commands. Rising application of energy in different areas such as industries and agriculture is likely to drive demand for power line carrier system. With this system, existing alternative current has been utilized for data transmission in a cost effective manner.The report Global Power Line Carrier System Market depends upon in-depth and detailed market analysis, with involvement from industry experts. It evidently depicts the merchant scenario and an in-depth examination of the key traders functioning in the overall market. Additionally, the publication also discusses the key driving factors influencing the continuous rise in the development in the business sector, and the obstructions going up against the vendors to a great extent. It additionally includes the key opportunities that are trending in the market.Get Upto 30% discount on this research report @According to geographic locations, the Global Power Line Carrier System Market is segmented into five regions. These include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (MEA), and Latin America. Asia Pacific is likely to be the fastest growing region for the power line carrier communication market owing to the growing adoption of smart metering infrastructure in this region. Furthermore, utilization of power line carrier based infrastructure in commercial and industrial sectors is contributing to the growth path of this market.Based on current market developments, the readers are further offered an assessment of how the activities, such as strategic alliances, mergers, and acquisitions, will share the future of this market. The report Global Power Line Carrier System Market further studies the impact of porters five forces on the progress of this market. Readers will be benefitted from the references and case studies given in the research study.Table of Content:Global Power Line Carrier System Market Research Report 2018-2023Chapter 1 Power Line Carrier System Market OverviewChapter 2 Global Economic ImpactChapter 3 Competition by ManufacturerChapter 4 Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2018-2023)Chapter 5 Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2018-2023)Chapter 6 Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7 Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8 Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11 Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12 Market Forecast (2018-2023)Chapter 13 AppendixWe at, QYReports , a leading market research report publisher accommodate more than 4,000 celebrated clients worldwide putting them at advantage in todays competitive world with our understanding of research. Our list of customers include prestigious Chinese companies, multinational companies, SME's and private equity firms whom we have helped grow and sustain with our fact-based research. Our business study covers a market size of over 30 industries offering unfailing insights into analysis to reimagine your business. We specialize in forecasts needed for investing in a new project, to revolutionize your business, to become more customer centric and improve the quality of output.Jones John(Sales Manager)+91-9764607607sales@qyreports.com Global Bullet Proof Glass Sales Market Size, Trends, Analysis, Leading Players & Future Forecast by 2025 MRH https://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1667549 https://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/global-bullet-proof-glass-sales-market-report-2018-report.html https://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=enquiry&repid=1667549 https://www.marketresearchhub.com/ https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com An up-to-date research report has been disclosed by Market Research Hub highlighting the title Global Bullet Proof Glass Sales Market Research Report 2018 which provides an outlook of current market growth as well as the expected forecast including Rate on Investment (ROI) together with growing CAGR near XX% during 2018-2025. The report studies bullet proof glass sales in global market, especially in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India, with production, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions.Get a Free Sample Report @Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), and market share and growth rate of Bullet Proof Glass Sales in these regions, from 2013 to 2025 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificSouth AmericaMiddle East and AfricaGlobal Automatic Tray Loading System Market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Bullet Proof Glass Sales volume, Price (USD/Unit), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingDlubakTotal Security SolutionsBullet Guard CorporationDiamond GlassG.JamesInternational Armoring Corporation...On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoBallistic Glass-Clad PolycarbonatePolycarbonate Security GlassBullet Resistant Acrylic Security GlassOtherOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate for each application, includingCommercial ApplicationGovernment ApplicationMilitary ApplicationBrowse Full Report with Detailed Table of Content @Table of Content:1 Bullet Proof Glass Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Bullet Proof Glass1.2 Classification of Bullet Proof Glass by Product Category1.2.1 Global Bullet Proof Glass Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Bullet Proof Glass Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Ballistic Glass-Clad Polycarbonate1.2.4 Polycarbonate Security Glass1.2.5 Bullet Resistant Acrylic Security Glass1.2.6 Other1.3 Global Bullet Proof Glass Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 Global Bullet Proof Glass Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.3.2 Commercial Application1.3.3 Government Application1.3.4 Military Application1.4 Global Bullet Proof Glass Market by Region1.4.1 Global Bullet Proof Glass Market Size (Value) Comparison by Region (2013-2025)1.4.2 United States Bullet Proof Glass Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.3 China Bullet Proof Glass Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.4 Europe Bullet Proof Glass Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.5 Japan Bullet Proof Glass Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Bullet Proof Glass Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.7 India Bullet Proof Glass Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5 Global Market Size (Value and Volume) of Bullet Proof Glass (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global Bullet Proof Glass Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2025)1.5.2 Global Bullet Proof Glass Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2025)2 Global Bullet Proof Glass Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application2.1 Global Bullet Proof Glass Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Global Bullet Proof Glass Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2013-2018)2.1.2 Global Bullet Proof Glass Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2013-2018)2.2 Global Bullet Proof Glass (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global Bullet Proof Glass Sales and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)2.2.2 Global Bullet Proof Glass Revenue and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)2.3 Global Bullet Proof Glass (Volume and Value) by Region2.3.1 Global Bullet Proof Glass Sales and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)2.3.2 Global Bullet Proof Glass Revenue and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)2.4 Global Bullet Proof Glass (Volume) by Applicationcontinue (List of Tables and Figures)Enquire about this report @About Market Research Hub:Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of chemicals industry reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients and customers.Contact Us:90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 800-998-4852 (US-Canada)Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite:Read Industry News at- Anemia Drugs Market 2018 | Major Participants: Amgen Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc, Bluebird bio, Biocon, GlycoMimetics Inc., Regen biopharma Inc., Bayer AG, Acceleron Pharma Anemia Drugs Market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2499 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/enquiry/2499 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/2499 The, Anemia Drugs Market inquire about report is developing with the quick pace; chiefly due the prospering Healthcare Sector. As per a current report distributed by the Market Research Future, The Anemia Drugs Industry Research report is blasting and anticipated that would pick up unmistakable quality over the conjecture time frame. The Market is anticipated to exhibit a colossal development by 2022, outperforming its past development records as far as esteem and volume. The global market for Anemia Drugs is expected to be around US$21.4 billion and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.4% to reach US$34.7 billion by the end of forecast period.You can get easy access to samples from the report here:Market Synopsis of Global Anemia Drugs Market:Anemia is a set of conditions characterized by weakness, shortness of breath and a general tiredness due to a decrease in the total amount of red blood cells (RBCs) or hemoglobin in the blood. The lowered hemoglobin results in a lowered ability of the blood to carry oxygen. There are three main types of anemia, i.e. due to blood loss, due to decreased or faulty red blood cell production and due to increased red blood cell breakdown. Anemia affects a quarter of people of the world and of the different types of anemia iron deficiency anemia comprises of the largest number of people affected, about 1 billion and resulting in approximately 215,000 deaths each year. Anemia is also more common in females than males. It also has a greater propensity to affect children, pregnant and lactating women and the elderly.The global market for anemia drugs is growing at a good rate. The market driving factors are growth of geriatric population, increasing awareness, increasing focus of social healthcare on women health and particularly anemia, rise in accidents and cancer, rise in other risk factors such as diabetes, modern lifestyle induced stress, poor nutritional habits, rise in lactating and pregnant women in developing regions, intestinal infections etc.The market constraints are poor absorption of drugs especially intravenous iron and the side effects associated with the treatment. Better nutrition due to rising per capita income is also a market limiting factor for anemic drugs.Key Players for Global Anemia Drugs Market:Some of the key players in this market are: Amgen Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc, Bluebird bio, Biocon, GlycoMimetics Inc., Regen biopharma Inc., Bayer AG, Acceleron Pharma, Eli Lilly and company and others.What makes our report unique?1) An extensive research study on the Global Anemia Drugs market, and its entire ecosystem, describes the market trends, drivers, restraints and opportunities of the Anemia Drugs market.2) We provide you the longest possible market segmentation based on type of products, procedures and geography and describe the market share region wise.3) The report gives a bird eyes view on the competitive landscape which includes mergers and acquisitions, collaborations, market strategies, and new product launches.Market Assessment:The report for Global Anemia Drugs Market of Market Research Future comprises extensive primary research along with the detail analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides detail information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different markets segments and regions.Market Segments:Global anemia drugs market has been segmented on the basis of anemia type which comprises iron deficiency anemia, sickle cell anemia, aplastic anemia, hemolytic anemia pernicious anemia and others. On the basis of route of administration; market is segmented into oral and injectable. On the basis of gender; market is segmented into male and female. On the basis of product type; market is segmented into biologics and non-biologics. On the basis of end users; market is segmented into hospitals, self-administered and others.Any query or specific requirement? Ask to our industry expert:Regional Analysis of Global Anemia Drugs Market:Globally America is the largest market for anemia drugs followed closely by Europe. However it must be noted that the Asia pacific region is the fastest growing region and is poised to overtake the developed regions market soon. The Middle East and African market will also witness good growth rates. The chief cause for the greater growth of developing regions market is the rise of geriatrics population, unmet medical needs and social health schemes launched by governments and other bodies. The awareness towards women health and changes in social conditions is also fuelling the demand for anemic drugs.Major Table Of Contents:Chapter 1 Introduction1.1 Definition1.2 Scope Of Study1.3 Research Objective1.4 Assumptions & Limitations1.5 Market StructureChapter 2 Research Methodology2.1 Research Process2.2 Primary Research2.3 Secondary ResearchChapter 3 Market Dynamics3.1 Drivers3.2 Restraints3.3 Opportunities3.4 Challenges3.5 Macroeconomic IndicatorsChapter 4 Market Factor Analysis4.1 Porters Five Forces Model4.1.1 Bargaining Power Of Suppliers4.1.2 Bargaining Power Of Customer4.1.3 Intensity Of Competitors4.1.4 Threat Of New EntrantsChapter 5 Global Anemia Drugs Market, By Anemia Type5.1 Introduction5.2 Iron Deficiency Anemia5.3 Sickle Cell Anemia5.4 Aplastic Anemia5.5 Hemolytic Anemia5.6 Pernicious Anemia5.7 OthersCONTINUED FOR FULLFeel free to get in touch for discounts and customized details:About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Contact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: salesteam@marketresearchfuture.com Global Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair & Replacement (TMVR) Market Scope, Analysis & Outlook by 2022 https://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1666934 https://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/global-transcatheter-mitral-valve-repair-replacement-tmvr-market-industry-analysis-outlook-20182022-report.html https://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=enquiry&repid=1666934 https://www.marketresearchhub.com/ https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/ An up-to-date research report has been disclosed by Market Research Hub highlighting the title Global Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair & Replacement Market Industry Analysis & Outlook: (2018-2022) which provides an extensive research and detailed analysis of the present market along with future outlook. The report discusses the major growth drivers and challenges of the market, covering the U.S., and Europe region along with the global market. The report profiles the key players of the market including Medtronic plc, Abbott Laboratories, Edwards and LivaNova Plc.Get a Free Sample Report @A human heart has four valves: Mitral valve, Tricuspid valve, Aortic valve and Pulmonary valve. Mitral valve is located on the left side of the heart and has two flaps which create a passage for oxygenated blood to travel from the left atrium to left ventricle. Mitral valve is attached by chordae tendinae to the papillary muscles which prevent the leaflets from prolapsing during ventricular contraction.When the mitral valve does not close properly, then this condition is called Mitral Regurgitation. Mitral Regurgitation (MR) is a valve disorder where blood leaks backward through the mitral valve with heart contractions and reduces the amount of blood pumped through the body, which over time can lead to heart dysfunction and heart failure. Mitral Regurgitation can be of two types: Functional Mitral Regurgitation (FMR) and Degenerative Mitral Regurgitation (DMR).Europe is a major contributor to the global TMVR market supported by increased ageing and obese population, better accessibility and favorable reimbursement policies for TMVR. The U.S. is also expecting a high growth rate in TMVR market due to rising development of TMVR devices and incidences of heart diseases.The global TMVR market is expected to grow in future due to increasing ageing population, obese population, rising healthcare expenditure and economic growth. Key trends of this market include leading causes of death in the U.S., factors affecting the development of TMVR devices, prevalence of mitral regurgitation by age group in the U.S. and growing adoption of minimally invasive therapies. However, there are some factors which can hinder the market growth including associated high risks and tough regulatory problems.Browse Full Report with Detailed Table of Content @Table of Content:Overview1.1 Mitral Regurgitation1.2 Traditional Surgical Method1.3 TMVR1.4 Benefits and Risk Associated with TMVRGlobal TMVR Market Analysis2.1 TMVR Market Value Forecast2.2 TMVR Market by Region2.3 TMVR Market Volume Forecast2.4 MR Patient Population2.5 MR Patient Population Forecast2.6 Surgically Treated MR Patient Population Forecast2.7 High Risk MR Patient Population ForecastRegional Market Analysis3.1 The U.S.3.1.1 The U.S. TMVR Market Value Forecast3.1.2 The U.S. TMVR Market Value Forecast by Type3.1.3 The U.S. TMVR Market Volume Forecast3.1.4 The U.S. TMVR Market Volume Forecast by Type3.1.5 The U.S. Mitral Regurgitation Patient Population3.1.6 The U.S. Mitral Regurgitation Patient Population Forecast3.1.7 The U.S. Surgically Treated MR Patient Population Forecast3.1.8 The U.S. High Risk MR Patient Population Forecast3.2 Europe3.2.1 Europe TMVR Market Value Forecast3.2.2 Europe TMVR Market Value Forecast by Type3.2.3 Europe TMVR Market Volume Forecast3.2.4 Europe TMVR Market Volume Forecast by Type3.2.5 Europe MR Patient Population3.2.6 Europe MR Patient Population Forecast3.2.7 Europe Surgically Treated MR Patient Population Forecast3.2.8 Europe High Risk MR Patient Population Forecastcontinue (List of Tables and Figures)Enquire about this report @About Market Research Hub:Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of medical equipment industry reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients and customers.Contact Us:90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 800-998-4852 (US-Canada)Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite:Read Industry News at- Portugal Telecom Market: Portuguese Telcos looking to Complete National Fiber Networks by 2020 https://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1669922 https://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/portugal-telecoms-mobile-and-broadband-statistics-and-analyses-report.html https://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=enquiry&repid=1669922 https://www.marketresearchhub.com/ https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/ An up-to-date research report has been disclosed by Market Research Hub highlighting the title Portuguese Telecom Industry: Telcos looking to Complete National Fiber Networks by 2020. This report introduces the major elements of the Portuguese telecom market, presenting statistics on the fixed telephony sector as well as analyses on the major market players. Additional information is provided on the key regulatory issues, noting the status of interconnection, local loop unbundling, number portability and carrier preselection. This report also assesses the mobile market, providing statistics on network operators, a snapshot of the consumer market, and an assessment of mobile data services. In addition the report profiles the fixed and fixed-wireless broadband markets, providing key statistics on the retail and wholesale sectors as well as subscriber forecasts to 2023.Get a Free Sample Report @Portugal has a medium-sized telecom market with a strong mobile sector and a growing broadband customer base focused on the delivery of fiber-based services. Investments in network upgrades are continuing in an effort to attract customers to high-end services, while operators have also increasingly looked at network sharing to reduce expenditure while widening their footprint reach. In general terms the country during the last two years has shown signs of improving economic growth, which is helping to stimulate customer spend on telecom services.The mobile market is dominated by the incumbent Portugal Telecom, owned by Altice Group and operating as Meo, followed by Vodafone and NOS. The market share held by Meo has fallen steadily in recent years. The MVNO market remains undeveloped, partly because network operators have their own low-cost brands. Collectively, MVNOs have about 2.1% share of the market.Population coverage by 3G infrastructure is universal and so most investment has been directed to LTE and to incremental upgrades to network infrastructure. Altice Labs in February 2017 began working with Ericsson to develop 5G services and applications.Portugals broadband penetration has grown steadily in recent years, largely the result of joint efforts between the regulator and the key market operators which have invested in significant infrastructure upgrades. These operators are also focussed on fibre-based services, resulting in a migration of subscribers from DSL to fibre. Portugal Telecom is aiming to cover 5.3 million premises with FttP by 2020, providing national coverage. The cable sector has also shifted towards fibre, with the principal cableco NOS investing in fibre rather than cable upgrades. In addition, Vodafone Portugal provides fibre to about two-thirds of premises. Vodafone and NOS recently signed an agreement to share fibre infrastructure, which pushed Vodafones addressable market to some four million premises. As a result of these efforts DSL is no longer the dominant platform for broadband access.Key developments:New cable to link Portugal with Brazil;Portugal Telecom planning to replace copper network with FttP by 2020;NOS eschews route to DOCSIS3.1 in favour of fibre;Portugal Telecom revenue continues to recover into 2017 under Altice Group ownership;Regulator sets reduced MTRs from July 2018;Vodafone achieves 1Gb/s downlink speeds in LTE-A trials;Continuing decline in SMS traffic in wake of messaging alternatives;NOS trialling NB-IoT; m-payment solution developments;Meo ramps up fibre roll out, aiming for 5.3 million connected premises by 2020;Vodafone signs fibre-network sharing agreement with NOS;Fibre subscriber base grows 28% in the year to September 2017;Report update includes the regulators market data to Q4 2017, telcos operating and financial data to Q4 2017, recent market developments.Companies mentioned in this report:Portugal Telecom (Meo), NOS (Optimus, Zon Multimedia), Vodafone Portugal, CTT, Lycamobile, Sonaecom, CabovisaoKey developments:HGC Global Communications is looking to 5G as a key opportunity for its fiber business.HKT has set up a one-stop Internet of Things ecosystem with multiple connectivity technologies in Hong Kong.Fixed line growth in Hong Kong has declined over the past five years. This trend will continue over the next five years to 2022.Hong Kong expects the territory to be among the worlds earliest adopters of 5G mobile technology in 2020.SmarTone trialled FDD Massive MIMO technology with Ericsson as part of its development plans towards 5G services.Mobile broadband subscriber growth is expected to be relatively low over the next five years to 2022Companies mentioned in this report:PCCW; HKT; CSL; Hong Kong Broadband Network (HKBN); Hutchison Telecom Hong Kong, i-Cable, HGC Global Communications.Browse Full Report with Detailed Table of Content @Table of Content:Key statistics1.1 Country overview2. Telecommunications market2.1 Overview3. Regulatory environment3.1 Historic overview3.2 Regulatory authority3.3 Government policies3.3.1 Privatisation of Telecom Portugal3.4 Interconnect3.5 Access3.6 Fibre access3.7 Carrier PreSelection (CPS)3.8 Number Portability (NP)3.9 Wholesale Line Rental (WLR)4. Fixed network operators4.1 Introduction4.2 Portugal Telecom4.3 Oni Communications4.4 Sonaecom4.4.1 Novis4.5 AR Telecom4.5.1 Jazztel (historic)4.6 NOScontinue (List of Tables and Figures)Enquire about this report @About Market Research Hub:Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of telecommunications industry reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients and customers.Contact Us:90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 800-998-4852 (US-Canada)Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite:Read Industry News at- Global Power Generator Rental Market Analysis, Growth Drivers and Opportunities till 2025 MRRSE https://www.mrrse.com/sample/4562 https://www.mrrse.com/power-generator-rental-market https://www.mrrse.com/ https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/ Market Research Report Search Engine (MRRSE) recently announced the addition of a new research study to its comprehensive collection of research reports. The research report, titled Power Generator Rental Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025 offers a detailed analysis of the market, providing insights into the market dynamics that are expected to influence the overall market positively in the next few years. Furthermore, the product segmentation, drivers, barriers, key geographical segments, and the competitive scenario of the global Power Generator Rental Market have been elaborated upon in the research report.Request Free Sample Report @Power generator rental market refers to the service market in which generator are available on rental basis for power generation purposes. This is an emerging market for developing and underdeveloped countries where power shortages is a major issue, and are slowly gaining popularity in these countries and regions. Power is an essential component for the enhancement of any country or economy and plays a vital role in development of the society. Generator rental is a relatively viable option for power generation in cases of power outages or in case of excessive demand for power. All the sectors of society at some point depend on these rental generators for their power requirements. These generators cater wide range of power demands whether from a single house or society or from a major event or from a power intensive industry.The major driving factor behind the growth of power generator rental market is the rising electricity demand along with increased power outages which is a common problem especially in developed and under-developed countries. In the emerging markets the void between the demand for power and the pace of investment in new power generation capacities and in replacement of existing power infrastructure has resulted in the frequent outages and power cuts. This delay in the installation of new capacities mainly due to the capital constraints in these regions along with ageing infrastructures has become a key factor for this market.Power Generators Market to Witness High Demand from End Users such as Oil & Gas & Mining SectorsPower generator rental market are classified on the basis of generator rating as up to 100 KVA generator rating which are majorly used in residential and smaller commercial applications, 101- 500 KVA generator rating which found application in large commercial complexes, large-scale events, and smaller industrial sector, 501- 1000 KVA generator rating which is primarily used for medium to large scale industrial applications, and above 1000 KVA generator rating which are used in utilities and large scale industrial applications. The power generator rental can be classified based upon the fuel type as diesel and natural gas generators. The power generator rental market can also be segregated based upon end-user segment as: utilities, oil & gas, mining, construction, events, others.Complete Outlook of Report @Rising Demand from Middle East & Africa to Create Lucrative Prospects for GrowthRegionally, the global power generator rental market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. Among these nations, the market is likely to witness lucrative prospects in Asia Pacific and the Middle East and Africa. The existing gap between power demand and generation has escalated the demand for power generator rentals in both markets. Among the two regions, the Middle East and Africa is likely to hold dominance in the global market in terms of growth potential. The rising demand for power from developing economies in Africa, which depend upon rental power generators to meet their power requirements. Meanwhile, the markets in Europe and North America have reached maturity. TMR expects North America and Europe to grow at a slow pace in the forthcoming years.The power generator rental market is very fragmented market. The market has only few global players, while the presence of regional and local players is high in this market. Major players in the power generator rental market include Aggreko PLC, APR Energy, Caterpillar Inc., Cummins Inc., Atlas Copco AB., and United Rentals, Inc.About (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.Contact UsState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:Read More Industry News At: Global Poultry Health Market Size and Analysis 2018 - 2025 https://www.researchtrades.com/discount/1457380 https://www.researchtrades.com/request-sample/1457380 https://www.researchtrades.com/report/global-poultry-health-market-research-report-2018/1457380 http://www.researchtrades.com The Global Poultry Health Market report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Poultry Health in these regions, from 2013 to 2025 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaRequest for discount atGlobal Poultry Health market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingBayer HealthcareBoehringer IngelheimCeva Animal HealthElanco (Eli Lilly)MerckMerial (Sanofi)VirbacZoetis Animal HealthcareOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoVaccinesParasiticidesAnti-InfectivesMedicinal Feed AdditivesOther PharmaceuticalsOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, includingFarmHouseOthersRequest for free sample atTable of ContentsGlobal Poultry Health Market Research Report 20181 Poultry Health Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Poultry Health1.2 Poultry Health Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Poultry Health Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Poultry Health Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Vaccines1.2.4 Parasiticides1.2.5 Anti-Infectives1.2.6 Medicinal Feed Additives1.2.7 Other Pharmaceuticals1.3 Global Poultry Health Segment by Application1.3.1 Poultry Health Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.3.2 Farm1.3.3 House1.3.4 Others1.4 Global Poultry Health Market by Region (2013-2025)1.4.1 Global Poultry Health Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2013-2025)1.4.2 North America Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.7 India Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Poultry Health (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global Poultry Health Revenue Status and Outlook (2013-2025)1.5.2 Global Poultry Health Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2013-2025)2 Global Poultry Health Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Poultry Health Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.1.1 Global Poultry Health Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.1.2 Global Poultry Health Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.2 Global Poultry Health Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.3 Global Poultry Health Average Price by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.4 Manufacturers Poultry Health Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Poultry Health Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Poultry Health Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Poultry Health Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, ExpansionBrowse complete report at3 Global Poultry Health Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018)3.1 Global Poultry Health Capacity and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.2 Global Poultry Health Production and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.3 Global Poultry Health Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.4 Global Poultry Health Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.5 North America Poultry Health Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.6 Europe Poultry Health Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.7 China Poultry Health Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.8 Japan Poultry Health Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.9 Southeast Asia Poultry Health Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.10 India Poultry Health Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)Who we areResearch Trades has team of experts who works on providing exhaustive analysis pertaining to market research on a global basis. This comprehensive analysis is obtained by a thorough research and study of the ongoing trends and provides predictive data regarding the future estimations, which can be utilized by various organizations for growth purposes.We distribute customized reports that focus on meeting the clients specific requirement. Our database consists of a large collection of high-quality reports obtained using a customer-centric approach, thus providing valuable research insights.Contact us:Email: sales@researchtrades.comCall us: +1 6269994607 (USA), +91 7507349866 (IND)Web:Skype ID: researchtradescon Global Portable Recorders Industry 2018 Market Research Report http://www.qyresearchglobal.com/goods-1469397.html http://qyresearcheurope.com/ http://qyresearchglobal.com/ SummaryIn this report, the global Portable Recorders market is valued at USD XX million in 2017 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2017 and 2025.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Portable Recorders in these regions, from 2013 to 2025 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesEUChinaJapanSouth KoreaTaiwanGlobal Portable Recorders market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingSonyPhilipsPandaSuborOlympusSAFAHyundai DigitalCenluxAigoJingwah DigitalVasoHnsatDegenNewsmyTecsumOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoBuilt-in MemoryExternal MemoryOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, includingConsumer ElectronicsPerformanceOtherIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.The Global Portable Recorders Industry 2018 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Portable Recorders industry.Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Portable Recorders market analysis is provided for the international market including competitive landscape analysis, and major regionsdevelopment status.Secondly, development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures. This report also states import/export, supply and consumption figures as well as cost, price, revenue and gross margin by regions (America, Europe and China), and other regions can be added.Finally, the feasibility of new investment projects is assessed, and overall research conclusions are offered.In a word, the report provides major statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Product website link:Sample request,please email: sales@qyresearchglobal.comTable of Contents1 Industry Overview of Portable Recorders2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Portable Recorders3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Portable Recorders4 Capacity, Production and Revenue Analysis of Portable Recorders by Regions and Manufacturers5 Price, Cost, Gross and Gross Margin Analysis of Portable Recorders by Regions and Manufacturers6 Consumption Volume, Consumption Value and Sale Price Analysis of Portable Recorders by Regions and Applications7 Supply, Import, Export and Consumption Analysis of Portable Recorders8 Major Manufacturers Analysis of Portable Recorders9 Marketing Trader or Distributor Analysis of Portable Recorders10 Industry Chain Analysis of Portable RecordersMain chapter showed:4 Global Portable Recorders Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2018)4.1 Global Portable Recorders Consumption by Regions (2011-2016)4.2 North America Portable Recorders Production, Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2018)4.3 Europe Portable Recorders Production, Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2018)5 Global Portable Recorders Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Portable Recorders Production and Market Share by Type (2011-2018)5.2 Global Portable Recorders Revenue and Market Share by Type (2011-2018)Related reportGlobal Portable Recorders sales Industry 2018 Market Research ReportUnite States Portable Recorders Industry 2018 Market Research ReportEurope Portable Recorders Industry 2018 Market Research ReportAsia-Pacific Portable Recorders Industry 2018 Market Research ReportEMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Portable Recorders Market Report 2018Thank you for reading the essay.If you are interested in it or have any questions,plesase contact me.QYRESEARCH CO., LTDJosephine Luo - QYResearch Report Global SalesEmail:sales@qyresearchglobal.com or josephine@qyresearch.comWeb:QYResearch, established in 2007, focuses on custom research, management consulting, IPO consulting, industry chain research, and data base &seminar services. The company owns large basic databases (such as National Bureau of Statistics Database, Customs Import and Export Database, Industry Association Database, etc.), expert resources (including industry experts who own more than 10 years experiences on marketing or R&D in industries of energy, automotive, chemicals, medical ICT consumer goods, etc.), professional survey team (the team members obtained more than 3 years market survey experience and more than 2 years deep expert interview experience), and excellent data analysis team (SPSS statistics and PPT graphics process team).Room 2905, Vili International, 167 Linhe West Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, ChinaGuangzhou 510000 China "FLIGHT SIMULATOR" FOR BRAINS GETS THUMBS UP FROM NEUROSURGEONS https://kepleruniklinikum.at/ http://www.prd.at/ SURGERY SIMULATOR FROM KEPLER UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, LINZ, IMPROVES NEUROSURGICAL TRAINING AND ENHANCES PATIENT SAEFTYLinz (Austria), 22nd of March, 2018 In recently completed practical tests at the Department of Neurosurgery at Kepler University Hospital, Linz (Austria), a highly advanced brain surgery simulator has received overwhelming approval from experienced neurosurgeons. In a unique first, the system is able to simulate complicated surgery for dangerous bulges in arteries under realistic conditions. This could offer major benefits in training neurosurgeons to perform these challenging operations. Now, the results were published in the international journal World Neurosurgery.Its not just pilots who need to ensure that the tools of their trade provide pinpoint precision. In neurosurgery, precision is just as much a matter of life and death. In both cases, training the necessary skills should be absolutely risk-free. Responding to these demands, the Department of Neurosurgery at Kepler University Hospital in Linz developed a high-performance simulator for budding neurosurgeons, which has now been put through expert testing.INNOVATION WITH FEELINGThe development of the highly promising simulator involved neuroscientists and software engineers engaging in close collaboration. According to Prof. Andreas Gruber, Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery, "This collaboration has, for the first time ever, enabled us to simulate arterial wall movement and real blood flow with a very high degree of realism. These two factors are crucial for successfully treating dangerous bulges in arteries known as aneurysms. While correct placement of the clips used to fix aneurysms is highly dependent on arterial wall movement, changes in blood flow are a crucial source of information about the success of the operation."But the simulator developed at Kepler University Hospital pushes the innovation envelope even further. Trainees are able to use the actual instruments involved in these operations, allowing a greater degree of realism than ever before. And thats still not all the simulator even features real-time technology. This means that the encounter between surgical instrument and arterial wall is computed instantly, with no lag, thereby matching the chronology of a real operation. "In this way, surgeons can learn under realistic conditions," notes Prof. Gruber, This is absolutely essential for training and perfecting key skills, such as hand-eye coordination, depth perception and tactile discrimination.PRACTICAL EVALUATIONThe simulator has now been tested by experienced neurosurgeons with an average of over 14 years of neurosurgery experience. The simulations were based on data from actual operations. This allowed the results of the simulated surgery to be compared with the results of actual surgery. After using the simulator, 89% of the neurosurgeons reported that it had improved their anatomical understanding, while as many as 94% would like to see the simulator incorporated into neurosurgery education.The software system for virtual aneurysm surgery has been under development since 2012 in a joint project between the Department of Neurosurgery and the Institute for Neuroradiology at Kepler University Hospital, in cooperation with RISC Software GmbH, Hagenberg (Austria). The challenge has been to achieve the greatest possible degree of realism while minimising the required computing power. On the one hand, the simulation requires a demanding mathematical model to represent arterial wall behaviour. On the other hand, the realistic simulation of the operation calls for real-time computations. By drawing on special methods and algorithms and thanks to smart allocation of available processing power, the team has succeeded in meeting the different requirements.GROUNDBREAKING SIMULATIONThe paper, which has been published in an international journal, once again demonstrates the importance that Austrias largest University Hospital Neurosurgery Department places on integrating tried and tested innovation into its clinical practice. The ultimate goal is that simulations of aneurysm surgery should be used for both education and training, as well as for pre-operative planning.Images available on requestOriginal publication: Virtual Cerebral Aneurysm Clipping with Real-Time Haptic Force Feedback in Neurosurgical Education. M. Gmeiner, J. Dirnberger, W. Fenz, M. Gollwitzer, G. Wurm, J. Trenkler, A. Gruber.World Neurosurg. 2018 Jan 11, pii: S1878-8750(18)30082-2. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2018.01.042.About the Department of Neurosurgery at Kepler University HospitalThe department is the largest University Hospital Neurosurgery Department in Austria and offers patients a full range of diagnostic and therapeutic neurosurgery services. It includes an interdisciplinary acute neurology/neurosurgery aftercare ward which provides early remobilisation therapies. The department treats 3,600 inpatients per year, with an average stay of 6.14 days, as well as dealing with 12,700 outpatient appointments. The department has five operating theatres, where around 2,600 operations are performed annually.Enquiries:Scientific ContactProf. Andreas GruberUniversitatsklinik fur NeurochirurgieKepler Universitatsklinikum GmbHWagner-Jauregg-Weg 154021 Linz / AustriaT +43 / 5 / 7680 87-25901E andreas.gruber_1@kepleruniklinikum.atPR&DCopy Editing & DistributionPR&D Public Relations fur Forschung & BildungIra PaschingerMariannengasse 81090 Vienna / AustriaT +43 / 1 / 505 70 44E paschinger@prd.at Global Genomics Personalized Health Market Status and Analysis 2025 https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1667362&type=S https://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-genomics-personalized-health-market-size-status-and-forecast-2025.htm/toc https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1667362&type=D http://www.qyresearchreports.com Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global Genomics Personalized Health Market Size, Status and Forecast 2025" to its huge collection of research reports.The global market for Genomics Personalized Health is the focus of analysis of the recently published report. Based on information sourced through extensive primary and secondary research, the report presents refined forecasts for the Genomics Personalized Health market. It studies the drivers and hurdles that the markets trajectory would encounter in the near future along with the opportunities and pitfalls that players might come across while trying to expand their operations and revenues. To do so, the market research study leverages analytical tools such as Porters Five Forces and SWOT Analysis.For the purpose of study, the report segments the global market for Genomics Personalized Health based on different parameters such as products, technology, and applications. It then delves into each segment to find out which one spells maximum opportunities for savvy players. It also tries to uncover which geographic region holds a sway over the market Genomics Personalized Health.This report studies the global Genomics Personalized Health market, analyzes and researches the Genomics Personalized Health development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeQIAGENIlluminaThermo Fisher ScientificBio-Rad LaboratoriesF. Hoffmann-La RocheLonza GroupInvitae CorporationGenetic TechnologiesInterleukin GeneticsEastern Biotech and Life SciencesDNA GenotekuBiomeEnter your information below to receive a sample copy of this report @Some of the key questions the report tries to answer are:What are the headwinds and tailwinds affecting the trajectory of the global market for Genomics Personalized Health?What the macro-fundamentals are holding a sway over the market dynamics?What is the size of the market for Genomics Personalized Health in terms of revenue and value?Which are the key product, application, and end use segments in the market for Genomics Personalized Health?What are the key geographic regions into which the market can be divided into?Which are the prominent companies operating in the market and what is their respective market shares?What are winning strategies of the players in the market? How is shaping the contours of the market?The report groups all the information into separate paragraphs and tables and charts so that it is easy for readers to grasp the crucial bits fast enough and then take strategic business decisions easily.Table of ContentsGlobal Genomics Personalized Health Market Size, Status and Forecast 20251 Industry Overview of Genomics Personalized Health1.1 Genomics Personalized Health Market Overview1.1.1 Genomics Personalized Health Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Genomics Personalized Health Market Size and Analysis by Regions (2013-2018)1.2.1 United StatesRead Complete Table of Content @2 Global Genomics Personalized Health Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Genomics Personalized Health Market Size (Value) by Players (2013-2018)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 QIAGEN3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Genomics Personalized Health Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.1.5 Recent Developments4 Global Genomics Personalized Health Market Size by Type and Application (2013-2018)4.1 Global Genomics Personalized Health Market Size by Type (2013-2018)4.2 Global Genomics Personalized Health Market Size by Application (2013-2018)4.3 Potential Application of Genomics Personalized Health in Future4.4 Top Consumer/End Users of Genomics Personalized HealthGet discount copy @List of Tables and FiguresFigure Global Genomics Personalized Health Market Size (Million USD) Status and Outlook (2013-2018)Table Global Genomics Personalized Health Revenue (Million USD) Comparison by Regions (2013-2018)Figure Global Genomics Personalized Health Market Share by Regions (2013-2018)Figure United States Genomics Personalized Health Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2013-2018)Figure EU Genomics Personalized Health Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2013-2018)Figure Japan Genomics Personalized Health Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2013-2018)Figure China Genomics Personalized Health Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2013-2018)About Us:QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact Us:1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com Global Wood Crown Moulding Market Production and Share by Manufacturers 2018 https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1584433&type=S https://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-wood-crown-moulding-sales-market-report-2018.htm/toc https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1584433&type=D http://www.qyresearchreports.com Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global Wood Crown Moulding Sales Market Report 2018" to its huge collection of research reports.The international market for Wood Crown Moulding has been researched on with every detail in the publication with increased emphasis on various significant factors such as growth drivers, restraints and market opportunities. Each of the elements that pertain to the shaping of the market dynamics that has been analyzed and studied in detail by the research analysts, so as to offer the best and most evaluative and exhaustive study to the report buyers. The snapshot or the executive summary that has been provided in the market intelligence study has been designed in such a way so as to give a quick overview of the market for receiving information on the go. This could help readers with hands-on data needed to make quick decisions anytime during their growth journey in the market.Global Wood Crown Moulding market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Wood Crown Moulding sales volume, Price (USD/m), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingMetrieEkena MillworkAlexandriaHouse of FaraWoodgrain MillworkOrnamental MouldingBosley MouldingsBT MouldingBoulangerFill the form to gain deeper insights on this market @The study of market segmentations that has been offered with the publication that explores some of the most significant categories of the world Wood Crown Moulding market is deemed significant for the growth of industry participants. All of the segments that have been studied elaborately in the said publication have been deeply evaluated with assistance from best of the research techniques. The analysts have dissected each of the segments and have shed light on vital factors that influence the growth of the various segments. Using this crucial information, market players could rightly shape their business plans in favor of the betterment of their growth in the world market. Segments that have been analyzed in the publication could be related to product, end use, application, and geography.A group of experienced analysts who have prepared the said report delves deep into the various factors that hinder or fuel the global market for Wood Crown Moulding. It also discovers and mentions the important trends that are emerging in the said market. Banking upon all these information that has been gathered so far, it has come up with the best course of action for all the stake holders of the market.Table of ContentsGlobal Wood Crown Moulding Sales Market Report 20181 Wood Crown Moulding Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Wood Crown Moulding1.2 Classification of Wood Crown Moulding by Product Category1.2.1 Global Wood Crown Moulding Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Wood Crown Moulding Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Poplar1.2.4 Bass1.2.5 OakTo Browse a Full Report with TOC:2 Global Wood Crown Moulding Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application2.1 Global Wood Crown Moulding Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Global Wood Crown Moulding Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2013-2018)2.1.2 Global Wood Crown Moulding Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2013-2018)2.2 Global Wood Crown Moulding (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global Wood Crown Moulding Sales and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)2.2.2 Global Wood Crown Moulding Revenue and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)3 United States Wood Crown Moulding (Volume, Value and Sales Price)3.1 United States Wood Crown Moulding Sales and Value (2013-2018)3.1.1 United States Wood Crown Moulding Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2018)3.1.2 United States Wood Crown Moulding Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2018)3.1.3 United States Wood Crown Moulding Sales Price Trend (2013-2018)3.2 United States Wood Crown Moulding Sales Volume and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)3.3 United States Wood Crown Moulding Sales Volume and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)To Get Discount Of This Report Click here @List of Tables and FiguresFigure Product Picture of Wood Crown MouldingFigure Global Wood Crown Moulding Sales Volume Comparison (Km) by Type (2013-2025)Figure Global Wood Crown Moulding Sales Volume Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 2017Figure Poplar Product PictureFigure Bass Product PictureFigure Global Wood Crown Moulding Market Size (Million USD) by Regions (2013-2025)Figure United States Wood Crown Moulding Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2013-2025)Figure China Wood Crown Moulding Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2013-2025)About Us:QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact Us:1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com Industrial Automation Market 2018 by Global Leaders: Mitsubishi Electric, Yokogawa Electric, Rockwell Automation, Honeywell International, Schneider Electric, General Electric Company, Emerson Electric Company, ABB https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2212 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/industrial-automation-market-2212 Market Research Future published a research report on Industrial Automation Market Research Report- Forecast 2022 Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2022.Market HighlightsIn this rapidly changing environment, companies are expanding their scale of operations by increasing investments. In industrial automation innovation is very beneficial. Industrial automation has become worldwide. Different countries are exploring ways for industrial automation. Robotics in industrial automation has established a trend in industrial automation.Internet of things (IoT) is considered as a major component with respect to industrial automation therefore industries adopting Internet of Things which has increased the demand for industrial automation. There was a recent report from the United Nation about the industrial automation which stated that there are high chances that industrial automation would disrupt the labor market. This has become a threat for industrial automation.The Industrial Automation Market is growing rapidly over 6% of CAGR and is expected to reach at USD 149 billion by the end of forecast period. Cost reduction, high efficiency in the process and ability to provide the overall information and initiate early stage development for the products are the major driving factors of this market.Get Sample of Report @Key PlayersThe prominent players in the industrial automation market are- Siemens AG (Germany), ABB Ltd. (Switzerland), Emerson Electric Company (U.S.), General Electric Company (U.S.), Schneider Electric SE (France), Honeywell International, Inc. (U.S.), Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (Japan), Yokogawa Electric (Japan), and Rockwell Automation, Inc. (U.S.) among others.Industrial Automation Market SegmentationThe Industrial Automation Market has been segmented on the basis of type, technology, and end user. Looking through the industry segments its been observed that manufacturing industry would expect a substantial increase in industrial automation sector. Whereas metals and mining, oil and gas, automotive and transport industries are also leading industries in industrial automation sector. These industries are showing a positive growth towards industrial automation.Market Research Analysis:Market Research Future Analysis shows that there are many organizations which are lagging in industrial automation but there is an expectation of sudden hike in industrial automation. It has been observed that many companies are getting incentives for increasing their investment in industrial automation. The major benefits of industrial automation are increase in production, quality and replacing labor intervention. These factors would definitely increase the industrial automation market very soon.Regional analysis for industrial automation market is studied in different geographic regions as Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of world. It has been observed that Europe would account for larger share in industrial automation sector followed by North America and Asia-Pacific. Asia-Pacific countries like Japan, China, and Korea, also the south East Asian countries like Vietnam are also showing progress in field of industrial automation.Get complete Report @Intended Audience Process Automation and Instrumentation Manufacturers Industrial Robot Manufacturers MES (Manufacturing Execution System) and MOM (Manufacturing Operations Management) Players System Integrators Government Organizations Research/Consultancy firmsAbout Us:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Media Contact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Asia-Pacific Power Distribution Cabinets Market Report 2018 Asia-Pacific Power Distribution Cabinets Market Report 2018 http://www.qyresearchglobal.com/goods-1472584.html http://www.qyresearcheurope.com/ The Asia-Pacific Power Distribution Cabinets Market Report 2018 is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Power Distribution Cabinets industry.Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Power Distribution Cabinets Industry analysis is provided for the international market including development history, competitive landscape analysis, and major regions development status.Secondly, development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures. This report also states import/export, supply and consumption figures as well as cost, price, revenue and gross margin by regions (United States, EU, China and Japan), and other regions can be added.Then, the report focuses on global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials, equipment and downstream consumers analysis is also carried out. Whats more, the Power Distribution Cabinets industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.Finally, the feasibility of new investment projects is assessed, and overall research conclusions are offered.In a word, the report provides major statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.If you are interested in our report or have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want. Email: tinaning@qyresearch.com.In this report, the Asia-Pacific Power Distribution Cabinets market is valued at USD XX million in 2017 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2017 and 2025.Geographically, this report split Asia-Pacific into several key Regions, with sales (K Units), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Power Distribution Cabinets for these regions, from 2013 to 2025 (forecast), including China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, India, Southeast Asia and Australia.Asia-Pacific Power Distribution Cabinetspe market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Power Distribution Cabinetspe sales volume, price, revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players including(we can add the regions/countries as you want)EatonSiemensABBGESchneider ElectricVertivEmersonFujitsuDelta Energy SystemsPentairLayerZero Power SystemsOn the basis of product, this report displays the sales volum, revenue, product price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoLow-voltageMiddle-voltageHigh-voltageOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate for each application, includingResidentialCommercialIndustrialGet a complete report sample:Table of contents:Chapter 1 Power Distribution Cabinets OverviewChapter 2 Asia-Pacific Power Distribution Cabinets Competition by Players/Suppliers, Region, Type and ApplicationChapter 3 China Power Distribution Cabinets (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Chapter 4 Japan Power Distribution Cabinets (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Chapter 5 South Korea Power Distribution Cabinets (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Chapter 6 Taiwan Power Distribution Cabinets (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Chapter 7 India Power Distribution Cabinets (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Chapter 8 Southeast Asia Power Distribution Cabinets (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Chapter 9 Australia Power Distribution Cabinets (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Chapter 10 Asia-Pacific Power Distribution Cabinets Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales DataChapter 11 Power Distribution Cabinets Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 12 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 13 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 14 Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 15 Asia-Pacific Power Distribution Cabinets Market Forecast (2018-2025)Chapter 16 Research Findings and ConclusionChapter 17 AppendixRelated Reports:Europe Power Distribution Cabinets Market Report 2018China Power Distribution Cabinets Market Report 2018India Power Distribution Cabinets Market Report 2018Korea Power Distribution Cabinets Market Report 2018USA Power Distribution Cabinets Market Report 2018Japan Power Distribution Cabinets Market Report 2018Contact Details:Company Name: QYResearch CO.,LIMITED | focus on Market Survey and ResearchTina| Sales ManagersTel: 0086-20-22093278(CN)Email: sales@qyresearcheurope.com or tinaning@qyresearch.comWeb:QYResearch established in 2007, focus on custom research, management consulting, IPO consulting, industry chain research, data base cand seminar services. The company owned a large basic data base (such as National Bureau of statistics database, Customs import and export database, Industry Association Database etc), experts resources (included energy automotive chemical medical ICT consumer goods etc industries experts who own more than 10 years experiences on marketing or R&D), professional survey team (the team member with more than 3 years market survey experience and more than 2 years depth expert interview experience),Excellent data analysis team (SPSS statistics and PPT graphics process team); QYResearch has always pursuit product quality, adhere to the quality is the soul of business.Room 2901 VILI International Building No.167 Linhe West Road Global Embedded Security For Internet Of Things Market Analysis and Opportunity Assessment till 2027 Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) https://www.mrrse.com/sample/3233 https://www.mrrse.com/embedded-security-for-internet-of-things-market https://www.mrrse.com/enquiry/3233 https://www.mrrse.com/ https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/ A latest research report titled as Embedded Security For Internet Of Things Market: Controller Chip Segment Expected to be the Most Attractive Segment by Component: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2017-2027 has been recently added to the vast portfolio of Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) online research offerings. This report is a professional and in-depth analysis on the present state and future prospect for the global market. It provides valuable information to the industry insiders, potential entrants or investors. It includes an exhaustive enquiry with the reliability of logic and the comprehensiveness of contents.Request For Free Sample Report @In terms of revenue, the controller chip segment is projected to be the most attractive segment in the global embedded security for Internet of Things (IoT) market during the forecast period. This segment is also likely to register high Y-o-Y growth rates throughout the forecast period and is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 14.7% between 2017 and 2027. The controller chip segment is estimated to be valued at more than US$ 2,300 Mn in 2017, accounting for more than 80% of the global market revenue share. This segment is expected to remain dominant in terms of revenue throughout the forecast period. The segment is projected to create incremental $ opportunity of more than US$ 6,800 Mn between 2017 and 2027.Growing intensity of cyber-attacks on IoT devices and networks will create a positive impact on the controller chip segmentDue to increasing intensity of cyber-attacks, various associations that promote best practices for implementing IoT solutions have issued guidelines for implementation and adoption of necessary security solutions in order to protect against such attacks. Implementation of embedded controller chipsets is one such guideline promoting the adoption of embedded solutions for IoT. An increasing use of controller chipsets in order to ensure protection from cyber-attacks is expected to drive revenue growth of the controller chip segment in the global embedded security for Internet of Things (IoT) market. For instance, in December 2016, a non-profit multi-industry association called Smart Card Alliance promoting best practices for smart card applications in the U.S. and Latin America issued guidelines for the adoption of embedded hardware security (controller chipset) solutions involving end devices to include hardware features and functions to ensure that the required security standards are implemented and maintained.Increasing adoption of IoT globally is resulting in a large number of devices being connected, communicating and exchanging data with each other seamlessly. Devices connected through IoT networks are used in verticals including smart cities, healthcare, industrial automation, retail, agriculture and others. According to U.S. based IoT solutions provider Cisco Systems Inc., around 7% of global mobile data traffic will come from devices connected through the IoT by 2020. A rising number of IoT enabled connected devices will result in increased demand for security solutions in terms of hardware. Increasing focus on the component aspect of security is the new trend in the global market that is likely to fuel the growth of the controller chip segment.Browse Full Report with TOC @Security software alone is not sufficient to protect IoT devices against cyber-attacks and malware and needs to be supported by reliable hardware for data processing and safe storage. Vulnerable hardware components are susceptible to unauthorised access and data theft, thereby compromising the security of the overall system, which is why OEMs are turning towards embedded component suppliers who can address these security issues effectively.BlackBerrys cloud-based IoT platform addresses security aspects of the Internet of ThingsIn January 2015, Canadian telecom solutions provider BlackBerry launched a cloud-based IoT platform with device management features enabling data gathering from a range of devices and networks. The platform enables application developers, business partners, and others to collaborate on different aspects of IoT solutions including security. Initially, the platform was targeted at the automotive and shipping sector and in future, it will be extended to other verticals such as energy and healthcare.Non-adherence to guidelines issued by governing authorities is a major market growth restraintAlthough a number of governing authorities have issued guidelines to be followed by IoT device manufacturers so as to protect against cyber-attacks happening on IoT networks and devices, many device manufacturers and users do not strictly adhere to these guidelines nor take any precautionary measures. Non-adherence to security guidelines results in security lapses, which cyber attackers take advantage of, resulting in unauthorised data access and data thefts. This is a major factor hampering revenue growth of the global embedded security for Internet of Things (IoT) market.Enquire about this Report @About Market Research Reports Search EngineMarket Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.Contact UsState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:Read More Industry News At: Bolton, probably the most divisive foreign policy expert ever to serve as U.N. ambassador, has served as a hawkish voice in Republican foreign policy circles for decades. He met with Trump and White House chief of staff John Kelly in early March to discuss North Korea and Iran. He was spotted entering the West Wing earlier Thursday. Bolton has served in the Republican administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, and served as a Bush lawyer during the 2000 Florida recount. A strong supporter of the Iraq war and an advocate for aggressive use of American power in foreign policy, Bolton was unable to win Senate confirmation after his nomination to the U.N. post alienated many Democrats and even some Republicans. He resigned after serving 17 months as a Bush "recess appointment," which allowed him to hold the job on a temporary basis without Senate confirmation. Tension between Trump and McMaster has grown increasingly public. Last month, Trump took issue with McMaster's characterization of Russian meddling in the 2016 election after the national security adviser told the Munich Security Summit that interference was beyond dispute. Global Single Serve Coffee Maker Market: North America to Remain the Largest Region in Terms of Volume MRRSE https://www.mrrse.com/sample/4311 https://www.mrrse.com/single-serve-coffee-maker-market https://www.mrrse.com/ https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/ A new research study titled Global Market Study on Single Serve Coffee Maker: North America to be the Most Lucrative Market During the Period of Assessment (2017 - 2026) has recently been submitted to the repository of Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE). The report projects global sales to reach nearly 98,900 thousand units by the end of 2026. The report projects the global single serve coffee maker market to witness steady CAGR during the assessment period.Request Free Sample Report @The report is a valuable source of information that offers readers detailed insights on the future of single serve coffee maker market. The key strategies of some of the leading players have been discussed in detail in the report. In addition to highlighting the product and business strategies, the report also delves into the overall financials and other product offerings of the key players. The report profiles some of the leading players operating in the market. Some of these players are Keurig Green Mountain, Inc., Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc., Nestle Nespresso S.A., BUNN-O-Matic Corporation, LUIGI LAVAZZA SPA, Sunbeam Products, Inc., DeLonghi Appliances S.r.l., Spectrum Brand Holdings, Inc., JURA Elektroapparate AG and Krups GmbH.The report also includes a detailed market dynamics section that offers analysis on the drivers, restraints, opportunities, and trends that are impacting the global market. According to the report, the demand for single serve coffee makers is increasing at a steady pace, on account of their ease of use and low cost. Although the cost per cup of coffee is higher in single serve coffee makers, they are ideal for small families and people with hectic lifestyles owing to the minimal cleaning required after preparation of coffee. These factors are likely to sustain the growth of the market during the assessment period.The report segments the global single serve coffee maker market into sales channel, brew size and region. The sales channel segment is further sub-segmented into boutiques, e-Commerce and other. The brew size segment is categorized into 8 Oz, 10 Oz, 12 Oz and More than 12 Oz. The global market is divided geographically into key regions globally which are North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan, Middle East & Africa and Japan.Complete Outlook of Report @According to the report, e-commerce is emerging as a lucrative sales channel for the global market on account of lucrative deals and discounts. By 2026, over 67,000 units of single serve coffee makers are likely to be sold through the e-commerce channel. By region, North America is likely to account for higher sales, owing to preference for coffee as a staple among consumers. Increasing popularity of coffee in Asia Pacific can open up growth opportunities for manufacturers.Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of market intelligence reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.About (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.Contact UsState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:Read More Industry News At: Trolley Bags Market Intelligence Report for Comprehensive Information 2017 2027 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-5316 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-5316 www.futuremarketinsights.com Globally, in the recent year bag market are growing due to give the priority on uses of bags for carrying the things rather than alternative because it provides the facility of easy handling and is expected to grow during the forecast period. Trolley bag is one of the solution which makes carrying of things more easily during travelling. Travelling and handling of luggage themselves can be difficult for the persons, who may be battling with limited strength, eyesight, stamina or dexterity. Trolley bags are one of the significant solutions that makes elders self-dependent in travel and provide comfort in moving from one place to another place.Trolley bags are the better solution rather than the alternatives such as backpacks, and duffle bags because trolley bags are large in size so it carries more amount of things and pulling off the heavy bag is simpler than keeping in hand or back. Nowadays you can get similarly durable, lightweight, soft and hard-sided trolley bags. Hard sided trolley bags still offers the best protection while soft sided trolley bags offer more flexibility, which mean they can be expandable with external pockets. Soft sided trolley bags are more popular nowadays due to the nature of flexibility.There are several reasons which play a significant role in the growth of global trolley bags market. One of the significant factors contributing towards the growth of the global trolley bags market is expected in developing market owing to economic growth and increasing middle class with growing disposable income.People started investing our large amount of disposable income on traveling and exploring new places, for carrying things during travelling they must prefer bags and it is directly positively impact the global trolley bags market. Another factor contributes towards the growth of the global trolley bags market is change in the life style pattern and habituate about comfortable life. Lack of sales distributor network may be the reason which affects the emerging growth of the global trolley bags market.Request Report Sample@Global trolley bags market segmented on the basis of by material, by capacity and by distribution channel.By material type, global trolley bags market is segmented into:Aluminum,Polyester,Polycarbonate,Polypropylene,ABS.By capacity type, global trolley bags market is segmented into:Small (21 22 inches),Medium (24 26 inches),Large (28 30 inches).By distributor channel, global trolley bags market is segmented into:Hypermarket / Supermarket,Ecommerce,Retail Stores,Convenience Stores,Others.Geographically, the global trolley bags market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America is expected to be the biggest subscriber in terms of volume and value because of growing standard of living and increase of disposable incomes. India and China have expected the significant growth in market volume share due to the rise in the retail sector in these regions.Request For Table Of Content @China is the largest producer and exporter of trolley bags whereas Europe and North America have the highest demand of trolley bags. Europe is expected to occupy significant share in trolley bags market significantly. Asia Pacific and North America has the largest regional market for trolley bags, owing to high demand from customers. The Middle East andCentral and South America are expected to observe considerable growth rates in near future.Few of the major players identified across the globe in the trolley bags market are VIP Industries Ltd., Samsonite LLC, PrinceWare Plastics International Pvt. Ltd., American Tourister, Inc., Proteca, SUNCO Luggage, WE GROUP Ltd., TITAN Kofferwerk GmbH, VAUDE Sport GmbH & Co. KG, Oasis bags, SKM Luggage Industries Pte Ltd., Wenzhou Cathylin Luggage Co., Ltd., Backpacks South Africa, etc.Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.Future Market InsightsValley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Electric Vehicles Charging Stations Market 2018 Global Key Players, Size, Share, Trends, and Industry Forecast to 2023 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/4647 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/electric-vehicles-charging-stations-market-4647 Electric Vehicles Charging Stations Market Analysis Research 2018 provides comprehensive information on Global Electric Vehicles Charging Stations Market Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Region with forecast to 2023. Report analyzes Electric Vehicles Charging Stations Market for North America, Europe, APAC and Rest of the World. Report provides Global Electric Vehicles Charging Stations Market By Charging Type (AC Charging and DC Charging), By Connector (CHAdeMO, Combined Charging System and Others), by Application (Residential and Commercial) and By Region.Global Electric Vehicles Charging Stations Market Synopsis:Global electric vehicle charging stations market has seen remarkable growth due to the rise in the sales of electric vehicles. It has been observed that the market demand will grow on a rapid pace during the forecast period. This market is expected to grow at ~ 30% CAGR during forecast period. The global electric vehicle charging station market has been largely influenced by the growth in the number of electric cars and trucks, and government initiatives on reducing vehicles emissions. Focus on renewable forms of energy and government regulations on tax exemptions on electric vehicles also lead to the growth of the market. In spite of the growth factors, the global market could face the challenges such as high installation cost, non-availability of public charging stations and slow charging time.Get Sample Copy of Report on Electric Vehicles Charging Stations Market spread across 100 Pages, Profiling Key Companies and Supported with Tables and Figures is now available atKey Players:Robert Bosch GmbH (Germany), Continental AG (Germany), Autoliv Inc. (Sweden), Nissin Kogyo Co., Ltd. (Japan), WABCO Vehicle Control Systems (Belgium), TRW Automotive (U.S.), Hyundai Mobis (South Korea), Denso Corporation (Japan), Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd. (Japan), and Advics Co., Ltd. (Japan).Market Research Analysis:Geographically, Asia Pacific is the leading market for electric vehicle charging stations and has consumed the market share of more than 50% in 2016. Presence of China, Japan and South Korea is one of the major factors driving the electric vehicles market, which will increase the demand for charging stations. China is the largest market for electric cars and electric two wheelers. Since 2015, sales have been grown massively in China. However, it has created an ample scope for the manufacturers to cover the region. Moreover, the automakers such as Tesla, Tata Motors, Hyundai and others have decided to commence electric car production in India as well. This is a profitable decision as the government has been taking various steps to invest more into these countries.Scope of the Report:This study provides an overview of the global electric vehicles charging station market, tracking three market segments across four geographic regions. The report studies key players, providing a five-year annual trend analysis that highlights market size, volume and share for North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Rest of the World (ROW). The report also provides a forecast, focusing on the market opportunities for the next five years for each region. The scope of the study segments the global electric vehicles charging station market by charging type, by connector, by application and by regions.By Charging TypeAC ChargingDC ChargingBy ConnectorCHAdeMOCombined Charging SystemOthersBy ApplicationCommercialResidentiaBy RegionsNorth AmericaAsia PacificEuropeRest of the WorldThe report for Global Electric Vehicle Charging Station Market of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions.Access More Report Details at:About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact:Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Global Industrial Robotics Industry 2018 Outlook By Geographical Segmentation, Market Size, Share, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecasts to 2025 The Insight Partners http://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPTE100000635 http://www.theinsightpartners.com/inquiry/TIPTE100000635 http://www.theinsightpartners.com/reports/industrial-robotics-market The Insight Partners has announced the addition of the Industrial Robotics Market to 2025 Global Analysis and Forecasts by Types (Articulated, Cartesian, SCARA, and Collaborative); by Function (Soldering & Welding, Material Handling, Assembling & Disassembling, Painting & Dispensing, Milling, and Cutting & Processing) and Industry (Automotive, Medical & Pharmaceuticals, Electrical & Electronics, Rubber & Plastics, Metal & Machinery, and Food & Agriculture) report to their offering.The market for industrial robotics is at its growing phase in certain countries and at infant stage in some developing countries. The market is further expected to flourish with increasing government support for automation in industries including, industrial robotics across the globe. Global industrial robotics market is expected to grow from US$ 16,847.6 million in 2017 to US$ 48,166.9 million by 2025 at a CAGR of 14.2% between 2018 and 2025. One of the key factor propelling the market growth for industrial robotics is constantly aging population of several countries worldwide resulting in increasing labor costs. As per WHO, approximately 2 Bn people globally are anticipated to be more than 60 years old by 2050, which is over triple of what it was in 2000. Diminishing fertility rates and longer lifespans are the major factors contributing to this growth. Further, increasing support from governments is also bolstering the growth of the market. For instance, Chinese government announced a five-year Robotics Industry Development Plan for the expansion of Chinas industrial robotics sector. The government is offering considerable subsidies and tax breaks for industrial automation.Request Sample Copy is Available atThe report focuses on an in-depth segmentation of this market based by types, function and industry. The geographic segmentation of the report covers five major regions including; North Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SA). The regional market has been further bifurcated by respective countries. By industry segment, automotive sector accounted for the largest share of the industrial robotics market in 2017; whereas APAC region is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.The report aims to provide an overview of global industrial robotics market with detailed market segmentation. Also, it analyzes the current industrial robotics market scenario and forecasts the market till 2025. The report covers market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period. Furthermore, the report analyzes the competitive scenario, geographic trends, and opportunities in the markets with respect to all geographic regions. The report also includes the detailed company profiles of the key players in the market along with their market strategies and SWOT analysis. The report also provides detailed PEST analysis for the major geographic regions such as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa and South America.Inquiry before Buying atAPAC is one of the prominent regions in industrial robotics market which is contributing highest revenue globally due to rapidly growing manufacturing sector of the region and increasing competition demanding for better productivity and efficiency. Rapidly growing economies in Asia-Pacific (APAC) with significant growth manufacturing will pave the path for increasing adoption and propel the market for industrial robotics. Also, the APAC region is expected to grow with highest CAGR during the forecast period, with China contributing the major share. Furthermore, Europe region is also experiencing a significant growth attributed to the presence of significant automotive manufacturing industry. Also, the U.S. and Mexico are witnessing significant growth in adoption of industrial robotics. Some of the major players operating in the global industrial robotics market includes ABB Ltd., Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., Yaskawa Electric Corporation, Fanuc Corporation, Kuka AG, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Denso Corporation, Comau SpA, Nachi-Fujikoshi Corp. and Universal Robots A/S among others.Some of the important players1. ABB Ltd.2. Kuka AG3. FANUC CORPORATION4. Toshiba Machine Co. Ltd.5. Mitsubishi Electric Corporation6. Comau SpA7. GE Inspection Robotics8. Yaskawa Electric Corporation9. Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd.10. Universal Robots A/S11. NACHI-FUJIKOSHI CORP.12. Fuji Robotics13. Clearpath Robotics Inc.14. AgEagle Aerial Systems15. AIRBORNE ROBOTICS GMBH16. Aquabotix Technology Corporation17. Bastian Solutions, Inc.18.DEEP TREKKER INC.19. DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED20. Fetch Robotics, Inc.21. General Dynamics Mission Systems, Inc.22. Honeybee Robotics23. Locus Robotics24. Inuktun Services Ltd.25. Kongsberg Maritime26. OPENROV CA27. Precise Automation, Inc.28. iFuture Robotics29. inVia Robotics, Inc.30. GEEK+ INC.Complete Report is Available atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.comAbout Us:The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Automotive and Defense.Address533, 5th Floor,Amanora Chambers, East Block, Amanora Township,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028 Signaling Analyzer Market 2018 by Global Leaders: Agilent Technologies, Tektronics, Viavi Solutions, Keithley Instruments, Yokogawa Electric, Anritsu, Rohde & Schwarz, National Instruments, Rigol Technologies https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/4464 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/signaling-analyzer-market-4464 Market Research Future published a research report on Signaling Analyzer Market Research Report- Global Forecast 2023 Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2023.Market HighlightsIn this rapidly changing world of technology, signaling analyzer market is projected to show major growth prospects during the forecast period. Major factor driving the signaling analyzer market is the rising demand for wireless technologies and hence growing demand for spectrum analyzers. Growing demand from IT and telecommunication sector is one major factor driving the growth of signaling analyzer market. Signal analyzers help in optimizing and troubleshooting complex mobile networks and also help in detecting any problems with the same.The global Signaling Analyzer Market, by geography, has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World. As compared to other regions, the signaling analyzer market in North America is expected to witness significant growth and hold the largest market share during the forecast period. U.S and Canada are anticipated to drive the growth of signaling analyzer market. This is owing to the presence of large number of established key players like Agilent Technologies, Tektronics, Viavi Solutions and Texas Instruments in that region. Agilent Technologies is the first to add LTE and SAE technology to real time signaling analyzer. Viavi solutions has also launched its signaling analyzer for LTE with 3G capabilities. In addition to this, the region also has a well-established infrastructure which allows higher penetration of devices and ultimately provides better connectivity. Increasing demand for signaling analyzer in IT and telecommunications sector is expected to be one major factor for the growth of signaling analyzer market.Get Sample of Report @In the global signaling analyzer market, Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness relatively faster adoption and is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period as compared to other regions. Within Asia Pacific, signaling analyzer market is projected to contribute faster to the growth of revenue backed by increasing demand for spectrum analyzers from various industry verticals in countries such as Japan, China, South Korea and India. This is owing to the presence of key players like Anritsu Corporation and Yokogawa Electric Corporation in the region.The signaling analyzer market is growing rapidly over 11% of CAGR and is expected to reach at approx. USD 1,790 Million by the end of forecast period.Key Players:The prominent players in signaling analyzer market are Agilent Technologies (U.S.), Tektronics (U.S.), Viavi Solutions (U.S.), Texas Instruments (U.S.), Keithley Instruments (U.S.), Yokogawa Electric Corporation (Japan), Anritsu Corporation (Japan), Rohde & Schwarz (U.S.), National Instruments Corporation (U.S.), Rigol Technologies (China) among others.Segments:Signaling analyzer market can be segmented on the basis of following:By Product Offering Real Time Software Analysis Data Access Interface Card Data Access Traffic Storage AgentBy Technology LTE Voice/Video Over Wi-Fi UMTS, HSPA & HSPA+ GSM, GPRS & EDGE OthersBy Vertical Automotive & Transportation Aerospace & Defense IT & Telecommunication Medical & Healthcare OthersMarket Research Analysis:It has been observed that North America is estimated to account for the largest share of the market, whereas Asia-Pacific market is projected to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period. The major growth in signaling analyzer market in North America is attributed to technological advancements and increasing demand for spectrum analyzers IT and telecommunication sectors among others in that region. This is owing to the increasing need for wireless technologies.Get Complete Report @Intended Audience Technology Investors Research/Consultancy Firms Government Bodies Consumers IT & Telecommunication Companies Software Providers Technology Providers Software VendorsAbout Us:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Media Contact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Global Refractories Market: Anti-Dumping Regulations to Impact Short-term Growth, Long-Term Outlook Remains Positive https://www.mrrse.com/sample/4312 https://www.mrrse.com/refractories-market https://www.mrrse.com/ https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/ A new comprehensive study titled Global Market Study on Refractories: Asia Pacific to Lead the Global Market in Terms of Revenue during 2017 - 2026 has recently been submitted to the vast database of Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE). According to the report, the global refractories market is projected to reach over 52,000 KT in terms of volume. By revenues, the market is expected to be worth US$ 42.30 Bn by the end of the forecast period.Request Free Sample Report @Global demand for refractories is heavily dependent on broader developments in the steel industry. The global steel industry is undergoing significant changes, as anti-dumping regulations in many countries, most notably the US, have led to a decline in Chinese exports. Overproduction of steel continues to be a challenge, which has led to a decline in prices for refractories. On account of difficult situations in the refractories market, manufacturers in many countries are clamoring for government support.The report segments the global refractories market into material type, end use, form type and region. The material type segment is further bifurcated into clay and non-clay. The end use segment divides the global market into glass, cement, non-ferrous metals, energy and chemicals and steel. The form type segment is categorized into monolithic, bricks and other. Geographically, the market is divided into key regions globally which are North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa.By form, bricks account for leading revenue share of the market, with the report estimating the volume share at over 50%. By material type, clay continues to remain sought-after among end-users on account of its low cost. Clay-based refractories currently account for over 70% revenue share of the market, and it is highly likely that the status quo will remain unchanged during the assessment period. The report projects the clay segment to grow at nearly 2.9% CAGR during the assessment period.Asia Pacific is the largest market for refractories, on account of behemoth steel production in China. The impact of Chinese manufacturers has been immense in the refractories market, however, the recent crackdown by the authorities has led to closure of many factories that were flouting environmental laws. Despite the short-term challenges, the outlook on Chinese market remains positive, with the market in China expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the assessment period.Complete Outlook of Report @The report profiles some of the leading players operating in the market. Some of the these players are Vesuvius plc, Krosaki Harima Corporation, RHI Magnesita N.V, Shinagawa Refractories Co., Ltd., Morgan Advanced Materials plc, Magnezit Group Ltd., Refratechnik Holding GmbH, Minerals Technologies Inc., Chosun Refractories Co.,Ltd., Resco Products, Inc., Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA, IFGL Refractories Limited, Alsey Refractories Co, The Christy Refractories Company, L.L.C., Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB, CoorsTek, Inc., Allied Mineral Products, Inc., Steel Authority of India Limited, Imerys SA and Puyang Refractories Materials Co., Ltd.Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of market intelligence reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.About (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.Contact UsState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:Read More Industry News At: Research Study Offers Insights on Future of Mono Rapid Testing Market https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-5372 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-5372 www.futuremarketinsights.com Mono rapid testing is a type of point of care testing for the qualitative detection of mononucleosis heterophile antibodies in the whole blood. This test is only done for the diagnosis of infectious mononucleosis in the blood sample. Infectious mononucleosis is an acute lymphoproliferative disease. This disease is caused by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and it is non-recognizable disease during its early stages. The diagnosis of infectious mononucleosis is done by mono rapid test kits. This diagnosis is based on the on the evaluation of characteristic serological, clinical, and hematological changes in the blood sample. Physicians suggest to perform the mono rapid test for the detection of infectious mononucleosis if the patient is suffering from fever, pharyngitis, and cervical lymphadenopathy for more than 4 weeks. The result of mono rapid testing can be analyzed in few minute. There is no age restriction to perform the mono rapid testing. The mono rapid test kit includes a cassette, dropper, and reagents such as mono developer solution.Mono Rapid Testing Market: Drivers and RestraintsRising prevalence of infectious mononucleosis diseases due change in the lifestyle of people is the major factor driving the growth of the mono rapid testing market. Beside that mono rapid test kits provide an early and instant diagnosis which allows people for the better treatment option. The rising awareness among the people for the early and rapid diagnosis by using rapid test kits is also fuelling the growth of this market. Moreover, leading manufacturer of mono rapid test kits are also focusing on developing better products will also upsurge he growth of this market over the forecast period. The mono rapid test kit provides only qualitative detection of infectious mononucleosis and quantitative analysis of antigens is not possible with this test which wilt restraint the growth of this market to some extent. Results for mono rapid tests have to be recorded within the stipulated time as with the passage of time, the results are unreliable which will also responsible for the sluggish growth of this market.Request For Report sample @Mono Rapid Testing Market: OverviewMono rapid testing market is expected to gain remarkable growth over the forecast period due to increased focus of leading manufacturer to develop the better product for the diagnosis of infectious mononucleosis. Mono rapid testing is a highly fragmented market with majority of local players. The local players are expected to gain maximum market share for the mono rapid testing market. The trend of in-house laboratory for clinical testing in the physician office has increased the demand for the mono rapid test. Homecare setting and clinics are expected to gain major market share for the mono rapid testing market over the forecast period.Mono Rapid Testing Market: Regional OverviewBased on geographic region Mono Rapid Testing market is classified into seven key regions, North, America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, APEJ, Japan, Middle East and Africa. North America is expected to dominate the mono rapid testing market which is then followed by Western Europe and Asia-Pacific. The rapid adoption of rapid test kits and increasing awareness among the people will be responsible for the growth of North America and Western Europe. APEJ and Japan and the fastest growing owing to increasing geriatric population in this regions. Latin American and MEA are the least attractive region for the mono rapid testing market due to lack of awareness of people about infectious disease testing.Request For Table Of Content @Mono Rapid Testing Market: Key PlayersExamples of some of the market participants in Mono Rapid Testing market identified across the value chain include Cardinal Health, ELITech Group, Sekisui Diagnostics, Thermofisher Scientific Inc, Cortez Diagnostic, Inc., Quidel Corporation, Genzyme Diagnostics, Jant Pharmacal Corporation.Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Power Generator Rental Market Size(Volume & Value), Growth and Development Trends by 2025 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1668293 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1668293/power-generator-rental-global-market-research-reports/toc https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1668293/power-generator-rental-global-market-research-reports.pdf http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ "The Latest Research Report Power Generator Rental Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"Power generator rental market refers to the service market in which generator are available on rental basis for power generation purposes. This is an emerging market for developing and underdeveloped countries where power shortages is a major issue, and are slowly gaining popularity in these countries and regions. Power is an essential component for the enhancement of any country or economy and plays a vital role in development of the society. Generator rental is a relatively viable option for power generation in cases of power outages or in case of excessive demand for power. All the sectors of society at some point depend on these rental generators for their power requirements. These generators cater wide range of power demands whether from a single house or society or from a major event or from a power intensive industry.Get Sample Copy of this report @Global Power Generator Rental Market: Key SegmentsPower generator rental market are classified on the basis of generator rating as up to 100 KVA generator rating which are majorly used in residential and smaller commercial applications, 101- 500 KVA generator rating which found application in large commercial complexes, large-scale events, and smaller industrial sector, 501- 1000 KVA generator rating which is primarily used for medium to large scale industrial applications, and above 1000 KVA generator rating which are used in utilities and large scale industrial applications. The power generator rental can be classified based upon the fuel type as diesel and natural gas generators. The power generator rental market can also be segregated based upon end-user segment as: utilities, oil & gas, mining, construction, events, others.Global Power Generator Rental Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe major driving factor behind the growth of power generator rental market is the rising electricity demand along with increased power outages which is a common problem especially in developed and under-developed countries. In the emerging markets the void between the demand for power and the pace of investment in new power generation capacities and in replacement of existing power infrastructure has resulted in the frequent outages and power cuts. This delay in the installation of new capacities mainly due to the capital constraints in these regions along with ageing infrastructures has become a key factor for this market.Global Power Generator Rental Market: Scope of the StudyThe report estimates and forecasts the power generator rental market on the global and regional levels. The study provides forecast between 2017 and 2025 based on revenue (US$ Mn) with 2016 as the base year. The report comprises an exhaustive value chain analysis for each of the segments. It provides a comprehensive view of the market. Value chain analysis also offers detailed information about value addition at each stage. The study includes drivers and restraints for the power generator rental market along with their impact on demand during the forecast period. The study also provides key market indicators affecting the growth of the market. The report analyzes opportunities in the power generator rental market on the global and regional level. Drivers, restraints, and opportunities mentioned in the report are justified through quantitative and qualitative data. These have been verified through primary and secondary resources.Browse Complete Report with TOC @The report includes Porters Five Forces Model to determine the degree of competition in the power generator rental market. The report comprises a qualitative write-up on market attractiveness analysis, wherein segments have been analyzed based on attractiveness for global market and for each region. Furthermore, the report analyzes substitute analysis of power generator rentals. Growth rate, market size, technology, competition, and other factors (such as environmental and legal) have been evaluated in order to derive the general attractiveness of the market.Global Power Generator Rental Market: Key SegmentsThe study provides a comprehensive view of the power generator rental market by dividing it into generator rating, fuel type, end-user, and geography segments. The generator rating have been segmented into up to 100 KVA, 101- 500 KVA, 501- 1000 KVA, above 1000 KVA. The fuel type have been segmented into diesel and natural gas. The end-user segment have been segregated into utilities, oil & gas, mining, construction, events, others. These segments have been analyzed based on historic, present, and future trends. The report also segments the power generator rental market based on major geographies into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa.Global Power Generator Rental Market: Research MethodologySecondary research sources that were typically referred to include, but were not limited to, company websites, financial reports, annual reports, investor presentations, broker reports, and SEC filings. Other sources such as internal and external proprietary databases, statistical databases and market reports, news articles, national government documents, and webcasts specific to companies operating in the market have also been referred for the report.In-depth interviews and discussions with a wide range of key opinion leaders and industry participants were conducted to compile this research report. Primary research represents the bulk of research efforts, supplemented by extensive secondary research. Key players product literature, annual reports, press releases, and relevant documents were reviewed for competitive analysis and market understanding. This helped in validating and strengthening secondary research findings. Primary research further helped in developing the analysis teams expertise and market understanding.View Sample PDF @Competitive OutlookThe report covers detailed competitive outlook that includes market share and profiles of key players operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include Aggreko PLC, APR Energy, Caterpillar Inc., Cummins Inc., Atlas Copco AB., and United Rentals, Inc. Company profiles include attributes such as company overview, number of employees, brand overview, key competitors, business overview, business strategies, recent/key developments, acquisitions, and financial overview (wherever applicable).The global power generator rental market has been divided into the following segments:Power Generator Rental Market Generator Rating AnalysisUp to 100 KVA101- 500 KVA,501- 1000 KVAAbove 1000 KVAPower Generator Rental Market Fuel Type AnalysisDieselNatural GasPower Generator Rental Market End-user AnalysisUtilitiesOil & GasMiningConstructionEventsOthersPower Generator Rental Market Regional AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.CanadaEuropeUKFranceGermanySpainItalyRest of EuropeAsia PacificChinaIndiaJapanASEANRest of Asia Pacific (APAC)Latin AmericaBrazilMexicoRest of Latin America (LATAM)Middle East & AfricaSouth AfricaGCCRest of Middle East & Africa (MEA)Table of Content1. Preface1.1. Report Scope and Market Segmentation1.2. Research Highlights2. Assumptions and Research Methodology2.1. Report Assumptions2.2. Secondary Sources and Acronyms Used2.3. Research Methodology3. Executive Summary3.1. Market Snapshot3.2. Top Trends4. Market Overview4.1. Product Overview4.3. Market Indicators5. Market Dynamics5.1. Drivers and Restraints Snapshot Analysis5.1.1. Drivers5.1.2. Restraints5.1.3. Opportunity5.2. Porters Analysis5.2.1. Threat of Substitutes5.2.2. Bargaining Power of Buyers5.2.3. Bargaining Power of Suppliers5.2.4. Threat of New Entrants5.2.5. Degree of Competition5.3. Value Chain Analysis5.4. Power Generator Rental Market: SWOT Analysis5.5. Regulatory Scenario6. Global Power Generator Rental Market Analysis and Forecast, by Generator Rating Segment6.1. Introduction6.2. Key Findings6.3. Global Power Generator Rental Market Value Share Analysis, by Generator Rating6.4 Global Power Generator Rental Market Forecast, by Generator Rating6.5. Global Power Generator Rental Market Attractiveness Analysis, by Generator RatingAbout usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in IoT Market to Witness a Pronounce Growth by 2025 market research http://www.theinsightpartners.com/reports/artificial-learning-and-machine-learning-in-iot-market http://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPTE100000206 http://www.theinsightpartners.com/discount/TIPTE100000206 http://www.theinsightpartners.com/ Earlier machine learning techniques have been used extensively for a wide range of tasks including classification, regression and density estimation in a variety of application areas such as bioinformatics, speech recognition, spam detection, computer vision, fraud detection and advertising networks. Machine learning is the main method among those computational application to IoT and there are lots of application both in research and industry including energy, routing, and home automation and so on.Browse Complete Report with TOC:The report aims to provide an overview of global artificial intelligence and machine learning in IoT market with detailed market segmentation by application, and geography. The global artificial intelligence and machine learning in IoT market is expected to witness exponential growth during the forecast period so as to manage increasingly large amount of unstructured machine data available in almost all industry.The objectives of this report are as follows: To provide overview of the global artificial intelligence and machine learning in IoT market To analyze and forecast the global artificial intelligence and machine learning in IoT market on the basis of its application To provide market size and forecast till 2025 for overall artificial intelligence and machine learning in IoT market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM), which is later sub-segmented by respective countriesRequest a Sample copy of Report: To evaluate market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend To provide exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions To profiles key artificial intelligence and machine learning in IoT players influencing the market along with their SWOT analysis and market strategiesSome of the leading players in artificial intelligence and machine learning in IoT market are Google Inc., Cisco, IBM Corp., Microsoft Corp., Amazon Inc., PTC (ColdLight), Infobright, Mtell, Predikto, Predixion Software and Sight MachineInquire for Discount on this Report:About Us:The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Automotive and Defense.Contact Us:The Insight partners,Phone: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.comWebsite: Global DJ Equipment Market Analysis, Growth, Share, Industry Trends, Supply Demand, Forecast and Sales to 2023 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3078562-2018-global-dj-equipment-industry-research-report https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/3078562-2018-global-dj-equipment-industry-research-report The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the DJ Equipment industry market by types, applications, players and regions. This report also displays the 2013-2023 production, Consumption, revenue, Gross margin, Cost, Gross, market share, CAGR, and Market influencing factors of the DJ Equipment industry in USA, EU, China, India, Japan and other regionsMarket Analysis by Players: This report includes following top vendors in terms of company basic information, product category, sales (volume), revenue (Million USD), price and gross margin (%).PioneerNumarkRolandBehringerDJ TechHerculesStantonKorgDenonReloopGeminiAkaiRequest a Sample Report @Market Analysis by Regions: Each geographical region is analyzed as Sales, Market Share (%) by Types & Applications, Production, Consumption, Imports & Exports Analysis, and Consumption Forecast.USAEuropeJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaSouth AmericaSouth AfricaOthersMarket Analysis by Types: Each type is studied as Sales, Market Share (%), Revenue (Million USD), Price, Gross Margin and more similar information.DJ Turntable & CDJsDJ MixerDJ ControllerOthersMarket Analysis by Applications: Each application is studied as Sales and Market Share (%), Revenue (Million USD), Price, Gross Margin and more similar information.Professional PerformanceIndividual AmateursIndividual AmateursTable of Content1 DJ Equipment Market Overview1.1 Product Overview of DJ Equipment1.2 Classification of DJ Equipment1.2.1 Type 11.2.2 Type 21.2.3 Type 31.2.4 Type 41.3 Applications of DJ Equipment1.3.1 Application 11.3.2 Application 21.3.3 Application 31.3.4 Application 41.4 Global DJ Equipment Market Regional Analysis1.4.1 USA Market Present Situation Analysis1.4.2 Europe Market Present Situation Analysis1.4.3 Japan Market Present Situation Analysis1.4.4 China Market Present Situation Analysis1.4.5 India Market Present Situation Analysis1.4.6 Southeast Asia Market Present Situation Analysis1.4.7 South America Market Present Situation Analysis1.4.8 South Africa Market Present Situation Analysis1.5 DJ Equipment Industry Development Factors Analysis1.5.1 DJ Equipment Industry Development Opportunities Analysis1.5.2 DJ Equipment Industry Development Challenges Analysis1.6 DJ Equipment Consumer Behavior Analysis2 Global DJ Equipment Competitions by Players2.1 Global DJ Equipment Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Players2.2 Global DJ Equipment Revenue (Million USD) and Share by Players (2017-2018)2.3 Global DJ Equipment Price (USD/Unit) by Players (2017-2018)2.4 Global DJ Equipment Gross Margin by Players (2017-2018)3 Global DJ Equipment Competitions by Types3.1 Global DJ Equipment Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Types3.2 Global DJ Equipment Revenue (Million USD) and Share by Type (2013-2018)3.3 Global DJ Equipment Price (USD/Unit) by Type (2013-2018)3.4 Global DJ Equipment Gross Margin by Type (2013-2018)3.5 USA DJ Equipment Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.6 China DJ Equipment Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.7 Europe DJ Equipment Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.8 Japan DJ Equipment Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.9 India DJ Equipment Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.10 Southeast Asia DJ Equipment Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.11 South America DJ Equipment Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.12 South Africa DJ Equipment Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type4 Global DJ Equipment Competitions by Applications4.1 Global DJ Equipment Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications4.2 Global DJ Equipment Revenue (Million USD) and Share by Applications (2013-2018)4.3 Global DJ Equipment Price (USD/Unit) by Applications (2013-2018)4.4 Global DJ Equipment Gross Margin by Applications (2013-2018)4.5 USA DJ Equipment Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications4.6 China DJ Equipment Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications4.7 Europe DJ Equipment Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications4.8 Japan DJ Equipment Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications4.9 India DJ Equipment Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications4.10 Southeast Asia DJ Equipment Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications4.11 South America DJ Equipment Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications4.12 South Africa DJ Equipment Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Applications5 Global DJ Equipment Production Market Analysis by Regions5.1 Global DJ Equipment Production (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Regions5.1.1 USA DJ Equipment Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.2 Europe DJ Equipment Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.3 China DJ Equipment Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.4 Japan DJ Equipment Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.5 India DJ Equipment Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.6 Southeast Asia DJ Equipment Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.7 South America DJ Equipment Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.8 South Africa DJ Equipment Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.2 Global DJ Equipment Production Value (Million USD) and Share by Region (2013-2018)5.3 Global DJ Equipment Price (USD/Unit) by Region (2013-2018)5.4 Global DJ Equipment Gross Margin by Region (2013-2018)ContinuedAccess Complete Report @ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.ADDRES:WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India Said a Newsom aide, Gavin is committed to creating the incentives to do 3.5 million units. Conditions demand it. We cant just sit by in our massive housing crisis, which is not only over homelessness, but also affordability. Republicans have also made unrealistic efforts, most notably San Diego businessman John Cox, who tied his candidacy to an initiative expanding the state Legislature to 12,000 members. That measure never got off the ground because it had almost no popular support. The campaign has also brought out some decidedly Trumpian comments from Democrats, as when Villaraigosa said he was ascendant at a time when he still trailed Newsom in every survey. Chiang, running third among Democrats in public polls, made even more Trump-like statements on social media. @realDonaldTrump & DC @GOP have made it their mission to put affordable healthcare out of reach for American families, he tweeted. CA should move toward #SinglePayer & Im the only one who can balance a budget to get it done. In a Feb. 14 tweet, he also pronounced himself the Most Accomplished Man in California. Both tweets aroused memories of Trump telling the 2016 Republican National Convention that only he could make American great again. All of which makes this a very challenging primary election season for California voters, who must sift through myriad claims and promises and then decide who can actually run the nations largest state government in a way that combines idealism and realism to solve tough problems. Thomas D. Elias writes the syndicated California Focus column. He is author of the book, The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Governments Campaign to Squelch It. Global Paneer Market 2018 - Arla Foods, Bongrain, Fonterra, Leprino Foods, Friesland Campina Global Paneer Market http://cutt.us/GID4f http://cutt.us/F3JGf www.apexmarketreports.com Apex Market Reports, recently published a detailed market research study focused on the Paneer Market across the global, regional and country level. The report provides 360 analysis of Paneer Market from view of manufacturers, regions, product types and end industries. The research report analyses and provides the historical data along with current performance of the global PP Pipe industry, and estimates the future trend of Paneer on the basis of this detailed study. The study shares Paneer performance both in terms of volume and revenue.The market research report explores the Paneer Market across the globe along with major regions and countries. The research report provides a detailed study on each and every aspect of Paneer Market. The research report studies the entire value chain from raw material to end user industries. The report also shares import/export statistics along with production and consumption for all major regions and countries. Moreover, the research study classifies the Paneer Market based on major product types, application and end users industries of Paneer. Besides, the report also covers geographical segmentation for Paneer Market. The report further provides production, capacity, price per region, gross margin, production cost, for all major regions and countries listed in report.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here:Top Manufacturers Analysis of This ReportArla FoodsBongrainDevondale Murray GoulburnFonterraLeprino FoodsFriesland CampinaGroupe LactalisAlmaraiCalabro Cheese CorporationBega CheeseBletsoe CheeseBrunkow Cheese FactoryBurnett DairyCady Cheese FactoryDupont CheeseEmmiHook'S Cheese CompanyKraftMother DairyParag Milk FoodsSaputoSargento FoodsBeijing SanyuanYiliThe competitive landscape of the global market for Paneer is determined by assessing the major industry participants, production capacity, production capacity utilization rate, Paneer Markets production chain, pricing by each manufacturer and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Paneer Market globally.Inquire Before Buying @The Global Paneer Market 2018 is further analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Paneer production volume, data pertaining to demand and Paneer supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. The report provides upstream and downstream analysis covering major raw material used in manufacturing of Paneer along with detailed manufacturing sources. The report also shares list of major raw material manufacturers along with their manufacturing locations. Detailed raw material price trend analysis along with manufacturing cost analysis is also incorporated into the report. Various methodical tools such as investment returns, feasibility, SWOT analysis and market attractiveness analysis has been implemented in the research study to present a comprehensive, detailed study of the industry for Paneer across the world.About UsApex Market Reports offers elevating market research globally. We have collection of various syndicated reports of different categories. Apex Market Reports provides you to best services, weather youre searching for new trends in market or competitive scenario in emerging market.Customers can buys different reports across various categories such as Chemical and Material, Biotechnology, Healthcare, Food and beverages, Automobile and various sectors. Our Website offers safe and secure online ordering experience, convenient payment options.Contact UsFrank ValadezCorporate Sales Specialist155 North Wacker Drive, Suite 4250Chicago, IL 60606Phone: +17739042683Email id - sales@apexmarketreports.comWebsite - Vapor Recovery Services Market is Anticipated to Expand at a Healthy CAGR of 8.3% by 2025 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/vapor-recovery-services-market/toc https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/10969 Government authorities all over the world are enforcing stringent regulatory norms to limit VOC emissions, which is cited as a key factor fueling the demand for vapor recovery services. Moreover, such services are also getting popular due to their immense economic and environmental benefits. A report recently published by Persistence Market Insights (PMR) projects that global vapor recovery services market is poised to reach a market valuation of US$ 462.3 Mn by 2025-end, reflecting a CAGR of 7.4% during the forecast period (20172025).Request for Table of Contents @As companies shift their focus on maintaining a larger stockpile to address the on-time consumer demand, they are required to install higher number of vapor recovery units. In addition, companies are switching to new vapor recovery techniques such as the absorption and adsorption that are far more effective and cost-efficient than the conventional techniques, a growing trend which is expected to support the market growth in the years to come.According to the report titled Vapor Recovery Services Market: Global Industry Analysis and Forecast, 20172025, North America will have a relatively higher contribution to global vapor recovery services market. By 2017-end, the regions market is estimated to account for the largest revenue share and witness a CAGR of 8.3% during the forecast period. Owing to the existence of leading vapor recovery units manufacturers, North America has become a dominant market for vapor recovery services in recent years.By the end of 2017, nearly US$ 161.5 Mn worth vapor recovery units are estimated to be sold for midstream/downstream process. Vapor recovery units have significant applications in midstream/downstream processes. For instance, they are often used to compress and recover vapors during the process. They also help in complying with the environmental requirements set by regulatory bodies.Application of vapor recovery services in storage tank vent is expected to remain high throughout the forecast period. In terms of value, storage tank vent is expected to account for 64.4% share of the market by 2025-end. Storage tank vent has been estimated to account for close to one-third of the global vapor recovery services market revenue in 2017.By operation, demand for O&M/ services is expected to remain high over the forecast period. By 2017-end, O&M/ services will account for a staggering 77.4% revenue share, reaching a market valuation of US$ 202.8 Mn.Request to View TOC and Sample of Research Report @Leading market players are focused towards making long term relationship with direct end-users, especially for scheduled annual maintenance to create a continuous revenue flow. Hy-Bon/EDI, PSG Dover, AEREON, Petrogas Systems, Cimarron Energy Inc., Accel Compression Inc., John Zink Company, LLC., Wintek Corporation and Whirlwind Methane Recovery Systems, LLC are amongst some of the top companies that offer vapor recovery services. Many of these companies are emphasizing on product innovation and development of customized application to cater to customer requirements.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Motion Sensor Market 2018 by Global Leaders: Bosch Sensortec, Freescale Semiconductor, Honeywell International, Murata Manufacturing, Analog Devices, STMicroelectronics, Microchip Technology, Memsic, Kionix https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2626 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/motion-sensor-market-2626 Market Research Future published a research report on Motion Sensor Market Research Report- Forecast to 2022 Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2022.Market Scenario:A motion sensor is a device that detects physical movement on a device or within an environment. It has the ability to detect and capture physical and/or kinetic movements in real time. A motion sensor is also known as a motion detector. It is usually embedded within consumer-end devices such as smartphones, smart TVs, tablet computers and physical security systems.The use of a motion sensor or motion detector in home security is essentially to sense an intruder and send an alert message to control panel that in turn alerts the monitoring center. Some security systems can also be programmed to record events via a security camera when motion is detected. The most frequently used motion sensor is a passive infrared type of motion sensor. This type of motion sensor detects body heat and is most commonly used in home security systems.The study indicates that the major driving factor for the motion sensor market is the technological advancement in the motion sensors devices that has led to reduction in size of these devices. It has been observed that over the recent past demand for several remote controlled planes and aerial drones has increased that make use of motion sensor technology. Moreover, increasing demand of accelerometers in consumer electronic applications has led to a significant growth in the motion sensor market.The Global Motion Sensor Market is expected to grow at USD ~7 billion by 2022, at ~11% of CAGR between 2016 and 2022.Get Sample of Report @Key PlayersThe prominent players in the Motion Sensor market are- Bosch Sensortec GmBH (Germany), Freescale Semiconductor Ltd. (U.S.), Honeywell International, Inc. (U.S.), Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Japan), Analog Devices, Inc. (U.S.), STMicroelectronics (Switzerland), Microchip Technology, Inc. (U.S.), Memsic, Inc. (U.S.), Kionix, Inc (U.S.) among others.Segments:Motion Sensor market is segmented on the basis of technology and sensor type.Motion Sensor market by Technology: Infrared Microwave Dual Technology Ultrasonic Area Reflective Type VibrationMotion Sensor market by Sensor Type: Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer Combo SensorRegional Analysis:The regional analysis of Motion Sensor market is being studied for region such as Asia Pacific, North America, Europe and Rest of the World. It has been observed that North America would dominate the Motion Sensor market owing to factors such as presence of large number of consumer electronic applications. The study indicates that Europe has the second biggest market share in the Motion Sensor market.Asia Pacific Motion Sensor market is expected to show a positive growth over the forecast period owing to factors such as wide adoption of electronic applications across verticals. In Asia-Pacific countries like China, Japan and others, demand for accelerometer is significantly increasing due to which the study reveals that these countries would show a sudden hike in Motion Sensor market by the forecast period.Get complete Report @Intended Audience Technology investors Consumer electronics manufacturers Consumer electronics application providers Integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) Sensors manufacturers Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) Technology integrators Developers and platform providers Research/Consultancy firmsAbout Us:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Media Contact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Telecom Order Management Market Likely To Reach US$4.05 bn by End Of 2025 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1661610 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1661610/telecom-order-management-global-market-research-reports/toc https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1661610/telecom-order-management-global-market-research-reports.pdf http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ "The Latest Research Report Telecom Order Management Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2017 - 2025 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"This report on the global telecom order management market provides analysis for the period 20152025, wherein 2016 is the base year and the period from 2017 to 2025 is the forecast period. Data for 2015 has been included to provide historical information. The report covers market dynamics including drivers, restraints, opportunities, and trends expected to influence the global telecom order management market growth during the said period. Technologies that are playing a major role in driving the global telecom order management market have also been considered in the study. The study provides a comprehensive analysis of the market growth throughout the above forecast period in terms of revenue estimates (in US$ Mn), across different geographies.The report also includes telecom order management product lifecycle, Porter Five Force analysis which identifies bargaining power of supplier, bargaining power of buyer, threat from new entrant, threat from substitute and threat from competition in telecom order management market is also included in the report. Ecosystem analysis which identifies key stake holders in the telecom order management market is also covered in the report.Get Sample Copy of this report @Global Telecom Order Management Market: SegmentationThe telecom order management market has been segmented on the basis of component, deployment type and region. Based on component, the market has been further classified into solution and services. The services segment is further classified into consulting, support services and others. By deployment type, the telecom order management market is classified into on premise and cloud based. Geographically, the report classifies the global Telecom Order Management market into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East & Africa (MEA), and South America; the regions are analyzed in terms of revenue generation. Furthermore, region wise prominent countries covered in the report include the following - U.S, Canada, U.K., Germany, France, Japan, China, India, GCC countries, South Africa and Brazil.Segment trends and regional trends have also been added in telecom order management study. Additionally, the report also covers segment wise comparison matrix, market attractiveness analysis and market positioning of key players for all regions covered in the scope of study. Comparison matrix includes segment growth matrix, 2017 - 2025(%), segment revenue contribution, 2017 - 2025 (%), and segment compounded growth matrix (CAGR %). Market attractiveness identifies and compares segments market attractiveness on the basis of CAGR and market share index across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (MEA), and South America.Global Telecom Order Management Market: Competitive LandscapeFurthermore, the report includes competition landscape which comprises of competition matrix, market positioning of major players in the Telecom Order Management market based on their 2016 revenues, and profiles of major players. Competition matrix benchmarks leading players on the basis of their capabilities and potential to grow. Factors including market position, offerings and R&D focus are attributed to companys capabilities. Factors including top line growth, market share, segment growth, infrastructure facilities and future outlook are attributed to companys potential to grow. This section also identifies and includes various recent developments carried out by the leading players of telecom order management market.Company profiling includes company overview, major business strategies adopted, SWOT analysis, and market revenues for year 2014 to 2016. The global players profiled in the global telecom order management market include Ericsson AB, Amdocs Corporation, Cerillion PLC, IBM Corporation, ChikPea Inc., Comarch SA, Fujitsu Limited, Neustar, Inc., Pegasystems Inc, and Oracle Corporation have also been added in the report.Browse Complete Report with TOC @The global telecom order management market is segmented into:By ComponentSolutionsServicesConsultingSupport ServicesOthersBy Deployment TypeOn premiseCloud basedBy RegionNorth AmericaThe U.S.CanadaRest of North AmericaEuropeThe U.K.GermanyFranceRest of EuropeAsia PacificJapanChinaIndiaRest of Asia PacificMiddle East and Africa (MEA)GCC CountriesSouth AfricaRest of the Middle East & AfricaSouth AmericaBrazilRest of South AmericaView Sample PDF @Table of Content1. Preface1.1. Report Scope and Segmentation1.2. Key Research Objectives and Highlights2. Assumptions and Research Methodology3. Executive Summary : Telecom Order Management Market4. Overview4.1. Introduction4.1.1. Definition4.1.2. Key Industry Developments4.2. Market Dynamics4.2.1. Drivers4.2.2. Restraints4.2.3. Opportunity4.3. Key Trends4.4. Global Telecom Order Management Market Analysis and Forecasts, 2015 20254.4.1. Market Revenue Projections (US$ Mn)4.5. Porters Five Force Analysis4.6. Ecosystem Analysis4.7. Market Outlook5. Global Telecom Order Management Market Analysis and Forecast by Component5.1. Introduction & Definition5.2. Key Findings / Developments5.3. Telecom Order Management Market Size (US$ Mn) and Forecast by Component, 2015 20255.3.1. Solutions5.3.2. Services5.3.2.1. Consulting5.3.2.2. Support Services5.3.2.3. Others5.4. Component Comparison Matrix5.5. Market Attractiveness by Component6. Global Telecom Order Management Market Analysis and Forecast by Deployment Type6.1. Introduction6.2. Key Findings/Developments6.3. Telecom Order Management Market Size (US$ Mn) and Forecast by Deployment Type, 2015 20256.3.1. On-premise6.3.2. Cloud based6.4. Deployment Type Comparison Matrix6.5. Market Attractiveness by Deployment TypeAbout usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Open IoT Platform Market 2018 by Global Leaders: Amazon Web Services, IBM, Microsoft, Samsung Group, Bosch, Ayla Networks, General Electric, Oracle https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/3896 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/open-iot-platform-market-3896 Market Research Future published a research report on Open IoT Platform Market Research Report- Global Forecast 2023 Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2023.Market Scenario:Open IoT platform to a computer platform in which the source codes are available to the general public for use or modification from its original design. Open source gives free and open access to the software that serves as the foundation for the internet of things. Open IoT platform is cost-effective and is easy to implement owing to the scalability being offered to manage devices. Open IoT platform has minimal dependency and possess no risk. Open source allows far higher levels of innovation and also offers a rich set of functionalities.Constant improvements and great peer-to-peer support from a vibrant open source are major driving factors for the growth of Open Iot Platform Market. Learning new technologies and improving the skills of developers are other factors driving the growth of Open IoT platform market.The open IoT platform market has been segmented on the basis of component, deployment and end user. The end user segment comprises of individuals, small and medium enterprises and large enterprises. Owing to immense flexibility and agility, open IoT platform are very popular among the individual developers.The global open IoT platform market is expected to grow at approx. USD 4.3 Billion by 2023, at 25% of CAGR between 2017 and 2023.Get Sample of Report @Key PlayersThe prominent players in open IoT platform market are Amazon Web Services (U.S.), IBM Corporation (U.S.), Microsoft Corporation (U.S.), Samsung Group (South Korea), Bosch (Germany), Ayla Networks (U.S.), Google, Inc. (U.S.), General Electric (U.S.), Oracle (U.S.), among others.Segments:Open IoT platform market can be segmented on the basis of following:By Component Software HardwareBy Deployment- Cloud Private Cloud Public Cloud- On PremiseBy End User Individuals SMEs Large EnterprisesRegional Analysis:The regional analysis of open IoT platform market is being studied for regions such as Asia Pacific, North America, Europe and Rest of the World. It has been observed that North America is estimated to account for the largest share of the market, whereas Asia-Pacific is projected to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period. The major growth in Open IoT platform market in North America is attributed to the increasing popularity among the developers in that region.Get complete Report @Intended Audience Technology investors Research/Consultancy firms Technology providers Consumers Technology developersAbout Us:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Media Contact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Dispersants Global Market Top Key Players Air Products & Chemicals , Altana AG , Arkema Group , Ashland Inc. , Basf SE and Forecast to 2023 Dispersants Market https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/3076846-global-dispersants-market-by-manufacturers-countries-type-and https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/3076846-global-dispersants-market-by-manufacturers-countries-type-and#toc_mobile www.wiseguyreports.com Global Dispersants MarketWiseGuyRerports.com Presents Global Dispersants Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2023 New Document to its Studies Database. The Report Contain 105 Pages With Detailed Analysis.DescriptionDispersant or Dispersing Agent is either a non-surface active polymer or a surface-active substance added to a suspension, usually a colloid, to improve the separation of particles and to prevent settling or clumping. The role of the dispersant is to make the dispersion process easier and more stable. Dispersants consist normally of one or more surfactants, but may also be gases.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Dispersants in global Market, especially in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, types and applications.Get sample Report @Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversAir Products & ChemicalsAltana AGArkema GroupAshland Inc.Basf SEClariant AGCroda InternationalCytec IndustriesElementis PLCEmeraldEvonik IndustriesKing IndustriesLubrizolRudolf GmbhDow ChemicalUniqchemMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (United States, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, coversAnionic TypeCationic TypeOthersMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoPaints & CoatingsPulp & PaperDetergentsOil & GasOthersComplete Report Details @Table of Contents -Major Key Points1 Market Overview1.1 Dispersants Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Anionic Type1.2.2 Cationic Type1.2.3 Others1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Paints & Coatings1.3.2 Pulp & Paper1.3.3 Detergents1.3.4 Oil & Gas1.3.5 Others1.4 Market Analysis by Regions1.4.1 North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)1.4.1.1 United States Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.1.2 Canada Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.1.3 Mexico Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.2 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)1.4.2.1 Germany Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.2.2 France Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.2.3 UK Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.2.4 Russia Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.2.5 Italy Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.3 Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)1.4.3.1 China Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.3.2 Japan Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.3.3 Korea Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.3.4 India Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.3.5 Southeast Asia Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.4 South America, Middle East and Africa1.4.4.1 Brazil Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.4.2 Egypt Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.4.3 Saudi Arabia Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.4.4 South Africa Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.4.5 Nigeria Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.5 Market Dynamics1.5.1 Market Opportunities1.5.2 Market Risk1.5.3 Market Driving Force2 Manufacturers Profiles2.1 Air Products & Chemicals2.1.1 Business Overview2.1.2 Dispersants Type and Applications2.1.2.1 Type 12.1.2.2 Type 22.1.3 Air Products & Chemicals Dispersants Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.2 Altana AG2.2.1 Business Overview2.2.2 Dispersants Type and Applications2.2.2.1 Type 12.2.2.2 Type 22.2.3 Altana AG Dispersants Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.3 Arkema Group2.3.1 Business Overview2.3.2 Dispersants Type and Applications2.3.2.1 Type 12.3.2.2 Type 22.3.3 Arkema Group Dispersants Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.4 Ashland Inc.2.4.1 Business Overview2.4.2 Dispersants Type and Applications2.4.2.1 Type 12.4.2.2 Type 22.4.3 Ashland Inc. Dispersants Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.5 Basf SE2.5.1 Business Overview2.5.2 Dispersants Type and Applications2.5.2.1 Type 12.5.2.2 Type 22.5.3 Basf SE Dispersants Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.6 Clariant AG2.6.1 Business Overview2.6.2 Dispersants Type and Applications2.6.2.1 Type 12.6.2.2 Type 22.6.3 Clariant AG Dispersants Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.7 Croda International2.7.1 Business Overview2.7.2 Dispersants Type and Applications2.7.2.1 Type 12.7.2.2 Type 22.7.3 Croda International Dispersants Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.8 Cytec Industries2.8.1 Business Overview2.8.2 Dispersants Type and Applications2.8.2.1 Type 12.8.2.2 Type 22.8.3 Cytec Industries Dispersants Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)..CONTINUEDAbout UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, Industry research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.NORAH TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK) Waterjet Cutting Machines Market is Anticipated to Grow US$ 2.7 Bn by 2024 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/waterjet-cutting-machines-market/toc https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/12139 Considering the fact that cutting will remain a crucial operation across various industrial verticals, companies are compelled to adopt the most efficient machines that will serve this purpose. Waterjet cutting machines are likely to be at the top of this list, and are widely used for cutting wide range of materials without the use of abrasives. Persistence Market Research projects that towards the end of 2024, the value of global waterjet cutting machine market is likely to get doubled, reflecting a raise from US$ 1.37 Bn in 2016 to US$ 2.7 Bn.Request for Table of Contents @During this forecast period, the global market for waterjet cutting machines will exhibit a value CAGR of 8.9%. According to Persistence Market Researchs report, titled Waterjet Cutting Machine Market: Global Industry Analysis and Forecast, 2016-2024, the global waterjet cutting machine market will also witness sizeable growth in terms of sales. In 2016, the global sales of waterjet cutting machines surpassed 13,600 units. By the end of 2024, the global market for waterjet cutting machine is anticipated to record sales of 25,872 units, registering a volume CAGR of 8.3%.The report also reveals that North America will be the largest market for waterjet cutting machines. With more than 35% share in global revenues, North Americas waterjet cutting machine market will dominate the global market throughout the forecast period. US-based companies such as WARDJet, International Waterjet Machines, OMAX Corporation, Semyx, LLC, Plasma Automation Inc. (VICON), Hypertherm Inc. (Accustream), Hornet Cutting Systems, Koike Aronson, Inc., KMT Waterjet, and Jet Edge, Inc. are profiled among the markets key players in the report.With over 15% share in global waterjet cutting machine market value, Europe is also expected to be at the forefront of market expansion. Caretta Technology s.r.l., TrennTek GmbH, CMS Industries, Water Jet Sweden, Metronics Technologies S.L., PTV, spol. s r.o., and STM Stein-Moser GmbH are European companies actively participating in the growth of global waterjet cutting machine market. However, North America and Europes presence in the global waterjet cutting machine market will witness marginal dip towards the end of the forecast period.Meanwhile, the waterjet cutting machine market in Asia-Pacific (APAC) region will record fastest revenue growth at 10% CAGR. The report has also assessed that waterjet cutting machines are available at the lowest price across the APAC countries. This is certainly expected to boost the sales for companies such as Sugino Machine Limited, DARDI International Corporation, Foshan Yongshengda Machinery Co., Ltd., TECHNI Waterjet, and A Innovative International Ltd., which are also major contributors to the markets overall growth.The global waterjet cutting machine market is also anticipated to witness rampant sales of intensifier pumps. Since intensifier pumps will be observed as top-selling products in the global waterjet cutting machine market, they are likely to showcase revenue growth at 8.9% CAGR during the assessment period.Request to View TOC and Sample of Research Report @In 2017 and beyond, a little over 55% of the markets revenues will be accounted by application of waterjet cutting machines in two-dimensional cutting. In 2016, more than 6,500 waterjet cutting machines were sold across the world for 2D cutting applications. Likewise, over 70% of waterjet cutting machine sales will be attributed by high demand for machines with a pressure range of up to 4200 Bar. Metal fabrication and automotive are expected to be recognized as largest end-user industries for waterjet cutting machines. Revenues arising from these two end-users are predicted to showcase CAGRs of 9% and above.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Lignosulfonate Market: Strong Demand from Concrete Admixtures Market is projected to Drive Market Growth https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=7355 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/global-lignosulfonates-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com The global lignosulfonates market has so far been moderately consolidated, and is likely to stay that way for the immediate future, according to Transparency Market Research. In their recent research report on the market, TMR states that the leading manufacturers of lignosulfonates are progressing fast in terms of regional expansion and production capacities. A lot of the leaders in the market are seen to show a significant amount of interest in emerging economies, where they are setting up more and more facilities.Request Sample Report @According to TMR, the global lignosulfonates market has so far been led by players such as Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd., Flambeau River Papers, and Tembec, Inc. The report reveals that the market is expanding at a steady CAGR of 3.8% within a forecast period from 2016 to 2024. The market is expected to reach US$960.2 mn by the end of 2024, after it was evaluated at US$691.9 mn in 2015.Sodium Lignosulfonate in High Demand GloballyAmong the product types presented by the global lignosulfonates market, sodium lignosulfonate has been the leading segment in 2015, with a share of nearly 40% in the global scenario. This product is known for its low cost and its wide array of applications across nearly all aspects of the market. It is likely to remain in the lead over the coming years for the same reasons. Meanwhile, calcium lignosulfonate, which has been second on the list of highly used lignosulfonates, has been slowly gaining popularity owing to its growing use in oil well additives and animal feed binders.From a regional perspective, OPEC nations are expected to boost the growth rate of the global lignosulfonates market over the coming years, while the scope of lignosulfonates applications rises in the MEA region.Construction Industry Ramps Lignosulfonates DemandThe construction industry has long since been the primary segment of application for the global lignosulfonates market. The use of lignosulfonates as super-plasticizers or plasticizers in concrete admixtures is already quite popular. They are also used in chemicals meant for water reduction, making them highly viable chemicals in the construction industry within tropical regions. These applications for lignosulfonates in the construction industry have intensified over the recent past, thanks to the swift rate of increase in construction activities, especially in emerging economies, states a TMR analyst.Read Report Overview @Europe, which held the leading share of more than 35% in the global lignosulfonates market in 2015, is expected to show a decent rate of growth over the coming years. However, propelled by the massive growth in construction activities in both private and public sectors in Asia Pacific, the market for lignosulfonates here is expected to show a phenomenal rate of growth between 2016 and 2024.Lignosulfonate Animal Feed Applications Continue Success StoryMeanwhile, the applications if lignosulfonates in animal feed binders is expected to rise at a very swift pace over the coming years, attributed to the advantages it provides, including improved palatability of animal feed, easier waste segregation, and reduction in overall waste generated. This segment already held the leading application scope in 2015, taking up more than 35% of the global lignosulfonates market for the year. Current market trends suggest that this application segment is likely to remain in the lead over the coming years, due to the growing awareness of the advantages of using lignosulfonates in animal feed binders across emerging economies, where the animal husbandry industry is currently showing a massive scale of growth.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: HVAC Market In Automotive Industry: 2018 Global Size, Trends, Share, Manufacturer, Growth and Regional Analysis To 2022 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2113 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/automotive-hvac-market-2113 Automotive HVAC Market Analysis Research 2018 provides comprehensive information on Global Automotive HVAC Market Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Region with forecast to 2022. Report analyzes Automotive HVAC Market for North America, Europe, APAC and Rest of the World. Report provides Global Automotive HVAC Industry by technology (Manual, Automatic), by Vehicle type (Passenger vehicle, Commercial vehicle) by application (residential, commercial, industrial and other).Global Automotive HVAC Market Synopsis:The global market of automotive Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning (HVAC) is booming and expected to gain prominence over the forecast period. The global Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning (HVAC) market is forecasted to demonstrate an exponential growth by 2022 with a significant CAGR over the forecast period (20172022). Supportive government regulations across the globe is expected to fuel the growth of the market. Additionally, many key players across the globe are investing in their R&D and coming up with technological advance HVAC system. This also has the positive influence on the growth of the market.Get Sample Copy of Report on Automotive HVAC Market spread across 132 Pages, Profiling Key Companies and Supported with Tables and Figures is now available atKey Players:Denso Corp, Valeo SA, Behr GmbH, Halla Climate Control Corp., Delphi Automotive, Visteon Corp., Sanden Corp., Air International Thermal Systems, Calsonic Kansei, and DelStar Technologies.Automotive HVAC Market Competitive Analysis:The Automotive HVAC Market appears to be competitive with the presence of several large and small players operating in the Market. These Key players compete based upon pricing, quality, Technology and reputation. Automotive HVAC Market demonstrates a high growth potential which is likely to attract many entrants to the market resulting in to intensified competition further. Manufacturers operating in the Market strive to respond to the growing demand for HVAC in automotive applications. They ensure to deliver the best quality products based on innovative technologies, and best practices.Manufacturers operating in the market strive to deliver innovative solutions that improve the design and manufacturing processes of business around the world. The manufactures strive to develop products which deliver optimal efficient, convenience and reliability. Utilizing their international and regional presence, these manufacturers assure their customers with the consistency in product & service quality. Well established players incorporate acquisition, collaboration, partnership, expansion, and product launch in order to gain competitive advantage in this market and to maintain their market position.Industry/ Innovation/ Related News:June 2017- Sanden Holdings Corp subsidiary Sanden Automotive Climate Control Systems Corp. has announced the establishment of Integrated Production, Supply of HVAC Units in Europe for DAF Trucks.February 2017- Nidec Corporation completed the acquisition of Leroy-Somer and Control Techniques, Emerson Electrics motors, drives and electric power generation businesses. The acquisitions broaden Nidecs motor offering and product lineup. In the United States, the new acquisitions include units that operated as Emerson Industrial Automation USA and Kato Engineering, Inc. Through this acquisition, Nidec has strengthened its ability to serve power generation, pumping, air moving, automation equipment and other applications.May 2014- Genteq Motors introduced its EON high speed motor. This is the first Genteq ECM designed for use with backward inclined wheels at very high fan speeds which provides huge system efficiency gains when compared to forward inclined.July 2013- Halla Visteon Climate Control Corp. has completed the expansion of its automotive climate products manufacturing facility in Shorter, Ala. The plant produces climate products including heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) units and front end modules for various vehicle manufacturers.November 2012- Valeo SA entered into a joint venture with the Ford Motor Co. to acquire operations producing HVAC systems. These heating, ventilation and air conditioning units will be produced for North America-built light vehicles.Automotive HVAC Market Segmentation:The Global Automotive HVAC Market can be segmented in to 3 key dynamics for the convenience of the report and enhanced understanding;Segmentation by technology - Manual, AutomaticSegmentation by Vehicle type - Passenger vehicle, Commercial vehicleSegmentation by application- residential, commercial, industrial and otherSegmentation by Regions: California, Texas, Washington and OthersAutomotive HVAC Market Regional Analysis:North America and European region dominates the global automotive Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning (HVAC) market. North America region is mainly backed by the U.S. having strong penetration of HVAC systems in automotive industry. The original equipment manufacturers in the region are focusing on efforts for improvement of the production quality for delivering quality product.The Asia-Pacific region is expected to be the fastest growing region for the automotive HVAC owing to the presence of the developing countries such as India and China where the automotive industry is growing at a faster pace. Increase in industrialization, rising urbanized population, and growth in spending capacity are the factors driving the growth of the market in Asia-Pacific region. Additionally, supportive government regulation also boost the growth of the market.Access More Report Details at:About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact:Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Market by Types, Applications, Players, Regions and Global Industry Analysis 2018-2023 Research for Markets http://www.researchformarkets.com/sample/2018-global-frozen-and-freeze-dried-pet-food-3923 http://www.researchformarkets.com/discount/2018-global-frozen-and-freeze-dried-pet-food-3923 http://www.researchformarkets.com/reports/2018-global-frozen-and-freeze-dried-pet-food-3923 http://www.researchformarkets.com/buy-now/2018-global-frozen-and-freeze-dried-pet-food-3923/one The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food industry market by types, applications, players and regions. This report also displays the production, Consumption, revenue, Gross margin, Cost, Gross, market share, CAGR, and Market influencing factors of the Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food industry in USA, EU, China,India, Japan and other regions, and forecast to 2023, from 2018.Looking For More Information on This Market? Get Free Sample Report @Market Analysis by Players WellPet Stella & Chewy K9 Naturals Vital Essentials Raw Bravo Nature's Variety Steve's Real Food Primal Pets Grandma Lucy's NRG Freeze Dried Raw Orijen NW Naturals Dr. Harvey'sFor Instant Discount on this Report @Market Analysis by Regions: USA Europe Japan China India Southeast Asia South America South Africa OthersMarket Analysis by Types: Frozen Pet Food Freeze-Dried Pet FoodMarket Analysis by Applications: Dog Cat OthersKnow more about our Knowledge Store @Table of Content1 Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Market Overview1.1 Product Overview of Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food1.2 Classification and Application of Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food1.3 Global Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Market Regional Analysis2 Global Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Competitions by Players2.1 Global Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Players2.2 Global Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Revenue (Million USD) and Share by Players (2016-2017)2.3 Global Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Price (USD/Unit) by Players (2016-2017)3 Global Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Competitions by Types3.1 Global Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Types3.2 Global Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Revenue (Million USD) and Share by Type (2012-2017)3.3 Global Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Price (USD/Unit) by Type (2012-2017)4 Global Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet FoodCompetitions by Application4.1 Global Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Application4.2 Global Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Revenue (Million USD) and Share by Application (2012-2017)4.3 Global Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Price (USD/Unit) by Application (2012-2017)5 Global Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Production Market Analysis by Region5.1 Global Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Production (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Region5.2 Global Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Production Value (Million USD) and Share by Region (2012-2017)5.3 Global Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Price (USD/Unit) by Region (2012-2017)6 Global Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Sales Market Analysis by Region6.1 USA Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Market Consumption Present Situation Analysis6.2 Europe Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Market Consumption Present Situation Analysis6.3 China Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Market Consumption Present Situation Analysis7 Imports and Exports Market Analysis7.1 USA Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Imports and Exports Analysis (2012-2017)7.2 Europe Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Imports and Exports Analysis (2012-2017)7.3 China Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Imports and Exports Analysis (2012-2017)8 Global Frozen and Freeze-Dried Pet Food Players Profiles and Sales DataBuy Now Follow the Link @About Research for Markets:Research for Markets indulges in detailed and diligent research on different markets, trends and emerging opportunities in the successive direction to cater to your business needs. We have established the pillars of our flourishing institute on the grounds of Credibility and Reliability. RFM delve into the markets across Asia Pacific, North America, South America, Europe, Middle East and Africa.Our purpose is to serve you, the most customized in-depth Market access data. Our plethora of titles made us one of the most searched market research library across the globe. We work with the most esteemed Publishers around the globe who caters vast industries. We are quick and fragile, when it comes to your various queries, and we ensure our team caters your needs to the best of our abilities, we promise to stay by your side for both pre and post sales servicing, as we believe in long everlasting symbiotic relationship.Contact:Mr. A NaiduResearch for MarketsTel: +44 8000-4182-37 (UK)Email: alan.naidu@researchformarkets.com In honor of AmeriCorps Week, four Napa County nonprofits, Community Resources for Children, Cope Family Center, ParentsCAN and UpValley Family Centers are celebrating the impact two local women have had on the local community. Annually, more than 75,000 AmeriCorps members help communities tackle pressing problems by their work with nonprofit, faith-based, and community organizations at 21,000 locations across the U.S. Paula Freire, a certified psychologist originally from Chile, is working with staff and volunteers at Community Resources for Children and ParentsCAN. She divides her time between the two organizations where she is using her extensive experience working with children with autism to provide neuropsychological evaluations, and designing and implementing workshops. I feel very fortunate to share the experience with a group of professionals who work for the quality of care of the children and strengthening the role of parents and caregivers, she said. I am very motivated to contribute in this mission and give the community the best so that the children of Napa can develop their maximum potential. Worldwide Lung Cancer Market | Trending Key Players - F.Hoffman-La Roche AG, Novartis, PFIZER INC, Merck & Co, Inch, BRISTOL MYERS SQUIBB Lung Cancer Market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1185 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/enquiry/1185 www.marketresearchfuture.com Lung cancer can be explained as an uncontainable growth of anomalous cells. They typically attack one or both the lungs. Mostly, these cells become a part of the elements that make the air passages. The problem with them is that they do not divide into normal long tissue rather grow speedily & form lumps. When this happens, a person gets lung cancer. Lately, a lot of people have been getting this disease. This has given momentum to the global lung cancer market.As the lumps get bigger and increase in numbers, they hinder the lungs capability to offer oxygen to the bloodstream. There are basically two types of tumors benign & malignant.Get a sample report atKey Players & Their StrategiesSome of the major players in this market are F.Hoffman-La Roche AG, Novartis, PFIZER INC, Merck & Co, Inch, BRISTOL MYERS SQUIBB & many others. Innovative product launch is one of the most common strategies used by these brands.Benign is the tumor that stays rooted in one place. They do not spread elsewhere in the body. Malignant tumors in comparison are the more dangerous ones. They can extend to various parts of the body by means of the blood flow or the lymphatic system. Clinically, malignant tumors have a distinct definition. They are referred to as cancer that spreads beyond its origin site. Malignant lumps pose more threat & are difficult to treat.The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that every year approximately 7.6 million lives are claimed by lung cancer. This amounts to around 13% of the global death rate. Thus, it can be concluded that lung cancer is a fatal kind of cancer.Market scenarioThe worldwide lung cancer market is estimated to earn above USD 36928. 9 million by 2022. In terms of CAGR, the market is expected to develop at a healthy rate of up to 13.2% during the forecast period 2018-2022.The growth of this market can be attributed to many factors. Some of the major ones include rising rate of lung cancer patients, the considerable growth of the geriatric population & increasing degree of healthcare expenditure.New & improved developments can also be called as the drivers of the lung cancer market. Additional driving forces for the market include ever-growing environmental pollution & smoking. Even the passive smokers are vulnerable to lung cancer by 20 to 30%. Secondary growth drivers include exposure to radon gas & low immunity.Emerging technological discoveries are considered as the most important growth drivers for the upcoming years.SegmentationThe global lung cancer market has been divided on the basis of types, treatments, end users & regions.On the basis of types, the market is bifurcated into SCLC ( Small Cell Lung Cancer) & NSCLC (Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer). SCLC typically originates in the cells that line the bronchi in the middle of the lungs. Cell carcinoma & combined cell carcinoma are the sub-segments of SCLC. NSCLC tends to affect the exterior region of the lung. This form of cancer is also referred to as adenocarcinoma. Sarcoma & Sarcomatoid carcinoma forms the sub-segments of NSCLC. SCLC held around 14.6% market shares back in 2015 whereas NSCLC earned above USD 1.298.8 million that yearOn account of treatments, the market is fragmented into surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, photodynamic therapy (PDT) & laser therapy.Hospitals & clinics, cancer research centers & laboratories form the end users. Amongst these, hospitals hold the largest market share.Regionally, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, & Middle East & Africa & Rest Of The World.More inquire atInnovationsThis market has seen several innovations. One of the most notable contributions has been by Epigenomics AG. This organization has introduced a new test. It checks blood by employing DNA methylation biomarkers. This test can be effectively used for early detection of cancer.About usAt Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Market Research FutureP: +1 646 845 9312W:sales@marketresearchfuture.com COBRA: Blockchain banking beyond crypto COBRA (cloudyBoss Omni-currency Banking Rotation Account) SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 21 March 2018Whilst incredible stories of financial gain and, more recently loss, have been attributed to crypto currencies, the real story behind crypto is the need for an overhaul of our banking system.What has driven the rise in crypto popularity is, fundamentally, the requirement for better access to banking facilities, the need for more flexibility in banking products, the expanded need for international banking, and the greater interest in foreign currency trading.Just when we see the rise of born-global small and even micro businesses, who need access to a range of banking products both here and overseas, banking has become exclusionary, stated CEO of Australian-based cloudyBoss Pty Ltd, Lou Schillaci. Only large corporates are offered competitive business accounts and international banking facilities and almost no one can earn interest on their account or gain an advantage from their foreign exchange activities. For these reasons alone its no surprise that alternate banking and currency models have gained popularity.The danger is, not everyone understands the underlying technology that is behind alternate currencies, so there is a lack of appreciation for the flaws and vulnerability that are inherent in them, Schillaci concluded.cloudyBoss CTO, Giovanni di Noto explains the cloudyBoss COBRA solution: Were using technology for good. Were a friend to businesses of all sizes, yet at the same time, we are not the banks enemy. We simply believe the banking system needs fixing not ditching.COBRA (cloudyBoss Omni-currency Banking Rotation Account) is an intelligent multi-currency banking solution that is integrated into the cloudyBoss ERP and available to all cloudyBoss users.Should a user choose to activate the COBRA function and become a COBRA member, they can open an account with any bank that is part of the COBRA worldwide network, without further security checks or additional paperwork.COBRA can be used for everyday banking - similarly to internet banking - from a computer or mobile phone. It is available 24/7, to check account balances, transfer between accounts, pay vendors (using a wide range of payment methods) and receive funds. All members accounts, whether they are with COBRA member banks or not, can be viewed online, in one place. If a member's own bank is not a COBRA member bank then transfers would be done similarly to the EFT transactions they do now.cloudyBoss, which powers COBRA, is natively multi-currency, allowing businesses to have bank accounts in the countries where they trade. As an entitys funds move between banks, COBRAs intuitive foreign exchange function also finds the most favourable rates, creating ongoing passive income.In fact, a COBRA member can allocate a specific amount for COBRA to work with on the foreign exchange market and it does so 24/7, using its built-in Artificial Intelligence engine (AnIma) forex trading, functionality. It analyses real-time data - business, economic and social indicators - to determine how, where and when to trade currency on the account holders behalf. This sum is always insured to prevent the loss of the originally allocated amount in case of an unforeseen market fluctuation.Each member can check at a glance how much money COBRA has earned them, in foreign exchange transactions, up until the current day and see how much it estimates it will earn them tomorrow. COBRA adheres to the banking regulations that govern each bank and seeks out the most favourable conditions for foreign exchange.COBRA is designed for individuals and businesses that either operate or wish to operate, globally online. It provides what only very large international banks traditionally offer major corporates a multi-currency account with foreign exchange and trading capabilities.Schillaci commented: Virtually all individuals and small businesses struggle to open this kind of account, which forces them into more expensive banking options and/or inhibits them from expanding their international business. Equally, many smaller banks cant offer this kind of product because of the associated risks and regulative compliance which, in turn, also inhibits their global expansion.COBRA has an inbuilt accounting system which importantly, for any size business, cuts down on time-consuming bank reconciliations. For the banks, COBRA provides already-verified members, which eliminates the multitude of potential security risks normally associated with new customers.Ensuring the absolute security of the COBRA functionality is cloudyBosss proprietary Blockchain technology, SKYE. This military grade secure method of data exchange means that every banking transaction, account information, member data and foreign exchange activity, is completely protected within a ring/cluster of permissioned nodes. Within cloudyBoss, these clusters are referred to as a SKYE of clouds.COBRA member banks will enjoy millions of dollars in savings from interface maintenance, stated Di Noto, as our inbuilt SKYE blockchain functionality provides all the solutions they currently require for security, data integrity and un-hackable data repositories.Unlike crypto currencies, which are receiving mixed reviews from regulators, because of their intentional aim to hinder retail banking, cloudyBoss COBRA innovates and integrates rather than disrupts.For more information contact CEO, Lou Schillaci.Ends/Media InformationClaire Linley Lou Schillaciclaire@cloudyBoss.com lou@cloudyBoss.comcloudyBoss Pty Ltd is an Australian registered, privately owned B2B company. It is a cloud start-up in limited release and is backed by IBM through its Global Entrepreneurs Program. The cloudyBoss cloud-based Enterprise Resource Platform (ERP) is effectively a complete ecosystem that encapsulates Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Internet of Things, Blockchain and a Unique Data Model. Built using agile software methodology, it solves today's complex business issues of disruption, automation, security and productivity gaps by equipping even the smallest business with the tools to compete globally.cloudyBoss Pty LtdSuite 1A, Level 2802 Pacific HighwayGordon, SydneyNSW 2072Australia Ukraine Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband Market - Statistics and Analyses https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1669929 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1669929/ukraine-telecoms-mobile-and-broadband-statistics-and-analyses-market-research-reports/toc https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1669929/ukraine-telecoms-mobile-and-broadband-statistics-and-analyses-market-research-reports.pdf http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ "The Latest Research Report Ukraine - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"Ukraines telecom infrastructure is being modernised through considerable investment in both the mobile and fixed-broadband sectors. Competition is provided from a number of alternative operators, and although the incumbent Ukrtelecom remains the dominant player in the fixed-line market the regulatory environment has improved following the sale of the company to the local conglomerate SCM Group, though the legality of this sale has been disputed and legal action is ongoing. The telecom sector has attracted investors from Turkey and Russia, while Vodafone Group has partnered with MTS Ukraine to help develop mobile services under the Vodafone brand.The political tension which erupted in late 2013, and which escalated in a more violent form in eastern areas of the country, has brought focus to the vulnerability of the telecom network. A number of telcos operating in Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, left the peninsular after their licences were made over to Russian firms. More recently, telcos have retreated from the Donetsk region after it was impossible for them to continue services. The telecom regulator now assesses market statistics, including revenue, excluding data from Crimea and the separately administered city of Sevastopol, as well as from a number of contested regions in the east.Get Sample Copy of this report @The competitive mobile market is dominated by the three network operators Vodafone Ukraine, Kyivstar and Lifecell. Together, these players have held back the development of the MVNO sector by promoting their own low-cost subsidiaries. Nevertheless, a gap in the low-cost sector may provide the opportunity for MVNOs to thrive in coming years. Competition resulting from mobile number portability has also been stymied, either by the regulator having delayed its introduction or by an insufficient number of companies bidding for the tender.Mobile broadband services present a significant growth opportunity. Significant investment has been made in extending 3G infrastructure, while operators have more recently concentrated on LTE. Additional spectrum in the 2600MHz band was auctioned in January 2018, issued under 15-year licenses, and all three MNOs are expected to launch LTE services promptly.The sizeable broadband market enjoys effective cross-platform competition. DSL remains an important platform though it has been eclipsed by fibre following efforts by operators to build out networks. While LAN and wireless platforms such as Wi-Fi and WiMAX exist on a smaller scale there is ongoing investment aimed at delivering a national wireless network by the end of 2018.This report provides an overview of Ukraines telecom market, including profiles of the major operators and a review of telecom network infrastructure, regulatory measures, and emerging network developments. The report also analyses the mobile market, offering a range of statistics as well as profiles of the key players and an assessment of mobile technology deployments. In addition, the report covers the fixed-line and fixed-wireless broadband sectors.Browse Complete Report with TOC @Key developments:ESU fails in petition against Court ruling invalidating the acquisition of a 92.79% stake in Ukrtelecom;Ukrtelecom makes progress with network upgrade project with Huawei;DREAM cable linking Ukraine to Germany and China opens for traffic;Fixed lines in service dip to 7.1 million;Regulator raises UAH2.288 billion in 2600MHz auction;Kyivstar gains approval for its StarMoney m-payment service;Fresh MNP tender declared invalid;Regulator sets minimum price for 1800MHz spectrum licences expected to be auctioned in March 2018;Vodafone Ukraine preps for commercial LTE launch;Report update includes the regulator market data, State Statistics data to December 2017, telcos operating and financial data to Q4 2017, recent market developments.Companies mentioned in this report:Ukrtelecom, Kyivstar, Datagroup, Eurotranstelecom, Vega, Velton Telecom, Intertelecom, ITC, Telesystems, Ukrainian Radio Systems, Lifecell, Vodafone Ukraine (MTS), Golden Telecom, PAN Wireless, Volia Cable.Table of Contents1. Key statistics1.1 Country overview2. Telecommunications market3. Regulatory environment3.1 Law of Ukraine on Telecommunications3.2 Regulatory authority3.3 Government policies3.3.1 Privatisation3.3.2 Interconnection3.3.3 Carrier selection and carrier preselection3.3.4 Number Portability (NP)3.3.5 Licensing3.3.6 Network accessView Sample PDF @4. Fixed network operators4.1 Introduction4.2 Ukrtelecom4.3 Datagroup4.4 Eurotranstelecom4.5 Kyivstar4.6 Vega4.7 Wireless Local Loop (WLL) operators4.7.1 Velton Telecom4.7.2 Intertelecom4.7.3 International Telecommunication Company (ITC)/CDMA Ukraine4.7.4 Telesystems of Ukraine/PEOPLEnet5. Telecommunications infrastructure5.1 Overview of the national telecom network5.1.1 Ukrtelecom5.1.2 Datagroup5.1.3 Eurotranstelecom5.1.4 Kyivstar5.1.5 Vega5.2 International infrastructure5.3 Data centres6. Broadband market6.1 Fixed broadband market6.1.1 Introduction and statistical overview6.1.2 Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) networks6.1.3 Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks6.1.4 Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) networks6.2 Other fixed broadband services6.2.1 Fixed wireless (Wi-Fi and WiMAX)About usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz GiftaLove.com is Easing Flowers Delivery in Mumbai and Nationwide with Efficient Delivery Network! https://www.giftalove.com/flowers/mumbai https://www.giftalove.com/flowers https://www.giftalove.com/ New Delhi, India: GiftaLove.com, Indias very popular online gifts store is providing efficient delivery network across the globe to let people send flowers to India and overseas in just some clicks. The portal also offers impressive range of gifts and cakes as well.For the people in India and across the globe, the idea of gifting flowers to close and dear ones on special celebrations is considered as one of the affectionate ways of expressing love and care. Still flowers are one of the most preferred gifting options to greet people on their special or celebratory moments of the year. Moreover, flowers are yet considered as one of the most romantic gifts over the years to win beloveds heart or to confess heartiest feelings of love.To bring beautiful flowers in attractive and intricately designed arrangements forth the customers, GiftaLove.com has come up with its extensive range of online flowers. This range offers beautiful and very unique flower arrangements for the customers to shop online. Moreover, the portal facilitates people to avail Flowers Delivery in Mumbai (), Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Delhi and other parts of India as well.In a discussion about the range of exotic online flowers online, the gifting expert from the gift store commented, People often get confused over the right gift selection for special moments. At GiftaLove.com, we dont just offer customers a wide array of amazing gifts but also offer an extensive collection of flowers online. Our range of v flowers online is been created with hundreds of beautiful floral arrangements in beautiful designs as well as patterns that arte been crafted by the team of expert florists. This way, we help people to find beautiful floral gifts for different moments of gifting and greeting people.In the exclusive range of online flowers, there are myriad selections for floral arrangements that are intricate, exquisite and hard to find anywhere else. People can find selections for Anniversary Flowers, Heart Shape Rose Flower Arrangements, Flowers with Cake Combo, Birthday Flowers, Combo of Flowers with Chocolates, Flowers with Sweet Combo, Wedding Flowers, Mothers Day Flowers, Flowers with Dry Fruits, Flowers with Teddy and plenty of other such ranges as well. People can also buy exclusive selections of flower glass vase arrangement, bouquets, bunches and basket arrangements of lilies, roses, tulips, orchids, carnations, gerbera and other such beautiful blooms.Just like flower ranges online, the portal also provides extensive collection of gifts and cakes as well. Thus, people can explore ranges of Birthday cake, lucky plants, gifts for her, decorative items, soft toys, anniversary gifts, spiritual gifts, personalized gifts, anniversary cakes, gifts for him, chocolate hampers, cufflink sets, online jewellery, cosmetic hampers, tie and belt sets, handbags and plenty more for gifting purposes.GiftaLove.com is the online gift shopping website that is reckoned in India for its extensive range of gifting solutions. Apart from wonderful and unique gifts online, the portal is also acclaimed for its extensive range of online flowers and cakes. The portal enables people to deliver flowers to India, gifts to India as well as Cakes to India. Moreover, the portal also helps people with informative content on celebration and gift ideas. More details are available on the website of the gift store.Visit at:GiftaloveMayur Vihar Phase 1, Pandav NagarPostal Code :- 110091City - DelhiCountry - IndiaWebsite: Defibrillators Market will Account for Revenues Worth US$ 14.2 Bn by 2019 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1817 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=1817 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=D&rep_id=1817 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/defibrillators-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Defibrillator devices are used in treating life-threatening sudden cardiac arrest caused due to cardiac arrhythmias, particularly ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia. The global defibrillators market was valued at USD 9.3 billion in 2012, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.2% to reach an estimated value of USD 14.2 billion by 2019. Sudden cardiac arrest is one of the major reasons for deaths across the globe with more than 300,000 deaths only in the United States alone. A defibrillator device depolarizes critical part of a heart muscle thereby helping in restoration of normal heart rhythm. If SCA victims receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation within 5 to 12 minutes of cardiac arrest, many lives can be saved.Request Sample of Report:The most significant factors for the growth of global defibrillators market are Growing incidences of cardiovascular diseases and disordersAging of baby boomer population in the U.S.Increasing demand from emerging countries of Asia-Pacific and the Middle-EastIncreasing trend towards installations of AEDs at workplaces by businessesThe global defibrillators market has been segmented by product types, by end-users and by geography. On the basis of defibrillator types, the market is divided into advanced life support (ALS) defibrillators, automated external defibrillators (AEDs), implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and wearable defibrillators. In 2012, implantable defibrillator devices accounted for the largest share by revenue of the global defibrillators market while the advanced life support defibrillators segment stood second in the global defibrillator market. The larger share of market is captured by implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) due to the rise in ICD implantations for preventing death from sudden cardiac arrest. Other factors such as accuracy in analyzing cardiac rhythm and quick response time for delivering shock are expected to drive the market in the near future.Request Brochure of Report:The global defibrillators market is also segmented by end-users into hospitals, homes, public or community access, emergency medical services and business workplace. The defibrillators market was largely dominated by hospitals as end-user category contributing to more than 90% of the total market. The huge demand for defibrillators from hospitals is largely accounted for the ICD implantations and continuous demand for ALS defibrillators. In the near future, number of AED installations at large hospitals are expected to increase. In addition, the developing healthcare infrastructure in the emerging nations such as China, India and Brazil are expected to drive the demand for defibrillators. The demand of AEDs for public access and installations at businesses workplace are on a rise and expected to grow rapidly during the forecast period. The AEDs have gained critical importance due to easy operability of these devices which allows even laypersons to use them in case of emergency.Enquiry for discount on this report The global defibrillators market is also segmented by geography into six major regions, namely, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle-East, Latin America and Africa. In 2012, North America was the largest market for defibrillator devices amongst all geographic segments but is expected to grow at a slower CAGR of 5.7% during the forecast period 2013 to 2019. Asia-Pacific and Middle-East are expected to grow at a comparatively faster pace than North America and Europe owing to the large patient base, increasing incidences of cardiovascular diseases and rising per capita expenditure on healthcare. The increasing awareness about utility of defibrillators in the Middle-East, especially in U.A.E and the support from government is contributing to growth of the market in this region.The global defibrillator market is consolidated with very few large players in the market. In recent years, many mergers and acquisitions have taken place in the market, one such significant acquisition was of Zoll Medical Corporation being acquired by a Japanese company Asahi Kasei Corporation. Some of the major players in the global defibrillators market include Biotronik SE& Co.KG, Boston Scientific Corporation, Defibtech LLC, GE Healthcare Ltd., HeartSine Technologies Inc., Medtronic, Inc., Nihon Kohden Corporation, Philips Healthcare, St. Jude Medical Inc., and Zoll Medical Corporation.View report at :About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Chocolate Hazelnut Spread Market: Low-calorie & Gluten-free Products Increase Demand from Health-conscious People https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=34361 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=34361 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com The global chocolate hazelnut spread market is envisaged to gain traction against the markets for marmalade and jam due to the factor of higher palatability. Chocolate hazelnut is a popular breakfast spread in developed countries. A report by Transparency Market Research (TMR) includes a study on some of the most applicable growth factors of the market. It bears the title Chocolate Hazelnut Spread Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2025. There could be a considerable rise in the sales growth of chocolate hazelnut spread in the coming years, as predicted by TMR analysts.Request to view Sample Report:In developed countries, the demand for chocolate hazelnut spread is expected to increase, especially from health-conscious people, owing to the launch of reduced fat, gluten-free, and low-calorie varieties. Continuous product innovation could be a leading factor helping new companies to give a tough competition to established players operating in the market. Chocolate hazelnut spread could be used to add to any type of dessert, prepare instant hot chocolate, spread over croissants, and as an ice cream topping.In terms of distribution channel, the world chocolate hazelnut spread market could be classified into indirect and direct sales, where the former is expected to be further segregated into online retailers, convenience stores, hypermarket/supermarket, and specialty stores. By type of packaging, there could be segments such as cups, pouches, and bottles. By source, the market could be divided into conventional and organic. With respect to geography, North America is foreseen to lead the market due to high consumer preference, improved shelf visibility in retail chains, and growing consumer awareness.Buy this Report at:About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Continuous Glucose Monitoring Market Insights With Key Company Profiles 2019 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1169 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=1169 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=D&rep_id=1169 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/continuous-glucose-monitoring.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Rapid rise in diabetic population across the globe has considerably increased the demand for effective diabetes management systems. Currently, blood glucose meters are widely used for diabetes management; however, the trend is shifting towards minimally invasive (CGMS) or noninvasive glucose monitoring systems as these systems reduce the need for regular finger pricking and also lessen the pain. Continuous glucose monitoring systems are real time glucose sensing and monitoring devices that measure and display glucose levels of a patient at regular intervals. The usage of CGM is substantially increasing over traditional glucose monitoring systems as these systems are user friendly, provide access to real time values and trend, and provide enhanced accuracy. Additionally, it has been observed that continuous glucose monitoring significantly helps in diabetes management especially in type I diabetics, and helps in reducing long-term complications associated with diabetes. Increasing awareness in developed and developing economies, technological advancements and rising number of diabetic patients are some of the key factors that are expected to fuel the growth of this market.Request Sample of Report:According to International Diabetes Federation (IDF) reports, approximately 382 million people globally were diagnosed with diabetes in 2013 and this number is expected to grow to 592 million by 2035. Additionally, as per Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the prevalence of type I diabetes rose by 23% in the U.S. between 2001 and 2009 for children under 20 years of age and is identified as the seventh leading cause of death in the country. Hence, rising number of patients suffering from type I diabetes is likely to increase the demand for CGMS. The continuous glucose monitoring market has been segmented on the basis of various CGM systems available in the market including Guardian Real Time CGM System, FreeStyle Navigator, Dexcom Seven Plus, Dexcom G4 Platinum and MiniMed Paradigm Revel/Veo CGM Systems. In 2012, the market for Guardian Real Time CGM system held the largest share globally, followed by Dexcom Seven Plus CGM system. However, during the forecast period 2013 to 2019, growth of the market for Guardian Real Time CGM system is expected to be slowest due to market saturation and development of innovative competitor products. Dexcom G4 Platinum CGM System market is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period. FreeStyle Navigator that witnessed a decline in its market share in 2012 due to product recall from the U.S. market is anticipated to show significant growth during the forecast period due to expected launch of FreeStyle Navigator ll in 2014 in the U.S. market.Request Brochure of Report:North America held the largest share in the global continuous glucose monitoring market in terms of revenue in 2012. Factors responsible for the leading position of this region were rising obesity population, aging population and increasing acceptance of technologically advanced devices. Europe held the second largest market in 2012, followed by Asia-Pacific. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to show the highest CAGR during the forecast period because of the presence of growing patient awareness, economic development and changing lifestyle. Other factors such as increasing healthcare expenditure, increasing market penetration by CGM players in this region are anticipated to increase the uptake of these devices in this region.Enquiry for discount on this report Medtronic, Inc., Dexcom, Inc., Abbott Diabetes Care, Inc., Bayer AG, Nova Biomedical Corporation, Senseonics, Incorporated, GlySens, Incorporated and Insulet Corporation are the major companies engaged in the development and commercialization of the continuous glucose monitoring systems. Presence of very few players in the CGM market provides ample opportunity for further research and development for both existing and emerging players.View report at :About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Membrane Technology Market to Expand at a 9.1% CAGR from 2013 to 2019 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1848 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=1848 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=D&rep_id=1848 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/membrane-technology-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Globally, the membrane technology market is witnessing significant growth due to increasing research and development and production in pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and life sciences industries. There has been a substantial rise in the number of membrane technology applications, including separation and purification of drug components, in pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and life sciences industries. Thus, rise in pharmaceutical production and increasing number of membrane technology applications worldwide are driving growth of membrane technology in pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and life sciences industries. In addition, stringent regulations and usage of single-use disposable technique are playing a major role in the growth of the membrane technology market. Presence of various filtration techniques such as ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and microfiltration, under membrane technology has increased its acceptance in pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and life science industries for separation and purification of components and biomolecules over conventional techniques. The global membrane technology market for pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and life science industries is expected to be USD 7,029.9 million in 2014. It is likely to grow at a CAGR of 9.1% during 2014 to 2019 to reach USD 10,886 million in 2019.Request Sample of Report:North America is the largest market, and biopharmaceutical industry is the largest segment in the global market for membrane technology in pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and life sciences industries. However, Asia is the fastest growing region in the membrane technology market. Additionally, nanofiltration is the fastest growing technology in the global market for membrane technology in pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and life sciences industries.The membrane technology market in pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and life sciences industries accounted for USD 4,590 million in revenue in 2009.Request Brochure of Report:Biopharmaceuticals commanded the largest share in the overall membrane technology market in 2009. It was estimated to grow at a CAGR of 9% from 2009 to 2013.Enquiry for discount on this report TABLE 1 Global market of Membrane Technology for pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and life sciences industries size, by geography 2014-2019 (USD millions)View report at :About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Surgical Equipment Market to Reach an Estimated Value of US$ 11.28 Bn by 2019 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=183 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=183 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=D&rep_id=183 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/surgical-equipment-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com The market for surgical equipment has been broadly segmented into surgical sutures and staples, surgical handheld instruments and electrosurgical devices. In 2012, this segment accounted for 55.6% of the total surgical equipment market. Of these, surgical sutures held the larger share than staples in 2012. The two major types of sutures are absorbable and non-absorbable sutures depending on the bodys ability to degrade and absorb the suture materials over time. Absorbable sutures are in greater demand over non-absorbable sutures owing to their increasing adoption across most surgical procedures except those which require permanent sutures or long-term care. The surgical handheld instruments market includes scalpels, forceps, retractors and scissors. Electrosurgical devices include radiofrequency generators, instruments and other accessories, which are used during various surgical procedures to cut, cauterize, coagulate and ligate tissues and luminal structures by utilizing high frequency electric current. This segment has been anticipated as the fastest growing segment during the forecast period 2013 to 2019.Request Sample of Report:Owing to advantages such as precise incision, minimal blood loss, reduced post-surgery complications and side effects, faster recovery span and shorter duration of hospital stay; minimally invasive procedures are experiencing greater demand across all medical specialties. Burgeoning demand for minimally invasive procedures is likely to trigger market growth for electrosurgical devices. Some other factors expected to drive market growth include continuous increase in the number of surgical procedures, rapidly increasing elderly population and technological advances in the area of product development. The market for surgical sutures and staples faces significant threat from advanced wound closure materials such as glues, fibrin, high-strength medical adhesives and other sealants, as these products are actively adopted by surgeons and healthcare providers owing to associated benefits such as less healing time, reduced blood loss and improved clinical outcomes. One of the clauses of the U.S. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that reveals an excise tax of 2.3% on medical devices may serve the overall market as a restraint as it will impose an extra burden on medical device manufacturers.Request Brochure of Report:Geographically, the market for surgical equipment has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW). Asia-Pacific and RoW markets are expected to show high growth rate during the forecast period 2013 to 2019 owing to factors such as emerging economies, high unmet surgical needs and continuously improving reimbursement scenario. In the Asia-Pacific region, multinational players operating in this market are expected to face intense competition from local manufacturers as they offer various types of surgical equipment especially sutures and surgical handheld instruments, at very low prices. Rapidly evolving medical tourism industry in countries such as India, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and South Korea also propels major healthcare providers to equip themselves with latest surgical devices; acts as a significant growth driver for the surgical equipment market.Enquiry for discount on this report Each segment of the surgical equipment market is dominated by a select number of players. For instance the market for surgical sutures and staples market is dominated by mainly Ethicon, Inc., B. Braun Melsungen AG and Covidien plc. These players have stronghold on group purchasing organizations (GPOs) in the U.S. market where healthcare providers collectively purchase surgical instruments at low prices. The market for surgical handheld instruments is largely fragmented and is distributed between multinationals and local manufacturers. Globally, B. Braun Melsungen AG, Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation, Covidien plc and Aspen Surgical Products, Inc. are the major players operating in the surgical handheld instruments market. The electrosurgical devices market is dominated by players such as Covidien plc, ERBE Elektromedizin GmbH and CONMED Corporation with a combined market share of around 60% in 2012.View report at :About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Prenatal and New-born Genetic Testing Market is Likely to ReachUS$8.37 Billion by 2019 End https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1744 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=1744 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=D&rep_id=1744 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/prenatal-new-born-genetic-testing.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Global Prenatal and New-born Genetic Testing Market: SnapshotPrenatal and new-born genetic tests refer to the systematic diagnostic tests and screenings undertaken to determine the risk of certain genetic disorders in newborn children and fetuses in stages as early as eight to ten weeks of gestation. The use of a variety of screening and diagnostic tools for detecting chromosomal abnormalities and the risk of diseases such as Patau syndrome, Down syndrome, and Edward syndrome is increasing at a significant pace across the world.The vast rise in prevalence of genetic abnormalities and late pregnancies are some of the key factors to have led to an increased demand for prenatal and new-born genetic tests across the globe. The vast advancements observed in diagnostic and screening technologies and the rise in awareness about genetic diseases are also considered crucial to the rising demand for genetic tests in children, both before and after birth. Transparency Market Research states that the market will exhibit a remarkable 26.9% CAGR over the reports forecast period.Request Sample of Report:Diagnostic Techniques to Continue to Remain Preferred Option for Detecting Chromosomal AbnormalitiesThe prenatal and newborn genetic testing market can be broadly segmented into screening techniques and diagnostics techniques. Of these, the segment of diagnostic techniques, covering popular genetic testing methods such as fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH), array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH), and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), accounts for a massive share of the market.Diagnostic techniques are expected to retain their position as the leading contributor of revenue to the global prenatal and newborn genetic testing market over the forecast period, owing to their more effective and accurate results as compared to screening techniques. Of the key genetic diagnostic techniques available in the market, PCR techniques are expected to be the most preferred owing to their high efficiency and varied applications.Of the key prenatal and newborn genetic screening techniques commonly used across the globe, including maternal serum screening (MSS) and non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), the segment of non-invasive prenatal testing is expected to lead the market for prenatal and newborn genetic screening techniques. This is owing to the fact that non-invasive screening techniques completely eliminate the risk of miscarriage associated with invasive tests such as Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS) and amniocentesis.Request Brochure of Report:Emerging Markets to Present Most Lucrative Growth OpportunitiesPresently, North America is the dominant market for the global prenatal and newborn genetic testing market, accounting for a massive chunk of the overall market. Apart from a large pool of highly-aware parents and a rising prevalence of genetic disorders in the region, the large number of companies operating in the diagnostics as well as screening sectors have also helped the prenatal and newborn genetic testing market strengthen its foothold in the region. Another developed region, Europe, is also a mature market for prenatal and newborn genetic testing.Enquiry for discount on this report However, in the next few years, the prenatal and newborn genetic testing market will witness the most traction across emerging regional markets such as Asia Pacific, and Middle East and Africa. The vast untapped opportunities in these regions and an encouraging rise in awareness about genetic testing, rising affordability, and increasing prevalence of genetic diseases will together contribute towards the healthy growth of the prenatal and newborn genetic testing market in these regions in the near future.Some of the key vendors operating in the diagnostics field of prenatal and newborn genetic testing are Ariosa Diagnostics, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Perkin Elmer, and Agilent Technologies. Key vendors operating in the screening segment of prenatal and newborn genetic testing are Verinata Health and Sequenom, Inc.View report at :About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Today, three decades later, Williams Selyem is perhaps as famous a U.S. wine brand with Pinot lovers as is Opus One to Cab fanciers. Yet it may already be off the radar of some newbies to great Pinot Noir even those who want the best. Thats due in part to a curious phenomenon related to two old sayings, one attributed to the late Yankee catcher Yogi Berra: Nobody goes there anymore. Its too crowded. In Williams Selyems case, people often say, I dont know how good the wine is. No one gets any. Part of this relates to scarcity. Generally, the only way to get a bottle or two of a Williams Selyem wine is direct from the winery. That means being on the winerys mailing list which entails first joining a waiting list. Mailing list buyers have perks beyond the wine, such as being able to visit the gorgeous Westside Road winery south of Healdsburg as well as access to such fascinating wines as a dry Chenin Blanc or a dramatic Zinfandel. Williams Selyem has ostensibly no retail visibility and limited (and pricey) exposure in restaurants, so we now reach the other old saying: Out of sight, out of mind. Even Pinot freaks tend to forget this brand when creating top-10 lists of domestic Pinot Noirs. Increasing Demand of Top 15 Petrochemicals Market Analysis and Forcasts 2025 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/678 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/toc/678 Top 15 Petrochemicals Market OutlookAsia Pacific market is a major processing hub for petrochemicals with India, China, and South Korea being major drivers. Six of the worlds ten largest refineries are in Asia Pacific with the largest being Reliance owned Jamnagar Refinery. This region has recently observed an upturn in consumption due to increased population. China has also claimed to have the worlds largest shale reserves but is unable to develop them due to water shortages. Technological Advancement in shale gas extraction is expected to complement growth.North America is a major processing hub. Feedstock is obtained from shale gas produced in the various US shale plays (Marcellus, Eagle-Ford, Permian, Barnett, Bakken and Niobrara). In addition, it is also one of the largest consumer of petrochemicals. Also, Middle East and North Africa are major sources of crude oil. There is also a significant presence of petrochemical industry in this region due to close proximity to crude oil source.Request Sample Copy of this Report@Europe is a consumer market for petrochemicals with heavy dependency on North American and Asian markets. A west to east shift has been observed in the petrochemical market. Maturation in Europe has led to shifting of existing petrochemical infrastructure to countries such as India where labor is cheap.The growth focus is shifting to low cost feedstock availability such as CTO (Coal to Olefin), MTO (Methanol to Olefin), Shale Gas, Coal Bed Methane and bio feedstock to produce ethylene and propylene. These are considered as alternative processes for ethylene and propylene production. China has announced six CTO projects having total ethylene capacity of 1.62m tons/year.The major players in the Petrochemical Industry are BASF SE, ExxonMobil, The Dow Chemical Company, Shell Chemical Company, SABIC, Sinopec Limited, Lyondell Basell Industries, Total S.A., Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd., Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC and E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company.Ethylene, propylene are the most dominant chemicals in terms of market share, and are major feedstock for the manufacture of polyethylene, polypropylene and polypropylene oxide. Xylene is projected to be the fastest growing petrochemical market due to demand for polyester fibers. Furthermore, chemicals such as methanol, ethylene oxide and propylene oxide are used as reaction intermediates for light olefins, ethylene glycol, and polyurethane plastics respectively. Moreover, ethylene Oxide is also used as a fumigant and disinfectant. All the end user industries are majorly dependent on polymers with polystyrene being the most widely used. PVC is commonly used for pipes, furniture, and flooring application; and polyethylene for plastic bottles to consume edible and non-edible liquids.To get detailed table of content (ToC)@The packaging industry is the largest end use market of petrochemicals. As the disposable incomes in the developing world rise, consumer demand for packaged materials rises as they seek quality assurance. The packaging industry is directly affected by consumerism. Other end use industries such as automobile, construction, electrical and consumer goods require petrochemicals for product manufacture, and the healthy growth of these industries directly affect petrochemical market growth.Top 15 Petrochemicals Market TaxonomyOn basis of type of Petrochemical, Ethylene, Propylene, Benzene, Butadiene, Xylenes, TolueneOn basis of type of Intermediate Chemicals: Methanol, Ethylene Oxide, Propylene OxideOn basis of type of polymer: Polyethylene (PE), Polypropylene (PP), Polystyrene (PS), Polyester (PET), Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)On basis of End User Industry: Packaging, Automobile, ConstructionElectrical & Electronics, Aviation, Consumer Goods, OthersAbout Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact UsMr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Enteral Feeding Devices Market Expected to Reach US$ 3,102.0 Mn in 2019 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=323 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=323 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=D&rep_id=323 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/enteral-feeding-devices-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Enteral feeding devices, also called as artificial nutrition support system are used to deliver nutrition or medication to the patients. These devices are considered as the first choice of treatment option for patients suffering from functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID). Increasing need of reconstructive surgeries coupled with technological advancements in these devices are expected to widen the market for enteral feeding devices. In addition, rising incidences of chronic diseases such as cancer, neurological and gastrointestinal disorders and increasing healthcare awareness are driving the demand for enteral feeding devices market globally. The global enteral feeding devices market is estimated to be USD 2,033.1 million in 2012 and is expected to reach USD 3,102.0 million by 2019, growing at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2013 to 2019.Request Sample of Report:Enteral feeding devices market is segmented mainly by product types and stages (age groups). Enteral feeding tubes, pumps, administration reservoir, giving sets and enteral syringes are major types of these devices based on product types. Enteral feeding devices market is further segmented by stages namely, pediatric and adult population. Enteral feeding devices market is witnessing a paradigm shift from the usage of parenteral devices to enteral feeding devices due to uptake of advanced technologies (such as low profile gastrostomy) and cost effective alternatives (e.g. enteral feeding tubes and giving sets). These devices have also gained widespread popularity because manufacturers are constantly coming up with new and innovative devices that are easy to use and have few complications. For example, introduction of balloon inflated gastrostomy tubes enable users to feed directly into the stomach so that feeding of nutrition and medication is possible without swallowing. This technique provides a safe and long term method for obtaining nutrition. Growing geriatric population coupled with rising preference of home enteral therapy has resulted in a steady rise in the demand of enteral feeding devices. In addition, introduction of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and rising cases of preterm birth that demands feeding by enteral devices are the factors accentuating the growth of this market during the forecast period. However, complications related to enteral nutrition delivery such as diarrhea, gastrointestinal complications, and non-obstructive intestinal ischemia and stringent reimbursement policies restrains the market growth.Request Brochure of Report:Europe contributed the largest share, i.e. over 35%, in 2012 of the global enteral feeding devices market. Rising geriatric population and increasing awareness about enteral nutrition are the major driving factors for the growth of enteral feeding devices market in Europe. North America contributed the second largest share i.e. over 30% of the total market in 2012. Preference for home based enteral therapy has led to reduction of frequent visits to clinics and hospitals, consequently increasing the uptake of enteral feeding devices in the North American region. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to witness the fastest growth due to expanding population coupled with rising number of preterm birth cases. High prevalence of gastrointestinal disorders and cancer are the contributing factors for the growth of enteral feeding devices market in this region.Enquiry for discount on this report In terms of key players, the global enteral feeding devices market is highly fragmented with the presence of large number of players that include Moog, Inc., Kimberly Clark, Amsino International, Inc., Applied Medical Technology, Inc., Boston Scientific, CONMED Corporation, Covidien plc and others.View report at :About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Global Scotch Whisky Market Expected To Reach At A CAGR Of 2.35% Over The Forecast Period 2017-2021 - Bacardi, Beam Suntory, Diageo, Pernod Ricard Market Research Report https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1066997 https://www.researchmoz.us/global-scotch-whisky-market-2017-2021-report.html/toc https://www.researchmoz.us/global-scotch-whisky-market-2017-2021-report.html http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG https://marketreserch1.blogspot.com Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Scotch Whisky Market 2017-2021" to its huge collection of research reports.About Scotch WhiskyScotch whisky is produced in Scotland. It is produced, packaged, and labeled as per SWR 2009. Scotch whisky is produced in five regions in Scotland: Highland, Lowland, Islay, Speyside, and Campbeltown.Technavios analysts forecast the global scotch whisky market to grow at a CAGR of 2.35% during the period 2017-2021.Get PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global scotch whisky market for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the retail selling price as the average selling price for the product.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AmericasAPACEuropeMEATechnavio's report, Global Scotch Whisky Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsBacardiBeam SuntoryDiageoPernod RicardWilliam Grant & SonsView Complete TOC with tables & Figures @Other prominent vendorsAceoBen Nevis DistilleryBrown-FormanEdringtonGlenmorangieGeorge Ballantine and SonGordon & MacPhailHarvey's of Edinburgh InternationalInternational BeverageIsle of Arran DistillersMarket driverPremiumizationFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeIncrease in demand for aged Scotch whisky leads to shortage and price riseFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendIncrease in demand for premium Scotch whiskyFor a full, detailed list, view our reportBrowse Report @Key questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2021 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?Table of ContentsPART 01: Executive summaryPART 02: Scope of the reportPART 03: Research MethodologyPART 04: IntroductionKey market highlightsPART 05: Market landscapeMarket overviewGlobal whiskey marketAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.For More Information Kindly Contact :ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn @ Industrial Gloves Market Outlook To 2025: Key Players, and Trends https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/770 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-customization/770 The Global Industrial Gloves market was valued at US$ 5,629.7 million in 2016 according to a new report published by Coherent Market Insights. Industrial gloves are used to reduce the risks of employees by maintaining safe working conditions at the work place. Increasing mishaps in various industries have resulted in an increasing demand for personal protective equipment. Industrial gloves are manufactured based on the specific needs of various industries. Industrial gloves have excellent chemical, heat, corrosion and abrasion resistant properties, which work as an excellent barrier. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that employers protect their employees from workplace hazards that can cause injuries and hazards. The OSHA has introduced various regulations in order to ensure safety of employees. These stringent regulations have resulted in high demand for industrial gloves across all sectors.Request Sample Copy of This Report@Key Trends and Analysis of the Industrial Gloves Market:Rubber/Latex dominated the materials segment in the production of industrial gloves in 2016. Asia Pacific is the biggest producer of industrial gloves, due to the ample availability of natural rubber in the region. Nitrile was the second most used material in the production of Industrial gloves. Nitrile is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.95% during the forecast period. However, Nitrile glove prices are expected to increase due to soaring prices of butadiene, as butadiene is an important raw material used in the production of Nitrile. The recent hurricane Irma in the U.S. has resulted in an increase in the price of Butadiene, which in turn has affected Nitrile latex prices.Key takeaways of the Market:North America dominated the global Industrial gloves market in 2016. North America accounted for 37% market share in 2016. North America is expected to maintain dominant position during the forecast period. Strict regulations with respect to practices to be followed in industries have ensured an increasing demand for industrial gloves in the region. Increasing industrial and shale gas production has resulted in an increasing demand for industrial gloves. The U.S. is the biggest producer of shale gas in the world. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that about 15.8 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of dry natural gas was produced directly from shale and tight oil resources in the United States in 2016. The U.S is also home to the Big Three car companies viz General Motors, Ford Motor Company and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US. Thus, to suffice the demand needs production is on a rise, resulting in an increase for the demand of industrial gloves in the North American region.Asia Pacific is the fastest growing region in the global Industrial gloves market. The Asia Pacific industrial gloves market was valued at US$ 929 million in 2016 and is expected to grow at an incredible CAGR of 8.30% during the forecast period. Growing infrastructure and industrial activities in the emerging economies of Asia Pacific is a major driver for growth of the Industrial gloves market in the Asia Pacific region. The growing automobile industry especially in China and India has seen an unprecedented demand for industrial gloves in this region. As the Asia Pacific region is a major manufacturer of rubber, industrial gloves are comparatively cheaper in Asia Pacific as compared to the other regions. Thailand and Malaysia are major manufacturers and exporters of industrial gloves. On account of this, industrial gloves have ample growth opportunities in the Asian region during the forecast period.Request For Customization@Key players operating the Industrial Gloves market include Top Gloves, Honeywell Safety Products, 3M Corporation, Ansell, Showa Group, Corolina Glove & Safety Company, Superior Gloves, Southern Gloves Inc., UVEX Safety Group, Longcane Industries, Shangdong Yuyuan Latex Gloves, Marvel Glove Industries, and Kanam Latex Industries Pvt. Ltd. There are various organic and inorganic growth strategies, which are being followed by the leading players in the market. Various governmental organizations are working to ensure safe industrial practices are being followed in industries.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact UsMr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Vital Wheat Gluten Market: Rise in Vegan Population Benefitting Demand https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=17528 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=17528